#ruby pike

Like Ruby and Jade are in high school and one of their classmates does a presentation on th3 hockey legends as like a fun assignment and ruby and jade are just sitting there watching some kid talk about their uncles and just realize

They were children, children who knew probably the biggest NHL secret and scandal

And as they watch this classmate go on and on they think back to the day they first called Ilya Uncle because he always came with Uncle Shane so that must mean he was a fellow Uncle.

And they realize slowly that Ilya and Shane didn't always hide from them and even though they know that they still had to to some degree they realize how lucky they are they got to watch them be that way.

And as their classmates finishes they end with a final closing note.

"And if anyone wants a part two talking about How Hayden Pike, a fellow player, outed them on fan mail as a secret gay relationship let me know!"

So they get building.

Ilya is still a little unclear as to the point of it all—it’s not like he ever built forts as a child—until they’ve put together a structure that spans most of the den, and Shane is ushering him inside.

It’s… cozy.

There are pillows and stuffed animals everywhere, the ceiling draped with fairy lights that pain their little cave with a soft glow. Ilya takes Shane’s offered hand as he leads him through the fort, settling in the large middle area and pulling Ilya down with him. Off to the side, Ruby and Jade attempt to build a “throne room”, while Arthur pulls in his iPad and gets settled beside them. When Amber reappears, she makes a beeline for her uncles, wedging herself firmly between them.

Ilya watches her get settled before turning to Shane, only to find him already looking back. “Nice?” Shane asks quietly. There’s a lump in Ilya’s throat and he nods, not trusting himself to speak. Really nice. Really, stupidly nice.

They sit in the moment for a bit, listening to the tap of Arthur’s small fingers and the twins arguing, before Ilya looks up at the ceiling and purses his lips. “Do you know what would make this even better?” He asks.

The girls fall silent.

“What?” Shane asks.

“Cookies.”

"Uncle Shane, Uncle Shane!"

Shane, who had been busy happily lining up toy trains with Arthur in rainbow order as they talked about their passenger capacity, nearly jumped at the happy voices of Ruby and Jade, both girls stumbling in his direction as they stampeded into the living room. Smiling, he greeted the twins. "What's up?"

"We made Uncle Ilya look pretty!"

"Like a princess!"

He couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Yeah? Okay, I have to see this. Show me."

Allowing the girls to lead him into their room, he tried to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to see.

But nothing in his imagination could have lived up to the reality.

Ilya's lips were smeared messily with a bright pink lipstick, glitter clinging messily to his skin. His cheeks were overly-rouged with blush that went all the way down to his jawline and pink-and-blue eyeshadow was painted unevenly over his lids. It seemed like the girls had tried to apply eyeliner only to end up scribbling by Ilya's hairline, which made the whole thing look even more hilarious. His look was finished off with clip-on earrings that looked like they could've belonged to Shane's grandmother who was long deceased.

Shane grinned so widely it hurt. "You look captivating," he deadpanned, smirking at his husband. “Why don’t you do this more often?”

Ilya just rolled his eyes, swatting an uncaring, manicured hand at him. "You just do not understand modern beauty, Hollander. This is fashion now," he retorted with what seemed to be an attempt at a huff.

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Shane teased, already taking out his phone. "Just--" and he snapped a picture, sending it to Svetlana and Rose.

"Hollander, you asshole!" Ilya shouted, grabbing for Shane's phone.

But it was too late. "Swear jar, swear jar!" all of the kids began singing, pointing at Ilya while Shane laughed maniacally, the pictures already marked 'delivered’ in the groupchat.

Grumbling, Ilya fished out a dollar from his pocket.

"You need to be a better influence, Rozanov," Shane said morosely, insides wriggling with glee.

"saying all my dogs favourite words to see how they react"

tysm for this I absolutely have OPINIONS

Ruby's favourite is absolutely magic of the pegasus, it's got ice skating (meaning it's also Shane's favourite), a magical adventure, snarky characters, the power of sisterly love, and she loves making uncle Ilya pretend he's ollie the ogre and he's about to turn all the pikelings into soup (throwing them all into a pillow pit and catching them to throw them back in when they escape)

Jade's favourite changes between swan lake, island princess, and mermaid tale because she loves the animals in all of them. there is no contextual evidence for this, I just have The Vibe. she's also more of a romantic than her twin (she's the one who tells hayden that the wedding was a beautiful ceremony) so I think she really loves the love stories in them while Ruby sees the men as an afterthought (except for pegasus and princess and pauper where the men are actually useful)

Arthur's favourite is absolutely rapunzel, he loves the crispy sounds in this one, and all the painting scenes are so pretty and calming. it being such a classic fairy tale also makes it comforting for him because he knows exactly how its gonna go. I like to think that Hayden and Jackie also showed him tangled and as soon as it finished he asked them to put on "the real rapunzel movie"

Ilya Rozanov: (whispering) Why are there little handprints all over the wall?

Ruby Pike: (whispering) Because I have little hands.