Work Text:
“So who do you want to start with? Pike?” Ilya said. He was not too thrilled about Pike being the first person to know about them, but he trusted Shane. If Shane said that Hayden was someone he wanted to tell, fine. But Shane shook his head.
“I don’t think so,” Shane said. “Not now. I kind of feel like this is face to face news, and he is busy with the new baby.” He was quiet for a moment. “And I guess… I don’t want to tell anyone from the league yet. I want to… stay here, in the cottage, in this bubble, for a while longer. I don’t want to think about the locker room or team reactions or anything.”
Ilya nodded. He understood. For both of them, Shane’s cottage was an escape from their world, a place where dreams had room to breathe.
“You’re sure you want to do this? Now?” Ilya asked, combing his fingers in Shane’s hair while they sat cuddling on the sofa. “There’s no rush.”
Shane took a shaky breath.
“Yeah,” he said, like he couldn’t believe himself. “I’m tired of lying all the time. Especially to my parents. So I was thinking… maybe I could talk to them first.”
Ilya looked at Shane under his arms, so proud of the other man. This was a big deal. This was bravery. An act Ilya himself had never been able to do.
”Maybe we do just one part,” Ilya said quietly, contemplating. “Tell them about you. You don’t have to talk about me. Is maybe too much now. Just… let them see you. If you think they are good about it, I mean,” he added. “Is not always a given.”
“I’m sure they are,” Shane said, but he didn’t sound convinced. Ilya knew that if there was a one percent chance his parents would react poorly, Shane would obsess over it. Probably had done that for years.
“That’s great,” Ilya said and meant it, though he felt a small shiver of jealousy. Of course he wanted Shane’s parents to be great about it, Shane deserved it. Sometimes he just hoped that…
“Can you be here? For that?” Shane asked and caressed Ilya’s arm, letting his head fall back on his chest. “I mean… I don’t think I’m ready to tell them about you yet, like you said, but… If you were here anyway, it would…”
“Hey, hey, of course,” Ilya said right away. “I can hide under sofa or in kitchen cupboard. Is very big. We can get rid of your disgusting vegetables.”
Shane let out a laugh.
“Or you could wait in the bedroom,” he added. “Just… if it doesn’t go well… I don’t want to be alone.”
“You are not,” Ilya said. “Not anymore.” He said it emphatically, and Shane smiled blissfully. However, Ilya knew that their time this summer was running out. Ilya’s plane would take him back to Boston in three days. Maybe Shane was thinking the same because he said:
“So… tomorrow?” The idea seemed to frighten him. “I don’t want to second guess myself.”
Ilya nodded. Tomorrow.
“And I want to tell them about you, too. Obviously,” Shane said. “Just… I want them to see me first. Not just a huge fucking scandal with a rival. Me.”
“I get that,” Ilya said. “Don’t worry. We do on your terms. Is your parents.”
“On my terms,” Shane said and smiled a little. “You know, I think it needs to happen now. After this summer… after us… now… I think there’s a very real possibility someone will notice the way I react when they talk about you. Or I can’t help smiling when you enter the room. Or someone will photograph us or hack our phones. Or walk in on us. Or…” His smile had vanished and he frowned.
“Hollander, don’t panic. Nothing’s happened yet,” Ilya said, tightening his grip on the other man. He hated their situation, hated how unfair it was. And he was so, so scared that Shane would realize Ilya was not worth all this.
“And then it won’t be on my terms,” Shane finished his thought and took a few deep breaths. “I want it to be.”
“You deserve it,” Ilya said simply and bent down to place a kiss on Shane’s forehead, trying to silence his inner thoughts.
“So we have a plan now.”
“We do. We know you love plans.”
“Shut up,” Shane said fondly and gave Ilya a small smile. Ilya smiled back at him, and Shane sighed, content. This future was worth some uncomfortable discussions.
**
Tomorrow arrived too quickly, Shane thought, and at the same time it had felt like the night would never end. He must have gotten like two hours of sleep, at the most. Ilya had woken up to his tossing and turning, had blown him to get his mind elsewhere, but that had calmed him down for an hour at the most, and then he had been back, staring at the ceiling, until finally the sun started to rise outside and Shane could get up. He had a breakfast smoothie by the lake, and by the time Ilya finally woke up, he was dressed and fumbling with his phone, having written at least seven different text messages to his parents and deleted all of them.
