Chapter Text
Terushima Yuji stepped into the Sendai ice station feeling like a god. He kind of was. He was arguably the best player on the second best hockey team in the Japanese league. He lived in a nice apartment with a beautiful view and spent his free time doing whatever and whomever he pleased.
He placed the butt of his cigarette in the tray by the front door and thanked himself for wearing sunglasses that day. It wasn’t too cloudy outside in early August, but the fluorescent lights of the station made his head pound harder than it had been. He knew he was late - he’d purposefully snoozed his alarm one too many times - but he didn’t need to rush. He earned the right to take the mornings slow, especially on Mondays. The barista already had his coffee order ready, so he sauntered into the locker room to get his gear on.
There was one issue. His skates were gone. His jerseys were gone. His sticks were gone. His locker had been emptied.
It could have been a risky prank by one of his teammates, but the fight that would inevitably ensue wasn’t usually worth it to his teammates. Historically, it was Matsukawa or Bokuto playing pranks on Iwaizumi. He gave them the reaction they wanted without any sort of repercussions. Matsukawa attempted to prank Yuji once and landed himself a black eye. Since then, nobody tried to cross him.
Yuji slipped back into the hall and into his head coach’s office. Coach Ukai had been waiting for him.
“Why is my locker empty?”
“Terushima, please sit.” Coach gestured to one of the chairs facing his desk. He was calm and relaxed, and that pissed Yuji off even more.
He didn’t sit, but he gripped the back of the chair with both fists. “Do you think you’re kicking me out? You know you can’t afford to lose me. What would you do without me?”
Ukai repeated himself. “Terushima, please sit down.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous!” he yelled, pushing the chair forward as he threw his hands.
Ukai matched his volume and intensity as he stood up at his desk. “What’s ridiculous is the way you’ve been acting for the better part of this year - the way I’ve been letting you act. I don’t know what’s going on with you and, quite frankly, I probably don’t want to know. I’m not your father. But dammit, I’m your coach and you’re my player.” He took a deep breath and lowered his volume just a bit. His eyes flickered down to papers on his desk before he raised his head. “Terushima, you’re right. I probably can’t afford to lose you. But when you’re on that ice, it’s like your mind is somewhere else. You don’t have the same passion you had when I first recruited you.”
Yuji straightened his posture and crossed his arms. “My performance has been consistent.”
“Your performance has been lackluster.” He picked a sheet off his desk and held it up. “Showing up to practices late, drinking before matches, getting too rough on the ice-”
“It’s hockey !”
“You didn’t need to break someone’s jaw during a fist fight.”
Yuji clenched his teeth and exhaled. “It was an-”
“An accident, I know.” He dropped the paper and sat back into his chair. “The league is watching you very closely and neither of us can afford another slip up.”
“So, what? You’re suspending me?”
“I’m reassigning you.”
Yuji scoffed. “To what? Water boy?”
“I want you to go spend some time with people who really love to be on the ice. I want you to remember what it’s like to love a sport. I want you surrounded by passionate people.”
For once in his life, Yuji was caught off guard. “You don’t mean-”
“Coach Tanaka is expecting you this afternoon for an introduction.”
“And if I don’t?”
“The league will have you terminated.”
Yuji grinned, nodding his head. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“This was the deal I was able to get for us. It would be wise to take it.”
“What time are they expecting me?”
“Eleven.”
With resigned silence, Yuji turned to leave his Coach’s office. “Hold on,” Ukai called after him. “I recommend changing your shirt and chewing some gum. Saeko hates the smell of cigarettes.”
Back in the lobby of the station, he found himself all turned around. He only knew two areas: the hockey practice rink and the coffee stand. Why would he have learned anything else?
Yuji was surprised by the amount of foot traffic for a Monday morning. As he stood against a far wall, he could see a small group finishing up some kind of snack before making their way down a hallway. One guy - a very tall, blond guy - was wearing a sweatshirt that said Sendai Figure Skating Club . At least he knew he could follow them and end up around the right place.
He set off at a quickened pace and confidently pushed the door open without giving anyone a second glance. As he moved through the doorway, something caught on the strap of his backpack and pulled him back. Well, not something. Someone .
“Are you lost?” The scent of sarcasm was thick in her words. The voice was one that was all too familiar.
