1300+ views! Truly appreciate you lovely people for reading and reviewing!
You could hear a fucking feather drop in the place.
Yuuko, who seconds ago was harboring astonishment from Yuuri calmly kissing Victor, was now feeling her excitement build. Something had to give and she was glad Yuuri's frustration had chipped away his defenses resulting in this gem of a moment. It wasn't like she and everyone with a page in Yuuri's life hadn't expected it. Probably not so abruptly and publicly, but nonetheless, the signs had been there from the beginning. She found herself recalling the way Victor had skated to him on their first meeting, practically ripping Yuuri from his shell into a bright new world where he was the center of Victor's attention. Yuuko still didn't know what to make of that; it wasn't like Yuuri had ever spoken to Victor before that day. For one video to have inspired such a string of adventurous occurrences...
She gave pause as she studied Victor's face. He hadn't moved, and for all Yuuko knew he'd stopped breathing altogether. His hand still floated over his mouth which had formed a small 'O'. There was shock, that was to be expected. His cheeks were slightly red and Yuuko would bet good money that you could count on one hand how many times Victor Nikiforov had blushed in his life. But, for Yuuko, it was his eyes that brought things home. It spelled out a deep pining that no amount of joking or charm could hide. Not that Victor looked prepared to talk his way out of this. If anything, he appeared well and truly content that he'd just been kissed by his student.
She and Takeshi had discussed it at length over the last two months, pulling material from their daily outings to the rink to watch Victor and Yuuri destroy the concept of personal space. Initially, there were some opinions thrown around concerning Victor's intentions and whether he had the right to enter Yuuri's life like this. Those fears were quickly assuaged as they watched the two skaters envelop each other with their respective traits. There was so much respect, appreciation, endearment, and ease shared between them, like two old souls who'd spent an eternity together. They even seemed oblivious to the wide berth everyone created to allow them time to delve deeper into their relationship.
But pining...damn...that was a lot deeper than what this moment warranted. In her opinion, no matter how close they were, two months was not enough for Victor to look that hypnotized. Had something happened between them before? No, that couldn't be it...Yuuri had steered clear of Victor during the Sochi Grand Prix and they'd never met before that. Yuuko tiptoed a few times, the motion helping to quell her rumination. She didn't want to make a ruckus (just yet) in case she prematurely disturbed the atmosphere around Victor but her benevolence was short lived as Minako entered the rink in her usual one-woman-band kind of way.
"You guys are still here? Geez, what does a girl have to do to find a drinking partner in this town? Victor, are you up for..." she caught Victor's spaced expression and Yuuko dancing on her toes, her smile wide and telling, "Someone want to clue me in?"
"Yuuri kissed him," Yuuko blurted.
"WHAT?! When?!"
"Just now," Victor blinked, like waking up from a spell, "Funny, he had me at 'let's have dinner'." Yuuko couldn't restrain herself and collapsed into scandalous laughter.
"Maybe you should push his buttons more often," Yuuko teased.
Victor's flush was unmistakable now, "I was just thinking the same."
Minako grinned, "Well, I owe Hiroko some money," she surveyed the area for Yuuri, "Is he okay? Where'd he go?"
Yuuko pointed to the locker room, "I'm not sure if he's realized what he's done. He sort of walked away like it was a normal occurrence. Imagine being that riled up from not being able to land a quad."
"Maybe I should go talk-" Victor began, his cognition returning.
"No, you guys head out," Minako immediately raised a hand as Victor opened his mouth to protest, "Victor, be reasonable. You know how Yuuri can be. Let me check on him. I'll walk him home when he's ready."
It took a full two minutes for Yuuri to realize what the fuck he'd done. Time then slowed to a debilitating kind of crawl as he touched his own lips in disbelief. His bag and skates fell in a pile at his feet, as he buried his face in his hands and his mind went into red alert.
'I kissed him. I kissed Victor. Oh god. Oh no. Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck.' His fatigue was replaced by an acute hysteria at the sheer stupidity of his actions. What had he been thinking? How was he going to justify this? What on earth was Victor thinking? Oh fuck, this was an exploding can of worms that spread for miles and miles.
Victor's chaste kiss the day he'd bruised his head was one thing, even his dreams were manageable because it wasn't broadcasted to the world, but this? This had to be crossing a line.
