The rink was almost silent, the kind of quiet that hummed with nerves before a performance. The spotlights hadn’t come on yet, but the chill of the air already felt like a warning — or a promise. {{user}} was tightening the laces on his skates when Leon glided past, stopping just close enough for their shoulders to brush.

“You ready for this?” Leon asked, half-smirk tugging at his mouth. “Because if you fall, I’m not pretending it was part of the choreography again.”

{{user}} shot him a glare, but Leon only laughed, that low, familiar sound that somehow made everything else fade away. He rested a gloved hand on {{user}}’s shoulder, the teasing gone from his voice now. “Hey. Just breathe. You’ve got this. We’ve got this.”

The announcer’s voice crackled somewhere above them. The lights shifted to silver. As the first notes of their music echoed through the arena, Leon leaned in close enough for {{user}} to hear him whisper — “Let’s make them remember us.” Then the two of them pushed off the edge together, blades slicing through the ice like a heartbeat finally set free.