Ok so a few times a year sevta demands a girls night with Ilya.
“Kak my privykli, Ilyushka, pozhaluysta” she will beg and really it’s just a show, Ilya trying to act like he can’t go (saying he’s too old, it’s too hard, he has to be at home with his husband ! Sveta hes a KEPT man now) because Ilya does love going out with his Sveta, his bright gorgeous girl, there for him for so much, for all of it.
And Shane, well Shane actually loves it, encourages it, knows that Ilya finds joy in being out, around others, in being a light in a busy room, dancing, being another body under lights and swelling music. He doesn’t covet it like he used to, when he was younger and lonely and looking for someone to fill something to deep and empty.
But Shane can see the light in his eyes after, when he’s a little hungover sat with Sveta at the bench in their kitchen eating greasy breakfast rolls and orange juice and talking over each other to tell Shane stories of their night- slipping in and out of Russian (and Shane sees something young in him, like that, in a hoodie with wet curls from an shower, brushing shoulders with Sveta who is in one of Ilya’s tshirt, hair up out of her bare face, giggling and poking fun at Ilya, tutting and wiping egg off his cheek and calling him ‘so messy. Rude little boy!’ And Ilya pouting and slapping at her hands. It breaks open something in Shane’s chest, to see his boy happy! Radiant in it and safe, with his family (his Sveta) it restores a part of him that knows Ilya lives for so long with so much misery pressing down down down on him).
However, it’s not just the hungover days- the house full with Ilya and Sveta and their loud happy chatters and usually quiet cosy mid afternoon naps, or the evening when Sveta will demand time with shane and shoo ilya away- cook with shane as they chat about hockey and their lives and their ilya- that are his favourite. It’s not even the quiet evenings after Ilya and Sveta have left in a hurry to their uber and Shane can take a long bath and watch whatever Ilya has deemed “too boring” to watch with him that week. He’ll eat a dinner Ilya would call ‘bland’ and be in bed before 10pm, his weighted blanket on, and his ocean noises on full blast.
No Shane’s most favourite part of Ilya having his girls nights is when his husband gets home. Shane doesn’t stay up, not when he knows Ilya won’t be able to help but wake him. Because when Ilya comes home from being out now, he comes home hungry for him. Starving. Ilya comes home like a puppy whose owner has been away for months and is now finally home. Shane is kind of obsessed with it.
His needy condition is a mix of many things, but mainly Between being tipsy (or very drunk, it’s a scale) or maybe high, as well as being around people who “aren’t Shane” all night (a direct Ilya quote) and remembering how it used to be, before Shane- Ilya had whispered this confession into the quiet dark of their bedroom, after the second ‘girls night’ ever- he had crawled on the soft carpet until he was knelt beside Shane’s side of the bed, jacket stripped off and in the hamper because he’s a good ! Husband thank you and dirty clothes go in the hamper. Especially club clothes.
He’d reached with cold hands to tug the covers down, and leant in to press his face toward the warm of Shane’s soft warm belly under the covers. Shane had woken up to Ilya’s cold nose at his bellybutton, startled with a small flinch and then his hand had found Ilya’s thick curls. “Ilya?” He’d slurred out soft and low and he could feel Ilya muttering against his stomach, kissing and nuzzling at the soft skin.
“You ok?” He’d asked and Ilya had nodded hard and fast and Shane had smiled but then he’d felt a shiver roll through Ilya, a muffled choked tiny sound and he’d pulled at Ilya, dragged his face up to him as quickly as his tired body could. “Whats wrong? Why aren’t you in bed?” Shane had whispered, trying to wake up- trying to understand.
“Outside clothes” Ilya had answered solemnly. Like quoting a law. “Okay. You ok? You have fun?” Shane asked voice scratchy, swallowing hard as he tried to orientate. He had finally got his tired eyes half squinting open and Ilya’s face had been right in front of him, heavy brow and serious wet eyes and Shane’s heart had tugged as if caught on a fishhook, reeling to chase after what had made his husband look so sad.
“Hey, hey, what happened? Are you? Is everyone ok? Is Sveta alright?” Shane’s questions has tumbled tumbled out as he touched his fingertips gently over Ilya’s cheeks, ache in his chest at his baby looking so horribly sad and mixed up.
