All Chapters of Hearts on Ice: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

“I thought you said no training?!” Lukas grabbed onto Sam's shirt, the teammate who had told them there was no training today, pulling him slightly forward. There was no real anger behind it but he had to let off some steam.“You look funny when you're mad” he said, completely unbothered.But Lukas was playing. He clenched his fists but released him immediately like it didn't matter, but it did…everything did.Viktor stood in the corner, along with other players, his stick resting loosely on his shoulder as his eyes wandered around…waiting for the training with the coach and he looked calm, like he wasn't fully there yet. Lukas looked at him a little too long and looked away, skating away from him as though not to avoid suspicion and questions. The distance was to keep things normal….at least try.The rink was suddenly alive. The air wrapped around them, cold and thin, the blades against the ice sounded like music along with the quiet chatter. This was the rink when the capacity was a

The meeting began officially. The teasing slowly came to an end and the room fell quiet, only the coach's voice was heard. Viktor kept avoiding eye contact with Lukas who was clearly staring directly at him…or maybe just lost in thoughts and Viktor happened to be in his field of vision and it made Viktor uncomfortable.“Reiner!” The coach's voice pulled Lukas out of his thoughts, “Focus!” And he nodded. The team members laughed…some in secret, others didn't hide it.The coach continued, “We'll be playing a friendly game with another college.” Everyone turned. “I need to see how ready y'all are for the main game”There was a small shift in the room. It moved from excitement to whispers of disagreement. Some sat up straighter as though they were ready for the game while others exchanged looks, already calculating their chances of being on the bench.Lukas didn’t react. He was still staring, still unaware everyone could tell and this time, Viktor noticed..Their eyes met for a second—just

The morning sun swept in softer than expected…slow and calm…just warm light slipping through the curtains and settling across the room as it had always belonged there and Lukas woke up first.He still wasn't used to waking up without his nightmare. Dreams that tormented him for years…vanished like they never existed. He lay on the bed, remaining still…eyes fixed on nothing in particular, like half of his mind was here and the other half had wandered off. He remained lost in thought until he felt his, weight, on his chest breathing softly. Viktor.He lay there, arms thrown lazily across Lukas's chest and his breathing slow and steady like he had nowhere else to be. His face turned slightly into the pillow and for once, Lukas thought of nothing else. Not training, the coach or the ice. He looked at Viktor like a memory he didn't want to fade away…like he was his.“You could stare a hole into my head” Viktor's voice came out, low and rough from hours of uninterrupted sleep. He stretched

“Fuck!” Lukas shot up, sweat dripping down his face. He had gone back to his routine for the day…nightmares, classes and training…nothing more and Viktor disappeared as quickly as he walked in.The distance didn't fix it, it stayed as it had always been there and if anything, it settled. Viktor didn't chase or push, like he always did, he let it simmer in the air and Lukas…he didn't know how to handle any of this. Lukas had slowly retreated into his shell and his mind kept racing because of this version of Viktor? The calm, quiet and controlled version…wasn't what he was used to…he kept thinking about what could have made him this way. It bothered him…more than he was willing to admit.The distance started small. From missed calls during classes. Lukas would glance at his phone between classes and see them. Viktor would have called once, twice and he didn't pick up…not immediately at least. When he called back, Viktor would not answer. Then he'd call back again and still nothing. Slow

Viktor stopped coming. Not gradually and not with excuses. He just…didn’t show up after that. At first, no one said anything. One day missed, then two…it wasn’t unusual…people got tired, people skipped but by the third day, it started to settle into something else.“Where’s Volkov?” someone asked casually during warm-ups, stretching like it didn’t matter.And no one answered.Lukas didn’t look up nor did he react. He kept moving like he didn’t hear anything, like the name didn’t land somewhere it shouldn’t.“Probably sick,” another added with a shrug.Still nothing because Lukas knew why he was gone, and he didn’t want to think about it.Training went on anyway, it had to but it felt forced…not in an obvious way, not even loud or messy but in the way everything just slightly missed its place. Passes were a second too late, movements weren’t as clean, the rhythm that usually held the team together felt…off.And Lukas? Lukas made it worse. He was sharper than usual. “Again!”“Fix your