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It starts with an invitation that arrives by mail.
Shane Hollander is sorting through the pile of mail with the precision that he always has. It’s mostly just advertisements and letters from insurance companies, but one envelope sticks out in particular; it’s hot pink and covered with glitter and stickers. In messy handwriting, it’s addressed to Uncle Ilya and Uncle Shane.
A bright smile appears on Shane’s face. He knows exactly who sent him the hot pink envelope.
“Did someone get a love letter?” His husband, and God does Shane love the fact that he can say husband now, Ilya Rozanov, decides to make his appearance at that moment as Shane starts to open the envelope. Shane knows Ilya’s just teasing him, but that doesn’t mean Ilya doesn't get jealous, which actually happens on way too many occasions.
“It’s not a love letter,” Shane reassures, voice firm. He shows the envelope to Ilya, the latter grinning now as well.
“Ah, is from our nieces.” Ilya’s watching Shane open the envelope, and they read the content inside together. “Looks like we have birthday party to go to next month.”
Shane, for once, is quite excited to attend an event where he doesn’t have to hide his relationship with Ilya. It’s only been a few weeks since he married the man he’s been in a situationship with for almost 10 years. Shane can still remember their wedding night with all of their close friends and teammates. It felt like a huge weight had finally been lifted off his chest; there will be no more hiding and lying to the people around him.
It’s also the summer right before he will start playing for his new team, the Ottawa Centaurs. Even though it hurt him to leave the Montreal Voyageurs the way that he did, Shane is excited to start his new life, playing hockey with the love of his life by his side. Of course, telling Hayden and JJ, his best friends and now former teammates, was a shock to both of them, but they understood that it had to be done; there was no more room in the Montreal Voyageurs for Shane Hollander. However, they all promised that they would get together whenever they could, even if it’s during the season and things got hectic.
So now that it’s a Friday morning with just a few more weeks left in the summer before the season begins, Shane’s not really that surprised when he gets an invitation to his best friend’s daughter’s birthday party.
And this time, Shane can finally attend an event where he’s the proud husband of Ilya Rozanov.
The invitation tells them that they don’t have to bring anything except their dog, Anya, of course. However, Shane knows that Ilya won’t be able to resist buying gifts for the twins. He loves the girls, and they love him. Shane’s not surprised at all because he’s seen how amazing Ilya is with kids, and he can't imagine how excited his husband is to be invited to such a special event. Shane can probably argue that this birthday party will be more exciting than the MHL awards for Ilya.
Ilya already has his car keys in hand while he's putting on his shoes. Shane looks at him and asks, "Where are you going?"
Ilya holds up the keys and gives them a pointed shake, like the answer should be obvious. "To go shopping, of course. You coming?"
"Now? But we have a month before their birthday!"
"Da? And? Never too late to start. Come on."
Shane rolls his eyes, but he grabs his shoes anyway.
***
The day of the birthday party arrives shortly.
Shane’s driving their good, old, reliable Jeep, and he has to slow down as he approaches Hayden’s house. There are a bunch of cars parked on the street. After finding parking and turning the engine off, Shane doesn’t realize he’s actually quite nervous. This will be one of his and Ilya’s first events together as a married couple.
Ilya, his sweet and observant husband, immediately notices. He always notices these things. Ilya gently places his hand on Shane’s cheek and starts rubbing it with his thumb. “You okay?”
Shane sighs, and he finally admits, “A little nervous.”
“Is okay,” Ilya reassures with no trace of judgment at all. “I will be by your side the whole time.”
Shane looks at Ilya and gives a small smile. He still can’t believe he snatched this beautiful man. God, what did he do to deserve Ilya? “Thank you.”
Ilya then ruffles Shane’s hair, leans over, and presses a tender kiss on his lips. Shane instantly feels himself melt into the gesture. “I love you, Ilya.”
“I love you too, Shane,” Ilya says adoringly.
Shane steps out of the car first, and he can immediately hear the laughter of children from Hayden’s backyard. Ilya hangs back for a minute as he gets Anya’s leash on. He hands the leash over to Shane before grabbing more things from the car.
Ilya’s hands are full with bags filled with the twins’ gifts. Shane insists on helping his husband hold some bags, but Ilya simply declines Shane’s offer, stating that he deserves nothing but princess treatment. Shane just rolls his eyes after that response, but he can’t help the blush forming on his face.
