Yuuri's heart was hammering. He was the lone skater on the ice, hands gripping the wall tightly as he awaited his name to be called. Viktor could sense Yuuri's tension and gently rubbed his hand, the small scar from his IV still visible.

'Skate for yourself, Yuuri. You can win gold', he encouraged, giving his protege a smile.

Yuuri nodded, swallowing down his fears and replacing his look with one of determination. As his name was called he gripped Viktor's hand for a second before taking a deep breath and setting off for the centre of the rink. Viktor's heart was in his mouth: he knew Yuuri had the talent to win but he still hadn't recovered emotionally- and he knew how emotions affect Yuuri's performance.

'I can't land it!' Yuuri cried, punching the ice in frustration, 'what's wrong with me?' 'Hey, it's alright', Viktor leaned down, offering Yuuri a hand which he accepted, 'you just got out of the hospital 2 days ago, give yourself a chance'. 'Yeah, and the short programme is in 5 days time Viktor', Yuuri retored, 'if I can't land the quad flip now, chances are I won't by then. And I can't just remove it from the programme because JJ has 4 quads and Otabek's base value is higher than mine and…' Viktor placed a finger to Yuuri's lips. 'Stop it'. Yuuri felt his breaths coming in shallow, panic consuming him. Viktor noticed it too: Yuuri had noticeably paled, his hands shaking at his sides. Viktor needed to get him off the ice. 'Let's go', he said, putting an arm around Yuuri's shoulder, leading him gently off the ice. By the time they had reached the changing room and Viktor had sat Yuuri down on a bench, tears had begun to stream down his face. 'Viktor…' 'It's ok, just take some deep breaths', Viktor instructed, taking a seat beside Yuuri and rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. Yuuri tried but his exhalations remained as gasps, his whole body shaking in response. Viktor could tell it was one of Yuuri's worse attacks. 'Lie down'. 'What?' Yuuri choked, confused as to why Viktor was addressing him like Makkachin. 'It'll help', Viktor lowered Yuuri down, his head in his lap, 'Keep breathing'. Viktor stroked his hair lovingly, watching the fear in Yuuri's eyes slowly diminish. A few minutes later Yuuri's breathing appeared to have returned to normal and Viktor gave him a soft smile, 'do you feel better?' Yuuri nodded then blushed, realising his head was in Viktor's lap. He gently pushed himself up, wiping dried tears off his face. 'Sorry Viktor'. 'You've been through a lot these past few days, Yuuri. You don't need to apologise', Viktor kissed his forehead. 'I think that's enough practise for today, shall we head back to the hotel?'

Viktor watched Yuuri, not taking his eyes off of him for a second. His routine had been near perfection so far: he'd even changed his triple salchow to a quadruple toe loop. The quadruple flip, the last jump was coming up. Viktor watched as Yuuri gained speed, launching himself into the air. His heart was in his mouth as he landed it without a single hint of a wobble. Viktor felt pride engulf him and tears prick his eyes. Yuuri's free skate was flawless, he couldn't have done it better himself.

'I'm so proud of you, Yuuri', they were back at the hotel, 'I really am'.

'I didn't get gold, Viktor', Yuuri mumbled, 'I know how badly you wanted to kiss that gold medal'.

Viktor smirked, 'I know something I want to kiss far more than a gold medal…'

He leaned in and pressed his lips against Yuuri's, closing his eyes and allowing himself to feel the softness of Yuuri's lips.

'I love you'

'I love you too'

Yay for sappy endings- thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :D Don't forget to favourite and review!

xx