A/N: Hi, guys! First of all, I'm sorry. Last week's chapter was kind of shit, wasn't it? A little bit of filler. But I promise this week will be better. We're all entitled to an off day, right?
After a few hours of costume shopping, Yurio came out of it with a navy and gold color palette while I got bright white and a rich purple. We looked so damn cute together. And we're going to crush his special program. However, Yurio was still having trouble with one of the triples in our set and he was having a hard time landing it cleanly. Luckily, Celestino was the best coach I ever had and the only one, so he took Yurio back to the rink.
While my coach was helping my son with his form, I sought out the professional help I was so desperate for. Since that one look in the mirror this morning, I couldn't shake it out of my mind. Any angle, any lighting, I looked rough. Granted, in my defense, sleep hasn't come very easy for me and I've been taking a back seat to Yurio. Not to mention all the added stress of the competition. A professional needed to put me out of my misery.
And now that I was about to be newly single, I should take better care of myself. Not just for the potential of someone to hold at night, but for me, too. If I look better, I'll feel better, right? This calls for drastic measures. When I was still living in New York, there was one person that made me feel better no matter what kind of mood I was in. I needed a trip to see my colorist.
Violet...A brilliant shade of purple. The symbol of royalty. The mixture of the cool, calm wisdom of blue and the fiery power and passion and intensity of red. Purple means power, ambition. If there's anything I hope to tell the world with this performance aside from my slight split from Yurio (and Victor, too...But we'll keep that to ourselves for now), it's that I'm back and bigger and better than ever. To underestimate me in the upcoming season would be their downfall. Everyone loves a dark horse, don't they?
Once my color was rinsed out, I felt that same surge of power and badassery that coursed through my veins like a rushing river in a thunderstorm. I haven't felt this kind of adrenaline rush in so long. It's about time you come back, Violet. You're finally back to being you. Not just the selfish, greedy bitch that took Victor away from the world. Not just Yuri Plisetsky's coach. Not the washed-up has-been Yakov thought you were. Not the stray skater people say Celestino took in out of pity. Welcome back, baby.
I got a text from Celestino saying Victor and Chris were already at the rink with Yuri getting some last-minute practice in, so our room was empty with the exception of Yurio and Celestino. Awesome. Because I wanted to get ready in peace and I'm sure those two would be raising all kind of a commotion. In their defense, though, it's not every day I impulsively dye my hair purple right before a performance. That took a big pair of balls.
"Knock, knock," I pushed the door open, "Coach? Yuri? I'm back."
"Hi, Mama," Yurio didn't look up from his game. Surprise, surprise. We have a performance in a couple hours and he's not even close to being ready. My god, Celestino...I thought you would've been more on the ball with him.
"Hey, baby," I kissed his cheek, "Where's Celestino?"
"Tied up in the bathtub," he said so casually, "Used a bowline knot, so you might want to bring scissors. By the way, we're out of pretzels and Apple Jacks."
"You didn't..."
"I'm joking," Yurio clarified, "He went to get ice. He said he'd be right back."
"How long has he been gone?" I let out a heavy sigh of relief, looking in the bathroom, just to be safe.
"A couple minutes."
"Yuri," I shook my head, "You terrify me sometimes, kid. All it would take is one lab accident and you'd end up a supervillain."
"Anti-hero."
"No," I explained, "Anti-hero would imply you still have some sort of a sense of justice. You'd be a full on Joker, Loki, chaotic evil situation as opposed to a Deadpool, Batman, Punisher kind of thing."
"But a quiet chaotic evil." Finally, he sees it my way, "People would see my power, but have no idea it was me. My innocence would be the real illusion."
"I love you, Yuri," I pulled him into my lap, hugging him tight, "Never change."
"Mama," Yurio looked up from his game and up at me, "Since when is your hair purple?"
"What did you think I was doing while you were with Celestino?" I giggled, "I wasn't taking a walk in the park."
"Honestly," he saved his game, "I thought you went to meet up with Victor and Uncle Chris, but that's just me."
