Chapter Text
The trade announcement for Ilya to Ottawa drops the next afternoon.
It doesn’t break the internet at first. It doesn’t trend the way scandals do, or the way injuries do. It’s framed professionally — a roster move, cap logic, a statement about future direction. Analysts debate fit. Fans argue value. The league absorbs it the way it absorbs everything else: quickly, loudly, and with confidence it understands what just happened.
By the time Shane opens his phone that night, the narrative has already shifted.
Not forward — backward.
Old screenshots resurface. Old clips. The same paused press conference frame Shane has already seen too many times, now posted without hesitation, without the hedging language that used to surround it. The Reddit thread comes back first, resurrected like it’s been waiting for this exact moment.
r/hockeydiscussion
u/linechangeenergy
this is absolutely insane.
no way Rozy is leaving Boston?????
The replies stack faster than Shane can read them.
u/creasephysics
okay but doesn’t this suddenly make the last few months make senseu/defendingshanehollander
not saying it’s related but the timing is wildu/jegulusismine
this feels less like a shock trade and more like fallout
Someone links the All-Star clip again. Someone else drops the TikTok edit with the red circles. Another comment resurfaces the original tell me i’m not insane post, now highlighted like prophecy instead of paranoia.
u/hockeyenthusiast
remember when people said we were projecting
No one answers that.
Twitter follows fast, but in a different way — less analysis, more implication.
📣@OttawaHC
Welcome to the capital, Ilya Rozanov 🔴⚫
Excited to have you.
The replies are normal for exactly three minutes.
Then:
@sensfan4life
huge pickup omg@nhlnerd
actually a solid move for both sides
And then:
@rozy129
okay but when are you getting shane hollander #hollanov
The quote tweets explode.
@hockeyisthebest
you people are DELUSIONAL@speakforme
why is that the first place your mind went though@hollanov.enthusiast
i mean. we’re just asking questions. 👀
The hashtag doesn’t trend. Not really. It floats instead — just visible enough to notice if you’re already looking.
That’s the strange part. None of this has reached the big outlets yet. No headlines. No breathless panels. No “league sources say.” The professional world is acting like everything is normal.
Shane doesn’t look again that night.
On the bus, he keeps his phone face-down and answers Drew with a shrug and a noncommittal yeah, all good, lets the city slide past the window the way it always does. The group chat blows up once the news hits, the team texting in usual fashion.
The next day brings a different kind of pressure. Shane appears once — a charity event he committed to weeks ago, a neutral backdrop, neutral questions. He’s careful without being stiff, polite without being closed. Someone else is being interviewed nearby, and Shane ends up in the background of the shot, laughing at something off-camera.
The clip circulates anyway.
Reporters try gently.
Shane answers the way he always does. Teammates. Routine. Focus. He doesn’t over-explain. He doesn’t correct anything. He lets silence sit where it wants to.
Ilya, meanwhile, says nothing at all.
No comment. No clarification. No visible reaction. He doesn’t deny, but he doesn’t confirm either. He simply continues as if silence is a complete sentence.
That’s what people latch onto.
Fans stop parsing words and start parsing bodies. Shane’s posture. The pauses between questions. The way he glances briefly off-camera before answering. The way he never rushes to fill the space.
And then — quietly, without fanfare — Shane’s phone lights up with a name he’s been avoiding.
Ilya: Are you okay?
The question is simple. It shouldn’t feel like this much.
Shane: Yeah. Just tired. You?
There’s a pause — longer than usual, but not alarming.
Ilya: Same. Noise everywhere.
Shane exhales, shoulders dropping slightly as if his body has been waiting for permission.
Shane: Yeah. It’s… louder than I expected.
Another pause.
Ilya: We do not have to do anything.
That’s the first real thing either of them has said.
Shane sits with it, thumbs hovering.
Shane: I know. I just wanted to check we’re on the same page.
Ilya: We are.
The certainty steadies him.
They don’t say out. They don’t say not yet. They don’t say ever. They talk instead about what they are saying — about the Irina Foundation launch they’ve already planned, about the youth hockey school announcement scheduled for later in the summer.
Shane:If people see us doing things together, but it’s clearly… work, I think that helps.
Ilya: Yes. Normal.
Shane almost laughs.
Shane: You’re bad at normal.
Ilya: I can try.
