hannah @raspberrycinnamonpumpkin - Tumblr Blog

Jul 17

did you know that there's a tunnel under ocean boulevard

[prologue]

author's note: i haven't written in a long time. let me know if this is worth continuing. explicit content ahead. comments, reblogs, and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

word count: 3.9k

u.s. figure skating championships, 2026

“you’re sure you don’t want to come?” amber asked. “or i can stay with you, if you want.”

you shook your head. “thanks, but i’m sure. i’d rather have a quiet night rewatching some movie i’ve seen a thousand times.” you smiled and stretched across your hotel bed. “go have fun. you deserve it.”

she smiled. “alright, if you’re sure. but call me if you get bored or lonely, okay?”

“i promise,” you said, waving. as she opened the door to your shared room, you grinned. “hey, amber?”

she turned. “yeah?”

“we’re olympians.” she laughed as you shook your head. “sorry, i had to say it again. it still doesn’t feel real.”

she smiled softly. “it doesn’t feel real to me, either. not yet, anyway.”

you hesitated for a second then slid off the bed and ran over to hug her for what felt like the thousandth time that evening. “sorry,” you said sheepishly as you pulled away.

“no,” she said sternly. “you don’t get to apologize for being happy.” she grasped your shoulders. “you just turned in a fantastic short program and great free skate. you’re the national silver medalist, and you’re going to have so much fun when you compete at the fucking olympics in a month.”

you grinned. “says my fellow olympian and the national champion of skating and pep talks.” she laughed and hugged you again. “oh, and hugs. and fun, unless i keep you here for the rest of the night.”

she squeezed you one last time. “if you’re asleep when i get back, i’ll try not to wake you.”

“i don’t know how i’m expected to get any sleep over the next month,” you said dryly, “but i suppose i should try.”

she laughed. “you do that. sleep is important.”

you waved as she headed out then flopped back down on your bed with a goofy grin. as of a few hours ago, you’re officially part of team usa. just because you’d dreamed of it as a little girl didn’t mean you’d thought it would ever actually happen. you pulled out your phone and scrolled through social media, still unable to believe the photos and headlines.

blade angels headed to milan. is the 24-year wait over? is gold in the cards for team usa?

suddenly, a knock sounded at your door. you frowned and stood up. “amber, did you forget your–” your eyes widened as you opened the door. “oh! hi, ilia.”

ilia smiled crookedly. “hi.” you stared at him for a moment before he cleared his throat. “uh, sorry for, you know, showing up unannounced, but amber said you were staying in?”

you fidgeted with the room service tag on the back of the door. “yeah, i am. i’m not exactly a fun time where karaoke is concerned. or any kind of going out, really.”

he laughed. “oh, come on. you’re fun.”

“unless your idea of a good time is rewatching a movie and going to bed early, which i doubt it is, i don’t think i’ll medal in fun,” you said dryly. “congratulations, by the way. you know, on winning. i think i said it earlier, but there were so many people around that it didn't really count.”

he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “thanks. you skated really well, by the way.” you could’ve sworn his cheeks turned slightly pink, but he cleared his throat before you could give the matter much thought. “also, i happen to consider rewatching movies and getting some well-earned beauty rest a very good time. why else would i make an appearance after every competition?”

“because you pity me and my lack of a social life?” you rolled your eyes teasingly. “alright, come on.”

he grinned as he followed you into your room, shutting the door carefully. “what’re we watching?”

you shrugged and sat on your bed, gesturing to your laptop. “pick whatever you want.” he whooped in delight and flopped down next to you, eagerly scrolling through the choices. you watched him, smiling softly.

you’d met ilia about seven years ago, but you’d really started talking to him right after the last olympic cycle. you’d spent a few months harboring a massive crush on him before he’d introduced you to his then-girlfriend. you’d handled it like the mature teenager you were and spent the night eating an entire pint of ice cream, binging a comfort show, and crying yourself to sleep. the next morning, you’d decided you were okay with just being his friend. now, you were over him, really. you loved being friends with ilia. he was an incredible skater, sure, but he was also a total dork. he refused to drink coffee or tea, hated waking up early, spammed you pictures of his cats, and always made you smile. he never forgot to wish you luck before you skated, and he cheered you up when programs didn’t go how you’d wanted. and now, he was spending his celebratory evening hanging out with you instead of going to karaoke with everyone else. again. friends did things like that all the time, didn’t they?

