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Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc Dec 14
Well, this year took a last minute turn. Finally found myself a worthy match, skills-wise ;) #GPF2015 #Sochi #letsswingagainnexttime
<3 christophe<3 @assonice
@christophe_gc I’M PROUD OF YOU CHRIS I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
skate on me@figureskatngg
@christophe_gc Congratulations on making it onto the podium again!! <3
Norma @iiceiicebab
@christophe_gc what’s new about this gpf?? u got silver, nikiforov is still untouchable, same old same old :/
#JJSQUAD @jeanjacquesleeeeeroy
@christophe_gc do you mean JJ? Because he’s certainly someone you have to watch out for!! #itsjjstyle
Norma @iiceiicebab
@jeanjacquesleeeeeroy @christophe_gc pls, chris was points ahead of leroy, ur precious canadian is no threat yet
#JJSQUAD @jeanjacquesleeeeeroy
@iiceiicebab @christophe_gc ok but say that to my face :)
#1 Chris Stan@chrisgiaco
@jeanjacquesleeeeeroy @iiceiicebab guys please this isn’t the place to start an argument! D:
#1 Chris Stan@chrisgiaco
I am infinitely curious as to who @christophe_gc is talking about though. Guess I’ll have to keep a close eye on the rest of the season!
//
The news articles published about the Grand Prix Final all say the same thing, but Yuuri still peruses each one with an anxiety that combats the pounding in his head. There are endless praises for Viktor Nikiforov’s fifth consecutive gold, as to be expected, and some talking about Yuuri’s failure; the latter he scrolls through with a ferocious speed, thumb trembling as he tells himself not to read it, before he scrolls down once more thanks to a weak resolve and takes in a phrase or two (possible retirement and underwhelming finish seem to be some of the recurring word combinations journalists preferred to use in the paragraphs about him).
But he’s not really haunting online news outlets for opinions that will do nothing but bring down his self-esteem, even if he is incapable of stopping himself fully from reading them. Rubbing salt on his own wounds is not the purpose here. The goal is simple: make sure no banquet pictures have been circulating online. That’s it. Because if anything from last night were leaked and news outlets got wind of it, then Yuuri would certainly be in for a disaster.
He didn’t even want to go. It was Celestino’s idea to attend, since it’s the proper thing to do, Yuuri, you need to get up and about before we go back to Detroit! Shake the negativity off! There’ll be food, too! Apparently, he interpreted Yuuri’s vague noises from underneath the hotel bed’s blanket pile as an enthusiastic, resounding ‘yes,’ and dragged him off to the banquet hall anyway after making him wear a suit – and only with minimal struggle, thanks to Yuuri’s lack of motivation to move his limbs and actually resist.
It’s not that Yuuri blames Celestino, though. That’s really not it. He knows what Celestino’s feelings and intentions were – he’s not just a coach to Yuuri, after all, but also a friend. He worries, looks out for Yuuri, and tries to bring him out of the shell he always retreats to when things don’t go his way. If anything, it was Yuuri’s mistake. He knows how he is with alcohol. He should’ve known better.
But. What’s done is done. The only thing he can do now is damage control.
If only he can find the damage, that is. So far, every article he’s read only featured shots of skaters (mostly Viktor) during their programs, and one of the few banquet photos taken early on in the night when the guests were just arriving. It’s all very official, but Yuuri is still worried. He can’t help but worry.
Truth be told, he only remembers last night’s happenings vaguely. He knows he drank. He knows he danced with people. He knows photos were taken. But where are they?
There’s a part of him saying, No one uploaded anything. You’re fine, you’re fine. Stop worrying. He chews on his lower lip and stops himself from clicking on the next page of Google search results involving Sochi he’s pulled up. After a while, he closes the tab and exits out of his browser completely.
He hasn’t checked social media yet, though, and if any of Phichit’s stories are to go by, SNS is where things usually go down and burn to ashes. Yuuri doesn’t really have social media accounts specifically made for fans, except for one, not that it makes much of a difference; his Twitter has a grand total of 62 tweets, spanning back from when he first made it in 2012. Phichit had been the one who convinced him to make an account, Yuuri eventually giving into his wide-eyed pouting, but he drew the line at Instagram.
He picks his phone up again. He doesn’t even have the app, so he goes on his browser and manually logs into his Twitter there. His timeline loads, and the first thing he sees is a retweeted photo of Viktor in the middle of his free skate, looking as breathtaking as ever. It’s a really good shot, both subjectively and objectively. Yuuri’s thumb hovers over the tweet.
He thinks of his bare profile – a picture of Vicchan as a profile picture (he can’t help the pang that shoots through him at the thought of his dog, and he has to furiously blink back a sudden sting of tears) and a blank cover photo, a very standard 23 - Japanese figure skater - Currently based in Detroit for his bio, and Getting ready for the season! as his last tweet, made months ago. His 1257 followers will appreciate seeing activity from him, he thinks. It’s the least he can do right now, to reassure them, especially after the last few days.
He hits retweet.
There are no pictures from the banquet on his timeline. Even Phichit has neither said nor tweeted anything about drunken dance-offs, and if there’s one person who would hear about leaked pictures the literal second they get uploaded, it would be him. Seeing his friend’s profile full of only retweets about Sochi, interspersed with some selfies, makes Yuuri let out a breath of relief.
He’s okay. He’s fine. None of the events of last night made it online. He can trust the skating community, his peers, even if they probably only see him as some kind of tagalong. Or a rookie. Definitely not a real competitor. But he’s fine. Yuuri is fine.
He’s just about to log out and find some food – it’s already afternoon, and he wants to get some more sleep before their ridiculously early flight at 2AM tomorrow – when his phone gets a notification. Yuuri gets notifications, sometimes; he may not be a social media person, but he does message with Phichit quite regularly, and his private Facebook keeps him connected with his family even though he barely touches it. Still, with the anxious nerves of the entire morning and the pounding hangover that still won’t go away, along with the fact that this is a Twitter notification, he finds himself clicking the bell-like icon brightly announcing ‘1’ with a lump the size of a giant boulder lodged in his throat.
He almost drops his phone.
Viktor Nikiforov followed you
//
Chris!!
Sent
Chriiiiiiiiiiiis
Sent
CHRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sent
:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
Sent
Christophe please I need your help :’(
Sent
I know you know Yuuri Katsuki!! I remember seeing the two of you talking during the SP
Sent
That and the banquet but!! You get my point!!
Sent
As your long-time friend and rival, I need a favor
Sent
Yuuri doesn’t seem to have much online presence?? I can’t find him on IG. AT ALL.
Sent
Well, ok, he has some photos uploaded but it’s by someone else? And there’s no account tagged, just hashtags. Does Yuuri not have IG????
Sent
Do you know who Phichit Chulanont is?
Sent
Chriiiiiiis. Look at your phone pls :(
Sent
I don’t know how else to contact him. I’m already on my way back to St. Petersburg with Yakov and Yuri, and I couldn’t check if Yuuri was still in the hotel?
Sent
Chris, we’re friends right??
Sent
OH nevermind! He has a twitter!
Sent
At least… I think this is him? It’s not a verified account but Phichit Chulanont’s official twitter is following? I’m gonna hit follow anyway.
Sent
Done! Yay.
Sent
…wow
Received
Little darling Yuuri really swept you off your feet last night, didn’t he? ;)
Received
Chris!!!!! Hello, thank you for replying :D
Sent
I was busy ;) ;) ;) but I’m here now, babe, though it looks like you didn’t need my help after all.
Received
He retweeted a photo of me and I was tagged in the post so!! The twitter handle caught my attention. I really think this is legit him. Why doesn’t he have more followers though?? :(
Sent
Yuuri isn’t a social media person. But really? He has a twitter? I was not informed of this.
Received
Link me.
Received
http://www.twitter.com/katsuyu_ri !!!!!!!!
Sent
Followed. Thank you.
Received
No problem! So, how do you know Yuuri??
Sent
Josef knows Celestino and visited him in Detroit earlier in the year, I tagged along.
Received
Plus Yuuri and I were in NHK Trophy together
Received
I see.
Sent
;)
Received
So… are you going to message him?
Received
I will! But. Not immediately. Maybe after Nationals? When is Japan’s Nationals, anyway?
Sent
I’m assuming we’ll meet again at Worlds, so hopefully by then we’ll be more acquainted.
Sent
This is… all very new and strange to me.
Received
????????
Sent
You. Taking an interest in someone.
Received
I’m taking screenshots btw
Received
Chris!!!
Sent
:D :D :D
Received
We had a fun time ok! It’s normal to want to know someone you had a fun time with!
Sent
Mmm, whatever you say babe.
Received
Now off I go, Josef and I are flying back to Switzerland in a few. I’ll see you around.
Received
Have a safe flight!
Sent
<3 <3 <3
Received
//
It feels surreal to be sitting in class, listening to the lecture with half an ear and mechanically taking down notes, when just a few weeks ago Yuuri had failed not once, but twice, in the thing he’s most passionate about. He doesn’t want to think about the implications of two losses in a row, doesn’t want to think about the reactions from the people he doesn’t know and the people he does. Doesn’t want to think about home, about Hasetsu, and how close he had been to it.
In less than two months he’ll be turning in his thesis. Maybe he’ll finally get his degree, if that goes well, and at least he’ll be able to bring something back home. He tries to push all thoughts of figure skating out of his mind, tries to replace them with the not-so-distant vision of graduation. It barely works.
His phone sits heavily in his pocket, turned off when his Twitter app wouldn’t stop buzzing with notifications – because, somehow, Viktor Nikiforov following his account turned his follower count up to 40,000 in the span of two weeks, the number continuing to grow with every passing day. He doesn’t want to deal with that at the moment. Not right now, not when he feels like he’s barely anybody at all.
Class wraps up.
Yuuri takes his time putting his notebook back inside his bag and lets himself be surrounded by a wall of noise caused by chatter and chairs scraping back against the flooring. It’s a small graduating class but he barely knows the people in the room with him, is only familiar with them through the letters that make up their name. He hears someone behind him asking someone else if they want to have lunch, hears someone from the front of the room approaching the professor with questions about the lecture, hears another someone from the side yawning like they haven’t slept for years.
One by one the people file out of the room, leaving Yuuri staring at the contents of his bag, checking and rechecking if he’s put away everything just to give his eyes something to do.
Here, in this room, he’s just another student. Not former Japanese figure skating ace, not 2015 Grand Prix finalist, not a big deal. Just Katsuki Yuuri, just a student, just another name on the class list.
He stands up.
His bag feels light when he slips his arms into the straps, and he bounces it against his back as a kind of reminder of its presence. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns it back on, feels it buzzing wildly in his hand, and makes a note to ask Phichit later how he can turn notifications off. Maybe he should just uninstall the Twitter app altogether, save him the trouble of figuring it out, though that might make Phichit pout at him. He was the one who made Yuuri install the app to begin with, the moment he found out that the Viktor Nikiforov started following Yuuri, saying, Yuuri, come on, you’ll never know immediately if Viktor messages you or anything if you don’t have the app! You might miss a chance! Do you want that to happen?
Honestly? Yuuri doesn’t know what he wants to happen right now.
//
Viktor eyes his phone where he’s tossed it onto the foot of his bed half an hour ago.
He’s still wrapped in a towel, just having emerged from a not-so-quick shower, but the sight of his phone gives him pause, just like how it’s been giving him pause the entire day, and even the days before today. Persistently, he remembers Chris’ text, the glaring question of are you going to message him making itself known in his head as though someone had taken a red marker, written it down in large capital letters across his brain, underlined it twice, and encircled it with a few added exclamation points for redundant emphasis.
It’s been almost two weeks since Russian Nationals, with Viktor winning gold yet again, and he still hasn’t messaged Yuuri. He doesn’t really have an excuse, other than the fact that he might be nervous. Other people might find this shocking, but fact is, Viktor is still human – he may no longer feel the tremble in his bones or the cold that used to grip him from the inside out, the way he did the first few years he competed when he was still in the Junior division, but there are things he still gets nervous over. Very few, but there.
