Chapter Text
Shane had just clicked into his Instagram DMs when he heard the words that caused every cell in his body to freeze.
“The Centaurs’ plane had to make an emergency landing.” J.J.’s voice cut through the locker room, stopping all conversation for a brief moment before their teammates started rattling off questions and pulling up various news outlets on their phones.
Shane, however, continued into his DMs to find long Russian messages from Ilya. He understood some of the phrases - Ilya telling him he loved him, more than once, but not every word. His body wanted to collapse, but he knew he couldn’t bring himself to hold back the tears brimming in his eyes. He shrugged off the last of his pads before walking in socked feet straight through the room, forcing out the chatter coming from the shocked and gossipy locker room.
They were in Washington. Shane didn’t know where he was going until he stumbled across a door labeled with a name he vaguely recognized as an athletic trainer he’d seen the last time they played at Capital One. He pushed it open, relieved to find the room both unlocked and empty, and immediately fell to the floor, leaning against the wall. He didn’t even notice the door open until another body sank down next to him and took the phone from his hand. Shane hadn’t clicked out of Ilya’s messages, still stuck in a freeze state, but his eyes followed the phone and then trailed up to see the concerned eyes of his long-time best friend.
“The news is reporting there aren’t any casualties.” Hayden said softly. “No injuries either. Ilya’s okay.”
A few tears escaped Shane’s eyes as he nodded. His brain still wasn’t really processing what Hayden had said, but if he had been more aware, Shane would have appreciated having someone in his life who knew him as well as Hayden did, especially when he continued to click out of Instagram and into Shane’s texts from Lily.
Lily: I am okay
Lily: Call me after game
“We are going to call Ilya. You will talk to him. Hear he is okay. Then we’ll go back to the hotel and get you some food, okay? Just you and me.”
Shane just nodded and dropped his eyes back to the phone as Hayden clicked the buttons to call Ilya and put him on speakerphone.
“Shane?”
The moment Ilya’s voice came through from the device, Shane allowed more tears to fall and felt his heart slow, allowing him to breathe a bit more openly. He looked back up at Hayden, helplessly pleading him to say literally anything while his own brain caught up.
“Rozanov?” Hayden spoke softly and cautiously. “It’s Pike. I’m with Shane. He’s okay but a bit… scared?”
Hayden’s eyes stayed locked on Shane’s as he continued. “I’m going to go find you some food and water. J.J. is outside the door, he doesn’t know anything and I won’t say anything, but he’s going to make sure no one comes in while you talk. Okay?”
Shane nodded and took the phone from Hayden’s hand. He watched his friend leave the room and then stared down at his phone, taking a deep breath.
“Shane.” Ilya’s voice repeated. His tone was more tender and level than it had been when he first answered.
“Ilya.” Shane replied. He was quiet but knew Ilya could hear him as he held the phone close to his chest. “You are okay?”
“Да, мой любимый.” Ilya replied. “I am at hotel in Tampa with team. We are all okay. Most of team is already at bar.”
Shane awkwardly laughed through his tears as he imagined his boyfriend taking over a hotel bar with his teammates, toasting to their… survival, he supposed?
“Is good here. Promise.” Ilya assured him.
The two stayed silent for a moment before Shane finally spoke again. “Are you there now? Can I see you?”
Ilya didn’t even need to speak another word. Shane received his response by way of a FaceTime request and shakily pressed the button to accept before holding his phone out further so he could see his smiling face. The smile didn’t reach his eyes in the same sparkling way it usually did, but he did look relieved. Almost relaxed. Seeing Ilya alive and unharmed was enough for Shane to wipe his tears and offer a half smile of his own.
They talked through everything. Ilya told Shane what had happened in simple terms, reassured him that he was okay, and informed him that he’d get a break tomorrow to rest. Shane told an unsurprised Ilya that he was pissed about the outcome of their Washington game and too tired to go on with the team to Philly the following day. Hell, his body had literally just stilled from the soft shakes it had experienced while waiting for Ilya to pick up the phone.
“I know, моя любовь. But I see you in one week, yes?”
Shane shook his head. “No.”
The words left his mouth before his brain knew what was happening.
“I am coming to Florida.”
There was another brief pause in the conversation as Shane watched Ilya visibly relax before shifting into what Shane recognized as overthinking. Shane let him, intentionally blocking out as much of his own anxiety as he could until Ilya finally responded.
“You have three more games this trip.”
Shane nodded. “They don’t need me in Philly and we have a day off before New York and Boston.”
Shane could almost hear Ilya’s thoughts from his face alone. It was not the face of a man who wanted to say no, but the face of a man who was hesitant to say yes.
“I won’t regret it or feel bad about it.” Shane assured his boyfriend. “I need you more than my team needs me.”
Ilya’s smile returned at those words. “I need you too,” he finally choked out, tears starting to form in his beautiful blue eyes.
