The bathroom was quiet, an eerie silence that reminded Victor how alone he was in that moment. His reflection in the mirror mocked him, appearing calmer and more collected than Victor felt inside.
The wrinkles around his eyes were the evidence of years of laughter, the frown lines on his forehead the reminders of the hours of worry and research which had kept him at the top of his game. None of his time had ever been squandered and the signs of his aging years were written in every dip and difference in his once flawless skin.
Yet, Victor didn't hate it the way he thought he would. Years had been spent attempting to preserve his youth, despite his gray hair at an unfairly early age and the way he had always spoken in court like he had years more experience that were actually his to claim. His reflection was that of a distinguished man, one who knew what he wanted and went after every goal with the full strength of his determination.
None of that experience, however, could have prepared him for the gravity of what came next.
Nervously bouncing on the balls of his feet, Victor continued to inspect his reflection in the bathroom mirror, adjusting his tie for the hundredth time that morning. To himself, he looked nervous and he braced his hands on the curve of the sink to force himself closer to a sense of calm.
Footsteps in the hallway made him take a deep breath, standing tall so as to appear collected. The door swung open and Victor let out a sigh of relief at the face he discovered staring back at him. "Oh, it's you."
"Don't sound so enthusiastic," Yuuri deadpanned, quickly crossing the tile floor. "What have you done to yourself?" he laughed, pulling on Victor's lapels and sorting out the mess Victor had made with his tie. There were a few fly-aways attempting to escape Victor's normally flawless hair making Yuuri roll his eyes as he smoothed them back into place. "A little nervous, are we?" Yuuri asked, dropping his hands and stepping back to survey Victor's formal wear with a discerning eye.
"As a matter of fact I am. Why aren't you?" Flicking his wrist in Yuuri's direction, Victor felt the irrational irritation of Yuuri's calm smile climb under his skin.
"Because it's not my ceremony, silly." Lifting a hand to once again comb through the tangles Victor had caused in his own bangs, Yuuri shook his head. "It's you standing up in front of all those people, not me."
"You'll be in the front row though, right?" Victor grabbed Yuuri's hand and squeezed it. "You promised to sit right up front." Trying to imagine any instance where Yuuri wouldn't be within a few feet to support him made Victor's already anxious mind whirl into a frenzy.
"If I could stand next to you I would, but we both know that wouldn't be appropriate." Laughing at Victor's pout, Yuuri shook his head again. "Alright counselor, you can do this. Just pretend it's a courtroom full of people you're trying to impress. Go out there and embrace your inner peacock."
"I don't like your attempts at metaphors, Yuuri Katsuki." Resisting as Yuuri began to push his back, Victor wiggled in Yuuri's hold. His spun on his heel fast enough to topple Yuuri forward. "Hug me for good luck," Victor requested, his voice quiet and nervous.
"Any time," Yuuri agreed, wrapping his arms around Victor's back and lending his support to his best friend on the most important day of Victor's life. "Now, you have to go. They are all waiting for you." Hooking their arms together, Yuuri marched Victor from the bathroom and toward his future.
Slipping into his seat next to Phichit, Yuuri smiled at Seung Gil and nodded at Chris where he stood. "He's a little nervous." Yuuri whispered, smiling at Victor when he waved at Yuuri from his place. "Honestly, I would be a dysfunctional mess in his position." He smiled fondly as he watched Victor fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt, his head nodding in small succinct gestures as he received another run through of his instructions.
"You are a dysfunctional mess in any position," Phichit whispered, undeterred by Seung Gil's attempts to shush him. "I still can't believe its Victor and Chris and not you. That's forever going to blow my mind."
Rolling his eyes at Phichit's never-ending opinion on the matter, Yuuri settled further into his spot on the wooden pew. "I didn't even want to do it, Phichit! Chris is a good match, he'll be fine. Plus he'll have Victor and really there was no one better than Victor." Yuuri grinned as Victor shook hands with the approaching judge at the front of the room.
"You're not biased or anything," Seung Gil teased from his place next to Phichit, snickering when Yuuri glared at him. "And it's not just because you have a kink for guys in robes is it?" This time it was Phichit who shushed Seung Gil as Yuuri's cheeks turned a heated shade of dark red.
Trying to ignore the jabs coming from his friends, Yuuri turned to survey the room. Familiar faces lined every pew, each of them dressed to impress in their best power suits. Yuuri's family sat a few rows behind him, sharing a pew with Victor's family and twisting backwards to exchange pleasantries with the members of Phichit's and Seung Gil's families who were able to fly in for the celebration.
