#(( back again

After leaving the cottage and having a tearful goodbye at the airport as official boyfriends, they had been surviving off of texts and facetimes for months. They had tried to see each other during the preseason, but due to other obligations, every effort failed.

Shane thought he might lose his mind. 

He felt stupid. Even just last season it didn’t feel this damn hard. Ignoring his feelings also made it possible to ignore just how deeply he would miss Ilya in the times they were apart. Now it consumed him. It thrashed in him in a way that left his chest tight and pained. Sometimes it would get so bad that he couldn’t stop himself from telling Ilya how much it hurt, and he would feel a little better when Ilya would tell him he felt the same.

But tonight was their first game against each other of the season. The Raiders were in Montreal, and Shane was going to have Ilya to himself for an entire night.

They leaned down across from each other on the ice for the face off and it took every ounce of control for Shane to stop himself from reaching for his boyfriend in front of the entire stadium.

“How was your summer?” Shane asked, daring to meet Ilya’s eyes.

Ilya’s face split into a grin. “Very good. Best in a long time.”

Montreal won.

The moment Ilya let himself inside Shane’s apartment Shane was on him, wrapping his arms around Ilya in a vice-like grip.

And then Ilya was kissing him. And kissing him and kissing him and kissing him and-

“Wait,” Shane gasped, pulling away. Ilya raised a brow, not-so subtley tugging at the hem of his shirt. “I wanna show you something.”

Intrigued, Ilya gestured in front of him. “Lead the way.”

Shane grabbed Ilya’s hand and pulled him toward the kitchen, Ilya’s feet stuttering as the dining table came more into view. Shane stopped short, suddenly feeling self conscious. 

There were a couple candles lit and two plates beside each other, filled with food. A bottle of wine and some glasses framed the display. “I was thinking,” Shane began. “You know, we can’t really like… go on dates or anything. So I thought I could, like, bring a date to us, maybe.” 

Ilya didn’t respond at first and just stared, leaving Shane feeling compelled to explain more. “It’s steamed fish. I was trying to think of something that we’d both like, I hope it’s okay.”

Ilya began to blink rapidly and turned to Shane, the smile on his face showing every single tooth in his mouth. “Shane Hollander,” he said, the smile sounding in his voice. “You’re taking me on a date?”

Shane huffed and nodded. “Yeah.”

Ilya grabbed his face with both hands and smacked a loud kiss to his lips. “I love you,” he murmured into Shane’s mouth.

Shane didn’t know happiness could feel like this. This… big. “And I love you. Come on, before it gets cold.”

The two sat hunched together while they ate, giggling and whispering to each other as if they weren’t the only ones in the whole apartment. They stole kisses, grabbed knees, tapped feet. 

Shane was damn near in Ilya’s lap the whole dinner.

That is, until he was actually in Ilya’s lap once they finished, fusing his mouth to Ilya’s in a way that left Ilya gasping.

Black Licorice

Update 51

Masterpost