Shattered Ice

1-The first look

As soon as they're off the bus, Lando throws his arms out and breathes in the fresh, clean, crisp air.

"Smell that, George?" He asks. George, who has not a care in the world for anything Lando enjoys, just hums and walks over to the side hatch to get his luggage out the pit. "That's the smell of the mountains. Of pure winter and ice. That's the smell of victory."

"Someone reminds Norris that he is an ice hockey player, not a poet," Carlos grumbles, pushing past him off the bus and pulling his ear buds out of his ears.

"I can't be both?"

"You can't." Charles grins. Then he throws a blanket at Lando's face. "Take that. I'm ready for the Alaskan winter."

Lando folds the blanket over his arm and gets the pleasure of watching Charles stand in the snow for three whole seconds before he's full body shivering. He's shaking like he's about to shoot off to the moon.

"Okay, I've made a mistake," he says, teeth chattering. "Give me back the blanket."

"No," Lando grins, holding it tighter. "I like it. You threw it at me. It's mine now."

"Lando-"

"Charles-"

"Hey." George says, slamming his luggage down on the snow, catching their attention. "Come get your stuff."

"Yeah," Carlos says, breezing by, pack on his back, "last one checked in gets the worst room."

Charles gasps, jumps up, snatches the blanket from Lando's hands, and nearly throws himself into the pit to get his case. "I'm not rooming with Carlos ever again. He snores like a fucking dragon."

"It's called being a man, Charles, fuck you!"

"A man who needs a lung transplant!"

"Is someone gonna wake Max and Daniel?" Fernando calls out, hobbling off the bus and stretching his limbs. Lando cheekily offers a hand as he gets down and Fernando smacks him away. "I'll make you skate laps, Lando, don't test me. Just because you're an Olympian doesn't mean I can't still call your mother."

"Don't call my mom, coach," Lando pouts. "Look, I'll go wake Daniel. Max though...I mean, he might literally kill me if I wake him."

"Good," George murmurs.

"I heard that."

Thankfully, Daniel wakes easily- and loudly, which takes care of Max waking up too. Lando is still scared of the man. Even with his hoodie up and at least three blankets around his shoulders, he looks like he's ready to take Lando down.

"Lando." Max goes.

"Max," Lando laughs nervously. "Morning, we're at the village. Carlos is threatening to take the good rooms. I figured that you didn't want that to happen."

Daniel sits up abruptly. "Wait, we're here? Like here?" He muscles his way past Lando and goes down the aisle. "Come on Max, I want to see the other athletes, let's go, let's go!"

Max glares at Lando, and Lando smiles sheepishly. Then he's getting up, collecting his stuff and following Daniel out without hip checking Lando, so Lando considers that a huge win. When Lando hops back off the bus, Charles is already glued under Daniel's arm, leeching his warmth, and Carlos, for all his big talk, is standing by the door waiting for Fernando to lead them all inside.

"Dude, Charles, check it- those guys curl." Daniel says when they get inside out of the cold. Lando pulls his beanie off his head and shakes snowflakes out of his hair. "Curling is, like, the world's most confusing sport."

"No, that's Chess." Charles argues.

"For you, maybe." George points out. Charles makes a face at him. Lando snorts.

Then, from behind him, there's the sound of a throat being cleared. Lando turns, as does the rest of his team, to see a man standing there, in a long slate gray coat. He's got an earpiece in and a bag on his back, and he looks utterly unimpressed by the sight of six hockey players all taller and bigger than him.

"Excuse us," he sneers, his eyes passing over the lot of them like they're nothing. Lando steps back immediately, and that is when he notices the kid standing behind the man. He has a matching coat, neat shoes and his polished figure skates are tied to his bag like trophies. When the two of them walk by, the outside air seems to follow, cold and unforgiving, making Charles shiver all over again. Even Lando, who loves the cold, feels a bit of a chill.

That kid, the way he walked, with his nose high and his piercing brown eyes forward like he didn't even see them- it unnerves Lando. Makes him feel off.

"A figure skater," George notes once they're both out of earshot.

"Ugh," Daniel groans. Charles tries to bury himself further into Daniel's jacket. "Prissy bitches."

"A kid," Lando corrects. "And you don't even know him. Besides, people think you're just a big dumb jock when they first see you."

"And they're usually right!" Carlos jokes, punching Daniel in the arm. Fernando sighs and steps between them before they can go at it.

"Let's go get checked in, alright?" He says. "Get out of the way of the door- just in case."

Lando follows when they go, but his mind is back with the young figure skater with the flat brown eyes and the way his gaze never strayed once as he drifted by.

AUTHOR NOTE
hii! im cristina you can call me cris and this is an oscar angst ice skater au while the others are hockey players or snowboarders, hope you enjoy!!