Recovery (Yuri Plisetsky x reader)

Partners?

(y/n)'s pov

I watched as my mother and her partner performed their Olympic routine that won gold.  I always thought she looked absolutely stunning on the ice. She performed so gracefully, every movement in perfect time with her companion. 'she's practically the picture of perfection on the ice. '  I always looked up to my mother for her amazing abilities on the ice.

Yuri watched as the both of them performed,  keeping a close eye on every movement as if studying it for himself. 'who knew Yuri would be this into Ice Dancing ' the thought made me giggle as I turned my attention back to my mother. They were coming out of a beautiful pair spin close to the end of their program.

By the time they were done, goosebumps had found their way onto my skin.  Even after all her time off from skating, her performance for us was still flawless. They executed every single movement with such ease, it truly was a beautiful performance.

Both Yuri and Yakov began clapping as the music ended.  I on the other hand stood there speechless; that is until my mother's voice snapped me out of it.

"(f/n), Yuri," she looked between the both of us,  a bright smile accompanying her features. " Your challenge is as follows, both Yakov and I have put quite a bit of thought into this,  and we want you two to perform in pair skating!" her smile grew wider at our reaction.

"What?!" Both Yuri and I exclaimed in sync, astounded by the suggestion.

"My performance, as you may know, was categorized under ice dancing, where as you two will be doing something similar, but it will include jumps and lifts. I'm sure  you're wondering how this will work considering you've never competitively done it before,  well worry not, my partner Louis and I also used to compete in pair skating, just never on the grand scale of the Olympics. "

"But mom didn't you win the gold for America? Wouldn't it be weird for your daughter to try winning for Russia? " I tried to get her to second guess herself.

I hadn't wanted to agree to the challenge, but Yuri seemed interested so I thought why not. I may end up having to perform again after all. I was born with Russian citizenship, since my father was Russian,(been here ever since) and so I tried using that as a scapegoat.

"Nonsense love. That just means some family friendly competition. I know you'll be great. Now as of tomorrow you'll have to brush up on the partner skills that you practiced with each other when you were younger."

'wait I'm going to be partners with Yuri?! ' I blushed at the thought of performing with him as my mother had with Louis.

"Don't look so nervous (f/n), I'm sure both of you will have a knack for it. Who knows,  maybe you'll make it to the 2018 Olympics in South Korea! "

Both Yuri and I "laughed" at that, there was no way we could pull that off in two years. It's a really cool thought though.

"No but seriously, we're partners? " Yuri quizzed.

" I mean yeah, we would pair skate when we were younger, but we weren't in competitions or anything. You guys just insisted we try it. " I added on.

Yuri looked over at me and smiled." It was kinda fun though," his comment had me blushing. "watching you fall on your butt. "

"HEY!!" I mock pouted in his direction. " You fell too yanno! "

"yeah but no where near as much as you did" He smirked at me then turned to Yakov." well this should be interesting, shouldn't it?" He placed his hands in his pocket, and cocked his head slightly to the left.

" Indeed. I thought a good challenge for you was in order. " Yakov replied " This ought to push you a bit more. "

I turned away from them, making my way around the rink. I was beginning to get anxious, realizing that everyone in the room was OK with this challenge. All except one that is...

Louis and my mother were talking about the program they were going to have the both of us perform,  but I skated up to them interrupting the dialogue.

"Mom,  I can't do this! I'm just not ready for competition again... I know you want me to try but I don't want to hold Yuri back, he's so talented. " A sad ache accompanied my heart as the words tumbled out of my mouth.

I clenched my hands into fists to keep my hands from shaking as I continued to speak with my mother.  Maybe I  really did want to try this out,  but then again, maybe I didn't.'I don't know what I want anymore,  it's so frustrating ' I always felt more confident with Yuri at my side, but what happens if I can't pull my own weight because of my new-found fears of the ice? I would hate to be the one to ruin Yuri's reputation because of a mess up due to my lack of self confidence.

"(f/n) , you're going to be just fine,  if it gets too overwhelming, just tell me and we'll work through it together,  as mother and daughter OK. I know you, and if you ended your reputation here,  I know you'd end up regretting it in the future. I'm here for you and I always will be alright?"

Tears were threatening to fall from my eyes but I held them back. 'I'm scared, but... '

Maybe she was right, I probably would end up regretting it.' I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.'

I took a deep breath and thanked my mom before turning in Yuri's direction once more.

"Hey Yuri! I hope you're ready for tomorrow's practice!" I called out to him, a false smile on my lips.

"I should be saying that to you, loser.  We both know I'm ready"He replied gathering up his belongings.

With that Louis and my mother finished up their conversation. It had gotten late so I began packing up as well, ready to head home,  knowing I'd most likely be back in the early hours of the morning.I pulled out my phone to text my best friend whose parents owned the building.

--Hey,  can you let me skate a little later on tonight (b f/n) probably like two A.M.--

Best friend ^ω^--Yeah, If you want to,  why so early? Just curious--

--I find it easier to relax/ think early on in the morning,  sorry for bothering you. --

Best friend ^ω^-- ah I see,  makes sense and no problem, I've got your back! --

--thanks!  See you then! --

With that, all of us left the rink and headed our separate ways.