Seagulls chirped as they flew overhead. The sky was cloudy but hints of sun peeked through open spaces.
"Oh, seagulls," Viktor said.
"Black-tailed gulls," Yūri corrected. He, Viktor, and Y/n sat facing the water watching the waves roll by.
"Ever since I came here, I'm reminded of St. Petersburg when I hear seagulls in the early morning." The wind blew gently. Makkachin sat on Y/n's lap since she was in between the two males. "I never thought I'd leave that city," Viktor admitted. "So I never used to notice the seagulls' cries. Do you ever have times like that?"
"Mhmn," Y/n said. Viktor looked at her but she didn't look back. "My brother's in the music business, so he's often busy with dance rehearsal, concerts, photo shoots, and even fan meetings. I miss him a lot when he's out of the country."
Yūri thought for a minute before answering. "There was a girl in Detroit who was really pushy and kept talking to me. One time, a rink mate got into an accident. I was pretty torn up with worry... I was in the hospital waiting room with that girl. When she hugged me to comfort me, I shoved her away without thinking about it. And Y/n threw three magazines at her head."
Y/n blushed a bit at the memory. "Wow, why?" Viktor asked.
"I-i don't remember why I did that," Y/n lied. She looked over at Yūri who was hugging his legs to his chest.
"I didn't want her to think I was feeling unsettled," Yūri answered. "I felt like she was intruding on my feelings or something, and I hated it. But then I realized that Y/n, Minako-sensei, Nishigori, Yuko-chan, and my family never treated me like a weakling. They had faith that I'd keep growing as a person, and they never stepped over the line."
"Yūri, you're not weak," Viktor said smiling. "No one else thinks that either."
"Yeah. Why would you ever think that?" Y/n asked gently. That was one of the many things Yūri liked about Y/n. She can be silly and childish but when he needs it, she's very sentimental and makes him feel better. "You're the one being hard on yourself and beating yourself up when you don't need to."
Yūri didn't say anything. "What do you want me to be to you? A father figure?" Viktor then asked.
"No."
"A brother, then? A friend? What do you want Y/n to be to you? A sister?" Yūri just made an "mhm" sound which Viktor took as a no. "Then, your boyfriend and girlfriend, I guess." Yūri jumped up. Y/n started laughing.
"We'll have to try our best, Viktor," Y/n said. "I call him Sunday through Tuesday."
"No, no, no, no, no," Yūri exclaimed. "I want you two to stay who you are, Y/n, Viktor!" Both of them, along with Makkachin, looked at Yūri. "I've always looked up to you. Even you Y/n. I ignored you because I didn't want you to see my shortcomings." Yūri looked away blushing. "I'll make it up to you both with my skating!"
"Okay, we won't let you off easy, then," Viktor said holding up his hand. Y/n smiled nodding in agreement. "That's our way of showing our love."
Viktor held one of Yūri's hands and Y/n held the other. The clouds started to separate revealing a blue sky.
'When I open up, they meet me where I am.'
~*~
Later on, Yūri went to his room and logged in to his computer. 'I shouldn't be afraid to open up more!' He leaned back into his chair sighing when an alert went off signaling that he had a new email. Yūri smiled happily.
"She's going to redo the music," Yūri eagerly told Viktor and Y/n.
"That's great!" Y/n cheered.
"Okay, I look forward to it," Viktor added.
"Until she's done, um...please teach me all the jumps you can do! You included Y/n!"
~*~
Yurio skated to the music of his routine. He moved with elegance and grace, just like the ballerina Lilia intended him to be. Yurio landed the jump perfectly and kept on.
"It's no good at all," Lilia stated. "Even the king crab we ate yesterday had a better free leg than you" Yurio panted tiredly. "Do it again, starting from the same place. Your response?"
"Yes ma'am!"
Yakov watched with a frown. "It might have been good that he left Viktor's side early," he thought. Yurio still panted slightly. He went to move some of his hair out of his face. "He's trying to rebuild his strengths."
~*~
"Viktor, Y/n, please let me do that one more time!" Viktor lifted his head up from the barrier he was resting his head on. Sweat covered his body as he panted.
"Wow... Hasn't it been tens of thousands of times?" He asked smiling. Y/n was laying in the ice.
