Disclaimer: I do not own YOI, just this fanfic. Enjoy!
Hi, everyone! I'm sort of back on track with a new chapter! I can't believe my summer break is almost over, it's been going way too fast! But then again, that means it's getting closer and closer to the 2018 Olympics! The one thing I'm really excited about my last year of high school honestly. And this fanfic shall go straight into it!
Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, this brings back a lot of old memories of when I used to skate seriously and my rinkmates and I would joke, have fun, and do all sorts of weird stuff together. We'd help each other on the ice too sometimes, and tease each other of my our skills and strengths.
Now, I barely touch the ice, but I'm doing my best to keep all of these skills with off ice jumps, stretching, and strength and cardio training.
Again, please FAV, FOLLOW, and REVIEW! :D
Ch. 20: The St. Petersburg Skaters
Fri. Dec. 30, 2016. Victor's apartment.
Yuri opens his eyes groggily at the touch of something running through his hair and forehead. His vision clears up and in front of him was Victor, squatting near the floor of the guest bed and looking at him with gentle eyes.
His fingers messed around the dark strands of Yuri's hair. "Aww, you looked so peaceful when you were still unconscious."
"We're back at your place already?" Yuri asks still half-asleep.
"You fell asleep after the large tour/shopping spree my mom took us on yesterday. I thought you lost weight, Yuri! I almost sprained my wrist carrying you up the steps of the lobby!"
"You're just slacking in your training," Yuri retorts as he pulls the comforter over his face. "Your hatred of weight-lifting has finally caught up to you."
"Well, I'd better get back to training soon! Or else I won't be able to carry you bridal style at the wedding!"
Yuri sits up in the bed, reaching for his glasses on the nightstand next to him and putting them on. "You shouldn't be worried about that, Victor. How long are you planning to avoid the rink and Yakov? I get that I'm here, but I don't want you to start falling behind in your training!"
Victor sighs and falls onto his back on the comforter of the bed. Yuri nearly lets out a yelp as he dodges him. Victor looks at the ceiling in blank thought.
"Our relationship is more important than that to me right now. Yakov will understand, I'll make him understand."
"And if he doesn't?"
Victor looks at Yuri with no expression on his face. No emotion in his eyes. That is until he suddenly makes a tiny smile and the next thing Yuri knew, Victor pounced onto his back and wrapped his arms around him. He rests his head on his shoulder and leans close to his ear.
"Then I'll remind him the reason why Lilia left him," he whispers.
Yuri gasps in shock. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Yes, I would." Victor gets up and out of the bed, walking out of the door of the guest bedroom. "Breakfast is a bunch of takeout my mom made me bring home after you passed out last night. Get washed up first!"
In the kitchen, after breakfast.
Yuri helps put away the finished dishes into the kitchen sink, where he proceeds to wash them. Victor just went out to throw away the garbage and compost down the trash chute. As he runs the porcelain plates under the water, Yuri begins thinking about what Victor has been telling him for the past few days.
I know that Liv really was Victor's first student, and I know that they pursued a romantic relationship later on during that time. But that romance...how far did it go?
Did they ever confess to one another? Or was it just simple dates and regular lessons that probably end up being just make-out sessions—NO! The first and foremost reason Victor got together with her was because of skating!
As a skater himself, he just wants to help out another skater, someone who was struggling and having a hard time in a foreign country with tough domestic competition. Yes, that's it! But they did get awfully close and judging from the way he talks about her skating skills, he seems to really have admired and fallen for her! Talent and persona!
And why shouldn't he? She's expressive, she's finely-detailed, she can draw and sing and play piano, she's probably really attractive, but best of all, she's CONSISTENT! How irresistible is that? From a skater's point of view?
Do I feel...threatened by her? What would happen if she suddenly appears outside the front door tomorrow…
Yuri violently shakes his head, getting rid of all those thoughts and voices flooding his mind. He did not need to hear any of that right now! Right now, he's mending his relationship with Victor—no, he's done mending!
He's STRENGTHENING his relationship with Victor! Yes, that's what he's doing right now! He's here to make sure his and Victor's relationship will withstand the obstacles time will bring them. Anything that comes their way, their bond will continue to hold, nothing will break them apart!
Nothing.
