Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Boston Bears | Boston Raiders Team Ensemble & Ilya Rozanov, Boston Bears | Boston Raiders Team Ensemble & Shane Hollander

Characters:

Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander, Cliff Marlow | Cliff Marleau, Hayden Pike

Additional Tags:

Boston Bears | Boston Raiders Player Shane Hollander, Shane Hollander Leaves the Montreal Voyageurs | Montreal Metros, Montreal Voyageurs | Montreal Metros Being Assholes (Game Changers), Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, Mixed Media, Social Media, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Betaed

Language:

English

Series:

Part 1 of The Bryce Fury Fumble

Stats:

Published: 2026-04-19 Completed: 2026-04-25 Words: 17,590 Chapters: 5/5

Two Man Advantage

Summary

ESPN (@ESPN)

Breaking! Shane Hollander traded to Boston Raiders for Drew Kenton. Contract details to come soon.

or

Shane Hollander, back-to-back cup winner, generational player, and Metro's star centre should have never been traded. Let alone traded to their division rival, Boston.

Notes

If there's any more tags that need adding let me know in the comments! Otherwise I hope you enjoy what is basically the brain child of me joking to my friend "What if the Metros GM was like Chris Drury?"

Chapter 1

ESPN (@ESPN)

Breaking! Shane Hollander traded to Boston Raiders for Drew Kenton. Contract details to come soon.

PuckDropNews (@PuckDrop)

Shock trade this morning with Shane Hollander moving to Boston. MTL receive Drew Kenton and 2 protected draft picks.

Raiders Updates (@BOSUpdates)

Shane Hollander traded to Boston for 10.4M AAV and a 2 year extension. Maybe we'll finally go back to back?!

The sun was already piercing through the curtains when Shane woke up, he could feel Ilya's breathing on his back, and the weight of his arm as it laid over Shane's stomach. But the main thing that had startled him out of his sleep was his ringtone blaring throughout their room.

He blinked twice, willing his body to disrupt the early morning peace and inevitably wake up his boyfriend in the process. He knew if the call got past his do not disturb settings it had to be important, but he also couldn't take the way Ilya would whine and try and pull Shane back to bed the second he started to move out of his arms. They had 2 days of paradise left, with Shane needing to go do some interviews and photo shoots, and Ilya needing to go back to Boston to sort something out with his lawyer.

He looked over at his phone, which was still incessantly ringing. He saw his mom's contact photo and her work contact display on the screen and carefully moved Ilya's arm off him, grabbing his phone off the charger and making his way to the deck out back to take it where Ilya wouldn't hear.

"Hey, what's up?" He answered, trying to keep the worry that something terrible had happened out of his voice.

"Honey, I know it's not ideal but I tried really hard to make the most out of what I could with what I had. I know you'll be heartbroken but they were adamant about freeing cap space-" His mom started, not even letting him know what the actual problem was.

"Mom, I just woke up. What's happened?" He asked. He wrapped his arms around his body, regretting only stepping out in his sleep pants when the morning chill started to get to him.

"You've been traded to Boston."

"Holy shit," He breathed out. He moved until his ass hit the deck furniture, and immediately started panicking about everything he would need to figure out before the pre-season started up.

"You got a 2 year extension, and a no movement clause. By the sounds of it the coaching team would bend over backwards to make you happy so I wouldn't worry too much about the locker room…" Shane moved his head away from the receiver when Ilya opened the door. He looked like he'd only just pulled himself out of bed, but he had his phone open and Shane could already see the words SHANE HOLLANDER TRADED on the screen.

"Who was I traded for?" He asked, suddenly. Because Ilya sure as hell hadn't been traded, and that was the only one-to-one that would make sense.

"Drew Kenton," Ilya said, dropping next to Shane on the patio couch, looking an awful lot like the cat who got the canary.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked, "He's borderline retiring."

"3 years, 8 million AAV," His mom responded.

"3 years? That'll be his 20th season!" Shane said, mildly outraged, "He's not had averaged a point-per-game since Boston won the fucking cup- sorry, baby - and his right knee is so bummed I wouldn't be surprised if he was pulled for injury rest by December."

"Well, the ink's dry now, it's Montreal's mistake. So you're going to go to Boston and show them just how much they fucked up."

"Yes, mom," Shane agreed quickly, "When do training camps start?"

"End of August. I'm already looking at houses and movers, but I need to talk to the companies based in Montreal that sponsored you so I'll call you later."

"Okay mom, I love you."

"Love you too, hun."

When the call ended Shane basically collapsed onto Ilya.

"So, we need a 6 cup streak to beat Montreal but with 2 star centres-" He started. Shane choked on a laugh and immediately felt tears well up in his eyes. He'd actually been traded, to their biggest rival no less. "Moya lyubov? What's wrong?"

"I thought I'd retire in Montreal," He said, almost pathetically. "They were my mom's team and all I wanted was for my jersey to hang in their rafters when my career was done."

Ilya pulled Shane into his lap, settling his arms around him and held him close.

"They'll realise they were wrong," He stroked his fingers over Shane's biceps, "We'll play on the same line and be their worst nightmare, we will win 6 championships in a row, retire and come out in a much cooler way than old man Scott Hunter. We become like 90s Detroit and absolutely crush everyone. Perfect plan, no?"

Shane nodded, feeling the tears fade, he was still choked up but he was Shane fucking Hollander, a goalie's worst nightmare and the best centre in the league. He could do this.

He gave Ilya a quick peck on the lips before shuffling back into the cottage, going to the bedroom to finally get ready for the day and start drafting statements for all the media outlets that were inevitably about to call asking for statements. He could do this.

The Athletic (@TheAthletic)

Shane Hollander's trade isn't just a bad trade, it's an organisational death knell. Read the full article nytimes.com/athletic/…

JULY 2ND 2017, MONTREAL - It's been 18 years since Drew Kenton was drafted by Montreal. The hometown hero was picked 16th overall by the Metros, and won 2 cups with the team before being traded to the Philadelphia Wingmen in 2005, where he won one more cup and subsequently signed to the Raiders as a free agent. His career statistics - nearly 1000 career points, over 1200 appearances - are impressive, but for a man who is on his 17th season, it's not difficult to see where the numbers pile up.

The price of a man with this reputation? Montreal's star forward, Shane Hollander.

"It was the terms we set," Boston GM Carey Trent said in an interview today, "Kenton's been an incredible asset but we want to make a youth core, put more depth in the centre, and a player as good as Hollander is a deal too good to pass up."

"We've loved working with Shane," Montreal GM Bryce Fury said during his press conference, "His leadership as our captain, his command of the puck and overall his skills on the ice are second to none, but with our available cap space we needed to make moves that would give us flexibility and maximise potential. Kenton's a great player and we think for the Metros team we want to build, he's the right fit."

Shane Hollander, who is steadily approaching his 6th consecutive 100 point season, is a once in a generation talent. Hollander's accolades are plentiful, and would make this article double the word limit than they'd let me publish, but since his debut he's been a 2 time Stanley Cup winner, a Conn Smythe winner, Hart Memorial winner and Rookie of the Year, as well as setting multiple goal records, All-Star records and Metros-specific records.

Shane Hollander will now be on the same team as Ilya Rozanov, who's trophy room is just as decorated as Hollander's.

Montreal have not just given up their best player, they have given the best player in the league to his runner-up. They have passed him off to their division rival, the kind of feud that at one point caused riots in the streets of Montreal. The reward for this sacrifice? A player who was once voted as most likely to retire 3 seasons ago, and who has been spending more and more time benched for injuries every season.

The move is indicative of a major issue the Metros have never moved past. Bryce Fury is an organisational traditionalist, Coach Theriault and the Metros' front office are proof that the franchise will never move into the modern day…

Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

Are you FUCKING kidding me??

⤷ Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

Nono it's fine I didn't like winning the fucking cup anyway.

DanTheMetroFan (@Dan22390)

Kenton has spent more of Hollander's career on LTIR than on the ice btw.

⤷ Mandy (@MTLMama)

I think Kenton's spent more of his own career on LTIR, let alone Hollander's

PuckFacts (@PuckDrop)

Kenton has had 2 point per game seasons since Hollander was drafted the last one being in 2014

⤷ DanTheMetroFan (@Dan22390)

Surely we're doing this to tank on purpose and Fury just wants to retool with draft prospects, right???

⤷ ⤷Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

Maybe Fury is just fucking stupid.

⤷⤷⤷ DanTheMetroFan (@Dan22390)

Yeah well they're not going to fire the guy who led us to a back to back win last season :/

BOSTON NEVER LOSES (@RaidersTillIDie)

Holy shit Fury just fumbled so fucking hard???? We're so back

Holeander (@MrsShane24)

My poor sweet boy has to go play with that Russian fuck? Fury count your days >:(

⤷ Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

You're saying this ab a grown ass man btw

SvetlanaVetrova (@CallMeSveta)

Ilyusha is the most annoying man on the planet today.

⤷ Ilya Rozanov (@Roz81)

Not true I can always be worse.

After the chaos of the morning was over, they settled on the couch. Ilya had eventually called his lawyer and asked if there was any way to meet virtually, which had turned into settling everything over the phone. Shane had looked at some moving companies, a few apartment complexes that would be good temporary housing until he could buy something, and then started worrying about what he actually needed to move and what he was better off getting rid of.

"Hey," Ilya said from next to him, running his knuckles down Shane's arm, "What are you thinking about?"

"I've got to find somewhere new, pack all my shit, I haven't had to move like this since I was drafted. I just need to move my whole life to Boston and I don't even know where I'm going to be when I get there-"

"Live with me," Ilya said, "I tell team I have big, empty, lonely house and very anxious hockey player who would love to sleep in my bed every night-"

"We can't," Shane hesitated.

"Why?"

"It's… no one knows we even like each other, then we're living together with no problems? What if they think it's…" Shane kept trailed off again. It felt like a bad idea, intuitively, but the concept of falling asleep and waking up with Ilya every day was one that settled something in him, almost like he was staking a claim.

"Boston is not like that. Even if they thought it they would never dare be assholes," Ilya insisted, "We can have everything we've been telling each other we can't."

That made Shane's heart stutter. There had been this underlying level of want to their whole vacation, the want for this to be their normal. He felt it the whole time, the part of him that wanted to crawl under Ilya's skin and be buried there. There was this pulse that sat alongside his heart that would only beat as long as Ilya was there with him, as crazy as it all sounded.

"What if it's too fast?" Shane asked. Ilya moved his hand up to cradle Shane's face, forcing their eyes to lock together.

"What are you actually scared of?"

Shane hated how well Ilya knew him, and forced the honesty out of his mouth.

"I want you so bad, all of the time, and if we're together all of the time I don't know how well I'll hide it."

Ilya's grin rivalled the Cheshire Cat.

