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As the car’s GPS screen dropped the ‘estimated arrival time’ to under ten minutes, Shane felt a fidget from the passenger seat followed by a warm palm settling on his thigh.
“You are sure this is best idea?” Ilya asked, “surprise attack?”
Shane scoffed, “Ilya, it’s not an attack it’s just a surprise. A good surprise.” He searched his mind for all the reasons he had chosen this way to come out to his best friend that he’d been so sure of when they left the house a few hours before. He’d texted that he wanted to see their new home, and to introduce them to someone special. That was it. “It worked with my parents, right?”
The Russian let out a dubious chuckle, “your father surprise attack us. If he had surprise attack five minute later, he would have surprise attack of his son sucking my dick.”
“Stop saying surprise attack.”
A comfortable quiet stretched between them, a part of their newfound relationship which Shane relished. In company, he often felt concerned with toeing the line of speaking enough but not too much, at the correct times, in the correct way. With Ilya, he could just speak, or not. It was perfect regardless.
As they pulled into the driveway of a beautiful (if secluded) modern home, Shane killed the engine. Neither of them moved to get out of the car.
“I love you, so Hayden has to love you.” Shane affirmed, mainly to himself. He turned to his head, unable to hold back a smile at his boyfriend’s expression. “Ok, not love but tolerate.”
“What about Jackie? She will tolerate?”
“To be honest, I think Jackie already knows. I mean maybe not that it’s you but, she knows I’m gay. She’s smart, recently when I’ve seen her, she’s given me these looks…”
“Hmm she may know you are gay, but she cannot be smart.”
Shane shot him a questioning look.
“Shanya, she is smart lady but marry Pike? Smart lady but bring four more Pikes into the world?” Shane rolled his eyes, smacking his hand across the other man’s chest.
As they stood outside the front door, Shane did a final check. He was holding a bottle of good white wine and a Tupperware full of his mom’s famous oatmeal raisin cookies. Ilya held a bottle of real Russian vodka. Shane had hoped it might act as a peace offering, but this hadn’t stopped his boyfriend’s grumbles that morning as he tied the pink ribbon around the bottle’s neck.
Ilya brought his hands to Shane’s shoulders, clutching the vodka bottle temporarily between a strong bicep and his side, moving to make eye contact to soothe his frantic checking. Shane relaxed under the weight of his familiar hands, the blue eyes on his. He leaned in to smack a kiss to Ilya’s cheek. He’d dressed him for the occasion in an impeccably ironed, dusty pink, short-sleeved shirt, and he felt a small buzz of happiness at his boyfriend’s willingness to spruce up a little at his request. He turned back to the door and rung the bell before he could stop himself.
After fifteen seconds, the door swung open, Jackie appearing looking comfy and beautiful in linen cargos and a home-cropped Metros Jersey. She held a chubby baby, who smiled through her stupidly round cheeks at the couple, happily drooling.
“Shane! I’m so happy you’re here!” She bundled him into a hug, Shane careful not to squish the infant. As she pulled away, she looked over to Ilya, face unchanging.
“And it’s Rozanov, right?”
“Ilya, please.”
She pulled him into an equally fierce hug and then stepped into the house, allowing space for the two of them to enter. As Ilya followed his boyfriend inside, he hesitated for a second to take in the baby, his face going soft.
“Oh, how rude of me. This is Amber!”
“I can’t believe how big she is.” Shane added, toeing off his shoes in the wide hallway.
“I know!” Jackie leaned her cheek into the baby’s head affectionately, “my baby is one in two weeks!”
“She is perfect.” Ilya added simply. As he turned to remove his own shoes, he briefly caught Shane looking at him with an unreadable expression.
“Well, time to face the noise!” Jackie led them into the house, stepping down several steps into a huge, open plan kitchen.
Hayden stood in the centre of the room; an island covered in various ingredients and spices spread out in front of him. He was wearing a frilly pink and red apron which read kiss the cook and held in his hand a turkey baster.
