Work Text:
“I’m telling you it was weird Beka.” Yuri said.
He was sprawled on his stomach on his bed at Yakov’s place. He supported his head with his hands as he looked at his computer screen to see Otabek looking right back at him.
“I’m glad he was there. You could’ve hurt yourself.” Otabek said with a hint of worry.
“Not you too. Look I’ll tell you what I told Katsudon. I can recognize a bad fall from a not so bad one.” Yuri said with a sigh.
Otabek hummed. He always did that when he wasn’t agreeing with what Yuri was saying but knew the blond would never change his mind.
“It’s still nice of him and he even cooked for you.” Otabek said trying to change the subject.
Yuri had told him everything about his evening with Victor and Yuuri. He would never tell the other two, but it had been nice. Between competitions, he spent all his time at the rink or at Yakov’s house with his private tutor (maybe he didn’t go to school, but he’s still going to graduate high school). He didn’t do a lot for fun besides talking to Otabek. Spending the evening with Yuuri and Victor had been surprisingly pleasant.
“Yura.” Yuri shook his head and focused back on Otabek. “Are you ok? You seem a little distracted.”
“Yeah. I’m ok. The season is starting again soon. I’m probably just tired.” Yuri dismissed with a yawn.
“If you say so. You should take a break once in a while. I know I’m not physically here, but you can always talk to me.” Otabek said with a small smile.
“Thanks, Beka. We should probably go to bed, it’s getting late.”
“You’re right. I’ll talk to you soon.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Yuri put his laptop on his desk and flopped back on his bed. It was late and he had to wake up early tomorrow morning for practice. He thought back on his call with Otabek and also what happened with Yuuri a few days ago. There had been two people in a few days to ask him if he was ok and if he needed to talk. Maybe Yuri looked more on edge than usual and his friend and fellow rink mate had noticed it. So, as exhausted as he was, Yuri didn’t sleep a lot that night. His brain never shutting up about the upcoming season and the fact that he was more stressed than during his last one. When he finally got to sleep, he knew his alarm would be blaring in a few hours.
***
Maybe Yuuri had said he would let the teen be for now, but he was getting more worried. Sure, Yuri seemed to cut his time on the ice, but every morning when he came in for practice, he looked even more tired than the day before. Today was so exception. Yuri entered the locker room with dark bags under his eyes and his feet dragging on the floor. He never dragged his feet anywhere Lilia would never let him hear the end of it.
The blond skater kept to himself as he laced his skates. Not even snapping at Victor for being too annoying for 7 in the morning. Yuuri had made up his mind, like it or not he and Yuri would have a conversation after practice today.
Their morning practice went almost as usual. Victor always took the morning to coach Yuuri and used the afternoon to practice with Yakov. In the morning Yakov would concentrate on coaching Yuri and Mila. This morning, Yakov seemed a little annoyed with Yuri’s lack of energy. The teenager still landed everything almost perfectly, but everyone could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Yuuri gritted his teeth and tried to focus on his own training. It wasn’t the time to get distracted. If your focus wasn’t entirely on the ice you could injure yourself badly. Yuuri did his best to tune out Yakov and Yuri and concentrate on Victor and what he was doing. Soon enough he’ll be able to have answers anyway.
When he was by the edge of the rink getting a drink of water, Victor joined him to tell him they were done for today.
“We’re getting there Yuuri. You’ll surely win gold this season.” His fiancé told him with a smile.
“Are you forgetting that you’re also competing this year? You don’t want to win gold?” Yuuri teased him between sips of water.
Victor gave him a torn look. It was amusing seeing his dilemma between encouraging Yuuri as a coach and also seeing him as a rival. Yuuri looked around the rink and saw that Yuri wasn’t on the ice anymore.
“Where’s Yuri?” He asked.
“Oh. He must be in the locker room already. Yakov told him he was done for today. Something about needing some rest.” Victor said.
Yuuri nodded. He’ll probably have to call the younger skater then. Yuri wasn’t the type to linger at the arena after his practice.
“Ok. Have a good practice. Don’t hurt yourself. I’ll see you later.” Yuuri told Victor.
Victor wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Yuuri returned the embrace because even if it was over the top, he loved his fiancé and would never deny him affection. It was only a matter of seconds before Yakov appeared and screamed at Victor to go eat something and get ready for this afternoon. Yuuri disentangled himself from Victor with a laugh.
“Don’t push Yakov’s buttons too much.” He said. He pecked Victor’s cheek as a goodbye and made his retreat to the locker room.
He could hear Victor and Yakov argue in the background until the locker room’s door closed behind him. He could hear a shower on, telling him that Yuri wasn’t gone yet. Yuuri grabbed his things and made his way to another shower stall. He washed quickly, mostly washing away most of his sweat. For a long relaxing shower, he preferred waiting until he was back home.
Once dressed and his hair towel dried, he went back to the locker room. He was surprised to see Yuri sitting on the bench with his duffel bag next to him, clearly waiting for him.
***
If Yuri had been less tired, he would’ve laughed at the surprised look on Yuuri’s face. The older skater nodded at him and went to his own duffle bag, putting his things back in. He didn’t ask anything. Letting Yuri break the silence.
“Is Victor practising this afternoon?” Yuri asked when the other man was done with his bag.