He isn’t as invincible as people make him out to be. Ice sculptures also melt.
In another two weeks, he’ll be going to the European Championships. Then he has a few weeks off before Worlds. What is Yuuri doing at this moment? What are his plans until March? Is he getting ready for Four Continents? Would now be a good time to talk to him?
Viktor drops down onto his bed, uncaring of getting the sheets wet, and lifts his phone up to his face.
Makkachin comes padding into the room, tongue lolling out. He heavily sits down by Viktor’s feet, tail wagging like he’s contemplating whether he should jump onto the bed and crush Viktor with his weight or wait for his owner to notice him. Viktor pushes himself up into a sitting position, making the latter decision for his dog.
“Makkachin,” he says, allowing his tone to slip into something resembling a whine, “should I message Yuuri Katsuki now?”
Makkachin barks and wags his tail even harder. Viktor takes that as an affirmative response. He opens Twitter and pulls up Yuuri’s profile, clicking on the private message button.
Hi Yuuri, it’s me – wait, no, Yuuri already knows who he is – Hi Yuuri, how are you? – okay, good, that’s good – so about that coaching offer – no, Viktor chides himself, don’t seem too eager – Hi Yuuri! I’ve been meaning to message you, sorry I only got the chance to now! How have you been?
Okay, that. Sounds okay. Casual, but not too casual. At least Yuuri will know that Viktor didn’t just forget about him after the banquet. They haven’t interacted since, neither skater contacting the other first, but that’s probably because they’ve both been busy with their respective Nationals. And whatever happened after that. They do have their own lives, after all, but still. Yuuri retweeted a photo of Viktor from the Final. He didn’t retweet a photo of anyone else (Viktor checked his profile maybe ten times, so he’s certain his face is the only one that appears on the Japanese skater’s timeline). That has to count for something, right?
Makkachin jumps onto the bed and barks. Viktor is still only in a towel. Right.
Where is Yuuri right now? Chris mentioned Detroit, Viktor remembers, but he’s not sure what the time difference is or if Yuuri is still even there. Will he reply quickly, or will Viktor have to wait? Maybe it would be best if Viktor put some clothes on first—
His phone alerts him of a notification.
He grabs it and unlocks the screen at the speed of light.
It’s a message, but not from Yuuri – it’s Yuri. It’s only about something Yakov told him to pass onto Viktor concerning the upcoming Euros, so Viktor locks his phone once more and lets it fall onto the bed with a sigh. Makkachin shifts closer to him and lays his head on Viktor’s still slightly damp chest, but Viktor finds comfort in it.
He pets Makkachin’s head and gets a happy lick across his freshly-showered face in return.
//
v_nikiforov
Hi Yuuri! I’ve been meaning to message you, sorry I only got the chance to now! How have you been?
11:42AM
katsuyu_ri
Hello. I’m going to be honest? I wasn’t expecting this at all. I don’t mean it in a bad way though!!! I’m just really surprised. I’ve been okay? I’m in the middle of writing my undergrad thesis so that’s keeping me busy. How about you?
3:25PM
v_nikiforov
YUURI!!
3:47PM
I like surprises. I hope you do, too? And I hope it was a pleasant kind of surprise for you :)
3:47PM
Undergrad thesis? You’re in college?? What are you taking!!!!!!
3:47PM
And how are competition preparations going for you? Any updates about Four Continents?
3:48PM
katsuyu_ri
Um, it was a pleasant surprise, yes. I like surprises. They’re… nice? And I’m majoring in literature with a focus on Asian lit. I’m doing my thesis on female representation in select texts from East and Southeast Asian countries. And, uh. I’m focusing more on my studies at the moment? No formal training or practice right now, since the season is over for me.
4:09PM
v_nikiforov
Wait, you’re done for the season?
4:11PM
I’m glad you like surprises, too!! Do you prefer surprising or being surprised?
4:11PM
!!!!!!!!!! do you like reading, Yuuri?
4:12PM
But seriously, you’re done for the season? :(
4:12PM
katsuyu_ri
I’m done for the season, yes. I kind of messed up at Nationals so I can’t qualify anymore. But it’s alright. I needed the time to focus on graduating, anyway, since I’ve had to extend a year. And that means I can go home soon. I think I like both, but being surprised is certainly nice. Maybe if I find someone I would like to put the effort into surprising at every turn, I’d like that even better. And I find reading alright. The main reason I decided on my major is because I didn’t want to go the Science tract. I think with how much figure skating has been taking up my time, I wouldn’t survive labs at all.
4:21PM
Sorry, I keep talking about myself. How are you, Viktor?
4:22PM
v_nikiforov
No, you don’t have to say sorry Yuuri! I asked, so that means I want to know!!
4:24PM
Really, I don’t mind hearing more about you.
4:24PM
katsuyu_ri
Okay. Sorry.
4:25PM
v_nikiforov
Yuuuuuuuuuri :(
4:25PM
What did I say about saying sorry? :( :( :(
4:25PM
katsuyu_ri
Oops?
4:26PM
v_nikiforov
But anyway!!!!!!!
4:26PM
I’m very interested to hear about all of this. You lead an interesting life, Yuuri :D
4:26PM
Best of luck with your thesis!! I’m not much of a reader, but there are a few books I’ve enjoyed. I’ve never tried Asian lit before?? Maybe someday I’ll have the time to, so you can send me a list of your favorites :D
4:27PM
I am sorry to hear about your Nationals, though :( I just checked, and it was around the same time as Russian Nationals, so maybe that’s why I didn’t hear about it until now. I really am sorry.
4:28PM
I’m fine though! Preparing for Euros, the usual stuff.
4:28PM
Oops, is it alright if I talk about that? D:
4:28PM
I’ve been spending time with Makkachin too!! Since I’m back in St Petersburg until the end of the month, I can come home to him again!!!!!!!
4:28PM
Makkachin is my dog by the way!!!!! Wait, I’ll send you a picture!!! :D :D :D
4:29PM
[image]
Isn’t he the cutest??
4:29PM
katsuyu_ri
I’m not that interesting! But, oh, okay. Just tell me when you want recommendations? And, oh, wow. Thank you? Um. You don’t have to apologize, it wasn’t your fault. What’s done is done. I watched videos of the Russian Nationals when they became available online. You were amazing. And I don’t mind, don’t worry. It’s alright to talk about it. Good luck though? I mean, I know you’ll do great, you’re Viktor Nikiforov, but. Still. Good luck! And he is the cutest!!!! Makkachin is very adorable, he is a very good boy.
4:36PM
Um. To be honest though? I already knew about Makkachin. I had a poodle, too, but he passed away last month.
4:38PM
v_nikiforov
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear about that, Yuuri :( He must’ve been very important to you.
4:41PM
katsuyu_ri
He really was.
4:43PM
I, uh. Actually got a poodle because of you.
4:44PM
v_nikiforov
?????????
4:44PM
katsuyu_ri
I mean. When I was 12, a friend showed me a magazine that said you had a poodle, and I thought I wanted one, too.
4:50PM
v_nikiforov
Aww, Yuuri. I’m touched.
4:51PM
What was his name?
4:51PM
katsuyu_ri
Uh. I can’t tell you that.
4:57PM
v_nikiforov
??? why not
4:57PM
katsuyu_ri
Because.
4:59PM
v_nikiforov
Yuuuuuuuuuri. Pretty please?
5:00PM
katsuyu_ri
Viktor, no.
5:03PM
v_nikiforov
:’(
5:03PM
katsuyu_ri
Viktor.
5:46PM
v_nikiforov
???
5:48PM
katsuyu_ri
I named my poodle Viktor. And I would call him Vicchan.
5:55PM
v_nikiforov
Yuuri…
5:58PM
katsuyu_ri
I’m sorry if it’s weird. Or creepy. Oh god, it’s creepy, isn’t it? Forget I said anything. I was 12 and I admired you. Your skating, I mean. Your skating was a great source of inspiration to me and I would watch your videos with a close friend and she told me you had a poodle so I thought I would also… Um. I’m only digging myself a bigger hole here, aren’t I? I’m sorry, please ignore my rambling. Oh god.
5:59PM
v_nikiforov
Yuuri!! No!!!! I don’t think it’s weird or creepy at all!! I’m actually flattered? And touched. That I inspired you.
6:00PM
And to be honest, I’m glad I did? That I had that effect? Does that sound conceited? But I mean, well, otherwise we wouldn’t have ever met.
6:00PM
And I’m sure Vicchan loved you as much as you loved him!!!
6:01PM
katsuyu_ri
I like to think that, too.
6:07PM
//
“I can’t believe you’re texting Viktor now.”
It’s a rather amusing sight, watching the flush creep up Yuuri’s face as he fumbles with his phone like it’s suddenly turned into a wet bar of soap. Phichit has been friends with Yuuri for his entire life in Detroit, has had enough experiences with the older skater to consider him a best friend, and has definitely seen Yuuri get easily flustered when it comes to all things concerning Viktor Nikiforov more times than he can count, but this is different. Phichit can feel that this is different.
For one thing, Viktor Nikiforov himself is involved. Not as a smiling face pasted on the wall or as a faraway living legend skating to millions through a television screen, but as an actual breathing person interacting with Yuuri. Real and alive.
Phichit is also a Viktor Nikiforov fan, but in the way most figure skaters (and most people who even have an inkling of an idea who he is) are. There’s a lot to admire about Viktor, setting world records and winning gold medal after gold medal and being quite generous, from what Phichit has seen, to his fans. It’s impossible, once you’ve delved into the world of figure skating, to not follow the guy’s career. Especially if you’re young and still in the stages of starting out, like Phichit is.
Yuuri, though. The first time they met, Phichit walked into their shared room to find Yuuri carefully placing a framed photo of Viktor on the edge of his bookshelf. When they first watched a video of one of Viktor’s programs together, pressed next to each other on the edge of Phichit’s tiny dorm bed, he had observed the way Yuuri’s eyes got that certain quality to them as Viktor executed a clean quad flip onscreen. It reminded Phichit a little of someone stargazing for the first time, constellations reflected in the person’s eyes.
Phichit admired Viktor’s skating. Yuuri admired Viktor’s skating and Viktor.
So it’s quite the development, Phichit thinks, that Yuuri and Viktor seem to be getting quite buddy-buddy through social media now. A very interesting development. He’s happy for Yuuri.
Yuuri, who is still red as a tomato. He adjusts his glasses and looks away, expression like a deer caught in headlights. “We’re not texting. I don’t have his number.”
Phichit shrugs. “Chatting. DMs. Same thing. Point is”—he leans close, smiling widely—“you two have been in contact. Regular contact.”
Yuuri looks so flushed that Phichit is half-tempted to take a picture of him. Not for social media, of course. Just for something to remember this conversation by and to occasionally, very good-naturedly in the way friends do, tease him with. “We don’t talk that much.”
Phichit sends a pointed look towards Yuuri’s phone, which Yuuri clutches to his chest as though he thinks Phichit might snatch it and read through his messages with Viktor. Phichit laughs a little. “Come on, Yuuri. I’ve never seen you on your phone this much, ever. You’ve been so quick to respond to messages recently, too. Usually you would put them off and focus on skating or reading.” He nudges Yuuri’s shoulder. “So tell me, any developments?”
Yuuri is still blushing. “It’s only been four days.” He still can’t quite meet Phichit’s gaze, though. “We’ve been talking about… ourselves. And skating. I don’t know, he was telling me about St. Petersburg earlier and which places we have to see when I visit—”
“We?” Phichit latches onto this and looks at Yuuri with wide eyes. “Did you say we?”
Ah, Yuuri is looking away again. “Just – I mentioned not having the chance to explore Moscow and how that was my first time in Russia, and he said if I ever found myself in St. Petersburg I should let him know so he could show me around, and – Phichit, stop looking at me like that!”
