I fully believe that Shane and Ilya cannot agree on an anniversary. Shane says it was the All Stars weekend because that's when he thought they were both 100% serious about the relationship because that's when he was, Ilya says it was the cottage when they said "I love you'' because he didn't believe in it until that moment. They find this out the first year with Shane's anniversary date when Shane plans an elaborate secret date the last night of All Stars and gets Ilya gifts, and Ilya has no idea what its for. They agree to disagree on the date, "We will just celebrate twice a year, I guess." It happens again with their wedding anniversary, Shane says its when they legally got married, Ilya says it was when the twins married them because he doesnt care about about being officially married in the eyes of Canadian law he cares about the first time they said "I do". They find this out when a reporter asks them about their wedding and when they had it and they both gave different answers. Once again they agree to just celebrate twice a year. They say it is because the date doesn't really matter and both of them are right in some way, but in reality it is so they can compete on who plans the more romantic, thoughtful, and elaborate anniversary date. And so that they don't fight about who's planning the date this year or making conflicting plans by accident.
Oh of course. I saw a post that Hollanov "anniversary max" . They celebrating the anniversary of first kiss. The first night together. Their first game against each other. Anything where they have an excuse to be show off their love and romance the other, they are taking it.
Ok but Ilya not realizing until much later that he hurt Shane with things he’d done in the past
One day it randomly comes up as Ilya says something about a time he acted like a dick and Shane is just like “Eh it’s ok, looking back I understand now that you were in a ‘I’m going to hurt you before you can hurt me’ mindset and that’s why you acted like that.”
And Ilya is staring at him and Shane asks what’s wrong and Ilya goes “I hurt you?” And Shane’s just like well yeah but it was forever ago don’t worry about it. But Ilya is worrying about it because back when he’d done the various hurtful things he’d been in downward spirals where he was convinced he didn’t have the ability to hurt Shane because he didn’t matter enough to Shane to hurt him, so he didn’t think the way he acted had any negative effects. And now he’s turning pale and his eyes are getting big as he’s realizing that oh god when he did those things he hurt his favorite person and he hadn’t even realized it
He makes Shane tell him the different times it happened and Shane doesn’t really want to because clearly this is just going to upset Ilya more, but hiding it or lying is probably also going to make things worse in the long run so it’s better to get it out now. So he mentions Ilya ghosting him after they had sex, and then how Ilya acted in Sochi, and that whole night in Vegas, and “I like you… Not as a person, obviously”
And the whole time Ilya is silently nodding and looking like he wants to throw up because no no no those weren’t supposed to be things that hurt Shane, those were supposed to be things that bounced off Shane without affecting him because they were only ever meant to hurt or protect himself, Shane was never supposed to have been hurt by those and fuck how did he not see in the moment the way that he was actively hurting Shane by doing that
And now it’s even worse because Shane won’t even be mad at him about it, he keeps insisting on being understanding and not upset and trying to make Ilya feel better when in fact Ilya is the worst most awful person in the world who should be punished for eternity for making 22 year old floppy haired baby Shane SAD like some kind of MONSTER
The next Galina session Shane is also there with Ilya who has his head in his hands and Shane is just like ok so we may have accidentally stepped on a landmine the other night-
I saw a post about Shane and Ilya being sad that they can't thank each other in their acceptance speeches like other can with their spouses and it got me thinking:
Ilya wins his first awards and hes got nobody he really wants to thank after his team and coach cause he he hates his family but he knows his speech is too short so on impulse he goes "And I want to thank Shane Hollander for being slightly worse than me this season". Everyone knows it was going to one of those two, so everyone thinks hes an asshole to say that but whats new so it works for him. But from then on it then becomes a bit for both of them to thank each other in their speeches in a snide way as a reason they won.
Shane winning the Art Ross Trophy (Awarded to the player who leads the league in total points at the end of the regular season). and going "special thanks to Rozanov for missing at least 5 shots this season, he was a huge help"
Ilya winning the Conn Smythe Trophy (Awarded to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs.) "Just want to give a quick shout out to Hollander for getting knocked out in the second round this season. Must hate to see me up here."