“how to train your dragon,” he said with relish, dragging you out of your thoughts. “it’s a cinematic masterpiece.”

you laughed. “okay.”

his eyes widened. “okay? what do you mean, okay?”

you poked him in the side, smirking playfully when he squirmed. “i mean, whatever you say. your animated dragon movie is a classic, but cinematic masterpiece might be taking it too far.”

he gasped dramatically. “you wound me.”

you laughed. “aren’t they making some olympics ad for you with toothless now?” you’d heard him talking about the possibility a few days ago.

his cheeks turned red. “uh, yeah, actually.”

you laughed and leaned against him, ignoring the way the contact made your heart skip a beat. “so, you’ll be petting a giant green mechanical arm that’ll become a cgi dragon.”

“shut up,” he groaned. “i love toothless.”

you raised your eyebrows and pointed to the toothless shirt he was currently sporting. you were somewhat surprised that he had decided to pair it with snoopy pajama pants and minecraft socks instead of more how to train your dragon merch. “believe me, i am well aware. besides, most of your tossies are toothless.”

he turned to you, fighting a smile. “i actually brought one of them with me. he’s huge, so he’s great to sleep on during flights.”

you snickered. “of course you did.”

he shrugged. “he’s cozier than your boyfriend ever was.” the mention of your now-ex-boyfriend made you scowl. ilia winced. “sorry. i shouldn’t have said that.”

“don’t be,” you said flatly. “it’s his own fault he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”

his eyes widened as he sat bolt upright. “wait, what? i thought you said you broke up with him because long-distance wasn’t working!”

you groaned. “well, it wasn’t. in addition to refusing to let me sleep on him on the very rare occasion that we were on an airplane together, he always forgot to watch me skate, never called, said i spent more time with the rink than him, and refused to come to competitions. oh, except the one he spent hitting on isabeau, who is way out of his league.”

he didn’t say anything for a moment, so you glanced at him. to your surprise, he looked…sad? “you didn’t deserve to be treated like that,” he said quietly.

something warm and unfamiliar settled in your chest. you didn’t know what to say, so you smiled awkwardly. “well, he was also terrible in bed, so i actually pity the girl he cheated on me with.”

ilia laughed. “that’s not a surprise. you looked irritated the morning after the one competition he showed up to.”

you glared at the ceiling. “he didn’t believe in foreplay and couldn’t find anything. he never made me come.” your eyes widened as you realized what you’d said. you buried your face in a pillow as heat rushed to your cheeks. “oh my god. you didn’t hear that.”

you could hear him struggling to fight another laugh. “sounds like you dodged a bullet.”

you nodded as you slowly peeled the pillow off your face. “yep.”

he fidgeted next to you. “so, what, you’re going to the olympics hoping to pick up a very sexy local? i bet the bachelors of milan make great lasagna.”

you groaned. “no. i don’t even know what i’m looking for. i don’t want another asshole boyfriend, but i also don’t want to just hook up with some italian guy. that sounds like a pr crisis waiting to happen.” you frowned. “maybe i should find another athlete. it’d be a good way to relax or blow off steam, and i can probably trust him to keep his mouth shut. what happens in the village stays in the village, right?”

