Chapter Text
Sometimes Vax loved skating with his twin sister. This was not one of those times.
“Look, I know the choreo is fast, but it can’t seriously be that hard,” the sister in question chuckled. “I can do it, Scanlan can do it, even Kima can, and she retired six seasons ago.”
Vax flipped her the V, and he heard scattered laughter echoing from the other side of the rink.
It was the time of year for new choreography, new programs and new music. At Tal’dorei Central rink, the skaters had some of the most intensive weeks of practice in the entire year, what with hours spent with their choreographer Scanlan in the studio, extra cardio to get back into top shape for competitions, along with their regular ice times and ballroom lessons.
It was very taxing, even for top level skaters like the twins. Sure, this was their seventh season training at Tal’dorei rink, but the extra experience never took the edge off. These past few weeks had been difficult to be sure, but nevertheless, Vax loved working on new programs.
There were, of course, other traditions for this time of year. There was Scanlan’s Warm-up Week, the week of ridiculous warm-ups and extra nick-nacks to be learned on ice. There was the grand return of Tary from his summer camp in Oberstdorf, where they all ate way too much German chocolate and listened to stories from Tary’s hometown.
And then there was the Program Reveal Dinner. Vax looked forward to it almost as much as competing. It was an incredibly informal dinner, hosted yearly, involving too much takeaway pizza for competitive ice skaters and their last glass of wine before the season started. Their little gang of training buddies (nicknamed Vox Machina) usually all ended up sprawled on Scanlan’s sofa, killing themselves laughing at each other’s music choices for the coming season.
The issue with that was, obviously, that everyone at Tal’dorei had to keep their programs secret for a few weeks before. Thankfully there were so few skaters and so many coaches that it wasn’t impossible, merely carefully timetabled. Most of the ice time before the party was for practicing new elements such as lifts, spins and step sequences, and the actual choreography was created in the studio. This is the situation Vax found himself in, on the day of the Program Reveal Dinner, hopelessly messing up his step sequence and getting bullied by his sister.
The sister in question was gleefully demonstrating the problematic part of the program again, grinning widely him. Catching up to her, Vax got into hold.
“We go again?” he asked. Vex smirked at him good-naturedly.
“Can you handle the pressure? I’m pretty sure everyone in the rink is watching you bumble around right now,” came the answer.
“Oh, they’re all watching me specifically? And here I was thinking we were a team.”
The twins swooped round a corner, coming up to the beginning of their step sequence.
“Yes, obviously,” Vex replied, “I’m flawless. They needn’t worry about me.”
With a quick glance around, Vax realised that Vex was, in fact, right about the others watching. Allura and Kima, their coaches, were fiddling with the sound system across the rink, keeping an eye on them. Keyleth and Percy, the only other ice dancers in Tal’dorei, were standing by the boards. Vax could just about see the silhouettes of Grog and Pike, their resident pairs skaters, warming up upstairs. Taryon was sitting in the stands, discussing some details of a program with Scanlan and Gilmore, the singles skater dominating the conversation as always.
Bracket, cross-over, chock-tow, change hold, cross-over, counter, twizzle. The twins moved through the steps with practiced ease. People always told them that they had that something, the special spark that just made an ice dance team incredibly watchable.
Internally, Vax cursed. Colourfully. He had missed out his bracket, to mirror Vex’s one earlier in the sequence.
His twin gave him a little knowing smirk.
“Go again!” Allura shouted. She skated over and patted him on the shoulder.
They went again.
Later, in Scanlan’s living room, Vax perched on the arm rest, making a dive for the pizza sitting on the coffee table. There was always a great scrabbling for food when take-away was concerned. What with seven skaters, four coaches and a choreographer all hungry and tired after spending all day at the rink or in some form of gym training, the food would always disappear faster than it could be delivered.
The short, purple-clad form of Scanlan appeared from the kitchen doorway with a speaker and a phone in hand. There was a small cheer from Gilmore and a groan from Percy.
“Guys…. The time has come,” Scanlan proclaimed with an amount of drama only a choreographer could muster.
“Who goes first?” Allura mused, an amused smile playing on her lips.
A great clamour of “Alphabetical!” “KiPe first! Go go go!” “Get up there, Ashari!” ensued.
Keyleth got up from where she was squeezed between Percy and Pike and crossed the room to plug her phone in.
Keyleth and Percy were an interesting team. They often got asked if they were dating, since they lived together and were present in every part of the other’s online life, it was obvious to Vax that that wasn’t the case. They were the best of friends, the closest out of all of Vox Machina. Platonic soulmates, they themselves had even admitted once at a press conference.
