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Shane isn't the kind of person to make friends easily. Even after the better part of a decade, he only has maybe two true friends on his team, let alone outside of it.
JJ is nice, but they aren't as close as Shane might like. He doesn't know how to change that, either. JJ likes to go out to clubs and bars, but that's never been Shane's scene, and it isn't about to be any time soon. In turn, JJ doesn't show much interest in Shane's preferred activities of visiting museums, working out, and talking about hockey. So, they're work friends, mostly.
Things with Hayden are different. Hayden is like the brother Shane never had.
It wasn't like that, at first. Hayden all but bullied his way into Shane's friendship. At first, it was a dinner invitation. Jackie, at that point his girlfriend, had an interest in cooking and offered to make a dinner that Shane could actually enjoy. How could he say no?
From there, it was like a snowball rolling downhill. Regular dinners. Frequent texting. Inside jokes that formed naturally. Their on-ice chemistry went through the roof.
Once, Shane asked Hayden why he decided to be friends. Hayden laughed and said, "who wouldn't?" It hadn't cleared anything up, but it was sweet all the same.
Hayden is, at his core, a good person and a good friend. That's why Shane is so baffled by his irrational hatred for one Ilya Rozanov.
It's one thing to trash talk an opponent; Shane has never held that against anyone unless they got too personal or nasty. Rozanov realized early on that Hayden was reactive enough to fall for his taunts almost every time and seemed to enjoy baiting him into penalties whenever they played. Obviously Hayden wasn't the guy's biggest fan.
What surprised Shane, and continues to surprise him, is how little that changed after Hayden figured him and Ilya out.
Shane has to give it to Ilya, he's doing his best. It took a few tries, but Ilya finally started to curb his defensive instinct to needle Hayden constantly. The problem is that Ilya shows his love through gentle (and not-so-gentle) ribbing, at least with anyone he considers a peer. It's part of why he comes off as such an asshole.
Unfortunately, Hayden seems to take everything Ilya says seriously. His responses raise Ilya's hackles, which only sends the situation spiraling. The most well-intended joke can become a full-blown argument within a minute once Hayden and Ilya are involved.
Ilya pretends that none of this bothers him, but Shane can see the tension in his jaw and the way his smile doesn't quite meet his eyes. Bickering with Hayden isn't fun for Ilya. Teasing is a love language for him, but with Hayden, it has a tendency to escalate. Hayden will say something that hits too close to home, Ilya will get defensive and lash out, and suddenly they’re trapped in something that’s more fight than fun.
The worst part of it is what Ilya doesn't see or hear. Hayden tries to set Shane up with other guys, even though he knows their relationship is more solid than ever. He talks shit about him freely. In the worst cases, Hayden has blatantly tried to convince Shane to break up with Ilya.
At first, Shane just put up with it. Hayden's dislike of Ilya seemed natural, after spending so long hating him, and Shane assumed he would come around. Honestly, he was just so glad that Hayden wasn't homophobic that he didn't want to push, at first.
Then a month passed. Then six months. Then a year. Still, Hayden barely tolerates Ilya, who tries to avoid him in turn. Shane doesn't even realize he's reaching his breaking point until Hayden and Jackie come to visit them at the cottage over the summer — sans kids, for once.
Ilya and Jackie rest down by the water, sipping cocktails and laughing, while Shane flips burgers and Hayden glares in their direction. The silence feels calm and natural. By all accounts, it's a beautiful, peaceful day.
"Doesn't it bother you?" Hayden asks out of nowhere.
"Doesn't what bother me?" Shane replies evenly, still focused on the grill. He's never been the best at picking up on social cues, but even he can tell that something has been bugging Hayden all day.
"Your boyfriend is hitting on my wife," Hayden hisses, gesturing toward the giggling pair by the water.
Shane sighs. "He's really not."
"Yes, he is! Just look at them!" Hayden insists.
Shane glances up. In fairness, it would look like flirting to anyone who doesn't have context. Ilya leans in and says something quietly, sending Jackie into another fit of laughter. When Ilya leans back, he catches them watching and waves up at them with a cheeky grin. Hayden scoffs and turns back to Shane.
"He does this all the time," Hayden continues. "Like, he's constantly calling her beautiful, and saying she's too good for me, and... and... how does that not bother you?"
