"Huh? The piggy is producing his own free program?" Yuri asked himself as he stretched his left leg back and up in the air and curled his back up when he read the text message he got from Yuuko. After she managed to get his number from Victor, she started sending him messages about what was going on with Yuuri in Japan. She would ask him how he was doing and would occasionally ask about Katrina.
Right now, she sent him an update about said man and his free skate.
"Hm. What's she doing? Scouting out the competition for her buddy?" He put his leg down and was now leaning on the wall, scratching his nose, "Making his own program huh? Seems like everyone is busy with a program."
Yuri noticed a couple of days ago, that Katrina started to practice what appeared to be a new routine, he assumed that it was a short program for her debut. Yuri knew because of the fly sit spin he saw her do along with a triple axel.
Is she planning on using that song, he asked himself. He didn't have the courage to talk to her about it.
It had been a week since they last spoke and it was eating at Yuri. They truly were over, he realized. Katrina was never going to talk to him again, she was going to skate solo for the rest of her skating years and someday, she will be with someone else who will make her happy. The thought of that made Yuri mess up his routine that morning so he decided to take a break to check his messages.
Yuri was so engrossed with his phone that he didn't notice when a pair of thin arms wrapped around him and a chin was resting his head.
"Oh, is that why you went to Japan?" Mila asked as she looked over the message from Yuka, "To find yourself another girl?"
The boy narrowed glare and tried to push the woman off him, "Hey, get off me Mila! Do I look like I'm on the rebound?!"
The woman was giggling and refused to let go of Yuri.
"Are you throwing yourself at me because you dumped that hockey player?! Well I'm not interested! I'm going through my own relationship problems thank you!"
Mila smirked and hoisted Yuri up in the air making him yell in protest, "Did I mention that I've been practicing my lifts?"
The boy kicked his legs and flailed his arms, "Put me down old hag!"
"Im only three years older than you. Who are you calling old?" Mila said with a smile.
Yuri's yelling attracted the attention of the other skaters who briefly turned their attention to the two before going about their own business, all except for Katrina who had her wireless ear buds on while she practiced her short program routine.
"What are you two doing?" Yakov's gruff voice interrupted Mila's fun.
She turned her head, "Oh… Hello Coach Yakov."
The man was not amused, "Are you going to be Yuri's new partner now?"
Mila turned around fully, Yuri was still kicking and yelling in the air, "No. Sorry sir."
Yuri continued his in the air tantrum until he was finally put down.
Mila watched as Yuri practiced skating around the ice to perfect his balance and coordination.
"Yuri's been different since Japan, I've never seen him like this before," She commented to her coach, "He used to complain about practice."
Yakov was also watching answered, "Aside from Katrina, there was no one who could rival him. He knew that and it made him arrogant. The faceoff between him and Yuuri Katsuki was probably a wakeup call for him. This might be a very interesting season."
Georgi raised an eyebrow, "Little Katrina rivaled him?"
"Just barely," Their coach added, "Before I paired them, she was useless on the ice. Yuri's drive pushed her to where she is now."
That revelation stunned the two senior skaters and they turned their attention towards said girl who was taking a very well-deserved break. Drinking from her water bottle and looking at the video message that held her short program.
Katrina Lychkoff? The 'Jumping Bean'? The second female figure in the world to land a quadruple salchow? Was once useless on the ice?!
As if he could read their thoughts, Yakov confirmed it, "Her balance was atrocious and she was slow. I only agreed to coach her to make her father happy."
Moments later, Katrina was back on the ice for her freestyle practice. A freestyle practice was a little joke between those who were Yakov's students. after they would practice a routine, they would spend whatever time they had left and just skate for fun, it eased the tension off and it was one of the few privileges Yakov gave them.
The three watched as both juniors, soon-to-be seniors, began to skate circles around each other. They weren't paying any attention to each other but it looked like they pairing again. It only stopped when Yuri took notice and skated away.
Yakov sighed and massaged his forehead, he secretly hoped that they would be assigned in different countries this season. The last thing his blood pressure needed were two teenagers who just broke up, for real this time.
The doors of the rinks main entrance opened and the sounds of high heeled shoes echoed through the hallway. Two women who were talking stopped and recognized the woman who had just arrived.
"It's Lilia Baranovskaya!"
"The former Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet?"
Lilia ignored the women talking about her and held her head high as she walked to her ex-husband. She was wearing a burnt yellow jacket with fur lining over a black dress, her black hair was tied in a ballerina's bun and the makeup she wore brought out her high cheek bones. She looked young but Lilia was fifty-four.
She approached the man with her arms crossed, her expression was unamused.
Yakov noticed her presence and turned to her with a grateful smile, "Thank you for coming in on such short notice."
