Shane and Ilya are lounging around on opposite sides of the couch, stretched out with just their socked feet touching. They're facing each other but both are scrolling on their phones.
Shane has been sending Ilya all of these tabloid articles and paparazzi photos of him paired up with the sexy models he works with during ad campaigns and brand photo shoots. The headlines are all variations on the classic Trouble in Paradise? with the next getting more outrageously ridiculous than the last.
"Not really." Ilya replies with a shrug.
"Really? I mean, it's weird right? Even after all these years, you still have this reputation." Shane says, annoyed. "I guess.. it gets to me sometimes."
"So they think I am millionaire playboy and you are what? My bunny?"
This gets him a burning glare from Shane. Then, Shane huffs and folds his legs, breaking their contact. Ilya sighs.
"Zaychik, these people, they don't know shit." Ilya says sitting up and moving closer to Shane's side of the couch. He's approaching cautiously, trying not to irk him more. "Is lies. All lies liars say to get views and to get ad money."
When he's close enough, he looks Shane right in the eyes and asks him seriously, "Why would I be a playboy when I am already married to the love of my life?"
Shane's eyes soften and the corner of his lips curl into a smile.
"Shane, ya tebya lyublyu." Ilya says softly.
"I love you too." Shane kisses him short and sweet.
"Besides, truth is more like.. I am famous hockey player and you are my puck bunny."
Prompt: Fun in the Sun. @shanesummerfest Prompt: Drive. @hollanovbingo ~480 words.
Ilya already regrets this. He finally agreed to go on a hike with Shane. It would be fun, he said. But it feels like a fucking trap.
When Shane first asked Ilya if he wanted to go, he failed to mention that they'd have to get up at 3 in the fucking morning, drive in the dark for hours, and then start a brutal climb in the cold when his body has barely even registered it's awake yet.
Wow, how very convenient for Shane to forget to tell him this until the night before they planned to hike, Ilya thinks.
"But think about how nice it would be to watch the sunrise at the top!" Shane adds belatedly.
"Shane, we can watch the sunrise from our bedroom."
"It'll be different though! It'll be better!"
"How?? Is the same fucking sun, yes?"
But it was too late to change Shane's mind (or plans). That's how he ended up on this trail cold, sore (why tf did he do legs with Shane yesterday?) and a bit hungry. Shane gave him a granola bar to eat on the drive over but Ilya was not convinced it was food. It was criminally dry and it tasted like sadness.
And did Ilya mention the pitch darkness? It was so dark Ilya couldn't even enjoy the view of Shane's ass in his hiking shorts on the way up. He thinks this is the worst thing ever.
"Hiking is fun." Ilya says sarcastically.
"Shut up. This is classic Type 2 fun!"
"Wtf is Type 2 fun? That sounds fake. Only you would have categories for fun."
"No, it's a real thing. It's when you have to do some hard work before the fun. But in the end, it's way more fulfilling."
Ilya is still skeptical. "Next time I will not let super boring Canadian be in charge of fun."
"Hey!" Shane says, a bit offended. "It's fine Ilya, we're almost there."
Sure enough, the dirt terrain changes to rocky, angular boulders and the thick covering of trees give way to a clearing. They make it to the top right as the sunrise starts to peek in. There's a sea of white clouds that stretches into the horizon and the soft morning light brushes them with a pale golden glow. Ilya shares a look with Shane and it feels like they're on top of the world.
They set up a hammock between two trees and spend their time trading tender sweet kisses, enjoying peaceful quiet conversation and bathing in the early morning sun wrapped up in each other's arms.
On the way back, Ilya gains a sudden burst of energy which he spends racing Shane back to the car, giggling with delight the whole way down.
The next day, Shane finds Ilya scrolling through the AllTrails app and sending him links to more trails they can do over the summer. Shane doesn't even say I told you so.
NSFW Prompt: Kotik. Rating: M. ~550 words. @hollanovmicrofic (Set late in the situationship era.)
