#wsc courchevel/méribel 2023

[ticiie]

yeah, i'm still not over this so why not turn it into a hopefully enjoyable (ginodi) one shot?

This wasn’t her first race. Zoé had experienced enough successes and at least as many disappointments to know that none of this was normal anymore. The air around her was buzzing. From where she was standing, she had a good view on both the finishing area and the position of the race leader, where Marco was pacing up and down again like some caged animal. She had never seen him so nervous, another fact that made clear how incomparable this entire situation was. Zoé fought her way through the crowd of coaches, athletes, and other officials until only a banister separated her from the space that was visible to the cameras.

“Marco!”

He turned around and hurried to her side as soon as he recognised her. It was safe to say that Marco looked like shit. The run on the slope had been tiring enough and all the hoping and trembling for the win had already left their traces on him. He clenched his hands around the metal until his knuckles turned white.

“This is literal hell”, he mumbled. He was still shaking from head to toe. Zoé dug through the countless pockets of her jacket until she found the small bottle with the funny label and handed it to Marco.

“Here, this might help.”

Marco didn’t give himself any time to hesitate. He opened it and chugged the liquid down in a swift motion. It tasted a little artificial and left a burning aftertaste in his throat, the alcohol content was without any question higher than what he was used to during the season. He was thankful for the warmth that started to spread from inside his chest through his limbs.

“Can I do anything to make it easier? I feel like shit seeing you like this.”, Zoé said. Marco just shrugged.

“I’m pretty lost myself. I just- God, I want this so bad, I can’t-” his voice failed. The noise around them prevented the microphones to capture the sob that escaped Marco’s throat that second. Zoé quickly wrapped her arms around him, for both their comfort and also to at least try and shield him off a little. She was glad to be wearing mirrored sunglasses or else the cameras would’ve caught her own tears that stung in the corner of her eyes.

“It’s gonna be over soon. And no matter the outcome, you made us all so incredibly proud.”

A minute or two passed and Marco regained his composure. He adjusted his sunglasses and sat back down on the red chair while Zoé tried her best in focusing on the words that came through the radio in her ear.

Then it was Aleksander’s turn. The crowd cheered and gave their all and Marco felt like jumping out of his skin any second. He felt his heart beating in his ears, at the same time his body had gone numb, he couldn’t think, could barely see the images on the screen in front of him and when his strongest competitor crossed the finish line, with the time stamp showing a red background...Marco screamed. He screamed of joy, of relief, all of a sudden, he felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from his chest. Breathing was a whole lot easier too. So many people appeared out of nowhere to hug and to congratulate him, Marco lost both track and sense of time. What really tripped Marco over the edge though, were Walter’s tears. Their head of mission was a very objective, very calm man who almost always appeared reserved, both on and off camera. Honest but never mean and today, it was thanks to Marco that he let down his guard for once.

“You did it!,” he shouted over and over again and pulled Marco in yet another bone crushing hug. Marco feared he would be lifted off the ground any second and fly away, be carried to new heights up in the sky.

---

The celebrations were still going strong by the time Marco left the venue, but he felt as if now was the chance to finally get some rest. All of his muscles were aching but he didn’t feel any pain, just a giant exhaustion that was mixed with the dizzy trace the alcohol had left in his head. Justin had rewarded him a delicious cake, the medal had made more than one round through the crowd and around a lot of different necks until it had found its way back around Marco’s. He pulled the key card from his wallet. It took him two attempts to find the sensor that opened the door and he certainly didn’t bother to fiddle with the coat hanger, he just dropped his jacket to the floor. One of the lamps that was hanging above the headboard of the bed was turned on, apart of that the room was dark and quiet. Marco let himself fall flat on the bed. Not the very best idea, considering it only made his world spin a lot faster. He wanted to roll over and reach for his phone, it had run out of battery about three hours ago and Marco still owed his sister a call back. But his legs felt so heavy and the mattress was so comfortable, the ambition for that task took the quickest way out of his head immediately. The bathroom door opened and the sight offered to Gino made the older one smile fondly.

“Well, hello there,” he said and leaned over Marco to place a kiss on his cheek. Marco grinned; eyes closed in content. “Hi. Why are you still awake, I told you not to wait for me.”

Gino was a little surprised by the fact that Marco’s obviously drunken state still allowed him to form both coherent thoughts and sentences.

“You really thought I would be able to sleep after a day like this?” He kneeled down and pulled the shoes off Marco’s feet. The situation resembled the one a good year ago a lot, only this time, the medal around Marcos neck was shaped like a snow flake. Marco didn’t stop him when Gino took it off as well, placing it on the bedside table.

“I am so proud of you. You deserve this so much,” Gino said while peppering Marco’s face with tender kisses. It was too late for this to turn into anything more intense and it was okay. It required the last bit of Marco’s willpower to fight himself out of his jeans and when he finally lay next to Gino underneath the soft blanket, wrapped in his boyfriends arms, he sighed in relief once again. Gino let his fingers run through Marco’s hair until he felt his breath evening out.

“I love you so much,” he whispered into the dark.

“I love you too.”

[ticiie]

got tagged by besties @wunderlichkind and @niemernuet to post a snippet of a WIP and i gotta admit thanks to the events of today, i actually found a source of inspiration once again and this might even turn into something bigger eventually who knows🤷🏼

This wasn't her first race. Zoé had been part of many successes and at least as many dissapointments to know that this wasn't normal anymore. Form where she was standing, she had a good eye on both the finishing area and the position of the race leader, where she saw Marco pacing up and down once again. He was very jittery and that was too unusual for her not to notice. Zoé fought her way through the crowd of coaches, athletes and other officals until only a bannister separated her from the space that was visable on camera.

"Marco!"

He turned around. To say he looked like shit was an understatment. His hair was a mess and Zoé figured he had his reasons to not take off his sunglasses. He hurried to her side.

"This is hell.", he mumbled and clenched both hands around the bannister until his knuckles turned white. It did not stop his body from shaking. Zoé dug through the many pockets of her jacket and after a few seconds, she pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Marco.

"Here, this might help."