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August 16th
As Ilya brought in the last of the bags from the car the excitement began to grow in his chest. Three weeks with his family at the cottage. Three perfect weeks he got to spend with his husband, the twins and Anya. No interruptions, no training camp prep, nothing to do with the charity, just enjoying everyone's company. This trip was also special for their family because it was the twins' first time at the cottage since they'd been born. That alone was making Ilya giddy.
Ilya set the last luggage down into their room. He stretched, and turned his attention to Shane, who was changing a crying Ava on the bed.
“I know, I know, you hate this.” Shane said as he finished putting a new diaper on her. Ava hiccuped, her tears pausing now that the worst was over. Beside her, Dimitri looked up at Shane, his little legs kicking as he waited his turn to be changed.
Ilya came over, taking the dirty diaper to throw out in the kitchen garbage pail. He washed his hands and went back to the bedroom. Dimitri was getting his diaper changed now, their little boy flashing Shane a big gummy smile as Shane cleaned him. The twins had only been with them for six months, and yet they already were forming such distinct personalities. They were still learning so much about them but the little things they had already learned were very cute.
Ilya picked up Ava, kissing her cheek. “Do you want to look around, printsessa?”
Ava put her hand in her mouth, muffled babbles coming as a response. That was a recent update for their babies. Ava had started making little babbles a few weeks ago, Dimitri following in her lead not long after. Little gibberish sounds that Ilya was always amused to hear had become the norm for them as of late.
Ilya took Ava's babbles as a yes, walking out the room. Anya followed behind with her tail wagging rapidly. “See all of this?” With his free hand he swept over the living room and kitchen. “All of this your daddy had built a long time ago.” Ava let another little babble out. “Da, is very nice I know.”
He showed her around, pointing out little things and the memories associated with them. Ava listened, or rather listened as well as a six month old could. By the time he's done, he was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching the lake. Ava was looking at Anya sitting next to them, more preoccupied with trying to pet her than enjoying the view.
“Is the first time you and your brother have ever been here, so this is a very special trip, printsessa.” Ilya said softly in Russian. Ava's little chubby hand lightly tapped Anya's head. The simple touch made Ava giggle loudly and Anya's tail began to thump against the couch.
Shane joins them on the couch, Dimitri now secured in a baby wrap on his chest. “They've technically been here before.” Shane said.
Ilya gives him a confused look. “When?”
“Last August when we came here. I was at the start of the second trimester. So I guess, technically, they came here last year too.” Shane replied casually. He kissed Dimitri's soft curls, their baby boy letting out happy coos and babbles as a response.
Ilya blinked and let Shane's words settle over him. During their trip last year he remembered Shane feeling relieved that the morning sickness had seemed to go away overnight. The fatigue had stayed but being at the cottage, and being spoiled by Ilya made it feel more tolerable. The twins had been with them last year. Safe in Shane's stomach, but they were there. Now a year later the babies that had seemed so impossibly far away to meet, were babbling and giggling in their arms.
Ilya felt his eyes grow misty the more he thought about it. He blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from falling. Ava babbled more as she gave more light taps on Anya's head. Ilya focused on that instead, guiding her small hand to give her an actual pet.
“Like this Ava.” Ilya said, his voice wavering slightly. They do more pets before Anya licks Ava's arm. Wild, loud giggles came from Ava, encouraging Anya to lick her more.
They watch on for a few more minutes before Anya gets thirsty, abandoning the couch to go to her water bowl in the kitchen. Ilya waved Ava's little hand in a bye-bye gesture as she went.
“I can't believe this time last year they were still inside me.” Shane said after a minute. He was sinking into the couch cushion, a protective hand placed on Dimitris back out of habit. Dimitri was now fully asleep, drool beginning to seep out of his mouth and stain Shane's shirt.
“Is very weird to think about.” Ilya agreed.
“We hadn't even started looking at names yet. And now we're holding them.” Shane lightly chuckled.
“Now we're holding them.” Ilya repeated. Ava met his eyes, and babbled more at him. Ilya smiled, cupping his daughter's chubby cheek with his hand. One year ago their kids still felt like small ideas to them. Today, it was impossible to imagine their lives without them now.