“Babe?” Jackie announced in warning, pulling her husband’s attention to the three of them.
“Shane!” Jackie watched his face slipping into his, usual, labrador-adjacent excitement at seeing his best friend for approximately 0.5 seconds before his brow furrowed in confusion. “Rozanov?”
When they’d planned this earlier that morning, Shane had repeatedly reminded Ilya to let him do the talking.Now, however, looking down at his best friend’s astonished face, he found himself stuck.
“Hello,” Ilya broke the silence, lifting his full hands, “we have wine, real vodka and uh, very good cookies made by Yuna.”
“Yuna?” Hayden repeated him, the first naming of Shane’s mom allowing the penny to drop. The baster fell from his hands and bounced quietly on the counter. “Holy shit.”
Jackie put her free arm around Ilya’s. “Thank you for the drinks, can you help me pour the wine?” She pulled him to the other side of the kitchen, giving Shane and Hayden a little space.
“Hayd… I was gonna tell you sooner, but it’s been complicated. We only told my parents a few weeks ago.” His voice was stammering slightly.
“Dude, I don’t- I don’t care that you didn’t tell me. I don’t care that you’re gay, you know that right? You could be gay or trans or… any of the letters, dude.” He stepped forwards a little. “But him?” Shane painfully noticed the real disapproval in his tone, “he’s an asshole, Shane. Like, not a nice guy.”
Shane sighed, “He’s not really like that. I mean, look.”
He gestured over to Jackie and Ilya. The Russian had offered to hold Amber while she prepped everyone’s drinks, and now he was lightly bouncing the baby, the two gazing at each other adoringly.
“Privetik, Solnyshko!” He smacked his lips together, making her giggle. Jackie smiled at the two as she dropped ice cubes into wine glasses.
“But Shane, he-”
Very much in earshot, Jackie had had enough of her husband’s complaints.
“Honey, how’s the chicken?”
Hayden looked at Ilya again, face visibly sour at the man holding his youngest child, before turning back to the oven, grabbing an oven glove to pull out a steaming dish. Jackie and Ilya returned to the kitchen island, handing Shane a glass of wine. He took a large swig before speaking.
“Hayd, you’re cooking?” He watched as his friend used the baster to spread chicken juices, the scent rich with lemon and thyme, over the chicken’s almost-cooked skin. He turned to his boyfriend, “when we met, Hayden could burn cup noodles.”
Hayden loudly huffed again, biting his tongue as he had nothing nice to say.
Shane continued, “Jackie, you’ve taught him well.”
She laughed, “Please, I taught him nothing. Before I moved in with him, I made him take a long cooking course.”
“Hmm, maybe I do this for you, Shane,” Ilya piped up.
Shane gasped, “asshole, I’m a great cook!”
“Mm, yes great cook for family of small birds, maybe rabbit.” Jackie’s giggles were interrupted by the noisy arrival of two twin girls, each holding the hand of a toddler dressed in a spiderman costume which had plenty of space to grow into, the arms trailing below his fingertips.
One of the girls gasped as she spotted Shane.
“Uncle Shane!”
“Hey Ruby, Hey Jade!” He put down his wine glass and bent down to pull the three kids into a hug. “But where’s Arthur? Hey, Spiderman! Have you seen Arthur?”
The kids wound themselves around the adults’ legs as they started clamouring for Shane’s attention.
“Hot pans, guys! Hot oven!” Hayden raised his voice over the room.
Jackie stepped in. “Girls, take your brother outside to play before we eat.”
“Can Shane play with us?”
Shane shot Jackie a private, pleading look. He loved these kids, but something about make-believe games did not gel well with the strict order of his brain. He’d end their play sessions exhausted and overstimulated, the kids frustrated by his inability to play correctly.
Ilya noticed the look. “I can play.” Jackie seemed convinced.
“Guys, why don’t you play in the garden with Ilya? He’s your Uncle Shane’s boyfriend.”
