Work Text:
Learning a new language was hard. But given he was to live in the United States following his acceptance in the Boston Bears, Ilya was to learn.
He had no other choice but to speak the language of both his teammates and country of residence. Especially given that the NHL didn't even thought of providing him any Russian - English interpreter. Which, rude.
Sure, he had been helped finding a place to stay, and for the administrative stuff, but other than that? It was a "you do you" situation. And it was deeply frustrating at times.
Sure, Ilya was learning, he was doing his best to learn. But it was still hard.
Thankfully, he wasn't alone in this. Svetlana, sweet Lana, was in Boston too.
To help him learn English, she gifted him a red Nintendo DS with three games in English: Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart and Mario Bros. He had thanked her and dismissed her gift a bit.
Later however, once he was bored at his place (his home? Didn’t really feel like it), he opened the console.
Sure, he had to go around the whole installation, and it took him way too long (it was all in English – there were no Russian version available (so far) – and Ilya had to constantly go up his laptop to Google translate the instructions).
It almost made him stop using the console for good (it was so annoyingly overcomplicated??).
Finally, he persevered. He went around a bit, explored the console.
It was his first console ever, so he felt like a kid (he technically was barely an adult, but that wasn't the point).
He took a pic, and a video, just to try it. It looked cranky but in a funny way. He liked it.
He recorded a small voice thing and got annoyed it was limited to 30-ish seconds.
He created a Mii, just for the fun of it. One for him, one for... one for his mother (he put her in the further board; no one will ever know anyway), one for Lana, and. And one for Shane. That one he put on the second to last board. Far enough not to be found, but not in the same board as his mom.
It wouldn't feel right, somehow.
He wondered if he could make his Mii hugs.
Apparently no. Ilya was very unhappy about that.
Then, he put the game in the console and started it. It made a funny sound that made Ilya smile.
He was asked his name – he had to put 'Ilya' because 'Ilyushka' was too long–, to where he was going – he had no idea so he said "place" – and then he was asked questions he barely understood (again, Google translate was his friend for this).
Finally, he was able to see his fictional face. Which was resembling enough, all things considered. Except tiny him was smiling. And Ilya didn't smile. At least, not like that.
He disliked Tom Nook.
He however liked some of his villagers, such as Chief, who reminded him of Lana, and Agent S, who reminded him of... Well, no one will ever know, but she reminded him of Hollander.
Ilya took a liking in her, and she sort of instantly became her favorite.
Since that moment, every time he played, he'd go find Agent S to talk to her, and often to give her something, and make sure she liked tiny him. It was very important for him. Not that anyone should know.
He often played after that. Especially in airport while waiting for planes, and sometimes even in the planes, when he wasn't already playing some cards game with his teammates.
He would always activate his Streetpass when travelling, just in case he would meet other players’ Mii. He wanted to get many Miis on his Streetplace. The more, the better. He was competitive like that. And also liked to be around people, even fictional ones.
Sometimes, he would meet a fan in the wild, and their reaction was always fun, especially when they took it to the internet.
Ilya liked when it was young fan being so glad they meet him, and wanted to exchange turnips or exotic fruits on Animal Crossing.
He also added Lana as a friend, and they often played Mario Kart together (and despite whatever he said, Ilya was a very bad looser).
"That blue shell was illegal!" He exclaimed in Russian to his next seat neighbor, as he had just lost (again).
"It's a perfectly legal move, Ilyushka. I'm starting to believe I'm better than you at this game," Lana teased.
"I'm letting you win." He responded with the most bad faith known to man.
"It sure looked like it," she chuckled.
"Okay, fine, I'm not the best because I only play this game when I play it with you," he admired in a sight. Damn. He really couldn't lie to her (not on this, at least).
He hoped his brother would be willing to play it with him.
One summer, the one after the Nintendo DS was released in Russia, Ilya gifted a Nintendo to his brother –he had added himself as a friend, not knowing if his brother would let it be or suppress it. Alexei had thanked him, and that was it.
Ilya added some Russian friends and fellows (including some of his ex-teammates) on his Nintendo –on both Streetpass and friends list– while he was in Russia one summer.
One of the players he ended playing with the most was that one girl, Natshka, or whatever her real name was, who he had meet via Streetpass in an Opera.
He had went to see Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (his mom's favorite; she loved ballet and opera, as she had herself been a ballerina), and had put his Nintendo in his suit pocket (it was the perfect size). And they had crossed paths.
If Shane hadn't been here, maybe Ilya would have made a move with Natshka.
In the meantime, he introduced her to Lana. They fast became good friends, which made Ilya feel like a good friend, introducing other friends to each other.