—
August 20th
Shane didn't need to set an alarm to wake up early anymore. His body's natural clock was a good enough alarm for him, especially during the off season. Mornings were the best time of the day for him, usually allowing him some much needed alone time before the chaos of the day started. If he was at home he'd be able to sneak down to the gym and get at least an one hour work out or yoga session in before one of the babies would wake up. To him that was the ideal way to start his day.
He laid in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Glancing over he saw Ilya, curled up under his blanket with only his hair peaking out. Shane smiled to himself at the sight. There had been a peace that had settled over the house overnight. The sounds of his family's light breaths, along with the distant sounds of morning doves rising with the sun was music to Shane's ears.
The peace was interrupted when he heard a soft babble come from one of the twins' travel cribs. With a slight groan, he sat up and already saw Ava wide awake, sitting up in her crib. At the sight of seeing Shane, she made excited gurgles and coos. Carefully, he got out of bed making sure not to wake his husband up. Ilya stirred slightly at the sudden shift next to him in bed, but kept sleeping regardless. Shane went over to Ava's crib, giving her a tired smile as he picked her up.
“Good morning to you too, Ava.” Shane whispered to her. He wiped the drool from her cheeks with the hem of his shirt, making Ava giggle. Her energy was not at all matching the sleepy room, so Shane planned on taking her out into the living room. Before he left, he grabbed the baby wrap from the edge of the bed. Doing this had become second nature to him, easily putting it on with months of practice. Once she was secure against him, Ava softly babbled up at him. Shane listened as he checked on Dimitri, who was laying with his arms above his head with a small puddle of drool by his face, completely knocked out still.
“I know it's exciting to be up so early with daddy isn't it?" Shane said quietly as they left the room.
Ava babbled more at him, before nuzzling her cheek against his chest. The twins still had an hour before their morning feeding and he wasn't about to throw Ava off schedule by doing it earlier.
Shane went to the kitchen and started preparing the coffee machine. He cupped the back of Ava's head, her dark curls impossibly soft in his hand. Ava cooed loudly at the touch, and Shane huffed out a soft laugh. The first rays of sunlight were starting to peak into the kitchen. Warm light slowly took over the space, replacing the night time peace that had been there for hours.
“Ava look,” Shane said, angling himself so his baby girl could see the sunrise. “I don't think you've ever actually seen a sunrise before.”
Shane felt Ava put her thumb in her mouth, but her attention was on the window, watching as the sun slowly started to peek out over the lake. Years ago when he used to come here by himself, he always imagined he would one day share this view with somebody he loved. Ilya was never a morning person, Shane knew that. On the rare occasions when he did wake up early enough, he'd stay up only for the first few minutes before falling back asleep. It never bothered him, instead he just admired the attempt to even get up before dawn. However, right now he realized that that one day was happening right now with his daughter.
The familiar low hum of the coffee maker filled the kitchen. Shane went over towards the window, looking at the view he'd seen so many times, but for Ava this was entirely new.
“Ava do you want to know something?” Shane asked his daughter. A soft series of babbles came as her response and Shane half smiled at that. “A long time ago, I invited your papa to spend two weeks here with me. I'd never done that with anyone before, but I wanted papa to be here with me.” A louder babble came from Ava at that. “I know two whole weeks is a lot. But it went by too quickly. And during that time, your papa told me he loved me and I said it back to him.” Ava wriggled slightly in her wrap, cooing as she did so.
Shane thought about those two weeks so fondly. At that point that was the most uninterrupted time they had ever spent together, and Shane remembered cherishing every second. Even coming out to his parents had grown to become a part of that precious memory, because that's when he and Ilya became official. At the time, Shane had felt a whirlwind of emotions but now looking back, he wouldn't change a single thing about it.
“Your papa and I love this place for a lot of reasons but that's a big one.” Shane said, rubbing small circles into Ava's back. “I hope as you and your brother get bigger we can make more nice memories like that here.”
Ava didn't say anything to that, just lightly huffed against his chest as they both watched the sun start to rise into the sky. He hoped that this was just the first of many more sunrises he would get to share with Ava as she grew up.
—
August 22nd
The sound of Ava's loud laughs rang out in their backyard. Anya had come over, tired from running around for over an hour, and plopped herself down in front of their baby girl on the outdoor blanket. Ilya laid on his side, watching Ava giggle as Anya licked her chubby hand.
