It was a little more than a week into his return to Detroit from the Finals that Yuuri decided enough was enough.
He about startled the life out of Phichit, who had been studying. While Yuuri only had a couple months left until graduation, the Thai skater still had another semester after this.
The ravenet skater had been lying face down on his bed, headphones in, listening to the Playlist he made for all the different songs Viktor had ever skated too. It was amazing the music you could find on Spotify. When in a burst of energy he got up, grabbed his skate bag and practically ran out of the room.
Yuuri ran all the way to the ice rink which they used as a home rink there in Detroit. He had almost gotten lost, distracted by all the colours, he almost didn't recognize anything.
Once he made his way into the entrance to the rink, he had to force the smile on his lips as the petite blonde girl at the counter attempted some small talk with him as he checked into the rink. He was more distracted by her eyes than anything else around him, she had one sapphire eye and one emerald.
Yuuri laughed inwardly, it was still a lot to take in. The span of colours.
She tried to talk to him about his sixth place and how there was always next year. How it was really good to see him back at the rink again. Yuuri just nodded politely, excusing himself with a short bow as he headed for the locker room.
There was a sense of relief that washed over Yuuri as he fixed to put his skates on. It was a sense of home. Somewhere he knew he belonged. It felt fantastic to be on the ice again, but where did he go from there.
It was alleviating how empty the rink was. It was just him and a couple of students he had seen there before, skating for fun. Yuuri found himself drifting on the frozen surface, he had his headphones in again and had resumed play on his Viktor playlist.
He needed a moment to think, a place to exist where nothing was needed of him. Just for an hour. And he felt so bad for Phichit. The younger boy had been such a champ for dealing with the Japanese skater and his moodiness. However, since he broke things off with Celestino on the plane ride, the Italian coach has been able to focus more energy into Phichit.
Without a thought behind it, Yuuri leapt into the air.
One. Two. Three. Four rotations.
The ravenet skater landed on his right foot, his left leg still coiled around his right as he rotated, his left foot pointed outward until it finished the rotation to the back, still pointed outward. His arms were outstretched.
And that was when he fell.
Yuuri laid on the coolness of the ice and just thought. He was in disbelief. Did he really just land a Quadruple loop? His laughter filled the empty skating rink. The couple, he assumed, having left without him noticing. He threw his fists into the air in victory.
Pulling himself off the ice, he glided around some more. Those chocolate hues widened as a specific song came over his playlist. Thoughts, Ideas, Memories poured into his head and he could feel his body bursting with energy. He smiled brighter than he had in the last week.
He skated over to the edge of the rink, resting his outstretched arms on the fiberglass siding, allowing his head to drop between his arms. He could feel himself laughing again, unable to hear anything over the music from his headphones.
The touch on his shoulder caused him to fall backward, his hand over his now racing heart. Yuuri looked up and found the blonde attendant. She smiled apologetically as he removed an earbud from his ear.
"It's closing time, Mr. Katsuki."
He pushed himself back up off the ice and immediately bowed to the young lady.
"Gomen nasai."
Yuuri almost immediately rattled off before he rose, offering her a smile.
"Thank you for taking care of me."
He told her as he got off the ice, placing the guards back over the blades as she waved her hand in front of her face.
"The pleasure is all ours. I'm just glad you are looking better than when you arrived. It's good to see that you worked out whatever was on your mind."
He smiled again. She was right for the most part. He did manage to find his way towards the light. But he wasn't free of this slump yet. He bowed, another thanks rolled off his tongue before he headed for the locker room.
Yuuri had to contain his excitement. He ran all the way back to his shared room. He was so relieved when he found Phichit still awake. He about tackled the Thai skater, who had moved his studies from the desk to his bed.
"ฉันขอโทษฉันขอโทษฉันขอโทษฉันขอโทษฉันขอโทษฉันขอโทษ(C̄hạn k̄hxthos̄ʹ[I'm sorry])…"
The ravenet skater prattled off in the basics of Thai that he had been taught. He received a laugh in return.
"It's okay, it's okay! I'm just glad you are back, I was worried!"
Yuuri laughed at himself, wiping a tear from his eye as he sat on the bed with Phichit. The Japanese skater tossed his skate bag onto his side of the room before he turned back to the other.
"Phichit-kun… I went to the rink this evening… and I didn't intend to, but I landed a quad loop… I landed a quad loop. That pulled me back."
Yuuri looked down at his hands.
"I still haven't decided anything…"
Phichit's brow furrowed at that statement, watching Yuuri get up, heading over to his own bed. He tossed himself down on it, folding his arms behind his head.
"But for now, I'm going to keep practicing… I still have 3 months to make a solid decision..."
