Chapter Text
One moment, Shane was shooting the puck towards the net, and the next, he was engulfed by his teammates. He could hear them yelling, but he couldn’t tell you what they were screaming. The crowd was going wild, and the first thing Shane saw when his teammates let him go was his husband skating towards him. His smile was so big that it made Shane’s eyes sting.
He never thought he’d be this happy with how everything turned out. This is his first season with the Centaurs, and he already knew it would be his favorite season ever. This new team has shown him, in a short time, the true meaning of community and support that he once believed he had with the Metros. Oh, to be that naive.
“You did it!” Ilya screamed over the other players once he got to Shane. He held Shane's head and kissed his hair. It was a matter of time until Ilya actually kissed Shane on the ice, but he wanted it to be special, so it was gonna have to wait for now.
“We did.” Shane corrected while looking over at the stands and seeing the fans celebrate. It was their fifth win in a row. It felt so good to see all this celebration and get to soak it all in with his husband.
Ilya and Shane were the last ones to leave the locker room hand in hand when Weibe stepped out and called out to them.
“Hey, guys. Got a sec?” He jogged up to where they were standing.
Shane tried to untangle his hand from Ilya’s hold, but Ilya’s fingers just held tighter. It still caught Shane by surprise how openly he could be about his feelings here. Wiebe didn’t even bat an eye at their hands.
“I just wanted to check how you’re doing.” He said, looking over at Shane.
“After that win?” Ilya laughed, “We are amazing.”
“Yeah, this was a good one, but I’m talking about next week,” and that comment really did shift their moods.
Next week, they were going to Montreal to face them for the first time this season. The first time Shane was going back to the city that exiled him, to play against the team that made him second-guess all of his abilities as a player. Shane had done a lot of thinking, growing, and even started therapy. He wasn’t gonna lie, he was nervous, but he was also looking forward to it. He wanted to show them what they are missing.
“I’m nervous, but I’m also ready, coach.” Shane’s voice was strong and steady. Ilya tightened his grip in a show of support.
Ilya was the only one who really got to see how much leaving the Montreal Metro’s messed with him. His head, his ability to trust and open up. He already knew most of the Centaurs players, but it still took him a while to get comfortable with them.
“Will be fine. Montreal will cry once we are done.” Ilya wasn’t smiling now, his voice deep and slow. Shane even had to look over to his husband. The danger behind his eyes was a promise of revenge for what they had done.
“I just wanted to check. If you need anything, let me know.” Coach said, tapping Shane on the shoulder. “Everyone knows this is going to be very personal, but I also need to ask that you-” he looked over at Ilya. “can keep it professional. I know Shane can, but I need your word.”
“Me? I’m most professional player.” Ilya answered in mock surprise.
“I don’t want to see my captain spending the whole game in the penalty box.” Weibe knew it would be a challenge for Ilya, but he had to at least try.
“I will only hit those who deserve it.”
“So the whole team?”
“Maybe.”
“I had to try.”
“You’re a good coach,” Ilya said, tapping him on the shoulder just like he’d done to Shane.
The day Shane dreaded finally came, and now he had to face it. He had prepared for this over the last couple of months, with his therapist and his team. Everyone knew that today was going to be tough. Even the media was prepping, every single post, podcast, and interview from the hockey world revolved around this day. The day Shane Hollander was gonna face the Montreal Metros.
Today wasn’t only about his bad blood with the Metros; it was with the whole damn city.
Between the leaked video when they were outed, the game where he tripped, and the news that he was trading teams. Things had only gotten worse. Shane was grateful that he left when he did, but not about the circumstances.
Being back in his hometown felt very good, and the whole city was welcoming. His first-ever game representing them felt like the best game of his entire career, but it didn’t change the fact that for basically a decade, Shane had loved the Metros and Montreal.
Still, he smiled when he saw Ilya preparing his protein shake, something Ilya hated to drink, but made sure to prepare for Shane almost every morning. He didn’t realize just how bad he wanted mundane morning rituals with Ilya, and now he gets this every day.
“Drink up. You need all your energy so that we can beat up the Metros together.” Ilya snapped him out of his own head as he pushed a tall glass of his protein shake.
“You know it’s only beat, not beat up, right?”
“No, no. I said it right.” Ilya smirked towards him, and Shane only looked down at his drink, smiling softly.
Damn it, he loved this psycho.
Shane thanked him as he started to drink. He knew he needed to get his head on straight before the game, and before getting to the bus in a couple of hours would be even better.
“You should eat something too. I’ll get our bags-“ Shane started to get up, but Ilya just raised his hand while sipping his coffee.
“I already packed the car. We’re all set.” He looked Shane over. “Just finish getting ready, and we can leave.”
“Oh, that’s efficient. Thanks.” Well, there goes his distraction.
“Will be fine, might even be fun,” Ilya said, and Shane knew what he was trying to do, and he was thankful. He truly was.
Not even an hour later, they were already parking their car and heading to the bus. Not many people arrived as early as they did, but Ilya had a meeting with Wiebe. He knew Ilya didn’t want to leave him alone on the bus, so he was thankful Troy and Harris arrived shortly after.
“Morning, Shane.” Harris gave Shane a tight smile, but still sincere and open. Everyone was well aware this was going to be a nerve-wracking game for Shane.
“Want to pick who I beat up first?” Was the first thing Troy said as he sat on the seat on the other side of the bus, across from Shane.
That almost made Shane laugh.
“You'd better check with Ilya first. I bet he already has a list going.” This was good. He wanted to feel like this was gonna be just another game.
“He’s got a list, alright.” Troy smiled at him while making space for Harris to sit beside him. “I have beef of my own with them. It’s gonna be good.”
Shane looked over, shocked to hear this. “You do?”
