Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Kip Grady/Scott Hunter, Scott Hunter & Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Scott Hunter (Game Changers), Ilya Rozanov, Kip Grady, Shane Hollander, Eric Bennett, Carter Vaughn

Additional Tags:

Crack Treated Seriously, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, but not really, Misunderstandings, Protective Scott Hunter (Game Changers), Kidnapping, Awkward Conversations, Coming Out, Scott Hunter Finds Out About Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Good Friend Eric Bennett, LGBTQ Ally Carter Vaughn, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander, Humor, Comedy, Shovel Talk, no beta we die like ilyas dad, Mild Sexual Content, Traumatized Shane Hollander, Threats of Violence

Language:

English

Series:

Part 8 of Seasoned Gay to the Rescue

Stats:

Published: 2026-05-29 Completed: 2026-06-12 Words: 13,785 Chapters: 5/5

Shane, Meet Shovel

Summary

While enjoying a night out at The Kingfisher, Ilya is sporting some very concerning bruises. After drunkenly revealing to Scott that Jane is Shane Hollander, Scott takes it upon himself to give Shane the Shovel Talk.

OR

Scott thinks Shane is abusing Ilya, so he ropes Carter Vaughn and Eric Bennet into kidnapping Shane and threatening to kill him.

Notes

Original Request by Rikaraholic and bonus request by nickijae
"I am hoping to see a future one shot or something where Kip and Scott give Shane a shovel talk for their baby brother Ilya🙂🙂 Bonus points if the entire New York crew get in on the action because all of them have adopted the weird Russian with the sharp cactus exterior and gooey cinnamon roll interior."

*It's not going to be the whole Admirals roster, just Vaughn and Eric! Also, the tags might be dark but it's all a misunderstanding, I promise! Scott is really just jumping to conclusions.

Ngl I made myself laugh while writing this. Story takes place between Heated Rivalry and The Long Game, before Ilya moves to Ottawa. It's VERY loosely tied to It Was Just an Accident. You DO NOT need to read it to read this one.

What you DO need to know about this universe:
1. Scott does not know Ilya is dating Shane, he just suspects it.
2. Scott and Ilya already have a very close familial relationship, they are physically affectionate with each other in a platonic way
3. Ilya does have depression and struggles with self-harm, this is why he and Scott are close. They bonded after Scott stopped him from committing suicide. That is found in Chapter 3 of They Don’t Always Understand

UPDATE:
Due to some concerns that I'm now having after reading a few comments, I need to make some things clear.
1. Not a single person in this fic except for Kip has a brain cell. I cannot emphasize this enough.
2. Please take this fic at face value. It's meant just meant to be chaotic, unhinged, and fun, and maybe make you gasp at the horribly bad decisions that will be made.
3. None of this fic is advice Please don't just kidnap people 🥲

As with every fic - Don't Like, Don't Read!

Chapter 1: Grab The Shovel

If someone had told Scott a year ago that his top five favorite people would include Ilya Rozanov, he would’ve laughed in their face. And if someone had told him that he would be regularly hanging out at The Kingfisher with Ilya Rozanov, he would’ve had a heart attack. Yet, here he is drinking beers with Ilya and fuck… having fun.

He glances up to see Ilya at the bar ordering another drink from Kyle while interrupting whatever conversation Carter and Eric were having.

Through his drunken haze, Scott makes a list of his favorite friends. Would Ilya actually be in the top five?

1. Kip Grady (his fiancé, of course)
2. Carter Vaughn (his best friend)
3. Eric Bennet (his other best friend)
4. Kyle Swift (by proxy, see above)
5. Ilya Rozanov (because fuck, he has a little brother now. Or maybe son? He doesn’t know, sometimes it’s one, sometimes it’s the other. Whatever, they’re family. Kip, Kyle, and Shawn had said something about queer people just adopting other queer people? Scott doesn’t know, he just nods along and assumes they’re right about anything gay related.)

Yep, there he was. In spot number 5, only under Kyle because it felt rude not to pair him directly under Eric. Unless Eric and Kyle shared a spot because they were a couple. Which would bump Ilya up to number 4.

“Hunter,” Ilya’s voice cuts through his current ranking activity. He slides back into the booth carrying another glass of vodka. “You look like you are thinking too hard. Hah hard.”

Scott rolls his eyes, “You’re a child.”

“Mmmm no,” Ilya shakes his head. “You are just very old. What was it like to live during the Ice Age? Did you have a pet mammoth?” He laughs at his own chirp.

Scott finds it oddly endearing the way Ilya chooses which people to chirp. He would never chirp Kip because (as Ilya puts it) Kip is too good to be chirped at.

Kip was unfortunately working an event so he wasn’t there to witness any of the Admirals drunken states. But Ilya was taking a ton of pictures and video and live texting him, so it evened out a bit. Not that Kip could actually be on his phone, but it was the thought that counted.

Ilya laughs, downing another glass of vodka and clings to Scott like a koala. “I wish I could bring Jane here.”

“Why can’t you?” Scott asks and flags Kyle over motioning for water. Ilya is past the point of tipsy and firmly in the territory of very drunk. Which means that Scott is deciding to be slightly responsible by trying to sober up. Well, sober up enough that they don’t both need assistance in getting back up to Scott’s penthouse.

Ilya frowns a little, “Is not… he would not like this.”

“Oh, no?”

“Is not his type of place. Too…” Ilya waves a hand sadly, “...public.”

Scott hums in sympathy. Kip would relate more than he can. It still fills him with guilt sometimes, to think about all the times that he was too scared to go out in public with Kip. The times he’d run and leave Kip alone to deal with the aftermath. And he hates that Ilya is in that position.

“I’m sorry,” Scott ruffles Ilya’s hair, “That’s a rough spot to be in.”

Ilya sighs, “He does not like to be seen with me.”

Scott’s heart breaks a little more. “Well, maybe the two of you would like to join me and Kip for dinner sometime? Not in public, we can order in or cook at home.”

Ilya hums with a smile, “This would be nice. But I still don’t think he would like. Too many people will know.”

“How many people is too many?”

“Three.”

“Three!?”

“His parents, and his best friend.” Ilya relays mournfully.

That’s… not a lot. Even by Scott’s standards that wasn’t a lot. Before he’d come out, at least all of Kip’s friends and family knew about them.

Kyle comes by with water and coffee placing them in front of Scott.

“Thanks, Kyle.”

“Thank you, Kyle!” Ilya shouts a little louder than necessary. Kyle just nods and walks off to serve the other patrons.

“Ilya,” Scott asks as gently as possible, “Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Ilya looks up at Scott with a goofy grin, “Yes. I’m good! Very good!”

“Well, you’ve had nearly an entire bottle of vodka.”

“Yes, and?”

“It’s alot.”

“I am Russian. This is nothing.”

Scott barks a laugh, “You’re drunk, Rozanov. That’s not nothing!”

“Is nothing!” Ilya argues back and then mumbles softly, “I miss Jane.”

“I’m sure he misses you too.”

Ilya starts to doze on Scott's shoulder which means it’s time to go. “Ilya,” He nudges the Russian. “We’re going home now.”

“Okey,” he grumbles and snuggles further into Scott’s shoulder.

“No, that means get up now.”

Ilya grumbles and forces his eyes open and pulls away from Scott with a pout. He starts to lean to the other side but Scott catches him and guides him out of the booth. Ilya finishes his glass and hands it off to Kyle while Scott closes their tab and texts his fiancé.

Scott

Hey babe, we’re heading home now

Kip

Perfect timing!

I just got off, can I pick you up?

Scott

We’re at the Kingfisher

Kip

Lol, I know

Ilya keeps texting me

Be there in 15

Scott

Of course he is

Drive safe

See you soon!

Love you!

“Rozanov, come on.” Scott ends up slipping a hand around Ilya’s waist to steady him while they wait for Kip to swing by and pick them up.

“Oooo,” Ilya teases and pokes Scott’s side, “You’re touching another man!”

Scott holds back a groan, even when drunk Ilya manages to be painfully immature. “Please,” Scott groans, “You’re hardly another man. I have no interest in sleeping with you.”

“Mmm, good!” Ilya attempts to push back but only succeeds in crashing further into Scott. “We are not porn category.”

Scott snorts, “Dare I ask what porn category you’re talking about?”

“Incest!” Ilya exclaims proudly. It’s so loud that the unfortunate people passing by give them judging and uncomfortable looks. But deep down, there’s a swell of warmth in Scott’s heart. Whether or not Ilya would admit or realize it, he’d just acknowledged what he really thinks of Scott. And fuck, now his eyes have gone misty.

“Yeah,” Scott laughs, “because you’re my favorite little brother.”

Ilya smiles and drunkenly nuzzles against him like a damn puppy. “Better than Alexei.” He mumbles in Russian.

The car pulls up and Kip rolls down the window with a grin. “Going my way, handsome?”

Scott gives him an amused sigh, and pulls open the back door shoving Ilya inside before climbing into the passenger seat. “Hi baby,” He kisses Kip.

“Hi,” Kip beams back and starts driving them home, “Looks like you had a fun night.”

“Yes!” Ilya grins, leaning as far forward as his seatbelt allows. “Is very nice to be around more queer people.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Kip smiles peering into the rearview mirror to see Ilya more clearly, “There’s really something special about being surrounded by a community of safe people.”

Ilya sighs wistfully and leans back in his seat. “I will be like you one day.”

“You will, kid.” Scott does his best to sound encouraging. “You’ll get there, I promise.”

When they arrive home, Ilya is somehow more drunk than when they left. It takes all of Scott's self control not to dump Ilya on the floor the second the door is open. But he won’t, because he’s not a dick.

“Come on,” Scott groans and heft’s Ilya into his room. His room being the guest room that they ended up converting to Ilya’s room. He’d stayed with them for a couple weeks the previous year and those couple weeks were enough for Ilya to solidify himself as a part of their life.

