Chapter 7: Always By Your Side

Yuri headed to the bathroom to try to make sense of things and to have a place to fall apart in private rather than in front of everyone. He quickly rushed past everyone who noticed his urgency and wondered what was up with him. Phichit saw his face and knew that something was wasn't right and went after him. Yuri entered the bathroom with Phichit immediately behind asking him what was wrong and what had happened. Yuri was a rambling mess, pacing back and forth, and tears flowing as he went on about how Victor was planning on leaving him. Phichit, who was very confused, grabbed onto Yuri's shoulders and tried to get him to calm down for a moment asking him to just stop and breathe before he tried to talk some sense into him.

"Dude, you're literally getting married to him tomorrow" Phichit said trying to rationalize with Yuri.

"It's not like people haven't been left at the altar before."
"He's not going to do that."

"But what if—" Yuri said about to begin another sting of hypothetical scenarios to try and explain what he had just witnessed.

"Come on, Victor loves you, there's no way he would do something like that."

Yuri paused as he tried to calm down and really think everything through, but his mind and emotions were already spiraling.

"I don't know what to do."
"Hey, why don't you go talk to him? It sounds like maybe you just heard things wrong" Phichit suggested.
"But…"
"No buts! There has to be some kind of explanation. There's no way Victor would ever think of leaving you."

Something inside Yuri was telling him that Phichit was probably right, that maybe he had misheard and interpreted things the wrong way, but he couldn't think logically at the moment. If anything, Yuri knew he at least had to speak with Victor like his best friend suggested. Phichit handed Yuri a tissue and encouraged him to just talk to Victor to sort everything out. Once Yuri was calmed and more level headed, he and Phichit exited the bathroom and Yuri went back outside to the patio to talk to Victor.

"Hey, um…Victor, can we talk?" Yuri asked with his head down as he walked towards him and Chris.

They both turned around to see Yuri and were surprised to see him like this. Victor became immediately concerned wondering if everything was okay. Chris saw himself out so that he could give the couple some privacy. They waited for Chris to go back inside before speaking.

"What's wrong? It looks like you've been crying." Victor asked once they were alone.
"That's because I have been."
Victor looked puzzled and worried.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"Yeah… I umm… I heard you and Chris out here talking earlier. I just…"

Victor asked about what, as they talked about a number of things while they were outside and nothing immediately stuck out to him. Once Yuri told him about the whole leaving him thing, Victor clarified the situation for Yuri and reassured him he had nothing to worry about.

"I figured as much. Maybe I just came in at the wrong part, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm just so scared of losing you… Nerves and everything let it all go to my head… I panicked."
"It's okay, today has been a long day, and weddings are kind of stressful. I just want you to know that I'll never leave you. I wouldn't even dream of it… I love you far too much to hurt you like that, and to lose something I cherish."

Victor and Yuri sat down on the steps with Victor placing his head upon Yuri's shoulder, closing his eyes. They took a moment to enjoy this moment of silence before Victor started chuckling to himself as he sat up to look at the stars.

"What?" Yuri asked looking up at his soon to be husband.
"Nothing. Just thinking about the exact moment that I realized I loved you."
"There was a moment for you…?"
"Hmm. Yeah, sort of. It almost feels like I've loved you from the beginning, but there was just a moment where I knew. I realized at Cup of China how I really felt about you. How much I really cared for you as more than just a coach and a friend. I guess you can say I was always into you. But in that moment after your free skate, I knew right then. I could just feel my heart swell with emotions, and I felt so much love. I just wanted to…"
"Run up and kiss me?"
"Ha, ha, well yeah." Victor laughed.
"I still can't believe that was our first kiss…" Yuri said remembering the moment.
"Sorry I didn't make it special or romantic or anything."
"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way" Yuri said looking deep into Victor's eyes.

"At what point did you realize you were in love?" Victor asked braking Yuri's trance.

"I don't know. It was gradual yet all of a sudden at the same time. That day we spent at the beach in Hasetsu when you first started coaching me… after opening up to you, I felt… something. I felt closer. I wanted to be closer, but in a way I'd never felt before. I didn't really understand it at first." Yuri stopped for a moment and lightly laughed as he felt slight embarrassment remembering that day and what happened next. "Then when you asked what I wanted you to be to me, and when you said boyfriend, of course I freaked out a little. It started making sense then. That was the kind of closeness I wanted. It was all I could think about after that. But I couldn't just tell you. Well, I guess I could have, but I didn't know how."
Victor laughed to himself remembering that moment too.
"Well, you're certainly better at showing it than saying it."
"After our time together in China, I knew my feelings for you were so much more. More than what I was expecting…"
"Now look at us. In just a few hours we'll be married."
"All I wanted was to stand on the same podium as you, and now I'll be standing at the altar with you."

