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Heading into the NHL draft, Shane Hollander knew two things with frightening certainty. One, his new Russian buddy from Juniors, Ilya Rosanov, was absolutely going to be the number one draft pick. Between his win with Russia and more aggressive playing style as well as a willingness to fight, he was best suited for the Boston Bears who had a tendency to rack up penalties like they were party favours.
That's not to say Shane couldn't fight, hockey was a contact sport where violence was appreciated and sometimes openly encouraged and Shane had spent many summers training with his boyfriend's older brothers who were both in university on boxing scholarships, plus his mother had put him in martial arts as a child to get in touch with his culture. So, Shane could fight, he just preferred to humiliate his opponents by racking up points, fighting might be fun, but the score was what everyone would remember.
The second thing he was certain of was that he would not be the number two draft pick. For all that his mother was a loyal fan of the Montreal Metros, her primary loyalty was to her family, and Shane knew even though he and his dad agreed to not prematurely break her heart, that Yuna Hollander would be supporting another team after her favourite team failed to draft her son because he was gay. Shane may have dominated Canada's junior league and was highly respected by his team but hockey was still a very homophobic sport and he understood that finding acceptance among other Internet era millennials was easier than with the older players. Plus it was an open secret that Montreal was homophobic and misogynistic at times, they spoke about diversity but those were just buzzwords that the team used as the League slowly dragged itself into a more modern era.
Shane had, along with his father, David, and boyfriend, Drew, created a list of teams where Canada's Queer Darling or CQD as the media had dubbed him, would be safe. Oddly enough, Boston had made the list but he had already accepted he wouldn't be their best fit. Shane knew that Phoenix had the third spot and, outside of the New York teams and San Francisco, they had one of the safest and most diverse locker rooms in the League. So yeah, Shane had accepted that he would be playing in the western conference. That meant that ahead of the draft day, he had made plans.
The League wasn't a huge fan of his homosexuality but he was one of the best prospects they'd had in years, already journalists were throwing around the term generational player, as his hockey IQ was off the charts and he was able to create and visualise plays in his head based upon his teammates or opponents playing styles so there was no way they wanted to risk losing him even if he was openly gay.
Shane had never quite been in the closet, having gay family and family friends so his interest in other boys had been known from young. His parents hadn't cared, his mom simply pushing him to be the best at every sport or activity and supporting him at every juncture, whether it was karate with his black belt, hockey with his many trophies and accolades or even football (soccer for the philistines) which had been great for conditioning and had earned him both a boyfriend and a participation trophy (the less said about the latter the better, Shane maintained that the entire team sucked not just him) so he knew he'd be supported here.
While there existed a possibility that he wouldn't be third pick in the draft, the next few picks were also for teams outside of Canada and Shane and Drew had mutually agreed to break up, Drew had a scholarship for football at Duke and despite having been Facebook official for two years and great friends prior, neither male was interested in long distance so changing his Facebook relationship status back to single was part of the plan, though they were waiting until after the draft because on the off chance homophobia overrode common sense and Shane wasn't drafted, he had scholarship offers from both Duke and McGill, where he was planning to do a distance learning degree in finance, because he would not retire and have nothing to show for it.
Shane also has plans surrounding billeting or getting his own place for his first year, he suppose it depended upon what spot he was drafted as that would determine his starting salary, he really hoped it was third, his parents weren't rich and they definitely couldn't afford paying his way in the League and for school part time and neither were optional activities for an Asian kid with a hockey obsessed mother.
By the time draft day arrived, Shane and David had plans for their plans, Yuna had quickly caught on that they didn't think he'd be drafted to Montreal and quite frankly didn't want to be and after a brief mourning period, she'd looked over their plans suitably impressed before completely tearing them apart and building better ones. As such, Shane hadn't gone into the draft with anxiety.
Per Yuna's networking, Shane was guaranteed the first or third spot and she had already outlined the brand she wanted to build for him based upon his pick. Boston required a certain level of stoicism and an almost aggressive presence and Phoenix meant that he could be a little more sarcastic and sassy, she had also given her son the freedom to take potshots at Montreal if he got picked third. She had built a structure for how the draft would go, so he had been quite prepared for the event while seated with his parents near the front of the room.