Scott doesn’t think Ilya can manage a shower, that just seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. So he just removes Ilya’s shoes and lays him on the bed.

“Boo!” Ilya cries and struggles to take his shirt off. “My Jane says no outside clothes on the bed.”

Scott laughs, “Your Jane has you whipped.”

Ilya sags to the side and lets out a deep sigh, “You have no idea.” He sits back up and keeps trying to tug the shirt off.

“Need help with that?” Scott snorts.

Ilya responds by lifting his arms up and pouting. “Off.”

Scott can’t stop the laughs as he wanders over and helps Ilya tug his shirt off. He sucks in a sharp breath. Ilya’s skin is covered in ugly purple blotches and deep angry scratches along his back.

“Ilya,” Scott breathes, “Who did this to you.”

Ilya frowns and flops backwards onto the bed. “Mmmmm, can’t say.” He jumps upright. “Pants! No jeans on bed! It’s rules!” He fumbles with his belt. “Off! Off! Stupid buckle!” His eyes go up to Scott, watering.

“How the fuck is he doing that?” Scott wonders with growing concern.

“It’s not coming off,” Ilya whispers on the verge of tears. “He’s gonna get mad if I sleep in jeans.”

Alarms start to go off in Scott’s head. “Does he get mad often?” He asks, prying for a bit more information.

Ilya keeps tugging at his buckle, “Only if I do dumb stuff.”

“What constitutes dumb stuff?”

“What is that word? Con-stee-toot?”

“Uh, what makes it dumb?”

Ilya shrugs and doesn’t answer. He flops backwards on the bed again and tugs at his belt again. “Get off!”

Scott gives in, “If I help you take it off, can you promise not to say anything gross?”

Ilya nods and pulls his hands away.

“Fuck,” Scott mutters and reaches for Ilya’s belt.

Immediately, the younger man grins and says, “If you want to suck-”

“Rozanov!” Scott scolds, “Do you want to be out of the jeans or not?”

Ilya pouts and says silent while Scott undoes the buckle.

“Button please?” He pleads politely.

Scott lets out another sigh and undoes the button before stepping back. “Better?”

Ilya shimmies out of his pants and grins letting the pants just pool on the floor. “Shane would say ‘Tell Scott ‘thank you’ Ilya.’ So I say thank you, Hunter. You are nice for dinosaur.” He curls into the duvet.

The name does not go unnoticed, nor do the additional bruises decorating on Ilya’s legs. Scott decides to ask about the bruises first. “How did you get the bruises, Ilya?”

Ilya says something to the covers that he doesn’t quite catch.

“Hey,” Scott sits on the bed next to him and places a warm hand on his shoulder, “Can you roll over and talk to me, kid? Just for a little bit and then I’ll let you go to sleep.”

Ilya mumbles something and then he rolls over. “Okay.”

“Can you tell me about the bruises? With this many, you should’ve been playing tonight.”

“Had worse,” Ilya sleepily answers. “Fell off a ladder.”

Scott’s heart sinks to his stomach. “You fell off a ladder?”

“Mmhmm,” Ilya nods and yawns. “Shane was very mad at me for it.”

“Shane?” Scott pries, “Hollander?” He’s always suspected, but Ilya basically just confirmed it.

“Mmmm, yes,” Ilya whispers and then brings his finger to his lips, “Shhhh. Is secret. No one can know. Can I sleep now?”

Scott nods and gently rubs Ilya’s arm. “Yeah. You can sleep now.”

Ilya nods, rolls over, and starts snoring almost immediately.

Scott just sits there with his hand on Ilya’s shoulder. He doesn’t want to let go. How can he when this boy with such a tough exterior is hurting so much.

Fuck, it’s worse than he thought. And Ilya just openly admitted to Hollander abusing him. Who knew under that ‘golden boy’ facade, he was a monster? But then again, it made sense. When Hollander dropped gloves to fight him, it was over Ilya. Their rivalry too, it makes sense.

And Ilya… Ilya probably confessed his crush to Hollander and then the Canadian just took advantage of Ilya’s kindness and fears. Scott is going to kill him. He needs to make sure that Hollander stops hurting Ilya.

Scott stands and fixes the blanket, draping gently over Ilya’s damaged body. “I’ll help you, I promise.” He whispers to the sleeping boy and places a soft kiss into his hair. “You’re going to be okay.”

Chapter 2: Make a Plan, Gather the Posse

Chapter Summary

Scott lets his imagination get away from him and forms a plan to save Ilya.

Chapter Notes

Thank you for the love an support from the first chapter!! I hope y'all enjoy this one! 💖

Thank fuck he doesn’t have a hangover otherwise Scott would be crying bloody murder at the sound of Kip using the blender for their morning smoothies.

He wanders out to the kitchen greeting his fiancé by coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist. Scott plants a kiss on Kip's neck. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Kip leans back into Scott, humming joyfully. “No hangover?”

“No hangover,” Scott conforms and buries his face into Kip’s neck. “Is he awake yet?”

“Oh, you mean our son?” Kip laughs.

Scott groans, “Is that what he is?”

“Who is what is?” Ilya yawns entering the kitchen having showered and put on real clothes. Scott notes he’s in long sleeves and pants, aptly hiding the array of bruises. It sends a pang of sorrow through him and he wishes he could heal them all.

“I was just asking Kip if you were awake yet,” Scott lets go of Kip to shuffle close and greet Ilya with a side hug. “Morning, kid.”

Ilya narrows his eyes at the side hug, but returns it anyway. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“This hug,” Ilya waves a hand between them. “We do not do this.”

Kip feigns a gasp, and wipes a fake tear from his eye. “He’s growing up so fast. Doesn’t even want his father to hug him anymore. Soon he’ll be off to high school.”

Even more confused, Ilya stares between them, “What is happening?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kip laughs, “I’m just making fun of Scott.”

“Yes, is very easy to do,” Ilya confirms and slides into a barstool. “But seriously, why this hug?”

“You didn’t seem to mind the hugging last night,” Scott points out. “Or any of the other times I’ve hugged you.”

“Ah yes,” Ilya nods seriously, “Because last night I am drunk. And other times you are hugging me when there are emotions.”

“Being happy to see you in the morning is an emotion,” Scott reasons.

“But this is not something you usually do.”

Scott shrugs replying, “What can I say? I’m overcome with emotion.”

“You are strange man, Hunter.”

Kip snorts a laugh and restarts the blender effectively cutting off their conversation for the moment. Scott takes the opportunity to study Ilya. On the surface, he seems fine. He’s his normal self. Chirpy, happy but soft, and someone who is very good at hiding traumas. Just a year ago, the kid had been having panic attacks in his living room and telling Scott about all the horrible trauma’s he’d had to endure. Ilya’s working through that, Scott knows, but it’s still hard sometimes to think about who Ilya had been last year.

And now… and now Scott had some horrible new insight. He couldn’t stop thinking about it while lying in bed next to Kip. He couldn’t get the image out of his head; the bruises that littered Ilya’s body. Like someone had just beat him without abandon.

“You know, you should stay longer,” Scott can’t help himself once Kip is done blending. “This place can get lonely with you.”

Kip shoots him a curious look but stays silent. Scott hadn’t told him about what he’d seen and he’s hoping that if he can convince Ilya to stay then maybe he’ll open up about the abuse.

“I can’t,” Ilya shakes his head, “I want to go home to Jane. He’s got some time off work so we are spending time together.”

“What time’s your flight?” Kip asks, sliding them both smoothies.

“In four hours,” Ilya drinks and nods his approval.

“Perfect, enough time for breakfast. Then Scott can drive you to the airport on the way to practice.”

-

The car ride is pleasant with Ilya babbling on about how annoying real estate agents are because his Jane is much smarter and better than they are.

There’s uneasiness growing in Scott, the more he listens to Ilya talk about Shane and how much he adores the Canadian. Ilya is so deeply in love that he’s ignoring all the injuries. He has to say something, he can’t let this keep happening.

“You know, you can tell me anything right?” Scott turns the music down, “I’m not going to judge.”

Ilya’s head turns slowly to Scott. “I know,” He says slowly, “Why are you saying this?”

Fuck. He was already fucking this up. “I’m just saying it, to say it.” 

“Wow, well done Scott. So subtle. He’s going to think you’re an idiot.”

“You are hiding something from me,” Ilya’s too perceptive.

Scott sighs, he just needs to be upfront about it. “Ilya, can we talk about last night?”

Ilya stiffens, “What part of last night?”

Might as well rip off the bandaid, “I saw you had a lot of bruises.”

“Yes,” Ilya continues speaking slowly like Scott is missing something obvious, “I am big strong hockey player. Having bruises like this is normal.”

“You said you fell off a ladder.”

“I did.”

“Doing?”

Ilya’s face goes red, “Nothing. Doing nothing! Is… embarrassing.”

Scott doesn’t believe that for one second. “Right, right! Okay something embarrassing. I’ll believe you.”

“Good.”

“The scratches?”

Ilya’s face splits into a grin. “Jealous? Kip doesn’t give you those?”

“No!”

Ilya barks a laugh, “Ah you give him scratches?”

“We don’t,” Scott shakes his head, “We definitely don’t scratch each other like that.” He wants to yell at Ilya that his scratches are too deep. It’s not okay to normalize abuse like that. But then again, it’s Ilya. He knows how much the kid has had to suffer and how much of his life he deemed acceptable. He probably thinks this fucked up thing he’s got with Hollander is what every normal couple does.

“Ah, so sad for you,” Ilya snorts, “No mind-blowing sex with your boyfriend.”

“It’s not sad!” Scott defends, “We just don’t maul each other during sex!”

“You should try it,” he grins and waggles his eyebrows, “Sometimes sex is intense, is very fun. My Jane likes to maul me.” Ilya finishes with a wink.

