"Congratulations again on your gold," Chris said, smiling warmly, and he lifted his cup of saké. "How do you say it here, again?"
"Kanpai." He raised his own shallow cup and they clinked them together so that the porcelain made a pretty sound.
It was a warm winter, even for Hasetsu, warm enough to leave the window cracked open for fresh air and the heater on the kotatsu off. From downstairs came the sound of laughter, his dad's voice booming too loud after too much to drink, the triplets chattering high and excited about their goals for their social media empire next year.
It was nice, when he was down there earlier. It was nice, too, to be up here alone with Chris.
"To another year of success," Chris said. "I'm sure the second half of the season will be just as good as the first for you."
It didn't feel like a year of success back at the beginning, when his season ended early, and then when he went home without a coach or a clear idea of his next step. But it sure had looked up. A silver in China, a silver in Russia, a silver in the GPF, a gold at Nationals – and more than that.
When Chris had called him after the Worlds that Yuuri hadn't gone to and had hardly watched, and offered to coach him, Yuuri hadn't known what to say. Eventually, confused, he'd asked why, and Chris had said some nice things about Yuuri's skating and how he needed a break himself and how Yuuri had potential, and then: "And our dance at the banquet might have something to do with it, too."
"What?"
That was how Yuuri had found out about the fact that he'd gotten smashed after his failed GPF, challenged several people to dance battles (including Victor Nikiforov) and pole-danced with Chris in front of a bunch of his competitors and ISU officials. In his underwear.
Chris had clearly been mortified on his behalf once it was clear that no, Yuuri really, truly could not remember. He'd hung up to "let you think about it," but Yuuri was pretty sure that he was just trying to be nice.
And it had been horrifically embarrassing. But he did need a new coach. Chris offering was as rare a chance as he was going to get. He'd even offered to move to Hasetsu.
So he'd spent some time mustering his courage and called Chris back. A week later, Chris had shown up with his pretty, friendly cat in tow. Minako-sensei had been so thrilled.
It had been kind of tough at first. Chris flirted as naturally as he breathed, but he didn't push, and Yuuri got used to it. Chris wasn't experienced at being a coach, but he'd been willing to learn, and asked for feedback on what worked for Yuuri and what didn't, and they'd slowly figured it out together. Chris had suggested that Yuuri try a more seductive program, clearly still thinking of that pole-dance, and Yuuri hadn't exactly wanted to, at first, but he'd also wanted to prove that he was capable of it, that Chris hadn't flown out here for nothing.
He'd surprised himself at how easy the role became. He was pretty sure he'd surprised even Chris at how well it fit him. Chris had sent the video the triplets had filmed back to the choreographer, an ice dancer he knew in Switzerland, and showed him the positive email he'd received in reply.
When the first competition came around, Chris had noticed how nervous he was, being back on the ice in front of more than his close friends and Chris. He'd taken Yuuri aside, asked him if this happened often, asked him what he needed to settle himself. Found his earphones for him, found a quiet corridor where Yuuri could stretch the nerves out. Sent him off before his program with a squeeze of the hands and one of his softer smiles. "Seduce me like you always do, Yuuri," he'd said, half teasing, half serious.
So Yuuri went out and he did, setting a personal best.
And another one in China.
And another one in Russia, in front of not just Chris and a crowd but Victor himself, there to cheer on the other, younger Yuri. Yuuri wasn't sure who he wanted to impress more, at first; Victor was Victor and he wanted to share the ice with him so badly. But Chris was the one who had put in months of his time for Yuuri, pledged away a whole season to work with him, who had stood by him and told him he could do better and asked him to seduce him.
After the short program, completed as perfectly as he could have hoped, he couldn't take it anymore; that night, he'd pulled Chris into his hotel room, pushed him up against the door, and kissed him.
Not a very good kiss. But it had still made Chris – Chris, of all people – go wide-eyed and whisper his name. Judging by his reaction when Yuuri clumsily kissed him again, he'd always been more than a little serious under all that flirting, even though he'd let Yuuri work his way up to responding to it.
His free skate hadn't gone quite as well – his nerves still got the better of him – but Chris still welcomed him off the ice with a long hug. He hadn't let go of Yuuri the whole evening, except briefly when Victor came up to them afterwards, looking not for Chris but for Yuuri. (Thank goodness Yuuri had had all of those months to process the news about the banquet, because while he still couldn't remember it, Victor very clearly did.)
The three of them had gone for dinner together. On the way back to the hotel, Yuuri surreptitiously slid his hand into Chris's and received a warm squeeze in response, fingers threaded in his own, and his heart pounded almost as hard as it did when he'd been skating earlier that day.
Yuuri had started slipping into Chris's bed three or four nights a week. Chris pushed him just a little, each time, helped Yuuri push himself further out of his comfort zone. He'd kissed people before, but only ever made out drunk; he'd been too busy to ever get as far as actual sex. Even though they still hadn't slept together, he'd discovered all kinds of things, like that it felt good when Chris scraped his nails up his nape (the thing about collars on kimono suddenly made so much sense) or that it was fun to pin Chris's wrists down and keep him there.
Barcelona came too quickly; Yuuri felt like he needed more time, but Chris kept smiling at him, kept holding his hand, kept clearly expecting more from him, believing in him. Even after a wobbly short program. Even after Yuuri brushed him off when Chris tried to kiss him in bed that night, too wound up in thinking about the competition and mentally re-doing the layout of his second program.