Shane had been the one to suggest they set a blanket out and let the twins play outside. The weather was perfect, albeit a little overcast but they didn't mind that.
Ilya sat up, scooting closer to Ava's side. “Let's try to pet Anya again, okay printsessa.” He said as he took her hand and guided it to the top of Anya's head.
More loud giggles came from Ava, her little feet kicking as Anya let herself be pet. Her tail wagging faster the more Ava laughed.
“Good job Ava.” Ilya said after a few pets. He lifted up their daughter, kissing her chubby cheek. Setting her down she started to play again with the toys they had brought outside.
Shane came back out a few minutes later, Dimitri now with a new diaper and onesie on. Dimitri was set down next to his sister, becoming immediately invested in the toy cat piano she had been banging on before getting invested in Anya. He sat down next to Ilya who had been watching while petting Anya's head. When Anya saw Shane, she got up and rested her head on his lap now, immediately getting pat.
“Was she laughing?” Shane asked, his eyes staying on the twins.
Ilya gave a simple nod, then rested his head on Shane's shoulder. “She was petting Anya.” Ilya said, leaving out the part about the licks because he knew Shane wasn't the biggest fan of letting Anya lick either twin. Not because he was against her kisses as a whole, but more so he knew that the twins would put anything into their mouths, including their hands and feet.
Shane gave a small smile to that, watching as Dimitri now banged on his little piano, and Ava lightly chewed on a bunny stuffed animal the twins shared.
◇◇◇
An hour later Shane was laying in the hammock, Ava sleeping soundly on his chest. He rubbed her back, small circles to keep her soothed while she slept. Listening to the sound of her breathing, and feeling her directly on top of him, he thought back to a year ago. He had been laying on this same hammock, lost in thought as he imagined being here with their twins. Now they were both here, one sleeping on Shane's chest while the other was in a wrap against Ilyas. Both asleep, safe with their parents.
Shane's train of thought was broken by Ilya coming over, water bottle in one hand, the other on Dimitri's back. When he reached Shane, he pressed the water bottle to Shane's cheek, making him let out a relaxed sigh.
“Thanks.” Shane said. It was getting hotter as the day went on. He hadn't meant to stay out here this long, but now that Ava was sleeping on top of him, he felt bad moving.
“You should come inside.” Ilya suggested. “There's AC, there's nice cold showers, and I think we have ice cream.”
Shane chuckled. “I know, but I'm kind of stuck.” He gestured to the sleeping six month old. “And we do have ice cream but it's that gross flavor you like.”
Ilya rolled his eyes. “Strawberry is only gross to you.” His eyes wandered down to Ava, her cheek pressed against Shane's tank top. “You could be out here another hour.”
“I think I'll manage.” Shane said with a tired half smile. With some effort to not wake Dimitri, Ilya bent down and gave Shane a quick kiss. Dimitri stirred slightly at the movement, whimpering against Ilya's chest. They stayed like that for only a moment before Ilya stood up again, going back inside. As he left, Shane could hear him saying little praises in Russian to a now half awake Dimitri.
—
August 26th
When Shane had checked the weather app earlier that morning, he had seen that they should expect severe storms by mid afternoon. End of summer storms were nothing new to him, so he pushed that information to the back of his brain, not really thinking much of it. By late morning, the clouds had started to roll in, rain coming soon after. It didn't take long for loud thunder to join in, and that's where the real problem started.
Dimitri was screaming in Ilya's arms, his little face completely red from sobbing. His tiny body shook with every loud cry, making Ilya wish that his soothing was working.
“I know Dimitri, I know. Papas here, I've got you,” Ilya tried to comfort, to no avail.
Another loud crash of thunder rang out and Dimitri only cried louder. He was so scared of the thunder, the loud sudden bangs that were only made worse because of the slight echo in the cottage.
Ilya swayed with his screaming son, blocking his view from the large window in the living room. Shane watched, feeling absolutely helpless at the sight. They had been passing their baby back and forth in between their arms, trying and failing to comfort their little boy. With every loud thunder clap, his discomfort only grew more and more. Shane glanced at Ava, peacefully asleep on her playmat. She was completely unbothered by the storm and her screaming brother. Anya laid next to her, sleeping just as blissfully.