God, he really just admitted to it. Scott is horrified, Ilya really thinks he’s okay. He needs to address what he knows, “I know Jane is really Sh-”

“No you don’t.” Ilya cuts him off sharply, tone shifting into something akin to fear, “You do not know who he is, yes? You say nothing.”

“Ilya, it’s okay.” Scott takes a sideways glance at him.

“No, is not.” Ilya insists, “You cannot know. You say nothing. This thing, me and Jane- is secret, yes? It must stay that way. You cannot know. Jane will be very upset if he finds out that you know.”

Ilya’s tone changes to pleading and Scott can help but nod along. He can’t help but feel like he’s sending Ilya back into the lion’s den. “You know me, I’m discreet. I spent my whole career in the closet. I won’t say anything.”

“Good. Okay.” Ilya clamps his mouth shut and doesn’t say anything more until they reach the airport.

“Please text me when you land,” Scott calls out the window.

Ilya rolls his eyes, “Okay dedushka.” But he gives Scott a short wave anyway.

Scott waits until Ilya disappears behind the automatic doors and stupid fucking JFK security yells at for lingering too long before heading to the rink. He calls Kip, needing to get a second opinion.

“Did you just drop off Ilya?” Kip asks when he answers the phone.

“Yeah, I’m heading to practice now.”

Of course Kip knows him too well so the first thing he says is, “So you want to tell me what that was all about? You asking Ilya to stay longer, I mean. I’m not opposed to it, of course. You know I love him. But there was a way that you said it.

Scott takes a deep breath, “I know. I um… last night I was helping him get into bed and he was covered in bruises and scratches.”

“You’re hockey players,” Kip reasons, “You’re also covered in bruises and scratches. All the time.”

“Not like these,” Scott insists. “ I asked him about the scratches, he said it was just rough sex.”

“That’s plausible, Scott.”

“Okay yeah but you didn’t see his body. It looks like he legitimately needed first aid. And… the bruises! Kip, he’s- fuck, he told me he fell off a ladder. I tried to press him further and he just said that Jane was pissed at him and that it was a secret!”

“Oh fuck, okay,” Kip sounds nervous, “That’s actually hard to argue with. Why didn’t you say anything last night? I could’ve helped convince him to stay or open up or something. Scott, if he’s being abused we can’t- fuck, we can’t let him get hurt.”

“I know!” Scott wants to scream, “But he’s acting like this is normal! I don’t think he realizes that what he’s going through isn’t okay.”

“And now he’s going back to Boston? Where he said he and Jane were going to spend some time together?”

“Fuck!” Scott groans, “I’ll fuck- I’ll think of something. Get him back to New York.”

“I gotchu babe,” he can already hear Kip forming a mental plan, “Go to practice. Don’t worry, I’ll come up with an excuse to get Ilya here.”

“You’re the best, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

-

Practice goes just about as well as Scott expects. It’s an optional one anyway, so it’s not like there was much to expect. But he underperforms so much that’s noticeable. But he can’t stop thinking about Ilya.

Falling off a ladder? That’s just about the weakest excuse on the planet. Scott’s brain starts spiraling, because for bruises like that it must be brutal. They’ve lived together. He knows how Ilya is when he’s at home. He’s like a giant puppy, so sweet and lovable. He offers to cook, and isn’t loud or brash. He’s actually very respectful of the spaces that he occupies. 

Ilya must be like that with Shane and Shane just takes advantage of him. He probably hits Ilya for accidentally dropping silverware. Or maybe he just does it for no reason. Abusive assholes like that won’t even find reasons, they’ll just hurt others for fun. And the scratches… It makes Scott sick to his stomach. He remembers the way Ilya opened up about his childhood and the sexual abuses he’s had to endure. Scott does not want to think about Ilya feeling afraid to say no or fight back. Fuck, does Shane blackmail him into having sex? Or being a couple?

“Hey man,” Carter skates up to Scott, “What is up with you?”

“Still hungover from last night?” Eric chimes in, leaning against the boards with a broad grin.

Scott shakes his head, “No hangover. Just… thinking.”

“Thinking?” Eric and Carter share a look, “Everything okay? Are you and Kip good?”

“Oh yeah,” Scott sighs and grabs a water bottle, “Just… a friend. He’s going through something right now and I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s Ilya isn’t it?” Carter correctly guesses.

“It’s those bruises, isn’t it?” Eric adds and nods at Carter like they both know something Scott doesn’t.

Scott stiffens, “What? How-?”

“Dude, he’s not exactly subtle.” Eric’s mouth has formed a frown as he lowers his voice. “Last night, his shirt rode up and I saw them on his hips. They looked like handprints, and when I mentioned it he got all cagey.”

Carter nods, “Yeah. Said he fell down a ladder.”

Fuck, it confirms Scott’s worst fears. Ilya had a story, a practiced one. “That’s what he told me too.”

“Look,” Eric leans in close, “I didn’t want to say anything but do you know who Jane is?”

“Yeah,” Carter asks, “Do you? Because we have a suspicion but we don’t want to be wrong.”

“Uh yeah,” Scott nods, “I do. But I don’t want to… shit, it’s hard. I don’t want to out him but-”

“He’s a piece of shit,” Carter cuts in, “I don’t give a fuck if he’s gay or not. An abuser is an abuser, no matter what.”

“Yeah,” Eric agrees. “It’s Hollander isn’t it?”

The shock but be apparent on Scott’s face because Carter gasps, “I fuckin’ knew it!”

“You did?” Scott asks.

“Dude.” They’re both looking at him.

“What?”

“Jane? Shane? It’s really obvious.” Eric points out, “Also whenever Ilya talks about ‘Jane’ he mentions that she’s really into hockey and that she lives in Montreal. Hollander is gay, Ilya is hot. Not that hard to put those pieces together.”

“Oh well, yeah. I guess so.” Scott sighs, “I’m trying to figure out a way to get him back to New York. You know, talk to him about domestic abuse. Get him to realize that what he’s going through isn’t okay.”

“Why don’t we kill Hollander?” Carter asks, “because I already have a tarp in my trunk.”

“What the fuck?” Eric nearly chokes. “Why?”

Carter looks at him like he’s stupid, “Because my best friend is gay. Obviously.”

“No, not obviously. What the fuck!?”

“For killing homophobes and getting rid of the bodies, keep up Bennet.”

“Okay no,” Scott cuts in, “We can’t actually kill him.”

“Why not? We’re literally ‘get away with murder’ rich.” Eric suddenly asks, and then adds, “Well, actually maybe not for someone as high profile as Hollander.”

“Let’s just threaten him then,” Carter nods at Scott. “We have evidence, make him stay away from Rozanov or we expose him for being an abuser.”

Scott can’t believe that he’s nodding along, “Okay. Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Chapter End Notes

That shovel talk is coming, I promise!

Chapter 3: Gather the Posse

Chapter Summary

Ilya arrives in Montreal, Kip calls and clears up some misunderstandings.

Chapter Notes

I'm blown away with the support on this fic! I love y'all so much! Enjoy!

“Welcome to Montreal,” the pilot ends his message and Ilya sighs. He can’t wait to get off the plane and finally, finally kiss his boyfriend.

Lily

Just landed

Jane

I’m already here waiting for you

Lily

I’m getting off now

Jane

♥️

Ilya stands and reaches for the overhead compartment. Objects may have shifted, blah, blah, blah- He opens the compartment and isn’t fast enough to dodge the wheel of his luggage. It socks him square in the eye.

“Blyad!” Ilya yelps and stumbles backwards, tripping and whacking his bruised back on the adjacent seats. The luggage falls and slams into his toes. He bites back a string of curses and forces himself to grab the damn luggage and high tail the fuck out of the plane.

He steps out, his body throbbing with agony. But it’s nothing compared to the impending kiss he’s about to receive.

Ilya makes his way through the terminal making sure to slip on his sunglasses. He knows for sure with how hard the wheel got him, he was going to be sporting a black eye. And there’s no way in hell he was going to accidentally get pap’d in Montreal, with a black eye.

Kip

Have you landed?

Ilya

Just did

I’m walking to my Jane

I can’t wait to see him

Incoming Call… Kip Grady

“Hello?” Ilya answers with confusion.

“Hey, Ilya.” Kip sounds somber.

“Why do you sound like that?”

“Oh, um- look, I can’t hold this in any longer.” Kip blurts out, “Please come back to New York. Don’t go back to Jane.”

Ilya pauses and tucks himself in a corner, hoping his conversation goes unnoticed. “Why? What is wrong? Is everything okay?”

Kip laughs uncomfortably, “I should be asking you that.”

“Me? Why?”

Kip takes a deep breath, “Ilya, Scott told me about your bruises and how you said you got them. And I’m very concerned that you’re in an abusive relationship. So, please. Please come home to us. Don’t go back to him.”

Ilya pauses and then laughs so loud that he’s sure people have turned to look at him. “Kipstopher, I am fine. There is no need to be worried.”

“Ilya,” Kip whispers, “You have to understand why that’s really hard for me to believe. He said you fell of a ladder! That's a textbook excuse for hiding suspicious bruises.”

“I did fall off a ladder, saw doctor and everything for it. I am fine!" Ilya insists with irritation. Why did no one believe him? It's not that suspicious. "I was on ladder, I fell! It happens!"

"Okay say I believe you." Kip says clearly not believing him, "What about the hand shaped ones? What about the scratches-"

Ilya groans, "If I show you proof, you cannot tell anyone, yes? Delete what I send you, is… very, very, very bad if this gets out. And Jane will be worse than mad because he is in it. It will have his face.”

“What are you sending me?”

Ilya lowers his voice, “Sex video.”

Kip swears, “What the fuck!?”

“I don’t know how else to convince you that I am fine! We are fine! Jane is not this… monster. He does not hit me, ever.” Ilya doesn’t actually say that Shane does hit him when they’re getting checked into the boards, but that's hockey and he doesn’t think it’ll help his case. He can practically hear Kip debating on whether or not to just believe Ilya or risk watching the sex tape. "You can see how I get these scratches, yes?"

