Sanemi and Giyuu continue to be ships passing in the night in Wisteria Hall and sail through classes without having to deal with each other.
Things fall apart when it comes to the rink. Giyuu is there constantly, even after Shinobu leaves. He is clocking more hours that Sanemi has ever seen before which is a major problem because Sanemi needs practice time himself.
A good portion of the hockey team are seniors. With the exception of himself, Obanai, and Rengoku, most of the team's best players will be graduating at the end of the year. They need to not only bolster their skills but the skills of the underclassmen. Sanemi wants Masachika to finish his season knowing the team would be in good hands. During practice Sanemi works with the newer players, helping with holes in their technique, strengthen their game play. He'll do his own drills and personal work during practices tucked at odd hours when nobody else skates.
At least, that was what he thought until he and Tomioka find themselves one Monday night, skates on, glaring at each other.
"There are no figure skating sessions right now." Sanemi crosses his arms. "You can't skate."
"There are no sessions listed at all, you can't skate either." Giyuu counters.
"Mr. Gyoumei and I have an agreement," Sanemi explains. "Ice cuts and odd jobs in exchange for skating on the off hours."
"Coach Kagaya got special permission for me to do extra practice," Giyuu says.
Sanemi scowls. Giyuu blinks slowly. Seconds later they are huddled over a phone on a group call with Mr. Gyoumei, the rink manager, and Coach Kagaya.
"I'm fine with Tomioka skating as long as he helps with any maintenance if he makes a hole in the ice or something," Mr. Gyoumei says to Sanemi's frustration.
"He shouldn't be making holes in the ice when he jumps," Coach Kagaya warns. "But, yes, I don't see why you can take turns or each use half the rink to do some work."
"I'm certain I don't need to say don't shoot pucks at or shoulder-check each other while you're out there," Mr. Gyoumei chuckles and Sanemi rolls his eyes. "And don't stay up too late, no slacking on classes."
"Yes sir," Tomioka says, with the smallest frown, also frustrated.
"Have a good evening!"
The phone goes dark as the call ends. Sanemi stares at Giyuu and then out at the ice.
"I'll get the dividers," Sanemi says as he heads for the hockey box to retrieve the long pieces of foam to serve as a short partition.
"You need them to remember not to cross the middle line?" Giyuu asks as he takes his blade guards off.
"To prevent any pucks from ending up on your side," Sanemi barks.
"Oh." Giyuu turns and glides to the far side of the ice, leaving Sanemi to do all the work. Figures. (Pun intended).
And thus evening practices began. Sanemi would finish his homework in the warm front office of the rink before heading to the locker room to get his skates on and find Giyuu doing the same. A week passes before Giyuu begins helping put the dividers down the middle and do ice maintenance when he does leave a large hole after a jump. Sanemi knows could tattle to Coach Kagaya but he doesn't. Not worth the effort.
Near the end of September, Sanemi is at his desk working his way through a problem set when there is a knock at his door. He pushes back from his desk and opens the door to find one of the sophomores (Jack? Chad? Chuck?) smiling.
"Hey Shinazugawa!"
"Hi," Sanemi says. "Do you need something?"
"A couple people were talking about dorm-bonding activities," Jack/Chad/Chuck says.
"Isn't that the resident assistant's job?" Sanemi asks.
"I think we can all agree they aren't great at this. So a couple of us are taking initiative! We were thinking ice skating, people wanna see you and Tomioka in action, you're practically pros! So are you free this Friday to head down to the rink?" He asks, eyes shining like a puppy's.
"I live at the rink," Sanemi mutters and Jack/Chad/Chuck laughs.
"Great! This is gonna be awesome!"
"Good luck getting Tomioka to agree to come though, he's always done his own thing," Sanemi warns.
"No need! Brittany and Chuck already talked to him earlier and got him to agree!" Jack/Chad/not-Chuck (maybe Jose?) grins. He gives a wave and moves along to the next dorm.
Sanemi lets his door close and stares at the woodgrain, wondering how the fuck a bunch of strangers got Tomioka to agree to anything. Unless his ignoring-aloofness is reserved for Sanemi alone. Sanemi isn't sure which reason is more aggravating, having someone else get Tomioka to agree or Sanemi being singled out.
He kicks a pile of dirty laundry on the floor and slumps back into his chair. He struggles to concentrate on the problem set for the rest of the evening.
~•~
"Proof first." Giyuu waits in his doorway with arms crossed.
"Salmon daikon has been added to the meal rotation in the dining hall. It'll be served at the fish station every third Wednesday. I will be overseeing the prep myself." Chuck holds up his phone and Giyuu looks closely at the screenshot.
"Good." Giyuu picks up his skate bag and slings it over his shoulder. "We can go now."
The excitement is palpable as almost the entire floor filters towards the stairs. Giyuu is halfway down the flight when he feels a shoulder knock against his.
"What gives? You're social now?" Sanemi sneers.
Giyuu says nothing and grits his teeth. Annoyance circles in his chest. Why is Sanemi making such a big deal of this? Is Giyuu that much of a shut-in? He doesn't think so. Or maybe Sanemi is making a big deal about him on purpose just to be a jerk. Giyuu shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and begins listing leg muscles to prevent the thoughts from circling (adductor longus, gastrocnemius, sartorius…).
The group is halfway to the rink when Giyuu suddenly realizes the irony that is the fact that he and Sanemi are walking side by side and talking to nobody. He thinks about making a comment, something along the lines of 'so much for being social,' but can't think of a way to phrase it that doesn't indirectly insult himself.
Inside the rink, music blasts as crowds of college students stumble and slide on the ice, laughing their heads off. Giyuu laces his skates and heads to the door before realizing Sanemi isn't behind him. He turns and sees him helping the other students from their floor tie their skates. Giyuu can only imagine how raw his hands are going to become from all the laces. He looks down at his hands and then at some of the people whose skates are much too lose.
"Do you want help," Giyuu awkwardly asks Brittany, his chatty neighbor who had pestered Giyuu about the outing and called Chuck in to make the dining hall deal.
"Oh my god, yes please!" she says enthusiasically.
