Eclipse

11

Hinata watched intently as the music began to play from the speakers. His father looked up from the ice, an almost pained expression on his face.

"He has an ambitious program with four quads planned."

He watched as he spun on the ice, landing his jumps. The commentators spoke, but they seemed to be in the background as his father took center stage.

The expression in his movement impressed Hinata more than the actual moves ever could.

"The song he's chosen is 'Stammi Vicino', also known as 'Stay Close to Me'."

He continued watching, seeing both of his fathers doing it together in his head. The crowd seemed just as enthralled in his movements as Hinata was. He wondered what it would be like to have seen it in person instead of on this small computer screen.

He knew he wanted to do that program. Someday he would. He would surprise everyone with his finesse and expression. He would make them feel the emotions he felt while performing. They wouldn't be able to look away.

---

Practice had just ended, and Hinata was getting ready to go to his next practice of the day. His teammates seemed to huddle around him as he pulled his sweatshirt over his t-shirt. It was like they wanted to ask him something, but were too embarrassed to actually do so.

"You can come with me if you want." He knew what they were thinking, and knew they wouldn't be able to focus until they got it out. Until they saw him. He wondered if they had seen the video yet.

"We wouldn't want to intrude," Daichi claimed at the same time as Noya pumped his fist in the air.

"You wouldn't be. I'm sure Yuuko would even let you guys skate if you wanted to." He was finished now, and he noticed they were all still wearing their regular training gear. "Although you might want to change. Ice is a bit cold. I'll wait for you guys outside."

So he did. They were either excited or wanted to get this over with, and he wasn't sure which was better, but they had changed in record time. (Even if Tanaka had his sweater on backward and Suga's jacket looked to be a few sizes too big.)

At the rink, Yuuko was very excited to meet Hinata's friends, and Axel, Lutz, and Loop seemed happy to have more people coming to their, quote-unquote 'big showdown'. They had even come back from where all three of them were going to college (because they wouldn't separate in a million years) when Yuuko had called them after Yurio's challenge.

"I can't believe you're finally back, little bro." Lutz called as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"I can't believe he hasn't grown any in the past few years." Loop copied her sister's action from Hinata's other side.

"That just means he's still our very little brother." Axel joined in, ruffling his hair. 

He had somehow managed to wrestle his way out of their grasp before he headed for the ice. All three of them watched with soft smiles on their faces. They had missed the boy who may as well have been their little brother.

By the time they had all gotten skates and finally gotten onto the rink, Hinata was practicing his program, the song he had chosen playing in perfect tune with his movements. He had just wanted to get a bit of serious practice before his teammates came out. After all, they would probably need help.

They were all amazed at his ability. Sure, they had been curious and decided to look up a few of his performances, but this was an entirely different feeling. They could feel his movement.

Tsukishima had resigned himself to the bench, deciding that ice skating was not for him. He was also famously known for never joining the team on their ice skating escapades in the winter. Though they had always been few and far between.

Even with that, he was surprised at how much they all absolutely sucked at it. They must have cleared out the rink any time they went because anyone would run away from such hazardous movement. Anyone except Hinata.

After a few minutes of coaching, they could all skate in a fairly straight line. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He tried teaching them how to stop and go as well, but that wasn't going too well.

Kageyama seemed stuck in his spot.

"Kageyama, you do know you have to move your feet, right?" He joked.

"O-of course I know that, dumbass." Yet, he still refused to move. He remembered his fathers grabbing his hands and pulling him along when he was little, but that seemed a bit too intimate. He gave him a little shove instead.

"Don't worry. I fell down a bunch of times. If you fall, I promise I won't laugh. If that's even what you're afraid of." He told him, continuing to push his shoulders from behind.

The others smiled as they watched, still trying to figure out how to turn.

"Огонь, you didn't tell us you were inviting friends to practice." A voice called from the entrance. It was a tall man with silver hair. His arm was around a man who was a few inches shorter.

"Oh, I didn't know you were coming папа." He looked flustered as he dropped his hands from Kageyama's shoulders. "These are my teammates. They wanted to see me skate."

He stood there for a moment, playing with his hands before realizing something.

"Oh, right. Guys, these are my dads. This is Viktor," He pointed at the taller one who sent them all a dazzling smile. "And this is Yuuri." The shorter gave them a small wave.

"Nice to meet you all. Shouyou told us a little bit, but not much." They all noticed his accent right away and realized exactly why Hinata knew Russian.

They were on the ice now, and the team noticed that they moved with even more grace than Hinata did. The one exception was Kageyama, who was sure no one could ever move with more grace than Hinata while on the ice. Even on the court, he had an air of grace to him that Kageyama had seen for the first time in middle school.

"Why don't you show us what you've been practicing? Maybe we can give you some pointers." They looked hopeful, and Hinata knew they just wanted to help, but he couldn't show them. It had to be a surprise.

"It's a surprise."

Viktor smiled at that, and Yuuri just rolled his eyes. Too much like his father.

And so for the rest of the night, the two skaters tried to teach Hinata's friends how to skate, but it seemed to be a lost cause. Hinata had been working one-on-one with Kageyama for the past few hours.

"How long have they been together?" Yuuri asked one of them. He was about the same height, and his silvery hair was a bit darker than Viktor's.

"Oh, Kageyama and Hinata? I don't even think they know they like each other. They're both so clueless sometimes."

Yuuri just nodded. He saw how they looked at each other when they thought no one would see. It was the same way he had looked at Viktor for so long.

---

TRANSLATIONS

Огонь = fire/light

папа = papa