Alena abrazó sus rodillas con fuerza, tratando de tolerar la segunda remecida de dolor. Cuadró la mandíbula y soportó lo mejor que pudo, con los hombros tensos y cada músculo a la espera de la siguiente arremetida.
Solo fue un mal movimiento, una practica inocente, un juego de niños. La rubia volvió a ovillarse sobre si misma, cual niña asustada, temerosa de lo que ese dolor pudiese significar.
El doctor había dicho que ya podía regresar a las practicas, que las rodilla estaba bien, que la lesión había sanado.
Entonces ... ¿por qué?
¿Por qué?
¡¿Por qué?!
No quería volver a esa cama de hospital, sola, vacía y abandonada. No de nuevo, no otra vez. No quería sentirse muerta en vida, no, no, no, ¡no!
Zed sighed as he plopped down on the bench just off the ice, pulling the jersey and his padding off his torso and dropping it on the seat beside him. There was so much riding on the next few games. So much pressure, so much riding on him.
A/N : Ziryan is an OC created by @fist-it-out and she graciously is letting me use him in this fic. 🥰
Missed out? Start from the beginning here or here.
The bride was radiant as she glided down the aisle. Long veil streaming behind her. Hair curled and gleaming in the morning light. The blush-colored flowers in her hands were almost the same color as her cheeks. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she reached the front.
Rose petals sprinkled down during their first kiss as a married couple. And the orchestral music soared during the first dance.
Kisame tapped his fingers against the tabletop, trying very hard not to roll his eyes.
“You’re a sap,” he snorted.
“Shut up, old man!” Sakura and Haku snapped at the same time.
“I get why you’re crying,” Kisame went on, pointing at Sakura. Then he gestured to Haku. “But you always told me marriage is a sham. Why the waterworks?”
Haku blew his nose in the noisiest way possible. “Hella allergic to roses, old man.” And then he added a soft ‘thank you’ when Itachi handed him a clean tissue.
Sakura hadn’t gotten this drunk in a long, long time. But Karin and Suigetsu’s wedding seemed like the most worthwhile excuse to down this many glasses of wine.
Karin and Suigetsu had decided to throw have their wedding in Hokkaido. Which made a lot of sense. Karin didn’t really have anyone in Moscow. The Hozuki family, in contrast, was big and rowdy. Bringing the festivities to them was the best course of action.
Sakura hadn’t been surprised when Karin had asked her to be maid of honor. They had established this many years ago. Haku, however, had been shocked when Suigetsu had asked him to be a groomsman.
“Like... what am I supposed to do?” he asked on a video call. He leaned on the edge of his practice rink in Sendai. Sakura sat in her kitchen in her pajamas, nursing the remains of her coffee.
“Be happy for him?” she suggested.
Haku scoffed. “Impossible. I hate everyone.”
“.....Sooo... you’re not gonna do it?” Sakura asked.
“Of course I am. Don’t be crazy,” Haku chastised her. Sakura snickered, taking the last bite of her breakfast.
The reception had gone long into the night. Despite Karin’s claims that she despised everyone, between her, Suigetsu, and Mangetsu, they had many friends. And coming from skating backgrounds, most of them were divine dancers. It hadn’t taken much persuading on Haku’s end to get her on the dance floor. The DJ knew what he was doing, churning out infectious beats and raising the volume in all the right places.
But none of this would have been as much fun without Itachi. Even with her forever-partner-in-crime Haku there, it was somehow better that Itachi was beside her. She could turn and whisper to him. When they moved from place to place, he always hung back, offering his hand so they could walk together. And he didn’t resist when she returned to the table to pull him onto the dance floor with her. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t that good at dancing.
What mattered was that he was there. And it made all the pinks pinker and all the lights brighter.
Karin and Suigetsu had rented out a bed and breakfast for their closest friends to stay in. Sakura’s shoes came off almost as soon as she walked into their room at the end of the night. Itachi closed the door behind him, still holding her bouquet. He placed it on top of the dresser.
