For those of you wondering why it looked like an unfamiliar story had updated, I decided to change the title (again). I had my doubts about the title and I feel as though this one actually fits. So for those of you who have been with me since the original title of this story, To Envy the Swan's Prince, thank you for putting up with my indecisive self.

{v-nikiforov Yuri Katsuki landed an under-rotated quad. What are your thoughts?}

{v-nikiforov What do you think of Yuri Katsuki's almost quad flip?}

{v-nikiforov Do you think yuri katsuki will land your quad flip at worlds?}

{As if! No one else can land Victor's jump, especially not a woman and especially not Katsuki!}

Christophe Giacometti

v-nikiforov If she lands the
quad flip at worlds, I'll plan
your wedding.

Ever since the Four Continents, Viktor's phone had been buzzing with notifications. His fans and fellow skaters messaged him, all looking for his opinion on the girl who attempted a quad flip at the Four Continents.

And who should be at the center of the uproar but Yūri Katsuki?

Quad jumps were hardly ever done in ladies' singles. Scratch that, they were never done. The only exception had been Miki Ando, years ago when she was a teenager. To know that a grown woman had attempted not just a quad, but his signature jump, that…that…

He didn't know what to feel.

He was elated, that was for sure. Yūri Katsuki almost landed his quad flip. It was like she was reaching out to him, asking for the chance to come closer. And Viktor was more than willing to let her, so long as she stayed. And that was just…

With his loyal poodle resting on his lap, Viktor pulled up the video of Yūri's gold medal free skate from the Four Continents. Celestino Cialdini must be aiming for a gold at the Worlds to have given her an aggressive jump combo. Was he also hoping to help her land a quad?

At the program's end, when the audience showered the ice with gifts, Viktor frowned in concern as Yūri picked up a wrapped bouquet before tensing up and looking…terrified. She looked ready to drop the flowers but instead she looked forward, trying her best not to look at it.

How had he not noticed that?

It was then that Viktor remembered that the day they had watched the Four Continents together, Yuri had kicked him. The Russian Fairy had been displeased with how absorbed Viktor was with the Japanese Yuri's routine. (As if Yuri hadn't been doing the same.) With his undivided attention on Yuri while Mila and Georgi had argued over the last jump, not one of them would have seen that bit.

But what was it about the bouquet that had scared her that much?

Viktor thought that it would be a normal day when he arrived at the rink. Georgi would be texting his ice dancer girlfriend, Mila would be flirting with her hockey boyfriend as the hockey players handed the ice off to them, and Yuri would be gagging at the sights. And Viktor would train for the Worlds before he finally had to consider what he would do for the inevitable season. All while Yakov yelled at all of them to stop fooling around.

"That fucking bastard!" Yuri's voice screeched from the lunchroom. Curious, Viktor popped his head in at the same time a phone hit him in the face.

Viktor cried out in pain as he held his face, all while Yuri howled in triumph. Behind himself, Viktor could hear Yakov's thundering footsteps. They came to a stop beside him, presumably as Yakov took in the scene. "Yuri Plisetsky! Explain yourself!" Yakov screamed at his youngest student while Viktor gingerly rubbed his nose. Thank goodness it wasn't broken.

Instead of answering, Yuri stomped over and snatched his phone up from where it had landed after hitting Viktor. The living legend found it amazing that the Russian Fairy's phone didn't crack at all. "None of your business, old man," he grumbled, as though he hadn't used his phone as a projectile.

"Yuri!" Yakov followed furiously after Yuri, who kicked open a door and marched through.

Viktor looked to Georgi, whose face was a portrait of fear mixed with astonishment. "What set off little Yura this time?" Viktor asked.

"The Japanese Yuri," Georgi answered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Oh?" Viktor should have known she had some part in it. Anything regarding the Japanese angel made Yura volatile, particularly towards Viktor. He still remembered how Yuri struck his chin in Sochi after Viktor correctly guessed that he had a crush on her. Did Yuri really think that his violent temper would attract her? "What about her?"

"Yuri found a picture of her in Seoul today."

"In Seoul?" Now he was confused. Yūri was going to compete in the World Championships—her first ever!—in less than a month. She should be training, not sightseeing in a foreign country. "Why is she in South Korea?"

"That's the part Yura got angry about," Georgi explained. "Someone said that she was there to see someone named—" His rinkmate scrunched up his face in concentration, as if he were trying to remember. "—Yu-an He Long?" he finished uncertainly.

Viktor narrowed his eyes as the last syllable left Georgi's mouth. Now that explained Yuri's tantrum very well. "No wonder."

"Do you know who that is? Yuri seems to know him—is he in Juniors as well?"

Viktor shook his head slowly. "Yuan is a speed skater," he told Georgi.

"A speed skater?" Georgi asked incredulously. "Why would Yura follow speed skating?"

"He's not interested in the sport—" And probably never would have acknowledged it, if it hadn't been for the other Yuri. "—but Yuan is the Japanese Yuri's boyfriend."

Georgi did a double take at this. "A speed skater and a figure skater? And they're making it work?"

Against all odds, the answer was yes.