Shane’s smile grew in response and he asked Ilya to tell him about their win against Carolina while he navigated away from the call to search for flights, all the while keeping Ilya in view in the corner of his screen.
By the time Ilya had finished telling Shane all about his team’s big win, he had identified a flight to Miami that would connect him to Tampa by 6 AM. He had been about to book it when he realized that he could fly to Orlando and drive that night to arrive four hours earlier. After deciding that it would be nearly impossible to arrange a charter that would get him there meaningfully earlier, Shane booked the flight.
“I love you.” Ilya told Shane before they hung up. “You will call from airport?”
Shane smiled. “Always.”
As soon as Ilya’s face disappeared from the screen, Shane heard a knock at the door. Almost as if Hayden had been listening for the silence that signaled the end of the call.
“Shane?”
Shane couldn’t find words without the comfort of Ilya’s face, so he waited a few seconds but raised his eyes to watch the door until it opened and he saw Hayden, accompanied by J.J. Hayden was carrying a water bottle in one hand and a sandwich in the other, Shane’s bag slung over his arm. J.J. had his own bag, as well as Hayden’s.
“The team left on the bus.” Hayden said as he handed Shane the water and sandwich. “It’s turkey,” he explained. “I know it’s not perfectly in line with your diet but you need the calories right now. We’ll order in a real meal later.”
Shane looked at the sandwich in his hand before setting it down and focusing on the water bottle. The blue coating and heavy weight felt familiar in his hand. He took one sip before pausing to look up at J.J.
“I haven’t told him anything,” Hayden answered Shane’s unspoken question. “But now might be the time if you wanted to.”
Shane’s gaze turned to Hayden and he searched his eyes for… well, he wasn’t really sure what he was looking for. He looked down at his phone where a notification from American Airlines told him his flight was boarding in two hours, then back up at Hayden’s soft, understanding gaze before finally looking back to J.J.
“In the car.” Shane said. “We’re going to the airport.”
---
Hayden had booked an SUV to Dulles without question and taken the front seat from J.J. so he and Shane could talk. He made small talk with the driver to distract him from whatever Shane decided to share in the back, just in case he understood French.
Shane was thankful, but spent a solid three minutes picking at the grains in his sandwich before finally, quietly, voicing the words that had been rolling around in his mind since he stood from the floor of the trainer’s office.
“I’m gay.”
J.J. waited a brief moment to see if Shane would continue before affirming “I know.”
Shane had come out to the team a few years ago and J.J. had even offered to set him up with some friends, although never to any degree of success.
“I’m sort of also… inlovewithIlyaRozanov.”
Shane’s words were spoken so quickly that J.J. could barely make them out.
“Shane, buddy… I’m going to need you to say that again to know that I heard you right.”
Shane sighed and, finally, looked up at J.J.’s shocked face.
“Ilya and I…” Shane began, trying to do a better job of ensuring his meaning was completely clear. “We’re sort of… together? Like…”
Shane took a moment to gather his thoughts. He should have just told Hayden he could tell J.J. everything, but… no. He had to do this himself. J.J. was a good friend and he owed him that much. He took a deep breath, squeezed the sandwich in his hand, and looked back down at it before continuing.
“I’m in love with him, J.”
There was a long silence before J.J. broke it with the obvious.
“You are going to Tampa?”
“Yes.” Shane replied simply. He knew J.J. likely had a lot of questions, but he wasn’t quite ready to tell him everything. Not tonight. Tonight, he just needed to be with Ilya.
“Hayden knows?” J.J., once again, asked the next obvious question.
“Yes.” Shane said again, trying his hardest to come up with the right words to assure J.J. that the secrecy hadn’t been about him. “He guessed. Asked me if he was Boston Lily and… well… I can omit things but can’t actively lie to save my life.”
“I know.” J.J. laughed.
J.J.’s laugh comforted Shane, but when he looked at his friend and teammate he could still see some hesitation in his eyes. J.J. must have noticed Shane’s reaction because he picked the conversation back up.
“Listen, I obviously have many questions, but I still love you as my brother and know when it’s not the right time. You go be with your man and we’ll talk when you get home.”
Shane nodded, offering J.J. a thankful look. He assumed the conversation would be hard given not only J.J.’s dislike of Ilya but also the fact that Hayden had known, had met him as Shane’s partner, and J.J. had been kept in the dark.
They spent the rest of the drive in a silence that was as comfortable as it could be and the driver waited as Hayden gave Shane a long, tight hug before Shane turned to J.J. who offered him one that, while not as heartfelt, still held the love of a best friend concerned about him.
Shane, having already checked in for his flight, breezed through the pre-check security lane and arrived at his gate just in time to board. He sent Ilya a selfie featuring a half-smile and a heart emoji before busying himself with a book of crosswords he’d bought at the airport store. He wished he could just close his eyes and wake up in Florida, but Shane knew his mind wouldn’t slow until he was back in Ilya’s arms.
