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For all that Yuuri acts as though he is a mere average in a sea of excellent, beautiful skaters, his fans often crop up as enthusiastic reminders that this isn’t so.
Having had his first experience with Minami, who barely even gave Viktor a glance in favor of admiring Yuuri (which is perfectly understandable- Yuuri is a bright star whose light you just can’t look away from, Viktor knows this feeling well), he can say from firsthand experience that Yuuri’s fans have a fiery tenacity to them that makes up for Yuuri’s low self-confidence in triple. Perhaps in quadruple the amount, even.
He should have expected that he’d receive a good amount of that passion personally, and not always in the good way.
He stole their ace, after all.
Well, perhaps not in the same way that Yuuri “stole” him. Even thinking of it like that, that he was stolen, as though he couldn’t decide with his own mind to go-
Ridiculous.
He chose to go. Stolen as his attention (and possibly a bit of his heart) may be, it didn’t mean that he lost his entire mind that he couldn’t consciously decide to leave his legacy and country behind for Yuuri. Rash it would sound to some, insane to others, but for anyone who knew him well enough (and there were few of them, if there were any at all, unfortunately), they would know that this would be the first time that his heart has called and yearned for anything.
It would only make sense to grab at that starlight before it could leave him behind completely, wouldn’t it?
But that’s not the problem in this moment, under Russia’s afternoon sunlight sharp and cool on his skin while he scrolls through a variety of social networking sites. Yuuri, sleepy and a soft kind of tired (his stamina is still admirable after all this time, which Viktor is envious of), is completely unaware of the depths Viktor is diving into as he quietly dozes off with his nose snuffling against Viktor’s hip. Makkachin, the one other member of his small family, remains slumbering by their feet even as Viktor shifts and moves under the bedsheets in mild agitation.
On Viktor’s phone’s screen, it reads:
figHT ME @yurigivesmelife 10m
yuri, you can have anyone you want but ugh viktor? why are u like this son (´๑・⌓・｀) [he’s not even that hot,,,] #anyonebutviktorplease
i ♥ yuuri @_yuuristan11 20m
Yuuri is so beautiful and talented and Viktor is a 5x GPF gold medalist, sure—but really?? that playboy-type man, of all people?? yuuri why
Maria J @phoenixrise29 30m
@phoenixrise29 like, yuuri, why??? i know that Viktor is great, the best @ skating even, but u could do so much better for yourself )):
Maria J @phoenixrise29 30m
ngl i’m highkey unimpressed that #katsukiyuri chose to be w/ viktor bc that man is stealing so much of his limelight and it’s so FRUSTRATING
❄勝生勇利❄ @ktskyuri_1095 1h
@yuriismyboy @katsudont viktor looks so old too, all that grey hair wwwww there’s no way he’s rly yuri-kun’s type wwwwwwww
i lOVE KATSUKI YUURI @katsudont 1h
@yuriismyboy lmao rite??? the guy's not even that attractive-- w/c is subjective, i know, but compared to yuuri?? nah our boy's prettier
yuuri owns my ass @yuriismyboy 1h
I know that Nikiforov is the community's favorite, but? I honestly think #KatsukiYuuri could go for someone a lot better lol
And that was only on twitter, too.
(He does not clutch a hand over his chest in an attempt to swallow back a despairing gasp at the fifth tweet. He does not. He’s not that old!
…is he?)
It gets worse the deeper he gets into each SNS under certain tags involving Yuuri’s name (#KatsukiYuuri, #YuuriKatsuki, #KatsukiYuri, #勝生勇利, among a few others), and he can’t even blame anyone but himself for finding such horribly disparaging comments about him. He couldn’t help himself; he was just so excited to see more and more people appreciating Yuuri in all his beautiful glory, because Yuuri deserves that. He deserves all this love, all this worship, and more.
This feeling- this interminable craving for more- is like when you’re ill and even an entire liter of water doesn’t seem to be enough to wet your parched throat, except he’s at his healthiest and in love, and the Sahara desert that Yuuri seems to make rise in his throat is a kind of dryness that he doesn’t mind suffering for him.
