Archive of Our Own

"Good morning, moya lyubov," Shane is being woken by his soon-to-be husband planting soft kisses all over his face. His eyes remain closed but a smile slowly creeps its way onto his face.

Shane reaches a hand up an gently cradles the back of Ilya's head, fingers softly tangling in his curls.

"Good morning", he mumbles happily as Ilya's kisses move across his freckles and his nose. When he pulls away, Shane finally opens his eyes. His breath catches at the sight before him.

Ilya laying on his side, head resting on the pillow. The morning sun shining through the window behind him, backlighting his blond curls, making them look like soft golden thread, a lazy crooked smile playing on his lips as he gazes at Shane, his striking green eyes outshining the sun itself.

Shane brings his hand from the back of Ilya's head to cup his face, gently brushing his thumb across his cheek.

They stay like this for a while. Just looking at each other in the quiet hours of the morning, as if they had all the time in the world. Which, Shane supposes, they did now. From now on they could wake up like this every morning, for the rest of their lives.
The smile on Shane's face spreads a little wider at the thought and he watches as Ilya's does the same, just because he saw Shane's smile widen. 

"What is it?", Ilya asks quietly.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am to be able to wake up like this, with you, for the rest of my life", Shane answers honestly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ilya's smile spreads into a grin and he leans closer to place a kiss to Shane's forehead. "Forever", he says softly and runs a hand through Shane's hair. Then he wraps his arm around him and pulls him closer. Shane goes willingly, resting his head on his fiance's chest while wrapping his own arms tightly around him. "Forever," Shane echoes and closes his eyes again, listening to the steady sound of Ilya's heartbeat.

—

They showered together that morning, like almost every morning nowadays, taking their time with each other. Kissing against the tiled wall until they had to break apart to catch their breaths, trading blowjobs and getting almost no real showering done in the first 30 minutes since they've turned on the shower.

After, they both put on some comfortable clothes. Sweats and, in Shane's case, a black t-shirt that was a little big on him, since it was Ilya's. Ilya not putting on a shirt at all.

"Sit. I will make breakfast for you," Ilya says as he walks around the kitchen isle, petting Anya's head as he passes her, and starts preparing the ingredients for Shane's usual breakfast smoothie.

"I can help you, you know?", Shane says, although he's already sitting down on one of the highchairs on the opposite side of the isle, spreading his legs a little as Anya settles down between them, licking at the tips of his fingers as he reaches down to scratch behind her ear.

"Ah no, you will do nothing. I want to make disgusting smoothie for you to enjoy on the morning of our wedding day. You just sit and look pretty," Ilya counters seriously as he starts cutting up some kale. Usually Shane would quip something back, but he feels a grin form on his face at the reminder that today was, in fact, his wedding day. So instead he just says: "I love you."

Ilya looks up at him with a smile. "I love you, too," before going back to slicing greens.

Shane puts an elbow on the surface of the isle and rests his chin in his hand as he watches his fiance prepare his favorite smoothie, a fond smile never leaving his face.

"We're getting married in a few hours," he says in awe.

"Yes, I know. That is what 'wedding day' means, no?", Ilya retorts and Shane huffs a laugh. "Shut up," he says half heartedly and Ilya responds with a grin.

They have breakfast together, Shane drinking his green protein smoothie and Ilya inhaling a portion of scrambled eggs big enough for two people with a side of bacon and toast. Shane is too delirious with happiness and love to bother with telling him to slow down or nagging him about the probably unhealthy level of greasiness in his food choices.

"I am surprised your mother hasn't called yet," Ilya says as he hands Shane a plate to dry and put away while he tends to the other dishes left in the sink.

"I told her not to call before she gets here anyway at noon," Shane answers and puts away another plate. "Except in case of an emergency. So I guess it's good she hasn't called yet. Means everything is going alright so far."

"Of course everything is alright," Ilya hums and turns off the faucet before drying his hands on a towel and turning to face Shane. "We are getting married today. Nothing can go wrong."

Shane scrunches up his nose as he walks over to where Ilya stands leaning against the kitchen counter, and wraps his arms around his waist. "Don't jinx us like that," he chides softly.

Ilya brings his arms around Shane as well and hums, "Is no jinx. We get married. Everything else is not important. If there aren't enough chairs for the guests, I don't care. If the music is bad, I don't care. Well, maybe a little, but not really. If nobody is on time because of terrible traffic, I don't care. If decorations aren't perfect and food is bad so everyone is getting food poisoning, I don't care. As long as we are getting married, everything else does not matter to me."

"Let's definitely not speak food poisoning our guests into existence, alright?", Shane counters, although his heart flutters in his chest at Ilya's words the way it always does when he so casually says something unabashedly romantic.

Ilya leans in and captures his lips in a long kiss, before leaning back again and saying, "Alright, maybe not food poisoning. But I am serious about everything else." Shane smiles and kisses him. "I love you so fucking much,", he whispers against his lips. Ilya pecks his mouth once more and says "I love you, too, moye solnyshko."

"I know that one", Shane grins as he hooks his chin on Ilya's shoulder and tightens his arms around his waist, "Svet moyey zhizni," he whispers and feels Ilya's arms tighten around him as well. Light of my life.

"When did you learn that?", Ilya asks, voice unbearably soft.

Shane holds back a mischievous grin as he pulls back with a kiss to Ilya's cheek and shrugs. "I like surprising you."

Ilya hums and kisses him again, more heated than before. "I like when you speak Russian to me. Is very sexy."

"Oh is it? I hadn't noticed," Shane says innocently as he arches into the kisses Ilya begins planting on his neck.

"You know exactly what you do to me," Ilya mutters against his skin and pulls Shane's hips flush against his, letting him feel just how affected he is by Shane's display of his, admittedly still very limited, knowledge of the Russian language. Despite himself, Shane can't help but groan as he feels Ilya hard against him. 

"Maybe," he says, biting his lip and eventually, reluctantly pushes Ilya away, making him whine in protest. Shane chuckles and pecks his lips a last time before stepping out of his embrace. "We can't let this get any further, Ilya. My parents will be here in an hour and you still need to drop Anya off at the spa." Shane doesn't know when it had happened. Him calling the dog daycare center a "spa", but he supposes Ilya has started to rub off on him. 

Ilya groans and throws his head into his neck. "You are no fun, Hollander." Shane laughs and walks out of the kitchen to get Anya ready to leave soon. "And put on a shirt!", he shouts from two rooms away, shaking his head with laughter after hearing another groan from Ilya.

—

An hour later, Shane hears the front door open as his parents let themselves in.

"Shane, Ilya, we're here!", his mother calls from downstairs and Shane makes his way out of the guestroom he had just finished preparing for his parents to later get ready in.

"Up here," he shouts and already hears the footsteps coming up the stairs. He meets his parents at the top of the stairs, instantly finding himself being wrapped into his mother's arms.

"Hello, baby", she says wetly as she strokes a hand over the back of his head. Shane laughs lightly as he looks at his father, who wears a broad smile on his face. "Mum, are you crying already?", he asks playfully. "No, I'm not," she answers, but the sniffle at the end of her sentence doesn't help prove her point.

She pulls away and looks up at Shane, pride and love shining in her eyes and Shane does his best to ignore the way his own throat constricts painfully as a wave of emotion suddenly washes over him.

"Where's Ilya?", his dad breaks the tense moment, possibly trying to prevent his wife and son from bursting into tears hours before the actual wedding. Shane is very thankful for that.

"Dropping off Anya at the dog daycare. He should be back any minute though." It had surprised him when Ilya told him a couple days ago that he would be taking Anya to the dog spa hotel for their wedding day. He would have thought Ilya wanted her to be there, given how much he adored their dog. But Ilya had insisted that it was better for her that way. "There is going to be loud music, many people. She will not like it very much, I think," he had said and that was that.

Shane notices the bags his father was still carrying and points his parents towards the guestroom. "I've prepared a room for you to get ready and keep your things in for later."

He leads them towards the room and watches them put down their bags and unzipping the clothing bags they had brought, containing his father's suit and his mother's dress. His mum was already rattling off the to-do list for the day, as if Shane didn't already know everything that still needed to be done before the guest started arriving. But the sun was shining through the window and he was getting married today, so he let her.

"And the chairs have been dropped off yesterday right?", she asks him as she smooths a hand over the skirt of her dress which she just hung onto the open closet door. 

"Yes, mum, they're in the backyard, just waiting for us to arrange them," Shane answers patiently with a smile on his lips.

"Okay good. And the flowers are being delivered in-", she's interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and Ilya's voice shouting through the house: "I am back!" The smile on Shane's face broadens, whatever his mother was saying immediately forgotten as he makes his way towards his soon-to-be husband who was already making his way up the stairs.

"I see Yuna and David are here already," he says as he pulls Shane in for a quick kiss on the lips. 

