Chapter Text
Motoya always viewed the rink as somewhere he could be free. Somewhere he didn’t have to worry about what’s outside, only what was within these walls. An escape from reality. So if there was one thing he despised most, it was sharing this inner plain with someone else. It was a distraction, a cage over his world. So why did he have to feel those metal bars slam down for the first time in years?
“Komori, this is Suna Rintarou. Suna, this is Komori Motoya.” His coach said plainly, as if this random man’s presence wasn’t actively stabbing him through the heart. “This December there will be a regional doubles competition. Since it’s not as serious of a competition, I thought it’d finally be a chance for Komori to dip his toes into doubles.”
Motoya’s gut twist and he finally felt the true coldness of the rink. For the first time in years he would be skating with someone else, and a stranger at that. All Motoya could do was give his coach a nod of acceptance. “Good, you know each other now. Today will just be about getting used to each other’s presence, maybe get to know each other. An hour’s all I’m asking. Now hit the ice.”
Motoya swallows nervously and looks towards Suna, who gives him an arrogant smirk. This is going to be hell.
Motoya pushes onto the ice. On a normal day, the first glide would wipe the thoughts from his mind. But today was not a normal day, today he was sharing the rink. Him. Him. Komori Motoya. A prefecture renowned singles skater, skating with another person. Why him? Why not any of the other 6 people working under his coach? Why-
“You’re tense.”
The voice cut through his thoughts, his eyes shot up. Suna. He had somehow already forgotten he was actually here, skating parallel to himself. Motoya flashed Suna another nervous smile. “Tense? Why would I be tense?” He blurted out quickly. God, he was not helping his case.
Suna let out a laugh. “It’s not as bad as you think.” Suna skated closer so the other could hear him. “It’s like… dancing with another person. In a way I guess.” Motoya rolled his eyes in response. “You have danced with another person, right?”
“Of course I’ve danced with another person.” Komori scoffed with annoyance, but that only seemed to make Suna happier. “Just checking, man. You don’t really seem the type to have, like, fun.” Motoya wasn’t even going to entertain that with a response. He had a feeling that if he did, he wasn’t going to make it through the next 5 months. Not even 30 minutes of knowing each other and Suna was already trying to get under his skin.
“So, what city are you from?”
“Minato”
“Minato? Like in Tokyo?”
“Yeah.
“Far away from home. When did you move here?”
“Junior high 3rd year.”
“Why?”
“Just cause.”
“How long have you been skating?”
“Since I was 5.”
“How old are you now?”
“19.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Yeah.”
“You like it?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t like me, do you?”
“yeah- wait. No. I-“ Suna let out a chuckle. “I’m just messing with you.” God, this man was insufferable. This was worse than when coach tried to stick him with Kageyama. Which, to put it simply, was hell on earth. It’s said a lot that Motoya would rather be working with him than Suna.
Motoya looked towards the clock. 5 P.M., finally. He felt the relief of freedom wash through his body. He clapped his hands together. “Well, look at the time!” He said, already skating towards the exit. “It’s already been an hour. Sadly I’ve got things to do, people to see, so I’ve gotta head out.” He sat on a bench, unlacing his skates to put on his sneakers. “Aw man, I know, so sad.” He sped towards the rink door. “see you later!”
Suna watched with an eyebrow raised. “But you didn’t even ask me-”
“Bye!” Motoya blurted, pushing through the door. He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the slam behind him. God, that was excruciating. Even for him, who was crowned “most sociable” by his high school peers. He felt like he just traversed through the Black Forest itself.
How the hell was he going to get through 4 months of this.