Disclaimer: I do not own YOI, just this fanfic.
Hey, guys! I'm back with a new chapter (I almost had no time to work on this at all! But I made sure that this chapter must be released sometime this week and not the next.) To the people who reviewed on my last chapter, thank you so much! You guys really pushed me to continue this story!
I hope you all enjoy this new chapter as well. If you do, please FAVOURITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW if you haven't done it already!
Ch 7: Listening and Explaining
Friday. December. 23, 2016. Chelyabinsk, Traktor Ice Arena.
Victor's hearing was off today. Today was the men's free skate at the 2017 Russian Championships.
The short program took place the day before. And despite recent events...Victor still managed to top out in the lead. With Georgi and Yurio placing second and third behind him.
And now, Victor is standing on the ice at the boards. The last skater of the afternoon.
The cheering of the crowd and the commotion of every person inside the arena sounded exactly what Victor would hear if he was underwater.
He didn't even pay attention to what Yakov was saying to him. That is until he touched him on the head to see if he was still alive.
"Huh? What?" Victor shook out of his phase.
"Victor...Victor...can...you...hear...me…?" Yakov's voice sounded as if it was being played in slow-motion.
Victor nodded in response. Yakov points out to the ice.
"Time to go. Just...perform...ok? Pretend out there for the audience's sake."
Barely acknowledging Yakov's words, Victor skated out to the center of the ice. The sound of the cheers still sounded as if the audience were being drowned.
But luckily, the only thing that seemed to be in time with Victor, was his own skating movements. At least with that, he'll be able to push out everything else.
Croatian Rhapsody came on. The music emerged loud and clear compared to the rest of the background noises.
This free skate was an escape from reality for Victor. He let the entire performance wash over him.
Every single jump, from the opening quadruple loop/triple loop to the second half mark quadruple flip/half loop/triple salchow, was done with great flow.
There was something deeper behind his expression on his face while in mid-performance. Victor wasn't acting, he was being true to what he feels.
And what he feels now is...confusion.
Everything that's happened recently, he has no idea how to deal with it nor if he should even deal with it in the first place.
And this free skate showed it all. On the flat screen tv in the living room of the private areas of the Katsuki family inn.
Yuri kept the tv on throughout the whole free skate event from the first performance of the first group all the way to this last performance.
Upon seeing Victor on the screen, Yuri resisted the urge to turn the tv off...or more like the urge to hurl the remote at the screen…
It's been four days since Victor left Japan. Taking away a piece of Yuri that could never be healed with him.
And ever since their argument, Yuri has been crying and thinking. About how it all happened. About what could've been done to prevent it from happening. But most importantly, whether or not to reconcile.
From the first day, when Takeshi brought him home from the train station, Yuri has been comforted and surrounded by his family and friends.
They were all being very sympathetic and gentle with him, understanding the hardship of heartbreak he's going through for the first time.
His mom made his favourite food for dinner four days in a row. His father took him on a quiet trip to the waterfalls earlier that week.
His sister, Marie, always made sure that he wasn't doing anything that may harm his well-being and kept him company whenever he needed an escape from the loneliness of his bedroom.
The Nishigori family, Takeshi, whom Yuri is very grateful of, Yuko, and the girls, all came by to make sure Yuri was doing okay.
Takeshi and Yuko were easy to talk to. Being old childhood friends, it felt natural letting out all his feelings cramped inside of him out.
Yuri repaid Takeshi that same day when he looked after the girls while Takeshi and Yuko went out to do some errands.
It was the girls who gave Yuri the courage to continue on for the remainder of the season.
"You can't quit now, Yuri!" Axel cried.
"Japan still needs you! I mean—not that the rest of the skaters are bad or anything—but you're the one who's achieved a lot last season!" Lutz agreed.
"Besides, if anyone's going to be sent to Pyeongchang, it's you!" Loop added.
At least after that, Yuri knew that he shouldn't stop competing right now.
Days later, Yuri was washed over with the same wave of pain he felt the first day when his heart got broke.