That’s as close as they get to teasing, and it feels like relief.
Either way, Shane still feels the anxiety buzzing at his edges. Which is why he doesn’t really mean to call.
He just stares at the screen long enough that his thumb slips.
It rings twice.
“Hey,” Ilya says, voice low, like he stepped away from something.
“Hey,” Shane replies. He leans back against the counter, lets the quiet stretch. “Sorry. I just—”
“I know.”
That stops him.
“It’s just… so much,” Shane says finally.
“Yes.”
“But not… bad?”
Ilya hums, considering. “Not yet.”
Shane exhales, a half-laugh escaping him. “That’s about where I landed.”
Another pause. Not uncomfortable. Just careful.
“We can keep it boring,” Ilya says. “Publicly.”
“I like boring,” Shane says. “I’m very good at boring.”
Ilya snorts. “You always are.”
Shane smiles despite himself.
“If it gets weird,” Shane says, quieter now, “we talk first.”
“Always,” Ilya says.
Shane hesitates, then exhales. “Right now, the focus is on the foundation and the hockey school. That’s what matters. The rest can wait.”
“Exactly,” Ilya says. There’s noise behind him — voices, movement — but his tone stays even. “We’re doing good things.”
They hang up a moment later. No resolution. No plan.
Just steadier ground.
Later that month, the foundation announcement goes live. Clean graphics. Clear mission. Mental health support. The hockey school for the summer follows — clinics, scholarships, nothing flashy.
The response is warm. Respectful. Media outlets pick it up for exactly what it is.
The internet, predictably, reads between lines that aren’t there.
@boardsandbrains
love this initiative. also interesting timing 👀@nhlgoodvibes
wait are shane hollander and rozanov working together now???@plslovercomeover
they are ALLOWED to be friends
And then — because Ilya cannot help himself entirely — he likes one tweet.
Just one.
@youthhockeymatters
this is what leadership looks likeLiked by @Ilyarozanovofficial
It’s enough to send people spiraling. Not because it confirms anything — but because it doesn’t deny it.
The first public sighting happens two days later.
It’s boring.
Someone posts a grainy photo from a café patio in Ottawa. Two men. Coffee cups. Jackets. No touching. No leaning in. Just proximity that feels unremarkable unless you already know how to look.
@citysightlines
pretty sure i just saw ilya rozanov downtown with… shane hollander?? maybe??? could be wrong.
Replies argue about geography. About schedules. About whether Shane would even be in Ottawa.
The foundation post lands in the WAGs chat almost immediately.
Jackie: this is actually really cool lily
Tess: yeah omg i didn’t know he was doing this with rozanov
Rin: mental health and the youth hockey is such a good combo
There’s a brief pause — not awkward, just curious.
Noelle: i didn’t realize they were involved together?
Ilya glances at the message, then types without overthinking it.
Lily: it’s for a good cause and gets good media traction — even better for donations
The reply comes fast.
Jackie: honestly that makes so much sense
Tess: yeah that’s actually really smart
Rin: and it keeps the focus where it should be
Someone reacts with a heart. Then another.
The conversation moves on — outfits, travel, a complaint about airline food — the way it always does when something has been sufficiently explained.
Ilya sets the phone down, relieved in a quiet, practical way.
Nothing questioned.
Nothing clarified.
Nothing changed.
The first TikTok Ilya sees is sent to the WAGs chat by Tess at 11:42 p.m.
Tess: okay but PLEASE tell me you’ve all seen this one lily 😭
A link follows.
Ilya doesn’t open it immediately. He’s learned — recently — that opening things too fast is how you ruin your own night. He sets his phone down, finishes rinsing his glass, then picks it up again and taps the screen.
The video loads slowly, like it knows it’s about to cause problems.
It’s a slideshow edit. Almost too ironic to be sincere. The first slide is the infamous press conference still — circled, annotated, zoomed until the pixels blur.
Text overlaid:“There was no chance, trying to be the greatest in the league.”
Next slide: a freeze-frame from the All-Star clip, slowed down.
“Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me.”
Then, because of course Americans, a cut to a completely unrelated picture at the end of the edit of two dogs, a black one on the left with its tongue out and a lab side eyeing it on the right. The left being labeled “Rozanov,” and the right “Hollander.”
