Chapter 1

Ilya would say he had a good life, a fantastic life, as of late. He had a great team, great friends, and support from everyone important. Most importantly, he had Shane. They were married, a thought which, a year later, still had him smiling uncontrollably. He got to hold Shane in his arms every day until they died of old age at the exact same time. And it would be the exact same time, Ilya refused to leave him or live without Shane for a single second. Shane was the love of his life, and Ilya would do anything to keep him by his side forever. Even put up with Hayden Fucking Pike joining the goddamn Ottawa Centaurs. “Honestly, you win one fucking cup, and all of a sudden any old guy thinks he can join us!” Ilya had been complaining for days, possibly from the moment he heard the news. “Ilya, be nice.” Shane had been listening to Ilya complain for days, and was clearly getting sick of it. Ilya privately thought that was a bit unfair, but he was nothing if not an understanding husband. “Am always nice. Name one time I am not nice!” “Do you really want to go down that road?” Shane raised an eyebrow in challenge. “I take good care of you, don’t I?” Shane’s eyes softened. “The best,” he said, punctuating the words with a lingering kiss. “Now, how about you show me how nice you can be?” “I can do that,” Ilya said, half dragging him to the bedroom.

…

The pressure with which Ilya was gritting his teeth could shatter diamonds. The day had come; Pike was here. Here, in the Centaurs locker room, getting ready for his first practice with the team, here. And, if it wasn’t enough that he had invaded Ilya’s team like this, he had the audacity to be likeable. The Centaurs had regarded Pike with cautious regard for approximately one second before Shane had come over to greet him. It seemed the only reservations they had been holding about the man stemmed from him being on the Voyageurs, so Shane’s enthusiasm in seeing him had made any apprehension vanish. Now, Ilya looked on in muted horror as he realised that his team, his team, were becoming fast friends with Hayden Pike. “Sweetheart,” Shane said, looking at Ilya as he tried his best to break a tooth, “Are we going to have to talk about this? I thought you were getting along better with Hayden.” “I was. Distance makes heart grow fonder.” “Ilya.” “Shane.” Shane sighed. “Ilya, I need you to be okay with this,” he said in Russian. “He’s my best friend, it’s important to me that you get along.” “I know,” Ilya said at length, searching for the right words. “I will try.” If Ilya was honest, he wasn’t entirely sure why the whole Pike thing was affecting him so much. They had been getting along better; Ilya had been halfway to privately admitting they were friends, even. He wasn’t sure why Hayden joining the team changed things. Wyatt brought Pike in for a hug, asking about his family. He must have replied, Ilya assumed, but he wasn’t really listening. Ilya watched the others, the easy acceptance with which they folded Pike into their ranks, and felt the ugly beast of jealousy curl inside his chest. Ah, that was why, he thought. Ilya’s transition to the Centaurs had been complicated. There was a lot of confusion as to why he had joined them to begin with. He almost never spent time with the others, too busy ferrying himself to Montreal at every given opportunity. The team understood why, at least they did now, but he can’t deny it had an impact on the beginning of his relationship with the Centaurs. Deeper than that, something about Pike, himself, appealed to the monster that sat in Ilya’s brain, feeding him horrible thoughts. Ilya did not want to be jealous of his husband’s best friend, it felt gross and controlling, but he could not deny that deep down he was. It was not a particularly logical thought process, he could admit. Shane was unlikely to leave him for anyone, particularly his happily married, straight best friend. But, there was a twisted, terrible voice in Ilya’s head that whispered “Why would he stay? When he has so many who love him, why would he choose you?” Ilya had been trying to dissect that response with Galina. In defiance of it, Ilya decided to join the others. “Pike, you made it! Finally got tired of playing on team of bastards?” Hayden laughed. “Yeah, you could say that,” he said, “Figured I’d join the one captained by the biggest bitch in the league, instead.” Ilya really hated this man sometimes, so much for an olive branch. “Hey! I wear that title proudly! I do not take kindly to you trying to take it from me.” “Oh, I could never.” Bood coughed slightly, turning to Shane. “Is this what they’re always like?” he asked. “Oh, it used to be so much worse.” Shane said, chuckling. “At least, now, they pretend they’re joking.” “Better to be passive aggressive than regular aggressive?” “Exactly,” Shane said. “Deep down they like each other, they just haven’t realised it yet.” Bood laughed quietly beside him. “I never took you for an optimist, Hollander.” “I have hidden depths.”

End Notes

Hiya!! I'm back boyos!! Did you miss me? I really like the format of 5+1 fics if you couldn't tell lmao Comments fuel me and sate the dark passenger within, so keep em coming please! Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!