Yuuri stepped out onto the ice, breathing the sharp air in deeply through his nose. It felt surreal, to be at a Grand Prix final again. His life had changed sharply from the Grand Prix last year. He had somehow managed to get married to the coach who had brought him to Barcelona, and now they were both here in Nagoya, competing for their respective countries.
Yuuri sneaked a glance over at the sideline where Victor was talking to Yakov. Even though they were here for a competition, Yuuri was sharply aware of his husband's impending birthday, and had no idea what to do. He had been nearly constantly contemplating the issue lately, even to the point that he was having a hard time focusing on the competition at hand. Luckily, as he was staring at his spouse, a skater crossed through his line of vision. Yuuri brightened. Of course! Christophe would know what kinds of things would be good for a present for Victor! Resolute, he set his course towards the Swiss skater.
Chris saw him coming and smiled brightly, waving as he called, "Why, hello, Yuuri! How are you?"
Falling into stride beside Chris, Yuuri smiled back. "I'm fine, thank you. Are you enjoying Japan?"
"Yes, I always have a nice time here. Have you seen your family?"
"Well, my family's onsen is a bit far from here, but I suspect we'll stop by on the way home." Yuuri glanced carefully at his companion before moving on to his real inquiry. "Hey, Christophe, do you have a moment?"
The other man looked a bit surprised. "Of course. What can I do for you?"
Unconsciously, Yuuri's skating slowed a little. "Well...it's about Vitya."
Chris gasped. "What about him? Is everything all right with you two?"
Yuuri slowed even more as he waved his hands frantically in front of himself. "Oh, no, we're fine! Everything is fine with us! It's just...his birthday is coming up soon, and I don't really know what to do about it. Last year I bought us those pair rings, but that doesn't really feel like it counts, since that was also a good luck charm, and they ended up being our wedding rings. So this year, I'd really like to do something special for him, particularly because it's our first year being married. And even though it didn't go very well, he did put a lot of effort into my birthday this year." He let out a small sigh, remembering the embarrassment of being caught by the Fire Service in their parking lot as Victor was trying to get a stripper pole installed in their apartment. He shook his head a little and continued, "I really would like to do something big for him this year. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I can't really come up with anything that seems good enough. I thought that you might have some ideas, since you've known each other for so long." He turned his head to look at his companion.
Chris was staring at him in surprise. "Wow, Yuuri. I think that's the longest speech I've ever heard from you. I'm not sure if I even heard you talk that much at your wedding." He laughed brightly.
Yuuri, feeling his face grow red, mumbled, "Well, I talk when I have something to say."
Throwing a reassuring arm around the Japanese skater's shoulders, Chris replied, "Oh, don't worry about it, Yuuri! I enjoy talking to people." He winked, offering a smile that relaxed Yuuri a little. "Anyway, about Victor. Do you have any ideas?"
"Not really. Everything I've been coming up with seems like it's not enough."
"Hmm. But I really think that Victor would be thrilled with whatever you give him. He doesn't really need anything in particular, and what makes him happiest is you. I don't think there's anything in particular you could buy him that would be better than anything else. What he's going to care about is the person it's coming from, and the fact that you put thought into it."
Yuuri nodded along with the other man's words. He was right, of course. Victor had enough money to buy whatever he wanted, so it wasn't like there was something he was lacking. Even when he had bought the rings last year, Victor had been ecstatic, although he undoubtedly could have afforded something more extravagant. As Yuuri was mulling this over, Chris leaned over to murmur directly into his ear.
"Of course, how you give him a present could be very effective, as well."
Caught off guard, Yuuri jumped a little. "Wh-what do you mean?"
Chris chuckled. "Don't play coy with me, Yuuri. We all saw your short program last year. I know that you fully understand what I mean." Coming to a full stop, he moved his body in front of Yuuri, forcing him to stop as well. Shifting his arm from its hold on Yuuri's shoulders, he slowly moved it downwards as he leaned in close to murmur, "I'm sure you know by now all the buttons to push on Victor to make him happy. What would probably make him happiest is if you used some of that knowledge." He trailed his hand down the side of Yuuri's face, making him freeze in place. Smiling, Chris leaned in even closer. "Why, you might even want to consider wrapping yourself up as a present. Naked, of course."
