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Vladislava shifted on the bleachers that were set up in the ice arena. Her right hand gravitated to her coat pocket, fingers rhythmically flicking the switch on her fidget cube.
Her new foster sibling was involved in ice skating and it was easier for her foster parents to pick them up from the ice arena than the school campus. Mila wasn’t really her foster sister but her foster cousin. Vladislava adored the eighteen year old. Mila had moved in with her aunt and uncle, long before they became Vladislava’s foster parents, to train under Yakov Feltsman. She was the first of Vladislava’s many foster siblings to realize Vladislava’s love of ice skating and how, when Vladislava watched ice skating programs, Vladislava didn’t fidget or stim. Mila had invited Vladislava to her daily practices only two months ago and Vladislava was much more relaxed after practice was over.
Vladislava watched as Mila landed her triple axel followed by a triple luxe. She smiled softly and tugged her backpack closer to start on some of her homework. Her head jerked up when a thud and grunt of pain echoed through the arena. Mila was helping one of the younger skaters to his feet only for him to nearly collapse when she let go.
“Yura! Off the ice! Let Misha look at your injuries and follow his directions or else I’m pulling you from Worlds.” Mr. Feltsman ordered. The blonde boy grunted angrily but allowed Mila to help him to the physical therapist. Vladislava’s eyes tracked the duo below her. Mila noticed Vladislava’s stare and winked at her. As Mila was making her way back to the ice, she paused below Vladislava.
“You okay? Want one of my gloves?” Mila asked.
“I’m okay.” Vladislava answered softly.
“Yuri will probably come sit out here when Misha lets him out. Let me know if he is bothering you, okay?” Mila told her. Vladislava nodded and pulled her fidget cube out of her pocket. Mila smiled at Vladislava and headed back onto the ice.
Twenty minutes later Yuri Plisetsky was helped to the bleachers with his ankle bound and ice pack resting on it. Vladislava glanced at him before going back to playing with the fidget cube in her hands. Yuri looked up at the sound of the clicking of Vladislava’s cube. He recalled seeing the girl coming in to watch practice every afternoon for the past few weeks. He watched as she pulled out a textbook and began to read, her right hand playing with a cube in her hand.
“Who are you?” Yuri demanded. Vladislava froze before she whispered softly, “I’m Vladislava Volkova. Mila’s my foster cousin.”
“Huh. I’m Yuri Plisetsky. Why haven’t you been skating?” Yuri asked. Vladislava paled and began to stim trying to calm down.
“You don’t have to answer!” Yuri spluttered sensing Vladislava’s hesitation. Vladislava shook her head before whispering, “I want to but if I fall... I can’t anymore.”
Yuri paused before he stood and moved up to sit on the same bleacher as her. Vladislava watched him warily.
“So, you used to skate?” Yuri asked. Vladislava nodded.
“Mama and Papa were bringing me to the Nutcracker when a drunk driver hit us. The doctors said if I kept skating and I fell wrong I could be paralyzed. None of my fosters let me even watch skating till Mila’s family.” Vladislava said quietly, her fingers fiddling with multiple different sides of her cube. Yuri hmmed and settled himself more comfortably on the bench below her.