Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationship:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Yuna Hollander

Additional Tags:

Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Time Skips, 5 + 1, POV Yuna Hollander, Momager Yuna Hollander, Good Parent Yuna Hollander, I just love writing Yuna, Ilya Rozanov is Obsessed With Shane Hollander, Implied Sexual Content, No graphic sex scenes however, I cannot tag I am ever so sorry

Language:

English

Series:

Part 2 of Momanager (Yuna Hollander take over)

Stats:

Published: 2026-05-03 Words: 6,363 Chapters: 1/1

The (self-imposed) parent trap

Summary

It’s not that Yuna is not aware that her son is sexually active. 
Really, it isn’t. Of all the things Yuna Hollander has ever been accused of being while bashing in the public eye, a fool is not one of them. She’s well aware that he is not the innocent little boy that once looked up at her and asked about the lifespan of butterflies anymore. 

But sometimes, Yuna wishes she knew a little bit less about her son’s private life. Just a little.

—

(Or, five times Yuna Hollander found out too much about her son’s sex life and that one time she purposefully asked about it.)

Notes

Hello world!

Well, this has been a journey. This OS has been finished for over a week, but for some reason, I couldn't find time to sit down and focus on trying to re-read it to check for grammar mistakes or eventual inconsistencies. I apologise in advance if any parts of this do not make sense, I promise I tried.

It goes without saying, but I do not use AI to write my fics, also fuck AI, and trust me when I say that my stupid ideas are fueled with coffeine, a sore lack of sleep and the exhaustion of 42+ hours a week worked in a busy clinic.

Feel free to let me know if you have liked this if you feel like it, and if you have any other situations you would like me to put these two in, drop me a message here or on social media because writing these two has been so much fun!
(I also might or might not be preparing a smutty one shot.... to be posted soon.....)

It’s not that Yuna is not aware that her son is sexually active. 

Really, it isn’t. Of all the things Yuna Hollander has ever been accused of being while bashing in the public eye, a fool is not one of them. She’s well aware that he is not the innocent little boy that once looked up at her and asked about the lifespan of butterflies anymore. 

But sometimes, Yuna wishes she knew a little bit less about her son’s private life. Just a little. 

Way before Ilya, and way before Shane actually realized how famous he had gotten practically overnight after being drafted by the Montreal Metros, Shane experienced his first steps into stardom under the unwavering gaze of the press. They were pretty much relentless for a little while––mostly because Montreal is not LA, and so called celebrities walking down the streets are not as common as one would have thought. Shane’s complete innocence at that time allowed the press to sneak into his daily life efficiently, and splatter the front page of various angles of his face on a walk out before he learned how to handle it properly. 

He was photographed in enough public spaces to make the front pages regularly, especially when it came to emphasizing his differences with other people. Photos of Shane with Canada Dry ginger ales in hand at the bar went viral, magazines made thousands sharing bits of Shane Hollander’s crazy diet and quirky little habits the moment they realized he had a precise routine and naver wavered from it for a moment. 

He unfortunately makes it too easy for the press to latch onto him in those early days, much to Yuna’s displeasure. Of course, she knows her son to be peculiar when it comes to routes and habits, but it doesn't mean that she has to like it. Especially at the cost of his sanity, all for the filthy clippings she sees in the press for a few thousands copies sold in various libraries all over Canada.

She comes this close to suing Indigo for emotional damage at some point. The only reason she doesn’t is because David loves their Montreal location, and there’s very few things Yuna can resist her husband. 

Quickly enough, Shane’s very few friends became regular figures in the press, to the point of them stepping away when it became too much to bear, and Yuna biting a few “I told you so”s back. It’s not that she didn’t like Shane’s friends, really. It’s more that she is well-aware that her son was not totally himself around them, and she hated every bit of it. 

