CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY TWO

Crystal blue eyes blinked in surprise at the unexpected figure having stopped him in his tracks. But, the look of shock morphed into one of recognition, "Ah...I was wondering when you'd turn up."

"Sorry..." Tess said meekly, trying to back up into the Players' Club again, "Is it a bad time...?"

"Huh? To do what, talk to Yuri?" Viktor tilted his head back around to watch where Yuri was staying close to Celestino, "I don't think so. It's not his turn just yet."

The medic drew in a relieved breath, but then tried to stand up tall again, years of training having become habit as she looked on intently at the Russian towering over her, "Yeah, I was meaning to catch him before he skates... He'll need all the well wishes he can get, it seems."

The silver skater shrugged and popped the top of his water bottle, stepping past, "He's more resilient than he appears." He took a quick sip and closed the bottle again, "Anyway, I need to go or I won't make it back in time. He'll be upset if I'm not here to see him off."

Tess waved her fingers up and down as the skater stepped off, blade-guards clack'ing and then thunk'ing as they moved from the concrete of rink-side to the wood of the lounge area. Nervously, she turned back towards where she'd seen her old friend, and drew in a deep breath before taking a few hesitant steps out into the open.

By then, Phichit was making his last few re-warm-up maneuvers in the middle of the rink, and had taken position. The royal raiment that clung to his thin frame shimmered in the spotlights, golden and ghostly all at once, with the unique call-back to Thai theatrical costumes with its pointed shoulders and skate-covers, and the wide sash wrapped around his waist.

Skates were set about 2ft apart, and the Thai skater's head was bowed down, staring at the ice. He drew in one last breath, and waited for the soft sound of his music's piano could be heard faintly over the cheering crowd.

['King' - Lauren Aquilina]

Silver blades moved back along the ice, slowly, veering slightly to the left as the Thai skater's frame swayed with the 'beat' of the notes. His path traced a wide arc around the ISU logo painted into the frost.

You're alone, you're on your own. So, what...have you gone blind?

Yuri watched his friend gracefully moving through a big figure-eight, using the entire rink to tell the story. He leaned onto his elbows against the upper rim of the rink wall, butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Have you forgotten what you have,

Phichit had launched into the first quad of his program, the Toe-loop, and landed it with ease, veering off backwards.

...and what is yours?

The older skater was clapping along with the rest of the crowd, but then crossed his arms as he kept watching.

"You don't look so enthusiastic all of a sudden, Yuri." Celestino commented, thumbs hooked into his pockets where he stood a few steps to the skater's left, "What's the matter?"

The flying-entry camel spin was up next, and Phichit spun swiftly after landing into it, left hand over his chest. The level-4 spin started with the simple task of landing on the same blade as he'd jumped from, spinning in the level T-position.

Glass half empty, glass half full, well either way you won't be going thirsty

Brown eyes glanced aside, but Yuri couldn't look for long, turning his gaze out over the ice to watch the spin continue, "The closer it gets to my turn, the more nervous I get, that's all. The usual."

"I'm starting to wonder if you're cursed this season or something, honestly."

"...Eh?"

Count your blessings not your flaws.

"At Skate Canada...you lost your voice, and skipped the Exhibition despite winning Gold, having to post that apology video online. At Cup of China, you collided so hard into the rink wall that I think everyone felt it. Now that you're at the Final, you were slammed into and got knocked out."

Phichit stumbled on the landing of his triple Axel, but rose up through the fall's momentum and continued on normally.

"Damn..." The coach muttered, but shook his head, "Anyway...I applaud you for wanting to keep going despite it all, but I think it proves a certain naivety on Viktor's part to let you skate. He's a better skater than he is a coach."

"I know." Yuri sighed, his brow furrowing a little, "You wouldn't even let me look at the ice if I'd gotten hurt on your watch."

You've got it all, you lost your mind in the sound
There's so much more, you can reclaim your crown

The step sequence was beginning, and Phichit started moving into the serpentine formation from the far side of the rink.

"Sometimes it's harder to make the right choice. Viktor's problem is that he's competing, too, and it would be hard for him to tell you not to when he still is."

You're in control
Rid of the monsters inside your head

"He actually said he'd be dropping out as well if he pulled me." The skater corrected, watching the tight inside spread-Eagle where the performer had his hands folded under one cheek.

Put all your faults to bed

Phichit dug in a toe-pick, and raised his head up, proud like the King described in the song.

You can be king again.

