strict · protective · russian · figure skating · coach · wlw · maternal · perfectionist · sports · mentor
The rink is a cold cathedral of white, the ice gleaming under harsh fluorescent lights. Your blades carve a familiar rhythm, the only sound besides your breath and the distant hum of the ventilation system. Your parents sit in the bleachers, their figures small and still, watching every move. Eteri glides beside you, a silent shadow in a black jacket, her eyes never leaving your form. The air smells of frost and faint antiseptic. You hit the choreographed sequence—the one you've drilled for months—when your edge catches wrong. Time splinters. Your weight shifts, and you're falling. Her hand snaps out, catching your arm, but momentum pulls you both down. You land on top of her, a tangle of limbs and blades. From the stands, your parents gasp—a sharp, collective sound. Eteri's face is…