Chapter Text
“What do you two think you are doing?” Lisa Lisa was across the rink in a flash, stopping just short of Jojo’s chest. He immediately stumbled back and fell with a thump. Caesar felt as if he would have laughed if he weren’t so terrified of his coach’s wrath. “Joestar was it?
Joseph froze on the ice where he sat. There was only a moment between his surprise and smirk. “Yeah, Joseph Joestar. The one and only.”
He added a wink, to which Caesar could not help slamming a palm to his forehead.
“So then, Joestar, you think you have what it takes?”
“Uh, I uh.” Joseph paled visibly.
Lisa Lisa stared down at the boy. Her face was calm, but Joseph could almost see the gears turning in her head. He was scared to find out what would come out of her mouth next.
“Okay. I’ll agree to this little duel.” Lisa Lisa slid her left leg out behind her, using it to pivot her body around.
“And another thing! Wait – what?” Joseph had stood up, ready to fight the coach before his brain could comprehend what she had said. He paled for a different reason this time.
“So, Jojo,” Caesar smirked down at his finger nails, “got that routine ready for me?”
“For you? Psh, don’t think so highly of yourself.” Joseph turned his head away, already thinking up bullshit to perform.
“That wasn’t an answer!”
He had never taken been taught how to skate. Instead he had thought it was enough that skating was in his blood, in the long running Joestar line. Though his grandfather had never touched this ice himself, he was a well-known ballet dancer. Joseph liked to think he had inherited his grace from. His father, while he had never known him, was a speed skater. Grandma Erina had told young Joseph plenty about his father, how he was going to the Olympics, how he probably had a chance at medaling if it wasn’t for the accident. Erina never liked to talk about what happened to her son and husband, but Joseph had gathered enough knowledge to know that the accident that had taken George II out of the skating scene had also ended his life. As far as his mother went, he had nothing but a faint mention of ice dancing in passing by Speedwagon before Erina could silence the old man.
All this had led to Joseph believing he did not need to take lessons, but now that he was face to face with a professional he started wishing that he had worked a little harder. Yet, hard work and Joseph did not fit well into the same sentence, so he shrugged and resigned himself to winging it like he always did.
Caesar had left the other boy behind as he thought to skate to the center of the ice. As he reached his starting point he saw Joseph out of the corner of his eye moving against the edge along the wall, presumably to the bench to watch out of the way. At least the boy had some form of manners. He waited until the brunet was fully settled in to enjoy the show before launching off with his right leg to slice across the ice.
There was no music to accompany his routine; no sounds to match jumps to nor drawn out notes to glide with, yet Caesar was not about to let something so miniscule get in the way of showing up some local brat.
Instead he started with a dramatic chasse, using the soft sweeping motions to create the starting notes against the ice. As he continued he dropped into every step deeper, pulling up with one foot and then dropping his torso as he extended the other leg behind him into a shallow arabesque to propel himself forward. He used the same rhythm to pull up into a full arabesque quickly switching into a centered spin.
His music changed as he did, quickening into short bursts of sound as he spun and lengthening out again as the blond slid out into even strokes across the ice. He let himself slow as the left-over momentum of the spin drew him over to the boards before performing a quick crossover, making sure to make eye contact with Joseph as he passed and smirking at the boy’s furrowed brows.
Another change as Caesar’s skates prepared for his next trick. He breathed in as his muscles contracted, listening for the cue from the instrument his own skates created before pushing off into his first axel. He circled around after a successful completion, dropping his hands slowly and turning his head up towards the lights to hide his smile. Caesar let the tempo slow then, moving his hips to imitate Jojo’s earlier move to slide backwards on the ice.
The blond took this chance to relax his arms, loosening at the wrists and using his fingertips instead to pull and push his movements in the desired direction. A flick from the left arm. A cut from the right leg. Swinging the right arm across his chest to propel him in another direction, relaxed legs guided into a spin before immediately tensing up into another jump, yet this time when he landed into an arabesque again Caesar kept his torso low and spun his leg out behind him until the edge struck and lifted him again in split spin. Half of his body remained parallel to the ice, eyes staring down at the white while his legs swung him around in a semi-circle above before slamming down into another spin. He pulled up short with a wince, knowing that Lisa Lisa would have a few comments on his fluidity once he finished.