.
“Ilya, we often see you playing on a red DS on the travel pictures of the team. What games are you playing?”
“Generally, is either Mario Bro or Animal Crossing,” Ilya answered, half bothered, half protective.
“Oh, okay. What’s your favorite character?”
“… is personal. Do you have hockey questions? No? Bye bye then,” Ilya concluded, putting a end to that.
No one must know about his favorite villager. It was too… personal. He felt like saying it out loud would make it real. And obvious to the whole world how much and how deep he liked Hollander.
And no one must never ever know. Except his mother, who he secretly talked – whispered – to, in the dark, before falling asleep. He would tell her his day, in Russian, hoping that, wherever she was now, she could hear him. He hoped she was.
He sometimes felt like she was always with him (though he hoped she was leaving (or at least turning) when he was having sex with Hollander).
Some fans on the internet theorized about Ilya’s favorite characters, and why he was so protective about it.
No one could truly get it, from what Ilya saw from his second secret account (from which he only followed Shane, Lana, and The New Yorker, for some reason).
Some fans also lost their mind when they realized the "Ilyushka" they connected with on Streetpass was actually Ilya Rozanov, professional hockey player and huge Animal Crossing Player apparently.
Someone must give this man a Zelda.
.
And then, time passed. Things happened. Situationships evolved. Ilya’s English got better.
Ilya and Shane became lovers, then boyfriend, then got outed, teammated, roommated, and finally husbanded.
And they adopted a dog, also. Well, Ilya adopted a dog. And Shane became Anya’s second parent, obviously.
.
Life went on.
Shane began learning Russian, and Ilya introduced him to Russian TV shows and music. He showed his then boyfriend that Youtube animated series, The Metal Family. It also had an English version, but that would defeat the whole point of listening to learn Russian. Shane thought Ilya was a perfect mix between Glenn and his wife. Ilya disagreed. Shane didn’t care and stood by it.
.
Since he joined the Ottawa Centaurs in 2017, Ilya slowly stopped playing with his DS, prioritizing spending time with his team (and later his partner) during flight time.
As the 2021 season came toward the end, Ilya and Shane did a big cleaning in their now shared Ottawa home. Since Shane had moved, they never really took the time to sort between what came from Shane’s Montreal place(s) and what was already in the Ottawa home.
Now was a time like any other to do so.
So they did. They listed what they had, both of them, and what they would keep and what they would donate. No selling. They didn’t need the money, and they knew some people would use these items more than them. For example, they wouldn’t need more than two couches, so they chose the ones they liked the most.
During that sorting, Ilya found back his old DS in some drawers. It didn’t have any battery left, obviously. So Ilya took a simple picture of it, closed, with the old stickers he had sticked with Lana once: one round Boston Bears logo and one Russian flag.
He posted the picture into his Instagram story with a text reading “Look what I found back” with the eyes emoji, and put it to charge.
Then, he continued sorting the content of that drawer. He had just found an old (and almost empty) cigarettes pack when Shane enter the room.
“You still have cigarettes?” he asked in Russian (he knew Ilya liked it, and it allows him to be more free). It wasn’t in a mean way; he was rather curious and surprised.
“It's my last pack. I never threw it away. Almost never smoke nowadays anyway. You don’t like it.”
“Oh okay.”
Shane was touched by that, he had to admit. It was the small things that made him love his husband even more and more each day, if it was possible anyway.
“Oh, you had a DS?” He noticed the console charging. Shane never had one, and was a bit fascinated by it.
“Yeah. Lana gave it to me when I arrived in Boston in 2011. She said it would help me get my English better.”
“Did it help?”
“A bit,” Ilya admitted. "It sure helped her get a girlfriend through me."
Shane was rendered speechless. What? He was not expecting that sentence. What.
"Did i spoke too fast? Should I repeat something? Maybe there's a word you didn't get?" Ilya 'I'm more intelligent in Russian' Rozanov worried.
"No, no, I get it, it's just... I wasn't expecting it. She has a girlfriend? She never told us. Well. Me."
"She's a very private person. Especially since she's the Bears' coach. But they are still together, and I think Natshka has the double nationality by now. They still aren't married though, because both want to be able to go back to Russia."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
They stayed a bit silent, reflecting. Russian's situation wasn't going to evolve in a positive way for queer people, that was a given. Which wouldn't stop them to exist, of course. It would just make them better at hiding.
“What game did you play?” Shane slowly asked, curious. Almost in a whisper, not wanting to be too obvious in his topic shift, trying to lift some of the weight of the room.
And Ilya, well. Saw it. But it worked, because well. Now he was a bit ashamed. He murmured something Shane didn’t hear.