Shane should've been used to how different the two babies were by now, but moments like this still gave him whiplash. Dimitri was having such a miserable time, sobbing as the rain pounded against the house and thunder rang out in the sky, while Ava slept peacefully to the same sound.
Ilya turned to Shane, eyes full of desperation. “Did we pack his headphones?” He asked.
Shane paused, thinking back to when they had been packing for this trip. He definitely remembered seeing the little headphones they had bought for the twins for Ilya's home games. Getting up he quickly went to their room, immediately going to the twins luggage. As he rummaged through it, another crash of thunder echoed in the sky and he heard Dimitri cries only grow louder. The headphones weren't in the baby's luggage, but he knew he had packed his own headphones. Reaching over to his backpack it didn't take long to find his own noise canceling headphones. He got up, going back to the living room where Dimitri was still sobbing.
“Look, Dimitri daddy has a gift for you.” Ilya said as Shane sat down next to him.
“I don't think they'll fit,” Shane said, looking between the larger headphones and Dimitris' small head.
“Try it anyway. He can't keep screaming like this.” Ilya said, not even trying to hide how desperate he was. The sound of their little boy's cries was starting to make his head pulse with a headache. He sat Dimitri facing him on his lap, their little boy wiggling in protest, desperately wanting to be back against Ilya's chest.
Shane adjusted the headphones to the smallest size he could and placed them on Dimitri's head. His cries wavered at the sudden new object that was on him. The headphones were absolutely still too big but Ilya wasn't going to let that stop him. He held them against Dimitris' ears, not allowing them to fall off. Dimitri hiccuped, his cries pausing at the new quiet.
“Is that better, Dima?” Shane asked, a smile forming on his lips. He reached over and wiped a stray tear from Dimitris' cheek.
A loud thunder boomed overhead, making both of them jump slightly. Dimitri blinked, not reacting at all. Ilya lightly bounced him on his lap, trying to calm him down again. This time it was working, and slowly over the course of several minutes Dimitri calmed down. The sight made both of his parents let out a deep, tired sigh of relief.
“We need to get him spare baby headphones.” Ilya said. Shane rested his head against Ilya's shoulder.
Shane hummed in agreement. “I know. It'll be good to have backups in case we lose them before a game.”
Ilya nodded. “That too, but I think he needs it more for day-to-day stuff. He's more…” Ilya paused, trying to find the right word.
“Sensitive?” Shane finished his thought.
“Yes. I've noticed he is more sensitive to sounds.” Ilya said, bouncing Dimitri more. Dimitri let out little giggles of joy, looking at both his parents with a gummy smile.
“He gets that from me I guess.” Shane said as he reached out and gently waved Dimitri's little hand. “You get a lot of things from me, don't you bud?”
“He got everything from you.” Ilya chuckled. “I gave him nothing but his curls, but is okay, that's what I wanted.” He smiled at their baby boy, now seemingly oblivious to the raging storm that had been scaring him only forty minutes ago.
The wind is louder now, whipping against the cottage with a force. Lighting flashes in the sky, loud booms of thunder following shortly behind it. Dimitri heard none of it now, instead babbling at his dads as if nothing was wrong. They sat there, feeling tired but more at ease now knowing that their little boy wasn't sobbing from the storm anymore.
Shane starts to feel his eyes grow heavy, the sound of rain relaxing him. As he starts to drift off the sight of Ilya playing with their baby boy is the last thing he sees before he falls asleep on Ilya's shoulder.
—
August 30th
For the first time in days the weather was sunny and bright. They had wanted to do more, take the kids and Anya outside by the lake, but unfortunately the severe storms that had been happening for the past few days had prevented that. It hadn't been what they imagined when they thought about their yearly trip to the cottage, but it wasn't all bad though. They had ordered Dimitri new baby headphones, which were helping him immensely now that he was able to handle the louder sounds of thunder and wind. Ilya would lightly tease Shane when he put on his own headphones, saying that now they were nearly identical to each other. Shane would pretend to be annoyed by the comments, but even he could see the resemblance whenever his little boy looked up at him with them on.
Now the sun was shining on their last full day at the cottage and they were going to take advantage of the perfect weather.
“Are you two excited to go have fun at the lake?” Ilya said to twins as he and Shane changed them into their little swimsuits.
