Work Text:
“Go back upstairs right now and change your shirt. Preferably for one that is not size for your little sister!” Ilya hollered as Stasia stormed up the stairs. “And don’t even think about slamming that door or you’re not going anywhere!”
“Ugghhhhh!” A high-pitched voice bounced around the walls before a door clicked closed.
Ilya looked over at Shane who was covering his face with a book, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hide his laughter.
“Don’t even. You are not allowed to laugh when your daughter is acting like she was raised by carnies.”
“Oh, my daughter? You’re the one that bought her that top.” Shane said grinning.
“Uh, no. I said she could buy school clothes and she tricked me. That top was mixed in with many others that were regular size. Respectable ones.”
“She wears a two-piece swimsuit to the pool, Ilya. Everyone sees her stomach.”
Ilya glared at him. “Why are you on her side? This is betrayal. You were the one that made her buy the one-piece and told her she could only wear two-piece if she got straight A’s. You hate that swimsuit!”
“I’m merely pointing out that your argument doesn’t make sense. Her stomach showing doesn’t matter when you look at it that way.”
“Why must I be bad guy?” Ilya slumped down on the couch next to Shane, leaning over to rest his head on Shane’s shoulder.
“You’re joking, right? I’m always the bad guy. It’s nice to hear her yelling at you for once. Face it, Ilya, your precious princess is growing up and is a…” Shane looked around conspiratorially. “…teenager,” he whispered.
“No. Unacceptable. I refuse to allow it.” Ilya pouted and Shane reached up to stroke his hair, running his fingers through the golden curls at Ilya’s neck.
“If only it were that simple, babe.” Shane angled his head and pressed his lips against his forehead. “And to think, we’ll get to do this all over again in a few years with Amaya.”
“Why do you torment me like this?” Ilya whined as Shane chuckled. “No, we are locking that one up in castle like Rapunzel. Stasia is too late, but we can try again with second one and never let her out of the house.”
“I don’t think you remember that movie. It doesn’t end well for the old lady.” Shane teased, then nudged him. “Alright, Papa, up. Go talk to your daughter and tell her we’ll let her wear that top or she can have coins for arcade games after the movie, but not both.”
“Shane, we do not negotiate with terrorists.” Ilya stood there, his hands on hips.
Shane shook his head and didn’t budge.
“Fine. I will go tell her. I was going to give her money for arcade games anyway. She doesn’t need to know that.”
“I’m actually proud of you. I thought you’d be handling Stasia going on her first date a lot worse than this,” Shane says as he opens his book again on his lap.
“Date? What date? She said she goes to movie with friend, Erin. Blond girl with annoying dad from hockey camp. The one who asks too many questions.”
“No, Aaron. A-a-r-o-n. The boy from school with brown hair and glasses. She worked on that science fair project with him.” Ilya’s eyebrows scrunch up in confusion. “You met him, Ilya. They made that model of a volcano. Ring any bells?”
Ilya stared at Shane, his mouth agape. “She lied to me!”
“She didn’t lie, she told you Aaron. You assumed.”
“Yes, but she is sneaky. I did not know it was A-a-r-o-n with the glasses!” Ilya sank back down onto the couch. “This is awful.”
“Why are you so upset? I thought we agreed she was fine to date as long as she kept her grades up. And of course no late nights.”
“She’s only fifteen! And he wears glasses!”
“Ilya, I know how old our daughter is. We agreed to let her date at fifteen, remember? And what’s your deal with the glasses?” Shane closed the book on his lap again and pushed his glasses up on his nose pointedly.
“Shane. You say all the time that Stasia is just like me, yes?”
“Yes, she is.”
“That she takes after me and has my gar-gre— what’s word? My nature?”
“Gregarious nature.”
“Yes, that. And she is silly and funny.”
“Yes, Ilya. Are you just bragging about yourself now?”
“No, moy lyubov’, think about it. Just like me.” Ilya raised his eyebrows at Shane expectantly. “What is something I love about you?”
“My freckles.”
“Yes, but what is something that I cannot ever resist?”
“Ilya—“
“Shane. I am sucker for your glasses! This is bad news. She likes this Aaron boy and he wears glasses and they will be irresistible to her. We are in big trouble!”
Shane couldn’t help himself. His body physically shook with laughter.
“Fine, I see you do not take me seriously. Well, we are going to this movie with them and you will see. I am right and you will see.”
“So you want to be right? You want us to catch her being irresistibly attracted to his glasses?” Shane grins and shakes his head at Ilya again.
“Come on, go get dressed. Amaya won’t be home from her friend’s house till tomorrow. We will take Stasia to movies and be undercover spies. This is top-secret mission, Shane, I’m serious.” He raised his eyebrows at Shane and waited for him to nod a confirmation that they were in this together. Shane rolled his eyes and nodded. “Good. I’m going upstairs to make sure Stasia has decent clothes on.”
