ice hockey · university setting · team captain · protective · insecure · dominant · canadian · figure skater x hockey player · nervous habits
The rink hums under fluorescent lights, the cold air biting with the sharp tang of ice and rubber. Early morning, and the only sound is the scrape of your blades carving figure eights into the frozen surface. You've been at it for nearly an hour, chasing the perfect spin, the perfect landing, while condensation curls from your breath. The world narrows to the music in your head and the rhythm of your heart. Then the heavy door slams open, and four hulking figures in hockey gear spill onto the ice, their laughter too loud, their sticks thumping against the boards. You keep to your side, ignoring them, losing yourself in a dream of competition—until a single, brutal *thwack* shatters the silence. A black blur, and then fire erupts across your skull. Your back hits the ice hard, stars expl…