First fanfic! I'm going with the classic first words on the wrist
Everyone has a soulmate wether it's platonic or true love, but everyone has one. Yuuri was no exception. On his right wrist the words : " Of course!" Were written. Since the words were in English , Yuuri did not understand the meaning until he reached the glamorous age of eight years old. He knew his soulmate was different, first of all, everyone at school had their soulmate's first words said to them in Japanese and it was written in beautiful cursives, Yuuri's sentence was written in a weird square-ish way. When he reached the age of eleven ( just like his classmate), Yuuri started to fantasise a lot about his soulmate: What was their name? Their favourite sport? Did they really believed in soulmate?. Even though soulmate were clearly real from almost everyone's point of view, a small group of people called the " Called" firmly believed the soulmate thingy was a way for the government to control the world. Yuuri never met one and didn't want to , the were freaky. It was at the age of twelve that Yuuri really knew who was his soulmate. He was watching Viktor Nikiforov skating to a wonderful song and the choreography was breath-taking. The 16 years old boy himself was drop dead gorgeous. With his long and gray hair, his grace and his beauty, Viktor Nikiforov really was something, was someone. All of a sudden, he felt it. His heart fluttered for a second and he just knew.Viktor Nikiforov was his soulmate. HIS soulmate! He gasp really loudly, only to have Nakashi turn towards him concerned and ask what was wrong. Not wanting to make a fool of himself, Yuuri simply brushed it off. That day he made a process to himself, someday, he would skate on the same ice as his soulmate and then tell him they were soulmate.
Viktor did not see what his soulmate first words to him would be until he was four. Apparently, your soulmate' swords would only be there if your soulmate was born. Unfortunately, Viktor did not know what the words meant because they were written in freaking Japanese! Viktor felt himself separated from other kids, because they all had their sentence in Russian while Viktor was stuck with a foreign language. He decided to learn Japanese so the moment their soulmate would say : " My parents own hot baths back in Japan, you should visit" he could surprise them with all his knowledge in Japanese. Just like everyone else Viktor started imagining a beautiful future with his soulmate from age eleven. However, he stopped doing that from the age of 14 because his mom and yahkov being in a group named " Called" were pretty much against it. Nevertheless, he never stopped wishing to meet his soulmate every day. After winning year after year and getting lonelier as years flew by Viktor really wished for his soulmate to come. The whole thing changed when Viktor , the best skater alive , owner of five gold medals from the Grand Prix Final and loneliest person alive ( apart from his poddle makkachin ).
He went to the Grand Prix Final's banquet and met the man that would change his life... Yuuri Katsuki
Yuuri decided on the last day of his first Grand Prix Final, that he was a failure. He was in last place by a hundred points. The moment his prestation was done, he went to the kiss and cry without a word. He wouldn't make eyes contact and wanted his coach to lay off of him so he could leave and cry alone rather than in front of thousands of people.The moment the public and the cameras stopped looking at him with pity, he ditched his coach and ran to the nearest bathroom. After making sure he was alone, he locked himself in a stall the fastest he could and broke down crying after holding it in for 10 goddamn minutes. After about five minutes, he decided to call his mom to lift his spirit. The thing was , they were pitying him as much back at home as they were here and they kept apologising for his poddle's death and Yuuri didn't want to hear any of it. He didn't want to come out of his stall ever. What if he met his soulmate Viktor Nikiforov? THE Viktor Nikiforov? He would die right on the spot. I mean, who would want a failure as a soulmate? No one! Before he could hate himself even more, a sharp and strong kick hit his stall's door. After quickly apologising for taking too much time, he opened the door and faced .. Yuri Plitzetski. Crap. The kid looked really pissed. With a weird and heavy Russian accent, Yuri started to scream at Yuuri, telling him how lame he was and etc, like he needed to be told. Yuuri said nothing back, he was too shocked. The boy huffed heavily while glaring daggers at Yuuri and he left quickly without another word. Yuuri stayed there for quite a while, well at least until his coach found him standing alone in a public bathroom, looking dazed and not saying a single word. He dragged Yuuri all the way to the skater's room. The taxi was long and awkward considering it was basically just Celestino answering phone calls while Yuuri just looked outside without really seeing anything. The moment regain some sort of mental consciousness, he was sitting on his hotel's bed and his coach was walking in circle while talking in a soft voice. - You have half an hour before I come pick you up for the Grand Prix Final's banquet. Yuuri let himself fall on his back with a heavy sigh and accepted since he was too tired to argue. He was ready within 15 minutes and before he knew it, he was at the banquet, surrounded by unknown people. Great.
