Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationship:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, J. J. Boiziau, Hayden Pike, Svetlana Vetrova

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Hockey Player Shane Hollander, POV Shane Hollander, Tattoo Artist Ilya Rozanov

Language:

English

Series:

Part 1 of Vivid Ink | Tattoo artist Ilya AU

Stats:

Published: 2026-01-18 Words: 5,904 Chapters: 1/1

take it easy on me

Summary

This is not the time for a full-blown sexuality crisis. Not with both J.J. and Hayden near. Yet Shane feels like that’s exactly where it’s going.

“Roz,” Svetlana says with a grin on her face, “this is J.J. and Shane. They are hockey players for the Montreal Voyageurs.”

“Okay,” the man called Roz replies, seemingly unsure what to do with that information. He definitely isn’t impressed. “And they want tattoos, yes?”

The Voyageurs win their third Stanley Cup. J.J., Hayden and Shane wonder about the definition of a dynasty and get a specialists' opinion about tattoos. Shane meets a mysterious tattoo artist named Roz and gets too honest about hockey life.

Or: the tattoo artist Ilya AU that no one asked for.

Notes

title is of course from 'my moon my man' by feist!

What is a dynasty?

That’s the question that’s being asked by reporters and journalists a lot. Is winning three Stanley Cups and making it into the playoffs every year in between enough to claim a dynasty? Is it the beginning of one or is it a full-blown one? 

Shane isn’t really sure what should qualify as one. He wants to captain a team that created a dynasty. He wants to be a part of such a legacy. He wants to be the best at ice hockey, though those same reporters and journalists tell him he doesn’t have much competition for that title right now. 

No one should be asking him anything right now. He’s a bit tipsy. He wouldn’t qualify it as drunk, but he couldn’t possibly pass as sober.

The Montreal Voyageurs won their third Stanley Cup of Shane’s career last week, in a six-game final against St. Louis. Some of his teammates, Shane is pretty sure, haven’t been sober since. There have been locker room parties, public parties and private parties, with alcohol and God knows what else flowing freely. 

Shane, who has been accused of being ‘the party police’ during the season, mostly went along with his teammates’ shenanigans this week. The season is over, after all, and he deserves to celebrate with them. He deserves to have a beer and to  be hungover before the holidays and before doing it all over again.

Four Stanley Cups. Now that’s a potential dynasty.

Most of their team has gathered in a bar in the city centre of Montreal for the umpteenth party. Shane thinks this might be the last one before they have their last team meetings and finish the season at the club. Shane is happy for the break, but is also well-aware that he’s going to miss it terribly. He wants to make the most of this last party to take it all in and savour it.  

On the chair beside him, Hayden is definitely more present than he is. He’s been discussing the meaning of the word ‘dynasty’ with J.J. far too seriously. 

“I think anything can be a dynasty as long as other people are calling it a dynasty,” J.J. says. “You personally can’t call our current run a dynasty. But if journalists do it, it’s a dynasty.”

“I think the opinions of our peers also matter,” Shane offers. “Journalists can call something a dynasty one day and a collapsing organisation the next. I think you need to ask hockey players and former hockey players. Maybe people who used to be part of an organisation that is universally acknowledged as a dynasty.”

“Well, that’s not helpful,” Hayden says with a sigh. “I can’t exactly text someone to call it right now, can I?”

“I can call someone for you,” J.J. offers with a smirk.

Shane doesn’t think J.J. should be calling someone right now. J.J. tends to call whenever he needs something, no matter how big or small, and tends to keep people on the phone for far longer than truly necessary. Shane likes to think that they’re saving some poor reporter from a very long late night call. J.J. just happens to have the phone numbers of practically everyone he ever meets.

“Why do you want to know this, Hayd?” Shane asks after another sip of his ginger ale.

J.J. starts to grin like Shane’s question is very funny. He leans forward conspiritually towards Shane and J.J. both and says: “Hayden wants to get a tattoo.”

“What does that have to do with our potential dynasty?”

“Shane.” J.J. sounds like it’s obvious in context.

Shane looks aside at Hayden in much more understanding. “Why not get your number tattooed? Or the Stanley Cup itself, if it has to be related to winning the Cup? Or - I don’t know, the year or something?”