Dimitri giggled, kicking his feet out as he did so. Ilya had no trouble at all dressing Dimitri, slipping on the shorts over his swimming diaper without any fuss. Once it was on, Ilya looked down at his little boy, now wearing the little frog themed swimsuit Shane had bought for this trip. He glanced at Ava who was wriggling around, hating every second of Shane trying to dress her. Upset and annoyed grunts of protest came from their daughter.
“Do you want me to try?” Ilya asked, seeing the growing look of frustration on Shane's face.
“Knock yourself out.” Shane said, stepping back. He grabbed his own trunks that had been lying on a pillow and went to the bathroom to go change.
As Ilya started, Ava only grew more upset at the second attempt to dress her. Ilya tried to work as fast as he could with a wiggly annoyed baby. He soothed her while he put on the matching frog one piece on her, saying little praises and compliments to her in Russian. After a few minutes he had put on the simple swimsuit, lifting Ava up to give her a victorious kiss.
“Look at you two. Lets go show daddy how cute you both are,” Ilya said as he lifted Dimitri into his free arm with a swift motion. He went over and stood at the bathroom door, unable to open or knock because of his occupied hands. “Shane open up. I have to show you how adorable they look.”
Shane opened the door, and was greeted by the sight of their twins, now dressed properly for their lake day. He reached out, taking Ava into his arms. “I know you hated putting it on, but it looks so cute on you princess.” Stepping back more into the bathroom, he showed Ava her reflection. “See? Who's that Ava?” Shane asked while they both looked at themselves in the mirror. He took her little hand and waved it at herself while Ava just blinked at her reflection. “That's you, baby.” Ilya joined them, admiring the sight.
Shane had been wearing very simple black swim trunks, but that was enough to make Ilya's pulse quicken. His husband looked so good in them, his ass perfectly fitting into the swim trunks. Ilya's eyes scanned over Shane's slightly toned body, admiring the “stubborn weight”, as Shane had called it, that refused to leave but Ilya loved so much. The extra weight suited his husband so well in so many ways, but despite the constant reassuring Shane was still adamant he needed to lose the weight, to get back to his pre-pregnancy weight and exact body. They'd talked about this so much, Ilya saying an extra thirty pounds wasn't going to affect how he played. He had built up years of stamina and strength, his playing wouldn't be majorly affected by the added weight. Shane thought otherwise though, ignoring any kind of praise or compliment Ilya would say about the matter. Ilya's eyes lingered on the healed C-section scar and the stretchmarks that now lined his stomach. Light silvery stripes that formed during his pregnancy had become a new obsession for Ilya. He constantly had to fight the constant urge to kiss or bite them whenever caught a glimpse of them.
Shane caught him staring, his brows furrowing. “What? Do the shorts look bad?” He asked.
“No!” Ilya said quickly. He went over to them, adjusting Dimitri in his arms so he could look at himself in the mirror too. “The shorts look great on you. You look beautiful.” He grinned at his reflection as he watched Shane blush.
They had known each other since they were teenagers, had slept with each other for years, dated for three years and been married for three years. But still the sight of Shane blushing made Ilya grin like a fool. He would never get tired of seeing his cheeks redden and his gorgeous freckles stand out more. It was one of his favorite sights.
◇◇◇
Anya barked loudly as Ilya threw the stick back into the water. Not far, just shallow enough that she could easily swim and come back to him. While she got the stick Ilya turned to look at Shane and the twins under the umbrella they had set up. Ava was playing in the sand wearing little sunglasses and one of Ilya's Centaurs baseball caps. Her loud laughs joined the sound of the water lapping onto the shore as if it belonged there. Shane finished putting sunscreen on Dimitri, who has been fussing the whole time.
“Okay now you can play with Ava.” Shane said, placing down the irritated baby next to his sister.
Ilya came over sitting down next to Shane and the twins. He placed a kiss on Shane's cheek, lightly nipping at it before he pulled away.
“I'm glad we got to do this before we leave tomorrow.” Ilya said, leaning back to get a better look at his husband.
Shane smiled. “Me too. I'd be more glad if you actually put on sunscreen so you wouldn't burn.”
Ilya laughed, scooting closer to Shane under the umbrella. “I'll take my chances.”
