Post TLG, the same was that it breaks the Hollanders' heart when they see Ilya tear up over something so normal (calling to say hi instead of asking for something, paying for a meal at a restaurant despite Ilya definitely being able to afford it, buying him a sweater for the winter, etc.), it breaks Ilya and eventually the Centaurs' hearts when they see Shane be surprised or a bit overly grateful or apologetic for something that is literally not a big deal.
Shane preemptively defends his ginger ale during a visit to the bar after a game? Bood goes, "Maybe I should try that, but with cranberry juice. I need a new drink option now that I have a kid."
Shane gets tired of the club, but knows Ilya's not ready to leave yet, and he doesn't want to cut his husband's night short, so he quietly gets up to leave. Of course, the Centaurs notice, and Shane braces for the impact, for the "Going to bed already, Hollander? Goody-two-shoes heading out before curfew?" or "Golden boy of hockey trying to be a good role model and go to bed early?"
But all he hears is a smattering of, "Oh, bye Hollzy! We'll make sure your husband gets back safely."
The media manages to get its grubby hands on the other players that aren't Ilya or Bood, asking them, "What is it like having to married players on the same team?"
Shane overhears the question from his corner and internally panics, because while knows they accept them because Troy and Harris are a couple, what if they do have a problem sharing a locker room with a gay couple and -
"It's great," Holmberg says. "Our captain is happy all the time and we get to watch two actual legends on the ice in real time."
"But isn't it a bit... awkward to have to share the locker room with a couple?" one scummy journalist asks.
"I mean sometimes -" And Shane is about to have a panic attack, an honest-to-God panic attack because what does that mean - "only because it just reminds me of single I am."
"Yeah," LaPointe pipes up. "Watching the greatest hockey players of our time be in love with each other really hits you with the single stick. It's like they read each other's minds, and I can barely figure out if a woman is interested in me."
At one of Bood's BBQ, and friends and family are invited to this one. One of the kids loudly proclaims they need help with their math homework ("If you'd done it yesterday like you said you would, Timmy, you wouldn't have to do it now."), and Shane is waiting for someone to to shout "Ask Shane. He knows." But someone says, "Ask Hayes or Haas. They're trying to make a comic to make math fun. They need the research."
Quietly and without fuss, the Centaurs simply accept Shane into their fold. Some nights, Ilya has to just hold him or lie on top of him from being overwhelmed at the sheer decency he's shown.
In the same way that Shane secretly wishes he could throw a punch or two at Grigori and Alexei, Ilya wishes the same at the Metros. And would you look at that! They have a couple games against them, so he gets to have his wish.
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