Whoops I meant to update a lot earlier. Dispite how this chapter seems, I really do love Yuuri :)

Once in the safety of Yuuri's hotel room, Celestino turned to him and finally asked, "Can you tell me what's wrong now?"

"Vicchan is sick." he said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I need to be packed before the competition tomorrow, and I need clothes I can change into in a bathroom for the plane." thoughts were flying through his brain both quickly and slowly, there was no room left for emotion.

Celestino put an understanding hand on his shoulder. "I'll make sure your luggage is well taken care of, you did very well out there after such news. I'm proud of you for staying, I know that must've been hard for you. It's not worth critiquing your performance right now, I'll keep it for later." he smiled slightly mischievously at him. "Victor looked proud too."

"Wha-no he didn't!" he shook his head, unable to help the flush that took over his face.

"Maybe not proud, but impressed at least." he admitted, "You can do it you know, you can get up on that podium with him." he added, "Eat something and make sure to rest and not stay up too late packing. Do you have any clean casual clothes or do I need to buy you some?"

"Celestino-I'm fine, I couldn't ask you to buy clothes for a plane ride." he shook his head.

He sighed, "Very well, make sure to give me your room key in the morning and I'll make sure everything is ready, bring your change of clothes with you."

He nodded, "I'd like to be alone please."

"I meant what I said, I'm proud of you." he said again before exiting the room and closing the door quietly behind him.

Yuuri finally got the email from his mom with his plane ticket, he winced slightly at the time, it would really be pulling it close. At the same time he was happy she was doing her best to get him home as soon as he could. His luggage could end up on another plane, he had stuff at home, but he had to be on that plane. He also promised to repay her money, not even wanting to think about how much it must've cost last minute.

He ordered room service, and started going through every nook and cranny of the room. He didn't usually fling stuff about the room, but he'd hate to be worrying about leaving something behind on top of everything else. Everything was looked under and around and behind, he made piles of what he'd need in the morning, made a note of things to not forget on his way out, and was relaxed by the time his food got here.

He ate on...whatever he'd ordered, scrolling his phone, bugging his family about updates, checking the times and calculating the absolute latest he could leave the competition and make his flight.

He winced, if there were any delays, he would have to leave the second he got off the ice, it'd be too close for him to be comfortable with waiting around for. There was no way he was missing that plane.

His mom, dad, and sister all assured him separately Vicchan was no worse than he was that morning, they all also avoided mentioning his actual skating for the moment.

His bags were as packed as they could be, they laid open and waiting for the final items from throughout the morning. He'd emptied his bag he took with him to the rink as much as he dared, squeezing in a change of clothes and whatever entertainment he had.

It hit him suddenly, that he'd have to leave his skates with Celestino. He was sure the other man was planning on having someone check his luggage in for him, but he'd need his skates after that and they wouldn't let him just take them onto the plane, they were blades after all. Celestino would have to send them on.

Oh well, that freed up a bit more room in his bag.

It took him awhile to fall asleep, worried about Vicchan as he was.

He woke up slowly, staring around at the tidy room in silence for awhile. He was here, where he'd been trying to get so long, and all he wanted to do now that he was here was to get away.

He forced those thoughts to the back of his mind, he couldn't think about that, he had to skate his best and try to be noticed by Victor, had to try and place, and he couldn't let anything distract him, just a few more hours and he could just let it all out. In the meantime he had to just shove all of his feelings to the back of his mind.

He got ready, putting stuff in his suitcase along the way, doing another quick search of his room. Normally he wore clothes to the rink and changed once there, but this time he'd just put on his outfit and his jacket on over it.

Just a few more hours.

Celestino came to collect him not long after that, smiling very slightly at him as he took his room key. "You can do this. You have a solid program, and you'll make it home. Don't worry, just skate."

He was never so upset that he'd placed third, that meant he was in group two, and the pause between groups was going on forever but, at least he was first. He had to focus on the positives and not the ticking time bomb. Victor was in the same group as him, of course, and he kept looking at him, probably wondering why he was looking quite so frustrated at this break. He resisted the part of him that wanted to go over and talk to him, if he had to talk to Vicchan's namesake, he wasn't sure he could hold himself together. No, he had to ignore his idol.