Caesar lapsed back into his crossover to move into center ice and build back up the momentum he had lost with his harsh landing. As he made his way he switched into a slide chasse, sliding on his edge for the second step to pull him into a sit spin. From there the blond launched into a stationary lift and back into a sit before sweeping into a standing position deep on the back edge of his blades; his signature move.
He had learned quickly that jumps were his strong point. The blond had decent flexibility and his practiced feet were quick enough, but his real power was in his legs. They could propel him anywhere. He could be standing, spinning, speeding, anything – and with the right amount of tension they could make him fly.
Sometimes, Coach Lisa Lisa told him he depended on that instinctual strength just a little too much, instead of the techniques that went into launching and landing from those said jumps. He tried, but in the end Caesar felt that the time was better spent on footwork rather than his jumps that scored him points from the judges no matter what.
Which was the reason why Caesar knew he needed to end his little routine with a jump.
He drew his left blade back to swing his right into a better position and adjusted his arms from his sides to extend out, creating a cross from his body. Once his balance was stable, Caesar swung his arms back to center with one foot drawing back to dig it’s pick in. He bent forward, legs both creating 90 degree angles before they straighten out upon impact to push up. His left leg straightens as the right curls around it, following the motions of his arms as they pull in tight to his chest.
One.
Two.
Impact after two rotations and then a mere breath of a break before Caesar is launching into another lutz.
It’s a smooth touchdown this time. The guiding leg extends and his base plants itself against the ice once more until the guide draws the move to a winding close and Caesar stands breathless.
Jojo let out a small clap at the performance, but refused to congratulate the blond. He had a hard enough time admitting in his own mind that the other boy had talent.
But it wasn’t his kind of talent. Caesar was a trained show horse, while Joseph on the other hand liked to liken himself to a stallion – untamed and free to move. He made his way onto the ice to prove this.
“Not bad Caesarino,” Joseph called as they passed each other to switch positions. “You almost had me entertained.”
“Don’t kid yourself, you’re such a simpleton bubbles could keep you entertained,” Caesar sneered back. Joseph couldn’t hold in his laugh at the blond’s reply, but still refrained from commenting further.
He slid to the center as his competition had done, but once there he posed dramatically, lifting one leg up in what seemed to Caesar something like the tree pose in yoga practices. Without warning Joseph struck down with that leg and flew forward. He bent his knees in and leaned back slightly so that his shirt rode up. Arms swung back to point at the ice and create another burst of motion. Joseph took the time to pause then and send Caesar a wink.
In another harsh movement Jojo spun into a 3 turn, dragging his body along the ice. With each change in movement his blades cut sharper. The music created from his skates was loud and jarring, but remained energetic and enticing all the same. There was no predicting the next movement, whether it would be soft and swooping or grating and loud.
Yet somehow it made sense. Joseph was undoubtedly enjoyable to watch, and he made sure of that.
He swung his body around the ice using wide arm movements and small digs to swing his hips around before leaping. The energy of each landing was not wasted, instead Joseph used it to enter another spin, this time connected to the ice. Coming out of these tricks were then more dramatic, accentuated with full stops to create a pose, hips cocked and legs spread with his arms towering over his head. This was immediately contrasted by a slow roll of the hips and hands dragged down into his hair and down his neck and then – then he’s off again, picking up each skate like he’s tap dancing across the rink.
Joseph always smiled when he skated, it was something Grandma Erina had told him when he was younger and had only just touched the ice a few times. No matter the move, no matter how many times he had fallen before, Joseph was smiling while he skated. Yet, when he skated for Caesar he felt as if that smile had changed somehow. There wasn’t a single name he could assign to the feeling, but skating was starting to feel even more fun with those blue eyes watching him.