Victor paused as he started thinking about how he came to this point in his life realizing it all started with the impulse decision to go train Yuri in Japan.

"Yakov was right. I am selfish. Well I can be. I was at a point in my life where I wasn't sure where to go or what to do next. Taking a break and becoming a coach seemed like the perfect thing for me to do next. I thought it would give my life the meaning and direction it lacked. But I found something else instead."
"What was it?"
"Ah, I won't say anything more. I don't want to go repeating my vows before I say them to you tomorrow."

Yuri felt he knew the answer, but he just wanted Victor to say it. They had both unexpectedly found love in each other. Love like none other, that grew into something beautiful. Yuri tried to go in for a kiss before they went back inside, but Victor leaned away as Yuri made his advances.

"Nope! These lips are for my husband only… and I can't wait to put them anywhere he wants."
"You're such a tease!" Yuri said playfully shoving Victor.

They went on recounting the times they spent together and the special moments in their relationship like their first official date and the first time they made love. The husbands-to-be eventually went back inside to finish things up at the rehearsal dinner before returning to the hotel to rest before the big day tomorrow.

…

No more waiting and anticipation, the day of the wedding was finally here. Victor arose early before any set alarms went off as the sunlight from the beautiful day poured into the room. He looked over at Yuri, who was still sleeping, admiring the man he would be spending the rest of his life with after today, feeling overjoyed and excitement for what this day meant for the both of them. Victor sat up in bed for a few moments, looking out the window at the sakura trees all about the landscape and he just couldn't wait to see the wedding venue. Victor got out of bed and decided to shower and get ready for the day. Once out of the bathroom, he heard Yuri's phone alarm going off. Yuri reached one hand from under the covers to turn it off, but remained in bed hoping to drift back off to sleep and rest a bit longer.

"Wake up sleeping beauty" Victor called to Yuri in a sweet tone.
"Five more minutes…" Yuri mumbled as he rolled over.
"But today's our wedding day! Aren't you excited?"
"Of course I am. I'm just sleepy."

Yuri sat up and yawned as he grabbed his glasses from the side table. He looked over out the window and took notice of the beautiful weather outside and knew that today was going to be perfect. He looked back towards Victor who was getting dressed, admiring his soon to be husband. He felt his heart beating faster as the realization of what was happening set in. He got up and surprised Victor with an embraced from behind as he made his way to the bathroom. After Yuri was out of the bathroom, they ordered room service, and enjoyed a calm and peaceful breakfast together before they had to dive into the busy and somewhat hectic afternoon ahead of them.

Once done with breakfast, they headed out to the venue to meet with the wedding planner and to see how all the final preparations were going so far. The wedding planner was already at the ceremony space in the garden making sure that the staff was setting up everything just right. Victor and Yuri approached the area in awe. Even though the space wasn't complete yet, they already loved how things looked. Even more than the first time they saw the space now that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

"What do you guys think so far?" The wedding planner asked
"It looks wonderful!" Victor said.
"It's better than expected" Yuri added.
"Great! Glad you like what's done so far. I have a few things to go over with you, but once all that's taken care of you two can start getting ready."

The wedding planner took the couple around to different places to make sure everything was in check before finally taking them to the rooms where they would start getting ready. Chris was already in Victor's dressing room, and Phichit was already in Yuri's. The rest of the wedding party was in another room getting ready together.

The grooms started getting ready with their respective best man assisting along the way. As Yuri was getting dressed, he felt his heart flutter as he sat there anxiously waiting. He felt nervous, but in an excited way. It was like how he felt when Victor first started coaching him. Nerves, excitement, and disbelief that this was actually happening. It almost felt like he was going to be meeting Victor for the first time. Yuri wasn't sure how to handle all of these emotions. He was so wrapped up in the excitement that he didn't notice Phichit handing him a glass of champagne.

"Huh? Should I really be drinking before the wedding?"
"You could stand to loosen up a bit."
"I guess one glass won't be so bad" Yuri said taking the glass from his friend.

"How about a toast then?"

They clinked their glasses together and downed the champagne in no time. Yuri finished his glass and set it down on the vanity. He looked into the mirror, took a deep breath and let it out. He then opened the jar of hair gel in front of him, and slicked his hair back just so. Phichit came by with his suit jacket and help Yuri into it. He was just about ready, all he had to do was tidy up minor details and wait for the call to line up.