(Granted, he’s only fine with it since it means Yuuri will always try his best to soothe his lovesick heart since he’s in love too, but that’s only normal! What kind of man would he be if he didn’t enjoy getting so much of his love’s attention and affection, anyway? It’s only a given to be simultaneously satisfied and never satiated with having so much of Yuuri, isn’t it? That’s how love works!
Or, at least, from what he understands of it. He’s not exactly the expert, considering Yuuri is his first (and definitely, hopefully, his last) love beyond skating. He’s had his fair share of lovers before, certainly- but this thing he has with Yuuri? This ineffable feeling tying them both together that Viktor honestly can’t even bear to consider parting with him?
This is love. He knows it. Trying to compare everything and everyone else before he found Yuuri, while they were all generally good experiences, is like comparing puppies and oranges in their disparity.)
It’s this thirst- this hunger- for more of his sleeping beauty that led him to this. He probably wouldn’t have seen these rare-but-existing hateful comments towards him had he not been so intent on finding more of Yuuri online.
And here Yuuri thought that he wasn’t a fan favorite.
“Viktor?”
He looks down at the croaky call, soft smile instantly replacing the frown on his face when he sees Yuuri blinking sleepy eyes at him. He frees the hand he’d been using to scroll through twitter to run through Yuuri’s sleep-mussed hair. “Good afternoon, sleeping beauty,” he says, smile brightening when Yuuri hums and nuzzles his head into the affectionate touch of his hand. “How was your sleep?”
“Not enough,” Yuuri groans, hiding and nuzzling his face into Viktor’s hip. He squeezes the arms he has wrapped around Viktor’s waist, and Viktor feels so overwhelmingly loved that he can’t hold back a soft sigh in response. Then Yuuri asks, looking soft but concerned, “What’s wrong?”
Viktor stifles a minute twitch of surprise at Yuuri’s sudden perceptiveness. He wasn’t that obvious, was he?
“Nothing’s wrong,” he replies, trying for nonchalance as he smiles down at Yuuri.
“Right,” Yuuri bites out, expression so unimpressed that Viktor’s smile falters at the sight of it.
Do I tell him?
He bites the inside of his cheek.
I don’t want him to feel bad, though. It’s not his fault that some of his fans are like this, but he gets so worked up about these small things because of his anxiety.
But I should be honest.
But-
“Viktor.”
Viktor blinks, jerking a bit when he suddenly finds himself nose-to-nose with Yuuri.
“Yes?” he says, stumbling figuratively over his own smooth persona as he pastes media-smile #20 onto his face. Yuuri squints, already wearing his glasses, and Viktor swallows back an embarrassing sound at being caught so off-guard. He says, “It’s really nothing, любовь моя. I’m just looking for any updates, and if anyone’s gotten news about you training here.”
“Oh,” Yuuri hums, sucking his lower lip in to chew idly on it. He looks so adorable doing it that Viktor is already reaching out before he can think about it, cupping a hand over Yuuri’s cheek in a gesture of soft awe as he smiles at him. Yuuri, the Yuuri of now who refuses to back down against him, smiles back with less of the embarrassment his Yuuri of years back would have donned. “What?” Yuuri asks.
“I think you’re beautiful,” he says sincerely, the smile on his lips tasting warm and wonderful as Yuuri flushes but smiles widely back. “You’re so wonderful, and brilliant, and I’m so lucky to have you.”
“I could say the same for you,” Yuuri says, smile bright and affectionate on his face as he leans in to nuzzle an Eskimo kiss onto Viktor’s nose. Viktor just about melts at the gesture, because Yuuri is so sweet. “But you’re not getting out of this, Viktor. What were you really looking at?” Yuuri asks, raising an eyebrow as he pulls away to look closely at him. “I could see the frown on your face even without my glasses, you know.”
“Ah, how the tables have turned,” he mourns, the pout on his lips belying the adoration bubbling up like tiny fireworks in his chest when Yuuri smiles in amusement at him. “Months ago you would have been the one avoiding me as I tried to comfort you.”
