icing those hurt

Part 22

They slowly build up to playing hockey with all of them- first Techno, who teaches Tommy how to keep his eyes on the puck while skating, then George, who teaches Tommy how to use his body to block other people's sight, then Schlatt, who teaches Tommy how to do a move that might cost a penalty without actually getting one (some people call it dirty, but not the refs, so what else matters-), then Quackity, who emphasizes speed, and then finally, Sapnap, who shows Tommy how to take a bump and let it roll off him.

Wilbur is there the whole time, of course, skating around them and keeping Tommy stable as he focuses.

It's so much better than Tommy thought it would be. They're so gentle and easy with him. If he makes a mistake, they just correct him- or in Quackity's case, laugh good naturedly. He's not a waste of time or slow or a disappointment- he's learning fast or doing well or fucking killing it, Tommy!

And anytime he looks over, Wilbur is smiling that smile- the one Tommy still doesn't understand, but knows is good. It makes Tommy feel good. Good about them and good about himself.

"Alright," Techno says. He drifts out onto the ice, stick in one hand, puck in the other. "Let's just take this slow now. Light scrimmage- nothing too wild."

Tommy holds his own stick tight, blinking nervously by the goal. He's on Techno's team, which is great for him, but awful because Techno is actually good. Wouldn't he want to win? Wouldn't Tommy just hinder him?

"Let's have some fun, yeah?" Techno asks, then looks over, making eye-contact with Tommy. He's smiling. It makes it easy for Tommy to smile too. "Let's play."

Tommy doesn't do much for the first couple of minutes. He gets a little caught up- forgets that he's on the ice and playing, because he's busy watching Sapnap and George fight each other for control of the puck. They're bumping and hitting each other, but they're both laughing- well, Sapnap is, rather loudly, whereas George just has this vicious little grin on his face. Then it all comes to a stop when Quackity swoops in and takes the puck from both of them with a loud whoop.

"Come on," Wilbur skids over next to Tommy. "You should join in."

"Where?" Tommy asks. He keeps watching, trying to find the rhythm- trying to find a place where he can just slip into the seams of it all, but it looks wild. Schlatt chases after Quackity, who doesn't even try to make it to either goal. He's content just to play keepaway and make them all frustrated. George keeps swiping at Sapnap's heels, and Techno slides in front of Quackity, herding him in whatever direction he wants. Nothing about it is organized, or even thought out.

"Anywhere you want," Wilbur says. He turns and then starts skating backward, closer and closer to the fray. "Hockey is about making space for yourself. So come on Tommy. Come out here and fight for your space."

And then he goes, and Tommy hesitates for just a second before following.

He drifts around the edges of the rink, just watching them all play for a bit- watching the way the puck moves. He's not very good with the stick, but there are three things he does know: patterns, speed control, and patience. He's learned to be very patient when learning all his jumps and tricks, and it works here, letting him circle around and around until he finds the perfect opening. And when he sees it, he doesn't let himself hesitate before speeding in much like Quackity, wiggling through Technoblade and Sapnap, and stealing the puck from Schlatt.

"Hey!" He yells.

"Go Tommy!" Quackity cheers.

Clumsily, Tommy maneuvers the puck down the ice, but just before he can shoot, Sapnap slides into his way, blocking the goal. He's got a huge grin on his face, and Tommy would even go as far to say that it's proud. But still, he's in Tommy's way.

Make space for yourself, Wilbur said.

Alright then- he will.

Tommy brings the puck all the way over to the left, and when Sapnap turns to defend- probably expecting him to go around the goal like a normal hockey player would, Tommy just spins quickly the other way, letting the puck fly. He gets the shot off, Tommy can tell, but not before Sapnap grows keen and tries to stop him. The puck slips by, but Sapnap jolts forward, bumping Tommy- and Tommy, not yet used to keeping his balance without his hands, falls back on his ass, hitting the ice hard.

The rink goes quiet.

Then-

"Oh my god, Tommy, fuck, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking," Sapnap blurts, dropping his stick and covering his mouth with his hands. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I-"

Techno skates closer, kneeling down, his face concerned. "Tommy? Are you hurt?"

Tommy inhales, then slowly picks himself up off the ice, Techno rises with him, hands out like Tommy would topple over. And he almost feels like he might- not from the hit or the fall, but just because he's stunned. He hurts. The fall was just as bad as any of his falls in practice, and he knows that later he'll have a bruise to show it, but still, this feels different. This is his. It's a mark that he got the way that he chose. He said yes to playing hockey with his friends and maybe he got hurt, but before it, he was happy.

He made space for himself, and the pain didn't bowl him over. He's still standing.

"Tommy?" Techno asks again, worried.

He was happy. He is happy. Tommy is happy.

He grins, laughing breathlessly and jumping at Techno. He skates around him and over to Sapnap, who's still standing there with concerned eyes, in front of a goal with Tommy's puck in it.

"I scored, didn't I?" He asks. "Didn't I, Tech? That's one to zero, right?"

Sapnap turns, looks behind him at the ice, then turns back. "...Yeah." He sounds excited now- there's no doubt in Tommy's mind that he's proud now. "One to zero. Not for long though. Reset guys, I'm crushing this kid."

(word count - 1051)