"N-n-nake—"
"Christophe Giacometti."
A coldly authoritative voice boomed across the ice, cutting through Yuuri's nervous embarrassment. He turned his head the best he could in Chris's grasp until he could see his husband skating deliberately towards them. He was relieved for a split second until he caught the icy fury emanating from every line of Victor's body, punctuated by the cold fire in his eyes. Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, he wasn't really sure what, but before he could get anything out Victor's voice cut across his.
"Get away from him right now."
Yuuri flinched, backing up as best he could, until he realized that the ire was aimed at Chris. He turned to look at the Swiss skater, who was smirking at Victor.
"Why, Victor! And how are you today?"
Having reached them, Victor didn't even bother to respond. Instead he reached out and snatched his husband from Chris's grip, yanking him harshly by the arm. Although the motion caused Yuuri to stumble sideways, it didn't hurt. Victor caught him gently, cradling his body in the circle of his arms as he directed his frigid glare at Chris.
"Christophe Giacometti, is there a reason that you are harassing my skater just before a competition?"
Chris smiled, completely unperturbed. "Harassing? I wouldn't do that to Yuuri."
Victor's face didn't waver as he spat, "Oh? Because that's certainly what it looked like to me. But by all means, if you think there's room to dispute it, we can take this to the ISU and see what their ruling is."
Yuuri stared at his spouse in shock as Chris clicked his tongue. "Victor, are you seriously threatening to have me removed from competitive skating? Because I was too close to your husband?"
"If you know you were too close to him, then doesn't that count as harassment?"
Yuuri finally found his voice. "Vitya! What on earth are you doing?"
His husband glanced down at him, and Yuuri was gratified to see his eyes finally soften a little. "Muzh moy, I am merely protecting my skater. Is there something wrong?"
He sputtered, "Don't you think you're taking this a bit too far? We were just talking!"
"Talking doesn't require touching."
Chris sighed loudly. "All right, all right, Victor. I'm very sorry that I touched your precious husband. If I promise to never do it again, can we please drop this and get back to practicing?"
Victor retrained his hard gaze upon the Swiss skater. "I know you. You don't have any personal boundaries. Why should I think that this won't happen again?"
"Geez, Victor. You're being so overprotective. Last year I was allowed to touch him, but now I can't even put an arm around him?"
Victor regarded him coldly for a long moment. "I knew it. This really is an issue for the ISU to deal with. Come along, lapochka. There's no need to talk to him any longer." He turned to skate away, but Yuuri dug in his blades.
"Hold on, Vitya. I think you're misunderstanding here. Chris wasn't trying anything on me. I asked him for advice, and he was just helping me. That's all."
Victor paused to look down at his husband, and Chris took advantage of this to add, "That's right. Your little husband was worrying about you, and I was simply offering my help."
The look on Victor's handsome face creased into a frown. "Worried? Muzh moy, whatever could have been worrying you that you wouldn't talk to me about?" His expression rapidly deteriorated into that of a hurt puppy as he turned to face Yuuri.
Recognizing a losing battle, Yuuri sighed. "Your birthday is coming up, Vitya. I've been worrying a lot over what to get you."
The harsh look melted away completely, as if it had never existed on Victor's face. "Oh, lyubimiy, that's nothing to worry about! I'm still satisfied from your birthday present to me last year!" He held up his hand, and the light glinted off his wedding ring.
"That's just it! I feel like that doesn't count as a birthday present, since we used them for our wedding! So this year I'd like to do something big, especially since you put a lot of effort into my birthday, even though it was a little misguided."
Victor pressed a kiss onto Yuuri's forehead. "You don't need to worry about it so much. Having you is the best present I could ever ask for."
Christophe's eyes twinkled as he cut in, "See, Yuuri, I told you that giving him yourself would be the best present. No clothes required!"
As Yuuri felt his face heat up, Victor turned his cold gaze back onto the Swiss skater. "That's it. Sexual harassment is too far. Yuuri, we're going." Spinning away definitively, he pulled his spouse with him as he made his way off the ice.
Yuuri groaned internally as he was dragged along, trying to figure out how he was going to talk down his husband from reporting Chris for harassment. It seemed like, rather than having his problem solved, his worries had increased by one.
