Work Text:
January 2017
Cliff Marlow considered himself to be a strong hockey player, one who looked adversity in the face and tackled it head-on. He was on the first-line on one of the league's best hockey teams, with a Stanley Cup win under his belt, and had nothing to fear.
Except his captain, Ilya Rozanov, of course.
Rozanov, who had just finished barking an hour of non-stop punishing orders on the ice. Their morning practice had been brutal and long—their captain seemingly taking out his frustration on their team with bag skates, suicide sprints and an endless amount of laps around the ice. Marlow was currently in the locker room shucking off his gear, but he could hear the moans and groans coming from the other guys. Rozanov, as had been his pattern these past few weeks, had already stormed out of the locker room as soon as practice ended. The captain had, however, stopped to share some small praise to the team for a good practice before he left, but it lacked Rozanov’s usual flair and energy. It sounded as hollow as Rozanov had looked, face drawn and weary like he had the weight of something crushing down on him.
Marlow had clocked this change in Rozanov a couple of weeks back, but by now the rest of the team could tell something was seriously bothering their captain, and they had taken to adjusting around Rozanov’s moods. It felt like the team was walking on eggshells whenever their captain was around and it was getting harder to contain their concern. It had started with a private group chat:
Rozy Support Group
Carmichael: Okay, we seriously need to do something
St-Simon: About Roz???
Connors: About damn time, I can’t feel my legs these days 😭
Marlow: What do you mean??
Carmichael: Wdym what do you mean?? Cap has been torturing us every day since the Hollandry Incident
St-Simon: If I have to do one more bag skate I will literally drop dead. It was nice knowing all of you 😩
Marlow: …the what incident??
Connors: C’mon Marly, you can’t tell us you didn’t notice Roz’s reaction when we showed him that headline of Hollander dating Rose Landry dating? Our boy was practically seething.
Carmichael: Pretty sure he left workout early to cry after
St-Simon: Wait, what the fuck is Hollandry though??
Connors: The ship name for Rose Landry and Shane Hollander, bro, keep up
Connors: Obviously not as good as Hollanov though 😌
Marlow: …wait, you all know??
Carmichael: That our boy is mad in love with Hollander? Yeah we do.
Marlow: WHAT! HOW?? I thought I was the only one who knew!!
Carmichael: Cap hasn’t been subtle, Marly. He literally always left to see him whenever we played Montreal or they came to Boston
St-Simon: Plus he was always grinning at his phone and texting Jane?? Shane, Jane, be so for real 😭
Connors: I was grabbing ice in a hotel hallway a couple years ago and literally watched Roz tip toe from the elevator straight into Hollander’s room…like they weren’t slick at all
Marlow: …
Marlow: I’ve been stressing this WHOLE time trying to keep this secret to myself and all you assholes already knew 💀
Carmichael: Sorry bro, we didn’t ever mention it because it wasn’t a big deal y’know? We figured Roz would tell us when he was ready, but…
Marlow: The Hollandry Incident?
St-Simon: Yup…
Carmichael: So back to my original message, what’re we gonna do to cheer our captain up?? Because we can’t go on this way, he’s pissed *cough* heartbroken *cough* all the time and we’re suffering and our games are suffering too
Connors: What if we get them back together??
Marlow: We can’t homewreck Hollander’s new relationship bro
Connors: No I swear the streets are saying they broke up 👀
St-Simon: SOURCE??
Connors: …I have my ways, just trust
Carmichael: Okay…so say we believe Connors’ incredibly suspicious source and Hollander’s single again, how would we even get them back together?? We have no idea why they even broke up!!
Marlow: Wait, I think I have an idea
St-Simon: LET’S GO! NO MORE BAG SKATES!
Marlow: Hold on, let me cook. I’ll report back
[Marlow has left the chat]
Hammersmith: Wait, Roz is in love with Hollander? I thought he was jealous because he had a celebrity crush on that Rose chick…
***
Five hours away in another city, Hayden Pike was limping off the ice after another brutal practice. He would never say it to Shane, his best bud who lived and breathed hockey, but he couldn’t wait for the All-Stars weekend in a couple weeks, when the best of the best would go to compete and Hayden could take a couple days off to relax with his wife and children.
Hayden liked to play hockey, and he believed he was a good player despite the chirps from a specific cocky asshole player, but he was okay with not being invited to the All-Stars if it meant getting a break from the ice and the practices and, specifically, Shane’s particular brand of practice.
