Summary:

Leaning over Shane was a man. He had dark hair and was annoyingly handsome, the sort who looked like he’d never struggled with a grammatical case in his life.

Shane laughed. Ilya turned his head.

That was his husband. His Shane. His beautifully focused Shane, with the scattered freckles and the adorable way he leaned into a problem. And he was gifting that hard-won laugh to a stranger.

Ilya is happy Shane is learning Russian. He just wasn’t prepared for how it would feel to watch someone else teach him, correct him, and make him laugh.

Ilya reacts normally. Which is to say: not at all.