Fragmented Snow Chapter 9

Chapter 9
“You’re too focused,” Victor critiqued. “Your step sequences are too stiff and you look angry while you're skating.”

“Right...” Clara caught her breath as she leaned onto the barrier. Like this was the time to lose focus? This was her first competition since last season and on her home turf on top of that. She took a drink from her water bottle.

Victor tapped his chin, studying her face. He expected her to be much more relaxed after their trip to the northwestern suburbs the previous day, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. She seemed much more determined, which was fine, but it was beginning to make her performance more robotic. The music and poetry were struggling to come through. He closed his eyes to think. He had learned so much about her within these past few days than he ever would have thought. Though, it’s not like he moved in with her. She came to them and she kept them at an arm's length. Aside from a couple instances, he was rarely allowed into her space. Whether it be emotionally or physically. Everything was about skating with her. He opened his eyes. Perhaps that’s where he needed to start. Skating for him was about entertainment, of course there was his love for the sport, but making his audience entranced with his performances was always his top priority. Yuuri’s love for skating came from his love of dancing, while he was an anxious mess at times he loved performing on the ice. But what was it to Clara? He thought back to the bakery with the timeline of her early skating years. A bright, young thing with a smile in her eyes as she flew across the ice. Now that he thought about it, he’d hardly seen that look in her eyes in the months they’ve been working together. What had happened?

He looked out at the ice to see her practicing her jumps, mostly the spread eagle into an axel. She was fairly consistent with it in practice, but a little extra practice never hurt. Victor sighed. She landed, but she was too stiff. Her technical score would be fine, but her performance was going to suffer at this rate.

“What are you thinking about?” Yuuri came up with two cups of tea, offering him one.

“Clara’s performance,” Victor said. “She’s much too stiff.” Yuuri nodded, he had noticed too. It was hard not too. “I think I have to shatter her.”

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure, Victor.”

Victor sipped his beverage. His husband might have had a point. Unlike other skaters, Clara seemed to have a heart of stone rather of glass. He furrowed his brow. There had to be something he could do as her coach. “What do you suggest?”

“Have you tried kissing her?” Yuuri suggested with a teasing tone.

Victor cortled. “I don’t think she’ll respond well to that. She might punch me.”

“Probably,” Yuuri sipped his drink. “We could just talk to her.”

Victor nodded. That made the most sense, now that he thought about it. But with things as they were the best he would probably get out of her was short, curt answers. He couldn’t work with that. Not to get the performance he saw glistening under the surface. His ears twitched as he heard Clara swear in Russian as she fell to the ice. “That’s enough practice for today!” he called.

“I’m fine!” Clara retorted as she got back on her blades. The other skaters gave a quick glance before going about their business. She picked her momentum up again and went into her triple lutz-double lutz combo. She followed it up with the triple salchow-single loop combo, only to fail the loop. She cursed internally.

“Clara!” Victor’s voice echoed through the rink. Clara looked to her coach, meeting his icy glare with one of fire. Victor furrowed his brow and she conceded. She voided his gaze while she skated back, wiped off her blades and put on their guards. She then changed into her gym shoes. Victor was the one to break the silence as they left the rink and were in the elevator on the way back to their rooms. “How to expect to even place with a performance like that?” He didn’t look at her, looking at the light move across the top of the box as they went up the floors. His tone was cold and dug into her like icy daggers.

Clara clenched her jaw. Where was this coming from? It wasn’t uncommon for a skater to land a jump they failed in practice. She’d done it several times. She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “It’s your choreography,” she stated.

Victor’s eyebrow twitched in response to the low blow to his pride. “I’ve won gold with my choreography, Clara. Yuuri has as well as Yurio.”

“Then I guess it’s not an issue,” Clara retorted. The doors opened and Clara marched out of the car as soon as the doors opened enough to allow it. The tension followed as Victor came out behind her. She hurried to her room and closed the door behind her, practically slamming it. She then made sure the door connecting the two suites was locked from her side.

