Disclaimer: I do not own YOI, just this fanfic.
Hey, guys! My coop term is finishing this week, which means I'll have more time working on these chapters. Then I have to pass my music history stuff two weeks later, and I'm completely free!
I enjoyed writing this chapter very much, it gave me nostalgia of the time back when I was only fourteen, watching the Sochi Olympics skating events, along with curling, and skiing, and blah blah blah...yeah, I loved those nights spent with my family and eating popcorn and drinking soda!
I also remembered how my and my older brother's favourite skater Yuna Kim got only silver opposed to Adelina Sotnikova (boy I was ready to hurl that remote to the tv!), but that's what skating is. It's not an objective sport. People say that Yuna had the technique but Adelina had the higher difficulty. And that's also something of the past, the 2018 Olympics are coming up next year! EXCITED!
Anyways, I feel like this chapter might unleash a bunch of hardcore Victuri shippers out there to attack me...please remember that this is only a story, it isn't canon or anything, and I'm just a high schooler who likes writing fanfiction in her spare time and figure skating. (Curls back into the corner while wearing a bulletproof vest.)
So please, FAV, FOLLOW, and REVIEW? :)
Ch. 19: 2014 Olympics: Figure Skating
Feb. 13, 2014. Iceberg Skating Palace. Sochi Olympics: Men's short program.
Victor watches as the skater from Germany, Alex Goethe, performed his short program. Every time Alex landed a jump, finished a spin, skated a footwork sequence, Victor wishes that he would fall.
Fall in the most tragic way possible!
"I'm such a horrible person for thinking that…"
Suddenly, a shot of pain went up in his arm and Victor quickly sits back down on the seat behind him. He readjusts his sling on his left arm with his right hand so that it would stop slipping.
A few days ago during practice, Victor collided with the skater from Spain, Gabriel Martinez, and severely sprained his left elbow.
Gabriel managed to get lucky with only a badly bruised jaw and a few chipped teeth, but Victor was very unlucky that day. Those events were still as clear as though it was only yesterday that this accident happened.
Flashback to the day of Victor's accident at practice.
Pan's Labyrinth plays over the loudspeakers as Victor skates his short program. Omitting only his spins other than his final combination spin, Victor directs his attention to his jumps, transitions, footwork sequences, and musicality.
He must become one with his very program if he wants to claim that Olympic gold. The last time four years ago at Vancouver, he was close, but he failed and ended up in second. But not this time!
No! This time, he will be getting that first place rank that he's always dreamed of. His favourite part of the program comes up and Victor feels himself sinking deep into the dark and sorrowful melody.
He closes his eyes and moves in time with his song, even improvising some steps in the transitions between jumps. It feels amazing, it's rare for him to lose himself so easily while prac—
CRASH!
Like a car that just turned around a 90 degrees corner, Spanish skater, Gabriel Martinez came out of nowhere. Or more like, he tried to avoid this sudden confrontation, but Victor didn't pay attention and skated right into the intersection.
The ice comes rushing towards Victor at a kilometer per second. For the first few seconds, Victor felt absolutely nothing, almost like he's lost weight or maybe got into a zero-gravity zone. But then, the pain came in like a bullet.
Victor tries to get up, but his left arm feels like a balloon that's been popped. Still, he attempts to turn around and face Gabriel, who could barely get up too. By now, Yakov and several other people, mainly the medics and Gabriel's coach, has arrived on the ice.
"Hey, hey!" Victor calls out to Gabriel. "You ok?"
Gabriel manages a weak nod and thumbs up to Victor before half of the group of medics took him away. The other half helped Victor off the ice with Yakov staying close behind him. For the first time in a long time, Victor sees the worry in Yakov's eyes.
Worry that is directed to his well-being and not just his skating career.
End flashback.
Hot, angry tears flood in Victor's eyes, he grits his teeth as he wipes them away with his one good arm. But he isn't angry at Gabriel, or the new skater currently on the ice from France, Peter Lazareck. No, he is angry at the way things turned out for him.
