"Victor, come meet your little sister."

Before he had been a champion skater he had been a brother.

He never thought he would have a little brother or sister, when his mother told him he was going to be a big brother at 12 years old he didn't know how to feel. His parents were happy, they called it their miracle baby so he supposed he should be happy too.

The day he became an actual brother had been scary and weird - in the middle of the night he had been awoken from his sleep by his father, rushing him into the family car and speeding off as he heard his mother gasp and groan with sleep still in his eyes. They had arrived at the local hospital soon after, he wasn't allowed in the room they had rushed his mother into and fell asleep numerous times in the waiting area outside, he didn't know how his father could be so awake at such earlyo hours of the morning.

His sister was born at 7am. Viktor had been awoken from his akward sleeping position on the waiting area chair by his father who looked tired from not sleeping but looked too happy and received to let his tiredness show.

"Come with me."

He was led down a, what seemed to be, very long hallway with its sickening white walls that seemed to go on forever. His father pushed him forward at a quickened pace, it didn't feel like he could turn back and go home to his bed like he had been craving.for the last few hours - get yawned and rubbed his sleepy blue eyes as he walked with his father through the hospitals maze of corridors. When his father did stop at a certain room, he gently knocked on the door before opening it for the 12 year old Viktor.

The silver haired boy felt a sense of adrenaline rushing through him when he saw his mother in the white hospital bed. He ran over to her bed side expecting one of her warm encompassing hugs to only have her softly place an arm round him but her gentle, although exhausted, smile did seem to make up for it as her long hair tied in a loose ponytail over one shoulder.

Looking closer he could see why she had only one arm free to hug him, in the other arm lay a small pink blanketed bundle. His mother looked over at the bundle, bringing it closer to her chest and smiling down at it with a similar warm smile before she brought it over closer for Viktor to get a better look at it.

"Viktor, come meet you little sister" his mother beckoned him to step closer to the bed, he stood on a small stool at her request and followed her gaze down to the pink bundle in her arms,"Viktor, this is your little sister Katrina."

In her arms was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

A small, pink baby slept quietly in his mother's arms, she didn't make a sound beyond her small sleepy breaths but she was beautiful. She had the same silver hair as him, he could tell from the few tufts of hair poking out from the pink hood surrounding her face. Her eyes were closed as she slept content in their mothers arms so he couldn't see if they were the same blue as his, the same blue as his mother, but he hoped they would be. She was so small. So delicate. He didnt even want to breath on her in fear she would crack like a porcelain doll.

His little sister. So small and delicate.

"Do you want to hold her?"

Viktor hesitantly nodded, completely entranced by the beauty of this little bundle that had not existed 9 months ago, his mother gently handed her to him, giving him instructions on how to hold her properly so he wouldn't hurt her.

Viktor looked down at her and couldn't help but smile, "hi Katrina," he spoke softly, fearing speaking too loud could even break her.

She seemed to of heard him, peeping her eyes open for the first time at the sound of his voice, their parents braced themselves for her to start crying but instead of crying she just looked up in complete curiosity at the face above her. Viktor equally fascinated as he saw his own blue eyes staring up at him like a perfect mirrored reflection.

"I'm your big brother Viktor."

____________________________________

"Of course she'd win, she's Victor Nikiforovs sister."

Those words haunted him.

They haunted him before Katrina realised what people said. He remembered the first time some had uttered those words - her first competition as a junior skater, it had been just some comment at the time by a parent that had not meant for it to be hurtful or vindictive towards his sister. He pretended as if he never heard them and just went back to loudly cheering, maybe subconsciously trying to block it out while it was still only an offhand comment.

But it didn't go away.

Every time she stepped on the ice, those words would always fluttered about, taking root like a horrid weed. He thought it would go away in time, that one day people would see her the way he did, but deep down he knew it may never happen - the physical family resemblance was strong and she skated with the same excellence which on another person would make them a prodigy.

But no, it seemed as if she would only ever be his sister.

