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Sunlight streams through the bay window in Viktor’s apartment, catching on Yuuri’s hair where Viktor threads his fingers through it. Yuuri is impossibly warm and impossibly loose, splayed across Viktor’s chest, seconds away from a nice dream. This must be what Yurio’s cat feels like, they think, Viktor’s heart beating steadily under their ear.
“Have you ever been to Europe?” Viktor asks suddenly.
Yuuri is still falling asleep on his chest and therefore doesn’t realize that that is a very dangerous question. “I was in Barcelona a few months ago,” they mutter.
“No, I mean have you ever been to Europe.” Yuuri doesn’t understand the distinction.
They just blink at Viktor owlishly, annoyed at his buzzing energy that means Yuuri is not going to get their nap. Viktor jumps up and Yuuri doesn’t have the awareness to be his impulse control.
“Yuuri, pack your bags.”
Thankfully, Yuuri is lazy when it comes to unpacking and has been living out of a suitcase in their bedroom for the past week. Viktor grabs that and shoves a random collection of clothes from his closet into a suitcase before whisking Yuuri out the door. Makkachin bounces dutifully at his heels, knowing that something exciting is about to happen.
Yuuri lets Viktor lead them to the parking garage by the hand, still half-asleep as Viktor stuffs their suitcases in the trunk of a hot pink convertible Yuuri’s never seen before. Makka happily jumps into the backseat, and Viktor lovingly pulls Yuuri’s favorite onigiri plush out of hyperspace and rests Yuuri’s head on it. Yuuri glows as Viktor gently kisses them on the forehead and slumps against the passenger door. They’re lulled to sleep by the hum of the engine and the St. Petersburg sun beaming down on them.
It isn’t until Viktor nudges them awake to ask for their passport that Yuuri realizes what’s happened.
“I put them in the glove compartment, babe, can you get them?”
Yuuri blankly hands them over. “Where are we?” they ask, dread pooling in the pit of their stomach.
“Finland.”
Yuuri screeches, and the poor man working the tollbooth has to help calm them down. “Actually, I’m a big fan, can I have an autograph?”
Viktor flashes a thousand-watt smile as Yuuri hyperventilates beside him. “We’d love to!”
Yuuri sulks the rest of the way to Helsinki. “We’re supposed to be training, Viktor!”
Viktor just shrugs, sunglasses low on his nose as the Finland coast speeds past. “A little vacation never hurt anyone!”
Yuuri glares at their fiancé. “You just got back from a year long vacation.”
Viktor considers this for a moment. “Fair point, but when was the last time you took a vacation, my love?”
He cuts Yuuri off when they go to open their mouth. “And being so depressed you can hardly get out of bed after last year’s GPF is not a vacation.” Yuuri closes their mouth. “As your coach, I insist you take some time off after that amazing performance at Worlds.”
Viktor flashes Yuuri a smile, seeming to think it still has an effect on them after a year (he’s right). Yuuri rolls their eyes. “And as my fiancé?”
“I want to share all of the beautiful sights that Europe has to offer with my love!”
Yuuri can’t help but smile to themselves as they relax against the leather seat. They watch the sea disappear into the distance as Makkachin’s tongue lolls in the breeze.
Viktor makes them stop at the Temppeliaukio Church. He grabs Yuuri’s hand and practically drags them into the building with enough excitement to rival a child on Christmas morning. It’s a domed building with an impossibly high ceiling and walls made entirely from rock. Yuuri strokes a hand along the walls while Viktor watches with interest. Makkachin darts in and out of the pews excitedly.
“What do you think?” Viktor asks, brimming with excitement.
Yuuri gets the distinct feeling they’re missing something. “It’s nice?”
“We could get married here.”
Ah. Yuuri’s cheeks flush and they smile to themselves. They can see it, holding hands with Viktor on the slightly raised altar while their friends and family watch from the pews. The natural sunlight would gleam on their rings and a beautiful wedding march would sing from the organ and fill the whole space.
“If you want,” Yuuri says. They would marry Viktor anywhere.
Viktor isn’t thrilled with that answer, but they take Yuuri’s hand anyway. “Right now, I want to keep traveling with you.”
Yuuri smiles, already pushing Viktor out the door. “Then let’s go.”
They take the ferry to Mariehamn as the sun sets. Yuuri sits on the bow of the ship, soaking in the last of the sun’s rays as Makkachin happily dozes on their lap. Viktor pulls them up and insists on recreating the scene from Titanic. They settle down in a hotel overlooking the water, planning to catch the ferry to Kapellskär in the morning.
“Are you going to answer that?” Yuuri asks, staring at where Viktor’s phone is about to vibrate off the table.
