Yuna watching Shane and Ilya roughhousing in the backyard with narrow eyes and David walks up and places a comforting hand on her shoulder , “it’s fine they’re not really fighting” and she nods “yeah I know I know it’s just - they’re like cats a little. I can never tell if they’re actually fighting, playing or,” she clears her throat and blushes, “or getting frisky.” David opens his mouth, then closes it because honestly…he can’t tell either. Shane had accidentally given Ilya a bloody nose the last time they wrestled and they just had to go home to get a Ilya a new shirt and which made sense at the time but now….huh. “I think boys will be boys. Even the queer ones.” David replies but then Ilya has Shane is a headlock and Ilya’s saying something to him as Shane tries to squirm out of his grip and-
“but I do think they’ll be heading home soon.” David chuckles.
Shane is not an animal guy at all. Ilya knows this. He's reached an understanding and level of affection with Anya, but beyond that he doesn't seem to have any interest in any other creatures.
Except, sometimes, between all the hockey videos Shane gets on the rare occasions Ilya sees him scrolling through Instagram, he'll get a video of otters. And to Ilya's surprise, Shane almost always sits through the whole thing.
This seems so out of left-field that Ilya ends up texting Yuna about it. He'd ask Shane about it, but he's scared that he'll get embarrassed and stop watching them when Ilya's around. Yuna immediately texts back like, "Oh yeah, Shane loves otters. Always has. He hasn't told you about Wa?"
And Ilya's heart immediately beats faster in that way it does when he learns something new and unexpected about his husband.
"No he has not. What is a 'Wa'?"
He gets sent a photo a few minutes later of what was probably once a very cute otter plushie, but is now squashed beyond all recognition and missing an eye and an ear.
"Sorry, it was hidden in the back of his closet so I had to dig it out. This is Wa. Or Otter-Wa. David called him that as a joke and it stuck. We got it because Shane was upset we couldn't take the otters home with us, and it became his favorite toy. He wouldn't go anywhere without it."
Ilya is, of course, delighted to learn this and immediately begins plotting.
A few months later, on Shane's birthday, Ilya leads him blindfolded to the surprise he's organised for him.
"I hear water. Baby, you didn't just drag me to a pool after hours, did you? Because I've talked to the contractors and we can install a pool if that's what you want."
And Ilya laughs as he undoes the blindfold, revealing the otter enclosure.
"After all these years I hope that my surprises are a little bit better than that."
And Ilya watches as Shane's eyes fill with tears as he realises where he is.
"Otters?" he asks, looking at Ilya in wonder. "But how did you... I've never told you about the otters."
"You didn't need to," he says with a shrug. "I pay attention to my beautiful husband when he does things. I thought you might like to actually meet some."
"Ready for introductions?" asks one of the zookeepers, and Ilya nods, following them over to the pool.
"But how... Ilya this must have cost a fortune."
And Ilya laughs again at that, pressing a kiss to Shane's cheek.
with how deeply physical their bond is, i don't think that hollanov ever bothered to develop a safeword. i do think, though, that they developed-- by accident!-- a physical system to tell each other how they are feeling. and it definitely bleeds into their life outside the bedroom, and it's definitely subconscious at this point, and it definitely makes it into the locker room and onto the ice by the time they're both in ottawa.
which means maybe the centaurs have picked up on the fact that hey, sometimes when shane wants ilya to stop doing something, he taps his arm twice. or if ilya wants shane to move one way, he taps him three times. or if he just wants his attention, its a squeeze. which is all relatively normal, and they probably think its cute that they have an unspoken language for communicating with one another.
and then maybe-- by accident!-- it starts taking root as a thing, and then mindlessly troy or wyatt or bood accidentally double pats shane's arm to get him to stop talking to ilya for a moment, and shane thinks for a moment, that was a weird coincidence, and moves on. but then it happens again, and then maybe luca squeezes his arm to get his attention and then bood taps him three times to get him to move aside so he can walk past and shane feels himself flush to the ears and catches ilya's eyes across the room and ilya definitely noticed that too. so now what? they can't full well ask them to stop without saying, hey, so this was a sex thing. but it'd be weird to let it continue... right?
