A chuckle slipped past his mouth and Westly finds himself shaking his head ever so slightly, the gesture fond in nature, while he watched the kids being such loud bunch as they got off the ice. And yet, despite the smile gracing flush features, there was a melancholic gleam behind his gaze, easily missed if one wasn't paying much attention, fingers idly scratching at the tape on his stick. As much as he loved what he was doing, and was glad that he was still able to be on the ice in any capacity, the hollow space within his ribcage seemed to grow wider and wider with the passing of time.
Westly's mind was starting to wander into dangerous territories, but before the all too familiar abyss could take a hold of him and drag him under, the sound of blades against the ice brought him back to the present. He knew who it was even before Kip came into focus, mostly because it wasn't rare for the other to skate after he was done with the kids, but also because it was easy for Westly to recognize people by the way they skated, there were always differences, even if subtle.
A grin easily gracing his features at the other's words, and he found himself bringing a hand to his own chest in a rather dramatic way. " My savior. Did I ever tell you are my new favorite person? " His tone playful, however his grin softened into a grateful smile when he took the cup of hot chocolate from Kip. A content hum leaving his mouth after he took a sip of the chocolate, warmth spreading through his whole frame. " Yeah, definitely my favorite. " He confirmed.
Oh, if that didn't drag a rather unflattering snort from him. " They only like me because I don't always make 'em pick up all the pucks. " He joked, tapping the half empty bucket near him, the rest of the pucks scattered around the goal crease not that far behind him. Truth to be told, he was doing his best, trying his hardest with the kids, making sure to not fall into the same habits of his coaches while he grew up. " They are doing good, though. I'm keeping an eye on a couple of them, I think they could go far. " In the right hands. A hum followed by Westly taking another sip from the cup before moving to carefully balance it on the board.
" How are things for you? " It was a board question, one that could easily discarded or answered in a superficial way, reason why he posed it like that. He didn't like to pry however he had always been good at noticing things, and the other always seemed a tad more tense whenever he came around to skate after the kids' practice.
Westly started to skate backward then, dragging the bucket along with his stick. " By the way, you can stay as long as you want. " Well, if he didn't mind the company, that was it. The smile still easy upon his features. " I got the keys to close. "