A/N: Crossposted from my AO3 - archiveofourown dot org / works/912640

Yuri meant to congratulate Otabek on his performance, but in the haze of interviews and gnawing hunger that followed, by the time he had a chance to hunt him down, Yakov and Baranoskavaya were shuffling him back to his room to shower and rest. As if he could rest after taking first in the short program. He was exhausted after the grilling performance, but more wired than anything, knowing tomorrow would be the day he found if he had what it took to truly make a name for himself.

He did need a shower though, and he felt as refreshed as he did drained once he'd dressed in clean sweats, a tiger t-shirt, and his hoodie. He shoved his feet in a pair of slippers and snuck out, making his way up a floor to where Otabek's room was. He was still in a daze when he found himself knocking, the door opening on what looked like a freshly showered, shirtless Otabek a few moments later.

He couldn't help the faint smirk as Otabek straightened in surprise and stepped back to let him in. "Pozdravleniya," he said, stepping in and shivering at the heat he felt radiating from Otabek as he passed.

"You too," Otabek said, closing the door behind them.

He made his way to the bed and dropped down on the far side, snatching the remote and kicking his slippers off. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure what else to say, but he didn't want to go back to his own room. Not yet. He watched Otabek from the corner of his eye where he lingered on the other side of the bed. He continued flipping through the channels without really paying attention to what was playing, smirking to himself when he felt more than heard Otabek's sigh before he dropped down beside him.

Somehow that made him feel more anxious, even as it calmed him in another way entirely. Weird.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." It wasn't a lie, nothing was wrong. Everything was great, actually. Which in and of itself was... a bit terrifying. Things never went well for him, much less this perfectly. He wasn't sure if he was more worried about crapping out tomorrow after doing so well or... actually taking gold.

He glanced down as Otabek's fingers rested over his, stopping the almost frantic changing of channels. With a sigh, he let it go, raising an eyebrow as Otabek flipped to what looked like a procedural cop show. "You like these?"

"They help put me to sleep."

Yuri snorted and slumped back against the headboard, letting his head drop to rest on Otabek's warm shoulder a minute later. It was only then he noticed the fingers still curled loosely over his, letting out a slow breath before turning his hand over beneath Otabek's. Heat spread over his cheeks as their fingers tangled together. Why did that have to feel so nice?

"You're a jerk," he grumbled under his breath, tilting his face until the hoodie shifted enough his cheek was pressed against warm flesh. He wasn't nuzzling.

Otabek stiffened before shifting his shoulder. "What? Why?"

Yuri grumbled and bit at the offending shoulder.

"Why are you biting me?" Otabek asked, sounding far too amused for his own good. "Have you reverted to your original form of a feline?"

Yuri laughed and bit at him again. "Maybe."

"Just don't piss on my stuff."

"How else am I supposed to mark my territory?" Oh shit. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. What was he even thinking? He tensed when Otabek didn't respond after several agonizing heartbeats. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He started to pull away and went still as the fingers on his own tightened.

"Are you suggesting you want to claim me?"

Yuri tipped his head back, peeking up at Otabek through his hair. "Yeah, sure."

Otabek glanced down at him with a twitch of his lips that could have passed for a smile. Damn, he looked good like that. It wasn't fair. "So you want to piss on me to keep other cats away?"

Scratch that. He was a total jerk. "Don't use your human logic to try to understand me."

Otabek laughed, more of a quiet rumble in his chest than anything, and the sound made Yuri relax again. "Should I resort to offering catnip and ear rubs?"

"You're a riot." Yuri snorted and rubbed his cheek against Otabek's shoulder again. When exactly had the conversation turned? "How about a bet?" Would he ever learn to keep his mouth shut? Until Otabek came along, he'd never really even wanted to. People kept their distance if he bared his teeth at them, which meant he didn't have to try to play nice, except when he wanted to. Otabek made him want to all the time.

"Okay."

"When I win gold, I get to claim you." He was not copying Viktor and the little piggy. It wasn't like they were getting married. As if that would ever happen.

"What do I get when I win?"

