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“I’m coming to the cottage.”
It’s been three weeks since Ilya called him and said those words. Three whole weeks since Scott Hunter pulled his boyfriend from the stands and kissed him on the ice.
Three weeks where Shane actually let himself hope that this, Ilya visiting his cottage and getting fourteen days of uninterrupted time together, could mean something.
It’s something he’d only let himself dream about in the middle of the night. For years when he couldn’t sleep he’d picture Ilya Rozanov on his dock smiling in the sun, or next to the firepit curled up with a blanket. Sure, there were plenty of other activities they could get up to with far less clothes, but he was already confident in their compatibility, at least like that. What he wanted to have was the chance to exist in the same space, wake up in the same bed, and make each other laugh without a ticking clock
It took them years to text about anything more than sex and hockey, then even longer to bridge the gap to phone calls and FaceTime. Now, despite it being everything Shane wants, it feels like they’re speedrunning a game and he doesn’t know the rules.
During the first week after Scott Hunter’s Stanley Cup Kiss Shane was sure Ilya would back out. He’d agreed in the heat of a historic moment that meant a lot to both of them. It would break Shane’s heart but he would understand. Once the shock and emotions wore off, why would he want to come to Canada and spend his precious free time with him?
But instead Ilya started peppering him with questions. It would be the middle of the day and his phone would light up.
Lily
Do I need fancy clothes?
Jane
Not at all. Whatever you normally wear in the summer is fine. We’ll be outside a bit. And there’s a lake if you’d like to swim.
Lily
Yes. I would like that.
Hours would go by and Shane would still be living off the high of the last sporadic text when another message would come in. He’d never been so happy to be fully relieved of his concussion restrictions, or out from his mother’s hawkeyed care.
Lily
Internet says there will be bugs.
Jane
Yes. That tends to happen in nature.
Lily
Do I need special spray? I do not want to die from spider bite.
Jane
I have bug spray here.
It’s stupid, how big he smiles as Ilya’s texts fill his screen. He pictures him back at his townhouse in Boston frantically searching the internet about the bug population of Ontario. It’s something he probably didn’t worry about in the US or Moscow, and Shane’s not actually sure he’s spent much time in the great outdoors to know what a concerning arachnid would even look like.
Lily
It will protect from deadly insects?
Jane
It will protect you from the insects you’ll actually encounter.
Lily
If I die from a bug bite I will haunt you forever.
Jane
Looking forward to it.
These questions went on for days. Shane couldn’t get enough of them. After years of only seeing the cool, calm, and collected mask that Ilya wore in front of basically everyone it was a lightening bolt to the heart every time it became clear that not only was Ilya actually coming to the cottage, he was spending the few remaining weeks before his trip making sure he was ready.
---
Which was why during the second week after Scott Hunter became a gay icon Shane realized that he, too, needed to do some planning.
Sure, he already had a loose itinerary for Ilya’s two week stay. Okay, it detailed all of the places he wanted to have sex with Ilya given unlimited time and privacy, but also some activities that Shane had dreamed of doing with him.
A hike on the trail near his property was on the top of the list. Jetski races on the lake. Swimming and bon fires and grilling were all essential cottage activities. And then there was the thought that maybe, just maybe, they could do something so average as play pool together, or maybe tackle a video game or two.
All of his plans are painfully simple and sadly, all things he never thought he’d be able to do with Ilya ever, let alone in the bright light of summer.
Jane
Anything I should buy for your visit?
Lily
I am a gentleman Hollander. I will come prepared.
He beams down at his phone. He doesn’t need Ilya to stock up on anything, not when he’s already made sure they have enough lube and condoms to supply an Olympic village.
Jane
No you’re not. And I meant food, drinks, anything that would help you relax while you’re here?
Because, at the center of everything, all Shane wants is the time to relax with Ilya. He knows how good hurried nights are. He’s been to All Star weekends where they’ve been able to orbit each other like they are in their own personal hockey universe. They’ve never gotten quiet mornings. Hell, Shane doesn’t even know what he likes for breakfast, and the thought makes him so sad he doesn’t even feel embarrassed as he types out his next message.
Jane
I don’t even know how you take your coffee.
