Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories:

F/M, M/M

Fandoms:

Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers | Heated Rivalry - All Media Types

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, David Hollander/Yuna Hollander, Shane Hollander & His Parents, Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike

Characters:

Yuna Hollander, David Hollander, Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Original Characters

Additional Tags:

Yuna POV, Shane Coming Out to His Parents, Smoking, Making Stuff Up About Canadian Law, Shane Comes Out to Voyageurs/Metros, Marriage of Convenience, Making Stuff Up About Hockey, Slurs

Language:

English

Series:

Part 16 of Hope You're Not Waiting For Me to Wait For You

Stats:

Published: 2026-08-08 Completed: 2026-08-17 Words: 15,485 Chapters: 3/3

Move First

Summary

Yuna Hollander learns that her son is engaged. To his rival.

Chapter 1

Chapter Notes

When Yuna was a teen, she started smoking because thought she looked mature and sophisticated holding a cigarette and because it pissed off her dad. Mostly because it pissed off her dad. The first couple of cigarettes were rough, but Yuna was nothing if not determined. By the time she met David in college, she was nursing a horrendous one-pack-a-day habit that had long ceased feeling empowering. She'd already been trying to cut back.

Thanks to her determination and discipline, Yuna had been smoke free for over a year when she started trying to become pregnant. She heard the siren's call that was nicotine whenever she was stressed, though. Every once in a while--a couple of time a year or so--it got loud enough that she picked up a lighter. She always made sure to permit herself only half a cigarette.

Then, her son had failed to be where he'd said he'd be and stopped answering his phone. His coach had been unaware of his whereabouts. So had his teammates. For the first time in his life except for that one day they got a flat tire, he missed a flight to a game. Yuna had her second first full cigarette in over two decades while watching a video of him arguing with one of his kidnappers online.

Of course, Yuna intended to quit again. Shane had been abducted for less than three days. Technically, they'd known where he'd been almost the entire time.

Yuna took another drag of the cigarette--the last drag--then snuffed it out. She walked a few paces towards the trashcan at the corner of the little park where she'd retreated and dumped it. And the rest of the pack.

That was quite enough of that.

She squared her shoulders and started walking back to the hospital. A bulky man with a buzz cut and a plain jacket followed behind her. Her security detail. Hired by her, after consulting with one of her high profile clients. David had been worried that they'd send large men in dark suits, but apparently, that kind of stuff was mostly for show. "Real" security was mostly about monitoring potential threats.

It was a pleasant day in Montreal, sunny and a little warmer than was usual for April, and she was thinking about her private security detail. She ought to be out having fun with David and--not Shane. Under normal circumstances, he'd be in the middle of the playoffs. She and David would be getting ready to watch him play, in person if the game was in Montreal.

Now, they were rearranging their lives. David had cited a family emergency and handed over the couple of classes he was teaching at uOttawa to his adjunct, with recommendations to that she should be offered a tenured position. He had taken the plunge and fully retired. For the next couple of weeks, he would be staying with Shane to help him with the initial stages of rehab.

Yuna couldn't walk away from her firm as easily, but she would also change trajectory. She'd informed them that she did not intend to accept new clients. Privately, she decided to leave the firm within the next six months. She didn't intend to retire, but her long term goals had drastically changed nevertheless.

For his part, Shane insisted that they didn't need to go that far; that the kidnapping hadn't been such a big deal.

One needed only to see the crowd in front of HGM--Montreal's largest hospital to see otherwise. Shane had had to give a brief interview after he'd come out of surgery thanking his fans for their concern and support, but asking them to please also be mindful of other patients and staff. The majority of the crowd had listened to him, thank God, but enough remained that Yuna went in and out through a special doorway for high profile guests.

She ran into none other than Jake Merrell a few minutes later as she was reaching Shane's room. The man paused when he saw her and looked at his feet, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Hi," he mumbled.

Yuna marched forward and put her arms around him, ignoring the way he stiffened. "Thank you," she told him, and he relaxed and patted her shoulder. "Thank you for not leaving my son behind."

"Uh," said Merrell. "It all happened very fast."

Yuna took a step back and looked up at him. His cheeks were pink and he reached up to rub the back of his head. "You could've kept running, but you turned back and to help with the bleeding," she said. Considering how he and Shane famously didn't get along--considering what Shane had said to him about his wife--Yuna had been shocked to see that.

"He took a bullet for me," said Merrell.

Like he'd said, it'd happened very fast. Yuna wondered if Merrell realized that when, after hearing the gun go off, he'd flinched and immediately looked around for Shane. At the sight of him on the floor, he'd gone down to help him control the bleeding. The SWAT team had stormed the strip club at around the same time, while the kidnappers yelled at each other because their awful little fistfight surely wouldn't happen in one of the participants was dead.

"I hear you're cleared to play," said Yuna, eager to change the subject.

"Yeah," nodded Merrell. "Just swung by to make sure. . ." He trailed off and shrugged. "Hollander's back to his usual bull--" He cut himself off.

"He's doing well," said Yuna. "Thank you again."

"Right, um. . . I have to go back to my wife," he said, looking ready to run.

The few times she'd met him before, he hadn't seemed to nervous. "Of course," said Yuna. "Give my best to Xiaoyan."

Yuna went ahead to Shane's room as Merrell walked past her. David smiled and nodded from his spot the room's lone, lumpy couch and she nodded before turning towards Shane. He was in bed, engrossed in his phone, eyes narrowed. Her gaze flew to his right leg. The bandage above his right knee, covering the outer part of his thigh looked secure. The olive skin of his calf seemed healthy enough under its coat of fine dark hair. His toes wiggled rhythmically.

"Honey, how are you feeling?" asked Yuna, as she walked to him.

"Great," said Shane, with only a glance her way. "Can't wait to get out of here."

Yuna couldn't wait either. She paused after kissing Shane's forehead to hold him, blinking down at his lap. Her eyes caught on his phone screen, which was opened to a conversation with Ilya Rozanov. Did you talk to her yet? Shane had asked.

Yuna averted her gaze before catching more of what might be a private conversation. After giving Shane's shoulder a final comforting squeeze, she went over to the little couch cuddle with David and think.

All in all, it might not be the worst thing on Earth that Shane would be confined to his very luxurious apartment for a couple of weeks, minimum. She would never tell him, but the watching him returning to his regular life of flying from major North American city to major North American city while the majority of the gambling ring that had kidnapped and almost killed him was still at large would have driven Yuna to an early grave.

The man who shot Shane--Ronald Lark--had been killed by police. His direct accomplices--Joshua Crawford and Michael Drouse, were in custody. A fourth perpetrator, Jay Blake Whitley (A. K. A "JB") had been apprehended trying to flee to the United States. Speaking of, the Canadian government insisted that the American FBI was cooperating in their investigation against MoonXRiders, the online group that had orchestrated the kidnapping.

David was trying to be satisfied with that, and maybe he was succeeding, but Yuna the root cause of a problem adressed. In this debacle, that was SportsBet and--to a lesser but by no means insignificant extent--the MLH itself.

Yuna couldn't believe that Crowell had gone on actual television to kiss SportsBet's ass while two of his superstars had been kidnapped. She was not naive. Yuna understood that the MLH was a primarily a business and to them, her son was a product. But she had assumed that he was a valuable product, though, and she would never forgive the league of not treating him as such.

Or herself for assuming that they would.

Once the doctors answered all of Yuna and Shane's questions, the security guys escorted them back to Shane's apartment. David insisted on one day of true rest before Shane began his rehabilitation plan--"And I mean a real rest, not just from exercise, but from your silly performance diet"--so they were going to eat spaghetti and meatballs and chase them down with ice cream while watching the Voyageurs' game.

"And the Bears' game right after," added Shane, shoving another meatball in his mouth, attention split between the large screen on his living room and his phone.

Yuna looked out to the Montreal skyline and sighed. Normally, she was so comfortable in Shane's apartment, which she considered her second home. Shane had proudly declared that he'd picked an apartment with an extra room and bathroom just for her and David right after signing with the Voyageurs.

"So that you guys can come chill in Montreal whenever you want!"he'd told them.

She had been the one to select the interior decorator and had been present when the woman presented her ideas to Shane. Predictably, Shane hadn't been particularly interested and left her to pick the masculine, but cozy blue/gray theme for the place. She had made sure that Shane didn't plant a his massive smart TV in front of his gorgeous view.

Now, she felt jittery. The knowledge that there was a minivan outside the apartment surveying for would-be kidnappers did little to soothe her. She resisted an urge to go doomscroll through more sensationalized content about Shane's kidnapping and focused on the hockey game that was about to start on TV.

A sea of signs wishing for Shane's quick recovery made up the majority of the Montreal crowd. Yuna tried to focus on them rather than the commentators glib summary of the "prediction market's" forecast for the upcoming match. She counted the number of times they said the word "SportsBet". The specific number was significant. Yuna knew that no matter how casual the commentators might sound, they were actually highly scripted in very particular ways.

She would bet half her retirement savings that the SportsBet contract with the MLH specified a minimum number of times that the commentators needed to mention them by name. It likely got as specific as how many times per period, and how far apart the mentions needed to be. The absolute bare minimum that the league could do was minimize their fawning to the minimum that was contractually required of them.

"Now that Merrell is back, the forecast has swung in the Voyageurs' favor once more. The market is favoring them two-to-one," said one of the commentators.

"We have better odds than that," said Shane. "The Shark's defense's been all over the place this season and I'm pretty sure Byrne's trying to play through an injury."

Theriault had moved Hayden to 1C, Yuna noted with some interest. Wagner to 2C and Carmichael as his left wing. Bit of a risky move, in Yuna's opinion. Carmichael had always played center and was, at best, a serviceable defensive forward.

