Chapter Text
The sun shone through their massive window, casting light onto Shane’s face as he slept. Ilya had just woken up, but didn’t move, grateful for the view of his husband who looked so peaceful. He smiled to himself, his heart swelling with happiness. There were many days that were hard, days that tested the both of them but they always persevered. They got through hiding their love, got past the league and their thoughts, and now they could enjoy their happily ever after.
That day was a big reminder of all the good in their lives. Today is their twenty year anniversary. Ilya couldn’t believe he’d been able to spend over twenty years with the love of his life. They played against each other and with each other, traveled all over, playing hockey and most importantly, they raised two beautiful kids together: Roman and Violet. A couple years after they got married, the two had discussed having kids and even the thought of being pregnant sent Shane into a complete tailspin. So, instead, Ilya carried them. It definitely hadn’t been the worst thing he’d done to his body.
Roman came first and his pregnancy with him was fairly easy, just a bit of morning sickness before smooth sailing, nothing out of the ordinary. Two years later came Violet. His pregnancy with her was completely different. He hadn’t been sick to his stomach but he was so exhausted the entire time and insanely swollen. She made him want to eat everything in sight and it showed. He developed preeclampsia and ended up delivering her early at 33 weeks. She spent some time in the NICU but was overall healthy. After her, Ilya knew they were done. They had one of each and that was good. Shane was happy with that decision as well.
After Violet, Ilya couldn't bring himself to go back to hockey. It wasn't that he didn't still love playing, he just realized that it wasn't worth leaving his babies over. So, Shane continued playing and Ilya retired to take care of their kids. Years went by like that until Shane decided to retire too, but not completely as he then became an assistant coach before becoming the head coach of the Ottawa Centaurs, taking over after Coach Weibe decided to retire himself.
Ilya helped Shane with the team sometimes, but mostly, he focused on Violet’s career, who, at an early age showed promise in figure skating and wanted to compete, which meant lots of training and traveling. They were both hesitant to let her get into that world, knowing what it would require and not wanting her to miss out on her entire childhood, but she was so determined and so insistent that that is what she wanted. So, eventually, they gave in and the rest is history.
Now, Roman was about to graduate high school and head off to college soon to become a computer engineer. Neither Shane nor Ilya understood how he became so smart, but somehow, he was and he spent his free time taking apart and rebuilding computers. He was going to do great things one day. Violet was then a sophomore and she was still competing. Recently, she was announced to be on the Canadian Olympic figure skating team and both Shane and Ilya couldn’t have been more proud. All her hard work had paid off. She was only sixteen, but already quite accomplished. Ilya was so proud of the both of them. Their life couldn't have been more perfect and he was ready for the next chapter: just him and Shane, but this time with no outside pressures, no hockey, no schedules, no kids, just them.
“You’re staring.” Shane muttered, not even opening his eyes.
“I’m admiring, is different.” Ilya smiled. “Happy anniversary.” He whispered as they both heard a knock at the door, looking up. Roman walked in, irritated.
“Can you get your daughter? She’s been in the shower for over an hour and I can’t be late today.” He crossed his arms, scrunching his nose. Ilya was over the moon excited when Roman was born with Shane’s freckles. He still had them.
“Alright, I’ll talk to her, just give me a minute.” Shane sighed and Roman accepted this, leaving the room. “Two years left and it’s just us.”
“So close yet so far.” Ilya sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before leaning over towards Shane. “Gimme good anniversary kiss.” Shane happily obliged, leaning over.
“Happy anniversary, Ilya. I love our life and our kids, but I’m excited to have uninterrupted mornings soon.”
“Ooh, what are you not wanting to be interrupted doing, Hollander?” Ilya asked with a smirk. Shane just shook his head as he got up, walking out of the room. He made his way down the hallways, towards the kids’ bathroom where Roman was already standing, waiting impatiently. Quickly, Shane gave three taps on the door.
“Violet, your brother needs to shower; let’s go!” After a few moments, Violet swings the door open.
“I’m ready; god, Roman, you didn’t have to tell Dad on me.” She rolled her eyes, walking past them both. Roman rushed into the bathroom and Shane followed Violet towards the kitchen. She started making herself a smoothie and Shane leaned up against the counter, watching her. His heart swelled at the sight of her and it definitely helped that she was Ilya’s twin, with the blonde curls and light blue eyes. He couldn’t help but notice that she did seem more agitated than usual.
“What’s going on, Vi?” He asked, starting the coffee pot.
“Nothing.”
“Violet…” Shane crossed his arms, giving her a knowing look.