Victor comes in through the front door, he pats his hands from throwing away the garbage and compost bags. "Done and done. That's your neighbourhood toxic waste control, just finishing up for the morning. $3.50, please sir, that is the discount you get from being engaged to the CEO of the household garbage removal company."
He holds out his hand to receive the money from Yuri, who hands him a wet cloth instead. "I'm not your customer. I'm your housewife."
"My housewife!?" Victor doubles over with laughter and falls to the floor. "That's amazing, Yuri! Truly spectacular! That's the first I've heard from you, great improvement! Gosh, I love you."
"Mm," Yuri answers with a smile before putting away the dried dishes on the countertop.
Victor stops laughing immediately and begins wiping the breakfast bar on the island with the wet cloth he was handed a few moments ago. Yuri continues drying the kitchenware, waiting for Victor say something.
But he said nothing. The only sound made was the sound of items being put away and chairs being moved around. What happened? Thought Yuri. Just a few seconds ago, we were laughing.
But then Yuri knew. He knew what turned off that happy atmosphere from a few seconds ago. He didn't say "me too." And now, it was too late.
He'd have to wait for another perfect opportunity to return Victor's feelings. And when will that be? Probably a long time from now, hopefully, sooner than later. If it's later, then more things may come along and complicate their relationship again.
Bzz! Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!
The sound of a phone vibrating ended the silence. Victor leaps across the room and grabs his cell phone on the top of the breakfast bar. His expression turns to stone as he gazes at the screen.
Yuri wipes his hands dry on the cloth, curious as to who's calling. "Who is it?"
Victor answers him with a face that is equivalent to that of a five-year-old who just got found out he's been feeding his homework to his dog for a whole week. With a sigh, Victor answers the phone.
"Heellllloooo, Yakov."
"Victor." Yakov's voice is deadly silent. "Are you in a hospital sick with pneumonia?"
"No."
"Did someone in your family get hurt?"
"No."
"Were you robbed?"
"No."
"Arrested for shoplifting dog sweaters?"
"That would've been on the news and Norah would've already told everyone at the rink about it."
"Then you must be in heaven."
"Very close to it actually. These past few days have been a week spent in heaven!"
"Oh? Then why don't you come down to the rink, I'll give you a one-way ticket for the heavenly express. Half and hour got it? Or that tickets going to be for the hell's fire pit express."
Yakov ends the call. Victor feels as if his soul is literally leaving his body as he lowers his phone from his ear. So much, that Yuri came running towards him and pulls his soul back down from the sky.
"Yakov?" He asks.
"I'm a dead man." Victor answers.
"How pitiful. A dead unmarried man."
"Will you come with me?" He throws himself onto Yuri's chest, clutching him like a kid who doesn't want to go to school.
"Gladly. It's about time I got to see the rest of your rinkmates I've been hearing so much about in your story."
"That's all you care about?"
"And I miss seeing Yurio."
Victor falls to the floor. Cold and unconscious.
St. Petersburg Ice Arena.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Victor fights Yuri's pull as they near the front steps of the large arena.
"Stop whining and just get this day's practice done and over with! Then we can enjoy ourselves again!" Yuri violently tugs Victor's arm, nearly throwing him against the metal railings that ran down the middle of the steps.
The two men continued to struggle and pull each other in the opposite direction, but Yuri had the upper hand due to Victor's large and heavy skating bag preventing him from winning this fight.
Yuri manages to claw his way through the glassy automatic doors of the entrance, and into the front lobby, that is thankfully empty right now. No one needed to see the great veteran skater acting like a child.
"He's going to slice my throat with my own skates!" Victor cries.
"Yakov's serious, but he's no murderer." Yuri counters.
"You don't know him!"
"Oh hey, Victor." A new voice joins the conversation.
Yuri turns his head in the direction of the newcomer. A smiling teenage boy stood with a black skating bag hooked on his shoulder. He had dark hair and looked to be around Yurio's age, just a tad bit taller.
The boy walks towards them. "Haven't seen you in awhile. Enjoyed your Christmas break?"
"Mike!" Victor shouts. "You're the sanest skater amongst Yakov's students, he trusts you more than anyone else he's taken under his tutelage. Tell him that if he does not spare me, I'll remind him why Lilia left him."
