Work Text:
A/N :
I know LITERALLY NOTHING about figure skating or ice hockey or anything else. I only know fluff. Meant to be a light read.
Someone keeps flaming the hell out of Ilya’s posts and he is determined to find out who.
ILYA ROZANOV
@Rozanov81
A beautiful summer begins with my handsome husband and shiny Stanley cup. #cottagedays #thankful #grateful #blessed
Replies:
@SHollander : Love this, love you, love us. ❤️💘❤️
@Wyatt_Hayes : So cute! Lets fucking go! 🏆
@NinaR: Old people on twitter is so cringe.
Ilya frowned. Who the hell was calling him old? He knew what he had to do.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO
@Rozanov81 : In our prime #itsjustbeginning #moretocome #blessed
Replies:
@Ilyashoe : LOVE IT, DROOLING 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
@Hoe_llander: I WANT TO BE BETWEEN YOU TWO 🤤🥵🥵🥵
@MrsRozanova696969: I have nothing respectful to say🔥🔥
@HaydenP: Good workout, guys!
@Rozanov81 : Nice that you can see a good workout but cannot actually do the workout.
@HaydenP : fuck you, I meant Shane anyway.
@Queenina : Not two old farts so triggered by my twitter comment that you had to come here and declare you are in your prime. Start getting on retirement home waitlists.
Ilya was really mad now. Shane thought it was extremely funny that someone was harassing Ilya like this. Who could it be? This felt entirely personal.
This had to be Scott Hunter’s throwaway account. He hated Ilya’s creative guts, and the way Ilya pointed out his declining health and increasing age. Ilya’s jokes worked because Scott was actually old. His joints were creaky, his skin wrinkled, hair gray and back busted.
Now, that last one could be due to Kip.
But still, it was accurate and perfectly reasonable for Ilya to notice that old man Scott was old.
Ilya, however, was built like a sturdy bull. The kind of prized stallion they utilized to make more horses. He was a specimen. Ilya stewed in his own thoughts until he successfully made himself very angry at Hunter.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twitter :
ILYA ROZANOV
@Rozanov81
Hiking today! Beautiful trails in our very own National parks. Support our parks! #grateful #nature #hiking
Replies:
@SHollander : it was such a beautiful afternoon and I cannot wait to explore more of this world with you!💙🩵💚
@Rozanov81 : ♥️
@NinaR : I thought you need naps in afternoon
@Rozanov81 : Stop harassing me with your fake accounts, @Hunter21
@NinaR : If I am Scott Hunter, I will be your neighbour in retirement home and can come over to speak the truth to your face. I won’t need social media.
@Hollanovarmy : BEGONE, TROLL
@Hunter21 : Hey what the fuck
“This is not Hunter. This is not him” Ilya mumbled, tossing his phone into the couch.
“Why are you so worked up? You have heard worse on and off the ice.” Shane asked, grinning. He was making burgers.
“Nobody has ever called me old.”
“Well, who cares what some rat in a moldy basement with nothing to do says?”
“It just hurts so much.”
“You are so dramatic.” Shane rolled his eyes.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Okay, let's think about this. This is a person who constantly chirps at you on social media, making sure to call you old each time.” Harris said.
“Yes,” said Ilya “And the insults are pretty good. If I have to admit it myself.”
“Okay. So this person has Rozanov-level chirps.”
“That is not what I said.”
“Fine. So… your suspect was Scott. Because?”
“Because I call him old all the time - because it's true, by the way.”
“Fine. But now you think that it isn't him.”
“Yes. Because this person called Hunter old too.”
“So who else could it be? Who else could you have pissed off.”
“That is a very long list, Harris.”
“Have you looked at the profile of this person before? So you have more clues?”
“You know what? I have not.”
“Then do that?”
Nina A R
@NinaR
Reply to @Volkov32:
Your play stank so bad that people mistook my dead, rotting grandpa’s grave for a perfumerie.
“DAMN!” said Harris, reading the tweet.
“That is brutal.” Shane nodded.
“This person is a hater. Like a serious hater.”
“Are we sure he is not 50 cent? Nobody hates like him.” Troy supplied, helpfully.
“I have no idea who 50 cent is.” Shane said.
“Oh, we know bud. But Roz, did you ever piss him off?” Hayes asked.
