Chapter 2: This is it

After the Grand Prix Final and all of the excitement that followed was over, Yuri and Victor returned home to Russia where they took a small break before they had to get back to training and skating. In that time, the decided on a date to get married on and hired a wedding planner to get started on things. Now that they've chosen a date, they were returning to Japan for the weekend to visit Yuri's parents and to look at venues for the wedding ceremony. After a long day of travelling, the two finally arrived at Yutopia bathhouse. Victor and Yuri grabbed their luggage from the back of the taxi and headed inside.

"Mom? Dad?" Yuri called once they were inside.

"Well would you look who it is" his father said appearing in the entryway.

"Oh my! Yuri, Victor, it's so good to see you guys again!" His mother said not too far behind.

Yuri's parents went in to hug him tightly.

"We're so proud of you and so happy for you!" his mother said squeezing him tighter
"You did a great job" his father said.

"Aww, thanks" Yuri said.

Victor simply stood aside and watched from behind.

"Eh? Victor, come on, you're not excused from the love either" Mr. Katsuki said bringing him in for a hug.
"We're just as proud of you too" Yuri's mother said giving him an equally as tight hug. "We're just so happy for the both of you."

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki" Victor said.

"Oh please! Call us mom and dad now" Mr. Katsuki stated.

"Thanks… mom and dad" Victor said, the words almost feeling foreign to him. Victor fell silent for a moment and his expression became blank.

"Bet you guys are tired from all of that travelling" Mr. Katsuki said noticing the slight change in mood.

"I hope you two are hungry, you came just in time for dinner" Mrs. Katsuki said.

"Ugh, I'm starving!" Yuri complained with his stomach rumbling
"Yeah, neither of us really had a chance to eat much today" Victor stated.

"Good, you boys get settled in. Dinner should be ready any minute now" replied Mrs. Katsuki as she headed towards the kitchen.

Victor and Yuri grabbed their things and went towards the bedroom to unpack some and settle down before dinner. They went to the room Victor used to stay in when he first came to Hasetsu since the bed was big enough for two people. Everything was more or less the same and Victor immediately started unpacking while Yuri flopped down on the bed instead. He felt like dealing with unpacking later than sooner. It had been so long since he's had one of his mom's home cooked meals and he was couldn't wait for dinner to be ready. Luckily, whilst Yuri was in the middle of day dreaming about his mom's cooking, she called both of them down to dinner. Yuri and Victor both went down to the living room and sat around the table. Mrs. Katsuki entered shortly after with dinner finally prepared.

"Since Yuri is a gold medal champion now, and to honor your engagement, I made you guys' favorite, katsudon!" Mrs. Katsuki said presenting the both of them with bowls that had a heaping helping.

"I've been dreaming of this for so long! Itadekimasu!" Yuri said immediately digging in.
"Wow! Thanks, mom" Victor said shoving food in his mouth.

The two skaters proceeded stuffing their faces with food, while making conversation with the family, until neither of them could have another bite. Yuri's mom wanted to know everything about how they felt at the Grand Prix final, and anything she could find out about their upcoming wedding. She was so excited to see Yuri after he moved to St. Petersburg with Victor. She was also happy that her son found someone who makes him happy and who he wants to spend the rest of his life with. By extension, she felt the same for Victor and was happy to soon have him as a son in law.

"Victor, we can't thank you enough for all that you've done for our son" Mrs. Katsuki said.

"It was nothing really. I should be the one thanking you guys for having such a wonderful son" Victor responded.

"Aww, Victor… that was really sweet" Yuri said smiling.

"You make him smile like none other. I don't think we've ever seen Yuri this happy" Mr. Katsuki said.

"Geeze, you make it seem like my life was so depressing before Victor" Yuri pipped up.

"Well, you've been considerably happier with him in your life" His father observed.

"Of course, I'm happier now, but I was happy before then too."

Yuri and his father went back and forth comparing how his life was before to how it is now. Victor simply watched the exchange take place before him, amused by both of their antics.

"That's enough now" Mrs. Katsuki interrupted before the conversation swayed "So, Victor how do your parents feel about all of this?"

"Huh? Well, uh…"

Yuri briefly glanced over at Victor to try and see how he would respond to this.

"I kind of lost touch after I left" Victor finally said in a casual tone, not giving much detail at all.

He yawned and leaned back as he felt the sleepiness that accompanies a full belly take over him. Yuri felt it too, and as a chain reaction yawned himself. Yuri noticed the slightly concerned and confused looks on his parent's face, and he knew what was coming next.

