Chapter Text
A week after the home opener Shane and Ilya had fallen into a routine. Some days Ilya would order something to eat and spend a few minutes chatting with Shane before he went back up to his apartment. Sometimes Shane would see him after practice and the two would talk about the skills and drills the Flyers are focusing on. It was nice. He didn’t feel like he was making small talk with a resident. This felt like connecting with a friend. Today Shane sees Ilya out of the corner of his eye, strolling to the desk., and he can already guess what it’s for.
“Hello, Shane.” Ilya smiles as he walks to grab his food from the delivery spot next to the desk.
“Hey Ilya.” Shane crinkles his nose at the smell as Ilya moves forward with the bag. Why is it always something oily and fried?
“So Mr. Workaholic." Shane rolls his eyes. Great another nickname
“When is your next day off?”
“Uh Tuesday? Why?”
“Okay. Tuesday we’ll get dinner.” Ilya says so casually you’d think he was describing the weather.
“Dinner?” That’s the only word Shane thinks he can utter right now, his mind is buffering.
“Yes. The thing you eat in the evening. Hollander, I've seen you eating at the desk before.”
“I know what dinner is.” Shane scoffs. “Um. Why do you want dinner…with me?”
“Can I not ask a pretty hockey nerd if he wants to grab dinner?” Shane blushes at the compliment.
“Okay I mean. Where do you want to go?”
“You liked that sushi place I ordered from when I moved in, yes?”
“Oh yeah, it's incredible.” Shane can feel his mouth start to water at the thought of the food there. It’s his favorite place in town.
“Okay so we go.” Ilya shrugs like he didn’t just offer Shane a golden ticket.
“What? Ilya's, it's ridiculously expensive.”
“And I make a ridiculous amount of money” he looks at Shane with pleading eyes. The blue and green swirling together like a calming ocean wave. Shane caves because how can he say no to Ilya?
“Ugh fine.”
“Perfect. I’ll text you the time when I make reservations.”
“Thanks Ilya.” Shane offers a soft smile even though he feels electric inside. Ilya Rozanov just asked him to dinner.
“Of course”. Ilya must have the world's worst timing because two residents are now behind him, probably waiting for packages.
“Excited to see you and not have to worry about interruptions.” Ilya gives him a grin showing all 32 teeth. Shane’s cheeks blush. Something tells him not everyone gets those kinds of smiles out of Ilya, and he treasures it.
“Oh uh yeah. I’m excited too.”
“See you later, Shane.” Ilya gives Shane a signature wink, already strolling to the elevators.
“Bye, Ilya!” Shane waves to him, excited for Tuesday already. He takes a breath and turns to the resident in front of him.
“Rose, this isn’t funny.” Shane grumbles into the phone. He’d asked Rose to help him get dressed for the dinner but didn’t go into specifics on who the dinner was with.
‘Shane, I’ve taken you shopping. I know what’s in your closet. Go to the small section of nonwork and nonathletic clothes that I know you have.”
“Fine okay okay. I’m just not sure what to wear!”
“You know… it would be easier to help you if I knew what this is about.”
“Ugh okay if I tell you then you can’t tell anyone, okay?”
“Shane, I kept the secret you were gay until you openly had your first boyfriend. I can keep a fucking secret.”
“Alright.” Shane pauses, takes a deep breath and says in one sentence. “It’sIlyaRozanov.”
“What??” Rose all but screams through the phone. “The Ilya Rozanov like your forever hockey crush, Ilya Rozanov?”
“Not help with the nerves, Rose.”
“No but you’re going on a date with fucking Ilya Rozanov!”
“It’s not a date! He just…asked me to dinner. He doesn’t have a lot of friends yet in town.” Shane’s not sure who he’s trying to convince here, Rose or himself. It feels like a date, but he can’t let himself get his hopes up.
“Right. Did he say he wants to get dinner as friends or just that he wanted to take you out for dinner.” Shane is silent for far too long.
“Shaney.”
“He said he wanted to take me to dinner.”
“Ahh!! Okay this is a date. I know exactly what you should wear.”
“You needed to know it’s a date with Rozanov so you know what I should wear?”
“Duhhhhh.” Shane rolls his eyes.
“I know you’re rolling your eyes at me, sir!”
“It was an eye roll of love.”
