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Ilya is a Kinsey 2, 2.5. He definitely has a preference towards women but he's been with multiple men and, obviously, will actively pursue a relationship with a man if given the motivation and opportunity. Shane thinks Ilya is, like, a Kinsey 0.5. He thinks that Ilya is almost exclusively attracted to women and only sleeps with men for the danger of it all.

Meanwhile Ilya thinks that Shane is a Kinsey 2/3, similar to himself. Shane thinks Shane is a Kinsey 1 and Ilya is his homoerotic hallpass. Shane is actually a Kinsey 6.

Also neither of them has any idea what the Kinsey scale is so this is all just vibes.

Both of these assumptions start to get turned around almost immediately. The emotional first time anal is enough for Shane to start to consider that he is Probably Gayer Than He Thought, which is something that he does try to bury under compulsory heterosexuality. But, as experiencers of comphet will know, the call is coming from INSIDE the house. On some level, you know. Shane also starts to move down the scale in Ilya's mind pretty quickly because it is, unfortunately, relatively obvious that Shane is denying a lot of things about himself.

Shane continues to believe that Ilya is only barely attracted to men and having sex with Shane like someone who normally buys a ham sandwich every day says "I'm feeling a bit wild today" and orders the tuna instead. He believes this right up until Sochi which, compounded with the mutual revelations of Emotional First Time Anal, force him into the realization that Ilya is actually very aware of his own queerness and, while unashamed of it, is very afraid of the consequences if it were to even circulate as a rumor in his home country.

“I looked it up, you know,” Shane offers one morning as they sit in the kitchen of the cottage, both sipping on stemming mugs of coffee and gazing out the windows to the stunning view beyond. “In Russian.”

Ilya’s suddenly transported back to a different conversation–this one in Florida, about the word ‘compatible.’ “Looked what up?” he asks, feeling suddenly tense. He’s said a lot in Russian over the years that he probably shouldn’t have–emotions he’d tried desperately to quell and secrets he’d really wanted to hide. Yes, they’ve agreed to be honest now but that doesn’t mean he has to approach Shane with his beating heart on a silver platter.

But Shane just glances over to him for a half a second, his watery, dark, knowing eyes looking directly through Ilya like a goddamn x-ray. “Solnyshko.” 

Ilya’s heart flips. It’s a pet name he’s slipped into during the past few days, quite without his own consent. It’s just…Shane is his sunshine. The world is so much fucking brighter whenever he’s around, and there are no words to describe how good it feels to be able to look at him and smile without feeling like he’ll be eternally damned for it.

Still…

“Means ‘asshole,’” he grunts almost shyly, eyes on the lake outside, where he can see a loon floating menacingly. 

Shane’s chuckle makes something terrifyingly warm go molten in Ilya’s chest. “Yeah? That’s not what Google said.”

“Google is liar.”

“Google said my boyfriend’s secretly a romantic, I think,” Shane pushes, and Ilya can feel him staring.

So, brave as he can be, he makes eye contact. “Maybe,” he hedges, but he can’t stop his lips from curling upward at the edges.

Shane looks ridiculously pleased. “Good,” he murmurs, sipping his drink again.

If everyone is leaving then they should really look inwards. Max has been incredibly loyal. The way Red Bull talks it’s like they have given him everything without receiving anything in return but he has given them multiple titles and he has brought in so much sponsorships and money. Red Bull have benefited from his talent in the car and his huge appeal out of it. Given his talent he could have moved from Red Bull years ago to try and get a competitive car sooner but he was patient and loyal and now he is asking for the bare minimum and they can’t provided it.