“Yes.” Yuuri assured him but didn’t say anything else.
Yuri wanted to be annoyed with the silence. It would be easier for him if Katsudon asked all the questions and he could give monosyllabic answers. But Yuri knew that was not what he wanted. Katsudon seemed to also sense that Yuri had something to say.
“I… I wanted to…” Yuri started but never finishing his sentence.
He wanted to talk. He wanted to talk to Katsudon (yeah even he was surprised by that one), but he didn’t know how to.
“Why don’t you come back home with me. I’ll make some tea.” Katsudon offered with a smile.
Yuri nodded, jumping at the occasion to delay want he had to say. He slung his bag across his shoulder and followed Yuuri outside. Victor and Yuuri’s place was close to the rink. They could walk easily from one place to the other and that was probably why they picked that apartment building. Yuri thought that he’ll probably do the same when he’ll finally be able to live on his own.
The walk to the apartment was silent. Even in the elevator to their floor, the only sound was the cheesy music. Katsudon unlocked the door and invited Yuri in. Yuri dropped his gym bag in the entryway and took off his shoes. Katsudon told him to get comfortable in the living room, he’ll make some tea and come right back.
Yuri sat on the couch. Makkachin was sleeping on the armchair next to the couch. Yuri extended his hand and petted the dog lightly. A few minutes later Katsudon came back with two mugs of tea. He gave Yuri his and sat next to him.
“Thanks.” Yuri whispered before taking a sip.
They drank their tea in silence for a moment. Both taking the time to take some deep breaths and relaxing from their morning practice.
“Did you want to tell me something earlier?” Katsudon asked with a soft voice.
Yuri managed to not choke on his tea and put the mug on the coffee table. He kept his eyes on his hands as he tried once again to say what was on his mind.
“You said I could talk to you.” He said his voice barely above a whisper.
Katsudon hummed in agreement.
“You also saw that I push myself harder.” Yuri continued with another statement. “I just… I don’t know what else to do.” He admitted.
“About what Yuri?” Katsudon asked his voice always gentle.
“I guess I’m a little nervous about this season.” Yuri sighed. “I’ve won gold at the last Grand Prix. What if I can’t do it again this year?” He asked no one in particular. “What if I let everyone down?” His whisper starting to sound a little watery.
Yuri wanted to be angry with himself. He was sharing all of that he was not going to cry on Katsudon’s couch. But he couldn’t stop his tears and one fell down his cheek.
“Oh, Yuri.” Yuri looked up at Katsudon at the sound of his voice.
Their eyes locked. Katsudon was looking at him with a soft look. Almost the same way his grandfather would look at him when he cried when he was younger.
“You’re putting so much pressure on yourself.” Katsudon continued.
Yuri tensed at the words. He wasn’t a child. He was a gold medalist and could handle the pressure of being a competitive figure skater. He just needed a moment to wrap his head around everything.
“Hey. It’s ok to admit you need help Yuri.” Katsudon said. Of course, the man had seen his shoulders tense.
“I don’t want to be treated like a kid.” Yuri snapped.
“That’s not what I’m doing, and you know it. It’s normal to have those fears from time to time. It’s important to talk about it and not just keep everything to yourself. That’s what I did before Victor started coaching me. We all know how well that went.” Katsudon said with a sad smile.
Yuri’s eyes widen at that admission. The last season had been such a strong comeback for Yuuri Katsuki that Yuri sometimes forgot how he was before.
“Even if you don’t break another record this year and you don’t win gold you won’t disappoint anyone.” Katsudon reassured him.
“False. My fans would be disappointed and probably Yakov and Lilia, and other people too.”
“The people that matter won’t be disappointed. Yakov and Lilia are your coaches, it’s their job to always expect more of you. But in the end, they’ll still be proud of you. Victor and I wouldn’t be disappointed, and I doubt that you could ever do something wrong in Otabek’s eyes.”
“You wouldn’t be disappointed?” Yuri asked trying to dry his tears. They seemed to keep coming even if he wasn’t that sad anymore.
“We’re so proud of you Yura. You had one of the best senior debuts of all time. You’re still young your career is far from over. So, even if you don’t surpass yourself this year there’s always next year.” Katsudon said with a smile.
Yuri stared at the older skater for a moment in silence. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s shoulders and squeezed hard. Katsudon, to his credit, didn’t look surprised and returned the hug immediately.
“I know it’s scary, but everything will be ok.” Yuuri whispered in his ear.
After a few minutes, Yuri let go. His tears had finally stopped running down his cheeks and he felt somewhat better.
“Thanks, Katsudon.” He told Yuuri with a small smile. “I needed to hear that.”
Yuuri returned his smile. “How about we take a break and watch a movie this afternoon?” He suggested.
“Ok but I’m choosing the movie. You’ll probably choose something boring.” Yuri said picking the remote from the coffee table.
“You do that.” Katsudon said with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll go make us some lunch.”
Yuri knew the roll of eyes was only for show. If anything, Katsudon looked happy to see him act more like his normal self. He watched the Japanese skater go back into the kitchen with a smile (it was ok, Katsudon couldn’t see it). He shook his head and turned his attention back to the tv. Things would be alright and maybe having Yuuri Katsuki around was actually for the best.