A/N: OKAY I gotta be honest, I am more likely to post on AO3. Chapters 6 and 7 have been up over there for a while, I just haven't posted them until now because I don't like how does their ratings and what is/isn't allowed on here. So if this gets taken down for explicit content, I give up.
Anyway, I have the rest of this story planned out. It should be about two more chapters, plus an epilogue to wrap this up.
Come hang out with me on tumblr (theinsanefox . tumblr . com) and AO3-I post a LOT more stuff on those two sites.
Thanks for the love and being loyal readers! 3 ~Foxy
Yuri's stomach was swimming by the time he left the bathroom. So much was happening at once that he wasn't sure where to begin sorting out his thoughts as he made his way over to where Otabek was still looking at clothes. Otabek must have seen the conflicted look on Yuri's face because he immediately stopped what he was doing to walk over and push that stubborn lock of hair that always fell in his face out of his eyes.
"Is everything okay, Yura?" Otabek's voice was soft, like when he was trying to approach a frightened animal.
Yuri tried to force a smile on his face. He figured standing in the middle of a boutique was not the place to have the conversation about what was going on, so instead he leaned in for a quick peck on the lips and said. "I'm just getting tired. I think I'm ready to head back."
Otabek nodded and without another word, led Yuri back to where they had parked the motorcycle. The noise of the bike drowned out any possibility of conversation on the way back, Yuri clinging tightly to Otabek while he buried his face between his boyfriend's broad shoulders. If his breath was a little shaky, it was definitely not because he was trying to hold back frustrated tears. All the time spent in silence did was force Yuri to continually panic over the conversation that was looming ahead like a dark cloud. He allowed himself to get so lost in his head as he psyched himself up, that it took Otabek announcing "We're home," to pull him back to reality.
Yuri felt like he was in a bit of a daze as he followed Otabek back up to the apartment with the things they bought earlier, his mind racing in a million different directions. He knew this was a conversation that they were going to need to have eventually, but he was a combination of frustrated, angry, and betrayed by his fans that caused the situation to need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Apparently having Otabek to himself for a month or two was too much to ask for.
"Hey," Otabek nudged Yuri, who realized that he had been standing in the entryway and staring blankly ahead at the wall. "Yura, what's going on?"
He shrugged, trying to brush off Otabek's question. "Sorry, just a little distracted today for some reason."
Part of Yuri felt bad for blatantly lying to his boyfriend. But an even bigger part of him knew how much he was dreading having this conversation. Nothing felt more terrifying at that moment than having the discussion about where their relationship was going, and he just hoped Otabek understood enough to give him a little bit of space to work things out for himself first.
Otabek nodded, although the look on his face clearly showed that he was not buying that excuse.
"Anyway, I promised Mila that I'd give her a call since we haven't talked in awhile. Do you mind if I go to the rooftop or something?" Yuri felt a little awkward asking for privacy from Otabek in his own home.
"I actually have to run to the grocery store, so feel free to stay here while I'm gone."
Yuri smiled finally, the relief immediate. He appreciated the excuse Otabek was making up to give Yuri some privacy. "Thanks, Beka."
"Of course," Otabek returned the smile, leaning in to give Yuri a quick kiss before grabbing the keys to the SUV and turning toward the door. "Tell Mila I say hi!"
As soon as Yuri was sure that Otabek's footsteps had disappeared down the hallway towards the elevators, Yuri was hitting Mila's name in his "favorites" list.
"Details. Now," Mila snapped by way of greeting.
"Fuck you, Baba," Yuri snarled in response. "We fucked. That's all you need to know."
The whine that came from the other end of the line would have sounded pathetic if he didn't know her so well. "You are the actual worst, you know that?" Mila wasn't fooling Yuri. She wasn't offended at all, just nosy as fuck.
"Whatever," he sighed, throwing himself down on the couch.
A few moments of absolute silence followed. Then, Mila spoke up, "You two really know how to make the headlines these days."
Yuri groaned, rolling over and trying to bury his face in the throw pillow on Otabek's couch, hoping maybe he could accidentally smother himself. "Don't remind me. Why do Beka and I get all of this attention and not you and Sara? You two have been together longer and she has that creepy twin brother that won't leave her alone. Way more newsworthy."
"Because unlike your Angels, our fans are sane human beings," Mila's voice had a sing-song lilt to it. "Also, the two of you are trending on Twitter. Again."