Giyuu helps tighten her skates which sets off a series of 'tie mine too? I need help! How do mine look?' By the time Giyuu steps onto the ice, his hands are tingling and red but nobody looks like they are about to break an ankle.
The ice feels like gravel from the hundreds of tiny grooves accumulated from all the skating. A thick layer of pebbly snow covers the whole surface. Giyuu takes a lap to warm up, staying towards the center where the ice is a bit better and there are less people. He breaths over his hands, trying to warm them up and hears a loud carving sound behind him. He slows, letting Sanemi catch up.
"This ice is horrible," Giyuu says the moment he is within earshot.
"Aw, I'd offer to do an ice cut for you darlin', but I know you hate when I do them," Sanemi coos with just a touch of venom.
"Good thing I wasn't asking you to," Giyuu frowns.
"Yeah, good thing, I don't like chasing impossible standards," Sanemi retorts and skates away. Giyuu watches him loop back to the large group of sophomore boys who are falling over each other and roaring with laughter.
"Giyuu!" He turns to see Brittany stumbling towards him, a gaggle of freshman following her.
"Hi." He meets her halfway and offers an arm for her to grab onto. She wobbles and he has to brace to prevent her from taking both of them to the ground.
"Do something cool!" She insists, and suddenly everyone is demanding to see jumpy-spins and triple-double-axels and other stuff that doesn't actually exist but Giyuu gets the gist.
He steps away and finds a somewhat smooth patch of ice before doing a quick, simple spin. The group cheers and claps and demands more. He obliges, showing some fancy moves, more spins, the smallest jumps he can get away with given the busyness and ice quality.
He is gliding back to the group when he catches Sanemi watching with his arms crossed. Sanemi looks away before their eyes meet and Giyuu's shoulders hitch, his stomach does a little flip-flop.
"Sanemi said at introductions that you have a partner, Shinobu?" Brittany asks, arms waving to keep her balance. "She's in my English class!"
"We've skated together since we were teens," Giyuu says.
"Are you going to go to the Olympics?" Brittany asks and them promptly falls.
"Maybe," Giyuu helps her stand back up, "it depends on how the next couple years go. Shinobu thinks we can."
The group loses their collective minds, asking more questions than Giyuu can process, seemingly starstruck in the presence of a potential Olympian. Giyuu is reminded of the Kamado siblings and their contagious enthusiasm. Tanjirou was the first (and currently only) person to ever ask for his autograph. Sabito had laughed and laughed when the younger boy demanded one and Giyuu had gotten all flustered.
A loud shhhhhhh and an exhilarated scream grabs Giyuu's attention. He watches Sanemi laugh and go sprinting around the ice, zipping between people in the wild way hockey skaters are prone to do before flipping his skates sideways, hissing to a stop, and spraying more of their dorm mates with another shower of snow.
As if sensing Giyuu's gaze, Sanemi looks over his shoulder. Giyuu freezes like a deer in the headlights before slowly shifting his eyes away and turning back to the people near him.
This continues, each being asked to do tricks and feeling the other's eyes watching them as the night draws on. The crowds begin to thin until the speakers crackle with the announcement that skating time has ended and the ice must be cleared.
"...with the exception of Wisteria Hall residents."
Giyuu looks to Sanemi, one eyebrow raised. Sanemi grins as he skates up.
"Benefits of being the Zam' driver," he shrugs. "Let's have a race."
"If we all race at once people are going to crash."
"Relay race," Sanemi says as if it should have been obvious.
Giyuu blinks and looks at the groups that have gathered behind him and behind Sanemi, an almost perfect split of their dorm floor. He crosses his arms.
"Losing team has to take out the garbage for the next month!" Someone behind Sanemi yells.
"Oh, you're on!" Someone behind Giyuu answers.
"Rules?" Giyuu says, not budging. He knows that Sanemi knows how dangerous racing can be, especially for those have just enough coordination to go fast but not enough experience to do so safely.
"Everyone has to go from the goal line around some cones on the opposite end. Whoever's team gets everyone there and back first wins." Sanemi says. "You and me go last."
Giyuu sizes up their respective teams. They are not evenly matched in terms of skill. A couple on Giyuu's team have yet to manage taking three steps without almost falling while everyone on Sanemi's team is relatively stable.
If he says no, it will look like Giyuu is to scared to challenge or admitting Sanemi is better.
If he says yes, his team will certainly lose and then Sanemi can brag he is better.
Giyuu wracks his mind for a way out of the impossible, lose-lose situation until he glances over his team once more and an idea forms in his head.
"Deal." He says. "Relay race, first team to get everyone there and back wins."
Sanemi grins wolfishly. He gets a couple cones to mark the turnaround and while Giyuu begins to arrange his team in a specific order. They line up at the start, buzzing with anticipation.
"On your mark, get set, go!"
The first pair is off at maximum speed while people cheer and holler and throw insults. They return to tag the second, the seconds the third, the thirds the fourth and so on. Giyuu and Sanemi keep a close eye, pacing up and down the back of the ice as they watch. Giyuu's assumption of his team's skills were correct, a couple people fall, others stumble, and slowly Sanemi's team begins to build up a lead.
When it dwindles down to the last couple people, Giyuu takes off his gloves and jacket, setting them aside. He adjusts his jogger pants and then goes to stand next to Brittany. On the opposite side, Sanemi has also taken his hoodie off and shifts from foot to foot.
"Ready?" He quietly asks Brittany.
She nods.
Sanemi is a hockey skater, his default skating is that of incredible speed. Giyuu does pairs, which also requires speed but more so within the confines of a choreographed pattern. In a head-to-head race, Sanemi is going to be the 'better' skater. There is an argument to be made about 'better' being a relative term and technically the two sports cannot truly be compared. But there isn't time for that.
Sanemi's second-to-last skater is tagged while Brittany is still waiting in front of Giyuu. Sanemi flashes him a cocky grin that Giyuu pointedly ignores. Because Sanemi has forgotten that while, yes, he may be faster than Giyuu in a speed race, Giyuu has plenty of experience carrying teammates.
And Brittany is roughly the same height and weight as Shinobu.
