Work Text:
zhang hao landed his first quad at the mere age of 14.
competing since 8.
internationally since 13.
and now, he’s preparing for the four continents figure skating championships.
“passionate” was an understatement for hao. being on the ice didn’t mean looking good for the audience (though he did), it meant feeling free. every slide, every crossover, every spin that hao executed was from his heart, unleashed in beautiful moves across the ice. almost everyday, hao showed up at his local rink in his hometown fuzhou, skates on and ready to practice every move he’d learnt for his next program. this time wasn’t any different.
sharp blades made marks on the ice, painting a picture of grace and opulence. his arms lifted above his head as he performed a quad flip, four impressive rotations before landing cleanly.
“woo! that was beautiful!”
coach xue clapped, appreciating the beauty of the jump, even just in practice. hao smiled at the praise, gliding to the side of the rink. he looked happy, alive, full of flourish even in the groggy hours of sunday morning.
“good job. that was one of the cleanest i’ve seen in my career. do that at the championships, will you?” coach xue chuckled, patting the skater on the shoulder.
“why wouldn’t i?” hao’s voice dripped with confidence. “flips are nothing. it’s the lutz that i always miss points on.”
“then go practice them. i want a clean one! no underrotations!”
hao sped off, backwards crossovers around the outer corners of the rink. the cold air blew through his dark brown hair, revealing a face full of elegance. he began a simple step sequence- a rocker turn, a three turn, then putting his right leg behind. he dug his toepick into the ice, launching himself upwards as his arms swung up above his head.
the landing was fine, but the jump itself wasn’t fully rotated. just as his coach had predicted.
“hey! i said no underrotations!” coach xue put his hands on his hips.
hao rolled his eyes, returning to the side of the rink and cracking his knuckles. of course he didn’t mean to. practice made perfect, didn’t it?
a different chuckle echoed into hao’s ears. a model, his close friend, and his manager, shen quanrui. the man lounged on the seats, scrolling on his phone. perhaps looking through emails. or maybe texting that situationship of his that hao has been hearing about non-stop.
the two met after hao earned a bronze medal at the 2024 four continents figure skating championships in shanghai. safe to say, hao was not happy with the bronze, considering he had landed multiple quad-triple combos. he spent the week convincing himself and his coach that the judges were unfair, refusing to admit the underrotation on his quad loop had cost him points. after that he went for a drink at a fancy dinner place in the heart of the bund, where he had met quanrui.
“you can’t talk when you’re rotting there. try landing quads.” hao shot back. the man just laughed.
“maybe you should try modelling like me. which actually, i forgot to tell you about. some brand wants to collaborate with you.”
hao’s eyebrows raised at the new topic. “huh? collaborate? i have the championships in a week, i can’t skip it.”
coach xue bumped in. “hey! this is a practice session not a brand deal meeting. you can chat with ricky later. right now, i want that quad lutz to be perfectly rotated. more power in those arms, please.”
“tell ricky to shut up, not me.”
ricky simply scoffed and leaned back, a sly smirk on his lips as hao resumed his practice.
~
after another hour of practice, the sun was just starting to rise above the horizon as hao and ricky walked through the rink's carpark.
"what's that brand deal you were talking about?" hao asked casually, slinging his jacket over his shoulder. the other chinese man shrugged.
"you have the championships to worry about. besides, i'm pretty sure they were only interested in you because you were voted most handsome athlete of the season last year."
hao scoffed, ego feeling a bit fuller. "they're not wrong."
"if i was a skater, it would be me instead of you."
"shut up."
ricky chuckled, unlocking the expensive black car in the car park. he entered the driver's seat as hao put his gear into the back, sliding into the passenger's side. the new car was unscratched, freshly wrapped in a matte black vinyl film. hao wasn't surprised when ricky picked him up in a new car for the fourth time since they'd become friends. the man was probably wealth walking around in a hot body.