"Well, the good news is I'm obsessed with you too," He interrupted himself by pressing a quick peck to Shane's mouth, "We worry about everything else when you're actually in Boston, but if it helps… we change some things now. Tweet each other, show that we are friendly off ice. Maybe during training interviews mention that we've been friends for a while but knew league would not take it very well. You make all these plans to change narrative a bit faster, and we can live together. Da?"

"Yeah, okay," Shane agreed quickly. His face broke out into the kind of smile that felt like it would split his cheeks if he let it, the kind that was all teeth and left deep wrinkles around his eyes.

Ilya immediately started peppering his face in small pecks, kissing over his freckles until landing on his lips, transitioning into the kind of lazy make out that had become their favourite way to spend their time off together.

"I love you," Shane whispered, when they'd finally stopped. Ilya was cuddled on his chest, Shane could feel his warm breath over his shirtless chest and tried to hide the way his heart would flutter every time Ilya pressed his lips onto his bare skin.

"I love you too."

The next day was easier, he'd got his mom to stop apartment hunting and told her that he was going to stay with Ilya.

"Doesn't it feel a bit fast for you?" She'd asked over the phone.

Shane thought about it, because he'd said it yesterday, but he hadn't meant it. He'd been living with a muddle of romantic emotions for as long as he could remember, and him and Ilya had been together in some way their whole adult lives. If anything, moving in after being something for 7 years was taking it extremely slowly.

"It feels right," He'd said quietly, sitting with the happiness of getting to have some part of his relationship be normal.

"As long as it's what you want, sweetheart."

Then he'd had to arrange for movers, Ilya had talked about helping him pack and sort out his house so he could put it on the market.

"Are we keeping the sex condo?" He asked, his eyes lighting up at the memory of it.

"I sold my investment property after I broke up with Rose," Shane rolled his eyes.

They were packing their bags to go back to Montreal and shove as much of Shane's life into cardboard boxes as they could. Reducing what he'd spent the last 7 years working towards to a few suitcases and miscellaneous items, and combining it all with Ilya's.

When it was in those terms, it was intimidating. But also exciting. Too many emotions for Shane to pick out precisely.

"But we had so many good memories!" Ilya protested.

"And now we're going to make even better ones?" Shane offered, folding another shirt and placing it on the bed so he could make sure his clean and dirty clothes were properly separated in his suitcase.

Ilya huffed a small protest but went back to making sure the room was empty except for the small essentials they needed to get through today and tomorrow morning.

They packed in silence a bit longer, until Shane saw Ilya suddenly start grinning out the corner of his eye.

"What's got you so happy?" He asked, moving to his second suitcase to make sure his dirty laundry was colour coordinated for when they got to his apartment.

"I don't have to move to Ottawa!" He cheered, zipping his suitcase and rushing to push Shane onto the bed.

"I mean you never had to," Shane grumbled.

"For you? I would quit, never tie a skate again, hang my jersey in the rafters," Ilya kissed his cheek, "I would've moved there if it meant we could be together properly. But I think it would've been hard to play for such a terrible team."

"They're not as bad as Vancouver or Calgary this season," Shane protested.

"This season."

Shane didn't have much to say to that.

"I get to play hockey." Kiss. "With my very pretty boyfriend." Kiss. "With all my friends on my team." Kiss. "In a city I love living in." Kiss. "And my wonderful, beautiful, love of my life never has to leave me." Kiss. "And I don't have to live and play in boring Ottawa and deal with goalie who hasn't averaged over .85 since the Berlin wall came down."

"Instead we have Carmichael, who always passes you the puck on the power play even though you're almost always marked, or St-Simon who yells his passes in French when everyone else speaks English."

"Shh, criticise my team later. Right now I want to hear you talk about their very sexy captain and how good he is at faking out goalies."

"I dunno… he's got such an ego I wonder what his locker room leadership is like," Shane said, faking contemplation, "And he's a great goalscorer but I wonder if he realises there's more than just him on the ice? And yeah he's good looking, but they just signed this new star centre and I don't know but he looks pretty hot-"

Before he could finish that last sentence Ilya had him pinned on the bed, straddling his lap and hands pushing down on his arms.

"Their new star centre is stunning," He complimented

"Stunning? That's a new one."

Ilya nipped Shane's jaw with his teeth, moving his hands off Shane's arms to slip them under his shirt.

"Had to find more words… want to talk about how good looking you are all of the time." He punctuated his sentence with a filthy roll of his hips, making Shane buck up and into the pressure.

Shane didn't even get a chance to think of words before Ilya was pulling his shirt up and laying kisses over his abs, moving slowly towards his pecs.

"You are so hot, so beautiful," He murmured into Shane's skin, which made him hot all over. "Every day you are mine is a gift."

"Are you going to keep talking?" Shane panted, "Or are you going to love me like you want to?"

They locked eyes, Ilya deciding to suck a hickey into Shane's skin right below his right nipple.

Shane whimpered, letting Ilya play with his body like a doll. Watching him bite and lick until his teeth were at the junction of Shane's neck and his chin.

"I'm going to mark you up, bruise all that pretty pretty skin, fuck you just how you want it," Ilya promised, hands reaching for Shane's zipper. "And the whole time, I want you to call me captain. Yes?"

Shane nodded, words gone from his mind. He pulled Ilya down to lock themselves together in a filthy kiss, before letting Ilya take back control.

He spent the whole night begging his new captain for more.

x - Boston Rayna (@RaynaD)

I know it's not even pre-season but THATS how confident I am that we'll clinch a playoff spot.

⤷ RaidMeRoz (@BostonBroad330)

Pres trophy AND the cup!! Going on a generational run baby.

⤷ Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

I know Shane's good, but you still have the rest of your team to account for

⤷⤷ RaidMeRoz (@BostonBroad330)

'Good'?? Baby, Cliff Marleau is good. Carter Vaughn is good. Shane Hollander is like hockey jesus. Pair that with Ilya Rozanov??

⤷⤷⤷x - Boston Rayna (@RaynaD)

Montreal fans trying to act like they weren't calling Hollander their saviour after last year's cup win. He MADE your team what it is now.

[Failed to reply to user]

⤷⤷⤷⤷ x -Boston Rayna (@RaynaD)

I can't believe I got blocked for beef I didn't even start

Hayden Pike (@NotTheFish35)

Well, at least I got to hold the cup one last time.

⤷ J.J Boiziau (@JJ_MTL)

We'll miss you mon amour…

⤷⤷ J.J Boiziau (@JJ_MTL)

Guys I am in love with the CUP not Shane Hollander 😭😭

⤷⤷⤷ J.J Boiziau (@JJ_MTL)

I will miss him too. Metros PR manager is begging me to stop tweeting.

Hayden Pike (@NotTheFish35)

All jokes aside, I'll miss playing with Shane. He's been my best friend for years. I love him and hope Boston loves him like we did.

⤷ Hayden Pike (@NotTheFish35)

Also if he starts acting like Ilya Rozanov I'm dropping gloves

⤷⤷ Ilya Rozanov (@Roz81)

You drop gloves? I think your toddler can throw better punch.

⤷⤷⤷ Shane Hollander (@ShaneHollander24)

@CallMeSveta How much more annoying does he get?

Chapter 2

Chapter Notes

Huge thank you to everyone for all the support on the first chapter!! I'm trying to interact with comments I promise!

Also huge thanks to twobelowfour for all his help with grammar because I almost chronically write at 2am and it SHOWS.

Should note - this is fully written! Updates every other day :)

By the time Shane and Ilya had combed every inch of his Montreal house, they found out the bulk of Shane's life could fit into 4 suitcases and 2 cardboard boxes. The movers were called off, and the two of them ended up starting the drive to Boston midway through July.

"I wish we'd had more time at the cottage," Shane said, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel as they drove down the I-89.

They'd been on the road for an hour now, they'd got through the border pretty quickly with only one guard seeming to recognise both of them. At least playing on the same team gave them a level of plausible deniability for driving to Boston together, even if it was ridiculous to think Ilya would go to Montreal instead of waiting for Shane to come to him.

The car wasn't completely quiet. Ilya had on a playlist that seemed to be a lot of 00s club hits with a random ballad thrown in, but the volume was barely set to more than a low hum that seemed to match the level of the Jeep's engine.

"Are you sure? You might be tired of me soon," Ilya teased. Shane rolled his eyes, moving his hand off the wheel to grab Ilya's.

"Never," Shane said seriously, tangling their fingers together over the centre console.

Ilya hummed, dropping the subject. Shane squeezed Ilya's hand tightly.

"I love you," He murmured, bringing their hands to his lips and gently kissing Ilya's knuckles.

"I love you too," Ilya smiled.

The conversation dropped again, Shane merged into a different lane and tried to mentally prepare for the fact at the other end of the highway was a whole different life for him. His life from this point would be fundamentally different, and that was a face he was just trying to carry.

"You should've let me drive," Ilya commented, "Would be way more interesting."

Shane rolled his eyes even harder.

"We'd be in a 5 car pile up before we got out of Vermont."

"My boyfriend is so mean to me," Ilya whined, throwing himself back into the passenger seat, "Just because I do not drive everywhere 10 miles under the speed limit and-"

He was cut off by the stereo broadcasting a ringtone, the screen popping up with Hayden's name.

Shane quickly shushed Ilya before pressing accept on the steering wheel.

"Hey man!" Broadcast statically through the cars speakers, "I was going to call you yesterday but Mark went home and it's been a bit crazy trying to wrangle all the kids."

"Hey Hayd," Shane smiled, Ilya immediately gripping Shane's hand tighter at the nickname, "I was busy anyway man, packing is not easy."

"Yeah man, when do you leave, anyway?"

Shane grimaced a bit, realising that in all of the planning he hadn't managed to tell Hayden that he was already halfway gone.

"I'm actually driving down today…" He said awkwardly, "Sorry man, trying to keep up with everyone and sort out moving made me forgetful."

Ilya smirked, and he knows if Hayden couldn't hear them there would definitely be a retort about Ilya's dick making him forgetful too.

"Oh that sucks, would've been cool to get one last dinner in before you became a Raider," Hayden lamented.

"Technically, I think I've been a Raider for like a week now?" Shane pointed out.

"Yeah but you're not one of them you know? Like, soon you'll be all buddy-buddy with Rozanov-" Shane cut a hard glare to the passenger seat just in case Ilya tried to open his mouth "- and you'll have dinner with… Sebbin? Hammersmith? Who on the team's most like me?"

"Well stats wise you're probably down there with that Johansen guy on their 4th line," He chirped. Ilya smirked hard, rubbing his thumb over Shane's hand in appreciation.

"You know, I keep telling people you're secretly an asshole, and no one believes me," Hayden pouted, "Hopefully Boston sees you for who you really are."

Shane didn't even have to look properly to know Ilya was in the passenger seat making some rude gesture about sucking dick, the way his tongue poked into his cheek was enough. He tried to untangle their hands to whack Ilya's side but he wouldn't let go.

"All jokes aside, how are you, man? It's gonna be a huge change from here to Boston."