“Do you think Shimizu-san will be alright?” Itachi wondered. He watched her contort as she began the arduous process of pulling every single bobby pin from her hair. Updos were always cute. In theory. Until it was 18 hours later and she had a migraine from all the hairspray and pins stabbing at her scalp.
“You turned him onto his side and I left a trash can by the bed in case he pukes. He’ll live,” she assured him.
That made Itachi chuckle as he took off his shoes too.
Itachi loosened his tie as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“I always knew that you were social but... man...” Itachi trailed off with a sigh. Sakura’s reflection raised an eyebrow.
“What?” she prodded.
“....You’re popular. I mean, you’re the most famous person I’ll ever meet,” he concluded. The sounds sliding together a little.
He sat up straight when Sakura turned to face him. She crossed the room to sit on his knee, one arm wrapping around his shoulders.
The alcohol had softened the edges of everything. Made it easier to talk. Not that it was ever hard to say something to Itachi. With the way he always looked at her. Like he was always very aware of the fact that she was likely the most famous person he’d ever meet.
“You’re the only Uchiha Itachi I’ll ever meet,” she replied.
That made him smile again.
She bent her head to kiss him, giggling at the way her lipstick rubbed off onto his mouth. She rubbed it away with her thumb.
“Okay. Well. Being here with all my friends has got me thinking,” she told him. And even though he had been staring at her lips, he shifted his gaze up to her eyes when she said that.
“Hm?”
She hesitated. Trying to find just the right words. She felt Itachi grasp her free hand as he waited for her. Like he always did.
“I’m... Well, I’m not done being the most famous person you know.... And I’m thinking that... that might mean that we don’t get to be coworkers anymore,” she slowly spelled out. Not because she thought he wouldn’t get it. It had more to do with the fact that she couldn’t really get her head around the idea yet.
She searched Itachi’s eyes. Waiting for some kind of reaction. She had been practicing reading his expressions. To guess what he might say. And to her dismay, she still sucked at it. She had no idea what he was thinking. So she asked, “What about you?”
“I like my job. I like Konoha,” he answered. And then his whole face softened as he added, “And I like you.”
“Me too... for all those things. But...” Sakura trailed off, sighing. “I... I like being on TV... and- This is going to sound weird.”
Itachi just watched her. Waiting.
“I feel like being home has been.... almost like... a vacation. And now I’m ready to go back. To.... something. I just don’t know what,” she confessed. Her hand flexed, grasping the fabric of his sleeve before releasing it. Her fingers stroked over the little wrinkles she’d just made.
“What does this mean for us?” was what Itachi finally asked.
“Um. I mean... I kind of want to be with you forever and ever. That would be great,” she replied, a little startled. Breaking up had been the last thing on her mind.
But a little part of her was even glad for that split second of misunderstanding. Because of the way that Itachi’s entire face lit up when she said that.
He kissed her, despite her warnings that her lipstick would get everywhere.
“I don’t care about that,” he whispered as he pulled her close.
What really moved Sakura to tears was dinner a few nights later. Drinks and food at Genma’s place, the TV playing quietly in the background. The usual talking and chaos that she had come to expect and to love.
And when she looked at Kiba to ask what he wanted for the next round of drinks, he was sitting there glaring at her.
“What?” she demanded.
“You asshole. Just when we were getting used to you being home again,” he accused her.
Next to him, Shikamaru held his menu suspiciously high to cover his face. She thought she heard him sniffling behind it.
“Stop it,” she ordered. As she felt the corners of her eyes begin to sting.
“Quit it! You’re gonna make me cry,” Sakura warned them again. And then all that anger went to waste as she burst into big, ugly tears too.
“I’m gonna miss you, you horrible lady!” Kiba howled, slapping her arm with the menu with every-other syllable.
“You idiot! I’m not going away forever! I’ll travel back and forth!” she snapped.