The announcer's voice switched from droning to excited and everyone in the room turned their focus to the stage now that the speeches were over. Cameras were trained on the top prospects to get their reactions as placements were made. Once this was over, David had promised to sneak Shane out of the hotel for food, while Yuna networked and strategised, as the offerings at the event were inedible, and getting something to eat was his main priority as he was slowly becoming cranky.
"With the first pick for the 2009 NHL draft, the Boston Bears select Ilya Rosanov..."
Shane lay on his hotel room bed, texting with Drew as the television droned on in the background. He hadn't been able to sneak out of the event as his presence had been in high demand by his new team, carefully selected sponsors looking to tap into the LGBTQ or youth markets and by the media looking for a sound bite.
"Shane honey, the draft made the news." Yuna called from the other room excitedly. "Come see if you're on tv."
Shane grumbled but got up and headed for the other room. It was Canada, of course the NHL draft made the news. He sat next to his parents and continued texting Drew, making plans for them to hang out with the friend group and go down to the lake before everyone scattered for school or work.
"...And in other news, here's what Canada's Queer Darling, Shane Hollander had to say about his number three pick to Arizona."
Shane's face flooded the television with that half smirk he had when he was cranky but trying to be polite. If he recalled that interview was just after this fifth attempt to sneak out was twarted and David had ditched him with a vague promise of returning with food. Yuna had been charming money out of Adidas executives and Shane had been left alone.
"So Shane, how do you feel about getting the third overall pick. I'm sure you expected to score higher." Said the reporter.
Shane's media trained brain turned on, a bit sluggishly due to his hunger but working nonetheless.
"Oh, I'm super excited. The team from Phoenix has been very welcoming and I know their playing style works really well with mine so I'm looking forward to training camp. I'm not sure how I'll survive the desert as a Canadian but maybe we can have snow imported."
"What about your placement? Are you disappointed you got third?"
"No, Rosanov was slightly better than me and more suited to Boston's style though I'm looking forward to beating him when Phoenix plays Boston and I've heard good things about Sullivan. I'm with the best team for me."
Shane watched detached, from the couch in his hotel room seated between his parents, as the reporter tried to goad him into giving them a sound bite they could run with. He also watched his shift from cranky to hangry in real time and knew that his mother was going to be pissed at what he uttered next.
"Do you think Montreal didn't draft you in second place because you're gay and they had concerns?" Asked the reporter with a smug little grin.
From the spot next to him, David stiffened and Yuna let out a shriek. "How dare they? Shane..."
Whatever else his mother was about to say was drowned out by his reply onscreen.
"Well I don't see why Montreal would have concerns, after all I only date athletes."
Any further responses were cut off as someone from the Phoenix team stepped into view urgently beckoning Shane to go with them to meet the team's owner, Shane throwing a halfhearted apology as he hurried off.
Yuna turned off the television turning to her son.
"Shane..."
"I was hungry and tired and you said I could be sarcastic, mom."
"You met the team owner? And didn't tell me?!"
"Or me." David piped up but was largely ignored.
"One of the owners, for like two minutes. She was very nice, we talked strategy and team culture. She seemed pleased that I could do more than grunt and play hockey. You were fleecing that yogurt brand and dad was being family MVP getting me a smoothie and food that was cooked in this decade." Shane explained, glad that his mother wasn't chewing him out for chirping an entire team, her favourite, though that was becoming debatable, team to boot.
"Well that explains why they said you impressed someone high up in the organisation."
After that things shifted into high gear. Shane had to move countries and he spent countless hours submitting to medical testing and filling out forms while still trying to find time to spend with his friends and family plus he had to fit in training and the million sponsorship events his mother had booked. He still also had to register for school and find a place to rent in Arizona, sight unseen. Between the money coming in and his presumably packed scheduled which would include sponsorship events, training, school and games, it was agreed that Shane would live alone and purchase a car locally.
He had been added to several team group chats, and with the assistance of his teammates and the WAGS who often adopted the rookies, his housing criteria, in order of importance, had been air conditioned, close to the training facility, covered garage and then pool. Several players had pools at their houses and had advised him that the team operated on a shared pool policy so even if his place didn't have one there would be several he'd have access to. He also understood that meant if he got a place with a pool then the team would randomly show up and use it.
