Archive of Our Own

Playing against Montreal was probably the worst part of hockey in Ilya’s opinion. Well, not just his opinion, the entire team agreed with him.

At the beginning, it had been fun to play against Montreal, to make the bastards see just how badly they had fucked up by treating Shane the way that they had. But by the third game against them it was no longer fun. It was just… sad.

The team had deteriorated with Comeau as the new captain. Not only that but Pike was a shell of himself whenever he played. To the point where it had Ilya even feeling sick to witness the man’s decline. As much as he enjoyed chirping Pike and giving him a hard time, he didn’t actually hate the man. Not when Pike had done so much for Shane, had been his first friend on his team, had been an unwavering pillar of support.

He couldn’t handle seeing the clear misery on Hayden Pike’s face. Ilya knew he was trying to keep a stiff upper lip, that he was trying to stay strong and supportive and not leave the Voyageurs, he had one more year left on his contract before he was a free agent but Ilya had a plan. He had been thinking about it since the beginning of the season. Since Shane had first joined the Centaurs and Ilya saw how despite the fact that they played better than ever before, Shane always seemed to be looking for Hayden Pike.

So, Ilya would make the sacrifice if it meant happiness for Pike and for Shane to play better hockey if he had the man on his line. He would do anything for Shane and he knew that this was what his husband needed. But also, he couldn’t handle seeing the misery on Pike’s face every time they played. Boiziau seemed miserable as well and Ilya could see it, but Ilya would be lying if he said he didn’t think the man deserved it. Not after he had hurt Shane in such an unforgivable way—even if Shane had forgiven him. Besides, Boiziau had just renewed his contract over the summer, he obviously didn’t hate the team as much as Pike clearly did.

Which meant Ilya’s focus was solely on Hayden Pike.

He had a four step plan, something that he was desperate to share with Shane but had decided no one would be allowed to know except for those necessary to the plan. He had an image to keep after all.

Step One. Talk to Jackie Pike and make her swear to secrecy.

The first step was probably the easiest. He would have to convince her to keep it secret, but had a good idea for how he would do so. He was going to tell her that she couldn’t share the plan because he didn’t want to get Pike’s hopes up if it didn’t work out.

Which was true. The guilt would likely eat him alive if he let Pike know about the idea and then not be able to follow through.

“Are you still okay with going to Hayden and Jackie’s for dinner?” Shane asked as they finished dressing in the locker room together. They had just finished their press scrum and most of the locker room had cleared out.

Voyageurs games were never one they felt like celebrating anymore. Not when they were so easy to beat and so pathetic. Even Shane was subdued during the games.

“Yes, is fine. I have missed Pike children,” Ilya admitted as he buttoned up his shirt.

“I figured,” Shane said with a snort and walked over, helping Ilya with his tie. He gave Ilya a soft kiss. “We won’t stay super long, I promise.”

“We can stay as long as you want, my love. I know that you have been worried about Pike,” Ilya murmured, slipping his fingers into Shane’s belt loops and pulling him flush to his chest.

Shane sighed, his brow furrowing. “I am.”

“So, we will go. Stay as long as you want. We are staying in hotel tonight before we fly out tomorrow anyway. We have more than enough time,” Ilya assured him. Shane nodded and gave him a soft kiss, resting his forehead against Ilya’s.

“Thank you, Baby,” he whispered and Ilya smiled, hugging the man tight.

Ilya watched as Shane and Hayden stepped outside together and took a seat on the couch beside Jackie.

“I need to talk to you,” Ilya said without much preamble. He threw his arm behind her shoulders and let out a sigh.

“It sounds heavy,” Jackie said, giving him an amused look, setting her phone down.

“Hayden is miserable, yes?” Ilya asked. It was not often he had a serious conversation with Jackie. Typically it was light hearted as they teamed up together to tease their husbands relentlessly.

Jackie turned to look him over, her brows furrowed like she couldn’t figure out where the hell Ilya was going with this. Part of him wondered if Jackie thought he was going to be an ass about her husband being miserable. Ilya was an asshole, but he was not that much of an asshole.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “He hasn’t been the same since last season.”

“I have idea, but I do not want to share unless you promise on your marriage that you will not tell Hayden,” Ilya said and now Jackie seemed even more confused. “I do not want to get his hopes up.”

“Okay, I promise,” she said, frowning.

“I have idea to get Hayden traded to Ottawa. He is miserable, Shanushka worries about him, which means I am listening to my love worry about him all of the time. Is exhausting, Jackie,” Ilya moaned out, throwing his head back into the cushions.

Jackie was giving him a contemplative look that was slowly growing into a large smile. “You care about my husband, don’t you, Ilya Hollander?”

