https://archiveofourown.org/works/76119906
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76495636 (this one is my current favorite)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76247006
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76278971
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76330256
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76354451
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75976371
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76003496 (this is another favorite)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75629146 (Yuna pov 🥹)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75757186 (this one is absolutely adorable)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76188861
Some of these have spoilers for TLG which I do think does fix some of the issues you mentioned (there's still more smut then I'd like but I honestly prefer it to HR). I'd recommend reading that one if nothing else from the series just so you can get Hollanov's full story.
EDIT: Sorry nonny I accidentally posted before I was ready to and then panicked and had to hurry and add all the links that were missing lol.
Thanks so much for the recs!
I've alphabetized them below and added summaries for the convenience of my followers 🫡
Normally he would never. Normally he keeps this tight, locked behind his ribs, measured and careful and quiet. Normally every thought about Ilya gets sorted before it ever reaches his mouth. He makes sure nothing sounds like too much.
But the medication has loosened something he usually keeps wound tight. It has softened the reflex that tells him to stop, to swallow words back down before they can do damage. His thoughts drift instead of snapping into line, and his feelings rise up faster than he can push them away. Once the words start, they do not want to stop. They feel good coming out, like easing pressure he did not realize was building.
hospital scene where high shane spills his feelings about ilya :)
Ilya knows there is a thing about himself he has to always keep hidden in the deepest recesses of his body, behind his molars and in his core. He thinks Shane Hollander might be the same, except the thing about him he cannot hide.
Ilya Rozanov is the biggest hockey talent of his generation. So is Shane Hollander.
But over the years Ilya notices that the vicious media and the clamouring fans and some of his more foul-mouthed teammates treat Hollander differently than any other hockey player.
He was used to being without her.
The pain never went away but the sting became manageable; something he could tuck away and avoid ever thinking about.
Like during Hockey Moms Weekend.
No one is going to win a Pulitzer interviewing him, and Shane is okay with that. He spends most interviews rephrasing the same five sentiments--I’m happy we won or We need to work harder after that loss.
They are a good team; the win was hard fought or They are a good team; there is a lot for us to take away.
And finally: I love playing on this team, for our fans.
Then Ilya Rozanov bursts into his life, and answering questions becomes a little more complicated.
or: Shane Hollander, interviewee, throughout the years.
I'm Reading Your Lips (You're Speaking My Language)
Rozanov cocked his head. “You speak Russian? Or just the curse words?”
“Yes, I speak Russian,” he snapped, defensive and angry. He knew that it had been a mistake to even try to be friendly with Rozanov. “Why? Do I not look Russian to you?” He scoffed.
“No, not really,” Rozanov said. Some of his teammates laughed, although they mostly looked surprised that Shane was speaking to them at all. Rozanov didn’t laugh, though. “Are you Russian?”
Despite an inauspicious start, when Russia’s Ilya Rozanov learns that Canada’s Shane Hollander is fluent in Russian at their first World Junior Championships tournament, it changes everything and sets them on a different course. Instead of being branded as rivals from the very beginning, Ilya and Shane start off as friends.
And, after all, a little friendly rivalry never hurt anyone, did it?
i've never needed a reason for keeping secrets from myself
Shane’s immediate reaction is to say that he doesn't know when it started. He doesn’t know who his soulmate is. This is what he’s been telling himself for years, because if he stops for more than a second to think about how long he's been collecting little pieces of Ilya Rozanov, he thinks he'll spiral out of control.
He'll hit the deck like a firecracker dropped unceremoniously onto the sidewalk, burning wildly and spiralling haphazardly, until he's fizzled out with nothing left to show for himself but smoke, ashes, and the knowledge that his soul is bound to Rozanov's.
shane spends twenty-five years not thinking about his soulmate. the drawer in his apartment filled with cigarettes, toothpaste, and awful t-shirts says elsewise.
Yuna has let go of a lot in her life, including her own dream to play professional hockey. But that's alright; she has Shane and David and they have built a storybook legacy together. Then Ilya Rosanov gets hurt and suddenly Shane's calling her asking if they'll go pick up his archrival from the hospital.
"Why don't I tell you a story, then? You may not be able to relate—it's my story after all, and you're not that good at hockey, but try to keep up."
on being a third generation wasian and knowing english and frech and now russian but not your mother’s tongue; a look at shane hollander’s relationship with languages
Maybe if the video ended there, Shane thought, it would be okay. Okayish. Still incriminating. Still a fucking disaster. Still embarrassing, to have his breakup with this beautiful actress filmed and disseminated on Reddit of all fucking places, but not a nail in his coffin, burying him alive. But the video didn’t end there.
“Can I ask if you’ve ever been with another guy?” she had to ask.
And he, tears visible in his eyes, had to nod.
Just once. Just a single nod.
“Have you ever told anyone that before?” He shook his head. “Was it different? With a guy?”
Shane’s conversation with Rose is secretly recorded. Months later, after the All-Star game and Ilya’s confession in Russian, the video gets leaked online. Shane is outed to the world while Ilya is in Russia, and must now finish the 2016-2017 season with the entire world in on his secret.
Young and Hopelessly Smitten
“Ilya Rozanov,” Shane repeats slowly, letting himself taste the words. He grins. “Wow. You’re, like, a really good player. How come you’re in Canada for summer camp? Is that weird to ask? Sorry if that’s weird. I just meant-”
Shane is cut off by a hand on his mouth. He flushes.
“Too fast,” Ilya says. “My English… not good.”
“Sorry,” Shane mumbles into Ilya’s hand. Ilya grins and shakes his head, curls dancing, as he pulls his hand away.
“Is okay. Slow words. Okay?”
This year marks thirteen year Shane Hollander's third summer at Coach Marakov's elite hockey training camp. In attendance for the first time: Ilya Rozanov, visiting from Russia. Shane isn't the most sociable, and Ilya's English isn't the greatest, yet the unlikely duo soon become the best of friends.
It's just one summer, but it makes a world of difference.
