CHAPTER FIFTY SIX
"It's that time again when we close out the greatest skating event of the season. The best skaters from all 4 disciplines have their prizes, and now...the time's come for them to let their hair down and have a grand ol' time! ISU World Figure Skating Championships Gala Exhibition is the final event where skating fans all over the world can see the crème-de-la-crème putting on a stress-free show without rules or regulations...so let's hear it...for the showcase...of the stars!"
The stands were packed. Cameras were rolling from every angle on the rink-side. The lights were all still on for the moment, but it was only a matter of time before they'd go dark.
Yuri was practically jumping where he stood on the ice, digging his toe-picks in for balance as he hopped from one foot to the other. He and Viktor were standing with Chris in a rather sizable crowd of other skaters, clustered on one far end of the rink, waiting for the cue to start the show.
Out of the three of them though, Yuri stood out a little bit, still wearing his track-suit. Viktor had at least convinced him to ditch the pants so he wouldn't be so clunky. Secretly he was just trying to get a better look at whatever outfit Yuri had on underneath, but it didn't help. Yuri's showcase pants were just as black as the track-suit ones, just a bit more body-hugging. Viktor himself wasn't exactly dressed up like a show-pony either though, but it wasn't his actual Gala outfit so it didn't matter that much. Slick black pants with skate covers, and a dark maroon button-down with black suspenders, plus a black bowtie for good measure.
"Ahhhh this is intense!" The younger skater said anxiously, "I hope it never gets old!"
"Oh, it doesn't." Viktor reassured, fussing over Yuri's hair despite his hopping around, "Most skaters have a new Exhibition program for each event so it's always fresh and interesting. Didn't you?"
Yuri gawked at him, "Are you kidding?" He seemed to finally stand still.
"No? You made it to the final 6 in the GPF before this season...why wouldn't you plan a new show for the Gala?"
"Never thought in a million years I'd get to be in more than one or two, so why worry? It'd just be disappointing to never get to perform the thing...so I treated each season's Gala performance like a 3rd competition program, and just do the same one anytime I somehow medaled."
"He has a point." Chris chimed in, "Especially the last few years...people just assume they know the top 2 likely contenders who'll take the podium after you do. The rest just get lazy."
"What? Wow~!"
Viktor acts like he doesn't know...but I'm sure he does... Yuri was deadpanning him severely. When he heard Viktor laughing in spite of himself, he reached up to undo the front of his track-suit coat to toss it over the rink wall since they were near where the rest of their gear was anyway. Viktor literally stopped laughing as soon as he realized it, and his eyes were wide...only to be intensely disappointed again.
Yuri had planned ahead and still wore something over his Gala outfit; a simple button-down black jacket that was snugly fit to his torso, with a V-cut in front to show a little more of the short white turtle-neck that Viktor had seen poking out of the coat earlier.
"How many layers are you wearing on top of your costume anyway?" Viktor sighed as he smiled, brows furrowed, "You're like a little Yuri-shaped Matryoshka doll... Take off one coat and there's just one more under it..."
Yuri grinned as only he could, "This is the last layer, I promise. When this blazer comes off, you'll see what I brought."
"Ahhh the anticipation is killing me!" Viktor whined again.
Yuri's eyes lifted as he noticed the lights starting to die down, colors being shone down onto the ice from the rafters via spotlight. The butterflies in his stomach were practically trying to get out of him, his excitement was so high. His enthusiasm was contagious though and Viktor let himself get hyped as well.
(('Tobu & Itro - Sunburst' by NCS Release/NoCopyrightSounds.))
"Let's join the opening ceremonies and the presentation of the skaters...!"
"Ohmygodthisisreallyhappening!" Yuri said excitedly, grabbing hold of Viktor's arm to ground himself as the music started.
"Let's go!"
The entire 'herd' of skaters shot out together after that, heading towards the center of the rink and spreading out. Many of them were clapping to the beat, getting the audience riled up as well. Viktor fell in line and started clapping too, spinning a few times as they got out to their places. Yuri was a bit more reserved, but he could feel himself nodding his head slightly in time with the clapping.
They'd spent half the morning practicing the Exhibition group-skate, but without the audience, with all the lights on, and being told to stop and start over numerous times. It had an entire different feel now that they were doing it for real.
