Yuuri's ankles shook at first, more from fear of losing balance than an actual lack of balance. He latched firmly onto Viktor's hand, terrified to let go.

"You're okay." Viktor smiled, locking eyes with his fiancé. "You're cleared, you're a fantastic skater, and I'm right here."

Yuuri nodded, following Viktor's lead as they slowly began skating around the edge of the rink. Muscle memory soon took over, and Yuuri found his fingers separating from Viktor's. He picked up some speed, gliding in a steady ark across the ice. Viktor gazed after him, grinning at the small smile that fought its way onto Yuuri's face. He moved across the ice so beautifully. There was almost no need for spins or leaps. Viktor could have watched Yuuri just skate in circles all day.

Fifteen minutes later the two shed their jackets, feeling content with their low intensity warmup.

"You ready to work on some technique?" Viktor smiled to Yuuri as they grabbed a quick sip of water. Yuuri shrugged, scrawling a note on his pad and turning it around.

Step sequences maybe?

"Sounds good to me." Viktor smiled, feeling warmth spread through him as Yuuri skated off, experimenting with simple chasses, getting used to the ice again. It was strange how much three weeks in bed could throw a person out of their element. Viktor gazed across the ice, following the beautiful body as Yuuri upped the complexity, working his crossed chasse around the rink. Viktor just watched for a while, entranced by Yuuri's movement as his footwork gradually became more complex. In no time, he was moving through his free program step sequence from the year prior. Viktor wasn't sure where it had come from, the sudden look of calm, the seemingly returned confidence, until he heard the composition. Yuuri on Ice was fluttering through the rink, and Yuuri was instinctively moving to the music, eyes glazed over, an almost-smile on his lips. Viktor watched, unable to take his eyes off of Yuuri.

The movement was beautiful, more beautiful than the video Viktor had seen of Yuuri doing his program. More beautiful than Eros. More beautiful than his silver medal performance at the Grand Prix Finals.

Viktor was entranced.

Unfortunately, so was Yuuri.

Neither of them thought anything of it when Yuuri took off for his quad flip.

Viktor could see the fall coming from a mile away.

Yuuri bailed after his first rotation, eyes wide, suddenly forgetting everything he knew about safely falling out of jumps. As soon as his blades hit the ice, his arms instinctively shot out to keep his head from connecting with anything, saving him from an even more painful landing.

Viktor watched as Yuuri hit the ice, feet first, sliding on his stomach, hitting the nearby barrier with a thud.

"Yuuri!" he called, speeding towards his fiancé, fear bubbling in his core. "Are you okay, my love?" Viktor blew snow at the barrier and dropped to the ground, where Yuuri was sitting, looking dazed. He nodded though, looking more shaken up than injured. "Are you hurt?"

Yuuri shook his head.

"Don't scare me like that." Without thinking, Viktor pulled Yuuri into a tight embrace, sighing with relief when Yuuri melted into him. "How about you take a break?" Viktor suggested. He felt the nod against his shoulder, and helped Yuuri up, holding his hand firmly as they skated to the edge of the rink. "Do we need to leave?" Viktor asked as he helped Yuuri to a bench.

No, you practice for a while, I'd like to watch. Yuuri wrote back, having grabbed his notebook and water as they passed.

"Okay, I think we only have the rink for another hour." Viktor observed the time. "Gives me time for my step sequence."

Yuuri chugged half of his water and shed his skates as Viktor skated off, working through the intricate footwork that he had been working on nearly a month prior.

Yuuri gazed over the rink, not really absorbing Viktor's movement the way he usual did. Viktor wasn't as captivating as usual. He was distracted. By Yuuri.

"Why…?" Yuuri's mind began to wander. "Why did this have to happen? Why did I let them go through with it? I'm pathetic. Useless. I'm a burden to them. No matter how much they say I'm not, I know they're lying. They just don't want to make me feel worse than I already do. If this had happened to Viktor or Yurio- NO! No, I don't even want to think about that! But… would they feel like this? No. They're stronger. Hell, Minami would probably react better… none of them would have let it happen. They would have been smart and fought back. I just froze. Panicked. I let them do it. I let it happen. This is all my fault. And now Viktor is out of it, Yurio is being nice to me, Phichit and Otabek are missing out on training. Why?! Why didn't I fight back?! WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST KILL ME?!

"Wait. No." Yuuri shook his head, realising his fists were wound a little too tightly in his hair, not doing anything to change it. "No, no. I don't want to be dead. Well… NO! Don't think like that!

"…Should I tell someone about this? No. That would just be more shit piled on top of the shit I've already put on everyone. They don't need more of my problems on their shoulders. They shouldn't have any of my problems on their shoulders. Why am I so GODDAMN SELFISH?!"

"Yuuri, are you okay?" Viktor cautiously approached, concerned that Yuuri hadn't moved in the hour he had been skating. Yuuri's head snapped up at the sound of Viktor's voice, tears were streaming down his cheeks, but he nodded. "Why are you crying?" Viktor sat down on the bench, grabbing Yuuri's hand, concern written in bold across his forehead.

Yuuri looked confused for a moment, lifting a hand to his cheek, feeling the steady drip. He scrambled for his notebook, wiggling out of Viktor's grasp.

It's nothing.

"It's not nothing." Viktor shook his head, refusing to let it go. "People don't cry because of nothing."

Sometimes they do.

"Okay." Viktor submitted, seeing anger beginning to replace the blank stare he had previously been receiving. "Okay. Are you ready to go? It's going to get crowded soon."

Yuuri nodded, wiping away the rest of his tears and following Viktor to the change room.

"There I go again, making people worry… God can't I do anything right?!"