"I don't care about that, Victor. There's something more important right now. Hi, I'm Mike Dalmer! A new addition to the senior division this year." He stretches out his hand towards Yuri, who gratefully accepts it.
"Yuri Katsuki, nice to meet you, Mike."
"Silver medalist at the Barcelona GPF last year, and bronze medalist at the 2016 Worlds. If it wasn't for your injury at the last GPF, you would've won the Japanese Nationals too! You're the one our star skater fell for?"
"That's about right."
Mike purses his lips. "Ahh. I see. Constantine was right all along, Victor. You really do go for the innocent-looking ones. Though, looking at you two this way right now…I'm not sure who's more like a kid."
"He needs to practice today," Yuri explains.
"Yakov would be delighted to see you," Mike says in a sweet voice oozing with sarcasm. "Don't ruin his day by reminding him of his divorce with Lilia."
"And I'm to believe that he's actually happy to see me here?" Victor asks in a drunk tone.
"You realize that Yakov is your—our coach? Of course, he's going to be upset that you haven't shown up or bothered to contact him for the past few days. But—"
"I had important affairs to tend to!" Victor defends.
"Bbbuuuutttt. He'll be less upset than he would've been if you didn't show up today. The fact that you're actually here, despite missing significant practice days, is good enough. He's not going to kill you. He wouldn't dare. Not with your boyfriend here."
Yuri scratches the back of his head. "I don't know if my presence makes things easier for him. He's pretty stressed."
"Unfortunately, that's what comes when you have students all over the place. And we can help ease the stress by pulling our own weight. Think ahead, prepare, have initiative. And we may buy him some extra years to live!"
Victor frees himself from Yuri's grasp and hitches his skating bag up higher onto his shoulder. "Mike, if I'm ever in dire need of help, can you be my lawyer?"
"Haha, I'm not wasting so many years of my life that could be spent in happiness. Especially now that I got myself a girlfriend."
The three of them begin walking down the lobby and towards the interior halls that lead to several different rinks, changing rooms, and other rooms for purposes like weight lifting, flexibility training, and cardio training.
Yuri can't help but look around as they walked down the brightly lit halls. He continues talking from where Mike left off. "You're dating already, Mike?"
"Who's the lucky girl?" Victor asks.
Mike nods. "A half Japanese/German beauty that I met during the after-competition banquet at the 2016 Junior Worlds. Year younger and she have quite an attitude. But she's sweet around me, and I return the favour."
"Non-skater?" Yuri makes sure.
"Yeah. She runs a popular skating fan club and lives in Japan, but she attends nearly every competition I go to as representative for her fans, who look up to her very much."
"You never had your eye on someone special here before, Mike?"
"Here? Nah, not really. Everyone here's like...family to me. I joined with my childhood friend, Norah when we were intermediates and met everyone else right there. Yuri—Yuri Plisetsky more specifically, joined when we were in the junior division."
"Ah, sweet Yurio…" Victor sighs. "He was so quiet and such a good person back then."
"Eh, I like this new angry one better. Adds more taste and colour to this rink." Mike admits.
He stops in front of an intersection. A path on the right side of the hall broke off and led to the double doors of one of the many rinks here. The hall kept on going down after that, with several more intersections that lead to different rooms down ahead.
"Victor, we should hurry and get changed. Yuri, go ahead and sit down. It's a freestyle practice, for now, Yurio should be there too. 'Yurio?' That's his new nickname, right? I should call him that from now on!"
Victor gives Yuri a one-armed hug, it felt warm and gentle. "I'll see you out there soon, 'kay? Don't get too cold inside."
"Don't worry about me."
Victor lets go of Yuri and walks down the hall with Mike, heading towards the change room. Yuri turns around and walks down the path separated from the main hall. The large metal doors stood before him.
Inside the main rink.
Peering through the safety glass windows, Yuri could barely make out the figures of rapidly moving bodies on a faraway surface, gracefully twirling and flying through the air. He feels his heartbeat increase as he pushes the doors open and the cool dry air of the rink wash over his face.
The sunlight combined with the artificial lights hanging high above made the rink seem even brighter than outside, especially with the white ice, decorated with hundreds of markings and scrapes of all patterns from the skaters' blades.
Yuri feels himself growing with excitement even though he wasn't here to skate himself, along with a sense of nostalgia. Climbing the steps next to the seats, he gets a better look at all the individual skaters on the beautiful Olympic sized rink.
