Once again, he came. Once again, she was waiting. Once again, he watched as she moved on the ice. Once again, she was wearing a mask.

Ever since they met on that fateful night in the ice ring, she hid the left side of her face under masks, scarfs or even her hair. Never did he saw her, never did he understood what or why she was hiding. Each time they crossed paths, would it be during competitions, training or a night like that one, he never managed to uncover her secret.

To be honest, it annoyed him to no end. They had known each other for seven months now and, whether he liked it or not, his heart slowly got trapped in the web of her smiles and sometimes tears, of her graceful landings or ridiculous falls, or her heartfelt laughs or her angry yells, of all her achievements and all of her mistakes. She was mysterious, talented, persevering, beautiful. She was the first friend he ever made, the first person to see past his brash attitude and bratty words, the first one reach out to his heart as if it was hers to take.

For all this time passed together, he never ask. Her respected her silence on the matter, and simply directed the conversation elsewhere when they edged on the subject. But time passed, now, and he wanted her to trust him just as much as he trusted her.

He wanted to know.

Now was not the time, though. He knew it, and was kind of afraid to loose their friendship over a mere secret like that one. So, he decided to keep his mouth shut once more and quickly tied his laces, before joining her on the ice.

She beamed at him and fell in pace to his right as they simply skated around the ring as a warm-up.

"You seem distressed," she said in a casual tone. "Nifikorov giving you a hard time?"

"He left to train another."

If his tone was bored, his insides were boiling in resentment. How dare that man leave him after promising her would train him?

"Then think nothing of it," she however replied, cheery as ever. "Train harder than ever and show him what he missed!"

"Oh, I will," he assured, clenching his fist slightly.

"Can't wait to face you in the Nationals, then," she grinned at him.

And just like that, his anger dimmed down and he felt more at peace. Yes, he would show Victor what he missed when he left for the freaking Japan. He would prove to him- no, to everyone!- who was the best.

The girl suddenly pulled him aside, apparently excited for a reason that escaped his understanding.

"Hey, hey! I got it!" she exclaimed giddily. "I got the stupid quad down! Come on, I'll show you!"

Taken in by her cheerfulness, he allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he went to stand on the sidelines. He watched as she took her stance, before throwing herself onto the ice. She gained some speed, before her feet left the cold floor and she started spinning on herself, high in the air.

Once.

Twice.

She fell back in the middle of her third spin, thus missing her landing, and she hit the cold ground rather harshly, making him cringe. She cursed under her breath as he went to help her up.

"I thought you had it down," he remarked mockingly, extending his hand to her.

"I do!" she huffed, grabbing it. "Just… two out of three, okay?"

Laughing slightly, he pulled her back on her feet. However, just as she stood on her blades, he saw the string keeping her eternal mask in place break. A second later, the ornament slipped and, out of instinct, he closed his eyes. A 'CLANG' echoed as the mask hit the ice between them, and silence settled.

...

"You want to see, don't you?"

Her voice was almost a whisper, and seemed resigned, defeated.

"… I do," he admitted in the same tone. "I do. But you're not-"

She grabbed his hand, and the words died in his throat as he understood the permission she just gave him. So, after a moment of hesitation, he opened his eyes, and his breath hitched slightly.

The green orb he had glimpsed from time to time was now surrounded by three long scars running from her eyebrow to her jaw. The cuts seemed more like chunks of skin had been ripped off, paler than her normal complexion. Honestly, many would have looked away in disgust or discomfort at the sight.

However, he wasn't anyone. She wasn't anyone. She was his friend. And he wasn't one to follow the crowd either.

Seeing how he seemed unable to say anything, the girl looked down, ashamed. She always hid those scars, knowing the people would only stare and judge, or would simply be unable to look at her in the eyes. And, she didn't want that with him.

Seem like it was too late now, though.

She was about to pull away when he grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his iced eyes. Her own widened in surprised.

"Wha-"

"Damn it all," he muttered.

Then, he leaned closer and placed his lips on hers. At first stunned, she then answered to the kiss, albeit hesitantly. After a few seconds, they pulled away, and she let her head fall on his chest to hide her burning cheeks.

"W-why would you-"

"You're beautiful."

She stiffened.

Beautiful. He called her beautiful.

He called me beautiful.

Unable to stop them, tears ran down her cheeks. Instantly, his eyes widened in sudden fright.

"Sorry! Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!" he panicked.

God, he wasn't good to deal with people in general, so crying girls? He was doomed.

But the tears stopped falling as she started laughing through her sobs.

"You moron..." she choked. "You didn't do anything wrong, it's just… it's been a while since someone told me that…"

Understanding washed over his features, and he grinned, before kissing her again.

"Then I'll say it each and every day, Beautiful."

She hugged him tightly for a few seconds, before grinning back at him.

"Can I call you Pretty Boy, then?"

"Pretty Boy? Please," he scoffed. "I'm an handsome prodigy."

"Not arguing over that point" she shrugged, wiping away her tears. "But don't think all of this means I'll go easy on you in the Nationals! I'm in for the gold!"

"Too bad you'll have to settle for silver then, uh?" he taunted.

"You arrogant prick." But she was smiling.

For only answer, he smiled back.

Okay so this is just a one-shot I wrote, like, a year ago -if not two, I can't remember- and I wanted to share it. I completely ship Yurio and Otabek, but I'm still open to some OCness, since there's not much in the YOI fandom. It's realyl cheesy, but it was in my head and that was that. That's all!