Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Heated Rivalry (TV)

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike & Ilya Rozanov, Jean-Jacques Boiziau | J. J. Dagenais & Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike

Characters:

Shane Hollander, Hayden Pike, Jean-Jacques Boiziau | J. J. Dagenais, Ilya Rozanov

Additional Tags:

Friendship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander, POV Ilya Rozanov, POV Hayden Pike, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov

Language:

English

Series:

Part 2 of Let My World Be Bigger Than a Closet

Stats:

Published: 2026-04-23 Words: 3,957 Chapters: 1/1

No Nice Men

Summary

Hayden hated what he was about to say, but he drew up his shoulders and stood up a little straighter. “Alright, so… look… Roz is a horny guy, I’ll give you that.” He and J.J. grimaced at each other. “And sure, he has just as much opportunity to sleep around as he did before they got together, but he doesn’t want to.” J.J. took a breath to argue, and Hayden held up a hand. “That man has taken all that… libido… desire… whatever you want to call it, that he had in his manwhore phase and turned it onto Shane. Only Shane.” He shrugged. “It’s kinda sweet once you get used to it… so long as you don’t sneak up on them.”

When the time came for J.J. to meet Shane's boyfriend, Ilya (rather than the menace on the ice, Rozanov), Hayden agreed to mediate. He just hoped he could keep J.J. from making the same mistakes he did and alienating Shane in the process.

*Sequel to Confidence in Confidants*

Notes

This is a sequel to Confidence in Confidants and it will make more sense if read after that work.

Thanks to all the commenters that encouraged me to continue this. I'm plotting out Cliff's tale next.

“Ok, so… tall, muscular, and a dick. I could have found that for him, easy,” J.J. declared, swinging his hand out in exasperation. Hayden caught his forearm before it struck his face, used to J.J.’s dramatic gestures and his prodigious wingspan. “That describes haIf the bartenders and DJs I know. I was only trying to set him up with pretty twinks because that’s what he liked when he dated women.”

Hayden rolled his eyes. “J.J., someone set him up with every woman he ever went out with. I don’t think that’s a good indicator of type.”

“Except Rose!” J.J. stopped and turned to face Hayden, blocking too much of the sidewalk. “That’s why, the last time I tried to set him up with someone, I was strategic.” He shook his finger at Hayden. “I made sure to highlight all the ways that art student was like Rose; he was pretty, charming, and smart. Shane didn’t even look at his picture.”

“Look man, Shane is pretty locked in on the relationship he’s got, and he already was when he came out to us. Your attempts to set him up were never going to work. You know how loyal he is.” Hayden smiled, hoping that J.J. would finally give his failed attempt at wingmaning a rest. J.J., you play defense, man. Stick to what you know.

“Yeah, I do.” J.J.’s shoulders fell, and he slowly fell back into step with Hayden. “That’s what I’m worried about, now that I know who he’s giving that loyalty to.”

Hayden winced. “J.J., if you’re going to be a dick today, we should call this off. I can attest to the fact that it won’t go well.” He sighed and stopped at the intersection that would take them to Shane’s apartment. Eyeing a woman approaching with a dog, he drew J.J. to one side so that she could pass them. “I know it’s hard to believe if all you know is the Roz from games or the media, but he’s actually really good to Shane. This is the real deal, for both of them.”

“Real for Shane, I can believe,” J.J. told him, shaking his head. “Real for Rozanov? No way. We’ve all seen the tabloids, and you know that’s not even half of the women he’s fucked. It would be impressive, if he wasn’t dating our capitaine.”

“Is this some biphobia bullshit?” Hayden bristled, glowering at him. “Because if it is—”

“How the fuck do you know about biphobia?” J.J. shoved his shoulder, laughing. “And no, bisexuals aren’t gonna cheat just because they have more selection. That’s fucked. Renee, in HR, has a bi flag on her desk, and she’s been married for fifteen years.”

Hayden almost argued that knowing one bisexual person didn’t make J.J. an expert, but he only knew two, Ilya and Renee, so he left that alone. “So, what is it, then?”

“He’s a manwhore!” J.J.’s shout echoed, and the woman with the dog turned back to stare at them, mouth agape in horror. Hayden forced a smile and gave her a half wave. “It’s the whole idea of him being a reformed manwhore, like that’s really something that happens. Especially to someone with fame and money and a partner on the opposite side of a border. A partner he’s free to cheat on because no one knows about them.”