"hey. be gentle with the gear. don't get my seats dirty."
hao sneered at his friend. "you'll be fine. you can afford a new car every two weeks."
the car's engine rumbled to life, glowing lines of red slithering on the interior walls of the expensive vehicle. ricky pulled out of the carpark, approaching the highway. it was still pretty early in the morning, the clock reading 8:20am. hao had no problem waking up at the crack of dawn just to go skating. those were pretty much the only times that the rink was completely empty, free for him to run his programs multiple times.
"i'm going back to shanghai on tuesday. meeting someone."
"you're going all the way back to shanghai just to meet someone? don’t tell me this is that situationship.”
“it’s not a situationship!” ricky whined quietly, which he never did often unless it was really personal. hao knew he had hit the jackpot when he saw ricky’s hands tighten on the steering wheel and he refused to make eye contact.
when they stopped at a red light, hao turned to face ricky, who’s expression was mostly stoic, but even beneath his impassive face there was a hint of tension. hao had a sly little smirk on his lips, leaning in closer.
“how come you spoil this mysterious man so much and not your best friend, hm? that swarovski necklace you bought, was that for him? or those gentle monster glasses… where’s my gift-”
with every word, hao inched closer as ricky was getting more frustrated. when the light turned green, he almost floored the pedal, making hao fly back into his seat.
“ow! what was that for?” hao groaned, clutching the back of his head which had slammed into the car’s expensive chair.
“you know what that was for.”
hao scoffed. “i’m just saying. when are you going to buy me new skates?”
“eventually.”
hao groaned, rolling his head back. if he wasn’t going to get a gift from the stubborn man, maybe he would get a modelling gig instead.
“fine. then research that brand deal for me instead. since you’re such a good friend.”
~
on monday, the pair went to a fancy cafe around taijian district after hao’s training, settling for a freshly heated scone and two coffees.
“what time is your flight? can you still drive me to the rink?” hao asked, sipping his mocha.
ricky leaned back, almost as if he was flexing that prada leather jacket he was wearing. hao wanted to laugh at him.
“why are you dressed for a mafia heist?” he asked just before ricky was about to speak, knowing damn well that he always dressed in full black, looking like a spy.
“it’s fashion. and yes, i can. i’ll go straight to the airport afterwards.”
“did you find out about the brand deal?” hao switched the topic the moment it arrived into his mind randomly. he had been thinking about it since ricky informed him.
“huh? oh, it was some winter sport’s gear brand. not sure if you’re too interested. they want you to be one of their ambassadors.”
“what’s the harm in joining?”
“well, i asked for their schedule and they said they’ll have their first shooting session like… three days before four continents.”
three days before competition? hao found it a little challenging. a whole day spent at a photography studio instead of practicing…
“tell them i can do it.” he blurted out with a bit too much confidence.
“what?!”
ricky actually seemed a bit surprised, showing expression even under those sunglasses. the man leaned forward a bit. “you’re supposed to be training that day. did you fall too hard on your jumps?”
hao shrugged. “it’s just a little gig. one photoshoot won’t ruin my chances of winning gold.”
ricky scoffed, but it was a teasing one. “what an ego.”
“says you.”
hao smiled, finishing off his mocha. “but seriously, i’m sure it’ll be okay. i wanna put myself out there for a bit. do something other than skating. just once.”
ricky sighed through his nostrils, putting down his americano. “if you’re sure… i’ll call them tonight.”
“deal.”
hao leaned back, waiting for ricky to finish his coffee. he rolled his shoulders back, letting out an exhale of both relief and weariness. a gig right before four continents? the biggest skating event of the year, other than the olympics next year? he didn’t want anything lower than gold after “losing” the previous year to mikhail shaidorov. he didn’t know why this gig drew him in.
~
on tuesday, ricky dropped him off at the rink early in the morning, when the city was still in it’s slumber. golden beams danced across zhang hao’s eyes as he walked to the entrance of the rink, covering his vision with one hand whilst the other opened the door.
he entered the winter-ish arena, adjusting the bag with his skates and other gear on his shoulder. coach xue was already waiting for him.
“ah good, you’re early.” the older man said just as the big digital clock on the wall hit 6:15am.