“Shanya” Ilya had said seriously, and Shane shifted his hand to rub his thumb between Ilya’s eyebrows. “Yes baby?” He’d whispered low, other hand rubbing at the back of Ilya’s neck. He had looked like a little kid in trouble, knelt by the bed with wide sad eyes. “You are” he swallows hard, blinks and sniffles “my Shane” he exhaled and Shane answered soft “yes” automatic- Ilya nods “Ty — moya dusha” he rumbles. “Soul soul soul” Ilya had repeated. “Mine” he had said and pressed his lips to Shane’s forehead.
“My boy, moy malen'kiy fonarik, sent from Mama for my heart” Ilya’s voice had been so thick with emotion. It had made Shane’s stomach turn even if he’d only caught half the Russian words.
“Yours Ilya, always. Since I was a teenager since I first saw you hm?” Shane had reassured him, pulled Ilya’s face into his neck and stroked his hand over the back of his soft hair, over and over through his thick curls. “Yes” Ilya had muttered into Shane’s neck. “Since then. Forever for us. Always” his words thick and stumbly, more heavily accented than usual.
“Okay, okay baby” Shane had whispered, kept Ilya tucked close, his mouth against Shane’s pulse. After a moment Ilya had pulled back, put his mouth to Shane’s chin and whispered so that his mouth moved against the skin.
“I was so, lonely for very long yes? You filled those empty spots. I know, now I do not have these holes now in my heart. But tonight reminded me of when I did. I was very lonely without you. My Shane. My husband” Shane was sure his heart was going to push right out of his chest in his ache to comfort his Ilya. God. His sweetheart.
“Not anymore. Not anymore” Shane had replied and thought to himself I was so lonely too. So lonely in so many ways without you. He doesn’t say that, tells Ilya he loves him instead, in English in Russian, over and over and over. Finally Ilya had seemed to settle, something in his face soothing out. Shane had kept kissing at his face anyway. Shane had gotten then into the shower after then back to bed, curled around Ilya his chest to his boys back and breathed with him, hand rubbing over his heart until he’d gone back to sleep.
Ilya had been so shy in the morning, avoidant and quiet, embarrassed. It had been smoothed away in soft kisses eased into soft conversation Ilya with his back to Shane until the most uncomfortable parts had been peeled back. After they’d talked, whisky had been banned from girls night (and ever, Shane hadn’t seen Ilya that lost in a long time). But since the Whisky Incident™️ and Ilya realising how much he could drink on his meds before his happy buzz tilted the wrong way. Now, now Ilya was always a happy, buzzy or sleepy little puppy coming home to Shane, pawing at him, ready for attention. Shane loved it.
Even when Ilya woke him up from his sleep he couldn’t find it in him to be mad when Ilya would beam when Shane’s eyes met his, big toothy smile, his quiet sweet little “Helloooo Shanya” as he flopped himself onto Shane like a big dog that thought it could still be a lap puppy. He always showers first, because the rule is no outside clothes on the bed- strictly. And so he crawls over Shane smelling like soap and a beer still a bit and a bit damp and so overjoyed to be home. To be in their bed.
And anyway ! So, it’s one of these girls nights, and Shane is sound asleep when Ilya and Svetlana get home, he’s sound asleep on his stomach, Anya curled at the end of the bed. He stays asleep, up until Ilya closes the bathroom just a bit too hard and Shane wakes between one breath and the next, nuzzles his face into the pillow and listens to Ilya shower, the rush of the water and Ilya brushing his teeth, the sound of the ensuite door clicking back open, of Ilya’s soft, clumsy footsteps towards the bed.
Shane had missed him that night, sometimes the peaceful nights were nice but they’d both had a busy week and between social calendars and brand deals and charity work and a visit to Shane’s parents they hadn’t had much time just them that week. It feels silly now, all these years on when they get so much time together compared to the decade plus apart time they faced. Now they live and play and exist together but Shane still misses him. Sometimes he misses him just when he goes to the next room, it’s kinda embarrassing. But he knows Ilya misses him the same. He thinks it’s maybe just the horrible amount of love they are in. So Shane rolls over, shrugs away the covers to hold one arm out and mumbles a sleepy “c’mere”.