Yuri was a little kid again; a ball of energy that was finally getting cut loose for the first time. Each skater was paired up with someone to dance with, and Yuri naturally went with Viktor, skating to and away from him with the planned choreography. It was like a techno remix of a Texas two-step or Irish dancing song...and it was entirely different from anything Yuri had ever skated before...but getting to dance with Viktor in front of an entire arena full of people, and with as much spunk and energy as there was...he loved every second of it.
The swarm dispersed into more individual routines after that, the pair skaters converging to do some of the off-limits tricks they knew, such as the men swinging around their female partners up and down in the air while only holding onto their feet, their heads coming dangerously close to hitting the ice. The Singles skaters stuck to what they knew though, ducking down into various camel or sit spins. That was more Yuri's element, and he became a blur on the ice before everyone broke off once again to spin in wide arcs with their previous partners. They skated backwards, weaving in and out from one another like converging flocks of Starlings, spinning and throwing their arms up as they went.
On cue, many of the skaters started making for the rink edge, skating quickly around it as certain performers went to the middle areas to do a more personalized part of the bigger routine. Yuri and Viktor were in the center rink, with two pairs on either side of them in their own thirds. The Russian hoisted his partner into the air, threw him up just enough to spin him and caught him again as he was coming down, letting him droop with one arm hanging to his shoulder like in their Duetto routine, then rotated around to take one hand and enter the wide rotation.
Yuri wasn't sure which move made him more nervous...being lifted in the first place, spinning in mid air without having been the one to get himself there, or the death spiral Viktor had just lowered him into...but it was all exhilarating regardless. The audience seemed to love it as well, and they cheered wildly for each unique addition to the group show. When Viktor pulled him up again, he put one hand behind Yuri's back and they skated back to rink-side so other skaters could take their turn. Only a few seconds later, the flock returned to its prominence on the ice in a wave, with several skaters casually leap-frogging each other as they rounded the turns. Viktor just yanked Yuri into a ballroom maneuver to keep pace, spinning the younger man to skate backwards as their legs wove into each other like a skating version of the Tango.
One of the last parts of the intro show was coming up, and Yuri departed from his partner to join most of the other skaters at the far end of the rink where they'd started. Viktor, one other male skater, and a woman, departed from them and skated back out alone to the middle of the rink to perform a move that even Yuri didn't know Viktor was capable of until that morning.
The three skated out backwards in unison with Viktor in the middle, and then...launched themselves head-over-heels into the air, literally no-hand back flipping together, and landing gracefully with a clatter of skates and shards of frost bursting at their heels from the impact. When the trio came back around, the rest of the group joined them in the middle, and everyone stood together again as the cacophony of sound ended.
As the music drifted and left the group in 'silence,' the crowd went insane with clapping and cheering, and the skaters heaved to catch their breaths, several of them laughing with excitement, others clapping along with their fans.
But it wasn't over yet...the music began up again with new energy, and the skaters flew apart from one another like that self-same flock of Starlings was being dive-bombed by a hawk. As they split into two groups and headed for opposite ends of the rink, the winners of the Junior World Championships entered the rink, did their own brief little show, and then blended in with the Senior Champions for the actual conclusion of the opening performance.
"And there's the full cast of winners for this season...the penultimate Titans of Figure Skating!"
Yuri was practically crying from the joy and excitement of it all, but Viktor pulled him along to rink-side to get him off the ice with the rest so the first Gala performance could begin in earnest. The younger skater was still heaving from the whole thing when he felt his blades leave the rink and get onto normal ground again, and he threw his arms over Viktor's shoulders, flopping onto his back.
"This is amazing!"
The Russian moved his hands back to hold Yuri down as he spun a few times for fun, "Welcome to the Big League, Yuri!"
"It's almost better than Four Continents!" He continued, "If only we could do Duetto here, too!"
"We'll get to do it for the Hasetsu crowd, don't worry." Viktor reminded him, putting him down again so he could face the man, and rubbed his shoulders gingerly, "It might not be the World Championship crowd, but performing for people you know and love is just as good."
"Yeah, you're right. I can't wait!"
Unlike with the medaling ceremony where the Gold Medalist went out first, the Gala went in the opposite direction. Yuri got to watch Viktor bristling in anticipation for over half an hour before the man had to go out and do his Silver Medal performance.
"Please don't forget your own performance while you brood over what mine is." Yuri advised with a huffed laugh, holding both of Viktor's hands in his own as they waited for the announcement overhead.
"I'm your choreographer...how can I not brood when you do a show without letting me lay a single finger on it?"
