Chapter Text
Raising 4 kids is no joke, he couldn’t believe that now at 45, he has 4 kids. After constantly chirping Hayden Pike about his army of children, he can’t believe he let himself get caught in the same situation. The only thing keeping him from crashing out is knowing that his kids are way better than Hayden Pike’s, well actually no, he loves Ruby, Jade, Arthur and Amber, so even he can’t use that as an excuse. When Shane had suggested having one more child to complete their family, he was ecstatic, until he realised that meant 4 kids all within one roof, was he even ready for another child so late in life? Then he stared at Ally as she cried out into the hospital room and all his doubt was immediately gone. All of his kids brought out the best in him, raising them alongside Shane was the cherry on top.
When he first met the twins, he was immediately drawn to them. It was a match made in heaven. Niko and Alex were everything they had hoped for. When the twins had become more comfortable with them, the house was full of chaos at all times. Ilya took it upon himself to meet all of Alex's needs, all the pranks we wanted to play out and the energetic force that he let out during hockey practices always kept Ilya feeling young.
“Papa, we’re going to be late, I want to get on the ice before everyone else.” Alex groaned.
“We will not be late, I just need to do one more level of candy crush, can you believe they added more levels, it is endless.” He scoffed.
Shane chuckled. “If you guys leave now, you might just make it.”
Sofia snickered, making herself known in the room, “Isn’t the training at 10am?”
“Yeah?”
“Dad it's 8am right now.”
“I don’t see what your point is, there is nothing wrong with being punctual. Getting there first is a good sign of dedication”
Alex grabbed his bag closer to him on the kitchen bench, he began stuffing at least 10 protein bars into the side pocket. He already had one in his mouth, his father looking at him in mortification.
“Hey! Those are my bars, they’re not for little kids.” Shane grabbed the wrapper off of him.
“If I am going to grow as big as you guys, I need to start eating the same things that you do.” He argued.
Shane began taking the protein bars out of the pocket, much to Alex’s dissatifaction. Alex was only 5 '9, compared to his team-mates, he wasn’t as tall as he hoped he would be. He had hoped that by the time the season started up again, he would be 6 feet or taller, just like his Papa, but nothing happened. “I’m one of the smallest on my team, please don’t do this to me” He pleaded.
“You’re only 15, give yourself time,” Ilya concluded. Ilya hadn’t even reached his full height until much later than 15, his son’s concerns were nothing to be worried about. Although he couldn’t give a specific answer to how tall he would grow, he was certain with how tall Alex and Niko already were, there was still room to grow.
The drive to the rink was brief, Alex laid his head against the window watching the trees. Ilya decided to ramble about yesterday's lunch with Yuna and David. They had just gotten back from a road trip with some friends and had a wonderful time. By the time they had gotten to the rink, Alex had yet to say a word, which raised some concern as Alex was usually pretty chatty when he was in a car, deciding that it was the perfect time to say all of his thoughts because everyone was confined in the small space and couldn’t leave even if they wanted to.
Alex quickly exited the car, slinging his bag over his shoulder, leaving Ilya to quickly scramble out and follow him. He knew he would have to address whatever was bothering him, maybe playing hockey again would be able to soothe him for now. There was still an hour until training would begin, Alex had already disappeared into the changing rooms so Ilya walked over to the administration office to find exactly who he was looking for. Oliver Matthews, the manager of the rink. Ilya believed that he lived in the rink, he was always there, Ilya never saw him enter or leave, he would simply be sitting at his desk, a hot coffee beside his mousepad and a simple picture of his family propped up on the corner of his desk. He had two monitors that always had documents up or excel sheets, Ilya wondered if he actually went home or had a social life outside of the rink. “Ilya, so glad to see you again!” He exclaimed. He got up from his chair and gestured for Ilya to sit in the chair on the other side of him. Ilya quickly sat himself down and they began discussing how the new season would look, scheduling, opening times, games and new members.
“I should warn you, there is a girl outside on the rink. I hope Alex wasn’t hoping to get on the ice just yet.”
“I’m sure he’ll wait until she’s done. Who is it?”
“Maisie Yun, she moved here a couple weeks ago, I kind of owe her mother so I allowed her to come in early and get in a skate before her shift. She’ll be working at the canteen.”
“Is she in college?”
“Actually the same age as Alex, her brother Elijah will be on the team, I’m sure you’ve already seen his name on the roster. “ Ilya had seen his name on the roster, Alex had told him that when they added him to the team group chat he had been friendly, not too overly excited to have to join a new team so late into his high school years. When Alex had privately messaged him asking if he needed someone to show him around, he politely declined.
