#seems to disapprove of Victor and Yuuri's relationship

[sachiro]

The Many Faces of Victor Nikiforov - Episode 6

And here we are, back in the international competitive circuit! We get a good look at how the other skaters and coaches think of Victor and Yuuri’s situation and how Victor deals with their reactions. Let’s dive right in!

Actually, character development aside, I just love this first one for how peaceful it is. Even the little details like Yuuri talking in his sleep and Victor drooling in his make them feel more realistic than they would were they perfectly put together when unconscious. They’ll need the rest too, considering the amount of socializing they’re about to get thrown into. Also, you can catch a subtle banquet reference before this shot with Victor asking Yuuri if he wants any champagne!

So your first thought for this second choice might be “but this isn’t a Victor gif” and I thought so too but I feel like the composition of this shot is actually really interesting in regards to him. I think there was a part of Victor that was hoping Yakov wouldn’t be too mad at him for up and leaving when Yakov so clearly disapproved of the plan. Or maybe Victor knew what Yakov’s reaction was bound to be like and decided to brave the flames regardless, but either way Victor invites Yakov to dinner with a smile on his face like nothing had changed since the last time they talked. But Yakov rejects it, along with Victor’s coaching endeavours in the process, and we as viewers are deprived of Victor’s immediate reaction to it. There may have been some kind of spasm of emotion on his face, such as hurt, before he plasters on the smile and obliviously cheery attitude to cover it up. So, the fact that this isn’t specifically a Victor gif is exactly what makes it one.

And then that hurt leads us to this third gif, where Victor has gone and gotten himself drunk right before a competition day. Remember back in episode 3, how we touched on Victor’s drinking habits being a bad coping mechanism to deal with his depression/upset/disappointment? Here’s another instance in which he drowns his sorrows with alcohol. If nothing else, this speaks to how much Yakov’s disapproval of Victor’s career choice hurt him, even if Victor never talks about it.

But Yakov isn’t the only one who disapproves, as seen by the girls talking to Victor here in this fourth clip. Something interesting to note in terms of body language: Victor has his arms crossed. This is a real easy way to tell if someone is closed off. Compared to when he was talking with Yakov, when his body language was very open (and thus very susceptible to Yakov’s words and opinions), he seems to have either learned his lesson and goes in expecting disapproval or never particularly cared what these girls thought in the first place (or very possibly a mix of both). I do also find it interesting that they seem to think that Victor is only there for a booty call and nothing else. Their message of “it’s not going to last” also speaks to me about Victor’s past relationships; namely that he’s never had any that were really long term and/or serious.

I actually love this fifth gif with Chris because it shows how close they are as friends in just a few simple details: that Victor is comfortable enough with Chris to not mind him in his personal space bubble, that he has no qualms shushing him, and that he listens and responds to Chris’ query. Unlike everyone else so far (except Yuuri) where he’s either kept some space between them or not responded directly to their questions/comments, he seems to share an ease with Chris that we haven’t seen before.

For this sixth choice, I’d like to talk a bit about the words Victor’s saying and the sentiment behind them. He’s telling Yuuri that he doesn’t need to be a katsudon or a beautiful woman to seduce Victor; Yuuri just needs to be himself. Sound familiar? I believe that this line and sentiment is a direct parallel to the beach scene in episode 4 where Yuuri imparts the exact same message to Victor. They both encourage each other to just be themselves and not put on a mask because the mask isn’t necessary, they were attracted to each other – and continue to be so – because of who they are as people and not what they can provide in any other “roles”. I also love how Victor tops it off with “and you already know that, don’t you?” because it shows Victor’s trust and confidence in him. And then Yuuri goes off and responds by skating the best Short Program he’s ever done with more references to the beach scene (“I’m the only one who knows Victor’s love”, “I’ll show it to you through my skating”).

Okay, I will admit that my reason for adding this seventh gif in was because it’s an expression of pure arousal. Yuuri has definitely succeeded at seducing Victor and he is completely turned on. He just looks so enraptured and unguarded. Also, another thing to note: this is the first time that Yuuri has finished skating and Victor’s first reaction wasn’t to be critical, which I think is a mixture of learning how to be a better coach for Yuuri as well as how completely blown away he was by Yuuri’s performance.

I find this eighth gif particularly fascinating because Yuuri obviously gives a response that Victor was not expecting. Victor asks Yuuri if he felt good out there (which was also a sexual innuendo in the original Japanese… Victor please, you’re in public) and Yuuri responds with saying that he hopes everyone else felt good watching him. Yuuri continues to surprise Victor, even in the small things, and I love how they show that to us so we can watch them grow with each other.

Victor’s pure joy here is something that I love just for being what it is. Even if Yuuri can’t see the scores that well, he should still have been able to hear them over the loudspeakers (and see the number of digits he got) but he doesn’t have much of an expression. It feels to me like he was completely in the zone while he was skating and he’s still trying to work himself out of it. But for Victor, he’s just bursting with happiness at Yuuri’s results for no other reason than because Yuuri did so well. If anyone ever had any doubts about Victor being invested in Yuuri’s skating then I feel like this moment would have set those worries to rest.

And for this last gif, I just love their casual affection. Before, Yuuri used to back away from any kind of physical touch or others being in his personal space bubble and Victor wouldn’t touch unless he had a specific reason for it (like flirting or comfort). But now, Victor so easily clings onto Yuuri while watching Chris’ program like it’s something they do all the time (and it very well might be). It makes me think back to episode 4, how Victor was leaning on Yuuri’s shoulder as a method of comforting him. Although that had a reason, it’s interesting to watch the slow development of their physical comfort around each other. They may not tell us much about it directly, but they’ve really gotten quite close since Victor first arrived in Hasetsu.

To me, this episode felt like a middle point when it came to development. It threw some new information at us, but mostly was meant to show us where Victor and Yuuri were at and how others saw them (along with how they reacted to those perceptions). I probably talked a lot more about Yuuri in this set but by this point he’s becoming an inseparable part of Victor’s development so it’s almost impossible not to. I hope you still enjoyed regardless and look forward to next week for the episode you’ve all been waiting for!

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [Duetto]

Bonus because he just looks so cute here to pass up:

[happyandticklish]

Yay prompts! :D How about number 15 with lee Victor and ler Yuuri? Thank you and have a nice day!

Late Mornings 

OOF this is ungodly late, so I apologize. This is that fic I accidentally deleted forever ago, and I kind of lost inspiration for it for a bit, so I wanted to wait till I actually had some to get back to it. Hope you enjoy despite its lateness~

I hope you have a nice day as well! ^^

-

“Yuuri? Are you awake?”

A groan, followed by a light whack to his side.

Victor sighed, rolling his eyes at the childish behavior. A quick glance out the window alerted his suspicions of the hour, the sun shining high and bright in the sky already. Another glance at the alarm clock confirmed them. Eleven, nearly afternoon and certainly past the time for their usual training.

When the two had started dating, Victor had considered many complications. Judgement, jealousies, insecurities in their relationship, worry about how it might affect their career. Little had he known that their greatest trial would be mornings. Waking Yuuri up for training before had been difficult, but now it was nigh impossible, the warmth of the bed and Victor lulling him into a comfortability that he was loathe to leave.

Yuuri’s hair was crushed against the pillow, his face buried in Victor’s chest as he hugged him tightly. He looked vulnerable like this—breakable. Victor couldn’t help a fond smile from flickering across his face, brushing the back of his hand fondly across his cheek. Yuuri hummed, leaning into his touch.

“Love, please. We’ve lain in bed all day, don’t you want breakfast at least? And we still have training to do and—”

Shaking his head, Yuuri mumbled out a protest into his skin, pulling him in tighter. “Stay. Relax.”

Victor’s brows flicked down in disapproval, and he gripped his shoulder, trying to pull him away. “It seems like all we’ve done is relax. Surely you must be bored just laying here.”

“It’s never boring when you’re around,” Yuuri assured him, his words stifled as he snuggled in closer. His fingers gripped into his sides as he moved and Victor tensed, trying to subtly shift away from the touch. “Being here, looking at you, getting to hold you—how could I be bored?”

A slight flush scattered across Victor’s cheeks, and he found himself grateful for Yuuri’s position so that he couldn’t witness the effects of that particular comment. Morning Yuuri, he had found, was a different kind of Yuuri. He was more open, the lull of sleep dimming his normal insecurities and worries. It threw Victor off, and he still wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He was used to teasing the other with endless compliments and suggestions—he wasn’t used to the tables being turned.

“I find it hard to believe that my mere presence is entertaining,” Victor said, trying to divert the conversation back to the task at hand. He attempted to sit up, but Yuuri apparently decided that he had other plans. Victor yelped as he was pulled back into bed. Suddenly, fingers were worming their way into his sides, clumsy, sleepy tickling that was still unfairly effectual. Victor bit his lip to muffle the laughter quickly rising in his throat, burying his face into the pillow and weakly shoving at his hands.

“You’re right,” Yuuri agreed, a rare playfulness sneaking into his tone. He held Victor tightly to him, trapping him in the tickly hug as his fingers danced merrily along his stomach. “It is boring just sitting here. So why don’t you offer me some entertainment, since you’re so concerned?”

Victor was finding speech difficult as he fought the onslaught of embarrassing giggles and snorts that threatened to escape if he dared open his mouth. The fluttery, electric feeling of Yuuri’s fingers was driving him up the wall, and he batted weakly at his hands. Unfortunately, each time he managed to dislodge his hand from one spot, Yuuri would quickly move to another, leaving Victor trapped in the vicious cycle. He whined as nails skittered over his sides, keeping his face firmly hidden in the pillow to hide his blush.

This was not how he had expected this morning to go, and he couldn’t decide whether to be mad at Yuuri for distracting him so thoroughly, or grateful at how easily he could do so.