Lily
I will eat most things. I am not picky. Whatever you have will be fine.
Jane
That’s not what I asked.
Lily
You do not have to get special things for me.
But Shane did. He needed Ilya to feel at home at the cottage, to feel safe. He wanted to welcome him to his own personal sanctuary and not leave the property for two weeks. He wanted to see Ilya’s effortless smile because Shane made his favorite breakfast and for him to feel comfortable going into the fridge and grabbing a can of Coke (he already has that on his list) because he knows he is welcome and wanted.
Jane
Fine. Buckwheat smoothies and salads for two weeks.
He hopes Ilya doesn’t call his bluff. It’s the off season and this is a vacation. He really just needs to know if Ilya is going to get tired of things like burgers, grilled chicken, and hot dogs. He has everything for s’mores and is planning on grabbing some beer. Maybe he could even pick up a cake or ice cream?
He’s not good at this. Hosting doesn’t come naturally to him, but caring about Ilya does, and he finds that after he sits down with a pad of paper and eight years of memories he is in fact able to put together a grocery list of things he’s fairly confident Ilya will not just eat, but enjoy.
It helps that he has probably watched every Ilya Rozanov interview ever given at least twice. The Raiders social team doing multiple food related question and answer videos a year also helps. He was able to add oreos, pancake mix, and strawberries to his list with confidence after watching Ilya chirp at his teammates. The burgers seem like a safe bet, too.
Jane
You do drink coffee, right? Or do you prefer tea?
Lily
Coffee with sugar or I am fine with water
Please do not go out of your way for me.
Shane knows this isn’t easy for Ilya. Agreeing to two weeks alone together is something that he knows reads as a threat in big bold letters. It’s all he wants, and he doesn't know who he’ll be on the other side. He also knows the first time Ilya tried something like this, an overnight stay with food and relaxation, that Shane ran away.
He can practically feel the anxiety radiating from Ilya’s messages. The rest of the league may know him as cocky and brash. He’s made a career out of being the asshole that demands everyone’s attention and praise and then works hard to make sure he’s worthy of it. Shane knows that outside of the bright lights and the media room he is softer, sweet in a way that most people couldn’t fathom. He doesn’t trust quickly and spooks easily.
Somehow, over the last eight years he’s decided Shane is someone he wants to trust. The night he cried in his arms in Tampa is seared into Shane’s memory like a brand. He’s never worried if Ilya actually liked him. That much was always clear. He just didn’t know what he wanted. The fact that they both wanted the same thing, even if it seemed impossible, made Shane brave.
Actually, Ilya made Shane brave. He has never invited anyone else to the cottage. He has never worried about making a perfect grocery list or buying four different types of sunscreen because he didn’t know what texture Ilya would prefer.
Shane spent his entire childhood training for the MLH and then his entire professional career striving to be the best of the best and still he thinks he has never wanted anything more than these two weeks alone with Ilya Rozanov.
Jane
Coffee and sugar will be provided.
He decides it’s better to leave well enough alone. Ilya isn’t going to give him more to add to his list and Shane doesn’t want to push too far, not when he’s so close to the one thing he wants, so he switches the conversation back to hockey, and then to video games, and finally JJ’s new dog. Ilya never makes him wait for a response. After weeks of having limited access to screens it’s like neither of them can get enough of the luxury of being able to talk without limit.
---
The third week after Scott Hunter became the face of Pride Nights across the country Ilya is all in.
He doesn’t say that. Not exactly. He covers his anxiety well with constant chirp and innuendos, but between trying to make Shane annoyed or hard, sometimes both at the same time, he lets in little displays of softness that crack Shane’s heart wide open.
Lily
I hope you have still been training. Would be a shame if I fly all the way to boring Canada and you have the stamina of a rookie.
Jane
Like stamina has ever been an issue for me?
Lily
Who knows. Concussion has never been a problem for you either and still you text me photo of you wearing sunglasses watching tv like an idiot.
Jane
And yet you were excited I was watching your games.
Lily
Is not the point. I have been very busy playing hockey and being hot. Try to keep up.