“Fuck, send it to me.” Kip orders, “I need to make sure you’re actually safe.”

Ilya grimaces a little but sends the video.

Ilya Rozanov Has Sent (1) Video

“Maybe you pick up tips and can share with Scott.”

Kip holds back a sigh. Ilya waits patiently while he watches. He can hear the loud moans coming from Kip's phone and his own voice.

"Yeah baby, you like that?" Ilya's bent over Shane, his boyfriend's hands planted firmly on his hips, definitely hard enough to bruise.

"Fuck, Ilya!" Shane whimpers,"Fuck me harder!" Ilya speeds up but Shane slaps his ass. "I fucking said harder, Rozanov! I don't want to fucking walk later!"

"Oh god," Ilya groans and sets a punishing pace.

Shane reaches up and grabs Ilya tugging him to to kiss him filthily. He holds Ilya close, sucking on his neck.

"Please, Ilya! Hard- AH!" Shane's nails dig into his back creating long angry streaks of red that nearly draw blood.

"That's it baby," Ilya has a hard time focusing, bending Shane in half.

"More, please-!"

Kip stops the video before they can reach the climax. “HOLY SHIT! How are you-?”

Ilya grins, “My Jane does yoga so he is very flexible.”

Kip Grady Has Deleted (1) Video

“Okay,” His voice is much lighter and happier, “I believe you.”

“Good,” Ilya smiles, “Bye bye Kipstopher. I will be going to kiss my Jane now. And maybe make more videos! None for you!”

Kip laughs, “Bye Ilya. Enjoy your time with Jane.”

Ily hangs up, happy to have cleared up the misunderstanding and bounds off to meet Shane.

-

They don’t even make it to the bedroom before they’re panting for breath. Ilya lands on the couch, pulling Shane into his lap. The sunglasses come off-

“Ilya,” Shane fusses over the new bruise on Ilya’s face. “This looks bad!”

“Is fine, was an accident. I didn’t know luggage could hurt like that.” Ilya bats his hands away. He’s much too horny to care about his dumb luggage falling on him. It would heal like all things did.

“But-”

“Shane,” Ilya tugs his shirt off hoping his abs would be enough to temporarily stave off Shane’s concern.

Instead, Shane focuses on the bruises on his boyfriend’s chest. “Have you been icing them? Some of these look worse!”

“I’m fine lyubov moya,” Ilya groans and tries to push back into Shane, lips pursed for more kisses. They’re sitting in the living room of Shane’s sex condo, and Ilya is trying very desperately to initiate sex.

“Just let me ice them,” Shane pleads, wiggling to get off Ilya’s lap.

“Nooo,” Ilya keeps his grip on Shane’s hips firm. “I want to fuck you, please. I just got off the plane, I haven’t seen you in weeks and now I want to have sex with my beautiful boyfriend.”

Shane’s face flushes and Ilya knows it’s because he loves being called boyfriend. And Ilya loves saying it. “I also want my boyfriend to be healthy,” Shane pecks Ilya on the lips. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“Ugh,” Ilya grumbles, “You and fucking Hunter tell me this. We’re hockey players, Hollander! We get hurt all the time!”

“I didn’t realize Scott Hunter was your boyfriend,” Shane snips pretending to be put off.

"Hunter is grandpa," Ilya growls and possessively tugs Shane closer, “You are my boyfriend. My only boyfriend. So let me love you!”

“After I ice you.” Shane insists.

“Malysh…” Ilya is practically begging.

Shane leans back, “I’ll blow you while you’re icing your chest.”

Ilya immediately lifts Shane, setting him to the side while running to the freezer and grabbing ice packs. He plops himself back down on the couch quickly pressing the ice packs to his bruises. He points at the ice pack and then down to his dick with an expectant grin.

Shane rolls his eyes, but drops his head pulling Ilya’s dick out. Expertly, he swallows him whole and Ilya throws his head back with a moan.

“F-fuck Shane!” Ilya cries out.

Shane just hums with satisfaction and bobs his head. With one hand he grabs the ice pack pressing it to a rather large bruise. The sensation makes Ilya’s chest shiver and his dick gets harder. He comes embarrassingly fast. Shane swallows and keeps sucking until Ilya writhes with overstimulation.

Shane pops off Ilya’s cock and grins up at him. “How’s that for a blowjob?” Ilya doesn’t answer, only pulls up Shane to kiss him. Afterwards, they fuck until the sun goes down and they’re too blissed out to do anything but lie in comfortable silence.

Ilya loves sex marathons, but as horny as he is, he wants something different. Fuck, he wants to just hold Shane until the sun comes up and talk about their future. But sleep comes a little too fast and soon they’re snoring.

The sun streaming through the curtains wakes Ilya. He smiles down at the man he loves. Forever. He wants this forever.

Shane shuffles, taking a deep breath before slowly exhaling. Ilya snuggles in closer, planting soft kisses to his neck and shoulder. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Good morning,” Shane sleepily replies. He flips over and kisses Ilya despite the morning breath.

“Ya tebya lyublyu,” Ilya kisses back.

“I love you too.” Shane smiles.

They stay that way for awhile, just basking in the morning sun and each other's presence. Ilya’s mind flickers back to the previous nights. He’s never been happier in his entire life. He’s got his boyfriend in his arms and weirdly enough he’s part of Scott Hunter’s fami- fuck.

FUCK.

Ilya stiffens a little suddenly remembering what Scott had told him on the way to the airport. He knows who Jane is. He knows it’s Shane. Or at least, he thinks Scott knows. He started with the right syllables.

“Shane,” Ilya mumbles softly, “I need to tell you something but I’m scared.”

“Hmm, what is it?” Shane’s brown eyes look at him so softly.

“I think Scott Hunter knows about us.”

Shane jerks upright, “What!?”

Ilya winces, “Shane. Don’t- he’s fine. Remember, he’s gay like you. He will not say anything.”

“Oh, right.” Shane sinks back down into the bed. “Did he say that he knew?”

“Sort of? He started to say it in the car but then I told him to shut up because it’s a secret.”

Shane hums thoughtfully, “Well, Hayden guessed correctly.”

Ilya snorts, “Hayden did not guess. Jackie figured it out.”

“Well, either way. I think it’s okay that he knows.” Shane smiles at Ilya, “He’s done so much to support you, it would be really shitty of me if I denied you that.”

Ilya’s eyes light up, “Really?”

“Really.” Shane kisses him and Ilya feels his heart exploding. "We have a few days off and New York isn't that far. We could spend a day or two if you want?"

Ilya grins and climbs on top of Shane, "I love you so much."

-

Scott stares down at his phone. Holy fucking shit, the universe is on his side! Just as he, Carter, and Eric were talking over dinner about their plans to rescue Ilya, the Russian texted him.

Ilya

Hunter

What is your schedule?

What is Kipstopher doing?

When are you free?

Scott

Hey what’s going on?

Everything okay?

Ilya

Yes

Answer question

Scott

Kip works tomorrow but has the next two days off

I have practice in the mornings

Ilya

Okay

We’re coming when Kip is off

Scott

Wait

What?

Ilya?

We?

Who is 'we'?

Ilya

I want you to meet Jane

He says it’s okay that you know

Scott

Holy shit that’s big!

Ilya

Yes

Do not be weird

Scott

I won’t

You’ll both stay with us

Ilya

We can?

Scott

Of course!

You have a room for a reason

Ilya

We will probably want to fuck

Or not

Jane will not like this

Scott

Please don’t fuck

😭

Ilya

We’ll be quiet

Scott

Ilya

Please

😭

Ilya

♥️

Okay

Scott

Okay as in you won’t have sex?

Or???

Ilya

Okay

Scott

That’s not an answer!

😭

Ilya

Will text you flight information

Scott

See you soon kid

“Holy shit they’re coming here!” Scott nearly jumps from his seat.

“Fuck, what!?” Eric nearly launches at him to see Scott’s phone.

Carter nods, “This is good. The sooner the better. We don’t want Ilya to be suffering any longer than necessary.”

“They’ll be staying here too,” Eric announces reading their texts.

“That’s perfect,” the wheels in Carter’s head are spinning, “All we need to do is get Hollander away from Ilya and then we strike. We get him to The Kingfisher and scare the fuck out of him. Three against one, he won’t stand a chance.”

“They’re coming in the day after tomorrow,” Scott informs them, “So not much time.”

“I’ll coordinate with Kyle,” Eric pulls out his phone, “Make sure he’s not working that night and maybe we’ll close the bar for a night? Say we had a burst pipe or something. Nothing overly suspicious and no potential witnesses.”

“Don’t forget the security cameras,” Scott points out.

“Oh, so then maybe we say we lost power or we’re doing some kind of electrical repair. So it’s not strange that the cameras are offline.”

“That’s a good idea,” Carter nods. “Eric and I will wait out back to make sure he doesn’t escape. Between the two of us, there’s no way he can leave.”

“Great,” Scott nods, “And everyone has their shopping list?”

Carter recounts, “I’m in charge of the zipties.”

“And I’m getting the gag and the hood.” Eric finishes. "Not one of Kyle's."

"One of Kyle's?" Scott asks, "What do you mean?"

Carter and Eric stare at him for a long time.

"Think about that dude," Carter says.

“OH." Scott's face flushes, "Why was that an optio-” The front door opens, cutting Scott off. The three men go silent as Kip walks in, tired from his shift.

He immediately notices the silence and narrows his eyes. “What are you plotting?”

“Nothing,” they chorus.

Kip frowns, “That’s literally the most suspicious thing any of you could’ve said.”

“But we’re not plotting,” Carter jumps in.

