Depravity

Prologue: The beginning...of fhe end

"I will love you, until my dying day."

The climactic final lyrics of "Come what May" echoed through the arena as Tessa spun in mid-air. Usually, spins made her out of breath; the rotations were incredibly fast, and trying to breathe while spinning felt like trying to breathe on Mount Everest. But in this moment, she couldn't breathe for a different reason. For maybe the first time in her life, she was in awe.

The scream of the crowd was crescendoing, and she could practically taste the gold medal in her mouth. As her partner let her down to the ground, they mechanically struck their ending pose and anticipated the applause. The crowd erupted, and after a moment he pulled her in for a hug, clutching onto her for dear life. They had just performed the best skate of their damn lives.

Tessa took a brief moment to collect herself, and then took several bows. She held his hand tightly as they skated off of the ice. After a dramatic exit from the ice, courtesy of her partner, they got into a bear hug with Marie-France and Patch. They all waddled over to the Kiss and Cry, refusing to let go of each other for fear that letting go would jinx the scores. When she sat down, Tessa tried to catch her breath, but it seemed like the slower her breathing got, the faster her heart would beat.

Finally, the fated voice came on in the stadium and announced the score. 122.40. Tessa wondered if it was enough. She had made it a point to not listen to Gabriella and Guillame's scores before they went on, but she was sure they had to have put up a tremendous showing.

When the leaderboard flashed an update and she saw their names next to the number 1, Tessa let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. '1. Virtue/Moir,' the screen read. She had been waiting to see that for 8 years. She was still largely in disbelief. They had actually done it. After 20 years of partnership, 3 Olympic Games, and 1 too many heartbreaks in Sochi, they were the best in the world. Again.

Her partner lifted her up without hesitation to celebrate. He patted her back and hugged her tighter than he ever had before. He leaned back, and they gazed into each other's eyes, taking in the surreal. Tessa was the first to speak.

"We did it, Danny."