"Well, ok then. Still, it's kind of weird for us all to be here like this. We all used to be competitors at some point, and now we're coaches with our own students, except for Victor and Chris of course. Being out of the immediate competitive circle has definitely given me more interaction with the next generation of skaters. I like it though, because it's introduced me to people I've never interacted with before, Victor included."

Victor suddenly spit out the drink he had been sipping on.

"Yuuri, you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"What happened at the banquet in Sochi?!"

"No? I know I drank a ton of champagne, and I start going off the rails when I drink, just like my Kyushu born-and-bred dad, so I was trying to not drink too much so I could remember my last banquet. But then I woke up the next morning with no memories of the night before, so I knew I had probably gone too far. But there were no pictures or messages from anyone, so I figured nothing eventful happened."

"You...you don't remember anything?"

"No." Yuuri suddenly paled. "What did I do? What are you not telling me?"

"Well...I guess that explains a lot."

"You were all there. So who wants to tell me what drunk Yuuri did?"

Yuuri glanced around the table and saw everyone suddenly look very smug. Phichit started.

"Well, as you are aware, you got very drunk off champagne. And then, um, your clothes slowly started coming off."

Yuuri's eyes bulged out of his sockets. "No..."

Yuri spoke next.

"Then you came up to me and told me that you were better trained with your one-on-one time with Minako than I was with my time training with several members of the Bolshoi Ballet, and challenged me to a dance-off to prove it. I didn't want to, but of course I had to defend their honor. It was vile."

Yuuri let his face drop into his hands.

Phichit chimed in. "Yurio, you're just bitter because you lost." Otabek immediately grabbed one of Yuri's hands to calm him and keep him in his chair.

Chris eventually spoke up.

"You even told me that if I wanted to be better at expressing my sexuality on the ice, I needed to expand my dance repertoire, and proceeded to somehow procure a pole and pole dance to prove your point. And at this point, you were just wearing your socks, boxer briefs, tie, and shirt. Well, the shirt only lasted half the time."

Yuuri's head slid from his hands and thunked onto the table.

"Oh god, why?"

Victor poked Yuuri's shoulder until he looked up. He was surprised when he saw Victor's eyes watering.

"But I can't believe you don't remember our time. We started dancing together, and you told me that you saw a lot of potential in me, but you said I'd never make progress if I stayed with Yuri because he was, and I quote 'a man in his late 20's still stuck with the emotional constipation of his teenage self', and said that if I ever wanted to learn how to be a real skater for the senior division, you'd be willing to coach me. All I had to do was join you in Japan."

Yuuri screeched, earning several glares from the other diners.

"I SAID WHAT?!"

"Yeah, that's why I was really upset when you first turned me down when I showed up. I didn't understand why you'd offer then say no. Given, I understand now that many of your reasons to say no were legitimate, but that kind of logical thinking wasn't exactly at the forefront of my mind in that moment. I was just desperate to do whatever I could to get you to agree."

Yuuri felt like he wanted to die and be swallowed up by the earth were he sat. He cringed when Phichit pulled his phone out.

"I still have pictures and videos from the banquet. Who wants to re-live that night?"

Yuuri suddenly lunged across the table and waved his arms around in an attempt to snatch Phichit's phone.

"Dear god, don't look! W-Wait! Cut it out already!"

Amongst all the flailing, a voice spoke up.

"So, uh, what's the rings you two?"

Everyone froze where there were as all their faces turned to look at Chris' face and then to Yuuri and Victor's hands. Yuuri quickly pulled his hand back and covered the ring with his other hand. Shit! This is not how I wanted to have this found out.

"They're a pair!" Victor proclaimed.

Yuuri felt a piercing gaze, and turned to see Phichit looking intently at their hands. Oh no. No, no, no. I know that face. That's Phichit's assuming face. I can damn near see the gears turning in his mind. He never comes to the correct conclusions. Before Yuuri could add anything else to the conversation, Phichit's face brightened in his own revelation and he stood up and started clapping.

"Congrats on your engagement!"

"Wait, no -"

Phichit then turned to the rest of the restaurant.

"Everyone! My good friend here got engaged!"

