Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Heated Rivalry (TV)

Relationship:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Original Children of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags:

Single Parent Ilya Rozanov, Sickfic, Ilya Rozanov Needs A Hug, Rich Shane Hollander, Protective Ilya Rozanov, Protective Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov is Whipped For Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov is Shane Hollander's baby, Autistic Shane Hollander, a little bit of sugar daddy levels of spoiling the random grindr man shane finds hot, i'll make that an official tag, actually a lot of spoiling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Family Fluff, Eventual Smut, Shane Hollander is Good With Children, Ilya Rozanov is Good With Children, Shane Hollander The Stepfather Who Stepped Up, i will also make that an official tag, Car Mechanic Ilya Rozanov

Language:

English

Series:

Part 2 of Single girl-dad Ilya Rozanov & Rich Shane Hollander

Stats:

Published: 2026-04-05 Words: 14,427 Chapters: 5/5

Any Boy Like You Deserves A Gentleman

Summary

---
ILYA
➥i am so weak mr hollander
➥imagine you could have your way with me
➥i could not fight back
➥you could jump on me all you want

SHANE
➥😐
➥Very funny.

ILYA
➥give me cpr
➥to my dick
➥to make me healthy again

SHANE
➥Is your fever getting worse?

ILYA
➥no is just you
➥making me all hot inside
➥burning
➥such a good boyfriend to me, bought me soup
➥does my laundry

SHANE
➥You are so easily bribed.
---
or: nine months into dating the rich, hot, and protective college student Shane, Ilya gets sick. Shane helps out his boyfriend and his daughter.

Notes

this is a continuation of "A Single Dad Who Works Two Jobs", but can be read as a standalone! If you want to know how Shane and Ilya met and became boyfriends, visit the first fic tho :))

Chapter 1: I'll stop time for you (the second you say you'd like me to).

Chapter Summary

---
"You don't look great." He murmured after his further inspection. Ilya snorted.
"Oh, why, thank you, handsome."
"You know what I mean. Maybe finish early today?"
"Can't. Lots of work. And Raisa has this playgroup thing today, I can't pick her up earlier. But I'm okay, I promise."
"Hm. If you say so." Shane didn't look too convinced. "Are we still on for the evening?"
"Of course we are. I'm gonna destroy you in Mariokart."
"You wish."
---
Despite his best efforts to convince himself he's absolutely NOT feeling sick, Ilya is, indeed, sick as fuck.

Chapter Notes

The alarm on his phone buzzed under Ilya's pillow for a good moment before he opened his eyes.

He couldn't have a real, loud alarm clock, not when he shared a bedroom with Raisa. He wanted her to still sleep when he made them both breakfast and got ready for work, it was far more manageable to do it on his own and only wake her up half an hour before they had to leave.

He turned the alarm off with a hum, his eyes half open, eyelids stuck together. He swallowed, and his throat hurt. Probably from the shitty air inside the closet. He'll drink coffee, and it'll pass.

He crawled out of bed, checking on Raisa while rubbing his tired eyes. Her blanket was crumpled up at her feet. He pulled it up, covering her properly, bending to kiss her tiny forehead as she slept with her mouth open, drooling.

He closed the door to the bedroom and dragged his feet to the toilet. He was a bit more awake after washing his face and teeth. Shane had texted him already, a minute before Ilya's alarm started ringing, as usual, at 6:29 A.M.

Shane
➥ Good morning! I hope you have a good day :) 
➥❤️❤️❤️

Ilya smiled to himself as he put the kettle on for coffee. Dork.

Ilya
➥ do you really wake up this early just to text me good morning

Shane
➥ Yes. But I'm going back to sleep now. Call me at lunch?

Ilya
➥of course baby

Shane
➥😊

He was dating a strange man. Nine months now, fuck.

He drank his coffee while making eggs, his sweatpants low on his hips, the old, worn black t-shirt he threw onto himself all wrinkled. He cleared his throat a couple of times. It did not stop hurting, especially when he swallowed, but it wasn't that bad. He'll eat a fresh mint, or something. 

He put the food on the small kitchen table he had to sadly invest in a couple of months back, got dressed, and soft-launched waking Raisa up by singing. She moved in her bed, unhappy with the noise, turning on her side.

"Come on, my sunshine." He cooed at her in Russian. "Time to wake up. Daddy's got work soon."

"No."

"No? You want to sleep all day, miss daycare?"

"Yes."

"Ah, that's not true." He leaned in to nuzzle his face into her belly, making her laugh. "My Raisa likes daycare. She'd be bored here, alone, with no friends to play with, right?"

She covered her face with her arms, her golden locks going in every direction.

"Five more minutes, please."

"Okay, but just five. Your breakfast is getting cold. Do you want me to make your orange juice?"

She nodded with her lips pouted.

"Yes."

"Alright."

He went back to the kitchen and sliced a fresh orange. He was doomed to buy a handful of them every week now, since Shane made them both freshly poured orange juice one morning after he stayed over. Raisa refused to drink anything else at this hour.

He sang louder to keep her awake, and soon enough, he heard quiet footsteps behind him. Raisa dragged her teddy bear by its leg, sleepy. She sniffed the air. 

"Eggs?"

"Yes, eggs. Sit nicely." He glanced at her shirt. "Who dressed you last night? Your clothes are on backwards."

"You did, Papa."

"That can't be true." He squeezed the orange into the glass. "Did you sleep well? Had any dreams?"

She answered him with a mouth full of scrambled eggs, swinging her legs from the chair that was too big for her.

"I had a dream about my ice skates."

"Oh, of course." He chuckled. "What else could you possibly dream of?"

Like a broken record, every morning, ice skates, ice skates, ice skates, skating, skating, dad! She outgrew her pink skates, so Shane bought her new ones. Paid for her lessons, too. She was freakishly good at it already, Ilya had to drive her to the rink once a week, watched her learn, twirl around, fall, sometimes. She never cried. Tough little girl.

He gave her her juice and sat down to eat. He had to wipe the top of his nose, he was sweating a bit, for some reason.

"Can we go skating on Saturday?" Raisa asked. Ilya sighed. That too was unchangeable, he started to think his four-year-old had the memory of a goldfish, asking the same questions over and over. He read online that it was common, so at least he wasn't the only parent suffering through that phase.

"We go skating every Saturday, sweetheart, yes."

"Promise?"

"Raisa, yes, your lessons are still on Saturday, every week. Eat up."

She ate another few bites before talking again.

"Can Shane go with us?"

"I'll ask him, sure." He pointed to her plate. "Eat."

After breakfast, she began to torment him with a never-ending story about a kid at daycare she believed was an idiot. He laughed and slowly explained to her that it wasn't very nice to call people that. After she told him how the kid stuffed the toilet with toilet paper and flooded the bathroom, he had to admit it was a pretty stupid thing to do.

He dropped her off at daycare, kissed both of her cheeks, crouching on the sidewalk. He waved at the caretakers by the gate. Three of them, he was fairly sure, had a massive crush on him. One of them tried to get his number on four different occasions, until he could finally use the taken excuse. Finally. After so long, he could say that without lying.

He drove to work and smiled at his phone when he walked into the shop. Shane sent him a selfie from his bed.

Shane
➥ I woke up again.

Gosh, he was so cute.

It was so easy now. So effortless, to have those little reminders that this gorgeous man was Ilya's. He'd think back to the start sometimes and still wonder how the fuck he managed to make it all work.

They both did. Shane was so patient sometimes, so understanding, caring, he meant what he said when he stated that Ilya and Raisa come as a package deal, inseparable. Whatever brief dating experiences Ilya had since Raisa was around, they all started and ended up the same way, with the person claiming they could manage being with a single dad, yet always getting frustrated when that single dad had to…well, be a dad.

Work late, go to daycare meetings, spend weekends on laundry, cleaning, cooking, cancelling plans because he couldn't find a sitter for Raisa. Shane just asked him to bring her along if that happened. Adjusted the dates so she could have fun as well, not just be there, like a pet. He adored her. Raisa grew to adore him too, quickly; she'd demand seeing Shane just because she wanted to, never dreaded it, never stomped her little foot on the ground because she was missing Ilya's attention. Sometimes, Ilya was missing hers, when she played with Shane, but it was a good feeling, a good thing to have, sit back and watch, relax, smile when he could see he was second place on her priority list today.

Ilya
➥ah you poor thing, what now?
➥you have to stay tucked in until your classes? must be so hard

Shane
➥Prick.
➥You could send me a selfie so I could start my day better. Good boyfriends do that, you know!

Ilya chuckled and prepped the camera, smiling as he put his things away in his locker.

Ilya
➥there you go
➥should i send you one over lunch, too? i'll be all greasy by then

Shane
➥Good 😊

"Rozanov, get off that fucking phone and clock in already!" His boss called from across the room. "We have work to do!"

Ilya nodded with a sigh.

"Yes, sir."

He had to blow his nose an hour later.

Then again, and again, and soon enough, he was sniffing while elbow-deep in some rusty car, trying to screw bolts in place.

He sneezed while talking to a client and had to blink to restore his balance. His head was pounding.

Shit.

It'll wear off. Weird weather today, low air pressure, a bit humid. Probably just that.

He called Shane on his lunch break, eating a sandwich in the back of the shop. He opted for a video call instead of a photo.

"Hi!" Shane smiled at him from the screen, walking somewhere. "Sorry about the noise, I'm trying to get coffee on campus."

"Ah, that thing you call coffee, you mean?"

"Shut up, it's good." Shane looked at him, focusing more. "How's your day going? You look a bit pale."

Ilya cleared his throat.

"My day's fine. I feel a bit…off."

"Off? Sick?"

"I don't know. Maybe." He frowned as he had to sneeze again. "Shit, sorry."

"You sound hoarse. Did you catch something from Raisa?"

Whenever Ilya was sick, it was some Oppenheimer-worthy virus Raisa brought in from daycare.

"No, she's alright." Ilya took another bite of his sandwich. "I don't know. Maybe it's just the weather."