"Just 5 minutes ago," comes Shane's dad's voice from behind him and Ilyas eyes snap up as a grin makes its way onto his face. He releases Shane and spreads his arms, already walking towards his parents who were standing a couple of feet behind Shane.

"Ah, yes, my favorite Hollanders finally arrived," he says and wraps Yuna into a hug.

"Hey! I'm standing right here, you know?", Shane protests light heartedly, no real offense in his voice. He watches fondly as his mum pats the back of Ilya's head, before he moves to give Shane's dad a hug as well. God, he loves this man so much.

"Mmh, yes I know," Ilya says as he pulls back from David and walks towards Shane again, planting a kiss to his cheek. "I love you," he whispers into his ear and Shane couldn't repress the giddy chuckle that escaped him before he grabs the back of Ilya's neck and pulls him into a kiss, his parents already forgotten.

"Alright boys, enough of that, we have a wedding to prepare." Yuna claps her hands as if to usher them downstairs. Which admittedly works way to fast, since they quickly break apart, grinning at each other like idiots and practically running down the stairs, hands firmly grasped in each other's.

—

Ilya is standing in his backyard, hands on his hips, and admires the work he'd done over the past couple of hours. Well, with a little help from Shane, Yuna and David.

He smiles to himself. Around a hundred chairs were arranged on the grass, facing a dark wooden arch decorated sporadically with orange and white lilies, the Ottawa river in the background. It’s beautiful. Simple, not too much. When Yuna had mentioned flower arrangements the first time a couple of weeks ago, they were about to shut it down quickly when Hayden Pike, of all people, who had been on the phone with Shane and had overheard the conversation, jokingly suggested lilies. He probably hadn't actually meant it as a serious suggestion, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Shane and Ilya's eyes met and they both grinned at each other knowingly. It would be a perfect little joke, just for them. And maybe three or four other people who knew of the nickname they had used for Ilya for years.

Neither Shane nor him had wanted an over the top wedding. Originally they had only planned to have a small ceremony in the backyard of Ilya's house, now their house, with just themselves, Shane's parents and a handful of close friends. But it had quickly become clear that there was no way they would not invite as many people as possible. They'd hidden their relationship for so long. Now that they could finally be out in the open, they wanted everyone they cared about to be at their wedding and witness the most important day of their joint lives.

So Ilya and Shane had asked Yuna for help planning a simple but nice and thoughtful ceremony. Still in their backyard. Still more casual than weddings should probably be, especially considering how much money they had. But perfect for them.

Ilya feels a gentle hand on his shoulder and he turns his gaze to find Yuna standing next to him.

"It turned out beautiful, hasn't it?", she asks, smiling up at him. He returns the smile and nods. "Yes. Thank you for your help. We couldn't have done it without you." She squeezes his shoulder and turns her head to look at the work they'd done. Ilya follows suit.

"I'm glad you like it," then, after a short pause, "Ilya, I wanted to tell you, I'm very glad to have you in our lives."

Ilya turns to her again and finds her already looking at him. His throat suddenly feels tight. He's not going to cry today. Especially not already before seeing Shane at the ceremony. Definitely not.

"Not just because you make Shane so very happy,” Yuna goes on. “I'm glad to have you in our lives because you're a such a sweet and kind person and I'd hate to think what my life would be if I had never gotten to know you."

Ilya swallows around the lump in his throat and okay, maybe he is going to cry.

Yuna seems to notice as well, because she smiles at him and gently cups his cheek.

"The greatest joy in my life has been raising Shane. The second greatest has been seeing him love you, and be loved by you. And I also wanted to say that, and I hope I'm not overstepping here, but I wanted to say that... if your mother were here today, I know she'd be telling you how happy she is for you, and how proud. I know it's not the same thing, but for what it's worth, I'm proud to be able to call you my son from today on."

And Ilya is definitely crying now, judging by the way Yuna softly wiped his tears away while she spoke. He doesn't have the words to tell her how much it means to him to hear her say that, not in English and probably not in Russian either. 

So instead, he just wraps her into a hug and holds her to him, whispering a small, sniffled "Thank you." Yuna holds him back, arms wrapped around his broad shoulders tightly. "Of course, sweetheart," she replies softly, and maybe she’s crying a little, too. 

They stood there like that for a while, until Ilya had pulled himself together enough to face her again. He pulls back and Yuna quickly wipes away any tears remaining on his face. 

Ilya smiles at her gratefully. Then, after a moment, he asks, "Where is Shane now?", looking around, noticing that it was still just the two of them in the backyard.

"Inside with David. The catering company called just before I came outside, they'll be here in half an hour. Shane and David are setting everything up for when they arrive."

Ilya nods and pulls out his phone to look at the time. "I think you and David should start getting ready soon. Shane and I will have more time after, but you will be here greeting the guests. I will help Shane inside, go get David."

Yuna smiles at him fondly and nods, squeezing his shoulder one more time before heading towards the house. "I'll see you at the ceremony then," she says as she's walking away and Ilya smiles to himself. He takes a deep breath and takes one more look at his backyard, his wedding venue, before heading inside as well.

—

David had left the room Ilya was getting ready in a couple of minutes ago, giving him some space to gather his thoughts before he would head out to great his guests, his friends, who had already begun gathering in the backyard.

Ilya takes a look at himself in the mirror and carefully wipes the remainders of tear stains from his face. He chuckles to himself. If he didn't know any better, he would think the Hollanders had come to his home with the distinct plan to make him cry as much as possible before his wedding even started.

He couldn't be mad about it though. Not even a little bit. Not when all Yuna and David had done was tell him they had accepted him into their family. And while he knew that to some degree already, while their actions had made it clear over the past years, it was still nice to hear them say it out loud.

Ilya looks at himself in the mirror and smiles. He reaches beneath the collar of his shirt and tugs out the golden crucifix, bringing it to his lips and kissing it lightly. "Menya zdes' lyubyat, mama."

He tucks it back beneath his collar and rests a hand over it on his chest for a moment. He meant it. And it takes him everything not to start crying again at how much he truly feels loved by the whole Hollander family. His family, now, he supposes.

Ilya bites his lip to suppress a grin as he turns and walks over to the window overlooking the backyard. He spots Svetlana immediately, talking animatedly to none other than Rose Landry. He let's the grin spread now, impossibly happy to have her here. He spots a few of his teammates and their spouses as well, and he decides it's time to go outside and great them. Shane wasn't there yet. But that's okay. They've got time.

"Rozy, you fucking beauty, look at you!" Wyatt Hayes is the first one to great Ilya when he walks out into his backyard, clapping a hand on his shoulder, dragging his eyes over Ilya and whistling in appreciation. Ilya scoffs, amused by his teammate’s antics. "You sure you gotta marry Hollander? Because looking at you now, I might actually want a piece of- ow!", Hazey winces as Lisa, his wife, pinches his side. "Stop teasing, Wyatt," she scolds, before smiling at Ilya and pulling him into a quick hug, which he promptly returns. "Hello, Ilya," Lisa says as they pull away.

"Thank you for coming," he says earnestly. Then, because he couldn't help himself, he leans closer to Wyatt and pretends to whisper: "If you're still interested later, I can make you my mistress, Hazey," and he pulls back with a wink. Wyatt bites back a grin and starts dramatically fanning himself with his hand, earning himself another pinch from Lisa and a laugh from Ilya.

Ilya makes his way through the crowd then, greeting and talking to the rest of the guests already in his backyard, while others were still arriving. He was in the middle of a conversation with Coach Wiebe and his wife, when someone caught his eye. A grin spreads on his face as he excuses himself and walks over to the couple who just arrived.

"Hunter! You made it!", Ilya shouts over the noise of dozens of people talking, and laughs at the way it made Scott Hunter flinch.

"Rozanov," he nods at Ilya as they shake hands.

"Welcome, welcome," Ilya says as he also shakes hands with Scott's husband, Kip. "We are so happy you could make it." And well, maybe it was a little over the top, but the confusion on Hunter's face made it all worth it. "Yeah, us too," he responds carefully. "Although we were surprised when we got the invite."

Ilya gasps and puts a hand over his chest. "You hurt me, Hunter. Of course you get invitation. You are reason today is even happening!"

Scott huffs a laugh and rolls his eyes. "Right."

"No, is true! If you two didn't kiss on live television a few years ago, we probably wouldn't have had the courage to even be together!", Ilya says, mock-reverence in his voice as he wistfully shakes his head. Although... well, yes he was teasing Scott Hunter, but he was also being serious. If that game changing kiss in 2017 hadn't happened, who knows where Shane and him might be right now.

Scott blinks a few times, looking between Ilya and his husband at his side, who just smirked at the whole interaction.

"Wow, that's... well, I'm glad, Rozanov," he says finally and claps a hand on Ilyas shoulder, who returns the gesture with a serious nod.

"Yes. Me too. Also," he leans a little closer to Hunter and drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Shane said I couldn't tease Hayden today, so inviting you was a compromise. You know, so I could have at least someone to tease."

