There's a hiccup in Yuri's step, but it's okay. Everything's okay. Yuri might be nervous, but Victor has more than enough confidence for them both. "I'm excited."

It's not the debut of Eros, but it is the first time it will really count, and the first time it will be in front of such a large audience, both live and live-streaming. It's ready. They've worked so hard on it: Yuri's thrown his whole self into it in a way Victor could never have expected from imagining a pork cutlet bow, and it's almost perfect.

Almost exactly like what he remembers. Katsuki Yuri, melting the ice, stealing hearts and breaking them: just as Victor asked him to do. Love me and leave me.

Except there is no leaving. There's work on Yuri on Ice, and on landing jumps, and there are miles to run, mountain paths to run up, laps at the beach to swim, ballet classes to take, family dinners, baths, late nights up talking. Yuri going from quiet to shy to comfortable to almost talkative, lying there on his bed or Victor's, talking about whatever came to mind. About the programs. About his childhood. About his fears, and how they manifest.

And everywhere, that underlying beam of determination that never fails to surprise, like biting into a marshmallow and finding steel. "I can't wait for everyone to see you."