CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN
Looking more Cyber Punk than Russian Punk, Yurio stepped out onto the ice for his turn at the Short Program. His fangirls shrieked excitedly from the stands, watching him come around to meet Yakov and Lilia on the rink wall, and then getting his well wishes from Viktor and Yuri before finally heading out to the center of the rink.
This competition has to have the strongest lineup of all the Series events. Yurio thought to himself, circling around his starting position to loosen up a little, holding his hands up at the audience, Between Viktor and Chris, getting gold won't be easy. But I've beaten both of their best SP scores before, so I know it's not impossible to out-score them here.
His eyes wandered back to rink-side to see Viktor watching him intently, but he finally took his position and dug in a toe-pick. The blonde drew in a deep breath.
Viktor's last GP Final total score was over 335... My best is just under 320. Even if I can't get past their insane 346 totals from Worlds right now, if I just focus on Grand Prix totals, I can still beat Viktor while he's still competing... Then again...
The music started, and he bolted to the side, blades scratching at the ice. He spun and twisted, making his way across the slick white surface with the grace of a Prima.
...He was getting those kinds of crazy scores without ever even trying to make his elements or jumps harder. In a way, raising up my arms for my jumps at the end kind of made everything even more difficult for me, because now both Katsudon and Viktor are going to do the same thing... That's the only reason Yuri's Worlds score was so fucking high...
Flying camel spin, change of foot into a figure-8 to reverse the spin direction, blade-grab into an overhead.
Angely i demony krujili nado mnoy
Rassekali ternii i mlechnye puti
"Looks like our Beautiful Monster has finally stepped up his game again! This is the Yuri Plisetsky we remember from last year's Grand Prix! He's upping the ante with the clockwise-to-counter-clockwise rotation in the same spin, so he'll get big bonuses for that one!"
Viktor watched excitedly, leaning onto the rink wall on his elbows near Yakov, with Yuri standing just next to him. Yuri had one hand around the Russian's right arm as he watched as well.
Ne znaet schast'ya tol'ko tot,
Kto ego zova ponyat' ne smog...
Yurio moved out into a twizzle, skipping in a series of mini-jumps across the ice until he landed backwards into the outside spread-eagle, vaulting into his first required jump element; the triple-Axel. The audience cheered happily as he landed it.
Mana du vortes, mana du vortes
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
"He's really going for it this time." The elder Russian commented, "He's even borrowing from Eros now."
"What, because of the entry?" Yuri wondered.
"Mh, but he made it even harder with the twizzle." Viktor turned his head slightly, looking at his partner, "He's realized he can't easily beat your consistent Level 4 spins, so he's going for point bonuses in other places to try and catch up."
The younger skater nervously reached his free hand up to adjust his glasses, "...Well, he did once say that even back in Sochi, my spins got his attention... It was the one thing I could do that he thought didn't suck. That, and my steps..."
Viktor nodded, turning his head back to face the ice...only to suddenly choke on himself as he spotted something he hadn't expected.
I am Calling,
Calling out!
Spirits, I am calling!
"He just did a quad flip!" The Russian and Japanese skaters both said together, "When did he learn to do a quad flip!?" Their hearts were racing tandem, wondering what other shocks awaited them.
Yurio followed-up by scissor-kicking through the air, camel-spinning about 12ft across the ice, launching his upright leg with each spin to help continue his momentum. When he stopped, he continued the upright spin in one spot, hopping once on the same foot to energize the spin a second time, lowering himself to the ice with one arm above him.
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
"...It's like the performance we should've seen him do at Worlds." Yuri commented quietly, feeling his pounding heart in his throat and arms, especially in his hand where he realized he was holding tight to Viktor, "I wonder what he's going to do at the Final now."
"He's going to beat your Canada score." Viktor teased.
"I know!" The younger skater sighed, sliding his cheek along the Russian's arm despondently, "I'll have to beat him again in Shanghai...!"
"Hmm...Yuuko-chan and Nishigori were right about you." The elder mused quietly, rubbing his shoulder against Yuri's head, "You really do hate to lose, even if you also hate being the one to beat."
Calling, Calling, in the depths of longing!
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
"...A conflicting state of mind, let me assure you." Yuri sighed, pulling up again, only to find Viktor pulling his arm free to step behind him and wrap both around his waist, leaning in close against his ear. The soft thud of the Russian's skate-guards along the ground, the sign of a performance to come, were little comfort.
