Chapter Text
Shane knows that hockey players can have some pretty weird superstitions but this just might be the weirdest he has ever experienced. They were having a perfectly normal team barbecue at J.J.'s house to celebrate making it into the playoffs when Hayden pulled out an ancient looking leather bound book from his backpack. The edges are tattered and the title is embossed with faded gold leaf.
"What's that, Hayd?" Shane asks, eyeing the book curiously.
Hayden scratches the back of his neck. "Well, you know how we only barely made it into playoffs because the Admiral's goalie was playing injured?"
Shane did know. One of their first line wingmen was out for the season for an unavoidable surgery and the team hasn't yet figured out how to work around the hole left behind. He wasn't worried about it per say, but he did know they would have to work hard if they wanted to even come close to winning the cup this year. "Yeah, what about it?"
"I thought maybe we could use a good luck charm." He shakes the book in his hand as if that answers everything.
"You still haven't told us what a book has to do with anything." J.J. pipes up from where he's stationed at the grill.
"Well, you aren't going to believe this but… From what I can tell, this book tells you how to summon your very own demon who will grant you a wish."
Everyone looks at him skeptically. "You really think that could ever work?" Drapeau questions.
"Guess it never hurts to try, right?" Hayden says with a grin.
That's how they ended up drawing a symbol from the book in chalk on J.J.'s back patio. Tea light candles are arranged carefully around the edges and Hayden lights them one by one.
"Okay, that's done. Shane, go stand in the middle." Hayden motions to the symbol on the ground.
"Why does it have to be me?" Shane questions. "I'm not a - a virgin or anything. Isn't it supposed to be a virgin?"
Hayden and J.J. and send each other a look. "Well, even so, you are the most innocent and virtuous of us all. It should definitely be you." Hayden reasons.
"Yes, you are our fearless capitaine!" J.J. says encouragingly.
Shane looks around as his team nods their head in agreement. He sighs, he might as well go along with it, it's not like this is ever going to actually work. He steps over the candles and into the summoning circle.
"You know this is ridiculous right? Where did you even manage to find a book on summoning a demon?" Shane grumbles.
"I found it in the attic of Jackie's grandmother's house while we were cleaning it out. I figured, it might come in handy, so I grabbed it." Hayden shrugs. "Now, hold out your hand."
Shane begins to stretch out his hand automatically before snatching back and clutching it to his chest. "Wait, why do you need my hand?" He asks somewhat hysterically.
"We need a drop of your blood, of course." Hayden says, as if it should be obvious.
"What?!" Shane takes a step back.
"Just a drop! You'll barely feel it."
"What the fuck, Hayden?" Shane glares at him.
"I know, I know, but that's what the book says! It says I need to poke the summoner's hand then they smear the drop of blood on the ground inside the circle."
Shane takes a deep breath. This is insane, he's not actually going to do this right? He's going to do this, isn't he? Shane slowly holds his hand out and offers it to Hayden who magically produces a sewing needle from somewhere. He pricks Shane's pointer finger and a small drop of blood wells to the surface. Shane looks at it for a second before he crouches down and runs the finger along the ground.
Just as the blood touches the ground, a single gust of wind rushes through the trees and across J.J.'s backyard. The candles dance as everyone freezes and look around at each other nervously.
"Huh… That was weird. Let's keep going." Hayden says as he turns back to his place in the book. "It says here that everyone needs to imagine a very bright white color, like the midday sun shining through a sheet of paper. Then that you hear a rumbling sound and that you can feel a texture of grit and saliva. Imagine you can smell a sharp herbal fragrance and feel the taste of salt. Then I read the incantation. I'm not actually sure what language it's in but how hard could it be?"
Key ah-ta ah-doh-nigh mahch-see eh-lee-awn sahm-tah meh-awn-ech-ah. Leh-ha-gya, leh-ha-gya,leh-ha-gya.
As soon as Hayden finishes speaking another strong burst of wind spreads over them, blowing out the candles completely. The team stands there in silence, waiting for something else to happen. Nothing does.
Shane looks around. "So… Can I get out of the circle now?"
"Aww, I really thought that was going to work!" Hayden groans and closes the book.
They all deflate a little before heading back inside to get more beer. The rest of the evening goes on without any other strange occurrences and the idea of summoning a demon is forgotten.
Shane wakes to the sound of incessant beeping. He reaches out blindly to grab his phone from the nightstand and turns off the offending alarm before laying back with a sigh.
"About time you woke up." A man's voice cuts through the quiet from across the room.
