Some of my favorites Part 9

Part 1 here - Part 2 here - Part 3 here - Part 4 here - Part 5 here - Part 6 here - Part 7 here - Part 8 here

5 months. 725 fics. 15m words. I'm about to get laid off from the job I've done for 20 years in favor of an AI bot doing it and more than anything I'm afraid of what will happen if I'm left to my own devices. Will I make my way through all 40,000+ HR fics? Send help

The Arrangement. by emswede - (19/20 WIP) Holy smokes. Go ahead and read the summary, it will draw you in like it did me but it does not even crack the surface of where this thing goes. 32-year-old Shane is in a happy open marriage with his husband of six years, but then he meets 21-year-old college student/hockey prospect Ilya and things get... complicated. There's so many things that get smartly explored here, from the open marriage concept to the idea of living out loud as a public person vs. maintaining a quiet private life. What amazing writing and story telling, and also hot sex. For 150K words I just kept thinking, I can't believe this all started with Shane on a boring date at a bar and Ilya wandering in like a walking atomic bomb.

The B.E.A.R.S. by Antisceptic - (11/? WIP) I usually subscribe rather than diving into read a /? WIP, but this one pulled me in - lately I've been really into BDSM AU, the magic-y version where everyone or some people are doms and subs and they are supernaturally compelled to engage in the dynamic. In this one, Ilya is a professional dom at an agency and closeted hockey player Shane gets brought in in a vicious, violent drop. Ilya is so good in this (brutally competent at his job, hopelessly recognizing how his weakness for Shane compromises his professional ethics).

‘til my lungs give out by perfect-porcelain (tedddylupin) - The rodeo AU. Shane is the buttoned-up good boy of rodeo from a solid, successful ranching family and Ilya is the ostentatious newcomer from an upstart Russian outfit. The plot mostly sticks to the original story but in a few new ways, there's good stuff about horses and rodeo competition that I really enjoyed. Is the rodeo world even more homophobic and straight-coded than hockey? Probably. There's a part two WIP I haven't gotten to yet that is on my TBR.

my momsold me to Scott Hunter, a Shane Hollander fanfiction by luulapants & mockspeed - When Shane was a quiet, closeted little hockey phenom he (probably?) posted an anon fan fic on a hockey message board about his mom selling him to Scott Hunter as a sex slave but also to get great at hockey. It became a niche internet legend that comes up again in the situationship era and beyond. The in-fic fic is hilarious and cringey but also ends up being a very sweet peek into the heart of wee Shane.

Quarter-End Close by jtimu - Are you interested in bad boy finance bro Ilya Rozanov with small doses of toxicity, stalking and the stray bump of coke? Well, have I got the thing for you. After Gregori dies, Ilya inherits his wealth-management firm and all his clients, including hockey's Shane Hollander. Yes, Shane ends up under Ilya's desk and yes, it's very hot.

your famous golden touch by Anonymous - Part of the perfect from now on series, Ilya is injured in a car accident which comes at a terrible time when his finances are a mess. Enter Shane Hollander, who offers to support him financially while he recovers and tries to get back to pro hockey form, which comes at a higher cost than maybe either of them were counting on.

don't blink, cucky! by angeluvxx - Shane was injured before he got drafted, but his high school (and still current) boyf Luke ended up in the league. At a party Shane runs into Ilya Rozanov. What happens is most of the fun, but if you're sensitive to the cheating tag: >!After Shane lightly flirts with Ilya a few times, Luke cheats on Shane and Shane runs to Ilya. While they're fucking, Luke calls looking for him and they pick up and Luke stays on the line.!<(This has kinda blown up numbers-wise since I originally decided to include it but oh well I'm leaving it here.)

Retirement, Apparently by cheryl123sing - They retire at 39 and go on to other things and become queer icons/examples of positive masculinity in their own ways - Shane gets a house-flipping reality show where he is capable, humble and domestic and Ilya becomes a judge on Drag Race where he is smart, respectful and flamboyant in his way. That sounds like giving a lot away but it's worth a read, I loved them in this.

each of us, a little universe by Vee (Vera_DragonMuse) - I read this based on my enjoyment of the author's other work and loved it. If you liked Apogee and/or solnyshko (other space/astronaut AUs) you'll probably like this. I struggle sometimes with how much to reveal in a summary so I'll give you an option to know a little bit or a lot: Option A: Shane and Ilya are space pilots who work for competing corps to fly around the galaxy and claim element-rich planets. Option B (spoiler for part 1/3): >!When Ilya's ship gets stranded and Shane's command refuses to help, Shane goes rogue to save his husband.!<

Ecology of Devotion by HH_Arrow - This was a little different for me in that the prose is a little opaque/literary - not a bad thing at all but just different than what I usually go for. Serious-relationship-era, Shane recognizes some PTSD reactions from Ilya that he silently works to soothe. There's a beautiful running analogy to a flock getting used to a guard dog. There's also some good plot.