Viktor shrugs nonchalantly, continuing to blow-dry his hair. “It’s been doing that for the last three hours. It’s probably just Yakov.”
Yuuri picks up Viktor’s phone. Unless Viktor set his coach’s profile picture as Tony the Tiger (Yuuri wouldn’t put it past him to be honest), it’s not Yakov. Yuuri answers because clearly, they are the adult in this relationship.
“Yurio?”
On the other end, Yurio scoffs. “Of course, you’re with him.”
“I mean, I am his fiancé.”
“What the fuck, Katsudon?” Yurio shouts. “You both missed practice. Beating you isn’t going to be any fun if it’s because you’re too busy mooning over each other.”
“Viktor wanted to take a vacation.”
“He just got back from a vacation!”
“Is that Yurio?” Viktor shouts over the sound of the hair dryer. “Tell him about the lihapullat we had!”
“Viktor says hi,” Yuuri says instead.
“Katsudon,” Yurio says with a horror that suggests he just had a dawning sense of realization. “Where are you?”
“Finland.”
Yuuri has to hold the phone away from their ear. “What?!” Yurio screams.
“Viktor just got an idea, you know how he is.”
“And you didn’t stop him?!” Yurio is completely outraged, like he was the one dragged on a road trip against his will.
“I was taking a nap!” Yuuri says in their defense.
“Are you coming back?”
“Eventually.”
Yurio just screams. “Where are you going?”
That’s a very good question. “Babe?” Yuuri calls over their shoulder. They muffle the phone against their shirt.
Viktor politely turns off the hair dryer, and Yuuri takes that as a sign to continue. “Where are we going tomorrow?”
Viktor pokes his head out of the bathroom. “Well, after the ferry lands in Sweden, I was planning to drive to Stockholm. We can spend a few hours there at least before heading to Copenhagen.”
Yuuri hums in agreement. They don’t know what Viktor has planned after that, but the mystery is part of the fun. “Stockholm,” is what they choose to tell Yurio.
Yurio hangs up in anger, and Yuuri thought that was the end of that. They’ve just gotten Viktor’s car back on the road in Sweden when Yuuri’s phone buzzes.
Yurio: hey katsudon
Yurio: im at arlanda come get me
Yuuri rubs their eyes, convinced for a moment that they’re seeing things. No matter how many times they look away, the text stays the same.
“Yurio wants us to pick him up at the airport.”
Viktor gives Yuuri a confused look. “What airport?”
“In Stockholm.” Yuuri shows Viktor the text. That earns a laugh.
“Tell him to go back to Russia,” he suggests.
Yuuri rolls their eyes. “I’m not doing that, I don’t want my laces cut at the next competition, thanks.”
Yuuri: we’re about an hour out
Yurio isn’t happy about that, but he suffers. When they arrive at the airport in Stockholm, they find Yurio taking a nap on his leopard print luggage.
“Yurio!” Viktor calls happily, waving like it’s not far too early to have already driven an hour.
It takes some creative rearrangement to get Yurio’s luggage into the tiny trunk of Viktor’s convertible. The car was not built with family road trips in mind, after all. But they manage, and Viktor takes them to the Skansen. Yurio spends a good thirty minutes sulking because they bought him a child’s ticket, but quickly cheers up when they find three lynx cubs playing by a pond. Viktor watches fondly on a bench with Makkachin while Yuuri tries to convince a pony to come close enough to the fence so they can pet it.
When Yurio uploads his first pic to Instagram, Viktor gets an angry call from Yakov.
“It’s not enough for you to sabotage yourself, but you have to sabotage our two best skaters as well?” Yakov shouts, voice rising along with his blood pressure.
“Yes!” Viktor says much too cheerily. He doesn’t bother reminding Yakov that Yuuri is not actually one of his skaters. It’s sweet.
Yakov sighs, tacking a different tack. “I would have thought becoming a coach would make you more wise regarding your student’s training, but I suppose I was wrong.”
Viktor pouts. “Aw, but look how happy they are!” He takes a selfie with the other two skaters in the background. In the resulting photo, Yuuri is happily stroking a furry pony’s nose while Yurio is crouched on the ground trying to convince one of the lynx cubs to hop in his backpack. In the middle, Viktor is flashing a peace sign and winking at the camera.
Viktor uploads it to Instagram despite Yakov’s lack of appreciation for it.
They get back on the road to Copenhagen by noon. Lake Vättern sprawls on their right, while Viktor sings off-key to Swedish pop music that he neither knows nor understands when Yurio finally asks.
“Where are we even going?”
“Copenhagen,” Viktor answers before going back to his made-up lyrics.