Yuji’s body snapped back around and he came face to face with Hana Misaki. He rolled his eyes as far into his head as possible. He’d known Hana since they were kids. They’d been in every class together. They were more akin to rivals rather than friends. She was one of the few people who’d take his snarky attitude and throw it right back at him. Yuji didn’t have many friends, but Hana had been the closest thing to it for a while.
“Adorable,” Hana quipped back. “Now, please see yourself back into the world of the jocks.”
“I’m shocked you have time for a break. Isn’t being a perfectionist a full time job?”
“That’s actually just a lifestyle. My full time job is keeping you in line.”
“You’ve been slacking then, but I’m sure there will be plenty of time for you to make up for it in the weeks to come. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have a meeting to attend.” He pushed past her without another word. He wasn’t in the mood to exchange banter with anyone else today. Coach Ukai had certainly ruined the good mood of the morning.
He made his way down the hall and, with pure, dumb luck, stumbled upon Coach Tanaka’s office door. Though it was only 10:30, he figured he’d see if she was ready for him. Otherwise he’d wait around. It’s not like he had any other plans.
Yuji knocked on the door before cracking it open. “Come in!” A cheerful voice called to him. He emerged through the door to find a stocky woman with short, blond hair. “Ah, Terushima. It’s nice to meet you.”
She stood and extended a hand which he hesitantly shook. “Likewise, though I’m not sure how true that is. I presume Ukai told you about me.”
Her laugh was high pitched and loud. “He didn’t have to, but he did.”
“And?” Yuji asked, both eyebrows raised.
Coach Tanaka’s smile was suspicious. “Welcome to the Sendai Figure Skating Club,” she answered, which did not help with his unease. She moved from around her desk and approached the door. “Follow me. I’ll show you the men’s locker room.”
They left the office and turned right down another hallway. “Did Ukai give you the rundown?” She looked back long enough to see Yuji shake his head and then continued. “Well, you’re going to find this side of the ocean a bit different than you’re used to. Everyone is expected to show up ready and on time at 5:30am Monday through Saturday, including support staff. We warm up in the lobby prior to taking to the ice at 6.” She made a sudden stop before a heavy metal door, turning back to him to add, “And yes, I expect you to be here and participating even if you’re not skating.”
The locker room was completely different from what Yuji was used to. There weren’t pieces of clothing strewn about the benches or in piles on the floor. From first glance, there were no clear fist dents into the locker doors. There was a distinct lack of crude drawings in permanent marker on the walls. And the whole room smelled…nice.
He came to his senses when he realized what she had said. “I don’t have to skate?”
“I think it might be safer for you to stick to the sidelines for now. Plus, I don’t want hockey skates ruining my ice.” She knocked on the door to the locker on the furthest wall. “Here’s the stuff Ukai had moved over, not that you’ll be needing it here. If you find yourself needing something, let me or Kiyoko know.”
“Kiyoko?”
“She’s one of my assistant managers and your designated point person. You’ll be shadowing her and her team. Any questions?”
Loads , he thought to himself, but none seemed worth asking at the moment. “I don’t think so.”
“Perfect. I have a meeting coming up, so you’re free to go. Enjoy your last day of freedom. Boot camp starts tomorrow at 5:30am.” She smacks his back with an open palm as she heads out the door and back down the hallway. Oh-” she said before closing the door. “If I catch you smelling like cigarettes again, I’ll make you run 10 laps around the station.”
Yuji sat down on the bench in front of his locker and hung his head into his hands. This was going to be a long few months.
Good choices were not made leading up to when Yuji’s alarm went off the next morning, but that seemed to be in character for him. He hadn’t been to the store for at least a week, so dinner consisted of various foods scraped together to make something loosely related to ramen. And when he finished eating dinner, he was powerless against the temptation of playing video games with some old school friends. By the time he crawled into bed, it was just past midnight. The looming threat of his morning alarm was creeping uncomfortably closer.
The first alarm went off at 4:30 and there was no way in hell he was getting up at that one.
The second alarm went off at 4:50 and there was still no way in hell he was getting up.
The third alarm went off at 5:00 and nope . Snoozed.
It went off again at 5:10 and nope . Snoozed.
It went off again at 5:20 and No- oh, I’m going to be so late .
In that half-asleep but half-awake trance that is the experience of waking up way too late, Yuji threw on the first pieces of clothing he could find on the floor of his dark room. His socks probably didn’t match. His shirt could have been on backwards. He certainly didn’t have time to do his hair… A beanie would have to do.
