#lol look who's gettin sappy at 10 pm its me

[vctor-niliforv]

Only With You

Here’s something about their pair skate bc I’m still crying abt it on a daily basis.

It was Yuuri who brought it up first. One quiet night in the onsen after the Cup of China and a few days before they headed to Russia for the Rostelecom Cup.

"Have you ever considered pair skating, Viktor?"

Viktor looked up from his tea, eyebrows raised. He paused for a moment, regarding Yuuri with thoughtful eyes.

"Not since I met you, no," he answered with a smile and watched a tinge of pink rise on Yuuri's cheeks. "It was always one of the other events, like the women's skating or ice dancing," he explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I can't deny that as of late, I sometimes want nothing more than to join you on the ice."

Yuuri was not expecting such an answer and simply nodded before excusing himself to bed. He had a lot to think about…

The celebration over Yuuri's placement in the Grand Prix Final didn't die down until late into the night. Sometime past midnight, it had finally quieted down in the onsen, almost everyone having retired to bed.

Everyone except for Yuuri and Viktor, who sat across from each other at their usual table in the main room. Yuuri's hands rested atop Viktor's on the table, the Russian rubbing gentle circles over his knuckles. The two had been nearly inseparable ever since Yuuri had returned from Russia.

"I'm proud of you," Viktor whispered across the table, giving Yuuri's hands a meaningful squeeze.

Yuuri glanced at Viktor and smiled gratefully before looking back down at his lap. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, meeting Viktor's gaze again.

"I want to skate with you, Viktor. Not as we have before as competitors or in practice. I-I want to do a pair skate routine with you. For the gala… when I win gold at the Grand Prix!" It all came out in somewhat of a rush, Yuuri's practiced words spilling across the table to a stunned Viktor.

A moment passed before Viktor broke out into a beaming grin and let go of Yuuri's hands, only to collide with him in a firm embrace.

"I can't think of anything better than that," he said, his words muffled against Yuuri's shoulder. "I want to skate with you too, Yuuri"

"Good job Yuuri, now make sure you do that in competition and you'll win gold for sure," Viktor commented with a smirk before stepping onto the ice himself. Viktor chose to ignore Yuuri rolling his eyes, and instead reached out and jostled Yuuri's shoulder. When their eyes met, Viktor’s smile turned soft and Yuuri reciprocated with a tilt of his head and a gentle smile.

Viktor pushed off from the wall and took a few laps around the rink, skating elegant figures and stepping into graceful crossovers at the curves. Yuuri watched from the barrier with a peaceful expression, leaning back on his elbows against the barrier. He had always loved watching Viktor skate; ever since he was young.

Viktor took one more lap before slowing to a stop in front of Yuuri again.

"I want to show you something," he said and Yuuri could almost feel the barely contained excitement radiating from the other man.

"What's that?" Yuuri inquired with a chuckle, having regained his breath after the short break. Viktor's smile widened until it almost reached his ears as he skated away towards the control center for the sound system. He hooked up his phone and pressed a few buttons before turning to Yuuri.

“Go stand at the center!” he called.

Yuuri did as he was told, deciding against questioning what was going on. Viktor was always up to something and sometimes Yuuri enjoyed holding back his questions and being surprised.

Yuuri took his place at the center of the rink and looked up as music started playing through the speakers. Very familiar music. It was the song Viktor had skated his free skate to last year that filled the rink.

“Dance! You know how it goes,” Viktor called again, still standing at the edge of the rink.

Yuuri paused before letting out a soft laugh. He began the routine, shifting his weight on his skates and gesturing widely with his arms before drawing in on himself, mimicking a man suffering loss and heartbreak.

As a new verse began, Viktor skated forward, joining Yuuri in his dance. At first he simply mirrored Yuuri, skating through the same movements alongside him.

Yuuri noticed a woman now singing along with the familiar tenor, and he looked at Viktor in slight shock.

“Y-you found a duet?”

“For our pair skate! Isn't it perfect?” Viktor answered, taking Yuuri's hands.

Yuuri had no words to describe how perfect it was. Performing a pair skate to the song Yuuri himself had also skated to, in a performance that had brought Viktor into his life; it was quite entirely their song.

As the music swelled, Viktor moved his hands to Yuuri's hips and lifted. Yuuri gasped and clutched at Viktor's shoulders, the Russian only wobbling a little on his skates. Viktor gently brought Yuuri back down to the ice before grinning and carefully lowering him into a dip.