The kids agreed, just happy to have a big adult body to boss around, tugging on one of Ilya’s dangling hands. He handed Amber over to Shane, who instantly smiled at her soft warmth. As he was pulled away, he bid the baby a fond farewell; “poka-poka, malyshka.”
They watched as the twin girls yapped at Ilya as they left the room, the space becoming considerably quieter as they exited to the garden.
Hayden grumbled under his breath, “if her first words are Russian…”
Shane focused on the happy girl in his arms, lightly pulling her hand out of her mouth as she sucked it vigorously. He stage-whispered to her, loud enough to ensure Hayden could hear him; “Eto ne dlya yedy, krasavitsa.”
Half an hour later, as she finishes setting the table, Jackie sends Shane and Hayden to the garden to collect the rest of the group for lunch.
The lawn is wide and unruly, having been neglected by the busy family as they settled into their new home. Shane might have made a sarcastic comment to Hayden about his green fingers, if he wasn’t so distracted by the sight in front of him. Ilya stood in the middle of the lawn, all three children hanging from his neck as he dramatically feigned being dragged to the floor, groaning. Seeing his boyfriend’s natural ability with children had lit something low and buzzy in Shane, and he beamed at the spectacle across the garden.
“Who’s winning?” He called over to them, as Ilya was finally brought to the grass, the twin girls proudly sitting on his back.
“We slayed the dragon!” One of the girls announced proudly.
The dragon disagreed, “I have explained I am only in disguise as dragon. I am Russian prince, most handsome in land, come to save Canadian Princessa!”
Shane laughed, “and who’s holding me hostage?”
Ilya jerked his head up to avoid a mouthful of grass and make eye contact with Hayden, “Is small, mean Dad man.”
“Inventive,” Hayden grumbled. “Get inside you guys, food’s ready.”
At the news of food, the two girls sprang up, pulling their little brother hastily towards the house.
Shane waited for Ilya to get to him, letting him swing a warm, comforting arm around his waist as they walked.
“I don’t know about most handsome prince in the land…”
“Excuse you, Shanya. Name one more handsome prince!”
“Harry.” Shane admits, embarrassingly fast.
Ilya lets out a surprised chuckle, “what about William?”
“Nah, too boring.”
Ilya tuts at him as they step inside, “of course, you like the bad boy.”
The meal was delicious, and Shane was still in awe that Hayden had been the one to create it, barraging him with questions about the process to try and catch him out. Other than adamantly insisting he could cook, Hayden was quiet throughout the meal and completely refused to look at Ilya. As the Russian collected their empty plates, stopping to chat with the children once he reached their end, he finally spoke up.
“What about Hunter?”
It took Shane a second to piece together the context of the question.
“Scott Hunter?”
“Yeah, I mean, you see him a lot, he’s a great guy, he’s…”
“Gay?” Shane filled in for him, more than a little pissed off.
“Well, yeah, man. He’s gay and he’s a super nice guy.”
Ilya was still very much present in the room, stacking plates in his hands, and Jackie scoffed at her husband’s ignorance.
“Do you think because he’s gay that means Shane’s attracted to every man in his vicinity? You’ve spent a lot of time with my grandmother over the years, do you think you’ll end up together?”
Ilya barked out a laugh as he returned from placing the plates into the sink.
“Ah, but is not this. Hunter is very sexy, but Shane is too busy man to be making trips to retirement village.”
Hayden continued on, his voice a little high with desperation, “okay but, Shane, if it’s just a sex thing then-”
Shane was getting a bit tired of this. “Who said it’s just a sex thing, Hayd? Do you think my mom would be baking him cookies if this was just a sex thing? Do you think I’d be bringing him here to meet your children?”
Hayden had finally gone quiet, looking sheepish. Shane’s voice softened.
“I’m in this for the long haul, okay? I love him.”
A quiet settled across the adults for a minute. From where he sat alongside Amber’s highchair, tasked with trying to feed her orange baby food with a little plastic spoon, Ilya tried to diffuse the tension.
