Right now deeply in Heated Rivalry
*~* Some things, ideas and thoughts that come up to my mind while reading, thinking, watching or doing something... *~*
āoh my god you guys are already at itā troy says as he sits down and ilya kisses shaneās cheek and asks sarcastically āsweetheart, did you heard something?ā and shane chuckles and says āi donāt think soā and ilya goes āthatās right, we donāt hear jealous homophobic voicesā and shane cackles and troy says indignantly āiām not homophobic, iām literally gayā and ilya asks āthen why are you bothered by two men kissing?ā and shane goes āilya, didnāt you heard it? he only denied the homophobic part, heās jealousā and ilya fake gasps and says āvery good point, shaneā and they both look at troy who has a very annoyed expression on his face and he says āyou two insufferable are together. and people have no idea what a menace shane hollander truly isā and shane says āif you tell people, no one will believe youā and he gives troy a very cute smile and troy scoffs gobsmacked and ilya goes ānow, if you excuse usā and then he turns to shane āwhere did we leave off?ā and troy groans and gets up leaving them.
ilya treating shane's inner thighs like a chew toy. they've gone a couple of rounds and are all loose-limbed and sleepy, and ilya just finished blowing shane but he's not ready to move so he just. doesn't. just stays there between shane's legs, biting and licking and sucking hickeys into the sensitive skin of shane's inner thighs.
it feels good, obviously, and shane's too worn out to get hard so he lays there and enjoys it, one hand in ilya's hair, lazily petting it.
they have practice a couple of days later and shane has honestly forgotten all about it until they're hitting the showers and he's getting undressed and he hears someone say, "holy shit, dude."
he looks up to see hayes studiously avoiding his eyes, cheeks bright pink. he's not the only one; at least five different centaurs are looking anywhere but at shane, faces red and expressions guilty. shane looks down at himself, realizing for the first time just how dark and numerous the marks on his inner thighs are.
he looks back up, catching ilya's eyes this time. "oops," ilya says, shrugging.
Everyone sees a post-retirement Shane meltdown coming a mile away unless they find something to fill the hockey shaped hole in his brain, and someone casually throws out Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Shane figures well why not, canāt hurt to go to one class and see how it feels
He goes in and immediately, day one, gets his ass absolutely handed to him. Slammed to the ground, choked out, beat to shit, no rest no mercy the entire time and he LOVES it. Getting pushed and tested, needing to figure out strategy, fully working his muscles and getting thrown around. He comes home bruised and sore and canāt wait to go back
Ilya isnāt super sure at first about his husband getting recreationally beat up, especially after going to a practice early on and getting nauseous from watching people choking Shane and purposely putting him in so much pain heās forced to tap out. The spouse of another person at the gym says to wait a few months before trying to watch again
But after a while he starts regularly hearing Shane laughing and Anya happy barking from other parts of the house, and walking in to find the two playfully wrestling around. Or when they watch the Pike kids they all want turns to get flipped around and wrestled by uncle Shane
And then of course one day Shane texts Ilya saying he wants Ilya to help him learn a triangle submission, and he adds a winky face and Ilya is just ??? Ok? I guess? But then he looks one up and well. That sure. Uh. That sure would be his husbands big strong sweaty thighs locked around his head and you know maybe he shouldnāt be too hasty to judge this hobby
Very soon Ilya is looking up moves for them to āpracticeā and he starts to see the appeal of his big strong husband being able to manhandle him and also anyone else. When he finally goes to watch another practice he sees Shane taking down guys six inches taller and fifty pounds heavier with ease and no actually so sorry they canāt go out to eat with everyone afterwards he needs to get his hot sweaty husband home immediately
The hockey world struggles to hide how pissed they are the first time Shane wins a tournament because of course he canāt retire normally and had to go and become the best at something else, specifically something that means he could beat the shit out of any of them if he wanted
I think that Ilya genuinely thinks Shane is mocking his accent when he copies it. And like. It's fine, its a funny accent, Ilya knows that. He knows it's still pretty thick (nice) for him living in English speaking countries for 10 years. But its whatever, he doesn't really care. If he did, he'd tell Shane to stop and he would stop. No big deal.