He stayed in his room with his head buried in his pillow and cried for what seemed like an eternity.
Yuri looked at all of the awards and medals he's received from past competitions. He felt like throwing them all out into the garbage.
In an attempt to divert his attention from that, he yanked open his closet, accidentally revealing his old collections of Victor.
That did not help him feel better. He banged his fist against the wall and let out a muffled cry.
Yuri slammed the closet doors shut and sat down at his desk. Sighing deeply, he looked at several old photos on his phone of him and Phichit.
They were taken back during his college days in Detroit. Though Yuri used to think his experience in America wasn't too great, life in Detroit now seemed way more pleasant compared to the chaos he's going through currently.
Scrolling through the photos, Yuri stopped at the photo of him and Celestino at a regionals competition.
At least with Celestino as coach Yuri wouldn't always be guessing at what he wants from him. They were always pretty honest with each other.
And Yuri missed that honesty in relationships.
He tapped Celestino's name on his contacts list. The ringtone rang a few times before going to the voice message.
Celestino's voice message was a gentle breeze to Yuri. After hearing the beep, Yuri stuttered a quick message.
"Hello, Celestino? It's Yuri—Yuri Katsuki? Listen—I need to, uh, talk to you about something that's happened. It's—voice crack—it's urgent. Please...call back. To my cell phone, 'kay? You know the number. Bye"
Yuri slowly lowered his phone from his ear in dejection. There was nothing else to do now. He just has to wait patiently and see whether or not he made the international team after this year's Japan Figure Skating Championships.
And that wouldn't be until a little after Christmas. Yuri's got lots of time to do whatever he wants. He needs to get his mind off of skating—more specifically off of Victor—for awhile.
Luckily, there were plenty of volunteer work around the neighborhood from helping out in the holiday festivals to simply distributing flyers to raise awareness for donating food and gifts. Yuri signed himself up for several different events.
It was a good way for Yuri to get into the holiday spirits and to feel some happiness again. He helped out around the inn too.
His parents were working hard putting up tons and tons of decorations. That included lights on the outside of the building, Christmas trees in the lobby, the outside springs, and the master guest rooms.
It was on a cold evening on December 24, that Yuri got called down by a volunteer head to help them finish setting up the final touches for a formal Christmas special near the edge of Hasetsu.
"I promise I'll be back for the family dinner." Yuri cried as he put on his mitts and went out the front door.
Yuri took his sister's car down to the area where the special would be taking place. He hoped that the decorations wouldn't take too long to finish.
It was Christmas Eve and he wanted to spend it with his family. It was one of the few times when he can finally celebrate with the people he cared about.
The sky was turning to a deep orange and purple as Yuri reached his destination. Cars were already parked by the road and lights and wreaths decorated the lampposts around the area.
Yuri got out of his car and went up to the central station of the decorating group. The volunteer head waved at him.
"Yuri! Glad you could make it! Sorry for calling you on such short notice, but we just needed a few more hands in finishing up the final touches."
He gestured down the sidewalk, where a few volunteers were putting up tinsels and lights around a lamppost.
Yuri nodded. "It's ok. I'll try to finish fast."
"Good to hear. Just take some of these, ok? Spread them apart down the road on the side facing the coast. Oh, and once you finish, you may leave freely, no need to sign out." The head quickly explained.
"Got it." With that, Yuri made off with a box of decorations and went down to the bare area other than the strings of tinsel.
Yuri took out some lights and began stringing them around the edge of the railing separating the sidewalk from the coastal area. The lights are battery powered so there were no need for power cords.
After using up the entirety of the string of lights, Yuri took out the red and green coloured bows and carefully tied them around the tinsel that was already strung around the railings.
Smiling and humming as he fixed a bow on a tinsel, Yuri didn't notice two people suddenly approach him from behind.
The first person quietly snuck up and tasered Yuri on his sides, causing him to nearly double over and fall. He turned around to see who his attacker was.
Phichit and Yurio stood behind him. Yuri dropped the bow he was holding.
"Surprise!" Phichit exclaimed doing jazz-hands to go with it.