“Shane, it was just sex thing at first.”
Shane rolled his eyes. “Yeah, in our rookie season, Rozanov.”
“Rookie season?” Hayden parroted, “that means you’ve been seeing him as long as I’ve known you?”
The couple only nodded, and that seemed enough to finally shut Hayden up.
“So, how did it start?” Jackie asked.
“Well, Ilya was booked to do this CCM shoot, and he asked them to include me, so he’d have a chance to flirt with me.”
Ilya added “fuck him” at the same time Shane said, “flirt with me”, and Shane swung him a look, nodding towards the children. They were seemingly distracted however, making artworks with the handful of peas left sprawled on the table.
Jackie chuckled, and turned to Ilya, “so, then you asked him out?”
“Yes.”
“You call that asking out?” Shane laughed, turning again to check the kids were distracted before lowering his voice and continuing. “I was showering after the shoot, and someone decided I shouldn’t be showering alone.”
“You do not own shower, Hollander, I also did shoot!”
“Yeah sure, big guy.”
“Yes exactly, I am big guy, is why you come on to me in shower.”
Shane gasped, scandalised, and Ilya looked at him with glee in his eyes, “I did not come on to you, asshole. I practically ran away from you!”
“Mm, yes, run away to your hotel room which you ask me to join you in.”
Shane was blushing, and threw his napkin at Ilya’s chest, whilst Jackie cackled.
As they ate cookies and finished the wine, the late afternoon rolled into evening, and dark had fallen surprisingly swiftly over the garden, visible from the kitchen table through a set of large French doors.
The men finished the last of the cleaning in a mostly comfortable silence, Shane and Ilya occasionally speaking about trivial things and sharing soft looks, light touches as they moved around the kitchen. Once Jackie came downstairs from putting the kids to bed, they settled in the living room, Ilya’s vodka cracked open.
“What did your mom say?” Hayden asked Shane, again seemingly from nowhere, revealing once more that his brain was still ticking over the Shane-and-Ilya of it all throughout their conversation.
"She was surprised.” Shane sat comfortably on a small two-person sofa, legs curled under him as he leant against his boyfriend, edges a little softer than usual from the alcohol. “But you know how dedicated she is to me and my career. They both came round quickly, now Ilya and Dad play fantasy football.”
“Blyat!” Ilya exclaimed, reminded, pulling his phone from his pocket to check on their game.
“Ok, but what about the league? And Crowell? I mean, I know they’ve been okay with Hunter, but you guys are from different teams…”
“You’re right. We’re not in a rush to come out, but it’s gonna be rough whenever we decide to do it.”
“And what if they want you to choose?”
Shane answered immediately, “Ilya is more important than hockey. It’s taken us so many years, you know? So much wasted time. I’m not wasting anymore.”
He felt the man behind him lean down to press a soft kiss to his shoulder, whispering a sweet “moy malysh.” Shane smiled and turned his head quickly, leaning up to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. His left palm, in muscle memory, stroked up over the Russian’s firm clavicle, the base of his throat, up to cup his neck.
Shane pulled back from the quick kiss with a questioning look on his face. He brought his gaze down and dragged his hand again over Ilya’s clavicle and around his neck, dipping his fingers below his shirt to feel more adamantly.
Ilya’s brow furrowed, “Solynshko?”
“Where’s your necklace?”
“What?” Jackie asked from the other side of the room.
Shane was sitting up, putting down his glass. “Ilya wears a gold chain, every day. I mean, I’ve never seen him without it.”
Ilya stood up and turned slowly to look around the room, peering over to the kitchen for clues of what might have happened, his voice was distracted as he spoke.
“I have not taken it off. Since I was twelve.”
“The kids were all hanging from your neck when we came and got you earlier.” Shane walked towards the French doors which led to the large lawn. “It’ll be in the grass.”
