Chapter Text
True to their word, first thing the next morning, they started to look at the houses that Viktor had found when they were still in St. Petersburg. Yuuri was much more helpful in understanding the actual specifics of the houses and happy to listen to his opinions. They looked at a couple houses over the next few months, and both agreed that the one that had stuck out to Viktor from the beginning was an amazing choice. Not far from the beach, only a short jog from Yu-Topia. It was a perfect in between of being exactly where they wanted to be.
So they bought it. Viktor moved their extra things into the house that day so that they could have something there, and they moved out of their room in Yu-Topia. They still wanted to stay there for most of the trip, but they were both too excited about having their own house in Yuuri’s hometown to not spend at least some time there. They couldn’t move immediately, of course, having to figure out what they needed to bring from St. Petersburg and what they’d keep there (they’d decided to keep the house in St. Petersburg since it would make it easier to visit. They could rent it out to other skaters while they were gone, since it was so close to the rink).
They were sitting on the floor with the dogs and babies when it happened. Nike and Micchan were sitting off to the side with each other, screaming vaguely word-sounding noises that definitely weren’t in any language yet. They were playing with some blocks, both working to try to build something very impressive¸ surely.
And then Popcorn and Matcha’s game of tug-of-war knocked them right into the structure and Nike gasped, looking at the fallen blocks. Viktor prepared to scoop him up, expecting him to start to cry, but instead he just looked at them and exclaimed, “Puppy!”
Yuuri dropped the magazine that he was flipping through and Viktor sat frozen on the floor, his mouth fallen open. “Pupupupupupupup,” Nike continued, patting his hand on Popcorn’s snout, as though he was scolding her for knocking over the blocks.
“He just…” Yuuri whispered, still sitting on the couch, his eyes wide. “Vitya, he just said his first word.”
Viktor pulled his phone out, but Nike and Micchan were happy to giggle and continue with their baby talk, unable to capture him speaking again.
Until they went to put him to bed that night. Nike grasped onto the side of his crib, taking stumbling steps that he’d been practicing the past few weeks. “Puppy puppy puppy,” he whined to Viktor, and Viktor stared for a moment.
“You want the puppy?” he asked, pulling his phone out to hopefully catch Nike’s ramblings.
“Puppy,” he agreed, reaching his hands out for Viktor. No, not for Viktor. For the stuffed poodle that Viktor was carrying in his arms. Viktor laughed softly, putting the toy into the crib with him. “Puppy!” he repeated, patting the poodle’s head and allowing Viktor to tuck him into bed.
“Goodnight, Nike,” Viktor whispered, walking back out to the living room to show Yuuri the video as soon as he came in from putting Micchan to bed.
“Please post that, Vitya. Our friends would kill us if they didn’t get to see it,” Yuuri murmured after the fifth time of softly giggling at their son asking for his toy.
v-nikiforov: We were hoping for “daddy” or “papa,” but “puppy” is probably just as fitting. Congratulations to Nike on his first word! <3
In their time in Hasetsu, Nike and Micchan both turned one. They both got an individual party, but it was much smaller, just Yuuri’s family and the Nishigoris, and a little bit of cake. There were pictures of both of them all over Viktor’s Instagram, but the big event was saved until they were both already one.
Phichit, Chris, and Yuri came in town for this party, bearing gifts for both of the kids and helping them set up a grand party in the main hall of Yu-Topia. Micchan and Nike were stumbling as they walked around with the adults, but both much more sure on their feet. Nike preferred to hold onto someone’s hand as he walked, but Micchan just grabbed onto a leg when she started to fall over.
As they were getting ready, Viktor pulled Yuri aside, leaning against the wall. “Yuuri and I are planning on moving to Hasetsu. I know you were thinking about us coaching you once Yakov got too old for it, and you’re welcome to stay here with us. The house we bought has plenty of space if you want to stay there, or we’ll help you find somewhere else.”
“You’re staying here?” Yuri asked, his eyes wide.
“I thought it would be nice for Yuuri to be closer to his family, and that way Micchan and Nike get to know their grandparents better. I feel bad that they’re so far away, and it’s so hard to bring them back here,” Viktor said.
Yuri crossed his arms over his chest. “You have a guest room away from the kids?”
“We do. We’ve got two, so one could be yours if you want it.” Viktor looked out to where they were preparing, hearing the two squealing among their friends.
“I want to come here. You two can’t get rid of coaching me that easy. And you’re gonna need a babysitter with those monsters,” Yuri said, but Viktor knew that he was fond of their kids. He wrapped his arms around Yuri, who squirmed away from him. “I’ll find my own place in a year or two.”