"Jesus fucking Christ," Yuri buried his face farther into the pillow. He really needed it to smother him right now.
Mila sighed, then continued on, slightly more sympathetic, "You're going to have to do something, Yurachka. Poor Vitya is doing all he can, and he can't afford to lose any more hair."
"That is so true," Yuri couldn't help but let out a soft little laugh at that.
A moment of silence and then Yuri whispered quietly into the phone, "Fuck, Baba, it was the best sex of my life."
He immediately regretted telling Mila this because he could hear how happy she was.
"Oh, Yurachka," she cried, "It's because you love him. You've never loved any of those dumb jocks you've fucked in the past. It makes all the difference."
He groaned, but decided not to push the subject. When Mila got on one of these tangents they tended to get—intense, he figured was the right word for it. That being said, he knew she was right. Otabek was not all of the dumb hockey jocks of his past. Then again, who knew what was going to happen now that the vultures had descended? He wished he could tell Mila just how terrified he was to talk about it, but knew she would only reiterate Katsuki's earlier words of "be a fucking adult" so he decided not to mention it.
After that, they chatted back and forth for a bit about nothing of particular depth, just to lighten the mood and get back to their usual banter. By the time Yuri heard the key turn in the lock of the front door, he bid Mila farewell and hung up. Whether he felt any better or not after the conversation remained to be seen.
Otabek reappeared with a couple of bags of groceries, and Yuri walked over to help him start putting things away. They both remained silent, the awkward air blanketing them and making Yuri so anxious to break it that he could almost feel himself vibrating.
Thankfully, Otabek took the initiative to speak up. "What's really going on, Yura? You've been acting weird since you took that phone call from Katsuki."
Yuri didn't answer right away, and instead busied himself organizing fruit in the bowl Otabek kept on his kitchen counter. When he couldn't possibly do that anymore, he bit his lip and grabbed the edge of the counter, gathering his courage. He finally told Otabek, "We're in the news again. Someone took photos of us walking around in Almaty this morning. Baldy and Katusdon say we have to make a statement now because they can't keep fending off the press forever."
By the end of it, his hands were shaking and he was forcing himself to take deep, steady breaths. He knew Otabek was going to want to end it right then and there, that he wasn't ready to come out publically, no matter how much his heart was telling him that's not true. Otabek won't leave you over this.
He must have let out a choked sob without realizing it, because next thing he knew, Otabek had his arms wrapped tightly around Yuri, and Yuri was wondering why the front of Otabek's shirt was so wet. It wasn't until he went to wipe at his face that he realized he was crying. "Fuck!"
"Yura, hey, it's okay," Otabek was doing his best to soothe Yuri. "We'll figure it out."
"No, it's not!" Yuri shot back, pushing himself away from Otabek and stomping over to the kitchen sink to splash some cold water on his face.
Otabek said nothing for a minute, and just let Yuri storm around the kitchen. When the blonde finally stopped and threw himself on the couch, Otabek walked over and took a seat next to him. Afraid to touch Yuri, just like a stray cat that finally got close enough to let him touch but would bolt if he tried, Otabek simply sat there with his thigh pressed up against Yuri's, hoping he would get the hint that Otabek wanted to reach out but just didn't know how to at that exact moment.
Yuri was able to regain his composure and make his breathing steadier and controlled. He sat up and faced Otabek, angrily wiping the tears from his eyes. When he started speaking, it was so quiet at first that Otabek wasn't entirely sure he had heard him. But after listening closely, it all finally clicked for the Kazakh.
"Beka, I don't know what to do. This is all so new and what we have going for us is great and I'm not ready to burst that bubble!" Yuri's voice was barely above a whisper, but at least it wasn't threatening to crack like it had earlier.
That was when Otabek took his cue to reach out and cup Yuri's chin with his hand. "Yura, listen to me."
Yuri did not move away, but refused to meet his boyfriend's eyes.
"Everything is going to be fine. I am happy to do whatever you want to do regarding the press. But please know that us coming out could never change how I feel about you. So, if you think we should tell the world, let's do it. If not, we can keep this to ourselves for as long as we can. But you know what vultures the press are. My only comment is that it might be better to face this head on, rather than letting the rumors spin out of control."
Yuri was silent for a minute, biting his lower lip again, which Otabek was starting to recognize as a nervous habit of the blonde's. Otabek brushed a stray lock of hair behind his boyfriend's ear, placing a soft kiss on his temple while he waited for Yuri to speak.
