I think the degree to which Ilya's badboy persona may be performative is incredibly underestimated.
Does this look like a guy who sexts wild shit on the reg?
Maybe it's just extra exciting because it's Shane or because it's a guy and Ilya rarely (or never) messes around with those usually, but from the EVERYTHING about him - and the vibe of Svetlana's protectiveness - I really don't think so.
I think it's entirely possible that, while Shane was thinking 'of course Ilya Rozanov is a sex god at 19 years old', Ilya is just roleplaying the guy he grew up wishing he could be so his father and brother would get off of his back. The badass, 'love 'em and leave 'em' playboy party guy who doesn't give a shit who, before he moved to America and remade himself, he's only ever really been able to channel on the ice (when his brain is so focused on hockey he can forget ALL THE FEELS for a while) or while really drunk and/or high.
I wonder if Shane ever figures it out.
NO. I'm certain that, eventually, Shane DOES figure it out. How was a guy THIS sensitive, THIS romantic, hiding under all that apparent disinterest? When, like, fifteen years later he's bringing up details even Shane had almost forgotten about? When he remembers things they've said to one another, word for word, after over a decade and still feels some type of way about them?
I think once they've revisited the topic enough times Shane will realize that Ilya really does mean it when he says he doesn't miss having so many different sexual partners - doesn't want to have a threesome or a partner swap for even a night. In fact, is REALLY ADAMANT about them not doing that, actually, EVER. And that will beg the question: okay, so did Ilya ACTUALLY enjoy himself that much back when he did do all of those things? Because it's nice and romantic to say that meeting his one true love or whatever changed his tastes that much, but-
STANS OF THE 'ILYA IS SHANE'S BABY POV', YOU'RE ONTO SOMETHING HERE.
Because I think after Shane DOES figure out that Ilya didn't just fall in love with him and suddenly become baby for him - ILYA WAS BABY THIS WHOLE TIME, PRETENDING TO BE BIG AND BAD AND INDEPENDENT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE GREW UP THINKING EVERYONE WANTED...
Oh. OH. Shane's 'wanna pamper my man and make him feel like he's the only man on this planet in my eyes and and treat him like he's precious and-' instinct will go into HYPERDRIVE. He has nearly two decades of Ilya really just wanted to be handled like he's soft to make up for - because inside, Ilya has been soft since the beginning!
