Gus doubled over as the buzzer went off, panting and laughing with his teammates. Before getting off the ice, he took his gloves and helmet off, sweat slicking back his short hair. He picked himself up, skating slowly over to the bench to pour water on his face before looking back up at the balcony.

Apollow watched as the team exited the rink, he recognized Gus right away. "Heyy!!! Nice job out there!!!" He yelled from his seat. It probably wasn't loud enough for Gus to hear, but he didn't only mean it for gus, the whole team worked their asses off, and they won. Apollow began to make his way to the front to see Gus, and congratulate him and the team on the win. If he could muster up the courage

Gus almost didnt catch the voice from the balcony, but still heard it. He grinned widely up at Apollow before using a towel to dry his face off a bit. He grabbed all of his stuff from the bench and pushed his way across the ice, skates slicing easily into the cold, hard surface. He stopped quickly at the gate before pulling it open. He hated the feeling of leaving the ice and having to stand on proper ground. The ice was always somewhere where he could take out all his anger and frustrations. He plopped himself down on a bench against the wall for a moment, waiting for Apollow.

Apollow watched as he walked and made his way to the bench. He wasn't the best at navigating the crowds, he bumped into a ground and had to stop and apologize to them. But he made his way to the bench Gus was at eventually.

.

He sat down next to him, " That was cool" he smiled as he talked with his hands "how do you keep from falling? Does it get cold? I was cold out here for sure. Is all that gear heavy?" He bombarded Gus with questions, back to back, not even giving him time to answer them before spitting out new ones. "Maybe I'll come to the next game, if I'm free. I could clear my schedule. Luckily for me I am pretty much the boss of myself." he reached into his back and pulled out a drawing he worked on while the game was going. It had a hockey stick, with blue and purple hydrangeas framing it, each individual flower shaded and textured. And held it out for Gus. "I had to multitask a bit, hard to keep focused without something to do with my hands" he smiled

Gus watched Apollow as he spoke, spitting out questions left and right. While he spoke, Gus focused on his eyes, and how they seemed to light up at the conversation. When Apollow was done talking and handed him the drawing, which Gus absolutely adored, he finally started answering the white-haired boy's questions.

-

"Balance helps with staying upright. It gets extremely hot out there because, yes, the gear is heavy and we are moving around a lot. And I would love to see you at the next game! Itd be pretty cool if you were there." He smiled down at the paper in his hands. "Thank you for coming."

He watched as Gus studied the drawing, and listened intently at his answers "how much do you think it all weighs?" He stopped himself before he started spitting more questions. "I'll see what I can do, my next recording is in two days, on Thursday, when is your next game?" He closed his bag and began to fidget with his hands and the hem of his sweatshirt " no problem! It was really cool watching, I've been skating once, but I don't have very good balance so I'm no good at it" he ran his hand through his short hair and smiled at Gus

Gus looked back up and smiled warmly at Apollow, water still dripping from his dark hair. "I have no idea how much it all weighs, but it's quite a bit. Especially when you get hot. Our next game is," He looked down at his hands for a moment, thinking. "It's next Thursday, I believe." He looked back up to see Apollow again. He hesitated for a long moment before offering, "Maybe I could take you out on the ice at some point, and try to teach you a bit?" He immediately looked away but tried to compose himself again.

He watched as a water drop fell from Gus's hair, " a whole 9 days! Thats so far awayy" he complained. He flushed at the mention of Gus teaching his to skate. "I mean you can try, I am no good at anything sporty, and I'll likely just fall on my ass" he laughed remembering the last time he went skating. He turned to face Gus. "How long have you been out on the ice playing hockey? It seems like you've been doing this for a long time"

Gus chuckled along with Apollow at his mention of falling. He remembered when he used to fall every time he walked out on the ice, but he was determined when he was younger to learn how to skate. "I'd say I've been playing hockey for about 9 years. Before then, I always wanted to try figure skating, so I taught myself a few spins, but never stuck with it," he admitted, looking at the rink instead of at Apollow. The Zamboni had almost finished clearing the ice before the next league game. As it swept over the ice, it left hot water in its wake. A little too much. They'd have to start the next game a bit later than expected so the water could freeze.

"OH that's a long while!" He watched as Gus looked at the rink "whatcha looking at?" He grabbed his sketchbook, needing something to do with his hands. "Could I look at your helmet?" He asked, wanting a reference so he could throw flowers and thorns around it and hang it on his wall at home.