Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuuri puffed air into his already-gloved hands and rubbed them against each other for more warmth. He had already covered himself with several layers of clothing with a coat over them and then a large, fluffy scarf around his neck. A dark blue bonnet also covered his head and a black face mask hid his nose and mouth. His eyeglasses were turning foggy because of his warm breath.

He bit his bottom lip and looked at the conveyor belt again but not a single familiar luggage of his could be seen circling around. He fidgeted and prayed that none of them got lost. It was hassle enough to bring two luggage; it’s be more troublesome to lose either or both. His parents even needed to ship his other stuff to his new apartment or else he’d overexceed the allowed luggage allowance.

Finally, he saw a silver luggage with a blue glinting ribbon around the handle. He hastily grabbed it towards his side. After few seconds, he orange one had arrived and he pulled it out as well. With a luggage on each hand, he walked towards the Exit.

He was finally in Russia, specifically in St. Petersburg and even if he had visited the country already for Rostelecom Cup, he still couldn’t being awed with how different this place was with Japan. Viktor told him a specific address, so he was expecting to ride a taxi over the said place until he saw familiar faces in the Arrival Area. He looked up and squinted. He gasped when he found Viktor, Yurio and Makkachin sitting in a single row.

Makkachin, once again, first saw him. The poodle stood up and ran towards his direction with a happy bark. Of course, Viktor and Yurio stopped talking and looked at where the dog was running to. Viktor abruptly stood up when their eyes met.

He crouched and wrapped Makkachin in a warm, tight hug as the poodle greeted him enthusiastically. Thank goodness he was wearing a face mask or his face would be filled with Makkachin’s saliva already. “I’ve missed you too, Makkachin.”

“Yuuri,” A soft, relieved whisper brought his eyes back up. His eyes watered when he saw Viktor opening his arms for him. He quickly stood up and jumped into his fiance’s warm chest. He didn’t know why but he was so relieved and happy to see Viktor also still wearing his golden ring.

Viktor hugged him tightly and breathed in. “Ah, I missed you so much, Yuuri. It felt like we didn’t see each other for ten years instead of just half a year,” He murmured and buried his face on Yuuri’s hair.

Yuuri hummed and hugged the other back. He melted into the two arms around him and into the chest he currently buried his face in. He smiled and mumbled back, “I…I missed you too, Viktor.”

“Can you two stop being so fucking disgusting already? It’s so fucking cold in this airport and I am already hungry,” Yurio complained from their right.

They pulled apart with twinkling eyes of amusement and happiness. Yuuri didn’t miss a beat and quickly launched himself into Yurio and hugged the smaller Russian into a big embrace. Yurio yelped in shock before struggling. “I missed you, Yurio. It felt weird not hearing you yelling your angst-y feelings out in Yu-topia.”

Yurio huffed and then crossed his arms. He looked away with a ‘hmph.’ “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I guess I miss Yu-topia’s katsudon too. I just cannot make it the same way.”

He finally released the blond and chuckled. “I will make you some once I have adjusted and found the right ingredients. I have mastered it for years being a Katsuki.”

“Really?” Yurio asked, eyes sparkling in excitement. He suddenly caught himself and scoffed to hide his growing anticipation. “Yeah, sure. It better tastes the same or I will throw it at your face.”

When he turned to grab his luggage, he realized that Yurio and Viktor already got both for each of them to hold. “I can do it!” He gasped.

Viktor waved a hand dismissively and pointed at the gates. “Nonsense. You have just suffered a fourteen hour flight. I can almost feel you collapsing soon. Come on, follow us.”

He followed after them and asked hesitantly, “W-Where are we going…exactly?”

“Just follow us,” Viktor vaguely answered.

Yurio went out of the taxi ahead of them since his and his Grandfather’s house was quite far away from Viktor’s and he didn’t want to suffer walking at this kind of weather. Viktor whispered, “He just wants to eat his Grandpa’s pirozhki already.”

With how excited Yurio was as he ran towards their front door, Yuuri actually agreed with Viktor’s observation.

He stared at the bungalow mansion that stood right in front of him. Even if it was already turning a little dark outside, the mansion’s silver-y glint and first class aura couldn’t be easily ignored. Yuuri blinked when Viktor opened the gate and headed at the front door. Makkachin padded happily ahead of his owner and went inside the doggy entrance right after Viktor unlocked the door.

Yuuri was still gaping outside the gate. Because it finally sunk in. This was Viktor’s house…no, mansion. What am I exactly doing here? This is to extravagant for someone like me!

Viktor laughed and shoved him towards the entrance. He pulled Yuuri’s luggage and closed the gate behind him. “Go on.”

He looked around one more time. “Um…Viktor, why are you pushing me towards your home? I thought you already found a place for me to stay at?”

The Russian blinked and then pointed at his house. “Yeah, I have. It’s this.”

He blinked back before registering Viktor’s answer. He shakily pointed at Viktor’s mansion before spluttering, “H-H-Here? In your own house? V-Viktor—“ He paused from his complaining to remove his shoes as Viktor continued pushing him inside. “V-Viktor, really, this is too much. It was already enough that you agreed to remain as my coach despite you coming back as well—“

“It will be a challenge, but I can manage~” Viktor interrupted and walked towards the TV to plug it on.

“—And then you offered to train me here in Russia so that you can keep track of developments of both of us. You even asked my parents for permission to get me here—“ He continued, still not showing any sign of movement from where he stood.

“It actually felt like I was asking for their blessing for your hand in marriage and for us to live together already. I was nervous, actually, because they could say ‘no.’” Viktor commented and roamed around the kitchen to prepare something.

“T-T-They cannot say ‘no’ to you. Ever. Anyway, as I was saying, you don’t need to do this. I do not want to intrude into your personal sanctuary. Let me find an apartment immediately, and I’ll find a part time job to be able to pay the rent, I’m sure I can find one one way or another. You’ve done enough for me already, Viktor and—“

Viktor stopped preparing cups of coffees and glared at Yuuri, which made him stop talking. “I hate it when you say that I’ve done enough already because you always sound like you’re saying goodbye. And, Yuuri…” He sighed and then approached Yuuri. The Russian cupped his cheeks and planted a kiss on his forehead. “This is indeed my home, my private sanctuary, my sacred grounds. Everything I love could be seen all around you. And my everything. My life. My love. He’s right in front of me right now. And I will have it no other way.”

He couldn’t help himself from smiling. He stood on his toes and leaned into the kiss Viktor was offering him. It was soft and chaste, but was enough. “Besides, I’ve stayed in your family’s onsen for almost eight months. And I was offered with the best food, hospitality and service not because I was the Viktor Nikiforov but because I am Viktor, whom they love, respect for being me. I want to return the favour by taking care of their adorable son and making sure he gets the best hospitality and cosiest bed while training here in Russia.”

He looked over his shoulder and considered the fluffy and huge couch. “Hah. Your couch does look like it’s very coz—“

“If you ever try sleeping there instead of beside me on my bed in my room, I will really get mad,” Viktor protested and pinched his nose.

He wrinkled his nose and then laughed. They gazed at each other before laughing together and just embracing for one more time, a little longer this time.

He spent the first week of his stay trying to adjust with the difference of time in Japan and Russia. His body clock was still a little messed up for the first three days but he gradually adjusted to it and even woke just in time for a little warming exercise and jogging. The next two days, he spent his whole days in walking around the area and then the town and around their base for training so that he wouldn’t get lost when he was alone. [He doubted that.] Then the last two remaining days, he learned new recipes so that he could at least cook for Viktor and even for Yurio. He self-assigned himself in doing the house chores whenever he had the time or chance to do them. He even slipped in some spare time to memorize few basic Russian words and phrases in addition of what he already learned.

He got woken up by his alarm and he noticed a note at the nighstand. He put on his glasses and read its’ contents. ‘You’ll wake up soon. Let’s meet up at the bridge you always jog on at 8:30. I and Yurio will wait for you there. Let’s jog for awhile and start training together from today on. Hurry, do not make me wait as long as Aeroflot again. ~Love, Viktor.’

He scrambled into his feet and begun fixing himself up. He didn’t want to make the two wait but his fast moves were more into because of excitement.

He checked everything and closed the doors with the bundled copies of keys the Russian gave him. He turned and started running, Makkachin happily jumping and running by his side.

It took him seven minutes of running to reach the bridge and he finally saw to figures leaning against the bridge. His face broke into a big smile upon seeing Viktor looking back at him.

His coach raised an arm and waved with a big, goofy grin. He then proceeded on yelling, “Yuri!” as a greeting.

“You’re late, pig,” Yurio grumbled. It was Yurio’s way of saying ‘Good morning,’ or ‘Good to see you.’

Yakov raised an eyebrow as Yuuri Katsuki finally appeared in person here in Russia to accompany them for training although the Japanese would be coached by Viktor.

He was still uncertain how this would work because he was going to coach Viktor while the idiot five-time world champion would coach Yuuri. He was so confused when he tried to process this that he stopped thinking about it because of a growing headache.

The recent silver medallist fidgeted with the straps of his backpack and looked at the ground as he arrived together with Viktor, Yuri and Viktor’s poodle, Makkachin for his first practice in the same rink as the other two.

Viktor raised a hand as the other skaters stopped from their gliding on the rink and gaped at them. They had heard of Viktor’s decision, but his idiotic protégé never told them when they’d arrive to start practicing with them again. Yuri disappeared for few weeks and Yakov yelled at his cellphone when he found out that the golden medallist actually stayed in Japan with Viktor and Yuuri for a little rest.

Yuri would never say it out loud but Yakov knew how much Viktor and Yuuri Katsuki actually meant to him. Aside from Otabek Altin, whom Yuri had grown close recently, these two had been a couple that Yuri looked up to and respected.

“Hi~” Viktor greeted and was greeted back with loud cheers, applause and then questions. Yuri was also welcomed with loud shouts and ‘congratulations.’ Yakov smiled unconsciously as his two recently back students were swarmed by people.

Yuuri stood beside him, silently watching the scene unfold before them. Makkachin stayed as well at the sideline. Yakov observed the Japanese at the corner of his eyes, and he blinked when Yuuri smiled as Viktor and Yuri tried to get away from those who swarmed over them, amused with the situation. The dog barked and nudged Yuuri’s hand.

Yakov wasn’t the only one looking at the silver medalist’s direction now. Even the other skaters not under him had also quieted down and slowly watched over the new arrival. Yuuri crouched and then reached over to scratch under Makkachin’s chin. The poodle whimpered happily and then walked closer towards the brunet. Yuuri chuckled and scratched behind the poodle’s ear.

Mila cooed quietly when Makkachin jumped into Yuuri’s open arms and hugged the Japanese back.

“Ah, I’m jealous~” Viktor interrupted. Yakov turned and found Viktor pouting with arms crossed.

Yuuri looked up finally, and blushed with all the eyes staring at him. He hastily stood up with Makkachin following suit to sit, and said, “S-Sorry. I got carried away. He just seems so warm with his soft fur.” His English sounded so polite that Yakov was pretty sure he captured more than half of the skaters’ hearts already with his shy demeanor. The other half, he wasn’t sure. He could feel doubt and rivalry in the air as if some of them saw Yuuri as a prey which predators could easily attack.

Yuri wrinkled his nose and started tying his skates’ laces. “Are we going to practice or what?”

Lilia, who emerged out of nowhere, chided, “Yuri Plisetsky, be a little more polite.”

Yuri ignored her scolding and frowned at Viktor and Yuuri. “Are you going in there or I need to push you?”

Laughing, Viktor changed his shoes as well.

When Yuuri went to move, Yakov stopped him with an arm extended before the Japanese. Yuuri abruptly halted and looked at him curiously. He cleared his throat and said loudly so that everyone could hear him properly, “Everyone, my students or not, this is the silver medallist in the recent Grand Prix Final held in Barcelona, Spain. From now on, he’d be training with us in the same rink. He’d still be coached by Viktor while I am coaching Viktor. Do not ask how this will work, it will make your brain explode. Anyway, I expect you to treat him respectly and to give him the same rights as you do on the ice. I won’t tolerate bullying or any form of harming our newest member.”

He could see some displeased faces, but he ignored them in favour of gesturing towards the Japanese. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Yuuri Katsuki.”

Yuuri blushed and then bowed. “G-Good morning. I am Yuuri Katsuki. I will be in your care from now on. I-I hope we’ll get along well.”

“How should we call you? Katsuki? Yuuri—“ Mila started with a warm smile.

“Katsudon? Piggy? Little pig? Fat-so?” Yuri piped in with a smirk. When Yuuri laughed at him, he just pouted harder and stuck his tongue out. Yakov knew that Yuri thought his endearments would be taken ill. But the silver medallist seemed to be used to such antics and just smiled at Yuri’s childish bullying.

Yuuri answered with a shy smile, “You can call me either ‘Yuuri’ or ‘Katsuki.’ Although I accept other endearments.” He said the last part with a look directed at Yuri.

“So confusing~ We have two Yuri’s,” One commented.

Viktor intervened by saying enthusiastically, “We had the same problem in Japan so Yuuri’s sister gave Yuri a new nickname. You can call that shorty Yurio!”

Yuri flailed his arms and growled, “DO NOT CALL ME YURIO!”

Yuuri pointed at himself and explained, “My name is pronounced longer. Yurio’s is Yu-ri. While mine is Yuuri. So it will be like Yu-u-ri.”

The other skaters humoured him and actually tried rolling his name out of their Russian-accented tongues. [Well, most. Yuuri wasn’t the only international skater/student with them, anyway.] “Yu-u-ri.”

“Why does it even matter? Why do you need to have the same name as I do? This will be so confusing for criticizing times,” Yurio grumbled and slid with a quicker speed before taking off for a Quad Salchow. He landed it perfectly but he hadn’t managed to lift an arm in the air as he planned and tsked.

Yuuri blushed when his name was repeated over and over again anyway as his new rinkmates tried out saying his name correctly. And everyone realized that there was only one who could actually say it properly with no problem even if he was purely Russian, himself. “Yuuri~ Come on onto the ice already. We have no time to waste.”

“Ah, yes!” The Japanese gasped and went to change his shoes.

“He seems so different when he’s on and off the ice,” Lilia commented beside him as she, too, observed the new addition to their members.

Yuuri finally finished putting on his ice skates and started to glide on the ice. For warm up, he removed his eyeglasses and placed them on the barrier. He then started to create a circular pattern while changing which foot was dominating his posture and slide. He was taking deep breaths as he spun around the ice rink.

“We’ll continue practicing On Love: Eros and Yuri On Ice, and you’ve 94% mastered them both already however we still need to time some of your step-sequences and spins right. There are times that you are too fast or too slow with the beat.”

The other skaters had resumed their practice by this time. Lilia was also concentrating on Yuri’s mistakes and postures as the blond stopped with his warm-up mode.

Yuuri perked up and nodded. “I think I need to concentrate on those first and then the jumps and quads,” He answered back.

Viktor smiled giddily and nodded back. “Oh, the enthusiasm!” He exclaimed and pressed play.

It was the Short Program which most of them have already watched in video, recordings and even personally, but it was still a routine which no one could easily ignore.

A little sway of his hips and feet almost tangling together in sequences that seemed impossible with how fast yet seductive they still were, and everyone had stopped training and was now either gaping or glaring daggers at the Japanese. It, indeed, was different to have Yuuri Katsuki – the on and off ice versions of him—in Russia.

Yakov couldn’t help his smile. This will be interesting.

And as Viktor looked around and saw the same sight as Yakov saw, and as Yuri, himself, stopped and observed the silver medallist seriously, Yakov knew that these two thought the same.

Chapter Text

It was true. Nothing worth having comes easy.

Yuuri couldn’t remember where he stumbled upon that quote, but ever since he read that, he knew that it truly applied into his life and career. The moment he stepped into the ice for competitive figure skating, he had drowned in his own sweat, tears and blood just to reach his goals.

Along with those body fluids, he had nearly killed himself from too much bruising externally and internally as his ever-existent anxiety tried to bring him down with thoughts that he sometimes couldn’t fight off.

He was Yuuri Katsuki. A dime in a dozen figure skater recognized by JSF. He was a known ball of anxiety. And the silver medallist from the recent Grand Prix Final. He had won few medals as well from the previous competitions he just entered. He had also broken a Free Skates’ world record; he had just taken over Viktor Nikiforov’s record. Viktor. Nikiforov. His coach. His mentor. His fiancé.

And he had just made the decision to not retire yet. Just as Viktor chose to come back to competitive figure skating after almost a year break to coach Yuuri. Although Viktor was still gonna coach him while competing. It was a mess, and when Yuuri asked how that would work, Viktor just laughed and never answered his question.

He didn’t like that response.

Anyhow, he was currently in Russia, and had been staying here to train under and with Viktor. He had arrived in this country thirteen days ago, but he was still not fully adjusted. Not like it was easy.

It was the start of a new day. There was an annoying noise right beside his pillow, and he wanted to smash whatever it was with Thor’s hammer until it stopped.

The bed stirred. But he refused to open his eyes and willed himself to completely fall to slumber again. Yet a hand brushed his cheek. “Yuuri.” Such smooth, angelic voice the owner of that voice had.

He frowned and hid under his pillow. “Five more minutes,” He grumbled. He didn’t know if his words were understandable, but since Viktor laughed, he knew that they were.

It was cold. The bed was warm. The blanket was comfortable and fluffy. His pillow was so soft. The ambiance of their room was so home-y, he’d really rather stay in bed.

Viktor stood up, and grabbed one of his hands before pulling. “Yuuri. You need to get up. We still need to stretch out, exercise a little, eat breakfast, pet Makkachin [that’s important or he’ll ignore us for a day] and then get ready before jogging and then training.”

He groaned and pulled his hand to repel Viktor’s antics. “Noooo. With the way you said our routine, it’s as if we’re living robots. And they sound like too much hardwork. Let me sleep and sink into the bed until I die.”

Viktor sat at the empty space beside his hip and pulled away the pillow. Yuuri yelped and covered his eyes because of the bright rays of the sun streaming through the windows and roped curtains. “I can’t believe this man is the recipient of countless awards and medals. He can’t even force himself to get up,” the Russian teased.

He sulked and finally opened his eyes. He met a pair of amused sky-blue eyes. He scowled half-heartedly and grumbled, “You can’t talk. You got wasted the night before that I needed to literally flip the mattress just to get you out of bed. Suffer with my revenge.”

“That hurt by the way and I rarely get that wasted. I just missed Russia’s kind of alcohol,” Viktor whined and then leaned to press a kiss on his nose. His eyes wrinkled at the corners as he smiled down at him. “Good morning, my sun.”

He didn’t know why, but he absolutely loved the fact that Viktor showered him with cute [and sometimes sexy] pet names. They sounded so sweet that he couldn’t help smiling with a tint of blush. He still wasn’t accustomed with this. “G-G-Good morning,”

Viktor’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? What’s that pink tint on your cheeks?” He asked with a teasing tone. “Are you embarrassed?” When he didn’t reply, the Russian chuckled and squished his cheeks. “You are so adorable. Sometimes I still can’t believe you’re the one who dry-humped me at last year’s banquet, seduced me this year’s banquet and then said endearing phrases before your Eros performances. It’s like there are two versions of you that make you you which is so fascinating.”

Yuuri hummed in satisfaction as his fiancé cupped one of his cheeks and leaned down to press their lips together for a soft, chaste kiss. It had become a beautiful ritual. “Nonetheless, I love you wholly,” Viktor whispered and then asked, “So, ready to prepare for the day?”

He groaned. He had almost forgotten about that. He raged against Viktor’s pillow. “Nooo.” [He was. He always was. He just liked being pampered at times.] He squeaked in shock when an arm draped under the back of his knees and then the other under his back. He gawked when he realized that Viktor just lifted him bridal-style and they were now heading towards the bathroom. Together. “V-V-Viktor! I am up! I am up! Put me down and I’ll be ready in ten minutes! I promise!” He shrieked with a burning face.

Viktor hummed and continued walking. He smirked then looked at Yuuri with a raised eyebrow. “Did you get scared when I approached the bathroom? Oh, what did you think? Something exciting?”

Yuuri’s mind raced and flashed him with embarrassing and shameful images of the two of them and all sorts of things they could do inside the shower room or against the wall. His cheeks burned even brighter.

Viktor chuckled and proceeded on helping him take a shower. Just a shower. He’d never say out loud that he was kind of disappointed.

Their training starts at nine in the morning. But Yuuri and Viktor always woke up at seven to prepare, feed Makkachin, and then eat breakfast before going for a run until it was time for practice.

Viktor could cook and Yuuri found out about that when he was served with various dishes at his first night. But Viktor could only cook several dishes, and Yuuri wheezed in laughter when Viktor slipped because of flour when he tried to make pirozhki. Viktor defended that he never actually cared much on preparing food for himself and ate out a lot because he was usually alone.

And Yuuri painstakingly knew that his fiancé was being honest.

So he made it his mission to make various and new dishes for them to eat for Viktor to feel that his house really felt like home now.

He was closing and turning off appliances to help Viktor since they’d be gone for most of the day again but when he was about to unplug or turn off some, he realized they were in Russian.

He gulped and squinted, trying to read with his newly acquired knowledge about the Russian alphabet. “…O…F…F…” He spelled out. “Oh, this is the one,” He triumphantly whispered and pressed the button before unplugging the device.

Viktor came in with the house keys. “I’ll just—Oh, you managed to turn that complicated heater off,” He seemed surprised and then frowned. “That’s so weird. If not for its great quality, I wouldn’t use it. What the hell are all those twelve buttons for, right? And it doesn’t like being plugged off before being turned off or it will screech for unknown reasons. Wait. How did you turn it off? It was written in Russian?”

He smiled sheepishly. “I was learning your alphabet when I have spare time, just for emergency scenarios.”

Viktor blinked twice before squealing a little like a giddy, happy child. He lunged at Yuuri and hugged him tightly. Yuuri didn’t know what he did to deserve the hug, but he liked it, so he shut up. “That’s so cute, Yuuri. And so sweet of you!” Viktor said. “I suddenly feel like learning yours.”

Yuuri snorted and responded with a smug, “Oh, the Japanese language is very odd, Viktor. We have different kinds of writing our language.”

Viktor shrugged, wrapped an arm around his waist and proceeded to lock the house. Makkachin was jumping enthusiastically at the specks of white snow in the house’s yard. “It couldn’t be that hard. I did learn the English language fairly quickly.”

They had started walking towards the bridge where they and Yurio usually meet up. “Hmm. W-Well then, there’s Katakana, Romaji, Kanji, Hiragana.” He ignored Viktor’s confused face. “T-They are all quite different and it usually depends on where you are on which people use. I use a different one whenever I feel like it.”

Viktor made a face and then complained, “And here I thought that heater and Yurio’s angsty personality are complicated.”

He laughed. After a moment, Viktor joined in. They didn’t pay any attention with the odd looks they and their linked hands received.

Yuri sighed in relief and frustration when he finally got that twenty minute break he had been asking for after continuous practice. Lilia was a great mentor, but she was very strict, straightforward and liked pushing him to his limit. No wonder she and Yakov got married before.

Their kind of similar personalities might have not sit well with the two of them which caused the divorce. Yuri didn’t know, Mila just liked pestering Yakov about it and he was coincidentally just near enough to hear. He wasn’t gossiping. He swore. [He was. He’d never say it out loud, though.]

He raised an eyebrow when Yuuri sat down beside him with a sigh of his own. “Hah. You ran away from the old geezer?”

Yuuri laughed and shook his head before opening his water bottle and taking gulps of water. “Oh, no. He was the one who wanted me to stop for awhile. Looks like I exhausted him with how many times I asked him for that sequence he wanted me to master.”

Yuri smirked when he witnessed that just right before Viktor was about to take a break, Yakov called him out with, “Vitya! No resting! It’s time I coach you.”

When Viktor whined with, “But Yakooovvv! I need to rest first! Yuuri’s stamina will kill me, I swear.” He threw an amused and dirty looked at their direction.

Yakov didn’t buy it and pointed the spot in front of him. “Come here. And no more complaints. You were the one who decided to both coach and be coached. You don’t get to whine about it. Now, come here and tell me what you have in mind for your next programs.”

Viktor drank large gulps of water and glided towards Yakov. They talked animatedly for few minutes and then Yakov hummed and then said, “I see. Great concepts. I’m glad you didn’t forget about this part of you. You’re so forgetful, I was hoping you wouldn’t remember me when we met at Cup of China.”

Viktor laughed and plugged in his phone.

“By the way, Vitya, what would be your theme be?” Yakov shouted and leaned against the barrier.

Viktor looked over his shoulder at Yakov and then his eyes gazed towards Yuri’s direction. Yuri screeched at him and the other laughed. Viktor then met Yuuri’s chocolate brown eyes. They smiled at each other. Yuri made gagging noises. “Stop being fucking disgusting! You literally see each other every second of every day! Have mercy on me!” He shouted.

Viktor laughed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot since he went to Japan to train Yuuri. “Oh please, don’t pretend you and Otabek don’t message most of the time about anything and everything!”

His cheeks burned and he screamed, “STOP GOING THROUGH MY PHONE WITHOUT PERMISSION, YOU JACKASS!”

“I didn’t~ That was just teasing. But you seem guilty so I must be correct,” Viktor sing-sang.

Yuri flipped the bird at him. Yuuri chuckled as Viktor grinned widely and then handed his phone to Mila. “Play it at my signal,” He said and slid towards the center of the rink. He stood there, feet crossed and hands splayed over his chest, his eyes focused on the ground. His expression seemed so solemn, it made everyone quiet. “I have just thought of a fourth of this routine, so don’t expect much. It’s technically a draft. Play please, Mila.”

Mila pressed something on Viktor’s phone and the song started.

It was a melancholy tune. It begun with slow, sad beats that actually hurt Yuri especially with the way Viktor performed that part as if he was suffering, all alone and isolated. Then it changed and started to brighten and become lively but was still a little dramatic and dejected.

Viktor’s step-sequences and spins were so full of emotions, everyone’s eyes were on him and couldn’t leave. At the middle, he stopped and then said, “It’s just until there that I managed to choreograph.”

Yuuri clasped his hands together and said from beside Yuri, “It’s a little like Yuri On Ice?” He sounded so surprised, awed and so fucking in love, Yuri wanted to shove him out of the bench.

Viktor looked up at him and smiled warmly. “Exactly. My short program is the ‘life’ part. The free skate is the ‘love’ part. My theme is ‘life and love.’ I hope you liked it.”

He received a sounding applause. Yuri, begrudgingly clapped too. Yuuri, though, was gaping at Viktor.

He whisper-growled, “What’s up with you, katsudon? I thought you’d be screaming by now.”

Yuuri blinked and turned towards him. Yuri didn’t expect the smile he had gotten. “Well, I’m sure you know how much I idolized Viktor. I just can’t believe I get to see him as him and as the Viktor. And even to be privileged to see him choreograph his programs from draft while training under and with him on the same ice. It’s just…it still feels like a dream.”

He scoffed and then threw a rolled tissue at the brunet. “Don’t get lost in your daydreams, pig. You, yourself, are going to compete. You better have a theme already and ideas because I don’t want to beat you because you’re unprepared.”

Yuuri blinked and then smirked at him. “I have thought of those, Yurio. Don’t worry.  We’re going to see one another’s performances here, but I promise you that the me you’ll see in competitions will be far better. So don’t be left behind.”

He flailed his arms and growled, “Don’t get so cocky with me, you fucking katsudon! I will beat you again and again!”

“There’s still the Worlds, Yurio. Get ready. After we perform our routines for the last time, let’s see each other grow again. Don’t be left in the dust~” Yuuri said with a smile.

He huffed. “You talking to a mirror, katsudon? You will be the one left in the dust.”

And that was how the two of them spent their break, bickering and trying to beat each other on who could fluster the other more. Of course, he was the one easier to tease but he continued with their little game.

Viktor was smiling fondly at the sight of the two of them and when he noticed the other’s knowing look, he stuck his tongue out.

He was just [internally] glad that this katsudon (and Viktor, but did that idiot really want to be back on competing, though? He had yet to ask) didn’t really retire yet. He still wanted to beat him (or them, was Viktor beatable?) on the ice again after all.

Yuuri panted as Viktor clapped his hands to indicate the end of that part of their practice. They still had two more hours but at least he was given a break. “Amazing! You have perfectly mastered On Love: Eros and Yuri on Ice! You’re ready for the Worlds.” He was about to thank his fiancé when Viktor added, “Just don’t over-eat. Don’t get stressed. Don’t be a ball of anxiety, and tell me if you need my support. And do not think of something else when skating, you flub your jumps when you do.”

He pouted and glared at the Russian. “Thank you. Really appreciate it.”

Viktor chuckled and placed a finger over his lips. “Ah~ This feels great! You really have warmed up on me.”

He patted his ice skates and looked up over his lashes. “What do you mean?”

Viktor shrugged and glided on the ice directionlessly [word non-existent, forgive me]. “Well, a year and more ago, you can’t even reply to me sarcastically. You always blush, run away and talk to me politely back then that I was losing hope that we’d ever improve. But now, here we are in Russia, you’re actually being sassy and sarcastic towards me. I love the fact that you’ve really grown comfortable with me and had opened up towards the public even just a little.”

Yuuri wasn’t supposed to feel warm with those simple words and honest opinion, but he did anyway. Because he’d never truly thought he’d be appreciated not just by skating but also that development that was happening to him in his personal and private life. He never truly thought that his personal improvement ever mattered.

He smiled at Viktor and murmured, “T-Thank you. It’s a big s-step.”

Viktor hummed in agreement before ruffling his hair affectionately. “Go take a break. I’ll just go to the restroom.” With that, he went out of the rink, and headed towards the restroom after securing the safety of his skates.

He looked around and realized that everyone that he knew was busy practicing. He slid on the ice and just made patterns because he was still a little worn out. He gasped when his back lightly collided with another’s. He turned and bowed, paling. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. It’s alright,” A man replied.

Another laughed heartily. “Lift up your head, Yuuri. No need to be so tense around us.”

He looked up. There were five men in front of him, they all looked Russian and seemed to range in different ages. The oldest might be twenty-one. They were all heavily Russian-accented but understandable for Yuuri since he interacted with either Viktor and Yurio most of his days. The only one that didn’t sound Russian to him was Makkachin. He didn’t talk the language of dogs, though.

“H-Hello,” He greeted and bit his bottom lip. “I’m sorry again. That collision could have been damaging.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” The tallest and oldest said. “Man, we always wanted to approach and talk to you. Never thought we’d need to literally collide before getting to talk.”

He blinked, confused. “Approach and talk to me?” He echoed. Did he hear them right?

Another explained, “We saw your performances on Live Television. And then were watching as you did your routines here. You’re a great skater, Yuuri.”

“You just seemed a little uncomfortable with attention and strangers, so we kind of hesitated,” Another piped in.

He shook his head and hastily countered, “N-No! It’s not that! I’m just still adjusting with my new environment. I don’t know how to talk to Russians except for Viktor and Yurio. I didn’t even know if any of you wanted to make friends with a newbie like me, so I kept quiet.”

“You talk so politely, it’s kinda funny,” The other of the five remarked.

“Oh, how silly of us! We haven’t introduced yet, have we?” The last one exclaimed with a bright smile.

He stifled his laughter when they extended their hands at him at the same time. He shook each with the same length of time. “Yuuri Katsuki. Twnety-four. From Japan.”

The oldest and tallest replied, “Ah, Alexander Petrov. Twenty-one. We’re all Russian, so no sense saying them again and again.” He was a little taller than Viktor with short blond hair and moss green eyes. He looked reliable, dependable yet kind of detached way was a little like Otabek.

“True, anyway, I’m Boris Orlov. Twenty!” The one almost as tall as him with bright ash blond hair and light green eyes exclaimed. He had that ‘Emil-ness’ in him.

“My name is Pyotr Lebedev. Twenty, as well,” The other with shoulder length golden hair, dark blue eyes said. His calm, friendly and carefree aura reminded Yuuri a little of Chris and Phichit.

“Pyo…tr?”

Pyotr laughed and said, “Can call me Peter if it’s a little easier.”

“Pe-ter. Yeah, that is easier,” He agreed with a chuckle.

The fourth waved and said, “Yefim Alexeev here~ I’m just eighteen, so please take care of me.” Clean cut ash blond hair with dark-blue eyes. His enthusiasm was a little like Minami Kenjirou’s.

“And I’m Dmitri Kuznetsov, just nineteen.” Chin-length blond with specks of gray hair and sea-green eyes. He reminded Yuuri of Seung-Gil combined with Mickey. Weird combination, yes.

He pointed each of them and recited their named. “Alexander. Boris. Pyotr—“

Pyotr chuckled. “Alright, I’m sure you’d get the hang of it soon enough.”

“—Yefim and Dmitri…Right?”

He looked over his shoulder and found Viktor smiling warmly at him as he leaned against the barrier. He nodded and let him rest for few more minutes. Makkachin was watching him over the barrier as well, panting and tail wagging enthusiastically. He smiled back and turned back towards the other Russians, and talked with them animatedly. There was still a distance between him and them, but it was a step forward.

Mila fixed her messy hair and excused herself from the other girl skaters to glide towards Georgi and Yuri. She stood beside them and drank from her water bottle. Her eyes settled at Yuuri Katsuki and the other Russian guy skaters as they talked about anything and everything.

She laughed a little when Yuuri’s face exploded and then quickly waved his hands with Alexander’s teasing remarks. “He’s so adorable. I can’t believe he’s twenty-four, just look at him. When I first met him, I thought he was twenty or twenty-one.”

Yuri clicked his tongue and grumbled, “You’re just a hag.”

“Yuri, be careful. I could lift you up and then throw you at the window whenever I like just like what you do with your phone~” She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

Yuri yelped and immediately shut up.

Georgi hummed and responded, “It’s a good thing he’s already adjusting. Must be hard to adapt to a new environment so suddenly.”

“Yuuri is actually known a little for being the guy who stole Viktor away from the figure skating world and I’m sure that makes him a little uncomfortable and anxious. I’m pretty happy that he’s opening up.”

“Oi, Mila,” Yuri called out.

She turned and followed Yuri’s gaze, which was trained at the other three male skaters at the opposite side of the rink who were talking quietly while throwing glares and dirty glances towards Yuuri’s direction.

“And of course, let’s not forget about them,” Georgi said and sighed dramatically. “What’s a story without antagonists?”

She crossed her arms and smiled darkly. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m keeping my eyes on them.”

Yuri smirked up at her. “Count me in.”

Viktor went out of the bathroom wearing a new set of clothes for bed. He dried his hair with a towel and approached the bed wherein Yuuri was sitting on with a laptop on his lap. He had earplugs in his ears and eyes focused on the screen.

He sat beside his fiancé and wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist. Yuuri turned and gave him a smile. “What’s that~?” He asked since the screen only showed that there was a song being played.

Yuuri removed his earplugs. “I have chosen my songs for my new season. One for the short program and the free skate,” He said firmly.

He grinned and exclaimed, “REALLY? Oh, what’s your theme? You haven’t told me yet.”

Yuuri leaned his back on Viktor’s chest. Viktor wrapped an arm around his fiancé and then the other resumed on drying his hair. He could smell Yuuri’s strawberry scent and he couldn’t get enough of it so he buried his nose on Yuuri’s dark locks. Best decision ever. Yuuri giggled, probably tickled, and replied, “Unmasking. I want to explore my capabilities and show the world that confidence everyone is telling me all about. I want to see who that confident, unafraid Yuuri is.”

“Unmasking. Ah, my katsudon is really improving. I’m so happy~” He whispered and tackled Yuuri into the bed. He gently placed the laptop on the bedside table and went on top of his lover. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose on Yuuri’s neck. He was rewarded with a moan.

“V-Viktor, we just showered!” Yuuri protested even though his hands had clutched onto the back of Viktor’s shirt and eyes were half-lidded with passion and desire. Makkachin was busy chewing his new toy – Viktor’s slippers—and ignored both of them; used to it, actually.

“Doesn’t matter~” He murmured and went to devour his fiancé. Because why not?

Chapter Text

Yuuri sat on the bench with his laptop on his lap. Earphones were plugged in his ears and he was so serious on tapping down letters after letters and scrolling through whatever website he was that Viktor almost didn’t want to interrupt his fiancé although their break was long over now.

The brunet bit his bottom lip and squinted and moved his face closer towards his laptop’s screen before sighing and beginning to type again. He pressed one of his earphones deeper into his ear, probably to hear whatever it was he was listening to better, and then shook his head.

Days had passed. And Victor was seeing a lot of improvements with his precious katsudon’s performances especially in his jumps. It wasn’t only physical development that he was seeing from his student, though. From a distance, he watched carefully as Pyotr patted the brunet’s head as a greeting. Yuuri stiffened for a second before returning the other’s gesture with a smile. Pyotr seemed content with that response and started his practice. Victor couldn’t help smiling for he was seeing Yuuri developing emotionally and socially as well which really swelled his heart with pride.

After that, though, his fiancé rapidly began tapping on his laptop again. After few moments, Yuuri removed his glasses and then shut his eyes tightly. Victor knew how much exhaustion laptops and gadgets cause eyes so he was pretty sure his protégé’s eyes were dry and blurry now.

Yurio slid beside him and threw a curious look at the Japanese as well. “What is he doing? He’s been busy tapping on his laptop ever since you told him to have a little break.”

“Could be chatting with Phichit,” He responded and leaned his forearms on the board of the rink, eyes not leaving his beloved who was just few meters away.

“Couldn’t be. They always talk through Facetime; they look like the type of best friends who aren’t content with words and prefer seeing each other through cameras and screens,” Yurio grumbled and drank large gulps from his water bottle. The blond seemed to have gotten an idea, and smirked with it. “Hah. Maybe he’s having an affair and wouldn’t tell you.”

It was as if static filled his head with that suggestion. With that, he stormed off towards the Japanese’s direction.

Yurio shouted, “I was fucking kidding, you geezer! Did you really think he’d do such a thing? Oi, come back here! Victor! I was joking! Ugh, geez, whatever.”

He knew that he shouldn’t really be worried because Yuuri had never looked like the type of lover who would cheat. But Yuuri, definitely, also prefer using his phone than typing on his laptop. Knowing it’d be better to confront the other for answers than assuming the worst because Yuuri was doing that unconsciously already because of his anxiety, he walked and stopped right in front of Yuuri and gently removed the earphones in his fiancé’s ears.

Yuuri stopped typing and looked up with a frown. He blinked when he realized it was Victor. “Oh. Victor, what is it? Is it time for me to go back to practice?”

He shook his head and pointed the laptop on the brunet’s lap. “I am actually wondering how that laptop ended up on your lap when I’m pretty sure I am the one who gets to sit there.”

“I didn’t ask for innuendo, you asshole! And I can hear you ‘til here! Spare the innocents, will you?” Yurio growled a corner of the rink. Completely ignoring Yakov who was lecturing him and Lilia who was chiding him because of his colourful language.

He ignored the smaller Russian’s snap and turned back to his fiancé. “Don’t say you’re cheating behind my back? Who is it? Is it Chris? JJ?” He inched his face closer and slurred, “Phichit?”

Yuuri flushed beet red before waving his hands frantically, innocent now confirmed. He stammered a, “V-V-V-Victor! It wasn’t like that! T-T-This is nothing at all. I just needed to e-mail someone about an important stuff.”

He placed a finger over his lips and gave out a menacing smile, thinking of thousands of ways to be able to murder somebody and hide the body stealthily so that he wouldn’t need to let Yuuri go. “Oh? Well, love is an important stuff so that must be it?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and grumbled, “It’s about my programs for next season, you prick.”

Everyone in the rink quieted down. Victor wouldn’t lie, even he, himself, didn’t expect the words that he just heard out of his fiance’s mouth. He stared, wide-eyed, at the brunet and blinked thrice, still absorbing the words he just received and trying to contemplate if it was Yurio who just voiced over.

Yuuri’s face suddenly exploded with shame that he turned red within a second. He suddenly knelt on the ground and did his Japanese dogeza. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Oh my god. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean those words!”

Laughter bubbled up within him and before he knew it, he was laughing hysterically. His laughter might have been the cue the others were waiting for because suddenly the whole training rink was filled with joyous laughter.

Yuuri turned even redder as he sat up on the ground and hid his face in his hands. Words muffled because of his hands, he grunted, “Oh my god. That was embarrassing. I can’t believe I said that out loud.”

He was still laughing and wheezing when he replied, “Oh, I just think Yurio rubbed it to you so much. I never expected to be called a ‘prick’ by my own fiancé. I don’t know if I should feel honoured that I got to elicit such response from you or hurt because the first time you almost cusses, it’s because and towards me,” He hiccupped and held his stomach.

Yurio shouted over his laughter, “Katsudon! That was too mild! Do not be shy and call him an ‘asshole’ or ‘bastard.’ You’re in Russia, no one will judge you!”

Yuuri threw a glare at the blond’s direction and then glared at Victor after. The brunet stood up and crossed his arms indignantly. “I know how to cuss. I just don’t like to. I lived in Detroit for years after all.”

That somehow made him stop from laughing. “Oh, right. You stayed in Detroit to train under Celestino and became besties with Phichit. You can cuss then?” He made a begging pose and did his best puppy eyes towards his student. “Oh, cuss please?”

Yuuri shook his head and hibernated his laptop before cleaning his eyeglasses.

Boris waved his hand enthusiastically and yelled, “Fucking cuss, Yuuri! We’d like to hear you speak our colourful language!”

Alexander chuckled and added, “Shout all the curses you have. We won’t judge you. If it makes you less nervous, we’d even help you out with some Russian swear words!”

Victor looked over his shoulder and wagged a finger at the other Russian. “No. No Russian swear words. They’re too extreme for my Yuuri.”

Dmitri smirked and sighed an exasperated, “You’re too protective, Victor.”

Victor stuck his tongue out at the five who were standing and goofing around at one corner of the rink and then re-faced his fiancé before cupping Yuuri’s cheeks with his hands. “Please? I just want to hear you cussing, it’s a side I rarely see.”

The brunet huffed and then rolled his eyes. “Will it make you happy?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “It will make me and the other skaters very happy! Won’t we?”

“Yep!”

Yuuri removed his skates’ protectors and slid onto the ice. “You prick,” The brunet grumbled with a blush, he was clearly uncomfortable with being mouthy but he was doing his best on relaxing with this other nature of himself. “I was fucking talking to the ones who’ll compose my songs. Did you really think I’d cheat the hell out of you?” The brunet suddenly turned away and squeaked, “I can’t believe I just said that to Victor.”

He placed his hands on his cheeks in surprise, jaw hanging open. “Oh my! You can cuss! I am so happy right now.”

Mila yelled, “You sure that’s all you got, Yuuri? You’re too soft~”

Yuuri took a deep breath, smiled shakily, spun on his own place and responded, “I have a colourful vocabulary especially for cussing. I love doing it mentally and then spouting them when I’m half-sober or drunk. You wouldn’t want to hear now or ever.”

He gently slammed the laptop’s other side down and placed it over a safe table. Gliding back to the ice, he said, “Someday, I’ll manage to make you cuss thousands of times.”

Georgi chimed in, “Then it’s near since I am pretty certain Yuuri is too tired of your shit shenanigans, Victor!”

“Thank you! Just the boost I needed!” He called over sardonically.

He received a thumb’s up and big smile from the twenty-six year old.

It was another day in their lives in Russia and he was really tempted to shout for Victor and Yuuri to go back to Japan because they were so lovey-dovey, it was infuriating. Lilia clapped her hands together and shouted, “Okay! Twenty-minute break for now, Yuri.”

Yuri whooped and lifted a fist up in the air. He had wanted to hear those words ever since Lilia made him practice his free skate program over and over again because he was still flubbing some of his jumps and there were still times he wasn’t in beat or he hadn’t raised his arm as he wanted.

He quickly skated towards the door and went out. He drank his water bottle’s content in one drink before slumping on the bench, panting and exhausted as fuck.

Lying on his back on the bench, he roamed his eyes around. His eyes landed on Victor, who seemed to be quite stressed out in the center of the rink. The silver-head sighed and said with a patient smile, “Yuuri, you’re not ready for that kind of regimen yet.”

Yuuri pouted and frowned. “I have landed 85% of my quad flips already. And I have been practicing these two routines for days. Can’t I move on already?”

Victor continued smiling and lifted a finger. “You managed to land them 85% of the time. Not enough. I want to see you not flub a single one.”

“Victor!” Yuuri whined.

Yefim jumped and leaned against the board outside the rink until his feet was high on air and exclaimed in awe, “Oh! Someone’s actually talking back to Victor.”

“I, Yakov, and Lilia talk back to that bastard all the time.”

“That’s you complaining that he’s not listening. This time, Yuuri is actually talking back to Victor because of something Yuuri wants, which Victor doesn’t want to do,” Yefim explained and shouted, “Victor, feel yet the suffering Yakov have been put into because of you?”

Victor blinked and looked over. His smile turned wider. “Nope. Not at all. This kind of attitude from my Yuuri is actually quite adorable. I’m just humouring him since he looks like a little puppy who wouldn’t be given his treat so I—“ The silver-head abruptly stopped mid-sentence when Yuuri suddenly took a swing and punched his arm. Victor yelped. “Ow! Okay, wow, that hurt!”

When Yuuri scoffed and turned away, Victor visibly panicked and went after his student. “Yuuri! I was kidding! Fine, okay, you can try practicing Quad Loop!”

That got his attention. He raised an eyebrow and realized that the other skaters were also surprised with this new information.

“…Katsudon? Piggy? Little piglet? Babe?” Victor called out pleadingly while Yuuri roamed around the rink, his back turned at the silver-head, feigning ignorance but cheeks tinting pink.

“Oi, I thought Chulanont warned you not to call Katsudon ‘piggy.’ Want me to tell the Thai?” He shouted.

“Again, not helping!” Victor complained and went after Yuuri still. “Sunshine? My star? My will to live? My—“

He cringed and shrieked, “Stop being disgusting!”

But that only made Victor more persistent. “My sun? My star? My universe?”

Mila pressed her hands on over her mouth and giggled. “They are so in love. Look at Yuuri’s smiling and blushing face as he tried to pretend that he’s still angry. And then look at Victor; it’s as if he’s a completely different guy from the living legend who left us a year before—he’s just so happy, so satisfied, so in love with Yuuri.”

“They’re disgusting,” He repeated with a sneer.

Georgi nodded and sighed, “A reason to believe that true love exists.”

“Disgusting,” He hissed.

Yakov slammed rolled newspapers against the board and yelled, “Vitya! Come back here in front of me and do your free skate routine all over again! From the top!”

Victor stopped and turned his attention towards his coach. “But I’m not done coaching Yuuri yet.”

“In front of me. Now. I am still unsatisfied with how you portray your character in this program of yours. I cannot feel the emotions that each part should be have unlike Yuuri Katsuki’s Yuri On Ice. Have you seen the way he expressed his emotions in his free skate?”

The silver-head pouted and crossed his arms sulkily. “I was the one who choreographed and gave the idea about that!”

“But he’s the skater on the rink when the music starts. So most of the effort of snatching your world record was still due to his own skating.” Yurio smirked when Victor flinched with that blunt truth. “Now, get back here. I want to see if you really fit to be Yuuri’s husband because I can find him someone else if I am not contented.”

Victor sprinted off in front of Yakov and flailed his arms in childish tantrums, his cheeks and nose were red. “How dare you, Yakov? As if you could find someone who’s more fitting than I am!”

Yakov grabbed the remote of the stereo and raised an eyebrow, as if he was challenging his student. “Alexander, Pyotr, Boris, Dmitri, Yefim, would anyone of you want to volunteer? I will gladly give my blessing to any of you over this lazy, never-listening protégé—“

Yuuri shrieked from where he stood and stuttered, “V-V-V-Victor, please stop being stubborn! I don’t want to involve the others with this!”

Victor huffed stubbornly and gestured for his coach to begin the music.

As the silver-head practiced his own routine, Yuuri wandered around and on the ice before taking a deep breath and doing an ina bauer out of nowhere. After that, he proceeded on practicing Waltz Jump and ended with a Ballet Jump. Yuri raised an eyebrow as the brunet took position and slowly started spinning until he was doing a half-Biellmann spin.

The Japanese did other various spins and transitional jumps before ending up on his butt in exhaustion. “What’dya think would happen? You literally did those exhausting spins and jumps for almost fifteen minutes without break,” He growled and glided back on the rink.

Lilia suddenly spoke out of nowhere, “Yuuri Katsuki!”

Yuuri hastily stood up and straightened up. “Y-Yes?” He gasped, eyes staring ahead.

“Your form, posture and flexibility are eye-catching. Do tell me how you achieved such. I believe being a figure skater will not be enough, it’s as if you’re a ballerina instead of a figure skater when you did your jumps and spins just now.”

“A-Ah, that’s because I had learned ballet before figure skater under Minako Okukawa. Y-You might have heard of her before? She’s a ballerina from Hasetsu, Japan, won several international awards recipient of Benois de la Danse years before?”

Lilia hummed and nodded. “I do remember. We have encountered before. She’s a very talented fellow.”

“Um, well, she has been my ballet coach and the one who suggested I try figure skating. When I’m in Japan, I either practice in her ballet studio since she’s teaching locals ballet or Ice Castle Hasetsu, our local ice rink. S-So, that’s why I am a little flexible and has…quite the stamina.”

Lilia smiled slightly, and Yuri frowned at that rare expression. She twirled a finger around. “Please spin.”

Yuuri did.

She hummed and said, “Arabesque.” Yuuri effortlessly raised one of his leg behind the body in a straight line. “Hmm, impressive. Attitude.” The brunet nodded and bent the knee behind him until it was 90 degrees in angle. “Flawless,” She commented and then clapped her hands. “Pirouette!” Yuuri nodded and ended with even arms extended upwards in graceful arcs. “I was about to tell you to do tour en l’air, but I wanted to test if you.”

