Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike, Jean-Jacques Boiziau | J. J. Dagenais & Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike

Characters:

Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Hayden Pike, Jean-Jacques Boiziau | J. J. Dagenais

Additional Tags:

post The Long Game, post outing, Minor Book Spoilers, friend conflict, Fluff, Shane Gets Mad, let shane crash out, Oneshot, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, that is his baby how dare you, Bad Friend Hayden Pike, Good Friend Hayden Pike, schroedingers friend Hayden Pike if you will, he contains layers but not multitudes, JJ is trying his best, He is in fact twisted into knots but not a Lost Cause

Language:

English

Series:

Part 3 of Let Shane Hollander Crash Out

Collections:

HollaNov fanfics I Love, Zulie's Best of Heated Rivalry

Stats:

Published: 2026-04-26 Completed: 2026-09-18 Words: 5,563 Chapters: 2/2

Sorry's Not Enough Anymore

Summary

Midway through Shane's first season with the Centaurs, the Irina Foundation hosts a silent auction fundraiser. Camp coaches are invited to mingle with donors and talk up the summer camps. Everyone seems to be doing well, having a good time.

Except JJ and Hayden.

Notes

So sometimes I start writing a cute little fluff piece only to get derailed when Shane gets pissed off. I am just letting it happen at this point.

Chapter 1

Shane would have been the first to admit he was not at his best. It was mid-season, his first with the Centaurs, there was still tension with Crowell after All-Stars, and the last thing he wanted to be doing was schmoozing donors for money at a silent auction for the Irina Foundation. Not to mention, they were playing Montreal again in three weeks, they were 1-1, and it was queued up to be a very intense game.

That would have been more than enough to put Shane on edge without the tux, but then there was the Ilya Factor of it all.

When setting the date for the auction, the Irina Foundation staff didn't know it was a week until the anniversary of Grigori Rozanov's death. They didn't know that to talk to his niece, Ilya had endured a conversation with his drunk brother and lecture from his sister-in-law about family responsibility. That Ilya had scheduled extra sessions with Galina and had to add a medication just to level out. But it was for the Foundation, so Ilya didn't even blink. Shrugged when Shane checked in. Shane wasn't entirely convinced. He didn't like that the commissioner was on their ass, the season was tense, and family shit was coming up. This was a perfect storm for bad brain days, and Shane couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't do anything about Ilya's reaction to it either.

He seemed fine. Life of the party, really. He had Luca and Wyatt talking up the Summer camps with a group of donors, telling wild stories about the kids that had the dining hall booming with laughter.

Shane's mom had given all the coaches specific donors to chat up, and Shane's job was just to circulate, check that everyone was "on task" as his mom said. He was more than happy with that role. Most of their coaches were happy to be there, enthusiastically regaling donors with their own on ice stories or their favorite parts of camp.

Mostly everyone.

Shane for sure thought that he was going to have to babysit his team, root the Centaurs out from their co-dependent groupings and spread them out. Surprisingly, they were doing well enough in trios. They'd put Ryan with Scott and Carter, and Eric with LaPointe and Holmberg. Troy and Harris had Chouinard (because Troy wouldn't talk if Harris wasn't there and Choui could talk enough for three people). Boodram and Dykstra, along with several other defensemen, were cracking people up in the corner. It felt balanced.

Except for Hayden and JJ.

They were supposed to be with Boyle (he and Hayden had bonded over dad life), but Boyle was next to Choui now, looking a bit irritated. Shane knew they had been schmoozing their assigned donor because they'd been near Ilya. And now that he looked, said donor and their date were completely enraptured by Ilya and whichever story he had transitioned to. (Likely when they had the kids try out goalie gear and gently shot pucks for them to block because he kept turning to Wyatt, who was nodding and adding on.) Which meant, for some reason, that Hayden and JJ were standing near the end of the bar with fresh drinks, talking to each other.

Things between the three of them had been…strained even after Shane's first season with the Centaurs wrapped up. It had been harder than he anticipated, mostly because he couldn't focus on his former teammates and their locker room while navigating a new one in Ottawa. There was enough for him to work through with the Centaurs, he couldn't stress about making it easier on Hayden and JJ.