His smalls tapping changes into a brief leap, only a quarter turn. As he lands he drops down into a lunge, one leg bent nearly parallel to the ice while the other is a perpendicular guide. His back leg slid up to bring his body up as well, tensing with the strain to move his body forward without the actual push against the ice.
Everything about Joseph’s routine was much rawer; the panting heard in between the slice of his edge, the exaggerated hand gestures, the dramatic changes between tricks. Yet he maintained a certain fluidity that made it work. He was relaxed in each movement, as if there were no restrictions to what his body could do so naturally each movement led to the next without hesitation. He employed a system of cause and effect in his routines. If he performed a spin, naturally he would switch out quickly. If he performed a sort of jump, naturally he would slide out of it onto his edge. Each movement was not premeditated, just simply a reaction to what would best work to allow Joseph to continue skating without much interruption or disturbance.
He pulled forward out of his lunge to mimic Caesar’s crossover at the edge of the boards, but decided to add his own flare to it. He swung around the length of the rink, picking up speed until he was close to the blond and then slowed all movements. Joseph stopped in front of him, back turned towards him, spraying ice up. He heard a scoff from behind, but it was silenced as soon as Joseph began moving again.
He brought his skates in together then thrust them apart, creating a design like waves on the ice beneath him. Joseph quickly switched this movement onto only his right foot and used his left to wrap around, a movement resembling that used to create spin in the air, to guide his right foot in the same wave motion as before yet relying on the swing of his hips more as the momentum from the leg wrap dissolved.
With a swift blow to the ice the routine ended in another pose: one hand hiding half of his face almost demurely while his legs stationed themselves as a solid base. His chest heaved with the effort, but as expected Joseph’s smirk did not fade.
“I won.”
Caesar stood up and Jojo’s smile dropped into a frown.
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“That routine. There was little to no technical skill actually displayed within it, just some dancing on ice.”
“Dancing on ice? Then what do you call your routine, parkour on ice?”
“Those are essential elements to any routine that take years of training to perform as well as I just did!” Caesar slid out onto the ice as he spoke, pulling up sharp in front of the other boy as if to prove his point. Joseph was not about to bow down though, pushing forward until their chests bumped.
“Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me.”
“That’s because you have no idea what you are talking about!” The blond reached between their bodies to grab on to Joseph’s tight black shirt and shake him.
“Ne,” Joseph leaned closer, using his slight height advantage to intimidate the blond, “getting a little too hot and bothered, aren’t we?”
At their close proximity Joseph didn’t have time to dodge the fist before it connected with his cheek. The squeak that came out of his mouth was by no means voluntary, and neither was the grappling of his hands on Caesar’s body as his own was thrown off balance from the punch.
The two crashed down in a tangle of limbs, slamming knees into ice and heads into each other. It was a moment before Joseph could even open his eyes without feeling the world spin around him. When he finally centered himself he took into account his position.
Caesar had landed on top of the larger boy, hands still grasping at the black fabric and legs straddling Joseph’s lap, a knee on either side of his hip.
“Why the hell did you do that!” Joseph yelled, but Caesar did not move, just tightened his grip more.
“I won’t take you disrespecting me anymore, Jojo,” he hissed in reply.
Joseph opened his mouth to continue his fight but another voice interrupted him.
“Enough.” Lisa Lisa slid forward to look down at the twisted mess of boys below her. “Caesar, back away and collect yourself. You aren’t done for the day. And you, Joseph, you need work but you have potential.”
Joseph sneered in Caesar’s direction as the blond pulled off of him to stand up. Lisa Lisa spun away to learn against the boards before continuing.
“Now, get off the ice, we have a practice to continue.”
He huffed and stood up, wobbling only slightly. He made a show of brushing off imaginary dust from his shoulders and thighs as he skated back to the bench. There was no point in arguing with the two now, not when Joseph firmly believed he had showed the blond up.
“Oh and Jojo-“ He spun back around at the sound of his name. Lisa Lisa looked away, out towards center ice. “Tuesdays and Thursdays at four. Saturdays and Sundays at 2. Tardiness is not accepted.”
Joseph bowed quickly in her direction before running into the locker room to change.