Yuna Hollander is no fool. She knows her son is different, and she knows how hard he tries to fit in. She sees the press plastering his quirky little habits all over the tabloids, she sees the way it makes her son feel more guarded and most of all she sees the way Shane tries even harder to cater to a society that does not suit him after that. 

So seeing her son’s friends—the ones who do not care much about hockey and only express a vague interest in his life—step away from it entirely fills her with joy. Shane does not seem that worn out over it, either, so she supposes it’s a win win. The less Shane surrounds himself with people who do not care about him the way they should, the happier he’s going to be, even if he doesn’t see it yet. At the time, all Yuna does is offer a reassuring shoulder whenever Shane needs, trying as hard as she can not to resent the world for making her child feel unappreciated and different. 

But one thing Yuna never expected to see in her lifetime was her son on the front page of People magazine. He was photographed one night leaving a fancy club downtown, looking frankly dazzled, and closely followed by a just as disheveled looking lady with a smirk on her face and what looked like her son’s jacket wrapped around her shoulders. 

The article is instantly a massive hit, of course. For days, Yuna is unable to go anywhere without seeing her son and that mysterious girl, and she makes a point to ignore the very few people who reach out to ask her about it, as sleek as they think they are.

And sure, Shane is twenty at the time. Yuna is well aware that her son probably has a sex life by then—emphasis on the probably, because Shane seems to breathe and live hockey and she’s as surprised as the next person to find out that he dates; but she certainly wasn’t ready to read about it in the papers. The very open interview that woman gives this shit press a couple of weeks after has Yuna closing the page hastily, her heart in her throat and her entire face as red as the bottom of her Louboutins.  

There are things a mother should never know about her child. The way he supposedly had a woman spend the night of her life in his arms is one of them. Yuna wonders if she’s ever going to forget the words she just read, and then hastily clears her throat and corrects her posture. Sex is a normal progression of a young man’s life, and she needs to be ready to face the reality of Shane not being her sweet little boy anymore. 

She doesn’t know what exactly about this whole situation feels wrong to her, though, and she hates herself a little for it. (Much later in her son’s life, she will realize why. Because deep down in her heart, she has always known her son would never find love in the arms of a woman.)

  “I didn’t sleep with her,” Shane confesses later that week, his cheeks flaming red and his head bowed over the bowl of hudon Yuna has cooked. He doesn’t need to give her a context, she knows exactly what he means the moment he brings it up, and Yuna is momentarily speechless. “She lied.” 

Something within Yuna clenches. “It’s okay if you did, Shane. You know that, right? The press has no right to do this, and invade your privacy…” 

“But I didn’t, mom. I didn’t.” 

He leaves it at that. At the time, Yuna wonders why he’s so adamant on making it abundantly clear. It all makes sense much, much later. 

The first time Yuna meets the Centaurs, she realizes how deeply terrible the Montreal Metros truly were. There’s a breezy ambiance in the Ottawa locker room, even after a loss. Bood and Dykstra are wrestling with each other for a towel, Ilya is somewhere talking with Luca with a smile on his face that could light up the world, and her Shane is sitting down on the bench with a soft expression on his face watching them both. 

For as long as she remembers, Yuna has never seen Shane look anything but defeated and worn down after a loss. Some of them hit him so hard it took him a few days to speak again, completely closed off to the world around as he watched the game tapes over and over to figure out where he failed. Yuna doesn’t remember when she started asking herself if hockey was still fun as it once was for Shane, but as she looks around the Centaurs locker room now, she knows she doesn’t have to worry anymore. 

“Mama Hollander!” Someone calls from behind Yuna, and she feels her lips curl around a smile. It’s Wyatt, and he looks delighted to see her, catching the attention of the few players around who freeze in barely concealed awe. 

“Yuna,” She says, knowing damn well they’re going to ignore her pleas. 

Shane’s head turns towards her, and his smile gets softer, more private. 

“Hey, mom.” 

