Chapter Text
Ilya laid on top of Shane in his hammock, curling close to his warm body despite the summer heat.
"Ilya?" Shane asked nervously.
"Yes, sweetheart?" Ilya responded lazily, not lifting his head from Shane's chest.
"Would you want to come out?" He blurted the words out, and they didn't sound like how he thought they'd sound.
Ilya lifted his head. "What?"
"Come out. Not as bi, but as in a relationship with me. Wait, you could still come out as bi. We could do it in the same statement or another, it really—"
"Shane," Ilya cut him off, "are you saying you want to come out?"
He nodded. "I just thought, with the plane and the wedding and everything, people are gonna find out somehow. I want it to be on our own terms, though."
Ilya grinned. "Of course." He gently kissed Shane, closing his eyes before opening them again. "How will we do it?"
Shane hesitated. He hadn't thought this far ahead in his plan; he hadn't been expecting Ilya to say yes so readily. "Um. . . I don't know. We could ask Farah?" He suggested. Farah was their agent, and she already knew about their relationship, so she'd be a safe person to ask for advice.
"Where is your phone?" Ilya asked.
"It's on the ground, I think."
Ilya tried to lean out of the hammock and grab the phone from the ground where it lay beside them. He reached a little too far, and the hammock twisted dangerously. Ilya grabbed the phone but lost his balance, shrieking and grabbing onto Shane as he quickly retracted back into the hammock.
They laughed and held onto each other for a few seconds, waiting for their heartrates to slow back down. Shane finally grabbed his phone from where it lay touching him now, and navigated to call Farah.
The phone rang three long times before she picked up.
"Hey, Shane!" Farah said cheerfully. "What's up? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, we're good." Shane laughed nervously. "We wanted to ask you for some advice."
"Okay, shoot!"
"We want to come out." Shane said. "Like, as in a relationship with each other." He added on.
"Oh, congratulations!" Her voice was loud over the phone, and he turned the volume down slightly.
"How do you think we could do it?" He asked. "I don't really want to release a statement; I was hoping for something a bit more casual."
"You could soft launch each other," Farah suggested.
"What is soft launch?" Ilya asked.
"Oh, hey, Ilya!" She laughed. "It's something that people do when they imply they're in a relationship with someone else, but they don't give any names or tag them."
Shane smiled up at him and shrugged.
"If Shane is happy with it, I am too." Ilya said.
"Awesome! Shane, you good?"
"Yeah, it sounds perfect." Shane said. "How would we do it, though?"
"You could, like, post a meal or drinks together, faceless selfies, each other's houses, just stuff like that. It'll hopefully be super subtle, but the people who support you will notice it first. If you go along with the soft launch idea, it should make it a lot easier to fully tell people you're dating—sorry, engaged!"
"Thank you so much, Farah!" Shane said. "Bye!"
"We love you, Farah!" Ilya shouted as Shane was hanging up. "So, what do you think? Soft launch?"
"Yeah, sure. I like the idea of posting one of our meals, maybe we could do that tonight?"
___________
Shane Hollander🏒 @shollander_hockey
[IMAGE ID: Two burgers are on separate plates on top of Shane's patio table. In the background, the lake scenery is blurry, but it is still distinguishable if you look hard enough. It is almost sunset, and the sky is starting to turn pink.]
No hockey, but still a great season☀️
COMMENTS:
SHAYDEN! @haydenhollanderrr
Is this what I think it is?!?!?!
Rose 🌹(Metros #1!!) @met.rose
@haydenhollanderrr No it's literally not?? Get ur head out of the gutter
Rose Landry @roselandry_official
☀️☀️☀️
Farah:) @farah.hockey
👍
Ilya Rozanov @rozanov81
45.051697, -79.512255
Livvyy<3 @livlaughlove
Did Ilya Rozanov just dox Shane Hollander's location lmfao
Sveta @raidersontop
@livlaughlove I think so? Apparently he's not in Montreal?
Livvyy<3 @livlaughlove
@raidersontop Yeah but how did he get that info
Sveta @raidersontop
@livlaughlove idk
Lily @username1221
😋😋😋 (not about food btw)