They find a way to mention the other in their speeches every time all the time.
“I want to thank my husband and captain Ilya Rozanov for his support and leadership and for the fact that his shot accuracy was down by 5% this season. The puck’s supposed to go into the net, sweetheart.” — Shane Hollander after winning the award for most goals after his first season as a centaur
After a lot of begging and pleading, Hayden manages to convince Shane to go shopping with him.
Shopping isn’t number one or even number twenty seven on the list of things Hayden wants to do, especially on a roadie, and especially in Boston, but it’s his anniversary coming up, and Hayden wants to get a nice present for Jackie. And it’s hard to sneak away to buy something when he’s home. So the early arrival in Boston, with no hockey requirements until tomorrow, presents a good opportunity.
“Can’t you just buy something online?” Shane asks. They’re standing outside the hotel, waiting for their ride to the shopping center. It’s kind of cold, Boston unaware that it’s late April, and Shane’s hands are shoved in his pockets, while Hayden’s are tucked under his armpits. They should’ve waited in the lobby, but Hayden didn’t want to bump into any of the guys. A group of them are going out tonight. Hayden doesn’t want them to ask where he and Shane are going instead. Arguably buying a present for your wife is the straightest thing you can do, but some of their teammates would probably say something different.
“I don’t have a ton of ideas,” Hayden admits. “Looking around in person is easier.”
“If you say so,” Shane says. “I don’t know anything about this.”
“Don’t you buy things for your anniversary with Lily?” Hayden asks. Shane stares out at the road.
“If I were dating anyone,” Shane says. “Which I’m not, but if I were, we probably haven’t been dating long enough for any anniversaries.”
“Bro,” Hayden says. “Even if you haven’t been official with this guy, you’ve been texting for many years. You haven’t done any anniversaries?” Shane shrugs.
“Is that the car?” he asks, pointing. Hayden glances at his phone screen, then at the black Toyota Camry that’s pulling up to their hotel. The license plate on the front of the car matches the one listed on Hayden’s app.
“Yes,” Hayden says, and after confirming with the driver they get into the car, Shane behind the driver and Hayden behind the empty passenger seat. The drive isn’t long. Hayden picked out a nearby shopping center, with a jewelry store and a couple clothing stores. He isn’t going to haul Shane through the clothing stores, because Hayden can’t even manage clothes shopping, but if he’s desperate after the jewelry store he’ll do a lap.
Hopefully the jewelry store will work. Hayden remembers Jackie saying she needs some new earrings, so if he can just find something she’ll like, they can go back to the hotel before dinner.
The driver drops them off and Hayden leads the way inside. It’s a local place, but it looks basically like any other jewelry store Hayden’s ever been to: warm white lighting and soft carpet, low glass cases snaking around the room, crammed full of sparkly stuff. Shane looks around, eyes wide, and Hayden wonders if Shane’s literally ever been in a jewelry store before. The store is empty except for a girl behind the counter, inspecting a ring through a magnifying glass. A bell chimes as they walk in, and the girl looks up from her work.
“Hi, welcome in,” she calls. “Are you looking for anything in particular, or just browsing?”
“Just browsing for now,” Hayden says.
“Alright! My name is Maddie if you need any help,” she says. Hayden shoots her a thumbs up and she turns back to whatever she was doing before.
“I’m thinking earrings,” Hayden tells Shane in a low voice. Shane nods. Hayden leads the way through the store, scanning the cases. Diamond earrings, maybe? Or would she prefer color? Red or blue for the Metros, or maybe her birthstone? These kind of things make Hayden want to pull his hair out. “Let me know if you see anything Jackie would like.”
“Okay,” Shane says. He still looks a little uncomfortable. Hayden owes him a million drinks or something for going with him, and also agreeing to take anything they buy back in his suitcase so that Jackie won’t see anything in Hayden’s bag.
A display of red jewelry catches Hayden’s eye, and he stops to look. Shane wanders slightly away to inspect a display of pearls.
The door chimes.