“What’s wrong Victor, why are you squirming so much, huh?” A sudden pinch to his hips prompted a squeak from the mound of pillows and blankets Victor was attempting to engulf himself in. “Wait,” he gasped, his eyes widening in mock wonder. “You’re not… ticklish, are you?”

Victor groaned, curling up into a tighter ball and refusing to so much as look at the other.

“Oh, you are!”

Nails scuttled up his sides quickly, scratching against his ribs as they climbed closer and closer to the spot that always had Victor in stitches. A spot which, perhaps not so coincidentally, happened to be one of Yuuri’s favorites spot to tickle. Victor’s giggles grew frantic in pitch, real laughter threatening to reveal itself. He clamped his arms tighter to his sides, determined to not allow his boyfriend access to the spot. Not now, not when his thoughts were muddled with sleep and light touches, not when it would be so easy to just lay there and laugh, give in to the moment.

Yuuri’s hand continued to tease his ribs, and with his other he brought his fingers up to his neck, fluttering them teasingly over the skin and curling nails under his chin almost like you might with a dog. Victor squealed, scrunching his shoulders up and gripping his hair as he fought to deal with the conflicting sensations.

“C’mon, underarms or neck, you pick~” Yuuri ghosted his nails over his collarbone, sweeping along the sensitive skin contained there. Victor flushed, ducking his chin down. It was a cruel choice and Yuuri knew it—Victor couldn’t help but love him for it.

“A-Ahaha, plehehease, Yuhuhuruuri!” he cried, the sheets tangled around them as he kicked his legs in an attempt to focus on anything else. “Thihis ihihihisn’t fahahahahair!”

“Nor is waking me up for training at such ungodly hours of the morning.”

“I-It’s, ahaha, nehehehearly n-nohohoon!”

“Too early,” Yuuri repeated, ignoring him. “Now, which is it going to be? I could always choose both if you can’t pick, of course.”

It took another minute of devastatingly light scratches on his neck while Yuuri played his ribs like a piano before Victor finally gave in. “Ohohokay, ohohokay, juhuhust nahahat the neheheck!”

“There you go, I knew you’d see it my way. Now, time to find out just how ticklish you are.”

Victor barely had time to catch his breath before he was thrown into a fit of laughter once more as Yuuri’s fingers managed to worm under his arms, leaving him a writhing mess on the bed.

In the end, Yuuri got his way, as Victor was far too tired to even think about training after the relentless attack.

Perhaps it was okay to have days off like this sometimes—they both needed the rest anyway.

[heavensturtle]

Day 10: Give

A short fic for day ten of the YOI 20+ Club’s Daily Art Challenge!

- - -

Note 1: This picks up from day 9, so read that one first!

Note 2: I interpreted give in a couple of ways, literally and figuratively, I don’t know how well it worked out but I did try to connect this back to the prompt.

Note 3: We may be getting into non-canon-compliant territory with this one, folks.

- - -

Victor woke up to a tangle of sheets and a Yuuri burrito resting against his side. One of Victor’s feet had somehow gotten caught in Yuuri’s blanket roll, trapping him where he lay.

He was fine with that.

Remembering the contented sound it had elicited the day before, Victor reached out and ran his fingers through Yuuri’s hair. Yuuri made a soft noise in his sleep and leaned into the touch.

Victor was not prepared for his immediate, visceral reaction to the sound. He felt like he wanted to pry open his ribs like armor and tuck Yuuri inside.

He massaged a little harder and Yuuri sighed. Victor hummed. He wanted to keep doing this forever.

The alarm went off.

“Nooo,” Yuuri groaned, rolling over and taking Victor’s foot with him.

“Yuuri,” Victor laughed, poking at his leg with the foot that was still trapped in the blanket burrito.

“Stooooop,” Yuuri reached an arm out of the blankets and flung it behind him, right into Victor’s face.

“Pfft, Yuuri,” Victor grabbed the hand and pulled it away.

More than the alarm this seemed to wake Yuuri up. His body tensed and he rolled back over, partially unraveling the tangle of blankets and pinning Victor’s foot underneath him.

“Wha- Victor?” Yuuri’s eyes were wide, “Did I fall asleep in here?”

Victor felt all the air get sucked out of the room. Yuuri didn’t remember.

“Well - ” Victor’s heart sank as he tried to figure out what to say.

But then Yuuri was talking again, hiding his face behind his hands: “Aaah, I’m so sorry Victor, you should have woken me up! I fell asleep when you were trying to help, how rude! And why - why did you let me take all of your blankets?” he added, as though Victor had been given any choice in that matter.

“Well, I was asleep, so I don’t really remember,” Victor said, “And, well, you did wake up, but, um, I told you it was fine if you stayed? So you did.”

Yuuri looked as stunned as Victor had felt last night.

“I stayed?” he asked.

Victor nodded.

“And you were okay with it?’

Victor nodded again. “Very okay with it,” he murmured.

Yuuri’s eyes were impossibly wide. Victor felt a sort of pride realizing that he could surprise Yuuri as much as Yuuri had surprised him.

“You’re really okay with it?” Yuuri asked again, and Victor felt like the question meant more this time.

He nodded again, “You?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri whispered, his voice rough, and oh, he was definitely asking about more than just one night falling asleep together. Victor felt himself break into that ridiculous smile he got sometimes, just around Yuuri. The one Yuuri said he loved.

“That’s great! Now, would you mind giving me my foot back?” He wiggled his foot where it was still trapped under Yuuri’s legs.

“Ah! Sorry, sorry,” Yuuri unraveled the blankets the rest of the way and sat up, looking abashed.

Victor just smiled and watched. Once free, he considered for a split second before reaching out and pulling Yuuri down on top of him as he rolled onto his back.

Yuuri dropped onto his chest with an oof before lifting himself up to look down at Victor. Victor grinned up at him.

“What are you doing?” Yuuri asked.

“Reveling,” he said simply.

Yuuri made a disapproving sound, but he was smiling too. Victor tugged at him and Yuuri let himself drop back down onto Victor’s chest.

“We’re going to be late for our run,” he protested.

“Your run,” Victor corrected, “I’m just there for moral support.”

“Oh, so it’s our run when you want to come along and my run when you don’t want to do it?”

“I’m the coach. It’s whoever’s run I say it is.”

“You’re the worst coach,” Yuuri admonished. He sounded pleased.

“I am, definitely,” Victor agreed happily, “But I’m your coach,” He reached up and ran his fingers into Yuuri’s hair again, starting at the nape of his neck and moving up. Yuuri moaned, then clapped a hand over his mouth, looking surprised.

“Oh I forgot, you haven’t heard your own reactions to this yet,” Victor giggled. He felt lighter than air as he gently pulled Yuuri’s head back down to his shoulder.

Yuuri, overwhelmed, buried his face into the side of Victor’s neck. But he didn’t stop making his little pleased sounds as Victor continued playing with his hair.

Victor marveled at how easily their relationship had given way to this. Feeling each other’s lungs expand and the vibrations from Yuuri’s chest as he hummed to Victor’s touch. Like this moment had just been waiting to be wrapped up into the fabric of whatever it meant to be Victor and Yuuri.

All it took was a quiet invitation: ‘You don’t have to go’.

[maireyart]

I read part of a YOI fanfic where Viktor cheated on Yuuri with Yuri (gross and it was not even labeled) and it was pretty ... ehh. But I wanted to ask you - is cheating more common or accepted in Russia? The author seemed to think so. I could not tell if it was because they truly have a more realistic and gritty version of Russia or because of anti-Russian sentiment. It seems strange because my understanding was that cheating was actually way more common in Japan than Russia. Japan’s economy, it is said, would collapse without cheating culture (according to a Japanese YouTuber’s video on it). Yet Yuuri is constantly portrayed as cheated on and weak and submissive and clueless. This seems racist or stereotypical to me, but I am not Japanese so if any Japanese people want to talk about it? Also, my understanding was that in Russia cheating is seen as very bad culturally. It also seems like it would be more accurate for Yuuri to cheat on Vitya when considering culture and what is considered cheating. Do you have any thoughts about this? If I got anything wrong, I want to clear it up now.

Interesting question! I can’t say anything about how common it is in Russia (stats are unreliable), but it’s not culturally accepted and rarely forgiven if disclosed. It’s a serious reason to break up. And Victor cheating on Yuuri with Yuri... No idea what a more realistic version of Russia may have to do with it. This plotline is perhaps not about trying to portray some culture (be it in a good or bad light), I believe; sounds like it’s something subjective like the author’s dark fantasies or the desire to write angst or something similar. The author is probably processing their own issues through a story.

As for cheating in general, there are a few differences between Russia and Japan that play a role in the way cheating is seen. 1. Unlike Japan, Russia is permeated with Christianity (and not so long ago with Soviet moral ideals like ‘there’s no sex in the USSR’); there were no sexual revolutions or anything like that. Our culture is intervined with religion; cheating has always been viewed as a serious sin that requires repentance and is not normally accepted. Japan has never been under a heavy influence of monotheistic religions with a detailed concept of sin & repentance, so cultural codes are a bit different.

2. In Russia, relationships are usually committed and tend to be more on the possessive side (compared to, say, France where relationships between young people are usually less serious). Partners tend to ‘control’ each other xDDD So cheating is a full-blown betrayal. Open relationships, friends with benefits, casual sex are not mainstream, it’s still something out of the ordinary and very much disapproved of. In Japan, casual sex seems to be a more common thing, sex is not viewed as SUCH a big deal.

