Chapter Text
“Are you serious? I feel like I’m seventh wheeling”, Elena complained. Scott was wrapping Kip in a blue scarf, while Rose and Svetlana were giggling near the door. Shane was looking for something in his suitcase, placing a pile of neatly folded clothes on the bed, while Ilya was laughing and mocking his husband.
“Everything neat but you can’t find shit.” Shane looked at him, rolled his eyes and continued his search.
“Guys come on. Shane you can just buy a new hat in the city. And besides, it’s not that cold”, Rose chimed in.
“You’re right, sorry”, Shane muttered and Ilya laughed even more. “Fucking Canadians.”
“Wait, you’re fucking multiple Canadians?”, Svetlana mocked and hid behind Rose, having anticipated the pillow thrown in her direction.
“You’re all insane”, Elena sighed and followed the other girls out of the hotel room. She could hear the guys behind her.
“Do you have the key card?”, Shane asked.
“I’m not idiot”, came the answer and then the door shut close.
The friends left the Four Seasons London through a hidden VIP exit, where their driver was waiting for them. They had planned this trip for weeks now to avoid fans and paparazzi. It was the first time the girls and Kip were able to fly to a different country with the hockey players and they intended to make the most of it. They would spend two days in London, three in Paris and after that they would fly to Italy for the Olympics.
They had debated for quite a while what to do in London. Shane didn’t want to go to a club while Svetlana’s idea of a good night was exploring as many clubs as possible. Ilya had teased Shane, calling him ‘boring’ again, but ultimately sided with his husband. “No need to go to club. I already have partner for night”, he’d concluded with a proud smile. Svetlana had made a gagging noise at that and Elena had snorted in amusement. At the end they’d finally settled on a bar. It was called the STD-Bar and Rose and Ilya were laughing so much at the name that they decided to go there without even checking, what kind of bar it was.
When they entered the bar, the friends were greeted by colorful lights and slightly too loud music. There were a few tables scattered along the walls. The middle of the room reminded them of some kind of fare. Stalls with carnival games completed the look. Multiple people were participating in the games and Elena and her friends noticed most of them as straight couples immediately. Some of them seemed a bit awkward while others were extremely flirtatious. First dates, Elena guessed.
“Okay who wants to drink what?”, Rose asked and after getting everyone’s order she and Svetlana headed to the counter.
The rest of them looked around for a table. They settled on one in the corner of the room, hoping that would allow them at least some privacy. Only one other table in that area seemed to be occupied. Half empty cocktails and two jackets, one black and the other obnoxiously colorful, thrown over the back of the chairs indicated that the people sitting there were currently in the crowd playing one of the games.
After a while Rose and Svetlana returned with beer for Scott and Elena, some sort of fruity cocktail for Kip and Rose, a Ginger Ale for Shane and Vodka for the two Russians. “To the best vacation ever!”, Scott cheered.
Kip laughed and chimed in: “You mean the gayest vacation ever, Babe.”
Scott smiled. “That too, yes.”
After a while of talking Svetlana stood up. “Let’s have some fun, yes?” Kip, Scott, Elena and Ilya followed her to the first game.
Shane sighed. “You can go with them. It’s just a bit too hectic for me.”
“I wanted to talk to you about something actually”, Rose said gently.
“Oh what is it?”, Shane asked his best (ex-girl)friend in anticipation.
Rose contemplated what to say and finally settled on: “You know how Sveta and I have been together for nearly a year now. I think I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but with my job we can’t spend that much time together and I don’t know what to do… How did you and Ilya do it for all these years?”
Shane didn’t know how to react. He was happy that Rose had finally found the right partner (and it was a queer one again. Rose really had a type…). But he knew that it wouldn’t be easy for the girls. Torn between a smile and earnestness he said: “It will be hard and you have to talk about everything if you want it to work out –“ Rose snorted at that. “Shut up”, Shane laughed and continued: “What helped us was reducing the distance and at least for me it was important to have a plan for the future. If it’s long distance for an indefinite amount of time you don’t have a goal to work towards. I don’t know. Maybe that’s the hockey player in me speaking.” Rose thanked Shane, gave him a hug and than they fell into a light conversation filled with a lot of Hollywood gossip.
At some point the people from the table nearby came back. Two tall men sat down. One had curly brown hair and the other was blond. They laughed together and talked to each other quietly. They seamed nervous but not like the first dates in the bar. “The blond one is hot”, Rose whispered to Shane. “I think the other one has nice hair”, Shane mumbled and blushed. Rose wondered how Shane could be married to Ilya and still be so shy about everything to do with his sexuality. “Of course you’d like his hair. He literally has curls”, Rose joked and Shane had the urge to stick his tongue out like a little kid. He was 34 for fucks sake, he scolded himself. But Rose knew how to make him feel carefree and sometimes he wished for a childhood without the pressure of hockey.
At some point the others returned. Ilya had won most of the games and was rubbing it in everyone’s faces. “You have such weak old muscles you can’t even throw ball”, he teased Scott, who rolled his eyes. Scott would never admit it but he had grown fond of the Russian.
“What were you guys talking about”, Svetlana asked playfully and sat down next to her girlfriend.
“Just the usual stuff. You know what insane shit I have to witness on a daily basis in Hollywood”, Rose answered. “And about who of the guys at that table is hotter.” She nodded in the direction of the two men. The brunette one was talking animatedly while the other was nodding along, casually sipping on his cocktail.
“Ok they are both hot and definitely dating”, Elena said after one glace at the guys.
“What?!? There is no way that they are gay or whatever”, Shane whispered as to not let the men know that they were talking about them.
“Says Mr. ‘my girlfriend had to tell me I was gay’ Hollander”, Svetlana grinned. Ilya started laughing hysterically at that.
“No. Is Mr. ‘I only noticed I was gay after fucking best hockey player for seven years” Hollander.”
“Fuck you. And it’s Hollander-Rozanov or are you planning a divorce because my gaydar is bad”, Shane pouted.
“Are you sure they ‘re gay?”, Rose asked skeptically.
“Yes, why? Do you want to have a foursome with them?” Svetlana smirked and gave Rose a quick kiss.
“I think Elena is right. They are one hundred percent dating”, Kip agreed.
Scott nodded at his husband. “The blond one is definitely gay. I’m not sure about the other one, though.”
“Babe, he has a mullet and a hoop earring. What more evidence do you need?”, Kip teased.
“Okay, we make bet. If they are gay for each other Sveta, Kip, Elena and I get to pick where we go next night. If they are straight Shane and Rose can decide. And If at least one of them is gay but they are not dating Hunter gets to choose. I hope that does not happen. I don’t want to visit retirement home”, Ilya proposed his idea. The others voiced their agreement one way or the other.
“And how are we gonna find out who won?”, asked Shane after a short beat of silence.
“Well, we ask them”, Elena said and without waiting for the others she walked up to the two men. “Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys, but I have a question for you”, she started to speak. Both guys tensed a bit but quickly hid it behind practiced smiles. The blonde one even nodded, silently telling her to continue. “Okay so my friends and I”, she pointed to the others staring at her, “were wondering if you two are a couple?” The men seemed shocked at first. They looked at each other, then at Elena’s friends, and suddenly, all hell broke loose.