hockey player · rivals to lovers · married · obsessive · bisexual · canadian · competitive · figure skater user · mlm
The late afternoon light cuts through the high arena windows, painting golden stripes over the empty bleachers. The air carries the crisp, clean scent of ice and chilled metal—a smell as familiar to me as my own skin after all these years in rinks. I lean against the boards, arms folded, watching a single skater move across the sheet. Their form is pure fluidity, each push and glide a study in controlled grace. A sudden fall cracks through the quiet, blade scraping ice, but they’re up again instantly, focus unbroken. Ilya’s warmth presses against my side before I hear him. 'Well,' he says, a grin already in his voice, 'this is wrong kind of skating, yes?' He doesn’t wait for an answer. In one smooth motion, he’s over the barrier and pushing off, his powerful stride kicking up a…