Work Text:
It started off like any other morning. Kate woke up and started her day the same way she always did, preparing breakfast and packing lunches for the kids before sending them off to school.
“Alexa, what are today’s Ottawa news updates” she said as she sliced up apples to add to their lunch boxes.
Kate liked taking a few minutes every morning to keep up with what is going on in her city and, with everything she had to prepare before school drop off, she had plenty of time while she worked to make sure Andrew and Willa made it to school fed, on time, and in one piece. Just as Alexa started reading off the top headlines she heard footsteps running down the hall as Andrew and Willa burst into the kitchen, asking for their morning cereal.
She caught the tail end of the first headline “—computers for kids in need”, and the beginning of the next one “rats continue to wreak havoc—” before Willa whined “Mom, I’m hungry” at the same time Andrew yelled “I’m ready for cereal!”
That was her cue, so Kate got the kids settled at the table and happily eating before tuning back into the day’s headlines.
“Finally Home Safe! Toddler Found in the Woods after nearly 3 Days Missing”
“Whirlwind Romance or PR Stunt? Ottawa Centaurs’ Captain, Ilya Rozanov, filmed kissing Montreal Voyager’s Captain Shane Hollander in Viral FanMail Video”.
Kate froze.
Willa looked up and asked through half chewed cereal “Mommy, why are they talking about Ilya?”
“Alexa, stop” Kate said as she took a deep breath and looked at Willa “I’m not sure baby, let me find out, keep eating and then we can talk.”
“Ok” Willa said happily and went back to eating.
Kate pulled out her phone and quickly typed “Ilya Rozanov” into Google only to be hit with dozens of headlines from the last few hours.
“Womanizer Ilya Rozanov is Gay! Click Here for Video Proof”
“Centaur’s Captain Ilya Rozanov Caught Kissing Voyager’s Shane Hollander”
“Prank or Torrent Affair? Everything We Know About Hayden Pike’s FanMail Video Showing Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander Locking Lips”
“Were the Games Ever Fair? Famous Rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov Caught Kissing, What Else Have They Been Hiding?”
She had seen enough, so Kate quickly exited out of the browser. Poor Ilya, she thought, she can’t even imagine what it was like to wake up to this absolute shitshow. But wow.
Kate gave herself exactly 10 seconds to let her thoughts be consumed by this new information. Was it true? Was Ilya in a secret relationship with Shane Hollander? As she let her mind begin to process, she thought about what she knew about Ilya’s love life…and it kind of, maybe a little bit, actually made some sense? Despite his reputation, Kate had never seen Ilya bring anyone home and he hasn’t been photographed out partying or with women since at least a little bit before he was traded to Ottawa. Speaking of which, coming to Ottawa at all was kind of crazy, one of the best players in the league coming to the worst team? I mean she was thrilled, obviously, but to this day he’s never given anything beyond vague non-explanations, simply letting the media continue to speculate about his move. But Ottawa is Shane Hollander’s hometown, and the closest NHL team to Montreal.
And then there was the charity. It was kind of bizarre, if she really thought about it, notorious rivals who supposedly hated each other suddenly teaming up for the greater good. Of course the media ate it up…but Kate had never managed to meet Shane Hollander and Ilya never said much about him so she was never able to get a read on if it was genuine or just something to keep the public talking.
As her mind raced, she pretty quickly concluded that this revelation did actually explain some things. And just as that thought slammed into her, so did the reality that Ilya just had his private life put on display for the world, already being debated by everyone.
If she’s being honest, Kate didn’t know what to think when she heard Ilya Rozanov was moving next door. He had quite the reputation in Boston, a party boy, womanizer, rude, crass, an all-around arrogant asshole. She’s slightly ashamed to acknowledge that she bought into the media’s narrative. She was cautious around him, at first, especially when it came to the kids. But it didn’t take long for her to see how much his public persona was just that, a persona. He had been nothing but kind to her whole family. He never stopped by their house without making time to talk to Willa and Andrew, regularly bringing them gifts, and always promising to score goals for them when Ottawa played at home. It didn’t take long for her to see his softer side, and she feels honored to know the part of Ilya Rozanov that lives beyond the media.
Now that she knew him better, she had started to worry a little bit about him. He always seemed so solitary, spending most of his time in his house or disappearing for days at a time while evading questions about what he’d been up to. And, in this moment, she realized she knew so little about his personal life despite living next door to him and seeing him almost every day he was home for nearly 3 years.