Ever since the end of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Victor was waiting for those four years to pass already. So he could have another try at the Olympic gold. He and his teammates manage to claim the gold at the team trophy but that wasn't the singles event.
He wanted to win a gold for himself in the men's singles. And now, he doesn't even have the chance to skate! What a shitty turn of events!
Peter finishes his short program to Firebird flawlessly with a score of 95.09, placing him in first for the time being. Victor's frustrations hit its peak and he unleashes them by banging his right fist onto the empty seat next to him.
"If you keep doing that, eventually security's going to come and kick you out, even though you're 'Victor Nikiforov'." A male voice suddenly said.
Victor didn't need to turn around to know who it is. "Hey, lil' Yuri."
"You're in a bad mood." Yuri. P sits on the empty seat Victor just hit.
Victor didn't even try to smile. "Thanks for noticing that. How's Georgi and Constantine?"
"They're going down in the warm ups. Georgi's going in the next group, and Constantine's in the last group." Yuri. P explains. "Hey, I have a question. Why didn't Max or the other alternate replace you?"
"It's too late," Victor explains. "You can't just change the list of competitors literally two days before the competition."
"Ah, I see. What a shame. I would've loved to see your free skate to Children again."
"I wish that was possible." Victor buries his head in his right arm.
Several minutes later…
The veteran skater from Japan, Nobuo Adachi, finishes his short program to Quinten with a strong combination spin. He sets a new bar with his score of 100.92. Next skater up is Georgi Popovich.
The orchestral arrangement of Revolutionary Etude begins playing and Georgi takes the first stroke of his short program. He successfully lands all of his jumps, though his last triple axel had a bit of an awkward landing. The program was quick, powerful, and overall a strong performance considering the amount of pressure.
Georgi scores a 97.82, placing him in second behind Nobuo. Victor looks through the crowd to find that amazing Japanese skater. Eventually, he spots him standing by himself at the top of the stands on the other side of the arena.
Even from this distance, Victor sees the calm, cool demeanor on Nobuo's face as he watches each skater perform their short program, and all fail to beat his score of 100.92. Nobuo's gaze at every skater down on the ice is not harsh or judgemental, but almost trancelike.
It's like he's under a spell put by those he's watching, unable to break free or tear away. It's clear as day to anyone. Nobuo loves skating in general. Whether for competing or enjoyment, Nobuo loves the feeling of simply being on the ice.
Victor is in awe as he finally comes to realize that. It's almost like that man is born to be a skater! For awhile, Victor forgets about his pains and frustrations, and instead, decides to enjoy the rest of these short programs.
Nobuo Adachi...hmm. I wonder if all skaters from Japan are as amazing as him?
Yuri. P suddenly jumps to his feet as the next skater enters the ice. Constantine takes a few strokes across the surface before approaching his starting point of the short program. Victor stands next to Yuri. P to watch.
Love's Dream begins at the same Constantine begins moving. Everybody gasps when he falls on the second jump of his first combination. Victor squeezes his fist, and mentally prays for him to make it through the rest of his program.
"Come on, Constantine...you got this." Yuri. P whispers under his breath.
Victor could feel the anxiety and fear building up inside his rinkmate down on the ice. Constantine holds his breath as he enters his next jump, which he lands successfully! From there on, Constantine forces himself back into his program and the landing of his last jump. He finishes with a score of 89.10, placing him in fourth for the time being.
Yuri. P and Victor both sit back down on their seats, releasing a sigh of relief at the same time. Victor looks at the young preteen next to him.
"Why are you here alone today?" He asks. "Where's Mike and Norah?"
Yuri. P shivers. "Norah bumped into her sports celebrity crush, that champion Canadian skier, I think? Yeah, she's making a bumbling fool of herself and Mike's making sure that she won't do or say anything she'll regret."
Victor laughs. "I'm happy for her. Poor Mike though. Always the babysitter. Though, I don't usually see him looking after you, lil' Yuri."
"I don't need looking after!" Yuri. P defends aggressively. "It's Norah who's the crazy one of the three of us!"