Hayden spoke up, voice a little disinterested, “well if it’s in the garden we’ll have to just look for it tomorrow, the outside lights don’t work yet.” Jackie only had to shoot him a quarter of a look before he was out of his chair.
“Okay! Okay! Let’s go look.”
The four of them burst into the garden, which was now close to pitch black. The blades of grass were all at least ankle deep, and they were armed with only phone torches. Ilya was trying hard to breathe through the ringing in his ears. He felt a soft hand rubbing his arm, and Jackie appeared next to him, clutching a baby monitor alongside her phone.
“We’ll find it, babe. My kids are experts at losing things and I’m an expert at finding them.” He smiled, unconvinced, and they all walked about separately, trying to cover different patches. The grass was dense, and hard to properly see into without manipulating the blades with your hand. When they crossed paths, Shane gave Jackie a look which read we should talk about why this is so important, but we can’t do it now.
After about twenty minutes of fruitless searching, a sharp crying burst through the monitor, causing them all to jump. Ilya didn’t want to stop looking, but his lower back was starting to complain at his posture as he searched, bent-double. They headed inside, and Hayden watched his best friend give Rozanov a few of the softest, most tender kisses to his cheeks he’d ever seen. He still couldn’t believe it. Shane joined Jackie in heading up to the baby’s room, leaving the two men alone.
Hayden flopped back down onto his armchair, and Ilya did the same, leaning forward and downing the remaining vodka from both his and Shane’s glasses. Hayden watched the Russian lean back in his chair, his body a show of practiced confidence and relaxation, but his eyes were wild and panicked, like a deer in headlights. He wanted to throw the guy a bone.
“I know a great jeweller, actually Roz.”
Ilya looked at him like he was speaking another language. “Jeweller?”
“Yeah, it’s where I got Jackie’s engagement ring. A little pricey, but the customer service is pretty great. I’m sure they’ll have tons of chains.”
Ilya was shaking his head before he’d even finished speaking.
“No, I… thank you. But I cannot replace. It was my Mama’s.” On the final word his voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat, cutting himself off. The settled back into silence, Ilya staring out at the garden.
Thankfully, Shane and Jackie soon descended the stairs. He was so relieved to see his wife, but caught off guard when he saw her face, eyes wobbly and unsure. Shane and
Ilya returned to the garden, and Hayden raised his arms to greet his wife, pulling her forward into his lap.
“Hey, what is it?”
She let herself rest on him for a second, nuzzling her face into his neck, then pulled back.
“We have to find it, Hayden.”
“I know, honey, we will.”
She rested her hand on his cheek and turned back briefly, checking the couple were out of earshot, her voice was thick with emotion, “she took her own life, Hayd, when Ilya was twelve.” She lowered to a whisper, “he found her.”
“What?” Hayden’s mind swam. He knew he was probably sheltered, but he couldn’t imagine something so awful happening in real life, to someone he knew. To someone his best friend was in love with. He pulled Jackie back in towards him, rubbing his hand up and down her neck, equally comforted by the familiar weight of her in his lap, her fresh soap smell, the tickle of her curls.
After a minute, she softly got up, squeezing his arm, and then headed out to the garden.
Hayden’s body thrummed with the need to fix this issue, to try and cancel out what a dick he’d been all day. He suddenly remembered something and paced quickly through his house and into the garage.
Out on the lawn, squinting through the dark, Shane’s stomach had turned into a thick, double-tied knot. From the edge of his phone flashlight’s weak glare, he could see Ilya a few feet ahead of him, no longer bent at the waist, but neck craned down as his eyes scanned the thick floor of grass. His left hand was a tight fist, and the right was pressed hard into his chest, where the weighty crucifix usually sat. He was speaking under his breath in a stream of focused Russian. It was too low, and Shane’s Russian was too basic, for him to catch much more than the regular repeated words ‘sorry’ and ‘Mama’. His heart followed his stomach in knotting. He knew that if the necklace was lost, Ilya wouldn’t cry, he wouldn’t scream, but it would join the collection of traumas and upset which seemed to sit heavily underneath the tense skin of his boyfriend’s shoulders, silent and aggressive. Shane had spent the last few months working to massage it out, but this would be a gutting setback.
