A Crack in the Ice

Chapter 7

I sighed as I walked into the dining area of the hotel we were staying in. Sarah would've been with me, but she was really worn out, and the jetlag finally caught up with her.
I grabbed a plate, got some corn, a roll, and some spaghetti, as well as a glass of iced tea, and sat down at a table.
As I began to eat, I was interrupted as someone sat across from me. I looked up to see who it was, and I was surprised to see that it was Lilith. "Oh, hello," I said, swallowing some corn.
"Privet," she said as she sat down. "Oh, I hope you don't mind, but my bother is going to be joining us."
"I don't mind at all," I mumbled.

At that, a guy wearing a red jacket sat next to Lilith, and I recognized him as Lilith's coach.
"Ah, Yuri Plisetsky, yes?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. And you are...?"
"My name is Leo. Leo Calian," he said with a sigh. "I'm Lilith's coach, as well as her brother," he said before pausing to look around. "Hey...where's my little cousin?"
"...you mean Sarah?" I asked.
He nodded. "It's been so long since I've seen her..."
Lilith grumbled. "Leo, you need to stop this. I don't even know why you hit on Sarah! I mean, there's no doubt that you're gay," she mumbled.
I raised an eyebrow. "...you're gay? Hrm, I thought there was something that seemed gay about you..."
Leo crossed his arms. "Is that a problem? Do you have a thing against people who are gay?"
I shook my head. "No. It's just...hold on. Sarah's your cousin...yet you hit on her?" I asked, becoming even more confused.
Leo sighed. "Well, I'm technically not related to Sarah at all. Lilith and I have the same father, but my mother is dead, and-"
"My mother is Sarah's mother's sister," Lilith said, cutting her brother off.
"I get that," I grumbled. "But still...it's weird that not only are you not related to Sarah at all, but...you still hit on her."
Lilith sighed, taking a bite of her own roll. "Honestly, I don't think I'll ever understand how my brother operates."
"So...what are the two of you planning to do after dinner?" I asked.
"Well," Leo said with a sigh. "I was actually planning to head to the pool, and I know Lilith won't be joining me, as she has this...odd hatred for the pool."
"You know I'll get in on occasion!" Lilith blurted out. "It's just...I don't feel like going swimming, alright?"
"If you say so," Leo said with a shrug of his sboulders.
I sighed. "Lilith. Do you want to hang with me after we're done?"
She slightly gasped, obviously surprised by my comment. "Y-you'd really want to do that?"
"I mean, if I do end up marrying Sarah, it would be a good head-start in getting to know her family."
"...point taken," Lilith said with a slight pause.

After we were done eating, Lilith and I decided to take a walk around the garden the hotel had.
"So, Lilith. How long have you been ice skating competitively?"
"Well," she said with a sigh. "Seeing that I'm 19 now, and started around the age of six...about thirteen years."
"I see," I said with a nod.
"Well, it's only fair that I ask you a question now," she said with a smirk. "In that case, what actually made you decide not to skate this year?"
"Well...um..." I began to stutter as a blush crept across my face. I then took a deep breath, knowing that I should tell Lilith the truth. "...the reason I did it...was for Sarah. The season was already going to be hard enough for her, so I decided to make things a bit easier on her, and decided not to skate this year."
"Someone's in lo-ove!" Lilith said with a laugh.
"...it's common knowledge that we're dating," I grumbled. "It's been two years."
"So...what's been keeping you from popping the big question?"
"Look," I said, becoming slightly annoyed. "Sarah and I have both agreed to keep it as boyfriend and girlfriend until our skating careers are over. Is there a problem with that?"
Lilith shook her head. "No. Not at all. I was just curious. That's all."
I then looked at my watch. It was already heading on to eight. "Well, it was nice talking to you," I said with a sigh.
Lilith nodded. "Indeed. So, I guess I'll see you at the rink tomorrow?"
I nodded. "Yep."
And with that, I made my way back up to the room.

===

When I went in, I was actually surprised to hear the water running. As the usual when she took a shower, Sarah left the bathroom door slightly open, and I popped my head in. "Hey. I'm back," I said.
"Oh, hey Yurio," Sarah said.
"Need anything while I'm right here?"
"Actually, yeah. I forgot to grab a towel. Could you grab one and set it on the toilet?" she asked.
I nodded and did so. I was then about to leave the bathroom, but I got a sudden idea. I quickly grabbed one of the cups Sarah had brought with her, and filled it up with cold water. I then quietly snuck over, and I was barely tall enough to do this, but I was able to dump the cup into the shower.
"YURIO!" Sarah screamed.
I snickered. "What? Is there a problem?"
"Why did you do that?!" she growled.
"Sorry, I was just having a bit of fun, sweetheart."
"I swear...I'd kill you if I could," Sarah grumbled. "Now....I suggest that you you get out of the bathroom now, before I do anything bad to you."
"Alright, alright," I groaned before leaving the bathroom.

I sighed and sat on the bed, and began to scroll through pictures on my phone. There was nothing too impressive, but I liked looking back at old pictures every now and then. It was fun.
There was one picture that made me snicker. It was taken last summer, and I was chacing Sarah around the ice, and man, it just brought back so many memories. It made me glad that I had met Sarah, and that she was my girlfriend. I honestly couldn't imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't met her. Sarah had truly changed my life. And I knew that ot was definitely for the better. And there was no way that I planned on letting her go. At least not any time soon.