“always am.” hao smiled, setting down his bags on the seats and searching through them. skates, guards, small towels, wired headphones…
“has quanrui received the outfit?” his coach asked.
“got it yesterday after the session.”
“good.”
hao’s fingers worked the laces into the six hooks on his skating boots, having done them many times before. he could do it blindfolded.
he stood up, stretched his arms over and behind his head. “i won’t be able to make practice tomorrow.” he stated casually.
“what?!” coach xue’s eyebrows flew up so quickly, hao got a little scared by the video-game-like expression. the short old man had always been expressive.
“you- you cannot!”
“i have a photoshoot booked already. sorry. i can still make the midnight session.” hao shrugged, doing some lunges.
“midnight session?! you think your poor old coach wants to coach you when he’s supposed to be sleeping?” with the way coach xue was talking, people would think hao had cursed nine generations of his family. which he might’ve done, since coach xue came from a family of skaters. and hao knew they never missed a single practice by the way he sounded astonishingly offended by prioritizing anything over skating.
“relax, hey… you’re talking like i just killed someone.”
“you killed my brain!” the man exclaimed, hao’s lips twitching as he fought to not burst out into the most offensive laughter ever.
“i’ll do an extra hour today. and… i’ll actually land my lutzes. fully rotated.”
coach xue grumbled. “fine. but you’re practicing by yourself. i am having brunch with my wife at 9.”
hao approached the side of the rink, unlocking the heavy doors. the familiar, icy, airy smell entered his nostrils, and he took a moment just to breathe it in before removing his light pink skate guards.
from the moment he stepped onto the ice, everything else fell into place like the rib bones of a snake. a crossover, a rocker, a twizzle, a loop. different combinations. and this was just to get him warmed up.
the ice was perfectly smooth, zhang hao being the first to graffiti it with his blades cutting across the surface, drawing lines of diligence and frosty grace.
his left arm aligned with his body, left leg doing the same. his toepick slammed into the ice, performing a perfect quad toe loop. he followed with a three turn to a triple salchow.
“perfect!” coach xue called out.
after a few more jump combinations, his coach spoke up again.
“run your program a few times. i wanna see the details you added from last time.”
hao spent the next three hours switching between his program, practicing combination jumps, and gossiping with his coach, whose uninterested aura couldn't be more obvious. after sticking with someone like zhang hao for years, he’d gotten tired of the skater’s antics.
by the end of it, zhang hao was alone, the rink about to open to the public in ten minutes.
he exited the ice floor, back onto normal ground. basically flopping down onto the bleachers, the skater panted as he stared at the ceiling. his program still ran through his head like memorising physics formulas.
hands down, then i pump once, spin that way, three crossovers, prepare to jump… jump… land well… mohawk…
he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. he was confident he'd win. the program wouldn't leave his mind, he was sure of it. even during the photoshoot the next day.
he sat up, pulling his elbows behind his head and stretching the adrenaline off.
he ran his hands through his hair, tucking some behind his ear. took his skates off. put gear away. stretched his tired legs.
the outfit.
the outfit ricky had for him. the man was all the way in shanghai with his outfit! and he didn't even say when he was coming back!
he whipped out his phone, panting even harder than when he was running his program.
ring… ring… ring…
“fuck… pick up!”
ring… ring…
“i swear to god, ricky…”
surely ricky hadn't forgotten, right? surely he'd be back in time to give hao the outfit. otherwise, he'd have to perform in a cheap, last minute one, which was not ideal.
ring… ring… ring…
finally, after hao's third attempt at calling, the phone finally rang out a noise that wasn't the continuous sound of no one picking up.
“... what the… hello?”
ricky’s tired voice echoed through the bad wifi.
“shen quanrui!” hao exclaimed, a slight growl to his voice due to the panic.
“woah… full name…?”
ricky had a croaky morning voice, deeper than his normal one. hao assumed he had just woken up. woken up from the constant calls the skater had given him.
“is my outfit with you? when are you coming back?” he hurriedly asked, clutching his phone in both hands and staring at ricky’s profile picture like it would give him answers immediately.
