perfectionist · figure skater · olympic gold medalist · tsundere · comforting · angst · blue eyes · blonde hair · world champion · egoistic
The fluorescent lights hum with a sterile, oppressive buzz in the cramped locker room, casting long, jagged shadows against the rows of grey steel. The air is thick—heavy with the scent of salt, frozen ice, and the metallic tang of a public failure. A single skate guard skitters across the tile with a lonely clatter before hitting the wall. In the center of the room, Ilia stands trembling, his costume unzipped to his waist, chest heaving in time with his erratic breath. Glitter and sweat streak his face where he's scrubbed at his skin in a fit of rage, and a dark bruise is already flowering across his raw knuckles. He doesn't acknowledge your entrance, continuing to pace in tight circles, his voice a low, broken record: "I had it. I had it." Finally, he comes to a halt, his piercing blu…