CHAPTER SIXTEEN

-Sometimes a medal isn't the only sign of victory!-

1. Christophe GIACOMETTI [CHE] - SP 92.73 - FS 196.37 - TOTAL 289.10 [GOLD]
2. Helmute KNABE [DEU] - SP 98.32 - FS 167.76 - TOTAL 266.08 [SILVER]
3. Georgi POPOVICH [RUS] - SP 87.50 - FS 169.81 - TOTAL 257.31 [BRONZE]

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10. Yuri Plisetsky [RUS] - SP 52.63 - FS 168.96 - TOTAL 221.59

It wasn't enough to get Yurio on the podium at the European Championships, but at least he didn't completely fail in his Free Skate. The crowd had roared their appreciation for the skill that they knew Yurio had, even if it was still rather subdued from his melancholy and stress. Yurio himself felt almost rejuvenated by the applause though, as if it had somehow brought him back to life.

He felt like he was allowed to breathe again.

The fanfare upon his return to Russia was well deserved, too, and for once, he even gratefully took photos with the Yuri's Angels group. He hadn't quite lost his mind yet though, so he resisted letting them put cat ears on his head, though a pair ended up there eventually anyway. Victor and Yuri waited for him at the baggage claim, and agreed to take him to the hospital where his grandfather had been staying. Fortunate timing meant that Nikolai would be discharged that same day, so Yurio would be able to go home with him, rather than having to leave him there and go on to that empty house alone.

The excited little ragdoll greeted her person/servant enthusiastically, rubbing against Yurio's legs until he picked her up, "Potya..." He said happily, and cuddled the feline affectionately before turning back to the door to let Victor and Yuri help bring the rest of his things inside.

Yuri looked around curiously, seeing this tiny slice of his Russian rival's life. Like Victor's house, there was almost no sign of anything outside of skating. At least Yurio had his grandfather though. He turned his eyes to his fiancé and gave a subtle look, but only briefly, I wonder why he still won't talk about his own family...? I've asked twice now and he ignored me entirely both times. At least Yurio's been upfront about how he's essentially estranged from it, except for his grandpa.

As he left the small household to go back to the car, he noticed that Victor had stayed behind a moment. Looking back to see his partner standing just inside the doorway, he could only bet that Yurio had a few last things to say.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did." The blond told him, still holding his fluffy, petite cat, "If you had just left, instead of waiting like you did..."

"It's fine. You don't have to thank me for all that." Victor insisted, "Any decent person would've done the same thing."

"All the same." Yurio said, "Thank you."

"We'll see you at practice in the next few days. Take care and relax until then, okay?"

"Sure."

"Do svidanija."

"Da..."

.

Practice for the engaged pair intensified after that, as there were only a few short weeks left before Four Continents. Polishing their coordinated Exhibition skate was weighing heavily on Yuri's mind.

"What if I mess it up?"

"You won't."

"But what if I doooooo? I haven't had a chance to land a quad Lutz in competition yet, and we've been keeping to doubles while we work out the kinks..."

"You haven't even messed up the program yet in practice. Well, other than that time with the crack in the ice, but that wasn't even your fault." Victor explained, "Don't be so nervous. It's the Exhibition Gala, not the GP Final. You're supposed to have fun doing it. So...from the top."

Victor watched as Yuri skated back out to the center of the rink and took his position, lowering his head with one leg crossed behind him. The Russian hit the play button on the audio controller, and Yuri started the program. A double Lutz and a double Flip later, Victor himself entered the dance. There were two other jumps to perform after Victor joined, one of which was done at opposite corners of the rink from one another, and the last was closer to the center, where they passed each other in mid-air before landing to skate backwards, sliding away from one another, right hand out, reaching to the other as though they were being pulled apart after just nearly, finally, coming together. In the end, their dance had them come back together in the center of the rink, pulling each other closer together with their left hands as they circled, and stopped with each of their right hands up near the other's cheek.