Viktor, as usual, had won gold at his fifth Grand Prix Final . Right after his performance , he wanted to do nothing more than go cuddle in his appartement with his poddle Makkachin. Unfortunately, he had to talk to billions of reporters and the press and his coach and basically everyone annoying ( yes that meant to whole world). Viktor wanted to be late to that banquet, it was boring, useless, full of annoying people and small talks which meant it was filled with everything Viktor hated. However, Yuri would in no way let that happen ( he said: Over my dead body! To which Viktor had only shrugged and said : "Fine") and this was the reason he and his " friends" were the Ines of the first to arrived. After about ten minutes ( and three whole conversations on his future) Viktor noticed an short Japanese that looked some sort of familiar and that guy looked depressed.
What didn't know , is that he was watching his soulmate from ten meters away. His soulmate was right there and didn't know it. The one he'd been thinking and dreaming about ever since he was eleven was in the same room as him and he didn't know it.
A guide to friendship (and definitely a little more)
Also on AO3
“Katsudon.”
Yuuri jumped, though he’d seen it coming. Slowly, he faced Yuri. “Yes, what is it?” Maybe he had done something wrong again.
Yuri looked away from Yuuri’s anxious face. “I need to talk to you.”
The anxiety didn’t go away. “O-okay,” Yuuri nodded. He was glad they were taking a break and he wasn’t on the ice. He still remembered that one incident where he slipped on the ice because someone made him jump. Takeshi refused to forget it and brought it up occasionally after.
Yuri led him to a backroom, far away from the skating rink where Victor was training. He leaned against a table and Yuuri stood awkwardly at his side, his face all scrunched up.
“What are you looking scared for? It’s me who’s nervous.” Yuri’s direct words made Yuuri jump.
“You’re not going to complain about me?” Yuuri asked carefully.
Yuri huffed. “Of course not. I would have done that in front of the others, not here.”
“Makes sense, I guess.” Yuuri still wasn’t thoroughly convinced. “What did you want to talk about?”
“First you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”
“Not even Victor?”
“Especially not Victor.” Yuri’s mouth drew a tight line. “Promise?”
Yuuri could only nod. “Promise.”
Yuri looked suspiciously at Yuuri one more time as if he was lying before looking away again. “I need your help,” he finally said.
Yuuri was flabbergasted. “My help?”
“Yes, your help. Don’t make me spell it out for you.” Yuri snapped.
Yuuri took a step back. “If you need my help, I need more information than this.”
“Fine,” Yuri sighed. He took a deep breath. “How do you become friends with someone?” He blurted out as fast as he could.
It took Yuuri seconds to process what Yuri had said. “Oh! You mean with Otabek.”
Yuri’s eyes widened. “How do you know that?”
Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, two months ago you said you were friends, but after that you’ve only been really awkward in his presence and I know he’s coming here soon to train.” Yuuri inwardly patted himself on the shoulder for his observance.
“Oh no.” Yuri facepalmed. “Does he know?”
“I’m not sure if you mean Victor or Otabek by that.”
Yuri thought about that. “Both, I guess.”
“I haven’t said anything to Victor, if you want to know, and I haven’t seen or spoken to Otabek since the GPF.”
Yuri seemed relieved to hear that.
“So, what exactly do you want help with?” Yuuri asked when Yuri didn’t continue. Yuuri’s words made Yuri look pained.
“I’ve… never really had friends, so I don’t know how to deal with them,” he blushed.
Yuuri laughed for a second time. “’Deal with them?’ You mean how to act around them.”
“Yes.”
“Do you want an answer now or can I think about it? I promise I won’t tell Victor,” Yuuri quickly added when Yuri opened his mouth.
“That’s fine,” Yuri mumbled in response. He pushed himself off the table and made his way to the door. “You should get back before that idiot misses you and calls the police or something.”
Yuuri followed him back to the rink. “But he saw I was with you.”
Yuri looked over his shoulder and grinned. “That’s exactly why.” When they returned, Yuri immediately left to change, while Victor fussed over Yuuri being alone with Yuri for so long.
“Victor,” Yuuri spoke sternly, “check me for bruises one more time and you can clean the bathroom for the rest of the year.”
Victor’s hands froze in the air, inches away from Yuuri, his fingers making small movements as he counted the months left.
Yuuri refused to wait for the pout that would certainly come from Victor and put on his skates. Victor was still counting when Yuuri made his first jump.
