Work Text:
After spending most of their anniversary seeing just how many times and in how many rooms of the cottage they could get each other off, it was time for Shane and Ilya to take a break and sit by the fire.
It started when Shane woke up early, any thoughts of a morning run interrupted by feeling Ilya half-hard while spooning him, still asleep, and remembering what day it was as the sleep haze lifted. Shane woke Ilya up with a blowjob and Ilya had promptly returned the favor. They fell back asleep right after, and when they awoke for real about two hours later, it was time for properly energetic sex before breakfast. One breakfast and a round of weightlifting later (they had a long-running debate about whether sex counted as training, tentatively resolved as sex fulfilling cardio requirements but not weights unless they were lifting each other), and wouldn't you know it, they both needed a shower. It would just be wasteful to take individual showers, right? Water conservation is important. Never mind that the shared shower definitely took longer than separate ones would have. At least they were both clean.
A round of video games after turned into attempts by both to answer the question "Can you play Mario Kart while giving someone a handjob?" (The answer: yes, but you won't win that particular race. Though the smile of your partner who's just won while getting to third base is almost worth the loss.) Lunch was leftovers from David and Yuna's visit the night before, when they'd taken Anya for the next two nights - all the better to avoid distractions from the very important activities of the day. Shane idly wondered if they would do something after lunch, but Ilya said he needed to go down to the basement to get Shane's anniversary present ready, so Shane took the opportunity to wash the bedsheets from the morning, make the bed with fresh sheets, and do some tidying up. As Shane was wiping down the kitchen counters, Ilya called him down to the basement to show off...
"Is that a sex swing in our basement?"
"Yes. Happy anniversary. We should test it."
So they did. It was structurally sound and able to withstand rigorous activity from two professional athletes. He'd have to leave a good review from wherever Ilya bought it.
The pair ventured back upstairs for a nap on the couch, and when Shane woke up before Ilya, feeling a bit stiff from an awkward sleeping position, he decided going to their home gym for a quick yoga session was a good idea. It had started as a genuine yoga session, but about twenty minutes in, he heard Ilya get up, and wouldn't now be a lovely time to stretch out his hamstrings with downward dog? And it's good to hold that pose for awhile. For instance, just long enough for Ilya to walk by the home gym while trying to find his husband. Totally coincidental.
Fortunately, the cottage had a guest bedroom where the yoga mat could soak in the tub after.
Shane had promised to grill steaks for their anniversary dinner (this time only enough for two very active and hungry people, thank you for asking) and he'd truly thought he and Ilya were done with marital relations at least until bedtime, but then he'd had to put on his glasses to read the recipe for the marinade, and that gave Ilya ideas about what they could do on the kitchen island while the steaks marinated in the fridge. Ideas that would not be deterred by Shane's halfhearted pleas that he'd just cleaned the island countertop earlier today.
Once the steaks were properly marinated, the counter was once again clean, and Shane had grilled steaks and vegetables, he and Ilya ate quietly outside, watching the sun beginning to set over the lake. They held hands during dinner when not cutting up their steaks, both too hungry and tired to speak much. They didn't need to.
"Ilya, I was thinking. Can we get a fire going out here? I think it'd be a nice way to spend the evening. Relaxing."
"Yes, we can have a boring fire. All I can do now is sit and look at it. You have killed me. My dick is now out of commission."
"I know that's not true. You're going to want more later."
"Maybe. I'll do the dishes, you get the fire going."
True to his word, Ilya grabbed the plates and grilling utensils, taking them inside. Shane went to grab firewood, bringing a few logs over to the fire pit, and began lighting the fire. Ilya playfully smacked Shane's ass when he came back out after finishing the dishes, but quickly settled down on the patio couch. Once Shane was satisfied with the fire, he joined Ilya, snuggling up next to his husband and resting his head on Ilya's shoulder. He realized right after that it was probably a strategic error - while he wanted the closeness and touch, he was also worn out, and falling asleep on Ilya was just too easy sometimes.
"Don't let me fall asleep like this. I should keep an eye on the fire."
