Crimson Skates (Yuri on Ice × Tokyo Ghoul)

13. Finale?

[EDITED JAN 10, 2019]

Yuri's words kept echoing in Viktor's mind as he sat outside of the hospital room, broken and devastated.

"Everything will be okay, I promise."

His face was buried in his hands, which were wet with tears as he cried into them. The only sounds filling his ears was the dull beeping of the machines hooked up to his precious fiance's - no, husband's - body, keeping him alive as they tried all they could to keep him alive.

Viktor felt so guilty. All of this was his fault, if he could've just been there, everything would be fine right now, just as Yuri had promised. But he wasn't there, and it wasn't fine. It would never be fine again for him.

He tried to go in, to see him again, but they locked the door and shut the blinds while they cut open his body. Viktor couldn't imagine someone butchering his precious Yuri like those doctors in their white suits were doing now. It was simply too much for him. Nothing could bring him comfort this time. The only thing Viktor could think about were those words in his sweet voice, repeating over and over and over again.

"Everything will be okay, I promise."

"Everything will be okay, I promise."

"Y-Yuri," he muttered in between sobs for his upcoming husband, finally removing his face from his now soaking hands, "Why did you...why did you break your promise?" His eyes were red and swollen, silver ribbons streaming down his face. No more did he look like the stellar ice skater everybody had come to know and love, but a broken man who was simply waiting as his love died.

When would it end?

When could he see his precious Yuri again?

When could they get married, go back to skating, and let it all be how it used to be?

Everything went silent, for just a split second, and the door creaked open ever so slightly, allowing him to peek in. All around Yuri were white-garbed doctors, masks covering their mouths and hair, sitting around him in a circle. Sharp tools covered in his blood sat on a sterile white tray next to them, and all Viktor could do was stare in horror.

At the mask covering Yuri's face, skin pale and sickly, not its usual healthy glow that radiated everywhere he went. It shattered him and made him yank the door shut again, slumping back down into the seat - a groove was in it for the six hours he'd been sitting there, refusing to leave until Yuri's promise was finally fulfilled. He just stared blankly at his own feet.

"Viktor, I made you some coffee."

He looked up to the smiling face of Yuri's mother, who held a thermos in her outstretched hand. Her smile showed she was sincere, but it was saddened, just as the rest of her face was.

"T-thank you," he said kindly, taking the warm cup from her hands and cupping it in his own, watching small puffs of steam arise from its open top. But he couldn't drink it, his body was simply too devastated to even move the thermos from its original position. It just sat there, warming his hands as salty tears dripped into it, making the dark brown liquid ripple in small waves. Finally hearing his stomach rumble slightly, he lifted it up slowly, as if his arm was being pulled by a shaking string, and took a sip of the black coffee, immediately releasing his arm, which flopped right back down to his side. It felt like years of just sitting here while the contents of the cup were drained.

How long had it been now?

The daytime had melted away into an inky blackness, silver stars the same color as his hair speckled across the great landscape. The moon was full and beautiful, shining down on everything in sight as nurses rushed around underneath its glow, clipboards full of documents in hand or care packages to residents, cards with loving messages scrawled across them. He looked up to the clock. 9:45 pm. It had only been six hours, but to Viktor it felt like ten eternities before the door creaked open again and all the doctors shuffled out silently.

He peeked into the room to see Yuri sleeping tranquilly, wrapped in sterile white blankets that looked as pure as the snow. The blonde skater dashed in and plopped the wilting rose into the vase filled with water and various other flowers that his friends and family had gifted him, all assortments of colors and sizes in one vase. He saw a wooden chair by the corner and grabbed it, scooting it right next to his bed and promptly sitting in it. The whirring of the machines at work was the only sounds he was met with.

"Yuri?"

No response. He was blissfully sleeping, his chest rising and falling slowly. Viktor needed him to wake up, he needed to see his soulmate's smiling, cheery face again. He had to hug him and cherish him for not leaving Viktor when he had the chance, and loving Yurio like his own son.

"Please keep your promise," Viktor continued on, wiping away the gathering tears on his cheeks. "You're a man of your word, Yuri, and I want you to live up to everything you've promised."

Viktor paused once more, trying to collect his thoughts with a deep breath. There was still no response from Yuri. But not like it was truly expected of him, anyway.

"I want to train a gold medal winner. I want to see that shiny round metal in your hands." He smiled softly, glancing down at the gleaming ring on his finger. "And...most of all...I want to have our wedding. More than anything in the entire world."

He stopped again, glancing over to the group of machines near his right arm, where dozens of clear tubes were protruding from. On the heart monitor, a mint stripe raced across the black screen, making patterns that looked like jagged mountains on the Japanese coast. A clear liquid was dripping from an IV and slowly slinked it's way down the tube and into Yuri's arm.

"I don't know what those doctors did to you. But I hope - I pray that you'll be okay. Please be okay, okay?"

He chuckled thinly at his own choice of words.

"I want to see you again. This can't be the finale."

Again,his only response was bitter silence aside from mechanical beeps and drips, telling that he was still hanging on. Viktor blinked away hot tears that formed on his eyelids. Then, a soft sound.

"Mmn..."

His eyes lit up.

"Yuri? Yuri, can you hear me?!"

"Viktor?" He didn't open his eyes. His voice was hoarse, as if his throat was as dry as the hottest of deserts.

"Yuri! Oh, thank God!" Tears streamed down Viktor's face as he smiled brightly, relief washing over his entire body. He gripped Yuri's hand tightly, sobbing into it. "I thought I lost you!"

Yuri slowly came back to life as he pulled himself into a sitting position, careful not to mess up the machines he was hooked up to. His free hand pushed his black hair out of his face, and finally, his eyes opened. He stared into Viktor's glassy blue orbs with a grateful smile on his face, gripping his fiance's hands tightly.

But something about Yuri seemed slightly off to Viktor, making him stare at him wide-eyed for a few seconds. A slightly unsettling feeling started in his stomach.

"Yuri...?"

"Viktor, it's okay. See, I told you everything was going to be okay. Well, with your and Yurio's help. You really are a great family."

More wet tears spilled out from Viktor's eyes as he wept openly, his grip tightening around Yuri's hand. His lips quivered. Yuri's smile only widened.

"Don't cry, Viktor. Like you said, it's not the finale."

Viktor wiped his eyes and looked up at Yuri, pulling him into a warm, soft embrace. They never wanted to let each other go.

"After all, I'm just like you now! Let's go have that wedding!"