Title: Back on the Ice
Author:
write_my_dreamsPairing: Asagi x Tsunehito
Genre: AU, supernatural, romance
Warning: No warnings.
Disclaimer: The band members portrayed do not belong to me but the story and the writing are mine.
Rating: PG
Chapter(s): 1/1
Summary: After a two year break from ice skating, Tsunehito feels a sudden urge to take Asagi skating.
Author's Comment: This is the result of three different scenes, the first two from 2014 and the rest from me trying to piece this together into the same fic. It took me longer than I'd wanted to finish it due to some writer's block and my hands acting up. Next installment in the series will be Tsunehito learning where vampires get their blood supply from then Ruiza will be taking over as my narrator, and his chapters will lead into the end series.
“Have you been ice skating before?” Tsunehito blurted.
Asagi blinked. “Ice skating? I’ve been a few times though not lately. I believe the last time I went skating was when Jui and I were sill together. He liked skating when he was human.”
Tsunehito nodded. They broke up in the 90s so it’d been almost twenty years since Asagi was last on ice. Why though? Then again who was he to judge. His skates were gathering dust in the back of his closet, untouched in the last two years. Skating was something he wanted to try with Asagi though. They could go to the rink then out somewhere for drinks if Asagi so desired. Tsunehito knew his lover was fond of red wine.
“You never went skating with Ruiza?” he asked.
Asagi shook his head. “No. it’s something he prefers to watch on TV rather than try himself. Truthfully, I think he’s worried he’ll fall and embarrass himself.
Tsunehito snorted. “And eating himself sick isn’t embarrassing?”
Asagi laughed, pressing him closer. “True. Would you like me to go skating with you? We could rent an ice rink for an hour or so. Or we could wait a week and check out the Christmas market in Roppongi. The Osaka market had an ice rink, according to Rui-chan, so I imagine this one will too.”
Tsunehito wondered which would be better: a rink for privacy or the Christmas market so they could get a hot drink afterwards and explore the stands. “Probably the rink. I imagine the Christmas market will be crowded so it’d be hard to skate without crashing into someone.” They could visit the Christmas market next week though and just walk around. Maybe Ruiza and Yo-ka would want to come with them.
Asagi nodded. “Let’s do that then. Did you want to pick the rink or should I?”
“I’ll let you since you wanted to rent the rink out.”
“Okay. I’ll have to take Jui with me before our date so I can practice. I don’t want to make a fool of myself in front of my lover.”
Tsunehito laughed. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Wait, did you fall when you and Jui were together?” Asagi’s awkward shifting was answer enough. Interesting. So vampires could fall and be clumsy… Tsunehito hadn’t been sure if they were graceful like cats. He smiled fondly and kissed Asagi’s cheek. “I’m not working on Wednesday or Thursday. Would you like to go one of those days?” As it was only Saturday now that’d give Asagi time to find a rink to rent out, practice, and maybe give Tsunehito some time to skate too.
“Let’s do Wednesday.”
Tsunehito smiled. “It’s a date.”
* * *
“I haven’t seen you take those out in a while,” Hide-Zou remarked.
Tsunehito glanced up from cleaning his skates. “Asagi and I are going skating on Wednesday. He hasn’t been on the ice since the 90s so this should be interesting.” Asagi mentioned falling around Jui so Tsunehito was curious to see how his lover handled the ice this time. Also… it was time for him to skate again. Even though he’d moved on with his life it was still difficult to put thirteen years of figure skating behind him.
“Sounds like a fun date. “
“You could bring Hiroki and join us,” Tsunehito suggested, smirking as Hide-Zou flushed. “It’d be a double date.”
“We are not dating!” Hide-Zou complained. He huffed and flopped down on the floor next to Tsunehito, poking his side. “Asagi’s so sweet and yet he puts up with a brat like you. Are you trying to set his friends up with anyone too?”
“His friends are already in relationships so it’d be difficult to do that,” Tsunehito said dryly. “Besides you’re the only one I’m interested in setting up. You and Hiroki are great friends, you’d be happy together...” he trailed off and gave Hide-Zou a smug look. He didn’t push when Hiroki was around. When it was just him and Hide-Zou though, Tsunehito would keep suggesting it. Just because Hiroki had yet to admit his crush on Hide-Zou didn’t mean Tsunehito was going to wait forever to see his best friend happy.