The second her hand is tagged, Giyuu picks Brittany up and goes racing across the ice.
"What the hell! TOMIOKA!"
Giyuu can barely hear Sanemi's bellow over the sound of Brittany screaming in his ear as she holds on the way he taught her: "Waahooooo! See ya suckers! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!"
He skates and skates before arcing around the cone, wind rushing in his ears as they hurtle back to the starting line. They pass the skater on Sanemi's team and come screeching to a stop. Sanemi shouts something Giyuu does not pay attention to as he sets Brittany down, makes sure she isn't going to fall over, and goes sprinting back up the ice for his own lap.
It's not much of a lead but it's better than nothing, he'll make it enough. He hears Sanemi roar and begin thundering after him when it's his turn. Their hall mates yell and cheer. Giyuu digs deep and takes the tightest circle he can around the cone, seeing Sanemi is only steps behind him. The swish-swish of his own skates are nearly over shadowed by the scratch-scratch of Sanemi's. He's gaining! Giyuu puts his head down and skates for his life back to the finish line.
He hurtles over the line just a step ahead of Sanemi and both of them spray the back wall with snow as they come skidding to a halt. Giyuu's teammates scream wildly. He doesn't have a second to even catch his breath before he ends up with the bright logo of the Kimetsu University Hockey Team in his face.
"YOU CHEATER!" Sanemi roars and grabs the front of Giyuu's shirt. "YOU FUCKING CHEATER!"
"Let go." Giyuu warns and knocks Sanemi's fist away only to have Sanemi crowd him again.
"I knew you were a crafty motherfucker but that was-"
"-you said everyone had to go around the cones once. You didn't specify they had to do it themselves." Giyuu points out, poking Sanemi's heaving chest chest.
"Did you resort to cheating because you didn't think you could beat me?" Sanemi yells. "Didn't think your skills were enough? You're the one who said you're not like the rest of us!"
Frustration flares in Giyuu and he snaps. He not going to just stand there and take Sanemi yelling at him. Maybe if they were alone or if it was something Giyuu didn't care about. But this is their dorm floor and Sanemi is twisting his words again.
"You stacked the teams! Didn't think I'd notice you gathered people who better before proposing a race? Who's the cheater now?"
"Don't you dare call me a cheater!" Sanemi shouts, matching the language switch.
"Well I'm not calling you a strategist!"
Sanemi's snarls and Giyuu's face twists and hands appear on both of their shoulders pulling them away from each other.
"Guys, guys!" Chuck waves his arms and steps between them. "I don't know what you're saying but it is just a race."
"We can all take out our own garbage," Brittany says, wobbling and windmilling her arms. "Don't need to go through with the bet, it's fine. We all were just trying to have fun."
Giyuu and Sanemi shuffle apart, not looking at each other as the rest of their hall mates stare in shock.
"Uh, now we can watch Shinazugawa drive the Zamboni?" Chuck suggests awkwardly.
Everyone agrees and shuffles off the ice. Sanemi angrily kicks his skates off and marches down to the Zamboni doors. He takes his time cutting the ice, by the time he is finished, it is glassy smooth without a gap to be found. After he is done, he continues to scowl but appears to have calmed down enough to not shout anymore.
Giyuu takes his time rhythmically drying his skates and arranging them just so in his bag. He takes a deep breath and pulls his jacket back on. It's just a race. A race he won by paying attention and taking advantage of Shinazugawa's lack of specificity.
On the walk back to the dorms, he is not blind to the fact that he and Sanemi are intentionally kept from interacting. Back at Wisteria Hall, Giyuu marches to his room without even a second glance at Sanemi.
Through the wall, he hears him kick off his shoes louder than normal.
~•~
The first evening-practice after the skating night with their floor is tense. Giyuu doesn't help with the dividers and doesn't say a word to Sanemi. Which is fine with him, Giyuu can stew in his cheating guilt for the rest of the year for all he cares.
Sanemi spends the next week doing his drills with his back to Giyuu, hearing only his own thoughts and the sound of his skates. But the almost-silence doesn't last. He is firing shot after shot into the net when he hears something from Giyuu's side he's never heard before: a sudden gasp followed by a long skiiiiiiiiiiid. He whips around and sees Giyuu stumble and trip over the divider, falling onto Sanemi's side of the ice.
"Hey!" Sanemi rushes over and stops next to him. "What happened?"
"I was closer than I thought and couldn't to stop in time," Giyuu says quietly as he picks himself back up and brushes ice off his hands.
"Oh. Okay."
Giyuu bites his lip.
"Shinazugawa, could we move them? Just for five minutes so I can practice one of my jumps. Its hard to set it up with just half the ice." Giyuu shifts from foot to foot before muttering: "Please."
"Fine." Together they push the dividers aside.
Sanemi clears the pucks as Giyuu does a few small practice hops. Sanemi watches Giyuu start with steps that must be from his and Shinobu's routine before gaining speed, launching off the ice (hok!), and landing clean ( chaaaah!).
"Holy shit," Sanemi yells before he can realize what he is doing. "You flew!"
Giyuu blinks and looks shocked, uncertain how to respond to the praise. "Uh, thanks."
Sanemi leans against the boards and watches as Giyuu does it again, and again, and again. Each time the jump looks near-perfect and Sanemi wonders why he even bothers to practice. (He knows why, practice is not just for competence but for maintenance).
"Looks perfect." Sanemi says when Giyuu skates by.
"It has to stay perfect," Giyuu mumbles and realization pings in Sanemi's head.
From their evening practices, Sanemi has already picked up that Giyuu fixates on things, maybe more than necessary. Every session, Giyuu runs through a series of maneuvers until each one looks near perfect or he becomes too tired to try them again. Sanemi didn't put it together until he saw Giyuu mess something up during practice with Shinobu once and then saw him run it dozens of times later that night. Initially, he thought it was just Tomioka being meticulous but the second he says the jump has to 'stay perfect,' the final piece of the puzzle clicks.
It's pressure.
Sanemi remembers the unease he felt as a freshman, fearing that if he messed something up during a game, he would not get to play next time. The pressure woke him up in the middle of the night, ate at the back of his mind during class, pushed him to train and drill until his muscles shook.