“yeah, it's with me. why are you calling so early…” ricky rasped.
“cause you didn’t tell me when you were coming back! i need the outfit by sunday.”
zhang hao expected an answer. what he didn't expect was to hear someone else.
“ricky-ah…”
someone else's croaky morning voice.
the silence following must've shocked both hao and ricky. no one spoke for a good five seconds.
hao heard some shuffling from the call. a rustle of bedsheets. then, ricky’s hushed voice.
“not now, qubing. i’m talking to my friend.”
hao blinked. this was ricky's situationship. the one they had just been talking about a few days prior. and if ricky was still in bed…
“you- THIS IS THE GUY?!” hao exclaimed a little too loudly, scaring the other two on the phone. hao almost dropped his phone, eyes wide.
“i- uh- i mean, yeah.” ricky stuttered before ultimately giving up. there was no defending it anyway. not with the skyscraper of a man cuddling right next to him, calling out his name sleepily.
“ricky what the fuck? did you sleep with him-”
“NO!” the man almost shouted back, louder than hao had ever heard him. “it’s nothing! what were you asking again?”
hao open and closed his mouth twice, stuttering before managing to get words out. he had called to panic about his performance outfit, and in return he had gotten a reveal he didn’t really ask for at the current moment. plus, he had an uncomfortable feeling that ricky and qubing were possibly… not covered in clothing.
“my outfit!”
“oh… right… it’s here.”
ricky sounded like he went right back to cuddling with whoever “qubing” was. he had to be a foreigner, from the way he had said ricky’s name.
“when will you be back?” hao asked.
ricky hummed into the phone before responding. “on the 14th. valentines~” he sung the last word, followed by what sounded grossly close to a kiss. hao frowned, almost disgusted. ricky was never this lovey-dovey. the most affection he had shown hao was giving him a single hug in the year they had been friends. and he was probably ricky’s closest friend.
“you’re disgusting, quanrui.” hao sulked.
ricky just chuckled back, and hao knew he had that infuriating smirk behind the phone.
“whatever. relax, hao. i’ll be back on valentines morning to give you the outfit.”
“are you bringing qubing?” hao questioned, saying the name like it could’ve been an incorrect answer in a classroom. he heard a giggle back, definitely the qubing. the name sounded too cute to be his real one.
“his name’s gyuvin.”
“hi gyuvin.”
“hi. you’re hao, right?”
“yeah, this is hao.”
ricky cut their conversation off. “alright, time to get up. don’t worry, hao, i’ll be there on time. your outfit is in perfect condition. i’ll buy you a new one if you’re not happy with it.”
hao let out a well-needed sigh, leaning back and stretching his shoulders. he took a fresh inhale of the rink’s icy smell, feeling it cool down his mind.
“thanks. have fun with gyuvin.”
the mentioned person chuckled. “we will. i’ll annoy him for you.”
“yah-”
ricky’s voice was followed by what sounded like a hard shove, judging by what hao heard. a loud thump, which was gyuvin being kicked off the bed by ricky. he could hear gyuvin howling and saying something like “my knee!”.
“see you.”
the call cut before hao could even hear the start of the chaos happening all the way back in ricky’s shanghai apartment. he sat there, oggling at ricky’s black and white profile picture with his lips slightly parted. he certainly had not expected that in the midst of his outfit-dismay.
“RICKY!” gyuvin shouted, climbing back up onto the bed whilst clutching his knee dramatically. you’d think his patella was shattered from the sheer drama in his voice.
the chinese man only grinned widely, all teeth. he grabbed a pillow, ready to defend himself. gyuvin sulked at the side of the bed, putting his chin on the mattress.
“ricky… you’re so annoying.” he pouted out his bottom lip, trying to make his eyes look as sad as possible like a kicked puppy.
something behind ricky’s playful eyes softened. something that was real underneath all the teasing and bickering.