Shane smiles into his pillow when he hears the happy sound Ilya lets out. “Zaychik!” Ilya calls in delight, and then he’s crawling up on the bed, into the open covers and pressing his whole body to Shane’s. He presses his face into his neck and is kissing kissing kissing all over the warm skin, his hands up and down his sides, over his lower back and ass and hips. Finding the shape of him again like it had been days not hours.
“I did not mean to wake you I am very sorry” Ilya whispered voice slurry sweet and he pushes his nose against Shane’s ear, kisses at his earlobe.
“I tried to be very quiet. Promise” he whispers and Shane wraps his arms around Ilya, pulls him in tight to him, squeezes him.
“You need your beauty sleep I know” Ilya mumbles and bites at Shane’s jaw, chin, apple of his cheek.
“And yet you snack on me” Shane grumbles and it doesn’t deter Ilya, biting away on Shane.
“But m’starving. My husband says McDonald’s is bad for me so I do not get” Ilya says and drags his teeth over Shane’s Adam’s apple, makes him shiver.
“I was trying to be quiet” Ilya says then and kisses Shane’s nose. “For real” he says with a big eyed blink and then drags his nose over and against Shane’s in a few nuzzles.
“I know” Shane says then and shifts a little, so he can be on his back and Ilya can lay up over to of him, elbows on either side of Shane’s head, a nice weight on top of him.
“S’ok, missed you” Shane exhales as Ilya rubs his cheek over Shane’s, before turning his face to find his mouth. They kiss soft and small, drags of their lips until Ilya licks into his mouth to taste him.
“Missed you more. Horribly. Trapped at the bar when my beautiful wife is at home. Waiting for my return” Ilya whispers between their kisses and Shane snorts into his mouth, tugs at his curls.
“You have fun though?” Shane asks, checks, because he wants to know, what’s to know how their hours apart were, what made Ilya happy, what made him laugh, if he was good.
Ilya nods, “yes, good music, good dancing, good sevta” Ilya shrugs and shoves his face into Shane’s throat, collapses his whole weight down on Shane.
“But whole time I am thinking of my wife with her freckles and her pretty eyelashes and strong fucking legs and her in her panties in our bed, and how she is more beautiful than anyone in this bar” Ilya whines and Shane laughs, shoulders shaking and wraps his legs around Ilya’s hips.
“Panties huh?” Shane asks and Ilya nods, shoves his fingers under the waistband of Shane’s black boxers. “Yessss my favourite pair” Ilya confirms and Shane rolls his eyes, rubs his cheek over Ilya’s soft curls. There is a tired silence.
“Sleep?” Ilya asks then with a big heavy sigh and Shane nods, kisses Ilya’s forehead. “Sleep” Shane confirms, wraps his arms around his big heavy husband, flopped on his chest. The one that Ilya comes home to, everytime, the one he thinks of when he climbs into his uber to leave. His home.
“Wait” Ilya says suddenly, as if remembering something important and pulls back, holds Shane’s face in one hand and takes a minute to look at him, tipsy heavy blinks. His hand slides up and gently combs Shane’s hair back out of his face, the soft strands that fall to either side of his forehead. His thumb rubs over his temple and his eyes make maps all over his face.
“Ah. Just as I thought. You are. So crazy beautiful” he sighs.
“Just needed to make sure nothin’ changed while I was gone” Ilya smirks and leans in for one last kiss.
“Idiot” Shane mutters, and then sucks on Ilya’s bottom lip.
“Love you” Shane breaths and Ilya echos it back.
They fall asleep like that, Ilya’s fingers down Shane’s boxers smushed on top of his husband, where he can feel his heart beat steady under his.
whumpee who has whumper’s hand clasped over their mouth as they’re tortured, muffling any screams or cries beyond recognition. whumper finally takes their hand off of whumpee’s mouth only to say -
At the vet. Just heard the tech say "Phoebe's early. Dad said she was sneezing all last week, and I do hear her coughing right now. But don't panic. He said she's been doing better over the weekend."
When the tech tells someone in the back not to panic, my cat dad alarm goes off. Very nice vet tech with neon blue hair, I really hope you were talking about somebody else. Also, maybe see about getting better soundproofing for the exam area in the back.
watching wlgyt and no man has ever mastered pathetic yearning like how gwan-sik has. they're so fucking cute, im 3 episodes in and this show already made me tear up once