“Like what?” Phichit asks, trying very hard to hold back a smile and knowing that he’s failing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but hey. You should invite him to Hasetsu some time, too! Tell him your family runs a hot springs resort. Foreigners love that, right?”
Something happens to Yuuri’s expression, just then. Something weird. If earlier, he looked like a deer that’s been caught in headlights, now he looks like someone who’s been unexpectedly called to the stands in front of an entire court as a witness to a heinous crime. Or, no. As a suspect to a heinous crime.
Phichit narrows his eyes. “Why does your face look like that?”
“What,” Yuuri says. It’s less a question and more a defensive kind of remark done on reflex.
Phichit leans closer and stares at Yuuri, trying to get his friend to look him in the eye. Yuuri resolutely looks away in response, looking ready to bolt. In the sudden silence between them, Yuuri’s phone pings with a notification, and Yuuri jumps, eyes darting down to the device in his hands like it’s the key evidence the court needs to rule him guilty.
“There’s something you’re not telling me, Yuuri.”
Yuuri’s answering laugh is nervous. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Phichit.” Phichit opens his mouth to respond, but Yuuri pushes on with a change of subject, “But hey, I was thinking of practicing a routine on my off time. Do you think you could help me out?”
Normally, Phichit wouldn’t let such an obvious distraction draw him away from a piece of information he’s pursuing. But when Yuuri explains the specifics of the routine to him, before Phichit can point out that this is obviously a ploy to get him to drop the interrogation that’s yet to happen, well. There are some things Phichit will let slide in favor of another thing. For now.
//
phichit+chu
[image: candid shot of Yuuri taking his blade guards off]
christophe-gc, +guanghongji+, v-nikiforov and 2,095 others like this
phichit+chu He’s not done with the ice just yet!! #YuuriKatsuki #figureskating
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katsuyuufanclub OMG WHAT IS THIS IS THIS FOR NEXT SEASON
yuuuuuurikatsuki @katsuyuufanclub IF IT IS THEN THAT MEANS YUURI ISN’T RETIRING!!
knifeshoes did y’all notice viktor liked the pic lol
phichitunofficialfc POST A VIDEO NEXT PLS
phichitunofficialfc ALSO DO A PAIR ROUTINE PLS
v-nikiforov started following phichit+chu
//
A towel gets thrown in his face, interrupting him mid-type.
Hurriedly, Viktor pulls the offending object away and unblocks his vision, making a dying noise from the back of his throat when he realizes that he’s accidentally hit send. He starts typing out an apology for the incomplete reply, when a plastic water bottle gets thrown at him this time – fortunately empty, and at his chest instead of his face.
Viktor looks up at his attacker.
As expected, Yuri Plisetsky stands a few feet away from him, looking extremely annoyed. Further behind him is Yakov, sending Viktor a glare that would make any newbie in the rink cower and buckle at the knees. As it is, Viktor is used to it – both to Yakov and to Yuri’s perpetually dark looks – so it doesn’t really have an effect on him.
“How can I help you, Yuri?” he asks brightly.
Yuri’s face twists into something that’s a cross between pissed-off teenager and rumpled kitten. “If you have time to slack off and text that Japanese idiot instead of practicing for your competition next week, then it’d be more productive to work on that program you promised me instead. I’m making my Senior debut this year, Viktor.”
Ah, right. Viktor made that promise, as Yuri likes to remind him multiple times (because Viktor, sadly, also forgets multiple times; he really needs to work better on remembering the important things).
He goes for a laugh and scratches the back of his head, about to let Yuri know that it won’t take him that long to put a program together, don’t worry, I’ll still help you make the best Senior debut ever, when his phone vibrates with a notification and he looks down at it quickly to find – Yuuri has written a question mark.
Right. Viktor accidentally sent him an unfinished reply.
Sorry, he types, Yuri here – the Russian one – sort of distracted me! And Yakov has been glaring at me for maybe ten minutes now. I think they want me to practice.
The reply comes a minute later, which pleases Viktor. Over the course of the week that they’ve been talking, he has observed Yuuri’s replies gradually become quicker to arrive, seemingly less hesitant. Viktor wonders whether Yuuri is as careful in verbal conversations as he is in chat – when sober, of course, because drunk Yuuri had no inhibitions whatsoever with calling people out and challenging them to dance-offs, as Viktor gladly found out – whether it takes him a while to put together the proper words, or if he’s just like that with strangers. Viktor hopes Yuuri doesn’t see him as a stranger.
Oh no, Viktor, you should go back to practice! I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me.
I’d gladly get into trouble over and over again if it meant I could talk to you a little longer, Viktor resolutely does not type, because even he knows to recognize when something is too much. Instead he replies with his usual reassurances, adding in a couple smiley faces just to emphasize that he isn’t in a situation that Yuuri should be worrying about.
A knee collides with his side. Viktor lets out a loud ‘oof’ followed by a grunt.
“Pay attention to me, Viktor!” Yuri shouts. Somewhere on the rink, Viktor hears a snicker that sounds like it came from Mila.
He rubs his side and puts on a smile. “Sorry.” He straightens back up, placing a hand on the railing around the rink as he does. His other hand clutches his phone tighter. “You still have time before you need to start preparing for your Senior debut, don’t worry! Until then, focus on your remaining competitions. Leave the program to me.”
Yuri stares at him with narrowed eyes, like he’s trying to analyze something. Viktor’s sincerity, perhaps? Which, Viktor doesn’t know how to take that. He is being sincere right now, since he really is willing to help Yuri out with his Senior debut. The kid has a lot of potential, and Viktor knows how intensely the need to become the absolute best burns at this age. He was once 15 years old, too, after all.
But then again, with how many times Viktor has forgotten things, maybe he can’t really blame Yuri for reminding and pushing him at every turn. So, hmm. How can Viktor reassure him… ah.
He puts a hand on Yuri’s head and ruffles his hair. Yuri blinks for one astonished second, before his face rearranges itself into his usual scowl.“Whatever,” he says, shaking Viktor’s hand off his head, before storming off.
Viktor smiles. Then he looks back at his phone, sees one of those elaborate emojis from Yuuri – kaomoji is what they’re called, Viktor thinks – and feels his smile turn into something softer.
//
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc Jan 23
Euros, I’m ready for you. instagram.com/p/BQZalJGfR
#1 Chris Stan @chrisgiaco
@christophe_gc looking real good, Chris!! Best of luck to you!!
Norma @iiceiicebab
@christophe_gc nikiforov’s still probably gonna win but give it ur best shot
#CHRISFORPRESIDENT @i_love_christophe
@christophe_gc I’M ROOTING FOR YOU BABY!!!!!!!!
skate on me @figureskatngg
@christophe_gc <3 <3 <3
unofficial viktor fanacct @viktorsss
@christophe_gc good luck chris!! hope to see you and viktor on the podium again!!
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov Jan 23
Stammi vicino, non te ne andare…
viktor ilu @vktrnkfrv
@v_nikiforov LOVE THAT SONG!!!!!!!!
kristal@skteson
@v_nikiforov I’ve had this on repeat since you first skated it <3
unofficial viktor fanacct @viktorsss
@v_nikiforov HO PAURA DI PERDERTI
skate on me @figureskatngg
@v_nikiforov I’m really looking forward to seeing how you’ve improved your FS! I already love the program as is, so excited for Euros.<3
#CHRISFORPRESIDENT @i_love_christophe
@v_nikiforov PLS TAKE A SELFIE W CHRIS AT EUROS THANK U
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc Jan 23
Whoops. Looks like someone’s distracted ;)
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc
@christophe_gc Not to name names, but @v_nikiforov ;D
Norma @iiceiicebab
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov ???????????????
skate on me @figureskatngg
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov is there something we’re missing here?
#CHRISFORPRESIDENT @i_love_christophe
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy @ Euros 2016@frozenbb
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov [SIDE-EYE EMOJI x1000]
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@christophe_gc :(
Lalaine @ figureskatinghell @vichrispls
@v_nikiforov @christophe_gc omg
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc
@v_nikiforov ;)
Lalaine @ figureskatinghell @vichrispls
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov OMG
Lalaine @figureskatinghell @vichrispls
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
//
Stay Close to Me is personal.
Here are the facts: Viktor has been skating practically his entire life. The ice is his top priority as of the moment, as it has been in all other previous moments of his life. Viktor is a champion and people will always have an idealized image of a champion, and they will inevitably get disappointed when they get close and realize that there is an actual flawed person behind the image, breathing and living and experiencing very human things. People leave – family, friends, acquaintances who promise to keep in touch. Not everyone can have everything, so excelling in one thing means lacking in dozens of other things. Viktor is lonely. Terribly, terribly lonely.
When he first heard the notes of Stay Close to Me, even without understanding the lyrics, Viktor had been gripped. Caught by the way the words were being sung, a touch of something cold and bitter coloring the almost-cries for the other person to maybe stay. Are you alone, too?
The routine almost choreographed itself. Viktor allowed his feet to carry him across the ice without thinking, surrendering all control to body and emotion as the aria played over and over and over, notes echoing in the empty rink. It was easy completing the program, and within a single night of doing laps around the ice, all it needed was some polishing. Refine his expression and movement into something artful instead of raw, allowing himself the temporary release of using his skating as an outlet while still protecting his heart from the prying eyes of the public.
But Stay Close to Me isn’t specific.
Since the start of the season, Viktor had been imagining a presence occupying the ice with him whenever he performs his free skate. There is a body, imaginary and transparent, the space of it meant to be filled out with not a name but an imagined ideal. When Viktor performs this program, he channels his emotions into the creation of the you – the one he wants to stay.
For the longest time, he’s been driven by vague emotions, vague senses of longing that only ever seem to make themselves apparent when he’s awake at night and drowning in the emptiness of his bedroom. He wants someone to stay. But he’s never wanted anyone who has tried to get close to him, in that way, to.
But now, there’s a face and a name tentatively taking the empty space of Viktor’s imaginary lover. When he closes his eyes and lets the climax of the song wash over his senses, throwing him into its desperate notes, he finds himself thinking fleetingly of drunken dancing and expressive brown eyes and regrets of not getting to know what champagne could possibly taste like on someone else’s lips. And he smiles when he gets into his spins, finds himself breaking character as he thinks more of neckties in places they shouldn’t be tied around and too-flushed skin, feels laughter trying to bubble from his lips when he’s supposed to be desperate, begging the other person not to leave him.
When he ends his practice with his arms crossed high, face upturned and cheeks flushed, he thinks of the messages waiting in his phone and sorts through everything he wants to tell Yuuri about how his day went, and feels something else springing from within his chest.
Yakov tells him he’s done practicing for the day, but not before asking him if he’s trying to do a different interpretation of the song.
//
Yuri Plisetsky slips into the backseat of their rented car, grumbling underneath his breath about unfair seating rules as Mila smugly puts her seatbelt in place from the front passenger seat. Yuri isn’t even supposed to be here, technically, but Yakov figured exposing him to as much of the Senior division competitions as possible before his debut would fuel Yuri’s determination some more. Yuri agrees, really, except this seating sucks and he wants to ride shotgun. At the very least, he was allowed to have a window seat, Georgi on the other side and Viktor in between.
Viktor, who just smashed his short program yet again.
It annoys Yuri to no end every time he’s forced to recognize Viktor’s greatness, which happens more times than he would like to admit. It’s inevitable, really, being rinkmates and training under the same coach. Yuri has yet to examine where his annoyance is coming from, exactly, but he’s never really been one for self-introspection.
He glances at the older skater out of the corner of his eye. Viktor is on his phone, as has been usual for the last couple of weeks, smiling in a way that tells Yuri he’s not completely aware of the fact. It’s… really fucking weird. Yuri doesn’t think he’s ever seen this kind of quiet, peaceful happiness on Viktor before, even when he has a gold medal around his neck.