“Ilya.” He needed the panicked rambling to end. The taller man turned to him, neck straightening up, and setting his face into an attempt at neutral. He paced over to him, letting his arms wrap around his neck, the heavy, broad hands on his hips working to untie his knots a little. Ilya must have noticed his own stress.
“Is okey, Shanya. Is just necklace, it…” he trailed off, eyes glazing with tears, jaw clenched to hold in a sob.
“Hey, hey.” He brought Ilyas face back to him, wiping softly over his cheeks. “We’re going to find it. We just might have to wait until it’s light.”
The Russian nodded, but Shane knew from his stony face that the wait-till-morning plan wasn’t enough. Ilya needed to find it tonight, needed to know it was safe, like the constant weight on his chest reminded his lungs to let him breath. He took a step back and looked around, peering into the darkness for an answer he hadn’t found yet. He tried to adopt his very best Yuna-Hollander-fix-it state of mind. But nothing was coming. The darkness was a thickening blanket around them. This was a needle in a haystack situation, and he was worried Ilya’s teeth would crack if his jaw clenched any more.
There was a scraping behind him, and he turned to see Hayden dragging a floodlight with one hand, carrying two large flashlights in the other.
“The contractors who were looking at the outside lights the other day thought they might be working into the night…” he trailed off when he remembered they’d said all this and then finished promptly at 4pm, lights still very much not on. “Anyway, I said they could keep their shit in the garage…”
The light trailed a cord behind it, plugged in indoors, and Hayden set it at the edge of the lawn, tilting it down to avoid blinding anyone, and flicked it on. The grass was suddenly lit in a clinically white light, their legs now visible. He walked over to Shane and handed him one of the heavy flashlights, and took the other for himself, wordlessly instructing them to split up. Something in Shane twinged as he saw a side of Hayden he recognised and deeply loved, his commitment to going above and beyond to help the people he cared about, his own feelings be damned. Jackie re-covered the main lawn, now lit by the light, trying to peer between the blades, eyes stinging with focus. Ilya and Shane checked the perimeters, hands firmly entwined, carefully directing the fierce beam of the torch at each section, stepping slowly to ensure each area was thoroughly analysed.
Hayden watched the three others. His wife, his best friend, and a guy that until about thirty minutes ago he would’ve paid millions to leave Shane’s life forever, to take his smug grin and broad shoulders and stupid Russian drawl and go literally anywhere else. He wondered what they were missing, the lawn wasn’t that big, and they’d been searching for well over an hour. He spun around, trying to think outside of the box. To his right, there was a small hill which led down to a dusty shed. He had no idea what was inside, both him and Jackie had been too scared to investigate it properly yet, it seemed like an obvious spiderweb-laden trap for innocent human souls. The hill was a little way from where the kids had been playing earlier, but he hadn’t watched them the whole time, and the hill was steep enough that a heavy enough fallen object could have slid down, especially if kicked by oblivious toddler feet. He aimed the beam of his flashlight slowly along the slope, and about halfway down, there was a glint.
“Holy shit.” He sped forward quietly, keen not to alert the others in case it was a false alarm, and almost lost his footing as he began to descend the short hill. He plunged his hand into the grass, now cold and slightly damp from the late-night dew, and fumbled his fingers for a second until he felt the unmistakeable cool of a metal chain. He pulled it up and aimed his torch. Bingo. He found that he was beaming, relief swimming through his limbs at being able to make Ilya fucking Rozanov feel better. He stepped back towards the group, who were huddled together in the middle of the lawn, peering down at the grass with strained, defeated faces.
“Rozanov.”
Ilya’s face snapped up, and he immediately looked over to the chain Hayden held up in his open palm. He jogged over, eyes a little wild, and took it from him. The tension in his face melted, shoulders relaxing, as he looked it over. He brought the cross to his lips, eyes fluttering closed for a second.