"I mean, if it's what management wants that's on them. I already spoke to Roz about lines and systems, we think Boston's penalty kill stats next season are going to be crazy-"

"Yeah but how are you? You're allowed to be upset about it."

Shane sighed, straightening up a bit in the chair before seeing a turn off for a gas station. He quickly pulled off, found somewhere to park, and rested his head on Ilya's shoulder to ground himself, telling Hayden to just give him a minute.

"I've been upset since I got the news," He admitted, "But I already cried to Roz about it, so what's the point in getting more upset."

"We are absolutely talking about the fact you cried to Ilya Rozanov before me, your best friend," Hayden started, "But- it's rough, man. It's not going to be the same without you."

Shane looked up at a harsh poke to his side, his man was dramatically mouthing "he wants you sooooooo bad" so Hayden didn't hear him.

"Like I said, it's clearly what Fury wanted, and Kenton's not the worst player to be traded for?" He said unconvincingly.

"You wanna try the truth on that one?" Hayden asked.

"It makes zero fucking sense. Kenton was a 3rd line Left Wing, and probably would've been 4th if he was younger. He hasn't had a shot on goal since March, and his career stats? I'm at two-thirds of his career points already, and he should've been contemplating retirement the year I got captain. I'm an amazing player, meanwhile he wasn't even a first round draft pick," Shane ranted.

"Damn man, you've been thinking about this."

"Of course I have. I get wanting to retire with the team that drafted you, but for management to trade me and not a rookie like Greener makes no sense. They basically gave me away just to need to retool again in 2 years."

Shane heard Hayden's sigh through the other side of the phone.

"Hopefully Boston is smarter," Hayden sighed, "There's no way a guy like Fury keeps his job until the end of next season, right?"

"Maybe the owners dump him in December and pray that new management helps your game recover before the All Star break?" Shane offered optimistically, "But I think Theriault might've had a part in trading me too."

"Oh?" Hayden asked.

Shane quickly looked to his right, and emphasised to Ilya that he had to keep his mouth shut.

"He kept being… weird about the fact I don't act like the other guys. Lots of talks about team chemistry and singling me out for not going out with the team even though I'm single… He tried to- he asked me straight up if I was gay and that's why I was 'weird' after my rookie contract expired," Shane tried to not feel the weird nausea in his gut at the memories of Theriault's targeted comments, "Reminded me a bit of my coach during Juniors."

Ilya looked at him incredulously at that, Shane just burrowed his head into Ilya's shoulder, trying to breathe deeply to ward off the slow roll of his stomach at the ways his team had dumped him for no good reason.

"That's gross as hell dude, I hope Boston isn't like that. The guys are assholes but they've never- you know. Like Comeau."

Shane nodded even though he knew Hayden couldn't see him.

"I mean, I've been talking to Ilya since the trade and he's definitely nothing like any of the Montreal guys-"

"Okay dude, I know we're having a big talk. Roz? Ilya? You cried to him already?" Hayden asked, "2 weeks doesn't feel like that long to become that close with the guy."

"We hung out during All Stars," Shane reminded him, poking his head up so he could be heard properly.

"Yeah but- Ilya Rozanov? You've been at each other's throats for years, and now it's all behind you? He's been nothing but an asshole!"

"Oh my god, Pike, it's not that serious," Ilya finally protested, Shane thought he was going to die. "Shane and I have been friends since we met at World Junior Championship."

"Shane, are you fucking kidding me?"

"Ilya…" Shane sighed, already feeling the way his breath wasn't filling his lungs like he wanted it to.

"Shane will call you when he's in Boston," Ilya said finally, hanging up the phone.

He turned in the passenger seat and pulled Shane's face upwards so they were making direct eye contact.

"Breathe with me," Ilya said, "Come on, 4 seconds in, hold, out."

Shane nodded, trying to count them.

"Again."

They sat there for a minute until Shane could manage by himself. The shaking he hadn't even realised come on was slowly subsiding, and Ilya was sitting in the passenger seat with a guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry, my love, I did not like his questions," He said, tracing Shane's face with the knuckle of his pointer finger, "Was very… disrespectful."

"Please, just warn me next time."

Ilya nodded, he let Shane take the car out of park and rejoin the freeway before pulling Shane's hand back into his, gently massaging the back of Shane's hand with his thumb until they reached Massachusetts.

—

"The only thing I need tomorrow is clothes for the presser, and then we can organise everything when that's done."

"You could wear my clothes…" Ilya offered.

Shane rolled his eyes, wondering if this one car ride was going to give him a life of optical problems.

"I am not wearing your clothes to my first interview about my trade, someone would notice!" Shane protested.

"No no, I only give you inconspicuous clothing. Like jersey, or hoodie that says 81 on the back."

"Inconspicuous, huh?"

"Had very enlightening conversation with your father over dinner," Ilya explained, "I should text him and ask for more words."

"You got my dad's number?!"

Weirdly, that felt more like a line than anything else. Shane was there, driving all the way to Boston, to move in with his boyfriend of a few weeks. His whole career was about to be spent with him, his life had been condensed to clothes, minor kitchen appliances and sentimental photographs. He'd have his side of a shared bed, a permanent toothbrush in Ilya's en suite bathroom, a nightstand with his own photos. His life would grow beyond an overnight bag dashed at the end of a bed.

His chest seized.

"You are upset that I talk to David?" Ilya asked.

"No! No," Shane immediately assured him, "I'm glad my parents like you. I just realised this is… we're going to share everything. This is… well it was already serious-"

"It's big step," Ilya agreed, "Understandable stress."

Shane felt his heart flutter at the easy way Ilya comforted him, the nonchalance of lifting the weight off his chest. Ilya was always there to be a soothing balm to all his convoluted thoughts.

"It'll be a big adjustment," Shane said, hesitantly, "I'm just… worried. About all of it."

"Is okay," Ilya said, "Remember what I said at the cottage? It is scary, but you are brave. You are always so brave, moy lyubimyy."

Shane turned onto the exit for Ilya's, thinking about the fact once he gets out of this car there's no going back. Everything he has left will join Ilya's, in every way. His physical belongings finally joining their hearts in coming together.

The car pulled into Ilya's garage, Shane's Jeep standing out amongst the Lamborghinis and Porsches that Ilya had been collecting for years.

"My garage, tainted," Ilya moaned dramatically. He was already half out of the passenger seat, stretching like he was training to be a contortionist, before throwing open the car's rear door to start taking Shane's bags inside.

Shane followed him, crossing the threshold holding a cardboard box of family photos and small mementos.

Ilya was on the other side, welcoming into his new home with a kiss.

TRANSCRIPT: CHIRP CHIRP PODCAST EPISODE 693

Brandon: You know, Jack, I wonder if the Hollander trade is all its cracked up to be.

Jack (chewing obnoxiously into the mic): Yea?

Brandon: I mean, there's a whole lot of animosity there. We've seen how him and Roz talk on the ice, and- I mean Hollander took a pretty bad hit from Marleau before the playoffs this year.

Jack (Through extremely loud crunching): I get what you're saying, but if they get past it, Boston are going to be absolute beauties this season. Hollander's got this reputation for being a stand up guy.

Brandon: Yeah. But can you trust a teammate to have your back if he's already nearly broken it?

Jack (Following a burp): I mean, that depends on Hollander, you know? It's a pretty violent sport. Can't imagine he's going to be that torn up about it.

Brandon: Maybe, maybe. But he's… soft, you know what I mean? Wouldn't blame a guy like that for taking it a bit personal.

Jack (Stuffing his face with an unidentified food): I dunno man, time will tell. The bigger story here is that Montreal even let a guy like Hollander go. I know everyone's been talking about it but- Kenton? Surely a guy like that can only be a one-to-one with Rozanov. No way did Fury decide the 3rd oldest guy in the league, whose career has been on the outs for a few seasons- no way he thinks Hollander for a guy like that and 2 draft picks is a good deal.

Brandon: Smartest thing Montreal did since Fury became manager is draft Hollander, but Fury's always trading in the off season and maxing cap space before the trade deadline and fucking us over. You watch, at the next deadline Montreal has no cap space, no trades, and another statement from Front Office about retooling and redeveloping.

Jack (Sipping from a styrofoam cup): Never thought I'd be grateful to be a Detroit fan.

Brandon: Yeah, yeah. You guys are just going to tank in March again anyway.

Roz Notice x3 (@Rozanovs_Travel_Agent)

LMAOOO did you see the fucking new episode of Chirp Chirp? Did you guys not watch All Stars? 😭

⤷ BOSTON NEVER LOSES (RaidersTillIDie)

Just a bunch of beer league players trying to act like they know NHL locker rooms. Ignore.

⤷⤷ ChirpChirp (@ChirpChirpPod)

It's a valid question! Who knows what a guy like that's bringing to the team.

⤷⤷⤷ RaidMeRoz (@BostonBroad330)

We all know you're a salty as hell Metros fan. You think chemistry like this is going away?

[A video of the 2017 All Stars, showing Ilya Rozanov pass behind him without even looking for another player, Shane Hollander immediately meets the puck and gets it into the opposition's zone. He passes to Rozanov who aims for the top shelf but it rebounds. Hollander immediately gains possession, taking it behind the net, he fakes like he's passing to their other linemate but Rozanov appears on his right, gaining the puck and burying it in the net.]

⤷⤷⤷⤷ RaidMeRoz (@BostonBroad330)

[Another video, showing Hollander in the face off circle versus one of Denver's centres. The second the whistle blows he passes it back to Rozanov, who skates it into the offensive zone. Hollander quickly follows before the West's defencemen have had time to catch up to them, Rozanov passes it back for Hollander to immediately slot it in top left.]

⤷⤷⤷⤷⤷ RaidMeRoz (@BostonBroad330)

Last one, just to make my point.

[A post-game interview with Shane Hollander.

Interviewer: And what's it like playing with Rozanov?

Hollander: You know, playing with a guy like that- keeping up with a guy like that is incredible. I know my stats get better when I play against Rozanov so I can only imagine with him would change a lot about me. He's just- I respect him a lot, and getting to be on a line with him is a dream.

Interviewer: And if he sees this, is there anything you want to say?

Hollander: I might respect you, but I am absolutely getting the score record this year.]

RaidMeRoz (@BostonBroad330)

Oh no :( Worst podcast ever blocked me :( How will I go on :(

Shane Hollander (@ShaneHollander24)

I can't believe I need to say this. Roz and I are friends, and I don't hold my broken collarbone against Marly. Here's Roz and I trying to build a bookshelf!

[Image: Rozanov is clearly holding the camera, him and Hollander are sat on the floor together. Hollander is reading the instruction book and has organised all the wood and screws into individual piles. Rozanov is making a kissy face at the camera and in general is giving the impression that he isn't being helpful. The background shows cardboard boxes and suitcases strewn about.]

⤷ Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

… Oh my fucking god its real.

⤷ x - Boston Rayna (@RaynaD)

People made fun of me for my name but I'm so fr right now. That cup is OURS.