Ilya had personally taken Shane’s last name as his own when they got married, wanting to cut ties with his family as much as he could. His public facing persona was still Ilya Rozanov, but in his personal life, he was simply Ilya Hollander and he liked it that way.

“Blyat!” Ilya exclaimed. “Do not say it like that, I do not care about Hayden Pike.”

“You do,” she sang, poking him in the cheek. “You like him. You want to help him.”

“Shut up, I take all back,” Ilya said with a groan, closing his eyes. “Do not talk to me, Jackie Pike.”

“What is your plan?” Jackie asked.

“You are not allowed to know. All I need to know from you is if that is something he would be interested in and if you are okay with moving to Ottawa.”

He felt a hand rest on his arm. He opened his eyes to find Jackie smiling at him fondly.

“We would love to be in Ottawa, Ilya,” she said softly. “Do you really think you can do it?”

“Yes,” Ilya said instantly. He had quite the plan for how he was going to get Hayden to join the team.

“I worry, sometimes, that he is going to insist on staying with the Voyageurs because he’s using it as a fucked up way to atone for what happened last summer. Not just that, but for not being a better friend to Shane and shutting down the shit in the locker room.”

Ilya pulled his arm from Jackie and sat up. He furrowed his brow.

“He knows that we are not angry with him, yes?” Ilya asked and Jackie shook her head. “We have never been angry with him or blamed him. Especially not Shane. We both know was accident.”

“I think it’s a form of self flagellation,” Jack said sadly. “Like he’s punishing himself to taking your choice away from you guys.”

“Is okay, we will make sure he understands we are not angry. Maybe if we get him traded he will see that we have never been upset,” Ilya said with a nod of his head.

Jackie gave him a soft smile just as the front door opened again. “I hope so.”

“Me too.”

Step Two talk to Mama Hollander and make her swear to secrecy.

There was a lot of secrecy involved in Ilya’s plan to get Hayden traded. It was mostly because he did not want to get Shane or Pike’s hopes up if it didn’t work out. He knew Shane would act like he was okay, but knew that he would bottle it in and be sad for weeks on end because he had already planned how their dynamic would work. He would have planned the next ten years as soon as he knew Ilya was trying to get Hayden on the team. Not only that but he wouldn’t be able to keep it secret, then Hayden would know and Ilya would have to kill him.

But the secrecy would be worth it once it all worked out.

“So, why are we having a secret coffee meeting while Shane’s at therapy?” Yuna asked, stirring a stick in her coffee idly. Ilya let out a hum.

“You are sworn to secrecy on this subject, Mama Yuna, you cannot tell Shane or Papa David, no one be you, Farrah, and me can know that I am doing this.”

“That’s a big ask, Ilya,” Yuna said meeting his eyes with a glint in them.

“Please, is for Shane’s happiness,” Ilya begged, folding his hands together in front of his face. “Pretty please, Yuna, help me make my husband happy.”

Yuna took a sip of her coffee and hummed, tapping her manicured fingers on the table thoughtfully.

“Let me hear your pitch and then I will decide whether or not I’ll keep it secret,” she finally said. Ilya’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he let his hands fall to his side.

“JJ has already been traded to a new team after his fight with Comeau, but Hayden is still with Voyageurs. He is miserable, Shane misses having him on his line, and we need another right winger.”

“Ottawa doesn’t have the cap space,” Yuna said immediately and Ilya sighed.

“I know. Is why I am willing to take pay cut so that we can have cap space,” Ilya told her. “I can make up for it with brand deals and whoring myself to any brands you want to sell me to. But I cannot handle the kicked sad dog faces.”

“You’re willing to take a pay cut so that Shane’s best friend can join the team?” Yuna asked slowly and Ilya nodded. “And take whatever brand deals I get you to make up the difference?”

“Da,” Ilya said.

“Because you don’t like seeing Shane and Hayden sad?”

Ilya shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his own coffee. “Mostly Shane, but yes.”

“What brands do you want to partner with? Give me like an idea of what you would be more comfortable with.”

Ilya knew this question was coming and he had already made his list of ideas of what he would willingly and happily work with. But first, he needed one more thing from Yuna.

“I need you to help me get this figured out. I had Farrah help with my trade, but I cannot just rely on Farrah. I need Pike’s agent, I need meeting with GM and Coach, I need—”

“I will handle all of that, Rozanov. I’ll even negotiate your pay with Farrah. Now give me the damn names,” she said impatiently.

Ilya groaned and rolled his shoulders.