~~~
Yuuri quickly turned over the sheets when Victor entered the kitchen, so he couldn’t see what was on them.
“What are you making?” Victor put his arms around Yuuri, looking over the other’s shoulder.
Yuuri leaned his head slightly against Victor’s. “I’m trying one of my mom’s recipes. She said it was relatively easy to make.”
“I see. And what’s this?” Victor tried to take a peek at the sheets, but Yuuri was faster. He slapped Victor’s hand away with the spatula he was using.
“Those,” Yuuri said, “are a list of ingredients we’re going to need if you really want to hold a party when Otabek arrives, together with a guest list, because barbecuing is expensive and you can’t invite the whole city. The other sheet is a list with chores you’ve been ignoring basically since you moved in this apartment.” Yuuri relentlessly continued. “It’s almost impossible to see through the windows, so those need to be cleaned. I know you have a barbecue, but that one is rusty and instable so it’s better to buy a new one. There are also the cabinet doors in the living room, those under the TV, that need to be fixed. You have to change some lightbulbs and I say it’s finally time to get rid of that awful creak that’s coming from the front door whenever it’s opened or closed and that’s been annoying me since day one. Also, there’s–”
“Enough!” Victor accidentally yelled in Yuuri’s ear. “Get me that list after dinner and I’ll call someone to fix most of those things.”
Yuuri waved him away. With the promise that Victor would return when dinner was ready, Yuuri almost forced him out of the kitchen, mainly to complete his lists. What he told Victor had been only half a lie, since he had been planning on writing down those lists anyway, but he’d only managed one so far. And a list with ideas for Yuri to do or say around Otabek.
Yuuri sighed to himself. That boy could definitely surprise, even outside the rink and Yuuri wasn’t sure what to think of Yuri asking him for help. That did mean Yuri trusted him with it and Yuuri wasn’t planning on betraying that trust, so he made the list maybe longer than he could have. Yuuri became so distracted he nearly forgot he was cooking and a timer reminded him just on time the vegetables were ready.
Later, when Victor was calling Yakov to call someone to fix his apartment, Yuuri finished his list and tucked it away in his bag where Victor couldn’t find it for sure.
~~~
“Here.” Yuuri handed Yuri his list.
“Do you think these will really work?” Yuri asked as he scanned over some suggestions.
Yuuri silently appreciated the calmness before Yuri would start insulting him again. “I’m not really an expert, since I never had many friends myself. You can ignore any suggestion you don’t want to do too, however,” Yuuri pointed at a random line to emphasize his point, “I would like to remind you that you came to me for help and this is my answer.”
Yuri looked like he’d say ‘yes, dad’ and run off, but he simply nodded. “I understand.”
Yuuri patted his head, knowing Yuri hated that and smiled knowingly. Surely, Yuri’s neutral expression turned irritated and Yuuri was quick to leave him alone.
It was only after Otabek arriving in St Petersburg that both Yuuri and Victor noticed the changes in Yuri’s behavior.
“Hey, Yuuri.” Victor tapped Yuuri on the shoulder while looking at Yuri moving his arms wildly in front of Otabek. “What is Yurio doing?”
Yuuri followed his gaze and studied the two for a moment. “Probably telling about the tiger documentary he saw two days ago.”
As if they had timed it, Yurio raised his voice enough so Yuuri and Victor could hear what he was saying. “-and then the tiger jumped down and killed it instantly!”
Victor looked surprised at Yuuri, his voice drowning out the sound of Yuri’s. “How did you know that?”
“I can read minds.” He answered promptly. “Nothing to worry about, it can only happen once every twenty four hours.” Of course he couldn’t tell Victor it was him who had suggested to Yuri to watch that documentary to impress Otabek. A secret he’d be happy to take to the grave, or else Yuri would probably send him to that grave early.
Victor frowned, either upset Yuuri wouldn’t tell him or unsure whether Yuuri was joking or not. He kept silent though and Yuuri decided it was best to change the subject.
~~~
The second change came when Yuri decided to be close to Otabek whenever he was eating. To Yuuri, he took the ‘eat together’ tip a bit too literally, but Otabek didn’t seem to mind. He even went along with it, taking out food when he saw Yuri eating and Yuri magically let something edible appear when Otabek was eating. Though it first looked like Yuri was an eager puppy following his master around, that feeling soon turned out to be mutual.
Yuuri smiled at it, but ignored it otherwise. He had enough to worry about, with his new routines and competing against Yuri and Victor. About the latter, he looked lost in thought, staring at Otabek calmly explaining something to Yuri and Mila.