“You should always accompany people to tattoo appointments,” J.J. tells Shane solemnly. “You can talk people out of getting tattoos within a minute.”

“Oh, fuck you, J.J.”

J.J. laughs.  “You’re a good friend, Shane.”

“Do you think I should get the Stanley Cup tattooed?” Hayden asks Shane.

“No,” Shane says like it’s obvious. That’s because it is obvious. He appreciates everyone who has that tattoo because they’re clearly excited about having won it, something Shane can very much relate to. But Hayden has three of them. If he is so happy about winning a third one, he should at least get three Stanley Cups tattooed. 

“This is exactly what I mean,” J.J. says.

Shane suppresses the urge to throw a coaster at him. He thinks he does so admirably. Feeling annoyed, he says:  “If you want to get a tattoo, Hayd, then why are we discussing this at a bar? If you want to know whether the Voyageurs are creating a dynasty, you ask a specialist. If you want a tattoo, you should also ask a specialist.”

He sees Hayden look around for teammates who are covered in them to offer him opinions. Shane guesses that between him (telling Hayden not to do it) and J.J. (seemingly trying his best to encourage Hayden to do it), Hayden needs a third opinion. 

Did he even discuss this with Jackie? Shane assumes not.

“I didn’t mean you need to find another person with a tattoo,” Shane says, exasperated. “I mean you need to find a tattoo artist. Someone who will tell you the truth about your tattoo ideas because they’ve already seen it all. Not someone who has tattoos and might be getting drunk, because they will tell you it’s an excellent idea no matter what you say.”

“Hollander makes a good point,” J.J. says. “Let’s go find a tattoo artist.” He stands.

“I didn’t mean right now!” Shane protests. 

But it was to no avail, because Hayden and J.J. are already making their way out of the bar. Two men on a mission. Is the mission to get Hayden a tattoo of the word ‘dynasty’ or is their mission to make an informed decision? Shane shudders to think what the answer is. They really need him there.

He finishes his ginger ale, leaves the appropriate amount of bills and a generous tip on the table and hurries after his teammates. 

God, he didn’t think that taking in the moment would lead to this. Maybe if he was taking everything in a bit less and paying attention a bit more they wouldn’t be on their way to a tattoo shop by now. 

~~

Surprisingly to Shane but completely unsurprisingly to J.J., there is actually a tattoo shop near the bar that is also open. It’s hard to miss: the lights are on brightly, the shop windows are displaying tattoo designs and there’s music on. It’s the kind of music that gets played in the dressing room often. If Shane is not mistaken it’s called EDM. 

“This is my kind of shop,” J.J. says approvingly, leading the way into the shop.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shane asks Hayden.

“We’re asking a specialist,” Hayden reminds Shane of his own words that he so wishes he could take back right about now. “That is all we’re doing.”

Shane looks at the shop window again. The shop is called ‘Game Changers Tattoos,’ something that doesn’t inspire confidence in him. How is a tattoo supposed to be a game changer? He guesses he’s definitely missing out if that’s how people see it.

Hayden already went in as well and J.J. seems to be talking to whoever  is up front in the shop, so Shane resigns himself to his fate and walks in after his teammates.

There are no neon signs anywhere in sight, which is the main thing that Shane associated with tattoo shops. He guesses that’s because of the movies he’s watched with tattoo shops in them. He has a lot of downtime on planes for movies, after all. Instead, there is art hanging on the walls as well as a number of awards. That’s definitely a more promising sign than the name of the shop.

J.J. is talking to the woman that’s standing behind the counter with a cash register near the wall on the left side. She has dark curls and talks with a slight accent that Shane can’t quite place, though he swears he’s heard it before. Hayden has walked over to the table near the other wall, where he opens the first book in his reach. Shane guesses there must be tattoo designs in there.

The light in the shop is softer than he expected. The atmosphere is calmer. Shane guesses he truly did  get the wrong impression about tattoo shops as a whole from the movies. There seem to be no guns or gangs here either. Just a lot of art.

He makes his way over to J.J. with his hands in the pockets of his brown jacket. “So what does the professional say?” he asks.

J.J. grins at him. “This is Svetlana,” he says, introducing Shane to her. “She is the owner of this shop.”

Shane wants to bet J.J. already has her number and has her saved in his phone as ‘Svetlana, tattoo shop owner’ for the next time he desperately needs an opinion about tattoos. 

