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The Art that inspired the story on Pinterest
And a lovely person in the comments found the actual original artist so all credits to the original artist:
Ilya had always been a gift giver.
It wasn’t even a love language. It was a compulsion.
After not being able to even hold hands in public for close to a decade he wanted the world to know that he was in love with Shane. Ilya celebrated every moment, birthdays anniversary’s any excuse to show Shane just how much he loved him.
The world knew now.
Shane Hollander was his husband.
And Ilya intended to celebrate that fact as often as possible.
Shane valued practically so a constant showering in gifts was annoying at first,
“You bought me socks,” Shane stated
“They are cashmere socks!” Ilya argued back as if that justified it.
But as Ilya became an expert in gift giving Shane’s tolerance towards it grew. The expensive gifts had given way to thoughtful ones. Books Shane had casually mentioned wanting to read. A new coffee grinder because Shane’s old one made an annoying noise to no one other than Shane but he refused to change it. A blanket for the cottage because Shane always stole Ilya’s insisting that it was somehow better. A framed photo of the two of them in Sweden because Ilya loved the way Shane had looked at him in that picture.
Shane never admitted how much he liked any of it.
But Ilya noticed things.
The way the blanket always stayed on Shane’s side of the sofa. The way the photo sat on his bedside table. The way he wore the stupidly soft socks.
Shane valued practicality. Ilya valued sentimentality.
Yet somewhere somehow in the middle, they had built a life together.
Then there was the teddy bear; honestly, it might have been Ilya’s greatest achievement. It had happened during one of the longest road trips of the season.
Both had come accustomed to sleeping in the arms of the other. Ilya can sleep anywhere so long as Shane is there where as Shane is a little more particular about where he slept. The best gift Ilya ever gave Shane was a teddy bear with one of those voice boxes that plays a recording of Ilya breathing and heartbeat. Forget the real thing Shane now has a cuddly version.
Ilya likes watching ‘Jock Shane’ in interviews as this version of Shane is was the charming public person. Yuna’s media training after Shane was called ‘not very sociable’ in the World Prospects clearly did the trick in teaching Shane how to at least remain calm and at ease during public interviews and an at ease Shane is this charming jock version of his husband.
Shane had simply glanced at him and Ilya had immediately caved.
But Ilya gets those eyes all to himself.
Yep.
Those eyes.
The ones that melt Ilya’s Russian core.
God.
Those eyes.
Big. Brown. Soft.
The kind of eyes that somehow made a six-foot-two professional hockey player look heartbreakingly vulnerable.
The kind of eyes that had made Ilya fall in love when they were young and dumb.
The kind of eyes that could make him agree to almost anything.
No matter how ridiculous.
No matter how inconvenient.
No matter how completely absurd.
Those eyes had been responsible for at least half the decisions in Ilya’s life.
The ones their teddy bear inherited.
Those eyes gave him another teddy bear. That and Ilya’s lack of self control as he had never once been able to say no to Shane.
Especially when Shane was curious.
Or experimental.
Or asking questions in that soft voice.
Or looking up through his eyelashes.
Honestly, it was a miracle they hadn’t ended up with triplets. No matter how unusual, all it took was those big doe eyes and Ilya could never say no.
Baby Hollander-Rozanov was a happy accident, the result of Ilya’s inability to say no to Shane.
It started the week they won the playoffs and therefore the Stanley Cup.
Shane put his sudden sickness and overall weird feeling down to pre cup nerves and someone had needed to remain sober enough to make sure Ilya didn’t accidentally end up swimming in a decorative fountain. That someone had been Shane as he wasn’t really much of a social drinker anyway and someone needed to keep Ilya in check.
The next morning, however, it was Shane hanging over the toilet.
And despite possessing a hangover that should have legally counted as a medical emergency, Ilya had rubbed his back, fetched water and held his hair away from his face. Give Ilya his due even as Shane was the one vomiting in the toilet bowl the next morning Ilya kept his hangover in check to care for Shane.
