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this love left a permanent mark by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
20 Jul 2026
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Charlie has no reason to turn back the clock a decade.But when an email from a charity shop worker leads him to a letter he never got as a teen, he can't help but rekindle a connection with the estranged ex who sent it. Did Nick evolve how Charlie believed he would, or will Charlie discover a more uncomfortable truth?
Charlie's at his desk now, the knuckles of his free hand tapping the dark wood surface as he stares out the window at a woman watching a child toddle across the grass in the courtyard below. He realises, then, he has no idea what kind of place Nick lives in. Maybe his building houses more families than Charlie's; or maybe he's in a lower-level flat with a private garden.
Charlie has no way of knowing. He hasn't received a single picture that would help him fill in the world Nick inhabits. He's painting one himself, as if by numbers, every message guiding him, however slowly, to a colour he can only hope is right.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Charlie counts down from five. Then:
"Would you wanna visit here — me, I mean?"
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Important to Someone by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
05 May 2026
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Ilya and Shane can't take photos of each other. That doesn't stop Ilya from wishing he could. This is a bunch of times during the first year of their relationship Ilya almost hits the shutter button.
The smirk he punctuates the sentence with nearly makes Ilya combust, and not only because the sudden departure of Shane's mouth means he may not get relief soon. He's had access to this confident, brazen Shane for three weeks now and he's still not used to the way his chest clenches whenever he's in full view.
If he could immortalize this expression — swollen lips, freckles nearly swallowed by the flush in his cheeks, laugh lines and all — he would. He'd make it his home screen. He'd send it to Svetlana before she inevitably asks again if Shane even knows what he's gotten himself into. And after that, he'd guard it with his life. It'd exist for no one but him.
One swipe of his thumb is all it would take.
[don't need to read the series to follow this]
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Do you wanna know me like I wanna know you? by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
31 Mar 2026
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Ilya still didn't know how to find the planets, but he knew where to look for Antares. Shane had told him about it on Ilya's fifteenth birthday. "The name basically means 'not Mars,'" he'd said, and then launched into a story about how ancient astronomers became annoyed by people who confused it for the planet because it was also red.
It stuck with Ilya. So did a lot of the things Shane told him about afterward.
He didn't understand why — until, all at once, he did. The reason had existed for ages at the edges of his periphery, as firmly fixed in his subconscious as the moon in earth's orbit. He just hadn't known to acknowledge it.
Sometimes, like now, he wished he'd never figured it out.
Because above and to the right of the moon, that dumb star burned, and all Ilya could think about was how it wasn't nearly hot enough to be white like the others nearby. And how Ilya wanted it to explode into a supernova already as much as he wanted it to rise every summer night for the rest of his life.
an au where Ilya and Shane meet as teens and a bout of jealousy makes Ilya take a chance he regrets...until he realizes he doesn't have to regret it after all.
Series
- Part 1 of that summer on the edge of your bed
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If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry (TV)
02 Mar 2026
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Five times over the years that Ilya forgot an English word ... and one time Shane did.
"I'm marrying you in a month no matter what."
Ilya pets Shane's cheek, his eyebrows furrowed. Shane knows the expression well; it's the one that slips over his face when he's working overtime to translate his thoughts.
This is as good a test for himself as any. "Do you wanna say it in Russian?" he offers.
Ilya smiles, a little wider this time.
"I'll catch you if you call me a lawnmower," Shane warns. "Or a fucking worm. Or whatever."
"Ahhh. You know my tricks."
Adoration blooms within Shane, so suddenly and plentifully he has to kiss the overflow into Ilya's mouth. "Most of them, I think."
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you better activate with a boy like that by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
02 Feb 2026
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Shane has been distracted for two weeks. Suddenly, he realizes there is something he can do about it. He can just…kiss his study partner. Why not?
College AU feat. the start to a situationship.
Shane doesn't know what's written across his face that is turning Ilya's brash laughter into soft eyes and a gentle caress of Shane's sleeve.
But it hits him with startling clarity that he wants to know. He actually wants to find out if there is a good reason for all the twistiness in his stomach.
"Could we do something else?" Shane asks, his voice steadier than the nerves sparking to life inside him.
Does Ilya feel something too? Is that what all this is — has Shane been picking up on signals? He never really has before. Does it always feel like passing your finger over an open flame, again and again until it's singed and you have no choice but to acknowledge the heat did, in fact, touch you?
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I'm In Love With My Landlord by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
14 Jan 2026
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Ilya's release spatters the slate gray wall he's braced against. His hips jerk forward, one of his feet nearly slipping on the porcelain with the force of it. The pillow of his forearm absorbs the groan that tears out of his throat.
