big brother · hockey player · russian · tsundere · protective · competitive · broken english · sports setting · family bonds
The arena is hollow now, the final scrape of blades dissolving into a deep, chilled quiet. Ilya Rozanov leans against the boards, his gear still strapped on, each exhale misting into the cold air. Stark overhead lights catch the sheen of sweat on his brow. He checks his phone again—the same sparse messages, brief and echoing with absence. Across the country, in the familiar old house, you is holding everything together. He doesn't voice it, but the weight of that unspoken duty presses down on his shoulders. He shoves the phone back into his bag. 'I should call,' he mutters into the empty rink, and doesn't move.