⤷ ChirpChirp (@ChirpChirpPod)

Holy shit, did we get SHANE HOLLANDER to post something not PR??

Even with the compromise of holding off the real unpacking until tomorrow, Shane's still in a pile of shirts and pants that he didn't know how to put away. Ilya had simply shown him their room and gestured to the wardrobes as though that held all the answers he needed. Except Shane lived on systems, his life was very carefully planned out and organised and had been from the moment he could hold a hockey skate and shoot a puck straight. His mom had always sat down with a list of everything he would want to know, and made sure he had all his questions out before they'd even got to the car.

Ilya didn't live in his head like Shane did, or if he did he never felt trapped by the way his brain seemed to obsess with ideas like order and logic. Hence why Shane was looking at the wardrobe like it was a challenge, and not just a simple task of putting his clean clothes on hangers and adding them to his boyfriend's closet.

"Why are you looking at my closet like it killed someone?" Ilya asked, walking into the room with a cup of green tea for Shane.

"I don't know how to put my clothes away," Shane admitted, trying to bury the shame he normally felt when he knew he was being neurotic. This was just one step, tomorrow he'd be blending his hockey books with Ilya's Russian literature and wondering if the whole thing should be alphabetised or if he should split it by language first.

"Okay," Ilya paused. He placed the mug on the dresser without a coaster, which somehow stressed Shane out even more, "What are you thinking?"

"Well it's- what side of the closet is mine?" Shane asked.

"All of it's yours," Ilya said, confused, "Shane all our clothes are same size, we can separate now but in a few months we probably won't tell."

And wasn't that a terrifying thought. What if he accidentally went out in Ilya's 81 hoodie? Or if he grabbed the wrong jacket for practice? But also, he loved his boyfriend's clothes. He loved the smell, the heady comfort of having something that's Ilya's, and the fact that he can say out loud that they're clothes from his love, even if it's only to himself. There was also the small thrill at the idea of going out in Ilya's clothes, the weight of his cologne wrapped around his shoulders and everyone around being none the wiser. It was one of those things he'd dreamt of, but always felt like he would never have completely.

"And… you don't mind?" He asked one last time.

"Baby. My love, dorogoy. I will always take whatever you can give me, I know these are big steps. But I will never ever offer you something you can't have. Everything you can want here is yours, my closet, my food, my heart. It's ours now." He said passionately, moving to sit next to Shane on the edge of the bed, knocking their shoulders together.

Shane nodded quietly, and before Ilya could second guess the action he gave Shane's lips a small peck, wrapping his arms around his waist and dropping his head onto Shane's shoulder.

"I am so happy you're here."

"I'm happy to be here too," He admitted, running his hand through Ilya's hair. It was so hard to say it, because it was crazy and overwhelming at the same time as being something so important to him. Everything in the last few weeks had happened so quickly, but were also a culmination of 7 years of his life. It all felt like way too much, but he couldn't fathom where else he'd be than right there.

"Now, we put clothes away, pick out cute outfit for many many photos tomorrow and make bird food friendly dinner, yes?" Ilya asked, pulling away slowly.

Shane nodded, breathing through all the panic that had built inside of him.

"And then we christen our new lives together?" Ilya added hopefully.

That made Shane shove Ilya away.

"You've said that every night since I got traded."

"And I'll stop saying it when it stops working!"

'What are we doing here?' Insider spills potential conflict in Metro's front office

By Paul C.

JULY 20TH, MONTREAL - In a trade that's rocked the hockey world this off season, Shane Hollander was traded to his division rival Boston, where his opponent Ilya Rozanov is captain. On Twitter both players seem to have buried the hatchet, showing them building flat pack furniture together, presumably as Hollander moves to a new place.

The trade was criticised in multiple publications for being lopsided, with Hollander being traded for 2 protected draft picks and LW Drew Kenton, who is now entering his 18th season. Metro's GM Bryce Fury took this criticism in a press conference after the deal was announced, and talked about retooling this team to lower their projected cap hit and give them flexibility when they approach the trade deadline - an important thing to consider when the Metros haven't traded players in the regular season since 2014.

Hollander was at the centre of a rebuild back when he got drafted, with focus being put on their first line - Pike, Hollander, Boiziau - as a new core and the ones to watch as Montreal geared up to reclaim their status as playoff contenders, but it appears the front office became disenchanted and wanted to make new moves as the 2018/19 season approaches, but apparently all is not well behind closed doors.

"I mean, the owners are absolutely furious," An anonymous insider said, "Shane's been an important marketable asset for the team since he got drafted, we have his face up everywhere and always push that we're the home of Shane Hollander. He's brought in 42% of our sponsors, and makes up probably 60% of our promotional material, not to mention that we can barely keep his jerseys in our store. Not only are we about to be losers without him… we'll probably be broke losers, all because our main guy got injured and the GM panicked?"

"I remember some of the PR guys were super panicked when the trade was announced," They followed up later, "Apparently some of our contracts were only valid as long as we had Hollander as a player, because he was their brand ambassador. The owners really feel like they've been caught with their pants down, especially 'cause allegedly Fury didn't even call them, they found out along with everyone else, including Hollander apparently. The owners are pretty ready to burn some bridges over it, he was a money maker and the reason they got given for moving him to a team like Boston was just that they think he's a bit too soft and he needs to be more physical for this team."

"People keep saying the coach got in Fury's ear about the type of team they have," A different source claimed, "Not surprising - everyone knows Hollander's always been a bit classier than the other Metros - but he still had 40 penalty minutes last season. Theriault's always been the type of guy to want to play fast and dirty- he was a huge contributor to Toronto's locker room culture. Anyway, apparently the draft lines we're running at training this year are just… bad. There's no other word for it. One of the prospective first lines was Kenton-Pike-Boiziau but none of those guys could strike the balance between offence and playmaking like Hollander, they're debating calling up some AHL guys to fill in the gaps, otherwise they're just going to have to tank and pray for some early draft picks to revive the team again. It's a real shitshow out here and Fury is not happy about it. He's got the owners breathing down his neck for not telling them his plans, and the guy who told him this trade would be good for the team culture can't work out a winning roster."

"I mean, the owners are pretty pissed he got picked up by Boston," Our final insider told us, "Take out the money-making for a second, Hollander's pure skill has basically been given to our division rivals and the guy they gave us can't even spend 15 minutes on the ice without becoming day-to-day. Hollzy had the 4th highest time on ice in the whole league, and was pretty much always coaching the guys in the locker room about weak spots and improvements. He's just got the eye for it, he could probably tell you what type of shot everyone favours, including the next 3 years draft prospects, genuine insane levels of hockey IQ were given to Boston on a platter. Now everyone's mad at each other and all the support guys are out here wondering whose head is gonna roll first for this."

In a press conference on Wednesday the tension between Fury and Theriault was picked up on.

[Embedded video

Interviewer: Do you see yourself having the same level of success following the moves you've made in the off season?

Theriault: I think we're on our way to making a great team, we've definitely improved our defensive lines with some of these acquisitions and losing Hollander to do it has been hard, but I think Kenton will slot into our first line and work to pick up any slack.

Interviewer: Fury?

Fury (His expression is pinched): I guess we'll find out at the start of the season.]

The three sources are closely linked to the Metros interior office and have been verified by the author.

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram

Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

I refuse to watch a single Metros game until that incompetent excuse for a GM is gone.

⤷ Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

Sportsnet are saying we traded Shane Hollander because Theriault got in Fury's ear? Fury's the boss!! What the fuck do you mean????

⤷⤷ Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

I'm losing it. How the fuck is this fair.

[Attached is two images side by side showing Hollander and Kenton's career stats, including how Hollander compares to Kenton's first 7 seasons. The only thing Kenton has more of is PIM.]

⤷⤷⤷ Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

It's almost enough to make a man watch the Centaurs…

Grant (@GStolart73)

Fury and Theriault should never be allowed to coach or manage in this league again. Gross incompetence has given Boston a huge unfair advantage this season.

Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

Sportsnet are saying we traded Shane Hollander because Theriault got in Fury's ear? Fury's the boss!! What the fuck do you mean????

⤷ Harbor Drinker (@B0ston_Transplant)

Oh look another salty Montreal fan. Boston don't have an unfair advantage, that's just the game

⤷⤷ Grant (GStolart73)

I'm a Toronto fan.

⤷⤷⤷ Harbor Drinker (@B0ston_Transplant)

That's worse actually!

Chapter 3

Chapter Notes

Once again a huge thank you to everyone who's enjoying this so far! The support means a lot and I am genuinely very grateful - I am also loving everyone's comments even if I'm not replying to all of them!!!

Shane isn't sure he'd ever really adjust to waking up with Ilya plastered against his back, arms slung low over his waist and small breaths falling into the crook of his neck. His alarm was going off next to them, and he could already see the sunrise peeking through the curtains, telling him to get on with what was bound to be the longest day of his life.

"Good morning," Ilya croaked from behind him, "I love you."

The arms wrapped around him managed to get tighter, practically pinning the length of their bodies together. Shane huffed and looked over his shoulder.

"I love you too," He said softly, "You going to let me up?"

Ilya pondered it for a second, before shaking his head.

"I want to keep you here all of the time. In my bed, in my arms," He admitted, pressing a really wet kiss into the junction of Shane's shoulder and neck. Shane couldn't decide if the gesture was that syrupy sweet he'd come to associate with early morning Ilya, or the level of gross that came with the idea of bodily fluids. His heart fluttered even if he wanted to grimace a bit.

"I'm not sure Raiders management would let you, baby." He rolled over in Ilya's arms, gently brushing their noses together and giving him a small kiss.

"I suppose we better listen to them," He sighed, slowly unwinding himself from Shane's body. Shane huffed out a laugh at the way Ilya couldn't stop pouting.

Shane eventually sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and trying to will his body to leave the comfortable bubble they found themselves in. He wanted this forever, he could have this for as long as they both wanted. He stole another glance at the way Ilya's curls had rumpled in the night, the coils twisting around one another in clumps and framing Ilya's face like a choatic halo.

"What are you looking at?" He asked.

"You."

"You cannot say things like that if you want to make it out of the house, Hollander," Ilya teased.

Shane sighed, he wondered if he should've set his alarm earlier to give themselves time for a slow early morning fuck.

"We need to leave soon to meet the media team," He complained.

"I'll warm up the shower and get breakfast ready while you're in there," Ilya decided, "And then when we're home tonight you'll let me lick sweat off your biceps, yes?"

"I love you," He said in lieu of an answer, watching Ilya's smirk grow.

"I love you too," Ilya replied, his voice was bordering on reverent, "Now, need to move before you think too much, PR will not like that Hollander."

The Shane Hollander that the PR and media team met was awkward, shy and tried his best to greet everyone he could. He'd hadn't even been in their practice facilities for 10 minutes before his jersey was shoved into his hands and he was being posed against a wall being made to look pretty for the team socials, swiftly followed by being told to wear it and gear up for some YouTube videos and intermission content. Before he knew it, he'd gone through multiple rounds of "get to know me" questions, a silly video of him and Ilya that was going to be used as part of an MLH ad, and was now being told they needed to move on to whatever else the full schedule had in store for him that day.

