One thing that you had to know about Victor is that he was in love with Yuuri.

Absolutely.

One hundred percent.

No question.

Another thing you had to know about Victor is that he was painfully pining in silence.

Why, you may ask?

Because the universe had decided Victor was not worthy of the gift that was Yuuri Katsuki.

The two were perfect for each other. Victor had even had a life plan mapped out. He would slowly get closer to Yuuri, under the guise of just being a coach. He'd use his irresistible charm to make Yuuri fall for him, and then they'd start dating, get married, and have little Makkachins together.

(The number of Makkachins was up to Yuuri- Victor didn't want to get too carried away with the planning)

It was fool proof.

Until Victor met Phichit.

It all began when some skaters from around the world came to Japan for an upcoming skating exhibition. Most of them stayed in Yu-topia, and practiced in Ice Castle.

Including the ding dang Instagram fiend himself.

At first glance, Victor could tell that Yuuri was more comfortable around this 'Phichit' character than he was around most other people.

They even took a selfie together! Last time Victor tried to take a selfie with Yuuri, the man in question had squeaked, turned red, and batted the hand that Victor had slung around his shoulders away.

But now Victor was sulking while Yuuri smiled at the camera (A SMILE THAT WAS TOO PURE FOR THIS WORLD AND SHOULD TOTALLY HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TOWARDS VICTOR!), and made a peace sign.

This set some alarm bells off in Victor's brain, along with overwhelming waves of jealousy.

The alarm bells did not stop sounding for the next two weeks that the foreign skaters stayed.

That pretty much led up to now.

….

"Yuuri! Let's have a sleepover!" Victor knocked on Yuuri's door, clutching his pillow. Phichit had been hogging Yuuri the whole time he was in Japan. He'd be here for another two weeks, and Victor desperately needed some Yuuri time.

But there was no answer.

Victor had a bad feeling about this.

Frowning, he put his ear to the door.

"…..It was really obvious" came a voice from inside.

Not Yuuri's voice.

Victor's fists tightened, and he listened closer.

"You think so?" That was Yuuri's voice. Victor could just imagine him leaning against his bed, pouting again.

"It's not like you exactly try to hide it." Phichit replied, in a muffled tone.

Why was it always Phichit?

"Yes I do!" Victor smiled at Yuuri's indignant tone.

"Yeah? How about a little kiss with the man you love so much! Pucker up, Yuuri!" There was the sound of something…ripping? A small thump, and then everything went silent.

Victor's heart felt as heavy as lead. He quickly pulled away from the door, not wanting to hear any more.

Phichit and Yuuri were boyfriends.

Victor never had a chance.

Somehow, Victor ended up back in his room, despite having no idea where he was walking. His head was in too much of a haze.

Slowly, Victor sank down against the wall of his room, and let out a choked sob. He'd never get to be with Yuuri. He'd never be able to kiss him. They'd never be able to raise little Makkachins together.

Victor thought of the way Yuuri's hair glinted in the morning sun, the way his nose scrunched up when he breathed in a snowflake- that precious, beautiful smile Yuuri gave Victor whenever he managed to land a quad.

Yuuri.

Victor broke down.

…

"Phichiiit!" Yuuri laughed, trying to wrestle his friend off him "Stop trying to make me kiss a Victor Nikiforov poster!"

Phichit sat upright, his hair dishevelled, and clutching the wrinkled poster above his head like he was Rafiki and it was Simba.

"You're absolutely right…." He said wonderingly

"Thank you." Yuuri sighed "Now will you please stop making fun of my crush on Victor, and-"

"You need to kiss THE REAL THING! I'll find a broom closet!"

"Phichit, no!"

"Phichit, yes!" two voices replied simultaneously. Phichit craned his neck around to see who the other speaker was.

Christophe Giacometti was leant against the door frame, grinning.

"What? Victor needs some action!"

Judging by the way both of them were rubbing their hands together like some comedic cartoon villain, Yuuri would definitely have to pull out the bribes.

Why was being in love with Victor so damn difficult?

…

Why was being in love with Yuuri so damn heart-breaking?

It was the next morning, but Victor hadn't managed to get any sleep. He fixed his red eyes and tear tracks as much as possible, and got ready to train Yuuri.

