HELLLOOOOO! So here if Chapter 2! This one was alllll my wonderful Co-writer, Taylor! Please let us know what you think! :3


Even fan favorite Viktor Nikiforov's smooth heavily Russian-accented usually loud voice seemed to be eagerly devoured by the sheer size of their giant venue as the duo entered the building- which didn't really feel so giant to the five-time consecutive World Championship winner. Probably because this wasn't his first rodeo in the beautiful Barcelona, Spain- and certainly wouldn't be his last, either.

"... says the guy who wanted to visit absolutely everything that Barcelona has to offer the moment we landed." A much shorter man and, somehow, equally as much as a fan favorite as Viktor himself, Levi Ackerman, snorted, his voice dripping with cold sarcasm as he followed rather closely beside his 'friend', nearing ever closer to the rink- but not yet close enough to hear or see if anyone else was on the ice. Viktor laughed off his sarcasm with the extreme ease of a pro and gently elbowed him in the side, raising his brows as that large charming smile of his darted across his face.

"Oi, Levi, you need to learn to live a little and have some fun for once, it's not all about skating you know!" Viktor suggested light heartedly. Viktor and Levi- it was hard to imagine such contradicting, sheer polar opposites to get along in the same room, much less to actually be caught hang out together off the rink; and even seeming close enough to perhaps use the very tentative word 'friend' to describe their bond.

Viktor with his kind and charming exterior, always trying to please and wow his fans both on and off the ice. He emitted a rather warm and trusting aura, like that of a comforting flame licking the wood of a fireplace in the middle of a cold winter. Even the sound and tone of voice was very smooth and comforting, even though the words that fell from his lips could borderline idiotic due to his playful tendencies and overall laid back and go-with-the-flow nature. Tall, once long now shortened silver hair, gentle soft blue eyes like the calm ocean, long lithe muscles, elegant flowing movements.

And then... there was Levi, who was nothing even close to charming but instead nearly downright unapproachable. He never once tried to please all his adoring fans, and definitely didn't have the endgame to wow the crowd during his routines but instead skated for his own determination and accord- he skated to win. His own aura was cold, off-putting, and even borderline confrontational and always bored or unamused. If Viktor was the warm flame protecting inhabitants from the cold, Levi was the ice and snow that he protected them from that threatened to eat them alive when given the chance. The sound of his voice was quiet but demanding, like a leader that had earned and deserved all the respect he received and definitely was a cold tone of authority. Much like his tone anytime Levi opened his mouth he was always offending people both physically around him and nationally- many reports had learned that interviewing the enigmatic skater was indeed a death sentence for both Levi's PR and their own. His remarks were often very blunt and always held the tone of insult to them, he had absolutely no filter and a very serious nature that matched. Short undercut black hair, deep piercing brown almost black eyes smoldering like the burning sands of a desert, short powerful muscles, terse, abrupt, but swift movements.

Stark. Complete. Opposites.

"And you realize it's that sort of attitude that will finally be your downfall, Viktor. Don't you?" Levi's words were cold- but Viktor had been around Levi enough to understand that in his own strange way this warning was indeed a sign that he cared about the Russian... and naturally Viktor only smiled and shrugged, once again blowing it off. Levi snorted and continued, "And once you fall, I will be there to snatch your spot away."

Viktor quirked a silver brow at the small smirk that had quickly darted across the other skater's face, and the pride that seemed to swell from him- even though his words were nearly cruel to the ears... but the smile never left his face. "I feel like you say this every year though, hmm, if you're so sure-" his smile slowly morphed into a near-smirk of his own, but to the untrained eye it was still a warm and fuzzy smile that only he was capable of however the next words that fell from his mouth were completely contradictory; "- want to place a bet on it?" A silent challenge.

Viktor and Levi always traded blows - figuratively of course- on the rink, but ultimately it never ceased to fail, Viktor always came out the one on top in the very end, and Levi always a very close second. Where Viktor won gold, Levi won silver. Every. Single. Year. And it was through this endless silent battle of wills between the Russian and Frenchman that somewhere, somehow, something formed between the two of them- something more than just two competitors who struggled endlessly against their adversary to win... something akin to a very weird friendship, only proof enough that opposites did indeed attract each other. However, no matter how odd their friendship seemed to be, it worked out well for them. The easy-going Viktor found Levi's sarcasm and crude jokes absolutely entertaining, and Levi tolerated Viktor's enthusiasm and warmth, only losing it when the man decided to get physical and actually touch him in the form of a hug. Like the awkward friendship between a friendly dog and a loner cat. Both respected the other considerably and found him a more-than-worthy adversary.