“Prosti, Mama,” he whispered. His face was bashful as he opened his eyes, meeting Hayden’s own. This was probably the closest they’d ever been, and Hayden could see a softness to Rozanov’s face usually masked by his grating, Slavic bravado. He pictured Yuna, a powerhouse of hockey knowledge and business savvy, who had supported and coached Shane into a living legend. He pictured his own Mom, her plump rosy cheeks which he thrilled at seeing every day in Amber. She was completely unable to grasp anything to do with hockey, but drove him to every early morning practice, worked multiple jobs, and now brushed off any and all attempts at thanks. He looked into Ilya’s icy blue eyes and saw a skinny boy. Twelve, pale and cold, facing the horror of his mother’s dead body before he’d even hit puberty. It would’ve ended Hayden. Shane. Anyone he knew. It hadn’t ended Rozanov, he’d raised himself into a hockey great, and apparently such a good person that Shane Hollander was willing to give up his career for him if he had to.
Shane had reached the pair, and the Russian turned to him, softly handing him the necklace. He looked it over.
“The clasp has snapped.” He looked up at his partner, eyes reassuring, “we can get it replaced, first thing tomorrow.” Ilya nodded hard, and Hayden watched as Shane pooled the necklace into his palm, before carefully spilling it into his own wallet, placing it safely in his pocket. The ease and trust between the two men stunned Hayden. He’d wanted this for Shane for so long, watched him at the sidelines of every party, meal, outing, uncomfortable in his own skin, voice clipped and nervous. He wanted him to have what he had with Jackie. This must be it.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by tight arms around him, a strong chest against his, a firm palm between his shoulder blades.
“Thank you, Hayden.” Ilya’s accent seemed thicker with emotion, the words alien and naked for them both. He looked at Shane over the taller man’s shoulder.
“Anytime, buddy.” He rubbed his hand up and down Rozanov’s back a few times, surprisingly comfortable in the embrace.
The team headed inside. Jackie kissed all three men on the cheek before heading up to check on the kids. They’d quickly decided that Shane and Ilya should stay in the spare room, the alcohol and emotional exhaustion a poor combination for driving home. Shane headed up to bed first, eyes low and tired like they always got after any extended social interactions, but Ilya accompanied him to the garage to return the lights.
“Scary shed, Pike.” He commented as they walked past the edge of the garden.
“Yeah, man, no one wants to touch it.”
They worked together in a comfortable silence, before settling back in the house, Hayden pulling the French doors closed behind him. Ilya stood in front of him, lingering, something else still to say.
“Nightcap?” he offered, moving around the Russian to grab the bottle of vodka and pouring them both a generous glug. They settled into their seats, Hayden trying to hide the burning in his throat.
“Can I have name of the good jeweller, Pike?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Are you still going to get a chain?” He flicked around on his phone for a second, sending the business’ Instagram page over to Ilya, who hummed as he got the notification.
“No.” He let out a deep breath, steeling himself, “but I think I will be buying a ring soon. Maybe you can help me pick.”
Hayden’s jaw dropped open, eyes bulging, and Ilya grinned, loving how the dumb Canadian’s emotions lived so close to the surface.
“You’re gonna propose?” He whispered, eyes darting to the stairs which were still silent and dark.
“I think so. Yes, probably.” He couldn’t stop the smile that made his cheeks ache, something he’d been noticing more and more since him and Shane had become official.
“Of course I’ll help you.” He leaned back in his armchair, sipping again from the vodka, chest warming instantly. “He really loves you, you know.”
The Russian blushed a little. “Not as much as I love him” His voice dropped, face more serious, clearly wanting to make sure Hayden was convinced, “I care about him so much. I would do anything.”
Hayden just nodded, and the two sat in quiet for a minute sipping comfortably.
As they finished up, slowly moving to switch off the lights, Ilya fluffed the sofa cushion to hide any evidence of his weight on it. Hayden spoke up.
