Waltz For One - Part 1
Yao had been in the business of figure skating for over a decade now. He had started as a child, and since his international debut on his eighteenth birthday he had rocketed to the very top of the game, unmatched by anyone. He competed regularly in national and international championships, and even represented his country twice in the Olympics (winning gold and a silver medal respectively). He knew very little beyond a life of competing and constantly practicing, and truth be told he did not care for it; skating was his only passion, and it was why he remained single, completely opposed to all expectations for him to marry and settle down, at the age of thirty-two. He was happy as he was.
Staying as long as he had in the business, he was under the (completely justified) impression that he knew everyone in the game. That is, anyone who was anyone, and of course he kept up-to-date with the newcomers. If he had not heard of you, you were not worth knowing. It was that simple.
The day came when he was proven wrong.
It was during the preliminaries of the world junior championship which he attended to watch over a couple of promising young talents. They were not scheduled to perform until later in the day, so he was not particularly observant for most of it. He was perusing the program for the fifth or sixth time, idly folding down the corners of the paper, when the crowd burst into a cheer at the announcement of one Ivan Braginski.
He must be very handsome to be so popular, he thought as the crowd of largely women surged to the glass borders of the rink.
When Ivan glided out, waving and smiling, Yao thought he was rather heavyset. He was graceful enough stroking around the ice as a warm up. But what the crowd saw in him, his rather garish costume, and his face which was not your stereotypical good looks, Yao was not too sure. His eyes fell onto his watch. He still had an hour left to wait before his talents came on. He might just take the opportunity to grab himself a quick lunch.
The stadium hushed as Ivan took his starting position, and the first note of music rang across the ice as Yao stood up. Before he could make his way out, however, Ivan sprang into his routine.
And what a routine.
Within the first couple of minutes, this young man whom he had never heard of until that moment pulled off a series of moves that had him transfixed. He was skilled, yes, and startlingly graceful for a man of his size, but that was not all of it. Yao thought and thought as Ivan whisked around the rink, raising a cheer for every jump, twist and pirouette, but as much as he thought he could not pinpoint exactly what it was that made Ivan special. He dropped back into his seat, all thoughts of lunch and the talents he had come to see wiped from his mind.
Ivan finished his routine with a twirl and a flourish, and the stadium erupted into a roar. It was an outstanding performance and he knew it. Flushed with exertion, panting and smiling the widest smile, Ivan took a deep bow to another round of applause. Yao found himself clapping along with the rest of them, his mind racing at the same rate of his heart.
This Ivan Braginski is something else.
Originally a request on Tumblr.