"He's just got a flirty personality," Shane shrugs. "It's not like he's actually trying to convince Jackie to leave you."
"It certainly sounds like it," Hayden huffs.
"Well, he's not. He's joking. And it's not like I can tell him to stop," Shane points out.
Hayden looks at him like he's grown a second head. "Why not?"
"Because you actually try to convince me to leave him. Like, daily," Shane says, then rolls his shoulders to shake out the tension. Breathes. Calm. Rational. He can do this.
"Well, yeah, because he's an asshole and you could do better," Hayden says, like that's supposed to make it less hypocritical.
"And I've told you a thousand times that I'm not interested in anyone else," Shane reminds him, frustration leaking into his voice.
"Are burgers ready?" Ilya calls out. He must have caught onto the tension, because he and Jackie are making their way over to the patio.
"Almost," Shane calls back. "Can you grab the plates off the counter?"
Jackie walks over and pecks Hayden on the cheek before taking a seat at the table. Ilya walks over and wraps his arms around Shane from behind, placing a kiss just behind his ear.
"Is that all you want me to grab?" he asks in a quiet, seductive voice. It sends a shiver down Shane's spine, but he just rolls his eyes and knocks his elbow backwards, right into Ilya's ribs.
"Get off of me, you pervert," he laughs.
"So cruel to me," Ilya complains, but he's smiling as he steps inside to do as he's told.
"Do you want anything on your burger, Jackie?" Shane asks, hoping that his conversation with Hayden can at least be put on hold.
"Just cheese, please! And only one burger, I'm not too hungry," she replies brightly. Shane gently places a slice of cheese on one of the patties.
"What about you, Hayd? Cheese? Tomatoes? Mushrooms?" he asks. It's mostly a joke. He knows Hayden will just want cheese.
"Ew, mushrooms? Why are you putting mushrooms on a burger?" Hayden asks, wrinkling his nose.
"You will not eat mushrooms still? You are like a four-year-old," Ilya teases as he returns with the plates and sets them next to Shane.
Hayden rolls his eyes. "You know, man, this is why nobody likes you."
The words are so unexpected that Shane is turning to look at Hayden before he realizes it. Ilya blinks, looking outwardly unaffected, except Shane knows him better than that. He spots the slight sag of his shoulders, the way his jaw tenses, and how he pastes on an empty smile.
"Hayden, that was —" Jackie starts, but Hayden shakes his head.
"No, Jacks, I'm sick of him," Hayden interrupts. "We put up with you for Shane, but how long do you think he's going to stick around if you're constantly acting like an asshole? And it's not like you're bringing any friends to this cookout."
"Hayden, stop," Shane grits out coldly.
"No, Shane, is okay," Ilya says, but that smile still doesn't meet his eyes.
"It's really not," Shane replies, glaring at Hayden. He finds his friend still glaring at Ilya. It only solidifies his resolve. "You're sick of Ilya? Well, I'm sick of this."
"Of what, him baiting me until I snap?" Hayden asks.
"No, I'm sick of you jumping down his throat every time he makes a joke!" Shane snaps.
Hayden jerks back, like he's actually surprised that Shane is defending Ilya. It just makes Shane even more furious. He opens his mouth to say... he isn't sure, something, but Ilya steps in front of him.
"Shane, let me finish burgers. You go sit by the dock for a few minutes, yes? Put thoughts together. Don't say something you will regret," Ilya urges in that low, soothing voice.
Shane sucks in a deep breath and nods. He allows Ilya to take the spatula from his hand and then, with one more glare at Hayden, he stomps off to go sit on the dock.
He doesn't know how long it is before he hears someone approach. When he glances up, it's Hayden, looking some mixture of contrite and frustrated. Wordlessly, his oldest friend sits down on the dock next to him, leaving a couple of feet between them.
"Do you even understand why I'm mad?" Shane asks.
"I think so, but you can tell me anyway if you want," Hayden offers.
"That's the person I love, Hayden," Shane reminds him. "And you treat him like shit. If I ever spoke about Jackie the way you talk about him, you'd lay me out. I'm not going to put up with it anymore."
At least Hayden has enough self-awareness to look ashamed. Shane isn't done, though.
"I'm not going to put up with you trying to set me up with other guys, either. You keep acting like this is just some fling, but Ilya and I have been together in some way since before you and Jackie met," Shane tells him.
Hayden's head jerks up. "Wait, what?"