Finally, he settled for a short one, asking them to join him for lunch despite his silent retreat. The answer came quickly, and Shane bit his lip when he read it. They were coming.
“You can do it,” Ilya said and touched his freckles gently, like he did daily now, never getting tired of them. And Shane took those words and played them again and again in his head, finding solace in them. God, he wanted to stop lying. But in order to do that, he needed to come clean about the fact that he had been doing just that for most of his life. Shane hated admitting that he had fucked up, he wanted his parents to see him as a perfect son. He had worked so hard for that, and that was the problem, wasn’t it? He hadn’t let his parents see the real him. Had not given them enough credit, had not trusted them with all of him. But they had always been good to him, they deserved to know.
“You don’t owe them anything, you know,” Ilya said like he had read his mind. Sometimes Shane thought Ilya was really capable of that. “No need to apologize. We don’t owe our lives to anyone.”
“No, I know,” Shane said, still playing with his phone nervously. He unlocked the screen for the hundredth time, checking his notes app. He had all his talking points listed. He could just power through. He deleted the apology after Ilya’s words, though.
“I love you,” Ilya said and looked at him like he was the eighth wonder of the world, and if Shane still had any doubts, that expression was enough to tell him that he was doing the right thing. Shane could read amazement in Ilya’s face, like the Russian couldn’t believe that this was real, that Shane was choosing their future together. Shane wanted to prove that to Ilya every day. Only recently had he understood that Ilya didn’t really see himself as worthy of love, and he wanted to do everything in his power to convince him that he was. He so was. And that Shane did love him, would love him no matter how tough the situation was, how moody or impossible he sometimes could get. Loving someone when everything was perfect was easy. Shane could do more than that.
“Love you too,” Shane said, the words warm and heavy, and Ilya kissed him.
They cooked together, Shane still a little bit in awe at how easy it was to move together in the kitchen, to work so effortlessly in this domestic scene.
“I’m sorry you don’t get to eat with us,” Shane said. “I promise we will leave you some lunch.”
“That’s fine,” Ilya said, mouth already half full of spaghetti bolognese, having sunk his fork in the pot on the table.
“Hey! Leave something for us, too!” Shane laughed, and Ilya winked, unable to say anything else, some tomato sauce dripping to his chin. Shane wanted to kiss it away, but before he could move, he heard a car pulling up.
“They are early,” he said and gulped. This was it.
“You can do it,” Ilya said again after he had swallowed his food. He moved closer to Shane, caressed his neck and back for a few seconds to ground him, and then excused himself. “If you need me, you know where to find me,” he said. “Will be here.”
“Thanks,” Shane said, and really meant it. He didn’t think he could have done any of this alone. Well, his history of hiding his true self for years was a proof of that. He needed Ilya to gain strength.
Ilya climbed the stairs to the bedroom and closed the door just when Shane’s parents knocked at the entrance.
**
Yuna had been surprised to get a message from Shane. Surprised, but relieved, to be honest. She had been worried about Shane and his concussion, and the fact that he could just faint in his solitary cottage and no one would know. And she hadn’t been sure that a silent retreat was what he needed right now anyway. He had suffered being away from his team and their games, and he didn’t have too many friends to begin with.
“Shane, dear,” she said as she hugged him and entered the room, David trailing behind her. Shane returned the hug but seemed a bit stiff, and Yuna’s mother mode was instantly on.
“Your collarbone is not hurting you?” she asked. “You are alright?”
“Yeah,” he answered, but didn’t look at her. Instead, he insisted they have lunch right away. No small talk, no time to just be. It was oddly formal, and Yuna exchanged a worried glance with David.
“You cooked this?” David asked once they started their lunch, and Shane nodded. He checked on his phone even though the Hollanders usually had a “no phones while dining” rule. Yuna was about to reprimand him, but she bit her tongue. They were at his home, and whatever he saw on that phone, the tension in him seemed to relax a bit.
“Yeah, I did,” Shane answered, a bit late. “Why?”
“Didn’t know you to be a fan of so many spices,” David said. “Not that I’m complaining. Tastes better than your normal pasta, that’s all.”
“Oh, thanks,” was all Shane said, absent-mindedly. He checked his phone again, and Yuna could see he almost laughed: his lips curled upwards.
“So, how has the silent retreat been?” she asked, wanting to bring him back from his phone.
“It’s been… interesting,” Shane said slowly. “I’ve had time to think about things. Make plans.” He swallowed.