Hayden was…mostly fine. Except about Ilya. He hadn't come around fully yet, and that was all made worse by Shane leaving Montreal. JJ was hit and miss. As long as every conversation was about hockey, Jackie, the kids, or JJ's dates, then nothing came up. Shane couldn't even bring up his parents all that much because Ilya was thoroughly embedded with his family. Which Shane liked, for the record. He was just trying to keep the peace, let everybody adjust without forcing it. He didn't want to force it. He shouldn't even have to.

He'd invited both of them out to coach at camp, mostly as an excuse to hang out without added pressure. Ilya stayed pretty busy during camp, so Shane was often left to his own devices. Hayden was there both weeks. JJ came for half of the first. He hadn't really explained why he bailed early, but Shane had his suspicions. And personally, Shane wouldn't have invited him to the gala, for Ilya's sake. The whole tripping conversation had aggravated Ilya to his core. Even Hayden was a maybe just because of the kids. But that was all up to the Foundation. They were only consulted about the ticket buyers and the press passess for Absolute No's. Shane had been anxious about them coming together. JJ wouldn't have come alone, but he'd hoped Hayden and Ilya had made some strides recently. It just…didn't feel like it most of the time. So right that second he was banking on their assigned donor being a dick or racist or…anything else.

"Hey guys, all good?" Shane asked lightly, approaching them and waving off the waiter with champagne.

"Just taking a break while Rozanov holds court," Hayden joked, voice a little too sharp and catching on Shane's ear. He frowned but tried to stifle his unease. Fingers still crossed.

"Yeah," Shane agreed, looking back at his husband fondly. Ilya actually seemed to be enjoying himself for once. Sometimes the fundraisers were more of a strain, especially when people expected him to lean into his public persona. Or dial up his Russian-ness. "He's good at this stuff."

"Never fucking turns off," JJ complained. "I do not understand how you put up with that."

Shane whipped his head back. "What?"

"Look at him," JJ tossed an exasperated hand. "Bragging, showing off, nobody can get a word in."

"Not to mention the flirting," Hayden added. "And he sounds drunk."

"I know we are here to make money, but tabarnak! Your husband is here too!" JJ exclaimed, taking a drink.

Shane stayed silent for a moment. They'd paired Ilya with Luca because he was quieter but also attentive to people not participating as much, and with Wyatt because he talked more than Ilya. He always talked over Ilya and Ilya never let anyone talk over Luca. The three of them were impossible to break up or redirect. Like, they were not allowed to sit together at team meetings, period. Or on the plane. And Shane didn't even want to think about what they believed Ilya at neutral was like. He was trying forget about the damn near 48 hours he'd spent in bed during their recent three day break. His thoughts swirled and jumbled into an irritating, unsortable pile, and he felt his chest tighten.

"That's just how he talks," Shane dismissed, stupidly. He couldn't get a coherent thought together because one, he was getting angry, and two, there were things about his husband he wasn't going to share. Especially not with two people who claimed to continue to hate him despite…literally everything about Ilya.

"That's what I tell women when I'm chatting up their friends, eh?"

The joke didn't land. Shane wasn't precisely sure what his face was doing, but his shoulders hitched. It was enough to have Hayden moving between them and JJ stepping back, hands up in a defensive posture.

"Whoa, let's just—" Hayden started, looking shocked and confused for some fucking reason. Shane inhaled slow and deep, turning away for a second to get his composure back. "Everybody needs to settle down."

"Why did you even come?" Shane snapped lowly, trying to keep his tone as flat as possible. If Ilya overheard, the whole night would be fucked. "I told you both you didn't have to."

"Shane, bud, we came to support you."

"And supporting me is talking shit about my husband in a corner? Are you kidding me?"

"Shane—" Hayden tried, hand extending. Shane backed away.

"No, I don't wanna hear it. I'm sick of this. He did what to you, exactly? Hit you too hard on the ice? Because you've never hit anyone too hard. Made a joke about you? Fucking hilarious because I remember all the absolute bullshit you both said about him for years. And all of it way worse than chirping your hockey skills."

JJ scoffed incredulously. "We were following your lead!"

"My lead? If you'd been following my lead you would have never said his name ever. I never brought him up, not once, which is exactly why you didn't know a damn thing about us for a decade. You remember, the thing you're actually pissed about?"

