Victor had just finished unpacking when he heard a knock on his hotel room door. He ran to open it, and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Hi Chris~!"

"Victor! I've missed you!"

"I missed you too! I've been a social media recluse and it's been killing me! I need updates on everything!"

"Okay, okay. But before that, I need to tell you something. But you have to promise not to absolutely freak okay. Deal?"

"Um, okay?"

"Yuuri. Is here. Not Yurio, but Yuuri. Thee Yuuri. In the lobby. Of this hotel. I don't know why, but he's here. Isn't that amazing?! Let's go see if we can get his autograph or a picture!"

Chris grabbed Victor's hand and started pulling him towards the elevator.

"Oh really? I guess you were right when you said we'd probably start seeing him at future competitions." This is going to be such a fun surprise!

"Yeah, but he said he wasn't going to coach anyone for at least a year. I wonder why he's here now? He looked all official, so maybe he's here for the JSF or something."

A ding alerted them to the fact that the elevator had finally made it to their floor, and they quickly stepped in.

"Okay, while we wait, spill." Chris held out his phone. "You see this conversation? Where you said you'd tell me where you went at your first Grand Prix competition? And I said I'd hold you to it? Well I'm doing that now. Where did you disappear to?!

"I went to Japan!"

"Japan...? Wait, then does that mean..."

The doors opened, and Chris' jaw dropped as he saw Yuuri now standing with both a coach and skater badge hanging around his neck.

"Your coach is the living figure skating legend Katsuki Yuuri! No way!! That's got to be a dream come true for you!"

Victor blushed and smiled. Chris turned to face Victor.

"Victor, I have a serious question to ask you."

"What is it Chris?"

"Can I touch his butt?"

"No Chris~"

"Your butt to touch?"

"My butt to touch~"

* * * * *

After ensuring Victor was prepared for practice and interviews, Yuuri walked ahead to the Megasport Arena to ensure Victor was checked in with the officials and no further paperwork was needed before the competition started. Victor and Chris trailed rather far behind, engrossed in taking the time to catch up on everything that had happened since the last Grand Prix series. By the time they reached the doors of the arena, Victor had completely lost sight of Yuuri. Before he could take the time to look around, he was quickly ushered by several ISU officials into one of the larger conference rooms for initial interviews with the Senior skaters.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Rostelecom Cup. We have gathered all the competitors for this event, and have a couple minutes for you all to each ask a couple questions to each skater before their time for warm-ups and practice begin. We will begin with Alain Leroy."

While a few questions were being asked, Victor peaked at his phone, but saw no notifications from Yuuri. After glancing around the room for a few seconds, there was still no sign on his coach. I wonder if everything is ok?

"That's all the time we have for now, thank you. Moving on next we have Lee June-hyoung."

"...Michal Březina..."

"...Tomáš Verner..."

"Up next is the first of two skaters competing here in their home country. We will now take a couple questions for Victor Nikiforov."

Almost all the hands in the room shot up. I guess me running away suddenly has left people with quite a few questions. If only Yuuri was here when I tell them who I've been training with. He pointed to a woman near the front.

"Victor, privet. Maria Velichko, Sports.ru. Vse khotyat znat'. Vy narushili svyaz' s vashim predydushchim trenerom Yuri Plisetsky i ischezli v techeniye neskol'kikh mesyatsev. Kuda ty ushel?" ("Victor, hello. Maria Velichko, Sports.ru. Everyone wants to know. You broke ties with your previous coach, Yuri Plisetsky, and vanished for several months. Where did you go?")

"I left the country to go train with a new coach. It's my Senior debut this year, and while I've always been strong with my TES scores, I've never really been the best with PCS scores. So I've been working on improving that aspect of my programs and becoming a more well-rounded skater."

"What country did you travel to? Who is your new coach?"

"Well, if I wanted to be the best, I needed to train with the best in terms of holistic aspects of a program or other nuances that can make or break a skaters score and standing. So I went to Japan to train with Katsuki Yuuri."

"Yuuri Katsuki?! That's why he's here? I thought he had announced he wanted to take some time off before starting as a coach."

"He had, but I expressed my interest in learning from him, and we had several discussions on the idea, and he eventually agreed to take me on as a student for the season. To this day, I'm still very honored that he agreed to coach me. Next please."

Again, hands shot up all around the room. Victor pointed to one of the men standing off to the side.

