"Oh my God…you're the best husband ever," Yuuri mumbled as he made grabby hands for one of the two cups of coffee in Victor's grasp. The Omega blinked sleepily as the warm, steaming mug was handed over, taking a long drink before letting out a happy sigh. Victor chuckled and wrapped a soft blanket around Yuuri's bare upper body.
The lingerie lay in a pile on the floor next to the bed, discarded in favor of comfort when Yuuri fussed around in the middle of the night about being too hot. The Alpha gestured toward the silky garments with a nod of his head and grinned.
"I think you may have me beat for that title after last night," Victor playfully replied, causing Yuuri's cheeks to pink as he took another sip of his coffee and tried to hide the smile on his face behind the cup. He shyly glanced up at Victor through a thick fringe of dark lashes.
"Well…there's more where that came from. I have a couple bags of…stuff in the closet." The Alpha's eyes widened.
"I can't decide if I want you to give me a fashion show or surprise me." Victor murmured, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the closet before returning his gaze to the man before him, a heat in his eyes as he considered the possibilities.
"Hmm, based on that look on your face, I think if I show you anything we probably won't make it to the second outfit." Yuuri teased. Victor tapped his lips thoughtfully with his finger.
"Excellent point…surprise it is!" Victor exclaimed.
"Shh…quieter…" Yuuri begged with a slight wince in his expression. Victor shook his head in amusement.
"Just how much did you drink with my mother?" Victor asked curiously, wondering if he should be giving his mate water instead of coffee. "Do you need some pain medicine for your head?"
"No, it's fine for the moment," Yuuri rubbed his eye with his free hand and yawned again. "Honestly, I lost count after we finished off a bottle of champagne at lunch. Then there were more drinks at the boutique. I swear…your mother's stamina for shopping is terrifying, Victor."
"I'm so sorry moya lyubov," Victor replied as he leaned closer to place a soft kiss on Yuuri's forehead.
"Don't get me wrong, she's very sweet," Yuuri assured the other man. "She's just, uh…enthusiastic."
"Well, let me know if I need to have a talk with her. She is the only person I know that is more…what's the word? Extra? Yes, she's more 'extra' than me." Yuuri burst of laughing at Victor's words.
"Oh yes, that's a perfect description," Yuuri grinned and took another sip. "After we finish our coffee do you want to shower and then take Makka for a walk?" Victor raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Make it a bath together and you have a deal."
"I suppose we could do that," Yuuri mumbled into his mug, cheeks bright with color again. Victor eagerly drained his cup and hopped up to go start the shower. He glanced out the windows as he made his way toward the bathroom. It was going to be a beautiful day.
xxx
Victor beamed as he read the email he'd just received from a friend of his within the ISU council. Mark Garrison had always been a supporter of Omega rights within the international skating community, strongly stating on many occasions that he felt the rules they currently had governing their participation were too restrictive. Victor had asked him if he could look into Yuuri's situation and determine if there was a chance he could skate again at the Senior level.
The biggest obstacles would be the rule requiring that Yuuri's Alpha traveled with him to all events to monitor him and getting Yuuri reinstated with the JSF. Mark was willing to help with pushing the second part through if they were interested, but the first was up to Victor. In Mark's estimation, it would be very difficult for Victor continue to skate if Yuuri returned to the ice, as they would undoubtedly have conflicting schedules for events and travel.
There had been several Omegas over the last decade or so who had attempted to perform at the international level with their Alpha's support, but none had managed to place at major competitions, eventually fading into a quiet retirement or announcing their pregnancy, sometimes both. Mark questioned whether this was worth it, potentially giving up his own skating career for Yuuri.
Was Yuuri worth it?
Yes, without a doubt. Victor thought to himself as images of Yuuri gliding across the ice flooded his mind.
"What are you reading?" Yuuri chuckled from across the kitchen island where he was plating their dinner. "You've been smiling like that for the last five minutes."
"Well…how would you feel if someone said you could skate again?"
Yuuri froze where he stood with a plate in each hand. He slowly began to move once more and came around to sit next to Victor, putting his food down before him.
"What do you mean?" He asked quietly. Victor turned the laptop with the email pulled up toward him and let Yuuri read it for himself, as well as everything else that the Alpha had been researching and connecting with Mark on. After several minutes, Yuuri turned to him with a sad smile.