Hayden does, sometimes, usually in Montreal, get recognized. Shane does too, more than Hayden does. Hayden doesn’t think they’ll get recognized in a jewelry store in Boston, but you never know, so he kind of looks over his shoulder to see who it is, just in case it’s a guy in a Raiders jersey or something.
It’s not a guy in a Raiders jersey.
It’s so much worse.
“Rozanov?” Hayden croaks. Shane shoots up from the display case like he’s been shot, whirling around. Rozanov’s eyes widen, then he grins.
“Hollander and Pike? What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like?” Hayden asks. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you, probably,” Rozanov says. He shrugs, sliding toward a display case that’s closer to Maddie than Hayden and Shane. “Shopping.”
“Right,” Hayden says. Rozanov looks down at the case beside him. Hayden watches him for about a second, then turns back to the rubies. Who is he kidding. Jackie never wears red.
Shane’s fist is clenched. If he’s so worked up about shopping in the same store as Rozanov, they can go find another store, but honestly Rozanov being here is kind of an endorsement of the place, right? Rozanov is rich, and local, so this must be a pretty nice store.
“Rozanov,” Shane says. Hayden braces himself for a fight. “Are you ring shopping?” His voice sounds strangled.
As a rule, Hayden tries to keep up with the news on hockey players. Maybe not every single tabloid rumor, but it’s good to know what’s being said about who, and especially if anybody ends up on the actual news, it’s always smart to be aware. Hayden’s pretty sure if Rozanov was rings-serious with a girl, he would have at least heard of him having a girlfriend.
Then again, he hasn’t heard of Rozanov being seen with anyone in clubs or bars for…a while. So maybe he does have someone, and he’s just keeping it lowkey.
“Rings? Hollander, you always are jumping to conclusions,” Rozanov says, rolling his eyes. Though Hayden can clearly see that Rozanov is standing in the men’s jewelry section, the rings right by his hip.
“So what are you doing, then?” Shane asks. “Who are you shopping for?”
“Can I not be shopping for myself?” Rozanov asks. “Who are you shopping for?”
He wonders if Rozanov, too, will make fun of him for shopping for his wife. Instead, Rozanov fixes them with an almost dreamy look.
“It is almost my beloved’s birthday,” he confesses. “I am looking for something for her.”
“You have a girlfriend?” Hayden asks.
“Yes,” Rozanov says. “My beautiful Jane. I do not know what she would like, but I thought the jewelry store would give me ideas. Maybe a necklace?”
Oh. That’s kind of sweet. Hayden certainly didn’t know what kinds of things to get Jackie back when she was his girlfriend.
“You want to get Jane a necklace?” Shane asks. Rozanov looks at him and shrugs.
“Maybe,” he says. “As I said, I do not know. I thought maybe she would want something with my number on it.” He waggles his eyebrows at them. Shane turns bright red.
“Jackie has one of those,” Hayden says. “It’s like, a big sparkly 35. She wears it to games.”
Rozanov lights up.
“Yes, maybe my Jane wants a big 81 around her neck,” he says. He makes a square with his fingers, approximately the size of a playing card. Jackie’s is smaller, like a nickel or something. Hayden can just imagine Ilya Rozanov’s WAG showing up to a game with a giant, stupid expensive 81 around her neck. “Pure gold, made of diamonds.”
“Or maybe not,” Shane says.
Hayden wonders if Shane’s ever sad that Lily, whoever he is, can’t come to games all decked out in Hollander gear. Or maybe he does come to games. Lots of dudes come in a #24 jersey. Nobody would see a random guy wearing a Shane Hollander jersey to the game and assume he was fucking the captain.
“Maybe I get it carved,” Rozanov says. “On a pendant. Do you do carvings?”
“Engravings,” Shane corrects.
“Yes, we do! It might take about a week, though,” Maddie says. “We have some blank pendants over here, if you want to check them out.”
“Ah, okay,” Rozanov says. He follows her over to the other section. Hayden rolls his eyes and looks for something green. Jackie’s eyes are green. Maybe he can find some earrings that match.
“Is jewelry really the gift? For partners?” Shane asks.
“Jackie likes it,” Hayden says. He squats down by a case of emeralds to see better. “But there are lots of gifts to get people.”