"But the entire event would fall apart if that happened. Even if the ISU brought Phichit-kun in regardless, the point of the Final is to see who gets on the podium, not to see which unlucky skater fails to get one. There would only be 4 competitors at that point. Hardly a 30-minute affair."

"So you're both willing to put your health and safety on the line?" Celestino asked bluntly, "I know I'm not your coach anymore, and I feel bad stepping on Viktor's toes in this...but if something happens to you out there, I'll be there telling you I told you so. You shouldn't be skating."

You don't get what all this is about

The crowd roared with approval as the competitor vaulted through the quad Loop, triple Toe-loop, and moved off backwards in perfect form, easily making up for the fall on the previous jump. Both Yuri and Celestino clapped along with them, even as the coach's eyes were watching, and the skater's went down in worry.

You're too wrapped up in your self-doubt

"Viktor and I talked about it. He basically feels the same as you. But..."

You've got that young blood,

He shook his head and crossed his arms more tightly over himself, grabbing each elbow with the opposite hand, "...By the time he was ready to make the decision, too much time had passed..."

... set it free.

"...And everyone was already expecting that I'd compete anyway. As long as I feel okay, I can't just pull out." He looked over at the ponytailed man, "And I do feel okay."

"For now."

You've got it all, you lost your mind in the sound

Phichit twisted and turned, moving closer again until he was in position for the twizzle-entry half-jump that started off his Ina Bauer.

There's so much more
You can reclaim your crown

Yuri wasn't sure how to respond, and looked back out over the ice, "...All I can do is my best. Viktor's already done his part by making me swear I would follow his instructions, no matter how confident I feel that I can push myself. Falling on a triple isn't as bad as falling on a quad."

You're in control,

"A fall is a fall. Your skull's not going to care how many times you rotated if you whack it against the ice again." The coach countered, "You're taking a big risk."

Rid of the monsters inside your head

"So what would you have me do then?" The skater wondered, feeling a little impatient suddenly, "Drop out 60 seconds before my turn?"

"I can't make that choice for you, Yuri." Celestino said simply, watching his athlete descend backwards into the second required spin-component of the Short Program, starting off with a twisted-over variant, right leg curved out to the side, right arm curled up to where the palm was barely touching the skater's forehead, rotating on the left blade, and the left arm bent out behind himself, "All I can do is ask that you be at peace with the choices you make for yourself. You're the one who's going to be dealing with the consequences...or rewards, as the case may be...for whatever happens out there."

Put all your faults to bed

Yuri could already feel the edge of a headache coming on, and he leaned over the edge of the rink-wall to prop his elbows up and rub his temples.

From a distance away, still standing in the opening to the Players' Club, Tess could see the frustration on her old friend's face.

.

It wasn't far to find the media, and Viktor sauntered up casually, looking through the throng to where Yurio and Otabek were finishing up their own post-skate interviews. His eyes moved back around, looking for others.

I haven't seen Chris since he finished his show. I wonder where he ran off to?

He turned to look back over his shoulder.

Maybe I walked right by him in the bar.

"Viktor! A moment!" One of the reporters finally noticed the silver Russian as he came close to the press. The rest that were available turned towards him as well. Those who were still over with the younger two skaters stayed a few moments longer before thanking them both for their time and moving on to join the others.

Yurio stood stiffly where he was, watching in brooding silence as the mass of people went over to the older Russian.

"Hard to imagine that Viktor's the one making you all weird, given how he's acting." Otabek commented dryly, almost side-eyeing the man from where he stood as well, "He's as much a giant derp as ever."

"If he put his mind to it, Viktor could pretend to be best friends with someone he passionately hates." The Tiger shrugged, "I've learned that he's the kind of person who only ever tells you exactly what he wants you to know, and nothing more."

"So you think he's faking it right now?"

"Right now?" Yurio glanced up at the taller figure, but then shrugged, "Nah. That's real. But look at where he chose to stand."

"...In the middle of the hall?" The Kazakh quirked a brow slightly.

"In the middle of the hall leading to the Players' Club. He's blocking the way."

"You're reading too much into it. That's just where the press decided to meet him."

"Is that so?" The teen huffed, "Watch."

Otabek squinted his eyes skeptically, but stayed put where he was, slouching a bit to put his weight on one leg as he watched the younger skater step closer to the mob. Nothing was happening though, and the dark-eyed man was half a mind to tell Yurio that he should give it up, but then something strange took place.

