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It was the usual freestyle after hockey practice in the rink. Yuka was sitting behind the check-in desk, waiting for another skater to come and buy ice time.
Yuka’s eyes turned to look through the small window next to the check-in desk that framed the ice rink, and her eyes immediately caught sight of An standing outside the boarder of the rink, watching someone figure skate—well, not just someone. A friend, An would say, a really good friend actually.
Her eyes were trained on his every movement as the blades to his skates dug into the ice while he glided around, trying his best to work on a newer jump he was introduced to earlier that week.
Yuka sighed a bit. She gave in a little too easily to An—the post she was stationed at right now was technically supposed to be hers, but when An came to her with pleading eyes, asking if she could help her friend out and give him pointers, she just couldn’t bring herself to mutter the words no.
She knew that An was crushing on her friend.
It was so obvious, it was almost embarrassing to watch.
Suddenly when she started to know her friend Touya better, she started to have an interest in figure skating she had never had for the entirety of her life being surrounded by figure skaters as herself and Ken were both world renowned skaters, and she started to learn how to skate as soon as the smallest size of skates could fit her feet. But she decided to go with hockey.
It’s cooler because Auntie Nagi looks even cooler than cool playing it! An declared when she was 5, Daddy and Mommy only look a little cool when figure skating. Ouch.
Though hearing that from her own daughter hurt a little, it definitely signaled her innate disinterest in the sport. Ever since then, she’d barely bat an eye toward the skaters at a freestyle, and even being surrounded by figure skaters her whole life never made her remember the word for any move besides a crossover (and that was only because crossovers were used in hockey too).
But recently, since she’s gotten closer to Touya, her interest suddenly peaked: Learning the name to figure skating moves, watching videos of people figure skating so she could better critique when asked, begging to help out Touya because he needed some help that apparently only she could give, even though Yuka was an actual figure skater, taught lessons, and would be able to provide better help to Touya? Yup, obvious.
She had already bet ¥1000 with Nagi on who they thought would confess first weeks ago. She bet that it would be An, and Nagi bet that it would be Touya. She could not lose another bet to Nagi.
“Hey, Yuks!” Speak of the devil.
Yuka scoffed at the nickname before turning around to see Nagi, grin wide and playful. “Stop calling me that, and hey to you too,” she greeted back, causing Nagi to laugh at their usual banter.
The brown haired woman leaned her face closer to Yuka before her chin rested on the older woman’s shoulder—an old habit that stuck around from when they were still in school.
“So we watchin’ the young lovebirds again?”
“Yes.”
“Did you also let An relent her behind-the-counter shift to you again because you want to see something happen?”
“Also yes, but don’t act like you don’t want something to happen too.”
Nagi simply sighed, slouching her weight a little further against Yuka.
“You got me…” she mumbled before silence fell between the two of them; only the faint echoes of the few skates digging against the ice and the AC that always blasted to keep the rink cool rested between the two.
They watched as Touya tried to do a few single axles in a row before skating over to where An was standing at the sidelines, asking a few questions to her. In return, both Yuka and Nagi could see a nervous glint in her eyes even from how far they were.
Even though An had been pouring over figure skating recently, she didn’t have a developed eye for catching what to do different or the personal experience to really give many insightful comments, but despite those troubles, she still pulled through with a shaky smile and made some comments to Touya; his earnest face taking everything she said so seriously as he searched for any words of advice.
After An said her bit, Touya nodded with an appreciative smile on his face. He was about to skate back out, but then An grabbed his shoulder, leading him to look behind and down to lock his gaze with hers.
“Oh my god…” Nagi breathed out before whining: “If I lose this bet, I’m gonna be so upset.”
“Stop pouting about possibly losing the bet—look at them!” Yuka whisper-shouted (as if someone else could even hear them).
An seemed to have said some words of encouragement with a bright smile and big thumbs up, and in return, Touya’s expression softened as he gave a quick nod. A soft, gorgeous smile painted the entirety of his face, eyes lighting up at the motivation before the blade of his skate dug into the ice and he glided to try the axel again.
“AAA—! That was soooo cute!” Nagi practically squealed, arms latching around Yuka in an awkward side(ish) hug before quickly moving back from it to stand up, finally not leaning all of her weight onto Yuka, stating: “I’m going to tease her so much about that later.”
“We’re going to tease her.”
“You knew I meant that, Yuks.”
“Hehe, just making sure.”
Nagi stretched her arms up and gave a small wave to Yuka as she returned to the back, calling out that she had to go back to sharpening some skates. Yuka hummed, waving back to Nagi before she walked through the door frame that led to the back where all the skate rentals and the skate sharpener were.