When he finally slinked through the front door, he was only a mere 23 minutes late. The lights were on low and the room smelled like a mixture of morning coffee and lidocaine, a combination Yuji never would have imagined. There were a dozen or so people scattered around the room, some in various stages of stretching or meditating and others talking in small groups. Luckily, Coach Tanaka was nowhere to be seen.
“What are you doing here?” It had been a long time since he’d heard that grating voice so early in the morning.
Yuji closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face Hana, her arms crossed and brows furrowed. “What ever happened to ‘good morning, Yuji?’”
He watched as a smile cracked on her lips, but she bit it back. “Good morning, Yuji,” she said sarcastically. “Now, what are you doing here?”
“I’m asking myself the same damn thing,”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“I am painstakingly aware of what time it is, thank you.”
“Just checking,” she said as she shrugged. She continued to look him up and down suspiciously before her eyes landed on his head. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a hat before.”
He frowned at her. “It’s cold.”
“Right.” Hana rolled her eyes dramatically as she responded. “As if you haven’t been coming to the ice rink for over a decade, almost two.”
Her hand reached out toward the beanie, but he smacked it away with a grumble. “I don’t even have energy to argue. I’m tired and I woke up late. I don’t know how you ungodly creatures walk the earth at this hour.”
“Poor little Terushima Yuji. I’m guessing you didn’t sleep until midnight like you normally do and then you woke up when you were supposed to be leaving and had to skip breakfast. Does that sound about right?”
“You should quit figure skating and become a fortune teller.”
“If only everyone was as easy to read as you were.”
The sound of a door opening caught Yuji’s attention. Coach Tanaka entered the lobby, followed by a taller brunette man. She immediately locked eyes with Yuji and the look of displeasure was clear on her face. He was going to be hearing about his attendance later, he was certain.
She dismissed the brunette and walked toward the middle of the lobby. “Good morning team,” she said loud enough to grab attention. The room quieted immediately, pausing all discussion and warm ups. All attention quickly focused on the Coach. The respect was astounding. It usually took his team four or five callouts before they were able to focus and listen to Coach Ukai.
“I don’t want to take up too much of your morning,” she continued. “But, now that he’s so kindly graced us with his presence, I figured I’d introduce you to our new guest.” She pointed right toward Yuji and all eyes shifted on him, making him queasy. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t eaten this morning. “This is Terushima. He’s going to be hanging around us for the next few months. Get used to him watching.”
The brunette man that had entered the room with Coach Tanaka raised his hand and started to ask, “What if he’s-”
She cut him off without a glance. “He’s not a spy , Toru. But if he was, he’d be spying for me. Don’t let his presence stop you from showing off. In fact, I encourage it. Alright? Alright. Finish up your warm up.” She clapped her hands and the low hum of chit chat started up again throughout the room.
Hana leaned over and whispered, “You got in trouble.”
“I did not!”
“Yuji, I’ve seen the tabloids. Did the league suspend you?”
He crossed his arms and looked away. “Not technically,” he murmured.
Hana sighed. “Look, I might be immune to your idiodic tendencies, but not everyone is. The club can’t afford for you to corrupt any of the skaters.”
The concerned look on her face made Yuji bite back a smirk. “Relax, Hana. I won’t turn any of your goody-two shoes skaters into rebellious ruffians. I’m sure their skates are tied a little too tight for any naughty behavior.” He elbowed her as he chuckled.
She nudged him back with a shoulder as her shoulders relaxed just a bit, but her face stayed serious. “I mean it, Yuji. They work hard for this. They love this sport. Some of them could win international titles this year. Please don’t be the reason they don’t.”
“Cross my heart,” he said, actually crossing his heart with his right hand. She squinted her eyes at him one last time, so he added: “Would it make you feel better if I pinky promise?”
Hana cracked a smile. “A bit.”
“You know,” he said as he glanced around the room. “I don’t think I realized how many figure skaters there were here.”
That got a laugh from her. “Not surprising. For a group that loves to show off, they tend to keep to themselves.”
“Who’s who?” he asked and Hana furrowed her brows at his sudden curiosity. “Would you rather I get to know them personally ?”
She bit her tongue and then mumbled, “Fine.” She pointed toward the tall brunette that seemed to follow Coach Tanaka. “First name to know is Oikawa Toru. He’s Coach Tanaka’s only student and he’s practically guaranteed a spot for the next Olympics. I recommend staying away from him. His ego is ten times the size of yours and he loves talking about himself.”