I guess now I know why she thought ruefully as her heart ached for Ilya having something he clearly worked hard to keep private exposed without any say in it. While she was tempted to watch the video and start reading the articles to learn more about what happened, she had no interest in contributing to the invasion of Ilya’s privacy and definitely wanted nothing to do with what people had to say about it. She could only imagine the horrific things that awaited in the comment sections of these articles and the cesspool that is Twitter. So, she opted not to engage.
Just as she was wrapping her mind around the matter and getting her thoughts in order, Andrew’s voice cut through her thoughts as he said “What’s wrong, mommy? Is Ilya ok?”
She shook her head to pull herself back to the moment and gave Andrew and Willa a tight smile. “Don’t worry baby, Ilya is ok. Mommy just needs to send him a quick text and then we can talk about why he’s in the news”.
She unlocked her phone again as she told the kids to go sit on the couch. This time she pulled up her text chain with Ilya. She wasn’t sure what one is supposed to say in this type of situation as she’s not sure this exact type of situation has happened before; it certainly hasn’t in men’s hockey. Even Scott Hunter’s theatrical coming out was a much different situation than the two best players in the league and famous rivals being outed as in a secret romantic relationship.
She sighed and typed out the best she could come up with. I saw the headlines and I just wanted to let you know that the kids and I are thinking of you. I’m so sorry this happened, you and Shane didn’t deserve to have your privacy violated like this. You don’t have to reply but I just wanted to know we love you and are here to support you if you need anything.
Kate honestly wasn’t expecting a reply. So she was surprised when the message was hearted almost immediately and quickly followed a text reading Thank you, Kate.
Kate sighed, happy to know that Ilya was at least ok enough to reply to her text. But now she has to figure out how to tell the kids.
She walked into the living room and immediately saw Andrew and Willa staring at her with wide eyes, waiting for an explanation. She sat down and figured she just had to start somewhere and figure out how to have this conversation as she had it.
“So you both know how daddy is my partner and on top of loving and taking care of you we also love each other, and that’s why we got married?”
Both kids nod their heads.
“And you remember all the times we have talked about how even though I am a girl and daddy is a boy, that there are also boys who fall in love with other boys and girls who fall in love with other girls?”
Both Willa and Andrew break out in to big smiles and nod enthusiastically while Willa exclaims “And there are some people who aren’t boys or girls and they fall in love too but all that matters is that we remember that everyone’s relationship is special and important no matter who is in the relationship!”
This brings a small smile to Kate’s face as she nods and says “That’s right, and it’s important that we support everyone.”
Willa and Andrew keep nodding excitedly while Andrew said “What does this have to do with Ilya?”
“Well” Kate takes a deep breath “the news just found out that Ilya is in love with someone, and his partner is a boy”.
At that, both kids looked at her confused, there was a pause before Willa asked “Ok but why is that in the news?”
In that moment, Kate felt like she must have done something right to raise kids who were so accepting that the mere thought of a gay relationship being notable enough to make the news was absurd. If only the world felt the same.
“Unfortunately,” Kate began slowly “not everyone is as supportive of two boys being in love as we are and there aren’t a lot of hockey players who are in relationships with other boys.”
Willa frowned while Andrew gave her a confused look. “So Ilya is in the news because people don’t like that he has a boyfriend?”
“Yes” Kate paused “But it’s not just that…Ilya is in a relationship with another hockey player and there are a lot of people who are angry about that”
“Why would people be angry about that?” Willa asked with a frown “Shouldn’t they be happy that Ilya has a boyfriend that likes the same things that he does?”
Kate looks at both of her sweet children with sadness in her eyes “Yes, they should be. Unfortunately, not everyone is as loving and rational as we are.”
After a few seconds of silence, Andrew’s face turns serious before transitioning into determined and then he exclaims “Well then we’ll just have to give Ilya extra love next time we see him!”
“Yeah!” Willa exclaimed enthusiastically
Kate looked at them and said “Yes, we will. But first, it’s time to go to school.”
Both of them nodded their heads before getting up, gathering their bags and heading out the door and towards the car.
As Kate drove the typical route to school, Andrew chattered as usual, talking about whatever came to mind, but Willa was unusually quiet. Kate supposed the news this morning and, more specifically, the fact that people were angry about it, was a lot to take in, especially for an 8-year-old who had never considered that people could be angry over who someone loves.
After about 15 minutes on the road, she finally spoke up and said “Do you think we’ll get to meet Ilya’s boyfriend?”
Kate let out a laugh and said “I’m sure we will baby.”
Another pause, then Willa says “Do we know who he is?”