Short notice indeed, Lilia was planning a trip to Moscow to visit her sick sister when Yakov called her.
"Where is he?" She asked with a bluntness he had grown accustomed too, "If I don't like what I see, I'm leaving."
In the room where parents waited for their children as they practiced, Yuri was introduced to Lilia for the first time.
"Who is this hag?" Was the first thing he asked.
Lilia was unfazed by the insult as she grabbed his face and pried open his mouth to check his teeth.
"No cavities."
And then she made him hold onto the bars near the large windows and forced on of his legs in the air, ignoring his grunt of pain.
"Horrible flexibility," Lilia declared, she looked at Yakov who was standing nearby, "we shall start from the beginning with ballet."
With a defeated tone, Yakov agreed, "Do what you need to do."
"Good. Now…" She let go of Yuri's leg and ignored his outraged comments, "where is my niece?"
Mila who was also with them left for the rink, she came back a few minutes later with Katrina who was now wearing her sneakers.
Her eyes widened when she recognized Lilia.
"Aunt Lilia?"
The woman said nothing used to her finger to motion the girl to her, Katrina noticed that Yuri was rubbing his cheeks and she knew what her aunt was going to do.
"Open," Was all Lilia said.
The girl obeyed.
"Teeth are still good."
Katrina closed her mouth and let the woman do what she did to Yuri for flexibility.
"At least Yakov's negligence didn't affect you too much."
She let the Katrina go when Yuri yelled again.
"Just who the hell are you?!" He took Katrina's hand and pulled her behind him.
Katrina blushed a bit but she answered, "That's my aunt Lilia."
Yuri looked at her in surprise, "Your aunt?"
"And the person choreographing your free programs," Lilia added, giving the both her attention.
They looked at her with surprise.
"That's right and I have very high expectations for you," The woman was, thankfully for Katrina, more focused on Yuri, Lilia placed her left hand on the boy's face, "I will make you into a prima ballerina. If you desire to win, you must be willing to sell your soul."
Mila gulped and whispered, "She's intense."
With calm composure, Yuri placed his hand on the older woman's, "I want victory no matter the costs. If winning means that I must sell my body and soul to you, I'll do it."
He smirked after he said that and Lilia was pleased to hear that. They sealed the deal with a mutal handshake.
"Just as Katrina said, I am her aunt Lilia Baranovskaya. Go home and pack your things, we have a great deal of work to do so you will be staying with me," She declared.
Both Yuri and Yakov's jaw dropped, "Huh!?"
Katrina gave a small chuckle, "Good luck Yurio."
"The same with you and Katrina, Yakov."
"What?!"
"Aunt Lilia!"
Said woman glared at the two, "I have no plans on getting back together with you old man."
Yakov almost blushed and denied about that being his motive for calling her.
"And you Katrina, your mother wants you to come live with me from now on. Someone who can keep a better eye on you and make sure you don't run away again."
Katrina's jaw dropped and she shook her head, "Oh come one Aunt Lilia!"
But Lilia's word was final.
"I can't believe she did that!" Katrina changed out of her train outfit in the girl's locker room and threw on a simple white and blue dress that reached above her knees and threw on her sneakers.
Watching her was Mila who was ready to go home, "Do you not like the idea of living with her?"
The young teenager looked at her friend, "I love Aunt Lilia but living with her is something I wanted to avoid. She's too strict, she yells a lot and she would have made me a ballerina. That's why I went to live with Uncle Yakov. At least he lets me have some freedoms Aunt Lilia would never give me."
Katrina sighed and sat down on the bench and took out a brush to fix her hair, "And to make matters worse, she making my free program."
"And what's wrong with that?"
Mila sat next to her to give Katrina whatever comfort she can.
"Because she's also making Yuri's free program, I already know what everyone is going to say. 'Katrina Lychkoff free program was choreographed by Lilia Baranovskaya who also choreographed World Champion Yuri Plisetsky's free skate'."
Once her hair was brushed, the young girl stood up and flung her backpack over her shoulder.
"I still don't understand Katrina," Mila said, sounding very confused.
Katrina sighed sadly, "Of course you don't. That's because you have a name for yourself."
And with a small wave, she left the locker, walked passed the rink and left the building without anyone noticing that she left.
She decided to take the long way home to clear her thoughts.
'No one understand why I don't want her making my free skate.'
They didn't know what it was like for her. Katrina being a solo skater was rather difficult because of a one reason: the media and fans never referred to her by her name.
It was always 'former partner of Yuri Plisetsky' or 'World Champion Yuri Plisetsky's partner'. Katrina was forever stuck with those titles, no matter how high her achievements where such as being the second female figure in history to attempt and complete a quadrupole salchow or winning the gold in her junior debut.
None of that mattered to anyone.
