Chapter Text
Ilya pulled into Zane Boodram's driveway and turned off the car. Shane was sitting next to him, nervously staring at the floor.
"Hey," Ilya reached out to grip Shane's left hand. "It will be okay. They will love you." He smiled reassuringly and leaned over to gently kiss Shane, who reciprocated the gesture.
"I'm just nervous." Shane mumbled. "Are you sure they're all okay with us being. . . You know. . ."
"Yes, sweetheart, they are okay. Come on, I bet they're waiting for us."
Shane took a deep breath and opened his car door.
__________
The door to Zane's house was unlocked, and Ilya opened it for Shane, who was carrying a bottle of vodka and a pack of ginger ales. He'd originally planned to just bring one for himself, but Ilya said that there would be several people there not drinking alcohol, and that they might also appreciate having something to drink other than liquor.
"Hey, Roz's here!" A man wearing camo pants and a backwards Centaurs cap announced loudly, looking up from a game of cornhole.
"Roz!" Several voices shouted, happy to see their captain.
"Holy fuck, you actually brought him!" A young blond-haired boy exclaimed.
Shane stood awkwardly beside Ilya as the Centaurs realized that Shane fucking Hollander was at the humble backyard barbeque.
"Nice to finally meet you!" A man with blond, curly hair smiled at Shane, reaching out to shake his hand. Shane smiled, trying to make eye contact with him while also observing everyone else.
"This is Wyatt Hayes," Ilya introduced him and then pointed to the man with nautical sleeve tattoos standing by the grill, "That's Zane Boodram," He pointed towards the blond boy who had been the first to point out Shane's appearance, "He's Luca Haas—big fan of yours."
Luca blushed. "I mean, I've always looked up to you, I'm a normal fan, I promise—" He was cut off by Ilya.
"And that idiot with the terrible music taste is Evan Dykstra," He continued, gesturing at the man partially wearing a camo print. "Over there is Troy Barrett and his boyfriend Harris Drover, the Centaurs's social media manager."
Shane's gaze moved towards the two men sitting in the grass by the side of the house. One of them had black hair and blue eyes, looking like a Disney prince; the other had curly hair slightly darker than Ilya's. The latter had on a denim jacket with pride pins: some of them Shane recognized, and some of them he didn't. He looked up from the ground, saw Shane, gasped, put a half-finished dandelion crown on Troy's head, and stood up to greet them.
"You're Shane Hollander! Like, you're really him!"
"Yeah, I am, I guess." Shane blushed.
"I still can't believe Ilya's engaged to you. That's crazy!"
Ilya pulled Shane close to his side, standing on his tiptoes to kiss Shane's head. "Yes, it is." Ilya grinned.
__________
Shane found that the Centaurs were incredibly different from the Metros. This barbeque had been much more relaxing than any Metros events he'd attended. Almost every players' wives and children were there, and only a few people were drinking alcohol. Nobody wanted to see who could drink the most beer before throwing up or blast music loud enough for neighbors to call the police.
The sun set, and it was 9pm before he knew it. Several of the families left, going back home to meet their wives or put their kids to bed. The remaining crowd was made up of Evan, Troy, Harris, Zane, his wife, Luca, Wyatt, Shane, and Ilya.
Zane had gotten a warm bonfire going, and Cassie, his 7-month pregnant wife, had gone inside to bring out blankets for them as the night chill settled into the air. Shane had sat down, and Ilya decided to sit on his lap.
"So, when did you two get together?" Evan asked Shane and Ilya, leaning back into his chair.
Ilya looked at Shane, silently asking for permission. Shane nodded, but not before Troy spoke.
"Was it the All-Star Game? I don't remember the year, but it was the one where you were both on the same team."
"That would be the 2017 one!" Luca said helpfully.
"No. Was before that." Ilya laughed.
Zane's jaw dropped. "No way. When?"
"2008. Before our rookie seasons."
The group was silent for several moments, stunned by what they'd just learned.
"Wait, so you've been dating for over ten years?" Cassie asked.
"No, no." Shane said, blushing. "We were just. . . uh. . ."
"Fuckbuddies!" Ilya happily supplied, immediately getting smacked lightly on the leg by Shane. "What? It is true!"
"You've been fucking since 2008?" Luca shrieked. "I was, like, eight years old then!"