"We didn't—"

"Fuck off," Shane snapped. "Seriously, just go. Because I can't handle you both being assholes right now," he was distracted by movement from the corner of his eye. Scott. Damn it. He rubbed at his eye and angled away from them a bit to face Scott as he walked up to them, expression wary.

"I got The Eyes," Scott informed him and Shane snorted. As he and Ilya were dragged to more of these high end events with fewer hockey connections, Scott and Kip had become Ilya's allies in Checking on Shane. Kip said Ilya shot them "crazy eyes" if he was concerned and couldn't get away.

"I'm fine," he answered, probably too harsh and not fine sounding at all.

"Uh huh," Scott flicked his eyes to Hayden and JJ, who were looking distinctly uncomfortable now. "Do me a favor and check in soon? Before he snaps and takes the building down with him? I've almost got a sponsor locked down for the Pride Mixer—"

"Literally told you not to cross-fundraise," Shane scowled. Scott backed away with a grin.

"I can multi-task, Hollander, ask Kip."

"I'm telling him you said that!" Shane shot back, making Scott laugh outright. He shook his head and dragged a hand down his face. His two friends stood there, quiet for once, expressions unfathomable to Shane who had hit his limit about three minutes prior.

"I have absolutely no idea what Ilya has to do to earn some basic respect from the two of you," he shrugged, "but I'm not listening to it anymore. And he's not jumping through anybody's goddamn hoops to prove he's a good man. Especially yours. He is. I said it, that should be enough for you."

Hayden scrambled. "I'm sorry, Shane, really—"

"That's not good enough anymore, Hayden!" he barely managed to get out. "It's just not. So please leave."

He didn't wait for their response, didn't pause to watch them go, just turned on his heel and went straight for Ilya. He stopped a waiter for a glass of champagne and choked the whole thing back before approaching Ilya's circle. He didn't have to get his husband's attention, Ilya's hand was already stretching out to him. Shane took it, sliding easily into place.

"…no, no, Luca you have to tell it," Ilya chuckled. "It's much funnier when you tell it, I was too close."

Luca laughed and nodded, earning everyone's full attention. Shane pressed in closer to Ilya, felt his arm come around his waist, the way his body angled in.

"So Roz and Barrett brought their dogs to play with the campers. Usually they are very well behaved, but Anya loves children and someone left the gate to the ice open…"

Ilya tipped his head, mouth close to Shane's ear to speak quietly.

"Everything okay?" Shane nodded and Ilya's brows furrowed, and continued in Russian. "Dorogoy, I know that face-"

Shane cut him off with a quick kiss, shocking him into silence. Shane just tapped his forehead to Ilya's, brushed their noses.

"I am much better with you," he answered. Ilya's lips quirked, probably silently correcting his pronunciation. "I love you."

Ilya narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but boldly took advantage of Shane's weird mood and kissed him again. A little longer and a little less appropriately, but Shane didn't even care. Barely registered the knowing looks the people around them were sharing. Shane sighed and dragged his attention away from his too-attractive husband.

"Okay, catch me up. Who don't I already know?" A man stepped forward and Shane had to awkwardly extend his left hand because Ilya wouldn't let him go. "Oh, I already know you, Mr. Williams. Your son, Connor? Hilarious. He was skating circles around Rozanov all camp. I wanna give him a job." That earned him some appreciative chuckles.

Ilya made quick introductions. A lot of local business owners, some franchises, a few car dealership owners. Shane committed names and faces deliberately to memory, the same way he would a new play. He wasn't as good at it as Ilya. His husband didn't just know names and faces, he knew their partners, their children, their pets. He knew about their family struggles and successes, planned vacations, their hobbies. He was so good at this, and Shane had a hard time focusing on anything he actually said. He was too busy watching his gorgeous husband work the group and try not to laugh at Shane's obvious inattention. It was fine. When he forgot, Ilya would tell him again. He was good like that. And besides, Farah claimed half the draw of their brand now was being coupley and in love, so really Shane was just doing his part.

A waiter brought another round of champagne to their group, and on his tray was a shorter glass with a darker yellow fizzy drink. Ilya plucked that one from the tray and handed it to Shane.

"You're the best," he muttered, sipping the ginger ale.

"Champagne upsets your stomach."

"Did you-?"

