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Since winter is just now creeping in, the domestic competitive season is particularly active in the fall and winter. Ivan's father and his coach have been weighing in for him to compete in as many as possible to build a reputation and showcase his skills to the eyes from the inside now that he's older and entering the professional league.
All things considered, it’s to help him along his path to nationals, that's what his coach said, alongside talking about making some sacrifices and dedication. Strict diets and training regimens are nothing new to Ivan. But the one downside is having to spend more time away from Till to adhere to his tight schedule now. Made even worse by the fact that they don't live together, and they’re both usually kept by practice. (Or Till's occupation in his band and his commissions)
Not being able to see Till normally or visit his practice sessions anymore puts more of a toll on his mood, so much so that even his coach tells him to tighten up when he's not listening or at the top of his game as he should be. His only respite is on rare nights when Till shows up at his apartment and indignantly stays awake with Ivan to make up for lost time by rolling around in the sheets together for hours until dawn, when Ivan has to leave for practice again. Rinse and repeat.
Just before Ivan is ready to slip away, a gruff, tired voice makes itself known. A small, “Ivan..” was enough to make him still.
Ivan turns around as he's pulling his jacket on to see Till already sitting up again, despite looking half asleep already. Till struggles to make the full motion upwards with a hiss from the visible ache in his body as he yawns and mumbles a barely comprehensible “I want to go too…”
Ivan cocks his head slightly, scrutinizing Till’s appearance, “...Like that? And you’ll just end up falling asleep anyway. Just sleep more, it’s cold.” He murmurs, but Till squints at him and his eyebrows furrow like he’s going to argue. Stubborn, terribly cute Till wobbles up and trudges awkwardly towards Ivan with the blankets just barely hanging off his frame, revealing the pretty marks and bruises and bites all over his body as he blindly reaches for Ivan’s jacket and yanks him away from the door.
Till shakes his head vehemently at Ivan's attempts to console him and guide him back to bed, “I’m going…Let’s go together, m’ not gonna sleep.”
With a sigh, Ivan yields, knowing Till won't let it go easily. “Fine..! but let's get you some clothes first…” He knows Till tries not to wait up constantly, but he can’t help but think the distance is getting to him, too. Ivan doesn’t like to miss him in bed at night when he's so close yet so far, or to make him feel lonely either. So he easily concedes and helps Till into warm clothes even when the other predictably falls asleep in his arms after collapsing, only muttering a fond “You’re so stubborn…” In response, Till grips him tighter.
—
A little bit later they made it to the stadium just on time for its opening hours, but by the time they were in the car Till was acting like a grouchy kitty decked out in all his winter gear, he looked too cute for ivan not to tease on the way there and Till cursed him several times for it, but alas was too sleepy to throw a fit this time, thankfully. (Ivan was almost kind of late at this point, but it doesn't really matter.)
Ivan was glad he had the foresight to bring a hot pack beforehand because he knew how it was with Till. For the first two hours of Ivan’s regimen, Till had actually stayed up long enough and rolled his eyes when Ivan searched for his eye across the stadium several times and circled back to peck his cute little red nose. After a while, Ivan noticed him dozing off, but was too focused on the movement he was trying to perfect. And finally, despite his insistence earlier, by the end of practice after the sun had long since been out, Till, Mr. “I won’t fall asleep!” fell asleep.
“Unbelievable.” Ivan hummed as he admired the view of Till curled up in the seat with Ivan’s jacket covering him, making for an adorable scene. So much so that he couldn’t help but feel warm and forgive it, but he still took his phone out to snap pictures of it for later, which Till will definitely break out into a furious blush over and pester him to delete. But now he’ll have to get Till out of this building before he wakes up all grumpy. He's so cold, and his legs must be cramping from sitting like that for too long. He’s always especially prone to getting bad moods in cold weather or nosebleeds at worst.
Till wakes up a bit when Ivan throws his bag over his back, picks him up, and walks them out through the front doors shamelessly. In any other scenario, Till would definitely be griping at Ivan to put him down, but he only leans in now and knocks his nose against Ivan's chin. “Don’t wanna get down now?” Ivan asks just to be cheeky-- he feels more than sees Till roll his eyes for the umpteenth time as he does that little huff that he always does when he’s annoyed at Ivan’s jesting. Instead of getting defensive, he pinches Ivan’s nape from where his arms are clutching his shoulders. “You better keep carrying me.”
“Okay~ princess.” Ivan’s tone drops a little lower to a whisper as he gives Till’s forehead a light peck through his bangs, “Thank you for keeping me company, you didn’t have to.”
In response, Till doesn’t say anything but shows he’s listening and understands what Ivan means by kissing his cheek gently before dozing off again. Ivan is almost dazzled by the image of Till’s faintly flushed face and red nose, and half-lidded teal eyes staring at just him before he knocks out. Ivan decides then that the next time Till has basketball practice, he wants to be there. (Doesn't matter what his father thinks about getting distracted!)