“Hi, I’m Shane,” he says and waves at her.

“Shane is our captain,” J.J. tells Svetlana as he slings an arm over Shane’s shoulders. “Captain and lead goalscorer. A very talented man.”

Svetlana frowns a little. “I take it you’re not businessmen?” she asks, sounding amused.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” J.J. says. “Hollander is a businessman. He has a lot of brand deals. But no, we’re hockey players. We’re with the Montreal Voyageurs. I don’t know if you heard of them?”

“Oh, you mean the team that just won the Stanley Cup?” Svetlana asks. She sounds even more amused now, like Shane and J.J. are missing an inside joke that she also won’t tell them. “I know just the guy to help you, then.” She then raises her voice to say a word that Shane wants to guess is a name, though he can’t make out what she’s saying at all. When she gets no response, she tries: “Roz! Rozy!”

Much to Shane’s surprise, it’s a man that comes walking out from the back of the shop after hearing that name called. He’s a few inches taller than Shane, closer to J.J. than to Shane in height, and he has light brown curls that seem blond in the light. His nose is crooked, reminding Shane of so many hockey players he knows whose noses have been broken. He’s wearing dark jeans and a leather jacket over a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, though Shane doubts it’s a fashion statement as much as it is his regular work wear. 

He is also, and this is the part that Shane is trying to push away, one of the most handsome men he has ever seen. Shane plays hockey for a living; it’s not like he doesn’t see handsome men every day in the locker room and playing for his opponents. This man, though, with his lopsided grin and seemingly tanned skin, might just have nothing on any of them.

This is not the time for a full-blown sexuality crisis. Not with both J.J. and Hayden near. Yet Shane feels like that’s exactly where it’s going. 

“Roz,” Svetlana says with a grin on her face, “this is J.J. and Shane. They are hockey players for the Montreal Voyageurs.”

“Okay,” the man called Roz replies, seemingly unsure what to do with that information. He definitely isn’t impressed. “And they want tattoos, yes?”

He has the same accent that Svetlana does, Shane realises, but Roz’s accent is far more pronounced. Now that he’s heard Roz talk too, he recognises the accent: it’s Russian. They don’t have any Russian players on the roster for Montreal right now, but he’s definitely heard that in the league before.

Svetlana frowns at this and turns back to J.J. “I assume that’s why you’re here, right? To get matching tattoos to commemorate your Stanley Cup win.”

J.J. seems to look slightly uncomfortable with that assumption. “Uh, no. We were looking for more information about tattoos because our friend Hayden wants to get a tattoo.”

“I assume this is Hayden?” Svetlana asks, gesturing behind them.

J.J. calls him over and Hayden heads over to them, clearly in over his head. Hayden stands next to Shane. Svetlana studies him from top to toe in a businesslike manner, but Shane isn’t paying a lot of attention to her. No, he’s watching the way that Roz is studying Hayden alongside her. He seems calculating, as if he’s trying to gauge whether or not Hayden is serious about this. 

Shane doesn’t think  he would be able to stand it if Roz looked at him like that. He looks like he’s five seconds away from finding out all of Hayden’s secrets. Not that Shane thinks that Hayden has any secrets,  but if he does, Roz is likely to figure it out. Since Shane does have secrets, he cannot have Roz look at him like that.

It’s also Roz who suddenly takes over the situation. “You are married, yes?” he asks Hayden.

“Yes,” Hayden says slowly, his hands coming together so he can fidget with the wedding ring around his finger. “What does that have to do with getting a tattoo?”

“And you have kids?” Roz asks, ignoring his question. 

“Yes, I have -” Shane can see him count inside of his head - Ruby, Jade, Arthur, Amber - as if he wants to make sure he’s not missing any of them, “four kids.”

“And do you have any tattoos for them? Or any tattoos for your partner?”

Before Hayden can answer, Svetlana swats Roz in the side. “Are you tattoo-shaming him? You out of all people should not be doing that, Rozy.”

He’s offended immediately. “What do you mean, Sveta? My tattoo is perfect.”

“Your tattoo is ridiculous,” Svetlana tells him with a slight roll of her eyes before turning back to the three of them. “Excuse Roz. He has never heard of customer service.” Roz gestures at her in clear disagreement, but she ignores him. “Hayden, was it? Did you find anything you liked in our example books?”

