Warnings: implied/referenced domestic violence, emotional/psychological abuse, unhealthy relationships, misunderstandings
When Yurio catches sight of the bruise peeking just above the edge of Yuuri's low-slung sweatpants, only visible because Yuuri's stretching his arms so far above his head, he scoffs.
Yuuri, the dumb pig, only looks at him questioningly.
"If you and Victor are going to be so disgusting together, try to keep it private why don't you?" The words are harsh and have an edge of cruelness to them he doesn't really mean, but he's frustrated and annoyed and the pig doesn't deserve his sympathy. The small flinch he gets in response doesn't make him feel any better or worse. "Cover up your love bites if you don't want to give your mother a heart attack."
Yuuri blinks at him in surprise, looks down, and pales when he sees the bruise too. As if he didn't already know it was there. He's quick to pull his shirt down and his pants up, and he looks ridiculous trying to do both at the same time. "Oh! Uh, this- I didn't-"
"Save it, piggy," Yurio snaps, rolling his eyes. "As if I care what you two do in the dark."
He gets up to leave because he can't stand the faux-innocent look on his face, so he misses the way Yuuri's gaze shutters and closes behind him.
The third time she catches Victor absentmindedly touching Yuuri's hand or arm or knee, she can't help but smile at the beautiful picture they make. "Oh, you two are so wonderful together."
She says it quietly enough that the rest of the table doesn't hear, because she wants this to be a semi-private moment between her son...and her future son-in-law.
It's probably far too soon for that kind of talk, she admits to herself sheepishly. Victor's only been with them for a few months as he trains her son, and they probably don't realize depth of her words since there hasn't been an official announcement of their relationship status. They probably haven't reached that stage yet, in all honesty, but that's alright though, she knows they'll catch on soon enough.
She's never seen Yuuri act the way he does when Victor is by his side, perform the way he does when he knows Victor is in the crowd watching. The transformation is incredible and she attributes Yuuri's quieter, thoughtful moments to his newfound maturity now that he's in a serious, committed relationship, especially to an older man who is so cultured and world-wise.
It makes her heart ache a little to see her sweet little boy grow up, but she's proud of the man he's becoming.
Victor looks at her in surprise before his handsome face softens and he places his hand on top of Yuuri's deliberately. "Thank you, Hiroko-san. That means a lot to us, doesn't it Yuuri?"
Her son is sitting stock-still beside him, eyes on their hands laced together on the table, and she can tell Yuuri's holding his breath. Then he smiles, looks at her with tired eyes. Oh, poor dear must be exhausted from all the training and excitement. "It does, Mom. It means a lot."
"You know, Yuuri, your father and I were just like you and Victor in the beginning of our relationship…it was so romantic and perfect, and we just knew we were perfect for each other…" Hiroko gets lost in her memories as she tells the two stories of her and Toshiya's first date, which had been a complete disaster, and anniversaries that followed, leading up to a long and happy marriage.
Victor smiles and laughs and never takes his hand off Yuuri's, and Hiroko doesn't see Yuuri's other hand, balled into a white-knuckled fist on his lap.
"Oi, Yuuri! Why are you wearing long-sleeves? Can't you feel how hot it is in the studio?" Minako shakes her head. "I warned you the air conditioning is out and to wear short sleeves."
Yuuri smiles nervously like he always does when he knows he didn't do what he was supposed to. "Sorry, Minako-sensei. I guess I forgot."
He tugs self consciously on the edge of one sleeve and Minako can't really tell why until she sees a glimpse of discoloration hidden beneath. She's quick to grab his arm, ignoring his shout of surprise, and pulls up the sleeve to see a ring of purple-green around Yuuri's wrist. They look like fingerprints. "Yuuri, what happened? What did you do?"
Yuuri bites his lip, looks down and tugs on his arm. She doesn't give it back. "It's nothing, Sensei, I just slipped on the ice and Victor tried to catch me."
Minako frowns but she supposes it's happened before. He's never been the most graceful person unless he was in the middle of a performance, and with the way Victor trains him to near exhaustion, he's probably even less coordinated than usual at the end of their sessions. She shakes her head and sighs, patting him on the head, "You never learn, do you Yuuri? It's a good thing Victor's here to keep an eye on you. Who knows what kind of trouble you'd get into?"
