Chapter Text
Shane Hollander liked wine. Specifically, Shane Hollander liked white wine. It was a little bit sweeter, and it didn't make his tongue feel fuzzy. He hated when his tongue felt fuzzy.
Shane looked back down at his now empty glass and sighed. Someone seemed to keep drinking his wine.
"Jackie, could I please have some more wine? My glass is empty."
Jackie and Rose looked over at him. They had also been drinking, but they also had a much higher tolerance for alcohol because -unlike him- they drank more than 2-3 times per year.
Rose stumbled gracefully up, offering to grab more wine. How did she do that? No one should be able to be graceful while stumbling. Shane pouted for a moment, thinking about how he would've likely fallen over if he had tried to hop up like Rose just had. No matter. Rose was returning with the wine.
"Okay, Shane, but you have to drink water too. I don't want Ilya yelling at me again for not watching out for his little Shanushka." Rose would've gotten away with sounding more serious if she hadn't giggled twice while speaking.
Shane dutifully grabbed his water glass and held it up before taking a few gulps. It really was refreshing. Almost as good as his wine. And look! His glass was full again! How lovely.
As Rose sat back down, Jackie readjusted so she could look straight at Shane. It may have taken her an extra second to get him into focus, but now that he was, she wanted him to continue.
"So how did Theriault react when he heard Comeau say that?"
"He didn't react at all," Shane said, not fully masking the bitterness in his voice. "Same as always." He sighed. "And honestly, part of me prefers that. I really don't want it to be a big deal. I told everyone over the summer because I thought it would give them time to get used to the idea and things would be okay. But this pre-season has sucked. Just really sucked." He grimaced. "So much for not making it a big deal."
Rose bristled. "It shouldn't be a big deal. You've been gay the entire time you've played with them! AND led them to three Stanley Cups while still being gay. So once again for the people in the back: why should they care that you're gay?"
Jackie jumped in. "You know what I do care about? You getting blamed for other players' shitty attitudes and poor performance. Maybe Comeau should try taking it up the ass and see if that helps him. It certainly hasn't hurt your stats, and he has been sucking it up big time in the pre-season."
Shane snorted as Rose cackled. This is what he needed: a night where he could acknowledge that the Metros…sucked. Sure, they had all pretended to be fine when he came out a couple months ago, but the little comments and snipes were really getting old, and the regular season hadn't even started yet.
"I know. It just sucks. Besides, you don't have to be gay to enjoy ass stuff."
Shane raised his glass to Jackie, who blushed slightly but gave him a cheers back.
Rose's eyes grew wide.
"Wait! Did Hayden finally let you?"
Jackie rolled her eyes, but she was already grinning. "Yes. Seriously, I think he would've been okay with it sooner if SOMEONE'S boyfriend hadn't made it a thing."
Shane hung his head. Part of him couldn't believe what Ilya did to try to “help.” Then again, he knew his boyfriend, so he absolutely could believe it. He sighed again. "Okay, the chart was probably overkill."
"The chart?!" Rose practically squealed with delight.
Jackie laughed. "Shane didn't tell you?! Ilya brought a chart over a couple weeks ago, complete with an easel, one of those pointy stick things, and he wore glasses perched on the end of his nose the entire time! I wasn't sure whose cheeks were more red: Shane's or Hayden's!"
Rose was wheezing with laughter at this point. She could absolutely see Ilya doing that, as well as Hayden's horrified response. "Oh my god. That's amazing. Wait. What happened to the chart?"
Jackie's face lit up. "I still have it! Want to see?!"
Jackie jumped from the couch and ran upstairs, grateful she hadn't thrown it away. It was much less intimidating for her and Hayden to look at it without any Russians giving "helpful pointers."
As Jackie was on her way back, she heard the doorbell ring. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, confused. She looked at Shane and Rose, both of whom looked equally puzzled. Ilya was at a bachelor party with a few of the other Centaurs, so he shouldn't be back anytime soon. And Hayden had been given strict instructions not to return before 10:00. Jackie glanced at the clock. 7:42. Who could be at the door?
Jackie shrugged and walked to the front of the house. She opened the door, and let out a small shriek.
"Lisa?!?!" In front of her stood Lisa Hayes, wife of a Centaurs player and Jackie's roommate from sophomore year of college.
