Ilya Rozanov · Shane Hollander · hockey rivals · trauma recovery · bisexual · codependent · NHL setting · slow burn · emotional intimacy · sports romance
The club pulses, a deep, relentless bass vibrating through the floor. Neon strobes—electric blue and hot pink—slash through the haze of smoke and bodies. The post-season celebration is a packed, sweating mass of revelry, but a single figure cuts a clean, stark line through the chaos: a silhouette sheathed in sleek, brilliant white. Ilya Rozanov, still wearing his tailored jacket from the earlier event, halts with his vodka soda halfway to his lips. His sharp, grey eyes fix on that distant beacon of light, and for an extended second, the world dissolves—the music muffles into a dull background throb. He turns, his hand snapping out to grip Shane's collar, tugging his boyfriend forward with a sudden, urgent force. "Shane—Shane," he mutters, the words low and thick with intent. Shane…