Chapter Text
The team had tried to not bring it up around Rozanov as much as possible, but the topic had been the elephant in the room ever since they heard Hollander was joining their team.
It was their coach who had announced it to them, Rozanov seemed unbothered but they knew that had to be some kind of coping mechanism.
So they avoided the subject entirely until inevitably the day came and Shane Hollander was being lead into their changing room by coach.
They watched their captain nervously as Coach Wiebe introduced everyone.
“And lastly, you know him well, Rozanov, your new captain,” coach stated last, and waited with bated breath wondering what either of them would say or do.
But little did the team know the two had already discussed how they were going to react to each other, and it wasn’t going to be with hatred, nor were they jumping right in immediately with the whole fact they’ve been in love for over a decade.
No, Ilya and Shane had decided just last night that the were going to come out… as friends, best friends preferably, that left them more wiggle room to stretch the whole thing out and completely fuck with the team. Ilya excitedly called it Operation How Gay Can We Go, absolutely thrilled that Shane was actually letting them do this.
So instead of the off-handed comments everyone was expecting, the two slowly smiled at each other until they were full on grinning, like a couple of kids on christmas day.
“Are we gonna fucking dominate the NHL or what?” Shane said, opening his arms, his grin turned cocky.
Ilya let out a maniacal laugh and jumped forward, throwing himself on the man, wrapping his legs around his waist as he held onto him for dear life.
“I have dreamed of us playing on same team again for so long, this is best day of my life!” He exclaimed, giving the other man a fat slobbery kiss to the forehead as they grinned at each other.
“Genuinely what the fuck are we witnessing right now?” Bood questioned, seemingly voicing everyone’s thoughts.
“This is not how I expected this interaction to go, this was never a possibility in my head” Dykstra said looking genuinely fascinated.
“Wait, you guys are friends?” Haas asked, his mouth completely ajar.
“He is my hockey husband, like work husband but hockey” Ilya claimed.
“Okay, mildly gay but okay” Barret replied, nodding his head, at least they weren’t biting each other's heads off.
“I think I feel gay thoughts for Hollander” Ilya said it like a confession yet they all still laughed thinking it was a joke.
“Let’s back up, I’m still confused, I thought you guys hated each other?” Hayes questioned, brow raised as he looked between the two.
Ilya scoffed, waving a hand in the air, “noooo the rivalry is just how we show respect to each other, plus you do not hear the things I say on ice” he said, smirking at that last part.
The team shared looks mixed with confusion and suspicion because what the fuck was that supposed to mean?
“What? That I have a weak backhand?” Shane retorted with a roll of his eyes.
“You do, I say this as your friend because I know you value honesty” Ilya replied, his lips pursed and eyebrows curled upward in mock-sympathy.
Shane shoved the man with a smile, “shut the fuck up” he scoffed, rolling his eyes.
“Hey I am your Captain, you can’t speak to me like this” Ilya retorted.
The centaurs watched the interaction like they were at a zoo at one of those weird moments when the predator decides to befriend it's prey, it was like every preconceived notion they had of the two and their rivalry went completely out the window.
“Awe, their chirping is out of love” Young piped up, smiling giddily at the pair.
Haas swallowed, it was like a childhood dream come true, the only thing missing was the two making out, not that he'd ever admit that, no one needed to know that he used to be a chronic Hollanov shipper back in high school.
Ilya beamed proudly at their varying degrees of shocked expression, this was going just as he hoped it would.
Operation: how gay can we go, was officially set in motion.