In the other room, Victor and Chris were busy getting ready. The both of them were almost finished getting ready when Mari came knocking on the door with Makkachin fully dressed in his doggy tux. Victor was completely distracted and began taking a ton of pictures and petting the adorable dog.

"Victor, you should really finish getting ready" Chris reminded.
"Oh yeah, you're right."

Makkachin went to lay on the ottoman in the room while the men finished getting ready. Victor looked in the mirror to make sure his hair was perfectly parted and neatly laid. He finished putting on the final touches adding his cufflinks and his tie. Chris went up to him and added his gold pocket square and straightened his tie. He then stepped back to get a good look at Victor.

"Well?" Victor asked as he turned in a circle to show off his look.

"Stunning. Just wait until Yuri gets to see this."

"I can't wait to see him" Victor said, remembering back to when they were at the tuxedo shop and how good they looked together.

Now that Victor was fully dressed, he went over to his to do list to make sure that he wasn't forgetting to do anything.

"Ring in pocket. Check. I've got— oh…" Victor stopped his thought process as he noticed the bottom of his to do list said "Yuri Katsuki-Nikiforov". He looked over at Chris who had a smirk on his face and was chuckling to himself knowing that Victor had seen the final item he added. Chris looked away as if he had nothing to do with it as Victor chuckled along with him.
"We'll put a star next to this one…" Victor said quietly.

Right as Victor and Chris finished getting ready, there was another knock on the door. Chris went to see who it was and it was member of the wedding staff who helped with setup and chaperoning. He walked in the room and told Victor that there were some guests who wanted to see them. Chris turned to Victor and raised one eyebrow as if to ask what this was about. Victor shrugged his shoulders, not having the slightest clue. He went out and followed the worker to an empty hallway where two people were waiting. The staff member promptly left as Victor immediately recognized who was standing in front of him.

"It's… you. You came…" Victor said as he saw the people who needed to speak with him were his parents.

"Let's talk somewhere private" his mother said.

Victor silently agreed and the three of them proceeded to walk to a different part of the country club away from the wedding where there were far less people. They went down a narrow hallway and into a private room at the end of the hallway where they could speak, unheard and unseen.

"This is actually happening… you, getting married… to another man." his father started off.
"You know Victor, I always imagined you would be standing next to a beautiful girl in a lovely white gown…" his mother trailed off in thought.

"Yeah, I know…" Victor said.
"I can't help but feel like I failed as a mother" she said.

Victor didn't say anything. She did fail as a mother by not being there and loving the child she had, but Victor knew that's not what she meant by that statement. He only waited and thought as he tried to figure out what she was getting at and why his parents were really here then.

"Victor, you can't seriously be doing this" said his father.
"What? Oh, please don't start" Victor said annoyed.
"You were supposed to do great things with your life and uphold the family name, and find a nice girl to give your last name to. And what are you doing instead?" his mother went on.
"Living my life the way I see fit" Victor said confidently.

"You think this is some way to live, you disgusting, filthy, worthless scum" his father said directly to his face while tightly gripping the lower half of his chin, almost as if he were choking him.

"Take your hands off of me... Now!" Victor demanded while grabbing his hand to make the man loosen his grip.

The man let go and looked at Victor like he absolutely despised him. Victor looked back with equal contempt and intensity in his eyes.

"We can't do this then. We don't support this at all" his father proclaimed.

"You really came all this way to tell me this?" Victor asked.
"We can't fully accept you back into our live, and certainly won't be a part of your atrocious life if this is how you chose to live it" his mother said.

"Maybe if you decide to just stop this now and rethink things, and learned to love a woman like a real man…" his father began.

Victor started tuning out his parents. He already felt the anger seething through him. He was done hearing what they had to say. His mind was swimming in a sea of confusion and emotions. Was this actually happening? "Are they really suggesting I call off the wedding just for them to be in my life?" Victor thought to himself among the many other thoughts rushing through his mind. He loved Yuri more than anything, and the love he felt was real. As much as he would love to have his parents back in his life and to make things better, he concluded what he had known all along. His parents would never accept him so long as the possibility of him being with a man remained, and today that possibility would be a reality for the rest of his life. His parents were actually here, trying to convince and coerce him to do things their way on his wedding day. At this point, Victor had had enough. He was done arguing his case. Done trying to explain things to them, trying to win them over, wanting them back in his life.