“You better! Or I’ll- I’ll- I’ll break into your house and sell all your shit!” he threatened.
Suddenly Shikamaru lowered his menu. “I’ll help him, I swear to god,” he hissed.
Itachi slowly scooted his chair back. He motioned with his hand until Genma looked his way.
“... Can we get some more drinks here, Genma-san?”
“What’ll it be?” asked the bartender.
Itachi just pointed at the three human disasters. Shikamaru sat with his forehead on the table, shoulders silently shaking. Kiba and Sakura each had a fistful of each other’s shirt gripped in their hands as they shook each other.
“...The strong stuff,” decided Genma before he turned to the shelf behind him.
"Alright, staff. I want to keep this short," Tsunade called, clapping her hands together twice. People settled into their chairs. Some placing their folders on their desks. Others tucking their phones into their pockets.
"I know everyone has things to do. I just wanted to make one announcement."
"Alrighty," sighed Asuma, leaning against the wall, his clipboard tucked under his arm.
"And this will likely be a little upsetting, so why don’t you have a seat, Sarutobi-sensei," Tsunade added. Asuma declined with a wave of his hand.
"It’s always a great joy to us when we see that our students have gone on to succeed in life. That makes it no less sad when they need to leave us.... maybe for a second time," Tsunade said.
Kurenai’s head swiveled around, scanning the room for Sakura. She stood in the doorway to the little staff kitchen, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She met Kurenai’s eyes and gave a thin smile.
"At the end of the school year, Haruno Sakura will be leaving us. Chiyo-sensei has made a full recovery and will be serving as our librarian again."
“Did you know about this?” demanded Shizune, addressing Shikamaru. He rested his elbows on his desk, chin barely hovering above the surface. Sighing, he gave a deep nod.
An odd silence settled over the group. Thin and uncomfortable. Like the skin that formed over the surface of pudding that had been left out to cool.
Kakashi was the one to break it.
“What’s the plan, Haruno-kun?”
Sakura shifted her feet. This reminded her of when she had been in high school. Standing in the faculty room, explaining to the teachers why she had no plans to go to college. Only after a lot of persuasion had she decided to apply to some university. Something, as an adult, she was learning to be grateful for.
“FujiTV wants to hire me as a correspondent for figure skating. And I’ll be touring with Stars on Ice during the off-season,” Sakura explained, rubbing her hands together.
“.... How could you do this to me?” sighed Kurenai, shaking her head.
Sakura’s eyes widened. But when she finally looked Kurenai in the eyes, she found that the older woman was smiling.
“Asuma and I just cancelled our cable plan. Now we have to subscribe again so we can watch you,” Kurenai added. And then she was laughing as she got out of her chair to throw her arms around Sakura.
“What? Did you think we wouldn’t be happy? We’re always on your side, Haruno Sakura,” declared Kurenai as she rocked her back and forth.
The library had always been at the far end of the hallway, right next to the home economics room. Sakura remembered spending her free periods studying there, the smell of fresh cookies spilling over from the class next door.
She slid the white door open. It was empty, just as she had expected. It was too early for most students to even think about being in here. Sakura stood in the doorway, the neat shelves. There were rectangular wooden tables in the middle of the room. Matching chairs pushed in underneath them. Her plants sat on the window sill.
The aloe plant had grown and then had offsets of its own that she had separated into different pots. One of them, she knew, sat in the art room. On the corner of Itachi’s desk. The other teachers always smirked at it when they popped in to talk to him.
Sakura reached over and flicked on all the lights. And then she jolted as several people popped up from behind the tables, bookshelves, and even the counter. There were teachers, of course. But there were also many students. Even some former ones that had graduated last spring.
“Surprise!” they all exclaimed.
Naruto held a huge banner above his head that read ‘We’ll miss you. Thank you for everything, Haruno-sensei!’ Someone had even tried (and failed miserably) to draw a skating boot. Orochimaru held the other end of it, smiling maybe even harder than the students were.