Now as a junior, skating with his team for the third year, Sanemi knows the pressure is not real. He has a spot on his team and doesn't need to fixate on polishing out all mistakes until everything is textbook perfect. His skating is more fluid and secure as opposed to rigid and sterile. The only pressure left is the pressure to keep improving for the good of the team. They are a family, it is them against every other team, no room for competition amongst his brothers and sisters.
He's never talked to Giyuu long enough to even guess if it is the same for him. Is his spot secure? Is that something Giyuu even knows? What kind of pressure is there? Just how much does it weigh on him? Sanemi glances at the clock. They've been practicing for over an hour.
"Hey," he calls, "it's getting late. Let's call it quits."
"One more," Giyuu mutters and sets off to complete another flawless jump.
After the jump, Giyuu helps Sanemi put the dividers away.
"You're good," Sanemi says as they shove the last one into place behind the hockey box. "Your skills, you've got them."
Giyuu glances at him out of the corner of his eye.
Sanemi grits his teeth. "Sorry for what I said when we took the dorm skating. About doubting your skills being enough."
"Oh." Giyuu says quietly. "Sorry for twisting the rules of the race."
"It's whatever," Sanemi sighs. "The stuff I said was a cheap shot."
"You take all the shots you can," Giyuu shrugs.
"I shouldn't have-" Sanemi stops short and squints. "Did you just try to make a hockey joke?"
Giyuu turns and begins skating towards the exit.
"Hey!" Sanemi calls after him. "I asked you a question, Tomioka!"
For once, Sanemi isn't bothered by the fact that Giyuu ignores him. For the first time ever, it makes him chuckle.
You're good. Your skills, you've got them.
Giyuu has no explanation for why those words carry him through the next week. Even Shinobu picks up on it and asks what changed. He mumbles an explanation that he knows she doesn't believe. Sanemi Shinazugawa, giving him a compliment? And that compliment making him skate better? Unheard of. Terrifying.
But maybe it is true. Maybe Giyuu is good at this, great even.
He should have known better than to trust in that feeling. He learns his lesson soon enough.
The music swells and Giyuu grabs Shinobu's hand, pulling her around the ice as Coach Kagaya and Coach Amane watch. They arc up and around one side, wind whipping their hair and the woosh-woosh of their skates filling their ears as they gain speed. They head down the ice, readying themselves for their twist lift.
Twist lifts are notoriously difficult. It is a delicate matter of timing and momentum, a formula the two of them have spent eons perfecting. It is near muscle memory, Giyuu launching Shinobu above his head, Shinobu snapping her arms and legs tight to spin, both of them in sync for the neat catch and landing.
Giyuu positions himself to be behind Shinobu as they head towards the corner of the ice, grabs her hips and readies himself. They both hear the count in the music, Shinobu jumps, Giyuu pushes to get her extra height and-
-and feels his blade catch in a massive hole in the ice, yanking his foot out from under him.
Shinobu yelps when she realizes the twist lift has gone wrong and Giyuu goes sailing back with a gasp. Instinct tells him to throw his arms behind him to break his fall, his mind screams protect Shinobu!
"AAH!" He slams hard against the ice, arms up to try to catch and slow Shinobu as she crashes down after him. Together they go careening across the ice in a tangled heap. Giyuu has just enough time to curl his arms protectively around Shinobu before they hit the wall.
WHAM!
"~~yuu! ~~~ y~~ o~ay?"
The first few seconds after impact are disorienting.
"~iyuu!"
Everything sounds like it is underwater.
"Ar~ yo~ ~kay?"
The impact knocked the wind out of him and he struggles to call it back.
"Giyuu!" Shinobu screams, kneeling at his side.
"Are you hurt?" Giyuu wheezes.
Shinobu looks like she is about to cry, her eyes are glassy and her breaths are rapid. Her face is pinched in a way that tells him he's asked the wrong question, she is in pain . He should have asked what was hurting.
"Answer me first!" She cries.
Giyuu pushes himself upright and hisses as pain shoots through his torso; his ribs harmonize with the agony in his hip and back. His eyes burn as tears gather in the corners and his vision darkens at the edges. He curls in on himself, ducking his head to his knees so he doesn't pass out and balls his fists. Fuck, their fall was a bad one.
"Giyuu! Shinobu!" Coach Kagaya yells as he runs across the ice with Coach Amane close behind.
"He's hurt!" Shinobu cries.
"Stay sitting, don't try and stand yet," Coach Kagaya says, dropping to his knees next to them. "Giyuu, tell me what hurts, did you hit your head?"
"Shinobu, are you okay?" Giyuu gasps, lifting his head to look at her. He will never forgive himself if she is injured.
"You stopped most of my fall," Shinobu's voice waivers, "but my arm is bleeding."
Giyuu stares at the strip of road-rash that runs from her elbow to halfway to her wrist. Blood steadily drips onto the ice, deep red clashing with brilliant white. Coach Amane pulls some tissues from her pocket and presses them against the gash.
"Giyuu," Coach Kagaya urges, "your head, did you hit your head?"
Did he hit his head? He can't remember feeling it knock against the ice or the wall. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as the rest of him.
"I don't think so. I hit my hip and my back," he rasps, "and Shionbu landed on my chest."
Shinobu gives a small sob.
"Not your fault," Giyuu rushes. Better than her hitting the ice.
"Does anything feel broken?" Coach Kagaya asks.
"No," he says and slowly, slowly uncurls to sits upright again as Coach Kagaya sighs in relief.
Now that Giyuu has had a second to breath, he groans as his stomach churns and his head buzzes with static.All the stimuli around him feel unpleasantly sharp. He blinks, wincing at the way the lights reflect harshly off the white surface.
"Let's get them off the ice," Coach Amane says.
Giyuu looks towards the entrance at the opposite end of the ice, a distance that suddenly seems impossibly far.
"Do you think you can make it to the hockey box?" Coach Kagaya asks gently.
"Coach!" Everyone turns in the direction of the shout followed by a loud clunk. Sanemi pulls open the Zamboni doors that are only a few feet away from them and waves urgently. "Bring them off here!"