“Hey, honey. Good game,” she says, because it was. It does not matter that they lost, Yuna sees great potential in the Centaurs. She knows a couple of players do not make a whole team, but ever since Shane became a Centaur, she sees the shift in dynamics between all of them. 

The team is more focused, more determined, as if the addition of Shane to the team was the oil that was needed to the fire. And Yuna desperately tries not to feel too proud of her son, but let it be known that she’s never been really good at keeping her glee in check. 

“Thanks, mom,” Shane says, accepting the one armed hug she gives him. Yet another change post-Ilya, one that Yuna cannot get enough of. If she didn’t realize how much she ached for physical contacts with her son, she’s afraid she could very well not go without it now. 

“You did well, too,” Yuna tells Ilya when she catches him looking with a fond look on his face. Luca has turned around now, fiddling with the strap of his bag, and she gestures at her son’s husband to come closer. 

He obediently does, and Yuna gets on her tiptoes to press a kiss against his temple, delighted in the beaming smile he gives her in return. Every ounce of maternal love she has ever thrown Ilya’s way has been met tenfold, and It makes something within her ribcage pulse with deep satisfaction.

“Thanks, Yuna. I always knew I was your favorite son,” Ilya teases, digging a finger into Shane’s shoulder. 

Shane good-heartedly pushes him back, but there’s not much intent behind it. 

“So desperate for a compliment,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Get it together, Rozanov.” 

Behind Yuna, Dykstra stiffles a laugh. Yuna guesses this is not the first time this kind of banter occurs, and the thought makes her all the happier.   

“Ah, there’s no praise you could give the man that he doesn’t want to hear from Hollzy,” Bood snorts 

“Oh, yeah. Our Captain has a praise kink.” 

“No, he just likes being told he’s a good boy by Shane motherfucking Hollander. Anyone would.” 

In slow motion, Yuna watches as both Shane and Ilya’s mouth open in barely disguised shock. A pink blush spreads over her son’s cheeks, and Yuna watches with fascination as he splutters around an answer, unable to find words to diffuse the situation. At this point, everyone has caught up on what’s happening—and Yuna is almost delighted to see the looks of utter shock passing over grown men’s faces when they realize that they've just spoken about Shane and Ilya’s not-so-private life in front of Shane’s very own mother. 

“Enough traumatizing Mama Hollander,” Luca eventually interjects, the smile blooming at the corner of his lips sole witness of the regular occurences of those chirps. 

But there’s no malice in the way the men around Yuna immediately laugh, and underneath the furious blush that has taken over Shane’s face, Yuna can see the relaxed slope of his shoulders and the smirk he keeps very hard to keep at bay. 

And once again, Yuna curses all of Montreal’s current players for generations to come. 

Later that week, however, Yuna watches with dawning horror as Ilya’s eyes get a little glossy when Shane praises his cooking skills with a pat to his right cheek—and the less than discrete way he needily leans into Shane for the rest of the evening, eyes flickering from her son’s mouth to the curve of his ass when he gets up to get the plates for desert. 

She wishes she could stop noticing things. For her own good, really.

It’s not uncommon for Yuna to stay at Shane and Ilya’s when they’re away. 

Mostly because Anya is one needy little dog, she thinks fondly, and she likes her habits and sleeping on her daddies’ bed when they’re away. And to be honest, Yuna doesn’t mind it. Ever since Shane moved in with Ilya to Ottawa, she relishes in the closeness with her sons. 

Never in her life had Yuna ever thought she would get to reconnect with her son much later in life. As desperate as it sounds, she had made peace with the idea of seeing Shane every few weeks, talking about hockey for the rest of their respective lives and never walking him to the altar next to David. And oh, how wrong had she been. Ilya Rozanov sure had been a surprise—a massive one at that. But years later, Yuna had to admit that it makes so much sense. 

Shane needed someone that was somehow his exact opposite, while being his perfect match. 