Then, when Yuka’s eyes fluttered back to the rink, Touya had already set up for the jump and was gliding off to try it again. And then he jumped. And then his feet tucked in. And then he spun. And then he landed.
The momentum of the jump had him gliding across the ice for a second, before he did a quick hockey stop. Instantly, he turned toward An, eyes lighting up brightly with a brilliant smile on his face, and An returned it quickly.
Touya skated back over to An, got off the ice, and grabbed her hands, holding them to his chest. “Shiraishi, I did it!”
“You did it!” An exclaimed so loudly that Yuka could hear her even through the wall that separated the reception desk and the rink zone.
The smiles on both of their faces as they looked at each other shone so brightly. Yuka saw Touya say something else, but it wasn’t loud enough for her to hear. She did hear a loud, “Of course!” escape from An’s lips as she accepted whatever Touya said. Yuka saw as Touya’s grip on An’s hands dissipated and she held out her arms before he dived forward in a hug. It looked a little awkward—considering their height difference exaggerated even more through the extra few inches Touya’s figure skates gave him—but it was so sweet.
A part of Yuka wanted to take a picture of the scene, but she decided that would be inappropriate and that she could just tell Nagi about the sweet moment that unfurled before her eyes later. Considering it was a freestyle session and traffic was always low at these, she decided to sit up from the desk and go out to congratulate Touya on finally doing an axel.
She shivered a bit as she opened the door that separates the rink from the reception room as she was only wearing a tank top with a lighter jacket on top paired with yoga pants. After walking into the rink, she looked over to where An and Touya stood—still hugging each other—and called out while clapping: “Great job on that axel, Touya!”
An’s head instantly whipped toward her mom’s voice, quickly stumbling away from the hug sheepishly. The blush resting on An’s cheeks due to the cold was definitely brighter than it was before.
“Ohh—H…hey mom,” An shakily called out. Whether the shake to her voice was because of the freezing temperatures or embarrassment due to just hugging the boy she clearly had a crush on, Yuka didn’t know. She waved back in reply to her daughter’s greeting.
“Ah, thank you, Mrs. Yuka.”
Touya’s usual formal deminor still made her laugh a little. She had to admit, it was pretty endearing. Everytime she talked with him, she understood why An liked him so much deeper than before. When An was younger, she remembered how her daughter would point out how she’d really like certain characters and speak about how much she wanted a partner like that in the future. Almost everyone of those characters held a characteristic Touya had.
“Being genuine here—that was really good for your first time making one. Your height is much better than most others when jumping.” Touya’s expression lit up at the praise. “You put in a lot of effort, and it’s really showing.” Yuka stepped a little closer, lifting her hand up to pat him on the shoulder but struggling a little due to the large height difference.
He nodded his head in appreciation. “I’m glad you think my effort is giving good results.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you have a great cheerleader, too.” Yuka’s attention shifted over to An, giving her daughter a wink. In response to that, An huffed a little, mouth opening to rebuke her mom’s claims, but she was interrupted by Touya’s voice only affirming what her mom said.
“Yes, Shiraishi is a great motivator.” Now his hand found its place resting on An’s shoulder, and the distance between the two shrunk as he gently pulled her closer. The casual physical contact made An’s eyes widen in surprise. She looked like she was short circuiting, and Yuka had to bite back a giggle.
“I feel like the criticism she’s given me helped greatly as well.”
An’s eyes shifted to focus up and on Touya’s face, surprised at the sudden compliment. “Really? Ahh… I haven’t really been into this figure skating stuff for a long time, so I’m surprised you think I’ve helped you out on that front.”
“I mean, you are learning from the best,” Yuka interjected. “An asks me about the moves you’re practicing all the time! Hah, it’s really nice to see her finally taking interest in it.”
An pouted before starting to mumble, “S-stop, it’s embarrassing when you say it like th—”
“I think that’s nice to hear. I’m glad to have a friend like Shiraishi… She truly wants me to be my best self,” Touya said, the bottoms of his eyelids tilting up in pure appreciation, matched with a perfectly pure smile. The way his gray eyes usually felt almost hollow, but in that moment, they shone with the glint of the light reflecting from the ice.
Yuka saw An’s eyes widen as she stood there, gawking up at Touya and his words, before turning away and burying her head into her sleeve.
Honestly, the way that he was so blunt with his words made Yuka like him all the more. She knew how badly obvious her daughter tended to be. Yuka knew that she could always call out Ken on his bullshit, but An was a different case.
