don't let them tie you down

"Bro? BRO?" says Ilya, his hands on his hips. "My name is Baby, or 'Love-Of-My-Life', or 'Beloved Husband', or 'Rozanov' if I'm in trouble. Just like you are now, Hollander."

And that's all the warning Shane has before he's tackled to the couch, and Ilya's kissing him relentlessly all over his face and neck, more to tickle him than anything. In between all the kisses, Ilya is like, "What do you say, Hollander? Do I have to keep helping you remember my name?"

And Shane's laughing so hard he's crying like "No, no, I'm sorry, baby! I'm sorry! I'll never call you bro again." And finally Ilya stops and presses one last kiss to his lips, this one softer and sweeter.

"Okay, good. Now let's get some dinner, bro."

And Shane rolls his eyes, but he leans up to get another kiss from Ilya.

“You’re kidding,” Troy says, stunned, as the entire team stares at Coach Weibe, who is wincing and looking like he wants to crawl into a hole.

“‘Fraid not, boys. Mandatory sensitivity training, Monday morning. The league is really cracking down on their new rules,” Weibe says, grimacing.

“We are the reason these rules exist!” Ilya roars, throwing his hands in the air. “Crowell makes them because he is–what is word, Hollander?”

“Biased.”

“Da, biased, to us! What did we do to need punishment?”

A couple murmurs indicate that the whole team agrees.

“Apparently…”Weibe clears his throat uncomfortably. “Apparently a referee at the last game heard a few of you calling each other ‘homophobic.’ He reported it to the league out of concern, and–”

“Oh my god, we say this all the time!” Ilya yelled again, looking around at all the guys, who were nodding. “Bood does not pass to me? Homophobic. Dykstra checks Barrett? Homophobic. Hollander calls me asshole? Homophobic and husband abuse.” It’s obvious that Weibe is trying to keep a straight face as he shakes his head. “Well, that stuff isn’t a joke, guys. Maybe the training will do you some good. Like I said, Monday at 8am. No arguments.”

But as they all stand and start to get ready to go, a soft, clear voice can be heard above the grumbling.

“Seems pretty homophobic, not gonna lie,” Shane Hollander mutters under his breath, the ghost of a smile on his face.

I think I like you maybe a little too much.

He remembered being so happy to see him. Even now, just knowing that Ilya had made the trip to the hospital filled Shane with a tingly warmth. Shane was completely in love with him. He would hit his head all over again just to be alone in that quiet hospital room with those careful fingers and those concerned eyes.

Kate and Anthony’s journey from Sir and Miss to Viscount and Viscountess Bridgerton.