Chapter Text
Shane hadn't been able to look at Ilya for the entirety of the week of camp, not really. After three years of marriage and ten years of sneaking around, Shane found that there were very few things Ilya could do that would get him upset. Kids are one of them.
Ilya had made it known multiple times that he was ready for kids; he would casually drop hints out of the blue.
"See, our kids would never be let out of the house with their hair not fixed."
"Do you think our kids are going to even like hockey?"
"The name Natalia is pretty, yes?"
"Look how cute this little jersey is. We should get it."
"Anya needs someone to play with. She is getting bored."
And so on and so forth. Shane knows that Ilya wants to be a dad. He wants to be a dad too, but he's just not sure if he's ready for that. But that Sunday before they went to bed, Ilya had brought it up again.
"I don't see why you run camp for kids if you do not like them," Ilya said, turning over to plug his phone in.
"I like kids," Shane had muttered. Hayden and Jackie's kids come to mind. They're nice, hyper like Hayden, but good kids.
"Really?" Ilya asks with his eyebrows raised. "I could not tell with the way you ignore me when I say I want them."
"Ilya-" Shane sighs.
"What? We are not getting any younger."
"What about Hockey? Who is going to watch them when we are on the road? We can't just take a kid with us, Ilya."
"Who cares about Hockey?" Ilya says out of frustration. "I want to have a family with you, moya lyubov."
"So what? We both just retire and raise a bunch of kids?"
"No," Ilya shakes his head. "I will retire, be stay-at-home-dad. You will still play hockey."
"And be away from my husband and kids for the majority of the year?"
Both of them ended up saying things that neither of them meant, and Shane spent the night on the couch, feeling too overwhelmed to be in the room. Now it's five days later, and they haven't talked about it since. But they need to finalize the attendance for next week's camp, so Shane is swallowing his pride and going to find Ilya.
He's exactly where Shane expected to find him, sitting in the office, scrolling on his phone.
"Hey," Shane says, stepping into the office but not going any further.
"Oh, so you are talking to me now?" Ilya asks, locking his phone and laying it on the desk.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?"
Ilya just nods.
"I understand how much you want this, but I—"
"You what?"
"You love hockey," Shane says and Ilya gives him that duh look.
"Yes, Shane. I love hockey. It pays the bills."
"But you're willing to walk away from it," Shane notes.
"For our family? Yes."
"I just… If it's that easy to walk away from Hockey. Something you love. What's stopping you from—" Shane cuts himself off, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"You think I would leave you?" Ilya is up out of his chair and in front of Shane in the next breath. "Is that what this whole thing has been about?"
Shane blinks a few times, not making eye contact with Ilya.
"Shane, look at me." Ilya grabs his chin and forces his eyes up.
Reluctantly, Shane looks into Ilya's eyes. Instantly, he feels stupid for ever even thinking that Ilya would leave him.
"Hockey is good, yes. But my love for hockey and my love for you are completely different. You know this, yes?"
Shane doesn't react.
"I love hockey because is my job to love hockey." Ilya wipes his thumb across Shane's cheek. "But I will love being a father and your husband even more."
"Yeah?" Shane asks, his voice still shaky.
"Of course, moya lyubov."
"And you're sure this is what you want? Retirement?"
"It will be, how is it called?" Ilya pauses like he's trying to find the word he needs. "An adjustment. But yes, this is what I want."
"Okay," Shane finally takes a breath. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Let's—let's do this."
Before either of them has the chance to further the conversation, there's a knock at the door. They turn and Wyatt Hayes is standing there, hands in his pockets.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt…whatever this is." He says, making a hand-waving gesture. "But we have a situation."
Ilya and Shane share a look before turning to look at Wyatt.
"Situation? What kind of situation?" Shane asks, wiping his face and putting on his 'camp owner' cap.
"All of the kids were picked up by 3," Wyatt starts. "But—"
"But what?"
"Alina, one of the Timbit campers, is still here."
Shane turns to look at the clock on the wall in the office and his jaw nearly drops to the floor. "It's almost seven!"
"Yeah, I know," Wyatt says.
"You have tried calling her mother?"
"We tried every number on her file and we keep getting the disconnected tone."
At this point, the three of them are walking down the hallway and out of the building.
"Where is she now?" Ilya asks.
"Hayden is sitting with her," Wyatt says, pointing to where Hayden and Alina were sitting at one of the picnic tables, playing what looked like Jenga.
