Title: Next Step…
Author: West Wind
Fandom: Yuri on Ice! – set after series
Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Beta: Grammarly
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Writing & Junk 2021 Prompt Calendar: And suddenly, you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. – Meister Ekhart
~2,200 words
Yuuri Katsuki, Japan’s top ice skater, pushed off and skated into the rink when his name was called. He was fighting back happy tears as he took the designated spot to stop and bow to the cheering audience. He had done it. He had won a medal at the Olympics. He turned and bowed in each direction. With a flourish of movement, he skated around to the back of the award platform. He shook hands with the Spanish bronze winner first. Then he turned to Yuri Plisetsky, the silver winner.
“Congrats, Katsuden,” Plisetsky muttered.
Yuuri could see the pride, not shown in Plisetsky’s demeanor, in his eyes.
“You too, Yurio,” Yuuri muttered as he pulled the younger skater and friend into a hug. “Next time, I expect you to win gold.”
Yuuri then took his place at the top of the platform. They received their awards to the cheers from the audience. They stood there for a few minutes before all three dismounted and took a lap around the ice waving to their fans. They stopped and posed together and individually for the cameramen in one corner of the rink before exiting.
Victor Nikiforov, his husband, coach, and retired figure skater, enthusiastically greeted him with a large smile and a hug once he passed the gateway.
“I knew you would do it,” Victor said next to Yuuri’s ear.
Yuuri tucked away his husband’s belief in him, and he pulled them out anytime his self-doubt tried to rear its head.
Victor pulled away. He reached out and snagged Yurio before his fellow countryman could get away.
“Yurochka’s first Olympic medal!” Victor said full of pride.
Yuri grumbled about the nickname but let Victor give him a brief hug before squirming away. All the while the flashes of cameras were going off around them. Coach Yakov Feltsman managed to snag Yuri to usher him to the locker room to change before heading out to the press conference. Victor wrapped his arm around Yuuri and guided him to follow the silent Russian pair.
The reporters were already in the room waiting for the medalist by the time they had changed. Victor’s arm slipped from around Yuuri’s shoulders. He captured Yuuri’s right hand. He lifted it to kiss Yuuri’s wedding ring and gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze before letting it go.
“Love you too,” Yuuri mouthed to Victor before taking his place at the table with his fellow winners.
The Olympic officials swiftly got things started. The press asked the expected questions. Yurio huffed loud enough for Yuuri to hear but not those beyond the table when asked his feelings about having to participate as an Olympic Athlete from Russia instead of representing Russia. Yuuri waited for the nineteen-year-old’s answer to see how well the Russian spitfire stuck to the official script.
“I am disappointed at not being able to represent my country, but I am glad to have the opportunity to compete at the Olympics, a goal I have trained hard for.” Yurio lifted his medal. “It obviously worked out for me.”
A few soft chuckles were heard from the crowd. That was better than what Yurio would have said when Yuuri first met him at fifteen. That would have been more along the lines of, “Who gives a fuck. I’m here to compete and win. Everyone else can get out of my way.”
“Katsuki Yuuri,” a Japanese reporter Yuuri did not recognize called out. “Now that you won gold at the Olympics, are you planning on retiring or continuing the season?”
Yuuri mentally took a step back. It was not an unusual question for a skater his age. Retiring after the Olympics was not uncommon. It was the pinnacle competition of an athlete’s career. The thought had crossed his mind, but not for long. He was focused more on getting ready for competing rather than what he would do after. He was twenty-eight. He felt the strain on his body more than he did in his younger days. Was he ready to walk away from competing? Yuuri gave the only true answer he had at the moment, “As long as I’m not injured, I plan on finishing the season.”
More questions were directed to them over the next ten minutes before they were allowed to leave. Yuuri happily moved away from the table.
“Mari texted me to let me know where the family’s waiting for us,” Victor said taking his place at Yuuri’s side.
Yuuri was glad that his family was able to make it to watch him perform and win gold at the Olympics. Other skaters that he knew called out his name and offered congratulations but did not stop them as they headed out. They found his family and friends waiting, once they were clear of the building. His mother was crying happily as she swept him into a hug.
“So proud of you,” she whispered to him.
Yuuri returned her embrace just as fiercely.
“Thanks,” Yuuri said, fighting back tears once more.
Soon his sister Mari broke them apart demanding her own hug. He received a pat on the back from his father. The Nishigori family took their turn congratulating him. Yuko managed to keep her triplets from bombarding him with requests for photos and for him to sign things that he highly suspected they sold online.
Victor clapped his hands together to gain everyone’s attention.
“I made dinner reservations for us.”
He threaded his fingers through Yuuri’s and led the group to the restaurant.
Yuuri glided in a large arc over the ice of Ice Castle, his hometown rink. He let his body fall into an old comfortable routine while his mind mulled over his future. He and Victor had talked about their future in broad strokes when Victor retired from skating to focus on only coaching Yuuri. They even bought a house in Hasetsu, Japan, and trained at the Ice Castle when they were not at Victor’s old rink in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Yuuri moved into a camel spin then transitioned into a footwork sequence taken from one of Victor’s last performances. Yuuri had helped choreograph Victor’s farewell love letter to his fans once they made the decision. Having a legend of figure skating step off of the stage was mourned by many. However, one could not skate at such a high level forever. The lucky ones got to leave on their own terms instead of being invalided out.
