Work Text:
May 2030
Ilya inched the car forward, savoring the last few minutes of his Bad Bunny playlist before he would switch over to the kids’ music. He adjusted his cap, which, these days, was a permanent fixture on his head. He suspected his hair was thinning at the crown, but he hadn’t asked Shane to confirm that yet. Shane would definitely not be able to lie to him, and he wasn’t ready to face a reality in which his once luscious curls were not as voluminous as they had been when he was young.
He inched the car forward again and waved at Jenna and Laura picking up their kid, one of Kaya’s classmates. There were several other queer parents who sent their kids to this daycare. Before they had enrolled Kaya and June, Ilya hadn’t realized parenting could be so queer. And as a dad waiting in the carpool line, he felt like he belonged almost more than he ever had on a rink. He loved this daycare, even if the pickup line was horrifically inefficient. At least he got to spend time with his tunes in his electric Mercedes G-wagen…
Ilya was bopping his head to the beat when the song abruptly cut out. The console screen glowed. Call from Cliff–
“Marley!” Ilya said excitedly, immediately accepting the call.
“Roz! My man! What are you doing right now?”
“If I tell you, you will not believe me.”
“Now you have to tell me, Roz. Wait-Let me guess... Sandwiched between five hot chicks at a club?” Cliff joked.
“If the hot chicks are lesbian moms, and the club is the pickup line at my kids’ daycare, you are correct.”
“Oh man! That makes sense, I guess. How are Kaya and June doing?”
“They are great! So great! How’s Benji? And Sonia?”
“Benji’s great! Sonia and I are good! Yeah, yeah… thanks for asking.” There was a beat of silence.
“Benji is coming back to camp this summer, right?” Ilya asked.
“Yes! Benji’s super excited. That’s actually what I called to talk to you about.”
Ilya waited. He’d seen Benji Marleau's registration for the week they’d be holding the camp in Ottawa. Benji had attended the previous summer and he’d shown great promise as a developing player. His skating prowess, accurate passes, and willingness to help the other kids quickly made him popular with the other campers, most of whom were local, but Cliff and Sonia had traveled from Boston to stay the week in Ottawa so Benji could attend.
Ilya had been a bit surprised to learn that Benji would be returning this year. The Irina Foundation hockey camp was far from a skills development program. They functioned more as a low-key, games-oriented environment for young kids to try hockey and a way for parents to get a reprieve from childcare during the long summer break. For a nine-year-old with quickly advancing skills, a lot of parents–including Cliff and Sonia, he figured–would be pushing their kid towards more serious training opportunities, the first step on the way to becoming a competitive hockey player. It was clear to Ilya and Shane that, even at his young age, Benji was likely to have a promising future at a Division I school or possibly the MLH draft if he had the right training. And as Cliff Marleau’s son, he’d have no shortage of resources and knowledge to help him on his way.
“Yeah, so we just wanted to give you a heads up…” Cliff continued, but his mouth sounded a bit dry, “that, uh, Benji has come out to us as nonbinary…” Cliff’s tone rose like a question “And Benji’s using they/them pronouns now…," he continued, "We just wanted to check in and make sure that wouldn’t be an issue at camp this summer.”
“Marley! Of course that’s not an issue!”
“Oh, thank God. I didn’t think it would be, but you never know.”
“It will not be an issue at all. We have had nonbinary and trans kids at the camp before. Most years, actually. And one of our coaches is trans. I can give you his number. How is Benji doing with all of this?”
“They’re doing okay. We’re taking it one step at a time. Benji’s not out at school yet, but we’re trying out the new pronouns this summer. Sonia and I have been calling around to give all the summer camps and stuff a heads up.”
“I am glad you are there for them. That is a big step,” Ilya said. “What else can I do to support?”
“Oh man… I’m not totally sure yet, but knowing that camp will be safe for them is a good start. Like I said, we’re seeing how things go this summer, and then we’ll figure out what to do when they go back to school….” Cliff trailed off for a moment, and his tone changed to a quieter, more regretful one. “We think it will be okay, but everything is kind of fucked up here right now, you know? Oh shit, I mean, darn. Your kids aren’t in the car yet, are they?”
Ilya laughed. “Not yet, don’t worry. You are no worse than Shane.”
“I bet! I can’t believe he’s still playing! He looks good though.”
“He is good. But very old. Like a fossil. A very hot fossil.”
Cliff’s surprised laugh burst through the speakers. “Chirping your own husband, Roz! You’re a menace!”
“I am only telling the truth!” Ilya changed back to the subject at hand. “Cliff, you should move to Canada. It might be better for Benji.”
Cliff sighed audibly. “It’s not off the table, it’s just complicated. We’re gonna see how things are at school next year, but I don’t know. Anyway, Roz. I gotta go. I’ve got, like, six more calls to make.”
“Benji’s lucky to have you, Marleau. And Sonia.” Ilya had finally reached the front of the line, and he could see Kaya and June’s teachers walking out with the double stroller.
“We’re doing what we can. And thanks, Roz. Thanks for making this feel a lot easier. You’re a beautician!”
“No problem. See you in July.”
“Can’t wait, man. Say hi to Shane for me.”