They complimented each other perfectly, in both personality and skating style. In Vax’s time observing them and their career, he’d have to note how perfectly Percy brought out the more grounded side in Keyleth, just as she in turn kept him present and joyful.
Their career had had many bumps in it, before they had even begun skating together. Percy had had a successful career with his previous partner Anna Ripley, even breaking top ten in the world, until they parted in one of the largest scandals the ice dance world had ever seen.
Vax didn’t know the details. He’d been training in Nottingham at the time, struggling through junior nationals and his own mental health issues, and afterwards he’s respected his new training mate’s privacy too much to look it up. The grimness that sometimes set across Percy’s face when he thought no-one was looking had always told Vax that perhaps he didn’t even want to know, and it made him even more thankful that the other skater had found Keyleth when he did.
Kiki, on the other hand, had skated for Canada with her old partner Kashaw. They had parted on good terms, Kash now skating with Zahra, who used to train with Vax and Vex in Britain. It was a running gag in their little group, how many of them had skated with each other before their current partners.
Either way, when Percy and Keyleth teamed up, it was like a spark had suddenly caught and they had always meant to be. They worked flawlessly together, to a point of Vax suspecting some form of telepathy.
A hush settled across the small room, the excitement amplified as Keyleth pressed play on her phone.
Suddenly the room was filled with something that sounded suspiciously like dance music.
“This is a contrast to last year,” came the first vast understatement from Vex.
“Well, we want the judges to know that we can skate in all styles instead of always being abstract, you know,” Keyleth proclaimed to the room. Percy nodded in agreement. “Just wait for it.”
A deep beat throbbed in the floor, the ceiling, all around them. Vax had to admire the ambition of the program so far. Last year Keyleth and Percy had been the less crowd-pleasing, more conceptual of the two dance teams, whereas the twins had been rowdy and extroverted. Vax suspected that the twins’ more accessible programs had been why they’d finished ahead of Keyleth and Percy in most of the competitions of last year.
Then the beat dropped and the music changed.
My first kiss went a little like this
And twist
And twist
There was a stunned moment where everyone desperately tried to comprehend what they were hearing. Vax exchanged a wide-eyed look with his twin, getting only a slack-jawed stare in response.
I said no more teachers and no more books
Suddenly Tary leapt up from the sofa and started shouting.
“Hell YEAH! KiPe for Olympic champions let’s go! Jesus christ, this is the best program you two have had to date and I haven’t even seen it yet!”
The room broke into cheers, groans and everything in between. Vax could have sworn he had a tear in his eye. The concept of Keyleth and Percy skating to dance music had been rejected by his brain, and he couldn’t seem to catch up to what was happening. His hippy, avant-garde, overly artistic competitors had made a complete 360 turn, and it was going to blow the socks off everyone, him included.
Allura piped up from the kitchen: “The pattern dance is of course the first part, and the flashier elements will all be in the second half.” The pattern dance for this year was the Midnight Blues, one of Vex’s favourites and a constant pain in Vax’s ass.
Gilmore nodded sagely, seemingly contemplating just what atrocities Scanlan would put in the choreography for the program. “Honestly, I think this kind of suits you two. I for one would love to see a sexy Percy program.”
Vex chocked on her wine, and Scanlan howled with laughter.
“And so, in the Olympic season, Ashari and De Rolo finally lose their dignity!” Vex poked Percy in the side and mimed commentating. Vax’s stomach hurt from laughing, and eating too much pizza.
“In the rhythm dance, no less. Those guys really aren’t wasting any time! I wonder what in Pelor’s name they’ve come up with for their free dance,” he played along, sitting up and leaning against an imaginary commentator’s desk.
Percy sighed. “The free is more traditionally us, actually. Sorry to disappoint,” He smirked at Vex.
Keyleth flipped along to the next song as the room quietened to a few wayward giggles.
A man of mostly bones
Found himself in love
And didn't know what to do
The room was deadly silent as the haunting first notes played.
Said all that I ever want
To be two place in once
Either way, you lose
“Oh,” breathed Pike.
Vax found himself swaying along to the weird percussion, the plain yet beautiful vocals. An orchestral middle section began, and Keyleth closed her eyes and smiled. Vax found himself rather captivated by her movements, despite the sombre tone of the song.
The original song came back in the second half of the program, the entire thing building to a bittersweet crescendo. Vax remembered to breathe again, and realised how well the song fit with Keyleth and Percy’s skating style, but how it also felt oddly personal. It was the perfect choice, despite the program not feeling very Olympic in tone. Those two had always been individual.
After a long pause, Tary whispered, “Who’s next in the alphabet again?”