“We’re over that,” Yuuri notes, before pushing him by the shoulder to rest back on the headboard of his bed. He stifles an excited sound when Yuuri scoots closer to rest his head on his shoulder, only barely managing to hold it in as he wraps his free arm around Yuuri’s back and squeezes the hand he has on Yuuri’s arm. “Now, tell me,” Yuuri insists.
“Well,” he begins, hesitant still as he leans into Yuuri’s space and nuzzles a nose into his hair, “some people have been expressing some complaints regarding my relationship with you.”
Yuuri, unexpectedly, laughs softly as though he’d expected this. He says, “I can understand. I did steal you from the world as more than just a skater, didn’t I?”
“No, no,” Viktor retorts, “you don’t understand, Yuuri. They were complaining about how I’m not worthy of you.”
Yuuri laughs again, clearly not believing him. “No way,” he says, a hand coming up to rub at his sleep-dusted eyes. “I can’t believe that. You have more fans than I do.”
Viktor idly recalls that one time when a fan had seen the two of them in Barcelona, and had completely disregarded Viktor in favor of asking Yuuri for a picture with her. She’d been awfully touchy too, though Yuuri had done well in politely prying her off of him.
Viktor does not bring this up.
“I am honestly offended on your fans’ behalf that you keep disregarding them like this,” he mutters, nose wrinkling in annoyance as Yuuri raises an eyebrow at him. “They love you. They love you enough to criticize me as your fiancé,” and at this Yuuri blushes, to which Viktor smiles in sheer delight, “and honestly? I sometimes wonder if I’m worthy of you as well. You’ve given me so much, радость моя, and what have I given you?”
Yuuri’s wide eyes, furrowed brows and pursed lips do well in expressing his bewilderment at Viktor’s question. He says, adamant tone and all, “It was because of you that I fell in love with skating! You were- are- my coach, you’ve brought me this far, and you helped me realize that I wasn’t alone and-”
“Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri,” Viktor interrupts, stifling a cheeky grin when Yuuri glares at him, “душа моя, I’m glad that you think so well of me, but I don’t think you understand the true depth of how much you mean to me. Tell me, what do you think made me fall in love with you?”
“I…inspired you,” Yuuri says tentatively, brown eyes half-hidden by curling eyelashes as Yuuri lowers his gaze and turns it back up to him again. Voice small, he adds, “Right?”
“You’re not wrong,” Viktor says, smiling softly as he leans in to press their foreheads together. “But that’s not all.”
Yuuri says, smile quirking up into something teasing, “You think I’m attractive?”
Viktor grins. “Definitely not wrong. But that’s not it either.”
“Then what? I don’t see what else I could have given you,” Yuuri says, tone pondering as he pulls away to cuddle into Viktor’s side. (Viktor has absolutely no complaints with this new position.)
“You gave me life and love, Yuuri,” he says, voice soft with what he hopes Yuuri realizes is love and wonder. “You gave so many people, not just me, the chance to fight harder, to laugh more, to be happy. Yurio was able to do his best and win gold because he didn’t want you to retire. You gave him that, милый мой. And you gave me the chance to love skating again,” he says, smiling teary-eyed and heart-full as he presses a kiss to the top of Yuuri’s head. Yuuri, trembling in his half-embrace, hides his face in Viktor’s shoulder while clutching at his striped shirt in a plea to stay close. And so, he adds, “The same way you said you fell in love with skating because of me. Perhaps better, more, because I was so lost until I found you.”
Gradually, he feels the seeping wetness on his shoulder through his shirt, and he smiles, sighing softly. “Yuuri, do you see now? Do you see why I love you, why people think I’m undeserving? You’ve done so much, you’ve come this far, and all with your own strength and will. You’re amazing.”
“Shut up,” is what comes out, muffled through his shirt as Yuuri keeps pressing close as though hiding his face would reject the reality of his crying. Stuttering, shoulder shaking, he says, “I’m not- that’s not-”
“You’re so wonderful, солнышко,” Viktor insists, smiling widely as he takes Yuuri into his arms and holds him close. “I’m so glad people can see that. And I’m so,” he pauses to press a kiss to Yuuri’s temple, “so lucky that you’re mine.”