All smiles and charm, the silver Russian idly twisted on one blade-guard, and rotated his frame about 35 degrees to his right. Within seconds, reporters and cameramen were carefully side-stepping to get back in front of the man. The only needed to move a few inches each, but by the time they were all facing Viktor again, most of the mass of people had collected right in front of Yurio, effectively blocking his way with their bodies. Even though the door to the Players' Club was only a few meters further back, the press had squished themselves right up against the wall, barely having enough room to stand without getting into each others' shots. Viktor took a step back to make it a little easier for them to capture him, but the point had still been made.

Green eyes peered past the rim of the black hoodie, and Yurio gestured his hands out towards the group without saying a word.

Otabek just snorted quietly to himself, "Whatever. He just shifted his weight a little." He commented quietly, "That means nothing."

"What, so you think I'm making this up?" The teen questioned, feeling a bit hurt for the denial and stepping back the way he came. The media group behind him fanned out a little bit again as he moved off, and Yurio could see the strange look on Otabek's face as it happened behind him. When he turned his head back to look at what had occurred, he saw how Viktor had moved to face center again like before, and unconsciously, the reporters and cameramen had once again dispersed to give each other a bit more room. The teen twisted back and stepped right up into the Kazakh's space, practically rocking forward onto the toe-picks of his blade-guards for the emphasis of added height, "What now, huh?"

"I think you're taking this a bit too seriously." The man shrugged, taking a step back, "I've seen the both of them have colossal melt-downs before. If the worst Viktor does to try and stop it from happening again is prevent you from getting in the middle of things, then maybe it's better for everyone involved. Just take the high road and let him do what he wants. That way, he gets to think he's doing the right thing, and if Yuri freaks out anyway, it won't be your fault."

"That's easy for you to say." The Tiger rocked back down to his normal height again, pulling a hand out of his pocket to hold it out to the side slightly, "You keep everyone at a distance. It's no skin off your nose to just walk away."

"Sometimes the high road is a lonely one; but I'll bet if I try to get by, Viktor would let me." Otabek countered, taking a step forward to get by the teen and start making for the crowd to test his theory, "Want me to?"

"Of course no-"

"The score for Phichit Chulanont..."

Everyone went silent for a moment when they heard the far-off echo of the announcer's voice. The sound of Viktor's polite laugh grabbed the mob's attention again, "Sorry, I have to go now. Time to go be a coach again. Rain check?"

Emerald eyes looked up towards the crowd, and to the teen's surprise, found them locked-in with the slate-blue irises that had become trained on him in turn. He felt paralyzed where he was for a moment, the elder Russian staring on, unblinking.

"Everyone wish Yuri good luck." Viktor said calmly, "The eyes of the world are on him now."

The paralysis of surprise faded, and the Russian Punk relaxed his gaze a little, watching quietly as the silver skater turned on his heel and started walking back into the lounge area. When he was out of sight, and the media moved off to watch the show on the televisions out in the common area, Yurio felt his hackles rise up a little bit.

Otabek seemed to have noticed as well, looking back on the blonde curiously, "Did you catch that?"

"...Catch what?" The teen bristled, "He just stared like he was taunting me or something."

"The opposite, actually." The Kazakh said, turning to follow after the Russian champion, "He just opened a door for you."

"...What door? He just stared at me and said some words!"

"I guess you only heard him, then. Next time, maybe listen."

.

"...It's lining up kind of weird, don't you think?" Phichit said, a strange look on his face as he continued staring forward at the score box, as though he wasn't sure whether to be happy or not, "Our scores are putting us all in the same order as our qualifying ranks. Viktor, Otabek, the Russian Yuri, Chris, and me at the back..."

Celestino uncrossed his arms and rubbed his chin with one hand, "It is a bit weird." He turned towards his student, "Don't get all superstitious on me though. Everyone's still within 15 points of one another. That's a really small margin that can be blown wide open with the Free Skate tomorrow. You still have a great chance of getting Gold."

"It's true." Chris mused, leaning against the rink wall near where Yuri had been waiting, "The Free Program is where it really counts."

"You're right..." The Thai skater sighed, then pushing up suddenly to stand, looking more determined than ever, "Even if I don't make the podium, I can still score a new personal best!"

"That's the spirit." Chris clapped his hands together as he stood upright again, only to turn slightly and rest an elbow on Yuri's shoulder, "It's up to you then to break the scoreboard up a little. Try not to come in second, okay?"

"Second?" That nervous voice echoed, "But-"

"He'll come in first." Viktor purred, sliding in from behind, entirely unnoticed to that point. Arms went loosely around his partner's thin frame, and his chin came down to rest on the shoulder opposite Chris' elbow, "Right? Yuri."