"Hi!!" Lisa grinned, happily accepting Jackie's (somewhat overenthusiastic) hug. "Surprise! Wyatt had a thing in Montreal tonight, and I have three days off. We decided to make a weekend of it, and I realized I hadn't seen you in forever! I knew it was a long shot, but thought I'd stop by! I hope I'm not interrupting?" Lisa had always been the friend to "pop on over." She said she got so in her head with schedules and calendars and everything else that came with being a pediatrician at a hospital, but even in college, she loved the idea of stopping by, if nothing else to let people know she was thinking of them.
"Of course not! Come on in!" Jackie excitedly welcomed her in. It had been years since they had seen each other. Definitely before Amber had been born. Maybe even before Arthur?
"Thanks! What's that? Are you working on an art project with the kiddos? It seems kind of quiet for them to be around!" Lisa easily slid her shoes off while indicating the large rolled up poster in her hand.
Jackie froze. Oh no. The chart. Rose and Shane. Shane. Lisa would know that Shane and Hayden played on the same team, so it wouldn't be a totally crazy idea for him to be here. But Jackie knew that Ilya hadn't told any of the Centaurs about his relationship with Shane, and Shane, bless his heart, tended to lose all filters when drinking. It was actually one of her favorite sides of Shane: when he was a little tipsy, he became so much more earnest and open about talking, laughing, sharing. It was like he didn’t have to worry about being “on” at all times and just got to be himself. But that’s not something she wanted to showcase for others, even if she did think she could trust Lisa. On top of all of that, she was still holding a rolled up poster of an anatomically correct midsection of the male form. From two angles.
"Oh! I..." Jackie blanked. She couldn't think of a single thing to say that wouldn't incriminate Shane in some way.
Before she could come up with a response, Rose walked in from the living room. Lisa's eyes widened as she took in the movie star.
"Holy shit! You're Rose Landry! I'm sorry. That was really rude. But holy shit! My husband and I are obsessed with the X-Squad comics! Like, we have almost all of them!"
Rose smiled. "Thanks! I'm Rose. Nice to meet you!"
"I'm Lisa. My husband plays for the Ottawa Centaurs, and Jackie and I were roommates in college!"
"That's amazing! Are you just visiting?"
Jackie watched this interplay, still at a loss for words. Normally, she was so good at steering a conversation as needed or, well, not hyperventilating. But Shane Hollander was in the other room, three (four?) glasses of wine into the night, and Jackie didn't want Lisa to see him like that.
Lisa and Rose chatted for a moment, and Jackie took the opportunity to cast a surreptitious glance around the corner to where Shane was. He was sitting straighter than he had been, but he didn't look freaked out. They made eye contact, and he gave her a small smile and nodded. Okay. Shane was okay with this. Well, here goes nothing.
Jackie turned to the other women.
"Do you want to come in, Lisa? We're just having a wine and gossip night."
Lisa beamed. "And wouldn't you know, I just happened to bring a bottle!" She pulled out a bottle of red wine with a flourish.
Jackie and Rose exchanged a look for a moment before Rose also gave a subtle nod.
"Umm...before we go in, we do have one other friend here too."
Lisa smiled back. "The more the merrier! I love making new friends!” Jackie had forgotten just how friendly and bubbly Lisa was. It made sense that she and Wyatt ended up together.
Jackie turned and led them back to the living room. Lisa was commenting on how much she liked the renovations since the last time she had been there when she turned the corner and immediately stopped in her tracks.
Shane Hollander. The Shane Hollander. Was sitting in a chair. With a glass of wine. Smiling politely (and somewhat awkwardly) at her.
Lisa cleared her throat. "Oh wow. Hi. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I was interrupting a whole thing. I can absolutely leave you all to it."
Shane's smile widened a bit as he stood to shake her hand. "No worries. Come on in. As you said, the more the merrier. I'm Shane."
Lisa shook his hand back with a mumbled, "Lisa Hayes." She looked around at the three people in the room, trying to make sense of the crazy assemblage of people. Jackie looked like she always did: happy and relaxed, the kind of person who made sure everyone felt welcome. Someone Lisa had laughed with and cried with and experienced some of her formative years with. Then she looked at the other two.