Hide-Zou rolled his eyes. “You’re still a brat. Are you going to do pirouettes around Asagi while he’s trying to keep his balance?”
“…Maybe.”
“You’re so cruel to your boyfriend.”
Tsunehito smiled wickedly. “I’m merely curious about his balance.” Would Asagi be able to stay upright skating this time or would he fall despite his superhuman abilities? Tsunehito was definitely curious to see him skating. He resumed cleaning the skates, setting the damp washcloth aside. He’d cleaned the dust off the black skates, polished the blades, and tested their sharpness. As Hide-Zou said, it’d been a while since he’d last hit the ice. Two years, if he remembered correctly. He brushed his fingers over the laces. So many memories of sitting down, lacing his skates, his coach and parents constantly pushing him to do his best. To be perfect. Hours spent on the ice, perfecting his routine, rehearsing, competing. Sometimes he wondered if the leg injury that brought him closer to Hide-Zou had been good for him. That injury had forced his life to change, bringing something new besides his endless routine of skating and school.
He started when Hide-Zou bumped his shoulder against his. “Wandering down memory lane?”
“Yeah.” Tsunehito looked at his skates again. “I was thinking about being a teenager again. My leg injury when I was seventeen,” he touched his left leg as he remembered. Hobbling on crutches, knowing he’d be off the ice for a good three to four months. It’d given him the chance to be a normal teenager, something that always had been denied to him before. It also gave him the opportunity to spend more time with Hide-Zou and start their relationship.
“I still like how you decorated your crutches and couldn’t remember doing it.”
Tsunehito made a face. “It was the painkillers. I think I was only on them for a week before I switched… they made me feel sick and so out of it.”
“I took care of you though.”
“You did,” Tsunehito smiled as he looked at Hide-Zou. “You were an excellent caretaker. Kept me occupied with pizza and so many horrible vampire movies… don’t you dare make a terrible pun,” he warned when he saw Hide-Zou opening his mouth.
“Fine, I won’t.” Hide-Zou stretched lazily. “Should we watch another vampire movie now that your skates are all clean? Or should we watch a figure skating movie so you can critique their performance and laugh about the drama?”
Tsunehito grimaced, thinking of the last time he’d tried watching such a movie with Asagi. “I’d rather watch a vampire movie. Did you have one in mind?”
“No, but there’s a Tim Burton marathon on.”
“Let’s watch one of his movies.” Tsunehito left Hide-Zou in charge of the remote while he took his skates back to his room, setting them down by the closet. Everything was set for Wednesday including the rink rental.
* * *
Tsunehito’s heart thudded in his chest as he looked down at the rink that Asagi had rented out. It wasn’t where he -once upon a time-used to practice but most places all looked the same. He took a breath then sat down on the bench so he could slip his boots off. Asagi joined him, expression breaking Tsunehito out of his nervous funk. An anxious vampire clutching a pair of ice skates as if they were a bomb was pretty cute. Then again, this was Asagi. Asagi was always cute.
“Afraid you’ll fall?” Tsunehito asked. He smiled as he reached for his lover’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He felt like a jerk for kind of wanting him to fall when he’d been talking to Hide-Zou. Now that he had his lover right here with him he definitely didn’t want that.
Asagi wrinkled his nose. “I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself in front of my beautiful lover who used to be a professional figure skater.”
Tsunehito chuckled. “I haven’t been on the ice in years, remember?” Surely he was far more nervous than Asagi was. What if he fell right away? Couldn’t do an axel or land a jump anymore? He let go of Asagi’s hand so he could take out his skates and push his feet into the boots. He’d done this a thousand times! Why did it feel like the very first time all over again? He didn’t realize his hands were shaking until Asagi leaned down and neatly laced the boots for him.
“Is this too loose or too light?” Asagi asked. He gave Tsunehito a gentle smile then brushed his long hair back behind his ear. Some of the redhead’s tension faded as he looked at his lover. Asagi was so sweet.
“A little loose.” Tsunehito exhaled softly then leaned down to tighten the laces himself. He waited patiently while Asagi put on his own brand new skates. He’d made such a cute face when Tsunehito suggested renting a pair.
“I don’t want to wear someone else’s shoes.”
Once their skates were on the couple moved towards the gate separating them from the ice. Looking at the fresh, pristine ice (thanks to the Zamboni) made Tsunehito’s heart race again. In just a few steps he’d be opening that door, the door to the skating world he thought he’d closed forever.
