Chapter Text
Ilya sighed happily as he changed into his much more comfortable sweatpants and loose shirt, settling into the couch to put on a show. He scrolled aimlessly for a bit, his recommended page full of action movies: explosions and sex splashed on the screen. He grimaced at the sight. He wasn’t particularly interested in those kinds of movies right now.
He didn’t know what the deal was. He wanted something…softer. Something that would remind him of back before he’d had to grow up too quickly. He landed on the movie Anastasia. He shrugged and switched it on. It was just for background noise while he scrolled on his phone anyway.
He was glad to finally be home after the gruelling day he’d had. He’d started his day by spilling his breakfast all over his lap and car while driving to the arena. Then, during the morning practice, he had already been able to feel that he was off his game, missing easy passes and sending the puck soaring past the net. And on a team like the Centaurs, he couldn’t afford off days.
His suspicions had been confirmed with a brutal 6-0 loss to Detroit. His mind kept replaying how he could have played differently: hit the puck slightly more to the right here, with a little more power there. He yanked on his hair in frustration and tears sprung to his eyes.
He didn’t know why he was so upset. He’d lost games before and brushed it off with no issue. He sighed and set his phone down, starting to focus on the TV instead. He put his necklace into his mouth to chew on while he watched and cuddled into the blankets. He hummed softly to himself, giggling at the movie.
He was halfway through the movie when he was startled out of the trance he’d fallen into by the sound of the doorbell. He wrestled out of the blankets and trudged to the door, rubbing his eyes.
He pulled the door open and his eyes widened as he saw who stood on the other side. “Shanya!” he yelped excitedly, letting the necklace fall out of his mouth and pulling Shane into the house.
“Hey, baby. I had a free day, so I thought I’d come to visit,” Shane replied, smiling at him softly, but with a hint of confusion in his gaze. “Shanya?”
“Hmm? Yes, like Shane, but uhm, sweet.”
“I see. How’re you feeling, baby? I saw the game earlier. Looked kinda rough.” Shane asked, brow still furrowed like when he was confused. Ilya wasn’t sure what he was confused about.
“Mm, did bad in the game earlier,” he told Shane, pouting a little. “Was, uhm, angry and also sad.”
“Hey, the loss wasn’t your fault, okay? Hockey is a team sport. You weren’t clicking today and that’s alright,” Shane reminded him, voice gentle.
Ilya frowned. His father never accepted that excuse. Shane probably didn’t actually believe it either. Ilya knew from experience it was better to own up to his own failures than disappoint his family by trying to justify his terrible playing. The fog that had come over him during the last few hours dissipated slightly as he thought about how his father would have reacted to the loss earlier. He grimaced. It wasn’t pleasant to think about. “No, is my fault, Shanya. I am the captain. It’s my responsibility to make the team click.”
Shane cupped his cheek gently. “I’m sorry if you were told that’s the case, but you cannot play the game by yourself. And even if you were having an off-day, that’s okay too. You can’t be at 100% all the time right? What would you say if I had a game like that, huh?”
Ilya scowled. He knew how Shane felt about people playing less than their best. Hockey was everything to Shane. Ilya had even agreed when Shane bitched about his teammates to him. “No, Shane. You are not lazy; you would not have game like this.”
“Ilya–,” Shane began, firmly.
“No, Shane, I– Can we drop this? I was halfway through a movie before you came.” He was too exhausted to even make an innuendo. Hopefully Shane wasn’t too disappointed that ‘Russia’s Greatest Love Machine’ seemed to be out of commission for the evening. “Maybe we just cuddle and– and watch that, yes?”
“Ilya–,” Shane started again, seemingly prepared to argue. Then, he looked at Ilya’s face again and sighed. His exhaustion must be visible. “Okay, but we’re talking about this later. What were you watching?”
Ah, right. Ilya had not thought his deflection through. Now, he had to admit that he was intently watching a children’s show before Shane arrived. “Eh, not important. We pick something new. I just had the movie on for background noise,” Ilya said.
“You just said you were halfway through–?”
This conversation was actually much, much worse than having sex when he was exhausted. He pivoted, raising his eyebrow seductively. “Or we go up to the bedroom and do something more exciting, yes?”
“Ilya, I don’t– Your heart doesn’t really seem in it tonight, baby.” Shane looked at him with sad eyes. That just wouldn’t do. Ilya was good at two things: sex and hockey, and he’d already jacked up one tonight.
“No, no, I am. I am always excited to fuck you, moya lyubov.”