“This is the best day ever!” declared Naruto.
Sakura’s eyes returned to him. “Why’s that?”
“I get to call you Nee-chan again!” he crowded, doing a double fist-pump into the air. His half of the banner flopped to the ground as the room burst into laughter.
Sakura stretched her arms over her head, letting a yawn erupt from her mouth. She had been holding it in for the better part of an hour. Someone slapped her on the back. She turned. It was Utakata.
“Nice job today, Haruno-san,” he greeted her.
He still had on the thick layer of makeup they had caked onto his face for the camera. On TV, it looked nice. In person, it looked a little like a noh mask. The first time she’d told him, Utakata had cackled so hard that he’d smudged his eyeliner.
“Man, filming took forever today. Are you headed to the train station? We could split a taxi. I don’t have that much stuff,” Utakata asked.
Sakura glanced down at her watch. “I.... uh... already have a ride.”
Utakata nodded, waggling his finger in her face.
“Oh, boyfriend taxi instead. I see. I see,” he teased her. And he only stopped when she swatted his arm a few times.
They parted ways outside the stadium. It was so late after all their meetings and final wrap-ups that not even the most hardcore fans were still around. Some of them had taken to lingering around the TV station to ask for autographs or selfies. But there were none tonight.
Sakura pulled her hand out of her pocket to check her watch. She rose on her tiptoes to glance around. Just as she went to grab her phone, her car pulled up further up the road. She could see Akamaru’s wet nose sticking out through the cracked window as she walked up. She poked the tip of it and he licked her finger in retaliation. Giggling, Sakura opened the passenger side door.
Itachi leaned his forearm on the steering wheel. And in the passenger seat stood a grey cat with green eyes. She chirped as she spotted Sakura.
“I missed you,” Sakura cooed as she scooped Mint into her arms. Giggling when Mint nuzzled against her cheek and throat. Sakura got into the seat and closed the door behind her.
“Are you talking to Mint or me?” Itachi asked, sounding a little offended. Which she knew was an act. She had caught him speaking to Mint in baby voices on multiple occasions. But she still leaned across the seat to kiss him.
“Both,” she placated him. As she pulled away, Itachi grasped her chin to kiss her again.
When she finally leaned back, she turned around to wave at Kiba, Akamaru, and Shikamaru sitting in the back seat. Only Akamaru seemed happy to see her.
“Hey guys,” she greeted them.
“Ugh.”
“Let me out, I’m gonna puke.”
Sakura threw her head back and laughed as they merged back into traffic. Hard enough to make her stomach hurt a little. Heading home down the sparkling highway all the way to Konoha.
You can find my post explaining the 100 Day Drabble Challenge here
To read the other drabbles in my drabble challenge, click here
Prompt: Falling
Member: Jinyoung x Reader
AU: FigureSkating!AU
“Come on, jagi, it’s not that hard,” Jinyoung said, teasing you as he glided backwards on the ice. You pouted and stood up from the bench, hobbling on the skates as you walked over to the side of the rink.
“Yes it is! You just make it look really easy,” you whined, glancing at the others who were slowly getting the hang of the ice. “I’m gonna fall and you know it!” you exclaimed. Jinyoung skated over to you and stopped gracefully, opening the door and putting out his hand to you.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll let you hold my hand for the first few rounds,” he added, smiling down at you. You crossed your arms and stared out at the ice.
You and Jinyoung had been dating for almost 3 years now, and it had not been easy. Since he was a competitive skater, almost all of his free time was spent on the ice. Of course, the majority of your time was spent in school and when you weren’t there, you were sitting on the bleachers, studying while watching him skate. You could barely stand up on the ice, let alone do the spins and jumps that he could do, so you much preferred the solid ground.