After what felt like forever, but also too soon somehow simultaneously, Yuri finally spoke up. His voice was soft and wavering, clearly unsure of what he was saying. "I think…I think you're right. To be honest Beka, I'm scared. I'm so scared how people will react and that this is going to change everything about our relationship. But I think we should just go ahead and make an announcement that we're together. Katsudon and Viktor have been fighting the media off long enough and it's not fair to them. This is our battle to fight, not theirs."
Otabek nodded and pulled Yuri into a tight embrace, making sure Yuri felt his support through every fiber of his being. "How do you want to announce it?"
The smirk that graced Yuri's face made Otabek's heart flutter a little, knowing that meant Yuri was feeling just a touch closer to his old self again. "I have an idea."
The result was a new photo uploaded to both Instagram and Twitter. Yuri took a shot of the two of them locked in a deep kiss, his blonde hair falling over his shoulders but making sure that enough of his face was visible that there would be no mistake that Yuri himself was in the picture. He captioned it:
The rumors are true. otabek-altin and I are together. I guess it's too much to ask for our privacy and that our fans respect that, since it was your shitty paparazzi photos that forced us to come out, so to speak. All I'm going to say is that we are happy and not breaking up any time soon, so there's your juicy gossip for the week. I even went through the effort to give you an official couples' name for us in the tags. You're welcome. #friendstolovers #boyfriend #otabek altin #yuri plisetsky #otayuri
Otabek followed suit on his own social media accounts so that there would be no question as to whether it was real or not.
It was all of a minute before the notifications started flooding in. Both Yuri's and Otabek's phones were in a state of constant buzzing, so they agreed to shut their phones off until morning and take a break from thinking about the stress of the day. What little Yuri had bothered to check of the comments seemed surprisingly positive, but he refused to dwell on it any further. All he cared about was being with Otabek and enjoying their time together, hopefully without it all imploding come morning.
Several hours later found the two cuddling on the couch, watching one of the shitty Sharknado movies on the large flat screen over Otabek's fireplace. Although they were about halfway through it, Yuri had long ago lost interest and was instead playing with Otabek's hair and occasionally would place a soft kiss to his neck. Without his phone to entertain him, Yuri was thoroughly bored and he was hoping that his teasing touches and soft kisses would ultimately arouse Otabek enough that they could have a repeat of the previous night.
"Yura," Otabek let out a warning growl as Yuri pretended to innocently brush his hand along the inside of Otabek's thigh.
"Hmm?" the blonde hummed, trying to hide his smirk as he felt Otabek squirm in attempt to escape his boyfriend's hands.
Otabek exhaled through his nose, keeping his eyes fixed on the TV. Yuri pouted at that and began to nuzzle into the nape of Otabek's neck, making sure to let his hand linger teasingly over Otabek's now stiffening cock.
"Bekaaaa," Yuri whined. "This movie sucks. Let's do something else."
Otabek hummed but did not try to pull away from Yuri this time. Taking this as a small victory, Yuri began to rub at Otabek's dick more insistently over his pants, silently pleased when he felt Otabek's breathing speed up a little bit.
Yuri continued to rub and even let his hand wander to the waistband of Otabek's jeans, teasing but not yet daring to dip down below. Otabek let out a frustrated growl and flipped Yuri over so that the blonde was pinned beneath him. A contented groan escaped Yuri's lips as Otabek ground his now very hard cock against Yuri's rapidly thickening one.
"Damn it, Yura," Otabek was growling in his ear. "You're a little shit and impossible to resist, you know that?"
"Maybe. You love me though," he teased back, rolling his hips up to meet Otabek's.
"Hmm," Otabek replied, already rucking Yuri's shirt up and yanking it over his head. That was all the encouragement Yuri needed and the two of them were suddenly tearing at each other's clothes until they were both naked on the couch.
Yuri reached between the two of them and grabbed their cocks so that they were rubbing together, earning him a sharp gasp from the man above him.
As Otabek fucked himself into Yuri's hand, Yuri had an idea that he wanted to try. He just hoped Otabek would be on board with it.
"Beka?" He gasped, wriggling as Otabek thrust into him particularly hard.
"Yeah?" He was honestly surprised Otabek could still speak at this point.