Lately, Shane had seemed to have a one-track mind focused entirely on destroying himself and the team on the ice. He had always been intense when it came to hockey, so much so that Hayden had made it his mission to get Shane to take breaks, like hanging out with him or Jackie or the boys, but he had been particularly withdrawn and razor-focused ever since their last game against Boston, when he had seemingly broken up with Lily, aka the cocky asshole player that always chirped Hayden on the ice.
Look, Hayden wasn’t an idiot. Sure, he was sometimes oblivious, and maybe he should’ve noticed earlier, but Shane had always been so secretive when it came to his Boston Lily. But Hayden would’ve had to be blind not to notice the way Shane looked at the Russian player when he thought no one else was looking. And sure, his microexpressions were subtle, but Hayden had spent enough time around Shane to know that he only ever had that look about him when he was texting Lily.
Plus the dick pic was a pretty strong giveaway. Hayden hadn’t had confirmation though, until his best friend stumbled back to the hotel that day in Boston, where he had clearly been crying and wearing different clothes than the ones he left in, and Hayden had clocked the Russian letters on the t-shirt tag.
So Shane was dating? hooking up with? seeing Ilya Rozanov of the Boston Raiders? And it suddenly ended? Hayden could imagine how difficult that must’ve been for someone as soft-hearted as Shane and launched himself into supportive friend mode.
So when Shane suddenly started dating Rose Landry, Hayden continued to be encouraging, despite thinking it was a bit quick and out of character for his best friend. Now, after a couple weeks, Hayden could tell Shane didn’t feel for the gorgeous movie star the way he felt for Rozanov. Shane had been smiling less, texting less, and seemed to revert back to hockey being his only source of comfort. Hayden also knew that this had to be wearing on Shane, but he was stuck on how to help him. Until he received a text from Cliff Marlow of all people.
Unknown Number
Marlow: Hey Pike, this is Cliff Marlow
Pike: Marlow?? What do you want??
Pike: And how did you get my number???
Marlow: Chill, I just want to talk to you. And I asked the Boston WAGs group chat, one of the wives knows one of the wives in Montreal and they very graciously passed along your number 😁
Pike: …okay, so what do you want??
Marlow: Right, look, there’s no easy way to say this but
Marlow: I want our captains to kiss and make up
Pike: HUH???? You know
Pike: I mean
Pike: What do you mean?? 👀
Marlow: I know you know Pike, Roz and Hollander haven’t been as stealthy as they think, and you’re Shane’s best friend right? That’s how I knew with Rozy
Pike: Holy shit, I can’t believe you know! I thought I was the only one who knew! It’s been eating me alive keeping it in!
Pike: Also there was DEFINITELY a better way to start this conversation 💀 What if I didn’t know??
Marlow: Pike istg half the league probably knows 😭 At least half of the Boston boys know, and I feel you because I thought it was just me guarding this secret the whole time ffs
Pike: YOUR TEAM KNOWS??? Holy shit.
Marlow: Right? So back to the point - our team was talking and we need to do something to get Roz and Hollander back together. Idk about you, but Roz has been drilling us into the ground and if he’s not yelling at us he looks like he’s one second away from bursting into tears
Pike: …man, I never thought I’d feel for Rozanov. But same, it’s been rough over here. I think Shane thinks he’s doing a good job of hiding it, but it’s clear he’s torn up about the whole Boston Lily thing
Marlow: WAIT Boston Lily?? I can’t with these idiots 😭
Pike: ???
Marlow: Shane is saved as Montreal Jane in Roz’s phone
Pike: 🤦♂️🤦♂️ I can’t believe I didn’t realize this sooner
Marlow: I take back what I said about half the league knowing…
Marlow: The whole league probably knows atp
***
Hayden and Marlow continued to text throughout the day, and it was honestly validating to have someone to talk to who knew about Shane and Rozanov. Hayden was interested to hear that Rozanov, who outwardly seemed so collected and stoic, was actually more of a softie than he let on.
Hayden felt a small pang in his heart thinking about these two idiots and how they both seemed to be miserable—Rozanov seemingly drowning in jealousy while Shane was probably experiencing a mix of denial and anxiety about the whole thing.
Hayden: I have an idea. Can we talk with your team?