Yuna waited a little, and when Shane didn’t elaborate but it looked like he wanted to, she asked for more specifics.
“I… I have something to tell you,” Shane said. He sounded determined but nervous, and Yuna looked quickly at David, feeling her own heart start to race. Something was coming. Was it about hockey? Or about Rose Landry?
“You can tell us anything, dear,” she said.
Shane took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a while, then opened them but refused to look at his parents. He focused his eyes on the steps leading to upstairs and said in a quiet voice:
“I’m gay.”
Everything seemed to slow down. Yuna could see how David slowly put down his fork, how Shane’s fingers fidgeted on the table. He had closed his eyes. She could hear her own heart beating, once, twice. She processed those words, heard them again and again in her mind. Thoughts swirled around in her head. How had she not seen this? Why hadn’t Shane told them earlier? He seemed to trust them now, which was precious! Oh, her little boy. What was going to happen to his career? Was he dating someone? What the fuck had been happening with Rose Landry? Had this been weighing him down for a long time? Did Reebok have a rainbow collection? And, most clearly, I need to react perfectly. I only get one chance to do this right for him.
Finally, she seemed to wake up from her trance at the same time as David did. Simultaneously, they opened their mouths.
“Oh, honey, that’s… I mean… that’s huge. But great! So great.”
“Son. You know we support you no matter what.”
Shane opened his eyes but couldn’t meet theirs. He gulped, looked at his phone again, and this time Yuna saw he had a bullet point list open. Her heart melted. Shane was prepared. Shane was being Shane.
“Go through your list, honey”, she said gently. “We will listen.” After a small silence she added: “And we love you. So much.”
Shane nodded and looked at his phone more openly now. He took a long breath, kept tapping his fingers against the table and refusing to meet her and David’s eyes. He looked nervous, even scared. But there was something hiding behind the fear, and years of studying Shane had prepared Yuna to spot it. There was a sense of purpose, and with every bullet point, his shoulders seemed to relax a little, as though a weight had been lifted from them.
“Thank you for listening. It took me some time to tell you because I am… I am scared that you will see me differently, and I wanted you to know that I’m still the same person. I’m still me. And that I… I tried very hard, for a long time, but I couldn’t help it, and I only realized a few months ago that I shouldn’t fight it. So that’s why I’m only telling you now.”
Yuna couldn’t help it. She opened her mouth to protest, to tell him that he should never try to change who he is. However, Shane finally looked up from his phone, stared a little left of Yuna’s face, and asked very clearly:
“Mom, please let me finish first.”
Yuna fell silent after that, but she did reach for David’s hand.
“I know it’s probably a shock to you, and you need time to understand. But I need you not to freak out. It’s good. I’m happy. Really happy, actually.”
A small smile appeared on Shane’s lips and his eyes softened. Yuna felt something warm building in her chest, right on top of her heart.
Shane kept going.
“I’m not ready to come out to the world, not like Scott Hunter did. Maybe to Hayden and Jackie, I think, and possibly the team, but so far you are the only one who know. Oh, except for Rose. She actually helped me a lot through all of this. But yeah… that’s what I wanted to tell you today. Thanks for listening.”
Shane closed his eyes when he stopped talking, and then slowly, with huge effort, looked directly at his parents. Yuna wasn’t sure what he expected to see. She knew her eyes were filling up, but she smiled to let him know that it was alright. It was all going to be alright, because he was her Shane, always.
She got up and gave him a hug, and saw David reaching over the table, placing his hands on top of Shane’s restless fingers.
“We got you, sweetheart,” Yuna said, and he could feel the tension leaving Shane.
“Th… thanks, mom,” he said, his voice thick.
They stayed there, hugging, for a long time.
“We love you,” Yuna said again, just to be clear. “You had a good speech prepared.”
“You even thanked us twice for listening,” David smiled softly but his eyes twinkled.
Finally Yuna let go of Shane, took her seat and breathed out. She took her fork in her hand and was ready to eat some pasta again, ready to show Shane that they could go back to normal. She had a million questions about his life, and at least dozen suggestions as her manager, but after David gave her a look that told her to give him some time, she just took a mouthful and smiled at Shane. They had time.
For the rest of the meal, they talked about the next hockey season. How trades had changed the power balance between teams. How Toronto had a new coach and New Jersey had gotten the number one draft pick, a very promising young Finn. Shane took part enthusiastically, and, Yuna noticed, he was more animated and grinned more widely than for a long time.