"A heart yearning to be the best, but a mind holding it back with anxiety, and a body too confused to know which one to listen to." The silver-haired skater stated, "That's why it's so interesting to watch you."
"Mmnnnnh..." Yuri sigh-whined, leaning down onto his elbows again on the rink wall, pulling his partner down with him.
Calling, Calling, in the depths of longing!
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
Yurio's step sequence was intense, carrying him from one side of the ice to the other. To Yuri, it looked like the younger skater was fighting a battle, slicing his bladed-feet through the air in wide arcs, fending off a dozen enemies by himself. It ended with a Russian split jump, landing hard with a crack and moving off again backwards.
Mana du vortes, mana du vortes
Aeria gloris, Aeria gloris...
Yuri felt Viktor pressing in harder, moving to rest his chin over the scarf on his shoulder, one hand sliding in under the edge of his jacket to better feel the contour of his chest. Maybe it was for the Russian's own sake, but then again, maybe it was to feel how hard Yuri's heart was pounding, and try to calm it.
"Let's head over to the kiss and cry." Viktor suggested then, giving the man a slight pull to encourage him.
Mana du vortes, mana du vortes
Aeria gloris, Aeria gloris...
Yurio was down on his knees, sliding into the final position, panting heavily as he raised his arms up towards the ceiling, as though desperately seeking approval...or salvation...from some power on high.
The pair moved around the rink wall, listening excitedly as the crowd cheered and cried out as the music faded away. The maelstrom intensified as the youth got back up to his feet and bowed as he heaved.
The teen's green eyes moved around to see where Viktor and Yuri had gone, spotting them easily enough as he moved to the exit where Yakov was already waiting with Lilia. They were both clapping for him and smiling in approval, with Yakov holding his hand out to put against the teen's back as he came back onto normal flooring. The former Prima handed him his blade-guards, and he slipped them on as he stepped, still trying to catch his breath.
"Yuri! That was fantastic!" He heard Viktor calling, still getting closer, "You'll get a great score, I'm certain of it!"
The older Russian handed him his water bottle as they passed, and Yurio nodded quietly, his heart racing as much from the exertion as it did from the nerves of waiting for his numbers. The kiss and cry was just ahead of him, and he slouched into his spot in the middle.
Chris came back out from the prep area, having watched the program on the televisions in back while he took off his skates and cooled down from his own performance, "That was pretty intense. Much more refined than when he did it at your wedding party."
"Right?" Viktor agreed.
Yuri was too anxious to say anything, and simply waited for the official's voice to boom on the overhead speakers. It felt like hours as the judges reviewed the playback on the program, evaluating each jump, every element, the step sequence, and tallied their marks accordingly.
"The score for Yuri Plisetsky..."
The moment had finally come. Viktor turned his eyes as he felt his husband clutching tightly to his arm, and looked over at him to see the man's worried expression.
"...112.45!"
There was another squeeze, tighter than before, and Viktor suddenly felt rather conflicted. Slate-blue eyes moved over to see Yurio cheering with his coach and choreographer, but then returned as he felt Yuri pulling his hands away to clap as well as he could.
It's a weird feeling, neh, Yuri? He thought quietly to himself, clapping as well, After what happened at Skate Canada, it's hard to want to be the best anymore when it seems like Gold comes with such consequences. Don't be too hard on yourself, though...you can be happy for your friends getting scored well without feeling like you should pull punches for their sake later.
He leaned close to Yuri's ear again, sliding his fingers through the mess of black hair, "How much do you want me to out-score him by?" He asked quietly, smiling at the idea.
Yuri seemed to flinch though, and brown eyes turned to look so he wouldn't have to turn his head, "...I don't know."
"I know you want to out-score him yourself, but you'll have to wait until Cup of China next weekend for that. Let me be your proxy." The Russian followed, moving to grasp his partner's right hand to bring up the ring, "With this, I'm always on the ice with you. It's the same the other way around. We'll beat him together."
Hazel eyes turned down to the floor, feeling Viktor pull away from him to start taking his jacket off now that it was his own turn. Yuri raised his hands to take it, and folded it over his arm, waiting for the rubber blade-guards to come with it.
"The next, and final skater to take the ice tonight at the Trophée de France Men's Singles Short Program...representing Russia, Viktor Nikiforov!"