Shane brought the phone closer to his face, until all Ilya could see was his eyes and forehead.

"You don't look great." He murmured after his further inspection. Ilya snorted.

"Oh, why, thank you, handsome."

"You know what I mean. Maybe finish early today?"

"Can't. Lots of work. And Raisa has this playgroup thing today, I can't pick her up earlier. But I'm okay, I promise."

"Hm. If you say so." Shane didn't look too convinced. "Are we still on for the evening?"

"Of course we are. I'm gonna destroy you in Mariokart."

"You wish."

Shane bought a Nintendo Switch, seemingly specifically to annoy Ilya at how good he was at racing virtual cars. Raisa loved to cheer them both. She was still a bit too young to play, but she watched every race.

He asked Shane about his classes and laughed when Shane described the professor as a "mildly concussed goat". 

By the time his shift was ending, Ilya could barely concentrate.

He was sweating like a pig, all his muscles felt sore, he was both hot and cold at the same time, shivering when he clocked out. He drove to daycare, breathing through his mouth, as his nose was useless by now. Raisa ran to him, her hair totally messy compared to how it was in the morning. Her braids were holding on by a thread.

"Papa!"

"Hey, sweetheart. Did you have a good time today?"

"I did." She climbed to her seat in the back of the car, frowning when he put her seatbelt on. "Are you sick, daddy?"

"Maybe." He murmured, not truly believing himself anymore. "Do you feel alright?"

She nodded.

"I'm good. We had pancakes for lunch today."

"That's wonderful." 

He drove home and had to decline Raisa's wish to be carried upstairs. His back was killing him. 

He made himself tea as he heated up their dinner from yesterday. Now, his nose would not stop pouring. He groaned, holding a tissue to it, his eyes teary. Raisa wanted to show him a picture she drew today and demanded he bend down to see.

"Baby, stay away from me for a while, okay? I don't want you to catch it. Put the picture on the fridge." He coughed, each breath was tickling his sore throat. "I'll see it in a moment."

Raisa looked at him, concerned.

"Do you need medicine? I can bring you. From the bathroom."

"Thank you, I'll get it myself. Can you tidy up the living room?"

"Okay."

He watched her put her toys away with a slightly worried expression on her face. His sweet girl, always so attentive, so caring. He was truly blessed with an angel.

Shane told him many times that he raised her right. Ilya usually wanted to cry at that, but maybe, on days like these, when his four-year-old was so well-behaved and nice when he was clearly struggling, he believed it to be true. He couldn't imagine doing all this with a bratty, loud, mean kid.

He didn't have an appetite. He gave Raisa her pasta and prepared himself some meds while calling Shane.

"Hey, I was just about to go buy some snacks for tonight." Shane said. "Any demands?"

"I don't think I can make it." He stuttered out. "I'm sick as fu…very sick."

"Oh." Shane sounded disappointed, but more so, worried. "What are your symptoms?"

Mr Wikipedia. Mr World Health Organisation.

"Throat hurts. Runny nose. Everything hurts, really." He tried to swallow a sip of his tea and scrunched his nose. "Uh. This sucks."

Raisa pulled on his pant leg.

"Are you talking to Shane? Can I say hi?"

He smiled at her through tears. His eyes felt funny from the pressure.

"Raisa wants to say hi." He lowered the phone so she could reach it. She stood on her tiptoes.

"Hi, Shane!"

"Hi, Raisa." Shane laughed softly. "Are you okay? I hear your dad is sick."

"He is. He looks weird." She squinted her eyes at Ilya. "Red."

"I bet he does look weird."

"Oh, look at you two bad-mouthing my looks now." Ilya sighed. "I'll be fine in a day or two."

"How about you, Rai?" Shane asked. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No!"

"That's good to hear."

"Dad promised you will go skating with us. Saturday!" She beamed at the screen, despite the call not having the camera on. Ilya rolled his eyes.

"I didn't promise, I said I'll ask him."

"I'll go skating with you, of course." Shane clearly smiled. "Can I talk to your dad now, please? Hand me over?"

"Okay! Bye, Shane!"

"Bye, Raisa."

Ilya put his phone back to his ear.

"You don't have to go with us if you're busy, you know."

"I'm never too busy for skating. You should know." Shane took a deep breath. "What's the plan? With your sickness? Do you want to go to a doctor?"

"Uh, not yet, I guess. I have to take tomorrow off." He groaned. Less money, just what they needed now. Shane has helped him a lot with his taxes, they were doing much, much better, but still, each day's salary loss would hurt a bit by the end of the month. "Rest today."

Shane hummed, thinking.

"Try to sweat this off, maybe. Take a nice, long shower. Eat something warm, get under a blanket."

"Ah, you are doctor now? I thought you were studying psychology."

"I could be a doctor, technically, if I went the PhD route. Don't change the subject."

Ilya dragged his feet to the couch, couching.

"Okay. I will rest. I promise. I'm sorry about Mariokart."

"It's not going anywhere. Besides, I'd feel bad for beating you when you're ill."

"So sure of yourself." Ilya smiled under his nose. "I miss you, baby."

It's been only four days since he last saw Shane. He missed him dearly. Shane has become a solid part of their routine, present in their life, so much so, he sometimes couldn't phantom that there was a time Shane wasn't there. 

"I miss you, too." Shane said quietly. "Please, update me on how you're feeling, alright? Do you need anything? Groceries?"

"No, we're all good, thanks."

"Don't even think about leaving the house if something comes up. Just call me."

Ilya relaxed onto the couch, putting his teacup on his stomach.

"You spoil me."

"Someone has to. Take care of yourself."

"Mhm. You, too."

He put the phone away and turned the TV on. He was way too tired to figure out a proper evening activity for Raisa, they'll have to indulge in cartoons. She was coloring on the coffee table anyway, some alleged assignment for daycare, making paper trees turn green.

"I'll go shower, baby, will you be good for twenty minutes?" He asked after one episode, managing to get himself up from the couch. Raisa nodded. "Don't set the house on fire."

She answered very seriously, as if the order was of high importance. Like it was her main task of the day: don't burn this place to the ground.

"Okay, dad."

She was similar to Shane sometimes, in that matter, she picked up a lot of his mannerisms. With no DNA between them, Ilya sometimes wondered how it was possible that he had a daughter with his looks and Shane's adorably serious character.

Only sometimes, for now, her personality was still changing a lot. He still smiled as he went to the bathroom.

He changed into comfortable clothes. The shower didn't do much. He was still dizzy and felt gross.

"House not on fire?" He asked, making himself another tea. 

"No, Papa!"

"Good. Hey, come here for a second, please." He found the jar on one of the shelves, the magic jar, with the magic elixir, honey, garlic, ginger, all the things his mom used to give him for a good immune system back in Russia. He took a spoonful of the goey mix. "Take your super juice."

"No!" Raisa scrunched her nose, turning her head away. "It stinks!"

"Yes, but you'll be healthy. Look at me. Do you want to be red like dad? Sneezing? Missing daycare? Skating?" He crouched to present her the spoon. "Just one, sweetheart."

She crossed her arms on her chest.

"It's disgusting."

"It's healthy. I can add a bit of sugar, will you eat it then?"

"Hm." She looked at the jar, suspicious. "Okay."

She was truly dramatic about it, but she ate one spoon of the mix, coughing and frowning. 

"There you go, good girl." He stood up and put the jar away. "You're very brave."

She went back to coloring, drinking from her water bottle to get rid of the taste. She's been less and less sick every year, Slavic magic worked its wonders. Ilya, the hypocrite, would often forget to take his dosage each morning.

The doorbell rang.

He glanced at the clock. It was almost eight. 

Of course, when he opened the door, he was met with Shane's handsome face.

"What the…?"

"Hey." Shane handed him a paper bag. Ilya took it slowly, raising his eyebrows.

"Hey. What are you doing here? What's this?"

"My mom's chicken soup, some meds, other stuff." Shane looked him up and down, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Is it any better?"

Ilya looked into the bag. It was still warm, there was a glass container inside, all steamy. He looked back at Shane.

"You brought me soup?"

"Yeah." Shane nodded, unfazed. "There's enough for both of you."

Ilya swallowed hard.

"I could kiss you right now, but I don't want to make you sick."

Shane laughed, like he didn't, once again, prove to be the absolute best.

Sometimes, Ilya couldn't breathe just thinking about it.

"Sorry, please, come in, just…" Ilya stepped away, hiding his face in his elbow. "Stay away from me."

Shane walked past him, smiling at Raisa, who jumped off the floor in a second, a wide smile on her face.

"Shane!"

"Privet." He crouched to greet her as she ran to his arms, almost tipping him over with the force. "Whoa. I missed you, too, little one."

She threw her arms around his neck, squeezing hard.

"Did you bring Mariokart?"

"Uh, no, sorry. I'm just here for a moment."

"You came to help daddy?"

"A bit. Are you okay?" He patted her shoulders as she moved away. "What are you drawing?"

"Coloring!"

"Coloring, right. Do you want to show me?"

Her English has gotten a lot better since she had to get used to it more, with Shane around. She still had a heavy, Russian accent, it was frankly adorable to see a little blonde lady speak like a stereotypical mafia boss from every Hollywood film ever. Like her English was put through five filters of Russian pronunciation.

Ilya smiled, watching Shane inspect her coloring papers, and started to unpack the bag in the kitchen. The soup smelled amazing. He finally felt hungry enough to eat, and the steam was doing wonders for his clogged sinuses.

Some aspirin, a throat spray, flu tea mixes, vitamin C were all laid in a separate plastic bag. And when he dug further, he found a DVD with 10 Things I Hate About You, and a brand new Barbie doll in a long, green dress.

"Wow, Shanya?" He called from the kitchen, looking at the items. "What's this?"

Shane stood up, seeing him perfectly from the living room. The apartment was ridiculously small.

"Movie's for you, since you have to lie and rest. Doll's for Raisa, obviously."

Raisa gasped, running to the kitchen and reaching her hands up.