Yurio nodded in acknowledgment, not saying anything.
"Hey…" Yuri mumbled.
Phichit's upbeat attitude changed to concern. "What happened Yuri? I've been trying to reach you for days ever since I got the news from Yurio. But you never answered my calls or texts."
"You got the news from Yurio? But how did…"
"I overheard Yakov and Victor bickering over something about a "breakup" and that it involved "Katsuki." So I basically put two and two together and assumed the worst," Yurio explained.
Yuri looked down at his feet. He's been trying so hard to forget about his breakup with Victor, and now it's all coming back to him once again.
"Care to explain it in your own words?" Yurio asked.
Biting his lip, Yuri prevented a voice crack from escaping before he answered Yurio.
"Victor and I broke up. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't even know the exact reason why he left me, I just know that he's...not my coach now." Yuri quietly added, "or my fiancé…"
Phichit looked genuinely upset as he moved forward and embraced his best friend. "Oh, Yuri...I'm so sorry."
Yuri was ready to cry on Phichit's shoulder right then and there, but for some reason, the tears just wouldn't come. It was as if Yuri had cried out all of his tears during the previous days when he was suffering the most.
Yurio also looked upset and pitied Yuri. He shook his head in dismay.
"So it's true then. Still, I can't believe it. What on earth did you say that caused Victor to leave you?"
Yuri recalled the past events. "It started off as a dispute over whether or not I should compete for the remainder of the season. Victor wanted me to stay at home and heal, but I insisted on competing."
Phichit tilted his head in confusion.
"That's all? That doesn't seem like Victor at all, I'd imagine that he encourages you to return to competitions as soon as your injury got better."
"That's not all," Yuri explained. "There's more. I kept pressing my desire to compete again and Victor kept shooting it down. That escalated into a big argument and I guess that I...kind of touched on a sensitive topic in the middle of it."
Images of Victor fleeing the snack room of the ice rink flashed by Yuri's mind. That was the day that marked the last time he would probably see his idol.
"What do you mean by 'sensitive topic'?" Phichit asked curiously.
Yuri exchanged nervous glances with Yurio, who knew what Yuri meant by 'sensitive topic,' aka Olivia. Yurio did the talking for Yuri.
"It's something that he's not too comfortable sharing right now. What's important now is to figure out what to do from here on out."
Yuri nodded. He gently unwrapped himself from Phichit's embrace. "I already know what I'm going to do. Even if Victor won't contact me anymore, I'm not quitting competitions. I'll leave him be and see if Celestino is alright for taking me back. I'm planning on calling him soon."
Phichit shook his head in disagreement. To him, Yuri's solution was just giving up and escaping from the main problem.
"Don't say that. Victor will come around, he just needs a little encouragement."
Yuri remained unconvinced. "Oh yeah? I don't think he will even if I tried to contact to him. He probably just doesn't care anymore, I mean—I have to admit—I never thought of myself as the golden student. He deserved better, he probably even wanted better deep down inside."
He scoffed. "And here I thought that my own hero came thousands of miles across the continent just because of a single viral video. Haha. What a joke."
"Stupid! You're so stupid, Yuri! You know how close I am to swearing right now?!" Yurio shouted, causing both Yuri and Phichit to jump.
Yurio contained his anger and heavy breathing to a minimum.
"You're acting as if you don't care about what happened. About Victor. This is more than just skating, Yuri. You'll always be bound to Victor on ice, but you two can only be something more off ice."
Yuri thought over what Yurio had just said. Coming from a sixteen-year-old, those words had touched Yuri's heart and stirred a new sense of realization within him.
"Something more, eh? But…"
"No buts!" Phichit cried. "Yuri, listen to me, when I say, that your relationship with Victor is nothing less than special. Don't lie to yourself, Yuri. Do you care about Victor?"
Yuri nodded. "Of course."
"Do you want him back?" Phichit asked.
"More than anything…" Yuri replied.
"Do you love him?"
