Chapter Text
It was their third date. Shane really liked Rose, but if he was honest, he wasn't excited to have her stay over for the night. He enjoyed spending time with her. Rose was funny, intelligent, beautiful, and knew hockey. So objectively, she was perfect, but subjectively, he dreaded leaving the bathroom to return to her. Her kisses were fun and soft, and cuddling with her wasn't uncomfortable, but it was not right.
Having a girlfriend and a normal life was his dream, and here was the most perfect woman interested in him - he would just have to try harder.
He took a deep breath, splashed water in his face, and rolled his shoulders back. Rose was awesome!
When he returned to the living room, she looked up from her phone, her face was serious.
"What is it?" Shane asked anxiously, and she patted the seat next to her.
"You know I like you," she started, and Shane furrowed his brows.
"Yes, and I like you," he answered.
"I believe that." She nodded and took his hand. "But can it be that there is someone else on your mind?"
Shane blanched, and Rose pressed his hand. "Don't panic. It's fine. Let's talk about it."
"There is not much to talk about," Shane choked. "I'm not cheating on someone with you, I promise!"
"I know," Rose smiled softly, "but I think you might not be really honest with yourself. Usually, men don't have to hype themselves up to be with me... except..." She stopped. "Are you really interested in women?"
Shane blushed. "Sure," he answered much too quickly. "I'm just not so easy with people touching me, but I really do like you."
She sighed, and her thumbs rubbed over the back of his hand. "Shane, have you ever been with a man?" she asked carefully, and tears threatened to rise in Shane's eyes. All he could do was nod. There was no point in denying it.
"Did you enjoy it?" Rose pressed on, and Shane whispered, "So much," almost inaudibly, but she heard it anyway.
"Did you ever tell that to anyone?"
Shane shook his head, the first tear falling. Rose saw it and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much for telling me," she said. "And for the record, I like you very much, too, and would love for us to become best friends," she exclaimed and kissed his cheek.
Shane released a shuddering breath. "I would like that, too," he said and smiled at her. "But what has brought that up just now?"
"Well, for one, your flight to the bathroom and the fact that you didn't come back for over ten minutes."
Shane blushed again and murmured, "Sorry," but Rose continued, "But also, there's a picture of you on the internet that you will have to address. And I wanted to clear the air beforehand. I'm here and will help you as your new best friend."
"What picture?" Shane asked, alarmed, and looked around for his phone. He had set it to DND, so it hadn't even vibrated. When he turned it over, he was overwhelmed by notifications of all kinds. "Oh, God. What has happened?" He frantically unlocked it and scrolled through the notifications.
His hands shook, and he could feel the panic attack rising. Rose hugged him tightly again. "It's not bad. Breathe with me. There's nothing to see. Just you and your hand in some blonde curls. It's pretty obvious what you're doing, but it's not visible. I promise it's not bad."
"Just a bit of hair?" he croaked, and Rose nodded.
Shane knew exactly which picture it was. And the original had not stopped at the hair, but had included a muscular back and strong arms with a lot of moles. Impossible not to recognize. So this was a mercy. The entire world knew his naked chest from different ads. But if Rozanov got outed, that would have been bad. After the Olympics, Shane had followed the anti-LGBTQIA propaganda in Russia, and it had only gotten worse over the years.
"Is it...?"
"A man. Yes," Shane answered, fighting the hyperventilation. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he wheezed and tried to calm his breathing.
"I'm here and will listen," Rose said quietly, and Shane nodded.
It took a few more minutes until he was able to talk again. He fell back into the pillows and opened twitter to see the picture. Yeah, there was no doubt that he was just receiving a fantastic blowjob, but everything else was as harmless as it could be. Nothing to see. Nobody to recognize.
"OK, tell me about the picture," Rose demanded. "I'm a bit bummed that I will never see you like that," she added jokingly.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Shane said sheepishly.
"How old is the pic?"
"Only about two months."
"So a few weeks before we met?"
"Yeah. He sent me the cropped picture from the airport. Maybe someone intercepted it there. Since it's only this one pic, it doesn't feel like any of us got hacked."
"So you're still in contact?"
Shane closed his eyes. "Currently not," he whispered, pain in his voice. He had fucked up so badly when he ran away. He had known it before he had even entered the car back to the hotel. But he was unable to fix it. Why didn't he just talk to Rozanov the next day? He took a deep breath. "I'll tell you about it. If you promise to support my approach to save this."
"Everything you need, bestie," Rose smiled.
So Shane told her about the most beautiful and hot man, about how they were casual and not exclusive. How their last meeting had changed the rules, and how he had freaked out and run as a consequence. He was even honest enough to tell her that she was his last hope to be normal.
But instead of being angry or offended, Rose smiled. "I would have been honoured to be the one for you. But let's be real, if I don't do it for you, the chances are not high that there is any heterosexuality inside you."
Shane laughed. "I guess you're right."
"So what's the plan?"
"I'll tell that she's Lily, my long-term girlfriend. No scandal, just a breach of my private life."
"And what do you need me for?"
"You need to make sure that everyone understands that we were never more than friends. We've never kissed publicly, so that shouldn't be a problem."
Rose nodded. "OK, I can do that. But why this approach, and who is Lily?"
"He's Lily in my contacts. And my team is aware that I've been texting her for years and that we meet when I'm in Boston."
"Ah, OK. Will you talk to him?" Rose wanted to know.