There were about fifteen skaters on the ice right now, ranging from young teens to adults seemingly in their late twenties. A few familiar faces, such as Georgi, Mila, and Yurio were immediately recognized by Yuri.
Georgi was stroking around the rink, paying careful attention to every one of his turns and crossovers. Mila was working on different arm variations for her triple toe loop. And Yurio was practicing his entrance into the flying death drop sitspin.
But the majority of the skaters on the ice were new faces to Yuri. There was a teenage girl performing a backspin, spinning in the clockwise direction, an uncommon direction.
There was a young man with tousled blonde hair that flew around with every stroke and turns he made. A tall slim woman with dark hair in a messy bun going through a graceful spiral sequence, her edges strong and flexibility amazing.
But what caught Yuri's eye most of all was the brown haired man who seemed to be practicing his program, skating to the music blaring over the loudspeakers. Some kind of epic orchestral film soundtrack from the sound of it.
He finishes a fast and complicated step sequence in a serpentine pattern that easily covered the entire rink. From there, he transitions smoothly into a jump. A massive—massive quadruple flip, with an air position and landing stance that could rival Victor's.
A few strokes and notes later, the man was in his final combination spin, from back camel to sitspin, then change foot into a front camel and corkscrew spin. He ends it all with a strong final position and a stare that could turn the entire panel of judges to stone.
Yuri feels his breath get hitched. Why did he never see these insanely talented people in his competitions yet?
So these are the St. Petersburg skaters…most of them share Yakov as a coach…Victor's rinkmates…
To be honest, ever since he saw Victor perform on tv, Yuri never set his vision on anyone else. Only Victor mattered to him, and all his life, he was working hard to make his way up, to compete and be close to the one he admires the most.
Now, Yuri is witnessing history being made before him. For the first time, his pulse races from seeing the amazing skills of other skaters. Skaters whose skills could possibly outshine Victor's, or at the very least, give Victor a run for his gold medal.
Suddenly, Yuri sees Yakov skate towards the center of the ice from the sidelines, he stops in front of the brown haired man whom Yuri was admiring a few moments ago. The man who just finished his program run-through.
Yakov seemed to be giving some advice on the timing of the final step sequence, the man nodded to everything Yakov was saying, though Yuri couldn't hear a thing from where he was sitting.
The next thing he knew, the door to the rink opened and Victor and Mike step onto the ice.
The two skaters circles the entire rink in powerful strokes, perfectly synchronized and without delay. After a few revolutions around the ice, they made a quick turn and began stroking backward.
Eventually, as they neared the end of their warm up routine, other skaters on the ice began taking notice of them and greeted them.
They talked, laughed, and then went back to practice as if they never stopped practicing in the first place.
Mike and the teenage girl exchanged a few words before Yurio suddenly skated over and heard what they were saying.
The blonde teenager looked up at the bleachers and eyes nearly popped out of their sockets upon seeing Yuri.
"Katsuki!?"
That got the attention of everyone in the rink. Including Yakov's. He looks up at the bleachers and sees Yuri, then he looks across the ice.
His eyes met Victor's, just a few strokes behind him. Victor offers a fake delighted smile.
"Hello, Yakov. It's not half an hour yet. And I'm here." Victor presents himself.
Everyone on ice suddenly backed up several meters from Yakov and Victor, as if they were ticking time bombs, ready to explode any second.
The man with tousled blonde hair gave Victor a pat on the back before skating off. "Ahem. Good luck."
Yakov decreases the gap between him and Victor. Victor braces himself for the volcanic eruption…that never came.
"You're here." Yakov says dully. "Good. I suppose you'll be able to pick up where you left off easily."
"Y—yes." Victor answers in shock.
"Then that's all I have to say. No ticket for the heavenly express. Georgi! You're up next!" Yakov barks.
All the skaters almost seemed disappointed from the unexciting interaction as they resumed their practice. Georgi nods obediently and skates towards Yakov, the two of them travels to the music booth to change the song to Georgi's program music for this season.
Yurio however, skates to the edge of the rink, scraping some snow up from his blades as he stopped. He gestures towards Yuri to come down from the bleachers. Yuri does as he was told.
"So, how's it going?" Yurio asks curiously.