When they had finished the lunch, Shane looked more serious again.
“You must have some questions,” he said, uncertain but serious. Dreading it a bit, Yuna could see.
“They can wait,” David said, but Yuna needed to know one thing:
“Did we… did we do something to make you think we would react poorly?” The question broke her heart. She needed to blink away the tears before they could fall and ruin Shane’s day.
Shane actually flinched.
“No!” he said. “It’s just…um… you know, my head always creates these worst-case scenarios. And like I said, I wasn’t ready to accept it myself for the longest time. I… I was so ashamed. I just wanted to be normal. I’m sorry, mom. I’m… I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, no,” Yuna said. This was not what she had meant with her question. “You should never have to apologize to us for who you are. Never.”
“Your mother is right,” David said. “You don’t owe anyone anything. Not even us. You are the only one who knows when the right time is.”
Shane let out a nervous laugh. “He said that too”.
“Who did, sweetheart?” his mom asked.
Shane seemed to notice what he had said. He was silent for a long moment. Yuna thought he was going to have a silent panic attack, but then he said sorry, texted someone, and seemed to receive an answer almost immediately. Something set in his jaw. He inhaled and exhaled in a steady rhythm and Yuna could see him counting down, calming himself. She wanted to reach out to him, but before she could do that, Shane seemed to be ready. He looked straight at them, this time, and said very clearly:
“My boyfriend. My boyfriend said exactly that.”
Yuna was taken aback, but David answered in a seemingly relaxed way:
“Then he sounds like a really smart man. I’d love to meet him sometime.”
Shane raised his gaze to the staircase and Yuna could hear a door opening.
“You are in luck then,” Shane breathed out. Yuna turned slowly around to meet her son’s boyfriend. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but this wasn’t it. When she saw a blond man with wild curls and Shane’s plaid shirt on, her first thought was that he looked a lot like Shane’s rival. Her second thought was that Ilya Rozanov must have a twin.
She didn’t have time for a third thought before she heard him say hello with his thick Russian accent. David answered, but she couldn’t find her voice. Her head snapped back to Shane, but Shane wasn’t looking at her. He was gazing up at the man with clear devotion, eyes almost sparkling.
“Ilya…” Shane said, the first name sounding casual, domestic, and yet somehow special, like a gift. “Mom, dad… this is Ilya. Rozanov. But I guess you already know that. He’s visiting and we’re…”
“Lovers,” Ilya said and started descending, passed Yuna and David and stood beside Shane, putting his hands on his shoulder.
“Urgh, Ilya, that’s gross,” said Shane and grimaced.
“Boyfriends then,” Ilya supplied, and Shane blushed, even though he had just called Rozanov his boyfriend a minute ago, and even though this word was far less incriminating than the previous one. Yuna’s whole world seemed like a house of mirrors. She felt like she was about to faint.
**
Ilya stood by Shane’s side, touched his shoulder and tried to ground him. Tried to ground himself, too, to be honest. Shane usually didn’t do impromptu plan changes, and Ilya hadn’t been preparing himself to meet the Hollanders today. But he could roll with the punches, he knew. He could get through anything if Shane needed him to be strong. So when Shane had sent him a text a minute ago, “Can I?” followed by “I want them to know you”, he had answered “Da” before a second thought. To be presented like this was crazy, it was scary, and it would change everything. He knew that.
But it was also Shane, everything was Shane, and Shane wanted to risk it all for him, so how could he say no? Still, Ilya could hear his heart beating in his chest even though he tried to look calm. Tried not to smirk, not to assume anything, not to be loud and obnoxious and too much. Tried to be as respectful as possible. He could do that. He had practised standing in front of a disapproving father for most of his life. The Hollanders would be easy after Grigori Rozanov.
Shane had texted him throughout lunch, letting him know everything had gone fine, so he knew the Hollanders would accept queer people. At least they accepted queerness in their own beloved son. Would they accept him, though? At the moment, both of them looked shocked. Ilya stood up a little straighter and concentrated on Shane’s warmth by his side. This would be fine, it had to be fine. Even if they disapproved, they wouldn’t out their own son. But would Shane listen to their doubts and finally understand that he deserved better than what Ilya had to offer? He tried to crush these thoughts and concentrate on the situation at hand. Otherwise he would not make it, and Shane needed him.