The restaurant burst into applause. Otabek's face remained stoic but he clapped in support. Yuri's mouth had fallen open and he was sputtering. Chris was just smiling, happy for his friend. Phichit was still standing and clapping enthusiastically.

"N-No, this is, um -"

"Yeah, don't get the wrong idea. This is just a promise ring. We'll get officially engaged and married after I win more consecutive gold medals than him."

Yuuri gasped. "Victor!" He knew coaches could be just as vicious about their skaters winning as the skaters themselves, just in the background. Declaring he'd not only win gold, but several gold, was the same as painting a metaphorical target on his head. He turned and saw the rest of their dinner party glaring in silent determination.

The silence was broken as Chris spoke up.

"A god medal, huh? Maybe this season, but just you wait till when I move up to the senior division. You can't beat me forever."

*****

"Hey, Yuuri. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yuri. You used my actual name, so I know something's up. What did you want to talk about."

"You. And Victor. What is going on between you two?"

Yuuri cocked his head to the side, confused.

"Why?"

"Because I've watched Victor grow up, and I know him. Right now the one thing I can say for sure is that that boy is in love with you. You have been his idol, his goal, and he's wanted nothing more than to be considered your equal. And you've been acknowledging him. This is his dream come true."

"Okay, but I don't see what's wrong with that."

"Nothing specifically. But he's impulsive, he's absurdly clingy and needy, he loves his dog more than most people, and for as much as he tries to hide it, he's just bursting with repressed, irrational teenage hormones and attitude. For both your sakes, are you sure he's the kind of person you want to be involving yourself with? Romantically?"

"Why do you get so focused on the negative things about people Yuri? He might be everything you said, but he's so much more. He's kind and caring, he's determined, and he's a completely lovable goofball. And I care for him, both the good and the bad. They're what make him Victor. And god knows I'm not perfect either. It's gotten better over the years, but I'm still a ball of anxiety sometimes. We're both human. Things happen. But what's important is that we're able to move on."

"I get that, I really do. And I know you're not the type of person to purposefully mess with people, but that boy adores you with every fiber of his being. If you're not as serious about him as he is about you, you need to say so now."

Yuri's gaze darkened as the atmosphere got perceptibly more threatening.

"And if this is just some game or trick, some royally fucked up way to manipulate his feelings to improve his skating, I will honestly destroy you. Yes, he pisses me off 95% of the time, but Victor is like a son to me. I might not have blood family left, but I have my skating family, and I will do whatever it takes to protect them."

Yuuri blanched.

"God, Yuri, no! I understand your concern, but this is real for me too! He might be a lot to handle at times, but I've never been so happy and at peace around someone like I am with Victor. Yes, it's odd, seeing as I initially tried to ship him back to you, but as things are now, I wouldn't change anything. Well, maybe the initial naked greeting. That was definitely a shock. But this ring..." Yuuri looked at his hands as he used his left hand to twist the ring on his finger. "...I didn't accept it lightly."

Yuuri looked back up and locked eyes with Yuri.

"I do honestly want to stay with him, both on and off the ice, for as long as he'll have me. To be honest, there are still times where I wonder what he sees in me."

Yuri's attitude immediately got lighter.

"He's just starting to see what I've always known. You know I hate sappy shit, but after everything I've seen this season, I really don't know if there's a better person for him out there than you. So take good care of him, okay?"

"I will. I promise."

*****

"Welcome back to this year's Grand Prix Final! The top six skaters we'll see today have survived the brutal Grand Prix series. We have a wide array of skaters, so I feel this competition will be very interesting. First up, we have Grand Prix veterans Stéphane Lambiel and Alain Leroy. Both have made it to the Grand Prix Final several times, but never got higher than a silver when Katsuki Yuuri was around. Will they finally be able to win the gold now that the powerhouse that was Katsuki is retired? Next up we have Denis Ten, who came out of nowhere this year to awe and amaze us. Ten has made it to several Grand Prix qualifiers in past years, but this is his first time making it to the Finals. But with medals from both national and other international competitions, Ten is no stranger to the pressure the skaters will encounter here. Lastly, we have newer competitors in Victor Nikiforov, Celestino Cialdini, and Yakov Feltsman. Nikiforov might be the oldest of the three, but this is his first year in the Senior division. So far he's held up well against his more experienced counterparts, but we'll see today if he truly has what it takes to make it here. Cialdini and Feltsman both started in the Senior division as soon as their age allowed, but it is also their first time being ranked so high in an international competition. Let's hope these three newcomers are ready to fight for a spot on the podium. The final round is about to begin here in Barcelona!"