“There’s Akaashi,” she continued as she gestured toward a medium-build man reading a book against the wall. “He’s one of the assistant coaches and he manages the solo skaters, Hanamaki and Kenma. Over there.” The blond was clearly playing some game on his cell phone while the pink-haired man was mouthing the lyrics to an unrecognizable song. “Kenma doesn’t socialize much, but Hanamaki keeps things interesting. He’s very fun at karaoke.”
“Michimiya manages our younger skaters, Yamaguchi and Kuribayashi.” Michimiya appeared to be a tall woman with short, brown hair and a beaming smile. The pair with her were smaller than the others, not just in height but in build as well. Their smiles mirrored Michimiya’s. “They’re both still in university right now, so their schedules are a bit different than most of ours. They’re also both very sweet and very impressionable. Don’t scare them.”
Yuji raised his palms in silent promise. Luckily, Hana spared him the repeated lecture and moved on.
“That’s my coach, Haiba Alisa. And- Oh, where did he go?” Blonde, tall, gorgeous, stunning… Probably off limits , Yuji tallied in his mind as his gaze lingered on the beautiful woman. Coach Haiba was certainly his type, and yet he could already feel the burning smite Hana would inflict on him if he ever pursued her.
“By the coffee, of course.” Hana’s voice snapped him back to reality. He followed her gaze to find a giant. Even sitting down, Yuji could tell this guy was a beast. His shoulders were broad and his torso was probably as tall as Coach Tanaka. “That’s Tsukishima Kei, my partner. He’s mostly all bark and no bite, but don’t catch him before he gets his caffeine. He also likes strawberry cake if you ever need to get on his good side.”
“And that brings us to Kiyoko’s team. Kyotani’s a real firecracker. He storms out of here about once a week, but he always comes back. He’s probably out running laps right now. That blonde girl is Yachi. She’s the newest skater to the club, but she did five seasons in America before moving to Sendai. She placed fourth in solos and fifth in pairs at the Canadian International last year. I feel bad she got paired up with Kyotani. He’s an incredible skater, but he seems like he would be extremely frustrating to work with.”
“Wait,” Yuji’s brain took a moment to comprehend her words. “They’re a new pair?”
“Yeah. Crazy right? Her American partner suddenly retired in the middle of last season and she moved back to Japan around the same time. Everyone thought she’d give up skating, but she showed up here asking for a partner. Kiyoko says she balances Kyotani out well, but I don’t know how true that is.”
Yuji had a thousand more questions to ask about them. He probably could have kept Hana talking for another hour or two just about the sweet blonde girl and her mysterious and explosive partner, but he bit his tongue and swallowed them all. Hana didn’t know him well , but she knew him better than most. She’d ask why he cared, certainly in a teasing manner, and he’d have to come up with some witty response to hide his true intentions. But the truth was, he wasn’t really sure why so many questions came to his mind. He couldn’t think of a reason.
The first week of “shadowing” the figure skaters was rough. He put in some effort to fix his sleep schedule with minimal results, but did manage to make it on time to warm-ups the last three days. He even managed to do his hair a few times, all in vain however since he found that he needed a hat to keep his ears warm. Yuji had forgotten how cold ice rinks were when you weren’t actually doing any skating.
Every morning after warm-ups, Coach Kiyoko would get him a pair of rental skates and he’d be on the ice for all of five seconds before they sat him down in the penalty box. Ironic , he thought at first considering his name was practically synonymous with being in the penalty box. Once the figure skaters took to the ice, Yuji would sit and watch them for almost six hours straight. They’d break for lunch, and then he’d do it again.
Yuji had historically never been good at one thing - well, many things but one thing in particular: keeping still. He had fidgety hands and bouncy knees. He was used to pacing up and down the rink. If forced to keep still, he’d end up picking at the skin around his thumbs which was a habit he tried every few months to break (unsuccessfully). Watching other people doing the same jumps over and over and over and over and over again was like a new form of torture. He couldn’t even use his phone to distract himself. When he did try, Coach Tanaka plucked it right from his hands.
By the third week, Yuji wasn’t completely miserable anymore. He’d wake up early enough to get a snack and some caffeine into him, with enough time to spare that he was precisely on time. Coach Tanaka gave him a stress ball to keep his hands busy while he watched the skaters, which surprisingly helped keep his focus. He even managed to find some things interesting .