“Oh,” Shane says. “Okay. I don’t want to mess anything up. If there ever was an anniversary. Which there wouldn’t be.”
“Right, because you aren’t dating anyone,” Hayden dutifully recites.
“Right,” Shane says.
“See anything you like?” Maddie asks.
“These are lovely, but I do not know if my Jane would like any of them,” Rozanov says.
“Well,” Maddie says. “You could check out her birthstone, see if any of those necklaces catch your attention. Especially since it’s a birthday gift.”
“Sure,” Rozanov says. “What is May birthstone?”
“Emerald,” Maddie says. “Which are right over here, by your friend.”
“Not my friend,” Rozanov says. Hayden stands up as he approaches.
“Hey, uh, Maddie, could I get a closer look at these earrings?” he asks.
“Of course!” Maddie says. She unlocks the case and pulls out the earrings in question. Rozanov bends over to look at the emerald jewelry.
“What do you think, Hollander? Any of this good for Jane?”
“Does Jane even like jewelry?” Shane asks. Rozanov shrugs.
“I have never seen her wear any,” he says. “But I don’t think she has any, either. Maybe she would like a necklace if she had one.”
Hayden tries to imagine a girl who never wears any jewelry at all. Sure, they exist, but he has a hard time imagining that kind of girl going for Ilya Rozanov. Or Ilya Rozanov going for her.
“I guess,” Shane says.
“Shane, buddy, do you think these match Jackie’s eyes?” Hayden asks. Shane comes over.
“I don’t really know what color Jackie’s eyes are,” he says. “I guess, maybe.”
“Matching the gems to her eyes is actually kind of romantic, Pike,” Rozanov says. “Maybe you are not totally and completely hopeless. Just hopeless at hockey.”
“Man, fuck you,” Hayden says. He opens his phone and holds it up next to the earrings, looking between his lockscreen picture of Jackie and the earrings next to him.
It’s just a grainy picture on a screen, but Hayden thinks they look good together.
“Maybe I should get Jane some chocolate,” Rozanov says. “That would match her eyes.”
“We actually have some chocolate opal pieces,” Maddie says. “If you want to look.”
“Maddie, you are an angel,” Rozanov says. “Take me to them.”
“Don’t you think Jane would rather have something that matches your eyes?” Shane asks. He’s not looking at anyone in particular. Hayden isn’t sure if he’s pissed off that they’ve been cordial to Rozanov for so long, or if he’s embarrassed to have an opinion about this at all. “So that every time she sees it, she would think of you? There are lots of blue gems…aquamarine, tanzanite, blue diamond…” He trails off, his cheeks going red.
Nobody says anything.
“Sapphires are also blue,” Maddie offers.
“They’re too dark,” Shane says. “Um, not that I know what color Rozanov’s eyes are.” He looks away quickly. Rozanov is beaming.
“Dude, I didn’t know you knew anything about gems,” Hayden says.
“I really, really, don’t,” Shane says. “Hayd, those earrings are great. I think Jackie will love them. Can we go?”
“Sure,” Hayden says, kind of surprised.
Maddie rings him up.
“Uh, see you tomorrow, Rozanov,” Hayden says. “I hope you find something for Jane.”
“Oh, I think I will,” Rozanov says from his spot by the aquamarines. “I hope Jackie doesn’t get too embarrassed when she sees the score tomorrow.”
“I hope Jane doesn’t get too embarrassed about the score,” Hayden shoots back.
“I’m sure Jane will be very happy when we win tomorrow,” Shane says. Hayden has got to help Shane with his chirping.
“In your dreams, Hollander,” Rozanov says.
“In your dreams,” Shane says. “The way you guys were shooting in that game against the Puffins last week was criminal.”
“Aww, you were watching,” Rozanov says, pretending to fawn. “I never knew I had such a fan.”
“You’re all set!” Maddie says, and Hayden grabs Shane by the hoodie to drag him out before they start an all out brawl in the middle of the jewelry store.
“Well, we lasted a whole ten minutes before fighting with Rozanov,” Hayden says as Shane furiously texts next to him while they wait for the uber. “That’s got to be some kind of record.”