Ilya was still sitting at the bar with the team when his phone lit up with a text from Jane.
Jane: See you soon! <3
The message was accompanied by a photo of Shane smiling from his seat on the plane. Ilya quickly googled the length of a flight from DC to Orlando, even though he had the screenshot of Shane’s flight earlier in their messages. Two and a half hours. He could handle two and a half hours. At least he wasn’t the one who was alone.
As Ilya nursed his beer, he tried his best to listen to Bood and Hayes talk about nursery plans or analyze every look shared between Harris and Troy. He’d try anything to distract himself from the nervous energy that filled his body in anticipation of Shane’s arrival. The version of Shane in the photo had looked tired. Exhausted, even. His hair was clearly damp from sweat, not a shower, and he was still wearing the black CCM compression shirt he typically wore under his pads. It was clear that he’d rushed from his game in Washington without following his usual post-game routine and Ilya was both grateful and a bit worried. He was excited that Shane was coming to see him, but still worried that maybe he would regret his choice. Especially once he saw first-hand that Ilya really was okay and realized he would be missing a game, something Shane Hollander had never done in his decade-long career.
Ilya stopped himself before his thoughts could spiral any further. He texted back that he would see him soon and placed his phone face-down on the table he was sharing with Bood, Hayes, and Troy. He fought the urge to step outside for a cigarette, telling himself that Shane wouldn’t like arriving to the smell, and downed what was left of his beer instead.
“Next round’s on me!” Ilya announced loudly, rising from his seat to quell the urge to do anything other than sit for another two hours.
He made his way to the bar and returned with two more pitchers of beer - “whatever the last guy ordered,” he’d requested. Once those were empty, however, most of the guys had started to filter out of the bar. Ilya found his way to Troy for a quick pep talk, encouraging him to shoot his shot with Harris, and thanked the bartender before heading back to his room.
He checked the time on his phone - only about forty more minutes before Shane’s flight would land. He checked the tracker online - forty-two minutes exactly.
Ilya took his third shower that day and changed into his most comfortable black sweatpants and his softest gray t-shirt. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and ran his wet hands through his curls. Twenty-three minutes.
He called Svetlana and apologized for not calling sooner, blaming the team and admitting that, yes, Jane had been his first call. Seven minutes.
Ilya felt his heart racing and curled up on the sofa in his room, clutching a pillow to his chest as he stared helplessly at the flight tracker and refreshing it every minute or two.
Within seconds of the flight status changing to the green word ‘arrived,’ the name Jane lit up his phone screen. Ilya couldn’t have accepted the call any faster.
“Shane?” Ilya greeted eagerly.
“I’m here.” Shane replied. His voice was soft and warm and the first thing all day that led Ilya to truly exhale and feel more alive. “Well, Orlando, but it’s closer and I’ll see you very soon.”
---
Shane had hung up as he transferred to pick up his rental car, but as promised, called Ilya back within the twenty minutes that followed.
“I have a car,” was Shane’s response. “The GPS says I should be there at 2:07.”
Ilya looked down at the time. That was another hour and a half, but at least this time he had Shane to pass the time with. Ilya kept the pillow in his arms but shifted from his curled up position to stretching his legs out and lying down on the sofa.
“You are awake to drive?” Ilya asked.
“Yes.” Shane promised. “I have a coffee, but you can also talk to me. That would help.”
Ilya smiled, looking down at a picture of Shane on his phone and nodded before realizing that Shane couldn’t see him.
“I can do that.” Ilya confirmed.
Ilya’s smile grew with every word. At Shane’s request, he repeated his story about the Carolina game and his heart filled with warmth and pride as he answered all of Shane’s questions. He bragged about Luca Haas, his favorite rookie ever, Troy Barrett, his new favorite winger, and Wyatt Hayes’ performance in goal. He told Shane how it had felt to celebrate with his team in the locker room and how they felt good about their game against Tampa in two days. He talked about Bood’s nursery plans and how it was still weird that Evan Dykstra, ‘of all people,’ is a father.
It also calmed Ilya’s nerves to hear Shane’s voice relax and start to return to something resembling normal throughout their conversation. Ilya carefully avoided asking about the Washington game to keep Shane from getting worked up on the road. He’d ask later. Instead he told him how excited he was to see him and how nice their Florida hotel was.
The conversation flowed so easily, Ilya stopped watching the clock and didn’t even notice when the sound shifted slightly from the car’s speakerphone to Shane’s hand.
It was Shane’s confirmation of his room number that led Ilya’s attention to pivot sharply.
“718?”
“Да.” Ilya responded quickly as he noticed the elevator ding in the background of the call.
Ilya rose from his position on the sofa and quickly crossed the room to the door, which he cracked open as soon as he heard the repeated sound of the elevator opening alongside the phone call ending. That lasted all of half a second before he threw the door open wide and peered down the hall to see a sweaty and smiling Shane Hollander moving towards him.