“It’s just a test I’m not ready for, god, Dad, it’s not a big deal.” She huffed, frustrated.
“What subject is it?”
“Statistics.” She rolled her eyes at the thought. Math was the enemy, at least to her.
“That’s not too bad; you can do it!” Violet glares over at him.
"I'm not Roman, Dad. This shit...sorry, stuff, doesn't come easily to me." They always wanted Roman to tutor her but neither of their kids wanted to spend more time with each other than they had to.
“Okay, okay. I'm sorry; I’ll leave you alone.”
"Leave who alone? Violet? No, no, she is way too beautiful and talented to be left alone." Ilya smirked as he casually walked into the kitchen.
"Papa..." She rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time, always loving being showered with compliments. She was definitely Ilya's daughter.
"Don't forget your overnight bag since you're staying at Grandma's tonight." Shane reminded, the coffee almost done.
"I got it; my bag's by the door." That organization was all Shane, Ilya mused. He loved seeing bits of them in their kids. As he says this, Roman comes rushing down the stairs, multiple bags in hand.
"Let's go, Vi, or you're taking the bus." He grabs a granola bar out of the pantry before heading towards the door. She rolls her eyes, taking her smoothie and following.
"Have good day! We love you!" Ilya called. When the door finally shut, the kids gone, Ilya looked back over at Shane, both now smiling, excited.
"What's the plan for today?" Shane asked, pouring two cups of coffee for them both.
"Whatever you want. Do you have to go in at all?" Ilya grabbed the other cup from him, nodding his thanks.
"No, the assistant coach can handle one practice without me." He shrugged, having not run it by him yet, but sure it would be fine.
"Good."
They spend most of the day lounging around the house, watching tv, fucking, eating anything and everything before fucking again. It was weird but nice to have the house to themselves and to be as free and open as they used to be, before their lives were taken over by other people. Ilya loved their family life but also loved fucking his husband up against their floor length windows in the living room. All in all, it was a good day and was going to get even better as Ilya was surprising Shane with a reservation at this exclusive restaurant he was obsessed with. He rented out the entire space so they could continue their day, just them.
“Oh my god, Ilya, you didn’t…” Shane breathed, excited as he stepped out of the car. “Wait, are they even open?” He asked, looking around at the near empty parking lot which was usually packed with cars.
“Yes, for us.” Ilya got out of the car, going around to the other side, to open Shane’s door. Shane stepped out but was hesitant, a small smile on his lips.
“What did you do, Rozanov?” He asked and Ilya grabbed his hand, leading him into the restaurant.
Once inside, Shane could see the entire restaurant was empty except for a few staff standing off to the side, smiles on their face, ready to greet them. They were then led to a table at the back, lit up by candles, wine already set out for them. Ilya couldn’t help the wide grin plastered on his face as he watched his husband taking everything in. Shane sat down quietly, taking a sip of the wine, which was the same kind they drank on their wedding, he triple checked.
“What do you think?”
“I-I love it. I can’t believe we have this whole place to ourselves!” He exclaimed, shocked but excited. No one had ever done anything like that for him before.
“Anything for you, moya lyubov.” Ilya smiled as he sat, trying out his wine as well.
The evening went as expected, the two talking about anything and everything as they always did. There was something so miraculous about how easy it always was with Ilya and Shane couldn’t help but smile every time he thought about him. He never believed in soulmates before him but if you were to ask Shane, he would say, without a shadow of a doubt, that he found his.
As soon as they walked into the house, Shane practically pounced on Ilya, kissing his neck while he unbuttoned his pants, moving backwards. He kicked off his shoes by the door and waited for Ilya to do the same as they both rushed up the stairs, kissing sloppily along the way. When they finally made it to the bedroom, Shane pushed Ilya onto the bed before climbing on top of him, making a trail of kisses down his chest.
“God, you are beautiful, Shane.” Ilya pulled him back up to kiss him, before flipping him over, hovering above him, a devilish grin forming as he took in the sight of his gorgeous husband.
“Wait, Ilya…”
“What? Are you okay?”
“Yes, but…I don’t know, I kind of want to…”
“Spit it out Shane.” Ilya sighed, getting frustrated.
“I want to top.” Shane whispered as Ilya’s eyes widened. He thinks for a moment.
“Okay. Your wish is my command.” He purred in Russian, excited that Shane was wanting something different. Ilya rarely bottomed, most of the times he bottomed being solely for baby creation but sometimes they switched, mixing it up, usually like once a year, whenever Shane was craving it.
“Do I need a condom?”