Shane doesn’t respond. Hayden grabs at his phone.
“Hey!”
They tussle over the phone; Hayden sees a flash of the screen before giving up. It's a text to Lily, and it says: DO NOT buy me necklaces for my birthday asshole!!!
Oh yeah, Shane’s birthday is coming up. It never occurred to Hayden before what gay guys get each other for their birthdays. Not necklaces, apparently.
Back at the hotel, Hayden relinquishes the earrings over to Shane.
“You just bring them over next time we have dinner, and then I’ll hide them at home,” Hayden says.
“Sounds good,” Shane says. He finishes tucking the box into his duffel, then stands up. He glances at his phone. “Alright, I’m gonna head out.”
“What!”
Shane levels him with a look. Oh yeah. Boston.
“Right,” Hayden says. “See you tomorrow, then. Have fun with your boyfriend who doesn’t exist.”
“I will,” Shane says innocently. He has a tiny little overnight bag in his duffel, and he takes it with him. Hayden stares at the closed door, and then flops back on his bed, already dialing Jackie.
I saw a post about Shane and Ilya being sad that they can't thank each other in their acceptance speeches like other can with their spouses and it got me thinking:
Ilya wins his first awards and hes got nobody he really wants to thank after his team and coach cause he he hates his family but he knows his speech is too short so on impulse he goes "And I want to thank Shane Hollander for being slightly worse than me this season". Everyone knows it was going to one of those two, so everyone thinks hes an asshole to say that but whats new so it works for him. But from then on it then becomes a bit for both of them to thank each other in their speeches in a snide way as a reason they won.
Shane winning the Art Ross Trophy (Awarded to the player who leads the league in total points at the end of the regular season). and going "special thanks to Rozanov for missing at least 5 shots this season, he was a huge help"
Ilya winning the Conn Smythe Trophy (Awarded to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs.) "Just want to give a quick shout out to Hollander for getting knocked out in the second round this season. Must hate to see me up here."
They find a way to mention the other in their speeches every time all the time.
I fully believe that Shane and Ilya cannot agree on an anniversary. Shane says it was the All Stars weekend because that's when he thought they were both 100% serious about the relationship because that's when he was, Ilya says it was the cottage when they said "I love you'' because he didn't believe in it until that moment. They find this out the first year with Shane's anniversary date when Shane plans an elaborate secret date the last night of All Stars and gets Ilya gifts, and Ilya has no idea what its for. They agree to disagree on the date, "We will just celebrate twice a year, I guess." It happens again with their wedding anniversary, Shane says its when they legally got married, Ilya says it was when the twins married them because he doesnt care about about being officially married in the eyes of Canadian law he cares about the first time they said "I do". They find this out when a reporter asks them about their wedding and when they had it and they both gave different answers. Once again they agree to just celebrate twice a year. They say it is because the date doesn't really matter and both of them are right in some way, but in reality it is so they can compete on who plans the more romantic, thoughtful, and elaborate anniversary date. And so that they don't fight about who's planning the date this year or making conflicting plans by accident.
Shane only wants to talk about hockey when he is drunk. Like he always wants to talk about hockey but when he is sober he can reel himself in because knows not everyone wants to talk about hockey all the time.
So there is a time when the Cens go to the Kingfisher after a game and Shane gets drunk and with Skip and he just keeps going on about how "It was so cool what Scott did. I loved seeing it. It was next to life changing for me. I wish I was there in person to see it. It was such a huge moment for hockey. I'm so grateful it got recorded so he can re watch it from every angle over and over" And Kip is just like "Okay kind of weird that you just watch us kiss over and over again". And Shane is just like "What the fuck are you talking about?" And Kips like "Scott kissing me on the ice....??? What are you talking about?" And Shane is just like "Scott's goal November 5th, 2012 against Colorado where he fought through two defenders while keeping the puck and put the puck right over the goalie left shoulder to win the game 5-4 in the last second of the game and got a hat trick???? They showed the replay on ESPN for week after. It was all anyone was talking about, Colorado was picked to win it was a big upset. Why would i be talking about you guys kissing?" Scotts just like "Thanks, Yeah it was a good game and a good goal I guess." Shane continues to gush about Scott Hunters top ten goals until Ilya returns to the bar and demands they talk about his top ten goals which Shane is happy to oblige.