“stop looking at me like that. get up.” he said, teasing but gentle.
gyuvin (being the whipped man he was) immediately got up, slowly falling onto ricky like a trustfall had initiated. the two fell back onto ricky’s bed, gyuvin stuck onto ricky like a piece of cheese to a patty in a burger. although strong and tall, ricky couldn’t move underneath gyuvin’s weight.
“qubing… get off…” he gritted out, losing a bit of his lung capacity.
“no. you’re warm.”
“you’re squishing me.”
“i don’t care.”
the younger man nuzzled his nose into ricky’s cheek before kissing the pale skin.
“don’t wanna get up.”
ricky sighed, using his strong arms and managing to push gyuvin off to the side, who then lay there like he had been defeated, tall form sinking into the blankets.
“i’m going to make breakfast.” ricky announced, running a hand through his hair to check the time. 10am. hao would’ve just finished his practice. perfect timing. he could call him later.
gyuvin whined and groaned on the bed, writhing like he had worms in his skin. the brown-headed boy sprawled out on the blankets like a giant starfish. ricky stood at the end of the bed and stared at him. the contrast was amusing. ricky in a black tank top and sweatpants that matched his nonchalant aura, whilst gyuvin had shorts and a maroon t-shirt which was super wrinkly. no, they were not naked, like hao had assumed.
“i have to call hao again soon.” he deadpanned at his situationship. situationship. right.
“we only have three days with each other left.” the younger pouted. “i’ll miss youuuu~”
ricky scoffed, pretending that he didn’t love gyuvin’s whiny attitude. “that’s 72 hours. enough time for cuddles. now get up before i pour syrup on your face.”
ricky left the korean boy in the bedroom, moving into the kitchen. he got out a pan, pouring some pre-made pancake batter into the hot metal to create perfect little carb circles for gyuvin.
soon later, the puppy-looking man entered the kitchen, brown hair sticking up in all directions with a lazy smile on his face as he approached ricky. he waddled over to him, wrapping his long arms around ricky’s waist to hug him from behind, resting his chin on the older man’s shoulder.
“smells good, ricky-ah.” gyuvin commented.
after a good five pancakes were made, the two made their way to the balcony overlooking shanghai, settling down in the breezy wind to eat. gyuvin stared at ricky as he sat down across from him, admiring the black-haired man with something dangerously close to love in his eyes. something in his stomach flipped as he watched ricky set the two plates down, an extra pancake for gyuvin with extra syrup, just like how he liked it.
“remind me how lucky i am again?” gyuvin tilted his head, lips widely curved into a disgustingly cute smile. ricky couldn’t stop thinking about how much he looked like a puppy. especially with his messy hair. ricky could almost make out two little dog ears formed by the brown hair.
“you’re lucky.” ricky replied back in a nonchalant manner, but there was a smile on his face.
the two sat and ate pancakes in silence, with gyuvin practically inhaling the three he had. in the end, ricky gave him half of his last one.
“i’ll have to leave by ten on friday. and then i’m flying to seoul for the championship.” ricky groaned at the thought of having two flights within the span of four days.
“seoul? you didn’t tell me you were going to seoul.” gyuvin blinked, swallowing the last of the pancakes.
“four continents is being held there. i’m hao’s manager so i have to go. plus i need to make sure his outfit is in perfect condition.”
“i’m going back to seoul too.”
gyuvin’s admission made both of them go quiet. it was only interrupted by the younger’s excited words.
“we can see each other again.” gyuvin’s eyes lit up, bouncing on his seat like an excited dog.
ricky smiled slightly. “when?”
“i fly out on the 20th. you’ll still be there, right?” gyuvin questioned eagerly.
“i’m there for a whole week.”
gyuvin squealed in victory, gripping ricky’s limp wrists from across the table. it wasn’t that the chinese man wasn’t happy. he was just too busy admiring gyuvin’s happiness.
happiness. it looked good on gyuvin.
“i have to show you my home! i’ll get my mum to prepare some sundubu when you arrive-”
ricky just sat and listened to gyuvin’s rant. this man never stopped talking. but it was something he would never truly be annoyed about.