Yurio is currently crammed in the back seat next to Makkachin who is having the time of his life. Yurio is less enthused. “Okay, but after that.”
“After we’re going across the Gedser-Rostock ferry to Germany.”
“When are we going back to St. Petersburg?”
Yuuri turns the radio down, earning a whine from Viktor. “That’s a really good question.”
Viktor finally relents, tossing his phone to Yuuri. Yuuri types in the passcode and MapQuest is already loaded, centered on Eastern Europe. A path starting and ending in St. Petersburg is already marked off, and Yuuri recognizes the top leg as the road they’ve just taken. Yuuri doesn’t know when Viktor had time to plan this, considering he hasn’t been out of their sight since he started this whole thing yesterday morning.
“Viktor, this is ridiculous.”
“What is it?” Yurio whines, trying to lean over the seat to see Viktor’s phone.
“This is three straight days of driving.”
“Isn’t it amazing?” Viktor says.
“Show me!” Yurio barks. Yuuri shows Yurio the phone over their shoulder. “What the fuck.”
“When did you even plan this?” Yuuri asks, peering at all the cities Viktor has marked. They count thirteen, and the route will take them through twelve different countries.
“On the way to Helsinki, while you were sleeping.”
Yuuri vows never to take a nap again. “We can’t do this, we need to train.”
Viktor pouts at Yuuri and gives them puppy eyes, the ones he knows makes them weak. Yuuri groans. “Yurio, are you okay with this?” Yuuri does feel somewhat responsible for inadvertently kidnapping a sixteen-year-old.
“No.”
“We can put you on a flight back in Berlin,” Yuuri offers.
“What the fuck, I’m not going back to St. Petersburg alone!”
Yuuri assumes that’s Yurio’s way of agreeing to this ridiculous trip. Yuuri glances at the map again. “We’re not going to Vienna and Bratislava.”
“What?” Viktor shouts, outraged. “But we’ll pass right by them on the way to Kraków!”
Yuuri huffs. “We do not pass right by them, they’re a good three-hundred kilometers out of the way. Look, the route even loops back on itself.”
“But you’ll love Vienna!” Viktor whines.
“You’ll have the rest of our lives to show it to me at a time when we’re not cutting into our training schedule.”
That placates Viktor a little. “Fine,” he pouts. Yuuri deletes the two destinations and for a minute, they think they’ve won. “Add Minsk.”
“I’m not adding Minsk.”
“Then I guess we’re going to Vienna.”
“That’s three hours out of the way!”
“If you’re deleting Vienna and Bratislava, then you have to add Minsk, those are my terms,” Viktor says like the child he is.
Yuuri scoffs. “What are you going to do, kidnap me?”
“I’m driving.”
Unfortunately, Viktor has a point there. “Fine,” Yuuri grumbles, adding Minsk to the route. “I can’t believe I’m marrying a three-year-old.”
Yuuri gets their revenge when Viktor throws up after riding Dæmonen in Tivoli Gardens. Viktor crouches in the bushes near the coaster while Yuuri rubs his back. Yurio snickers into his sleeve and captures the whole thing on video.
“My body feels awful,” Viktor whimpers while tears stream from his face and snot runs down his nose.
“I’m sure it does,” Yuuri coos, trying not to wrinkle their nose at the vomit covering the ground and the front of Viktor’s shirt. “It was very scary, baby.”
Viktor goes in for a hug and Yuuri sidesteps out of the way. “Maybe you should take a shower first.”
Unfortunately, they have a schedule to keep if they’re going to finish the entirety of Viktor’s ridiculous European road trip, and said schedule involves catching the ferry to Germany and spending the night in Rostock. This means that Viktor is left to wash himself off in a public bathroom and grab a shirt from his suitcase. He still smells a little bit like vomit, but at least it’s a convertible.
Viktor still looks a little green when Yurio finishes winning two giant stuffed cats from the shooting gallery and is ready to leave. “Can you drive?” Yuuri asks the teen.
“Sure.” Yurio holds his hand out for the keys.
Yuuri hands them over and props Viktor up in the backseat next to Makkachin, who clearly doesn’t mind the smell. Yurio gleefully gets situated in the front seat, moving the rearview mirror and sliding the seat up so he can reach the pedals. Yuuri gets in and Yurio looks strangely perplexed for a moment before peeling out of the parking spot.
Yuuri’s never put on their seatbelt faster. “Oh my god.”
It takes all of fifteen seconds before Yurio nicks a lamp post with the headlight. “Oops, wrong pedal.”
“You said you knew how to drive!” Yuuri shrieks.
“No, I said I could drive.” Yuuri makes a mental note to phrase their questions better in the future.
