Chapter Text
Montreal, 2024
“And just like that, Shane Hollander and the Montreal Metros are once again MLH Cup champions! Three titles in three years - the Metros have been absolutely unstoppable these past few years!”
Hell broke loose in the locker rooms of the Montreal Metros. For the third year in a row, they had the Cup in their hands. Music was blasting, champagne was flowing, and Shane was lifted into the air by his teammates as the locker room erupted in cheers.
As the celebration continued, Shane eventually slipped away from the chaos. He’d never been the type to enjoy the spotlight for too long. As he stepped out of the building, he found Rose waiting for him. Their eyes met and his smile widened. She threw her arms open to pull him in for a hug. He lifted her off the ground with ease and spun her around.
“You did a-ma-zing!”, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’m so proud of you, you totally killed it out there!”
“Okay Hollander, let go of your girlfriend and come back inside, we still have to take our group picture.” One of his teammates pulled him back inside. He held the Cup with both hands and his teammates threw him back in the air for the picture.
“They’re never gonna stop assuming, are they?”, Rose nudged his side playfully with her finger. Shane rolled his eyes. “Do they really think we would be dating secretly for eight whole years?” Rose simply shrugged as they continued their walk.
“Well you can’t blame them, considering the fact we are raising our kid together, Shaney.”
“Daddyyyyyyy!!!”
His whole world came running straight into his arms.
“Hi my little bug!”
She burried her face in his shoulder.
Yuna was behind her and clearly out of breath. “I- i am sorry honey, I tried to stop her but she” - phew- “clearly wanted to congratulate you on winning your third Cup!”
She pulled him into a group hug, David quickly joining in. Blinded by the flashing lights of the paparazzi surrrounding them, they started walking down the street.
Moscow, 2024
“Well aren’t they the cutest little family.” Svetlana shoved her phone in Ilya’s face and showed him the instagram post Shane had made earlier, with the cutest family pictures. The pictures never showed Shane’s daughter’s face, not even her name. He wondered if it was on purpose. It probably was, Shane was intentional like that. He would want his daughter to have a normal life, aside from her father’s fame.
Ilya rolled his eyes.
It somehow still hurt him, even after all these years. Shane moved on, just like that, while he was stuck in this neverending cycle of regret. Regret for leaving eight years ago and not listening to his gut to chase Shane out of his house in Boston. He closed his eyes.
“You should text him Ilyushka, he just won his third Cup.” She took in his hand and interlined their fingers. He loved her cold hands, slim fingers, always perfectly manicured. It made him think about his mama. Holding her hand grounded him, easing the tension in his chest. “Yeah, I’d rather die a thousand deaths than reaching out. ”
He threw his head back with a dramatic sigh.
He never specifically told Svetlana his long lost love was THE Shane Hollander. She just kind of guessed a couple of years ago. Every once in a while he would open the text chain and just stare at it.
One drunken night she had found him on a filthy bathroom floor, just staring at his screen. She took a glance at the screen and saw it was a news article about Shane Hollander and Rose Landry. How they were ‘the hottest couple out there’ and ‘obviously made for each other’.
The moment she entered the bathroom, she expected him to get his shit together and tell her to f@ck off. But that wasn’t the case this time. He collapsed in her arms and cried like a baby. They had been friends for ages, but this was the only time she had seen Ilya so fragile and helpless.
Suddenly, all the missing puzzle pieces finally fell into place: years of texting his ‘Jane’, the sudden halt in sleeping with other people, and the lingering sadness that had followed him after his departure to Russia.
The ‘Jane’ that broke his heart was in fact THE Shane Hollander.
They never talked about it again. Ilya suddenly snapped out of it and threw himself into his role as captain of SKA Saint Petersburg. He buried whatever was left of his heartbreak and became the leader everyone needed him to be.
Eight years ago, Shane had left Ilya's house in Boston, leaving him confused on his couch. Alexei had called him to tell him his father was dying. He was needed in Moscow, and suddenly everything he had built in Boston felt like it was slipping away.
So he did what every responsible son would do: he packed his things and moved back to Russia to take care of his dying father.
He couldn’t bear the weight of knowing he wouldn’t be there for his father’s final moments, like he had missed his mother’s.
He was twelve when he found her on the bathroom floor. She had overdosed. She was the only person who ever truly understood Ilya. It had always been them against the world.
For years, he had carried anger toward her, until he finally understood why she wanted to leave this earth. He understood.
His father was a menace, and had made her life a living hell, while his brother had become a selfish drug abuser.
Both of them were police officers. They never truly believed in Ilya’s hockey career until he started climbing to the top, earning sponsorships and making real money. Even then, they didn’t respect him. It was never enough. He was never enough.