Someone who loved competition and hockey as much as he did, although Yuna was partial to Ilya loving hockey with Shane more than he liked the sport. And in the last few years, Yuna had seen her usually guarded son become a whole different person around Ilya Rozanov, and realized that she might have gotten a few things about her son wrong in the first place. 

Shane doesn’t need to get out of his shell more. He does it by himself when he is surrounded by people who understand him—and she’d seen him become playful in the Centaurs’ changing rooms, playing pranks on his teammates with a smirk on his face and the energy of a 15 year old on a sugar rush. Shane doesn’t need to be set up on random dates by Hayden or JJ. He is content enough curling around Ilya on her couch after a long day, his hands in his husband’s hair while Ilya’s fingers creep underneath his shirt like the idea of not touching him for a full minute is too much to bear. 

The truth is, Ilya has opened a whole new side of Shane to Yuna’s eyes, and she will always be grateful for it. On top of gaining a new son, she has been given a second chance with her first born. There’s nothing she could have ever wanted more in the world, save for grandchildren one day, maybe. She tries as hard as she can not to bring it up around the boys, but she has touched the subject a couple of times with David already. 

(They’re both very adamant on it. They cannot wait to have half a dozen of them running around. Although David thinks six is a bit much, Yuna believes Ilya Rozanov has just yet to discover that his true calling is being a doting dad. She has seen him teach at their camp, after all, and Yuna Hollander is very rarely wrong when it comes to her instinct).

But she disgresses. 

David is on a work trip, meaning that Yuna is alone at home, and it makes more sense to stay at her son’s with Anya than it does staying by herself at her cottage. Plus, she gets to see their place every now and then, and Yuna has a newfound obsession with the way it changes with every passing month. Photos decorate the walls now, clippings and old magazines are stored on every bit of the house for the world to see—because Ilya is obsessed with Shane in every shape and form, especially some of his ads—and there’s clutter where there has never been any in her son’s vicinity. It feels lived-in, and homey, and Yuna loves it.

She is, however, looking for a hot water bottle. It’s winer in Canada, and it’s cold enough to light up the fireplace in the living-room and crank up the heat. She however does not know how to light a fire all by herself, and feels a little guilty turning up the heating too much for a quick one night stay. So Yuna is looking for the next available solution, and finds it in the shape of a pink hot water bottle Shane brought for the guests at times. 

Because her son is nothing if not a good host. She made sure of that.

‘It’s somewhere in the guest room drawers’ Shane has said over the phone the morning of. 

He sounded distracted, there was some sort of commotion in the background, and Yuna smiled. Before the Centaurs, and before Ilya, Shane would get in his head about the games a little too much and prepare for over 48 hours, completely shutting everything else out. Nowadays, he spends time with Ilya, with his team, and they play as good as ever. Somewhere along the way, Yuna is happy to have found her Shane behind the infamous 24 of his jersey, and it is testimony of how far they have come. 

Somewhere in the guest room leads her nowhere, so Yuna is back to square one. She does not want to contact Shane or Ilya again, feeling guilty enough to have disturbed them once. So she does what she believes to be the most logical thing at the time, and she walks straight into the master bedroom. The size of the bed is as impressive as the first day she saw it, and it looks positively insane in the midst of the room. Shane and Ilya are both big men, but still. It’s certainly a choice. 

And in retrospect, Yuna should have known it to be a bad idea. Caught in her own head and completely oblivious to the fact that she was opening the bedside drawer belonging to her very much married, and very much sexually active son, Yuna does not realize her mistake until it is too late. The rattle when she opens the drawer should have been a dead giveaway, but Yuna was too deep into it at this point to go back. 

Until the very moment she takes a good look at the inside of the drawer, and a soft noise escapes her parted lips. 

There isn’t any hot water bottle in the drawer. There is however a bright pink dildo framed by a couple of half-empty lube bottles, as well as a pair of fluffy handcuffs and what looks suspiciously like a gag. Yuna feels herself blush all the way down to her toes, snapping the drawer shut with so much force she hears the loud ‘thud’ of the sex toy hitting the back of it. 

