The Reason

Summary: Ever since that fateful day at the Grand Prix Banquet, Victor Nikiforov has found it difficult to ignore the pull on his emotions that younger skater Yuri Katsuki caused.

Author's Note: I want to thank the readers who pointed out my spelling error from the previous chapters. I realize now the proper spelling for the jump is actually salchow now sowcow. I apologized for the mishap and will promise to use the proper spelling from now on. Thanks again!

Chapter 6: Changed by Love

"You're not weak, Yuri. No one who really knows you would ever say that." Victor's words rang in his head over and over. Their talk on the beach had settled his nerves and helped him become just a little bit closer to him. With his words of encouragement he opened the e-mail from Su Yin, smiled a bit at the simple message, and typed in a reply.

"Hi, Su Yin… I'm sorry to bother you. I need a favor if it's alright. The demo you gave me, I really want to use the music, but my new coach thinks it needs some work. Do you think you can tweak it for me?"

He lounged back in his seat, sighing with relief that he'd taken the next step. His nerves and excitement jumped again when he hears the bing of a reply mere seconds later.

"Of course! I'd be more than happy to. I still have a copy of the demo, as well as the original score. I'll get to work on it right away. I'm so happy to hear from you again. :) "

"Su Yin…" Yuri's eyes glittered with admiration. He put her face into his mind, the dark coloring of her Asian background, paired with the grey eyes of her American father. He remembered she had a sweet smile, and hair like a gypsy that flowed in curls around her face. He would have to find a chance to visit her in San Francisco. Give her a proper thanks.

~In America~

Su Yin tapped her pencil on the score. She wasn't sure how to tweak the song without changing the message. It had to reflect Yuri… but she didn't know much about him now… what she did know about him was that he'd loss in the Grand Prix Final, nationals, and didn't qualify for the worlds. He fired Celestino, and moved back home to Hasetsu and was now being coached by Victor Nikiforov. Most of that was just depressing and really uninspiring.

She opened her phone, staring at Yuri's number for a good long while before hitting the call button. With her heart in her throat she pressed it to her ear and waited for the other end to open.

Yuri dabbed at the sweat on his forehead and blinked at his phone when the ringtone caught his attention. He saw it was Su Yin's number and his eyes lit with excitement. With a smile on his face he answered and pressed it to his ear.

"Moshi, moshi, Su Yin?"

"Hi, Yuri…" Su Yin let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "It's been a long time since I've heard your voice. Konbanwa."

"Mmm, hisashiburi… Did you finish the composition already?"

"No, not yet. That's why I was calling. I wanted to know what kind of changes you want. I can keep the basic tune, but adding dynamics and drama would change the message I was going for with the original one. I was hoping you could give me a good direction."

"Hmm I see… honestly I'm not sure what I want it to say. I want… that is I want to change myself."

"Change yourself?" Su Yin narrowed her eyes and gripped her phone in both hands. "Why?"

"Being with Victor has made me realize some things. He showed me I could be stronger, more confident in my abilities. He showed me I don't have to fight alone anymore."

He thought of their talk on the beach again, and the feel of Victor's fingers and palm clasping against his warm and comforting.

"I've got people who love and care about me. People who have always supported me, and it makes a difference. I want to do well, and I want to win… but not just for myself. I want to win for them too."

"Love…" Su Yin sighed happily and brushed a tear away from her cheek. "You've finally found and understand love, Yuri."

"I don't know about understand." He said with a laugh, "but… mmm yeah I feel it, and it's changed me."

"Then that's the theme!" Su Yin clenched a fist and pumped it. "I've got it now Yuri. I disappointed you before but I won't now."

"You didn't dispapoint me, Su Yi. You've been able to see me better than most, and it showed in your music. You'd captured me well, and it's part of what made me realize I need to change for the better. Thanks… and I know you'll create the perfect score for me."

"I will," Su Yin clutched the phone tighter as her heart filled with affection.. And she felt the same tickle of love for him that she had back in college. "I promise. Ja Ne."

"Ja," Yuri responded and hung up with a smile on his face. He set the phone in his bag and jumped when he saw Victor crouched down beside the bench staring at him thoughtfully.

