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Ilya never thought he’d been more glad for a game to be over than he is now
He’d been counting down the days until today as it was his last game until his and Shane’s schedules aligned for the first time in almost a month and god how he missed Shane
his shane
He picked up his phone from his cubicle hoping a message from “jane” would be in bold at the bottom of his screen , waiting to be opened.
Jane: tough luck Rozanov
Jane: that goal was pretty impressive I’ll
give you that
Lily: I miss you
Jane: I miss you too , I’ve been waiting for
That game to finish for weeks ❤️
Lily: ❤️
The centaurs had lost 3-1 to the Boston bears and the whole team was feeling dejected, and to add insult to injury ,he felt absolutely shit
He was obviously disappointed in himself for loosing and it especially stung as it was his old team they had lost too, but he had a splitting headache and what felt like the beginning of an awful cold.
He stuffed his gear into his bag as quickly as possible, he just wanted to get out.
the atmosphere was thick with post game sweat and the crushing weight of loss which was fuelling his headache
“Hey roz you okay ? You look like shit “ Wyatt Hayes had asked just as Ilya had finished packing away his gear
“Charming as always Haysey” Ilya chirped back playfully , hopping it masked how exhausted he felt
He managed to avoid any press conference or team talks and was able to get out of the stadium as sooner than he expected which he was grateful for as the fluorescent lighting was making him want to never open his eyes again
Ilya opened his car door and practically collapsed into the drivers seat .
He felt like crying
His whole body ached and he missed Shane so much and he had let his team down and he was tired and everything was just too much
He was planning on driving up to see Shane tomorrow morning anyway because it was the first time they’re schedules had lined up in almost 3 weeks but he wasn’t sure if he could wait that long
Fuck it
The drive was long and the traffic was bad which only made his headache worse but he knew that seeing Shane in … approximately 1 hour and 4 minutes would be worth it.
In all their years of secrecy and months apart , Ilya doesn’t think he’s ever wanted to be in Shane’s arms as much as he does now .
By some miracle Ilya hadn’t gotten properly sick since his rookie season when he first moved to Boston.
He remembered how utterly alone he felt. He was in a foreign country where he barely knew the language and didn’t know any of his teammates anymore than he his way around.
He remembers throwing up in the overly minimalistic hotel bathroom and passing out on the cool tile wishing his mother was there to stroke his hair and tell him he was going to be okay .
That’s got to go down as top 3 worst nights of his life.
As he got closer to Shane’s house in Montreal Ilya could feel his sinuses blocking and his head become fuzzy.
He knew he shouldn’t be driving right now but he was beyond caring.
What felt like days later Ilya was finally pulling into Shane’s drive.
As fast as he could without loosing his balence , Ilya got out the car and strode to Shane’s front door . Then he realised he had left his set of keys , and coat , in the car in his haste to see Shane .
He rapped his knuckles against the door and prayed to whatever god there may be that Shane hadnt fallen asleep.
Thankfully a few freezing moments later Shane came to the door , grey sweats hanging low on his hips and a navy hoodie that was most likely Ilya’s draped over his broad shoulders.
His delighted smile was quickly replaced with a concerned furrow of his brows when he noticed the Russians weary appearance.
“Hey , get in here … are you okay ?” Shane said tenderly, stepping aside to let Ilya through the door. As he stepped past, Shane ran his hand over the back of Ilya’s shoulders , concern lacing his face
It wasn’t unusual for Ilya to turn up randomly without telling Shane or straight after a game , but it was usually because they were desperate to get in each other’s pants.
but right now Ilya looked as if he might collapse if he did anything more than walk a few feet let alone mess about with his boyfriend.
Shane looked up at Ilya and cupped his cheek , noting how warm it felt . He furrowed his eyebrows at him as he saw the obvious exhaustion painted on the Russians face.
Ilya gazed into Shane’s dark brown eyes , the concern there was evident , almost begging him to talk; to tell him what’s wrong.
Instead Ilya just lowered his head onto Shane’s shoulder and closed his eyes . The hallway light was shining right in his face making his head pound.
