This is my first officially published story, though it is certainly not my first piece. I hope any readers who stumble across this story enjoy it, and please shoot me a message or leave me a comment if you spot any mistakes I may have missed in my editing.
In my childhood, I used to watch Viktor on television, dreaming one day to be able to skate like him, to face him in competition. Never could I have even imagined I would have him as my coach, much less as my partner, both on and off the ice, and yet, in only a few short months, that was my reality. I look back on my childhood now and I realise I was an immature fanboy; but upon meeting Viktor in person, seeing him skate a routine he choreographed specially for me, all my admiration for him came brimming to the surface, alongside something else. At the time, I didn't know it, but I loved the man skating in front of me. I loved his personality, I loved his laugh, I loved how excitable he was, and I loved how he moved.
Every movement is fluid, as if he's a being of the purest water, effortlessly flowing into each jump, spin and step sequence. It's like he floats over the ice, never once touching it. I compare that to my own skating ability and am struck by how much of an amateur I am next to him. My life changed when he entered it and became my coach, and I think the moment I truly noticed that was when he choreographed a routine for me. He skated it so smoothly and so perfectly for me, and then my turn came up to skate it for him. I remember I felt clunky and uncoordinated skating in front of Viktor, and I fell within the first few seconds. But the look of laughter on his face as he followed me around the rink was the only thing that made me get up again, made me laugh at my mistake and try again. It was a mask though, I was so afraid of messing up, of driving him away through my own lack of ability that it wasn't until much later that I was actually proud of myself for going through the difficult routine even though I screwed up multiple times.
My first meeting with him was months ago now, but even though I see it daily, he's never ceased to enrapture me whenever he skates. It doesn't matter if it's something as simple as an example or skating alongside me to guide me, or as complex as skating a routine simply because he wants to. I have no idea how to accurately describe his skating besides something simply meant to be. No one I've ever seen, be they experienced skaters like Christophe or prodigies like Yurio, could ever match Viktor's grace in their movements.
In the Grand Prix finals, the first time I skated both routines he made for me perfectly, I was finally proud of myself for a good reason, I had finally managed to prove to him I was capable. Before that though, I was unsure of myself and I wanted to retire after the finals. He spoke to me after that, convinced me to stay on as a skater even though it meant I was taking him from the ice. Then he surprised me by asking me to be his skate partner, as he was retiring for good from singles skating and taking up similars skating, a form of couple skating in which both partners are the same gender. He essentially told me that even though I hadn't won first place at the Grand Prix, it didn't mean either of our careers had to end.
That was a month ago now, and when I look back to the start of this whole mess, I am still amazed someone like Viktor had chosen me of all people to coach, and then as a partner, both on the ice and in life. His movements still enrapture me, so fluid, smooth and perfect, but it's different now; I am a part of the flow alongside him, I am a being of pure water with him, though he is far purer than I could ever hope to be. Now our movements can entrance others the way they did me, and we wouldn't have it any other way.