Promise

Shhhck. Shhhck. Shhhh—Kahhhh!

Kyouya’s eyebrow quirked at the sight of a beautifully lithe skater gaining speed to launch himself into the air, wrap his limbs into a solid cylinder, and rotate three and a half times, landing with a fluid, sweeping leg as the other carved a smooth curve into the ice. A triple axel, I do believe. Lovely. This moment of intelligent grace was soon completely ruined by the arrival of an idiotic klutz. Talk about stark contrast.

“MON AMI!” came the obnoxious call. Kyouya slowly turned his head but found it was the wrong time to act suave since the attacker was already in the air to tackle him, almost slicing Kyouya with a blade in the process. “Kyouya! Kyouya! Kyouya!” exclaimed the glompmeister as he was barely caught by the other boy.

“What do you want, Tamaki?” Kyouya sighed, gingerly patting the blonde’s back and getting a stronger hold on Tamaki to keep him up.

“Thank you! Merci! I’m so happy to come ice skating with you!” Tamaki said, leaning back to look at Kyouya, quite content to keep his legs wrapped around the waist of the dark-haired boy.

“It’s nothing,” Kyouya said with a small smile, releasing Tamaki but nonchalantly keeping his hands rested on the slender hips of his happy companion. Kyouya saw something a little off in Tamaki’s eyes. It made the following grin appear forced, though a stranger would have sworn to its authenticity. He leaned down and placed a kiss on Tamaki’s lips, hoping to cure that unwanted tinge. But even though Tamaki happily returned the gesture, Kyouya still saw that dull spot in his boyfriend’s eyes. Tamaki turned away to step onto the ice, slipping out of Kyouya’s hands.

Tamaki, a near graceless fool on land, was apparently made for water of the frozen variety. He skated fluidly, forgetting Kyouya existed. Kyouya glided behind him but then stopped to lean against the wall just to watch. He sensed Tamaki needed space. Something has changed about him. Something about being here has changed his mood. I want to figure it out….

The skater he’d been observing before stopped next to him, spraying ice on his skates. He too leaned against the wall to watch the blonde. Kyouya didn’t particularly care; he was too curious about Tamaki who was moving like a serpent around the ice, twisting and turning on the thin blades. The expression on his face was dramatic, filled with nostalgia and sadness, and Kyouya wondered what Tamaki could be thinking of. And where he’d learned to skate. And why the two seemed connected.

“He’s quite good,” said the man. Kyouya spared only the quickest of glances for the stranger, looking more as a result of suddenly hearing English than actual curiosity. Shorter than Kyouya, dark hair, pale skin, green eyes, and lashes that nearly grazed his brows. He looked back to the ice to see Tamaki only gaining speed and mimicking the actions of the skater standing beside Kyouya.

Shhhck. Shhhck. Shhhck.

He’s going to jump, Kyouya realized with a twist of his stomach. But then he heard Tamaki’s sweet voice floating around the rink, filling the space with echoing sounds. And… The blonde’s singing made Kyouya forget his previous urge to stop him. “Oui, j'ai déjà aimé pour la beauté du geste, mais la pomme était dure. Je m'y suis cassé les dents—“

Shhhck. Shhhck. Shhh–And then he was in the air.

Time slowed for Kyouya’s eyes. Tamaki’s feet were half a foot off the ice and his ankles were wrapped around one another while his arms were pulled to his chest. His hair flew everywhere and his eyes were closed. His face was oddly relaxed. Kyouya’s breath was stolen away at the sight of such a peaceful expression.

Violet eyes peeked out just in time to land oh so perfectly. Kyouya felt the breath come back into his lungs. He didn’t know what to think. Something had to be causing Tamaki pain, but he knew he couldn’t stop the other boy for the world. He knew that if he broke the air surrounding Tamaki, he would be breaking the boy himself. Skating was the therapy.

Tamaki jumped again and again, each time he went higher, turned faster, and panted more. He was getting more and more reckless.

“You’re his boyfriend, right?” inquired the other skater curiously. “Do you know what’s hurting him?”

“Yes and no,” Kyouya answered quietly.

Shhhck. Shhhck. Shhh—kaaah.

“Holy shit.” Kyouya looked at the man, who was now clearly American, next to him, questioning and offended. “He just did a quad.” Those green eyes were wide open and the man’s body was leaning forward in disbelief. “Where did he learn to skate?”

“I didn’t even know he could skate.” This statement bothered Kyouya even as he made himself translate into English to speak.

Shhck. Shhhck. Shhhck. Shhhh—

The other skater rushed forward before Kyouya even knew what was happening. But by the time he could register, the man was five feet infront of him and gaining speed, racing to Tamaki who had all but broken the ice when he fell from the air like a shot dove. Kyouya followed, stumbling in his haste. He saw that Tamaki just laid there, shaking. He pushed his feet harder. The skater was already kneeling next to the boy on the ice, prompting him to sit up.

Kyouya clumsily stopped himself beside Tamaki. His ears finally registered the sounds coming from his boyfriend’s mouth. “Ma maman, pourquoi? J’ai besoin ma maman alors pourquoi est-ce que j’ai laissé ma maison? ” Kyouya had no clue what Tamaki was saying as he stood looking down at the man he loved, crying so violently.

He heard the skater speak in calming tones to Tamaki. “Vous savez pourquoi,” he said. He held Tamaki’s head in his hands, making Tamaki look at him. “Vous savez, et vous allez être bien. Vous allez être bien, vous allez être bien. ” Kyouya understood that he didn’t understand how a complete stranger could be more of a help than he was.

Finally, he joined the skater and Tamaki as they knelt on the unforgiving ice. He spoke to Tamaki in Japanese even as the other boy continued to cry out in French. “Tamaki, zehi. Come on.”

“ Kyouya, mon amour, tu ne vas pas laisser moi, vas-tu?” Tamaki asked, his words getting caught in sobs that tore at Kyouya’s chest.

“Shhh,” Kyouya helplessly replied.

“Non, je ne vais pas laisser toi,“ said the skater. He looked Kyouya steadily in the eye as he said it, holding the Japanese boy to the promise he couldn’t make for himself. Kyouya hoped he could trust the mysterious man. He nodded his thanks.

“Come on, Tamaki. You’re okay. I’m here for you. I’m here,” he soothed, standing with Tamaki leaning against him. They glided slowly over to the door of the rink, the sounds of crying still drifting around the arena.

The older man followed but didn’t leave the ice circle. “He misses his mother. He asked why he had to leave home. I assume he means France.... Apparently his mother used to take him skating?” The man seemed very genuine and concerned. His luminous eyes were full of pity. “He asked you to never leave him. I told him you wouldn’t.” He gave Kyouya that same intimidating look that held him to the vow.

“Thank you,” was all Kyouya said in reply.

~*~*~*~

As Kyouya assisted Tamaki into the limo, he thought about the promise he was responsible for. With Tamaki’s head on his lap and tears soaking into his jeans, Kyouya couldn’t think of a single way or reason to ever break it.