“Shane knows about his past, probably more than either of us do. It doesn’t bother him, but you throwing it in Rozanov’s face will not go over well.” Before making his peace with Ilya, Hayden had pressed Shane about the man’s promiscuous past; Hayden hadn’t been sure their friendship was going to survive that night.

“Doesn’t bother him,” J.J. scoffed, leaning against a lamp post and crossing his arms. “That’s because Shane has never lived that life. He never wanted it. Look, of all the things I criticize, it’s not the fucking around. I know what it’s like, better than you or Shane. It’s why I never give Jackie numbers for any of my girls to join the WAGs for wine nights or their spa days.”

“Beatrice didn’t last long enough to attend a spa day even if they had included her on the invite,” Hayden pointed out. Spa days were planned a month in advance, and J.J.’s last girlfriend had only been around three weeks. She’d never even suffered the separation of a road trip.

J.J. cast his eyes upward and sighed. “That’s my point. Look, for men like him and me, falling for someone is easy. See a beautiful girl in a club…” He twisted his mouth and started over. “See a beautiful person in a club and buy them a drink, ask them to dance. Feel the rush of it and invite her… them… home. Maybe the sex is good, and you get their number. Go out a few times together… Maybe you even start to think they’re the one. Maybe this time you can be exclusive with someone. But then, you go out alone, and you see a different beautiful person…”

“Or maybe, you don’t like the first beautiful person that much after all?” Maybe you’re afraid to commit to someone and let them down? Hayden wondered when he’d become the old married guy on the team, doling out relationship advice. He sighed. “Lots of guys party it up before they settle down, man. I had my fair share of puck bunnies and party girls before I met Jackie. But once saw her, that was it for me. The rest of it just didn’t appeal, you know?”

“Fair share?” J.J. scoffed. “You went out with us four times the season you met Jackie.” He frowned, and Hayden wished he hadn’t agreed to mediate this little adventure. “Some people aren’t meant for one person. There’s just too much need and so many gorgeous and fascinating women… people… willing to fill it. I don’t want Shane to get hurt.”

Hayden hated what he was about to say, but he drew up his shoulders and stood up a little straighter. “Alright, so… look… Roz is a horny guy, I’ll give you that.” He and J.J. grimaced at each other. “And sure, he has just as much opportunity to sleep around as he did before they got together, but he doesn’t want to.” J.J. took a breath to argue, and Hayden held up a hand. “That man has taken all that… libido… desire… whatever you want to call it, that he had in his manwhore phase and turned it onto Shane. Only Shane.” He shrugged. “It’s kinda sweet once you get used to it… so long as you don’t sneak up on them.”

“And what happens when the novelty wears off? We just pick up the pieces when that cocksu—”

“Hey!” Hayden interrupted sharply. “There’s a few things we’re not going to do today, and one of them is drop a bunch of fucking slurs, not about Shane’s boyfriend and not in Shane’s home.”

J.J. dropped his arms to his side and stared at his feet. “Sorry. You’re right.” He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. “I’m working on that, but I need to work harder, I guess. Shane deserves better.”

“He does.” Hayden nudged J.J.’s foot with his own. “And if you call Rozanov a cocksucker, he’s liable to volunteer details. Then, you’ll be stuck with the knowledge that it’s Shane on the other side of that… equation.” He curled his lip and wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, it’s like thinking about my brother in bed with someone.”

“Surely, it’s not that bad?” J.J. grinned. “Your brother isn’t nearly as pretty as Shane.”

---

The call with Speedo had started late, and it had been moved twice already so postponing it again wasn’t an option. Shane was frustrated with the negotiations on the latest ad campaign, so, when he offered to cancel their afternoon with Boiziau and Hayden, Ilya talked him out of it. As he set a bowl of protein dip between the chips and cut bell peppers, Ilya regretted his decision.

His last round of losses dragged him down, adding to the ache in his shoulder. All he really wanted was to slip into Shane’s home office and lay his head in Shane’s lap. He could almost feel those strong fingers running absently through his curls.

