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Hayden can see Jackie slowly losing the pieces of her sanity in real time as Ruby whines and clings at Jackie’s shirt. “Mom, I need Chompy,” Ruby cries.
Hayden rubs at his temples, meeting Jackie’s exhausted gaze. She has her teeth clenched and a smile pasted on her face. It’s 9 in the morning, which is definitely too early for this. Ruby was so exhausted when she got home from being babysat by Shane’s yesterday that she didn’t notice Chompy was missing before she fell asleep. Unfortunately, she has definitely noticed now. Fuck, when is Hayden going to learn to make sure Chompy is in hand before they leave anywhere?
“How about you and I go see Uncle Shane and get Chompy?” Hayden offers, before Jackie kills all of them and then herself.
Ruby’s tears immediately dry. Thank you, Jackie mouths, petting a hand through Arthur’s hair as she holds him. Jade is miraculously still asleep. Sighing, Hayden gives Jackie a peck on the mouth before grabbing his keys.
He helps Ruby put on her coat before herding her out the door and to the minivan. She pounds on the car seat with her tiny fists as Hayden fastens her in. “Ready to go rescue Chompy from Uncle Shane?” Hayden asks, with the most serious look on his face that he can manage.
Ruby cheers, and Hayden can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. Damn, he and Jackie make cute kids. Hayden tries his best to close his ears to the kid’s CD that plays as Ruby mumbles along. Shortly, he’s searching for street parking around Shane’s apartment. He snags a spot and retrieves Ruby, holding her hand as they make their way to the apartment entrance.
Hayden lets Ruby press the buttons for the elevator, and they both wait impatiently to arrive on Shane’s floor. Ruby bounces along as they walk down the hallway to Shane’s door. This definitely qualifies as a catastrophe for Ruby at least, so Hayden already has his emergency key to Shane’s apartment out when he hears it. It’s a weird, muffled sound, almost like… whimpering? Then he hears Shane shout in a strangled sort of way, and that’s when he gets really freaked out. Is Shane hurt? He lives by himself, who knows what awful things could happen and how long Shane would be alone before someone came to help him. “Shane?” Hayden calls, twisting his key in the lock. “Shane! Are you okay?”
There’s a clatter from inside the apartment. “I’m fine!” Shane yells.
“Dude, you do not sound fine. I’m coming in!” He bursts into Shane’s apartment, grabbing Ruby’s hand and pulling her in after him.
After the door is already open, it occurs to Hayden to hope that Ruby’s not about to see, like, one of Shane’s fingers on the ground after a horrific kitchen accident. Hayden whips his head around, but he doesn’t see Shane. “Shane?” he calls again.
“Don’t come in!” Shane shouts from the bedroom.
“Stay here and don’t move,” Hayden tells Ruby.
Her eyes widen with seriousness, and she nods.
Hayden makes his way back to Shane’s bedroom. His hand hesitates over the door knob. “Shane, you’re really freaking me out. I’m worried about you. I can drive you to the hospital. I won’t laugh at you if you hurt yourself in an embarrassing way.” Hayden jiggles the door knob.
“Hayden, please just go away,” Shane begs from the other side of the door, as the scuffling continues inside the room.
“I’m not going anywhere until I make sure you’re okay.”
At this point, Hayden has no idea what could be wrong with Shane, but he knows how Shane is. He’s always trying to push people away, never ready to admit he needs help or just conversation to get himself out of his head. Hayden has never let Shane push him away; that’s why they’re such good friends.
The door knob starts to turn, and Hayden lets go of his side of it. The door opens to reveal Shane, looking flushed and wearing basketball shorts and a … Raider’s t-shirt? “Okay, now I really know you have a head injury,” Hayden says, pushing past Shane into his room, eyes scanning to make sure there’s not a puddle of blood somewhere and Shane’s about to collapse on him.
“What are you talking about?” Shane asks, before he looks down at his chest and his face turns an even brighter red.
Hayden’s distracted from Shane’s shirt by a thud coming from Shane’s closet, followed by muffled cursing in a - man’s voice? Fuck, Hayden has no clue what is going on here.
“Are you hiding someone in your closet?” Hayden asks incredulously. “Is someone trying to kidnap you?” He’s only half joking.
“Hayden,” Shane says, and he’s almost whining. “Just—” Shane closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
“Just tell me what’s wrong, and we’ll fix it,” Hayden says, drawing from the patience he’s developed from dealing with Ruby, Jade, and Arthur.
“Ilya,” Shane says softly, “come out.”
Hayden’s eyes nearly bug out of his head. Ilya? Shane definitely does not mean—
The closet door opens, and Hayden realizes, yes, Shane does mean Ilya Rozanov. “Holy fuck,” he hears himself say.
This is definitely above Hayden’s paygrade to be able to fix.
Even though Hayden can feel Shane’s worried look practically burning a hole in the side of his face, he literally can’t think of any words to say in this moment,. Rozanov isn’t wearing a shirt, or pants, and Hayden desperately wishes he hadn’t noticed, but Rozanov is half hard against his boxer briefs. Hayden rubs a hand over his face. He needs to make sure Ruby hasn’t gotten herself in too much trouble waiting for him.
“Why don’t you both get dressed and then we can talk about this,” Hayden suggests, in a voice that’s infinitely more reasonable than how he’s feeling right now.
Shane still has that worried pinch between his eyebrows. “I’m not mad,” Hayden makes himself add so Shane will hopefully stop spiralling. “Just… confused.”
