Chapter Text
It was a boring, average day when Ilya Rozanov got the call that would change his life forever. He was at home, in the process of making breakfast as he made a list of his plans for the day in his head. Shane was in Tampa, the Voyageurs were playing that night, so he had the next two days without his boyfriend which meant he needed to keep busy. There was practice in the evening, but before then he needed to do his laundry, it had been building up the last few days without Shane there to nag about his socks all over the place. He had plans to play video games with Bood before practice, would practice his French with the evil green owl, and he probably needed to call David and catch up.
His friendship with his boyfriend’s father was an interesting one. But one that he loved. Yuna and Shane were incredibly similar, he hadn’t realized it at first, but Shane was all but copy pasted from Yuna, aside from some few attributes he got from his father. It was what made it enjoyable to talk to Yuna, it was comfortable and easy.
David was a good friend, he was everything Ilya had ever wanted in a father. He was kind and patient, he was good with his hands and understood that not all conversations required speaking. He was boring, just like Shane, but there was something about his boring that calmed the racing thoughts in Ilya’s head. So, their weekly calls were nice. They talked about the New Yorker, David told him about some new recipes he was trying out, and Ilya would tell him about his car projects, they made plans to work on things in David’s shop. It was nice, a friendship that Ilya hadn’t realized he had wanted for a very long time. He enjoyed David’s boring, it felt stable.
All of those plans were ruined, though, as his phone rang mid flip of his breakfast omelette. He looked down to find Sveta’s face on the screen and frowned. The two spoke often, typically on their scheduled phone call visits every other week or through text. She was not the type to just call randomly. He quickly answered.
“What’s wrong?” He immediately asked, knowing that his best friend would immediately cut to the chase.
“Lawyers have been trying to get in contact with you. Did not have your number so they called my father who called me. Andrei is dead, so is his wife.”
Ilya was sure his heart had stopped beating.
“Masha?”
“Masha is alive, she is currently at an orphanage in Russia. It was a murder-suicide, a neighbor called the police when they heard the gunshots. Andrei stated in his will that if he died, you were to become Masha’s guardian.”
There was blood pounding in Ilya’s ears now as he mechanically reached out and turned off the stove, moving the half cooked omelette to the back burner. He staggered back, leaning against the island in the middle of his kitchen. His mind was racing as he thought about the implications. He knew it was his brother, knew he had been the one to kill his wife and himself, there was something wrong with the Rozanovs, something broken. It came for their mother and now Andrei, eventually it would come for Ilya too. He was sure of it and that terrified him to no end.
He was to become Masha’s guardian.
“I am in Russia already, was here to meet family. I have called your lawyers and I will start working on getting everything arranged as best as I can but you will have to come to Russia to get her and sign the paperwork.”
There was no question about it. He would fly to Russia, he would find Masha in whatever orphanage they had shoved her in and he would bring her home. Ilya wasn’t sure what he would be walking into, Masha was much younger than him when he lost his mother. She was six now if Ilya’s memory served him well, how did a six-year-old understand grief? What was this going to do to her and how was he going to care for her? He ran a hand over his face and let out a breath.
“Get started on everything as much as they will let you, I will buy a plane ticket now and be there as soon as possible,” Ilya told her before hanging up. He threw his phone on the counter and sunk to a crouch, pressing his fingers into his eyelids, eyes screwed up tight.
His brother was dead. He was to become Masha’s guardian.
Fuck. He needed to call Shane.
Ilya took steadying breaths, focusing as best as he could on trying to calm his racing heart. He had calmed Shane down through many panic attacks, he knew all of the tricks. But nothing seemed to work, not as he felt himself slip into that dark, quiet calm he had not experienced in a very long time. Not since he and Shane had gotten together officially, at least.
He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a loose breath as the calm took over. He stood and grabbed his phone off the counter, letting himself go into autopilot as he called his boyfriend and listened to the phone ring and ring and ring until it eventually went to voicemail.
“Call me, please,” he said in a raspy voice before hanging up. He looked at the time and groaned, there was a very good chance he was at morning practice. Ilya pulled up Pike’s contact and called him only for it to go to voicemail as well.
“Fuck,” he grumbled. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths before he bounded towards his office and swiped his laptop from his desk and went back to the living room. He pulled up flights to Russia and started the process of looking for the earliest ticket he could find and called David.
“Ilya! How are you?” David said after the first ring and Ilya couldn’t hold it in anymore. A sob slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
“My brother is dead,” he said, voice unsteady and raspy as he desperately, desperately tried to pull in his composure. “He and his wife. I cannot get Shane to answer phone. I have to go to Russia.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes with Yuna,” David said, his voice grave. “It’s going to be alright, Son, everything is going to be okay.”
Ilya felt weak, felt pathetic as another sob came out. He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded his head.
“S-see you soon,” he managed to say, voice thick. He hung up and started looking at his computer, scrolling through the flights, hand shaking as he did. He could barely concentrate, mind racing a mile a minute.
He had so much to do. He would bring Masha home, he would raise her as best as he could. He would love her. Ilya had already decided, sometime between realizing that Andrei had the same illness as their mother and now, he had decided he would break the cycle. He would not die, he would not let that little girl lose another family member.
But now he was stuck with other questions. How was he going to raise a little girl while being a hockey player? He needed to talk to Shane and Yuna, make a game plan for what they were going to do. He wasn’t good at this stuff, at the planning. He had always been someone who was flying by the seat of his pants but this wasn’t something he could just wing. He needed a plan.