Despite being out of breath, Victor clasped Yuri's ringed hand and kissed it, "That's it. I can't wait for the Gala now. It's perfect."

Yuri's eyes shone with excitement despite his continued worries.

"We should do a dress rehearsal next time, with proper quads and everything."

Nodding as he wiped the sweat from his brow, Yuri looked up in realization, "What about your new costumes? Are they going to be ready in time? It's been weeks since you sent in your request, and they still haven't arrived." Yuri wondered, and started to skate casually as Victor followed.

"They should actually be on the way now." The Russian answered, "It's a shame I'll only really get to use them for one event before the season's over."

Yuri put his hands on his hips as he continued to coast forward, and he wondered if he should open his mouth about another possibility.

Victor could tell something was on his mind though, "...What is it?"

"Well, there's always the International Adult competition in May..." He dared suggest, "...You're...old enough...to qualify..."

Victor's face went pale, and slowly but surely, melted until he was little more than a Victor-shaped puddle on the ice, "...Old enough? ...I can't...recover from this..."

Yuri skated around and went back over to him, "Victor..."

"That's a competition for old people..."

"Masters."

"OLD MASTERS."

Yuri nervously scratched the side of his jaw, looking at his weeping fiancé as he stayed flat on the ice, "It's not that bad...it's for anyone who is 28 or older by the specified time."

" BOŽE MOJ...I'VE BEEN OLD ALL ALONG." (Oh my god.)

"I didn't mean it like that!" Yuri pleaded, and immediately began a string of emphatic, deep bows, "I'm sorry! You're not old!"

"Promise you'll come visit when they put me into the old people's home..." Victor pleaded, sobbing pitifully as he reached a shaky hand towards his beloved, "Don't let me waste away all alone...!"

"You're not going to waste away in an old people's home!" Yuri insisted, "You're not even half-way old enough to be an 'old people'!"

"My tombstone should read 'Here Lies Victor Nikiforov... Husband to Yuri Nikiforov, former world champion, Gold medalist, died with a full head of hair...'"

"Victoooorrrrrr..." Yuri begged, "You're not that old... You don't even have a bald spot..." He stuck his finger on the crown of that silver head to prove it, "See? Can't you feel all that hair?"

"AHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..." The Russian wailed.

"Get off your asses before someone skates over you!" Yurio yelled from the other side of the rink, "You're both old! Get over it!"

Yuri promptly joined Victor in puddle-dome on the ice, "But I'm only 24... Why does it hurt so much?"

Victor turned his head to his younger - but apparently still-qualified as old - half, "Did you hear something?" He looked up and around, almost dramatically, "It almost sounded like there was a baby speaking."

"Heh...BABY YURIO...the Russian Kitten!" Yuri agreed, buffering the taunt for everyone to hear.

Yurio just grit his teeth at them, "IDIOTS."

The younger of the two 'old people' finally sat up on the ice, still laughing at the whole thing, "Glad he's back to his old self again."

Victor pushed himself up to his hands and knees, looking sideways at his fiancé, "Agreed. He's more fun like this." He mused, and Yuri nodded in eager agreement before using the silver's frame as a lift-off point to get back onto his blades. Once up, he offered his hands down to bring Victor up as well, which he accepted gratefully, "You should go through 'Eros' and 'YoI' a few times. Maybe we can spot some areas for improvement or to make things more difficult for more points. You still want to get a 3+ GOE for your Flip, right?"

"Do you think I should raise my arms up for some of the jumps?" Yuri wondered nervously, "I don't know if I can just yet...but Tano jumps are worth more than regular ones..."

"Well, that's why we're practicing now and not the morning of competition, right?"

"Shouldn't you practice your routines, too?" Yuri added curiously, and turned to skate backwards in front of the Russian, "I haven't really see you do your stuff in a while. It's just been 'Duetto' this whole time. You're a genius and all, but..."

"I've had my programs memorized since before going to Hasetsu, don't forget." Victor pointed out, "I'll go through them later."

"You sure?"