"Can I try fucking you tonight?" Yuri spit the request out faster than he meant to, hoping Otabek would get the hint that he was nervous.
Otabek's grinding stuttered for a beat before he looked up at Yuri, brown eyes locking with green. For a second, he was unsure what the response was going to be, but Otabek broke into a mischievous smirk at that. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Immediately, Yuri returned that grin. "Great. So, you want to do this out here or…?"
"Lube's in the bedroom," Otabek gave by way of answer.
That was all the answer Yuri needed before he grabbed Otabek's hand and dragged him down the hall.
Once in the bedroom, Yuri threw Otabek down on the bed while he climbed his way over to grab the lube from the nightstand.
Otabek wasted no time in latching onto one of Yuri's nipples as the blonde squeezed a generous amount of lube into his hand and began coating his fingers. He went to kneel over Otabek to start fingering him when he let out a sharp yelp of pain, forgetting once again that he should not be putting all of his weight on his knee.
"Hey, baby," Otabek murmured, cupping Yuri's face before throwing his weight into him and flipping them over so that he was on top of Yuri. "Easy, don't hurt yourself. We can do it this way so you keep your weight off your knee."
Yuri grumbled about Otabek being a sap, before pulling him down into another deep kiss. The result was instant as his boyfriend melted into the kiss and began grinding their erections together while Yuri took his time stretching him open. By the time a third finger was added, Otabek was a whining, whimpering mess. Yuri had to smirk at that, the knowledge that he could take his boyfriend apart with just his fingers was going straight to his head, as well as his cock.
Satisfied that Otabek was thoroughly prepared and stretched, Yuri went to go line his cock up with his lover's hole. He then felt Otabek smack his hand away before grabbing Yuri's cock and sinking himself down right onto it.
"Fuck, Yura!" Otabek cried out, taking Yuri a bit by surprise with how loud he was being. "You feel so amazing!"
Yuri groaned and wiggled his hips ever so slightly, cautiously settling into a more comfortable position while he gave Otabek a minute to adjust. With a nod from his boyfriend, Yuri rolled his hips, loving the absolutely filthy groan that escaped Otabek's lips with that movement. As he felt the Kazakh rise up slightly and suddenly dropped back down on Yuri's dick, he knew he was done for. While Yuri had almost exclusively bottomed throughout his sex life, there was something amazing about knowing what pleasure he could bring his lover that drove him mad whenever he did choose to top. And right now, nothing was going to stop him from pounding upwards and into his boyfriend's eager hole.
Which is exactly what he did. With every upward thrust of his hips, Otabek would meet him as he slammed down onto Yuri's cock. They continued that for a few minutes until Yuri noticed the beads of precome slowly leaking from the tip of Otabek's cock, and without even having to be asked, Yuri leaned forward to grab hold of it and start stroking his boyfriend in time with their thrusts.
Neither cared if the neighbors could hear them, so they both cried out and made sure to be as vocal as possible, almost as if in a contest to see who could scream the loudest by the time they were done. It wasn't long before Yuri could feel that blessed heat pooling below his navel, barely able to garble a warning as Otabek rode him, coming to a stop and clenching around his cock, refusing to let Yuri pull out while he came. It only took a few more strokes before Otabek followed suit, painting Yuri's stomach and chest with his come.
With a groan, Otabek rolled off of Yuri, turning on his side and running his fingers through those beautiful blonde locks while he took a minute to catch his breath. "You didn't cry this time," he pointed out.
Yuri let out an indignant squawk before burying his face in Otabek's chest. "Fuck you."
"Pretty sure I just did," Otabek deadpanned.
The whine Yuri let out was enough to make Otabek break out into laughter as he placed a gentle kiss on the crown of his boyfriend's head.
"Whatever, asshole," Yuri grumbled, but silently preened as Otabek pulled his face back up to meet him and began to pepper the Russian's face with kisses over every inch of skin he could reach from that position.
Thankfully it only took them a few minutes to catch their breath again, another perk of being a professional athlete, Yuri figured.
"Think you'd be up for another round?" Yuri smirked, already dragging his hand down Otabek's chest and back towards his crotch.
"Oh, fuck yes," Otabek whined.
Yuri pounced on Otabek at that and fell into a fit of laughter as Otabek smacked his ass.
The next morning, Yuri awoke to the sunlight glaring into his eyes. He mumbled a few swears and rolled over, burying his face into a sleeping Otabek's chest. He tried to go back to sleep, but the hand running through his hair indicated that his partner was awake.