"Nope," I sat Yurio in front of me and started the intricate Dutch braiding on his hair, "They're busy with Yuri anyway. Speaking of, how's your triple toe loop coming?"
"I got it," Yurio beamed, "You should see it, Mama."
"I will see it," I reminded him, "Remember, you're not going to be alone on that ice today."
"We've never skated together before," he thought out loud.
"Not on this kind of scale," I could feel it. The mere idea of Yurio and I skating together in public in front of a crowd this big terrified him. He put way too much pressure on himself and Yurio didn't deserve that. As his coach, his partner, and his mama, I had to do something about it, "Don't worry, dovahkiin. Just think of it like we would at practice. The crowd's not even there. If you put all your attention on your partner, you'll do just fine."
"You think so?" Yurio hadn't come down even the slightest. This is bad. This is very bad. Something shook his confidence and I needed to shake it back.
"I know so," I kissed the top of his head, "What's got you so nervous, baby?"
"It's more than just my special program," he vented, "It'll be the first time you've been back on the ice professionally since you retired. And you're so good, Mama. I don't want them to think you're not because I screwed something up."
Me? I've been working with Yurio and I was the one that had him scared? Was I really that intimidating? We've skated together a million times over. I should be the least scary thing on that ice to him. I knew Yurio wanted people to love me again, but he wanted to prove himself, too. He didn't want to get lost in the shuffle.
I threw my arms around this perfect little boy in my lap, squeezing him tight, "Yuri, you don't need to worry at all about me. It's great that you're wanting to skate with me and I couldn't be happier about that, but you're not going to screw up. And if you do, so what? This is just one performance. You don't have to worry about making me look bad. We're going to go out there today, make them fall in love with both of us, and our usual kicking ass and taking names, got it?"
"Ok..." Yurio started to perk up a bit.
"That's my boy," I praised, tying the last braid off, "You ready to get to the rink and do a little last-minute warm up?"
"I think so," he nodded, "But don't you have to get ready, too?"
"I got that handled," I assured, "I wonder where the hell Celestino ran off to. Did he get ice three blocks over or...?"
"Yurio!" Speak of the devil, "I'm back! No one tried to come in, did they?"
"What took you so long?" Yurio whined.
"You try being a good-looking foreigner in America," Celestino put the ice bucket on the counter.
"I am a good-looking foreigner in America," Yurio scoffed.
"You're just a babe, Yurio..."
"But you're my babe," I snuggled him, "And you were also left alone by Mama's coach..."
"I tried to be in and out, Violet," Celestino promised, "I really did."
"What was her name, Coach?"
"Ruby..."
"Classy," I rolled my eyes. I should know better than to leave my hound of a coach left unattended, "Real classy. Yuri, you turn out like Celestino and I'll club you."
"Noted," Yurio promised.
"Dio mio, Violet," Celestino clutched his chest, "What the hell did you do?"
"You mean the purple?" I shook my hair out, "It's cute, right? I'm feeling it. I did an impulse. It matches the sash on my dress. I couldn't say no."
"Yurio?" Celestino looked to my son, "What are your thoughts? You'll be the one sharing the ice with her."
"I like it," he approved, "It suits her."
"Did you get your nipples pierced, too?" Celestino's tirade continued. He never liked when I'd dye my hair bright colors. He thought it was a sign of me going through a rebellious phase, so if I ever did it, I had to do it in secret. The hotel cleaning staff hated me.
"No, Coach," I assured, "I couldn't go through with something like that.
"Tattoo, then?"
"No," I settled him, "I don't have any piercings I didn't have before and my skin is a blank slate."
"Good," Celestino threw himself into a chair, "Hurry up and get ready. You're going to need a little practice."
"I practiced this morning," I pointed out, "I practiced with Yurio before we went for breakfast AND I choreographed his routine in the same breath. I think we're good."
"She's great, Celestino," Yurio talked me up, "I saw her this morning. Mama hasn't lost her touch."
"You doubt me?" I giggled, "That's your first problem."
"Alright, Violet," Celestino hushed me, "Your ego's showing. Go get ready!"