Yuuri gently nudged his shoulder. “Victor?” It took him a second time of less gentle nudging to get Victor’s attention.
“Hm?” Victor only barely teared his eyes away from the sight.
Yuuri considered taking away Victor’s attention from Yuri. “What’s on your mind?”
“Yurio looks happy.” Victor’s eyes drifted away again, just as Mila laughed at something Otabek said.
“He does.” Yuuri smiled.
Victor watched Mila walking away, leaving Yuri and Otabek to their own conversation. “I heard Yurio calling him Beka yesterday.”
Yuuri feigned ignorance. “Did you?”
Victor looked at him as if he knew exactly what Yuuri had done. “Shall we invite them for dinner tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we could. I’ll text Yurio about it.” Yuuri agreed. “Is there something you want to eat?”
Victor thought about it. “Ramen.” He decided.
“Okay,” Yuuri nodded, “it’s your turn to cook, anyway.”
Victor hadn’t thought of that. “Shit.”
“I’ll help you with your shopping list,” Yuuri laughed.
Victor grimaced in return.
~~~
As it was, Yuuri had told Yuri to ask Otabek if he wanted to come too, instead of asking the both of them. It didn’t make much difference, only this would help Yuri with his list.
Victor was busy cooking when the doorbell rang, leaving Yuuri to opening the door. He was surprised by the contrast Yuri and Otabek put up. Yuri, like Victor and Yuuri himself, was casually clothed, but Otabek, who looked slightly uncomfortable next to Yuri, had a more formal idea in mind.
Otabek was wearing smart pants, with matching jacket and shirt, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand. He stepped forward first. “I didn’t know what to bring, I hope this is okay.” Otabek presented the flowers to Yuuri.
Yuuri stared at the flowers for a moment. “Thank you, Otabek, you didn’t have to do that,” he took the flowers and gestured they’d come in.
Yuri simply yo’ed his way around Yuuri and stomped in, while Otabek hesitated.
“Is it alright if I take off my shoes?” He asked.
Yuuri nodded. “Of course. You can leave them next to Victor’s.” He pointed at the line of shoes next to the door.
“Thank you.”
Yuuri closed the door and excused himself for a second. “Victor!” he called through the apartment, continuing without waiting for the cook to respond, “do you have a flower vase?”
Victor’s response was inaudible. Yuuri rolled his eyes before he turned around to check if Otabek was ready. “Come on in.”
As expected, Yuri had already installed himself in the corner of the big sofa. Otabek casually seated himself next to him.
Victor appeared from the kitchen. “Otabek, I know Yurio will complain about everything I serve, but I made ramen with chicken and veggies, is that okay?”
“Yes, it is. When I’m not at home, I’ll eat anything that isn’t pork or made with alcohol.”
Victor nodded in understanding. “I’ll take note for next time you come for dinner.”
Otabek frowned. “Next time?”
Yuuri let Victor chat with their guests, he was much better at that than Yuuri anyway. He carefully put the flowers – gladioluses neatly joined by greenery – in an appropriate vase and set it down. Yuuri set the table, organizing it so that Otabek and Yuri would be sitting next to each other, like him and Victor. He added the finishing touch by placing the vase in the middle of the table. Happy with the outcome, he called Victor to say he was ready and Victor finished dinner.
The meal was interesting to say the least. Yuri complained less than usual, something the hosts noticed and Victor couldn’t stop teasing him about, while Otabek only smiled every time Yuri threw an insult at either host. With every second, Otabek warmed up to the rest and lost his nervousness. Victor took it upon himself to distract Yuri for a while, so Yuuri could take his chance to have a chat with Otabek, who was sitting across the table.
“How is living in Russia going for you?” Yuuri asked.
Otabek quickly swallowed his bite. “It is really nice, actually. I’ve been here once before, about six years ago and it’s nice to see that it hasn’t changed much since then.”
“Oh you have?”
Otabek nodded. “That is where I met Yura for the first time.”
Yuri immediately stopped talking when he heard his nickname. Otabek side-eyed him, checking if he was okay.
Yuuri glanced over too and saw that Yuri was blushing. Victor was watching too, an endearing smile on his face that, when he saw that, Yuri told him he wanted to punch right off his face. Victor only laughed.
“How are you doing here?” Otabek asked Yuuri in return after Yuri had calmed down considerably.
