Canon scene - Scott's "you sound like him"
send “ ☜ + canon scene ” to have me write it from my muse’s pov
there's a sort of buzzing that leaves him tingling after a win & to have done it against someone who just might be almost as good as ilya ( who is almost as good as shane ) makes it just that much better . shane respects scott . he's studied him for a long time , since he was young . so , more than any victory it feels like exceeding his own expectations . the admirals had played hard but shane had stressed the importance in montreal's room about staying tough on scott's line & he'll owe them all a beer or something for keeping them at bay . way at bay . they were going to win , either way , he'd known that even as he & jj had hyped the team up to beat them . their defense hasn't been the same since they'd lost jones & wingate in the last two years & shane hates to admit it but scott's lost focus in the last few years in addition to his line being -- off , even eric bennett is getting slower in the crease . he'd just . . . taken advantage of that . which , as captain , is what he was is supposed to do .
& he never does this , really . he's made a conscious effort to be the most genial player . if only so his teammates didn't have to be , if only so he's not labeled in a way he can't get out from under . but he feels good & maybe he can turn this into a friendly back & forth , a bond of sorts . it's not even the worst thing he could've said . hope next time we play you decide to show up . he's heard way worse come from a way more aggressive place . this game , in the scheme of things , hadn't even really meant much . the admirals sure as hell weren't going further than this regular season . they'd just lost by four points , for fuck's sake . which is why he's kind of stunned , a mix of fear & rage & panic rising in his throat when the words , loud enough for him to hear so loud enough for his teammates to have heard too , are hissed at him . you're starting to sound like him . & shane knows , just from the highlights of last nights game who he's talking about . i'm sorry , what ? & shane's fair , he gives him a chance to take it back , the change the comment . & there's no way scott knows , right ? had he seen them ? his texts ? the hotel . . . the odds are low , shane makes sure they're low , but not zero . you fucking heard me , hollander . it's not even an insult , really . ilya's better at getting under people's skin than shane will ever be . it's the implication . & shane , for the second time in his professional career , drops his gloves & dives for scott like he can shove the words back into his stupid fucking mouth once he gets his hands on him .
yuna & david had sat him down once he'd hit the peewee league & he'd starting going through puberty & explained to him that the other kids were going to try to make him angry . they were going to zero in on his biggest insecurities & they were going to try to throw him off his game from here on out . & it had been important for him to know that the best way to get back at them , no matter what they said , was to win . but , they'd stressed , there were going to be times when that wasn't an option . there were going to be times that he was going to have to fight & when he'd started to protest , they'd shaken their heads gently & told him when that time came it was important he knew how to defend himself . that he knew how to take someone out until they couldn't come at him again .
his parents would not understand this specific situation so -
he pulls his punch , at first . giving scott a chance to skate away . he'd already been out of breath , it's not like he could take shane . he knows it . shane knows it . shane expects the fist to the cheek & takes it , growing wilder as he grabs scott's jersey to pull him closer & take another swipe at his chin . scott isn't able to get in another swing before his teammates are pulling him away & in any other situation they would've dropped their gloves too but the game is fucking over . shane could get benched for the next one & montreal actually has a goddamn chance to go all the way .
it doesn't help that scott's still yelling at him ( nothing to do with the implication he'd just made , but still yelling like he hadn't started this stupid shit ) & past the rushing of his ears he realizes he is too . fuck you ! go home ! you're forty-five fucking years old you fucking dinosaur ! go ice your knees so you can lose your next fucking game , you pussy ! hayden & jj are kind of snickering as they pull him back , the ref that's gotten in between them rolling his eyes . they make it all the way back to their bench , his coach & most of the rest of the team looking at him like he's grown another head .
& he realizes , a little too late , that he had sounded like him - in the end . & rozanov can never know .