"You'll get used to it. That's how we all are. You haven't been in our rink for a year yet, you'll see."
Present time. Victor's parent's home.
Victor is still half asleep on the breakfast table while Yuri helps out Nicole in the kitchen. Kostner has already left for work, leaving the three of them to continue to bond. Nicole praises Yuri for his skills in the kitchen.
"You really know what you're doing, Yuri." She admires. "Now, I won't have to worry about him being malnourished. TV meals can only get him so far in life."
"I'm still fit and active currently!" Victor shouts. "And it was TV meals that were supplying me during those years when I became the famous skating genius!"
"You haven't hit that point in life yet. I mean, look at me." Nicole gestures to herself. "I'm turning 49 this year and my patients say I look as though I'm still 20!"
Yuri throws away some peels from bread they were cutting and nods in agreement. "Wait, 'patients?' What do you work as, Nicole?"
"Oh, Victor never told you? Oh, riiiigggghhhhtttt, he never even told you our existence in the first place! Well, Yuri. I work as a sports therapist."
Yuri's interest sparks. "As in all kinds of sports?"
Nicole nods. "Yep. Though, through lifestyle choices, I kind of became a no-brainer in ice-skating. Most of Victor's injuries were tended by me unless it required a specialist."
"What did you expect?" Victor talks back. "Skating comes with its fair share of knee bruises, and ankle cuts, and head inj—, and broken bones in all sorts of places!"
Nicole raises a brow. "Oh? And stunt snowboarding, shark cages, bungee jumping, and skydiving doesn't? Hmph! I'm glad I didn't allow you to pursue those hobbies and made you put on a pair of ice skates instead!"
"I was seven!" Victor defends.
"And I knew best. Where's my 'thank you?'"
"You got your 'thank you,' when I made it big internationally. Or is that not enough of a 'thank you?'"
Nicole wipes her hands on the tablecloth and puts down the kitchen knife. She wraps her arms around the sleepy Victor from behind his chair.
"That's more than enough, I'm proud of you." She whispers gently. "Really, I am. But what I really want, is for you to spend the rest of your life in happiness."
That's what I'm here for, Yuri answers in his head. If he had the guts, he would have said it out loud, but unfortunately, he didn't.
He's always been afraid of admitting his feelings to Victor. It's almost like he's under some sort of spell that prevents his mouth from moving when he wants to tell Victor that he's the most important being in the universe to him.
One of these days, he will confess.
One of these days.
Feb. 14, 2014. Iceberg Skating Palace. Sochi Olympics: Men's free skate.
After the short program, the top five skaters currently are Nobuo Adachi, Georgi Popovich, Peter Lazareck, Gabriel Martinez, and Constantine Cohen. Now, it's time to determine the final standings of all of the skaters who made it to the free skate.
Victor is in a much better mood today than he was yesterday. He sits with his rinkmates in an area that's a bit closer to the ice rink than they usually sit. Today's a special day for two of their rinkmates, they need to give as much support as they can.
Mila and Max hold up a giant flag of Russia with Victor supporting the middle of the flag with his one good arm. Laurel holds up a large banner that has Georgi's and Constantine's names written on them in large black letters.
Yuri. P films the entire thing with a video camera given to him by his grandpa. His two junior rinkmates, Mike and Norah stands a few stands above them. Mike is also recording the whole event with his video camera so that in case something happens to Yuri. P's recording, they would always have a backup.
Norah on the other hand...is shouting into a megaphone while holding a giant teddy bear that is waving the flag of Russia at the same time. Luckily for them, the cheering of the audience was loud enough to not drive all attention to Norah's side.
The current skater on the ice, Michel Crispino from Italy, skates a flawless performance to The Rite of Spring. His unconventional strokes matched the rhythm of the song and earning him a score of 160.14 and a total of 267.26. He is currently in first place.
Few skaters later, Jean-Jacques Leroy from Canada, performs another flawless free skate, skating to Les Miserables. A powerful jumper, and a confident bringer of feelings, JJ does not hesitate to improvise and add his own flair whenever possible. He resets the bar with a score of 175.58 and a total score of 275.01.