And really, it is her fault for snooping. Curiosity kills the cat, and all that. But Yuna could have gone without knowing the kind of girth her boys play with, and without getting a painful reminder that her son sometimes craves to give up control—in a very different way than he did back when he was a little boy. 

Yeah, Yuna might need bleach for her eyes, or a lobotomy. 

 Let it be known that Yuna Hollander has always prided herself in being caring. 

She might come off as rude, demanding, and sometimes a little over the top—and she is well-aware she was all of those things. But she cares, even in unconventional ways. So when her boys get hurt, Yuna has a tendency to come out as the mama bear she can eventually be. 

“Where is he?” she asks the moment she walks into the hospital lobby, finding David waiting for her with his hands in his pockets and a laid-back smile on his face. 

She knows it only means good news. However, her nervous system immediately takes this as an attack, and she glares at her husband nervously when he does not immediately rush to answer her.

“David,” she warns. 

“He’s fine, honey. Not even concussed.” 

Yuna chews on the inside of her lip, “He went down hard.” 

“A bad fall on his left arm. But he’s fine, he didn’t even need surgery. Let me take you to his room.” 

The sweetheart that is her husband greets the hospital staff as he walks by, but Yuna is too stressed out to do anything but rush towards the room they’ve been directed to. When she walks into it, she finds Shane seated on the chair next to the bed, holding Ily’s good hand in his and laughing softly at something he has said. 

“Ilya!”

He’s looking better than she expected, which makes her feel immediately better. Still, his left arm is in a sling, and there’s a distinct bruising blooming on his left cheek, all the way down his sharp cheekbone.  

“You’ve got bruises everywhere,” Yuna all but cries, fussing over him immediately, barely even paying attention to Shane and the way she crowds his space. 

The flush seems to deepen on Ilya’s cheeks. He lets her fuss over him, her hands careful around the bruises, barely even complaining when she messes up his curls—and God knows how peculiar this boy can be about his hair routine, now that his hair has grown longer.

“I’m okay,” Ilya says, and it sounds more like okey, and Yuna feels like crying. 

“You’re not. Have you asked them to double check everything?”

She reaches out once more to cradle his face tenderly, staring into his eyes as if she could feel a concussion from simply looking into his irises. Ilya looks a little worn out, worse for wear really, but he doesn’t look like he’s out of it much.

“Mom,” Shane says from behind her, a touch of softness in his voice. “He’s alright. As far as hockey injuries go, a broken wrist and a few bruises is not the end of the world.” 

Yuna has to give it to Shane, then. She’s seen Ilya come down the ice countless times since he was drafted, but selfishly, she can admit that she did not care much at the time, because she did not know him like she does now. She hadn’t been pried to all the soft edges and little smiles that Ilya gives her, the laughs they share when they cook together and the way he looks at her son like he’s the only thing worth living for. 

“Alright,” Yuna says. She lets go of Ilya, but at the very last second her eyes catch on the finger shaped marks around his collar, her heart falling in her chest. “What is this?” 

Before Ilya can as much as move, and not that he could have done much with an arm in a sleeve, Yuna reaches out to expose his collarbone to the chill hospital air.

It’s faint, very faint even. Under any other lights than the ones in the sterile room, Yuna would probably not have seen it, even. But there’s a distinct bruising on Ilya’s collar, one that looks like he was held down with force and probably resisted the hold. 

“Mom,” Shane says, his voice going up a notch. 

If she had paid attention then, she would have noticed the panic bleeding into the words.

“Did you get in a fight?” Yuna asks, her voice going higher. “Did the refs–”

“Mom.” 

Shane’s tone stops her in her tracks. And finally, Yuna lets herself take in the scene before her. She looks at both of her boys looking like they’d rather be anywhere else, and David holding back an awkward splutter in the background, holding on to the packed hospital jello like a lifeline. 