3. In Japan, cheating is also connected with the lack of sex between husband and wife, especially after she gives birth to children (not in every family, ofc, but in, let's say, typical or maybe stereotypical families...).  Here’s an interesting sum-up of this. But they don’t divorce, b/c it’s convenient to stay married. For example, the wife doesn’t have to work full-time and gets the money earned by him, and the husband keeps the veneer of a respected married man in society xDD Being divorced may even hinder his career. So each of them may have affairs, but stay married for pragmatic reasons and for children. In Russia though divorces are more common, no one (at least at work) usually cares if you do it, and people divorce if they want to. And cheating is one of the reasons why they may do it. Usually there are no social ‘perks’ of being in a marriage that doesn’t work for either side (there may be some personal ones though)... Besides, the Japanese are one of the most asexual nations in the world, and the lack of sex between husband and wife is not concidered as some serious problem, while Russia is in the top 3 most sexually active nations, and in Russian marriages, sex plays a bigger role; it’s important for Russian couples to have sex with each other. I’ve seen some videos of Russian youtubers married to Japanese women, and they emotionally described how their wives, after a while, told them that sex was too troublesome and suggested that they found somebody else for this stuff. But the Japanese women had never fathomed that it was actually really that important for their Russian hubbies! They were used to Japanese men who would understand this idea, but most Russians just can’t 🤯 xD The suggestion to have sex with somebody else while staying (more or less happily) married sounded totally insane to the guys, so they and their Japanese wives divorced in the end. So for the Japanese, sex with each other is not automatically connected with satisfaction from family life, important aspect.

But all of this is related to heterosexual couples. When it comes to gay men, they’re within a different paradigm initially, and the concepts of open relationships & commitment & cheating may be... not different, but treated differently. However, I don’t think that Yuuri or Victor are the types to cheat on each other (even considering some cultural/subcultural moments) if we take their canon personalities, feelings and story, but if a fanfic is deeply AU and OOC (intentionally or not), anything may happen O_o 

[yoiotdfics]

Fic Recs for April 2017

Music of the Heart by rk_rl

A chance at fame. Potential love. Realizing he’s your soulmate. It’s a chance Yuuri can’t resist. Life and love. Fickle. Opportunities Only last so long. Loosing cannot, will not stop him. Salvation, as always, comes in the form of Victor Nikiforov.

want by insidetwizzles

Summary:

On nights like this, when he’s cold and alone and wants nothing more than to fuck the heat out of Yuuri, Viktor imagines.

i wanna be (the best you’ve ever known) by notcaycepollard

Summary:

All Viktor actually wants is to spoil Yuuri.

Apparently, he’s not able to spoil Yuuri so much as he seems able to spoil things with Yuuri. It is terribly unfair. Perhaps the universe actually has it out for him.

The Gifts of Friendship by  Whisper132

Summary:

Yuri and Otabek’s relationship blooms as they learn the art of giving, receiving, and documenting everything online to show off.

Puppy Love by  Phyona

Summary:

When Yuuri gets turned into a dog, the last place he expects to end up is Victor Nikiforov’s apartment. He learns quickly that the only thing worse than being his idol’s pet, is watching him pine for someone else.

Warning: Makkachin has recently passed away at the start of this story.

There’s a Difference Between Sleight of Hand and Misdirection by  GordandV

Summary:

Guang Hong doesn’t reply: it certainly doesn’t seem like one of his best programs considering the score.

American Pie (Friends Don’t Let Friends Eat Pancakes) by  youaremarvelous

Summary:

Yurio takes his drunk dads to Waffle House and fun times are had by all

Something Sweet by  AmericanCanada

Summary:

All Yuuri wanted to do was bake some cookies…….

all my friends and all the loose ends by  Anonymous

Summary:

There’s a box on Phichit’s bedside table, marked with the days of the week. Clear blue, the distinct shape of medication hazy and lumpy underneath the covers. He’d tried to hide it, at first, but he forgot to take them if he couldn’t see them, and maybe, just maybe, Yuuri wouldn’t judge.

Private Theatricals by  Watergaw

Summary:

Some unmitigated historical fluff as a gift for my dear Yunitsa on this auspicious occasion. In which I commit acts of petty larceny on the works of Jane Austen and set the whole thing in 1865 for reasons of insufferable pedantry. I hope it makes you smile.

Mr Victor Nikiforov, rich, handsome, accomplished, and quite the most eligible bachelor in four counties, has a problem. His friend Giacometti has a solution.

Exhibition by  stella_polaris

Summary:

Yuri needs a special look for his exhibition piece but he struggles with perfecting it himself. It’s good that he has Mila to help him.

Fandom Bicycle, Case 1: Sara Crispino by ineptshieldmaid

Summary:

Sara folds her arms and examines Chris. ‘You flirt with everyone,’ she says.

‘Most people,’ Chris concedes.

‘How do you manage it?’

—

(Series: tumblr prompt challenge-to-self, an attempt to test just how many characters can be paired with Chris Giacometti)

critical hit by  reptilianraven

Summary:

”Victor is certainly an incredible player, but his opponent might just give him a run for his money.”

”I totally agree. Victor’s opponent, seventeen year old Yuuri Katsuki representing Japan, is one of the most interesting players this championship has ever seen.”

-

Yuuri brings a Pachirisu to the Pokemon Video Game World Championship Finals and rocks Victor’s world.

Maslenitsa by  spare

Summary:

“It’s the week when we get to eat pancakes,” Victor explains. “Lots and lots of pancakes.” … Or the terribly inaccurate, shamelessly self-indulgent, fluff-for-fluff’s-sake fic where Victor and Yuuri celebrate Maslenitsa in St. Petersburg.

Like a Fairytale

lucycamui

Summary:

In which Prince Victor gets swept off his feet at a royal banquet and will go to any length to find his ‘Cinderella’ Yuuri. (And Phichit is the fairy godmother who has no idea what he’s doing).

“The crown prince of the Nikiforov kingdom, infatuated with a mystery pastry chef he’s only just met. This is exactly the kind of scandalous love story my life has been missing… So, what’s he look like? What exactly is Prince Victor’s type?”

“…Sweet.”

“Well, he does make pastries.“

I can be your devil or your angel, baby

hinatella

Summary:

Yuuri Katsuki didn’t ask for any of this, and he’s starting to question all of his life choices that lead up to this cursed moment.

Reason in Madness

Gigi_Sinclair

Summary:

“Yuri is only fifteen, but Lilia can already see the danger that’s gathering around him, the jackals that are licking their chops and beckoning. Men, women, alcohol, drugs. Scandals that lose sponsors, mistakes that ruin lives. There’s a world of tempting trouble out there, and it’s up to them to keep Yuri out of it, just as they did for Victor.”

UTC plus nine

anirondack

Summary:

Yuuri leans against the low wall, then sits on it. He rolls one ankle, and then the other. A light breeze plays along his face. His phone buzzes in his jacket pocket. He digs it out and sees a text from Victor, so he swipes it open and then drops his phone on the ground.

Victor is the master of nudes. Yuuri is easy.

Not Quite in the History Books

Black_Tailed_Gull (ExpatGirl)

Summary:

Viktor recounts his rather…unique…version of a housewarming ritual.

Small Bundles Of Joy Come With Big Bills

iamthefacebehindthemask

Summary:

Victor did what?

Aka, Victor is always extra, even as he is about to become a parent, and Yuuri tries to deal.

Toucan Play At That Game

whalefairyfandom12

Summary:

“Hey Seung-Gil.”

“Yes?”

The Korean skater had always intimidated Phichit a little. Talented and quiet some would call him antisocial, but deep down Phichit was sure they could be good friends. And what better way to break the ice than with a joke?

“What do you call memory loss in a parrot?”

Batter Up!

Shadow_sensei

Summary:

Victor and Yuuri are celebrating their birthdays together and decide to bake their own cakes, competing against each other to see which of their cakes will be the one to win over the party. Neither have baked a cake in years.

Laundry Day

cryingoverspilledvodka

,

lucycamui

Summary:

The Katsuki-Nikiforov household takes a morning off to do laundry. Living together, it’s not just the bed that needs breaking in.

Duckling

missmichellebelle

Summary:

The ballet classes are, inevitably, Victor’s idea.

something for the first time

copperwings

Summary:

Post-canon life in St. Petersburg, aka the ficlet in which Victor reads Cosmo for relationship advice and Yuuri disapproves.

Basically this is just humor and fluff.

Damage Control

aeriamamaduck

Summary:

Victor wakes up after a night of drinking with Yuuri and remembers taking a selfie.

minty coffee and sugary kisses

phylocalist

Summary:

A breath in, a breath out. Sara walks to the table she saw Mila sit on with a coffee in one hand and plate with the muffin in the other. It’s not like they’re short on staff and, in reality, she shouldn’t be doing this, this isn’t her work, but. She wants to.

(God, she’s so weak for pretty girls. Always has been.)

Or: Five times Sara makes a coffee for Mila in a coffee shop as an acquiantance, one time she makes a coffee for Mila in her apartment as her girlfriend.

5 things about the Yuri!! on Ice Cinderella AU

LLitchi

Summary:

The search is a campaign of low grade sexual harassment as all men and women in the country bemusedly allow Viktor to molest everything below their ankles, as respectfully as he can while still being a huge pervert.

Phichit the Brave

icandrawamoth

Summary:

Guang Hong, Leo, and Phichit go camping, and Phichit saves his boyfriends from the terrors of the woods at night

Wax or Shave?

FujoshiFluff

Summary:

A little bit of both.

(Yuuri and Viktor banter, deals are made, and Viktor chokes once or twice)

Homesickness

Clairianne

Summary:

With all his love for America, Guang Hong sometimes feels homesick.

calling all romantics

cyanoscarlet

Summary:

Contrary to popular opinion, Yakov Feltsman was a true romantic at heart.

A Family Portrait

kat_hale

Summary:

The Katsuki-Nikiforov-Plisetsky family naps.

OR

Nikolai Plisetsky is in the hospital and Yuuri and Viktor take care of their son.

Birthday in Bed

FeelsandFandoms

Summary:

Phichit never cared much for celebrating his birthday, but that might change this year with Leo and Guang-Hong spending it with him.

