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‘Loki, are you sure…’
Sylvie slammed her hand over Mobius’ mouth. ‘Skate!’
Mobius janked her hand away. ‘I didn’t say he shouldn’t…’
‘But you meant it. Now hush, let him show us what he can do.’
Loki heard his people yell from the side of the skating rink, but he hardly processed what they were saying. He was too absorbed into his routine.
‘He never told me he could figure skate,’ Mobius whispered to Sylvie. ‘I didn’t think he’d be so good at it.’
‘I said hush. And he isn’t that good.’ She almost took a step back when Loki landed a magnificent jump with a lot of spins that she didn’t know the name of. ‘... or perhaps he is. I thought he was joking about landing a spot in the competition and we would get to see him fall flat on his face.’
When he looked over for a second, Loki could see his friends were surprised. Hilarious - and exactly why he hadn’t told them about his placement before. It was way funnier to suddenly drop the news on them.
After he finished his routine, he slided to the side. ‘And?’
Mobius slowly nodded. ‘That went really well. Which makes sense, if you really got qualified.’
Loki nodded. ‘And you haven’t even heard my music yet!’ He dug an old ipod out of his pocket (‘He was skating with that? He could have fell and broken it!’) and handed it to Mobius. ‘It is already connected to the speakers. You only have to press play.’
‘I know how this works…’ Loki didn’t hear what else Mobius had to say. He skated to the middle of the rink. The Agent sighed and pressed a button.
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy... Sylvie raised her eyebrows. Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality,... ‘He is skating to this?’
Wrong song! Next piece!’ Loki yelled.
It took a second before Mobius had found the right button. The next song on the list was ‘Autumn,’ from Vivaldi’s four seasons.
Sylvie also had a comment ready for this piece: ‘It’s so light.’
Mobius shook his head. ‘It starts out light, the way autumn does. The closer we get to winter, the heavier it becomes.’
He was right. The closer they got to the end of ‘Autumn,’ the heavier the music got. Loki’s jumps became more difficult as well. He finished with a spinning move, before getting into his final pose, low to the ice.
Mobius clapped. ‘Well done!’
Sylvie pursed her lips. ‘Well…’
Loki skated to the side of the ring. ‘What’s the matter, Sylvie?’
‘I think you could improve.’
‘How would you know?’
‘We are one and the same, Loki.’
‘Step onto the ice and do a triple axel.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it. Can I see a copy of your routine?’
Loki stepped out of the rink. ‘Sure. See what you can change. Then you can come along to Brazil as my coach.’
‘I love the implication that you don’t even have a coach.’
‘I don’t.’
Mobius sighed and handed Loki back the ipod. ‘Good luck, then…’
Loki leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. ‘You’re coming too. I’ve got to pack now. See you tomorrow!’
|
‘What are you looking at?’
Sylvie scanned the gate. ‘I want to see if there are any more skaters here. I checked the site last evening…’
‘She means 3 A.M.’
‘Shut up, Mobius. You got yourself into a pretty high-end skating competition.’
‘It’s called a preliminary round to the world championships.’
‘But for someone who was unknown before!’
‘Loki… how did you even do that?’
Loki slowly shook his head. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’ He took a look around the gate. ‘That guy over there. He skates, too. I do not see more of them right now.’
Sylvie intently stared at the other skater. The young man didn’t even seem to notice.
|
‘Loki, I looked through your routine…’ Sylvie leaned over Mobius and put a sheet of paper onto Loki’s little table.
‘Don’t wake Mobius.’
Sylvie glanced at the agent. ‘He’s probably pretending. Anyway, I added a jump here, and I took a rotation away there. I think that will add more… drama. More suspense.’
‘I am sure of it.’
‘I know you are. Now show me the kür you actually wanted to skate, instead of this.’
Loki raised his eyebrows. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You aren’t going to actually skate this. You already showed me and Mobius this routine twice.’
‘You know me too well.’
‘Go figure. Now hand it over.’
|
‘Did you see his kür?’
Sylvie nodded. ‘Yes. I tried to tell him what worked and what didn’t, but I have no idea if he actually listened to me. He might have decided on a whole new choreography, even.’
Mobius sighed. ‘Sounds like our Loki.’
Loki, who was just done with his warm-up round, skated to the middle of the rink. He winked at Mobius, who in his turn looked at the guy manning the music. They had given him the old Ipod, which seemed to be enough.