“Shane! Rozanov!” Hayden greets them from his front door. “You guys made it!” His best friend takes one look at the gift bags that Ilya’s holding. “Whoa, did you guys buy the entire toy store in Ottawa?”
“You can almost say that.” Shane chuckles as he shakes his former teammate’s hand. They’re gestured into the house, and Hayden shows Ilya where to put the gifts. Hayden doesn’t forget to give Anya a pat on the head.
“Drinks are in the kitchen. Help yourselves,” Hayden says. “Food will arrive shortly. I’m glad you guys were able to bring Anya. The twins have been dying to see her.”
“I thought they were excited to see us.” Ilya tries to sound offended.
“Yeah, well, they’ve been begging me and Jackie for a dog after finally seeing Anya.”
“You guys should get one,” Shane says, ginger ale already in his hand after his husband had grabbed one for him from the kitchen. He unhooks the leash from Anya’s collar, allowing her to freely roam around. She seems to have noticed all the fun was happening in the backyard and began to run in that direction.
“Yeah, we’re considering it after seeing how adorable Anya is. I’m surprised she’s so well behaved despite being trained by your husband,” Hayden jokes, but he falters a little when Shane sends a glare at him.
“Hey, be nice to my husband.” Shane knows Hayden means well, but he really wishes people would stop seeing Ilya as some kind of demon sent from Hell. Although he will admit that Ilya does make it hard for some people to believe that he’s actually a big softie inside. Ilya told him it doesn’t matter what other people think, because the only opinions that matter to him are the Hollander’s.
“You should listen to your former captain,” Ilya declares, wrapping an arm around Shane’s shoulder.
“Ugh.” Hayden pouts. “Don’t even remind me. I can’t believe you’re leaving me and JJ to go to Ottawa. Ottawa’s gonna be a powerhouse now that they got you two on the same team.”
“Sorry, Hayd.” Shane just shrugs, not actually apologetic after how the Montreal Voyageurs treated him after his relationship with Ilya had been exposed. Though he will have a little sympathy for his best friends.
“Do not worry, Pike. Ottawa and I will take good care of Shane,” Ilya says determinately. It’s clear from Ilya’s tone that he still can’t forgive Montreal for treating his husband the way they did after everything Shane has done for the franchise.
Hayden raises his hands in defense. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I can always count on Rozanov setting the city on fire if it means defending Shane.”
Shane simply smiles because Hayden’s just saying the truth. His husband would go as far as to set an entire city on fire. Hell, he wouldn’t hesitate to set an entire country on fire.
“Uncle Ilya! Uncle Shane!” Jade and Ruby shriek in sync as they run up to their favorite uncles.
Ilya’s already bending down to hug the girls. “Happy birthday, kiddos!”
“Did you bring Anya?” Jade wonders, eyes already wandering, searching for the dog.
“Of course!” Ilya points outside, towards the backyard. “She just ran outside.”
Jade’s eyes literally sparkle. She’s about to take off with Ruby when Hayden stops them. “Hey, girls, that’s no way to act, especially when Uncle Ilya has brought you gifts.”
The little girls’ eyes widen. “Thank you, Uncle Ilya!” They give him another bear hug at the same time.
“That’s more like it,” Hayden says. “Alright, now go hang out with your friends outside.”
“Where is Jackie?” Ilya asks. “We have wine for her.”
“Aw, geez, you guys didn’t have to,” Hayden says.
“Ilya insisted,” Shane replies casually.
“Buddy, you better watch out, or your husband will become Jackie’s favorite.”
“I already am the favorite,” Ilya deadpans.
Hayden rolls his eyes. Shane doesn’t miss the twitch in his lips, though.
After Shane and Ilya have their things set, and Ilya retrieves a beer from the kitchen, they make their way outside, where a group of kids is playing, and the adults are chatting amongst themselves.
Suddenly, Hayden’s phone starts ringing. “Oh, shit, I gotta take this.”
Shane just nods. Ilya spots Jackie in the crowd and beckons them to greet the other host. “Hi, Jackie.” Ilya waves.
“Ilya! Shane!” Jackie puts her glass of wine down and hugs the two of them. “So glad you guys could make it. The girls were so excited to see you two!”
“Yes, yes, we were excited to see them as well,” Ilya says. “We brought wine for you, by the way. Your husband put it in the wine cooler. Make sure he doesn’t drink it all.”
