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Yuri stands at the podium, gold medal around his neck and tries to make the most genuine smile he could for the cameras. He knows he should feel happy, ecstatic even, that he won at the GPF, but jealousy had a firm grip onto his heart.
He glances over at Viktor, anger burning in his veins when he realizes Viktor had been staring at Yuuri the entire time. Viktor with his soft gaze, fingers beneath his chin and looking like a love-sick fool over Yuuri.
It takes all of Yuri’s energy to stop himself from throwing the gold medal on the damn ice and sprinting off the rink. He blinks quickly as tears cloud his vision, bowing his head when the audience coos in awe, assuming Yuri was overwhelmed from his victory.
Yuri briskly leaves the podium once the cameras and reporters leave, shoving his bouquet of flowers into Yakov’s arms without a word. He hastily leans down to untie his skates, kicking them off his feet like his life depended on it. Tears stream down his cheeks, unable to look at anyone else in the eye.
“Yuri, where are you going? You’re supposed to stay for the interview!” Yakov shouts.
“I don’t want to do it!” Yuri screams. He sniffs, looking up when Viktor calls his name.
Viktor smiles, waving at him with one hand, fingers laced with Yuuri’s with the other. The two began to approach him and Yuri jumps to his feet and storms out, aimlessly sprinting down corridors until he was finally alone.
He slides onto the floor, furiously rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. His gold medal twinkles in the light, now stained with a few tears. He yanks it off and throws it against the wall, pressing his hand against his face, ashamed of himself. He was ashamed for acting like another ungrateful brat, wondering when everyone would give up on him already.
Yuri bristles when he heard soft footsteps coming closer and raises his head, peering over to see how it was. His eyes widen and he quickly moves away, scrambling to grab his medal off the ground.
His fingers collide with Otabek’s, who tenderly clutches Yuri’s gold medal in his hand. Yuri’s heart pounds, warmth at his cheeks when Otabek remains silent, gazing down at the medal for what seemed like an eternity.
“How did you find me?” Yuri asks quietly. He scoots back into a corner when Otabek faces him and takes a step closer.
Otabek grins faintly, kneeling down to place the medal back around Yuri’s neck, cupping his face afterwards. Yuri laid his hands on top of his.
“It was easy. I thought about where I would go if I wanted to get away from all the noise,” Otabek responds, leaning forward to kiss Yuri’s forehead. He ran his fingers through his hair, pulling away to sit beside him.
Yuri frowns, scooting closer to Otabek and links his arm with his, reaching down to squeeze his hand tightly. Something about Otabek calms him, making all of his frustrations fade away like waking up from a bad dream. Having Otabek around even made him forget about Viktor.
“Everyone’s looking for you,” Otabek says, raising Yuri’s hand to kiss his pale knuckles.
“Fuck them,” Yuri mutters.
Otabek chuckles, lowering their hands and rubs his thumb gently against Yuri’s finger.
“Just get the interview over-with and you can leave,” Otabek suggests.
Yuri furrows his brows, looking away from him, but continued to keep a tight grip on his hand.
“I don’t want to. I don’t want to see any of their faces,” he says bitterly. Viktor appears in his mind once more, smiling happily at Yuuri with their engagement rings glimmering in the light. Yuri knew he couldn’t get Viktor back no matter what, for he lost him to Yuuri the moment Viktor laid eyes on him.
Yuri pulls his hand away from Otabek’s and stands up, wiping stray tears falling down his cheeks.
“Don’t bother with me,” Yuri says, taking a step forward, ready to leave Otabek. He figures he would save Otabek the trouble of dealing with him, refusing to go through another round of rejection once more.
Otabek grabs Yuri’s arm and tugs him against his chest. He turns Yuri around, hands firmly planted against his cheeks. Yuri’s eyes well with tears, screaming as he shoves him off.
“Stop it! Just leave me alone! You’re going to find someone else.. Someone better than me, easier to be around with!” Yuri shouts, chest heaving as his knees buckle and he drops onto his knees, burying his face in his hands.