“I don’t… I don’t understand. Help me,” Yuna said uncertainly. Her eyes were wide and she looked confused. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sometimes I think it’s the only thing that makes any sense in my life,” Shane said quietly. “Ilya’s my only constant. Nothing can compare, not even hockey. I need you to understand that.”
Ilya watched him, not saying anything. In awe, his own pupils dilated, his ears struggling to comprehend what Shane was saying. He wasn’t quite sure what ‘constant’ meant when used like this, but from the look in Shane’s eyes, he could guess. He’d only heard it in phrases like “constant arousal”, which, to be fair, wasn’t wrong, either. Somehow he doubted Shane was talking about their sex lives to his parents, though.
Shane’s mother seemed to have a hard time understanding that anything was as important as hockey. His dad looked at them, deep in thought, and then asked if this – he gestured between them – had started at the All-Star Game this year. Despite being scared, Ilya wanted to laugh when he risked a glance at Shane. Only a few months?
“No, it was before,” Shane simply said.
“Oh,” Shane’s mom said. “When, then?” They were all quiet for a while, Ilya waiting to see which starting point Shane would give them.
“Since rookie season,” Shane finally said, and Ilya just had to add:
“No, is not true. Is summer before.”
The parents looked even more shocked, if possible.
“We didn’t plan this introduction today,” Shane said apologetically. “I’m sorry if we’re not very coherent. But the main point is that we are together, and want to be together in the future, too. That’s why we are telling you this.”
“Oh, so this is off plan?” Shane’s dad said, clearly impressed. Shane didn’t have a speech prepared for this. Ilya thought he was doing rather perfectly without it.
“I just realized that there is no version of me without him,” Shane said. “And I don’t want to keep lying anymore. I love him.”
Shane couldn’t say stuff like that, he just couldn’t, not when Ilya already found it hard to keep it together. He was sure he was going to either burst from happiness or start sobbing, unable to believe this was his life now. He did the next best thing and said:
“I love him, too.” It felt right. Like he had been ready to say that for years, and had just been waiting for someone to actually listen.
The Hollanders looked at each other, still bewildered, but Ilya could see that their expressions had softened. He had learnt to excel in reading a room, it was a skill you needed with his father, and finally Ilya could relax. Shane’s parents weren’t disgusted. They didn’t hate him, hate this. Everything was going to be okay.
David Hollander stepped forward and reached for a handshake. Ilya reciprocated, and there it was, a promise of a future.
“Good to meet you,” David said, “and I guess, welcome to the family?”
Ilya swallowed and muttered a thank you. He turned his head to look at Shane, who simultaneously beamed and looked so overwhelmed that Ilya was afraid he would pass out. He kissed the corner of his mouth, gently, aware of Shane’s parents looking at them. He could feel Shane smiling against his lips.
“Alright then,” Yuna Hollander said, shaking her head and straightening her posture. “Shane. Rozanov. We need a plan. And a group chat, so that you can prepare answers to all of my million questions later.”
“You can call me Ilya,” he said, “but you should add me as ‘Lily’.” And he winked.
**
“I guess you did give them a list of all the guys you’re fucking,” Ilya said, smirking. Shane blushed a little. His parents had just driven off with a promise of meeting them once more before Ilya had to fly back to Boston.
“I told you the first day I couldn’t do it any other way. I’m way too bad at lying for that.”
Sometimes he was still in awe that they had managed to keep their relationship hidden for nine years. Maybe it was the improbability of it all. If someone had guessed and asked him about Ilya, the truth would have been etched on his face for sure. He was also in awe of how well everything had gone with his parents. How much lighter, giddier, he felt himself to be. He had made the right decision.
“Hmm… you are the worst liar,” Ilya agreed. “But you are my worst liar. And I kind of like it. I know you say what you mean. You don’t play games.”
Shane blushed. “I was always too easy. I used to hate it.”
“I did not,” Ilya said. “I think I first fell in love with your… earnestness, is the word?”
“Oh yeah?” Shane asked, intrigued. They had never shared when before, mostly because he hadn’t wanted to admit to Ilya that he had been gone for him a lot longer than anyone could guess. But now Ilya was saying Shane was so easy to read, so maybe he already knew the truth? And suddenly Shane wanted to know what Ilya would say next.