The skater Victor has secretly been waiting for makes his appearance with thunderous applause. Japan's Nobuo Adachi prepares for his free skate. Victor has not seen his free skate before and looks forward to seeing it for the first time here.
The Reluctant Heroes Piano Arrangement echoes from the loudspeakers. A song that almost nobody in the arena has ever heard before. It captures their attentions and made their eyes widen.
Nobuo connects to the music from the get-go and begins his program gently, slowly becoming increasingly intense and powerful. The climax of the song has him in the middle of a rapid combination spin. Unlike most other free skates, Nobuo ends his performance with an emotional step sequence.
Nobuo scores a 191.07 and a total score of 291.09. With the performance over, Victor feels slightly tired and sits down for a bit. His eyes dart around the arena lazily but catches the familiar sight of Liv standing not too far away from where he was sitting, also mesmerized by the score of 191.07 being displayed above her.
Of course…'Reluctant Heroes' is a song from an anime, right? Liv would've recognized it immediately. She must've been amazed… thought Victor.
"Who're you looking at?" Max suddenly asks as he catches sight of Victor sitting down and staring off into the distance.
Before Victor can answer, Max already traced the path of Victor's vision to the person of destination. His face breaks out into a large smile.
"That the fangirl, Victor?" He asks smugly.
"Who? Where?" Mila asks. She follows the direction where Max is pointing to Liv. Her eyes lit up in recognition. "No way, Victor! When did you meet Livvy Nguyen?"
Victor is the one surprised now. "You know her?"
Mila nods fiercely. "I know almost all of my competitors. I haven't seen her in awhile, the last time was the 2012 Worlds. Me, Sala, her, and a few other guys went out after the gala exhibition to some bars and there was this singing station there. And she did this epic duet with Otabek I think. Man, could they sing! How are they even skaters in the first place? They're in the wrong career!"
"I think they're good skaters too, though I never heard them sing before. I'd like to one day." Victor says in a calm face.
"Then let's all go to another bar after the gala again this time!" Mila declares. "I'll make her sing for us!"
After a few more skaters, it was finally time for Constantine to go. Victor suddenly feels his heart speeding again. After Constantine's not-too-great short program, he really doesn't know how things will fare for him here. If he doesn't do well here, then he's not going to make it onto the podium.
Constantine's free skate song, Canon in D, is smooth and lyrical. His skating, even more so. It's almost like he pulled out all the physics of skating and is moving at such an unbelievable level of smoothness, one could hear a pin drop and notice it.
This is Constantine's redemption from the previous night's short program. This is his feelings, his reason to skate, his apology to his country and teammates. The free skate ends with a score of 188.4 and a total of 277.50, placing him in second behind Nobuo.
Victor and his rinkmates almost cried when Constantine skates off the ice in heightened emotions. That was a beautiful and touching performance, Victor almost forgot about his own pain for not being able to compete.
Georgi is the first skater to go in the last group. His free skate to Carnival of the Animals. It is fast and cheerful, nothing like the previous performances.
In this free skate, Georgi shows that he is able to express feelings of playfulness and joy besides sadness and lounging. However, he stumbles on a few of his jumps and even fell on his quadruple salchow in the second half.
In the end, Georgi scores a 164.01 and a total score of 261.83, placing him in fifth. It is a step down from what he could've performed, but still good nonetheless.
The men's free skate ends with the top three skaters: Jean-Jacques Leroy of Canada with bronze, Constantine Cohen of Russia with silver, and Nobuo Adachi of Japan with gold.
As Victor claps at the three skaters standing on the podiums on top of the ice, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. He so badly wanted to be down there too, wearing that gold medal around Nobuo's neck.
He begins walking away from his rinkmates and up the steps to the top of the stands to escape the crowd. At the top, he bumps into Liv. She smiles at him.
"I'll get you an Olympic gold. I'll try my best!"
"That'll be a dream come true." Victor smiles back in gratitude. "No need to try, you made it this far. Gold is just an arm's reach away."