Merrell scored twice with assists from Hayden in the first period, to the crowd's ecstatic delight. For much of second period, the match was at a tense two-to-two tie, and then Xie scored. A Shark D-man boarded him shortly after, incurring Babikov's wrath. He ended up in the penalty box despite the crowd's protests.

Theriault once again showed his ass by deploying the dumbest PK unit in the MLH: Xie and Wagner with Boiziau and Miitka at the blue line. Both boys were relatively slight and very fast, definitely better suited for offensive play. Xie specially skated around erratically, at one point actually passing to an opposing forward.

"Oh my God, come on," said Shane. "God wouldn't have that shot."

"What shot--yes!" Yuna was distracted by Boiziau stealing the puck and passing to Wagner. A few seconds later, Wagner passed back to Xie, who took another shot. This time, he buried it.

"Yes!" yelled Shane.

On the screen, Boizaiu threw his arms around Xie and lifted him off the ice in celebration. Four-to-two, and with a goal from a penalty kill. The Sharks would get aggressive.

They did, earning a minor penalty before the period was over. Shane hardly reacted, much to Yuna's shock. His attention was divided between the game and his phone. Yuna exchanged a pointed look with David. While Shane could get as lost in the phone as any boy his age, it never happened while he was watching hockey.

"Everything okay, son?" asked David.

"Yeah, everything's great," said Shane. Without pausing whatever rapid message he was typing.

David shrugged at Yuna and got up to prepare their dessert.

The Sharks' captain, John Byrne, managed to score another goal before the game was over. Too little, too late. Yuna could imagine the explosion of celebratory noise at the stadium. She looked over to Shane, expecting to see him celebrating, and found him fixated on the phone. It was too early for him to be messaging his teammates.

"Shane," said Yuna. "Are you okay? Is there something we can help you with?"

Shane's eyes flew to her. To David. And then, to his phone. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. "Mom, Dad, I have something important to tell you. Before I tell anyone else," he said. "I'd stand up, but you know. . . my leg."

Yuna exchanged a look with David. Since when did Shane feel the need to stand to tell them something? Anything?

"Son, of course we understand," said David, straightening up on the couch. He put his bowl of ice cream on the table. "You never have to stand up to talk to us."

"Okay." Shane stole a glance at them. His cheeks grew pinker. He fidgeted. The toes of his injured leg, which laid on the table right next to David's ice cream, wiggled nervously.
Yuna ordered herself to stay still and quiet. When he got like this, Shane needed time. Space. Patience. She held David's hand he gave her a comforting squeeze.

"I guess when that guy was pointing his stupid gun at me," started Shane, after clearing his throat. "And then when he shot at us. . . I got to thinking. I've never really been honest with anyone."

David squeezed her hand, which was the only reason Yuna didn't jump in to reassure Shane. Their boy wasn't looking at them; his gaze was fixed on his hands and his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. Yuna didn't see this demeanor often, only when Shane was trying to put into words something he didn't understand, or bracing himself to ask for something that made him feel guilty. Like a week or so of rest. Real rest.

"I'm. . ." Shane swallowed thickly. "I mean. I'm gay. I'm pretty sure."

"Oh," said Yuna.

Shane visibly made himself look at them. "I'm sorry. I really tried not to be."

"Oh," Yuna said again, as her eyes filled with tears.

"Son, you don't have to apologize for that," said David.

"Of course not!" said Yuna. "Honey, we love you. This makes absolutely no difference to us."

"We're sorry if we made you feel like it would," said David, nodding at Yuna.

"I guess I didn't, really," said Shane, with a small one-armed shrug. "But I wanted to be--I thought I wouldn't get to play hockey. Or maybe I wouldn't be setting a good example. I don't know."

"Oh, honey!" Yuna stood up suddenly, overcome. She was the one who'd told Shane, God knew how many times, that he had to remember all the little boys looking up to him. She started walking away and then saw Shane brace himself to stand.

She sat down next to him instead, wiping at her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"I'm sorry," said Yuna, putting an arm around him. Sorry about how lonely her boy must have been all. . . however long it'd been since he'd realized he was gay.

David moved to sit on Shane's other side, careful not to jostle his injured leg, and also put an arm around him. Yuna looked at him and he smiled at her reassuringly.

How long had Shane known that he's gay? It didn't feel right asking right now, but Yuna hoped that it hadn't been too long, that he hadn't been pushing this side of himself down for too many years. Mentally, she cringed at all the times that she'd badgered him about his lack of a love life. And all the times she'd tried setting him up with women.

Should she have pushed more last year, when his reaction to Dylan Xie coming out had been to offer unconditional material support while adamantly denying that he himself was anything other than straight?

"Is that all?" asked David.

Shane stiffened in their arms. "No, there's something else. Something more important. And I think I'll need your help."

"Anything, son," said David.

"Can I get a little space?" asked Shane.

Yuna nodded and shared a look with David. They stood up and moved back to the couch next to Shane's. Despite the renewed look of anxiety on Shane's face, Yuna felt energized. If Shane needed their help, then that meant there was something tangible for Yuna to do. Was it the league? Was Shane worried that they wouldn't treat him fairly?

"Well, there's no way to ease into this, so I'm just gonna come out and say it," said Shane. "I'm engaged!" He beamed at them.

"Oh," said Yuna, more surprised than she'd been at his declaration that he was gay.

Way more surprised. Though she supposed that Shane must have been secretly. . . meeting. . . with--men. Well. How could he have constructed a serious relationship with someone while playing for the MLH? While he was closeted?

"Ah. . . to who?" asked David, carefully.

"I'll tell you, but you need to understand that it's a secret for now," said Shane. "Even though I'm coming out, it's not so simple for him."

It was another player, Yuna realized. It had to be. Probably a teammate.

Her heart sank as she considered the options. Jeremy McAllister, one of the two openly queer Voyageurs, was already married. Happily so, it seemed. And Shane hardly ever mentioned him. Dylan Xie, the boy Shane had so adamantly supported when he'd come out, was dating a pop star. And Shane seemed mostly annoyed by him because he didn't take hockey seriously enough. At least according to Shane.

So it was another closeted player.

The teammate Shane was most comfortable with--and most possessive of--was Hayden Pike. Yuna had met him a few times and he seemed like a gentle, accommodating sort. And in awe of Shane's skills. Combined with his boy-next-door good looks and not inconsiderable prowess on the ice, she could imagine Shane becoming infatuated with him.

Hell, she didn't need to imagine it. She'd seen it. The first time she'd had a clear inkling that Shane might be at least somewhat attracted to men was in the middle of his first year in the MLH, when she'd noticed him watching, expression soft, while Hayden Pike frowned confusedly at one of David's puzzles. At the end of that first season, he'd fretted that Pike specifically might be traded, which he'd never done about any other teammate.

She thought of the rumors that Pike was Shane's "work wife", mostly bitter whispers, though with a touch of truth to them. Because Pike's spot on the team was as secured as it could be, so long as he was Shane's favorite. The man was married with three kids and a fourth on the way, though. Hard to imagine that he'd be so nefarious as to string Shane along, but maybe his wife was dead set on staying in Montreal?

"It's Ilya Rozanov," said Shane, before Yuna could move on to considering J. J. Boiziau.

"The hockey player?" said David, before Yuna could fully process the name. "From Boston?"

"From Russia," said Shane. "That's why it needs to stay a secret for now, Dad. It's illegal for him. He's scared he could extradited or something. Mom, we need a lawyer."

"Wait," said Yuna, blinking harshly. The words she'd inadvertently read at the hospital flashed before her eyes. Did you talk to her yet? "Isn't Rozanov with Svetlana Vetrova?"

"Kind of," huffed Shane. "It's complicated, okay? They've known each other forever, since they were kids, but Ilya says Svetlana doesn't want to marry him, so it's not a problem."

"Svetlana says she doesn't want to get married?" asked David. "Not--Rozanov? Does she know about you?"

"No!" said Shane. "I mean, she knows Ilya has someone in Montreal, but she doesn't know it's me. Because Ilya was keeping my secret. Our secret."

"How long has this. . . relationship been going on?" asked Yuna.

"Since our rookie year," said Shane. Then, his eyes narrowed and he looked to the side. "Well, I guess we first ho--made a connection the summer before our rookie year."

"Made a connection?" said David.

Shane's cheeks grew pink. "Uh. . . physically, yes," he said, looking at his lap. "And we kept--connecting whenever our teams played each other."

"Have you ever thrown a game for him?" asked Yuna. She didn't think so, but she couldn't be sure of anything anymore. Besides, Shane needed to be ready for the question since everyone else in the world would ask it.

"No!" said Shane, shooting her an offended glare. "Absolutely not. He's just really amazing, Mom. I told you, playing against him makes me feel like I'm flying. Hockey wouldn't be the same without him."

"Last season," said David. "You were having a hard time emotionally because of his accident."

"Yeah, that sucked," said Shane. "Because I made sure no one knew we. . . liked each other, I couldn't even ask what happened to him."

"Not even privately?" asked Yuna, remembering that Shane had been a wreck for the entire playoffs season, right until he'd gone to 'visit Wynn' in Boston.

"He lost his phone in the accident," said Shane.

That didn't make a lot of sense. He'd been in a secret relationship with Rozanov since the summer before their rookie year, but losing a phone prevented him from reaching out altogether? In the age of the internet?

"What about Wynn?" said David.

"That's just them messing with homophobic players' heads," said Shane, waving a dismissive hand. "And celebrating goals, you know? Wynn thinks it's just a funny joke."

"Wynn thinks it's a joke?" said David.

"And Ilya too, obviously," said Shane, looking at Yuna. "Mom, I was reading about Canadian immigration law, and I was wondering--since Ilya lives in the US right now--could he just buy property in Canada and call it his primary address? Because I think he needs to live here for a year after we get married before he can apply for Canadian citizenship. Is that right?"