[adelmortescryche]

R u ready cuz i got me a LIST. I'll send prompts in separate asks and if u don't like any feel free to disregard! First off is Victuuri, with "I'm not very good with commitment, or soulmates, or love." Preferably said by Yuuri bc i l o v e angst. A lot.

hah, can i just say that i was fcking delighted to get this one with Yuuri being the one to say the line. i mean, as i mentioned before, i’d have had yuuri say it either way, but then i registered that that was exactly what you wanted anyway. such a lovely coincidence. this turned out fluffier than expected, but hey, it’s still mildly angsty.

an explanation in advance, if it isn’t obvious: soulmates live their lives in this ‘verse with sensory deprivation of some sort. so they’re all actually impaired to a certain extent until they meet their soulmates. soulmates don’t necessarily have to be romantic or stay together. guess what side of the argument these two dorks are on.

In response to this post. salty soulmate prompts ftw.

Victor supposed that he should have seen this coming. He’d spent his entire adult life wondering what taste was, read books about flavor and food, and stared at cooking shows, wondering if food was really more than just aesthetic appreciation and matter being shoveled in for energy and nutrition. Whether there was actually someone out there, a destined someone who would who would bring flavor and taste into his life like a tidal wave. He’d heard Chris think about smell in the same way until he’d met his dashing mystery man, too - if it was real, if something as mundane as the way things smelt was worth the hype.

The first thing he’d done in the aftermath was drag Chris into a flower shop. And had weathered the teasing about being a pathetic romantic while Chris all but buried his face in a vase full of lilies.

So, yes. He should have seen this coming. He’d spent enough years as a precocious teen scoffing at the thought of something as ridiculous as fate and a soulmate deciding anything about his life. He’d spent many more as a lonely adult thinking that it might not be that bad, having someone promised to you so soundly. He should have seen this coming. 

Yuuri, for his part, just looked uncomfortable. And maybe a little tired, eyes just a bit puffy and red. His fingers were tight around the edge of his door, holding it in place like a shield to hold Victor at bay. Ridiculous. As if Victor needed anything of the sort to keep him back when Yuuri-

“Sorry. I’m just… not very good with commitment. Or soulmates. Or love. We had this discussion already, Victor, I’m-”

Not good with people, Yuuri had said. Not good with relationships, casual or otherwise. Just not comfortable with social interaction outside the bare minimum at all. Funny how Victor had assumed that meant people who weren’t soulmates. Relationships that didn’t involve him. Because he was- because Yuuri was-

“Sorry.” Yuuri repeated, and slammed the door shut in his face.

 *

“You look like you need a drink.”

He blinked muzzily down at the table, then forced himself to lift his head enough to peer up at the red clad form kneeling on the other side of the table from him.

Ah. It had gotten rather quiet, hadn’t it.

“Sorry, I’ll go back up,” he mumbled, a few more blinks making it easier to recognize the form as Mari. Yuuri’s older sister.

She just shook her head, though, gesturing for Victor to stay where he was, then proceeded to settle into a more loose-limbed crosslegged posture. It took a little longer for the situation to compute, but when it did, Victor’s head drooped a little lower. 

“You heard us.” It wasn’t a question.

“Aa. You were very quiet, but…” she shrugged, unapologetic, and Victor had to give a tired laugh. Fantastic. Obviously he shouldn’t have brought the topic up at the inn. But it was either the inn or the rink, or the walk between the two. Or assorted restaurants that Yuuri had been willing to introduce him to. If nothing else, the inn had been more private than the other options.

They were silent for a moment of companionable silence, long enough that Victor suddenly found himself wondering if Mari had met her soulmate yet. What her take on the topic was. Yuuri had made his stance very clear, but that didn’t mean all the Katsukis felt the same way.

“My brother… he isn’t shy.”

Mari’s words were blunt. Abruptly so. They made Victor blink again, confused, but she barged on before he could actually understand what she meant.

“He isn’t shy, but people make him uneasy. People who want his time make him break. Ah, I mean-” she paused, looking irritable, but Victor nodded slowly in response, willing to take her at face value. Even if the thought of Yuuri breaking made something sick settle at the bottom of his gut.

“He gets very uneasy, when he does not know what someone wants. It is always better to tell him what you want.”

Victor frowns at that, and wants to argue that that was exactly what he’d done. He’d come clean. He’d said that flavors had bloomed in his mouth only after he’d met Yuuri. He’d even left himself open to hurt, and said that he was happy that Yuuri was the one to return his missing sense to him. How much clearer could a man get?

Mari just looked vaguely exasperated, though. Maybe a little long-suffering. She was older than him, Victor remembered distantly. It had been so long since he’d had peers who were older than him that actually mattered.

“You want that drink?” she asked.

Victor shook his head.

“Then you sleep. Go. And talk to my idiot brother in the morning. Oyasumi.”

“Oyasumi,” Victor parroted dumbly, watching as she pushed herself to her feet and walked away. Not sure if he should take issue with the appellation, then deciding that if anyone had the right to call Yuuri an idiot, it was his older sister.

By the time he got himself to his room, Makka was already curled up and half asleep on top of the covers. The sight makes him pause by the door, an odd smile pulling taut across his face. Even when Makka lifting her head to stare at him questioningly, wondering why he hadn’t already gotten into bed already, didn’t erase the smile from his lips.

Well. He still had Makka, didn’t he. This didn’t change anything. Yuuri didn’t change anything. Soulmates didn’t change anything. He could still try coaching for an year, be thankful for the break and actually enjoy eating food.

So what if he’d been right all along, as a teen. His seventeen year old self would probably laugh to see how far he’d fallen.

Makka whined, and Victor stepped into the room, the action a reflex more than anything else. Her stare was enough to get him switch off the one lamp that was still lit, and get under the covers without much more thought.

“You’re more disapproving than a mother with a teenager under her roof,” Victor muttered into the curls topping her head, once she’d flopped down on top of him, all but burying him beneath herself. 

No response, but then, he’d never needed one, from Makkachin. He could always tell when she wanted him around. Now if only Yuuri were that easy to re-

A cool, dry nose nudged at the hollow of his throat, sudden enough that he almost yelped in surprise. When he pulled back, he found Makka staring up at him accusingly. It had him bursting into snickers that he promptly buried into her fur, much to her sleepy irritation. Not that she protested. She never did.

Okay, then. Sleep. Actual sleep, without working himself into the ground thinking about Yuuri, or fate or anything else that was liable to leave him awake through the night. He was a coach now, after all. And if his student was avoiding him… Well, then he’d just meet his student halfway. Soulmate or not.

*

A few days down the line proved early on that Yuuri was not an easy man to meet halfway. Not when he seemed stubborn and embarrassed enough that he was doing his literal best to skedaddle whenever Victor got anywhere near close enough to ask to talk.

It was enough to drive a man crazy. Especially when Mari slowly went from looking exasperating to commiserating to amused. Hiroko and Toshiya weren’t of any help either, clearly just as amused as their daughter, and while Minako was kind enough to split bottles of sake and plum wine with him, but she wasn’t kind enough to not laugh at his plight.

“You seem to be doing something right, at least. Yuuri sure as hell wouldn’t act like this with a coach.” Minako crowed, while Victor knocked back the last dregs of whatever had been left in the flask before them.

“It’s not like it helps. He won’t even talk to me!” he snapped back, and immediately regretted it. A friendly listening ear aside, Minako was still Yuuri’s old ballet teacher. Lilia would probably smile with perfect poise in a similar situation, all the while plotting to murder anyone badmouthing her students.

Minako, thankfully, just laughed some more, and patted him roughly on the back. Hiroko, in the process of bringing out yet another bottle of wine, most likely for Minako because Victor was stopping while he was ahead, reached out to pat him on the shoulder, murmuring something in Japanese that just made Minako laugh even harder. Victor wasn’t sure if he wanted to know or not.

The mean glint in Minako’s eyes told him that he was really better off not knowing.

A clatter near the entryway had Victor glancing that way reflexively, only to find Yuuri in the process of leaving, most likely for an evening run. Yuuri barely met his eyes for a split second before he dashed away, though. It was barely a surprise at this point.

“See? That’s not how he’d treat a coach. I should know, I’ve been his teacher since he was a tiny kid. Hell, I stood in for a coach a whole lot when he’d been a kid, too.”

Victor’s not sure how it matters, when the equation there was so different from whatever was getting built between him and Yuuri. Maybe that was where he was supposed to start in that talk. Mari though he should tell Yuuri what he wanted, but… that didn’t seem to be helping at all. Maybe he should just ask what Yuuri wanted instead.

Something of the frustration brewing in his head must have shown on his face, because Minako nearly cackled. And proceeded to fill his ochoko with another shot of sake.

“Drink up, boy, clearly you’re going to need it. And then maybe you can consider going on a run to catch up with Yuuri-kun.”

“Maybe,” Victor agreed, the smile on his face a lot more plastic than it had been in a while. No way in hell was he going to go chasing after Yuuri. Not only could he set a terrifying pace when he was focused, Victor suspected that trying to catch up with him after that momentary traded glance earlier would backfire a lot more than any other attempts he’d made so far.

So no. Maybe he could try to catch him at the rink in the morning. He felt safer near the ice, right. That’s what Nishigori and Yuuko had implied, at any rate.

Well, Victor could say the same. Neutral ground! Maybe that would help, if nothing else did. Honestly, he didn’t even care as much about soulmates any longer, not after the last few days he’d been through. No, fate and destiny could go fuck themselves, all he wanted was Yuuri, acting normal again. His fledgling student, the fellow competitor who’d managed to sweep his heart away well before Victor even registered that he’d returned his missing sense as well, the man whom Victor had slowly begun to realize would be a worthy friend to have, too, aside from everything else.

Morning. The ice rink. It was on.

*

“…Victor, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

Victor, in the process of getting his skates off, eyes hard in his head, started in surprise. When he regained enough control to look back at Yuuko, who’d managed to sneak up on him when he’d been busy knocking the ice off of his blades, she just looked more alarmed than her voice had suggested.