“Living here is really great!” Yuuri beamed. “This apartment is close to the skating rink and it’s easy to get to the city’s center. I must admit though,” Yuuri leaned in closer to Otabek, who followed, “that I don’t envy you. You live in a dorm, don’t you?” – Otabek nodded – “Then you must get most of your meals from the canteen. When I trained in Detroit and lived in a dorm, most of my funds went to eating out, because most of what the canteen served was inedible.”
Otabek leaned back to take a casual sip of his water. “The food is decent, but someone offered to show me around the city, so eating out occurs regularly, yes. Not too often, I don’t have the money to do that.”
“You can come here more often for dinner,” Victor butted in, “Yurio comes here all the time.”
“So he told me.” Otabek smiled. “Thank you for your offer, I’ll consider it.”
“What’s there to consider?” Yuri frowned. “They like experimenting with food and I don’t want to be the sole guinea pig in this house.”
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Yuuri assured Otabek.
Otabek looked from Yuuri to Yuri, considering the offer. “Then please, if you’ll have me.”
Victor cheered and Yuuri grinned. “You’re always welcome here, even without Yurio.”
They finished dinner without another major incident. As Yuuri stood to clear the dishes, Otabek spoke up.
“I am wondering about one thing…” he looked at Yuri as if he wanted permission. Yuri, though, ignored him. “Why do you both call Yura Yurio? He refuses to explain it to me when I asked.”
Yuuri and Victor didn’t need to look at each other to burst out laughing. Yuri was now angrily ignoring them while Otabek just looked confused.
Victor wiped away a tear. “You tell him, Yuuri, I’ll clear the table.”
Yuuri cleared his throat. “You know about what happened in Hasetsu – my hometown – don’t you? About Victor becoming my coach and everything.”
“Yes.”
“Well, when Yurio arrived, it was really confusing to have everyone call him and me Yuuri. It was my sister, Mari, who decided on calling him Yurio. She said he looked like one of the guys of a band she loves, I think his name was Takao?” Yuuri mused. “Only I don’t know how exactly my sister came up with that name, the only similarity I can think of it the –o at the end. It stuck though.”
“I see,” Otabek smiled. “Thank you for telling me.”
Yuuri waved it away. “No need to be so formal. And if you need more stories about Yurio, be sure to ask Victor or me. Or Mila, I’m pretty sure she has more than Victor and I together.” He added with a smirk.
Before Yuri’s wrath could fall upon him, Yuuri fled to the kitchen to help Victor with washing the dishes. They heard chairs scraping over the floor and steps disappearing in the living room.
“When he walked in, he looked like he was meeting Yurio’s parents for the first time.” Victor commented softly.
“Maybe to him we act like his parents sometimes.” Yuuri shrugged. “I feel like a concerned dad sometimes.”
Victor equaled his sigh. “Me too. That boy will make my hair go gray in no-time.”
Yuuri stared at him in disbelief. “You’re not serious.”
Victor stared back at Yuuri. “I am! He won’t listen to anyone and does what he wants and –“
“Victor,” Yuuri interrupted him, “you’re more likely to go bald than to get any grayer hair than you now have.”
Victor realized his mistake a little late. “Hey, that’s rude!” He laughed. To add to his point, Victor splashed up some soapy water from the sink.
Yuuri jumped away and returned the favor with ease. This went on for several minutes until Victor was leaning over Yuuri in a threatening I’m-going-to-kiss-you sort of way. Thinking Yuuri would do the same, he closed his eyes and closed the distance between them.
Yuuri saw his opportunity and took it. He smacked the last of the soap bubbles right on Victor’s cheek, whose eyes flew open. He was more surprised than hurt when he understand what had happened. Yuuri nearly collapsed laughing.
“Yes, yes, very funny,” Victor huffed, but with no real anger behind it. As a peace offering, Yuuri gave him a dry towel to wipe his face.
~~~
The announcement that Yuri would take a day off came to everyone but Yuuri as a surprise. The fact that Otabek did the same was less surprising.
Victor, curious as he was, asked about their plans.
Yuri, the angry teenager that he was, told him it was none of his business.
Otabek, unfazed by Yuri’s lashing as he was, told Victor.
“Yura said he wanted to show me something.”
Yuri groaned. “I told you not to tell him.”
“They’re your friends, aren’t they? They can know.”
“We,” Yuuri emphasized the word, “are your friends too, Otabek.”
Otabek smiled gratefully. “I know.”
“So Yurio,” Victor threw an arm over his shoulder conspiringly, “where are you taking your friend?”
Yuri ducked away. “I said it’s none of your business.”
“But I’m your friend, am I not? You can tell me,” Victor pouted.