"Thank you, Sanemi!" Coach Amane calls.
"Amane, take Shinobu," Coach Kagaya instructs. "I've got Giyuu."
"Come with me dear," Coach Amane says gently.
Shinobu nods, wiping tears before the have a chance to run down her face. She lets Coach Amane help her up and wrap a comforting arm around her as she trembles. Giyuu's heart drops at the sight. It's all wrong, it isn't how Shinobu is supposed to look. She isn't someone who cries over skinned elbows and bruised knees, she's overwhelmed, shaken by the bad fall. Because of him.
"Giyuu, let me help you," Coach Kagaya says and gently puts and arm around Giyuu and carefully helps him get his feet under him so he can stand. The second Giyuu is upright, the ground beneath him rolls and he struggles to keep his footing.
"Whoa!" Coach Kagaya holds him tight, trying to steady him.
A wall of warmth appears at Giyuu's other side, a scarred hand grabs his free arm and drapes it across a broad set of shoulders.
"I've got this side," Sanemi says. With him in shoes and Giyuu in skates, they are now the same height. He smells like the coffee they brew in the front office. "Let's go."
Giyuu goes to try and skate but the arms around his torso tighten.
"Don't," Coach Kagaya orders, "hold still and just glide. Let us get you to the door."
"Alright," Giyuu says quietly.
Sanemi and Coach Kagaya stay at his side, taking small steps in their shoes, steadying him as he steps off the ice and onto the rubber floor.
"Here, sit here," Sanemi urges, directing them to a waiting chair.
Giyuu sits gingerly, biting out another groan at the flash of pain. His vision blurs and he blinks furiously to try and refocus. Coach Kagaya checks him over more closely, having him move his arms and legs, testing his ability to turn his head and twist his torso. It hurts but not the kind of deep pain that he knows accompanies broken bones or injured muscles; he knows the difference.
"Is there a hockey game tonight?" Sanemi asks once Coach Kagaya finishes.
Giyuu's brow furrows. "You're the hockey player."
"And you always look at the schedule when you walk in. Can you remember if there is a game tonight?" Sanemi asks earnestly, crouching to be eye-level and putting hand on Giyuu's knee.
Giyuu tries to think of why Sanemi would want to know when he could easily walk to the front and look for himself. Why does Sanemi suddenly need to know if his own team has a game?
He closes his eyes, trying to recall the schedule. Late session on a non-game night goes until eight o'clock. His and Shinobu's lesson with the coaches was supposed to end at...five o'clock? The dining hall stays open until eight-thirty, normally he has time to get dinner and then return to do the late session. With it getting darker, he prefers to take the campus bus rather than walk. It runs every twenty minutes-
"-Tomioka," Sanemi gently shakes his knee.
"What?" Giyuu whines, opening his eyes and immediately wishing he hadn't when the lights make them twinge. He winces and looks back at the ground to avoid the brightest ones.
"Coach, I think you need to take him to the hospital," Sanemi abruptly says to Coach Kagaya. "I think he's concussed."
"I didn't hit my head," Giyuu argues. Every part of him aches, he just wants to lie down. He really doesn't want to ride the bus feeling like this. "Can you just call Tsutako to pick me up and take me home? Please?"
"You don't need to hit your head to get a concussion. A hard enough impact, like a fall, can cause one," Sanemi says, "I know because it's happened to me before."
"And Tsutako lives in the city," Shinobu cries, sounding near-frantic. "Giyuu, she is hours away."
"Fuzzy memory, sensitivity to lights, confusion" Sanemi lists off. "Tomioka, do you feel sick? Or Dizzy?"
"I -fuck- I don't know," Giyuu groans and rests his head in his hands. Everything hurts, everyone is talking to much, asking too many questions. Maybe he feels a bit sick and a bit dizzy . He just wants to go home. He wants Tsutako to come and get him, give him ice packs and a cup of tea, and let him lie on the couch except Shinobu is right, she is hours away.
"I believe you're correct, Sanemi." Coach Kagaya stands up. "Giyuu, we should get you checked out. Amane, can you cover my evening lessons?"
"Yes, keep me updated," Coach Amane says. "Shinobu, I can bandage your arm."
"I don't want to leave Giyuu," she says.
"I'll be fine. You should go with her." Giyuu whispers, still holding his head. The dizziness and nausea are starting to grow more noticeable. He wishes he had some of his mother's ginger candies or his father there to brush his hair from his face and tell him everything's alright.
"Shinobu, I'll look after him and keep you updated too," Coach Kagaya promises.
"You sure you'll be alright?" Shinobu asks.
"I'll text you," Giyuu says when he sees the indecision dance across Shinobu's face. She takes a shaky breath and finally follows Coach Amane to the front of the rink where the first aid kit is. Blood soaks through the thin tissues pressed against her arm.
"Sanemi, stay with him while I get his skate bag and bring the car around," Coach Kagaya orders.
"Yes Coach," Sanemi says.
Sanemi unlaces Giyuu's skates and gently removes them. After Coach Kagaya returns with his things, Sanemi helps him shove his shoes back on and dries his skates before putting them into his bag. Giyuu is unable to summon the energy to double check that everything is packed the way he likes it.
While they wait for Coach Kagaya to return again, Giyuu leans forward with a quiet 'ugh' and Sanemi roughly grabs his ponytail and yanks it away from his face. "Ah! What?"
"Thought you were going to be sick," Sanemi says. "Do you need me to get a bucket?"
"No," Giyuu shakes his head. "Just hurts."
Sanemi lets go of his hair and steps away for a second before returning with several plastic bags.
"Here, ice," he says, mouth quirking into a half-smile, "fresh from the Zamboni."
"Thanks." Giyuu presses the first two against his hip and to his chest. Sanemi takes the third and holds it against his back. Giyuu shivers at the cold, the condensation slowly seeping through his shirt.
"If I'm right, you're going to feel like shit for a couple days," Sanemi warns.
"I already feel like shit," Giyuu groans.
"Want me to grab any work from your classes?" Sanemi asks. "You're not going to wanna even try and do it for at least a week though."
