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He was terrified that one day Shane would realize he could be with someone who wasn’t a dark secret. That it could be easy to love someone.
“No,” Yuna said. “Your mom is the one making dinner at the end of a long day while you sit on your butt and mope. Come help.” “I’m helping,” Ilya couldn’t resist pointing out. “I know you are.” Yuna patted his cheek. “That’s why you’re my favorite son.”
“I am bisexual,” Ilya said, nodding. “Shane is super gay.” “I’m regular gay,” Shane argued.
“We are very good at pretending to not be in love. Maybe we are bad at showing it when we are allowed.”
Sometimes Ilya was so starved for touch he felt like screaming.
A few minutes later, Ilya was tucked under a blanket on the couch, eating ice cream out of a little bowl. He felt like a child, and he kind of loved it.
“That’s my move!” Ilya said. The blanket he’d been wrapped in fell to the floor as he stood, one hand waving at the television, the other cradling his ice cream bowl protectively to his chest. “He did my move!”
“You’re so fucking big. Like, everywhere. Your arms, your chest, your fucking thighs. I love how tall you are. I don’t even care that you make fun of my height because I fucking love being swallowed up by you when we’re together.”
“Brat.”
It could be because I’m depressed. No. He was fine. Normal. It’s not like he ever stayed in bed all day crying. Neither did Mom.
“Can I hang out for a bit?” “Did you watch a scary movie again?” Shane asked, already stepping back to let him in. Hayden smiled sheepishly. “It was fucking terrifying.”
“My good friend Shane Hollander, you mean?”
The podcast wasn’t quite as effective at keeping him awake as the butt plug had been.
Shane Hollander was going to be his husband.
Shane pulled him inside and closed the door. For a long while, he just held him in the dark, rubbing his back while Ilya breathed against him.
“Can I suck you?” he asked. “Wanna feel you get hard in my mouth.”
“Maybe we could combine our names. Hollanov. Rozander.”
“You should come inside,” Troy called from the front porch. “It’s freezing out here.” “I have not met everyone yet,” Ilya argued as he twisted around to greet a third dog. “Who is this one?”
Ilya already had three dogs trying to climb into his lap. “Yes,” he said. “All of my friends are down here.”
Ilya’s smile grew. “Bisexual! Great. Yes, me too.”
“You are Shane fucking Hollander,” Ilya growled. “If you ever forget that, I will drag you back in here and fuck you until you remember.”
“Uh-oh,” Ilya said. “Are we getting a lecture from Dad?” Scott looked at Shane. “Is it possible for him to not be an asshole for five seconds?” “No,” Shane said.
“I’m marrying you, Ilya. I want to have kids with you. I want to be your date when we’re inducted into the Hall of Fame. I love you so much.”
“Shane,” Ilya said seriously. “Do we have to drive back to your trophy room in Montreal?” Shane blushed. “No.”
“What I’m trying to say, and Yuna’s always been the better speaker, is I’ve always felt so lucky to have a son as wonderful as Shane that I never expected to be blessed with a second one.”