"No, he cannot be connected to the picture or me right now, so the less contact we have, the safer."
"So he's not out either?"
"Oh, no, he can't. The league is one thing, but Russia..." He stopped. "Shit! Forget what I said!"
But Rose was already counting her fingers. "Blonde curls, the league, Boston, Russia... Shane, you legend!" She gasped. "So you are telling me that I was a rebound for the Russian menace Ilya Rozanov?! I can live with that," she laughed delightedly.
Shane groaned and hid his face in his hands.
When Rose left, she hugged Shane. "Keep in contact and tell me how it goes with Lily. And if you need more support, let me know."
Shane sank back on the sofa and dreaded the hundreds of notifications on his phone. The team chat, his parents, Farah... He hadn't seen anything from Ilya yet, but he had just scrolled through, so who knew?
He didn't even bother to check what his mother had written, but called her directly.
"Shane, what is this?" she answered the phone, and he sighed.
"Hi, Mom, this is awkward... I'm gay."
"What?" That was not the answer Yuna had anticipated, and Shane almost smiled at her loss for words.
"I'm sorry, that was not how I wanted to tell you. And I really tried to be normal..." His thoughts went to Rose and how graciously she had accepted everything he had loaded upon her earlier. She really was perfect.
"No, stop, Shane, honey," his mother interrupted. "You don't have to apologize for that. We love you either way, never doubt that!"
"Thanks, Mom," Shane sniffled, his eyes wet again.
"So this is... a man?" Yuna asked, and Shane nodded.
"Yeah, he is... and not only some man, but..." He swallowed. He had always expected his parents to be okay with him liking men, but the next step? He wasn't that sure how well his mom would react. "Rozanov," he finished and braced for impact.
"Rozanov? As in Ilya Rozanov? As in Boston center, Ilya Rozanov?"
"Yes, Mom, exactly that Rozanov," he sighed.
"Since when?" Yuna's voice had risen in pitch, and Shane could hear his dad mumble in the back.
"Since the CCM campaign..."
"The one in Toronto? Before your rookie season?" The pitch rose even more.
"Yep." Shane nodded, and suddenly his father had joined the call.
"We thought you might be gay," he admitted, and now Shane was speechless. Had he ever given that impression?
"What?"
"We know you very well, son," David explained. "And we thought you might be - for a few years now, to be honest."
"Oh..."
Yuna had collected herself, and momager mode kicked in. "Okay, what is the plan now?"
"I'll tell them that this is Lily, my long-term girlfriend, and that we are super private and this is nobody's business."
"Why not try to call it a fake?"
"We don't have any idea if the people have more information, and Lily is as real as can be. He is Lily in my contacts, and the team is aware of my 'Boston Lily' and that we are a thing and have been for years. So nobody will bat an eye at me having consensual sex with my girlfriend, and the people who are close to me know of her, so it's not some super surprise. It's almost the truth, so there's no need to invent a story when people ask about her."
Yuna clearly didn't like the idea but agreed that it would be the easiest way to steer the attention away from Rozanov. They added Farah to the call and explained the plan to her as well before saying goodnight and ending the call.
Shane Hollander 
@ShaneHollander24
Today, an attack on my privacy happened, and a private picture of me and my long-term girlfriend Lily was leaked. Please respect our privacy and neither interact further with the picture nor try to find her. She is a very private person, and not being in the spotlight was always a requirement for this relationship, so thank you for your understanding. My management will take legal action against anyone breaching our private life.
7.4K Retweets 223 Quote Tweets 30K Likes
After sending the tweet, he opened the team chat. He had no idea what to expect from the guys.
Shane stopped reading the chat. One leaked sex picture and they celebrated him. He had felt like an outsider for roughly six years by now, and even as their captain, he was never "one of the guys". One hint that he slept with women and suddenly they liked him? How pathetic.
But now, he had to talk to Hayden. Should he keep the Lily story up, or should he be honest? He searched for Hayden's chat and decided to explain based on Hayden's tone.
Shane sighed. He had to be somewhat honest. He certainly couldn't bring Rozanov to a dinner. For so many reasons.
There was no message from Lily, and Shane's fingers hovered over the contact, but what should he say? Sorry I ran, but in exchange I told the world now without your consent that you are my girlfriend. I hope that's okay?
This situation was so fucked up, and he needed to sort it out, but not tonight.
Hollander's Wife
@kelly_hollander
God, this man is perfection! I am so jealous of that woman!
2 Retweets 5 Quote Tweets 53 Likes
Metros Bunny
@Metros_Bunny
Why is this video 8 hours long?
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Ross
@ross
Some hockey player has sex, who cares? Get a life of your own, people!
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Sammy @SamHockey · 08:24 PM Replying to @ross
Some hockey player? SOME hockey player? This is Captain Canada and the Hockey Robot.
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Sammy @SamHockey · 08:24 PM Replying to @ross
He can give you answers to any question you might have about current/past stats. And apparently, he's human after all. Or maybe an android?
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Maria
@hollanov_forever
You know, who has curls like that? #hollanov
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Max @max_loves_hockey · 08:33 PM Replying to @hollanov_forever
oh come on, stop being parasocial, you weirdos.
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Lily
@LilyHollanov
He's so fucking hot! I am going to make this my phone's background picture.
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Maria @hollanov_forever · 10:58 PM Replying to @LilyHollanov
Lily, you are crazy. But that's why we love you. Funny that you have the same name as his girlfriend but support Hollanov.
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