"Yes! I have all the time until Worlds to work on them!" Victor insisted, shooing his beloved off, "Go take your position!"

"Haaaai!" Yuri sped off with a start, heading back to center, "Which one should I do first?"

"'Eros.' You've done 'YoI' fairly recently."

"Alright..." He nodded, and took his stance.

.

Ga'ding-donnnggg...

Socked heels thumped on the hardwood as Victor went for the door, and pulled it open. The sun was starting to go down, but a Courier stood there anyway with two pieces of mail in his hands. A quick signature for them both, and the envelopes were passed over to him, "Mh, da, spasibo." He finished quietly, then turned to close the door and look at the writing, "Oi, Yuri! Looks like our official invitations are finally here."

"Eh?"

Yuri, here! A little bit of 4th-Wall-Breaking explanation!

Every skating season starts in the autumn, and kicks-off with the regional competitions for those newly entering Seniors, or for those who didn't previously qualify for international events. Once qualified, they can enter the Grand Prix Series; an assortment of six events that run from October to December, but to which most skaters will only attend two. The top six competitors from the whole GP Series will move on to the Grand Prix Final in mid December.

After that, in January, comes the European Championship (Euros) - which is just for skaters from Europe and Russia - and then in February, the Four Continents Competition (4CCs) - which is for all non-European/Russian countries. Each of these competitions are invitationals, and to qualify, the skater must first gain a certain number of points in an international competition in the current or immediately-preceding season, and then be chosen by their country to go. The number of spots each country gets depends on how well each country performed the year before, with points being given to each skater for their rank. Nations with enough points can send up to three skaters per discipline; most everyone gets at least one spot, so long as their skaters meet the ISU's minimum technical and age requirements.

The World Championships take place in March, and the number of people who can go depends on ranking the previous year; the fewer number of skaters that went, the higher they have to get in the ranks to earn more spots the next year - for example, if Japan only sends one skater for Men's Singles, then that guy has to score in the Top 10 to earn a second spot the next year, and in the Top 2 to earn three spots. If Japan sends two Men's Singles, then their total has to be in the Top 28 to get two spots, and Top 13 to get three spots. Scores from any previous season can be used to qualify, and each country can use additional criteria to choose which skaters to send...which is why Victor is likely to go, even if he hasn't competed at all this season so far.

National-level competitions like All Japan and Russian Nationals are held throughout the season, with some starting early, like China sometimes going in September, and others going super late, like Thailand has gone in early April, long after everything else has already ended. It changes every year.

Thanks for your attention! Back to the story!

Victor trotted back to the living-room with their mail and plopped down onto the floor-nest in front of the couch. The movie on the screen had been paused for the door, and Yuri lifted up from the blankets and pillow he'd been curled-up in with Makkachin. One hand reached up, and Victor offered over the JSF letter; seeing the Japanese text made Yuri's head flutter. He pushed up to sit on his knees and pressed the envelope between his palms; a quick glance up towards the ceiling for a silent prayer, and he let himself open it.

Victor had already cracked his open and the letter was unfurled in his hands; Cyrillic text and the RSF logo greeted those slate eyes, and he nodded, "Just as I thought. They can't do Worlds without me. You?" He asked, and lifted the letter away with a lazy sway.

"I've officially been invited to represent Japan at Four Continents. I did it."

Victor smiled and set his letter down on the couch-cushions behind him, and reached over to give a congratulatory shoulder-rub, "Of course they'd invite you. You're not a dime-a-dozen skater anymore...you're the top skater in the JSF."

"This is such a relief still, to have it in writing now... I never thought I'd see another one of these again after last year." Yuri commented, and sat back to lean against his partner's chest, head tilted back on the man's shoulder, "It's all thanks to you that I'm here again."

"I was merely a conductor waving a little white stick around while the orchestra played." The silver deferred, "Though...maybe I did have a hand in finding the instruments."

"Just a few of them," Yuri huffed, and twisted around just enough to lift a hand across and pull his fiancé's face closer for a kiss, "Still, this orchestra was playing blind before you came."

