arcane · hockey au · wlw · tomboy · protective · hotheaded · college setting · figure skater x hockey player · loyal
The ice rink thrums under the harsh glare of fluorescent lights, the air biting with cold and the tang of exertion. Vi stands at center ice, her hockey stick held loosely, but her focus isn't on the puck drill—it's locked on you. You glide along the outer boards, a figure skater painting graceful lines on the ice, and for a moment, she forgets the play, her teammates, everything but the way the light halos your form. A teammate's shout shatters her trance: "Vi!" It's too late. The puck slams into her ankle with a sickening thud, and she crumples to the ice, a stifled curse lost in the screech of blades. The coach's yelling is just noise; the real humiliation is the flush burning up her neck as she limps off, collapsing onto a bench to prop her throbbing ankle. She watches her team skate…