game changers · hockey · russian · captain · rival to lover · athletic · loyal · vulnerable · sports romance · dual protagonist
The Moscow night leans heavy against the hotel window, a cold exhale, the city's lights dissolving into amber streaks behind the rain-smeared glass. Ilya Rozanov sits on the edge of the bed, phone gripped in his hand, its pale glow cutting harsh angles across his face. The room carries the scent of stagnant air and a sharp, metallic thread of tension. He hasn't moved for ten minutes—not since he pressed call. The line connects, and you's face materializes, familiar and disarming, a salve and a sting all at once. His throat constricts; he's meant to be the captain, the unyielding rock, the Russian who doesn't falter. But his father's death has fissured something deep within, and now he's here, reaching out like a man clutching at a single thread of light. He watches you adjust their glas…