"Oh fuck yeah, Rozanov." Shane moans breathily. Ilya is on his knees swiftly taking Shane apart while Shane is trying his best to make sure his knees don't give out.
It's too much. It's too good. Shane has to shut his eyes cause if he keeps watching Ilya, it'll be over too soon. Unfortunately, the obscene sounds Ilya is making aren't really helping the situation. That's when he hears a soft meow.
At first, he thinks he imagined it because just then, Ilya moans around his cock and the vibrations make Shane hold on for dear life. But then, the meowing gets louder and more insistent. Shane finally opens his eyes as Ilya stills his progress.
"Uh, did you get a cat?" Shane is surprised he's able to form a coherent sentence.
Ilya lets go of Shane's cock with a pop and turns towards the black cat with a yellow collar, now sitting between them and the bedroom door.
"Ah, no. She is lost." Ilya explains while he gets up. "I am helping her find her family." He's slowly moving towards the cat only to stop just in front of it? her, getting low and holding out a closed fist.
The cat takes a beat and then moves towards Ilya's arms. He gives her a few gentle pets as he gingerly picks her up and places her down outside of the bedroom. "Be good, Kotik. Wait for me here."
"I will be back after." He says before closing the bedroom door.
Then, Ilya gives Shane a filthy kiss that has him panting. But before they can get any further, they hear scratching at the door.
"Sorry." Ilya says as he pulls away. "One moment."
Shane takes this time to catch his breath and collect himself. When Ilya gets back, he says, "She is in her room now, with her toys and her treats. She will not bother us."
Shane gives him an amused look. "Her room?"
"Yes." He says defensively. "I bought her some things. So she is.. comfortable."
"Rozanov, are you sure you didn't steal a little girl's cat?"
Ilya just shrugs. "Is just in case. In case, she.. has no family."
That does something weird to Shane's heart. "Well, it's nice to know that you're not a full time asshole."
"Ah Hollander. You cannot tell anyone. No one can know." Ilya says with a wink. He pushes Shane back onto the bed.
"Now, speaking of asshole, where were we?" Ilya says before he pounces.
---
After a pair of mind-blowing orgasms, Shane is reluctant to move away. He's glad Ilya's arms are around him cause he fears he might actually float away.
"What will happen if she doesn't have a family?" The words are out of Shane's mouth faster than he can think.
Ilya is surprised at the question but doesn't miss a beat. "Hmm, she will be ok. We will have each other."
---
This stays with Shane until the next time they see each other. After their next game, Ilya updates him with a small smile, "Her family found her. She is safe with them now. And actually, she belongs to a little boy."
Shane might be imagining it but he hears a tightness to his voice. Shane wants to say something but he decides against it. Someday your family will find you too.
Ilya has a gift. Or was it a curse? He's not really sure.
But since he was a young teenager, he's had a talent for knowing exactly if someone was attracted to him. Even if they were hiding it or lying about it. And apparently, even if they weren't fully aware of it yet.
This was the case for Shane Hollander. Ilya knew Shane was attracted to him long before Shane did. He clocked it when they first met at the parking lot in Saskatchewan. Ilya was almost certain the moment Shane shook his hand for a second time in two minutes.
(Though in hindsight, it should've been obvious from how flustered Shane was to talk to him. But Ilya didn't know this at the time. He knows it now though, after watching Shane's perfect composure in probably way too many interviews. Shane Hollander does not get flustered easily.)
But Ilya wasn't 100% sure until the night of the draft, after they raced on stationary bikes and sat down across each other by the mirrors. There's no way Ilya is missing how Shane couldn't stop staring at his lips, at his sweaty neck or impossibly, even lower.
That wasn't the problem. He knows the attraction is there. The problem was that Shane didn't. That night, Ilya offered him water and touched his hand multiple times. He flirted with him and even winked at him. But none of those things seemed to clue Hollander in at all.
And today, they're at this whole freaking commercial shoot that Ilya set up for them and Shane is still looking as clueless as ever. And that's after Ilya stared straight into his eyes and called him pretty to his face.