Yuri smiles smugly. "Very well, actually. It's been quite an interesting visit here. I don't regret it. Thanks to you and Phichit. Now, do I have to owe you anything?"
"What makes you think there's a debt to be repaid?"
"Is there?"
Yurio shakes his head. "There was. But it's repaid already. Ever since the Nationals here, Victor barely showed up to this rink. Always practicing at that run-down outdoor rink in the middle of nowhere. And during those rare occasions when he showed at the very end of practice, he's always so sullen and moody it's infectious! But now you're here and he's back. This is the earliest he's shown up so far. Good job, I mean it."
"I'm glad he was sullen and moody," Yuri states so normally that Yurio nearly slipped onto his back.
"I meant," Yuri clarifies. "That this relationship isn't as one-sided as I thought it was."
"Well, just don't drag the rest of us into the aftermath of another bad turn out between you two!" Yurio turns around to skate away.
"Yurio!"
"What?"
"Can't I meet some of your friends?"
Yurio makes a face. "What? And why would you wa—"
"Way ahead of you!" The teenage girl Yurio and Mike were just talking to earlier zooms past Yurio and nearly somersaults over the boards in front of Yuri.
She leans on the top of the boards and grins as she takes Yuri's hand with both of her own, shaking it so violently, that Yuri had to straighten his glasses on his nose.
"I've been waiting for this day to come!" The girl exclaims enthusiastically. "Norah Meyer, nice to meet you!"
Yuri is taken back by this sudden meeting. "Y—"
"I knew that Victor left this place for a reason. But I didn't know what. That is until I discovered those photos on his Instagram page. The minute I saw you two dancing, the way his eyes sparkle and glow when he looked at you. I knew it." Norah puts a hand on her chest, dramatic tears in her eyes. "It was love. Oh, how I wish I had someone like that! And I couldn't bring myself to tell Yakov, no I couldn't. How could I stop someone from chasing their heart's desire? I would never forgive myself. But then, Yurio over there decided to…you know, intervene. I hope he didn't cause any trouble for you two in the beginning."
"What!?" Yurio shouts. "I was the one who brought them back together now!"
"What's going on here?" The brown-haired man skates over. He pulls Norah off the boards and away from Yuri. "Stop harassing Victor's boyfriend, Norah. This half of practice is over in ten minutes, you can harass him all you want after. Oh wait, you are Victor's boyfriend, right?"
"Boyfriend, student, best friend, fiance, all of that rolled up into one." Yuri shrugs.
"Fian-what!?" Another skater stops by. It was the one with tousled blonde hair. "He never told any of us about this engagement! Omigosh…I'm screaming. Internally, so that the ice won't crack under the sheer volume of it."
Yuri begins to feel slightly overwhelmed by the sudden presence of several new skaters in front of him. Though, they're all very friendly and open right now. As nice as Victor…
The brown-haired skater pushes the blonde one out of the way while still clutching Norah with one hand. "Max, at this rate, we'll be scaring him all the way back to Japan. And then Victor's going to return to his little rain cloud again. Apologies, Yuri. I'm Constantine Cohen, I'm afraid Victor's dramatic-ness has spread around here ever since he arrived as an intermediate."
Yuri shakes his head and chuckles. "No, no. I'm used to it. I'm used to way worse than this."
"And pretty soon, you'll be used to for the rest of your life," Constantine adds as he drags Max and Norah back towards the center of the ice. Yurio gives Yuri one last glance and a tiny smile before skating away too.
Yuri smiles too. A sense of relief and happiness wash over him. When people get engaged, it's tradition that the couple pays a visit to each other's families. Yuri has already met Victor's parents, and Makkachin needs no introduction, and Victor promised to go back home with Yuri at around New Year's and apologize to his family for the pain he caused Yuri back then.
But that meeting with three of Victor's rinkmates made Yuri feel even more whole. It made him feel almost complete. Yes, it's true, these people aren't blood-related to Victor. But they've been with him through rain, shine, hail, and the wind.
They all cried together, laughed together, gossiped and trained together. These people have a stronger bond than most friends do. They can relate with one another through their common sport.
They're a family too. And Yuri's going to be part of it one day when he and Victor join together.
All he has to do is meet the rest of them as soon as this half of the practice is over. Dryness took over Yuri's throat, and he leaves the rink in search of a water fountain or soda machine down the hall.