"I'm not sure how much more my body can take, but if you say so." She tried to stand only to slip and fall. Pain flared up through her bones. Y/n just laid there. "My body is sad."
"Just thirteen," Yūri clarified.
"I've thought this for a while, but you have pretty good stamina," Viktor said as he wiped some of the ice off his skate.
"Yeah." Y/n wobbled a bit but remained standing. "He typically can skate a lot longer compared to me."
"Well, I have that at least."
"You said you get hungry when you're nervous in competition, too," said Viktor still leaning over. "You haven't suffered any major injuries, and you're younger than I am."
Yūri poked the center of Viktor's head.
"S-sorry!" Yūri apologized upon realizing what he did. Viktor's hand went to his head. "I couldn't help it!"
"Is it getting that thin?" He asked.
"No, no, no! Everything's okay!"
"I'm hurt... I can't recover from this." Viktor laid down on the ice causing Yūri to freak out.
"Sorry!" Yūri frantically apologized on the ground. Y/n stood in the corner of the rink snickering. "Please get up! Y/n, do something!"
"What am I to do?" She asked in Korean while shrugging. "Kiss him?"
"I don't speak Korean!"
On the sidelines, Takeshi and Yuko were watching the whole thing. "Well, those three seem to get along fine," Takeshi stated.
That night, Yūri received another email.
"It's here!" He grabbed his computer. Yūri shook Y/n awake who had fallen asleep on his bed. He then grabbed his computer and ran to Viktor's room. "Viktor, it's here. You and Y/n, listen!" Viktor groggily woke up. Y/n sluggishly walked in and collapsed on Viktor's bed. Makkachin yelped when Yūri stepped on its tail. "Oops, sorry! The music for the free program's done.
Yūri turned on a bunch of lamps. Viktor sat up revealing his bare chest. Yūri gave him one earbud and Y/n the other. The two sat in silence listening to the music. They both then smiled and nodded at Yūri.
The next day
"If you want more impact, maybe the last jump can be a quadruple toe loop?" Viktor suggested looking at the notes in Y/n's notebook. Y/n wrote it down in pink pen.
"Huh? For the last one?" Yūri asked.
"You have the stamina so you should be able to pull it off," Y/n said.
"You rather not?" Questioned Viktor.
"I'll do it!"
"Okay." Viktor started to walk away but stopped remembering something. "Oh right. Yūri, did you change the musical theme?"
"Oh, um..."
"What is it?"
"The theme is "on my love." Viktor and Y/n smiled.
"That's the best theme." Y/n nodded in agreement. "Perfect." Yūri smiled with a blush in his cheeks. "Okay, let's finish this!"
"Yeah!" Yūri and Y/n said in unison.
Viktor and Y/n stood to the side and watched Yūri who was in the center of the rink. He started with his head down then slowly raised his hands up. He began his small spins and movements, the sound of his skates sliding against the ice were the only noise.
~*~
"What?" Minako exclaimed holding out her phone. "The Grand Prix assignments were announced!?
"Crap, crap, crap!" The triplets said. They were huddled around the laptop in their pajamas.
"Do you three realize what time it is!?" Yuko asked angrily.
"Mom! The assignments!" Yuko looked at the computer.
"Crap, crap!" The four of them said.
"Yuri," Yakov called. He opened the door. Lilia was sitting on the couch with a teacup in hand. "The assignments are in."
"Where?" Yuri came out of the bathroom. "Where'd the little Japanese piggy get assigned?"
At Hasetsu, everyone popped confetti and hung up banners congratulating Yūri. "Congrats!" Everyone cheered and clapped.
"Thanks." Yūri sat at the table stiffly.
"Okay, I'll explain which events you'll be competing in," Viktor said smiling.
"But first," Lutz interrupted.
"Since the Katsuki family still doesn't know much about figure skating," Axel continued. "We'll give a simple explanation!"
"Oh, that'd be very helpful," Hiroko said. Axel removed a cloth revealing a small poster titled "Figure Skating Grand Prix Series".
"What is the figure skating Grand Prix series? Skaters with high scores in the previous year participate in a maximum of two competitions out of six worldwide. Only the top six skaters advance to the Grand Prix final, which decides who's number one! And this season, Yūri's been assigned to the third event, the cup of China! Yūri's former rink mare, Phichit from Thailand, will be there too!"
