Archive of Our Own

It started when Shane received an email in March from a coordinator at Capital Pride.

Shane stared at the words on the screen for a minute before grabbing Ilya to come look. He waited while Ilya read the email, holding his breath for no apparent reason.

"They want best husbands in hockey to be there so they have the best parade all year," Ilya smiled at him.

"I think we should do it, do you want to?"

"We will do it," he nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of Shane's head.

Shane was pretty sure Ilya would do anything with him; he rarely turned down his ideas and for a while Shane wasn't sure he even knew the word no. This was different though. He'd never been to any pride celebrations besides the Hockey is for Everyone nights that the Voyageurs and Centaurs held every year, but the prospect of being a special guest with Ilya was exciting. He marked August 28 on their shared calendar and returned to reading his emails.

***

In June the Centaurs won the cup. Ilya hoisted it, did his lap and when he passed it to Shane he planted a huge kiss on his lips, the cup still over their heads. Shane was sure it was one of the happiest nights of his life and sharing the experience with Ilya made it so much better than any of his other cup wins. While they partied with the cup, Shane had a perfect idea.

"Ilya, what if you use your cup day for the pride parade?" he slurred.

"Sweetheart, that is a great idea."

Shane emailed the thought to himself, anxious that the idea would be lost to the effects of alcohol. The next week, Ilya worked with the league to approve the date—every player got to spend a day with the cup and the logistics could be difficult to navigate. After they were sure Ilya could have the cup that day, he sent an email to Emily.

Emily was quick to respond and his plan was approved.

***

Shane was more excited for the Pride parade than he ever thought he would be. The Centaurs organization would also be participating in the parade but Ilya and Shane wouldn't be on their float, instead leading the parade with the cup. All of their teammates were going to be in the parade this year and Shane was incredibly happy for the support.

Shane and Ilya were both wearing the Centaurs Pride night shirt from this season; a white t-shirt with the Centaurs logo in rainbow gradient with the words "Centaur Pride" under it. Ilya had on black gym shorts, a pair of white tennis shoes, and topping it all off a bucket hat in the bisexual flag colors. Shane was also wearing black gym shorts and white tennis shoes but instead of a bucket hat he opted to wear a Centaurs Pride hat, the logo the same as on his shirt. He found Ilya's bucket hat ridiculous but he knew how proud he was to be bisexual—Shane felt like he was starting to finally be proud to be gay.

He'd never felt connected to the gay community, being closeted and only accepting his identity six years prior likely largely contributing to that, but he had felt more support from it the past year. He understood more why people loved Pride celebrations—being vocal about loving a man, loving Ilya, felt so freeing he couldn't believe he'd been so scared to tell the world.

They had left for the Pride celebrations early enough so they could actually experience some of the events at the festival and meet up with their team before the parade. As they walked around the street festival they saw Harris and Troy standing near the Centaurs booth. Ilya and Shane smiled and waved as soon as they saw the pair.

"Hey!" Harris called out as they approached the booth.

"How has your summer been?" Ilya asked them.

"Great," Troy answered, "we took a vacation to Italy. It was so beautiful, you really should go."

"It is on the list," Ilya responded.

"Hey, we have something for you." Harris reached into his bag and pulled out two t-shirts, handing them over to both of them.

"We had them made for the parade," Troy added.

Shane could see the cup peeking over the fold and as he shook the t-shirt out to reveal the full graphic, a smile cracked across his face. The shirt had the picture of Shane and Ilya lifting the cup together and kissing under it. That picture had gone viral in the days after they won the cup. Shane knew it was a big deal for him and Ilya to be the first men's hockey players married to each other, but he hadn't realized just how much that meant to other people until after that.

"Thanks, Harris, I love this," Shane smiled at him.

"Yes, this is great, now I can always have my Shane with me," Ilya grinned, stripping off his shirt right there and pulling the new one on.

"Ilya, I can't believe you just did that," Shane scoffed.

"Is fine, this is a festival for gay people, lots of them do not even have a shirt."

Harris interrupted before Shane could respond. "I have some other things you could wear for the parade too if you want to take a look." He pointed to the table in the Centaurs booth where various rainbow colored items were laying. Shane eyed the items and grabbed a rainbow colored beaded necklace, pulling it over his head. He watched Ilya analyze the table and grab exactly what he thought he would—a rainbow colored feather boa. Shane shook his head to himself and turned back towards Harris and Troy.

"Thanks again for the shirts, we really appreciate them." Shane ducked behind the booth to change into his shirt. When he returned, Ilya was signing a fan's Centaurs pride shirt.

Ilya looked up at him and said, "Oh, do you want Shane's too?"