“I did research. I saw that Canada has soap business, Lush, I do not mind partnering with them for a mental health and sustainability line. They have a lot of focus on the environment but also focus on social causes. They partner with brands and celebrities sometimes. They had a Taylor Swift bath bomb once, call Lakes. Is my favorite song. I do not mind working with mental health companies if they are good, like ah Better Help but not Better Help, is controversial but things like that. I like Bombas, every pair of socks you buy, a pair goes to unhoused people. I like that, I want to help sell socks and stuff.”

“So things that are more focused in activism and social causes, particularly mental health initiatives. What if like, say, Maybelline did a mental health campaign? How would you feel?”

Ilya gave his mother in law a small smile. “Shane says I am pretty without make up. But if they do campaign, I will do it. I just want good causes.”

Yuna smiled and reached over, grabbing Ilya’s hand and squeezing it tight. “I’m proud of you. I’ll do this for you. Mostly because I know you’re doing this because you love my son and you know that having Hayden would make him happy. Even if you’ll hate it.”

“I will hate every second,” Ilya confirmed, nodding his head. Yuna let out a light laugh, shaking her head in amusement.

“Well Ilya, start checking your email every single morning and I will call you every time I get something set up. How are you going to handle Shane? He’s going to be confused.”

“I have that figured out.” Ilya paused and tilted his head for a moment. “I have one more brand. Is big ask and I will not be surprised if you cannot get it.”

Yuna immediately straightened. The scary manager look now on her face and Ilya held back a smile. He had her. He knew without a doubt that she would bend over backwards now to get the deal and make it everyone’s problem until she got it.

“I doubt it. What is it?”

“I want brand deal with Canada Dry.”

Step 3 Meet with Coach and GM to make case.

This step happened faster than Ilya had actually expected. Yuna had arranged everything to the point where he hadn’t even had to go and meet with them or make a case for why he wanted Pike of all people. Two weeks after his meeting with Yuna he had woken to a call from Farrah who told him that he would be taking a pay cut, told him how much —less than he had expected honestly— and told him that they were in talks with getting Hayden traded. If they did it, Ilya had his paycut, if they didn’t, Ilya would make the same, Jackie would be a little disappointed and no one would ever know he had tried to do the trade.

Now it was a waiting game. Something that Ilya wasn’t very good about. He hated waiting.

But in the meantime, he had become busy with brand meetings in between games and he had a feeling Shane would notice soon. He couldn’t keep saying he was going to visit friends, Shane would start to get suspicious soon. Especially now that Ilya was having to figure out his scent for Lush to make into soaps and bath bombs. He hadn’t actually expected them to be interested in a partnership, he was just some hockey player, after all. But reps had jumped at the chance at having the founder of the Irina Foundation to partner with. Proceeds were going to the foundation and despite it not really being one that Ilya was being paid for, he was fine. It got his name out there.

“I know for sure, tobacco,” Ilya told Yuna as they sat at the kitchen table together. “Clove. Smells smoky and good. I liked their vegan leather jacket smell we tried yesterday,” he said with a nod of his head.

“I liked that one too,” she agreed, writing it down. “You know, vanilla goes really well with tobacco and I didn’t notice that combination in the store. Maybe patchouli?”

“I like that, da,” Ilya said just as Shane came walking in the room, his hair messy with sleep. Despite what everyone thought, his husband was not an early riser unless he absolutely had to be. Which meant days when they did not have early plans, he slept until at least nine or ten. Ilya was an early riser, up at five each morning. It was his alone time, gave him time to run with Anya, clean the house a bit, and prepare for the day. Galina had him start doing morning meditation to help him set his day and Ilya genuinely enjoyed it each morning.

“Good morning,” Shane muttered, rubbing his eyes. “What’s mom doing here?”

“We’re talking bath bombs,” Yuna told him. Shane squinted.

“I hate baths,” he said as he came and sat in Ilya’s lap and looked at the box of bath supplies sitting on the table.

“I know, Love,” Ilya said, kissing his cheek.

“Lush is doing a mental health campaign and are raising money for the Irina Foundation. They’re wanting to make some products with Ilya’s signature scent so we’re trying to figure out what that is.”

Shane buried his face in Ilya’s neck and took a deep breath. “Tobacco, leather, earthy,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around his husband’s shoulders. “A hint of something sweet.”

“Nailed it,” Ilya said with a smirk. Shane giggled and ran his fingers through Ilya’s curls.

“Now, I’ll send that over. But next Dove soap is doing a campaign and when I mentioned you they were definitely interested,” Yuna told Ilya. “They think you’ll be perfect for their’s.”

“Lots of soap,” Ilya said with a hum.

“Well you’ll be happy to know that the brand you requested happily agreed. But more importantly, McDonalds wants to do a Rozanov meal.”

“No!” Ilya exclaimed, eyes growing wide. “You are serious?”

“Deadly serious,” Yuna said and Shane finally sat up and looked between the two of them.