"Papa, davai!"

He handed her the box, stroking her golden hair.

"Go thank Shane, sweetie, be nice."

"Yes, yes, okay!" She ran back to Shane, again, jumping up to hug him tightly. Shane laughed, catching her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Ilya had to wipe his eyes again and blamed it on the sickness.

"Thank you, too." He managed to say. "You can't be this nice to me, you know? I will be spoiled rotten soon."

Shane covered his ears with his palms.

"I can't hear you."

"Funny."

"I can't hear! Oh no." He pouted, looking at Raisa, who laughed loudly and mimicked him. "Can't hear Ilya. My ears broke down!"

"Yeah, sure, teach her that, whatever!" Ilya shook his head, pouring the soup into a bowl. "Turn her into a little monster."

"Can't hear daddy." Raisa showed him her tongue. "La, la, la."

"Do you want soup, Rai?" He shouted. "Does my suddenly deaf daughter want chicken soup?"

This, she could hear. She was in the kitchen in no time, holding her new doll to her chest.

"Shane?" Ilya glanced over his shoulder. "There's enough left for three of us."

"No, thanks, I ate at my parents' house." Shane looked around the kitchen. "Do you need anything done?"

"What?"

"Laundry? Trash taken out?"

"Uh…"

"We need clean laundry." Raisa ratted them out, blowing air on her soup. "Dad forgot yesterday."

Ilya sent her a glare.

"Raisa."

"What? He asked."

"I can drop it by the dry cleaners." Shane offered. "You said your laundry machine is sounding weird."

Ilya sat down with a sigh, holding his face above the steaming bowl to ease the pressure behind his forehead.

"You are not doing our laundry."

"Well, you are also not doing it when you're this sick. And Raisa is a bit too short to reach inside the machine." He ruffled Raisa's hair. She frowned at him.

"I'm not short! I'm…most high of my group."

"Tallest."

"Tallest!"

"Shane." Ilya groaned quietly. "Please, don't do our laundry. I can manage."

"I know you can. Eat your soup." Shane pointed at the bowl before leaving the kitchen. "And take the vitamins after, they absorb better with fat."

Ilya murmured something, grumpily eating. The soup was spectacular. Yuna was a great cook, which he had the glorious occasion to discover when Shane brought him home for dinner once. Svetlana stayed with Raisa then. It was still a bit early to introduce the girl to, well. How should he call Shane's parents? In-laws? Possible grandparents? They were just dating now. He and Shane worked hard to ease Raisa into the idea of her dad having a partner now, slowly, not messing with her tiny head with sudden changes and big emotions. 

Steady. Boring. Stable. Perfect.

Shane, of course, took their laundry bag and left it in the corridor. Ilya shivered as he took his vitamin C. 

"Better?" Shane asked, standing safely at a six-foot distance. Ilya nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sleepy now."

"Go to sleep, then."

"I have to…" Yawn. "Pack Raisa's bag for tomorrow…"

He was so exhausted, he bumped into the kitchen counter. He sneezed at the same time and started coughing like crazy. Shane frowned.

"Baby, I don't think you can take care of her in this state."

"I'm fine."

"Are you feeling hot?" Shane stepped closer, despite Ilya's firm head shake that attempted to stop him. He put his fingers to Ilya's forehead. "I think you have a fever."

"Ugh." Ilya swayed on his feet, weak. "I will be…okay…"

Shane looked at him with clear worry in his eyes. 

"Maybe I could stay a few days? Help you out?"

"No, no, you are busy." Ilya coughed. "There's no space for you, couch is…shit."

He was too tired to care about language when he felt so bad. Raisa was by his side as well, looking up with a pout.

"Papa?"

"I'm okay, love."

"Let's get you to bed, at least." Shane grabbed his elbow, guiding him.

Ilya collapsed onto the mattress the second his knees hit the edge of it, burned up. He closed his eyes and stayed still as he heard the thermometer beep by his temple. Soon enough, he felt a nice, cold, wet towel over his head. 

"Raisa, come on, let's brush your teeth and get ready for bed. Where's your teddy bear?"

"I don't know."

"We'll look for it."

"Is Papa okay?"

"He will be, don't worry."

Ilya must've passed out for a moment. When he stirred awake again, Raisa was in her bed already, hugging her teddy bear as Shane tucked her in.

"Shane…?" Ilya tried to speak, but no sound came out. "Sh-aane."

"I'm here, baby. Let me change the towel."

Letting Shane do anything was easy in this state. Ilya just lay there, sweating, breathing heavily.

"I'll go sleep at my place, but I'll be back in the morning to drive Raisa to daycare, alright?" Shane whispered, putting a fresh, cold rag over Ilya's hot forehead. Ilya shook his head.

"Is fine. I can do it."

"You can't. You'd drive into the nearest wall. I'll just skip one of my classes."

"Shane…"

"Let me help, god dammit. You stubborn bastard." Shane huffed quietly. "Russian blood. You'd faint and claim you're alright. I'll be here at seven."

Ilya hummed, defeated, the corner of his lips curling up as he felt Shane kiss his hand.

"Sleep tight. Rest."

"Mhmm. Bye-bye."

"Bye, Ilya."

Ilya fell into a dark, hot pit of consciousness, dreaming of the weirdest things, trees moving on their own, dogs doing cartwheels, Barbie dolls overthrowing the government.

Chapter End Notes

yes the title is from treat you better by shawn mendes. that boy cooked in 2016. also imagine run-through single parent ilya barely able to pay his bills with a baby on his hip listening to shawn mendes to first process all the shitty breakups he had, fiona gallagher style, and then again when he finally gets treaten right by shane. hilarious TO ME.

Chapter 2: I just wanna give you the loving that you're missing.

Chapter Summary

---
She frowned.
"Oh, no. He doesn't want us there anymore?"
"No, no, of course he does. I just want to know how you feel about this. It won't be forever. Just until dad feels better. Is that okay?"
"I want to go with Shane." She dried her hands with an adorably serious look. "He has Mariokart."
---
Ilya and Raisa move to Shane's apartment for a few days.

Chapter Notes

He didn't hear the doorbell in the morning. Raisa climbed out of her bed in her pyjamas and had to jump to grab the handle, letting Shane in after asking for the password through the door. Kittens on the moon with whipped cream, it was. Ilya didn't fully understand it, but it was the only thing Raisa claimed to be a secure and brilliant phrase. 

He only woke up when Shane patted his knee.

"Hey, big boy, how are you feeling?"

"Uhhhh."

"That bad, huh? Can you sit up?"

Ilya had to summon all his strength to do that. He looked at Shane with slouched shoulders and his hands between his legs, helpless.

"Shane."

"Yes, it's me. Here, water." He handed Ilya a glass. "Drink up. I'll make you a protein smoothie soon. Can you shower on your own?"

Ilya frowned.

"Dizzy."

"Okay. I'll help you later."

Ilya felt like crying.

Everything hurt. Down to the roots of his hair.

He had no energy to move, could barely breathe or think. He assumed Shane made Raisa breakfast, he could hear them moving in the kitchen. Shane stopped by to tell him he'll bring her to daycare, and Ilya just nodded.

Half an hour later, he had to get up to open the door.

He swayed, but managed to reach it, blowing his nose. Shane maneuvered him to the shower.

"You'll get sick from me." Ilya muttered as he was being undressed. 

You'll get sick of me, he wanted to say. Shane just shook his head.

"I have good immunity. I eat well, spend time outdoors. You need a cold shower."

"No, please."

"You're burned up. It'll help." Shane squeezed into the shower with him. "Deep breaths, baby."

Having him there helped. Ilya leaned against him, shivering at first, sighing with relief later. 

They stood under the water for a few minutes to lower his temperature, and then, Shane washed his hair so softly, Ilya just purred. He had to sit on the laundry machine later and let Shane dry it. Then, he was put on the couch.

"You can't be alone now." Shane sighed as he handed him the smoothie. "You need to rest, regenerate."

"There's no place for you here." Ilya lowered his gaze onto the floor, embarrassed. It was true. The couch was barely enough to fit two and a half people to sit, not comfy enough to sleep on, and the mess, the everlasting mess…

"Why don't you stay at my place for a few days, then?"

Ilya looked up at him, blinking slowly.

"What?"

"You and Raisa. There's more than enough space. I'll drive her to daycare and back, it's Friday tomorrow, she'll need someone to look after her over the weekend."

"Fuck!" Ilya sat up, searching for his phone. "My work, I forgot to call in sick, fuck…"

"Hey, hey." Shane chuckled, putting his hand on Ilya's shoulder. "I called them already. Your boss said it's fine."

Ilya stared at him again.

"What?"

"Sorry, is that too much?" Shane's smile dropped. "I just…I said I was your friend, if that's what you're worried about. I told them you have a fever."

Ilya stayed silent, the smoothie feeling cold in his hands. Shane shifted on the couch.

"I'm doing too much, am I? Fuck." He swallowed loudly. "Sorry. I don't want to interfere, I just…you were out cold, I didn't want you to get in trouble…"

"Thank you."

Shane raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Thank you. That's…very kind of you." Ilya couldn't tell if his cheeks felt hot from the fever, or from blushing. He groaned. "I want to kiss you."

Shane held him at arm's length.

"I have a good immune system, but not this good. You're not mad?"

"No. I'm…fuck, you do so much, I can't just take my kid and live in your flat for days."

"Of course you can." Shane shrugged, as if confused by the reluctance. "I assure you, Raisa will have excellent conditions there. I'll take her to her skating lessons, you'll rest, sleep a lot. I cook…better than I used to. I have good air conditioning."

All of those were true.

Still, Ilya sighed.

"I don't know. I mean, it's…I don't want to scare her."

"It's just a few days." Shane whispered, thinking for a moment. "How about, I ask her when I pick her up? You know, without you around at first, see how she'd react. So she doesn't feel pressured to do so for your sake, or anything."

Ilya leaned his head back on the couch.

"Yes. That is good idea."

