Work Text:
Ilya was standing next to the grill, holding his beer bottle, and watched David carefully put the marinated chicken on it. It was obvious that Shane's father was experienced when it came to cooking - the pasta they'd had for dinner the day before at Yuna's and David's cottage had been simple but incredibly delicious.
David looked at Ilya and smiled, a little reserved, and that smile reminded Ilya so much of Shane. "I'll make sure the meat stays tender and juicy," he then said and Ilya's gaze flickered to the pieces of chicken on the grill before he looked back at the older man.
"Is it normal in Canada for men to cook and take care of the food of the family?" Ilya asked after a few seconds of contemplating if it'd be rude to ask that question. David's smile never faltered so Ilya relaxed a little since it seemed that David was fine with him asking that particular question.
"Honestly? I'm afraid that even in this day and age, most of the time it still is not", Shanes father answered before taking a sip of his own beer as well. "But I really like cooking for my family, I always have. You know, my father was a chef and he worked in several different restaurants. I always loved helping him in the kitchen when I was a young boy and he was cooking for our family. His food was always incredibly delicious and he taught me almost everything I know."
Again, Ilya nodded. His own father would have never even touched a pot or a pan in their kitchen. To him, cooking, cleaning and almost everything else done in a household had been women's work. "So you were close with your father?" Ilya asked and David nodded. "Yes, very close. He was a great father. Understanding and available and very supportive. He was a great role model and he made me want to be the best father possible to Shane as well." Those words made Ilya's chest feel a little tight. He wished his father had been like that, even just a little…
"I'm sorry about your father," David then suddenly said and Ilya swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat. "Thank you," he answered, the beer bottle finding its way to his lips just a second later so he could distract himself from that heavy feeling his chest. "Were you two close?" David then asked and Ilya immediately shook his head. "I… I wanted to. Be close to him. But he was a quite difficult person," he said, voice quiet. Somehow, talking to David about his father made him more emotional than Ilya would have expected. This whole vacation at the cottage seemed to make him more emotional than he had expected. But that wasn't a bad thing necessarily, right?
"My mother died when I was twelve and I'm not speaking to my brother anymore," the words then suddenly stumbled out of Ilya's mouth. David had some kind of effect on Ilya, an effect that somehow made Ilya want to talk to him. Open up to him, at least to an extent. He swallowed thickly, his fingers closing around the beer bottle a little more. "So… I don't really have any family left."
David watched him closely and Ilya felt a little uneasy. Maybe that was too much. They had known each other for a little longer than 24 hours now and Ilya was already talking about depressing stuff like his family. Fuck. He wanted David and Yuna to like him. They were incredibly important to Shane, after all, and Ilya wanted to make Shane happy.
"I'm sorry-," he started saying, when David suddenly said the exact same thing, making Ilya shut up. "I'm sorry, Ilya." Again, he smiled, and this time, his smile was less reserved. It was warm. Ilya's eyes widened a little when David then raised his free hand, placed it on Ilya's right shoulder and softly squeezed it. "I'm glad you have Shane at your side. I see the way he looks at you, the way you make him smile. So… keep making him happy and there's a place in this family for you, okay?"
Ilya opened his mouth and closed it again, staring at David. He had to fight down the tears that threatened to fill his eyes because he had not expected to hear something like this… like, ever. It was absolutely amazing that David was already willing to give him a chance to become part of his family. Of Shane's family. Ilya wasn't sure he really was worthy of that, but he damn well wanted to try.
"Shane's almost done with the potato salad. He said it's too much carbs but what is a barbecue without potato salad?" Yuna's voice was to be heard just a second later. David and Ilya turned to look at her, Ilya's chest still tight with emotion. Shane's mother was stepping out onto the veranda, carrying a tray. On the tray, there were four glasses and two small bottles of water as well as a can of ginger ale.
"Please, let me help," Ilya said and his voice did not sound as steady as he would have liked it to, but it was fine. He stepped closer when suddenly, Yuna tripped. "Woah," she commented and a moment later, she was on her knees on the wooden deck and two of the glasses were broken right in front of her, as well as one of the water bottles.
"Oh no, are you okay?" Ilya was at her side within a second, crouching down next to her. His hand was hovering over her shoulder, not daring to touch. Yuna looked at him out of dark eyes and smiled. "Yes. I'm usually not such a clutz, I'm sorry for scaring you." Ilya shook his head and when Yuna held out one of her hands for him to take, he did so. Gently, he helped her back up to her feet. "No, don't worry. I'm just glad you're fine," he said softly. They both looked at the mess of glass shards.
"I'll go and get something to clean this up," Ilya then decided. He sent Yuna a careful smile when she nodded at him. Yuna grabbed the remaining water bottle, the two glasses and the can of ginger ale and placed all of it on the table on the veranda. Ilya went inside to ask Shane for cleaning supplies and Yuna stepped closer to David who was still standing at the grill.
They both watched Shane and Ilya stand close to the veranda door, talking to each other. There was an unguarded, bright smile on Shane's face and after a few seconds, he leaned in for a quick peck to Ilya's lips. David and Yuna both smiled. "Ilya is a good kid," David said. Yuna leaned against him and he wrapped his free arm around her. "Yes," she answered. "I think so too."