He'd been guided down so many corridors he wasn't quite sure where he was headed next, but before he knew it, there was a conference room and a journalist that had won the first sit down with Shane to talk about how he felt about his trade.

"Dan Levitz," He said as Shane walked into the room, offering a hand out.

"Shane Hollander," He replied, shaking the offered hand, "Weren't you the first one to report on the league's franchise expansion?"

"I was! Damn, they're not kidding about that hockey brain of yours," He chuckled.

Shane smiled and forced down all the feelings he had about his reputation as a nerd, just letting the comment go like he always would.

"All of these are vetted already by Boston's management and your agent, I know you've spent more time in media training than high school so I'm not expecting anything that'll make waves. If there's anything you want struck off we'll talk about it," He said before setting up his camera and voice recorder.

"Oh- thank you," He responded, he'd never had the option of cutting comments before, Montreal would rather let a controversy bring them PR.

"No worries, gotta do what you gotta do to get an interview with you now you're traded," He said conversationally, "Heard through the grapevine TNT wanted to bombard you in a post-game interview and Boston nearly banned their announcers from the building."

"Boston's always been good to their players like that," He said non-comitally.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, we're all set up so- whenever you're ready, I suppose!"

The last thing Shane wanted to do after all that media was practice, but meeting the guys and figuring out systems was more important than ever now that he knew barely anything about his teammates. The locker room was full of guys when he finally walked in. The second he was over the threshold, there was a wall of noise hitting him, Ilya must've seen him flinch because he immediately whistled to cut through all the cheering.

God, Shane hated how sappy that made him feel.

"Everyone this is Shane Hollander," He yelled, clearly anticipating for the cheering to start again, "He is unfortunately very slow and weak hockey player, but we have promised to make him better. So no comments, we are very aware of his flaws."

Shane smirked as he moved further into the room, turning to Ilya.

"You still mad I pointed out that you always turn over pucks on the rebound?" He asked.

"He is also a huge asshole, please make him feel unwelcome," Ilya rolled his eyes.

Shane walked around greeting the guys, very aware that Melissa, the socials manager, was taking photos as he shook hands with the guys in the room, and that his introduction had definitely been filmed. He wasn't sure if coach would let a secret about their first line centre's weaknesses be aired to other teams, but he was certain the rest of his first locker room moment would be.

Melissa only left the room when there was 10 minutes left until they needed to be on the ice, forcing Shane to change quickly into his gear. Ilya's eyes barely leaving Shane's body as he pulled on his pads and skates.

"You ready to kill them dead?" Ilya asked as they left the room together.

"Knock them dead," Shane corrected, looking at the ice and seeing guys in various stretches, and their coach observing them all.

Ilya blew a raspberry into the air.

"I'm telling coach you should be 4th line winger."

The burn of practice made his muscles feel great, Shane loved the post-hockey feeling. He felt wrung out, like his body would never know more exhaustion than this, but also the elation of doing a good job. He'd been practicing shooting with his line, and telling them tips for maintaining speed on the ice, as well as the details of his at home training and his diet to keep him in shape all season.

They'd then rounded off practice with a quick scrimmage, with coach wanting to evaluate prospective power play units, Shane 90% sure they'd scarred their goaltender, Caydn.

There had been part of him that thought back to being on the same line as Ilya when they were in Tampa, and wondered if the games had simply been like catching lightning in a bottle, but now in practice he realised they actually had the potential to be much better, especially with coach behind the boards looking for ways to get Shane and Ilya to make even more plays together.

Caydn had only managed to block 3 of the 14 shots the two made, with both of them constantly looking for the other on their unit, leaving Marleau, Feller and Johannsen to defend against their teammates. Every time one of them scored there was this tangible feeling in the air. The Raiders already had an incredible roster, everyone knew they'd been a guaranteed playoff team since Ilya got drafted, but this was different. This was the feeling they were going to absolutely demolish every team they came into contact with, just with the sheer power of having two top players on the team.

It was this feeling that probably persuaded Shane to say yes to the bar invite that had been passed to him from Marleau. Ilya had already told him it was a team tradition before practice. The first practice, they'd rent out a private room in a local bar, drink and catch up about their off season. Now Shane had the pleasant ache in his muscles that always told him he'd done the best he could, the feeling in his chest that came with playing on the same team as his boyfriend, and the correct amount of alcohol in his system to let down some of his guard.

"And then-" Marleau cut himself off with his own laughter, "He landed on his ass so hard it bruised and coach benched him."

"Do you not value my dignity, Marly?" Ilya asked dryly, taking a long sip from the beer in front of him.

"You lost your dignity when I answered my hotel door and you were naked begging me for condoms because you ran out."

"Next time I will go in raw, make a million baby Roz's to terrorise you," He said, rolling his eyes.

"What about you, Hollzy, any good ice stories?" Hammersmith asked from the other side of the table.

"Lost a blade while I was practicing shooting, ended up shooting the puck with so much momentum I nearly followed it into the net- then my team were too busy laughing at me to help me get to the bench to get my blade changed," He said dryly, following the story with a sip of whatever Ilya had gotten him, he knew there was definitely something mixed in the lemonade.

"Man, Montreal sound like they sucked, at least one of us can pull it together to help a brother out," Marleau said bluntly.

"They were… well. You've met them."

"Ugh, some of them are decent guys, but why do the rest of them play like 90s era Detroit defensemen?" One of the rookies complained, "Like, hit me into the boards, but you don't need to knock my teeth out."

"Some of them don't know what a chirp is either," Sebbin said, "One of them just straight up called me a cocksucker, and then had the audacity to swing when I made a joke about his dad telling him that."

"The homophobia there- it's all over the org," Shane sighed, "I'm sure you guys saw the rumour I got traded because Theriault told Fury he thinks I'm gay."

"Which is bullshit!" "Like it fucking matters!" "Yeah, and what if you are?!" Sounded throughout the empty room.

"You're Shane fucking Hollander, I don't care if you like dick, I could watch your puck handling for literal hours, that's how good you are," One of the D-Men Shane couldn't remember said.

"Yeah, well," Shane awkwardly sipped his drink, "Probably why I ended up finding out I got traded from my mom and Ilya Rozanov and not Fury."

"Is not my fault ESPN posted it at 8am," Ilya argued, "I saw you having a very stressed out phone call and wanted to see if it was true."

"Always sucks when your GM won't even tell you himself," Feller sympathised, "I found out I got traded from San Francisco before getting my wisdom tooth out."

"Yeah, I was hiking in Peru when I found out," Muller said, "No cell service at all, and then when I get back to my hotel I've got 25+ missed calls from my agent and GM, and a notification from ESPN that I got traded for a draft pick."

"I'm more mad about the draft picks than Kenton," Shane agreed, "Like I got traded for two 16 year olds and a retiree? Way to make a guy feel good."

"I still think the GM bribed someone," Someone said conspiratorially, "We got rid of 3rd line deadweight and 2 unknowns for the best player in the league? Like did he pay someone off?"

"Dude, Crowell's pissed about it," One of the younger guys jumped in.

Shane raised his eyebrows, he'd not heard anything about that.

"My brother works for the league, not super high up but big enough that he sits on the meetings and whatever. Apparently after the trade and the posts you guys made about each other, the league had to talk to a bunch of sponsors. You were going to do some big ad for one of the betting partners about the rivalry, and they were hoping to push a bunch of shit with the end of the season being 10 years since you guys met on the ice for the first time, and it's all just in flames now."

"Always a good day to piss off Crowell," Shane commented.

All the guys cheered and flung their glasses in the air at that.

Shane locked eyes with Ilya across the table, Ilya made a show taking a long sip of his beer and winked when he put his glass back down.

After about 5 minutes of chattering amongst themselves, someone else jumped in.

"Shane," Ilya said, waiting for a pause where Shane was talking to one of the rookies, "Show them the freaky thing."

"Oh my god it's not that weird," Shane protested.

"What is it?" The rookie, Kane, asked.

"Shane knows everyone's weaknesses, even if you weren't on the ice practicing today, he will know things about you. Some of them you didn't even know about yourself."

"Oh yeah?" Marleau asked.

"You have a way higher puck turnover when you pass on your left. Like at least 20% higher," Shane said immediately.

"What about me?" Sebbin asked.

"You never shoot five hole, so when you have the puck you'll see Montreal's goalies never go down."

"Me?" Kane asked.

"Boston's got you coached pretty well," Shane smiled, "Just need some improvment on your wrist shots, they look a bit flimsy."

"And me?" Ilya asked, smirking.

"On ice or off ice?" He teased, "You always favour passing to the right, which means you're more likely to turn the puck over on a penalty kill if Marleau's in the box, you only ever aim top left during shootouts, but you feign to the right to psych out goalies… oh! Whenever you use different wax or tape you favour slapshots."

"You stalk me, Hollander?" Ilya asked, mouth slightly agape at all the small things he'd never realised about himself.

"That's impressive as hell, Hollzy," Hammermsmith said.

"Yeah like- that's not freaky. You know this about everyone on the league?"

"First two lines of everyone in the Atlantic, probably. I know more about you guys because we're rivals," Shane admitted, "Montreal always thought it was weird, so I stopped telling them."

"Fuck that, coach is finding out about your spooky brain tomorrow," Ilya demanded, "Montreal are too fucking stupid to take advantage of what's right in front of them."

x - Boston Rayna (@RaynaD)

Just saw Shane Hollander out drinking with the rest of the team???

[Image attached, a very blurry photo of 25 people sat around a table taken from outside a bar. There's a red circle over what is assumed to be Shane Hollander.]

⤷ Gina W (@GGina23)

I think I feel hope? Is this what it feels like?

⤷⤷ DAVE (@QubecoisDave)

Traitor. Good on Fury for turfing him out

⤷⤷⤷ Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

He has to play 82 games with those guys, I'd make friends with the enemy too lmaoo

Bon-Voyageur (@MetsBaby)

Oh look, he leaves the team and suddenly he's best friends with the guys he's slammed in media since he was a rookie. No loyalty anymore.

Frankie K (@Knowles223)

You're laughing, Metros fans just realised most pro sports players care more about money than their draft teams, and you're laughing?

Cliff Marleau (@Marly7)

Thank you Montreal! 😘 @Metros @BryceFury #GetFuryFired

[Image: All the guys huddled around a table, there's a bunch of visibly empty beer glasses. Marleau and Hollander are next to each other, Marleau is kissing him on the cheek like Rozanov did at the all stars.]

"Come on, surely there's one funny Montreal story," The guys had been poking him for something, but Shane was coming to the daunting realisation how much Montreal was not a great team, "Hayden and I mostly sat with the WAGs at team events… well the ones I got invited to."

"What do you mean they didn't invite you?"