* * *
Later, Ilya was perched on a counter stool at the kitchen island. The sun had just set, and he and Shane had settled into their evening routine–Ilya drinking a beer while scrolling Tiktok, and Shane, donning yellow rubber gloves and wrist deep in soap suds, washing the dishes. At the moment, he was attacking a stubborn glob of food stuck to an indestructible plastic bowl.
“I bought those because they are dishwasher safe,” Ilya said.
“Leave me alone,” Shane said absentmindedly.
Ilya chuckled. A message came through from Cliff. It was a picture showing him and Sonia with Benji on a recent trip to New York. Cliff and Sonia were standing proudly next to their growing kid, each of them with one arm around Benji in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. Benji looked like any nine-year-old, dressed in shorts and a sweatshirt, sporting wavy shoulder-length hair and a wide grin. Ilya double tapped to ‘like’ the photo.
“Marleau called me today,” Ilya said.
“Oh?”
“Yes, while I was in the pickup line. He says hi.”
“Is Benji coming back this summer? He was so good last year.”
“Yes, Marleau was letting me know that Benji is nonbinary and will be using they/them pronouns at camp.”
“Oh! Then, they were so good.” Shane said, continuing to scrub the bowl.
“Benji is not out at school yet, but they are trying the new pronouns this summer,” Ilya said, “I guess they are doing a soft launch.” Ilya was pretty sure Shane didn’t know what “soft launch” meant, and he was privately pleased by this.
Ilya went back to Tiktok, scrolling past a few music videos and stopping to watch a compilation of Shane’s recent goals with the Centaurs set to a BTS song. When it was over, Ilya glanced up to admire the real-life Shane Hollander dutifully washing the dishes and looking as hot as ever from a vantage point no one got to enjoy but him. He gazed at Shane’s thirty-nine year-old, yet, still magnificent, round ass wiggling slightly as he scrubbed at the bowl. A much better view than Tiktok, he thought. Ilya’s eyes roamed up his spine, across his broad shoulders to his sinewy, muscular arms, but he frowned when he caught a glimpse of Shane’s taut lips and furrowed brow in the kitchen window.
“Did that bowl do something to offend you?” Ilya asked.
“What? No!”
“Why are you making that face?”
“What face?” Shane met Ilya’s eyes in the blurry reflection. Ilya gave him a questioning look. “I’m just thinking about Benji…” Shane said, sighing.
“We have trans kids at the camp every year. It has never been an issue.”
“Yes, I’m just… I don’t know.” Shane was still scrubbing the bowl, but almost certainly wasn’t any food left on it now. “Fuck! It’s not fucking fair!” Shane said suddenly, dropping the bowl back in the sink.
“What?”
“It’s just that–ugh, I know what it’s like to only get to be, you know, out in the summer. And Benji’s a fucking prodigy! They should be in development camps by now. I mean–if they want to be. And if they’re only coming back to our camp because of all of the bullshit going on…, it’s just not fair that Benji wouldn’t be in formal training.”
“No, it’s not fair,” Ilya agreed. Shane was scowling, and Ilya couldn’t help but prod him, adding, “So… you suddenly care about a kid now that it’s one who’s good at hockey?”
“Oh my God…,” Shane gasped, “I am a horrible person!”
“No you’re not. Don’t talk about my husband that way,” Ilya chided.
Shane angrily peeled off his gloves. He stepped back and folded his forearms on the counter, plunking his head down. “It’s true, I’m horrible…”
“Shane, it was a joke. You care very much about June, and she is terrible at hockey.”
“She’s two, Ilya.”
“She will be three soon, and she can’t skate for her life!”
Shane huffed in response. Ilya got up, reaching out to stroke Shane’s back. “Camp will be good for them. Benji will be okay. Marleau and Sonia are really supportive.”
“Camp is the bare fucking minimum. I’m so fucking pissed right now. We should be doing more. We should have been doing more.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” Shane groaned.
Ilya continued rubbing Shane’s back which seemed to be helping alleviate his sudden existential crisis. “I also gave him Max Riley’s number.”
“That’s good,” Shane paused, and then his horrified eyes returned. “Oh God… I guess since Max didn’t come out until after he retired, I just… I didn’t think about what it must have been like while he was playing hockey. Now I feel even worse….”
“Feeling sorry for yourself is not helping.”
“Fuck! I know. Just let me think for a second.”
“You are allowed to think for more than one second. And we are not doing nothing. It’s important that our camp is a safe place for kids, and that is not nothing,” Ilya said reassuringly. He waited for Shane to look at him before continuing, “I’ve been thinking about this too. This is something we could work on through the foundation. Helping queer and trans kids play sports. Safely.”
"And competitively!" Shane added. "I mean, if they want to...." He paused. "Our foundation is focused on mental health, though…” Ilya waited, lifting his eyebrows as if it might help beam his thoughts into Shane’s head. “Okay, I can see how this would be within the scope,” Shane said weakly, “We won’t have to pivot too much.”
“See? You are not a horrible person.” Ilya smirked. “Listen to yourself... ‘Pivot!' 'Within the scope!’” Ilya mocked, “You are so sexy, Mr. Businessman...”
The corner of Shane’s mouth turned up. “You’re so fucking annoying.”
“Isn’t that why you married me?”
“No, but I do love you so fucking much,” Shane gave a brief smile, before–“Wait, why are you wearing a hat?”