Without deciding to, Ilya wandered closer to the half-closed office door. Shane’s voice carried into the hall, a strained undercurrent in his calm tone as he told someone that their proposed schedule would not work. Ilya had dozed through enough of those calls to know that this one would last a while longer.

There was a knock at the front door, and Ilya waved to Shane as he pulled the office door closed. J.J. and Hayden had arrived, and dread built in Ilya’s spine. He braced himself to defend his presence in Shane’s life, gathering all the arguments he wasn’t sure he believed.

He didn’t fool himself into thinking he deserved Shane, but he doubted anyone could. The best reason he had to justify his place by Shane’s side, the one reason that could cut through all the noise in his mind, was too personal to lob into an argument with a few overprotective hockey players. It was only for him.

“I don’t think a nice man would be good for me,” Shane had whispered into the quiet of a late night, as they lay in separate cities with their phones resting where their beloved’s head should have been. “I don’t think I could be myself with someone that… someone like that.” He sighed, and Ilya had desperately missed the feeling of that warm breath tickling his ear. “I think it would be one more part of my life where I tried to be who people expect me to be, instead letting myself be loved for who I am.”

Months later, Ilya wrapped those words around him like armor and opened the door. Hayden smiled tentatively as J.J. hovered behind him. Ilya stepped back from the door and waved them in, not bothering to mask his lack of enthusiasm. J.J. frowned at the empty space over Ilya’s shoulder as he kicked off his shoes.

“Shane is on a call with Speedo. He will be done as soon as he can.” Ilya kept his sigh as quiet as possible. The only things he had in common with J.J. Boiziau were Shane and hockey, but he was determined to be a good host. “There is beer, Coke, and ginger ale in the fridge. Vodka in the freezer.”

As he rattled off choices, he walked toward the kitchen. Both men followed behind him. “Don’t worry about serving drinks, man.” Hayden stepped around the island and reached for glasses. “We know where everything is.”

“Right.” Of course they did, because they lived in Montreal. They probably spent more time in his boyfriend’s apartment than he did. Ilya pressed that thought down and reached for a Coke. “There’s snacks in the living room.”

The men shuffled toward the sofa, stepping softly enough that the floors didn’t creak. They were three very big men walking like shadows through Shane’s home. Ilya slumped onto the far corner of the couch, watching from the corner of his eye as J.J. and Hayden both grabbed coasters before setting their drinks down on the coffee table.

He held his Coke, twisting the can in his hands rather than drinking it. Hayden picked at the label on his beer. J.J. stared at the black TV screen and drummed his fingers on his knee. Ilya tilted his head to one side, listening unsuccessfully for the murmur of Shane’s voice.

“There’s a new set of highlight reels out,” Hayden offered, shattering the silence. “The socials guy sent me a link to mine this morning, to share on my accounts. We could pull them up? I bet Shane hasn’t had a chance to watch his.”

Gratefully, Ilya reached for the remote and pulled up YouTube. He clicked on his account, and his recommendation page filled the screen. Hayden laughed as Ilya scrolled past dog videos, car reviews, and Russian recipe vloggers. It only took two clicks of the down arrow for the screen to be taken over by Shane’s face.

“Ad for Rolex. Ad for CCM. Interview for Rose’s thing…” Ilya muttered to himself as he scrolled down and down again. Hayden kicked J.J. in the foot and jerked his chin toward the screen. Ilya ignored them. “Mmm… Cosmo’s Hottest video compilation…” He smirked at that one; it stayed on his recommended page because Shane was heavily featured. “There, hockey!”

“Third video over; one row down,” Hayden pointed at the screen. “Below the post game interview compilation.”

Ilya frowned at the thumbnail. “Why do all your Metros videos look the same? Using a big Metros logo, with a tiny picture of Shane makes no sense. You must squint or read the title to see which player is it for.”

“I guess it helps with branding or something. Why? How does Ottawa do theirs?” Hayden asked, frowning at the screen.

“First, Harris doesn’t drop all our highlight videos on the same day. He does them over time, so that we can all share each other’s.” Ilya switched to the Ottawa page to show them. “And all our thumbnails use our faces and number with the logo in the background.” He highlighted one of Bood’s videos; his face covered most of the cartoon Centaur.

“Harris? Is that your PR guy?” J.J. looked him in the eye for the first time.

