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Shane and Ilya spend time by the fire nearly every night at your cottage. It has become a comfortable routine, a ritual of sorts. A time when the rest of the world falls away, almost literally, with the glow of the fire creating a small sphere of warmth and the illusion that nothing exists behind that haze (except the occasional loon).
Tonight they sit together in this cozy bubble in companionable silence. They’d gone canoeing that afternoon and worn themselves out pretty well.
Ilya sits with his legs stretched out onto a nearby chair and one arm over Shane, who is sprawled across the rest of the couch, leaning against his boyfriend. Ilya has sustained several bug bites and insists he’s being very brave about them (though Shane declares he is being a baby about them).
Ilya keeps absentmindedly scratching one by his knee and Shane playfully swats his hand away from the bite each time. Eventually he takes a different approach, slipping his hand into Ilya’s, tangling their fingers together, and bringing them to his chest.
A loon calls and Ilya only jumps a little. “Now that was very brave,” Shane teased sleepily.
Ilya chuckles. “Spasibo,” his says.
“That means thank you, right?” Shane checks.
“Da,” Ilya confirms. “Good job.”
Shane squeezes his hand playfully and Ilya’s heart skips a beat.
“I don’t think I’ve ever held your hand before,” Ilya says, looking down at Shane. “Not like this, anyway.”
Shane lifts his head up slightly to see Ilya better. He looks surprised for a moment, but then nods. “I guess we had other things to do with our hands when we were alone,” he says with a smile.
“You have good hands,” Ilya says, as Shane settles back into leaning on him.
Shane lets out a soft laugh. They fall back into comfortable silence, watching the fire dance. “Some day,” Shane says.
“Some day what?” Ilya asks.
“Some day I will hold your hand everywhere we go. The movies, the grocery store, restaurants, award ceremonies… everywhere.”
Ilya looks up at the distant stars, trying not to let any tears escape his eyes. Shane sits up, twisting to kiss Ilya’s jaw. “You okay?”
Ilya sniffs and nods. “Some day,” he echoes, voice thick. He squeezes Shane’s hand tightly, and Shane lifts their intertwined hands to kiss his knuckles.