Heated rivalry au where Shane never goes down against Boston so Ilya breaks up with him. The metros goes on to win their third cup in as many years.
Scott comes out the year after when they manage to snag the cup. Shane waits until he retires to come out and Ilya never does both of them retire earlier than anyone excepts of them because playing hockey isn’t as fun anymore for either of them.
Shane meets a man during his second to last year who he likes well enough but he is never going to compare to Ilya.
Ilya marries a woman who he meets the same year he retires. They don’t talk and they try not to pay attention to what the other is doing. Even so by pure coincidence Shane and his husband adopts a daughter the same year that Ilyas wife gives birth to their daughter.
The hockey world is asking if they will follow their father’s footsteps but neither of them wants that for their kids so without the others knowledge they both put their daughters into figure skating.
It takes them 16 years to realize that they’d thought the same thing. Because the juniors for the figure skating is coming up and for the first time in almost 17 years there’s another article about the Hollander - Rozanov rivalry.
Shane’s daughter Lily disappears during the competition when she comes back her cheeks are flushed and she refuses to meet her dad’s eyes. Shane doesn’t say anything.
Lily wins and the following year Jane wins. From there on it’s once again Hollander vs Rozanov but unlike Shane’s own mother he doesn’t comment on it just like he doesn’t comment on the lack of partner from Lily.
A few years later Shane is at a competition leaning against the wall scrolling on his phone when he hears a voice beside him.
“You’re Shane Hollander” there infront of him is a girl with long curly hair that shines like gold in the lights. She is the split image of her father and Shane’s heart aches at the thought.
“You’re Jane Rozanov” he countered and the way she grinned made Shane feel like he’d temporarily traveled back in time.
“I am.” Shane studied her for a second and he could tell she was nervous she had most of her dad’s tells and Shane didn’t know how to feel about that he still knew that.
“Can I help you with anything?” She seemed to consider for a moment.
“Did my dad ever say anything homophobic to you on the ice?” Shane had not expected that and while he may not be the best at social cues he knew Ilya Rozanov and by extension he knew Jane so he had an inkling of where the conversation was going.
“No. Never.” Her shoulders slumped relief clear on her face as she smiled and nodded before turning to bolt. Shane was quicker though. “Talk to him, I think you might be surprised by what he has to say. Oh and Jane?” She turned and looked at him in question.
“Take care of Lily.” Her eyes widened but then she nodded and disappeared down the hall.
She kept that promise, a few years later Shane is walking Lily down the makeshift isle set up in their garden at the cottage. Jane was already there in a beautiful white dress. He looked to the side and spotted Ilya there looking as beautiful as ever.
For a second he imagined that this was for them. He had long ago given up on ever having Ilya at his cottage. Now that he was here it felt surreal. He handed over his daughter to her future wife and stood on the opposite side.
It felt almost poetic how the universe seemed determined to ensure that a union between Hollander and Rozanov.
The ceremony was beautiful and Shane was crying silently by the end when the officient declared them “ms & ms Hollander-Rozanov” Shane looked over at Ilya again. He was already looking at him with tears in his eyes. Shane managed to keep his composure until he managed to get a second alone.
Then he broke down completely. He was happy for his daughter he was but it felt cruel that she got to have the last name Shane had dreamed of since he was a 16 year old.
Three months later Shane Hollander died. A week later Ilya Rozanov followed him leaving their daughters to find years of unsent letters, emails and 7 years worth of undeleted texts.
The worst part was that they died thinking no one would ever know. That no one would ever know that they had once loved each other. Jane and Lily decided to change that. They made sure of it.
And Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander may have died but Jane and Lily Rozanov-Hollander lived on and lived their best lives for their fathers who never got the chance to.