“No, you’re not my friend. Now go away.”
“Yuuuuriiioooo.” Victor dragged out every syllable. “Tell meeeeee.”
“No.” Yuri tugged at Otabek’s sleeve. “C’mon, let’s go.” Without waiting for a response, Yuri pulled Otabek away.
That night, Yuuri couldn’t stop himself. He texted Yuri to inquire about his plans, followed by the promise not to tell Victor. Despite him doing so, he was surprised Yuri actually responded.
Grandpa got me a Wii and Mario Kart, want to try it out
“What are smiling at?” Victor slid into their bed next to Yuuri. “Are you looking at my Wikipedia page again?”
Yuuri locked his phone. “That was one time!”
“So you say.” Victor grinned. “Though I’m pretty sure I’ve caught you twice.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“You wish.” Victor crawled closer to Yuuri, trying to steal his phone.
Yuuri held it out of his reach, even put it in the top drawer when Victor climbed on him.
Phone now not an option anymore, Victor stayed where he was. “Why can’t I see your phone?” He pouted.
Yuuri touched the tip of Victor’s nose. “Last time you got a hold of my phone, you posted twenty pictures of you pretending to be asleep next to me and then pretending I made those pictures, that’s why.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Is there anything I can do to change your mind?” Yuuri suggested with a smirk.
“I don’t know, can you?” Victor’s eyes twinkled.
Yuuri grinned as he pulled Victor down by his shirt to kiss him.
~~~
Yuri became less and less surprising for Yuuri.
Yuuri had woken up before Victor, who was sprawled out over Yuuri’s body and made a nice second (and warm!) blanket. He checked his messages and saw a text Yuri had sent only an hour earlier.
Need your help again katsudon
Yuuri yawned as he wriggled himself from underneath Victor.
Call, text or visit? he texted back, dad-mode activated.
Open the door, Yuri answered immediately.
And Yuuri did so. “How long have you been standing here?”
“Not too long.” Yuri walked past him, to his usual seat on the couch.
“Can you give me a moment? I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
“Yeah, sure, go ahead.” Yuri waved him away.
After Yuuri had brushed his teeth and fixed his hair a bit, he checked up on Victor, who was still blissfully asleep, seemingly without a care in the world, and hugging Yuuri’s pillow. Yuuri carefully closed the door, not to wake Victor.
“Can I get you anything?” Yuuri asked Yuri upon his return. Yuri shook his head, so Yuuri prepared a huge mug of coffee for himself and sat down next to Yuri.
“Tell me.”
Yuri remained quiet.
Yuuri sighed. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Start at the beginning.”
Yuri grabbed one of the couch’s pillows and curled himself around it. He mumbled something.
“What did you say?”
“I said your list worked!” Yuri snapped.
Yuuri blinked. “I’m glad it did. Why aren’t you happier about it?”
“Because…” Yuri fell silent.
Yuuri was pretending to be patient and waited.
“Because it worked too well.” Yuri managed to say after minutes of silence.
Although Yuuri by now had little information, he was already connecting the dots. “Did he do anything you disliked?”
“No. Yes. No. I don’t know.” Yuri’s cheeks were heating up, synching with his struggle.
Yuuri decided to push him to the brink. He hesitated for a second, worried how badly he would be murdered if what he suggested was dead wrong. “Did he…” he started carefully, “Yurio, did he kiss you?”
Yuri’s head snapped up to him, face completely red. “How did you –”
“Because it’s very obvious you two like each other.” Victor’s voice came from the doorway.
Yuuri, who had his back turned to him, looked behind him. “Victor.”
Yuri’s eyes rapidly switched from one to the other. Eventually they settled on Yuuri. “Did you tell him about the list?”
“No, I didn’t.” Yuuri said firmly. “I promised I wouldn’t tell, so I didn’t.”
“I knew about the list,” Victor said, “but” – he put up a finger when Yuri opened his mouth in protest – “Yuuri never told me. I found out about it myself.”
“Meaning you went through my stuff.” Yuuri deadpanned.
“Maybe.” Victor stuttered.
“It’s okay though. I’ve already decided you get to clean the bathroom for the rest of the summer.” Yuuri turned his back on him, waving him away. “Now go, Yurio and I have things to discuss and we don’t need a snooping child to be part of that conversation.”
Victor muttered something in response, but Yuri stuck out his tongue and with that, Victor announced he was going to make breakfast for everyone.
“You didn’t like Otabek kissing you?” Yuuri continued their conversation as if Victor had never interrupted.