"Man, it's been a long day. Dinner was really amazing too!" Yuri said before his parents could have the chance to ask any more questions about anything.

"Sounds like you two could use a nice relaxing soak in the outdoor bath" Mrs. Katsuki said getting up and grabbing the empty bowls.

"Ooh, that sounds like just what my body needs right now" Victor said.

"We have everything prepared for you guys whenever you're ready" said Mrs. Katsuki.

Victor and Yuri stood up and stretched, while Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki took the dirty dishes back to the kitchen.

"How about we take a soak together?" Victor whispered in Yuri's ear

"Of course," Yuri responded, "But first I'm going to help mom with the dishes a little bit. I'll meet you there."

Victor nodded and went back to the room while Yuri went after his parents in the kitchen. Once there, his mother insisted that she didn't need any help, but Yuri stayed and aided with the chores anyway. Mrs. Katsuki scrubbed and rinsed the dishes while Yuri dried and put them away. Even though she said she didn't need the help, she really did appreciate it. Plus, it was more time for her to spend with her son. She brought up memories of Yuri's childhood to see just how far her son has come. Yuri blushed as she brought up some embarrassing stories but overall enjoyed listening to his mom happily remember the life she gave him.

As she was thinking about her own son, Mrs. Katsuki began to think about what happened at dinner not too long ago when she questioned Victor. She decided to question Yuri instead to see if she could get more clarity from him. Yuri was taken aback for a moment, not sure how or even if he should respond to his mother. He was one of the few people that actually knew about Victor's past. He thought for a moment, then began to explain in vague terms what Victor meant. He didn't want to give out too much info as he felt it wasn't his business to tell, but he wanted to choose the right wording to get the point across to his mother. Yuri explained in simple terms why Victor left, and left it at that. He also asked not to really speak about it either. Mrs. Katsuki understood and didn't press any further. His father had just come back into the kitchen after helping Yuri's older sister, Mari, to catch the explanation. Mari entered the kitchen, not having heard anything, and offered to switch off with helping with the dishes instead.

Meanwhile, as Yuri and his family were together inside, Victor was outside in the hot spring, looking up at the night sky. He started thinking about how much his life has also changed since Yuri became a part of it. He hadn't initially thought about how much of an impact Yuri has had, but looking back on things, he realized his life was also happier since the two came together. He couldn't feel more sure about his decision to spend the rest of his life with Yuri. At this point, he couldn't imagine himself with anyone else. Just as Victor was about to become completly lost in thought, the sliding door opened and Yuri stepped out. He disrobed and entered the bath with Victor.

"I was wondering how long you were going to keep me waiting" Victor said.
"Hope I didn't keep you too long" Yuri said moving in closer to his fiancé.

"Not at all" Victor replied kissing Yuri's cheek.

Yuri leaned against Victor, their bodies melding together. They sat together in silence for a while before Victor finally said something.

"Did they ask you anymore about it?" Victor asked.

"Huh? Um, yeah they did." Yuri said not realizing what he meant at first.
"So what did you tell them?"
"I didn't say much, I kept it simple. I didn't really give them the full story."
"Why not?"
"I… I don't really feel like it's my story to tell."

Victor didn't say anything. He only stared into the water.

"Besides, I wasn't entirely sure if you wanted them to know in the first place…" Yuri looked up at his fiancé, examining his expression, not sure what to make of his silence.

"You're not mad at me… are you?" Yuri asked.

"No, not at all. Maybe on a different occasion I'll tell them everything" Victor said smiling at Yuri to reassure him that he wasn't mad in the least bit.

The two went silent again. Yuri rested his head onto Victor's shoulder and closed his eyes as he remembered something that made him laugh. Victor rested his head on top of Yuri's.

"What's so funny?" Victor asked.
"I'm just remembering the first time you came to Hasetsu and I rushed out here to see you actually here" Yuri said.

"I still remember the look on your face" Victor laughed.

"Yeah way to make a first impression. You came on pretty strong, you know, naked and in my home"

"And you don't suppose clinging on to me while completely drunk wasn't coming on strong?"

"Th-that's different…" Yuri said.

"I'm only messing with you" Victor said. "Remember how you refused to even sleep with me? Or spend any time with me? Now look at you."
"I can't imagine a single day without you now" Yuri said lovingly.

The both of them laughed as they remember the first impressions they gave each other. Yuri looked into Victor's frosty blue eyes while he gently caressed his cheek. He started kissing his silver haired partner. Victor began to pull away, but Yuri lightly bit his lower lip to keep him there a little longer. Victor placed his arm around Yuri, and the pair began making out. Victor, with his arm still around Yuri, took his free hand and reached down in the water to start feeling him up. Yuri goes along with it despite part of him feeling like they probably shouldn't be doing that right now. Victor then started to kiss Yuri's neck, and just as he does this, Yuri's sister came outside to ask the two of them a question.

