Hello yes I would like to request a Cutting Edge AU for Bellarke. Because figure skating and snark.
“I found a new partner for you.”
Bellamy frowns, looking at his phone to verify that the caller really is Raven, like he didn’t see the first time and doesn’t recognize her voice.
“A business partner?”
He can practically hear her rolling her eyes, and he can’t deny that he deserves it. “No, dumbass.”
“A skating partner? Seriously?”
“What’s so unbelievable about that? I’m the one who got benched, not you.”
In theory, it’s true, but in practice, the end of Raven’s career was the end of Bellamy’s too. He could have found another partner, maybe, but he felt as if that had been his shot, and he’d let her down. They both fucked up, but she’s the one who paid for it.
It was easy to quit after that. It would have been so much harder to stay.
“I retired.”
“Haven’t you ever seen a sports movie? I’m telling you to come out of retirement for one last game. Or, you know, one last Olympics.”
“How did you get involved in—whatever you want me to get involved in?”
“You know Clarke?”
“Griffin?”
“Yeah.”
Bellamy’s only met Clarke Griffin once, at the last Olympics. They literally ran into each other, got in a fight, and left annoyed with each other. From what he can tell, that’s kind of the norm for Clarke. She’s one of those athletes who’s so focused on the game that she doesn’t really see anything else.
“What about her?”
“She wants to get into figure skating.”
He actually chokes on his shock, splutters and flails until he can manage, “What?”
“You heard she had to quit hockey?”
“I don’t really keep up.”
“She took a bad hit, lost her peripheral vision. But she still wants an Olympic medal.”
“And she just assumes she can get one figure skating?” he asks, scowling. “Like it’s just like hockey?”
“Aren’t you coaching hockey right now?” Raven asks, unimpressed. “Ice is ice.”
“You never told me how you got involved. Or why you want me involved.”
“Clarke can be—“ She thinks over the word she wants, and Bellamy can supply a few of his own. She was a good player, but not exactly popular. “Abrasive. And she needs to learn the basics. You’re a teacher and you’re not going to let her scare you off. Her parents are paying,” she adds. “Room and board and a stipend. So it’s not like you’re going to burn cash chasing some stupid dream.”
“Her parents are.”
“Trust me, they can afford it. Come on,” she adds, in a tone he recognizes from years of working together. “I know you still want it.”
He closes his eyes, leaning back into the sofa. It’s not as if he’s unhappy here. He teaches skating at the family rink, coaches too. It’s a much smaller life than being a professional athlete, but not a bad one.
“How much is the stipend?” he asks, and Raven takes it for the agreement that it is.
*
The first thing Clarke says when she sees him is “Seriously?” so they’re clearly off to a good start.
“That was my reaction, yeah. You want to be a figure skater?”
She huffs. “I want to be a hockey player, but apparently that’s not in the cards.”
“Do you even know anything about figure skating? Because it’s definitely harder for the girl, traditionally. You’re going to have a lot to do.”
“I did figure skating for a few years, before we decided hockey was a better fit. Plus, you know. My mom.”
That one’s fair. Abby Griffin only ever got silver in figure skating, and Bellamy’s sure a few years for her was a lot more intense than whatever he was doing at that age. It took a while for anyone to notice how good he was; Clarke was being groomed for it since she was a kid.
“So what’s your issue with me?” he asks. “You want an Olympic skater, I’m an Olympic skater. I’m the one who’s supposed to teach a hockey player how to do a triple axle.”
“That’s Raven’s job, not yours.”
“I’m assuming you’re going to need all the help you can get. If you want to get to the Olympics.”
She scowls, but it’s reflexive, and once she’s had a second to collect herself, her face smooths out. “I thought you were retired.”
“I was. But I want to see how bad you are at this.”
The scowl is back in full force, like he thought it would be. If he and Clarke aren’t going to like each other–and he can’t imagine they will–then they might as well use spite as a motivator to do well. He’s going to be the best fucking skater in the world, if for no other reason than he’s not going to let her blame him if shit goes wrong.
“You want to see?” she demands. “Then get on the fucking ice, Blake.”
She doesn’t have to tell him twice.
*
What Bellamy forgot, partly because it had been a while since he had a new partner and partly because he’s pretty good at denial, is that getting close to people he skates with is basically inevitable. He and Clarke fight it as hard as they can, sniping at each other non-stop, Bellamy making fun of Clarke when she forgets about her toe pick, Clarke blowing up every time he so much as fumbles, but they’re still a team, and teams need to work together. They start joking around a little, talking about favorite books and movies, how they started skating.
He’s starting to like her, and then they have the most catastrophically bad practice they’ve had since they started all this, ending with Bellamy fumbling and dropping her, and the ensuing screaming match ends with her saying, “Maybe I just don’t want to end up like Raven!”
It’s too far, and all three of them know it. Bellamy’s looking right at her, which means he gets to see the change in her face, the second of anger that turns immediately into horror, and she’s turning away from him, looking to Raven, stammering apologies, and Bellamy’s suddenly unable to be there. If they try to get him to stay, he doesn’t hear it, and he doesn’t listen.
Deep down, when he’s honest, Bellamy knows Raven’s injury wasn’t his fault, or hers, or anyone’s, really. Things go wrong in skating, like they do in all sports. They’d done the move well a thousand times and fumbled it a thousand more, and this was the time they fumbled it badly, where everything went wrong and it left Raven’s leg permanently damaged. If he’d done things differently, it wouldn’t have happened, but deep down he knows it’s like chaos theory. If the ice had been different, if she’d been at another angle, if she’d landed better, that all would have changed things too. His own failure was a factor, but it was only one thing, and if he was the only one responsible, it wouldn’t have been so bad an injury as it was.