“Absolutely not.” Said Ilya, scrolling further. “She is right, though. Volkov’s play was bad.”
“Here's another one -”
Nina A R
@NinaR
Stop ragging on Ilia Malinin, motherfuckers. He is a prodigy under immense pressure. He is so young and vulnerable, unlike the other Ilya (Rozanov), who is two seconds away from knee replacement.
The locker room burst out laughing.
“NOT FUNNY, OKAY?” Ilya exclaimed.
“She is just chirping on Twitter. Let’s go on Instagram, that may have more personal clues.”
“It’s a private account!” Shane said, laughing.
“I have a finsta. I’ll send her a follow request.” Luca volunteered.
Ten minutes later, Luca was in.
“Wow, that was fast. A lot of pictures of nature - Oh, she is Russian.”
“What?” Ilya asked, scowling. “She is?”
“Yes, Moscow has been tagged like in twenty posts. But she seems to live in Europe now. Paris.”
“Ilya, do you have any jilted lovers in Paris?”
“No? What the fuck.”
“Here - she is a figure skater? You can't see her face, though.”
“Show me that-”
@Queenina : Для моей матери и бабушки . Вы оба умерли преждевременно, но как бы мне хотелось, чтобы вы могли увидеть меня сейчас.
For my mother and grandmother. you both died before your time, but i wish you could have seen me now.
“That is fucking sad, man.” Luca said slowly.
Ilya could not help stare at the photo. It was certainly in Russia, and this girl reminded him of himself. A dead mother, coping with humor and chirping, and finding freedom on the ice. Ilya scrolled further. She had not posted anything else that was personal.
“Go to her comments.” Bood said. “You can find more clues.”
“Oh yeah,: said Luca, opening her comments.
“Oh, she is not on good terms with her father, the way her friends are talking about him. If Instagram’s translate feature is accurate.”
“Give me that.” Ilya said quietly, looking at the comments.
@AnnaP : You have us, Nina. We will never forget your mother and grandmother, both brave souls that are incredibly proud of you.
@Katya98 : We will be here, you are never alone.
Why would she be alone, Ilya thought. Where is her father?
Someone in the comments asked the same.
@Sergei_MOS: Nina, are you living with your father now? Your mother and grandmother are incredibly proud of you.
@Queenina : No, he lives with his mistress now. Now that my mother killed herself, he has no reason to not. I stay with the Karpovs and will soon move to Paris!
Ilya no longer felt like he wanted to look into this child’s personal life. It felt too much like looking at himself in the mirror.
Yet, there was something that was incredibly familiar about the picture. It reminded him of…
It reminded him of his mother. Also a figure skater, also blonde haired, also gone.
“Poor Nina.” he said, “Okay, that is enough!”
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ILYA ROZANOV
@Rozanov81:
September is suicide prevention month. Having lost my mother to suicide, I know firsthand the pain and effects of suicide. At the Irina foundation, we care about you being here. This September, we are teaming up with “Stay” to do more. Stay tuned for updates!
Replies :
@NinaR : Rare Rozanov W. But as someone who has also lost her mother (and grandmother) to suicide, I appreciate it so much.
[Rozanov81 liked this]
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@Rozanov81 : My Anya, in the hammock #isntshecute
Replies:
@Queenina : Did I miss retirement announcement? Enjoy your golden years with Anya!
@Lucaaa : This kid is relentless.
@Queenina : That makes the two of us, kid. Although I am no longer baby faced.
@WHayes : wow, Luca catching strays.
@Queenina : Atleast he caught something, unlike you last match.
@WHayes : Damn, girl.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the days passed, this mysterious Nina became a menace to the whole Centaurs team, except Shane. Everyone got chirped left and right. She did not even spare Wiebe.
@OttawaCentaurs : Another win! #herewegoagain
Replies:
@Ilyashoe : LET ME 👅👅👅👅
@Troysabs : look at Troy OMGJDKJHFSH 🔥🔥🔥🔥🥵🥵🥵🥵
@Queenina : Such a boring game, did you see Barrett miss the pass from Haas? You are lucky that the Admirals goal keeper is literally on his deathbed and has no reflexes left.
@EBennett : I am not? People have bad days.
@SHunter21 : You are a valuable player, Eric. We are proud to have you on the Admirals team.
@Queenina : Ah, Hunter can show up on instagram but not on ice.