Lisa had been around famous people before. Her husband was a professional hockey player, after all. But Shane Hollander and Rose Landry? They weren't just famous. They were celebrities. And they were just ... here. Hanging out in the living room with Jackie. Drinking wine.
Rose must have noticed her moment of panic because she grabbed the bottle of wine still clutched in Lisa's hands.
"Ooh! A sparkling red? That sounds amazing! Shane, you should try it! You may like it if it's sparkling!" She turned back to Lisa, whispering loudly enough for all of them to hear. "He doesn't like a lot of reds because they make his mouth feel fuzzy, but I bet a sparkling red would be right up his alley!"
Lisa walked cautiously into the room and sat down as Jackie brought a glass out and opened her wine. She poured one for Lisa and also filled Rose's empty glass. She and Shane both had nearly full glasses, so now they all had something to drink.
As Jackie sat back down, Lisa looked between the three, already feeling like she had intruded. They had clearly been in the middle of the gossip session when she arrived. Luckily, Jackie broke the silence.
"So, is Wyatt here for the bachelor party?"
Lisa looked at her in surprise. "Yeah! How did you know?"
Jackie froze for a second before forcing her shoulders down. "Oh, you know, a group of hockey players getting together for a party. Everyone hears about it."
Lisa nodded. “Yeah, and I know Westley played for a few different teams before moving to Montreal with his fiance. He was with Annaheim, then Boston, then ended with the Centaurs before he retired last season, if I remember correctly.” She realized she was rambling a bit, but wasn’t sure what else she should say.
They all took a sip of wine, the silence once again deafening. Lisa really considered leaving with the excuse that she had forgotten she had other plans when Shane Hollander, of all people, spoke up.
"Fuck. This is ridiculous." He turned and looked at Lisa. "Lisa? If you're here, that obviously means Jackie trusts you or she wouldn't have invited you in. And if she trusts you, I will, too. I'm gay. It's not really a secret in the league, but it's not really public. But I am, and my team sucks, so I came over here to complain about how stupid men are.
All of the tension seemed to evaporate from the room. Lisa looked back at Shane with wide eyes. "Oh, wow! I wasn't expecting that! But thank you for telling me.” She smiled somewhat sadly at him. “I'm sorry the Metros are being shitty about it. That said, I'm always happy to hop on the 'men are idiots' bandwagon!"
And with that, it felt like they’d all known each other forever. Lisa was shocked at how horribly Shane was being treated. Some of the things he was recounting were beyond comprehension. She couldn't imagine someone saying even half of that stuff in a normal work environment without getting fired immediately, likely with a lawsuit to follow. Once again, she was so grateful Wyatt played for the Centaurs. As absurd as it always sounded, they really did act almost like a family. She knew all the players, their partners. Come to think of it, the social media manager was gay, and no one had any issues with him. Lisa also had a suspicion about one or two of the players, though she'd never say anything.
The other three had clearly already had a couple glasses of wine, so Lisa finished her first one quickly and started a second to try to catch up.
"So, is everyone on your team awful?" She couldn't imagine Hayden saying any of the things Shane had mentioned, but she wanted to give him room to vent if he needed to.
"No. Hayden is cool. JJ, too. And a couple of the rookies seem like they don't really care."
Lisa's heart broke for him. Shane looked so dejected. Here he was, arguably the best player in the league, and some assholes were making it miserable for him. All because he liked men? Lisa just shook her head.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Rose perked up. "Lisa. Did you drive here?"
Lisa blinked. "No, I took a Lyft. I figured if I was going to have some wine..."
Rose nodded. "Excellent. Jackie. Do you have any tequila?"
They all looked at Rose in confusion. "Umm...yes?"
Rose smiled. "Okay. Grab it. I have an idea."
Jackie went to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of tequila and four...children's sippy cups. ("For the amount we use shot glasses, it doesn't make sense to keep any around.") She filled each one with roughly one shot's worth of tequila and handed them out.
Rose looked at the other three. "Shane's team sucks. And we can wallow in how awful it is, or we can turn those frowns upside down. So tonight, we are going to celebrate. I want each of us to think of something we're really excited about or proud of. Something we don't talk about enough because we don't want to feel like we're bragging. Then we can all celebrate together, and we'll all be happy because we know how awesome we are. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded. Before anything, though, Rose reached for Shane's glass and poured half of it into her own. "There's no way you're drinking four shots after three glasses of wine."