"This was just a ruse, a last ditch effort to make thing the way you want because you think this is something I can change! You never cared to make things better did you?"
"Well we had to try something. Anything to maybe change your mind one last time. We tried to get to know you and understand… this… but we just can't. This isn't right" his mother replied.

"We were hoping that maybe you weren't a lost cause, that maybe we could accept you back into the family again if you would just stop this nonsense" his father added.

Victor began shaking his head as he listened to his parents. He no longer wanted to hear what they had to say to him. It was pointless to keep trying.

"No, I'm done. I'm done calling you my parents. I'm done with you still somehow having control over me and my life. I don't want either of you in my life anymore. Leave. I hope I never see either of you again."

"If that's how you really feel. Who would want a faggot as a son anyway" his father said more than happy to exit his life right this moment.
"Get out!"

His parents turned to leave, but his mother stopped to deliver one last blow.

"You know, you were right. We rather not have had a son at all had we known you would turn out like this. I wish I never gave birth to you."

The words hit Victor like a stone hitting the surface of the water causing ripples on the surface and sinking deep. He'd almost wished she would have hit him instead. The pain would have been far less. He felt his body ache, and his limbs become heavy at the meaning of her words. He grabbed a chair and took a seat staring into nothingness as he tried to let his mind go blank to prevent thinking about what just happened. Victor completely lost track of time as he sat alone in the private room.

Meanwhile, with just ten minutes left before the ceremony, the wedding planner called for everyone to begin lining up. Phichit and Yuri exited the room to join everyone else to wait. Yuri looked around hoping to see Victor already out, or walking out towards everyone, but that didn't happen. He noticed that Chris wasn't around either. He began to wonder what was taking them so long to come out, or if something happened. Yuri was beginning to feel unsettled. Something wasn't right. Soon everyone else started wondering where Victor was. Not too long after everyone began to question the whereabouts of the second groom, Chris came walking towards them with Makkachin, but without Victor.

"Have any of you seen Victor?" Chris asked.
"You mean he isn't with you?" Yuri asked back.
"No, I went looking for him when I realized that time was getting close and he still wasn't back."
"Oh no… no, no, no…" Yuri said as he began to panic a little.
"Hey, I'm sure everything is fine and there's a reason why he isn't here yet." Phichit said comforting Yuri. After his mini meltdown at the rehearsal dinner in the bathroom last night, Phichit had an idea of what was going through his head.
"Did he say where he was going? Have you tried calling him?" Phichit asked while Yuri paced back and forth trying to calm himself down and be reasonable about what was happening right now. Chris reached into his pocket and held up Victor's phone to show he couldn't be reached.

"He didn't really say where he was going… A staff member came to us and said that some guests needed to speak to him. He said he would go see what it was about and that he'd be back soon, but…" Chris told Yuri and Phichit.

Yuri stopped pacing and thought about who these guests could be, and why Victor still wasn't back from speaking with them. That feeling of something being wrong was growing inside of him. His mind swiftly switched to needing to find Victor and that's all he could focus on.

"I'm going to find him" Yuri said definitively.

He went back inside to search for his fiancé checking the places Chris said he already looked just to be sure he hadn't turned up in those places between now and then. He then went to look for staff members who were still setting up the ball room for the reception. Yuri hoped that maybe he would talk to the one who told Victor about the guest he needed to see, but he honestly just hoped someone had seen him or at least could give a clue as to where he is. He asked around a bit, but no one seemed to have answers. Yuri was beginning to feel a little discourage until one worker overheard his conversation with another worker and chimed in giving him some useful hints. Yuri was told that they had seen Victor walking with two individuals, a man and a woman, towards the back of the clubhouse where there were private rooms. The worker described the individuals as both were wearing sunglasses and the woman was wearing a sunhat while the man had on a fedora. That was all the staff member could tell Yuri, but that was more than enough information.

Yuri swiftly went off in the same direction the worker pointed him in hoping this would finally lead him to his groom. Yuri pondered the description of the guest. "Why would two people, a man and a woman need to talk to Victor, and why they both would be trying to hide their identity?" he asked himself. Yuri felt he already knew the answer and who they were, but didn't want to believe it because he knew if he was right, that things probably weren't good.

.

Yuri was now going down the same long and somewhat narrow hallway that Victor had gone down earlier. He saw two people quickly walking towards him, a man and a lady, both wearing sunglasses and the woman wearing a sun hat matching the description. He could see the bright blue eyes behind the sunglasses, and the man's shoulder length hair gave away their identity. At first, he couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew without a doubt who they were. He could tell by their disposition that they weren't here to stay and were most definitely on their way out. He also figured that meant things probably didn't go well with Victor. Yuri stepped out of the way against the wall to let the pair pass by, glaring at them then entire time. "I hope Victor is okay." he thought while remaining hopeful, and while also hoping that he would find him.