"Yuuuuuri…" Victor grumbled. "I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend."

"Huh? What? I don't, Su Yin's a friend. She's the composer I told you about."

"That didn't sound like a conversation between friends, that sounded like a conversation between former lovers." Victor's face fell more and Yuri saw the puppy dog pout setting into Victor's handsome looks.

"L-Lovers? No, no, no, no, not true, never happened!"

"I just recovered from my hair loss and now this… I'll never recover from this!" Victor slumped to the floor.

"No! Victor! Wake up!" Yuri grabbed his hand dragging him across the floor. "Come on I can't carry you home… Ne VICTOR!"

After hanging up with Yuri, Su Yin jot down some notes and immediately started up her computer. She watched the video of Yuri skating Victor's routine, and studied his face and expressions. God he was still as cute as she remembered, he may have gained some weight but that made him look all the more vulnerable and relatable while skating. She couldn't understand the words to the song, but the message was clearly there. What kind of message, Su Yin wondered, would he choose to show with her music?

Love.

That came across clearly for her. Yuri had never been a truly open guy. He rarely hung out with the few friends he did have, and when he did he usually sat quietly and content enough to just listen and contribute now and again when asked or approached. However, it looked like Yuri wanted to change that. On the phone he seemed eager to open up, to try and break out of the shell he'd always kept himself in.

He wanted love, he wanted to feel it, express it, appreciate it. The journey she would tell through the song, she decided, would be a journey of discovery… the discovery of love. With a big smile Su Yin went to her piano and immediately got to work.

Victor pouted through the rest of the day. His eyes bored into his student… on the way home, in the bath, and even while eating dinner he would stare over his pork cutlet bowl, and wonder about this female composer "friend" of his. His staring was causing the younger skater to get nervous and fidgety. He stood up and excused himself to his room shutting the door behind him. Victor stayed in teh doorway of his room just looking down the hall at that closed door.

Victor felt like there was still much more he needed and wanted to learn about Yuri. There were parts of him he was hiding, and wondered if it had to do with what they had discussed on the beach, something about wanting to hide his flaws and shortcomings... the memory of it made his mood stormier.

"Yuri, what would you like me to be to you? A father figure? A friend? Hmmm a boyfriend then… I'll try my best."

"No, no, no, no, I don't want you to be anything but what you are! I've always looked up to you. You're my idol. I didn't want you to see my shortcomings… I'll make it up to you with my skating."

His mood calmed a bit as he thought of Yuri's skating. Not that he'd ever admit to it, but he could watch Yuri skate all day. There was just something about the way he moved, so beautiful and completely lost in the moment. If Yuri skated for just himself his routines would be phenomenal, moving, but competition always clouded the joy of his skating. There had to be a way to change that.

This song, Victor thought closing the door to his room and curling up on the bed with Maccachin, was the way to change it. This song was personal to Yuri, for whatever the reason. With a personal song made solely for him, Victor believed together he and Yuri could create something with true meaning for him, and would move the audience.

So whatever relationship Yuri had with the composer, he'd ignore his personal annoyances on it for the time being. As much as he hated it, Victor needed that score, so he hoped his friend did right by her word.

Yuri jolted when he received the email from Su Yin containing the song. He clicked and downloaded the file immediately… and paused reading the email attached to it.

It's done, thank you for giving me a chance to do it right this time. I hope you and your coach like it. I heard word from Pitchit, he's going to give me tickets to his first event when the assignments come in. I hope I'll get to see you and see what you've created with this piece. I watched the video of you skating Victor's program. It was great to see Yuri on ice again, though hopefully the next time I'll get to see it in person.

Good Luck, Yuri!

"Su Yin…" Yuri's cheeks flushed with delight. He'd found another supporter in Su Yin, and another reason to fight for the prize. Putting in his headphones he listened to the song carefully… and the more he listened, the more he fell in love with it. Excitement rushed through him as he yanked his computer off the table and ran down the hall to Victor's room. He jumped on the bed stepping on Maccachin accidentally in the process.