Marlow answered almost immediately.
Rozy Support Group
[Marlow added Hayden Pike to the Rozy Support Group chat]
Marlow: Pls share with the class
St-Simon: 👀
Connors: Hi Pike!
Carmichael: Hello 👀👀
Pike: Wtf is the name of this chat??
Pike: Nevermind
Pike: I think I have an idea of how we can get Shane and Rozanov back together
St-Simon: 👀
St-Simon: Wait I already used that emoji
St-Simon: 🫣🧐
Pike: Have any of you ever seen High School Musical?
Connors: What kind of question is that 😭 It’s literally one of the most iconic movies ever
St-Simon: Yeah Pike, idk how they do it in Montreal but over here we have taste 🥱
Carmichael: My wife makes me duet Breaking Free with her in the car
Carmichael: And I absolutely crush it thank you very much
Pike: …
Pike: Anyways, y’know that one scene where Troy and his basketball team are in the locker room and Chad whips out the laptop and webcam and starts recording him?? And Gabriella hears it all and then kinda breaks up with him??
St-Simon: Wait can we talk about how Troy didn’t notice a whole ass laptop flipping open and webcam pointed in his direction 😭
Marlow: And how is this supposed to help, Pike?? Our captains are already broken up and we want them back together
Pike: LISTEN
Pike: Both Shane and Rozanov have been secretly (??) sneaking around for years and haven’t told any of us, their closest friends and teammates. Clearly there’s some communication issues going on
Pike: And I have a feeling both are stubborn or scared or whatever else that’s keeping them from just TALKING it out
Marlow: So we’re going to make them talk it out?? Without them knowing they’re talking because they would stubbornly refuse to do it or would be afraid to otherwise??
Pike: 😎😎
Carmichael: Genius. I’ll get the equipment set up!
St-Simon: I’ll help because I’ll be damned if we make it as obvious as it was in the movie 💀
Connors: LET’S GO WILD CATS
Marlow: …
Pike: …
Hammersmith: So I suppose I need to watch this movie first?
***
Ilya tugged his jacket closer to his chest to ward off the chilly January wind. He was making his way to the Raider’s practice facility for what he hoped would be another grueling practice that would distract him from the thoughts of a certain hockey player that he couldn’t seem to escape.
Not only was the Metros captain everywhere online recently, but Ilya couldn’t stop thinking about those freckles across his cheeks, his warm brown eyes, and the earnest little smile on his face the last time they were together.
And then Shane had run away. And proceeded to get together with a famous movie star girlfriend. And Ilya had been spiraling in a never-ending cloud of jealousy and regret and longing ever since.
When Ilya entered the locker room, he was pulled out of his thoughts by an odd sight: his team crowding around his stall, whispering in hushed tones and then all of them jerking their heads up when the door clanged open, as if they were not expecting him.
Never mind the fact that Ilya was usually the first to arrive as captain, which would mean his team had intentionally shown up earlier in order to what? What was going on?
“What is the problem?” Ilya raised a pointed brow. Some of the players looked fidgety and the way they were all silent was making Ilya suspicious.
Marlow finally broke the silence, stepping slightly forward from the group.
“Roz, we wanted to talk to you.” He raised his hands slightly in a placating gesture, one Ilya recognized when his alternate planned to break bad news to someone in the gentlest way.
Ilya was not in the mood for more breaking news after the last time. Still, he waited, brows still raised in question.
Marlow took a deep breath before saying, “We want to talk to you about Montreal Jane, who we know is Shane Hollander.”
Ilya’s mind detonated, his feet tripping over themselves and causing him to stumble backwards slightly.
Fuck, he thought. Any hope of playing it off disappeared thanks to how his body just betrayed him.
***
In Montreal, Hayden was fighting the urge to slam his head into the wall. Marlow was so fucking bad at bringing up sensitive topics! Who chose him to take the lead on this conversation?? Hayden certainly wouldn’t have.
Across the table from him sat the man Marlow had just bluntly called out. Shane had gone pale, his eyes wide and hands gripping the edges of the table. Hayden could tell Shane was only seconds away from a full blown panic attack.
Marlow you fucking idiot, Hayden cursed internally. His part of the plan had gone smoothly up until that point. Invite himself over to Shane’s house under the guise of catching up. Pretend to pull up a movie on his laptop. By the time Shane knew what was going on his curiosity would get the better of him and he would listen to what Rozanov was confessing.