"Jesus fuck!" Shane exclaims as he gets tangled in his sheets in his haste to sit up. He clutches them to his bare chest as if that will do anything to protect him from the stranger in his bedroom. "What. What the hell are you doing in my house?!"
"You summoned me, yes?" The man says, his voice deep and accented. He's dressed in fitted black slacks and a white button up that shows a good amount of his chest. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, displaying strong looking forearms.
Shane pulls his eyes away from the man's arms to look at his face in confusion. He is objectively gorgeous but that does little to calm Shane's racing heart, or answer his question. What does he mean Shane summoned him? Then, all of a sudden, the events of last night flash through his mind and the meaning of the words finally register. "No. No no no, that's impossible."
"Obviously it's not, because here I am." The man, demon? says as he holds his arms out. "Now, let's get this over with. What is your wish?"
"… My wish? The one that I get because you are… a demon." Shane says haltingly, as if saying the words makes this situation any more reasonable.
"Yes, I'm glad you understand. You make wish, I get soul, we all go home happy." He says while gesturing from Shane to himself with his hands.
Shane drops his hold on the sheets in shock, leaving his chest exposed. "Wait wait wait, Hayden didn't say anything about a soul. I'm not giving you my soul." Shane doesn't even know if he truly believes in the idea of souls, but he certainly isn't going to find out just so they can win the cup this year. They just need to work hard and they make it happen on their own, without this supposed demon's help.
The man's eyes travel slowly over Shane's bare chest, down to his covered crotch and back up in obvious appreciation. His mouth quirks into a smirk and Shane moves to yank the sheets up again. He can feel his cheeks heat in embarrassment. "Look, Mr. Demon."
"Ilya."
"Right, Ilya. I'm sorry for the confusion but my team didn't know that summoning you would even work. And I definitely didn't know that I would need to give up my soul to make a wish. We don't actually need your help to win, so you can just, you know, go back to wherever you came from."
"I see." Ilya says simply before standing and walking towards him at a leisurely pace.
"What are you doing?" Shane squeaks, clutching the sheets tighter.
"You are sure there's nothing else I can do for you?" His voice drops into a seductive register as he gets to the edge of the bed. He leans forward to place both hands on the sheets, bracketing Shane's hips. Ilya's face is incredibly close to Shane's and his heart rate spikes at the proximity. It's impossible to ignore the demon's gorgeous features as Shane's eyes drop to the other man's lips.
"I - No. What else could I want?" Thoughts are hard when Ilya is this close to him, he smells spicy and somehow warm.
Ilya hums. He looks over Shane's face and then down to his crotch again. Shane hopes it's not obvious just how affected he's become by Ilya's presence. Once the shock of finding a stranger in his room wore off, Shane was able to appreciate just how attractive the demon was. Ilya smirks as if he can read Shane's thoughts. Wait, can he read Shane's mind? "I can think of a few things you might want. I'd be more than happy to provide them."
"I'm not… I mean. I don't." Shane stutters. Sure, he's come to terms with the fact that he finds other men attractive, but he's never actually done anything about it before.
"You are cute." Ilya says with a smile, then he straightens, putting some much needed distance between himself and Shane. "If you are sure there's nothing I can do for you, I guess I'll be off then. Goodbye…?" Ilya raises his eyebrows in question.
"Oh. Shane, Shane Hollander."
"Goodbye, Shane." Ilya says with a glint in his eye. Then he disappears.
Shane sits frozen in his bed for a moment as if his brain can't catch up to what had just happened. He's a little surprised that Ilya left so easily. Cautiously, Shane pushes off the covers and gets out of bed. He casts another look around the room but doesn't have time to waste this morning. He has to make breakfast before heading to practice, the team will need to train hard to prepare for their playoff run.
Shane arrives at the rink and goes through the motions of pulling out his gear and putting it on. The movements are familiar and well-practiced. It's a good thing too as his mind keeps replaying the events of the morning and what the demon had offered him. Shane has gotten very used to ignoring his own urges. He's constantly surrounded by athletes with objectively nice bodies but checking them out in locker rooms or showers would be inappropriate and unprofessional. Going out and finding someone to hook up with is also out of the question as Shane is too scared of being outed. He doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize his career, and that's more important than getting laid. It's been fine. He's fine.