“Do we even have one? When was the last time we used those?” Shane couldn’t get pregnant after a hockey injury so they hadn’t bothered with them for years.
“Good point.” Shane hooked his leg with Ilya’s, turning them over so he could literally be on top again.
“Just pull out if you’re worried, but we are both old, Hollander. Nothing is going to happen.” He leaned up, kissing Shane, over talking about it and ready to get started.
Shane moved his fingers to Ilya’s opening, getting him ready, making him moan. Shane smiled, loving making Ilya so happy. Maybe he would have taken longer to prepare Ilya or maybe he would’ve teased him a bit, making him wait if Shane hadn’t been dangerously hard as it was. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to get going, so he did just that, sliding into Ilya. They locked eyes, both starting to move together, in sync. It had been years since they’d switched and Shane had forgotten how good it can be. Ilya hooked his arm onto Shane’s side, flipping them over so he could ride him. Picking up speed, Ilya locked eyes with Shane, both of them getting close.
“Fuck, Hollander.” Ilya breathed, knowing how much that nickname turned him on. Shane gave Ilya a few strokes, hoping they could come together. Within seconds, they were both climaxing, moaning with satisfaction as they relaxed against each other.
“So, no pulling out then?” Ilya chuckled as Shane flopped on the mattress beside him, exhausted.
“It’s harder to do than I thought.” Shane smirks, shrugging. “Literally.”
2.5 MONTHS LATER
“Roman Hollander-Rozanov.” The principal called and Shane and Ilya leapt out of their chairs, cheering. Roman looked up at them briefly, laughing a bit before walking on the stage, taking his diploma, shaking the principal's hand and then walking off. Shane kept cheering, but Ilya had to stop, a wave of nausea hitting him hard, making him sit back down. The next student was called so no one thought anything of him stopping as they joined a few seconds later, sitting back in their seats.
The rest of the ceremony was much of the same and now that Roman had already been called, Ilya zoned out. It didn't help that he would have been distracted either way as he had to use up a good amount of energy to stop himself from puking right then and there. The nausea only worsened as time went on. He could practically feel the vomit rising in his throat. Panicked, Ilya stood up quickly, about to go to the bathroom, but the moment he was standing, everything started moving, dizziness hitting him like a truck.
"Woah, woah." Shane jumps up, helping him steady himself. "Are you okay?" Ilya can only nod, walking off towards the bathroom. Shane turns back to Violet and his parents. "Stay here, Violet." He quickly runs after Ilya, following him. Shane stands by the sinks, waiting, listening to him puke. When he comes out of the stall, he walks over to wash his hands, avoiding eye contact with Shane.
"I'm fine."
"Um, you almost passed out, so no, you're not. What's going on?" Shane crossed his arms, freaking out, but trying not to.
"It's not a big deal. I haven't been feeling well the past few days. I think I have food poisoning or stomach flu." He tried to downplay it, not wanting to freak Shane out but he was seriously starting to worry. No matter what meds he took, it wasn’t going away or even getting better.
"What?! Why didn't you tell me??" He exclaimed, getting angry.
"Because you've been so busy with Roman's graduation party, so I deal myself. No problem." He spoke quietly, feeling another wave of nausea overpowering him.
"Big problem. We are a team, Ilya. I need to know when you need help."
"Okay, sorry. Now you know, and it will be gone in a few days and no longer matter." Ilya shrugged, not wanting to talk anymore about it.
"Fine, but you're laying down when we get home. I don't care about the party." Shane grumbled, putting his foot down.
"Shane, I can't do that. I'll be okay. If you haven't noticed for three days, they won't either." It’s not like he wanted to go to the party. In fact, it was the last thing he wanted to do but he didn’t want to disappoint Roman.
"Shut up." They laugh, relaxing a bit.
Ilya felt Shane watching him the entire way home. Shane always freaked out when Ilya got sick and he wasn't sure if it was because he was worried about Ilya or if he was worried about germs getting him sick too. Back at the house, Shane notices Ilya walking quickly upstairs, he hoped to go lay down, but by his fast pace, it was probably to puke again. Yuna and David had followed them back since the party was in an hour and they needed to get food out, Violet casually walked in with Shane, jumping onto the couch to lay down and scroll on her phone.
"Hey, for starters, don't jump on the couch. But also, come help your grandma get things ready." He set his stuff down, mentally making a check list of all the things he had to do before people started arriving in an hour.
"Ugh, why? This isn't my party..."
"Help us, brat, or I'm not helping for yours, if you even make it that far." Roman called out, already working with Yuna to get food from the fridge.