*****

"Here's another member of Russia's next generation, Yakov Feltsman, age 16. He is skating to 'Angel of the Fire Festival'. He's supposedly changed his jump composition in this program for even higher marks."

"Here comes the score for Yakov Feltsman. His score is 97.83. It didn't break the 100 mark, but it's still a high score to start off this competition, putting him in first place."

"Next is Thailand's Celestino Cialdini, age 16. He is skating to 'Shall We Skate?'. He has a lot of supporters here today waving the Thai flag in the audience."

"That was a flawless performance from Celestino Cialdini! He seems to be feeling a release from the immense pressure. That was a truly amazing performance. And his score is 95.73! That's a new personal best! He's currently in second."

Before Victor started, he skated over to Yuuri and grabbed his hand. He kissed the ring on Yuuri's hand and then looked up and smiled.

"I promise to skate the absolute best I can, for you. I want to show you how much l've grown. And just like you said, I will use the skating I can say I liked best to get first place!"

"He's greeted by a roaring crowd as he takes the ice. Here's 17 year-old Victor Nikiforov of Russia. In his first year as a Senio skater, Victor Nikiforov is about to start his short program at the Grand Prix Final. He's skating to 'In Regards to Love: Agape'."

Feel the music. Become the music. Don't think so hard. Just let yourself get washed away in the sounds. Just feel-

"Here comes his first jump. A triple axel. He used a raised arm with the jump, earning higher marks for a greater degree of difficulty. Now in the second half of the program, we'll see a quad-triple combination. Quad Salchow, triple toe loop. That was mind-blowing! He did both jumps with one arm raised again. It was perfect."

Yuuri stared on in disbelief. When did he start raising an arm? I've never seen him do that! No wonder he always won in the Junior division. But...if this is how much he's improved in such a short amount of time, what can I do to keep his career going up? Other than Victor and a few moments here and there with other skaters, I have no coaching experience. How is he going to not plateau his career with my inexperience leading him? Oh god, I'm so not prepared for this. I need to think of something.

"His last jump is also a quad. A quad toe loop. He did it! This time, he had both arms raised! All of his jumps were flawless. Now all he has to do is make it through his step sequence. He's attempting all elements with the highest possible execution. This is a new Victor Nikiforov, one that's evolved to even greater heights from his time dominating the Junior circuit."

Victor froze with his hands above his head as it dawned on him that his routine was over and the music had stopped.

Oh...my mind went blank in the middle of it. I hope everything turned out ok.

Yuuri started fidgeting nervously as he waited for Victor to get off the ice. I can't let this affect me now. He just performed a beautiful routine, and that's what I need to focus on right now.

Once Victor had put his skate guards on, Yuuri pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you Victor! I've never seen you skate like that before. You did so well! I would be surprised if you didn't get a new personal best after today."

Victor remained in the hug a moment longer before pulling away to put on his jacket and start walking to the Kiss and Cry.

"Thank you so much Yuuri! I think I experienced a little of what you have described before about losing yourself to the music. I was aware of what was happening at the beginning of my routine, and then next thing I know, I was done. I didn't do anything bad, did I?"

"No, you didn't. It sounds like you slightly dissociated, but not in a bad way. Instead of focusing on thinking your way through the routine, you just let the music carry you. You were beautiful on the ice Victor."

They both sat down and stared at the screen, waiting.

"What score will we see here? Victor Nikiforov's score is...118.56! He's surpassed the previous world record set by his coach Katsuki Yuuri!"

The arena erupted into screams and cheers and applause. Victor sat still for a moment as he processed his score, and then started jumping and clapping.

"Yuuri! Oh my god, Yuuri! I did it! I made a world record! I mean, that was never the main goal, but oh my god I did it!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I wouldn't have made it this far if I didn't come to you!!"