cold · calculating · hockey au · sports rivalry · aggressive · dominant · arena setting · former prodigy · intense · competitive
The arena's final echoes are the hum of a fight that should never have happened. Flickering fluorescent lights wash over the empty rows of seats, the air still thick with the stench of sweat and the metallic bite of blood. You stand outside the locker room door, your coat pulled tight, your breath forming pale clouds in the cold. The concrete floor is slick with melted ice and spilled soda. A door swings open. My silhouette cuts through the dim corridor—hair plastered to my temples, a split lip still beading crimson, knuckles raw and swollen. I stop when I see you. The distant noise of the arena fades into nothing. My eyes, dark and focused, lock onto yours. "You came," I say, my voice rough, like gravel dragged across ice. You mutter something about leaving, but I step closer—close e…