Yuuri laughs, high and reedy. "Right. Lucky. That's true." He clears his throat. "Uh, can we get back to the lesson?"
Minako agrees because his next competition is coming up and he needs to be in perfect form to continue onto the Grand Prix, and she doesn't comment when he pulls his sleeves down again despite the sweat beading on his brow. He's probably just nervous about the competition, that's all.
"Yuuri~! You were great out there! All your jumps were perfect and your step sequence was so smooth!" Phichit sings cheerily, slapping a hand to Yuuri's back while the other skater is changing out of his skates.
He doesn't expect his friend to yelp and jump up, face crumpled in pain.
He snatches his hand back in horror. "Yuuri! I'm so sorry! What's wrong?" He doesn't let Yuuri try to wave him away with a pained smile and instead his gaze locks onto the patch of red growing on Yuuri's white t-shirt. He panics a little then because there's no one in the rink with them so late at night and they're both probably going to get yelled at for practicing without supervision in a different country, especially now that Yuuri's apparently hurt. "Yuuri, what-"
"It's fine Phichit, I swear," Yuuri reassures, smile looking less like a grimace now, but he's sweating and his skin is clammy to the touch.
Phichit puffs his cheeks out stubbornly and pushes on Yuuri's shoulders until the other skater is reluctantly sitting on the bench again. He ignores the dismay on Yuuri's face and tugs aside the loose collar of his friends shirt to see where the red is coming from, and his world tilts sideways at the sight of a bled-through bandage covering part of Yuuri's shoulder blade. It's bigger than he expected, about the size of the palm of his hand, with a bright red spot right in the middle.
How was he able to skate like this? Phichit quietly marvels, horrified.
"Yuuri!" he gasps. He doesn't touch it but the bleeding seems to have stopped, and for that he's grateful. He's never done well with blood. "Seriously, Yuuri, what happened? Did you fall or something? Are those cuts?" He can see the edges of four lines starting before it disappears beneath the gauze, but he can't see where they end when Yuuri shifts and pulls his collar back.
"It's nothing," Yuuri insists, a little more forcefully this time. "Makkachin just got a little excited while Victor and I were at the hot springs and jumped on my back. His nails haven't been clipped in a while so…"
Phichit winces sympathetically and can only imagine how much it must hurt if the wounds are still deep enough to bleed. "Well, at least you have Victor to patch you up, eh?"
Yuuri starts in surprise and Phichit's grin widens.
He wriggles his eyebrows suggestively, trying to lighten the mood. "Playing doctor, are you?"
Yuuri's reaction is delayed, staring at him with a blank expression. A few seconds pass in startling silence before Yuuri's face fills with the bright flush Phichit had been waiting for. "Look at the time! So late! It's probably dark out we- we should- uh, get back to the hotel now! Right now! Let's go!" Phichit laughs as they pack up and head out of the rink.
As an afterthought, he tosses a jacket to Yuuri and doesn't miss the confusion the action elicits. He smiles and nods to Yuuri's shoulder. "I know it's super hot right now, but you should probably cover up in case someone sees it, especially if your mom calls. Don't wanna worry anyone, right?"
Yuuri's smile fits strangely on his face and doesn't look at him when he agrees quietly, "No. We wouldn't want that."
He's not exactly surprised when Yuuri jumps at his approach. He hasn't been the most welcoming or supportive of Yuuri and Vitya's relationship - only because said relationship had been the cause and result of Vitya's irresponsibility and capriciousness - but he's not exactly a warm and fuzzy person either.
Still, Yuuri is like a jumpy rabbit at the best of times so Yakov attempts to make his presence less menacing than usual, especially since he has to be a substitute coach while Vitya is off doing whatever he feels like again. "Yuuri, are you ready?"
Yuuri blinks at him like he's not sure how to respond. Why wouldn't he be, though, when Yakov's own student is his opponent?
"Yakov-san, you've been married before, correct?"
