Work Text:
“Please leave, Shane. I don’t want to see you right now.”
Shane shouldn't have left. It’s been two days since he’s spoken to his boyfriend. He’s thousands of miles away on another continent, playing with his new team, not speaking to him. It’s driving Shane insane, but he refuses to be the first to break. Ilya should be back in town this evening and they can speak then.
They’re at JJs house for a team barbecue when everybody’s phones begin going off. Google alerts, twitter alerts, facebook alerts- even Shane’s own phone is blowing up in his pocket. He tries to ignore it until he hears someone’s voice speak up.
“Holy shit, apparently the Centaurs’ plane got fucked up. Says they lost communication and it looks like there’s going to be a crash landing.”
Shane’s heart drops to this stomach. “Wh-what?” he breathes, pulling his phone out. He skims the first article he sees- landing gear failure, it says. Issues with an engine. Emergency crash landing in progress.
“Shane, breathe.” Hayden is by his side in seconds, holding him by his arm. “Come on. I’m driving you, let’s go.”
“Where are you two going? We haven’t even eaten,” JJ frowns. “Give it like ten minutes.”
“Shane isn’t feeling good, sorry,” Hayden calls out, leading Shane to the gate. “We’ll try to make the next one!”
“Hayden, his phone is going straight to voicemail,” Shane whispers once they’re in the car. “What if something happened? What if he’s not okay?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. Text your mom, let her know we’re on the way. It’s like half an hour to the airport.” Hayden keeps the music off as he pulls out onto the road. “Keep trying to get ahold of Ilya. His phone may be dead, or it could be broken.”
“We haven’t spoken since before his flight left. We got into a fight because he asked if I would choose him over hockey. I’m so stupid, why didn’t I just say yes- of course he’s more important than hockey, what was I thinking-”
“Please don’t spiral, buddy, it’s going to be okay,” Hayden interrupts him. “Check the news. They’ll be updating.”
Shane nods jerkily and opens instagram to check if there’s an update. He notices a few DMs and almost ignores them, but opens them at the last second. His stomach churns immediately. There are three messages from Ilya, all sent within the last twenty minutes.
You are the best thing in my life.
I love you. Always. Maybe from the first time I saw you.
I am thinking only about you right now. A million memories. Thank you for those. Whatever happens, I am with you. Safe in your heart. I believe it.
“Oh my god,” Shane whimpers, “I’m gonna be sick. Hayden. Fuck!”
“Whoa whoa, what’s happening?”
“Ilya messaged me on instagram. He’s- fuck, the plane must be going down. He’s messaging me goodbye!”
Hayden grips the steering wheel tighter. “Let’s not-”
Shane makes a wounded noise. “Hayden, the plane- the plane went down. Crash landing. Ambulances on scene. Confirmed injuries. Hayden, we have to get there!”
“I’m driving, buddy, I’m- shit!” Hayden hits the breaks as traffic comes to a complete stand still. They’re still a ten minute drive from the airport. “I see police trying to redirect. Shane, I don’t think we’re getting any closer. I can see smoke, we’re stuck.”
“Then park the fucking car, Hayden.” Shane unbuckles and has the door open before Hayden has even pulled all the way over. He’s out on his feet and running within seconds.
“Shane, wait up!”
Shane doesn’t slow down. He runs, his eyes burning with tears as his calves scream in protest. He finally lets the tears fall as the memories begin flashing through his head.
“Ilya Rozanov? I’m Shane Hollander,” he smiles, holding his hand out. “Wanted to introduce myself.”
Ilya looks him up and down as he takes a drag of his cigarette. “Okay.”
Shane lets his hand fall as his smile fades. “I, uh- I don’t think you’re supposed to smoke here.”
Shane almost wants to laugh at himself for their first conversation. He’s sure Ilya knew he wasn't supposed to smoke there- he just didn’t care. He wishes he would’ve said literally anything else.
“What room are you in?”
Shane looks up and sees Ilya standing there in nothing but a towel low on his waist. He tries not to stare at the deep V line leading under Ilya’s towel. “Um. F-fourteen ten,” he stammers.
“And if I was to come to fourteen ten at 9pm?” Ilya smirks.
“I might open.”
“I might knock.”
Their first hookup. Shane remembers it in perfect detail- the way he dropped down to his knees immediately, and the way he embarrassed himself by coming within seconds of getting Ilya’s mouth on him.
He keeps running. His lungs burn. He can hear Hayden panting behind him as he tries to keep up. The crowd gets harder to get through the closer they get to the airport.
“We have to find where to go,” Hayden breathes. “Do you know where the hangar is?”
Shane just nods in response.
“I think I like you, more than I should.”
“You don’t like me.”
Shane should have laughed in Ilya’s face at that.
“Ya tebya lyublyu,” Ilya whispers into Shane’s neck, trailing kisses across his skin, their hips rocking together. “I love you. I can’t believe you’re mine.”
“Yours, all yours,” Shane gasps softly. “Fuck, Ilya. Don’t stop, I love you so much. So fucking much.”