----------
Once Ilya approved of Stasia’s outfit– a black tee that covered her stomach and a pair of jeans– they loaded up in the car.
“Stasia, moya lyubov', your dad informed me you will be meeting up with A-a-ron for this movie, yes?” Ilya asked, craning his neck around to look at Stasia in the backseat.
“Why are you saying it like that, Papa?”
“Don’t ask.” Shane said, catching her eye in the rearview mirror. “Alright, you remember the rules?”
“Yes. Don’t leave the building till you text me that you’re here to pick me up. Text you if I need anything or if I’m feeling uncomfortable. The credit card is only for emergencies and not for extra candy.” Stasia paused for a moment to think. “Oh, and the word no is a complete sentence and I can get up and walk away if Aaron doesn’t listen.”
“Good.” Shane winked at her as they pulled up to the entrance. “Enjoy the movie, sweetie.”
“Yes, enjoy movie,” Ilya said, then under his breath, “you better actually watch the movie.”
Shane gave him a look as Stasia walked toward the entrance door. The door opened and out stepped Aaron, his brown locks a curly mop on top of his head that reminded Shane of Ilya’s curls that enchanted him all those years ago– and that still do when wild and unkempt. Maybe Ilya wasn’t completely wrong to worry, he thought.
Stasia turned and waved goodbye from the door and her dad and papa did their best to not glare as they watched her disappear into the building.
“Okay, let’s park around the corner and wait five minutes, then we go. I bought tickets for the top row online.” Ilya clicked his phone closed and gripped it in his lap.
“So, we’re really doing this?” Shane asked and Ilya just looked at him wide-eyed and adorably worried.
“Yes, Shane. Was plan, don’t back out now.”
“Okay, fine.” He parked the car around the corner under a tree and they sat and waited before making their way inside. Both donned baseball caps and pulled them low over their eyes. They tended to get a lot of attention when they went places together, although they’d been living in this area of Ottawa long enough that they rarely got approached for autographs anymore. Still, they didn’t need heads turning and Stasia spotting them.
They waited in line for popcorn, looking around cautiously every few minutes. Shane had tried to forgo the snacks, insisting they needed to just go straight to their seats, but Ilya had given him a look and so they waited. They made their way to their seats after the theater turned dark and the trailers started. They scanned the rows ahead of them and spotted the pair sitting six rows in front of them.
“What movie are we seeing anyway,” Shane whispered into Ilya’s ear.
“Some movie with robots, I dunno. Looks silly, but I won’t be watching. Someone has to make sure your daughter behaves.”
Shane rolled his eyes and settled into the seat, reaching a hand over to prop it on Ilya’s thigh. He gave a gentle squeeze and Ilya leaned over, his lips puckered for a kiss. Shane pressed his lips to his then said, “This is kinda nice. We haven’t been on a movie date in a while.”
“Yes, is nice. Gimme ‘nother kiss.” They kissed again and then Ilya placed another on Shane’s freckles before he sat back again.
Shane actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit. There weren’t a lot of explosions and the dialogue was decent. They left before it ended, though, so they could be back in the car before the crowds piled out.
Back in the car, Shane asked, “So, how did your surveillance go?”
“Fine, he was very respectable, from what I could see. No kissy kissy. I would have had to break his legs if he had.”
“You can’t go around breaking a teenage boy’s legs, Ilya.”
“Watch me! I will do it. That is my princess.”
Shane leaned over this time, “Gimme kiss.” They made out in the car like a couple of teenagers for several minutes, Shane’s ears turning pink and his chest heaving. “Okay, that’s enough.” He rearranged himself in his shorts and Ilya gave him a sly look. “So, we survived Stasia going on her first date. How do you feel?”
“I cannot believe we have girls. Boys are so much easier.” Ilya whined.
“Um, do you not remember yourself as a teenager? Both of us as teenagers, for that matter?”
“Shane! Why would you say that? Why would you make me think of that?” He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands and Shane laughed. He rubbed Ilya’s back in big circles.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll get better at this, I promise. It’ll get easier.”
“I don’t think so, Shane. We’re always going to worry.”
“Yeah, babe, that’s just part of it. But think about how nice it will be when they meet their special people and how our family will grow. More people to play games with, more people to go to the lake with, more people to love.”
Ilya sat up and turned towards Shane, looking into his chocolate eyes and at the smattering of freckles that still made him weak in the knees. He thought about how he was without a real family for so long. One who didn’t judge or say hateful things, but instead loved him fully. He found that with Shane and now they had two daughters that filled his life with so much love and purpose. He thought about what Shane was saying and all the amazing things they had to look forward to.
“Okay, you have point. Let’s go home and wait for Stasia to text. She’ll be playing games for a while and I have other plans for you.” He winked at Shane and bit his lower lip.
Shane wasted no time starting the car and driving home. He was ready for all that Ilya had in mind, and even had a few ideas of his own.