The song continued as the pair moved gracefully on the ice. Their dance was not practiced and nowhere near perfect, but it was beautiful. It was full of soft caresses and awkward bumps; failed lifts (on Viktor's part) and bright laughter.

The song ended and Yuuri couldn't feel his cheeks anymore from smiling so much.

“I really wanted to try lifting you, but I guess it's my turn to do a bit of strength training, huh?” Viktor commented, out of breath.

Yuuri laughed outright at that, the sound filling the rink just as the music had, and filling Viktor with a feeling of warmth.

“I suppose so. I'm not exactly light, am I?”

“You're all full of muscle. And katsudon!” Viktor joked, pinching Yuuri's stomach which sent the Japanese man into another round of loud laughter.

“I bet you could lift me,” Viktor said softly after a moment, his words coming in a breath that hit Yuuri's ear and his arms wrapping around Yuuri's waist.

“I-I doubt I could. Without dropping you,” Yuuri stuttered as he flushed slightly at the warm breath hitting his ear.

“You'd never drop me! Come on, try it!” Viktor encouraged, stepping away from Yuuri and moving in front of him. “For me?”

Yuuri let out a sigh, shaking his head. He was truly weak against Viktor.

“Fine. Just this once,” he declared, holding up his forefinger and pointing it at Viktor.

Yuuri skated forward and hesitantly placed his hands on Viktor's hips. He glanced up at Viktor who smiled and nodded encouragingly, before gently gripping Yuuri's shoulders. In a swift motion, Yuuri lifted the Russian about a foot off the ice. After realizing that supporting Viktor’s weight really wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought it would be, Yuuri decided to add a flare and spun a half circle with Viktor in his arms. He slowly lowered Viktor and then proceeded to dip the larger man with a smirk. Yuuri held this pose and was soon holding back laughter at the flustered look on Viktor's face.

Viktor was sporting quite the blush, with his eyes full of such stunned admiration that the expression on his face could only be described as swoon.

“Wow,” was all he could say as Yuuri righted the both of them. “You-you’re so strong Yuuri! I knew you could do it!” Viktor cheered.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yuuri brushed off the compliment with a wave of his hand. “But it’s best if you do the lifts for the actual program, I-I don’t want to get nervous and then drop you and then…”

Viktor could see the panic settling in and placed his hands on Yuuri’s shoulders. He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to the center of the shorter man’s forehead, before smiling gently down at him.

“I’ll do the lifts. How could I pass up an opportunity to have you in my arms?”

There was too much going on in Yuuri’s head. It had to be one of the most stressful days of his life. The morning was full of near-tangible tension after the mostly unresolved conversation he had had with Viktor the previous night that had left both of them reeling. Said tension had finally broken mere seconds before what he thought would be the final free skate of his career, leaving him relieved to the point he was almost shaking on the ice.

And it had all culminated into the silver medal hanging around Yuuri’s neck. He traced the edge of it with one hand, his other still at the back of Viktor’s head, playing with the short silver strands there as they sat together on the padded floor of the ice rink. After such an emotionally charged day, on top of the exertion of competing, Yuuri was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on Viktor’s shoulder in the warmth of his embrace right then and there.

Before the pull of sleep could drag Yuuri any further, he lifted his head and looked into Viktor’s eyes.

“I want to skate with you,” he whispered, putting into words what he had realized on the ice. It really was the only piece of his jumbled thoughts that made any sense to Yuuri at that moment. The strong desire to be on the same ice with Viktor as equals in every way.

Viktor laughed breathily and reached out to brush Yuuri’s cheek with his thumb, his smile soft and warm.

“And I want to skate with you, Yuuri,” he whispered back. “But first, you need sleep.”

Without further warning, Viktor picked Yuuri up and walked off towards the exit, ignoring the half-hearted protests from the Japanese man.

It was perfect. Dancing on the ice with Viktor was something like a dream for Yuuri. He had dreamt of sharing the ice with Viktor, but only in competition. Sharing it with him in this way, with Viktor’s hands in his and his arms around Yuuri’s waist; there were no words to describe it.

Yuuri couldn’t hear the crowd or the music, he could only hear his heart pounding in his ears and the occasional murmur of Viktor singing along to the song- their song- between jumps and lifts.

Stay close to me, the song said, and so did Viktor’s eyes and Yuuri’s gentle caresses.

Do not leave, echoed through the rink, and was felt in the way Viktor lifted Yuuri high, and the way Yuuri held Viktor tight.

I want to skate with you, was a thought shared only between the two of them, a lifelong request that they would fulfill together for eternity.