Clarke finds him sitting in the locker room, staring at his hands. He doesn’t know how long it’s been, but he realizes he’s cold and needs to change.
“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I’m an asshole.”
“I did drop you.”
“Bellamy,” she says, sharp, and he looks up at her. It seems like she might have been crying. “That was unfair to both of you. You didn’t do anything wrong, and Raven doesn’t deserve to be treated like a cautionary tale.”
“You were pissed, I get it,” he says, and she shakes her head.
“I tried to pull that with my dad when I was a teenager. I lost my temper, said something shitty, said I was just mad and didn’t mean it. And he told me that the things you say when you’re mad don’t just come out of nowhere. They’re usually the most honest things that you’d never say. But that doesn’t mean–” She sighs. “I used to see athletes get hurt, and I told myself it was–avoidable, I guess. Like if you do everything right, bad things won’t happen to you. And I know that’s bullshit, I know it’s bullshit. But it’s a lie you tell yourself to feel better. I’m so good, it could never happen to me. But you guys–I used to watch you, you know? Mom’s the one who discovered Raven, and I always liked her. And as shitty as it is, when it happened, I thought, well, if only they’d done it differently.”
“I think that too. Fuck, that’s all I thought, for–”
To his surprise, she reaches over, takes his hand and squeezes it. “Things can go wrong without you doing anything wrong, Bellamy. It’s shitty that I still think things like that, somewhere, and I shouldn’t have said it. But that doesn’t make me right.”
It’s not what he was expecting. “You’re usually not this mature after you yell at me.”
“Usually when I yell at you, you deserve it. That was uncalled for and wrong. I’m an asshole for saying it.”
“And a lot of other reasons,” he teases, and she smiles.
“That too.”
“You talked to Raven?”
“Yeah. It’s been a tough day, we were going to go get drunk. You want to come?”
“Isn’t your body a temple or something?”
She stands and offers her hand, and he takes it. “Plenty of temples accept alcohol as offerings. And I don’t drink much these days, so my tolerance is shot. It won’t even take much.”
He feels himself smile, unexpectedly. Friendship was inevitable, and apparently Clarke owning her mistake and apologizing wholeheartedly was the last step.
“Cool,” he says. “I’m in.”
At the bar, he wraps his arm around Raven while Clarke is in the bathroom, drawing her in and kissing her temple. They hashed the whole thing out a thousand times, after it happened, but he figures there’s no harm in checking in. “You good?”
“I’m good. You good?”
“Yeah. I’m still going to get a medal.”
“You and Clarke are going to get one medal and I’m taking the other. You two can share.”
“That seems fair.” He takes a drink of beer. “You really think we’ve got a shot?”
“Honestly? I really do.”
*
Clarke: I can’t believe you abandoned me for this
Me: You can’t believe I wanted to spend Christmas with my family instead of yours?Really?Do I need to send more baby pictures because I willMy nephew is adorable, Clarke
Clarke: I’m getting ten billion questions about youIt would be so much easier if you were here to help answer them
Me: Questions about me?What questions?
Clarke: You came out of retirement to help me cross over into a new sportAnd we’re actually good at itIt’s all anyone wants to talk aboutPlease send more baby picturesI need a break
Me: Sorry I didn’t know we were so popular
Clarke: You should beWhen are you coming back again?
Me: I’ll be there for New Year’sYou miss me?
Clarke: Desperately
“So,” says his sister, sitting down next to him and startling his attention from the phone. “Is that your new partner?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you really know what you’re doing?”
“Almost never.” He takes a sip of his drink. “If you have something to say about Clarke, you can just say it.”
“I know you say you always fall a little bit in love with people you skate with, but I’m thinking you went a little far with this one.”
It’s nothing he hasn’t been thinking. Clarke is difficult, prickly and stubborn, too hard on everyone, driven and focused to a fault, but those aren’t always negatives. She’s passionate and smart and beautiful, and Bellamy misses her too, fiercely.
“What’s wrong with falling in love?” he asks. “You’re married, I’m hoping that means you’re pro-relationship.”
Her eyes narrow. “Is that what you guys have? A relationship? Or do you have a crush on some rich girl who’s never going to talk to you again once the Olympics are over?”
It’s intended to be some kind of huge, life-changing question, and she’s clearly disappointed when he snorts. “I don’t know if she’s interested in dating me,” he says. “But she’s not just going to ditch me. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, but I’m one of them. I don’t know if anything’s going to happen, but–we’re good, O.”
Right on cue, his phone buzzes again, and he looks down to see her text: I really do miss you, though.
“She’s a good partner,” he says. “That’s all I care about.”
For a long moment, Octavia just watches him, and then she sighs. “I don’t want her to hurt you.”
“I know. I don’t think she will.”
Me: I miss you tooI’ll be back before you know itHere’s a baby picture
He looks back up at Octavia, smiles. “I think we’ll be fine.”
*
When they qualify for the Olympics, he kisses her, not quite on purpose, just a general expression of joy, and she’s the one to wind her arms around his neck, pull him back in, and really kiss him, warm and smiling and perfect.
“That took you long enough,” she murmurs, and he tugs her closer.
“Like you couldn’t have done it first.”
She ducks her head against his neck, and he can feel her grin. He can’t exactly blame her; they are, somehow, fucking miraculously going to the Olympics, and she definitely wants to date him, which is really good news. “I can be kind of an asshole.”
“I can too. I think we can probably make it work.” He kisses her again. “I want to. I’m kind of–”
“Yeah,” she agrees, pulling him back in, and they don’t say anything more until Raven bangs on the door.
“I know you two are celebrating, but save it! We’ve got work to do. You can have sex after you win the gold medal.”
She’s right, of course. And they absolutely do.
