First - there is one more story between the previous and this one, but it was a collab. So if you are interested in reading Scott and Gordon as Triathletes, head on over to A03 and look for Faster, Stronger - Together by me and SinEater. I also set this challenge up as a collection of Olympic AUs over on Ao3.. Enjoy! And see you at the Winter games!
A/N: Okay, so this is the last idea I had in my head for Olympics stuff, and it's the one that kind of did what it wanted to do. Remember how I said I don't write ships…. well Gordon had other plans. So Pen and Ink - and I abandoned the summer Olympics for the Winter. Because, fun fact, I don't know anything about the other sports. But what I do know is ice skating. And yes, this should feel very "Cutting Edge" if the title didn't clue you in.
So you can tell me if you enjoy this or if this is weird. I dunno
It was official.
Gordon had a crush on his brother's pairs partner.
By all rights, Penny should be representing Great Britain, not the US. But loopholes with her mother's ancestry aside, it was obvious she and John just fit as a pairs team, and their ease with each other translated beautifully into their performances.
Their fit hadn't been immediately obvious; it took Coach Moseley reaching out to John directly and asking him to just come give it a try. What could be the harm? Up until then, John had considered himself an singles skater. But in his past competitive performance, his programs had just felt flat, and dispassionate. The World Stage knew it.
And Penny – well she was, rightfully so, a little –uh, selective after her previous partner was willing to abandon her safety for the thrill of the win. The partnership of Fischler and Creighton-Ward had dissolved a few years ago, right before the national championship, in a major upset that reached even the most remote television screens.
There was video of the qualifiers, and Gordon fumed thinking about Penny's fall. Pairs was about trust, about knowing each other's cues and speaking silently, soul to soul. Penny hadn't been prepared when Fischler changed the throw to a more difficult one that would score them a higher technical score. He hadn't warned her, and she hit the ice hard with a cry that still sent goosebumps up his arms when Gordon thought about it.
Then again, that could just be the cold of the rink this early in the morning. He rubbed his gloved hands together to spread a bit of warmth up his frozen limbs. Gordon had bundled himself into a pair of long jeans and a thermal bomber jacket, with faux fur adorning the hood for this morning's visit to their family's Ice Arena and Sports Complex.
In comparison, Penny and John wore their practice outfits, and for Penny that still meant tights and a cobalt blue skating dress with a sheer skirt and rhinestones framing her chest -stop looking, Gordon. John wore a pair of black joggers and a long sleeve grey Henley. His red hair was messy from their warm-up, looking like absolute bed head in comparison to Penny's immaculate high ponytail.
They kept warm somehow, but then again, they were the ones currently practicing the salchow. Gordon was just the one who ran for drinks.
Penny's rotation was a bit faster than John's. Coach Moseley echoed it as he thought it, clapping her hands together and shouting, "Again!"
The pair started with the footwork sequence right before the triple salchow, setting up the back left inside edge that started the jump. They turned, one-two-three (and it had taken Gordon a few months to get comfortable recognizing the rotations, but it was obvious now), and then landed on an outside edge on the right leg.
Better that time.
From his jacket pocket, Gordon pulled out his phone and the stylus he used to make notes and opened his digital notepad for John. He'd lost some height in his jump - an increase in his calf exercises should help correct that.
Coach Moseley skated over to the edge of the rink to greet Gordon and gestured for the pair to join her as they finished off their edge with the next few steps of the next sequence.
"Did you get that, kid?"
"Yep," he confirmed. "All right here." He tapped the stylus against the side of his phone. So, in all truth, he did more than bring drinks. It took a village, and John and Penny had Coach Moseley, a Choreographer, a ballet teacher, and, well, Gordon had the honor of being their nutritionist and personal weight trainer.
"I'd like you to work with Penny on her forearms, too," Coach Moseley added. "They had a wobble in their twist lift yesterday."
Gordon's heart jumped. "Is she ok?"
"She didn't fall, kiddo. John held firm. I'd just like to be a bit on the safe side."
He understood that. A few taps with the stylus later and the note was added into Penny's file. Then he pocketed his phone, to greet his brother and his partner with a grin.
"Morning!"
"Gordon, Darling." Penny reached for the pink thermos he offered. It was filled with warm green tea to start her day. "Thank you," she hummed. "You're a Godsend."
He ducked his head as his cheeks flushed, pretending to check the other two drinks to make sure he had the right ones for each.
"Ah – here you go, John. Black with honey and cinnamon." Pen and John were allowed natural sweeteners only. And for the coach – "Caramel macchiato with hazelnut."
"Thanks, Gordon," John, hummed, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I brought some honeycrisps too."
"Wonderful. Okay kids, take five," the Coach said. "We'll drop jumps down to doubles when you get back. I want to focus on footwork this morning."
He noticed John's galaxy blade protectors sitting to his right on the barrier of the rink, so Gordon slid them over closer to his brother, stepping closer to the rink doors just in case he needed a hand. John had a habit of tripping when transitioning from gliding on ice to the awkward process of walking in heavy skates.
For Penny, taking five meant she went right back to what she was doing. Turning circles, weaving grooves of figure eights onto the smooth ice, beautiful like crystal and as hard as glass. Much like the woman herself.
She'd taken her thermos and abandoned it on the other side of the rink.
Gordon watched her skate. And saw resilience, strength, intensity. When she first came to them, there'd been a shield around her, and slowly John and the rest of their family had started to help her bring that shell down. Much the same as when Kayo joined their fold.
But Gordon knew Penny could still cut him down with just her words and her stare. And though she knew it was a power she held, Gordon tried his hardest to hide the extent to which he knew she could truly and utterly break him if she wanted to.
If she knew.
A crunch to his right startled him; he jumped as Virgil came up beside him and bit into one of the apples he'd washed this morning and thrown into the thermal bag.
Virgil had his pair of hockey skates draped over one of his broad shoulders, and his red flannel was rolled up a bit at the sleeves. He casually leaned forward over the edge of the rink to mirror Gordon's position, watching Penny as she skated freely.
"We need a fourth for even teams," Virgil offered. He placed a hand on Gordon's shoulder, turning to look him in the eye. "What do you say? You and me against Scott and the Sprout?"
"That's hardly fair." Virgil was a tank as goalie, and Scott had yet to figure out Gordon's tricks for finding openings where they didn't seem to be any.
"I wouldn't underestimate them, Gordo. Alan's been getting quicker on his feet. Which you would know if weren't spending so much time out here lately."
Gordon shrugged Virgil off and grabbed an apple for himself as well, taking a bigger bite than he probably needed.
"Gordon."
"What? What are you trying to say, Virgil?"
Virgil sighed, sitting back on the bleachers behind them. "Nothing. Just – when you're ready we'll be over on rink two."
"Sure."
He slid back and grabbed his hockey bag by the door. "Don't be too long."
And as Virgil left, John returned. They whispered a few words to each other in the doorway, and Gordon tried to ignore the way his ears burned, even in the cold air of the rink in the morning.