He noticed that Hana always skated with her chin tilted up because she was so used to skating with Tsukishima. The blond however rarely looked down toward her when they skated unless they were doing a lift. Yamaguchi and Kuribayashi both hesitated on their jumps more often than not. They also were both shy about where they were putting their hands during lifts, which Yuji found especially entertaining. And Hana was fairly accurate about Kyotani. He definitely had a short fuse and got frustrated easily, but he held himself together when with his partner. Mostly.
He had the least amount of observations about Yachi, despite watching her the most. She only skated with headphones in. She always had her hair pulled back. And she never said more than twenty words a day.
After six weeks of watching, Yuji started getting antsy again. This time, however, he was getting antsy to skate again. The few seconds on the ice that he was granted wasn’t enough for him anymore. He wanted to do laps again. He wanted to take off as fast as he could and break way too close to the wall. He especially missed the feeling of tearing up fresh ice.
With the help of one of the rink managers, he grabbed his rental skates and took to the ice by himself at 5:00am one morning. It wasn’t fresh ice, but it didn’t matter. He spent a half hour simply going around the rink, and then he would be off and in the lobby before anyone could catch him.
He kept it up every morning for a week, somehow managing to arrive as early as 4:30 one morning. The rink manager eventually gave him a key and showed him how to turn the lights on, just so he didn’t have to be there to help Yuji any earlier than he had to.
Yuji’s morning laps turned into morning sprints. One morning, he decided to see if he could teach himself any of the tricks that he’d been watching people drill. Some were definitely easier than others, but it was fun to give himself a challenge. The basic footwork came naturally to him, but some of the jumps took a bit of practice. He was definitely thankful that no one was there to watch him fall on his ass twenty times in a row.
“You almost had it,” said a voice from somewhere behind glass. If he wasn’t already on the ground, he would have jumped twenty feet into the hair. Yuji turned to find the owner of the voice and was even more surprised (if that was possible) to find Yachi standing by the entrance to the rink. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her lips were curled down. “I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”
Yuji scrambled to his feet and brushed any ice off of himself. He tried his best to ignore that his left hip was starting to ache after all the falls he’d taken that morning. “No, I wasn’t scared,” he scoffed, skating toward her. “I just didn’t know anyone was watching.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated as she avoided eye contact. “I just saw the light on and thought it was Takeda. I didn’t know anyone else was here this early.”
Yuji glanced at the giant clock on the wall and saw it was already 5:15am. He bit his lower lip at her comment. She didn’t need to know that he’d already been here for almost 45 minutes, like he was some wanna-be figure skater getting the extra practice. “Did you need the ice?”
“No, no,” she said as she shook her head. “Thank you though.” He nodded and went to turn away before she added, “I really do think you almost had it. You should try again.”
Yuji tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “I haven’t landed it once.”
She crossed her arms at him. “And you won’t if you stop now. Try keeping your chin up.”
“My chin?”
“You keep looking at your feet and it’s throwing you off balance.”
“I’m trying to remember the order of all the steps,” he argued, feeling his voice raise a notch.
“You’re overthinking it,” she countered. He was impressed that her voice stayed calm. Hana usually escalated the volume of their arguments with him.
“Oh, like you could probably do it with your eyes closed,” Yuji taunted.
Her own head tilted and he saw a glimmer in her eye and she contemplated his words. Her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth just a bit as she thought. Her gaze danced across the ice and then looked back at him, her posture straightening. “I probably could.”
Yuji’s laugh escaped as a snort. His hand quickly covered his face in embarrassment. He camouflaged the movement by rubbing his chin as if he was deep in thought. “I’ll try the trick again if you try it with your eyes closed,” he finally said.
“Fine.” She agreed uncomfortably fast for Yuji’s liking.
“Fine,” he mimicked before getting in the position to set up the jump. He pushed off on his right foot, picked up a little speed, but bailed right before the jump. He took a deep breath and then spun around to face Yachi. “Can you turn around?” he called out.
“Nervous?” she called back to him. There was a hint of a smile on her face.
Yes, he thought, but he’d never admit it to anyone. “I’m just not used to people watching me.”
“I was under the impression that people watched hockey games,” she responded. “Though that could just have been a rumor.”