Some stupid number of seconds later, Ilya pushes himself back into the direct line of the shower spray. He watches the water sluice down his body, taking everything with it, including yet another shred of his dignity. He sighs, equal parts relieved and disgusted.
Ilya Rozanov is almost 27 years old.
He sells more luxury cars than anyone in all of Quebec.
He is indisputably on his way to cementing his rep as the greatest lay in greater Montreal.
And his crush on his landlord is getting way the fuck out of hand.
or: an AU in which Ilya moves in next door to Mr. Real Estate Shane Hollander and goes feral. His solution: Manufacture all kinds of mishaps to make Mr. Real Estate come to him, over and over until he gets him in bed.
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Cover story: The First Husbands of Hockey by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
09 Jan 2026
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Shane has spent half his life in the spotlight and until the day that woman walked into this house, he'd never been vulnerable with a complete stranger before. And he had been so vulnerable.
The idea of a massive audience getting that close a look into his life makes him shake even now. His story is In Print. He's got an early copy but nothing can be changed. He won't be able to look back after it's released to the rest of the world.
He should probably wait to open the magazine until he's not alone.
He doesn't. And what he reads make his mouth drop.
The First Husbands of Hockey
How Two Rivals Teamed Up for Their Longest Game YetShane and Ilya do their first cover story together. This is that cover story.
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We can make it if we try by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
05 Jan 2026
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College AU.They say you should ring in New Year's Eve with who you want to spend the rest of the year beside. Shane is trying to make peace with the likelihood he’s going to spend it alone…until a knock in the middle of the night changes everything again.
OR: a Hollanov one-shot where Shane gets into multiple law schools; Ilya gets into vet school somewhere else and is too scared to ask for what he wants; and months later, he admits he fucked up.
Even in a foreign place, surrounded by the detritus of Shane's unfulfilling life, Ilya still fucking fits.
Throat closing up, Shane leans his head against the door to look at the ceiling. If he can keep his eyes off Ilya for a bit, maybe he can dredge up old anger and let it fuel him into turning Ilya away. That's what everyone would encourage him to do. Everyone would say he shouldn't…
"I'm sorry is so late."
…that he shouldn't be drawn to look back at Ilya. That he shouldn't be affected by the hesitation in Ilya's voice, or his hands balling at his sides, or his light eyes shining under the moonlight streaming through the cracked blinds.
That he shouldn't have already let Ilya in.
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More Than All of the Days Before by learnthemusic for miss_minnelli
Fandoms: Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry (TV)
29 Dec 2025
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Five months after their confessions at the cottage, Shane and Ilya spend their first Christmas break as a couple in Montreal. Between fiery competitions and hot (and tender) moments of reconnection, their love for each other spills over for 72 straight hours.
When Ilya finally begins to slip on his clothes, Shane's throat tightens. They haven't said much in these minutes, and now Shane regrets he didn't before he became physically incapable.
There's so much on the tip of his tongue all of a sudden — things he didn't express on Christmas, when Ilya casually emailed him a rough outline for their foundation's charter ("Yuna helped me, when we were in Ottawa last month.") and showed him how to use the new language learning app he bought Shane a subscription to ("I tested. Is good for Russian.").
Shane sometimes can't believe just how deeply Ilya understands him. How closely Ilya pays attention to him and all the things — tangible or otherwise — he gives him. He can't even begin to fathom how he found someone he wanted to make himself known to. He wants to tell Ilya what that means to him.
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What color? by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry (TV)
22 Dec 2025
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Summary
Ilya has a lot of questions about Shane Hollander's dildo.And now, he has the answers.
OR: Ilya fixates on his rival's sex toy. At the cottage years later, he finally asks about it.
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Ilya wanted too much from his life here. He'd somehow deluded himself into thinking Alexei would start to feel sympathy for him. That his father would find enough clarity to see Ilya for who he is. That someone, anyone, would tell Ilya they cared about him at all.
Impossibly, he has Shane on the phone, not asking Ilya for anything. He's just giving Ilya what he couldn't ask for. Showing Ilya it's not too late, and that he matters to someone.
He matters to Shane.
It couldn't be enough that Shane speaks two languages fluently, could it? He had to go and learn the language of Ilya's heart, too.
After the funeral, Shane asks Ilya to tell him everything in Russian. Ilya says as much as he can.