The expression did little to soothe his ire, but he did take the time to offer her a smile. It’s not her fault that her friend is starting to feel roughly as stubborn and bratty as Yura. Victor was tempted to shove that in Yuuri’s face, just to see how he’d react to it. 

“It’s nothing, we’ll be taking a break today, i think.” he replied, smile firmly pasted in place, and Yuuko stared at him for an uncomfortably long moment before finally coughing out a laugh.

“Don’t be too hard on him. Yuuri isn’t shy, he’s just-”

“Really not good with people. Yes, thank you, I’ve figured that out now.” Victor completed cheerfully, something in him very tempted to drop the smiles to the wayside just this once, because he was tired, damnit, but Yuuko didn’t deserve the vitriol buried beneath them, just waiting to be unleashed. 

She looked uncomfortably knowing when she waved him out of the rink, all the same. 

Cycling back to the inn in the cold air managed to cool him down somewhat, enough so that he’s relatively calm by the time he’s kicking his shoes off in the genkan and trading them in for his own pair of indoor slippers.

He runs into Mari when he’s heading up the stair, and she only needs a single glance at his face before she lips tugged apart in a delighted smirk.

“Finally,” she declared, sounding aggrieved. “Do you have any idea how irritating the two of you have been these past few days. Please go tell him what you want from him so he can stop hiding in his covers.”

“Thanks, Mari,” Victor replied pleasantly, not bothering to correct her, and somehow that just made her smirk broaden. She didn’t say any more, though, instead continuing down the stairs without giving him any grief.

By the time he gets Yuuri’s door open to drag him out to the beach, he’d almost completely managed to convince himself that he’ll be okay with however this is going to end. Even if everyone else seemed to have their own opinions about what’s going to happen. 

*

“-and even if I couldn’t actually feel her arms around me back then, something about that situation left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I just- shoved her away. Because she was making assumptions about what I was feeling, and was forcing her emotions on me… It’s never been something I’ve been comfortable with. I need space, Victor. To just exist, maybe to figure out what I want. And no one I’ve been with in even the flimsiest of a relationship till now seems to understand that, outside of my family and friends, here. I’m not weak.”

And so the unease about commitment. And love. And soulmates. Victor tightened his grip around Makkachin involuntarily, only relaxing it when she whined, confused. 

Yuuri sounded exhausted, and vehement, almost like the words he’s said had been clawing at his throat ever since they’d stopped talking to each other.

“No one thinks you’re weak, Yuuri. I certainly don’t. This entire time, all I’ve wanted was to ask you what you wanted out of this. I said that I’m certain we’re soulmates, but that doesn’t have to mean anything more that you want it to. Did you want me to be a father figure to you? A sibling, a friend, a lover-” Victor paused when Yuuri’s hand abruptly reached out to cover his mouth. 

When he looked over to the side, Yuuri’s face was flushed enough that it bordered on unhealthy. He seemed determined, though. So Victor waited, curious.

The next thing he knew, Yuuri was standing up and bowing, at a perfectly formal 90 degrees, arms steady at his sides. It’s enough to make Victor fumble in place, eyes going wide, but before he could say anything, Yuuri was speaking, Japanese spilling smoothly past his lips, in a stream fast enough that Victor had no chance of understanding any of it. It wasn’t much, only a sentence, but at the end of it, Yuuri eased off on the bow enough that Victor could see his face again. And the small, impish smile playing on his lips, too.

“Pleased to meet you, thank you for returning my tactile sense.” He said, this time around in English, and Victor choked on a surprised laugh, delight budding bright in his chest.

“Yuuri-”

Yuuri just cleared his throat rather pointedly, though, and Victor sighed, smiling a little helplessly as he pushed himself to his feet. 

“Pleased to meet you, thank you for returning my sense of taste.”

“There. That was better.” Yuuri said, actually laughing out loud when Victor rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

They stayed on the beach for longer, simply walking by the water, throwing a ball for Makka whenever she got bored, segueing into more casual topics of conversation, even discussing what it felt like to have a sense returned to them. Apparently Yuuri had been stuck in bed for weeks because of how bad the pain had been for him, years of ballet and figure skating without any tactile sensation finally catching up with him. Victor had cringed at the thought, in turn offering up photos of all the different food combinations and cuisines he’d taken to trying out once he had a fully functioning sense of taste.

It wasn’t until they were ready to leave that Yuuri slowed down to say that he didn’t want Victor to be anything but himself. Because Victor the Person, his coach and possibly his friend, was at least a little more important than whatever had destined for them to be soulmates.

It’s enough to make Victor think, if only for a split second, that he’s very relieved that Yuuri was the person that had been destined for him after all.

*

A few months down the line and Victor’s tackling Yuuri to the ice, heedless of the screams and the lights and sound of thousands of camera shutters flashing, hellbent on smothering him in kisses. He’s still not sure if that’s more because Yuuri was his soulmate or because Yuuri was Yuuri, and Yuuri was never going to stop surprising him, but by that point, Victor really couldn’t care less.

[fluffyllamas-23]

this legitimately took me like ten years to write lol. Emeto/nausea warning.  Just barely at the end but it’s there.

Victor and Yuuri met when Yuuri was a sophomore in college and was enrolled in Victor’s Russian Literature class.

The moment that the semester ended, Victor asked Yuuri for coffee, and from there, their relationship bloomed, and they began dating secretly.  

They’ve been together for a year and a half now, and thankfully, the only person that knows is Phichit, Yuuri’s roommate and bestfriend.

It’s Tuesday - the one day a week that Yuuri and Victor don’t see one another. Victor teaches all day, and Yuuri doesn’t have class until late that evening. He’s supposed to take advantage of it, and wake up early to study and do assignments. Usually he does, except today when he wakes up, he feels miserably sick and opts to fall back asleep.

He wakes up an hour later, which is much earlier than he hopes, because it’s only nine in the morning and he feels like shit.

His head is thrumming in time with his beeping alarm clock.  He wants to shut it off, but his body is aching with a fierceness that makes him not want to move. His sinuses are buzzing with an incessant itch, and he’s only awake for two minutes before the sneezing starts.  He’s feeling more congested by the minute, and soon enough, his nose is useless and he has to breathe through his mouth.  He feels the congestion in his chest, too, and he knows it’s only a matter of time before he starts coughing.  

He knows he needs medicine, because he’s freezing and he knows he has a fever, but his apartment is barren in terms of medication.  Phichit had come down with a particularly nasty bug last month and used up their supply. It had briefly crossed their minds to restock, but life got busy and they forgot.

Yuuri regrets that decision now, because he’s in need of some, and there’s no one he can text to pick some up for him.  Phichit is in classes and at work all day and doesn’t keep his phone on him. Victor is teaching until seven and hardly has time to eat lunch, Yuuri isn’t about to make Victor bring him medicine when he should be worrying about himself.  Tuesdays always exhaust Victor.  

Yuuri drags himself out of bed, dresses himself as warmly as possible, and sets out for the store.  He doesn’t trust himself to drive, and it’s only a ten minute walk from his apartment, so he pulls his jacket tightly around himself.

The walk was a mistake.  By the time he finally gets to the store, he’s feeling much, much worse. His fever is climbing - he can tell because he’s in the juice aisle, staring blankly at the cartons of orange juice. He can’t remember what he’s doing there, or what he’s staring at, and it takes ten minutes for him to snap out of it and grab a carton. He puts it in the cart, and starts pushing it towards the soup aisle.  He’s so tired and weak, that he’s leaning with all his weight on the handles and trudges forward.   

Yuuri manages to get the soup without incidence, and then walks down the cold and flu aisle slowly.  He’s been muffling coughs and sneezes into his scarf, and he has to stop to take a break when his vision starts swimming.

He makes it back to his apartment close to noon.  He manages to put everything away, and then drops to his knees and lies on the ground.  

He’s still freezing, but he can feel himself sweating through his clothes.  His face feels like it’s on fire, and pressing it to the cool tile floor feels like a godsend.  It’s unsanitary, yes, but he already feels like he’s on death’s doorstep so he doesn’t care.  

*

He only makes it through one class before he feels like he’s on the verge of passing out and decides to just go home and sleep. He doesn’t like missing class, but right now he feels like he’s going to drop if he doesn’t.

Yuuri’s phone buzzes with a text message, and he doesn’t check it until he collapses into bed, fully clothed, and drags his blanket over him.  

‘I’m canceling my last class to give them more time for their papers, and also because I wanted to see you. When do you get out? Want to meet for dinner? I miss you :(’ Victor’s text reads.  It takes a few minutes for Yuuri to decipher the text, because his vision is swimming and dancing, and his eyes are watering because of how hard he’s coughing.  

‘Cant;sory’ Yuuri types out, blinking heavily as he stares at his phone. Even his fingers feel heavy, and it’s taking too much effort to remember how words are spelled. ‘ski’ppedc lasse s/: tired sor;ry.f’

His phone rings a few moments later.

“‘Lo?” He croaks.

“Are you alright? It’s not like you to…uh…skip classes? Sorry, I had trouble reading your texts.”

Yuuri sniffles, head throbbing.  He knows Victor doesn’t like when he skips classes, and then guilt is gnawing at the pit of his stomach, and his eyes are filling with tears.  “I’mb sorry for skippindg…I’mb sorry, I tried to go…dond’t be mbad.”

“I’m not mad, lyubov moya,” Victor says softly, “you aren’t sounding well, are you sick?”

“I’mb sorry,” Yuuri whimpers.

“I’m coming over,” Victor decides, “is your apartment unlocked?”

“Yeah.”

Victor makes it to Yuuri’s apartment quickly. He lets himself in and then creeps into Yuuri’s room quietly. Yuuri’s buried underneath the covers, his hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat from the fever. He’s pale - too pale for Victor’s liking - and his cheeks are flushed. Yuuri’s snoring slightly, which lets Victor know just how congested he is. Victor brushes Yuuri’s bangs out of his face.