"Yes, sir," I grabbed my makeup bag out of my suitcase and got to work. Thank God, Celestino didn't know I was performing or he would've called the team that put me together for competitions. I didn't want to be contoured to all hell. I barely wanted makeup on to begin with, but performances called for it.
Alright, Violet. You've watched thirty different YouTube videos on this kind of thing. What are you going to do? I needed something soft. That was the overall theme of our program. Soft, delicate. If a Tumblr aesthetic blog puked all over our performance. I guess that means my eyeliner needs to be sharp enough to kill a man, right? Maybe I could pull off a soft cut crease. No. That was a bit much. Just a shimmering nude shadow and a thick, black eyeliner.
It's times like these that brought me back to my days of dancing burlesque. Madame would do my makeup for me. I was a bit estranged from my own mother in those days, so she helped fill the void a little bit. Every night, I sat in front of her, much like Yurio did with me. I'd vent my problems while she got me ready. It was a weird bonding experience, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
As soon as I was all cute again, Yurio, Celestino, and I headed for the arena. We were both ready for this. And we were going first! The alleged cursed first spot didn't shake Yurio anymore. He broke that curse and won gold. Victor, Chris, and Yuri were already standing rink side. The time had come for Yurio and I to dethrone the current king.
"Hi, honey," I smirked, "I'm home."
"Violet!" Victor squeaked. Then, he got a look at me, "Moy bog…"
"Mon dieu…" Chris agreed, "Violet, you're adorable."
"Thank you," I blushed a bit, "My first time professional in a while. Thought, why not?"
"It works for you," Victor praised.
"Celestino's kind of pissed," I grinned, keeping my voice down, "I was waiting for him to ask if I joined a cult."
"Did you…?"
"No," I rolled my eyes, "Ready, Yurio?"
"Ready!" Yurio was about to run onto the ice, but I grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
"Not quite yet, sweetheart," I eased him, "We need to wait until we're called. You know that."
"Right," he took a spot on the bench.
"Now," I sat with him, "This is going to be the last pep talk I give you this season. You can't have the mindset of the dovahkiin anymore."
"What?" I might as well have told him I shot Nadya, "What do you mean?"
"Think of it this way," I explained, "Who do you love more than anyone in the whole world?"
"You."
"We're going to be splitting at the end of this season," I went on, "We'll be going our separate ways. But you still love me, right?"
"Of course!"
"Show them that," I poked him, "And we'll be golden."
"Ok…" Yurio hugged me tight, "I love you, Mama."
"I love you, too, baby," I kissed the top of his head.
"Representing Russia," the loudspeaker called, "Yuri Plisetsky!"
"Let's give them hell, kid," I stood him up.
"No," he shook his head, "Let's steal the show."
"It's already ours," I grinned, watching my little angel skate to the center of the rink.
The soft piano echoed through the arena and the butterflies hit me. This was the first time I was back on the ice in front of so many people. My face burned hot, but I didn't have time to worry about that. Perform now, worry later. Shortly after the lyrics started, I joined Yurio on the ice for the bridge. In that moment, I thought there was going to be a riot in the arena. In that moment, things got very surreal.
None of that mattered, though. Because I had my favorite skater with me. I couldn't wait to see what next season held for him. The fact that we got here amazed me. When he first stepped on the ice, he hurt himself in the first five seconds. He's come so far so fast. And I couldn't be prouder. But I knew…It's our time to go…But at least we stole the show.
As the music began to slow, I took Yurio into my arms for a slow sitting spin. And just like that, Yurio's season was over and my comeback was only beginning. There was going to be a massive load of press coming my way once we leave here, but I didn't care. Let them come at me. Let them tear me to shreds. Whether they like it or not, I'm coming back bigger and better than ever.
I hugged my little angel tight in my arms, kissing his cheek and kicking the crowd up even more, "I'm proud of you, Yuri. Don't you ever forget that…"
A/N: Remember when I said I was ending this at the end of bomb week last month? HA. I hope this made up for last week's chapter. But next week, we're going to have Yuri's special program AND the post season banquet. And we all know how those post season banquets go. See you next chapter! xx