"I don't know, I don't care," he says in a pinched voice. He shivers again and whimpers in discomfort. His own jacket is still sitting in the hockey box where he took it off at the start of the lesson. He should have asked Shinobu to grab it for him.
"Here," Sanemi says and pulls off his sweatshirt, handing it to Giyuu and helping him slowly feed his arms through the sleeves. He carefully pulls the hood up over his head. "To keep some of the light out.
"Thanks," Giyuu whispers.
Sanemi doesn't take his sweatshirt back when Coach Kagaya returns to walk with Giyuu to the car. He keeps the hood up as they drive to the hospital, calling Tsutako on the way. He nearly cries at the sound of her voice, fretting over the news of his fall. She stays on the line until they arrive, telling him to keep calm and everything will turn out just fine. In the waiting room, he leans against Coach Kagaya, hands tucked in the front pocket of Sanemi's sweatshirt to keep them warm.
A couple hours later, he is discharged with instructions to be woken periodically for the remainder of the night and to spend the next week resting as much as he can. On the way home, he calls his parents and listens to their voices, head resting on Sanemi's sweatshirt, balled up and serving as a pillow. He drifts into an uncomfortable sleep, lights from the road a touch to bright to be pretty.
~•~
Coach Amane holds a hand against her heart as she nods along to what her husband says on the phone. She wears a sympathetic frown and responds with calm words: 'yes, alright, I agree, of course.'
Sanemi tries his best to hide that he is hovering, but she is too perceptive for that.
"You were right," she says once she hangs up. "He has a mild concussion."
"Fuck," Sanemi says. And then realizes he just cussed in front of her. "Sorry."
"It's alright, I know you were worried," she says gently. "No broken bones, the doctor says he is going to have some impressive bruises."
Sanemis shoulders sag in relief. The shouts and loud collision with the wall were what initially grabbed Sanemi's attention. He started sprinting to the end doors when he realized neither Shinobu nor Giyuu were moving and saw the coaches leap out of the hockey box to run to them. He's seen worse injuries from smaller falls. Hitting and sliding seemed to be what saved them, taking away most of the momentum.
"He got lucky" Sanemi says.
"They both did," Coach Amane agrees. She sighs. "He will be off the ice for a week or two."
"Has Coach Kagaya told Shinobu?" Sanemi asks.
"He should be calling her right now," Coach Amane says.
Shinobu had been an absolute mess even after Coach Amane had patched her arm up, worrying about Giyuu, asking if it was her fault, if she had done something wrong. Coach Amane did her best to reassure her while Sanemi called Mitsuri. How ironic, Giyuu's skating partner and Sanemi's teammate being friends while the two of them were...certainly not. Mitsuri came and walked with Shinobu back to her dorm, promising to keep her company until she calmed down. He makes a mental note to ask Mitsuri for an update later, make sure Shinobu is alright.
"It's getting late Sanemi," Coach Amane says, "I know your shift ended a while ago. You must be hungry for supper and probably have studying to do."
He does have an exam coming up. He grabs his backpack and coat and looks for his Kimetsu University hoodie before remembering he gave it to Giyuu to borrow. He briefly wonders if he will ever get it back.
At the dorms, Sanemi eats and reviews his notes for his classes. Mitsuri texts him back that Shinobu is fine, relieved that Giyuu will be alright after a couple weeks recovery. He drags his feet getting ready for bed, keeping an ear tuned to the surrounding noises, but falls asleep without ever hearing Giyuu return.
Several days pass without a peep from the room to the left of Sanemi's. Tomioka has never been so quiet and Sanemi eventually realizes that he must not be in his room. Which begs the question, where is he? Not that Sanemi is worried, but if Giyuu has ended up dead in a ditch somewhere, Sanemi is going to regret loaning the jacket.
He doesn't have Giyuu's number so it takes some asking around before he learns which classes he is taking and goes to pick up the homework and lecture notes. Each professor seems genuinely surprised when Sanemi shows up the first time. He cannot help but think of the conversation he overheard weeks ago and numbly realizes the professors are surprised because nobody has done this for Giyuu before. By the end of the week, the know to expect Sanemi and a few ask him to pass along their encouragement and hopes for a swift recovery. Except Sanemi doesn't even know where Giyuu is.
The afternoon after his midterm, the mystery is resolved.
Sanemi is lying back in his bed, thinking about some of the harder questions when he hears a set of slow, quiet footsteps approaching and stopping just to the left of his room. Finally, he hears Giyuu's door open and close. Two voices filter through the thin wall, one is definitely Giyuu's and the other sounds like Coach Kagaya. After a few minutes of speaking in low tones, there is a dull creak sound as Giyuu lies down on his bed followed by his door opening and shutting once more.
Seconds later, there is a knock on Sanemi's door. He opens it to find Coach Kagaya standing on the other side.
"Hey Coach."
"Hello Sanemi," Coach Kagaya smiles. "I just brought Giyuu back to his dorm, he was staying with Amane and I for a couple days."
"I figured," Sanemi says. It makes sense, unlike unruly college students constantly forgetting how thin the walls are, the Kagaya children are much better behaved and can follow instructions to keep the noise level low. "How is he?"
"He's alright. He's resting now and will be taking it easy for the next couple days." Coach Kagaya holds up his phone, "if it isn't too much trouble, could I send you Giyuu's number? Just in case?"
"Sure," Sanemi says and pulls out his phone. Seconds later, it chimes with a message notification.
"I want to thank you for last week," Coach Kagaya says. "I know neither of them are your teammates yet you helped just the same, without hesitation. Thank you for your quick acting, noticing Giyuu needed to go to the hospital, and for making sure Shinobu was taken care of afterwards too."
"You're welcome," Sanemi says, picking at the edge of his shirt, unsure how to react to the sincere gratitude in Coach Kagaya's voice.
"You're a good alternate captain, Sanemi," Coach Kagaya says. "I will see you at practice."
"Yes Coach."
After Coach Kagaya leaves, Sanemi sits down at his desk and enters Giyuu's number into his contacts.
From xxx-xxx-xxxx: hey this is shinazugawa.
