Yuuri looked down at the half empty drink in his hand. It was late. He knew he should be in bed considering how early he had to get up to make the flight home but his body was unfortunately buzzing with anxiety. The last thing he wanted to be doing was lying in a dark hotel room staring at the ceiling.

So he had decided to ignore the rational part of his brain and head down to the hotel bar to get a drink to calm his nerves. Yuuri grimaced as he finished the rest of the drink and willed his anxiety down, so far it wasn't helping. He couldn't keep himself from thinking about the first and last time he skated at a Grand Prix event. Yuuri reached down and rubbed his right knee where he could feel the raised skin of his surgery scar through his pants, the memory of the fall, and the crack of bone against ice was uncomfortably fresh in his mind even after ten years.

He waved down the bartender and ordered another drink.

This late at night the hotel bar was practically empty and Yuuri appreciated the quiet. He needed to think, re-evaluated what was going to come next. He knew he should be happy. Lutz got fourth place, and next season she was going to start competing in the senior division. He knew he should be jumping up and down with excitement over the fact that the girl he had trained since she was 6 years old was going to competing at the highest level of figure skating.

But in reality he felt like he was going to be sick. Despite his lack of knowledge about how to be a proper coach, Lutz had managed to climb the ranks of Japanese skating. Although she has started skating with her sisters, through the years they decided to move on to other things, leaving Yuuri to focus on just Lutz. Yuuri knew that one day his brief experience as a professional skater would run out and he would be out of ways to help her, and it seemed the farther she got in competitions the sooner that day was going to come.

Deep down Yuuri figured he should do the right thing and help her find a coach that would be able to take her farther than he could. Someone who knew more than he did and who had skills as a coach that he didn't have. But Yuuri also knew he could never do that. He had watched her and her sisters grow up and learn to skate, how could he leave her?

No, he sighed. He would stay for as long as she would have him. Until she realized she needed to move on from him and on to someone better. Yuuri just hated the idea that he could be the reason Lutz wouldn't succeed.

Yuuri's head felt like it was swimming and it had nothing to do with the one and a half drinks he had. He could handle his liquor, it was only when he had too many did he get himself in trouble. He rested his head on the bar, relishing in the feeling of the cool wood against his forehead.

"Rough day?" Someone asked in heavily accented English.

Yuuri's head snapped up and felt his face flush in embarrassment. He started stammering an explanation but the words died on his lips when he laid eyes on the man who spoke. He first noticed the silver hair followed by the bluest eyes Yuuri had ever seen.

"Uhh…yeah." Yuuri finally choked out.

Viktor Nikiforov, the man Yuuri had looked up to for over two decades, was standing right in front of him as it was the most normal thing in the world.

"You're the coach for the Japanese skater right? The one who placed 4th?" He said as he sat down at the bar next Yuuri.

Yuuri decided that nodding would be the best response, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to trust his voice at the moment. Viktor knew who he was, or at least knew who Lutz was.

"She did great today. Is she moving up to senior division next season?"

Yuuri nodded again, probably a little too enthusiastically.

Viktor grinned. "You don't say much."

Yuuri allowed himself to laugh a little. "Just caught a little off guard. I'm Yuuri Katsuki."

He held his hand out for Viktor to shake. He did and Yuuri felt his hand tingle at the contact.

Viktor gave him a curious look. "Caught off guard?"

"Not every day you get to meet a legend." Yurri admitted sheepishly.

Now it was Viktor's turn to be embarrassed. It wasn't Yuuri's intention to embarrass him but he wouldn't lie that it did give him a sense of satisfaction.

To be fair Viktor had been retired for ten years and a lot of the younger skaters weren't as aware of the god like status Viktor had had when Yuuri was competing. The triplets only had such a high respect for him because they were unfortunate enough to have to deal with Yuuri and their mother's feverish devotion to the man.

Viktor laughed, it was a warm sound and it made Yuuri's heart start beating ten times faster.

"You are kind. So I take it you know who I am."

"Of course, I grew up watching your performances. My friend and I would even try and copy them." Yuuri blurted out and immediately regretted it, feeling embarrassment heat his cheek.

"Oh really?" Viktor said with a laugh but didn't continue, instead he turned to the bartender and ordered a drink.

Yuuri cleared his throat. "So you're coaching the Russian skater now, Inna Morozov?"

Viktor smirked as if he was enjoying a joke with himself. "Yakov Feltsman is still technically her coach, the crazy old man. But he can no longer travel internationally so that duty falls to me and the other assistant coaches."