“Uh, Ilya is coming into town again,” Scott offers, not wanting to alert Kip to their plan. Not that he doesn’t trust Kip, he just doesn’t want to implicate him. There’s no reason to put him in unnecessary danger. Plus, he needed Kip to keep Ilya busy while they got rid of Hollander.

“Oh!” Kip's mood brightens, “That’s awesome!”

“He’s also bringing Hollander.” Scott presses his lips into a thin smile.

Kip raises an eyebrow, “Oh. Right, so you’re all gathered because…?”

“We’re just hanging out?” Eric asks.

Kip pinches the bridge of his nose, “Babe.”

Scott folds, “They know about Ilya and Hollander.”

“Oh my god you're all so stupid. I talked to Ilya,” Kip informs him, “After he landed in Montreal. I addressed our concerns and he’s fine. Trust me, he’s okay. No one is abusing him.”

"So everything is fine?" Scott asks carefully.

"Yeah," Kip replies casually and opens the fridge to start cooking. "Are you three staying for dinner?"

A pit opens up in Scott’s stomach. Fuck, it’s even worse than he realized. Ilya is so convinced that he’s not being abused, he was able to convince Kip. Scott nods at Carter and Eric. They all share a look, clearly thinking the same thing and committing the plan to memory.

“Sorry, Kip not tonight. I’m going to head out, leave you two lovebirds alone,” Carter stands.

“Same here,” Eric gets up too, “I told Kyle I’d be back to help him tonight.”

“Tell him I said ‘hi’!” Kip smiles.

“Will do!” Eric waves with Carter in tow.

Scott gives them a short, knowing wave, “See you boys later.”

Chapter End Notes

Am I adding more fuel to the fire? Yes. The train wreck begins next chapter 💖

Chapter 4: Dig the Grave

Chapter Summary

Scott, Carter, and Eric set their plan into motion.

Chapter Notes

Trigger warnings for literal kidnapping, guns (kind of), and threats of violence (kind of)

Train wreck starts now! Enjoy! 💖

The first thing Scott notices when he and Kip pick up Ilya and Hollander from the airport is the fucking black eye that Ilya is sporting. It’s hidden under his sunglasses but Scott can see it clear as day. His blood boils and it takes all of his self control not to deck Hollander right then and there.

“Dedushka!” Ilya grins when Scott embraces him. The hug might be a little tighter than Scott intends, but Ilya doesn’t seem to be complaining.

“What did you just call me?” Scott asks suspiciously.

“He called you grandpa,” Kip snorts, grabbing Ilya’s bag and placing it in the trunk.

Ilya’s eyes widen at Kip, “You speak Russian now?”

Kip shrugs, and smiles bashfully, answering Ilya in Russian, “Just a little bit.”

Ilya laughs and hugs Kip. “You are good! Like Shane.” 

Hollander smiles awkwardly from where he’s standing. It’s clear he’s not super comfortable just standing in the JFK pick up line.

“Hollander, hey,” Scott goes in for a handshake. He tries his best to remain cordial even though he’s seething inside. How fucking dare this asshole even touch Ilya.

“Hey Scott,” Hollander shakes his hand with a smile.

Kip goes in for the hug which irks Scott even more. He can’t fucking wait to set their plan into motion but he needs to wait. At the very least, there’s no way Ilya and Hollander will be alone together. He won’t be able to lay a hand on Ilya, not while he’s around.

“Alright, that’s everything,” Kip announces and gets into the passenger seat so Scott can drive them back home. “How was the flight?”

“Eh,” Ilya shrugs, “Was okay, we didn’t get recognized so that’s good.”

The rest of the car’s conversation is pretty alright, no one says anything that rings alarm bells in Scott’s head. But he is more on guard than ever. He pays attention to the way Ilya sits, where he leans, clearly trying to avoid aggravating any cruises. He notices how Hollander’s hands are always clinging to Ilya in some kind of way.

Fuck, Scott wants to slap his hands away and scream at him. He can’t even imagine how terrified Ilya must be feeling right now. He’s brought his abuser to New York, maybe hoping for some kind of reprieve in the presence of other people. They’ll be in Ilya’s bedroom but Hollander wouldn’t dare try anything right? He wouldn’t risk forcing Ilya to have sex in Scott’s house. Oh fuck, what if he did? Scott does not want to imagine Ilya being raped in a place that should be safe. What if he’s scared that Hollander will hit him in front of Scott and Ilya? What if Hollander does and Ilya is expecting Scott and Kip to think it’s normal?

No, there’s no way. Not after the Monopoly incident where Ilya thought Scott was going to hit Kip. He’d been so quick to defend him and Scott had to gently explain to Ilya that he’d never hit Kip. Ilya knew it was wrong. So how… how could this happen? Hollander must be blackmailing Ilya. It’s the only explanation. Scott is glad he’s wearing sunglasses otherwise they’d be able to see the tears welling up in his eyes.

Scott forces himself to be steady as they reach his penthouse and get everyone inside. Ilya is eagerly showing Hollander the bedroom while Kip starts pulling out the pre-made lunch.

“Babe?” Kip whispers, “Are you okay? You’ve been weirdly silent this whole time.”

“I’m alright,” Scott smiles at Kip and kisses him softly. “I love you, you know that right?”

Kip smiles and kisses him back, “Of course I know that.”

Ilya and Hollander exit their room, and now that Ilya isn’t wearing his sunglasses Scott can see just how bad his eye is. Even Kip makes a gasping sound.

“Ilya what happened!?”

“Yes Ilya,” Hollander sighs, “Tell them what happened.”

And Scott does not like the way Hollander just steps in to speak for him. “Ilya can speak for himself,” Scott mentally screams.

“What?” Ilya groans, “It's not worth telling, it was accident!”

Hollander grimaces, “It looks really bad Ilya.”

"For you," Scott mentally growls, "You want him to cover for you."

“I open the luggage thing-” Ilya starts.

“Overhead bin,” Hollander fills in.

“Yes that. My luggage falls and gets me in the eye.”

And if that isn't the most bullshit fucking excuse Scott has ever heard.

“Oof,” Kip winces in sympathy.

Scott grabs an ice pack from the freezer and tries to press it to Ilya’s eye but Ilya takes it himself and uses it. He mutters something in Russian that Scott suspects is something along the lines of being overbearing or something.

Throughout the rest of the day he keeps a solid eye on Hollander, looking for any slip ups. Irritatingly, there aren’t any. Hollander and Ilya look like they’re firmly in love. But Scott knows better. He knows under that ‘golden boy’ exterior, Shane Hollander is a fucking monster. And maybe he’s rethinking the kidnapping a little and upgrading to murder.

Then evening comes and finally, finally it’s time to put their plan into action. Scott brings up the group chat.

Scott

It’s go time

Eric

I’m already in position

Carter

Same

Scott

Good

I’ll let you know when we’re on the way

“Hey Hollander,” Scott announces getting up from the couch where they’d been playing UNO. “I have to run to grab stuff from the store, come with me. I know Kip said he wanted to cook, Ilya can stay and help him.”

Kip grins, “Yes! Ilya there’s a new recipe I wanted to try tonight. I found it on that Russian website I sent you.”

“No!” Ilya groans, “Why do you betray me like this? First the Draw 4 and now you listen to google translate website?”

Scott chuckles and grabs his keys motioning for Hollander to follow him. “It should be quick,” he lies, “I have a list.”

There’s no list. They don’t even need to get groceries. Scott barely feels guilty about lying to Kip and Ilya as he drives Hollander through New York. He’s careful about taking the side streets making sure that they make it to The Kingfisher with little fanfare. On the way they talk about hockey, and Scott tries to keep the conversation away from Ilya as much as possible. He doesn’t need Hollander to suspect anything yet.

“What is this place?” Hollander asks sounding genuinely curious as Scott parks behind The Kingfisher.

“Oh, it’s the bar that Eric and I own,” Scott answers casually. “He texted me asking to swing by for a second. Come on in.”

“Oh uh, sure. Ilya said it was a gay bar?” Hollander gets out of the car and follows Scott into the empty bar.

"I didn't 'turn it gay' before Eric and I took over. It was already gay."

"It doesn't look very gay."

Scott can't help but stop and look at Hollander. "What?"

Hollander shrugs, "I mean like... there's no um... rainbow flags or poles and things?"

"It's not a strip club, it's a dive bar. And there's a rainbow sticker on the door."

Hollander's face goes bright red in a way that almost makes Scott feel guilty. "I've never been to gay bar before."

"It's just a regular bar," Scott sighs.

Carter stands behind the counter pretending to wipe down glasses. He waves at them.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?”

Hollander looks confused, “Hey, Vaughn. What’s up?”

Carter smiles calmly, “Oh you know, just things.”

Scott steps back, giving a knowing nod to Carter. “Let me go find Eric.”

Hollander nods and takes a seat at the bar, “Okay sure.” He looks around, “Why is it so empty?”

Scott lets Carter fill the silence and slips away motioning to Eric who’s been hiding in the shadows. For a stocky goaltender, the man is impressively silent. He creeps up behind Hollander and in two seconds he’s got duct tape over his mouth and a black pillowcase shoved over his head. Hollander reacts immediately, bucking and panicking.

“Get the cuffs!” Eric orders and Carter is leaping over the counter to help wrestle Hollander’s arms around his back.

"Dude, why are they fuzzy!?" Carter demands, pinning one of Hollander's arms.

"Fuzzy!?" Comes Hollander's confused and muffled cry. Apparently, the confusion is enough for Carter to get his other arm.

"They were the only ones I could find!" They manage to get him cuffed and Scott darts to the back door. Making sure the coast is clear, he opens the back seat and helps stuff Hollander’s struggling body inside.

Scott climbs into the front seat with Carter and Eric holding Hollander still. The fucker is letting out muffled screams and thrashing. He takes off driving down the streets heading toward a spot by the river he knows is abandoned.

