@hr-rep love your tags buuuuuut
I'm a sucker for healing and happy endings so I raise you...
They add each other to the WAG chats at the cottage. So "Jane" is getting that experience of people talking casual shit about his boyfriend, but not a team that just met him and doesn't know him, the team that drafted him. The team that had him for 7 years. The one he captains. Boston.
And yes Shane doesn't have the most close relationship with his team and they say some insensitive and stupid shit but it's fine. It's generally rude and considerate, but not really targeted to him, they don't pay him that much attention.
The dismissiveness that Ilya goes through about anything non-hockey related feels different. They don't seem to respect him or like him personally, but as a character. A funny character that sure, he plays from time to time, but it's nor really him.
Jane is defending that man by sharing anecdotes of his sweet and loving side. And the girls believe him but also it backfires a little because now some of the guys tease him about it, and it's obvious they think less of him for it. Just all around toxic environment.
So when Ilya goes to Ottawa, and Jane goes to that WAG chat... Well, it's definetly nor perfect, but it is better. They don't like him but they don't know him, and they are just informed by his reputation. Jane talks about him and the opinion of him is much more different there, so is the Centaurs themselves opinion of Ilya, they were wary but he's actually not unpleasant at all, and he's very smart.
Shane is glad this team is better for Ilya and feels much less guilty about the "signing with the worst team" thing. He can see that Ilya is frustrated about hockey but much more relaxed with the organization of the Centaurs in the first place.
Jane gets to know these women better and again, they're nor perfect, but they at least seem to have their hearts in the right place. Some of the girlfriends are a bit shady, but most of the wives are actually cool. Wyatt Hayes gets transfered to the team and Lisa is definitely cool. Jane learns to care about them.
Meanwhile Lily is on the Montreal WAG chat losing her shit. They are so casually terrible, and their friendship seems real if not uniformly close, they do seem to care about their husbands and when a serious topic comes up they're nice, but god. When they're relaxed? And joking around? The shit they say. About Shane and everyone else too. Jackie is alright, and Lily's dms with her are full of bitchy commentary, but the only thing she does is change the subject and try ro corral them away from dubious shit. Lily is reading everything and talking sometimes but mostly, mostly he lurks and gives opinions when prompted and when they say some heinous stuff he calls them out on it. Lily is not very well liked, and these girls think "who does she think she is? She's the girlfriend of the captain but she doesn't even come to any hangouts. We should have gotten Rose Landry, she would be cool", but there's a very strict hierarchy at these things right? And Lily is top dog. Lily has the ear of the Captain. Jackie is still the head WAG in practice, because she does the organizing stuff, but it's obvious she and Lily talk a lot. Lily is there to stay.
Then Shane comes out to the team and well, Lily says he's a man, has been the whole time, but still won't meet them yet.
Things get icier but also not. Some of these women are actually supportive, some just don't bring it up. The firsts, well, they get a little better, know to speak up in the chat more when something hurtful is said. It was no problem to joke around before, because they weren't hurting actual people who could be hurt, but maybe they need ro rethink some things. But well, the rest, the majority, they just won't really think about it. They don't speak directly to Lily anymore.
And so some years go by and by the time we're at The Long Game, both Shane and Ilya have very different perceptions of each other's lives from canon.
Ilya understands Shane fear much more. He already understood it as the same fear and trepidation Ilya himself feels, but this is different. His direct environment is very hostile, even while out to them. What they're doing is not support, it barely scrapes tolerance. Ilya truly worries about Shane there, but some of his friends are actually good, and Shane wants to retire there, so yeah, that's that, he can only provide him with support and encouragement at home. He still doesn't bring up how trapped he feels, how much he wants to tell people. He also doesn't really talk about the WAGs much, it would just add pressure on Shane, he tells him the positive stuff.
And Shane, well, he sees Ilya in this team that keeps on losing, and a part of him feels a bit disgusted by it, the conformity they have. But another part of him knows how Boston was, even while winning, and cannot regret pitching Ottawa. Not when nowadays the WAGs chat shows him they like Ilya, both them and their husbands. They respect him and like him for him, even if they don't understand much of what he has going on. Shane starts to like these women a lot and now by proxy even their husbands. Sure, they are a closed off group, a very exclusive club that's a bit judgy of anyone new, but they do really care. Shane feels comfortable with them, supported, to a point, and he feels so glad Ilya has this team.
And Shane sees Ilya more and more depressed and he knows it's not the team, he doesn't think it's even the losses. Something is wrong and Shane doesn't know what it is but it keeps creeping in.
The Christmas fight goes completely different. Ilya still blurts out his invite to Bood, and while Shane still outright rejects it, and they start to fight a bit, both of them understand the other's place much more, and they wind down and have a conversation.
Ilya tells Shane about how he's been feeling, and going to therapy.
Shane tells Ilya about how he doesn't want him to lose his authority in the locker room the way he's going through if he comes out, even alone.
They don't reach any conclusion that night, but they agree to think about it, see what they would be comfortable doing. They spend the rest of the Christmas break in each other arms.
Then the flight to Tampa happens and Shane still proposes, but instead of just "Let's marry and come out in the summer", there's also, "Let's tell some people in your team". They talk about who to tell first and how. Shane wants to tell Lisa and Wyatt, Ilya wants to tell Troy, both of them also agree Bood would be good.
And well, when they're out, JJ knows much more about "Lily" and has already put it together, he's mad Shane didn't tell him, but there's no surprise to him, just a bit of hurt. The rest of the team... Well, they feel like they've been very toleratant already, but this is too much. Shane sees their vitriol, and thinks of his upcoming free agency, and doesn't really care about them. He will miss being the Voyageurs Captain, but not the team he captained. Hayden and JJ will stay his friends anyways.
The Centaurs who didn't know are baffled, but while a bit stilted with it, overall they're mostly supportive. The Centaurs WAG chat is on fire with some rude and invasive questions, but it's in good humour, and while baffled too, they're glad they get to properly meet Jane.
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