He walked back to the rest of them planning the party and Viktor grinned, walking out with them.
Axel, Lutz, and Loop entertained Nike and Micchan for most of their birthday party. The girls loved Nike and Micchan because of how young and little they were, and Viktor couldn’t help but think that they would make good babysitters in a few years when they were back in Hasetsu and wanted some time alone, even though Yuri had offered. Yuri would go back to Russia eventually, or want time to himself, so he was excited that the Nishigoris would be an option.
Nike and Micchan managed to smear cake all over each other while they were celebrating, and Viktor and Yuuri let them, even though it meant that bath time was going to take a lot longer. The two happily splashed and played in the bath, though, working off the last of the cake energy that they had. They were exhausted when they tucked them into bed that night. Viktor took a picture of the two sleeping in their cribs, but kept it for himself.
The kids were growing so quickly, he wanted to take pictures of every moment that they had. The things that got posted in Instagram were for the world to see, of course, but they were also mostly for their family. Because their family and friends had already seen these things, Viktor got to cherish memories like this just for himself.
They flew back to St. Petersburg a week later, packing everything up for the kids and rearranging stuff so it would be easy for other skaters to stay there. They started to order new furniture for their house in Hasetsu, getting it sent to Yu-Topia so that they could store it away until they came back and were able to set everything up for themselves.
Viktor couldn’t believe how amazing things were going. He had two absolutely adorable children who were just over a year old, the most amazing husband, and he was going to move into their dream home. It was an entirely different life than he’d imagined as a child, but it was the best life that he could have, really. He wanted nothing else.
“We should take them on a picnic,” Viktor suggested while he and Yuuri were sitting on the couch, watching TV while Nike and Micchan napped. “We could go to the beach, have lunch, let them play in the sand or run around a little bit?”
“Do you think we have time to make lunch before they wake up?” Yuuri asked, glancing at the clock. They still had about an hour before Nike and Micchan tended to wake up, but he was never sure exactly when to expect them.
“If we don’t, I’ll go get them dressed while you finish, if you want,” Viktor offered, and Yuuri nodded. They got to work on lunch together. They’d finished their own lunches and most of Nike and Micchan’s, packing treats for the dogs as well, before they heard babbling from the monitors. Viktor kissed Yuuri, ducking out of the kitchen to go take care of them.
He dressed Nike up in jeans and a soft sweater, setting him down on the floor to let him wander into the kitchen. Micchan got warm stockings and a pink sweater dress, and he carried her out, since she was still clinging to him sleepily. He walked into the kitchen, smiling at Nike clinging to Yuuri’s legs as the dogs circled. “Your babies would like good morning kisses,” Viktor said, and Yuuri laughed, putting away the last of their lunch before picking Nike up to kiss him good morning, doing the same for Micchan.
They fed them a quick breakfast, enough to keep them satisfied for a few hours, before hooking all of the dogs on their leashes, putting the kids into the stroller. Since they’d get to run around on the beach, Viktor figured they could walk them there in the stroller. Once they got to the beach, he let all six free, watching the dogs immediately play at the waves while Nike and Micchan walked unsteadily in the sand.
After a while, he sat with them in the sand, showing them how to build it up to make sand sculptures so they could entertain themselves more easily. Micchan and Nike were in the sand, patting down a sandcastle. They both were dressed for the cold Russian winter but still more than excited to be sitting there together playing on the beach. They couldn’t stay out for too long in this cold, but they were happy while they were out there.
Viktor and Yuuri sat behind them a little bit, each holding onto two leashes while the dogs explored the sand and water around them. Nike had picked up a couple more words since his first, but they were still mostly speaking nonsense with each other. Micchan had yet to speak, even though she was trying very hard to communicate with them through noises lately.
Viktor pulled out his phone, filming Matcha jumping between the waves and back to them, clearly not sure about the water and how cold it was. At one point, the wave came in closer than she was expecting, and she yelped, rushing back to the babies. She pressed up to Micchan’s side (as Nike started to chant, “Puppy! Puppy!”) and Micchan reached out to pet the dog before withdrawing her hand, eyes wide in shock. “Ice!” she shouted.
The video just barely picked up Viktor whispering, “Holy shit” as the camera turned off.
v-nikiforov: “Puppy” and now “ice.” Somehow, I’m not surprised. At least we know they listen to their parents talking.
Their last week in St. Petersburg, Viktor decided that their children were old enough and stable enough to have their first try on the ice. He really wanted Yakov to be there to see them, so he helped find the smallest skates that he could, fitting them for his children’s feet perfectly. He carried Nike onto the rink and Yuuri carried Micchan, skating careful circles.