“Shut the fuck up and stay still,” Carter orders. Under the pillowcase Hollander sounds like he’s hyperventilating.

“Good,” Scott thinks, “Fuckers like him deserve to know what fear is.”

“Did you bring the gun?” Carter asks overly loud. Hollander screams louder.

“The gun!?” Scott freaks out and sees Carter in the rearview mirror pressing a finger to his lips. Oh god this was not part of the plan. They're going rogue. "We didn't talk about a gun! Where did you get a gun!?"

“Here,” Eric says and hands Carter a hair curler. “Careful, it’s loaded.”

Hollander thrashes and screams but goes still when Carter presses the hair curler to his temple.

"Is that Gloria's fucking hair curler?" Scott blurts out completely forgetting that Carter had just told him to shut up.

"Scott! Dude!" Carter tosses the curler away. "Come on!"

He can hear Hollander make a confused sound. Dammit, it's going to shit already.

"Don't fucking say my name!"

"Why the fuck not?" Eric points out, "He already knows it's us!"

"Oh come on, shut up!"

There's a spitting sound from under the hood and the tape must've fallen off because Hollander says, "Are you fucking hazing me!?"

"No!" Scott snaps.

"Is this about Montreal winning the last game? Because news flash it was only by one point!"

"Dude, this is about Ilya!" Eric shouts.

"Ilya?" Hollander shits to completely confused and he stops struggling. "I told him not to bring you into roleplay! Tell him this isn't funny! I veto'd this plan! It's not sexy!"

"Wait what?" Scott's brain short circuits for a second. "Roleplay? Veto?  What the hell?"

Carter scrambles for the duct tape, "Shut up you fucking abuser!"

"Abuser!?" Hollander shrieks, "What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Oh, you know exactly what we're talking about!" He bites back. "Do we have more tape?"

"What scenario is this!?" Hollander demands irritably. They ignore his question.

"Yeah," Carter rips off another piece and removes the hood to tape over Hollander's mouth again. The Canadian lets it happen, clearly annoyed and rolls his eyes at them.

What an asshole.

Scott drives them to the spot and turns off the headlights. No need to draw more attention to themselves. Now was the tricky part. Carter trades places with Scott, slipping into the driver's seat just in case they need to make a fast getaway. Eric and Scott wrangle Hollander, who has thankfully stopped struggling. 

Scott had scouted out the place earlier and found a battered chair that would be sturdy enough to hold Hollander even if he struggled. He and Eric shove him into the chair and Scott zip ties him to it.

“Key,” He asks and Eric hands him the keys to the handcuffs.

“Make sure this fucker never touches Ilya again,” Eric claps Scott on the back and head back to the car to keep watch.

Scott takes a deep breath and pulls the hood off Hollander. There’s just enough light reflecting off the water, the full moon and the ambiance from the bridge to give Scott and Hollander visibility. The Canadian’s eyes are wild and full of annoyance.

“Scream and I’ll end you,” Scott warns and waits for Hollander to nod his agreement. He pulls the tape off his mouth.

"Scream and I'll end you?" Hollander gives Scott the blankest look. "Where are we?"

This is not going how Scott thought it would. "Shut up! You're supposed to be scared!"

"About what!? I'm not playing along. I thought we were going to have dinner, not let Ilya have his hero fantasy.” Hollander snips, clearly annoyed. He turns his head and shouts into the darkness, "Ilya! I told you I'm not into kidnapping! Come here and untie me right now! Borscht, Ilya! Borscht, Borscht, Borscht, Borscht!"

"What the hell are you screaming 'Borscht' for?"

"It's our safeword, asshole!"

"A safeword-? This isn't a sex thing! He's not fucking here," Scott laughs bitterly, “You know why I'm doing this Hollander.”

“I really don’t,” he deadpans, “Please just tell me.”

“Stay the fuck away from Ilya Rozanov,” Scott growls, in a way that makes Hollander realize the sudden situation that he's in. “I know you’re just fucking with him."

"Wait, this isn't a sexy roleplay?" He asks weakly.

"No. I know you're taking advantage of him being bi and having a crush on you.”

Hollander looks like he’s ready to piss himself. “I’m not homophobic!” He screams, “I love gay people! All gays! I’m gay! I like sucking dick! I'm a bottom! Ask Ilya!”

“Woah, Hollander.” Scott would laugh if this wasn’t so sad. “You being gay isn't even a fucking secret."

He stares in horror, "What?"

"You came out to your whole team asshole! Word travels, everyone know already. You're not some hidden secret, you're literally out! I’m not going to fuck you up because you’re gay. ”

He sniffles, “You’re not?”

Scott shakes his head, “No. I’m going to fuck you up because of what you’ve been doing to Ilya.”

"Like... dating him?" Hollander truly looks like he’s at a loss which makes Scott hesitate a little.

“No, stay on track! He’s an abuser. He’s perfected this little act.”

“I’m not fucking falling for this,” Scott snaps, “I know you’re fucking abusing him and it’s going to stop.”

“What the fuck are you talking about!? I’m not abusing him!” Hollander shouts.

Scott explodes, “He’s covered in bruises!”

“We’re hockey players!”

“He said he fell off a ladder!”

“He did!”

“Doing what!?”

“Helping my dad hang Christmas lights!”

Scott laughs in disbelief, “Right, and I’m the fucking president of a school board PTA.”

“There’s video!” Hollander growls, “Check my phone!”

Oh fuck. He’d forgotten Hollander’s phone. Shit! He forgot his own phone! But… “Where is it?”

“Back pocket.”

Scott scowls but manages to shimmy Hollander’s phone from his pocket. “Password, Hollander.”

“2481.”

Not even subtle. “Wow, really?”

“It’s there,” Shane insists, “The one from last week.”

“This sick fuck,” Scott is seething, “He fucking video’d himself beating Ilya.”

"I swear to fuck Hollander," He threatens, "If you're a sick fucking pervert who gets off on recording his boyfriend getting fucking-"

"Just watch the damn video!"

Scott finds the video and plays it.

Play >

The Hollander’s house is half decorated with lights. In front of the porch is David holding the bottom of the ladder while Ilya stands near the top holding a string to Christmas lights. And he’s wearing a knitted, fully MHL branded, Shane Hollander ugly Christmas sweater. The stitched number 24 and the name HOLLANDER are on his back.

“Honey,” Yuna’s voice calls from behind the camera, “Be careful please!”

“Don’t worry Mama Yuna!” Ilya turns and grins, “I am careful.” He's not. Ilya is completely disregarding any and all safety measures, leaning over further than he should, balancing on one leg. 

There’s the sound of a car pulling in and the camera turns to show Shane parking his car. Upon seeing the acne in front of him, Shane bolts out of the car.

“Ilya! That’s dangerous! Mom!” Shane is running to Yuna.

“Oh honey, he’s fine!”

Shane is practically wailing, “That looks unstable!”

“Lyubov moya,” Ilya calls down, hooking another light string onto the roof. He waves making the ladder wobble so dangerously that David has to grab it with both hands. Both Yuna and Shane make gasping sounds."Is safe! Papa David is holding the-” His foot slips.

Shane screams like a small child. High pitched and horrified. Shane sprints to Ilya's side screaming his name. "ILYA! MOM! CALL 911!"

Ilya rackets down the ladder, hitting each rung along the way, his feet getting tangled. His leg gets caught and he twists painfully, hanging upside down.

The rest of the visual is a blurry mess but there are panicked screams from all the Hollanders before it cuts out.

Stop [ ]

Scott stares at the paused screen, a sudden sinking feeling filling him. The feeling of having fucked up. Oh fucking shit balls. Ilya wasn’t lying. He was telling the truth. Fuck, Shane is telling the truth. He’s committed already, he needs to know the rest.

“What about the black eye?” He asks weakly.

“That one was real, I think?” Shane squeaks.

“You think!?”

“It’s what Ilya told me! I wasn’t there!”

Scott keeps going, “Well, what about the scratches!?”

Shane’s face turns bright red and he mumbles something.

“What was that?”

“Sex!” And then another mumble, more embarrassed, “We like when we can see ourselves on the other person. I’ve got them too. And... Ilya made a video. It's... a sex tape. You can see how he got them. I've... got them too. You can look. If you want."

Scott grabs Hollander's sweatshirt and shirt and yanks them up. And true to his word, Hollander is covered in scratches and hickies. Just as bad as Ilya's. “Woah, Hollander. Holy fuck.” He pulls the sweatshirt back down. He takes a deep breath, “Okay last question and then I’ll free you.”

“Okay.” Shane squeaks.

“He said you’d get upset if he slept in jeans.”

“Yes, because it cuts off circulation, it’s unhygienic, and can cause skin irritations.”

“So… you’re not abusing Ilya.”

“NO!”

“Oh… fuck.”

“Scott,” Shane is so close to tears and he’s not sure if it’s due to fear or something else, “I fucking love Ilya. I love him more than anything. I’d give up hockey for him. That’s how much I love him.” It's not fear, Shane just really loves Ilya. Dammit.

Scott groans, “Fuck. Shane, I’m really fucking sorry.” He snips the zip ties with a pocket knife and unlocks the handcuffs.

Shane automatically gets up off the chair rubbing his wrists. He socks Scott in the jaw and Scott lets him. “You fucking asshole!”

“I know!” Scott puts his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry! I won’t blame you if you want to press charges. This was all me though, leave Carter and Eric out of it.”

Shane groans, “I’m not gonna fucking do that.”

“You’re not?”

“No.” Shane sighs with irritation and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Because I… kinda fucking get why you did it. If I thought someone was abusing Ilya, I’d probably pull some crazy shit like this too.”

“Truce?” Scott asks weakly.

Shane snorts and holds out his hand. “Sure, fucking weirdo fucking asshole.”

Then, there’s a scream from the road.