“Excuse me?”
“Animal Crossing.”
Why was it so easy to drop it to stupid cameras all these years ago but so hard in front of his husband? Maybe because he cared more about his beloved's opinion.
Shane had never really heard of it.
“Is a game about having a village and you fish and catch insects. And then you become friends with the villagers.”
“Oh, okay! Could you show me?”
“When it will have battery, yes.”
So it was done.
Reopening the console for the first time in years felt... Weird? Nostalgic? Even in his mother language, Ilya wasn't sure he would have the words to describe how he felt.
Next to him on the couch, Shane put a hand on Ilya's right shoulder and his head on his husband's left, to bring him comfort, as way of stating that he was there and supporting him, and that he wasn't going anywhere.
It worked. Ilya was more relaxed.
Before showing his husband his village, Ilya showed him around. Shane was so excited and curious, cataloging each new information in the Ilya's box in his head.
Ilya show him the voice recorder, which was mainly empty, and the photo app. That one contained photos and videos across the years. Just for good measure...
"Anya! Come here!"
"Ilyushka! Not on the couch!"
Too late. She was already there, in between them. Their perfect daughter.
Ilya took a picture, and congratulated and petted Anya who had went down on the ground as soon as the picture had been taken.
He then show Shane around the photos and videos he had took over the years, around North America, Russia, hotel rooms, ice arenas and airports, alone, or with friends or teammates.
Shane was smiling his most precious smile, and his adoring eyes were taking in this new face of his husband. He loved to see it. And Ilya loved to see Shane like that.
He also wanted to show him his Streetpass, so he connected the console to the Internet. it was however a rookie mistake: as soon as it was done, his inbox was flooded from messages he hadn't read over the last four-ish years.
He didn't care about much, but one hold his attention.
It came from "Alexei's DS".
First, Ilya felt a twist in his stomach. Then, dread, and anger. He didn't even want to read it. Anger was rising. Despite Shane's best effort to try to appease him.
Not wanting to let it eat him more that it already was, Ilya opened it.
"I swear, if it's about money again..." He cut himself.
It read:
[Helo unkle Ilya! Im Masha! My Papa gave me his old consol for my birthday this year! I am 6! Thanks for the gift through Aunt Lana! Papa told me you didn't want to talk to us anymore because you got corrupted by the evil americans and now you can't go back. He said you are evil now. He said not to talk about you. But i wanted to say thank you for the gift. It was a very pretty dress! I liked it! ] Nov. 24th, 2020 - 4:45pm
[Helo unkle Ilya. You haven't respond. I'm sad. Maybe Papa was rigt. You are evil. But then why is the dress so prety? Would an evil man remember my birtday and send a gift? You are very weird unkle. Or maybe you are very busy? What is your work? Mama did not tell me.] Dec. 17th, 2020 - 5:03pm
[Helo unkle Ilya. It snowed today! I wish i could show you. Moscov is beautiful! The view from my window is very prety.] Dec. 23rd, 2020 - 10:14am
Ilya remembered, yeah. Alexei's apartment had been his, before March 2017.
[Helo unkle Ilya. Mery Chrismas. Mama said it is family celebration (I just learn how to write that big word!). You are my unkle: you are family. Mery Chrismas! ] Jan. 7th, 2021 - 01:25am
[Maybe you are sleping. I was to midnight mass. ] Jan. 7th, 2021 - 01:26 am
[Helo unkle Ilya. Mama is big again. She said I wil have a litle sister or brother (but Papa said brother).] Feb. 13rd, 2021 - 12:42am
[Helo unkle Ilya. You stil don't respond. Why do I write? Spring is here again.] March 29th, 2021 - 4:26pm
[Papa was right. You are evil.] April 4th, 2021 - 7:13pm
[Papa was right. It was a brother. His name is Grigori. Mama is tired. I hope she smiles again soon.] May 30th, 2021 - 5:03pm
It contained mistakes that made it very believable.
Ilya noticed he had tears in his eyes when Shane hugged him. He needed to be hold right now.
It could have been a trap from his brother. It could. But when Lana confirmed in a text that Alexei had, indeed, gifted his old Nintendo to his daughter, Maria "Masha", Ilya decided he'd respond. He was (and wanted to be) a good uncle. God.
Should he have another account open, for Alexei's second son? He hasn't been introduced, of course, and wasn't even supposed to know he existed. Maybe wait until Lana's next trip, so he could justify it? Yeah, that could be a plan.
Then he'll put money on that account for that kid, so he'd have enough to go to college or something when he'd be an adult. And he needed to respond to her.