"Morning," Otabek murmured, placing a soft kiss to the crown of Yuri's head.
"Mmph," Yuri replied, for once understanding Otabek's lack of desire to be a morning person.
"You have physical therapy today?" Otabek asked.
"Yeah, but fuck it. Don't you have practice?"
A pause and then, "Fuck it."
Yuri snorted and looked up at Otabek, kissing his nose. Otabek made a face and said "Ugh, morning breath, Plisetsky!"
That earned him a light smack to the chest, but Yuri made no attempt to get up. They laid there for what could only have been a few minutes before something clicked in the back of Yuri's mind.
"Fuck, Beka, what's the date?" he cried, suddenly awake and scrambling to find his phone.
Realizing his phone had been off since the previous night, he turned it on and braced himself for the onslaught of notifications he had ignored. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as he had feared, given that he turned off notifications for almost all of his social media accounts. He did have a few missed calls from Viktor, JJ, Mila, and even Yakov, as well as a smattering of texts from the other skaters, but otherwise the response was less than he had feared. In fact, the response was so overwhelmingly positive, when he grazed through the comments on Instagram and the Tweets being sent out that he almost had to sit down for a minute to compose himself.
"Everything alright?" Otabek asked, sitting up and wrapping his arms around Yuri's shoulders.
Yuri nodded and leaned back into Otabek's warm chest, still in disbelief that people were actually happy for the two of them.
Remembering why he had grabbed his phone in the first place, Yuri saw the date and felt his heart fall a little. He knew his time in Almaty was limited, but the reminder just drove a stake through his chest once he realized that he only had a few days left with his boyfriend.
"Yura?" Otabek kissed his shoulder, pulling him back to Earth.
Yuri startled but turned around in Otabek's arms so that they were facing each other. "Yeah, sorry, babe. Just realized my flight back to St. Petersburg is in a couple of days."
Seeing Otabek's face fall hurt even more than his own realization a few seconds prior. Their relationship was just finally reaching a good point, and it was devastating that he would be heading back to Russia soon. Yuri didn't want to think about the strain the distance was going to inevitably put on their relationship, but more than anything he didn't want to think about going back to a daily routine without Otabek by his side. It was probably unhealthy how quickly the two had grown dependent on each other, but Yuri didn't want that to change now. That thought alone was almost enough to make his heart shatter.
A loud ringing broke the silent moment, Yuri throwing a slew of swears at his phone as he reached over to answer. He didn't even have to check the screen to know it was Viktor, so he just answered with a snarled, "What is it, baldy?"
"Yurio!" he heard the older Russian huff indignantly from the other line. "You know how sensitive I am about my receding hairline!"
"Whatever," Yuri sighed, barely containing the eye roll he knew Otabek would scold him for.
"Anyway, the reason I'm calling is about last night. You should have consulted with me on the best way to announce your relationship. That could have easily backfired!"
Fuck holding back the eye roll, Yuri let it fly as he heard Otabek chuckle and get up to root around on the floor for some pants before making his way out to the kitchen, presumably to make coffee for the two of them.
To nobody's surprise, Viktor's phone call was simultaneously a lecture for making his life harder while also praising Yuri for being brave and just telling everyone about his and Otabek's relationship. Yuri wasn't convinced brave was the right word, so much as forced into the open about it thanks to his asshole fans, but the damage was done and he didn't have it in him to fight with Viktor on that. Especially since he was still sore and blissfully fucked out from the second and third round he and Otabek had gone for last night.
"Are we done here?" Yuri snapped once he realized the conversation had gone on for almost a half hour by then. Viktor twittered some more about Yuri's comeback for next season but the younger Russian had reached his breaking point. He barked out a "Dasvidaniya!" and ended the call before his coach could stop him.
By the time Yuri made his way into the kitchen, clad in nothing more than one of Otabek's t-shirts, he felt his heart stop at the sight. Otabek was sitting at the kitchen table, shirtless, sweat pants riding dangerously low. He was sipping a from a mug of coffee while browsing through the skating news sites on his iPad, glasses perched on the end of his nose. It should have made him look like an old man, but instead it made all the blood in Yuri's body pool straight in his cock.
"Fuck, you look so hot like that," Yuri groaned, sauntering over to the table and sitting in Otabek's lap.
