An Unwavering Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: Shall We Skate?

"Yumi! Sign these for me!"

It was early in the morning, and the skaters of Saint Petersburg were gathered in the waiting room at the rink. Yuri was busy scrolling through his Instagram feed while resting his back on his girlfriend, who was playing the piano on GarageBand. She was trying out variations on Viktor's new short program piece, and Yuuri was with them watching in fascination.

Ayumi looked up at Mila, who was holding her copy of Vogue China. "Mila, you do know I'm not a celebrity, right?"

"But still!" Mila responded. "You're on the cover! You're practically a celebrity! Please?"

Yuri smirked as she flinched in embarrassment, took the magazine, and signed it anyway.

"I love seeing you in these you know," Mila said as she gave the magazines back. "You always look so different in the photos. More mature and sexy. And the article they wrote is nice, too."

Curious, Georgi grabbed the magazine from her hands and read a snippet of the article out loud:

Ayumi Matsumoto (Executive Director, Matsumoto Corporation)

Though only sixteen, Ayumi Matsumoto is set to take the world by storm. The young heiress has assumed her role in her family's company at an early age, and already she made breakthroughs in its global expansion. But don't be fooled: this lady is more than just a business prodigy. She is also one of Taiwan's top figure skaters, making history as the youngest female Grand Prix champion.

Many people watch Ayumi with great anticipation. She has become a formidable presence not only in the executive playing field, but also in the social scene. With her ability to strike a perfect balance in her various pursuits (and going above and beyond expectations), it is only a matter of time before she reigns as queen of the Matsumoto empire.

"It feels like an exaggeration though," Ayumi said, focusing on her iPad while ignoring the collective oohs of her rink mates. "I haven't exactly 'made breakthroughs' yet."

"Don't sell yourself short Yumi," Yuuri contradicted. "You've worked hard, especially after everything that happened last year. You deserve the recognition."

She smiled at him in gratitude. "Thanks, onii-san."

Yuri was merely listening in, but he was proud of her too. It's just that he did not want to say anything in front of Viktor and the Katsudon. After months of complaining about their flirtatious tendencies, he didn't want to give them a reason to make him eat his own words.

The banter between them was cut short when Yakov entered the room along with Lilia.

"Yuri. I trust that you worked on your step sequence in my absence," she stated without so much as a greeting. "And welcome back, Ayumi. Have you started practicing the choreography I approved of?"

He quickly responded with a "Yes, Ma'am!" while Ayumi bowed her head. "I have, Madame Lilia. I've already run through the entire program."

"Then get on the ice and show me. You've been gone for quite a while, and I want to make sure you're still up to my standards."

Ayumi gulped audibly at this, and Yuri raised a brow. He was curious about her plans, especially when she told him she chose "empowerment" as a theme. He did not know what songs she selected, nor did he have any idea about the choreography. He wanted to see her routines despite knowing it was still a bit rough due to the lack of practice time.

Everyone's eyes were on her as she stepped onto the ice, except Yakov who excused himself to take a call. She stopped at the center and bowed her head.

"Okay. Let's begin with the short program," Lilia announced, plugging Ayumi's iPad to the speakers.

An instrumental song started playing. It sounded Asian, and a sad vibe ran through it. The iPad read Short Hair, by Jerry Goldsmith. It was a song from the movie Mulan. Yuri stared at Ayumi as she glided across the ice, appearing desolate and helpless.

But then the tone changed dramatically, and they were in for a shock. Her head rose as if she just made a life-changing decision. She started skating with ferocity. Her face was sharp and severe, and she was turning into a warrior on the ice.

Her spins and jumps were slightly off, but there was power and fearlessness in them that they have never seen before. Yuri gasped, eyes wide as he followed her every move.

"Amazing!" Viktor said beside him. "I don't think I've heard any girl use a piece like this."

Yuuri nodded. "I guess when she said she was going to take risks, she wasn't kidding around."

"Yeah. She definitely took my 'do the opposite of what people expect' advice to heart."

Ayumi posed at the end of the song and was greeted by applause. Yuri couldn't take his mind off his girlfriend. That was... wow.

"Your jumps need plenty of work," Lilia commented. "We'll work on your free program another day. Use the rest of your practice time to fix them, understood?"

"Yes, Madame!"

------

Ayumi was sitting on a bench while drinking a bottle of water. The day's practice session has ended, and she just got back after watching her boyfriend skate.

On stressful days, Yuri preferred having her around during his ice time. He mentioned how he likes hearing constructive comments from her even back when they were just friends. It was a calming gesture, and nowadays he did the same for her.

"Ayu," Yuri greeted as he entered the room. He made his way over to her and sat down. "How was I?"

She beamed. "You were great. Expression doesn't seem to be a big issue for you anymore. Aside from the step sequence, I don't see any problem with it. Well... except maybe the quad loop?"

He snarled and grabbed his own water bottle. "Dammit. I swore I was going to add it in this year, but for some reason it's not coming to me as easily as the other quads in my roster."

"Gosh... Is this still about JJ, Yura?"

Yuri did not respond, but he did pout. She chuckled at this and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to do a quad loop just to prove you're better than him, you know. The fact that you won last season already says a lot. Now stop pouting."

He looked at her determinedly. "I still wanna try it. I know I can pull it off!"

"I know you can. Just don't get too frustrated, okay?"

Her words were returned by a brief peck on the lips. She saw Yuri smiling at her while wearing his usual black practice outfit, an outfit she always found strangely attractive. As much as she loved his kisses, she knew they both had to get ready to leave.

After all, she just lost a bet with Mila, and now she owed everyone dinner.

As they made their way out of the locker rooms after changing their clothes, Yuri smirked. "You know you wouldn't be paying for dinner if you weren't so stubborn. You've always sucked at making bets."

Ayumi playfully stuck her tongue out, and soon both joined the rest of their fellow skaters outside the rink. They were about to head to a nearby family restaurant when Yakov called out behind them:

"Stop! I need to discuss something important with all of you!"