Now, it's the end of the day. They just finished filming and they're headed to the locker room to get their stuff before turning in for the night. As he's packing his duffle, Ilya can't help but feel defeated. Maybe he should just let Shane come to him when he's ready. But he's not sure how long it'll take for Shane's conscious mind to catch up to what his body is involuntarily broadcasting to Ilya.
His gift/curse is so annoying. What's the point of knowing when nothing can happen? Ilya lets out a deep breath and tries to shake it off. His eyes track Hollander as he gets into the showers. Oh. Interesting.
Ilya was planning to shower when he got back to the hotel, maybe even draw himself a nice warm bath. And maybe that was the smart thing to do. Leaving Hollander alone would be the safe thing, the best thing, for the both of them. Cause even if something were to happen between them (which is proving to be impossible btw), then what? There is no future with Hollander. They can't be.
Even as Ilya contemplates this, he already knows he's not going to use his gift to do good. He knows himself too well. He wouldn't, not even if he could. So he doesn't. He undresses quickly, grabs a towel and follows Shane into the showers.
Prompt: Honey. ~580 words. @hollanovmicrofic (This is set late in the situationship era but it's hard to tell.)
Maybe this was a mistake. Ilya is a couple of hours early from the time he said he'd be at Shane's apartment.
So when he walks into the kitchen, he's surprised to find Shane Hollander cooking while he's on the phone. He's also wearing a light blue denim apron covered in embroidered strawberries. When Shane notices him, his eyes balloon.
"Oh shit. Mom, I gotta go. Yeah yeah, I know." Shane says hurriedly. "Thanks for the recipe. Love you too." He says as he hangs up.
Ilya is very amused at the domestic scene. "Honey, I'm home?" He says after he gives Shane a look over.
"Shut. Up. Rozanov. My mom got it at the Asian Grocery Store." Shane blushes. "What are you doing here? You're so early."
"Sorry." Ilya says with a shrug. He didn't really want to admit how impatient he was to see Shane that he sneaked out as soon as he could. "I can come back later."
Shane contemplates this. "No no, it's okay. You're already here." He sighs. "Take a seat anywhere. I'll.. clean up."
"Noo Hollander. Keep.. doing what you are doing. I can wait. We have all night." Ilya insists. "I did not know you cooked."
"I don't. Well, not really. I only know how to make Oyakodon."
"Oh-ya-ko-don?" Ilya says slowly.
"Yeah, it's uh, Japanese chicken and egg over rice. It's comfort food for me. My mom used to make it all the time after a rough game." His voice getting quieter as he talked.
"Ah." Ilya takes a seat on a bar stool in front of Shane and takes out his phone. "Take your time. Pretend I am not here."
So Shane gets back to it by cracking a couple more eggs into a bowl and roughly whisking them with chopsticks. Then he's adding some raw chicken pieces into a pan where it looks like he's already simmering some kind of dark sauce and sliced onions.
They're in silence except for the sounds of the kitchen. Ilya doesn't mind it at all. Shane is following a hand written recipe and checking off every step. He seems calm and peaceful. Ilya's phone is set aside and forgotten. He's mesmerized watching Shane cook.
After some time, Shane drizzles the beaten eggs slowly all over the pan and lowers the heat. Then, he's taking out two bowls and filling them with freshly steamed rice from his rice cooker.
"Oh Hollander, you do not have to." But Ilya's stomach decides to betray him at that very moment and audibly growls. It's probably protesting about the sad protein bar he ate on the way. The delicious smells from Shane's cooking are not helping either.
Shane just scoffs and continues to scoop out the chicken and egg mixture onto the two bowls along with some of the pan sauce. He finishes with a sprinkling of chopped green onions onto both bowls before setting one in front of Ilya with a spoon. Then he sits beside Ilya with his own bowl and spoon.
"Careful not to burn your tongue. It's hot."
Ilya slowly takes some of the food onto his spoon and blows gently, mimicking how Shane is doing it. Once it's cooled enough, he takes a bite. It's savory, salty and a tad bit sweet. Very warm, very cozy. And like Shane said earlier, very comforting.