Hunter pushes him away with a somewhat bemused scowl on his face. "Fuck you, Rozanov."

"I would but I am worried the ancient bones in your back could not handle it," Ilya chirps as he's already walking away backwards, catching the deepening scowl on Scott's face and the way Kip has to bend over with laughter, before he turns around, a satisfied grin on his face.

As he walks through the crowd again, someone shouts his name. Svetlana. His grin turns into a genuinely delighted smile as he makes his way over to where she stands next to Rose Landry.

"Privet, Sveta," Ilya bends down and wraps her into a tight hug, placing a kiss to her cheek. "Ya rad, chto vy zdes'."

She holds the sides of his face and kisses his cheek. "Ya rad byt' zdes'." She smiles at him fondly, before turning to Rose and switching to English. "Have you met my new friend already? Rose Landry?"

Ilya smiles. Obviously he had met her, a couple of times even. But he was going to play along a little. He widens his eyes as he glances at Rose and gasps over-dramatically. "What? Sveta! You never told me you were friends with Rose Landry! Famous movie star Rose Landry! In my backyard!" He clutches at his chest and pretends to faint.

Rose laughs and places a hand on his forearm. Ilya's smile melts into something softer as he finally leans down and embraces her as well. "Hello, Rose. Thank you for coming," he says, more genuine now.

She pulls back and pats his forearm. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Also," her voice changing from gentle to playfully outraged, "how could you not have introduced me to Svetlana sooner?" She wraps an arm around her shoulder and Ilya watches fondly as Sveta laughs. "She’s a delight, Ilya! I can definitely see why you two have been ‘friends’ for so long." Rose wiggles her eyebrows at the word 'friends' in a way that suggests Sveta has told her exactly what kind of relationship they had before he realized his feelings for Shane.

Ilya sighs exasperatedly and glances at his best friend, who was just grinning at him. "You have to tell everyone about my secrets?", he asks, pretending to be offended. "As if your playboy days are a secret to anyone, Ilyushka," Svetlana retorts and Ilya couldn't help but smile at the nickname he only ever heard from her these days.

"You wound me, Sveta. I have always been an honest man. A saint, really", he sighs and pretends to wipe a tear from his eye. The two women laugh at him.

"You have never been an honest man in your life, until my ex-boyfriend made one of you, Rozanov," Rose quips back and they all start laughing at the admittedly pretty weird history the three of them and Shane shared together.

"By the way, I brought the vodka you like from Russia," Svetlana tells him after the conversation has shifted to other topics for a bit. Ilya's eyes light up. "How much?", he asks immediately. "Five bottles. That's all that could fit in my suitcase, but I'll make sure to bring you more the next time I go." And Ilya sweeps her up into a hug, twirling her around and pressing a kiss to her cheek as he sets her back down. Svetlana laughs and Rose grins at him. "That's a lot of excitement for some vodka," she teases.

"Is not just vodka", he says, sounding a little more serious than he had meant to, "Is a piece of home."

At that something in Rose's smile shifts, softer, a little sad. And god damn him, he feels his throat getting tight again for what was probably the hundredth time today. 

Ilya didn't often get sad about not being able to go back to Russia. He doesn't regret anything and he knows there's nothing left for him back in his home country. His family is here, his friends are here, the love of his life is here. He wouldn't change anything about his life for the world.

But sometimes, again, not often, but sometimes he couldn't help but miss it. Especially when talking to Svetlana, who is one of the few people he was able to talk to in his mother tongue. He probably wouldn't want to go back even if he could. Too many bad memories. But it had been his home once upon a time. He’d grown up there, and while most of his youth hasn’t been the greatest, it had also been the only years he ever got to have with his mother. And call him silly for it, but that good Russian vodka from a brand you couldn't get anywhere in North America, reminded him of the few good parts he still remembered about his home country.

Rose and Svetlana seem to both have caught on to the emotion swirling behind his eyes and they now both place a soothing hand on his arm. Ilya nods gratefully and smiles at his best friend. "Spasibo, Sveta. Za vse."

Svetlana just smiles at him and squeezes his arm. Then her eyes move to something, or someone, over his left shoulder and her smile widens into a grin. "Idi i zaberi svoyego muzhchinu, Ilya," she says and Ilya turns around immediately.

His eyes lock on Shane's and whatever tightness he had felt in his chest at the thought of Russia is immediately replaced by a feeling of unbridled joy and warmth. Ilya grins at the love of his life and he grins back. His new home.

"Ready?", Ilya mouths from the distance and he watches Shane give a single nod, a determined look in his eyes, and god, all Ilya wants to do in that moment is cross the distance between them and kiss Shane breathless.

But he wouldn't. They would do this right. The next time they kissed would be as husbands. Ilya's grin grows impossibly wider at the thought. He turns and walks towards the wooden arch under which Shane and him would be getting married in a few minutes.

He couldn't wait.

—

Shane says some quick hellos as he makes his way through the crowd of friends and family, towards Ilya, who was already standing beneath the wooden arch, waiting for him. A laugh bubbles out of Shane as his eyes are locked on his (very-)soon-to-be husband and the lilies that decorate the archway behind him. If someone had told his 19 year old self he'd be marrying Ilya Rozanov, Lily, under an archway of lilies in their shared backyard with all of their friends and loved ones around... well, his 19 year old self would have probably turned around and left in a panic as soon as the name Ilya Rozanov was even mentioned, but the point still stands. This all feels so surreal to Shane. And yet, exactly right. Like this was always meant to happen.

By the time Shane finally reaches Ilya, the justice of the peace who would be marrying them, Nancy, has already found her place behind them.

Shane immediately reaches for Ilya's hands as he positions himself opposite him. They lock eyes and both of them start giggling giddily.

"You look good," Shane whispers to him as the justice of the peace tries to get the crowd to settle down and take their seats, the ceremony will be starting soon.

"Only good? Not stunning? Not ravishing? You hurt me, Hollander," Ilya teases, trying and failing to pretend he was wounded, the ever present smile on his face betraying him. Shane purses his lips in an attempt to suppress his own smile. "Shut up, Rozanov. You know you're gorgeous."

Ilya's smile somehow got even wider and he leans a little closer to Shane, nuzzling their noses together. "I know. But I love it when you tell me," he whispers and Shane closes his eyes, leaning into the touch.

"Oi! No kissing until after the vows!", Haydens voice comes from somewhere in the crowd and Shane laughs at the way Ilya groans and throws his head back in frustration. A few other people laugh as well and Shane turns his head to look at the crowd now all sitting in their seats, watching and smiling at them. His parents, Hayden, Jackie and the kids, Rose, and Svetlana all occupying the front row. Shane sees tears already flowing down his mother's cheeks and he feels himself well up, so he looks away. Back at Ilya.
Ilya. Who is looking at Shane like he's his whole world. Shane knows that that is probably the same way he's looking at Ilya right now. Because he is. He's everything. And they're getting married. Fuck.

Shane starts blinking rapidly to get the moisture out of his eyes and Ilya squeezes his hands. "Okay?", he asks softly and Shane nods, sniffling a little. "Very okay. Very very okay." Ilya laughs at that and Shane notices the way his eyes are glistening. It somewhat comforts him, knowing that he’s not the only one of them who’s going to cry at their wedding.

"Are you ready to begin?", Nancy asks them with a kind smile and the both of them nod, without once taking their eyes off each other.

"Family, friends, loved ones," Nancy starts, "we have gathered here today, to celebrate the love of these two men, who have fought so hard for years, to finally be able to stand here together. Not in secret. Not hiding. Not in the darkness. But here, out in the open, in front of the eyes of everyone they hold dear, in the light of the sun." 

A single tear rolls down Ilya's cheek as Nancy speaks and Shane reaches up to gently brush it away, his heart melting at the way Ilya leans into the palm of his hand. He keeps it there for a second, before quickly wiping at his own eyes and bringing it back down into Ilya's hand again. 

Shane knew the short speech Nancy would give at the beginning of the ceremony would be... personal. His mother had told him so a couple of days ago. She also said that she helped with it a little. Shane bites his lip to keep it from quivering as he continues to listen. Ilya's thumbs trace soothing circles across the backs of his hands.

"The world might not have been kind to them along the way, might not have made it easy. And yet, despite every difficulty and hardship the world threw at them, despite every circumstance that would have made their love seem impossible to anyone else, here we stand. A testament to the bravery, determination and most importantly, a testament to the love shared between Ilya Rozanov," she gestures towards Ilya, then towards Shane, "and Shane Hollander."

Shane hears someone sniffle in the crowd, maybe his mum, maybe Rose, maybe someone else. He doesn't turn to find out. Everything important is right in front of him, holding his hands gently and looking at him with glistening green eyes.

"I understand you have vows prepared?", Nancy asks.

