hattricked | OPEN, OVERFLOW & INBOX ✦

From:

[ Shane knows something deep has shifted inside of him when he doesn't feel like spending the night with Ilya in that hotel room was a big mistake. He should be freaking out, knowing that they just laid there in bed together, curled up in each other's arms and simply slept, instead of having sex.

Somehow that seems even worse. It's something they can't have, shouldn't have. It scares the absolutely shit out of Shane. But it still doesn't feel like a mistake.

Rose must realize it too, because a few weeks later she breaks up with him, and that's when Shane really freaks out. She knows. Not about Ilya, but about him, and for the first time, he doesn't deny it. After that, the anxiety fraying the edges of his nerves shifts to something more like relief.

Two weeks after that, the Montreal Metros are set to play the Boston Raiders.]

From:

hattricked

( by the time the metros and raiders game rolls around, Ilya isn't really sure where he and Shane stand. they've started to text again, too stubborn to let go even though they both know they should, but there's still an undercurrent of something that's off. like an out-of-the-blue text of 'that play against hunter was elder abuse' is the 'i miss you so fucking much' that it's meant to be.

he shouldn't be happy when shane and rose break up because the tabloids are assholes about it to shane, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't.

he is happy for this game, unlike the last two. he's back on the ice, back in his element, even if the montreal crowd boos the second he's on the ice. )

Hi, pretty, ( he drawls low between them, winks before the puck drops because ilya rozanov plays dirty if he has to to win the face off. he cackles as he skates off with the puck, knowing hollander looks like an angry kitten once the shock has worn off. this time it feels different on the ice, feels like something is right by the time they've played the first period. playing against shane hollander has always been one of ilya's favorite things on the ice, has always made him feel alive. this time it doesn't hurt. this time every time they battle for the puck, every time they brush past each other feels like before.

the raiders win and ilya's grinning because he scored the last two goals, got one in right before the buzzer to take the raiders to victory.

he's riding the high after even if he skips drinks with the guys, instead catching a cab to the familiar building with the murder alleyway. )

You need to get access code thing so I don't have to wait outside to be mugged, ( he texts when he's there. normal. fine. not like he wants to buzz out of his skin and touch shane again after they'd played like that, like them. shane had wanted to talk and they-- they need to figure this out. ilya wants to figure it out. except he wants it to actually work which feels like a fucking pipe dream, like an impossibility because of hockey and russia and ilya's dying father. and if they do the smart fucking thing, this is it and he wants one more moment before that to ride the high before the crash. )

From:

janehollander

[ Shane doesn't tell Ilya that he and Rose broke up. He can't bring himself to do so. He figures he's got the tabloids doing it for him anyway and if he tells Ilya himself, it would mean something entirely different. It would mean too much.

It would mean a green light.

Shane can tell Ilya knows, as soon as they hit the ice. Ilya's eyes are bright and catch his own, so different from the way they were avoiding the last time. He knows Ilya knows, because of that goddamn comment, and it throws Shane off so wickedly, just for that moment. He's angry about it, but it also feels good. It feels like how things are supposed to be. He should be angrier about losing the game, but... he knows what's coming afterwards and he's buzzing with nervous, excited energy.

It's that terrible, wonderful thing all over again.

He's nearly climbing the walls by the time the text comes through, and he heads down the stairs like a goddamn eager puppy. This is such a sharp, drastic change from the last time they saw each other. Shane tries not to think too hard about that, but he isn't foolish enough to think that nothing has changed between them.]

I'll consider it. Maybe the code can be 8124.

[He's opening the door a moment later, reaching out to drag Ilya in.]

Hey, pretty.

From:

hattricked

( ilya is tempted to tell Shane that his number should go first because then the code would really be ‘69’ which is a fact that delights him and he only learned recently.

he lets himself be dragged in instead, can’t help but to crowd into Shane’s space before he can think better of it. hands on shane’s hips, eager to touch even when there’s a looming shadow. for now he’s wearing a delighted grin, a bit smug at having his words chirped back at him that it makes a laugh boom from his chest. ) No, you’re the pretty one.

( pretty, beautiful, handsome. a bunch of different words that ilya doesn’t know in english and hates how they sound on his tongue when he tries to replace them with something he knows. ) Cute too. When angry like kitten because you lost to me.

From:

janehollander

[ Shane would have very intensely rolled his eyes at that-- with a smile on his face.

Ilya is in his space now, and everything feels electric. Just like last time, he feels like he can breathe again. He knows they should talk first, they should do a lot of things first, but when Ilya's hands land on his hips so eagerly, all those words leave him. His hand find their way to Ilya's hips as well, tugging him in closer. ]

Kitten? Shut up.

[He smiles, shaking his head. He shifts in a little closer.]

You played well tonight.

From:

hattricked

Yes. Like a tiny kitten. ( if asked, ilya will insist that he has at least a centimeter of height on shane. he’s bigger where it matters for the only man bouncing on his cock.

Which is a visual he probably shouldn’t let linger, but— ) Yes. What is my reward?

( on top of the sweet taste of victory, surely he deserves something when he’s being so good about not bringing up rose landry or pressing shane into the wall. )

From:

janehollander

Tiny kittens aren't very sexy. Is that what you're saying?

[Shane smirks, eyes bright. They haven't been like this in months. So many months. The weight of it all has been crushing him so completely and now he feels...]

Anything you want.

[A dangerous thing, but he's feeling good tonight. Generous. Even after a loss. Imagine that.

He lets go of Ilya's shirt, but instead takes his hand and starts leading him up the stairs to his place.]

C'mon.

From:

hattricked

Have you never heard of a sex kitten? You are very sexy. ( which isn’t off limits, is it? cosmo and the hoards of women drooling over Shane’s Calvin Klein ads think so.

Shane’s answer has him feeling lighter, a tightness in his chest lifting. anything he wants is—- is a lot. it’s too much. it’s an offer that Shane really shouldn’t make when Ilya can’t get himself to think of this just like it was before even if he could just take Shane straight to bed. ) I am very greedy man, Hollander. Be careful.

( he squeezes Shane’s hand as they go up the stairs, lets himself be led up the stairs and inside where he kicks off his shoes. there’s a jacket to strip out of but he doesn’t really want to let go of Shane’s hand. he crowds him into a glass wall instead, one hand on his chest and the other back at his hip. They should talk. Ilya leans in to press their foreheads together instead. ) This okay?

From:

janehollander

That's a completely different thing.

[But he still feels heat on his cheeks when Ilya calls him sexy. It shouldn't get him to react in that kind of way anymore, he knows it, but...the way Ilya sees him always has Shane feeling warm inside.

He knows his offer is a lot, but... maybe he wants it to be.]

Maybe...I don't want to be so careful anymore.

[His words scare him, and he can feel it in the way his heart beat speeds up. He's glad he has a moment to collect his thoughts as they head inside. Not too long of a moment though, with Ilya pushing him against the wall, leaning in so close that Shane can feel his breath on his lips.

They should talk. He knows this.]

Very okay.

[His hands settle back on Ilya's hips, fingers curling in the fabric there.]

I uh... I think that you probably know this already. But- I don't have a girlfriend anymore.

Should I do now or wait til last second?

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