"Is very good, Hollander. I see how this would.. taste like home."
Shane nods. They share a quiet smile.
Ilya decides it was definitely worth coming over earlier.
The early morning sunrise coaxes Shane from sleep. They passed out last night before remembering to take down the blackout blinds again.
They're at the cottage for a short Christmas break. The trees and the backyard are covered in a light layer of fresh snow. The two of them are a mess of limbs tangled together under layers of down blankets.
Shane glances outside to catch the first slivers of morning light slowly spreading over the frozen lake. He can't help but be reminded of their first summer at the cottage. The first sunrise they watched together. And all the mornings they spent in each other's arms. Since then, Ilya and summer have been synonymous for Shane.
He thinks about how much time he spends longing for the season to come. For Ilya's sun-kissed skin, the gorgeous tan he gets from lazily laying out on the dock. For Ilya's bright laughter, the delighted sounds he makes when they chase each other on the lake. For Ilya's blinding smile that spreads across his whole face, the one he gives Shane only at the cottage and only when it's just the two of them.
Beside him, Ilya briefly stirs in his sleep, instinctively seeking Shane out and getting even closer. Shane savors the feeling of Ilya's warmth around him and switches to watching the rest of the sunrise shine through his boyfriend's golden curls. Shortly after, Ilya rouses from sleep, bright blue eyes flickering open. Even half awake, the look Ilya gives Shane still lights his heart on fire.
Slowly, Ilya leans in to give him a kiss, perfect like the sunrise on a winter day. It was then that Shane realized he was wrong.
Ilya is not the summer, he is the sun.
"Good morning, Solnyshko." Ilya says against his lips when they part.
Prompt: Babe. @hollanovmicrofic Prompt: Boston. @hollanovbingo ~610 words. (This is a standalone AU meet-cute.)
"Hey sexy, can I buy you a drink?"
Shane declines. "Oh, no thank you. I don't really drink."
"Then what's this?"
"It's just ginger ale."
"Oh really?" This jerk doesn't believe him. "Can I sit here?"
"I'd rather you not." Shane says.
"I mean, it's a bar, right? I can sit wherever I want."
"Then why bother asking?" Shane mutters.
"You've got a mouth on you huh?" And suddenly the jerk is grabbing Shane's wrist.
Shane freezes. He doesn't know what to do. He really doesn't want to start a fight. He just wanted to watch the hockey game playing on the bar screens in peace. Then, suddenly, he hears another man's voice from behind him.
"Hey babe, sorry I'm late." Shane turns towards the low, accented voice. The man had curly blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. He's eyeing down the jerk who sat beside Shane and asks, "Everything ok?"
Thankfully, Jerky McJerkface lets go of Shane's wrist. A beat passes and then, impulsively, Shane gives the blonde man a quick peck on the lips.
"Yeah babe, all good. Just tired." Shane says steadily. "Let's go home?"
The blonde man blinks for a moment and says, "Ok."
Shane gets up from his barstool too quickly and wobbles a bit but he feels a hand on his waist helping steady him. Then he's walking towards the door with the blonde man following closely behind him.
When they're outside, they walk side by side in awkward silence for a couple of blocks.
"I'm Ilya."
"Shane." And he lets out a sigh of relief.
"Boston is.. not the safest city in America." Ilya says.
Shane definitely regrets going out by himself in an unfamiliar city he's visiting for work for a couple of nights. But he was feeling wild and impulsive. And he didn't want to stay cooped up in a hotel room after the stressful week he's had.
"Yeah, I noticed." Shane lets out a shaky laugh. They stop walking.
"Thank you for.. what you did back there. You saved me."
"Yes." Ilya smiles at him.
"Well, I should head back to my hotel. It's a couple more blocks from here, I think."
"I could walk with you. If you want." Ilya offers. "Boston remember? May not be safe."
To Shane's own surprise, he agrees. It ended up being a 15 minute walk back to the hotel. That's when he learns that Ilya moved to Boston from Russia a couple of years ago. And that Ilya was pregaming with a friend but he stayed back cause he wanted to watch the rest of the hockey game.