Jackie looked at her shot. "To be fair, I don't know if any of us should really..."
Rose just talked over her. "Okay! My thing I'm really proud of is that I was complimented on my Tango skills from a gorgeous Argentinian man. I love dancing and had to learn some basic moves for a movie, but I wanted to keep learning for fun. I've taken some classes, and one night after a wrap party, a bunch of us ended up at this Argentinian bar/club place. People were dancing and having fun, and I decided to join in. And this guy was an amazing dancer, and he told me it looked like I had been dancing all my life! He may have been trying to get into my pants, but I like to think it was a genuine compliment! So there you go! Drink up!" And she downed her shot.
The other three drank theirs as well before chiming in.
"I'm sure you are an amazing dancer!" (Lisa) "I've seen you dance, and you really are a natural." (Shane) "Oh my god, did you go home with him?" (Jackie)
Rose laughed. "Thank you, Lisa. Thank you, Shane. And no, Jackie, I didn't go home with him. You know I have a whole vetting process before I even consider going home with someone."
Lisa frowned. "That sounds terrible. What if you just, you know, want to have sex?"
"Oh, don't worry. I have sex. But if I'm meeting someone new, I want to make sure they aren't some creep who just wants to brag to his friends that he slept with me or to get photos of me or something. It's not a big deal. I'm pretty used to it."
Lisa hated that Rose had to deal with that. Sure, they had only known each other for 45 minutes, but Rose seemed like a genuinely nice person. A happy, friendly, stunning woman who deserved to not have to worry about those kinds of things.
Lisa also glanced at Shane. She knew people always said money and riches don't buy everything, blah blah blah. That was the kind of thing rich people said. But she was looking at these two celebrities who seemed to have perfect lives. Sure, they had a LOT of things most people didn't, but they also had to deal with shit she never would have even thought about. It just goes to show...
"Anyway, Lisa, you're up. What are you proud of?"
Lisa thought about it for a minute.
"Okay, this is going to sound kind of dorky since it's work related, but there was a 9-month-old patient who was really not doing well, and his stats were dropping quickly. I happened to be on the floor, so I could hear some of the nurses start to call out instructions for people. They called for the doctor who was stationed in that area, and I heard him say, 'Page Dr. Hayes. I'll get started, but nobody's better at tracheotomies with patients this size than she is.' That doctor has been there longer than I have, and to hear him compliment me like that, not realizing I was there. It really felt amazing."
The other three stared at her, mouths open.
Shane spoke first. "Holy fuck."
Jackie was next. "Was he okay?" Lisa smiled as she nodded. "Yup. We got him to the NICU, and he's doing so much better."
Rose rounded it up. "You're, like, magical! You literally saved a kid's life! I can't even believe it! That kid is going to grow up and have a life and get to do things! All because of you!"
Lisa felt her cheeks warm at all the praise.
"Thanks. And I know what I do is important, but that one just felt special."
Jackie smiled. "That's definitely worth a shot!"
They all swallowed their shots, grimacing before smiling at each other. This was actually more fun than Lisa had expected. They were focusing on positive things. Wyatt was great at making sure she knew the work she did was important, but it really felt nice to just...be proud of herself, and of her (new) friends.
Jackie looked at her shot glass. "I cannot follow that."
They all groaned, but Jackie continued to protest. "What can I possibly say that can compete with saving a kid by doing an emergency surgery?!"
Rose shook her head. "Stop! We're not talking about anything negative here. Come on. Think of something you've done recently. What are you proud of?"
Jackie thought for a moment. "I'm not trying to be humble or anything, but I really can't think of anything. It's all stuff my kids or Hayden have done."
Shane smirked into his wine glass. "Are you sure you haven't done anything recently? Haven't convinced anyone to do anything recently?"
Jackie felt herself turning red, even more so when Rose elbowed her with a laugh. She looked up at Lisa, who was looking between them all with a curious look.
Jackie blew out a breath. "Fine. Oh my god, I can't believe I'm sharing this with my college roommate whom I haven't seen in years. I convinced Hayden to let me give him a prostate orgasm, and he loved it."