Hayden hadn’t expected Marlow to jump right into it though, jeez! He thought Marlow would just bring up Montreal Jane and let Shane read between the lines.
“Hey, hey, Shane,” Hayden started in his most soothing voice he used when attempting to calm down his children. Shane’s eyes flew to his, panicked and shining with unshed tears. Fuck!
“It’s okay, bud.” Hayden rounded the table slowly so as to not spook Shane further, and gingerly wrapped his arms around the other man. “Everything’s fine, I’m not going anywhere.”
Before Shane could gather his thoughts enough to respond, a loud accented voice cut through the quiet, echoing from the laptop. Hayden and Shane watched the screen as Ilya seemed to regain his footing, his face quickly shifting from shock to one of forced indifference, his tone making a valiant effort to be nonchalant.
“You know nothing,” Rozanov said, and it would’ve sounded believable, had his tone unfortunately not contradicted his initial reaction and the fear that flitted across his expression before he shuttered it away. Beside him, Hayden could feel the way Shane had stilled at the sound of Rozanov’s voice. He still looked like he was one wrong move away from crumpling, but his watery eyes were glued with intense focus on the screen where Marlow, god help them all, was opening his mouth again.
“Roz, it’s okay. We wanted to talk to you because we care about you and want to see you happy. If Shane Hollander makes you happy, you deserve it.” A pause, Marlow seeming to choose his words carefully. “We’ve known that you two were together for a long time and nothing has changed for us. You’re still our captain and a part of our family, and we will support both of you no matter what.”
Silence. From both the captain on the screen and the one sitting beside him. Hayden was shocked. Good fucking job, Marlow, he thought with dizzying relief.
Rozanov also appeared to be stunned by the man’s words, but he snapped out of it and looked at his team, his eyes tracing across their faces cautiously at first and, then, hopefully and, finally, maybe a little shyly.
“I-,” Ilya started, his voice a little thick as he struggled to contain his emotions. “Thank you for-,” he stopped. He tried again. “That means a lot. From all of you.” He swept his eyes across his team again, noticing how Connors was beaming at him and St-Simon and Carmichael were clutching each others’ biceps like they were giving each other emotional support for this conversation—this revelation.
Ilya couldn’t believe that his team knew about him and Shane. All his life, Ilya had been afraid. Afraid of his father’s disappointment, of what would happen to him in Russia if they found out, of how his career would be destroyed if his team or the league found out. But looking at his team mates, his family, and how they all looked at him with kindness and warmth and respect, Ilya suddenly didn’t feel as afraid. And not nearly as alone.
He cleared his throat. “Um, when did you all know?” He looked away shyly. “I mean, I thought I did a good job being, what is the word…discreet?” At this, the room suddenly exploded, with all the Boston guys shouting over top one another.
Someone yelled, “Connors literally saw you sneaking down the hall like you were in some spy movie and entering Hollander’s hotel room!”
“We were also in the same room when you were making googly eyes at Shane when he lifted the Stanley Cup the second time! You ain’t slick, Rozy!”
More laughs erupted from the group, switching to awws and gentle ribbing when their captain, who swore he never did this, started blushing, his cheeks and ears pinkening even as he started chuckling with the others.
Eventually, the noise died down and Marlow, who was already on a roll, cinched the success of the plan by asking Rozanov, “So, what’re we going to do to get your man back?”
Ilya froze at first, his expression darkening slightly. But, buoyed by the newfound support from his team, he felt like being honest for once.
“I do not know,” Ilya admitted softly. “He is dating Rose Landry and I do not know if he even thinks about me anymore.” Another pause. “Not the way I think about him.”
Marlow leaned in further, sensing an openness to his captain that he had never seen before. “And what do you think about him?”
Ilya took a steadying breath, his thoughts flickering through his memories of Shane like his favourite comfort film. His shy smile, his brown doe eyes, his weak backhand, the way he looked at Ilya, especially when he thought Ilya wasn’t looking. But he was. He was always looking right back.
“I think I love him.” No shocked gasps from the team. They already knew, and were just waiting for their two idiot captains to figure it out themselves.