Yuuri turned back to just standing stiffly when the skaters around him suddenly burst out with a round of applause. He scratched his cheek and whispered, “Thank you?”

“Astounding,” Lilia praised with a big smile. “Yuri Plisetsky was a natural because of practicing this ever since he was little but his heart has always been into figure skating. But you, Yuuri Katsuki…your world might revolve around figure skating as well but it’s as if ballet is still somehow the core of your performances – an innate ballet dancer. If you ever feel like being a danseur, I believe I know someone who’d be glad to have you.”

The Japanese looked up, eyes sparkling. “T-Thank you! It’s an honor to receive such high praises from a well-known prima ballerina like you! Minako-sensei has been a fan of yours and I’ve heard a lot about you from her. P-Please know that it’s a pleasure to work with you even though I will not be under your supervision!”

Lilia seemed surprised with the response and chuckled shortly. “Such politeness and honesty. Yuri,” Yuri stiffened when he received a glare. “This is how you talk to someone who is superior than you are. Please take note.”

He didn’t reply and internally shrieked, NO. FUCK NO.

Lilia faced the Japanese again and said, “If I could help you whatsoever in anyway, just tell me. It will be my pleasure.”

Yuuri blushed and nodded, his head bowed low. “T-Thank you!”

With that, Lilia gestured for Yuri and instructed, “I cannot feel your persona in your skating again, Yuri. You’d been reborn, remember? Why am I seeing that past self of yours again?”

He clicked his tongue and resumed his practice.

“Good luck, Yurio!” Yuuri shouted with a big, genuine smile. It dissolved his irritation at the Japanese. The brunet was too nice for his own good.

“Shut up, shithead! I won’t lose to you!” He grumbled.

He wasn’t envious of the praises the Japanese just received because he had received the same from various people before, but he didn’t like the way Yuuri seemed flustered with the idea that Lilia offered him to be a danseur. He and Victor just managed to not make the brunet retire, he wouldn’t let the ballet world take the silver medallist away—he still needed to beat Yuuri’s world record, after all and win fair and square with a big difference between their points. With Victor’s sulky expression from where he stood, it looked like he wasn’t the only thinking about it.

Yuuri entered their training rink for another day of practice and changed into his training attire before stepping out of the dressing room. Skates laced securely and muscles not too tense anymore, he was about to enter the ice when he saw Mila in a corner, sullen-looking and squeezing her stomach. She flinched and grumbled under her breath.

Georgi tried to approach her but with one venomous look from the red-head, the twenty-six year old winced and left her alone.

Only Yurio managed to receive several replies before he shrugged and walked away from the red-head. He looked at the blond as Yuri approached the door. “Is something wrong with Mila?” He whispered.

Yuri raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Asked her the same. Looks like she has her monthly period and currently experiencing cramps, mood swings and fluctuation between hungry and not hungry. Don’t approach her, she’ll claw you alive.”

“Oh, you claw me alive enough. I think I can endure her,” He teased with a laugh.

Yuri growled, “Shut up, katsudon! I am not a hag who—“

“Yuri, I can hear you~ Call me ‘hag’ once again and you will feel my period wrath,” Mila hissed from meters away.

Yuri gulped, just glared at him before gliding on the ice. “She’s really a grumpy idiot when she’s on her monthly period. Just ignore her. She’ll be back to her lively self tomorrow or maybe later.”

He continued eyeing her, thinking of what ways he could somehow help her when a hand tapped his shoulder. Upon whirling around, he found a confused Victor staring back at him. “Is something wrong?” The silver-head asked.

He scratched his cheek and looked over Victor’s shoulder. Since Yakov and Lilia were just entering through the entrance, he saw glimpses of what was outside the facility and brightened up. He clapped his hands together and bowed his head. “Can you practice your own routines first for few minutes? I just really need to run an errand.”

Victor frowned and made an incredulous face. “Run an errand? You barely know this area, Yuuri. You might get lost, let me accompa—“

“Vitya! This is no time for you to carefree; you still have a lot of work to do with your programs. Come here this instant!” Yakov bellowed and pointed in front of him, face scrunched up in annoyance.

Victor blinked at his coach and then looked back at Yuuri, he looked seriously torn between his two choices. He bit his bottom lip and sighed. “Fine. I’ll train my own programs first and give you few minutes. Do not stray too far, this area is quite confusing. And be very careful because you’re a foreigner of this country, someone might snatch your wallet or valuables.”

Rolling his eyes, he shoved his fiancé towards where Yakov was, already tapping a foot in irritation and impatience. “J-Just go practice already. I’m twenty-four years old. I’ve transferred to Detroit alone until I met Phichit and Celestino. I’ll be fine.”

As he re-changed his shoes and ran towards the doors, Victor added, “Watch out for perverts! You’re too cute for your own good!”

“Stop being gross, what the heck!” Yurio snapped.

Laughing, he waved at the two and ran at the nearest pharmacy. Blushing and embarrassed he might be, he still told the pharmacist the names of the medicines he knew would help someone who’s experience stomach cramps due to period. And then shyly asked her what else she could recommend. She giggled and told him various stuffs he could easily buy in the nearest convenience store. Paying the said amount, he whispered, “Spasibo,” and sprinted out.

He then entered the convenience store, and grabbed the items the pharmacist recommended earlier. Satisfied with the content of the basket in his hand, he walked towards the cashier. He waited for the change and grabbed the plastic of his stuff he availed. He was panting when he arrived back in front of the rink’s doors. He took a deep breath and walked back inside.

He looked at his watch. That took him fifteen minutes. Hah. Victor raised a hand and waved enthusiastically. Yurio raised an eyebrow at him. Georgi was busy talking with Alexander and the others. Lilia was pointing out Yurio’s mistakes and making him re-do his program again from the top. Other three skaters were perched up on the board on the farthest corner giving him weird looks – he had never talked to them, so he suddenly felt conscious with their staring. There were other four coaches around the rink but it seemed that Victor and Yakov were the ones who usually reserved the ice rink and the others were just borrowing parts of it whenever none of them were practicing or when they were on breaks.

He approached Mila cautiously.

Mila looked up when a shadow fell on her. She blinked when she realized it was a cautious Yuuri, who was fidgeting with the plastic in his hands. “Ah, Yuuri, what is it?” She asked.

“Are you alright?” He whispered.

Same questions as the other’s, but his adorable worried tone somehow didn’t irritate her. She smiled and pointed herself. “Perks of being a girl—monthly period that hurts like hell and hinders my practice. Add mood swings in the mixture and a monster comes out,” She answered sarcastically.

The Japanese chuckled and then slowly turned quite pink. “I, uh…Here.” He shoved the plastic towards her.

Raising an eyebrow, she accepted the plastic and looked inside. Her eyes widened when she found a small paperbag with few pills to stop stomach pain and stomach cramps. And then inside the plastic bag, itself, were packs of various chocolate bars/candies, small pint of chocolate ice cream, energy drink and then bubblegums.

“Ah, wait!” He gasped and ran away. He re-emerged almost just a minute after with something new in his arms. He re-approached her and pointed the hot compress. “I borrowed this at the small clinic at the back of this training rink. Hope it helps.”

She accepted the hot compress and placed it on her belly. The hotness of the material transferred and flowed all around her body, somehow relaxing her muscles. “Wow! Spasibo,” She murmured. She looked over the others and found some watching them quietly. Trust Yuuri Katsuki to be everyone’s favourite within a week or more.

She took out the ice cream and begun eating with the free spoon inside the plastic bag. “Ah! My favourite brand! Vkusno~” She purred and then looked up at the Japanese with sparkling eyes. “This is the best! I feel a lot better already! Thank you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri smiled, pleased.  “I’m glad I could be of help.”

Yurio leaned his forearms against the board and yelled, “Oi, katsudon! How did you manage to talk to Mila without being eaten alive?”

Milla waved her pint of ice cream. “Yuuri here brought me hot compress from the clinic. And then even bought me stomach cramps medicine and treats that will subdue the monster within me. It’s yummy! He even guessed that I love milk chocolate!”

Yurio huffed at the brunet. “How do you know how to calm down girls, katsudon?”

“Ah, my sister, Mari, can be very crabby when she’s on her period. Like, really crabby. So I tried to find out how to help her out. She also uses hot compress and then treats. The pharmacist suggested these to me for Mila-san,” He explained sheepishly. He grew anxious as Alexander and the others started listening too.

She squealed. “You’re so sweet! You’ll be a great husband whenever you’ll get married!”

Yuuri’s face exploded and he stammered, “H-H-Husband?”

Georgi chimed, “Yeah, husband. I mean, you and Victor are engaged right?”

“I, uh, well…”

Victor piped in. “We are! And we will get married once Yuuri wins a golden medal in an international competition. Prepare yourself, the Worlds is around the corner.”

Yurio threw his towel at the silver-head. “You and I are going to compete against him too, asshole! And I’m not going to let him win!”

She giggled when Yuuri’s face turned even redder and he spluttered a whiny, “Victor, stop saying that! I-I-I’m pressured enough!”

Her eyes landed on the other three who were isolated but were definitely giving Yuuri dirty looks behind their precious Japanese’s back. She seethed at them and they quickly looked away.

Because of Yuuri’s help, she managed to still practice even just few jumps and parts of her programs for about two hours, which was better than none. So when they were packing for the end of the dy, she approached the brunet and said, “Thank you once again for earlier, Yuuri. I really appreciated your effort. If ever you need help or advice with anything, feel free to talk to me.”

Yuuri blinked and looked around. He licked his lips nervously and mumbled, “W-W-When you have spare time, c-c-can you teach me how to do jumps with an arm raised in the air?”

She gasped in surprise. “Oh my! You want to try doing that too?”

He nodded. “If I want to win or have higher scores, I need to do better as much as my body can. I want to learn that too. If Yurio managed it, I know that I can, as well.”

She grinned with his enthusiasm and ruffled his hair. “Sure. Whenever we’re both free, I will teach you techniques and even hands-on if needed.”

He perked up. “T-T-Thank you! I…I am a little anxious since I’m not super great with jumps but I’ll do my best. I’ll be in your care.” He then bowed politely.

Giggling, she nodded. “You’re welcome, in advance. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Victor waved his hand from the door, his and Yuuri’s bags on his shoulders. “Yuuri!”

Yuuri waved back. “I really need to pee! You can wait for me outside. I won’t take so long!” He yelled back. His fiancé smiled and then nodded before following Yakov, Lilia, Georgi, Mila and Yurio outside. Alexander and the others were still on the rink. He waved at them on the way to the restroom.

He entered a cubicle and relieved himself. When he went out with a sigh of relief, his eyes widened when he realized he was surrounded by the other three skaters he had yet talked to on the rink. He gulped and whispered, “D-Da?”

One slammed a fist on the space between the doors of the cubicles and growled, “Yuuri Katsuki, right?”

He nodded shakily.

Another clicked his tongue. “The silver medallist of this season GPF. Golden medallist of Japan Nationals. And another gold from the Four Continents. But also the one who failed miserably at last year’s GPF.”

He didn’t respond, unsure where this conversation was going.

The last one flicked his forehead and he gritted his teeth because it actually hurt and his head bumped onto the door because of the impact. “Are you blissful? Stealing Russia’s Victor Nikiforov and winning medals one after another ever since he became your coach?”

“If ever you’re blind, he’s currently training with us as well. And he’s having a comeback. Everyone’s welcoming him back warmly as if he didn’t take a break at all. And for the record, I didn’t steal him— or what—“

“We were at last year’s banquet when you dry-humped him and begged him to be your coach—“ The first one hissed.

“—I didn’t even remember that until few months ago at this year’s GPF when us, the Finalists, went out for dinner. And it was his choice; he could have ignored me but he didn’t,” He retorted, not backing away without a fight. He might a ball of anxiety but they were stepping out of the line. Even Yurio didn’t accuse him of such.

The second slammed a fist right beside his head and he couldn’t flinching. “You stole him away from the ice. You were even declared as engaged. You’re ruining Russia’s – no, the World’s living figure skating legend’s reputation. And you even have the nerve to train here.”

“You’re twenty-four already. Why not retire instead?”

“I didn’t want to, and it’s none of your business,” He spat, pushing his fear, anxiety and nervousness down.

“We thought he’s coming back to us for us and to just start competing again but no, he’s still coaching you. And when he returned, it’s as if he’s a completely different person! It’s all your fault!”

He winced when one of them slammed his shoulder at the space between the doors forcefully. Damn, that would bruise, he thought.

“Yuuri, the rink’s closing soon!” He heard Boris call outside.

“Victor and Yuri are looking for you!” Dmitri added.

“Coming!” He yelled back as an escape plan.

The three hissed. “Don’t you dare think we’re done with you. We won’t stop taunting you until you’re swallowed by your petty illness called anxiety, quit being Victor’s student, retire and leave Russia forever,” the second grunted.

“Remember the names,” The first said and pointed at each of them. “Oscar Smith. Anton O’donnell. And Vlad Voronin.”

With that, he was pushed towards the door. He didn’t know where his guts came from but he responded with, “Nice to meet you.” He didn’t add ‘assholes’ at the end though, because that would be rude.

He fell beside Victor as they walked back home. The others were chatting around him. He gulped down his fear with the previous three in the restroom’s threat and tried to calm down.

“Oi, katsudon, what took you so long?”

“A-Ah, unexpected call of nature?” He mumbled.

“You seem shaken. You okay?” Georgi asked.

Victor looked down at him and brushed his cheek with his fingers gently. “Yuuri?”

He shook his head. “I-I’m fine. D-Did you know the lights went out for few moments while I was washing my hands! Kinda spooky.”

“Ah, that does happen sometimes,” Georgi murmured.

He didn’t see the way Mila and Yurio glanced at each other with suspicious looks though behind him.

Victor took his hand with a smile and squeezed. “You’ll tell me if anything bothers you, okay?” His fiancé whispered and leaned down to place a sweet kiss on Yuuri’s nose. He giggled and leaned against the silver-head. They could bully him all they want, he’d never trade this for anything else.  

Chapter Text

“How was it even possible that Victor managed to win the Russian Nationals even though he was coaching Yuuri Katsuki all along?”

These were the first words Yuuri heard as he exited the locker room of their training rink. He poke his head out from the wall that separated the rink and the rooms and saw five reporters swarming Yurio, Victor, Yakov and Lilia; Mila, Georgi and the other skaters and other coaches were not even paying any mind with the addition in their home rink. Five cameramen were also surrounding the two Russian living legends and their coaches.

Yakov seemed to be the one being asked so the older huffed and answered sternly, “My stupid protégé had been practicing two programs of his own while coaching Yuuri Katsuki. He just recently told me that he wasn’t still particularly sure last season if he really wanted to retire and so, when he had time, he was practicing his own Short Program and Free Skate. Surprised me greatly when he said he’d go back in time for Russian Nationals when he was gone for eight months. Shocked many when he skated with new outfits, new programs, new theme and then won, yet again. Yuri was infuriated.”

Yuuri knew about that. Whenever he was taking a break or was given a day off, Victor was somehow skating to songs that Yuuri never recognized. It was after Victor announced he was coming back that he told Yuuri the truth.

Yurio scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Who wouldn’t? He suddenly turned up and snatched the medal as if he never left.”

Yuuri couldn’t help snorting. Yurio was truly as competitive as he was. And a sore loser too.

The interviewer nodded and wrote all down on her small pocket notebook. Taking the opportunity, another shoved a microphone at Victor’s general direction before asking, “So you have never truly intended on retiring?”

Victor hummed and placed his index finger on his lips. “Well, not really. Half of me was thinking of doing so; half of me still sees myself skating competitively despite my age.”

“What motivated you to come back to figure skating competitively then?”

Victor smiled his public smile and answered, “Yuuri did.”

His eyes widened as he listened behind the walls. Even Georgi, Mila and some other skater seemed surprised with the silver-head’s response. He gaped at his fiancé as Victor elaborated at the astounded interviewer, “You see, figure skating is my passion ever since I was a kid. I love it. And I love surprising people even more. But it begun to feel…kind of like an obligation to skate. Last Grand Prix Final, I met Yuuri Katsuki, and last season I saw his video which motivated me to take a break and coach him. I was coaching him partly to surprise people and partly to meditate and reflect. I never expected finding love and life.”

“…C-C-Care to elaborate even more, Mr. Nikiforov?” The third interviewer stammered, uncertain if his question would be entertained.

Victor clapped his hands once and smiled brightly. “I was tired of figure skating until Yuuri told me he would retire after GPF last season because he thought he was hindering me from what I love to do most. We argued. I asked why he thought I could skate when he was retiring. We chose to decide after GPF’s Free Skate, and he showed me everything through his skating. After that, I decided to have a comeback but—“ The rest of his answer was halted when another inserted.

“—Why are you still coaching him then?”

Victor’s expression froze and he looked at the interviewer as if he was seeing an alien. “Uh…I’m sorry?”

“Why are you still coaching him then?” Hands down to this interviewer. He was very persistent to get answers. And to think anyone would use such tone to Victor Nikiforov. Hands down. Yuuri was tempted to grab a chair and smack it at the interviewer. How dare he talk to him like that?

“If we look into the facts, Yuuri Katsuki had just won several medals and competitions. Yes, he managed to conquer your Free Skate world record but there are some who are doubting he’d be able to perform magnificently again this season since you and Yuri Plisetsky are also competing against him. There are some speculations that he only got to win silver last season and his latest competitions because you were there.”

Victor frowned at the man. Even Yurio was staring hard and bewilderedly at the interviewer. Yuuri hid behind the walls and gripped the hem of his jersey, the interviewers’ words stabbing him deeper and deeper as minutes passed.

Yuuri bit his bottom lip as he heard annoyance in Victor’s voice as the silver-head hissed, “Excuse me, I think you have forgotten that he still managed to compete in this year’s Grand Prix Final even if I wasn’t there in the last day of Rostelecom Cup—“

“—He flubbed a lot by then, though,” The fourth interviewer interjected. He flinched outwardly.

Yakov said, “I was his temporary coach by then and by my standards, Yuuri Katsuki was still able to bring out a beautiful and powerful performance back then. He was just emotionally distracted.”

The fifth interviewer added into the tirade and blurted out, “His first season in the Grand Prix Final was also a disaster which many cannot forget—“ He started to pinch himself to make himself flinch with pain he inflicted to himself than words. Words.

“He’s a fucking ball of anxiety, okay?” Yurio spat. “Were you just there to watch him fail and blinded yourselves when he was skating his step-sequences and spins? Didn’t you see those?”

“Besides, in the Japan Nationals, Yuuri won gold!” Victor added.

Stop protecting me. Stop standing up for me. What they’re saying is true. Why am I here? Why am I doing here? Will I disappoint people again this season? Am I going to humiliate Victor this season? Do I even deserve being chosen to represent Japan in the Worlds? This is not--

“Well, if you compare the standards of Nationals from Japan to Ru—“

Lilia held up a hand and snarled, “Did you come here to insult Yuuri Katsuki? If so, then please delete today’s footage and never set foot in here again.”

“N-No! Miss Baranovskaya! W-We are just wondering why Victor Nikiforov would remain Yuuri Katsuki’s coach when he was already living legend? He had already proved himself as a great coach since Katsuki has already won silvers and gold. Isn’t time he comes back as Victor, the living legend instead of being half and half? Katsuki had made history, we’re not sure if he’ll continue doing so. Isn’t high time Katsuki brings up back our hero?”

“You assholes! He’s literally engaged to Yuuri Katsuki!” Yuuri’s eyes darted towards the others and found Georgi with a red angry face. “Can’t you see that ring Victor flaunts at everyone? That’s his engagement ring! He’s fucking engaged with Yuuri Katsuki and they are in love! Why are you questioning things that are so fucking obvious?”

“Besides,” Mila added with a glare. “It’s not up to you who people should be just because you want to. We’re human beings. Not dolls you can brag to other people.”

Yakov sighed and growled, “Is there anything else? We have to start practice soon. You’ve wasted our time enough already.”

“I…well, people are just asking these questions and we truly would want them to be answered—“

Victor’s smile had faded long ago. He approached one cameraman and lightly shoved the man. The cameraman wasn’t able to do anything as Victor forcefully deleted the video. Yurio hissed at another and did the same. “Delete those footages and recordings before I do. Throw those notes away. Or I will sue all of you.”

“But—“

“Delete them,” Victor repeated with a cold voice. He watched from behind the cameramen as the five deleted the videos and recordings. The interviewers ripped pages from their notes and threw them in the nearest trash bin. “I am not prohibiting you on interviewing us again sooner or later but I will not tolerate you insulting anyone from this rink of mine ever again. If you want us to prove how worthwhile Yuuri is, why don’t you watch sometimes? Just so that you won’t spit out speculations without evidence.”

Victor was a loving, caring and adorable fiancé. But he was also a blunt, straightforward, sharp-tongued and protective man. Yuuri shuddered as he heard Victor’s ice-cold tone and saw, from afar, the silver-head’s piercing eyes.

Yurio clicked his tongue. “Just so you know, you can tell everyone what you want about what happened today but also know, you were the ones who crossed the line. We have witnesses who would agree with how insolent you were. You better have learned your lessons.”

The five interviewers glanced at one another with frightened expressions and nodded frantically. “Scum before I personally kick you out!” Yurio snarled. The five hastily gathered their equipments and themselves before running out of the doors.

“Phew,” said Alexander from the ice rink. “Glad that’s over. I thought we’d need to take out the chainsaw and threaten them.”

Boris was eyeing the doors. “I was also thinking of burying them on the ice.”

Yurio huffed and removed his skate protector and slid onto the ice. “And this is why I told you not to fucking entertain them!” He growled at Victor was still frowning with a displeased face at the doors.

Victor sighed. “Well, we needed publicity. I needed a little publicity after my long break. I forgot how much of an asshole some interviewers can be.”

Yuuri was still hiding behind the wall, clutching his jersey and pushing down his anxious thoughts down when Oscar Smith suddenly went off the rink, put on his skate protectors and walked back towards the locker rooms. Hidden by sight, he faced Yuuri.

He looked up at the other and found dangerous gaze glaring at him. “We were the ones who called them. Grand A bastards and they’ve done their jobs right. This is what you get for staying here. You don’t belong here. You’ll never belong here,” He murmured menacingly before twisting the locker room’s door knob and entering inside.

He wanted to punch that face but he was frozen in face – words he thought of but never wanted to say aloud repeating over and over in his head.

Victor flinched when Yakov asked, “Where is Yuuri, by the way? I haven’t seen him yet.” Shit. I was so focused on protecting him infront of the camera that I forgot to protect him from hearing personally.

“Fuck. Do you think he heard the things those bastards just said?” He heard Pyotr react from a distance.

Before he knew it, he was sprinting towards where he left Yuuri – in the locker room—he halted when he found Yuuri behind the wall, face pale, expression filled with anguish and eyes devoid of warmth. Oh my God. He cupped the brunet’s cheeks with his hands and whispered, “Yuuri.”

Why was he always too late? Why do those thoughts always managed to reach Yuuri first before Victor does?

His fiancé looked up at him with a surprised expression. “V-Victor.”

God. That tone. That crack in his voice. He couldn’t handle hearing that cracked voice again, his heart almost broke when he managed to make Yuuri cry back in the Cup of China. He didn’t want to see that beautiful face filled with tears again. “Oh, Yuuri,” he sighed. He enveloped his fiancé with his arms and buried Yuuri’s face in his chest. He didn’t know what words would suit the situation so he chose not to speak and just stand by Yuuri’s side. His eyes grew wide when suddenly they were surrounded with the others from the Russian Team.

Yurio was the first one to speak. “Is katsudon alright? Did he fucking hear them, after all?” He nodded grimly. “Fucking shit. We should have thrown them out the moment they spout nonsense.”

“Nothing shall conquer true love! Do not mind what they say, Yuuri! I watched your performances! You’re a splendid skater! Burning with passion!” Georgi dramatically recited with matching big arm gestures. Victor wanted to smack him.

Mila brushed Yuuri’s hair tenderly and whispered, “Yuuri. Yuuri, come on, look at us.”

Victor’s heart clenched when he realized the front of his training shirt was slowly becoming wet. He could feel sobs that Yuuri tried to stifle. It hurt. It hurt. He gulped and looked at the others with panicked expression.

They might have gotten the message. Boris grabbed Victor’s Makkachin tissue box and handed it to him. He took few strips and murmured, “Yuuri, lift your head.”

Yuuri shook his head in his chest.

Makkachin came padding from where he sat on the bench beside the front doors and set his front paws on Yuuri’s side before whimpering sadly, consoling his other dad. Yuuri released a hand from Victor’s chest and petted Makkachin, trying to comfort the poodle.

“Oi, katsudon, pull yourself together! I literally threw better insults than them at you! Did you really think their words hurt more? Well, fuck you, that offends me!” Yurio snapped.

He was about to chide the blond until Yuuri’s shoulders started to shake. Victor was worried that Yuuri’s crying turned even worse, but suddenly the brunet lifted his head and…was laughing while tears still streamed down his cheeks. He faced Yurio and hiccupped with a smile. “No worries, Yurio, your insults are far better.”

“Oh my God! You precious boy! Come here!” Mila sighed and grabbed Yuuri for a tight hug. “Goodness, look at you. Victor, where the fuck is the tissue?”

His frozenness was thawed with the red-head’s words. He handed the tissue to her. Mila hurriedly wiped Yuuri’s tear tracks and the remaining teardrops in the corners of his eyes.

“He’s fucking twenty-three, stop babying him.” A new voice mumbled. He turned and found it to be one of the new faces he never really liked.

“Fucking asshole, shut up,” Pyotr snapped.

But Oscar wasn’t listening. He was staring hard at Yuuri. Yuuri returned the look and grew a little tense. Victor raised an eyebrow. Was he missing something?

Mila handed few more strips of tissue to Yuuri. Victor’s fiancé nodded and placed the tissue strips on his nose.

“1, 2, 3, Bloooowwwww!” The entire rink said as Yuuri blew his nose.

“Again!” Georgi shouted.

“1, 2, 3, blooowwww!”

Dmitri blew a raspberry just for good measure.

The brunet snorted. “Was that really necessary?”

“Yes, it was!” The entire rink [except for some, of course] answered.

Yuuri blinked and laughed out loud. The heavenly sound brought smiles on the others’ worried faces.

Victor sighed in relief and pulled Yuuri in a tight hug. Finally, warm arms embraced him back. “I love you, you’re alright. We’re here for you. I’m here for you,” He breathed. “I love you.”

Yurio had his tongue out unconsciously as he tried braiding his hair. He tried to get a third but some strands fell, making his hair messy again. “Damn it,” He grumbled.

“Want some help?”

He turned and found a smiling Yuuri behind him. “Don’t you have to practice? The Four Continents is nine days from now,” He said instead and continued braiding his hair. Oh, correction: continued on failing to braid his hair.

“Victor has fainted from my stamina yet again. He’s currently suffering under Yakov’s coaching. So I took a break.” Yuuri took the comb from Yurio’s lap and then gently and wordlessly made Yurio remove his hold on his own blond hair. Yuuri stood behind him and combed his hair rhythmically and tenderly, the continued motion sort of made Yurio sleepy.

“Your hair is so silky and glossy, Yurio,” Yuuri complimented. “You’re looking more and more like prima ballerina everyday. It makes you look so pretty.”

Subconsciously, warmth flowed into his cheeks. With burning cheeks, he grumbled, “I-I just think it’ll suit my programs more. I-I-I never really cared how it’ll make me look.”

Yuuri hummed in understanding and consideration. “What kind of braid do you want me to do with your hair?”

“…I don’t know? All I know about is the regular one,” He admitted.

The brunet turned quiet for a moment. “Considering the length of your hair, I can manage almost any kind of braid with it already. Want something different today?”

He considered it. “Sure. As long as it won’t hinder my fucking eyesight.”

“Sure do. Hang on, it won’t take that long.” With that, Yuuri set to work and begun braiding Yurio’s hair. He wasn’t exactly the touchy-feely type of person but he had grown accustomed with the Japanese’s presence. Besides, Yuuri was actually a very nice person and knew his boundaries. So he sat there quietly.

His gaze roamed around the rink and landed on Victor, who was panting as he landed another quad flip. He tried to take off for another one but instead stopped and tried to catch his breath.

“And this is why I told him that he didn’t need to skate alongside me when he’s coaching me,” Yuuri commented, eyes probably catching Victor’s form from afar as well. “Victor can be so extra sometimes.”

“You don’t say,” He deadpanned.

After few more moments, Yuuri exclaimed, “And done!” Yurio lifted up the mirror he borrowed from Mila and turned his head with his eyes still on the mirror. “What do you think?”

It was incredible. The braiding was perfect, no mess, no loss strand. And it was also beautiful, making anyone see Yurio’s face immediately instead of hiding it. He wouldn’t say those out loud, though. “…Adequate enough.” Yuuri squealed in happiness. “What’s this called anyway?”

“French braid,” Yuuri answered and arranged Yurio’s stuff for him. “Being friends with Yuuko and then Phichit has its’ perks.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I’d understand the hair thing with Yuuko. But Phichit?”

“Oh, I learned several make-up stuffs from him. He’s greatly fascinated with them and dragged me on his shenanigans whenever we had spare time. I picked up some things from both of them.”

“Hah,” He mumbled.  He traced the intricate patterns of his hair behind his head in awe. He never knew they were possible. “So you know more hair styles?”

Yuuri nodded happily. “I don’t know, I cannot slick my hair right but I can do different hair styles to someone else. Why?” A pause. “Do you want me to fix your hair for you?”

“…Everyday?” He murmured, a little hesitant and embarrassed. It would be a nice change. It would also bring something non-consistent in his figure skating life.

The brunet enthusiastically answered, “It’ll be a pleasure. If I can be any help in competitions too, I’d gladly do so.” What did they do to deserve such a selfless human being? This brunet was too pure, it was blinding and killing Yurio.

He stood up and pretended to be tying his already-neatly tied skates’ laces. “I…want a side bun tomorrow,” He demanded, trying to sound like his usual self. He wanted to take a selfie. He felt like he was lacking things to post lately except his cat.

“Sure! Just call me and I’ll help you out!” Yuuri exclaimed, cheeks flushed in happiness. How could anyone really hate him?

Victor and Yakov were talking outside the rink with their coach mode on while the others were gliding aimlessly on the ice. The others skaters’ coaches walked and joined in the conversation – probably things about competitions, new seasons, themes and the rotation and designation of their students.

Yuuri turned when Boris sighed loudly a meter from his right. “I am super exhausted. Our coach has been making me do triple axles since earlier! I’ve been jumping all morning that I might just hop ‘til I arrive back home. Or run, run is also an option if he becomes too much.”

“Now, that’s what I call homerun.” Yefim piped in.

“Go back home, Yefim, you’re drunk and that’s never good,” Dmitri said with a mocking expression.

“If I collapse, can I trust you guys to drag me back home unconscious?” Alexander mumbled, pouting sulkily and glaring at their coach’s general direction.

“No,” was the other four’s chorus reply.

Alexander glared at his friends. “Why did I even think I could rely on you?”

“The fuck, dude? You think we’d have the energy? We’d probably collapse beside you and sleep here on the rink. That’s what friends are for, after all,” Pyotr grumbled, elbows placed on top of the boards with his back leaning against the board, itself.

Alexander seemed to have considered that and nodded. “Great point. Considering you people, that’s more likely to happen.”

Pyotr glared at their coach’s direction before flailing his arms and whisper-shouted with a frustrated face, “What the hell was that? Was that a triple axel? I cannot believe you guys! You’ve been doing this for hours! And you’ve still barely managed it!” He now turned his flailing arms at Alexander, who was wheezing hysterically. “Alexander, teach them again!”

Mila covered her mouth, trying not to laugh as she slid on the ice.

He grabbed an invisible something and threw it at Boris, who was clutching his stomach. “Stop laughing! Why are you laughing?”

Even Yurio was silently laughing now.

He then pointed a shaky finger at Dmitri, who was trying so hard to stifle his laughter. “That was the worst quad Salchow I’ve seen! Want me to throw you on the wall, you dumbass?”

Georgi was patting himself as he tried to breathe from laughing too much.

He flailed his arms maniacally at Yefim, who was holding onto the board to keep standing straight. “You are all making me bald! Wait, I’m already bald! But still! You’re making my head shine then!”

“Pyotr, stop!” His other four friends begged, laughing.

 “I will go drink my frustration off.” He pretended to walk away. He faced the ceiling and hissed, “Gooodddnnesss,” He literally dragged on the ‘s’ and then slumped on the board. “Goodness.” He now shook his head with a disappointed face. He scrunched up his nose and growled under his breath, “I hope there are some girls here that could entertain me. Goodness.” He shook his head. “Goodness, goodness, goodness.”

Yuuri couldn’t help it anymore and burst out laughing.

Pyotr looked at him, surprised, and then blushed. “Oh, you were watching?” He nodded, still laughing. “Okay, that was embarrassing,” He grunted.

“No, it wasn’t!” He assured, wiping the laughter tears from his eyes. “You did a great impersonation of your coach.”

“Oh, yeah? Who’s this then?” Yurio asked. He slouched a little and took a deep breath. Suddenly, he began shouting, nose flaring and brows furrowed deeply. “Yuri, what the hell was that? Didn’t I tell you to just put two jumps in the sequence?! When will you ever listen to me!” He spun around and fake-stomped a foot angrily. “Don’t you see this bald spot in my head? Do you want me to become hairless at the end of the season?”

Mila joined in and pointed the center of the rink. “Do you want to do ice skating or pair skating instead? Get back in the ice and resume practice! Stop slacking off! Why are you even out? Did I say it’s your break already?!”

Georgi went in the center of their circle and pointed up. “You can do it! You have done so for your past practices! If you believe in yourself, you can reach your dreams. Do not feel pressured with the things others are saying! And—“ He stopped and then growled, “You fuckass! Are you even listening to me? Oi, I said not to drink soda before a competition! Is that chip crumbs I see on your face?! After that speech, you’re going to ignore me? I’ll really go bald because of all of you!”

They were all wheezing and clutching their stomachs when Georgi ended by shaking his head remorsefully.

Yurio was patting his thigh while laughing, tears streaming down his face. “We’re so used to them that we literally can imitate them with no problem! It’s fucking hilarious!”

A girl he had never talked to pointed at him. “Yuuri, can you do an impersonation of Victor?”

He stopped. “I…” He trailed off. Can he?

“Geez, you’re literally with him 24/7, I’m sure it’s a piece of cake!” Yurio mocked.

“You’ve known him for so long as well, Yuri, why don’t you do one?” Boris called out.

The blond huffed and then flipped his hair. “I am Victor Nikiforov. I am a five-year consecutive Wolrd Champion—and wait, no, I will not fly economy! It’s too cramped there and—“

“Stop, stop!” Georgi asked, snorting.

Yuuri gulped and then cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. He mustered his courage and placed an index finger in front of his lips before saying with the best imitation of Victor’s voice and tone, “Yuuri! You always flub your jumps when you’re thinking of something, care to share?” He asked the last part with eyes closed and big smile – he couldn’t do heart-shaped smile though.

He paced around the ice and then said while impersonating his fiancé, “How can someone who cannot motivate others motivate himself?” He pretended to be angry and threw his towel on the rink. “I am disappointed at you.” He faked skating away.

He went back and spun around their circle of rinkmates, who were all trying not to collapse from laughing. “Oh? I am intimidating you? Nah, I’m sure you can do this in no time! I mean, you are my student and my protégé! Besides, as they say no pain, no gain! So repeat that sequence from the top! With a little more flair! With a little more drama—Yuuri, did you just roll your eyes on me? Okay, you’re doing quad Salchow til we end practice—no, no, no. No complaints! Did you just scoff at me? Yuuri, how dare you? I am hurt! I am offended! I am bleeding! I cannot heal with this! My own fiancé betrayed me!” He then tried his best to dramatically fall onto the rink. “I will never recover from this.”

“Oh my god! Stop! Fucking stop already! I will die from laughter and that is not a good thing to write on my fucking tombstone!” Yurio grunted, catching his breath.

Alexander and his friends were on seated on the ice, wheezing and trying not to die due to lack of oxygen.

Mila grabbed him and they all collapsed alongside the other five from laughing.

He was humming Yuri On Ice when he opened the men’s restroom’s door. He entered calmly and moved by instinct when his eyes caught sight of a fist going towards him.

He crossed his arms over his face. His back collided with the back of the door. He hissed in pain and lifted his crossed arms again when another fist came barrelling towards his face. At the third punch, he knew better and grabbed the man’s wrist and blocked the attack.

Man, his forearms were sore. And it looked like bruises would litter his pale skin soon enough with those full-force impacts he just blocked.

It was Anton seething at him. “If Victor’s or Yuri’s names and reputations get ruined because of what happened in their interview, we will not hesitate on taking you down. Their our heroes. You’re fucking everything up by turning up and letting yourself be babysat!”

He grabbed the other’s other wrist since Anton tried to punch again. He used all of his strength to stop Anton yet not counter and hissed, “You’re actually cowards! Why are you attacking me from behind? W-Why don’t we settle this on the ice?”

“Because it’ll be an unfair competition! Everyone or majority will surely vote for you however our performances will be! So it’s better like this. Face to face.”

“More like face to fists,” He hissed. “I don’t know if you have an idea but I can actually throw punches too. Do not let the looks deceive you because I will not hesitate to defend myself.”

“Try punching me back. If you tell them about what we’re doing, you will make us lose our chances to be pros, our coach will be devastated. The others who consider us as their friends will be saddened. If you try to counter, though, you’ll cause physical damage which we can use against you and then you will give Victor a worse name than he already does because of you. Try punching me back and you might be disqualified and even lose your chance for another season.”

Fair point.

He wanted to throw words back but found no response that would benefit him so he settled on glaring at the other.

Finally, Anton pulled his wrists away and snarled, “I don’t know why they’re even accepting you. You’re twenty-four years old yet you’re just blooming. If not for your chosen theme, programs and musics this season, you wouldn’t have appalled to people with how plain-looking and fat-so you are. Pathetic, really. You don’t belong here.”

The Russian roughly pushed past him and went out of the men’s restroom.

He lifted the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt and found circular bruises that were fist-sized blooming on his forearms which received the impact of Anton’s fists.

Nice. Looks like I’ll need to wear long-sleeved shirts for awhile. What about sleeping? What about when Victor and I…

He sighed. You don’t belong here.

Victor went back inside their room and found Yuuri already half-asleep on their king-sized bed with Makkachin on top of him.  

Chuckling, he set his cup of tea down the nightstand and tucked himself in the bed beside his fiancé. He brushed Yuuri’s hair, which was getting longer, away from his face and caressed a pale, smooth cheek. “Are you exhausted?”

Yuuri blinked at him and then smiled. “A little.”

He smirked and traced Yuuri’s lips with his index finger. “I saw what you did earlier, you know.”

“…Huh?”

“You impersonating me,” He sing-sang.

Yuuri’s cheeks suddenly turned red. “Oh, god. You d-d-d-did? Why didn’t you say anything?” He covered his face in embarrassment. “My gosh, this is so humiliating.” Why was his fiancé so adorable?

“I was actually laughing at the sideline since you got parts of me perfectly. But Yuuuurrriii, how dare you?” He complained and nuzzled his nose against the brunet’s. “How dare you make fun of me? That hurt, you know?” He dramatically fell onto his pillow. “I don’t know how I’ll recover!” He turned at the Japanese and whispered seductively. “Maybe you can compensate with something that will excite me?”

“Here you are again with your innuendos,” Yuuri laughed in exasperation. “I am actually exhausted. Can we do that something exciting next time instead?”

Chuckling, he nodded in understanding. Yuuri seemed a little worn out and he didn’t want to be the cause if the brunet suddenly catches a cold with his shenanigan. “Alright. I don’t want to overexert my precious katsudon,” He murmured and faced to faced his beautiful fiancé. He leaned his forehead against Yuuri’s and breathed, “I am so happy you’re here. I still cannot believe that my everything is literally living under the same roof as I. It’s as if I have found my missing piece and am now complete.”

Yuuri’s cheeks burned but he reluctantly reached for Victor’s hands. Under the covers, they squeezed their intertwined hands. Yuuri looked straight at him and smiled warmly. Victor swore he could feel ice melting with that stunning smile that lit up his world. “I also cannot believe everything that is happening. It was like yesterday when I was just admiring you from afar and just collecting posters and making shrines for you. I never even thought it was possible for such an outcome to come into my future.”

He placed a soft kiss on one of Yuuri’s eyelids. “I didn’t think that I could even fall even more in love with you everyday but I am.” He kissed the other eyelid. “I am.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” Yuuri whispered, awed.

“Why are you asking me that when I should be the one wondering such?” He uttered and lifted Yuuri’s right hand to kiss the ring on the brunet’s ring finger. “I was stuck in an ice cage, entertaining and surprising people with my acts whenever it’s time to perform. I wasn’t truly happy and felt chains and shackles halting me for being who I am and being free. I neglected everything for other people to be pleased. But when I met you, the cage melted. The sun shone. I saw the beautiful skies once again. I began to believe that I could be free again. And here I am.” He kissed the ring again. “Here I am beside you, in our own apartment, still skating, still falling in love. And I cannot be happier but I am, I am growing happier every single morning I wake up by your side.”

Yuuri chuckled and leaned to kiss the corner of Victor’s lips. “You have a way with words,” He murmured, blushing with a fond expression. Victor’s heart thumped loud in happiness when Yuuri kissed Victor’s ring as well. “A promise of forever, I hope that will be enough for you. I am not wealthy. I am not attractive. I am not famous. But I can promise you that I will do my best to make you happy. I promise you that it doesn’t matter what your imperfections are. I will love you anyway as you love me despite dark thoughts that sometimes drown me.

My heart is fragile; it’s dark just like the night sky-- only filled with constellations that just like the stars up above, tell stories after another, words that mean a lot but easy to forget. They are also stars, dots of the lights that I use as thread to continue moving forward despite the dark black hole that no one else can see but me that always tries to pull me away.”

“Your heart of constellations,” He murmured, mesmerized.

“My heart of constellations,” Yuuri repeated a little sadly. If only he could read those thoughts and push them all away. If only he could flush that anxiety away and bring Yuuri up from that hole he always sunk into. If only.

“I love you, no matter what.” He sighed. “I love you.” He breathed and captured those pink, moist lips with his. He hope that, for now, those words would be enough.

Yuuri hummed in contentment, and murmured in between partings of their lips, “I love you too.” Those brown eyes he loved so much were glinting with happiness.

He squealed and wrapped his arms around his fiancé. God, he loves him.

Chapter Text

Victor’s consciousness drifted down from slumber world back to the reality when hot rays of the sun hit his face – his beautiful face was being burnt, damn it. He groaned and turned at his other side to block out the stupid heat the stupid sun was emitting but the damn rays seemed to be streaming throughout their whole bedroom and wouldn’t let him go.

He sighed in disbelief before patting his hand to grab Yuuri and cuddle with his fiancé when he realized his left side was empty. His eyes opened suddenly. Yuuri wasn’t beside him and the brunet’s part of the bed was already quite cold which meant he had left a long while ago.

He sat up and stretched his arms above his head before yawning. He painstakingly grabbed their blanket, wrapped it around his shoulders, put on his slippers and walked slowly out of the room to look for his missing beloved.

The moment he stepped out of the room, his nostrils breathed in a delicious scent that brought warmth from the tip of his hair down to his toes. He sniffed and followed the smell until he arrived to the kitchen.

He poke his head out and found Yuuri wearing Victor’s over-sized gray, long-sleeved t-shirt, which Victor was wearing last night before they slipped into bed, over his plain azure boxers. Since Victor had broader shoulders than the brunet, a sleeve kept slipping down and it revealed Yuuri’s pale, shoulder and collarbones which were peppered with hickeys. The sight of Yuuri walking around with those hickeys visible without being self-conscious made Victor smile widely.

Yuuri wasn’t wearing his eyeglasses—probably why he hadn’t noticed Victor yet. His hair was sticking in all directions, and his nose, cheeks and tips of his ears were red due to the coldness which he still wasn’t accustomed to. He looked so fucking sexy.

Makkachin, who was just sitting quietly earlier was now drooling as he stared up at Yuuri. Laughing, Yuuri slouched and petted their poodle behind his ear. Makkachin’s tail stopped wagging and his eyes gradually dropped in relaxation.

And then Yuuri breathed out through his mouth which created puffs of air. Makkachin pawed at the air and then looked around when it disappeared. Chuckling, Yuuri exhaled again. Makkachin pawed at it again and then barked when it dissolved. While waiting for whatever he was cooking to be done, Yuuri continued on playing with his breath with Makkachin pawing at them and barking happily when they evaporate or disappear.

Victor’s heart swelled in happiness as he watched the two most important beings in his life bonding and being happy in their own apartment – he didn’t know why Yuuri called it a mansion, it wasn’t that big or extravagant. [He’s lying; it’s huge as fuck.] It felt so domestic. It was everything he had always dreamt, hoped and wished for.

Yuuri stood up again to resume with his cooking while Makkachin lifted his front paws onto the counter and watched Yuuri attentively. Victor tiptoed towards his fiancé. Makkachin looked at him, and he signalled for his poodle to be quiet. Makkachin then turned back his attention to whatever Yuuri was doing.

He sneaked successfully behind the Japanese and wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist. “Good mor—“ He started but Yuuri shrieked in surprise and then slammed the pot holder at Victor’s face not twice, not thrice but for eight times. “Stop, stop, it’s me!” He yelped.

Yuuri finally stopped, blinked at him and then turned pale. “Oh my god! V-V-V-Victor! I-I-I-I’m so sorry! You surprised me!”

He collapsed at the floor, holding his face. Gosh, wow. He never knew pot holders could be great weapons. He should invest more and use it as safeguards if ever burglars wanted to get inside their home.

Yuuri knelt in front of him, teary-eyed. “I-I’m sorry, Victor,” He cried. The brunet reached for his face and cupped Victor’s face between his warm hands. “A-Are you okay? D-Did I slap too hard? Victor, talk to me.”

Victor didn’t know why but suddenly he begun laughing. He laughed and laughed until his eyes were wet with tears. His fiancé was staring at him, baffled and confused. He snorted twice before wrapping his arms around Yuuri. “Oh gosh, when was the last time I laughed that hard?” He muttered more to himself than to the Japanese in his arms.

Yuuri embraced him back. “I’m sor—“

“No, no. It’s okay. I was the one who suddenly sneaked towards you. I probably deserved that,” He interrupted and helped Yuuri stand up. The brunet turned and continued with his cooking while Victor snaked his arms around his fiance’s waist and propped his chin on Yuuri’s visible shoulder. “Though, my face kind of hurts.”

“I’m sure you’ll live,” Yuuri teased with a small smile before turning the stove off. He turned his head and smiled brightly at him. “Good morning, by the way.”

He grinned and leaned down a bit to capture Yuuri’s lips with his. He kissed him once. And then twice. And thrice. He just couldn’t get enough. “Good morning to you too, my Yuuri~” He sing-sang and then nuzzled his nose into the pale shoulders under his chin. “What are you cooking~?”

“Oh, omelette,” Yuuri answered and resumed placing the rolled eggs into two separate plates before opening the rice cooker. “Would you like to eat rice or…”

“Rice! I miss eating rice!” He exclaimed and hugged Yuuri from behind even tighter. This was the first time in his life that someone was cooking something for him, a recipe from that someone’s country even; it made things even more special. It felt even nicer to process that that someone was the person who lit up Victor’s world the moment they met at the banquet two years ago. Flying to Hasetsu was the best damn impulsive decision he had ever done in his entire lifetime.

He inhaled the scent that was Yuuri’s alone and which he greatly adored. “Victor, you do know that I cannot fix the table if you keep clinging onto me.”

“Just few more minutes,” He whined and placed a chaste kiss on Yuuri’s shoulder blade. It elicited a shudder so he did it again.

Yuuri sighed and then turned around until they were face to face. The brunet lifted his arms and wrapped them around Victor’s neck. The Russian smiled and wrapped his own around his beloved’s waist. He leaned down and touched his forehead against Yuuri’s. He couldn’t help smiling as his eyes met those brown orbs he loved staring at. Yuuri smiled shyly back at him. “God, you’re really so beautiful,” He murmured in awe and squeezed the brunet even closer.

Yuuri giggled and nuzzled his nose against Victor’s. “So are you,” He whispered.

Victor sighed in contentment and kissed Yuuri again. “I love you.” He kissed Yuuri’s nose. “I love you.” Then the forehead. “I super love you.” Lastly, the eyelids. “No matter what, you’re the most important person in my life. You are my everything. My life. My love. I know that there will be some who will never approve of our relationship. Some who will always see my eight-month break as wasteful. Some who will never understand why I choose to coach you while still figure skating when I can just return to being the Victor Nikiforov. Some who will never know why I love you so, so much.

But, their opinions will never matter. They can take everything from me. They can tell me all the insults they want. They can throw sticks and stones towards me. I can survive being against the world as long as you’ll be by my side. As long as I know you’re close to me. As long as you’re safe and sound. As long as you’ll never leave. As long as our hearts are connected, what they say will never matter,” He murmured sincerely and brushed Yuuri’s cheek with his thumb. “You mean the world to me, my Yuuri.”

Yuuri stared at him, bewildered with his confession, and then melted in his arms and leaned against him unconsciously. Victor chuckled shortly when the brunet leaned a side of his head on the silver-head’s chest and then shut his eyes. Victor’s eyes widened when Yuuri murmured back with a smile, “I can hear your steady heartbeat. It’s the most stunning music I’ve ever heard.” Yuuri clutched his hands on the blanket around Victor’s shoulders and added with an awed tone, “For years, you have never failed to surprise me but all I could do was watch you from a far. I couldn’t even bear to look at you. But here you are right now, hugging me back, telling me I mean the world to you.