"Honey, let's slow down," said Yuna. "First of all, if this is about R-Ilya's immigration status, there are ways to help him without jumping to marriage." The man was wealthy, or should be. Even if he was so terrible with money that he'd burned through his MLH salary, he would still be paid millions of dollars next season.

"It's not just that, Mom," said Shane, his eyes wide and earnest. "The citizenship thing is only a bonus. I love him."

"Shane." Yuna took a deep breath. "These last few days have been difficult for you--"

"--yes, and that's why I know what's important to me now," said Shane. "My whole life could be over any moment, so if I have a chance to have Ilya, I should take it!"

Good God.

Yuna rubbed her forehead. She honestly did not care that Shane was gay--beyond being concerned that the world might treat him unfairly for it. She didn't even care if he wanted to have a wild fling with Ilya Rozanov, of all people. But jumping from that straight to marriage?

"Look, if you guys don't understand, then fine," said Shane. "This probably sounds crazy from the outside, but I don't care. I can just hire another lawyer."

"No," said Yuna. "I mean, yes, you will need to hire another lawyer. I'm employment lawyer, Shane. I'm not the right person for immigration or marriage issues." She would be involved, of course. God, she needed to put the breaks on this long enough to at least get a decent prenuptial agreement.

"Okay, so who?" said Shane. "Do I need one of each? Which ones are the best in Canada?"

"I think we need some time to absorb all this information--Shane, you can't marry Ilya right this second," David finished before Shane could launch into another tirade.

"Right," said Yuna. "He's in the middle of a playoff series." For the first time ever, Yuna found herself praying that her son's rival--fiance, good God--would win. She hoped he made it all the way to the Stanley Cup.

"He's stopping here on his way to Vancouver so we can get married," said Shane. "Mom, can you have a secret marriage in Canada? Would that affect a citizenship application down the line?"

"I thought you were coming out," said David.

"I am," said Shane. "But the issue with Ilya's passport is more important. I can call the team whenever. And Farrah, I guess."

"We can be discreet," said Yuna. "I'll need to contact Rozanov's lawyer to draft the prenuptial agreement."

"Can we get a judge to come here to do the marriage in secret?" said Shane. He frowned, looking off into the distance. "Maybe we can do it like, verbally. So there's no record of it."

If there was no record of it, then it wasn't a marriage. Yuna shot David an exasperated look.

He responded by making what might be a calming gesture with his hands. "Look," said David, pointing at the SmartTV. "The Bears game is about to start. Why don't we watch and process?"

"Sure," said Shane. "It's too late to call a lawyer, anyway."

Yuna hardly watched the Bears-Knights game. Vaguely, she noted that there were more penalties than usual.

"What is Kent's problem with Wynn?" Shane asked in the middle of second period. The game was at two-to-one in favor of the Bears. Both goals were Wynn's, off assists from Rozanov. "It's like he cares more about checking Wynn than actually winning."

"You do keep saying that this Kent boy can't play hockey," said David.

Shane hummed and stretched lazily. Since telling them of his. . . engagement, he hadn't looked at his phone. He seemed more relaxed altogether. It had to be a good thing.

During the last intermission, Yuna excused herself and went to the kitchen. She was not surprised when David joined her.

"Honey," he started.

"I have to go to Toronto," said Yuna.

"Honey," said David, laying a hand on her shoulder. Gently, he slipped his other hand under her chin and tilted her head his way. "We have to be supportive right now."

"I want to be supportive," Yuna hissed. "But marriage? A secret marriage? To a known womanizer, no less."

"Or to a scared young man from an authoritarian country."

"David, he's wealthy," said Yuna. "He doesn't need to marry someone to get a North American passport. Certainly not Shane."

"You know our son," said David. "He is going to do this. The only question is, will he do it with us standing by his side?"

Yuna sighed and let David pull her into a hug. Of course, she would stand by Shane. By getting him an airtight prenuptial agreement, for starters.

She would have to pause her newly-conceived crusade against SportsBet for this.

Ilya Rozanov - Shane Hollander

Shane Hollander
ok step one of the plan is complete
i came out to my parents

Ilya Rozanov
and it went well?
you are good?

Shane Hollander
yeah

Ilya Rozanov
they do not reject you?

Shane Hollander
no of course not
honestly I never doubted they'd accept me I don't know why I didn't come out to them ages ago

Ilya Rozanov
great

Shane Hollander
i was more worried about how they'd take the news of our engagement
they were surprised and confused but i think i won them over
just i had to lie
not even lie
i had to exaggerate a little

Ilya Rozanov
about?

Shane Hollander
our epic love or whatever
don't freak out about it

Ilya Rozanov
oh

Shane Hollander
i mean freak out a little
you need to sell you're madly in love with me when you stop here on the way to vancouver
my parents wouldn't want me marrying for a friend's passport
mom said there were other legal options for you and we didn't have to rush into anything

Ilya Rozanov
maybe she is right

Shane Hollander
no she's not
all other routes are long annoying and complicated even with money
and you're not based in Canada right now and like we already went over
USA is not a good option

Ilya Rozanov
long routes is ok
i've been fine as russian national so far

Shane Hollander
so you're chickening out now?
after I already told my parents?

Ilya Rozanov
no that's not what I mean
but if your mom says we can do this less messy for you
maybe we should

Shane Hollander
there's no mess
mom said we draft a tight prenuptial agreement for both of us
then we can get the papers filed literally whenever is convenient for us
i told her asap

Ilya Rozanov
she is really ok with me?

Shane Hollander
well i told her i'd marry you with or without her help

Ilya Rozanov
hollander holy shit

Shane Hollander
incidentally she's asking for your lawyer's name

Ilya Rozanov
you cannot be fighting with your mama over me

Shane Hollander
we are not fighting
like i said i told her we're in love
that we've been together on an off since summer before our rookie year
and that i was so messed up second half of last season because of your accident
i guess that last part's true

Ilya Rozanov
they really say they agree with this

Shane Hollander
there were questions about svetlana and wynn
i said you and her broke up and that you've been kissing wynn to fuck with homophobic players' heads
i thought about saying it was to get my attention but that sounded stupid

Ilya Rozanov
i've been kissing wynn to get your attention
well at first
kind of

Shane Hollander
that's not nice to wynn

Ilya Rozanov
i said at first

Shane Hollander
anyway
dad thinks it's romantic
plan is going well
focus on your game ok
see if you can knock kent's teeth out tomorrow

Chapter End Notes

Honestly this one might bloom a chapter 3.

I'm latigrat over at tumblr.

Chapter 2

Chapter Summary

Before Shane can save Ilya from Russia, he has to come out to his team.

Chapter Notes

The warnings for this chapter are the bros and their overall views on homosexuality and the language they use to talk about it. So slurs, basically.

Ilya Rozanov - Shane Hollander

Ilya Rozanov
how is your leg?

Shane Hollander
fine
doesn't even hurt that bad
did you talk to svetlana?

Ilya Rozanov
no I told you I will talk to her next time I see her in person
she said she will meet me in Vancouver if we win and advance

Shane Hollander
what do you mean if?
Bears won the first three games already
and the Knights are a mess this season

Ilya Rozanov
right so I tell her in Vancouver

Shane Hollander
wouldn't she rather be broken up with before flying across a continent to watch you play?

Ilya Rozanov
sveta not as obsessed with me as you hollander
she's not going to Vancouver just for me
she has business there

Shane Hollander
fuck you I'm trying to help you

Ilya Rozanov
I know okay
just
I need to tell sveta in person
this is not over phone conversation

Shane Hollander
you remember the plan is for us to get legally married when you come see me after this series right?
you will already be married by the time you get to Vancouver
shouldn't you tell her first?

Ilya Rozanov
it's not like I need her permission

Shane Hollander
fair enough
anyway did you get the documents mom asked for

Ilya Rozanov
sent the email with the documents from my finance guy
and signed those edocs your lawyer sent

Shane Hollander
great
beat the knights tonight so we have more wiggle room before your next series
also where do I send my finance reports for you?

Ilya Rozanov
I don't need this
you're the one handling the legal stuff

The phone alarm reminded him it was time to get up and walk around a bit, so Shane decided to lecture Ilya later about how irresponsible it was to not to have his own lawyer participate in the prenup drafting process. It didn't matter right now--not like Shane was planning to cheat him somehow. Besides, it would be faster without opposing lawyers having some kind of law face off about the parameters. Shane didn't even care about the prenup; it was all to reassure his parents.

He called for his dad, though he suspected he would be able to take a few laps around his apartment on his own already. He had had crutches, after all. If he were playing in CHL, he'd probably be able to return to the ice in a few weeks. But he wasn't. He needed to be at the top of his game always. His dad would also feel better if he felt like he was helping with Shane's rehab.

Luckily, the bullet hadn't hit any tendons and hadn't reached anywhere near his femur or knee joint. The doctors said that the surgery itself had been very short. Barely even a surgery, one of them had joked.

"The muscles are viable and we re-oriented the fascicles to minimize the risk of excessive fibrosis. No major vessels were hit."

At least Shane thought he heard something like that. The truth was that the anesthesia might have hit him harder than he realized at first. Now, forty-eight hours later and in the safety of his own apartment, his mind felt clearer.

"Very good, son," David said, when they were back in front of the couch.

"Thank you." Shane smiled as he sat down. The doctors said that if everything went well, he could try putting weight on his leg again by the end of the week. He went back to his phone and frowned at Ilya's message that he was back at practice.

Terrent, the Bears' coach, was an idiot. The Bears had a game in a couple of hours. They ought to be resting. Shane sighed and went to see what Lady Istar was up to--ugh. A video about the movie Svetlana was making with Rose Landry. Who cared? It was the freaking MLH playosff. Wasn't Lady Istar a hockey content creator?

