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It had been one year. A year since Barcelona, since the last Grand Prix. That year had been filled with texting, Snapchats, and Skyping whenever they both had time. It had been a year since Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin had seen each other in person, and that year was finally up as Yuri exited the car to walk into the hotel that would house all of the Grand Prix skaters. This year the final was in Nagoya, Japan; a part of Japan that Yuri had not seen before.
Pulling his leopard print suitcase behind him, Yuri pushed open the doors as Yakov and Lilia trailed behind him. In the year since the last Grand Prix his hair had grown and so had he, but to the sixteen-year old’s dismay he had only grown about two inches. Piggy was still taller than him, as well as Otabek. Everyone, it seemed, was still taller than the Russian.
When he walked into the lobby of the hotel, he was greeted by the shouts of the currently present skaters. Victor and Yuuri were sitting next to Minami, who had not made it to the finals himself but was here to support the two formerly mentioned skaters. Yuri maintained his glare and ignored the trio, going up to his room to get settled instead.
On the elevator ride up to his room he checked his phone. The usual notifications sat there, but the one that he cared about was absent. There was no word from Otabek.
~
With the pressure to win the gold again, as well as the return of Victor Nikiforov, Yuri was feeling an immense amount of pressure. The urge to just shut himself in his room was strong, but so was the urge to go out and show people just how tough he was. His desire to be seen as tough won out and he exited his hotel room to go wander the streets.
Just as he left and turned his back on the hotel, the familiar rumble of a motorcycle hit his ears. He could hear it shut off, and as soon as it did he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him, increasing in pace. He turned, meeting the eyes of Otabek Altin, skater from Kazakhstan and Yuri’s first and closest friend. The two paused about two feet apart and just stared at each other.
Otabek was still roughly the same height that he had been at the previous final, only about one inch taller maximum. His hair had grown, fluttering and scattered from his helmet that was now tucked underneath his arm, and his undercut remained the same. A soft smile played upon the older man’s face and he moved forward just as Yuri did. The younger leapt into the air, wrapping his arms and legs around the other with a cry.
“Otabek!”
The Kazakh chuckled and wrapped his arms around the clinging Russian.
“Hello, Yuri.”
His rough hands stroked the long strands of gold and he briefly allowed a thought to cross his mind. The thought that he wishes they could stay like this forever.
~
Later that night, the two leaned against the balcony of a building that overlooked the water. It was anything but quiet around them, the noise from the city hard to block out and the pressure of the finals could be seen everywhere, but in their little bubble there was a certain type of quiet.
“Beka,” the Russian said.
The Kazakh looked over at him.
“I’m scared.”
Otabek took a deep breath. “Whatever happens, happens. Everyone has worked hard to get here and because of that, anything could happen.”
The blond nodded, taking in his words. Yuri only allowed this side of him to show around Otabek.
“There is just so much pressure…to keep breaking records, to win the gold again. But I’m also scared to-” He cut off.
“Scared to what?”
“I’m scared to lose you.”
Otabek said nothing, mulling over his words. Yuri jerked away, not looking at him after a moment for fear of rejection. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his cheek and he turned back. Otabek leaned his forehead onto Yuri’s, looking into his eyes. Brown met green, sun-kissed skin met pale. “I will always be here, Yura. You will never have to worry about losing me.”