"What I really care about are my scores. Not so much about rankings, but for once. I'd like to know what it feels like earning a score that meets expectations."
Feb. 19, 2014. Iceberg Skating Palace. Sochi Olympics: Ladies' short program.
The first group of skaters is down on the ice, already warming up. Tension is high considering that they will be the ones that set the bar and makes the first impression.
By now, Victor's arm is feeling less pain than before and has been taken out of the sling. But he still wears the cast and is forbidden from moving it around too much.
He sits by himself, away from his other rinkmates. He wants to watch, enjoy, and judge these programs without the influences of others. And then compare his judgment to the scores of the official judges.
Let's see if he can spot any suspicious scoring tonight. But of course, he's not too worried about his rinkmate, Annie Vasin, or the other female representative, Sonia Ivanov. They'll do great, he's sure of it.
Current skater on the ice, Paula Edwards from Canada, scores a 58.77, placing her in first for now. So far, most of the newer skaters had already performed, the ones whom everyone is debating whether or will make it onto the podium, have yet to go.
But they all skate to the best of their ability. Many of them even managed to earn their season's or personal best from tonight! Eventually, the event goes into its second half, and the more experienced skaters take it from there.
Starting with Sala Crispino from Italy. She skates a well choreographed short program to Bells of Moscow. Overall, Sala is a strong skater, but because her jumps mostly outshine the rest of her elements, it's hard to appreciate her abilities to interpret, stroke, and stretch.
But jumps is what gives skaters their scores, and Sala earns a 73.98, placing her in first. Skaters after Sala fight hard against the pressure and high expectations, and yes some of them did stumble and fall, but they skated their hearts out. That's what counts in Victor's eyes.
Champion from the free skate team event, Sonia Ivanov, takes the ice. She won the team trophy ladies' free skate with her stunning show-stopping performance to Lord of the Rings Medley. Question is, can she do it again here in the singles short program?
Sonia starts off strong, skating to Dark Eyes, but somewhere in the middle of the program, she begins to show signs of tiring. She loses some speed down near the end of her footwork sequence and her entrance into her triple loop jump wasn't as smooth as it usually is.
She two-foots the landing on her triple loop jump, but instead of demoralizing her, it seemed to have woken her up! After that, she quickly picks up her slack and begins putting in all her effort into her moves.
She lands her last jump, though a bit overrotated, and ends strongly in a rapid combination spin. Sonia scores a 68.93, placing her in second. The next skater Victor is waiting for, is Liv.
After a few more short programs, that didn't fail to disappoint the audiences, but several skaters were disappointed with their own performances, the next group of skaters entered the ice. Liv is skating in this group.
Victor stands up from his seat and makes his way to a better viewing area that's still relatively free of other people. He watches with a lump in his throat as Liv strokes across the ice in long powerful glides. Forward, backward, clockwise, counterclockwise…
It felt like an eternity before the warm up was over and Liv remains on the ice, first skater of this group to go. Victor's vision became hazy for a second, if it wasn't for her dark hair, he wouldn't have seen her. Her in that white outfit, perfectly blended with the ice.
Theme of Angel Beats echoes across the arena as Liv starts her short program. She lands her opening jump combination and second jump perfectly fine. But Victor isn't worried about that, he was more worried about what the technical panel will see when they replay those in slow motion.
On the other hand, he is not worried at all about her spins, footwork, transitions, and interpretation. Liv got those down, sparking the attention of the audience with her rapid layback to bielmann spin and her deep footwork sequence.
Though Victor has seen this short program quite a few times before, he feels that this is definitely the best one she's performed. Under the high pressure and new environment, Liv's connectivity with the ice heightens. She scores a 69.02, not too high, and not too low.
Just as expected, but still a bit disappointing nonetheless. She places in second currently. Victor runs down to the back of the arena to look for her, but Liv disappears once again. Not wanting to miss the rest of the event, he goes back to the main arena, just in time to see his rinkmate, Annie perform.