Until.
Ilya is watching Shane interact with Luca one day. Luca says something and Shane repeats it in Luca's Swiss accent. Luca doesn't really seem to notice or care. Shane isn't acting like he's making fun of Luca. And when Ilya comes over, he even says 'hey' in Luca's accent.
And Ilya then does some googling. He comes across the phrase 'echolalia' and reads the sentence: "-especially when individuals feel comfortable or have a strong relationship with the person they are imitating."
And Ilya realizes the first time he remembers Shane doing that was during their first time. He had worked so hard to make Shane feel safe and comfortable and he did and he has proof and now he has to go suck Shane's dick about it immediately.
Headcanon that Shane doesnāt drink just because of his diet, but because heās absolutely terrified he will tell everyone how much he misses Ilya Rozanov and how good a kisser Ilya Rozanov is and how much of a sex god Ilya Rozanov is and how amazing at giving head Ilya Rozanov is and how much Shane loves giving Ilya Rozanov head and how much he loves having Ilya Rozanovās giant cock inside him and how he can let down his guard with Ilya Rozanov and just how much heās in love with Ilya Rozanov.
two absolutely hilarious conclusions i instantly drew from this:
1. the only person shane lets himself drink with is therefore, obviously, rose. and only in the safety of either of their apartments. they get wine drunk one night and he tells her SO much more detail than āi kinda prefer being the hole rather than the pegā and rose is FLOORED and obsessed. tell me more immediately
2. once shane is on the cens and finally #healing from his internalized homophobia and the trauma of his outing and has done some work grappling with the intersection with his racial identity etc etc (therapy amirite) he Also lets himself drink at one of boodās bbqs. everyone learns So Much that night.
the ottawags are delighted. dykstra and chouinard are learning So Much tonight, mostly against their will, but hey, dykstra is a goddamn ally so heās not going anywhere and choui just loves Love too much to bail (sue him, he and selena are high school sweethearts). bood is ecstatic and clutching his own hands to his chest, tears in his eyes with pride that his work wife ilya rozanov is every inch (hah) the legend he knew in his heart ilya would be. wyatt is fascinated and curious and has about 100 different technical/logistical questions which shane is all too happy to answer. troyās Stunned (and has to admit to himself he never could have handled All Of That). harris and a plastered-luca chime in every now and then with āyeah i totally get itā āoh for SUREā āmhm mhmmmmmā like shaneās own little horny greek chorus, as the rest of the babies (lapointe/holmberg/young) all are equal parts more turned on than they ever thought they could be (hm. much to think about) and also in full hero worship mode because damn shane hollander was already the best of the best and what do you mean heās putting up points like that when he also takes THAT every night (and sometimes in the morning too??)
ilya comes back from a quick trip inside to help cassie carry some plates into the kitchen only to find shane holding court in the middle of the backyard, yapping at 300 km/h with the kind of speed clarity and precision he only gives his special interests (sex and hockey) and just stands there, jaw on the floor, as shane goes āno, the thing you have to understand is that girth matters. like REALLY matters. because like, iām not trying to get fucked by a pencil, yknow? so itās not just that heās got all nine of the inches he never shuts up about but dude, heās so thick. sooooo thick god the stretch is incredible. and when heās got that itās like, thereās basically no position or angle from which he canāt get my prostate, so itās just blindingly good all the time. yeah i mean i came dry last night at the end bc by orgasm four i had nothing left and i probably saw godā
someone sees ilya over shaneās shoulder and starts wolf whistling, so shane turns around and at first his reaction is what it always is when he sees ilya - that sweet joy of just spotting him, whether itās been an hour or a week, whether theyāve been on opposite sides of the continent for foundation business or just opposite sides of the house. but then, he lets out a loud cackle - unrestrained, free, with no attempt to smother it.
