Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationship:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2018-02-04
Updated:
2018-03-07
Words:
10,435
Chapters:
3/?
Comments:
23
Kudos:
43
Bookmarks:
3
Hits:
504

and i'm all mixed up, feeling cornered and rushed

Summary:

Hélène Kuragina has been second best her entire life. Second best to her beloved brother, second best to the legendary Marya Dmitriyevna as a silver medallist at the London Olympics, and now second best to brilliant newcomer Natasha Rostova. Hélène wants more than anything to take her rightful place as winner in the following Olympic year, but her plans are turned upside down when Dmitriyevna comes back out of retirement. Only two Russian gymnasts can make it to Rio, and Hélène's sure fucking gonna be one of them.

{the gay rhythmic gymnastics au i've been dreaming of for over a year! featuring a bitter, determined helene, a lonely marya desperate to distract herself through rhythmic gymnastics, an unstoppable natasha, cameos by iconic rhythmic gymnasts, angsty lesbians, and t.a.t.u.}

Chapter 1: prologue

Summary:

in which hélène kuragina loses yet again, and vows it will be for the last time.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It fucking sucks to lose. Hélène Kuragina should know. She's lost too many times to count.

It's not like the medals crowded around her neck soothe her wounds. Anything but. Gold, silver, silver, gold, fucking silver. It's the Olympics all over again. And all the World Championships she's ever competed in. And every Grand Prix and World Cup where she stood on the right of Marya and gritted her fucking teeth and smiled like her life depended on it, because it did. And it hurt, more than anything.

Tonight is no exception. The worst of it is, she's so close to her - can hear every gasp and laugh that leaves her mouth, can feel her elbow brushing against her shoulder, could reach up and choke the breath out of Natasha Rostova if she wanted to. And she does. She wants that gold medal - she wants to rip open her skin and force it into her heart and coat that beating, bloody organ in gold. She wants to shove it in Viner's face, in Zaripova's face. She wants to walk up to fucking Kabaeva and Bessonova and even - no, especially Kanaeva, and snarl "I fucking did it. I'm one of you now."

And the way things are going, that's never going to happen.

The thing is, Hélène knows she's good. She knows without a shadow of a doubt that she is one of the best rhythmic gymnasts of all time - Olympic silver medallist, World All-Around silver medallist - she's now the world champion in hoop and ribbon, for fuck's sake - but she's not the best. Marya was. Natasha is. And Hélène is destined, it seems, to live in a haze of silver, to stand on the sidelines and cheer on her teammates and forever be second best.

Her nostrils flare. She holds up her medal - shining so bright she's scared it'll burn her fingers - and clenches her fist and smiles.

Cameras flash and flash and she's losing herself in them. Imagining what it would be like to stand on top of the podium. Imagining five gold medals around her neck, smiling genuinely this time, waving, beaming, grinning, hearing the roar of the crowd. She can feel it now, feel the wave of adrenaline rise up in her - like stepping out onto the carpet, except a thousand times better.

One day, it's going to be her up there. One day, she'll make it.

Notes:

this is a very short prologue, but the first chapter will definitely be longer! you can find me on tumblr at @roxieusher, where i will happily recommend you millions of rg routines!