Chapter Text
The Plane crash that almost took Shane’s love away was the trigger, Shane never felt so afraid in his entire life up until that moment. He could never imagine a life without Ilya– playing hockey without Ilya, being at the cottage without Ilya’s boisterous laughter filling the space and most importantly growing old without Ilya.
It was because of that he decided he cannot live without Ilya by his side and decided he was going to marry him. Was it a bit too hasty? Maybe, but it was worth it.
“Worst thing he could say is no ” Shane says as he breathes in and out, he doesn’t even understand why he’s so nervous.
Shane keeps pacing around and fixing his hair or even smoothing down his perfectly ironed clothes, then he hears the familiar hum of Ilya’s SUV pulling up in the driveway.
Like a moth to a flame Shane immediately went and opened the front door without even wearing his coat, watching as Ilya got out of his car and jogged towards him. The Cold be damned with how fast his heart was beating.
Shane smiled “Our plane got in early–” was all he managed to say before Ilya grabbed his face with both hands and kissed the hell out of him.
And Shane let him, Shane didn’t even care if they were seen kissing in Ilya’s front step. All that mattered to him at that moment was Ilya.
Ilya was alive and breathing, Shane didn’t give a damn about anything else and kissed Ilya back with the same gusto.
Eventually they break apart, and Shane manages only to say “Come inside” before Ilya starts kissing him again; Shane laughed as he broke off their kiss and took Ilya’s hand and led him inside.
“I'm Sorry, You must be freezing” Ilya said “I’m fine” Shane answered as he awkwardly slid his hands in and out of his pocket as he watched Ilya remove his outerwear.
Ilya tried to kiss him again, but Shane took a step back.
“Follow me” he said as he stood awkwardly, Ilya smiled and answered “ Anywhere”.
Shane let out a laugh, he wished it didn’t sound too nervous but he thinks it did sound like a nervous laugh with how Ilya was laughing at him.
Shane took Ilya’s hand and guided him to the living room where Shane prepared everything. Shane thinks it might be a little overkill but it was perfect.
“What is this?” Ilya asked as they walked in the living room. Ilya looked a bit taken aback as he scanned the whole room.
“Are you trying to burn my house down?” Ilya said, while looking at Shane incredulously with a hint of affection.
Shane smiled and said “ They’re electric. Fucking relax, Rozanov” Ilya stood still as if taking everything in.
Shane knew the candles were a bit of an overkill, but Shane remembers years ago how Ilya told him he’d propose to Shane at the cottage with the dock full of candles. It was a joke but Shane took that to heart and decided to borrow that idea but with less arson involved.
Shane's heart was beating like crazy, ‘here goes nothing’ Shane said internally as he started to kneel down on one knee.
“What is this?” Ilya whispered as he looked at Shane.
Shane was a nervous wreck but he was determined and sure of his decision.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking” he says as he gazes up at Ilya, Ilya who looked so pretty with the obnoxious candle lighting staring down at him.
Shane then decided to continue “We’ve wasted so much time, Years of denial, then years of hiding what we are to each other”
“Shane–” Ilya interrupted
“Could you not interrupt? For once in your life?” Shane said, with a teasing smile
“I don’t have a plan for anything beyond this,” Shane confessed, “but I know what I want. There’s nothing in my life that matters to me more than you, Ilya.” Shane's hand trembled as he reached for the ring inside his pocket.
The ring shone beautifully in the space between Shane and Ilya. The Candle lights making the black and gold band shine warmly.
“Shane” Ilya said, as he stood speechless
“I choose you, Ilya. I promise I will always, always choose you.” Shane’s eyes began to shimmer. He took a deep breath and said, “Ilya Grigoryevich Rozanov, will you marry me?”
Ilya didn’t say anything as he stood there, Shane was getting so nervous his brain was overthinking every detail, was the candles a bit too much? Is the setting not romantic enough? Was it too early? Was this too much?