“It’s not… from the game,” Shane says slowly, and when she looks back at him, he looks like he wants to floor to swallow him whole, and then some more.

“What do you mean…” 

“Hum.” Ilya says, clearing his throat. “I’m okay, Yuna. Those bruises are from… Before.” 

And suddenly, it hits her. 

She blinks once, then twice. Looks between the furious blush on Ilya’s cheeks to her son, who’s now staring at the wall with a blank expression and probably wishing for the last few minutes to have never happened. She then looks back at the bruises, yellowing around the edges and somehow faint compared to the ones blooming from today, and Yuna clears her throat. 

“Right,” She says in a strangled voice. “Hmm. Right.”  

“Mom,” Shane starts, but he stops himself, seemingly at loss for words. 

“It’s alright,” Yuna starts again, reaching out to awkwardly pat Ilya’s cheek, "I'm sorry. This is none of my business, and you are both grown men. I just hope you’re being safe, that's all I’m asking for.” 

“Mom!” 

Maybe she should find the old bottle of tiger balm she’s pretty sure she has stacked somewhere along the house. Because it looks like her boys might need it more than she does. 

Dimly, Yuna realises that she should probably have thought twice about walking in her sons’ cottage unannonced. She’s used to it, you see, because for years all she could find in her son’s vacation house was Shane rewatching old tapes by himself and barely glancing up at her when she popped in the hallway as if he hadn’t heard her come in. 

She should have also remembered the great summer incident of David Hollander walking in what happened to be one of the most pivotal moments in Shane’s life. But Yuna had an idea for their summer camp, which had been going on for years at this point, and she was rarely known to be a patient woman. 

So while David was out shopping for groceries, Yuna turned her newfound idea over and over in her head until she realized that the best people to ask were Shane and Ilya… Hence the reason why she found herself jumping behind the wheel immediately, driving the short way to the cottage with a smile on her face and the belief that nothing could stand in the way of her new grand idea. 

The road is clear at this time of the year, and the sun is still high in the sky as Yuna drives down the path she had taken too many times to count. Waves of memories assault her then, vivid images of a younger Shane spending his entire summer sitting on his hands wondering when he could play hockey again, and even more little bursts of fond laughter and camp fires. She misses it, sometimes, more than she initially thought. 

Sure, she doesn’t miss the way hockey was Shane’s entire world for so long. It was a very lonely life, and she worried about him more than she could count back then, even if she would never have said it out loud and was probably terrible at showing it. She doesn’t miss worrying about her son’s future and wondering if he ever felt too lonely to talk to her either, wrapped up in his head and his carved up habits. 

But she misses spending more time being a mother than she does nowadays. Because Shane no longer needs her to the same amount now. He has Ilya to turn to if things get too loud, if the world is too harsh and he needs some time away from the rest of it. And watching your children grow up is part of being a mother, Yuna is aware, but it still makes it painful at times. 

Shane and Ilya still invite them over when they’re there together, but she also knows that they value their time together away from prying eyes. They celebrated their second wedding anniversary a few months ago, and it has been a wirlwind of games and public appearances since then. Yuna knows her son well enough to know that Shane is aching for a bit of privacy, and some time with Ilya. It’s funny to see how Shane’s plan for privacy does not include Ilya—honestly, Yuna is sure, if they could physically live inside of each other’s skins, they would. 

She has not seen her son without his faithful husband by his side in months now, and the codependency would be almost worrying if it wasn’t so adorable. Especially given the looks of utter betrayal Ilya throws her way when Shane has the audacity to leave a bit of space between them on the couch. 

Yuna arrives at the cottage when the sun is just setting in the horizon, casting a beautiful orange glow on the lake outside. She parks the car next to Shane’s, which tells her that they’re home. Most of the lights in the cottage are turned off, but she knows Shane hates the overhead lights, and they might be in the kitchen cooking at that time.