“Ilya is doing brand deals?” He asked, brow furrowed. He looked back at Ilya. “Baby, you hate doing ads.”

“I know,” Ilya said with a nod of his head. He ran his fingers along Shane’s spine slowly. He had been trying to figure out how he was going to explain what was going on to Shane. He had thought and thought about it and had finally come up with the perfect explanation.

“I am taking pay cut,” Ilya told his husband and he could feel his husband stiffen in his arms. His grip on Ilya’s hair had tightened now, almost painful.

“Why?” He ground out, looking now at Yuna with a glare. “What the hell happened, mother?”

“Do not mother me, Shane Hollander,” Yuna said, her voice sharp. “Why don’t you let your husband explain?”

Shane looked back at Ilya, his glare sharp enough to kill a lesser man. “What happened?”

“I cannot tell you,” Ilya said. “I do not know if it is actually happening yet. But there is chance I take pay cut, so Yuna is helping me prepare.”

“Why on earth would you be taking a pay cut? You’re the second best player in the league,” Shane snarled. “You deserve to be paid what you’re worth.”

“Is not big pay cut, my love. I will be making same as you now. Nothing major, my love,” Ilya assured him. “Is for greater good according to Farrah and the GM. It will be okay and brand deals will supplement loss. I think Yuna is making me do investments too.”

“Investments?” Shane asked.

“We’re looking into stocks,” Yuna said smoothly, still obviously put out by Shane’s attitude. “He’s getting a pay cut for a good reason but we’re more than making up for the pay cut. If I disagreed, I would be in the front office putting up a fight. But I don’t, and Ilya is taking deals to supplement. Besides, he’s given me a very strict outline of what he is and is not willing to do for brand deals.”

Shane looked between the two of them suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.

“My love, it is okay, take a breath,” Ilya said and gave the man a soft kiss. “Your mother is taking good care of me, I promise.”

“What brands are you focusing on?” Shane asked, still eyeing them both suspiciously. Ilya gave him a wolfish grin.

“One is surprise. But I want things like mental health campaigns and things that are focused in activism,” he said, twining their fingers together. Shane leaned back into Ilya’s chest and let out a soft sigh.

“And apparently Mcdonalds,” he said in a teasing voice.

“That one I had not thought to ask about, that is all Mama,” Ilya said, giving Yuna a pointed look.

She gave Ilya a soft smile.

“You’re doing a very noble thing, Ilya. I want to make sure you get some kind of reward for this,” she said softly and Shane looked between the two of them.

“What on earth is going on?” Shane demanded, voice incredulous. Ilya smiled and buried his face into Shane’s shoulder, breathing in his musky scent and letting out a breath of air.

“I know that we have promised to not keep secrets from one another,” Ilya started and Shane started squeezing his hand. “But, this is a surprise for you, so you must accept that I am keeping a secret.”

“You better not be taking a pay cut so that I get a raise—”

“Absolutely not. That would make no sense, we have shared bank account,” Ilya said incredulously. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know! Why else are you taking a pay cut at all? I can’t understand this at all,” Shane exclaimed, leaning forward and snatching Ilya’s hot tea and taking a drink.

“You trust me and Mama, yes?” Ilya asked, resting his chin on Shane’s shoulder, the scent of black tea and cherry jam.

“Of course,” Shane exclaimed, as if the idea of not trusting them was foreign to him.

“Then just trust us,” Yuna said, giving him a look. Shane rolled his eyes but said nothing as he sipped the hot tea and listened as Ilya and Yuna continued talking about potential products with the soap company. Beard oils for sure, lotions, a bath bomb— take a bath with Rozanov had been Ilya’s suggestion for a name — and far too many products. But, Ilya had to admit, it was fun. He enjoyed the idea of thinking about different products with a scent he came up with.

“Have you ever thought about maybe developing a vodka?” Shane suggested and Ilya looked at his husband in surprise. “You stopped consuming Russian products and I know you miss Russian vodka. So, what if you work with a distillery to create your own? The income you’re wanting to make up due to the cut could also come from that and you can drink a vodka that you enjoy.”

Ilya stared up at his husband in awe, eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar.

“You are the smartest person I have ever met in my life,” Ilya said, reverence in his voice. Shane let out a soft laugh and twisted in Ilya’s lap, giving him a soft kiss.

“I’m glad you think so because we’re going to Hayden and Jackie’s tomorrow,” Shane whispered, nipping at Ilya’s lip.

“That is fine,” Ilya breathed. Shane kissed him once more before he stood up and stretched, letting out a groan.

“Okay, I need breakfast and a shower,” he said with a breath. “You two have fun with planning.”

“Thanks sweetie,” Yuna said and looked back at Ilya once Shane was gone. “He’s going to be so happy if this works out how we want.”