"Has anyone called CAS yet?" Shane asks, already reaching for his phone.
Wyatt nods. "They should be here any minute."
Shane nods and looks to Ilya, who hasn't said much, and then back to Hayden and Alina.
"She is what, five years old?" Ilya asks. "How can anyone just abandon her?"
-------
Ilya couldn't believe what was happening right now. How could anyone look at their child and think, I am going to leave her here at camp with strangers and never come back? The thought makes Ilya physically ill. He doesn't even have kids yet, but the thought of leaving his child behind would never cross his mind.
He knows what it's like, at least he thinks he knows what it's like, to be abandoned. To feel like no one wants you around. It is not a nice feeling.
"Does she know?" Ilya asks, ignoring whatever it was that the social worker was saying.
"Excuse me?" He seems like a nice guy. Ilya kind of feels bad for interrupting him.
"Does she know what is happening? Alina…has anyone talked to her?" Ilya asks, not looking at the social worker, but at the little girl giggling at something that Hayden had said. Hayden is not even that funny, but he will give it a pass, given the situation.
"Ah, Mr. Rozanov, I was just explai—"
"Hollander-Rozanov." Ilya corrects him.
"My apologies, Mr. Hollander-Rozanov." The social worker says. "I was explaining that in this situation, it's best not to say anything to the child yet—"
"Alina. Her name is Alina."
"Right," Ilya could tell that he was making the social worker nervous. "Well, I wouldn't suggest saying anything to Alina yet. Until the proper authorities can locate her mother, or not, we want to be cautious with the language that we use around her. We don't want Alina to feel like she has been abandoned."
"Where will she go?" Shane cuts in. "Does she have other family in the area that could take her for a few days?"
"We have a few foster families on stand-by for emergency cases. She will go to one of those for the time being. Then, if her mother is located, she will more than likely be facing a few years in prison, so we would then move Alina to a more permanent placement."
Ilya struggles to keep up, but he understands the gist of it.
"And if you don't find her mother?" Shane asks.
"She will go into the foster system permanently if we can not find any living relative to place her with."
Ilya can't stop thinking about it. About Alina. She'd gone with the social worker, Eric, with no hesitation. Almost like this was not the first time that she'd been left alone. He'd let Shane drive them home and stared out the window the whole time thinking about it. Yuna and David came over for dinner and he couldn't stop thinking about it. In the shower, brushing his teeth, getting ready for bed. Through all of it, he couldn't help but think about it.
"Here," Shane had said, shoving his iPad under Ilya's nose. "Sign this."
"What? What is this?" Ilya asks, looking at his husband, with a confused expression on his face.
"The application to become foster parents," Shane says softly.
"What—"Ilya looks up at Shane with wide eyes.
"You've been quiet since we left the camp. It wasn't hard to figure out what was on your mind," Shane says softly. "It's already filled out and I already signed it, just waiting for you."
"You are sure?" Ilya asks, looking down at the form in front of him.
Shane nods. "This is what you want. I'm a little terrified, but it's the same with any change. I'll be fine."
"Shane—"
"Ilya," Shane says, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind Ilya's ear. "I love you. If you want this, then I want it to."
"Okay," Ilya says. "Yes. This is what I want."
"Then sign on the line so I can send this in," Shane says and Ilya smiles as he signs his signature on the line beside Shane's.
"Now what?" Ilya asks, handing Shane back the iPad.
"Now we wait," Shane says, leaning down and kissing Ilya softly.
————————————
MHL NEWS @PuckReportMHL
BREAKING: Earlier this afternoon, Ilya Rozanov of the Ottawa Centaurs announced his retirement after 16 years. The 34-year-old released a statement not long ago, find it linked below.
[Attached: 1 link]
Ilya Rozanov-Hollander @IlyaRozanov81
Hello. First, I just want to thank the fans for all of their years of support. Hockey has been my life for as long as I can remember. In my heart, I know that I gave this sport everything that I had. That is why I am announcing with pride that I am retiring from hockey after 16 seasons. To Boston, thank you for drafting me. To Ottawa, thank you for accepting me and letting me change this team into what it is today. To my teammates, both past and current, thank you for all of the memories. YA vas vsekh lyublyu. Spasibo za vashu lyubov' i podderzhku.
