Chapter Text
Scientists can't explain how the soulmate string works. All they can do is simply observe and take down their observations. No one can see the strings, no one can physically touch them, but the soulmates themselves can feel and pull at the thread as if it were physically there. Finding one's soulmate is a romanticized notion that some obsess over. Whether or not they ever actually meet their soulmates are another thing. The string has no rules, but it is common for most people to feel the pull before they reached their mid-twenties. So when Victor Nikiforov had found his soulmate, Yuri Plisetsky was disgusted.
"Focus will you old man?!" Yuri shouted at the man.
Viktor had found his soulmate in Japanese skater, Yuuri Katsuki. Yuri was disgusted with Viktor's constant pining for the man especially after the banquet, especially so now that the Japanese man had failed to get back in touch with him. Yuri rolled his eyes at the older man's antics at trying to find the Japanese man. Even Yakov seemed irritated with the gold medalist but kept his comments to himself.
"It's understandable that he's like this," Georgi explained, "Katsuki is avoiding him."
"I could care less for what that Japanese pig is doing," Yuri growled, "Viktor owes me choreography and he's so obsessed with that pig that he hasn't even practiced his own routines."
"You'll understand when you meet your soulmate," Georgi insisted.
Yuri chucked his water bottle at the older man's head. Georgi yelped as he barely dodged the bottle. Mila smacked Georgi on the arm and shook her head. Georgi turned to Yuri.
"Sorry...I forgot," Georgi said in a low voice.
It was common knowledge among the Russian skaters that Yuri had no soulmate. While medical providers could only do so much about soulmate strings, Spaewives were a popular choice for those who wanted to know more about their strings. These clairvoyant women would be presented children whose parents wanted to know more about their children's fate. Yuri's mother had taken him not to one, but more than fifty spaewives who all told her the same thing. The child had been born with no soulmate string. Yuri could remember how his mother grieved over his lack of string, but his grandfather had treated it as if it were no big issue at all.
"You are the one who makes your fate Yuri, not a string," Nikolai had told him.
Yuri believed his grandfather. He was set on setting his own fate and expected others to do the same. So when Viktor fell into his pining spill after finding his soulmate, it pissed Yuri off. He was mad that Viktor was essentially keeping himself from skating all due to another person he barely knew. Yet, there were times when Viktor wasn't being dramatic and would sit silently in a corner staring at his phone. That's when Yuri felt even angrier. How dare that Japanese pig do this to his mentor and idol.
A year later, when Yuri saw the video, he immediately sent it to Viktor hoping that the older man would finally get his shit together. What he didn't expect was Viktor disappearing to Japan. Now that really pissed him off. It was a bit difficult for him to get the tickets by himself, but he was able to convince his grandfather into buying him a plane ticket to Japan. Viktor wasn't surprised at all to see the teen. If anything, Viktor seemed to be in the brightest mood as he skated.
When it came to the competition Viktor and the triplets had set up, Yuri was set to win...If he could just understand what the hell agape meant. He spent the next few days thinking about it. What the hell was agape? It was a while before he understood, but by then his drive to win wasn't a hundred percent as it was when he first arrived. He had watched old man and the pig. It was disgusting. They would constantly stare into each other's eyes, casually touch each other as if they had known each other for years, laugh with one another, and share small smiles. Yuri cringed at the thought but would get pissed as he thought about it. They seemed happy.
A part of Yuri wanted to win and take Viktor back to Russia as his coach, the other part wanted to see the old man happy for once after his year of moping. Yuri wasn't sure why he was thinking about those two towards the end of his routine. At that point, he had lost his feel for agape. He knew he had lost, but he wasn't so upset by the thought as much as he initially thought he was going to be.
Months came and went. Yuri let himself be stretched and twirled by Yakov's ex-wife, Lilia. The woman was batshit crazy with her intense routines. Yuri would have complained and left if he had not actually seen immediate improvement in his form and technique. He cursed the damned brilliant woman.
The months seemed to be flying by and next thing that Yuri knew, Barcelona had finally arrived and he found himself in an alley. He let out a breath and he peeked around the corner. He saw the large group of girls with cat ears looking around calling his name out. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the loud rumbling of a motorcycle pull it next to him. He looked up and saw a familiar face. A leather clad hand held a helmet out to him.