Kate hesitates. She had intentionally left out this detail at home in an attempt to not overwhelm them with information, especially since they know who Shane Hollander is. In this moment, she regrets that decision because of course the kids would want to know. And, in retrospect, it was unlikely that they would both get through the school day without someone bringing this up.
Kate signaled to switch lanes as she responded to Willa’s question, “Ilya’s boyfriend is actually Shane Hollander.”
Both kids went completely silent and, for a moment, Kate worried that this upset them. But then, Willa started squealing while Andrew bounced up and down in his seat while exclaiming “We are going to meet THE Shane Hollander!?” followed by Willa chiming in with “Ilya loves Shane Hollander!”
The excitement in the car was palpable as both her children found this news the most exciting thing they had heard all morning. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding and let the kids talk to each other excitedly as she drove them the rest of the way to school.
After the kids were safely dropped off at school and Kate was back home, she took a deep breath and sunk onto the sofa. It was only 9:30 and she felt like she had lived 3 lives since she woke up. And just as that thought popped into her head she couldn’t help but think about how Ilya must be feeling. And Shane. He was in this too, she realized, and both of them must have had quite the morning, in the worst possible way.
Kate felt so helpless, she wanted to do something. Something more than a text showing her support, but she also didn’t want to intrude or burden them with additional things demanding their attention. So, instead, she moved around the house restlessly, cleaning, organizing, and anything else she could think of to keep her mind and body busy.
After the house was spotless and everything was neatly organized in its spot, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was only noon. She sighed for what felt like the thousandth time since she woke up.
Just as she was contemplating what to do next, her phone rang. She looked at it and frowned when she saw it was the kids’ school calling. She quickly answered the phone, hoping nothing had happened to Willa or Andrew.
After a brief but confusing phone call with the Principal, Kate was back in the car on her way to the school. The phone call was vague, just asking her to come to the school to discuss an incident with Willa. She was assured that Willa was fine but that they needed an emergency parent conference.
She finally arrived and walked into the school, only to see Willa sitting in the front office, hands folded, and looking down at her lap. Kate frowned as Willa looked up as she started to say “Mom, I—” just as the Principal walked out and asked for both of them to join him in his office.
Once sat down the Principal expressed concerns about Willa’s behavior toward another student, explaining that she was found on the playground screaming at one of her classmates. When asked what she was doing, she just said that he was saying bad things and she couldn’t let him keep saying them but wouldn’t say more than that.
Kate turned to Willa only to see tears in her eyes and her lower lip beginning to wobble. “Mommy” she began slowly “they were saying horrible things about Ilya. Calling him bad words and saying that the Centaurs should be ashamed that he’s their captain and that him and Shane Hollander should be kicked out of the league and never allowed to play hockey again” the last part came out in a whisper before she burst into tears.
It took everything in Kate’s power not to cry herself. Once again Kate was struck with a pang of regret, how could she not anticipate that this is what her babies would be met with at school. Just because she and her husband worked so hard to instill love and acceptance for everyone in both of their children doesn’t mean every child was getting that in their homes.
She took a deep breath and pushed down her regret at not preparing Willa and Andrew for what they may encounter today and turned to the Principal. She saw him sigh before looking at her with slight dismay and said “We are going to call this meeting a warning. Willa, I’m sorry that he said those things and we will meet with him as well to make sure he understands that kind of intolerance is not acceptable at this school” Kate’s shoulders loosened slightly as he continued “but, in the future, please talk to your teacher instead of yelling at your classmates. As hard as it may be, let the grownups take care of it.”
Willa just nodded and resumed starting at her lap.
Kate decided it was probably best to take Willa home for the rest of the day, so she decided to also pull Andrew out of class as well. As she and Willa waited for Andrew to be pulled out of class, Kate knelt down to give Willa a big hug. “Willa, I know that what your classmate said was wrong and that you were only trying to protect Ilya, but you can’t fight at school again, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Willa just looked at her for a long time and then said “I know I shouldn’t have yelled but I was just so mad that they would ever talk about Ilya that way. And Shane”. She took a breath “I didn’t know people could be so mean.”
Just as Kate was going to respond, Andrew was brought into the office. Kate looked up and said “Let’s go home first, then we can talk more.”
Once they arrived home, Kate had them both sit at the table and gave them their apple slices and some peanut butter. Kate had lost count of how many times today she’s had to brace herself for a challenging conversation with her kids, and this one was going to be, by far, the most challenging.
Each time they’ve talked about this she’s been faced with the reality of having to let her kids know that the world beyond their home was not always kind. And that there were so many people who are hateful toward and say bad things about people just because of who they are and who they love. She looked at both of them and decided that just being direct was the best choice in this situation.