Viktor chooses that moment to come back to awareness. “Why is Yurio driving?”
“I’m so sorry, he said he could drive!”
“He can’t get a license until he’s eighteen.”
“I didn’t know!”
Yurio is unceremoniously kicked out of the driver’s seat and put in timeout next to Viktor. Makkachin happily takes the passenger seat. After checking that the headlight is working (thank god), Yuuri slowly drives out of the lot. They have to constantly remind themselves that they’re on the right side of the road.
After fifteen minutes, Yurio groans in the backseat. “Jesus, Katsudon, go faster! You’re driving like my dedushka!”
“I’ve met your dedushka, that’s a compliment,” Viktor chimes.
Yuuri rolls their eyes. “I’m sorry some of us don’t have a death wish.”
Yuuri gets to Gedser a good thirty minutes before the ferry leaves. Viktor insists that if he’d been driving they would have gotten there an hour ago.
Christophe catches a flight and meets them in Berlin. Yuuri and Viktor stroll through the Tiergarten hand-in-hand while Chris walks beside them. Yurio insists on leading them to the Berlin zoo, no matter how many times they remind him they were at a zoo the day before.
They’re surrounded by beds of flowers, and in the early morning the gardens are still relatively empty. Makkachin chases rabbits down the path, and Viktor has to call him back when he gets too far. The sun hangs low over the trees, and as Yuuri and Viktor gaze at each other, it’s easy to convince themselves that they’re the only people in the world.
“What’s the reason for this lovely vacation?” Chris asks.
Viktor swings his and Yuuri’s hands with their steps. “Yuuri’s never seen the wonders that Europe has to offer,” he says by way of explanation.
“That’s what he says at least. I’m pretty sure Vitya just misses being a tourist,” they tease.
Chris chuckles at that. “How is married life treating you?”
Their matching rings catch the light, a sight that never fails to make Yuuri smile. “We’re not married just yet,” they remind Chris.
“But you will be soon!” he presses. “If I recall, someone brought a gold medal home from Worlds.”
Yuuri flushes at the reminder. “Well, we’ll need some time to plan the wedding,” Yuuri muses. “Considering it’s Russia’s Treasure getting married.”
“And Japan’s Ace,” Viktor adds helpfully.
Yuuri laughs. “So, I think we’ll wait until after Worlds next season.”
Viktor stops dead in his tracks. “We will?” Viktor looks as if someone has just told him his dog died.
Yuuri looks at Viktor’s crestfallen face. “Honey, it’s only five months before the Grand Prix starts. That’s not nearly enough time to plan a wedding that’s going to be attended by half of Russia.” Viktor still looks dejected. “I don’t want to split our time between wedding planning and skating. That’s not fair to either of us.”
Viktor accepts that with a resigned sigh. “I suppose you’re right.” He continues their stroll through the garden. “But I want to marry you now.”
Yuuri smiles. “I know.”
“I suppose we can always elope.”
Chris, seemingly forgotten by the two lovebirds, has never been happier for his friend. Chris finally gets him alone when Yuuri and Yurio go inside the bird house at the zoo. Viktor is happy to wait for them at the exit with Makkachin. Chris sidles up next to him, a knowing smile on his face.
“I know that smile,” Viktor says, brow raised. “What are you thinking?”
“I’ve never seen you this happy,” Chris admits.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
Chris shrugs. “Why weren’t you happy with five gold medals and the world at your feet?”
Viktor’s face falls. “I don’t know.”
He’s ashamed of himself, and that just won’t do. Chris bumps shoulders with him. “I’m not your competitor today, mon cher, just a friend. I’m happy for you.”
Chris remembers how cold Viktor was the past few years, like the ice had permeated his soul. Viktor had been stoic and unhappy in spite of all the accolades laid at his feet. Chris had lost count of the number of times it infuriated him because Viktor had everything that Chris yearned for, why the hell wasn’t he happy about it? He knew it was jealousy talking, that there were a myriad of reasons for Viktor’s moods that he had no control over. But he still felt it.
But seeing Viktor now, in the middle of some wild road trip across Europe, Chris could start to let some of that jealousy go.
Viktor smiles to himself. “Thank you.”
Chris cocks his head. “Is that all you have to say?”
“I’ve gushed about my fiancé to you enough times, I’m sure you’re getting sick of it.”
“Never.”
Viktor still refrains. He could talk about Yuuri for hours if someone didn’t stop him. “Will you be my Best Man at the wedding? Whenever it is.”
Chris laughs. “I was beginning to think you’d never ask!”