“Yuri.. Is this about Viktor?” Otabek asks cautiously, kneeling down to gather Yuri into his arms. He strokes his hair, trailing his fingers down to lift Yuri’s chin up to meet his gaze.
The words were on the tip of Yuri’s tongue but he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t bear the thought of Otabek shoving him away because Yuri wanted him to stay with him. He hates himself from how he possibly ruined their budding friendship so easily due to his stubborn behavior.
“I don’t want him,” Yuri whispers, raising his hands to clutch onto Otabek’s jacket. “I don’t want Viktor.”
“Good,” Otabek replies with relief. “I won’t let anyone else have you.”
Yuri’s eyes widen, taken aback by his words.
Otabek caresses Yuri’s cheek with his thumb, leaning forward to gently kiss his lips. Yuri was stunned, feeling like an idiot for remaining still.
It was his first kiss and he never thought he would share it with Otabek. Romance never crossed Yuri’s mind before since he thought it was for stupid saps like Viktor.
“You .. what?” Yuri stammers, all coherent thoughts melting into goo in his mind.
“You’re mine now. Only look at me,” Otabek declares, descending his hands to Yuri’s shoulders and pushing him against the wall.
Yuri’s cheeks flare crimson and his body felt like it was set ablaze, so hot, it feels like the feathers from his outfit turned into flames. All he could hear was his own heartbeat as Otabek moves forward to kiss him again, limbs motionless once more.
Move, you dumbass! Kiss him back! His mind screams.
Yuri’s arms slowly wrap around Otabek’s torso, eyes fluttering shut as he purses his lips to return the kiss. He doesn’t think of anyone else but Otabek.
He’s embarrassed once they pull away, wanting to slap himself for being so awkward.
Otabek simply grins, pecking Yuri’s forehead, cheeks and lips.
“Don’t worry,” Otabek says, clutching Yuri’s hand as he helps him onto his feet.
Yuri smiles faintly, leaning into him when Otabek embraces him with one arm. He was thankful he didn’t have to compete for Otabek’s attention, still in disbelief that the other male appeared in his life and desired him. Only him.
Yakov’s gritty voice echoes in the hallway, breaking Yuri’s train of thought.
“YURI. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?” Yakov bellows.
Otabek glances down at Yuri, rubbing his back before leading him out into the open. Yakov locks his gaze with Yuri and stomps towards him, face flushed with anger. Yakov’s face reminded Yuri of a red potato and he bites on his bottom lip to restrain his laughter.
“Do you know how LONG it took me to find you? The press has been waiting for you, so come on!” Yakov demands. He drew in a deep breath to yell at Yuri once more, but his jaw-drops at the sight of Otabek and Yuri holding hands. Yakov clears his throat and swiftly turns around.
Yuri snorts, then realizes what Yakov was looking at and yanks his hand away from Otabek’s.
“I’ll message you later,” Yuri mumbles to Otabek before he catches up with Yakov, who already began to head back to the main lobby. Yuri then glances over his shoulder to look at Otabek, waving shyly at him.
Otabek smiles and gave a brief wave in return.
Yuri faces forward and sure enough, Viktor was standing at the threshold, staring at him with concern. He turns his head away from Viktor, brushing past him as he trails behind Yakov.
“Yurio, are you okay?” Viktor asks, briskly walking alongside Yuri. “We were so worried about you..”
“He’s alright,” Otabek interjects, reaching out to lace his fingers with Yuri’s. “Just overwhelmed from all of the attention.”
Yuri’s eyes widen a bit, instinctively squeezing Otabek’s hand.
Viktor sighs from relief, hand upon his chest and brushing his silver hair out of his eyes.
“I’m glad you found him,” Viktor says to Otabek.
“Me too,” Otabek responds.
“Oh, I have to find Yuuri. Sorry, I’ll be back!” Viktor apologizes, turning around to rush down into a different room, leaving Yuri and Otabek alone with Yakov.
Yuri gives Otabek’s hand another squeeze, glancing back at his face. He didn’t want Viktor anymore, he didn’t have the urge to chase after him because what he sought for was in front of his face all along.