Chapter End Notes

Sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger 💖

Chapter 5: Do Over

Chapter Summary

Kip and Ilya find out what happened, and Kip makes three grown men regret being born. And Ilya gets to experience coming out to his [redacted].

Chapter Notes

And here we are! The final chapter! 💖
Everyone faces some kind of consequence. Except Kip and Shane, you're doing amazing sweetie. 💖

Kip and Ilya finished cooking an hour ago and Scott and Shane still weren’t back from their “outing.” Kip threw on a movie to keep them distracted, but it was obvious that something felt off.

“I don’t like this,” Ilya finally can’t take it anymore. 

“Fuck, same.” Kip groans. “What the hell are they up to?”

“Maybe they got stuck talking about hockey or something boring.” Ilya suggests.

Kip shakes his head, something doesn’t feel right. “I don’t know, something just…” Trusting his instincts, he opens his phone and pulls up the location app.

The little blip that shows where Scott is, indicates that he’s somewhere by the Hudson River. Completely out of the way and in the sketchiest place possible. “Holy fuck,” Kip chokes and stands. His heart is racing as he refreshes the page hoping for a different location. Maybe the last one was a glitch. It’s not.

“Kip?” Ilya asks, “What’s wrong?”

“Do you have Shane’s location?”

Ilya frowns and brings up his phone, “What is wrong?”

“Scott’s location puts him by the river,” Kips is trying so hard not to panic, “But I’m hoping it’s some kind of glitch and nothing actually happened to them.” His brain is cycling through all the worst case scenarios. What if someone saw them together and decided to pull a hate crime? Killed them and dumped their bodies… of god what if they’re injured?

Ilya shows Kip his phone, “Where is this?”

The blip on Ilya’s phone is the same location as Scott’s. “We need to go,” Kip chokes on his words beelining for the car keys, “Ilya let’s go.”

-

Kip sees Scott’s car parked on the side of a sketchy road. There’s a hooded figure sitting in the driver’s seat, one that he knows isn’t Scott. Then, there’s the hulking figure in a black hoodie that stands nearby. They’re far enough away that whoever is by Scott’s car hasn’t noticed them yet.

“Fuck,” Kip whispers, “Should’ve brought a gun.”

“Do you have a gun?” Ilya asks, keeping his voice low as well. "Where?"

“No,” Kip replies, “But this is America. Should’ve just stopped at a Walmart.”

"Can you shoot one?"

"...Kind of? Once, when I was kid?"

"Gun is probably bad idea."

"Yeah..."

Ilya leans forward trying to get a better glimpse at the figures. “Pull up next to them,” Ilya orders, “If I speak Russian, maybe they think I am Bratva or something.”

“Ilya, you’re literally a celebrity. And what if they’re armed?”

“Maybe they don’t know this. And I can say I have gun, they don’t know unless I show it.”

“But you don’t have one.”

“Is fine,” Ilya swallows hard. It’s obvious to Kip that he’s scared out of his mind.

“We’ll do this together,” Kip nods, “For our boyfriends.”

“Okay.”

Kip drives up towards Scott’s car, the headlights shining on the figures. The person in Scott’s front seat ducks down before he can get a good look, and the hooded figure keeping watch starts to run. Before Kip can park, Ilya bolts from the car. The door flies open and sprinting to the runner. Ilya bodies the man, tackling him to the ground as the kidnapper screams in a register not befitting of someone his size.

“Bennet!?” Ilya explodes when he flips the man over.

“Rozanov!” Eric gasps, “Holy fucking shit I thought you were the cops or the mafia or something!”

Ilya gets off him, “What the fuck!?”

Eric stands brushing himself off, “Look, it’s okay. We have your back, you don’t need to be afraid anymore.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Ilya!” Carter’s voice echoes from behind them as Kip forcibly drags him from the car. Ilya and Eric walk towards him.

“What the fuck is happening!?” Ilya reiterates in anger, “Where is Scott!? Where is Shane!?”

“It’s okay,” Carter hugs Ilya, “You’re safe now.”

"Get off me!" Ilya shoves him away.

“Someone please fucking explain to me what the hell is going on!” Kip is out of the car, confused and more than a little pissed. “Carter, Eric, someone! I don’t care who!”

“We’re saving Ilya,” Eric explains, pointing down towards the river where Scott and Shane were, “We drove Hollander out here to make sure that he-” That was all Ilya needed to hear before bolting in the direction Eric indicated. 

“SHANE!? What the fuck happened!?” Ilya screams as soon as he sees Shane. His boyfriend is rubbing his wrists, there's a black sack, and fuzzy pink handcuffs on the ground and Scott is rubbing his jaw.

“Scott just tried to fucking kill me,” Shane grumbles. "And I punched him for it."

Ilya glares daggers at Scott. "You fucking what!?"

Shane sighs, “It’s not completely his fucking fault. He thought…”

“He thought, what?” Ilya demands feeling all over Shane’s body for injuries. He spies the redness around Shane’s wrists and the bruising on his knuckles, “You’re hurt!”

“I thought he was abusing you,” Scott admits.

Ilya freezes and then glowers at Kip who followed. “I told you it was nothing. I showed you sex tape!”

"You what!?" Shane's snaps his attention to Ilya.

"Hush lyubimyy."

“I told him that!” Kip argues back. "I said it was fine!"

"You didn't say the sex tape part." Scott mumbles, “I thought you fell for his coverups.”

“What coverups!?” Ilya pulls his jacket off to start wiping dirt from Shane’s face. “I don’t have coverups!”

“In his defense, it did sound really bad.” Shane offers an olive branch, “Without context, all he saw were bruises covering your body and you said you fell down a ladder. And you showed up with a black eye.”

“This is true!” Ilya argues back. “I’m not lying!”

“Yeah, but it sounds like one.” Scott replies weakly.

“Ilya,” Shane takes Ilya’s hand, holding it gently, “Please don’t be that upset.”

“I am upset!” Ilya sounds like he’s about to start crying with rage, “He was going to hurt you!”

Shane pulls Ilya away from them. He pulls his boyfriend into a hug. “Baby, do you realize what just happened?”

Ilya shakes his head, “Tell me. Because all I see is that someone that I love almost murdered the man I love most.”

Shane smiles a little and brushes Ilya’s tears away with his thumb. “Think about it like this. What if I was dating someone, not you-” Ilya scoffs at this. “-and they were abusing me? What would you do if I showed up covered in bruises and told you that I ran into a door or something? And then later I show up with a black eye and say I got hit in the face with a mug or something.”

Ilya frowns, “I would kill whoever is hurting you.”

Shane nods, “That’s what Scott thought. Ilya, what he did was really fucked up and scared the shit out of me. But I’m going to forgive him because he loves you. He loves you so much that he planned this whole thing to save you. From me. Because he thought I was abusing you. He didn’t even care that he would’ve gotten jail time or this. Hell, he even got Bennet and Vaughn in on it.”

Ilya takes a deep breath. “I don’t like that he did this to you.”

Shane laughs, “Trust me, I don’t either. But… maybe it’s a little funny?”

“No,” Ilya shakes his head and pulls Shane into a tight hug, “I was scared when I saw you. Maybe later this will be funny, but not now.”

Shane hums and relaxes into his hug, “Let go home? I want to shower.”

They rejoin the group to find Kip fuming at the Admirals players. “Ilya,” Kip tosses his keys to Ilya, “Take my car back home. I’m taking these fucking idiots back to where they came from.”

Ilya nods, “See you at home.” He and Shane get into Kip’s car and drive off.

“Get in the fucking car!” Kip snaps at Scott, Eric, and Carter pointing to Scott’s car. The trio pile into the backseat silently, faces flushed with embarrassment. Kip gets into the front seat and starts driving, “Do you all realize how entirely fucking unacceptable that was!?”

There are mumbles of ‘yes’. Kip is taking heavy breaths, “Did none of you idiots think to actually communicate or ask Ilya about his relationship with Shane? How about maybe trusting that he’s telling the truth? Or maybe,” Kip glares at Scott through the mirror, “Trusting me when I told you they were fine! What the fuck do you have to say for yourselves!?”

“Sorry,” the trio mumbles.

“Why are you saying sorry to me!?” Kip shouts, “Say sorry to Ilya and Shane! Shane who you all have fucking traumatized by kidnapping him and threatening to kill him! You are all so fucking lucky that he’s not pressing charges and having all of your stupid fucking asses arrested!” Kip takes several more deep breaths. “I fully expect each and every single one of you to apologize, no fucking grovel at Shane Hollander’s fucking feet for what you did! And then! You’re going to do the same thing for Ilya! Am I understood!?”

There’s a chorus of soft, guilty ‘yes Kip’s.

“Good!” He snaps, “Scott, you’re sleeping on the fucking couch tonight! Actually, no. All of you are sleeping on the fucking couch tonight. Not just tonight! The whole fucking month! None of you deserve your partners!”

Kip drops Eric and Carter off at The Kingfisher, warning them that he’s going to text the WAGs about what happened. Scott transfers to the passenger seat and Kip starts their drive back home.

“Scott,” Kip, although seething, is a little bit calmer now, “What were you thinking?”

“I just wanted to protect him,” Scott says quietly.

Kip sighs, “I get it, but you know what you did was very fucked up right? There are plenty of other ways to give someone a shovel talk without resorting to kidnapping and attempted murder.”

“It wasn’t an attempt, just a plan,” Scott wants to say, but knows it won’t go over well with Kip.

“I love him,” is what he says instead, “I just… I saw the bruising and the scratches and it’s like all logic went out the window. I jumped to the worst possible conclusion. I couldn’t stand the idea of him being hurt like that. Not when his entire life has been people taking advantage of him and completely disregarding his welfare.”

“Hm,” Kip agrees, “Like hasn’t been fair to him. But think about what would’ve happened if something had really happened? If you’d gone through with your plan. You wouldn’t be someone who protects Ilya anymore. You’d be another person who took his agency to make decisions for himself and reacted with violence. Do you know what Ilya told me once?”