(Part of Yuri thinks that’s the reason why he’s so annoyed – the guy’s a holder of world records and has more gold medals under his belt than any other skater to ever live, but none of that seem to matter anymore. It’s frustrating, especially to Yuri, who is determined to catch up to him and then surpass him one day. Soon. But is it really worth it if the so-called living legend seems to have no more motivation left? Just where is the worth in that? The damn thrill?)
“Does that Japanese idiot ever sleep?” he asks, feeling restless for some reason. He sees Mila glance over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow and Georgi lean forward a little to be able to look at him, but Yuri doesn’t care. Yakov keeps on driving without a word.
“Hmm?” Viktor says. Hums. He’s obviously distracted, eyes glued to the glaring screen of his phone. Ugh. Has he ever heard of adjusting the screen brightness?
“I said,” Yuri says, half-tempted to knock the phone out of Viktor’s hand, “does that Japanese idiot ever sleep?”
“Yuuri?” Viktor says, stars in his goddamn eyes. The way he says the name is different, too, the first syllable a bit more dragged out as though he’s savoring the sound of it. Yuri wants to gag. If he ever grew up to be this much of a fool with a crush bigger than Mt. Everest, he would throw every leopard-print item he owns off of a cliff.
“There can only be one Yuri,” he says instead of any of his thoughts, because it is also a major source of annoyance to him that last year’s GPF last placer had to share the same name as him. “Tell that idiot that if he has enough guts left to show up next season, I’m going to kick his ass and show him just who the better Yuri is.”
(He just means it as it is, of course. He doesn’t want to see the other Yuuri again. Doesn’t want to compete on the same ice as him. Unless he somehow manages to fix his jumps, then maybe Yuri will consider. His step sequence certainly has the ability to somewhat make up for the technical points he loses whenever he flubs a jump, and it would be interesting to see him skate a perfect program without making any mistakes. Not that Yuri cares. Of course he doesn’t. He doesn’t care about Yuuri fucking Katsuki, okay. Shut up.)
Viktor turns to look at him, and Yuri involuntarily freezes. There’s something sharp about Viktor’s gaze, something unfamiliar, but the curve of his mouth is still turned upwards. It suddenly feels cold inside the car.“I’ll let him know,” he says, tone very, obviously, carefully cheerful, “that you’re looking forward to having a proper rivalry with him.”
And just like that, Yuri regains control of his muscles and goes back to scowling. “Stupid! That’s not what I said!”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Viktor waves a finger, naturally cheerful once more, “but that’s basically what you mean, Yuratchka!”
“Shut up!” Yuri yells. “Don’t tell him I said that!”
“Aw, but I already sent it.”
Yuri feels something like heat creep into his cheeks, and he makes a grab for Viktor’s phone but misses. Georgi smartly ducks out of the way, Yuri’s hand missing hitting his face by a mere inch, and Mila lets out an undignified cackle from the front seat.
“Take it back, Viktor!”
“Ooh, he replied! He said he’ll do his best and that he saw you on the news the other day, and he’s looking forward to seeing you skate up close next season.”
“What the fu—”
Mila smirks at him. “Oh? Is that a blush I see, Yuri?”
“Shut up, hag!”
Georgi dramatically puts a hand to his forehead. “Ah, youth.”
“You stay quiet, too!”
“Aw, Yur—”
Yakov slams on the brakes, and they all stumble forward with a screech.
//
christophe-gc
[image: Viktor and Chris posing with their medals in a dressing room]
milababi, georgi_popo_vich, phichit+chu and 3681 others like this
christophe-gc Oh well, there’s always next year. Congratulations @v-nikiforov, even though you make my life difficult ;* Thank you @milababi darling for taking the photo. #Euros2016 #MensFS
View all 107 comments
christohmygod YOU DID GREAT BB!!!!!!
skateslash congratulations to the both of u <3
yuri-plisetsky Just wait until next season.
JJleroy!15 I’ll see you all at Worlds!
v-nikiforov It was a pleasure sharing the podium with you again, Chris.
milababi <3
georgi_popo_vich Why wasn’t I invited to the photo :(
christophe-gc @georgi_popo_vich you immediately ran off to call your girlfriend
//
skate on me @figureskatngg Jan 31
So, Viktor is still undefeated. This is his sixth Euros gold in a row! But is it just me or did his Stammi Vicino program feel a liiittle different? #Euros2016 #ViktorNikiforov
Norma @iiceiicebab
@figureskatngg i thought so too, he seemed more,, expressive???? this time
Amy @ Euros 2016 @frozenbb
@iiceiicebab @figureskatngg SO I WASN’T THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT THAT!!! It definitely felt different!!
skate on me @figureskatngg
@frozenbb @iiceiicebab RIGHT? There certainly was more expression to it. I’ve always thought Viktor could bring out a lot of emotion in his programs, but +
skate on me @figureskatngg
@frozenbb @iiceiicebab + this time there was certainly a more… raw feel to it. If that makes sense? More honest. I got shivers watching him.
Amy @ Euros 2016 @frozenbb
@figureskatngg @iiceiicebab that makes sense yeah!! I think and feel the same. Makes me wonder what could have changed hmmmmm
Norma @iiceiicebab
@frozenbb @iiceiicebab new inspiration?? maybe he met someone
skate on me @figureskatngg
@iiceiicebab @frozenbb Where’s that meme of the lady with the math equations because me rn.
Katsuki Yuuri @katsuyu_ri Feb 1
Congratulations on the gold @v_nikiforov. I knew you could do it.
Katsudone @katsukiis
@katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov YOU TWEETED
kristal@skteson
@katsuyu_ri you’re coming back next season right? And congratulations @v_nikiforov !!!
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@katsuyu_ri YUURI!!!! Thank you <3 <3 <3 What did you think of my programs this time?
Katsuki Yuuri @katsuyu_ri
@v_nikiforov I don’t know how you do it, but they get better and better every time. You never fail to surprise me.
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@katsuyu_ri !!!!!!!!! I’m glad. I like surprising you :D :D :D
Amy @ Euros 2016 @frozenbb
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri omg
kristal@skteson
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri omg
unofficial viktor fanacct @viktorsss
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri OMG ??!?!??
skate on me @figureskatngg
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri omg
viktor ilu @vktrnkfrv
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri OMG
Norma @iiceiicebab
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri @frozenbb @figureskatngg literally what was i saying lol
//
“You remember everything he said and did that night, don’t you?”
Viktor’s responding sigh is somewhat dreamy in quality, even as the sound gets filtered through Chris’s laptop speakers. Through the screen, Chris watches Viktor cuddle a clueless Makkachin close to his chest, face half-buried in the dog’s fur. “I do. I remember everything.”
Chris props his chin on a hand, adjusting his glasses with the other. Somewhere in the dim apartment, his cat is dozing off, completely uncaring of the very interesting series of events unfolding right before Chris’s eyes: living ice legend Viktor Nikiforov’s descent into love. “If you had to pick a favorite moment, which would it be? I, for one, liked the pole dancing.” He winks. “I’m sure you did, too.”
Viktor continues cuddling his dog and sighs once more. “I liked the pole dancing, too.”
“Thank you.”
Viktor shoots him an amused look. “You were very talented, Chris, no offense. But I was more focused on Yuuri during that bit.”
Chris snorts. “That’s because you’ve seen me pole dance before.”
“True.”
There’s a pause as Viktor seems to contemplate his answer, and Chris thinks of standing up to get himself a glass of champagne. It’d only be fitting, considering their topic. He has to hand it to Yuuri, though – sixteen glasses is a feat indeed, not to mention that he still had enough coordination left to dance, and dance well. Chris himself has only ever managed drinking ten glasses max, and that was only once. He doesn’t drink to get drunk, anyway. It’s more of a leisure thing for him.
“I think,” Viktor says, and Chris perks up, “I liked it most when we were dancing together.”
Aww. Aww. That is just… ridiculously cute.
“That’s adorable,” Chris says. He points a finger at the screen. “I never thought the day would come that I would call ice legend Viktor Nikiforov adorable, of all things.” He raises an eyebrow, dramatically dropping his voice to a stage whisper, “So, when are you going to ask him out?”
“Chris,” Viktor says, and that might be a blush. It’s a bit hard to tell through the video feed. “It’s not like that.”
Chris has heard this exact line enough times from different kinds of people to know where this is going. But it’s oddly more interesting coming from Viktor Nikiforov. For as long as Chris has known him, the older skater has always been unattached, dedicating himself to the ice and the ice alone. Maybe that’s what made him so untouchable all these years.
Chris would be lying if he said he was never interested and that he never tried. He was, and he did. But Viktor has always had one priority, and nothing else ever came in the way of that. Until now, that is.
“It’s odd to see you be invested in something other than the ice,” Chris comments.
“Hmm?”
“I’m just saying, it’s not like you to leave the ice and find someone you want to protect, Viktor.”Chris tries to say this lightly, but Viktor still winces slightly from the other side of the screen. Ah, well. Chris guesses they both know each other well enough, to an extent.
“Chris, the thing I told you the other day, that was – you know how I feel about competing now. You know how I’ve felt about it for a while.” Viktor rubs a hand down his face, before letting it rest on the side of his neck. “I know Yuuri was drunk when he said that, but I’ve been thinking about it and—”
“Viktor,” Chris cuts in. Viktor has already told him this, and Chris has already processed it. Or started to process it, at least. “You do know that, regardless of how I feel about this, what you decide to do with your career is ultimately up to you and you alone. If you feel like this is the path that you really want to take, then go ahead. You don’t have to explain or defend yourself to me.” Then he smiles playfully, shifting back to the original topic to lighten up the mood. “Especially if it involves chasing after a cute boy. You know I’m all for that.”
That gets a laugh out of Viktor, and Chris smiles a little wider.
“What’s stopping you, anyway? You and Yuuri had a connection that night, you know. I mean, so did we, but our pole dancing was purely for fun. You looked…” he trails off, head tilting as he searches for the right word. It’s almost a shock when he finds it, but he betrays nothing on his face, filing it away to be re-examined at a later date.
“I looked what?” Viktor asks.
Chris looks at Viktor’s face on his laptop screen like he’s seeing him clearly for the first time in a while. “Happy,” he says. “You looked happy.”
It wasn’t the kind of happy Viktor would look whenever he delivered a flawless finish at competitions. It wasn’t the kind of happy Viktor would exude whenever he received his gold medals on the podium. That night, at the banquet, Chris saw Viktor have fun – carefree, pure, wholehearted fun – for the first time in, well. A really long time.
Happiness is subjective, Chris thinks. There are also different forms of it, different degrees and different manifestations on different people. Viktor with Yuuri is the most genuinely happy Viktor Chris had seen. And, he thinks, that says something about where Viktor is currently at, emotionally. So Chris doesn’t really have a right to stop Viktor from pursuing that happiness, even if it means leaving a lot of things unresolved for himself. Chris just has to deal with all of that on his own, without compromising the potential happiness of Viktor. Of his friend.
On the screen, Viktor hugs Makkachin closer to his chest, the dog letting out a bark. He’s smiling. “I was happy then.”
Chris lets out a puff of breath. That settles it, then.“Well, go be happy again, silly. Sweep Yuuri off his feet like he did with you at the banquet. Or, I don’t know, pop a champagne bottle and get him to sweep you off your feet again. Whichever is fine.” He lifts an imaginary glass, mimicking a toast, and lets his lips draw up into a smile. “Be happy, Viktor Nikiforov. And if you need advice on how to woo someone, because I know you’ve never had to your entire life before this, well. You know how to reach me.”
Viktor laughs, but now Chris can tell for sure that he is blushing, and there’s a certain shine in his eyes that Chris can clearly see even through the video feed.
//
christophe_gc
Heyyy ;) Remember me?
2:26AM
phichit_chu
Chris! Of course I do. Hello :D
2:28AM
christophe_gc
I must say, I wasn’t expecting a reply so quickly.
2:30AM
But yes, I have some concerns about a certain… figure skater. You might know him :)
2:30AM
phichit_chu
I’m listening :D
2:30AM
christophe_gc
I heard he’s your friend.