“Sure sure. Alright down to business! Wear your black slacks that make your ass look good. The ones where the ankle is a bit too high but you can cover that with your boots. Maroon sweater that's tight on your biceps and the cream cardigan that I bought you for christmas.”
“But what if I get food on it?”
“Shane, just take it off when you sit down.”
“Oh, right.” Geez his nerves are really getting the best of him.
“Okay go change and we’ll work on the hair next”
“What’s wrong with my hair?” He scoots the two inches between his closet and bathroom to check his hair in the mirror.
“Oh Shaney. You’re the worst gay I know.”
The two were set to meet at the restaurant around 7. Even though it was the evening, people were still bustling through town. Shane was able to suppress his nerves on his walk to the restaurant by focusing on everyone else around him. A woman pushing a baby in a stroller talking loudly on the phone. A couple walking their dog, taking up too much of the sidewalk. An old man pushing a cart through the crosswalk even though the crosswalk sign was red. By the time he arrived he was too distracted to remember why he was nervous. That is until he pushes open the doors.
“Do you have a reservation?’ The young lady at the host stand asks him
“Um table for Rozanov?”
“He’s already here. Follow me.”
They make their way through the restaurant, and he sees Ilya instantly. Fuck , he looks incredible. He’s wearing a green shirt with the first two buttons undone, his gold cross shining in the warm light. When he sees Shane he lights up.
“Shane, glad you could make it.”
“Me too.” Shane’s face flushes. “Thanks again. This is really nice of you.”
“Well you can’t complain about fast food, at least Mr. Healthy.” Ilya winks at him.
“You’re never going to stop with the nicknames are you?”
“No I don’t think so”
“So,” Shane trying his best to make conversation, “how are you liking Philly?"
“It’s good. People are good. Team is nice. I like the coach a lot too.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mmhm. He seems to trust me. Trusts my ability to lead the team in practice and in games. I was worried I would have to prove myself more but I don't think so.”
The waiter stops by after a few more minutes of hockey talk and they each place their orders. Shane initially picks a spicy tuna roll and Ilya promptly orders half the menu, saying Shane would starve them if they ate just his selections. Shane laughed, and it was genuine. What he didn’t say is he could barely afford the upscale sushi roll and didn’t want to eat what he couldn’t pay for. As if sensing this Ilya reaches out and grabs his hand.
“Shane, I asked you to dinner. Don’t worry about the money.” Shane nods but refuses to meet Ilya’s eyes.
“Hey. Shane.” Shane finally looks up. “It’s my treat. Besides I could spend this money on another sports car that will sit in the building garage collecting dust.” That pulls a laugh out of Shane.
“Let me pay for dinner, okay?” There’s a soft, almost sadness now in Ilya’s eyes that Shane hasn’t seen before. He’ll do anything to wash it away, even if it means agreeing to something that makes his own stomach twist.
“Okay fine fine.” Ilya grins and gives Shane’s hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away. Shane misses the touch already.
Dinner was delicious. Ilya ended up ordering the sushi platter and Shane didn’t hesitate to pluck his favorite pieces. They talked about hockey, the city, Shane’s dream to become a writer. Ilya did say he’s still working on getting Shane a press pass, so that’s promising. Neither has mentioned their parents. Shane’s grateful but also now wonders if Ilya is in a similar position. Is he also a child floating without their parents' presence? He thinks that's a conversation for a different time.
“Thank you so much, Ilya. That was really nice of you.” Shane says as he walks out of the door. Ilya, ever the gentleman, held the door open for him as they left the restaurant.
“Of course. It was good. The food was better than the first time. Must be the company.” Shane blushes.
“Where do you live? I'll get you a ride.” Ilya’s already pulling out his phone to click on the rideshare app
“Oh no need. I live like six blocks away. I'll just walk.”
“Okay, I’ll walk you home.” Ilya shrugs
“What Ilya, that's not necessary.” And I don’t want you to see my shit hole of an apartment, Shane thinks to himself. What would Ilya think stepping into a shoebox that forever has the faint smell of kitty litter (thanks Rock)? It would be a nightmare.
“Come on. I must make sure pretty boy gets home after a date.” Suddenly Shane’s brain is empty. No concerns about the amount dinner just cost. No worries about the size and smell of his apartment. Ilya Rozanov just said the word date!
“That, that was a date?” Shane asks softly, afraid that if he says it too loud it will all just be a dream.
“If you want it to be.”