“It’s not like I didn’t like it, it just felt weird, you know.”
“Weird as in ‘kissing-on-national-television-but-it-was-strangely-exciting-weird’ or ‘I-don’t-want-to-do-it-again-weird’?”
Yuri regarded both options. “The first, I think.”
“But that’s good, isn’t it?”
Yuri suddenly frowned. “Wait, what exactly did you say about that being strangely exciting?”
“We’re not talking about me here.” Yuuri felt a blush creep up his cheeks. He diverted the subject from him back to Yuri. “What did you do afterwards?”
“Does that really matter?” Yuri snapped with no real bite to it.
“Yes,” Yuuri simply said.
“I didn’t push him away if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s also very good.” Yuuri nodded.
“He said I could consider it, and give him an answer later.”
Yuuri took a sip from his coffee but grimaced when he found out it had gone cold. “So what is it that you wanted to talk about? I seems to me you’ve pretty much decided what you want.”
Yuri looked at him, eyes wide with worry. “But what if it’s just because he’s my friend? What if… what if this feeling stops?”
Yuuri smiled reassuringly. “Do you want this feeling to go away, without having done something about it?”
“I don’t want to lose my only friend.”
“Then what about the rest of us? Aren’t we your friends too?”
“You and Victor just stuck around. Besides, everyone that’s not him feels more like family,” Yuri frowned. “Beka is the first real friend I’ve ever had.”
“I see. You want to know what I think?” Yuuri said softly.
Yuri rolled his eyes. “Please, do enlighten me.”
Yuuri ignored his sarcasm – which he took as a good sign. “I think you should talk to Otabek about this. I know you like him a lot, and he needs to know that too. Also, it shows you trust him with your feelings, which is really important in any sort of relationship.”
“I guess.” Yuri shrugged.
“Yuuri’s right.” Victor casually gave both a plate with a healthy breakfast, Victor style. “The first time he saw me cry was after not properly communicating.”
“Do you really have to bring that up now?” Yuuri asked between bites. “And if we’re gonna talk about crying, how about the time you insulted me on purpose to break me and made me cry, hm?”
Victor closed his mouth in an almost comical way.
“Well spoken, Katsudon.”
“I don’t want to hear that from the boy that ran away from his first love to cry about it to his dads.” Yuuri shot at Yuri.
“You’re not my dad.”
“We might as well be.”
“Speaking of which,” Victor said slowly, interrupting their argument, “where is Otabek now?”
Yuri looked over to him. “Still at his dorm. I stayed the night there.”
“Then go back there and talk to him.”
“We could take you there,” Yuuri suggested. “How did you come here anyway?”
“I walked.” Yuri shrugged. “Like you said, your apartment’s close.” Somehow, he had managed to eat everything on his plate without Yuuri noticing.
“Are you? Gonna go, I mean.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, good. Need one of your dads to come along?” Victor winked.
“No thanks.” Yuri grimaced. “Don’t need to make things even more awkward.”
“Then maybe you should go,” Yuuri suggested, “since both of you took the day off, you’ll have all day to talk about your feelings.”
“What a joy.”
Yuuri laughed. “Go on, I bet you haven’t told him where you were going so he must be worried about you.”
“That could be true.” Yuri said with some hesitation. He stood. “Thanks, Katsudon,” he offered reluctantly.
“Anytime, Yurio.” Yuuri smiled.
Yuri rolled his eyes again and left. The dads could hear their door slamming shut.
“That was some rollercoaster ride,” Yuuri sighed. “What time is it anyway?”
“Almost ten. We should get dressed if we still want to join the morning training.”
“After this, I feel like going back to bed, to be honest.”
“Oh Yuuri, I wonder what your coach would say about that.”
Yuuri smirked. “If my coach isn’t going to join me, he might as well start with cleaning the bathroom, until he and I are supposed to leave for afternoon training.”
“That’s cheap.”
“Not as cheap as going through my stuff without permission.”
“If you must know it, I was looking for my phone.”
“Oh yeah?” Yuuri raised an eyebrow, “where did you find it?”
“I didn’t want to turn on the lights, so I used my flashlight.” Victor looked away.
Yuuri gaped at him. “You didn’t.”
“I’m sorry, Yuuri,” Victor said, grasping Yuuri’s shoulders, “please let me still nap with you.”
“Who said anything about napping?”
“… Oh.”
~~~
“Look, I think they’ve made up.” Victor pointed at Yuri, who was holding hands with Otabek.
“It looks like it.” Yuuri smiled warmly.