"Get on," The voice said loudly over the rumble.
Yuri went to turn down the offer when he remembered the girls. He didn't hate the group, but he wasn’t in any mood to put up with them. Yuri grabbed the helmet.
"You're that guy who won bronze last year aren't you?" Yuri said as he took a sip of tea.
They had stopped at a street food tent and had settled down with some tea.
"I do have a name you know," The man said over his cup of tea.
Yuri scoffed softly.
"You have yet to formally introduce yourself," The man said, "You're Yuri Plisetsky. I'm Otabek Atlin."
Atlin. The name seemed a tad bit more familiar to Yuri than just the name of the bronze medalist last year.
"I know my own name," Yuri said, "You seemed familiar."
The man gave a hint of a smile.
"Perhaps you do not remember, but I was in one of Yakov's summer camp about five years ago I believe it was?" Otabek said after a pause.
Yuri looked at the young man. If it had been five years, he had to imagine a preteen Otabek. Yuri stared hard at him, trying to round out the sharp masculine jawline and soften the sharp cheekbones. He couldn't imagine a younger Otabek
"I don't remember," Yuri said sipping at his drink.
The man let out a breath and leaned back in his chair.
"I'm not surprised. I was only in that ballet class for a day," Otabek said.
"I'm surprised you even remember me."
"Oh, I remember you. In that moment I saw you I hated you," Otabek said placing his cup down on the table, "But I also admired you."
Yuri felt his breath catch for the smallest moment. He looked up at Otabek. They made eye contact and Otabek nodded.
"You were better than me in just about every way. I wasn't that flexible then and still am not. I hated your abilities, but I admired that you were set in working hard. You had the eyes of a soldier, looking straight ahead, doing as you were told," Otabek said to Yuri as he averted his eyes to the entrance of the tent.
Yuri's face burned and he was sure it was burning from embarrassment. Having been trained under Yakov and Lilia, he wasn't used to others giving him compliments. Even the other skaters were quick to scold him for mistakes before praising him. The only person who had ever flat out complimented him had been his grandfather. He looked at Otabek. He smiled softly back at Yuri
As it had turned out the Russian and Kazakhstani were both staying in the same hotel. Yuri had hitched a ride back with Otabek after the two had been joined by the rest of the skaters. They had both sat there and watched as the old man and pig had shown off their matching rings.
"Your friends must be happy. Now that they have found their mate," Otabek commented to Yuri as they walked to the elevators.
"It's disgusting. They won't stop looking at each other," Yuri said with a face of distaste.
Otabek pressed the elevator button and they waited for the elevator. He turned to look at Yuri.
"They're soulmates, there's nothing wrong with that. You'll understand once you meet yours," Otabek told him.
Yuri tensed and looked at his new friend. He felt the anger bubbling in him, but for once, this was someone who didn't know. Otabek didn't know. It wasn't his fault that he was ignorant of the fact. Yuri ground his teeth before slowly telling Otabek.
"I don't have a soulmate."
Otabek looked at Yuri with raised eyebrows. The younger boy was grinding his teeth, a look of restrained anger in his eyes. Otabek shrugged his shoulders.
"Then you'll understand once you fall in love."
Yuri felt his mouth fall a bit before he shut it again. The elevator doors had opened and he shoved past Otabek to get in first. Otabek smiled slightly before following him in.
"Kitten!" Viktor's voice rang out.
"I told you not to call me that!" Yuri shouted back.
Viktor made a face but laughed. Yuri came out of the skating rink bathroom, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail and donning a new team jacket.
"My my...I think you're taller than me now," Viktor said as he came to stand in front of Yuri.
Yuri had hit his biggest growth spurt a few years ago but still seemed to be slowly growing. Once at eye level with the silver-haired Russian, Yuri's eye level now met the older man's forehead.
"Did you just notice that?" Yuri asked rolling his eyes.
"I keep forgetting," Viktor smiled, "Anyway kitten, you're going to be picking Otabek up from the train station right? Head over to our apartment. Yuuri wants all of us to have dinner together."