Annie skates to Riverdance, and by now, most of her rinkmates have her entire program memorized. She starts off with a hop then a pivot, and skates into her opening triple lutz/triple toe loop, blah blah blah.
But she already thought of that and went one step ahead. Annie adds improvisations in her transitions and footwork sequence to surprise her audience this time. Even Victor was shocked by those new sudden additions.
It was Annie's improvisations that earned her the applause, but it was her jumps that earned her the scores. She scores a 74.13, placing in first for the time being, though it'll be very difficult to beat a score this high. She practically won this short program already.
Feb. 20, 2014. Iceberg Skating Palace. Sochi Olympics: Ladies' Free Skate.
Tonight is the night that truly counts. All of the hard work and training, will it be paid off here? That'll depend on the skater and her capability of controlling her nerves, along with the support her coach is giving her.
The first group finishes warm up and the first skater of the night squeezes her coach's hands in desperation and fear before being welcomed by the cheers of the audience. Skater after skater, Victor's heartbeat intensifies. It's almost like the pressure increases with each performance.
The bar is set high all over again, or new expectations are made. Each skater has to meet those expectations, and each time she fails, the next skater's expectations are higher than ever. Then the skater from the Czech Republic, Hannah Newman, came up.
Her free skate to Ballade is doomed after her first failed jump combination. After that, Hannah begins rushing through her program, almost as if she trying to get this done and over with, or more importantly just leave the eyes of the thousands of people watching her fail.
Victor almost cried as Hannah pops her triple salchow. It reminds him too much of what happened to Annie Vasin back during the 2014 Nationals. The pressure just got too great.
Unable to stand the sight of a skater having a mental breakdown in front of him, Victor leaves the arena and runs to the back areas, where most of the other skaters were warming up, all of them looking as scared as Hannah Newman.
Stopping in front of a water fountain, Victor suddenly feels a tap on his shoulder. It was Yakov.
"What are you doing here? Are you not feeling well?" He asked. "Don't tell me your arm's gotten worse!"
Victor shakes his head. "I couldn't stand to see that Czech girl constantly fall. It's so horrible…"
"Victor?" Liv enters the scene, she takes out her earbuds and looks at him with concern. "How bad are my chances?"
Victor looks at Liv, her face is just like all the other about-to-go-on skaters. Teary eyed and scared. He couldn't lie. "It's pressurizing out there. They're...falling, well most of them are...but a few of the better ones are leading with stable free skates."
"I'm asking about how you think I'll fare out there," Liv repeats.
He doesn't know. He doesn't know. "I don't know."
Back in the arena, Victor sits back in his usual spot, continuing to watch these skaters skate their free skates. It didn't get too better, but at least by now, they've gotten in the more promising groups of tonight. The ones with the possible champions.
Sonia Ivanov takes the ice, as champion from the team trophy's free skate, the atmosphere has changed for her. Lord of the Rings Medley begins and she starts her program. It was a good start and middle. But it lacked the excitement and confidence from the team trophy.
It's almost like Sonia's lost the motivation to skate, or maybe she also succumbed to the pressure. And as soon as the second half began, Victor's beginning to think it's maybe the pressure. Sonia falls on the landing of her triple loop jump and begins rushing to end her free skate.
She scores a 135.24 and a total of 204.07, placing her in second behind a skater from the United States, Grace Lorimer who has a total of 224.03, for the time. Few skaters down the list is Sala Crispino. She manages to deliver a clean free skate to Divenire and join the tiny portion of skaters who didn't fall or stumble tonight.
Sala places in second behind Grace with a score of 140.35 and a total of 214.33. The last skater of this group is Liv. Victor leans forward on his chair, resting her forehead against his right arm and swallows some bile that coming up inside his throat.
"She can do it…" He croaks. "She wanted to leave this country, to go back to the US, but she stayed because of the Olympics. She'll do well...and I won't be put at fault. This coaching thing is real, it's not a minor infatuation, Yakov…"
Last of the group, Liv steps on the ice. Victor lifts his head from his arm and looks at her stroking across the ice, in her flowing light gray dress, it's just like all the other previous skaters. Until the music begins, that's when the individual skater appears.