Victor threw an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders. “You did well, consulting Yurio.”
“Thank you.” Yuuri smiled up to him. “I kind of feel like a proud dad, actually.”
“I feel the same way,” Victor was laughing too.
“You didn’t even do anything.” Yuuri poked his side.
“Hey!” Victor jumped away.
They laughed until Yuri started yelling at them.
“Oi, tone it down a little, you lovebirds!”
“That’s like the pot calling the kettle black!” Victor yelled back cheerily.
Yuri huffed, turned around and ignored them.
“Shall we invite them over for dinner again?”
“We should.” Victor’s eyes twinkled at the thought of it. “I’m already looking forward to it.”
Yuuri poked him again. “There comes Otabek, we could invite him now.”
And indeed, Otabek was walking over to them, with a scowling Yuri staying behind.
“Hey.” Victor started.
Otabek nodded to him and turned to Yuuri. “I wanted to thank you for what you did for Yura.”
“About yesterday you mean?”
Otabek nodded. “Yes. And for the list of course. I would be lying if I said your list hasn’t sped things up, so thank you.”
“I was happy to help.”
“You can have it back, if you want.” Otabek held out a piece of paper. “We’re making our own list with things we want to do.”
Yuuri took the sheet. “Thanks.” He looked at the content and smiled.
“Well then.” Otabek nodded his goodbye.
“Wait, Otabek!” Yuuri stopped him. “Do you want to come over for dinner again with Yurio? Let’s say, tomorrow?”
“I’m free, but I’ll talk it over with him.” Otabek walked away.
“Do you think it’s gonna work out?” Victor asked the moment Otabek was out of earshot.
“If he manages to survive Yurio’s teenage tantrums, I think they will.” Yuuri watched Otabek join Yuri on the ice.
“It’s going to be hard for them when he leaves again.”
“They’re strong, they’ll get through this.”
Victor looked down. “Is that the list?”
“Yep,” Yuuri unfolded the paper, “this is the list.”
Victor chuckled. “He even crossed out what they’ve done, how cute.”
“I’m going to tell him you said that.”
“Please don’t, he’ll kill me.”
“Afraid of your own son, are you?” Yuuri teased. “Actually, we could use this list for our own dates.”
“Hmm…” Victor peered at the list. “There’s something I want to do but is not on the list.”
“Not now, Victor, Yurio is showing off his flexibility to Otabek and I need to see him embarrass himself.”
“Did you know he didn’t cross out not insulting him?”
Yuuri swatted him away. “Victor, we have all the time in the world to hear stories about those two, but for now, I’ve tuned in on this soap.”
~~~
List of things you can do with Otabek:
Exchange phone numbers!
Show him around
Take him to (famous) places in the city
Talk to him about things you like
Ask him about things he likes
Take a break together
Play a game together
Eat together
Stay over for a night, maybe playing games
Ask him to help with a practice, even if you might not need it
Get him something to drink (ask him what he likes!)
Stretch together
Watch a movie together
Ask him about his family, maybe tell about your grandpa
Make random walks
Go jogging together
Pet animals at a pet shop
Go for a ride
Show interest in anything he says even if it bores you
No insults
Take pictures together
Make up nicknames for each other
Show him your favorite spots in this city
Go for a swim
Invite him to things you are invited for
Include him in the group when needed
Otabek can speak Russian, so let him teach you a few words Kazakh
Teach each other about your country’s traditions and holidays
Ask for his opinion if you’re worried about something/can’t decide/for any reason
Read up on you favorite subjects, watch movies/documentaries about it, so you can tell Otabek about them
Make sure you remember his birthday and don’t get mad when he forgets yours
THIS. HERE. This is, in my mind, the cutest and most beautiful moment of love between them. And yes, I’ve seen episode 10.
Here you have Victor who jumped in Yuri’s arms, kissed him and landed on him on the ice, and talked about surprised him.
And what was Yuri’s reaction? Did he flip, did he ask wtf, did he think about the kiss or about the cameras and people watching? No, he just looks at Victor with SO MUCH AFFECTION AND LOVE and just says ‘Really?’
Seriously, I thought this show would just be teasing fanservice like every other sports anime out there. But no?!?!
I’m SHOCKED! SHOCKED I say!
This episode had everything from actual engagement rings to Yurio making a friend to Yuuri pole dancing and a wonderful Victor narration all the way through! I’m seriously waiting for it all to be just some wonderful dream by one of the characters. My ships tend to sail, but never like this. Holy shit.