“I will be husband of the year,” Ilya said with a sigh as he stared off in the direction Shane had gone.

“Are you going to be okay with being Hayden’s captain?” Yuna asked, her voice dropping lower. Ilya nodded his head and grabbed his tea, taking a sip. He was trying to figure out a way to verbalize his feelings. He knew how to explain it in Russian, but was not sure if he could get the feelings translated over appropriately.

“I do not hate Pike,” he said slowly, twisting the words over in his mind. Translating them as best as he could. “I was jealous of him for a very long time.”

“You were jealous?” Yuna asked, surprise lacing her voice.

“Yes. He was allowed to hug Shane in public, on television. He was allowed to be Shane’s friend, and it was platonic but he was allowed to love Shane loudly and in front of everyone. I was in the shadows, loving Shane secretly for so long, desperately wishing that I could one day love Shane loudly. Jealousy is not a pretty thing, and I do not think Pike has ever understood the jealousy, he has always just assumed I hated him. Which I did, in a way. Just not like he thought.”

“And now?” Yuna asked and Ilya sucked on his teeth.

“Old habits die hard. But,” Ilya took another drink of his tea, hesitating. “I have been with Shane in one way or another for over a decade. Before rookie season. Yet, Pike will always be my competition for Shane’s love and it is sometimes difficult to deal with. He has been there nearly as long as I have but everyone knew about him, never about me. I am not explaining well.”

“I think I understand what you’re saying,” Yuna said softly. “You know that you have nothing to be jealous about, right?”

“I do. Shane loves me as I love him. But, I think it will always be there. But I will not let it ruin things, I will be a good captain and I will be a good friend,” Ilya told her. “Maybe one day, I will tell him.”

“I think it might be good. It could be good for you and Hayden to talk about it. Because I imagine he has similar feelings about you,” Yuna said quietly.

Ilya gave her a soft smile and nodded his head. Maybe one day.

Ilya found himself along in the living room with Jackie. Hayden and Shane had gone upstairs to put the children to bed, the twins insisting on a good night story from Shane.

“How is it going?” Jackie asked quietly, the two sitting on the couch together. Ilya let out a breath.

“Good, it’s good. It is out of my hands now. I have made case to coach and GM and now they are contemplating.”

He wasn’t going to tell Jackie about the pay cut. It would just make her feel guilty or worry that she owed him something. Ilya didn’t want that. He didn’t want anyone to feel that way. He was doing this because he could not handle seeing how sad Pike was, nor his wife. This was probably selfish reasons, but it would have to stay that way. No one could know the full extent of what he had done to get this to happen. Shane would figure out a small part of it, would think maybe Ilya took a pay cut so that the team could afford Pike but he wouldn’t know Ilya’s part in it.

Hopefully.

“How is Pike?” Ilya asked and Jackie let out a breath.

“Miserable. He was talking to me about maybe just retiring and finding a non hockey job but he’d be miserable doing that too. I don’t know what to do. He hates his team, he comes home depressed, the kids are even starting to notice.”

“Just a few more weeks, hopefully,” Ilya said quietly. “I will talk to him, if you’d like. I am not Shane but I can give him a taste of Captain Rozanov,” he told her, giving Jackie a lazy smirk.

“You’re an idiot,” Jackie said with a laugh, rolling her eyes. “But I think that could be good. I think he needs someone to talk to. Shane is so… nice. And Hayden doesn’t want to make him worry and well, you know Hayden. He thinks this is his punishment for outing you guys. So he’s not going to complain about it.”

“I know,” Ilya said with a sigh. “I do not think Shane has even realized something is wrong. Or he is keeping his head in sand about it.”

“Maybe.”

It was later in the evening, Hayden had announced he was going outside to take a breath. Jackie asked Shane for assistance cleaning up and Ilya declared he would go out to smoke. He stepped outside and quickly found Hayden sitting on a the bench swing the Pikes kept in their front yard.

“May I sit? Or will smoke bother you?” Ilya asked, holding out his cigarette. Pike shook his head and motioned towards the spot next to him.

“By all means,” he said and Ilya sat beside him. He leaned back into the bench as he lit his cigarette and took a long drag, letting the smoke circle around his head after filling his lungs. There was a sharp burn to smoking, one that Ilya loved more than the taste, more than the nicotine. Shane hated that he smoked but it was the one thing Ilya couldn’t stop.

“Would you like a puff?” Ilya asked, holding the stick out to the man. Hayden shook his head, before taking it and taking a drag. He blew the smoke out and let out a slight cough. Ilya didn’t let himself smile. He didn’t.

“Penny for thoughts?” He asked and Pike arched an eyebrow at him.