Every I love you whispered against skin. Every moment hidden away from the public. Every second wrapped in Ilya’s arms. All of these memories replay in his head over and over and over until he’s finally standing in front of the fence. He can see the plane on the ground ahead of him. It’s sitting at an awkward angle, no landing gear in sight, smoke billowing out of the engines. He can’t see anybody he recognizes.
“Sir, you have to stay back,” a cop tells him, trying to usher him back.
“No, no- my boyfriend is in there somewhere, I have to go!” Shane desperately tries to go around the cop, scanning the area as best he can. “Please!”
The cop gently pushes Shane back. “Sir, I’m afraid I can’t let you in.”
“Please-”
“Shane!” Harris comes running over. “They’re with us, we need them.” He grabs Shane and Hayden’s arms to drag them past security without giving them time to object. “I- I don’t know where Ilya is, I haven’t even found Troy yet. There’s so much smoke and chaos- some ambulances have already left.”
“Fuck.” Shane rubs his face roughly. “I can’t track his phone, last location is the airport before the plane took off. His phone is going straight to voicemail, but he messaged me on instagram. I can’t get ahold of him! I don’t even know if he wants to see me. We had a fight.”
“I have my phone, I’ll call you if I see him before you do,” Harris promises. “Go, look for him. Fight or no fight, he needs you right now, I know that for sure.”
Shane nods a little and looks around. “Fuck,” he breathes, taking off running again. His mouth feels like cotton. His entire body hurts from how long he’s been running.
“I officially live in Canada now,” Ilya grins, backing Shane against the wall. “I have a brand new home to have sex in every room. Have to make it feel like home.”
“Oh my god, you’re insufferable,” Shane laughs. “My parents will be here any minute. I can’t traumatize them- dad already had to see you grabbing my ass.”
Ilya groans dramatically. “My boyfriend is so mean!”
“Yes, oh so mean because I won’t let you fuck me in the kitchen when my parents are on their way for dinner.”
The memories aren’t helping distract him anymore. He comes to a stop, hands on his knees, dry heaving as he tries to catch his breath. He doesn’t think he can keep running like this. Hayden isn’t even behind him anymore. He feels like he’s going to pass out-
“Shane!”
The world moves in slow motion as Shane turns to find the voice that he calls his home. “Ilya!” Shane finds a second wind. He takes off running again, this time with Ilya in his sight, and throws himself at his boyfriend’s chest. “I’m so sorry! I’m so fucking sorry, Ilya, I choose you! Of course I choose you, always!”
“Shane, you’re here,” Ilya breathes, hugging Shane tightly. “Sweetheart. I’m sorry, we should not have fought, I should not have ignored your texts.”
“Don’t worry about that right now.” Shane pulls back just enough to cup Ilya’s cheeks. “I love you so fucking much. I will choose you, every single time.”
Ilya seems mostly unharmed- he’s visibly shaken, and he has a small cut on his forehead. “Hit the seat in front of me when the plane landed,” he explains. “We hit the ground very hard. There was smoke everywhere, I was so scared.”
“I can imagine, I’m so sorry I didn’t see your messages when you still had your phone in your hand.” Shane rests their foreheads together. “I thought I lost you. I showed up and I saw all the smoke- we had to park 10 minutes away.”
“We?”
“Hayden. We were at JJ’s for a team thing when the news broke,” Shane whispers. “He drove me here, but everything was shut down. We got out and ran the rest of the way here. Harris got us past security.”
“No wonder you are all sweaty,” Ilya teases gently, pushing Shane’s hair off his forehead. “I am okay. Medic already looked at me. I was just trying to find everybody.”
“Let’s go back and find Harris.”
Shane keeps Ilya’s hand in his. He doesn’t care about the press, he’s sure a video of him finding Ilya will be all over the internet within hours. He can see Harris making his way over with Troy and Hayden.
Shane turns toward Ilya suddenly. “Marry me,” he blurts out, watching Ilya’s eyes widen. “I-I have a ring, at home. I do. I was waiting for the right moment to ask, and I honestly don’t even know if this is it, but this has made me realize how fucking lucky I am to have you in my life and I don’t want to lose you. I want you, forever. I’d pick you over and over, always.”
“Of course I’ll marry you, Shane, I love you,” Ilya whispers. “I will always pick you, too.”
“Glad to see you’re okay,” Hayden nods, giving Ilya a small smile.
Ilya doesn’t have anything sarcastic to say. “Yes. Thank you for getting Shane here quickly, I needed him.”
“Bood had to be taken to the hospital for a broken wrist, but everybody else has been released by the medics,” Harris explains. “Coach wants us all to ride to the rink together. Shane, you’re welcome to come. Hayden, too.”
“Thanks, but I’m gonna go home and hug my wife,” Hayden laughs softly. “And my kids. I need to see them after all of this.”
“Thank you for bringing me.” Shane steps forward and gives Hayden a hug. “I’ll text you later, okay?”
“Course, Shane. Go spend time with your man.”
Later that night, when they’re curled up in Shane’s childhood bed (Yuna had insisted they stay with them that night), there’s a shiny new ring on Ilya’s finger. Shane goes through some of the photos he’s taken of them. He picks one showing them holding hands at lunch earlier that day.
ShaneHollander: I choose you, every single day @IlyaRozanov. I love you.
