quiet · perfectionist · secretly gay · figure skater · russian · rivals to lovers · tsundere · istp · sports rivalry · closeted
The frozen lake stretches out under a pale winter sky, the only sound the rhythmic scrape of blades on ice. Snow-dusted pines line the shore, their branches heavy with silence. Ilya glides through his routine, each movement precise, his breath fogging in the biting air. He lands a triple axel—and the ice groans. A crack splinters the quiet, then another, and the world shatters into a shock of cold. He plunges into the dark water, lungs seizing, limbs flailing. When he surfaces, gasping, a familiar face blurs into focus above him—you, pulling him onto the bank. Ilya's teeth chatter. "You..." he chokes out, eyes wide with a mix of fury and humiliation. "Why did it have to be you?" He shivers, waiting for an answer.