“What?” He asked.

“You have seemed sad all night. Not chirping me, staring in the distance when you think no one is noticing, you are not paying attention like usual. Did not even laugh at Shane’s bad jokes.”

“I laughed,” Pike said halfheartedly. Ilya let out a soft laugh.

“No, you did not.” Ilya pulled another drag off his cigarette and tilted his head to look up at the night sky. “Do you know why Shane did not want to be captain when he came to Ottawa?”

“No,” Hayden said quietly, confusion in his voice.

“Is because he is very good at hockey, better than anyone I know. Better than me. Very good at that part of being captain, of the plays and how to win. But he is not good at the people side of things. He is not, ah, how you say, perceptive. He is so locked in on game that he does not pay attention to other parts of being captain.”

“He was a great captain!” Hayden exclaimed indignantly.

“I am not saying he was not. I am telling you what Shane told me when I offered captaincy,” Ilya said gently. “I am good at the people part of things. I notice everything, how my team is feeling, if a rookie is struggling with meshing with team. I pay attention to how my team is doing and I am the one who takes care of them. It is job of being captain, to take care of your team. Is what I am best at.”

Ilya hesitated and tapped the ash off of his cigarette.

“I am also best player in the league, so makes sense that I am captain.”

“Rozanov, get to the point,” Pike said tiredly.

“I am Hollander, thank you very much,” Ilya said in a teasing tone. He finished off his cigarette, putting it out on his shoe before slipping the but in his pocket. “I am telling you this because I see you, Pike. I am not your captain, but we are friends, yes? I can see that you are struggling and I want you to know that I am here if you need something. I will not be rude, no chirping, just friendship.”

“Why?” Pike asked. “You don’t like me, you’ve never liked me.”

“No,” Ilya admitted. “But my husband loves you and eventually he is going to see how badly you are struggling and he is going to worry. He is going to lose sleep trying to fix things that he cannot fix, he will blame himself for your misery. Think that if he never got with me, your life would not be so bad.”

“That’s so stupid! It’s not his fault the team sucks ass,” Hayden exclaimed indignantly. He slumped, though, as he finally looked at Ilya. “But yeah, that’s why I haven’t told him. I don’t want him to worry like that. And he would, you’re right.”

“I am always right. We are two men who know Shane Hollander better than anyone in the world,” Ilya said with a nod. “But, also, I can see the look in your eyes. You are thinking about retiring.”

“A little,” Hayden sighed, rocking the bench swing just a bit. “Might be easier. I’m nothing special, I don’t want to move my family to a completely different country or super far from here. Retirement makes most sense.”

Ilya hummed. “Do not retire. Things are changing, Pike, and I would be very sad if you missed it because you were being dumb. And you are not dumb, Hayden Pike.”

With that, Ilya stood up and stretched. He patted Hayden’s shoulder kindly and left the man outside. Hopefully his talk would help.

Ilya was already on his way to the training facility to get some work done when he got the call from the Centaur’s General Manager.

“Get to the facility and meet with Drover. The trade will be announced in the next few hours and I want you to give a statement.”

“Yes sir,” Ilya said, a wide smile on his face.

“Good, Drover is waiting for you in his office. You did take a pay cut, nothing major,” the man said and Ilya hummed in understanding.

“Understood, I was expecting,” he said before the two spoke a bit more on logistics and a meeting Ilya now had with Weibe once he finished with Harris. He also let Ilya know that Pike had already signed the paperwork but had been told to keep quiet until the announcement came out, which Pike had been happy to do when he realized he’d be able to surprise Shane. Soon, they hung up and Ilya let out a loud shout of relief. Everything was coming together.

Ilya was giddy the rest of the drive to the facility, already contemplating what he was going to say, if he was going to be more jovial in his announcement or more serious. He didn’t know yet, hopefully Harris would have some ideas on how he could make the announcement.

“Ilya!” Harris cheered as the man walked into the office and Ilya grinned in response. Harris leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk as he looked Ilya up and down. “A little birdie told me you orchestrated this.”

Ilya put his finger to his lips. “We tell no one.”

“Mum’s the word,” Harris said in agreement. “Now sit down, we need to figure out what you’re going to say in your welcome video. This is going to be big news and everyone knows that Hayden and Shane are best friends, but we need to show there are no hard feelings on your side. Once we figure it out, Rebecca will be in to film the video for social media and get it posted. Please be appropriate. I know you like being a menace but—”

“Harris. I have put in a lot of work for this. I am not going to say anything to ruin this, I promise.”

“Good,” Harris said with a grin.

The two sat down and created a script for Ilya to follow, something to show that there was no bad blood but that Ilya was excited to have Pike on the team and that he would make a good addition to the team.