The four of them spend the day in Berlin. They hire a couple rickshaws to show them the sights; Viktor and Yuuri cuddle on one while Chris and Yurio share the other, mocking them relentlessly. They walk through the Brandenburg Gate, visit the Pergamon, and watch the Berlin Cathedral light up in the setting sun.
They end the day where they began, sprawled out beneath a tree in Tiergarten Park. Chris and Yurio pick at the last of the takeout they got from a nearby restaurant while Yuuri and Viktor lay side by side on the grass.
“We could get married here,” Yuuri suggests.
Viktor stares at the darkening sky, the moon a pale crescent. “Under this tree?”
Yuuri nudges him. “Sure, or in the English Gardens or any one of the dozen cathedrals we saw.”
“We could.” Viktor smiles, nuzzling into Yuuri’s shoulder. “Let’s add it to the list.”
Yuuri isn’t sure when they started making a list of possible wedding venues, but realizes they have one all the same. The Suomenlinna in Helsinki, Van der Nootska Palace in Stockholm, Den Frie in Copenhagen. They smile, kissing the top of Viktor’s head. “I’ll do that.”
That night, while Viktor spoons them from behind, the make their mental list a physical one.
They drop Chris off at the airport in the morning, before they set off for Prague. At this point in the trip, Yuuri has set up a nest of blankets on the passenger side, where they curl up as they scroll through Instagram.
“How long are we going to be in Prague?” Yuuri asks.
Viktor does some mental math. “I want to get to Kraków before nightfall so around seven hours?”
Yuuri hums in response, typing out a message on their phone. A minute later they speak again. “Emil wants to show us around.”
Emil meets them at Prague Castle with a smile and a hug for each of them. Yurio manages to duck out at the last minute while Yuuri receives payback for their hugging spree in Moscow. They start in Golden Lane, making their way slowly from one side of the palace to the other. Emil’s presence is a bit more awkward than it had been with Chris, none of them know him very well. But Emil doesn’t let that phase him, bouncing alongside them like an excited puppy.
They’re in St. George’s Basilica when Yurio groans, loud enough to echo off the walls. “This shit is so boring,” he whines.
Viktor rolls his eyes. “I’m sorry there can’t be a zoo in every city we visit.”
Yuuri giggles, suddenly feeling like a parent dragging their sullen teenager around Europe. Emil laughs good-naturedly (Yuuri has yet to find anything that actually upsets the man). “You’d probably like the Powder Tower.”
Emil takes them to the old cannon tower, and Yurio is temporarily soothed by the “cool” military uniforms. Yuuri enviously eyes the spires of the nearby St. Vitus Cathedral.
It doesn’t go unnoticed to Viktor. “It’s a shame we can’t get married there, isn’t it?”
Yuuri nods. “Yes, it’s beautiful.”
“Oh, you can get married in the Royal Gardens,” Emil pipes up.
That catches their attention, and both Yuuri and Viktor zero in on Emil. “Show us?” Yuuri asks.
It’s beautiful, a lush green garden overlooking the city of Prague. Yuuri can see it in their mind’s eye, dancing with Viktor in the spray of the singing fountain, chasing each other through the rows of perfectly trimmed hedges, finally walking hand in hand down the long staircase that leads out to the city.
Viktor and Yuuri lose Yurio in the hedges and share a kiss near the palace wall.
As the sun begins to set, the trio says goodbye to Emil and Prague and set off to Kraków. “We can still go to Vienna,” Viktor teases.
“Keep driving,” Yuuri demands.
The next day they hit Kraków, Łódź, and Warsaw in quick succession. Yurio whines as he’s forced to look at St. Mary’s Basilica in Kraków and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Łódź. They placate him by visiting the Warsaw Uprising Museum. It’s not a very good wedding venue, but watching Yurio dart around the B-24 Liberator excitedly to take pictures makes it worthwhile.
Yurio he doesn’t complain the entire hour they spend in Łazienki Park. Yuuri mistakenly thinks it’s because he’s having fun. Yuuri thinks this until they’re halfway to Minsk and they glance in the rearview mirror.
They do a doubletake. “Yurio,” they say measuredly. They turn around to lean over the seat. “Where did that cat come from?”
Yurio goes stiff. “What cat.” The orange tabby kitten currently zipped inside Yurio’s jacket chooses that moment to meow. “Oh, you mean this cat.”
Makkachin starts sniffing the new addition to the car and the kitten goes back to cowering in Yurio’s jacket. “No, I mean Baron von Bristlefur III and Salazar the Slayer,” Yuuri says sarcastically, gesturing at the stuffed cats Yurio won back in Copenhagen. “Yes, I mean that cat!”