"No. Just water," he answered. He bobbled his head like he always did when the medication came up. Shane sighed, his previous irritation rising up again.

"Yeah I figured."

Ilya frowned, looking deeply concerned now. He steered Shane to the side a bit, hand at his elbow.

"What happened? You look sad, I hate it when you're sad."

And well, Shane just fucking melted. He really wished they were anywhere but a crowded dining hall surrounded by people and photographers, but he wasn't exactly going to hold back. He brought his free hand to Ilya's cheek, stroking along his favorite line of moles and freckles, letting himself stare.

"You're the best thing about me, you know that?"

"Shane—"

"I wouldn't trade a second of us. Not one. Not even the bullshit ones. I'd do all of it again."

"All of it?" Ilya teased. "Really? Even the panic attacks? Getting caught twice-?"

"Every fucking second," Shane shot back firmly, making level eye contact. Ilya quirked a brow.

"You're in a very intense mood, Hollander. Which is too bad because I am not allowed to fuck you in public."

Shane hid his shiver with a smirk, leaned into him.

"You could, you're just scared of my mother."

"You're mocking me for having good sense now?"

"A little."

"Well if I knew you were going to be a brat, I would have planned better."

"Always playing catch up, Rozanov."

"You—"

There was a clap behind them. "Okay," Bood drawled. "I have been sent in to redirect you."

"More like interrupt us," Shane grumbled. Ilya barked a laugh and wrapped his arms around Shane's neck, leaning in.

"Lose rock, paper, scissors again?"

"Those kids are fucking cheating and one day I will prove it," he hissed lowly and shook it off. "Mama Hollz says separate or circulate. And that you only have fifteen minutes until dinner, then you'll be needed to announce the auction winners. She says that means you have ten actual minutes to close."

"Thank you, Bood," Shane intoned as he passed by and clapped them on the shoulders.

"See? Told you. Good sense."

"What I heard was that if I pretend to like talking to people I can stay with you. What did you hear?"

"Blanket permission to hold your hand and kiss you whenever I want if I get more people to bid in the auction in the next ten minutes."

Shane laughed. Ilya and his mom really did have their own way of communicating, and it always warmed Shane deep in his chest.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

Ilya waggled his brows and winked at him, taking a smooth step back. He clapped his hands and cleared his throat. Shane was already smiling and shaking his head, cheeks burning.

"Attention everyone! Anyone who bids on auction items in the next 10 minutes gets an extra selfie with Hollander!"

That got him a roar of laughter and cheers before people started moving in the direction of the auction. Ilya beamed and spread his arms.

"Eh?"

"Asshole," Shane laughed, shoving at him. Ilya just caught his wrist and tugged him back in.

"I know what the people want."

"Oh really? The people want more of my ugly mug all over internet?"

"No they want your beautiful freckles and pretty eyes all over the internet."

Shane rolled his eyes and once again vehemently disagreed with that stupid Hottest MLH Player ranking list. Silently and to himself because if he said it out loud again, Ilya would go on a rant of epic proportions about how sexy his hot hockey player husband was, and Shane would never live it down. Again. But Shane had decided, as the reported Hottest Player in the MLH, that his husband was hotter. Indisputable fact.

Shane reached up to straighten Ilya's tie, brushing over the engraved pin his parents had gifted Ilya for his birthday the year before.

"If you leave me alone with these people for even 10 seconds, I will divorce you," he said way too fondly to be taken seriously. Ilya smirked and kissed him quickly.

"I would never," he promised in a murmur. Shane offered Ilya his arm and let himself be led into the auction room.

*
The next morning, moving a little slower after a late night, he and Ilya were making breakfast when the door bell rang. Anya bolted for it, barking her head off.

"You need to train her better—"

"Blah blah blah, god forbid a woman do anything," Ilya griped as he followed behind their dog. "Did you order something?"

"Nope. Probably you and you were too high to remember."

"That happened once!" he called back.

"How would you know?" Shane laughed. His phone buzzed on the counter, so he set aside his knife and wiped his hands to check.

Hayd: Sorry for being a dick last night. I think being around JJ brings up bad habits. I know Ilya's a good man and he's been good to you. I will work on it, I promise.

Shane looked up from the text, bewildered to see Ilya carrying an enormous bouquet of orange lillies and red roses.

"Whoa."