"I don't drink at all during the season, and I stick to a pretty strict performance diet too. So no bars, restaurants, or whatever. I'd maybe go hang at someone's house but it always turned into someone trying to get me to drink." Shane rolled his eyes, "Or if we went out they'd try and hook me up with girls and always ragged on me in the team chat if I didn't take someone home… It's a pretty stereotypical hockey team."

"No surprise your best friend is Hayden Pike," Ilya sniped from across the table, "Very shallow options."

"Well, we're glad you're here," Kane smiled at him. Shane smiled back, holding himself back from doing something embarrassing like ruffling the rookie's hair.

Finally, they were all out on the street waiting for their ride cars to take them home.

Hammersmith leaned against the wall next to Shane, checking his phone periodically before turning to Shane fully.

"Look- if any of the guys start treating you like Montreal, tell Roz. When Scott Hunter kissed that guy, he immediately texted us all promising he'd become a free agent if we were homophobic, he's a good guy," Smith complimented.

"I will, Hammer, but I trust you guys," Shane said, not realising just how much he meant it.

"Shane!" Ilya yelled from the other end of the sidewalk.

Shane quickly said bye to Hammersmith, and waved as he got in the back, flushing slightly at the chorus of "Bye Hollzy! Bye Roz!" that they departed with.

"My team like you more than me," Ilya huffed.

Shane smiled, dropping his hand in the middle seat between them to discretely latch onto Ilya out of sight of their cab driver.

"Sorry," Shane said, flushing again.

"No. No sorry. I'm glad you are with good people," Ilya insisted, "You deserve it."

Shane didn't say anything, but mouthed "I love you", hoping the driver didn't see. Ilya's eyes brightened and Shane was treated to a squeeze of his hand. He needed the taxi to go faster, just to show Ilya how much he loved him as soon as he could.

Metros Updates (@MTLMetrosUpdates)

New interview with Dan Levitz and Shane Hollander talking about the Boston trade.

[Transcript: Dan Levitz and Shane Hollander talk SHOCK TRADE to Boston

Both men are sat in leather armchairs, sitting next to each other with the chairs tilted towards one another. Levitz has his legs crossed and looks relaxed, Hollander's legs are crossed at the ankle and he has his hands in his lap. He looks visibly nervous to be talking about this.

Levitz: So, Boston huh?

Hollander: Yeah… crazy. Just insane to be here right now. In these colours too? Just, yeah.

Levitz: Did you have any idea?

Hollander: No- literally none. I got a call from my mom at like 7am while I was on vacation, and the way she was acting, I thought something way worse had happened.

Levitz (Visibly hesitating): I thought Fury would've called?

Hollander (Wincing): Nope. Got a phone call from my mom super early in the morning, Rozanov was crashing with me while he was in town and came out while I was on the phone and was all… yeah. What are the chances?

Levitz: Not many people find out they got traded to the Raiders by Ilya Rozanov himself.

Hollander (Chuckling): Honestly, surreal as hell. I don't doubt if he wasn't there already he would've been the first guy to call me.

Levitz: Are you and Rozanov… friends?

Hollander (Becoming more serious): We've never- the rivalry was always work, you know? It's performative, always has been, off the ice we've always been friends- but in a 'we work together' type of way? All-Stars this year, we really clicked though, and having a guy like that in my corner through the injury and getting traded- he'll hate that I'm telling the world this, but he's great. By far one of the best friends I've got.

Levitz: Wow, that might be a bigger headline than you getting traded! (Laughs, pauses) You said he helped you, anything specific that stands out to you?

Hollander: Oh, he helped me move. Cancelled all his plans, drove to Montreal with me and helped me get all my shit together while talking about houses and how training camps are going to go. Like he knew I was going to be stressed the hell out and just turned up for me, and that's already made the trade feel… not as bad.

Levitz: Were you sad when you got the news?

Hollander: I think anyone would be. (He pauses, looking behind the camera for a second before continuing) My mom's been a Metros fan her whole life, and I pretty evenly split my childhood between watching Montreal and Ottawa, and with a background like that I would've probably taken a pay cut if it meant I could have another cup run and retire there. Obviously it was a bit more complicated than just my contract and cap space, but I would've probably sacrificed way more than money for the chance.

Levitz: Wow- that's. Wow.

Shane blushes and looks sheepish.

Levitz: Two last questions, I can see your PR people tapping their watches (Laugh). How do you think Montreal fans will react to the news you were willing to be flexible if it meant you got to stay?

Hollander: I mean, it doesn't matter, right? It's done now, I think it's probably a lesson for front offices out there- if you've got loyal guys let them know what's happening. I would've definitely tried to work something out, but I'm here now, and I'm going to play for Boston exactly like I played for Montreal. (Shrug)

Levitz: Okay, last one. Do you buy into the rumours that Theriault was to blame for your trade?

Hollander (Staring down the camera lens): No. Comment.]

⤷ Metros Updates (@MTLMetrosUpdates)

Normally I keep my opinions off this account. But if Hollzy would've taken a cap friendly deal to stay that changes everything. #FuryOut

⤷⤷ MontreaL (@HockeyBro96)

#FuryOut unbelievable front office wouldn't even ask a hometown kid about taking a cut

A Message from Bryce Fury to Our Fans:

We wanted to address concerns raised by our fans about the current status of our team and the roster we will be bringing into next season. It is understandable to be upset when a player like Hollander, who has been such an iconic Metro since his draft, has been moved, but we think it is time to shift gears and think about how we become a dynasty.

Hollander's injury last season really showed us how our on-ice production was reliant on individuals, and that our team was suffering greatly for this fact. Between this and some day-to-day injuries with Pike and Drapeau, it was time for the organisation to reflect and think about the kind of plays we want, and what we have, even though that meant saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years. We aren't rebuilding. This is important. We are looking at our core, their skills, and looking to build around these players to bring a truly great team to Montreal. To do this we are prioritising cap space and draft picks, to make sure that down the line we can be more flexible with trades.

We promise that going into next season you will see how the changes to our coaching and roster are going to bring home another cup, and that we are doing our best to cement Montreal as one of the best hockey teams since the conception of the MLH.

LETS GO METROS

Fury

M-ah-tin (@TheEyeSeesAll)

Jonathon Sims 🤝 Bryce Fury

"Statement Begins"

Free Agency Fan (@GetFuryFired)

Last time Fury posted a statement Boston won a trophy…

Chapter 4

Chapter Notes

I promise I see the comments I am just terrible at replying!! I am very overwhelmed with all the love you guys have and appreciate it so much! So as a treat... here's the final 2 chapters <3

The issue with Nashville was that it was hot, sweaty, and broadly not somewhere Shane ever went willingly. Even on the ice, he felt like the sun was cursing him for being Canadian, but they were in the last 2 minutes of the third and it was looking like they'd wrap up with a win as long as they could play keep-away until the buzzer. 4-3 wasn't his favourite opening game result but it was good enough, they'd have time to work on their defence before the playoffs.

But then, with time ticking down slowly, he felt his feet go from under him, and one of Nashville's forwards was pulling his skate out from under Shane's legs.

He didn't even get the chance to stand up and drop his own gloves, instead watching Ilya come up from behind and illegally check the guy into the boards, not even hiding his grin at the audible crunch that sounded against the glass.

"Hm, dirty plays not so fun now, are they?" He asked as he refused to let up. Shane just laughed, watching the refs try and pull Ilya away.

"Come on Roz, we've nearly won anyway!" One of the guys yelled from behind him. Ilya sighed theatrically, already heading towards the box as the refs called interference.

4-on-4 for the final minute was not Shane's favourite gamble, but he knew the team would be able to keep the puck out of their zone. Instead, he made sure he was always on the edge of the neutral zone, knowing that Nashville would definitely keep as many players on him as they could spare just so he had less chance of receiving the puck. Keeping their core guarding him gave Kane and Hammersmith the chance to play keep-away and run down the clock until the buzzer sounded.

Ilya came out of the box and immediately clunked their helmets together, before going to the player exit to see the Boston team off the ice.

Ilya could see a Boston fan filming his routine of telling the team he loved them, and visibly smirked when he fist bumped Shane and said, "You are okay, I guess."

"Love you too," He rolled his eyes, waiting for Ilya to follow him down the tunnel.

@Marly7 posted a story!

[Video description: A decently crowded bar, the Raiders have taken over half of it. All the guys are holding drinks. There is a 00s pop song on in the background and in the corner you can see Ilya swaying to it.

Caption: Nashville!!!]

@Marly7 posted a story!

[Image description: Marleau and Ilya are really close together, smiling at the camera.

Caption: He's telling me to take a shot every penalty minute he got that game. 😭]

@Marly7 posted a story!

[Image description: Ilya and Shane are leaning on a table together, deep in conversation. Shane clearly has a can of ginger ale next to him.

Caption: Thank you @MTLMetros for your best player 🙏 No takesies backsies]

@Marly7 posted a story!

[Image description: A photo of a TV screen in the bar they're partying in, with people visibly crowding it. The final score shows Montreal lose 2-0 to Buffalo.

Caption: That's gotta sting 😂]

@Roz81 posted a story!

[Image description: Shane is leaning on the table, leaning his head on his hand. He's looking at the camera with doe eyes.

Caption: 👅]

@Hollzy24 posted a story!

[Image description: There's 6 men all sat at the table staring at their phones, smiling hard. Ilya is on the right with his phone pointed towards the camera but the brightness is too high to see the screen.

Caption: They're all trying to find the funniest tweet about my trade. 🙄]

Raiders Updates (@BOSUpdates)

Multiple raiders posted on Instagram!

[Attatched: Screenshots of all the above stories]

⤷ Brayden (@IceEngineer)

Lmaooo the disrespect is unreal

⤷⤷ Chad (@Harvard_20)

Roz always out here posting the weird shit man

⤷⤷⤷BOSSton (@JerryM90)

I'd lick the shit out of Shane Hollander too

⤷⤷⤷⤷ Jake (@Jake77364)

Dude that goal in the second had me hard as fuck

⤷⤷⤷⤷⤷ Chad (@Harvard_20)

That's gay as hell bro

⤷⤷⤷⤷⤷⤷ Jake (@Jake77364)

For Shane Hollander??? I'm anything he wants me to be.

Lilya (@LilyLove1221)

'straight' man btw

Jake (@Jake77364)

Dude that goal in the second had me hard as fuck

⤷ Francis (@Metros4Life)

I get it though…

⤷ K. (@Plump3333)

We're all a bit gay for Shane Hollander right???

⤷ Hugh (@Hughie980)

If he keeps scoring like that I'd suck his dick for SURE

⤷ Dom (@BostonPT)

It's not gay if it's Hollander

⤷ Jake (@Jake77364)

that one joke about wet spaghetti sums me up pretty well.

Ilya and Shane had said that the next time Montreal play on an off day, they'd invite the guys over to theirs instead of finding a bar to hang out in, especially since barely any bars would be playing San Francisco vs Montreal with the battle for Florida happening.