He bit his tongue and nodded. If he hadn't held back a smile, it would have been bigger than the rink, maybe even the station. She might be quiet on the ice, but she seemed to have a lot to say off of it. “I meant that I’m not used to people watching me fall on my ass .” That was true, at least.
“If you keep your chin up, you won’t fall!”
“And that sounds like bullshit!”
Yuji ignored how her cheeks turned even pinker as she giggled. “Fine,” she sighed. “I’ll turn around.”
He watched her fully turn around, taking a seat to get her skates on. He set up his jump again, pushed off to get enough speed. He focused his eyes straight ahead, stuck his toe pick into the ice and jumped. Spun once, twice. And landed. He was so shocked at himself that he almost flubbed the landing. A shriek came from Yachi’s direction.
“You promised you’d turn around!” he huffed as he stopped right in front of her. She made no effort to hide her beaming smile as he approached.
“I did. I did not agree to stay turned around.”
He wanted to get upset, but he also was pleasantly surprised by her. It helped that was still coming down from the high of landing a lutz - a double lutz - for the first time. “Next time I’ll be more careful with my wording.”
“And maybe next time, you’ll take my advice without arguing as much.”
Not likely , but good try. “Your turn. A deal’s a deal.”
She took her blade guards off and glided on to the ice flawlessly. She did a few warm up circles before prepping her stance. She turned her head to face Yuji and then closed her eyes very dramatically. She pushed off, gained speed, and swung her right foot to take off. One and a half rotations later, she landed and stalled. Eyes still closed.
She opened her eyes and turned toward him. “Well?”
“That wasn’t a lutz.”
“But if I can do that with my eyes closed, I can probably do a lutz.” She smiled once more at him before skating off the ice. “I’ll see you around,” she waved as she walked out of view.
It was the second time he had so many questions to ask about her and no real reason for wanting the answers.
The rest of the week came and went and Yuji improved steadily. He’d perfected a single lutz and more or less was able to do a double, though his landing remained shaky. By Sunday, he was completely sore and spent all day on the heating pad while playing video games. He convinced himself to complete a work out set before dinner, but his muscles complained the whole time. And, thanks to the shitty skates he had been using, his feet were the worst complainers of all.
On Monday morning, the last thing that Yuji expected was to find a brand new pair of figure skates in his locker with a card that simply said “You’re Welcome.” He slipped them on immediately, just to see how they fit. They were a tight but new skates always were. Once he broke them in, he was sure they’d feel like a dream.
Yuji wasn’t planning on taking to the ice that morning, but how could he not with brand new skates? It would be a crime.
About ten minutes in, he came to the end of his fiftieth lap and noticed a familiar figure watching him through the glass.
“I like your skates,” she said as he came to a stop in front of her.
He looked down at his feet and then back at Yachi. “Was… was this you?” His words came out as a laugh because it felt like such a stupid question to ask. Of course it wasn’t her.
“You needed new ones,” she simply responded and Yuji almost didn’t believe her words.
He crossed his arms and leaned against the glass. “You did not need to buy me brand new skates. I have-”
“Those rental skates were not made to land a double lutz. You’ll skate better with those.”
“I’m technically not even supposed to be on the ice,” Yuji laughed. “And here you are enabling me.”
Yachi shrugged at his accusation. “Nobody ever said you couldn’t skate during off hours.”
“I would have never pegged you for a rule breaker, Yachi.” Saying her name for the first time made his palms sweat and his stomach churn. He ignored that.
“I see no rules being broken.”
“Of course not.”
She giggled and, for the first time, it felt like time stopped - even if it was just for a second. “Go do your laps, Terushima. I’ll see you later.”
He did not notice the way the hair on his arms stood up when she said his name. He completely missed the tightness in his chest and throat. He felt nothing at all, of course.
So he had no idea why he asked, “You’re not going to join me?” His confident tone surprised himself.
The way she paused made Yuji think that he wasn’t the only one caught off guard. “You don’t like people watching you skate, remember?”
His mouth moved faster than his brain could think - both a blessing and a curse. “It’s a good thing you’re known to skate with your eyes closed then, isn’t it?”
“I suppose you’re right,” she concluded.
When she sat down to get her skates on, he had to force himself to look away. The next few weeks were going to be very long if he couldn’t snap out of whatever feeling he was having.
Not that he was feeling any sort of way…
Okay, so he was feeling something . But it didn’t mean anything.
It didn’t mean anything.