Tits up !

so when they started officially dating, shane was preparing himself for what he's gonna do when ilya will catch a flu. it was challenging enough managing with his own... body fluids (HA!). and he genuinely didn't know how he's gonna react to ilya's mucus all around. but he was much more scared that a disease would turn ilya into a catastrophe.

he was very dedicated to be a good boyfriend and do whatever needs to be done, though.

what a shock he had, when he figured out, that when he's sick, ilya turns small, trying to hide in the darkest place and disappear. he is quiet, lying in the bed curled into a ball and shivering with fever. shane heart broke, when ilya started to apologize, almost crying, that he couldn't make him food and he's a shitty boyfriend.

never shane wanted to kill more, understanding that this is how probably ilya's family treated him every time he got sick since his mother died.

“Hey Roz, will you spot me?”

Troy Barrett’s request was a welcome one, as Ilya definitely needed a break from his routine anyway. Turning toward his friend, he took his place behind him on the weight bench and made sure to keep his eyes on Troy’s movements as he lifted more than most of the guys on the team.

But just as the man finished one set and started another, the door to the gym opened, stealing Ilya’s attention for half a second.

And there he was: Shane. Clothed in new Centaurs athletic shorts and his chest completely bare, he walked in and stole Ilya’s breath completely away. 

Fuck, he looked dangerous. Muscles rippling, face serious, eyes faraway, Ilya felt his body react before he could think. He needed to devour him. He had no choice. Rational thought wasn’t an option, he was working purely on instinct. 

He began to walk towards his husband, a small smile on his face and his mouth watering. His hands tingled, already moving forward to touch that perfect, freckled skin. His brain only had one thought, everything else hazy and forgotten. Just ShaneShaneShane.

“Roz!”

“Wha-?”

He whipped around at the sound of his name, only to find Troy sitting up and frowning at him, face stormy, weight askew behind him. It was only then that Ilya remembered what he was meant to be doing.

“Ah,” he said eloquently. “Shit.”

Shortly after that, Harris created a new sign for the team gym:

Meanwhile, Ilya is immediately infatuated with Shane in Saskatchewan (the freckles, the handshakes, the compliments, etc) and goes on to push down his feelings and claim what they have is purely casual despite how much he quickly cares for Shane. He also knows their situation isn't normal, but he's able to rationalize it in a different way from Shane by claiming it's simple and nothing more than sex. Until he's miserable without Shane after the tuna meltdown, where even if he doesn't admit it's why it's in such a bad mood, he's immediately worried about what Shane's situation once they meet again in Tampa Bay. And once they do reunite, he is completely content in only having Shane back as a fuck buddy and then is jumpscared by Shane with a conversation about their feelings. Ilya goes on to realize just how deeply he cares for Shane, and goes the opposite way: he feels the need to end their relationship. I do think it's more out of self-preservation and believing he doesn't deserve Shane in many ways, but the point still stands that he is set on ending their situation until the Skip kiss makes him realize theirs a very slim chance he and Shane can work. The fact that these shifts happen because of the same events, namely the tuna meltdown and the Tampa Bay conversation, is honestly pretty insane.

There's not as much of a case for this happening in TLG, but I do think it's worth talking about that Ilya's depression is somewhat enhanced by having to hide his relationship with Shane and the plane crash makes him once again content with just having Shane at all, while Shane wants to keep their relationship hidden until the plane crash and shifts their plans of marriage and coming out much sooner to "prove" his love for Ilya (again in quotes because that's likely how he views it, he doesn't need to prove his love for Ilya at this point). The conversation with Crowell really exemplifies their stance changes, with Ilya knowing that Crowell is offering a pretty good out for them and being willing to deal with if Shane is. However, Shane immediately shuts down the out and chooses Ilya. Again, it's not as prominent of opposite arcs as in HR, but there are seeds for it that I thought were worth mentioning (and could be expanded on in Unrivaled, if I had to make any kind of predictions about that book).

Ilya notices it right away. Jackie is dropping Ruby off to spend an afternoon with her uncles like she's done countless times before. But something seems off with Ruby. She's not her usual chaotic self. 

"How are you, Sweetheart? Everything ok?" Ilya asks.  

She just nods and makes her way to the living room. Jackie gives him a look and as they hug goodbye, she whispers, "She's going through her first little heartbreak."  

"Ah." Ilya nods. He knows this is a very delicate matter.  

He planned a full mani-pedi day for them. So, they're sitting on the living room floor with an assortment of nail polishes and accessories on the coffee table while Shane is reading on the couch. It's hard to miss how Ruby is sighing the whole time and Ilya knows it's not about the bright teal color he's currently putting on her nails. 

"You know you can talk to me about anything, Sweetheart. I'm here if you need."  

She lets out her biggest sigh yet. "I'm sad.. about a boy." He's holding her hand while he expertly puts on another coat of polish on her nails.  

"Mm. Do you want to talk about it? I promise it will help." 

She nods determinedly. "There's this boy in class and.. he's really cute." 

"Oh, I bet." Ilya smiles as he's switching to her other hand. 

"I asked him to sit beside me at lunch one day." She continues. "And I gave him half my sandwich." 

Ilya raises his eyebrows, intrigued. He makes a sound urging her to continue.