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"I'm ready"
"... did I miss whole conversation?"
"No I mean- I think I'm ready to come out Ilya."
Shane had been thinking about it for months now. His meticulous planning, theorizing, and doomsday-disaster-prepping had been magnified by a thousand. He finally understood what his mom felt like when she found out about them.
"I've just been thinking.. Scott's out, that died down quick enough anyway.. I don't want to spend my last seasons in the dark- what if we just stop hiding?"
"And make out on street Hollander, what do you mean?"
"I mean we'll just stop being so careful, stop pulling our hands away, stop saying 'no comment' when we're asked about our love lives- I mean if you want to I don't-"
"Fuck Hollander"
Ilya grabbed Shane by the collar and crashed his mouth into his. It was messy, all teeth and tongue, biting, pulling, soothing. It wasn't the first time, and finally Ilya felt like it really wouldn't be the last.
"Is that a yes?"
"Do I need to show you again?"
Ilya dropped to his knees.
-----
The next few days felt like a fever dream, but it was really starting. As they walked just a bit too close-- shoulders brushing, eyes lingering-- to meet Yuna for coffee, Shane felt the peices finally falling into place.
If anyone could approve their gameplan, it was his mom. She'd been preparing for legendary scandals and Hall of Fame inductions since his first little league goal, before he even stood taller than her hip. Once David had walked in on him and Ilya, she'd been ready to back the league into a corner the second they threatened her sons. Anyone who knew anything knew that Yuna Hollander was not the one to fuck with.
-----
It started small. Like, really small. They were at some random fundraiser for the league when Ilya felt a hand at his back as he waited by the bar.
He expected another woman like Mrs. Cadbury, with ten thousand dollars to throw at him and lipstick on her teeth. But the pressure was different, he didn't smell her too-floral, too-expensive perfume. He was enveloped by bergamot and cedar. His Shane.
Sure it was small, but it was the beginning of everything.
-----
Shane was surprised how long it took for people to notice. I mean for god's sake, he had dragged Ilya all over Montreal! Finally, it broke a headline.
Hollander and Rozanov spotted getting cozy in Montreal- just friends??
It wasn't the most convincing of articles but the pictures did their job. They were sharing a booth, with Ilya's hand clutching Shane's. He had his arm around the back of the booth behind his head. And he looked enamored with him.
The speculation started slow. Mostly their fans, but some bigoted conservatives questioning why two men like them would be sitting so damn close.
-----
It finally broke 2 days later. After mild curiosity from most and absolute chaos from the invested fans, someone dropped the most damning evidence yet.
Shane was standing in front of Ilya in a dark corner of some club. You could barely see their faces, but you could see Haas at the bar, Ilya's signature unruly curls, and Shane's shoulder scar where his button-up was falling off the shoulder. And Ilya was absolutely mauling him.
He had a hand on the back of Shane's neck and one pressing his waist into him. Shane's head was tilted enough to see the profile Ilya loved so much through the screen. Ilya always did know how to drive him crazy when he kissed that spot just under his jaw, and it showed in the curve of his lips and the furrow in his brow.
Now, Shane was concerned about how that particular moment had been captured. He was so sure that none of the primal shit would get out, but he supposed Ilya had been tired of waiting for people to notice. If he was being honest, he was too.
He'd expected a big reaction, but he wasn't quite prepared for whatever this was. Comments flooded in through every platform, some supportive and some vaguely embarrassing.
@hollanovinmyheart: I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT
>@shanehollandersstick: How is this even happening.
@hollanderfan2008: So proud of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov! This is a new future for the NHL, proud to be a fan
@matthewtkachuck: Fucking embarrassing for hockey players everywhere. They're supposed to be men
> @ilyuhh81: and men shouldnt be dickless losers but here you fucking are!
@shanespanties: he looks so happy in his arms thats babygirl!!
> @hollzymymanmyman: ilya wants that cookie BAD goddamn..
Every comment was a variation of those. Most were supportive but occasionally there were the trolls, but they would never match either of them in stats anyway. And according to the internet, in hotness, but Shane would never say that.
As Ilya held him that night, he decided the future didn't look so scary anymore.