From xxx-xxx-xxxx: Coach Kagaya gave me your number just in case you need anything
From xxx-xxx-xxxx: i have your homrwork and some lecture notes
Read 4:37pm
Sanemi studies until half-past six before he slips on a pair of shoes and heads for the dining hall. He's halfway there when he remembers the dorm's communal kitchen is shit and he hasn't heard anything from Tomioka's room.
From xxx-xxx-xxxx: do you have food? I'm at the dining hall now
From xxx-xxx-xxxx: u have any allergies?
From Giyuu Tomioka: no.
From Sanemi Shinazugawa: k
Sanemi balances the two to-go boxes in one hand and quietly knocks on Giyuu's door with the other. After a pause, it opens revealing a very tired looking Tomioka.
"Hey," Sanemi says quietly. "Top box is yours."
"Thanks," Giyuu says and after a pause, "Do you want to come in?"
Sanemi stalls in the doorway for a half-second before shrugging and following Giyuu inside. Giyuu slowly climbs back onto his bed, a veritable mess of blankets and too many pillows, while Sanemi sits at the chair in front of a neatly organized desk. With the exception of the bed, the whole room is clean and orderly.
Unlike Sanemi's, there are no posters or decorations on the wall. There are a few photographs of Giyuu with Shinobu and other friends, most pictures taken at ice rinks in fancy costumes. The only non-rink photos of Giyuu are him with his parents and sister. The overhead lights stay off and the blinds are shut. The desk lamp emits a low glow that feels like candlelight.
"How are you?" Sanemi asks, as he opens his box.
"Better than last week." Giyuu shrugs. "Headaches aren't constant anymore."
"Good," Sanemi says around a mouthful of food.
"Did you say you've had a concussion before?" Giyuu asks.
"In high school." Sanemi nods, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Someone tripped me with their stick during a game."
"Isn't that against the rules?" Giyuu says as he tries to scoop up a piece of broccoli.
"Yup. I landed super hard but didn't hit my head at all. My coach had me take a break in the box and then noticed I was acting different," Sanemi explains. "I just remember suddenly feeling really confused and dizzy."
Giyuu hums thoughtfully.
They eat in a weird silence, the absence of antagonism or snide comments leaves a hole that Sanemi doesn't know how to fill. He is used to having to keep on his toes when eating with others, fighting to stay on top of rapid conversations with his siblings or good-natured teasing with his teammates.
"I've got your stuff from your classes," Sanemi says and internally cringes, remembering Giyuu read the message he had sent earlier.
"Thanks," Giyuu says.
"One of the worksheets has a really grainy picture that you're supposed to label. Good luck."
"They always picks terrible diagrams," Giyuu sighs.
"I'll drop them off tomorrow. Do you need me to bring breakfast?"
"It's not like I'm bedridden, I can go and get my own food," Giyuu huffs.
"Just offering," Sanemi says, finding comfort in the familiar, snappy back-and-fourth. He puts the disposable silverware and napkin in his empty to-go box. "You have my number now so don't push yourself. I've gone through this process enough times to know you can't rush the recovery."
"Is that why your head is shaped the way it is?"
"For other people, dumbass," Sanemi bristles.
"Your bedside manner needs work," Giyuu says.
"Starve." Sanemi shoves his trash into Giyuu's trashcan and stomps back to his room. Behind him, he hears the quietest huff of laughter. By the time his door is shut, he is already wondering if he imagined it.
~•~
Giyuu sleeps, stretches, and tries to study for the next couple days. The morning after Sanemi brought him dinner, his attempt to go to the dining hall for breakfast goes poorly. All the noise and lights trigger an immediate headache and he sulks back to his dorm, opting to text Shinobu for help instead of Sanemi.
The must have exchanged numbers, come dinnertime Sanemi asks if he wants chicken or beef with his noodles and brings another to-go box with more than enough food. They eat together again, Giyuu criss-cross on his bed, Sanemi reclining in his chair until Giyuu says something that makes him leave.
This becomes a sporadic habit, evening ice time swapped for Sanemi playing the guessing game of what Giyuu would want from the dining hall and Giyuu seeing how many comments Sanemi will tolerate before he leaves.
Each night, as soon as Sanemi is gone and Giyuu is out of things to keep himself busy, the fear returns.
He's been off the ice for two weeks. Shinobu says its fine but Giyuu disagrees. Their first competition is soon and Giyuu has fucked everything up. With all the missed practice time, it is going to be a game of catch-up to get back to the spot they were at before the fall. What if there isn't enough time? It's the first competition of the season, what if they underperform? What if this sets the tone for the rest of the season? Is it over before it even really starts?
What if Shinobu is furious at him but isn't saying anything? She did everything right, this is Giyuu's fuck-up, not hers. He was the one who chucked all their hard work down the drain, there is only so much training she can do by herself. What if Giyuu falls again and throws away all that progress too? What if he doesn't catch her? What if next time, she gets hurt?
One evening, the weight of the questions is so intense, Giyuu has to sit upright to be able to draw a full breath. Hands shaking, he checks the time on his phone and the dull light illuminates the laundry basket that is on the brink of overflowing. At last, something to keep him busy; it is unlikely anyone is doing laundry at this hour on a Tuesday-technically-Wednesday night.
Giyuu tugs the basket down to the shared laundry room and begins sorting into two piles. Lights and everything else (darks). He ought to do more loads but the thought of keeping track of more than two is tedious. He looks up in surprise when the door opens and shuts and is reminded that the universe never makes things easy for him.
"What are you doing up?" Sanemi asks.
"Laundry. What else?" Giyuu says flatly. Of all people, why him?
"Its past midnight," Sanemi states the obvious.
"You're here too," Giyuu points to the basket balanced on Sanemi's hip.
"My class tomorrow morning is cancelled, figured I'd get this chore done instead of doing it then," Sanemi shrugs. "What about you? Another headache?"
Giyuu shakes his head. Thankfully, Sanemi doesn't ask or comment anything more and places his basket on top of another machine. They sort clothes in silence for a while, listening to the loud tick-tock of the clock on the wall. Giyuu glances at the hockey shirt that is in Sanemi's basket.