She dropped her bag on the bed and pulled out her phone. She huffed and pulled up facetime. The app rang as it put her call through.

“Yeah…?” Yuri’s grunted.

Crap. It must have been nearly eleven at night over there. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

Yuri ran his other hand through his hair and yawned. “Just started dozing off, don’t worry about it.”

“How’s practice going?”

“It’s fine. Yakov is pushing harder, but that’s normal when the Grand Prix series starts. How’s Chicago?”

“It’s...It’s fine.” She fell back on the bed, keeping her phone in front of her. “I went home yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“We visited the bakery and paid respects to Poppo. Dez sent us back with a whole bag of pastries. I ended up giving them to Heather. There’s no way I can eat all that.” She smiled, trying to hold back her tears. Wasn’t the trip home supposed to help? Giving her closer? Knowing everything was fine? The events in the cemetery came to mind again. Why’d she have to make that promise? Why’d she have to say it out loud? And in front of Victor and Yuuri? She let her emotions get the best of her.

“How’d your practice go?”

“It was...rough. I think I’m still getting over the jetlag. I should be fine tomorrow. The women’s singles aren’t until the afternoon.” Victor’s words echoed in her head. She covered her eyes with her arm. The tears were breaking through. “I should let you sleep.”

“It’s barely been five minutes,” Yuri stated. “Look at me.” Clara removed her arm from her face. Tears gathered on her lashes. “I know the pressure is a lot, but you made it to the Final before. You can do it again. Don’t let one bad practice ruin it.” His tone was stern, but not angry. He grinned. “Show them what you’ve shown me in our sessions.”

Clara wiped away her tears. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask. Don’t you dare half-ass it.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Good.” Yuri yawned, his eyes growing heavy.

“Good night, Yuri,” Clara said. Yuri gave a tired nod and the call ended. She sighed and let her outstretched arm rest on the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day started with a few hours of practice in the morning and was followed by one final fitting before the event started. The men’s singles were the first event of the day so she had time to perfect her makeup and warm up.

“Glad you could join us, Clara,” Minka, the skater from Poland, stated flatly. “I’m surprised they let you participate with that disappearing act you pulled last year. If you’re not going to take this seriously, then you best just return to your vacation.”

Clara clenched her fists. Maybe the fact that Victor was in the middle of braiding her hair for what seemed to be the hundredth time was a good thing. Minka had a very punchable face after all. “Glad to be here, Minka. Good luck out there.”

Minka scoffed and walked off. The ladies’ line up for Skate America consisted of five other skaters besides her. Minka Kowalski of Poland was one of them. She was only a year older than Clara, but had been competitive for far longer. Apparently she took Clara’s sudden entry into the senior division then sudden disappearance as a personal insult. She was one of the first to react in the media when Clara had to return home. Sara Crispino of Italy was one of the older skaters, nearing the end of eligibility for the competition. She was a friend of Mila’s as well as both of her coaches. Clara had barely snagged the silver medal from her last year at the final. Xanti Sousa of Brazil was the newest competitor in the senior division, being only fifteen, Clara didn’t know much about her but judging by the buzz around the event she was certainly a favorite. Then there was Farah Penzik from Israel and Jetta Aalto of Finland. They were on the younger end, being seventeen and nineteen respectfully.

Clara huffed as Victor started over on her braid. She was last today, which meant she was first tomorrow. She hated being both. Being last meant she had the added pressure of the other scores. Who to beat. What to modify in her program to maximize points. And that was on top of her usual back up plans if she fell or didn’t land a jump properly. Being first didn’t have as much pressure, but she couldn’t adjust. Personally she preferred being somewhere in the middle. Maybe France would be on her side. She glanced at her phone, rereading Yuri’s text that wished her luck. She originally wanted him there when they were assigned, but now...Perhaps it was best he didn’t see her like this. See them like this. The tension from the day before was still lingering between her and Victor. Practice had gone a little better, but it wasn’t without it’s hiccups.

