Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

Gen

Fandoms:

Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid

Relationships:

Ilya Rozanov & Original Female Character(s), Ilya Rozanov & Jackie Pike

Characters:

Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander, Jackie Pike, Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Texting Fic, Fluff, Friendship, Montreal WAGs are Ilya's besties, Book Club, Spoilers for Book 6: The Long Game (Game Changers), Set During Book 6: The Long Game (Game Changers), post coming out

Language:

English

Series:

Part 1 of Hollanov into the WAGverse

Collections:

pepperroxd’s library, WAG Ilya, Heated Rivalry, *Heated rivalry melts my heart*, so obsessed i might actually watch hockey

Stats:

Published: 2025-12-22 Words: 2,411 Chapters: 1/1

Ilya joins the Montreal WAGs Book Club

Summary

Now that Ilya and Shane's relationship is finally out in the open Ilya is able to attend the Montreal WAGs book club without having to worry about his secret identity of 'Lily'

Notes

For the best reading experience enable creator style. Huge shout out to this tutorial which I used to format the groupchats and messages

• Inspired by please leave a message by subcorax
• Inspired by Whatsapp Work Skin Template /Revamped by worlds_end_valentine

Ilya and Anya arrived at the Pikes at 6:30pm. Jackie had asked him to come early so that the kids could play with Anya before they had to go to bed and book club began and so Ilya had got changed and picked up Anya as soon as practice was over.

"Ruby, Jade, Arthur, there's someone here to see you." Jackie called as she welcomed Ilya into the house. "It's lovely to see you again Ilya, I'm so glad you could make it for book club."

"I have been looking forward to it. It is nice not to have to be Lily anymore."

"I know what you mean." Jackie smiled. "I can't tell you how many times I nearly slipped up and called you Ilya to the girls."

Three small children came charging into the lounge. They were already dressed for bed but their boundless energy suggested that they were nowhere close to sleeping. "ANYA!" They cried as the dog bounded happily into their rowdy embrace."

"They are lively tonight." Ilya observed.

Jackie chuckled. "I'm hoping a run around the garden with Anya will tire them out a bit."

Ruby finally seemed to realise that Anya's presence meant that her owner would be around too and looked up to see Ilya watching the tangled mass of children and dog. "Uncle Ilya!" She grinned a gap toothed grin.

Ilya bent down to join the fray. "You seem to be missing some teeth Ruby. Have you been getting into fights?" He asked with mock sternness.

Ruby giggled. "No silly they fell out so there's room for my big girl teeth."

"My tooth is wobbly look!" Jade cried, making a big show of wobbling her tooth for Ilya.

"Oh wow yes very exciting!"

Ilya turned his attention to Arthur, who was shyer than his sisters. "Very cool nails." He said spotting the boys nails which were green with sparkles. Ilya showed off his own nails which he had painted black and red in honour of the Centaurs, save his ring fingers which were blue to match Shane's Voyageurs jersey.

Arthur smiled at him and gave him a high-five. "Yours are cool too." He whispered.

"Alright." Ilya said standing. "Anya has been in the car since Ottawa and she hasn't run around who wants to show her the garden?"

The kids scrambled to their feet and hurried towards the garden, calling Anya after them. They chased her around the garden throwing toys Ilya had brought for her until they tuckered themselves out and Hayden carried them off to bed just as the first book club attendees started arriving.

Ilya was worried it might be awkward at first. He had known these women for years as Lily, but this was the first time he was meeting them in person as Ilya. He knew that more than one of their partners were not entirely comfortable with Shane and even more were uncomfortable about him and Shane but the Montreal WAGs had been nothing but supportive to him in their group chat and that translated in person too.

As the women trickled in he was greeted with hugs and exclamations of delight that he had been able to make it. There was a little good-natured teasing about how his season was going and how the Voyageurs were going to destroy the Centaurs but that just made Ilya love them all more. In spite of everything that had happened they weren't treating him any differently. He may be Ilya Rozanov, captain of a rival team, but he was also Lily, their friend of several years.