Yurio gently pries the tiny kitten from his coat and holds it up placatingly. “This is Duchess Olga the Mighty.” Duchess Olga meows.
“You already have a cat.”
“Now I have two.”
Yuuri groans and turns to Viktor, silently asking for help. Viktor just nods. “I like that name.”
Makkachin licks the Duchess Olga, welcoming her to the family.
Yurio regretfully leaves Duchess Olga in their hotel room in Minsk the next morning, as Viktor excitedly drags the both of them to Gorky Park.
Viktor practically skips through the park. “You’re planning something,” Yuuri says suspiciously.
“Me?” Viktor feigns innocence. “I’d never!”
Yuuri looks to Yurio for help who shrugs as if to say “he’s your fiancé, don’t look at me.”
They come to a tall, glass-walled building and Yuuri’s eyes widen in horror. They tear their hand from Viktor’s grasp. “Viktor, what the hell. I thought we were on vacation.”
Viktor stands in front of the ice skating rink with a shit eating grin. “I want to make sure you haven’t lost your touch!”
“I’m getting a divorce. I’m going to marry you and then immediately get a divorce,” Yuuri threatens.
Viktor grabs their hand and begins dragging them inside. “It’ll be fun! We can skate like normal people!”
Yuuri lets themselves be led. “We’re in Belarus, the people that work here probably know who you are.”
Viktor waves his hand dismissively. “They’re ice hockey fans here, they wouldn’t know an Axel from a Lutz.”
Viktor nearly gives the poor girl working the skate rentals a heart attack and Yuuri glares a hole into his bald spot. “They won’t recognize you, huh.”
Viktor shrugs as the poor girl fumbles getting their sizes. “I’m sure it was my stunning good looks.”
They’re given skates that look like they haven’t been sharpened in a decade. Yurio ties them on unceremoniously. “I’m still going to kick your asses.”
Yuuri rolls their eyes, holding out their foot for Viktor. “Coach, tie my skates,” they demand.
“Of course, my love.” Viktor immediately kneels.
On the ice, Yurio does a double toe loop to soft applause. He scoffs, because a monkey could do that. Viktor finally leads them out onto the ice, hands joined as they skate the perimeter. The skates pinch Yuuri’s toes and it feels like they’re skating on a pair of spoons, but they manage.
“See, isn’t this nice?” Viktor coos. “To hold hands and skate like normal people?”
Yuuri looks at the other people around them. They’re pretty sure they prefer less of a crowd. “If you want to be romantic, I think pairs is the way to go.”
Viktor’s eyes shine. “We can do that!”
“And risk running over a five-year-old?”
Viktor shrugs. “They had it coming.”
Yuuri snorts. “You’re awful.”
Viktor speeds up to get ahead of Yuuri and turns so he’s skating backwards. He never lets go of Yuuri’s hand. “You love me.”
“I do.”
Viktor skates over a bump in the ice and falls flat on his ass. Yuuri laughs until their stomach hurts and tears pour down their face. They’re laughing so hard they don’t notice Yurio skate up behind them and give them a firm shove. Yuuri eats shit a few meters from Viktor, still laughing their ass off.
The trio is immediately kicked off the ice for bad conduct.
They leave Minsk for Vilnius before noon.
“For the love of god, Yurio, is that another cat?”
Yurio once again tries to hide the orange and white kitten in his jacket. “No...”
“Ah, to be young again,” Viktor sighs.
When they leave Vilnius for Riga, Yurio has acquired another kitten (black, this time) and Yuuri stops asking. They visit what Yuuri suspects is every cathedral in Riga. They’re seventy-five percent sure Viktor is doing it specifically to piss Yurio off.
“Is this godforsaken trip almost over,” Yurio whines, arms brimming with kittens.
“We’re almost done, we have one more city after today,” Viktor assures him.
“If I see one more godforsaken church I’m going to scream.”
Viktor laughs. “Alright. No more churches,” he agrees. “Do you want to go to the opera?”
Yurio shuts up. They see Eugene Onegin at the Latvian National Opera. They’re stuck up in the nosebleeds because they purchased the tickets at the last minute, but it’s still wonderful. Yuuri always enjoys the opera, even more so with Viktor at their side.
That night, it dawns on Yuuri that this is their last night on the road, that they’ll spend the day in Tallinn and be back in St. Petersburg by nightfall. As much as they’re eager to get back to skating, it comes with a sense of finality.
Viktor notices that something’s off. “Babe?” he calls, sitting on the bed beside his fiancé. He wraps his arms around Yuuri’s waist. “Is something wrong?”
Yuuri shakes their head. “I just realized this trip is almost over.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” Viktor smooshes his nose into Yuuri’s shoulder. “We can drop Yurio off in St. Petersburg and drive back to Vienna.”
