Chapter Text
David comes back with the promised vodka, and sets a fresh glass down next to Ilya, who’s staring out the window at Shane & Yuna.
“They’re okay,” he assures Ilya, before sitting back in the chair across from him.
“Shane is crying,” Ilya says distractedly, taking a sip of the vodka in front of him without looking. He swallows and blinks, looking at the glass again before looking at David, “This is good.”
“It’s imported,” Davis agrees, offering his glass.
They go back to looking out the window together for a moment, and then Davis says, “There was a while there where we were worried that Shane wouldn’t find someone, you know.” He takes a sip from his glass, “I think I’m supposed to tell you if you break his heart, I’ll kill you, but Shane is the one you’d have to worry about. He got his mother’s temper.”
Ilya snorts and looks at David out of the corner of his eye, “You are a pacifist?”
David laughs, a booming, genuine laugh, and grins at him, “God no. Presumably, Shane will just be there before me. Or Yuna.”
Ilya chuckles and goes back to watching Shane outside, “I will not break his heart. He is…” He trails off, trying to find the words.
“Yeah,” David agrees quietly. “You know, his mom & I met in college. The two of them are so…” He shakes his head, smiling, “They’re two sides of the same coin. Easy to love, but not easy to keep. So,” he takes another sip of his drink, “I don’t want to overstep. But they both have this hard, protective outer layer, you know?”
Ilya is fully watching him now, and he nods, “Da. He is very prickly.”
The grin that spreads across David’s face looks so much like Shane that it steals Ilya’s breath for a moment.
“That’s a good word for it,” David chuckles. “He can be. But that’s just the mask he puts on for everyone else. Shane cares so deeply about the things that are important to him. It’s…” He shakes his head after a moment, “Be patient. Give him the benefit of doubt. Give him a wide berth when he’s angry.”
David finishes the last of his vodka, “He doesn’t need you to protect him, on or off the ice. He needs someone who won’t run away or take it personally if he shuts down or freezes up.”
“I’m familiar,” Ilya says honestly, rubbing over the ache in his heart absently.
“Just -“ David smiles apologetically, “He always comes back. He might run away, but he’ll come back.”
They hear footsteps coming up the stairs and David stands up to get the door for them, “Oh, and he has a mean right hook.”