"Stanislav Krasilnikov, Russian News Agency TASS. Victor, since you've been away from the public eye during your stay in Japan, we don't have much information on your programs for this year's competitions. Would you tell us your theme for this year?"

"Of course. My theme in this year's Grand Prix series is 'love'. I've been helped by many people in my competitive skating career thus far, but I've never thought about 'love' until now. Thought I was blessed with support, I couldn't take full advantage of it. I always felt like I was fighting alone. But since Yuuri agreed to be my coach, I've seen something totally different. My 'love' is not something clear-cut like romantic love, but the more abstract feeling of my relationships with Yuuri, my friends, and my hometown. I was finally able to realize that something like love exists all around me."

One of the doors cracked open slightly, and Victor watched as Yuuri tried to sneak in as quietly as possible. Even when he was clearly embarrassed from showing up late, Victor's only thoughts were how gorgeous Yuuri looked.

"Yuuri is the first person I've ever wanted to hold on to. I don't really have a name for that emotion, but I have decided to call it 'love'. Now that I know what love is and am stronger for it, I'll prove it to myself with a Grand Prix Final gold medal!"

As he finished, Victor looked in Yuuri's direction and smiled. Several of the reporters followed where he was looking, and started to clamor for a statement. Thankfully, before anyone could get too invasive into Yuuri's space, the emcee spoke up to re-direct everyone's attention.

"Last but not least, we will take questions for our other Russian athlete here tonight, Yakov Feltsman."

* * * * *

"Victor Nikiforov. Please come draw for your spot."

Victor got up an approached the woman holding the bag of numbers. Anything but the first spot! Not the first spot! Victor whipped a card out of the bag and looked. '6'. Well, not my favorite, but better than first! Victor walked back over the take a seat next to the other skaters. Once the order had been settled, Victor immediately sought out Yuuri.

"Coach Yuuri! I'm not first! Isn't it great?"

"As long as waiting and watching the other skaters isn't something that will make your nervous in the end."

"Well, I mean I can't say for sure, because I don't know what the pressure is like for a Senior-level competition, but it's never been a problem before."

"Okay, well we'll see how you do, and we can stay or find a quiet spot as necessary. Sound good?"

"Yup!"

"Now, are you all warmed up and stretched?"

Victor did a few stretches and poses to prove his muscles were ready to go. "I'm ready! Can we get closer and watch? I promise to keep moving so I don't cool off before it's my turn."

"I don't see why not. Let's go."

Victor and Yuuri walked through the curtains and joined the other skaters waiting rinkside.

"Up first is June-hyoung Lee of South Korea, age 20. Today, he will be skating to 'Almavivo'. I find it a bit strange for him to choose to perform a mambo, but apparently he picked it because he wanted to break new ground in ice skating. Let's see if his decision pays off."

Victor stared at the man on the ice and wrinkled his nose. That is potentially one of the most gaudy costumes I have ever seen.

"June-hyoung Lee's score is 91.83, a personal best. He's currently in first place."

"Next up is Tomáš Verner of the Czech Republic, age 18. He is skating to ' Pictures at the Exhibition: The Hut on Fowl's Legs'."

"Tomáš Verner's score is 82.43. He's currently in second place."

"Next up is Michal Březina of Italy, age 20. His sister, Eliška Březinová, is also here for support. He will skate to 'L'homme Armé' from the movie 'Destiny of Knights'."

Victor's nose crinkled again. He seems overly close with his sister. He's weird.

"Michal Březina's score is 89.65. He's currently in second place."

"Next up is Yakov Feltsman of Russia, age 16. He is skating to 'Angel of the Fire Festival'."

"Yakov Feltsman's score is 98.09, putting him in first."

"Next up is Alain Leroy of Canada, age 19. He's stated his theme this year is memories, and his music for the short is 'Theme of King JJ', a song once used by his father-turned-coach."

Once Alain was off the ice, Victor stepped on, and skated over to the edge of the rink to be next to Yuuri while everyone waited for Alain's scores to be announced.

"Alain Leroy's score is 101.56. As the first to earn a triple digit score this evening, he is now currently in first place."

Seeing such a high score to beat at his first Senior event suddenly shook Victor. Nerves he had never felt before were starting to shake his entire body. He bit his lower lip and looked up at Yuuri. Yuuri's eyes went wide as he took in the state of his suddenly nervous skater. Knowing he didn't have much time to do anything, Yuuri decided to put Yuri's advice to the test.

"Victor, turn around."

