Shane knows Ilya is flirting with him. You think he doesn't understand what is happening because you don't understand his character and cannot read his emotions, so you project your preconceptions of autism onto him. When Ilya tells Shane that doing the commercial together was his idea, Shane knows that is an advance. He is visibly shocked by Ilya pursuing him and simultaneously nervous and excited by the implication. It is written all over his face and body language. I seriously just saw someone say Shane was "thinking it's just business" that Ilya planned for them to do the commercial together...no he wasn't. Also a lot of the time he is not missing jokes like y'all think he is, he just doesn't respond to them typically or the way you think he should. Also, he is making jokes and being sarcastic sometimes too and you guys are missing it! Ironic! Like when he says "I know the word for father," he knows that it's a really obvious word that's the same/similar in tons of languages and sometimes even used in English, so it obviously doesn't require knowing any Russian. He's being playful.
This is not to say he does not take things literally, miss jokes and sarcasm, misread tone, miss social cues, etc. He absolutely does, just not all the time. When it comes to Ilya, Shane is actually very good at reading his body language and facial expressions. He is very attuned to Ilya's emotions, even when he doesn't fully understand what those emotions mean. That is where he struggles. When Ilya is suddenly cold, Shane notices, he just can't figure out why. When Ilya lets his facial expressions show, Shane has a very good success rate at reading his thoughts. This is especially clear in the Heated Rivalry book, since we cannot get his inner monologue in the show and he is so anxious and inhibited in The Long Game, too consumed by his fears to be fully emotionally present. The best example of Shane reading Ilya's thoughts in this way that I can think of is when Ilya wins the cup, and Shane, watching him on TV, can tell from his face that Ilya has just proven something to someone, even without knowing anything about Ilya's family life or even knowing he had anyone to prove anything to. This is also just such a beautiful moment to me, despite how bittersweet it is. They are hiding their emotions from everyone, even themselves, and consequently do not allow themselves to get to know one another truly, yet they have such a natural compatibility that they understand each other on a uniquely deep level, percieving things no one else does, even through all these emotional barriers. In summary, I love them.
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