“yeah, whatever,” he said thinly. “can we watch the movie now?”

your face felt hot. “oh, yeah. sorry for rambling about my miserable sex life and my nonexistent love life.” you pressed play on your laptop and laid down near him, mentally congratulating yourself for making it awkward.

a few minutes into the movie, he slid his arm around you. you curled up against him, relieved that some of the tension was dissipating. you loved hanging out with him, and you didn’t want to screw up your friendship over a few stupid comments.

he tucked your head under his chin, and your heart skipped a beat. “your hair smells nice,” he said. “did you get a different shampoo?”

you smiled nervously and fidgeted with the hem of your oversized shirt, suddenly very aware that you were wearing your pajamas: an old band shirt and loose shorts that barely touched your midthigh. “yeah, tsa-approved green apple.”

he laughed quietly. you tried to turn your attention back to the movie, but you couldn’t focus. for some reason, talking about your unimpressive romantic history had made you antsy. it shouldn’t have mattered. you were way past mooning over him.

you convinced yourself to think about your recent skates instead, which brought a crease to your brow. your short program had been very good, even by your high standards. there were details to nitpick, of course, like your lutz edge, but you were generally pleased. your free skate, however, had been less than ideal. you had still managed to place second overall, but it was not nearly as clean as you would have liked.

ilia cleared his throat. “you know, if you think any louder, i might be able to hear you.”

you groaned. “sorry. even after a competition, i guess i still manage to overthink everything.” you fidgeted slightly. “i’m still thinking about the combo i barely landed. i still can’t figure out how that was an acceptable double axel. i definitely underroatated it.”

he smiled softly. “it’s okay. my last combo left something to be desired. but i meant what i said earlier. you skated well.”

you felt heat rush to your cheeks. “thanks.” you risked a glance at him, and he grinned when you looked away quickly.

he gently poked your side. “be honest. if i weren’t here, would you be trying to rewatch footage and nitpick?”

“no,” you said honestly. he raised his eyebrows, and you sighed. “amber made me promise not to before nationals even started. apparently, post-skate analysis makes me tense.”

he laughed. “of course she did.” he fidgeted suddenly. “you’re tense right now.”

you sighed again and stared at the laptop screen. “well, i only have a month to nitpick my lutz edge and try to fix the axel combo, and i’m sitting here watching how to train your dragon and hoping your jumping prowess rubs off on me instead of doing something productive.” you smiled thinly. “i’m also missing that hypothetical hockey player fuck buddy, so i guess i’m a little tense.”

ilia wrinkled his nose. “a hockey player? really?”

you frowned at him. “do you have something against hockey players? not that it matters, since you’re not the one getting dicked down in our hypothetical situation here.”

he shook his head too quickly. “no, it’s…it’s nothing. forget it.”

you rolled your eyes and sat up. “ilia, if you’re about to tell me all of the hockey players have chlamydia or something, that’s very relevant information.”

he hesitated for the briefest moment, his eyes still fixed on the laptop, before he paused the movie and met your eyes. you were startled by the intensity in his gaze. “let me get this straight. you’re looking for a fuck buddy during the olympics, preferably an athlete, who isn’t going to run his mouth? and this is all in the name of stress relief, blowing off steam, et cetera?”

you groaned and flopped down on the bed, smashing a pillow over your face. “god, don’t say it like that!” you expected him to make a joke, but he stayed quiet. you peeked out from behind the pillow cautiously.

he gently tugged the pillow away from your face. “i’ll do it.”

you sat bolt upright as butterflies stupidly exploded in your stomach. “what?” of all the things he could’ve possibly said, that was the last one you were expecting to hear. he wanted to be your fuck buddy? there were a million reasons why that was a terrible idea, chief among them the way his words had made heat pool between your thighs.

his cheeks turned red. “nope, never mind. forget i said anything.” he clicked play on the movie and started to turn away from you.

you slammed the laptop shut. “no, you don’t get to say that and just take it back.” a twinge of fear poked your heart. “wait, were you making fun of me?”