Was he ready to retire? He knew it was coming. Yuuri was healthy with no major injuries. He could push on for another year at least. Did he want to? He had achieved his childhood goal of skating on the same ice as Victor in competition. Winning the Olympics was icing on the cake. He loved skating. He would not have dedicated his life to it if he did not. He needed to decide if his love for the sport outweigh the physical strain of continuing at his age? If he quit, what would he do next?
The sound of his skates cutting across the ice seemed loud in the empty rink. Yuuri twisted and turned. His arms gracefully moved out and around him to the music only he could hear. He fell into the movements rooted in his early ballet training and let his mind focus only on their execution. He picked up speed and executed a perfect triple toe loop. Clapping from the edge of the rink echoed off the ice as he came out of the spin. Victor’s beautiful smile greeted him when he looked into the darkened stands.
Yuuri pushed off and headed to his husband. “You were asleep when I left,” Yuuri said as he neared.
Victor opened the gate and stood in the opening.
“You have been troubled of late. When I woke in the middle of the night, I knew you came to the ice to work things out.”
Yuuri skated into the open arms waiting for him like he had the first year Victor was his coach. This time they stayed upright when Victor kissed him. It was a soft kiss of support pressed into his lips. Victor pulled away and brushed his knuckles along Yuuri’s cheek. Yuuri smiled and tipped his head to press a kiss to Victor’s ring before it passed. Victor stepped back and took a seat on a bench. Yuuri followed.
“Talk to me, my Yuuri,” Victor said and threaded his fingers through Yuuri’s.
“This is my last year,” Yuuri said with confidence. All the pieces snapped into place to form a clear picture. “I’m ready to discover the rest of my life.”
Yuuri was bolstered by Victor giving his hand a squeeze. Yuuri looked into Victor’s soft blue eyes.
“Do you want to continue coaching?” Yuuri asked.
Victor placed a kiss on the back of Yuuri’s captured hand.
“Love, this is not about me. What do you want to do? Tell me no matter how outlandish it sounds.”
Yuuri loved this man. A man who saw Yuuri’s potential and challenged him to reach for his dreams. A man who was a romantic and was excited by new things. Yuuri brushed his thumb over the back of Victor’s hand.
“I don’t know,” Yuuri answered and shrugged. “I could become a coach but don’t feel like just coaching is the right fit. I could choreograph. I could teach ballet. I could help my family run Yu-topia.”
Victor made a face.
“You would hate that,” he said. “Plus your sister has things in hand and wouldn’t want you in her way.”
Yuuri could not argue with either point.
“I haven’t thought about anything outside of skating,” Yuuri admitted. “I have my business degree but…”
“Not what you really want to do,” Victor supplied.
Yuuri nodded.
“I don’t even know if I want to stay in Japan or settle in Russia… or move back to the US and see what opportunities are there. I could go back to school for something I want to do. There are so many choices, and I feel unmoored.”
Victor shifted closer so their body’s pressed together.
“That’s why we have each other,” he said.
Yuuki rested his head against Victor and knew he was correct. Yuuri breathed deep and let calm settle over him.
“I know you don’t want me to decide based on you, but we can not ignore either of our desires when deciding our future. You are a good coach. If you want to continue coaching, I want you to. Any ideas on who?”
“Yakov has made comments about retiring,” Victor said with a shrug. “Who knows if he is serious.”
“Yurio,” Yuuri acknowledged the obvious skater in Yakov’s tutelage who would seek Victor out as a coach. “Any of the others?”
“The newer students work more with the other coaches at the rink, so probably not. If I did take him on, he would insist on your involvement in choreographing and probably ballet, even if he never says it.”
Yuuri chuckled at the truth of their Russian tiger’s personality.
“If not Yuri, I would need the right student if I continue coaching,” Victor said. He bumped their shoulders together. “Someone who has hidden potential that we can help shine. I’m happy to look into something new, as well. There is a world out there for us to explore together.”
Yuuri smiled at his husband’s enthusiasm and let it lift his outlook of their future. He raised his head to meet Victor’s besotten gaze. “Together,” he echoed then pressed his lips to Victor’s in gratitude and love.
Yuuri sat before a group of reporters after winning silver at the World Figure Skating Championship. Yurio sat beside him having won gold. Victor was off to the side radiating pride and support.
“Katsuki, how do you feel about losing the gold to Plisetsky after beating him at the Olympics?” one reporter asked.
Yuuri refrained from rolling his eyes at the attempt to sow discord, real or imagined, between the skaters. Yurio huffed well used to the game as well.
“Yuri is a talented skater who has always challenged me to put my best forward to win. It has made both of us better skaters. This time his performances earned higher points than mine.”
Yuuri dismissed the reporter and turned his attention to skim the rest of the crowd. There were questions for the other skaters before the one he expected and was looking forward to answering.
“Katsuki, what are your plans now that the season is over?”
Yuuri slowly inhaled. He looked out at the reporters and grinned.
“This was my last competition.” Flashes went off around the room temporarily blinding him, but he pressed on. “I am retiring from figure skating. Victor and I look forward to taking time off to travel, enjoy life, and rest before diving into future endeavors, whatever they may be.”
The End
Notes:
Katsudon: pork cutlet bowl. Breaded and fried pork cutlet served over rice and onions. Yuuri’s favorite food and the nickname Yuri Plisetsky uses for Yuuri.
Russians wear their wedding rings on their right hand.
The question asked of Yuri Plisetsky in the opening interview is based on Russia being banned from 2018 Winter Olympics for doping. Russian athletes participated as Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) and under the Olympic flag instead of for their country.
West Wind's Flowing Words 