No one else but himself would be able to see her for her.

He watched his sister bloom like a flower growing in a shadow rather than sunlight - an unseen rose so determined to grow and so beautiful but some how over looked. He thrived on attention, he enjoyed shocking audiences and reinventing himself, but he didn't think that would end up hurting his little sister, taking the spotlight all for himself.

He could only keep telling himself that one day her time in the light would come. One day everyone would see the beautiful rose that had grow under their noses. That would be the biggest shock of all to the skating world for sure. She had time on her side after all.

A few years past, Katrina was now 15 years old, on the cusp of her senior debut and ending her junior career, yet still pinned simply as 'Viktor Nikiforov's sister' and now the further degrading nickname Viktrina had reared its ugly head. Even her name was being horribly warped to no longer be completely hers - he could see it now, whenever someone used that name there was now a hint of resentment in her eyes despite how much she would claim that she wasn't bothered by it.

The only possible way of getting rid of the weed was to pull it out completely before it grew too too deep - to do that he had to make room for her own light to shine through.

"Are you sure your ok with this?" Chris looking over at the silver haired man that had just become a 5 time gold medalist and had also just sent the skating world into maybe the biggest spiral of speculation he had ever seen - was the living legend retiring or continuing for another season? Viktor calling him for drinks wasn't out of the blue especially after they had both placed on the podium the day before and deserved a little celebration before they were under the watch of their coaches at the gala, but he thought Viktor would want to watch his sister especially since it was her last junior competition. "Don't you want to go watch the princesse?"

"I am" Viktor referring to the bar tv playing the figure skating live, it literally took one look from Viktor to convince the staff to put it on, sipping on his mimosa.

"Ok what is going on with you two?" Chris had known the two Nikiforov's for a while now, Katrina had been so small and reminded him of a little doll that he couldn't help but call her princesse (princess) also. They always seemed so close that for Viktor to miss any competition of hers, never mind her last junior which she was expected to win, was worrying.

Viktors eyes on the screen, his sister appearing for a second on the womens warm up, he was clearly forcing himself to remain seated and not go running to the rink shouting to his sister for forgiveness for being late. He gripped his glass and kept his eyes on the screen, "I want whats best for her, you've seen her skill, she needs the opportunity to shine and I feel like the only way she'll be able to do that is if I back off."

"Viktor your really scaring me," Chris chuckling into his own mimosa, "first you get all mysterious about if your skating next season, which you better or I'm going to be all bored and have no motivation, and now your talking about backing off. Your not being much fun."

"I'm bored," Viktor sighed, swishing the orange liquid in his glass around a little, "it's hard to be fun when everyone expects the unexpected from you, when winning feels almost too easily, maybe I should retire as one last good shock."

"Viktor you not answering the question," Chris sighed, "I'm not like the reporters you dodge around so easily, I'm a taken man remember silly smiling won't get you your way, do you really think backing off is best for Princesse? She's going to be so mad at you."

"I don't know what else to do," Viktor's eyes back on the to screen, watching her skate onto the ice to start her free program, "I just want people to see her like I do."

Viktor loved his sister from the moment he first saw her, unselfish and unending love - his agape. He just hadn't met his Eros quite yet. But when he did, they would pull him in two directions - to stay or to go. He thought getting on that plane to Japan would mean his sister would have the space and freedom to grow, that she'd get the recognition she deserved during her senior debut without his presence baring down and pushing her back into the shadow. He said to himself that he'd text or Skype or write a letter to explain himself and why he had left, that he believed in her and still loved her dearly, but he could never bring himself to do it; soon a week would pass, then a month and then another and writing became harder and harder. He ended up forgetting completely as his focus was completely captured by his Eros and he ended up sending his sister into the arms of the Russian Punk.

Viktor had been right, she grew stronger without him, he just had not expected her growth to of come from a broken heart he had unknowingly caused.

"I'll be a good big brother mama, I promise I will be, I'll be the best big brother ever!"