The song that began to play was, again, Bohemian Rhapsody. Mobius sighed. ‘You can skip it…’
‘WAIT! DON’T SKIP!’ Loki yelled from the ice.
‘DON’T LISTEN TO HIM!’ Sylvie yelled even louder.
The soundman gave Mobius a confused look.
The agent thought for a moment. ‘...Let it play,’ he told the soundman. ‘From the top.’
When he walked back to Sylvie, she gave Mobius a look as if this was the worst betrayal she had ever faced. ‘How dare you-’
‘Just let him do it.’
‘He can’t fool around-’
‘It’s one of the things you Loki’s do best. Give it a chance, Sylvie.’
Just like the classical piece, the Bohemian Rhapsody started with light music and ended with a beat that went well with higher jumps. If you paid attention, you saw the the only changes Loki made to the routine were a few rotations and a lap around the skating rink at the end, which went well with the final twenty seconds of the Bohemian Rhapsody.
‘Sylvie, why so quiet?’ the god asked, while he stepped out of the ring.
‘...it was remarkably good. It looked like your Autumn routine.’
‘If the grand coach says it’s good, it’s good!’
‘But you are not doing this during the competition! That’s too risky!’
Mobius laid a hand on his shoulder before Loki could reply. ‘Well trained, Loki. What if we get something to eat, now?’
‘But not too much! Then he can’t jump anymore!’
‘We are gods!’
‘As if I care!’
Mobius sighed and ushered them away from the skating rink. ‘We’ll get some light salads,’ he shushed. ‘Delicious and healthy.’
|
‘I think I could do Bohemian Rhapsody. There are no rules against it.’
Mobius turned around. ‘I was asleep.’
‘And I wasn’t. It felt good to skate to Bohemian Rhapsody, even better than it felt to skate to Autumn. I already thought it was boring, Vivaldi’s Autumn…’
Mobius sighed and pulled Loki into a cuddle. ‘We can think about it tomorrow, or any of the other three days we’ve got before the competition after. You should rest now, otherwise you won’t have the energy to skate anymore.’
‘I just…’
Mobius gave him a peck on the lips. ‘Sh.’
After one last eyeroll, Loki obliged.
|
‘Morning!’
‘Morning.’
‘Did you sleep well?’
‘Yes?’ Loki looked up at Mobius, as if he would have a different answer.
Sylvie nodded. ‘Keep that up. You need lots of energy to keep skating.’
‘I already told him.’
‘Well, I am saying it again. Wait a second!’ Sylvie darted back into her hotel room, which was next to that of Mobius and Loki. ‘I’ve got information on the other skaters,’ she yelled from inside. With a stack of papers, she came back out. ‘We can study it during breakfast. I found out how many points each skater will probably get, based on what I saw of their routine yesterday and in the competitions before this one. Believe it or not, Loki, but you actually have a bit of a chance.’
Loki looked up at Mobius. Nope, the agent looked just as confused as he felt.
‘...thanks, Sylvie.’
She looked at him with stars in her eyes. ‘I want you to do the best you can.’
‘That being said,’ mobius cut in. ‘Did you sleep at all last night?’
‘Of course! With one eye! Now let us go downstairs!’
‘You’ll need your sleep too, you know…’
‘Tsk! I can sleep when I am dead. I’ve got enemies to study now.’
|
‘Mobius!’
‘Hmpf?’
‘It’s seven A.M. Let’s go on a morning walk!’
‘Sylvie won’t like that…’
The god tutted. ‘Mobius, Mobius. Yesterday, I sabotaged dear Sylvie’s alarm. That will be good for her, she barely slept the last couple of days. Believe me when I say she’ll sleep till 2 P.M., late enough for us to be back and have lunch before she wakes up.’
Mobius opened one of his eyes. Damn it, he wouldn’t be able to sleep now anyway. Slowly, he got up. ‘A short walk, then.’
There was a park near the hotel they stayed at. A very nice park, even. Loki hooked his arm through Mobius’s. ‘Hear, it’s the birds singing.’
Mobius closed his eyes. ‘I never imagined you would like the sound of singing birds.’
‘I think most people do. On Asgard, they also sing, you know. It’s nearly universal.’
Mobius nodded. ‘Ah-ha.’
Loki took a deep breath. ‘I didn’t really want to talk about the skating competition right now, but…’
‘Say what you want. Get it out of your system.’