“Victor?” He croaks, squinting at his boyfriend.

“Sorry for waking you. How are you feeling, lapochka?” Victor asks gently.

Yuuri goes into a coughing fit, his chest is aching and burning, and he feel miserable.  “Beend better.”

“How long have you been sick? You were fine yesterday.”

“Woke up sick…went to the store…s’a bad idea.”

“You went to the store when you were sick? Yuuri,” Victor scolds, shooting him a disapproving look.

“Mb’sorry.”

Victor sighs, “Well at least you didn’t go to your classes.”

“I mbade it through onde.”

Victor adjusts his glasses and then presses a kiss to Yuuri’s burning forehead. “I’m going to get you some medicine, and then I’m going to grab some clothes from my apartment and I’ll be back.”

Yuuri grips the hem of his sweater, “you’re leavindg?”

“Not for long, I promise.  I just need to grab some clothes so I can stay and take care of you.”

*

When Victor returns to Yuuri’s apartment, Yuuri is fast asleep.  

The door opens a few moments later, and Phichit prances through.  He drops his bag and keys onto the floor before noticing Victor.  

“Professor Nikiforov!” He yelps.  

Victor grins, “Phichit, how many times have I told you to call me Victor?”

“Victor.  Right.  Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you here.  Where’s Yuuri?”

“My poor Yuuri is sick,” Victor frowns, “it’s tragic…he’s asleep.”

“Aw man…I thought he was sounding congested last night.”

“He was?”

“Yeah, he kept sniffling.”

“He seemed fine to me.”

Had Yuuri been sick and he hadn’t noticed? What kind of boyfriend was he?

“It wasn’t until right before he went to bed, don’t look so worried.”

Yuuri’s door opened, and both Victor and Phichit turned to see Yuuri shuffle out.

He swayed on his feet, and Victor pulled him into a hug,  “what are you doing up, Yuuri? You should be in bed.”

Yuuri nuzzled into Victor, sniffling, “I woke up.”

“I can see that.”

Yuuri tensed, and then pulled away from Victor and aimed a string of sneezes towards the floor.  Victor put a hand on his back, and then guided him towards the couch.

“He wasn’t kidding when he said you were sick,” Phichit frowned.

“I’mb finde.”

“You have a fever.  You sound awful, you’re not ‘fine’,” Victor says,  “now, what do you need? Would you like a blanket?”

Yuuri nods, pressing his face into the cushions.

Victor disappears into Yuuri’s room and reappears a few moments later with a blanket and pillow. After he gets Yuuri situated, Victor stands over him, one hand on his own forehead and the other on Yuuri’s.

He frowns, not quite able to gauge his fever. He turns to Yuuri’s roommate. “Phichit, come here.”

“Yeah?” As soon as Phichit is standing next to Victor, Victor takes the hand off his own forehead and puts it on Phichit’s. “Uh? Wh-what are you doing?”

Victor gasps, both hands dropping to his sides. He knows Yuuri’s running a fever, but he wasn’t able to tell just how bad until he has Phichit for comparison.

“Yuuri! You’re burning up.”

“Mby face is ond fire…everywhere else is cold,” he moans, coughing miserably.

Victor grimaces and puts a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder, “that doesn’t sound good.”

“I’ll go find the thermometer,” Phichit says.

“Victor, I dond’t feel well.”

“I know, lyubov moya, I know,” Victor says softly, frowning at how much Yuuri is trembling beneath his hand.

“Here,” Phichit says, handing Victor the thermometer.

Yuuri’s fading fast. He feels lightheaded and dizzy, and the lights are just aggravating his already awful headache. His throat feels as if a cat had used it as a scratching post, it hurts to swallow and it feels thick and swollen.

He lets out an involuntary moan of pain, and Victor looks down at him.

“Do your ears hurt?” He didn’t think that he put the thermometer in too roughly.

“Ndo…head…” Yuuri whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut.

“You have an almost one hundred and three degree fever. Your head will hurt less if we can get it down.”

“S’too bright.”

“Oh. Do you have a migraine?”

“Mbaybe…it just hurts.”

“My poor Yuuri,” Victor frowns. He flips off the lights, and looks over to where Yuuri is lying, “don’t worry, you’ll feel better soon.

*

“V-Victor,” Yuuri croaks later that night. He turns his head and presses his face into Victor’s thigh with a moan.

“Yes, lyubov moya? Do you need something?” Victor asks, rubbing Yuuri’s back.

“I don’t f-feel so good.”

Victor frowns, “what doesn’t feel good?”

“Stomach,” Yuuri moans, curling into a ball as his stomach churns.  

“Are you going to be sick?”

I don’t know.”

“Alright, well just breathe, yeah?” Victor soothes, running his fingers up and down Yuuri’s back. Yuuri hums in contentment, eyelids sliding shut.  “Just sleep.  You’ll feel better once you get some sleep.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Lapochka.”  

[axon-a]

So don't get me wrong, I love Wildflowers, but it seems you kinda dislike Victor? Just wondering why that is cause he's kinda my fave lol

Hi nonnie!

*

So the thing with Yuri on Ice is that things seem to fall into place pretty easily. Kubo is an amazing storyboarder and doesn’t let it happen unrealistically, but in placing the spotlight on Katsuki Yuuri she left a lot of holes regarding Victor’s personality and how that defines his interactions and subsequent relationship with Yuuri.

*

I’ve added a read more because this is over a thousand words long, but if you want a breakdown of Victor’s flaws, feel free to click on!

Let me preface this by saying I don’t hate Victor at all! However as a former figure skater, a writer, and someone who has taken a lot of psychology classes, I think that the fandom has taken the beauty of a gay relationship and been blinded by its uncharacteristically successful delivery. Therefore pushing away a LOT of the faults and flaws that pop up when the Victuuri relationship is analyzed. And I like to take those flaws and emphasize them where others won’t!

*

Victor is manipulative. This isn’t a “bad” word as words have no real morals, and I don’t want it to be seen as such. But evidence proves that he is. We see it in his disapproval of Yuuri ignoring Kenjirou, and he manipulates him into exhibiting what Victor wants to see by taking away what Yuuri so desperately needs - focus, attention, support. What would have happened if Yuuri hadn’t understood? He would have been devastated by the fact that he couldn’t figure out why Victor was suddenly so distant, so disapproving, and during his first real competition with Victor as his coach at that. This behavior is displayed frequently throughout the show, with Victor either baiting Yuuri into doing things with promises of further affection, or denying certain desires because Yuuri has not amounted to what Victor wanted (i.e. the kissing of the medal, rewarding his performance with a kiss in China). Now like I said, Victor having this characteristic should not make everyone label it as “bad” immediately. Yes, it’s a flaw. Yes, it’s problematic in a lot of circumstances. But the case can be argued that Yuuri responds well to this kind of treatment, and that it helps him in his success as a skater. However off the ice, I can easily see this becoming a very big problem in a relationship. Manipulation in general, no matter how harmless or how Victor might be doing it because he believes it will help Yuuri, is not a good trait to bring into a relationship.

*

Victor is also big on interaction with his fanbase and his sponsors. He thrives on attention - he only wants to surprise the audience, but what’s the further purpose beyond that? WHY does he want to keep surprising them? It could be a mix of wanting to be individual/stand out and be the best (egocentrism), a sense of superiority (having a one-up over the entire audience by being able to surprise them consistently, knowing something they don’t), and his desperate desire/need to remain top of the competition (in which the adoration of the audience is a big factor). Now we see that Victor is a lot more down to earth than Yuuri idolized him to be built up as in his head, but these traits still exist at least on a minimum competitive level. I worry that his crash-and-burn at the end of his career will not be pretty. Let me tell you, descending from that high of a position is never an easy feat. Especially because Victor had the world in his palm since he was a CHILD. That kind of egoism does not dissipate. And again - these aren’t necessarily traits that make him “evil”, but they EXIST! And they deserve to be recognized, played with, and encountered by other characters in the show!

*

I’m a Victuuri shipper (of course I am!) so I love the relationship between our boys and I always will. But like I said - just because you like a character or a pair doesn’t mean they’re perfect, and we should strive to embrace the flaws we see in them because they’re supposed to be human and should be portrayed as such. One of the greatest pieces of wisdom I ever heard was this: “Whether it be music, man, or all of media, whatever you love most should be criticized just as much.” Why? Because it creates room for growth! It makes you have a keener eye, raises your standards, which then makes YOU raise your own standards for yourself. It’s why we love our husbands/wives/partners/friends, but push them to be better.

*

This has less to do with Victor’s personality itself and more to do with the relationship dynamic between him and Yuuri, but I’ll bring my point back around soon enough.

*

Yuuri is fixated on Victor, and his idol worship may have been diminished by facing Victor’s flaws (as is pointed out in canon through Yuuri’s monologues) it’s still very much so in existence. That’s not a healthy thing to have, in my opinion. And Victor holding Yuuri’s silver over his head like an axe is very foreboding for someone like me, because Yuuri made great strides in canon but he is still very much so afflicted by his mental health issues. They are not erased by love, or relationships, and I have little doubt that Yuuri will soon hit a roadblock of terror where his doubt regarding his placement in Barcelona. Yuuri also has very little in the way of supportive friends (his family is another subject that I’d love to ramble on about, but I always ramble, so I digress) and is very VERY reliant upon Victor for most of his emotional, romantic, and even essential needs. That’s cute and romantic, on the surface, but very “not” when you go deeper. Independence and self-realization are important in a relationship, and I was very bothered by Yuuri’s mirror-effect of Victor and how he leans on him so heavily as a source of pride, inspiration, and support all in one. Though he has firmer support from others in his life, he suctions to Victor, and does not take the advice or compliments from people who have known Yuuri eons longer and know him (though debatable because of their attachment in the show) a lot better than Victor does.