"I'll explain everything to her so it's less confusing, alright?" Shane checked his watch. "I have to go now, I have classes soon. Can you survive a few hours on your own? I brought you food for later, you just have to heat it up."

Ilya nodded, his eyes stinging again.

"Okay."

Shane leaned to kiss the top of Ilya's knee, clothed in his sweatpants. Ilya laughed.

"I'll be back later. Text me if you need anything, okay? Don't hesitate."

"Okay."

Over the next few hours, Ilya found himself to be…younger than usual.

His neediness from his youth struck him with the fever, his demanding nature. Shane bought him ramen, and Russian dumplings, and some Italian pasta. Ilya was home alone, for the first time in a while, and he cuddled under a blanket, watching the rom-com movie his boyfriend bought for him, eating the soup, and texting Shane, annoying Shane, all day.

Ilya
➥shaaaaane
➥photo
➥of you
➥to make me healthy, is rules of the universe
➥now

Shane
➥I have a lecture right now!!! Go sleep.

Ilya
➥nooooooo take selfie for me pleeeeease

Shane
➥Uh. Fine.

He smiled at the sneaky picture of Shane in his glasses. He sent him back a less sexy one, a red-nosed Ilya eating ramen.

Ilya
➥eating soup like my boyfriend told me
➥see how good i am

Shane
➥Very good. Do you feel better?

Ilya
➥no :(((( miss kisses
➥hugs
➥other things

Shane
➥If you have energy to think about sex, I assume you're a bit better.

Ilya
➥i said nothing about sex!!!!!! dirty mind
➥imagine having sex with me now

Shane
➥I don't want to imagine it in class.

Ilya
➥i am so weak mr hollander
➥imagine you could have your way with me
➥i could not fight back
➥you could jump on me all you want

Shane
➥😐
➥Very funny.

Ilya
➥give me cpr
➥to my dick
➥to make me healthy again

Shane
➥Is your fever getting worse?

Ilya
➥no is just you
➥making me all hot inside
➥burning
➥such a good boyfriend to me, bought me soup
➥does my laundry

Shane
➥You are so easily bribed.
➥Oh, and I'll pick up the laundry today on my way back. Can I take Raisa out for ice cream after daycare? I think she could use something to get her mind off her dad being ill. Kids are naturally quite empathetic. She was seriously worried last night.

Ilya
➥yes you can thank you
➥she is crazy about you
➥all shane shane shane
➥just like her dad

Shane
➥😊

He finished the soup and watched the movie, comfortable. He only cried a little bit at the end.

Ilya
➥you fucker you didn't say this was sad
➥i cried

Shane
➥Oh, no. It's not sad, I thought it was romantic.

Ilya
➥well yes but emotional
➥very
➥shanyaaa

Shane
➥Yes?

Ilya
➥will you buy me paprika chips
➥and bacon
➥i want bacon :< 

Shane
➥Of course, baby.

Ilya
➥:D 

He napped a bit, drank more water, took more medicine, and soon enough, his doorbell rang. Raisa attacked him with a hug to his waist the second he let them both in.

"Papa!"

"Hey, babygirl."

"Shane gave me ice cream, look." She stuck out her tongue, all blue. He smiled softly, stroking her cheek.

"That's great." He looked at Shane, who stumbled into the apartment with a grocery bag and their now fresh laundry. "I should've given you the keys, sorry."

"It's alright. I have your chips and bacon." Shane lifted the grocery bag, putting the laundry down. Raisa ran to the bathroom to clean her hands. She ran everywhere these days, like it was her default setting, not walking, no, sprinting. Shane looked at him with a shy, endearing look. "I talked to her. She was more than happy about the idea of you two staying at my flat."

Ilya nodded, not really surprised. He followed Shane into the kitchen.

"I'll ask her in a moment."

"Do you feel better now?"

"A bit. Ah." He took the bacon Shane handed to him. "You are…how to say. Send from God."

"Godsend." Shane giggled. "I'll heat up dinner for her. Give me something I could kiss?"

Ilya presented his elbow, standing away. Shane leaned down to plant a soft kiss against it.

"Now I will be healthy." Ilya purred. "Thanks to your kisses and bacon."

"I hope so!"

God, he wanted to grab him and just squeeze, until they'd both be screaming. Instead, he joined Raisa in the bathroom, watching her wash her hands, standing on the little wooden steps he bought so she could reach the sink.

"Hey, sweetheart. Did you have a nice day?" He crouched by her side, speaking quietly in Russian. She nodded.

"Yes! Shane picked me up!"

"I know. That's cool, right?" He patted her back gently. "Listen, I heard Shane asked you already if you'd be okay with us staying with him for a few days, but you can say no, okay? I won't be mad, Shane won't be mad. We can stay here."

She frowned.

"Oh, no. He doesn't want us there anymore?"

"No, no, of course he does. I just want to know how you feel about this. It won't be forever. Just until dad feels better. Is that okay?"

"I want to go with Shane." She dried her hands with an adorably serious look. "He has Mariokart."

Ilya chuckled.

"Yes, he does. Does that convince you?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. Then, we'll pack after dinner, yes? But promise me you'll be nice when we're there. No making mess, screaming, running around, Shane has to study a lot, wake up early, like dad, we don't want to make it harder for him, yes?"

"I promise, promise, promise, promise." She put her hands together. "Can we go?"

"We will." He nodded. "Make sure to bring your favorite toys."

Raisa never ate so quickly in her life.

She started packing furiously as Ilya grabbed a few things, changed into clothes he could leave the house in, and sorted out their laundry. Shane organised their groceries, taking most of the fresh food with him.

"You should put her seat in my car. I drove her without it today, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Shane pointed to Ilya's old, rusty car as they got downstairs. Raisa held onto Shane's hand as they walked, despite Shane having his other arm full of grocery bags. "Rai, can you help your dad?"

Raisa nodded, clearly happy as a clam to be included in this mini-move. She carried her seat with a groan, it was almost bigger than her.

Shane's apartment was in the centre, and it was possibly the nicest place Ilya's ever been in.

Big, clean, with a kitchen huge enough to have an island with two sinks. A living room with a couch enough for twelve people. One main bedroom, Shane's, two guest rooms, one of which Shane turned into his office, but it still had a couch you could open up and turn into a bed. A bathroom bigger than Ilya's living room and kitchen combined, with both a shower and a bathtub. Lots of windows, it was the eleventh floor, even the elevators were fancy. Double-door fridge. A fucking treadmill. Bookshelves from the floor to the ceiling, a soft, fuzzy rug, an electric fireplace under the TV. The first time they visited, both Raisa and Ilya walked around with their mouth hanging open. That night, Ilya discovered the blessings of having Raisa sleep in a separate room as he thrusted into Shane in his big, white bed.

"Alright." Shane clapped his hands after closing the door. "Ilya, you can put your things in my bedroom, Raisa, come, I'll help you unpack in the guest room. I bought new covers for you."

Raisa gasped, opening the door.

"What?!"

Ilya glanced inside, air escaping him, once again, starstruck by the lengths Shane went to make sure Raisa felt comfortable in his house. 

A new set of covers with a printed pattern focused around Bluey, her new favorite cartoon, were laid out on the big bed, set and ready. When the fuck did he manage to do this, between his classes today?
Raisa ran inside the room, jumping on the bed.

"Hey, baby, not in your outside clothes!" Ilya called after her with a groan. "Rai!"

"Sorry! Sorry, Papa." She got off, but continued to inspect the covers with her hands. "Look, it's Bluey!"

"I see that." He turned to Shane. "You didn't have to."

"I know, I wanted to." Shane smiled at him softly and stepped into the room, picking up the bag Raisa had left by the door. "Do you have your teddy, Raisa?"

"Yes! Inside bag."

"Oh-oh. I think his eye is a bit…troubled." Shane giggled, taking the teddy bear out. One of the plastic eyes was coming off, hanging by a singular thread. "I'll sew it back on later, be kind to him, he's injured."

Raisa pouted, taking the bear into her hands.

"He's sick like Papa."

"Yes, and we'll make him feel better, just like we'll make Papa feel better. Now." He looked inside her bag again. "Where are your pyjamas?"

Ilya swallowed hard, turning to go into the main bedroom before his heart could melt inside him.

He unpacked slowly, coughing, and when he came back to the hall, he could see Shane cutting fruit by the kitchen island, Raisa sitting on the barstool with her coloring book.

It was fitting. It felt complete. True. Right.

"I will shower." Ilya announced. "And join you."

"Okay, we'll set up Mariokart."

"Ah, you want to beat me again?"

"I'll go easy on you." Shane beamed at him. "Since you're…undisposed."

Ilya shook his head and got inside the bathroom. 

Shane's shower was insane.

No other way to put it. When he first showered here, he wasn't sure which buttons to push. Four different streaks, and a rain shower head above, a steam maker, everything. He's never felt cleaner after he stepped out. His sinuses cleared a bit. He was pretty sure he still had a fever, though.

When he made it back to the living room, Raisa was talking Shane's ear off about daycare, but he didn't seem to mind. He prepared the game, comfy in his pyjama pants and a t-shirt, patting the spot next to him when Ilya dragged his feet across the floor.

"Tea." Shane pointed to the coffee table. "And meds, it's about time you take another dosage. How's your head?"

"Never had any complaints."

Shane hit his thigh lightly, blushing.

"Shh." He forced down a chuckle. Raisa, thankfully, didn't understand. "Seriously."

"I don't know." Ilya sat down, leaning to allow Shane to check his forehead with his hand again. "A bit dizzy."

"Maybe you shouldn't play."

"No, I'm fine. One game won't hurt." He settled into the couch, huffing when Shane put a blanket over his legs. "Thanks."

He drank his tea between rounds. Shane beat his ass, of course, and Raisa, the little traitor, laughed about it. She ate the fruit Shane prepared for her, though, so Ilya couldn't complain.

"Is not fair. I can't practice." Ilya gave Shane back the controller. "You probably play every evening to beat me."

