Yuri fell asleep on the couch in Yakov's office. The over tired teenager was out like a light seconds after putting his head down. Yakov closed the door quietly behind him. The afternoon came and went and around six-thirty Yuri rolled into a seated position. He stretched his arms satisfied by the pop his back gave. Glancing at the clock he saw it was dinner break, the noises his stomach was making served as confirmation. He flipped his hood over his bed head hair and shuffled down to the lounge.
Team Russia was hunkered down with some take out from a nearby artisan cafe. His presence was noticed but no one looked twice at the groggy teenager.
"Yuri your broccoli and kale shit is on the counter," Mila said, posing for a selfie. Yuri grabbed the plastic container and a fork and claimed the corner table for himself. He stuck in earbuds, no music was playing but it kept anyone from trying to talk to him. He scrolled through his phone, there was a snapchat notification from Beka. The Kazakhstan staker wasn't one for taking selfies with puppy faced filters so Yuri assumed it was Otabek's way of cheering him up. Yuri tapped and a picture of his best friend at a nightclub popped up. Beka had his hair styled, eyeliner smudged on the corners of his eyes, and headphones hanging around his neck. The background was foggy and flashing with brightly colored light.
He must be DJing again.
Yuri watched the snap for the full ten seconds before preparing to send one of his own. He opened the front camera and pulled up his jacket to expose the red collar. Settling into a comfortable smirk he clicked the camera button. His eyes skinned over the picture, he was about to send it when he froze- there were noticeable tear tracks under his eyes and down his neck. Yuri whipped at his face using his fingers to scrub the dried tears from his cheeks. He put a filter over the selfie and sent it anyway, hopefully Beka wouldn't be looking to closely. Yuri finished his meal and hovered in the lounge long after everyone else had left. He shuffled his feet heading for the door and turning around last minute again and again. When Yuri finally had the courage to walk out towards the rink Yakov and Lilia were outside Yakov's office talking in hushed voices.
He walked over to them with his hands shoved deeply in his pockets, their conversation hushed when they noticed him. He cocked his head to the side giving them both the look, the I know you were just talking about me look.
"Why didn't you wake me up for practice? I'll never be ready for Paris," Yuri snapped. His stomach flared with anxiety.
"We'll make up for it tomorrow, Paris is yours. Easily." Yakov locked his office door, coat in hand. Yuri grumbled and followed them out into the parking lot. His bag felt heavy on his shoulder. As the street lights passed rhythmically Yuri rehearsed his performance in his mind, willing- begging himself not to hesitate. The house was quiet when they arrived and it stayed quit when they all retired. Yuri stripped out of his unusually clean workout attire and flopped onto his bed. It would be impossible for him to fall asleep with the nap he took earlier. He turned on his phone and saw that Beka had opened his snapchat but hadn't responded. He sent him a text,
'Are you going to Paris?'
He watched, waiting for a response. Beka was already going to the GPF; he didn't need to skate in Paris, although many qualified skaters still went for the chance to scope out the competition. His reply popped up.
'Do you want me to?'
Yuri rolled his eyes, his thumbs danced across the screen.
'Don't be stupid. That's not what I was asking.'
'No. I'm not competing. But if you need me there I can get a ticket."
Yuri chewed the corner of his mouth. Beka, so freaking selfless. ugh.
'No. Don't come just for me I'll be fine.'
'Will you? Mila said you were trying to quit.'
Yuri's eyes narrowed. He went to Mila? Baka.
'Why the hell were you talking to Mila?
'Don't get upset. She reached out wanting to know if you were alright. Apparently you've been ignoring your friends at home as well.'
What friends?
'God. I wasn't ignoring you Beka.'
'But you were trying to quit?'
'Yakov wouldn't let me'
'But you wanted to?'
Yuri let his phone drop onto his chest. He stared up at the ceiling willing the twisting in his chest to subside. He lifted his phone to articulate the mess of thoughts in his head.
'I didn't want to, I felt like I needed to. The last time I felt like myself was when my Grandpa took me skating. Now, I step on the ice and I'm lost. I don't love it anymore.'
'Love? Yuri you need it. Who would you be without it? If this is really what you want then walk away, but if this is because you're afraid to make a mistake…'
'I don't know what I'm doing. If I can't land my quads by tomorrow I'm screwed.'
