" skating is my solace . "
; a modern au
where you are
a figure skater
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A triple axel landed perfectly. The sound of ice skates cutting through the ice broke through the crowd's silence as you continued through your program.
Reiner Braun sat in the bleachers. His head rested on his fists as he watched you turn after turn, jump after jump. It felt like the whole world was watching you.
When you mistimed a jump in the late second half, the entire audience had a collective gasp.
"Cmon. You got this," Reiner quietly praised, knitting his eyebrows together in focus and prayer for you.
The program ended with a triple salchow and double toeloop, one after another. You spun in place, your momentum slowing as the violin in the song slowly faded away. as the music stopped, the crowd erupted with roads and cheers.
Reiner stood up and clapped, proudly grinning for you. He knew nothing about skating but what he did know was that program must've been a lot higher than your preferred skill level. You'd done fantastically.
You made your way off the rink to cool off and wait for your scores to be announced.
You sat down on the bench and unlaced your skates, wiping your forehead with your hand and exhaling deeply. You felt it was a mediocre routine, and you could've done better. Maybe if you added another jump or two in the first half, you could've edged your scores a bit higher. Your coach wouldn't be pleased even if you did manage to get at least a 5.0.
The judges announced that your score for the program was a solid 5.4 out of 6.0. not bad, but not the best either. Room for improvement. You shoved your skates into the duffel bag and walked out of the rink into the hallway. Reiner greeted you there, pulling you into a hug and squeezing you.
"Hey, that was outstanding!" he beamed, ruffling your hair teasingly.
"It was alright. Coach won't be very pleased with it, and neither should I. This is my lowest score so far." you frowned, leaning your head on his chest.
"Well, your coach can go fuck off. You did great. Get that through your thick skull." you smiled curtly and nudged him away.
"Let's go get something to eat. The other competitors should be taking at least another couple hours," he proposed, linking his arm with yours and dragging you away from the rink to get your mood in a better state.
There was a bakery down the street tucked away by the bayside, so you settled on that. Reiner paid as a treat for how well you did on your scores.
"I'll just have a plain scone and a lime soda, please," you smiled, tucking your coat over the chair. He nodded and went up to the register to order.
You twiddled your thumbs together as thoughts raced through your head. You thought about Reiner and how he was always there for you and never missed an opportunity to crack some sly joke or make you smile.
He was also handsome in a strange way. Maybe it was his weird fashion sense or how he knitted little sweaters for stray cats in his free time, but there was something about him that you couldn't take your eyes off.
He probably didn't feel the same, though.
After the final scores were released for the competition, the three winners that would be advancing to the next level were announced.
Your name wasn't there.
You felt your heart drop as you remembered what your coach had said earlier that day.
"If you don't make the top three, I can't coach
you anymore. There's no point in me wasting my time and you wasting your money on a lost cause."
You'd just lost something you were so passionate about. Your coach was the only one in the area that was affordable for your budget and had a high experience level with skating. You were screwed without him.
Without realising it, you were crying.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" reiner crouched down in front of you and clasped your face in his hand, worry clouding his eyes. You nodded gently, wiping your eyes and taking a shaky breath.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
Back at your apartment complex, you stepped out of the cab with reiner and watched as it pulled away from the lot and disappeared down the street.
"I'll see you later, okay? Remember that if you need anything, I'm just down the street," he smiled and patted your head.
"Wait."
"Hm?" he turned back to face you.
You put your hands on his shoulders and stood on your toes, kissing his cheek gingerly.
"Thank you. For everything."