Soon enough the event started. Clara spent her time leading up to her event doing interviews with Victor. He plastered on a fake smile.

“We’re just going to focus on refining the programs as well as obtaining a new personal best,” Victor stated.

“Thank you Mr. Nikiforov. Miss Novikoff, can you tell us what it’s like to be Victor’s second student?”

“Ah...Well,” Clara started, glancing at her coach. “It’s certainly full of surprises. I didn’t even know he was going to be my coach until I moved to Saint Petersburg to train.” She gave a small smile. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way, honestly.”

“Would you be able to tell us why you dropped out of the season so early last year?”

“Ah…Um...” She rubbed her neck.

Victor brought her under his arm. “That’s enough questions for now. We still have to warm up. Thank you for your time.” He whisked her away to the seats where Yuuri was watching the male skaters perform. Michele Crispino was currently on the ice.

“How’d the interview go?” Yuuri inquired.

“It was fine,” Clara stated. She had figured that they would be curious about her absence last year, but she really didn’t want to be painted as an underdog or given pitty. She’d managed to keep her personal life, what little she had anyway, separated from her life on the ice for the past few years. Probably helped that she really sucked at maintaining any sort of social media account. The attention she was getting from Victor’s accounts alone was enough for her. He usually posted pictures of his husband and their dog, but she had been caught in the crossfire quite a few times. Usually when she was napping or she accidentally came into frame while they were at the rink.

“Who’s next?” Victor asked.

“Otabek,” Yuuri replied.

“He’s always fun to watch,” Victor chuckled.

Victor wasn’t wrong. Otabek had long since been known as the dark horse of the skating world. Clara couldn’t help but feel some sort of kinship with him. They had both made it this far on determination and hard work, not that the other skaters didn’t do the same. She had met him in passing the previous year during the competition. Michele’s performance ended and Otabek took the ice to give a performance of flair and raw power. Once he finished, the three of them made their way to the rink. Clara double checked her laces and did some stretches as the rink was being resurfaced.

“Clara, I don’t want you to worry about your jumps in warm up. Focus on your step sequences,” Victor suggested. “We can work on your technical skills later, for now just focus on the overall performance.”

Clara nodded. “Right. About yesterday...”

“It’s fine, everybody handles the pressure differently.” He adjusted the bedazzled clips in her hair. “This is our first competition together, there’s bound to be a few bumps along the way. Just do your best.” He flashed a genuine smile.

Clara’s turn on the ice came quickly. Xanti left the ice and Clara removed the guards from her skates. She took off her jacket to fully reveal an intricately sequined yellow dress. A blue sash hugged her waist with a sheer layer of shimmering fabric fluttering out. She put on her ‘gloves’, a triangle of fabric that attached to her ring fingers and were strapped around her wrist. These were connected to her dress by the same fabric that formed the top layer of her skirt, just white rather than yellow. Paired with her hair and makeup, she gave off a royal appearance. She was Anya after all. She was very specific about this costume. It was inspired by her favorite movie after all.

“Taking the ice is Clara Novikoff of the United States of America,” the announcer stated. “She’ll be skating to ‘Once Upon A December’ for her Short Program.” Clara took a deep breath and took to the ice.

The melancholy tones of a piano filled the arena as Clara curtsied as if being invited to dance. From there she spun off to build momentum for her first jump. Spread eagle into a triple axel. It was a difficult entry, but she pulled it off. The crowd cheered in response. She then went into her first step sequence, a spiral sequence. She held her arms out, angling her head as if somebody was gliding alongside her on the ice. She kicked off the ice and flew into a layback spin. She followed this up with a sit spin. Her toe pick snagged the ice and she hit the surface face first. The crowd gasped and groaned. She recovered quickly and continued on. Her eyes watered from the pain and she could tell from the moisture on her face that she was bleeding. Not like it was the first time her face collided with the ice or the barrier. Probably wouldn’t be her last either.