And Victor, you mean the world to me as well. Yes, people will always question why you’ve ended with someone like me. Why you chose to coach a late-bloomer like me when you could have chosen Yurio instead. Why I’ve stolen you away from the figure skating world. Why you threw everything away for the Yuuri Katsuki, a ball of anxiety who failed miserably at the GPF last year. But I’ll show them that you coaching me wasn’t a waste. That you’re not a failure of a coach. That you didn’t throw everything away for nothing. I will always lay our love bare to the world to see until no one will look at either of us and wonder how we ended up like this. Because loving you, Victor, was the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”

Yuuri re-opened his eyes and they stared at each other for a minute before smiling dorkily as if they just realized how cheesy they were. He lifted the brunet up in his arms and spun them around. Makkachin barked and happily spun around with them.

This was the happiest he’s ever been. He had no regrets.

“Are you nervous, Yuuri?” was the question Yuuri received the moment he skated towards the board to drink from his water bottle.

He turned and found Pyotr, Alexander, Boris, Dmitri and Yefim huddled around the corner of the rink, panting and trying to catch their breath. He blinked. “N-Nervous? About what?”

Pyotr leaned his back against the boards and muttered, “Your upcoming competition, the Four Continents, it’ll be after three days, right? You’ll fly to South Korea the day after tomorrow, right?” Oh, right. He was trying to forget about that because his heart was beating like crazy whenever he remembered about it. Pyotr ran his hand on his hair and messed it up even more which amused Yuuri somehow.

He nodded and swallowed gulps of water. “I am… a little nervous, but I can manage.” He shook his head. “I will manage.” He stared hard at the ground. “I will win gold.”

Alexander piped in. “I’m sure you will! We have been watching you practice for a month and more now, and you’ve improved more than ever.”

“Yeah! And here we thought, you couldn’t get better!” Yefim added enthusiastically.

“Or maybe we’re just regressing with our progress,” Dmitri whispered.

“Very helpful, Dmitri. I love your enthusiasm and optimism,” Boris remarked sardonically with an eye roll at his friend. “Where do you get that energy to be so positive?”

Dmitri actually humoured his question and answered, “Try tuning out our coach’s yelling and you’ll find that happiness you’re looking for.”

“I’ve tried it. Doesn’t work,” Pyotr grumbled.

Yuuri watched with his eyes turning from the other to another as the five continued bickering. They were far too amusing and friendly, sometimes Yuuri wondered how he ended up friends with them.

Pyotr ended their argument by yelling, “Enough! To settle the matter, we’re all idiots and we should just try harder at failing—I mean, doing our best,” He changed mid-sentence when he caught sight of their coach’s eyes on him. He grinned. “Yes, that was what I meant. Doing our best and trying to snatch the bronze, silver or gold from Victor, Yuri and Georgi. Which is as possible as going to outer space within a second. But yeah.”

Yuuri stiffened when Yefim kicked Pyotr at the shin. “Says the man who got fourth place at this year’s Russian Nationals. Damn, man, if you didn’t flub your last combination, you would have beaten Georgi! Just 1.02 point!”

Pyotr sulked and whined, “Stop reminding me about my failure! I am trying to move on here!”

Yuuri blinked. “Ah, you got fourth place?” He repeated. He received a nod. He smiled and clapped his hands together. “That’s amazing!  Congratulations!”

Pyotr’s face exploded and then he started stammering, “I-uh-um- it wasn’t much! I still didn’t get to stand in the podium and—“

He shook his head and shrugged. “You did your best. I think being able to stand there and managing to finish your programs was enough to be proud of. Congratulations, still. Probably late, but at least I still get to congratulate you.”

Pyotr blinked twice before nodding, face even redder than earlier. Yuuri wondered if the Russian needed more water or was too exhausted. His face was too red. “I…thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He turned and waved. “Victor’s waving for me to come over there. I gotta go.”

The five waved at him as he skated towards where Victor was resting right after completing his free skate routine for the third time for this day.

He looked over his shoulder when he heard someone whistle from the five. It, apparently, was Boris.

“Subtle, Pyotr,” Dmitri mocked.

Pyotr gritted his teeth and flailed his arms. “S-S-S-Shut up!”

“Look, you’re red as a tomato,” Yefim said and poked Pyotr’s cheeks.

Pyotr shoved the other away. “I’m not!”

Alexander skated around Pyotr and grinned widely. “YOU’RE SO SUBTLE, I BET EVEN VICTOR KNOWS BY NOW!“ He shouted.

Pyotr panicked and covered the older’s mouth. “C-C-Cut it out!”

“DON’T BLAME US IF YOU VICTOR SUDDENLY CORNERS YOU~” Yefim yelled.

“I mean, you were so subtle. The atmosphere around is reeking with your obvious feelings,” Dmitri added.

“Pyotr has a cru—“

“GAH----! SHUT UP, YOU GUYS!” Pyotr growled and smacked each of his friend’s head.

“Ouch/Ow!” was the general response. They might have noticed Yuuri’s eyes on them. Five pairs of eyes met his. The five then froze and quickly composed themselves to wave at him. He waved back, bemused.

He skated towards Victor and ended up on his fiance’s chest as the silver-head hugged him tightly. He raised his head and received a peck on his forehead. “My Yuuri is so adorable~” Victor purred.

“STOP BEING DISGUSTING! YOU’RE LITERALLY LIVING UNDER THE SAME ROOF! SAVE THE FUCKING GROSS STUFF IN YOUR HOUSE AND NOT HERE!” Yurio snapped from where he was skating.

“YOU’RE JUST ENVIOUS OF OUR LOVE!” Victor teased with a laugh.

“VITYA! I HAVEN’T SAID THAT IT’S ALREADY YOUR BREAK—“ Yakov started.

“Yakov, have you seen Yuuri? He’s so adorable right?” Victor interrupted and buried his nose in Yuuri’s hair. Yakov groaned, probably so tired of all of their shit. Yurio was making gagging noises. Mila was cooing. Georgi was nodding in approval.

Why was his fiancé so cheesy, and so ridiculous? He still loved him, anyway.

Yuri approached YuurI with his eyes turned away, embarrassed. This was the sixth day that he made the Japanese fix his hair for him. Whenever he felt like his hair was sticking too much onto his neck and face because of sweat, he’d find the right time –Yuuri’s break—and approach the brunet. He always readied himself for the other to say ‘no,’ since he could be demanding but Yuuri always patted the bench enthusiastically for Yuri to sit down.

Yuri huffed when Yuuri stood up and gestured at the bench again, for today. He stomped towards the sit and sat down before lifting his feet until their crossed over on top of the bench. He appreciated that Yuuri didn’t scold him about his sit.

Yuuri took the comb from Yurio’s right hand and begun combing his hair. “So pretty~” He murmured as he combed Yuri’s blond locks.

Yuri grumbled, “You say that everyday. You’re creeping me out, dumbass.”

Yuuri chuckled and accepted the insult like it was nothing – it pissed Yuri even more. “What kind of hairstyle would you like today?”

He hummed. He had no fucking idea but he was pretending to think until Yuuri came up with something and he’d fake agreeing half-heartedly.

“Oh!” The Japanese gasped and then settled down the comb beside Yuri. “Wait a minute,” He added.

After half a minute, a phone screen was right before his face. He blinked and then scrunched his face. “What the fuck, katsudon? You surprised me! Besides, it’s too damn near, how am I supposed to see?”

“Sorry, sorry~ Look, I downloaded photos of different hairstyles that would suit you and are doable with your hair’s length. You can choose among them if you want.” He tentatively accepted the phone. He tried not to react with a surprised expression with the brunet’s revelation.

Yuuri Katsuki actually allotted time to look for hairstyles for Yuri and even downloaded them so that Yuri could choose with varieties of choices. That kindness shouldn’t be possible. Why was this man so selfless?

He swiped left and right. He inspected every hairstyle and then stared at the one he liked most. “Milkmaid braid,” He demanded, eyes sparkling with how the braided hair became like a headband around the girl’s head. Amazing.

“Oh, I like that one, too,” Yuuri agreed and massaged Yuri’s scalp, which somehow calmed him down and steadied his heartbeat, and then begun by separating his hair into two pigtails on both sides of his head. Then the brunet braided one side while humming In Regards to Love: Agape.

Mila skated towards the board in front of them and gasped, “Wow! So Yuuri’s the one fixing your hair lately! I’ve been wondering how you always get such pretty hair styles!”

Yuuri stuttered a shy, “T-T-T-Thanks.”

He scoffed and crossed his arms.

The red-head leaned her forearms against the boards’ and mumbled, “That’s so incredible. Ne, Yuuri, do you think you can do the same with my hair?”

The brunet didn’t stop from braiding Yuri’s hair when he answered, “S-Sure thing! With how long your hair is now, I’m pretty sure I can. Would you like me to?”

“H-Hey, I was the first one to—“ He started to complain.

“But, first come, first served…so I’d probably finish fixing Yurio’s hair first then yours. Will that be alright?” Yuuri interjected, a smile evident with the tone of his voice.

Mila blinked and then nodded enthusiastically. “Why not?” Yuri shut his eyes since he was getting too annoyed with the way she was staring, awed, with the way Yuuri’s hands moved. His frown turned into a relaxed one when he felt the Japanese massage his scalp again before moving to braid his other pigtail. It took few more minutes, and the blond felt hair clips being clipped on his hair. “Oh, wow! That’s so cute!” He heard Mila exclaim.

He finally opened his eyes and realized that Georgi, the five idiots, and even Victor were now watching them from the rink. “G-Geh! What are you all doing here?!”

Victor leaned against the boards and answered joyously, “We all wondered what Mila was gaping at. Turned out it was such an adorable sight.”

Just when he was about to growl at the silver-head, Yuuri whispered, “Hah. Done.” Yuri grabbed the mirror and looked at his reflection. Braided blond locks circled around the crown of his head, making it look like a real crown. “Turned out better than I anticipated,” Yuuri breathed in relief.

He hesitantly touched his hair and couldn’t help smiling. “Looks…quite nice.” It was. It truly was. Yurio was taking hundreds of photos later; he’ll make Phichit envious with the amount of likes he’d gather again.

Yuuri hummed happily. “T-Thanks, Yurio. I’m happy you liked it. Mila, would you like me to braid your hair now?”

Mila nodded, put on skate guards and sat down beside Yurio. She took out her phone and took selfies while Yuuri fixed her hair for her.

Victor mumbled sullenly, “Aww~ I suddenly regretted cutting my hair. I want Yuuri to style my hair too.”

“You’re letting your hair grow right? Let’s style each other’s hair for competitions then,” Yuuri offered with a big smile.

Victor’s eyes brightened with delight. He nodded and did his heart-shaped mouth and puppy eyes. “That’s great! I’d love that! My Yuuri is so caring, and this is exactly why I love you!”

He threw his towel at the older. “Stop being so gross.” He stood up, and then recalled something that was inside his bag. He approached his bag and took it out. “Oi, katsudon!”

Yuuri stopped for awhile from doing his expertise and turned. Yuri took the opportunity and placed the headband on the brunet’s head. Yuuri blinked. “H-Headband?”

He huffed and glided back on the ice. “Yeah. I have it for awhile but I hate it. It doesn’t appeal to me. It’s yours. Your fringe’s too long, it’ll block your vision when you’re doing spins.”

Yuuri gaped at him and then exclaimed, “T-Thank you, Yurio! I’ll treasure it!” He looked a little like Mari with his hair up like that.

“It’s just a headband!” He shouted, embarrassed.

Mila cooed with a smirk. “Aww, our Yuri is embarrassed.”

“Shut up, hag!”

“I’ll shove your face on the trash can, you mouthy bastard,” the red-head grunted.

“Hah. If you can,” He replied and then stuck his tongue out.

Victor took his phone out and squealed. “Yuuri, that’s so cute! Let me take a photo of you.”

Yuuri hid his face, which was turning red. “V-V-Victor!”

Victor pouted. “Yuuurrriiii, please?”

Yuuri peeked from his shoulder, which was a wrong decision in Yuri’s opinion, and gave in with a sigh. “It’s unfair when you use that face against me, you know.”

Victor grinned and opened his camera. “Smile!” Yuuri smiled shyly and the silver-head took four photos consecutively. He scrolled through his Camera Roll and picked the second one to post in his Instagram. “Caption: my adorable husband-to-be! @yuuri-katsudon! Hashtag Adorable. Hashtag YuuriKatsuki. Hashtag BeEnviousHaters. Hashtag RussianTeam. And post~”

When Yuuri was done and showed his work to the red-head, Mila squealed and took out her own phone again. “Coach! Can you take a photo of us?” As if their coach will ever agree, Yuri thought.

Yakov turned angrily. “HAH? YOU THINK I’M GOING TO TAKE A PHOTO OF YOU AFTER YOU SUDDENLY HUDDLED THERE WHEN I DIDN’T EVEN TELL YOU IT’S BREAK—“

“Let’s take a selfie instead!” Victor interrupted, as usual. Mila agreed and walked few meters forward so that the photo can accommodate all of them. “Coach Yakov, Ma’am Lilia, come and join!”

Lilia hummed and stood beside Yuuri. Yakov sighed in exasperation and stood beside Lilia. Yuri stood in front of the five idiots with Georgi beside him. Victor actually put on his skate guards and sat down beside Yuuri and hugged him tight. Mila eyed the other three men who were staring at them from a distance. “Oh, Oscar, Anton, Vlad, wanna join?” Yuri knew her long enough to understand she was just testing their reactions.

The three narrowed their eyes, shook their heads and resumed practice.

“Hah, your lost,” Mila mumbled and said, “Everyone, say cheese~”

Yuri raised the finger and bared his teeth at the photo. Georgi raised a leg up on the board and dramatically finger-gunned. The five idiots pushed one another’s faces away. Mila made a kiss-y pose. Victor hugged Yuuri from behind with his lips placed on Yuuri’s forehead. Yuuri was laughing while clutching his hands on the front of the silver-head’s shirt. Yakov was frowning. Lilia was actually smiling a little. Mila’s caption was simple: ‘Russian Team for the win!’”

The photo became viral.

It was after lunch when a miracle happened. Yuuri was drinking his packed orange juice beside Victor and Yuri when someone knocked on the doors. Since they –Yuuri, Victor, Yuri, Georgi, Mila, Alexander, Dmitri, Pyotr, Boris and Yefim-- were all sitting on a wide, empty space outside the rink and boards with a large blanket under them and their lunches sprawled out for them to share, they all heard the noise at the same time.

They looked at one another.

“You fucking get it. I’m still eating,” Yurio growled at Victor, shoving onigiri after onigiri inside his mouth.

“Nuh-uh. I’m also still eating, Georgi, please open it,” Victor argued, eating happily the packed tonkatsu Yuuri did earlier.

Georgi munched his apple. “No way, man. I don’t like my apple soggy. Mila, get it, please.”

“Not your maid. Hey, please open it?” Mila asked with a sweet tone as she turned at the other five.

Alexander shoved Boris, fork between his teeth. “Heard that? She’s asking you to open it.”

Boris scrunched his face, one hand holding a spoonful of pumpkin soup. “HAH? No way. I just started eating. Why don’t you open it?”

Alexander then turned to Dmitri, “Dmi—“

“No; ask Yefim.”

Yefim plugged fingers inside his ears and continued munching. “Pyotr, hear that? You’re being asked to open the doors. Go open it.”

“You asshole. Stop pretending that works,” Pyotr grunted.

Chuckling, he stood up. “You know what? I’ll get it. You might start a food war.”

“Yuuri! Why did you leave my side? It’s cold~” Victor whined, making grabby hands at him with a sulky face.

Yurio slapped his empty juice pack at the silver-head’s forehead. “He literally just stood up three seconds ago. Stop being dramatic.”

“I’m not dramatic. It’s my life’s flair.” Victor continued making grabby hands at Yuuri even if he was already at the doors.

“Lilia Baranovskaya?” The man asked.

Lilia, who was eating gracefully at a table – he didn’t know where it came from-- at a corner raised an eyebrow. “Me?” She asked and stood up. She then approached the doors and uttered, “I’m Lilia Baranovskaya. What is it?”

The delivery man put a long rectangular box in Lilia’s hands and then presented a receipt. “Please sign for receiving.”

Baffled, Lilia signed the receipt. The delivery man tipped his hat and went inside his delivery car before driving away.

Yuuri closed the door and watched curiously as Lilia opened the box. The others had also stopped eating and were poking their heads to see what’s happening. He gasped when Lilia opened the box and took out three, blooming and beautiful red roses. She placed a hand over her mouth in shock. “W-W-Who…” She whispered.

“M-Ma’am, there’s a letter attached at the box,” He muttered.

Lilia turned the box over and detached the letter to read it. Her eyes widened and then she was blushing over her weird contour. Suddenly, she stormed towards where Yakov had gone to. “Yakov! What kind of courting is this? We’ve only been divorced for few years and you don’t know how to court a woman properly already? Come here and tell me everything. You old man, come out here and stop being a cowa—“ She was too far away and out to hear anymore.

Mila squealed. “Took them long enough! Geez, I hope Yakov stop being grumpy all the time now.”

Georgi sighed. “Ah, love. Such a mystical thing.”

Yuuri sat down beside Victor again and resumed munching his sandwich.

Victor slumped onto him. “Yuuri, I missed you.”

He chuckled and patted Victor’s cheek. “I was only gone for few minutes, Victor.”

“I still missed you,” The silver-head insisted and snaked his arms around his waist. “Ne, Yuuri, do you also want roses?”

“Victor, we’re engaged.”

“Still~ You deserve all the grace in the world. You deserve to be showered with love.”

Yurio took his phone out and said out loud as he typed. “Beka, my coach and ballet teacher seem to be going back together. This training rink is being filled with disgusting love birds. Rescue me when you can. I hope you’re doing better than I am because I’m gonna puke soon. Sent.”

Mila laughed. “I should be envious that he replies more often to your messages and with longer replies, even, but you two are actually such great friends. I just can’t stop smiling.”

“After few years, that friendship will blossom to—“ Victor’s speech was halted when Yurio shoved an onigiri inside the older’s mouth.

“Fucking shut up!” The blond shouted, suffocating the silver-head with rice.

The rink erupted with laughter when Victor clawed, and dramatically and exaggeratedly falling down to pretend he had died. They laughed even harder when Makkachin, who was busy eating earlier as well, imitated his master and fell down right beside Victor.

“Vitya, it’s time you practice both of your routines. You cannot always skate the free skate, the short program will be the first one you’ll show after all. Georgi, Mila, run laps around the rink until I tell you to stop. Yuratchka, Lilia will take over for me over you for now. Yuuri, you make take a break.”

Yuuri nodded, waved at Victor and the others and sprinted outside of the building –using the back doors-- to breathe in fresh air at the back of the building before lifting the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt to reveal bruises that were still too visible and too obvious to not hide. He pressed his right-hand’s finger on the bruise on his left forearm and winced.

It had been six days, and he had successfully managed to hide them. When he and Victor were love-making, he’d always put himself in a position wherein his bruises would be hidden. The darkness of their room at night also helped. He refused to have a bath with Victor, either waking up and sleeping too early or too late than his fiancé. Whenever he changed his clothing, he made sure they were tight enough for the sleeves to not ride up and make his bruises obvious.

For the past days, Anton, Oscar and Vlad only threw remarks at him whenever people were too far away or when they were isolated with Yuuri. There were no physical damages that he needed to sustain but the words hurt more than the bruises do. They always did.

He removed the headband on his head and pulled his hair down. He was deliberately making his hair longer—not as long as Victor’s previous hair length but just longer than his usual. If others cut their hair for their new year, new me shenanigan. Yuuri decided to lengthen his hair like a reminder that he was changing, improving, developing into a better him.

At first, he didn’t want to do it because he felt childish. As if he was imitating his idol again. But he had decided. And he wasn’t backing out. He’d let it grow especially since Victor seemed to have fun brushing Yuuri’s hair even more now.

His reflection and meditation was halted when he heard three familiar voices meters away before him. That was when he realized that on a lamp post, Anton, Vlad and Oscar stood, smoking and passing the lighter around. There was bush in front of him which was probably why the three were still unaware of his presence.

I am trying to avoid the restroom at all cost and decided to go here instead. Amazing. They’re here as well. Do they have a radar or something?

He was planning to sneak back inside the building when he heard Oscar speak, “Have you seen the way Victor clung to that Japanese scum?”

“I did. It was so fucking disgusting to look at. He used to be so reserved and had that unapproachable aura around him, but now, he fucking acts like a dog following his master,” Anton grunted.

He just hates you, which was why he’d reserved and aloof at you people. And he’s not a dog, you fucking bitches.

Vlad grimaced. “I actually went out of the rink to take a breather because I cannot stand them anymore. Even Yuri Plisetsky’s warming up to that asshole. God, have you seen his hair? So girlish, it makes me wanna puke.”

Then puke. I’ll take a picture and then post it online. And excuse you but my work looked astounding on Yurio. He looked even more like a prima ballerina. Fuck you.

Yes, as he had said, he loved cussing internally.

“That Japanese is making everyone all gooey and soft, it’s frustrating. It’ll be no wonder if the Russia will be the laughingstock of the figure skating world soon,” Vlad hissed, puffing smoke out of his mouth.

Oscar exhaled and muttered darkly, “I want to bring the previous image our team had. I want to bring back the reserved, mysterious Ice King, Victor Nikiforov. I want to bring back the punk-iness of Yuri Plisetsky. I want them to go back to their previous selves—people see us in different light back then.”

“That Yuuri Katsuki just wouldn’t go, would he?” Anton snarled. Then a menacing expression appeared in his face. “How about we somehow target the others instead?” Yuuri’s eyes widened. “I’m sure he’ll somehow heel if we—“

He stood up and snapped, “Harm them in any way and you will regret ever messing around me!”

Vlad smirked. “Told you he’d come out of his hiding place if we talk shit,” He mumbled and gestured for the other two to follow him.

Yuuri stood his ground and glared at the three approaching men. He swatted the hand that Anton was about to lay at his bared forearm. He rolled his sleeves down and crossed them again over his chest.

“Ah, so brave~” Vlad murmured, amused. “How are the bruises?”

“Healing. Becoming better. Unlike you three bastards,” He spat back.

Anton gritted his teeth. “Your mouth. Fuck, your mouth. I wanna shove your face on the wall until you can’t speak.”

Yuuri gulped, reminding himself these three were violent as shit. “T-Try.”

Anton made a grab at Yuuri’s face but he quickly side-stepped and kicked the Anton at the stomach. Not too forceful, just enough to send the other away from him. Anton huffed puffs of air and then laughed. “Amusing. You are hesitating to hurt us, knowing the consequences if people find out.”

“I do have a mind, so I use it,” He snarled. Anton took  a step forward towards him again so he took a deep forward as well for offense, but his attention was too focused on Anton that he forgot there were too buttholes surrounding him.

He gasped when Vlad pulled his hair with his left hand and used the right hand to forcefully cup Yuuri’s cheeks. He tried to shove Vlad away but his efforts became even more futile when Oscar grabbed his arms and pinned them at his back.

“Ahh--!” He cried out when Vlad pulled his hair up even more until he literally needed to stand on his toes just so that his hair would remain in his scalp.

It hurt. It hurt.

The way Oscar pinned his arms would also cause new bruises. Anton smirked and spat on the ground. “Fucking dumbass. You’re dealing with figure skaters at day and delinquents and gangsters at night. Did you really think you’ll win?”

Of course, I didn’t. I just didn’t want to lose without a fight.

He remained silent instead and glared at the three of them, his eyes roaming at three pairs of eyes.

Anton growled under his breath, “You’re a fag. You’re a coward. You’re a clumsy idiot. You’re easily anxious. You’re a crybaby. You’re an unsteady force of this world. You’re a piece of shit, you know that?”

He still remained quiet, eyes tearing up with how much his hair was being pulled.

He wasn’t expecting a hand slapping his cheek hard, though. He flinched and clenched his teeth in pain. Wow, Anton hates him a lot.

“You’re a pathetic excuse of a figure skater. You’re worthless. You’re useless. You’d be all alone if Victor didn’t come to your rescue. You’d be rotting with no legacy if Victor and Yuri never noticed you,” Anton continued, voice raising in anger. “How come people are loving you despite you being a garbage that just accidentally caught royalties’ eyes?”

“I didn’t force them to like me. I just know that a person’s heart should be the most beautiful thing about him. Looks like yours are all black holes.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” Vlad spat and threw him on the ground.

He gulped down his scream, and curled up in a ball. His arms hurt. His head hurt. His face hurt. His anxiety was making all things worse.

Oscar slouched beside him and whispered menacingly, “May you lose terribly at the Four Continents. Good luck, you’ll definitely need it.”

They walked towards the front doors, probably to not raise suspicion. “Oh, by the way!” Vlad said and turned to him. “Zip your mouth about this or we won’t hesitate targeting Mila. She’s getting in my nerves, after all.”

He gritted his teeth and nodded once.

He crumpled there on the ground outside the backdoors of their training rink; head, arms, and cheek hurting like crazy. Words he never wanted to think about again consuming his very being.

Usually, Yakov took an hour and half of Victor’s time. Yuuri still had forty-five minutes so he laid there, on snow and grass-filled ground for few minutes with tears streaming down his cheeks. He hid the sounds he was making on his sleeves and let the tears flow.

Worthless. Useless. Pathetic. Coward. Crybaby. A pathetic excuse of a figure skater.

Did they really think he hadn’t thrown those words at himself before? He had. So many times before. He still does, now and again.

It just hurt hearing them when he was slowly healing, when his anxiety was gradually turning quieter, when he was learning how to accept and love himself.

He sobbed and sobbed, hiding his face in his hands. He had to save himself. He had to be his own hero. He couldn’t bother the others. They were all busy and preoccupied with their upcoming competitions as well. Yuuri could withhold all of this. Yuuri would survive. Yuuri could be strong.

He clenched his teeth, trying to stop the tears but they continued flowing down. Rotting. All alone. No legacy to leave.

Why am I here?

Yuuri entered through the backdoors after couple of minutes. He raised his eyes and met Victor’s blue ones. The resting Russian spat his drink, eyes widening, probably intaking the way Yuuri looked right now. “Yuuri!” He cried, put on his skate guards and hastily ran towards him.

He must have had looked like hell for that expression to appear in his fiance’s face. “Oh, just slipped outside,” He lied.

“…Huh?” Victor murmured, surprised.

Yuuri scratched his cheek, winced and then pointed the back doors. “I was sitting on the bench outside, and when I wanted to go back, I slipped because of the snow. Landed bad. With my cheek hitting asphalt. I-It was humiliating. I was laughing so m-much I started tearing up.” He couldn’t believe he was lying to the love of his life. He wanted to cry and hug his fiancé and tell him everything.

Victor stared at him and reached for his hands. “Yuuri, you’re not lying, are you?”

He shook his head. “I-I am not! It’s true! Wanna try slipping outside with me?”

His coach stared at him for few more moments before enveloping him in a hug. “God, don’t worry me like that. I thought someone attacked you or something.” Yuuri gulped, that remark hit its’ spot. “You silly boy. I love you so much. You will tell me if anything or anyone troubles you, alright?” God, those eyes. He badly wanted to spill the truth. Instead, he nodded with a smile.

Victor kissed his forehead and he forced himself not to wince. He’d protect everyone he loved. Even if that meant he’d receive all the bruises, scars and cuts. For them, he would be willing to continue skating with knives virtually stabbing his back and fists punching him when no one else was in sight.

Chapter Text

Yuri turned when the front doors opened. He frowned and looked around. Everyone who was scheduled to be on practice today was already inside the training rink. His eyes widened when Yuuri and Victor entered. They weren’t supposed to train because Yuuri was to fly to South Korea tomorrow for the Four Continents and needed rest. He was about to shout at them until he saw and felt the tense atmosphere around the two.

The whole building turned silent.

Victor had his lips pursed into a forced smile. His hands were inside his pants’ pockets. Makkachin padded behind him, unusually unenergetic.

But Yuuri was the one that caught Yuri’s eyes.

The Japanese was silent as he walked inside the locker rooms. Yuri glided towards the boards, in front of Victor, and raised an eyebrow at the older. Victor looked back at him, bit his bottom lip and shrugged with an upset headshake.

Yuuri re-emerged from the locker room with his skates on, phone in his pocket and earbuds in his ears. His eyes were staring at the ground as he walked towards the door to the rink and slid inside after removing his skate guards. Victor tentatively reached for them and Yuuri silently handed them over before he turned and started doing continuous loops, shoulders slumped down, expression blank and eyes devoid of emotion or warmth they usually see.

Mila and Georgi stopped skating and then glanced at each other. The five idiots halted as well and started murmuring to one another. The three assholes he never bothered talking to didn’t even care.

He gritted his teeth and went out of the training rink to personally approach Victor. “What happened?” He hissed.

Victor only looked at him with a tight smile.

“The Four Continents will commence the day after tomorrow. He’s flying to South Korea tomorrow. We are flying to South Korea tomorrow to go with him. So why is he like that?” He muttered under his breath, anger evident in his tone since he didn’t even bother concealing it.

Mila had also slid towards the barrier before them and murmured with a worried expression casted towards the brunet in the center of the rink, “Is he alright? He looks…so empty.”

“He doesn’t look empty. He looks like everything came crushing upon him and he doesn’t know what to do,” Georgi added as he, also, glided towards their direction.

When Victor only sighed and continued on following his student’s movements with his eyes, Yuri slammed his skate guards on top of the board. “How is he supposed to win if he’s currently like that? How will he be qualified for Worlds if he doesn’t win in the Four Continents? How are we supposed to compete against one another if he doesn’t get to go to Worlds?”

He wasn’t worried. Just curious.

“I know,” Victor grumbled, shutting his eyes. Helpful, really.

Yuuri was so focused on doing patterns and loops on the ice that he couldn’t seem to hear them or even notice that he’s being watched by almost everyone in the rink. His brown eyes which were often bright and enthusiastic whenever he’s skating seemed so far away and distant. It wasn’t like Yuuri Katsuki; it looked more like the Japanese who was miserable after failing the GPF two years ago. Yuri was afraid none of them would ever reach him if he continued like this.

“What the hell is happening with him?” He demanded.

Again, he wasn’t worried. Just plainly puzzled. [He’s lying.]

Victor mussed his hair in frustration and snapped, “If I know, Yurio, I would have already done something about it.” The silver-head was rarely irritated or showed this emotion, which was probably why Mila, Georgi and the other five seemed quite startled by his outburst.

He rolled his eyes. “Did you two argue? Did you pressure him?”

“Do you think I’ll do that to my own fiancé?” Did he even need to ask?

“You can. Accidentally. You’re an idiot, remember?”

Victor paused. “Okay, fair point. But, no. I didn’t for both questions,” He murmured and looked at Yuuri again.

“Will he be alright?” Pyotr asked.

“Do you think he’ll be able to compete the day after tomorrow?” Alexander added.

Victor nodded with a solemn look. “This just happens sometimes. I woke up, finding him sobbing. When we began to get ready for the day, he was so quiet and miserable, I decided that instead of holing ourselves in the apartment, we should come here instead. The ice always calms him down.”

“Is this a common…” Mila stopped and hummed, deep in thought. “I can’t find the right word,” She said in Russian. “Wait,” She added in their mother tongue. “…Ah, yes, occurrence?”

Victor seemed amused for awhile before nodding. “It’s inevitable with Yuuri, who is suffering with anxiety. There are just days his dark thoughts win over and takes him from me. I’m sure he can swim onto the surface, but I am still a little concerned just like you all are.”

Yuuri took a deep breath and tried to do a quad flip. He failed and landed on his front. He winced and stood up painstakingly. He clicked his tongue and tried again. He landed on his forearms, which he used as shields for the impact, and groaned. “Shoot.”

Mila scrambled to help him up. She tried to inspect his forearms but he shook his head frantically, stood up and bowed. “I-I-I’m fine. Thank you,” He said and glided a little away.

Mila skated back towards them and placed a hand over her lips. “He landed pretty badly, but he won’t let me see his forearms. You know something about that?” She asked to Victor.

The silver-head frowned, puzzled, and shook his head. “I…don’t.”

“He might be shy about showing some skin?” Georgi guessed. “I mean, sure, he has bathed in  hot springs with you guys but he’s still a very timid person when he’s not drunk so let’s not judge.”

Yakov, who was just restraining his annoyance since they went and took a break without consent again, snarled, “One cannot continue swimming to the surface, fighting the dark current, all alone everytime, Vitya.”

Victor stared at his coach for few moments before taking a deep breath and nodding. He then proceeded on putting his skates on and sliding onto the ice.

Yurio removed his skate guards and followed after. The others stayed where they were and observed silently from the sidelines.

Yuuri stopped from skating when he saw the two of them approach. He blinked owlishly at them. The expression that cracked Victor’s heart everytime was on the brunet’s face right now, which made him even more worried if what he had planned would work.

Victor smiled, and reached for the brunet’s hands. He didn’t know what words would make his beloved better, so he experimented on non-verbal signals.

The Japanese stared at their intertwined hands and worried his bottom lip. He squeezed Yuuri’s hands and received a hesitant one in return.

It was hard to be anxiety’s victim. It truly was.

But no one should forget that it’s also difficult to be the one loving someone who has anxiety because whenever your beloved is suffering from his illness, all you could do is wonder how you could help for even if you want to be inside that head and fight off the demons living inside, you can’t. Accepting that was never easy.

He smiled at Yuuri and placed a kiss on the crown of the brunet’s head. He blinked when his fiancé flinched, as if in pain. He looked down with a frown.

Yuuri shook his head with a small, broken smile. It was heart-breaking to look at.

Victor let it slide for now, more concerned with his beloved’s mental well-being. He leaned down again and now kissed Yuuri’s forehead.

He brushed a thumb on his fiance’s ring, and then connected his forehead against the brunet’s. Yuuri stared at him, bewildered with his shows of affection. He internally panicked when the Japanese’s bottom lip trembled.

He was preparing for Yuuri to cry until the latter took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened them after a minute and now showed a stronger and more genuine smile. It swelled Victor’s heart in relief and happiness.

He chuckled and planted a kiss on Yuuri’s cheeks. “Are you okay?” He finally voiced out.

“The thing with having anxiety is that I’ll always answer that question with ‘Yes.’ However, right now, I’ll be honest and say ‘no,’” Yuuri paused with a contemplative look before reaching to brush Victor’s fringe away. “But I’ll be fine. Just give me time.”

“Okay,” He replied and wrapped his arms around his beloved.

“Okay, gross. Why did I even think I could be of help?” Yurio grumbled behind him with a scoff. “Why did I even skate towards you guys? Should have guessed having you two being gross is enough—“

Yuuri suddenly pulled away and then went and dragged Yurio into their hug. Yurio stiffened, blushed and squirmed to pull free. “O-O-Oi, katsudon, what the actual fuck? This is not the Rostelecom Cup and—“

“Thank you for worrying,” Yuuri’s voice was deliberately loud enough for the whole rink and for all of their companions to hear him. “I will be fine with you guys by my side.”

Yuuri squeaked in shock when Mila, Georgi and the five suddenly skated towards him and joined into their group hug. He chuckled as several hands patted and petted him, consoling him, showering him with words of comfort and treating him as if he was their baby and wasn’t the second oldest skater in their training rink. [Makkachin threw himself at Yuuri and licked the brunet’s face when they went off the ice, showing his support in his own cute little way.]

He loved every second of it because he loved this place. He loved these people as much as he loved those he had skated with/against with. They’re like a family he never thought he’d have. And he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

He grabbed his bagpack and begun packing his stuff since he, Makkachin and Victor needed to go back home early to rest early for their flight tomorrow to South Korea.

He was removing his skates when he felt his nose itching. After a second, he sneezed loudly that echoed throughout the whole rink.

He froze and felt himself blushing when the others halted and looked at him in surprise. “I-I-I’m sorr—“

His apology was cut off when suddenly Victor grabbed his coat and wrapped Yuuri with it. He was staring at his fiancé in confusion. He thought it couldn’t get worse until the silver-head cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, “This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! Yuuri has just sneezed! Send your reinforcements! Makkachin, I need back-up!”

Makkachin barked in reply, and brought the Makkachin tissue box before presenting it to Yuuri happily.

He chuckled and took few strips. “Thank you, Makkachin.”

Victor yelled, “More reinforcements! This is not enough! I will repeat, this is not enough. Over!”

“Victor, what—“

Mila was suddenly in front of him, placing a palm on his forehead. “Hmm. I dunno if he’s warm because I just got out of the ice or he had a fever already. Wait, am I even helping? We need a thermometer! Who has a thermometer?”

“G-Guys, I’m fin—“

Georgi emerged with a bottled of mineral water and a pill on his palm. “Drink this. It will prevent a cold. Although, they said it has side effects on some people. Something about itching for a week and having rashes. But nah, you’ll be fine. It works for me so it’ll work for you.”

He accepted it but didn’t drink it. “Um, thank you?”

Alexander scrambled to get the blanket they sat onto earlier at lunch and draped on Yuuri’s head. “Cover yourself with this.”

Yuuri was half-tempted to mention that this was placed on the floor earlier. His conscience stopped him.

Yefim raised a hand over Yuuri’s head, shut his eyes tightly and started chanting, “You will not get a cold. You will not get a cold. You will not get a cold. YOU WILL NOT GET A COLD!” He then raised his arms over his head and shouted, “Ta-dah! It’s gonna work soon.”

He didn’t know how to respond to that.

Dmitri grabbed Pyotr and made Pyotr sit on the bench meters away from Yuuri. “Here, Yuuri.”

Yuuri blinked at the other. “…Uh, what?”

“Rest on his lap. This man has an abnormal high temperature whenever he’s near you and that will be very helpf—“

“G-GEH---! FUCK YOU! SHUT UP!” Pyotr shrieked, red-faced and slammed his hands over his friend’s mouth. He then turned to face him even though Yuuri was so confused with what Dmitri just stated. “D-D-D-Don’t listen to him! I can ask for some medicine from the infirmary if you want.”

Yurio shouted, “Katsudon, what the hell? Your competition is the day after tomorrow! You better not be catching a cold or I’ll bury under the snow!”

That’s the least helpful response he received but just shut his mouth about it.

“Do you need to blow your nose, Yuuri?” Victor asked.

“We can help you like how we did days ago, you know,” Mila added.

His cheeks flared up when he remembered. When he realized they were actually serious, he couldn’t help laughing. And laughter was one of the best medicines.

He shrieked when they entered the airplane for departure.

He knew something was amiss when Victor didn’t let him see their tickets and just checked them in by himself.

And Yuuri should have become suspicious when some staff assisted them with their luggage –which wasn’t much, by the way—and then even showed them the way towards their terminal.

Yuuri should really have voiced his question aloud when he noticed that they didn’t even need to stay in their terminal for more than five minutes before being called for departure.

Victor stopped and looked over his shoulder to look at Yuuri. “Yuuri? Why did you stop? Did you forget something?”

He shakily pointed where their seat numbers were located. “V-V-Victor, do explain this to me.”

His fiancé grabbed his hand and pulled him along before asking, “What do you mean?”

Yuuri was gently pushed towards the seat closer to the window. The seat was too soft and comfortable, it made his hair rise. This felt so odd to him.

“Would you like some champagne once we’re in the air, Mr. Nikiforov?” An attendant asked pleasantly.

Victor turned and smiled his ever-charming smile, which caused the attendant to blush. “Oh, yes. The one with least alcohol, please. I wouldn’t want my fiancé to be drunk before we even land.”

The attendant diverted her gaze to look at Yuuri in surprise. He was expecting a disgusted face but suddenly she looked so happy. “I see that Mr. Nikiforov is not traveling lonely and alone anymore to competitions. I am happy for you two, congratulations on your engagement. May you have a great life together.” She paused. “Oh, and of course, I’ll prepare it as soon as possible.”

“Thank you~” Victor sing-sang and waved as she approached the one seated in front of them.

Yuuri was still feeling so uncomfortable. He really wanted to shove his fiancé’s face on a pillow in irritation.

“Yuuri? Why are you sitting so stiffly? Look, we have this place for ourselves. You can relax all you want. And feel free to order for anything. There are also movies—“

He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at his fiancé. Victor smiled at him, confused.

“…What is it?” The silver-head asked.

He gestured around their…cubicle or compartment or whatever. “VICTOR! WHY DID YOU BOOK US INTO FIRST CLASS?”

Victor blinked. “You told me before that you’ve never flew first class, so I thought I’d let you ride in one. Besides, I’m more used to this.” He sunk onto his chair, which looked like it would swallow him. “So soft~”

Why was his fiancé/coach so fucking extra? Yuuri couldn’t help eyeing the bag on the floor before them—Victor’s carry on bag. It was Louis Vuitton. The sunglasses on top of Victor’s head were new but were obviously Gucci.

And here Yuuri was, struggling to pay their rings. He had no regrets but...

Victor must have sensed his looks and emotions through his expression because he suddenly pouted. “But, Yuuuurrriiii~ The economy class is so cramped, I can’t even sit easily.”

He sighed, “Fine,” and slumped onto his chair. It was soft and comfortable. But Yuuri would never admit it.

His eyes widened when Victor leaned over his seat and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Their eyes met. “Good luck on the Four Continents. I’ll never leave your side so don’t worry.”

He leaned up and kissed the Russian back. His cheeks were slowly burning as he realized how daring he just became. Victor seemed as surprised as he was. “I…I will do my best. Thank you.”

He had the best fiancé in the world.

It was the day of the Short Program. Yesterday, when most of the competitors arrived, all they did was practice and get to know the place since they mostly arrived quite late already and needed to rest early. They didn’t hang out the night before the competition unlike in the Grand Prix Finals but there wasn’t hostility among them – in fact, whenever they passed one another, they’d surely briefly greet one another.

It made the nervousness in Yuuri’s heart fade away a little.

They were currently in the backstage, getting ready and having warm-ups before they were called out to perform. He listened to his calming playlist while sitting on a stool and letting Victor fix his hair when the other competitors begun to show up and out of the dressing room. [He changed alone as quickly as possible because the bruises were still a little evident on his pale forearms.]

Victor tried to slick up his baby hair but they just wouldn’t go up. He slumped his shoulder and sighed in exasperation, “I love you, Yuuri but your hair is as stubborn as you are.”

He chuckled with his fiance’s dramatic whining. “Do you mean, as stubborn as you are? No doubt you’re more stubborn between us,” He teased and brushed his stubborn baby hair that wouldn’t be slicked up. “This’ll do, Victor.”

Victor nodded and then wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s neck from behind. He leaned his head onto his fiance’s chest and received a peck on top of his head – it was still a little sore from the bullies the days before but it was a lot better than when it was freshly pulled.

He stood up with Victor still clinging to him to start stretching since there was only half an hour before they start.

“Yuuri!”

Yuuri turned and automatically opened his arms when Phichit went running towards him. The Thai excitedly jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly like a puppy.

Victor had released him with a sulky pout.

His best friend embraced him while peppering him with questions, “Yuuri, how are you? Are you doing well? Are you eating sufficiently? Are you not getting cold from how cold it is in Russia? Are you getting along well with your new rinkmates? Are you having fun? Why aren’t you always calling me?” The last one came out as a whine.

Yuuri chuckled and patted Phichit’s head. The Thai smiled up at him and he smiled back, happy to see his best friend after long months. “Long time no see, Phichit. I’m fine, don’t worry. Yes, I’m doing quite okay. I’m eating enough everyday. Russia is very cold but I’m adjusting slowly. My new rinkmates are amazing—“ He halted and recalled the three assholes who beat him up.

“Yuuri?” Phichit asked, concerned, noticing his hesitation. He could feel Victor’s eyes on him as well.

He waved his hands. “I-I-I’m sorry! Oh, yeah, my new rinkmates are amazing and very friendly.” He paused when he saw the way Phichit was looking at him. He made an expression that said ‘talk about it later.’ So the Thai quickly smiled and gestured for him continue. “I’m being treated so kindly. I am having so much fun and am very thankful I haven’t retired yet. I am not always calling you because we’ll chat for hours if I do!”

Phichit laughed and nodded. “Fair point. I would probably make you tell me everything if you always call me.” He finally released him and showed a confident and challenging smile. “Just so you know, I won’t let you win this time. I’ll snatch the gold for this competition.”

He smiled, loving that competitiveness his best friend was showing. “I will not be easily defeated, Phichit-kun. I will win gold and—“

“WAIT A MINUTE!” They both turned and found Jean Jacques Leroy meters away on their right. His parents were right behind him. “I WON’T LET YOU WIN EASILY! I AM JJ AND—“

They both gasped when suddenly Otabek appeared and pushed the Canadian. JJ stumbled and held onto the wall. The Kazakh walked towards them without even looking at JJ.

“I…Uh…” He stammered, unsure how to address what just happened.

Phichit laughed loudly. “You just pushed JJ. Oh my god, Otabek. You’re still as epic as I remember.”

Otabek blinked at them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was something in my way here so I pushed it. Don’t know what it was.”

His pokerface and blank tone made the three –he, Phichit and Victor—crack up even more.

“Phichit, Yuuri!” A young voice called.

They all turned and found Guang Hong Ji waving at them.

“Guang Hong Ji!” He and Phichit gasped.

The Chinese giddily smiled and ran towards them. “It has been awhile. How are you two doing?” He blinked and turned to Victor. “H-Hello, Victor. It has been awhile.”

Victor chuckled. “No need to be so formal with me. I’m your co-skater, not just Yuuri’s coach, so formalities are not really needed. I might be years older than you but I pretend I’m eighteen and go along with life.”

“He’s still in denial that he just turned twenty-eight last December,” He stage-whispered.

“Yuuri!” Victor chided, sullenly. “How dare you betray me?”

Guang Hong must have realized Otabek’s presence and hastily bowed at the Kazakh who was stone-faced as ever. “H-H-Hello, it’s been awhile, Otabek. It’s good to see you again.”

The Kazakh nodded. “Hello to you too.”

Leo emerged from the dressing room. He brightened up upon seeing them and quickly approached their circle. “It has been awhile! I’m so glad to see you all again here!”

Guang Hong smiled brightly. “It has been months, Leo. Your hair has turned longer.” He reached over and brushed the Latino’s hair. “Wow, so silky~”

Leo blushed and chuckled awkwardly. “Y-Yes, it has. Does it look weird on me?”

The Chinese gasped and then exclaimed, as if offended, “No, it doesn’t!  It looks so cool on you. I-In fact, I think any hair will suit you.” After few moments, Guang Hong hid his face in his hands in embarrassment.

The Latino’s face burst red and he mumbled a shy, “R-R-Really? Thank you.”

Phichit broke the awkward silence by saying, “Annnddd upload! Okay, my followers will be exploding with this cute scene!”

Guang Hong turned, wide-eyed at the Thai. “P-P-Phichit, you didn’t!”

“Phichit did!” The Thai chirped proudly.

“Phichit, no!” Leo complained, face burning.

“Phichit, yes!” Yuuri’s best friend protested back.

Yuuri clapped his hands together to stop their argument, and grabbed his bagpack. He opened the biggest part and took out a wrapped box before handing it to the Chinese. “Super belated happy birthday, Guang Hong. I’m sorry if my gift took too long to arrive to you, I didn’t want to ship it since they’re fragile so I figured to just bring them in my carry on bag ‘til we see each other.”

Guang Hong took it and gaped at the box. “I…Wow. I didn’t expect to even receive one! Thank you, Yuuri!” He eyed the box. “C-Can I open it?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

The Chinese happily and carefully peeled the wrapper off, saying he’d like to save it as remembrance, and opened the box. He blinked twice before shrieking, “Oh my god!”

“What is it?” Leo asked curiously.

Guang Hong knelt in front of a bench and laid each on top of the seat. “They’re miniature glass bears. Like literally every kind of bear in the world!” He exclaimed in giddiness and patted each with a finger. “They’re so cute~”

“Aren’t those limited editions and collection items?” Phichit said.

Yuuri smiled. “They are.” He leaned into Victor and received a peck on his cheek. “A little perk, I think, of being engaged to Victor. He has access to this kind of stuff.”

Guang Hong put them back inside the box and hugged the box; his cheeks were rosy in happiness. “Thank you!”

JJ chimed, “Seung-Gil, why are you so antisocial? Why not join us?”

They almost forgot that Seung Gil Lee was also participating because of his silence since he appeared. Wait, when did he appear?

The Korean continued wagging his hips as exercise and sternly retorted, “I have no need to socialize. I am merely here to win. I don’t need to befriend any of you.”

JJ laughed obnoxiously. “As cold as ever, aren’t you?”

“Continue talking to me and I will gladly shove you inside the trash bin beside you,” Seung-Gil snarled.

He bit his bottom lip, uncertain if he should crack the tense atmosphere the Korean created until Phichit walked towards Seung-Gil and extended a hand with a big smile. “Hello~”

Seung-Gil eyes Phichit’s hand as if it was made of maggots.

“Uh…don’t you handshake as a greeting in Korea? Was I wrong?” The Thai asked, ready to retreat his hand.

Seung-Gil looked at Phichit for a second before shaking Yuuri’s best friend’s hand. He let go immediately.

“I believe we haven’t met before. I’m Phichit Chulanont, Thailand’s representative.”

“Seung-Gil Lee. South Korea’s representative,” Seung-Gil responded.

A pause.

Phichit smiled even wider and asked, “Hey, can we take a selfie together?”

The Korean stared at the Thai as if he was an alien and Seung-Gil just realized this fact.

He was preparing himself to drag his best friend away until the Korean scoffed and muttered, “The tournament’s about to begin. Maybe later.”

“Is that a yes?” The Thai gasped happily.

Seung-Gil inched away from Phichit. “Yes, fine. It is. …You’re radiating friendliness, happiness and enthusiasm. It feels weird.”