~
like he promise, ricky flew back to fujian after a tearful but happy goodbye from gyuvin. he had told him “I’ll miss you” more than ten times. ricky found it nothing but adorably amusing, considering they would only be away from each other for less than a week.
and of course, he couldn’t have left gyuvin without a valentines day gift. a new rolex.
ricky arrived at hao’s apartment, with a large suitcase holding hao’s performance outfit. a dark, maroon silk shirt with two little cutouts on the front of the shoulders. small jewels decorated the collarbone area of the shirt, forming a beautiful spiderweb-like pattern. the shirt was paired with straight black pants. although it looked simple, it had cost thousands.
the two men stood in the middle of hao’s living room, the outfit laid out on piles of protecting plastic on the floor.
“it’s beautiful.”
“yeah, you're welcome. i picked it out.” ricky smirked back, squatting down to smooth out one of the sleeves.
“you had no reason to panic.”
hao laughed. “i did! last time, you gave the outfit to me hours before my performance. i was literally waiting outside the rink in my hoodie watching you waddle over with the costume in the carpark.”
ricky chuckled fondly at the memory. he remembered arriving at the rink- late, giddy, holding an americano in one hand and hao’s outfit in the other.
now that hao’s current outfit was secure, safe, and still beautiful, the two headed to the same cafe they went to a few days before. one order of two americanos later, the pair sat on a park bench in the afternoon glow of the sun.
hao wrapped his hands around the hot cup, waiting for it to cool down while simultaneously heating up his hands.
“the shoot is on sunday, don’t forget.”
“i won’t. do you know who’ll be there?” hao asked out of curiosity, taking the first sip of his mocha.
“uhh, a few other skaters. some retired ones. ice dance pairs… and the national hockey team.”
hao made a disgusted face. “they’re gonna stink up the whole studio.”
ricky snickered quietly. “you’ll be fine. it’s a photoshoot, not a game. plus, there's other figure skaters there. you won't be alone in your category."
hao made a loud groaning noise which attracted some passerbys. “don’t you remember what happened that one time?”
not really, ricky thought.
hao was practicing his program for beijing 2022 when the hockey team had walked in. all of them had their smelly gear on, fist bumping and manhandling each other on the bleachers when waiting for hao to finish. hao, being stubborn, milked out every last second of his practice session which he had booked right up until 7:30pm, and somehow withstood the sweaty scent of the players.
as soon as hao had stepped off the ice, the hockey players cheered loudly and launched themselves onto the ice. pucks flew through the air, hit the side walls, making hao flinch as he walked to the other side of the rink.
“shit… why do they have to be so loud?” he mumbled to himself as another puck shot at the glass at an alarming speed. “and aggressive…
he didn’t look at any one of them. he didn’t really have a right to judge, considering you had to be violent to play. if jumping and spinning with knives on your feet wasn’t enough, try poking a hard rubber puck around with a thin stick attempting to score in into goals without killing something. those things shot around like bullets. and, you’re not the only one trying to score.
hao was glad he chose the prettier option. the better option.
“they better not all be there.” he breathed out, like a bull about to charge at a red flag. ricky chuckled.
“you’re just as dramatic as gyuvin. it’ll be fine. i don’t think the whole team will be there. i saw a few names. park geonwook, sung hanbin… jiung? jiwoong? i dunno.”
“no idea who those are. and i couldn’t care less. i just wanna look good, and get this shoot over and done with.” hao leaned back, adjusting his sleeves.
“fair enough.”
“those hockey players better stay on their side of the studio, and have deodorant on at all times.” hao growled, to which ricky responded by snickering.
“this was your choice. i don’t even know why you were so eager to, since four continents is in like a week.”
hao exhaled loudly and threw his head back, squeezing his eyes. the words he had said echoed in his mind like a mantra, forcing him to reflect back on what he had said. now, looking back, he had definitely been way too confident. and excited.
he cringed.
“okay- it’s fine! it’s just one day.” he said to himself more than to the other.
one day of putting up with cocky, stinky, annoying hockey players.
just one. and then he’d never see them again!
right?