Work Text:
March 2018
Shane receives a message.
Rose: hey im outside
Shane smiles at the message pausing his task of dishes before buzzing Rose in. Rose and him had a tradition where once every other month they would hang out for a night drinking and catching each other up on their hectic lives. Rose more than Shane but still, he looked forward to these nights. Him and Rose would laugh into the night watching bad movies that always made him cringe, but also made him feel normal.
Rose walks in the home, the warm air hitting her face, a stark difference between the cold from outside. She slips her boots off leaving them on the shoe rack next to some sandals that she'd seen more recently these past few months. Her feet touched the hard wood floor, the cold biting through her socks. She hung her heavy coat making her feel lighter.
As she turned to the kitchen following the noise of dishes being washed and a slight humming, she spotted Shane. The man had his flannel sleeves rolled up as he was just finishing up the dishes. The flannel which she had seen him in multiple times always looked slightly bigger compared to his other clothes, he had been wearing much more casual clothes recently which was better than his usual athletic clothing.
“Shane!” she said in a sing-song voice. She was excited to see the man as she barely ever had enough time in her schedule to just relax for a night. She walked forward leaning against the counters waiting for him to finish the dishes.
“Hey.” he glanced over to her as he washed the final cup in the sink. He finally turned, giving her his full attention before giving her a hug. He always missed her when they didn't see each other, even if they did keep in contact. She was everything his other friends weren't and most importantly she was the only person besides his parents and Ilya who knew he was gay.
︵‿︵𓅰 𓅬 𓅭 𓅮 𓅯‿︵‿
As they settled on a movie to watch they chatted, just small talk, catching up on what the other had missed while apart. They drank wine and ate pizza that he knew he’d feel guilty about eating when he was alone. For now however, the little voice in his head was quiet. As they kept talking, the topic of relationships came up.
The redhead groaned thinking about her last couple of dates and recalling how they went. “I'm telling you I think the universe hates me!” Her head snapped up as she talked. Shane just listened as the wine started to settle. Her descriptions of the guys weren't the most pleasant. As she continued to talk his mind kept drifting to Ilya. The way he wished he was with him sitting, hugging him, watching the movie that very quickly became background noise. He remembered how sad the Russian had sounded when shane had told him he wouldn't be able to call him tonight. “Малыш, I finally got a room to myself.” He whined over the phone.
“Shane, are you listening?” Rose snapped her fingers pulling Shane out of his thoughts.
“Hmm, sorry.” Shane shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Most alcohol made him lose his train of thoughts fast, one of the many reasons he abstained from drinking regularly.
As she kept talking she turned the attention to Shane “So… are you seeing any guys?” She asked cautiously, almost like she was approaching a fawn on the side of the road.
Shane felt his face flush with the mixture of alcohol and embarrassment settling in his stomach. He gulped, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. The redhead looked worried but didn't want to push. Without words Shane nodded, like he was scared she was going to bite. She smiled softly and Shane felt relief as he relaxed his muscles he didn't even know were tense.
Rose grabbed his hands softly, reassuring. “I’m glad, you deserve it.” She tilted her head with a crooked smile. “Now you don't have to tell me who but…” Shane smiled at the thought of her knowing, but he knew that was something he should talk about with Ilya.
“I can't tell you his name but maybe I can describe him…” He shrugged awkwardly, his freckles scrunched as he cringed at his words. Pink was still creeping up his neck with embarrassment and happiness.
“Oh, I know!” She shrieked as she jumped up. “Let's play 20 questions!” She was visibly tipsy as she wobbled like the floor was opening underneath her.
Shane giggled awkwardly at the suggestion “umm, okay.” He turned to face her looking up as she excitedly started thinking.
“Do I know him?”
“Personally no, but you've definitely heard of him.”
She giggled as she thought about her next question.
“Is he famous?”
“Yes.”
“Actor?”
“No.”
“Singer?”
“No.”
He could see her thinking, her gears turning as she thought.
“Is he… a hockey player?” She whispered the last bit, like she was scared to know.
Shane nodded as he blushed.
