Chapter Text
From the moment she was old enough to wobble across the ice for the first time in what Shane believed were the tiniest skates ever created, Emiliya Ilyinichna Hollander-Rozanova made it clear that she had no interest in hockey. The first time she spotted a figure skater across the rink, her eyes widened and she tugged on Shane’s sleeve.
“Dada! Dada! Pretty skate! I want!” the toddler exclaimed, pointing animatedly at the older girl, who couldn’t have been more than 10 or 11 years old. The sleek white skates had Emiliya’s full attention as the older girl practiced her cross-cuts.
“Baby, you have your pretty skates on. Remember, you picked the pink hockey skates,” Shane replied, brow furrowed in confusion. Emiliya pouted and shook her head, clearly upset that her father wasn’t understanding the crisis at hand.
“No, want that one! No hockey!” Emi insisted, stomping her little skate on the ice, which in turn caused her to lose her balance and fall on her bottom unceremoniously. She came down hard and froze in shock for a second before flopping backward with a dramatic screech, her bright pink hockey helmet clunking against the ice. Shane gasped softly and winced as Emiliya began to cry, her loud wail echoing around the arena, and he dropped to one knee beside his baby girl. Shane tried to help her to her feet again, but Emi just shoved his hands away. Ilya, who had been taking pictures a few metres away, skated over to his husband’s side and scooped the toddler into his arms. Emi buried her face in Ilya’s neck as she sobbed, and Ilya bounced her gently in an attempt to soothe her.
“Shhh, malysh, I think is time to go now, hm? You’ve had a big day skating with Daddy and Papa,” Ilya cooed, gliding over to the edge of the rink with Shane following. With impressive ease, Ilya removed his and Emi's skates and freed her little head from the helmet. He tossed their gear into his duffel bag and Shane did the same with his own skates before hoisting his and Ilya's bags onto his shoulders so his husband could carry their daughter to the car. Shane often found himself overwhelmed when Emiliya had tantrums like this, but Ilya seemed to take them totally in stride. Ilya loved to cuddle and soothe their Emilochka, which melted Shane's heart whenever he saw the way Ilya's imposing frame cradled their daughter like she was the most precious thing in the world -- which, to be fair, she was.
Thankfully, Emiliya fell asleep shortly after being buckled in her carseat, and the drive home was peaceful. Shane glanced back at their toddler and sighed.
“I don’t understand why she went so nuts over those figure skates,” he said softly, “she seemed so excited for her pink hockey skates when she picked them out.”
“She was excited, moya lyubov',” Ilya replied, “but she is little, still figuring out what she likes. I think we should sign her up for figure skating when she is old enough, yes?” Ilya suggested, moving one hand off the steering wheel to squeeze his husband’s knee.
“I guess so,” Shane agreed reluctantly, “but I don’t get it. She’s been immersed in hockey since she was born, then she sees one figure skater and abandons hockey entirely? Where’s the loyalty?”
“Loyalty? Shane, she is two and a half. She has new favourite Paw Patrol dog every few weeks, even though Everest is obviously the best one.”
“Bullshit. We stan Skye in this house, Ilya, you know that,” Shane said with a wry smile.
“Hmm, agree to disagree. Anyway, we always said we would let our kids choose their own path, no? I won’t force hockey on her if she is not interested.”
“You’re right, I know you’re right…I just didn’t think she’d reject hockey before she’s even old enough to hold a stick, that’s all,” Shane conceded with a sigh. Ilya nodded in understanding as he pulled into the driveway of their house. Parking the car and stepping out, he carefully unbuckled Emiliya from her carseat and lifted her into his arms, shushing her gently when she began to stir. Shane joined his two favourite people and pressed a kiss first to Emiliya's head, then to Ilya’s lips.
“I guess I’d better start researching figure skate brands,” Shane murmured, and the family headed into the house together.