Moments like this, where he genuinely says what’s on his mind clears any worry that he could ever lie to An. (Plus, her daughter had told her that Touya is notoriously bad at lying. He apparently makes a really funny face and is so obvious about it, she’s able to call him out on it right away, and he’s always willing to tell her the truth after.)
“And I’m glad you’ve been able to find that security in my little bug.”
“Moooooommm!” An groaned from under her sleeve, peeking her head up to make her pout, “I told you to not call me that in front of my friends…”
Yuka giggled, waving her hand as if to dismiss An’s request. “Okay, okay—I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”
All while An and Yuka were bickering, Touya was looking at them. Fondly.
“You guys seem really close,” He commented out of the blue. “I always have fun when I watch you two talk with each other.”
“You’re really made out of pure sugar and butter, huh?” Yuka mused. She had seen him when he was feeling horrendous about his skating progress before, and even then when she would check up on him, he would always find a sweet way to tell her how much he appreciated her hearing him out or giving him advice. Him mentioning that she and An were close was a small detail, but it made her feel nice, especially considering she knew his home situation wasn’t particularly ideal.
Her compliment almost seemed to fly over his head, but he was able to catch it, and responded by politely shaking his head. “I don’t think anything I’m saying is of any particular note… If anything, I think An is sweeter, considering that she stays later than she needs to so she can help me out.”
Oh my god.
Seeing this play right in front of her almost brought a tear to her eyes. They’re so adorable, she had to fight the urge to squeal right then and there.
An bashfully tried to rebuke his claims, eyes darting around everywhere but Touya. And he took that as an opportunity. “Shiraishi, can you please look at me?”
Through her embarrassment, she slowly shifted her gaze to look up to him. As soon as their eyes locked, he reached out his hands gently to hers and held her hands. The size difference between their hands was almost laughable.
His eyebrows furrowed slightly, gaze shifting to something more intense than before. “I genuinely appreciate all the time you put to the side so that you can help me out like this. You have other things you could be doing, like practicing with Kohane or working at the rink, but you decide to help me out. The time you put aside for me is something I truly appreciate, so please don’t deny that you’re sweet.”
An’s eyes glistened, opening wide at Touya’s advance. Her mouth hung open like a stupid looking fish before muttering, “O-okay! I guess I can be pretty… sweet sometimes?”
Though her tone was uncertain, Touya fully accepted it, giving her the most adoring smile ever as he let go of her hands.
Watching this unfold right in front of her… Oh god, she was going to lose this bet, wasn’t she…?! Maybe she shouldn’t tell Nagi about this, otherwise she’ll get the cheeky grin from Nagi, telling her that she told her so and that her intuition is better when it comes to love (even though she hasn’t even dated once in her life).
She noticed her daughter was still absolutely flabbergasted at what just happened—admittedly, she was too—while Touya didn’t seem to pay much mind to how he complimented her. It might’ve been seen as a little cold hearted, but Yuka knew him well enough by now to know that was just how he was. She knew he truly meant well. But that also left the air feeling a bit… tense. The conversation had really no way to continue from that, so Yuka offered a way out.
“Anyways—Touya, I think you should try getting the axel at least three times in a row, y’know? Make sure you’ve really gotten it.”
Cutting through the tension that resided in the silence was easy enough. Touya eagerly nodded his head and walked back over to the entrance to the ice; he put one foot on, pushed off, and he was back to skating like he was a few minutes prior.
Yuka sighed with a soft laugh following it. “Man, that kid sure is something…” she mumbled before turning back over to her daughter. An still had a wide eye stare to her look as she saw Touya back on the ice. She was definitely still processing everything that he just said to her. Just like her father, she quietly chuckled to herself.
“An, wanna work the reception desk now? I can help Touya further if he struggles,” she asked. Her daughter’s stare held onto Touya as he asked for a few seconds before she rapidly blinked, almost as if pulling herself from a different reality. “Uh, yeah… sure. I think I’ve been, uh… avoiding that for… awhile,” her words fell from her lips sloppily as she slowly trudged back to the front of the rink.
She really was so stupidly in love with Touya… Truly, An was her father’s daughter. She remembered how easily flustered he was when they first met. Though, she was perceptive enough to realize the crush he had on her, and she had her fun with it before they officially got together (and she still does).
Getting some time to sit down and not wait behind the desk in the reception room was something Yuka forgot she enjoyed so much. As she watched Touya attempt to do three single axels in a row from the sidelines of the rink, cool air filling her lungs and waking her up, she wanted to put her skates on and race around the rink—feel her blood rushing through her veins despite the frigid temperature.
But, for now, she would sit down and observe this young man skate. She would guide him as best as she could. She wants to see him succeed—knows that he can—and she’s sure her daughter thinks so as well.