Shane draped his arm over ilyas shoulders and that’s all the Russian needed to completely melt into him . He pressed his chest to Shane’s and lent his weight into him and to his pleasure was met with another arm wrapped firmly around him and a hand in his hair keeping his pounding head secure on his boyfriends’ shoulder.
He wanted to talk and tell Shane that he doesn’t feel well he just wanted to hug him for eternity but everything all of a sudden got too much.
Ilya found himself choking back a sob , clenching the back of Shane’s hoodie in an attempt to press their bodies impossibly closer.
“Woah , hey it’s okay “
“Shh I’m here “ shane all but whispered softly.
He hated when ilya cried, which was rare . So whenever he did it worried Shane to no end .
All he could do was tighten his grip around Ilya and rub his head that was buried in the crook of his neck because he knew asking what was wrong would be fruitless until Ilya’s tears subsided.
“Ilya sweetheart , can you tell me what’s wrong ?” Shane asked as gently as humanly possible. He just wanted to make his boyfriend feel better but he couldn’t until Ilya told him what was happening.
Instead of answering him ,ilya pulled away slightly so he could see Shane’s face . His head hurt so much he couldn’t think and he’s pretty sure the crying didn’t help in the slightest.
At the sight of Ilya’s read and slightly sweaty face Shane had an idea of what might be going on. He pressed the back of his hand to ilyas forehead and the Russian leaned into the touch. Shit he has a fever.
“Do you feel unwell ? “ Shane knew the question was stupid the second he asked it because ilya was quite literally burning up so of course he felt unwell .
“Da , I feel like shit “ ilya croaked back
Gosh Shane could have melted into a puddle right there and then if his stupidly cute lump of a boyfriend wasn’t leaning most of his weight on him.
Shane gave him a sympathetic frown and stroked the back of Ilya’s head. He looked awful but somehow still undeniably gorgeous.
By the time ilya had got to Shane’s it was almost 10 so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to go to bed.
“Should we get you changed and in bed yeah ? “ Shane said softly , kissing Ilya’s forehead and running his hand down his forearm
Ilya nodded back pathetically. He just realised how selfish he was being , he was sick and most likely contagious meaning he was putting Shane at risk of getting sick too when he had games lined up for the next week . God he was so self centred.
Ilya followed Shane into his bedroom to grab some clothes to change into . Before he could even reach the chest of draws on the left wall Shane was already handing him a pile of clothes.
Ilya tried to slip out of his centaurs logo joggers but a sudden wave of dizziness came over him and he almost toppled to the ground . Thankfully Shane was close enough to steady him before he cracked his head open in a poor attempt to change his trousers .
“Woah you okay ? Let me help “ Shane said after ilya gained back some of his balance.
In any other circumstance Ilya’s pride wouldn’t allow him to be babied like he is now but god did it feel so nice having someone caring for him and helping him when he felt so awful .
He tried to savour the feeling as he knew in a few minutes he was gonna have to spend the night cold and alone in the spare room .
“Thank you “ ilya said nasally after Shane had dressed him in some loose fitting black joggers and his own metros hoodie.
“ hey it’s okay , come let’s get you some paracetamol or Tylenol, I think I have some in the bathroom “ Shane said , cupping the base of Ilya’s head . He looked so tired and miserable and Shane hated it , his usually confident demeanour watered down to what could only be described as pitiful .
Ilya sat on the lid of the toilet in the bathroom while Shane rummaged around in some cabinets in search of medicine. His whole body ached and he felt like crying again.
How pathetic.
He painfully swallows the pills Shane handed him , his throat like sandpaper .
He was glad Shane gave him a hoodie instead of a shirt because he was fucking freezing which didn’t make sense because he was covered in a sheen of sweat .
“Cmon let’s get you into bed , you must be exhausted “ Shane said sympathetically , attempting to briefly press his lips against Ilyas .
He turned his head away sluggishly , dodging the kiss . “Shane you will get sick too “
“I won’t , plus it would be worth it “ he replied smirking, taking ilyas face in his hands and placing a wet kiss right on his lips and added a smacking sound for good measure.
