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1. But Then Perhaps This Is What Lovers Are by RidingonRomance

   Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid  

   • Explicit
   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • M/M
   • Work in Progress

   07 Apr 2026

   Tags

   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
   • Shane Hollander
   • Ilya Rozanov
   • Yuna Hollander
   • David Hollander
   • Scott Hunter (Game Changers)
   • Troy Barrett
   • Friends to Lovers
   • two idiot best friends who love each other so much they become blind
   • squint for rivalry
   • Non-Linear Narrative
   • Mentions of Violence
   • Minor Character Death
   • Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander
   • Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov
   • Soft Shane Hollander
   • Soft Ilya Rozanov
   • Angst and Fluff and Smut
   • and hurt and comfort and whatever else that these two do for each other
   • Idiots in Love
   • Protective Ilya Rozanov
   • Shane Hollander Walks Ilya Rozanov Like A Dog
   • Shane Hollander to the rescue
   • a love so pure that it shouldn't be wasted on some made up rivalry
   • Anal Sex
   • Shane Hollander Cries During Sex
   • Ilya Rozanov Cries
   • but not during sex
   • Character Study

   Summary

   If someone had told Ilya Rozanov two and a half years ago that he would find everything he'd ever wanted in life—affection, understanding, and support—all in one place, and that he wouldn't even have to look too hard for it, he would have laughed that person out of the room, and then followed them to find out how such a reality could possibly exist.

   But as he stands in the guest bedroom of his best friend's parents' cottage, for the first time in life, Ilya is starting to believe that the ghosts in his attic have vacated the premise for good. After all, he has Shane Hollander standing guard at the door.

    

   Or: Ilya Rozanov goes to the cottage in his rookie season with his best friend Shane Hollander, and their friendship strains under the weight of everything they couldn't say out loud to each other.

   A reimagining of Shane and Ilya’s love story, from fresh-faced junior rookies to fast friends to slow-burn lovers. But not that slow, because there is no way these two idiots manage to stay in murky waters for ten whole years.

   The title is taken from Andre Aciman's quote 'Perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. But then perhaps this is what lovers are.'

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   28,194

   Chapters:

   4/8

   Comments:

   20

   Kudos:

   124

   Bookmarks:

   53

   Hits:

   3,331