"When this happened to you, how long did it take you to get back on the ice?" Giyuu asks quietly.
Sanemi stops sorting and looks at him just long enough for Giyuu to look away, uncomfortable by abnormally long stare.
"I'm going to tell you something that was told to me, and that I tell everyone who goes through this," Sanemi says. "It's going to be alright in the long run."
"Not what I asked," Giyuu mutters.
"I know," Sanemi says. "I am taking an educated guess that you're worried about how much this break will have thrown you off, how your next competition is going to go, how the season will turn out, all that."
Giyuu grits his teeth and digs his nails into his palms.
"In the long run, everything is going to be alright," Sanemi repeats, "you're good at what you do, you've got a good teammate and great coaches, you can make up the lost time. And if anyone gives you shit for not being immediately being perfect after you return from an injury, they ain't worth your time."
"But what if I mess it up again?" The question slips out before Giyuu can stop it.
"First, it was a total accident. Second, do the same thing," Sanemi answers. "Recover and get back out there. Everything turns out alright in the long run. Don't stress over the short term."
"What if-"
"-what-ifs are going to bring you down." Sanemi interrupts. "Go with what you got, you're alive, Shinobu can't wait to skate with you again, the sun is going to rise, whatever you need to tell yourself."
Giyuu bites his lip, his heard does a little skippity-skip which is concerning because he didn't have any caffeine today. It took him days to work through the simple compliment from Sanemi. The genuine and thoughtful attempt to make him feel better is making his head swim. He cannot think of a response so he says nothing, letting the silence sit and be Sanemi's problem. Sanemi has always had a problem with silence. Giyuu doesn't mind silence, it gives him time to think. This is fine. Everything is going to be okay in the long run. He'll get back out there, Shinobu will probably lecture him for ten, no, twenty minutes before giving one of her side-hugs that means she missed him, he'll have to catch up on his classes, make up the exam he missed, start his end of semester project, find out where his other blue fuzzy sock went-
"-Tomioka, is that my jacket?" Sanemi's question derails his train of thought.
"Huh?" Giyuu looks and realizes Sanemi is pointing to the black, Kimetsu University sweatshirt he is currently wearing.
"Its too big on you," Sanemi says.
"I always buy a bigger size, this one is mine," Giyuu insists.
"No it's not."
"Yes it is."
"No-"
"-yes, I can see the hole in the shoulder," Sanemi crosses his arms. "Unless you also have a hole in yours."
Giyuu looks at the shoulder and sees the small tear in the seam that he knows his jacket does not have. Which means the one he is wearing is in fact Sanemi's. So where is his? He furiously digs through his laundry basket and pulls out another Kimetsu University hoodie, sans hole and his initials written on the tag.
"Oh." Giyuu looks up at Sanemi who appears to be taking a very deep breath. "Do you want me to wash it for you?"
"Nah, I'll just throw it in with my stuff," Sanemi sighs and holds out a hand. "Prevent you from swiping it again."
"Sorry," Giyuu says, face warm.
"Whatever," Sanemi's words are muffled as Giyuu pulls Sanemi's hoodie up, worming his arms out and getting tangled as his shirt rides up, clinging to the soft fleece. "You've had a lot on your- holy shit!"
"What?" Giyuu pulls his head from the hoodie. He yelps when Sanemi grabs the edge of his shirt and yanks it higher. "Hey!"
"Tomioka," Sanemi gasps in shock he closely examines the bruise on his back, "what the hell, this thing is huge."
"Oh. It's looking better than it did last week," Giyuu says.
"It's got every color of the fucking rainbow!"
"If you think that looks bad, the one on my hip looks worse," Giyuu says, pointing. He turns to face Sanemi, taking his shirt and pulling it up more. He arches to show the smaller, yellow-green discoloration at the base of his ribs. "And this one isn't so bad, I think the dark spot is from Shinobu's shoulder when she fell on top of me."
"Goddamn, you bruise like a canvas takes paint," Sanemi mutters, face close enough that Giyuu can feel his breath ghost over his skin.
Giyuu freezes. What the fuck is he doing? Hiking his shirt up so Sanemi can stare at his chest is not something one does in a communal laundry room in the middle of the night!
"Anyways, they hardly hurt now, they just look bad." Giyuu says in a rush. He pulls his shirt back down, balls up the jacket, and shoves it into Sanemi's hands.
"Right," Sanemi says, also coming to his senses, grabbing the jacket and lurching back.
Giyuu turns away to dump his clothes into vacant machines along with the soap. Behind him, he Sanemi does the same.
"Are you putting anything on it?" Sanemi asks over the whoosh-whir of his machine starting up.
"I've got Arnica, it's not the first time I've gotten a bruise," Giyuu says dryly.
"Just asking," Sanemi retorts as he sits down at the small table and pulls out a notebook. "You almost stole my jacket, didn't know what else slipped your mind."
Giyuu choses to say nothing and starts up the cycles on the machines. He picks up his empty basket and starts walking towards the door.
"Oy! Don't forget to come back in an hour to move your loads to a dryer. If they sit in the washer they'll start to stink!" Sanemi calls.
Giyuu ignores that too, he knows how to do laundry.
He marches back to his room, feeling jittery from the exchange. He sits on his bed and struggles to read through some of his notes. First his thoughts scatter like rabbits, replaying Sanemi's comments and the way his breath felt warm on his chest. And then mortification makes his face burn, he just lifted his shirt and showed off bruises on his chest like they were friends goofing off in the middle of a locker room.
It takes far longer than it should before Giyuu is able to force himself focus only on what is on the page. Within minutes of trying to make sense of the notes, his eyes begin to grow heavy until they inevitably shut. When he opens them again, sunlight trickles through the curtains. He frantically checks the time on his phone and he sees the messages.
From Sanemi Shinazugawa: hey yours are don
From Sanemi Shinazugawa: you didn't set an alarn did you
From Sanemi Shinazugawa: darks are in dryer 4 lights are in dryer 7
From Sanemi Shinazugawa: com and get them when u read this in the morning. Hope you like wrinkles.
Giyuu does not text back. He gets up and runs to the laundry room.