"Mmmmm. I will try," Ilya responded through a yawn, making himself comfortable against Shane.
Shane pulled out his phone, figuring it would help him stay awake. He'd had his phone on do not disturb for the entire day, not wanting anything except an emergency to interrupt his anniversary day with Ilya, and now was a good time to catch up. There wasn't much. Texts from Hayden, Jackie, and Rose wishing him a happy anniversary, some banter in the Centaurs group chat, David asking if he and Ilya wanted to stay for lunch tomorrow when they picked up Anya. A few emails about upcoming ad shoots and Irina Foundation activities that only needed quick responses.
Shane hadn't realized that Ilya was also scrolling through his phone until he spoke up. "Matheson is retiring."
"Oh. Huh. Well, I guess it was time. He hasn't been the same the past couple of years."
Ilya paused a moment, stretching out his arm, before continuing. "Do you ever think about retiring?"
"Like, now?" Shane was confused. They had only just turned 32 and were still the best players in the league. Why would they retire?
"No. We are still too young and talented and sexy to retire. Just...later. We cannot play hockey forever."
"I don't really think about it much. Part of me wants to plan it out, but it's so hard to imagine what life would look like without hockey. I want to play for a long time."
"You will be like Fernando Alonso, only in hockey. He is getting F1 podiums in his forties. Even older than Scott Hunter. You would know if you ever stayed awake for a whole race."
"Shut up. They're all so early in the morning and you always want to cuddle when they're on. It's your fault."
Ilya laughed, then fell quiet for a moment before continuing. "I want to play longer. Many more years. Win more Cups with you. Keep Ottawa the gayest team in the MLH. But I don't want to play too long."
"What do you mean, too long?"
"You just said about Matheson, he was not the same at the end. Too slow. Too many nagging injuries. Obviously I will not get hurt. Russian machine never breaks."
"Are Russian machines supposed to run on McDonald's? I think that might break you."
"Yes. And vodka. Not like Canadian hockey players that need bird food and ginger ale. We are very efficient."
"You asshole." Thirteen years after their first hookup and two after their wedding, Shane had stopped even trying to hide the affection in his voice when he called Ilya that.
"No, listen. I will be great for a long time. But I do not want to keep playing when I am not. I do not want to hurt my team, cost them too much money to keep me when I am no good. I do not want to look...weak, on the ice."
Shane knew Ilya well enough by now to know how loaded the word "weak" was for him. Before saying anything, Shane straightened up, shifting slightly, then pulled Ilya's head onto his chest and ran his fingers through Ilya's hair, slowly scratching circles in Ilya's scalp. "You wouldn't be weak. Everyone slows down a little with age. You'd still be a great player. Besides, we have to chase each other for the all-time goals record." Shane knew this was bait Ilya could not resist.
"Mmmmm, no, I will break record when I am still in my thirties. Then retire right after. I will be your WAG while you chase my record." Hook, line, and sinker.
"What do you want to do when you retire? Other than being my WAG."
"Being your WAG is very important! I will be the best WAG. Plan parties for all the wives and girlfriends during your road games. Design matching jackets for the playoffs. Host wedding and baby showers."
"...yeah, you actually would be a really good WAG. You'd be much better than me at it. But I'm better at hockey, so it evens out."
"You are not, Shane Hollander." Ilya was smiling again and Shane considered his baiting mission accomplished. "But I want to do other things too, when we retire. I would like to travel. We go to so many cities and we only see arenas and hotels and bars. I want to see more. Talk to people who aren't in hockey. Take you to boring museums."
"They're not boring!"
Ilya laughed. "I will go to F1 races too. See if they let me drive one of the cars. I can be a Ferrari driver after I play hockey and get podiums when I'm old like Alonso."
"No way I'm letting you do that. Too dangerous. You'd crash."
"You never let me have any fun," Ilya pouted. "I want to do more with the Irina Foundation too. Maybe we do more summer camps when we don't have to worry about the next season, add more cities. I could do more fundraisers too. Then I'd get to see you looking pretty in your tux more often."
"That would be nice. The camps and fundraisers part, I mean."