"Yeah, sure. That's what you'd do."

"Yes, if I had this gamey thing." He pointed at the Switch. "I would beat you very soon."

Shane just smiled at that.

Ilya walked Raisa to her room for the night, tucking her in the Bluey covers and blowing a kiss from afar, since he didn't want to infect her with a real one. She blew one back, already half-asleep. Shane sewed her teddy bear's eye back in place, and sneaked in to lay it by Raisa when he was done.

He frowned when he didn't find Shane in the bedroom.

"Uh, Shane?"

"What?" Shane called from his office. Ilya peeked inside, watching him roll out the couch to turn it into a bed, covers prepared on the side.

"You are not sleeping with me?"

"I don't want to get sick, sorry."

"No, I mean…you are sleeping here?" Ilya pointed at the couch. "No. Is your house, I sleep here, you sleep in your bed."

Shane shook his head lightly.

"You need proper rest. I put the air conditioning on in the bedroom, so it's a bit chilly, to take your temperature down."

"I can't sleep in your bed when you sleep on the couch!"

"You can. Ilya." Shane's tone turned firm as he looked at him. "Don't fight. Go to sleep."

Ilya hummed, grumpily, mocking him under his breath.

"Fine."

His back thanked him when he crawled under the soft, cold covers, into Shane's impossibly comfortable bed. 

Fuck.

In the past, he was lucky if Svetlana could stop by when he was sick to watch Raisa for a few hours, maybe buy them groceries. And now this? This is what he gets? Healthy food, proper medicine, Raisa taken care of, fully, a good bed, someone just being there, making him rest, Shane called his job for him today. Not to mention how good, kind, gentle he was with Raisa.

If Ilya cried a little bit before he fell asleep, that's between him and God.

Chapter End Notes

ilya, barely standing straight: shit, shane, i guess i have to stay with you at your pretty flat and annoy you until im healthy :/ sucks
raisa: this is the best day of my life

Chapter 3: I can treat you better.

Chapter Summary

---
"Thank you. I'm taking you on a million dates when I'm healthy."
Shane laughed, blushing.
"Promise?"
"Absolutely. Wherever you want to go."
"Hm. There's this coffee shop I wanted to try out, supposedly, they have cats running around it? Seems…weird, but I'm intrigued."
"Oh, yes, a five-dollar coffee will make up for all this. Sure."
"You can buy me a cookie, too."
---
Ilya has a revelation as he starts feeling a little bit healthier.

Chapter Notes

He woke up without an alarm, for the first time in forever. For a moment, he was panicked, thinking he was already running late, but the house was quiet. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. It was past noon. He slept twelve hours.

He felt better. Much better. His lungs felt good, and he wasn't hot all over anymore. He blew his nose.

In a few seconds, there was a knock on the door, and Shane sneaked in when Ilya hummed that he could. In his own house, Shane asked for permission.

"Hey, you woke up." Shane smiled, carrying a tray with a steaming cup of coffee, pills, and a plate with avocado toasts, with hard-boiled eggs on top, salt and pepper, and a few strips of bacon on the side. "I was checking a few times, but you were out cold."

Ilya blinked, looking at the food.

"Is it for me? All of it?"

"Yes. I tried to balance the bacon with something healthier." Shane put the tray on the nightstand. "Lots of fats, so the vitamins will settle in nicer."

Jesus fuck.

"Where's Raisa?"

"Oh, at daycare. She had granola for breakfast, I made her a caramelized banana to go with it. She seemed to like it. And I know she gets lunches there, but I packed her a sandwich with jam, in case she got hungry from all the playing." Shane sat at the edge of the mattress. "How are you feeling?"

Lost. Loved.

A bit horny.

Shane's ability to jump in and sort out just about everything was ridiculously hot sometimes.

"Better." Ilya stuttered, looking at the plate. "Thank you. I'm taking you on a million dates when I'm healthy."

Shane laughed, blushing.

"Promise?"

"Absolutely. Wherever you want to go."

"Hm. There's this coffee shop I wanted to try out, supposedly, they have cats running around it? Seems…weird, but I'm intrigued."

"Oh, yes, a five-dollar coffee will make up for all this. Sure."

"You can buy me a cookie, too." Shane shrugged. "Maybe a sugar-free one, though, I'm trying to stay fit for my games."

If Ilya could, if he had the resources, he'd buy Shane anything he'd ever ask for. 

"A thousand cookies for my Shanya, then." He smiled when Shane giggled, blushing again. "Three thousand cookies!"

"Okay, calm down. Eat your breakfast, I have to get ready for uni." Shane got up with a sigh. "Just one class today, thank God. Do you have any wishes from the store or something? I could stop by later."

Ilya hummed.

"Candy."

"Alright. But just because you're feeling bad." He pointed towards the living room and opened the closet. "You can do whatever you want, I hope you know that. Play, watch something, eat whatever's in the fridge. Make sure you rest and hydrate, time your medicine intake."

Ilya blew a raspberry.

"Okay, okay. Give me kiss."

Shane blew him one from far away. Ilya caught it and put it inside his t-shirt pocket.

He spent the day dragging himself from one spot to another, eating, napping, drinking water and tea, and trying to polish his Mariokart skills. For a man who repaired cars for a living, he was pretty shit at racing virtual ones. He was getting bored alone, so he napped on the couch again. Blissful life.

Shane came back with Raisa, carrying her backpack in one hand, a take-out bag in the other. Ilya yawned as he joined them in the hall, with a blanket over his shoulders.

"Hi, my favorite people." He ruffled Raisa's hair as she hugged his leg. "Good day today?"

"Daycare was boring." Raisa frowned. "We did boring things. But Shane took me shopping!"

Ilya raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, did he now?"

"We were picking up food in the mall, there was a bookshop, she wanted to go." Shane explained, toeing his shoes off. "I bought her a book or two."

"A book or two?"

"Uh, maybe four. What?" Shane frowned at the look on Ilya's face. "It's good that she's interested in reading! Two of them are in Russian, though, so you'll have to read those to her."

"Oh. And you'll read the other ones?" Ilya smiled, stepping closer, letting his hand rest on the small of Shane's back. "With your nice glasses?"

Shane rolled his eyes, pushing him away before Ilya could lean in closer.

"No kisses. Come, I have burgers and miso soup. Raisa, wash your hands, please. There's a stool for you to stand on in the bathroom."

Oh, Ilya could just eat Shane whole right there, if he weren't sneezing and coughing all the time. After all this, he has to manage a whole day alone with Shane, showing him just how much he appreciates this. No words could describe it. He's never been more relieved, more relaxed, the only thing demanded of him being rest and eat.

Shane did read to Raisa later, when she was tucked in to sleep. Ilya watched from the doorframe, smiling. Then, he got to Shane's bed and drank his final medicine of the day while Shane fixed the covers on him.

"What, you will read to me, too?"

"Shut up." Shane huffed, clear fondness in his eyes. "Am I doing this right?"

Ilya furrowed his eyebrows.

"Doing what right?"

"This. All this." Shane lowered his head. "Us."

Ilya was speechless for a second.

"Right is not a good word, Shane, you are…amazing." He whispered. "To me, to Raisa. I don't know how to thank you."

Shane looked up at him, sitting at the edge of the mattress.

"I want you to feel nice here."

"I feel more than nice here." Ilya chuckled. "Fuck, how can you even ask?"

Something in Shane's expression made him feel that Shane had many, many reasons to ask.

"I just…I can do too much, sometimes. People tell me that often."

Ilya reached out his hand to wrap his fingers around Shane's wrist.

"Your too much is just perfect for me." He hummed. "I am happy to have you."

Shane smiled at him shyly.

"I'm happy to have you, too."

He lifted his hand to put it on Ilya's chest, stroking it gently. Ilya relaxed under the touch, closing his eyes with a quiet purr.

He let himself be massaged like that for a moment, and opened his eyes again when Shane's hand moved lower, resting on top of his stomach now, circling over the t-shirt. Shane's fingers slipped under the waistband of Ilya's sweatpants. Their eyes met halfway.

"You're not too sick for this?" Shane asked with a tiny grin, and Ilya breathed out through his mouth, shaking his head.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Mhm."

Shane pulled his sweatpants lower, grabbing Ilya's already half-hard dick in his hand, still sitting on the edge of the bed, gorgeous and towering over him.

"We should consider this part of your treatment." He said quietly, stroking Ilya as he looked at him. Ilya pushed his head into the pillow.

"Fuck, Shane."

"Shh, we have to be quiet."

Oh, how Ilya loved when Shane was like this.

Telling him what to do, how to act, touching him so well, with his eyes stuck on Ilya's. Ilya thrusted up into his hand, his eyes almost rolling back into his head at the pressure. 

"This feels good?"

"Mhm." He murmured. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard when I'm healthy."

"Yeah?" Shane smiled and twisted his wrist, spreading precum over Ilya's throbbing cock, and tightening his fingers. "Just how I like it?"

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes…"

"You want something to suck on?"

"Oh, God, yes."

He opened his mouth instantly when Shane's free hand reached it, his fingers slipping inside. He sucked hard on them, moaning quietly.

He tapped Shane's forearm when he was close, and Shane took his hand back, reaching for the tissues, stopping Ilya from making a mess in the clean sheets. Ilya groaned as he came, sweaty, boneless. He let Shane pull his sweatpants back on.

"Good." Shane stood up, taking the dirty tissues with him. "Now, sleep."

"Mm, no, don't go." Ilya reached his hand for him, but couldn't grab Shane's shirt. "My turn."

"I'll handle myself just fine, baby, you're still a bit weak." Shane blew him a kiss, a sweet, innocent kiss, like he didn't just make Ilya cum his soul out. "See you in the morning."

Ilya groaned, settling into bed.

He was done for. Gone. No return. No rescue for him. 

He was in love.

Fuck.