espn makes some silly money grab documentary about shane, and ilya insists on watching it the night it premieres. shane mostly reads his book while ilya is curled up with his head in shane's lap. about halfway through, it gets to montreal's second cup win. ilya is smiling softly as he watches, remembering how proud he had felt when he had seen it in real time.
until it cuts to a clip he's never seen of the metros' locker room from when they were celebrating. he watches as shaky footage pans over a group of players huddled together, all screaming and whooping as someone pops open champagne and pours it all over a laughing shane, who is situated right in the middle. he watches with intense curiosity as the shane on screen texts someone with a huge smile on his face, even with the celebration happening around him.
"who were you texting, moy lyubimyy? yuna, yes?" he couldn't imagine there being anyone else shane would be talking to during a moment like that.
shane's eyes dart to the screen as ilya rewinds a couple of seconds so that he can see it for himself. he watches as shane's eyes widen, as his cheeks immediately tint into a bright pink. he quickly looks away and back at his book.
"um..." shane starts, trailing off as he glances back at ilya with a face of pure embarrassment. "no. i uh, fuck. i was actually; well. i was texting you."
ilya's brows furrow as he thinks back to that night. he did remember sending shane a number of texts, most of which were filthy promises of how he was planning to reward him at the mlh awards that year. but he knew those came much later in the evening. until he remembered the single word text he had sent almost immediately after shane had held the cup over his head for the second time in a row. a teasing little quip.
'lucky.'
a slow smirk spreads across ilya's face. "you wanted to text me so much that you could not wait until you left the locker room? you wanted my dick this badly, hollander?"
shane shoved him, looking every bit of the angry little kitten ilya likes to teasingly call him. "fuck off! that's not... fuck. i liked you. a lot, okay? i probably already loved you. so yeah, it was really nice to hear from you during the biggest moment of my life at that point."
ilya felt like molten hot lava hearing those words. his heart was beating so fast he thought it might burst out of his chest, while all the blood in his body simultaneously surged downwards.
"fuck, shane. ya tebya lyublyu." he murmured before frantically tugging down shane's sweats and proceeding to give him the sloppiest, wettest blow job known to mankind, obviously.
Harris gets the idea to do a video asking the team popular questions they get from comments. Bood explains his tattoos, Lucca assures everyone that he is actually 21 (his most popular question is 'who is letting that baby boy play hockey?'), Troy has to defend salmon as a snack again, Wyatt's question is why Marvel? And harris has to cut the video and just put in a screen that says 'answer cut for time'.
Anyway Harris finds Ilya in the gym doing pull-ups or something and Shane is in the background on a treadmill. Harris goes to Ilya "So your most popular question is, Can Ilya Rozanov fight?"
Ilya drops down to the floor and crosses his arms (slightly swollen and sweaty from the pull ups) and mostly fake scowls at the camera, "I see this question all the time because people are very tempted by my very hot husband." He wags a finger at the camera, "But he is mine you cannot take him. I can fight very well." He smirks at the camera now.
Then Shane pops up behind him, having stopped his run, "I can also fight." And Harris is like, "oh no one asked you that Shane."
And Shane shrugs, "No I know, but if they're asking Ilya because they're going to fight him to like, steal me or whatever, they should know I would also fight to stay."
And he also smirks at the camera and Ilya looks at him with such a gooey lovestruck look that it immediately becomes a meme.