Rose and Shane cheered, this clearly being the answer they were hoping she'd give.
All four took their shots and settled back into their seats, Jackie still shaking her head.
Lisa was intrigued. "So, a prostate orgasm, huh? Was that something he was interested in, or you?"
"Well, both. He had heard about it and how amazing it was, but didn't really know how to ask or what to do. Then someone showed up with this stupid chart, and, well, what can I say? It worked!"
Lisa was confused. "Chart?"
Jackie perked up. "Oh yeah! That's what I had gone upstairs to grab when you got here!" She reached down and grabbed the chart, unrolling it to showcase a very detailed anatomical depiction of a man's body, both from the front and the side. Lisa was impressed, both with the quality of the diagrams (things seemed to be labeled correctly from what she could see) and the inclusion of the arrows.
Rose was giggling uncontrollably at this point. "Oh my god, I thought you were kidding about the arrows!"
Shane also laughed, though Lisa noticed he looked slightly less comfortable. Maybe it was because he didn't want to talk about this kind of thing around a new person?
Jackie just kept giggling. "Yeah. It was pretty amazing. Lisa, if this is something you're interested in trying, you're welcome to take the chart with you!"
Lisa smiled. "What makes you think we haven't tried it?"
They all broke into another round of laughter at that. Everyone was clearly feeling the effects of several glasses of wine and multiple shots. Lisa vaguely thought about how terrible she'd feel the following day, but she just didn't care.
Rose poured the last round of shots, spilling slightly, before turning to Shane.
"Shane? What are you proud of?"
Shane was quiet for a second. He looked at Jackie for a moment before he took a deep breath and spoke.
"Okay, Lisa, I'm trusting you with something else, okay? This is not public knowledge."
Lisa set her sippy cup down and nodded, trying to demonstrate that she understood this was important, despite the alcohol running through her.
"I have a boyfriend. We've been together for a few years."
Lisa grinned widely. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! That's amazing! That must be so wonderful, to have someone you can go home to talk to and just...love up on." That didn't sound right, but whatever.
Shane smiled. "Yeah. He's pretty great. But anyway, my proud thing has to do with him. And Rose, you cannot say anything! Wine Night Rules."
Rose solemnly nodded her head, accepting the conditions.
Shane looked at her a moment longer, then rolled his eyes. "Fine. Okay. I made him come hands free."
The three women all shouted at the same time.
"WHAT?!" (Jackie) "Way to go!!" (Lisa) "Please tell me you also have a chart!" (Rose)
Shane laughed. "No, no chart. And, well, he's done it to me before. A lot. So I thought about what he's into, and focused on that."
Rose shook her head. "No. Nu uh. That's not good enough. I need details. If not a PowerPoint, at least some very specific descriptions."
Shane shook his head, still smiling. "Well, he’s very into...being in charge. So I thought I'd change things up. I started that morning. Normally we wake up and either have sex or give each other a blowjob. That morning, he leaned over like he wanted to...you know...get started, and I shook my head no. I told him he had to wait. And then I kept making him wait throughout the day. I think he tried 7 different times to either fuck me or blow me, but I held strong. So finally, at the end of the night, I had him sit in a chair, facing the bed, and then I handcuffed him to it. I left and came back wearing his … shirt. His favorite shirt." He said the last part with a special glance to Jackie, knowing she more than likely had had sex in Hayden’s jersey and how much of a turn on it could be.
Jackie giggled into her wine. "I love this so much."
"Yeah. It was really hot. We've done variations on that before, but he's never been tied up. So anyway, I spent a probably unfair amount of time feeling myself up in front of him, while all he could do was watch, and he was clearly ready to go, begging me to unlock the handcuffs."
Shane stopped to take another sip of his wine and Rose whined. "Tell us the rest! You're almost as dramatic as he is!"
Shane smiled at them and Lisa knew she would never forget seeing the Shane Hollander with what could only be described as a wicked smile on his face.
"Finally, I was starting to feel a little desperate myself, so I got up on my knees and I crawled down the bed towards him, never breaking eye contact."
Lisa fanned herself. "Oh my god."
Shane smirked. "I got to the end of the bed, then sat up in a kneeling position. I crawled onto his lap, looked him in the eye and said, 'Do you wanna be a good boy and fuck me now?'"