The sheer size of the guest list had made Yuuri's head swim. The calculations on how all of the people would fit in the room for the formal ceremony and then also be accommodated at the reception location were beyond his comprehension, leaving him feeling eternally grateful that all those details were someone else's problems. He planned to enjoy this day and celebrate Victor to the best of his ability.
Part of Yuuri felt a bittersweet sting as he observed the excitement around him. When they had graduated college, and law school, and even been sworn in as attorneys, Yuuri had been able to stand by Victor's side. This adventure would be the first time that Victor would stand without Yuuri and Yuuri could feel the emotions welling inside of him, a mixture of happiness and a sense of being left behind. Luckily, his pride in Victor's determination to chase his own happiness easily eclipsed all of Yuuri's stirred up feelings.
A sharp clearing of Judge Baranovskaya's throat had them all quieting down, focusing on the front of the room where the most severe judge in their district stood ready to oversee Victor's next step in life.
"Hello colleagues, friends, and family. It is my honor to welcome you to the investiture of the new Honorable Victor Nikiforov. As the head judge of this court, I am pleased to be a part of this ceremony and happily welcome Judge Nikiforov to serve as an officer, leader, and representative of this court. Your honor, please step forward to give your oath."
From his place on the hard wooden bench, Yuuri could feel the tears running freely down his cheeks as Victor raised his right hand and repeated the oath read by Judge Baranovskaya. Once the oath was complete, Victor would address the court as the newest appointed judge and finally give the speech Yuuri had been listening to him practice for weeks. A speech that started with an anecdote about how much could change in ten years and ended with a promise to make all the years of Victor's service the best he could possibly give. It was a speech that was worthy of a judge and Yuuri felt a surge of powerful pride over his husband's accomplishments as Victor was handed his first gavel and sat down to give his first speech as The Honorable Victor Nikiforov.
Later there would be a celebration at their favorite bar, complete with alcohol and all the food that their three hundred guests could handle. Next week, the process would repeat for Chris's swearing in and that party was sure to be even more outlandish than the one Yuuri had happily watched Victor plan.
This moment, however, was searing itself in Yuuri's memory as he watched Victor settle on the judge's bench for the first time, the reverent smile dancing over Victor's face as he sought Yuuri's eyes in the crowd.
Looking down from his new seat, Victor felt the flutter of nerves dancing in the back of his throat. As an attorney, he had treated courtrooms like a stage, using every ounce of his flare and knowledge to help his clients in every way he knew how. But sitting as a judge, he would now have the power to help so many more people. The knowledge of that responsibility and the responsibility he had to uphold justice and fairness made Victor feel light-headed.
Peering down into the crowd of people who had supported him throughout his life, Victor knew there was only one person he needed to ground him and stabilize his thoughts in the intensity of this moment. Finding his husband's face, Yuuri's beautiful, emotional eyes gazing back at him, Victor felt his rapidly beating heart settle. When Yuuri mouthed "I love you," Victor knew without a single doubt that he could handle any challenge thrown his way.
With a quick wink in Yuuri's direction, Victor set his hands flat in front of him and began to address the court for the first time as Judge Nikiforov.
"Yuuuuurrriiiiiiiii," Victor whispered, his voice loud enough to scare the dogs from their slumber. "Yuuriiii you are so pretty." Poking a finger into Yuuri's cheek, Victor giggled when Yuuri turned to kiss his fingertip. "And you wore the red shirt. Gooooddddddd Yuuuurrriii, I loooooveeee this red shirt!" With fingers far too skilled for how silly drunk he was, Victor began to deftly unbutton the red shirt to set Yuuri's beautiful chest free from its unfair coverings.
Laughing, Yuuri twisted in Victor's grasp, pausing in his pursuit to get Victor upstairs to their bedroom and finding them standing in the exact spot of their first kiss. Going silent for a moment, Yuuri tried to remember all the details of that kiss, proud that he could still do so nearly twenty years after it happened.
"Dollar for your thoughts," Victor proposed, throwing his arms over Yuuri's shoulders. Yuuri had such strong shoulders, broad and handsome and perfect to grip onto whenever Yuuri was fucking Victor into the mattress.
