Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationships:

Ilya Rozanov & Irina Rozanova, David Hollander & Yuna Hollander & Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Ilya Rozanov, Irina Rozanova, David Hollander, Yuna Hollander, Shane Hollander

Additional Tags:

Irina Rozanova Haunts the Narrative, Dead Irina Rozanova, Ilya Rozanov Needs A Hug, Good Parents David Hollander/Yuna Hollander, POV Irina Rozanova's Ghost, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander's Parents Also Love Ilya Rozanov, Ghost Story of sorts

Language:

English

Collections:

*Heated rivalry melts my heart*

Stats:

Published: 2026-02-03 Words: 816 Chapters: 1/1

Irina Rozanova is Proud of Yuna and David Hollander

Summary

Irina Rozanova loves her son and hates to see him feeling alone. She can't move on until he's loved as much as he needs.

Notes

My notes for this doc say: "I’ve already written basically everyone who’s alive in this universe, might as well write someone who’s dead."

Usually I thank the author and whichever actors for the inspiration. Thanks to Irina Rozanova's ghost for this one, she did a great job making me feel all the emotions.

Irina didn’t regret saying goodbye to her life. She didn’t regret saying goodbye to her mother, who she had never been enough for, or her father, who had always wished she were another son. She didn’t regret saying goodbye to her husband, who’d abused her relentlessly, or her cruel eldest son, who’d taken his cues on how to treat her from his father.

But she deeply, every hour of every day, and with every fiber of her being, regretted saying goodbye to her sweet Ilyushka.

And maybe that’s why she had never been able to move on. Because Ilya had no one else. As alone as Irina had felt in life, she’d had him. For so many years, he’d had no one. But she’d watched over him. She was there, even when he didn’t know it.

She’d been there when he’d gotten his heart broken by his first girlfriend, and when he’d won his first league MVP trophy. She’d been there when he’d started to study English in earnest when he’d made it his private goal to play in the North American league, and when he’d realized what leaving Russia could mean for him.

She’d been there as he’d come to terms with his sexuality, and as he’d grappled with who he was as a person. She’d wished she could hug him as she’d watched his father criticize everything that was good about him and try to turn him into a soldier. But she’d been so, so proud when he’d turned away and stopped himself from becoming that person.

His heart had always stayed kind. He was sarcastic, sure, but Irina had been too. He apologized for wrongs and tried to make things right, picked up after himself and helped people when he could. He was still her sweet boy.

She’d cheered on draft day when he was signed by a North American team.

She’d never been to Boston.

When he’d left Russia, so had she.

And his life was better. He wasn’t free of his father or his brother, maybe he would never be free of them, but he could breathe.

It was better, but there was still something missing.

And then he’d found Shane, and Irina could tell right away that something about him, something about them was different.

Right from the first moment that she’d watched Ilya struggle through Shane’s English words, she’d caught the static in his thoughts, caught the way his gaze focused so sweetly on Shane’s freckles, caught his private little smile to himself and how he felt warmed by the conversation.

And then he wasn’t alone. He had someone he cared about. It took him years to understand his own feelings, but Irina had known them right away. He fell in love slowly from that very first day. Step by step, day by day, until he was so deep in love it was irreversible. Until Shane couldn’t be replaced in his heart, and he in Shane’s.

And she could see just how well Shane loved him back, and how hard he tried to be everything Ilya could want.

But Ilya still didn’t have a parental figure to love him the way he needed.

And then Ilya and Shane took the next step, and Ilya got to meet Shane’s parents.

And suddenly Ilya had a mom who would hug him the second he walked in the door and asked about his day. A dad who invited him over to watch the Metros game even though there was no way Shane could join.

He had parents who cooked for him, and then he did the dishes while David cleared the table and Yuna cleaned the countertops.

He had someone to listen to his rants and hold him through his struggles. Someone to tuck him in with a warm blanket when he fell asleep on the couch before he could drive back home and make sure he left in the morning with a full stomach.

He had parents who checked in to make sure that he had actually attended therapy when he said he would, and listened when he needed follow up conversations.

Yuna and David were everything Irina could have hoped for, for Ilya.

She regretted leaving him behind when she couldn’t manage life anymore.

But she was flooded with relief when Ilya found someone to follow in her footsteps and treat him like he deserved.

And knowing they were there, she could finally find peace. She could finally know that he had the support and love and guidance he needed. That he had role models to follow who would not blame him when he failed but would build him up and teach him to do better. And serve him an ice cream sundae while they did it.

When Ilya found comfort, so did Irina. When he was loved as much as he needed, she was finally able to move on.