Soon he found himself in the social media room, as the former marketing intern, now Social Media manager, Rebecca posed him in front of the Centaurs backdrop. Ilya was wearing a Centaurs t-shirt and ball cap twisted backwards on his head. He read his lines dutifully and soon sat back on the plush couch as Harris and Rebecca edited the video quickly to make sure it made it out before the announcement would be leaked from ESPN or someone else.

Eventually, Ilya found himself in front of the laptop, watching the video play back.

“Hello everyone! I am excited to welcome Hayden Pike to the Ottawa Centaurs,” Ilya said into the camera. “He is tremendous player, great teammate, and someone who is going to make big impact for our team.”

On cue he looked to the side and let out a laugh.

“This is not me, Harris. Is too nice,” he said. Video Ilya looked back at the camera and flashed them a cocky grin. “Ottawa Centaurs are pleased, I guess to announce that Pike has joined our team. Harris says I am supposed to be “welcoming” and “professional” so, welcome Pike. Please do not use this as excuse to steal my husband. Is very embarrassing for everyone.”

Ilya sobered up just a bit as he looked at the camera and nodded once. “In all seriousness, I am looking forward to getting to work together and seeing what we can accomplish this season. Welcome to the Centaurs, Pike.”

The screen went black, a fancy font suddenly appeared reading “Ilya Rozanov, Captain of the Ottawa Centaurs, humanitarian, victim.”

He let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. “I love it. Is perfect! Nice but not too nice. Don’t want to freak Pike out too badly, yes?”

“I think it’s perfect,” Harris confirmed, nodding his head. “Now, are you good with me posting this?”

“Absolutely. Now, I need to meet with Weibe and I imagine my husband will be blowing up my phone as soon as he gets the news.”

“Good luck,” Harris sang as Rebecca posted the video on all social media accounts.

Ilya said his goodbyes and made his way to Weibe’s office to discuss how they were going to arrange the team for Hayden to work well with them. He found his alternate captain, Bood in the hall and the two quietly spoke to one another about the trade, Ilya feigning surprise at the entire thing. They sat with Weibe and for the next hour and a half talked plans and how they were going to arrange things, eventually agreeing to have Pike on the second line with Shane, as his left wing, Haasy on his right. It was going to be an unstoppable line. One that was going to absolutely destroy in future games.

“We’ll need to test the line a few times, make sure it works out like we’re thinking. But Shane and Luca already have good chemistry, having Pike on the line will turn our second line into a powerhouse,” Weibe said as they finished up. “Training camp’s in a few weeks. I want the two of you to start working on making sure there’s a good coehesion to the team. I want a second cup this year, boys.”

“Understood,” Ilya said and Bood nodded his head.

“I’ll reach out to the boys and get a barbecue scheduled soon so that we can get to know our new teammate. Ilya’s going to add him to the group chat when we leave and we’ll offer to help getting the Pikes moved to Ottawa too.”

“Good. And there won’t be any hard feelings, right? Nothing that will get in the way of you being a good captain to Pike?” Weibe asked, leveling Ilya with a look.

“Absolutely not. I am prepared to be the best captain that Pike will ever have, even better than Shane was,” Ilya said with a grin. Weibe snorted and shook his head before saying goodbye.

As soon as he and Bood were in the hall, Zane turned and pinned Ilya with a glare.

“Did you know about this?” He demanded and Ilya shook his head.

“I am surprised as you are. I only knew an hour before you to make announcement. But I will play nice, Shane will kill me if I do not.”

“Jesus, yeah, he would,” Zane said with a laugh, running his hand over his face. ‘This shit’s going to be crazy, you know that right? I mean people are going to lose their shit.”

“I know,” Ilya said as both of their phones started to buzz and then Ilya’s started to ring. “There it is.”

Bood pulled his phone out and looked at their team group chat, everyone losing their shit over the announcement and demanding if Shane or Ilya knew. Ilya pressed ignore on the incoming call from Shane, smiling to himself as he quietly added Pike’s number to the team group chat, not saying anything else before he pocketed his phone.

“I will see you later?” he asked Bood who was typing away on his phone and looked up at Ilya, giving him a quick nod before waving Ilya off.

Ilya’s phone started ringing once again as Ilya made his way out to his car.

“Yes, my love? I am sorry for sending you to voicemail, I just finished meeting with Weibe,” Ilya said, unlocking his Spyder and climbing in.

“Ilya Hollander, I want answers right now,” Shane demanded.

“What is there to say? I had meeting with Weibe to get ready for training and I was informed Pike had been signed to team. Harris made me record video-was funny yes?”

“It was funny. But that’s not the point Ilya, did you know?” Shane demanded.