@Queenina : He is faster on instagram than on ice, too.
@Rozanov81 : Reply to @Queenina is because he is too old
@Queenina : Reply to @Rozanov81 you would know of course
—-
@OttawaCentaurs : Happy birthday, Coach Wiebe!
Replies:
@SHollander : Happy birthday, coach!
@Rozanov81 : Happy birthday!
@Lucaaa : Happy birthday, Coach! I hope you enjoy this day with your loved ones!
@Queenina : Birthday wishes! Rozanov will retire soon and come for your job, so be careful!
@WiebeCentaur : Thank you everyone
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centaurs group chat
Luca : Nina the harasser is coming to Toronto - figure skating finals!
Rozanov : How do you know this?
Luca : On her instagram story!
Hollander : reminder : it is creepy to go stalk a young girl.
Bood : Seconded.
Rozanov : Fine.
Luca : She seems to be loaded. Always flies first class. Getting the best gear for practice. Her costumes are designed by high end designers. How? Does not speak to her father and her mother is dead.
Troy : Must have some other kind of family bankrolling her.
Hayes : I hope so. The alternative is terrible.
Troy : Like a sugar daddy? Fuck, that would be so bad.
Luca : Are we parasocial?
Bood : we are not her fans, she is our fan.
Chouinard : She has explicitly stated that she is not our fan.
Chouinard : But yes? We probably are parasocial.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Toronto
The music started slow. The blonde woman slowly rose in the center and soon, her movements began mimicking the increasing tempo of the music. She did several backflips and lutz and whatnot, the crowd Ooooh’d and Aaaah’d. She finished and went to sit with her team. No family by her.
The stadium was not very full. The set of her jaws, her glassy blue eyes staring into the distance and the gentle cascade of her blonde curls were hauntingly familiar.
Suddenly, there was a commotion behind her. She turned to see Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, taking off their sunglasses and scarves. They were immediately recognized but they only had eyes for her.
They were smiling. Hollander sat down again, but Rozanov came forward.
“Hello, Nina. Or should I say, Ninochka? When did you start going by Nina?” he asked in Russian.
“I did not want to overshadow my Babushka.”
“Why did you not come straight to me when your mother died?” he moved to sit next to her.
“How could I? After all the horrible things my father did and how Russian media talks about you - you would have hated me. Yet, you still had a trust for me. The trust helped me leave and establish myself in Paris.”
“You are doing well here. But you should live with me, your family. I love you, and I would never put what your father or my father did on you.”
“I know.”
After a beat, she asked, “How did you find out?”
“I had Luca Haas make a fake instagram to follow you. You posted first class tickets and whatnot. Someone talked about there being a trust for you so you could afford all that. I also saw that one figure skating picture. You look like my mama, your babushka. And then there was that tweet.”
Nina was silent.
“I hate my father. I do not want to go back.”
“You do not ever have to. I made calls to my lawyer, asked him what happened of you. He was the one who told me you had access to the trust fund, and that you used it to move to Paris. You should live with us. You can train here, in Canada. You deserve people cheering at your performances. You deserve your family and all our love. And-” his breath hitched “We need you too.”
“To drive you to the retirement home?” Nina smirked.
“Stop it,” he said, but he was smiling. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, and I would love to come. I will need some help with the move though.”
“Yes, we will be there. Let’s go meet your other uncle, Shane. By the way, why did you never tease him?”
“He already puts up with one Rozanov.”
“That is fair.”
They moved up to Shane, who hugged her warmly.
“Hey, Ninochka. Can I call you that?”
“Yes,” she said shyly, “I am a huge fan.”
“Me too, I just saw you skate. So beautiful.”
“She has agreed to live with us.” Ilya said, smiling.
“Oh, that is wonderful! I have so many plans!”
“IRINA ROZANOVA!” a voice boomed from the speakers.
“Oh, they are calling me, I will be back.”
Shane and Ilya watched her go to the bench and talk to the organizers, signing some papers and so on. She then came back.
“You should probably wear this. It was my mother’s.” said Ilya, moving to remove the clasp of his chain.
“Oh no, you should. I will get it when you soon pass away from natural causes.”
Shane smiled and shook his head. Perhaps he will tell her later that they had a pregnant surrogate and will be a bigger family soon, but for now, he just basked in being the three of them.