Yuri remained silent. Did he love Victor? Love...such a strong word that seems to have such a simple meaning. But cannot be used incorrectly.
Yuri looked up to Victor and he wanted Victor to be close to him, always, but does that count towards love? Worst of all, if Yuri thinks he love Victor, but Victor doesn't feel the same.
"I…" Yuri began but never finished.
"Stop." Yurio held up a hand. "Don't say it to us right now. It won't mean anything. We're not the ones you're going to confess to. Get your head straight."
"Right." Yuri nodded enthusiastically. "Hang on, just let me get my phone—"
Yurio delivered a swift kick to Yuri's abdomen. Yuri doubled over and dropped his phone, but before he could pick it up, Yurio snatched it away from him.
"Stupid! Are you really this fucking stupid!?" Yurio spat.
Yuri pulled himself together, still looking a little winded from the kick and looked at the red-faced teenager before him.
Yurio paced around Yuri with his hands out of his pockets.
"Put yourself in Victor's shoes. You've just broken up with the person-of-your-life and had to cope with that trauma through a pressuring National Championships. What will it be that would make your world sunny again?" Yurio asked.
Just as expected, Yuri and Phichit remained silent, with Yuri also looking a little lost over what to do.
Yurio turned around. "A grand representation of your dedication to him!" He spread out his arms to emphasize what he meant by 'grand.'
"Don't just call Victor. Get yourself on a plane to St. Petersburg, show up outside of his rink after practice. Tell him you're sorry, and that you want to make up," Yurio explained.
Phichit nodded eagerly. "Omigosh, that's so...romantic! There's no way Victor will not forgive you if you do that!"
"Of course there's no way. And at the very least, Victor would give you the time of day to just have a nice conversation." Yurio added, returning Yuri his phone.
Yuri didn't what to say. Words can't describe the gratitude he's feeling right now for his two friends right here. What would've become of him if Yurio and Phichit never showed up today?
"Thank you so much, guys. I—I don't know how to even begin—"
"Save us the tears and get to the important part." Yurio cut in. "Aren't you here to decorate?"
Yuri realized that he still had a lot to go with the lights and bows. Checking his phone, Yuri realized that he spent too long talking and not enough time actually decorating the street. At this rate, he won't make it back for the family Christmas dinner.
"Ah, right!" Yuri began rustling through the giant pile of lights inside the box and rushed over to an undecorated part of the street.
He quickly tied one end to a stone railing and began tying the other end a little further down. But it was sloppy. The knots. The bows. Everything was falling apart. Rushing was obviously not helping.
Yuri sees one end of the string of lights fall as he adjusted a bow. He rushed over to catch it. Phichit caught it for him.
"You want some help?" He asked sincerely.
"That would be nice, but it's Christmas Eve. Don't you guys have plans too?" Yuri asked.
Yurio shook his head. "My grandpa came with me here. He's been wanting to come to Japan for awhile. This was just perfect timing."
"My family celebrates Christmas a little earlier, don't ask, that's just how things work with my parents," Phichit explained. "But...if you really want to decorate this all by yourself…"
Phichit began lowering the fallen end of the string of lights. Yuri panicked.
"No! No! Please. Yes, I'd like some help." Yuri admitted.
With that, Phichit easily tied the fallen string of lights back onto the stone railing while Yurio went off with a pile of wreaths. Yuri sighed in relief. Looks like things are finally starting to work out.
Later that night.
Yurio and Phichit helped with the decorations at around seven. Yuri put away the leftover boxes and bins before waving them off.
He drove back home in a rush, the family dinner was probably already starting without him. And he still needed to make some last minute adjustments to how he wrapped the presents he's planning to give out.
But the majority of the night went very well.
Yuri's parents and sister already prepared the tables and everything. The Nishigori family came a few minutes after Yuri finished rewrapping all of his presents. It was a very merry sight to see when they entered, with the triplets wearing reindeer antlers.
So cute!
The music was playing on the stereo, bringing about a cheery mood in the entire room. Grown-ups were talking to each other about life and about the ups and downs of the 2016 year. The triplet girls were running around playing hide-and-seek and begging Takeshi and Yuko to open their presents right now.
