Skate With Me (Victor Nikiforov x Reader)

Chapter 85: Yet to Advance

Yuri went on towards the kiss and cry with Lilia and Yakov while Yuuri and I made our way towards the entrance to the rink. I waited until he removed his tracksuit. He slid the jacket down his shoulders revealing the rhinestones that adored the lapel and upper part of his costume. It glimmered under the light but its shine could never be brighter than Yuuri's spark.

Once he got his tracksuit off, I walked closer towards him to fix his hair. We are now standing face to face as I used my fingers to gently comb his bangs upward and away from his face. I applied a good amount of hair gel to let it stay fixed. 

"We've both seen Yurio's performance, haven't we?" I asked to break the silence. 

Yuuri gave a small nod, "It was great. I wonder if I could get past him today, or win a ticket to the Grand Prix." After getting Yuuri's hair done, I reached into my clutch bag for a lip balm to keep Yuuri's lips moisturized. I carefully applied some to his lips. "He sure did his best today. That isn't the usual Yuri I know," I said.

I placed the lip balm back in my clutch bag. "Sure, Yuri is competitive and would stop at nothing to win, but do you know what makes his program today different?" I asked. Yuuri is currently looking down. I wait for him to look at me before I continue.

Sensing the signal that I wouldn't continue if he won't look, he slowly lifted his gaze towards mine. His face might deny it but his eyes speak of the curiosity he has in knowing the answer. The eyes never lie.

"It's because of you," I said. "Yuri knew that if he didn't change his combination; if he didn't dare to execute such a risky program, he wouldn't win nor stand a chance against you." My hand found its way towards Yuuri's cheek as a sigh left my mouth. "You inspired him to push himself forward to win against someone like you. Yuri might not admit it but I can see the silent way his eyes look up to you. It was because of you that he was able to have an amazing senior debut. I hope you'd realize that and use it to the fullest for your program today."

I paused for a short while. My hand that was placed on his cheek fell down to reach for his hands. "But I hope his performance would not put pressure on you today. I just... want you to be happy. I want you to enjoy your own program because only when your heart finds joy as you perform, it's the only time pure beauty would radiate from you."

My lips slowly curl up into a small smile. I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around him. "I believe in you. I trust you. Whatever outcome we get today, I just want you to know that I'm very proud of you. You are the best student a coach could ever wish for," I whispered. Afterward, I stepped back with a smile and tapped his shoulder. 

Yuuri's eyes were smiling despite the fact that his lips remained in a straight line. He gave a small nod and proceeded to make his way towards the rink. The whole arena was still glued to Yuri as his scores were about to announce, not noticing that Yuuri has now made his way to the center of the rink. He had his head down, staring at his feet as he waits for the audience to calm down and for the music to begin.

"How'd you like my free skate, pork cutlet bowl?!" Yuri shouted as he looked for Yuuri. He stopped short once he saw Yuuri's free skate about to begin. "Katsuki Yuuri from Japan is in second place after the short program. He is skating to "Yuuri On Ice,'" the commentator said.

The soft sound of piano keys delighted my ears as the music began. Yuuri moved gracefully to the soft rhythm of the music. Here comes a quadruple toe loop... he popped it! His second jump turned into a single. I saw Yakov facepalm at the corner of my eyes. 

"Calm down. Calm down!" I whispered. I felt the hint of nervousness that seeped within Yuuri's system. "You can recover from this," I thought. I wonder what Yuuri has in mind. He flubbed his jump so definitely, his mind is unclear.

Here comes another jump... it wasn't that great but it had enough rotations in and that's okay. Next was a triple loop but he two-footed that landing. I can hear the subtle boo of the audience as well as the disappointed sigh of the commentator. It made me grip the edge of the rink hard. "Don't think right now," I said. Thoughts often fog his mind and it's not a good thing when he's performing.

Yurio indeed looked like he'd kick the bucket on his last three-jump combo but Yuuri has more stamina than him! Yuri's free skate would be easy if Yuuri is to perform it. Right after, Yuuri did a triple axel, then a triple flip! He's keeping it simple. After all, he's the only one who can skate that program with that much appeal.

Yuuri went on to do a triple axel, single loop, and triple Salchow. "Yes!" I exclaimed as I jumped in place. My hands have left the edge of the rink and have now found its way towards each other. I placed my clasped hands upward towards my mouth. Tears began to form at the edge of my eyes.

Now I can't take my eyes off Yuuri. He did a triple Lutz with a frighteningly beautiful height followed by a triple toe loop. My heart feels so warm at the love that Yuuri is expressing that a tear found it's way down my cheek. Beautiful is all that it was. 

There came another combination but the second jump he almost lost balance to the point that he touched the ice to keep him standing. But still, he had really good flow until the end. Moving on to the final spin, Yuuri left the audience in great applause, and he left me with tears falling down my cheeks one after another.

Yuuri laid down on the ice as he caught after his breath. That was the toughest program he has done so far. After a short while, he immediately stood up and went his way out of the rink. Once he stepped foot on the floor I engulfed him in a big hug he didn't expect. He gave out a chuckle as he accepted the embrace and wrapped his arms around me.

He was smiling and happy until he heard me gave out a small sob. "E-ehh?!" He said in disbelief, "(Y/n), please don't cry!" I let out another sob as my embrace tightened. My cries all the more intensify whenever people tell me not to cry while I am.

After a while, I backed off and wiped my tears away. "I could feel your love reach me from the sides. I'm sure that Victor, even if he's miles apart, has felt it too," I said as a smile graced upon my lips. Yuuri mirrored my smile with his. "Let's go to the kiss and cry?" He asked. I hummed in response as I gave a nod.

We made our way towards the kiss and cry where one of the rink staff gave Yuuri a bottle of water. He thankfully took it and calmly drunk as we wait for the scores to be announced. We sat in silence as I didn't bother saying anything because I'm still calming down from the tears.

"Hey," All of a sudden, Yakov appeared in front of us. "You totally failed to take advantage of the program Vitya and (y/n) made for you! Why didn't you practice for the possibility that you might flub a jump? Victor never did, either. I guess he never learned differently as a coach." I watch as Yakov scolds Yuuri. Yuuri just stares at Yakov as he listens to his lectures. Yakov and Victor are alike: both giving a huge lecture at the kiss and cry.

I can't help but smile at the sight of them. Yakov didn't fail to notice this and turned to me. "As for you, I don't know why Yuri takes after you a lot. Changing the final program last minute by inserting risky jumps. It would be fine if Yuri had stamina like yours but his is not even a bit better than yours yet he goes around following your footsteps."

"We have Katsuki Yuuri's scores," the commentator interrupts Yakov's lecture. Yakov took it as a sign to move away and let this be a coach and student moment between Yuuri and I. Still, I didn't expect Yakov would bring up a lecture to me like that. 

"His free skate score is 172.87. His total score is 282.84. He is currently in third place. He may yet advance to the Grand Prix Final, but we won't know until the end."

Even with the uncertainty, I smiled. I took a glance at Yuuri to see him with an expression mix of worry and calm. "What's wrong?" I asked. He turned to me and engulfed me in a hug. "Spasibo," he said. He buried his head on my shoulder.

"You will stay here and Victor will go back here soon," he whispered.