“I’m right here,” Yurio shouts from the other bed.
Yuuri snorts. “Yakov will literally murder me if I keep you any longer.” Yuuri takes Viktor’s hand and threads their fingers together. “Besides, my legs are itching to skate again. It’s just...” They trail off, uncertain how to continue.
Viktor holds them, lets Yuuri sort through their thoughts and choose their words. Makkachin dozes on Yurio’s bed, curling protectively around the four (when did he get another one?) kittens Yurio’s adopted. He snores rhythmically, and Viktor starts swaying to the sound.
Yuuri rocks with him. “It’s been nice.”
Viktor kisses their shoulder. “I’m glad. I was... worried for a while,” he admits.
Yuuri’s eyebrows raise. “You? Worried?” They can hardly believe it.
Viktor huffs a laugh. “It happens!” He pauses for a moment. “On the ferry to Mariehamn, when the excitement had worn off. I was worried that I’d acted too impulsively, I do that, you know?”
“Oh, I know.”
“When we landed I nearly bought a ticket back.”
Yuuri stares at their joined hands. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“I’m glad you’re glad.”
“I’ll have to show you around Japan someday,” Yuuri offers. “I can take you to Tokyo, and Osaka, and Kyoto, Okinawa...”
Viktor smiles into their shoulder. “I’d like that.”
“We still haven’t decided on a wedding venue,” Yuuri points out.
“We have time.”
They’re on the road bright and early to get to Tallinn. Much of the route is bracketed by the Baltic Sea. Yuuri is reminded of the first leg of their journey, the long drive from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. It’s fitting that it would end much the same as it began, with gulls cawing overhead and the sea breeze in their hair.
Viktor is adamant that they go to the beach. “We can go to the beach in St. Petersburg,” Yuuri points out.
“But we never do!” Viktor whines. “Besides, going to the beach on vacation is different. Plus, I promised Yurio we wouldn’t go to anymore churches.”
“Take me to another church and I’ll gut you,” Yurio threatens.
“See?”
Yuuri relents, and Viktor immediately buys a surfboard. “Do you even know how to surf?” Yuuri asks on their way to the water.
Viktor shrugs. “How hard can it be?”
Yuuri shakes their head. “You’re going to break your leg and I’m going to have zero sympathy for you.”
Yuuri hasn’t even finished spreading out their towel when Viktor charges at the surf like he’s going into battle. Yuuri shakes their head. “He didn’t even put sunscreen on.”
Yuuri lays down on the blanket, content to take a nap in the sun and never once touch the water. Yurio immediately dumps his kittens on Yuuri’s stomach before setting to work blowing up an inner tube.
“Ow!” Yuuri winces as the black kitten (Marquis Vanya?) kneads their stomach.
“That means he likes you,” Yurio supplies.
“Yeah, the pain is probably why I was never much of a cat person.” Yuuri picks up the kitten and eyes it warily. Makkachin is busy digging a hole in the sand.
“Love hurts,” Yurio says with a shrug.
Yuuri looks to the sea, where Viktor is trying to wrangle the surfboard into submission. “I’m not so sure.”
Yurio just shakes his head. Yuuri pulls out the sunscreen and tosses it to Yurio. “Just because my fiancé is going to fry doesn’t mean I’m going to let you.”
Yurio does as he’s told, lathering up his arms and legs once he’s finished with the inner tube. “Do you need me to get your back?” Yuuri offers.
“Um, no, I’m gonna keep my shirt on.” He smooths a hand over his chest where Yuuri knows he’s wearing a binder.
“That’s fair. Be sure to come back if you get light headed, I don’t want you passing out in the ocean.”
Yurio rolls his eyes before standing up. He wordlessly grabs his inner tube before joining Viktor in the surf. Yuuri takes a minute to put sunscreen on themselves, before laying down in the sun to enjoy a nap in the sun.
They wake to the sound of a camera shutter. They open one eye, looking up to see Viktor standing over them, dripping from head to toe. “You look so cute!” he practically squeals.
Yuuri yawns, stretching out on the towel. The note that all four kittens are napping with them, using Yuuri’s body as a pillow. “Is that going on Instagram?”
“Of course!”
“So is the photo I took of Viktor eating shit on the surfboard,” Yurio adds.
Viktor pouts, and Yuuri laughs at his misfortune. “Look, it already has a thousand likes,” Yurio snorts.
“How was the water?”
“Cruel,” Viktor whines. “The sea is a harsh mistress.”
Yuuri laughs. “I guess we’ll just have to freeze it. Then you can show her.”
“I knew I loved you for a reason.”
