Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationship:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, canon TLG plane crash, Timeline: The Long Game, shane finds out in public, it does not go well, Panic Attacks

Language:

English

Stats:

Published: 2026-01-24 Words: 1,429 Chapters: 1/1

when he got the call

Summary

”Shane,” a reporter from ESPN calls, “what is your comment on the plane crash?”

Shane does not know about any plane crash, but he is disconnected from the news anyway, especially on game day. He asks, “What plane crash?”

”The Ottawa Centaurs,” the reporter says, and Shane’s heart—stops.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shane is in a press conference when he finds out about the plane crash.

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Shane is used to press conferences.

 

They are second nature to him at this point, a symptom of the job he loves. He has been media trained and he knows exactly what they want him to say, so he says the same sound bytes over and over again and they never get sick of it, and he puts on his most plastic smile and hopes for the best.

 

Today, Hayden is next to him at least, having assisted on their best goal of the night. Shane feels a little more like he can face what comes next, even though he cannot shake the feeling that something horrible has happened. He doesn’t know why the feeling has sunk into his stomach but he cannot shake that he is missing something big.

 

He answers a few questions about the goals, lets Hayden take over the bulk of them because he doesn’t always get this moment of pride, knowing that Jackie is probably watching every stream possible. Shane grins at his best friend, trying to shake the feeling in his stomach.

 

Shane doesn’t think anything of it.

 

Until.

 

”Shane,” a reporter from ESPN calls, “what is your comment on the plane crash?”

 

Shane does not know about any plane crash, but he is disconnected from the news anyway, especially on game day. He asks, “What plane crash?”

 

”The Ottawa Centaurs,” the reporter says, and Shane’s heart—stops. “On the way to—“

 

”What?” Shane demands because, for a moment, he does not understand. He cannot understand.

 

There is a roaring in his ears. He hears something about “survivors” and “injuries” that he doesn’t actually understand. He feels, suddenly, like he is underwater. He feels like he might throw up. He thinks, suddenly, in the middle of this room, that he might start screaming.

 

It is impossible. It is not possible.

 

Shane is standing before he understands what he is doing.

 

He hears the shutter of the cameras. He knows they are taking photos of whatever look is on his face. He thinks it is horrible. He feels like his entire world is ending. All he can think is Ilya, Ilya, Ilya.

 

Ilya was in a plane crash.

 

Shane is standing. He thinks he is about to hit his knees.

 

”Shane?” he hears Hayden ask, confused. Shane stumbles forward a step. He is horribly aware that he is on camera though he suddenly doesn’t care. He manages another step. He feels like he is going to collapse through the crust of the earth. He thinks he is going to be buried six feet deep, and he won’t even care.

 

Ilya was in a plane crash.

 

Ilya could be—

 

Shane refuses to even think about it. He cannot think it without stumbling. He all but collapses out of the press room. He is so little in control of his legs that he goes careening into the opposite wall and slams into it, bouncing off of it as he tries to find his footing.

 

Ilya was in a plane crash. A plane crash.

 

This is not real, except he thinks traitorously about the bad feeling in his stomach before the press conference, like his body knew something instinctually that he didn’t. Shane cannot even wrap his head around it. He almost wants to laugh because it is so impossible. He cannot fathom what it means for Ilya to have been in a plane crash. For the entire team to have—

 

No. Impossible.

 

Shane flies through the hallways. He pushes past people without apologizing. He crashes into the locker room and half of his teammates are asking him what’s going on but Shane’s shaking hands are trying to open his gym bag, to get to his phone, begging to understand, head spinning as he tries to—

 

He sees the Instagram messages. He sees them before he sees anything else.

 

I love you. Always. Maybe from the first time I saw you.

 

And Shane—

 

Breaks.

 

He is sobbing in the middle of the Montreal locker room, where no one can understand why. He rubs the tears away from his face and tries to see the rest, but they blur. He sees he has a text, too, from Ilya. He realizes it was sent afterward and he tries to click it so fast that he ends up clicking something else instead and having to go back, his heart hammering against his ribcage.

 

Sorry about the Instagram messages. Call me.

 

Shane flies out of the room, half of his teammates calling after him in confusion, in alarm. He cannot fathom what is happening right now and how close he thinks he came to losing the love of his life. He thinks he would never be able to understand this moment for a thousand years, how he feels like he is going to break, how it feels like the end of his sanity and the end of his life in equal measure.

 

Ilya cannot be dead. He cannot—

 

The phone rings. And is answered.

 

“Hey,” Ilya answers, sounding tired. “I’m sorry for—”

 

Shane bursts into sobs.

 

“Oh shit,” Ilya replies, and it sounds like he leaves the room he is in, where there was a lot of talking and music, like Shane’s entire fucking world wasn’t crashing down around his ears. “Shane, baby—”

 

“I thought you were dead,” he sobs, and he slides down the stall in the bathroom, where he didn’t even realize he ended up. “They asked me about it at the press conference and I thought that was going to be how I found out—”

 

“We are okay,” Ilya assures him sweetly, softly. “I am okay. Was an emergency landing where we lost an engine, but we made it, okay? Everyone is okay. A couple people had bad blood pressure—”

 

“I thought you were dead,” Shane tells him again, because he cannot imagine something so big. “I thought—”

 

“I know,” Ilya tells him, sounding sad. “I am sorry for scaring you.”

 

“The whole thing scared me.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Ilya,” he snaps, because Ilya takes too much on himself sometimes, and he doesn’t understand that he is not what Shane is upset about. “I’m just—terrified. I just thought I lost you for a few minutes—actually lost you. And that broke my fucking heart and I don’t know what to do with it right now.”

 

“Scare of my fucking life,” Ilya replies, taking a deep breath. “I am glad everything is okay. I kept thinking that I wanted to talk to you again. One last time. You know?”

 

Shane presses his hand against his mouth so he doesn’t sob again, because he cannot fathom it, no. He does not know what he would have done if Ilya called him under those circumstances. He doesn’t think he would have survived it.

 

“Don’t do that to me again,” Shane murmurs, wiping away his tears.

 

“I hope to never have that happen again,” Ilya teases, but sobers. “I am sorry, but I do not regret it. No matter what happens, I want my last words to be for you. I want them to be yours.”

 

“You’re not allowed to die,” Shane tells him.

 

“No,” Ilya allows, and Shane can see the smile through the phone.

 

Something in Shane finally relaxes, knowing that smile still exists, knowing that the man of his dreams is still out there in the world.

 

“I need to see you.”

 

“FaceTime later,” Ilya promises. “I’m at a bar with the team. Many reasons to drink tonight.”

 

“No shit.”

 

“I love you,” Ilya promises softly. “I really do. All I can think about.”

 

Shane can only think about how he would have had to mourn alone, and he can barely choke back his sobs again. “I love you too. Stay safe, okay? Please call me soon. I need to hear your voice.”

 

“I love you so much,” Ilya promises before he hangs up.

 

Shane has a lot to face outside of those doors. He stormed out of a press conference and he ran through a locker room with all of his teammates, who might be able to put the pieces together if they care enough. The whole world could figure it out today. Shane doesn’t even fucking care.

 

Ilya is okay. Ilya is safe. Shane cannot see him face to face tonight but he can see him through video, and he can live knowing he heard his voice, knowing that he is okay and he will see him again, and that the worst did not happen today.

 

Shane can learn to live with that.