Ilya continued, like a lock had been released and all of his emotions came pouring out. “I love him so much and I don’t know what to do with it. I have loved him, probably since I first met him…and I want to be with him.” Ilya’s resolve strengthened as he spoke, as if his confidence came from speaking these words out loud for the first time.
“It drives me crazy that Rose Landry can give him everything I cannot, but maybe…maybe I can?” He looked up at the team surrounding him hopefully.
“I mean, now that you all know, have known, and are supportive, maybe it would not be so bad?” Marlow smiled reassuringly in agreement, and he could feel the enthusiasm from the boys behind him. St-Simon even punched his fist in the air for good measure, earning a chuckle from the group.
“I do not know how I will win back my Shane…,” Ilya sighed, but his resolve remained strong. “But I know that the next time I see him, I will be honest. And I will tell him I love him. And even if he does not love me back, I will pray to my mama each night that I can continue to love him for as long as I can.”
“Ilya,” a sudden sob punctured the air, the voice so achingly familiar it stopped Ilya in place. “I love you too.”
Everyone in the locker room turned, their eyes catching on a screen that had been tucked inside a gym bag with only the camera peeking out the top. The screen had blended so seamlessly with the black bag that Ilya would never have guessed it to be there. While Ilya had been distracted, St-Simon had pulled the laptop farther out and unmuted the video chat. There, Shane was staring back at Ilya, his eyes glossy and tears silently streaming down his face.
Shane, who had perhaps heard everything Ilya had just said. But rather than shock or fear on his beautiful face, Shane was smiling wide, if not a bit wobbly through his tears, at Ilya, his hand coming up as if to touch the screen where Ilya was still rooted in disbelief.
Silently, St-Simon pulled the laptop all the way out and handed it to Ilya. All at once, the rest of the players started filing out of the locker room, shooting happy smiles to Ilya as they passed. And if Carmichael was rubbing errant tears out of his eyes, that was no one’s business but his own.
“Ilya,” Shane wailed again, his emotions overcoming him as his tears glistened on his freckled cheeks, capturing the Boston captain’s attention entirely. “I love you,” he repeated. As if Ilya did not hear him the first time. As if Ilya’s life hadn’t been irrevocably changed.
“Ya tebya lyublyu,” Ilya breathed out. “I love you so much, Shane.” And then Ilya burst into tears as well. For a while, both men could only look at each other through the laptop screen, tracing every contour they had missed in the weeks apart, until finally their tears dried out and their confessions came back to the forefront.
“Ilya,” Shane started, seemingly unable to stop saying his first name now that the dam had been broken. “There’s so much I want to say to you. But I want you to know that I want to be with you too. So much it scares me. But I’m not afraid anymore.” Ilya felt the tight vice around his heart finally loosen for the first time since Shane left all those weeks ago. He gave Shane a bright smile that the other man couldn’t help but return, his gaze going fond.
“I also need you to know that Rose and I are over. We weren’t compatible at all.” Shane looked at Ilya steadily, hoping to pour as much conviction into his voice as possible. Ilya had put his entire heart out on the line in front of his team, unknowing that Shane was listening to every word, and now Shane could do the same. “Not in the way that you and I are. It will always be you for me, no one else.”
Ilya released a shaky breath at Shane’s words. He didn’t know how much he needed to hear them, hear Shane’s unwavering faith in them, in him, until now.
“Ya tebya lyublyu,” Ilya repeated, because what else needed to be said?
***
Rozy Support Group
St-Simon: Hooooly shit boys
Connors: We fucking did it!!
Carmichael: My allergies are acting up so badly wtf
Marlow: Sure buddy, although I almost shed a tear too, that was so damn sweet
Pike: I know I don’t know Rozanov that well, but damn who knew he was such a romantic??
St-Simon: Only for your captain though
Pike: Which makes it even crazier. Dare I say I’m happy that it’s him??
Pike: Shane deserves the best and I’m glad it’s Rozanov
[Marlow took a screenshot of the chat]
Marlow: Once Roz is out of his feels he’s gonna love this
Pike: Fuck you, Marlow
Pike: But also good work
Carmichael: Good job Marly
Connors: Best alternate in the league 🤩
Pike: HEY I’M RIGHT HERE
St-Simon: Couldn’t have done it without BOTH of you
Pike: Damn straight
***
Hammersmith: Why did no one tell me practice was cancelled today? And why has Roz been in the locker room giggling to himself for the past 30 minutes??