"Hey, you guys… uhh…?" She stopped when she saw them both.
"Wait, Mari! Th-this isn't what it looks like!" Yuri stammered as his face became bright red.

"Really? Cuz, it looks exactly like what it looks like" His sister said unconvinced.

Victor removed his hand from the water, and said nothing only presenting a coy smile. Yuri was also mute and avoided eye contact with his sister.

"Anyway," Mari continued "mom and dad wanted to know if you guys needed anything else in the guest room."
"No, we should be fine, right?" Yuri said now looking at Victor.
"Yeah, everything looks good" Victor agreed.

"Alright then, I'll let them know" Mari said standing in the door way.

She turned around to leave but stopped to add one last thing.

"Oh, and by the way, if you two are going to go at it, maybe don't do it in the bath" She said

"Wha—we… we weren't going to…" Yuri trailed off his sentence realizing there was no point to try and come up with a rebuttal.

"Oh, weren't we?" Victor said whispering in Yuri's ear still only just loud enough for his sister to hear.

Mari scoffed and left the two men be. Yuri sank lower into the bath as he felt embarrassment wash over him and wanted nothing more than to hide away in shame. Although, while he rather no one had walked in on them, he was glad that it was just his sister, and not his mother and/or father instead. Victor chuckled to himself to laugh off some of the embarrassment then looked at Yuri with eyes suggesting they continue where they left off. Yuri instead suggested that maybe they shouldn't despite still somewhat wanting to. Victor and Yuri stayed in the bath for just a while longer before they got out and prepared for bed.

The following morning, the two arose and enjoyed a nice breakfast together. Today, they would be meeting with the wedding planner to look at three different locations that they narrowed down from a larger list. They spent a little bit of time together with the family before they went out to meet at the first location on their list. They arrived and their wedding planner greeted both of them and they proceeded to look at the grounds. The first spot was in a nice location. Victor loved the outdoor garden, but didn't care much for the indoor part where the reception would take place, while Yuri liked the indoor country club better than he had liked the garden. Neither of them could really agree on this one. The next location didn't really wow either of them. They had liked the photos they had seen online, but were underwhelmed in person. They mostly preferred this venue due to its location in relation to everything else. They could both agree on one thing here, that they weren't really feeling it.

They finally arrived at the third and final location. They started off inside by looking at the reception area. Both of them were really impressed and liked the space. The wedding planner then lead them outside and opened the doors from the banquet hall to the breath taking view. A stone path lead down to a small bridge that crossed over a creek that was connected to a koi pond. The entire garden was surrounded by large, beautiful trees. At the end of the path was the biggest tree with lots of branches covered in leaves, but come spring, it would be raining sakura petals everywhere. Yuri and Victor both took a moment to look around the garden individually before the both of them met up coincidently at the grand tree.

Yuri stood there beside Victor looking all around him. He stood there imagining himself walking down the aisle with light pink petals scattered about, then Victor walking towards him and the both of them standing together in the spot there were at now. Yuri looked at Victor with dazzling eyes and immediately knew that—

"This is it" he said out loud to himself.
"What was that?" Victor asked breaking from his own fantasy.
"Oh, nothing… I was just imagining what the wedding might look like. I think this is the place."

"Me too. Hopefully we can make our visions come true here."

The wedding planner who had been watching them from afar to let them get a feel for the place now approached them.

"I take it you two like this place" They said.
"It's perfect!" Victor said holding onto Yuri's hands.

"We love it. Everything about this place is amazing."
"I knew it the moment the both of you stepped outside and were speechless" The wedding planner said.

"Looks like we saved the best for last" Victor said.

"I guess that means I should get started on booking this place for your wedding day then."

Victor, Yuri, and their wedding planner all headed back inside to get started on booking the venue. A few signed papers and a down payment later, the place was theirs for their wedding day. Victor and Yuri were excited to be able to be getting married at such a beautiful place. They decided to spend a little more time in the garden's park area together while the wedding planner left the two of them to get started on other tasks and work that they had to do. Victor and Yuri held hands with their fingers interlocked as they followed the stream down to the koi pond. They watched the fish swim past for a while, before heading out for a late afternoon lunch. They then returned to Yutopia hot spring to spend one last night with Yuri's family before heading back to Russia the next day. Yuri and Victor had just completed a major step in wedding planning and were excited for what was to come next.