"He's lucky to have you." Yuuri blurted out, his previous drinks were catching up to him now causing Yuuri to not think so much before he spoke. His friends and family would probably consider this a good thing.

Viktor smiled and Yuuri felt his checks heat up yet again.

"You're sweet." Viktor cooed and took a sip from his drink.

"I mean you're an incredibly talented skater, people must be begging you to be their coach." Yuuri added as he tried to defend his previous statement.

"Maybe when I first retired. Not so much now that I'm a has-been." Viktor said the words with humor but Yuuri could sense there was some sadness in them.

Yuuri decided not to push the topic any more. The last thing he wanted to do while talking to his idol was to make him upset. It was quiet for a moment and Yuuri took another sip of his drink.

"So what about you?" Viktor asked. "You're a coach now, did you used to skate?"

Yuuri looked down at his glass and considered how he wanted to answer.

Did he want to tell him everything? The memories of his fall fresh in his mind, especially today. No he couldn't do that. It was too embarrassing to admit to a skating god that his career never really came to anything despite his hard work and idolizing Viktor his whole life.

"Yes I skated, but I got injured and had to retire early." Yuuri said vaguely but it seems to satisfy Viktor's curiosity and to Yuuri's surprise Viktor actually looked sympathetic.

"That's too bad. It's a tough sport on our bodies. It's a miracle mine held out as long as it did." Viktor said, mostly to himself than to Yuuri.

Yuuri was stunned to hear him admit that but he thought back to Viktor's last competitive season. Viktor had won his fifth world championship, everyone thought he would retire at the top. He was 28 then, already a grandpa in figure skating years but he didn't and decided to skate one more season. Lots of people speculated that he just couldn't give up the sport, they said it was all he was good for. They may have been right.

When the season started it was like something had changed in Viktor, like a light had gone off and something was missing. He wasn't landing his jumps as perfectly as before, with sloppy landings and reducing his rotations during competitions, and his once impeccable performances had become less than what people expected from him.

Yuuri remembered watching Viktor's free program at the Grand Prix final on the grainy old television at the Ice Castle with Yukko and the girls. Viktor had just barely qualified for the final which shocked everyone and in his short program the previous day he had fallen twice, landing him in fifth place going into the free program.

Yet when he took the ice for his free program Yuuri could tell there was something special about to happen. The way Viktor carried himself to the center of the ice to start his program was nothing short of serene. There was a calmness about him that Yuuri noticed right away. After watching Viktor skate for so many years Yuuri was fairly confident that he could tell if Viktor's skates were too tight just by watching him skate around the rink. It was like Viktor was in a world of his own, there was nothing but him and the ice. There was no one to impress, no media or fans telling him just to quit already.

The performance was flawless. The theme of the program was to be the story of his career. The music started out soft before turning into a loud and boisterous fanfare but as the second half of the program came the music became more intimate almost fragile. Watching it half a world away Yuuri felt tears well up in his eyes and he felt like his heart was about to burst right out of his chest.

This was Viktor's farewell, his love letter to skating. The program was Viktor way of saying goodbye to the sport that had given him everything. He finished the program with a quad toe loop, his signature and came to the last pose with his hands reaching above him for something just beyond his grasp. He received a standing ovation, the commentators where shouting in excitement that Viktor was back. Yet Viktor hardly seemed to care, he lowered his arms and left the rink refusing to smile and wave at the fans like he normally did. He walked right past his coach and went to the kiss and cry. When the scores came in Viktor was in first place, and he would remain in first place, earing he last gold medal.

Viktor would go on and get a bronze at Europeans and fifth at Worlds. But Viktor's face after the Grand Prix never left Yuuri's mind, because what Yuuri remembered most from that performance was that afterward, Viktor had never looked that tired.

"But you coach now?" it was a redundant question but Yuuri wasn't sure what else to say.

Viktor nodded and then laughed. "Yes, and I hardly had a choice. When I made the official statement that I was retiring, I had said I wanted to take some time off before figuring out what was next for me. I managed to get away to a villa in Greece for about a week before coming back to Russia to find Yakov waiting for me. He practically dragged me back to the rink to start coaching."

"That seems a bit harsh." Yuuri commented lightly, not wanting over step into Viktor's relationship with his old coach.

Viktor laughed again. "Well that's Yakov for you. As much as I hate to admit it he has always known what's best for me. If I always followed through with what he said is another thing entirely. But I needed that push, if he hadn't forced my hand I probably would have floated around aimlessly for years."