They push the pace during practice, running line drills over and over until they are working together seamlessly. Shane's body is already feeling the ache of a good workout when he steps off the ice. He strips slowly in the locker room, taking his time to pack up his gear. As the captain, he likes to be the first to arrive and the last to leave, especially during playoffs. This also means that by the time he makes it to the showers, he's the only one there. He hangs up his towel on one of the hooks, turns on the tap, and steps under the spray. Shane lets the water run over his head and shoulders until he sheds the last of the tension he'd been holding onto.
"Nice job today."
"Shit!" Shane startles and whips his head to look towards the voice. Ilya is leaning against the wall across from the showers with his arms crossed loosely over his chest as he observes Shane.
"You! What are you doing here? I thought you left." Shane tries to cover himself but he's completely exposed like this.
Instead of responding, Ilya's gaze travels the length of his naked body and Shane shivers under the weight of it. "I did leave, now I am back." The demon says with a shrug. "I think you are much more interesting than anything I had going on back home."
Shane feels his face flush at the attention. Finally, he snaps out of his frozen surprise and hits the tap off before grabbing his towel to wrap it securely around his waist. He takes a deep breath before turning back around. "You can't be here, you have to go."
Ilya smirks. "Why? Worried you'll be caught alone with me in the showers?"
"Yes!" Shane hisses. "How am I supposed to explain a strange man being in the team's locker area after practice?"
"Oh, I am strange man now?" Ilya pushes off the wall and begins closing the distance between them. "We could fix that, if you let me. You could get to know me, so I am not so strange anymore."
Shane swallows thickly at the implication. He watches Ilya approach, getting closer and closer, without making any move to get away. He can feel his body begin to react, as if Ilya giving him the slightest bit of attention is enough to stir his desire. Maybe he really should get laid if some words and a heated glance is all it takes to turn him on.
Ilya raises an eyebrow and looks pointedly down at Shane's obvious erection.
Shane turns his body away quickly. "Fuck off." It's enough to break the tension and Shane takes the opportunity to flee back into the locker room. He looks around hastily to make sure his teammates have all left before throwing on his clothes and gathering his gear. He doesn't look back to see if Ilya was following him.
Shane doesn't see Ilya all afternoon or evening. He keeps looking over his shoulder, expecting to see the demon leaning against a wall or sitting on a chair or his couch. It is a hypervigilance that makes it completely impossible to relax. This definitely isn't good for his health. As if that wasn't bad enough, Shane also has to deal with his traitorous body. He's been practically half-hard since Ilya showed up in the showers earlier. He wonders if this counts as a medical emergency but he's too embarrassed to look it up.
Shane goes through the rest of his day uninterrupted; eating and doing a short evening workout before he takes another shower and gets ready for bed. He tries his best to not think of the other man as he lays in bed. Shane lays with his arms outside the covers, pointedly keeping them from touching himself. He tries laying on his right side… then his left… then his back. He can't find a comfortable position at all with the raging hard-on he has. Finally, he reaches under the covers to adjust himself, trying to ease the pressure without actually doing anything to take care of it.
"Do you need help with that?"
"Jesus! Will you stop doing that?" Shane startles and glares at where Ilya has finally appeared once more. He's sitting comfortably sprawled in Shane's reading chair again, except this time his shirt is completely open. His torso is bared, showing off his incredibly defined chest and abs.
"Oh, come on, Hollander. Are you not used to it by now? You've got to know I'm not going anywhere."
That's what Shane was afraid of. Shane can't afford to be this distracted and off his game right now. He needs to focus and Ilya is specifically not helping with that. Shane sits up to address him better. "Look, you can't keep popping up out of nowhere like this."
Ilya leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What would you prefer I do? Follow you around like a puppy?"
"No! I have to go to practice and we have a game day after tomorrow." Shane twists the sheets in his hands. "Can't you just go home? I'm really not all that interesting… And I'm not going to, to sleep with you, or whatever. So you can just go."
"Oh, you aren't, huh? And why is that? I know you are interested." He says with a pointed look at Shane's obvious erection.
Shane pulls the covers to bunch over his lap and takes a deep, centering breath. "I have to focus on the playoffs right now. Can't let myself get distracted."
"And I am very distracting." Ilya states, tone smug and knowing.
"Exactly!"
"I don't know. Seems to me like what you need is some stress relief. You are thinking that ignoring the problem will make it go away. Does not seem to be working so well."
"I can handle it. On my own. I don't need your help." Shane insists.
"Okay, if you say so." Ilya stands and stretches languidly. Shane tracks the movement with rapt attention, before quickly looking away. "Let me know if you change your mind." He says giving a mock solute, then promptly disappears.
Shane's head falls back against the headboard with a dull thud. Fuck.