Yuri came to the end of the hallway where there was only one room. He carefully knocked on the door and asked if anyone was in there, calling to Victor, hoping for a response. A few moments of silence went by before the door opened for him to discovered his very soon to be husband, in the room by himself.

"Victor!" Yuri said excitedly. His expression was happy, but swiftly changed at the realization that something wrong. "Is everything okay?"

Victor didn't say anything, and sat down again, avoiding eye contact. Yuri carefully debated how to approach him.

"They ended up coming after all" Victor finally vocalized.

"I take it they're not here to stay."

"Yeah, in fact I told them I never want to see them again…"

"What… happened here?"

"They did what they always do…"

Victor explained everything that had just happened to Yuri while still trying to hold it all together.

"I wanted nothing more than to have them in my life again, for them to finally accept me, and the chance for that to happened seemed so real, right now. I thought this was finally going to be it. Why was I so foolish to believe that could happen? Why, after everything they've done to me, did I still want them to be a part of my life?" Victor questioned himself.
"Well, you usually tend to see the bright side of things, or make a bad experience into a positive one."

"I guess my strength is also my weakness…"
"Also they… were supposed to be your parents. It's not an absurd thing to want them in your life... even after what they've done."

"God why did I let myself believe this could happen…" Victor said getting up and facing away from Yuri as he began to blame himself more for what has happened.

Yuri couldn't figure out how to console him this time. Victor was hysterical, any words Yuri tried to say to him went over his head. Yuri would call out his name and begged him to calm down for just a moment, but to no avail. Just as Yuri was running out of ways to try and help Victor, there was a knock on the door. Victor stopped talking but was still swimming in a sea of thought and emotions, while Yuri called out to see who it was. To both of their surprise, it was Yuri's parents who had also gone looking for them when the realized the ceremony was starting late. Yuri opened the door to let them in and they could sense something was off.

"Is everything alright here…?" Hiroko Katsuki asked.

Victor took a seat and slumped down with his face buried in his hands. Yuri looked over at Victor then gave his mother a sympathetic look.

"His parents paid a visit…" Yuri said

"They basically came here to tell me that they would only be willing to be in my life if I called the whole thing off. I was pretty much fed up at that point and told them to leave and to stay out of my life… to which my mother responded with wishing she'd never had me…"

Repeating the words out loud hurt just as much as hearing them and tears started to fall from Victor's face. Hearing that last line struck Mrs. Katsuki in her heart. She couldn't imagine feeling regret for having her children, nor could she imagine any mother who could possibly feel that way, let alone say it to their child's face. She pulled out a handkerchief from a small handbag she carried and sat down beside Victor to wipe away his tears while she held him in her arms.

"She doesn't realize the amazing person she lost. She may regret having you, but I am so, so thankful that you are here. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. There are so many people glad to have you in their life" she said looking up at Yuri.

"Mom's right you know" Yuri said going in for a hug.

"The Katsuki family is happy to have you, and we're glad to call you our son-in-law" Toshiya Katsuki said joining in on the hug.

Victor knew he was loved by many. Fans and followers, and the love he got from his fame fueled him for a while, but just when that love was no longer enough to fill the void, that's when Yuri came into his life. It was just what he needed and just in time. And with Yuri came a loving and supportive family, something he'd never really had.

"Don't let this ruin your big day for you" Hiroko said releasing Victor. "You're truly an incredible man, and I'm so happy my son gets to spend the rest of his life with you."

"Thank you, I feel so grateful to be accepted as part of your family"

"Today is something big for the both of you. You're moving into a new chapter of your life. It's time to move on from the life you knew and time to start making more new memories together" Mrs. Katsuki added.

"Marriage is… it can be a challenge sometime. There will be bumps in the road, but at the end of the day, you have to remember you'll always have each other. And that you still love the other just the same." Mr. Katsuki said putting his arm around his wife.

Hiroko and Toshiya wished the two of them happiness and gave them a few more words of encouragement before they left them be to head back to the ceremony space to take their seats.

"Are you going to be okay?" Yuri asked.

"So long as I have you by my side."

Yuri smiled and started leaning in for a kiss, but Victor put one finger up to his lips to stop him, giving Yuri a cheeky smile instead.

"Ah! Not until we're married."

"Geeze, still on about that? Then what are we sitting around here for, let's go get married."