“I’m sure the boys will make him feel at home. I pride myself in creating a safe environment for all the kids. So far no trouble.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, they are getting older, and that can cause changes you might not expect.” Ilya waved his hand in dismissal, as long as his son continued to implement his teachings into the locker room, he had little doubt that any problems would arise. He always got along with the parents, he created a very strong bond with the team, and it helped that they were usually winning.
Ilya looked down at the rink through the window of Oliver’s office and watched as a young girl with black hair tied into a bun was skating around the rink. It seemed that Alex had joined her and now they were talking side by side skating around. Ilya smirked as he watched his son skate with his mouth shut, while this new girl was talking with such confidence while his son was just listening. His son who was known for always taking charge in a conversation was now skating with his mouth closed and a gentle smile on his face. Ilya sat back down and continued discussing updates on their lives outside of the rink. He had about 30 minutes before he had to go back down and wait for the arrival of parents and their kids.
He strolled towards the stands and waved Alex over. They stood by the side of the rink, Alex occasionally glanced over to Maisie as he walked over.
“Your team-mates will be here soon, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just excited to get back onto the ice.” He watches Alex turn to face the ice which was currently being used.
“Ah, yes, Oliver says the girl on the ice is named Maisie, she is your age. Her brother is Elijah, on your team.”
“Oh no way!” Ilya sees the shift in Alex as he realised he had said that with a bit too much enthusiasm. “I mean, that’s cool. It must be nice having a sibling who does a sport on the ice too.”
“So what were you guys talking about?”
“Not much, I pretty just listened to her rant about how cold it is this morning.”
“You seemed to really enjoy the conversation. You couldn't stop smiling.” Ilya elbowed him in the shoulder jokingly.
“Papa stop, it isn't like that. Let's just play hockey, okay?”
Ilya smiled at that. Out of all their kids, only Alex and Ally found their calling in hockey. Niko excelled in basketball so he stuck to that. He wasn’t the tallest, but he was agile and a great shooter. When Ilya and Shane had taken Niko and Alex to a Centaur’s training years ago, it was evidently clear that while Alex had a love for skating around, Niko did not share the same sentiment for such activities. Sofia enjoyed hockey until she tried volleyball, and suddenly hockey was lame and volleyball was “all the rage”. It was only a hobby to her, unlike Niko and Alex who genuinely wished to pursue a career in their chosen sports. Then there was Ally, who excelled in hockey, she loved it just as much as Alex, which is what they usually bonded over.
Ilya and Alex found their way to the locker room and were greeted by Elijah already taping up his stick. Alex smiled and made his way over to the cubby next to him and began talking about what to expect during the training. Elijah smiled back, grateful for the information. As more and more people made their way inside, Ilya felt satisfied, he always loved being back at the rink, and this time it would be coaching his son’s team. Him and Shane always loved coming to the rink, whether it was for a free skate, or coaching their kid’s team. While Ilya coached Alex’s team, Shane coached Ally’s, both of them finding a rhythm with their new positions in he team.
Once the entire team was in the room getting ready, Ilya took his time introducing himself to newcomers and explaining what was expected of them. He put up the schedule for games on the wall and the second he took a step back, all the boys rushed over to have a look. There were cheers and groans, but everyone seemed somewhat satisfied with what they saw. Ilya watched as Elijah made his way over last and frowned, he quickly went back to his cubby, grabbing his phone and snapping a photo before he began typing to someone.
Ilya asked them all to gather outside and take a seat on the bench next to the ice. He noticed that Maisie was now off the rink and taking her skates off. She gathered her things before walking past the entire team. He saw as the boys all stared at her with confusion, it was too early for them to have expected someone had already used the ice. It wasn’t until Maisie stopped in her tracks next to Elijah, whispering something into his ear, which made Elijah chuckle. Maisie looked at Ilya, then at Alex, giving a small smile, then walked out.
Ilya glanced over to Alex who already had a grin on his face.
“Hey, is that your sister?” George asked. All heads turned towards Elijah awaiting an answer.
“Yeah, she’s my little sister. Don’t get any ideas, we’re still new and she’s getting used to Canada.” He warned them.
“So she needs someone to show her around?” Jackson smirked.
“What did I just say?” Elijah chastised.
“As if she would ever talk to you, she probably wouldn’t touch you with a 10 foot pole.”
