There are still misunderstandings to get through, but I want to be the unpopular opinion of Victuuri here for a second. I donāt think Victor was in love with Yuuri when he got on that plane to Japan. I might even go so far as to say that his choice was selfishly motivated. He was feeling stagnant, bored, listless. Heād lost his motivation to fight (something he tells us in Barcelona).
Personally, I think this makes this story even more beautiful. Because it means that being around Yuuri is what made Victor fall head over heels. He showed up, knowing this cute Japanese skater idolized him. Drew up a short program for his own enjoyment (watching Yuuri seduce him on the ice), and basically threw on the charm that always worked before.
Butā¦ it didnāt work this time. Victor could tell that Yuuri worshiped the ground he walked on. He could tell that Yuuri was over the moon and would bend over backwards to do what Victor asked.
Yet he wouldnāt sleep with him. Not because he didnāt want to, but because Yuuri subconsciously knew that Victor viewed himself as the debonair man of the On Love: Eros program, seducing the most beautiful woman then moving on. Victor was going to cure his boredom by sweeping into Japan, taking Yuuri under his wing and causing him to win because of the way he idolized Victor. Then he was going to return to skating with a smile on his face that he turned the piggy into a prince.
But somewhere along the way, this plan changed. Yuuriās earnestness changed it. Yes! He will work his ass off killing himself to land the jumps and do the spins and fight the ice. Yes! When he looks at Victor he gets a moony look on his face.
When Victor puts no limits on what Yuuri or Yurio can ask him for if they win the face-off, Yuuri wants to eat katsu-don. When Victor directly asks Yuuri if he wants him to be his boyfriend? Yuuri runs away (and tells the tale of a woman who was too pushy with her affections).Ā Even as Victor is certain that Yuuri has a crush (the banquet helped with that), thereās no way for him to access it in real life, because Yuuri is not ready for that. Yuuri puts his true feelings on the ice before he acts in real life too.
It means that Victor needs to coach, not play at being a coach. It means watching Yuuri fight on the ice slowly melts Yuuriās reservations in real life too. It means that Yuuri builds his trust in Victor as his coach, until heās ready to test the waters of his first relationship off the ice. His declaration of love during the presser about the Grand Prix (that Victor is the first person that he wanted to hold on to) was that moment. When Yuuri said āIām ready.ā
It means that when Victor holds him, Yuuri is ready to be held.
It means that when Victor kisses him, Yuuri is ready to be kissed.
It means that when Victor shares a bed with him, Yuuri was ready for that too.
It means thatā¦ Victor fell for him. Hard. He was no longer the man in On Love: Eros. He was not there to seduce the most beautiful woman and move on. Yuuri believed in him as a coach, when it seemed like no one else on the planet took him seriously. And Yuuri forced him to take off the mask and open up, because Yuuri shut down any shallow overtures Victor made. The message? Yes, be my coach! Itās a dream come true and I will work myself to the bone to be worthy of you choosing me. But if you want me off the ice too, I only want the real you.
It was Victorās revelation. Yuuri wanted no more and no less than the real Victor. I can only imagine, after a life of playing a part, how wonderful it felt to meet someone who loved you for who you were and side-eyed you when you played fake. For Yuuri, the real Victor was enough. Yuuri loved him when he stumbled, hell, Victorās stumbles and vulnerability were often where Victuuri grew as a couple.
That to me is what made it special. That we got to see Victorās demeanor change, from the playboy who stands naked in a hot spring and declares himself Yuuriās coach (and is not taking himself as seriously as he should), to a man full of so much uncontained love that he canāt resist holding him, touching him, (basically getting engaged to him).
Yuuri forced Victor to take off the mask. Moreā¦ Yuuri made it safe for Victor to take off the mask.
No wonder they were so deeply in love. Becauseā¦ they got to be their real selves with one another, and those real selves were ultimately what made them both fall so hard.