The photo has “anyway.” written over the top with a disclaimer in the caption that it was purely a joke (after it blew up with its current 200k likes)
Ilya snorts before he can stop himself.
The comments are worse.
@idrewstarkeygirlfriend: this changed my brain chemistry
@straightforwardhockey: why am i kind of shipping though
@olibarnlover: i came here to learn about hockey and now i’m emotionally invested???
@hockeystan: WHY are the montreal wives in the comments 👀
Ilya scrolls down just enough to see that, yes, several of the WAGs have liked it. No comments. That, more than anything, makes him laugh.
He taps back to the group chat.
Rin: oh my god i saw that 😭
Jackie: the dogs took me OUT
Noelle: they’re so unserious about this i can’t
Tess: i know we shouldn’t encourage it but this one is kinda cute???
There’s a pause — the kind where Ilya can tell everyone is collectively checking themselves.
Then:
Jackie: now that’s a little far lol poor lily has to deal with this
Ilya smiles at his phone.
Lily: it is funny
The response comes fast.
Tess: RIGHT???
Rin: thank god you said it first
Jackie: we are allowed to laugh at the dogs now
Someone sends another link.
This one is worse.
It’s a compilation video — every time Ilya brings up Shane in an interview in press footage, stitched together with increasing speed until it’s almost dizzying.
Caption: "Y'all we aren’t delusional"
Ilya presses his lips together, shoulders shaking.
He doesn’t comment. He doesn’t like it. But he doesn’t scroll past either.
The chat explodes.
Noelle: okay THIS one is a reach
Tess: or is it 👀
Tess: they are convincing me now?? lily?? anything to tell us lol?
Lily: i have my secrets
Jackie: on a real note these people always shock me like yes he mentions him they are rivals???
Rin: this is why i don’t let the internet perceive me
Ilya sets the phone down for a second, still smiling. The laughter catches him off guard — not because it’s forbidden, but because it’s easy. No panic spike. No urge to brace.
Just absurdity.
He picks the phone back up and opens his messages.
Ilya: you see the edit yet with the dog picture?
It takes a few seconds.
Then:
Shane: unfortunately yes
Ilya grins.
Ilya: they made us dogs
Shane: i knew it would happen eventually
There’s a pause. Then:
Shane: it’s kinda funny though
The admission feels important.
Ilya: yes. that one is harmless.
Shane: don’t tell my agent you said that
Ilya:i will deny everything
Ilya sets the phone down after that, the smile lingering longer than the screen stays lit.
The internet, meanwhile, continues its descent into nonsense.
A new Reddit thread gains traction overnight.
r/hockeydiscussion
u/boardsandbanter
okay serious question why are people being FUNNY about this now
Top comment:
u/creasephysics
because once you realize you don’t have a right to answers, all you can do is be delusional
Replies follow.
u/hollanderhockeyyfan
honestly this is healthieru/rozisthebestplayer
i would rather the dogs than discourseu/goalhornsadness
i think this might be the least toxic timeline???
Someone posts a screenshot of the Ottawa café photo again — this time zoomed out, framed differently, less accusatory.
Caption:“this could literally be two coworkers getting coffee.”
For the first time, the replies mostly agree.
TikTok shifts too. Less red circles. More jokes. A trend starts where people duet the All-Star clip pretending to explain it like a wildlife documentary.
“This is the common hockey player,” one voiceover says solemnly. “Notice how he leans instinctively toward the one he trusts.”
Ilya watches one of these late at night, alone on the couch, laughing quietly into his hand.
He sends it to Shane without comment.
Shane replies with a please stop.
Ilya does not stop.
The next morning, a smaller account posts something.
@jacewashereforfame
pretty sure i just walked past two nhl players arguing about pastries. very serious business.
Replies speculate briefly, then lose interest. No hashtags. No edits. Just a moment, allowed to pass.
Ilya reads it once and closes the app.
For the first time in days, the internet feels almost… manageable. Still watching. Still invasive. But softened by humor, by distance, by the understanding that maybe not everything needs to be solved immediately.
He texts Shane one last time before bed.
Ilya: i think they will get bored soon.
Shane takes a while to answer.
Shane: maybe. but if they don’t… at least they’re being weird in a funny way now.
Ilya smiles at that.
It isn’t safety.
But it’s breathing room.
And for now, that feels like enough.