The first time Shane and Ilya go to Ottawa pride, Shane doesn't really want to. But Harris has been talking about how its one of his favorite days for weeks and Ilya lights up like a little kid every time it comes up, so Shane is going.
So is Troy, who seems equally enthusiastic, so at least Shane isn't alone.
But he still worries when he sees Ilya all decked out in a rainbow tank top that has to be at least a size too small. He glances down at his own outfit, something he'd wear any other day, and asks,
"should I change?"
Ilya cocks his head and goes "do you want to?"
And Shane doesn't have to answer he very clearly does not want to.
"I just worry that-"
"that people will not know you are gay? I think I can help with that." Ilya smirks and grabs Shane's ass. Shane shoves him away but he's smiling.
They meet Harris and Troy in a parking garage a few blocks from the parade and Shane comes close to laughing because Harris is wearing a flag as a cape and Troy is wearing jeans and a centaurs t shirt.
"see?" Ilya says "you can wear whatever"
"I actually have something for you," Harris says, and hands both Shane and Troy a baseball cap with the terrible centaurs pride logo.
"they were a limited run and they didn't sell well," he explains. Shane gets why. But he likes the hat. It feels manageable.
The parade still doesn't quite feel manageable. He can already hear the crowd, and he knows, just KNOWS that in just a few minutes, for better or worse, all of their attention is going to be directed at HIM. That's where it always ends up.
"Shane?" He hadn't realized he was staring off into space until Ilya brings him back to earth. "We do not have to go"
"you really want to," Shane says.
"yes," Ilya shrugs, "but if you turn this around," he starts to turn Shane's baseball cap backwards, "I won't be able to resist taking you home and fucking you."
"Ilya! This is what does it for you?"
"You do it for me, Hollander"
Shane turns the cap backwards and grabs Ilya's hand. "Let's go see a parade"
"you are trying to kill me?"
"maybe!" Shane laughs.
They all walk down the parking garage stairs and it hits Shane that he's holding Ilya's hand. They're in his hometown, on the streets he grew up on, at a parade he never imagined he'd be able to attend. Ilya is beaming.
"it is not like this in Russia," he says when Shane asks a silent question. "If there was a parade for people like us, it would be called 'Shame,' not Pride." He offers a little laugh at his joke, but there is sadness behind his eyes. Shane kisses him, deep and insistent. Harris cheers. So do a few strangers.
There it is. Recognition. Finally. Shane breaks the kiss preparing himself for the conversation. But it doesn't happen, even when they pull apart and let the strangers see their faces. It's a couple teenagers. Shane wonders if they've ever seen a hockey game. He has to remind himself it's not sad if they haven't.
"saved by the nerds, huh?" Troy says, and Shane nearly chokes laughing.
They find a place to watch the parade and Shane ends up on the end of their row next to another teenager, maybe 16 or so. But he's not a nerd. He sees Shane and his eyes go wide with recognition.
"Shane Hollander?"
Shane nods, and behind him, Ilya leans over to look at the kid, tightening his grip on Shane's hand like he's daring the kid to say something stupid.
"I joined the baseball team," the kid says.
"that's great," Shane says. He's had weirder interactions with fans.
"I came out when I was 13 and kind of thought that meant I would never play sports again? But then we had you and Troy Barret, and I really missed baseball, and I know it's not always going to be easy, but you have it all, you know? Maybe I can too. Probably not, like, professionally because I'm terrible and I want to be a historian but it's really fun and I missed it a lot. So thank you."
Shane stammers for a second. He has a dozen media perfected answers for every possible question but no fucking clue what to say to this kid.
"I was the opposite," Ilya says over his shoulder. "I started playing hockey very young and thought that my sexuality would just stay in a box for the rest of my life. We are the same now though," he says to the kid, "Shane Hollander made me think maybe I could have everything."
"I'm glad you're playing baseball," Shane says around something he doesn't want to talk about in his throat.
"do you want a picture with them?" Harris asks. Shane forgot he was there.
They take a picture with the kid and sign the little flag he's holding and turn back towards the parade.
Ilya puts an arm around Shane's shoulders.