Rose spit out some of her wine. "Holy fuck."
Jackie was sitting on the couch, mouth open, staring at Shane.
Shane shrugged. "And, well, that was that."
Jackie laughed. "Wait, what?! That was that?!"
Rose also looked gob smacked. "He came from that?!"
Lisa smiled at Shane, shaking her head. "You know, I believe it. That sounds hot."
Shane laughed. "To be fair, I had been edging him all day, and we usually have sex at least twice a day, so..."
They all laughed together, fanning themselves slightly despite the AC being on.
Shane smiled down at his hands. "So yeah. I'm pretty proud of that."
Rose had the biggest smile she'd had all night as she grabbed her last shot. "Oh my god, I think we're all proud of you for that! Holy fuck!"
They all downed their final shots, then giggled as they settled back down.
Hayden walked in to see the three friends strewn around the living room, giggling, hiccupping, and generally having a good time. Hayden glanced over at Shane, who was sitting sideways in the armchair and greeted him with, "My friendddddd!!"
Hayden shook his head. "Ilya's going to be so pissed, and you know it's somehow going to be my fault."
Jackie tried to stand up, but was struggling. Her foot seemed lodged between two couch cushions, and after a moment, she decided to give up and just stand there, one foot on the ground and one in the couch.
"Hey babe! You're home early!"
Hayden looked at her, half exasperated and half amused. "It's after 10:30. You guys started drinking at, what, 5? 6?"
Jackie tried to bristle, but it was less intimidating with her foot stuck in the couch.
"Anyway, you remember Lisa Hayes? Well, she was Lisa Carmichael in college."
Hayden turned and realized there was a fourth person, lying on the other couch, not visible from the entrance.
"Oh! Yeah! Hey! What brings you here? Oh, let me guess, Hayes at the bachelor party?"
Lisa smiled dreamily at him. "You all really do know each other. It's so romantic!"
Hayden had no idea how to respond to that, so he turned to the others. He had a feeling Rose was going to be staying over that night and was considering setting up a second guestroom for Lisa when they heard the door open again.
"Shanushka, my love. Where are you? You have not returned any of my texts!"
Ilya walked in, saw Shane, and his body relaxed. Until...
"Rozanov?" Lisa looked up at him, confused. Ilya glanced down, realizing Wyatt Hayes' wife was on the couch, looking very inebriated and very confused.
Before he could respond, Shane tried to stand up from his chair, though he was leaning heavily over one side as he tried to find his balance.
"IIIIIIIILLLLLLYYYYYYAAAAAA!!!!" Ilya was at Shane's side in a heartbeat, preventing him from falling down. He started to glance around, but Shane looked up at him with a dopey smile and touched his nose.
"Boop!"
Ilya couldn't help the smile that crept on his face. "And how much did we have to drink tonight, moyo solnyshko?"
Shane wrapped his arms around Ilya before resting his head on Ilya's chest. "Rose made me do shots. And Lisa brought sparkly wine. It still tasted a little fuzzy, but not as bad as I thought."
Rose tried to say something along the lines of "traitor," but she fell off the couch while trying to sit up. Hayden quickly moved to try to help her, leaning her back against the couch for stability.
Ilya turned his head, looking at Lisa, who was still looking at him in confusion. Almost like she was trying to figure something out. Then her face brightened into a wide smile.
"Ohhh! You're the boyfriend! Oh my god, that makes so much sense! Both for keeping it a secret and for sex multiple times a day!"
Hayden choked slightly while trying to help remove Jackie’s foot from the couch, his face turning red as he refused to look at either of the men in the room.
Ilya looked at the floor briefly, nodding his head before turning back to Shane with a wry smile. "I see we had fun tonight, yes?"
Shane seemed like he was trying to nuzzle inside Ilya, continually rubbing his face against the taller man's chest like he might be able to fuse them together.
"I did. Lisa's great. She's so smart. You know she's a doctor?"
"I did, Shanushka."
Finally, Ilya looked at Hayden. The two appeared to be communicating without speaking, though none of the others in the room seemed aware. In fact, they could have been shouting at each other and the four people in various stages of inebriation would likely have still been oblivious.
