The Cozy Nook

obviously shane hired a travel agent to create The Optimum Vacation, but he also studied and approved everything and also has custody of all important documents just because it makes HIM feel better and in control

meanwhile ilya?? straight elevator music. where are they going? unclear. when's the flight? not his concern. how long are they staying? who's to say. where's his passport? his husband has both of theirs.

shane’s better at paddle boarding than ilya. they’re both professional athletes with great balance but it takes ilya awhile to get adjusted meanwhile shane’s doing yoga on his just to be a show off

shane and ilya argue over names for the boat and eventually shane gets “wolf bird” painted on it

ilya isn’t allowed to drive the boat that first summer bc he doesn’t have the proper license but shane helps him study for the written test

anya has a life vest with a shark fin

it’s equally impressive and annoying to everyone how well they do in a tandem kayak or canoe together, paddling in perfect unspoken harmony (hayden and jackie almost get divorced)

they run off the dock and do fancy jumps into the water, making the other person rate them like the olympics

they lay on the dock together at night and watch the stars, sometimes talking and sometimes in comfortable silence

What I’m saying is this, sometimes Ilya will say something to Shane in front of the Centaurs that makes the whole locker room freeze up because if they said that shit to their own partners, they would be in the doghouse for months. But Shane will just shove Ilya or punch him in the shoulder and then they grin at each other like it was the funniest shit ever.

Imagine if Ilya said that to someone who wasn’t Shane, like maybe someone on an AHL team who has pretty much zero chance of ever winning a Stanley Cup. Then Ilya would be a total asshole who is trying to make the AHL player feel shitty. It’s an asshole move because the power dynamics are different: star MLH player taunting AHL player about something they want but will never get.

But no, Ilya’s saying this to Shane, BECAUSE he knows just how good Shane is and knows that Shane will definitely win at least one cup at some point. It’s almost like an in-joke: I know you’re good, you know you’re good, but I’m a chaos gremlin and a competitive little shit so I’m gonna rub it in your face a little that I got there before you did, just to get a reaction out of you. But the joke hinges on the fact that Ilya thinks Shane is amazing, they are equals, and it wouldn’t work otherwise.

"So...I checked the game schedule," Shane said hesitantly, looking up from his phone and into his boyfriend's eyes. 

"Yes?" Ilya responded, a small smile forming on his face. "Mark each game against Boston with a heart, right?"

He scoffed, heart skipping a bit. "No." He had color-coded them differently in his calendar, but that was none of Ilya's business. "I just noticed....it'll be two months. Until the first game."

The silence, now, was much more strained. Like the happy, comfortable, blissful bubble they'd been occupying in the cottage had suddenly popped, catapulting them violently back into reality. "Ah," Ilya grunted, frowning. 

Shane shifted uncomfortably. Truthfully, there was an easy answer here, but he was terrified to give it. They could make plans outside of the times they were already near each other. Take advantage of nights off that they both had, fly to each others' cities or meet somewhere in the middle. But that was so much more deliberate than just meeting in places they already were. 

Suggesting it was like suggesting marriage.

And yet...

Hadn't Ilya already mentioned that? Talked about a proposal on a dock, with a thousand candles? Hadn't Shane already confessed that he couldn't see a life without Ilya? Why was it so hard to ask for what he wanted?

He swallowed thickly, trying to force the words out. "There's...times. In between. When we both have nights off. I could fly to you, or you to me. If you-"

"Yes. Yes, we should do this," Ilya agreed immediately, looking so relieved he was close to passing out.

They slammed into that crush like a fucking freight train at the exact same time. They imprinted on each other at 17 outside a shitty arena in Regina, Saskatchewan and they never fuckin stopped.

This relationship was set the second they heard each other's names from their coaches when THEY LIVED ON DIFFERENT CONTINENTS.

They watched tape of each other and were obsessed BEFORE THEY EVEN MET.

In this, if in no other way, they are are tied.

RIGHT HERE. REGINA. 2008.

These two, outside, digging into each other's souls. Like the book says, they were meant to be alone at the top, but they were always going to be there, together.

This, just before their hands touch a second time, is the last moment they're going to be normal. And the last moment I'm going to be normal about them.

Fell first. Fell harder.

It's not even worth discussing. Because the time and intensity were identical.

and then comes shane, who was only ever supposed to be a casual hook up but who looks at and touches him with wonder, who apologizes for coming in his mouth, who asks to wait, who cradles him so tenderly, who caresses his face and kisses his forehead, who asks him if he's okay, who not only texts but comes to find him too, who doesn't expect a performance, who isn't only using ilya for his body or whatever else he could give him, who is so earnest and sweet and who has given ilya already so much more than anyone has ever given him before, and he doesn't even know it (yet)