Shining Steel (Victuuri)

Revelations

"Victor, I've let you play this game far too long! What you do in your free time may be of little consequence to me, but don't let it interfere with your training again!"

Yakov's words echoed in my brain.

Why was I falling from the ladder I'd been climbing for years? I'd spent nearly my entire life preparing to be top of the skating world, so why was I now losing my grip?

While practice hadn't been disastrous, my lax attitude to my training was beginning to show through. Pole dancing had been good for my core and my arms, but it'd been far too gentle on my legs; the tools of my trade. Worlds were only a mere month away, but we were still polishing off the improvements from the Grand Prix.

I'd have to work harder, especially with fresh talent, such as Yuri Plisetsky, set to compete for the first time.

My mood had drastically dropped in the last few hours, and the weather seemed to agree with my disheartening. Where there had previously been clear skies and sun, there were now grey clouds and the threat of rain. The windscreen-wipers of my car struggled to open my line of sight down Yuuri's dark road. The sun had already begun to set, so I'd soon want to turn on my lights if I wanted to safely drive down it.

The thought of seeing Yuuri greatly improved my dampened mood and, as I pulled up outside his apartment, I quickly checked in the mirror to make sure I was presentable.

I was.

So we were good to go!

Knocking gently, my excitement began to build. It only took a few seconds for him to open the door, but those few seconds felt like a lifetime as I jittered nervously and tried to stay still. Soon enough though, the door creaked open and I was met with Yuuri's handsome face.

"Good afternoon, zolotse," I greeted him, while lifting up his right hand to plant a gentle kiss.

"Hi, Victor," he replied with a smile. "Just give me a moment to grab some shoes."

Once he had finished, I quickly led him down to my convertible. Climbing into the driver's seat was as simple a task as ever, but this time I felt an extra special need to double check that Yuuri was in safely, with the seatbelt clicked in, before I set off down the road.

"I-it's alright, Victor. You don't have to worry about me."

His face, as usual, was taking on a pinkish tinge as I checked his seatbelt. Had it been anyone else, I would've thought they were trying to brush me away, but looking him in the eye, I could see that wasn't the case.

"Yuuri, zolotse, I want to do these little things for you. I want to be a good boyfriend, and if these small things can help with that, then I'm willing to do them for you."

I could see in his expression that I had hit the nail on the head.

His eyes dropped to his lap, but his hands reached out to gently clasp one of mine.

"I don't deserve you. You're so kind, and you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better. I'm going to try and be good to you, too, and I hope you'll continue to be the person you want to be," Yuuri gushed to me, his grasp around my hand loosening even further as he avoided looking at my face. His mouth seemed to be uncertain as to whether he was supposed to look nervous, or whether he was supposed to smile.

"Yuuri," I whispered calmly, reaching out to adjust his glasses before they fell off of his face. "When I say I'm going to be good to you, I truly mean what I say. I want to make you happy, because you've made me happier than I've been in years. Do you know how unhappy I was before I met you?"

Yuuri shook his head, a glassy sheen forming across those sweet brown eyes.

"I was probably at one of the lowest points I've ever been, my motivation was almost completely gone, but then I met you. I can't say everything's completely fine now, but you've made things enjoyable again. I wish you could see how much you've done for me."

As I finished my small speech, I watched as Yuuri welled up with tears and drew me in for a hug. I paid no notice to the pull of the belts, nor to the awkward positioning, and instead opted to hold on him tightly as he whispered out his thanks.

"Victor," he sniffed. "I know I've only been in your life for a short while, but you can't imagine how happy that makes me feel. You've been a huge help for me, so I'm glad I could return the favour."

"And hearing that, Yuuri, makes everything worth it."

We sat there for a minute or so, in silence in the motionless car, just holding each other. My heart was beating like a piston, reminding me that this was reality and not some incredible dream. It was a while before I finally pulled back to give him a gentle kiss.

I felt him melt into the kiss as I tenderly cupped his face; this must have been what paradise was like.

I pulled away with a softened expression.

"Come on, let's get to the manor," I beamed. "I think Mama'll be waiting."

We were silent for most of the journey, but it wasn't out of awkwardness. Instead it was, at least for me, out of absolute comfort. I felt completely at peace, and there was almost no need for me to embarrass myself with awkward small talk. We were both just... There.

It made me feel so wonderful, that we could just sit there together, without a constant need to keep a conversation going.

It just felt right.

A/N: this chapter is really short, I know, but I really felt the need to just get it out.
This story is my baby and I've never got this close to finishing a longer story before.
I will finish this. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it.

Right now I'm about to get my GCSE results and that has been a major focus for me over these last months (and now I'm worried).

But I have been focusing on developing my original work :) and I'm slowly getting a hold of the future of my writing and the possibility of writing a series one day.
I have to admit that Shining Steel is not my most serious work, and I mostly just write it to put myself in a better mood ☺️.
So this larger project would be much better written and fully pre-planned!

But can I say, THANK YOU FOR 31K READS!
Holy crap, I never imagined this simple little pole dancing AU would ever get this many reads!
This story definitely grew since I became more invested in the plot.

As for life, I had my year 11 prom:

I was days off of turning fifteen when I started this, and now I'm about to head off to Sixth Form.
Time has passed so fast...

I hope you have a good day <3

~Madie 💙💎

Chapter Completed: 11.8.18 (19:13PM)