It's not like he wasn't aware this would happen the moment he started dating Shane, the moment he asked him to be his boyfriend in Shane's cottage. He knew it would be so easy to fall for him. So easy to let himself feel like this. Still, it caught him by surprise, now, of all moments, when he was sick, staying at Shane's house, feeling so well taken care of, and knowing Raisa was doing well, too, under Shane's attentive eye.

He turned on his side, hugging the pillow. All he wanted to do was crawl to Shane now, on all fours, if he had to, sleep by his side, hold him, smell his hair, kiss his neck. This damned sickness. 

They've been dating for nine months now. What if it's too soon? What if…what if…

He sniffed quietly, hiding his face into the cold pillow. He's never been happier, and so, never more scared of losing the life he has now. It was so good, mostly because Shane was there now.

He slept ten hours that night, getting all the rest he needed.

Chapter End Notes

shane: so i'm willing to do just about anything for you. i'll help you raise your kid, and take care of you in sickness, and make sure you're okay at all times.
ilya: fuck if i tell him i love him it's gonna be too soon cause he definitely doesn't love me yet ://// bummer

Chapter 4: Give me a sign, take my hand (we'll be fine).

Chapter Summary

---
It's good to raise kids in the spirit of victory.
To raise kids in the spirit of victory.
To raise kids.
Shane was raising Raisa with him.
---
There's a misunderstanding, and Ilya blames Nintendo for it.

When he woke up and got out of bed, he found the house empty.

There was a plate full of pancakes waiting for him in the kitchen, with a note.

"For Ilya, to feel better :) - Shane, Raisa"

And about a dozen hearts, probably drawn by Raisa, since she couldn't write yet. Ilya smiled and put the note away to keep it.

He called Shane as he ate the pancakes. There was a lot of fresh fruit in Shane's fridge, and he poured blueberries all over his plate. He couldn't afford fruits for himself more often than not. Not before dating Shane, anyway, now, Shane was often just…bringing food into the flat, like some sort of worried kitten leaving various creatures on your doorstep, because it thinks you do not eat.

"Ilya." Shane smiled at him, sitting somewhere inside. "How do you feel?"

"Better. Thank you for pancakes."

"Raisa helped me make them. Are they good?"

"Better than the last ones you tried to make."

"Funny." Shane snorted. "You look better today."

He felt better. He could breathe normally, and his throat wasn't killing him anymore. Perhaps Shane took it all out yesterday, jerking him off.

"Where are you? Is Raisa there?"

"Of course. It's Saturday." Shane pointed the camera in the opposite direction, showing him the ice rink. Raisa was skating alongside her instructor, Shane's trusted friend. "Look at her go."

"Oh, fuck, right, her skating lessons." Ilya groaned. "I forgot."

"You wouldn't be able to drive her anyway. And you were sleeping, so."

"Uhhh." Ilya wiped his face, watching Shane reappear on his phone. "I'm sorry, I should've…at least wake up earlier, help you prepare…"

"It's alright. I wanted to skate a bit, too, we raced."

He felt a smile appear on his lips.

"Yeah? Who won?"

"She did."

"You let her win, didn't you?"

"Don't tell her that."

Ilya laughed, taking another bite of the pancake.

"You favor her. Let her win, but beat my ass in Mariokart."

Shane tilted his head, amused.

"You need to be put in your place sometimes."

"Ah. By losing in Mariokart."

"Yes. Besides, I read it's good to raise kids in the spirit of victory. She was very happy to win. But I promised to buy her a waffle if she won, so we have to stop for one on the way back."

Ilya's chest grew as he listened.

It's good to raise kids in the spirit of victory.

To raise kids in the spirit of victory.

To raise kids.

Shane was raising Raisa with him.

He had to bite his tongue just to stop himself from telling Shane he loved him during a damn phone call.

"When will you be back?"

"Forty minutes, probably. With the waffle-stop."

"I miss you two."

"Aw. Do you want a waffle?" Shane clicked his tongue at Ilya's serious nod. "I'll buy you a waffle, baby. Anything else?"

"No, thank you. I can make lunch for us today."

"Oh, no, absolutely not, you lie down and do nothing. We're ordering in."

Ilya rolled his eyes.

"You will lose all your money if you order us food every day."

"Too bad, I'm buying you some fish. What fish do you like?"

"Shane…"

"Salmon's good. Healthy. There's this restaurant down my street that serves fresh salmon with good rice and a salad, they have a nice veggie soup for Raisa, too, and…"

"Shane! Shane, look!" Raisa's voice came from the phone, and Shane looked up, clear, unmistakable, soft fondness in his eyes. Raisa did something on her skates and Shane clapped, putting his phone away onto his lap. "Did you see?"

"Well done!"

"Are you talking to Papa?"

"Yes, do you wanna say hi to him?" Shane turned the phone so it would face Raisa. She was in her skates, of course, ankle warmers on. "Say hi."

"Hi, Papa!" Raisa waved at him. Ilya waved back.

"Hey, sweetheart. Show me what you can do?" She spun on the ice on one leg, holding her arms up like a ballerina. "Whoa. You want to go to Olympics this year?"

"Shane said I'm good enough for them!"

"Of course you are, baby. Go, skate a bit longer, you'll tell me everything later."

Shane returned to the screen, smiling.

"She's doing so well at this. Anyway, you like salmon?"

Ilya smiled, looking into his plate.

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll order lunch. Any requests?"

You. Forever.

"Can you order me those little buns empty inside?"

"Pitas? Sure. I'll get a few more for Raisa."

"And fries."

"Of course. Oh, I almost forgot, there's a Switch for you in the hall. I picked it up today in the morning."

Ilya frowned, confused.

"You left your Switch in the hall?"

"No." Shane laughed sweetly. "There's one for you, to take home. I bought you the black one, I hope it's alright."

"What…?"

"Wait, sorry, they're finishing up, gotta go." Shane stood up. "See you soon."

Ilya stared at the screen as Shane hung up. A blueberry fell out of his mouth.

He stood up, still sure he must've understood Shane incorrectly. There was a box in the hall, indeed. On the shelf.

He picked it up.

As per Shane's exact words, it was a new Switch console in black. Under the box lay a game, too. Mariokart. 

Ilya slowly put them both to his chest and had to sit down.

He mentioned wanting this once, as a joke, two days ago, how the fuck did Shane manage to remember that and buy one already? 

He took his phone out again with shaky hands.

Ilya
➥fucking god do i have to watch my mouth around you now? will you buy every little thing i mention i want? the fuck

Shane
➥Do you like it?

Ilya
➥yes of course i like it
➥but its not my birthday or anything
➥by the way the shit you pulled on my birthday????
➥that watch was way too expensive, and the dinner was fucking insane
➥and don't get me started on raisa's birthday. you bought her enough toys and books to last seven kids a century.
➥are you like actually crazy?

He rubbed his eyes, still holding onto the stupid Switch and watching Shane's bubbles appear and disappear. He was probably walking to the car with Raisa, or waiting for her to get her shoes back on after skating.

Shane
➥Oh.
➥I'm sorry, you don't have to keep it. I still have the receipt, I can just return it later. I don't know what came over me.
➥Sorry, it was stupid.

What?

No, no, no.

Shit, he shouldn't have done this over text. Shane rarely read intentions well over text.

Ilya
➥can i call you?

Shane
➥I'm getting behind the wheel now, so.
➥Sorry, just put it away, we'll be home soon.

Ilya closed his eyes, putting his forehead against the box.

Fuck.

FUCK.

Chapter 5: Promise I'll never let you down.

Chapter Summary

---
"How much you're doing for me and Raisa. It's…"
"Too much?"
He muttered the words ashamed, and yet, it was clear that he was holding back all this time. This enormous amount of support, gifts, favors, was still something Shane believed was manageable as a small part of his real intentions. Ilya was already showered with care, his daughter, too, and Shane was holding himself back from not doing even more, like he couldn't help it.
Ilya stared at him, taking a long breath.
"I love you."
---
Ilya has a few much-needed talks with the people he loves.

Chapter Notes

He cleaned up the kitchen a bit, washed his face, put the Switch on the nightstand in Shane's bedroom, so Raisa wouldn't see it just yet. He bit his lower lip when he heard the keys move in the door.

Raisa came in first, jumping up when she saw him, giddy after skating, as always. 

"Papa!"

"Hey." He smiled at her. "I saw you skating on the phone."

"Did you like it?"

"Of course, you're the best." He took her face in his hands, stroking her rosy cheeks. "I will call Olympics, tell them we have a winner. Go wash your hands and wait in the living room, okay?"

Shane closed the door with his elbow, his hands full with bags.

"Hi." He managed a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Here, I have your waffle."

After nine months, Ilya could recognise the strain in Shane's voice immediately, the way his face changed, his posture stiffened. Shane was sad, more than anything, clearly uncomfortable, like he was trying to take as little space as he could, turning away from attention.

Ilya took the waffle contained in a plastic box, swallowing.

"Thank you. Shane…"

"And I got the food." Shane took his shoes off and lifted the bags as proof. "Can you take out the plates? It should still be warm."

"Can we talk first?"

"It's fine, don't mention it."

"It's not fine."

"I said I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. Please." He grabbed Shane's wrist, gently, with pleading eyes. "Talk to me?"

There was a slight pause before Shane nodded, like he didn't fully agree on this, just gave up on defying him. Jesus.

"Raisa, we'll be back in a moment, okay?" Ilya glanced at the little girl who was already playing with her new Barbie doll on the carpet. "Be nice."

"Da, Papa."

Shane looked like he was walking to his own execution when Ilya motioned for him to follow into the main bedroom.

Who has made him that way? Who has hurt Shane so much that he was bracing himself for a catastrophe when all Ilya wanted to do was clear the air? Shane had nothing to apologise for, dear God, he did something nice for him, and misunderstood Ilya's shock, that's all. 

"I'm sorry." Shane said again, the moment the door closed behind them. "I had a feeling you'd be pissed off, but…"

"Why would I be pissed off?" Ilya shook his head, his heart almost breaking at how quietly Shane spoke. "You bought me a gift."

Shane shrugged.

"You don't want it."

