#shance figure skating au where Shiro and Lance break the news when they announce they will be doing the pairs skate together for the 2021 Olympics. Cue the controversy, and the two of them being stubborn and saying that the ISU needs to get with the times (1/25)

tw // implied homophobia, angst

And obv they’re flat out denied but then there’s a worldwide protest and a lot of people actually commit to boycotting the olympics altogether unless the ISU lets them skate so after fighting and fighting and fighting they’re finally qualified. (2/25)

And here’s the thing: neither of them know each other all that well. Lance is the fresh face everyone’s been keeping an eye out for and Shiro is in his last year before stepping down for good. The only thing they have in common is that they wanna make heads turn- (3/25)

Lance, to kick off his career, and Shiro, to close it, with a bang. (4/25)

They get asked so many questions, bc everyone thinks they’re straight. They of course know neither of them are, but they keep it up for the tabloids bc being anything else as an athlete is pretty much shooting yourself in the foot. (5/25)

So they convince everyone that no, they’re not together, they just think it’s time to destroy the gender roles etc etc, which ofc makes them very popular. Everyone loves them! They care so much about world issues and their fans that it’s hard not to look at them. (6/25)

They set up a joint Instagram account and it’s dedicated to the two of them just... being together. On the rink, in the gym, grabbing something to eat. Just two guys being bro’s, you know? HA. Jk. They have observant fans. And Shance has trended more than once on Twitter. (8/25)

So of course they spend the year training and training and also falling in love bc it’s an INTIMATE sport and they are two very intimate people who share a love for being on the ice and storytelling and music and they just CLICK. Right away. And they know that it’s not- (9/25)

Just a friendship anymore. But neither of them say anything bc saying it out loud could very well ruin them, and how hard they’ve worked. So as the Olympics draw closer, they work harder at ignoring how good it feels when they skate together. (10/25)

How Lance feels when Shiro lifts him. How Shiro’s skin burns every time Lance grabs his hands or his shoulders or does that thing where he touches his cheek that definitely isn’t in the choreo but no one made them take it out so they keep doing it again and again. (11/25)

But being an athlete is hard. Everyone is always looking. Even if there was a chance after this that they could be together, Shiro would never let himself jeopardize Lance’s career like that. He’d just gotten his name out, had his big break. It would be cruel and selfish. (12/25)

And then it all comes crashing down. Because an impromptu practice/jam sesh ends with Shiro on his back on the ice and Lance straddling his hips and the two of them are kissing and Shiro can’t tell if Lance is the one who’s crying or him, (13/25)

Because, “Fuck, Lance, we can’t do this, not now-“ and “I know, I know okay, just.. let me pretend that I could.” But it’s not pretend because Shiro kisses him back. And he hates and loves it at the same time. (14/25)

Lance knows too. He wants all the glory that comes along with being a world class athlete so bad but he wants Shiro just as badly and it tears him apart to think that he could only have one. (15/25)

Shiro’s back is freezing but he doesn’t care because Lance’s lips are warm, and so is his wrist, which he can feel at his temples, peeking through his sweater, as his hands tangle in his hair. (16/25)

They kiss and Shiro realizes that maybe Lance was the one who started crying but Shiro was the one who followed him, because it was just a little too unfair, to have Lance peering over him like that, face blotchy from the cold and blue eyes red with tears. (17/25)

He’d imagined it being different. Maybe they would’ve been better off if he never imagined it at all, but he can’t take it back now. (18/25)

So they kiss. And they kiss again. And again. And again and again until it’s late and they hear the janitor whistling down the halls as they made their way towards them. (19/25)

Lance leaves first. Leaves Shiro staring up at the lights hanging from the support beams criss crossing on the ceiling. And when he’s certain that enough time has passed for him to get out of the facility, he gets up too. (20/25)

And the next morning they pretend like the previous night didn’t happen. They’re both too committed to let it affect their performance, but it’s a close thing. (21/25)

Neither of them say anything when their coach lets them take longer breaks on opposite sides of the rink. They don’t say anything at all, really, other than responding to their coach. But Shiro’s pretty sure their coach knows. (22/25)

It hurts a lot, when he pulls Shiro aside after practice to say to him gently, “sometimes we have to make hard choices, I know, I’m sorry, but this is Lance’s chance and-“ (23/25)

And Shiro already understands this. He already knows it wasn’t ever going to go anywhere.

But like a fucking fool, he let it go further than it would’ve been smart to. (24/25)

So really. He’s just suffering the consequences. It’s his last year, so whatever, right?

As long as he doesn’t ruin it for Lance.

(25/25)