Yuuri is quiet except for his soft sniffling for an entire minute, and Viktor hums happily, thinking that this moment is perfect. (Yuuri is in his arms, warm and loved, and he’s clutching at Viktor as though he never wants to let him go- what more could he want?)
And then, Yuuri speaks.
“Let me see,” he says.
Viktor blinks, confused. What?
“See what?” he asks.
“The comments. Let me see.”
He sucks in a soft gasp at the reminder. He says nervously, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Yuuri-”
Voice firm and expression stern after having furiously wiped away the remaining tears in his eyes, Yuuri pulls back from Viktor’s hold and says, “Let me see.”
Viktor sighs, lips pressing together in a pout as he hands Yuuri his phone with the twitter app left open for his perusal. He fidgets and worries and chews on his lip, the nagging feeling of concern rising and poking over and over again at his heart as Yuuri’s brows become even more furrowed by the second. Makkachin, as though sensing his distress, rouses from his sleep at the end of the bed and comes up barking at him, tail wagging as he trots over to their end of the bed and settles himself on Viktor’s lap.
Ah, he’s so glad he has Makkachin to keep him from going all the way into his spiral of worry. Especially considering how stubborn Yuuri is when it comes to letting Viktor protect him (which he really, really doesn’t let happen, because “I can take care of myself, Viktor!”), which had been surprising the first time Viktor noticed it from his usually reserved persona.
“They’re so nosy,” Yuuri grumbles, nose wrinkling in what Viktor thinks is distaste as he keeps speed-reading through the tweets. “You don’t really believe in any of these, do you? They don’t know anything about us, and they have no business meddling with my romantic life.” After a brief pause, he adds in a mumble, “And you’re still attractive.” More softly, “Very attractive.”
Viktor flushes in warm pleasure at the assurance of Yuuri’s attraction to him. He hadn’t particularly needed the reminder, considering how open Yuuri is to expressing his affection for him in more recent times, but it’s always heart-warming to be reminded that Yuuri still thinks him handsome. “I told you that when we both saw those tweets from my more obsessive fans,” Viktor points out in reply to Yuuri’s first statement, amused smile curling at his lips when Yuuri blushes pink in realization.
“Well, it was true,” Yuuri mumbles, pouting as he glares down at Viktor’s phone. “I did steal you from the world, in a sense. It’s only fair they’d get frustrated.”
“And I stole you too, when I took you back here to St. Petersburg with me,” Viktor says, a grin growing on his face as Yuuri bites his lip for lack of a better rebuttal. “It’s only fair that they get frustrated, isn’t it?”
“Well,” Yuuri begins, looking more and more frustrated even as his cheeks redden in embarrassment, “I’m-”
Then he stops, blinking down at the screen of Viktor’s phone.
Viktor blinks twice in confusion. “Yuuri?” he says, tone questioning.
“I…”
Viktor raises an eyebrow. “You..?”
Trembling with what he thinks is either laughter or anxiety, lips pressed together as though forcing himself to be silent, Yuuri hands him back his phone.
On his screen, on Twitter, Viktor reads:
MY NAME IS YURI @Yuri-Plisetsky 1m
@yurigivesmelife @_yuuristan11 @phoenixrise29 @ktskyuri_1095 @katsudont @yuriismyboy
отвали, мудак! YOU’RE ALL WORTH SHIT
Viktor stifles a loud, hysterical giggle with one hand, the other still trembling as it holds onto his phone.
“He’s going to get banned by Yakov from using Twitter,” he says, still struggling to hold back the laughter bubbling in his throat as he looks at the phone with Yuuri by his side.
“It’s worth it,” Yuuri says, not bothering to stifle his own laughter as he giggles and grins at Viktor in all his beautiful, wondrous, glory. He laughs louder when Makkachin bounds up at them, barking his excitement when Viktor and Yuuri grin and move to cuddle him in a family sandwich on their shared bed. What worry that had collected and crawled up his lungs and throat disappears in a blink of an eye, wiped cleanly away as Yuuri looks up at him with what he feels is all the warm adoration in the world.
Yuuri says, “He’s defending your honor, after all,” and Viktor?
Viktor has far too much love, too much joy in his heart to even so much as consider giving this up for a few strangers’ petty complaints.