"this is why I wanted to come," he says. "I like these fans."
Shane does too.
He also doesn't mind knowing he's with the hottest person here. When the parade starts, Ilya dances along to the music. Shane lets himself get pulled into it, lets himself laugh when Ilya lifts up their arms to spin around, lets himself just be.
They go home having signed more autographs and taken more photos, but it didn't make Shane tired like it usually does. He thinks it's because he never stopped being himself to sign them. He didn't have to pause his personal life and stuff it down. These people were excited for all of him. Even the gay part. Hell, maybe ESPECIALLY the gay part.
Ilya kisses the back of his hand as he drives. "Now, we have to do something about that hat," he purrs.
"what are you going to do about it?" Shane smirks
"Shane! I will die before I can get home to fuck you if you keep teasing like this!"
Shane had been worried. But it turned out to be a pretty great day.
There is something so joyful and endearing about Connor and Hudson laughing with each other ✨️:
There is something so tender and fond about them watching the other one laugh:
There is something so incredible soft about them laughing and smiling while looking at the other one:
And there is so much happiness in the air when they make each other laugh:
Its such a joy to see them laughing and smiling together and in a world where there is so much darkness lately, these moments are like a little light and a glimpse of hope♥️✨️
Dedicated to all the wonderful people on here, who make me smile every day♥️❤️🩹.
it’s late june. the centaurs just lost the stanley cup final, and shane and ilya are nursing their wounds. But really, winning three years in a row would have been excessive anyways. it only stung because the reason they lost is Wyatt broke his wrist and was out for the final two games. a lot harder to win without the best goalie in the league.
shane and ilya are lounging on the couch, the day after the game. in a few days they’ll have to pick themselves up to head to the nhl awards, but for now, ilya is letting shane wallow. he reallllyy wanted that cup against toronto and dallas kent.
they open up netflix to find something to watch, and come across a carousel of pride month recommendations. ilya is taken aback, as he sort of forgot about Pride month. with all the chaos of the playoffs, he just hadn’t been paying attention. now that he’s out publicly, ilya usually likes to make an appearance at a pride parade, sometimes riding on a float for charity. but this year he doesn’t have anything planned.
Shane doesn’t care what they watch, so Ilya puts on this little teen show that Svetlana recommended to him years ago, called Heartstopper. The show is about these two high school boys, Nick and Charlie who fall in love and go through the usual high school tribulations together: bullying, an absentee father, mental health struggles.
they binge the show in two days, stopping in between to eat and ice their sore muscles. by the middle of the third season, ilya has silent tears running down his cheeks.
the realization came to him all of of a sudden—shane is charlie and ilya is nick.
Ilya sees a lot of similarities between shane and charlie- the anxious demeanour, the trying so hard to be perfect all of the time. but he sees even more of himself in nick— always trying to be the happy, fun loving friend and teammate, but never really feeling extremely close to anyone enough to open up. well, until Shane that is. watching nick struggle in silence hits somewhere deep inside ilya.
shane notices quickly that ilya is crying, and pulls him into his lap immediately. usually shane is the one on top of ilya in this position, but today ilya sits on top of shane’s thighs and leans into him. they don’t say anything, but once both of their tears have slowed they look into each others watery eyes and just know they both had the same realization at the same time.
the next week after the NHL stuff dies down, Shane calls their agent and asks if they can be apart of the final iteration of the show. farah gets them a cameo in the back of a scene, them wandering down a london street, hand in hand in the background. nobody even seems to notice them when the movie comes out, but about a week later during some teenager’s rewatch, the kids dad spots the two hockey legends in the background and it goes viral everywhere
When Arthur offers Shane a necklace adorned with a bright red silicone shark, he doesn’t think twice before accepting. When the toddler tries to nudge the animal in his mouth however, that does give him pause.
You see, Shane loves the Pike kids, and he makes an effort to be a good “Uncle Shane” for them, but he knows he struggles to connect with them. He’s had enough nights watching the twins to know they can often find his company more annoying than fun. He follows the game rules too closely, doesn’t have a “creative enough” imagination, and when he says a half an hour on the tv he does actually means thirty minutes exactly (and can’t be bribed otherwise). So when Arthur got old enough to really have a personality aside from “baby” Shane is hopeful that maybe he’ll get along with a boy better.