"Oh, yes." Shane lets go of Ilya's hands and takes out the piece of paper carefully folded in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. "You have yours?", he asks Ilya, who looks at him in a 'are you seriously asking me this?' way. Shane chuckles wetly, "Sorry." Ilya's eyes soften at that and he pats his pocket, insinuating that his own vows were right there.

"You want to start?", Shane asks quietly. Ilya shakes his head, "I want to hear yours first," he says softly, a light tremor in his voice.

Shane nods and takes a deep breath before he unfolds the piece of paper that held his vows with trembling hands. He probably doesn't need it, he'd practiced his vows so many times, he probably knows them by heart. But it doesn't hurt to have them written out, if only for something to occupy his nervous hands with.

He's careful to angle the paper in a way that Ilya couldn't read the words on it and Shane glances up at him, seeing the small tilt to his head, a sign that Ilya has definitely noticed what he was doing.

Shane glances down at the scribbled words on the paper and takes another breath to steady his voice. Then he looks back up at Ilya with a smile and starts.

"Svet moyey zhizni," Shane delights in the way Ilya's eyes widen in surprise and recognition of the words that Shane had whispered to him just a couple of hours ago. Light of my life. Ilya had asked him then when he had learned to say that, and Shane had just shrugged it off, not revealing that he had been studying them for weeks now, along with the rest of his vows.

"I can't begin to put into words how much I love you," Shane continues in Russian and watches the tears now freely flowing down Ilya's cheeks, his mouth slightly agape in wonder. Shane brings one hand down between them to hold Ilya's, while his other still holds the paper.

Somewhere in the crowd Shane registers a muffled "oh", and he knows it's probably Svetlana, the only other person besides Ilya and himself who could understand what he was saying. He blocks it out and focuses only on the flecks of gold in Ilya's eyes, on the way his throat moves as he swallows, listening intently to what Shane is saying.

"Before I met you I was lost. I don't think I knew it then, but I was. Lost in the constant labor of twisting and shaping and molding myself into a person I thought I had to be in order to fit in. Fit in with hockey, but also the world itself." Shane sniffles and Ilya's lip wobbles a little. "But then I met you. On that cold December afternoon in Saskatchewan." He chuckles wetly at the memory and Ilya joins him. "I don't even know how I knew where to find you. I just did. And even though I don't believe in god, I have to thank the universe or whatever higher power if there is one out there, for bringing me to you. Bringing you to me. I consider it a gift, a true gift and an honor to have you in my life, Ilya. You were the first person I could truly be myself with. You showed me that it was okay. That I was okay, that I was enough, just the way I was. I don't know where I would be if we had never met and I don't even want to imagine it, because I'm certain I wouldn't be anywhere near as happy as I am right here and now, standing in front of you on our wedding day." Ilya lets out a sob at that and turns his face away from the crowd, pinching his eyes shut. Shane reaches up and gently grabs his chin, turning his face to look at him again. Ilya opens his eyes and meets Shane's. Shane smiles at him and gently brushes his cheek, nodding a little. Understanding. Ilya nods back at him.

"My love. You are my everything. My whole world," Shane's voice cracks and he has to take a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. "The road we had to walk to get to where we are now hasn't been an easy one and we both buckled under the weight and pressure of our lives from time to time, but I would walk it a hundred times over if it meant getting to this point. Us. Together." Shane sniffles and has to look down at his notes for a moment, not because he doesn't know the next words, but because he needs to compose himself. He sniffles again and looks back up. "There are many words that come to mind when describing what you are to me, some chosen, some put on us by the world. My rival. My biggest competitor. My biggest fan. My teammate. My idol. The love of my life. But after today, another word can be added to the list, and probably the most important one. The one I'm proudest of. My husband." His voice cracks on that again but he pushes through. "My husband," he whispers reverently and Ilya leans into his palm that was still resting on his face, tears still streaming down his face. "My husband. I love you so much, Ilya. Thank you for being in my life. Thank you for trusting me with your heart. Thank you for every sacrifice you have made so that we could be together. Thank you for making me the happiest person on this earth and thank you for being my home." Shane smiles at Ilya, who smiles back at him through the tears.

"I can't wait for a future with you. A future together. Svet moyey zhizni. Light of my life." He finishes in English and carefully folds and pockets his note paper again.

Then he looks up at Ilya, who still has tears running down his face but a bright smile on it, too. Shane considers that a success. Ilya sobs once and let's his forehead rest against Shane's. Shane closes his eyes and breathes in the moment, distantly aware of the sniffling sounds coming from multiple people in the crowd of guests, but focused on taking in this moment with Ilya. His husband. He doesn't know how long they stay there like that and he doesn't care if they're making their guests wait. All he cares about is the man in front of him.

"Was my accent okay?" Shane asks quietly and Ilya huffs a laugh before pulling away and groaning dramatically, making some of the guests laugh.

"Shane, you make me cry like baby in front of all our friends and all you worry about is your accent?", Ilya asks jokingly, though the tears were still falling. More people laugh now.

Shane smiles shily. "Sorry," he says, though he doesn't mean it. Ilya shakes his head and brings his hands up to cup Shane's face. "No. It was perfect." And just like that Shane melts under his touch as Ilya inches closer. Shane knows they shouldn't kiss, should wait like they promised each other they would, but he didn't really find it in himself to object as Ilya pulls his face closer his own.

Thankfully, Hayden did his duty as Shane's best friend and shouts again: "No kissing yet, god damnit Rozanov!" Although his voice was much less steady than it had been the first time.

Shane laughs as Ilya shoots a deadly glare at Hayden. "I know where you live Pike," he threatens, getting another laugh out of the crowd, but ultimately pulling away from Shane.

"Your turn," Shane muses and lightly pokes at Ilya's chest. Ilya groans again and roughly rubs his hands over his face, trying to get the tears to stop. 

"How am I supposed to beat that?", Ilya says and gestures towards Shane somewhat frustrated.

Shane grins smugly. "Not everything has to be a competition, Ilya."

"Have you met yourselves?", Hayden answers before Ilya can, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Jackie, who's hissing at him to keep quiet.

Shane laughs, and for the first time really looks away from Ilya and at the crowd, his friends. He notices both of his parents crying, clutching each other's hands. He notices Haydens red eyes and the tear stained cheeks of Jackie, Rose and Svetlana, who has a hand covering her mouth to stop from sobbing as Rose gently rubs a hand up and down her arm. Shane also notices the other people in the crowd. J.J., wiping at his eyes and smiling. Troy Barrett, an arm wrapped around his boyfriend Harris, who is quietly crying into a handkerchief. Zane Boodram and his wife, nodding at him with a smile. Wyatt Hayes giving him a thumbs up before also wiping at his eyes. The other Ottawa Centaurs players who were there, his new teammates, all looking at them with pride and love in their eyes. And Shane is suddenly overwhelmed by how many people are gathered in his and Ilya's backyard, just to watch them getting married.

His smile falters a little as tears threaten to fall again, when he feels Ilya's gentle hand gripping his chin and turning his face towards him. At some point while Shane was looking at their friends, Ilya had taken out the piece of paper that contains his own vows, holding it now in a shaking hand.

"Shane," Ilya starts and looks down at his notes, frowning, then crumples up the paper and shoves it back into his pocket. "No, this is no good," he says and looks out to the guests. "Sorry, sorry, I will have to improvise now, because Shane has decided to have most perfect vows ever and now the ones I had are nothing compared to what he said. And I know that you don't know what he said, but trust me, they were really good."

Everyone laughs again, Shane right along with them, his eyes trained solely on Ilya once more.

"And I can't even say them in Russian to hide how bad they are from you, because he did his in Russian and now it would be nothing special anymore if I did the same." More laughter as Ilya groans again, although a smile was tugging at his lips. "So I will just improvise and you all have to deal with it." Someone in the crowd whoops to cheer him on and Ilya turns back to Shane with a smile.

He takes Shane's hands in his and locks eyes with him. Shane's knees wobble a little as he braces himself for what Ilya is going to say.

"Shane," Ilya starts again, voice serious now. "You are the most important thing in my life."

And oh well, there it goes, tears streaming down Shane's face again.

"I love you so much. So much, Shane, okay? So much it sometimes feels like my chest is going to explode with it. I have loved you for so long that I cannot remember what it was like to not be in love with you." Ilya steadily wipes away the tears from Shane's cheeks. "You talked about when we first met. A cold december afternoon in Saskatchewan, just before the World Juniors. And I think... I think maybe I was in love with you even then."

Some gasps in the crowd at that, Shane and Ilya ignore them.