And even if that was the case, then what? Has some asshole truly made Shane apologise for an unwanted gift in the past?

"I do want it. It's so cool, fuck, Shane, it's just…a bit crazy."

He tried to chuckle, to show Shane this was not serious at all, not in the way Shane's mind clearly made it up to be. Shane looked at him, wary, distant.

"What is?"

"How much you're doing for me and Raisa. It's…"

"Too much?"

He muttered the words ashamed, and yet, it was clear that he was holding back all this time. This enormous amount of support, gifts, favors, was still something Shane believed was manageable as a small part of his real intentions. Ilya was already showered with care, his daughter, too, and Shane was holding himself back from not doing even more, like he couldn't help it.

Ilya stared at him, taking a long breath.

"I love you."

It felt as easy to say it as it was to feel it. It simply made sense. It was the most natural thing in the world to love Shane.

Shane looked at him, wide-eyed, silent, clearly shocked into this pale stillness. How could he not know that already? How could he not see it?

"Not your money, or what you can do for us. Okay?" Ilya lifted his hand, stepping closer, speaking slowly and softly, as always, when Shane was like this. "I love you. You're so very important to me, I want you to know that. I was just surprised by the gift, because….I don't know. I have no idea how to pay you back any of it."

"You don't have to pay me back." Shane frowned, mumbling over words, so adorably confused, like Ilya was speaking absolute nonsense. "You're not in debt with me or anything like that."

"I just don't want you to leave one day, when I can't give back as much. Fuck." Ilya wiped his face, feeling his eyes sting. "I'm so in love with you."

He could feel the beginning of a tremble going from his chest into his shoulders, but before they could shake, before his burning eyes could betray him and wet his whole face, Shane's arms were around him.

Tight and steady, anchoring him, pulling him in, the best way Shane knew how. Ilya hid his face in the crook of his neck, clinging to the man so hard that his fingers dug into Shane's sides as he wrapped his arms around him fully, crossing them on his back.

"Holy shit." Shane exhaled, back with him, back on board with reality. "I love you, too."

Ilya sniffed, and even though it wasn't that surprising to hear that, even though he could feel Shane's love for so long now, he couldn't help but make sure.

"Really?"

"Of course." Shane kissed the side of his head, his hands rubbing circles into Ilya's back, his whole body relaxing, and voice getting firmer, the anxiety gone. "How could I not?"

Ilya smiled, sniffing again.

"You don't have to do all this. Is not…necessary."

"I know."

"You are so good to me."

"You're good to me too, Ilya, more than you can imagine." Shane moved away just a bit, to look at him, lifting his hands to cradle Ilya's face in them. "Please, let me do things for you, I like doing them."

Ilya nudged their noses together.

"Spoiling me and my kid, you mean?"

"Yes. That's how I love, is that weird?"

Ilya shook his head lightly.

"No. Not weird. I will let you."

The relief on Shane's face was worth it all.

Ilya smiled as he was kissed, humming quietly.

"You will get sick."

"I don't care anymore. Besides, good immunity, I told you."

"Mhm." Ilya squeezed Shane's sides gently. "My Shanya is too strong to get sick."

He laughed when Shane bumped their heads together, sweetly irritated by the teasing.

"Did I choose the right color? For the Switch?"

"Yes. Now I can practice and beat you."

"You wish to even come close."

They both turned their heads to the door at the tiny, quiet knocks.

"Papa?"

Ilya cleared his throat, still love-drunk from the simple kiss, holding Shane close.

"Yes, baby, come in."

Raisa had to jump up to reach the handle, but when she did, she stepped into the room with furrowed eyebrows. 

"What are you doing?" She looked at them both, suspicious. "Are you eating candy without me?"

"Ah, we would never." Shane laughed, crouching to grab her, picking her up with ease. Raisa settled into his arms. "We were just talking."

Raisa hummed, looking over at Ilya.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's okay, moya lyubov’." Ilya smiled at her and lifted his hand to brush her hair out of her forehead. "Nothing's wrong."

She nodded, reassured.

"Okay. I'm hungry."

"We've got delicious food tonight." Shane tilted his head to look her in the eyes. "Do you want to help me heat it up?"

"Yes!" She pointed at Ilya. "Papa needs to lie down."

Ilya groaned.

"I'm almost healthy."

"Hm, I'm not sure." Shane clicked his tongue. "I think Rai is right. You should lie down on the couch. We'll make you tea."

Raisa nodded.

"I will bring you blanket!"

"See, now you can't argue anymore. Raisa will bring you a blanket." Shane seemed delighted to be backed up on this. "Go rest, set up your Switch."

Shit.

Raisa's eyes lit up immediately.

"Papa has Switch now?" She gasped. "Can we take it home?"

"Oh, you didn't see it?"

"No!"

"That's bad. Your dad is sneaky."

"He is!"

Great. Now he'll have two way too competitive little naggers trying to beat him in Mariokart.

Not that he complained.

He did end up on the couch, with a tea and a blanket, and unpacked his gift, waiting for the food.

They spend the dinner listening to yet another one of Raisa's complicated stories from daycare, their feet pressed against each other under the table. Shane was giddy. Bright, smiley, his eyes sparkled now, and Ilya could not stop looking at him with a heavy, comfortable warmth settled onto his chest. A Saturday evening spent with two of his favorite people would be enough to cure him in no time. He only sneezed a bit now. He should be alright to go to work on Monday.

He was a very lucky man.

Raisa fell asleep tucked under Shane's arm on the couch, and Shane carried her to her bed, responding to her sleepy mumbling with a calming whisper. Ilya managed to drag him to the main bedroom for the night. Enough of this separate sleeping, he began to hate the very existence of Shane's office and the couch that stood there, which got to hold Shane all night, and he didn't.

He kissed down Shane's body after they locked the door, biting his hip, smirking at the breathless plea Shane let out, his hands in Ilya's hair. Ilya pressed his face between Shane's legs, into the soft, black sweatpants he wore. He mouthed at the bulge in them, hooking his fingers on the waistline.

"Mm. I still think I dreamed you sometimes."

Shane chuckled.

"Yeah?"

"So gorgeous. So good to me." He kissed the base of Shane's cock softly. "We need to go on vacation together."

Shane struggled to speak for a moment, his brain already hazy.

"Like, uh, an actual family-vacation, or a fuck-vacation?"

"Fuck-vacation. I need a few days with you."

Shane bit his lower lip, inhaling sharply when Ilya licked him.

"That sounds nice."

That sounds nice. A few days somewhere away, filled with nothing but good food, sleeping, and even better fucking, and yeah, in Shane's words, that sounded nice. Ilya chuckled at the almost innocent tone and got to work.

He had to slip his fingers into Shane's mouth to shut him up a few moments later, devouring him, grabbing Shane's peck in his other hand as he took him in his mouth. After a week-long break, Shane came quickly, shuddering, his fist closing on Ilya's hair.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck." He whined, trying to catch a breath, his lips shiny with his own spit when Ilya took his fingers out of them. "Oh, baby."

Ilya wiped his mouth and climbed back up on the bed, reaching for the wet tissues.

"Good?"

"Mhm." Shane covered his face with his elbow, panting. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, moy lyubimyy." He chuckled at the sound Shane made at the simple words. "You like my Russian."

"Love it. You know that." Shane looked at him, blissed-out, with still dark eyes and a blush covering his cheeks. "What does that mean?"

"My beloved."

Shane blushed even harder, pulling Ilya in for a long, sloppy kiss.

He settled against Ilya's chest, calming down after a few minutes, weak under the gentle touches he was receiving.

He cleared his throat at last, speaking into Ilya's neck.

"I want to ask you something."

Ilya nodded, sleepy.

"I'm listening."

"You don't have to say yes."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say yes to yet." 

"It's just…uh." Shane moved to look at him properly, and Ilya opened one eye. "How would you feel about us living together?"

Oh.

Oh.

Ilya blinked hard to get his other eye to open. 

"You mean here?"

"There's plenty of space. Raisa would get her own room." Shane shrugged, playing with Ilya's necklace. "It's just a thought."

Ilya's breath got caught up in his throat for a moment.

He's never lived with anyone since he had Raisa. He wasn't in a serious enough relationship to even consider it. Some of his flings, he had to part ways with because of Raisa, too, because either the other person found it all too much for their expectations, or Raisa didn't feel safe enough for Ilya to even consider having that someone around. She had a good stranger-danger instinct. A radar that seemed to be dead silent with Shane.

Ilya's tried dating a whole bunch of creepy weirdos. But Shane was simply weird sometimes. In the best way, too, endearingly particular.

"My lease is ending in four months." Was the first thing Ilya could come up with, still trying to understand the sheer possibility of actually living in this gorgeous apartment with a nice bathroom, a big kitchen, a proper living room, and no mold anywhere, no noisy neighbours, no kettle that threatened to explode every time he put it on. Shane nodded.

"I know. We've got time to think about it. I mean, you do, but…you're welcome here. Both of you."

"I don't know if I can afford it. I know you just pay your share to the cooperative board, but you said the electricity bill…"

"Whoa, hey." Shane huffed, confused. "I didn't say anything about splitting bills. It's my apartment, paid off, no rent, it's nothing."

Ilya raised his eyebrows.

"Then…what would I pay for?"

"I don't know. I use your Netflix account."

"That's twenty dollars monthly, you can't be serious!"

"Well, then you'll upgrade to the next tier, so I can download stuff on my phone when I'm away for work." Shane shrugged. Twenty-four dollars, then? "Oh, and since you wake up a bit earlier, could you buy fresh bread before work? I like the bakery down the street. They have good bagels. Ah, shit…"

"What?" Ilya muttered, still not understanding how Netflix and bagels could possibly be enough for staying here with his daughter. "What is it?"

"I forgot." Shane rubbed his eye, frowning. "You'd have to buy yourself a parking spot. I mean, I have three in the garage, but they're all filled. That's about one hundred sixty a month, if you want your car indoors."

Ilya stared at him for a few long seconds.

