Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Heated Rivalry (TV)

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Cliff Marlow & Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Ryan Carmichael, Victor St. Simon

Additional Tags:

Good Friend Cliff Marlow, POV Cliff Marlow, Cliff Marlow Knows About Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Misunderstandings, Ilya Rozanov is a Menace

Language:

English

Series:

Part 5 of Sincere Communication

Stats:

Published: 2026-01-29 Words: 1,374 Chapters: 1/1

Ryan Carmichael On The Case

Summary

Carmichael thinks he’s discovered something about his captain, he consults with Cliff and Vic for reassurance.

“Hey, uh guys, do you wanna hang back for a second here?” Charmichael was speaking to Cliff and Vic in a hushed tone and motioning them into the corner while he tracked their captain on his way to the showers.

Cliff’s stomach sank. He knew Ilya was being too obvious.

He tried to sound annoyed. Maybe he could take a page from Roz’s book and act too indifferent to get caught “What is it, Carmichael?”

“OK so you know Roz doesn’t have a hateful bone in his whole body”

Vic snorted

“I mean yeah, he’s aggressive, but not actually hateful.”

Cliff and Vic both shrugged and kind of nodded. The distinction still unclear

“Except, do you guys ever think it’s weird how much he hates Shane Hollander and Scott Hunter?”

Cliff rolled his eyes to hide how nervous he was “what does Shane Hollander have to do with Scott Hunter?”

”They’re both gay.” Carmichael said at the same time as Vic said “They both hate Roz.”

”Hollander’s gay too?” Vic said “Nobody ever tells me anything!”

Cliff stubbornly stuck to the script. “Hollander’s not gay.”

”It’s just a rumor.” Charmichael said

”How do you always know these things?” Vic asked

“I’m a sociably guy” Charmichael told him “but that’s not the point.”

”Then what’s the fucking point?” Cliff asked

“I know Roz isn’t from a progressive country like we are…” Charmichael trailed off while still watching the showers.

Cliff made an impatient keep talking motion

“So maybe he isn’t, um, modern, you know, in his thinking, like we are?”

”He seems modern to me” Vic said “He wears v-necks.”

”That’s just a European thing.” Cliff said

“I’m European” Vic answered.

“Yeah, but you have no fashion sense, dude.”

“I have incredible fashion sense, Marly, you’re the one who wears the same shirt every day!”

”I like this shirt!”

“GUYS!” Carmichael whisper-shouted over them “can we be fucking serious for one god damn second here?”

”About what?” Cliff imitated the whisper shout just to be annoying

“Do you think Roz is like, anti-gay, or whatever?” Carmichael whispered back

“Wait, you think Ilya is a homophobe?” Cliff also whispered, too taken aback to pretend to be bored or annoyed anymore.

Charmichael looked around to make sure no one else could hear them, and then nodded slowly, dread plain on his face.

Aside from one rookie talking on the phone with his friends and lazily packing up, it seemed like they were the last people there.

“What would make you think that?” Cliff asked, feeling like he was maybe about to have to let his two best friends think their other best friend was a bigot just so they didn’t find out he’s not even straight and in love with Shane Hollander.

“There’s the Scott Hunter and Shane Hollander thing, for starters.” Carmichael said

“Hollander’s not gay” Cliff repeated

“I’d doesn’t matter if Hollander is or isn’t gay, if there’s a perception that he might be gay and he gets negative attention or harassment based on that perception, it’s still homophobia even if the dude is literally drowning in puss every night. Come on, use your brains!”

There was a brief silence between the three of them.

“Did you read that somewhere?” Cliff, who had been doing some reading of his own, finally asked.

“No” Charmichael said. “My brother’s gay and since Hunter came out, we’ve been talking a lot more about it.”

“You have a brother?” Vic said

”But you’re from Montana.” Cliff said

“People can be gay in Montana, you idiots.”

“I didn’t even know people lived in Montana, is your brother there all alone?” Vic asked

“Shut up, boneheads. He lives in Bozeman with his husband, they have an alpaca farm. I talk about him all the time.”

