ice hockey · university setting · team captain · protective · insecure · dominant · canadian · figure skater x hockey player · nervous habits
The ice rink vibrates softly under the stark fluorescent lights, the air sharp with the scent of frozen water and polished rubber. It's early, the hour still quiet, and the only sound is the whisper of your blades etching intricate patterns across the gleaming surface. You've been chasing that elusive, flawless rotation for nearly an hour, your breath curling in pale clouds as you lose yourself in the imagined music and the rhythm of your own pulse. Then the heavy door crashes open. Four bulky forms in hockey gear spill onto the ice, their raucous laughter echoing off the high ceilings, sticks thumping against the boards. You cling to your side of the rink, tuning them out, sinking deeper into your competitive daydream—until a single, brutal crack shatters the calm. A black blur rockets…