“He is our social media manager. Metros use interns for this, yes?”

“Yeah,” Hayden shrugged. “They’re usually pretty good, but it would be nice to talk to the same person throughout the season. They get moved around to different departments.”

Ilya thought the Centaurs’s approach worked better, but he tried not to criticize the Metros too much. He was tired of hearing how they were just old fashioned. Neither Ilya or Shane said it out loud, but the Metros’s winning record covered over a lot of cultural issues. The social media and fan online engagement was the least of their worries.

“So, highlights!” Ilya forced a cheerful tone, and Hayden side eyed him skeptically. Ignoring him, Ilya cued up the video that promised to be Shane Hollanders Best Moments of 2019.

A simple and dramatic number ten took over the screen before the title card faded away to an early season match between Montreal and Buffalo. The clip was from the beginning of the third period, and the score was 5-2 with Montreal in the lead. Ilya titled his head, trying to remember anything about the game. He glanced over at J.J. and Hayden for clues, but they only showed mild interest.

They watched in silence as Shane executed a textbook play, making a goal off an assist from Hayden. The Buffalo defense barely challenged them. They might have been doing a demonstration rather than playing a game. The screen lit up when the puck hit the net, and the words Hollander Hat Trick covered the paused play.

The next two highlights were just as bland, showing Shane making easy goals as though the other teams weren’t on the ice. Ilya sneered at the screen. “This is supposed to be highlights from the season? It’s boring!”

“Shouldn’t you love it then?” Hayden smirked. “You love Shane, and you call him boring all the time.”

Ilya was too annoyed to tease back. “I also call you the worst player on the Metros.”

“Are you finally admitting that I’m not?” The video was forgotten as Hayden leaned over a confused J.J. to grin at him.

“You are on Shane’s wing every game. He wouldn’t put up with you if you sucked,” Ilya said flatly. He backed out of the video and scrolled down to his subscribed channels. It took a moment to find what he wanted, so many usernames started with either Hockey or Hollander.

“Hockey_Jesus?” J.J. blinked at the screen. “What is this?”

“It is a Hollander fan site.” Ilya lifted a brow at him. “You would not be familiar with this, but sometimes fans follow specific players rather than the whole team.” Hayden narrowed his eyes at Ilya, but his dad glare didn’t even work on his children.

Ilya queued up a video titled Wild Hollander Moment – Montreal v New York. It opened on a face off between Shane and Hunter. When Hunter took the puck and started down the ice, Shane was right behind him. J.J. tried to cut Hunter off, and Hunter passed the puck to Vaughn.

The camera followed Vaughn as he moved toward the goal, a looming blue shadow overtaking him. Ominous music began to play over the scene. Vaughn approached the goal, and Draupeau braced for the shot. Ilya smiled, anticipating the next moment.

In a flash of blue, the puck was gone, flicked away by Shane as he headed back into the neutral zone. The camera barely caught Vaughn as he failed to stop and slid right into the net taking Draupeau down with him.  

“No goal with that one!” The commentator declared, laughing. J.J. snorted and slapped Hayden on the arm.

Shane skated toward the Admirals’s defensive end, swerving around red-jerseyed players like they were over sized traffic cones. Hunter cut diagonally across the ice to intercept him, but Shane twisted out of the way at the last second. After Hunter hit the boards, he shook his head like a dog before giving chase. It was far too late.

The Admirals’s new goalie, Bennie’s replacement, locked eyes on Shane. Ilya’s heart sped up, and he sat forward on the couch. He knew better than to blink. Shane hit the puck, a screaming fast slap shot, and the goalie dove to block it. The playback slowed, and they watched as the puck flew under a falling wall of pads.

“You see? Much more impressive.” Ilya relaxed against the back of the couch as the video ended. Autoplay queued Shane Hollander’s Best Moments, Olympic Edition. Ilya considered skipping it in favor of another video, but he heard the office door open.

He stood up and crossed the living room to intercept Shane. Ilya’s body blocked the view from the sofa as he reached out to take Shane’s hand. “How was your call? Is everything better?”

Shane smiled at him, tension easing at his touch. “Yeah, we got things figured out. I’ll do the shoot when I’m in New York in February, that way we’ll have All Star weekend and our break without any interruptions.”