Katrina was forever going to be known as 'Yuri Plisetsky's former partner' and she deeply hated it.
'This is why I'm doing this. I love skating but I want people to know my name.'
She made it back to the apartment and was scolded by Yakov for running off and giving him a heart attack.
After a sarcastic apology and a smack on the head because of it, Katrina went to her room and packed some of her belongings for the move.
"Tasha!"
After arriving at Lilia's grand house it was night time and Katrina recognized a small birman cat walking around curiously around her aunt.
Tasha turned her head when she heard her name being called and meowed in excitement at seeing her mommy, she ran into Katrina's arms and rubbed her head under the girl chins, purring in content.
"I missed you Tasha," Katrina said softly rubbing her soft fur, "I'm glad Yurio has been taking care of you. You got so big, is he overfeeding you again?"
Katrina walked towards the posh couches where Lilia was sitting and sat down on an empty couch that was facing her aunt.
"I didn't know you owned a cat Katrina," She said drinking her tea in a dignified manner.
"Um… Well… when Yuri and I were together, we adopted her as present since our birthdays are close. Uncle Yakov is allergic to cats so she been staying with Yuri since then."
"Oh right," Lilia placed the cup on the saucer and placed on the small table in between them, "I forgot that you and the boy used to date. How did you break up again?'
Katrina bit her bottom lip and debated on what to say. While it was true that Lilia was very strict, there was no denying how much she loved her niece and nephew and doted on them in her own way. She was known to take it very personal if someone were it insult them in anyway and it was a sight better left unsaid.
'If I tell her that he called me a 'whore' she won't make his free program and knowing her, she might make sure Yurio will never skate again.'
That would have been the ultimate revenge for all that he did but Katrina knew better than to do that, her father and mother raised her better.
"We were too young Aunt Lilia," She said very calmly, "We did it because everyone called us the next 'Sergei and Ekaterina' and we both thought that's what people wanted. We realized later that we were better off as rink mates instead of a couple."
Lilia raised a perfect eyebrow, "Is that so?"
"Yes ma'am."
Tasha meowed again and jumped out of the girl's arms and ran out of the room, Yuri walked in seconds later with the cat in his arms.
"Ah Yuri," Lilia motioned the boy in the room and had him sit next to Katrina.
Both teenagers blushed when they were sitting side by side but they both stayed calm.
"As you both know, I will be making your free programs," Lilia folded her hands on her lap, "However, I was made aware by Yakov that there is tension between the both of you."
Yuri and Katrina looked at each other, they both blushed and looked away.
"I'm not sure what kind of tension it is but before we get started on the programs, I will have you practice the pas de deux."
Of the two, Yuri was the one to speak out, "What?!"
"Yuri shut up!" Katrina whispered to him.
Lilia nodded, "What better to ease such tension than to practice a dance where trust is needed? Victor had the right idea to pair you both one more time. But I wish he gave you two the opportunity to settle your differences before that small competition in Japan.
"But we have plenty of time to discuss the rest in the morning, right now it is time for you to go to bed. Yuri, your room will be across from Katrina's room, she will show you the way."
Katrina nodded and got up from the couch, "Good night Aunt Lilia."
The woman nodded and shooed the teenagers out of the room.
The walk up the stairs was silent until they reached the hallway.
"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" Yuri asked, he was still holding Tasha in his arms.
The girl sighed and shrugged her shoulder, "If I did, you would have kissed your senior debut goodbye."
Yuri looked at Katrina with wide eyes.
"Aunt Lilia takes it personally if someone insults her family. Particularly the kids since she couldn't have children of her own," Katrina looked at him when she stopped near a cherry wood door that had her name on it, "Just don't expect me to cover for you again!"
The small outburst made Tasha jump out of Yuri's arms and into Katrina's arms.
"I…. I understand," Yuri said softly, he figured that the door across from Katrina's room was going to be the one that lead to his room.
"Good," The girl said she attempted to give Tasha back to him.
"Let her stay with you, she missed you after you left."
Yuri place his hands on Katrina's hands briefly only to pull them away abruptly.
"Good night!" He ran to his room and shut the door.
Katrina's heart was pounding as she stood there in a small daze. It was Tasha's meowing that snapped her out of it.
"Umm…. Goodnight, Yurio."
She opened the door to her room and closed the door.
"Damnit! Calm down, calm down!" Yuri forced his face into his pillow as his heart continued to beat against his chest, "What the hell was that?! I'm never like this!"
He didn't understand why he acted like some schoolgirl who just had the chance to talk to her crush. It was weird though, just last week he could talk to Katrina without any problem what so ever but now he couldn't even look at her without blushing.
And when he touched her hand, his heart wanted to explode.
'She probably thinks I'm weird now,' Yuri thought as he fell into a dreamless sleep.