Snorting Yuuri shook his head and brushed Victor's hair from his face. "I guess I don't need to ask you what you're thinking," shaking his head over Victor's drunken and explicit ramblings. Appreciating that Victor had chosen to hold off on his current level of intoxication until it had just been the two of them along with Phichit and Seung Gil, Yuuri planted one foot backwards to keep them from tumbling. "I was just thinking about our first kiss." Settling his hands on Victor's hips, Yuuri softened over the way Victor's smile went a little goofy.
"You wore this shirt," Victor flicked another one of Yuuri's buttons open. "And those pants that present your ass like a goddamn gift to the world." Dropping a hand behind Yuuri, Victor gave his husband's ass an aggressive squeeze. "You looked so nervous and gorgeous and irritated and I just wanted to kiss you. So I did. Because I'm brilliant." Laying his head on Yuuri's shoulder, Victor nuzzled into the side of Yuuri's neck, sighing happily with the scent of Yuuri invading his senses.
"Yes, yes, so brilliant," Yuuri teased, gripping Victor slightly tighter when Victor decided to shift from teasing kisses to firm presses of his tongue. "So brilliant it only took you ten years to figure out I liked you." Jolting backwards when Victor abruptly stood up, Yuuri was relieved when he managed to keep them both standing.
"Love me. You loved me. And love me. 'Cause I love you." Pouting Victor cocked his head. "And it took you like a year to propose to me. Remember that?" Sinking back on his recliner, Victor's pout deepened until Yuuri gave in and sat on his lap.
Gently swiping the bangs away from Victor's face, Yuuri gently kissed Victor's forehead before adding, "at least I proposed. Lord knows how long you would have carried my ring around for if I hadn't done it first."
"By five minutes!" Victor protested, rocking forward from his slumped position.
Squawking when Victor shoved him, Yuuri found himself flat on his back on the floor, Victor crawling over him to stare down at him. "The hell are you doing, Nikiforov?" Yuuri teased, shifting to let Victor's body settle between his thighs.
Taking every inch slowly, Victor made sure to apply pressure to every place Yuuri liked it. Finally lying over Yuuri's chest, Victor rested his elbows on the carpet on either side of Yuuri's head. "Is that any way to speak to a judge? I'll throw you in jail on the basis of contempt." Wiggling over Yuuri, Victor situated himself more firmly between Yuuri's legs, rolling his hips simply because he could.
"The ethics committee won't even let me appear in front of you… Judge Nikiforov." Noting the shiver that made Victor's body quake against him, Yuuri took advantage of this potential knowledge. "But if you can find a way to get yourself upstairs, we can definitely put your new set of robes to good use."
Gasping, Victor scrambled to his feet, yanking Yuuri along with him. "Seung Gil was right! You do have a kink for guys in robes! Please don't tell me you have ever gotten off to the thought of Judge Feltsman…" Squealing when Yuuri pinched his side, Victor did his best to appear offended.
"You're killing the mood," Yuuri warned, wrapping his fingers into the fake robes Phichit had insisted Victor wear during their after-party drinking shenanigans. "Now come upstairs and let me plead my case, your honor." Smirking Yuuri let Victor go, turning on his heel to run up the stairs.
Ten years had passed since they had shared their first night together in the bedroom they now called their own. In that time, there had been ups and downs, good days and bad, and no shortage of love.
As Victor clumsily chased his best friend, greatest supporter and loving husband up the stairs, he couldn't help happily wondering what the next decade would bring.
Knowing that whatever came next, no matter what obstacles life decided to toss in front of them, they would continue to banter, tease, and most importantly, love their way through all of it, made Victor grin as he rounded the corner into their bedroom.
Standing in the middle the bed, Yuuri made a show of planting his hands on the ceiling, stretching his body in a mock of the same ridiculous attempt of seduction Victor had been teasing him about for the last decade. Laughter exploded between them, neither of them able to contain their happiness as they fell into bed together.
Tomorrow would be another hangover, another day spent recovering from bad decisions, a process which would take far longer than it had in their youth. Yuuri would spend the day hiding in the softness of a hoodie stolen from Victor and Victor would spend every hour whining into the squishy comfort of Yuuri's ever-growing tummy. They would suffer and heal in the same way they did everything else.
Together exactly as they were meant to be… as partners in stupidity, disaster, happiness, love and life. Forever there to love each other through every terrible decision, misstep and stumble. Always forgiving each other for mistakes and loving each other through all the seconds of every day.
And proving that all of the years of suffering from pining hearts were completely worth it to find their own messy, ridiculous, sometimes drunk, but always happy ending.