And miraculously, he does! Kids have always kinda worried Shane, knowing he’s entirely responsible for their wellbeing but not always understanding what they need. It’s not like that with Arthur though, he almost immediately feels like they’re on the same page, speaking the same language, and something settles in Shane knowing he has a place in this extended family. There’s still things that Arthur does that stump Shane, like needing to copy sensation on to the opposite side of his body or preferring to hide in kitchen cabinets when there’s a loud noise, but he vaguely remembers growing out of similar things when he was younger, so really it’s just another point of connection for them. Overall they get along really well, having a nice time playing quietly within a defined set of rules while Ilya gleefully takes over whatever chaos the girls are getting up to in the backyard.
Shane feels like him and Arthur really get each other.
Which makes the current situation so much more upsetting. Arthur keeps pushing the shark up to Shane’s mouth, making him feel bad every time he has to gently push Arthur’s hand back, all while wracking his brain trying to figure out what’s happening. Even moreso, Shane can’t parse why he’s being so insistent on this, interrupting their play entirely. He feels like he’s really messing something up every time he refuses, though he can’t figure out what. He can tell the little man is getting more and more upset with every rejection, but he absolutely does not want some toddlers toy in his mouth. He tries to explain this, calmly, clearly, the way they usually communicate, but Arthur just yanks on Shane’s hoodie string hard, like that was all the explanation needed. It doesn’t clear anything up though and just earns a surprised yelp from Shane. When he looks back up Arthur seems seconds away from tears and instead of responding just runs off.
Shane knows it’s best to give him some space to settle before talking it over, so he instead goes about cleaning up the lego pieces they were organizing into colored piles. It’s about then that Jackie and Hayden return, and Shane fills them in, hoping they can take over the second half solving the situation (Shane is a little relieved it isn’t him doing the talking because he feels like he was the problem in the first place). They both smile, agreeing to take over while thanking Shane and Ilya for babysitting and waving them off. Shane feels like they’re taking this too lightly, but he just nods his farewell, trying to hide how absolutely dejected he feels.
Ilya holds his hand the whole way back, giving rhythmic squeezes instead of talking.
The next time they go over to the Pike’s a few days later, Shane feels sickeningly nervous. Hayden had called sometime after that last visit and said they figured out what the problem was, but was gonna have Arthur talk to him about it. Something about a teaching moment or whatever. Great for toddlers, apparently horrible for full grown adults with only a pinch less anxiety than what is needed for spontaneous combustion.
Opening the front door Shane thinks he might’ve actually crossed the threshold to start creating flames when it suddenly all washes away as little arms wrap around his legs before he even so much as makes it out of the entryway. When Shane looks down he can see soft little dark curls buried in between Shane’s knees. Shane smiles, reaching down to pet his hair and causing Arthur to pull back a bit, still clutching Shane’s pants with one hand while the other pushes a package grasped in a tiny fist up, still looking squarely at the floor. Shane squats slowly, taking the small box with both hands, asking if it is in deed for him. Arthur just nods.
Inside the box is a sealed container with a bright red silicone hockey stick threaded on a black cord. Shane stares for a second, feeling some of that previous anxiety rise up again as he’s not able to immediately understand, but figures he’ll start with what he knows and thanks him for the gift. Arthur’s still looking at the ground, though peeks up to catch Shane’s gaze, mumbling out something that sounds like he’s asking if he likes it. And Shane really doesn’t want to mess this up, but he also doesn’t want to lie, so he goes with the next best thing of just being honest and admitting he doesn’t really know what it is.
Surprisingly, Arthur lights up and starts explaining it’s something called chewelry and it’s very important to wear because it’s against the rules to chew on sleeves and collars and strings and Uncle Shane was gonna get in trouble chewing on his strings but daddy said you didn’t like sharks but I know you like hockey because you’re fast and you also like red like me so we got the red one that isn’t a shark but it’s a hockey stick — Arthur pauses, taking multiple deep breaths — and you wear it around your neck so you don’t lose it and also you don’t share it because of germs but you clean them with pasta water — Jackie mouths “boiling water” from where she’s standing behind him — and it makes the dentist not get mad at you.