Phichit laughed, not even offended and shrugged. “And you’re aura is very mysterious, aloof and cold—“

“—I know. People have told me about that severa—“

“—It’s very refreshing.” Phichit interrupted with a warm smile.

The Korean turned speechless. Yuuri squinted and realized Seung-Gil’s cheeks were tinted pink.

“Can we be friends?” Phichit chirped.

“I...” The Korean faltered. “I’ll think about it,” He muttered and stalked off to the restroom, face cold and unapproachable but there was no doubt in Yuuri’s mind—Seung-Gil’s cheeks were pink.

His best friend walked back to him. Yuuri wasn’t ready when Phichit suddenly squealed and hid his face in Yuuri’s back. “Oh my god. He’s a lot cooler in person! I can’t believe I just did that!”

Victor, who was also hugging Yuuri from behind, commented, “I admire your courage and guts, Phichit. I really do.”

“Geez, why are you people so disgusting? Love is reeking everywhere I go to. Oh, Beka!” Yuuri’s eyes widened when he heard a familiar voice behind them. They all turned and found Yurio walking to their direction with Yakov and Lilia behind him.

He frowned, confused. “W-W-Why are they here?”

Otabek actually smiled and responded with, “Yura. It’s been awhile.”

Yurio smirked at the Kazakh before growling at Yuuri, “Oi, katsudon! You better do your best out there because I’m stabbing you if you don’t get qualified for the Worlds!”

He chuckled shakily. “T-Thank you for the encouragement?”

Yakov huffed. “Yuratchka wanted so badly to watch and he wouldn’t stop whining so we agreed.”

“I didn’t whine!” Yurio protested.

Lilia scoffed. “Yuri, attitude.”

Yakov looked at Yuuri and nodded. “Do not waste the countless hours of practice you did in Russia. This will be your ticket to the Worlds so we expect the best from you.”

Lilia added sternly, “Go out and show them that charisma you used to charm everyone in the rink. That danseur within you, let him out and enchant everyone in this arena.”

He gulped and nodded hastily. “Y-Yes!”

Wow, Yuuri. Great response. Did it take you hours to think of that?

He buried his face in his hands when he saw the number he had picked.

First.

Why was he not surprised?

It was his lifetime curse.

Except for the anxiety. It was the first one. Draw lots was the first runner up.

“Wow, amazing, katsudon. You’re very lucky with draw lots, aren’t you? It’s always either first or last nothing in between,” Yurio mocked. “Although, you usually draw first. I hope you’re that lucky with draw lots related to money.”

He never tried. Should he?

Focus, you idiot!

He groaned. “The pressure’s killing me.”

Victor chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Calm down. You’ll do fine.”

“Are you going to drag me to the garage again and tell me you’ll quit if I don’t stand on the podium just like you did in Cup of China?” He teased, trying to get rid of the tension in his heart.

“You did what?” Phichit gasped.

Victor scratched the back of his neck. “I…uh…tried to test him since he wouldn’t calm down and—“

“Astounding encouragement technique, Victor. I’m surprised,” Yurio laughed.

“Shut up, Yurio or I’ll shove you at the wall.”

“Skaters, your six minute warm up will start soon. Please come out.”

He stood up from where he was sitting and followed after his co-competitors out of the backstage. His nerves were wracking him and his anxiety was gradually sipping his optimism away when a hand patted his shoulder.

He turned and found Victor smiling gently at him. “Look there.” He then pointed somewhere at the left of where audience sat.

His eyes widened when he saw banners saying: ‘GOOD LUCK, YURI KATSUKI!’ What shocked him even more were the ones who were holding them and waving them hysterically.

It was the Russian Team.

His Russian Family.

Literally, all of them were sitting in two rows at the top bleachers. Mila and Georgi at the lower bleachers. And Alexander, Boris, Dmitri, Yefim and Pyotr at the upper. They were holding three colored and hand-made banners for him.

He placed a hand over his mouth in awe. “W-W-What are they doing here?”

“Cheering for you,” Victor whispered, placing his hands on both of Yuuri’s shoulders, which were effective on calming him down a little bit.

“B-But why…”

“They were so insistent and persistent on watching you and cheering for you today. They’ve been asking us and their coach ever since the moment you two went out of the rink a day ago. They told me it was unfair that we get to fly here and even bring Yuratchka while they can’t. I tried demanding them to stop but they didn’t practice until we said ‘yes,” Yakov explained with a shake of his head.

He realized that the one sitting beside Mila’s side was Makkachin.

“Is that Makkachin?” He murmured, shocked with happiness.

“It is. I paid for him to be able to come along,” Victor said proudly.

“Did you really need to bring your whole army, Yuuri?” JJ mocked with a smirk at him.

They’re not his army.

“Wow, they’re so supportive of you. I’m glad,” Phichit whispered. There was an emotion Yuuri couldn’t describe on his best friend’s face and it was clenching his heart with pain.

He reached for the Thai’s hand and squeezed it. Phichit looked up at him questioningly. “You’re still my best friend, Phichit. Always.”

The Thai blinked, squeezed his hand back and nodded with a big grin. “So are you, Yuuri. Always.”

Chapter Text

The competitors skated their six minutes warm-up silently. Yuuri tried few jumps just as Victor instructed. Flubbed some but mostly, he was successful with his attempts. Victor always pumped his fists whenever his fiancé landed one.

Since he was the first one to perform, Yuuri didn’t even bother going out of the rink and just leaned onto the boards and drank gulps of water. Some drops trailed down the brunet’s chin. The water also moistened Yuuri’s lips.

Don’t get a hard-on, you dumbass. You’re needed here as a coach, not a predator.

The others passed by behind him and waited for their turn. Some –Leo and Guang Hong-- even went up the spectators’ seats to watch and cheer since it was still not their turn. Yakov, Lilia and Yurio remained behind Victor.

“Good luck, Yuuri!” Yuuri’s co-Four Continents shouted from different directions of the rink.

Victor’s heart warmed with the friendliness and sportsmanship these people have. It’s very nice to watch and see. As if angels were skating and not rivals.

He intertwined their right hands and kissed Yuuri’s ring. “Good luck, my Yuuri. I know you’ll do great. I’ll be here supporting you, no matter what. Go and seduce the whole world again, my katsudon.”

Yuuri smiled and kissed Victor’s ring back. “Never take your eyes off me.”

“Nothing will ever make me do that,” He whispered sincerely.

They released each other and Yuuri pumped his fist. “I’m off.” He looked over Victor’s shoulder and said seriously at JJ. “By the way, JJ. That’s not my army. That’s my Russian Family.  Please remember that. There is a huge difference.”

He couldn’t help smiling with that and watched Yuuri glide towards the center as the announcer called his name. Victor’s fiancé was bombarded with loud cheers. Mila and Minako –she came-- screamed at the top of their lungs. The five were frantically waving the banners. Makkachin barked.

“Oi, katsudon, davai!” Yurio yelled.

“Good luck, Yuuri!” Lilia shouted. Yakov only nodded at the Japanese.

Yuuri took a deep breath and kissed his ring just as Victor kissed his. An indirect kiss. It was enough.

JJ was still stunned in his place, obviously not expecting Yuuri’s words earlier.

As the music begun, the timid and shy Yuuri Katsuki hid and emerged the one who could enthral the whole stadium with just a smirk. If Victor was a woman, he’d be pregnant just by his fiance’s smirk. He almost slipped from where he was standing when Yuuri actually added a seductive wink after smirking.

“I’m feeling so attacked right now,” He murmured.

“He literally just winked!” Yurio snapped.

Yuuri’s hands were actually flicking as he did his step sequences which added sexiness and appeal in his program.

“If Chris is here, he already nutted,” Otabek mumbled from beside Yurio.

“Gross. Don’t remind me, Beka. I’m trying to remain innocent as long as I can be.” Yurio grumbled.

“I believe no one can remain innocent after meeting Chris,” The Kazakh responded.

Yurio actually laughed at the comment. “Nice one, Beka. You have presented a very valid argument.”

Yuuri’s eyes were also half-lidded as he faced the judges for the last part. He was too sensual, the audience were stunned to silence before bursting to loud applause. Their Russian family was still screaming. He wouldn’t be surprised if those seven would be voiceless on the day they arrive back in Russia.

As the spectators threw stuff at Yuuri as he waved at them, Yurio took out something from his bagpack. Yuuri approached where their Russian family was sitting and from what Victor could lip-read: ‘Spasibo!’ was what the brunet shouted.

He didn’t miss the fact that four out of the five urged Pyotr down of his seat. The flustered Pyotr grumbled something and took whatever it was that Dmitri was shoving at him. Pyotr ran down the stairs and shyly placed a flower crown of white roses on top of Yuuri’s head.

Yuuri blinked, blushed and bowed. “T-Thanks!” He shouted and skated back towards the kiss and cry.

He loved the way that color brought Yuuri’s beauty out even more. He didn’t like that he wasn’t the one who get to do that for the Japanese.

“Why is this season filled with people showering skaters with flower crowns?” He heard JJ ask. “And if that so is the trend, where is my flower crown?”

“The crown that will placed on your head wouldn’t be a flower crown, JJ. It’ll be the thorns,” Yurio snarled.

“Rude!”

Victor chuckled under his breath. The skaters might like bullying JJ, but he believed that's a sign that he's actually included in a 'friendly' rivalry. It was a funny and refreshing scene.

Phichit suddenly appered beside him, whistled and then whispered jokingly, “Looks like someone has a crush on Yuuri~” He should really have expected that Yuuri’s best friend wouldn’t let this go easily.

He pouted even more.

The Thai laughed. “Is that jealousy? You stink of it.”

“Shut up, Phichit. I’ll cut off all of your communications with Yuuri if you don’t shut up,” He grunted.

Yurio shouted from where he was leaning against the boards. “Oi, katsudon!”

Yuuri looked up, and he and Phichit gasped when the blond Russian threw something right at Yuuri’s face. His fiancé stiffened and then looked down. Yuuri squealed and glided faster towards them, excited with what he just received.

He hugged Yuuri tightly when the Japanese arrived at kiss and cry finally and murmured, “That was a very astounding performance, Yuuri.”

Yuuri giggled and mumbled, “Thank you. It was for you. Oh look what Yurio got me!” It was a round, blue piggy plushie holding a bowl of katsudon. It was cute. “Yurio, spasibo!” Yuuri exclaimed, hugging the plushie tightly.

Yurio growled, “Shut up! Pretend it didn’t come from me! And in compensation, don’t ever talk to me!”

Phichit chuckled and poke the piggy’s nose. “That’s so adorable~”

He didn’t bother asking why Phichit was sitting at Yuuri’s other side on the kiss and cry. He was pretty sure he’d only want to either laugh or scream at the Thai. He’d probably choose the latter right now.

After awhile, Yuuri’s score was up and it was another of his personal best. Just .10 difference from his previous one, but a personal best still.

He was about to hug Yuuri in glee when Phichit beat him to it and threw himself at the Japanese. “That’s so amazing, Yuuri! You’re so great! I am so proud you’re my best friend!”

Where could I bury Phichit?

Or maybe duct tape him to Seung-Gil Lee? That could work too.

Yuuri chuckled. “Thank you, Phichit. I’ll be waiting for your performance.”

Phichit nodded with a determined look, and then stood up. “By the way, nice flower crown~”

Yuuri touched the white roses, his cheeks were red. “Feels weird wearing one.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be the only one! I’ll buy Seung-Gil one tomorrow and place it on his--” Phichit mumbled with a blush. “O-O-Okay, you didn’t hear anything! Bye!”

“Oh my god, go, Phichit! I’m supporting you!” Yuuri shouted as the Thai ran away.

The two of them glanced at each other before bursting laughing. God, he loved this man.

He finally got to hug Yuuri. He showered Yuuri with kisses before murmuring, “So proud of you. Best student, fiancé and husband-to-be ever.”

Yuuri chuckled, blushing and melted in his arms. The flower crown was in the way. But he let it slide. [No, he didn’t. He was, after all, Victor Nikiforov.]

JJ’s short program wasn’t as flawless as his Rostelecom Cup’s and from what Yuuri could understand with the Canadian’s expression – JJ was having flashbacks of how he flubbed and failed with his jumps back in the Grand Prix Final and got a little self-conscious because of this. Yuuri knew the feeling, flashbacks of his first GPF sometimes still played in his head. JJ’s fans never gave up and sung along even if the Canadian flubbed three of his jumps. They were very encouraging to watch, it made him smile. And JJ still came out strong, it was great to see him overcoming his own panic attacks and anxiety with such strength.

Seung Gil Lee was next and his mambo and costume would always make Yuuri double-take since it was quite hard to associate the two with the Korean’s usual stoic face. Phichit, who was standing beside him, was gaping at the Korean the entire time – it was amusing to watch the Thai excitedly screaming when the Korean started and then finished. “That was very refreshing to watch, Seung-Gil Lee!” Phichit yelled as Seung-Gil skated towards the kiss and cry, which was just meters away from where they stood.

Seung-Gil looked up and blinked at Phichit before muttering, “Yeah. Thanks.”

Leo was next. His performance would always be energizing and the fact that he choreographed it by himself made Yuuri even more awed. The Latino managed to express his emotions through his skating. His moves were also very new to Yuuri’s eyes despite living in Detroit. When the Latino was done, Guang Hong screamed, “Good job, Leo!”

Leo smiled widely and greeted his coach. After getting his score, he went and ruffled Guang Hong’s hair since he’d be up next. “Good luck, Guang Hong! I know you’ll nail it.”

The Chinese blinked, blushed and nodded pleasantly. “I will do my best! Thank you~” With a last lingering smile between the two of them, Guang Hong glided towards the center.

When he was finished, Leo leaned his hands on the boards and yelled, “BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUANG HONG! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU AND YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS!”

The two met each other’s eyes and then simultaneously, their faces exploded. Guang Hong hid his face in the Latino’s chest while laughing when he arrived at the kiss and cry.

“Ah, innocent love,” Victor breathed beside him. Their hands were tangled together while they watched at the sidelines. He didn’t want to go up the stairs to watch, fun things happen while you’re on the boards, watching as a background.

Otabek was the last one called to the center. When it was his turn, Yurio cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs, “BEKA, DAVAI!”

Otabek turned and gave a thumb’s up.

Yurio recriprocated with a thumb’s up of his own.

When the Kazakh was done with his program, he sent a thumb’s up at Yurio. The blond gave two thumbs’ up. Otabek visibly smiled proudly.

“Now, that’s what I call a deep friendship. No words needed,” Victor commented.

He couldn’t help laughing. “Stop it,” He chided.

He squeaked when the screen showed their score and he realized that he was currently in first place. His eyes widened when he saw the margin between his score and Otabek’s. The moment they arrived in their hotel room, he cocooned himself with blankets and tried not to think of ways that he’d fail tomorrow. The way he failed his jumps in the Rostelecom Cup and his first GPF rewinded again and again in his mind. They didn’t help.

Victor tried getting him free and entertaining him. Didn’t work either.

Yuuri got first in the Short Program so he was the last one to perform for the Free Skate the next day.

He was shaking in nervousness and was burying his face in his hands that Victor was waiting for them to glomp at the brunet’s face –disgusting thought-- until they were thuds coming their way. They both turned and then Makkachin suddenly jumped on Yuuri’s arms.

“M-M-Makkachin!” His fiancé gasped and hugged their poodle. “How did you get in here?”

“Said he’s Victor Nikiforov’s poodle. Simple as that,” Yurio answered with an eyebrow raised. “Why are you even this nervous? You landed in first place before and—oh, that’s the Cup of China.” His eyes roamed from Victor to Yuuri. His eyes landed lastly on Victor. He smirked. “I get it now.”

“Yurio, there’s a trash bin right beside you,” He reminded, eyes narrowing.

Makkachin barked happily and licked Yuuri’s face.

Yuuri laughed and rubbed Makkachin behind his ears. “Who’s a good boy?” Makkachin barked and snuggled in Yuuri’s chest. “Yes, you are. Yes, you are.” Yuuri bent down and hugged Makkachin even tighter. “So soft~ So warm~”

Makkachin whimpered and then pulled away before chasing his tail. Yuuri laughed and said, “Makkachin, stop.”

Their poodle halted.

“Oh. Uh, handshake?” Makkachin approached the Japanese and placed a paw on Yuuri’s extended hand. “Wow! Good job, Makkachin.” Their poodle barked giddily with the compliment. He stood up and so did Makkachin. “I’m gonna go jog around this hallway, wanna join?”

Makkachin gladly followed after Yuuri as Yuuri jogged around the hallways to push his anxiety down. Whenever Yuuri looked like he was being succumbed by his thoughts and nerves again, Makkachin would nudge his hand and do tricks. Their poodle occupied Yuuri’s time until they needed to go out of the backstage.

It worked. And Victor couldn’t ask for a better pet.

Guang Hong was the first one to perform and Yuuri put on his eyeglasses for awhile to be able to watch everything. The Chinese was skating more seriously and more passionately this time, and Yuuri could almost imagine himself being in whatever land Guang Hong was imagining and being killed by the Chinese himself. He blinked when Guang Hong’s last position was directed towards Leo, as if protecting, shielding him or something. It was astounding. Very different from the cute hamster-like they knew.

Seung-Gil Lee was the next one and his performance was still a little stiff, a little cold, a little emotionless. And despite landing all of his jumps and quads, he might have gotten a low-score for the presentation. Figure skating, after all, wasn’t all about being able to nail every step – it was also presenting and expressing what you wanted to show through your program. He was a slump as he skated towards the kiss and cry.

His and the Korean’s eyes widened when Phichit turned up at the kiss and cry. The Thai smiled widely before bringing out a flower crown made of yellow roses. The Korean frowned at him. “I do not deserve that.”

“You might think you don’t. But I think you do, so I’m giving you one anyway.” Phichit held the flower crown over the Korean’s head. “May I?”

Seung-Gil pursed his lips and then nodded.

Phichit placed the flower crown on top of curly locks before adding, “Your programs may need improvements. And you might think you’ve failed. But your routines really represented who you are. I hope the next time or next season, we get to see who you really are inside.”

As Seung-Gil Lee sat on the kiss and cry with his amused coach, the Thai added, “Oh! By the way, I hope yellow roses would be alright for now. I think it’s too early to give you red ones.” With a wink, Phichit ran towards Celestino, who was laughing at his red face.

JJ was next. He received loud cheers from his fangirls and then an ‘I love you’ from his fiancée. He skated passionately with a big smile on his face, as usual. He didn’t know if JJ was afraid of Otabek or something but when the Canadian caught sight of Kazakh, he messed up a little which caused a deduction. Nerve-wracking it might have been that he was flawless from beginning and failing at the end, JJ wasn’t able to land his Quad Lutz unlike in GPF. JJ smiled at his fans and did his signature pose. When there were no more cameras at his face, the Canadian disappeared at the backstage. Yuuri heard a trash bin being kicked and profanities but decided to leave JJ alone.

Phichit was the next one. And unlike before wherein Seung Gil disappeared from sight, the Korean actually stayed at sidelines and watched. Phichit nailed his every jump, step sequences and spins. He was skating with happiness radiating him that Yuuri couldn’t help his foot and head from going along with the song. He also whispered the lyrics when he recalled some verses.

“You know this song?”

“We’ve watched the shows where his chosen songs were used for millions of times. I began to unconsciously memorize them,” He answered.

Victor chuckled and hugged him tighter. “That’s amazing~”

Phichit finished with his last pose and then laid on his back on the ice with a pleased expression. He stood up and glided towards the kiss and cry. Celestino ruffled his hair in gladness.

“Good job, Phichit!” He shouted. He received a big, warm smile.

The Thai looked at Seung-Gil’s location and blinked at the Korean, who was still wearing the flower crown. The latter blinked back and crossed his arms over his chest before looking away. Phichit just giggled.

Otabek was the second to the last one. And as usual, his performance was as graceful and powerful as the one from the Grand Prix Final. It was dumbfounding to watch him especially with how passionate he was with his every spins and sequence. It was as if he was expressing a message saying: ‘Fly. This is time to chase your dreams! To be who you wanna be! Never settle and continue achieving.’

Yurio was gaping right after the Kazakh was done performing. When their eyes met, Yurio actually grinned widely. He gave two thumbs’ up. Otabek blinked and gave two thumbs’ up as well.

I’d never get that. But I’m happy for them.

It was his turn to skate. And he took a deep breath before gliding onto the ice. He slapped his two palms on his cheeks and counted up to ten.         

“Ah~ I hope I’d get to kiss a gold medal today,” Victor whispered with a pout.

He laughed at his fiance’s antics and poked Victor’s reddening nose due to cold. “I promise you that that will someday backlash to you. I swear.”

Victor chuckled and then wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri buried his face in the silver-head’s shoulder and breathed in that scent that Victor’s alone. It somehow calmed him down. “Whatever the results are. Even if you flub some steps or not. Whatever happens when you’re out there, I’d continue being here by your side, always supporting and never leaving. I’ll always be proud of you. Go get ‘em, my beloved.”

Yuuri smiled a little and nodded. “I will show the world of our love.”

With that, they let each other go. Victor reached over and brushed his cheek. With that as his cue, he skated towards the center with his arms raised in his sides, presenting himself and his love out for the world to see.

He was greeted with a cheerful applause and deafening screams of support. He closed his eyes and waited for the signal. The moment his song started, he let his body flow with this song that had become such a big part of his life and skating career. He was so glad he named it Yuri On Ice.

The phrases Oscar, Anton and Vlad threw at him for few several weeks replayed in his head and if he was going to do a jump, he would have flubbed it.

Words that he had thrown at himself for years. Phrases that always flashed into his mind.

The thing was those three bastards weren’t really the antagonists of his life and his story.

It was his anxiety, which couldn’t seem to let those words go and moving on easily. It was the anxiety that was always stopping him from opening his cage and showing himself proudly to the world. It was his anxiety that made phrases and words thrown at him even worse than they were. It was his anxiety which was trying to pull him down and drown him with darkness until he couldn’t swim onto the surface and see the light.

Victor’s appearance in his life wouldn’t magically heal him, because that’s not how it works. But Victor did play a big part in making him slowly heal. He was loved. He was cared about. He was accepted. He belonged somewhere. He’s someone’s world. He meant a lot to someone. And knowing he still deserved to be here and that he hadn’t become invisible was gradually curing him.

This love he had learned from not Victor alone but because of all the people he had met.

They could say what they want. They could stab him from behind thousands of times. They could look at him with disgust.

This was his song. This was his program. This was his life.

This was his.

And he’d show it to the world.

He didn’t know why but he and Victor were both tearing up the moment they re-met at the kiss and cry. Of course, he didn’t beat the world record he just set because there was just something about his performance in GPF that awed him, Victor and the world, but his current score was still higher than he expected.

He gawked at the screen when it showed all of their overall scores.

Yuuri won gold with a small margin from Otabek who got second place. Phichit, surprisingly rose from the bottom of GPF and got to win bronze.

As Yuuri walked back from the podium, Victor stood at the kiss and cry and greeted his gold medallist fiancé with a fierce, warm, proud hug. It felt like home.

Yuuri blushed and held tightly onto his golden medal. “I…I won.” He still couldn’t believe it.

“You did,” Victor whispered back, eyes expressing nothing but love and adoration and something even greater that words might not be able to describe it. “And I am the happiest and proudest coach and fiancé in the world, husband-to-be.”

His face turned even redder with that endearment but he hugged Victor back anyway.

Instead of going back to their rooms to rest already, the competitors decided to stay in their Hotel Lounge at the ground floor and stay there.

Yuuri blinked when he realized all of them were gathered together in one area. He took out his phone and started pressing some buttons.

“Yuuri?” Victor asked, curious.

After few rings, the other line answered. He pressed full-screen. “Hello, Chris,” He greeted.

Most of his co-skaters gasped a general shocked, “Chris?”

The Swiss blinked and then said, “Oh-ho, what a shock. This is an unexpected surprise from you, Yuuri.”

He blushed a little and roamed his back camera around the lounging area. “Actually, I almost forgot but I’d like to greet you with a ‘Happy birthday!’”

Victor placed a hand over his mouth. “Oh, right!” He faced the camera and grinned widely. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!”

He said, “Since we’re all huddled together, I thought of greeting you altogether,” He admitted. “Everyone!” All heads turned to his direction. “It’s Chris’ birthday.”

A booming, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!” echoed in the whole floor.

The Swiss blinked in astonishment before chuckling with pink tinting his cheeks. “This is a pleasant surprise. I just finished watching your programs. Congratulations to all of you, splendid performances like always!”

“T-Thank you. W-We didn’t interrupt you or anything, have we?” He asked, suddenly self-conscious.

Chris answered with a playful, “Oh, not yet. That’s few hours from now~”

Someone from beside the Swiss sighed an embarrassed, “Do you really need to put innuendo in everything?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Have you seen Yuuri’s wink on his short program! Shit, I almost nutted, so I looked away as quickly as—“

Yurio shrieked and covered his ears. “Enough! Enough! Enough! Too much information!”

Chris chuckled and winked at Yuuri. “Thank you for such a lovely present and shock. I truly appreciate your effort, and for remembering my special day! When we see each other at Worlds, I’ll treat you something~”

He waved his free hand. “N-N-No need! I’m just happy to—“

“Maybe something that would excite Victor? So that I could kill two birds with one stone?” The Swiss muttered.

His cheeks exploded. “CHRIS!”

Phichit raised a hand. “I’ll gladly help if you want!”

“PHICHIT, NO!” He squeaked.

“PHICHIT, YES!”

Victor smirked. “Oh? Do tell what you have in mind, Chris~”

“Maybe a linger—“

“Oh, look, dinner’s here! Nice chatting with you! Now, fuck off or fuck your boyfriend or something. See you soon. Bye!” Yurio snarled once he grabbed Yuuri’s phone. He slammed a finger on the ‘End Call’ and panted. “I never heard anything.”

Victor sighed, disappointed. “Too bad. Oh well, we can just talk about it when we see each other at Worlds.”

Yurio growled at Yuuri’s face, “AT WORLDS, NEVER EVER LET THOSE TWO BE LEFT ALONE TOGETHER OR ALL HELL WILL BROKE FUCKING LOOSE. I’D RATHER DIE!”

Yuuri’s cheering squad or their Russian Team arrived back after an hour, stomachs full and big, satisfied smiles on their faces.

Victor chuckled when Yuuri yelped as Mila and the five screamed, “Congratulations, Yuuri!” and was suddenly pulled into a big hug. He blinked thrice in astonishment before hugging them all back as much as he could since there were seven pairs of arms squeezing him.

When they finally released him, his fiancé scrambled to start introducing the other five. “E-Everyone, these are our rinkmates under a different coach: Alexander, Dmitri, Yefim, Boris and Pyotr.”

Pyotr stared at Yuuri. “Wow, you pronounced it right.” He seemed so shocked.

Victor was not pleased.

“I-I-I did?” Yuuri asked, baffled.

Pyotr laughed. “You did!” He sounded so happy, Victor’s suspicions even rose to the level of certainty. And to the level wherein he would never let Pyotr near Yuuri again.

“Well then, I should thank my one month stay in Russia, which was actually so long before I got your name right,” Yuuri replied with a small smile. Pyotr’s cheeks turned pink.

Victor was readying to grab the vase in the table before him when Phichit piped in, “Pyo—huh?”

“Oh, you can call me Peter,” Pyotr suggested.

“Oh? But Yuuri calls you with your real Russian name~” The Thai mumbled, puzzled.

Pyotr blushed a little more. “He’s the one who was persistent on using it.”

“Oh. I see~” Victor didn’t miss that teasing look the Thai sent him. “Oh, right, I’m Phichit Chulanont! The one who will conquer Instagram soon. And this is Otabek Altin, Yuri’s best friend who gets to understand that stingy kitten with one look—“

“—What the fuck, Chulanont,” Yurio shrieked.

“-- This is JJ, the ever obnoxious one who will smile even if you’re smashing his head on the wall. Try it—“

“It’s true!” JJ piped in.

“--This here is Leo de la Iglesia, the purest being in the whole universe – don’t try to make him sad, you’ll regret it—“

“—Uh, thank you?” Leo replied, chuckling.

“--And this Guang Hong Ji, the Chinese hamster who turns into a Chinese emperor on ice—“

“—Wow, thanks!” Guang Hong responded while munching a crepe he bought outside. What was up with him and street foods?

“--Oh, that’s Seung Gil Lee, the one people think is emotionless but actually just has resting bitch face—“

Seung Gil who was lounging on a chair away from them spluttered and spat the juice he was drinking. “…I am speechless.”

“Your descriptions are hilarious,” Yefim commented, laughing.

“Thank you!” Phichit chimed and then seemed to have remembered something. Yuuri stiffened when his best friend suddenly turned at him. “Yuuri, can you accompany me on buying popsicle on the 7-11 outside?” The abrupt change in his tone and expression kind of set him off.

Yuuri gulped and stood up. “S-Sure.”

Victor looked up and tilted his head in a side. “Should I come along? Do you have mone—“

The Japanese nodded and squeezed his Victor’s hand. It was shaking a little.  “We won’t take long. Consider it best friends bonding since we’ll be separated for awhile again.”

The Russian blinked and nodded in understanding. He did hope that was what this truly would be. “Don’t take long. I have a surprise for you after you arrive back.”

Yuuri smiled and nodded before following after Phichit, who grabbed his wrist and squeezed it gently.

Yurio stared at their figures which had disappeared. “What’s up with that?”

He placed a fist under his chin and frowned. “I don’t know. And that worries me.”

They looked for the most isolated part of the park near their hotel and sat on a bench side by side. Yuuri stiffly sat beside the Thai and looked down at his lap wherein his hands were folded together, shaking a little.

Phichit must have sensed his nervousness to breach the topic and placed his hand on top of Yuuri’s. “You can start when you feel like starting. I’ll patiently wait, you know.” His tone was so sincere, it made Yuuri’s heart ache.

He bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath. He pulled his hands away from Phichit and whispered, “Let me start by showing these.” He lifted his stretchable long sleeves and displayed his bruised forearms.

Phichit gasped and tentatively touched each, as if Yuuri would break with one wrong move. “W-W-What happened with these?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I tell you that I fell on the ice as I practiced, would you?” He tried just to be sure.

The Thai frowned at him and pursed his lips together, displeased with the suggestion of that lie. “No. I wouldn’t. Not a fucking bit.” Oh, he cussed. He’s serious.

He exhaled and murmured. “There are three guys in the same rink under a different coach who…are bullying me.” The secret was out. How was he supposed to continue that? How would he even begin?

“Bullying you?” Phichit echoed, confused.

He nodded and stared at his best friend’s shaking hands on his forearms.

“How? When? Where?” Phichit frantically questioned, tone nervous, eyes unfocused and hands shaking badly now. “Yuuri, please tell me everything. I will not be able to sleep with just knowing that single sentence.”

Was he ready to tell everything to his best friend and involve Phichit with his own problems?

Phichit cupped his cheeks and insisted, “Yuuri. If you’re thinking that you don’t want to burden me with whatever you’ll tell me, then please stop. You’re my best friend. You occupy a huge chunk of my heart. You mean a lot to me. Your happiness is my happiness. Your sadness is mine as well. This is not the kind of friendship I want us to have—us shielding terrible things to each other. I want you to share your pain with me, Yuuri.”

Yuuri’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“I want to be your best friend who will be there for you in your best and in your worst. So please, let me in.” Phichit was already in the verge of tears now, as well. “Let me in.”

Yuuri licked his dry lips and nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks. He inhaled and told him everything. Literally everything that he could recall once he arrived in Russia. He especially focused on the three who caused him harm because Phichit seemed most interested about knowing that.

Phichit’s grip on his hands turned harder and harder until he flinched in pain as he told the latest accident that happened days ago.

The Thai stared at him before whispering, “You’ve suffered that much?”

He nodded. “Truth be told, the words hurt more than the bruises.”

“They usually do,” His best friend agreed and stood to touch Yuuri’s scalp. He pressed tenderly and Yuuri winced when Phichit touched the sorest spot. “Few more painful pulls and you would suffered something related to the head, Yuuri,” He murmured as he sat down again.

He raised his gaze when he saw tears spill down on Phichit’s lap. His eyes widened when he realized his best friend was sobbing big, fat tears. He didn’t even try wiping them away. “I wish I was there so that I could have protected you,” Phichit murmured.

He shook his head and placed his hands on Phichit’s shoulders. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. I have a feeling you’ll fly go to Russia to confront them. And I don’t want an issue, Phichit. I don’t want something like this will endanger you or anyone’s career.”

“Something like this?” Phichit hissed, hurt evident in his face and tone. “Yuuri, you might suffer a major injury if they keep doing this to you!”

“I know…”

“A single injury could be fatal or deadly! We could lose you in a second of senseless violence! Your life is in the line!”

He pursed his lips. “I know but—“

“Why are so selfless?” Phichit cried, leaning his forehead against Yuuri’s. “Why are you so kind? Why do you need to be always thinking about others first before yourself?” He wrapped his arms around Yuuri and murmured, “Why must you always suffer?”

Yuuri clenched his teeth and let the tears flow again. “I’m so sorry if I hurt you by not saying anything.”

“You did.” He flinched. “But I know you enough to understand your reasons. And I still love you anyway,” The Thai whispered. He sobbed into Yuuri’s shoulder. “I want to protect you with all of my might, but I can’t. I always can’t. I hate myself for being useless. I hate myself for always being too late.”

“Phichit—“

“You’re the one of the best things that ever happened in my life, and one of the greatest people I’ve met and I couldn’t even shield you from your anxiety and people who make you suffer.”

“It’s enough that you’ve listened, Phichit. Your tears have meant a lot more than you would ever think,” He assured.

Phichit pulled away and insisted, “You have to tell Victor or Yuri.”

“No!”

“Yuuri, they need to know!”

“No, they don’t! I can endure this!”

“It’s not that you can, it’s just that you will. And that isn’t what’s best, Yuuri. You cannot continue this – it’s not good for you mentally, emotionally and mentally.”

He frowned and clenched his jaw. “…I won’t.”

Phichit cupped his cheeks in his hands and said, “Think of what Victor will feel if he finds this the wrong way? Think of how hurt he’ll be that you can’t trust him with this vital information?”

He imagined Victor’s crying face back in their hotel in Barcelona last December. His heart clenched.

“You wouldn’t want to hurt him, would you?”

“But if I tell it to anyone, the three might lose their career and—“

“—Yuuri, not everyone deserves kindness. Not your kindness,” Phichit whispered.

He stared at his best friend.

“Please try, Yuuri. Please. Try,” The Thai persisted.

He took a deep breath and nodded.

Phichit smiled in relief and opened his arms. Yuuri accepted the hug and buried his face in his best friend’s shoulder.

When he arrived back at their hotel room, his eyes widened when Victor welcomed him with a bouquet of blue roses. He blinked, entered their room and took it hesitantly. They smelled amazing. And they looked stunning.

“Congratulations, my Yuuri. Just like what blue roses symbolize, my love for you is immortal and eternal. It will never be enough to show how much I love you because that’s not even enough with what I feel whenever I look, hug, kiss and be with you, but I hope it still has portrayed what I want to express, ” The Russian whispered and leaned down to place a kiss on his lips.

He smiled brightly at his fiancé and stood on his toes to place a gentle kiss on Victor’s cheek. “It did. It really did. Thank you, I love you.”

“And I love you too, my sun.”

They were back in Russia two days after. Phichit gave him a tight hug before they separated ways, making Yuuri promise to call if he really wanted and needed to. He couldn’t refuse, and hugged the Thai back.

They didn’t immediately beat themselves to work to the fullest, and Victor only asked him to go back to basic so that his body wouldn’t be overworked. It was such a sweet gesture.

Yakov and Lilia needed to run some errands concerning their students’ schedule and competitions so they were given several free hours. It was a coincidence that it was also lunch time.

Yuuri was expecting for them to eat right outside the boards again with their unique packed and bought lunches until Boris yelled, “Let’s watch Me Before You while eating lunch! I want to test if I’m not numb enough yet to feel emotions.”

“HUH?” Yurio growled.

“True! Let’s watch Me Before You! I’ve been dying to watch that ever since it was out in the Cinemas but our schedules are always hectic,” Yefim agreed.

“Your schedule is not hectic. You just love procrastinating,” Dmitri pointed out.

“Blame SNS for existing; not me,” Yefim countered.

Mila glided towards their huddle. “Great idea! I’d love that!” She seemed to have remembered something. “But the television inside the resting room is connected to a DVD player. And we don’t have—“

“Do not worry, fair lads and lass! I have a DVD of Me Before You!” Georgi piped in proudly.

Victor wrapped his arms around Yuuri from behind and propped his chin on top of Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri chuckled when his fiancé turned a little and blew on his cheek. He reached and pinched the silver-head’s side. It elicited a squeak.

“Stop flirting everytime you’re near each other. I am so tempted to put a barrier between you,” Yurio protested.

Victor huffed with a smirk. “Nothing will ever stop us from expressing our love towards each other. And, just admit it already, Yurio. You love us too much to separate us. We’re your almost fathe—Shoot!” His fiancé untangled himself from Yuuri and ran away as Yurio grabbed his shoes and went after the silver-head.

“NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!” Yurio screamed.

“Anyway, back to topic,” Pyotr said with a laugh. “Georgi, why do you have a DVD of Me Before You ready?” He paused and looked at Yuuri with a horrified look as if realization just sunk in. “I feel like I shouldn’t have asked that.”

Yuuri pursed his lips to not burst out laughing with the twenty-year old’s expression. “I’m not really sure.”

“No more question, come follow me to the resting room!” Georgi yelled. “Victor, don’t forget your Makkachin tissue box. I believe we’ll need it!”

“Aye, aye!”

Two hours later…

Yuuri was trying not to laugh with what watching Me Before You caused his rinkmates. Yakov seemed to have handled enough shit and just fumed at a corner about annoying students, about why he even decided to be a coach and about why he needed to end up with these people.

Mila was still sniffing as she skated around the rink. She stopped at the center and suddenly wailed a loud, “Sam! Sam! Saaaammmm!” She knelt on the ice and continued wailing.

Yurio huffed and mumbled, “Live well. Live boldly. Just live,” He murmured. He stared hard at the ground and suddenly he was crying again. “Why? Why did it need to end like that? I didn’t sign up for this.”

Georgi was gliding on the ice, whimpering while singing along with Me Before You’s Not today by Imagine Dragons. Yuuri wouldn’t be surprised if that becomes the man’s next song for one of his programs.

Victor was hugging Makkachin, still sobbing. “It was so heart-breaking. I shouldn’t have watched it. I shouldn’t have agreed. Now, my mind won’t stop replaying the ending!” And then he started singing melancholically, “Hold on, hold on to me, cause I’m a little unsteady! A little unsteady! Hold on—“

Alexander, Boris, Dmitri, Yefim and Pyotr were gazing at the ice, eyes puffy and red. When they tried to start practice, they’d practically collapse on the ice and gaze at nothing, probably still replaying in their minds was what they just watched.

“Why aren’t you affected, Yuuri?” Victor whined.

“I watched it a day after it was aired. I bawled my eyes out, so I am prepared now,” He explained, chuckling. “I couldn’t practice after because of how swollen my eyes were. You would have laughed if you saw me.”

“I’m still not over it. When will I be over it?”

“Try reading the book, you’ll wail louder,” He suggested and put on his skate guards. “Hey, Victor, would you mind if I take a breather outside? I feel a little cold and outside’s a lot warmer today.”

Victor blinked and nodded with a smile. “Be careful~”

He nodded and walked outside through the back door. Thank goodness the three assholes were not needed for practice today. He wouldn’t really like to be cornered today, not days right after winning gold.

He took a deep breath and inhaled that smell he had grown accustomed to. It was starting to smell like home for him. It was nice, having homes in a lot of places – in Hasetsu, Japan, in St. Petersburg, Russia, in Detroit and in Victor’s arms.

“Oh, fucking look who’s out here to greet us!”

Wow. Nice luck. He spoke out too soon. He jinxed himself. Typical everyday occurrence in Yuuri’s life.

He looked up from where he was sitting on the stairs of the backdoor and found Oscar, Anton and Vlad sneering at him. They were wearing casual clothing with bags slung over their shoulders.

He sighed and stood up. “I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t see—“

He halted when a fist slammed on the wall beside his head. He flinched when he found Anton’s face two inches away from him, red-faced and teeth bared in fury.

“You’re not going anywhere, you bastard,” Anton hissed and grabbed his shirt’s collar.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone? I am literally trying to live in peace here,” He grumbled; he was really itching to fight back. His conscience screamed ‘No.’

Vlad scoffed, apparently amused with his outburst. “We have told you the reason countless of times already. We’re not gonna repeat them anymore!”

“Yes, you have. You want your heroes to be back although they’re literally here and—“

“Your mouth will be your fucking death!” Anton growled and threw him on the ground with all the energy he could muster.

Thank god that he landed where grasses were starting to bloom abundantly. But it still hurt, especially with the way that the sore spot in his head landed pretty badly.

Oscar snapped his fingers, laughing under his breath. “No one knows we’re going to practice after all. Let’s just beat this fucker up and then pretend that we saved him afterwards. Let’s say that the people who attacked him were able to run away, and we decided to just stick around and help this pig.”

“Oh, great idea! I’ll go first~” Vlad agreed and giddily ran down the stairs to approach him.

He tried to sit up but ended up sprawled again on his back when a fist landed on his left cheek. Teras sprung on his eyes. Droplets of blood dripped down from his nose. His bottom lip cracked and he tasted iron as he tried to groan.

“Let’s break a bone!” Anton added and pressed the heel of one of his shoes on Yuuri’s stomach. It didn’t crack anything but he was choking and it hurt.

He clawed at the idiot’s leg, but instead of letting him go, he received another kick on the side – most likely caused by Oscar since he didn’t have his turn yet. Whiny asshole.

The stones, pebbles and rough edges of the road were scraping his back, and after being dragged through the concrete because of these arseholes’ violent outbursts’ impacts, he was pretty sure he also had several wounds and cuts on his back, nape of the neck and shoulder blades now.

Anton lifted him up by grabbing his collar and hissed ominously, “What do you want me to break first?” He didn’t answer and gritted his teeth. “Ah, yes, that beautiful face everyone adores. A black-eye that will last 'til Worlds will fit you.” He swung an arm with clenched fist back.

Yuuri inhaled sharply, crossed his arms before his face to lessen the impact and shut his eyes.

He was preparing for the punch.

But it never came.

He waited for few moments and then cracked his eyes open. He blinked when he realized the three men had stopped, and froze before him, staring at something behind Yuuri.

Yuuri frowned and turned his head. His eyes landed on a furious looking Makkachin. His eyes trailed further up and met fuming green ones. Lastly, he looked up right beside Makkachin and found sparkling blue ones wide in shock with what they were seeing.

His heart thumped loud. 

“Victor,” He breathed.

Chapter Text

Instead of heading to the rink and starting practice after they watched the movie, Victor sat on a corner and hugged Makkachin, still sobbing even if the movie had ended half an hour ago. “It was so heart-breaking. I shouldn’t have watched it. I shouldn’t have agreed. Now, my mind won’t stop replaying the ending!” He cried and buried his nose in his poodle’s soft fur. And then he started singing melancholically because he couldn’t hold the emotions in anymore, “Hold on, hold on to me, cause I’m a little unsteady! A little unsteady! Hold on~”

He looked up with a sulky frown at his fiance when he realized that Yuuri was actually chuckling at him and his minsitrations.

 “Why aren’t you affected, Yuuri?” Victor whined.

Yuuri smirked. “I watched it a day after it was aired. I bawled my eyes out, so I am prepared now,” He explained, chuckling. “I couldn’t practice after because of how swollen my eyes were. You would have laughed if you saw me.” Oh, Victor would for a minute and then realize the brunet was beautiful however, whatever, whenever and wherever.

He slumped onto Makkachin. “I’m still not over it. When will I be over it?”

Yuuri grinned, amused with his dramatic flair. “Try reading the book, you’ll wail louder,” He suggested and put on his skate guards. “Hey, Victor, would you mind if I take a breather outside? I feel a little cold and outside’s a lot warmer today.”

Victor blinked and nodded with a smile. “Be careful~” He sing-sang and waved as the Japanese walked towards the doors and went out while humming the song Victor just sung.

Few moments passed and he got tired of idling around. And without Yuuri around to watch him being miserable, he felt like his efforts were for nothing. So he stood up and patted the back of his pants before stretching his arms above his head.

Yurio had just finished doing afternoon warm-ups. He skated towards the barriers, put on his skate guards and approached one the benches wherein his water bottle was on top of. He drank gulps and then looked back at Victor. “What?”

He chuckled heartily. “Oh, nothing~”

The blond scoffed with an eye roll before looking around the rink. “Where’s katsudon? I gotta have my hair up today. I accidentally wore the training shirt of mine which didn’t absorb sweat and my hair is sticking in my shoulders and nape.”

He shrugged and pointed the doors. “He went out to take a breather. Said it was a lot warmer outside. He’d be back in a bit.”

Yurio hummed and continued drinking.

Victor was about to enter the rink when Makkachin, who was just fast asleep on the floor, suddenly stood up and growled at the backdoors. “Makkachin?” He asked.

His poodle barked at the backdoors and then growled even more. It was a very rare sight because Makkachin was a very friendly, lovable, enthusiastic and approachable poodle; he usually just growled when someone was being too close to Victor without permission or when Victor or anyone the poodle considers as friend was in danger.

He frowned and slouched to pet Makkachin’s head. “What’s wrong, boy?”

Makkachin turned and suddenly nudged Victor towards the door using his snout.

“M-M-Makkachin? This is so odd of you! W-What’s wrong with you?”

Makkachin became impatient and bit the hem of Victor’s shirt and pulled him towards the front doors since it was nearer to them.

Yurio raised an eyebrow. The others had also noticed the oddness of their situation and stopped skating. “What’s the matter with your dog, Victor? What’s up with him?” The blond grunted.

He shook his head, confused as hell. “I don’t know. This is the first time he’s acting like this.”

Makkachin circled around him, barking with his tail up and looked at the backdoors. He growled and barked at Victor again.

“It’s as if he’s saying something,” He whispered. Second after second, realization hit. “M-Makkachin, i-is it Yuuri?” He stuttered in panic.

Even Yurio suddenly turned at the poodle. “Is it the katsudon? Is that what you’re talking about?”

Makkachin barked twice and then ran towards the doors. He shouted over his shoulder, “Stay here! We’ll call if…trouble happened!” And then he opened the door for his poodle and sprinted after Makkachin, Yurio right behind him.

They took a turn and he recognized the path going towards the grass-y, isolated, quiet and calm scenery right outside of the backdoors of their rink. His heart sped up.

Yurio grabbed Makkachin gently and pulled him back and then stopped Victor with an arm raised as well. “Shh,” He mouthed with a finger over his lips. “Listen,” He whispered.

Voices.

“No one knows we’re going to practice after all. Let’s just beat this fucker up and then pretend that we saved him afterwards. Let’s say that the people who attacked him were able to run away, and we decided to just stick around and help this pig.”

“Oscar?” Yurio mouthed, confused with eyebrows raised.

“Oh, great idea! I’ll go first~”

He blinked. “Vlad?” He murmured.

There was a slash of the wind and then a sound of a part of a body –most likely a fist—landing on somebody else’s body part.

“A fight?” He guessed. Was they supposed to be here? Where was Yuuri? Why was Victor’s heart beating a miles a minute?

Makkachin was growling under his breath now, struggling to run again.

“Let’s break a bone!” Another familiar voice…ah, yes, Anton, growled.

After a moment, there was a choking sound. His eyes widened and his jaw hung open when he recognized the one who possessed that voice.

Yuuri.

His Yuuri.

Yurio was baring his teeth now. He nodded at Victor, and he nodded back, heart pounding; and the blond finally let Makkachin go. Makkachin sprinted off and made a turn. Victor ran after his dog. Ran and ran and ran – faster than he ever did in his entire life.

And then his heart stopped.

Makkachin growled even harder. Yurio had stopped few inches behind him, eyes fuming and face red in anger.

“What do you want me to break first?” Anton was asking. “Ah, yes, that beautiful face everyone adores. A black-eye will fit you.” He swung an arm and might have felt their presence. He looked up and halted, fist suddenly shaking and eyes wide in shock.

Vlad and Oscar turned and stiffened upon seeing them. Vlad actually fell down on his butt and tried to crawl away. Oscar inched away a little and held onto the wall, gulping, face paling.

Yuuri, who was being held on the collar by Anton with his eyes shut tight and body slumping in ache, opened his eyes and turned his head. His eyes roamed to Makkachin, to Yurio and then finally at him. He didn’t know what he looked like right now but he didn’t care.

All that mattered to him right now was the fact that Yuuri was all beat up, wounded and bruised. His nose was dripping blood. Bottom lip cracked with blood oozing out. A cheek of his was also black and blue.

“Victor,” Yuuri breathed. From shock, relief and then something akin to shame passed in his face.

Anton finally let Yuuri go. The brunet gasped and then landed on his back. He hissed and then crumpled in pain. “L-Look, it’s not what it looks—“

Red filled his vision. White noise erupted in his ears. He gritted his teeth and launched himself at Anton. An arm swung back and then his fist landed right at the center of Anton’s face. Anton groaned in pain and landed on his ass. He panted and then punched the asshole’s left cheek. When Anton had the guts to raise his head again, Victor took another swing and punched Anton’s right cheek.

“---tor!”

Fury enveloped his heart. Revenge was what his mind shouted. He grabbed Anton’s collar and slammed the bastard at the training rink’s wall. With three inches between their faces, he snarled, “I am not done yet, asshole. I still have to inflict thousands of kicks and punches. I will never stop until I’m satisfied because that seems to be what you did with my fiancé – you beat him into a pulp for your pleasure. Want to taste your own medicine, bastard?”

