Chapter Text
The door fell closed after Ilya left Shane’s hospital room and the nurse turned to her patient.
‘Alright Mr. Hollander, your results look very good. You will be released from the hospital this evening. It is very important, however, that you stay with someone tonight who can keep an eye on you. You are not allowed to drive for a 48 hours and you have to lay down and rest the first day. Do you have someone who can pick you up from the hospital?’
Shane nodded sluggishly.
‘Mm yes, Ilya’
The nurse gave Shane a confused look but then shook her head.
‘I think you misunderstood, you need someone to take you home. A friend or family’
‘Ilya. Rozanov’, Shane confirmed, adding the last name in a sing-song voice.
‘He will be back. We were supposed to be together this evening’
The woman in front of Shane raised an eyebrow at her patient but she refrained from asking any questions.
‘I think Mr. Rozanov has left the hospital. Isn’t there someone else you can stay with? One of your own teammates maybe?’
Shane shook his head slowly.
‘Nope. Just Ilya’
Then Shane tilted his head knowingly, his eyes twinkling with both fondness and smugness.
‘He might not seem like it, but Ilya is very good at making someone feel better’
Shane grinned widely, like he was very proud of himself.
The nurse listened warily to the drowsy hockey player and it took all her years of professional training to not read into that last sentence too much. Shane Hollander had apparently decided that everything was settled because he was now staring at her in anticipation.
The woman sighed, exasperated. Her day was far too busy to coddle stubborn, secretive hockey players.
‘I will see if I can catch him for you’
She put her clipboard aside and strode hastily out of hospital room.
-
Ilya was already crossing the parking lot when he heard someone calling his name: ‘Mr. Rozanov!’
He turned around and saw Shane’s nurse beckoning him. He quickly walked up to her, worried. Was she going to berate him for joking about smothering her star patient with a pillow? If so, she would have done it already. Something had to be wrong. Ilya’s heartbeat picked up.
‘Is Shane alright?’
‘Yes but-‘
The nurse looked around to see if no one was listening and leaned closer to Ilya.
‘I think you better come with me’
That didn’t calm Ilya the slightest. He was fairly sure that he didn’t want to know what Hollander could have possibly said for the woman to look as apologetic as she did.
During their walk back to Shane’s room, the nurse briefed him. Ilya opened the door carefully. He peeked inside to see Shane looking back at him in delight and walked over to the other player. Shane smiled happily and waved.
‘You came back’
Ilya didn’t waste any time. The sooner he got out of here, the better. It was a very bad idea to stay here and risk Shane running his mouth. Again.
‘I will send message from your phone to Hayden. Only thing you have to do is unlock screen’
Shane’s face fell.
‘Wait, are you leaving again?’
‘Hollander-‘, he said warningly but Shane interrupted him, either not hearing Ilya or choosing to ignore him.
‘We didn’t even kiss’, he whispers, avoiding eyecontact. Shane is staring at the floor, frowning, like he knows this is important somehow, but he forgot why.
Ilya freezes, very aware of the nurse standing behind them.
Shane has his eyes closed now but Ilya sees his bottom lip tremble slightly.
‘You left me. And we didn’t even kiss’
Ilya glanced panicked at the nurse who pretended to be busy writing something down on the files. He prayed that it wasn’t something about him.
‘Hollander- Shane. This is not right place’, he pleaded.
‘Then we go to your place. Take me home’
Ilya didn’t know what to say. Home. Is that what Shane considered Ilya’s place was? Or was it just being with him. He resolutely paid no mind to the annoying fluttering in his stomach.
‘I can’t drive, I have to rest…’, Shane continued in a sad voice and then he sighed deeply.
‘I can only cuddle. With you’
‘Shhh’, Ilya shushed him desperately. He couldn’t be mad at Shane, not really. Not when he was too out of it to notice. That didn’t stop the fear that coursed trough him. The same fear that paralyzed him on the field when Shane got hurt. The fear that someone might find out about them was bigger than the fear of Shane never being able to play again.
It was all for nothing though, because now everyone would find out anyway. He was probably living trough Shane Hollander’s worst nightmare and Ilya knew he was going to have help him trough a panic attack once the strong medication wore off.
Shane held out his hand again but Ilya didn’t take it. He felt torn between pretending he didn’t know why Shane acted that way and comforting him. Ilya turned to the nurse now, who was watching them with a sympathetic look on her face.
Ilya forced an easy smile of his own in order to save them both from the situation. If he didn’t look like someone who was caught, the nurse might actually believe that he wasn’t.
‘Medication is strong, no? He does not recognize me. Confuses me with someone else’
Thankfully, the woman nodded gently, but then added in a stern tone: ‘Mr. Rozanov, I am a nurse. I have sworn secrecy when I took on this job. Everything that is said within these walls, stays within these walls. Don’t worry. Just take good care of him, alright? You will need to get mediation against nausea. Mr. Hollander needs to take pain killers every four hours and keep him hydrated. He will need light meals and keep the room mostly dark’
Something about her tone made Ilya believe this woman. His hands trembled with relief. He would have to hold his breath for the upcoming days but he already had a feeling that there wouldn’t be anything in the news about them.
And even if it did happen, they could blame this whole ordeal on the drugs. It was very unlikely that anyone would believe that Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander were secret lovers. Which they actually weren’t, not really. For some reason, that thought filled him with a sadness he didn’t understand. What did it matter what the world thought?
Ilya nodded gratefully and walked over to Shane to take his hand once more and rubbed his knuckles with his thumb in a soothing manner.
‘Okay. You can come with me’
Shane pulled Ilya’s hand to his face and placed a sloppy kiss there.
‘Shhh. Careful’, Ilya admonished him.
He knew that Shane’s team had already visited him and the press would talk to them for more info. He could take Shane with him, keep an eye on the man and make sure he rested, which w quite the challenge for Ilya’s favourite rival.
‘Thank you’, he said to the nurse and he really meant it.
She smiled again.
‘No, thank you sir. The best of luck’
Then she left and Ilya started packing Shane’s belongings.