—Ilya
[Attached: Several photos of Ilya throughout his hockey career. 1st the photo from the draft, 2nd the official team picture from his rookie year, 3rd a picture of him winning his first Cup, 4th a picture of the day he signed with Ottawa, 5th a picture of him and Shane both holding the cup after Ottawa won.]
fearlesslily__: What?? NOOOOOOOO!!! OMG ILYA
malevolent2065: This is so random and out of the blue. I figured he had AT LEAST another 4 years in him. Wonder what's going on?!?!?!
RoseLandry: ❤️
YunaHollander: So proud of you 💕 we love you, Ilya
HockeyStan2017: Nooooooooo 😭😭😭
ShaneHollanderHockey: Love you. I can't wait for this new chapter in our lives 💙
"What are people saying?" Ilya asks, pacing back and forth in front of the TV.
"You know, you could look for yourself," Shane says, holding the phone out to him.
"Just tell me if it is good or no?"
"It's mainly positive," Shane says, continuing to scroll through comments under Ilya's latest Instagram post.
"Mainly? What do you mean mainly? Who is talking shit?" Ilya says, finally taking the phone from Shane.
"Just some hockey bros that think you're retiring because you got married," Shane shrugs.
Hockeybro69: I KNEW this was coming. As soon as it was announced that Rozanov and Hollander got married, I figured one or both of them would retire soon. Disappointed by not surprised.
CentaursRuule67 : Really?? I have never in my life heard of a healthy hockey player retiring out of the blue? Rozanov clearly has a few more good years in him and I can't help but wonder if this is Hollanders doing? Like, clearly he is jealous of Rozanov and made him retire or he was going to divorce him. That is the only logical explanation for this that i can think of.
"Blyat…he does not know what he is talking about." Ilya shakes his head. "Idiots. All of them."
Shane nods in agreement.
"Take this away, I do not need to see more. Will only make me angry." Ilya hands Shane the phone and sits on the couch beside him. "Is everything ready for inspection?"
They'd gotten the call earlier in the week that, given a clean house inspection, they would be approved as foster parents. They'd set to work as soon as they hung up with the agency, going over the list of must-haves sent to them by the office. Outlet plug covers, a safety fence or net around the pool, a separate bedroom for the child, locked cabinets for any medications and sufficient space for living, eating and playing. All of which they either already had or quickly fixed. One of their spare bedrooms had been painted a nice mint green color and they put a twin-size bed and dresser in there, leaving it as neutral as possible so that any of their future foster kids could decorate it the way that they wanted to. The pool already had a fence around it but they added a safety net, just to be cautious.
Anya also had to be there for the interview and house study, which Ilya thought was weird at first, but they had to make sure she was not dangerous. Which she isn't, she's the best girl in the world.
The sound of the doorbell ringing brings Ilya out of his thoughts. He and Shane both stand up off the couch. Shane takes the time to run his hands down his pants, getting rid of the non-existent wrinkles and Ilya adjusts his collar.
"Ready?" Shane asks.
Ilya takes a deep breath and nods. "Let's do this."
The house passes the inspection, just like Shane knew it would. They'd spent the five days since they got the email cleaning it top to bottom, making the proper adjustments, and adding them to make it more homey.
"That wasn't too bad," Shane says, climbing into bed that night.
Ilya makes a sound of agreement. "I guess so."
Shane watches Ilya's face, trying to figure out what he isn't saying. "What?"
"Nothing," Ilya sighs.
"Ilya—"
"Is nothing, Shane," Ilya turns over on his side, head propped up on his elbow. "Just-"
Shane watches as Ilya closes his eyes and shakes his head.
"I hate that we know nothing about Alina."
"You know they can't give us that information, Ilya," Shane says, reaching for his husband, pulling him closer.
"She goes to our camp. We should know these things." Ilya huffs and Shane feels the same way, but hates that there's nothing he can do about it. "I wish they would just stop beating up the bush and tell us how she is."
Shane can't help but chuckle. "I think you mean 'beating around the bush,' but I feel the same."
"Stupid English phrases," Ilya mutters before shifting to bury his face in Shane's armpit.
"If you think they're so stupid, then stop trying to use them."
"But then I will be boring," Ilya groans. "And that is already your job."
"Alright," Shane says with a chuckle, trying to push Ilya away, without much progress.
"Why can they not even tell us if they found her family? Can we not know that much?"
"Ilya—"
"I know, I know," Ilya says, rolling over onto his back. "I have to be patient. Slow and steady wins race."
