Sometime during Ilya’s last year with Boston, it’s a Montreal home game, Ilya is at Shane’s stealing every last minute post hookup before he has to go back to his hotel or catch a flight. He spots a sweatshirt in Shane’s laundry hamper and swipes it on his way out the door.
It’s soft and smells like Shane and he brings it with him on away games. He rarely wears it, it mostly stays in his bag or sitting on top of his dresser at home. Most of the time he just runs his fingers over it or folds and refolds it before putting it back where it was. He keeps this up after moving to Ottawa. During the summers he brings it to the cottage just so he can get Shane will wear it a few times to re up on Shane Smell. Only when he can admit to himself how much he really misses Shane does he let himself put it on and be cozy and snuggly.
The well worn fabric hug he gets from it is soothing in its reminder of what he is holding out for, what he and Shane are working towards, what is promised in Eventually with his boyfriend and new family.
David sees him wearing it in photos online one day, and starts ‘forgetting’ things at the cottage. He leaves him a McGill baseball hat he got for Shane years ago but he rarely wears it. Maybe a throw blanket that Ilya uses when he is at the Hollanders gets packed into his bag before he leaves and he doesn’t notice until he’s already back home.
Yuna thinks she’s helping by adding a new case of Costco white socks.