The fan nodded, smiling brightly at Shane. He grabbed the marker and signed the shirt laying on the table. He handed it back to the fan and they said "I came out to my friends and family after you guys were outed. I thought if you were brave enough to stand up to the homophobes in the NHL then I could tell the people I loved. Anyway, I can't believe I got to meet you guys at my first Pride ever."

Shane beamed at the fan, "It's my first one too. I'm glad you could open up, it feels good doesn't it?"

The fan nodded, "Thank you for signing my shirt."

"Of course, have a great time during the rest of Pride."

"Is it really your first pride?" Harris asked as the fan walked away.

"Yeah, I was always at the cottage with Ilya during Montreal Pride weekend and the Voyageurs don't really have a huge presence there either. Plus the whole closeted thing…"

"Yeah that makes sense," Harris replied. "We'll just have to make this the best Pride ever."

"It's already pretty great," Shane said, taking Ilya's hand in his. "We're going to walk around more before we have to get ready for the parade, it was great to see you both."

Shane led Ilya away from the booth, their hands intertwined.

"You do not usually want to hold hands in public," Ilya said, looking at him sideways.

"I guess I'm feeling more pride today." He did feel proud today—proud of standing up for what was right, proud to be brave enough to be in the parade, and proud to do it all next to Ilya. He'd accepted that they'd never have everyone's support but being around people celebrating relationships like his was freeing. The implicit support made his heart soar.

They walked around the rest of the festival hand-in-hand, visiting various booths. Shane made them stop at virtually every local charity's booth, grabbing business cards and chatting about their missions. He tucked the cards safely into his wallet for him to go through and research later. He wanted to find more organizations the Irina Foundation could support, as well as him and Ilya themselves. Ilya insisted they stop at multiple booths selling various items. A majority of the things being sold were focused on queer identity—rainbow flag pins, stickers with quips, and the like—but Shane didn't really connect with those items. It wasn't like he'd never fly a pride flag but he just didn't like all the attention Pride merch brought to himself.

Shane hadn't expected to find something he liked enough to purchase, but one person was selling the most beautiful pottery he'd ever seen. There was a plate set that seemed to shift between blue and green, just like Ilya's eyes seemed to. As soon as Shane saw them glinting in the sunlight he knew he had to have the entire set. He usually didn't make a purchase like this so quickly, often ruminating on it for weeks, but they were so perfect he took it as a sign from the gay gods to just get them. Ilya teased him about it all the way to their car, the box of plates perched preciously in his arms—Shane wouldn't have expected anything less from his husband.

After they loaded the car they walked to the parade staging area to meet with Emily and more of the Capital Pride team. They arrived a few minutes early and spotted Phil, the keeper of the Cup. He was dressed neutrally; he had on a red polo, black shorts, tennis shoes, and of course his signature white gloves. Both Shane and Ilya were familiar with Phil—wherever the cup went he went so they'd spent time with him after winning their previous cups and of course this summer.

"Hey! How have you both been," he called out as they walked up to him.

"Great," Ilya beamed, "I have just been waiting for my day with the cup."

"It's much different than last time that's for sure," Phil laughed.

Ilya smiled at him, "Yes, is much better this time."

Shane remembered Ilya's first cup win but he was actually unsure how Ilya had spent his day—he'd somehow never thought to ask him. "What did you do with your first one?" Shane asked.

"Ah, just spent the day with it and then brought it to a club in Moscow."

Shane watched Ilya shoot a look to Phil and figured there was more to that story than he was telling right now but he would just ask Ilya about it later.

"Yeah, pretty different from Shane's first day," Phil laughed again.

"Oh, what was your first cup day like Hollander?" Ilya asked, his eyebrows raised with a toothy grin plastered across his face.

Shane blushed—his first day with the cup was completely boring compared to Ilya's. "I just spent the day at the cottage with my parents."

"That is exactly what I would have guessed," Ilya beamed at him.

Before they could continue their conversation a voice called out. "Shane! Ilya!"

They turned and spotted Emily walking to them.

"It's so nice to finally meet you in person," she said, her hand outstretched to them.

Shane shook her hand and said, "Yeah, nice to meet you too. We're really excited to be here."

"We're so happy to have you. Everyone at Capital Pride is just so happy for you two. And we're really honored you'd use one of your cup days for the parade."

"I couldn't imagine a better way to use my cup day, " Ilya said, grabbing at Shane's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"Well, the float is ready for you to get on it," Emily said, leading them to a truck with a decorated trailer attached to it. There was rainbow fringe and rainbow bunting hung along the sides of the trailer as well as giant standing letters that spelled out Pride. Shane smiled at how ostentatious it was; no matter how he personally felt about decking everything out in rainbows, he was proud to represent the LGBTQIA+ community and especially proud to do it with his husband by his side. They stepped onto the trailer with Emily, Phil, three other Capital Pride workers and of course the cup.

