An Unexpected Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 5: Understanding

Their drinks soon came, and they engaged in small talk. It was a bit awkward to talk about herself, but Ayumi figured it was better to do so or Yuri might just crawl back into his shell if the situation goes back to being as awkward as it was that afternoon.

After paying for their drinks, they left and continued walking downtown. The spring weather was quite nice that day, and soon they found themselves walking along the river once again.

By then, most of the people who were curious to see the renowned skater Yuri Plisetsky actually out and about with the girl she shoved away a few months back have gathered to catch a glimpse of the two. Ayumi has never been under this much scrutiny before and was beginning to cower behind Yuri.

"Don't worry," he said. "They won't get too near. They just want something to talk about. They won't ruin that by bothering us."

Ayumi nodded and continued walking beside Yuri. She turned around and looked at him, suddenly noticing the pain in his eyes.

"Yuri... is this what's been bothering you? Being under the public eye?"

Yuri looked at her incredulously. "Does it not bother you?"

Ayumi sighed and stared at the ground. "To be honest, I've just learned to accept it. I am my father's daughter, and I will forever carry the Matsumoto name. I know that I will always be watched. As the only heir to the corporation, I must be the best at what I do, always. Nothing in my life will go unnoticed, so I figured it was better if I just moved on with my life. There's no other choice, anyway."

She stopped walking. There was a bench overlooking the river not far from where she stood. She slowly approached it and sat down. "You?"

The boy looked back at her, sadness evident in his eyes. How has this girl managed to see through him so easily? He sighed and sat down beside her. There was no point in hiding from her now.

"I hate it. I hate it so much. Russia expects me to be the future of competitive figure skating. The next Viktor Nikiforov, apparently. They expect me to keep up this strong and confident façade every time I step foot on the ice. No matter how stressed I am, how much pain my body endures, or how miserable I feel, I have to brush it off as if nothing matters to me more than winning gold for Russia. It's frustrating. I feel so caged and helpless."

He turned to look at her eyes intensely. "There's nothing I can do about it. If I act out of line like I did, I risk losing the public's trust. My sponsors. I wouldn't be able to compete, and I can't let that happen. A lot is riding on me. I can't."

The girl beside him cannot help but wince. It was true. Yuri Plisetsky was known in the Russian figure skating community as the 14-year-old monster who has been the breadwinner of his family since his rookie years. He was an arrogant kid with no known relatives apart from his grandfather in Moscow, and his parents' whereabouts were unknown to the public. The government sponsorships, prize money and endorsement income he brought home after every competition kept him and his grandfather afloat. With his grandfather getting older and older, medical complications put even greater pressure on Yuri's shoulders. At this point, his rink mates knew. Winning for him was not just a pride thing. It was the air that kept him alive.

Ayumi had no way of knowing the burden of being the sole provider of a family. Everything that can be bought by money has always been within her reach. She was not going to be a hypocrite, but she understood public pressure more than anyone. Out of all Yakov's students, she was the one who knew how difficult it was to satisfy everyone's expectations. She can put herself in Yuri's shoes in that regard, at least.

She looked into his eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping that he can feel her empathy. She was certain he didn't want her pity, he probably just wanted someone to understand. He was just a 14-year-old boy, after all.

Yuri refused to look back, averting his gaze on anything but her. He just showed weakness to a girl he barely knew. The rich Chinese kid, who probably judged him a million different ways now. He knew that they were different, and that he must have made things more awkward between them than it already was.

So he was pretty surprised when Ayumi suddenly fished her phone out of her small shoulder bag, plugged the earphones in, and stuck one of them to his ears.

"W-What are you—"

The soft sounds of a guitar playing suddenly rang through the earbud. He turned to look at the girl, whose eyes were now closed, facing the river as she took in the spring breeze.

Now the parking lot is empty
Everyone's gone someplace

"What is this?" he whispered, not wanting to break the sudden calm.

"It's called Power of Two, by Indigo Girls." Ayumi opened her eyes. "This song has always been strangely calming for me. It's been with me through everything. I listen to it when I'm knee-deep in coursework. I listen to it when I get frustrated with my music lessons. I listened to it when I learned the triple Salchow for the first time. I listen to it when I'm bombarded by my responsibilities in the company."

Ayumi turned to look at him. "I listen to it when I feel like I'm alone, even when there are many around me." She gave a faint smile, then looked out to the river again.

Yuri closed his eyes.

So we're okay, we're fine
Baby I'm here to stop your crying
Chase all the ghosts from your head
I'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed

It was like she was trying to tell him something.

"Why?"

Silence.

"Because I realized... you need comfort more than I do."

------

The walk back to Ayumi's apartment was silent. The earphones were still on their ears, and they were both listening to songs from the girl's 'Comfort Playlist'.

The music she had definitely affected Yuri. He was not the type to actively search for music. The songs were mostly acoustic, a genre that was just not his style, yet somehow it brought him a sense of tranquility. His earlier frustrations gradually dissipated as another track is played. The girl who put the playlist together did not say a word on the way, but the songs were saying everything he wanted her to say at that moment.

It was like she knew all along.

By the time they reached her apartment building, Ayumi turned to him and reached out, slowly taking the earbuds off him.

"Thanks for walking me back, Yuri."

Yuri blushed. So, the day was over. "No problem."

Ayumi looked at him with sincerity. "I know you were only forced to spend time with me today, but I want to thank you. This has been really nice. I was glad you decided to share a bit of your life with me, and now I feel like I finally got to know a bit of who you are outside the rink."

The boy looked at her fondly. That was something he did not expect. But somehow, he liked it. "Thanks for being there to listen."

She nodded and slowly walked into the building. Suddenly, she turned around and gave him a bright smile.

"So, see you tomorrow at practice?"

Yuri couldn't help but smile back. "Sure."

Ayumi smiled brighter and turned back. Yuri found it difficult to get rid of the faint smile on his face.

It looks like he just made a friend.

He only hoped it will last.