Yuri flung his bag over his shoulder and huffed. He had hoped to have dinner with Otabek by himself, but if Katsudon was cooking, the meal was probably going to be worth it. Yuri also remembered Otabek wasn't coming alone. He turned to Viktor.
"I'll see," He said as he waved the older man off and left the rink.
It had been three years since Yuri had seen Otabek in person, four since the Barcelona Grand Prix. Otabek had gone into early retirement after a bad knee injury in Skate America, the year after that Grand Prix. Yuri had been devastated that his friend was forced to retire from competitive figure skating. That hadn't stopped Otabek. The Kazakhstani had taken to taking on students in Almaty, where his attempts were well received. Otabek was coming to St. Petersburg with a student for one of Yakov's training camps for the summer.
Yuri had gotten Mila to lend him her car to pick Otabek and his student up. Pulkovo Airport was as busy as it usually was. Yuri had a difficult time finding a parking spot and found himself running late. His worries came to an end as he saw a familiar figure at the very entrance of the airport sitting on a bench. Yuri approached the figure, one arm brought up to wave.
"Beka!" Yuri shouted.
He picked up the pace and came to an abrupt stop in front of the man. Otabek looked about the same, a bit more tired than Yuri had seen him, but Otabek looked well. Otabek's eyes widened a bit as he took in Yuri's appearance. He stood up and put his hands on Yuri's shoulders.
"You've finally outgrown me Yura," Otabek smiled bringing the younger man into a hug.
Otabek patted Yuri on the back. Yuri felt that old feeling arise, a slight burn on his cheeks as his breath caught once again. Yuri snapped out of it when he saw a pair of dark eyes staring back at him from the bench. A young teen sat on the bench with a raised eyebrow.
"A friend of yours teacher?" The young boy said.
Otabek pulled out of the hug and introduced the two.
"This is a friend of mine, you know him Taza. This is Yuri Plisetsky. Yura, this is my student, Taza. He won the scholarship for Yakov's summer session," Otabek explained.
"Whats up kid?" Yuri said nodding at the boy.
The boy gave Yuri a stoic expression before cracking a small smile. He nodded back in acknowledgment.
"Where's your stuff? Let me help you," Yuri said.
Otabek motioned to the luggage by the bench. Otabek walked to it. Yuri took notice of a walking cane he hadn’t seen before. Otabek still stood tall as he strode to the luggage, but the limp in his right leg was prominent. It was plain to see why his competitive skating career had ended. Yuri quickly strode over and snatched one of his bags. He looked at the teenage boy.
"Hey kid, come help with this," Yuri said taking a bag out of Otabek's hand and slinging it over his shoulder.
"Yuri! Otabek!" Yuuri said after he opened his apartment door to find the three standing outside.
"Come in!" Viktor's voice said from the kitchen.
The visitors filed into the apartment and were ushered into the living room by Yuuri.
"Sit down please!" Yuuri said motioning Otabek to one of the plush chairs.
They all situated themselves as Yuuri rushed over to the kitchen. Taza was looking around the apartment pausing to take in the pictures of different skaters. He turned and said something to Otabek in Kazakh smiling brightly. Otabek smiled and replied.
"He's excited to be here," Otabek said.
Yuri looked around at the pictures the boy had been staring at.
"Nothing exciting to see in those pictures," Yuri mumbled.
"He's about to have dinner with three gold medalists while surrounded with pictures of other idols he has adored since he was little. I'd be pretty excited if I was him too," Otabek said.
Viktor came in to call everyone into their dining room where dinner was laid out. The moment everyone had settled and Viktor had acknowledged and greeted the young teen, the boy went off into a barrage of questions, speaking more than Yuri had expected him to do. Otabek gave a weak laugh as the boy looked adoringly at the married couple. Yuri looked up from his plate of food.
"Your kid is more of a blabbermouth than I thought," Yuri told Otabek.
"He's passionate once he warms up a bit," Otabek responded.
Otabek took a bite of chicken before looking up at Yuri. Yuri stared back wondering what he was about to ask. Otabek continued to stare.
"Do I have something on my face or something?" Yuri grumbled wiping at his mouth.
"No," Otabek said, "I'm just surprised with how much you've changed."
Yuri frowned.
"I haven't changed much," Yuri said, "Do I look that much like shit?"
Otabek smiled.
