the first time shane & ilya spend ilya’s birthday together i think the vibe really is ‘saying all of my dog’s favorite words in the same sentence’ because shane wants to make sure its ilya’s best birthday ever & doesn’t know how to do anything by half . shanevoice ilya pay attention i have a plan (nooo hollanderrrrr i want to fuck you NOW is my birthday :((((( how could u be so cruel to me) ok we’re taking the ferrari to mcdonald’s for mcgriddles (ilya visibly perking up) you are allowed to go 125 km/h but only if the coast is clear (imaginary tail beginning to wag) & you have to slow down if you want road head . when we get home we are taking a pot gummy & going swimming & i am grilling for lunch (ilya, his eyes huge, in the apron i bought for you?) yes ilya in the meat daddy apron . then shower, nap, one beer, dinner at my parents’ house, home by 6, and then i’ll give you your birthday present 🙂 does that sound good ? ilya, crying, shane this is my best birthday ever (shanevoice ilya it’s 9 am we haven’t even done any of it yet) MY BEST BIRTHDAY EVER WITH MY BOYFRIEND WHO I LOVE . & after they fuck (because obviously that was the first thing on the agenda shane just likes when ilya whines & begs for it & ilya does too) shane is back-to-business rustling around the bedroom putting their clothes out & talking about nothing while ilya watches from the bed w the big dopey smile of a man enamored with the bus that just ran him over
so tell me when you're going to let me in, i'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
It's how it's always been done. The season starts in October and ends in June, every Cup winner has their name written on it, and omegas and alphas are expected to contribute to the pool of future hockey prospects.
on ao3
It's not that Shane didn't expect it.
If it's about hockey, Shane already knows everything. Since he started getting scouted in middle school, Shane has more or less had a general outline of what his life was going to be: minor hockey to junior hockey to—hopefully—the MHL. He's anticipated every entry-draft and every championship, had planned for it, or followed the plans Mom built for him. Shane anticipated this too. This was the thing that he tried not to think about, or have to talk with his mom and dad, since he was thirteen. It's been settled into stone since his medical chart first had O written on it.
Thinking about it made Shane's face heat and his stomach wrap itself into knots, and hearing his mom and dad try to talk about it was even worse. The thought has always made Shane feel like a kid, even if he's nineteen now, and a MHL draftee, second overall or not. He feels like a kid even while putting on his Rebooks, like his mom wants him to use them, and the Montreal hoodie he'd been given in draft day, getting ready for this meeting a week after it.
All the big suits from the day of the draft are in the conference room when Shane and his mom get there, along with a few more strangers. It takes Shane shaking their hands, trying to pretend his stomach isn't all up in knots again, for him to realize they're all probably the team lawyers.
"Shane, we just want to tell you again how happy we are for you to be joining our franchise," the GM says, smiling cleanly at both him his mom. Everyone sitting around the table's got a smile like that. "We're very excited. We've followed your career very closely in the junior league. Naturally, we were all hoping you'd win the Prospect Cup for Canada, but we were impressed with your performance in the tournament either way, and we know you're going to be doing great things along with us."
Shane nods, because it feels like it'd be rude not to. He can't make himself meet anyone's eyes.
There's a full desk watching him, like he's surrounded by sharks. Mom's sitting by his side, and holding his hand out of view, but it's just the two of them against a full room. "Of course—" the GM continues, and Mom's hand squeezes, "there's the matter of the future prospect contribution."
Contribution is a weird way to put it. It sounds like a gift, not something you're made to do; maybe that's the point. The GM's talking like this is just another conversation in his week, and it probably is. It's Shane's life the one that's going to be changed.
"Now, as his agent, I'm sure you've read everything in the contracts we've sent, yes, Mrs Hollander?"
Mom straightens up. "Yes. I took the liberty to cross-check it with other omega draftees in the league's history—"
The Metros GM raises a hand to stop her, smile turning more patronizing than welcoming now. "I'm also sure you've read up all the precedents you could, Mrs Hollander. But the terms to Shane's contract, if he's going to take it, and we hope he will, are those we presented to you. We've been very generous in our offers, considering the caliber of Shane's playing."
"It's not the contract's payment that I'm concerned about," Mom says.
The table must have been expecting that too, because the GM's smile doesn't flicker. "Naturally. Now, Shane, I understand it might seem very daunting for you at this moment—" he says it like it's something Shane will grown out of, grow used to, somehow, "but I assure you that this has been part of the induction of every omega in the entire history of the league. There have been several other omegas in this year's draft—including other picks from us—and all of them will make prospect contributions. It's not only you."
That's offered with an air of reassurance, but Shane struggles to find anything comforting in it. He's not going to feel any more prepared no matter how many other omegas are expected to pump out a baby for the league.
sorry i just wanted to say the thing about the canadian bank card ad is so funny bc that's what so many ads are like here. we have a series of banking ads that are like "if connor bedard and connor mcdavid had picked a different career path instead of hockey we would have supported them" 😭
we at canadianbank support you in all your aspirations be it professional hockey player accountant or shrimp farmer we at canadianbank have your back (shots of smiling people)
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