Shane walks into the kitchen one day to find Ilya crying in front of a pot of stew. At first Ilya tries to dry his eyes and tell Shane he's fine. But when Shane pushes a bit more, he admits that he's trying to make a dish he remembers from his childhood, but he can't get it to taste like it used to. And it's not like he's ever going to be able to get the recipe from his mom, so he's just having a bit of a crisis about it. And Shane just holds him while Ilya cries it out and apologises for crying, but all the while Shane is plotting.
Shane starts collecting recipes - as many versions of the same recipe as he can. The next time Ilya goes out for a brand deal or press thing, and Shane's alone at home for the day, he takes the opportunity to meticulously print out cards with the recipes on them so he can keep track, borrows every pot and pan he can from his parents, the neighbours, his teammates, whoever, and starts making all the different recipes, labelling them as he goes.
That evening when Ilya gets home to the overwhelming smell of cooking and sees Shane surrounded by what looks like every pot in Ottawa, he first thinks Shane's had a bit of a mental breakdown. But then he sees the recipe cards and realises what Shane's been making.
"I know we might not find the exact same one, but I thought if we tried a bunch of different ones, you could at least find the one that's the closest."
It's so Shane. Who else would think to make what feels like a hundred pots of the same stew in one day in the hopes that just one of them would help give Ilya a little taste of home?
And Ilya falls in love with his beautiful, thoughtful, wonderful husband all over again.