It hurt though.

He filed away the fact that Victor actually noticed him to be happy about later.

He was counting the seconds in the minutes, it was going to be a close thing if they didn't get him out on that ice right now. He was about ready to just go out there, exit the room, and just go and get into position and just skate without music.

He knew he was being irrational, but he was not going to not be on that plane. If they didn't call him out in the next minute he was going to just leave .

To his mild irritation they did call him before his minute was up, and he took a deep breath. Pushing all his frustration to the back of his mind. He could do this. He was going to nail this. For Vicchan.

Celestino looked slightly irritated as well, but quickly hid it when he looked at him. "Skate your heart out, Victor will be watching." he said as encouragement.

He did nail it.

Well, nailing was subjective, he didn't fall, he didn't screw up majorly, but he didn't do it perfect or anything. He barely managed to sit through waiting for scores, though he couldn't help a happy smile when he saw he'd broken 290 points total, barely, but he'd done it.

He was in first for the moment, but that'd be over in just a minute.

-wait.

He was in first .

There were two competitors remaining.

No matter what happened...he placed.

He placed in the same competition as Victor.

And he couldn't stay and stand on the podium with him?!

He wasn't sure if he should be cheering or crying, he just sat there, numb, slack-jawed.

Celestino was cheering enough for both of them, at his side. "You did it Yuuri!" he pulled him into a brief side-hug. "You did it!"

"I did it…" he said softly, still not believing his eyes. He turned to Celestino. "Celestino…"

"I know, I know. It's a shame." he was standing to lead him away from the cameras. Using his clear shock to his advantage. "Let's get you on that plane." he said quietly. They had to sneak him out of there before people caught on that someone on the podium was leaving .

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri froze in place, head snapping to that voice. No way.

Victor grinned at him, "Good job!" he called, as Christophe took to the ice. "You'll look good on the podium!"

He felt like the universe was outright mocking him right now.

He knew he should say something, anything, to acknowledge his idol, but his brain couldn't think beyond. Get to the plane. And Victor knew his name. Thought he'd look good on the podium. He had no idea what expression was on his face but he saw Victor's surprised expression before he turned and continued to allow Celestino to guide him away.

"Ciao ciao...the universe really hates me." he mumbled, trying not to let how torn up he was show on his face.

"Look on the bright side, he knows you now." he smiled at him. "C'mon," he dragged him into an empty room. "Change, quick."

Yuuri was already tearing off his outfit as fast as he could without damaging it. "Celestino, you have to send my skates on." he said as he tugged his change of clothes out, changing into them as fast as he could and leaving his skates abandoned as he pulled on his running shoes.

"Shit, I completely forgot about that." he muttered, "Good catch." he added, "Put them in your bag for the moment though, we need to get out of here without people noticing."

He nodded, shoving them in the top of the bag and throwing his jacket over the open zipper. "Let's go."

They could only hope nobody would recognize him, that nobody would be looking for him in such casual clothes so they would gloss over him, looking for the costume instead. He put on his glasses for good measure, people that only knew him on the ice didn't recognize him with them on a lot, than ran his hand through his hair to try and change how it looked as well.

He couldn't help himself from stopping at a screen and staring as Victor neared the end of his program, people rushed around the two of them, trying to get to the rink in time before the end, holding plushies or flowers to throw onto the ice.

"Yuu-"

"30 seconds Celestino." he said softly, unable to look away.

His coach made a small noise but didn't say anything and they watched in silence as the routine ended. Yuuri quickly turned and continued walking the second the last note sounded, if he watched him skate off he'd feel the need to go out onto the ice with him for his medal. It truly wasn't fair.

Yuuri quickly dug his skates out and handed them to him as Celestino quickly pushed him into a waiting cab "Thank you Caio caio."

"Call me when you land." he replied firmly, closing the door.

Yuuri watched his figure as the cab drove off, the man didn't move until after he lost sight of him.

The cab driver was listening to some radio show, he didn't understand a word of it and he just continued staring back at the rink. He should be there, standing next to Victor . What he'd always wanted.

