one-shot and short story

2021

World Championship was Anna's first competition after the pandemic, which caused all of the competitions to be canceled to stop the spreading virus. She is more than prepared to hold another gold medal in her neck although there is also little pressure from the federation because she's the only hope.

Arriving in Stockholm, she sorted strategies as soon as she lay her body in a bed. She writes in her book, to calculate and evaluate the element, and search for changing element possibilities if the judges overscored some athletes again for 514161617181 times.

"I don't want to do another quad... but I need it if I want to get that gold medal ... shit, they must be pulling Flip or Lutz ..."

⛸️

Anna and Petra found themselves in the backstage area, surrounded by the buzz and excitement of the competition. Despite coming in second place in the short program, Anna appeared unaffected by the outcome. However, she seemed to make some changes to her routine for the upcoming free skate performance.

Tomorrow is the men's short program. It's been a long time since Anna and Yuzuru don't meet each other. Anna wants to watch, but the virus makes her choose to watch through YouTube streaming. She doesn't want to add another trouble to the federation.

⛸️

Anna sat down in her chair, putting her laptop in front of her. With a book and a pen, Anna was choosing violence again. Fuck it, after her amateur career, she starts to consider applying for a job as a judge because none of them can do it right.

⛸️

It's time for the last group of male skater to show their performance. Anna closed her eyes, not prepared for Yuzuru's costume revealing. After some minutes, Anna opens her eyes slowly.

Black clothes.

Anna screams. No way, he's too attractive. She was not prepared for this. Come on, focus, you have to watch the performance! By the way, why his ass is rounder than me? No, it's not the right time to think about that!!

She finds it hard to count the scores because of Yuzuru's performance. Way beyond perfect, rock music suits him so much. So this is a secret that David hides from her. As the performance ends, she exhales, that beautiful torture is over.

"The score please,"

"106.98"

While streaming, Anna observes Yuzuru looking left and right, while Brian's expression suggests that he's used to this behavior. Anna throws her pen elsewhere in annoyance, as it perfectly describes her feelings.

Fuck it. I'm not ready to see the free skate.

⛸️

Am I able to hope that I'm not the champion? Just not this year, please...

Her wishes didn't come true. Anna is the winner and Yuzuru is the bronze of the 2021 World Championship. She can't hold back her tears when she sees Yuzuru holding that bronze medal and it becomes worse when she knows that Yuzuru's asthma relapsed after the free skate. Anna tried to communicate with Brian, Yuzuru's coach who accompanied him to this competition.

"Brian, how was Yuzuru? Is he okay? I heard that his asthma..."

"He's okay now. You want to talk to him?"

"If I can, of course."

"Over there, just knock on the door."

"Thank you, Brian."

Anna stood nervously in front of Yuzuru's room. She could feel her hand shaking as she reached out to touch the doorknob. As she stood there, she couldn't help but feel anxious about what might happen once she entered the room. Despite her fears, Anna slowly raised her hand and knocked on the door.

Just before Anna knocks on the door, she overhears a conversation. From the muffled voices, she believed it was Yuzuru speaking with someone from the federation. The sound of their voices piqued Anna's curiosity, causing her to pause before knocking on the door.

"So... where is the gold medal? You can't win against that American right? Well, at least you get that bronze medal... so you get a chance to Beijing. Make sure that your junior would also get a spot, okay?"

Huh? Why did they say it as if it were his responsibility? Is this person from the federation think before speaking or what? Crazy...

As that person leaves the room, Yuzuru moves to close the door but Anna firmly grasps the doorknob and stops him.

"Yuzuru, wait..."

"Anna ...?" Yuzuru stares at Anna for a second, "Why are you here? What's wrong? Come in,"

Anna and Yuzuru sit facing each other. Yuzuru looks tired and irritated, which makes Anna feel more hesitant to ask about his well-being.

"Sorry for bothering you... I know this is not the best time to ask this, but are you okay?"

His smile was engraved on his face. So, you still care about me, Anna? You'll not mocking me because of my medal right ...? Wait, how did she know about my asthma? Oh... maybe she knows from the media...

"I'm okay, thank you for asking. Congratulations on your win by the way..." Anna gently takes Yuzuru's hand, not realizing it at first. She speaks softly, "Please don't feel like you have to congratulate me if you're feeling tired. I know we will both perform our best again soon. And by the way, I forgot to ask you earlier, are you planning to join the gala?"

"Of course. I'll join the gala."

Anna decides not to ask about that conversation, since she notices tiredness on his face. "See you soon, then."

⛸️

Anna was completely taken aback when she watched Yuzuru's gala performance. The performance was a reminder of the earthquake disaster that had struck their town in the past. Anna had not expected to relive those painful memories and was hesitant to watch the performance. However, she couldn't help but feel envious of Yuzuru's ability to use the disaster as a motivation to improve.

Anna is feeling quite sad these days as there won't be any banquet this year. She has been worried about Yuzuru, but unfortunately, she doesn't have any details about how his asthma relapsed. While on her way to meet Yuzuru, his mom suddenly approached her.

"Please keep a safe distance from my son."