Shane give him enough space for his to be private, but not so he would go away. Ilya still needed to be held right now.
[Dear Masha, I am your uncle Ilya. Aunt Lena told me you liked the dress. I'm happy! I hope you had a good birthday. I am happy to read your messages. You have a brother! Good. I also hope your mama smiles again soon. I live in Canada now (it's above the Unites-States). I am not evil. Just busy. I play hockey! It's so cool! I like it very much. Your dad and I fought and we don't talk. It happens sometimes. It's not your fault. My console had no battery, so I hadn't see your messages. I'll try to be more careful now. Have a good day. ] June 2nd, 2021 - 10:38am
He tried to keep it simple, as he knew she probably was still learning to read. That reminded him of when Shane was learning the cyrillic alphabet (he was still having a hard time reading and writing him, while his understanding and speaking was smoother day by day). He hoped it was enough. He hoped it was good. Shane kept telling him so, but still. He was worried.
He added: [ I play a game called 'Animal Crossing:Wild World'. You might like it. I could ask Lana to bring it to you, if you want? I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. ] June 2nd, 2021 - 10:41am
He really believed she would like that game. Maybe also, they could play together, but that was another story. Not the main focus. He load the game.
He finally showed Shane his Animal Crossing village. He was very careful when doing so, watching closely his husband reactions. It felt like some sort of sacred moment, somehow. Like it was revealing a part of him Shane didn’t know. It felt more revealing than the first time they explored each other’s bodies.
And on the same time, as it had been sometimes that Ilya hadn’t been connected, every villager wanted to meet his tiny him, and be worried about his virtual absence.
They meet Chief.
“He reminds me of Lana,” Ilya commented.
And after the tiny Ilya on screen exchanged a few sentences with Chief, Shane could confidentially states: “I see why, yeah.”
And then, it happened. Agent S entered the screen.
“This one looks like me,” Shane smiled.
“Yes. It's why I like her: she reminds me of you. Always had.”
“Oh.”
“She is one of my first villager. With Chief.”
“Oh.” Shane reddened.
Ilya had a virtual character in his most played game that reminded him of him. That was actually so sweet?? God, he loved his husband so much.
“I’m not a squirrel though.” The Canadian added, in English.
“A what?”
“A squirrel. That’s the animal here?” Shane pointed his finger to the fictional character on the screen.
“That word is impossible to say.” Ilya decided.
“If you say so.”
.
And this is how Ilya’s story (then Instagram page) ended up containing a post with on the left a picture of Agent S, and on the right a picture of Shane on his old Montral blue suit, with a legend that read “is the same picture.”.
Which is how a portion of the internet lost its collective mind.
[What do you mean Ilya have a villager that reminds him of his husband???]
↳ [Haven’t he state that he liked playing Animal Crossing in the airports and such when he was with the Bears?? For how long has he got that villager/a crush on his husband???]
[How long has that man loved his current husband?! Because that’s relationship behavior, you don’t just have one fictional character you associate with someone you don’t like to some extent...]
↳ [wdym "current" lol]
↳ [Wait wait wait that actually makes so much sense to have Shane as Agent S, they’re like carbon copies]
[now that you mention it… have we ever see them in the same room??]
[ but if Shane is Agent S… Who’s Ilya? ]
↳ [ Hear me out: Kid Cat ]
↳↳ [ I see the vision. ]
↳ [ WAIT that’s actually perfect??? ]
↳ [ I’ll literally pay real money to see some fanart of them ]
↳↳ [ Same!! ]
↳↳↳ [ Hockey fans artists, this is your moment!! ]
↳↳↳ [ Let’s commission some artist(s)! ]
[ This is slander: Hollander is more of a Benedict?? (or any dog villager, this guy radiates Golden Retriever energy let's be honest!!) ]
↳ [ Bro this was literally posted by Hollander’s husband?? ]
[ I can’t believe we got Rozanov using meme formats to express his love for his husband in the year of our Lord 2021 ]
[ A ANIMAL CROSSING CROSSOVER??? IN THIS ECONOMY??? THANK YOU RANDOM CITIZEN FOR YOUR SERVICE!! ]
↳ [ I just saw who posted this 💀 (I thought it was some random, turns out its Shane’s WAG himself 💀) ]
[ I love it; plz don’t go bald ]
Rozanov81himself answered: [ Wtf is that supposed to mean?? ]
"Shaneshka, I don't understand the people of the internet."
"I stopped trying a long time ago," Shane admitted.
And the world was still turning. The sun still shining. The water still wet. The fire still burning. And Shane and Ilya were still in love, and loving. And everything was right on tracks, as it was supposed to be.