That was the reason he had fought so hard to make it to the NHL. It wasn’t just about hockey anymore. It was about having a reason to stay, a way to build a life far away from them. He still sent money every month for his ‘father’s medicine’, even though he was almost certain Alexei was just snorting the money away.
And now, his second -and unexpected- reason for staying in Boston, just walked out of the house and his life.
His father died a few months later.
There was no reason to return to the USA. He didn’t want to torture himself and having to look at Shane f@cking Hollander for the rest of his hockey career.
After his departure to Russia, the distance between them grew, and so did the sadness he carried with him.
He quickly got an offer from SKA Saint Petersburg to join their team.
Everyone expected him to return to NHL eventually. But years passed, and he never did.
Svetlana got a job offer in Moscow as well: aftersales manager at a sports car dealer. She was -obviously- born for a job like this, so she accepted the offer without a second thought. The two of them decided to cohouse in a loft just outside the Moscow’s city center.
Their loft occupies the entire top floor of a forty-story building. There is an enormous rooftop terrace, with an uninterrupted view of the city’s beautiful skyline. It has a long, spacious hallway with marble floors and what felt as an endless amount of mirrors. The interior is a perfect blend of white, with black and gold accents.
The loft has FIVE bedrooms, each with its own ensuite bathroom. Ilya and Svetlana each have a bedroom of their own, since they haven’t shared a bed in years. The last few years, they’ve only had sex a handful of times - and drunk during all of them.
The sex was purily practical, just two friends helping each other out when the loneliness started to kick in.
Svetlana often brought new guys home, but nothing ever turned into anything serious. She simply wasn’t relationship material: she likes to spend her free time doing whatever she wants. She doesn’t need anyone controlling her.
A couple of days after the whole Boston incident, Shane met Rose at Le Tambour, a restaurant where a mutual friend was celebrating their birthday.
Shane absolutely had no intention of going that night, considering he wasn’t the type to enjoy parties. On top of that, he was still heartbroken after everything that had happened between him and Rozanov.
The only thing that convinced him was a call from his teammate telling him that the cast from the X Squad movies was in town AND invited.
When he met Rose that night, they instantly hit it off. It had been a long time since he felt such an instant connection with a woman.
The woman being Rose f@cking Landry only made it more surreal. She was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars at that time, yet she was so effortlessly down to earth. Talking to her felt so natural he almost forgot who she was.
They started seeing each other more often after that. It didn’t take long for the media to catch on. Before they knew it, they were being portrayed as the perfect couple: hockey’s golden boy and Hollywood’s sweetheart.
Paparazzi seemed to follow them everywhere. Every dinner date, every red carpet appearance, every walk through Montreal. The photos were all over social media. Fans adored them, brands wanted them, and the media couldn’t get enough of their effortless chemistry.
For the first time in years, Shane felt… normal. Rose made him laugh, challenged him, and understood the pressure that came with living under a microscope. Being with her was easy. There were no games, no uncertainty, and no impossible choices to make. Eventually, they made it official.
They only had s@x twice, but twice seemed to be enough for the unthinkable to happen: Rose got pregnant. On the first of august in 2017, she gave birth to Lily. Shane’s world turned upside down, but from now on he only had one thing to care for in this world: his Lilybug.
During the early stages of pregnancy, they already had the talk. Rose’s underlying suspicions of Shane’s sexuality turned out to be true.
They still decided to stay friends - best friends, even - and raise their child together like a normal family.
It was nearly perfect. Unlike other couples, they barely fought and always talked their way through things. Maybe that’s one of the perks of being a couple of besties.
They lived in Ottawa, only a block away from Shane’s parents. They bought two semi-detached houses, connected to each other, so they could still have their own privacy. She knew that was important for Shane.
There was a sliding door connecting the two houses, right next to the kitchen. It made sense, considering they didn’t want Lily to feel like she was growing up with two divorced parents. The sliding door was open most of the time, making both homes feel more spacious.
Yuna and David often came to visit. They were the best grand parents.
Rose’s parents thought she was insane for raising a kid with a man who wasn’t even her boyfriend and never would be.
In their eyes, Shane was ridiculous for not even wanting to be with her. Their superstar daughter and hockey’s most valuable player, they would have made the perfect couple.
She never outed him to anyone, not even to her own parents, so they didn’t even know the full story.
She stood her ground and stayed in Ottawa, but because of that, she never saw her parents again. She was grateful Yuna and David showed up for them. Both of them had busy lives, travelling all the time, which meant that being Lily’s grandparents became a full-time job.