"If I win," Viktor continued, "you have to pay for-"

"Shh." Levi suddenly froze in his place, eyes glued to the rink, entire body stiff and rigid. However, the ever-oblivious Viktor continued, eyes on Levi as he continued on with their terms.

"- our dinner the entire time- hm?" he finally stopped, giving the dark-haired man a curious glance. Levi shot forward and snatched Viktor by the arm, pulling him to a complete stop before they reached the rink and stood up on the tips of his toes to just barely able to place a hand against his mouth to effectively silence the rambling Russian.

"Be quiet, you idiot." He growled lowly now before releasing him and nodding over toward the rink finally catching the sound of two other skater's voices. Viktor followed his gaze toward the two blurs that now darted a few laps around the rink, appearing to be racing each other as a warm up before their actual routine. Or at least, logically it had to be since this rink was only open to the skaters for the Cup of Spain... but if not for that major detail the two appeared to just be regular young adults paling around on the ice. Levi put a finger to his lips in a silent motion to stay quiet as he slowly crept his way toward the stands. Viktor read his body language with ease; reconnaissance, he wanted to watch their competition and see how well - or poor- they were.

Although he personally was against silently spying on the other skaters, he willingly followed the Frenchmen without so much a peep telling himself that this was less of spying and more of... simply just viewing. For pleasure. Besides, skaters could always change up what they wanted to do for their routines. By the time the two males had made it to the empty stands completely unnoticed by the other duo who seemed to be so engrossed in each other that they didn't even see them slip in- the race had concluded and the much faster of the two, the raven-haired fellow, was being helped off the ice by his friend/companion/partner...?

"I wonder..." Levi murmured under his breath, eyes locked onto the brunette that was down there with him. Did he recognize him or something or-? Viktor didn't have much time to ponder, the way Levi's eyes were so interestingly glued to the ice the Russian couldn't help but follow his lead- and was happy he did so. The raven had taken to the middle of the rink while his friend moved off the ice to give him some room- he was performing his program, what luck-! Viktor tilted his head with interested, as the male began his first set of jumps, gliding silently to the music he had clearly memorized that now played effortlessly in his head and was absolutely mesmerized by the male performing in front of him.

His bright blue eyes widened with surprise, sparkling with excitement and wonder, lips parting as he sucked in a deep breath- and the Russian was completely unaware of the fact that he'd nearly been holding his breath in the entire time, during the raven's entire performance because it was... breathtaking. He glided across the ice, his muscles gently brushing and moving easily underneath his skin as he moved. Like a raven's feathers in the lighting of the pale moonlight, his black hair seemed to slowly turn colors from a deep black into a midnight deep blue. And those deep, deep, intelligent, concentrated brown eyes... This male- he reminded Viktor a lot of himself when he was younger, his movements were elegant and graceful, as fluid as water running through a river bed, and beautiful. It was as if the male cut himself open and let the entire world see who he was on the ice, becoming one with the music in his head and letting the rhythm effortlessly take him through the motions and jumps. Sure, the Russian's keen gaze picked up on a few errors such as stance, positioning, and technical footwork along with the ability for more -or fewer- jumps to make the program even better- but nothing that was fatal or even close to it. He was... beautiful, passionate, and happy... his performance drew Viktor in and lit a fire deep within his belly in a way that he hadn't ever felt with another skater, even one such as Levi. It was new... inspiring... ... and disappointing when it finally drew to a close, and Viktor finally released his breath.

The duo in the stands were both speechless over his nearly flawless performance, and it took everything Viktor had in his power not to stand and start clapping and cheering in the form of a standing innovation. In fact, if not for Levi's hand on his elbow, he would have done just that-! The Frenchman had read his mind. They shared a look as the raven collected himself on the ice and his brunette friend approached to wrap his arms around him in a comforting hug of adoration. Then it seemed like it was his turn, they traded places on the ice... Having high expectations from the other's partner thanks to his performance, both men moved to the edges of their seat, eyes closely focused on the brunette in the middle of the rink, waiting for any signs of movement... Especially Levi who had taken his skates out during the raven's performance to obsessively clean the blades with a soft rag until they were spick and span, flawless, scratch-free, and had not a single ounce of dirt or debris on them. Then the Frenchman had stopped cleaning to once again oddly focused on the brunette.

After a few minutes of baited silence, finally he began to move to his own vastly different melody in his head- and it was almost painfully easy to tell, unlike the male before him. His jump sequences were landed with the sheer ease of a professional... and yet... something appeared to be missing during the entire thing. Viktor couldn't put his finger on it, but this boy lacked something that his partner seemed to have plenty of. The Russian wasn't drawn in, and Levi… blue eyes cut a look over toward his friend... Who... appeared... angry? Levi watched the brunette on the ice, mentally going through lists and check marks for performance much like a judge would, keen, intelligent, careful detail-oriented eyes judging him on every move like he had originally done for the raven.