Before Shane's mind could jump into any more conclusions Ilya spoke “ You know my middle name.” His voice trembled.
Shane let out the breath he didn't notice he was holding in “It’s on Wikipedia. I kind of fell down a rabbit hole learning about the Russian tradition of using the father’s name to—”
“Yes,” Ilya interrupted.
“Sorry. I’m babbling. You know how Russian names work.” Shane rambled on still holding up the ring.
“No, Yes.” Ilya said, Shane was confused as to whether he was saying yes to the Russian name or the ring.
Shane’s confusion must have been obvious in his head, as Ilya nodded to the ring
“Yes,” Ilya said again. “I am saying yes, Hollander.”
“Oh.” Then Shane’s lips spread into a wide grin. “Yeah?” He scrambled to his feet and into Ilya’s arms.
They kissed, and Ilya said, “Yes.” They kissed again, and Ilya said, “Of course.”
They kissed some more, and Shane said, “I love you.”
By the time they finished kissing they both had tears streaming down their cheeks. “Is this because I almost died?” Ilya teased.
“No. It’s because I almost died.” Shane said as Ilya wiped the tears off his face.
They stared at each other's eyes for a few seconds before Shane realized he hadn’t given Ilya the ring yet.
“So um.. The ring” Shane said as he held out the ring.
“Yes , right” Ilya said, as he took the ring from Shane’s hands; Ilya slipped on the ring but it didn’t quite fit.
‘Of fucking course the ring didn’t fit’ Shane says internally as he watched Ilya try to slip it on.
"Nuts,I didn't know your ring size." Shane says as he looks at the ring disappointedly.
"Is okay." Ilya removed the ring with some effort. "Am I supposed to wear it now? Or is it for after we are married?"
"You know," Shane said, "I have no idea. I just thought I should have a ring for this."
Ilya handed the ring back to Shane, Shane watched as Ilya unclasped the gold chain around his neck, he removed the necklace and held out his palm.
It took a hot second for Shane to process that Ilya was asking for the ring.
"Oh," Shane said, then handed him the ring. Ilya slipped it onto the chain until it nudged up against the crucifix pendant that had been his mother's.
"Here," Shane said, and reached for the chain. Ilya turned and his back was facing him and Shane fastened the necklace back in place.
"Did you buy one for yourself?" Ilya asked. "Or is that my job?"
"I was going to buy the matching one. I just...wanted to make sure I needed it first." Shane confessed as Ilya turned to face him again.
"You thought I would say no?" Ilya said, with his eyebrows raised.
Shane was a bit too embarrassed to have said it out "I don't know. I just didn't want to be cocky about it."
Ilya laughed, and grabbed Shane’s face with both hands and said “Buy the ring”
They were both half crying as they kissed, their breath stuttering and their lips stretched into wide smiles. A terrible kiss in theory, but Shane could care less he was going to marry Ilya, the love of his life.
Shane untucked Ilya's dress shirt from his suit pants and slid his hand underneath. He pressed his palm to Ilya's chest, over his heart.
"God," Shane whispered, then he felt Ilya cover Shane's hand with his and said "Still alive. I told you."
They share yet another kiss and another and one thing led to another.
“I was thinking summer,” Shane says as he fiddles with the ring resting in Ilya’s neck.
“Summer for what?” Ilya asks while lazily playing with Shane's hair.
“For the wedding” Shane said as he lifted his head up meeting Ilya’s gaze.
“And maybe.. Just maybe we start slowly telling them about us” Shane continued, never breaking eye contact with Ilya.
“Yes” Ilya said as he stared at Shane with eyes full of love.
God, how did Shane get so lucky with him?, Shane was tired of hiding their love. Shane wanted people to know Ilya loved like no other and he wasn't the asshole they made him out to be. He wanted to show them he was the luckiest man in the world.
“Let’s start telling people by showing subtle hints here and there” Shane says as he sat up and rested his back at the headboard.
“And how do we go do that” Ilya says, as he laid his head on Shane's lap.