“no!” he looked offended by your suggestion.

you raised your eyebrows. “well, by all means, explain yourself.”

he groaned and picked at a loose thread on the bedspread. “i don’t know. it seemed like the obvious solution and a totally harmless proposition. you wouldn’t have to worry about me running my mouth or anything. we already know each other, so you’d get to skip the awkwardness of meeting someone and explaining what you want. we could just stay friends, but i’ll…help you out when you need it. if you need it. if you want.”

you swallowed hard and ignored the shiver threatening to race up your spine. “so, we’d be friends with benefits?”

he looked at you sheepishly. “i mean, yeah. i guess.”

you bit your lip. “obviously, we’d have to lay out some ground rules.”

his eyebrows shot up. he clearly hadn’t expected you to consider his offer, never mind take him up on it. “uh, yeah. right. ground rules.”

“rule one,” you said, “is this stays between us. no telling max or torgs or misha.”

“no telling amber or alysa or isabeau,” he countered. “agreed.”

“rule two: no kissing.”

he frowned. “you want to hook up, but you don’t want me to kiss you?”

for some stupid reason, heat rushed to your cheeks. “not on the lips!” you glared at the bedspread. “that’s romance territory. this isn’t romance.”

he sighed. “fine, no kissing on the lips, and no romance. but i can kiss you anywhere that isn’t your mouth?”

if your face was hot earlier, it was now contributing to glacial melting. “uh, yeah,” you said, trying desperately to force your voice to stay level. “sure. i mean, if you want.”

he smirked. “okay, what’s rule three?”

“no seeing other people?” you suggested. you winced. were you being too strict? “or, if you want to, at least tell me first so i don’t look like a total idiot?”

he nodded firmly. “no seeing other people. we’re exclusive.”

“and no staying the night,” you added. “it’s too mushy.”

he groaned. “we’ve fallen asleep watching movies together more times than i can count. what’s the difference?”

“there’s a huge difference,” you protested. “staying the night is, like, the gateway to cuddles and catching feelings!” you snickered. “besides, we’re always sharing rooms with other people. do you want amber to see your ass?”

he cringed. “uh, not particularly.” he sighed. “i don’t see why it can’t just be platonic like always, but if you really want me to not spend the night anymore, that’s fine.”

something about hearing him say that made you sad. you didn’t know why, because of course all of your time spent together was platonic. you were friends, and that wasn’t supposed to change. “no, you’re right. platonic sleepovers and cuddles, but no catching feelings.” you pursed your lips. “that won’t be hard.” because you’re over him.

he laughed. “ouch, okay.”

you force a laugh. “so, just keep it…fun and casual? i don’t know.” you bit your lip. “i don’t really do fun and casual.”

“hey,” he said, “i meant what i said earlier. you’re fun. i really do like hanging out with you. okay?”

you smiled softly and ignored the warm feeling filling your chest. “okay.”

ilia grinned. “great. anything else?”

you shook your head sheepishly. “i’m sure i’ll come up with something later?”

he smirked. “i’m sure you will.” he offered you his hand to shake; your mouth went dry when his skin touched yours. “okay, we have a deal.”

“yeah,” you said, very aware of how shaky your voice sounded.

“you know,” he said gently, “we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

you bit your lip. “no, i want to. i just…don’t really do things like this often. if ever.”

he smiled. “well, let’s fix that.” he slid his warm hand up your inner thigh and toyed with the hem of your shorts. “let me know if you want me to stop, okay?” you nodded, unsure if you could properly form words. all the technical talking had sucked some of the tension out of the room, but you were fighting the urge to clench your thighs together now.

you laid back against the pillows as he gently slid your shorts off. you fidgeted with the hem of your shirt as he crawled between your legs and started to nip and kiss your inner thighs. “uh, no marks where the costumes won’t cover,” you said suddenly. “i don’t want to explain a bunch of hickies.”

he smirked. “too bad. i’d enjoy watching you try.”

you glared at him. “you talk a lot for someone who’s supposed to be using his mouth for something else.”

he rolled his eyes. “god, bossy much?”