"Who did you flirt with last night?" Ilya demanded grumpily, moving to put them on the counter.

"Oh sure, because that's something I'm known to do. Check the card."

Ilya did and his expression dropped into dramatic confusion. Shane immediately opened his messages again.

SH: Forgiven. He says thank you for the flowers.

Hayd: 🙏

Hayd: And no he didn't, he's gonna tell everyone I'm trying to knock him up.

Ilya waved the card at him with a scoff.

"Pike wants to get me pregnant."

Shane burst into laughter, somehow still surprised and delighted.

"Yes! Jackie has tied her tubes, he has officially given up on you, now he has put his eyes on me."

"Set his sights on you."

"What?" Ilya demanded incredulously. "This is not funny, we should all be concerned!"

"You're so stupid," Shane shook his head.

"He said two nice things and no jokes! No chirps! Shane, he is trying to wreck our marriage."

"Unfortunately, I know he knows that wouldn't work out." Shane clicked his tongue. "Compatibility issues."

"He is relentless! He wants a whole hockey league, not just a team. This must be stopped."

"Or, just text Hayden and thank him for the flowers."

"Absolutely not. He will think I am agreeing."

Ilya kept rambling about Hayden's plot to inseminate the best players in the league so he could produce legendary hockey players for the next generation, and Shane went to look at the card. Which Ilya had smoothly clipped onto the fridge, mid-rant.

Sorry for pissing your husband off last night, I know you probably patched it up to have a good time anyway. Nobody gets him to laugh like you do.

(Also, fuck your dad, but sorry he's dead)

Hayden

(and Jade, Ruby, & Arthur, they insisted)

PS: Jackie says thank you for the spa gift certificates, apparently I am not allowed to go as punishment.

Shane smiled, picturing Hayden at the table trying to do something nice and the whole family descending to give input. Jade probably chose the flower colors. Her favorite was orange and they knew Ilya's was red. He wondered if Ruby or Jackie picked the roses over carnations because the lillies were a deliberate choice.

"…And I can't get pregnant right now, we have a Cup to win together!"

"Shhh!"

"I will not be shushed. We can't be jinxed! …Unless Hayden Pike tries to impregnate me!"

"Can you drop the bit so we can eat, please?"

Ilya full body scowled but plated their food while Shane got coffee. They chatted about the auction and which of their teammates did the best (Wyatt and Bood) or absolutely should never be invited back for formal fundraising (LaPointe and Young). Overall it was a successful night and they exceeded their fundraising goals. His mom had talked about using anything extra to hire another team member, but Ilya thought they should set aside scholarships for low income kids. Shane already knew he was going to be battling his mom about it because Ilya never wanted to disappoint her, and she sometimes used that to get her way. Eventually they circled back to food because Shane had been responsible for this particular breakfast and Ilya was annoyed about the extra spinach in his omlette.

"…it's bad enough you put it in the smoothies and the pasta. You would put spinach in my ice cream."

"Spinach has a lot of folate," Shane answered reasonably, not daring to look up at his husband. "It's good for prenatal development."

Dead silence.

"Shane! You never take me seriously!"

He had to cover his eyes but his shoulders were shaking.

"I'm telling mom!"

"No!" Shane laughed, jumping to his feet because Ilya was already running for the living room. "Ilya it's too early!"

Ilya managed to get up on top of their couch, phone to his ear with Anya yapping at his heels and his hand out to block Shane.

"Yuna? Your son is trying to sell my womb to Pike!"

Even Shane could hear his mother's heavy sigh as he tried to wrangle the phone away from Ilya.

"You don't have a womb, Ilya."

"He has Pike sending me flowers and now he's adding spinach in my food talking about prenatal development!"

Shane finally tackled Ilya down and wrenched the phone away.

"…sent you flowers? That's so sweet!"

"He is not sweet, Mom! He is trying to be a homewrecker!" Ilya yelled from where he was pinned under Shane.

"Sorry, Mom, hanging up now."

"Bye babies!"

Shane clicked off the phone and tossed it across the room in just enough time for Ilya to tug him down into a fierce kiss.