“—ictor!”

From behind him, he heard Yurio’s loud screams of, “YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON KATSUDON, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE? WHAT DID HE EVEN DO TO YOU?” A groan. “YOU FUCKING THINK I’D LET THIS GO? I’D GLADLY GO TO JAIL FOR NOW IF I NEED TO!” A crack. “YOU BEAT HIM BLACK AND BLUE! WE WILL NEVER FUCKING RELEASE YOU UNTIL YOU LOOK THE FUCKING SAME, YOU FUCKING SHIT OF A PERSON.” A thud.

Yuuri placed a hand over his mouth when Victor lunged at Anton and punched Anton in the center of his face. Goosebumps rose in his arms as his fiancé took another swing and it now landed on Anton’s left cheek. Another arm swung back and a fist on Anton’s right cheek.

Yuuri watched wide-eyed and whole body trembling as Victor succumbed into anger, fury, rage and revenge. He hastily sat up and winced when he found his whole body aching.

“Victor!” He cried, trying to bring back Victor into rationality because this wasn’t what he wanted to happen.

This wasn’t what he expected for his coach to do.

He was about to call Yurio for help to stop the silver-head when Yurio, himself threw himself at Vlad and punched Vlad’s stomach. The blond’s green eyes were filled with anger. His face was scrunched in fury.

He bit his bottom lip and whispered a cracking, “Y-Yurio, please stop.”

Why was this happening?

How did things end up like this?

This was all his fault.

Oscar tried to help either of his friends, but whenever he took a step on either direction, Makkachin would block him and growl angrily. Oscar gulped and forcibly tried to push the poodle away but Makkachin wouldn’t have it. He barked and bit Oscar’s leg. He didn’t have rabies but his bite would have been hurting so much because Oscar actually screamed and fell on his knees. He tried to crawl away but the poodle barked, so he just knelt there, cradling his bitten leg.

Even Makkachin turned vicious and violent.

“Makkachin, no,” He murmured, voice barely audible.

His eyes widened when Victor slammed Anton on the wall and snarled, “I am not done yet, asshole. I still have to inflict thousands of kicks and punches. I will never stop until I’m satisfied because that seems to be what you did with my fiancé – you beat him into a pulp for your pleasure. Want to taste your own medicine, bastard?”

It was so unlike Victor that it scared him to the bones. He reached out and screamed, “Victor!” again. He wanted his fiancé back. He wanted this to be over.

From his other side, Yurio was using Vlad as a punching bag. “YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON KATSUDON, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE? WHAT DID HE EVEN DO TO YOU?” A groan. “YOU FUCKING THINK I’D LET THIS GO? I’D GLADLY GO TO JAIL FOR NOW IF I NEED TO!” A crack. “YOU BEAT HIM BLACK AND BLUE! WE WILL NEVER FUCKING RELEASE YOU UNTIL YOU LOOK THE FUCKING SAME, YOU FUCKING SHIT OF A PERSON.” A thud as Yurio’s fist landed on Vlad’s stomach.

He shook his head, disbelief clouding his vision.

He painstakingly crawled towards Victor and cried, “Victor,” in a chant.

When Victor swung his arm back again, he used all of his energy left and clutched both of his hands on his fiance’s arm on Anton’s shirt. He looked up, tears spilling down his cheeks, legs shaking, lips trembling. “Victor, please stop,” He sobbed.

Victor bared his teeth and readied his fist for a punch on Anton’s stomach when two hands clutched onto his arm that held onto Anton’s collar. He turned and found Yuuri beside him, painstakingly standing up on his shaking legs, lips trembling and tears streaming down his bloody face. His heart clenched tightly when the brunet sobbed a heartbreaking, “Victor, please stop.”

He panted and finally released Anton. Anton slid onto the wall and hissed in pain.

Yuuri fell on his knees and whispered, “P-Please stop Yurio and Makkachin.”

He nodded, dumbfounded and ushered Makkachin to Yuuri’s side. His poodle obediently ran to the Japanese’s side and made himself as Yuuri’s guard and something to lean onto.

He wrapped his arms around Yurio’s waist and pulled him back. When the blond tried to squirm away, he muttered, “Yurio, stop.” The fifteen year old continued to struggle, swearing and screaming. “Yurio, Yuuri begs you to stop. Please, for him.” That finally sunk in, and Yurio’s fists slumped on his sides.

Yurio huffed and pushed him away. He let go and sprinted to his fiance’s side. Yuuri was holding onto Makkachin, eyes shut, breathing uneven, hands clutching his stomach. Hair mussed, lip cracked and bloody. Nose bleeding. “Yuuri,” He called out.

The brunet cracked his eyes open a bit and then murmured a relieved, “You’re back.”

He bit his bottom lip and stopped the tears. “H-How are you?”

“Does he look like he’s fine, dumbass?” Yurio growled across him, from Yuuri’s opposite side. His voice cracked with emotions but he tried to pretend it didn’t.

Yuuri smiled at that. He reached up to pet Makkachin’s head. And then he squeezed Yurio’s hand with his left, and intertwined his right with one of Victor’s own hand. He whispered a weak, “Thank you.”

“Yuuri!” Both he and Yurio screamed when Yuuri suddenly collapsed.

As if on cue, the backdoors opened. “What the hell is happening?” His coach growled.

Lilia placed a hand over her mouth as her eyes landed on Yuuri’s figure. “What happened with Yuuri?”

“Beaten up by assholes,” Yurio hissed and glared at the three bastards’ directions.

Victor lifted Yuuri up in his arms, bridal style, and stood up. “Yurio will tell you everything. I’ll bring back Yuuri home first. If I see that his condition is truly bad, I’ll bring him to the hospital. I’ll keep you updated.” He walked back inside and ignored anyone who approached him and Yuuri.

“What do you want me to do to these three, Vitya?” Yakov called out just when Victor reached the front doors after grabbing their bags to hail a cab.

“Do what you must. One thing, though. If I see any of their faces in this rink again, I won’t hesitate anymore to kill any or all of them,” He said and went out. Hailing a cab didn’t take too long. He sat on the backseat with Yuuri sprawled beside him.

The driver eyed them for awhile but minded his own business. It would take them several minutes before arriving back home, so he glared at the scenery outside the window. Questions filled his mind but he’d rather address them once Yuuri was awake to answer them truthfully.

So to stop himself from over-thinking and drowning with fury he couldn’t hold it today, he brushed his fingers in Yuuri’s hair that was sticky with blood. Makkachin, since he couldn’t fit beside them, sat on the passenger seat quietly. Instead of being annoyed, the driver actually seemed amused with how non-fussy the poodle was.

He paid twice what the driver asked for and sprinted towards their apartment. He scrambled to open the door and left it open just to be able to place Yuuri first on their bedroom’s bed. He locked the doors and ran around their apartment to grab the materials he’d need to clean Yuuri’s bloody body and face.  He stopped in his tracks when he found Yuuri’s eyes opening the moment he re-entered.

The brunet blinked and looked around. He gasped, “Victor!” when their eyes met. He tried to sit up but flinched with the effort.

He silently sat on the stool beside the bed and put the materials on the nightstand after pushing the other stuff on it away. “Can you sit up, Yuuri? I need to clean your whole body so that I could apply antiseptic, and then bandage your wounds. It will hurt a little but it’s a necessary procedure.”

Yuuri stared at him for awhile with an expression similar to a child wanting to know his parent’s mood, nodded, and he stood up to guide Yuuri until the brunet was sitting on the edge of the bed. To ease Yuuri’s hardships, he silently volunteered to pull down and strip Yuuri out of his pants. Only on his boxers, Yuuri lifted up his arms up and let Victor remove Yuuri’s shirt.

Victor’s breath hitched upon seeing the bruises he had never seen before. Or what Yuuri had hidden. There were circular ones –size of fists—on the brunet’s forearms that were almost fading away. A large, dark bruise enveloped his stomach. Few more peppered Yuuri’s back of the legs and nape. There were cuts, wounds and scraps on his fiance’s back and the back of his forearms.

He was a mess.

Victor dipped down the towel on water and begun his work by starting with Yuuri’s feet, and then up his shin, legs, thighs and then stomach. He was gentler with the stomach since the moment the towel made contact with the brunet’s middle, Yuuri actually flinched and inched away a little. He dipped down the towel again and the water turned a little red.

He continued by cleaning Yuuri’s forearms and then back. He just tapped tenderly on the wounds, enough to clean them but not too much to hurt the brunet even more.

He lightly cleaned Yuuri’s head, and stiffened when Yuuri actually moaned in pain. He frowned in confusion. Settling down the towel on the bed –he’d take care of their mess when he had the time—and knelt on the bed to examine his fiancé’s head. He pressed gently and halted when Yuuri winced at the top of his head. He pursed his lips when he found out that Yuuri had a little bump on the part. He had an idea where it came from but would ask about it later.

He sighed and finally faced Yuuri. He wiped Yuuri’s nose clean. And then the brunet’s bottom lip. Yuuri flinched but didn’t tell him to stop so he then wiped his fiance’s cheeks.

After doing all of this for another time, he grabbed the bandages and applied band-aids and bandages on every wound he’d find. They had been silent for the past twenty minutes now. Makkachin was asleep on a corner, leaving them to their own business.

Victor made a mental note to give his poodle lots of treats after what Makkachin did earlier.

He went out of the bedroom again and fetched two packs of ice. He handed one to Yuuri and made the brunet place it over his stomach while Victor held the smaller one over Yuuri’s cheek.

He looked up at Yuuri’s face and emotions finally won over responsibilities. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he gazed sadly at his fiance’s beat up face.

Yuuri’s eyes widened. “V-Victor?”

“I almost lost you,” He whispered, pain filling his tone.

The brunet shook his head. “Y-You didn’t! I’m alright, see? I’m okay. Please, don’t cry, Victor—“

“What happened with your head?”

Yuuri stiffened. He looked down on his lap and whispered, “Days before the Four Continents, they cornered me at the same place and pulled my hair roughly.”

He knew it, he should have killed them.

“And your forearms?”

“…They usually corner me as well in the bathroom and I use my forearms as my shields to their punches.”

He gritted his teeth, tears still spilling. “How many days have this been going on, Yuuri?!”

Yuuri pursed his lips and murmured a pained, “Ever since few days after I started training here.”

Disbelief passed over his face. “That’s over a month ago, Yuuri!” He shouted. This had been happening for a month and more and he never had an idea. Things had to turn into drastic turns for him to find out about it.

If he was too late, would Yuuri come back black and blue and barely breathing?

Worse. What if Yuuri never came back and he just found out his fiancé was dumped somewhere after being beaten up?

He wailed even louder and reached for Yuuri’s hands before squeezing them. They’re very warm, but shaky. He sobbed even harder and let the ice pack fall down on the ground. He sniffled and whispered, “Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yuuri remained quiet.

“Yuuri, please answer me,” He begged and reached up to cup his fiancé’s cheeks. “Don’t you trust me?”

Yuuri’s eyes widened in shock. “I do!”

“Then why haven’t you told me? Why did I need to find out in the worst way possible?” Yuuri just gazed at him. “Then, Yuuri, at least tell why you just let them beat you up.”

Yuuri blinked twice before lowering his eyes onto his lap again, his defense mechanism. “I didn’t tell anyone because if I do, they would be disqualified, jailed or even lose their careers. Seeing as their actually talented and their coach actually adore them when they’re on the ice, I just cannot seem to make myself speak up because I visualize their coach’s miserable face, their friends’ disgruntled expressions and the words, murmurs that would be thrown at me once they find out that I was weak enough to not be able to fight back—“

“—Yuuri, that’s not true—“ He began to argue.

“—In Japan, I was bullied because I cry easily, hates crowds, and because I was socially awkward. I was bullied because I like figure skating and because my programs are always quite feminine. Back in elementary, I had Nishigori and Yu-chan to stay by my side and help me fight off those who tormented me. But we had separated middle schools and that was when it begun, letters in my locker, rotten food under my desk, murmurs and mutters here and there. I was always left out. I was always the victims for pranks. I was always the one they attacked when we had PE activities. I tried voicing out to the guidance. The bullies got verbal warnings. They stopped for awhile but they even became worse after. And instead of pitying me, students actually saw me as weak, as fragile, as someone who could barely stand up for himself. In Detroit, sure, I still received criticisms but I had Phichit there. He had never ever left my side.” Victor begun to tear up again when Yuuri looked up, fighting off tears that were very near on trickling downwards. “I don’t want to look weak again, Victor. That’s why.”

He brushed a tear that dropped down. But soon after, Yuuri was fully crying. Sobs wracking his entire body. Teeth clacking as he tried to breathe.

It hurt to look at.

“Yuuri, it’s not the same. I’m here for you. Yurio’s there for you, even if he’s like that, he actually cares. Mila, Georgi, Yakov, Lilia, and the five idiots. You have an entire rink as your family. You didn’t need to face this alone.”

Yuuri reached up and placed a hand over Victor’s which was still on his cheek. They were both crying. The brunet smiled sadly and whispered, “I told you before, Victor. I have always blamed myself for my own mistakes. And that’s because despite being surrounded by people and the world, I always felt alone. And that just became something I got used with.” He paused. “Loneliness, worthlessness, uselessness, hopelessness and darkness. I got used with the notion that I’d always be alone, that I have to be my own hero, that I have to save myself.”

He gritted his teeth and pressed their foreheads together. His heart was aching. He couldn’t stop from weeping. “You’re not alone anymore. Neither am I.”

“I’m sure you’ll get bored of me after few years.”

He shook his head fiercely. “How is that even possible? Did you get a concussion? Do you really think I’m just here for years and then I’m going to leave you, just like that?” He growled.

“People usually do,” Yuuri murmured with a rueful look.

“Well, I’m not most people!”

“Yet, you’re Victor Nikiforov,” Yuuri argued with a gentle tone. “One more reason why I never told you. You’re the Victor Nikiforov. Yuri is the Russian Punk that won the GPF on his senior debut and has also become Russian’s hero. You both have images to maintain. Reputation you have to protect. And I didn’t want to risk them just for me. Me, who—“

“Why can’t you absorb the fact that those things don’t matter to me?! And stop talking about yourself as if you’re nothing, as if you’re not worth anyone’s time. You are! You are! You are!” He yelled.

Yuuri clenched his fists and shouted, “Don’t talk as if you know what I’m suffering through! You don’t get to talk like that when all this time, you’ve been living in luxury, you have millions of people smitten, you’re naturally good at figure skating and you have the confidence that I would die for!”

He flinched. He hissed back, “Well! It’s not like I would ever know when you won’t even talk to me about it! You can’t even tell me about those three bastards who beaten you up all this time. How am I supposed to believe you can even talk to me about your anxiety and worries?”

“You’ve had enough in your plate! I didn’t want to add my worries to yours when I could just fight them on my own.”

“And look where it’s gotten you today,” he spat.

Yuuri’s eyes flashed with anger. “What are you exactly implying with that tone and those words?”

“That you should get your head out of that cloud of anxiety and actually try to see in front of you. The problem with you is that you always let your thoughts rule over you. You let dark thoughts cloud your vision and blind you.”

Yuuri unexpectedly stood up and threw the melted ice pack on the floor. Angry tears now streamed down his face. “You think it’s that easy? Easy for you to say, you’re a king that only need to snap his fingers and ta-dah, you’re fed, you’re dressed, you’re perfect.” He snapped.

They both stared at each other, breathing heavily.

“I’m happy to know your thoughts about that matter. Thank you.” Yuuri then stalked towards his closet and grabbed a shirt and sweatpants. Flinching, he put on his chosen clothes before grabbing a duffel bag and shoving few more garments inside. He took his skates and headed towards Makkachin. He petted the poodle few times before turning towards the door.

He stood up and grabbed one of his fiance’s wrists. “Yuuri! Where are you going?”

“Let me go.”

“Yuuri—“

“Let. Me. Go.”

He gradually released his hold onto the brunet.

“I’m not leaving the apartment. I’m just going to crash in the spare room. I’d like to have some time alone,” Yuuri whispered, barely audible. He bowed. “Spasibo.”

Victor watched as the door closed at his face.

He placed his hands over his mouth and let the tears fall again.

He fucked up.

He really fucked up.

He wanted to make things better.

Not worse.

But he failed again.

Words hurt more than bruises.

Yuuri slumped onto the single bed in the spare room which was used as a guest room, and buried his face in the pillow.

He bit onto his bottom lip and clutched his hands on both sides of his head.

He shut his eyes tightly and tried to push his thoughts away.

Phrases Victor threw at him earlier rung in his ears and head.

His words overflowerd Victor’s and suddenly guilt filled up his entire being.

He finally let it out and sobbed onto the pillow.

He fucked up.

Why was he like this?

Always ruining things?

Always destroying everything he gets his hand onto?

He knew that Victor was as fragile as him. He believed his fiancé even had mild depression, but he still threw those words towards the silver-head. Why was he such a hypocrite?

He of all people would know.

Words hurt more than bruises.

The next day was awkward, this was what Yuri realized when they met up at the same bridge to go to practice.

Makkachin was in the middle of the two. Victor was looking at his right while Yuuri had his head bowed down.

They had an argument. A fight worse than both ever had. This was evident with how puffy their eyes were and how guilty both looked. They kept glancing at each other, as if looking for the right time to apologize.

It felt odd. It was very different with the usual atmosphere among them which was filled with laughter, bickering, shouting and for the two: flirting. Sure, he was disgusted with their public display of affections but he’d rather suffer through that than being stuck with them like this – silent, angry, guilt-filled and sad.

He wanted to do something. He wanted to do anything. But he might make things worse.

They arrived at the training rink. Yuuri changed his outfit and that was when Yurio realized that Yuuri was almost like a mummy with all the bandages around his body. Even his forearms were covered.

“Yuuri, do not skate or practice for today. Get ice packs in the infirmary and let your bruises heal first,” Victor instructed as he slid on the  ice. His tone was icy cold.

Yuuri looked up and stared hard at Victor. The two had a silent conversation. Yuuri frowned and turned towards the small infirmary.

He finally stopped being quiet and growled, “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAPPENED, VICTOR? WHY IS IT LIKE THINGS GOT EVEN WORSE?”

“We had a fight,” Victor mumbled.

“Yes, very obvious. Even a newborn would figure that out,” He snarled. “The three assholes were jailed up after I made testaments at the police. They’d need Yuuri’s words and see his wounds and bruises, though, first to apply charges and sentence for the three,” He muttered. “Thank god they didn’t file charges against us. The three were barely recognizable with how much we punched them.”

“I have no regrets,” Victor whispered, his voice filled with fury.

“Good. Neither do I. If it makes you better, after Yakov called the police and after I told everyone what just happened, Mila and Georgi threw three ice buckets at them. And then the five idiots beat them up again. It was so satisfying to watch. I recorded it, send it to you later.”

Yuuri re-emerged, an ice pack on his stomach and another on his cheek. He was hissing in pain as he sat down on a bench.

Mila frowned in concern and skated over. She put on her skate guards and reached for one of the ice packs. Yuuri wordlessly gave the one on his cheek to her. The red-head smiled slightly and diligently circled the ice pack on his cheek so that the whole bruise would feel the numbness.

Yakov passed by behind the brunet and grumbled, “They’ll be punished, Yuuri. You’ll be given justice. I’ll make sure of it.”

Lilia appeared right after and placed Victor’s coat around Yuuri’s shoulders. “It’s quite cold today.”

Georgi leaned over the boards and gave Yuuri a piece of candy. “Eat it. It’ll distract you with the pain and boredom.”

Yuri huffed and approached the Japanese. He removed his own ponytail and used it to tie Yuuri’s hair at the back of the brunet’s head. Yuuri winced a little, and Yurio’s trailed up at Victor to make an expression of confusion to which the silver-head answered with gesturing someone pulling his hair roughly.

Getting the message, he gritted his teeth and tried his best to tie Yuuri’s hair gentler. “This way your hair won’t stick to your cheek,” He grunted and walked back towards where Victor was sadly watching everything unfold before him.

Alexander raised a hand and shouted, “Yuuri, do you need anything else?”

“Tell us if you do, and we’d get it for you!” Boris added.

“Are you hungry?” Pyotr asked.

“Thirsty?” Dmitri piped in.

“Sleepy?” Yefim chimed.

Victor leaned his side onto the barriers. And Yuri turned to look at Yuuri again as the silver-head murmured a rueful, “You’re loved, Yuuri. You should always remember that.”

Yuuri looked around him, his eyes landing on each of them, before bursting to tears. He sobbed and didn’t even to try to wipe his tears away.

His sobs echoed in the whole training rink, but no one minded. It was a heartbreaking sound.

“I am so sorry,” Yuuri wailed.

“Oh, Yuuri. You don’t need to apologize. In fact, we should apologize for not noticing or doing anything sooner,” Mila comforted, kneeling before him.

The brunet continued wailing. “Please don’t hate me. I truly trust each of you. I just…” He hiccupped. “I just didn’t want to risk any of you and any of your reputation. I’m sorry.” He was a crying mess.

Yuri bit his bottom lip and looked away, willing the tears not to spill.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Yuuri. We understand. You’re such a sweet and kind person,” Lilia whispered.

Yuuri rubbed the heels of his palms on his eyes and hiccupped, “I consider this training rink’s members as my family. And I thought…I thought that I could endure every cut, every bruise, every scar if I could protect all of you. I’m sorry for being selfish.”

Mila whispered a heart-broken, “You’re not selfish!” Before hugging Yuuri tightly. “You’re not selfish. You’re not. Never think that.”

The tears finally dropped down his cheeks. And he didn’t bother stopping them.

“But I didn’t tell any of you,” Yuuri sobbed. “Why aren’t you angry? Why aren’t you mad that I kept it secret? Why are you all so kind to me?”

“Oh my god, how am I supposed to continue fighting off my tears if you’re like this?” Georgi murmured, voice cracking. He sniffed and turned away.

“Please don’t hate me. Don’t hate me for being so weak,” Yuuri begged, clutching his chest.

“Crying is not weakness. Protecting the ones you consider as important is not being selfish—that’s called bravery. I commend you, Yuuri. So don’t ever think that you’re weak,” Yakov answered with a small smile.

“But I have anxiety. And people always pester you on why I’m here. On why Victor’s still coaching me instead of fully—“

“We don’t care about any of those!” Alexander argued, sobbing now as well.

“You’re fine the way you are,” Pyotr added, biting his bottom lip.

“Your part of this family!” Boris grunted.

“No one will ever take you away,” Dmitri said.

“And in a family, no one’s ever left behind!” Yefim yelled, teeth gritted and tear tracks on his cheeks.

Victor laced his hands together and murmured, “You’re loved. You’re loved. You’re loved, Yuuri. Please see that. Please remember that.”

Yuuri nodded with a smile on his face and buried his face on Mila’s abdomen.

After few minutes, Yuuri fell asleep with exhaustion, painkillers and too much crying. Victor settled the brunet down on a bench and covered Yuuri with various jackets from some of them and then used his own bag as Yuuri’s pillow.

Yuri pretended to be disgusted as Victor bent in front of his fiancé and then placed a kiss on Yuuri’s forehead before whispering, “I love you.”

Yuuri sighed and mumbled a sleepy, “Mmm….’m love you too.” And continued snoring.

Victor couldn’t help chuckling. Yuri smiled a little as the silver-head’s face cracked and suddenly he was showing a very vulnerable face that told everyone a single message that Victor wanted to tell Yuuri: ‘I’m glad you’re alive.’

It was the end of the day and Victor was beginning to arrange their stuff when Yuuri stood up and called out, “Yakov!”

Yakov turned. “Hm?”

“Can we please stay for half an hour more? I just really want to skate even just for few minutes,” He pleaded.

Yakov eyed him and then glanced at Victor before sighing. “Fine. I’ll ask the owner for you to be given extra half an hour. After that, go home.”

He smiled and nodded. “Spasibo!”

Yuuri took a deep breath and laced his skates tightly. He walked towards the entrance and removed his skate guards and placed them on top of the boards. He glided onto the ice and did endless loops. Victor was staring at him outside the rinks, worry evident in his eyes.

He skated towards him and extended a hand. “Skate with me?” He asked hesitantly.

Victor stepped on the ice and tangled their hands together. They skated circles and did few sequences. Yuuri didn’t bother trying jumps or spins because his whole body still ached badly and he might just land wrongly which could cause more injuries.

They stopped in the middle, panting.

He looked up. Victor looked down. Their eyes met after hours of trying to avoid eye contact.

“I-I-I-I’m sorry for the hurtful words I’ve said yesterday.”

“I am so sorry, too,” Victor insisted.

“I h-have said words that are truly hurtful and guilt has been eating me since yesterday.”

“We are just starting, Yuuri. We make mistakes. We’ll have some fights and arguments. There will be miscommunication and even misunderstandings. But I know that our happy days will defeat the ratio of those. I believe that our love can conquer all.”

“And that’s all that matters. That we’ll love each other anyway. No matter what. These won’t break us apart. They will just make us stronger,” Yuuri murmured, certain of this.

Victor smiled. “Indeed, my Yuuri.”

He squeezed the silver-head’s hands and murmured, “I have told you before. My heart is made of constellations. And it’s filled with stars that had already exploded. And some are just about to explode.” He paused and then smiled warmly. “Those which are just about to explode are the thoughts that would suddenly drown me out of nowhere. Just like stars, they’d go away and disappear slowly. The darkness that enveloped these stars miles apart from each other are my inconsistency, Victor.”

Victor nodded.

“I am a human being filled with unpredictability. A human being full of uncertainty. A human being that will forever be overcomplicated—“

“—I love you anyway,” Victor interrupted with a smile of his own. “If your heart is a heart of constellation then my heart is a jar filled with marbles. A jar that had been neglected. A jar beautiful and mesmerizing in other’s sight but is actually been kept in a storage for too long, all alone, cold and just being taken out for others’ eyes to feast onto. The marbles within me are the people and things I actually consider as important. Truthfully,” Victor paused and reached to brush Yuuri’s cheek tenderly. “it’s filled with lots of stuff. But there’s none with my name on it.

And then life and love were just added recently. Suddenly, the jar may still be cold, but it’s now growing warmer, growing heavier with things with my name on it. With marbles with your name on it. With marbles with our names on it. And I think…even if my heart is so: cold, neglected, forgetful, demanding…I wouldn’t have it either way.”

“I hope that I can fill that jar with stars and constellations,” He admitted.

Victor chuckled and leaned their foreheads together. “In return, I’ll make a marble strong enough to hold black holes in it so that I could somehow draw the demons away.”

He wrapped his arms around his fiancé, relief and love filling his heart. “I love you.”

Victor hummed and embraced him back. “I love you too.” Yuuri blinked when Victor stared at him. “Yuuri, promise me. No more secrets like this.”

He pursed his lips and took a deep breath. “I promise. Promise me in return that whatever you’re feeling, fearing or want to share to me will be spilled out. I want to be there for you as much as you are to me.”

“I promise,” Victor vowed.

Their eyes locked at each other before slowly, he leaned upwards and Victor leaned down until their lips met in a sweet, relief-filled and heart-warming kiss.

The doors slammed open. “STOP BEING FUCKING DISGUSTING! I WANT TO SEE DIMSUM! GO TAKE ME TO THE NEW RESTAURANT NEAR THE PARK!”

Laughing, they removed their skates, grabbed their bags and walked out of the rink, Makkachin on their tail. Yuuri took a deep breath and hugged Yurio. Yurio stiffened in his arms. “Thank you, Yurio.”

“Whatever.” But, he noted, Yurio didn’t struggle much this time.

With that, he let the blond go and then petted Makkachin. “And thank you to you too, Makkachin~”

Makkachin barked, happily wagging his tail in response.

Victor held one of his hand while Yurio propped a forearm on his shoulder as they walked side by side with Yuuri in the middle. Makkachin ahead of them. They bickered on the way to the restaurant about the upcoming Worlds. Laughter ensued. Shoutings were inevitable.

Yuuri chuckled.

It’s official.

This is also one of those places he considered as important and irreplaceable.

Home.

Chapter Text

He’s finally happy.

In my fifteen years of existence by his side, this is the first time I can genuinely say that Victor is finally happy. And this greatly makes me happy too.

Hello there! Bow-wow!

I am a fifteen year-old poodle whose name is Makkachin, and I’d be the one narrating for today! I hope you wouldn’t mind. In real life, all I could do is bark, whimper, growl and various stuff dogs do, but internally I am actually introspecting everything I land my eyes on.

What’s introspecting? I don’t know. I usually just hear it from my two dads and wanted to use it to sound cool while narrating.

Anyway, back to the main story.

My two dads – Victor and Yuuri—were currently at home here in our apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia. It had been quite a time since Yuuri moved in with us here in this place that usually felt so cold and empty to both me and my original dad or master, Victor. For that past weeks he’d been with us, it was as if the apartment turned livelier, happier, brighter, and had been filled with laughter. It made me so giddy, I preferred being awake when they’re both awake just to bond with them.

Two days ago, I was lounging at the training rink with my dads’ rinkmates. Yuuri walked out to take a breather while Victor was being his usual dramatic self, crying over a movie I slept on because it wasn’t about food, when I heard shoutings outside the backdoors. I sniffed and smelled my Japanese dad’s scent in that direction. And suddenly, in the air, I also scented three familiar and menacing smells. More shoutings and yells reached my ears and from where I sat, I heard Yuuri’s anguished voice. And that was when I figured out Yuuri was in danger.

Instead of doing what I often do –running and being reckless whenever it concerned him and Victor—I did another thing instead. I tried to get my message across to my other dad. I did everything I could think of to tell Victor what I wanted to say. I was actually tempted on biting his hand and dragging him along but he’d get angry so I became my ever energetic self. Thank god, it only took him two minutes before understanding me. If it lasted longer, I would have grabbed a whiteboard and did charades. I had never tried but I was willing to do so.

Anyway, after I got my message across, I sprinted out of the training rink with my Russian dad and the angry small bean named Yurio followed after me. I didn’t know why Yurio stopped me when we were almost out there to beat up whoever was hurting Yuuri. Instead of stepping out and halting the fight while it was just starting, the two Russians just listened to the four’s conversation first. I didn’t know what they’d get out of doing that, but I obediently waited even though all I wanted was sprint out there and save Yuuri.

When they’d heard enough as proof that my Japanese dad was in danger, we went out of hiding. And that was when all hell broke loose.

I rarely saw my Russian dad get angry to the point that he’d beat someone into a pulp but that day was an exception. If you saw Yuuri’s face and battered figure, I was pretty sure you would have stabbed them within a second.

I cornerned one meanie and bit him because he was being stubborn. I seldom bit people because people’s blood tasted disgusting and I was a dog and not a vampire dog. If I was a vampire dog, then I would have gladly bit and drunk their blood ‘til they become dust.

I, Victor and small bean Yurio fought off the meanies because they hurt Yuuri. Hurt Yuuri might mean he couldn’t do that thing the three of them loved doing the most.

When Japanese dad cried for us to stop, it broke my heart that I sprinted off and let Yuuri lean against me. I was rarely afraid of things –except spiders, cockroaches, frogs, vicious kittens and some other more, forget I said those—but I was very afraid when my Japanese dad looked so weak and fainted right there and then.

When we arrived back home, I pretended to be asleep as Victor tended to Yuuri’s injuries. I was peeking once in awhile. The atmosphere in the room was tense and I didn’t want to cause even more chaos.

They fought.

They argued.

And I was torn on whom to sleep with that night.

I love both of them dearly.

And in the best of my ability and remaining dog years, I wanted to help them to heal themselves and each other. You see, Victor had depression while Yuuri had anxiety.

Victor and I first met when he was thirteen and was slowly being known worldwide because of his looks and talents. I was by the shelter’s window, melancholically wishing someone would adopt me since I had been in that place for few months and the only ones usually being chosen were the very cute and rare breeds. Victor and his always-angry-and-shouting coach Yakov passed by. Apparently, it was his twelfth birthday and Yakov was taking him out to buy something.

Our eyes met and he suddenly burst into a big heart-shaped mouth grin. It was very adorable how giddy he looked. I stood up from my slump form and padded around my cage barking at him. I had a feeling he was the one. He felt like the one. He looked like he was the one.

He said something to Yakov to which the other responded by more yells. He always yelled, it was a wonder how he still had voice.

Anyhow, he dragged Yakov inside and he immediately approached where I was. He smiled widely and talked to one of the helpers in the shelter. The woman who usually fed me opened my cage. Victor opened his arms and without further ado, I jumped in them and licked his face as greeting. He chuckled and declared that he’d get me as his pet poodle. Yakov, with a sigh, surrendered and volunteered to pay for whatever Victor would need regarding getting me.

I still remember how he snuggled me close to him even if I hadn’t taken a bath in days and murmured, “Hello there. I shall name you…ah! Makkachin!” I barked, glad with the choice. He chuckled and kissed my forehead. “Waah! You’re so cute and fluffy!” He hugged me tightly and when I looked up at him then, I saw a hint of sadness and loneliness in his beautiful eyes. He smield slightly and murmured in my fur, “I saw how lonely you looked and saw myself. Let’s not be lonely anymore, and be each other’s company from now on.”

I had no regrets barking as an agreement.

Victor could be forgetful at times. He was very impulsive. He did what he wanted. However, he never failed to show me how much I meant to him. He always showered me with affection and hugs whenever he arrived home from practice or competitions.

He was a very well-known and talented figure skater ever since he was six and it was his passion. I was happy watching him or his routines whenever I was given the chance because on the ice was when he looked absolutely blissful and at home. But as times and years passed by, that glint in his eyes turned duller.

It made tilt my head in the side in confusion.

His birthday was usually celebrated by just the two of us. He answered interviews, received flowers and gifts from co-skaters, his coach, rinkmates and some fans, and then he’d buy to-go food and some special treats for me. After arriving home, he’d eat and just lay on his bed, staring on the ceiling with a blank face—a routine we had gotten used with. It was very lonely.

It was his twenty-fifth birthday when I woke up to him sobbing. He was seated on his bed, head buried in his raised knees while sobs racked his whole body. He was shaking with emotions he usually kept hidden. He continued crying, half-naked as he sung a broken, “Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to…” He paused and hiccupped. “…me.”

I jumped on his bed and whimpered, letting him know that he wasn’t alone. He hugged me until his tears subdued.

Victor was a consecutive world champion but everytime he arrived home from Worlds, he would ask me for a walk. We’d sit on a bench near the St. Petersburg church in the middle of the night. He’d stare solemnly at the snowing sky and keep me close. He just won another medal but it was as if every shine of that prize took a year of his life.

That was when I figured out he was a depressed wreck who was slowly losing motivation and inspiration…and himself because what he wanted was to surprise people with his skating everytime he step on the ice. It was a taxing job to please people. I hated seeing him so sad, if I could cry, I would have cried everytime he brought home gold.

It was at last year’s GPF when he suddenly burst into our apartment. I fell down the couch in shock. He threw his luggage at a side and wrapped his arms around me. He won another gold, from what I heard from my co-dogs outside who were also owned by skaters. [Hey, a poodle needed a life and what else could make me satisfied when I was left alone? Gossips.] Despite winning the Grand Prix Final, he actually seemed happy this time unlike the fake smile he had inside a frame from his latest stand on the podium.

He giddily squealed and kept me by his side as he told me about that year’s banquet and the sixth placer named Katsuki Yuuri who became a drunk mess and became the life of the party. Victor told me that he was just worried about my current Japanese dad because Yuuri snubbed him when he offered a commemorative photo, and the brunet actually looked like he just went through hell – my Russian dad’s words.

I was half-dozing as he told me the first part of the banquet until Yuuri Katsuki entered the story again. Which was odd because Victor actually managed to memorize another man’s name despite meeting for just a day. He told me their dance, and the dance offs of break-dancing and pole-dancing. And then his eyes glistened as he told me how Yuuri asked to come to Japan and be the Japanese’s coach if he won the dance off.

It was Yuuri this. Yuuri that. And as I stared at my Russian dad, I actually saw genuine happiness filling his expression.

It was days after that Victor suddenly paced around the apartment, suddenly realizing Yuuri had never contacted him, that the Japanese wasn’t updating his SNS and there were no recent news about my Japanese dad. My Russian dad was so smitten that when he was getting negative, he’d open his phone and scroll through his phone’s photos of the banquet [for the millionth time] just to stare at my Japanese dad’s cute face.

Months passed and he was becoming a slump again [less than before at least] when my Russian dad’s co-skater sent a link to Victor. He yelled for about ten minutes in happiness before posing on the couch while watching seriously. [Let me tell you a secret: after he watched the video and made that serious face at the end, he gently set me down and rolled on the floor. He was that happy. I grew worried until I felt like I should be happy for him and rolled on the floor with him.]

Victor suddenly ran around the apartment, grabbing anything and everything. When I stared at him in confusion, he suddenly yelled, “MAKKACHIN, WE’RE GOING TO HASETSU, JAPAN! I WILL TAKE A BREAK FROM MY SKATING CAREER AND COACH MY CRUSH BECAUSE THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING! I SHALL NOT LET THE DOOR CLOSE!”

I wanted to answer with: “…Okay?” But only barked.

A day after, we were flying to Japan. I originally thought I’d be left behind again but Victor opened his arms and said that it was time I came with him for us to bond longer. I happily complied.

When we arrived in Hasetsu, my Russian dad squealed upon seeing some posters of Yuuri around the town. He sneakily took two and hid them. We were lost for about an hour when a smaller poodle suddenly appeared in front of me. With two barks he told me his name was Vicchan and that he knew the way. So I ran after him as my master ran after me.

After few minutes, we arrived in front of an arch. Vicchan said in his barks, “And this is where my master lives! I hope you enjoy your stay! The people inside are very welcoming, you’ll love them! Take care of Yuuri for me, please?”

I barked a, “Yes, of course!”

With that Vicchan disappeared. He seemed like a very nice breed of toy poodle—it would have been nice to have him as a playmate. Too bad he was already dead.

Victor wanted to make a grand entrance and went to the hot spring immediately. I didn’t know why he was so extra that he wanted to greet his crush butt-naked and dripping wet but I had no say to it.

I was lounging on the entrance of the onsen when the doors opened revealing a familiar bespectacled brunet. I blinked at him for few moments since I was still absorbing the fact I got to meet him first and not Victor. He looked so fluffy, cute, adorable and lovable that I excitedly jumped on him and licked his face.

He’s Yuuri Katsuki! My master’s crush! The man Victor wouldn’t stop talking about. He’s the Japanese who dry-humped my master and asked Victor to be his coach while drunkass. He was the human who’d make my human very, very happy! I am so glad he was really here!

Like I said, Victor could be so extra. He literally wanted to have a slumber party with Yuuri the night of the date they just met.

When Yuuri shouted a fierce: ‘NOOOOO!’

Victor slept on the futon while snuggling me. He was actually sobbing as he looked at his watch every other minute to check if Yuuri never really knocked on our room to ask him instead.

He sniffed and grunted, “Makkachin, why is he avoiding me? Why won’t he let me sleep with him? I had dropped hints but he still wouldn’t get what I mean!”

Well, you appeared in front of him naked top to bottom. Even I’d be freaked out if I was him.

Few more days passed and Victor complained that Yuuri never answered his flirtiness back and always snubbed his advances even when he let himself open. He even asked me to do him a favour and make Yuuri sleep with him but Yuuri wouldn’t budge and he’s a very warm human so I ended up sleeping by his side. I hoped Victor wouldn’t get angry.

After the tournament in Ice Castle, the two finally met halfway and decided to be themselves towards each other. While I was gazing at the horizon, all I ever thought by that time was: ‘I’m hungry. I wonder if there’s food back in the onsen. Food. Food. Food.’

Sometimes, I felt jealous of how much Victor clung onto Yuuri ever since they became closer. It was as if Victor was a koala and I was a dog of a koala. You just wouldn’t see the other without the other. When they left for practices and competitions, I usually feel lonely and alone even though I was surrounded by the other Katsuki’s.

I was missing Victor’s scent in my fur which I get whenever he hugged me or snuggled with me. I sometimes stare at them, longing, to be included whenever they were lovey dovey because I felt left out.

I was happy for Victor and Yuuri that they found each other but there were times I was jealous of Yuuri and his part in Victor’s life.

It was after the meat bun accident that I figure out how much I actually meant to Victor that he went to the earliest flight back to Japan just to check my condition after choking because of meatbuns that I was strictly told to not eat. I wanted to stare at the wall for a week in guilt after.

He was crying as he hugged me in the vet once he found out I was alright. He told me in Russian all things I was wishing to hear to be assured of my place in his life.

After that, we waited for Yuuri to arrive back home after his Rostelecom Cup. When I saw him from the glass, I barked at him because I heard from Victor that Yuuri was the one who insisted Victor to go back for me. And I truly appreciated that.

After their heartwarming reunion and almost marriage proposal, Yuuri cuddled with me and showered me with affection, pets, and head massage. He was teary-eyed as he told Victor about Vicchan and how afraid he was for my condition. He said that I was a very important part of his life, and that I meant a lot more to him; that I was more than Victor’s poodle and more than a mere pet.

And my jealousy faded away because Yuuri didn’t come in our lives to steal Victor from me or anyone. He came to brighten Victor’s life and bring colors into my Russian dad’s dull world.

And snuggled in the couch with the two of them while watching a cartoon show in the TV, I realized that Victor and Yuuri meeting each other was the greatest miracle that has ever happened to both of them.

In my eyes, with how long I still have, these two will continue to love each other and will continue to love me as well ‘til eternity. [I wonder if I should drag them to a shelter to adopt another puppy so that I’d have a playmate and apprentice.]

Victor stood up, placing a kiss on Yuuri’s cheek. Yuuri blushed a little and giggled before grabbing a handful of popcorn and eating it. “I’ll call Yurio over later!” Victor shouted as he rummaged the cupboard.

“Okay~ Tell him I’ll make katsudon and downloaded several animated series I have a feeling he’ll like.”

“Great! I will do just that!” Victor answered.

I cuddled into Yuuri’s arms and looked at him lovingly as he used his free hand to rubbed behind my ear. He chuckled when I began to dose off from relaxation. He hugged me tightly and in this cold weather, I adore his warm temperature.

“Makkachin, snack time~”

Yuuri petted me twice more and then let me go. I jumped into Victor’s arms and licked his face.

These two were the most precious human beings in the Earth. I must protect them. They must be protected. [And small bean too since he’s pretty nice to me too.]

And that ends my narration. I’m gonna go eat! Bye!

Chapter Text

“Thank you, Mr. Katsuki. That will do. With your testament and the bruises you’ve shown us, we need no more trials. Evidences and proofs are all laid bare before us. We will not turn a blind eye upon this case, and bring what happened to you justice,” The chief police announced the moment Yuuri stopped speaking.

He bit his bottom lip and tried his hardest not to get conscious with all of the cameras, recorders and interviewers swarming and surrounding them. He should have figured that what happened to him would circulate around the world within two days.

While practicing two days ago, local news reporters got photos of him and his battered form which caused commotion. The afternoon of the same day, he was requested for interviews to which Victor, disagreed. With that decision, the silver-head and Yurio were the ones who presented themselves and told in television everything that had transpired with Yuuri hiding right behind the two Russian legends.

The day after, he was asked from the police to make testaments and show his bruises while they were still fresh so that there would be no need for trials, and cases would be filed without further ado.

And that brought them to their present predicament.

Yuuri was pretty sure he, Victor and Yurio were the only ones who were originally going, but unawarely, Yakov had managed to talk to the police officers so that he, Lilia, Mila and Georgi were also allowed inside. The five were outside, peeking through the doors.

It was the first time he had told everything in front of them and Yakov needed to withhold Georgi on going towards the three assholes’ jail just to beat them up.

The moment the three were escorted out of their jail to be told everything that would filed against them, Victor pulled him up on his feet. He blinked up at his fiancé as the silver-head blocked him from the three.

He poke his head from Victor’s right side and looked at his coach—there was an unmistakeable anger beneath those blue eyes that were just being hidden through a tight smile. Yuuri had known Victor quite long enough to be able to read each expression.

Yurio, though, wasn’t even hiding his annoyance upon seeing those familiar faces. He screeched at them and glared hard.

The reporters and cameramen around them gasped. “Wow, their faces are barely recognizable,” One muttered, baffled.

“Just so you know, the ones who beat us up were Victor Nikiforov and Yuri Plisestsky,” Anton grunted. Looks like from wanting to protect the ones they saw as their heroes, the three assholes had switched sides and used their twisted ways to ruin Victor’s and Yurio’s reputations instead.

Several pairs of eyes looked at Victor and then Yurio. “The living legends Victor Nikiforov and Yuri Plisetsky beat up their co-rinkmates?”

“It was to take avenge for Yuuri! Have you even seen Yuuri’s state? He’s got it worse!” Georgi grumbled.

“Look at those three, though. Despite what happened to Mr. Katsuki, don’t you think they over-did it?” One asked, as if not hearing Georgi at all.

“They just beat those three up once. Yuuri was being beaten up for almost a month,” Mila hissed.

“Won’t this be controversial for their clean records? They are athletes that even kids look up to,” Another one whispered.

“I believe kids would prefer their idols to fight off bullies too—not just being their own kinds of heroes in front of the camera,” Lilia interjected, crossing her arms.

Yurio rolled his eyes and huffed. “Here we go again with idiotic reporters and their nuisance,” He mumbled under his breath menacingly.

Victor sighed and scratched his cheek. “We should have worn disguises; would have made our lives better if they just leave us alone when we want to be left alone.”

“Do you think the ISU will see to this case and consider what just happened? I mean—“

Yuuri gulped and pushed Victor and Yurio behind him this time. “Yuu—“

He raised his arms on both of his sides and said with a determined look and firm voice, “One more insinuation that these two’s case should be looked up with what they did to those three, and I promise that I will literally get your names and tell the international media to never let you in front of a camera to be reporters again!”

Silence ensued.

He gestured towards the three bastards who were thumbing on their files even though they also stiffened with his tone.

“I don’t need to explain to you why I endured all of that. And we don’t need to tell you everything that happens in our lives. What Yurio and Victor did to those three sure are too much, but have you ever considered what any of you would do if one of those you consider important gets harmed? Wouldn’t you most likely do the same?” He growled, panting.

He pointed towards the three douchebags and added, “What they -Victor and Yurio-- did don’t need to reach the ISU! What those three did, though, do! I have just heard from Yakov that I wasn’t the first one to be beaten up by them – the first two ones just transferred after a week of being in the same rink! That’s what needs to reach the ISU! Now, please be useful for once, and report what must be reported! Don’t just present yourselves in front of the cameras and spit news that you want to be headlines but might ruin innocent lives forever!”

He was panting by the time he was done shouting.

“Yuuri, that was actually recorded live,” Yakov murmured.

He blinked and looked at the blinking red dots at the cameras around him. His cheeks reddened but he didn’t step back. Instead, he quieted down and looked where the three were.

“And done! I shall give Mr. Katsuki a duplicate of what these three just signed. They’ll be in here for a long time, reflecting their deeds. Once inside, they can’t step outside ‘til we say so. Any last words, Mr. Katsuki? It’s your last chance,” The chief said and began placing the three’s thumbed files in folders.

Last chance.

Are you sure?

But it’s the last chance!

Yet these stupid reporters are still recording everything live!

Last. Chance. Damn. It. Katsuki. Fight your anxiety!

He nodded, and took a deep breath.

Victor grabbed his arm and asked a confused and blank, “Yuuri?”

“Trust me,” He whispered and eased his fiance’s hand away. He walked towards the three and looked at each pair of eyes once. He took another deep breath.

He then swung an arm and punched Anton at the face. “That’s for everything you’ve done to me.” He turned and kicked Vlad in his groin. “That’s for almost disqualifying Victor and Yurio if ever they didn’t manage to not stop from killing you.” He looked at Oscar, smirked and swung an arm again and delivered a fist on Oscar’s stomach. “And that’s everything else, because I’m tired to even enumerate everything.”

He stepped back at three’s crumpled figures and bowed at the gaping chief. “And that’s all. Thank you. Please take care of them for us from now on.”

The chief gulped and nodded. “Y-Yeah, sure. T-Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Katsuki. You may go.”

He turned towards the bewildered reporters and cameramen. “Good day to all of you. Have a nice day.” With that, he took Victor’s and Yurio’s hands and dragged them outside since they were also busy staring at him with shocked expressions.

The moment he had stepped outside, out of the prison and out of cameras always recording what they were doing and saying, he slumped onto the ground and wailed, “Bury me. Bury me six feet under. I can’t believe I just did that! I can’t believe I just said that on live television. Kill me. I’m ready!”

“You’re being dramatic, idiot,” Yurio spat and pulled his hand away. There was a smirk on his face. “I never knew you had it on you, katsudon. Should have recorded that; Chulanont will flip off.”

Mila was laughing hysterically behind him. “Damn it! I will never get over that! If you never ever thought of protecting their reputations, I have a feeling you would have beaten them up within a minute.”

He fell on Victor’s arms and hid his face in his fiance’s chest. “You’re exaggerating,” He mumbled.

“Exaggerating?! Have you even seen what you did in there? You—“ Georgi spluttered, gesturing wildly.

“I mean she’s literally exaggerating. I would need three minutes to beat them all up, not just one. That would not be enough.”

Mila burst out laughing again. “Man, teach me how to fight! I can’t believe I already know someone who can teach me self-defense; so lucky!”

“As if you’d need to learn self-defense. One look at you and people can be heard screaming—“

“Yu-ri~ The river is very near; I can drown you and I can threaten everyone to never say a thing,” Mila threatened with a frightening smile.

“See? You don’t need to learn self-defense!” Yurio defended and ran to hide behind Yakov. “I’m hiding and staying away from you, just to be sure.”