Otabek let out a surprised noise but immediately let go of the coffee mug and iPad to wrap his arms around Yuri's slender waist. He chuckled softly as Yuri rolled his hips into Otabek's, although he was unable to hide his already half-hard cock through the thin material of his sweatpants. "Last night wasn't enough for you, kitten?"
"Never," Yuri teased, placing his mouth to Otabek's neck as he set to work on leaving a sizeable hickey there. "At least I don't have to worry about where I place these anymore."
"Mmm," Otabek hummed, running his hands down Yuri's sides and under the lone shirt he was wearing.
Yuri barely gave him any warning before reaching his hand into Otabek's sweatpants and grasping his rapidly swelling cock, earning himself a needy groan from the older man.
"Fucking hell, Yura, I'm about to bend you over the counter," Otabek growled, bucking into Yuri's hand and began to pump him.
"Good," Yuri replied, that sly smirk on his face. "That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say."
At that, Otabek stood up, making sure that he and Yuri stayed connected while he did so, before walking them over to the counter. He wasted no time in turning Yuri around and pushing on his back so that his top half was lying on the granite, legs already spread and ass on full display, shamelessly showing off the fact he hadn't bothered to put on any underwear beneath the shirt he had stolen from Otabek. He wriggled that ass at Otabek, whining in the most pathetic, needy way he could managed. The sight was single handedly one of the hottest things Otabek had ever seen in his life.
"Beka," Yuri whined, "Hurry up!"
Noting that Yuri's cock was already leaking and dripping onto the floor, Otabek groaned and began scrambling to find something that would work for lube. He had left the bottle in the bedroom and was positive that Yuri would murder him if he left for even the ten seconds it would take to grab it, so against his better judgement, he reached for the jar of coconut oil sitting next to the stove.
Yuri saw what Otabek was doing and tried to laugh at it, but that laugh turned into a moan as Otabek inserted an oil-covered finger into his hole. The prep ended up being minimal, more so a few teasing brushes over the prostate, as Yuri was still fairly stretched out from their second and third rounds the previous night. So, it was only a matter of Otabek dropping his pants and slicking up his cock before he pressed into Yuri.
Scrambling for purchase on the granite countertop proved to be more difficult than Yuri expected, but found the edge and grabbed onto it tightly while Otabek began to pick up the pace. It started slowly but continued to build, until he was snapping his hips harshly into his lover, skin slapping against skin obscenely and Yuri having some difficulty holding on to the edge of the counter.
"Fuck, yes, Beka, right there!" Yuri cried, throwing his head back as Otabek quickly found his prostate and made sure to hit it with every thrust of his hips.
On instinct, Otabek grabbed Yuri's hair and pulled back, creating more leverage for himself as he fucked into his lover. He was rewarded with a very pleased moan, Yuri lifting his head higher and giving Otabek better access to his neck as he felt the teasing of teeth biting gently at his nape.
He gave a few more thrusts before he felt Yuri's walls tighten around him as his boyfriend released himself onto the kitchen cabinets and floors, letting out a strangled cry of "Beka!"
It was over too quickly after that, Otabek releasing with a grunt as he bit down on Yuri's shoulder, barely able to keep himself from crying out.
Now finished, Otabek collapsed on top of his boyfriend, both of them panting and trying to catch their breath. Yuri muttered something about how the come was going to be a bitch to clean off from the cabinet, but Otabek merely grunted in response before pulling out and dragging Yuri down the hall and into the shower.
In the end, Dalen was not okay with Otabek skipping practice that day, so the two of them found themselves down at the rink by noon. Regardless of how much they wanted to stay home and fuck like rabbits until Yuri's inevitable departure in a few days, Otabek still had to prepare for the Four Continents, and Yuri would never forgive himself if he knew he was at fault for compromising his lover's performance in any way, shape, or form.
Although he remained silent about it during practice, Yuri could tell that Dalen was silently fuming at their announcement of their relationship the previous night. Yuri admitted that he felt a little guilty that they hadn't included either of their coaches on the decision, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
After a particularly hard training session that left Otabek leaning on the barrier of the rink for support while sweat dripped down his face and he breathed harder than he had during their nightly romps, Dalen finally released him from practice. As Yuri began to walk back towards the locker room with Otabek, he heard Dalen snarl, "Wait a second, Plisetksy, I have a few words for you."