"So, Netflix, bagels, and parking spot?"

"Yes."

"You want me to live here for free?"

"Yeah." Shane nodded, as if that was the most natural, normal, obvious thing in the world. "Of course."

"What if bills are really high with two more people using everything?"

"Don't worry about it. You wouldn't know about it anyway, you're not gonna see a single bill once you move in here." Shane sighed, reflecting on his words. "If you decide to move in here, that is. I know you have to think about it, talk with Raisa, it's just an idea. Don't worry about logistics, just…let me know, and I'll handle it."

Holy fuck, Shane was serious.

Of course he was. By now, Ilya should be used to Shane acting like it was insulting whenever Ilya reached for his wallet.

It was absurd sometimes, how hot it was. 

"Okay." Ilya hummed, not arguing with anything anymore. Shane liked it. Ilya grew to like it, too. After years of barely surviving every month, it did feel good to just let Shane handle things. "I will be your spoiled housewife?"

"If you want." Shane giggled. "But I know you like your job. And once you get a stable contract…"

"I was joking. I'm not quitting my job."

"Oh. Okay." Shane shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Ilya smirked. 

"Yeah? Whatever I want?"

"Sure." Shane shifted to look at him better, sleepy, putting his arm under his head. "Where do you want to go for our fuck-vacation?"

Only his Shane could ask that question with so much genuine curiosity and seriousness. 

"I don't know. Somewhere nice. With a beach."

Shane nodded, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I'll look for flights." He yawned. "I love you."

Ilya leaned in to kiss the bridge of his nose.

"I love you, too."

He pulled Shane closer, resting his lips on his forehead as he fell asleep.

He was woken up with a sneeze. Not his, this time. The sound startled him, and he blinked slowly, watching Shane blow his nose as he sat up.

"Nuts." Shane groaned with a ruined voice. "I think you made me sick."

He sent Ilya a serious, unamused glare when Ilya started laughing.

"Oh my God."

"It's not funny." Shane sneezed again, and his whole body shook with it, like he was seconds away from falling over with the force of the sneeze. "My throat hurts."

"Ah, poor bunny. Lay down." Ilya patted the mattress and got up slowly. "I'll make you tea and breakfast. Do you feel hot?"

"No, cold, if anything."

"That's not right. You are very hot."

Shane rolled his eyes at him, digging himself into the sheets, shivering.

"Ilya." He whined quietly. Ilya hummed, fixing the covers around him so he'd be warm. "Will you add honey to my tea?"

"Of course. Do you want your avocado toasts?" Ilya chuckled at the tiny, weak nod. "I'll bring it in a moment. Try to get some more sleep."

"Mhm."

Raisa woke up when Ilya was cutting the avocado, dragging her feet into the kitchen.

"Hello, Papa."

"Hi, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" He asked in Russian, quietly. Raisa yawned. "My sleepybear."

She looked around.

"Shane?"

"Shane's sick. He caught it from Papa."

"Because he didn't eat the magic juice?"

"Exactly!" He nodded. That, and, probably, the hugging. Kissing. Other things she didn't have to know about. "I'm making him tea. Do you want to help?"

She nodded and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. He had to lift her so she could reach the counter, putting two spoons of honey from the jar into the cup.

"Will it make Shane feel better?"

"I hope so. We'll make him healthy." He put her back down and placed the bread into the toaster. "Baby, do you like it here?"

"Yes. I like my room."

Ilya smiled, shaking his head.

"It's not your room, Rai, it's the guest room, which you're staying in for the time, but…" He knelt on one knee, so she could look him in his eyes as he asked. "Do you like Shane, love?"

She nodded, looking at him like he was an idiot for asking, and there it was, Ilya's genes, that specific sparkle in his eye, looking right back at him.

"Yes. He's nicer than your last boyfriend."

"Yeah, Mike was kind of an asshole."

She gasped, lifting her finger.

"Language!"

"Sorry! He was." Ilya lowered his head in shame. "No other way to put it. But you're right, I'll do better. You think Shane is nice?"

Raisa smiled as she nodded again.

"He's very nice! He took me to my skating lessons! Did he tell you we raced and I won?"

"Wow. Really?"

"Yes! He was so slow. I was so fast." She gestured with her hands, trying to show him how Shane stayed behind. "Fast like this."

"You're a great skater." He patted her shoulder lightly. "Better than Shane. I bet he was devastated."

"Eh. He bought me a waffle. He said, next time we go, and you're with us, he will race with you."

"I think you're both much better at that than I am." Ilya took a deeper breath, instinctively fixing Raisa's hair. It went in every possible direction in the morning. "Listen, we will talk about this more when we're back home, but Shane asked me if we would want to live here with him. What do you think about that?"

Raisa's entire face lit up.

"I have to bring my toys! Can we go get them today?"

"No, honey, not right now." He laughed. "When our lease ends, that's in four months. We would have more space here, you would have your own room. But if you don't like that idea, it's okay."

Raisa frowned.

"Why can't we go get my toys today and stay here? Shane is sick. He needs our help."

"Yes, we'll stay a few more days and go back to our flat, but…"

"Why?"

He thought for a moment, trying to come up with an easy explanation as to why they couldn't just move in with Shane this fucking Monday.

"Well, we need to pack and prepare. And we need to pay Mr. Taylor rent for four more months, yes?" He managed to smooth out the curls on the top of her head. "And dad will still go out with Shane, and you'll be with us, sometimes, to see if it's a good idea."

"Oh. And then we can live here with Shane?"

"If you want to, yeah. Do you want to?"

"Yes. Please, please, please, please, please." She put her hands together. "Please, Papa."

He chuckled at the enthusiasm. Was he trying to move in with his boyfriend, or was his daughter trying to move in with her stepdad?

Right. Fuck. That part.

"Okay, but, Raisa." He grabbed her hands gently to make her focus, she was already jumping in place, excited about the plan. "You need to understand that…Shane is not like anyone else for Papa, yes? He's not like Mike, or auntie Sveta, or…he's not a…friend."

The brief dating encounters he had, if Raisa ever got to meet them, were always Ilya's friends. When she was old enough to understand the concept, he introduced Mike to her as his boyfriend, but Mike ghosted him two weeks later. He waited a long time to sit her down and properly explain who Shane was to him, even though she met Shane the day he met Shane, on their first date.

On brief occasions in the past, Raisa would call Shane her uncle. That's how the daycare ladies knew Shane. But living with him, raising Raisa together, would mean something else entirely.

Raisa, again, nodded like he was an idiot.

"Shane is your boyfriend."

"Yes. Yes, and if we move in with him, that would…basically…" He scratched his nose, thinking. "We wouldn't be alone anymore, you know? It wouldn't be just the two of us. Shane would be your stepdad."

Raisa tilted her head, confused.

"Stepdad?"

"Like a…a second dad. He would become your second dad."

She looked sad and surprised for a moment, and Ilya's heart dropped to his stomach.

Maybe he should've waited until they got home. She was still so little, so fragile, he shouldn't have dropped this on her first thing in the morning, but fuck, they both felt so nice here, with Shane, and he wanted Raisa to like the idea, he wanted her to give him a green light on this, because he desperately needed this to work out.

"Shane is…not my second dad now?" She asked slowly, with a weak voice. "I thought he was…"

Ilya raised his eyebrows, stuttering for a moment before he managed to put his thoughts together.

"Oh, do you see him that way?" He whispered, not sure why, they were talking in Russian. Not like Shane could overhear them from the bedroom, anyway. Raisa nodded, a bit shy. "That's…that's so sweet, baby. Why is that?"

"He's very cool." She hummed, and even if cool was probably one of the last words Ilya would describe Shane with, yeah, fine, it worked in her mind. "And he makes you laugh funny."

"Ah." He tilted his head, serious. "Makes me laugh funny?"

"Yeah." She giggled. "Like this, ha!"

She imitated a deep, loud laughter, making fun of him. Ilya sighed.

"I see. You think it's hilarious?"

"It's so silly!" She beamed at him, clearly, honestly finding his laughter absurd.

"It's not silly. One day you'll fall in love, and you will laugh like that, and I will say it's silly." He pinched her sides gently, tickling her. "You'll see!"

"Gross!"

She tried escaping the tickles, and eventually, he lifted her and threw her over his shoulder as he made Shane his avocado toast. Raisa hung upside down, giggling, kicking her feet. He handed her the paper bag with all the medicine to carry.

"Look at my bag." He stopped in the hallway, showing her them both in the mirror. Raisa wiggled on his shoulder, still upside down, the paper bag in her hand. "Newest design. Limited edition. Very expensive."

"Put me down!"

"Oh, and my bag speaks! Some new technology." He opened the door to the bedroom, carrying Raisa in one hand and Shane's breakfast in the other. Shane groaned on the bed. "Hello, Mr Sneezing Kitten, we have food for you. And my precious bag has medicine."

Raisa handed Shane the bag, still giggling. Shane accepted it with a smile.

"Thank you."

Ilya put the plate on the nightstand, leaning down to both shake Raisa off onto the mattress and lean down to kiss the top of Shane's head. 

"I'll bring you your tea. Rai, can you bring Shane tissues from the bathroom? Thank you." He stood up, heading back to the kitchen for the tea, stopping in the doorframe. "Oh, by the way, we're moving in when our lease ends."

Shane almost choked on his toast.

"What? Really?"

"Yes!" Raisa shouted from the bathroom. "But we need to pack my toys."

"Yeah, we'll just need about four trucks for those." Ilya shrugged. "And another two for your dresses."

Shane smiled at them both, sniffing.

"I'll buy her a bigger wardrobe."

With how much he liked spoiling the kid, she'll need a bigger desk, bookshelf, everything. And Ilya could use a bigger heart. His felt weird. Overflowing, like it would explode in his chest.

Chapter End Notes

this entire au has become a comfort write for me so who knows, maybe i'll write more sequels. i love ilya getting spoiled by his absurdly rich boyfriend.
thank you for reading!!! <3