I just wanted to write a fic where Vicchan didn't die, for hilarious and cute moments, instead it became something a bit different.

Yuuri dug out his phone with shaking hands as he leaned against the wall, he needed someone to say something to calm him down because he was about to skate on the same ice as Victor Nikiforov and he was so nervous he could barely remember his routines, and that was without thinking about how many people back home were counting on him. He'd be lucky if his muscle memory was good enough to guide him through it at this rate.

"Mom?" he asked, when the phone finally stopped ringing.

"Yuuri…" she trailed off.

His heart sped up and his hands shook even more, "Mom, what's wrong?!" normally his mother would be happily chatting away instantly, not...sounding like this.

"V-Vicchan...he's really sick." she said softly, clearly not wanting to tell her son this news.

Yuuri nearly dropped his phone, his world went dark around the edges. Vicchan...his mind called an image of his beloved dog to his mind.

"Yuuri! Yuuri don't panic!" she said when she heard his labored breathing. "They think he'll pull through, I didn't mean to worry you like this!"

Yuuri gasped a deep breath in, "Really? Good odds?" he asked, free arm wrapped around himself, trying to focus on nothing but her voice.

"Yes, 70% in his favor." she didn't want to lie, but she also knew that that number wasn't high enough to quell his fears.

"Mom…" he trailed off, "How fast can I get back to Japan?" he asked, nearly pulling his phone away to start looking.

"Wha-Yuuri no! You can't! If-"

"If Vicchan dies and I'm not there I'll never forgive myself." he said softly.

There was a long silence. "Yuuri, please, don't throw this away. Two days, two days and you can get on the first flight after your free skate, but not before that." she was pleading with him.

He was torn, thoughts flying a million miles an hour. He'd spent the majority of his life working up to this, his beloved pet was sick yes, but could he really do anything to help? Could he run away from his one chance to be noticed by Victor? Did he dare not? Did he dare skate and get the news Vicchan died? What if he left and he died before he even landed? "Mom…" he choked out, "I-I don't…" he felt dizzy as his thoughts swirled. What difference could his presence make? Could he ever forgive himself if he wasn't there? ...70%, that was a bit higher than 2 in 3 chances of survival... "You have to promise to tell me if he gets worse before tomorrow." he finally managed, words feeling dirty in his mouth. Was he really giving in? Not going home?

He heard a sniffle, "Of course honey. Just do your best okay? You worked so hard for this, try to put Vicchan out of your mind, skate, and show the world, show Victor," it was low to use the Victor card, "Just how good you are." she might not know much about skating itself, but she knew her son was good, he was the best in the country for a reason and he deserved to be in the grand prix as much as Victor. "You can do it."

He nodded slightly, "I'll do my best." he hung up, unable to hold himself together any longer. He quickly made his way to a bathroom, sitting on a toilet and crying as quietly as he could. He knew Celestino would be looking for him, he needed to pull himself together. It wasn't long before he had to go and skate.

He heard the tail end of something in another language, and looked up from his hands to see a pair of feet outside the door. He knew whoever it wasn't didn't need his stall, probably just heard him crying. "What?" he asked in japanese.

There was a pause, "Ah, english?" the voice asked.

"Yeah." he was decent with it after living in Detroit.

"What's wrong?"

"My dog's sick." he said, quietly. "Less than great chances."

He heard a sharp gasp, "Ah...are you competing?"

"Yeah." he was keeping his answers short more to focus on not crying again than anything else.

"Mmm. Are you staying?" they asked.

"Until after the free skate." he said, "Unless…" he trailed off, not wanting to voice the 'unless'.

"I can only imagine…let me cover the ticket for you." the voice said, "I have a dog too."

"Wha-no!" he nearly burst out the stall, but he didn't want anyone to see him like this.

"Please, I'd rather your money go towards your dog if needed."

"I'll think about it." he muttered.

"Tweet about your dog, I'll be able to find you that way." they continued, "You're one of 6 people here, won't be hard to narrow you down."

He wondered why they didn't just ask who he was, maybe they were a judge and didn't want to give him slack on points?

"Okay." they would never know if he didn't after all. Well they would but they wouldn't know who he was. They might decide he was Victor Nikiforov all along, who probably didn't need the money.

"Make sure to pat your face with water, it's almost time for the short program." he heard and partly saw them walk away.

A glance at his phone told him that yes, he really only had about half an hour before he had to be there for warm-ups and then the skate itself...

He waited another ten minutes, composing himself and giving himself a pep talk. He couldn't door poorly if he was going to be here instead of home, he was going to ignore everyone around him, and do his best skating yet. If he was going to stay here, Victor was going to notice him. If he wasn't going to be there for Vicchan, he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

He stood up, more determined than before the call, wetting a paper towel in the sink and dabbing at the tear streaks on his face, there was nothing that could be done for the light makeup he had, but at least it didn't look bad. He took a deep breath before heading out of the bathroom slowly, he should find Celestino.

"Yuuri!" he heard the relieved voice of his coach, "There you are!"

"Ah, Celestino. Sorry for vanishing."

He paused, looking him over, "You look worse and better at the same time." he laughed slightly.

"I got some bad news, but if I tell you now I won't be able to skate. But I'm leaving immediately after the skate tomorrow." he deserved some forewarning.

Celestino blinked, clearly thinking he'd misheard before he nodded slightly. "You'll have to tell me later, but for now, let's get back to the rink."

He had to admit, warming up on the same ice as Victor himself sent a happy thrill through him, but he shook it off, he had to focus. He couldn't let anything, not even Victor, distract him. He had to hold onto this burst of determination, he couldn't let anything take him out of the zone.

He was the end of group one, and he barely heard Celestino's words of encouragement over his heartbeat in his ears as he stepped out onto the ice. He took a deep breath, filled his mind with Vicchan, and skated out into his starting position, and got lost in the skating.

He finished group one in second, and the short program in third by tenths of a point.

It wouldn't really matter tomorrow, most of the skaters here had high difficulty free skates that they got most of their points from. He wouldn't be surprised if several of them purposefully wanted to go first tomorrow and just hold onto that all the way to the end of the free skate.

He was just relieved he'd landed all his jumps, even if he under or over-rotated a few. He barely managed the energy and happiness he usually got from watching Victor skate near the end. He was in no mood to say for any celebrations or interviews, and Celestino kept glancing at him before he decided it was long past time to leave and quickly guided them out and towards the hotel.

The english is awkward because neither side is sure how well the other knows english.

I might be stretching how good Yuuri might've been. In canon we see him doing wonderfully because he's skating for Victor, and here he's skating for Vicchan, so I don't think its impossible.