Shane started playing with Ilya’s golden curls and answers “Well we can start by dropping hints that we’re in a relationship without dropping names and pronouns”
Ilya looked up at him as if saying to continue. “ Well we can start by saying stuff like “my fiancée“ in interviews or something like that”
“My lover Shane Hollander went overkill with the candles in my house” Ilya says teasingly
“God no, we can also utilize social media like posting little hints ” Shane cringed from the word lovers.
“Is good Idea, is what they call soft launch these days? Yes?” Ilya says as he lets his hands trace Shane's torso.
“Yes we can do that too” Shane says as he swats Ilyas hands away .
“Good, I start now” Ilya said as he stood up and reached for his phone on the night stand.
Shane watched as Ilya stood up and opened his phone, Ilya then walked towards the mirror and opened his camera app.
Ilya snapped a couple photos and went back to bed and sat beside Shane, leaning his head on Shane's Shoulders. Shane looked at the photo Ilya took and his eyes went wide.
“You cannot post that! I look way too visible in that photo and you obviously look naked” Shane says as he grabs Ilya’s phone.
But before Shane could delete the photo Ilya tackled him and retrieved his phone, “That's the point Hollander, I let world know that I almost die not from plane crash but with good sex with my fiancée”
“That is not how a soft launch works” Shane argues as he gets Ilya off him.
“You think too much Shane, is ok I just zoom in the photo on my neck to show my ring” Ilya said, as he grabbed Shane.
Shane let Ilya grab him and put his head on Ilya’s chest, he watched as Ilya zoomed the photo in. The photo was now zoomed in on Ilya’s chest where his necklace and ring was resting and a small outline of Shane's biceps could be seen.
It was just an outline vague enough for people to not recognize who it was but was enough to tell that it was a man, Shane was a bit nervous with this but he wanted this.
“Now I don’t look naked” Ilya says, as he places reassuring kisses on Shane’s hair.
“I’m a bit scared with this, but god I waited for times like these” Shane says, as he continues to look at the photo.
Shane's mind was conjuring up the worst possible scenarios, but before his mind could go and make him overthink more he was brought back to reality when Ilya hugged him.
“Moy lyubimy, we’re in this together okay, I love you” Ilya says and Shane’s mind settled, Yes they were in this together no matter what.
“I love you too” Shane says, as he kisses Ilya softly; “You can post the photo now if you want” Shane continued as he held Ilya's hands.
“Are you sure?” Ilya said as he stared at Shane, “yes I’m sure” Shane answered as he looked at Ilya with eyes filled with determination and love for the man staring at him.
Ilya smiled and gave him a huge smack of a kiss in his cheeks, Ilya looked so happy as he typed out the caption for his photo.
“Almost dying was all it took for him to propose” with a photo of a mirror selfie of Ilya Rozanov obviously showing off the ring resting in his chest with a silhouette of a man's biceps behind him sitting at the bed. Ilya’s body was blocking the man’s face leaving the identity of said proposer incognito.
The comment section was filled with fan comments the moment the post came out.
@rozanovisgoat: Excuse me????!!! Since uh when?!
@hockeygodilya🐻: RUE WHEN WAS THIS??
@shelionwoman: could we address the elephant in the room? IT’S A MAN!
| @feistylionguy: a big win for the queers!
| @mattelovernov: finding out I had a chance with Ilya Rozanov but also finding out he’s engaged at the same damn time!
@ilyarozanov’swife: time to change my username I guess…
@8124stangirl: oh god…. I was shipping a taken man with another man, Ilya Rozanov’s fiancee please forgive me….
@ericcartman21: gtfo of my hockey game gay men
| @kylebroflovskidvr: get a fucking life fatso!
| @stanmarsh00: aren’t you the same guy who sucked his friend's dick on twitter??
@nicorosbergofficial: Love wins! Happy for you brother!
@livyliveshockey: CONGRATULATIONS MY GOAT
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