Ilya smiled sadly at him , squinting at the bright bathroom light making Shane look like a silhouette.
As they left the bathroom and began walking down the hall ilya reluctantly went to turn right into the spare room.
“ wha- where are you going ? “ Shane asked , confusion lacing his face.
He can’t be that sick can he ? Jesus do I need to ring someone ? The thought of ilya not remembering where their bedroom was was really starting to worry Shane , he didn’t want to have to be sitting in a&e with his feverish Slavic boyfriend at 10 o’clock at night .
“Spare room , you will get whatever this is” he says as he limply gestured to his body
“You have games in 4 days you cannot get sick “ ilya continued , looking at Shane as if he has no idea about his own game schedule
Shane was still a bit confused, does ilya not realise he comes before any hockey game ?
“ so I sleep in spare room “ the Russian said as if it’s the most obvious thing to do
Obviously ilya didn’t want to sleep in the spare room , he’d much rather be wrapped in Shane’s arms and have him stroke his hair and let Shane take care of him because god did he feel really awful now , but that’d be shellfish . He cant expect Shane to risk getting ill and be out of action for a week or even more because of him .
“ ilya … I don’t care about that , come to bed I can tell you’re exhausted “ Shane said sadly moving towards his boyfriend who seemed to be glued to the floor outside the spare room
“ but Shane I will get you sick ? “ ilya said again almost as if Shane hadn’t heard him the first time .
He knows how important routine is to Shane , how he never misses a game . Ever . Why would he risk missing one now ?
“You come before a game okay ? I’m not gonna make you sleep alone just so I don’t miss a match or two. I’d much rather have you next to me and me be able to take care of you than play the next game I’ve got” shane said almost desperately now . He needed ilya to see that he was at the top of his priority list , that hockey can wait .
Ilya just stared at him for a moment, he’d prepared himself to spend the night alone , he’d always taken care of himself alone , been alone for so long . Did Shane really mean that ? Deep down he hoped that’s how he felt but hearing it out loud while rather feverish was a whole other kettle of fish .
Ilya didn’t want to risk his voice betraying him and being reduced to tears for the second time in an hour so just nodded and walked towards Shane who already had his arms out , bringing Ilya into a warm embrace.
“ I love you , ilya “
The Russian just buried his head deeper into the crook of Shane’s neck, cursing his blocked sinuses making it unable for him to breathe in Shane’s scent .
He felt a hand, warm and steady begin to card through the short curls at the base of his neck.
Ilya melted at the touch. “ya tozhe tebya lyublyu” he muffled Into Shane’s shoulder , voice thick with congestion and emotion.
Silently Shane led ilya into their bedroom , their socked feet padding across the carpeted hall
Ilya made a beeline for the bed , his head pounding and a shiver making its way up his spine.
Shane could see the relief on the his face as his boyfriend’s head hit the pillow , as if the events of the day had been physically weighing him down and only now has the weight been lifted .
He settled next to ilya , Laying on his back but angling his body towards him.
He flashed him a sympathetic smile as he saw the shivers wrack over ilyas body
“C’mere “ Shane said sweetly , meeting ilyas gaze
He willing rolled over Shane’s arms , letting them wrap round his broad shoulders and comb through his hair .
They didn’t normally do this , usually it was ilya holding Shane, but somehow Shane always seems to know what he needs. And right now he needed to he held .
Ilya breathed out , all the tension leaving his body as he melted into Shane, warmth engulfing him.
Strong arms wrapped around him holding him close, protecting him from any expectations ilya thinks he has to uphold.
“Sleep moya lyubov, I’ll be here when you wake up “ Shane whispered into ilyas hair , his head tucked into Shane’s chest.
Ilya wanted to cry hearing Shane speak the Russian endearment , hearing his beloved language on his beloveds tounge is like a medicine of its own
He didn’t reply , just nuzzled his head even further into Shane’s chest, finally allowing himself to slip into unconsciousness and let the heavy ache in his head and body subside into a deep sleep, because knowing that when he wakes up tomorrow probably feeling even worse, Shane will be there to take care of him.