"I was watching the game too." Shane pauses and realizes. "Oh no, you're a Boston fan."
"Yes, I did not see your Metros shirt until I was already your fake boyfriend." Ilya says jokingly. "Maybe, is bad idea to date Montreal fan yes?"
Shane laughs. Maybe he wasn't the only one feeling impulsive that night.
"But maybe, maybe is worth it." Ilya winks at him. Shane is rolling his eyes but he's smiling. They spend the rest of the walk talking puck and chirping each other's teams.
When they get to Shane's hotel, the awkward silence returns but there's something more to it now.
Ilya breaks the ice again. "Good night Shane. Have a safe night."
"You too. Good night Ilya. Thank you again."
Ilya gives him a brief nod and turns back the way they came. He doesn't make it too far before the impulse takes over Shane again.
"Hey Ilya!" Shane running a bit to cut the short distance between them. "Would you.. want to come up?"
It's Ilya's turn to let out a sigh of relief. "Yes."
"But Shaaane, you are being unfair." Ilya whines like he's being tortured. He's currently sitting cross-legged a couple of feet away from the base of Shane's yoga mat.
"What? How??" Shane sputters. "I'm literally just doing yoga."
"No, is lie. You are a really bad liar and a really bad tease." Ilya's eyes are currently boring a hole into Shane's backside. "You are always teasing me with your tiny yoga shorts."
Shane rolls his eyes. "I'm not! I just haven't been able to finish a yoga session for weeks cause I keep getting.. interrupted." He says, sounding mildly annoyed.
"I think you like getting interrupted." Ilya smirking as he says this.
"Not today. Today I'm working on my bone density."
"How about I show you different type of bone density, yes?"
"Ilya, I'm serious. I really need to stretch and get my blood flowing."
"Shane, I will stretch you out and get your blood flowing to your di—!"
"ILYA!" Shane interrupts and gets out of the downward facing dog pose he's been holding to sit in front of his husband. He leans in to press their foreheads together. "Later okay? Please. Let me finish my yoga." He pleads.
Ilya sighs and sulks but concedes. "Fine. Ok. Later."
They both know it's not a No. It's a Not Right Now. Cause for now, Shane is perfectly happy to pretend that he's not doing flexible yoga poses in his tiny shorts just for his husband. Just like Ilya is perfectly happy to pretend that he's not the one shrinking Shane's shorts in the dryer.
"This seems like a bad idea." It's rare that Ilya's the one out of the two of them saying this. But he can tell Shane has been planning this for weeks. What this is exactly, Ilya still doesn't know. Shane is being very vague and mysterious.
"Everything we do is a bad idea." Shane says fondly.
They're at a summer fair. The Canadian National Ex-something, or whatever Shane said.
Both men are wearing nondescript ball caps and big sunglasses to hide most of their faces. They're disguised. Well, as well as two 6-foot tall professional hockey players out in public can be disguised.
Shane scans pre-purchased tickets on his phone and is beelining it through the fair like he can traverse these grounds blindfolded. That tells Ilya this is not his first time here. He has to quicken his pace so he doesn't lose him.
"Don't worry, we won't stay long. We’ll be done before it gets busy." Shane says over his shoulder.
Luckily, it's a work day and it seems like the summer fair just opened. There’s barely anyone on the rides yet and some of the carnival game booths are still setting up.
"Stay here. I need to.. get something." Shane said as he ran into this big industrial structure with a massive sign saying "Food Building". It smells like buttered popcorn and fried food.
Shane left Ilya at a spot where he has a nice view of an outdoor stage. It looks like they are practicing for a dog show. An energetic Australian shepherd is eagerly jumping through hoops and going through obstacles beside her trainer, all in time with the music. He ponders how much time it would take him to teach Anya to do a coordinated routine like that with him.
He's probably more likely to figure that out than trying to guess what has gotten into his husband today.
When Shane gets back, he's quickly steering Ilya to get on a ferris wheel ride just behind them. There's no line so they walk straight into an open pod and sit down on either side of it.
