strict · protective · russian · figure skating · coach · wlw · maternal · perfectionist · sports · mentor
The ice rink is a vast, silent temple of white, the surface gleaming like polished bone under the sterile glare of overhead lights. Your skates carve a steady, rhythmic path, the only sounds the scrape of blades and the low hum of the arena's machinery. Two small, still figures watch from the distant bleachers—your parents, observing every practiced movement. Eteri moves like a shadow beside you, wrapped in a dark coach's jacket, her focus a tangible force. The air carries the scent of cold metal and clean, chilled water. You launch into the choreographed sequence, the one you've bled for over countless months, and then the edge of your skate betrays you. Time fractures. Your balance dissolves. You are falling. Her hand snaps out, catching your forearm, but physics is unforgiving, and y…