It Is What It Is, Until It's Not

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Summary

Leo Clarke has been ice skating since he was little, always dreaming of catching up to his idol, Julian Jones, but when Leo's dad loses his job, he is forced to give up his dream at fourteen. But when Julian drops off the face of the planet without explanation before his last Seniors' Grand Prix, Leo, now nineteen, begins to wonder what happened and why. Then, he runs into Julian, now twenty-two, training another younger skater at the rink where he works. He wonders why Julian gave up his dream of being a skater and switched to training. He learns Julian has been struggling with his own family and has lost more than the opportunity to skate, and maybe he doesn't believe he's as inspiring as Leo makes him out to be. Can Leo make him believe in himself again? What will happen when Julian finds out Leo's family has been living off his money since he started working at fourteen? Will he convince Leo that it's not his job to ensure his family can pay their bills, and it might actually be to his detriment? What will happen when feelings develop between the two?

Genre
Romance
Author
Magnus_K
Status
Ongoing
Chapters
5
Rating
n/a
Age Rating
16+

Dedication & Trigger Warnings

To Roman Skorniakov and Tatiana Malinina, who understand the price of supporting a child chasing a dream, Alysa Liu, who found her love of the ice again, and all the eldest children or only children who carry the weight and expectations of the world and their family on their shoulders. Our peace is more important than their presence. Let's not risk our happiness for the joy of others.

Trigger Warnings for: Emotionally Immature Parents, Narcissistic Parents, Parentified Children, Mentions of Self-harm & Passive Sucidality, Unhealthy Coping Skills, Perfectionism, Burnout, Severe Brain-Fog, Depression, Heavy Self-Reliance/Hyper-Independence, & CPTSD with severe fawning.