Understanding the rules around how Phoenix operated was helpful for Shane ahead of his move as he was able to plan for the structure of the team he'd be a part of. David had been quite happy as well, especially as some of the players were Canadian and had warned them about the differences in food between Canada and the US. He'd been quite happy to don Phoenix team merch, a box of which had been sent as part of Shane's welcome kit, and chirp Yuna who still had some waning support for Montreal as he ordered cases of Shane's favourite foods and made plans to ship them to Arizona lest their son have a minor meltdown, despite Shane constantly repeating that he didn't do that anymore.
Yuna was quite content to ignore her husband and son as she negotiated brand deals and sent Shane out on shoots. The League had been pushing a rivalry between Rosanov and Sullivan, but bless his heart, he wasn't as good as her son nor was his team, if he had one, as good as her, and several brands had booked Shane and his new friend Ilya, who, as part of his contract, was being managed by a Boston agency she'd heard great things about, for multiple shoots.
Coming out of this, Yuna knew two things with frightening certainty. She'd made her son a millionaire before he'd even set foot on NHL ice and Ilya Rosanov and her son had crushes on each other. She intended to use the former to ensure Shane was set for life and she needed to speak with David about the latter because she had a tendency to meddle and neither boy seemed to realise they liked the other. With both men in different conferences, it would be up to her to ensure they forged a friendship before hockey took over and they only saw each other sporadically at shoots and awards ceremonies.
Shane knew Yuna was plotting something and he was fairly certain it had to do with Ilya. She had invited him over multiple times before they left Canada and had sent them off to New York alone for the Adidas event, having told Ilya to look out for him, to both their amusement.
Shane wasn't sure what his mother was up to, she was likely gearing up to piss the League off further as she sidelined their marketing around Sullivan and Ilya as rivals by painting himself and Ilya as friends and headliners for the East and West conferences. He didn't particularly care, she and Ilya's agent had been making them so much money, and with Phoenix having been comparatively inexpensive that Shane had elected to buy a house with a pool near the practice facility since he could afford it and it would be a good investment.
As such, he was happily putting around, putting away the crate of food that had finally arrived with a note from his dad while enjoying the week off between training camp and the start of the pre-season when the entire team would return and begin training together. He put his mother's machinations out of mind, secure that her plans involved terrorising the League and fleecing as much marketing dollars as she could from any brand she deemed worthy.
Shane turned his thoughts to the man sitting in front of his television, cheerfully sorting out the cords for his Xbox, a gift from a sponsor. Ilya Rosanov, Shane's new friend with benefits. He and Drew had amicably parted ways and Ilya had spent enough photoshoots flirting with him that they fell into bed together after the Addidas event in New York. Ilya was bisexual but Russian and while Shane was openly gay he understood the optics of dating a fellow player plus he still wasn't interested in a long distance anything so they were publicly friends while casually exploring their attraction to each other. That didn't mean that they hadn't already agreed to spend as many breaks as possible together, Ilya had nine inches and he knew how to use all of it to Shane's benefit plus he was one of the few persons who could throw Shane around in bed the way he liked it. Not that Shane was a slouch in the equipment department, he just had preferences though he was still a teenager so sex was sex.
"Hollander." A Russian voice drawled. "Are you done caressing cans of ginger ale or should I continue with these boring bondage wires?"
"You said you wanted something to do, besides didn't you set up your gaming console yourself? It was working when I visited you in Boston."
Shane walked over to stand behind Ilya who had stopped fiddling with the wires.
"I hired nerd squad to set up my electronics. Besides when I said I wanted something to do I meant you."
Ilya stood up and took Shane's face in one hand, holding him in place as he kissed him deeply, Shane relaxing in his arms and opening his mouth for Ilya as one hand roamed his body before coming to rest on his ass squeezing it gently.
"I want you, Shane." Ilya pulled away long enough to state his intentions before reattaching his mouth to Shane's, both hands reaching down to grip Shane's thighs and lifting him before carrying him to his bedroom and dropping him onto the bed before falling on top of him and trying to climb into his skin.