Victor squeezed the plush poodle that held their tissues. He nodded enthusiastically as Clara moved into the second half of the program upon completing the triple salchow - single loop combination. His eyes widened for a moment as he noticed her raising her arms, increasing the difficulty.

Yuuri blinked. “Isn’t that Yurio’s signature?”

Victor gave a short nod, focusing on his student and she waltzed through her serpentine step sequence. His heart was pounding. Then the Lutz combo, two doubles. They planned for a triple and a double. His palms were sweating. The last jump combo, double salchow followed by a single flip. She built up speed and launched into the first jump. He gasped as she turned the double into a triple and the single flip became a double. She was trying to make up for the fall and the double. His chest burnt as he realized he was holding his breath.

Clara’s legs burnt and her chest was on fire as she finished off her performance with sit spin that blossomed up into a layback spin. She outstretched her arm, the other behind her as she slowed to a stop. She closed her eyes as not to have the lights of the arena blind her as she looked upward, as if bidding farewell to her unseen partner. The music came to an end only to be replaced by the thunderous cheers from the spectators in the bleachers. Flowers and stuffed foxes fell onto the ice as she bowed to the judges and returned to Victor, scooping up a purple fox along the way.

Yuuri barely gave her the opportunity to get her guards back on before wiping the blood trickling from her nose with a series of tissues. She put her jacket on as the three of them went to the kiss and cry. She hugged the fox with one arm as she held a tissue to her nose. Yuuri had one hand on her shoulder, the other on her arm. Victor had his whole body fixated on the screen in front of them as they waited for her score.

“With that score, Novikoff is in fourth place,” the announcer stated.

Clara found herself squeezed between the two men as they both hugged her. Or were they trying to hug each other and she was the unfortunate victim in the crossfire? She squeezed her eyes shut and smiled as tears ran down her face. Everything hurt, but it was a good hurt. Well, except maybe for her bleeding nose.

“I’m so glad you loosened up,” Victor said. “Your step sequences were nearly perfect, but we need to work on your jumps. And when did you start lifting your arms during your jumps? You’ve never done that in practice.”

“I just thought it could recover some of the points I lost from the fall and the jumps I messed up,” she said sheepishly.

“Aren’t you just full of surprises?” Yuuri chuckled.

“Learning from the best.”

They left the kiss and cry and Clara changed out of her skates into a comfortable pair of gym shoes after getting her sweat pants back on. They hadn’t even left the arena when her phone started ringing.

“Clara! What the hell?!” Yuri’s voice exploded from the device in her hand. He was speaking Russian. “What the hell was that?”

Clara blushed. He was at home. Tora was settled on the back of the couch where Yuri was seated. “Hi Yuri.”

“When did you start doing that thing with your arms?!” He waved his free arm about. His phone shook from the movements. “It was flawless so don’t you dare tell me that you haven’t been practicing it.”

“It was amazing right?” Victor said in Russian, putting his head into frame. “You two haven’t been having secret sessions have you?”

“Ah… Well… Um… Shit...,” Clara sputtered. She could feel her ears turning red. Yuri froze as a slight blush came to his own face. While everybody knew of Yuri’s private ice time, they didn’t know she tagged along with him. It was a weekly ritual they had for a while now. A chill ran down her spine as Victor’s presence suddenly became cold. “It must be late over there,” Clara said. “You should get to sleep. Can’t be late for practice, right?”

“Wait, Clara-”

She ended the call, shoving the phone back into her pocket. Victor was practically pouting. “You’ve wounded me, Clara. Having secret sessions with Yurio behind my back. Is there anything else you two are hiding?”

“What?! No! Of course not,” Clara said defensively. “We’ve just been working on our programs and jumps. It was just a bit of extra practice.” Practice that always ended up with them grabbing a bite and either going to her place her his. Usually his as he had a comfortable couch. Her face turned red. Wait, were they dating? She suddenly felt dizzy. This couldn’t be happening.