Victor hugged him tightly and rubbed his cheek with Yuuri’s own. “My Yuuri is so strong~ My Yuuri is so brave~ My Yuuri is so amazing~ My Yuuri is so astounding~ My Yuuri is—“

“Your Yuuri will be pulled away from you for all eternity if you don’t stop being a disgusting shit,” Yurio hissed and pushed Victor’s face away from Yuuri’s. “One more of that fucking shit and I’ll paste your face on the post and make you do that cooing at that instead.”

The five were waving their arms in their air while yelling, “Yuuri is so amazing! Yuuri is so strong! Yuuri is so brave! Yuuri is so--“

Yurio face-palmed and grunted, “Why do I need to be placed under the same rink as you people? I am just fifteen years old but I feel like I am already thirty with how much frowning you’re making me do.”

“You’re always frowning, Yurio. The day you’re born. The day you said your first word. The day you started skating. Even when you’re sleeping, you’re frowning. I believe you’ll have eternal wrinkles,” Victor complained and went to wrap Yuuri with two warm arms again.

Yuuri chuckled and embraced the silver-head back. He melted in his coach’s arms and let himself bury his face on Victor’s warm and sweet-scented chest. His cheeks burned when the Russian planted a kiss on the top of his head. He peeked from where he was hiding his face and blinked at Victor.

Victor looked down at him and then blew on his face.

He giggled and smacked Victor’s back playfully. The silver-head laughed and leaned down to kiss Yuuri’s forehead. He sighed in contentment and shut his eyes with a small smile.

They were in that position for few moments until someone cleared his throat. He stiffened and turned to find his Russian family watching them. Mila was cooing. Georgi was sighing dreamily. The four were murmuring Russian at Pyotr, who was hissing at them with a red face. Yakov was shaking his head with a sigh. Lilia was her usual self. And Yurio was making gaging noises.

“Let’s go head to the rink and practice. We’ve wasted enough time here,” Yakov instructed and walked ahead of them.

He was about to pull away from his fiancé when Victor suddenly turned before him and crouched. He blinked at the silver-head. Victor looked over his shoulder at him with a big grin. “Let me give you a piggy-back~”

His face exploded with redness. He shook his head and waved his hands frantically. “N-N-No need!”

“I insist~ I’ve always wanted to try giving you one.”

“W-W-We’re in public, Victor!” He spluttered.

Victor blinked. “So? We’ve been out for so long. Everyone knows we’re dating. Only idiots who are living in a cage and living in denial will be the ones seeing us as mere friends and not engaged.”

“There are still those people?” Mila gasped from a meter in front of them. Her eyes were wide and filled with surprise.

“I don’t want to call them names and I don’t want to judge, but yeah, there are,” Victor sing-sang with a shrug.

Yurio scoffed and crossed his arms. “I am disgusted by your public display of affection every fucking single second and there are still oblivious idiots? Wow, good for them.”

Victor shrugged again and presented his back at Yuuri. “Heave-ho?”

He continued shaking his head. “N-No! I’m too heavy for that—“

“We have pair skated and I have lifted you up several times while wearing skates, Yuuri,” Victor countered with a knowing smirk. “Come on.” He made his puppy eyes, and Yuuri inched back. “Please?” He pursed his lips but Victor now did a pout. “Pleasseeee?”

He sighed, and then rolled his eyes. He stepped forward and finally threw his weight on the silver-head’s back. He wrapped his legs around Victor’s middle and then his arms around the Russian’s neck.

Victor stood up and supported him before walking as if Yuuri didn’t weigh a thing. He gasped as the silver-head spun around. “V-Victor!” He laughed and closed his eyes.

Victor laughed, as well, and looked up at him. He looked down back at the silver-head. They met eyes and smiled simultaneously.

He bit his bottom lip and whispered. “I feel so nervous with what I just did earlier. What if it backfires? I don’t want people pestering us even more. I especially don’t want to risk our career with my idiocy.”

“It’s alright. I’m here. We’re here. We’ll stand by you, no matter what. We’ll face everything together, from now on,” Victor assured and reached to squeezed Yuuri’s hand.

He pressed his face on Victor’s shoulder and whispered an embarrassed, “I love you. Ya lyublyu tebya, Vitya.”

Victor suddenly halted.

He blushed and spluttered, “I-I-It was too soon, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry! I-I-I---“

Victor took a deep breath and screamed a blissful, “GUYS! STOP!” The other ahead of them halted and turned to face them. “I HAVE SOMETHING TO ANNOUNCE!”

“What is it, asshole? Hurry up!” Yurio growled.

“YUURI CALLED ME VITYA! AND HE TOLD ME ‘I LOVE YOU’ IN RUSSIAN! IF I DIE, BURY ME WITH A RECORDER WITH HIM SAYING IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I CAN DIE NOW. LEMME DIE HERE!” Victor squealed and spun around with Yuuri at his back.

“That’s it? You made us stop for that? Gah, whatever,” Yurio spat and turned. The others, laughing, followed suit.

Victor stopped spinning and resumed walking with a little bounce on his step. “Call me with that nickname from now on, Yuuri. I have no complaints. Gah, so happy~”

He peeked at his fiance’s blushing and happy face, and burst out to chuckles.

It had been few days and, fortunately, the press were still quiet. Yuuri received calls from his parents, the Nishigori Family and Minako, and together with Victor, they told them everything and assured that everything was alright now.

Victor’s heart almost stopped when Takeshi asked if Yuuri wouldn’t want to just come back to Japan or Detroit if he’d be more comfortable there. His heart got revived when Yuuri shook his head and intertwined their hands together, before explaining why he’d rather stay here. With how sincere, serene and angelic he looked on his pajamas and dishevelled look and crooked glasses, no one could tell him no.

Victor re-entered the training rink and was about to ask Yuuri to go on the ice for warm-up when he realized his fiancé was surrounded by their co-rinkmates, even the ones they rarely interacted with.

He walked over and looked on what caused the commotion, heart speeding up a little. His eyes widened when he saw Yuuri sitting on a bench with a keyboard on his lap.

Since there was an outlet right before him, Pyotr plugged it in and turned the keyboard on. “You play~”

Yuuri blinked twice and gasped, “I-I-I don’t know how!”

“Don’t fool me, katsudon. I saw the keyboard Mari took out from your room and asked you if you’d also bring it here,” Yurio hissed with a hand on his hip.

Victor noted that Yurio’s hair was different again today. It wasn’t fully braided, just his fringe separated to either sides of his face and then bundled with the rest of his hair at the back in a ponytail. The ponytail was then inserted in a hole of separation made at the middle of the Yurio’s hair. It made Yurio look younger. With all of the hairstyles Yuuri could do, Victor was sure the blond would have difficulty choosing which hair style to use for competitions.

Even Mila had her hair braided in the one Yuuri called ‘waterfall’ braid.

Yuuri shrieked. “Y-You saw that?” He then sighed and pressed a key. He looked up at Pyotr. “Do I have to?”

Pyotr gulped and looked away before saying, “N-No need to play f-f-full song. Just, you know, try?”

Hah. Victor forgot all about Pyotr's little crush with Yuuri.

The Japanese nodded and pressed another key. He placed his hands over the keyboard’s keys and took a deep breath. “I am rusty and am not as skilful with this as you might think so, but h-h-here I go.”

A moment after, the whole rink resonated with notes and harmony.

Victor recognized the song the moment the introduction was played. “History Maker, by Dean Fujioka,” He murmured in awe. “It’s his favourite song to play whenever he feels down or anxious,” He added at the others’ questioning looks. “It’s about being strong, reaching for your dreams and creating history because you’re born to do so.”

Yuuri weren’t noticing the attention he was getting with his playing. Mila was even recording while gaping at the Japanese.

And here, Victor thought his fiancé couldn’t get any better than how perfect he already was with the way he was. However, as his blue eyes stared at the brunet, he fathomed that he truly did still have things he had yet to learn from the Japanese. Things that would surely make Yuuri even more beautiful, even more amazing, even more wonderful in his eyes. It was fascinating how love –or something even greater than this—could transform one’s flaws to something beautiful once you fall in love with them.

Yuuri’s fingers were changing octaves, changing notes to notes, changing from white keys to black and then white again. His eyes were focused on the keys he was pressing but they looked like they were far away.

On the second verse, his fiancé actually began singing along while playing the notes.

When the others had caught up the lyrics for the chorus which was just being repeated anyway, they also sung along lowly so that the brunet wouldn’t get interrupted.

With the last note echoing around the rink, Victor burst into applause. The others who were only staring at the brunet followed after, and soon after, their training rink was resonating claps.

Yuuri blushed with the attention, and bowed. “T-Thank you!” He stammered and smiled. Pink were tinting his cheeks. He’s so beautiful.

Victor approached his fiancé and planted a kiss on Yuuri’s nose. “You’re so amazing,” He murmured.

Because everyone deserved a compliment whenever seem fit. And it always seem fit.

Everyone exchanged glances when Yakov was called out, and returned with a dozen of reporters which didn’t just seem local since some also had logos which were known internationally.

They gulping down their anxiety and waiting for someone to declare that Yuuri, Victor or Yurio was disqualified from the Worlds or from participating in the next season when a man in businessuit stepped forward and said in a husky voice and heavily accented English, “Yuuri Katsuki?”

Yuuri stepped out of the ice and stiffly walked towards the man and towards where the cameras were all were. Victor was just right behind him with a small, welcoming smile – his public one that could dissolve in a minute and turn into an icy expression.

“G-G-Good morning,” He mumbled.

The man extended a hand and Yuuri tentatively shook it.

After few moments, they both pulled away. The man put on his eyeglasses and started with, “We have seen the footage days ago.”

Oh, shoot.

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes,” He stuttered, paling. His throat was growing dry and he somehow was trembling head to toe.

Will I get disqualified? Will I be jailed? Will I be shamed back?

The man broke into a small smile. “Please, breathe, Mr. Katsuki. We’re not here to bring you bad news.”

“Y-You’re not?” He parroted, looking up.

The man shook his head. “I am Davis Forbes. I am a CEO of a sports charity campaign-- HALO. We have watched the footage released days ago, and had read and viewed all the files about what happened with you and those three…for the lack of better term, idiots.” Yuuri cracked a smile back at Davis. “And in contrary to what you might have concluded, the ISU had decided to turn a blind eye with the violence you three, Katsuki, Nikiforov and Plisetsky, had presented. Instead, they’d ask us if we’d like to talk to you and query of you of a special matter.”

“And that is?” He prompted with a tilt of a head.

David handed him a magazine. “This is a sports magazine, our charity is featured at the last five pages.” Yuuri turned to the last pages and scanned through them. “We have come to the decision to ask you not to model for sports magazine unlike your…coach. We’d like to inquire if you’d agree to speak up about your anxiety, about what transpired between you and the three jailed skaters. We’d like you to be role model to not just athletes but to everyone suffering the same circumstances. We’d like you to speak up and be a voice that would inspire millions. With your help, we can raise awareness, we can get donations for those who are in rehab – athletes or not. Of course, this could also get you sponsorship since HALO is quite well-known all around the world.”

He laced his hands together and whispered, “This will not hinder with my practice, though, will it?”

Davis shook his head. “We’re probably ask for your statements and help whenever you’re free or just right after your tournaments. We wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

He took a deep breath and nodded. “I…I accept.”

He looked over his shoulder and found Victor smiling proudly at him. Yurio gave him a thumb’s up. Mila and Georgi are waving their arms, silently cheering. The five are dancing around the rink, pumping fists in the air.

He chuckled and asked, “Can I ask a favour, though?”

Davis, who was preparing the contract, answered immediately with a big smile, “Feel free!”

“Would it be alright if you also get to feature some of my friends co-skaters—the ones in Russia and not?”

“Even better!” Davis agreed and seemed to have edited something on the files. “Just…adding that stuff in your contract, for transparency.”

Yuuri then signed five papers, and then was swarmed by cameras as Davis began to ask him everything. The one he concentrated on was the advice he could give for those who were suffering with anxiety. It wasn’t easy since he was, sometimes, barely able to fight his own mental weakness off, but he did his best.

His last sentence was a simple one, “Whenever you’ll need me, I’ll be here, standing by you.”

Several days after, he received positive feedbacks, thousands of ‘thank you’s’ from fans and from those who heard his message, messages from his co-skaters who were proud of what he did, and several sponsorship offers.

Victor was so happy with the results, the silver-head wouldn’t stop peppering him with kisses. He also got dragged in a group hug with his Russian rinkmates and a thumb’s up from Yurio with matching sneer-- typical Yurio.

There was a blizzard the day after from what the forecaster had stated so the Russian team had all decided to go sleep over at Yakov’s house. Yakov, of course, was adamant with the idea at first until Yuuri offered to do the cooking. Victor offered to buy the ingredients.

The Russian team hadn’t tasted a full-on Japanese cooking so everyone finally agreed. They hoarded their blankets and several pairs of clothing and then threw all of their blankets and comforters on the floor of Yakov’s living room to make a blanket pile wherein they’d all sleep in.

Yuuri and Yurio were the ones in front of the stove. Yuuri was the one literally cooking while Yurio was the one chopping and measuring the ingredients needed. They may quarrel and bicker often but at the kitchen, they think a-like.

Mila was astounded when Yuuri only extended a hand, palm up and Yurio immediately placed the cup of milk in the brunet’s hand.

Georgi went over and watched, and gaped when Yurio spun and was the one in the stove as Yuuri now sliced the onions and garlic just right since the blond was easy to cry with those stupid vegetables.

Victor was recording everything, and posting some in Instagram which garnered thousands of likes within a minute.

The Japanese was stirring the stew and called out, “Vitya, please hand over the wooden spoon beside you.”

Victor hummed and quickly handed the wooden spoon to his fiancé.

Yurio looked up at the brunet and mumbled, “Oi, katsudon.”

“Hm?”

“Why does you ‘V’ sound like ‘B’?”

“Ah, it’s a Japanese thing,” Yuuri answered.

Yurio snorted. “BITYA.”

Victor narrowed his eyes at the blond.

Yuuri blinked at the smaller Russian and snorted back. “BITYA.”

“BICCHAN,” Yurio said and was now cackling.

“BICCHAN,” Yuuri repeated, stressing the ‘BICCH’ part.

“Hey!” He protested, crossing his arms.

“Biktor,” Yurio said and grinned mischievously.

“Biktor,” Yuuri repeated and wagged his eyebrows.

Yurio hummed and cackled even louder. “Don’t you mean BITCHtor?”

He was itching to grab the chair and smack it at the blond’s head.

“Nah, I said, BITCHa,” Yuuri replied, wagging his hips while stirring the stew.

“BITCHTOR IS ALSO BITCHA BUT HE’S ALSO BICCHAN, SO YEAH~ HE’S A BITCH~” Yurio sang on a melody he composed.

It didn’t help that Yuuri sang along, even louder, “BITCHTOR IS ALSO BITCHA BUT HE’S ALSO BICCHAN SO YEAH~ HE’S A BITCH~”

“HE’S A BITCH~” Mila and Georgi second-voiced.

“A bitch~” The five sung from the living room.

“BITCHTOR IS ALSO BITCHA BUT HE’S ALSO BICCHAN SO YEAH~ HE’S A BITCH~” His nine rinkmates sang as they all stared at Victor. “A BITCH~”

“WHY AM I FRIENDS WITH YOU PEOPLE?” He screamed at them, flailing his arms.

After dinner and a movie marathon, with the blizzard making the doors creak and windows clatter against their frames, they all huddled in their blanket pile and slept side by side except for Mila who slept with Lilia since they were the only women in their company.

Yurio blinked when he realized where he ended up.

Between Victor and Yuuri.

And it was because the two wouldn’t just go to sleep and wouldn’t stop flirting.

So he ended up here, in the middle of the two.

He closed his eyes and stiffened for a bit when arms enveloped him right after he shivered due to the cold. He cracked open an eye and found Yuuri wrapping his arms around Yurio. Yurio internally gasped when he realized that Victor was hugging him also because Yuuri was right beside him.

So he got stuck in between. And couldn’t get out.

He sighed and let it slide.

After years of sleeping alone in his bed, he was now enveloped with two people’s warm arms.

He unwillingly smiled, because it felt odd but also unique since it was like having brothers he never asked for but received anyway.

And Yurio didn’t know what he did to deserve them, but he’d be forever be internally thankful.

The morning after, several photos of them had gone viral all because of Mila waking up before them and catching them all still asleep all huddled together.

The photos had become everyone’s lockscreen wallpaper.

It was few days before Yurio’s birthday and Victor was shopping for the blond’s gift alone. Yuuri insisted to stay at home since his gift for the blond was apparently home made and was crafty. With Yuuri’s determined look, Victor snorted and agreed to go downtown alone.

He was hoarding all tiger-patterned stuff and cat stuffed toys on the cashier when his phone rang in his pocket. While taking out his credit card, he picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

“OI, VICTOR!”

It was Yurio.

“Hm? Yurio? What’s up? The rink’s close today right so—“

“Me and my grandpa passed by your apartment and saw a black car parked right outside.” His heart started beating faster. “I thought it was impossible until two familiar figures went out of the backseat.” Shit. “Victor, your parents are in Russia and they’re in front of your apartment.”

“Fuck,” He hissed.

“If Katsudon’s home alone and opened the gate for them, I don’t know what will happen, Victor.”

He hung up on the blond, pulse racing.

The moment the things he was buying were shoved inside plastic bags, he sprinted off the shopping mall and ran towards his car. He quickly started it and drove back home.

Yuuri was half-done with the sweater he was knitting when the doorbell rang. Victor never rang the doorbell since he had spare keys. Yurio preferred knocking and yelling.

Sighing, he gestured for Makkachin to follow him and walked towards the doors. He looked through the peephole but only saw the back of heads.

He gingerly opened the doors. The two turned, and his eyes widened. Makkachin hid behind him.

There was a man and a woman outside. A couple, looked like it.

“Good afternoon. You must be Katsuki Yuuri; we’re Victor’s parents. May we come in?” The woman, who was just as tall as Victor, asked. She had blond-ish platinum hair which would probably reach her shoulder if it was tightly bunned on top of her head. Her eyes were gray and her complexion was slightly darker than Victor’s. She was lovely but in the unreachable and too dazzling way.

What set his nerves crackling was the man beside her, who was glaring daggers at him. The man resembles Victor way too much. The platinum hair which was shorter than Victor’s. His eyes were more piercing than Victor’s but the same shade anyway. His complexion was as alabaster’s as his fiance’s as well. Yuuri gulped with the intimidating, authoritarian and cold aura enveloping the man. Every hair of Yuuri was tingling. And his senses were screaming that the man obviously didn’t like him.

He opened the doors widely and gestured for them to come in. Both walked in with eyes scrutinizing every inch of the apartment.

“What would you like? C-C-C-Coffee? T-Tea or ju—“ He began.

His heart sped up when Mr. Nikiforov faced him and muttered, “We’re fine.” Yuuri’s small smile fell, and Makkachin growled menacingly when the man added, “Hm, Yuuri Katsuki, huh. You don’t seem much.”

Chapter Text

He opened the doors widely and gestured for them to come in. Both walked in with eyes scrutinizing every inch of the apartment.

“What would you like? C-C-C-Coffee? T-Tea or ju—“ He began.

His heart sped up when Mr. Nikiforov faced him and muttered, “We’re fine.” Yuuri’s small smile fell, and Makkachin growled menacingly when the man added, “Hm, Yuuri Katsuki, huh. You don’t seem much.”

He gulped, and laced his hands together behind his back. He pursed his lips into a thin line and whispered, “Y-Yes, I’m Katsuki Yuuri, and I’m sorry if I didn’t meet your expectations.”

Why am I even apologizing? It’s not like I was born to meet his expectations. I didn’t even know he exists.

Mr. Nikiforov scoffed and muttered under his breath, “He’s even skittish, fidget-y and timid. How absurd.”

Makkachin barked at the man and bit the hem of Yuuri’s shirt to pull him a little farther away from Mr. Nikiforov. “Shh, shh, Makkachin, it’s alright,” He muttered and rubbed at the back of the poodle’s ears. “It’s okay.”

Is it?

Mr. Nikiforov sighed, and removed his necktie. “Would you go prepare us—“

“Shut the fuck up!” Mrs. Nikiforov growled and pushed her husband away from Yuuri. Yuuri blinked as Mrs. Nikiforov huffed and glared at her husband. “Go prepare yourself whatever you want to drink and eat. You’ve visited this apartment before, I’m sure you know how to navigate it easily. Stop pestering Yuuri.”

Mr. Nikiforov glared back at his wife, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why should I? He was the one who offered—“

But she wasn’t listening. She was staring intently at Yuuri’s face which was why the Japanese gulped again, and stood stiffly and straightly with Makkachin right behind him. He was ready for more insults until she cupped his cheeks with her hands and squished his face.

He blinked up at her.

She continued squishing his face, and then suddenly she broke into giggles. “Wow! Your cheeks are so squishy and soft!” She exclaimed.

“Um, thank you?”

Mrs. Nikiforov blinked at him before reaching for his hands. “Oh my, looks like my husband has made you nervous. Don’t mind him, he can be an asshole. Anyway, you’re my son’s fiancé?”

He bit his bottom lip, and shyly nodded.

“Why do you look ashamed on admitting that? Is it truly for publicity then?” asked Mr. Nikiforov who was walking back in the apartment with two luggages.

He stiffened and defended, “N-N-No, it’s not! I-It’s just that I’m still getting used to the idea that we’re actually engaged.”

“Aw! You’re so adorable!” Mrs. Nikiforov cooed and squeezed his hands with a heart-shaped smile.

Hah. So that’s where Victor’s heart-shaped smile came from.

He bowed with a blush. “T-Thank you, Mrs—“

“Oh, we’ve forgotten to introduce ourselves properly, haven’t we?” She gasped with a hand over her mouth in realization.

And that’s where Victor got his forgetful nature as well~

She smiled fondly at him before patting his head. “I am Valeria and that’s my husband Ivan. Feel free to call me Valeria.”

He shook his head frantically and stuttered, “W-W-Will it be alright if I add honorifics?”

“Oh, like what?”

“I-It’d really make me more comfortable to call you Auntie or Aunt Valeria. I am a Japanese, and we’re usually used to adding honorifics when addressing someone,” He explained with his head low.

She was silent for few moments, and then he was squeezed into a tight hug. “He’s even so polite and culture-oriented! I am truly appreciating Victor’s choice for a husband!”

Ivan spluttered. “H-Husband?”

“What? Duh. They’re engaged. As if one of them will be called the ‘wife’. Stop heteronormativity, Ivan. They’ll be husbands, accept it already,” Valeria grunted and scoffed in annoyance.

He looked up at her, and realized that she was actually sincere on supporting his and Victor’s relationship. And the way she was being touchy-feely of him was really making him happy because it felt like he was being hugged by his Mom again.

He didn’t even realize that he had actually leaned onto her until she looked down at him, and chuckled. “So cute~ You’re affection-deprived, aren’t you?”

Yuuri blushed. “I-I-I-I—“

The door slammed open, and they all turned to see Victor leaning against the doorframe, panting while holding three bags filled with cat-themed stuff. He patted Makkachin and pointed at each of his parents. “YOU!” He exclaimed.

“Us!” Valeria piped in.

Victor narrowed his eyes at the arms hugging Yuuri before gently easing Yuuri away, and hugging the Japanese himself. Yuuri blinked up at his fiancé, and let himself melt in Victor’s arms.

“W-Welcome home,” He whispered.

Victor seemed surprised with his greeting. He looked down at him, and then broke into a big grin. “I’m home!” He chimed and placed a kiss on the Japanese’s forehead. “Have you eaten?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t. I was just about to prepare lunch when your parents arrived,” He explained.

His fiancé sighed, and looked up. “Okay, you two, please explain your sudden appearance into my –no, our—life. And then please leave.”

Victor sat down on one of their sofas, and brought Yuuri back into his arms. Yuuri had been with the silver-head for quite a long time, he had gotten used with his fiance’s addiction to constant physical contact. He smiled unconsciously when his coach brushed Yuuri’s dark locks while still glaring at his parents as if Victor’s hand was moving by its own.

Valeria dragged her husband out of the kitchen, and both sat down on the couch across them. “Don’t we get a hug first?”

“Mom, I’m twenty-eight.”

“Exactly. You’re twenty-eight, and I can count the times we’ve hugged,” She countered.

“That’s because you’re always either out of town or out of the country,” Victor answered back.

“Are you gonna hug me or do I have to squeeze the life out of you?” Valeria grumbled with a pout.

Yuuri’s fiancé sighed, and opened his arms for her. She stood up and leaned down to embrace her son tightly. “I missed you so much, Vitenka,” She murmured.

Yuuri watched as his fiancé smiled at the crook of her shoulder, and whispered back a fond, “I missed you too, Mom. I’m glad you arrived safely, and still as healthy as ever.”

“And for the record, I’m still as beautiful as ever, as well~” She added.

Victor laughed in her arms, and pointed at himself. “But no one can beat me with being the most beautiful in the family.”

“Excuse you but someone has stolen the title,” Valeria said with a laugh before releasing Victor.

Yuuri’s fiancé blinked and then sulked. “EH? WHO? DID YOU GIVE BIRTH TO ANOTHER BEAUTY WITHOUT TELLING ME?”

“We don’t even have time to do that, Victor,” Ivan muttered.

“Not my fault you’re always busy counting money,” Victor answered back with a tight smile.

“Anyhow~” Valeria interrupted, and pinched the Japanese’s cheeks. She laughed when he wrinkled his nose to accompany his hamster-looking cheeks. “This one stole the title.”

Victor looked at Yuuri, and then chuckled. “I have to agree. Yuuri is the most beautiful person in the family now—“

“—He’s not even a Nikiforov—“ Ivan growled.

“—He will be. Soon—“ Victor countered with an eye roll.

“—You can still break up—“ The older man hissed.

“—No, we won’t. Stop jumping to conclusion that will never come true—“

“—Your lovers rarely stay for more than a year, Vitya,” snapped Ivan. Yuuri stiffened with that information, and did a mental calculation of how long they had been together. It didn’t help that it was almost just a year or just few days after. He clenched his hands on his lap, and looked down at his lap while Valeria’s hands turned slack on his cheeks.

Victor sighed, and mussed his hair. “And this is exactly why I didn’t want you to suddenly turn up. If I had known, I would have asked Yakov to take in Yuuri for awhile.”

“No! I won’t let you pull this precious cinnamon roll away from me!” Valeria grumbled, and pulled Yuuri into her arms.

Ivan huffed, and drank in one drink a glass of rum which Victor had in store in their kitchen. “Besides, you’re going to be stuck with us longer than you think.” He looked up, and smirked. The fact that it looked the same yet a lot colder than Victor’s sent shivers down Yuuri’s spine. It was like seeing an older Victor who grew up with coldness and aloofness. It was a terrifying sight and thing to imagine. “We’re staying in Russia for half a month, and decided to stay here in your apartment with you two.”

“HUH?” His fiancé gasped. “We only have one guest room!”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve seen it. It’s very huge, enough to fit four people in it. It will suit me and your mother just fine,” Ivan replied.

“Our food supply is just for the two of us and Makkachin!” Victor added with a glare.

Okay, that’s a lie. We also have some for Yurio, and the Russian Family when we feel like gifting them lunch boxes.

Ivan smirked and flicked a hand. “Who do you think we are? We’ll gladly add that supply by buying some from our own money, if that’s your concern.”

Victor opened his mouth, and then closed it. He pondered for a minute and then slumped into Yuuri’s arms. “Whyyy?” He whined at his parents.

Valeria sat down beside her husband, and clapped her hands together. “Well, we have to renew some of our business permits for the Russian branches of our companies. And it will take them ten to twelve days to be processed. And then, we felt like meeting your fiance~”

“And now you have. What can you say?” Victor asked with a huge, proud smile on his face. Makkachin placed his chin on top of Yuuri’s lap, and slept in boredom. The Japanese blushed when his right hand was suddenly intertwined with Victor’s left.  “This man was the one who helped me rise from my mild depression. He, also, managed to inspire me to skate again. This precious Katsudon had also brought love and life into my spiralling-out-of-control world before. This is my fiancé, husband-to-be and amazing protégé, Katsuki Yuuri.”

Victor’s fond and blissful tone while saying those words made the brunet’s heart so fast, he felt like his chest burst anytime soon with happiness and love he never expected and always thought he didn’t deserve.

He squeezed his fiance’s hand, and got a smile in return.

Valeria sighed adoringly, “He’s the most perfect match for you, Vitya. He’s so polite, so culture-oriented, so kind, very considerate and from what I watched through his skating, he’s also so talented, hardworking and responsible. I am so happy you two met and happily engaged! Yuuri is—“

“—Is this for publicity, Victor?” Ivan interrupted with his elbows propped on his knees and chin braced on the back of his clasped hands.

Victor’s smile fell as he re-faced his father. “Father, years have passed since I’ve come out. And it had been months since I have bluntly answered interviews about our matching rings. I have nothing to hide anymore. I didn’t fly to Japan, and became Yuuri’s coach for publicity.”

“You love surprising people, I have this theory that you’re only doing this to continue doing so, and will probably break up with him when the fire has died down and—“

“—It’s a theory, Father. Theory.”

“I have already accepted that you’re not normal. And now you’re going to marry another man? Did you not ever think of what this bring upon the image of our businesses? I have let you choose figure skating as your lifetime career and occupation instead of being our heir. And now, it’s as if you’re taking this for granted!” Ivan snapped.

“Ivan,” Valeria warned.

Yuuri noted that Victor’s face had turned hard with suppressed anger. He had also noticed that his fiancé was trembling slightly as he faced his father with a blank expression. He worriedly brushed the back of his fiance’s hand with a thumb.

“If you have told us you’re going to marry another man, then I would have looked for someone who could assure the stability of your future—“

“Ivan.”

“--You two might be both figure skaters, but the brightness of your future is uncertain yet. You could have chosen anyone, and you end up with your student! Don’t you think that’s a disgrace--“

Yuuri abruptly knelt on the sofa and covered Victor’s ears with his hands. “Stop, please!” He exclaimed at Ivan. “Just stop,” He begged and leaned his forehead against his fiance’s. “Don’t listen,” He whispered, imitating what his coach did back in the Cup of China when he was drowning by anxiety.

Victor, who was a little pale, looked up at him, wide-eyed, and slowly sunk in with that memory. He smiled slightly, placed his own hands over Yuuri’s, and nodded.

He stood up after few moments, and took the plastic bags Victor brought in. “Oh, ingredients for udon?”

Victor nodded with a grin. “Udon!”

“You sure like Japanese food,” He commented and faced the adults in their midst. “Would you like me to call for a restaurant to deliver your food?”

Ivan started, “Ye—“

“—No. We’d like to try Japanese dishes Victor is so fond of. Could you also prepare some for us?” Valeria interjected.

He looked inside the bag, and nodded. “It will do. Vitya, can you please help me on preparing the ingredients?”

Victor nodded and gladly followed after him with a bounce on his step. Makkachin, of course, also followed them in the kitchen.

Yuuri gasped a little when his fiancé suddenly pulled him. His eyes widened when Victor leaned down to capture his lips with the silver-head’s own. It was brief, but filled with emotions and meaning. “I love you,” Victor breathed. “Whatever my Father says, don’t let it get to you.”

He nodded. “Promise me you’ll do the same.”

Victor chuckled. “He’s my Father. I’m used to him.”

“Vitya.”

His fiancé solemnly nodded, and planted a lingering kiss on Yuuri’s forehead. “I truly do love you. And nothing will ever break us apart.”

He sighed into Victor’s arms, and nodded slightly.

Yurio woke up on March 1^st, thinking it would turn into one of the birthdays he ignored or avoided.

He did his usual morning routine, and went out of his room to find a wrapped box on top of the dining room with a bowl filled with pirozhkis. He blinked and tentatively poked the box. He turned the small letter attached to it and read: “To Yuratchka. Happy 16^th birthday. May you continue being a great grandchild, and aweing the world. I am a very proud Grandpa to have you as my grandkid. –Nikolai Plisetsky.”

He carefully removed the wrapping and found a new jacket with hood inside. The front had gray tiger patterns, and at the back was an orange cat that was walking and evolved into a tiger. It was so awesome, he gaped at it for few minutes. When he was done staring at his new jacket, he squinted at the other box beside it. It also had a letter: “To Yura. Happy birthday! I’m sorry if I’m not there again to celebrate your birthday with you. I hope these will help you on achieving more of your dreams. I may not be there, but know that I am super proud of you. –Mama.”

He opened it up and found new pair of skates inside. There were even customized to look exactly like his. His mother must have noticed or been informed that he hadn’t changed his skates for few years now.

He hugged the skates, and smiled slightly.

Yakov went out of his room, and smiled at Yurio. “And he’s awake. Happy birthday, Yuri.”

“Thanks, Yakov! So what do you have for me?”

Yakov scoffed at him and pointed the pirozhki. “Lilia baked those for you as your birthday gifts. They have different flavors.”

He suddenly drooled at the pirozhki that were just within his reach. “Wow.”

“I have changed the flowers in your room into the ones you liked the best—“

“—Hah! So that’s why my room suddenly smell amazing.”

“—And here.” Yurio turned, and almost didn’t catch the box Yakov threw at him.

He narrowed his eyes at it. “Is there a bomb or potion inside that will make me gung-ho on practicing and listening to your instructions?”

“If there’s one, I would have given you the moment you stepped in my rink,” Yakov snapped.

He opened it and found a new backpack inside. It was also tiger-patterned and the handles for the zippers were tiger claws. “Waaah!” He gasped, and tried it on. “And comfortable too! Thanks!”

Yakov smiled at him, and walked towards the living room. “Lilia’s still asleep. She made those pirozhki early in the morning. She rarely bakes, but she did so for you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll finish these in one go.”

“Thirty laps after.”

“Ugh, really?” He grumbled.

And he thought that was the end of it. Victor and Yuuri didn’t meet up with him at the bridge, and when he called to ask why: Victor answered that his father was being a total ass and being demanding early in the morning which made Yuuri exhausted.

Yurio sighed, thinking just how hard Ivan Nikiforov was to handle. He was very hard-headed, and if Yurio had a sharp tongue then Victor’s father was someone who could literally kill people with his words. His hard attitude had won him debates and business, though, which must be why he never wanted to change.

The moment he stepped inside their training rink, though, he gasped as party poppers suddenly deafened him. He shrieked when horns were blasted just few meters away from him. And he was almost blinded with the balloons surrounding him. “What the fuck? I can’t see! I can’t hear! I can’t move!”

“HAPPY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY, YURI PLISETSKY!” His rinkmates shouted.

“I would say thank you but I have no idea where you even all are. I fucking can’t see, hear clearly, and move! I’ll pop these balloons, and it’ll be my pleasure—“

“Waah! Don’t!” A familiar voice exclaimed, and grabbed his wrist to guide him. He finally ended up facing his rinkmates, and his eyes travelled and found out it was Yuuri who had held his wrist.

He pulled away with a sneer.

He face-palmed when Victor began singing the renowned ‘Happy Birthday’ song, to which the others quickly followed and sang along. His eyes sparkled when Victor stepped forward with a three layered cake that was tiger-themed. The icing was even designed in tiger patterns. Yuuri lightened the three candles at the middle.

“MAKE A WISH AND BLOW!” Mila screamed.

He begrudgingly shut his eyes and thought of something to wish for. I actually don’t know what to—Ah. I wish that my life will be filled with happiness from now on with all of these people by my side.

He opened his eyes, and blew the candles. The entire rink made a round of applause. Yurio stared wide-eyed as Georgi pointed the bundle of gifts at his right.

“Are those for me?”

“No, they’re for Makkachin.” Victor chimed.

“Fuck you,” He snarled.

Yuuri laughed and gently ushered him towards the gifts. “They are. Don’t mind Victor, he’s just still pissed at his father. Go on and open them if you want.”

Yurio crouched in front of the boxes and picked each up, There were letters attached but he removed them and placed them inside his bag with a quick, “I’ll read them at home!” at the others’ protests.

The five idiots had collaborated and bought him one photographic album of all kinds of tigers, lions and cats, and then several kinds of clothing with tiger on them. He laughed at each, knowing he’d have new shirts to wear and take selfies with. His favourite one was a snobbish tiger with a bubble saying: ‘Fuck Off.’

Mila’s was hard to open at first until he managed to remove the tape, and several kitten plushies almost suffocated him.

Georgi ‘s gift was duffel bag that was literally shaped as a cat. It looked like him for some reason.

“Open mine next!” Victor exclaimed, hugging Yuuri from behind.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the big box in front of him. “Why are you so fucking extra? What does this have? A Cadillac that’s tiger-themed?”

“Hah. You won’t have one ‘til you’re eighteen~” Victor sing-sang.

“Don’t make me as extra as you, you asshole,” He snarled and actually needed to stand up to open the package. He blinked when he saw a bolster pillow that had kitten printed on it. And then three pillows with different types of tigers in the middle. There were even sleepwears that had tiger patterns on them. He laughed out loud when he took out a tiger-customed tissue box. “Seriously?”

“Why not~?” Victor replied with a chuckle.

Yurio bent to pick up the remaining gift in front of him. It wasn’t boxed, which was weird. In fact, it was like a blanket tied at the top. “This is Katsudon’s, isn’t it?” He asked with a smirk.

“It’s a Japanese thing!” Yuuri whined.

He untied the knot and suddenly, he was surrounded with hand-knitted stuff. He bent to pick of them up. A knitted orange scarf. Yellow with brown knitted hand-warmers. Tiger-patterned sweater. White knitted pair of socks. Blue knitted bonnet. And his new favourite: a hand-knitted tiger stuffed toy. “I’ll admit: these gifts are amazing, Katsudon.”

Yuuri blushed. “T-Thanks!”

“Wow! So that’s what you’re busy with for the past few days~” Victor mumbled as he propped his chin on his fiance’s shoulder.

“Those look so warm and cozy to wear!” Pyotr commented.

“Just seeing them makes my hands ache with how much knitting I’d need to do,” Alexander muttered.

“Why are you even so effort-y? Victor’s so lucky to have you~” Yefim said with a smile.

“No wonder Victor loves you so much. Must be why he won’t let you go. Must be hard for those who like you since they kind of have to face a tyrant before they even get to confess, right, Pyotr?” Dmitri teased.

Yurio gazed at Pyotr and found the man blushing red as he pushed Dmitri’s face on the wall. “Shut up,” He hissed.

And with that, my suspicions were confirmed.

Boris waved his arms as Yuuri frowned, puzzled, at the two. “Anyway! When you have the time, can you make us something too, Yuuri?”

The Japanese turned his attention away from Pyotr and nodded. “S-Sure!” Yurio blinked when the brunet re-turned at him. “S-S-So did you like them?”

He huffed and hugged the knitted tiger that was very warm in his arms. “…I love them.”

Yurio knew it was worth saying aloud when Yuuri’s face broke into a big smile, and his entire expression brightened up.

Yurio shrieked when suddenly Victor lunged at him and hugged him. He squirmed and tried to pull away until the silver-head dragged Yuuri into their hug too. “Take a photo! Take a photo!”

Mila complied with a giggle. “Caption?”

“Happy birthday, son! Then tag Yurio!” Victor piped in.

He turned and delivered a hard kick at the older’s back. “You shithead, I’m not your son! And you’re not my father!”

Victor gasped at the floor. “When did you find out?”

“FUCK YOU!” He yelled.

Yuuri slumped onto one of their couches the moment they arrived back from practice. This had been the fourth day that Victor’s parents were staying over. For the past few days, Victor never ever left him alone with either of his mom or dad.

And it seemed that his fiancé was planning to do this as long as his parents were over.

They had almost just few weeks before the Worlds, which was why he was pushing himself to do his best and hardest effort on showing his best for that tournament since it would be his last days on skating these routines.

Ivan was on the other couch, tapping on his laptop, pretending that Yuuri wasn’t sitting few meters away from him. Valeria was making calls on her phone while leaning against the front door. Most of it was in Russian so Yuuri only understood few words.

He was about to stand up and get some food ready when his feet’s blisters and bruises shot pain up to his spine. He ended up sitting down again while wheezing, “Ow,” over and over again while lightly trailing his hands on his feet’s ruined skin.

Makkachin whined and licked his hand as a form of comfort. Yuuri smiled and rubbed their poodle’s chin. “I’m okay, Makkachin.” Makkachin whined again and nudged his snout on Yuuri’s foot. He hissed in pain. Their poodle whimpered and placed his chin on his lap before staring sadly at Yuuri.

He was about to stand up again when Victor stepped out into the living room with bucket of warm water in one hand and the other holding a towel and a medicinal kit. His eyes widened when his fiancé sat down in front of him, placed the bucket beside him, dipped the towel and reached for one of Yuuri’s feet.

He blushed and quickly retracted his foot. “N-No nee—“

“Yuuri, come on~ I wanna do this for you,” Victor whined, reaching for his foot again.

“Victor, really! I’m fine! Besides, you have blisters too and—“

“I recently changed my skates. And mine are lesser than yours especially with how many times you twisted wrongly earlier at practice. Come on, let me wash them.”

“We can just do this at the bath—“

“—You can barely stand up,” Victor grumbled with a pout. “Please?”

He looked down and found his fiancé giving him puppy eyes, to which he rarely could refuse. Sighing, he tentatively placed his foot on top of Victor’s folded legs.

“Yay!” Victor exclaimed, and attentively padded the towel on Yuuri’s blisters, wounds and bruises before wiping the clear parts as gently as possible. When he was done washing Yuuri’s right foot, he took out bandage and cut a strip before wrapping his foot with it. When he was done doing this foot, Yuuri’s cheeks aflamed when his fiancé leaned down to place a kiss on top of Yuuri’s bandaged foot.

“V-V-V-ictor!”

But Victor now took his other foot and did the process all over again. When it was washed and bandaged, he went and kiss it as well.

His heart was racing, and his cheeks were red burning by the moment Victor set his feet back down. His lips parted in surprise when the silver-head looked up  and then smiled lovingly at him as if he was the only thing that mattered in Victor’s life. [A/N: He probably was. No doubt.]

“Better?” Victor asked, kneeling before him.

He intertwined their hands, and nodded. “T-Thank you.”

“I’ll buy you a new pair of skates when we pass by downtown—“

“—But—“

“—Your skates are old, Yuuri. Further use of them will cause you more wounds, and might even injure you someday. We’ll buy you new ones!” Victor declared and buried his face on the brunet’s tummy. His arms also wrapped tightly around the Japanese’s waist. “So warm, so soft~”

“That’s my tummy, dummy,” He teased.

“Ah, a rhyme!”

“Shut up,” He chuckled. “Your breath’s tickling me.”

Victor went and puffed more breath on his stomach, which made him laugh. “So ticklish~” And he puffed more breaths.

“V-Vitya!” He whined, trying to push his fiancé away.

While in the process of laughing and trying to get away from his beloved, he accidentally scooted out of the sofa until he fell on top of Victor.

They stared, bewildered, at each other with their sudden circumstance and change of position. And after awhile, they burst out laughing.

They just stopped when they heard a camera shutter. Yuuri looked up and found a squealing Valeria taking photos of them. “I’m gonna post this one on Instagram! Been awhile since I last posted there!”

“Oooohh, tag me!” Victor said, not doing any effort to sit up. In fact, he even wrapped his arms around Yuuri to keep them both still on the carpeted ground.

Valeria nodded. “Sure! My son, and my future son-in-law! <3 #NikiforovFamily #HappyFiances #EngagedLife #StPetersburgRussia. And done!”

Yuuri stiffened when he heard a huff. He hesitantly looked over at Ivan, and found the man glaring at him as if he did the worst crime ever. Ivan seethed at him before standing up, grabbing his laptop, walking back to their room and slamming the door shut.

He truly does hate me.

“VITYA! WHAT KIND OF FORM WAS THAT? FROM THE TOP!” Yakov yelled.

Victor slumped onto the boards and cried, “This is what death feels like, doesn’t it?”

“You’ve just been practicing for two hours, Victor. Just imagine the torture Katsudon was under when he’s training under you. You literally make him do jumps after jumps for four hours!” Yurio said, smirking. “Karma’s a bitch?”

“It’s not my fault he has such stamina!” Yuuri’s fiancé whined.

“Hah. Serves you just right, you baldy.”

“YURIO, HOW DARE YOU? YOU BRAT!”

“EXCUSE YOU BUT SOON ENOUGH I’LL BE JUST AS TALL AS YOU, OLD GEEZER!”

To tune out their endless and nonsense bickering, Yuuri shook his head in exasperation and walked out of the backdoors. Makkachin followed after him and licked his hands as a greeting.

As he shut the door behind him, his eyes widened when he realized that he wasn’t alone, after all.

Pyotr was also outside, leaning against the wall while drinking his newly-bought energy drink. He turned and spat his drink when their eyes met. “O-O-Oh hi, Yuuri!”

He raised a hand. “Hello. It’s rare to see you away from the other four.”

Pyotr chuckled and scratched his cheek. “I wanted to have a little alone time to think and ponder why I’m such a coward.”

He frowned in confusion. Coward? Pyotr? How so? “Please do explain.”

The Russian chuckled and his cheeks were tinted pink when he muttered, “I h-h-h-have someone I like, but he’s already taken—“

“He?” He repeated.

Pyotr blushed even more. “Y-Yea, I’m—“

“—Oh, no, just echoing it to be sure. I don’t judge especially seeing that I’m not straight either. Sorry for the interruption, continue please.”

“E-Er, thank you. W-Well, I want to c-c-confess to him to bring these emotions out. I know he’s happy with his lover but I just want to finally say the words out so that I will not keep them within, and so that I can slowly move on,” Pyotr admitted, fidgeting with his hands.

“I’m not really great at this stuff. Phichit, my best friend, is, but I would like to help in anyway I can,” He offered, leaning against the wall, just a meter away from the Russian.

“I-I-It’s alright!” Pyotr hastily assured. “I-I-I am sure I will find the right time to voice it out and—“

“—Practice on me!” He said with a shy smile.

“…Huh?”

“Well, not really practice on me but…” He trailed off and it was as if an idea popped into his mind as he gasped, “Ah!”

“W-W-What?”

“Wait, is this someone you like a friend of yours?” Yuuri confirmed, inching closer.

Pyotr nodded and scratched the back of his neck. A mannerism, he noticed. “Y-Yeah. He’s, in fact, a rinkmate of ours.”

“Oh! Even better!” He exclaimed and lay one of his hands in front of him, palm up. “I learned this from my childhood friend. I’ll spread my palm, and then you’ll draw a star, as a sign of luck, for five times. And then you internally or externally say the name of the one you want to confess to…for three times. It’s like something one does to make him courageous to face the one he likes and spill his feelings. I’ve tried this on Makkachin when I confessed back my love to Victor. It helped.”

“I…” Pyotr faltered as he gazed at Yuuri’s palm.

“O-Oh, I-I’m sorry, if you don’t want, I—“ He started lowering his hand but the Russian grabbed it and stopped him.

“No! I-It’s a nice idea!” Pyotr assured. “M-May I begin?”

Yuuri nodded, and watched as the Russian shakingly drew five stars on his palm. Pyotr’s head was bowed low, his cheeks red and lips pursed in nervousness.

He must have liked whoever that was so much if he was this uneasy already.

He smiled encouragingly as Pyotr mouthed the name of the one he likes.

The first one was silent.

The second louder which was still inaudible.

His jaw hung open, and his eyes widened as Pyotr raised his eyes, stared right back at him, and shouted a nervous yet firm, “YUURI KATSUKI!”

His name echoed all around them.

Chapter Text

Yuuri stared wide-eyed at Pyotr, his hand slacked between on top of the Russian’s palms. He blinked twice before stuttering, “Y-Y-Yuuri Katsuki?”

Pyotr pursed his lips into a thin line, and nodded eagerly. “Yuuri Katsuki,” He repeated with a more grounded and confident tone and expression.

He used his free hand to point at himself. “Me?” He insisted, still in the world of disbelief. He received a hysterical series of nods. “W-W-Wait, Pyotr, I—“

Pyotr hung his head low, and whispered a crackling, “You don’t need to continue, Yuuri. I knew the moment I realized what this emotion is that it will not be reciprocated. For months I have watched you interacting with Victor, and I knew that I will never reach the level of closeness with you—“

“—Pyotr—“

“—It’s just that I have been hiding this for weeks now, and I think I can’t bear the thought of hiding this to you any longer especially that it actually affects my skating—“

He jumped. “—It does? I am sorry—“

But Pyotr wasn’t done, he grasped onto Yuuri’s hands as if he let go now, he wouldn’t be able to say this again later. Makkachin was roaming around the perimeter, running after a butterfly and then picking up sticks and branches and bringing them over at Yuuri’s side. “—Everytime I see you in the same rink, I just can’t concentrate. The moment I slipped because my eyes were literally following you around made me realize that this was more than a fan-kind of admiration. This is something a lot more. I was happy. And, of course, sad.”

Yuuri stiffened when the Russian raised his head, and looked directly back at him. “I love you, Yuuri. You’re one of the most beautiful and greatest people I’ve ever met in my life.”

He shook his head, heat and blood running up to his face, making his cheeks red. He wetted his lips and stammered and quick, “I-I-I am so sorry if I cannot reciprocate your feelings! I am truly honoured to receive such affections from a wonderful person like you—“

“—Yuuri, I will understand if you won’t talk to me ever again after this confession of mine,” Pyotr interjected, lips trembling and eyes turning watery.

He pulled his hand away to furiously wave his hands in front of him. “You’re mistaken! This will not make me stop talking to you! We can remain friends! I hope you have nothing against that…or will you feel a lot better with me avoiding you? After all, Victor and I are usually...too clingy towards each other, you might think I’m rubbing it on your face or—“

“—No! We can remain friends! In fact, this really relieves me. I thought once you find out you’re going to shriek and apologize that you made me fall for you,” Pyotr remarked with a laugh.