Little fandom etiquette reminder: If you write a story that is critical of a character that's not already a villain or evil person in the canon or is bashing a character, you tag it accordingly. That serves two purposes:
The people looking for exactly that kind of story about said character will very easily find your story and be super happy about it.
Those people who don't care to read that kind of interpretation about the character can easily avoid it, and you don't annoy them by them having to click out of your story or scroll past your story.
Those tags are usually "bashing Character X" or "anti Character X" or "Character X critical" or "dark Character X". (Though, the last one doesn't necessarily mean bashing.)
What does that mean for the Heated Rivalry fandom?
You write a story where Crowell or Kent is an absolute piece of shit? No bashing tag needed because the book series already makes them pieces of shit.
You write a story about Troy or Fabian or Kip or Scott (those are the examples I have seen) behaving horribly? You tag it fucking bashing of these characters because they're all main characters portrayed as the protagonist/hero in one part of the book.
You write a story about Hayden or J.J. where they're not reconciling with Shane or are actively trying to sabotage Shane's relationship? You tag it bashing. Because that's not the role they have in the books concerning Shane, even though they both have their moments of being not very good friends. You write a story about Shane falling out with his parents or them not supporting their son's relationship? You tag it bashing!
I'll always support bashing, even of characters I'd never bash personally. But I will also always demand proper tagging here. Don't be assholes! (And also, make it easy for those who want to read that bashing to find the stories.)
Okay so we all know that once Hollanov is outed they don't care where they do it just as if Shane has somewhat of some privacy, Ilya can convince him to go pretty far in semi public spaces. Which leads to a lot of stories, photos, and videos of Ilya and and Shane in pretty compromising positions. Like photos at bars where they get pretty handsy, video from some guy a few stalls down where you don't see anything but you can hear them for sure. Photos of what seems to be blows jobs in cars and behind buildings. They always respond with sorry you had to see that but we are two consenting adults and we had a blast. They are so many stories on the internet about their sex lives that the hash tag #WakeMeWhenTheSexTapeLeaks trends whenever a new posts is added because the internet knows its a when not an if. Hollanov will do a little too close to a window in broad daylight, or a tape they made at home is gonna get hacked. It just a matter of time.
But neither of those two things happen. Their sex tape is from a clearly hidden camera in one of their hotel rooms and it starts trending because of the invasion of privacy. The internet is horrified and starts trending #IllWaitForTheLegalVersion and try to stop the spread of the video. Fans start making fake posts and links so that people are spreading the wrong posts. They make the scam links so that when someone who wants to watch it clicks on the link they computer gets a virus, so then people are scared to click on any link that says its about their sex tape. And then a fan gives a step by step guide on how to hack into peoples account and delete the whole account. This obviously leads to 1000s of twitter accounts getting deleted so much so that Twitter has to shut down and other Social Media sites that have the video follow suit before this happens to them.
Social media is shut down for like three days while the sites try to scrub the video from its site to not deal with this again.
Ilya and shane both go “huh????” mid conversation a lot but Ilya says “huh?” in a “ i do not understand the word you are saying” because language barrier, and shane goes “huh?” as in “i don’t understand what you are trying to say with those words” in an autistic kind of way. And they both know that if the other stops the convo with a “huh?” It means they have to stop explain what they are saying better.
Okay so I just read Role Model an everyone on the team thinks that Ilya is a weird strange guy. Most of the reason being that hes secretive about what his doing (because hes doing Hollander). But what I want to know is that when Hollander joins the teams and the secret is out, does Ilya become weirder because he can be weird with Hollander or is he now a cool guy everyone thought he was and they realize he was weird because of the secret and now there is no secret.
Because my vote is that he becomes even weirder but every time someone brings it up to Shane hes just like “what do you mean? Ilya always does that. How is that weird?” And the team realizes they are weird together.