Yuri would be lying if he didn't say he was actually fairly intimidated by Otabek's coach. The man was as stoic as Otabek, but often had a temper that reminded Yuri a little of Yakov. The man rarely spoke other than to bark out what Otabek was doing wrong in his performance, and Yuri had a feeling that he was about to get ripped apart for outing his star pupil.
"So, you and Otabek are together?" Dalen cut right to the chase once Otabek had disappeared down the hallway leading to the locker rooms.
Yuri swallowed nervously and nodded.
"And you are aware that he cannot afford to be distracted right now? He finally has a chance to win Worlds now that you're out for the season. He's always been too enamoured with you to skate to his full potential when you're competing against each other. It would be a shame if he threw that away for a piece of ass."
"Fuck you!" Yuri snapped before he could stop himself. "This isn't about sex. You know how long we've been close and how much we mean to each other. Why is it such a surprise that we fucking love each other and want to be together? And you think I don't know I'm distracting him? That's why I'm going home in a few days, even though it's breaking my heart to leave him here, especially since it's not exactly like I have anything to look forward to right now back in Russia until my knee heals!"
Dalen merely observed Yuri, whose fists were clenched and arms shaking as it was clearly taking everything within himself not to throw a punch at the coach. He nodded solemnly and said, "Good. You're going to be getting a lot of shit from the press and fans alike from now on. I'm glad you're so firm in your love for him because the two of you will be tested. And I know that poor boy would break if you left him."
With that, Dalen placed a warm hand on Yuri's shoulder. "Take care of him. Otabek is more fragile than he lets people believe."
As Dalen turned to walk away, Yuri couldn't help but stare at his back with his mouth wide open. He knew he had just passed some kind of test with the older man, but he just wasn't sure how that made him feel.
Several nights later, Yuri and Otabek were cuddling on the couch, cartons of Chinese takeout scattered around the coffee table and some crappy movie playing on Netflix. Yuri was stabbing at a stubborn piece of pork with his chopsticks, trying to keep his thoughts from wandering to the next day. His flight back to St. Petersburg was first thing in the morning, and Otabek had been doing his best to keep his mind off of his impending departure. After many wonderful sessions of sex in various places around the apartment, they had gone on a long ride on Otabek's bike through the beautiful mountains that surrounded Almaty until the sun finally set, and then stopped to get takeout from Yuri's favorite Chinese restaurant in Otabek's neighborhood.
Now, Yuri was curled up in Otabek's lap, only half tasting his food while Otabek ran his fingers through golden locks, occasionally stopping to massage Yuri's scalp a little. The blonde eventually gave up on his food, putting the carton down on the coffee table and instead wrapping his arms around Otabek's waist and pretending to watch whatever it was they had turned on.
"You okay, Yura?" Otabek asked, never stopping the gentle strokes through Yuri's hair.
Yuri waited a moment, then sighed. "I just...don't want to leave tomorrow. But I'm a distraction and I won't let you compromise your season for me."
Otabek's hand stopped its ministrations, instead gently grabbing Yuri's face and turning his head so that they were looking at each other. "Do you serioulsly think you're a distraction to me?"
Green eyes narrowed as Yuri nodded. "You know damn well I am. How can you concentrate on your skating when your mind is on me? When I'm here, you spend less time at the rink and more time in the bedroom. You need to focus on the Four Continents and then Worlds. If I can't skate this year, you better win gold for me!"
Otabek sighed but couldn't hide the small whisper of a laugh that escaped his throat at that. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Yuri's forehead. "Your mind is never not on skating, is it love?"
Yuri shook his head before leaning up for a chaste peck on the lips. "Only most of the time. The rest of the time I'm thinking about that magnificent cock of yours."
At that, Otabek gave up trying to hold back his laughter. He collapsed on top of Yuri in a fit of giggles, while the Russian merely smiled and held on tightly to his lover. Knowing that he'd be going back to St. Petersburg in just twelve short hours, where he would go back to sleeping alone, having nobody but Potya to cuddle on the couch, twisted his stomach in knots. But they also both knew it was the right thing to do for the time being.
When the laughter died and the two of them merely lay on the couch in a tangle of limbs, Yuri voiced the question that had been weighing heavily on his mind for several nights now.
"Hey, Beka?"
"Hmm?" Otabek sounded like he was half asleep by that point, clinging to Yuri for dear life as he nuzzled into his chest.
