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Chapter One

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"Exciting news for all you Yuri Katsuki fans out there. This morning, we learned the title of his next feature; The King's Surrender. There has already been a lot of debate in our studio about the possible meanings behind the title, but no one will know how the melody speaks to our city's favorite figure skater until we see the performance. Who's excited?!"

Yuri turned off the radio and slouched back in his computer chair. As excited as everyone seemed to be about his next performance, he knew he was bound to disappoint them all if things continued as they had been. He was spending too much time debating the performance those days and not enough time practicing.

His cell phone buzzed on his computer desk from an incoming call. The name on the screen read Victor Nikiforov. The one person he didn't want to talk to was calling him, of course. It wasn't like he was mad at his coach, but he wasn't exactly in a well state of mind to talk to the man. In the end, he answered because he knew it would be even worse if he ignored the call.

"Hey," his greeting was as soft as ever.

"So, my dear, Yuri, guess what!" Victor shouted as if they were actually trying to talk across several countries rather than on the phone.

"What?" Yuri asked with the corner of his lip popping up. He looked at the promise ring on his finger and blushed. He knew their rings were only meant to be symbols of their relationship as a couch and student, but he permitted himself a bit of a fantasy from time to time. The feelings the man brought into his life were so much stronger than the feelings any other person, male or female, had been able to give him.

"My meetings with all the groups are now over!" he said in a slightly calmer tone. A giggle sounded after his words. "In fact, I'm going to be boarding a plane in a little while and be at your place before morning!"

"Oh," Yuri leaned back in his seat and ran his hand down his face, "that's great."

A bit of silence on the other end of the line was all he heard as response, at first. "Are you okay, Yuri?"

"Yeah," he said with a small laugh as a way to try and clear away the awkwardness he had created. "I'm just a little worn out as of late. The rough balance between not sleeping well and increasing my practicing wasn't a problem at first, but it's starting to catch up with me."

"Well, that's not good," Victor grumbled. A muffled noise sounded in the background. He assumed Victor was called to by a person nearby. "I'm going to have to go for now. It's time for me to get on the plane. Yuri, get some sleep and we can work through whatever problem you are facing when I get there. As your coach, it's my job to help you through this."

"Yeah, thanks," Yuri said and gave a half-hearted smile. It wasn't as if he was ungrateful for Victor choosing to stay his coach while starting his skating career once again. Far from it. He knew the challenges the man now took on were nothing compared to what was running through Yuri's beat up heart. He bit on his lip gently as he felt his desire rise simply because he was thinking about Victor's smiling face. If he wanted to fix the mess, all he had to do was figure out how to calm whatever war was going on inside his skull. "I hope you have a safe flight."

"Thanks, sweetie!" Victor chimed through the call. "I'll see you when I get there and you better be in bed. If you aren't asleep, I'll be very upset. Bye now!"

And there it was. The confusion wasn't something he had created inside his own head. No, the confusion was brought on by the mix of words always flying out of his coach's mouth. The different titles of adoration that he expressed to him. Using words like sweetie, dear, precious, or his most favorite darling. Victor was causing Yuri more trouble than anything. Mainly due to the fact Yuri had no idea where their relationship stood. Was it nothing more than an intense care as student and coach? Was it only a show for all others to find them more appealing? Was there anything serious behind his actions? What the hell did Victor mean with all the touches he took when they were working alone? Yuri continued to think those confusing thoughts for a couple hours.

A little while later he was completing his second run for the day with the thoughts still haunting him. Well, it was more of an evening run since darkness covered the skies. Most people were probably sleeping peacefully in their beds with their happy dreams and quiet minds. Yuri collapsed onto a wooden bench outside a walkway lading to the beach. It seemed as if it were only a short while ago when he began skating again thanks to Victor's lead as a coach. Where would he be if the man hadn't stepping into his life to kick him back on the ice? Probably working at his family's place and never finding the passion to be back on the ice. Yuri let out a final sigh before he moved to run back home. Life wasn't as grand as he had originally thought it was meant to be.

Yuri was woken the next morning not by the welcoming smell of breakfast, but rather by a warm batch of stinky saliva.

"Ugh, get off me, Makkachin," Yuri grumbled for a moment before he realized what he had said. His eyes popped open to see Victor sitting on the small cushion next to Yuri's bed. It was hard to believe he was so dead through the night he hadn't heard the man enter his room. Realizing his coach was by his side made his heart skip a beat before it began to pound some irrational rhythm in his chest. "Vi…Victor!"

Victor laughed as Yuri flung his body off his bed and into Victor's arms. It had felt as if they had been apart for far too long. Victor ran his hand against his student's head. Yuri tightened his arm around the body in his hold and buried his face into his coach's shoulder. Their embrace lasted for what felt like a lifetime.

"I told you I was coming, dear," Victor said with a smile as they finally pulled apart.

"How late was it when you called?" Yuri spoke with a sarcastic tone to his voice. "You know my head starts going a little insane when it gets too late."

"True." He laughed as he thought back to the few times Yuri had been unable to sleep and the outrageous conversations they had during those restless nights. "I took the liberty of checking out your notes for your latest showing."

Yuri groaned and let his face fall into his hands out of embarrassment. He was hoping he could hold off revealing his failed accomplishments for a bit longer. There wasn't a solid reason for him being unable to come up with the right moves, but there was some mountain blocking his way.

"You have a lot of clever ideas for the opening, but I think you aren't really hearing the music as it should be heard," Victor said and moved to his feet. He approached Yuri's notes scattered on his computer desk and scratched at his chin as he took everything in. There were a lot of clever ideas but none of them fit the tune. "I think you're trying to hold back your creativity."

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked looking up to the man from his seat on the floor. Victor's words were the main reasons he looked forward to every moment they got together or even spoke on the phone. He was such a wise man and his pride was the thing Yuri lacked more often than not.

"When the music opens how does it sound to you?"

Yuri closed his eyes and imagined the hard hits of the piano running straight into the fast tempo of a drum beat. "It sounds quick and hurried. Like someone rushing through a decision or trying to make it to the last minute sale. Maybe even the start of a battle?"

Victor chuckled because he should have known. The music written for his student was not something the young man was. Instead, the music was written for what the man needed to become. The musician was placing a challenge before their team without even realizing it. The image the world carried of Yuri was far from the way Yuri saw himself. It was now in Vitor's hands to fix that view.

"Get ready," Victor said and smiled down to the man on the floor with his dog. An image he could grow accustomed to if he chose to let himself. "We have a lot of work to do."