He immensely relieved he didn't have to cut Hayden out of his life. It would have…he would have done it, but fuck it would have hurt. Ilya was everything. He was hockey and family and Shane's whole damn heart, the glue holding it all together. Losing the Pikes from his life would have been painful, but Shane would do anything to keep Ilya happy, to make sure he was surrounded by people who loved him like he deserved. Hayden was adjusting to not having Shane around the same way, it would take time, but he must have thought it was worth it. Shane was grateful Hayden thought it was worth it.

So fuck JJ.

Chapter 2

Chapter Summary

How I Think JJ Would Fix It

Chapter Notes

Since everybody wants to start taking fic a little too seriously, I will throw the wrench into the machine.

(Because I did not say Fuck JJ. Shane did. Because Shane was mad and is a spoiled, stubborn, only child brat, and we love him for that.)

If you had asked Shane to predict how Ilya Rozanov and JJ Boiziau finally became friends, he never would have given you the correct answer. In fact, he probably would have laughed you off and informed you that was never going to happen. Ilya was wary of JJ and his temper. JJ had expressed nothing but disdain for Ilya. Repeatedly. To the point that Shane had started to accept that his own friend couldn't muster up enough respect for him to fake it for a few hours every so often. It was…Shane didn't want to dwell on it. He had Ilya all day, every day. He had the Centaurs now, and they were winning. He and Hayden were good. Wanting more than that was just greedy.

After their argument at the silent auction, JJ had hounded Shane for weeks trying to talk. Shane avoided it, not seeing the point. He didn't have anything to say to his former teammate that he hadn't said a dozen times. He refused. Ignored the texts, left calls unanswered. Said nothing when Hayden brought it up. Until Wyatt saw him roll his eyes when JJ called during a team barbecue.

"That JJ?" Shane had just nodded. "Oh." The goalie had pulled his mouth down briefly before taking a sip of his beer. "Thought you two were close."

Shane had balked. "We are." Wyatt's brows shot up, and Shane had caved to the silent pressure. He hadn't actually been able to talk to anyone about JJ. Everyone was too biased in one direction or the other, overly defending Ilya or JJ and not really listening. And Shane didn't want to talk to Ilya about it, didn't want to give him a reason to hate JJ. Wyatt, though? Wyatt was a goalie.

"He's always a dick about Ilya. Hayden too, but JJ starts it. I'm sick of listening to it."

Wyatt had shrugged. "That's fair."

An oddly succinct response from their goalie. If show and tell was involved, Wyatt always went for tell. Shane hadn't liked the implication.

"Just say it."

The goalie grinned. "I'd bet that even a year ago, those two would probably have said they were your best friends. Nobody knew you better."

"Yeah. Of course."

"And you let them think that."

"They are my best friends. So is Ilya."

"Sure but Ilya knew about them, about JJ. You probably tell him everything that happens."

"Now, yeah. Mostly."

"Right. So how it would it feel if you found out Ilya was hiding this major thing in his life, lying about it and keeping secrets? I mean, even if it was for personal reasons, safety and all that. And maybe he told me or Bood or Troy instead of you."

Shane had just stared at Wyatt for a long moment, brain whirring as all of their fights and conversations before the almost plane crash resurfaced. His eyes had actually stung.

"Fuck."

"Yeah."

"I need to—"

"Sure thing, bud."

So they fixed it. Not that night, but over several phone calls. Shane even went to JJ's apartment and they got drunk and argued for a full three hours. They never did land on an answer, but they did end up laughing themselves to death when JJ demanded to know what "moves" Shane had used to pull Ilya.

"Moves?" Shane had spluttered, face hot and throat tight and muscles aching from laughing.

"Yes! Was it one of mine? One I taught you?" Shane had collapsed into the couch, wheezing. "It's not funny!"

Shane had nodded, "Yes it is." He had to wipe tears from his eyes. "And I'm gonna tell you why. Hayden doesn't even know. Well…Hayden doesn't want to know."

And so Shane told JJ…everything. The whole timeline, start to finish as he remembered it. Ilya would have argued a point or two, which Shane mentioned, but JJ didn't seem to care. He had been too delighted to hear the beginning because Shane and Ilya never talked to anyone about the beginning. For obvious reasons.

JJ had nodded solemnly. "I get it now."

"Get what?"

"You're both niaiseux." (stupid)

Shane had burst into laughter again.

"The showers? Tabarnak you should both be in prison! Shane, this is not funny! The showers are sacred!"