Hayden and Svetlana head over to the table at the other side of the room. J.J. follows them enthusiastically, clearly wanting to hear all about Hayden’s tattoo ideas and Svetlana’s undoubtedly honest opinion of them. It leaves Shane with Roz by the counter, which is a less than desirable situation for him.

Roz leans against the counter with his arms folded over each other and is now doing what Shane was so afraid of: he’s studying him. Would it be rude to just walk away and go after Hayden and J.J.? He can pretend he’s incredibly invested in Hayden’s tattoo. He can pretend he wants to get a tattoo too. Anything to get away from Roz, if he’s being honest. 

Instead of doing that, Shane’s brain unfortunately picks up on the only thing he knows about the man in front of him and asks a question about that. “What tattoo do you have?”

The question makes Roz laugh. It’s a playful, low sound that sounds pleasant to Shane’s ears. He wouldn’t mind hearing that again.

“Ah, show and tell means I have to take off clothes,” he says, gesturing a hand over his chest after unfolding his arms. “Sveta tells me not to do that in shop. It is very clean here.”

Shane’s ears are burning at the very idea of this man taking off his clothes, even if it’s just to show Shane the tattoo. God, why did he have to ask Roz anything?

“Or you can just tell me,” he says, way cooler than he’s feeling right now.

“No, is too personal,” Roz says. “I don’t just tell people about my tattoo. It is sacred information. It needs to be earned.”

He really shouldn’t have engaged. Now he was wondering about the man’s tattoo and would keep wondering, which meant that inevitably, he was thinking about the man’s body. He was objectively attractive for a start, but there was something about his attitude that made Shane unable to walk away. 

Shane knows men with an attitude. He knows arrogant and cocky men. He played against them and had them on his team. But not one of them presents themselves or holds themselves like this man in the tattoo shop. He shows up like he owns the store and doesn’t care whether Hayden gets one, five or ten tattoos or none at all. None of it is a concern of his. 

He guesses there is something to be said about bad customer service, but that didn’t seem to bother Roz when Svetlana pointed it out either. He was far more bothered by her remark about his tattoo.

“Do you think we’re wasting your time?” Shane tries. 

Roz shakes his head. “No, no,”  he says, sounding absent as he glances over at where Hayden, J.J. and Svetlana are standing. Shane, pathetically, wants Roz to look back at him. Thankfully, he does that  as he continues to talk. “I think people need to think good about getting tattoos. I do not know if your friend has.” He sounds unconvinced.

“Do you think we’re drunk?” Shane tries again.

Roz shakes his head again. “No, we are very good at finding that out,” he says. His full attention is back on Shane. “You had one drink, yes?”

“How do you know that?” Shane asks.

Roz grins. “You learn,” he says.

Mortifyingly, Shane thinks he wants to learn. About Roz, to be precise. About his tattoo and maybe other things too.

Sadly, this is when Roz looks back at Hayden, J.J. and Svetlana again and calls out to the latter. “Sveta! Do you need me here or I can go back?”

Svetlana makes a gesture with her hand that clearly implies that he can go. “I got it handled!” she tells him.

Roz grins at Shane. “Got to go,” he declares, his accent impossibly even thicker. “The shop does not clean itself. Sometimes I wish it did.” He takes one, then two steps in the direction of the back of the shop, then turns back around to Shane. “Or do you want to see how we make tattoos?”

“Yes,” Shane says immediately. “Please show me.”

~~

Ever since Shane was young, he always wanted to know how things worked. An answer like ‘that’s just how it is’ never worked on him. When they showed behind the scenes videos of how things were made in school, he seemed to be one of the few only kids that actually paid attention. Getting to see how the ice was made and maintained at the rink in Ottawa that he always practised at was a top five day in his life for a long time. 

Roz, or Rozy, or whatever his name is, has no idea to which extent he is humouring Shane when he takes him into the backrooms of the tattoo shop. Shane quickly gathers that only people who actually get a tattoo are allowed there. Since he has no such plans he definitely shouldn’t be there, but Roz doesn’t seem to care. It turns out that he was actually cleaning before Svetlana called him over, but his cleaning supplies are abandoned for now. 