Ilya reblogs the meme with a gif of Shane demolishing one of those punching bag games ala Hudson.
i think when they do have a kid, people are just gonna assume that ilya will be better at playing with it, and shane agrees. in fact, he doesnāt voice it for a while, but heās very anxious that he just wonāt be great at āplayingā.
heās fine enough at it with haydenās kids, but he has his limits of how much of it he can handle, and he knows that kids can just go on and on and on and on and he doesnāt know if he is capable of that without getting overstimulated and frustrated and in need of a break.
meanwhile he watches ilya completely light up around children, heās a total natural. shane loves him for it, obviously, and is beyond excited to see him with their own kid, but he canāt help but worry that he wonāt measure up.
but then the baby comes, it grows, as kids do, to a toddler, and itās just not all that into roughhousing or playing make believe or most kids toys or coloring or any of the things kids tend to like. ilya is pulling out all the stops to try to entertain this little ball of joy but nothingās working, until they take the kid with them to practice one day to meet the team.
the kidās old enough by this point that they give them a little set of skates and take them out onto the ice. immediately, their eyes lock on wyatt in the goal, practicing blocking shots, and suddenly theyāre entranced.
shane and ilya exchange a look as their fussy, bored child for the first time in their life expresses an interest in something and OF COURSE itās hockey.
so they start training the kid up and, before long, theyāve got them in the mini kiddie-size goal on the practice rink at home, blocking shots. shane realizes, with so much relief, that THIS is something he can do.
for literal HOURS shane will just lightly put the puck over to his kid, who will try to block it. they do it over and over and over again and they never get bored of it. in fact, ilya oftentimes has to remind both of them to pause to eat and drink and sleep.
ilya will join them, obviously, and he loves it too, but for shane itās a huge relief that he can bond with his kid in a way that works for him. for so long he imagined being cast as āthe boring dadā by his kid, but now thatās not something he needs to worry about, because āboringā works for both of the most important people in his life.
anyway, of course the kid grows up to be the greatest goalie hockey has ever seen, they grew up with shane hollander and ilya rozanov training them day in day out.
Ok but Cliff Marlow somehow managing to get into Ilya's phone after the Tunameltdown in the middle of the Hollandry crashout, and getting Montreal Jane's number.
The entire Boston roster piling behind Marly as he types, trying to decide what to say that could save them because their captain has been possessed by the spirit or a soviet military trainer with knife shoes and if they are forced to make double bagskates again they will either puke or die or both.
So Shane Hollander wakes up one day to a message from an unknown number like "Hello Miss Jane ma'am this is Clifford Marlow I don't know if you have heard of me I am sorry to be a bother I'm just wondering if you could give my good friend Ilya another chance, I promise that whatever he did he won't do again, we will help we will teach him to cook and clean and do laundry and he will cook you the best sandwiches ever if you only give him a chance only if you want of course if it's not too much of a bother Miss Jane please and thank you" and he goes through the seven stages of grief in like 4 seconds before it's even 7am. They manage to add the link to a very big spa gift card that they all chipped in to buy because at that point they're desperate.
A āBears walk in to Ilyaās house and see him napping with Shane AUā where Ilya somehow manages to still keep Shaneās identity a secret.
Ilya always had been a light sleeper, so no matter how lightly they stepped he was awake moments after the first shocked gasp.
Ilya knows itās over for him. Thereās no mistaking that thereās a man asleep on his chest in a clearly non-platonic cuddle. Usually Ilya would be punching the intruder, threatening violence to try and ensure they kept their mouth shut but he has quickly realised something far more important. With the way they are sleeping, Ilya on his underneath on his back and Shane on his stomach on top with his face pressed into the gap between Ilyaās neck and the couch, they canāt see his face.
He quickly pulls Shaneās hood up over his head to hide hair and rests a hand over it to gently discourage Shane from moving it should he start to wake up.
So Ilya just stares down his team and goes āyou can be upset, but are going to be fucking quiet about it because if you wake my guest Iām sending all my blackmail on you to your wives, and then start fucking them to help them get over the divorce.ā
So the whole āYouāre fucking gay!ā āNo, Iām a fucking bi who is fucking a gayā conversation happens at a furious whisper, with Shane blissfully sleeping on Ilyaās chest as life implodes around him.
Shane may be a deep sleeper - and the argument in whispers - but even he starts to stir at the noise.
