Chapter Text
Shane’s first year playing for Ottawa feels sort of like a dream, more often than not.
Sure, he’s anxious about 80% of the time because he’s playing on a new team, in a new arena for the first time in over a decade. And yes, both he and Ilya take their fair share of target attacks and hits during games. And also yes, people on the internet love to dissect any interaction between the two of them in public.
But most of the time, Shane feels completely and wholly overwhelmed with how good things are.
The Centaurs are good people. They’re also married to good people. It’s like a team full of Haydens and Jackies, which makes Shane equal parts happy and sad because he misses the actual Hayden and Jackie. After a decade of the Pikes being a regular fixture in his life, it’s strange to go from that to only texts and FaceTime calls.
But that’s all worth it to have what he thought he could never have: Ilya. Not just Ilya in the shadows, but Ilya out in the open. In many ways, that first year at Ottawa, Shane falls in love with him all over again.
Sure, there were hard parts and learning curves to go from long-distance boyfriends to living and working together as husbands. But at the season comes to a close, and they actually win the fucking Stanley Cup together, Shane can’t seem to recall a single fight or issue.
All he sees is Ilya, ripping off his helmet and hauling him in for a kiss at center ice. It’s everything. It’s amazing.
It’s afterward that everything falls apart.