This time, it's Yakov who's thrown off guard. Not even the snottiest and fearless of his students - Yurio and Vitya come to mind - would dare ask about his relationship to Lilia so candidly. His brows come together and he knows he doesn't look happy, but he never really looks happy. "That's correct."
Yuuri meets his gaze evenly, probably a first if Yakov thinks about it, and asks, "Is love supposed to hurt?"
What a strange question, but maybe it's in relation to his skating season theme. And Vitya.
Yakov snorts. "Of course it's supposed to hurt."
Loud arguments, differing opinions, imperfect humans - none of it is pretty when it clashes, and those feelings are only intensified in romantic relationships. But love, true love, gives as much as it gets, is as blissful as it is painful. Yakov doesn't say any of this though. He has to let the young ones figure it out on their own, no matter how lost they look now, and as much as he actually likes Yuuri, he's not really his student. Life must be Yuuri's teacher in this case.
Yuuri curls a hand around his throat in a loose hold, as if coming to grips with something, and Yakov is probably just imagining the faint lines he sees mirroring Yuuri's fingers.
Yuuri attempts a smile. "I see."
Barcelona is a beautiful city, but even the twinkling lights and ancient architecture pale in comparison to a happy couple, Chris muses.
Those two can't honestly expect the rest of them to believe those matching gold rings were just lucky charms. Chris is many things, but a fool is not one of them, and with such a momentous occasion comes great responsibility as Victor's self-proclaimed closest friend.
They're all walking back to the hotel, talking amiably amongst themselves even after Victor's indirect challenge, and Chris manages to get Yuuri to walk beside him in the back of the group as Victor is bombarded with questions from Phichit and Minako and at the same time harassed by Yurio. Now is as good a time is any, especially if Yuuri somehow comes through and manages to win a gold at the Grand Prix.
"Congratulations, Yuuri," he says, hands in his pockets, "I'm certain you and Victor will be very happy together."
Yuuri doesn't blush and stutter as he expects, only keeps his contemplative gaze forward. "You're certain, are you?" he returns evenly, not a single inflection in his tone.
Chris' brows draw together but he dismisses Yuuri's reticence as delayed shock from the sudden engagement and announcement. Even though it had been a long time coming, Yuuri probably hadn't intended for the rest of them to catch on so quickly, and Victor's openness about their relationship certainly hadn't helped.
"Yuuri, as Victor's good friend, I must ask you something."
Yuuri blinks out of his quiet mood and looks up at him curiously. "Oh?"
Chris nods and allows his expression to become serious because this is an important conversation he's been meaning to have with the younger man for a while. "Victor's worked hard for what he has and he's given up much to achieve his dreams. He's flirtatious, yes, and incredibly charismatic, but the people he drew never truly made him happy...until you."
He looks up ahead at his friend who's now smiling and laughing in a way that had started becoming brittle and fake in the last few years, and it's so good to see genuine delight in those ice-blue eyes again, to see life color Victor's cheeks once more. And maybe some of it is because he's a coach now and able to challenge himself again, but Chris knows without a shadow of a doubt that Yuuri is the catalyst, the cause of this wonderful change.
"Promise me you'll care of him and won't break his heart."
Yuuri is quiet at his side for a long moment, and that's fine. Chris wants his companion to think truly and deeply on his words, wants to hear a heartfelt answer because Victor doesn't deserve any less.
"You really care about Victor, don't you?" Yuuri asks instead, and Chris nearly misses a step in surprise.
There's no suspicion or caution or malice in the question, so Chris smiles to himself, looking up into the dark, open sky above. "I do. I looked up to him too, when I was younger, and he encouraged me to get better and skate on the same ice as him. We've been competing together for years." He shakes his head. "He really is something."
Another moment of silence, only broken by the laughter of their friends around them, before Yuuri promises, "I'll never break Victor's heart. How can I when he already has mine?"
Chris is only two years older than Yuuri but he can't help but sling an arm around his fellow skaters shoulders comfortingly, pretends he can't see the tears that cling to Yuuri's lashes, and knows deep down that Victor is in good hands.
Yuuri looks down at the ring on his finger, glinting beautifully in the street light, and he thinks he finally understands.
So this is love.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you thought!