“I’m right here with you,” Asagi said softly. “You have every right to be anxious but we’re here together although I do hope you won’t laugh at me if I happen to fall.”
Tsunehito chuckled. “I’ll try not to.” He took one more deep breath then stepped out onto the ice. It’d been a while so he was a little wobbly at first but soon regained his balance. To Asagi’s credit he wasn’t anywhere near as uncoordinated as he’d feared. It took more time and some support from the wall but he too eventually got used to balancing on two thin blades. It made Tsunehito happy that Asagi seemed to be enjoying himself now that he’d gotten the hang of skating. The basics at least. The redhead took his hand squeezing it gently. “How do you feel?” he asked.
Asagi gave him a wry smile. “Right now, impressed that I haven’t landed on my ass although I’ve surely cursed myself now by saying so.”
Tsunehito laughed. “I’ll hold your hand so you won’t fall.” As a vampire a fall would only do damage to his dignity but the redhead knew the feeling. So he squeezed Asagi’s hand again and smiled as he tugged him forward so they could skate side by side with their joined hands between them.
“Did you end up practicing with Jui?” Tsunehito asked.
“I did. It still took me a while to get used to the ice, but I’m glad I practiced with him. It could’ve been embarrassing otherwise.” Asagi squeezed Tsunehito’s hand. “What about you? Did you skate before this?”
Tsunehito shook his head. “No. I thought about it… but I wanted to wait for you.” He looked at the ice ahead of them and tried to recall what he’d done the last time he went skating. It’d been an open skate with Hide-Zou, and he hadn’t dared to try any axels or spins. He’d been too afraid of being unable to do them. Maybe he should attempt one. If he fell or was incapable, Asagi wouldn’t care. Asagi always supported him. “I’m… I’m going to see if I can still do an axel.” Tsunehito took a deep breath then released his lover’s hand.
“All right. Should I applaud you?”
Tsunehito managed a nervous laugh. “If you like.” He stopped and turned to kiss his lover’s cheek. Asagi gave him an encouraging smile as he skated back. Tsunehito took another breath and started skating forward. Once this had been simple muscle memory. So used to jumps and axels and spins that all of it had been so easy. What about now though? No. Stop. If he didn’t think he could do it then he would fail. Skating was all about practice and confidence. Tsunehito closed his eyes and thought of himself in his time as a competitive skater. He didn’t attempt a triple or quadruple axel, simply going for the basics to see if he was still capable. His landing was wobbly, arms flung out to steady himself. Nothing pretty, but… it was an axel. He could still do it.
Heart pounding Tsunehito skated to where Asagi was standing and watched him. “I can still do an axel,” he whispered then promptly burst into tears since, for so long, skating had been his everything and now he’d spent the last two years avoiding it entirely.
Asagi quickly skated forward and drew him into his arms, holding him close as he stroked his hair. “Yes you can and you were wonderful.”
Tsunehito clutched Asagi’s jacket as he tried to regain his composure. He hadn’t expected this to hit him so badly. He was happy with the life he’d built for himself now, but he kept thinking about how things could have been. If he hadn’t quit skating. If he’d kept competing. Would Jin have even noticed him then? Much as he despised the vampire, if it weren’t for him Tsunehito would never have found Asagi. “Sorry,” he whispered.
“No, don’t be. This was a part of your life for a very long time. I… I went with Atsushi to the place he’d turned me, all those years ago. Everything was different and I cried on him too.”
Tsunehito took a shaky breath, brushing his sleeve over his eyes to dry his tears. “I imagine that was hard for you.”
“It was.” Asagi gently smoothed his hair back. “Tsune, maybe you should skate more often. I know this was your life for a long time. You’re young still so if you wanted I’m sure you could get back into competitive skating.”
Would he even want that though? Sure there was nothing glamorous about working as a bartender, but it wasn’t stressful like skating had been. It also wasn’t as satisfactory as winning competitions had been. “I…. I don’t know. I thought I closed this door to my life forever so now that I’ve opened it again, I’m not sure what to think.” He sighed softly as he looked at the ice.
“You don’t have to think about it now.” Asagi squeezed his hand. “Let’s just enjoy skating together.”
Asagi was right. There was no need to worry himself with thoughts of his future now. He’d live in the moment and enjoy skating with his lover.