Yuuri is about to suffer from a heart attack when Victor finds him in his room, frantically searching for something.
"Yuuri! There you are!" Victor chimes, a mega-watt smile plastered on his face. Yuuri suddenly stops and tenses upon hearing Victor's voice.
"V-Victor!" he exclaims, hiding both hands behind his head.
"I've been waiting for you to come. The bed is so cold without you," Victor pouts. "What were you doing?"
"N-nothing!" Yuuri stammers and jumps to his feet, trying to clear the mess he'd made. Victor watches Yuuri with a blank expression, and then sighs.
"I could help, you know?"
"No!" The response comes too quickly, and Yuuri cringes. This will only make him more insistent.
"What kind of a fiancee would I be, if I didn't help you find-" Victor stops abruptly, staring at Yuuri's right hand. "Yuuri, where is your ring?"
"What?" Yuuri quickly hides his hand behind him, failing a reassuring smile. "It's, uh... I probably left it in the bathroom when I, uh..."
"You're looking for your ring! I have to help you!" Victor says enthusiastically. Yuuri's eyes go wide and he freezes with a nervous expression.
Huh?
"Now, let's see," Victor continues, ignoring Yuuri's predicament. "Hmm... It's probably in your room somewhere. Think, Yuuri. Where would you hide your most precious belonging?"
Yuuri's eyebrows twitch. "M-my.. what? Who said anything about hiding?"
Victor jumps on Yuuri's bed and lies on his back, staring at the ceiling. He rolls to his side and lets his hand swing from the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on the gold band around his ring finger. He sits up on his knees and pensively stares at the rug, and then heaves himself and swings under the bed. "A-ha!" Victor exclaims, his voice slightly muffled. "Found it!"
Yuuri escapes his trance and wedges in beside Victor. "Victor! What are you doing?" he says incredulously.
Victor holds out the black box in his hands triumphantly. It's tied with a purple ribbon, Yuuri notes. He knows this box too well.
"What do we have here, little katsudon?"
Yuuri goes pale. "Where'd you find that?
"Your porn stash?" Victor raises his eyebrows. Flustered, Yuuri stands up.
Victor slowly slides out, his fringe disheveled. He straightens himself, before slowly pulling the ribbon on the box.
"Victor, stop."
The finality in Yuuri's voice binds Victor. He looks up, quizzical.
"I-if you open it... you'll..." Yuuri stops, not sure how to continue. "I can't..." tears well in his eyes. He begins to shake violently and storms out of the room.
Victor stares after him, and then looks down at the box in his hands, his lips pressing into a thin line.
He'll be at Minako's place or the Ice Castle...
Victor thinks as he walks. He'd been told that the first time Yuuri disappeared. After their time in Japan, a new location had been added to the list of places Yuuri liked to go to cool off. A special location reserved only for Yuuri, Victor, and Makkachin: the beach by the Hasetsu Ocean.
There Yuuri sits, his bare feet digging into the sand. Victor would stand there and watch him, if not for the suffering he would prolong by lingering. Makkachin goes in first, of course, and licks Yuuri's face. Yuuri chuckles and pets him, without looking up at Victor, whose footsteps softly approach him. Victor plops down beside Yuuri, watching the ocean.
Quietly, he leaves the box in his hands on Yuuri's lap. Yuuri looks down at the box, and at the ribbon that remained half-untied, but no further.
"Your eyes sparkle when you're searching for something," Victor observes.
"You haven't opened it."
Victor smiles. "No, I haven't. You have nothing to be afraid of, Yuuri... especially not me."
Yuuri clenches his fists. "I'm an idiot," he says. "I couldn't even hold on to my most precious belonging."
Victor reaches into his pocket, and reveals a gleaming golden object inside his palm. "Is this your most precious belonging?" he asks. Yuuri doesn't respond.
His eyes fill with tears as he hugs Victor. Victor pulls back and takes Yuuri's cold hand into his. He rubs Yuuri's hand to get the blood flowing, and then slides the ring on his ring finger. "No matter what, I will always help you find what you think you've lost." Victor holds Yuuri's gaze.
Yuuri stands up, the black box still gripped firmly in his left hand, and Victor follows him to the edge of the ocean.
Makkachin trails behind them. The twirling purple ribbon catches his attention, and he bites on to it, pulling it off.
"Makkachin!" Victor exclaims, when a rough wind hits the box and all its contents are spilled out into the ocean. A collage of photos - posters - swirl around them as they watch agape. Years of effort, passion and love... Yuuri watches them blowing in the wind, his face turning red. Victor turns away from the posters and watches Yuuri instead. Yuuri is about to cry again, he knows, but before that can happen...
Victor pulls Yuuri into and embrace and kisses him tenderly. Yuuri melts into him.
"Never again," Victor tells him, parting for breath. "Never feel ashamed for something like this, Yuuri. I love you."