'Then drop the attitude and let your coaches help you. You want to get better don't you?'
'Of course I do.'
'Good. Get some sleep, I'll see you in Paris.'
Yuri smiled at his phone and rolled onto his side. Stupid Beka. Only a few hours of sleep had passed before the night was ended early.
"Yuri!" The bedroom door flew open and light from the hall flooded into the room. Yuri groaned turning away from the source of the light and the noise. "Get up."
"Piss off," Yuri grumbled. He buried his head under the blankets and rolled over, dozing back into a light sleep.
"You asked for my help, now get out of bed." Yakov walked over and ripped the covers off Yuri and threw them off to the side of the room. Yuri curled up spouting a stream of cuss words under his breath. He was assaulted with a training jacket and leggings. "Get dressed, we're leaving in ten." Yakov left slamming the door behind him. Yuri groaned sitting up and pushing the hair out of his eyes. He glanced at the alarm clock on his night stand.
"Yakov!" He howled, "It's four AM!" Yuri laid back down pulling the clothes over him as a makeshift blanket. He closed his eyes willing himself to fall back asleep. The sound of pots and pans banging together in the kitchen below him dug into his skull.
Is he... cooking?
When the noise became too much to bare Yuri pulled his training clothes on and slouched his way down the stairs. Yakov shoved a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee into his hands. Yuri set the plate down and held the warm cup to his face. He leaned against the counter sipping the overly sweetened drink. "Remind me again why I'm awake before the sun?"
"New training strategy." Yakov pulled his coat and hat on, searching through the hall closet for his shoes. Yuri looked down at his warm drink suddenly feeling very uneasy.
They had to open the rink, unlock the doors, turn on the lights, and set up the speakers. Usually, this was all done when they arrived but that was closer to seven when the sain employees showed up. Yuri threw his bag onto the bleachers and crossed his arms over his chest. Yakov walked over to open the supply closet, "get warmed up." Yuri groaned but plopped down to lace up his skates nonetheless. After several laps around the ice Yuri was starting to wake up. He spun to stretch his back and open his hips. A few more laps and he was sweating.
"Yakov hurry up!" He growled. It's too early for this.
When Yakov did appear it took a minute for Yuri to recognize the contraption in his hands. "No way," he started, "this is your plan?" Yakov shrugged holding out the harness for Yuri to put on. Yuri grit his teeth, "I'm not a child!"
"You have a better idea? Until you can safely land your jumps you'll be practicing in this." Yuri pulled the harness on, anger bubbling up under his skin. Yakov hooked him to the cable that extended along the width of the rink. This is ridiculous. "Start with the triple combination from Agape." Yuri grit his teeth and rolled his eyes. He glided into a large circle and planted his skate for the jump. As he lifted himself into the air fear like a wolf lunged at him. He tensed but before it could sink its teeth into his flesh the cable was pulled taut, holding him up while he completed three tight rotations. Coming down on the edge of his left skate he pushed off again this time with a fragment of confidence. The harness was suffocating but in a good way. Like a heavy blanket in the winter it kept the demons at bay.
"That was good, remember to keep your elbows in," Yaskov said. Yuri pulled the harness strap adjusting it so it didn't dig into his stomach.
"This is stupid."
"Yes, but that's the first time all week you've jumped like the professional figure skater you are." Yakov saw Yuri glance out of the corner of his eye at the door. "We're the only ones here. Stop being embarrassed and do it again, quad lutz this time."
With the support of the cable Yuri was able to fly. His feet lifted above the ground a good foot and a half but his heart soared much higher. The cable acted as his lifeline, anchoring him to reality. His confidence didn't all of a sudden come back to him like a long lost friend. Instead it was more like a ripped piece of fabric being slowly stitched back together. After a half hour it was Yakov who suggested a break. Yuri is light but Yakov is old. He usually gives cable duty to one of his younger trainers. They both sipped water off on the side. Yuri checked his phone, an email confirming his flight for thursday night caused him to bite the inside of his cheek.
"Let's get back to work." Yuri skated off to the center of the ice, tightening the straps on the harness. Yakov followed startled by the sudden surge of motivation coming off his 'couldn't care less' student.