Raindrops sounded in the background, introducing the Heavy Rain Piano Suite. Victor slowly rises in his sitting stance as he watches the ice slowly transform in front of him, into a blank canvas. Liv moves across the canvas, painting a story for all of them to see.
The entire arena is silent, only clapping when Liv lands her jumps and finishes a spin. But nobody cared about those elements. No, they just watched for the performance itself. The entire arena turned into a thunderstorm through Victor's eyes as Liv reaches the second half.
Victor suddenly catches sight of someone familiar moving next to him. It was Nobuo Adachi. He also watched Liv's free skate with the same eyes as he did with the men's short programs.
"Tenshi…" Victor heard Nobuo whisper.
"What?"
Nobuo looks at Victor. "It means 'angel.'"
Liv's strokes became more powerful and emotional, the music intensifies and reaches its climax as she finishes the program with a double axel leading into the combination spin. That's when the lights of the arena came back on, and everyone applauds. Liv joins the small portion of skaters who managed to skate a clean program tonight.
Victor stands up, unable to contain the numbness in his legs. It was worth it… Then the scores were announced and displayed. Liv scores a 135.76, a combined total of 204.78, placing her in third for the time being. Victor stares at those numbers, silent and debating.
The crowd cheers, but it's only natural to do that each time the scores were being displayed. Were they sincere in their cheers every time those numbers appeared? Did they know if it's too high or too low considering what they've seen the skater do on the ice moments before?
Liv didn't disappear immediately this time when Victor looked for her. She sits on the sidelines with Yakov as the rest of the free skate goes on. The last group of the night enters the ice. Annie is the first performer.
This time, her free skate to Star Wars Medley was clean. Clean and exciting and motivating, but not strong like Sala's, or smooth like Grace's, or artistic like Liv's. But Annie's technical elements were superb, which is why she scored a 141.98, and a total of 216.11, which places her in second behind Grace Lorimar.
The last skater of the night, Maaya Yuzuki, skates across the ice. By now, the audience was tired but continued to stay as awake as they could for this final performance. Maaya is willing to deliver that to them and reawaken them once again. Skating to La Primavera.
Maaya steps out of her first jump combination due to nerves but quickly regains control after landing her second jump and taking the audience's breaths away with her beautiful footwork sequence. Victor walks towards the stairs next to the stands and down towards the sidelines to get a closer look.
The music begins to slowly fade away near the end of the program, at the same time as Maaya slows down her pace and strokes, becoming more gentle and soothing, all the way to her final back scratch spin, ending this event once and for all.
She scores a 139.18 and a total of 205.15, placing her in fourth, behind Sala. And that is the end of the Sochi Olympics figure skating events. The medal ceremony will begin soon.
With the top three skaters: Sala Crispino of Italy taking bronze, Annie Vasin of Russia taking silver, and Grace Lorimar of the United States taking the gold.
Victor quickly turns his head to the sidelines to find Liv, and this time, he manages to catch sight of her before she walks out of the arena, dressed in her casual outfit and her skating bag over her shoulder.
He runs after her as she disappears into the crowd.
The underscored skater of the night.
At the back exit of the arena.
"Liv, wait." Victor walks close behind her.
She stops and turns around, her face is not angry or sad, or anything. It is actually quite neutral, other than the slight redness surrounding her eyes.
"It's alright." She croaks. "That's to be expected. It's not like it's the first time this has happened to me anyways, you know that."
"I...I'm so sorry." Victor means it. He had so many high hopes, so many dreams, but this is the reality. And Liv's already accepted it. He feels terrible for letting that happen.
"For what?" Liv puts on a forced smile. "Thanks to you and Yakov, I skated the time of my life here at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. That's more than enough of what I could ask for."
Her voice cracks a little at the end of the sentence. In the bright fluorescent lights, Victor can see tears gleaming in Liv's eyes, threatening to spill at any second. It's clear that she's hurt by the results once again.
