Yuuri stood in the middle of the ice with the microphone in hand. His nerves were off the charts and he didn't know what to do. He knew that he needed to calm his nerves. He would be singing a cover of Ailee's version of 'I Will Always Love You'. The expectations were high for him. This song is remotely famous for Whitney Houston's version. He needed to be able to project his feelings. He needed to let Viktor and the world know that this will be the last time that they see of him. He's going to pour his heart out into this one final performance.
He looked towards the skater stands and saw everyone there. The friends that he made from the years of competing. The coaches that had taken an interest in him for his style and overall kindness. He looked at the one person that needed to pay attention to this and saw the interest and feelings of love in those ocean blue eyes. He looked away as the tears began to gather. He heard the murmurs from the crowd and remembered that the camera was looking at him. He looked up and saw his face on the big screen. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and releasing it, feeling more calm than he's ever been. The beginning notes of the piano started. He raised the mic to his lips and let the singing do the talking for him.
(If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I know
I'll think of you every step of the way)
Yuuri knew eventually that this day would come. He felt within every fiber of his being. He knew that his time with Viktor was coming to a close. He knew from the day Viktor told Yuuri that he was going to coach him. He knew from the 'Hot Springs on Ice'. He knew from the very first competition with Minami. He knew from the first kiss at the Cup of China. He knew when they landed in Russia for the Rostelecom Cup. He knew from the ring exchange, from the Short Program, ending it after the finals, the Free Program. He knew....and yet his heart continued to yearn for the silver haired skater. His anxiety filled mind told him to not pursue the man, but his emotions and his heart wanted the man so much.
(And I will always love you
I will always love love you
You, my darling you)
Yuuri was on cloud 9 when Viktor practically told everyone that they were engaged. Hell....he didn't even know that they were dating. He knew that he loved this man with every inch of his being. He loved being next to Viktor as an equal. He loved it when they would go on tiny dates. He loved it when they would cuddle and spend the day in each other's arms. He even loved it when they had sex. Another moment in their love life when they felt connected with one another. The bliss that Yuuri felt was something entirely different from when he was on the ice. He enjoyed, no, LOVED every moment of it and wished that it would never end. He wanted to be in this dream for the rest of his life.
(Bittersweet memories
That is all I'm taking with me
So goodbye
Please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need of)
Viktor began to act strange nearly a year after they lived together for 2 years. He started talking about this one female skater. Yuuri had stared at Viktor and asked him if he liked her. Viktor was silent way longer than needed. He stood up and had pounced onto Yuuri and hugged him endlessly with crying. Repeating about how much Yuuri's words had wounded him. Yuuri had tears of relief swimming in his chocolate brown eyes. He poked at Viktor's whorl and reminded him about the Chihoko incident. Viktor pouted and Yuuri laughed. Yuuri should've known at that moment that Viktor had lied straight through his teeth.
Viktor began coming home smelling like the sweet scent of flowers. They both knew that Viktor had allergies so he couldn't have too much flowers in his vicinity. The smells changed everyday. Viktor would tell him over and over again that he was talking to the fans. However, a multitude of people don't have the same scent, not like that.
Yuuri had finally seen it. He was walking home from the rink when he saw Viktor sitting at a cafe. He had smiled and almost ran towards Viktor. He, instead, had hidden back against the wall. A small petite looking woman had appeared and had kissed Viktor on the cheek and sat down. She held his hands and Viktor had kissed her hands in the same way that he kissed Yuuri's own hands. Yuuri tightened his fist and shook his head.
'They must only be friends...right??'
Yuuri had wished that he didn't turn around. Viktor was kissing her on the lips. Yuuri felt his heart drop into his stomach. He couldn't and didn't want to believe in what he was seeing. So he ran....ran all the way to their apartment and into their bedroom and grabbed some essentials and went to Yurio's apartment.
(And I will always love you
I will always love you...you
My darling oh yes you oh yeah
I will always always always always love you, you)
Yuuri, Yurio, Mila, and Georgi sat in a circle in Yurio's living room. They other 3 skaters were in shock when Yuuri recounted the whole scene at the cafe. They were shocked to even know that Viktor would even cheat on Yuuri. The man was practically head over heels in love with the Japanese. Hell, he even flew to Japan and took the year off just to be with him. They heard a sniffle come from the Japanese and hugged him as tightly as they could. They knew that he was severely heart broken right now. It could do a number of things on his mental state. The blonde Russian had wanted to storm the apartment and knock some sense into Viktor.
He didnt.
The Katsudon was more important that that stupid hack. IT didn't deserve to live. It doesn't deserve to even be classified as a human in Yuri's eyes. To him Viktor Nikiforov was dead.
(I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of
And I wish to you joy and happiness
But above this...I wish to you love)
As the days went, Yuuri knew that their time together was coming to a close. The fans had seen it when the new season started, but Viktor had reassured them. Yuuri became more distant from Viktor. It had shown when he wouldn't reciprocate Viktor's intimacy. It showed when they sat on opposite ends of the bench in the Kiss and Cry. Phichit became aware of the situation and made sure to keep Viktor away from Yuuri for quality "friend time". It wasn't the truth or a lie.
By the time that half of the season had finished. Every skater in the circuit had known about Viktor and Yuuri's situation. Many had sided with Yuuri and believed that he deserved better than the 'ugly ass, two timing bitch' (Phichit). Even Chris, who was long time friends with Viktor, agreed that he was in the wrong. The Russian skaters told them that they were slowly shipping Yuuri's things back to Japan and that Yurio and his grandpa was going with him. Phichit eyes out the teen but nodded his head in agreement. Yuuri had finally spoken up and said that he was going to end it all at the Grand Prix this year. It was luckily held in Tokyo. Once he had relayed his plans they had boarded with this and were going to make Viktor see the error of his ways....THE HARD WAY!!!!
(And I will always love you
I will always love you, I will always love you
I will always love...you, I will always love you
Ooh~ I will always love, I will always love you
I will always love you)
Yuuri had taken gold at the Grnad Prix. He was backstage getting everything ready. The performance will be the last time he would see Viktor or anyone else again.
.
.
.
.
.
Yuuri ended the song with a strong note. He noticed the tears that fell from his eyes. The stadium was quiet before there was a thundering ovation going around. Yuuri had tried to smile and waved back as he bowed. He looked up at the skaters section and found everyone crying, including Viktor. He swallowed thickly and made his way off of the ice. He went towards the changing rooms and grabbed his bag. He didn't need to change. Viktor's bag was next to his as always. He touched it for the last time as he took the ring off and placed onto the bag with a letter. Yuuri gripped his hand as he eyed the ring. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Yurio.
The teen had a worried look on his face. The Japanese wiped his tears and grabbed the blondes hands and running away from his now past. Both skaters ran out the door and into the future where something bright waited for the both of them
(Darling I love you
I'll always, I'll always love you)