Ilya canāt have him moving his face into visibility now, so he just scruffs the back of his neck harshly and pressed him deeper into his shoulder.
Shane lets out a pleased (and not at all quiet) moan, and - worried that he is going to start talking - Ilya realises he needs to shut him up.
So he glares at the Bears to be quiet, while suddenly putting on the softest voice they have ever heard him use as he goes, āshhh quiet time now mŠ¾Ń Š»ŃŠ±Š¾Š²Ń. Back to sleep.ā And then shoves his fingers into Shaneās mouth.
When the Bears leave soon after, some of them have LEARNT some things about themselves. But crucially, none of them have learnt who their captain is fucking.
Everyone: omg Hollander leash your dog, Ilya is barking at opponent hockey players again
Shane Enabler Hollander: ok so Ilyusha this player has had zero assists in the entire season, he got drafted last, and finally - and this is crucial - he once scored a goal in his own team's net
Ilya Heart Eyes Rozanov: thank you my ShaneWiki this is valuable data, off I go
Ilya wants to do one of these "celebraties I don't think my husband can name" videos where he shows different singers to Shane because he thinks it's just too adorable how Shane has no clue about the music industry at all, only for the video to go like this:
- Oh that's Gaga. You know Lady Gaga? Of course, Ilya! She was in A star is born. Really good actress. She is more of a singer actually... Oh yeah that makes sense, I guess. You guess?! Please tell me you know Poker Face, lyubimyy. I know for a fact you have been to a club, you must have heard Poker Face before. I don't know, maybe. [Ilya starts singing Poker Face]. You're lucky you play better hockey than you sing, baby. Oi!!
- Oh I know how him! That's Armando! That's Pitbull. I'm pretty sure that's a human? Are you fucking with me Shanya. Of course baby. I know that he is a rapper but it feels so weird to call him Pitbull, when we met in Miami he said he was Armando. You met in Miami?? Yeah well, was a few years ago, he invited our team to this house- Pitbull invited the Montreal boring fucking Metros to his fucking house???
- Kesha! Do you know her songs? Absolutely none, no. How the fuck- Why am I even suprised you know her too. Oh we met at Roses birthday party in LA. She is so funny, I think you would like her! Maybe I should introduce you. What the fuck- You know what, I call her. Shane!
- Oh that's Kayleigh right? Kayleigh. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's her. That's Chappell Roan. Dykstra is playing her non-stop in the lockerroom. Oh, really? Pink Pony Club? Good Luck, Babe? Casual? Sounds familiar yes. [Ilya starts singing Casual] [Shane blushes] I think... I think I remember now yeah. Didn't know that was Kayleigh. How do you know all these people but have no clue what they do? Oh funny story, she is a good friend of Rose actually-
- Oh, that's Sam! Sam Smith. I've been to a concert. Met backstage. Really cool person. Shanya, you're surprising me? You go to concerts? Well uhm. When... when I was with Rose she got us tickets and - Yeah okey.
- Montero! Or Lil Nas X. Shall I guess: Another friend of Rose? Maybe, I should ask her. Actually we did this campaign together and- I hate you.
- Oh thats the actress from the movie. The movie with all the actresses. Oceans Eight. That's Rihanna. Yeah! Rihanna. I really liked her there, she should do more movies. Shane, she is actually a singer. Oh, that's cool. You're killing me. What? Should I know her? Shane. Lyubimyy. We literally had our first dance to her song.
- That's Benito! Nice guy. You know Bad Bunny? Who is a bad bunny? That is Bad Bunny. Benito Antonio MartĆnez Ocasio. Okay yeah? He is literally the biggest singer in the world. Is he now? Yes! Oh, wow he didn't mention. Wait, you met Bad Bunny? Yeah, well we were at some galas together, but to be fair he said- Galas? Like how many? Dunno, like four, five times and- Ilya is your nose bleeding?