Jackie giggles. “He wouldn’t dare.”
Hayden returns shortly after his phone call. “Hey, honey,” he says quite urgently. “We got a small problem.”
“What’s the problem?” she questions worriedly.
“Um… the clown we hired said he’s running a few minutes late.”
Shane, somehow, hears his husband’s breath hitch. He looks at Ilya and sees the latter’s face look just a little bit paler from five seconds ago. “Ilya?” he whispers, but Ilya doesn’t notice; he doesn’t even seem to be in the moment.
If Shane has a look of worry on his face, he’s currently trying to conceal it. He’s not really paying attention to what Hayden and Jackie are saying because his sole focus is on his husband.
Ilya finally manages to mutter, “Did you guys just say a clown is coming?”
Hayden looks at him. “Yeah, dude. You know, the thing with the red nose, white paint–”
“Yes, I know what clown is, Pike.” Ilya hisses, clearly a little bit agitated, but he doesn’t say anything else after that.
Afterwards, Shane and Ilya manage to meander themselves into the crowd, chatting with the random adults who are at the party with their kids. Some of the adults were hockey fans themselves and asked for him and Ilya to sign their jerseys. Shane did so nonhesitantly, but he can see the way Ilya keeps looking at the backyard entrance, as if he’s waiting for someone to arrive.
Shane’s really trying not to let the worry on his face show because he doesn’t want to bring any unwanted attention to Ilya.
After signing some jerseys, Shane pulls Ilya aside, where no one can really see or hear them. “Ilya, are you okay?” he wraps his hands around Ilya’s. His husband is glancing down and not at him. It’s clear that he’s worried about something because Ilya is usually so confident; his deep blue eyes always manage to capture Shane’s attention, but this time, his eyes are looking anywhere but at Shane's.
Shane takes his hands and then gently places them on Ilya’s face, trying to get his husband to look at him. Ilya attempts to pull away, but he fails as Shane has a strong grip on him. “Ilya?”
Finally, Ilya caves in. He looks at Shane, and there’s a look of shame, and if Shane guesses, embarrassment? “I have confession,” he admits, his voice trembling.
“What is it?” Shane gulps. Now he’s really worried. He’s wondering if maybe coming to the party was a bad idea. Maybe Ilya was reconsidering coming out as his husband to the party. Maybe Ilya’s already considering divorce. Shane’s mind is reeling, but the next thing Ilya says almost catches him completely off guard.
“I am scared,” Ilya whispers, and he looks around again as if something’s about to pop out from the bush and scare them. “Of clown.”
Oh.
Oooooooh.
Well, that makes sense now that Shane thinks about it. He remembers the look on his husband’s face when Hayden mentioned a clown.
Relieved knowing that his husband does not want to divorce him, Shane allows himself to smile gently. “I didn’t know that about you.”
“Hm, is not something that we talk about.”
“How bad is it?” Shane can’t help but ask. Ilya looks confused with his brows furrowed, so Shane clarifies, “I mean… is the fear real?”
Ilya takes a minute to respond, but Shane is all too patient with his husband. “Is real,” he confirms. “My brother…” Ilya continues, and Shane grits his teeth at the mention of the despicable human being. “He would force me to watch that clown movie. Um… the one where the clown is in sewer?”
“It?” Shane wonders because, yeah, that would make a lot of fucking sense. He internally curses at Ilya’s brother. It’s horrible to think about Alexei forcing his younger brother to watch a horror movie without knowing what he was getting into.
“Yes, is that one,” Ilya confirms, his body shuddering. “This fear… is stupid.”
Shane can’t stop himself from enveloping his husband in his arms. “It’s not stupid, Ilya. It’s a real fear. Your brother had no right to show you that movie, especially when you were so young and you didn’t know.”
Ilya nods slowly into the crook of Shane’s neck. He brings his hands up and wraps them around Shane’s waist.
They stay like that for a minute, body to body, and Shane hesitates when he has to let go because they’re expected to be present at a birthday party. Ilya lets out a shaky breath. “I will stay by your side,” Shane reassures his husband, voice firm. “I won’t leave you, okay?”
Ilya gives a weak nod. “Okay.”
“I love you so much, Ilya.” Shane has to say it. He really, really does love his husband so damn much.
“I love you too, moya lyubov,” Ilya whispers, but it’s just enough that Shane can still hear it, and he smiles.
