Chapter Text
After a really draining practice coach LeClaire decided to drop some horrible information that made everyone groan “Starting next week there will be mandatory yoga training.” Someone asked simply the question that Ilya and probably everyone else was thinking “Why?” The coach sighed, disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm, but then went on to explain with a touch of his own apparent enthusiasm “I recently found a few studies that showed that regularly practicing yoga, can improve your inner musculature, improve balance, flexibility and more, so we are trying it out. I have already booked the best yoga instructor in all of North America!”
Ilya sighed dramatically again and as the newly appointed captain said “But we are already busy. We skate and go to gym. Is this ‘yoga’ really good for busy people like us?” Coach looked at him and said “Yes, I know your schedule, Rozanov. I am trading one hour of skating practice for one hour of yoga.” “Coach, do we not play hockey anymore? Are we going to circus and bending in half for peanuts now too?” LeClaire seemed to actually start getting annoyed, Ilya noted “Yoga is mandatory until I say otherwise. End of story.”
And so the team was forced to go do yoga at 9 in the morning on a wednesday. No one was happy. Ilya didn’t hate the idea of yoga so much, since he saw a clip of someone good looking bending over in the name of yoga, but he did not see the point in doing it with the team and cutting into time on the ice. As Ilya and Marlow walked by coach, Marlow asked “Is the yoga instructor at least a sexy girl? Then it might be easier for us to follow, you know?” Ilya nodded absently. Coach laughed disbelievingly “No, I don’t need you being distracted. He is a man.” Marlow sighed heavily while Ilya still held hope in his heart for a good view. Marlow continued “Then what even is the point!” Ilya slapped his arm, because even he thought that Marlow was being too rude to their coach. LeClair let out a small laugh, already accustomed to the yoga hating attitude, and then turned to Ilya “Actually, you might recognize the instructor. He used to play in juniors on team Canada.”
This caught Ilya a bit off guard. The only person he remembered from team Canada was him, but HE suddenly disappeared from the hockey world after the draft. Ilya didn’t like thinking about him. It made him feel listless and remember that one night at the hotel. No, Ilya always made a conscious effort to not think about Shane Hollander. Although, honestly, during quiet moments Ilya did remember and thought about where Hollander had disappeared to. He had already been drafted to the Montreal Metros and set to be Ilya’s rival. But then suddenly he was gone. Ilya, although he wouldn’t admit it even to himself, often thought about Hollander’s beautiful hockey playing style and also the way he had looked in the privacy of Ilya’s hotel room, all shy and eager with a mouth so good that Ilya still remembered it.
“No, I probably don’t. Don’t remember anyone from boring canadian team.” Coach shook his head “Okay, sure, well get to the gym. The class is about to start.”
They started their way to the gym, still shit talking yoga and everything it stood for. They walked in and most of the team was already there but still no yoga instructor. They all talked about this and that when suddenly the gyms door opened. Ilya had to muster every ounce of willpower to not make himself drop his jaw in shock like some of the other idiots on his team. Hollander walked in wearing some tight little shorts that Ilya most definitely would consider ‘sexy yoga instructor’ material and a tight fitting long sleeve thermal shirt. He looked amazing, his hair was longer than a few years ago and his body had developed from a boy to a fit man. But the freckles. The freckles were still there. They still caught Ilya’s eye immediately.
“Hello, everyone, my name is Shane Hollander. I am going to be your yoga instructor for the foreseeable future!” No one could quite figure out what to say and Ilya was in the same boat, but as captain he knew he should take the lead on these kinds of matters “Shane Hollander…” He looked at him and smirked crookedly, hoping he looked natural, “Nice seeing you are not dead.” Shane looked at him and Ilya reveled in the flicker of recognition in Shane’s eye. But Shane collected himself quickly and answered with a tiny smirk of his own “Ilya Rozanov. I’m alive and well. You’re still playing? Thought maybe your lungs already gave out.” The rest of the team laughed and threw out some ‘oohhh’s’ at Shane’s comment.
Ilya recognized Hollander of course. He still had the same freckles, same gorgeous, deep eyes and pretty pink lips but he was also so different. He had an ease to him, no longer the eternally anxious boy Ilya remembered him as. Ilya found it intriguing. What has happened to Hollander? What has he been up to these years? Why is he even sexier? But Ilya pushed past his inner thoughts and confidently said “My lungs are perfect. They are picture of health. So, you are going to show us how to bend over professionally today?” Ilya definitely meant to say those exact words, hoping to get a reaction out of Shane, which he got in the form of a blush.
“Oh, fuck off. Yoga is not just about ‘bending over’ it increases flexibility, balance and strength. It can be very useful for even hockey. I have been practising it since I was 10 and it definitely helped me in some aspects of hockey.” He started laying out his yoga mat and continued before Ilya could say anything more “You can all lay your mats down and we’ll start in a bit." The guys followed his directions but Ilya held eye contact a moment longer, not ready to stop looking at Hollander who had disappeared suddenly and popped back into Ilya’s life with the same surprise. Hollander looked at Ilya too and gave Ilya a very subtle and easily missed smile that did things to him that he wasn’t ready to admit. When Hollander nodded at the mats, Ilya finally went to retrieve his and took a spot right in front of him.