Shane stares for a long second, trying to process the sudden onslaught of information, but before he can respond Jackie nudges Arthur’s shoulder and he goes back to looking at the floor, sway back and forth. “I’m sorry I tried to give you the shark when you don’t like sharks and pulled your strings and ran away. I love you.”
Shane feels stuck for a moment but then Ilya taps him on the back and that’s all he needs to push himself forward, pulling Arthur into a tight hug, continuing the swaying motion and returning the sentiment while trying not to cry. They finally leave the entryway when Shane promises to let Arthur teach him the best way to chew on his gift.
So that’s how Shane ends up wears his new necklace for the rest of the day, and then also every time they go to the Pike’s house, and on some weekends too, and maybe to practice sometime, and during movie nights and while reading contracts and on long trips and—
Shane and Ilya would both get book deals, I think. But Shane's would be part practical hockey guidebook, part motivational self-help book. He and Yuna write it together. He just wants there to be a book that new professional hockey players can read that will give them an idea of what to expect. Especially players moving to North America from overseas who are having to enter a whole new world not just in their career, but their whole life. And even though it's aimed at pro hockey players, it has wider appeal from hockey fans who like to dream about what it might have been like to be a pro player. It's also just super fucking funny. Like genuinely worth the read just for the humour and wit alone.
Ilya's is a memoir called something like "This Boy Pucks" or "Big Stick Energy". It turns out to be surprisingly poignant and emotional because he's super honest about what happened to his mom, growing up in an abusive home, his own struggles with his mental health, and what it's been like being one of the first two MLH players to ever marry each other. It's funny of course, but also gut-wrenchingly beautiful.
And, of course, they each dedicate the book to the other. Because the story wouldn't be the same without him.
jackie: yeah separate bedrooms can be a blessing! i love hayden but sometimes i need my own space
shane: ????
hayden: it’s healthy for couples to get a breather! and it makes it more romantic when we share our bed again <3 even tho you kick in your sleep babe ahah
ilya: okei….
(later, at home)
ilya: don’t you ever dare sleep in a separate bed from me i will hunt you down
shane: fuck no never — also when you kick me in your sleep i just kick you right thefuck?? like grow a pair hayd, jeez
ilya: ok i see your point but maybe hayden shouldn’t kick his wife
shane: you’re right jackie should just kick him harder
ilya: exactly! we should be marriage counsellors, solving everybodies problems ))
we all know ilya is living drapery. the bisexual lean, the clinging to shane. but depression clingy is different from autistic clingy.
so i posit for your consideration:
autistic shane who becomes like a cat when he's comfortable with someone (speaking from personal experience)
yes, draping himself on ilya at every opportunity, biting ilya's face and then tearing off laughing when ilya jumps up to chase him, leaning his full weight on the top of ilya's head when he's trying to answer emails or be even slightly professional, sneaking his hands under ilya's tank or shorts just to self-soothe on his husband's warmest, softest skin
but also
leaning with his arms dangling over hayden's chest like a living backpack while talking to jackie (probably with the twins on his back), and hayden ignoring it completely
curling up against Yuna's side, shoulders touching, while they watch a game together, each person used to subconsciously dodging the other's wildly swinging arms at a bad call or goal
laying with his head on rose's lap when they go on a "bffcation" to cabo, each on their phones with drinks at their knees, showing each other memes and tipsy giggling
curling his arms around harris's neck and putting his cheek gently against harris's while harris scrolls through the photos he took for the latest social media campaign, talking excitedly about them
and some reporter asks ilya if he thinks shane is cheating on him bc ofc the tabloids have caught wind of this behavior and his face gets that particular smirk that means someone is about to be verbally defenestrated. "genius observation. they hire you at top of your class? breaking news: man is affectionate with loved ones. congratulations your pulitzer will arrive in mail in 6-8 weeks. no, truly brilliant idea for next Centaurs social media campaign. adopt a hockey player. ‘shane hollander: domesticated but not trained. may climb into pockets unsupervised.'"