They share a quick kiss, relishing in that moment when Shane hears Hayden exclaim loudly, “Kids, the clown’s here!”
Okay, time to go into protective mode. Shane tries his best to block the view of the clown from his husband’s eyesight, even though they’re both relatively the same size. They’re walking back towards the party. All the kids have their attention on the clown now.
“Hello, kids!” the clown smiles, red, crimson lips curling upwards, and he honks his absurdly loud horn.
Shane feels Ilya’s body go tense. He’s grateful no one’s paying attention to them now. All eyes are on the clown as he begins making balloon animals.
The clown then eyes the crowd, looking to see if anyone has any requests for a specific animal. His eyes land on Shane. He points to himself. “M-Me?”
The clown chuckles and points in his direction. “Nope! The person behind you!”
Ilya freezes, like a deer caught in the headlights. He doesn’t say anything. He just bolts straight into the house like he’s avoiding a sniper.
The clown looks a bit startled, but doesn’t linger on it. Instead, he returns his attention to Shane. The latter wants nothing but to follow his husband and make sure he’s okay, but the clown is persistent. He starts waving for Shane to walk up to the front of the crowd.
Great, he really doesn’t want this, but he’s given no choice. He doesn’t want to cause a commotion in Hayden’s backyard. He hopes Ilya will forgive him because Shane can’t see how he will get out of this any time soon.
The clown ends up making balloon accessories for Shane: a crown, a bracelet, and a sword. The kids are all laughing at Shane because he looks like a colorful piñata. He would have laughed along with them if he isn't so worried about Ilya. He continues to eye the crowd, scouting to see if his husband has reappeared, but he hasn’t.
“Now, I will begin making a–”
“Um,” Shane interrupts abruptly. “I have to use the bathroom.”
“Oh!” The clown at least dares to look flustered. “Of course! Well, who would like to be my new assistant?”
All the kids start raising their hands when Shane starts marching towards the house and steps inside. He looks around, but there’s no one in sight. Finally, Shane walks upstairs and sees one of the kids’ mothers waiting outside one of the closed doors. She doesn’t look too happy.
Shane gently approaches her and asks, “Ma’am, um, are you waiting for someone?”
She looks up at him, eyeing him like he’s grown two heads. That’s when Shane realizes he’s still dressed in balloon accessories. Oh well. That’s the last thing he cares about right now. His only focus is on finding his husband.
“I’ve been waiting for the bathroom for 10 minutes now, but whoever’s inside won’t come out.”
After years of media training, Shane has learned how to bite back a sarcastic remark. “There’s another bathroom downstairs.”
She huffs out loud and makes her way to the other bathroom.
Finally, once she’s gone, Shane gingerly knocks on the door. There’s no response. “Ilya?”
“Shane?” came a quiet voice from the other side of the door.
“Ilya, it’s just me.” Shane tries to turn the knob, but it’s locked shut.
“I’m sorry, Shane,” Ilya says. “I can not do this.”
Shane feels his heart breaking. He’s seen Ilya play injured on ice; he’s seen him during the darkest stretches of depression, when there were days that Ilya couldn’t get out of bed; he’s seen him grieving for the mother he once lost. Shane feels like he’s seen his husband through it all.
But this is uncharted territory. He’s never seen Ilya like this before. He’s never seen him so scared of something that he couldn’t just push or skate through.
This is no fear. This is a phobia. A terrible, terrible clown phobia. And it guts Shane that he feels so helpless.
“Ilya, sweetheart,” Shane gently says; he rarely uses that term of endearment, but he feels it’s necessary this time. He’s stopped trying to open the door. He doesn’t want to push or force Ilya too much. He wants Ilya to come out on his own terms. “I know you’re scared, but you need to know that you’re not alone.”
Inside, Shane hears a shaky inhale. “I feel ridiculous.”
“You’re not, Ilya,” Shane murmurs. “You’re scared, and that’s okay. You’re allowed to be scared.”
“I don’t like this, Shane,” Ilya says, voice trembling like it’s on the verge of breaking. “I hate that I am like this.”
Shane feels his heart stop. Oh God, he just wishes he can give his husband a big hug right now. “You’re not like anything. You’re my husband, Ilya, and I love every part of you, even if that part is hiding in a bathroom right now.”
There’s a chuckle on the other side of the door. Shane feels a glimmer of hope.