“What was your mom’s name?”
“Irina.”
They headed for the stairs, stepping up together, Ilya letting the shorter man go ahead of him. They stopped at the top, preparing to walk in separate directions.
“I don’t want to overstep, but you know she’d be proud of you, right?”
Ilya blushed again, biting his bottom lip for a second and letting out one small nod before his mask slipped back on a little.
“Wow, Pike, you trying to soften me up? I am sorry but my days of seducing Metros are over, I am a taken man.”
Hayden scoffed, “fuck you Rozanov.”
“Hmm, you will have to ask nicer than that. Shane has learnt to beg.” His eyes sparkled. Hayden shoved him hard in the shoulder and turned to walk to his room.
“Goodnight, Roz.”
Ilya just blew a short raspberry at him, and chuckled as he headed back to the spare room.
Hayden had woken to the sound of children babbling, and the smell of something warm and sweet. Him and Jackie were still entwined, eyes opening naturally, without the shrill chime of an alarm or the piercing cry of a baby. Their eyes met, confused.
Wrapped up in their robes, they descended the stairs cautiously in slippered feet, surprised to find the kitchen full. The kids sat at the table with Shane, each of them clutching two barbies in various mismatched outfits as they played a mock-hockey game, Shane commanding the teams through their strategy half-heartedly as they mostly enjoyed twirling the dolls in their skirts or slamming them into each other. Ilya stood in front of the stove, two large pans of pancakes sizzling in front of him. In one hand he wielded a spatula, and in the other Amber rested comfortably on his hip. He looked freshly showered, hair still damp, wearing only soft grey sweatpants and Hayden’s pink apron.
He was a little speechless at the scene, but let it happen, overwhelmed with the way his relationship to Rozanov and even Shane had changed in the last twenty-four hours. They happily ate their pancakes and fruit, the two men visiting taking charge of the children and allowing them to have a peaceful meal. He almost moaned at the taste of hot coffee that hadn’t been chugged down in cold slurps between plaiting hair. And he relished the sight of Jackie, rested and quiet and bright across from him, occasionally sending him little happy looks as they watched the barbies twirl around the table-ice.
Once it was all cleared up, and the kids had a final go at tackling the dragons (there was now two of them, as it had been revealed that the Princess had to devolve to her original form to be with her dragon love), they’re sending them off at the door. Hayden panics a little as Shane moves from him to Jackie, hugging her tight and thanking her. The tall man in front of him smirks.
“Want a kiss goodbye, Pike?”
He scoffs, smacking his shoulder, “you wish, man.”
They listen to their chatter as they walk to Shane’s car, Jackie chuckling and Hayden a little bemused.
“How many kids will we have, Shanya?”
“Shit, I don’t know, two?”
“Two? I think we can do better than that.”
“Well how many, Rozanov?”
“At least five, I want to beat Pike.”
“Where the hell are we getting five kids from? I don’t know how it works in Russia, but-”
“We will have to see a doctor. I have been trying so very hard to get you pregnant.”
“Oh, so it’s my fault?”
Hayden smiles despite himself as he watches Shane slap Ilya on the chest, pushing him into the car door, before Rozanov tugs him forward into an apology kiss, large hands soothing over his neck.
“I’m so happy for him.” Jackie wraps an arm lazily around his back, leaning her weight on him.
He hums into her hair. “Rozanov’s gonna propose.”
She smacks a hand over her mouth to stop the delighted squeal she lets out, but the two men have already swung back to them, worry clouding their faces.
She pushes her hand into the air, waving frantically.
“See you guys soon!”
They step, confused into the car, wheels crunching over the drive as they disappear down the road. He closes the door, pulling Jackie into a kiss which she sinks into until the shouts of an affronted toddler disrupt them.
As she walks ahead of him to face the noise, he can’t help but call out to her.
“But I’m still hotter than him, right?”
He’s met with silence and stumbles after her.
“Babe?”