“We all do.” Troy gave Shane a look like it was obvious. “Sorry, Shane, but Montreal always sucked and now… well, now we have even more reasons to hate them.”
“Troy…” Harris said, trying to sound stern.
“Oh, like you didn’t know.” He rolled his eyes.
Shane actually laughed at that. He could see how that could be true.
Thirty minutes later, most of the team was ready to go. Ilya and Wiebe were among the last ones on the bus.
Wiebe gave Shane a nod before sitting. He had had a few conversations with him about the Metros, it gave Shane the confidence he needed to feel better about today. He mostly shit-talked the Metros and shook Shane where he stood. He basically embodied Edna Mode with a newspaper. He could see how Ilya and Wiebe got along perfectly.
~||~
The stadium was roaring with Metros fans, a sea of blue shirts and angry faces, signs Shane tried his best to ignore, along with his former teammates and coach on the other side of the ice.
Ilya bumped him in the shoulder when he skated over.
“I should kiss you.” His evil smile was a stark contrast to Shane’s startled eyes.
“Please don’t.”
“I think it would boost morale.” Ilya winked.
“You do that, and I don’t think we’ll have a game to play,” Wyatt said, slapping Ilya over the head and skating off.
“Don’t slap the captain!” Ilya complained.
“Did you threaten to kiss Shane again?” Bood asked from the ground where he was stretching.
“Is it illegal to kiss my husband now?”
“I think during a game it might be.”
“Stupid rules.”
Shane wasn't going to argue. It was a stupid rule most days, but right now it was what saved this powder keg from exploding.
The whole city just felt like a spark away from disaster. Shane could feel it in his bones, the way his skin felt too tight for him.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Shane said, turning back to the bench.
Ilya blew a kiss towards the Metros bench since he couldn’t kiss his husband. He then turned to Bood with a serious face. “I want to destroy them.”
“Oh, we will,” Bood said with a vicious smile.
And destroy them they did - in more ways than one. Despite the Metros trying their best to attack Shane at every turn, the Centaurs were right there, ready to defend him. Ilya was sent to the penalty box a total of three times, which actually surprised Shane. He expected a lot more. But to be fair, the penalty box was the main attraction of the night, and that only made the crowd grow wilder.
The score ended with 7x1 for the Centaurs. You could hear the upheaval that had been caused, from the stadium to the opposing team. There was so much tension that they didn’t even know if they were able to shake hands after.
They did shake hands. Ilya and the whole team smiled nonstop, and while Shane was still tense, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. This is what he needed. To show everyone, and even himself, that he was the Shane Hollander(-Rozanov). They lost him. He didn’t lose them.
Shane’s phone buzzed with notifications he chose to ignore until he saw Hayden’s name come up. They were still inside the locker room, just out of the shower, and getting ready to leave.
Hayden: Are we still on for dinner?
Shane: I think so. Where do you want to go?
Hayden: I got us a table at Mancini’s.
Shane: Ilya will love that.
Hayden: So will JJ.
Shane: See you there in 30 then?
Hayden: Sure. See ya!
“So, Hayden got us a table at Mancini’s.” Shane walked over to Ilya, who was just closing his bag. “It’s early, so I don’t think we’ll leave too late. We can meet the team after if they wanna go out.”
Ilya looked up with a devilish smile. Of course, the team wanted to go out and celebrate. They were all buzzing with the win, and Ilya was going to be a massive dick during dinner - something Shane was well aware of, and so were Hayden and JJ.
“I will be perfect company during loser dinner.” Ilya pressed his hand against his heart.
“Define perfect company.”
“I define nothing. This will be fun!” He stood up, pressed a quick kiss to Shane’s lips, and winked as he stepped away, headed for the door, leaving Shane with a stupid grin on his face.
Dinner was actually pretty good for what Shane was expecting. JJ and Ilya didn’t exchange many words, but the conversation went on nicely. Shane was happy to see how his friends and husband could get along even after a brutal game like today’s.
“You guys leave tomorrow morning?” Hayden asked, sipping his wine.
“Yeah, we play Winnipeg in two days,” Ilya answered, finishing his drink. “What are you two doing after this?”
“Home. Jackie’s got the flu, and the kids are at her mom’s place, so I’m taking on the role as her nurse.”
“You should make her mors. Very good for flu.” Ilya pulled out his phone. “I will send you a recipe. Very easy, even you can make it.” He didn’t even look up to see Hayden’s reaction, from shock to annoyance.
“Is he always like this?” JJ whispered to Shane.
“This is him being super nice, actually.” Shane laughed lightly.
As they waited for their check, no one could ignore the comments from the table next to them. Two couples and the dudes were pretty annoyed, apparently. The quiet comments started getting louder.
“I can’t just ignore that they are sitting right there.” One of them said.
“This restaurant shouldn’t even have let them in.” The other one complained.
Both women with them kept their conversation going as though they weren’t even there.
“Everything sucks. Even the MHL should have kicked them out, and now look at this.”
“I thought that the Metros would at least stand their ground, but Hayden and JJ are just as bad.” That comment made Shane’s head snap up towards his friends. He didn’t think of the backlash they’d have to deal with.
Hayden saw Shane’s panicked glare and just sent him a boyish smile. “Oh, come on, Hollander. Don’t listen to them.” He looked over at JJ, who had a tight smile. “We don’t.”
“They are just sore losers. They lost their best player and had to watch us destroy them today. Give them a break, it is going to be a tough season.” Ilya smiled over to the table beside them. “Hope we see you in our next game.” He winked, and both men locked their jaws.
The end of their dinner came soon after, giving them plenty of time to head to the hotel to get ready to go out with the team. Their phones were filled with notifications of the team’s group chatting about where they’d go tonight.