He breathes silently. "Why'd you stay, Liv? When Yakov and I went to tell you you've been selected as Laurel's replacement, you were more than ready to leave for the States."
"Of course I was," Liv explains. "I felt worthless and incompetent during that time, I wanted the warm embrace of my family and friends."
"But you decided to stay…" Victor remarks.
"Yeah. Because I've got people here who support me now. Well, you more specifically. And immediately because of that, this place began to feel more welcoming." Liv nods at Victor, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Victor is ready to bawl. "I'm so so sorry. I couldn't help you any more than I said I would. I was in over my head when I said I'd make you a champion. I'm sorry."
Liv gaps in shock. "Why are you apologizing? I should be the one apologizing! You coached me, you supported me, you believed in me. But in the end...I couldn't even place on the podium! Ha! Looks like my 'win' at the Nationals was a big joke too! It's embarrassing, alright! Now nobody thinks I'm competent! I'm embarrassed!"
She continues to shout. "You would've won gold easily! If it wasn't for your injury, you would've won! And nobody would even think twice whether or not you deserved that gold! Even against Nobuo Adachi, you would've won, I know so! But now, neither of us are wearing gold! Look, I'm so bad, I'm even dragging the great 'Victor Nikiforov' down with me!"
A moment of silence fell between them, only the sound of Liv's tired and ragged breaths echoed through the halls. The wind blew hard outside, making a loud whistling sound against the glassy doors and messing the snow up all over the place.
"I'm sorry," Liv says in a quieter voice. "There's no gold for you to kiss tonight."
Impulse strikes Victor like lightning strikes a tree, without a moment's delay, he walks across the gap between him and Liv in exactly five firm steps.
Stopping in front of her, he cups one side of her face with his right hand and quickly brings her in close, sealing the gap between them and destroying the last wall of tension in their relationship, blooming a whole new one.
The second their lips touch, Liv's eyes opened wide. Her arms became weak and her skating bag rolls off her shoulder to the floor. Her heart is thumping so loud, she felt its pulse all the way down in her toes!
The kiss isn't as one would imagine. It isn't slow and romantic, or rushed and mood-killing, or confusing and mistimed. But more direct, it is confident, accurate, and proper. It was something that needed to be done in that moment.
Almost as soon as it began, it ends. Victor takes a few steps back, in case Liv made any unpredictable reaction. His pulse has never raced so fast his entire life, not for any competition or event.
He looks at Liv directly in the eye, peering past those dark brown orbs and straight into the mixture of confusion and relaxation behind them. His own emotions probably weren't too far from that, but he had a sense of confidence in his recent action.
"I kissed the gold now," Victor says in a serious voice.
Without warning, Liv runs forward and wraps her arms around Victor, who quickly returns the action. Her arms circles behind him, almost afraid that if she let's go, he'll disappear like a dream.
"Thank you," Liv mumbles into Victor's jacket. "For making my decision to stay worth it."
Victor sweats furiously after hearing that. So she does have feelings for him. He tightens his grip on her, not wanting to ever let go. This is what his gut instincts are telling him to do right at this moment, what he wants to do. But what about after this moment?
Will he continue to want to do this? Will his feelings for Liv right now keep on lasting after tonight?
Yes. He has to make it last. Because in this moment, this very second, this is all he's ever wanted. Someone who needs him by their side through all tough times, someone who he can offer to be leaned on as a strong pillar of support.
The hero that comes in to save the day.
"I'll make it worth it if you stay. Don't you ever think of running back." Victor says fiercely. "If you can't compete fairly this way, then fine. We'll have it their way. Let's win, with their rules."
Again, no attacks, please. Constructive criticism is always welcome, just nothing that'll bring my morals down.
Ah, this is finally done and finished! Yes! I feel like I just made across a giant hurdle and past the finish line. After this chapter, I'll be finishing up the last few chapters of this backstory, and continue the rest of this story in the present, where things will hopefully get interesting...
But of course, I have to watch the new episodes of Game of Thrones season 7 before I write more chapters! BIG FAN OF GAME OF THRONES!