"Okay, but when did you start dating?" Troy asked, sitting in Harris's lap and now wearing a finished dandelion crown.
"We became official in 2017 over the summer." Shane said.
"And, Ilya, you signed with Ottawa the next season!" Harris exclaimed. "Did you really leave Boston for Shane?"
Ilya nodded. "Yes."
"That is so romantic! When did you know you were in love?" Cassie asked.
Ilya smiled softly back at Shane, whose lap he was sitting on. "I think the moment I met him."
"Me too." Shane agreed. "I think there was just something about him, you know? Like love at first sight. I didn't think it was a real thing until I met him."
Ilya twisted around to kiss Shane. "When did you and Bood figure it out?" He asked Cassie once his lips were free again.
She laughed, a hand resting gently over her belly. "It wasn't as romantic as your story. I was a waitress at a local restaurant, and he got a job during my shift. This was back before he started playing for the NHL, of course," She interjected. "He was a teenager, very dedicated to hockey, and he was doing everything he could to get some money for new gear. He was a nightmare to have as a coworker, though."
Zane laughed. "Oh, I was. I couldn't make orders to save my life. Like, even with the little slips of paper they give you. I'd get an order for '1 milkshake, 86 cherries' and put 50 cherries on it before remembering what '86' meant. It was bad.
"And then, one day, I get this paper and it's got a phone number on it. I throw it away, because I'm busy and I don't want to get fired. The next day, Cassie shows up and she's upset. I ask her what's wrong, but she doesn't say anything. As I'm making orders, I suddenly realize what she was trying to do. I grabbed a paper, wrote my number on it, gave it to her, and the rest is history." He smiled, shrugging and taking a sip of his beer while Cassie leaned onto his shoulder.
"Troy, Harris, do you wanna fill us in on your love story?" Zane asked.
Troy snorted. "Well, I was a dick, Harris wasn't, and that's it." He looked over towards Harris, who was sitting next to him, and smiled warmly.
"You're not a dick—" Harris protested, but he was cut off by Troy kissing him before he could say anything else.
"Hayes, your turn!" Ilya said.
"I met Lisa—she's my wife," Wyatt said for Shane's benefit. "—at a hospital when I broke my collarbone. She's the best thing to ever happen to me." He grinned. "Also, she wanted to apologize for not being here tonight. She really wanted to meet you, Shane, but she has a late shift at the hospital tonight, so it didn't work out."
"It's okay! I'm sure I'll get another chance to meet her." Shane smiled. "What about your wife, Dykstra?"
"Glad you asked!" He said. "Her name's Caitlin. Absolute love of my life. We met backpacking during the summer one year, kept in touch, and now we're married with a daughter. You wanna see a picture?"
"Sure!" Shane tried to shift out from under Ilya, but he wouldn't budge. Thankfully, Evan walked over to Shane to show the picture.
It was a little girl with dirty blonde hair, grinning at the camera as she held a trophy. She was wearing ice skates, and a gold medal shone around her neck.
"That's the future of Canada's figure skating program, right there!" Evan said proudly.
"She's so cute! Tell her Uncle Ilya says hi." Ilya said, leaning back to see the picture, too.
"I will!" Evan grinned, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"Still single, Luca?" Ilya asked, moving the conversation along.
"Um. . ." Luca blushed furiously.
"Oh! So there is someone?" Ilya cocked his head.
"No, there's not!" He paused. "I mean, there might be a girl I've started talking to, but we're nothing official yet."
"You should bring her sometime!" Zane said kindly. "I'm sure the team would love to meet her."
"Okay." Luca nodded, looking slightly more relaxed at his words. "Okay, I'll think about it."
The group sat in comfortable silence around the bonfire until the flames died down to glowing embers.
Shane felt comfortable being with Ilya around other people. It had been a hard feeling to gain: the years of having to block out Ilya's presence next to him at press conferences, not smile when Ilya's name was mentioned in interviews, and pretend like he was his lover's enemy conditioned him to a state of constant vigilance about his love life.
Now, with the Centaurs, he didn't know how he had survived without this for as long as he had. Ilya's presence was relaxing and reassuring. He was a puzzle piece that had been missing that was now the final part in Shane's life. And this was only the beginning. Soon, he'd be able to hold Ilya's hand in public without having to worry about paparazzi leaking their relationship. He'd be able to come out to the world on his and Ilya's own terms. He'd be able to call Ilya his husband.