The two had been on the ice since they’d been adopted, so this was nothing new. Viktor held Nike above his head, letting him squeal as he spun him around. “Do you want to try to stand?” he asked Nike, who eyed him in confusion.
“Papa,” he answered, one of his favorite words he’d figured out.
“It’s okay. I’ll hold on,” Viktor promised, leaning down and setting Nike down onto his shaky skates. He held tightly onto his hands to keep him up, skating backward slowly so Nike could experience the feeling of going forward. He kept trying to lift his feet like he was taking normal steps, and Viktor laughed, keeping his hands tight around Nike’s arms.
Yuuri skated past, holding Micchan in his arms still. “You’re doing so good, Nike! Don’t you want to try, Micchan?” Yuuri asked.
Micchan shouted, “No!” and Viktor laughed, suddenly understanding why Yuuri didn’t have her on the ice yet.
“Let me try. Here, trade. Careful, he wants to take steps,” Viktor said, sliding to Yuuri and making sure he had a tight hold on Nike before carefully taking Micchan. He kissed Yuuri softly before starting to skate simple loops. “Let’s try, Micchan. If you hate it, we can pick you right up! But look how much fun Daddy and Nike are having.” Viktor spun around so she could see Yuuri and Nike. Yuuri was still holding onto Nike, but a little looser than Viktor, guiding him through simple spins so they could hear his giggles.
“Ice,” Micchan whined, clinging to Viktor and he sighed, skating a few more rounds of the rink.
“I know. It’s cold, but I fall on it all the time, Micchan. I promise it’s okay. I won’t let you fall. Look how good Daddy is holding onto Nike.” Viktor started to lean her down and she clung to his neck, tears starting to fall.
“No!” Micchan screamed, her hands tight fists in his shirt.
He spun around, holding her close. “I know, I know. It’s very scary. But I promise it’s not as scary once you’re on it a little bit.” She continued to whimper, so he kept skating around the rink, just holding onto her.
“Oi, Vitya, hand her over,” Yuri requested, and Viktor turned around to him.
“You think you can get her onto the ice?” Viktor asked, eyeing Yuri, but still handing her over.
“Maybe she likes me more,” he answered, sticking his tongue out. Viktor let him skate ahead of him, but stayed close enough to listen to what he was doing.
“I’m not going to drop you. Look, I’m going to hold your hands, like when we walk. Don’t you wanna be cool?” Yuri asked, and Micchan let go of his neck, though didn’t let him lower her onto the ice. “C’mon, Micchan. It’s not this hard.”
Yuri lowered her onto the ice, and Viktor started to skate forward when he heard her first scream, but then Yuri grabbed onto her hands, holding her upright, and her screaming stopped. She stayed still for a moment, looking incredibly unsure, and Viktor stayed where he was, holding his breath.
After a second, she raised her feet, trying to move, and Viktor smiled, grinning as Yuri threw a smirk back at him and started to lead her around the rink, holding onto her arms. She tripped and fell a few times, Yuri not being nearly as careful as Viktor and Yuuri were, but she squealed in excitement every time that he helped her back up.
As time passed, their kids grew away from figure skating, much to Viktor’s joking disappointment. Micchan decided that she wanted to become a doctor, and so she did, studying hard and passing at the top of her class. She took a job a few cities over, but tried to come back to see them as often as she could. Nike decided on an athletic career – but one Viktor could never stop teasing him for. Their son decided to become a hockey player. His team played well, and had won many awards. Viktor, of course, was proud of both of them, even though he wished he could have kept them on his own ice.
It had been almost twenty-five years since they adopted their kids that they decided to have one last family ice show. Viktor and Yuuri were far too old to ever do this again, but they wanted one last celebration of the thing that would forever hold their family together, so they called Nike and Micchan back to Hasetsu for it.
“You can’t wear those, Nike.” Viktor stared at his son, rolling his eyes, shoving him across the ice and back to the bench. “You have figure skates. I know your hockey skates are more worn in, but you’re not going to be able to do anything wearing those. Change, Nike. I know you still figure skate when you can.”
Nike laughed, skidding across the ice in his larger skates, stepping off. “I’m more graceful in my hockey skates than most people are, Papa, but whatever you say,” he answered, starting to untie the skates. “And of course I still figure skate. Have you met my parents? I think the world would be disappointed if a Katsuki-Nikiforov became a hockey player and didn’t keep up with his figure skating. We’ll just say it gives me an advantage, or something.” Nike winked at Viktor and Viktor laughed, watching him walk off to get his figure skates.