"Oh, Phichit-kun!" Yūri and Y/n said eagerly excited to see their old friend.
"And his second event will be...the sixth event, Russia's Rostelecom Cup! He'll be up against his fated rival, Yuri Plisetsky!"
"Wow, Yurio! Davai, davai!" Mari cheered. She held up two paper fans which Y/n will not question where or how she got them.
'So, I'm already facing Yurio in the Rostelecom Cup...'
Off to the side, Viktor was petting his dog with a smile. "You'll be minding the house during the season, Makkachin." Makkachin licked Viktor's cheek. Viktor chuckled at this.
'That's right...it'll be my first time in a Grand Prix series without Viktor in the lineup.' Y/n poked his cheek.
"Hey, smile."
"I bet if you show up with Viktor as your coach, they'll think you stole him from the sport," Takeshi joked.
"Maybe skating fans worldwide hate you now!" Yuko added.
"Hey!!! You're not helping at all!" Y/n shouted. Yūri had an expression of fear.
"Sorry! We're on your side, Yūri-kun!" Yuko quickly apologized.
"Yeah, we are," Minako added. "I'll come cheer you on this season too!" She spun around holding up a banner that said Yūri's name on it. "First up is the Cup of China!"
"Huh?"
"Yūri, last year..." Axel started.
"In the Nationals..." Loop continued.
"I think I finished eleventh because I messed up my prep." Yūri still had the expression of fear on his face.
"I see... So you have to compete in the block championship," Takeshi said.
"What?" Viktor asked resting his elbow on Yūri's shoulder.
"Oh, we're talking about domestic competitions."
'To explain,' Y/n told the audience. 'Yūri had a big time loss in last year's nationals. So this year, he has to work his way up from qualifying competitions.
So his first event this season is the Chugoko, Shikoku, and Kyushu championship in September. It'll be his comeback competition!
...And all this I forgot to tell him!'
"Well, you'll breeze through the that," Takeshi assured hitting Yūri on the head recieving and ow, as a response.
"Oh, but Minami-kun from Fukuoka will be competing in it," Axel said."
"Yeah, he beat Yūri in the Nationals. Minami Kenjiro from Kyushu, said to be the number one star among younger skaters!"
'Right... It's already been more than six months since December, when I thought I was done for," Yūri thought remembering his loss at the finals last year.
"Good good. We can cheer you on this year, too," Toshio said. "Good luck."
"Dad..."
"We need to use this chance to make money!"
"Dad."
"You'll autograph a sign, won't you?" Hiroko asked.
'Until now, I thought I was fighting all by myself. But now that Viktor's here and Y/n's my manager, that's totally changed.'
"Come on Yūri!" Y/n encouraged him to run faster. She and Viktor waited at the top of the stair case smiling.
'Some things are still the same. Some have changed. Now everything feels so new.' Yūri laced up his skates. 'I may never be able to retain what I've lost, but I cam clearly see what's in front of me now.'
Yūri skated on to the ice. The piano of his music started up and be began his routine. He held his head down the raised his hands up before moving into the steps. Each day, Viktor and Y/n watched as he progressed along.
Yurio continued to be coached under Lilia. "Okay, from the very beginning," she instructed. Yurio undid the pony tail in his hair. All the other skaters looked at him in shock. Lilia smiled. "That's right Yuri... That's beautiful."
"He was so reluctant at first," Mila said. "But he's becoming more and more like a prima ballerina."
"I only have a short window before my body changes," Yurio thought. "I'm going to take advantage of everything I can right now to win." And he started his routine from the top.
~*~
'Figure skaters are only competitive for a short time. This will probably be my last competitive figure skating season. I don't know how long Viktor will still around, Y/n be my manager, or how long my body will hold up. So please, God...give me Y/n and Viktor's time, if only just for now.'
"Yūri, you still haven't named the piece. What will it be?" Viktor asked. He and Y/n watched as Yūri wrote on the CD with a black marker. They smiled.
"That's perfect," Y/n said.
Yuri on ICE
'September... Viktor, Y/n and I's season will finally begin.'
A/n
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Episode 11
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Need I say more?