An Unexpected Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 43: Last Battle

"Yumi! You were amazing a while ago! That quad Salchow was flawless!"

"Thanks! You were great, too!"

The Ladies' Short Program has just ended on the second day of the Grand Prix Final. Ayumi Matsumoto wowed the audience with her tango-inspired routine, but a missed triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination caused her to miss first place by a narrow margin. She smiled at Sara Crispino, who ranked fourth after the short program, as they made their way backstage after the press interviews.

The Men's Free Skate was next.

Ayumi came in to the waiting room where Yakov and Lilia were waiting. As soon as she arrived, she was reprimanded by her coaches who believed that the resulting fatigue from overworking caused her to miss her jump. But her attention was not on them. She nodded, pretending to heed their warnings, and immediately went to the corner of the room. There, sitting on an exercise mat in a perfect split, was her boyfriend.

She blushed. Boyfriend. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Hey," she greeted, handing him the bottle of water she had in her hand. "Here, have something to drink."

Yuri relaxed from his position and sat in front of her with crossed legs. "Thanks, Ayu."

She smiled and turned to walk away, but Yuri held her wrist. "Wait! Stay! Don't leave me here!"

"Can't I change out of my costume first?" she chuckled.

His face paled in embarrassment. She could tell that he was anxious, knowing the gold medal was just within his reach. Squeezing his hand, she whispered: "I'll be right back, okay?" Grabbing her bag from Yakov, she felt his eyes follow her as she quickly made her way to the restroom.

When she got back, Yuri was already standing in front of the flat-screen TV, wearing earphones to drown out the noise. He held both of her hands, watching the first few skaters take the ice.

JJ had a decent performance. Phichit did, too. But it was Yuuri Katsuki that made Yuri wrap his arms around her in need of comfort from frustration.

Yuuri's free skate score was 221.58. It broke Viktor's record. Ayumi was in awe. That was certainly going to be difficult to beat.

When it was Otabek's turn, Yuri started heading towards the rink, his hand never letting go of hers. Yakov and Lilia followed. Suddenly they heard Viktor talk to their coach, and all hell broke loose.

"WHAT?!?! YOU'RE COMING BACK?!?!"

"Yes," Viktor answered with a smile. "I'll time my return to the Russian Nationals."

Ayumi was just standing there dumbfounded. Yuri let go of her hand and grabbed Viktor's arm. "Wait, does this mean the Katsudon is going to retire?!"

"Well that's entirely up to him. He said he was going to make his decision after the final."

Yuri mouth was gaping in disbelief, and then Viktor pulled him in for a hug. She merely watched the exchange, eyeing her grey-haired friend with concern. "Vitya..."

Viktor let go and gave them both a smile, but Yuri was still pissed. He held her hand tightly again and brought her out to the main arena.

"What's with the face?"

Yuri turned to her, obviously upset. "Damn. Who does that Katsudon think he is? Does he think he can just retire after winning gold? How dare he. After taking Viktor away as his coach, how can he just—"

Ayumi shut him up by giving him a reassuring hug. She realized that despite the animosity he showed Yuuri, he ultimately sees him as a worthy rival and did not want him to retire.

After a while, she pulled away and smirked. "Well... what's my boyfriend gonna do about it, then?"

His face was marred with a deep blush, but it was clear that he understood what she meant. He nodded, took off his jacket, and turned his body towards the fence.

She was by his side as his thumb stroked the back of her hand. Her body turned to face him. "Davai, Yura. I'm right here watching. You've got this."

Hesitating for a bit, Ayumi paused. She breathed out, and then... "I love you."

Yuri stared at her in utter shock. It seemed he never expected her to say that when the entire world was watching. She wanted to show him how proud she was to have him. But the realization that he was against being under the spotlight made her back away slowly, fearing she just made a mistake.

"And now, the score for Otabek Altin..."

She couldn't hear the rest of the announcement when Yuri pulled her in for an eager kiss.

It didn't take too long before the crowd and the press noticed what they were doing. Cameras flashed and people started cheering, but they were too lost in each other's lips to notice.

Now, everyone knew. Yuri Plisetsky, the Ice Tiger of Russia, was officially dating Ayumi Matsumoto, the daughter of the Matsumoto Corporation.

Yuri had to pull away before he was announced. She pouted, and he looked at her with the affection he reserved only for her. "I love you too."

Ayumi felt another quick peck on her lips before he skated away.

------

Yuri was welcomed by the cheers of his fans, Yuuri and Otabek as he made his way to the center of the ice.

Yakov. Lilia. Grandpa. Yuko. Ayumi... and Yuuri Katsuki. Watch this closely.

Allegro Appassionato in B Minor started playing, and he began to perform his routine.

He was determined to win gold. He needed it for his grandfather. He needed it for himself. He needed to show everyone who he was.

The song always proved to be difficult no matter how many times he skated the program. But he clearly remembered how Ayumi described the piece: strong, passionate and unique. He remembered the smile on her face when the piece was chosen for his free program, and he remembered the moment they just had. He realized that the song was how she has always seen him—it embodied who he was.

As he spun around, his thoughts took a different turn. He suddenly remembered the confrontation he had with Yuuri Katsuki a year ago, when he found him crying in a bathroom stall at the end of the Grand Prix Final. He remembered how he taunted him, telling him that he should retire because the world didn't need two Yuris in the same bracket.

What? You're going to retire after you win gold? You don't care anymore now that you've beaten Viktor's high score? That's bull! Don't disappoint me! They don't give gold medals to pigs!

He hated how the Japanese skater thought he could simply leave the sport, even after he humiliated him at the Hot Springs on Ice and stole Viktor. He hated him for actually making a mark on his life as a rival. He hated him for acting like they were friends, then thinking he could just take the gold away from him and walk away.

I'm going to win!

Ayumi was right. He needed to do something about it. He needed to defeat Yuuri. He needed him to see that he was not going to take his retirement sitting down.

And that is why he pushed himself. He upped the difficulty of his jumps. He added a quad. He skated with a purpose.

Yuri felt immense relief when the song ended. His legs gave in and he cried. It was finally over.

He rushed back to the Kiss and Cry, where he pulled his girlfriend in for a desperate hug. He felt his exhaustion fade when she hugged him back. They pulled apart and sat down with Yakov and Lilia to await the scores.

His free skate score was 200.97. His total overtook Yuuri's. He won. He was taking the gold.