The audience went completely wild with excitement, and the legend stepped out onto the ice to greet them briefly before coming back around to where Yuri approached, looking a little sullen. Viktor leaned over, half-tipping against the rink wall to reach, and pulled his husband closer with both hands on his waist, looking into those worried brown eyes.
"Don't worry so much about the score Yuri just got." He said quietly, "You've still done better and you know it."
The younger skater sighed though and looked up, "...Shouldn't I be the one giving you the pep talk? You're the one about to perform, not me."
Viktor smiled and laughed, but then just leaned in and kissed him, much to the excitement of the audience. When he pulled away, he nosed his husband affectionately, "All I want to hear from you right now is a number."
Half-lidded eyes looked beyond raven-black spikes of hair, over the blue rim of the glasses between them. Hands clutched to the blade-guards held in front of his chest. Yuri drew in a deep breath, but then nodded and leaned in to speak quiet words against his husband's ear, "...119."
Viktor pulled back and nodded, "Done."
The younger skater was mystified, watching his partner skate off to the chant of his own name. Half the audience seemed to be screaming VIKTUURI instead of just VIKTOR though, which made the butterflies rise in Yuri's stomach.
...Viktor's a genius, but can he really pull off that score just because I asked him to? Can he really control his program so well that he can decide his own total? It's less than his current record, but it's still higher than anything he got when he was on his winning streak before...
The Russian rounded the rink and soaked up as much of the cheering as he could, twisting around gracefully as he went. His outfit was attention-grabbing as much as his own presence was, and the energy in the stadium just continued to rise as Viktor made his rounds about the ice. Just like Yuri had said, Viktor knew that half the audience was there for his performance, and he knew he could milk it for as much as it was worth.
It had, after all, been two years since he last competed in the Grand Prix Series, and many fans had been deathly worried he'd never come back, especially after his 'farewell' Free Skate at Worlds.
Golden blades clicked on the ice beneath black leather boots. Above them, nearly-black dark-blue pants, with one thin silver streak rising along the outside of each leg, a thinner light-blue streak going up next to it to the hip. A deep blue coat rested above, tied at the waist with a thick black sash that, almost like Phichit's 'Shall We Dance' costume, faded out into a gradient at the tips. Instead of yellow to black though, it was black to blue, with cerulean at the tip, and a few shining crystals embedded within. Beneath the sash were three, necklace-thin chains, which curved down from just above each leg to rise up again by each hip crest, then looped down again to come up together in the center at the back. In the front, the chains dangled down in a sequence, from 4-inches to 8-inches in length, with a 1-inch-wide metal circle hanging from the end of each. The jacket was figure-hugging, primarily a medium royal blue with a slightly lighter blue trim around the base where it came out under the bottom of the sash. It opened at mid-chest level, and was cut in a very similar way to the coat Yuri wore for his Free Skate the year before, though the Russian's wasn't cut into panels with lace between them and thus had no need for another shirt underneath, thus exposing part of his chest like his Aria costume. The jacket was a wavy gradient of different shades of blue, fading out to the same near-black color of the pants as it got closer to the cuff of the sleeves; the whorl of colors looked like crashing waves, rolling into and fading into one another. It shimmered with silver, clear, and gold crystal where the gradient was most striking, covering over both shoulders, and then part-way down the sleeve, almost to each elbow. The trim around the cuffs was the same light-blue around the bottom hem, and sported a shimmer of its own.
"Viktor Nikiforov is the oldest competitor in Men's Singles this year, and will be turning 29 shortly after the Grand Prix Final. His music tonight was chosen by his partner, skater Yuri Nikiforov, and was actually redone with Yuri's own voice. Many are excited to hear what this rendition of the music will sound like. Ladies and Gentlemen...the final Men's Short Program performance...'History Maker.'"
The Russian took his place in the center of the rink, kissed his ring, raised his left hand out in front of him while the right went behind, cross his right foot behind him, and waited for the music to begin.
Yuri held tight to the rink's edge, the moment of truth nearly upon him. He'd heard the song a thousand times at the Ice Castle in Hasetsu, and Viktor had frequently bragged to the family about how much he liked it, but even then...he was as nervous for it as he was for his last Free Skate in the previous year's Grand Prix Final. He practically trembled from the nerves. To his relief, and a bit to his surprise, Yurio came up beside him with an elbow on his shoulder to help ground him.
"Breathe a little, sheesh." The teen instructed, "You're even more pale now than normal. It's just a song."
"...I know..."
The music finally started, and the silver-haired legend began the dance.