I also think it would be really funny if Shane knew Armando as a real estate connection. Armando reached out to him (because they're both celebrities in real estate, obviously). Shane doesn't typically do networking, but this time he looks into this guy's properties and just thinks, "Oh! This guy actually seems to be really successful at this. I should definitely accept his invite and learn from him and maybe meet some other people with good advice. It would be silly not to." Armando at some point drops the most casual "You do hockey, right? How is that?" that Shane has ever heard from someone who seems to know who he his. Armando never brings up performing because everybody obviously knows who he is (obviously), and Shane never thinks to ask if he does anything else. Armando sends him a text inviting him to dinner or to parties he happens to be throwing when he sees Shane has a game in town, and Shane always accepts. It would be rude not to, and he likes Armando. Shane gets so accustomed to seeing Armando when he's in Miami that the first time he plays there without getting an invite, he texts him to let him know he's in town and ask him if he wants to get dinner. Sorry man, I'm on tour right now. Next time, brother. What does that mean? On tour? Like, on a tour of Europe? Or is this some slang he doesn't know? Doesn't matter, he's busy either way. No problem man, next time. šš½ At least things are still good with his good buddy Armando. Maybe now he'll facetime Ilya tonight, instead.
Prompt: Darling. ~580 words. @hollanovmicrofic (Set at the end of TLG.)
"Shane, how do you feel about the commissioner and the league's reaction to the events of your outing last season?" A reporter asked.
Shane and Ilya were at a press conference directly following the announcement of Shane's signing with the Centaurs. It was an environment the MLH's brightest star and long-time media darling, Shane Hollander, thrived in. He was a seasoned pro. He always knew what to say and how to say it.
"I'll be honest. The commissioner and I don't always see eye to eye. But I hope he's able to seize this opportunity to make lasting change in league culture. Change that, honestly, is much needed and long overdue."
As expected, Shane's response was perfect and poised. But Ilya couldnāt help but recall how Shane talks about the commissioner in the privacy of their own home. Because in private, Shane swore like a sailor. And Ilya loved his potty mouth.
( "I fucking hate that asshole. And the way he's running the league right now is a goddamn shit show. If that fucker ever messes with us again, I'll make sure he regrets it." )
Ilya held back a smile while another reporter asked, "Shane, how do you feel about leaving your old team?"
"I've accomplished a lot with the Metros over the course of my career. Montreal was my home for many years. It's bittersweet to be leaving, but it's time."
Shane kept calm and collected despite Ilya knowing his true feelings about the Metros.
( "I gave them my blood, sweat, and tears for my entire career. For years, I thought they were my friends. Only for them to treat me like this? Fuck 'em all to hell." )
Shane didn't show it, but Ilya knew he was grateful to move on to the next question.
"How does it feel being on the same team with Ilya?"
"I've always admired his game, his confidence, and his leadership. I've always played extra hard against him on the ice. I'm excited to do the same now that we're teammates. I feel really good about being here with him and about this teamā"
Ilya knew he should've been paying attention, but at some point while Shane was speaking, his mind drifted off to last night.
( "Fuck Ilya, I love your fucking cock. Fuckāah, I'm so fucking hard. Fuck yeah, you make me feel so good. Ilya, please, you're gonna make me cuā" )
A familiar foot tap broke Ilya out of his daydream.
Ilya blinked. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. Oh.
"Uh, what Shane said." It almost sounded like a question.
Thankfully, he heard laughter around the room. So he doubled down. "Of course, Shane and I are on the same page."
Ilya looked to Shane, who looked back at him, lips quirking into a smile.
---
Finally, the presser ended some time after that. They walked offstage and headed towards the locker rooms.
"You know," Shane said quietly as soon as they were alone. "Wiebe gave me his office keys for the rest of the day. For privacy, in case I needed it."
"Ah, he is very nice." Ilya could always count on Coach to be accommodating.
"Yeah, he is," Shane agreed. "It's a nice office, pretty spacious too."
"Hmm?" Now Ilya was listening.