of course it goes viral. of course shane reams ilya bc what was all that media training for??? and ilya just shrugs and gives him the big eyes like no one talks shit on you but me, but also fuck toxic masculinity and shane sighs and pets his hair and grumbles i knew i shouldn't have let you on tumblr
and of course harris absolutely loves the idea and begs shane to let them do it, which he acquiesces to.
shane's has an entire reel of him hanging off of people and shane is mortified bc he didn't even realize he was doing it but he's not actually mad bc it proves how many people he can be open and loving with, and the response is insanely positive
and then ilya's goes live and it leads with that infamous image of him skating away smirking with blood running down his chin.
and the caption says "ilya rozanov: feral. will bite. has bitten. will never be remorseful. beautiful fur, though." and the last picture is him in the locker room, gear half-stripped off, grinning at the camera with his curls wild and his lower half gear sitting just a little too low, the v of his hips framing his happy trail and nobody's quite sure which fur they're talking about.
harris creates ILYA JEOPARDY for ilya’s 32nd birthday and the centaurs are hyped to see who can get more points than Shane; Bood and Ilya have been captains for years together, Troy and Ilya are best friends, Wyatt and Ilya have their own captain-goalie relationship, Luca is his mentee etc etc all the centaurs have their own thing with Ilya. “yeah Shane’s his husband but I saw him everyday for practice for years I think I’ll get some points in there”. AND the questions aren’t even that hard “what does Ilya order at osmows” “what’s his pre game ritual” “what’s his favourite city” “what’s his favourite gatorade flavour” - the centaurs keep getting the answers like 20% incorrect and shane gets to swoop in and correct them, “it’s actually a loon not a duck actually” “that is NOT his favourite fast and furious” “he doesn’t like blue he likes the light blue gatorade”. Ilya can’t even act nonchalant he feels insanely loved.
Sometimes, when they are out with the team and Shane is in the right mood, he will sip on Ilya's vodka and chase it with his ginger ale. He won't directly ask for his own drink, but Ilya is happy to share, especially when it leads to what Ilya affectionately calls 'brutally honest Shane', who will chirp their friends and call bullshit on anything they say that he disagrees with.
Some of Ilya's favorite appearances of 'brutally honest Shane' are at the Kingfisher with their team, as well as the Admirals.
---
Hunter and Vaughn both rolled their eyes at yet another classic Rozanov chirp. Shane hadn't been listening to that side of the table, as he was enjoying his conversation with Kip about the latest paintings he acquired for a gallery.
"God, Roz, you are a real piece of work. I bet you even chirp the kids at your camps," Carter said, a little too plainly to be a joke. Shane did not like that one bit.
"What? Ilya would never. He is a sweetheart with the kids," Shane countered, turning his attention and leaning into Ilya's side.
Scott huffed a laugh and nodded. "Well, that may be true, but on the ice, he’s a menace. Even you can admit that, Rook."
"Of course he is; it’s a strategy. That is the role he plays. He’s nothing like that off the ice. That's how most of us are, you know that," Shane replied firmly. He knew Ilya enjoyed the chirping when it was fair, but Shane did not like the implication of his husband being bad with children or just genuinely being a 'bad' person.
"You are the same on and off, Hollz," Carter said.
Ilya stopped himself from laughing, but Shane couldn't. He chuckled a bit and then paused before responding. "Oh, wait, you’re serious?"
The entire table went quiet, listening in on the conversation now. Scott was the one to reply. "Uh, yeah, Shane. You are the nicest guy in the league."
"I am definitely not," Shane said, not able to hide his surprise. Ilya had to tuck his face into Shane's shoulder to keep his smile at bay.
"What are you talking about? You are always composed on the ice. You are a good leader, especially for the rookies. All the stripes love you. You don't fight. I mean, you started a whole damn charity. They called you Canada's Golden Boy for a reason, Rook."
Shane rolled his eyes. He appreciated all of Scott's kind words, but sometimes he hated that his reputation always boiled down to that, especially given the pressure of maintaining it.