The night started out normally, but quickly devolved into them all chatting shit about the Metros, especially with the insider information on hand.

"I mean, Theriault's an awful coach anyway," Shane said. The guys had asked him about their old tactics and Shane pulled a face like he'd swallowed something sour while he told the guys there was a reason he had some of the highest ice time in the league the last 3 years. "Look, Hayden's playing centre on their first line, with a guy like Kenton? Kenton's not been on a first line since he left Philadelphia, he's not a good starter at all. He's also not got much ice time for a guy who was their big trade this Summer."

"What's wrong with Hayden as a centre?" One of the younger guys asked.

"Pretty much since juniors. he's been on the wing, and since we got drafted in the same year. he's always been left wing. Even when I got scratched, they'd move the lower lines around, normally shift whoever was second line centre up and then plan around that. Hayden's too good on the wing to be wasted in the centre, but Kenton would be an even worse centre, so I get it."

"Why even have him first line at all?" Someone asked, Shane was about to answer but ended up sucking in a harsh breath, watching Drapeau fail to glove a puck before it went top shelf.

"So you're Montreal, you've just made the most controversial trade of the season for 'cap space' at the trade deadline, even though they've only traded in the off season as long as I can remember. You've got all these fans telling you you got swindled, your main guy has been moved to a division rival. There's an exposé written about the fact owners are pissed you cost them sponsorship money, and all this is because you listened to your coach who it turns out might have some bigoted personal vendetta. You go through all that for a second line centre? They're going to play Kenton until he needs to be put out to pasture like an old race horse," Shane said, trying to mask the bitterness in his voice, but failing if the way Ilya's hand lands on his shoulder is anything to go by.

"Well, they're paying the price now," Marleau said, watching one of the Mission's skaters body Comeau into the boards.

They fall into silence, watching San Francisco shut out Montreal at the Bell Centre, when somewhere a mic picks up a player yelling towards the bench.

"You dumb fucks! You let Hollzy and Roz play on the SAME TEAM? Or do you need it in French? Osti d'épais. Tabernak. Go fuck yourselves."

Before he even hesitated, Shane took out his phone and pointed the selfie camera at him and Ilya, throwing up a peace sign while Ilya smirked, quickly adding a caption of "@Reedsy_22 sorry man! At least we're not on the same line :p"

Ilya quickly posted a follow-up of all the guys watching Montreal get absolutely demolished on TV.

"@Reedsy_22 St-Simon agrees with you btw

@MTLMetros this is just sad"

By the end of the third the Mission were up 8-0 and Montreal fans were booing so loudly Shane could barely hear TSN's commentators.

"Without Shane Hollander out there the Metros are just no good," one of them remarked, "I guess it's hard to value how much of a playmaker you have until you don't have one at all. I mean Montreal spent a whopping 5 minutes in the offensive zone all game!"

"You're right, Clark, obviously not great that such a high calibre team was reliant on a guy like that but…"

"Yeah well, they could've fixed the problem while having someone on the team to help score some goals, but now they've been winless since the start of November, the Metros haven't won in regulation yet this season, we're approaching Christmas!"

Shane watched the commentators go back and forth and finally felt his phone buzz rapidly in his pocket.

HAYDEN: Whole locker room is pissed at Theriault lol

HAYDEN: Comeau just screamed at him that next time he tries to fuck up the team can he let him know before he signs a 5 year deal

HAYDEN: Drapeau just muttered that he's nearly a free agent and I saw Theriault go RED dude

HAYDEN: Miitka's rookie deal's up next season too, so there goes 2 of the 5 core Fury was 'building around'

HAYDEN: Unrelated, Boston got cap space for a winger?

SHANE: You willing to take a paycut?

HAYDEN: Fuck.

"Changes in management are inevitable, we're just evaluating all choices," Montreal Metros owner told investors after horrific loss to San Francisco.

Gary Brandil, owner of the Metros, was seen on a call with a group of team investors the same day that the Metros lost 8-0.

"Fury really blindsided us-" The video The Athletic received starts "- Cost us a lot of important ad money and everything else, and now we're losing games that would've been a cake walk last season. Yeah yeah, I know it's not good. We're just waiting for the right manager to enter the market, and making it a stipulation that we're notified about trade negotiations in future so we can handle administrative tasks."

"Do you think a change in management would be beneficial?" An unknown investor asks.

"I mean- changes in management are inevitable, we're just evaluating all choices. We're hoping to bring someone with a solid team behind them, probably making some changes to our coaching staff too. I think we gotta do this now. We've lost one of our big assets and planning a front office rebuild in the immediate future means we'll reap the benefits soon," Brandil said, "But who knows. Maybe after Christmas we come back playing the best hockey the world's seen. There's no deadline to this, we're just seeing who might be open to management, and if nothing else, let's hope this call puts a fire under Fury's ass, right?"

The video ends with them laughing.

Many fans are praising Brandil's frankness to the challenges to Fury's position, but others posit that the team is stalling due to the close connections betweeen Brandil and Fury, and that Brandil is 'too soft' to do anything to his close friend. As it stands the status on the future of the Metros is a grand unknown.

Chapter 5

Chapter Notes

Ilya is almost certain that in every life he would find a way to worship Shane.

For now, he does it by studying their game, appreciating the complex way Shane balances on the edge of his skates to move so seamlessly, or the way he seems to bend his stick to his sheer will to create plays. Shane will make lanes appear, and before anyone's eyes even have time to catch up to the puck, it's materialised in the back of the net.

But sometimes, with Shane bent over the arm of their couch, Ilya's thumbs poking into the divots of his back dimples, he wonders if in a past life he cast Shane's body in marble, or oil on canvas. He thinks about another him that yells look, look at this. Look at what's mine. He digs in harder, wanting to bruise the skin. He wants anyone who stares to know implicitly that he was there first, his claws are beyond skin deep, he's buried deep in Shane's heart and will never leave the space he's made for himself.

He couldn't express this need to Shane though. He couldn't stop the buzzing under his skin when he thought about sharing their love to the world, that all he wants is to scream to the world that he's in love, that he's a man possessed because of Shane Hollander. Instead he just thrusts harder, letting the way Shane groans into the couch cushions settle deep in his bones and remind himself to be grateful for what they have.

He still gets this quiet reverance.

"You're so full of shit," Shane complained.

"You just watched me beat you three times in a row, Hollander!" He argued, he went to point at the screen but Shane had instead closed MLH17 completely. "You are very sore loser."

"Am not," Shane protested, pouting dramatically.

"Oh, moya printsessa, should I have let you win?" Ilya teased. He threw himself down onto Shane's lap, accidentally knocking off the decorative cushions that Shane insisted made the couch a 'centre piece.'

Almost automatically, Shane's hand had dropped into Ilya's hair. After a harsh tug for even implying that he should ever let Shane win, he combed it gently.

"I'm definitely not a princess," He snorted. He couldn't stop his fingers straying to gently massage Ilya's head, watching as his breathing slowed and the wrinkles around his nose and eyes smoothed out into something much softer.

"You are my princess. We are like kids game with plumbers," He said without much heart, instead his head was following the movement of Shane's hands, following the touch like an overly affectionate dog.

"I know you know Mario's name," Shane rolled his eyes, pausing his movements for one moment.

It was something he'd been doing a lot since he moved in with Ilya, to the point where he was wondering if there was some credit to his mom telling him he'd get stuck like that. It also made him ridiculously happy to be there, with his boyfriend, and be able to put up with all of Ilya's dramatic behaviours.

"Yes yes, important American culture," Ilya said dismissively, pushing his head back into Shane's hand to get him to continue.

Shane just let out a small sigh and indulged him.

"Hey Hollzy!" Cliff yelled when he and Ilya got to the locker room for the last home game of the regular season.

Shane threw a salute back before making his way to his stall. Every time he and Ilya arrived together he wondered what the team thought, whether they were asking questions about why Shane was still living in Ilya's place even though he'd now spent a full season in Boston. The lie about 'thinking about getting somewhere built' would only stretch so far before they got caught out.

"Damn, Roz, you in love with Hollzy or something?" Sebbin asked from across the locker room.

Shane's head shot up in a way that was not casual, and was definitely something that could be read into if anyone had noticed.

"No…?" Ilya hesitated, wondering what was wrong.

"He's got that fucking hoodie you keep saying is too good to lose," Sebbin said, "I tried to get you to give it me when my clothes got lost in Toronto that one time and you were all-"

"Sebbin, we live together. He is not going to lose hoodie in my house," Ilya said, rolling his eyes.

Shane tried to even out his breathing, not even realising how off he felt while Ilya covered for them. The hoodie was one of Shane's favourites, gently encroaching into something that was more his than Ilya's. It was a worn out kind of soft, with a hole in the sleeve that he could slot his thumb into to keep the sleeves from riding up. Shane also swore if he breathed in deep enough around the collar he could smell that same cologne Ilya had worn the first few times they met.

"Also he looks much better in it than you would," Ilya commented, throwing a wink over his shoulder in Shane's direction.

Sebbin rolled his eyes, the rest of the guys weren't even paying attention, and Shane realised how sad he was that Ilya hadn't been able to just say the reason out loud.

He buried that feeling with the rest of them.

"You think Crowell's going to change All Stars next year?" Shane asked.

They'd all gone out to a bar to celebrate beating Florida for their final regular season game.

"Europe vs America again? Maybe a special fuck Canada game?" Ilya joked.

"No way, people love watching you together. Front office is going crazy because any game where either of you are scratched we immediately drop viewership, but you can't actually play all 82 games…" Caydn trailed off.

"Yeah but Crowell's a bitter fuck," Marly argued, "The rivalry was good MLH promo, and Montreal's probably complaining they're losing out on revenue without Hollzy."

"Well, maybe don't trade your star centre if you want to keep the money coming," Hammersmith said snidely, "I don't get why Montral are making it everyone else's problem that they're being dumb as fuck."

"I'm loving the rumours every week that I'll get an offer from them when I hit free agency," Shane commented,"Even if I wanted to leave Boston, why would I go back to a team that wouldn't even call me to tell me I got traded?"

"You'd leave us, Hollzy?" Kane asked, pouting a bit dramatically, "Who'd tell me I'm taping my stick wrong every practice?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Shane huffed, taking a sip of his ginger ale, "I have to win at least 3 cups first."

"If it keeps you on the team we'll tank in the playoffs," Marly promised. Shane hated the thought of compromising a game, but the idea of his team doing it to keep him around? He'd never had that type of love from a team before.

"Dude, we'll tank in the regular season, draft a rookie that he gets too emotionally attached to, and just keep him through emotional manipulation," Hammersmith said.

"Why get new rookie? Kane is already being adopted," Ilya comments. He'd managed to shift closer to Shane in the conversation, their knees knocking together whenever they shifted.

"I am his mentor, Ilya," Shane stressed, "I'm the only person on this team who'll tell him not to drop gloves at every chancce."