"Please...welcome to the ice, your World Championship Silver Medalist... From Russia...the legend himself, Viktor...Niki...FOROV!" The announcer called overhead.
"Ah, time to go."
Yuri patted the center of Viktor's chest twice with his ringed hand to send him off, and the Russian went with flare.
The outfit he'd finally revealed was simple but still rather stylish; black from top to bottom, but with delicate lines of small Swarovski crystals embroidered down the chest and spine like veins of glitter, springing forth from the nape of the neck and dip of the collarbone.
The audience roared their approval as he headed to the center of the rink. They didn't seem to care that he wasn't the gold medalist this time around...their enthusiasm was still palpable. To his surprise, he actually managed to catch sight of the viewing box that Minako had mentioned before the Gala began. He saw the trio within it, the ladies holding up their signs and flags, his uncle sitting casually with one leg crossed and his hands folded in his lap, and Viktor waved and bowed specifically to them before taking his position. The ladies screamed with delight, but Mikhail just tipped his hat with a smile.
"Viktor has come here with several years' worth of consecutive gold medals from numerous competitions, including Worlds. He returns to us after taking a break to play coach for this year's Men's Single's gold medalist, Yuri Katsuki, who he actually ended up marrying, too, and who has taken the Nikiforov name in Viktor's honor.
"Viktor surprised us all again here at Worlds with a first-in-history quadruple axel, which he performed perfectly during his Free Skate just yesterday. He also set a new world record for the Short Program, scoring over 122, and briefly reset the cumulative total world record, scoring over 345.
" Tonight, he continues skating with a Russian theme for his homeland, performing to Jackie-O's 'You Only Live Once.' ...I won't even try to say that in Russian!"
Viktor couldn't hear what the commentators were saying to the television audience, but he knew well enough what they might be talking about anyway. He kissed his ring and then set his skates across one another, lifting his face to the roof with both eyes closed and holding his arms out low, palms up, as though he were basking in a ray of sunlight.
Yuri watched excitedly, clinging to the rink wall like he'd be on the ice with the man if he could. Not counting 'Duetto,' which he himself was a part of, this was the first time ever that he'd gotten to see Viktor's Exhibition in person. He'd seen so many in videos online or live on television, but he'd never had the guts to go to a Gala when he'd been in the competition it was for. It was almost too much of a stab that he wasn't good enough to be on the ice himself, so he didn't want to be in the audience either. This time was...for obvious reasons, quite different on many levels.
"Viktooooor! Davaaaaaai!"
The song finally began...and Viktor stood still as a pond for the first several seconds of it. As the melody of lyrics began, he slowly started to move, only his hands at first as the first set of lines came and went...
Ahh ahh ahh...
Živëm odin raz!
Then more of his arms, then beginning to rotate on his back skate, progressively moving a little bit more of himself until the true lyrics began, when he spun around with a hop and charged backward.
Ty krasivyj v ètu noč'
Očarovan ja toboj
Vremja bol' unosit proč'
Duh zahvatyvaja moj
The energy of Viktor's footwork reminded Yuri of Minami's Boogie, since it seemed like each beat had a foot stepping to it. There was even an Eros-like element with the arm movements, coming up and around in sweeping motions that accentuated the flow and direction of the rest of his body.
Nam s toboj dano sijat'
Dlja togo i roždeny
Bleskom solnce zatmevat'
Bez somnenija my prosto dolžny
Tretij ždu zvonok…
Ničego ne slyšu, net!
Liš' blestjaŝij motylëk
Kak vsegda letit na svet….
The audience was starting to clap along with the emphasized beats of the song, and it just seemed to add more energy to Viktor's dance. His jumps seemed to go higher, his spins faster...
Čtoby jarče vseh sijat'
Slëz i boli ne bojus'
Ty daëš' mne sil letat'
I bol'ših vysot ja točno dob'jus'!
...and when the first half of the song burst out before going back to the instrumental aspect, the quad axel shot up as well.
The audience roared its pleasure at the sight of it again.
"No quads till that one..." Yuri noticed, tapping his arm in time with the audience's clapping, "Maybe he learned." He laughed.
Ahh ahh ahh...
Živëm odin raz!
Ahh ahh ahh...
Živëm odin raz!
As the chant of the chorus began again, Viktor made his way around the rink, spinning periodically and gesturing out enthusiastically to draw people further into his performance. He stopped abruptly with a complex turn near where his partner was watching, and like Yuri had once done to Yuuko as he replicated Aria, Viktor came right up to the rink wall to draw Yuri in as well. He ran his hands over both sides of the man's head, gave him an Eskimo kiss, and then quickly spun back away again, carefully overlapping his feet as he skated backwards towards center-rink again, arms extended out to the man.