Ilya felt happiness bubble up inside him, and he tugged Shane in for a quick kiss. When he pulled away, Shane swayed forward, as though chasing after his lips. Agreeably, Ilya let him steal one more kiss before he pulled away.

“Why don’t you go sit with your friends? I will bring you a drink.”

“Thank you.” Shane moved toward the living room while Ilya went into the kitchen. He smiled as he heard Shane greeting their guests. Somehow, that never got stale.

“Why are we watching my commercials?” Shane asked, as Ilya handed him a glass of water and sat beside him.

“We were watching hockey highlights, and it just started autoplaying.” Hayden smirked at J.J. “Kinda interesting what a man’s YouTube algorithm will tell you about him.”

J.J. grinned, his eyes dancing as he looked at Shane. “Mon Capitaine, I forgot about most of these things. How many shirtless commercials have you filmed?”

Shane’s fingers tightened around his glass, and his face went blank. Ilya settled his hand on Shane’s thigh, curling his fingers gently into the tense muscle. Between one breath and the next, Shane relaxed, deciding that J.J. wasn’t mocking him. Moments like that always made Ilya wonder how often his teammates made fun of him.

His protective instincts tried to rise, but they had no real outlet. J.J. was teasing Ilya, not Shane. It was more than harmless and friendly; it was a tentative peace offering. Ilya smirked at him.

“It’s difficult to count them all,” Ilya replied. “Some of these sponsors will film once and recut the commercial a few times, yes?” He shook his head slowly, pouting. “I think I am getting more of my beautiful Shane, but then it is the same scene from months before.”

Hayden laughed. “I’m sure you watch them all a few times to make sure, though, right?”

Ilya nodded. “Of course. I compare all the versions of his commercials and ad campaigns. Very careful review.” He leaned over and kissed Shane’s flushed cheek. “Especially the Calvin Klein ones,” he whispered into Shane’s ear.

Heat flickered in his gut, and Shane shivered against him. When Shane met Ilya’s gaze, the world narrowed to brown eyes, freckles, and full pink lips. Ilya felt himself getting drawn in, helpless against the gravitational pull.

They both jumped when Hayden clapped loudly. “Well, I think we’re gonna call this visit a win and let you boys enjoy your afternoon.”

J.J. stared at them, mouth agape. Hayden reached down and pulled his arm. The force wasn’t enough to move him, but it was enough to break his shock.

“Right! Mon Capitaine, we will see you at practice on Monday. Until then, Hayden and I will handle any captain’s duties so that you can relax.” J.J. grinned when Shane blushed and stared intently at the painting behind his friends.

“That is very good of you, Boiziau,” Ilya declared. He bumped Shane’s shoulder. “And here I thought there must be no nice men in Montreal.” He grinned toothily, hoping he looked like a shark.

Shane rolled his eyes, laughing. “Shut up.” He elbowed Ilya and stood to walk their guests out. Ilya blatantly ogled his ass as he followed.

---

On the street, Hayden grinned at J.J. “You see what I mean? Sorry about the highlights, but I figure, seeing is believing when it comes Rozanov and Shane.”

“I didn’t doubt he was attracted,” J.J.’s brow furrowed as he started walking. Hayden fell into step with him. “I just think he’ll get bored eventually.” He sighed and shook his head. “But I am not a cock blocker! I’ve been working too long to get Hollander laid to stand in the way now.”

“How long?” Hayden asked suddenly.

“How long for what?” J.J. stopped abruptly, staring at him. “How long have I been trying to get Shane laid?”

“No, ass,” Hayden rolled his eyes. “How long do you figure it would take for the novelty to wear off? For Roz to get bored and start cheating on Shane?”

“It is hard to say. I refuse to be my papa’s son, so I always break things off first. The longest I’ve managed monogamy was five months. I suppose some guys go longer.”

“Five months…” Hayden laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “J.J., Roz moved to Ottawa to be closer to Shane. They’ve been together, exclusively, since about the time Amber was born.” Amber was the living embodiment of the terrible twos, and the last time J.J. had been at the Pikes she had colored on his shoes while he was distracted.

J.J. blinked. He dragged his hand down his face and blinked again. “Two years?”

Ready with the knockout blow to J.J.’s world view, Hayden asked, “Do you remember Shane texting some Boston girl named Lily?”