That being said, you absolutely loved to watch him skate. In your mind, there was nothing that could compare to the beauty and grace that Jinyoung possessed when he was in his element. The way he was able to complete the most complex jumps left you utterly transfixed. Every time he would practice his triples or quads, you would let out a sigh of relief when he landed them and a squeal of horror when he didn’t. You had spins and jumps that were your favorite, but there was nothing he could do on the ice that didn’t strike you as beautiful.
Throughout the years, you had stuck by his side, trying your best to support him in whatever way you could. There were times where you would help cheer him on when it was just you and him at midnight and he refused to leave the complex until he got his routine just right. There were times where he could finally have cheat day and the two of you would go to an Italian restaurant and stuff your faces with bread and pasta. And, of course, there were also times when you were left alone, staring at the television when he would compete in other places.
But the best times were when he came home to you. Pulling him into your arms as he showed you his gold medal. Congratulating him on his most recent wins. Listening to him when he felt that he wasn’t good enough. Ensuring him that he was good enough to do anything he set his mind to.
That was your relationship.
It was strong because you had made it strong. And although a lot of it consisted of you supporting him, there was no doubt in your mind that he supported you as well. He would always ask about your day and listen to your stories. He constantly wanted to know what you were learning in school and how your family was doing. He was just invested in you as you were in him.
And that brought you to the present moment. After spending months away in Japan with his trainer, he was finally home and had a few weeks of vacation before heading to England for another competition. Within a few days of being back, he had somehow managed to drag you back to the rink.
It perplexed you to say the least.
How could someone that spent every waking moment training on the ice want to spend his supposed ‘time off’ back on the ice? But you supposed that’s why he was so good at skating in the first place. It was his passion, not just his job.
“I’m really bad, Jin, you know that,” you said, taking his hand regardless and stepping onto the ice. The feeling of being unbalanced overcame you as you stiffened up and tried to stand upright. Jinyoung laughed lightly as he turned around so that he was skating backwards but facing you.
“Loosen up,” he said, chuckling lightly as he grabbed your other hand as well. “Don’t be so stiff, that’s how you’re going to end up falling.”
You stared down at the ice as you tried to glide forward, just like how you had seen your boyfriend do a million times, but it didn’t seem to work. You couldn’t seem to push yourself forward, so you just ended up moving your legs back and forth in place. Jinyoung broke out into laughter and you shot your head up, your eyes widening in disbelief.
“Okay, that’s it, I’m out,” you said, taking your hands out of Jinyoung’s and trying to turn back to the wall. He quickly held out his hand again and tried to talk through his laughter.
“I’m sorry, jagi, I’m sorry,” he said, letting out a few laughs before composing himself. “I won’t let you fall, I promise,” he said. You looked at him again with narrowed eyes, but this time he had a genuine look on his face.
“Fine,” you said, grabbing his hand again and squealing as he pulled you over to him. “But if I fall, I’m – ”
“I won’t let you fall,” Jinyoung stated bluntly, cutting you off. You slowly nodded and then began to slide on the ice as Jinyoung pulled you along gently. You held onto his hand hard, but he didn’t seem to mind, and gladly let you hold onto him.
Of course, this wasn’t your first time skating. It wasn’t even your tenth time. You’d been skating more times than you could count, but for some reason, you just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it.
“You’re getting better!” Jinyoung exclaimed. “Here, try doing this,” he said as he showed you the movements to make and tried to explain where to put the pressure on your feet. You followed his movements and you were slowly able to push yourself forward a little bit without him having to pull you around the ice. You spent a while like this, him holding your hands and gliding with ease as you slid forward awkwardly.
“Is it working?” you asked, trying to push yourself forward and not knowing if you were moving on your own accord, or because Jinyoung was skating alongside you.
“Let go of my hand and we’ll see,” Jinyoung said, gently. You pouted as Jinyoung pulled you to a stop and slowly tried to take your hand off of his own. You didn’t want to let go – it was the only thing that had made you feel secure on the ice. But you also wanted to make him proud so you begrudgingly decided to let go of his hand.