In the next five minutes, Roz talks him through the process of getting a tattoo. He explains how important cleanliness is and why everything seems so organised in the back area where they are now. The reason for that is because it is extremely organised, as it turns out, because getting a tattoo is a far more delicate process than Shane ever would have realised on his own. It isn’t that he never thought it would be; rather, he never put much thought into it to begin with.

Roz also explains to him how the machines work and how the needles respond to the skin, which is another thing that never occurred to Shane. He wants to guess it never occurred to Hayden either. As if Roz can sense that’s where Shane’s thoughts are going, he also explains how they handle customers, proving that Roz actually knows what he’s doing with customer service; he just made it seem like he didn’t. Every customer needs a different approach based on what they come in for and what their state of mind is. Shane guesses that hesitant hockey player must be a new one for Roz.

“So, that’s my job,” Roz says in the end. “Not very exciting, I think.”

Shane shakes his head before Roz even finishes the sentence. “No, I think it’s very interesting,” he says. “It’s a really interesting insight into a line of work I knew nothing about before walking into this shop. I know a lot of guys with tattoos, but they never mention any of this.”

“Yes, because it is boring,” Roz offers with a grin.

“It’s really not,” Shane maintains.

Roz sits down on the backless chair near the tattoo chair and taps on the tattoo chair, turning to Shane as though to say ‘sit down’.

“Won’t you have to sanitise it again after I’m gone?” Shane asks. When Roz frowns, seemingly not understanding, he clarifies: “Won’t you have to clean it again?”

“Ah, yes, but I will have to clean it anyway,” Roz says. “Sit.”

So Shane sits. What else is he to do when someone like Roz keeps asking him to stick around and talk to him? He’s sure that Hayden and J.J. are having a good time picking out tattoos with Svetlana. 

“So what is it like playing for Montreal Voyageurs, Shane Hollander?” Roz asks him.

Shane goes over the question, wondering whether he should give Roz the answer he gives journalists, reporters and the public at large or something more honest that he might not be entirely uncomfortable with. He wants to be honest, but he also doesn’t want to seem entitled. He believes he has the best job there is. Hockey is his life, after all. But it does have downsides and that is something he sees more and more.

Then something occurs to him. “I never told you my last name.”

“No,” Roz agrees, rolling the chair closer to the tattoo chair where Shane is sitting. “But I know it. Everyone that knows hockey, knows it.”

“And you know hockey?” Shane asks curiously.

Roz shrugs. “A little,” he says. “But you will not like it. I am Boston fan.”  

It’s just Shane’s luck that the handsome man he meets is a supporter of one of the Voyageurs’ biggest rivals and doesn’t hesitate to tell him the moment the topic of conversation shifts to hockey. Shane wants to withdraw in his understanding that Roz isn’t interested in this conversation, but then he realises Roz is still grinning and looking at him.

Oh. Maybe this isn’t about the Voyageurs-Bears rivalry at all. Not everything is just about hockey, or so Shane hears sometimes.

“But you live here, right? You live in Montreal?” Shane asks. It’s only good form to root for the team of the city you live in, right?

“Yes,” Roz confirms after a beat. “I moved here after living in Boston. Sveta’s father used to play for Boston Bears, so we are - what is the word?”

“Obligated to root for the Bears?” Shane offers.

Roz grins at him. “Partial, I think,” he says, apparently landing on the word he was looking for. “But we like Montreal too. Sveta says you’re great player.”

“And you don’t think so?” Shane asks.

Roz makes a noise that seems to indicate that he thinks Shane is a mediocre player. That’s ridiculous. He recognises that Roz is trying to challenge him, though, so he doesn’t respond just yet. No, he does that immediately after Roz speaks again, because he just can’t help himself.

“No, you’re good player,” he concedes. “You just have a weak backhand.”

“I do not have a weak backhand, Roz!” Shane protests immediately.

Roz throws his head back and laughs in immediate delight. Shane took the bait, didn’t he? Well, he gets to hear that laugh again so he’s not complaining. It’s still a beautiful sound. One of the best sounds that Shane has ever heard. Only roaring crowds after a goal have the potential to be better. 

Roz leans forward. “You are great player,” he tells Shane earnestly. “Best in the league.” Then he places his hand on Shane’s knee and adds: “Most attractive player in league too.”