Eventually it was Yuna who worked it out and practically forced Shane to take a pregnancy test.
It of course meant that Shane would be out for the next season as he both cares for a newborn and himself postpartum. They didn’t announce the pregnancy straight away; they had the entire off season to themselves to get through the first trimester and then the miscarriage risk drops.
That and Shane got clingy, really clingy.
Not that Ilya minded. At all.
Shane wanted to hold his hand constantly. He demanded hugs. Leapt to sit beside him. He has to sleep practically on top of him.
That teddy bear Ilya gifted him, the one that played his heart beat, it helped him sleep at night when Ilya is on the road with the team. The Centaurs worked it out quickly, Shane didn’t show straight away, tall people with a long torso means baby has more room to grow up then out. When they did work it out Shane was 17 weeks and that baby is going to be spoiled.
Teddy Hollander-Rozanov was born a week before the scheduled c-section, whilst Shane and Ilya were snowed in at the cottage. Both Shane and Teddy were fine but Ilya never wants to be a midwife again.
But sure enough several terrifying hours later, he was sitting on their bed, buried in blankets and panic and tears, holding the tiniest human he’d ever seen. Shane was exhausted holding a tiny human to his chest as Ilya stared at them drunk on love.
The baby had Shane’s eyes.
Ilya burst into tears again.
“Oh no,” Shane sighed, weakly rolling his eyes.
“He has your eyes,” Ilya sobbed,
“Ilya,” Shane groaned before deciding to let Ilya go down this path of adoration.
“He’s practically perfect!”
Teddy blinked dumbfounded, his big brown eyes exactly like Shane’s.
Ilya cried harder.
Ilya announces the birth in the most Ilya way possible.
A photo of Shane with the teddy Ilya gave Shane and a second photo of Teddy dressed as a teddy bear at 2 days old. A little hint towards his name. Shane obviously reposted it obviously.
But the two photos don’t give away Teddy’s name or when he was actually born or actually what gender Teddy is. Just an adorable photo of Ilya holding Teddy dressed as a teddy bear.
Shane is two weeks postpartum at the next Ottawa Centaurs home game, he’s sat with the rest of the SaP’s the renamed more gender inclusive WaGs, baby Teddy in the carrier at his feet. When the SaP’s didn’t have hold of him or Yuna for that matter.
Every time that sweet little teddy bear is in view Ilya is watching like he has a sick sense for whenever his baby is in view. Shane caught him doing it repeatedly. He laughed each time because after all these years, after secret hotel rooms and hidden relationships and lonely goodbyes…
Ilya could finally look.
Could finally smile.
Could finally let everyone see.
And when the game ended, Ilya climbed over the boards and practically sprinted towards the stands.
Straight to his husband.
Straight to his baby.
He lifted Teddy into his arms with the exact same expression he’d worn while holding the Stanley Cup.
Actually…
Shane is pretty sure he’d been more careful with the Stanley Cup.
“You know,” Shane said, smiling, “most people hold Teddy like he’s made of glass. Not like he’s the Stanley cup.”
Ilya looked horrified.
“He is much more important than that, more important than the Stanley Cup.”
Teddy yawned as if hockey bored him already.
Those big brown eyes blinked sleepily.
Exactly like Shane’s.
Ilya looked down at them and visibly melted.
Shane smiled to himself watching Ilya gently climb over the barrier and take baby Teddy onto the ice to meet the rest of the team. Still being held like he was the Stanley cup.
The teddy bear Ilya had given him wasn’t his favourite gift anymore.
The tiny one in the bear suit named Teddy?
That was definitely the best thing Ilya had ever given him.
Even if he holds Teddy like he’s the Stanley Cup.
“ILYA GRIGORYEVICH ROZANOV HOLD MY BABY PROPERLY HE IS NOT THE STANLEY CUP!”