“Does not matter. Pike will be on second line with you. I know you liked being first line center last year with me on right. But I think this will work better, you, Pike, and Haasy. First line will be Barret, Bood, and me. Will be very good season, I think. Probably. Most likely.”

“Ilya!” Shane exclaimed.

“Shane!” Ilya exclaimed back as his phone connected to the Bluetooth in his car as he sped out of the parking lot.

“I can’t believe this. It’s going to be amazing, holy shit,” Shane said with a breath. “Come home so I can kiss the fuck out of you.”

“I’m on my way now, Beloved. I will see you soon.”

The two traded I love yous and hung up. Seconds later Ilya’s phone rang once again, this time with Jackie’s name lighting up. Ilya chuckled and shook his head as he answered.

“Thank you,” Jackie said through a sob. “He’s so excited he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He said he signed the paperwork this morning and has been losing his mind ever since the news broke. He said his agent’s been working on this quietly with Yuna and the team and I just—thank you Ilya. His light’s back.”

“Is no problem,” Ilya said quietly as he turned down the road. “He should not be punished for what happened, he does not deserve that. He—he freed Shane and me with that video. Now I will help free him from shitty team.”

“Am I allowed to tell him yet?” Jackie asked, letting out a sniff.

Ilya hummed. “No. I do not want this to change how he sees me. I do not want him to think I pity him.”

“Understood. You’re a good person Ilya Hollander. I’ll make sure you remember this forever,” she said quietly.

“Do not make me regret this, Jackie,” Ilya warned. “Also, Harris has your number, he is adding you to SAP chat that I am not allowed to be a part of. Your payment for me helping is to convince them to let me join. I can be SAP and player, I just need someone to believe in me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jackie said with a laugh.

“Team as agreed to help move, just let us know when you find a place,” Ilya told her. She agreed and before Ilya knew it, they were hanging up and Ilya was walking back in the house. Only to get pounced on by Shane.

“Thank you,” the man said, arms wrapped around Ilya’s shoulders as he hugged him tight. “Thank you so much.”

“I do not know what you are talking about,” Ilya said as he held his husband tight to him. He pressed a soft kiss to Shane’s temple and held him close.

“Don’t even,” Shane said. “You took a pay cut so that my best friend could be signed to our team. That means everything to me, and you know it. You’re a good person, Ilya.”

“Ech don’t say that. Jackie said same thing. I am not good person, just tired of seeing Pike looked like kicked puppy, moping and whining every time we see him. Is exhausting,” Ilya said with a groan. “Could not handle seeing it anymore.”

“Whatever,” Shane said and gave Ilya a soft kiss. “Thank you, Baby.”

“Is okay, I got a Canada Dry brand deal, so it works out,” Ilya told him, nipping Shane’s nose lightly.

Shane pulled back, eyes wide. “Wait, really?”

“Da, just wait until commercial airs,” Ilya said with a grin. “Is sexy and beautiful. You will want to lick ginger ale off of my abs.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Shane said with a soft laugh.

“We’re getting Canada Dry PR boxes,” Ilya said and Shane all but melted in his arms.

“God, I love you.”

“Not God, just Ilya,” he teased, pressing another kiss to Shane’s plush lips. “But you can show me how much you love me if you want?”

Ilya stood back, watching as the team finished helping load the last of the Pike’s furniture in a moving truck and took a long drag off of his cigarette. It had been rather quick work, the team managing to get everything packed into the trucks rather quickly, the Montreal House quickly emptying of everything that made it a home.

“Are you ready for me to join your team?” Pike asked, moving to stand beside him.

“Are you ready for me to be your captain?” Ilya countered.

Pike didn’t say anything for a moment, taking the cigarette from Ilya and taking a pull off of it. “Yeah, I’ve heard from a pretty reliable source that you’re one of the best captains in the league.”

“Blyat, do not compliment me. Is weird,” Ilya said, taking the cigarette back and waving his hand. Pike said nothing else before he suddenly turned and pulled Ilya in for a tight hug. Ilya stiffened for a moment, before relaxing and patting the man’s back.

“Thank you.” Pike’s voice was quiet as he whispered the words, the only acknowledgement between them of what Ilya had done. The only one that there ever would be.

Ilya hummed in response. “You deserve good things, Pike. But do not think you can get away with being fifteenth best player on my team. I will make you regret ever thinking I am a good captain.”

Pike pulled away and let out a breath, running fingers through his blond hair.

“Cap’s right,” Young said as he walked past with a box. “He makes us do bag skates first thing ever training camp.”

“Are you a sadist?” Pike asked, looking at Ilya with wide eyes.

“Da,” Ilya said, putting his cigarette out and handing it to pike. “Welcome to the team, Hayden Pike.”

Written by a human in Ellipsus.