Victor blinked sleepily, Yuri's excited words were fuzzy from his groggy wake up call, but when he felt the earplugs in his ears he concentrated solely on the sound. The beautiful ripple of piano caught his attention immediately, and little by little his eyes lit up and he met Yuri's intense face with a smile and a nod.

After listening to the song all the way through several times, Victor was determined to meet this Su Yin somewhere down the road. The original piece had been good at capturing Yuri's shyness and likeablity… but in this piece he could feel his excitement, his need and eagerness to better himself, to move forward with his life. She'd captured him so well he wondered just how carefully the girl had watched, and learned about him.

There was a nagging pitch in his stomach he recognized as jealousy and he grumbled a bit as he dressed for practice. It was ridiculous to get so worked up over this. The girl was all the way in America…. And that was the problem wasn't it? A girl who lived clear across the world seemed to know Yuri far better than he did and he was standing right in front of him, living with him, practicing with him. It irked.

He had to get passed it, Victor decided. He'd really only known Yuri for little over a month, and it took time to gain the kind of trust and openness he was expecting of Yuri. Tapping his pencil on the pad of paper in his lap he began to write down the key moments for jumps, and the lineup of their composition. The step sequence would have to be intense… a release of energy and emotion that would enthrall and right at the pique of the music. It needed impact though,.. And with Yuri's stamina a quad would be best, and unexpected.

As he went over the changes with Yuri he wondered what was running through his mind. His eyes were ever expressive, wide, and focused showing his intensive listening. When they stepped onto the ice he recognized the moment of sereneness… a sort of welcoming home to Yuri that was a shared comfort to them both.

He worked with him on the choreography, taking his hands and positioning them the way he liked. For a moment their fingers linked as Victor explained how he wanted to see the delicacy in them… his breath hot on Yuri's neck making him tense up and his fingers clench then flex out, gentling the position.

"Very good, that's exactly right. In this piece you are no longer a seductor… you're someone seeking love, looking to fill to the emptiness you've felt in your past… and in the end you see it there, and reach out for it pledging to fight and stand for it. It is the close to your journey, Yuri. You've discovered love, felt complete for the first time in your life… and you won't let it get away."

Yuri's eyes stared at his outstretched hand, just at the fingertips was Victor's glove fingers, gently holding the moment in place. For an instant he wanted to lace their fingers together, and hold on tightly.

"Victor…" he whispered, his body relaxing and turning to fully face him. Their bodies were so close. He could smell Victor's cologne, and the breath mints he'd munched on after breakfast. His lips trembled open, words wanting desperately to come out but choking in his throat. He felt the touch of leather on his cheek and his eyes lifted up to Victor's blue ones… his lips parted and he started to lean in.

"Yuri!" Yuko shouted, followed by the excited shouts of Axel Lutz and Loop. "The assignments are in!"

Yuri gasped and skated backwards, but with his reeling head he felt his weight teeter and he landed back on his butt. The cold chill of ice and water soaking through his pants.

"Iiiiite-te-te!" He winced and rubbed his tail bone as he got back up. "Assignments? Already?"

"They just got in, it's late you guys have been at it for hours. Come on let's go back to the onsen and celebrate!" Yuko insisted with a beaming smile.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Victor agreed and wrapped an arm around Victor's shoulder. "The groundwork on the Free program is done, we'll have time before the season to get it polished. Let's go see where you'll be competing first."

"Hai…" Yuri hung his head a little to hide his flushed face. Did he seriously nearly kiss his idol, Victor? What the hell had he been thinking? The moment must have gotten to him, that was all. Just overwhelming feelings of relief… nothing else.

No way… Yuri thought as his body instinctively let Victor hold him in close… no way was he actually falling for this man. Yuri's head lifted and looked up at Victor who turned in and smiled affectionately.

"That was a hard fall Yuri, I thought you'd be more balanced than that.. I hope you didn't gain any weight while I wasn't looking, little piggy."

Yuri's face immediately turned dark from unamusement. Him in love with this man? NO WAY IN HELL!

Yay! Another chapter up. I'm exhausted from working a double but I don't care, because I was struck with inspiration… now that that's done I'm gonna go pass out in my bed. Oyasuminasai!

Next Chapter: Motivation