Percy laughed. “It’s actually you. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Vax knew to brace himself against the wall for this one.
With way too much bravado, Tary took Keyleth’s place as music player.
Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck
Some nights, I call it a draw
Grog shouted in joy and picked Tary up in a hug. “I’ve been tellin’ someone to skate to this for years! Hell yeah, you big golden boy!”
And the dinner was in full swing. Tary’s free skate turned out to be Vogue, and he even demonstrated some of the choreo for the group. Vax had to admit, having one of his friends dramatically enact a knee slide on the carpet of Scanlan’s living room hadn’t been on his bingo card for the day.
Pike and Grog (or the Monstahs, as they were known among friends and fans alike) had picked probably the most aggressive programs out of everyone. With Dropkick Murphys blasting from the speaker, Pike animatedly explained their program content, including a new lift they’d been working on all summer. Vax could see Kima wincing, knowing that they’d had some pretty bad falls working it out for the first time. Their free skate was a suite of Star Wars music, everything from a section of jazziness to a dramatic lightsaber battle expertly edited together by Scanlan.
After a quick break to find some desserts, Vax found himself squeezed between Pike and Gilmore on the sofa, nibbling a bourbon biscuit and watching Vex step up to the speaker. He was suddenly coming off the happiness high he’d been riding for the past hour, into a state somewhere between delirious nerves and the kind of quiet adrenaline that warms your stomach on summer nights. It was always surreal to see their friend group react to the twins’ new music, not that they’d ever be anything less than enthusiastic, but these two were personal. They felt important, like they demanded space and time.
To Vax, new programs meant new stories, new emotion, new art. The twins’ programs were always very dear to their hearts and they were always themes that they wanted to express to the fullest. This season was different, though. This was Olympic season, a thought that never failed to send a shiver down Vax’s back. They were going to the Olympics, it was basically guaranteed. These programs needed to be the best they’d done.
Showing them to their friends felt like a test run. It was never too late to scrap an idea and swap for something better, Vax reminded himself.
He must have looked pensive, because Vex caught his eye from across the room and gave him a soft eyebrow quirk. Warmth flaring in his chest at his twin being a perceptive bastard, Vax smiled and nodded.
“Okay, rhythm dance first. We went for something very us, it seemed only appropriate.”
The first familiar guitar riff rung out in the room, and Vax could see the program in his mind’s eye. There was a specific type of song, the best of songs, that just calls to be moved to, and this was one of them. This one was sharp and ragged and fast and compelling, everything that the twins wanted to be when they skated.
You got me down on the floor
So what'd you bring me down here for?
“Oh, it’s this one! I actually recognize it from Vex’s gym playlist!” Keyleth exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa and doing a little victory dance. For someone who was so ethereal and fluid on the ice, Keyleth had the capacity for the cutest, most unflattering movements Vax had ever seen.
Chatter broke out among the group, and Vax got lost in explaining how the Midnight Blues worked to Grog for the fifth time. Allura went to grab more wine, ever the good coach. Vex was laughing with Percy about something or other, with red cheeks and such a wide smile Vax was sure it would crack her already dry lips.
At the final note of the music, the next song started playing: their free dance for the year.
A piercing organ line played, effectively silencing the room. Pike leaned in and whispered “Is this the free dance?”
Vax could only nod. It had been Vex’s suggestion as something to skate to, but Vax had originally discovered it, way back in juniors when they had still been coached by their father. It was their song, one that had been played at celebrations and at their darkest moments with equal ferocity. It had haunted Vax’s headphones for years, ever urging him on, to keep growing, to never settle. And he never did, and now he was going to the Olympics. It was the perfect program.
Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play
Keyleth was grinning at him. Pike was simply listening, a thoughtful expression on her face. Gilmore clapped Vax on the shoulder, before tackling Vex in a hug. Grog seemed to be having a thought, and that thought seemed to be making him teary-eyed, which was never a good sign.
Vax smiled at the room. “It seemed appropriate, for our first Olympics, you know… And anyway, it’s one of those songs that begs to be skated to,” he mumbled. Vex laughed and slung her arm around his neck.
“What my darling brother means is that you better all like listening to Florence, or you are going to have a nightmare of a season,” she drawled.
Allura raised her wine glass, and swept the room with her gaze. “Well, this is going to be an adventure. I’m proud of this little rink family we’ve raised,” she ruffled Kima’s hair, “and I am so fucking excited. To the Olympics, and to Vox Machina!”
Vax couldn’t help but laugh at the use of a fan nickname.
“To Vox Machina!”
Grog’s howl of joy could probably be heard from a block away, but Vax didn’t have it in him to care.