"That one you know?"
Ilya mumbles out a response but then he relaxes into the bed, Shane hears his breathing slow and follows slowly behind him.
------
A few more days go by before they get a phone call. They make a plan for the social worker to meet them at their house on Friday at 5 pm. And well, Shane kind of wishes he had never told Ilya that information. Since he woke up this morning, not that his husband got much sleep last night, Ilya has been pacing around the house like mad. Suddenly, the faucet in the guest bathroom needed to be tightened. The floorboards sounded creaky. The windows need to be replaced.
"Shane, do you think paint in here is, uh…dingy?" Ilya asks, looking at the walls of the living room. The cream color is only two years old. And it wasn't even the color Shane had wanted to paint it in the first place.
"Dingy?"
"That is the word, no? Is like another word for dull and boring."
Shane chuckles. "No, Ilya. The paint in here is not dingy."
He walks over to his husband and wraps his arms around his shoulder, playing with the hair at the base of his neck.
"Is boring, though," Ilya says, looking around with a look of disdain on his face.
"Well, the social worker will be here in like fifteen minutes, so there's nothing we can do about it now," Shane says with a small smile, leaning in to peck Ilya. "And…if I remember correctly, you were the one who picked this color."
"No," Ilya says with a shake of his head. "You are remembering wrong."
Shane chuckles and pulls away from Ilya. "You need to relax."
"Me?" Ilya asks, walking over to the front door, opening it and looking out, before closing it again. "I am calm. I am cool. So cool. Like ice."
Shane snorts. "You are neither calm nor cool. You are vibrating out of your skin."
"I am not," Ilya insists, resuming his pacing. "I am just…preparing."
"For what, exactly? The social worker isn't going to ask how many steps you get in a day. If anything, if he sees you like this, he might think something else is going on."
"Like what?" Ilya pauses to look towards the window before turning back to Shane. Shane gives him a look. "You think he will think I am on drugs if I keep pacing."
Shane opens his mouth to respond just as the doorbell rings.
Both of them freeze.
There's a half-second where they just stare at each other, wide-eyed, before Shane exhales and heads for the door. "I've got it."
Ilya follows anyway, hovering just behind Shane's shoulder as he opens the door.
It's a woman this time, one who looks familiar. Shane thinks she might have been at the office when he went to hand in some paperwork. She's in her mid-thirties, maybe, her hair is pulled back into a neat bun, and she's got a clipboard tucked under her arm. She definitely looks like she means business. And beside her, holding her hand, is Alina.
She's wearing a yellow sundress with her hair pulled into two pigtails. She's clutching a stuffed rabbit to her chest and staring at the house like she's trying to decide why her two camp coaches are standing on the other side of the door.
Ilya's breath rushes over Shane's neck.
"Hi," the social worker says warmly, and Shane recognizes her voice from many phone calls. "Misters Hollander-Rozanov. I'm Melissa. We spoke on the phone."
"Yeah…hi," Shane says, trying to keep his voice steady despite the way his heart is pounding out of his chest. "Please, come in."
Alina hesitates at the threshold.
Ilya crouches down without even thinking about it, bringing himself to her level. "Hi, Alina. Do you remember us from camp?"
Her eyes move from the floor to Ilya's face and she nods once.
"You can come inside," Ilya continues softly. "We have snacks. And a dog. She is very nice, I promise."
Anya, as if on cue, pads into the entryway with her tail wagging. She sits on command a few feet away with her head tilted, like she's trying to size up the new humans.
Alina gasps. "She's huge!"
"She is," Ilya agrees. "But she is gentle. Like butterfly."
After a moment where she looks between Ilya, Shane and Anya, Alina finally takes a step forward. Shane watches as relief washes over Ilya's face.
They settle in the living room. Alina is perched on the couch between Shane and Ilya, swinging her legs as she pets Anya's head. Melissa goes through the formalities, explaining timelines and next steps, but Shane can tell that Ilya is only half listening. He knows he'll have to tell him all this again later.
When Shane feels the conversation is leading to what he suspects no one in the room wants Alina to hear, he speaks up.
"Alina, do you like grilled cheese?"
Alina nods enthusiastically.
"Why don't you and Ilya go into the kitchen and see if he can make you one?"
Shane looks at Ilya over her head and he nods, standing up from the couch.
"Come on, Solnishko. I will make you the best grilled cheese ever."