When she walks in, however, Yuna finds no one in the kitchen. The lights are off in there too, and the cottage is otherwise silent, which confuses her even more. A small thuding sound reverberates to her left, in direction of the bedroom, followed by muffled laughter. 

And once again, Yuna does not think, which in retrospect, does make it sound as bad as it is. She barely knocks on the bedroom door before yanking it open, and her eyes have barely even grazed at the two entwined bodies on the bed before she realizes that she’s made a huge, colossal mistake.

Because of course, her sons finding some alone time together before going back to their season would involve some (crazy acrobatic, apparently) sex. She should have known better, really. But there’s no turning back, and Yuna is not sure she’s ever going to be able to get the sight of Shane and Ilya tangled in bed together anytime soon. 

“Mom!” Shane immediately yelps in a strangled voice, reaching for the duvet to cover their naked body. 

The movement has Ilya jumping into action as well, but the uncoordinated tug of the same piece of cloth has them stumbling out of balance, and Yuna watches helplessly as Ilya topples over and falls from view on the other side of the bed. She wants to laugh so badly—it’s a ridiculous situation, and it’s an even more ridiculous sight, but something in her throat feels stuck. 

Because she has never seen Shane look so vulnerable. 

Not because he’s naked and in a quite frankly compromising position, but because the look of pure adoration and love on his face before he realized she was there is one she has never seen before. Sure, Shane always looks at Ilya like he has hung up the moon himself. But this is different, even. This is pure intimacy, something fierce and private and that she should not have been prived to. 

It makes her heart swell in her chest to see how much her baby cares, and how strongly he loves and is loved in return. 

“I’m so sorry,” Yuna eventually chokes, and she knows that only a couple of seconds have passed, but it feels like ages when she slams the door shut. 

She stands behind the wooden panel for a handful of moments, blinking away the sight from behind her eyelids. Then, unexpectedly, Yuna bursts into manic laughter. Out of all the times she almost walked on them in compromising situations, it had to be of her own making. 

A few minutes later, Shane and Ilya join her in the living-room, both looking like they’ve seen a ghost, and Yuna cannot find it in herself to do anything but apologise again, deeply aware that she should not have been witness to this very sacred part of her son’s life. 

But once again, Yuna has never been really good at following rules—even her own, self-imposed ones.

+1

Ilona Hollander-Rozanov is, on all accounts, a perfect baby. 

She is all Shane, Yuna remarks the first time she lays her eyes on the little bundle wrapped in a pink cloth in the hospital, her almond shaped eyes so similar to her father’s in every single way. She has Shane’s little button nose and his dark black hair, and she’s as quiet as he was when he was born, looking out to the world with a sceptical gaze. 

She is half Russian, on Sletvana’s side, who offered her eggs for Shane and Ilya to get the family they’ve always wanted. She is happy never having kids of her own and being the cool aunt, is what Yuna understood from the whole story. But what she knows for sure, is that Ilona is perfect, and she is the most precious baby girl she has ever laid eyes on. 

It’s hard for Yuna to tamper down her excitement in the first few weeks. She understands the need for Shane and Ilya to have their own little bubble with their daughter. Hell, she was ready to bite everyone’s head off for a few months after she gave birth, and she can’t imagine being in the public eye on top of it. But it’s hard for her heart to understand this, and for her mind to get on board with the idea that she cannot get her fill of baby snuggles for a little while. 

It gets better around the two months mark, when Shane gets back to training, and Ilya stays at home with Ilona. Yuna still cannot believe that the birth timed in perfectly with their time off hockey, although in a way, it also does not surprise her one bit. Shane is nothing if not determined. 

Ilya spends quite a bit of time at their house after Shane gets back to training, sometimes just dozing off on their couch while David and Yuna fuss over the baby. Yuna soaks in every minute that she gets with her granddaughter, and by the time she is four months old, the two of them visit together more often. It’s a careful balance, one that Yuna adores, but sometimes, she wishes she could ask for a little more. 