"What about you? What do you want to do when you retire?"
"I...have no idea."
Ilya sat up in surprise. "What do you mean? You don't have things you want to do?"
"I probably do. I just...can't picture it, not playing hockey. Being a hockey player feels like my whole world. If I try to think about life without hockey, my brain just shuts down."
Ilya paused before answering, and Shane thought he looked concerned. "You wouldn't have to give up hockey entirely. We still have the camps. You could coach."
"You've seen me at the camps, Ilya. I'm not that good a coach. You should be the one coaching, or you could be a TV announcer. I don't know what I'd do if I weren't playing."
Shane stood up to poke at the fire, even though the fire didn't really need tending. Ilya waited for Shane to sit back down and make himself comfortable before answering. "I know you will figure something out and become the best at it. You always come up with a plan and you always make yourself good at things. Very annoying to try to keep up with you."
"I guess. I just don't know what it would be."
"You don't have to know right now. You will play until you are 45 and going gray. You will be a very sexy silver fox."
"Would you want to do those things I said? Coach, go on TV?"
"Probably not TV. They would not let me swear or do the best chirps. Would not be fun." Shane laughed and Ilya continued. "Coaching, maybe. I like coaching at the camps. But not right away. Maybe when kids are grown up."
Shane and Ilya had discussed kids before and agreed that they both wanted children, but not while they were both playing hockey. However, they hadn't discussed the details beyond that. "Yeah. I guess that would be a big part of retirement, finally becoming parents."
"Yes. I look up things about adoption sometimes. International adoption would be very hard, most countries will not let gay people adopt children. But in Canada, is no problem."
"Wait. You've been looking up things about adoption?"
"Yes. Not to do anything with it now. Just so we know what to do when we are ready. I do it when you read your boring hockey books, I look up things about adoption so I don't get distracted by how sexy you look in your glasses and interrupt your reading to kiss you."
"And you didn't think to read some more about adoption when I was trying to marinate the steaks earlier and you pushed me onto the kitchen island?"
"Is our anniversary! You cannot deny me my husband in his glasses on our anniversary."
Once the teasing subsided, it dawned on Shane that Ilya had said something far more significant than his approximately ten thousandth appreciation of Shane's reading glasses. "So you want to adopt? Not, like, surrogacy?"
"Yes, I think so. We can talk about it if you want. But I think adoption is what I want. I want to give a home to children who need it the most. I don't want them to be alone."
Of course this was what Ilya wanted. Shane felt a rush of warmth in his chest, overcome with affection for his husband. This tender, loving man who had suffered so much during his own childhood and wanted to make sure other children wouldn't go through what he did. "Yes, I want that too. When we're ready." Shane paused for a moment, then added "You're going to be a great father."
Ilya looked away, and Shane knew he was hiding a tear. "Thank you. So will you."
"You're going to spoil them, though."
"You will be strict boring dad who makes them do their homework and eat vegetables. I will be the fun dad."
Shane shook his head. "You're impossible."
"You love me."
"I do."
"I love you too."
Shane shifted positions and returned his head to Ilya's shoulder. For awhile, the two sat there, arms draped around each other, watching the fire. The night was quiet, with any birds far away. Shane tilted his head up and looked up at the stars - the cottage was the best place to see stars, so far away from the light pollution in Ottawa and all the cities they traveled to. The fire began to dwindle slowly, but tearing himself away from Ilya to add another log felt impossible, like he'd melted into Ilya and the couch. Ilya rested his chin on the top of Shane's head, and his breathing was slow and even enough that Shane wondered if he'd fallen asleep. The idea of sleeping out here, on the couch under the stars, started to sound nice. Shane forced himself to remember that the bugs would come out once the fire died and they would get too cold without a blanket.
Finally, Ilya spoke. "We do not have to worry about retirement. It's a long way away. And when we are finally old like Hunter and retire, we will be together."
"Yeah. If we're together, we can figure the rest out. You want to put the fire out and go inside?"
Ilya leaned back and stretched out his arms. "Yes, good idea. One more round before bed?"
"Always."