“Well, I’m not in the mood, Ilya. Can we just watch your movie?” Ilya grimaced.
“We watch movie, okay, yes. What movie, love?”
“Whatever you had on for background noise is fine. I don’t want anything overstimulating anyway.” Ilya hesitated, then nodded. If that was what Shane wanted, he would do it, even if it was embarrassing.
“Okay.”
The pair went to the living area, and Ilya had already begun to settle back into his spot, much less relaxed than he had been earlier. He grabbed the blanket to pull it over Shane and himself, but stopped when he noticed Shane had yet to sit down.
“What is wrong, solnyshko?”
“Have you had dinner?”
“Eh, I had late lunch,” Ilya said, wanting to move on with their evening. Then he realized Shane may not have eaten, and that would not do, especially if he was asking for food and especially given the way he’d been about his diet lately. “Have you eaten?”
“Yeah, I picked up a wrap from that place on 24th on my way over. Do you want me to make you something? What do you have in your pantry?”
“Eh, do not worry, Shane. I had very late lunch and some snacks, too. I’m not hungry.”
“Ilya. You never let me skip meals, and I certainly will not be letting you. Now, what do you have that’s quick?”
“Ah, okay, okay. I will eat dinner, but you sit and watch the movie. I can go make myself a sandwich.”
Shane’s expression softened from the scowl he’d been wearing as he told Ilya off about skipping meals. “No, baby. I want to do something nice for you. You’ve had a hard day. You always take care of me – let me return the favor?”
Ilya smiled. How could he refuse that? “Okay, Shane.”
“Don’t wait for me to click play on the movie. You can catch me up when I get back, okay?”
Ilya was starting to feel that pleasant floatiness he’d been feeling before the doorbell rang earlier. “Okay, Shanya.”
Shane cocked his head at him before smiling and nodding in approval. “Be right back. You get comfy.”
Ilya settled in again. He sighed happily and cuddled deeper into the covers. His eyes drifted closed for a moment, but he stubbornly blinked them open again. He wanted to see the end of the movie.
Shane reentered the room and placed the plate he’d made up for Ilya on the side table. “Hey baby, I got you a sandwich, some fruit, and a treat – only because you had a hard day, mkay? You shouldn’t eat this sugary stuff all the time.” Ilya looked out from his cocoon at the plate. As promised, there was a sandwich, some cut up strawberries, and three oreos.
“Thanks, Shanya!” Ilya snaked one arm out of the covers to grab a strawberry, the juice dripping down his arm as he plopped it in his mouth. He squinted a bit as he chewed it, the sourness sending tingles up his spine.
Shane laughed softly as he maneuvered the blanket so he could sit under it with Ilya. “Too sour?”
Ilya hummed affirmation.
Shane considered him. “Are you sure you’re okay? I know you said you don’t want to talk about it tonight, but you’re worrying me a little.”
Ilya frowned. He didn’t want his Shanya to worry. “‘M okay. Jus’ tired. Better with you here.”
“Yeah? You just seem a little different, baby. It’s not a bad different!” he added hastily. “Just…you usually pick up food from that diner on your way home from a rough game and watch different movies and stuff.”
He cuddled closer to Shane rather than answering. Explaining the day he’d had to land them here felt too daunting. If he was a little less sleepy, he could probably explain away all of the things Shane was asking him about, but right now, he just wanted to cuddle. Ilya could explain in the morning when his thoughts were clearer.
“Ilya?”
“In the morning,” Ilya said drowsily.
“Okay, okay. In the morning, then,” Shane laughed as he refocused his attention on the TV. “So what’s happened in the movie so far?”
“Is Anastasia. Have you seen?” Ilya asked. When Shane shook his head, he continued. “Is about Russian royalty, but the princess forgot everything. Her name is Anya! Like Anya, Shane,” Ilya said, then frowned. That didn’t really make sense. “She’s Anya like our dog Anya.”
Shane smiled. “Sounds interesting. You’ve seen it before then?”
“Yes, saw it in Russia when I was little. Papa hated it – very, uh, not true to real life –, but Mama liked it. She liked the happy ending.”
“Well, let’s finish watching it then.”
Ilya tried to stay awake for the rest of the movie, but his efforts were in vain. Shane smoothed his hair back away from his forehead as his head nodded onto his chest. He maneuvered Ilya so he was laying on the couch more comfortably before throwing some cushions on the floor for himself so he could sleep near Ilya without having to wake him. He turned the TV off and pressed a gentle kiss to Ilya’s forehead before settling down to sleep.