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‘Captain America vs the Winter Soldier’
It was what the media used to refer to the upcoming game. The final of the Olympic Tournament. USA vs Russia, historical rivals.
Steve Rogers, nicknamed Captain America by the public because the team captain embodied all the american stereotypes. Opposed to Russia’s captain, Yakov Barnesky, nicknamed the Winter soldier because of his origins, his infaillible determination and supposedly cold heart.
Bookmakers, other teams and hockey fans from everywhere around the globe were eagerly awaiting the encounter. Both teams were at the peak of their success, and the rivalry between the two captains was often talked about. People thought they hated each other. Oh, how they were so far from the truth… They somehow couldn’t imagine people from their two countries being friends. How stupid. Not only did they not hate each other, they got along very -very- well. Way too much for direct rivals, that was for sure, too much also for the vast majority of russians.
Yasha was even friends - or at least on friendly terms - with other people from Steve’s teammates. It was a lot more than what he could say about the majority of his own team.
As Yasha stepped into the Arena, he looked around. The ambiance was electric: the public was screaming, there were cameras everywhere - he almost had knocked into one… As he caught the look from Captain America himself, it dawned on him that this was finally it. He smiled, winked at Steve before hopping onto the ice.
For Yasha, whatever the issue of the match turned out to be, it would be a victory. Either his team won, and he would have a nice medal and be able to call himself an Olympic champion… Or they lost and they were vice champions. In both cases, he had a shiny medal. In both cases, he would not go back to Russia. In both cases, he would be free.