Chapter Text
Three years later.
Three entire years and it felt like only yesterday had he ended his career with a bang (or a snap if you want to be accurate). Now, instead of him being the number one figure skater in Teyvat it was Tartaglia, Ajax, his boyfriend. The love of his life was finishing what he had started, his legacy if you may.
Since the inevitable departure from Fontaine he was forced back to inazuma, to all those plague like memories. Although they had discussed it beforehand, his doctor was very unsupportive of his decision to move so far away, especially after finding out the news about his ankle so he was required to stay for the time being. At first it had been ok, despite his verbal hatred of going long distance, Ajax seemed ok with it.
Yet no matter how many sleepless nights he spent texting or calling him it just didn’t feel right. At first he considered breaking up, it wasn’t like he was even worthy of love in the first place. He had drafted out the call over twenty times in the notes app of his phone and yet nothing really spoke out to him. He wanted to make sure Ajax knew it wasn’t their relationship that caused the split yet he didn’t want to disappoint him, make him cry any more than he already had, his therapist, Doctor Kusanali had described this behaviour as trauma influenced fawning. Or in simpler terms he was a people pleaser.
A week and a bottle of wine later he had purchased tickets to Snezhnaya and sold his apartment. An impulsive decision but one that would avoid the tears.
However it very much did the opposite, as he knocked the door he was greeted by a squeal and tackled into the January snow by the taller man. It would’ve been a nice gesture had he not been using walking aids and temporary medication that numbed the pain but caused him to be slower and groggy. Ajax shed a lot of tears that day from happiness whereas Kuni, although in private cried from the pain from his injury.
His injury, at first he had been told it was most likely a minor break but with the shock and past trauma it caused a lot more damage than it should have in the moment yet he severely disagreed. After multiple scans and weeks stuck inside with a caregiver he received the news it was a Trimalleolar Fracture. Although it sounded pretty minor it most definitely was not. It required surgery and extensive physical therapy. Even after such an expensive procedure the chances he could skate again were little to none, if anything he should be grateful it wasn’t anything more like paralysis which he had narrowed it down to at first.
At first the news had been mildly depressing, his hobby was snatched away from him by his recklessness. Yet over the weeks he spent waiting for a confirmation he was on the waiting list for the surgery his condition got worse, his meds were upped and it was then that he started to take sessions with Doctor Kusanali, or as she preferred to be called Nahida. She was the best of the best yet she didn’t let it get to her head, she was incredibly kind even offering him a spot in her “sanctum” which sounded like a fancy psych ward. He declined almost instantly, he would rather not go through the hassle just to feel something he could easily replicate with a pill. She had been the one to help finalise his plans to move to Snezhnaya.
The first months of his stay in the constantly cold country had been filled with surgery planning, apartment browsing and home cooked meals.
His surgery had been successful, he had stayed overnight in hospital for a few days, the reason was one the nurse would not explain but the look on Ajax’s face as he got to visit him again was worth it.
Physical therapy however was not something he enjoyed. Throughout the three years he skipped so many sessions that his PT had given up, encouraging him to instead use aids. He hated how the man babied him, as if he wasn’t a gold medalist skater. It wasn’t until Ajax revealed he had been his coach from the age of five that he realised why. The man had held such a parental role for Ajax for so long only to be abandoned because of Scara taking his spot that he longed for someone to express his paternal attitude on. He felt guilty for awhile, another reason he dodged the sessions like bullets, all the man wanted was someone to be proud of yet all he got was cussing and a variety of conversations that ended along the lines of “I am not a fucking child so stop acting like I am.”
He really was working on his temper.
The next two years passed by like a blur, constant falls, a new apartment, family gatherings, joining the fatui academy as a teacher (something he never though he would do), romantic dates with Ajax, Gold medals and then the Teucer situation.
There always was a lot with that child. Unlike Anthon or Tonia who kept to themselves he was certainly more boisterous. He went around proclaiming his desires and Ajax would do everything to make them happen. It was weird for him to see siblings react in such a way.
He knew Ajax didn’t have a good realation ship with
all his siblings, at first they laughed at him; wanting to peruse such a unique career with such a low success rate made him an idiot to them. It wasn’t until his gold medal that they realised their faults and came apologising like dogs.
But back to Teucer, Because of his injury Scara was often made to babysit when Ajax went swimming or skating at ungodly hours. This resulted in him getting a weird bond with Teucer and anthon, Tonia not so much because she had no interest in skating. The three would sit and watch previous performances, usually their brothers but he always made sure to skip his final performance, he didn’t want the children to ridicule him in the way children do, naive and with no malicious intent but still enough to hurt. Unsurprisingly the two ended up begging to go skating and unable to deny their childlike wonder they snuck into the rink the next morning. Technically it wasn’t sneaking considering the fact he worked their and had privileges to use the rink at any time but if Ajax caught him with even considering getting back on the ice he would be dead.
Surprisingly there were no injuries, a few falls from Anthon but no tears whatsoever. Mission success is what he thought to himself. Until the two children’s faces dropped and they pointed behind Kuni. Of course, guess who had arrived.
None other than Ajax himself.
Forcing a fake smile and gliding a bit wonkily over to him he leant over the barrier for a kiss, one he was denied off.
“Kunikuzushi what the fuck do you think you’re doing.”
“Teaching your siblings how to ice skate.”
“Oh you know what I mean.”
“You’d usually be laughing at my stupidity right now, why so tense?”
“Because you could hurt yourself and I care about you? This isn’t a joke babe, I mean it. You’re being too reckless.”
“Whatever, it’s not like I care anyway.”
“HEY!, eyes on me Kuni.”
He didn’t usually lose his temper like that
had he fucked up that badly?
The man looked at the children for a second and considered his next words.
“We will finish this conversation later, until then go sit on the bench and I’ll get these two ready.”
Great, now he was banned from even stepping foot on the ice ever again, how stupid, he’s literally Ajax’s coach after all.
The car journey back was silent, out of character. The tranquillity however was broken by Teucers declaration.
“I’ve decided I want to be a skater!”
“Oh that’s great buddy, me and Kuniku can teach you.”
“Oh I’m not finished, I want to be a hockey skater.”
Ajax stepped on the brake so abruptly everyone went flying.
“You what?”
“I want to be a hockey skater, it’s so much cooler than boring figure skating.”
Turning to look at each other both Ajax and Kuni wore the exact same expression.
They had fucked up.