Minako came later, bringing a giant box of ice cream cake. That's when the feast began. It was absolutely amazing.
Yuri laughed for the first time in a long time during this night. Movies were watched, card games were played, the karaoke system was on full blast, and of course, the ice cream cake was divided amongst everybody. Although a little more of the cake went to Minako's plate.
It was a joyous night. It all ended around ten. By then, Minako and the Nishigori family had left the inn. Yuri and Marie helped their parents put away all of the leftovers and clean the dishes. The leftover cake was stored in the extra refrigerator in the basement.
After everything was finally cleaned up, Yuri took all of the presents he received to his room and changed into his night clothes before carefully putting them underneath his bed.
Beep, beep, click, click, beep, beep!
The sound of Yuri's cell phone ringtone went off. Startled, Yuri took out his phone from his pocket and nearly dropped it upon seeing the name of the caller.
It was Celestino.
Yuri immediately answered it. "Hello? Celestino?"
"Hello, Yuri. How are you doing?" Celestino's familiar voice rang across the tiny speaker.
Yuri felt a warm feeling tingling inside of his chest. He didn't know what to say now, everything he was originally going to say had all gone down the drain thanks to Yurio and Phichit.
"Oh, Celestino...I—I'm just so confused right now. You see, I was going to ask you something, but now, I don't know if I should ask anymore. A lot has happened, and—"
"Hold on, Yuri. You're speaking a mile a minute, I can't understand half of the words you're muttering." Celestino said calmly. "Now. Take a breath, and explain everything to me."
Several minutes later…
Yuri spilled the whole story of what had happened between him and Victor, omitting a few parts about the 'sensitive topic.'
Celestino was very patient throughout the whole story, allowing Yuri to rant on and be emotional from time to time.
"So, yeah. That's basically everything has that happened up to now," Yuri finished.
"Yuri...you're not planning on asking me to be your coach again, are you?" Celestino made sure.
"Uh, not anymore, for now at least. It's just that, I never really expected something like this to happen you know? Victor was the last person I thought who would leave me. I've never been through something like this before...so I just...I don't know…" Yuri mumbled.
"Yuri. I know that you've heard this a lot from me back then, but you have potential, you're just lacking in the confidence department. That's what happened at nearly every single one of your competitions, you had the heart, but not the willpower. Don't let this affect you off ice too." Celestino explained.
"I guess you're right. But I still don't know about Victor's feelings."
"That can't be helped, Yuri. Listen, people don't have the ability to read each other's minds, but we do have the ability to take risks. Now wasn't that Victor's personal motto? Just because Victor isn't here right now, doesn't mean it doesn't apply. Life will present you with plenty of challenges, skating or not, and you will have to be able to deal with them, Yuri."
Yuri nodded weakly. "I never really thought about that until now. You sound just like Yurio and Phichit. By the way, is Phichit planning to go to Four Continents? I forgot to ask him that."
"Yes, he is. Hopefully, I'll see you there with Victor as your coach again."
"I'll work to that. Thank you so much, Celestino. For answering my call and talking to me about this. I'm starting to understand so much better now."
"I'm glad to have helped you, Yuri."
"Mm. But seriously...thank you. I really mean it. Just because you aren't my coach right now, doesn't mean I don't look up to you for guidance still. I miss you, Celestino. Oh, and happy holidays!" Yuri exclaimed.
"I miss you too, Yuri. Happy holidays to you too on the other side of the world! Bye."
"Bye."
Ending his call, Yuri slowly lowered his phone onto his nightstand before going to brush his teeth. After leaving the bathroom, he laid on his bed with his eyes wide open.
Tears streamed down either side of his cheek as the moonlight shone in. His friends and Celestino were right. He needs to start actually taking risks, not just in skating, but in life.
So what if Victor didn't feel the same about him? Yuri won't know until he tries.
And that will be starting tomorrow.
Monday. December. 26, 2016. St. Petersburg Airport.