Georgi's program music plays as he walks towards the door. Wilderness pops up in Yuri's mind as he turns his head around to see Georgi take the first few steps of his program before exiting.
After the first half of practice.
"You've grown from the last time we met at the 2016 NHK Trophy," Laurel observes Yuri. The skaters were all sitting in a large snack room overlooking the outside streets covered in snow. "And so did your hair. It's more windswept, more natural. Overall, better."
Yuri does his best to keep his blush to a minimum as he makes eye contact with the older woman. "You've changed quite a lot too, Laurel. I hardly recognized you with your hair tied up. Though I will always remember you by your spirals."
"Ah, you flatter me. But it has been getting hard, keeping this flexibility up as age catches up to me. But I don't have any reason to retire…yet."
"Hey, Yuri!" Max calls. He turns his phone's screen around, displaying the image of Yuri's late dog, Vic-chan on his Instagram page. "Who's this adorable Makkachin lookalike? I'd like to buy one too!"
Yuri feels a slight pang in his heart at the sight of his old pet, still haven't completely gotten over the loss yet. "That's my pet dog, I got him when I was in my preteens."
"Cool, what did you name him?" Max asks.
"...um, Victor…"
Norah accidentally spits out her sparkling water, sputtering and laughing. "No way! Hey, Victor! You're so famous, people name their pets after you! How awesome is that?"
Victor rolls his eyes as he leans back in his chair next to Yuri. "I already know that."
"You look a bit glum, Yuri," Constantine notices. "Did we touch on a touchy subject?"
Yuri nods. "My pet passed away years ago. Actually, it was during the Sochi GPF. I got a call from my family about what happened, and then…well, I bombed my free skate."
Victor sits back up from his chair, looking concerned. "Oh…so that's what happened that night."
"That was before you two became student and coach, right?" Mila confirms.
"Yeah, but I never thought of a reason like that," Victor says. "Yurio, you were there with me. We were both intrigued by Yuri's short program. But was shocked to see the free skate results. And now, I know why."
"But that's true emotions displayed on ice!" Georgi joins the conversation. "That free skate embodied the feelings Yuri was having in that moment, I bet his program components was higher than any skater that night!"
Yuri shrugs sheepishly. "Close. I placed third with my PCS, behind JJ and Victor."
"Of course." Yurio chugs down his water. He looks around the room before throwing away the empty bottle in the recycling bin. "Hey, where's Annie? I thought you guys said she was here."
Yuri's ears twitch as he recognizes that name. "Annie Vasin?"
Yurio nods. Mila points down the hall from where they all came from. "Probably still cramping in the washroom. Poor girl's on her time of the month."
Georgi shakes his head in pity. "I saw her this morning before the rest of you guys got here. She was lying on the ice, clutching her stomach and moaning and crying. Gods, that just makes you want to share some of her pain."
"If you find a machine that can split 50% of her cramp pain to you, she'd go out with you for sure!" Victor suggests.
"And why would I do that?" Georgi asks skeptically.
"Let's face the facts, Anya's never coming back. And no romantic gesture of yours will force her to come running towards with arms wide open," Mila explains. "'Sides, what's wrong with Annie, she's good-looking and available, no? You both skate here, you already good friends, and of course, have that perfect height difference! Ohh, I have an idea! Tell Yakov to switch you two to pair skating!"
"So I could accidentally drop her during one of our competitions?" Georgi questions. "I've seen those accidents! No way!"
The sound of footsteps appeared from around the corner of the hallway, the source of the footsteps eventually came around, a young woman with disheveled blonde hair. Annie Vasin limps into the snack room, one hand wrapped around her abdomen, the other grabbed anything within reach to stable her body.
She waves at Yuri. "Hi, Yuri. I heard from the others that you were visiting here. Sorry that our first meeting has me looking like such a mess."
"It's fine. I understand. Are you feeling better?" Yuri asks.
Annie sits down on an empty chair. "You're very kind, thank you. D—don't worry about me. Just continue on with your conversations."
"How could we?" Mila gestures towards Annie. "You're here."
"Oh, so you guys were just talking about me? What about?"
Georgi shoots Mila a look that would've petrified a regular person, but the effect it had on Mila was laughter. Well, almost laughter, she snorts as she attempts to keep it in.