“Willa, Andrew” she began “I know that you love Ilya and are very happy that he is in love. And I know that you are very excited that he gets to be with Shane Hollander, but not everyone feels this way.” Kate smiled sadly “There’s a lot of people who are against two boys loving each other. And there’s a lot of people who are very upset that two famous hockey players are in love. And those people are saying, and will continue to say, very mean and hateful things about it”.
Andrew frowned and said “But why are they upset? Isn’t being in love a happy thing? Aren’t they excited that two hockey players are in love?”
“I wish that was true, sweetie” Kate said “but not everyone feels the way we do because some people were taught that this is bad and wrong” After another pause, Kate continued “I wish I could fix it and that everyone would feel the way we do, but I can’t. The best thing we can do is be supportive and put as much love and kindness out into the world as we can.”
Kate wishes it was really that simple and that this little family could change the world, but she could at least make sure that her family worked against the problem and not to perpetuate it.
After a heavy pause Willa asked “Is there anything we can do for Ilya?”
At that, Kate smiled and said “I’m sure we can think of something.”
For the rest of the evening the kids had been relentless in their campaign to do something to show their support. Kate suggested they make a card or a sign for Ilya and, while Andrew seemed to consider this idea, Willa was appalled at the idea of supporting Ilya but not Shane.
The idea came the next day when they were at the mall getting a gift for a birthday party they were attending. They walked passed the comic book store only for Andrew to pause in the window.
“Andrew what is it?” Kate asked.
Andrew then pointed at the shelf and said “Look! It’s Ilya!”
Kate looked up and, sure enough, she saw an Ilya Rozanov Funko Pop Figure, complete with a Centaurs uniform and hockey stick, sitting on the middle shelf of the display with an actual picture of Ilya next to it.
Willa ran up next to him immediately while asking “Do you think they have a Shane Hollander one too!?”
And before Kate knew what was happening, both of her kids were running inside the comic book store. By the time she caught up to them, Willa already had the Ilya Rozanov Pop Figure in hand and eyebrows furrowed as she scanned the Pop Figure wall.
“Mom, I can’t find Shane Hollander.” Willa said, frowning “We HAVE to find Shane Hollander! This is what we can do to show our support, we can make a sign for Ilya and leave the pop figures near it so he knows we support him AND Shane” she concluded.
Kate’s heart warmed at that idea and thought it was a lovely show of support. However, after a quick scan, Kate agreed that they did not, in fact, have a Shane Hollander Pop Figure. It made sense, she supposed, given that they were in Ottawa and he played for Montreal.
She walked to the front desk to ask the employee if they had one and they quickly confirmed that they did not carry them. Just as Kate was getting ready to let the kids know, the employee said their Montreal location did have some in stock and they would be happy to order one for one-day delivery to their house. Kate smiled and just as she finished giving them her address, Andrew walked up tapping her side and, when she looked down, handed her the Ilya Pop Figure. Willa trailed behind him looking a bit defeated as she stood back. Kate turned back to the employee and handed them the additional Pop Figure with a quiet “this one as well.” She finished paying and took the bag with the Ilya Pop Figure and they exited the store.
At this point, Willa spoke up and said “I’m excited we got Ilya’s Pop Figure, but I really wanted to get the Shane one too, so we could show our support.”
She decided not to tell either of them that she had ordered the Shane Hollander Pop Figure to be delivered so she could give them a little surprise the next day.
Instead, Kate smiled and said “It was a really lovely idea, Willa, but let’s plan on making a sign for now.”
The next day, while the kids were working on decorating a sign to hang up for Ilya, they got a delivery. They had just finished writing “We love you Ilya” when Kate got up to bring the package into the house.
Kate was so excited it had arrived she almost ripped it open herself. But, instead, she paused and called for Willa and Andrew to come open a gift she got them. They both came in, looking a little confused as to why they were getting a gift, but it didn’t take long for them to get distracted and excitedly rip into the box.
As soon as they had it open, Andrew was running upstairs to retrieve the Ilya Pop Figure while Willa begged her to open up Shane’s without ruining the packaging.
Just a few minutes later, they had their “We love you, Ilya” sign and the Shane and Ilya pop figures by the door while they debated where to set everything up.
And in that moment, her heart was so full at the joy her kids were experiencing by showing their support and the thought that maybe she was doing ok at this whole parenting thing.
They went outside to get everything set up and smiled when the sign had been successfully propped up against their front tree with the two Pop Figures carefully arranged in front of it.