"I think my heart knew," Ilya taps a finger to his chest, just above his heart, then moves the finger to his temple, "but my head was a little slow to understand. Sorry for that." Shane huffs out a laugh and some people in the crowd echo it. "It took a couple of years, but when my head finally understood what my heart has been saying all along, there was no one else for me. No one who could ever compare to you. It was scary. I was scared that you would not feel the same. Or that you would feel the same and it would still be impossible to be together. But then...", Ilyas breath hitches and Shane's hands move to his waist to clutch at his sides. "But then... well, something happened and things changed." Some laughter at that. Most can guess what Ilya is probably talking about. "The same day we said 'I love you' to each other for first time, was also the day I met your parents, and suddenly I have not only gained one person who I call my family," Ilya points a finger at Shane's chest and Shane painfully tries to hold down his sobs. Ilya then turns and gestures at Yuna and David in the front row before continuing. "But also two more people. You are my family, Shane. And I am very very grateful that I can be a part of yours. I will now steal something from your vows, but no one will know anyway, so don't tell anyone, okay?" Ilya did not keep is voice down for that last part, and Shane laughs, along with their guests, at Ilya's natural shift from deeply emotional to breathtakingly funny and Shane feels his heart swell with how much he loves this man.

When the laughter dies down, Ilya continues, indeed using and translating some of the things Shane had previously said in Russian:

"There are many words for what we are. Rivals," that gets the biggest laugh yet out of everyone in attendance, "Competitors, and really you are only real competition for me, everyone else is too easy," Ilya waves his hand in the air dismissively and it earns him some outraged shouts from the hockey players in the crowd, and a shameless grin from Shane. "Teammates, now. Lovers," Ilya wiggles his eyebrows at that and Shane groans, while he hears his parents laugh, the only ones besides them who get the joke.

Ilya smooths a hand over the crease between Shane's brows before continuing, serious once more. "But today one more word is added. Husbands." Ilya does a horrible job of trying to hide the tremor in his voice as Shane sees his eyes glisten again. "Shane, you are the love of my life and I am so lucky I get to call you my husband very soon. Thank you for always being here for me, thank you for trusting me, thank you for believing in us and thank you for fighting for us. Everything we went through, it was worth it because it led us here, and I regret nothing." Ilya switches to Russian then, maybe because the emotions made him forget his words in English, or maybe because he wanted only Shane to understand them. Whatever the reason, Shane chokes up again as he hears Ilya's voice speak in his native language. "I regret only not having realized I loved you earlier. I love you so much, my darling. You are the air that I breathe. You are my sunshine even when my sky is cloudy. You are my world. My soul. Thank you for choosing me. I love you so much." Ilya looks at Shane with teary eyes and Shane thinks that maybe he's going to try to kiss him again, but then Ilya lifts their hands, still clinging to each other, to his lips and plants a few soft kisses to Shane's knuckles. Shane laughs wetly and really, he was kind of tired of crying. But then the overwhelming feeling of delirious happiness washes over him again and he thinks that maybe a little crying isn't too bad if the cause for it is being this happy.

Ilya lets their hands fall between them again and he smiles at Shane briefly before turning to Nancy, who Shane has admittedly completely forgotten was still standing only a few steps away from them. "I'm done," Ilya says to her and she nods with a smile before spreading her arms and asking cheerfully, "Who has the rings?"

"Oh, right, we do," Shane says, suddenly remembering the part that comes after the vows. Both him and Ilya were now searching the pockets of their dress pants, until they came up with the ring they each had in their pocket.

"Perfect," Nancy claps her hands once when she sees both of them holding a ring in their hand. "Now," she says, gesturing between them, "take each other's hands."

Ilya starts grinning so brightly, Shane might as well be looking directly at the sun, and he can't help but grin right back at him as they both take each other's hands once more.

"Shane Hollander, do you hereby take Ilya Rozanov to be your lawfully wedded husband, and promise to love him, in poverty and wealth, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Shane can't stop grinning as he quickly looks down at their hand to slip the ring he is holding onto Ilya's finger, before meeting his eyes again and saying the words he's been dreaming of saying for months now. Maybe years.

"I do."

Another single tear runs down Ilya's face, but he's still grinning at Shane from ear to ear.

"And Ilya Rozanov, do you hereby take Shane Hollander to be your lawfully wedded husband, and promise to love him, in poverty and wealth, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Ilya is practically bouncing on his feet with excitement as he gently slips the ring onto Shane's finger and says: "I do."

"Then I hereby pronounce you, officially married."

Shane and Ilya just stand there, gripping each other's hands and beaming at each other, frozen in place, until Hayden's voice fills the air once again as he shouts, "You can kiss now!"

And they didn't need to be told twice as they rushed towards each other, as always, meeting in the middle in a breathtaking kiss. Shane's hands went to the sides of Ilya's face as they kissed through tears, smiling against each other's lips. Shane heard the loud cheers and clapping from their loved ones swell around them and he keeps kissing Ilya, faces pressed against each other when they were too breathless or laughing too much to kiss.

Then, Ilyas hand goes to the back of Shane's head, while the other presses flat against his back and suddenly, Ilya dips him, and the crowd is cheering even louder now, and Shane is too happy to think straight as his husband, his husband, kisses him until he actually, truly can't breathe anymore.

When they break apart and stand up straight again, they keep their foreheads pressed together, Shane's hands still holding Ilya's face in place.

"I love you," Shane whispers quietly over the cheering, only for Ilya to hear. Ilya kisses him one more time, before answering just as quietly, "I love you, too." The cheering and clapping continues and Shane thinks he hasn't ever been this happy in his life. Not even three Stanley Cup wins combined could compare to this.

—

After Shane and him had gone into the house with Nancy to sign the paperwork that would make them officially officially a married couple, Ilya grabbed his husband's hand and they walked onto their backyard again, with all their friends waiting.

Ilya has been grinning like a maniac for half an hour now and he doesn't think he's going to stop anytime soon. At least Shane doesn't seem to be any different than him, so it was alright. It was perfect.

They step onto the grass and Ilya lifts their joined hands above their hands and shouts: "We are married!" And the cheers pick up again as their friends filter in around them to pull them into hugs, handshakes and too wet kisses to the cheek, congratulating them on their marriage.

Ilya is so happy, so deliriously happy that he thinks he could fly if he tried now. He hasn't touched a drop of alcohol and yet he feels more drunk than he has ever felt in his entire life. 'Drunk on love', he thinks and chuckles to himself.

—

Someone has plucked their phone into the speaker system that had been prepared outside for the party after the ceremony, and played a song that Ilya didn't recognize and usually wouldn't be the kind of music he listens to, but it said something about "congratulations" and "I'm happy as can be", so naturally Ilya loved it instantly.

He moves his shoulders to the rhythm of the song as he tries to make out who the genius behind the music choice is, making his way through the crowd of his friends and towards the soundsystem. As he gets closer to it, he can make out the figure of Harris, scrolling through his phone, probably picking which songs to play next.

Ilya runs up to him and nearly tackles him to the ground in a bone crushing hug.

"Whoa, shit, Ilya," Harris laughs and pats Ilya's arms that were wrapped around him from behind.

"Harris, you are a genius. What song is this?", Ilya asks enthusiastically, not releasing him from his grip.

Harris laughs again and says, "Congratulations by Cliff Richard. You like it?"

What an unnecessary question, Ilya thinks, but nods. "Is perfect. You will be in charge of music for rest of the night."

"Wait what?", Harris looks a little horrified, clearly not having expected that playing a random song could land him with a task this demanding. Ilya just tightens his arms around him, making Harris groan a little. "Alright buddy, I love you too. But you're kinda crushing my ribs right now," he chokes out, voice strained as he tries to get Ilya's grip to loosen.

"Trying to break my boyfriends bones now, Roz?", Ilya hears behind him and finally releases Harris from his arms, who falls forward a little and coughs as he pats his chest as if to check if any bones were actually broken. Of course they weren't. Ilya has had his fair share of experience in breaking bones to be sure of that.

He turns to find Troy Barrett smirking at him, arms crossed over his chest.

"Barrett, come on, I would never. I love your boyfriend," he exclaims and, as if to prove a point, grabs Harris by the shoulders and plants a big kiss to his cheek.

"Rozanov! Infidelity already?", Ilya's head whips around to find Shane now also approaching them, Rose and Svetlane close behind.

A stupid grin spreads on Ilya's face again and he thinks he hears Troy laugh, but he doesn't really care, because Shane Hollander, his husband, is walking towards him with a playful smirk on his face and Ilya might actually die from glee as he runs towards Shane, who spreads his arms immediately and catches Ilya like that was what he was always meant to do.

Ilya wraps his arms around him tightly and starts attacking his face with kisses, ignoring Shane's half hearted attempt at shoving him off.

"Never, moya lyubov. Never. Only you. Only you.", Ilya mutters in-between kisses until Shane is finally laughing and hugging him back, letting Ilya kiss all over his beautiful face, every single one of his freckles.

"Alright, alright, Ilya. Stop now," Shane says after a while, still laughing. Ilya doesn't want to, but he stops. He just looks at Shane's face for a moment and suddenly he wants to cry again. Instead, he just kisses his husband full on the mouth, still surrounded by people trying to congratulate them.