She giggles and gets up off the couch to follow Ilya into the kitchen, out of earshot.
"Her mother hasn't been located, and from what we gathered, her father doesn't want to be found either."
Shane's heart breaks from the little girl he can hear giggling just down the hall. "And there's no other living relatives? Grandparents or maybe an Aunt?"
Melissa shakes her head no.
"Is she scared?" he asks quietly, his gaze drifting towards the kitchen.
"Alina is very brave," she says. "But I imagine she's been through a lot."
Shane watches as Ilya pulls a stool over to the counter and helps Alina cut her own grilled cheese in half, very carefully.
"Your husband is a natural," Melissa says, placing the files she was carrying onto the coffee table.
Something in Shane's chest cracks wide open as Ilya pulls the grilled cheese apart and Alina giggles at the way the cheese pulls. He can't believe there was a time when he'd argued with Ilya over this. Over not being ready yet. That day weeks ago seems so far away and insignificant compared to this moment.
"Yeah," Shane says softly. "He's going to be great."
"For what it's worth, Shane," Melissa says, standing up from the couch. "What you're doing for her, it's noble. Not many people would do the same thing in your position."
And with that, she was leaving them alone to figure this out. One step at a time.
---------
Ilya is pouring Alina a glass of water when Shane walks into the kitchen.
"Is she gone?" Ilya asks, though he already knows the answer, but Shane nods anyway.
"So what's the verdict, Alina. Is the sandwich good?" Shane asks, leaning against the kitchen table.
Alina nods and takes another bite of the sandwich in response. Ilya can't help but chuckle as he sets the water in front of her.
"I told you," Ilya says. "I am the best."
"Do I get to live here now?" Alina asks after taking a sip.
"Yes," Ilya answers.
"Forever?" She asks, and Ilya can't ignore the hopeful look in her eyes. He doesn't want to be the one to tell her that they don't know for sure.
"Is that something you would want?" Shane steps in to ask and Ilya watches Alina's face as she thinks.
"I think so," She says, taking another sip of water. "You were nice to me at camp."
"Well, here's the thing," Shane says, squatting down in front of Alina. "In order for you to stay here forever, a bunch of adults in an office have to go through lots and lots of paperwork. And that can take a while. So we don't have an answer for you yet, because we don't know for sure and we don't want to lie to you. We would love for you to stay here forever."
Ilya nods in agreement. "And Anya thinks so too. You are her new favorite."
"Thank you for not lying," Alina says and Ilya's heart cracks in his chest. "Mommy used to lie a lot. And I didn't like that."
Ilya will not cry in front of the child. He will not. He moves to sit in the chair beside her, brushing a stray hair out of her face because it was about to go in her mouth. "You did not deserve that, Solnishko. You are very special and anyone who can not see that does not know what they are missing."
Alina smiles at Ilya before saying, "You talk funny."
Ilya chuckles. "Yes. I guess I do."
"I like it," Alina says. "Do you speak another language too?"
Ilya nods. "Yes. Russian."
She grins and turns to look at Shane, "You?"
"Just English and French," Shane says with a smile on his face.
"He is working on Russian," Ilya says before leaning down closer to Alina to whisper. "But he is not very good at it."
Alina giggles and Ilya can't help but wonder how she can still laugh with everything that she has been through. But maybe it is because her name means to be noble or bright. "Can you teach me?"
"Da," Ilya nods. "And then we can talk about how boring Shane is without him knowing."
"Hey now," Shane buts in. "You know I can hear you, right?"
Ilya and Alina giggle again. Ilya feels the calmest he's been in weeks. He doesn’t understand why this has had such a big impact on him, and how just seeing that Alina is being cared for makes him feel more relaxed than he has in weeks. But he’s glad that it is over. Now, he only has to worry about the anxiety of whether or not they get to keep her. But that’s a worry for a different day. Right now, his sole focus is on making sure Alina is happy and comfortable on her first night with them.
They stay in the kitchen for a little while longer, Ilya making sandwiches for him and Shane, as well as a second sandwich for Alina. She asks them a lot of questions about a lot of different things, and with each question, Ilya wonders why he hadn't retired to become a stay-at-home dad years ago.
“Are you rich?” She asked, looking around at the house.
“We do okay,” Ilya shrugged in response.
“Are there any other kids around that I can play with?”