“Oh my god!” She giggled like crazy
“Shut up!” he groaned as he fell back on the couch, his hands rubbing his face. “Do we keep going?” He peeked through his hands to look at her.
Rose nodded seriously like she was about to crack the case of who Shane was fucking.
The thought of telling Rose he was in a relationship with Ilya made him queasy. He felt happy for a second before he started to panic. Wait, he should ask Ilya if this is okay, right? If he can even share this with Rose. Fuck what time is it? He reached for his phone. The time read 11:27 pm. “I’ll be back.” He told Rose absent-mindedly as he walked off.
︵‿︵𓅰 𓅬 𓅭 𓅮 𓅯‿︵‿
He was in his bedroom pacing as the phone rang. He wondered if Ilya would get mad. Had he spilled too much to Rose? “Fuck.” he muttered under his breath. Why did he drink so much? He should have never nodded. He had been too brave. The alcohol made him nauseous and more anxious than normal.
After the fifth ring he heard the call connect and a tired man answered. “Shane?” The Russians accent sounded rougher than usual. The usually sweet voice was raspy and tired. His boyfriend's voice brought him back to reality. He finally felt like he could feel the ground and breath.
“Hey baby, did I wake you?” Shane was now more worried about waking up his poor boyfriend.
Ilya groaned in response. “No, no is okay.” Shane heard rustling on the other end of the phone before Ilya sounded more clearer. “Everything okay?” He sounded worried which warmed Shane's heart. Just hearing his voice made him smile.
“Yeah, yeah.” Everything was okay. Shane had just been overthinking everything. He sighed, “Actually, I need to ask you something.” As Shane relaxed he realized his lip started to bleed a bit. He had a habit of biting his lip involuntarily when he got nervous. He ran his tongue across the marks where he bit down too hard.
“What is it моя любовь?” Ilya sounded worried. Who wouldn’t worry if their boyfriend called them at night for no reason? Shane bit his lip, the stinging from previous cuts giving him something to focus on as he wondered how he was supposed to ask. “Wait, aren't you supposed to be with Rose?” Ilya interrupted Shane's train of thought.
Shane was getting nervous again, his stomach feeling like it was twisting itself dry. He let out a shaky breath. “Can I tell Rose about us?” He talked before he was able to overthink it, his voice sounded smaller than he wished.
A silence fell between the calls, no one answering. Their breathing became the loudest thing they could hear. After a couple moments Shane could hear Ilya laughing softly, If it wasn't Ilya he'd think he was being made fun of. “Shane, breath is okay.” Ilya took deep breaths making sure Shane copied. As Shane's breathing slowly became more level, Ilya kept talking. The sound of the Russians' voice was soothing. “You are okay, yes?”
Shane nodded before realizing Ilya couldn't see him. “Yes, I'm fine.”
“Yes, Shane, you can tell Rose about us.” Ilya's voice came through softly as he gave Shane permission to tell Rose about their relationship. Shane felt relief fill his body as he slumped forward, his vision blurring and his eyebrows furrowed. He had been holding back tears without noticing. He laughed more to himself than anything, his nose scrunching as he wiped his tears before they could fall. Ilya’s voice cut through the line. “Shane малыш, can I go to bed now?” Shane smiled at the simple request.
“Yes, thank you.”
︵‿︵𓅰 𓅬 𓅭 𓅮 𓅯‿︵‿
One month later
Rose walks into the house. A bottle of Russian vodka in hand. The house was louder than usual, a thicker voice coming from the kitchen. She toes of her shoes, the shoe rack messier than usual flooding with sandals and slippers. She smiled knowing the only person he would let do that to his tidy space would be the person he loves. She rounds the corner, she sees the Russian hugging Shane from behind as he continues the dishes. A smile spreads across her face seeing her friend happy, carefree for once.
She sets the bottle of vodka down on the counter, taking them out of the world they create when together. “Hey guys!” she beamed at them.
They both turned smiling like children getting caught stealing a cookie when they realized they weren’t alone anymore. Rose laughed at their reaction. It was cute how they reverted back to younger versions of themselves when together.