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“I didn't want it to seem like I was trying too hard. I just wanted to show Yuri Katsuki how it's done. Winning gold was just the added bonus.” he sighed, leaning his back against Otabek's.
“Though, you were great. I wish you would have been there on the podium, too, Beka.” he added in, stretching languidly while pushing his back against Otabek's.
“I did try, they can't say I didn't put my entire heart and soul into it.” he said softly, pushing back a bit against Yuri. “But you were great out there, you deserved the gold medal.”
Yuri scoffed at that. “I fell. I thought I screwed up, but I got so angry over the Katsudon's retirement plan.” he scowled, just the thought giving him a bad after taste. “Yakov can say it's irrational all he wants, but Yuri Katsuki is capable of a lot more than he thinks.”
Otabek couldn't help his smile. “You hate losing, but you hate it even more when people just give up. It's endearing.”
“Don't look into it too much, Beka.” he sighed, unable to even get angry at his friend. He was okay with the slow burn of friendship. They both knew how they felt, and Yuri himself was thrilled to have a friend that actually asked him to become friends.
Sure, he'd left this tournament with plenty of friends, but Otabek meant more to him than even Victor.
Speaking of, Victor and Yuri had invited him back to Hasetsu. Mari and Yuko were happy to know that Yuri had accepted, though made sure to tell Victor that it was 'grudgingly accepted', and that Otabek would be accompanying him for his vacation.
Terms and conditions accepted, Yuri and Otabek would be on their way to Japan within the next week.
“Hey, Beka?” Yuri asked, curiosity lacing his tone. Otabek hummed in response, letting Yuri know that he was listening and ready to answer any questions.
“What is it like for you? I know you were never a huge fan of ballet, so....” he asked, genuinely curious. “Your form is sharp, but smooth.” he added in.
“I improvise. My form is sharp to offset the grace of other skaters on the ice. It feels comfortable in comparison. You have grace and smooth form. Strength hidden behind the grace.” Otabek mused.
“That's embarrassing, how can you talk like that?” Yuri grumbled, face flushed pink and hidden in his hoodie, behind his long blond hair.
“I was being honest, Yuri.” the smile in Otabek's voice was obvious, even if Yuri couldn't see it.
“But you're amazing, you know that, right? You deserved to be on the podium more than JJ. He kept messing up, his meltdown was his downfall.” he mused. He was in no way talking bad about JJ himself, he had to admire the man's dedication, no matter how annoying he was.
“It was just unfortunate for him, he made his comeback.” Otabek returned.
“Yeah, but that didn't mean he really deserved it. I think they were just being generous.” Yuri countered.
“Regardless, at least you came out on top.” Otabek said softly, rapping his knuckles against the top of Yuri's head in reprimand.
Yuri yelped and pouted, rubbing the top of his head.
“My moment will come, Yura.” he assured his friend, who gave a satisfied smile.
“Good enough.” Yuri agreed, going back to flipping through posts on Instagram. 'Regardless of what you think, Beka, you'll come out on top one of these days.'
And Yuri was sure of it.