Before the free skate, Chris took his hands. Before he could say anything, Yuuri took a deep breath. Thought about the off-handed comments Chris had made, months earlier. "I really want that gold medal," he said, looking Chris straight in the eye. They crinkled at the corners when he smiled, his long eyelashes almost brushing the skin. It was true; silver wasn't good enough. It didn't matter that Victor Nikiforov, god of skating, was also here. Yuuri wanted it. "You said that I could skate better than Victor. So... today I'm going to prove it!"
Chris's smile widened. He leaned in to press a kiss to Yuuri's cheek, long and lingering. "Show us everything you have," he breathed in Yuuri's ear.
So Yuuri went out. He nailed every quad, every combination. He poured everything he had into his step sequence. He threw himself into the spins that Chris had been helping him to perfect. It was all for Hasetsu, for Chris, for himself.
The crowd screamed when he finished, sweat dripping into his eyes. From the side of the rink, Victor gaped at him. Chris was practically in tears, and almost carried Yuuri to the kiss-and-cry. He swore in French when the score was revealed, then crushed Yuuri into his side. The rest of the day was a blur.
He hadn't quite been able to close the gap between the short program scores. Next time, Yuuri knew. There was still Worlds.
But before that, they had a little time to rest as one year ticked into another, Nationals behind them and Four Continents still weeks ahead. And there was still one question that was still bothering Yuuri, one that Chris hadn't answered for the press or for Victor.
"Do you know what your plans for next year are, yet?"
Chris lowered his cup to refill it. "Well," he said. "I haven't completely decided yet, but every time I see you skate, I want to compete against you more."
Despite the praise, Yuuri's stomach dropped. So it really was just one year – and he couldn't retire now like he'd been thinking of, especially not if he really did manage a medal over Victor, everyone would be asking why, why, why. He opened his mouth.
"So what do you think of becoming rinkmates?" Chris asked. "Either we could find a coach here, or my old one would be happy to take us both on. Or we could ask your old one? I wouldn't mind sharing the ice with Phichit, either."
Oh. "I'm not sure," Yuuri said. "I wouldn't mind moving again. Minako-sensei would probably be disappointed, though." Chris grinned. But. It didn't seem fair to keep Chris here, even if they'd already missed Swiss Nationals. He only had so much time left to be competitive, himself. Probably less time than Yuuri did.
Yuuri might not have gravitated to Chris like he had to Victor, but he'd always liked watching his routines, even the ones that made him blush so hard he had to cover his face. His style was distinctive and he always seemed comfortable in it, and nobody could do spins like him. Off the ice, he was kind and friendly to everyone. The banquet hadn't been the first time he and Chris had talked. (Yuuri glanced at his mostly-empty cup and decided that one saucer of saké was enough. He wasn't taking his chances anytime soon.)
"Are you sure you're okay with spending the rest of the season here?"
Chris gave him a surprised look. "I know we didn't sign a contract, but I said I'd coach you for the whole season, didn't I?" Before Yuuri could protest, Chris went, "Oh, or did you mean that you wanted to move early? I'm not sure you need the extra stress, but I suppose we could always work it off together." He winked.
And then he reached over and laced their hands together under the kotatsu blanket. Downstairs, there was another loud burst of laughter. The clock over the TV said it was close to midnight. Chris waited for him to reply.
"You don't have to, if you'd rather go back," Yuuri said.
"But Yuuri," Chris said, "I want to see you win over Victor. If I don't help you do that, maybe I won't have enough motivation to win against you."
Yuuri laughed. A few months ago, it would have sounded absurd. It still did, but not as much. "Okay," he said. "Next season, eros against..." English failed him here. "...I don't know if they've invented a word that means 'coating the ice with pure sex appeal' yet."
"Innocent seduction versus mature erotic love? The audience won't know what to do with themselves. Or maybe just a double-dose of eros. I don't know if you'll be very innocent by then."
Yuuri laughed again to cover the heat he could feel in his cheeks.
Mom called them from down the stairs. When they rejoined everyone else, they found that Chris's cat had made itself the center of attention of the triplets, who were alternately cooing over it and furiously taking photos, murmuring about a need to diversify. Dad had lost a few pieces of clothing, but thankfully, he wasn't singing right now. Minako-sensei almost tipped over waving at them. A few drunk guests were playing karuta and doing badly on both sides.
"Are you really sure you don't mind staying here?" Yuuri murmured, surveying the chaos.
"I like it," Chris said, chuckling. "Although if you like it quieter, we can stay with my family next year. My parents don't even stay up until midnight."
Next year. Yuuri took a breath. "That sounds good," he said, and then they went to go find a good place to sit.
A/N: Written for the prompt 'celebration' on the holiday-prompts New Year's table.
This idea really needs a good 100k AU slowburn type of fic, but... *glances at overstuffed WIP folder* ...maybe another time.
Notes!:
the thing about collars on kimono
The nape was traditionally considered sexy in Japanese culture. Exposing a lot of it was considered erotic (see prostitutes, who would also often show more collar than normal, and geisha, who highlight the nape when wearing their white makeup). There are rules about how much nape to show in kimono depending on things like social occasion, age, gender, etc - which of course vary depending on who you ask.
Karuta is a kind of card game often played around New Year's.