The team erupted in laughs. Ilya quickly interrupted, telling them to go warm up on the ice. Alex looked over at Elijah who gave him a quick smile and went onto the ice.
Training went easily, afterwards, Ilya was stuck talking to the parents, answering any questions that could have easily been asked in the parents group chat, but he didn’t mind answering their questions if it meant that he could occasionally glance over at Alex conversing with Elijah. He could see it in his son’s eyes, there was a plan being set, Alex only had that look when he wanted information, and he would push and push, however Elijah didn’t seem to mind his son’s chattering and questions, in fact, he looked happy that someone was so interested in his life.
“So I saw you were talking to Elijah, how is he settling in?”
“He’s good, apparently he moved from Sydney, Australia. I knew his accent sounded kind of funny. It’s just him, his sister, and his mum, apparently his step-dad stayed in Australia but his mum and him already separated. They’re starting at our high school soon, he’s in Grade 10, his sister Maisie is in me and Niko’s grade, and apparently she’s a figure skater, really good too, she’s also going to work at the canteen on the weekends, which is pretty convenient for his mum because she can drop them off at the same time. But apparently Maisie has already made a habit of biking everywhere, which is crazy to me because it’s so cold, how could anyone possibly bike around.”
“Seems like she will regret it soon.” Ilya adds.
“Yeah, also I hope you don’t mind, I invited Elijah and the team over to our house. You usually let me invite friends over on Saturdays anyway. I thought he could get to know the guys better, it’ll help him settle in quicker.”
“You did what?” Ilya gripped the steering wheel tighter. His son always had the habit of making rash decisions without asking his fathers first.
Alex seemed to notice the shift in the air, “Well, it’ll be no trouble, I promise, we’ll stay in the backyard, they wanted to sit around the fire pit and talk.”
“You’ll have to ask your dad, he won’t like the late notice. When did you tell them to come?”
“In about 5 hours, they wanted to be there in the evening time. Nobody uses a fire pit in broad daylight.”
“Okay I guess so. Your dad will not like this, but I’ll do my best to smooth things over later tonight. I’ll have to bring out the big guns.” He suggested.
Alex gagged “Gross, I hate when you refer to your biceps as “big guns”
“Are they not? Look at them?” Ilya made a show of flexing his biceps which caused Alex to groan.
“You’re nearly 50, wrap it up old man.” Alex scolded.
“50!? I'm only 43!”
“Whateverrrr”
As they entered the house, Ilya could smell a faint hint of smoke. He then heard Shane yell out in anger.
“Daddy, what happened!?” he heard Ally yell out.
“Stay there baby, I accidentally forgot the oven was still on.”
Ilya rounded the corner into the kitchen to see Shane grabbing a tray from the oven and dropping it into the sink and turning on the sink to drown whatever was on there, while Ally was sitting at the dining table colouring in.
“Why does it smell like roadkill?” He asked.
“I was trying to bake madeleines, but I accidentally left and forgot about it.” He sighed.
“Why are you trying to bake right now? Is there an event I forgot about?”
“No, Ally wanted madeleines so I tried to make them. Sorry baby, no madeleines today.”
Ally looked up from her book and looked at her fathers. “Don’t worry, I don’t want madeleines now.”
Shane shook his head with a smile on his face. “Of course she doesn’t want them now, she changes her mind way too quickly.”
“Well, she is five.”
“Where is Alex?”
“He went up to his room, he has to get ready.” Ilya’s voice slowly trails off, trying to decipher whether Shane would be mad or not.
Shane raises an eyebrow at that and Ilya begins to get more nervous, “Get ready for what?”
“He had decided to invite the team over, they will stay outside by the fire pit. He wanted one of the new team-mates to bond with the others.” He concluded.
“Why does he always do this?” Shane sighs.
“There will be no problem, moya lyubov. I will make sure that they are well behaved, I am the coach after all.” He smirked.
Shane rolls his eyes and walks away. “As long as you have it covered, I hope you didn’t forget that I’m taking Ally and Sofi to the volleyball game. Sofi’s coach is very adamant that the parents always show up for support.”
“Of course.” He exclaimed.
Ilya walks by Ally, quickly pulling her in for a hug. Then he walks up the stairs to Alex’s room.
“Everybody will be on their best behaviour, Да?”
“Да, я позабочусь о том, чтобы у всех всё было хорошо.” yes, I will make sure everyone is good
“Oh, you bring out the russian now? You are trying to butter me up?”
“Something like that, more like I’m just trying to show you that I have been practicing.”
“You are a good kid, Alexander.”
“Thanks Papa.”