Summary:

“And because—” Ilya stopped. He was not a man who stopped easily, who lost words, whose tongue failed him. Shane did this to him: removed his fluency, made him reach for things that were not in their usual places. “Because, Ilya?” Shane stepped closer, and Ilya could smell him—the scraping tang of metal and stretched leather and beneath that, something faintly sweet—and this, in combination with the use of his name, made him dizzy, weak. “Because I would rather be known by you than survived by you," Ilya managed. “And if I am to be killed, I would rather it be by you than by another stranger.” Shane went very still. “I’m still a stranger,” Shane said after a moment. “Less now,” Ilya answered. ⋆ or: shane, as part of the winter soldier program, and ilya as the son of its creators. ( you do not need to know a single thing about marvel, the winter soldier, or any of its associated media to read this. )