"I'm not worth it," Yuuri murmured, eyes glossing over with tears. "I won't let you give up your career for me. Skating is your life and-"
"No," Victor interrupted, taking Yuuri's hands in his own. "You are my life, and nothing would make me happier than to encourage and support your dreams. If you decide that this isn't the right thing for you, I'll understand." Victor took a shaky breath as he watched the tears spill from Yuuri's eyes.
"But don't ever think that you're not worth it," Victor pulled Yuuri into his arms, holding his mate close as he cried into his shoulder. The sobs eventually faded and Yuuri slid off his glasses to wipe his eyes, sniffling softly.
"I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to deal with a repeat of what happened when I presented," Yuuri finally whispered, glancing up at Victor with red-rimmed eyes. "What if they take it away from me all over again?"
"If that happens, and I don't think it will if we do this right, I will be there to support you every step of the way. You're one of the strongest people I know and the world deserves to know it as well," He reassured his mate.
"You are an amazing skater with tremendous potential. Please, let me help you realize it."
"Okay…I'll try," Yuuri finally replied with a shaky smile.
xxx
Nick was sworn to secrecy regarding why they were planning to be at the rink in the late hours of the evening when no one was there. Victor had always had a key to come and go as he pleased, but the Alpha had asked as a courtesy to his friend regardless.
Yuuri wasn't ready for anyone to know his intentions to return to skating, not before he had at least developed a short program. Victor had agreed, but only if Yuuri let him choreograph it.
"If you hadn't offered I would've been disappointed," Yuuri teased. They'd done some warming up and now it was time to get down to starting to learn what Victor had put together for him.
"Ah! Here we go!" Victor's head shot up as he found the song on his phone. Yuuri loved that Victor was so excited about this and fully committed. The energy was infectious.
He still had a hard time believing it. That he was going to skate a program choreographed by Victor Nikiforov.
It was a dream he'd had since he was just a young teen, and now, it was coming true.
"Okay, I hope you like it. I've been thinking about this for awhile...since we were in Hasetsu actually," Victor murmured with a smile for his mate. Yuuri's jaw dropped a little in surprise, unsure how to respond to this revelation.
"Let me get into position and then press play, please," Victor set the phone down atop the rink barrier with the volume turned up and skated out to the center of the rink. The Alpha wrapped his arms around himself, angling his face toward the ice and closing his eyes. Yuuri glanced at the phone to start the song and smiled as he saw what Victor had chosen. He quickly returned his attention to the ice as the music began.
Something has changed within me, something is not the same.
Yuuri was captivated from the second Victor started moving across the ice. The performance began with Victor looking up, reaching to the sky with a hopeful expression on his face. Yuuri watched in admiration as the Alpha's sweeping movements, spins and footwork told a story of believing in one's self and soaring above obstacles in your path.
It's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity.
The Omega's breath hitched, chest growing tight with emotion as he realized this program was Victor's message of hope for him...yet another way he was telling him to believe in himself.
I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so.
It was beautiful and spoke to him on a deep level. He knew from a technical standpoint, he could pull off the complicated step sequences that Victor had included. His biggest concern was regarding the jumps. The Alpha did his first jump, a spread eagle into a triple axel, which Yuuri felt fairly confident he could execute. It had always been one of his favorites.
He was a little surprised that Victor had decided to put all the jumps in the second half of the program. As he pulled off a flawless quad salchow, Yuuri gnawed on his lip worriedly.
I'll have to work on that one…a lot. It's not even close to where it needs to be. He'd landed the jump cleanly once or twice, but more often than not he touched down or fell completely.
Unlimited. My future is unlimited.
Yuuri smiled as the song's lyrics filled him with confidence. I can do this. Victor believes I can too. He watched his mate execute a quad toe-triple toe combo and shook his head in amusement at the man's faith in him.
Everyone deserves the chance to fly.
As the song came to its conclusion, Victor entered a combination spin, going from a sit spin into an upright spin with his arms outreached above him. For the final pose, he gazed upward, one hand still reaching for the heavens, while the other was laid upon his heart. Yuuri grinned as he sped out to the center of the ice and threw his arms around him. Victor laughed softly in his embrace as he caught his breath.
"You like it, then?" He asked softly. Yuuri leaned back to meet his eyes and nodded.
"It's perfect. Thank you Vitya."
Endnotes:
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