Yuri was enjoying himself for the first time in weeks. He let himself have fun, raising his arms above his head as he spun. He landed and immediately threw himself into another jump. His heart thumped to the sound of his skates scraping across the ice like the cursive writing in a love letter. His world consisted of a blur of light and color- just how he liked it. Nothing could ruin this.
Mila sipped a cup of coffee as she entered the building. She was surprised to hear voices, usually she was the first one there (to get some extra time on the ice before lessons). She pulled out one of her earbuds and stood wide eyed as she watched The ice tiger of Russia perform a double arm raised, quad axle and land it.
"Holy shit Yura! That was amazing!" Yuri froze. Both he and Yakov turned to face her. She ran over and leaned on the rink wall. "When did you learn how to do that?" Yuri's expression was distant.
"What are you doing here hag?" His tone was cold. It was then Mila noticed the harness and cable.
"I thought I'd come in early for some extra practice. Am I in the way?"
"Yes," Yuri said. At the same time Yakov said no. They made eye contact. "Fine. but stay on the far side." Mila sent him a smile of thanks, which he ignored, and shipped on her skates.
From the other side of the ice Mila was constantly distracted by the twirling teen across from her. Agape was being played over the speakers and Yuri performed his short program over and over again. She knew he must be exhausted but there was a force of life that surrounded him. It was almost as if, and Mila would deny if anyone asked, Yuri was happy.
The night on the frozen pond was the only memory Yuri allowed to fill his mind. He could feel the agape coursing through his veins. For the first time in a long time he was alive. He ended his run through with his arms reaching for the sky.
"Beautiful Yuratchka!" Yakov said. Yuri glanced at him. He wasn't holding the cable.
When did he let go?
"That one was was all you Yuri," Mila said softly as she skated past him. He kept a neutral expression but pride swelled in his chest. He unclipped himself from the cable and coasted into a relaxed cool down. Mila had her earbuds in and was working through a section of her free skate. She had a sequence of double flip, backspin, straight into the step sequence. She almost always slipped on the transitions. Normally that would mean changing the routine but unfortunately Mila couldn't afford to lose any points. She wavered coming out of her spin falling onto the ice. Yuri saw a wince flash across her face.
"You alright ведьма? You look kind of stiff." Yuri said as he glided past her. He stopped and held out a hand to pull her up.
"Thanks tiger," she took his hand, " I wish my boyfriend had been a little more considerate last night. I haven't been this sore in a while." Yuri's face contorted in disgust. He let go of Mila's hand letting her fall back on her butt.
"What makes you think I want to hear stuff like that! Crazy сука! " Yuri mumbled, skating off to the far side of the rink and staying there.
"Love you too Yura!" Mila called after him laughing.
On his lunch break, which he took early due to skipping breakfast, Yuri walked a few blocks to get a bagel sandwich from his favorite bakery. Sitting at the counter he looked at his messages. Victor had sent a selfie where he was standing in front of the hot spring. The weird looking fish statue thing was visible in the top corner. Katsudon was laying on the ground in the bottom left corner. Under the picture Victor said, 'Hope you are well! Yuuri and I just ran two miles through town. Can't wait to see you on Saturday!' Yuri rolled his eyes at the weird old man who couldn't go a day without sending some annoying selfie or picture of his dog. Mila had also sent him something, a clip of him skating attached to the cable. Yuri saved the video to his camera roll. He was practically high off the feeling of accomplishment and excitement. Opening his instagram he posted the video with no comment or explanation.
After all, what could they possibly say that is worse than what they already have?
Going back to his messages Yuri opened Katsudon's contact. He typed out, 'I'm sorry' but deleted that and instead he wrote, 'Get ready. Paris is mine.'
Yuri set his phone face down on the counter and enjoyed his lunch.
A.N: Yeah I know I'm late to update. oops. keep coming with the comments and suggestions. I'll be back on Friday with another chapter (its almost done eeeek!). It will get angsty later but I needed this transition chapter for overall plot and stuff. Also, Lihi portal I read all of your comments (you're such a sweetheart by the way) I've sent multiple PM's but I don't think they're going through, I'd really like to thank you though so hit me up with a PM or check out my insta (I'll put it in my bio if you ask for it).