But Vicchan was more important. He knew it with all his being but it still hurt.

"You...fan of skating yes?" the driver suddenly asked in english.

He jumped slightly, not having expected conversation. "Y-yes." he had picked him up from the rink of course.

"Want to know final standings?"

Oh, he was listening to coverage of the skating… "Just Victors, I saw the others."

"He got.." they paused. "Three three five, seven six."

He grinned slightly, "He won." he replied, not that he'd really doubted it. He was only 30 points below Victor, he could be proud of that.

"Yes. The bronze is missing though." the driver sounded a bit worried.

"Ah," he paused, unsure if telling would make them turn around. "I'm sure he'll turn up." He was surprised they'd noticed so quickly, he must've just got out in time.

The cab was silent except for the radio, he heard his name a number of times and was glad he was able to get out of there in time, he tried to not visibly appear stressed every time he heard his name.

"Here we go." the cab pulled up to the airport.

"How muc-" he dug in his pockets for his wallet.

"The man took care of it." he shooed him, "Don't miss your flight."

He wanted to be mad at Celestino but he couldn't be. "Okay, thank you!" he scrambled out the door but paused before he closed the door, " I'm Yuuri Katsuki by the way." he closed the door and bolted for the doors of the airport before his driver could say anything in response.

The driver was put out of his mind as he hurried through the airport, security, and made it onto his plane with just a few minutes to spare. He sighed in relief, sagging into the chair.

Well, there was no standing on the podium with Victor now. The ceremony was surely long over. It did him no good to dwell on what could've been, he had to focus on Vicchan.

Of course, that only prompted him to feel horrible in a new way, his beloved dog was ill, possibly dying, and he hadn't seen it in years.

Once the plane was in the air, he excused himself to the back bathroom and cried for awhile, letting all his pent up emotions out finally acknowledging how shitty it was that he wasn't able to stand on the podium with Victor because his poor dog was dying . He didn't know what to do with himself, so he sat there as long as he needed to before he finally stood, cleaning off his face again, and finally returning to his seat.

The only way to pass time was to sleep or to read the one book he had in his bag. He eventually just took out a pencil he found in his bag and started writing in the margins of the book, doodling, anything to fill the many hours of flight.

Eventually, he finally felt tired, so he put it all away and leaned back, trying to relax and just let sleep take him.

He didn't wake up until the wheels touched down and he woke with tears in his eyes, but he couldn't remember what he was dreaming about. He grabbed his bag and dug out his phone, finally turning it on for the first time since he woke up that morning. He quickly turned the sound to off before it started loading all of his notifications, sending Celestino a text to tell him he'd landed and opening the phone app to call his mom once they were stopped properly. He was in the middle of the plane so he'd have a bit of a wait to be able to actually walk off the plane, might as well talk to his mom.

He put his other hand over his other ear as others started their calls as well.

"Mom, I'm here."

"Minako is waiting for you outside…" she replied, hard to hear over the din.

"Okay, how's Vicchan?" he had to know.

"He's still okay, I'll see you when Minako brings you home okay?" he heard a crowd of people on her side of the phone and nodded to himself.

"Okay, see you soon." he shoved his phone into his pocket, ignoring as it vibrated madly at any number of notifications.

He was finally able to get off the plane, and met Minako at the baggage claim, she was subdued for once, only greeting him with a tired nod as they waited together.

He quickly pulled his off, glad it'd been one of the first ones off, and they headed out to the car.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize for coming home for your pet." she cut him off. "I'm just glad you saw it through first." she finally said.

"I...am too." he admitted. Vicchan wasn't dead yet, so he hadn't missed his passing, and he'd won bronze on the same ice as Victor.

"You did wonderful Yuuri." she added. "Bronze, you deserved Silver!" she sighed, "But you did great, better than anyone could've expected of you after you got the news. Everyone is so proud of you."

He nodded slightly, not up to taking compliments for his skating, he just wanted to see his dog.

She was silent again, unlocking and starting the car as he got in and buckled up.

The drive felt much longer than it was. It was silent, not even the radio playing.

His phone continued to go off in his pocket.