He'd just gone stiff though, his face pale, "...No pressure..."

"The final skater of the Men's Singles event, skating for Japan...Yuri Nikiforov!"

The skater could feel his mouth go dry, and he reached his shaky hands up towards the zipper of his team jacket. He could feel his heart pounding in his head so hard that he wondered if the veins in his temples could be seen thrumming under his skin. Viktor was still holding onto him though, and though it calmed his nerves a bit, the man's arms prevented him from pulling the zipper all the way down.

"Ochitsuke." The Russian said quietly, barely audible over the audience cheering and clapping, "Daijoubu?"

"Toki doki...toki doki..." Yuri answered, confusing his partner entirely. When he felt the man's arms go a bit lax around him, he turned in place to face him, looking down only to finish pulling the zipper away and finally shrugging out of the jacket. He casually lifted it up with both hands, setting it gently on his husband's shoulder, but then reaching down for the man's hand and bringing it up to set it palm-down against the center of his chest, "Shinzou no koudou o kikoeru ka? Toki doki...toki doki..."

Viktor blinked at him, but when he could feel the pounding of his spouse's heart through the thin black fabric under those shimmering silver lapels, he nodded in understanding, "Dekiru."

Brown eyes lifted up then, surprised to have heard the answer in his mother tongue, on top of everything else. He didn't question it though, and just raised his arms up over the Russian's shoulders to hug him. When he felt the man's arms wrap around his frame in return, a cool wave of relief passed over him, calming his nerves a bit more and taking the edge off the pain in his head. He pulled back again, claimed those few seconds of his last kiss before taking the ice, and drew in a deep breath. Opening his eyes again, but only half way, he set his forehead against his partner's and spoke quietly, "Koishiteru."

The Russian wasn't familiar with the word, and wasn't sure how to answer, but he wasn't given much time to linger on it anyway as Yuri pulled from his embrace to step over to the rink entrance and started pulling the guards off his gold-plated blades. Taking the two bars into his hands, he felt his husband's come up one more time to touch the side of his face, and then he was off.

No more words, no more delays...Yuri shot out across the ice in spite of the migraine. As soon as his blades touched the frost though, the audience was a cacophony of cheers and cries, the volume rising even higher than it already had been, and was clearly distinct from the cheers other skaters had gotten earlier in the night. When the figure lifted his head, meandering around center to get his bearings and meaning to wave to the judges and fans, those cherry-hazel eyes caught sight of a few 'OVERCOME' signs amidst the sea of Japanese flags and Viktuuri banners. The formless adulation started to coalesce into a more coherent chant, and Yuri could hear the unmistakable sound of the entire stadium calling out his name.

Chris huffed a laugh at the perplexed Russian standing next to him, watching Viktor carefully, and the dumbfounded expression on his face, "I wonder what th-hrmphrmphrmr..."

"SHHHT." Viktor hushed, not even looking the man's way as both hands went up around Chris' head to hold his mouth closed. Blue eyes were set on the skater in the field and would not budge for any distraction, "This is going to be special."

The blonde just blinked in stunned confusion.

"Yuri, davai!" Otabek called out, barely heard over the rest of the audience. He clapped along with the rest though, earnestly showing his support for the injured skater before leaning a bit to elbow the Russian Tiger standing nearby, "This is your chance."

Yurio gawked at him, but turned to face the rink again, clapping meekly so as not to look like a stick in the mud to those around them. He drew in a nervous breath though, and then called out as loudly as he could between his hands, "DAVAAAAAI! YUURRRIII!"

The skater on the ice could hardly believe the sound of it all, and had to bring his hands up over his mouth to hide his shock. His eyes darted to every corner of the stadium though, and the energy of it all flowed through him. He pulled his hands back down again, bowed towards the judges, rose back up to his full height, and drew in a breath. Skates parted a bit beneath him, and Yuri extended his arms forward, palms facing outward. The audience quickly went silent...and the music began.

.

.

.

Ochitsuke = Calm down

Daijoubu? = Are you okay?

Toki doki = Sound effect/ Onomatopoeia for a heart beating, like thump thump

Shinzou no koudou o kikoeru ka? = Can you hear my heartbeat?

Dekiru = I can

Koishiteru = I love you (a level higher than 'aishiteru,' which is a general proclamation of love, 'koishiteru' is what you say to someone with whom you want to spend all the days of your life)