“You're going to be hating yourself next week when we have training and your shoulders are peeling.” Shane said. His attention turned to the twins now, stopping both of them from putting sand in their mouths.
Ilya rolled his eyes, scooping Ava into his lap. She whined slightly, annoyed that she was taken away from the sand she'd been playing in. Ilya distracted her easily, blowing raspberries onto her belly, making her laugh instantly. Shane watched, his heart feeling impossibly full at the sight. Throughout their stay, Ilya had been making an effort to take photos documenting their time here. Little sweet moments of the twins either together or with Anya or Shane. There were very few photos with Ilya in them though since he was the one taking the photos most of the time.
Shane subtly took out his phone from his swim trunks pocket, careful to not disrupt the precious moment. Unlocking his phone, he managed to take a few photos of Ilya holding up Ava, both with big smiles on their faces. Ava did take after Shane in most ways when it came to looks, but she had inherited her papa's smile. After a few more photos, Ilya finally noticed pausing his kisses.
Without hesitation Shane showed Ilya the photos he'd taken. Ilya looked at them, smiling at how adorable Ava looked in all of them. The expression of their daughter's pure joy is forever captured in these pictures.
◇◇◇
Ilya dipped Dimitri's feet into the water again making his baby boy laugh even louder. After a few seconds he lifted up Dimitri, his loud laughs now turning into smaller giggles. They had been doing this for a while now, Ilya standing at the shore and dipping Dimitri's feet in when the water came in. It was a fun game for them and the sounds of his son's laughter was something he would never grow bored of.
Shane, Ava and Anya were all napping under the umbrella. Ava resting on Shane's chest, a protective hand over her small back. Anya had her head laying on Shane's stomach, a habit that formed for her while Shane had been pregnant. Ilya glanced back at the cozy sight, his heart feeling like it could burst.
Dimitri caught his attention again, babbling at him and putting his small fist in his mouth before taking it out, offering it to Ilya. Ilya lightly guided it away, kissing the top of his head.
“Do you want to go out a little farther with papa?” Ilya asked, looking at Dimitri. He had on his baseball cap that Ava had been wearing earlier. It was too big for his head but some of his adorable curls perfectly stuck out from the back loop. Little inflated yellow water wings were on his arms, not liking them at first but he had grown used to them. Dimitri cooed softly and Ilya took that as a yes.
He waded out to where the water came up just above his knees. The water had been pleasantly cold compared to the unrelenting summer heat.
“Look Dima there's a fish.” Ilya said in Russian as he pointed at a small fish, swimming a few feet in front of them. It swam by slowly and Dimitri let out a small gurgle as his little arm tried to reach out to it. “I know it's very small. Ah, look at that.” Ilya pointed at a turtle basking on a large rock further out. More giggles and coos followed as a response. Before he realized it Ilya was pointing out everything to Dimitri, saying what they were in both Russian and English. Dimitri would either babble back to him or make some kind of baby noise as an acknowledgement.
Several minutes of him doing that passed and an eventual silence came over the both of them. The sound of the water lapping against the nearby rocks and shore along with the trees rustling from the breeze was the only thing they heard.
“I hope you and Ava love this place as much as your daddy and I do.” Ilya said in Russian, breaking the quiet between them. Dimitri had his cheek resting against Ilya's chest. He stayed quiet and Ilya looked down to see Dimitri nodding off in his arms. That made sense considering he had missed nap time, opting to stay up with Ilya instead of joining his sister and dad.
Ilya was going to go back and join everyone else but he lingered in the water. Tomorrow they'll go home, back to their normal routines. Next week their pre-season training camp started and the chaos that came with it. They would be traveling more and would have less one on one moments like this for the foreseeable future. Ilya didn't know how he was going to manage being away from the twins so much this season. He could already feel the ache of missing them during away games, even though the season hadn't even started yet.
Another soft breeze rustled the trees and Dimitri yawned in his arms. Ilya smiled softly, pressing a kiss into his son's cheek. His mind pushed all the future thoughts of the upcoming season aside for now. He focused instead on the fact that their twins had had their first trip to the cottage. They would spend summers here, growing up and coming to know and love the place where he and Shane declared their love for each other so many years ago. Their twins would make so many memories here, and Ilya couldn't wait to be a part of them.