His mind chose right then to start playing its tricks on him again. 'Those lips...' Yuuri was sidetracked now, the brief taste of Victor more vivid than a sunrise. He'd been with one or two people before, went further than kissing with the second but if you asked him to recall the sensations, he could barely locate the memory. Victor though...Victor's lips...how could he remember something he'd never had?
"Yuuri?"
He literally jumped, tripping on his bag, and landing in a painful sitting position on the bench, "Minako! Shit, you scared me. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was looking to steal Victor for some shots and instead I found a soap opera."
Yuuri blushed and hid his face again, "Oh god. Oh fuck. You know? Do they know?"
Minako was trying to contain herself as Yuuri rambled, "Yuuri, they were standing right there. One of them was the recipient of your kiss. I'm pretty sure they know."
Yuuri groaned, "Is there any chance I can stay here and hide forever?"
"Not a chance," she sat next to him, "something tells me you don't want to anyway."
Yuuri wouldn't deny that, but he couldn't admit it out loud, "Is Victor...is he still here?"
"He headed back to Yu-topia," the right decision by how pale Yuuri was at this point, "A little breathing room never hurt, right?"
"I cannot believe I let his provoking get to me like that."
"Interesting, usually when someone provokes me I punch them, not kiss them."
"Minako, please," Yuuri voice muffled as he squeezed his face further into his hands, "How am I going to look him in the eye after this?"
"I don't know, probably the same way you've been looking at him for the past two months?" Minako moved Yuuri's hands from his face and held them supportively, "Be honest with me Yuuri, didn't part of you want this to happen?"
Yuuri looked a bit startled, "Well...u-um...it's...I-I...," he collected himself with a deep breath, "He's Victor Nikiforov and he's my coach Minako."
"And your point is?"
"This is a little over the top, don't you think?"
Minako was patient; Yuuri wasn't deliberately being obstinate, he was being defiant in the face of something that seemed too impossible, too unreachable for someone like him, "Let me walk you home. You can tell me all the different reasons you think this is too crazy and I guarantee you I can disprove them all."
Victor paced about his room, fussing over his pajamas, fiddling with his phone, looking at the picture from Yuuri's room in Sochi, glancing at the clock every twenty seconds, staring at his door...Makka stopped him by basically sitting on his feet.
"Am I that wound up boy?" Victor took a deep breath, "Okay, I'll sit."
Makka dutifully moved and then jumped into his lap when he sat crossed legged on the bed. Victor hugged the poodle closely, his presence keeping him grounded as his mind revisited Sochi. Yuuri Katsuki, the drunk ice-skater who'd reached out to him on an otherwise uninspiring night and stolen his heart in the process. The mark he'd left with Victor was irreplaceable, and now here he was again adding fuel to a fire he didn't know he'd lit. It was uncanny; what were the odds of Yuuri upping him twice with his lips? He'd honestly believed he would be the one to initiate a second kiss and much later on than this.
Yuuri continued to surprise him, on the ice and off. Victor had only wanted to get his mind off of the damn quads. He hated that Yuuri was overlooking his overall progress. And yes, Victor was a little manipulative when he needed to get Yuuri out of his own head but for it to lead to an unintentional kiss? To think they would end up here...
It'd been lighter, gentler, lacking of champagne but the spark was stronger than ever. Victor ran a couple fingers over his lips for the hundredth time. He sighed and played with Makka's ear, waiting to see where the night progressed.
When Yuuri returned to Yu-topia, Hiroko informed them that Victor had already had his dinner and bath. She immediately noticed Yuuri deflating at the news and rushed to assure him that everything was okay.
"He said he didn't want to be occupied when you got back," Hiroko said, "Put something in your stomach before you, ah, go to bed, okay dear?"
Yuuri glanced at Minako who smiled in agreement. It was puzzling; how was it that everyone seemed so calm about all this? Yuuri nodded, and tried to get his heart rate under control as he went in search of some food. It was evident he was using it as an opportunity to stall, but Minako and Hiroko made no further comments. Yuuri, selecting fruits and vegetables like it was his last meal, was too busy to notice his mother triumphantly claiming money from his ballet instructor.
He ate slowly and then took a long bath, sneaking around the hall and pretending like he couldn't see that Victor's light was still on. He got dressed and sat on his chair, the water from his hair soaking into the headrest. 'This is stupid,' he chastised himself, 'you have to face him sometime.'
His phone lit up and Yuuri saw Phichit's message in all-caps: YOU DID WHAT?