"Maybe now you can practice like you mean it."

"What." Yuri guffawed, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

Victor offered a wry smirk, "You've been so worried about whether you'd even get to go that you were holding back. Now you have your piece of paper...so we can really get to work." He explained, and pulled out from behind his beloved, "Or is there something else still bothering you?"

"You mean other than literally everything?"

"Maybe start from the top?"

"From the top..." Yuri echoed with a huff. He twisted in place to look at the man more evenly, and crossed his arms across himself, "I'm looking at the top."

"Ahhhh no, that's not quite correct." Victor retorted, though that just earned him a cock-eyed deadpan. He resolved to explain himself more physically, and grinned mischievously as he rocked forward onto his hands and knees, and pushed his partner down to his back with a new kiss. With chest down and backside in the air, Victor teased his way between his beloved's legs, only to lift up a few inches on his elbows to see that confused and flustered face, "Now I'm on top."

"You can't ever take anything seriously."

"That's what I have you for."

Yuri couldn't help but flush, and fell silent for a moment before suddenly bursting out in laughter, and sighed a happy-crying groan, "Oh man, isn't that the truth."

"So you see?" The silver went on, and lowered down to his favorite spot under one of his partner's ears, "That's why we make such a great couple. Your sense of stoic responsibility balances out my reckless spontaneity."

"You're saying I reign in your worst impulses?" Yuri wondered half-skeptically.

"Oh, most assuredly." Victor laughed, giving a few happy nibbles to that little patch of neck. He lowered his back-end down, and slid his knees astride his beloved's hips, "Everything I do now goes through the 'what would Yuri think?' filter, and if something brings up your sad face in my mind's-eye, I immediately back off."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like buying a 3kg tub of Nutella."

"Oof...that actually sounds kinda good..."

"Nooo don't say that! I'll end up buying it anyway!"

"Maybe it can fill in the void of that bag of nuts we lost in Barcelona." Yuri wondered, arms and legs wrapping around that taught athletic frame above him, "I still mourn its loss."

"I could make an inappropriate joke right now about nuts, but I won't."

It took a second, but Yuri's face went bright red when he felt the nudge from his partner's hips, "Oh." He blurted, "Oh my gosh Victor you're terrible."

The silver Russian just hummed a laugh as he went for a kiss on those soft lips again, "Terribly in love, you mean." He teased, and gave another good push with his hips, "In which case, you would be super correct."

"You're not allowed to make jokes like that. It's breaking my brain."

"More or less than everything else I've done in the last year?"

Yuri balked, and smiled anxiously, "...Yes."

"Oh, I see, well..." Victor laughed and slid forward again, "Then at least I'm keeping up tradition at this point." He mused, and went back to nibbling on that neck again.

"Being as inappropriate as possible?"

"Absolutely." He answered easily, and lifted up again just enough to look into those hazel eyes, "We should celebrate our letters by being inappropriate together."

Yuri hesitated a moment in dramatic thought, and made a weird face, as though to highlight that he had to consider the suggestion rather deeply, "Hmmmm...I dunno... I thought I was the responsible one."

"Be reckless with me, Yuri~!"

"Give me one good reason."

"Because I love yoouuuuu~!" The Russian sang, comically gyrating against his younger lover right there on the floor.

"Ah, hm, I see. I'll take that into con- nhg...consideration...ahh..." Yuri managed, feeling the more urgent and rhythmic rock against center. His fingers curled into the fabric of his fiancé's t-shirt, and he hugged into the man's shoulder, holding tight as those waves of electrical need started to pass through him.

"Is that a yes?" Victor purred curiously, speaking the words against his beloved's skin. He held himself up on just his knees and slithered his hands down and into his partner's shirt, pawing for skin.

"...It's...going to start to hurt if I say no."

"Then it sounds like I have work to do," He hummed, and hugged the man close against himself, "Omedetou, Yuri~" (Congratulations.)