And why not? Yuan clearly loved her—Viktor had watched how the speed skater had held her dark hair (the lucky bastard) as though he were handling delicate silk. He crafted that ornate hairpin that Yūri proudly wore. He came all the way to Sochi just to surprise her, something that Mila's own boyfriend didn't do. Now Yūri had done the same. And that was just…just...

Incredible.

Was that what it was like to be in love?

mila-babicheva

yuri-plisetsky Guess who~? Trololol [Picture of Yuri Katsuki and Yuan He Long at an ice rink]

yuri-plisetsky

mila-babicheva to hell with you, baba!

Hours before their flight, Yakov was overseeing some last minute training with Yuri. He did have to scream at the Russian Fairy several times to get off his phone. If his scowls were anything to go by, Yura must have found more pictures of the Japanese Yuri and the speed skater together.

"What is he thinking, letting her take a break right now?" Yakov muttered, glancing at his phone before returning his attention to Yuri. Viktor wondered if Yakov had found out about Yūri as well. "You're traveling on your spins!"

Yuri stomped his skate into the ice to stop himself. "I barely moved a centimeter!" Yuri yelled back.

"You might as well have traveled to Sochi!" Yakov looked at his phone again. "And it's about time those two split. It was a terrible match to begin with. Why in the world did Cialdini keep that girl after the debacle she caused?"

Viktor cocked his head, curious as to what his coach meant. He couldn't have been referring to Yūri, could he? Yakov didn't care for his skaters' love lives, so long as they didn't interfere with their skating. And if Yūri had split apart from her boyfriend, Yuri would have been more ecstatic.

So if it wasn't the Japanese Yuri, who was Yakov talking about?

[Picture of overall world champion Yuan He Long and Yuri Katsuki]

#couplegoals #yuanhelong #yurikatsuki #speed skating #short track #worlds

{A king and his queen #yutsuki #myshiphassailed #couplegoals}

{A king and his princess #yurikatsuki #notqueenyet}

{I want somebody to look at me like Yuri looks at Yuan #yutsuki}

{Please take care of Yuri!}

mila-babicheva

yuri-plisetsky *insert evil laughter*

yuri-plisetsky

mila-babicheva Just wait till I get
back from Hungary, baba!
v-nikiforov if i can't unsee this,
neither should you, old man!

Viktor should have wanted for nothing. There should have been nothing that was missing in his life. Years of successful seasons, each with new endorsements, guaranteed that he would live the rest of his days in comfort. With his looks and charm, he could have anyone he wanted. But right now, he couldn't.

Viktor hated this feeling.

The jealousy that reared its ugly head within him when he saw the picture that Yuri shared with him. The jealousy that boiled when he was met by the sight of Yūri held aloft by the Lucky Bastard after his victory in Korea. The jealousy that he felt, wishing that he was the one holding her in his arms.

It wasn't fair!

"Yuri, davai!" Mila cheered, pulling Viktor out of his head as Yuri took to center ice on TV. The Russian Fairy had an annoyed look on his face, as though he could hear her all the way from Russia. Viktor was prepared to bet that part of his mood stemmed from his anger towards the recent photo of Yūri and the speed skater.

But skating to Romeo and Juliet in a rage? Well, it helped that Yuri's music opened on an ominous note. "Don't tell me he's backloading," Mila murmured after Yuri executed a triple toe loop instead of the jump combo originally planned.

"Coach Yakov won't be happy with him afterwards," Georgi added as Yuri went straight into a double jump combo in the second half.

"Hey!" The Russian skaters sat up in their seats at the triple jump combo. "That's the same combo Yūri did at the Four Continents!"

"Is it that surprising, Mila?" Viktor asked, smiling from knowing the reason Yuri had chosen that particular jump combo.

"He must really like the Japanese Yuri's skating," Georgi said as Yuri went into his ending spin.

Viktor and Mila couldn't stifle their laughter in time.

When Yuri returned to the club with their coach, Yakov was already in the middle of a lecture. The Russian skaters looked up to see Yakov follow Yuri into the lunch room. "Now do you understand why I don't allow juniors to do quads?"

"I got it already, just leave me alone," Yuri groaned, slumping into a chair. "She was never going to land it, not with all the fat food they serve in America."

"Yuri!" Yakov roared. "When everyone else is finished this season, we'll begin but for now quads are off limits!"

"What happened?" Viktor asked.

"A junior girl from America tried to do a quad," Yuri answered with a snort. "Went and kissed the ice goodbye, too."

Georgi sat up and swallowed his borscht. "I heard about that! People are mad at her coach, aren't they?"

"Cialdini originally took the brunt, but one of his seniors redirected it to the junior's parents," Yakov corrected, holding the hat that covered his balding head. As he walked away, Viktor could hear him grumble, "I warned that man not to keep her. We all warned him after the incident that she would give him trouble and look what's happened."

2016 World Figure Skating Championships

Changes to initial assignments

Announced: March 12, 2016
Initial: Venus Jones/Giles Badcock
Country: United States
Discipline: Pairs
Reason/Other notes: Dissolved
Replacement: XXXX/XXXX

Announced: March 24, 2016
Initial: Phichit Chulanont
Country: Thailand
Discipline: Men
Reason/Other notes: Chulanont's ankle injury
Replacement: No substitute

Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan

After the men's short program, Viktor felt his phone go off. One glance at the lock screen told him that Chris sent him a photo along with a short text.