The truck moved to the start of the route and Shane got a look at the crowd. He wasn't a stranger to parades—this was actually the second one this summer—but cup parades seemed like they would be a completely different experience than this. He felt slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people he could see along the route. It was one thing to be there with his entire team cheering at the adoring fans, lightly buzzed from the continuing celebrations that even Shane took part in, but he wasn't here to celebrate a win, he was here to show support and solidarity. Ilya noticed his discomfort, as always, and shot him a smile as he pulled Shane into a side hug, his arm slung around his midsection. Shane immediately felt at ease and realized everything would be fine with Ilya standing beside him.

Since it was Ilya's day with the cup Shane suggested that he should carry it during the parade, wanting him to get as much time with it as he could, but Ilya insisted they carry it together. They each had a hold on one end of the cup, hoisting it above their heads as the float rolled forward. Shane smiled and waved at the crowd with his free hand, spotting a few people in Centaurs jerseys cheering as they passed.

As they neared the end of the parade route Ilya turned toward Shane, a giant grin bracketing his face. Ilya leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, taking him by surprise. Shane froze for a millisecond then leaned into the kiss. For just a minute everything was silent and he forgot where he was, the only thing important to him was Ilya's plush, warm mouth. When Ilya broke the kiss Shane found it impossible to stop looking at him. He'd spent most of the parade in awe, taking everything in, waving to the people in the crowd, but now he could only focus on Ilya. His face was delighted as he waved out to the cheering crowd and pumped his side of the cup, egging on the boisterous onlookers as Shane's heart swelled at the sight. The rest of the parade was a blur—Shane felt overwhelmed by the joy and freedom of leading off a celebration like this with Ilya.

At the end of the route Shane and Ilya said goodbye to Emily and the rest of the Capital Pride team before heading back toward the festival with the cup and Phil. Ilya had felt it was important for fans to be able to come see the cup as well so they'd set up time for a photo opportunity after the parade. Ilya and Shane stood on opposite sides of the cup, offering fans the option to take their picture next to either one. Although Shane didn't love taking hundreds of pictures—ironic considering his many endorsement deals—he was always happy to meet with fans. They took pictures and met with fans for an hour, many commenting on how happy they were for Ilya and Shane. His favorite interaction was with a fan that told him how they had inspired them to start playing hockey again and found a queer league to play in. Shane thought that maybe when he and Ilya retired that would be something fun to do—he wanted to compete with Ilya forever. As the last fans were leaving Shane heard a large group approaching and looked over, the entire Centaurs team walking up to them.

Ilya noticed them at the exact same time and yelled, "Hey get over here! We need a team picture."

The group froze in place. Bood was the first to move, a big smile on his face as he said, "Better listen to cap, we don't want to start off the season with even more skating than we usually do."

Ilya moved to Shane's side and slung his arm around his shoulders as the rest of the team filed in around the cup. Harris lined up to take the picture, motioning some of the people on the outside to move in closer before finally taking it.

"Harris, will you take one of just us? I realized we didn't take any earlier on the float," Shane asked as the rest of the team slunk away, his phone held out in front of him like an offering.

"Of course!" Harris said, taking his phone. He counted down as Shane and Ilya beamed at the lens. "Okay, now a gay one!" he called out with a laugh.

"Is always gay with Shane in it, no?" Ilya smirked, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Shane.

Shane swatted at Ilya's arm and laughed. "Okay, Harris, one more picture." He turned and pressed a wet kiss to Ilya's cheek, clearly catching him by surprise as Harris laughed and snapped the picture. Shane was definitely getting a print of that picture for their house.

The team hung around talking until the sun started to set then said their goodbyes. Ilya gave the cup one more hug as his day with it was coming to an end and helped Phil load it into its travel case. They walked hand in hand to the car, Shane thinking about how lucky he was to get to love Ilya openly.

As their car pulled into the driveway Shane realized he was exhausted after the long, wonderful day they had and he could tell Ilya was too. Shane toed his shoes off silently while Ilya removed his hat and boa then grabbed Anya's leash to take her outside. Shane gave him a chaste kiss then turned to go upstairs. He took a quick shower, finishing just as he heard Ilya and Anya return. The stairs creaked as Ilya walked up them, Anya's claws clicking on the hardwood as she followed right behind him. Shane climbed into bed and grabbed his book from the side table in an attempt to stay awake while Ilya showered.

Shane woke up when Ilya crawled into bed, his book still open on his chest. He removed his glasses and put away his book then rolled over and nuzzled into Ilya, his eyes heavy, "That was the best Pride parade ever."

Ilya chuckled, "That was your only one, sweetheart."

Shane grunted in response, his breathing slowing as he drifted to sleep on Ilya's chest, the image of them kissing under the cup floating through his mind.