Yuri went on the same flight as Yurio and his grandpa to St. Petersburg, Russia. He had already booked a room at a nearby hotel for about a week.
That should be more than enough time for Yuri to find and talk to Victor. For the first night in his hotel room, Yuri thought about what Victor's reaction would be when he shows up outside of his rink.
Hopefully, he'll be shocked. The worst that could happen is him not caring.
Yurio texted Yuri where exactly in the city to meet him the next morning. Tuesday. December. 27, 2016: On the street that had the view of the waterbody.
From there, Yurio took Yuri on the bus he usually takes when going down to the rink whenever his grandpa's not available to drive him.
They reached the ice rink, it was a free skate session day, but a few skaters still showed up. According to Yurio, more skaters usually show up in the afternoon for free skate sessions.
But there is a break for lunch, and luckily for Yuri, it was nearly midday. From there, Yurio left him be to put away his skating bag in his locker and to see if Victor is inside the rink at all today.
A few minutes later, Yuri receives a text from Yurio.
Yurio: Uhhh...Victor isn't here...I have to go for lunch, you can stay here and wait if u want. Ask some skaters around. Most of them know English pretty well. Good luck.
Sighing, Yuri went inside the rink. The interior had a large modern feel to it. Its front lobby was brightly lit from the natural sunlight due to its large windows.
Yuri looked around, seeing if he could locate the direction to the ice arena from where the skaters were coming from.
Eventually, he got to the first arena. The ice was already cleaned by the Zamboni and there were no skaters left in the entire room.
"Y—Yuri Katsuki?" A deep voice suddenly said behind him.
Yuri turned around to see a shocked Yakov before him. He greeted the man politely.
"Hello, Yakov. I'm assuming that Victor already told you what happened."
"Yeah. Yeah, he did. I can't say that this is unfortunate, my own feelings about this is mixed." Yakov admitted.
"Doesn't matter. I'm here for one reason. Where's Victor? I see that he isn't here." Yuri demanded.
"Now hold on. I can't just tell you where Victor is. First, you need to know why he left you. Do you know why? And I'm talking about the argument over whether or not to enter in more competitions."
Yuri took a deep breath before saying it. "Olivia Nguyen, am I right?"
"You really have no idea about her, do you? Victor is a very unbalanced person, you can either push him off the ledge or more towards the center and—
"I told you that I'm here for only one reason. I traveled thousands of miles here just to talk to Victor. I don't know much about this Olivia, or whatever, but I know one thing for sure. I'm getting Victor back."
Yakov lowered his guard and saw the determination in Yuri's eyes. It was the first time he ever that in him. It was an improvement.
The old man gestured for Yuri to follow him. They walked to the front of the rink and towards the parking lot. Yakov led Yuri to his car, where they got in and drove out of the area.
They went down the road and made a turn that led them into a small two-way street surrounded by trees and wildlife.
This area was nothing like more urban parts of the city. Yakov saw the confused look on Yuri's face.
"This is the street Victor usually takes when driving to and fro between his home and the rink."
"Ok, but I don't see any buildings or parks here. Where's Victor?" Yuri asked.
"Right up ahead." Yakov nodded.
Yuri looked in front of him, sure enough, a small hidden entrance to a parking lot appeared and Yakov entered it. There was only one other car in the whole parking lot, Yuri assumed that it was Victor's car.
Ahead of him, Yuri could see a large white barrier that was near the road. There was someone there. It was Victor.
Yakov gestured towards the white barrier. "That's an outdoor rink. People rent it for certain times and the cost of renting it is pretty fair. Victor's there right now, go talk to him, Yuri."
Yakov drove off in his car, leaving Yuri alone in the parking lot. Goosebumps formed on Yuri's arms as he began walking towards the outdoor rink.
It's almost time to reunite with Victor again. At least he hopes so.
Yuri walked around the rink towards the bleacher area and walked up to the rink side door. Victor was concentrating hard on the ice, he did not see Yuri until he heard a single clap coming from the bleacher's direction after landing a quadruple flip.