"We'll still be together after I go home tomorrow, right?"
The confusion was evident on Otabek's face as he snapped his head up to look his boyfriend in the eyes. "Of course! Why is that even a question?"
Yuri cast his eyes down, suddenly a little bashful about his insecurities. "Because things have been so perfect for us. I'm afraid this will upset the balance."
Otabek leaned up so that their foreheads were touching and held Yuri's face so that he could not look away. "Yura, you going back to Russia changes nothing. I love you and I am not going anywhere, you hear me? Long distance is going to suck but we'll make it work. And Four Continents is less than a month away. You'll of course come stay with me and watch me compete, and after Worlds when the season ends, we'll spend the whole summer together. By then you'll be back on the ice, and we'll both be as gross and sappy as Viktor and Yuuri."
Fuck, Yuri was crying once again. He tried to ignore the tears that slipped from the corners of his eyes, but Otabek was there, kissing the tears away and whispering how much he loved him. Yuri had no idea what he had done to deserve such a great person, but maybe he should start reconsidering his rather lax religious views if the Universe had somehow decided he and Otabek should be together.
"Thank you, Beka. I love you so much."
A final kiss as the tears finally dried up. "Come on, let's clean up in here and then head to bed. You have an early flight."
Yuri nodded his understanding and by the time they fell into Otabek's large bed, it was no surprise that they once again ended up naked and entangled together. But instead of the rushed, hot fucking they had been doing nonstop, this time it was slow and sweet. Each kiss and loving whispering slowly broke Yuri apart, and by the time he came, he was sobbing all over again. Only this time, it was from the overwhelming swelling in his chest that came from knowing just how much Otabek made him know he was loved.
As they drifted off to sleep, Yuri's face buried in Otabek's hair, all he could think about was how much he wished his grandfather could have been around to see the two of them together, and know that maybe Yuri wasn't doomed to be alone in this world without Nikolai there with him.
Yuri didn't care how many times they did this, he fucking hated saying goodbye. He didn't know how long he stood there, clinging to Otabek like he was his lifeline, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before he heard his flight being called for boarding over the PA system.
"Yura, you have to go now," Otabek murmured, but made no move to let go.
"I don't want to," Yuri hoped Otabek hadn't noticed the cracking in his voice. He'd managed to hold it together the entire ride over, he refused to fall apart now.
Otabek made no move to let go either, taking in his own shaky breath and burying his nose in Yuri's hair. He let out a barely audible sob before pulling back and brushing a stray lock of hair behind Yuri's ear.
Yuri took a deep breath and finally pulled away from the embrace. He refused to let the tears he was holding back fall while they were in public, and instead leaned in for one last kiss before he headed through security.
When he looked back, Otabek was wiping his face with the back of his hand. He saw Yuri staring at him and gave him their signature thumbs up, which Yuri returned. They both mouthed "Davai" to each other before Yuri had to grab his bags and sprint to his gate to avoid missing his flight home.
To nobody's surprise, Viktor and Yuuri were waiting at baggage claim when Yuri came down the escalator in Pulkovo Airport. One look at their friend and Yuuri opened his arms. Without a single word, Yuri walked into his friend's embrace and simply stood there, cried out of tears but still exhausted and feeling empty.
"You okay, Yurio?" Viktor asked from behind Katsuki, placing a comforting hand on Yuri's head.
"Yeah, I will be. I just miss him already," Yuri sighed.
"We know," Katsuki replied, squeezing the younger man around the shoulders. "Now let's get you home. We have a lot of talking to do about your relationship and the press, but you look like you need some sleep."
Yuri nodded before following the older couple out to their car. His phone beeped with an incoming text, and he was glad to see it was from Otabek, making sure he landed safely.
He replied that he had, and that he already missed Otabek.
I know, Yura. Just remember we are exactly three weeks away from Four Continents. We'll see each other again soon. I love you.
He couldn't stop the small smile at that text message. He was aware of Viktor nudging his husband and gesturing to the rare happy look on Yuri's face, but he ignored them.
Three weeks,he inwardly sighed. I can do this.
Those words felt like a lie, though. Now that he'd known what it was like to live with Otabek, he wasn't sure how he was going to learn to function again without him there all the time. Three weeks wasn't a long time inherently, he knew this, but a piece of his part had definitely remained in that airport terminal in Almaty. He just hoped he'd get it back.