Micchan and Yuuri were on the other side of the rink, doing nearly identical figures, beautiful movements. She’d competed internationally for a few years, but had decided to continue with school rather than skating. She still lived in Japan with them, though, and so came down to the rink to help them teach classes or help choreograph programs. She still did ballet, as well, since she was able to fit that in with her actual job.
Viktor could imagine another life where his children were medalists just like their fathers, but they hadn’t wanted that, and Yuuri and Viktor weren’t going to push them. Nike had trophies for hockey, and Micchan had won a few awards with her medical research. They weren’t the figure skaters that it seemed every figure skater dreamed of, but they were still amazing.
Nike came back out onto the ice in his figure skates, easily skating back to Viktor. “Hope you can keep up with us.” He winked. Sometimes, Viktor regretted having Yuri babysit his children for that exact reason, but he also knew that they’d all loved it.
“I should be saying that to you. The two of you ought to be out of practice,” he teased his son back, leaving him to warm up and skating over to Yuuri. Micchan waved at him before skating into Nike, knocking into him as the two started to chat about something excitedly, but not loud enough for Viktor to hear them.
The show went amazing. The four of them alternated who was skating and what they were doing. Yuuri and Viktor were both too old to do too many of their difficult programs, so they’d choreographed a couple more simple dances to keep them fresh and new for the crowd. Nike and Micchan didn’t have as much technical skill, but were able to provide much younger programs. Yuri Plisetsky did a couple skates with them so they’d have the whole package.
At the end of his and Yuuri’s last dance, Viktor pulled away from his husband, waving to the crowd. “And that’s the last skate! Thank you so much for coming, we hope that you enjoyed watching our family – “
“No, no, no!” Nike shouted, sliding back onto the ice and skidding to a stop in front of Micchan.
At the spray of ice from his son’s skates, Viktor muttered, “Hockey players.” Not realizing the mic picked that up, he started to laugh with the crowd at Nike’s look back to him. He held up his hands, wrapping his arms around Yuuri’s waist. “I love my son, but you can’t say I’m wrong,” he said louder, making sure that his mic picked him up this time.
“As I was saying ,” Nike cut in, causing everyone to laugh again. “The show isn’t over! Dad, Papa, off of the ice. Go. Over there. Phichit has seats for you.” Nike pointed to their friend in the stands, and Viktor looked at Yuuri, who seemed just as confused as he was.
Nonetheless, he skated to the stands, taking his guards and Yuuri’s from Phichit and putting them onto their skates, sitting down in the stands to curiously watch their kids on the ice. Micchan grinned, skating to the side of the rink to grab something sparkly. “We were going through your costumes a few weeks ago when we were trying to figure out what to wear for this show and found these.” Micchan held up a costume that Viktor recognized well.
“Neither of us can do a quad flip, but we figured you might like to see the program all over again. You’re both too old to skate it.” Nike winked, the very image of his former babysitter. Viktor laughed, still staring.
“Yura is going to entertain while we go get dressed. We couldn’t get him to do Welcome to the Madness for old time’s sake, but I guess this is good enough. C’mon, Nike.” Micchan pulled on Nike’s hand, tugging him off of the ice.
Yuri Plisetsky skated a program that Viktor could barely pay attention to, his heart pounding. His children were going to skate the most important program of his life for him.
As Yuri’s program ended, Nike and Micchan skated back onto the ice. Nike was wearing Yuuri’s costume and Micchan Viktor’s, and he felt Yuuri reach over to grab onto his hand, his eyes wide. “They’re going to skate Stammi Vicino for us?”
“We changed the choreography a little bit, and by ‘we’, I mean Micchan! So. Daddy, Papa, this is for you.” Nike let go of his sister’s hand, letting her skate into the darkness as the very familiar music started to play.
They skated through the program, the choreography still carrying the original, even if changed to no longer be romantic, if just as loving. The two performed beautiful spins and lifts and simple jumps. Their final pose was standing together, their arms wrapped around each other, and Viktor pulled his phone from his pocket, snapping a picture of his kids together on the ice before he jumped to his feet, tears falling from his eyes as he started to clap. He dimly recognized Yuuri doing the same beside him. He pulled off his skate guards, rushing the ice to wrap his arms around his children, holding onto both of them.
Once Yuuri joined, he took a selfie of the four of them, arms wrapped around each other, Micchan and Nike dressed in the most important outfits that they had ever owned. “I love you,” Viktor murmured to his family, wrapping them all up in a tight hug. The other three returned the sentiment.
Later that night, both of Viktor’s pictures went on Instagram.
v-nikiforov: They never fail to surprise me.