"Huh?"

"Just turn around, okay?"

Victor turned in place until his back was against the wall and he was facing away from Yuuri. "Um, like this?"

Suddenly, Victor felt Yuuri's arms wrap around his chest and arms in a hug.

"Don't worry about the audience or judges. Just focus on me and skate like you do in practice. If your performance can charm me, you can enthrall the entire audience."

Yuuri could physically feel the tension drain from Victor's frame as Victor took a few deep breaths and leaned into the embrace. Once Yuuri felt confident that Victor had calmed down, he let go and smiled. Victor returned the smile and skated out to the center of the ice.

"Up last, representing Russia, Victor Nikiforov, age 17. He surprised the entire skating community when he showed up after several months of media silence with the newly retired Katsuki Yuuri as his new coach. Tonight he'll be skating on 'In Regards to Love: Agape', a program choreographed by his coach. Let's see if his time spent with the living legend has paid off."

Victor stopped and got into his starting pose and waited for the music to start. When it did, he let his mind wander and he thought of nothing but the brief moment they had just shared. In my moment of panic, Yuuri knew exactly what to do to help me calm down. And he did it in front of everyone here and the thousands of people watching in their homes, even though he's a very private person usually. He's so amazingly selfless when it comes down to it. I can do this. In return for all he's done for me, I will skate my best and dedicate this performance to my...no, his...no, our growth. Once the song was done, he looked over to see Yuuri standing with his arms extended out for a hug and a giant smile on his face. Victor quickly skated over and jumped into Yuuri's arms. While they hugged, Yuuri tiled his head down and whispered "That was perfect. I'm so proud." They hugged for a moment longer before walking over to sit in the Kiss and Cry.

"And we have his short program score:..."

----------------------------------

Technical Elements 58.91

Presentation 47.93

SP SCORE 106.84 PB

RANK 1

----------------------------------

"...106.84. A new personal best. He's currently in first place."

* * * * *

After Yuuri felt Victor had done his fair share of interviews, he grabbed Victor's arm and pulled him away from the press. Once they passed security and gotten to a point where the reporters weren't allowed to follow, Yuuri turned and put his hand on Victor's head.

"You're in first place with a new personal best! You were perfect! Congratulations!"

Before Victor could respond, he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Oi! Katsudon! What are you doing? Stop saying that!"

They both turned to see Yuri striding over.

"There's still the free skate tomorrow. He's not guaranteed first because of what happened today. Stop spoiling him. Besides, you don't need to be complimented all the time. You know you're talented."

Victor smiled and winked. "Aw~, thanks Yurio!"

Yuuri hadn't seen Yuri in person in years, and couldn't help but fall back into a routine of purposefully goading his senior. "Hello Yurio!"

Hearing Yuuri use Victor's stupid nickname immediately set off his temper. "That's not my name Victor..."

"Marriage was supposed to make you less angry. Why are you always so grumpy?"

Yuri felt a sudden crack in his cool, calm, and collected outer appearance.

"You..."

Suddenly, Victor heard a young female voice calling Yuri's name.

"Oh look! Lilia's looking for you!"

Victor spun on the spot and began to walk away, just like when he left Russia. "Bye Yurio!"

Seeing how quickly Yuri had gone from irritated to enraged at Victor's antics, Yuuri's face quickly went from amused to pained. They must really have an 'interesting' history together...

"I'm sorry Yuri..."

Yuuri quickly walked after Victor to make sure everything was actually okay. Meanwhile, Lilia walked over and glanced past Yuri to stare at Victor's retreating back.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Yuri muttered.

Ignoring her coach's momentary anger, Lilia asked "Is Katsuki Yuuri really Victor's new coach? Is that why Victor disappeared?"

"Yes, Victor went to Japan to find him and beg him to be his coach. I almost feel sorry for Katsudon."

Lilia paused for a moment, suddenly deep in thought.

"Victor seems different this season. He has grown a lot. I mean, look how happy he is now. He's found an entrance to 'love' throughout his many encounters with others. People shine brightest when they seek to understand what kind of love sustains them. And it seems he finally figured it out because of the time he's spent with Katsuki Yuuri."

"I know that look. That look means your scarily accurate intuition has picked up on something. What do you mean, Lilia?"

Lilia looked back over and saw Yuuri say something to Victor, and immediately Victor's face lit up with a smile like she'd never seen before. She found herself smiling along with him. It all makes sense now.