"No. Quite the opposite."
Yuri's face burned.
"Shut the fuck up."
Otabek smiled as he took a sip of wine.
"What's that?"
"No wait. What's that?"
"Forget that, what's that?"
"Does this kid not have an off switch?" Yuri asked Otabek.
It was Saturday morning and they were browsing the food market. Taza had already filled their cart with Russian junk food that had caught his interest. The more he threw in, the more Otabek discreetly put away.
"He's curious. This is Taza's first time out of Almaty, more so his first time out of the country," Otabek said stuffing a bag of chocolate covered chips behind some canned beans.
Taza had grabbed a bottle of chocolate milk. He showed it to Otabek and pleaded in Kazakh.
"Put it back," Otabek grunted as he seemed to stumble a bit.
Yuri immediately grabbed Otabek's arm.
"Are you ok Beka?" He asked.
Otabek tried to wave him off, but Yuri kept his grip firm. He was going to get Otabek to a resting spot.
"Yura, I'm fine. My knee just cramped up," He explained.
Taza took the cart Otabek was pushing and stopped putting things in as well as asking for more treats. They finished shopping, Otabek walking with his arm linked with Yuri's at Yuri's request. They left the shop, but not before Otabek purchased some popsicles. They sat on a bench watching Taza check out the park fountain.
"That kid is a handful," Yuri said watching Taza climb onto the fountain's edge.
"Imagine keeping up with him with this knee," Otabek snorted.
Yuri glanced over at Otabek. The man as smiling, but his eyes were soft with a certain melancholy. Yuri's chest ached to watch the man struggle to walk. The accident had been a shock to everyone, especially more so after it was announced Otabek wouldn't be able to properly skate anymore. Yuri stared at Otabek's walking cane. He reached over and snatched it from him.
"I need that you know," Otabek said taking a bite of his melting popsicle.
Yuri took the cane and lightly tapped Otabek's bad knee.
"This will get better. I'm sure of it," Yuri said.
Otabek looked at Yuri their eyes meeting. He gave a small smile.
"We'll see. I have a surgery planned a few months from now," Otabek mentioned, "I was unsure about it, but the doctors have been urging me to get it done. It's actually funny."
"Funny?"
"Yeah. They didn't mention it for my sake. They want me to get it done so once the pull comes, I can run to my soulmate."
Yuri never thought he had ever felt his heart sink so low. He could physically feel the weight of dread in his chest. Yuri had never thought about Otabek having a soulmate. They had never brought it up after that discussion by the elevator in Barcelona. Yuri quickly scoffed and looked away.
"Soulmates are overrated," He muttered as he quickly finished off his popsicle.
Otabek didn't respond. The two sat in silence watching Taza chase off some pigeons. Otabek broke the silence.
"I've never felt the pull."
Yuri looked at Otabek. The man was playing with the popsicle stick, his facial expression almost unreadable.
"You're still young," Yuri said back.
"I don't think I will."
Yuri furrowed his eyebrows at the man's comment.
"I saw a shaman woman once as a kid," Otabek said, "She said I would never feel the pull."
Yuri was silent for a bit. Conflicting feelings battled in his head. The heaviness in his chest lightened a bit, but he felt bad for both the relief of that comment and for the thread status of his friend.
"So you have no soulmate," Yuri said quietly.
"No. I do."
Silence.
"Otabek that makes no fucking sense," Yuri snorted.
"I have a soulmate. Their end of their string is just frayed. That's all."
Yuri had heard of frayed strings. It was an uncommon occurrence, but it was still common knowledge. People with frayed strings rarely met their soulmates, their strings too weak to feel the pull from the thinnest of threads. Yuri sighed and leaned against the bench.
"Well...As my grandfather tells me, you're the one who makes your own fate, not a string," Yuri said.
Otabek looked over at the younger man. Yuri was staring up at the sky, his head leaning against the back of the bench. His eyes traveled along the outline of Yuri's profile.
"I really hope so," Otabek muttered in Kazakh.
Green eyes turned and looked at him.
"What was that?" Yuri asked.
"Teacher!!" Taza shouted running over with a pigeon in his hands.
"Kid what the fuck?!" Yuri grunted as he stood to take the pigeon away.
Otabek smiled.