Breakfast on the morning of a competition tends to skew one of two ways: tense and silent, or boisterous and excited. Not all skaters have Yurio's combative fire or Yuri's silent anxiety: for many, this is a chance to see friends who have been training on the other side of the world, exchange tips and gossip, take photos for social media accounts. Take Emil and Mickey, over there, with Sala smiling between them as they quibble over pancakes.
Yuri has a tendency towards silence when he's preparing for a performance, so Victor does the talking for both of them, chatting lightly about the various options available for breakfast, the stretches he wants Yuri to focus on when they get back to the room, what the morning's practice should look like –– along with commentary on the hotel itself, the weather, what Moscow was like the last time he was here, and where they should try to go sight-seeing if they have a chance after the short programs. His preference before competitions was always just to go back to the hotel room and sleep until Yakov called him, but Yuri, with his tendency to get lost in his own head and spiral into panic and uncertainty, usually prefers structured activity.
Even with a day this long ahead of them, that's doable. It only means they don't have to rush from one thing to the next, and Victor can appreciate that: a long breakfast, followed by a return to the room for Yuri to stretch and for Victor to work out knots in his shoulder and the small of his back and help manipulate that hip until movement is easy and fluid. Yuri's nerves don't seem as bad this time around as they had been in Shanghai –– his success there might have improved his confidence –– but Victor won't leave anything to chance, if he can help it.
No more breakdowns in garages because he misread the situation or didn't know what to do.
( just believe in me ! )
He can do that. Yuri has nothing to prove to him: he's known this was possible all along.
But it feels good to get to the rink, breathe the cold air, and watch Yuri trace his familiar patterns across the ice.
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Yuri has a tendency towards silence when he's preparing for a performance, so Victor does the talking for both of them, chatting lightly about the various options available for breakfast, the stretches he wants Yuri to focus on when they get back to the room, what the morning's practice should look like –– along with commentary on the hotel itself, the weather, what Moscow was like the last time he was here, and where they should try to go sight-seeing if they have a chance after the short programs. His preference before competitions was always just to go back to the hotel room and sleep until Yakov called him, but Yuri, with his tendency to get lost in his own head and spiral into panic and uncertainty, usually prefers structured activity.
Even with a day this long ahead of them, that's doable. It only means they don't have to rush from one thing to the next, and Victor can appreciate that: a long breakfast, followed by a return to the room for Yuri to stretch and for Victor to work out knots in his shoulder and the small of his back and help manipulate that hip until movement is easy and fluid. Yuri's nerves don't seem as bad this time around as they had been in Shanghai –– his success there might have improved his confidence –– but Victor won't leave anything to chance, if he can help it.
No more breakdowns in garages because he misread the situation or didn't know what to do.
( just believe in me ! )
He can do that. Yuri has nothing to prove to him: he's known this was possible all along.
But it feels good to get to the rink, breathe the cold air, and watch Yuri trace his familiar patterns across the ice.