"Both of you, enough. Violet help them until I get back at least, please." She rolled her eyes, but got up, walking to the kitchen.
Shane bounded up the stairs, going to check on Ilya. He found him lying in their bed, asleep. He couldn't help but smile a little at the sight. Shane walked over, taking off his shoes and putting a blanket over him. Ilya felt it and looked over, waking up.
"I'm sorry, don't get up. Go back to sleep." Shane whispered, gently pushing him further into the bed.
"The party..."
"Doesn't matter. Roman knows how proud of him you are. He doesn't need you to entertain people to prove it." Ilya thinks for a second before nodding, but still getting up.
"I'm going to put on something more comfortable." It took him a moment to get out of bed, feeling the now familiar feeling of dizziness and nausea resurfacing.
"That's fair. Do you want help?" He knew Ilya could dress himself but he wanted to make himself available if needed.
"Shane, I am not going to break." Ilya sighed but was appreciative of his support.
"Okay, yes, I know. I will still be here to make sure you don't pass out again; I don't care." They always fought a bit when Ilya was sick because he never wanted help. Violet was like that too and it infuriated Shane.
"Fine." Ilya walks into their closet as Shane stands by the door, waiting. After a few moments, Shane hears Ilya breathing heavily. “Shane…”
“What is it? Are you okay?” His head snapped back to attention, worried just from his weak tone of voice.
“I need bucket…” Shane grabs the trash can, rushing into the closet, handing it to a half dressed Ilya who immediately starts puking. Trying to comfort him, Shane rubs his back, wiping some of his hair away from his eyes.
“Alright, let it out. It’s okay.” He continues rubbing his back, looking away, not wanting to gag himself.
“I am fine now; go to party.” Ilya finishes, wiping his mouth with his dirty shirt before throwing it into the hamper. Shane mentally makes a note to wash that later before it starts smelling.
“I hate leaving you like this.” Shane hesitated, still standing by the door as Ilya finished getting dressed. Ilya walked past him, the trash can still in hand, before crawling back into bed, setting the bucket beside him on the floor.
“Go, Shane. I will sleep.” He hesitated once more before nodding, giving him one last look before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He went back downstairs to find mostly everything set up, Violet and Roman both sitting on the couch. Yuna was still preparing.
“You guys…I told you to help your grandma.”
“We did!” They both exclaimed, looking over.
“They did, don’t worry, I’m just doing finishing touches.” Yuna waved her hand, dismissing Shane’s concerns. “How is Ilya?” She asked, her back to him as she cut up fruit.
“Pretty sick, but I’m glad I convinced him to sit this one out. I’m not sure how well it would go if he was trying to power through.” Shane was more than relieved that Ilya had caved and stayed upstairs. Otherwise, he would’ve spent the rest of the day following him, making sure he was okay.
“Well, I hope he feels better soon.”
“I’ll check on him every so often to be sure.” He figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to sneak off upstairs here and there.
The party was a success! So many people came to celebrate Roman and his future. There were many, many questions about Ilya though. Where was he? Was he okay? Were they fighting? Is he joining them later? All of which Shane smiled politely and answered as simply as he could. ‘He’s fine, just not feeling well and would not be joining them today, and no they were not fighting.’ It was exhausting but worth every bit of it when he caught a glimpse of Roman. He was in the backyard, sitting around their fire pit with his friends, laughing and joking. He may look exactly like Shane but his outgoing nature was all Ilya. As the day turned to dusk, and most people departed, Roman stayed out there with his friends, happy as ever.
“Hey, I’m going to be upstairs if you need me, okay?” Shane poked his head out onto the patio and Roman nodded, acknowledging.
Making his way upstairs, he first checked on Violet who was holed up in her room, on her phone while tv played in the background. Moving on, he finally made his way back to Ilya. The minute he stepped into the room, the smell of acid hit him, so he knew Ilya had been vomiting again. The stench was making his own stomach roll but he continued on, wanting to be sure he was okay. Ilya was lying on the bed, face down, his arm slung over the side, passed out. At least he was sleeping now and could get some rest.
“Shane?” Ilya whispered, turning over.
“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t get up. I’m going to sleep in the guest room tonight, give you your space.” Shane grabs a few things from his bedside table as he talks.
“Okay, yes. Thank you. I love you.” Ilya watches him, sad to even have to spend one night apart but he knows it’s best. Shane hated being sick and never wanted to risk catching something.
“I love you too. Just let me know if you need anything.” Shane is about to lean over to kiss him before he hesitates, thinking, but then gives in, kissing him anyways. “Worth it.” He smirked, leaving the room. God, Ilya loved his husband.