“Here, hold this.” Shane hands him some kind of flat pastry? (which smells delicious) before Shane is handing the operator a $20 bill.
"Hands and feet inside the ride at all times please! Enjoy!" Luckily, the operator doesn't recognize them. He just grins and closes their pod door. It only takes a few seconds for the ride to start moving.
Shane places down the ridiculously massive bag of kettle corn he was holding and gets up to sit beside Ilya. The pod is surprisingly spacious but Shane still slides close enough so their sides are pressing.
Ilya moves to hand the pastry back to Shane. But Shane says, "Oh no, that's for you."
"Oh, thanks." Ilya says, unsure. "What is it?"
"It's a beaver tail."
"A what??"
"A beaver tail," Shane laughs. "It's pretty much deep fried dough in the shape of a beaver's tail. It's covered in cinnamon sugar. That's classic. But I also got Nutella on this one cause you love Nutella."
Ilya takes a cautious bite. It's so crispy and delicious. "Mmmm." He meant to make a sound of delight. But it comes out more like a guttural moan which makes Shane blush.
"It is very good. Very.. not boring. I love it."
Shane smiles. "I thought you would. You can't become Canadian until you've had a beaver tail. And they make the best ones here."
Ilya has been prepping for his Canadian Citizenship test coming up in the fall and the Hollanders have been helping him study for it all summer.
"Ah, I will take notes in case it shows up on test."
Shane laughs. "I figured, since you'll be Canadian soon, you should have some.. authentic Canadian experiences."
Something about the way Shane says that makes Ilya's stomach do a backflip. Or maybe it's the ride slowly climbing to its peek.
They share a quiet smile. It suddenly feels like they're teenagers cutting class. He goes in for a second bite of the sugary treat. It's still so warm. So sweet. So perfect.
"You want some?" He doesn't know there's a blob of Nutella and cinnamon sugar stuck on the bottom corner of his lips.
Shane instinctively licks it off and gives him a kiss. "Nah, I'm good. I can wait."
When Shane's eyes linger on Ilya's lips, Ilya finally clues in and practically inhales the rest of the beaver tail. Firstly, because it's absolutely delicious. But secondly (and more importantly), because Ilya wants to enjoy the Full Canadian Ferris Wheel Experience.
"But I love you and you love me. So we are lovers."
They're back at Shane's cottage now after that stressful visit to his parents where he distinctly remembers banning all usages of this word. But unfortunately for Shane, Ilya has not let it go.
"Ilya, you're not allowed to use that word again. It's so gross." Shane reminds him, still not fully recovered from the sheer embarrassment that, of all the words in the English language (and there's so many words!), that was the one Ilya chose to say in front of his parents.
"But why is 'lovers' gross?" Ilya asks seriously. Shane doesn't understand how Ilya can say that word with a straight face.
"Because!"
"Because what??" Ilya is genuinely confused. "English is too hard."
"Ugh! Because. That word implies that we are.." Shane raises a hand to his face, shielding his lips for some reason and loudly whispers "..having sex."
"We ARE fucking and we've been fucking for YEARS!" Ilya says with conviction but also an amused smile on his lips.
"Yeah, okay but," Shane sputters before he recovers. "I don't need my parents to know that."
"Oh, I think they know. David saw us kissi—"
"Ilya! Please. Stop." Shane pleaded, exasperated. He did not need that reminder right now. Or preferably, ever again.
"There is nothing wrong with us fucking. Lovers fuck. So what." Ilya says nonchalantly as if stating the obvious.
Shane cringes at the word again. He can't help it. He crosses his arms and unknowingly puts on his angry kitten pout. Then he mutters, "Well, we'll see how much action you get, if you keep using that word."
This wipes the amused smile off of Ilya's face instantly.
"Ah, okay. I will stop." He goes to wrap his arms around Shane trying to placate him but he's still visibly seething. So Ilya hugs Shane tighter, kisses him right below the ear and says, "I like the word boyfriend better anyways."
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