2:31AM
phichit_chu
I might know who you’re talking about :3
2:31AM
christophe_gc
I’m sure you do. You see, I’m friends with a certain skater too.
2:3AM
And your friend and my friend might be a little… slow, if you will, so as a person who cares for the happiness of others, I was thinking of helping them get a move on. Give them a little push, you know.
2:34AM
So, what do you say?
2:34AM
phichit_chu
Oh, I’m already on board.
2:35AM
What did you have in mind?
2:35AM
christophe_gc
;)
2:36AM
Okay, so…
2:36AM
//
xxxxxxxxxx
Received
???
Sent
What is this
Sent
Yuuri’s number xo
Received
???????!!!!!!!!!!
Sent
How did you get it??????
Sent
I have my ways ;)
Received
//
Yuuuuuri, guess what I got you :3
Received
?
Sent
xxxxxxxxxx
Received
Phichit… is this…?
Sent
:D
Received
Phichit HOW
Sent
:D :D :D
Received
//
The notes fade away, slow step by slow step, until there’s nothing left but the sound of his own breathing. It’s more peaceful in the rink at this time – people rarely skate this early in the morning, with the sun just starting to claim its place in the mid-February sky, but Yuuri couldn’t sleep anymore.
He pulls the buds from his ears just as the music loops back to the start, cheeks puffing as he blows out a long breath. He’s just about to skate back to the side of the rink when the sound of loud applause suddenly echoes in the empty space, disrupting the still air. Yuuri nearly slips in surprise, looking up with wide eyes.
Phichit is standing there, bundled up in a thick jacket and a beanie, grin too bright for such an early hour. “You’re looking better and better, Yuuri! Just a bit more and you’ll have that program down perfectly.”
Yuuri flushes, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. Phichit had been sleeping still when Yuuri left their dorm room over an hour ago. “How long have you been there?”
“Just long enough to catch you at the start of that last run.” Phichit leans his arms against the boards and smiles even wider, something that should be physically impossible on anyone else. “When are you going to show him this?”
Yuuri’s face turns at least ten shades redder at that. He skates towards his friend and rolls the cord of his earbuds around his fist, just to give his hands something to do. Phichit has an expectant kind of look on his face, eyes bright with something like barely-contained excitement. Ever since Yuuri told him about his plans of practicing this program, Phichit had been a constant thrum of positive energy, cheering Yuuri on at every turn. Celestino quickly caught onto what they’re doing, and Yuuri had been worried his coach would question the reasons behind him practicing this particular program, but Celestino only reacted with a raised eyebrow and an odd kind of smile, before leaving them be. Yuuri suspects his coach is just pleased that he’s still skating and not shying away from the ice.
To be completely honest, Yuuri doesn’t think he can ever give up the ice. Sure, losing felt awful. Really awful. But most of Yuuri’s life has revolved around skating, and that’s not something he can just easily set aside. He needs to return to it, always.
But that doesn’t mean always returning to competition. With the season over for him, he’s not left with a lot of options. He still hasn’t decided on next season, too, doesn’t really have any reason to be putting together a new program. Those first few days of putting his skates back on after his season ended, he had been lost, unsure what he should be doing as he skated pointless laps around the rink. He felt aimless.
So he turns to an old practice instead, something to remind him of his earlier years in skating, when he was just a young boy with stars in his eyes and a close friend willing to copy programs with him. He tries to find that place once more, tries to go back to that simple kind of happiness. That had been more than enough to keep him going, back then.
He thinks he’s almost got it, but.
“I don’t know,” he says, in response to Phichit’s question. He picks his glasses back up where he left them on the boards, slips them onto his face and blinks. The world shifts, turning from blurs of navy blue and faint yellow into the distinct shades of shadows playing across the walls as the sun continues its climb. “I don’t know if I ever will.”
Phichit gets a fierce kind of expression at that, mouth settling into a determined line. He leans over the board, his entire upper body hanging off the edge, face inches away from Yuuri’s. Yuuri nearly stumbles back.
“You have to!” Phichit says. Declares. “You’ve been practicing so hard, it shouldn’t be just for nothing!”
“Phichit?”
Phichit grabs one of his hands. Yuuri briefly fears that Phichit’s other hand won’t be able to hold his weight, tipped precariously over the boards. But Phichit proves that he has awfully good balance, and remains steady.
“Yuuri, tell me something,” he says, expression settling into a small smile. “Why are you doing this?”
“I—” Yuuri gulps. I wanted to be reminded of how much I love skating – I needed to recall that feeling, to get it back and keep it close and protect it. It should be easy to say that, considering it’s the truth. It should be easy to say that, especially to Phichit, someone Yuuri trusts more than he does other people. But it doesn’t feel like the complete truth. And something in Phichit’s eyes, a hint of understanding there, tells Yuuri that he also knows that.
Phichit lets go of his hand and pulls back until he’s safely standing on both feet again. His expression is gentle once more, back to the smile of a best friend. “There’s nothing to worry about, Yuuri,” he says, voice soft. It almost fades into the atmosphere, the rink still and silent in the early morning light. “I’m sure Viktor will appreciate seeing you skate to this.”
//
I wish you could’ve been in 4CC, yakov would’ve accepted that excuse and let me see you
Viktor hits send and lets his phone drop onto his bed, turning over on his other side so he can face Makkachin. The poodle is curled up but not asleep, staring at Viktor with curious eyes as though he can sense the pounding of his owner’s heart.
And, oh god. Viktor’s heart is actually pounding.
He and Yuuri had been exchanging messages for the past hour, talking about this and that, sending each other random pictures they had taken throughout their day, even though Viktor is eight hours ahead and is considerably closer to the end of his day than Yuuri is. Yuuri had sent him a selfie Phichit had taken with his phone, the two of them squeezed together to fit the frame, the shot silly and ridiculously close-up. Phichit has the biggest smile Viktor has ever seen on anyone including himself; Yuuri’s smile is smaller, almost shy, his glasses slightly askew where Phichit probably surprised him by pulling him close and knocking their heads together.
Viktor’s chest filled with something warm at the picture and at the fact that Yuuri feels comfortable enough with Viktor to be sharing pictures of himself with him. Then he had been filled with the need to see Yuuri again, in person, sudden and intense. He had typed out the message before his brain could catch up with his thumbs, and he stared at the admission that he’s made both to himself and to the person on the other side of the screen – he wants to see Yuuri. He really, really wants to.
There’s something… thrilling. About admitting it. And there’s the fact that they’re texting now, which feels even more personal compared to exchanging DMs. It’s something new, and there’s this excitement fluttering like mad in Viktor’s stomach and oh, this is what people mean by that, isn’t it? Butterflies in the stomach. He’s nervous, doesn’t know if Yuuri will shy away or respond positively, but there’s heat pleasantly filling his cheeks too and he doesn’t think he regrets sending that message and—
His phone is ringing.
Gasping, Viktor turns around and gropes for his phone, which somehow managed to lose itself in between the sheets of Viktor’s bed. Makkachin moves up from his curled position at Viktor’s sudden movements, barking excitedly as though in support of Viktor’s search. Finally, his fingers close around the shape of it, and he puts his hand up with a triumphant shout. His phone continues ringing.
“Oh my god,” he says to Makkachin, who is now wagging his tail, “Yuuri is calling me.”
Makkachin barks.
Viktor presses answer and puts the phone up to his ear, mouth stretching into a smile. “Yuuri!! Hi!!”
There’s a very brief pause from the other end, and then Yuuri’s voice is filtering through the speakers, small and shy, “Hi Viktor.”
Viktor melts. His bed feels softer, for some reason, like he can just sink right into it and disappear into his sheets forever. “Hi,” he says again, stupidly, ridiculously, almost breathlessly. He’s so happy.
Yuuri laughs, soft. It’s different from the laughter Viktor has heard from him at the banquet, different from the drunken and careless bursts that fell out of Yuuri’s mouth unguarded the night he pulled Viktor into a wild dance and took a piece of his heart away. It’s different. Viktor records the sound in his head and hides it away like some kind of treasure, eager to learn all aspects there is to Yuuri Katsuki.
“Hello,” Yuuri says.
Viktor can’t stop smiling. He’d spend an hour just exchanging hi’s and hello’s with Yuuri over the phone without any complaints, but maybe that can be saved for another day. Another phone call. “Hello – okay, that’s the last one.” He laughs when Yuuri does, and Makkachin barks, probably curious as to who his owner is talking to. “What made you call m – oof.”
“Viktor?” Yuuri asks. “Is everything okay?”
Makkachin barks, as though in answer, from where he’s now plopped on Viktor’s chest. Viktor lets out a breath. “Yeah, yes – I’m alright! My Makkachin here just decided this was a good time to use me as a body pillow!”
“Oh,” Yuuri says, then his tone changes into something more excited. “Makkachin is with you right now?”
“Yes,” Viktor confirms, patting his poodle on the head.
“Can you say hi to him for me?” Yuuri asks.
“Of course!” Viktor presses loud speaker on his phone and turns it to Makkachin. “Makkachin, it’s Yuuri! He says hi. Yuuri, he can hear you through the phone now!”
There’s a bit of a crackle through the speakers, and then Yuuri is saying, “Hi Makkachin.”
Makkachin lifts his head and barks excitedly at the phone in response. Viktor turns his loud speaker off and brings the phone back to his ear, pleased. “Did you hear that? He said hi back!”
“I did,” Yuuri says, sounding like he’s smiling. Viktor sure hopes he’s smiling. He wants Yuuri to be smiling all the time.
Viktor continues petting Makkachin on the head, and the dog settles back down on his chest like he’s getting ready to sleep. “So, Yuuri,” he says into the phone, letting the new silence of the room, now that Makkachin is dozing off, settle over him comfortably, “what made you call me?”
There’s another short pause. Then, “Did you mean it?”
“Mean what?” Viktor asks.
“That you would’ve gone to see me.”
Oh. Viktor can feel his expression changing into something softer. “Of course,” he says. “I would fly over there and see you at this very moment if I could. I really want to see you.”
“You do?” Yuuri asks. He sounds surprised. Viktor wishes he could just deliver himself over to where Yuuri is right now, take his face in between his hands, make him look right into Viktor’s eyes and see all the honesty there.
But distance is a thing and it’s real and it’s between them. So he just settles with saying, “Yeah. I really do.”
Yuuri’s voice, when he answers, is soft and honest even through the phone. Viktor wishes this phone call would never end. “I want to see you, too.”
//
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc Feb 19
We should all meet up during the off-season and have a pool party @v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri @phichit_chu :*
kristal@skteson
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri @phichit_chu OMG I knew Chris was friends w/ Viktor and knew Yuuri, but Phichit too? When did this happen?? DETAILS PLS
Norma @iiceiicebab
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri @phichit_chu that would be one interesting pool party also @figureskatngg @frozenbb are you guys seeing this
Amy @ 4CC 2016 @frozenbb
@iiceiicebab @figureskatngg @christophe_gc I AM SEEING IT VERY CLEARLY YES
skate on me @figureskatngg
@frozenbb @iiceiicebab @christophe_gc THIS IS TOO MUCH
We Love Phichit+Chu @phichtchulan0nt
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri @phichit_chu this pool party sounds like the gates to heaven
Phichit Chulanont @phichit_ chu
@christophe_gc I am all for this pool party!! I’ll make sure @katsuyu_ri comes. @v_nikiforov you better come too!!