Even though he only skated a few inches away from you, the fact that you weren’t supported by anything suddenly made you very nervous. You held out both of your arms as you stood still on the ice, managing to keep your balance and not fall.
“There you go!” Jinyoung exclaimed, grinning. “Now try to skate forwards,” he said, pointing a gloved hand in front of you. You nodded and gulped hard as you tried to apply the pressure to the right part of your feet.
As soon as you began moving, you knew you had no chance. One of your skates moved forward while the other moved backwards, and you were immediately caught off guard. You tried to keep your balance, but now your arms were flailing and you didn’t know what to do.
You were about to let out a scream and admit defeat, when Jinyoung reached over and grabbed one of your hands. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you into his chest with ease. You stopped moving all together and quickly regained your balance since you had something to lean on once more. You looked up at Jinyoung and he was looking at you with a gentle smile. You felt your cheeks heat up at the close proximity to your boyfriend. How he managed to still give you butterflies after 3 years was beyond you.
“See?” he said, grinning happily. “I told you I wouldn’t let you fall!” You rolled your eyes playfully as you let him pull you across the ice once more, still holding your hand in his own. You scoffed lightly before smiling at him.
how did the meet?? are they in a lot of competitions?? have they known of eachother for a long time?? is lolly in this au?? Tell me more, tell me more ...
also ily and hope your day is going good 💗
i love you too !! 💘💘 here’s another post ab the au in case some of my answers here don’t make sense
Ava and Sarah met at the rink where they both train - Sarah and Crockett were leaving just as Ava and her team arrived, and they were both 👀👀 at each other
Ava started arriving at the rink before the rest of her team so she could watch Sarah, and occasionally talk to her before it was her turn on the ice, and they quickly built up a rlly strong friendship
(the friendship was based on both of them wanting to [redacted] each other but unfortunately neither of them was brave enough to admit it for a while)
Ava vaguely knew who Sarah was the first time they met, bc she’d seen a bit of one of the Olympics that Sarah had competed in, but she had to look her up afterwards to make sure it was her
Sarah doesn’t know anything about ice hockey though, so she had No idea who Ava was lmao
they both compete, but ofc not in the same competitions bc yknow. figure skating and hockey.
Ava qualified for the Olympic team for 2018, and considered dropping out bc she felt bad about Sarah and her injury, but Sarah insisted that she go, because at least one half of the power couple should be there :)
Lolly absolutely could be in this but it just depends on if people are sick of her or not lmaoo
can we have some skating!au headcanons? - george :]
hehe ofc <3
sarah’s a professional figure skater. she started skating when she was 5, after one of her friends at school had her birthday party at the local ice rink, and Sarah loved it straight away
her mom wasn’t 100% certain about Sarah pursuing it as a career, so she convinced her to study medicine as a back up (although she was secretly hoping skating would become the back up)
for the four years she was at med school, her entire life was pretty much just studying, training, or competing
her first major competition was the 2005 US figure skating championships, where she placed second in her category
the year after that, when she was 16, she was in the winter Olympics in Italy !! she got bronze, and this was definitely a defining moment for her, where she decided that this was what she wanted to do (but she still went to med school like her mom wanted)
she was then in the 2010 and 2014 winter Olympics, but suffered a career-ending injury in 2017 (and had to go back to medicine)
she also sometimes competes as part of a pair, with one Mr Crockett Marcel <3
Ava’s a professional ice hockey player for the nwhl (we’re going to pretend Chicago has a team lmao)
she played hockey when she lived in SA bc her parents wanted her to do a sport, but she wasn’t Like Other Girls, so ofc chose something that hardly anyone played
she took up ice hockey when she moved to Chicago bc it was more of a thing than regular hockey, and it offered her a chance to go pro, which was something she’d wanted for a while
she’s the goalie for her team and she’s Good <3
bc she’s good at everything she does and also perfect