“Yeah, but not that he’s gay.” Cliff said

“Well, you know how some of the guys can be.” Carmichael said, looking a little bit ashamed that he’d omitted the subject of his brother’s sexuality in order to avoid being teased.

“Hey,” Cliff said, “if anybody gives you shit for having a gay brother, they’ve got to go through me, okay bro?”

“Of course, I know that dude, that’s actually one of the reasons I wanted to talk about this with you guys.”

”Because we’re super cool allies?” Vic said

“You’re my two best friends on the team next to Roz” Carmichael answered, “and I knew you guys wouldn’t be homophobes.”

”We give off not-homophobe vibes?” Cliff asked

”Marly, you basically only fuck bisexual chicks.”

Cliff wasn’t sure if that was really allyship, but he nodded.

”And Vic is French.”

“There are French homophobes.” Vic answered

“Are you one of them?” Carmichael asked with a tone of frustration

“No.” Vic said

“Good, then.” Carmichael said.

Which is, of course when Ilya popped up from nowhere in just a towel and slides, hair wet and dripping from the shower, threw his arms around the three of them, and yelled “WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT OVER HERE?!”

Carmichael, honest to god, screamed and ran straight into Marly’s chest, where he was smashed and held by Ilya’s hug. Vic managed to get his head out of the embrace but was squished awkwardly toward the middle with Ilya’s arm around his elbows. Cliff started laughing and couldn’t bring himself to wiggle out of his captain’s grasp on his wrist and hip.

Ilya shook his head like a wet dog and they all groaned and tried to avoid the spray. “I love you guys so much!” He yelled as he let them go.

Carmichael hyperventilated a little into Marly’s pecs and the big man patted him gingerly on the back, still laughing.

“No really,” Roz said “what are you doing all clumped in the corner like old wives, it seemed serious.”

Relieved that he no longer had sole responsibility for anybody’s privacy, Cliff shoved Carmichael gently towards their mostly naked captain and told him “Carmichael thinks you’re a homophobe.”

”But your brother is gay.” Ilya said while Carmichael sputtered and tried to explain himself.

“Wait, why would my brother being gay have an impact on your potential homophobia?”

”If your brother is gay, and you love your gay brother, you wouldn’t be friends with a homophobe, would you?” Ilya answered.

Poor Carmichael looked like he was trying to do quantum mechanics.

“But on the plane, you said you don’t like gay people.” Carmichael said

“When would I say this? I would not do this. I love gay people” Ilya answered.

“Last week Cliff said you didn’t like gay people. When you were talking about Scott Hunter.”

The penny dropped. Carmichael must have been awake when Cliff was asking Ilya if he and Shane were okay by pretending to ask for advice about Scott Hunter and his boyfriend Kip.

“I was teasing him” Cliff told Carmichael

“You were teasing him by telling him he’s a homophobe?” Carmichael asked, sounding like he didn’t believe him.

”That’s how progressive I am.” Cliff deadpanned.

“Alright, you caught me.” Ilya said. “I am bisexual and I am in love with another hockey player.”

Cliff’s jaw dropped, is he really going to do this now? In the locker room?

“It’s Cliff.” Ilya said solemnly

Carmichael and Vic were like twin owelettes, their huge eyes trained on first Ilya and then Cliff, and then Ilya again.

Cliff put his face in his hands to keep from laughing.

“Ahhh” Vic clutched both Cliff and Ilya and shook their shoulders. “You got me for a second there.”

Carmichael laughed and said “So you guys think it would be okay if I talk more about my brother, you know, with the guys?”

”Hey, if anybody says anything mean about your gay brother, I’ll break their leg.” Roz told him.

“Little extreme there Roz.” Cliff told him

“Is not extreme, is very reasonable. If someone on this team is mean to gays, they might as well have broken leg because they’re useless to me.” Ilya walked back to his cubby. “Now, who wants to watch me put on my pants?!”

The others groaned and told him to fuck off and left the locker room.

Ilya picked up his phone and texted Jane “the funniest shit just happened. Also people think you’re gay”

Jane: 😑