Yuuri frowned at him. “Am I like that?”

“Yes.”

He shuddered. “Okay, that was so firmly said, I don’t think I can argue anymore.” He paused and extended a hand. “S-S-So friends?”

Pyotr eyed his hand, and then took a deep breath. “Friends,” He whispered, shaking Yuuri’s hand gently with a small rueful smile on his face. “May you and Victor be forever in love with each other that people will pass by you after years and think: ‘They’re still together?’ You see, a lot of people are questioning your relationship, thinking it wouldn’t last long, I truly hope you’ll make them wrong, and invite me to your wedding.”

He blushed and blabbered, “I-I-I-I don’t even know if—“

Pyotr rolled his eyes and then raised an eyebrow at him. “—Damn, Yuuri. If you’re thinking Victor has a plan to change his mind or dump you, then you’re fucking wrong. That man was always glaring at me whenever he catches me looking at you. He’s fucking clingy, touchy and feely, but only with you. He wasn’t this lively and jolly and happy before he became your coach, and it’s so obvious the reason was that he met you.”

His heart swelled with the words he just heard. He knew from what Victor had told him how much changes Yuuri had brought into the silver-head’s life, but this was truly the first time someone pointed it out to him. “Thanks,” He whispered.

Pyotr ruffled his hair before going ahead of Yuuri, and walking inside the rink. Yuuri turned to call for Makkachin when realization hit that he was surrounded by sticks and branches which their poodle brought over. Guess I’m ready for winter.

“Makkachin,” He scolded, but he couldn’t help smiling when the poodle barked and circled around happily. Yuuri chuckled and gestured for Makkachin to follow after him.

After few more moments, he entered the rink as well. Pyotr had already glided towards where his other friends were, and chatted with them animatedly. Makkachin jumped around before walking towards his usual spot and sleeping once again. Yuuri walked towards Victor, who was drinking from his water bottle while leaning against the boards on the rink. He removed his skateguards and glided towards where his fiancé was.

“Yuuri~” Victor greeted and opened his arms.

He glided on the ice even faster and then jumped into his coach’s arms. Without further ado, the silver-head caught him perfectly and wrapped him into a warm, tight hug. The thought that everytime he’s going to jump there would be welcoming arms that would catch him still stole his breath away now and then.

He sighed, and melted into the Russian’s arms. Victor chuckled. “Well, aren’t you clingy today?”

Yuuri raised his head and caught Victor’s blue eyes staring at him adoringly. It was still surprising to know that whenever the brunet would look at the Russian, Victor would always look back with an expression of unconditional and never-ending love on his face.  He smiled warmly, and wrapped his own arms around the silver-head. “Can’t I? Should I let go?”

“No way!” Victor whined and hugged him even tighter.

He laughed when he felt himself being squished into a Yuuri Katsuki pulp. Victor laughed back, and then nuzzled his nose on the crown of Yuuri’s head.

“Ne Victor?” He whispered, a little shyly.

“Hm?”

“Daisuki da yo.”

Victor stared at him, bewildered before squealing. Everyone literally looked at them because of it. Yuuri wasn’t able to apologize because suddenly he was being spun in the air by none other than his own fiancé. He shrieked and clung tightly onto the silver-head. When he saw how excited and blissful Victor looked, all he could was laugh back and enjoy the spin around the rink.

When the day was over, the five took a different direction, proclaiming they were going to try out that new bar they saw few meters away from their school. When Pyotr passed by him, Yuuri was surprised to receive a pat on the head. He blinked thrice at the Russian’s direction and found Pyotr waving at him brightly. He waved back. Pyotr then went back to shoving Yefim ‘til the latter almost slipped into the road and got hit by a car.

Dmitri passed by Yuuri and whispered a gentle, “Thank you.”

He looked up and murmured back, “I am glad he’s not avoiding me. I thought he’d feel somehow resentful towards me after that talk outside.”

“He would have if you rejected him roughly. Or didn’t ask him to remain friends,” Dmitri remarked while gazing at his four friends who were fooling around while walking towards the said direction of their school. Yuuri was afraid that they’d turn even worse once they already had alcohol in their system.

Yuuri placed his hands behind his back and smiled. “I couldn’t bear the thought of rejecting him like that. He’s actually a very nice and lively companion. I don’t think my life in the rink will be the same if we suddenly turn into strangers.”

“Sounds like a lot of drama if that happened,” Dmitri teased.

He chuckled. “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”

Dmitri smiled and walked towards where his friends were. “I have no follow after them, or they’ll end up drowning at the frozen lake down that road. See you tomorrow!”

He waved a hand. “Bye!” It took him few moments before he gathered the courage to shout an encouraging, “D-D-Dmitri!”

Dmitri looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“G-G-Good luck on confessing to Pyotr! I know that you have a chance if you just act on it! You two are actually compatible if you just put your mind into it.”

In a millisecond, the Russian’s face exploded. “I-I-I am that obvious?”

“Well, you like teasing him. That’s why I didn’t notice he likes me because I was noticing the way you like him,” he replied with an amused laugh.

Dmitri wetted his lips and then took a deep breath. “I’ll let few day pass. I cannot do my moves while he’s still feeling a little vulnerable. Although, thank you for that encouragement, gave me more strength to actually do something.” He waved. “Bye!”

“Bye! Take care!” He exclaimed and turned to walk towards where Victor and the others waited, only to bump right into his fiance’s chest. “Oomph!” He gasped and almost fell on his butt when Victor snaked an arm around his waist and pulled him close and upright. “T-Thanks,” He whispered. He was so close at Victor’s chest he heard Victor’s heartbeat. His eyes widened when he found out how fast it was.

He looked up and gulped when he found a pair of blue eyes staring at him blankly. “V-V-Victor?”

“Did I miss something?”

He shook his head and held onto his fiance’s shoulders. “You didn’t! I was supposed to tell you earlier but we’re too focused on practice, so I decided to say it back at home.”

“And what is it?” Victor whispered, eyes narrowing.

He hid his face on his coach’s chest and murmured an embarrassed, “Pyotr confessed to me earlier. I rejected him as gently as I could. And then asked if we could remain as friends instead; he agreed. I figured that Dmitri liked Pyotr, and encouraged the former to try showing his feelings out because they had more chance than I and Pyotr do. That’s it.”

“Really?”

“Really,” He insisted.

Victor heaved a sigh of relief before burying his nose on Yuuri’s brunet locks. Yuuri’s heart sped up when his fiancé mumbled, “Ah, thank goodness. I was shocked when Pyotr suddenly patted your head, and smiled at you brightly. I thought that maybe, just maybe, you’re also falling for him or that he actually stands a chance. But I am willing to fight against him if he tried pursuing you.”

“Victor, no need to be—“

“—Yuuri, you’re literally my everything. I cannot bear the thought of you choosing someone else or somebody else standing a chance to steal your heart. My heart almost broke when you told me we should end this back at the Grand Prix Finals in Barcelona. Just imagine if someone from the same rink somehow manages to snatch you away. I’ll turn into the biggest mess, so don’t even wonder why my heartbeat is fast as crazy,” Victor hissed, tightening his arms around him.

“Please know that nothing and no one else will ever make my heart beat like you do,” He answered and looked up at his fiancé with a small smile. “It beats for you.”

“So does mine,” Victor murmured and leaned down to press a kiss on Yuuri’s forehead. “Whenever like this happens again, tell me immediately please.”

He nodded. “Okay. Sorry.”

Mila cooed, “Awww! That’s so sweet!”

Georgi sighed and murmured, “That is the kind of love I’d like to experience.”

“Are you done? Can we eat now? Or do you need us to find you a room so that you can act lovey-dovey for about an hour more?” Yurio growled from meters behind them.

Victor opened an arm wide. “Aww? Are you jealous? Come over here, baby Yurio, and daddy will give you a big hug--“

Yuuri was quick enough to dodge the duffel bag that Yurio threw at the silver-head. “ASSHOLE!”

He laughed alongside the others as Yurio ran after Victor with a big rock, yelling profanities at the older Russian.

It was Victor’s parents’ sixth day in their apartment when Yuuri woke up with Victor shivering beside him on their bed.

His eyes widened open the moment he felt Victor’s arm and body around him shivering like crazy. He turned and found Victor trying his best not to let his teeth clack together. Yuuri reached over and placed a palm on his fiance’s forehead. “You’re burning up!” He hissed, and sat up.

Victor whined at the lost of contact, and tried to bring Yuuri to lie back right beside him. “Yu-Yu-Yuuri, c-c-come back to bed. I-I-I’m fine.”

“You’re not!” He scolded, and stood up to turn on the lights. In the speed of light, he rummaged for a thermometer inside their medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Upon finding one, he ran back to Victor’s side and checked the silver-head’s temperature.

He was about to run back to the bathroom for a wet towel to wipe Victor’s face and body when his fiancé took his hand with his and squeezed it weakly. “D-D-Don’t go away.”

“Victor, I need to get you medicine for your fever,” He persisted and tried to stand up again but Victor clung onto him even more.  “Vic—“

“E-Even just until you get my temperature. Stay by me. Please?” His fiancé begged while linking their hands together.

Surrendering into that, he slumped beside the silver-head and waited for few minutes until the thermometer beeped. “Ah, it’s quite high,” He murmured worriedly. “But you just need to take the whole day off. I’ll make you whatever you want.”

Victor smiled and reached to caress Yuuri’s cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”

“You’re fever-talking,” He accused and stood up.

“Yuuri~” Victor whined, making grabby hands at him. “Don’t leave me here!”

He sighed with a smile before brushing Victor’s hair until the Russian was slowly falling asleep. “Go on and sleep a little more. I’ll go prepare you a chicken and corn soup. And then I’ll sponge bath you before cocooning you with blankets and sweaters. I’ll be right back. Makkachin will keep you company.” He motioned for their poodle, and Makkachin obediently laid beside Victor and snuggled with his master.

Victor sighed into their poodle’s fur.

“Shh. I’ll only take awhile. Take care of him for me, will you?” He murmured to Makkachin and received few wags of tails. He petted Makkachin, and tiptoed out of their room.

Upon closing the door, he rushed towards the kitchen and began preparing chicken and corn soup – the thing with him was that he was a hands-on kind of person and he preferred preparing the meal himself than using instant mixes, so he defrosted chicken breasts, removed the bones, tore the chicken into strips and then boiled it for its’ broth before taking out the other ingredients his mother taught him about.

While waiting for it to boil, he ran and grabbed extra blankets from inside their storage room.

He was just about to go towards their room when Valeria and Ivan went out of their room. “Oh, good morning!” He greeted and tried to balance the blankets in his arms.

Valeria tilted her head in a side. “What are those for?”

“Ah, Victor has a fever,” He said and took two steps forward.

Valeria gasped and then pushed Ivan towards the stairs. “Go help Yuuri bring those upstairs. I’ll help in preparing the soup.”

Ivan raised an eyebrow. “Huh? I still have—“

“If you say that your work if more important than our only child’s health then I’m going to rip those documents right in front of your face, Ivan!” Valeria growled.

Ivan straightened, and stared at his wife. And Valeria stared right back at him.

But Yuuri wasn’t really patient enough today to wait for them to calm down, so he turned and walked forward with bunch of blankets in his arms even if it was probably one of the hardest tasks he’s done since he couldn’t see his step and his surroundings. He yelped when he almost slipped because of the hem of the blanket which he tripped onto. He was about to fall on his butt when someone grabbed half of the blankets in his arms, so he was able to cling onto the wall.

He turned and found Ivan already striding to Victor and Yuuri’s room. He twisted open the door and placed the blankets on top of Victor. Yuuri did the same, and hastily walked back to Victor. He gently eased Victor to sit up and used a towel to wipe away Victor’s sweat. “Yuuri?” His coach mumbled.

Yuuri nodded, and wiped away the tears on the corner of his fiance’s eyes. “Does anywhere hurt?”

“Head is aching so much,” Victor complained, and kissed Yuuri’s nose. “Are you going back to bed?”

He shook his head and grabbed a shirt to help his fiancé put it on. And then a thick sweater on top. Victor slumped onto his arms after the process. “Victor, I’m preparing you something to eat.”

“But I’m not hungry!” Victor whined, and nuzzled his nose into Yuuri’s collarbone. “So warm. Yuuri, stay by my side~”

He planted his lips on the whorl of Victor’s hair, and whispered a gentle, “You have to eat first before taking the medicine. And then, I’ll give you a sponge bath. After that, I’ll be with you in bed all day.”

Victor sulked at him, and squished his cheeks. “But that’s so long. I want to cuddle with you right now.”

“No cuddles until I’m finished doing what I enumerated earlier,” He reprimanded and pinched his fiance’s cheek lightly. He received a sound of protest. “It’ll only take me about half an hour.”

Victor flailed his arms. “Still too long!”

He sighed. “Victor.”

His coach sniffed, and looked up at Yuuri with puppy eyes. “Just half an hour?” He nodded. “And then we get to do cuddles and snuggle all day?” He nodded again. Victor broke into a big heart-shaped smile and finally nodded back. “Well then, I’ll stay in bed and be patient!”

He eased the silver-head back onto their bed. “Good boy. Now, go back to sleep. You’ll feel better if you really rest, and don’t stress yourself out. Makkachin will keep you company.”

When Victor closed his eyes, and slowly returned back to sleep, Yuuri stood up and turned—only to find Ivan still inside their room and found out that he was watching them the whole time. Yuuri’s cheeks turned red, and he stuttered a, “I-I-I didn’t know y-you’re still inside. I’m so—“

Ivan tilted his head in a side. “So that’s how he acts when he’s sick,” He murmured in awe.

Yuuri looked over his shoulder and smiled warmly upon seeing that Victor was now snuggling with Makkachin while snoring lightly. He seemed to have stopped shivering, and was finding the blankets as comfort. “Yes. He rarely gets sick, but he insisted for us to go to the beach yesterday after practice. It was supposed to be just a stroll on the shore until it rained and he decided to counterattack the rain by swimming in the sea. I wasn’t fast enough to stop him.”

“Still as childish as ever,” Ivan sighed in irritation.

He looked back at Ivan and said with an amused chuckle, “But that’s what makes him so lovable, isn’t it?”

Ivan’s eyes widened as Yuuri Katsuki turned back to him with a bright and happy chuckle. “But that’s what makes him so lovable, isn’t it?”

He’d never know. He was always away.

He’d never know. He wasn’t close with his son.

He’d never know. He wasn’t really a father material.

He’d never know. Victor had turned aloof with him because of their checkered and dark past.

He’d never know. Victor grew up knowing he’d never even care.

Something must have shown in his face because Yuuri blinked and called out a hesitant, “Uncle Ivan?”

Uncle Ivan. Uncle.

Not Sir. Not Mister. Not Boss.

And not a forced ‘Father.’

It was a very gentle way that the Japanese called out his name with honorific he was never addressed with before. And the way Yuuri looked at him with concerned eyes was making him somewhat feel after years of being numb.

“Uncle Ivan? Are you alright? Would you like to sit and rest? Do you need water?” Yuuri asked, fidgeting and clearly worried with his condition.

Uncle.

He was readying himself to say ‘I’m fine’ or ‘Thank you for the concern’ when his usual coldness won and he blurted out, “Why are you even asking me that? Victor is burning up, and he hasn’t taken any food and medicine yet. Do you really he’d heal with sleep alone? What’s the purpose of you being his fiancé is you can’t even take care of him properly? So useless.”

He knew he fucked up when the Japanese’s hands fell on his sides before stiffening. Yuuri gulped, and whispered a cracked, “I’m sorry,” before passing by Ivan and rushing out of their room.

Ivan went out of the room feeling remorseful, and with the way Valeria was seething at him while sitting on a couch clearly stated that she must have felt that he fucked up his conversation with Yuuri.

“What did you say to him, Ivan? He looks miserable and empty ever since he went out of that room. You clearly fucked up; you should really keep your distance from him,” she hissed with an eyeroll.

“I wanted to have a decent talk, but my mouth slipped, okay?”

Valeria glared at him, and turned at the other direction. “And that’s the reason why Victor turned aloof with you, remember?” He straightened with the reminder. “When he came out to us, the first word you said was: ‘disgrace.’ What word slipped your mouth this time?”

He looked down at his hands. “…Useless.”

Valeria looked at him as if he grown two horns on his head. She made gestures which didn’t really mean anything aside from showing her frustration at him before slumping onto her seat. “Ivan, have you even seen that boy? He might be an angel, but he also looks like he’s suffering from something. Haven’t you learned? Words sometimes hurt more than bruises. Why can’t you grasp that?”

He sighed and mussed his hair in irritation. “I’ll fix it, okay?”

His wife scoffed. “You better do, because if your words damaged him more than you thought, I will not even bother saying: ‘I told you so’ because I might just punch you.”

They turned when they heard Yuuri cursing from the kitchen. “Are you alright, dearie? Do you need me to hel—“

“N-No, I’m alright. I just accidentally cut myself. I’m alright!” Yuuri insisted, and walked few feet to take another strip of bandaid to wrap his new wound.

Ivan picked up his phone, and tried browsing his e-mails when it suddenly lagged. “Damn it. Popov just sent the attachment I was waiting for. This stupid, useless phone!” He grunted.

At the word ‘useless’ Yuuri yelped from where he stood. He raised his head and found the Japanese drying the few spoonfuls of soup that spilled on the floor, his left hand’s forefinger and thumb were red.

Valeria hissed at Ivan, “You and your stupid mouth!” before standing up to help Yuuri. She crouched beside the Japanese, and helped Yuuri with his burnt fingers and new wounds to the best of her ability before wrapping almost his whole hand with band-aids.

When he was finished, Ivan watched as Yuuri walked towards the master’s bedroom with a tray of food with shaking hands. He lightly kicked the door close, and disappeared from sight.

Valeria sighed, and whispered, “I think that kid has anxiety. It’s as if his thoughts were consuming his brain, and he cannot function right whenever a thought comes into his mind. I’m terrified of what your words could have done to him.”

I’m sorry.

I never thought these two words could be the hardest things to say.

Yuuri walked back inside the room and fed Victor with the chicken and corn soup he prepared by hand. Victor sat up and let himself be fed with no complaints. Yuuri wasn’t expecting his fiance’s excited, “Vkusno!” before accepting another spoonful. “Waah! So tasty!”

He chuckled, and happily fed his fiancé. After every few spoonfuls, the silver-head exclaimed praises which really made him proud of himself and his cooking. Surprisingly, Victor finished the whole bowl and even demanded for seconds when he was well enough later. So Yuuri made the Russian drink his medicine before preparing for his sponge bath.

He gave the Russian a five minute sponge bath to which Victor squealed whenever the towel brushed on his sides and the nape of his neck. Yuuri laughed when Victor shrieked and rolled away from him because he teased the other by poking Victor’s side. “So mean!” The silver-head grumbled. He just laughed even louder.

He dressed him up again after, and then like what he promised, he laid down beside his fiancé, and let Victor snuggle on his chest. He didn’t know if he would get a fever as well because of this, but he couldn’t possibly say ‘no’ to Victor at the latter’s condition.

Victor clung into him as if he’d disappear any second. “Ahh, you came back,” Victor whispered before closing his eyes with a small smile.

Yuuri’s eyes widened when he noticed the tears threatening to fall down the silver-head’s cheek. He wiped them away and placed a tender kiss on his fiance’s forehead. “I’ll never leave you. You’ll never be lonely again. You were lonely long enough. It’s time you experience all the love you have always deserved.”

Victor smiled even wider and sighed in his chest. “My Yuuri~” He purred. “My gold. My sun. My universe. My stars. My life. My love. My everything. My strength. My half,” He chanted.

Yuuri’s heart clenched in happiness when Victor murmured into his collarbone, “My Yuuri. My Yuuri. My Yuuri who has a heart of constellations which stars shine so brightly, it makes me believe that the darkness surrounding my heart could actually be dispelled. My Yuuri.” He sighed, “My Yuuri; the reason my heart still beats.” And a tear still slipped down his cheek, and gradually and beautifully, it dropped onto Yuuri’s chest.

He stared in awe at his sleep-talking fiance’s figure before letting his own tears flow. He wrapped his arms tightly around the silver-head, and sobbed as quietly as he could on top of Victor’s head. Makkachin whined beside him and kept him company as he hugged Victor’s burning body tightly in his arms.

Valeria knew that her husband was no good with words. That Ivan didn’t know how to show what he truly felt. That her husband was the worst talker ever if you didn’t know how to interpret his words, and tried your hardest to make him spill what he really wanted to say.

It was their ninth day stay in her son’s house when something unfathomable happened.

She should have insisted for Yuuri to come along with Victor when Victor was called out by Yakov because all of the coaches staying here in Russia were called to assemble for a meeting before the Worlds few weeks from now. Victor was begging his coach to let Yuuri come, but Yakov persisted that Victor did this, he might get disqualified because Yuuri then would hear their conversation, and that would be unfair to the other contenders since Victor was already a coach and a skater.

And seeing as the rink was closed for the day, Yuuri accepted his fate that he’d remain in the house with Valeria, Ivan and Makkachin.

Yuri Plisetsky was going to visit his Grandfather. Mila and Georgi had their own appointments and places to go to. So Yuuri had no excuse to go out.

Victor hugged Yuuri tightly and told Yuuri to stay inside his room without interacting to Ivan in anyway until the silver-head arrived back home. Yuuri begrudgingly agreed because his fiancé was glaring at him. With that, Victor planted a kiss on the brunet’s cheeks, and departed with a dramatic sob.

And the tense atmosphere turned even worse when lunch came, and Yuuri was the one who ended up making their lunch. With only the three of them gathered together in the table with no interference from Victor, it seemed that there was that static between Yuuri and Ivan which none wanted to address.

Yuuri stood up to get more rice when Ivan remarked, “I’m not asking you to break up with him. I’m just telling you to truly think if this is what you want for your life.”

Yuuri halted, and slowly turned. He gulped, and whispered, “T-This is. I have no regrets or remorse with this decision I made. I love Victor, and he loves me and if we’re fated to marry, then I couldn’t ask for more.”

“I heard that you’re a late bloomer in your chosen profession,” Ivan said and lifted his eyes to meet Yuuri’s. She had always hated it when her husband talked like this, and used such a neutral expression because it was the face he used whenever he negotiated and tried to scare someone in a debate. She didn’t want him to use to the Japanese, because she knew that he’d only inflict more wounds on the poor kid.

The Japanese stiffened and nodded stiffly. “I-I-I am.”

“And that you’ve only truly shown your potential and strength when Victor became your coach?” Ivan asked, propping his elbows on the table.

Yuuri blinked and whispered, “Y-Yes, kind of like that.”

“I’m not against you. In fact, you’re actually starting to grow on me. It’s just that I am worried for Victor. And that’s saying something because as you might have noticed, we hadn’t seen eye to eye since years before, and there’s this gap between us. Gradually, I want to mend what I’ve broken, so I am concerned with your relationship. This is a different world, Yuuri. Even if people have grown to accept the diversity in the gender, it’s just still different for two men to marry. And it’s even kind of –for the lack of better term—worse for two male figure skaters to do so. You’re countering nature too much that it might cause your reputations and dreams’ downfall. I am not making you break up with him, but I do ask you to limit your public display of affection, and to…cancel the marriage.”

Valeria gasped, “Ivan, how dare you—“

“I can’t!” Yuuri shouted, holding onto his ring. “Our matching ring is not merely a charm anymore. It’s a sign of us being soulmates—“

“—Soulmates? Who believes in that bullshit? In this world, you need to be practical! You need to live up to the people’s expectations. You need to be the best version of yourself. And you’re literally not all of those. You needed Victor to become strong enough to get silver in GPF. You need Victor to remain your coach before you continue your career. You need Victor’s words before you can give your best in your competition. You love Victor but you’re willing to sacrifice you images to marry him, when you’ve already gotten him. You can be focusing on being practical in your life, but you seem to be not even worried about what the future holds. You’re just twenty-four, not even reaching half of your life but you’re wasting it! Victor is a prodigy; your skating as from hard work and luck to have lots of time. He deserves someone who’ll motivate him to become great, not pull him down to the same level because you want to. And if you’re childish enough to believe in soulmates or fate, well then, I’ll be blunt enough to say that my son doesn’t deserve you,” Ivan snarled.

And his words seemed to have sunk in into him after a minute because he suddenly turned rigid frozen with shock.

Yuuri stared, bewildered, at Ivan before gulping. He turned and refilled the rice container with rice. He settled it down on the center of the table with trembling hands, and continued eating but his expression was so blank and empty, Valeria was afraid of what thoughts were now enveloping the kid’s mind.

Yuuri volunteered to wash the dishes. After doing so, he fed Makkachin and walked towards their room.

Valeria was passing by the master’s bedroom towards the bathroom when she heard Yuuri’s sobs inside their room. She felt guilty about it but eavesdropped about it anyway. “H-Hello, Mari-nee chan?” He chuckled. “A-A-Ah, oh? I-I’m alright; are Mom and Dad there?”

He paused and hummed. “Oh, nothing. I-I just felt like call—Ah, you caught me.” He paused again before beginning to sob. “Nee-chan…Nee-chan. Nee-chan!” He wailed into the receiver.

Her heart clenched when he whispered a broken, “Nee-chan, I want to make them stop. I want to rip these thoughts out of my head.” He heaved deep breaths and Valeria couldn’t understand him anymore since he was speaking in Japanese. One word which she recognized though, struck to her, the most: ‘Tasukete.’

Help me.

It made her uneasy when Victor arrived late in the evening, and Yuuri went to greet his fiancé with a bright smile. Yuuri took Victor coat, and leaned up when Victor planted a kiss on his nose as a greeting. “I ordered sushi. Will that do?” The brunet asked, pacing around the house as if he wasn’t sobbing helplessly hours earlier.

Victor eyed Yuuri and whispered, “Did something happen?”

Yuuri stiffened before waving a hand. “What? Oh, none. Nothing did. In fact, I was so bored today I just slept all day hence my face like this.”

Her son smiled slightly and pulled Yuuri into a hug. “I missed you.”

“Hm, so did I.”

Valeria bit her bottom lip as she saw the blank expression on the Japanese’s face the moment Victor’s back was turned away from him.

It was like seeing a bomb slowly ticking ‘til it explodes. It was terrifying.

The thing with anxiety was that it attacks you all of a sudden. You were completely fine one second and then after another tick of the clock, dark thoughts start to occupy your mind until you don’t know anymore how to fight them.

You just succumb into the darkness your anxious thoughts drown you into. You push others away. You’re drowning with thoughts that you don’t even know where they originated. And you’ll drown, and drown and drown until no one can save you. Yet no one’s at fault because they will be very few who’ll notice.

Because anxiety does that. It rarely lets you speak up. It seldom lets you tell your troubles to others. It crawls out of your head and covers your mouth with a smile. It hides the sadness and desperation in your eyes and shows others a bright expression. It makes you walk and do everyday routines even if all you wanted was do something to push these thoughts away.

This’ll continue until you cannot breathe.

Victor woke up to find the place beside him empty and cold.

He frowned and looked at his phone for the time. He blinked when he found out that it was just two seventeen in the morning. Even if Yuuri was a Night Owl, he was usually asleep by this time.

He looked at his other side, and sat up abruptly when he didn’t see Makkachin lying by his side, which was even more unusual.

He squinted and found the lights on in the bathroom, so he slipped in his slippers and walked towards their bathroom. Yawning, he knocked on the door. “Yuuri?”

He didn’t receive any reply although there was the sound of running water inside.

“Yuuri?” He repeated, more alert this time.

His heart thundered in beating when Makkachin scratched the door from the inside. “Makkachin?” He called out. Makkachin scratched even more as if he was anxious, and barked thrice. Victor tried to open the door but found it locked.

He cursed and looked for the house’s spare keys. Upon finding it, he hastily unlocked the door. His eyes widened when his slippers turned wet once he entered because of the water overflowing.

Makkachin was pacing around frantically. Victor raised his gaze from the water down his feet up to the bathtub wherein the faucet was still turned in full blast filling the tub with water. He ran towards the bathtub and choked upon seeing Yuuri down the tub, unconscious and seemed to have stopped breathing.

He quickly pulled his fiancé out of the tub, turned the faucet off and pumped the water out of the brunet’s lungs before performing CPR. After five tries, Yuuri choked a large gulp of air. But when Victor tried to wake him up, the Japanese turned into a limp in his arms.

The Russian’s blood turned cold when he noticed the way his fiance’s lips were turning so pale. He had no choice. “MOM! DAD! MOOOMMM! DADDDD!”

His parents arrived inside within a minute, and Valeria quickly dialled the hospital with quivering hands. Her voice was also shaking.

Ivan was staring at Yuuri’s body with wide, resentful eyes.

Victor couldn’t stop his tears when Yuuri shuddered in his arms, and breathed in small huffs of air as if he was having a hard time to breathe. “Hang in there, please hang in there.”

Anxiety could be fatal.

Because it’s a mental illness that eats an individual inside out. Something that turned something uncomplicated into something so huge that sometimes it’s unbelievable.

Anything and everything can trigger it: a word, a phrase, a sentence, a gesture, a single action.

And before you know it, you might be too late.

Chapter Text

Victor never detested hospitals. He never found a reason to do so until today.

The moment they arrived in the Hospital, Yuuri’s body, which was half-lifelessly laid on a stretcher, was rushed insider the Emergency Room. And he tried to get inside, as well, because the future was uncertain. No one even knew if his fiancé would come out alive or not. However, he wasn’t permitted to do so.

It took three security personnel to stop him, and after being threatened that he couldn’t enter the Hospital even after his fiancé wakes up, he gave up and sat quietly on a waiting bench outside the Emergency Room.

His parents arrived after eight minutes, wearing their sleep attire, which meant they didn’t even bother changing their clothes and just wiped the sleep away from their faces. He would have appreciated that they didn’t try being perfectly presentable in an emergency but this emotion vanished the moment his eyes met his father’s nervous and remorseful ones.

“What did you say to him?” He spat.

His mother jumped with the tone in his voice. His father, though, remained with his stiff position and looked at him with the best neutral expression he could muster.

He stood up and approached his father. “What. Did. You. Say. To. Yuuri?” He asked, a cold smile was appearing on his face and he was trying his best to diminish it.

“What gave you the idea that I said anything to him? We rarely interact—“

Bull. “I was conscious enough to know you were still inside our room, watching us, back when I was sick.  If were truly uninterested, you would have gone out the moment you laid the blankets on me. But no, you stayed behind. That night, Yuuri whispered words I never expected to hear with tears spilling down his cheeks,” He hissed. He was almost the same height as his father, which made their eye contact even scarier and fiercer. They were literally seeing each other eye-to-eye.

Everyone around them must be feeling that cold atmosphere that their argument and contact was emitting.

“I’ll never leave you. You’ll never be lonely again. You were lonely long enough. It’s time you experience all the love you have always deserved.”

The thing was: Victor wasn’t the only one lonely between him and Yuuri. Yuuri was also an affection-deprived being, who just liked keeping his feelings within him. Who preferred hiding his hands behind his back even if he wanted a hug so badly. Yuuri would shut his lips even if a kiss was one of his ways of being assured that everything was alright. The brunet would hide himself under a cocoon of blankets, trying to push his thoughts away instead of saying them aloud. And the Japanese would hide everything with a smile as he says: ‘It’s nothing,’ even if he was being eaten inside out.

Yuuri was also lonely long enough. And he deserved the love back he always gave out to everyone surrounding him.

Ivan blinked, and waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing that he should have over-thought of. So I wouldn’t really concern myself with this so-called guilt you want to inflict—“

Victor reached, and cupped his own father’s cheeks with a hand, the same way he did with Yurio back in Spain the morning after his engagement with Yuuri. “I am not asking about that. I am asking you what you told him. Go straight to the point, I have no fucking time for all of your shits.”

He felt satisfied when his trembling hands that were tightening on his father’s face made the older wince. “Fine. When you were sick, he had the audacity to ask about me when you were the one laying on the bed, sick, and burning like a torch. I called him ‘useless’ for thinking about me, who’s perfectly healthy, instead of you, his so-called fiancé. Simple as that.”

‘Useless.’

And ‘simple as that’?!

He watched, his heart breaking, as Yuuri slipped and fell on his side again for the fifth time since they started the practice this morning.

They were departing for Grand Prix Finals tomorrow, and he suggested for them to just rest, but the brunet insisted that they trained even just for awhile. He was about to protest but saw that desperation and nervousness that were evident on the Japanese’s eyes, so he finally agreed.

And he asked for Yuuri to just try quadruple flips for their half-day session. Yuuri hadn’t landed one—it was affecting the Japanese more than he wanted. He wanted to cry out that it’s enough. However, Yuuri stood up again, glided on the ice and tried to do another one. He landed on his butt.

Victor rushed to his student’s side when the brunet didn’t stand up after. He crouched, and found Yuuri hiding his face between his knees. “Yuuri? Are you alright?”

“Victor?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m so sorry if I’m useless.”

You’re not. “What? No! Yuuri, you’re no—“

“I’m sorry for being uselessly weak. I’m sorry for being uselessly skittish. I’m sorry for being uselessly defeated by my thoughts.” A slight pause, and then a cracked, “I’m sorry I’m useless when my anxiety’s acting up.”

He gently lifted Yuuri’s face upwards, and whispered slowly, “You are not useless. You’re just nervous, terrified, scared. You have anxiety, and it’s one of the hardest things to conquer. You’re actually strong to still be standing up, still skating and trying to please and awe the world even if your thoughts are eating you alive. Yuuri, I’m here, tell me everything that’s in your mind. They won’t matter to me, because in the end, I will always believe in you.”

So Yuuri crumbled in his arms, as words and his thoughts spilled out of his mouth. Victor decided then that he would forever hate the word: ‘useless’ in his life.

He whipped his head to look at his mother, who was watching them with a horrified look on her face, her hands nervously placed over her chest. “Is there more than I should know about?”

Victor didn’t miss the way Valeria looked at Ivan with eyes inquiring if she should say anything. Of course, he also didn’t miss the fact that Ivan gave a look of warning and alarm at his wife.

“Ah, so you have,” He murmured. “Please do tell me. After all, my fiancé is inside the Emergency Room right now, and your words might have led him to this state. You taught me one thing in my life and that’s: words hurt more than bruises.”

Ivan slapped his hand away, and sighed. “Why would words lead him to this state? They’re just words—“

“Words that made me depressed. Words that made Yurio conscious of his growing body as he hits puberty because people think he might not turn into a prodigy if he gets affected by it too much. Words that made Yakov sometimes question his choice of coaching techniques because his students don’t listen to him, and many are asking if he wasn’t old enough to retire already. Words which made Lilia always look presentable, and full blast because she’s a well-known ballerina, but all people see is the difference that had happened to her ever since she took the world with her ballet dancing years ago.

Words that made Mila want to learn self-defense to fight off those who try harassing her. Words that sometimes made Georgi so affected that he couldn’t skate, because after all, he’s kind of living in my and Yurio’s shadows.” He took a step forward towards his father, and snapped, “If you’re still oblivious with all of these hints. Well then, Yuuri has a fucking anxiety. And it’s eating him inside out. By the way, you made it worse. Thank you.”

Valeria placed a hand over her mouth, and murmured, “S-So I’m right. He does have anxiety. I-I-I-I’m sorry for not—“

“I don’t need your apology. I need you to tell me everything you’ve told him. Because he needs all the supports he needs. And the best way to start is to counter those thoughts his mind had created, which was caused by your fucking mouth. Now, spill, or I’m going to kick you out of our apartment, and I promise you: I will change my surname to Katsuki if I have to just to show you how I despise you to the core of my being,” He growled, and clenched his hands into fists on both of his sides.

Valeria placed a hand on his arm, her voice alarmed as she begged, “Victor, you wouldn’t—“ He looked at her with a blank look, and she quickly retracted her hand away. She gulped, and whispered everything that transpired when he left to go to a coaches’ meeting, leaving Yuuri with his parents.

The story only took five minutes to be told, but it felt like eternity as realization sunk in. As guilt slapped him on his face. And then a red wave of anger as he realized how useless he was, how stupid he was when he left the brunet under his parents’ wings. It was not even a whole day of separation, but it was enough to break down his fiancé.  Enough to make his fingers slip from clutching Yuuri’s own as they become each other’s anchors. Enough to see the Japanese crumble with all of these thoughts weighing him down until he couldn’t stand up.

With white noise making him deaf and pure rage filling his whole being, he grabbed his father’s collar, and growled in Russian, “Never ever talk to Yuuri again. You are not allowed to say a thing to him. You are not allowed to look at him. You are not allowed to even stay in the same place as he does. Keep five meters away from him at all times. The moment you two leave our apartment is the moment I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

“How dare you talk to your own fa—“

“I dared to talk to my own father like this because he’s the one who almost killed my fiancé. I hope this day will forever haunt you.” He released his father, and walked out of the Hospital to blow some fuse on an innocent tree. He was still in the right state of mind to look for a place wherein no one would hear and see him, because Yuuri will kill him if he finds out Victor was doing things that could ruin his image. Yuuri was too kind for his own good.

His knuckles were bleeding, and blood was trickling down onto the ground when he was finished. He yelled a loud, “FUCK!” before he fell to his knees. He looked at his hands, and his engagement ring glinted with the full moon above in the skies. Finally, he gritted his teeth and let the tears fall.

I’m always too late. Always, always too late.

When will I ever win against his anxiety? When will I ever be enough to anchor him before he sinks down that darkness his thoughts create?

He returned inside the Hospital only to find Yuuri seated on a wheelchair with Makkachin diligently sitting on the ground beside the brunet. He was conversing with a doctor and a pair of nurses. His eyes widened as he watched Yuuri shiver under his three layers of clothing and blanket. Makkachin might have noticed it, went in front of the Japanese, and placed his chin on top of Yuuri’s lap.

He looked around, and found his parents and their Russian skating family sitting by the benches by the lounging/waiting area of the lobby. Yurio didn’t even hesitate to stand up, and follow after him and he walked back to Yuuri. He was expecting questions, but received silence instead.

Yuuri rubbed his hands together, and breathed on them as the doctor continued on talking before him. Victor removed his coat, and placed it around his fiance’s shoulders before removing his gloves.

The Japanese looked over his shoulder at Victor in surprise. “Victor!” He gasped with a small smile on his face. It lighted the whole room with happiness.

Victor breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his fiance’s smile, and reached for the brunet’s hands to put on the gloves he was wearing and removed upon seeing how cold the other was. Yuuri’s hands were freezing, numb and were trembling so badly when he was putting the gloves on. He lifted them up, and placed a kiss on top of each hand after putting the gloves on.

Yuuri’s already rosy cheeks turned even redder. He bit his bottom lip in shyness, and squeezed Victor’s hands in appreciation.

Victor walked over to lean Yuuri’s head on his side before facing the doctor. “Hello!”

The doctor chuckled. “Hello, as well. It has been awhile, wasn’t it?”

“Yep! The last time I went here was when—“

“—When you slipped on the frozen lake. While you were wearing skates. And tried skating outside of a rink. And then sprained your wrist which you used as leverage,” Yurio interrupted, wheezing in laughter. “Damn, and you just won your third Worlds by then, too.”

He sent a dirty look at the younger Russian. Yuuri was silently chuckling as he looked down to look at the brunet. He pouted and whined, “So mean!”

The doctor stifled his laughter, and tried not to show his smile as he stated, “Yes, it was such a hilarious story.” When Victor continued sulking, he quickly changed the topic. “Anyway, Yuuri here was so lucky. He got a mild hypothermia, but he just needs five layers of clothing everyday, and he’ll be fine. We got the water out of his system, and managed to bring his temperature to normal. Though, I must ask—did anyone he interacted with for the past few days had a fever or any of the sort?”

He flinched. “Er, I did?”

“And did you made contact in anyway with our dear Yuuri?”

“Ah, well—“

“—He clung to him all night, and wouldn’t stop placing kisses on katsudon’s face and forehead. He wouldn’t let Katsudon go although he needed so badly to go to the bathroom. So yes, Yuuri made contact with this stupid moron when Victor had a fever,” Yurio interjected with a sneer.

“You’re a real friend, Yurio. Thank you,” He mumbled. “And how did you even find out?”

“You’re welcome, asshole. After that thousands of posts you did in IG even if you’re fucking sick made it so obvious.”

The doctor sent Victor an unamused face. “So that’s why. Yuuri had a fever when he dipped into the bathtub. You know what? Yuuri, please do tell the story since it’ll be better if it comes from you.”

Yuuri fidgeted beside him, and stared at the ground. “I did get a fever from Victor. Seeing as my temperature wasn’t even that high, and that I wasn’t really feeling so ill, I drank some medicine, which I didn’t realize would make me super drowsy in few minutes. It was my tradition to take warm bath when I have a fever because it sometimes works even better than medicine. It was so cold, I dipped into the bathtub the moment the water touched half of the bathtub. I was so deep in thought, I fell asleep. The medicine worked so well, I couldn’t seem to wake up.”

“Until you drowned?” He exclaimed, looking incredulously at his fiancé.

Yuuri blushed in embarrassment. “I was hiding ‘til under my nose in the bathtub. Must have succumbed down when I fell asleep?”

The doctor chuckled in bemusement and wrote more notes down on his clipboard. “You’re actually free to go. Just don’t let yourself be exposed to too much cold for few days, and you’ll be good as if nothing happened. Your body’s still pretty weak and numb to go do strenuous work for today and tomorrow, I believe, so it’ll be better if you stay on a wheelchair until you’re truly fine to do things by yourself.”

Yuuri nodded, and clasped his hands together. He shivered again, and leaned into Victor’s side for more warmth.

Victor enveloped an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders and pressed a kiss on the brunet’s forehead. It was unbelievably warm; he was pretty certain that his fiancé was still suffering with his fever. “We’ll be home soon. I’ll turn the heater on so that you won’t feel cold.”

“Ah, by the way!” The doctor gasped, and quietly talked with the nurses beside him. The two nodded and went to opposite directions. “Since it seems that you have already undergone therapy with a psychiatrist before—“ Yuuri stiffened, and Victor looked down at the brunet in surprise. “—Oh, no one knows? I am sorry. I thought at least these people would know since you seem close with them. Again, I’m sorry—“

“—No, it’s okay, please do continue,” Yuuri murmured, eyes not meeting anyone else’s.

The doctor cleared his throat. “I, uh, yes. Since you have already gone therapy with a psychiatrist before back in Detroit, I believe you don’t need to do another session/set with a new one here in Russia. I’ll just give you anti-anxiety pills which you’d need to intake daily for a month. I also wrote down some pills made of herbs which could slow down your heartbeat when you’re having panic or anxiety attacks. Also, sleeping pills if your anxiety wouldn’t let you sleep. Do not rely on them too much, though because overdosing those pills could lead to…” The doctor paused, and made some gestures.

“Yes, I know. I might never wake up,” Yuuri filled in.

“Oh, ah, you’ve taken these before, as well?”

“Yes, were given the same back in US. Stopped after intaking them for a year,” The Japanese explained, but didn’t elaborate. His eyes were still pasted on the hands he had on Makkachin’s fur.

The nurses returned with bottles of different capsules. Victor listened intently as the doctor pointed each pill’s name on the prescription, and then the said bottle, and what they’re for. Victor willed himself to memorize every single little thing even if Yuuri had taken the same years before. It was better to be careful.

With those tucked inside Yurio’s bag, he was about to take out his wallet when the doctor waved his hands. “Oh, no. All of your hospital bills have been paid in full already.”

“By whom?”

“Ah, that other silver-head in the lounging area,” The doctor answered as he took another clipboard and scanned a new patient’s condition and notes.

Father…

He smiled and chimed, “Well, that’s great! Thank you very much! We shall come back if we see further problems, which I hope wouldn’t happen.” With a last wave at the doctor and the nurses, he pushed Yuuri’s wheelchair towards the waiting area.

Before his fiancé was bombarded by their Russian skating family, though, he crouched in front of Yuuri and cupped the brunet’s cheeks with his hands. “You scared me,” He whispered. “We have to talk after arriving back home, okay?”

Yuuri nodded, worrying his lip. Yurio might have felt that they needed time for themselves and went back to the others with one last long look at the Japanese.

“And you have to tell me everything, alright?” He added since he knew that he badly needed to know every single little thing, because being with someone who had anxiety meant you had to be focused on every detail. A single thing could…He didn’t even want to think about it.

His fiancé looked at him uncertainly. His face turned paler when Victor emphasized and repeated the word: ‘everything.’

“Please?” He pleaded, thumbs caressing the brunet’s cheeks. “For me. For the two of us. For those who are worrying about you.” He was willing to say: ‘For Makkachin’ to see if it would work.

But Yuuri had taken a deep breath, and finally nodded again. “Okay.”

Thank god. He leaned over to kiss Yuuri’s nose. Yuuri smiled slightly and closed his eyes. “I love you,” He mumbled. He didn’t know how much his fiancé needed to hear those words but he was willing to say them at every second he was given a chance to do so.

Yuuri’s smile widened. He traced Victor’s eyelid with an  adoring expression before responding with a love-filled, “I love you too.”

Victor’s heart swelled when the moment Yuuri’s wheelchair appeared in their field of vision, everyone stood up to approach them. The lounging area, which was usually quiet, sad and solemn or deserted was suddenly filled with noise.

He let go of Yuuri’s wheelchair’s handles, and let the others have Yuuri for few minutes because they deserved it after running here the moment Victor texted Yakov and Yurio of Yuuri’s state.

Mila knelt in front of Yuuri, and took his hands in hers. She opened her mouth and then closed it again.

They all waited in tense silence as the red-head and brunet just stared at each other.

Mila wetted her lips and looked straight at the brunet. “I…” She trailed off, and then started sobbing.

“M-M-M-Mila?” Yuuri gasped in shock, looking around for a handkerchief or a tissue to pat her cheeks dry.

Mila continued staring at Yuuri. “I was so scared,” She breathed, and then wailed even louder. She enveloped her arms around the Japanese’s waist, and buried her face in Yuuri’s stomach. She didn’t stop crying, though. Her heart-wrenching wails echoed in the lounging area.

Yuuri smiled sadly, and brushed a hand on Mila’s red hair. “I’m sorry,” He murmured and continued on brushing her hair tenderly. “I am so sorry.”

Georgi picked up the blanket he had brought along, and wrapped Yuuri’s shoulders with it. “You must be cold. Russia’s not an easy country to adapt to, after all,” He said with the gentlest and most serene tone Victor had ever heard. The whole room cringed when Georgi also began crying.

“O-O-Oi, what the fuck?” Yurio spluttered, inching away from the twenty five year old.

Georgi sniffed his snot, and tried to wipe his tears away. “I am fine with Anya leaving me for another guy. She’s an asshole. But I cannot fathom what I’ll feel if you die and leave us, Yuuri. That’s a different kind of sadness, which I don’t want to feel. So please, please, don’t ever scare us like that again.”

Yuuri nodded and tentatively squeezed Georgi’s arm. Georgi cried even louder when he felt Yuuri’s gloved hand on his arm, as if he was still not believing that Yuuri was actually right before them.

The five idiots weren’t here physically but they left a video chat, and it was kinda funny to watch because they were all grossly sobbing while asking various questions about Yuuri’s health. Yuuri promised, laughing, to answer later.

Yakov sighed, and ruffled Yuuri’s hair. “You almost caused me a heart attack, child. I am too old for this kind of surprises. Please limit this kind of instances, because you might literally become the death of me.” The expression he sent to the Japanese made everyone do a double-take because it was a very rare kind of thing to see.

Yuuri blushed. “I apologize.”

Lilia placed her palm on Yuuri’s forehead. After hissing his estimated temperature, she fixed the coat and blanket around him. She frowned at the brunet and eased his fringe away from his eyes. “Are you alright, though? It’s five in the morning, you must be feeling sleepy. We have contacted your family in Japan, and they had left thousands of voice mails in your cell, I believe. We might be your Russian skating family, but nothing beats hearing from your biological family. I have brought my car with me, I shall send you and Victor home. You better take a day off, you’re burning up.”

“I’m coming along!” Yurio said, raising a hand. Everyone looked at him both in surprise and confusion with the sudden order.

“Yuri Plisetsky, Yuuri needs—“ Lilia began sternly, turning to her ballet student.

“—No, it’s okay,” Yuuri assured as he sent the blond a smile. “Yurio can come along. You are all welcome to visit whenever you want.”

Victor looked at his parents, who were silently watching all of this unfold before them. “Please do not sleep at home for this morning, and come back at around five in the afternoon. I haven’t forgotten what you’ve done, and I’d rather not blow a fuse at you—I don’t want to regret it afterwards.” His mouth could either spit out cotton candy-like words or words that could be categorized as a viper’s venom.

Yuuri looked at him with a shocked expression. “Victo—“

He tried not to react when his father actually answered with a sincere, “Fine. We’ll comply.” Even his mother seemed taken aback with the grounded response from the other silver-head.

With that, he pushed Yuuri’s wheelchair to Lilia’s car. They folded the wheelchair, placed it at the back and sat at the backseat with Makkachin. Yurio sat at the passenger seat while Yakov informed them that he’d go back home with Georgi, who brought his car along to pick up the others, and now to send them home.

Victor planted a long, meaningful kiss on his fiance’s forehead and received a hum of contentment. God, I love him. Please don’t ever take him away.

Yurio went down of the car with them, and even quietly set down the wheelchair for Yuuri to sit on. He told Lilia that he’d like to stay in the fiances’ apartment for awhile and would just walk back home alone. So, Lilia drove back alone after one last squeeze with Yuuri’s hand.

Victor pushed his fiance’s wheelchair back inside, and set it by the living room. “I’m gonna go prepare something to drink and eat so that you could drink your medicine. After that, you should go to sleep and rest.”