*

All in all, to summarize what a MONSTROSITY this has become, I don’t hate Victor. Not in the least! But Victor is HUMAN, he is VERY flawed, and because people like to turn a blind eye to it I in turn contrast that by making it apparent an incapable of being ignored.

[serenfire]

regrets of a tour guide | victuuri fic

Yuuri is the first to recover, scrambling up and lending the man a hand. “I’m so sorry!” he gushes. “Are you okay?”

The hood of the man’s jacket is thrown off, and he takes Yuuri’s hand gratefully, his shoulder-length silver hair fluttering like a dream. “I’m fine,” he assures, and Yuuri may have gotten a concussion, because he swears the man looks just like–

“Oh my god, Victor,” the short blond kid next to him doubles over laughing. “That was just like a rom-com! I can’t believe you actually caught the pig as he fell.”

–Victor Nikiforov.

(In which Yuuri falls into Victor’s arms and can’t seem to get untangled, featuring the Phichit! on Ice show and Yurio’s disapproving frown.)

ao3 link

part i | part ii | part iii | part iv | part v | part vi | part vii | part viii

On Love: Agape comes on over the surround speakers, and the skaters take their positions on the ice, poised and ready to explode into a flurry of movement. As soon as the bass line starts, Yuuri is no longer a statue for the audience to observe, but one with the rest of the skaters, composed of friends and acquaintances and understudies he’s never met before, but he is moving and in line with the rest of them, fluid and a part of this endeavor bigger than himself.

Yuuri moves and stretches with the army of skaters, filling the rink with their multicolored coats held on by safety pins and hope, spotlights shining over the crowd in strobe. Yuuri breathes in tandem with the rest of them, arching his back and completing the step sequence, matching footstep for footstep. His sole attention is on Victor, only on Victor, who is wearing a denim jumpsuit and his hair is in a braid bun that Yuuri himself tied this morning while lounging in bed.

Victor had spent the night at Yuuri’s apartment last night, as well as the nights before, and now everything in Yuuri’s apartment smells like the man’s cologne, and scrunchies are tucked behind the bed and deep in cabinets. Yuuri doesn’t want to give them back to Victor because that would be admitting aloud that this isn’t a relationship built to last. There’s one week before Opening Night, and one week and one day before Victor and Yurio fly back to Russia to continue their training, one week before Yuuri is left behind. Neither of them have talked about it.

Victor is nodding his head to the music, and as Yuuri dances up to the barrier he’s leaning on, Victor leans out and touches Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri bats his hand off, scowling at him.

Victor just winks.

Insufferable man. Yuuri shakes his head, continuing with the song. The seemingly inconspicuous Agape song ends in an explosion of balloons into the crowd, because Phichit wanted to keep the young children in the crowd interested, and because this is Tech Week, this is the first time Yuuri sees the spectacle live.

The dancers stop in their final poses, Yuuri crossing his arms and looking smugly at the audience, towards the middle of the rink. From his peripheral vision, hundreds of multicolored balloons drift from the back of the rink towards the front of it, where Victor and Yurio stand along with a few members of the press, preparing their initial remarks on the show.

Phichit’s voice squeaks over the loudspeaker. “Okay, cut, cut!” he says, and the dying notes of the song cut out. He’s standing in front of the skaters, holding a megaphone to his mouth. “Everyone, that was amazing, but the balloons are just not working. Is there a way to get a giant fan in the back to blow the balloons forward? Or just release them from the front?”

His main construction consultant looks at her clipboard and chews on a pen. “Fans would work,” she says to him.

“Right. Let’s have them by tomorrow.” Phichit claps his hands at the skaters. “Next song!”

He’s a born leader, Yuuri thinks as they meld seamlessly into the next song of their performance. All together, the Phichit! On Ice show should take an hour and a half to complete, with an album full of songs fused together and some live demonstrations scattered throughout the program to keep it lively and different. Yuuri is on the ice for almost the entire time.

When noon comes around after hours of grueling work--still less intense than preparing for the Grand Prix last year, though--Yuuri is ready to get some cheap noodles and chat with his parents for his lunch break. He steps out of the barrier, taking his blades off, and walks towards the locker room to get a towel.

Victor greets him before he makes it there. “Very good,” Victor comments, an iced latte in his hand. Wearing his denim jumpsuit and the knitted handmade scarf he apparently got from his sister, he looks like a hipster, and Yuuri definitely tells him so.

“I’m trying to feel like I’m home,” Victor tells him. “However, I’m not wearing even a single jacket, so it didn’t work.”

Yuuri feels a pang go through his heart. Of course Victor is homesick, having been away from Russia for this long--and in the suffocating perpetually-summer Thai air, no less. Nothing Yuuri has to offer: this rink at the mall or his one room apartment could be anything like what Victor must have waiting for him. Victor has eight days before he’s travelling back to the comforts of home, where it will be as cold as Victor tries to make it inside his own hotel room, degrees colder than Yuuri can bear. Yuuri is used to wrapping himself up in all the comforters on the big bed and refusing to share with the Russian.

“Are you okay?” Victor asks him. “You look a little pale. Maybe you need to come back with me and get some good St Petersburg air.”

Yuuri looks away. He knows Victor meant it as a joke, but being with Victor and having Victor trust him enough and care enough to take Yuuri with him would be a dream come true. It would be better than amazing. “I’m sorry; I’m booked in this show for ten months,” Yuuri shrugs. “Maybe after that.”

Victor nods. “Maybe then,” he echoes.

“Anyways, what did you want to say to me?”

“Oh!” Victor puffs up to his full height. “As your coach, I have to commend you on your step sequence. Even confronted by distraction--me--you performed admirably, and you will have to deal with more than that in front of crying toddlers.”

“Our target audience is not crying toddlers.”

“Nonetheless, this is an amazing show, and so you will have crying toddlers, and you must get used to their snotty hands reaching out and touching you--” Victor sneaks his hand onto the small of Yuuri’s back.

Yuuri shrieks and bats his hand off. “Don’t do that, you scared me!”

“What? Oh, it’s only me, the poor and pitiful ghost of a crying toddler!” Victor wheedles, scrunching his face up into a caricature of lewdness and reaching for Yuuri with wiggling fingers. “Come to me, oh wonderful dancer--”

“Ugh. I will if you act like yourself,” Yuuri says, and in a heartbeat Victor is back to himself.

“I’m back,” Victor announces.

Yuuri lightly punches him in the shoulder. “Lunch?” he says.

Victor winks. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

*

When they return from lunch, hand in hand, Phichit is hanging out by the soda vending machine with someone else that Yuuri doesn’t recognize. As Yuuri watches Phichit gesture to something (probably a meme) on his phone, the other man huffs a laugh and pulls a strand of hair out of his eyes. He’s a little taller than Phichit, leaning over him and almost touching.

Victor scrunches his eyes. “Is that--Guang Hong?”

The man looks up from the meme. He blinks. “Victor?” he drawls, and then rushes over to Victor to envelop him in a bear hug. “Out of literally anywhere in the world, I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Oi!” Phichit says, looking up and glowering at Guang Hong. “Out of anywhere in the world? This is a prestigious skating experience, Guang Hong. Of course he’d be here and not--not--” Phichit waves at Victor to finish the sentence.

“Antarctica,” Victor finishes.

“No, but Antarctica would have some nice ice to skate on, so it’s possible he would be there,” Guang Hong says. “And--hey, it’s the man of the hour. Katsuki Yuuri!”

Yuuri is suddenly in the spotlight, focused on by all three men, of which two have recently been exchanging memes. He makes sure the noodles he had for lunch stay down, and Victor’s hand on his back, warming and encouraging him, stabilizes him.

“Hi,” he says, and doesn’t know how to greet Guang Hong. Should he bow? The man’s ease with English makes it difficult to determine his nationality. He could be Korean, or Mongolian, or--

Guang Hong extends his hand for Yuuri to shake, and Yuuri grabs it, his cold sweat evaporating.

“I watched your performance last year,” Guang Hong tells him, “with Phichit.”

“You were together in Detroit?” Yuuri asks. “How have I never met you?”

“Oh, no, he wasn’t in Detroit,” Phichit explains. “Canada. He knows JJ.”

Yuuri scratches his head. “JJ...now where have I heard that name before?”

“It’s on the only shirt Yurio deigns to wear,” Victor supplies. “You’re really out of the skating loop now that you’re not training for Nationals.”

“Right, JJ! He’s dating Otabek. And is Canadian.” Yuuri nods. What a great first impression he’s making on Guang Hong. It’s really wonderful, how put together he is.

“We’ve been Internet friends since Four Continents a few years ago, and bonded when he came down to Detroit last year.”

“So he’s...an internet friend.” Yuuri looks Guang Hong up and down to tell him wordlessly that if he messes with Phichit, Yuuri will fuck him up.

Guang Hong nods.

Phichit says, “I asked Guang Hong to come here because you’re getting Victor all to yourself after you started dating, and I was feeling left out; ergo, Guang Hong.”

“Dating?” Yuuri mutters. “We’re not--um, we’re not--” He taps Victor to help him out.

Victor says smoothly, “We’re not dating.”

Phichit frowns. “I’m pretty sure Yuuri has drunk-texted me a few times about the sex you’re having.”

“Well,” Victor amends, “it’s not serious.”

“Right,” Yuuri says. “And I drunk texted you?”

“Yeah,” Phichit says. “Quite a few times. Do you not remember?”

“No,” Yuuri muses. “Guess I’m a forgetful drunk.”

Victor looks at him. “So do you not remember doing body shots a few days ago?”

Yuuri quickly looks around the room. Aside from these men lounging around the vending machine, no one can hear them, but still. Propriety. “Shh!” He fumbles with his next words. “And--we did what?”

Victor sighs. “Body shots. It was amazing. I guess we’ll just have to do them again sober.”

“I guess,” Yuuri says.