Hockinator actually talking about hockey so Shane went to his stream. Not only hockey, but the Voyageurs. And not just the Voyageurs, but not about the stupid kidnapping.

Folks, I know everyone is more interested in who's getting shot next and who's banging who, but I want to focus on how Montreal--either by shrewd planning, Theriault's instinct for spotting new talent, or just some kind of Satanic ritual offering--has bagged the top rookies in the league. Three of his six best forwards are rookies. His enforcer is a rookie.

What do you mean?

This is an elite team with two undisputed superstars and they're nowhere near their salary cap. Guys, Theriault will once again be able to choose the cream of the crop of free agents next season.

That was true. Shane didn't really give money a lot of thought since it hadn't been an issue for him since. . . well. Ever, he supposed. But the Voyageurs having so many rookies did mean that they had a lot of money to throw around during recruitment season. Only McAllister was due for a contract renegotiation next season. Hockinator's bros were speculating how much money he could ask for.

His agent, Shane thought. Hockinator and his podcast bros couldn't know this, but McAllister was too stupid for contract negotiations. It would have to be his agent and possibly Fernando, but the point stood. Next season, McAllister's team could reasonably ask for millions.

Can he, though? He's gay. Gay married.

If his point production is anything to go by, it's not really an issue.

That's fucking right, thought Shane.

And McAllister wasn't even one of their elite forwards, just very reliable and with potential for significant improvement. Among their offensive players, he was basically another Xie, just more reliable, but less speedy or prone to taking wild shots. Less likely to score too. He trailed behind Hayden and definitely wasn't as good as Wagner or Merrell.

Shane continued listening to the podcast bros even though lots of their point were tedious and vapid until a couple of hours later, when Hayden showed up with some kind of health pudding thing Jackie had made for him. He and Shane hugged while David examined the glass food container.

"Bro, I'm so glad you're okay," said Hayden, sniffing. "Okay-ish."

Shane pushed him a little, until Hayden sat next to him on the couch. "Hayd, don't cry, come on."

"I'm not crying!" But his cheeks were a little red and his mouth looked wobbly. He sat close to Shane on the couch, so much so that they were touching a little from shoulder to elbow.

Shane started to shift away to make sure it didn't get weird, but he forced himself to freaking relax. He'd told himself he wasn't going to do that anymore. Hayden was the one being clingy anyway. Guys did that sometimes, especially teammates. Teammates were different. They did it with Xie--with McAllister! And he was outright married to another guy.

"Were you this sappy with Merrell?" asked Shane.

"Dude, we smothered him in a group hug," said Hayden. "The rookies won't leave him alone following him around like baby ducks."

"They do that anyway," said Shane.

"Hayden, this was made with pasteurized milk, right?" asked David, sniffing Jackie's pudding. It had an unusual, deep purple tint.

"Uh. . . probably?" said Hayden. "What's that?"

David smiled. "She made it with milk from a regular supermarket, right?"

"Yes," said Hayden. "It's got a bunch of berries for flavor and natural antioxidants. Jackie says it helps with inflammation and recovery. She used organic whey too." He looked at Shane. "Trust me, bro. This one actually tastes good."

It actually did, though Shane was discouraged when Hayden took a spoonful of his own serving first and made a face. There was an acrid bite to it, yes, but Shane preferred bitter and sour flavors to the cloying sweetness lots of his teammates craved. Once, he'd seen Xie sucking on pockets of condensed, sweetened milk and almost gagged.

Yuna made a brief appearance to greet Hayden and thank him for visiting. Shane asked her to sit so she could try Jackie's pudding, partly because he wanted to put off the upcoming videocall with the Voyageurs. He'd asked Hayden to bring his laptop and contacted Theriault to ask for a brief meeting with the team yesterday. To come out.

Though Theriault basically had a non-reaction to Shane's declaration that he was gay--aside from informing Shane that his doctors had told him that conversion therapy was a scam likely to harm his players when he'd consulted them after Xie's little declaration last season--Shane was still nervous. The team tolerated Xie and McAllister, sure, but they were a pair of annoying rookies. Shane was their captain. He was supposed to model the ideal hockey player for them.

"Oh my God, now they're calling me J. J.'s work wife," whined Hayden suddenly, after glancing at a notification on his smart watch.

"What?" said Shane. "Why are they doing that?"

"Cause they're di--mean," said Hayden, blushing as his gaze slid to Yuna on the opposite couch. "They're childish."

"I'm coming back next season," said Shane. What the hell was going on in the group chat?

"They shouldn't be calling me your work wife either," said Hayden. "A dude can't even be a nice guy without being called a. . ." He looked a Yuna again.

"A woman?" said Yuna.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that, Mrs. Hollander," said Hayden. "But. . . I'm not."

"That's right, Hayden," said David. "They're definitely calling you. . . that in a rude way. You should let them know it bothers you."

"Yeah, they'll stop immediately if he does that," said Shane, making sure not to roll his eyes. "Mom, Dad, I'd like to talk to the team now."

"Of course," said Yuna, standing up. She walked over to him and kissed his forehead in encouragement. David patted his shoulder. Then, they retreated to their room. If Hayden noticed anything odd about their demeanor, he didn't show it.

Moments later, the laptop screen showed the Xie's mouth and chin as he fiddled with the other laptop's web cam. "You guys can hear me?" he asked. "We got pretty shitty speakers here. Can't the MLH afford better computers than this?"

"Yeah, bro, it's good," said Hayden. "How about us? Can you hear us?"

"Yeah!" Xie stepped back and squeezed between Koval and Babikov, whose eyebrows were mercifully starting grow back already. The entire team was clustered around laptop, which had been set on the floor of the gym.

Shane scanned them, though it was hard to get decent details through the webcam. They were all wearing their named/numbered shirts. The guys who could grow full beards were already looking scruffy. Merrell looked fine, but the sight of him still made Shane feel a little queasy. The last time they'd been together, they'd been shot at. Shane had been shot.

No, wait. Merrell had stopped by his room at the hospital to thank him for "saving his life". Which Shane didn't remember doing, but sure. He was fine taking credit for it if it'd happened. There was allegedly video of the whole thing, but Shane didn't feel the need to seek it out. Maybe that was progress, in its own way. Ilya insisted that watching the videos of the car accident over and over again had messed him up.

J. J.'s face appeared on the laptop screen. "Shane! Bro, we're sorry we haven't been to visit, but we're in the middle of this series against the Sharks, so you know! Busy, busy!"

"Yes, lock in," said Shane, ordering his heart to calm. "I've seen the tapes of the last few games. I think Byrne is trying to play through a fucked up ankle but even if he's fine, their D-lines can't deal with out shooters. I know we'll win."

"Of course," said J. J. "How are you doing, man?"

"Good," said Shane, patting his injured leg. Hayden slide next to him on the couch, again close enough that their sides were touching. Shane forced himself not to squirm. "I, uh. . ." He swallowed. "Look, there's no way to ease into this, so I'll just come out and say it."

His eyes flit to Hayden. He was listening attentively. Shane looked back to the screen. All the Voyageurs were sitting still, looking straight at the camera. Shane's throat closed up and he felt like a fucking coward. He remembered Xie standing in front of a bunch of reporters and glaring while declaring that he was bisexual like it wasn't a big deal. All the memory did was make Shane feel even more pathetic for not being able to just come out and say it.

"You okay, man?" asked Hayden.

Unbidden, an image of Ilya came to mind. Him at the hospital, looking confused as Shane explained why the should marry. Shane's shoulders loosened. How was he going to save Ilya from Russia if he couldn't face his own team?

"Okay," said Shane, squaring his shoulders. "Being kidnapped and shot made me realize that my life might be shorter than I want it to be, so I don't want waste any time going forward." Maybe it was his imagination, but the guys seemed to collectively move closer to the screen. "And part of that," Shane continued, "is being honest with the world. So, I wanted you guys to know ASAP. . . that I'm gay."

Dead silence followed his announcement. Hayden was the first to move--to shift away from Shane minutely. Shane's heart sank, but he forced himself to stare straight at the camera. J. J. scratched at his hairline while some of the guys began shifting nervously.

Comeau was the first to speak. "Is this a joke?"

"Why would it be a fucking joke?" said Shane.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Hayden.

"Oh, wow," breathed Carmichael, as Shane stole a glance towards Hayden.

Mostly, Hayden looked confused. Which was much better than angry. Or disgusted.

"How long has this been happening?" asked Cornick, drawing Shane's attention back to the screen. Abruptly, Cornick turned to Xie. "Did you fucking do this?"

"How the fuck would I have 'done this'?" said Xie, grabbing at Babikov's shoulder as he looked around. "Do you assholes think I invented same sex attraction?"

"How did I not see this coming?" said Drapeau.

To the side, Merrell rubbed his eyes.

"Are you only attracted to really ugly dudes?" asked Drapeau.

"Plenty of uggos on our team," said Bilash.

"You'd fucking know," said Passey.

Koval said something to Babikov in Russian.

"Da," said Babikov.

"Maybe Shane likes fat guys," said Comeau. "We don't have fat guys."

Hayden relaxed on the couch and fell closer to Shane's side. Until their sides were touching again. Shane let out a nervous breath.

"Maybe he's just not attracted to any of us," said Miitka.

Shane fucking wished. His life would be so much easier if he liked. . . he didn't know. Those gay guys that basically looked like girls. He would probably like girls, if that was the case.

"Shane, congratulations!" said McAllister in his annoying, high pitched voice. "Being out is awesome; the closet sucks! Everything is so much better now that I'm not constantly on guard about every little thing. Maybe you can find a really cool guy now--you're Shane Hollander!"