There’s silence for a few seconds, and Shane thinks Ilya’s about to open the door soon when he hears footsteps coming up.
“Shane?” Hayden is now standing next to him, in front of the bathroom door. If he's looking at him weirdly because he's still dressed in balloon accessories, then he doesn't voice his thoughts out loud. “Is everything okay? Where’s Rozanov?”
Shane sighs and nods his head towards the bathroom door. “He’s in there.”
“Uhhh…” Hayden looks like he’s at a loss for words. “I don’t want to intrude on whatever is going on here, but I got a complaint from someone that there’s someone who’s taking too long in the bathroom. At least I know who’s in there now.”
Shane gives a firm nod, and he doesn’t say anything else. He’s not really sure what to say.
Hayden looks at him, eyes warm yet filled with concern. “Is he okay? I didn’t see him drink much or anything.”
Shane shakes his head. “No… it’s, uh, it’s not that.”
“Huh? Then what’s going on?”
Looking around, Shane makes sure no one is near them. He then grabs Hayden by the arm and takes a few steps away so he knows he’s talking to Hayden in private. “Look, I don’t want to say much, but, uh… Ilya is… he’s scared.”
Hayden snorts. “Rozanov? Scared? I didn't think those two words would ever go together.”
Shane sends his former teammate a glare, almost threateningly. That shuts him up. “Look, he’s scared of the clown.”
Shane can tell Hayden’s trying hard to stifle his laugh. He frowns and continues quickly, “He’s actually really terrified. His brother fucking traumatized him as a kid because he practically forced Ilya to watch ‘It.’ I know you don’t have the best relationship with Ilya, but will you please be nice?”
Hayden’s face suddenly falls. “Oh… oh shit. Okay, yeah, that’s, like, what do they call it? A phobia?”
Shane nods. He’s grateful Hayden no longer thinks this is funny.
“Wait, but I’ll just tell the clown to leave. Easy,” Hayden says, and he’s about to go back downstairs, but Shane grabs his arm again and shakes his head.
“Ilya will feel guilty if he finds out you chased the clown out. He knows how much the twins wanted the clown at their birthday party.”
Hayden sighs, scratching the back of his neck. “So what do we do then? I can’t have him barricaded in my bathroom forever. Jackie will kill me!”
They’re silent for another few seconds. They need to come up with another plan.
Finally, Hayden snaps his fingers. Shane’s not sure if he’ll like whatever’s going to come out of his best friend’s mouth, but he’s willing to listen. “Okay, new plan. We get rid of the clown–”
“Hayden–”
“And I become the clown.”
Shane fights back the urge to say that he’s already a clown for coming up with that plan. “Hayden. No.”
“Hayden YES.”
“Dude, you are…” Shane tries to find the word to describe his friend, but all he can say is, “You are insane.”
“This will work. I promise! Just give me like… ten minutes! Bring Rozanov into the backyard in ten minutes.” Hayden immediately sprints downstairs, plan in action.
Shane stares in disbelief at the spot where his best friend was just standing. Well, it’s too late to stop Hayden from doing whatever he’s about to do.
Shane looks down at his watch. Hayden said ten minutes. Now, he glances back at the bathroom door that’s still locked shut. He has ten minutes to convince Ilya to come out of the bathroom. That should be, hopefully, pretty easy.
***
Shane finally manages to convince Ilya to come out of the bathroom. It only took, like, twenty minutes, which isn’t too bad at all, Shane thinks.
“Shane, where are we going?” Ilya asks him incredulously. Shane’s holding his husband’s hand as he leads them towards the backyard.
“Relax, Ilya, I promise it won’t be bad.” Shane really hopes that whatever Hayden’s preparing won’t scare Ilya to the point where he’ll never want to show his face at Hayden’s house again.
They’re just about to step out when Shane can hear the voices that definitely belong to the kids. They sound like they’re… booing?
Confused and a little bit scared to see what will lie before his eyes, Shane looks through the crowd outside, hands still holding tight onto Ilya’s. That’s when he sees Hayden, standing in front of the crowd of kids, with green paint on his face, a red nose that’s on the verge of falling off, and there he is, attempting to make balloon animals, but they all come out looking like straight sticks.
All in all, he can pass for a botched-up version of the Grinch, with the addition of a bright, red nose.
“Booo!!!” one kid cries out, throwing Hayden a thumbs down.