Yet, as the brunette's program slowly progressed on... the look in his piercing gaze slowly transformed from sheer curiosity and interest... into one of distaste and disappointment, almost visibly wrinkling his nose. While Viktor himself couldn't pinpoint the youth's issues, Levi almost immediately could; his lack of performance. This boy had all the materials in front of him to win, had the ability, the jump capability, the endurance, the height, all of it- but he lacked the will to use it all together, only wanting to show off his jumps versus truly work on his technical skills and performance. He didn't have enough esteem- no desire to win. And it was... disgusting. An impressing show now turned pathetic and boring due to his lack of will to win he was just silently skating to the motions- it was as if he was putting himself down thanks to his friend who seemed to easily outshine him with his own light.

A shadow.

It made Levi sick to think that he'd just let all his talent go to waste like that without even batting an eyelash while someone like him had to work hard to get to where he was at now and comfortably stand besides, and eventually over, Viktor the undefeated champion. After another minute or so of just watching the brunette as if waiting for something to change in his performance and realizing that it wouldn't, suddenly Levi abruptly stood and brushed his way past Viktor almost irritably, clearly making his way toward the locker room. Viktor was taken by surprise, immediately stood and chased after him, casting one single look over his shoulder back at the raven before following closely behind Levi toward the locker room to change.

The air that the much shorter male put off was indeed threatening, a rare moment when Viktor understood not to say anything at all. Levi had become agitated for some reason that his friend just couldn't understand. Finally, once they reached the locker room and the duo was in the middle of changing Levi finally spoke his first words since watching both programs- er well, one entire one and not even half of the other.

"Did you see that?" Levi asked, not even meeting Viktor's gaze.

"See what?" Viktor answered softly, as he slid his black t-shirt over his head, back to Levi.

"You can't tell me you didn't see it in the second program." The raven snapped, facing Viktor.

"Oh, you mean the brunette?" Viktor turned around on heel now to face Levi- and froze. The Frenchman's piercing narrowed eyes were watching him carefully as if silently daring him to say no.

"Yes." Levi replied coldly, leaning against the lockers. He seemed tired.

"I could tell he was... lacking... something?" Viktor added with a tilt of his head, long finger moving up to his lips in thought as his eyes raised toward the ceiling, "I'm just not exactly sure to what that may be-"

"Desire." Levi said absently, closing his eyes and sighing heavily.

"Hmm?" Viktor looked at his friend now, brows furrowed with curiosity- what had gotten into Levi? Why was he being so serious about this? Didn't this just mean easy competition?

"That boy, he had the potential..." he sounded... a bit... hopeful? No, that wasn't possible, Viktor had to be misplacing that emotion- but his next words were dripping with venom and anger; Levi opened his eyes and cast Victor a sharp glare, "but he's blowing it."

Victor didn't reply, just simply sat on the bench and started putting on his skates, followed by his friend. Levi finished shining his skates once more before quickly lacing up and making his way out of the locker room and back toward the rink. He was in quite the mood to practice- which wasn't unusual when he was brooding. Viktor let out a soft sigh and shook his head lightly before doing the same and following beside him closely.

"Well, each person has their own reason for skating, don't they?" Viktor chuckled softly, trying to ease the mood and tension of his friend- however, it was all in vain as they neared closer toward the rink. "C'mon, at least try to be a little sociable, you know it wouldn't kill you~!"

Oh, but if looks could kill, Viktor would have succumbed to that cruel glare that was shot from the corner of Levi's vision right toward his direction. They were only a few feet from the other skaters now.

"Hellloooooo! ~" Viktor called out pleasantly, waving in a grand fashion to the both of the other skaters, a large charming smile covering his face. He seemed so blissfully unaware of how attractive he was. Levi winced at the sound of Viktor's loud voice echoing across the walls now, completely taken by surprise by his sudden introduction.

Yuri, who had been watching Eren do his triple axel again, turned to see who could be there at such a late hour, only to meet the soft blue eyes of Viktor himself. A loud gasp escaped his mouth before he could stop himself. Eren, who had been skating backwards into a triple Axel, landed harshly on his hand before picking himself up and skating to his friend's side. He looked between Viktor and Yuri, not knowing what to do. He knew one of the two of them needed to say something but he wanted Yuri to be the first to speak to Viktor. After a few long seconds, Yuri's mind began to function again and he blushed furiously, waving back weakly.

"U-um, Hello," Yuri squeaked, making Eren internally deadpan. The German sighed, elbowing Yuri inconspicuously trying to remind him WHO he was taking to. Eren knew he needed to intervene and fast.


We are almost through Chapter 3, so stay tuned!