Yeah.” Shane looks up at Ilya with a smile, “Yeah I want it to be”
“Good. So let me walk my date home. Besides, I want to meet this Rock you love so much.”
“Alright,” Shane takes a deep breath. He’s so glad he put all of his clothes back in the closet before he left.
“Let's go.”
They reach Shane’s apartment and he can no longer hide his nerves.
“It’s um, it’s nothing like your apartment,” Shane starts, keys shaking in his hand as he puts them in the top lock
“Shane I don’t care”
“I know I know.” He clicks the bottom lock open. “So, welcome” And he couldn’t feel more embarrassed. Sure it’s clean, but it’s small and cat hair is inescapable, there’s little patches on the comforter.
“It’s cute”
“You don’t need to lie”
“No it is. Very you.”
From under the bed a soft meow erupts. Right after Rock barrels out and towards Shane.
“Hi mister mister,” he coos, bending down on his knees. “I missed you! Yes I did” giving head scratches.
“So this is, you said Rock but called him mister. Is this a different cat?
“No no he just has ten million nicknames lol.”
“Well hello Rock.” Ilya bends down and offers his right hand for Rock to sniff. The cat leans in, giving a few exploratory sniffs before headbutting his hand.
“Aw that means he likes you!” Shane grins. Ilya leans in to give Rock some head scratches and gets purrs in return.
“Ah, I see why you never stay too late. He’s too good to leave.”
“The best boy.” Shane scratches along Rock's back. Ilya’s gaze lingers and he looks over at a small stack of papers on the table.
“Your writing?”
“Oh yeah. Been working on a few different topics but I haven’t been able to pick one to stick to.”
“Mm okay, tell me.”
“So the first is about Hobey Baker being gay.”
“Hobey Baker was gay?” Ilya asks. Shane smiles but it's pained.
“Yeah. And it sucks that nobody knows and it's such a surprise. But yeah Hobey Baker had a male lover named Percy. When WWI happened Hobey was sent to join the air force in Europe while Percy stayed back in America. By the time the war had ended the homophobia in America had started getting really really bad. And he didn’t really have any job prospects back home that would make him happy. So on the last day on base.he told his guys he was gonna do one more test flight for fun.” Shane pauses for a second. Hobey’s story is so tragic and he feels it so deeply.
“He crashed the plane. Some say it was an accident but there’s just no chance. So yeah. The greatest hockey player ever was gay and took his own life when he felt like he could lose the only thing he still had to live for.” Shane looks over at Ilya and he can’t quite make out what his face is doing.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Fine.” Ilya shakes his head lightly, like he’s dusting something off. “I’m fine. What are the others?” Shane wants to push but he knows when someone's putting a wall up. He doesn’t need ilya to start building anymore
“Oh the next is on how there should be a bigger push from the NHL players to support the PWHL.” Ilya nods at that, but he still doesn’t look settled.
“And the last one is on ticket pricing and how sports games are becoming less accessible to the everyday fan.” Shane’s twisting his fingers in the hem of his shirt, looking over at Ilya unsure what he’s thinking.
“I like these. I think you should write about Hobey though.” Shane’s taken aback. This was the last topic he thought Ilya would pick. After the shut down a few minutes prior he was prepared for no answer.
“Really?”
“Really.” He smiles and Shane and Shane smiles back, however that smile morphs into a yawn.
“Tired”
“Yeah, I should probably start getting ready for bed and feed Mr. Rock.” Speaking of, Shane realizes Rock has been sitting in Ilya’s lap this whole time.
“Oh shit I think he got fur all over your pants I’m so sorry. I have a lint roller.” Shane moves to grab it from his closet but feels Ilya’s hands on his wrist.
“Is okay. Like a souvenir right?” The two look at each other and laugh. Shane concedes and they both make their way to leave. Rock plops himself off of Ilya’s lap.
Ilya and Shane lingered outside the door. Shane was not ready to say goodbye, even though it was his idea because he really did need sleep. Ilya starts to turn away but spins around, grabbing Shane’s face. He pushes in with a crushing kiss. Shane melts into it. Surrendering to the kiss. It’s like nothing he’s ever experienced. It feels like coming home. Ilya pulls back after what felt like seconds but Shane could kiss him for hours. Ilya leans in and presses a gentle kiss to Shane’s lips.
“Goodnight Shane”
“Good night Ilya”
Shane closes the door. Locks the top and bottom then spins around to look at Rock.
“What the fuck just happened?”