Work Text:
'Cause all of the small things that you do
Are what remind me why I fell for you
It was barely even 9 am, but the heat was already close to unbearable. Shane had thought that if they headed to the farmer’s market early, they could get ahead of the heatwave – a plan that was already failing spectacularly as they stepped out of the car.
Shane felt damp the second the door closed behind him, breathing in more humidity than he was comfortable with. The farmer’s market was crowded despite the weather - people were drifting between stalls with iced coffees in hand, talking animatedly, looking for the freshest produce.
Shane adjusted his sunglasses and tried not to think about how his T-shirt was already slightly sticking to his back.
“You wanted to come here,” Ilya reminded him, and Shane shot him a weak glare.
“We need fresh fruits and vegetables, and the best ones can be found here,” he argued, though he was well aware that only he and Luca ever actually cared about that.
Ilya looked entirely unbothered by the heat, “Of course. Can’t die of…what is it? Scurvy,” he nodded to himself, clearly pleased.
“If anyone could do it, it would be you. There’s not a lot of vitamins in Snickers.”
Beside them, Luca quietly laughed at the exchange while examining a basket of cherries.
“I thought you were on my side,” Ilya pouted when he heard the laugh.
“Shane is not wrong. Your eating habits are…unique,” Luca grinned without even looking up from the cherries.
Once they had bought a basket, Ilya reached over to Shane, fingers brushing against his wrist before attempting to slide their hands together, like he did all the time when they were out and about.
Usually, Shane liked holding hands. Liked how steady it felt, how Ilya or Luca were his anchor, no matter where, no matter what.
Today, though, his skin already felt overstimulated from the heat - sweaty fabric, humid air, too many people moving too close together, too close to him. The thought of sweaty palms sticking together made his whole body tense instinctively.
He pulled his hand back with a small grimace and shook his head, “No.”
Ilya blinked at him, then pouted, “You reject me?”
“It’s thirty degrees.”
“And?”
“And your hands are sweaty.”
“They are not.”
Shane stared at him in disbelief. Ilya couldn’t truly be this delusional, could he?
Ilya paused, then relented, “Maybe a little.”
“A little,” Shane repeated, shooting him an incredulous look.
Ilya continued pouting at him anyway, still hopeful Shane might change his mind.
Shane shook his head once more, before reminding him, “You have another boyfriend,” he nodded towards Luca, who was grinning at the mention of him, “Go hold hands with him.”
Without missing a beat, Ilya dramatically turned toward Luca.
“You saw that? How our boyfriend rejected me?”
“I did,” Luca said, barely able to hide his grin, “Very sad for you.”
“Will you put me out of my misery?” Ilya now pouted at Luca and didn’t have to wait long for a response.
“Obviously,” Luca grinned and easily slipped his hand into Ilya’s.
Ilya brightened instantly, fingers intertwining with Luca’s, happy to finally have a hand to hold, even though it was, most definitely, a sweaty affair.
“There you go,” Shane shook his head, but looked amused, “Now you have a hand to hold.”
“You are heartless,” Ilya informed him, all while happily swinging their hands between them.
“You’re literally holding your boyfriend’s hand right now.”
“The rejection is still here,” Ilya dramatically poked at his own chest with the pointer finger of his unoccupied hand.
Luca leaned closer to Shane as they kept walking. “For the record,” he said quietly, “his hands are actually disgusting right now.”
“I knew it,” Shane softly grinned.
“Traitor,” Ilya gasped, but Luca simply laughed and kept pulling him along before he could protest any further.
They slowly moved through the market after that, stopping for fresh bread, strawberries, and ingredients for a fresh salad for lunch. Shane mostly stayed at the edges of the crowd, to have more space to breathe, occasionally brushing shoulders with Luca or Ilya in passing but otherwise avoiding any and all lingering contact.
By the time they finally carried their bags back to the car, Shane looked thoroughly done with the heat, the humidity and people.
“I am never leaving the house again,” he announced as he leaned back into the passenger seat.
“Impossible,” Luca said as he started the car.
“Says who?”
“Says me. We have hockey practice tomorrow.”
“Right. Hockey,” Shane sighed deeply, earning himself amused grins from both Ilya and Luca, because they both knew very well that Shane would never be upset about hockey practice.
Back at home, the first thing Shane did was stand directly in front of the air conditioner vent, while Ilya and Luca began putting away their groceries in the kitchen.
“This,” Shane let out a long sigh, closing his eyes as cool air hit his face, “is the best moment of my life.”
“You are so dramatic when you’re warm,” Ilya said, before turning towards the fridge again to put the strawberries away.
“Still less dramatic than you,” Shane retorted without even opening his eyes, smirking when he heard Luca huff a laugh.
While Shane reclaimed his spot on the couch beneath the ceiling fan he had insisted on getting installed, Luca stayed in the kitchen to cut up some of the watermelon for them as a snack.
Slowly, with the AC running full blast and the quiet familiarity of home settling around them, Shane’s overstimulation began to trickle away, his muscles loosening bit by bit, his breathing gradually evening out.
Ilya wandered over a few minutes later and dropped onto the couch beside him.
Then, with an absolute confidence only he could possess, he held his hand out once again.
Shane tilted his head and looked down at it.
“No.”
“But we are indoors now. No sun here.”
“You’re still sweaty.”
Ilya inspected his own palm, as if this were the first time he was considering this.
“A little.”
“A lot.”
Ilya sighed loudly and turned his head toward the kitchen, “Luca. Shane continues to deny me affection.”
“You’re very clingy for someone who frequently gets affection from two boyfriends,” Shane observed.
“I need it. It’s like fuel,” Ilya seriously argued, then grinned, before moving to the opposite end of the couch to stretch out his legs.
Luca joined them then, carrying a bowl of watermelon and sat down next to Shane.
“I think I have an idea,” he thoughtfully spoke up after a moment, “A compromise, perhaps.”
Shane looked at him, unsure what to expect, but willing to hear him out regardless.
“Pinkies.”
“…What?”
Luca lifted one hand, curling his little finger in Shane’s direction, “Minimal contact. No sweaty palms.”
On the other side of the couch, Ilya immediately sat upright to see exactly what Luca was about to demonstrate.
Shane huffed a laugh despite himself. This was ridiculous.
This was, also, kind of perfect.
Because the problem had never been touch itself – just the too-much-ness of it all, especially on hot summer days.
The offer sat between them without pressure. That was the important part. Luca was good at that - finding workarounds instead of making Shane push through the discomfort.
After a second, he loosely hooked his pinkie around Luca’s.
Minimal contact. Dry skin. Manageable. Nice.
Something in his chest loosened immediately.
Luca smiled but didn’t comment on it, which Shane appreciated. He simply let their joined pinkies rest between them.
Moments later, Ilya dramatically held up his own pinkie, even though there was no way he could actually reach Shane that way.
Shane raised an eyebrow at him, “That won’t work, Ilya.”
“It is the thought that counts,” Ilya said with complete sincerity.
Luca giggled a little at Ilya’s antics, then Shane joined in with a low chuckle.
“I still get my turn, yes?” Ilya asked then, and Shane’s smile softened into something more tender then, something that conveyed both his love and gratitude for his boyfriends.
“Of course.”
Because they might tease, but in the end, they would always find a way to stay connected, too.