‘Sylvie takes this very seriously. On one hand, I appreciate that, because I would love to win. On the other hand… I sort of got into this for the hell of it.’
‘I figured as much. Now you are torn between winning the gold medal and getting your fun. Because there is no way you are going to continue to the real world championship.’
‘I mean, I am not sure yet.’
‘I am for you.’
Loki sighed. ‘You’re probably right.’
‘I am not entirely foolproof, of course.’ Mobius stopped walking and pulled Loki into a hug. ‘Anyway will be fine. It’ll be fine.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ Loki repeated. He took a deep breath. ‘Because most things turn out fine.’
‘Exactly.’ Mobius kissed his forehead. ‘Now let’s go find a bakery. We should eat before Sylvie decides you aren’t doing that as well as you should.’
|
‘Loki?’
‘Hm?’
Sylvie held up his ipod. ‘This still plays Bohemian Rhapsody before it plays Autumn. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to sneak Bohemian Rhapsody into your actual performance.’
‘Who knows.’
Sylvie raised her chin. ‘I am going to delete it.’
Loki jumped up and snatched the Ipod out of her hands. ‘I don’t think so! I paid for that song!’
Sylvie rolled her eyes. ‘At least put the songs in the right order!’
‘Okay, okay,’ Loki lied. ‘I’ll delete it.’
With a few easy buttons, he had deleted Vivaldi and changed the name of Bohemian Rhapsody into Autumn. Sylvie, wrapped up in her routines and scores, seemed to already have forgotten about it. Keyword seemed.
Loki slid the ipod into his jacket. He would give it to Mobius. Sylvie wouldn’t try to search him in his sleep, but there was no certainty that she would grant Loki the same rest.
|
‘Competitions shouldn’t be in the morning,’ Sylvie complained.
Mobius patted her on the back. ‘Perhaps you’ll learn now that you, too, need sleep. This competition has been draining for all of us, not just Loki.’
Sylvie grunted, unwilling to agree. ‘Let’s just go to the rink already. He needs to stretch and we need to make sure the costume doesn’t tear at the last minute.’
The costume didn’t tear at the last minute. It looked wonderful. Black, with illuminating green streaks. ‘Like Autumn,’ as Sylvie said.
There were already a few people at the skating rink when Mobius, Loki and Sylvie got there. Other skaters and their coaches and loved ones, all fussing about.
Sylvie took a deep breath. ‘Loki, I hope you enjoy this, okay? You worked hard the last few days, and I can only imagine what the months before that were like.’
Loki almost felt guilty that he was going to skate to the Bohemian Rhapsody. Almost. ‘Thanks, Sylvie. I’ll skate my hardest. I had a great coach, after all.’ He meant it. He even used some of the tips she had given him.
Sylvie quickly shook her head. ‘Enough of this. Come, stretch. You need to be warm.’
|
‘Loki Laufeyson: Third slot,’ the voice-over yelled. Loki nodded. He liked that he wouldn’t be the first, but that he didn’t have to wait so long that he got anxious, either.
The man that did have to go first was a popular figure, you could hear it by the reaction of the audience as he took the ice. The blond man blew a kiss at the audience and a destructive look at his opponents as he skated to the middle. His music and routine began seconds after.
‘The swan lake? This man really is creative, is he?’ Loki scoffed. Sylvie snickered at first, but her look got more serious as she saw how the man skated. ‘Creative or not, he’s good, Loki. You’ll have to watch out.’
‘Watch out for what? That his score will be higher? I’d like to see him try.’
Yet, Loki had to agree the man was really good. He landed a couple of difficult jumps with no trouble. He turned back to Sylvie. ‘What’s your analysis?’
‘His choreography isn’t strong enough,’ she mumbled. ‘The jumps are strong, but he has no flair, no story. You’re better in that regard.’ Loki nodded.
Mobius stared at the two loki’s. Up until a week ago, he had heard neither of them say a word about figure skating. Now they talked about it as if they had done it their entire lives. He shouldn’t be surprised, he knew that. But that was easier said than done.
While the second guy was doing his kür, they were too nervous to say much, except for some light encouragement.
Right before the second guy left the ice, Loki pressed a kiss onto Mobius’ lips. ‘I am going to do it.’
‘Thought so. Go get ‘em.’
Loki nodded with a smile. Sylvie silently ushered him to the opening.