Yuri's face flushed, and the audience loved it, cheering for him all the way. He was starting to notice the dozens of Viktuuri signs that people were holding up, mixed in with all the normal fanfare for Viktor alone.
Ty prekrasen kak vsegda
Nužnyh slov ne podobrat'...
Sily tajut inogda
Tol'ko nužno ustojat'
Pravit mirom krasota
Grust' otčajanno ljubja
Daže v hudšie goda
Verim my v tebja…
Viktor jumped into a flying camel spin, even using some of the momentum to carry him in a diagonal across the ice rather than just staying and spinning on one place. He switched legs with a flip and then shot off in the opposite direction again.
Verju v to, čto den' pridët
Nam vozdastsja za trudy
Ot ovacij vzdrognet lëd
Snova sbudutsja mečty
Čtoby jarče vseh sijat'
Slëz i boli ne bojus'
Ty daëš' mne sil letat'
Kak učil menja, ja k zvëzdam stremljus'!
He leaned over into a layback Ina Bauer, dipping over even further than Yuri had in his Free Skate.
Aaaaaaahhhhhh...
Aaaaaaahhhhhh...
"...He's even more flexible than I realized." The younger skater commented with a grimace.
Outside spread-eagle.
Quad flip.
Perfect landing.
The audience exploded.
Yuri jumped after he saw it, arms raised up, cheering excitedly, "He did it!"
The rest of the routine was rather mild after that, slowing down into an easy finale, and ending with Viktor down on one knee, one hand palm-flat on the ice, and his head bowed low. When the music finally faded, the Russian only lifted his head and looked up, his slate-blue eyes piercing through silver bangs to look straight at his husband.
Yuri was practically shaking Chris back and forth as any true fanboy would when senpai finally notices them, "Thisisthegreatestdayofmylife!"
The crowd was equally enthusiastic, rising up to give the Russian a standing ovation as he bowed to them all before heading to the rink exit, waving a few more times to soak up as much of the energy as he could before it was over.
Yuri was waiting for him with his blade guards just inside the rink-side area, and was practically glowing with excitement, "That was so incredible...! Even with only two quads, you still knocked it out!"
"The two most important quads." Viktor nodded, accepting the guards and placing them one at a time before flipping Yuri around to drape himself across the man's back, "...And it was all I could manage after yesterday, really~!"
"Legs giving out?"
"They'll be burning for days~! I can already tell..."
Yuri guided the exhausted skater back to the bench where they'd left their gear. There were only a few performances left before the 'big reveal,' and Viktor was getting anxious about it. The two watched the show in near silence after that, until it was finally time for Yuri to go up.
He stepped over to the rink entrance as the Ladies' Singles Gold Medalist was leaving it, and Viktor followed close behind. Yuri reached down to pull the blade guards from his skates and handed them off, the butterflies more intense now than ever before.
Viktor was leaning against the rink wall, holding his chin up in his hand where his elbow was resting on the top of the ledge, "Weeeeeeell?" He taunted excitedly.
Yuri had his fingers around the zipper on the front of his thin blazer, and he took a deep breath before turning to face his husband and pull it down.
The Russian's eyes immediately went wide as he recognized the first thing he saw...the gradient of black-to-blue flames. The sky-blue lapels to either side that came down to a point at the bottom, the royal blue sleeves that ended in white ruffles over Yuri's gloveless hands. By the time Yuri had the whole blazer off and was setting it aside, Viktor had his hand over his mouth in disbelief.
"...A do-over?" He said aloud, "But...why? Even if it was a terrible disaster, it...was kind of what lead to us."
Yuri shook his head, "Not a do-over, as though I want to go back and replace what happened. I'm going to do my Sochi Free Skate again, in the here and now. I want to show everyone what that performance would've looked like if I had everything back then that I finally have now. Confidence, skill, a coach and choreographer who knows how to make me move, and...a husband that helps me see and understand what love really feels like. All these things that I knew absolutely nothing about back then..."
Viktor reached his arms over Yuri's shoulders and held him tight. He huffed a soggy laugh against the crook of Yuri's neck, trying to hide where his eyes had gotten misty again, "...No more than four quads, okay?"
"I promise."
"Davai, Yuri."