Because she’s greedy like that.

Shane and Ilya are at Yuna and David’s when Yuna feels the plan she has carefully crafted form in front of her eyes. It’s the third time Shane is stifling a yawn behind the back of his daughter’s head, and Ilya looks like he’s checked out of the conversation at least three times by now. They’re on their way out already, back to the cottage for the rest of the weeekend, and Yuna links her fingers in front of her and balances her weight to her tiptoes. 

“You know,” she says slowly, “You both look exhausted.” 

Ilya snorts from where he’s putting on his shoes. “Such a way with words, Yuna. You wound me.” 

“We have a new baby, mom,” Shane says at the same time, his eyebrows drawing together. “Of course we’re tired. It comes with the territory” 

As if being the center of the conversation gives her a new burst of energy, Ilona shrieks.  

“We could keep her for the night,” Yuna then says, sparing a fleeting look at David. He’s staying on his corner of the couch, happy not to be too involved in his wife’s shenanigans, waiting patiently for his turn to kiss the baby goodbye. “So you can…. you know. Spend time together.” 

She remembers the month when Shane was a baby. She remembers how lonely she felt and how much she ached for the intimacy of a single kiss without feeling like her attention was pulled elsewhere. It had been a hard period for them both, and when she had been ready to do it all over again, Yuna does not miss the newborn phase for that very reason. She hated feeling like her body did not belong to her, and feeling wound tight with every cry that slipped past Shane’s lips. 

“Oh my God.” Shane says. He has turned a bright shade of pink, clenching his daughter to his chest with a mystified look on his face. “We are not talking about this while my daughter is in the room.” 

“She is four months old,” Ilya remarks gently, and there’s a joke buried there, but it’s ruined by the look of pure adoration on his face when he looks down at his daughter and ruffles her dark hair gently. “She does not understand what sex is.” 

“Do not say sex in front of our daughter.”

“I guess the flies and bees talk will have to be all me in a few years,” Ilya muses, half serious.

“The flies and… You mean the birds and bees? Ilya, she is four months old. I do not want to think about her dating anyone until she’s at least 18.” 

David chuckles from his spot on the couch. For someone seemingly not involved in the situation, he does seem pretty keyed up on taking a part of it nonetheless. 

“All I’m saying,” Yuna interjects, “Is that sometimes after a birth, it can be hard to get back to it, you know.” She’s going about this the wrong way, she knows, but there’s no stopping this train now. “And I want you both to know that we’re here, if that’s the case.” 

“I’m not dealing with post-partum symptoms, mom,” Shane deadpans, and the blush on his cheeks has intensified, if it’s even possible. “This significantly lowers the technical difficulties for us both, you know.” 

Yuna sometimes forgets how dry her son can be when he puts his mind to it.  

“The lack of sleep is not any better,” Yuna argues. “Or the lack of boundaries from your friends, either. I just want to make sure that you are both getting your private time.” 

When Yuna turns her head towards Ilya, she finds him biting back an obvious laugh. Shane looks seconds away from stumping his feet, and Yuna decides to carefully choose her next battle. 

“I would love to have her over for the night,” she says, her tone softening. “And it would give you some time alone, too.” 

In Shane’s arms, Ilona cooes adorably.

“You need to work on your pitch,” Ilya notes with a smile. “You know Shane does not like talking about sex. Or anything fun, really.” 

Shane glares daggers at him, bouncing Ilona softly in his arms. “You are sleeping on the couch.” 

“You need me for night feedings,” Ilya argues with a soft kiss pressed against the side of Shane’s head. Then, he turns to Yuna, “Thank you, Yuna. We will keep it in mind.” 

And as much as Yuna hates thinking about her son’s sex life, the smile on her face when they drop Ilona to her and David’s house a couple of weeks after for a ‘romantic getaway night’ is nothing if not blinding.