•Shiro is a Japanese, soon-to-retire professional skater.
•He was known for his big fall years ago (where he lost his arm) but he was even more known for how he returned to the rink a year later with a prosthetic arm but still as graceful as before.
•After spending many fruitful years in the rink, 25 years old Takashi Shirogane felt like his time in competitive skating has come to a close. He felt the need to find a new passion and though he loved professional skating, he felt like he already gave what has to offer to the sport as a competitor.
•A few months after winning a gold medal on his very last competition and enjoying his retirement, Shiro heard news about a young skater named Keith Kogane retiring as well. The young skater all but disappeared from the public eyes entirely.
•Not being able to ignore the weird feeling in his chest, Shiro set out to America immediately.
•It wasn’t public knowledge that Shiro and Keith are actually close friends. It was not because they wanted to hide it but rather because they prefered their contact to be private.
•They met in a ballet school they were both signed into as kids back in Japan (when Keith moved there with his mom for a couple of years). Shiro was older but they sometimes have classes together and usually walk home together as well (they were surprisingly close neighbors).
•They even met on competitions before. They usually exchange polite smiles in public but often meet after the event to have dinner or something of the like.
•Keith was actually the one who stayed with Shiro for six whole months during Shiro’s physical therapy after his fall. He never left Shiro’s side back then and was only forced to leave when his manager demanded he get back to America for training that he can no longer disregard.
•Nevertheless, Shiro was thankful those six months with Keith. He was the one who really convinced Shiro to keep going despite the loss of his arm and the potential loss of his career back then.
•Those six months were hard but those months were the times when he realized that he might actually love Keith.
•Shiro never said anything though, afraid that it might ruin their friendship.
•Fast forward to the present, Keith was an excellent skater. He was talented, agile and he never won anything less than a silver medal.
•Keith loved skating as if it literally runs through the blood on his veins. He was a natural at the sport and it was Keith’s buring passion to perform and feel the adrenaline knock the wind off his chest. Shiro knew all of that so he wondered, what made Keith quit?
•After visiting Keith’s dorm and talking to his roommate Lance (who was awestruck to meet Shiro), he quickly learned that Keith went out one night saying ‘Don’t look for me’ and hasn’t returned since.
•Shiro was understandably worried but he did have an idea where Keith might be.
•Shiro found Keith in the desert shack they once escaped to when Shiro came to visit Keith long before.
•Keith didn’t expect Shiro to find him, let alone fly to America himself but for some reason he felt kind of… warm at the prospect that Shiro would do so much for him.
•Shiro spent a day at the shack (just giving a silent Keith company) before Keith sighed and decided to tell the man what he was obviously waiting for.
•Keith revealed that a year leading up to the present, he felt his passion for skating lacking and slowly dwindling. It wasn’t until Shiro annouced his retirement after winning the gold medal did Keith sort of just… snapped.
•Keith loved skating… so much that it hurt not loving it anymore and he just felt so lost. Losing one’s passion for something they loved, something they cherished their whole life, was nothing short of painful.
•Shiro looked as distraught as Keith but as he looked at the hurting young man before him, his resolve strengthened. Keith was there for him when he lost his arm, Shiro would be there for Keith when he lost his passion.
•"You haven’t lost you passion, Keith. Not yet anyway if you still feel strongly about skating like you do now.“
“Shiro…”
“Let me help you. Let me help you find your missing passion for the sport we both love.”
•And just like that, Shiro became Keith’s official coach, causing a bit of a splash in the competitive skating scene.
•For months they trained, and Shiro trained Keith hard, not giving him a leeway just because they were close friends.
•Little by little, Keith forgot his worries and started to enjoy the adrenaline of the sport like he used to. Feeling more and more alive each day.
•For six months they trained and skated together. They shared a rink, dancing in sync with each other.
•It was in those six months that Keith realized he loves Shiro.
•It was also in those six months that Shiro fell deeper.
•After a particular routine, (one they did together without choreography but rather just the two of them moving to the harmony and finding themselves in each other’s arms) Keith finally kissed his coach and Shiro couldn’t remember a time when he was happier than this.
•Nine months later, Shiro finally proposed.
•Keith found his passion and Shiro found his purpose.
Fortunately, they both found love.
[ @anidragon : I hope you enjoyed this~!]