For a moment, Shane’s brain goes fully offline. He doesn’t know how to respond to that. He’s probably just staring at Roz as he desperately tries to figure out what he’s supposed to say now. People sometimes tell him, in jest, that he’s pretty for a hockey player, but he usually just tells them to go fuck themselves if he responds at all. The problem is that he doesn’t think that Roz is kidding or saying it to screw with him, like that piece of criticism about his backhand. Shane is pretty sure he’s serious.

In the end, what he comes out with is “Thank you.”

Roz laughs again, softer this time. “Yes, so what is it like playing for Montreal?” he asks as he lifts his hand again, blessedly steering the conversation away from Shane’s looks. He might have sensed Shane’s discomfort. It might have been obvious.

So he tells Roz about playing pro hockey. He talks about preseason and the hours he spends in the gym every offseason. He talks about being on the road a lot and seeing the inside of a lot of hotel rooms. But he also talks about how much he loves hockey and how grateful he is to get to play the game at such a high level. He talks about the fans and the fame and how it is everything that so many people can only dream of.

Roz keeps sitting in front of him and keeps his eyes on Shane. He hums and nods at the right moments, indicating that he’s actually listening the entire time. There are not many people that Shane knows that are such intense listeners. Rose does this to him sometimes when she senses that he needs to get something off his chest, but it feels a lot less intense when she does it. Shane guesses that’s because he’s not actually attracted to her while he’s very attracted to Roz. 

When he’s done, Roz nods and says: “It must be lonely.”

Shane wonders how he got there even if he’s not wrong, so he asks: “Why do you think that?”

“You do not see family a lot,” Roz points out. “You’re on the road a lot. You’re training a lot. You do not have a lot for yourself.” He pulls a face at that, as if he’s not entirely happy with how he put it, but doesn’t seem to know how to convey what he means exactly either.

Shane thinks he understands it perfectly, though. “It is lonely,” he says, swinging his feet back and forth over the edge of the tattoo chair. “Especially when I’m injured. I’m just sitting in my house waiting until I feel better. Sometimes my parents come over and that’s nice, but it also feels like I’m fifteen and they’re babysitting me.”

“They sound like good people,” Roz observes.

“They are,” Shane agrees immediately. “They did everything for me when I was growing up. They took me to all the hockey practices and endured all my rambling about hockey. Although I think my mom loves hockey more than me.”

“That is possible?” Roz asks humorously. 

Shane laughs. “Yes, but it is close,” he concedes. “I have my parents, but it’s still a lonely life. I have my teammates and they understand most of it, but not all of it.”

Roz hums and says nothing. Shane quickly becomes conscious of the fact that he talked about how lonely he was to a man who moved to the United States and then Canada from he guesses Russia and must have left behind friends and family to do so. If he’s lonely then how must Roz feel? He’s being insensitive and stupid about this and that must be why Roz isn’t saying anything.

“I’m sorry,” he says, stumbling over the words to get them out. “This is so stu-”

“You do not apologise,” Roz interrupts him and he’s smiling. “I understand. Hockey life is not easy life. Even if it looks like that. Even if you date American actresses, yes?”

Shane sighs and buries his face in his hands. “That was a long time ago!” he protests. “Rose and I are just friends now.”

He feels Roz tap his knee again and he smiles about that behind his hands before lowering his hands to look at Roz.

“What was your nickname? Hollywood?” Roz continues to tease him.

“Yes,” Shane admits with a sigh, still a bit shameful about it. “You know a lot about hockey, don’t you?”

“I know some things,” Roz replies. “I know things about good hockey players. Sveta does too. She tells me things. She knows your friend J.J. as well.”

“And Hayden as well?” Shane assumes.

“No, we only know good hockey players, Hollander. Hayden Pike is not.”

The cheek of the remark makes Shane laugh again. Roz clearly has very specific opinions about hockey. He’s allowed to have them, of course. So many people don’t hesitate to tell them what they think of them. Roz is at least not telling Hayden to his face that he thinks Hayden sucks or sending his hate over social media. It seems all too matter of fact to him.

Roz gets up from the backless chair and gestures for Shane to move on the tattoo chair, so he does. The moment he makes room for Roz he sits down next to him. The line of their bodies, legs to hips to shoulders, is touching. He can feel Roz’s body heat clearly. Shane wants to lean closer into it. 