“well, if you would just–oh–oh–”

he cut you off by gently pressing his thumb to your clit through your underwear, which was embarrassingly damp. “hm? what was that?”

“oh, fuck off,” you whined.

he grinned at you cheekily and caught the waistband of your underwear in his teeth so he could pull them off you. you tried to roll your eyes, but you were so turned on it wasn’t very convincing. he snickered. “does sassing me get you off? that’s hot.”

whatever reply you were about to send his way vacated your brain when he hitched your thighs over his shoulders and ran his tongue over your clit. a whimper escaped your lips as you ran your fingers through his hair. “oh, fuck.”

he hummed in approval, sending waves of pleasure vibrating through your core. he slid his tongue through your folds, his nose nudging your clit as he moaned. “you taste so good.”

you didn’t have a word for what he was doing with his mouth. any coherent thoughts you may have had vanished, replaced with the desperate urge for more. as if he knew exactly what you wanted, ilia started tracing a pattern on your clit; you tugged on his hair and fought the urge to clamp your thighs around his head. heat began to build in your core as you realized that he was grinding against the mattress.

when he suddenly wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked hard, you couldn’t stop yourself from moaning. heat rushed to your face as you fumbled around with both hands for a pillow to clamp over your mouth. he pulled back for a moment, his eyes still fixed on your soaked pussy. “no need for that. everyone else went out.”

the sounds his mouth was making were obscene, and you hoped nobody came back early, because they would definitely be able to hear what was going on. he didn’t even wait for you to acknowledge what he’d said before he dove back in. you whimpered as he worked his tongue inside of you, curling it sinfully.

“fuck,” you whined. “ilia, i’m–ah! i’m gonna come.” he moaned loudly and worked faster. your legs shook as he held them over his shoulders, and you threw your head back when he sucked your clit into his mouth. you cried out as you finally fell apart, gushing all over his tongue. “fuck, fuck, fuck!”

you’re quite sure you saw stars on the hotel ceiling. nobody had ever made you feel like that before. you’d give him a five for goe.

he slowly ran his tongue through your folds a few more times, smirking when you trembled from the oversensitivity. eventually, he glanced up at you innocently. he looked obscene and beautiful with his hair all messy and your slick coating his nose, lips, and chin. the pupils of his eyes were blown so wide that you could barely see the cold blue of his irises. “was that good?”

you laughed softly, your thighs still shaking. “please don’t make me answer that.”

he grinned. “i’ll take that as a yes.” he swiped his fingers along his chin and licked them off. “you know, you look considerably less tense.”

you were too blissed out to deny it and instead looked up at him. “do you want me to, you know, help you out?”

his cheeks pinked. “uh, not necessary.”

“okay, that’s hot.” lingering sparks of arousal settled in your core as you sat up and stretched.

he shrugged and stood up. “what can i say? i like eating pussy.” he offered you his hand, and you took it without hesitating, though you were unsure where you were going. to your surprise, he led you to the bathroom. you leaned against him as he gently cleaned you up with a warm cloth, briefly closing your eyes. was all of this going to be a regular part of your competition schedule now? you’d like that.

once he’d straightened himself out, he led you back to the bed and helped you get dressed. you curled up at his side, feeling perfectly at ease.

suddenly, you realized that you were getting dangerously close to cuddles that didn't feel quite as platonic as usual. you sat up and forced a smile. “should we finish how to train your dragon?”

ilia nodded quickly. “uh, yeah.” he sat up and pressed play on the movie. you hesitated for a moment then leaned against him. he immediately put his arm around you, just like he’d done when you’d started the movie. “is this okay?”

something warm fizzled in your chest as you tucked your head under his chin. “yeah.”

this wouldn’t mess anything up. you could still be friends, even while hooking up and trying to win olympic gold. right?

#ilia malinin #ilia malinin x reader #did you know that there’s a tunnel under ocean boulevard

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

hannah