As he skated onto the ice, Loki felt a familair calmness come over him. He did a small lap before taking the middle.
‘Forgive me, Sylvie,’ he mumbled, as he waited for the music to start.
Is this the real life? With a start he realised his plan had worked. A second too late, he began his routine, but it didn’t matter. He forgot the world around him as he did what he had done over and over again the past few months. Light as a feather, he skipped over the ice, making jump after jump and gracious move after gracious move.
‘IDIOT! BASTARD! DO YOU THINK I AM DOING THIS FOR FUN?’
Mobius laid a hand on Sylvie’s shoulder. ‘Come on, Sylvie, he is doing his best…’
‘He told me he had deleted the Bohemian Rhapsody! Well, apparently not!’
‘Didn’t you check?’
‘He guarded that ipod with his life. I wanted to check last night, but then it wasn’t in the right spot.’
She could see the gears turning in Mobius' head. ‘That might be because it was still in my pocket,’ he confessed. ‘Which… that little sneak. He really lied to us over a skating performance.’
‘Wanna punch him once he is done?’
‘I won’t hold you back, Sylvie.’
|
With a feeling of euphoria, Loki finished his last jump perfectly. He managed to do his pirouette routine without mistakes and stopped after his lap through the rink.
The first thing he saw when he landed back onto earth was Sylvie and Mobius looking like they could destroy him on the spot. Now, he could either flee and escape their anger for a moment, or he could hear his score.
After a moments’ hesitation, he shrugged and skated over to his friends. He could always run after he had heard how he did.
They gave him death glares all the way to the bench where he’d hear his score. Loki tried to pretend he didn’t see it.
They sat down, Loki in the middle, Sylvie on the right and Mobius on his left. The previous anger was gone as they all waited with great anticipation.
His score appeared. 181.25, which for now put him at the very top of the list.
He jumped up with joy. ‘You sonofabitch…’ Sylvie whispered, with a wide smile.
Mobius kissed Loki on the cheek. ‘Let’s give way to the others now,’ he whispered after that. ‘It’s not like you’ve won yet.’ Loki nodded. He decided that for now, he didn’t have to run.
|
The other routines went by in a blur. Sylvie sometimes made a quip about one of them, when the skaters did something exceptionally good or bad.
Only the moments were the other skaters received their scores were clear. Time after time, they scored just below Loki, with the exception of a young skater from Italy, who got a 185. Sylvie shrugged. ‘I guess that’s deserved. That’s the guy from the airport I believe.’
Once it was clear he would stay in second place, Loki hugged both of his friends at the same time. ‘Thanks.’
‘Never pull such a stunt ever again.’
‘I can’t promise anything.’ He let go of Mobius for a moment to hug Sylvie, then let go of her so he could kiss Mobius. He took a deep breath and skated onto the ice again.
Somewhere behind the rink, Mobius and Sylvie were standing, he knew as he stood on the block. And they were proud of him, he was sure of that.
|
‘You’re crazy…’
‘It’s okay. Sylvie can do it too.’
Sylvie was indeed gracefully gliding over the ice. She might not have the same skill as Loki, but she could at least keep herself standing. Mobius didn’t have the illusion he could do so.
‘Come, I’ll help you,’ Loki said, trying to copy Mobius’ soft tone.
Mobius stuck out his hands. Loki took them and guided him onto the ice.
‘It’s slippery.’
‘Of course it is. Relax.’
Relax? ‘Oh god…’ Heavily leaning on Loki, Mobius let himself be guided over the ice. He heard Sylvie whistle. ‘Don’t taunt me, please.’
‘You just need to fall once, then it’ll be okay.’
‘Come on… Ah!’
He fell down onto the ice and Loki fell with him. Or, no. ‘You pulled us down.’
‘As Sylvie said: You need to fall once, then it’ll be okay. Because you’ll be less afraid.’
‘How does that work?’
Loki leaned over and kissed him. ‘It just does.’
Mobius chuckled, even though he didn’t really want to. ‘If you’ll help me up, I can try again.’
‘Very well.’ Loki helped him back onto his skates. To his surprise, Mobius realised he really was less afraid.
‘Thanks.’
‘The boyfriend of a silver medal skater can’t be unable to skate.’
‘Of course not.’ He took a stride forward. Then another, and another, until he could do it without help. ‘Next year, I am defeating you.’
Loki laughed. ‘I am already looking forward to it.