"Montreal gays are going on the hunt," said Bilash.

"Dude, you can't call them 'gays'," said Carmichael, with little finger quotation marks and everything. 

"Montreal homosexuals, then?" said Bilash.

"Ah, shit," said J. J.

"And you didn't back me up last year?" demanded Xie, glaring at the webcam. The little shit knew exactly where to look since he was so freaking good in front of a camera, like everyone kept saying.

"Oh, I guess going with you to talk to Theriault wasn't backing you up," snapped Shane. "Or telling the press to back the fuck off wasn't backing you up. Or telling the guys. Or letting my agent--the best fucking agent in the business--represent you wasn't backing you up."

"So everyone was right and you only did that because you're gay too?" said Cornick.

"Jeremy fessed up about Fernando's blow jobs, at least," said Bilash.

"What the fuck?" said Miitka.

"But he was still pretending they were straight blow jobs somehow," said Comeau.

"What?" said Miitka.

"Three full gay gays on our team!" said Comeau, to the floor.

"For the last time," yelled Xie. "I'm not fucking gay!"

"Everyone calm down," said Merrell.

Yes, Shane was having trouble keeping track of the conversation. If it could be called that.

"Who else is gay?" demanded Cornick.

"They're not gonna answer when you ask like that," said McAllister.

"Shane, what about this entire summer of hot chicks you pulled?" asked Drapeau.

"The botanist!" said Comeau. "Emma fucking Blighton!"

"Who?" said Shane.

"The pop star you did the commercial with before you were kidnapped," said Hayden.

"Oh, right," said Shane. He rolled his eyes at the laptop. "That was just a commercial, guys."

"Babikov and Jamie," said Cornick, glaring at them. "Are either of you gay?"

"Why are you guys so fucking obsessed with me being gay?" asked Babikov.

Wagner, for his part, shrank in on himself and tried to disappear behind Babikov.

"Greg, you can't fucking ask someone something like that," said Merrell.

"No, for real," said Cornick. "I don't even care; I just wanna know how many gay dudes I'm showering with. I won't even be mad. It's gay amnesty time right now."

"Bro, I'm shocked you know how to use the word 'amnesty' in a sentence," J. J. finally spoke up. "Kind of."

"So this means you really didn't fuck Merrell's wife, then," said one the fourth line guys. Shane didn't know him by name, and he was behind Miitka so his shirt wasn't visible.

"Fucking excuse me," said Merrell, turning on the guy.

"That's enough," said J. J., looking at the man who'd just spoken. "We do not bring up WAGs like that and you know that. We're not a fucking internet comment section. We respect each other's families. We respect each other."

"You're right," said the guy, who probably needed to be fucking traded. "Sorry, Merrell. That comment was out of line."

Merrell nodded but didn't say anything, much less accept the apology. Which was the equivalent of spitting in someone's face, coming from him.

"Guys," Shane started, though he hadn't prepared beyond getting the words out. Which he hadn't even finished getting out since the team had their little meltdown. "I'm. . ." He wasn't sorry. "I wanted you to hear it from me because, like I said, I won't be hiding anymore. I'm not planning to make a big announcement or anything since it's not like it's anyone's business, but you're my team. I was just tired of you seeing a version of me that isn't real."

"Bro. . ." said J. J.

"It's okay, Shane," said Hayden, sighing. "You're still our captain. . . well, not right now, but you're ours."

"That's super gay," somebody mumbled on the screen.

"Shut the fuck up, man," said J. J.

"And we already have Jeremy and Dylan and it's not a big deal," said Hayden.

"Why do I even bother?" said Xie.

"I agree with Hayden," said Comeau. "Being gay is old news."

"I agree too," said Drapeau. "Shane, I don't get why you didn't tell us before. We're obviously with cool with gay guys. Even Greg, in his own stupid way."

"I'm not fucking stupid," said Cornick. "The way you guys talk to me, you'd think you're all Dylan. And he's not even that smart either; he just knows lots of big words."

"He knows computers too," said Passey.

"He did fix all our phones after that last automatic update fucked up the Maps app," said Carmichael.

"Okay," said Merrell, sighing. "Hollander, congratulations, like Jeremy said. We support you. Don't we, guys?"

The guys started mumbling 'yes' and 'yeah' with varying levels of enthusiasm. Merrell looked at J. J. and nodded.

"Right," said J. J., clapping his hands together. "Shane, congrats, but we do have a game to prepare for."

"Yeah," said Shane. Never in his life had he wished he was good at pep talks as much as he did at that moment. "Um, I know you guys will do great. I wish I could be there with you."

"We won't let you down, man," said J. J., grinning. "That cup is staying in Montreal. Hayden, you gotta head over here right after this call ends. Don't waste time cudd--I mean, hurry up."

The video cut off, leaving Shane and Hayden in a cloud of tense silence. Hayden got up to start packing up the laptop and charger. He didn't look at Shane and Shane didn't know what to say. If anything. On the couch, his phone vibrated a couple of times and then went still. He watched as Hayden's smart watch screen kept lighting up. The Voyageur group chat. One of the ones Shane wasn't a part of.

"I'm sorry," said Shane.

"You don't have to be sorry, dude," said Hayden. "Not for being gay."

"You're obviously mad," said Shane.

"Yeah, because you didn't fucking tell me," said Hayden, finally turning to look at him. "You let me and Jackie waste all that time trying to find you a chick."

"I told you to stop trying to set me up from the first time you did it."

"That's not true!" said Hayden. "You didn't start complaining until like, the fourth chick."

"Yeah, because I didn't want you to think I was gay," said Shane. "Do you known what 'the closet' is, Hayd? Should we call Xie so he can use his big Harvard words to explain it to you?"

"Fuck you, man," said Hayden. "So much for being your best friend."

Next thing he knew, his parents were with them in the living room. They must have raised their voices. Shane realized, as David came around to stand next to him, that it was the first time Hayden had ever cursed at him in anger.

"Everything okay?" asked Yuna.

"Yes, sorry," Hayden said, averting his gaze. "I'm just gathering all this stuff up. Gotta go back to the rink. Big game coming up."

"Hayd," said Shane.

"It's okay, Shane," said Hayden, too loud for it to be true. "It's whatever. You gotta make sure to stay relaxed and have positive thoughts. Jackie says it's important for the healing process. I gotta go."

He fled to the door, put on his jacket, and was out without even saying a proper goodbye to Yuna and David. It was so unlike him; Hayden was such a polite guy. Shane squeezed his eyes shut and laid back on the couch.

"Oh, honey," said Yuna, sitting down next to him. "I'm sorry if he didn't take it well. I expected better from him."

"He was better with the team," said Shane. "I guess he's just mad I didn't confide in him first or something." Maybe Shane should have talked with him ahead of time? But he hadn't wanted to have the coming out conversation any more times than absolutely necessary.

"You had a right to share this with people on your on schedule, son," said David.

"If he's not a bigot, he'll come around," said Yuna.

"And if he is a bigot," added David, "then you don't need him as a friend."

Shane wished he could believe that, but the truth was (and he had decided that he was big on the truth) that he'd rather keep Hayden even if he was a little grossed out. He glanced at his phone, wondering what exactly the guys had been saying before someone reminded them of the secret group chat. He bet they'd already deleted those messages.

Was there a way to make it impossible to delete messages from the team group chat? Xie would probably know how to do something like that.

"All right!" said David. "That Bears game is about to start soon. Go Bears!" He looked at Shane. "We are rooting for him now."

"Yes," said Shane, determined to not think of Hayden anymore. For now. "Unless they're playing the Voyageurs."

"Of course," said Yuna.

"Mom, Ilya told me he sent the papers to your lawyer friend," said Shane.

"Yes, Karla let me know she received them," said Yuna, with a tight smile. "She says she'll have a draft of the prenup ready before Ilya arrives."

"Great, that'll be tomorrow," said Shane, reaching for his remote and turning on the TV. "The Bears are winning this game."

Voyageurs (without Shane)

Greg Cornick
ok alright
who here has fucked Shane?

Jake Merrell
for fuck's sake Greg
stop trying to get people to out themselves

Patrice Drapeau
so you agree then
it's possible there are Shane fuckers in this chat

Gilbert Comeau
maybe some dudes who got traded?

Patrice Drapeau
Xie?
@Dylan_Xie

Dylan Xie
what?
guys come on
fuck no

Gilbert Comeau
omg Hayden
Hayden!
@Hayden_Pike

Hayden Pike
fuck you guys
I'm married
I'm not a cheater
and I'm not gay!

Lewis Bilash
Shane's work wife

Hayden Pike
you're the ones who keep calling me that
stop that!
and stop calling me JJ's wife too

Gilbert Comeau
I would totally fuck Shane

Jake Merrell
why did I think you guys could be normal about this

Greg Cornick
ok so Comeau is gay

Gilbert Comeau
fuck it I wish
then I wouldn't have to deal with chicks ever again

Soren Miitka
I'm not gay but if I was
I would fuck Shane too

Jean-Jacques Boiziau
bros I need you to channel all this unnecessary existential angst into beating the sharks

Cole Passey
ok I admit also maybe
I'd fuck Shane too

Jake Merrell
ok let's save time
everyone who would fuck Hollander please leave a horny emoji reaction to this message

Hayden Pike
Patrice!
you too???

Patrice Drapeau
it's shane
don't tell him I said that

David Taylor
you guys know Shane is the top exception for dudes in the would hit it list?
according to the WAGs

Greg Cornick
David where the fuck were you this entire time
you got as mousy as Jamie there

Lewis Bilash
holy shit David
Shane is your exception isn't he

Greg Cornick
exception to what

Jean-Jacques Boiziau
not beating the dumbass allegations I see

Jeremy McAllister
exception as in you'd fuck them even though you're not gay
or straight
like I would probably do Emma Blighton is she let me even though I'm gay

Nikolai Babikov
I wouldn't
Shane is not my exception

Dylan Xie
who is your exception Nik?