“When was that, exactly?” He held his breath. He had given the rookie season as a starting point to his parents because that’s when he felt like he started to lie to them. But it was not what he was asking Ilya now. He was kind of scared Ilya would refuse to answer.
Ilya looked at him for a while, and Shane had never seen him look so love-struck before. He mentally added this face to his list of Ilya’s favorite looks. It was beautiful.
“The moment I knew I loved you? Is probably when you answered my sext. Remember, you told you could come twice in an hour. No innuendo, no flirting. Just honest answer. It surprised me. In best way.”
Shane felt his jaw open and he knew he looked comical.
“Shit. That was… such a long time ago. In 2013? You have loved me for four years?”
“Solnyshko, I think I have loved you long before that, I just didn’t know it yet.”
And how could Ilya say such things, when for nine years they had barely spoken to each other? When Shane had known for sure that words weren’t their forte? Touch was, yes, but they didn’t communicate by talking, not really. Ilya certainly hadn’t communicated all these feelings to him, back then.
“When was it for you?” Ilya asked back. Shane knew the answer instinctively.
“At your place. When you asked me to stay. That’s why I ran.”
Ilya looked pensive. Shane couldn’t read his face for once, didn’t know if Ilya was disappointed it was so recent compared to his revelation or as exhilarated as Shane was to know that the feelings had been there even before the cottage. For Shane, even knowing that Ilya felt something like that before this summer felt like a miracle. When he had picked Ilya up from the airport, he had not dared to dream of this, of his love being reciprocated.
“But you know…” Shane said. “I lived in denial for a long time. And especially after that night in Vegas, after you had been ghosting me for six months and then didn’t even kiss me goodbye… It hurt more than it should have hurt if were just meeting up to fuck. So I didn’t have words for it back then, but I definitely… Definitely felt something then, too.”
Ilya kissed him then, and in that kiss was a promise of many more days to come. There was every naughty text message, every exchanged hotel room number and every face-off, a tuna melt coupled with a cold ginger ale, a beach with their thumbs touching, and a high Shane finally taking a leap with “Will you come to my cottage this summer?”. There was also an apology for every cruel word, every miscommunication. Shane could taste all the lost years in Ilya’s eagerness.
“We are here now,” he said when he came up for air. “And I trust you, too. You play games all the time, sure, but I know that you would never lie to me about this. About us. You are way too direct. That’s why I have always felt safe with you. Not self-conscious.”
“You?” Ilya said and raised his eyebrows almost comically. “Not self-conscious?”
“Fuck off,” Shane went with his go-to answer, and it felt familiar and good. “You have not seen me at my worst if you think I’m self-conscious with you. Do you think I could let anyone else see… all the things we do… I beg you to do… and live it down? I would die of embarrassment.”
Ilya’s eyes had darkened with the thought of somebody else seeing Shane come undone, and Shane shuddered at the same idea. No one else should. Would. He didn’t trust anyone else. With Ilya, there was no shame, because if Ilya didn’t like the way Shane was, he would let him know. Shane wouldn’t live it down. He knew he could be himself with Ilya, completely.
“Fuck, Shane,” Ilya said simply and kissed him fervently.
**
After eleven perfect days at the cottage, it was hard to pick a favorite. However, after Ilya checked his phone and saw a group chat called “Hollander family”, he thought that maybe, just maybe, today had been his favorite day. They lay together on the bed and Ilya was murmuring Russian to Shane’s ear. The other man seemed to love the soft puff of air and the way the sounds rolled off Ilya’s tongue. Ilya certainly loved being so close to his boyfriend, having him in his arms, satisfied and fucked out and smiling. He hoped Shane loved his next words, too. He wanted to try and say something.
“You know, was my first time meeting the parents,” Ilya said. Shane looked up, and yes, he did look really pleased. Ilya knew how much it sometimes bothered Shane that almost all of his first had been with Ilya, and Ilya had seemingly done everything before.
“Lots of other firsts here, too,” Ilya kept going, nibbling at Shane’s earlobe between sentences. “First time I felt like I was actually making love to someone. First time someone cooked eight burgers for me. First time I can…”
He didn’t get to finish. Shane didn’t let him; he kissed him softly and sighed happily against his lips.
What they had was real. It existed in the real world, now more than ever. And yeah, maybe they weren’t ready to shout it from the rooftops yet. But Yuna and David Hollander knew now, and they accepted them, and that was a start. It was a great fucking start, Ilya thought.