Chapter Text
Yuna remembers the day Shane was born and the relief she felt as soon as his lungs took in his first ever breath and he screamed the roof off. They had struggled to get pregnant for a while and so when she finally did she was constantly terrified that something might go wrong.
But her little Shane had always been a determined boy. When he set his heart to something, no matter how scary it was, he would fight tooth and nail to achieve his goals, which included fighting the odds and coming into this world alive and well only to become one of the greatest hockey players of his generation. Alongside her now bonus son Ilya Rozanov.
Finding out about their relationship had been quite the shock, but if Rozanov was who her darling boy had fallen in love with then she was quite ready to welcome him into the family and into her heart with open arms. She had always wanted more children after all, but they never could quite make it happen again after Shane. No that it mattered now. She’d poured every ounce of love she had into giving Shane the best life she could, and Shane had given her the gift of having another son back in return.
She still remembers the times she used to curse Ilya out, especially on those night where Boston and Montreal were playing each other. But those memories feel like a fever dream now. Now she gets to cheer for both her sons who play on the same team, and her home team no less. Even if they’re not on the same line and she rarely gets to see them actually share the ice, it is a special kind of joy to go to these games wearing a jersey with both of their names on it.
Basically, all this is to say that she loves Ilya just as much as she loves Shane and she is so happy that her boy has someone who loves him as much as Ilya clearly does. Ilya brings out a side of Shane that no one else ever truly does.
Yuna had seen Shane with girls in the past and he’d always been kind of…meek to put it lightly. She had been worried that maybe he loved hockey a little too much and that no human person might ever match up to that love. Suffice to say she was wrong on that front, and was she damn glad about it. Even boys like Shane, who had always been a little different to all the other boys, needed and deserved love beyond what a mother or a father could give.
And now that it had been a few years and she’d been watching the boys for a long time, it didn’t feel all too surprising that he had fallen in love with Ilya. Shane didn’t do anything by halves, so of course only another hockey great could be the right match for him. And they really did balance each other out nicely, Yuna thought. She had noted the way Ilya would up his charm so the camera focused more on him to save Shane from having to give interviews for too long, or the way he would push Shane out of his shell when he needed to, but kept him calm and safe when things got too much. She still remembers that first day they all met properly, and the way Ilya had calmed Shane down from a panic attack with a hand on the back of his neck and a grounding kiss. She knew from that very moment that her boy was safe with him, that he had found his home.
But she has to admit, there were still aspects of their relationship that caught her by surprise sometimes.
Like this weekend, the boys were spending the night at their house, which she always found a treat. They’d had a lovely dinner and the four of them were now sprawled out on the couch watching a movie that had just come to an end.
“Right, come on. We better head to bed, we have to leave early tomorrow,” Shane said standing up. It wasn’t too late but she knew Shane had his nightly routine that he liked to stick to.
“Nooooo Shane. Cannot move. Am too tired,” Ilya replied. She loved seeing Ilya like this most. She wishes she could have met Irina if only to hear stories about Ilya’s youth. He didn’t talk about her or his childhood very much himself.
“Well tough. I’m going to bed. You can sleep on the couch or you can sleep in our bed. You pick,” Shane said standing his ground.
“Arghhhh,” Ilya responded huffing and then he was making grabby hands at Shane. “Okay, you carry me then.”
Yuna doesn’t know why that made her turn her head. She supposes she was used to the idea that Ilya must be the one that carried Shane. After all, that’s what she’d seen in the past. And she was quite certain that well…that Shane was the catcher rather than the pitcher. For some reason in her mind that meant he couldn’t possibly carry or pick Ilya up.
“Carry yourself,” Shane replied with arms crossed, his biceps bulging and reminding her that he certainly wasn’t quite her little boy anymore.
“Shaneeeeee. Carry,” Ilya said making grabby hands yet again. Shane huffed, rolled his eyes, and then was hauling Ilya into his arms bridal style with Ilya’s own arms wrapping around Shane’s neck and a massive grin overtaking his face. He gave Shane a big wet kiss on the cheek. “Okay, take me to bed.” His eyes widened for a minute as he turned his head to see Yuna and David both watching them. “I mean not like that, just to sleep.”
That made David chuckle beside her.
“God Ilya, will you shut up,” Shane said carrying him out of the room, though their voices could still be heard in the hallway. “You’re a big baby you know.”
“Yes, your baby Hollander. And also Damsel.”
“Damsel?”
“Yes! In distress because I am so tired my legs do not work so you carry me to bed.”
“Right.”
“But they may magically start working again if you did want to do anything other than sleep-”
“Oh my God shut up, we are never having sex under the same roof as my parents!” Shane whisper yelled but unfortunately still loud enough for Yuna and David to both hear.
Yuna blushed and David beside her whispered, “Thank God for that.”
“Again anyway…” Shane added making her and David turn their faces to each other with a grimace. Shane was a grown married man, and had apparently been ‘lovers’ with Ilya for almost a decade before that, so she of course knew on an abstract and objective level that he had sex but she didn’t want to know anything more than that.
She was getting ready to shout back that they could still hear them, in case the boys decided to share anymore detail about their sex life, when she heard a loud whack.
“Ow Shane! What the fuck,” a very strong Russian accent said.
“Sorry,” grumbled Shane. “It’s your fault for having such a big head and making me carry you to bed. You’re heavy you know.”
“YUNA, DAVID, SHANE IS BEING MEAN TO ME!” Ilya’s loud voice rang out from upstairs.
“Shane!” Yuna shouted back in admonishment.
“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!” Shane shouted back. “Though the next one might not be if you’re not careful,” was all they heard very faintly before a door slammed shut.
Yuna and David both chuckled and she laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. She thought about why it was such a surprise to her, seeing Shane carry Ilya. She had to remind herself that her son was very much in a homosexual relationship and that maybe the normal stereotypes didn’t apply to him. They were both men after all, both worked out and were at the top of their game in hockey, and honestly Shane was never meek around Ilya in front of her. So it actually made a lot of sense that Shane might sometimes carry Ilya, even if he was the catcher. In fact, she actually found it rather adorable.