Ilya passed his neighbors’ house—the one where Willa and Andrew lived—and stopped dead in his tracks. There was a large hand-drawn sign attached to the tree near the end of their driveway. “We love you, Ilya!”
Underneath the sign was a little shelf that held two Funko Pop Figures: one of Ilya, and one of Shane.
Ilya fumbled for the phone he was glad he’d decided to shove in his coat pocket before leaving. He turned it on, took a photo, and sent it to Shane.
Shane: Oh wow. Is that your neighbors’ house?
Ilya: Yes. We are not so alone, I think.
Several months later Kate was sitting her living room while the kids entertained themselves. It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon in early October and she was enjoying the rare but welcome quiet that had settled over her home.
As she was quietly reading her book, Kate heard a knock at the door. She put in her bookmark, set the book down, and got up and walked to the door. She pulled up her Ring app to see who was at the front door and, to her surprise, Shane Hollander was standing at her front door, looking around as he fidgeted slightly.
She had met Shane a few times, including at the wedding, but had only really exchanged pleasantries and only with Ilya also around. She had invited the two of them to come to dinner but, with the whirlwind of a summer they’d both had, they hadn’t been able to find time yet.
She opened the door with a bright smile and said “Shane! What a pleasant surprise, how can I help you?”
Shane smiled shyly and stammered a bit before saying “Kate, I hope you don’t mind me dropping by…unannounced, but I had something I wanted to give to you…and the kids. I can also come back later, if that’s easier, I’m sorry for not calling ahea—”
Kate cut him off with a quick “Shane, I’m thrilled you’re here, no need for apologies, come on in.”
It was only as he started to come inside that she noticed the bags in his hand. As Kate trailed behind him, she yelled out “Kids! Shane came to visit”.
She barely finished her sentence before Andrew and Willa came running into the hall, excitedly greeting Shane.
“Uh, hey Willa, hey Andrew” Shane said followed by a pause “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by but I—uh—wanted to bring you both something.”
And with that, Shane knelt down and held out two bags with their names neatly printed on the tags. He then lowered his voice as if sharing a secret and said “Now you can’t tell anyone about this because these don’t come out until the home opener and they are highly anticipated” a small smile appeared on his face before he continued “but I couldn’t let the season start without making sure that my favorite fans were ready for game day, so I snuck into the arena to grab a few for you before they’re released.”
And with that he handed them the bags. Andrew and Willa wasted no time ripping into them only to each pull out a Centaurs jersey in their respective sizes. After staring at them for a few seconds, Willa turned hers over only to reveal “Hollander” printed neatly on the back.
The smiles that appeared on both of their faces were blinding as both of them quickly pulled on their new jerseys before tackling Shane in a hug. Shane just chuckled and hugged them back before standing up.
He walked over to Kate and handed her two similar bags and said “For you and your husband.”
Kate didn’t know what to say, but before she could figure it out, Shane spoke “Your support and kindness for Ilya over the last few years has been wonderful, it was hard—on both of us—to be apart and keep our relationship a secret, but I know he always found joy in getting to know and see your family” Shane paused before continuing “and when everything came out, your text message and the sign your kids set up, it may have seemed small but it meant a lot—it means a lot, so…uh…thank you.”
Shane finished, looking like he was feeling a little awkward, so Kate jumped in and said “We love Ilya and feel so fortunate we get to live next door to him. We don’t know you that well yet, but I just know we’ll love you too and we can’t wait to get to know you better.”
Shane smiled softly before saying “I have to get back home, lots to do as we prepare for the home opener, but I have one more gift”
And, with that, Shane pulled out 4 tickets to the home opener and handed them to her. Kate stared at them for a moment. She had tried to get tickets to the home opener only to find they were sold out. Sold out Centaurs tickets were something she had never had to think about before but an unexpected trip to the playoffs and suddenly having the two best players in the league on the same team would change ticket sales, she realized a little too late.
The kids were disappointed to be missing it, but she promised to find tickets for a different game. When Kate looked up at Shane, stunned, he just shrugged and said “We have two sets of friends and family tickets now, we would be honored if you would take them for our first game together.”
And with that Shane said he had to go and started to move toward the door.
As he moved away, Kate spoke up and said “Thank you, Shane. Really…would you mind if I gave you a hug?”
Shane paused and smiled before leaning in for a quick hug. And then, with that, he walked out the door to head home.
Later that week, Shane and Ilya were on their way to the arena for their first game together and they stopped by to get a pep talk and admire the sign the kids had made. Today it said “Shane Hollander + Ilya Rozanov =” with a drawing (or attempted drawing) of a Stanley Cup.