Chris: Guess who~

Viktor opened his messages, expecting to find a flirty photo of Chris somewhere around Yoyogi Park. He did not expect to find a photo of Yūri Katsuki in the stands, taken a considerable distance away.

Seeing proof that she had watched the men's section surprised him when it shouldn't have. She was probably there to cheer for a rinkmate or another Japanese skater.

Was it too much to hope that she had come to see him?

Yakov insisted on the two of them coming to watch Mila's short program, making Viktor and Georgi drop whatever plans they had to tour the city. Even without Yakov's orders, Viktor would have come, but not wholly for Mila.

Viktor tried not to cringe at the sight of Georgi and his ice dancer girlfriend engaged in a rather one-sided romantic display. Thank goodness they were sitting away from from him.

The Russian skating legend looked over to see Chris sit down with him, a smug grin on the Swiss' face. "I thought I'd find you here," he said.

"So what brings you here?" Viktor asked as a Korean skater was called up to start her program.

"I wanted to go sight-seeing, but my coach said otherwise," Chris sighed unhappily, managing to be heard over the lyrics "mama, I'm a big girl now". "And that is a terrible choice of music if you want the judges to score you seriously," he added, turning his attention to the rink as though the Korean girl would be able to hear him.

"Our next skater, representing Japan—" Viktor ignored Chris' snickering when his spun towards the ice. "Yūri Katsuki!"

The stadium, filled primarily with Japanese spectators, exploded as Yūri skated a lap around the ice. Around Viktor, fans waved national flags, banners, and sign that said— "Welcome back, Yūri!" Chris yelled out the very same words on the sign that Viktor had looked at.

Viktor looked at him in confusion. "Welcome back?" he asked.

Chris looked at him briefly before nodding at the ice. "About four years ago, Yūri took a break. She came back last season and look at her now."

Viktor returned his attention to the rink as Yūri stopped at center ice to skate to "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky". As she got into position, someone yelled out, "Yūri-senshu, daisuki!" The entire stadium erupted in laughter, even Chris couldn't hold back a snort. Yūri, on the other hand, appeared to blush on the monitor and covered her face with the sleeve of her costume.

As the music began, she lowered her arm and began to skate. Viktor sucked in a breath when Yūri almost fell on her opening triple Lutz but stayed on her feet. "Oh, no," Chris murmured. "There was supposed to be a toe loop after that."

"She can add it on to one of her jumps, there's still time." But the Russian winced as Yūri executed a triple Axel-triple toe combo, only to actually fall on the toe.

"Viktor, just shut up. I think you're cursing her."

As much as he hated to say it, it was miserable to watch. It wasn't nearly as bad as any of Pogorilaya's performances but Yūri wasn't on top of it today. As Yūri got up from her ending combination spin, Viktor knew that even she knew how terrible her program was.

The audience applauded as though they were trying to console her, but there was nothing to be done as she skated to the kiss and cry with her head bowed in disappointment. Celestino tried to cheer her up but even he couldn't get her to lift her head as her score was announced. "She's in thirteenth place," Chris noted with a grimace. "There's fifteen more more skaters left."

In both singles' divisions, only the top twenty-four would advance to the free skate. If all of the remaining skaters, including Mila, skaters placed any higher than her, Yūri would be out of the competition.

The remaining short programs seemed to go by in a blur. Mila, as predicted, placed within the top ten along with Michele Crispino's sister. Each program only seemed to knock Yūri further and further down the roster. Any dreams that Viktor had of her standing with him as a world champion were gone.

After the final woman received her score, the current standings were released. Mila would be skating in the third group for her free skate along with Sara Crispino in two days. The last six names of the women moving on to the free skate had Viktor sitting up. "Merci," Chris said in relief next to him, but Viktor couldn't care.

Yūri Katsuki was in twenty-fourth place.

She had scored not even half a point higher than the woman in twenty-fifth.

[Yuri Katsuki Worlds SP]

{Please don't give up, Yuri!}

{She looked like she was in pain}

{I think what messed her up was the 'daisuki' before she started}

{She probably gamed too much weight in Korea}

{Dude, seriously? You're gonna make this a weight issue? It's idiots like you that make people resort to anorexia!}

Viktor smiled as the cameras went off, capturing him with his fellow medalists. Chris had placed second and sitting to Viktor's left was a young Kazakh by the name of Otabek Altin. The Russian briefly glanced at the boy, who stared at the photographers and reporters with stern eyes.

"Mister Nikiforov." Viktor looked up to look at the reporter in question. "What are your plans for next season?"

Viktor held a finger to his lips as he pondered what to say. If he didn't answer as soon as he could, rumors would circulate that he was going to retire. But as much as he still wanted to skate...he didn't want to anymore. And that...that...

That terrified him.

Yurio's free skate music was Nino Rota's music for the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet.

As for Yūri, she skated to Joe Hisaishi's The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. It's part of the soundtrack of the movie Castle in the Sky.