Jean-Jacques Boiziau
ok bros hate to interrupt this riveting conversation but we actually have a playoff game to win
we can discuss our shane jerk off fantasies later

Chapter End Notes

So I thought I could get this out, the outcome of the two playoff series, and Ilya visiting the Hollanders prior to this romantic marriage in two chapters lol

I'm latigrat at tumblr

Chapter 3

Chapter Notes

Ilya Rozanov - Shane Hollander

Shane Hollander
send me your lawyer's contact info

Ilya Rozanov
need to talk to sveta first
my lawyer is her lawyer

Shane Hollander
ilya
hire a new lawyer
you are a multimillionaire

Ilya Rozanov
ok I just go search online

Shane Hollander
nvm
i will tell Mom to recommend a lawyer for you
normally this would be not the best idea
but my mom is decent and wouldn't take advantage of her future son in law

Ilya Rozanov
this is crazy

Shane Hollander
anyway my lawyer will be sending you the prenup later today
it's just a document saying we will keep our finances separate and if we divorce in the future we won't be splitting assets
anyway more importantly
we need to exchange some info

Ilya Rozanov
info?

Shane Hollander
yes remember I told my parents we'd been in love for years
so I looked online and there is this website with lists things to ask your friends
.link
there's five hundred questions here

Ilya Rozanov
shane jesus christ

Shane Hollander
.doc
I've been going through all of them starting with basic stuff like my favorite color/movie/food etc

Ilya Rozanov
I guess I already knew you are crazy

Shane Hollander
obviously since you're in the playoffs you won't have time to talk to them much
but for after you know

Ilya Rozanov
am I supposed to answer these for you
not sure I have that time right now

Shane Hollander
did you even look at the doc?
black font is answers for me and blue font is what I think is the answer for you
since I've been researching you for so long

Ilya Rozanov
stalking you mean

Shane Hollander
and look how useful that little habit is turning out to be
anyway this is mostly the work of the RPF chicks
I was looking at pictures and your plays etc

Ilya Rozanov
no further comment on this

Yuna tried not to pay too much attention to Shane as she watched the Bears-Knights game, but it was difficult. Her baby was about to make what she was sure was a horrible mistake and--no matter what David insisted on--she felt like it was her duty to at least try and stop him. She understood that Shane was an adult, that he had been one for years, and as such he would do things that she disagreed with.

It'd never happened before, though. Not like this. Yuna had been thinking about it since last night. She and Shane saw eye-to-eye about hockey, his career, what sponsorships he should take, where he should live, who his friends should be. . . Shane called her often, just to catch up, and certainly when he was trying to make any important decision in his life.

The only time they'd ever come close to clashing was regarding his love life. Yuna cringed a bit when she remembered how often she'd badgered him about "putting himself out there more". She'd worried that he was putting too much pressure on himself at the expense of everything else in life, including getting some experience with romantic relationships.

Might he have come out to them sooner if Yuna hadn't pushed him towards women so much? Had she given him the impression that she wouldn't accept him otherwise? How much stress had she pushed on him?

Better not to obsess about it. The important thing was that he had finally come out to them. It'd been maybe twenty-four hours and already Shane looked more relaxed as he waited for the next Bear-Knights game to start. Not even the uncomfortable moment with Hayden had managed to fully kill his excited mood. He was playing with his phone, injured leg up on the living room table, toes wiggling happily.

Before the game started, the Voyageur doctor stopped by to check on Shane's wound, giving Yuna a break from her troubled thoughts. She was relieved to hear that the wound was looking good (it certainly didn't look that way to Yuna, but she was hardly an expert).

"Circulation looks excellent," the woman said. "Reflexes intact, movement normal, good strength. . . How's the pain?"

"Not bad," said Shane. "When can I put weight on it?"

"Not yet," said the doctor. "Don't get impatient now. Rest is crucial for proper healing."

"Don't worry, doc," said David. "I'll be watching him like a hawk."

Good, Yuna thought as the doctor said her goodbyes. Yuna would be watching out for him legally. If the Rozanov situation resolved itself to her satisfaction, she would then focus on SportsBet. Someone had to pay for what had happened to her son. And it should never happen to anyone else's son.

"Finally, it's starting," said Shane.

On the screen, the first puck was dropped and Rozanov was off with it. Yuna settled down next to David and tried to enjoy the match.

She noticed immediately that the Knights were a mess. Their first line, anyway, which included their best forwards: Kent and Barrett. The rest of the team was average at best, especially since two of their better veterans had retired after last season. Their defense certainly could not hope to hold off the Bears, which boasted two of the best shooters in the Eastern Conference.

Within the first ten minutes, Kalle Wynn had scored.

"Nice," mumbled Shane.

Did Wynn know about Shane and Rozanov? Yuna didn't see how that was possible considering the spectacle he'd been making with Rozanov all season. But Shane had said it was a "joke", and what did Yuna know about how men conducted their romantic affairs with each other? Sexual affairs?

God, she didn't want to be thinking about Shane's sex life. She certainly never had before.

Some time later, Wynn accepted a pass from Rozanov and scored for the second time during the game, bringing first period to and end with a comfortable two-to-one lead in favor of the Bears. She saw Shane smile. Then the same smile dimmed as Wynn skated close to Rozanov and kissed his helmet. Just a funny joke, huh?

Yuna exchanged a look with David. He shrugged.

"We're so lucky the Knights are a trash fire this series," said Shane, looking at his phone.

Normally, he would complain about his fellow players' poor showing, especially when it was a Canadian team being humiliated by an American team.

The screen flashed the obnoxious SportsBet pool about whether Rozanov and Wynn would full-on kiss on the mouth. Right, that was still going on. Yuna wondered if any psychopaths would kidnap the two men to try and force them to kiss.

"They could at least stop promoting the pools that aren't related to the actual sport," said David.

"I'll have to tell Wynn to consider getting private security too," said Shane, sighing. "Can't believe it's come to this."

No goals were scored during the second period, but Kent almost came to blows with one of the Bear D-man after he kneed Wynn hard enough to make him tumble. The replay showed another angle that focused on Wynn's pained expression, then went back live to show Marlow shouting at Kent.

"What the f--what is his problem?" said Shane, shoulders tense.

The refs gave Kent a mere two minute minor penalty.

"Oh, come on!" said Shane, as the camera focused on Wynn stretching on the ice, Rozanov hovering close by. "If they were in Boston, that would have been at least a double minor."

The Bears had a notoriously effective power play unit that almost always scored and that game was no different. Forty seconds into the penalty, Wynn scored his third goal of the game and, instead of going around to collect his hat, he waited for Rozanov to skate to him and pull him into a hug. Rozanov accepted a kiss and then nudged him towards the hats.

Who knew? Maybe it was a friendly little game, but Shane still deflated at the sight of it.

The power play continued and three seconds before it was over, Rozanov also scored. Four-to-one in favor of the Bears, and they still had another period to dominate. The Bears would begin the playoffs with a four game winning streak in their first series. Shameful for Toronto, honestly, but more importantly, it also made it easier for Rozanov to stop in Montreal tomorrow.

"I wonder which Knights are getting traded before next season," said Shane. "Kent's the obvious problem, but he never gets more than a slap on the wrist."

"The league is not known for caring too much about what players do on their personal time," said David. "DUI aside, but I read they're making Kent go to counseling for that."

"I mean his awful performance on the ice," said Shane. "Kent was a. . . not decent last season, but he could at least deliver some goals. It's like he's the new Hunter."

"Hunter?" asked Yuna. "From New York City?" The Admirals' captain had such a reputation as a stand up guy that it was a bit of a joke in the league. He couldn't be more than different than Kent, at least by reputation.

"You're right; Kent is worse," said Shane. "Hunter has a couple of bad games here and there, but he doesn't deliver a pointless power play to one of the best teams in the league in the middle of a playoff game."

David shared a smile with Yuna. Of course, Shane was talking strictly about performance, not character. The two were so intricately connected for him that they might as well be the same thing. It led him to put so much pressure on himself.

The third period started with Troy Barrett delivering a goal for the Knights, bringing the score to a less humiliating four-to-two. David got up to get Shane another serving of salmon and when he got back, Rozanov scored a second goal. Five-to-two. The Knights' coach switched out his goalies, though it was probably too late to get three goals through the Bears' defense. There were only three minutes left on the clock.

With only a minute left, Kent crashed into Wynn at full speed from the side, slamming him against the boards at an awkward angle.

"Ouch," said David.

"Wynn didn't even have the puck!" hissed Shane.

Yuna watched the screen, frowning. Wynn didn't fall, but he dropped his stick and cradled his left arm, standing with his back to the boards. Terrent called a time out, but it was too late. A brawl had broken out on the ice. Rozanov was whaling on Kent, hard, and Ryan Price--the Knights' enforcer--was skating towards them. Price was a mountain of a man and his job was to defend Kent; another Bear better be ready to step in.

Price grabbed Kent by the back of his jersey and hauled him away from Rozanov. He rotated Kent around and started shouting in his face. Rozanov looked on, visibly confused, as Price raised his fist and slammed it down on Kent's head. Again. Kent started to crumbling as Price raised his fist a third time, then Rozanov seemed to startle awake and put his hand on Price's arm, shouting something.

"Just what is going on with the Knights?" asked David.

"I don't know," said Shane. "But they used to be teammates."

"Rozanov and Price?"

"Wynn and Price," said Shane. "Wynn mentioned him a few times--and Wynn doesn't mention anyone."

