From the first moment Yuri walked into the rundown ice rink in Hasetsu and saw Viktor Nikiforov, he knew that he was going to lose.

Not in those words, of course: the competition hadn't been proposed, and it wouldn't even become a spark in Viktor's mind for several more minutes, but it didn't matter. In Yuri's life, there had always been a winner and the losers trailing behind. He'd decided early on that if the world wanted him to fight, it would get a fight, because the only time life was fair was when you were so high up you didn't notice that the platform under your feet was built on broken victories. Justice came with a silver spoon.

Yuri thought that Viktor should take his spoon and choke on it.

Before their eyes met, before Viktor's smug smirk could open and let a slimy excuse slither out onto the ice, Yuri knew that he would be returning to Russia alone.

Here is a fact about faeries: their contracts are not unbreakable, butsomething must be broken in return.

Here is a fact about the Russian Fairy: he didn't believe in promises, but he did believe in deals.

And here, simply, is a fact: Viktor Nikiforov had broken both a promise and a deal.

When Death approaches, It offers you a deal. Play a game, It says, and if you win, you may go safely. The players know they cannot win, but nevertheless, they play. In the end, it is only a game for Death.

Viktor was the only player in this game - Yuri and the other Yuuri were only pieces.

And, still, he played.

Agape should not be skated on the remnants of forgotten promises of quick-lipped idols, but his hands held nothing but unfairly loaded dice.

Here is a thing Yuri wanted: to see the footwork that had captivated him even through the encompassing disaster, and to feel the thrill of competition he'd chased for years.

Here is a thing Yuri received: snow falling on his jacket as he slipped away from the rink into the empty night.

No one stopped him.

It wasn't a competition without a rival, and there wasn't a win without a loss.

In the end, his only victory was the empty spot on the ice.