His first thought had been selfish. Break them up. After all, it would fix all of Victor's problems.

But Victor couldn't do that to Yuuri. Yuuri's happiness came above Victor's. And if Yuuri was happy with someone else…..Victor would have to learn to deal with it. He'd be okay. He would.

"Good morning Victor!" Yuuri called out as Victor entered the rink.

Victor mustered up his best fake-smile, ignored the stabbing pain in his heart, and replied "Good morning Yuuri! Ready to work on those jumps!"

"Yep!" But then Yuuri frowned "Oh, Phichit promised to give me some pointers on those too! Do you think you can get him for me? He's probably in the locker room."

Victor bit back any venomous, jealous retorts, and gave another fake-smile.

"Sure. Work on your step sequence while I'm gone."

And with that, Victor marched off, leaving a slightly confused Yuuri in his wake.

…

It was a short walk to the locker room, but Victor had to stop several times to breathe, and force himself to not cry. Crying wasn't manly, and he didn't want to tarnish Yuuri's opinion of him, even if they never got together.

Taking a deep breath, Victor opened the door to the locker room.

"Phichit, Yuuri needs you for-" He cut off.

Phichit .

Seung Gil.

In the locker room.

Kissing.

What?

Phichit was cheating on Yuuri! ?

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Phichit untangled himself from Seung Gil's arms, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

"Bye." Seung Gil left the locker room through the other exit, while Phichit pushed past Victor.

Victor looked at him in disbelief as he walked away.

No explanation?

No 'it isn't what it looks like?'

Phichit was completely okay with cheating on Yuuri?

Victor began to shake with anger. How could he? How could he cheat on the single best thing that had probably ever happened to him?

He had to tell Yuuri. He had to know. It was okay if Yuuri didn't love Victor. That was fine. It was fine. But Victor couldn't allow Yuuri to be led on. He might hate Victor for it- he might not even believe him- but Yuuri had to know.

Turning on his heel, Victor swiftly strode back to the side of the ice rink, where Phichit was chatting away with Yuuri as if nothing had happened.

"Yuuri. Practice is cancelled for today. Can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Ah- sure?" Yuuri stepped off the ice, untied his skates and followed Victor out of the rink.

They sat together on the sand, a light breeze catching their hair.

"Yuuri, I'm going to tell you something, and you aren't going to like it." Victor said firmly

Yuuri's face fell.

"Victor, it's okay if you don't want to be my coach anymore. I get it. All these skaters have shown you that there are more promising students out there and-"

"That's not it." Victor breathed deeply, gripping Yuuri on both shoulders "Yuuri…..Phichit's cheating on you."

Yuuri frowned.

"No….that can't be right. Phichit promised to notify me if he was thinking of expanding the friend group, and include my judgement in the final outcome of the two week trial period. So he probably doesn't have another best friend already."

"I-what?" Victor shook his head "No. I walked in on Phichit…kissing Seung Gil."

"PRAISE THE DAY!" Yuuri yelled, standing up and punching the air, sending Victor sprawling backwards on the sand in shock.

"Huh?"

"Sorry." Yuuri sat down sheepishly "He's just been talking about it a lot. He has the biggest crush on him."

It took Victor several seconds to catch up with what the hell just happened.

"Wha- you two aren't dating?"

Yuuri gave Victor a confused look "That'd be like dating my brother!"

"But….I heard you two kissing. Last night." Victor sat back with a whump, now completely devoid of energy. Yet, his heart was rising faster and faster.

"I…..that…" Yuuri was blushing and scratching his neck "He ripped a poster of my crush off the wall and tried to make me kiss it."

"Oh." Victor's heart withered up again "Who?"

Yuuri blushed.

"You."

Victor pushed Yuuri back in the sand and kissed him.

…

"Looks like the broom closet idea was a bust." Phichit sighed, watching the happy couple from across the room and hugging Seung Gil.

"The odds of that working were statistically unlikely." Seung Gil sighed, snuggling closer to Phichit.

"At least Victor got some action." Chris sighed, texting his husband furiously under the table.

Aaaaand done! I'm finally trying to get back into the writing spirit again, and this has given me a bit of a boost. Stay tuned for more!