Ilya doesn't care. He just continues kissing his husband.

—

Shane's face hurts from smiling so much. He doesn't think he's ever smiled, or laughed for that matter, so much in his whole life. And yet he can't seem to stop.

The first wave of congratulations and people trying to grab his and Ilya's attention has slowed down and he was finally able to take a breather for himself, as he stands close to the glass door leading into the house, sipping his champagne and listening to Rose tell him a story from the last wedding she's been to.

That's when he hears the booming voice of his husband shout for the crowd to just shut up and listen to him. Shane's gaze lands on Ilya, who was standing on a chair and waving at everyone until it was quiet enough for his liking.

Shane is smiling again.

"Alright, alright people. Thank you everybody, we love you all very much! Except you, Pike," Ilya adds quickly and points at Hayden, who throws his hands up in exasperation, turning to his wife for support, who instead just laughs at him. "I know, I know this has been the best wedding you have ever seen, you can stop telling us now." Some half hearted protests from the married players in attendance. "But the party is just. Getting. Started!", Ilya raises his arms above his head and everyone cheers. "So! There is food in the house, alcohol in the fridge inside, the garage and also over there on the terrace. Everyone take whatever you want, whenever you want. Except for the people who put cranberry juice in vodka, you people are not allowed to touch my vodka." People laugh again, some protest and Shane just sighs, actually sighs from how besotted he is with Ilya. Rose turns to him and watches him with an amused smile. "Shut up," Shane mumbles into his glass as he takes another sip of his champagne. Rose just laughs and bumps their shoulders together.

"Eat, drink, have fun. Also, I need volunteers who help me move chairs out of the way so we can make a dance floor here," Ilya broadly gestures to the entire space currently still occupied by chairs. "If you have music wishes, talk to Harris, he is DJ."

Ilya jumps down from the chair and winks at Harris, who just glares at him, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

Shane throws back the rest of his champagne and places the glass on the terrace table, before heading over to his husband who has already started stacking chairs. He wordlessly grabs the stack from his hands, not protesting when Ilya kisses him as he hands it over, and carries it somewhere off to the side, out of the way. When he walks back he finds that most of the remaining chairs have already been stacked by everyone else helping, which turns out to literally be everyone else. Even the kids, Ruby and Jade are carrying one chair between themselves towards the edge of their makeshift dance floor.

When most of the chairs are stacked and stored out of the way, only a few remaining for people to sit on if they wanted, the party really took off.

Harris was playing some electronic pop song that Shane didn't know and there were already a couple of people dancing. Some others were still standing on the side, plates with food in their hands, making conversation. Like for example J.J. and Hayden who were currently talking to Scott Hunter. Shane walks over to them.

"Hollzy," J.J. grins at him and wraps an arm around his shoulder, "Well? How does it feel? Officially off the market!"

Shane rolls his eyes and smirks. "Been off the market for a while now, J.J."

"Doesn't seem like you've been on the market at all, Hollander. What did Rozanov say? In love since the World Juniors? That was, what, 2008? 2009? Have you two really been together that long?", Scott says with a smile but also an incredulous look in his eyes. Shane blushes and nods. "Yeah... I mean we didn't... it didn't start right away. But not long after World Juniors 2008, yeah."

Scott whistles and looks at J.J. and Hayden, clearly looking for other shocked faces but finding none. "Oh, you new already." Hayden laughs and claps him on the shoulder. "Don't worry old man, we're some of the few who belong to the trusted inner circle, everyone else here was probably just as surprised as you."

Hunter rolls his eyes and turns to Shane again. "Wait, so how old were you when the whole thing started?"

Shane lets his eyes wander over the crowd of people gathered in his backyard, finally landing on the person he was looking for. Always looking for. Ilya is standing close to Harris next to the soundsystem, seemingly in deep conversation with him about something. Shane smiles to himself and turns his attention back to the question that was asked.

"18 when we first... noticed there was interest. 19 when we first acted on it."

"Shit. That's wild, Hollander," Scott says and claps him on the shoulder. "I'm glad it worked out for you."

Shane smiles at him appreciatively and nods. "Yeah, me too."

"You are talking about me?", Ilya wraps his arm around Shane from behind and Shane is grinning like an idiot again. God, when would all this giddiness stop?

Shane turns his head and places a kiss to Ilya's lips before answering, "Never."

"Ahh, you are terrible liar, vozlyublennyy." Ilya places a kiss behind Shane's ear, before turning him around, placing his hands on his waist.

"Dance with me," he says quietly and Shane doesn't think he could deny his husband anything right now.

"Okay," Shane says and Ilya lights up. "Okay?", he asks and Shane laughs. "Yes. Okay."

Ilya kisses him quickly before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the "dance floor".

"Harris! Now!", Ilya shouts over the music and laughter and Shane whips his head around to look at Harris, who just gives Ilya a thumbs up and pauses the music.

"What's going on?", Shane asks Ilya, who has already wrapped his arms around Shane's waist. Everyone else seems to be just as confused as Shane was, judging by the questioning looks.

"You will see," Ilya just says and smiles.

"Everyone," Harris cups his hands around his mouth to project as loud as possible over the noise of crowd, who now quiets down a little. "Please welcome to the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple: Shane and Ilya Hollander-Rozanov!"

Harris starts a song and some people cheer, as most of them clear the dance floor, or at least a circle around Ilya and Shane, to give the couple space for their first dance.

But Shane doesn't pay attention to any of that. He wraps his arms around Ilya's shoulders, who has already started swaying them to the sound of a song Shane actually does know. A rendition of "Can't Help Falling In Love With You", sung beautifully by a woman.

"You set this up," Shane observes and Ilya scoffs.

"Obviously."

"Hollander-Rozanov?", Shane asks, a broad smile on his face, which is quickly returned by Ilya.

They had talked about what last names they'd take after getting married in great detail a couple of weeks before. They hadn't agreed on one though, not sure whether to hyphenate or even not change their last names at all.

Ilya shrugs. "Maybe. I just told Harris to announce us. He decided on Hollander-Rozanov apparently."

Shane hums and leans closer to place as long but soft kiss to Ilya's lips, as they still swayed and slowly turned on the spot to the sound of the music.

They pull away and Shane absentmindedly plays with the curls at the back of Ilya's head.

"Well. I think we can certainly think about that... Mr. Hollander," he looks at Ilya when he says the last words. And okay. Maybe that was a little much. But Ilya's eyes lit up with joy and something... more. He pulls Shane closer against him and leans forward to whisper in his ear, "Whatever you want. Mr. Rozanov."

The strangled noise that escapes Shane would be truly embarrassing if anyone other than Ilya had heard it. His husband just chuckles darkly and presses a kiss to his neck before pulling back again.

They just look at each other then, still swaying to the music. Some other couples have joined them on the dance floor now.

"Great music choice, by the way," Shane says.

"You think so? You don't think it is too... cheesy?", Ilya asks and there was actually a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. Shane kisses him. "No. It's perfect."

Now Ilya is the one who kisses him. Once. Twice, before resting their foreheads together, eyes closed, and they continue slow dancing, surrounded by their closest friends and family.

—

After the song finishes and another slow song starts playing, Ilya is pulled away by Shane's mother who asks him for a dance. Ilya is confused at first, looking at Shane for guidance, but he just smiles and shrugs, saying he'll ask Rose for a dance, and that was that.

Now Ilya was dancing with Yuna Hollander, actually dancing a little more now, as opposed to the mostly stationary swaying he and Shane had done before.

"The ceremony was beautiful," she says and Ilya smiles.

"It was."

"You did so well. What you said was really beautiful."

Ilya nods. "Thank you. It was... it was from the heart," he says, momentarily removing a hand from her waist to put it over his heart.

Yuna smiles at him and gently covers his hand with her own. "The best things are."

They both smile at each other and return their hands to where they were before.

Ilya clears his throat. "And thank you. For what you said... earlier. It means a lot. And I am also proud that you are... my mother-in-law now," Ilya blushes and looks away.

"Oh honey," Yuna suddenly pulls him into a tight hug and strokes the back of his head. It takes Ilya only a second of surprise before he returns the hug. "You know we love you, right?" And god damn it, Ilya was not going to start crying again.

He sniffles and hesitates only a little before he nods. "I know." He pulls away and looks down at her, willing his eyes to stop the tears from falling. "I love you, too," Ilya says quietly and watches the smile on Yuna's face widen at the words.

The song ends and another one starts. She strokes a hand over the side of his face and nods before she says, "I'm going to dance with Shane now. Go enjoy the party, my dear."

Ilya nods and watches her walk over to Shane, who laughs and quickly wraps his arms around his mum before they start dancing, the same way Ilya has just danced with her.

A pang of envy shoots through his chest, quick enough that he can't stop it before it comes. He doesn't want to feel like this.