Mila Babicheva @milababi
@christophe_gc @v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri @phichit_chu does the invitation extend to the rest of the Russian skating team
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc
@phichit_chu Excellent!! ;* Looking forward to seeing you guys in a few months. And don’t worry about Viktor, I don’t think he’ll need much persuading if Yuuri will be there ;D
Chris Giacometti @christophe_gc
@milababi Of course love!! You’re all invited. Feel free to bring @georgi_popo_vich and @yuri_plisetsky along, too. We’ll have to find a kiddie pool for Yuri, though.
viktor ilu @vktrnkfrv
@christophe_gc @phicht_chu “I don’t think he’ll need much persuading if Yuuri will be there” AIGHT SOMETHING IS UP FOR SURE
kristal@skteson
@christophe_gc @phichit_chu WHAT DO YOU MEAN VIKTOR WILL BE THERE FOR SURE IF YUURI IS DO I SENSE A… THING HERE…
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@christophe_gc @phichit_chu I’d love to!!! @katsuyu_ri please come along <3 <3 <3
Norma @iiceiicebab
@v_nikiforov lmao #whipped
skate on me @figureskatngg
@iiceiicebab I know omg I’m furiously taking screenshots as we speak
Katsuki Yuuri @katsuyu_ri
@v_nikiforov I’ll do my best to be there
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@katsuyu_ri GREAAAT <3
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@christophe_gc @milababi also yes Chris I’ll be bringing every Russian skater I know. And I agree, we need to find a kiddie pool for @yuri_plisetsky
Mila Babicheva @milababi
@v_nikiforov @christophe_gc @yuri_plisetsky lol
Yuri Plisetsky @yuri_plisetsky
@v_nikiforov @christophe_gc @milababi LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS FFS
//
Yuuri, have you seen any of the banquet pictures?
Received
Um… I’m sorry but who is this?
Sent
Have you forgotten me already, Yuuri :(
Received
And after everything we experienced together on that pole, I’m heartbroken…
Received
Chris?
Sent
Bingo. Hello Yuuri darling ;*
Received
Hi… how did you get my number?
Sent
Phichit is an angel, did you know that? An actual angel.
Received
Um. Okay? And no, I haven’t seen any banquet pictures. Why?
Sent
Oh no. No one uploaded anything, did they?
Sent
Don’t worry, no one’s posted anything!
Received
Just wondering if you have pics to remind you of that wonderful night.
Received
But since it seems like you don’t…
Received
[image]
Received
Oh my god… am I stepping on your ass?
Sent
[image]
Received
;)
Received
How did we even manage that???!!!!
Sent
I have no idea tbh, but it was fun.
Received
Let’s do it again sometime.
Received
Maybe I can bring a pole at the pool party too.
Received
Chris, no.
Sent
Wait, ‘too’? You were the one who brought the pole at the banquet?!
Sent
:P
Received
Chris, how.
Sent
I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve.
Received
But anyway, I also have these.
Received
[image]
Received
[image]
Received
These are… me and Viktor dancing.
Sent
Yes. Do you not remember that?
Received
I do! Just. Vaguely though? I didn’t think we looked like this, I imagined we seemed more like a drunken mess. Well, me at least. But this is actually… different? From what I expected. We look… I can’t find the word.
Sent
You both look happy.
Received
It was incredibly sweet. The entire room had their eyes on you.
Received
Very heartwarming to watch actually <3
Received
Uh. Thank you? Oh, wow. You took these?
Sent
No, actually. Little Russian Yuri did.
Received
I just asked him for copies.
Received
Yuri Plisetsky took these?! I kinda find that hard to believe? I mean, I remember having a dance-off, but I wasn’t aware he took pictures after?
Sent
He took A LOT.
Received
More than I did, actually.
Received
But he threatened bodily harm if I told anyone, which, oops :P
Received
Wait. Was he also the one who took the pole dancing pictures?!
Sent
:D
Received
Oh no. OH NO.
Sent
Haha, relax Yuuri.
Received
But yeah, I hope you like those photos.
Received
I think Little Russian Yuri has more pictures of you and Viktor if you want to see them.
Received
Why would he take so many pictures of us? I thought he hates me.
Sent
Oh, Yuuri, darling.
Received
No one can ever hate you, believe me.
Received
//
“This is going to be a disaster,” Yuri says flatly. “This is like watching a car crash coming head-on and you know it’s gonna be a horrific mess, but you can’t look away.”
Mila glances at the younger skater out of the corner of her eye, before turning her attention back to the ice. Viktor is slowly gliding across it, feet tracing effortlessly elegant patterns on the ice’s surface as he laughs into his phone about something Japanese Yuuri said. There’s an easy smile on his face – or, no. Easy might not be the most appropriate adjective to describe it, Mila thinks.
Viktor has easy smiles. A lot of them, actually. There’s the smile he gives his fans and the smile he gives the press during interviews and the smile he gives, much more recently, when he wins a gold and the cameras flash brightly in his face. They’re all easy, in the sense that Viktor has come to master the subtle differences in each one, knows on impulse which one the crowd wants from him. It’s easy for him to pull them up as the situation demands it. Mila knows this.
But the smile on his face now… it’s different. Relaxed. Real.
It’s not that Mila thinks Viktor’s smiles to the public are fake. Not really. They’re certainly crafted, but they still stem from a genuine place, from a small part of Viktor that hasn’t forgotten what gratitude is. It’s just that with all the media training and fan expectations and people wanting to know more, more than he’s willing to share to begin with, that smile become tainted with the need to perform.
Viktor’s smile right now isn’t a performance. It seems that, when it comes to Yuuri Katsuki, the only performance Viktor is going to give is one that takes place on the ice with the music on. Mila isn’t sure Viktor realizes it yet, but his programs have changed – especially his Stay Close to Me routine. When Mila first heard the music, she didn’t have to know Italian to understand that it’s a song about loneliness, bitterness, and desperation. Viktor certainly skated it like that, before.
But now? It’s not so much as desperation anymore, but rather a calling. Not a frantic plea, but an honest request. And it certainly ends more hopefully.
Mila leans onto the boards and smiles. It’s not a mystery what – or who, more accurately – brought on this change in Viktor’s free skate. Honestly, Mila prefers this better.
“He’s falling,” she says, out loud but not to anyone in particular.
Yuri makes a sound that’s something like a snort beside her. “He definitely will if he doesn’t focus on where he’s skating.”
As though in response to that, to show Yuri that he absolutely does not care, Viktor lets out his loudest laugh yet. He actually doubles over, clutching at his stomach as he presses his phone closer to his ear, and the sounds of his happiness echo in the rink like music. Even from outside the ice, Mila can tell that his eyes are shining something bright, cheeks pleasantly flushed as he bites down on his lip to try and hold down a smile.
Mila lets out a dreamy sigh. Yuuri Katsuki better not be playing here, because she’s never seen Viktor this happy before. If the Japanese skater breaks Viktor’s heart, Mila will be breaking bones.
But then again, she saw how they were at the banquet. That was certainly something magical and magnetic. Maybe putting someone in the hospital won’t be necessary this time.
//
Yuuri laughs into his palm, trying to keep his noises at a minimum.
The lights in the dorm common room are already off, and technically Yuuri is supposed to be in his room due to curfew, but the guard who checked in just an hour ago recognized him and just gave him a small nod, before leaving him alone to work on his thesis.
He shifts on his seat, trying to get comfortable on the single couch, laptop balanced on his knees. On the armrest is his phone, earbuds plugged in as he listens to Viktor talk about his last adventure with Makkachin. “Sounds like fun,” he says, once his laughter has subsided, lowering his hand.
Viktor sighs from the other end of the line. “It would’ve been more fun if you were there with us.”
Yuuri’s chest fills with warmth at that. He ducks his head to hide a smile, even though there’s no one around to see it. “Maybe someday,” he says. He allows himself to say. There’s something thrilling every time either of them admit to that, make that not-quite-promise of meeting again. They’ve only been talking for a little over a month, but it already feels like a long time, especially since they’ve been doing it every single day. Yuuri has learned a lot about Viktor in those weeks, found out things magazines can never tell him. And at this point, he’s not so hesitant anymore to admit to himself that he would like to keep talking to Viktor, even more, and hopefully in person.
“For sure someday,” Viktor replies. Yuuri wonders whether Viktor is aware of the effect those kinds of words have on him.“But hey, I’m not interrupting you with your thesis, am I?”
“No,” Yuuri says. He squints at the time on his laptop. “Actually, you’re helping keep me awake, though I do have to read over this paragraph and make sure it’s coherent. Um. I might not be able to talk for a few minutes.”
“Oh, that’s fine! Do you want to hang up?”
“No, just. Keep talking?” Yuuri bites back his sudden bout of shyness, sinking further into the couch and adjusting his laptop as he goes. “About anything. Just so I don’t fall asleep.”
“Okay, I can do that!” Viktor chirps. There are voices in the background now, slightly muffled, and the faint sound of blades gliding on the ice.
Yuuri looks at the time again. “Isn’t it, like, nine in the morning there though? Don’t you have practice?”
“Worlds is still two weeks away,” Viktor says, which doesn’t really answer the question. “I’m fine, Yuuri. Yakov hasn’t yelled at me yet, so.”
Yuuri laughs at that. Maybe a few weeks ago, he would’ve been worried that he’s interrupting, cutting into Viktor’s practice time and getting him into trouble. But now he’s more reassured that Viktor isn’t completely goofing off, and Yakov, from what Yuuri last heard, seems to have accepted the fact that Viktor and his phone are almost eternally attached nowadays. Yuuri has even heard Yakov once say, voice loud enough to carry through Viktor’s phone, Tell Katsuki you’ll see him again next season and put your phone away. According to Viktor, that roughly translates to, Don’t retire, Katsuki, and also my student is an idiot. It was… oddly reassuring.
And it’s not like Viktor has been underperforming, no. As a matter of fact, his free skate at Euros had been the best one this season. Yuuri has definitely noticed a change in the program execution, in the way Viktor skates it, but he’s not presumptuous enough to think that it’s because of him, no matter what Phichit says.
(And he ignores the smaller voice in his own head that sounds very much like his own saying, well, the change only happened after he met you, didn’t it?)
“Yuri here has been glaring at me for the last five minutes now,” Viktor is saying, as Yuuri hums and types on his laptop. “I think he’s stressing over that program I promised I’d choreograph for him for his Senior debut. I actually have a few ideas now and I’m trying them out at my own time, so I don’t know why he’s still worried.” A pause. Yuuri tries to remember the English word for something, finger hovering over the touchpad of his laptop. “You know, Yuuri. I’d love to choreograph a program for you, too, if you’d let me.”
Viktor just never stops surprising him.
It feels like all the vocabulary has flown out of Yuuri’s head at that, leaving nothing but Viktor in their wake. Viktor, Viktor, Viktor. Viktor is still talking, something or the other about practice, describing his rinkmates and what they’re doing, but Yuuri can’t catch the words. He’s still caught up in I’d love to choreograph a program for you, heart thumping wildly in his chest, and he sinks completely down on the couch, only possessing half a mind to save his progress with his thesis and close the window, before he stares at the dark patterns on the ceiling where light and shadow play, letting the sound of Viktor’s voice wash over him with a smile.
//
skate on me @figureskatngg Mar 7
So, any bets on #Worlds2016 podium? I think Viktor and Chris for gold and silver, respectively, but I’m not so sure about bronze.
Amy @ Worlds 2016 @frozenbb
@figureskatngg JJ’s participating, right? He’s been on a roll recently, he might get bronze this time too.
kristal@skteson
@figureskatngg I wish Yuuri could’ve qualified, I’d like to see him and Viktor interact. But hmm, maybe Michele is going to surprise us and go for bronze, who knows?
Amy @ Worlds 2016 @frozenbb
@skteson @figureskatngg ooh you’re right, he got fourth at Euros right? Two points behind Georgi.
skate on me @figureskatngg
@frozenbb @skteson A POSSIBILITY. Both the Crispino twins have been surprising us this season. Even Sara improved a lot.
skate on me @figureskatngg
@frozenbb @skteson AND SAME KRISTAL, I wish Yuuri could’ve been there. But there’s always next season, hopefully!
Norma @iiceiicebab
@figureskatngg otabek altin
skate on me @figureskatngg
@iiceiicebab Ohhhhhh, interesting.