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Is there more than this? by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
13 Dec 2025
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Watching Shane Hollander celebrate his second title in a row, Ilya wonders if Hollander feels anything like Ilya did two years ago. He'd been carrying the weight of an entire franchise, of a rabid fanbase, of what felt like all of Russia. Hollander had been in a similar position last year, shaking the monkey of a 16-year drought — not that he'd ever said. They don't talk much, and definitely not with any depth.They're not going to start now. But when he finally escapes the mass of people in his living room he's just bemoaned Montreal's victory with, Ilya considers asking Hollander about it. Is this second championship now the best moment of his life? Is there something else he'd put over it?
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Day 29: Sink your teeth in by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heartstopper (Webcomic), Heartstopper (TV)
29 Oct 2025
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Nick knows it's against the spirit of the game to pick a kink he already knows, but he wants a memento. At least this way, he can make sure he gets one.
Series
- Part 33 of Kinktober: Nick’s Research
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what's it take to get your number? by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
20 Oct 2025
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Summary
When his shot is poured, Nick clinks the glass against Darcy's without bothering to ask what it is, tosses it back, and types six words above his 11 digits into the note. Darcy's cheering over his shoulder, effectively bursting his eardrum, the strains of a familiar song playing underneath their shouts.
"Press share, press share!" they urge, a fist pummeling the back of his shoulder.
On screen, a grey box displays the phones nearby that have AirDrop activated. "You know this is homophobic to Androids, right?" Nick says, eyes scanning the bubbles as they pop up.
"Androids are homophobic, Nickleby."
OR: Darcy dares Nick to AirDrop a note with his phone number to a random iPhone at a bar during Nick's seemingly endless summer of celibacy. Nick is drunk enough to do it. And there's a phone cleverly named Chuck Summer. Why the hell not?
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Nick meets with someone who can change his life in baseball forever. It's scary to think about just how much, and what that would mean for him and Charlie.Charlie Spring
i’d break the rules for youme
I would too-
OR: an American high school AU. Nick is one of the best youth baseball players in the country. In two years, he can start a pro career. That's been his focus for — well, forever. Enter Charlie, a new student in his homeroom. They're never going to be the same again.
Series
- Part 1 of Down Swinging
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Almost, So Close, Maybe by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
12 Jul 2025
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Nick’s not here for The One, like the poster suggested he should be. He’s here for A One. Some One. He hopes the pink, purple and blue band on his left wrist will help him attract The Next One, if he’s at all lucky.Charlie needn’t be here at all. He’s trying to turn his fixed-term gig into a permanent one, and his vain attempt to conquer the self-replenishing stack of manuscripts does not square with casual dating. It doesn't square with intentional dating. It barely squares with a social calendar at all. He simply does. Not. Have. The. Time.
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or: Nick and Charlie meet at a wristband party where Charlie, on a break from dating, is meant to be a wingman. His night doesn't go as planned. The rest of his summer might not either.
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can't you just make it move faster? by learnthemusic
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
26 Jun 2025
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Summary
There were bad days, sometimes on such an endless loop he became desperate to claw him out himself.
But the good days were more common. Days where science and medicine scored big wins. Days where the laughter resembled boyish giggles, where the dimples warned of incoming smiles, where even rain clouds were streaked through with rays of sunlight because he had conquered it all.
Mother nature couldn't touch him. He could. He could wrap hands around the glow, squeeze, and produce something stronger, brighter, warmer. He could turn around and redeposit it where it belonged without so much as a question.
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on a very rough patch within which hope never dies. -
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Charlie slips one of his hands over the front of Nick's shoulder, stopping when it reaches the knobbly seam of the tee he'd picked to sleep in. Charlie knows this one better than a lot of Nick's others. It's almost velvety under Charlie's palm now, gone a bit mustard in color, the designs on the front faded in spots from too many wash cycles. Nick probably tossed it into his suitcase last night without a thought, but Charlie sees all their years in it. The past, the present, the future. He'd like to find it in their hamper in a couple of decades and know, from memory alone, what shade of orange the tallest butte should be.
or: Nick is making his MLB debut, and even though Charlie spends the 24 hours surrounding it racked by anxiety over what this next big step in Nick's career will bring—more publicity, more responsibility, more pressure—Nick manages to bring Charlie back to earth.
A(nother) future timestamp in the Down Swinging alternate universe. Stands alone.
Series
- Part 3 of Down Swinging
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It's not that Jesse wasn't attracted to Andrew before Spider-man. It's just that now Andrew's all buff and stuff and Jesse is so turned on.
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No one’s skilled enough, but Jesse, lining up his shoulder with Andrew’s, is aware of every miniscule movement, attuned to everything he does and doesn’t. (BAFTAs)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 2,766
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Kudos:
- 19
- Hits:
- 261