Don't make me type it again. /Y
Well, I'm not surprised. /P
What? /Y
Considering how inseparable you both are, something was bound to happen. /P
He's my coach. We're...friends...? /Y
Want to bet? /P
Okay, they weren't friends. And they weren't just coach and student. There was something else there. Somewhere amid his denial, Yuuri had known that for a while. He bonked his forehead against the desk, knowing there was no response he could give Phichit that his friend wouldn't immediately tag as bullshit. The silence became so thick around him that he nearly snapped his neck when he heard Makka's scratches on the door.
"I thought you were with Victor tonight," Yuuri said and let him in. He noticed Victor's door was opened halfway, light streaming into the hall. He looked down at Makka and immediately saw the note in his collar. With a shaky breath, he plucked it out and opened it: It's okay. I didn't mind. Whenever you're ready.
Yuuri stooped and scratched under Makka's chin; he adored how accommodating the dog was, "What do you think boy?" Makka licked his hand and left Yuuri's room back to Victor's. Yuuri took a few seconds to collect himself and then followed the poodle.
Victor was sitting at the edge of his bed, fondly petting Makka for being such a good boy. He looked up to find Yuuri sans glasses, his cheeks red and hair still wet. Victor's breath caught. It's not that he wasn't used to seeing Yuuri during or after a bath but tonight...it seemed felicitous.
"Hey Victor."
Victor let Makka settle at his feet, "Hey Yuuri."
Silence...and then Yuuri did the complete opposite of what he'd done the first time he'd met Victor. He went at top speed to the other end of spectrum and launched into a rant that Victor would later swear was gibberish.
"I'msosorryaboutwhathappenedtonightIdon'tknowwhatcameovermeyou'resostubbornsometimesIjustshuteverythingoutandthenohgodpleasedontthinkI'mtryingtotakeadvantageofyouI'msogratefulyou'recoachingmeandbeingaroundyouisgreatandspendingtimewithyouisstrangelysimplenowandIreallydon'twanttoloseyou..."
Victor blinked; at least drunk Yuuri talked in slow sentences, "I...did not catch any of that."
Yuuri attempted to start over but no more words would come. All his energy was siphoned out with that incomprehensible delivery and all that was left was lots of nervous fidgeting. Victor smiled and patted the empty space next to him. Yuuri took the three steps to him and sat down, feeling better when Victor automatically brushed some wet strands out of his face. He tipped Yuuri's chin, exactly as he had done the first time they'd met.
"I'm okay with it," Victor reassured him softly, "Honestly...if you didn't already know, I've wanted to kiss you for a long time."
"W-What?" Yuuri was sure he'd heard wrong.
"You didn't see it?" Victor chuckled, "I guess I had more restraint than I thought."
"I thought..." Yuuri took a deep breath, "I thought..." and the words failed him again.
"Tell me," Victor was whispering now.
"I thought you were flirting for the sake of it. I didn't expect...I didn't think you felt the same way." Each word seemed to drain the air from Yuuri's lungs. Victor's hand moved to his cheek and he was so close now.
"Why wouldn't I? You're amazing Yuuri. I can't think of any other place I'd rather be than right here, with you."
Yuuri was rapidly getting lost in Victor's sparkling eyes, "Tell me why."
Everything is just so fucking monotonous now Yuuri...
"It isn't monotonous anymore. I feel...relaxed when I'm around you," Victor leaned in, "I feel free."
Yuuri let the words wash over him as he closed his eyes and felt Victor's lips touch his own. The tension melted from Yuuri's body as Victor cupped his cheeks and worked his mouth in slow, deliberate motions. Yuuri didn't know what he had expected when he'd stepped into Victor's room but it wasn't this pleasant reciprocation; the man seemed so composed, so sure that this was okay and what could Yuuri do now except to stop denying the part of him that insisted this was exactly where he should be.
They stayed that way for a long time, not rushing, not diving into more provocative territory, content to enjoy the first layer of this wonderful place they'd stumbled upon. When they finally parted, forehead to forehead, Yuuri had to say something.
"I could swear..." he whispered.
"What?"
"That we've..." Yuuri ran a shivering thumb along Victor's lower lip, "Sorry. I can't think."
Victor's heart fluttered; was the memory somehow residual? Did Yuuri recognize his kiss? "Neither can I," he planted a single sweet kiss on the side of Yuuri's mouth.
"Victor?"
"Yes Yuuri?"
"Can we sleep together tonight?"