Ilya reaches up to stroke his fingers over outline of the golden cross sitting against his chest beneath his shirt. He can't help but wish his mother was here with him, too.

"And when were you going to ask me for a dance?", a Russian voice behind him takes him out of his thoughts and he drops his hand as he turns around to find Svetlana standing there, arms crossed, impatiently tapping her fingers against her arm.

Ilya scoffs and holds a hand out to her. "I'm sorry, Sveta. Dance with me?"

She scowls at him before breaking into a smile and taking his hand. He promptly lifts it over her head, twirling her around, before bringing her in close for the dance. Sveta laughs as she places both hands on his shoulders, his hands finding their way to her waist.

"His vows were beautiful," she says and Ilya nods, smiling at the not so distant memory. No one else knew what Shane had said. Well, apart from the part that Ilya had shamelessly stolen for his own vows. Ilya appreciates being able to talk to someone about how wonderful Shane's words had been.

"You had no idea he was going to do them in Russian?", Sveta asks and Ilya shakes his head.

"No idea at all." Ilya smiles to himself. He really hadn't. When Shane started talking in Russian, Ilya had been completely blindsided in the best way possible. He'll have to ask Shane later about when he had the time to learn all of it. He scoffs. Trust Shane Hollander to write the most perfect vows, somehow translate them into Russian and then deliver them so brilliantly, with a close to perfect accent.

"I'm happy you found someone who loves you so much he'd learn to speak one of the most difficult languages possible, just so you could talk to him in your native language," Svetlana cups his cheek and looks at him intently. "You deserve to be loved like that."

Ilya swallows and presses his lips together before nodding. "Thank you, Sveta. I don't know... I'm glad to have you."

His best friend smiles at him and gently pulls his head down a little so she could kiss his cheek. "Ya tebya lyublyu, Ilya."

Ilya turns his head to place a kiss to her cheek as well. "Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu."

When they finish their dance, Shane is already there to take over from Svetlana, holding a hand out to Ilya and smiling up at him bashfully.

"He's all yours," Sveta says in English and places Ilya's hand she was still holding into Shane's. "Prekrasnyye klyatvy, Hollander," she says by means of goodbye and Ilya watches delightedly as Shane dips his head in thanks, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Ilya laughs and pulls him into him.

They dance again, slowly, the side of their heads resting against each other, neither of them saying a word. Just silently taking in the moment.

As soon as that song ends as well, someone, probably Bood, judging from the voice, shouts at Harris to put on 'something with a beat' and the energy quickly shifts as the slow dances come to an end and the party is really getting started.

Ilya dances a little more with Shane, laughing at how awkward he looks, trying to find a way to dance to the beat of the music. Ilya places his hands on Shane's hips, trying to get him to loosen up a bit, to no avail at all. Shane is still trying though, and he's still smiling up at Ilya like he put the stars in the sky, and so it doesn't really matter at all, because Ilya loves him more than life itself. So what if his husband couldn't dance for shit.

—

Shane has found his way to the edge of the dance floor again. After dancing with his husband for half an hour, he needs a break. And another drink.

So he got himself a beer and is now sitting on one of the lounge chairs on the terrace, observing the party. Someone, he guesses Svetlana, has put Harris up to playing a Russian rap song, and now Shane gets to delight in watching his husband, standing on a chair with a glass of vodka in his hand, bouncing to the beat of the song and loudly singing, or rapping, along to it, while getting hyped up by his teammates gathered around him.

Shane has to remember thanking Svetlana for that. He had no idea Ilya could rap in Russian and he was immensely grateful for the revelation.

If he wasn't this insanely turned on right now at the sight of his husband, he would probably balk at the sheer profanity of the song. But Ilya glances towards him and winks. So really, Shane couldn't care less.

He adjusts the way he was sitting on the lounge chair and drinks from his beer, looking anywhere else. He really needs to calm down immediately or else he would do something truly stupid. Like crossing the dance floor, pulling Ilya down from that chair and dropping to his knees in front of him and the entirety of their gathered friends. And his parents.

Thankfully, salvation comes in the form of Hayden.

"Hey, man," Hayden sits down in the lounge chair next to Shane's and grins at him. "Enjoying the show?"

Shane groans. "Fuck off, Hayd."

Hayden laughs at him and leans across the armrest of his chair to grab Shane's shoulder and shake him a little.

"Relax, buddy. That's your husband right there, no one can blame you."

Shane raises an eyebrow at him. "That's probably the longest you've ever gone without saying something mean about Ilya. Are you okay? Blink twice if you need help."

Hayden rolls his eyes and shoves him a little before dropping back into his own lounge chair. "Shut up, Hollander." He releases a long suffering sigh. "Jackie threatened me with two months no sex if I didn't behave myself."

Shane throws his head back in laughter and pats Hayden's knee. "That's rough, man."

"Whatever. I can be nice for one day, I suppose. Even if it's fucking Rozanov."

Shane clicks his tongue. "I'm pretty sure that counts as something Jackie didn't want you to say today," he teases and Hayden shoots him a glare.

"No but in all seriousness, I'm happy for you man," Hayden says after Shane has stopped laughing at him. "What Roz said... it was fucking beautiful. Maybe he's not so bad after all." Shane scoffs at that. "Shut it and let me talk, Hollander!", his friend says with no real heat behind the words. "It took me... a while to get used to the idea of you and... Ilya. And I can't promise I'm going to be perfect about it from now on but... he loves you, and he makes you happy," Hayden makes a face like it physically hurt him to say it. "So... I'm really happy for you. And I'll try my best to be better at showing that."

Shane smiles at his best friend and nods. "I appreciate it, Hayd. And to be fair, I know he hasn't always made it easy for you to... see his good side. But he actually really likes you." Hayden raises his eyebrows at him in disbelief and Shane laughs again. "No, he really does. He thinks you're a great dad and he likes how you've been there for me when things got... rough. I know he doesn't show it, but he does like you."

Hayden looks at him, a little shocked to say the least, and clears his throat. "Well, that's nice to know, I suppose."

"Don't tell him I told you that though," Shane says and Hayden mimics locking his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

They lean back in their lounge chairs and look out at the party some more. Harris has put on an EDM version of some kids song and all the kids were now on the dance floor, accompanied by some of the parents. Hayden's kids, the neighbor's kids, some of Ilya's teammate's kids. And Ilya himself.

His husband had put down his drink somewhere and was now holding both Ruby and Jade on each of his arms, bouncing up and down and swirling, singing along with them to the song while Arthur ran laps around him.

Shane smiles to himself as his heart swells and he can't help but feel like this is some vision into their future. Because they had that. A future together.

"Where's Jackie?", he asks after a while, having noticed that she's missing.

"Inside, putting Amber to sleep. Your mum offered to use a guestroom for that. I hope that's okay."

Shane nods instantly. "Yeah, of course. We're happy you brought the kids. The least we could do is offer up a guestroom for them so you two could enjoy the party for as long as you want until you have to return to your hotel."

Ilya has put the girls down now, picking up Arthur and throwing him into the air before catching him again. The little boy was giggling so much, Shane could hear it over the noise of the music and his heart feels so full, he's scared it could burst.

—

The hours went by and it was dark outside now, 10pm or so. The backyard was lit by the terrace lights and some additional ones that had been set up earlier. Some guests who had a long drive home have already said their goodbyes, but over all their backyard was still packed with people. There were no kids left outside, either having gone home with their parents already or, in the case of the Pike kids, sleeping soundly on the bed in one of Ilya's and Shane's guestrooms.

This also means that the party had gone even more off the rails, now that no one had to worry about being a good role model or traumatizing a bunch of kids.

Most of the men have discarded their suit jackets and ties and, those who hadn't already, switched out the beer in favor of some of Ilya's good vodka. Rose and Svetlana had abandoned their high heels and were now dancing barefoot in the grass, arms around each other's shoulders and, who'd be surprised, glasses of vodka in their hands as well.

Shane had been nipping at his own vodka for the last hour or so, not usually one for hard alcohol himself, but willing to indulge for once. It was his wedding day after all.

He's talking to his dad, his mum having gone inside with Hayden to check on the kids, when suddenly someone, J.J., grabs his drink out of his hand and gives it to his dad, then grabs his arm and starts pulling him away towards the group of people dancing.

"J.J., what...," Shane looks at his dad for help, but he just laughs and raises his hands in surrender, Shane's drink in one, his own in the other. So Shane lets his friend pull him onto the dance floor.

"What are we doing?", he asks as he's immediately surrounded by people.

"Celebrating you obviously," Troy Barrett says from behind him and someone else shouts: "Hit it, Harris!"

The music changes to a song Shane, shockingly, doesn't recognize, one with a heavy bass and almost no lyrics.

Shane doesn't have time to think about it much, because suddenly there are hands all over him and he can't even protest before he's already being hoisted into the air by a couple of his friends. They lift him over their heads, bouncing up and down to the beat of the song, all having started a chant of "Hey, hey, hey, hey," while Shane tries to grapple with what's happening.