"That your new hairstyle doesn't suit you. It looked nicer when it was straight instead of wavy." Mila points out.
Annie tilts her head. "But I like it better this way, and you guys agreed with me back in September!"
"Yeah, but Georgi didn't say anything. Your hair looks way too similar to Anya's right now, besides the colour, it's giving him bad memories. Straighten it."
Annie was in too much pain to try and lengthen the argument. She ends it by remaining silent and resting the side of her head in her arms. Laurel moves seats to sit next to Annie, gently patting her on the back for comfort.
Max returns everyone's attention back to the main couple in the room. "Well, Yuri? We're waiting."
Yuri looks confused. "For what?"
"What else? Take out your hand! Let's see that big fat engagement ring as proof of you two's commitment! We already saw Victor's, let's see yours!" Max raises his hands above his head.
"Let's see it!"
"Come on, show us!"
"Don't be shy!"
Yuri looks to Victor for permission, but he simply shrugs his shoulders and smiles. Whispering, "why should I have a say in this? It's your ring."
Carefully, Yuri removes the leather glove on his right hand and extends it out delicately for everyone to see. Their eyes boggled at the sight of the shiny golden band on his ring finger.
"WWHHHOOOAAAAA!"
Constantine grabs Yuri's hand to take a closer look. "It's a very well made brand, nice."
"Congratulations, you two!" Mila claps.
"This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen…" Norah sobs.
"It's like deja vu again…" Yurio mutters, remembering the time when Phichit accidentally thought that those really were engagement rings back then.
"Tell us the whole story!" Georgi begs. "Who proposed to who?"
Victor casually puts one arm around Yuri. "Well…if I remember correctly, it was Yuri who proposed!"
"AAHHHH!" Everyone squeals.
"It was in front of this bell tower, I think. And there was this choir singing not too far in front of us. Lights lit up the evening sky as snow gently fell."
"I'm taking it! I'm taking it!" Mike exclaims. "That's exactly how I'm going to my gal! Except maybe instead of standing in front of a bell tower, we'll be standing at the top of Tower Sky Tree and the entire city will be lit up below us. There'll be golden lighting and…I'm out of ideas."
"What caught your attention in the first place, Victor?" Annie asks.
"His skating. Not a recorded tv version, but seeing it live."
"Let's see it then," Annie demands.
Back at the main rink.
"Are you sure I'm allowed to be here?" Yuri asks as he bends up and down on the ice, getting a feel for the new skates he's borrowing from Max. Similar foot size and all.
"Sure! It's a bit chopped up from our practice, but it's not too bad." Max relieves.
Yuri gulps as he looks around him. All the skaters were gathered in either in the bleachers or the sidelines of the boards, all gazing expectantly and excitedly at him. They all have high expectations of the skater who stole their star skater's heart.
"What should I skate…?" Yuri mumbles nervously.
"Yuri!" Victor shouts from the boards. "Remember how I said you'll be skating an imitation to my free skate to Children when we go back to Hasetsu? Well, you know what? Screw that! Do it now!"
"Now!?"
"We have the music here! Just skate to it!"
"But I hardly remember all the steps in it! I'm going to forget halfway through!"
"Then improvise! Liv does it all the ti—you're an artist, Yuri. Forget about the steps, skate the way you feel! Children was your favourite program by me. Why? Tell me why, Yuri!"
Yuri understood, but that didn't ease him of the nervousness he still feels right now. It's not a competition, but it's just as pressurizing as one. These people may not be judges, but they're fellow skaters, equals, lessers, and betters.
He's a skater too. This may not be his rink. But any ice, in anywhere in the world, is a skater's home. Stroking around the rink and warming up, Yuri thinks hard about how he pictures the free skate. The way he thinks it should be skated, the way he imagines it to be.
Minutes later, he ends the stroking and finds the spot where he wants to begin the free skate. Max activates the music system from the technology booth and selects Children from the rink's 2014 playlist.
Yuri opens his eyes as soon as the music begins.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Escala's version of Children, if you haven't heard it yet, please do. There's a reason why I chose this song for my imaginary Victor's free skate. It's really good.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And if you did, please FAV, FOLLOW, and REVIEW! It's always appreciated! :D
Bye now!