“You stink!” another kid yells.
But Shane can also hear the giggles among the kids and the laughter erupting from the adults, obviously amused by the comedy show they’re now witnessing.
Hayden attempts to hand one of his failed attempts at a balloon animal to a child sitting in the front, but the child throws it right back at him.
“I don’t want it!” the kid exclaims, but he’s chortling afterwards. Even Ilya stifles a laugh when he sees the commotion.
Shane can see sweat pouring down Hayden’s neck. He can’t blame him when he’s wearing a onesie in the hot summer weather. That’s when he feels his heart swelling. His best friend took the time and effort to get rid of the clown he had hired and dressed himself up as a clown, so Ilya doesn’t have to be afraid.
He doesn’t know how he got so lucky with such an amazing friend.
“Hayden should quit hockey and become full time clown,” Ilya whispers teasingly to Shane. The latter nudges his husband, and they both start chuckling as they watch Hayden’s sad attempt at juggling with three plastic balls, all falling immediately onto his head.
The kids erupt into laughter.
“You’re the worst clown ever!”
Hayden bows dramatically. “Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all afternoon!”
Shane carefully looks at Ilya, patiently waiting. He’s not sure how Ilya feels about all this.
That’s until Ilya starts pursing his lips, smiling. A small, cautious smile. But Shane knows his husband well enough to notice it’s a real one. He breathes a small sigh of relief, his chest loosening.
“You okay?” Shane asks.
Ilya nods, his eyes still focused on Hayden, clearly amused. “Is funny,” he admits. “He looks… ridiculous.”
Shane snorts. “He really does.”
They stand there for another minute, hand in hand, watching Hayden get pelted with balloon animals by a group of very enthusiastic kids. The green paint is melting down his face, and his red nose keeps falling off.
Even Anya is barking happily as she makes it a mission to steal the red nose once and for all.
It’s pure chaos.
But he keeps going.
For Ilya.
Ilya leans in and whispers, voice soft. “He did this? For me?”
“Yeah,” Shane murmurs. “He did.”
Ilya swallows. “I do not deserve friends like this.”
Shane feels his heart clench because deep down, he knows Ilya deserves the fucking world, so he squeezes his hand. “You do, Ilya. You really do.”
Hayden starts scanning the crowd, and his eyes finally land on them. He starts waving frantically. “ROZANOV! HOLLANDER! LOOK WHO'S A PROFESSIONAL CLOWN NOW!”
A balloon snake pops in his hand, startling him. The kids are screaming with laughter, with the adults recording the ridiculousness of it all.
Ilya starts laughing, a real, genuine laughter. Shane feels something inside him melt.
When the food finally comes, Jackie takes over, allowing Hayden to take a break. He immediately jogs over to them, out of breath, face paint completely smeared. “So? How’d I do?”
Ilya gives him a look before he steps forward and pulls Hayden into a sudden, tight hug.
Hayden freezes, body shutting down. “Uh? Rozanov? You good, buddy?”
“Thank you,” Ilya says quietly. “You’re not so bad, Pike.”
Hayden’s eyes widen, then soften. “Oh, uh, yeah. No problem. Anything to help a friend out, right?”
Shane stands aside; his heart has never felt so full. This is everything he could have ever wished for.
When Ilya pulls back, Hayden says, “You know, if you ever need a clown again–”
“No.” Ilya shuts him down immediately.
“Alright, fair enough.”
Shane wraps his arm around Ilya’s waist. “See? You did it. You faced it.”
Ilya frowns. “I did not face clown.”
“You faced Hayden dressed as a clown,” Shane corrects. “Which is arguably worse.”
“Hey!” Hayden exclaims defensively at the same time Ilya huffs a laugh
They share a moment of silence while they watch the chaos of the party when a thought pops into Shane’s mind. “Hayd, what happened to the other clown?”
Hayden shrugs and says casually, “Sent him home with a hundred dollar tip and a cupcake. He bolted right outta here after that.”
Shane chuckles. “Can’t blame him.”
Finally, Ilya looks at Hayden. “You know what, Pike?”
“Hm?”
“You are no longer fifteenth best player in Montreal,” Ilya declares. “You are, maybe, top ten.”
Hayden widens his eyes and puts a fist up in the air like he won the Stanley Cup. “YES!”
Shane examines his friend with amusement.
“A win is a win,” is Hayden’s very valid response.