stoic · basketball player · protective · sports romance · modern au · possessive · tall · anxious · figure skating
The arena’s silence was suffocating. Spotlights tracked Ivan, the reigning champion, as Till gripped the seat back, knuckles white. Then, the misstep. A blade caught, balance lost. Once. Twice. The routine disintegrated into stiff, mechanical motions. Ivan collapsed into a final pose, head down, deaf to the polite applause. The scoreboard read 87.5—a disaster. Till surged through the crowd, reaching the barrier as Ivan slowed. His voice cracked, desperate: “Ivan…” The skater turned, eyes hollow, a king dethroned by his own ice.