Yuri hummed and flexed his fingers against Otabek's. "You can give me ear rubs." He smirked as Otabek laughed again, squeezing back against the added pressure on his fingers. "So it's a deal." He yawned as he pulled away, his fingers lingering in Otabek's until he'd shoved his slippers back on and stood. "See you on the platform tomorrow."

Otabek walked him to the door, leaning against it with more fondness than Yuri was really comfortable with, but it was still... kind of nice. "Nochi."

Yuri flicked his fingers as he yawned again. "Nochi." He returned to his room and flopped onto his stomach on the bed, falling asleep with a smile on his lips.

The next day was as much of a whirlwind as the previous, and as much as he intended to win because of the bet, seeing Viktor in that state and hearing about the little piggy's plans to retire only solidified his resolve. If Yuuri planned to retire, he'd make sure he didn't get the gold like he planned, not after using Viktor like that.

He hardly remembered skating, too caught up in trying to make sure he performed hard and well enough to make Katsuki Yuuri regret toying with Viktor. It didn't quite sink in that he'd won until he was standing in the middle and had the gold around his neck.

He'd won. By less than even half a point, but he'd won gold his first year, and shit, he'd won the bet on top of it.

He saw Otabek waiting for him as he was interviewed, felt the weight of his gaze until he was able to escape. The grin he'd been suppressing until then finally broke through as he stopped in front of Otabek. "So about that bet…"

Otabek raised an eyebrow, shifting his stuffed bear to one arm before reaching out to touch the gold medal around Yuri's neck. "I believe you won. How do you intend to claim me?" he asked with a touch of a smirk.

Yuri stepped closer, fisting a hand in the front of Otabek's shirt and tugging. He hissed as their foreheads smashed into each other, adjusting his angle to try again only to bump noses.

Otabek chuckled and pulled back, setting his bear on a nearby chair before cupping Yuri's face with both hands.

Yuri's face warmed as Otabek leaned in, slow and careful, and stopped when their lips were hardly an inch away. "Jerk," he muttered, before closing the distance. Considering how the two idiots looked at each other after the surprise kiss on the ice weeks ago, he almost expected some life-changing moment when their lips touched. He was more relieved than disappointed when it was... just a kiss.

Otabek's lips were warm and he tasted chapstick when he flicked his tongue out. He pressed closer, sliding a hand up to Otabek's hair with a soft hum. That wasn't so bad. It was better when Otabek stroked his thumbs against his cheeks. He broke the kiss with a sigh, leaning into Otabek's hands.

"Mmm, so I'm yours, but no dating, right?"

Yuri smirked and cracked his eyes open. "Right."

"You might have to renew your claim more often then... In case I forget."

"I didn't think you were the forgetful type."

Otabek shrugged, smirking as he slid his fingers to Yuri's ear and rubbed. "I didn't think you were really half-cat."

Yuri attempted a smart-ass response, but it came out more of a grumbled moan as his eyes closed. Shit, that felt good. "Jerk," he gasped, warmth flooding through him as Otabek chuckled. He let his head fall forward against Otabek's chest, humming as the magical fingers moved from his ear to his hair. "Will I see you again before the next competition?"

Otabek's fingers paused in making a mess of Yuri's hair. "I doubt it, though you have my number. Would you mind if I called?"

"You'd better call," Yuri growled, glancing up at Otabek through narrowed eyes.

"Or else you'll piss on all my clothes?"

"And in your skates."

Otabek narrowed his eyes and tugged at Yuri's hair. "That's a bit too far."

Yuri winced and leaned up to peck Otabek on the lips. "Just your clothes then."

"I'll call." Otabek smirked and traced his thumb along the shell of Yuri's ear. "You'd better answer."

"Or what?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Or I'll sic my bear on you."

Yuri snorted and pulled back. "I'm so scared," he said, eyeing the stuffed bear with a roll of his eyes. He glanced back up when Otabek merely watched him with an amused look. "You don't... actually have a bear...?"

Otabek pushed away from the wall and picked up the stuffed animal. "Come visit sometime and see for yourself." He leaned in, pressing a kiss to the top of Yuri's head. "See you at the banquet."

Right. The banquet. He smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets as he made plans to drag Otabek into dancing with him. He had no doubt someone would start another dance battle, sure it would become a tradition, and he wasn't about to break his winning streak now. Not when it was just getting started.