Amy @ Worlds 2016 @frozenbb
@figureskatngg @iiceiicebab this is also possible. He won 4CC with 1.5 points ahead of JJ.
kristal@skteson
@frozenbb @figureskatngg @iiceiicebab there’s also Emil Nekola nnnnnn. So many possibilities!! I can’t wait for Worlds aaaaaaa
//
phichit+chu
[image]
+guanghongji+, Leo_dela_Iglesia, v-nikiforov and 1514 others like this
phichit+chu Just a little more before we turn these in! Fingers crossed it all goes well. #YuuriKatsuki #CollegeLife
View all 73 comments
+guanghongji+ Good luck to the both of you!
Leo_dela_Iglesia Let me know when graduation is so I can drop by!
christophe-gc Let’s put the pool party-planning on hold. Focus for now ;*
v-nikiforov TELL YUURI I SAY GOODLUCK <3 <3 <3
v-nikiforov and to you, too, Phichit, of course :D
//
Skyping was Yuuri’s idea.
Viktor would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it, but he had been hesitant to bring the suggestion up. If there’s anything he’s learned about Yuuri during the time they’ve been talking, it’s that the other skater is more reserved, a little more closed-off than most. Being too straightforward and pushy might only drive Yuuri away, so Viktor is willing to take this… whatever this is, this thing that’s happening between them, at Yuuri’s own pace.
When Yuuri feels like he’s ready to open up and reveal more parts of himself to Viktor, then Viktor will make sure to meet him there.
So he never brought up the idea of video calling, but he jumped at it the moment Yuuri suggested it.
Now here he is, pacing all over his apartment on a Saturday night, wondering if the shirt he’s wearing is alright or not. He has a strange urge to go dive into his wardrobe and find himself a nicer shirt, but it might turn out to be too much and Yuuri would just end up wondering why Viktor is dressed like he’s about to go out on a date at almost 10PM.
(Viktor resolutely ignores the pleasant kind of shock that word sends running up his spine. Date. This isn’t a date, no. It’s just a Skype call. But with the way Viktor is fussing over it, it might as well be one.)
He stops in front of a full length mirror and sweeps his hair back. He holds it there for a moment, staring intensely at his reflection, before sighing and letting it fall back over his forehead once more. At his feet, Makkachin barks curiously up at him, probably wondering why Viktor isn’t getting ready to go to bed yet.
His phone rings with a text just as he’s debating whether he should dab on some perfume, just to make himself feel more prepared. He pulls it out of his pocket and sees that it’s from Yuuri, telling him that he’s all set. Viktor checks the time. It’s nearing 2PM in Detroit now, but Yuuri hasn’t texted him since Viktor sent him a goodnight some fifteen hours ago. Viktor has a feeling that Yuuri has just woken up.
He sends a quick reply saying that he’s ready too, before he settles down on his couch with his laptop. He has to readjust his legs when Makkachin hops up onto the couch with him, and he laughs as the poodle settles around him like an overly clingy teddy bear. He puts a pillow on his lap and sets his laptop on it for some elevation, and then he’s clicking on Skype and waiting for the call.
Yuuri Katsuki is calling you…
He smiles as he accepts, and then there’s a few seconds of the screen going black and then blurring, before the feed clears up and – and there Yuuri is.
The camera isn’t the best, but it’s enough. His hair is a bit of a mess, like he’s run his fingers through it a few times, and his clothes are slightly rumpled. He’s in a comfortable-looking beige sweater and his glasses sit adorably on his nose, wide brown eyes blinking slowly from behind them, and there’s light filtering in through the room from an unseen window, providing natural illumination. Viktor feels his heart swell to double its size as he takes the sight of Yuuri in.
He waves. “Hi.”
Yuuri smiles shyly, adjusting his glasses with one hand and waving back with the other. It’s just a small movement, resembling more the twitching of the fingers, but there’s a blush sitting high on his cheeks and he does look like he’s just woken up and Viktor is endlessly, hopelessly, helplessly charmed. “Hi, Viktor.”
Viktor smiles. “Yuuri,” he says, and he doesn’t know if he’s only imagining it or if Yuuri’s cheeks actually turn pinker, “did you just wake up?”
Yuuri laughs sheepishly, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. “Sort of?” he admits. “I woke up earlier and had some breakfast, but then I fell asleep again. Oops.”
“I hope you’re getting enough rest time in,” Viktor says, genuine. “Is your thesis keeping you up?”
“Yeah, but I’m only doing revisions now.” Yuuri looks extremely relieved at this, and Viktor takes a closer look at him. There are dark bags underneath his eyes, something that Viktor didn’t notice immediately, and he looks tired. His cheeks seem rounder than Viktor last remembers, though, and Viktor is caught with the urge to reach into his screen and feel them underneath his palms, to see for himself whether they’re as soft as they look. “It’s due this week, and then after that I’m good.”
“That’s great, Yuuri! I’m proud of you.”
Yuuri makes flustered hand gestures at that, sputtering slightly. Viktor finds it all extremely endearing. “Um, uh – thank you. I’m glad?”
Viktor just smiles. “What are your plans after graduation, if I may ask?”
“I’m going home,” Yuuri says, slowly, contemplatively. He blinks once, head tilted slightly, like he’s thinking it over. “I haven’t been back in five years, so I would like to see everyone again. Then after that, well. I’m not really sure yet. I’m definitely going to be spending time with my family though, since there’s a lot of catching up to do.”
Viktor remembers something. “Hey, your family runs a hot springs resort, right?”
Yuuri’s brows furrow slightly, but he nods. “And an inn, too, but how did you – oh.” Viktor watches in confusion as something like realization dawns on Yuuri’s expression, and then his entire face turns completely red. “Oh, oh no. I told you that when I was – when we were. Um. At the banquet.”
“Yes?” Viktor answers, but it’s also a question. What is Yuuri getting flustered over all of a sudden? “What’s wrong?”
“Um, just. I did quite… a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do then. I never got to apologize if anything was out of line because it never came up and I didn’t know how to bring it up, but—”
“Yuuri,” Viktor cuts in, because while flustered Yuuri is quite cute to watch, he also looks like he’s about to give himself a heart attack over the topic, and Viktor can’t have that. He wants to reassure Yuuri, tell him that he has nothing to say sorry for because the banquet was one of the greatest nights of Viktor’s life, but that might be too much. Too forward. So he just settles with, “There’s nothing to be sorry for, okay? The banquet was quite the experience, and honestly? I had a lot of fun. Those things are usually boring social events, but you turned it into an actual party.” He shrugs, smiles.“So yeah, you don’t have to apologize for anything.”
Yuuri still looks doubtful, but at least he isn’t fumbling with his hands or stuttering anymore. “Do you mean that?”
Yuuri has asked him this before, too, if Viktor meant something he said. Viktor will make sure that one day, Yuuri will never have to ask him that again, because he’ll just know that Viktor means it. Whatever he tells Yuuri is genuine. Everything.
For now, though, he nods. Smiles wider. “Of course I do. You made quite the impression, Yuuri Katsuki.”
Yuuri allows a smile at that. Viktor wants to take a picture of it and keep it close to his chest, always. “So, um. How is practice for Worlds going?”
“Great!” Viktor says. “Yakov doesn’t yell at me as much anymore because he knows I’ve been doing really good.”
“That’s great to hear, Viktor,” Yuuri says. Viktor is never going to get over how his name sounds coming from Yuuri’s lips. He might also be distracted by Yuuri’s lips, in general, but no one needs to know that.
“Chris was telling me about how he wished you could’ve participated,” Viktor says. “And I know you already know how I feel about that.”
Yuuri’s smile turns sheepish, but there’s something else about it. Something thoughtful. “Maybe next season.”
It feels like something inside Viktor lights up at that, and. This is a chance. He’s been trying to figure out how to approach the topic for weeks now, wondering when the right timing would be, but now here they are – talking face-to-face, or as close to it as they can get, with Yuuri mentioning the banquet and hinting at continuing to compete next season. It’s a perfect opportunity. Viktor has been waiting for this.
He tries to form his mouth around the words, wills his suddenly racing heartbeat to slow down so he can get them out. He looks at Yuuri on his laptop screen, takes in his sleep-soft demeanor, and the decision solidifies for him. Yes, I really want to do this. “Hey, Yuuri.”
Yuuri hums, signaling for him to continue.
“You know, at the banquet, you told me something else.” Yuuri becomes more alert at that, blinking and sitting up straighter. Viktor takes a deep breath. Here it goes. “You said – well, you were saying that if you won the dance battle…”
//
phichit+chu
[image: Phichit and Yuuri holding diplomas in the ice rink, Leo waving in the background]
yuri-plisetsky, +guanghongji+, Leo_dela_Iglesia, v-nikiforov and 2967 others like this
phichit+chu WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS BLASTING IN THE RINK TONIGHT. Thank you for dropping by @Leo_dela_Iglesia !! #YuuriKatsuki #Graduation #WeMadeIt
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v-nikiforov CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BOTH OF YOU!
christophe-gc Congratulations :*
+guanghongji+ I wish I could’ve been there!!
phichit+chu @+guanghongji+ don’t worry, we can all hang out soon in the off-season! @christophe-gc won’t mind having a couple more skaters along for the pool party :D (also Leo tells me to tell you hi, as though you two weren’t texting just an hour ago haha)
christophe-gc @+guanghongji+ @phichit+chu Phichit is right, all skaters are invited and welcome to the pool party.
JJleroy!15 @christophe-gc @phichit+chu I wasn’t informed of this skater pool party.
milababi @christophe-gc @phichit+chu I’m bringing my girl @sara-crispino btw
mickey-crispino@milababi EXCUSE ME since when was my precious sara “your girl”
milababi @mickey-crispino do you just make it your life mission to stalk every single post that mentions your sister or is this coincidental
sara-crispino @mickey-crispino Michele Crispino please calm down. You can come along too, Emil wants to join as well.
christophe-gc @milababi @mickey-crispino @sara-crispino oh, are you seeing this @phichit+chu? It’s not just gonna be a pool party, it’s gonna be THE pool party. I’m ordering more champagne. And another pole.
JJleroy!15 @christophe-gc @phichit+chu @milababi @mickey-crispino @sara-crispino I’m also invited right
phichit+chu @JJleroy!15 yes
yuri-plisetsky @JJleroy!15 NO
JJleroy!15 @phichit+chu awesome
milababi did anyone else notice @yuri-plisetsky like the pic
v-nikiforov @milababi @yuri-plisetsky yes :D
christophe-gc @milababi @yuri-plisetsky Yes.
phichit+chu @milababi @yuri-plisetsky yea :3
georgi_popo_vich @milababi @yuri-plisetsky yes
milababi @yuri-plisetsky :3c
yuri-plisetsky @milababi @v-nikiforov @christophe-gc @phichit+chu @georgi_popo_vich ALL OF YOU SHUT UP
//
Katsuki Yuuri @katsuyu_ri Mar 23
Good luck at #Worlds2016 @v_nikiforov. I’m cheering for you!
kristal@skteson
@katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov I swear to god I am not making this up anymore
Katsudone @katsukiis
@katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@katsuyu_ri thank you Yuuri!!! Now I feel like I can conquer anything <3
skate on me @figureskatngg
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri too much TOO MUCH
Amy @ Worlds 2016 @frozenbb
@v_nikiforov @katsuyu_ri this is so sweet
Katsuki Yuuri @katsuyu_ri
@v_nikiforov I’m glad.