“Give me phone,” Roz tells him.

“Why?” Shane asks, but he’s already moving to take his phone from the pocket of his jeans.

“So you call me when you want tattoo,” Roz says with a roll of his eyes. “So you can call or message me when you’re lonely, Shane. You can also come by if you want. You know where the shop is, yes?”

Shane is oddly touched by the gesture. He leans in towards Roz after giving him his phone and watches how Roz goes into his contacts. He types in his phone number without pause, but he does hesitate when he scrolls back up to fill in a name.

“Do you want me to make it girl’s name?” he asks.

“No,” Shane decides after a moment. “Just your name is fine.”

Shane then watches how Roz fills in his first name. “Ilya?” he reads out loud.

“Yes,” Roz confirms as he gives Shane his phone back. “Is my name. You have heard of it before, yes?” 

Yes, he has. Shane looks at Roz, at Ilya, again, and makes a point out of studying him this time. Visions of youth tournaments come back to him. Russia’s best hockey player of Shane’s generation had the same eyes and the same grin, though he was usually grinning after making fun of someone. He was one of the few Russian players that tried chirping the other teams on the ice and he was very effective at it. He was also a very good player. He was supposed to be Shane’s rival as well, but he never entered the NHL draft.

What was his name again? Ilya Roz- 

Shane hits it. Rozanov. 

Then what is he doing here, in a tattoo shop in Montreal?

Shane never gets to ask, because at that point Svetlana walks into the back room. She seems completely unfazed by how close they are sitting together. She leans against the doorway and says: “Hollander, your friends want to go back to the bar. Neither one of them wants a tattoo after all.”

“God, they are so boring,” Ilya says with a sigh, but winks at Shane.

“They are not,” Shane protests, but he’s still grinning. “Thank you for the tour, Ilya. And the - you know. The talk. And everything else.”

“Of course,” Ilya said comfortably. He gets up from the tattoo chair first and offers his hand to Shane next. He obviously doesn’t need the help getting up, but he appreciates it nonetheless and takes Ilya’s hand. “Call me when you want tattoo of Stanley Cup, yes?” Ilya asks.

“I’ll think of you first,” Shane promises. 

“Good.” Ilya sounds pleased.

~~

Shane finds Hayden and J.J. by the counter when he walks after Svetlana. Ilya stays behind in the back room. Shane is inclined to see that as a good thing; he really doesn’t want to give Hayden and J.J. something to think about over the summer break, namely how Shane is responding to a handsome man in a leather jacket. 

“Thanks for visiting, gentlemen,” Svetlana tells them. “Think of us next time you’re considering a tattoo.”

“I have your number,” J.J. says. Of course he does.

The three of them head out after saying their goodbyes. As soon as the door is closed behind them and they’re presumably out of earshot, Shane turns to Hayden and asks: “Did you chicken out, Hayd?”

“I did not chicken out,” Hayden protests immediately. “We asked a specialist, like you said we should, and now I have a lot to think about.”

“He messaged Jackie,” J.J. says, all too willing to throw Hayden under the bus. “Jackie thought it was a stellar idea, but also immediately insisted on a couple’s tattoo as well as a tattoo for every one of their children. That seemed to cure him of the idea.”

Trust Jackie to have it under control, Shane thinks as he laughs. She is always very good at that.

It turns out that Shane was actually the most brave of the three of them upon entering a tattoo shop. There’s a first time for everything. 

~~

Svetlana comes in when Ilya has gone back to cleaning, presumably after seeing Shane and his hockey friends out. She leans in the doorway again and asks in Russian: “Were you making out with him?”

Ilya looks at her over his shoulder. “No. Even better. I gave him my number,” he replies in Russian.

“And you think he’s going to call you?” She sounds oddly sceptical for someone who has fallen for his charm over and over again.

“I don’t think so, I know so,” Ilya tells her. “I’m playing the long game, Sveta. He’s going to marry me. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“God, being a bit less cocky would really suit you well, Ilyushka,” Svetlana says.

“I disagree,” he says, turning back to his work. “It would be really strange.”

“Probably,” she agrees. “Let’s hope it worked on Hollander.”

“I give it a week.”