The feed cut to the sports commentators, who quickly starting talking nonsense about a Western conference game. Shane rolled his eyes and reached for his phone, probably to search the tags in case there was fan was recording the rink with their phone. Yuna would have joined him, but her phone alerted her about her upcoming meeting with Carla Dulan, the lawyer she'd reached out regarding Shane's upcoming. . . marriage.

"I have to get some work done," she said, kissing David on the cheek. "You guys can tell me how the rest of the game played out later."

"Of course," said David, smiling as she stood up. Better to retreat to their room for this call. "Take your time."

"Bears are definitely going to win," said Shane, without looking up from his phone. "Then we can watch the Voyageurs; that will be more exciting."

"I don't think we need to be too concerned," said Carla Dulan over video call. Her shoulders were squared and her posture aggressive, aided by the sharp lines of a red business jacket that made the burgundy highlights of her long brown hair stand out.

She was Yuna's closest friend from law school and Shane's godmother. They'd met while waiting in line for a Voyageurs game and bonded over their shared hatred of the goalie, who had not only been a terrible player, but also in the middle of a scandal because he'd gotten caught with a sixteen-year-old "girlfriend". He'd been thirty.

After the game, Yuna and Carla discovered that they were both attending law school and the rest, as they said, was history. Carla had gone on to specialize in divorce law because she "enjoyed making men cry in court", to put it in her own words. She joked--if it was a joke--that Shane could count on a free divorce per Stanley Cup he won for Montreal.

Now, she looked at Yuna with characteristic confidence from her corner office at law the firm she led, with the Montreal skyline gleaming behind her. Her domain, as Carla called it.

"The prenup I drafted has two clauses--maybe three--that Rozanov's lawyer will not agree to. I can drag this out for months, more than long enough for Shane to get over this little Britney moment he's going throu--" Carla's dark eyes narrowed as her gaze focused on the computer screen at her side. She turned back to Yuna. "Rozanov signed the prenup."

"You think he ignored his lawyer?" asked Yuna.

"I sent him the email half an hour ago while he was playing in Toronto," said Carla. "He's been off the ice for maybe two minutes. No one's read this thing. I'd bet my most profitable investment account that he used the eSign option to autofill his initials and signature everywhere."

"Okay, so Shane--"

"--did the same thing," said Carla, hitting a few keys on her keyboard. A phone started ringing in the background. "Which is not a problem for him since I'm his lawyer."

"Hello?" said a deep voice Yuna thought she recognized. "This is Rozanov."

Carla gestured at Yuna to stay quiet. "Hi, darling, this is Carla Dulan. Shane's lawyer."

"Is there problem?"

"Maybe," said Carla. "Mr. Rozanov, do you understand what document you just signed and emailed to me?"

"Yes, is prenuptial agreement."

"And did you have your lawyer review it?"

"No need."

"Mr. Rozanov, did you read it?"

". . . No."

"Then how do you know you understand it?"

"Shane explained it to me. Is paper that says we will have separate money."

Carla looked straight at Yuna. "So you agree to the clauses outlined in this document that you did not read and plan to marry Shane Hollander tomorrow afternoon, as per the conditions, limits, and privileges described?"

"Yes."

"Excellent," said Carla. "I will be sending you a second confirmatory document and we will be ready for tomorrow. Congratulations on your victory today."

"Okay. Thank you."

Yuna squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her face. Had Rozanov had a recent near death experience of his own? Why was he so desperate to marry Shane? And no, Yuna did not believe it had anything to do with his immigration status. "Confirmatory document?" she asked.

"A more reasonable prenup without my fun clauses," said Carla, fingers flying over the keyboard. "I do have some ethical principles and besides, I'd hate for Rozanov to blow up six months from now and claim Shane lied to him during divorce proceedings."

Yuna noted that her estimate about the length of the marriage had gone up from the initial seventy-two hours.

"Lovebird signed this one immediately too," said Carla, smirking. "Young, eager love."

"This isn't funny," said Yuna.

"Do you see me laughing?" asked Carla. "If Shane decides to cross the US border to be with this Euro trash, leaving our team. . ."

"My son is getting married to a man who, as far as the world knows, is having two separate affairs with other people!"

"Or maybe. . ." Carla took a careful breath. "Shane will lure Rozanov to a Canadian team."

"Carla, for once, I'm concerned with something other than hockey," said Yuna.

"You're right; forgive me," said Carla. "Shane's happiness and safety are more important, of course. Let me make it up to you." She smirked again. "You can learn a lot from a person's bank account statements."

Yuna gave her a flat look, refusing to ask for the answer that was being offered. She had ethical principles too, more than just some, and Rozanov had not consented to her having access to that information.

Carla raised an eyebrow.

Yuna opened her mouth. And closed it. She took a deep breath and told herself that no principles were more important than Shane's safety. "How bad is it?"

"The good news is that Rozanov himself is quite boring," said Carla. "He doesn't seem to be spending money on drugs, gambling, or women." She made a considering noise. "Or men. He makes a generous monthly donation to Boston's largest shelter for victims of domestic abuse and another to his nearest Russian Orthodox Church."

Interesting. Rozanov had never spoken of his involvement in charitable causes and he certainly had never mentioned any religion. Sometimes, he wore a crucifix, but Yuna had never had any reason to make note of it. She doubted the Russian Orthodox Church was welcoming to queer people.

"He buys a lot of stupid sports car and pays a mechanic to take care of them," continued Carla. "During the off season, he rents out a track to drive around a bit, but he's never gotten so much as speeding ticket. His taste for vodka is quite refined--"

"--I don't need to know how much he spends at the supermarket," said Yuna, wanting to limit the invasion of privacy as much as possible. "Just. . . did you see anything that might cause problems for Shane?" More than the obvious, that was.

"His family," said Carla. "Rozanov sends more than half of what he makes back to Russia and his brother--Alexei Rozanov--is practically incinerating his money. What Alexei doesn't blow at casinos, he probably snorts. There are periodic large withdrawals from Rozanov's Russian accounts multiple times a week. They started a couple of years ago, every other month or so, during weekends, and the frequency has been escalating steadily."

Shane had not mentioned any of this. Did he even know about it?

"No arrest record yet," said Carla, "but the guy's a police officer, so that doesn't tell us much about his stability. Or lack of thereof."

"Okay," said Yuna, taking that in. It was unfortunate, and likely very stressful for Rozanov, but an unstable brother-in-law half a world away shouldn't cause any immediate problems for Shane.

"There is also a considerable amount being spent on the care of Grigori Rozanov," said Carla. "I'm no doctor, but it appears he is suffering from dementia."

"And Rozanov's mother?" said Yuna, surprised that his father was old enough to have dementia in the first place.

"Dead," said Carla.

"Oh."

"It happened when he was twelve," said Carla. "My girls haven't had a chance for a full deep dive--and none of them speak Russian, by the way--but the official story seems to be that she had an 'accident'."

"Official story?"

"Irina Rozanova was thirty-three when she died," said Carla. "In her own apartment, in the middle of the day. It doesn't look like she died of cancer or any other chronic condition."

"A freak accident, then?"

"Maybe," said Carla, shrugging. "Grigori Rozanov is a cop--was a cop. He's retired now; the man's seventy-three. Irina was thirty years younger than him."

The implications were horrific, yes, but Yuna told herself not to jump to conclusions. She took a deep breath and focused on the current facts. Grigori and Alexei Rozanov were thousands of miles away. For all she knew, neither was aware that Shane existed.

Well, they knew he existed because he was their son's professional rival, but nothing beyond that. Regardless, they would be learning of Shane's relationship to Rozanov soon enough. Not that it would matter. Shane could take care of himself. Even if he couldn't, he had Yuna.

"Yuna, do you think Shane knows about this mess?"

"I don't know," said Yuna. And since she would have to explain how she knew about it, Yuna couldn't ask him. This was why it was best practice to respect people's privacy.

"Well, we have the benefit of distance, at least," said Carla. "And going even by this superficial assessment, it would serve Rozanov to cut off his shitty family. And his shitty agent, too."

"Agent?"

"Rozanov is definitely overpaying the bastard," said Carla. "The boy is talented and handsome, and he got a burst of good publicity after his hero stunt last season, yet he's only known mostly as Shane's douchebag Boston rival. He could be selling more than fancy vodka and stupid sports cars. Where is his Nike commercial? Why isn't he in every billboard in Moscow?"

Yuna wouldn't go that far, but she had often mused that Rozanov did not have the type of endorsements he should considering his high profile.

"He's got one measly contract with Coca Cola, which interestingly enough pays out to a separate account under Rozanov's name," said Carla. "Rozanov doesn't seem involved with it at all; he pays an investment firm to manage it. My guess is he's keeping it under wraps in case Alexei gambles away his entire fortune."

"Good to know he still has some wits about him," said Yuna.

"Agreed," said Carla. "The marriage license--with appropriate privacy measures--is good to go. I will be at Shane's apartment tomorrow with Judge Desmarest, who is a huge fan and has agreed to officiate this very romantic wedding."

"Carla."

"Right, no joking," said Carla. "Demarest is bit cooky, but I trust her discretion. She won't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Thank you," said Yuna.

"I did promise Demarest an invitation to any future public events to celebrate the union."

"I'll see to that," said Yuna. "Thank you, again."

"Hang in there, Yuna." Carla smiled. "Trust that Rozanov can be managed should it become necessary."

Yuna ended the call and laid back in bed, half in a daze. She felt like the entire universe had shifted on its axis when she'd looked at her phone and saw Shane tied to a stripper pole on social media less than. . . How long had it been? Had she had a decent night's sleep since?

She decided she needed to clear her head. Shane was safe with David for the next few hours. Outside, bulky men with military training were watching out for potential threats.

She could use a cigarette.

No. She needed to pull herself together.