Marlow was next to him and whispered to him “I still can’t believe Shane fucking Hollander is going to be our yoga instructor.” Ilya looked at him and nodded in full agreeance. While the team were still settling into their spots and talking between themselves about the identity of their yoga instructor, Shane put on some non descript music that Ilya would barely consider music and more like random sounds. The gym was full of wall to wall mirrors and as Marlow was talking Ilya’s ear off about some bullshit, Ilya was looking at Hollander doing tiny stretches both from the front and and the back. Finally when everyone seemed ready, Shane started “Okay, I am very happy to have the chance to work with you all. As I said yoga can provide many physical improvements that regular working out doesn’t account for. I will be showing the poses and explaining of course but if you have questions or something doesn’t feel right feel free ask me! I will also be walking around and fixing your form where needed. Are you all ready?” The guys gave varying sounds of agreement, still not psyched about the idea of yoga. Since finding out Hollander was the instructor, Ilya was most definitely interested in yoga.
The stretches started out simple and no one was having much problem with them. The problem for Ilya started with the extended puppy pose. Shane started moving into it and said “Now we are moving down into the extended puppy pose or ‘Uttana Shishosana’” Shane was explaining the details of how to do it but Ilya was just staring at Hollander with his ass up in the air. He looked so good and the fact that he could see the other angle in the mirror definitely made it harder for Ilya to focus. Ilya tried thinking innocent thoughts since it would be very uncool to get hard in front of the team in this situation. Shane lifted his head and looked Ilya dead in the eyes while holding the pose and Ilya was sure he died then and there. Shane then slowly started getting up and walking around everyone. When he got to Ilya, he pressed a warm hand to Ilya’s lower back and quietly said “Arch your back more and pull your hips back towards your heels, Rozanov.” Shane was slightly guiding Ilya with his hands and it was at the same time amazing feeling Shane’s hands on him again and horrible because he was barely keeping his cool.
Shane went back to his station and continued his class. They moved through some other safer poses that helped Ilya relax for a while until Shane said “Now we are moving onto the plow pose or ‘halasana’” and Shane first explained how to do it and then slowly showed them. Ilya gulped at the sight before him. Shane’s ass was on full display and Ilya could not tear his eyes off him if he had a gun to his head. Seeing Shane’s perfect and plump ass this close to his face gave him mental images that he was sure to remember tonight in the shower. The way the shorts slid up higher his gorgeous thighs and stretched tighter around his butt was unforgettable. And remembering what it had looked like and felt like naked also didn’t help the hard problem he was dealing with. Ilya sighed in relief when they were done with that one.
Luckily the clock told him they were nearing the end of the session and the last position at least wasn’t hard to do. “And we will end with the cow pose or ‘bitilasana’, just relax and breathe.” Ilya was trying really hard on that but now Shane’s face was right in front of him. Shane Hollander on his hands and knees looking right into Ilya’s eyes smiling was not how Ilya had envisioned today going. Up close Shane was even more beautiful and his flushed and slightly sweaty skin accentuated his skin and freckles. It was almost a piece of art. It was a memory that he will not be forgetting.
“Okay, you can all slowly get up, we are done for today. You all did great for your first time and with time it will all get easier.” The team started getting up and groaning, saying that it had been harder than they thought it would be. Ilya purposefully stayed behind. He really wanted to talk to Hollander about anything. It was an urge that he could not quench “So, you are famous yoga instructor now? Got too sad being second best hockey player? What is it they say? Big fish small sea and small fish, big sea?”
Shane turned to looked at him making that nostalgic frustrated and annoyed look on his face “I was better than you, probably still am, now I’m just a hundred times better than you at both hockey AND yoga.” Ilya pretended to contemplate “I guess you are better at yoga and nothing else.” Shane shook his head but couldn’t fully hide his smile “You guess? You suck at yoga, I just didn’t want to embarrass you in front of your friends!” “Oh, wow, thanks. They are all such yoga masters. What if they bully me because of you?” Shane laughed a genuine laugh and it melted Ilya’s heart a little bit “Then I guess I would have to give you private lessons…” The slightly flirty tone did surprise Ilya because he remembered Hollander as very sexually and socially repressed. He never would have imagined that Shane would start flirting with him, but Ilya was already drowning in the arousal it brought him “Really? And what would that include? Tell me detail.” Shane collected his stuff and replied “A lot of ‘bending over’ i suppose. I have to go now but see you next week, Rozanov.” Ilya missed a beat but replied with a drawn out “Goodbye, Hollander.”
Shane left the gym, leaving Ilya with the memories of him on his knees. These yoga lessons are going to be hard for very different reasons.