The day continues in much the same way, Viktor struggling in vain to tame the angry sea while Yurio immortalizes it all on Instagram. Yuuri watches them both, heart swelling impossibly under the warmth of the sun at the realization that this life is theirs, that these are the people who have given their hearts to them. Yuuri is incredibly lucky.
They stay until early evening. As they leave, Viktor buys a bouquet of sunflowers from the surf shop and hands them to Yuuri “for my solnyshko.” Yuuri flushes a deep red, but takes the flowers anyway. When they return to Viktor’s (tiny really) sports car (unsuitable for week-long road trips) they realize there’s an issue.
Makka piles into the backseat with Viktor’s new surfboard and Yurio’s inner tube and that’s it. They are not fitting anything else in that backseat.
Yuuri addresses the elephant in the room. “How are we getting home?”
Viktor stares at his car, ponders the question deeply. “We’ll just have to sit in the front.”
Yurio puts voice to Yuuri’s thoughts. “We’re going to die.”
“No, it’ll be fine,” Viktor ensures. “Yurio, you take the passenger seat, and Yuuri can sit in my lap.”
He arranges them all in the car as he describes and Yuuri realizes, oh god, we really are going to die. But there’s really no other way they’re getting home, so it’ll have to do. Yurio holds his kitten close like a safety blanket.
Viktor drives out of Tallinn, taking the highway to St. Petersburg much too casually for someone who’s not wearing a seatbelt. The drive to St. Petersburg is five hours long. Crammed in a tiny sports car that’s about to burst at the seams, it’s the longest five hours of Yuuri’s life. But there are moments, as Yuuri curls into Viktor’s body, who smells like the sea and glows with the warmth of the sun.
Yurio’s foot kicks them in the ribs. “Katsuon, get your ass off my foot!”
Overall it still sucks.
They drop Yurio off outside Lilia’s house and drive into the sunset before Yakov can come out to yell at them. It’s the first time Yuuri’s had Viktor to themselves in a week. They feel like they should have something important to say, but they lay their head in Viktor’s lap as he drives them back home. Viktor gently strokes Yuuri hair, and he doesn’t seem to mind the sudden silence.
They unload the car, and as fun as the past week has been, their bedroom has never looked so inviting. Makkachin seems to agree, because he immediately hops on the bed. Yuuri follows suit, burying their face in the downy pillows. They can shower in the morning.
Viktor chuckles, watching Yuuri from the doorway. “Happy to be back?”
“Happy to be home.”
Viktor’s breath catches. He joins his fiancé on the bed, smoothing Yuuri’s hair back. Their face is sun kissed from a straight week of riding in Viktor’s convertible. It’s beautiful on them, just like everything is.
Viktor kisses their nose. “It’s good to be home,” he agrees. He wraps Yuuri in his arms and they fall asleep. He’ll regret it in the morning, when his hair and clothes are still sticky from the ocean. But that’s future Viktor’s problem. Right now he just wants to hold his fiancé.
(Future Viktor does, in fact, regret it.)
Viktor doesn’t go easy on Yuuri the next day.
“You’ve had a whole week off, Yuuri! Time to make up for it!” he shouts across the rink.
Yuuri groans pushing off on the ice harder, while Mila and Georgi look on with pity. “It was your idea, asshole!”
“And my ideas are generally bad!”
Yuuri gazes at Mila helplessly with a look that screams “can you believe I’m marrying this guy?”
It’s a grueling hour of Yuuri reconditioning their body, committing all the fine movements they’d forgotten to muscle memory again. It’s awful and at one point Yuuri thinks they’re about to cough out a lung. But nothing beats the feeling of landing a quad flip and hearing Viktor cheer them on.
“That was beautiful, darling!” he cries, holding out his arms for a hug. Yuuri knows from experience if they don’t give it to him, Viktor will throw himself at them. So Yuuri goes for the hug, panting and sweaty as they bury their face in Viktor’s neck.
Viktor twirls them around on the ice, laughing breathlessly. His eyes shine, golden skates catching the light like the ring on his finger, and they’re both weightless. Nothing could possibly beat this.
“We could get married here,” Yuuri says before they realize what they’re saying.
Viktor stops their spinning. “Here?”
Yuuri brain catches up to their mouth. It makes a strange kind of sense. The ice is where they fell in love with Viktor the first time, the second time, where they fall in love with Viktor every day. “Yeah. Here.”
Viktor’s eyes light up like the sun and he throws himself into Yuuri’s arms. “That’s perfect!”
They’re spinning again, laughing like a couple of fools as Yakov watches from the sidelines, shaking his head. Viktor’s right, Yuuri thinks, this is perfect.