Yuna sent David a quick message to let him know that she would sadly be missing the next Voyageurs game. She went back to her desk and opened up one of the contracts she was still reviewing for one of her clients. Something simple, merely a decrease in salary in exchange for a drastic decrease in duties for a man who was preparing for retirement. It had nothing to do with gambling, hockey, and certainly nothing to do with marriage.

By the time she was finished, the Voyageurs game was done. Yuna checked her phone and frowned at the final score: three-to-two, for the Sharks. The series overall was deadlocked at two-to-two and the Voyageurs would be flying to Miami, probably first thing tomorrow morning. Maybe that was for the best. Shane might need some distance from his teammates.

She walked out to the living room and found Shane buried in his phone, eyebrows furrowed with tension. He didn't seem to be in any physical pain. He looked at her and didn't meet her gaze for more than a second. Yuna walked over and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry about the loss today," she said.

Shane sighed. "It wasn't too horrible. The team played well, just not well enough to take on the Sharks on their A-game."

"It happens sometimes."

"And Wynn's shoulder is fucking dislocated," said Shane, scowling. "Sorry about cursing," he added with a quick glance her way.

"Dislocated?"

"Yeah, it was a really bad hit; Wynn's gonna be out minimum two weeks," said Shane. "He said via text that's what the doctors are telling him."

"And Kent?"

"Kent's gone fully crazy," said Shane. "Even Toronto fans are pissed. League hasn't said anything yet, but at minimum, they'll have to fine him."

They didn't have to do anything. If Kent had any sense, and his family probably did, he'd let his agent do all the talking and continue to swear up and down that the whole thing had been an accident. Crowell, slimy worm that he was, wouldn't rock the boat. The Kents were quite wealthy and it was well known that they did business with the commissioner’s brother.

"Do you think. . ." He paused and Yuna told herself to give him time. "Do you think maybe I should've waited to tell them? The team? About me?"

"No," said Yuna. "They were going to learn of it sooner or later. Besides, if learning that you're gay made them lose, then they don't deserve to win."

"Mom!" said Shane. But he was grinning when his attention shifted back to his phone screen.

Yuna ruffled his hair and went to find David. The pragmatic part of her mused that it might be best for Shane personally if the Voyageurs crashed out without him. It wouldn't do if management got it in their heads that their star player was expendable.

Voyageurs

Shane Hollander
guys wtf was that?

Patrice Drapeau
shut up bro
you weren't even there

Hayden Pike
the sharks did really well on power play today

Jake Merrell
we'll get them next time

Shane Hollander
you better
I'm not there to save your asses this cup run

Jean-Jacques Boiziau
thanks for the support shane
guys make sure to rest and stay focused
we're in a better position now that we got jake back

Nikolai Babikov
is Dallas Kent actually a psycho?
what did Kalle Wynn ever do to him

Greg Cornick
exist while potentially being a fag
i mean gay dude
shane I don't think you're the f-word

Shane Hollander
well I definitely am

Jeremy McAllister
that's right shane you can reclaim the word

Greg Cornick
wait can we say fag or not?

David Taylor
bro you can't reclaim shit
you're not gay are you?

Dylan Xie
this is the worst

Lewis Bilash
is this like the n word?

Jean-Jacques Boiziau
no it's not like the fucking n word
can we all just stop insulting each other's ethnicity and sexuality?
is that so much to ask?

Gilbert Comeau
can I still call dudes pussies?

Soren Miitka
we need a list of approved chirps and insults

Greg Cornick
are we in fucking day care now?
what happened to freedom of speech?

Shane Hollander
everyone is free to shut the fuck up and review the tape of our last game
figure out what you could have done better

Cole Passey
I should've been able to steal the puck from Warren at the end of 2nd
they wouldn't have gotten that second goal

James Wagner
I should've taken that shot at the end of 1st
dylan would've taken it

Dylan Xie
yeah I probably would have

Shane Hollander
dylan you shouldn't have taken at least two of the shots you tried today
anyway don't beat yourselves up unproductively
do it productively

Jean-Jacques Boiziau
yeah yeah
we are looking at the tapes and spotting all our fuck ups

Patrice Drapeau
ESPN saying Wynn is out for at least two weeks

Shane Hollander
I know
he told me

Hayden Pike
he still talks to you?

Jake Merrell
no word from the league about disciplinary action against Kent
but Ryan says he's getting traded

Dylan Xie
Ryan Price?

Nikolai Babikov
I would fuck up my own captain too if he acted like that

Shane Hollander
good to know

Jeremy McAllister
maybe we can get Ryan Price on our team
not like we don't have room on our salary cap

Lewis Bilash
no way
are getting every gay in the league?

Shane Hollander
good point lewis
another one might shatter our delicate heterosexual balance

Mykola Koval
what is heterosexual balance?

Jonas Raphael Carmichael III
we sure as shit don't have it anymore

"So, what does Ilya like to eat?" David asked next morning during breakfast.

Yuna shot him a look, which he received with a smile.

"Uh," said Shane. "His diet's pretty terrible, actually. He wastes so many calories on junk. Like absolute garbage, drive through crap. Imagine how good he'd be if he took his diet seriously."

"Lasagna, then?" said David. "Yes, my meat lover's lasagna so he has plenty of energy for his upcoming games in Vancouver."

Right, supportive. They'd talked about the situation extensively last night. Mostly, Yuna had told him what she'd learned from Carla and ranted while David listened patiently, not interrupting as Yuna scoured every Rozanov tag on social media. It was a buffet of pictures and gifs of him with either Svetlana Vetrova or Kalle Wynn. The occasional highlight reels of him facing off against Shane broke through for some variety.

"Shane says he's aware of the situation with both Svetlana and Wynn," David had said.

"Aware and miserable."

"We have to let him make his own choices, Yuna."

Of course, of course. Times were different. Young people saw relationships differently. One of the secretaries at Yuna's firm kept saying that since her daughter had brought a girlfriend home last year. Maybe she had a point.

The Voyageurs' doctor arrived promptly at nine in the morning and declared that Shane's wound was "progressing well", whatever that meant. Yuna interrogated her about the details until she was satisfied the woman knew what she was talking about. She nodded at the reminder that Shane should still be resting his leg.

"The physical therapist will be by later today to walk you through safe upper body exercises in case you get bored," said the doctor.

"Uh, can he come by tomorrow?" asked Shane. "I kind of have plans."

To get freaking married, Yuna thought as the doctor asked what time would be good for him.

She smiled and went to the kitchen to check on David, who'd been engrossed with what could only be described a gourmet meal since finishing breakfast. His way to handle stress, which was way more productive and healthy than Yuna's strategy of looking for someone to cross examine like she was a trial lawyer in a bad crime drama.

"Everything looks great, honey," said Yuna.

"Thank you," said David, sighing. He gestured at a cluster of raw chicken breast. "Shane tells me Ilya's favorite food is chicken tenders. I had some cuts delivered and will make some breaded chicken with traditional ranch sauce as a side dish."

"Traditional ranch sauce," repeated Yuna.

"Yes," said David. "I checked online for the menu of Ilya's favorite local corner store in Boston. According to Shane."

"Great." Yuna patted his back and didn't tell him that he was being too nice. Let David be the good cop; the role suited him well.

Shane grew more restless as the hours passed. At one point, he bounced a rubber ball against one of his walls in between rhythmic glances at his phone screen, as he was though scared of missing a single message.

"Ilya says he just landed," Shane said right around noon, eyes fixed on his phone. "He'll be here in like forty-five minutes. What does he mean 'like'?" He started typing a message. "What. Is. Your. E.T. A.?"

"Shane, he probably doesn't know," said David.

"You're right," said Shane, sighing. "Sorry, Dad. I'm just nervous."

"I was too on the day of my wedding," said David.

Yuna very carefully did not say anything. What were the chances that a meteor would strike Rozanov on the way from the airport?

Not high enough to stop him from ringing Shane's doorbell less than an hour later.

David had to remind Shane that it was best that he didn't get up and risk aggravating his leg. "Your mother and I will bring him over this way." Yuna made herself smile. "Remember what we discussed," David added to Yuna as they walked to the door.

"Supportive," said Yuna, pasting on a pleasant look on her face right before David opened the door.

She tried to see Rozanov as Shane might see him, but all she could think when he looked at them with wide eyes was the was young. Handsome, yes, but very young. His broad shoulders and playoffs beard didn't make him look any older. A few stubborn curls peeked out from under his Boston Bears beanie. He was holding a paper plastic bag with the airport's logo on it.

"Welcome," said David. "Please, come in."

Rozanov nodded started slipping off his sneakers.

"Shane's waiting in the living room," said David. "Come on."

Rozanov's hesitant steps gained some confidence when they reached the living room and Shane grinned at him. He almost ran to the couch, stopping at the last moment and hesitating before offering Shane a fist bump.

"You're late," said Shane, but there was a soft look on his face.

David cleared his throat and both boys tensed up before looking towards them. "We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm David and this is Yuna. We're Shane's parents."

Rozanov nodded again, gaze fixed somewhere in the vicinity of David's shoulders. "I'm Ilya Grigoryevich Rozanov, Shane's, uh. . ."

"Fiance," said Shane, staring up at him with stars in his eyes.

Yuna arranged her face into a smile.

Rozanov looked down at this his bag. "I bri--brought this. For you." He peeled back the paper bag and revealed a rose packaged in cheap plastic and small bottle of vodka. "Sorry is not good quality," he said as David accepted the bottle. Yuna reached out to take the rose. It was a sweet gesture, almost enhanced by how obviously rushed it was. "I did not know when I leave Boston I would meet you soon."

"We understand," said David. "May I take your coat?"

Chapter End Notes

As much as I was enjoying Yuna, it hit me that this marriage probably shouldn't be told from her POV lol

I'm latigrat over at tumblr.