"We started hooking up just before our rookie seasons," Shane explains, too frustrated to be flustered. He still can't look at Hayden, so he keeps his eyes focused on the water. "This isn't a new thing. Obviously we weren't exclusive until more recently, but even then, it's been more than a year. I mean, you were married by that point."
"You've been together since your rookie season?" Hayden asks, clearly stuck on that little nugget of information.
"Yeah, so I'd say I know him pretty well by now. He's an asshole, but he's not mean," Shane says. "He's been trying really hard to be nice to you and all you do is throw it back in his face."
"He makes fun of me constantly!" Hayden protests.
"And he makes fun of me too! It's affectionate!"
Hayden pauses. "Wait, affectionate?"
"Yes, affectionate!" Shane insists. "He's just joking around! He was teasing you about mushrooms, Hayden, and you told him he's a friendless asshole who's going to get broken up with!"
Hayden says nothing. He seems to be reconsidering his words, at least, which is a start.
"He has friends, you know," Shane says, quieter now. "Back in Boston. He and Marlow are close, and Svetlana lives there too. He left them for me."
"Do any of them know about you two?" Hayden asks. This time he sounds more curious than judgmental. Shane takes that as a victory.
"No, nobody else does. I mean, Marlow knows Ilya has a 'Montreal girl' and apparently Svetlana knows that 'Jane' is a guy, but none of them know like you do," Shane explains.
"Jane?"
"Yeah," Shane says, rolling his eyes with a fond smile. "Ilya came up with it. He's Lily, I'm Jane. He thinks he's so funny."
Hayden hesitates for a moment. "He's... kind of funny. Sometimes."
"He really is," Shane agrees, and his smile grows. He's never gotten to talk about Ilya with anyone like this. "I promise he's more than just an asshole. He's hilarious, and he's got such a big heart. He just hides it."
"And you're not worried about his whole... playboy thing?" Hayden asks, but this time it sounds more curious than judgmental.
"Not at all."
Hayden hums thoughtfully. "How did you convince him to give that all up, anyway?"
"I didn't," Shane admits honestly. "After we talked at All Stars back in 2017, he just... stopped."
"That was just after you broke up with Rose, right? How does she fit into all of this?" Hayden asks.
"Yeah, that... ugh." Shane grimaces. "Just before I met Rose, I kind of... freaked out, I guess? Things got too serious and I ran. Then I started dating Rose. Then we broke up, and she more or less told me to get my shit together."
"Are you saying Rose Landry is the reason you're with Ilya Rozanov?" Hayden says, stunned.
"Basically, yeah," Shane admits sheepishly. "She doesn't know who he is, but she knows there's a guy. Honestly, I'd probably still have my head buried in the closet without her."
Hayden shakes his head, staring at Shane with a strange sort of wonderment. "Only you, man. Only you."
"Back to what we were talking about, though, you'll try to be nicer?" Shane asks hopefully.
"Yeah," Hayden sighs. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't realize how much of a dick I was being. He just... he really pisses me off."
"Just try to remember that he'd rather laugh with you than at you," Shane suggests. "And if you tell him something's off-limits, he'll respect that. If he doesn't, he has to deal with me."
"Alright. And seriously, I'm sorry. You're right, I'd never let you talk about Jackie like that," Hayden admits.
"You know it's not just me you need to apologize to, right?" Shane asks tentatively.
Hayden sighs again. "Yeah. I'm sure he'll roast me for it, but yeah."
"Then let's go get that over with and eat some burgers," Shane says and shoves himself to his feet. He extends a hand and helps Hayden up.
"Thanks," Hayden says.
Shane smiles. "No problem. Oh, actually, can I see your phone for a sec?"
"Sure, yeah," Hayden agrees without much thought. He digs his phone out of his pocket and hands it over.
Shane examines the phone case for a moment, then nods. "Cool. Jackie's got the car keys, right?"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure I left them on the table up there, why?" Hayden asks, starting to get confused.
"Because Ilya's still a bit of an asshole, so he probably won't actually want an apology. He'll want this," Shane says with a sharp grin.
Without warning, he shoves Hayden roughly in the chest, sending him stumbling back off the dock. There's a strangled yelp. Hayden crashes into the water. By the time he surfaces, Shane is already laughing.
After one long moment, Hayden throws back his head and laughs too.