Shane’s in the middle of typing out a retort, something about his bruised ribs and the cup he gave up to Scott Hunter, when Ilya messages again.
Lily
My flight gets in at 11 on Thursday. Is that still alright?
Jane
Of course. I’ll be there to pick you up.
Lily
If it is too much inconvenience I could take Uber somewhere in between.
It’s a logical solution. Three days ago they talked on the phone for two hours and a major point of conversation was getting in and out of the Ottawa airport without fanfare. It wouldn’t be exactly weird for Shane to be there. He has family in the area. Ilya, on the other hand, is well recognizable and traveling to a hockey crazed city.
It would be a lie to say Shane wasn’t a little worried about Ilya’s trip becoming some sort of story, but in the end they decided that whatever headlines could come out of a sighting at a strange airport could be explained by an unexpected layover. Even if he was nervous about the potential optics there was no way in hell he was having Ilya grab a rideshare and then waiting at some gas station to be picked up.
That was criminally insane.
Plus, Shane liked the idea of driving Ilya somewhere. Having two hours together in a car sounds a little bit like heaven. It’s another thing they’ve never actually done before. Driving somewhere used to feel impossible. Now Shane has trail mix with m&m’s already bought in case Ilya gets hungry on the ride from the airport to the cottage.
Jane
Nope. I’ll be at the airport. Black Jeep Cherokee.
Lily
Of course you drive a Jeep.
Jane
Not all of us are trying to die in a fiery Ferrari wreck, dipshit.
Lily
A dipshit you will be picking up in your boring car.
Jane
Obviously.
---
Nearly a month after Scottt Hunter changed Shane Hollander’s life he is waiting in the cell phone lot at Ottawa International Airport.
He had expected Ilya to go silent as he got ready to head to the airport. It was clear that as the week went on the more nervous he was for their joint vacation. Shane didn’t blame him. Inside he was terrified. They had never done something like this. What if Ilya didn’t like the cottage, or what if there really isn’t much more to…whatever they are…than sex? Or worse, what if there is and Shane gots everything he ever wanted for two weeks only to have to go back to a half dozen hook ups a year and hotel room numbers?
Instead, Ilya narrated his entire morning. He couldn't find his car keys and was planning on leaving one of his many sports cars in long term parking rather than grab a rideshare. His favorite sunglasses were also missing, but ah, there they are on the top of his head. All of this was intermixed with screenshots of his flight and its on time departure status, as if Shane hadn’t been tracking the plane before it even got to Boston.
They texted up until Ilya is about to board his first flight, because god forbid any part of this be easy. Ilya Rozanov agreeing to come to his cottage is one thing. Suffering a layover is something else entirely.
Lily
About to take off.
Shane had sent texts like that a million times in his life. He always told his parents when he’s about to be in the air for an away game. Seeing the words from Ilya did something to his insides. They’re so common. Of course Shane would care that his flight is about to leave. He’s flying to Shane.
Jane
Safe flight. I can’t wait to see you.
I love you. Please be happy to see me too..
Lily
We have much time to make up for, I think.
I am excited.
Okay. Flight attendant is giving me angry eyes. Talk soon.
A layover later, Shane waits in the cell phone lot because it was easier than staying at the cottage an extra thirty minutes. He listens to a podcast on MLH draft and sends up a prayer to whoever is listening that this year’s rookies are treated fairly, and he waits.
Ilya’s flight is on time, then it has landed. The moments between seeing the confirmation that Ilya’s journey has come to a close and the moment his phone vibrates with an incoming message are torture. It doesn’t matter that he knows he was on the flight or that this is something they both want.
Lily
On my way to you.
Please be here.
I do not want to wait outside like a pedestrian.
Jane
Here. Waiting for you.
I’ve always been waiting for you Shane thinks. He has waited his entire life for this moment. When he spots Ilya in a pair of expensive black joggers and a muscle tee, his hat backwards and sunglasses covering his ocean blue eyes he knows he would have waited forever for a chance at a moment like this.
Luckily he doesn’t have to.
Jane
I see you.
Hurry up or I’ll make you walk to the cottage.
Ilya’s face lights up with an unguarded smile. He’s here. Weeks of planning and Ilya Rozanov is finally here.