Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationship:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov's Neighbors

Additional Tags:

Kid Fic, Ilya Rozanov is Good With Children, Ilya Rozanov would be a good dad, shane hollander would be a good dad, The group chat knows, Conspiracy, Babysitting, Good babysitter Ilya Rozanov, Neighbors, Meddling, Fluff

Language:

English

Series:

Part 6 of The Girlies of Heated Rivalry

Collections:

*Heated rivalry melts my heart*

Stats:

Published: 2026-01-23 Words: 1,165 Chapters: 1/1

All the Girls Know

Summary

Ilya and Shane love kids. The families of Ilya’s Ottawa neighborhood love Ilya and Shane. A neighbor hatches a plot to let them spend more time with kids since they can’t have their own just yet.

Notes

Two kid fics in a row! Crazy, right? My friends and I were talking about wanting to see Hollanov as dads, and this is what I thought up while they can't quite get that yet.

Set after Ilya moves to Ottawa, but no spoilers. (That was established in the show so I don't think it's a spoiler.) Just a fun little bit of fluff. I hope you enjoy!

Julie smiled from the steps to her house as she watched her kids playing on the lawn. Her two daughters were playing some kind of imagination game with Ilya Rozanov, who was currently kneeling in the grass with his hands over his eyes while the girls giggled excitedly next to him. Her son was tossing a baseball with Shane Hollander, who had brought over his own baseball mitt to play with him.

Their little corner of the neighborhood in Ottawa was such a dream.

Julie’s husband Lucas leaned in and whispered quietly in Julie’s ear.

“I'm starting to think maybe,” he lowered his already low voice, “they're gay.”

Julie couldn’t help it, she giggled.

“What makes you think that?” she asked playfully. Unfortunately, Lucas missed the sarcasm.

“Well…” he began, looking back and forth between them across the yard as they played with the kids.

“I'm sorry,” Julie interrupted, “I shouldn't make fun.”

Ilya fell over with a cry like the girls had killed him. They giggled hysterically next to him, bouncing on the balls of their feet in excitement.

Lucas’s eyes went to Julie.

“You knew?!” he asked. He looked betrayed that she hadn’t told him.

“All the girls know,” she told him. It was true. The subject had never made it into the full neighborhood group chat, but in the group chat that was just for the girls, it had been a hot topic for months.

“What!!” he asked, voice raising a little.

“You cannot tell anyone,” Julie said sharply. She was about to launch into an explanation of the thousand reasons he could not spill this secret to a single living soul, but Lucas spoke up before she had to.

“Of course not,” he agreed. “I wouldn’t.”

The whole street loved Ilya. No one here would ever out him. No one here had ever told anyone how often Shane Hollander visited, either, or the fact that Shane Hollander’s parents were occasional visitors to Ilya Rozanov’s house. In a different neighborhood, that might have been viral by the second month Ilya had lived here. But in this neighborhood, Shane and Ilya were beloved. Shane was the hometown boy and Ilya was the rockstar who had chosen Ottawa when he could have gone anywhere. They both clearly loved the city and loved to call it home.

The neighborhood would keep all of their secrets. Including, in the beginning, that Ilya was friends with a fellow hockey superstar. And later, that they were not actually just friends.

“But I think you're the first husband to figure it out,” Julie offered Lucas as an olive branch.

Lucas glared at her.

“I can't believe you told them and not me.”

“I didn't tell anyone,” Julie corrected. “None of us told each other anything. This is a secret and you're not allowed to tell anyone.”

The girls had all, separately, figured it out, and then they’d figured out that everyone else had figured it out. But they’d never told anyone who didn’t already know.

“I get it. I get it,” Lucas grumbled, “It's not like they're out.”

“They're good with the kids you know,” Julie said, eyes returning to Ilya and Shane with the kids.

Shane lobbed a ball high in the air and then cheered when Jason caught it. Julie smiled.

“They are,” Lucas agreed, his eyes softer.

“They’d be amazing dads,” Julie mused. It was fun being able to gossip with her own husband now.

“Yeah, but I'm sure with their schedules……” Lucas trailed off.

Ilya got up and held up a stick like it was a sword, and chased after the knights, or princesses, or whoever the girls were when they’d previously defeated him. They ran across the street to his driveway and then back when he took a wide enough arc that they could double back.

Julie was sad for them that they couldn’t be dads now, because they both obviously loved kids so much.

“Of course,” she said, “Someday.” But that sounded so far off.

“I bet they wish they could spend more time with kids now,” she added. She was teeing up an idea that had been on her mind for a long time.

“Probably,” Lucas said, but he was distracted watching the kids.

“Ilya takes any chance he can get to play with them,” Julie said, “He stops in every time he sees them in the yard. The kids love him too.”

“They adore him,” Lucas agreed, “Both of them.”

“Yeah they love both of them. They're so sweet together.”

“They'd be everybody's favorite babysitter,” Lucas said with a laugh.

“I bet they'd actually like babysitting,” Julie said, as though this was the first time she’d thought about this. “Ilya probably wants that chance.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know with that schedule,” Lucas said.

Ilya and Shane started to say goodbye, and Julie put a pin in the conversation. But she would be coming back to it.

-

“Ottawa and Montreal both have an off day on Saturday,” Julie said at the dinner table that night after the kids had gone to bed. She had the Metros and Centaurs schedules up in split screen on her computer. “Why don't we find out if they can babysit?”

“What do you mean?” Lucas asked, confused, “We don't need a babysitter Saturday.”

He was currently finishing up the pots and pans. They’d already finished the rest of the dishes, he was just doing the last of the scrubbing.

“I just think maybe they would like that,” Julie said, “They can say no if they don't want to. I won't even phrase it like I'm asking. It's just for them, if they want.”

Lucas didn’t disagree, which Julie took as permission.

-

On Thursday, Julie timed the kids front yard playtime for when Ilya was likely to come home. Of course he stopped and came by. Before he could get caught up in some game, Julie waved him over. The kids kept up their game as the adults watched.

“I’m doing well,” she told him in answer to his question, “Except that our babysitter dropped out for Saturday. But it’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”

Ilya looked sympathetic.

“Can you recommend anyone?” she asked him. “I know you don't have kids but maybe you know someone who likes babysitting.” She laughed like she was not overly hopeful.

“I can babysit,” Ilya said, “Shane will be here. I will ask him, but I think he would like that too.”

“Oh, would you?” Julie asked. “I can pay you.”

“Of course not,” he said, shaking his head. “You do not have to do that. We will be happy to.”

Julie grinned. She really really loved these boys.

“I’ll pay you in lasagna,” she offered, knowing his weakness.

“Paid in lasagna? You’re never getting rid of me as a babysitter.”

Julie laughed, delighted.

Ilya also smiled, clearly equally delighted.

She so knew it. This was going to be so good for everyone. She would buy the noodles in bulk.