"I guess that is true. Thank you, but like I said before, that is on the ice. I'm not saying I'm a bad person or anything, but I can be a real bitch. I know that."
Multiple voices called out around the table in contention, shocked by what he just said.
Shane's eyes grew wide, seeing them all react as if this were new information. He thought it was a bit obvious. "What? It’s true!"
Scott set his beer down with a loud clatter on the table. "You aren’t a bitch, Shane. What the hell are you talking about?"
Shane shrugged as he took another bolstering sip of Ilya's vodka, not even bothering to chase this one. "Not all the time, no, but I’m way meaner than Ilya. I just don't chirp you guys to your faces."
Ilya finally joined the conversation with a nod before adding, "Is true. He is like that meme. Looks like cinnamon roll but could kill you. I have been saying Shane Hollander is an asshole for many years, and no one would listen."
Everyone around the table laughed, some sporting expressions of recognition at Ilya's meme comparison. That was until Troy leaned in from his spot across the table.
"Hang on, Hollzy. What do you mean you don't chirp us to our faces?"
Shane leveled Troy with that unimpressed look some of the Centaurs have received after making subpar passing choices or shot attempts at practice.
"Barrett, you really think Ilya comes up with chirps about stats on his own? Or the ones in French? I thought you were smarter than that."
The entire table burst with laughter again, at Troy's expense this time. Kip looked especially pleased with this revelation as he said, "Oh my God, Shane, you really are a bitch. I love this for you."
Shane and Ilya’s daughter has to do a family tree project in class. They’ve done a great job at emphasizing to her that parents can be any two people that love each other and she understands that other kids might not know that. The rest of the project will be pretty straight forward - Shane doesn’t have any siblings and their daughter doesn’t know much about Ilya’s family at this age besides that papa has a mama that watches over them and that loves her very much. Shane is still nervous about it and having a Very Normal Shane Reaction wondering if she will feel left out for not having a mom and feeling sad that she will never know her papas family and wondering if she is lonely and if they should have another kid. When they get an email from the school asking them to come in at pickup to discuss her family tree Ilya is already angry and ready to pick a fight with whatever stupid kid is bullying their daughter for having two dads. They walk into the classroom and their daughter is standing with her arms crossed insisting that there is nothing wrong with her project and when the teacher slides it across the table they see something so bizarre that they don’t know where to start. She’s drawn on only one side of the tree - Ilya and Shane both stemming from Yuna and David. Next to them are about ten stick figures of different sizes all with hearts around them. While they’re trying to decipher what on earth she has drawn she starts presenting it with her little finger saying “see? Dad is grandma Yuna and grandpa David’s son and Papa is grandma Yuna and grandpa David’s son, too.” And then she moves her finger along with “and that’s uncle Hayden, uncle Troy and uncle Harris, uncle Evan, uncle Luca….” And as she’s naming every stick figure Shane is trying to figure out how he’s going to explain to her teacher that he is not married to one of his 10 brothers when he is actually an only child and Ilya has to turn away because he’s crying at the reminder that the family that adopted him adopted her as well and there has never been a child that has been so loved
I think there should be a moment where Shane gets to see Irina Rozanova in a photo, laughing.
I think he should audibly gasp an “oh”.
Because Shane never met Ilya’s father, and there are no photos that he’s seen of either of Ilya’s parents.
But those creases on the corners of Irina’s eyes are the same as the ones Shane kisses as Ilya laughs.
And the way her top lip has pulled back is so familiar it’s like Shane has physically touched her lips purely through how many times Shane has brushed his fingers over Ilya’s laughing lips.
Ilya is so like his mother, this woman who made him soft and gentle and funny, this woman who gave Shane so much…
She is the one who crafted the face Shane is so utterly devoted to. Her lips, her eyes, her laugh.
Shane already loved her, but with a face to put to the spectre of Irina Rozanova he thanks her for loving Ilya before he did.
And he carefully frames the photo and puts it on their mantle so everyone else that comes into their home can see it too.
this is ilya when shane attempts to put away his baby album, whining that ilya’s had enough “fat baby shane time today” even tho there’s no such thing as enough fat baby shane time
Hollanov 😊 @heatedrivalry90 - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
