On Thin Ice

Second Skate

A week after his return to Natori, Kageyama began to help his sister run her ice-rink again. It had been in their family for generations, first started by his however-many-greats grandparents, running down the line to his grandparents, then his parents, and now his sister. The rink was where they grew up, learning how to skate and training for all their competitions. How many programs had been choreographed and performed on this ice? How many times had it had to be swept clean of the blade marks from their endless skating practices? Thousands, no doubt; probably even more.

It held a host of good memories for Kageyama, and his sister had dragged him back to work to get him out of the slump he seemed to be in. His family had fully accepted him back and forgiven him; that wasn't the problem. He couldn't exactly figure out why he felt this way. His family had accepted his decision; Daichi no longer pestered him about going back to skating; he had a free schedule that allowed him to do whatever he wanted. He should've been thrilled.

And yet, he wasn't. And the fact that he couldn't figure out why was infuriating.

"Oi, Kageyama!" his sister called from behind the skate check-out, poking her head over the counter. "Daichi is here to see you!"

"Coming!" Kageyama shouted back, placing the box of blade guards he'd been carrying down beside Yuka as he passed. As he walked past the rink, Yuka's kids waved on him, giggling as they skated around the edges, and he smiled and waved back at them. Even if his sister was annoying as fuck, he could say this: she made pretty cute kids. He faintly wondered where her husband was. He usually stuck to her and the kids like glue, the devoted man he was.

Daichi was waiting for him at the door, arms crossed, wearing a pleasant smile. He greeted Kageyama in an oddly too-cheerful voice, immediately striking a chord of suspicion in him. "What do you need, Daichi? I've got to get back to work." (That wasn't necessarily true, but he was getting a bad feeling about this, and if he could get away, the sooner the better.)

Unfortunately, his sister—the devil she was—called from the counter, "Oh, go on ahead. I can handle it. There aren't many people here today anyway."

"Great! Let's go." Kageyama shot her a glare as Daichi pulled him away by the arm, and she shrugged and mouthed Sorry, not sorry, back at him, which only made him want to kill her more. Daichi's hold on his arm was probably the only thing that kept him from doing it. He'd brought his car over and he practically threw Kageyama into it before speeding off down the road.

❄ ❄ ❄ 

Their destination was the beach, and Daichi parked along the side of the rocky slope that led down to it, turning off the ignition and stepping out of the car. Kageyama, with no choice but to follow him, unbuckled his seat-belt and hurried to catch up with him, cool sea spray misting against his face as the wind off the water blew up the shore at them.

They walked in silence until they reached a spot overshadowed by some sparse trees growing from the pebbles and sat down in the damp sand underneath, Daichi seeming somber while Kageyama watched him from the corner of his eye warily. He had never been able to read the man well and now was no different. The slightest shifting of his eyes was the only clue that something was on his mind.

Eventually, the thick quiet was enough to make Kageyama uneasy, and he let out a loud sigh. "I can tell you have something to say to me, so go on and say it already. You're creeping me out."

Daichi laughed, diffusing some of the tension, though it still lingered between them like an ocean undercurrent. "You're right, sorry. I've just been thinking lately." He leaned back against the thin trunk of a tree and stared out at the gray water searchingly. "We've been through a lot together, Tobio. I've been there for your victories, your failures; I've seen your highs and your lows." He glanced over at him, lips twitching in the beginnings of a smile. "I think we can agree that we know each other fairly well."