Hayden forces himself to turn around and go find Ruby, his mind racing all the while. She’s found a puzzle Shane must keep for the kids and is sitting on the floor putting it together, Chompy sitting on the ground next to her, safe and sound.
“Is Uncle Shane okay?” Ruby asks.
“Yep!” he makes himself say. “He’s going to come out here in a second. He has a… friend with him that we’re going to meet, okay?”
Ruby nods and turns back to her puzzle. Hayden wishes he could be that calm about this whole situation. What has Shane gotten himself into?
As Hayden settles down on the couch while he waits, he reminds himself this is still the Shane he knows, that babysits his kids, Uncle Shane, and he hasn’t changed just because… whatever fucked up thing he has going on with Rozanov. It’s not like Hayden hasn’t wondered if Shane might be… gay, with the distinct lack of interest he shows in girls or in any of Jackie’s friends that Hayden tries to set him up with. But Rozanov?
Hayden hears the bedroom door open quietly. Shane isn’t looking him in the eyes, and Hayden makes himself take a deep breath. He doesn’t want to prove to Shane exactly why he felt he couldn’t tell his best friend about whatever this is.
Shane sits on the opposite side of the couch from him.
Rozanov chooses to sit on the floor next to Ruby. “Hi. I’m Ilya,” Rozanov introduces himself to her, like it’s not making Hayden have double vision to see him sitting next to Hayden’s daughter.
What the fuck kind of power move is that supposed to be? Out of every single player, why was this asshole the one in Shane’s closet? “So,” Hayden starts.
He looks up and sees unshed tears in Shane’s eyes. Jesus. Always with the wet puppy dog bullshit so Hayden can’t stay mad at him for anything. “How did this happen?” Hayden finally asks, helplessly.
Shane runs a hand through his hair, tugging on it in a way that looks painful to Hayden as he searches for a reply. Rozanov answers for Shane. “I am irresistible.” Then the motherfucker has the audacity to wink at Hayden.
Hayden looks at Shane despairingly. “Really?”
Shane’s mouth is opening and closing in a distinctly fish like way. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out,” Shane finally says. “Obviously.”
“So you were planning on telling me?”
“...At some point.”
Ruby giggles at something Rozanov does, and Hayden jerks his gaze over to her. “Ruby, stranger danger,” he hisses.
He notices the way Shane is looking at Rozanov while he makes Ruby laugh. Oh fuck. Are they in love? Hayden can feel a stress headache settling in behind his eyes.
“Okay,” Hayden says, forcing himself to take a breath.
He tries pinching himself. Unfortunately, he doesn’t wake up from this nightmare. He looks back at Shane. “Why?”
Shane puts his head in his hands. Hayden softens. “I’m not trying to upset you, buddy. I’m just trying to understand.”
Shane’s shoulders start to shake. Fuck, now Hayden’s really done it. Hayden slides down the couch until he’s sitting closer to Shane and brings an awkward hand up to pat his back. He looks down to see Roznov glaring at him and scooting closer to Shane, finally diverting his attention from Ruby. For her part, Ruby doesn’t seem to notice, now engrossed with tearing her puzzle apart again and putting the pieces in a circle around Chompy.
“Shane,” Rozanov says, more softly and gentler than Hayden’s ever heard him speak before.
Hayden hates the way Shane rolls off his tongue, like he’s said it a million times. God, this is so fucked up. He thought Shane hated Rozanov, like everyone on the Metros does, and that Rozanov hated him. Hayden’s brain feels like it’s short circuiting as Rozanov puts a hand on Shane’s knee and squeezes. “It’s okay,” Rozanov whispers. “Is your friend, yes? He will keep our secret.”
Rozanov turns a nasty look to Hayden, as if to say, or else.
“He’s right, Shane. I’m not going to tell anyone. Obviously. You’re still my best friend.”
Shane finally looks up, his eyes red. Hayden tries to ignore the way Shane brings one of his hands down to cover Rozanov’s where it sits on Shane’s knee. “Thanks, Hayden,” he breathes.
Hayden’s heart twists at the sight of Shane looking so miserable. “Of course,” he says, clapping his hand against Shane’s back. “I still have a million questions, though.”
Shane sighs, but a small smile is on his face, and Hayden knows they’re going to be okay. “This didn’t happen after your concussion, right?” Hayden asks, just to make sure.
“Not all of us need concussion to be involved to get sex,” Rozanov says, a smile twisting around his mouth.
“Hey!” Hayden says, shooting a meaningful look at Ruby. Rozanov has the good sense to look slightly chastised, although not enough for Hayden’s liking, and Shane is holding back a laugh.
“You’re killing me, man,” Hayden says, and it almost feels normal between them. “For real, though. How did this happen?”
Shane sighs and wrings his hands, his eyes meeting Rozanov’s. Rozanov squeezes Shane’s knee again, and Shane finally tells him the whole story.
-
Back in the car, with Ruby buckled into her car seat and Chompy firmly in her tiny grasp, Hayden scrubs a hand over his face. His stomach is twisted in knots over his worry for Shane. After hearing everything from Shane, Hayden can admit the situation is a little funny, but he definitely understands why they have been hiding all these years. He allows himself one small smile before starting the minivan.
Jackie’s going to be pissed she missed hearing all of the drama first hand. He’s always thought Shane avoided trouble like the plague, not wanting anything to tarnish his image and have his mom on his case, but now he realizes he was just saving all of it for Rozanov. He hopes Shane can hang on to all of the goodwill he’s built whenever this all comes out. For now, all Hayden can do is keep his mouth shut. And make sure Ruby never leaves another toy at Shane’s house again.