“My friend Hayden has a lot of kids, but he’s a few hours away. But we try to visit when we can.” Shane answered that time.
“Are you going to make me eat broccoli?”
“Yes, you will need to eat vegetables so that you can be big and strong.”
“Do potatoes count?” She asked as a follow-up with her face scrunched up. “I like potatoes.”
Ilya turned to look at Shane with a soft smile. “See, she also does not like rabbit food.”
“Just because you eat like you live in a frat house, doesn’t mean that eating healthy is wrong. We have to have balance.”
Ilya looks to Alina and mouths ‘boring’ causing her to chuckle.
"Okay," Ilya says, grabbing the dirty dishes from the table. "I think it is bedtime."
Alina doesn't even protest. She just gets up from the table and pushes her chair in. "Where did Miss Melissa put my bag? My jamas are in there."
"Jamas? What is that?" Ilya asks, pulling his eyebrows together.
"You don't know what jamas are?" Alina looks at him like he's grown a second head. "It's what you wear to sleep."
"Ahh," Ilya says, finally understanding that she meant pajamas. Shane is chuckling from his seat at the table at the whole interaction, clearly having understood what she meant from the beginning.
"Your bag is by the door," He says, standing up. "Let me go get it."
Ilya watches as Shane digs through the bag and grabs a pair of outer space pajamas and leads Alina to the bathroom.
"Alright, here you go," Shane says, opening the bathroom door. "Can you get changed by yourself?"
Alina nods and steps into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
A few minutes later, she comes back out with her shirt on backwards and Ilya smiles softly.
"Ready to see your room?" He asks and they walk a few steps down the hall.
"Wait," Alina says, pausing in front of the door to her room. "I get a whole room to myself?"
"Well, you may have a furry roommate from time to time," Shane says as Anya pushes past them and into the room. “This used to be her room.”
"I've never had my own room before," Alina says, running and jumping onto the bed. Ilya has to remind himself not to cry in front of her. "Or a bed."
Shane and Ilya exchange a look before they step into the room and Ilya sets the bag from the social worker into the closet. Putting the things away would be a tomorrow task. Not that she had many things to put away. It was a very small bag.
"It's not much yet," Shane says, grabbing the nightlight lying on the dresser and plugging it in. "But you and Ilya are going to go shopping tomorrow and you can pick out anything you'd like."
"Really?" Alina asks, her eyes going wide. "Like anything?"
"Well," Ilya chuckles, squatting down beside the bed. "Most things. If it can be bought in store."
"I like space," Alina says. "Can we get space stickers? The glowy ones?"
Ilya smiles and looks up at Shane, who is also grinning. "I think we can make that happen."
Alina yawns and it has to be the cutest fucking thing that Ilya has ever seen. "Are you sleepy, Solnishko?"
"Just a little," She says.
Ilya stands back up and picks Alina up off the bed, setting her gently down on the floor so that he can pull the covers back for her. "Hop up and I will tuck you in."
Alina gets back in the bed and Ilya pulls the blanket back up, stopping at her shoulders.
"Sladkikh snov, dorogaya," Ilya whispers.
"What does that mean?" Alina asks, her eyes drooping.
"It means sweet dreams," Ilya reaches over to turn off the lamp beside her bed.
"Goodnight Alina," Shane says, hand hovering over the light switch. "We're just down the hall if you need us."
"And Anya is here so you do not get lonely," Ilya adds, walking over to the door.
"Goodnight Mister Ilya," She says with a yawn. "Goodnight Mister Shane."
They quietly turn off the light and take careful steps out into the hallway, Anya staying at the foot of the bed where she'd been the whole time. They leave the door open, just in case Alina needs something in the middle of the night and they both walk towards the living room. It's only 8, so Ilya grabs the remote and finds a movie for them to watch before bed.
"That wasn't so bad," Shane says, plopping down on the couch beside him, tucking himself into Ilya's side.
"No," Ilya kissed the top of his head. "Was a lot better than I expected."
"I hate to leave you all alone tomorrow," Shane sighs. "It's her first full day here."
"But you are captain now, Shane," Ilya points out. "It's your turn to sit in all the boring meetings."
Shane only nods. "I think my mom mentioned something about stopping by tomorrow, just so you have a little extra support."
"It will be fine," Ilya says. "We will be busy having so much fun that we will not even notice that you are gone."
Shane chuckles and rolls over, deeply sighing against Ilya's chest. "Goodnight."