Scott shakes his head.

"He said he doesn't fight off the ice because it's one of the things that separates him from his father."

“I never want to do that to him,” Scott ducks his head, “I… fuck, I would’ve really lost him.”

“Yeah,” Kip nods, “You would have.” He sighs deeply gathering himself. “Here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to go home, you’re going to shower because you smell like a sewer. Then, I’m going to stay in our room while you and Ilya talk. Properly talk. Then, after we will have dinner and you will still be sleeping on the couch for the next month and I am so fucking serious about that.”

Scott nods, “Fair enough.”

"No sex either."

"No sex!?"

"NO SEX!"

-

“Lyubov moya,” Ilya won’t stop touching Shane as soon as he’s freshly showered and changed. “You’re sure you’re not hurt?”

“I’m fine, Ilya.” Shane kisses him softly. “We’re good.”

“What if I’m not good?”

Shane takes them to the bed and he climbs into Ilya’s lap. “That’s okay too.”

Ilya hugs him tightly burying his face in Shane’s chest. “I’m mad at Scott but I’m also not mad at him? Does this make sense?”

“Yeah,” Shane runs his fingers through Ilya’s far. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“You do?”

“Of course. I felt the same way when we had that dinner with Hayden and Jackie. The very first one, where the two of you were being dicks to each other. I was pissed because I wanted Hayden to see you for you, not as Rozanov the hockey player. But he’s still my best friend, and we’ve moved on from it.”

Ilya makes a grumbling sound.

Shane hugs him close. “I hate how every time I’ve introduced you to someone, you’ve always been the one to get threatened. Like you’re not my favorite person who makes me feel the safest.”

Ilya looks up at Shane, “But I am okay with this because it’s me and not you.”

“I know,” Shane has a tiny smile on his face, “And I think it’s high time that someone looked out for you too. I think of it as a right of passage.” His smile gets a little wider and he chuckles, “I mean they really went to the extreme, but they love you.”

Ilya cranes his head up and kisses Shane. “Were you scared?”

Shane shrugs, “Initially I was. But then I was just really confused. I thought it was some weird hazing thing they were trying. And then I thought that maybe it was you trying that kidnapping roleplay thing.”

"You said no to that."

"I know, I was kind of mad at you because I thought you somehow actually got Scott in on it so you could come and 'rescue' me. I safeworded an everything."

Ilya huffs a little and kisses Shane. He sighs, “What do I say to Scott? I want to tell him that I am mad for threatening you but I… I have never had anyone do something like this for me before. Is complicated.”

“Be honest,” Shane presses their foreheads together, “You’re family. He’ll understand.”

"What if I want to... what is word? Do again?"

"Do over."

"Yes this." Ilya pulls back to study Shane's beautiful freckles. "Like how we did the do over of dinner with Hayden and Jackie."

"Did you have something in mind?"

He nods, "Da, but is..." his face flushes bright red, "Is stupid."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not." Shane kisses his nose.

"I want to pretend," Ilya swallows hard, "like... to... blyad... come out."

"Like if I'd gotten to come out to my parents?"

"Da." He winces.

Sane smiles, "That's not stupid. At least one of us will get to come out to his parents."

Ilya chokes and then laughs. He kisses Shane, "Ya tebya lyublyu."

-

Scott and Ilya sit in the living room alone. Shane stayed in the bedroom to give them privacy, while Kip has disappeared into their bedroom to give them privacy.

"I'm really fucking pissed at you." Ilya starts. "Blyad!  This is too hard in english!"

"Maybe we can try-?" Scott hands Ilya his phone with google translate pulled up. "It's not the best but maybe it'll be easier to express yourself?"

Ilya takes it and takes a deep breath. He knows his emotions will come through even if google translate isn't entirely accurate. "I'm so fucking pissed at you. I don't even have the words to describe how fucking angry I am. I've been ignored my whole life and you're someone that I always trusted to listen to me. I get it, you thought that Shane was abusing me but why didn't you just believe me? I felt like a fucking child, and not... fuck, not in a good way. I like when you call me 'kid' and let me stay with you when I'm in New York. You're more family to me than my father or brother ever were. But today felt like I was being ignored. I don't like what happened, and I didn't know this was something that could happen. I'm used to being the one who gets threatened because I'm an asshole. Everyone knows I'm an asshole. But Shane is not an asshole, he's kind and he would never hurt anyone, ever. So when you went after him, I didn't get why. Shane explained it to me so I understand. But I... seeing him like that makes me... I don't know. I love him so much, and I wanted you to love him too."

Scott is quiet as he takes it all in. "You're right, I should've trusted you when you told me everything was okay. You haven't been shy about telling me when when you need help, so I should've listened."

"Listened to Kip too."

"And to Kip. Ilya, I’m really sorry.” Scott apologizes for what feels like the millionth time. “I don’t know what I can do to make this up to you. I know what I did was wrong, and I should’ve just communicated like an adult instead of jumping to conclusions.”

Ilya sighs, “I didn’t like seeing Shane like that. And I didn’t like seeing you like that either.”

Scott just nods, “I know. I’m sorry. It’s not something you should’ve ever seen and I shouldn't've acted on anything. I completely understand if you want to distance yourself. I won’t blame you.”

“Distance myself?” Ilya’s voice is so soft it takes Scott off guard.

“Yeah,” Scott decides to push, “Because I really crossed a boundary and that’s not okay.”

“You would leave my life?”

“If that’s what you want, I will. I won’t force-”

Ilya shakes his head, “Please don’t do that. I don’t want… I don’t want that.”

Scott nods, “Okay.”

“Can we… I don’t know. I wanted this trip to go well.” Ilya won’t look at Scott. His hands are in his lap and Scott wants so desperately to reach over and hold his hands. “I wanted you to know Shane. Not as hockey player but as my boyfriend.”

The guilt stabs Scott like a sharp knife. “I really fucked that up,” Scott answers quietly, “I wish I could take it back and start over.”

Ilya doesn’t say anything. And then there’s a very soft, “Can we?” He finally looks up at Scott with the most mournful expression. “Can we start over?”

“I want to,” Scott replies. “Will you let me?”

Ilya takes a deep breath. “I have an idea on how to fix. I talk to Shane, he is okay with it.”

Scott nods, “Okay.”

"You know I will never let his go, I will chip you all the time." Ilya cracks a small smirk attempting brevity to break up the tension.

"Yeah," Scott smiles grimly, "I know."

“Good. Get Kip. Stay in kitchen,” he orders and stands up. “We will be back.” Scott watches Ilya leave and head back into his room.

Scott stands and goes to his and Kip’s bedroom knocking lightly on the door. “Kip?” He calls softly.

Kip opens the door. “What’s the verdict?”

“Uh, Ilya says he has a plan for us to start over. He wants us in the kitchen and to wait for him.”

“Okay,” Kip nods and takes Scott’s hand. “Are you okay? It’s been an intense night.”

“I don’t know,” Scott admits, “I really fucked up. I don’t know if either of them will ever forgive me.”

“We’re family,” Kip says comfortingly, “You might be a step closer to being a serial killer than I thought, but I know you meant well. As fucked up as that is.”

Ilya comes back out of the room sans Hollander. “Are you ready?”

“Ready?” Scott asks, keeping an arm around Kip’s waist. “Yes, whatever it is.”

“I have never come out before,” Ilya states a little nervously.

“I wish I’d been able to come out,” Scott remembers Ilya had expressed this buried desire a long time ago, “Would be nice, maybe. To tell someone that I have boyfriend. My brother and father would have me killed so not a good option. And My mama would have loved Jane, but she isn’t here.”

Scott catches on immediately. “Of course,” he looks down at Kip and smiles before turning to Ilya. He takes a stab in the dark about what Ilya is expecting, but he goes with his instinct.

“So kid,” he says calmly stepping into (what he hopes is right) character, “I heard from Kip that you have something you want to tell us?”

“Dads,” Ilya actually looks like he’s about to fucking panic the second the word is out of his mouth, but he continues when Scott gives him a nod of encouragement. “I’m bisexual. I like girls and I like boys.”

“Ilya, that's wonderful!” Kip doesn’t break and goes in for the hug.

Scott waits until they pull away before he too hugs Ilya, “I’m really proud of you, Ilya. I hope you know that.”

And then there are very real tears flowing from Ilya’s eyes. “Fuck.”

Scott laughs a little and brushes away his tears. He’s a little misty eyed as well.

“I also have boyfriend,” Ilya announces, rubbing the rest of his tears away. He turns to his room and Shane stops out looking awkward as all fuck. “This is Shane Hollander. We play hockey together.”

“Hi,” Shane calls out weakly and joins Ilya’s side. “I’m Shane. Hollander. He said that already.”

Scott steps forward first and pulls him into a hug. Shane stiffens against him at first before relaxing a little. “It’s really nice to meet you Shane. I’m glad there’s someone who loves Ilya just as much as we do.”

“I do,” Shane confirms once they break the hug. He slips his hand into Ilya’s, “I really love him.”

Ilya breaks and kisses Shane, slow and deep. “Ya tak sil'no tebya lyublyu.”

And Scott can see it so clearly now. The way Shane looks at Ilya like the Russian is his whole world, and nothing else exists except for the two of them.

“Dinner?” Scott asks, gesturing to the kitchen.

The tension breaks and everyone laughs. Ilya holds Shane tightly whispering a string of “I love yous” in Russian. Scott can’t help the smile that crosses his face. He loves seeing Ilya happy. It’s what he deserves.

Chapter End Notes

Ahhhh thank you all so much for being here on this fic journey! Not gonna lie, a lot of this felt like a “please trust the process” as each chapter came out 😂 I hope y'all enjoyed and if you did, let me know! There is more to come from me, I promise! Love y'all! 💖

Also if this ending was disappointing for you, I'm not sorry 🤷