Shane got close to his ear and whispered, "And there's a couch you'd maybe wanna fuck me on, Captain?"
Oh, Ilya thought. We are definitely on the same page.
SHANE HOLLANDER, MLH STAR, DIES FROM ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE (click to read more)
Thatās the headline Ilya reads on his Google alerts when heās home alone. More and more articles start coming out, his phone pinging with different versions of the same sentence over and over. Every website claiming this horrible, twisted lie that Shane Hollander is dead.
It has to be a lie after all. This must be wrong. Theyāre all surely misreporting things and itāll turn out that Hollander is alive, safe in his boring home in Montreal. Ilyaās confident there will be a statement made soon but heās too impatient to wait for that.
Sure, they havenāt spoken since the day Shane fled from his home, leaving Ilya to clean up half-eaten tuna melts and their mixed come off his chest.
And Ilya didnāt reach out after Shane got a nasty hit in San Jose a few weeks agoā one that left Shane with a fractured collarbone and concussion. He tortured himself with the footage and drafted an āare you okay?ā text but he never sent it. He had been a coward.
He wishes more than anything that he sent it now.
He calls Shane. Itās 8PM in Boston, which means itās 8PM in Montreal and even Shane isnāt lame enough to be in bed so early.
No answer to his call. No answer to his texts. Nothing.
He calls and calls and calls and fucking calls but thereās nothing. No response, no answer. Not even a āreadā receipt. Shane isnāt cruel. He would call him. Even with this fractured something that they are (or were), he would have reached out. He would have heard about the news by now and called Ilya back or texted to say it was fake. That he was fine. That it was idiots being idiots and talking about something they knew nothing of.
So why the fuck is Shane not answering? The only reason he wouldnāt is ifā¦ is ifā¦
Ilya doesnāt know what heās doing until heās in his car and headed to Montreal. His phone dies halfway through the trip from attempts to get in contact with Shane. Still nothing. Heās in a state of delirium when he crosses the border into Canada, with no plan other than making it to Shaneās house.
If Shaneās alive, heāll be in his home and heāll answer the door. And if notā¦ Ilya doesnāt want to think that far.
Shaneās lounging on his couch, half asleep and frustrated at the world. Heās still reeling from getting the worst, most frantic phone call from his parents earlier that day.
And all because heād gone to the hospital earlier. There had been unforeseen conflicts with his medication and some supplements heās taking, something that risked leading to an overdose if not caught as early as it was.
Somehow that afternoon trip led to someone violating HIPPA and even more confusingly, led to quite a bit of the population mistaking him for being dead.
For once Shaneās thankful his mom talked him into keeping a landline when buying a home. āYou never know what may happen Shane,ā she had said.
Wasnāt that the truth? The whole reason for the urgent visit was because he got dizzy that morning, his vision and balance going off kilter, and he had dropped his phone, breaking it beyond repair. It was added to his list of annoyances with today. If not for his parents and Hayden having his home phone numberā¦ they might have believed the news for much longer than they had to.
Itās 1AM when furious knocking wakes him up. He must have fallen asleep down stairs. Shaneās groggy before it really hits him that someone is at his front door. No one in their right mind visits at one a.m.
He gets up and peeks through the peep hole and swings the door open before he even knows heās going to do it because itāsā
Ilya.
He looks like shit. Eyes red-rimmed, hair like he went through a wind tunnel. Heās wearing flannel pajama pants, slides, and a sweatshirt. He looks like he just rolled out of bed.
He doesnāt get any words out before Ilya knocks the breath out of him by collapsing into him. Itās a hug but feels a bit like a tackle too. If Shane werenāt as athletic or as on guard at seeing Ilya, he may have fallen backwards.
It takes several moments to register Ilya is shaking in his arms.
No. Ilya is crying in his arms.
Shaneās brain searches for anything that would make this confusing thing make sense. He begins to think it may be a dream he has yet to wake up from but then it hits him.
The article. His phone being broken. His parents had called everyone they thought was important.