"We were nineteen!"

So their fences were mended, and summer camp was upon them. They were holding their coaches appreciation dinner the night before opening day. Ilya had insisted they open it up to partners and children this year, so it was a whole thing.

Shane and Ilya took a break from circulating to check in at the bar. Ilya was in a great mood, he loved camp, he'd been so excited for the last week as they did final preparations. Shane was tired, though. Camp was a lot of work, a lot of press runs, a lot of coordinating between people at different ends to make sure everything was getting done the way he and Ilya wanted it done. Thank god Ilya ran administrative point for the Montreal camp. It gave Shane a chance to hang out more with Hayden and JJ.

"You need to eat something," Ilya insisted, adjusting Shane's collar so it laid flat. Shane rolled his eyes and caught JJ's smirk as he ambled over to flag down the bartender. Shane swatted at the hand that went to his waistband.

"I ate before we came."

"You need to eat again, you look pale. I'll get a waiter—"

Shane got him by the wrist before he got too far and wrangled him back.

"No, stay here. I'm fine. Just. Stay."

Ilya eyed him warily, but gave in and slid an arm around his waist. Stayed close and let Shane lean into him.

Next to them, JJ sighed heavily. Ilya, who hadn't dropped his wariness just yet, turned a glare.

"Problem, Boiziau?"

"Oui," he feigned a heavy sigh and gestured to the room. "I am jealous. You invited the families and now my doting baby daddy is taking care of his wife and firstborns."

Shane, with pure horror, watched the absolute glee light up his husband's face.

"JJ…" he tried to warn.

"It's true! When Jackie must stay home, I get waited upon like a king." He looked at Ilya pointedly. "I keep trying to remind him that getting me drinks will not make me pregnant."

For one sweet, brief second, Shane had hope that this wasn't going to devolve because Ilya stayed quiet. Surely, he couldn't be wrestling with his conscience over harrassing Hayden.

"He sent me flowers."

"Tabarnak!"

"Shane has denied him too many times," Ilya said somberly. "Now he must sow his seed elsewhere."

"That's disgusting," Shane whined, "never say that again."

"It's true! And now I know he is cheating on Boiziau trying to woo me."

"Incorrigible," JJ agreed. "He is still in love with Shane, though. He wants—"

"A full team," Ilya finished. "Stacked bench. I am shocked he hasn't gone for Robair to get a goalie."

"No, no, he needs defense. He will go to Price next…"

They both doubled over, laughing, as they discussed Hayden's diabolical plans to take over the hockey world by spawning the next super players via impregnanting the best in the league. Shane included. And Shane really, really wanted to be annoyed about it. But then Hayden wandered over with an empty glass and informed them that Carter Vaughn needed a refill. Ilya and JJ lost it.

Shane stood there nodding to himself while they laughed and Hayden scrunched his nose in confusion.

"What did I say?"

"Nothing, man," Shane clapped him on the shoulder. "Kids get enough to eat?"

"There's not enough food in the world to feed all the children he wants," Ilya managed between laughs. JJ clapped him on the shoulder.

"You'll have to start another charity!"

They scream-laughed in each other's faces, holding onto each other just to stay upright.

"Fuuuuuck me," Hayden moaned petulantly, watching the scene with an air of dismay. "There's two of em."

Shane clapped his back. "Sorry, bud. Tough break."

Hayden shot him a look, expression morphing into a lopsided grin then giving an easy shrug.

"Well. Whatever helps them get along, right?"

Shane felt his eyes sting, knew his chin wobbled and his cheek jumped, as he looked at his best friend. Hayden frowned in concern until Shane jerked him into a hug.

"Thank you," he mumbled. "I owe you one."

Hayden hugged him back and ruffled his hair.

"Anything for you, man." JJ launched into a story about a roadie when Hayden was particularly focused on Shane to the point that he missed ten anxious calls from Jackie, much to Ilya's delight, and Hayden sighed. "But make it two."

"Three, to be safe."

Ilya burst into unrestrained giggles and put on his godawful announcer voice.

"Hayden Pike: The Inseminator!"

Shane was fairly sure he'd never seen JJ laugh that hard without being drunk. Let alone spill a drink and not care. 

"Okay, more like 300."

"Please and thank you."