Phichit says with forced cheer, “Oookay, well, back to a family-friendly topic of conversation we can all participate in!”

Everyone lapses into silence.

“Guess the only thing we talk about is sex, now,” laments Yuuri wryly, and he and Victor fistbump in unison. It’s like they’re completely in sync, and if only he and Victor were actually dating, complete with declarations of love and professions to stay with each other forever. But Victor is leaving, and he’s no more permanently a fixture in Yuuri’s life than Guang Hong.

“Ew,” Phichit crumples his nose. “Did I mention I was completely grossed out by the drunk texting? I’m mentioning it now. Never do it again.”

Yuuri nods, absolutely mortified.

“Right.” Phichit looks at his phone again. “I guess lunch break is over now. All skaters, back to your positions!”

So Yuuri takes his position back on the ice with the other skaters, and notes that Victor and Guang Hong both watch from the sidelines, leaning on the barrier next to each other.

*

The mall at six in the afternoon is hectic, and it seems everyone from south Bangkok is here, squeezing between Yuuri and Victor and Yurio, armed with shopping bags and chattering with their friends, more well-dressed than Yuuri would ever hope to be.

Victor slings his arm around Yuuri’s freshly-showered shoulder as they traverse the mall. “You know, I’ve never really been to the lower levels,” he comments. “I’ve always wanted to stay within seeing distance of you.”

“Aw,” Yuuri says, leaning into the touch. Thai culture presumes that all touches in public, including holding hands or slinging arms around shoulders, happen between lovers, and friends would never touch each other in such a simple and intimate way as Victor is touching Yuuri now.

Yuuri fumbles with his glasses so they won’t fog up. He is pretty sure Victor might actually know this fact, and is just trying to prove to everyone around him that they are together, and were together in a more literal sense ten minutes ago in the locker room showers.

“So, how about we explore the ground floor?” Victor asks. “I’m sure there’s something there that would appeal to all of us, the child included.”

Yurio walks behind them, headphones on and keeping a scowl under control. Apparently he’s also learned some important tidbits of Thai culture, being that showing intense emotion means that someone is immature.

Yuuri had overheard Otabek telling Yurio so during the last song of the performance, when Yuuri made his triple axel and only overshot it a little, landing with two skates instead of one. Progress.

Otabek was drinking his third Oishi of the afternoon, still yawning. Yuuri knew it was his third because Phichit made such a commotion over the first two, concerned that his friend wasn’t getting enough sleep and he needed to make sure to get nine hours a sleep a night until Opening Night.

Otabek had just nodded and reminded Phichit that he was part of a long-distance relationship, and in order to spend time with his boyfriend, he needs to stay up until two in the morning.

It was at that moment that Yurio vocally made his appearance at the sound booth, loudly proclaiming that maybe it would be better if Otabek didn’t have a long-distance boyfriend, and that he should break up and be better off in every way.

Otabek just said, calm as ever, “That’s not very mature of you.”

Yurio had snapped his mouth shut like it was raining fire and turned beet-red. “Um,” he managed.

“Here, if you want to get a point across and have people respect and pay attention to your opinion, you say it in a serene and unemotional manner.”

“Right.” Yurio screwed up his face and put all his adolescent effort into reigning in his emotions. From the back of the skaters, Yuuri was fascinated by the energy he spent following Otabek’s will, obsessing over him like Yuuri warned him not to. “Okay. Otabek, unemotionally and detached, I think that you should break up with JJ. He’s bad for you.”

Otabek gave him a thumbs-up. “Good first try. Now, try your point again, and scowl less.”

Yurio pasted a smile on his face and said through gritted teeth, “Otabek, dump JJ.”

“Hmm,” Otabek nodded. “I would give that try a seven out of ten. Phichit?”

Phichit had sparkles in his eyes, one eyebrow raised. “I would say ten out of ten. You would make a great statue, how unemotional you are, Yurio.”

As Yuuri watched, Phichit and Yurio fistbumped behind Otabek’s back as the man shook his head and returned to his job.

Now, Yurio walks behind his father figure and his father’s fling, and Yuuri can see Otabek’s words rolling around in his head. He can’t afford to show emotion if he wants to win Otabek’s approval, and winning Otabek’s approval means becoming better friends, but that will never lead to what Yurio wants.

Yuuri remembers the day Yurio calmed him down from the panic attack and wants to return the favor. So he ducks out from under Victor’s arm and approaches the boy--he’s still three years from becoming an adult, barely old enough to qualify for the Senior competition he’s planning on winning--and says, “Yurio, I know you’re disappointed. I know you’re struggling with your feelings. What would calm you down?”

Yurio doesn’t seem like he’s heard Yuuri, looking right past him and onto the back of Victor’s head. “If--fuck, if Victor spent at least as much time with me as he does with you! I know I can’t do anything with Otabek, I know he doesn’t want me, I’m a child. I get it! But Victor promised to coach me! He took a break from his own career to teach me, and the last few months have been amazing. I’ve learned so much! But then he decides to come here, out of the blue, just because of a fucking Snapchat Phichit sent him of your performance, and now he won’t even give me the time of day!”

Victor has stopped walking, gazing at Yurio with open astonishment. Other people are also gawking at Yurio’s open display of rage, which may have been acceptable in Russia for a child to do, but here is scandalous.

Yurio’s lower lip trembles, and his eyes dart at everyone looking at him. He was used to being the center of attention, and then had to learn to be a part of the background, and to be suddenly the focus of everyone’s concern and astonishment is too much for a teenager to bear.

Yurio turns around and walks away, leaving Yuuri and Victor behind.

Yuuri turns back to Victor. “Did you know?” he whispers.

Victor, an expert at hiding his emotions under a smile, can’t even seem to muster that. He shakes his head. “I didn’t,” he says, sounding absolutely gutted. “I--I just thought he was infatuated with Otabek. I didn’t think it was me. I need to go talk to him.”

“No,” Yuuri says, grasping Victor’s hand.

Victor looks at him with an expression like he doesn’t know who Yuuri is anymore.

“No, that’s not what I meant--he’s a teenager who just expressed his hidden emotions in front of you, and you’re the closest thing to a father figure he’s got. When you were a teenager, did you want your parents to come after you in a scene like that?”

“Well, of course, all I wanted was for them to apologize and tell me my emotions were valid,” Victor says. “And I want to do that for Yurio.”

“But right away?” Yuuri prods. “I know your time as a teenager was when dinosaurs roamed the earth, while mine was just a few years ago, but I distinctly remember wanting to be by myself for a while to calm down.”

“Oh,” Victor nods. “You’re suggesting we give him time.”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

Victor nods several times. By this time, the crowd has lost interest in the screaming world-class skater and moved on to more interesting things, and they are left standing alone in the middle of the mall, jostled by all sides.

“I’ll give him half an hour,” Victor says, “long enough for us to eat. And then I’m confronting him and try to--fuck, give him more time. I didn’t know he actually thought of me as someone to spend time with; you know, the quips about being his father were just jokes.”

“I know,” Yuuri says. “But he internalized it, and he desperately wants your approval and time. So are you going to spend time with your son even while coaching me, or not?”

“Definitely,” Victor says. “He’s a little shit, but he’s my little shit, you know?”

“Oh, I know,” Yuuri nods sagely. “And--hey, you came here on a whim because you saw a Snapchat of Phichit’s? That doesn’t sound like you.” He hooks his arm in Victor’s again.

Victor huffs a laugh. “Oh, that. Phichit recorded your duet dance, especially the part where you undershot your jumps and fell, and as soon as I saw you, I knew I had to come here.”

“That’s not creepy at all.” Yuuri has a smile on his face. Victor came all the way to Thailand for him. If only he could stay because of him, too.

“Not at all,” Victor assures.

*

“Okay,” Victor says, assuming Phichit’s regular position on the ice. “You have one week before you have to do this in front of hundreds of people. Go.”

Yuuri puts on his headphones with the final pair skating song playing, and he and Victor start their songs at the same time, as if it was playing for them both to hear. But Otabek has gone home an hour ago and the rink is dark, sweat is soaking into Yuuri’s skin from a hard day of practice that’s not done yet, and Victor seems as good as new.

He and Victor circle each other. The Russian man is much taller than Phichit, but Yuuri doesn’t falter on his step sequence as he tries to portray the type of friendship he would with Phichit. But Victor’s hand slides around his waist, and Yuuri shivers, and Victor leans in so close their lips could almost touch, and Yuuri stumbles.

Victor says, “I’m trying to be Phichit here, you know. Stop acting like you want to make out with me.”

“I know. I’m trying,” Yuuri mumbles. “But you’re doing it on purpose.”

But he’s Victor; he’s nothing like Phichit. His movements are more intentional but less graceful, used to drawing the thousands of eyes in the audience to him alone, giving them the best show they’ve ever seen, but not used to sharing the rink with someone else, balancing the dynamic out to give the other partner their chance in the limelight.

And Victor is only going to stay the one more week until Opening Day. After next week, Yuuri’s apartment won’t smell like his cologne any longer, and he won’t hear Victor snoring next to him while asleep, and he won’t be able to talk about nothing and everything in between at all hours of the morning, and there will be an emptiness to him every time he skates this song with Phichit.

“Pay attention,” Victor chides as Yuuri misses a step and tries to make up for it, understepping and getting swatted by Victor.

“I’m trying,” Yuuri says. But Victor will soon be gone and Yuuri will be alone again, and Victor doesn’t owe him anything. Yuuri doesn’t want to inconvenience Victor by being one of those people who hang onto his every word and never let him go, because it’s not like this is a surprise. This is what was going to happen from the beginning.

But Yuuri is still too attached.

When Yuuri jumps, he lands correctly, and Victor claps for him, but after the song has ended and Victor is hugging him and murmuring dirty plans to him because he did so well, Yuuri just stares off into the corner of the empty rink and thinks that he’d rather this never happened to him, because he doesn’t know if he can deal with the fallout.