「Anime x Reader One Shots」

Perfection (Yuri Plisetsky x Reader)

Bruises varying in an array of colors were aligned unceremoniously along your body. Ice skating can bring forth one of two things: a show of beauty and elegance, or a whole world of hurt when the one performing is unable to land jumps.

Skating was once a hobby of yours; a hobby that you eventually grew good at. But after moving to Russia to train with some of the best ice skaters in the world, you quickly learned that being the best in your hometown was nothing to brag about.

During practice, you'd often find yourself too absorbed in watching the other skaters that you failed to work on improving yourself. For the most part, you managed to keep up with them. Up until you had to start performing a triple axel jump, that is. Back in your hometown, the triple axel jump was one of the few things that averted your perfection. Even under the instruction of Yakov Feltsman, successfully performing this jump seemed impossible to you.

Your practice session was nearly coming to an end and you continued to fail over and over again. After falling more times than you can count, you rolled up your pants and examined the already forming bruises. You couldn't help but wince at the sight of the dark colors blooming across your soft, [skin color] skin.

You were often told that your stubbornness was bound to get you into trouble one day, but it also gave you an advantage. You weren't planning on resting until you perfected that difficult jump. Getting back on your feet, you started skating once again. You began picking up speed on the ice until it was the perfect moment to jump.

Kicking your blades off the ice, you bound into the air. The spins were flawless, as per usual, but the perfection needed for your landing continued to slip through your fingers. With a painful crash, your body collided into the ice. A whimper of pain managed to escape your lips at contact.

"Oi, [name]!" a familiar Russian voice called. You felt dread sink in your stomach when you realized exactly who it is. "Get off the ice. It's time for the real professionals to skate."

Brushing off the tiny fragments of ice that clung to your pants, you glared up at Yuri. Ever since your first day, he had been cold and downright rude to you. All his comments ever did was dishearten you from skating. You weren't going to give in that easily, though.

"I am a professional," you told him as you reached the exit of the ice rink. You stepped out and faced Yuri. As much as you tried to hide it, the infamous Russian Punk intimidated you to no extent.

He released an obnoxious laugh at your statement. "Oh, really? Remind me, how many competitions have you won?"

A blush spread across your face like a wildfire. He knew all too well that you hadn't even entered a competition yet. Perhaps to any other person, training under a world-renowned coach was worthy of making you someone special, but to Yuri, you were still nothing.

Clenching your fists tightly, you turned your back to him and started walking away before you could say something that you would regret. That didn't stop him from saying anything, though.

"I could perform a triple axel flawlessly as just a child. If you can't perfect it, don't even bother showing your face here again," he called to you. You did your best to ignore him as you continued walking to the locker rooms with warm tears strolling down your face.

"Did you really have to be so rude to her, Yuri?" Viktor asked the boy. "After all, you were like her at some point."

Yuri crossed his arms and looked away from the gray-haired man. "Shut up. I'm nothing like her."

Viktor chuckled at the young boy. He knew, probably better than anyone, how this boy tended to act around people - especially people whose talents he felt threatened by. "Of course, of course. Just be sure you apologize to the girl before she does something foolish."

******

The last thing you were going to do was let Yuri scare you away from skating. Throwing on your coat, you gripped your skates tightly in your hand as you walked out into the cold, Russian weather. Even after the months, you've already been staying in Russia, you still weren't completely used to the frigid weather. The temperatures from where you used to live rarely ever reached such low degrees. You couldn't even tell that today was an unusually warm day for the country.

You walked around the building towards the frozen lake that resided behind it. Your determination to prove yourself to Yuri prevented you from noticing the most crucial details about your surroundings.

It was a rare day, indeed, when snow wasn't falling, but that small detail failed to catch your attention. Reaching the bank of the lake, you plopped down in the slushy snow and pulled off your boots before quickly replacing them with your skates. Once you tied the laces to both ice skates, you stood up and stepped onto the light gray ice.

You gradually started picking up speed as you skated across the ice. When you finally felt comfortable enough, you worked up the courage to perform that seemingly impossible jump. Everything seemed to go in slow motion; the jump, the spins and most of all, the inevitable fall. Only, you didn't fall. Not at first, at least. Your feet landed on the ice, but you didn't have time to celebrate.

The moments you landed, your skates broke through the thin ice and you plunged into the frigid water. It only took seconds for the freezing water to overwash whatever senses you had left. Your head broke the surface of the water and you greedily gasped for air before clawing at the ice to pull yourself back up.

Each time you got a solid grip, the weak ice would only break under your weight, sending you crashing back into the water. After just a minute, your body was going into shock. Each movement you made grew more and more sluggish. Your body felt like a piece of lead that was dragging you further down.

You quickly lost the strength to keep your head above the water. Ever so slowly, your body sank lower until your head was pulled underneath. It felt nearly impossible to move against the water; you were completely helpless.

This was the end.

Suddenly, you saw a figure appear on the ice. In an instant, a hand reached into the water and grabbed ahold of you before swiftly pulling you out. You quickly took a deep breath as your head emerged from the water. Landing on the ice, you coughed and spluttered out all the water that managed to get into your lungs.

After the coughing fit finally ended, you looked up at your savior, surprised to see who the person actually was.

"Are you really so pathetic that you would try killing yourself over what I said?!" Yuri roared.

You shivered and your teeth noisily chattered together. Your clothes being drenched didn't help you in any way. "It-It wasn't because of your st-stupid comment. I j-just wanted to-to improve my sk-skating."

"It's 1°C today. Even just one degree higher is enough to start melting the ice, you dumbass," he muttered. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around your freezing form, leaving him in only a black t-shirt. "Come on, you need to get inside before you freeze to death out here."

With the help of Yuri, you were quickly brought inside the building and given new clothes along with a blanket to keep you warm. It took several minutes, but eventually, you stopped shivering and your teeth managed to cease chattering.

"Thank you, Yuri," you told him, knowing all too well that you could've died out there if it wasn't for his help. The boy who hated you was ultimately the one who saved you.

He merely scoffed in response. You didn't care, though. A response wasn't necessary. The concern you saw in his eyes every time he looked at you was all you needed.

Despite how harsh his attitude was towards you, he still cared in his own way.