Victor turned around. He stood where he was. Not moving anywhere.
Yuri stopped clapping and also stood his ground. Looking at Victor straight in the eyes. An eternity of silence seemed to pass by before Yuri began the conversation.
"Hey. It's been awhile."
"It has! It's been too long!" Victor cried in a cheery mood, which completely knocked Yuri off his boots.
"Hey, Yuri! Why don't you join me here! Did you bring skates with you?" Victor asked.
Yuri couldn't believe it. He thought that Victor would be more sensitive about the issue, but here he was, acting as if nothing had ever happened between them!
"Victor! Quit pretending nothing's wrong! You have no idea what you put me through, and yes, I understand that you had to go through Nationals feeling like crap, but I came here all the way from my home just to see you! The least you could do is—I don't know—burst into tears or something!" Yuri yelled.
Victor gently skated over, still keeping some distance between himself and Yuri.
"I know. And I'm truly happy to see you here...really, I am. How did you find me?"
"Yakov drove me here. I'm honestly shocked that he would do such a thing, though. But I'm glad he did." Yuri explained.
"So Yakov did...alright then. By the way, Japan released the list of skaters going to Four Continents and Worlds today. You're in it, Yuri." Victor said.
"Are you still against me going to competitions? I went to my physiotherapist a few days ago, she said that my injury is nearly healed by now. It wasn't all that serious anyways, I will be more careful."
"Yuri, it's not just our argument over your choice of competing that made me leave. You know that?" Victor asked.
"I know. And I'm sorry. Victor, I'm so sorry about how I yelled at you and asked about something that is none of my business. It was wrong of me. But I'm here to get back together, and I can't do that if we're not honest with each other."
Victor felt true sentiment in Yuri's words and skated towards the door of the rink side, propping his arms against it.
"Alright. You already told me about what you and Yurio had really been doing in private. What do you want me to tell you?"
"You know what, Victor."
Victor nodded in understanding. "Olivia Nguyen." It was the first time Yuri heard Victor say her name.
Victor sighed and lowered his head below his shoulders. "It's a long story."
Yuri gently reached out and touched the same spot on top of Victor's head once again. Neither person moved. The world came to a standstill just for that moment. Then Yuri caused it to wind again.
"I'll listen to you, Victor. Every single sentence, every single detail, I'll listen to what you have to say because I don't want to lose you again."
Yuri put extra emphasis on the last seven words of the sentence.
Victor almost felt tears of joy fill his eyes. He opened the rink side door and stepped outside. Sitting down next to Yuri on the bleachers, Victor began undoing his skates and putting back in his winter boots.
"You can start off with what your relationship with Olivia was," Yuri suggested.
"She was my first student. Well not officially, of course, but she was the first skater I ever helped out as somebody with more experience, like a coach." Victor explained.
He gestured to the outdoor rink in front of him. "This rink here, was where she used to practice. And where I first met her."
Yuri was shocked to hear this. "You helped coach her? Wasn't Angela Raskalov her official coach?"
"Ah, so you did research on her. Yeah, Angela was her coach, but then she got sick. And Olivia had to train herself under several different substitute coaches. All of them didn't do much, they just stood in for Angela so Liv could go to competitions.
The internet can only tell you so much about Olivia, Yuri. It tells you her history, her competitive career, her placements and programs per season. But it doesn't tell you that she was a serious otaku, that she owned the ugliest pet goldfish ever or her love of the arts."
Victor looked up to the sky.
"Drawing, singing, piano, creative writing, Olivia did all of that. Even figure skating. She was more than a skater, Yuri. She's an artist, just like you."
Well, looks like the Victuri ship is down the path of recovery! This is the last chapter where the story will be taking place in the present. Starting from the next chapter, the majority of the story will be taking place sometime in the past, with Victor as the main protagonist. My OCs will also start playing larger roles too.
(Don't worry, the story will revert back to this setting again as soon as Victor is finished telling Yuri his story.)
Thanks for reading guys! And I'll be back with a new chapter, hopefully, next week! :D