Ilya and Shane weren’t out yet, they had just started the foundation together and Ilya was still working to get the Centaurs into a formidable team. To the world he would be seen as a single father while navigating his career.
Could he do it? Would he be forced to retire early to care for his niece? He wasn’t ready for retirement, but he would if it was to take care of Masha.
Mariya Irina Rozanova, the girl he had lovingly called Masha from the moment she was born was worth it all. He would do anything and everything to give her a good life. That was fatherhood, wasn’t it?
The door opened and Ilya glanced at the clock, three minutes. They had made the usual ten minute drive in three minutes. He was almost scared to imagine Yuna’s driving as she got there.
“Oh my sweet boy,” the woman said, wrapping her arms around Ilya’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry Ilya, David told me on our way here. Do you know what happened?”
Ilya pulled away and let out a breath. “Murder suicide. He killed his wife and then himself,” he said, emotionless as he tried to think about everything that was about to change in his life. Everything was changing.
“I am Mariya’s only family, I’m going to get her,” he said. David took his laptop from him and started looking at flights. Yuna held his face in her hands for a brief moment, showing him the love and sympathy he very much needed before she turned into Momager Yuna.
“Okay, first thing we need to do is call Coach Weibe, he needs to know you’ll be taking a leave of absence for the next few weeks while we get life settled down. You will go and get Mariya and we will get things taken care of here. I’ll get her bedroom set up, the guest room across the hall from yours would be good, I think. How old is she? We can start looking at homeschooling programs that way we can get her safely integrated into Canada without overwhelming her. We’ll also start working on how you’ll take care of her during the hockey season. This year it might be a good idea for you to step back from out of town games until we can figure out the best way to take care of her on the road.”
“I need to retire, Yuna. She needs stability.”
Yuna shook her head. “No, you don’t. You have a village here to help you navigate this, Ilya. Shane, David, me, we’re here to help too, you aren’t doing this alone. We can have her travel with you, maybe David or I can start coming to games on the road so that we can stay with her while you play. Or she can stay with us while you’re gone, whatever makes her most comfortable. Do you know how well her English is? I’ve been learning Russian but it’s not the best, I mostly just understand tidbits, David is doing better than I am.”
“I teach him during puzzle days,” Ilya said with a thin smile.
“That’s cheating,” she said with a sigh and stood up. “Have you been able to reach Shane?”
Ilya shook his head. Yuna pursed her lips and nodded and pulled out her phone.
“Theriault? Is Shane at the rink, it’s Yuna,” she waited a few moments. “Please tell him to call me.”
She hung up and smiled at Ilya before she ran her fingers through her graying black hair and let out a breath.
“Okay, there’s a flight at noon, how does that sound?” David asked from his spot beside Ilya. Ilya nodded wordlessly and stood up.
“I need to pack,” he said, voice still rough.
“I’ll help, David, get the ticket ordered.”
With that, Yuna marched Ilya up the stairs and the man was thankful that his mother-in-law was a take charge person. It was exactly what he needed in that moment.
His phone rang as they made it up to his room and he loosened a breath as soon as he saw Shane’s face. The tension in his body eased just slightly.
“Ilya? What’s wrong? What’s going on? Why did Mom call Coach?” Shane rushed out as soon as Ilya answered. Relief spread through Ilya’s body as he sat on his bed and listened to his boyfriend’s voice, his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. Everything was going to be okay.
He loosened a breath and started talking.
“Andrei and his wife died,” he said before explaining the entire situation to the man.
“I’ll be on the next flight—”
“No, Shane, you need to stay in Tampa,” Ilya interrupted. “I am going to be taking leave of absence from hockey for a few weeks, it would look odd if you did too.”
“But you need me, I can’t just—”
“You can, my love. Russia is not safe for us, I will not risk you for my comfort. You would hate Russia anyway.” Ilya looked over at Yuna who was giving him a sad smile. She was already on the phone with Weibe explaining that he would be out for the next few weeks. “Besides, I need you here to set up bedroom for Masha. I do not trust your mother’s tastes.”
“Oh but you trust mine?” Shane asked with a laugh.
“No,” Ilya admitted. “But between the two of you and David, I think can be good."
“Fuck, Ilya,” Shane said, voice getting serious once again. “You know you’re not doing this alone right? Like I’m here for the long haul, we’re going to raise her together.”
Ilya grinned. “I had not even considered that a worry, my love. I know there are parts that you cannot help with until we are out like when I am on road for games. But she will need stability, and I won’t be good parent without you.”
“Definitely not, we’re a team Ilya,” Shane said, voice soft. “Maybe it’s time I put in my request to trade to Ottawa, that way we can live together and raise her together.”
“While I am in Russia, you and Yuna talk out plans, yeah? Let me focus on getting her here, you focus on how we do this. Sound like plan?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Shane said. He was quiet for a heartbeat. “Do you think we’ll be good parents?”
“You will be,” Ilya said with a small smile. “You have perfect parents. I am not so sure how I will be. But she will not lose another family member, I will not let that happen to her.”
“Good, you will be good too,” Shane said quietly. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Ilya said before they said their goodbyes and he hung up.
“Weibe is fine with it, he’s going to have Bood step up for the time being. I’m going to call your agent so that we can get a statement out explaining that you’ll be gone for a few weeks but will be back in no time.”
Ilya smiled. “Thank you, Yuna. For everything,” he said and gave her a tight hug.
She squeezed him tight and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before she pulled away.
“Okay, let’s get you packed,” she said. Ilya nodded and grabbed his suitcase from the closet.
It was a hard time and he was terrified for what the future would hold. But he was happy to know he had his family to rely on.