Jackie reached over and grabbed Hayden's hand, pulling him closer. "Mmm. You smell good. Ooh! Do we have a chair in our room? I want to try something!"
Ilya's eyes cut immediately to Shane, who was smiling dreamily against his chest. He knew how talkative Shane got when he drank. At least it was here, with people they could trust.
Hayden seemed to understand that his wife was a) suggesting something sexual, and b) that it was something she had probably heard from Shane, meaning it was something Shane had done with Ilya. Hayden would never admit it, but Jackie and Shane being close had worked to his advantage in the bedroom, because Shane shared all kinds of tips and techniques with Jackie, for which he was eternally, silently grateful. But he still didn't need to hear about it with Ilya standing four feet away.
Hayden adjusted Jackie slightly on his arm. "Why don't we get you up to bed, okay? We can look for a chair tomorrow.
Rose was still sitting on the floor. "Silk scarves work if you don't already own handcuffs."
Both men closed their eyes for a moment. As much as they liked giving each other shit, this was clearly a night neither of them would ever acknowledge again.
Ilya slowly lowered Shane back into the large armchair he had been sitting on. Shane tried to grab onto his shirt, but Ilya shushed him. "Don't worry, moya lyubov. I am just helping get the others to bed, then I will be back, okay?"
He kissed Shane on the temple and watched as his boyfriend's eyelids were getting heavy and he drifted off to sleep.
Normally, Hayden would have told Ilya to just go home, taking care of everything himself, but tonight he was grateful that the other man stayed to help. It would be one thing if it was just Jackie, or maybe even just Jackie and Rose. But three incoherent people who were all on the verge of falling asleep was more than he wanted to take on.
As Hayden started maneuvering Jackie towards the stairs, Ilya tried to get Rose to stand up. When he realized she was absolutely no help, he reached down, wrapping her in his arms and standing back up. He carried her to the guest room he knew was just off the kitchen. It was the one he and Shane would occasionally stay in when they weren't in a position to drive home. He laid her on the bed, then pulled the covers over her. He smiled down, thinking of how much he had wanted to hate her for having been Shane's rebound, but knowing now that he never would because she was such an important person in Shane's life.
"Goodnight, Rose."
She smiled as she shifted under the covers. "Goodnight, good boy."
Ilya stopped. Was she teasing him? But she seemed to be asleep already. He shook his head, realizing that even her subconscious seemingly liked to give him shit.
Ilya could hear Hayden still struggling to get Jackie to bed. He knew they had another guestroom upstairs, so he walked to the couch and picked Lisa up. She opened her eyes, and when she saw it was him, she smiled.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Rozy. You deserve happiness. You both do. I'm so happy you have each other."
"I am too," he replied. He got her to the bed upstairs, and just before he left the room, he thought of something. "Does Hayes know you are here?"
She opened her eyes briefly, clearly trying to figure something out.
"No, he doesn't. But it's okay, I'm going to go home after drinks anyway." With that, she snuggled back into the bed.
Ilya thought for a moment before finding Lisa's phone. He held his breath, hoping that she would have facial recognition, sighing with relief when her phone opened. He had left the bachelor party early. He had wanted to get home to Shane. But he imagined Wyatt was still there. It was barely 11:00. Ilya opened up a text chain with “My hubby!!,” careful not to read any of their messages. He typed in, "Staying at Jackie's. Love you!"
There. That sounded like something a wife would send.
He left the room, entering the hallway at the same time as Hayden.
Hayden gripped the back of his neck. "Thanks for helping with Rose and Lisa. Jackie also had...a little too much to drink."
Ilya began to nod when Jackie came barreling out of their room.
"See? I TOLD you we still had handcuffs!" She helpfully swung them in front of Hayden’s face, exceedingly proud of her excellent memory.
Hayden closed his eyes, clearly hoping the ground would swallow him up.
Ilya chuckled, nodded his head, and simply said, "Goodnight, Pike." He then turned and walked down the stairs to where his now sleeping boyfriend lay curled up in the same place Ilya had left him.
It took Ilya a moment to rouse Shane, but he coaxed him with the promise of going home to their comfortable bed. He may have even hinted that there were some clothes that had been left unfolded to try to encourage Shane to keep moving. That did the trick, and Ilya was able to get Shane into the car and drive them back home.