Title: Dreams of Ice
Author: Marianya
Part: Chapter Four
Rate: PG
Date develop:18 February 2002 Date revised:17 March 2002
Chapter Four - Secret Unlocked
Somewhere at the other side of the world...
The evening mail arrived right on schedule for the various skaters that practiced at the ice arena in Russia. As always there was an elderly man there to pick up the mail for himself and for his student. After receiving the days mail he walked into his personal office at the side of the rink and closed the door behind him.
Hmm invitations to the ISU skating events, bills, letters... especially this one... The old man picked out a letter, after taking a long look at it, he recognized the handwriting...
I should keep this in a safe place... he thought. Must make sure Evgeni is not distracted by that traitor.
Walking out of his office he left his personal mail on his desk and called out to the young man with bleach blond locks (in Russian), "Evgeni your mail!"
Back in California...
The breeze was warm that late afternoon, the waves gently crept on the beach as the sun slowly dipped over the horizon. Warm tones of the color spectrum took precedance as the sun continued on it's course to becoming a sunset.
Two sets of freshly made footprints broke the calm sanctuary of this picturesque setting. Two young persons: a young man with his dimpled boy band looks and curly brown hair with blond tipped highlights complete with sky blue eyes, and young girl just a few inches shorter than him with her dark brown, almond-shaped eyes, her long dark brown/jet black hair partially pulled back allowing it to float and dance upon the breeze.
She was wearing a long pale pink skirt with a second white mesh covering that had flowers adorned upon it. She also wore a pale white tank top fit with a matching sweater which she placed over her small shoulders and buttoned the top button of it around her neck. Her neck adorned a beautiful jade teardrop on a golden chain. He was wearing his traditional black pressed slacks, with a white dress shirt, plain, simple and yet elegant. He was also wearing a small golden cross on a gold chain that hung around his neck.
The two persons smiled and laughed as they recalled the times of yesteryear. To anyone they seemed to be a happy young couple, ready for anything that life would toss in their direction...
"Do you remember what you did when we first met?" the young man asked, his eyes were twinkling in the calm air. It felt good to be able to talk to someone about anything, a lot of the people that he hung around with, he just couldn't talk to them about personal things. But with Michelle it was a different story, he felt closer to her than to anyone else.
Michelle smiled fondly at a few memories that flashed through her mind's eyes, "Do you mean when I pulled you into the rink and you almost landed on top of me, but then you somehow turned yourself on your back when you realized I was falling too? Or are you talking about the time when I was so shy I was hiding beneath my mom, but then I just tapped you on the shoulder and said, 'You're it'. Soon we were rampaging through the ice rink like the two little kids that we are."
Timothy laughed, "You remembered both of them?"
She nodded, "Yeah, both equally as funny, and both happened on the same day." Michelle giggled, it's strange how things turn out better than what one would think. Here she is with someone that she had not seen in almost a decade, and their friendship, their being comfortable with one another was everlasting. Sometimes there are things that just don't change, especially friendships.
Timothy suddenly stopped, in all this talk of their childhoods had given him a somber memory..."Michelle do you remember our first competition together? I mean not as a team but we went together."
Michelle smiled fondly at the memory, "Yeah I remember that day, you and I were watching the other skaters when we should have been doing our last go throughs with our programs."
"We were watching some of the children go together sometimes and we asked somone why there were two people going at the same time." Timothy smiled, it was one of those memories that sticks with you no matter how old you happen to be.
"Yeah, they said that those children are skating together as a team... We were wondering why we couldn't skate as a team. We never did get around to asking our coach did we?" Michelle asked suddenly, the memory was precious to her, it was one of those rare instances where they made a promise that they were not sure if they would be able to keep.
Timothy shook his head, "No, out coach came it at the moment and told us that we couldn't stand there to watch the others skate, that we would have to go into the back and concentrate on our own programs."
"But we never forgot about pairs skating, and you promised that..."
"... We would someday skate together like that..." Timothy finished, he didn't want to admit it, but something in his heart told him that if he didn't go through with that promise then perhaps he would never have that chance again. "Michelle, did you ever think about that promise. I mean before today?"
Michelle looked down, did she remember that promise? Of course I did, everyday for a few months after you left for Cleveland. Each day went by and that was the only thing that told me that we would meet again.
Timothy knew that Michelle was thinking about it, and knowing her a little bit now, she didn't want to admit that she had... slowly he placed a hand upon Michelle's, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. The truth is, ever since I figured out who you were, and how I felt that I have known you for so long, that promise was the only thing on my mind."
Michelle looked at their hands, her small cool hand within his warm comforting one. She loved how their hands just fit together like that, and how it would feel for their fingers to be intertwined... "It was...?" Michelle managed to croak out.
Timothy nodded, using his free hand he held Michelle's chin within his fingers and lifted it up so that her brown eyes would look into his light blues. "Michelle, I never break a promise..."
"Y-You don't?" she whispered, her heart was racing, her mind was going a million thoughts a minute. The only warmth she felt was her hand that was being held by Timothy's and his face so close to her own.
Timothy shook his head in response, he barely knew what he was doing. The sun had started to dipped over the horizon as he leaned down to her lips, and slowly their lips met and kissed. Her response was slow and hesistant, Timothy felt it as he broke the kiss slowly and looked into her darkened eyes. "Michelle? I'm sorry, perhaps I was going too fast, but I..."
"Shh..." Michelle simply said, she gently placed two fingers upon Timothy's lips to stop him from talking. Her heart was breaking, but she couldn't hide her secret from him any longer, "Timothy... I-I *small sigh* I already have someone in my life."
In the few moments that had just occured Timothy's heart had soared as high as the birds and then came crashing down to Earth and broke into millions of pieces. His face fell for a fraction of a second, but in that time Michelle noticed and her heart fell with his face.
Of course, how could he had forgotten, during dinner that night after their first meeting. Her easiness to him, her openness to him, "It's Alexei isn't it?"
Michelle gave a soft smile, "No it is not... though I could see how it would seem like so. Alexei and myself are very close friends and nothing more."
"Then who?" Timothy's heart was killing him, but he didn't dare let her know about that. Here he was ready to give her his heart, and before it was given it had broken.
Michelle looked down, she didn't want to tell him about her current boyfriend. She refused to allow the world know about her boyfriend because of the possible tabloid reporters and other journalists that would make a field day of her personal life. Only Michelle Kwan and Alexei knew of her significant other, and they had sworn to secrecy.
"His name is Thanh, he is a family friend as well as a medical student. I met him in the summer of 1999, and we have been going steady since this past spring."
Timothy couldn't believe his ears, but then luck hasn't always been on his side either. "I'm sorry, if I had known then..."
"No, don't worry about it, I probably should have told you earlier, but I hadn't count on anything quite yet." If things were different we might have had a chance, but now I don't really know. She smiled.
The moment was awkward to him, he didn't really know where to start, "Well, what should we do?"
Michelle looked at her hand that was still being held within his, slowly she disengaged their hands, "You never break a promise, and neither do I... However we have invested far too much time in our individual skating to give it up. So I suppose that..."
Timothy smiled... he remembered for every dark tunnel there is always a glimmer of light up ahead. At least for now, there is that speck of light in the long tunnel.