"Oh my god, Hollander," Ilya said exasperated, "You are so fucking boring."

"And yet you keep hanging out with me," He responded dryly, bumping his knee against Ilya's.

"Maybe one day, my charm will rub off on you," He grinned, clearly tamping down the obvious joke.

The rest of the team moved onto a different conversation, leaving them to smile privately at one another. Under the table Ilya's hand reached out for Shane's and twisted their fingers together. For a moment they both wondered what it would be like to let that part of their lives be seen.

r/hockey

u/buffal00000

(Dan Levitz) Hearing rumours that multiple MLH executives are calling a meeting with Crowell to talk about changes to the MLH, especially promo and advertising.

twitter.co/DanLevitz

u/Betting_blind22

Not surprised ownership are finally sick of Crowell ruining the league. Especially if its true he tried to investigate fraud for the Hollander trade

⤷ u/JunkThoughts9

I mean the issue here is that the MLH gets no good press and Crowell keeps letting it. Players like Kent and Comeau are in the news all the time for things they say on Twitter and he's bending over backwards to let them play and acting like it's no big deal. Maybe if we cleaned up the league people would actually watch.

⤷⤷ u/deer_hunting02

Fuck that if people cant let hockey be hockey we dont want them here. liberals already ruined the sport with helmets and unions

⤷⤷⤷ u/JunkThoughts9

People like you are reasons franchises die. Laughable to hear from an Ottawa fan that there's no room for new people in the MLH when your franchise is on the brink of death every season with next to no supporters.

allonsy-montreal.tumblr.com

Fury surviving this season is the worst thing that ever happened to me. We're going to draft another number one overall player, have a great 2 years and then decide they need to go to Ottawa this time so we can have 2 4th round draft picks instead.

It was late, the stars were visible through a small gap in the curtain, and Shane was trying his hardest to concentrate on the book in front of him while Ilya just stared at the opposite wall.

He'd been quiet since they got back from the bar, content to just cuddle in bed together until the sun had finally dipped below the horizon and Shane had started his bedtime routine. Normally they'd have a small talk, Shane would be petting Ilya's curls as soft as possible, and Ilya would lay with his ear as close to Shane's heart as possible, slowly drumming the rhythm against Shane's hip until they both gently fell asleep.

But instead Ilya had been looking at the wall. Staring at it like there was a million things to think about and not enough time to achieve them all.

Shane gave up and bookmarked his page, choosing to roll over and look at his boyfriend, who he wasn't sure had blinked yet.

"Are you okay?"

Ilya nodded, his eyebrows scrunching together for one second, before shaking his head instead.

"I keep thinking about telling the team," Ilya said, "About us. Being together."

Shane's first overwhelming instinct was fear and trepidation. Then it was more like being shocked by cold water, before finally all his emotions became settled.

"And you… are they…" Shane tried to find the right questions but everything just felt stuck in his throat. He wanted all of it, and still he wondered what being out meant. If being out was something in the cards for guys like them.

"They love you," Ilya comforted, "They love us. We aren't Montreal and we never will be."

"Let me sleep on it," Shane said instead of the outright denial that was his first instinct, "I need to think about it."

Ilya nodded, finally shifting away from his brooding position to take up his usual residence on Shane's chest.

"I love you," He whispered, dropping a kiss onto Shane's sternum.

"I love you too," Shane replied, his hand already reaching for the back of Ilya's hair, moving gently through the coils until Ilya's breath evened out.

"Okay, so what's the worst case scenario?" His mom asked, her voice tinny from the bad phone signal in Ilya's kitchen.

"I get traded again, or they… I don't know. Switch up. Act like the Metros did when they found out our equipment manager was married to a guy," Shane said.

He tried not think too hard about the way Drapeau insisted on the guy never touching his sticks once he found out, or Comeau spouting shit about the equipment guy always waiting for them to be in the middle of getting changed to go into the locker room to grab whatever he needed. Even the rookies pulled faces when he was mentioned, until one day they came in and a new guy had taken over, and the old equipment manager was never brought up again. It made Shane sick to think about the fact he'd let it happen too.

"Do you think they would?" Proving to Shane why he called his mom. To have a voice of reason on his side.

"I don't know any more," He said honestly, "I know they like me and want me around- and the one time it got brought up as a joke they were all… it was like it didn't matter if it was true. But then what if that's because they thought it's not real?"

"Shane," She said, exasperated, "If they were joking around they're more likely to say something bad than good. They don't have a reason to be supportive if they're not taking it seriously."

"I guess," He conceded, "What if they have a problem with Ilya?"

"Do you think that's going to happen, or are you just trying to poke holes into your own plan?"

"I just want to plan for every possibility."

"Honey, you know you can't. By the sound of things, you've got a good team, good management, and you both have no movement clauses so the league can't try and separate you if they get wind of it. You're not telling the world here, just a small group of guys and people who need to know."

"Yeah, yeah," He agreed. He heard the front door slam, followed by the sound of Ilya's shoes hitting the wall. "He's back so I'm going to go sit down and talk about it."

"Okay, let me know how it goes. Oh, and tell me if you change your mind about the sponsors, I've heard a lot about the possibility of Reebok releasing pride gear this year-"

"I'll let you know," He interrupted, watching Ilya fold himself over the breakfast bar while he waited for Shane to hang up. "I love you."

"Love you too! Bye!"

Shane let out a small series of goodbyes while he hung up, before crossing the room to fold himself in Ilya's arms.

"Who are we loving today?" He asked, tone somewhere between teasing and serious, already opening himself up to let Shane rest his head against Ilya's collar.

"My mom," He dropped his head so it lay further in Ilya's collar, his nose brushing against the collumn of Ilya's neck.

Ilya stopped talking, instead running his hand over Shane's spine, gently rubbing until Shane felt nearly boneless.

"I want to come out," Shane said suddenly.

"Oh?" Ilya prodded, trying not to change his movements too much in case it freaked Shane out.

"Just to the team, and I want to tell management so they can help us if anything bad happens, so not too many people," He explained, trying to pace the way the words fell out of his mouth so Ilya could follow him.

"More people than you've wanted to tell before though," Ilya pointed out.

"Yeah well- I love you. And I want us to be able to be a bit more out about it."

"I love you too," Ilya replied, his face so devoured with a cheesy grin that Shane couldn't help but melt even further. "Do you want to make plan now or later?"

"Cuddle me now, plan later," He said immediately. The thought of coming out was still making him anxious and he couldn't help it, so he wanted to bury himself under his boyfriend, let the muscle force him into the couch and take over his mind.

Before he could blink, he was swept off his feet and towards the living room, being held close and unwilling to even joke about being put down. They stayed there until their stomachs were rumbling and Shane could think comfortably without feeling like he was going to panic at the thought of letting people know more about their lives. But they'd do this, they both wanted it. After their cup run was over, they'd start letting people in.

WRAPPED UP: Our top five moments of the 17/18 MLH season!

With Boston vs. Seattle Game 7 coming up this weekend, it feels as good a time as any to look at the weird and wonderful things that have happened this season. From Hayden Pike's epic trip that let Ilya Rozanov score a hat trick, to Chicago's captain arguing about breakfast sandwiches on a hot mic. Here's what the fans voted for in this year's top 5!

1. Hollander's trade to Boston.

[Image attached:

Left: Hollander and Rozanov facing off at centre ice, a photo clearly from when they were rookies.

Right: Hollander and Rozanov skating on the same power play unit.]

Not quite the top thing that happened this season, but the vote got super close! This trade still has people scratching their heads, especially those inside Montreal's front office! Since the trade went through there's been plenty of reports that there was only 2 people in the Metros who thought losing the centre was a good move for the team. They finished their first season without their captain 22-49-11 and their new first line centre, Drew Kenton, has been resting a lower body injury since January.

Meanwhile Boston have managed to take this year's cup run all the way to the finals, and they're still looking like they're in pretty good form. Hollander's stats across the board have gone way up in comparison to last season, and he finished his first season as a Raider with only 6 points between him and the point record, making this probably one of the worst trades in MLH history.

To: HR@raiders.org, Management@raiders.org, Front.Office@raiders.org

From: ShaneHollander@fictionalemailhost.com

CC: ilya.rozanov@fictionalemailhost.com, Farah@talentmanagement.org

Subject: Disclosure.

To all,

See attached the disclosure forms that were requested after our meeting last week. We just want to reiterate we are not planning on coming out any time soon and want everything handled with discretion.

Have a great off-season,

Shane Hollander.

Attatched files:

Disclosure.docx

ConflictOfInterest.docx

Statement.docx

Emergencyplan.docx

Shane wasn't sure if the last week and a half had even been real. He'd hefted the cup over his head for a third time, smiled for the cameras while he acted like being held tight on the ice by Ilya wasn't one of the best feelings in the world. He'd shared that moment with a team that blurred the line between friends and family every day, his parents pushing Kane towards him after the ice was nearly empty for one last photo of him with the rookie he'd taken under his wing, ever since he'd seen the kid put two pieces of tape on his stick and call it a day.

He'd had meetings with management to tell them that he and Ilya were together and had been for a year, followed by the paperwork that came with telling an organisation all of that, the high of telling their team after winning the cup. Followed by a week's worth of headaches from the constant drinking.

Now they were on the driveway of the cottage, exhausted to the bone and overjoyed to be there. Their cup days were a while away yet, giving them the time to laze around, fuck to their hearts content - or at least until the uncomfortable chafing forced them to take a break.

They spent the first night on the back patio, his dad having left them leftover chicken parm and red wine to congratulate them. Now the stars were out in full force, reflecting on the surface of the lake. Ilya was completely curled into his side, half asleep but blinking every few minutes to keep the tiredness at bay. He thought back to a year ago, where he stood panicking about the fact he'd been betrayed by the team he loved. He was here now, better than ever. He thought about all the highs that had been given to him, that he got to live a life he wanted rather than letting it all just happen to him.

He felt Ilya huff against his shoulder and let out a small giggle. He decided it was probably time to go back to bed, the exhaustion of the post-season finally hitting him all at once.

He nudged Ilya and made a move to get up, but was quickly pulled down onto the couch again, Ilya giving a mournful protest at the idea of moving. He found himself just letting it happen, leaning back and letting his body be held hostage as Ilya Rozanov's pillow, just another one of those things he could let himself want now.

Chapter End Notes

And that's a wrap! Once again a HUGE thank you to twobelowfour for beta reading this and encouraging me to actually write rather than internally debate the idea of writing something.

Also I KNOW this chapter specifically skips over a lot of big timeline events but I am not planning on leaving this universe behind! I absolutely have bigger ideas I want to explore, but give them their own space to be well developed pieces of work as opposed to shoe-horned ideas to further the narrative of this work specifically. So yes there is no first Montreal game, nor is there the team coming out or any news pieces exposing the Metros or any of its players, because (hopefully) they should be appearing in their own space... at some point when life isn't throwing shit at me constantly.

Thank you for reading! <3