"Guys, guys," he tries to get their attention but no one is listening and Shane is absolutely mortified and embarrassed and...

And then it all goes silent with on single word. His name.

"Shane," he hears Ilya's voice over all the noise, all the shouting, and he turns his head to find his husband in a similar predicament, grinning and reaching out a hand towards him.

And suddenly, Shane doesn't feel mortified at all. Suddenly, a grin spreads across his face as he reaches out and intertwines his fingers with Ilya's. They lock eyes for a moment, before they both burst into giddy laughter, still being thrown into the air by their friends and teammates. It might be the alcohol, Shane thinks, but he suddenly finds himself actually enjoying this ridiculous display. It might also just be Ilya.

—

After their friends have set them down again, everyone breathless from laughing so much, another apparently quite popular song began playing and Ilya and Shane were quickly forgotten as everyone starts shouting along to the lyrics and jumping up and down to the beat. Jackie was on Hayden's shoulders and some of the other wives and girlfriends quickly followed suit.

Shane was still laughing and watching the mania unfold, all the while clinging to Ilya's arm. Ilya, who had leaned towards his ear and whispered: "Come with me."

He'd pulled Shane away from the makeshift dance floor, away from the crowd, away from the noise, towards a farther back spot of their backyard, close to some trees overlooking the Ottawa river. The fact that it was a riverfront house had been one of the biggest reasons why Ilya had decided on this house in particular.

Now, they are sitting in the grass next to each other, looking out at the moonlight reflecting in the water.

Ilya brings their still intertwined hands up to his mouth and kisses Shane's palm. "Moy muzh," he whispers against his skin and Shane smiles at the new nickname, which wasn't a nicknames at all but just a simple statement. My husband.

Shane tugs at their hands and brings Ilya's knuckles to his lips. "Moy muzh," he whispers in return and plants soft kisses all over Ilya's hand.

Ilya chuckles and Shane releases his hand, scooting closer to his husband who already wraps an arm around his shoulder, tugging him into his side.

They watch the flow of the river and listen to the sound of crickets chirping, water rushing by and the distant music and laughter of their friends, still clearly audible but a little more muted. Shane rests his head on Ilya's shoulder and Ilya rests his on the top of Shane's head.

This is the first time since before the ceremony that they have some time just for themselves, and Shane just let's himself process the last couple of hours. Hours that have been some of the most joyful in his life. He's married now. He's fucking married, to Ilya fucking Rozanov. Shane huffs a laugh at the blissful absurdity of that. He turns his head and plants a kiss on Ilya's shoulder.

"I love you," he whispers and Ilya squeezes his hand before shifting and kissing the top of his head. "I love you, too," Ilya says into his hair and places another kiss on his head.

"We're married," Shane says softly, thumb tracing circles on the back of Ilya's hand.

"We are," his husband answers just as softly. Shane turns his head to look at him and finds Ilya's eyes already on him. He leans in and kisses him, softly, gently, unhurriedly. Afterwards, they rest their foreheads against each other's.

"I am very happy," Ilya whispers and Shane pulls back to kiss his forehead. "Me too."

They snuggle up again, Shane wrapping both of his arms around Ilya's torso and Ilya holding on to him a little tighter.

"Your vows were really good," Ilya says after a while and Shane smiles proudly to himself.

"Yeah?"

"Yes." Ilya kisses the top of his head again. "And your accent was also really good, I'm very proud of you. Is not easy."

Shane's smile grows a little. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Ilya says and traces idle circles on Shane's arm. "When did you practice? I never noticed."

Shane hums in contentment and closes his eyes. "I skipped my morning run a couple of days a week, for the last three weeks. Went to a Russian dialect coach who helped me translate them and get the pronunciation and intonation and everything right."

Ilya pulls away suddenly and looks at him with raised eyebrows. "You, Shane Hollander, skip morning run? Who are you?"

Shane grins at him and dips his head forward to kiss him. "I'm your husband," he murmurs against Ilya's lips and kisses him again. He brings his hand up to play with Ilya's curls a little as he gathers his next words. "And besides, I wanted to so something special for you. You already have to live your whole life with a language that isn't your first one. I didn't want our wedding to be the same. I wanted you to hear how much you mean to me in Russian, in your native language."

Ilya purses his lips and Shane doesn't miss the way his eyes glisten again, but Ilya already surges forwards and wraps his arms around Shane, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Thank you," he sniffles a little and Shane climbs into his lap to hold him closer, chests pressing against each other, heart to heart, beating in sync.

"Vso dlya tebya," Shane whispers back and feels Ilya's arms tighten around him. Anything for you. Words that Ilya has spoken so many times before and has proven that he would truly do anything, sacrifice anything for Shane. Now it was Shane’s turn to say the words, and spend a lifetime proving how much he meant them.

Ilya pulls back and looks at Shane, eyes glistening in a way that Shane is sure his own were, and just looks at him. Shane uses the moment to do the same. He scans his husband’s face, as if trying to commit every single detail to memory. As if he didn’t already have all of the smallest details of Ilya’s face memorized. The golden flecks in his green eyes, the small scar on his left temple, the way one of his eyebrows was shorter than the other, the place on the bridge of his nose where it goes slightly crooked from when he’d had it broken years ago, the crinkles at his eyes that got more prominent every time he laughed, the curve of his lips that Shane liked to kiss so much. Every detail. Every little perfection and imperfection (although if you asked Shane, the imperfections were what made Ilya’s face perfect to him), he had it memorized.

Shane brings his hand up and cradles Ilya’s cheek, gently brushing his thumb across the skin under his eyes. Then he dips his head and kisses Ilya. Not rough, not desperate. But soft and unhurried and relishing in the knowledge that they would get to do this for the rest of their lives. Shane tries to convey all of his emotions, all his love and happiness, through the kiss. Maybe that’s a lot to ask from a kiss, but he can try anyway.

They stay like that for a while, Shane doesn’t know how long, minutes, hours possibly, just holding each other and kissing, breaking apart only to laugh deliriously as they say ‘I love you’ over and over again, in more languages than one, before going back to kissing. If it was up to Shane they would stay here like this the whole night, doing nothing but just that. Well. Maybe a little more than just that, but the point stands.

It doesn’t look like his wish would come true though, because suddenly a voice calling their names brings them back to reality. They break apart and Shane releases a frustrated sigh. Ilya laughs at him.

”Oi! Lovebirds! Stop making out and get your asses back to the party!", Rose shouts from across the yard and a chorus of agreeing cheers from the rest of their friends follows.

“Should we go back?”, Ilya asks. Shane rests his forehead against his and sighs again. “Probably. I don’t want to, though.”

Ilya laughs. “Come on, we will dance a little more, drink with our friends, let everyone tell us how amazing we are…,” he drawls and Shane huffs a laugh. Ilya pats his thigh and kisses him once more before trying to get Shane off his lap, but Shane just clings on to his husband like a little child clinging to the leg of an adult. That gets another laugh out of Ilya, who kisses him again. “It will be fun, you know that,” he says. Shane sighs again. “Is our wedding, Hollander. I want to go back and celebrate with you. Come on.”

And Shane could hardly say no to that. So he reluctantly stands up and pulls Ilya to his feet with him. His husband smiles at him, happy that his convincing had worked, and kisses him again as he tangles their hands together and starts pulling him back towards the party.

Shane leans against him as they walk, and whispers into Ilya’s ear: “You know, I have a few things in mind. To celebrate us… later…” and he plants a kiss to the side of Ilya’s neck.

Ilya’s grip on his hand tightens a little and he glances at Shane, a devious smile tugging at his lips. “I'm sure you do.”

They reach the party again and are immediately swarmed by their friends, when Ilya leans close to Shane’s ear and whispers: “I can’t wait for you to show me.” He pulls back and winks. Shane presses his lips together to stop from smiling. 

He can’t believe he gets to have this for the rest of his life. This, Ilya smiling at him, holding his hand with everyone around them being able to see, finally see how in love they are with each other.

As he keeps his eyes on Ilya’s face, the voices of their guests already fading to the background, Shane thinks that somewhere in his life, there must have been a decision he had made, or a thing he had done so incredibly, impossibly, perfectly right, that would explain how lucky he had gotten. And not for the first time tonight, he thinks back to that cold day in Saskatchewan all those years ago, and remembers looking into the same eyes as he is right now, shaking the hand for the first time that was now firmly holding his. 

Shane smiles brightly at his husband, who instantly returns it. Yes. That was probably it. That cold day in Saskatchewan, when he decided he was going to introduce himself to Ilya Rozanov, that Russian hockey player everyone kept comparing him to. A decision that, looking back now, probably changed the whole trajectory of his life.

If he could go back in time, Shane would kiss his younger self for making that decision. 

But he can’t.

So he kisses Ilya Rozanov instead.