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NAGI DIDN'T THINK he would get used to it; the cheers, the music, the cold caressing his skin for two minutes or more. All while he twirled and jumped, covered in rhinestones and sequins. All eyes were on him, like a circus monkey.
There was a reason he hadn't wanted to compete. Even after Reo insisted on him joining his team, Nagi knew competitions would ruin the fun for him. When skating was something so... personal, competitions turned it into a show.
What was so beautiful about figure skating, anyway?
But here he was, watching Reo skate back towards their coach as clapping ensued around the rink. Somehow, even after protesting and refusing for years, Nagi ended up here, at Nationals.
"Well done, Reo!" Mrs. Zantetsu praised him, her smile matching his. They had worked together on this routine for months, and such a clean execution was only a product of their tireless efforts. "That spin was beautiful."
"What about the Axel? What did you think?" He asked right away, bouncing on his heels like a kid instead of a fifteen-year-old.
She laughed. "Good, good. You nailed it," after weeks and weeks of frustrating practice. "But the Biellman spin... Listen to me, most men cannot pull off something like that."
Reo nodded at her praise, enthusiastic. But even if his flexibility was improving, only the jumps were the center of his attention. His struggle with them was at the forefront of his mind. Without jumps or combinations, a skater couldn't make it to the podium nowadays without three or four rotations.
And he wanted to defend his national title.
When Zantetsu finished talking, Reo went straight to Nagi, who was lazily stretching on the bench. "Nagi, did you see my 3A? Did you see me?" His purple eyes sparkled with childish glee. He thrived on praise, and Nagi didn't know it yet, but Reo was trying to impress him in particular. "That was awesome, wasn't it?"
"I thought you were going to fall." Nagi lied. In reality, he hadn't seen the whole program and was just randomly guessing based on what he had seen in practice before.
"What? Why?" Reo cocked his head, thrown off guard. "Was there something wrong with the execution? You think I'll lose any points?"
When Nagi didn't answer, Reo sat down at his side, staring at him as if studying his body language. They had been friends for a few years, and Reo still couldn't figure Nagi out. Instead of losing patience over it, he seemed to like not knowing what to expect and having to, for once, make an effort in his friendships.