"I think that one of the biggest problems with TV and film adaptations of Little Women is that the same actresses play the sisters throughout, which is just about alright for Jo and Meg, but when you've got 22 year old Florence Pugh playing 12 year old Amy March it really breaks the immersion." Alice said, launching into a passionate discussion about the most recent adaptation. "I think it would be better if they had a younger actress play Amy to begin with and then an older actress when she meets Laurie in Europe when he sees her in a different light because she's older and more mature. Like I really loved Florence's older Amy but her young Amy just seems silly."

"I love Laurie." Declared Alexis, who was halfway down her third glass of wine.

"Of course you do." Connie remarked, equally drunk.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing nothing."

"Ok ok ok all I'm saying is that Laurie is perfect and I don't get why Jo doesn't love him." Alexis cried.

"No, what you're saying is that you have a fat crush on Timothée Chalamet and are basing all your opinions on that." Countered Connie. "I bet you didn't even read the book."

"Did you?" Alexis argued back.

"Eh who has the time." Connie shrugged.

"What is the point of book club if not to read the book?" Asked Ilya, who had read almost every book the book club had picked out since he was added to the group chat and thoroughly enjoyed most of them.

"Drinking wine and gossiping while our husbands stay at home and take care of their children mostly." Jackie explained.

"But you do read the books?"

"When we have time. But when the boys are on road trips most of us are busy being effectively single parents and when they're home it's like having one extra kid in the house to clothe and feed." Nora sighed.

"That's not fair."

"I know I know you all work very hard and you're tired-" She continued.

"No," Ilya cut her off. "It's not fair on all of you for them to take advantage of you like that. I will have Shane talk to them. They should listen to their captain."

"That's kind of you hon, but I don't think the team are much listening to Shane about anything at the moment." Alice said gently.

"Benjy was saying some horrible things about him the other day. I had to give him a right telling off." Connie added.

Ilya had suspected Shane was shielding him from the worst of the locker room gossip but he hadn't realised how bad the atmosphere was if it was even making it home to the WAGs.

"Can I tell you something? Is secret so no telling your husbands, I don't know what Shane has told them." Ilya asked, scratching Anya's head for support.

The women nodded and Jackie raised an eyebrow quizzically.

Ilya pulled the ring out from where he had tucked it under his shirt.

"Is that…?" Jeanne asked.

"Oh my god!" Connie cried at the same time.

"Shane and I are getting married. In the summer. We haven't really planned anything but we're sick of waiting and hiding."

"Whoa."

"Wait so what does this mean logistically. I mean you can't keep living in different cities once you're married can you?" Alice asked.

That was the million dollar question. Ilya had thought about it, but he hadn't talked about it with Shane yet. "Well I want… I want him to come to Ottawa. His parents are there and his contract is up at the end of the season… and I don't think Montreal is a good fit anymore." He avoided the others gaze when he said that last point but no one disputed him.

"Holy shit." Sighed Alice.

"The Centaurs are good to you?" Nora asked.

"The best." Ilya nodded with a small smile. Proximity to Shane aside the Centaurs were the best group of people he had ever played with. They weren't the best team but they were the best team.

"Well that's good enough for us. Jackie where's your Stanley Cup champagne this calls for a celebratory toast." Alexis asked as she moved towards the kitchen.

"It's in the cupboard. I'll get it sit down Lexi you're hammered." Jackie said jumping up.

She came back with a bottle of champagne and some glasses and started passing them around.

"To Ilya and Shane." She said raising her glass.

"To Ilya and Shane." Everyone chorused back.

Ilya buried his face in Anya's fur to hide the tears forming in his eyes. He was so glad Hayden stole his number from Shane's phone to give to Jackie all those years ago and that it had lead him to such wonderful friends.