Yuuri nodded in understanding but didn't say anything.

"What about you?" Viktor asked. "How did you start coaching?"

Again Yuuri froze and wondered how to explain to Viktor that Yuuri was also practically forced into coaching to get him out of his own depression.

"Uh…my old friend needed someone to coach her daughters. Hasetsu, where I'm from, is not a very big place. So she asked me, and I've been coaching ever since."

Viktor smiled, at first Yuuri thought it might be condescending but it was genuine.

"That's sweet." He said.

"Sometimes I feel more like her Uncle than her coach. She's much more outgoing and confident than I ever was as a skater." Yuuri admitted.

Viktor laughed again and took a sip of his drink. "I saw her skate today, she puts on a very good show. But her technical score needs some work." Viktor commented and Yuuri felt embarrassment was over him.

Of course Viktor was right, Lutz unfortunately took after Yuuri more than he would like. Lutz has a strong personality that loved to come out when she skated but she has a tendency to get worked up and make mistakes on the finer details of a routine. But thankfully her stamina allows her to keep up her energy throughout. Yuuri knew there was nothing wrong about having flaws, every skater had them but irrationally he always felt it was a sign of failure as a coach when they were pointed out.

"Your Inna did very good today too." Yuuri mumbled before downing the rest of his drink and letting the burning sensation try and distract himself from his sinking self-esteem.

Viktor nodded. "Yes, she has a lot of raw talent but she lacks the emotional aspect of the performance. There is only so far technical points can take you in this sport. Emotions aren't something you can just fake."

Yuuri was surprised to hear Viktor speak about his student so calculatedly. But again Viktor was right, Inna was able to land jumps perfectly and consistently but when she got to the step sequences and the more lyrical parts of a routine it looked like she was just going through the motions. But it had been enough to get her a silver medal earlier today.

Viktor glanced at his watched and looked surprised.

"Oh, it's getting late." He said and then looked over at Yuuri and smiled. "It was nice talking to you, maybe we see each other again at competition. I have a feeling our girls have yet to see the last of each other."

He said this with a grin and reached over and clinked his glass with Yuuri's empty one before bringing it back to his lips to finish it off.

Yuuri nodded in agreement, not really trusting himself not to say anything embarrassing after managing to have a decent conversation with his idol of over twenty years.

"Goodnight, Yuuri." Viktor said in a low voice as he stood up from the barstool, all while looking at Yuuri with a gazed that made him feel like he was being sized up.

But before Yuuri's brain could send the proper signals to his mouth, Viktor was gone. Yuuri sat frozen in place unable to fully process what had happened. He just spent the last half hour talking with the Viktor Nikiforov. Yuuko and Minako were going to freak out when he got home.

Once Yuuri managed to snap out of his trance he paid his tab and headed up to his room.

Opening up the door as softly as he could, he fumbled around in the darkness as he took off his shoes and changed into his sleeping clothes. He did so as quietly as possible in the hope of not disturbing Lutz, who he could hear snoring softly from her bed. She was crabby when woken up unnecessarily and Yuuri wished to avoid that at all costs. His body practically melted into the bed, as he finally acknowledged how exhausted he was.

Before getting completely comfortable he looked over at Lutz who truly looked like the young 16 year old girl she was. In that moment he allowed himself to finally feel the pride that had been present all night, just underneath his many layers of anxiety. He let it well up inside him, as he thought back to the very first time he taught her, and her sisters to jump. She was the last one to get it down, but she never stopped trying. She fell over and over again until she got it. Yuuko had threatened to murder Yuuri when she saw the bruises Lutz got from falling on the ice so many times.

She had come so far the child she used to be then. There wasn't a medal that came with 4th place, but it was still impressive, especially with such stiff international competition. Right before he finally feel asleep, Yuuri felt his anxiety finally subside as he realized no matter what he did, she was going to give whoever challenged her a hell of a fight.

He also made sure to remind himself to tell Lutz about meeting Viktor, although part of him thought that maybe she wouldn't believe him if he did.

First disclaimer, I know nothing about skating. Everything in here I have gathered from the show, Wikipedia, and a few good guesses.

Second, currently the length of this fic is labeled as 12 chapters but it may end up being more like 14 depending on how this all works out.

Lastly, I am in graduate school and this is my de-stressing side project so I am going to try and update on an every other Sunday schedule. As of right now I have a bit of a head start on the next couple chapters so fingers crossed.

Thanks for reading! Please review!