Yuuri blinked twice, and nodded. “Alright. Earl Grey tea’s fine.”

“Okay!” He chimed and skipped towards the kitchen to start preparing their light food and beverage.

Yurio was sitting quietly with Makkachin on the couch when he returned. Yuuri was still on his wheelchair and trying to manoeuvre it by himself. When he went too much forward, Yurio grabbed the handled and pulled him easily back to his original position.

“Thanks, Yurio,” Yuuri said and chuckled apologetically. He and the brunet blinked in confusion when Yurio only did was nod and resumed petting Makkachin.

Victor handed over toasted bread with butter to Yuuri and then sat down beside Yurio to hold the tea for his fiancé ‘til the other’s done eating. When the brunet was done eating, Victor handed over the medicine he knew was needed to be taken before sleeping.

Yuuri gulped them down with water, and within few moments, he was already yawning. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, and whined towards Victor.

“Too effective,” The older Russian remarked while pushing his student’s wheelchair to their bedroom. Yuuri leaned his head backwards onto Victor’s tummy, and smiled in satisfaction with the warmth it brought him. He chuckled, and rubbed circles on the back of his fiance’s hand. He ignored Yurio, who trailed after them silently.

He eased Yuuri onto their bed and placed two thick blankets on top of his fiancé. He turned on the heater, and closed all windows. Yuuri breathed out, and mouthed, “Thanks.”

Both of them had their eyes widening when Yurio also tucked in the same bed and laid down right beside the Japanese. “Yurio?” Yuuri whispered in concern and surprise.

Yurio laid on his side and hid his face on Yuuri’s side. He curled on himself, and placed a hand on Yuuri’s chest. “It’s beating normally,” The blond murmured, tone filled with relief, and closed his eyes – as if from relief.

He poke the blond, and reprimanded light-heartedly, “Yurio, Yuuri needs to slee—“

Yuuri shushed him with a finger over his lips before petting Yurio. He brushed the blond’s locks, and tenderly pulled the younger closer. “Did I scare you?” He whispered.

Yurio frowned with his eyes shut, and nodded aggressively. “Asshole,” The younger Russian added for good measure.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. Do you want to spend the night beside me?”

A pause. And then an embarrassed nod.

Yuuri sighed in understanding. A small smile appeared on his face. He placed the blankets over the blond as well, and murmured, “Go to sleep. I won’t disappear.”

“You better not,” Yurio growled. He grabbed his portion of the blankets and hid himself under, hand still on Yuuri’s chest and face hidden on Yuuri’s side and under the blankets.

Victor, of course, noted that the cocoon started shaking. His heart clenched when he found out that the quiet sobs echoing around the room came from the teen hiding under that pile of blankets beside Yuuri.

“Oh, Yurio, I’m so sorry,” Yuuri murmured guiltily and pulled the blond even closer. “V-Victor, could you please hand me over my face mask?”

He hastily looked for it in Yuuri’s drawers, and helped his fiancé put it on. “To not infect Yurio?” He guessed with a chuckle.

Yuuri nodded with amusement filling his expression. He pulled the blankets down to reveal a hiccupping Yuri Plisetsky under. “Come here,” The brunet murmured and eased the younger closer to his chest.

Yurio didn’t even hesitate to wrap his arms around the Japanese. “This is the worst thing you’ve ever done to me, Katsudon. This is the worst,” He snarled, eyes shut tight and body still wracking with the sobs he was trying to control. “I was sleeping peacefully on my bed when suddenly I receive a message saying you drowned in the bathtub. The thing was I didn’t know what to think!”

Yuuri nodded, and placed a hand on the blond’ back as he listened intently.

Victor decided to stay seated on the small sofa he placed at the corner of the room. Makkachin was by Yuuri’s feet, sleeping.

“I didn’t know what to think!” Yurio repeated, gritting his teeth. “I don’t know if you were being suicidal or if you fell asleep or if you fainted. I wrecked my brain to think if I ever did or said anything that crossed the line. I was sitting on my bed, trying to remember all of our interactions, if I ever caused what happened. We arrived there, and found out you were having hard time to breathe because of the cold and the water that entered your body.” He paused and clenched a hand on Yuuri’s shirt.

“I was so afraid. So, so afraid of coming back in the training rink with the knowledge you died because of the cold which is part of our figure skating life. If that ever happened, I wouldn’t be able to accept the coldness of the rink easily anymore.” Yurio lightly smacked his fist on the brunet’s chest. “I’m not supposed to care. But I do! I really do.” He opened his eyes in half, tears dropped on Yuuri’s abdomen. “Promise me. Just promise me you won’t do that again. Promise me nothing like this will happen again.”

Yuuri hummed and placed his hand on Yurio’s head. “I promise.”

The blond hid his face on the brunet’s chest. “And, I am not good with emotions, but you’re a vital part of my career, Katsudon. You actually matter. And I know this might be the last time I’ll say this, but these facts will never change.”

Yuuri bit his bottom lip, buried his face on Yurio’s blond locks, and nodded. “Mmm-hmm,” He murmured.

And Victor knew that that was his fiance’s only response because a heart-clenching sob would come out of Yuuri’s mouth if he tried to say anything.

After about fifteen minutes, both fell asleep, clutching each other. Yurio was lying on Yuuri’s chest with arms around the brunet. Yuuri had one of his hands on Yurio’s back, while the other was on the blond’s head.

Victor stood up from where he was sitting, and kissed his fiance’s still-warm forehead. He noted to place a wet towel there later. And then he ruffled Yurio’s hair, the latter’s face scrunched as if he sensed it was Victor touching him. Makkachin let himself be petted before lying his chin on Yuuri’s legs.

He walked out of the room, and quickly dialled a number he knew he could trust. After three rings, the one from the other line answered: “Hello~?”

He cut off the chase. “Phichit, this is Victor. I know it’s sudden but I have one important question right now—“

Phichit gasped. “Ah, Victor! Been awhile! Sure, what is—“

“—Is Yuuri suicidal?”

There was a tense and terrifying pause from the Thai.

“Phichit, please—“

“—He isn’t,” Phichit murmured. A sniff. “He isn’t, Victor. But there were times I felt like I couldn’t reach him anymore. There were times I don’t know if he was still even that Yuuri I know. It scares me, Victor. It scares me to think what those thoughts could do to an individual.”

He leaned his back on the wall of the kitchen. “I know, Phichit. I know,” He growled. “I almost lost him again. He had a fever, took some meds, took a bath in the bathtub and fell asleep. He drowned, Phichit. He drowned and few more minutes away from dying.” He covered his eyes with his arm. “I am afraid what his anxiety would make him do next. I want to free him. I really do.”

Phichit’s voice cracked when he murmured, “People think that it’s difficult to have depression and anxiety—they never thought it’s as hard to love someone who has one of both of those. Because all we could do is watch, listen and try to pull them out of that darkness. Yet we usually fail. We still can’t win. I don’t know if we’ll ever win.”

“When we both have the time, can we please meet? Can you please tell me everything that happened back when you were still roommates and rinkmates in Detroit?”

The Thai laughed. “Are you sure you want to know?”

He wiped his tears, and complained lightly, “What bad could happen?”

“I could get killed because then you’ll find out I’m one of Yuuri’s past lovers~” Phichit answered.

The mug in his hand almost fell on the ground. “Wait, what?”

“Juicy gossip. But not something I’ll tell through the phone. Better find it out personally. But clue, clue! I was already seventeen when we dated! And he’s my first kiss!”

“Fuck you, Chulanont,” He grumbled, pouting.

Phichit laughed mockingly. “And before you cut me off, because you sound so pissed right now, for those five years, I slept right beside him~”

He cut the call off before he suddenly book a flight to Thailand, and commit murder against his own fiance’s best friend.

Yuuri woke up before Yurio, and silently slipped out of the bed not without caressing the blond’s cheek. Yurio sighed into palm, and slept even deeper.

With weak knees, he decided to use the wheelchair beside his bed before manoeuvring it out of their room. He couldn’t help smiling upon finding his fiancé asleep on the living room couch.

Yuuri approached the silver-head and took one of Victor’s hand to kiss it. Victor blinked open his eyes, and squinted at him. After several more moments, he had composed himself, and quickly sat up, wide eyes staring at Yuuri. “You’re up!”

He chuckled. “And so are you. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

Victor shook his head and made grabby hands towards the brunet. It was so adorable. “No, not really. I fell asleep because of exhaustion, but I was really waiting for you to wake up. Do you think you can sit beside me?”

Yuuri painstakingly stood up and walked slowly before throwing himself right beside the silver-head.  He sighed in contentment when he felt a pair of arms wrapping him with warmth. “I’m sorry,” He mumbled. “I must have scared you shitless.”

“No, you scared me shirtless. I almost went inside the ambulance with you wearing only boxers. Imagine that.”

Yuuri laughed and smacked his fiance’s arm. “If you did that, I will wake up and pretend I don’t remember you!”

“Don’t you dare! I have too much heart attack that I have survived. If you ever proceed with that plan, the next will make my heart fail already,” Victor grunted and buried his lips on Yuuri’s brown locks. “Tell me what was, is, and will be on your mind.”

He closed his eyes as his fiancé played with strands of his hair while creating calming circles on his hand. “Millions of thoughts are running in my mind right now, Victor. And it will not be easy to tell everything because I don’t even know what the others are. But my anxiety is shouting the same things that had bothered me since days ago. They’re words and phrases which had been resonating and bouncing back and forth in my messed up brain.”

“Useless? Cancelling the marriage? That I’m a prodigy and you’re not? That I don’t deserve you? That this is something that will ruin us?” His fiancé guessed.

He looked up at the other in shock. He hit the nail. “How…”

“I made my parents spill everything out,” Victor admitted before placing Yuuri’s head on his shoulder. “We really need to be better at communicating, Yuuri. This can’t go on. If it does, I might never be able to pull you up. You might be able to anchor me, but I will fail to save you as well. So tell me…tell me, even if not what thoughts you have, just tell me what you’re feeling right now.”

He shut his eyes and let his mouth run, “Anxiety is like stepping in a puddle which doesn’t even reach your ankles. It’s pretty clear that you see your reflection looking back at you. But the moment it attacks, you just realize that you cannot step out of the said puddle anymore. You’re stuck, and the water was turning brown with the thoughts that are weighing you down.

And the thing is: the more you try to pull away, the higher the puddle gets or the deeper you sink. The water turns darker and darker with the things and stuff that resonate and echo in your head until it’s a deep sea wherein you cannot see a thing. You just break down, and give up. Letting the thoughts consume you. Because even if one has an anchor—taking anxiety into consideration, well, you cannot even see that someone’s trying to save you.”

He subconsciously reached for the surface of the said ocean that was drowning him yet again. His eyes opened in surprise when a hand grasped it tightly. He turned slowly, and found his fiancé gripping his hand tightly. “What if I pull these thoughts out? What if I use a net filled with positivity, brightness and happiness that it could easily catch your thoughts away ‘til the water’s clear enough you can swim to the surface or maybe, just maybe, it will turn into a puddle again?”

“That’ll take years,” He whispered.

“I’m willing to try.”

“It won’t be easy.”

“Nothing is. But I am prepared to do it,” Victor answered firmly.

“I’m too far deep.”

“I just need a bigger oxygen tank,” The other murmured, nodding.

“I cannot see anything.”

“I’ll be your light!” Victor half-whispered and half-screamed.

He gritted his teeth, and hissed, “Victor, I don’t want to mess you up.”

“I’m messed up already. Let’s be messed up together.”

He gripped his other hand on his fiance’s shirt. “Why are you so willing to sacrifice a lot for me?”

“Because I love you!” Victor snapped, frowning at him. “I love you, Yuuri. I’ve told you this thousands of times. And even if I have to say it hundreds of times in a day, it will not make me love you any lesser.”

He opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

Yuuri slumped his shoulders and leaned his forehead against Victor’s.

“I’ll be your anchor,” Victor murmured, eyes not leaving Yuuri’s. “So I need you to tell me how deep you are. If you’re in east or west. If you’re sinking yet again or floating along the ocean quietly.”

He nodded, and pecked on the silver-head’s lips. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“You existed.”

They looked at each other.

“That’s so cheesy, wasn’t it?” Victor asked, laughing out loud.

He laughed along. “Damn, yes, it was.”

They both turned when a door suddenly slammed open. Yurio emerged, panting and wide eyed. “Where’s Katsu—“ He stopped when his eyes landed on Yuuri. “Fuck you! You suddenly disappeared!” He mussed a hand on his hair. “You told me you’d be there, so I panicked when the part beside me was fucking empty!”

He gulped. “I’m so—“ His words were halted when Yurio sat down beside him, and leaned his forehead on Yuuri’s back.

“I’m sleeping here. You better stay here ‘til I’m fully charged.” In few seconds, he was already snoring.

Victor chuckled. “Well, looks like someone’s a little clingy with you, isn’t he?” He mumbled and pulled out the blanket inside the one-seater couch slash drawer beside him. He draped it over the two of them. “I love you.”

He wrapped an arm around Yurio, and reached to pat Victor’s cheek. “I love you too.”

“’mm, fuck you too,” Yurio mumbled in his sleep.

He and Victor looked at each other and then tried their best to not laugh too loudly.

The doorbell rang at around five-fifteen in the afternoon. Yurio had gone home hours ago to go back to his Grandpa’s place. Yuuri, who had fully recovered after sleeping for almost ten hours, was now capable of walking; he approached the front door and opened it with his usual welcome: “Hello. How may I—“ He stopped when his eyes met two pairs of familiar eyes.

It was Victor’s parents. He forgot that they were still staying here.

He opened the door and silently let them in.

“Yuuri, who is it~?” Victor asked and emerged out of the kitchen with a mixing bowl. His face had few specks of flour and dough. His wide smile disappeared. “Oh.” He used his free hand to pull Yuuri behind him as his parents stepped inside. “Remember our deal. Do not talk to Yuuri, do not look at him, do not even approach him without five meters between you.”

Valeria raised a hand. “Does that also—“

“Yes,” Victor grunted and turned to Yuuri.

Yuuri blinked when his fiancé suddenly brushed his fringe away. He blushed when Victor even went too far as kissing his eyelid. Yuuri didn’t miss the way Ivan eyed the two of them as Victor eased the brunet out of the living room or anywhere near Victor’s parents.

He was a little baffled when at dinner, something ridiculous occurred.

Yuuri placed a glass in front of Ivan, and asked, “Uncle, what would you like? Juice or wine?”

Victor hummed, and poured some wine into his own glass. “Father, Yuuri asked what you’d like between juice and wine.”

He raised an eyebrow at his fiancé, since he was pretty sure Ivan heard him.

Ivan looked at Victor, who was right across him, and answered, “Victor, please tell your fiancé that I’d like wine with my dinner please.”

Victor smiled up at Yuuri. “Yuuri, Father wants me to tell you that he would like wine over juice—“

“I heard. What the fuck?” He complained. He did notice Valeria and Ivan’s identical surprised expressions with his cussing.“So damn extra.”

Victor shrugged with his heart-shaped smile. “It’s how I show my love.”

He rolled his eyes, and poured wine into Ivan’s glass. “To quote Yurio: Fuck you.”

He received a bemused burst of laughter from his fiancé.

Ivan woke up when something thudded on the ground. He hastily picked it up when he realized it was his phone. He heaved a sigh of relief upon finding out it didn’t even get a dent. He was about to stand up and stretch when he looked down and found a blanket draped over his front.

He frowned, and tried to recall if he requested for this or if Valeria put it on top of him. Seeing as his wife was still mad at him because of what happened to Yuuri because of what he said to the Japanese, it was most likely not Valeria.

His eyes roamed, and it settled on the still-hot cup of coffee on the table, standing right beside his laptop, which hibernated on its own. He picked it up and smiled unwillingly when it was exactly the way he had always preferred it to be. He took a sip, and instantly felt refreshed.

His eyes caught sight of the note plastered at the bottom of the coffee cup. Frowning, he read the note which had a slanted yet elegant handwriting on it:

You fell asleep. Didn’t want to wake you up because I might startle you, and you might slap me.

Figured you need to finish your works as early as you can, so in case you wake up, here’s a coffee.

And I know Victor prohibited us from talking because of what just transpired, but he didn’t specify that we can’t connect through written messages.

I know we haven’t seen eye to eye. And even Aunt Valeria sent me a message apologizing in your behalf. She also added that you’re not great with thinking before speaking, so feel free to write down your thoughts if you think that will make it easier for us to interact. I think it’ll be better if we get to fix this, you are Victor’s family which means you are also my family. And a family shouldn’t be broken like this.

Although I’ll understand if you don’t want to…

Good night. Please don’t stay up too late, it’s not good for one’s health. Sweet dreams.

-Yuuri K.

He looked at the thick blanket covering him from the coldness that was seeping in through the hole at the bottom of the front door. He looked over his shoulder and found no light from their room which meant his wife had already gone to bed.

He stared at the note in his hand, and then at the perfect coffee in his other hand.

“You are Victor’s family which means you are also my family.”

Victor went and started preparing Makkachin for his breakfast, and walk later before they go head to their training. There was something comforting yet also boring with having the same routine everyday.

“Pancakes or bacon with egg?” Yuuri asked as he put on an apron, and tied the laces behind him.

“Pancakes~” His fiancé answered with a peck on Yuuri’s lips. “Love you.”

He poke the silver-head’s nose. “Go feed Makkachin or I’ll make you veggie breakfast.”

“Gah! Veggies!” Victor echoed, cringing before disappearing to where their poodle’s food and other stuff were placed in.

Shaking his head, he put the utensils and ingredients he’d need for cooking breakfast. The moment he lifted up the frying pan, a note fell on the ground. He picked it up with a frown; looking over to see if his fiancé was still busy, he hastily opened the note.

The penmanship was in all Caps and looked so professional looking:

I am grateful for the blanket, coffee and note, Yuuri. I managed to finish everything already because of them. Now, I have free time until our departure.

And yes, Victor did not specify we can’t talk like this, so I’m willing to sneak notes for you if I have to just to get my message across. From thereon, please pass them to Victor since I have a feeling he’ll listen to you more than he’ll do with me.

I am Ivan Nikiforov. My wife is Valeria Nikiforov. We’re Victor’s parents. His ‘asshole’ parents. You’re parents in law.

I am sorry for the hurtful words my jerk-ish mouth spilled.

May we start over? [Leave your response note under my breakfast plate. Thank you.]

-Ivan N.

He lifted his eyes towards the living room where Ivan and Valeria were seated together on a couch, watching the news.

Ivan must have felt the eyes on him, so he turned and looked back at the Japanese.

He smiled at the older silver-head. The latter blinked and then nodded slightly with a small smile. He couldn’t help his smile from widening.

Chapter Text

“Victor, we’re going grocery-shopping later,” was the greeting Victor received when Yuuri suddenly turned up in the kitchen with a long memo in his hand.

He hastily placed three chocolate squares in his mouth, and smiled widely with a close mouth at his fiancé. “Mm-mn?”

Yuuri squinted at him, and accused, “You’re eating.”

He shook his head frantically.

“You’re eating,” He paused and sniffed. “Something sweet.” Yuuri narrowed his eyes at him.

Victor waved his hands in denial. God, that look is terrifying.

“Well then, speak,” The Japanese ordered with a hand on his hip.

Victor gulped, willed the chocolate to melt in his mouth, swallowed them all, and said, “See?”

Yuuri smirked and twirled a finger in the air. “If I try to smell your breath, it should smell like the mint of our toothpaste.”

It wouldn’t. It fucking would not!

Victor bit his bottom lip, and looked around for any kind of food that has mint in it, but found none. He shrieked when Makkachin suddenly went behind him and grabbed the chocolate pack he shoved in his pants’ back pocket earlier.

“Makkachin, no!” He gasped, and tried to grab his poodle when Makkachin quickly ran off towards Yuuri and placed Victor’s chocolate pack on the brunet’s palms. You traitor!

Yuuri smiled and hugged their poodle. “Makkachin’s such a good doggie! I’m gonna buy you lots of treats later because someone seems to be not be not gonna have any.” As if understanding the Japanese, the poodle wagged his tail even more enthusiastically and licked Yuuri’s face.

Victor backed on a corner when Yuuri picked up the chocolate pack and pointed it with his other hand. “Mind telling me what this is?” Victor was ready to throw himself from the balcony.

“I-I-It was just rubbish that I p-picked outside! Y-Y-You see, I was planning on making you a handmade gift out of everything that you love!” He couldn’t believe he just lied to his own beloved.

Victor wasn’t sure if he should be pleased or afraid that Yuuri didn’t look like he bought the Russian’s story. The Russian blinked when his fiancé looked over his shoulder towards Ivan and Valeria. “Uncle? Auntie?”

Ivan looked up from where he was browsing something on his laptop. Valeria looked up from where she was cooing on the photos in their hundreds of photo albums in the living room.

Victor didn’t know when Yuuri and his parents seemed to have begun being quite closer. In fact, he was also being dragged sometimes to talk with his parents when they were coincidentally in the same place at the same time. Yuuri usually initiated conversations, and Victor was frequently surprised when his father either replied or asked Victor instead. It was as if Yuuri was trying to mend what was broken just days ago.

He still had that anger within him for what happened days ago, for that midnight that he almost lost Yuuri. But he knew that Yuuri would be upset if he kicked his parents out of their apartment, so he willed himself to let it be—to give another fucking chance to his parents. He hoped it would be worth it.

“Yes, dear?” His mother answered with a smile.

Yuuri gestured inserting fingers in his ears. “Please cover your ears.”

Ivan and Valeria glanced at each other, and hesitantly complied to the brunet’s request. When both were done covering their ears, Victor jumped when Yuuri turned to look at him again.

He held onto the chair’s backrest when the Japanese suddenly protested, “You hypocrite! You won’t let me eat anything sweet until Worlds is over but here you are, sneaking to eat chocolate behind my back! And excuse me but what you ate was what I saved when Worlds is over! That specifically came from New Zealand and it rarely gets to be imported here! You even dared to steal something I searched for so long in the grocery store weeks ago!”

Okay, so I fucked up.

Yuuri crossed his arms, threw the empty chocolate pack in the trash bin beside him, and hissed, “How would you feel if I make pork cutlet bowls for everyone tomorrow except for you.”

His heart shattered into million pieces with those last three words. He took a step towards the Japanese. He retracted when Yuuri pointed a knife towards him. He sulked, and stuck his bottom lip out. “Y-Yuuri, you wouldn’t.”

The Japanese huffed, and waved the memo in his hand. “That is exactly why I was planning on grocery shopping later this afternoon. I was even thinking that I would start to look for ideas for my costumes next season—“

“S-Sure, I’ll come with—“

The Japanese scoffed, and looked away. “No. I’d ask Yurio to come with me instead. And then I’ll go buy treats for Makkachin, as well. Go rot in the couch.” With that, Yuuri stomped towards their room, leaving Victor frozen on where he stood.

He defrosted when he heard snorts and laughter from meters on his left. He turned his head, and found his mother stifling her laughter with a pillow. He pouted at her, but instead of stopping, she laughed out loud. “Mom!” He grumbled.

She snorted again, and waved a hand as if laughing gas was in the air around her. “D-Damn, Victor. I believe I forgot to teach you to never ever steal food from your partner. It’s one of the biggest and usual causes of fights.” She began laughing again.

He crossed his arms, and grunted, “I could buy him thousands of those if he wants.”

“It’s not that. You told him not to eat sweets –which he seems to be fond of—until Worlds, which is still quite far away. Didn’t you notice how he averts his eyes whenever there are sweets in his field of vision?” Ivan asked with an eyebrow raised.

He flailed his arms. “B-B-But it’s for his own wellbeing! He easily gains weight, and he adores eating. Eating sweets and pork cutlet bowls specifically. I was just concerned for his figure especially that—“ He yelped in shock when a pillow smacked his face.

Yuuri pointed the empty couch between his parents. “Go sit in the couch, and reflect with what you’ve done. I’m cooking lunch.”

Slumping his shoulders in dejection, he dragged himself to the couch and sat down with a sulking expression directed towards Yuuri.

Makkachin walked towards his direction, and sat down beside his feet. Victor smiled, and ruffled his poodle’s fur.

“Be thankful he didn’t cancel the engagement~” His mother teased while changing the page of the photo album.

He looked at her with wide eyes. “T-That’s too much! I mean, a chocolate pack for separation?”

“Victor, married couples divorce over not being able to find the right restaurant for dinner,” Ivan answered with a shrug. “I and your mother almost separated because I mistook her handwriting of ‘3’ for ‘8.’”

He raised his feet on the couch, and hugged his knees. “Gosh, lesson learned. I am never stealing food from him again.”

Yuuri looked over his shoulder towards Victor’s direction as he waited for the chicken he was boiling. Victor blinked, and smiled adoringly at his fiancé because the Japanese looked so sexy wearing that red apron with only his tight shirt, and sweatpants on. That dishevelled look didn’t help Victor’s growing boner.

The brunet raised an eyebrow at him, rolled his eyes, smirked and returned to cooking with a little sway of his hips—probably dancing along with the song being played in his Ipod.

Oh my god. He’ll be the death of me.

Victor blinked when Yuuri crawled on their bed and sat down right in front of where he sat, leaning his back against the headboard. They had made up earlier when Victor actually volunteered on doing the dishes and feeding Makkachin after they ate lunch – it was a first that Yuuri almost cried in happiness and surprise.

Yuuri smiled, and took one of the earphones in his ears and plugged it in one of his own ears. The Russian chuckled silently when Yuuri gave him a look upon finding out that Victor was listening to Yurio’s Gala Performance’s song few months ago: ‘Welcome to the Madness.’

It was coincidentally that it was nearing its’ end, so the next song played automatically. Yuuri sighed when ‘Stammi Vicino Non Te Ne Andere,’ the Aria version begun playing. Victor watched as his fiancé closed his eyes and listened quietly on the song that started everything.

He set down his phone beside his hip, and he reluctantly reached to cup Yuuri’s cheek with one of his palms.

The brunet opened his eyes, so Victor took the opportunity to look straight back at his fiancé.

He sighed and brushed his thumb on the Japanese’s cheek before using the index finger of his other hand to trace the brunet’s eyelids, nose and then lips. He then trailed his hand down Yuuri’s shoulder, arm until he had their hands intertwined.

He removed the hand he had on Yuuri’s cheek before taking Yuuri’s remaining hand and raising it up. The brunet watched as Victor pulled his hand closer.

Victor was pleased when he took the other in surprise upon kissing each of Yuuri’s fingerpads. And then the brunet’s palm and back of the hand. Lastly, the knuckles. He let his lips linger on the brunet’s ring.

His eyes widened when Yuuri moved forward so that their foreheads were leaning against each other’s. He blinked when the brunet gently pulled his hands away to encircle his arms around Victor’s waist. He smiled in fascination as Yuuri placed a kiss on the Russian’s nose.

He was a little teary-eyed and greatly touched when his fiancé grabbed Victor’s right hand and placed it on his Yuuri’s chest. With how quiet they were, Victor could actually feel the brunet’s heartbeat.

“Yours,” Yuuri mouthed and smiled warmly at him.

He gasped, and couldn’t help himself from wrapping the Japanese in a very tight hug, and peppering the latter’s face with kisses. Yuuri reciprocated by hugging him back, and melting into his arms.

Yuuri was really tempted on shoving his fiancé into the kid’s playground right beside the Supermarket. Makkachin was at least sensible enough to just be trailing behind Yuuri and putting his chosen food for the week and a toy or two in their cart.

In the other hand, Victor ‘fucking extra’ Nikiforov was filling their shopping cart with things that were not on the list and were not really needed.

“Look, Yuuri, a kiwifruit-flavored ice cream!” His fiancé exclaimed upon their return to the frozen section.

He raised an eyebrow at the Russian. “I thought you told me no sweets ‘til Worlds?”

Victor was opening the cooler already. “Hah. What could two liters of ice cream do?”

Yuuri’s eyebrow twitched. “Victor, there are four different flavors of ice cream in our cart right now.”

This made the other stop. “There are? How come?”

He rolled his eyes and pointed the coolers they have passed by earlier. “We’ve been going round and round since my list was kind of mixed up. This is the last cooler of ice creams in this supermarket. You’ve taken one from each of the four already, this will be the last one.”

Victor looked longingly at the kiwifruit-flavored ice cream inside the last cooler. “But—“

“Pick only one among them – wasabi, squid, sushi, strawberry with banana and bubblegum or kiwifruit flavoured?”

“I can’t simply just pick one!” His coach protested, looking inside their shopping cart.

He wanted to strangle him. “Well, it’s that or I’ll let you bring all of those ice creams but we’ll bring back the other stuff you’ve dropped inside.”

“And those are…?”

He casted an exasperated yet fond look at his fiance. “Victor, you’ve just grabbed a curtain, a pillow, a planner, a duvet, a printer, a flower vase, a stapler and I have no fucking idea why. And if you’re talking about the food, well then you took one kilogram of assorted cookies, two liters of soda, various breads, salsa but no chips, frozen lamb meat when I don’t even know what to cook with that, basil-flavored chocolate bars, and vinegar. Again, I have no fucking shit why.”

“Whoa, language!”

“Fuck you. Now choose.”

“But, Yuuri—“

“Okay then, want me to leave you here? I mean, I’ve been done with our grocery shopping since ages ago. And Makkachin is too.” Makkachin barked for support.

Victor painstakingly placed back the things he knew they really didn’t need. He loved Victor dearly but sometimes the silver-head was so extra he wanted to just leave the other at home whenever they went to a store to buy something because Victor would surely pile their cart with stuff they’d never use or were too weird. Yuuri eyed the sushi-flavored ice cream that his fiancé, thankfully, put back.

He turned when Yurio called out, “Oi, Katsudon?”

He blinked when a pair of tiger-patterned home slippers was shoved at his face.

“I wanna buy these.”

He took the slippers and placed them inside their cart. “Sure, no problem. My treat.” Yurio’s eyes glinted with that. He chuckled, and the blond lightly smacked his arm when he realized Yuuri was laughing at him.

Victor whipped his head towards his direction. “That’s unfair!”

“I can’t resist him, Victor.”

“But you can resist me?” The silver-head whined, pouting and hugging the dog-patterned duvet he found earlier.

He gulped as his fiancé stuck his bottom lip out and did his puppy eyes while clutching the duvet tightly onto his body. “Damn. Fine. Just that.”

“You’re weak, Katsudon.”

He sighed in defeat and agreement.

Yurio hissed when strands of his hair made his forehead and cheek itchy, which made him so irritated that he sat on a bench, grabbed some hair elastics and started to tie his hair.

He was failing until a hand took the hair elastics from his hand. He yelped when a bandana was placed around his hair and was tied right at the nape of his neck. It turned into a head-band kind of thing, which was actually comfortable and useful.

He looked up and found Yuuri already beginning to comb his hair from behind him with serene look on his face.

Yurio placed his hands on his lap, and stared down at them. He remembered how cold those hands were when he slept right beside the brunet few mornings ago.

He remembered how terrified he actually was when he thought no one would do this for him again. He recalled how his heart sped up so fast when he received a message saying the cold –which was part of his life—almost killed one of those he actually considered as important.

It still scared him up to this moment.

The thing he never told anyone was that Yuuri Katsuki was more than a rival. More than someone he skated with on the same ice, same rink and same division.

He considered Yuuri Katsuki, Japan’s top figure skater, as an older brother of his. Someone who would never judge him. Someone who would always be willing to support him. Someone whom he could lean onto. Someone who would accept him for who he was.

He had said hurtful things to the Japanese, and the things he received all the time were open arms and a big, warm smile.

“I missed doing this for you,” Yuuri admitted.

Six words. And they meant a lot for him.

“Whatever, don’t go fucking emotional with me, Katsudon,” He snarled, and bit his bottom lip when all he got was an amused and genuine chuckle because, as usual, Yuuri would never push him away whatever he’d do and whatever he’d say.

He always wondered if Yuuri fitted into Yurio’s ‘Agape’ also. The answer had always smacked him on the face: Yes.

“What do you think of my new make-up style?”

They all turned, and Yurio guffawed, resulting to some grains dropping onto everywhere, upon seeing his rinkmate’s face.

“Fuck, you look like Ursula!”

Mila was choking with the spoonful of pork cutlet bowl she was just swallowing when the dark-head emerged.

“Shit, Georgi, what did your new lover do this time?” Yefim gasped, inching away.

Georgi made an offended face. “Excuse me! But I look amazing! Right, Yuuri?”

Yes, of course, ask the kindest among us all why don’t you? As if he’d say that it’s ugly.

Yuuri grimaced, and then blinked twice. “I think brown would suit you more. Black is too contrasting with your pale skin –you and your Russian genes—so I believed something paler but not so much would be more preferable. And then your eyeliner’s too thick. The cat eye’s also a little long.”

Georgi seemed interested and shoved Victor away to sit down right beside Yuuri.

Victor frowned, and pushed Georgi away. “Do not steal my fiancé!”

“You’re with him 24/7! Let me borrow him!” Georgi complained and used his two feet to push Victor even further away. It was so funny that Yurio didn’t even notice that he had begun recording a video.

“No!” The silver-head objected, and smacked his duffel bag at Georgi’s face. “Get away from my fiancé, Malificent!”

Yuuri laughed, and opened his arms. Victor hastily scrambled to go hug Yuuri back. He stuck his tongue out at Georgi, and buried his face on the space between Yuuri’s neck and shoulder. “You baby,” The Japanese teased to his coach, and turned to Georgi again. “And see? Argument finished. What was I saying?”

“My make-up palette!”

“Let me see your eye shadow palette, and I’ll point the ones that suit you the best the right sequence on putting them.” Yuuri played with Victor’s hair and whispered Japanese words on the crown of his coach’s head while waiting for Georgi to look for his make-up bag.

Georgi placed it in front of Yuuri. “Here you go.”

They all watched and listened in fascination as Yuuri went and dabbed two cotton balls with make-up remover before getting rid of Georgi’s make-up. He asked Alexander to hold a mirror, and made Georgi watch as he applied the make-up himself while telling the instructions.

When Georgi was done, and was so satisfied he took thousands of selfies the moment he was done, Mila grabbed Yuuri’s hands and begged the Japanese to do the same for her since she was still a novice, herself.

Hers had a little golden and silver shimmer with black blended with these colors along with fancy cat eyes. He curled her eyelashes, and picked a new lipstick that would give her a new vibe when she wanted to. She disappeared outside for better lighting after.

Yurio was listening so intently, he didn’t even realize that his phone was still capturing it. Since it was too long for Instagram, he posted it on his Facebook, which he rarely used, and got thousands of likes and shares and sensible comments after half an hour.

They got scolded by Yakov for slacking off, and quickly went back to practice. But since he couldn’t help his curiosity, Yurio approached the Japanese and grunted, “Oi, Katsudon. How did you know about that?”

Yuuri blinked in confusion, and then chuckled upon realization hitting him.

Victor piped in. “Look at the comment with most likes in the comment section of what you posted!”

Yurio raised an eyebrow, and opened his phone to check it out even if he didn’t trust Victor that much with this kind of thing.

He huffed in amusement when he found out what the two meant. He rolled his eyes at the older two, and glided towards Yakov.

Phichit Chulanont: That’s my best friend! And he learned from the best: me! (We did a lot of shenanigans back in Detroit XD)  14587 Likes

Victor turned when he heard Yuuri exclaim an excited: “Yes!”

He watched as his fiancé glided towards where the stereo was placed on the board, placed his phone stand, placed his phone on it, and then said at the screen, “You there, Kelly?”

A woman appeared on the monitor, and she seemed genuinely surprised and happy to see Yuuri. “Yuuri!” She had a different accent—like…American? “This is a surprise! What’s up?”

“Remember those new songs I commissioned for you to do?” He asked, smiling widely at her.

Victor looked around, and smiled upon finding their other rinkmates also watching the Japanese, who was usually quiet and reserved, interacting with someone through Facetime other than Phichit.

She enthusiastically nodded. “I kept telling you that you didn’t need to pay me because just the fact that you used my arrangement for this season’s Free Skate was an honor enough for an amateur like me, but alas, you’re too stubborn, as usual.”

Yuuri chuckled, and mumbled, “Well, this time I made you make two. One for short program and free skate, so I believe that’s too much for being free of charge.”

She chuckled and asked, “So what’s up? Is there anything you’d like me to change for your—“

“No!” He gasped, surprised. “They’re perfect. They were more than I asked for,” He whispered, and said after taking a deep breath: “As a little gift for the effort you’ve put on making them, I want you to see the part I’ve finished for my short program.”

“Wait, is that the one titled: ‘Barcelona’?” She asked, becoming even more excited. Her eyes were twinkling as she looked at Yuuri. “Oh my gosh, you’ve finished some parts of it?”

Yuuri nodded, and looked over his shoulder. “Victor?”

Victor smiled, and skated towards his fiancé. He wrapped his arms around the brunet’s waist from behind, and placed a kiss on Yuuri’s shoulder. “Yeah?”

The Japanese blushed with his usual show of affection before brushing Victor’s fringe away. “Can you press ‘play’ for me?”

He smirked. “Oh? You wanna foreplay?”

Yuuri’s face turned even redder. Yurio shrieked. Mila wheezed in laughter. Georgi snorted. The five idiots tried to stifle their own laughter. Yakov was shaking his head in disbelief.

Kelly actually guffawed from the other line. “Damn, Yuuri, you found a keeper.”

“You said the same fucking thing when I dated Brandon.”

Kelly grinned. “And when you dated Ken? Frey? And the one you made so heartbroken: Tra—“

“Stop bringing my dark past into the surface!” Yuuri complained. “Besides, how do you even know their names?”

She ignored his question, and added teasingly, “Have I mentioned: Phichit?” Kelly answered.

Victor’s arms tightened around his fiancé.

“What?” The five idiots gasped in shock.

“Ah, I won a bet against Otabek!” Yurio exclaimed, and started messaging someone.

Mila and Georgi exchanged money behind their backs.

“Anyway!” Yuuri interjected when Victor begun to struggle to end their call while Kelly was chuckling evilly at the other side. “I wanted Victor to press ‘play’ for me, and to stop himself from ending our call or he’ll get punished later.”

“What? You’ll spank me?” The words were out of his mouth before he knew it.

Yuuri slipped. Yurio dropped his phone. Mila and Georgi were holding onto the boards to stop themselves from falling. The five idiots were covering one another’s ears.

Kelly was wheezing, and looked like she’d die any moment from too much laughter.

Victor, with a red face, went towards the stereo, inserted the Flash Dish wherein Yuuri’s songs were saved in.

When he looked back, he found Yuuri’s gaze at him, which clearly said: I’d get you for that later.

He replied with a smirk that said: I’m looking forward to it.

And the song began.

Chapter Text

The rink turned silent as the song began, the notes echoing and bouncing on the walls. The music was filled with emotions with the first quarter joyful, Yuuri skated across the rink with a huge smile on his face, gliding on the ice with a bliss that resonates across everyone who watched. He lands two jumps without preamble, the landing perfect.

The second quarter is followed with something that whispered sadness. Yuuri slowed, his arms and hands in elegant arches as he reached upwards, his lips opening for a plea. He went into position and landed a combo with his arms moving with the music, going downwards into a prayer posture, spreading to his sides.

Victor’s hand moved on its own, placing it over his parted lips, eyes widened as he watched his partner stop in the middle of the rink just as the music quieted, the Japanese’s hands lifted to hide his eyes. Then as the song picked up its tempo into an emotion that resembled nostalgia, Yuuri skated backwards, his hands over his heart as his face screamed ‘help.’ He went into jump position, landing a quad, just barely landing the last Quad Salchow -- no one seemed to notice it as Yuuri went into the part of the Free Skate wherein he was searching, searching and searching. For what, no one knew but everyone wanted him to find it.

Then both he and the song stopped. Yuuri dropped to his knees, reaching upwards again. Victor leaned forward, hands on the barrier as he realized that they stopped there because they haven’t been able to brainstorm the last quarter of the song. But Yuuri’s still skating. He stood up, slowly smiling as his eyes sparkled with gratefulness. The song picked up into something akin to realization.

Yuuri moved forward, landing the second to the last quad with finesse, picking up speed as he choreographed everything on his own – the music seemingly playing him into its elegant ballerina: the spins were flawless from where Victor watched everything.

Before they knew it, he landed his last quad, full on smiling as he did a complete version of his step sequence they just begun practicing last week. The step sequence was phenomenal – Yuuri truly excelled in it as his moves matched the notes perfectly.

He ended the program, panting with glistening eyes towards the stands, hands out stretched towards them, mouthing: “Thank you” as he skidded to a slow stop.

Notes followed his finish, blurring into the background.

The silence that followed wasn’t surprising. The sobs, though, were.

They all turned and found a full-on crying Kelly from the other line of the Facetime videocall. Yuuri lowered his hands, skating towards where his phone was, panicking, “Kelly?”

She smiled, shaking her head while trying to pat her cheeks dry with her shirt. “I’m sorry. I just—hearing my work is surreal enough, but to see one of my friends skating to it. Not just that! You skated beautifully, you’ve changed so much since you left Detroit, but you’re still you.” She sniffed. “God, Yuuri, that was the most astounding performance I’ve seen. Thank you for letting me see it firsthand.”

Yuuri’s anxious expression morphed into a small smile as he imitated wiping her tears with his hand. “Thank you for creating these songs, Kelly. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

Victor removed his skate guards, gliding towards his fiancé, enveloping him and pulling him close. “That was beautiful, love,” He whispered on top of Yuuri’s head, meaning each word. He found Kelly’s eyes through the screen. “The world deserves to learn about your talent. Thank you. We hope that you’ll watch us from the seats someday.”

“Someday,” Kelly answered, nodding.

Yuuri placed his hands on Victor’s arm, sighing against him. “Thank you,” the Japanese whispered back. “And thank you,” He added towards the screen.

Kelly grinned, eyes puffy but shining. “Best of luck to all of you there. ‘Til next time, Yuuri!”

With last waves of goodbye, the call cut off.

They both turned when they heard commotion, and Yuuri jumped in his arms at seeing their rinkmates skating towards them at high speed. All of a sudden, the Japanese was bombarded with awed comments.

“The next season just got interesting,” Yurio muttered, smirking beside Victor.

Victor couldn’t help biting his lips when Yakov stopped behind him against the barriers, “I hope you now understand why I said it would be difficult to become a coach and a skater at the same time – you would have to hone the perfection we’ve already seen while also making and revising your own.”

Yuuri turned towards him, tilting his head in question. Victor smiled unconsciously, “I’m up to the challenge,” He whispered back, waving at his fiancé.

He always is when it comes to Yuuri Katsuki.

Victor hooked his phone into the TV in the living room and was scrutinizing the video Lilia had taken for him of Yuuri’s Barcelona performance earlier when a voice interrupted his musings, “He’s the most artistic skater I’ve seen.”

He looked over his shoulder and found his mother standing behind him with a mug of coffee. They could hear Yuuri talking with Makkachin from the kitchen, the smell of Beef Stroganoff filling the air. She stirred her beverage, sipping. She ‘oh’ed when Yuuri landed his quad.

Eyes travelled back towards the screen, noting down the lateness of the start of Yuuri’s entrance to second half. “He is, isn’t he?” He finally responded. “He pours out his emotions in his skating.”

“Unlike who you were when we weren’t here?” Valeria murmured, going around the couch to seat beside him. He didn’t need to respond. She understood his response anyway. “We were never here, but we did watch some of your performances through the TV abroad. You were so beautiful, but…” She halted, cupping the mug with her hands. “You seemed so sad and lonely.”

“But it wasn’t enough to bring you back home,” He responded, losing track of what mistake he saw.

“We made you, but we never completed you,” His mother agreed, sighing. She hesitantly reached for one of his hands, squeezing it. He looked at their hands before lifting his head to look back at her. The intensity in her eyes made him gasp. “My son, my Vitenka, we are proud of you. We rarely say it, but we are. You are a star, our star. You just shine so brightly – just by being you. Thank you for opening that door for us despite how much we have fucked up.”

Victor blinked, and squeezed her hand back, smiling slightly at the uncertainty beneath her own smile. “It’s only been 27 years, Mother. We still have decades before us. I am sorry too, if I didn’t speak my mind, making you think everything’s fine when a distance has already settled between us.”

Valeria nodded, placing the mug on the coffee table then reaching for his cheek, stroking it with her thumb. He still remembered its softness even if it has been years when he felts it on his face. “That’s past us. I can’t promise we’ll be home more often, but I promise to contact you more and show support in our little ways. Never too late to learn how to use Instagram, right?”

He couldn’t help his chuckle at the last part, letting his mother pull him for a tight hug.

“I’m also proud of the person you’ve chosen to spend your life with. He’s an amazing person. I have an excellent son, and son-in-law – I don’t see what else I could ask for,” His mother finished, kissing his forehead. “

He looked towards the kitchen, finding Yuuri running away from Makkachin, and smiled.

It was few days after his talk with his mother -- with Yuuri seated on the bed and Victor behind him, drying his hair after a shower, they both raised their brows when there were knocks on their bedroom door.

“Come in,” Victor called out, continuing with his ministrations, sighing against the cherry blossoms Yuuri exuded because of his shampoo.

They both stiffened at seeing Ivan enter their bedroom. The man closed the door behind him, leaning against it for a while before facing the couple. “Victor, Yuuri,” He greeted with a nod.

“Father,” Victor responded.

“Uncle,” Yuuri murmured, fiddling with his thumbs.

The tense atmosphere thickened at the silence that followed. It evaporated when Ivan slowly went to his knees, folding into a dogeza position with his head bowed low. The pair glanced at each other and frantically tried to make the man stand back up. He didn’t. Instead, he begun to speak. “It is unheard of for a Russian to do his position but this is the only way I know how to send my sincerity.” He sighed. “I…I am not good with words. I never was – it was always a cause of fights between me and Valeria. But—“ His hands clenched into fists. “Please bear with me.”

Knowing protesting against this is futile, Yuuri and Victor let the man be.

“I apologize,” Ivan whispered. “I apologize for making Yuuri spiral because of my harsh words when all he’s done is be welcoming of me. I apologize for protesting against your partnership when all I could when I look at you is how much you adore each other. I apologize for making you hate me when you’ve always given me the benefit of doubt. And among everything…” He straightened, sitting up. “I am sorry for not being the father and father-in-law you deserve.”

Ivan inhaled. “Yuuri, I am sorry for the capsules the doctor gave you for your anxiety. Victor, I am sorry for the tears you spilled when all you’ve wanted is for us to watch your skate and win.” He scooted closer, taking one of Yuuri’s hand then another of Victor’s. “Thank you for the door you still opened when we knocked.”

“All I wanted was your approval,” Victor whispered, jaw clenching, and willing his eyes not to blur with tears.

“And I never gave you it. All I did was question you, and make you question you,” Ivan agreed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I wished for your bright future, but never once thought that that was different from your happiness. I am so sorry.”

Victor reached for Yuuri’s hand with his empty one. He couldn’t find the words to answer his father with.

Ivan sensed it. “I…I—I saw your loneliness with the photos posted online of your victory. I saw your victory but scrutinized the medal over your chest. I once wondered why you seemed empty – the answer was my name. Your mother is right. We are proud of you – of your accomplishments, of your medals. But I think I am proudest of the fact you found what makes you happy, of the fact you chose who you become, and not settled for it unlike us. I think the reason I was always unhappy was because I envied your courage. I envied how you found your path on your own.”

He glanced at Yuuri then smiled at his father. “I…I read about you. That’s what made me want to reach for the stars. You built an empire, and stood your ground. I am proud of you too. It just so happens that your journey is not mine, father. My path is not yours.”

“I learned that the hard way,” Ivan answered, looking up at Yuuri. “Thank you for taking care of my son. And for the note that you left. You’re a blessing, and have nothing to worry about. You two,” He glanced at each of them, “are perfect the way you are, and perfect for each other. I understand if you don’t accept my apology, but please don’t shut me out. I want to see your journey…as your father, and father-in-law.”

“Don’t talk so old, Father,” Victor teased, hoping his father understood that he was forgiven.

“I just installed Instagram, Victor. Who’s old?” Ivan retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Yuuri chuckled. “You’re both petty,” He commented, laughing at the identical looks the father and son threw him.

Victor looked back down, and found Ivan smiling apologetically at him. He smiled back with a nod, squeezing his father’s hand.

Yuuri watched as Victor waved his arms over his head, yelling, “Bye!” as Ivan and Valeria Nikiforov entered the airport gate with their luggage behind them.

The moment they disappeared behind the glass panels, his fiance’s arms fell on his sides. Yuuri stepped around him and found the silver-head’s lips trembling despite his smile, his eyes trained on the gate door. At that moment, Yuuri saw a younger Victor witnessing his parents depart, again and again, and couldn’t do anything about it.

Yuuri’s heart ached for him. He reached for Victor’s cheeks, pulling him down. The Olympic champion looked down at him, eyes shining with years of suppressed loneliness. “It’s okay. You can cry,” He whispered. Then his lover’s mask cracked as tears rolled down Victor’s cheeks, unending. He welcomed him in his arms, letting the other sob on his shoulder.

Victor has done the same for him when they left Japan for Russia.

A note weighed heavy in his pocket. It read,

Thank you for the love you’ve shown us.

We wish you both the best of luck and happiness for the upcoming season.

Take care of yourself and our son for us.

Love,

Valeria and Ivan N.

They danced to Stammi Vicino: Duetto that night in their kitchen, just wearing their pajamas – the smell of Katsudon filling the air.

Victor burst into laughter when Yuuri lifted him and spun him without warning, the whole ordeal seeming effortless. Yuuri guffawed when Victor, in turn, picked him up just to kiss his neck.

The Nikiforov parents have left. They arrived incomplete but going back abroad with a family in Russia that accepted them in the end.