He felt like a failure, he didn't even know why, but he did. He knew he had no real reason to, his absence didn't cause Vicchan's sickness, he won bronze!

Maybe it was because he was home for the first time in four years because his dog was sick and his family deserved better than that.

Yu-topia came into view and he sighed slightly, it still felt good to see his home, no matter the circumstances.

Minako smiled slightly in the rearview mirror.

"Your parents insisted on being the ones to take you over, so I'm gonna head home. Chin up, things will be fine." she said as she parked. "I'll see you later, take care." she added as he dragged himself out of the car, grabbing his bags, still in a bit of a haze.

"Thank you for getting me." he replied.

"Any time."

He stared at the doors as the car drove off quietly, trying to build up his courage to just go over and go in. They knew he was here, for sure.

He grabbed his suitcase, dragging it forward with him.

"Yuuri." his mom pulled the doors open, looking tired, but good still. "It's good to see you."

"I'm home." he replied, managing a smile at her.

In no time at all it seemed, they were heading to the vet.

He tried to take his mind off it by pulling his dying phone out of his pocket, he had so many calls and messages and other alerts, he didn't know where to start.

Celestino had tried to call him a couple times after he landed but apparently gave up quickly, there were a number of calls from numbers he didn't recognize and a few from people here in Hatesu. He turned to the texts, Celestino telling him to call when he felt up to talking, he wasn't going to just let him disappear if he had to buy his own ticket to Japan and could he please respond to Phichit before he bought a ticket?

He quickly pulled up skype and saw he had almost 100 messages from Phichit, and a few missed calls. He pushed call without thinking, and after a few seconds Phichit picked up and turned on video, and he did as well out of sheer force of habit for both of them, judging by how Phichit's face was illuminated by the phone and nothing else.

"Phi-"

"Yuuri! I was so worried!" he sighed in relief, sagging into the bed he was probably asleep in moments ago. "You won bronze and then you vanished and Ciao ciao wouldn't tell me anything but then he started looking worried too and Yuuri what's going on?!" he was clearly fully awake, rubbing at his eyes and sitting up as he talked.

"Vicchan...is not doing well." he didn't want to go into the minimal specifics he did know.

Phichit's gasp came through, a bit distorted, "Oh Yuuri...I'm so sorry. So you went home?" he asked.

"Yes, I couldn't not." he said softly. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Don't worry about it, I'm much more at ease now than I was, even asleep." he replied, voice becoming more distorted. "But you're on the move and Skype's losing you." he laughed. "Please, tell me next time you're going to vanish, I never want to panic like that again. But go on and don't worry about me right now, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Phichit."

"Of course Yuuri! Do call before too much longer though." he added before he hung up.

He looked up from his phone as the car pulled into a parking spot and fumbled with it, shoving it back into his pocket again. Vicchan…

It took some convincing from his parents to get back to go see him, something about how it was too late, but he didn't really hear any of the conversation, just trying to figure out where Vicchan was because nothing would stop him, not an army of vets, not Victor holding a gold medal out to him, nothing.

His mom guided him back to the room Vicchan was in, not alone but not crowded with a bunch of other dogs either. A clipboard was on the cage with a bunch of doctor speak he didn't understand and he was hooked up to an IV but he perked up at his presence and his tail wagged against the metal of the crate.

"Vicchan!" he sighed in relief, until this moment he hadn't been able to truly believe his dog was still alive, that everyone hadn't just been lying to him to help him perform better.

He barked slightly at him, tail wagging faster.

He got as close as he could, wiggling his fingers through the bars. "Vicchan, I'm here, please calm down." he said softly, hoping he wasn't making anything worse. It was pretty dark, most of the animals were asleep so he couldn't tell very well how sick Vicchan was.

Vicchan licked his fingers slightly before putting his head back down and just looking at him, tail still wagging happily.

"I'll be back to see you tomorrow, okay?" he said softly. "Be good, and get better."

"He's already looking better than he was." his mom said softly at his side. "I'm sure he'll pull through."

He nodded slightly, slowly pulling his hands away. Vicchan whined softly but didn't get up. "Bright and early." he added to his beloved dog.

This was supposed to be funny double dog shenanigans but oops