Lalaine @figureskatinghell @vichrispls
@katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov MY HEART I CAN’T
Norma @iiceiicebab
@katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov just realized that if u combined their names u could get “viktuuri”
Amy @ Worlds 2016 @frozenbb
@iiceiicebab @katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov OMG NORMA PLS
Norma @iiceiicebab
@frozenbb @katsuyu_ri @v_nikiforov i’m right tho
Viktor Nikiforov @v_nikiforov
@iiceiicebab @frozenbb @katsuyu_ri to be honest “Viktuuri” does have a nice ring to it
Amy @ Worlds 2016 @frozenbb
@v_nikiforov @iiceiicebab @katsuyu_ri OH YMG DOGGFDK
skate on me @figureskatngg
@v_nikiforov @iiceiicebab @frozenbb OH MY GOD
Norma @iiceiicebab
@v_nikiforov @frozenbb did viktor nikiforov just,,,,,,,,,
kristal@skteson
@iiceiicebab @frozenbb @v_nikiforov I’m screaming
Norma @iiceiicebab Mar 23
brb dying
skate on me @figureskatngg
@iiceiicebab RIP NORMA
Worldwide Trends
1) #Worlds2016
2) #ThingsIWouldTellMy12YearOldSelf
3) Viktuuri
//
“Group 2 has now finished skating, and Emil Nekola from the Czech Republic is in first. His free program performance, befitting the season finale, was free of mistakes earning him a personal best.”
Viktor listens with half an ear as he runs through his choreography one final time, Yakov’s watchful eye keeping track of all of his movements. There’s murmuring around him, but he tunes it all out easily, his free skate song playing clearly in his head as his body moves, almost like second nature.
“The last group has just entered the arena. All eyes are on Viktor Nikiforov, who’s going for his fifth consecutive World Championship gold. He will be skating last.”
There’s a sudden shift in the sounds around him. Viktor picks it up the moment it happens, despite his concentration – a sudden wave of surprised exclamations, a moment of stunned silence, and then more murmuring, but urgent this time. Shocked. Excited, even.
Viktor opens his eyes.
Yuuri is standing there, conversing with Yakov quietly, eyes slightly downcast. Viktor’s world comes slowing down to a halt, narrowing its focus, until his body feels like it’s been rooted into this single moment. Yakov notices this and gestures towards him, directing Yuuri’s gaze to flit towards Viktor.
Their eyes meet for a second.
Yuuri’s face is adorably pink, probably from the cold, maybe from something else. He bows politely to Yakov before taking slow, careful steps towards Viktor, gaze aimed towards the older skater’s general direction but not quite directly at Viktor himself. Viktor, who is still frozen in place, limbs suddenly unable to move and brain stuck on this one single fact that plays on a loop: Yuuri is here, Yuuri is here, Yuuri is here.
Yuuri reaches him.
He’s definitely rounder than when Viktor saw him last just some four months ago, cheeks fuller and his jacket looking more filled out. There’s a certain shyness to his demeanor, but there’s determination there as well, gaze flickering towards Viktor before looking away before looking back, again and again and again. He’s the greatest thing Viktor has ever laid eyes on. And he’s here.
“Yuuri,” he says, finally. Breathes, really, the two-syllabled name coming out of him in a breathless exhale. “You’re here.”
“Hi Viktor,” Yuuri says, smiling. Viktor wants to reach out and touch him, make sure that Yuuri is actually there.
So he does. His fingers find the smooth skin of Yuuri’s cheek, and they’re warm despite the temperature in the arena. Viktor watches, in awed fascination, as it fills with more color under his touch. He allows his fingers to wander slightly upward, sliding until his fingertips are just brushing over the strands of Yuuri’s dark hair. He rubs over his temple, flattens his palm to fit the curve of Yuuri’s cheek, and Yuuri lets him.
Yuuri lets him. Just watches Viktor with flushed cheeks and bright eyes, breaths coming out of him slow and gentle. Viktor lifts his other hand and cups the other side of Yuuri’s face, cradling his head carefully. “You’re here,” he says again.
Yuuri places his hands over Viktor’s, just keeping them there. He smiles, less shy, but still somewhat unsure. “I’m here. I came to cheer you on.”
Viktor can feel a smile blooming on his lips. “You came here for me?”
He feels Yuuri’s nod in his hands, watches his mouth form around the word, “Yes.” Then Yuuri is pulling Viktor’s hands away from his face and holding onto them instead, fiercely, like he’s scared Viktor might disappear. Viktor wants to laugh because that’s so silly; Yuuri doesn’t need to worry about that. Viktor isn’t going anywhere now, not that Yuuri is here. He needs to make sure Yuuri knows this.
“Yuuri, I—”
“Viktor,” Yakov’s voice cuts into the moment, gruff and short. Viktor blinks like he’s snapping out of a trance, turns his head to look at his coach. “You’re almost up.”
“Oh, right, I’m – hold on.” He looks back at Yuuri, at wide-eyed, adorable, very real Yuuri, and resists the urge to pull him into a hug, to just wrap him in Viktor’s arms and never let go. “Yuuri. You’ll wait for me, right? I’ll talk to you later?”
“Of course,” Yuuri says. “I’ll be right here.”
“Okay then.” Viktor rearranges their hands so that he’s the one holding on, and then he lifts Yuuri’s right hand to his mouth. He presses a light kiss, just a quick flutter of the lips, on the back of Yuuri’s hand, unable to stop his smile after. “You’ve completely surprised me today.”
And then he’s letting go, but just for now. He’ll be back later.
Someone unzips his jacket for him and makes sure his costume is okay, hands brushing over his shoulders and smoothing out whatever small wrinkle is in his clothes. Yakov is talking, but Viktor doesn’t pay attention to the words. His heart is racing, but oddly enough the rest of him feels completely at peace. Like it knows that this might be one of the most important programs he will ever skate, but at the same time it’s confident that he’ll be able to execute it perfectly.
Chris’ scores are announced. There are voices outside screaming for him, bright lights waiting. He glances over his shoulder, and there Yuuri still is, smiling warmly, and Viktor feels like he’s already won.
He steps out.
“Last up is Viktor Nikiforov from Russia. It’s clear he’s Russia’s hero! The cheers are deafening! After the short program, he leads Giacometti, in second, by a huge margin…”
//
“I wanted you to see this.”
Viktor looks like a puppy expecting a treat, and it would’ve made Yuuri laugh if he weren’t feeling so nervous right now.
The arena is already empty – interviews over, commemorative photos with Chris and Kazakhstan’s Otabek Altin taken, ice cleaned – but being Viktor Nikiforov and five-time World Championship gold medalist has its perks, as Viktor himself demonstrated just earlier by talking some of the staff into letting them have the ice rink in private for half an hour.
“I’ve been practicing it for a while now, when I was trying to find my inspiration again.” Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Yuuri pushes on, “Please watch me.”
He skates out onto the center of the ice, glancing at Viktor’s eager expression one more time before closing his eyes. He positions himself and lowers his head, hearing the opening notes of the song beginning to play in his head, and he thinks he hears a gasp but he tries not to pay too much attention to it. This, right now, is the only thing he needs to do – skate Viktor’s free program with all his heart, like he’s been practicing for the past two months.
He begins.
Earlier, when he was watching Viktor skate this, it felt like he was reaching out directly to Yuuri. His Worlds free skate was half of a conversation, almost a question. Yuuri skates now as the other half of that conversation, as a response.
He can feel Viktor’s eyes on him. Yuuri lets that push him onwards into the program, lets himself drown in the unheard music and in the movements that have become so familiar to him. The world is a blur of light and color and Viktor, and Yuuri allows himself to be lost in the moment, lets his body take over so that Viktor will understand – I will stay close to you. I’m not going to leave you.
It’s too soon. But they’ve already started, and there’s no stopping now.
When he finishes, it’s with a breathlessness that isn’t just the product of physical exertion. He breaks from the pose to find Viktor standing by the side, hands over his face, and for a moment Yuuri wonders whether he’s crying. But then Viktor is running, and Yuuri tracks his path for a moment, just enough to figure out that he’s heading over to where the kiss and cry would be, and Yuuri’s body moves forward, nearly slipping as he skates over to meet Viktor.
“Viktor!”
Viktor gets there first, and he stares at Yuuri with something like stars in his eyes. Yuuri smiles, is just about to ask him what he thought of Yuuri’s performance, when Viktor leaps onto him and the world spins.
Viktor’s lips are soft. Warm, too. Something electric runs through Yuuri’s spine at the brief touch, suspending the moment between leap and fall for a second longer than it actually is. And then they’re falling, back onto the ice, the world catching up to them with Viktor’s hand cradling the back of his head.
Yuuri blinks at the lights. Viktor shifts over him, and then his face is there, close but not as close as it just was, smile honest. “This was the only thing I could think of to surprise you more than you’ve surprised me.”
Yuuri can’t help the way he’s looking at Viktor, soft and helplessly fond. He thinks, I could get used to surprises. He thinks, I want to surprise you even more. He thinks, What are we, now?
He says, “Really? Well, it worked.”
//
v-nikiforov
[image: Viktor and Yuuri selfie, Viktor’s arm around Yuuri’s shoulders while the other is positioned like it’s holding out the phone, Yuuri holding Viktor’s gold medal up to the camera]
christophe-gc, phichit+chu, milababi and 9953 others like this
v-nikiforov Look who came and cheered for me! Thank you #YuuriKatsuki. It was the perfect finale to my competitive career <3 #Worlds2016
View all 248 comments
viktorunofficial-fc WHAT DO YOU MEAN “finale to my competitive career” ????????????
katsuyuufanclub omg yuuri was there!!!!
bladesonfire oh my god is viktor retiring??!?!?
vik-to-ru what does “perfect finale to my competitive career” mEAN ??!? VIKTOR PLS DON’T TELL ME YOURE RETIRING NO
skateslash the world is burning down
//
“You’ve sent the internet into a frenzy, Viktor Nikiforov,” Chris says, swirling the champagne around his glass. “It’s been weeks now and you still refuse to give an official statement.”
Ahead, Jean-Jacques Leroy has somehow managed to convince Guang Hong Ji to team up with him in a pool fight against Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin, while Emil Nekola good-naturedly tries to referee and Leo de la Iglesia floats a bit to the side looking half-amused, half-concerned. Mila Babicheva and Sara Crispino chat by the poolside, toes playfully splashing water at unsuspecting skaters who happen to swim by, while Phichit and Yuuri handle barbecuing their lunch off to a corner of the area.
Chris grabs his phone and snaps a picture, immediately uploading it on Instagram with the caption Skaters can swim and have fun, too ;P
Beside him, Viktor just smiles. “They’ll find out soon enough.”
Chris snorts. Trust Viktor to leave everyone on their toes for as long as humanly possible. If Chris weren’t friends with him, he would’ve gone insane wondering himself. “How am I supposed to get motivated without you?”
“I’m sure you’ll manage, Chris.” Viktor pats him on the shoulder. Then he gestures at the pool. “Besides, there’s going to be a lot of competition left.”
Chris nods. “That is true.” He stretches his legs out, wiggling his toes slightly. “Still, it’s not going to be the same without you.”
Viktor laughs. “It’s not like I won’t be there anymore, Chris. I’ll still be present in competitions.”
“Yeah, with your boyfriend you mean,” Chris says, but it’s light and teasing. He lifts his champagne glass. “Cheers to that, by the way.”
Viktor lifts his own glass. “Cheers.”
They clink glasses.
Then, “Do you think we can get Yuuri drunk on this again?”
“Maybe tonight, when all the young ones are in bed.”
//
katsuyuuri
[image: a black-and-white shot of Viktor and Yuuri on the ice, talking and facing slightly away from the camera]
christophe-gc, phichit+chu, yuri-plisetsky and 8735 others like this
katsuyuuri New season. New programs. New coach. Here’s to the start of a new adventure @v-nikiforov #figureskating
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katsuyuufanclub OMG YUURI HAS AN INSTAGRAM NOW???? AND VIKTOR IS COACHING HIM???!?!?
phichit+chu Good luck to both of us this season!
christophe-gc <3
amyskates I literally cannot believe this oh my god I AM CRYING #VIKTUURI
yuri-plisetsky I’m still gonna kick your ass and prove I’m the better Yuri, piggy. The ice ain’t big enough for the both of us. Also, tell the old man I said thanks for the short program.
kristalize oh wow
v-nikiforov this season is going to be great. I’m both honored and excited to start it with you, Yuuri.
katsuyuuri @v-nikiforov me too.