Victor and Yuuri’s feelings are mutual
We’ve known this for a while now but rewatching episode 12 I realized how clear the anime makes this.
We were first shown explicit confirmation of Victor’s feelings in episode 9, during the airport scene, which, interestingly enough, is shown as a flashback in episode 12 (coincidence? I think not).
He expressed how he would always want to stay with Yuuri.
Now, it takes Yuuri three episodes, but he finally replies to this and dispels our doubts.
They both want to be together forever.
So much so, that Victor is willing to keep coaching Yuuri even while returning to his own career, which will not be an easy feat at all, but he’s more than willing to do it as long as it means that he gets to stay with Yuuri.
A complaint some people had with this episode is that they never openly spoke about their relationship and what they want to do from now on.
Yuuri told Victor what he wants from him outright. And Victor was very happy to accept this request. Not only that, but he followed it up with this:
And it’s a joke, naturally, saying that Yuuri will have to be at least as good as Victor to make it all worth it, but it’s the implication that counts. Because for Yuuri to become a five-time champion, it would take five years. Five more years with Victor.
both the joke and the implication. And he cries. And of course there’s that rational part of his brain that says “That’s not realistically possible”, but at the moment Yuuri doesn’t mind. At the moment Yuuri thinks “If that’s what will allow me to stay with you then I’ll do whatever you want”.
And perhaps they still have other things to talk about and explain, but at the moment they are both perfectly clear on their mutual desire to stay together.
And considering that very last scene in St Petersburg that implies that they’re living together in Victor’s place now, and the rings which they’re still wearing? I’ll say that they’re on a good path to that marriage we were promised in episode 10.
And with this in mind, I sure have high hopes for season two, whenever it comes around.
