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After his retirement Yuuri never thought that he would return to America. However, when the Detroit Skating Club, where he was once under the tutelage of Celestino Cialdini, offered him and Viktor a one-season contract to coach a pair of promising skaters, the Japanese man insisted his husband to accept it.
Actually, even though the invitation was for both of them, Yuuri preferred to be his husband's assistant coach, since he just retired from figure skating and he wanted to take that year off. Viktor agreed with him.
Yuuri missed Hasetsu, he would miss St. Petersburg, and he kind of missed his time in America, and Viktor knew it. That's why they both agreed to work as coaches for a year until the contract ended, then they would decide whether to go back to Russia or Japan, where they would open their own skating rink and get their own students… And maybe get a puppy.
They still missed Makkachin.
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When Yuuri stopped in front of the main building of the University of Detroit many memories came to him. Some good, some bad, but good memories in general. College wasn't an easy time for him, as upon graduation he believed he would retire from figure skating for life.
But now there he was, several years later, as a thirty-year-old new man, holder of 5 gold medals from the Grand Prix Final (and other several more medals from Worlds, The Four Continents and the Olympics), and also happily married to his childhood idol, Viktor Nikiforov.
And then again he would be a student.
However, Yuuri never really set foot in any University Campus, at least not physically; his Alma Mater was a university in Japan, which he did by mail while sharing a room with Phichit at the Club, so he was curious to see what an American university was like. Would it be like the ones in the movies?
When Yuuri entered his designated class, he felt a déjà vu. Tired students with dark circles under their eyes, drinking coffee when drinks were clearly prohibited in the classroom; students typing frantically on their laptops, and a few others ignoring the world as they stared at their smartphone screens.
Yuuri felt familiar with the environment despite everything. And he was glad to know that his only concern would be studying Russian and nothing else, and that he had chosen a schedule that would allow him to sleep in the morning. And when he managed to find a free seat in the front row, the teacher walked in and started the class.
Yuuri wasn't really surprised that no one recognized his name after the roll call. Figure skating wasn't a very popular sport in that country. Well. Not even in Russia his name was so recognized by non-sports fans. In fact, even Viktor wasn't as famous as sportscasters liked to exaggerate.
Only his new pupils and the people at the club knew who they were. Their fans on their social networks were simply told that they had moved out of Russia for work, without giving them many details. The couple just wanted to have some time of privacy before the press tracked them down.
Also, Yuuri was happy that he didn't have to give autographs.
"My name is Katsuki-Nikiforov Yuuri." He introduced himself to the entire class with a bow on his turn to speak. "I was born in Japan, but I have been living in Russia for the last few years. I will only be in Detroit for a season. My level of Russian is good, I can speak and understand it, but I want to learn to read and write it in case I return to Russia. I hope that we get along." He briefly explained his reason for taking the class, and his classmates welcomed him with claps and disinterested faces.
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"How did your first class go, solnyshko?" Viktor asked before kissing his husband's cheek, then returned his attention to Lily.
Lily was one of their two students. She was a blue-eyed blonde American girl a few years younger than Yurio, who could be just as good as him if only she didn't have struggles with her triple jumps. Their second student was Hyun, the rising star from South Korea who had just entered adulthood, whose main problem was his nerves during competitions. He was tall, with black hair and eyes.
"It was good. My classmates remind me of me when I was their age. Caffeine was my only friend." He chuckled. "And luckily no one recognized me. And you? Are you ready to go to your Japanese class?"
Seeing that Yuuri would use his free time to study Russian at the university near the Club, Viktor decided to enroll as well, but for the Japanese class. Best of all, they didn't have to pay for them, courtesy of the Club.
"Sure. I'm eager to learn my beloved husband's language!" Viktor exclaimed excitedly. "Well then, I have to go now if I don't want to be late for my first day. I'll go back to training as soon as class is over. Watch Lily's jumps and make sure Hyun raises his arms higher when he does pirouettes. It's that okay, Yuuri-sensei?" He inquired playfully.
"Oh?" Yuuri turned to see him, grinning. Then he wrapped his arms around Viktor and batted his black lashes, showing his eros. The silver-haired man felt himself melting. "Do you think I need you to tell me what to do, Coach Vitya?"
"No." He sighed with a smile from ear to ear. "I know you will do well, solnyshko." He brought his lips close to his husband and they managed to kiss for a few seconds before Hyun, with red cheeks, cleared his throat.
"Oh. Sorry." Yuuri said, returning to his usual shyness, suddenly remembering that their students had to share the rink with the hockey team, and that he and his husband were no longer teenagers to behave like this in public. Viktor only showed an apologetic smile, although he was obviously very pleased by the display of affection.
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When Viktor received the proposal to be a temporary coach in America he wasn't quite sure whether to accept it or no.
He liked being a coach, sure, but up to that point Yuuri had been his only student.
However, both Yuuri and Yakov encouraged him to accept, as Yuuri made him see that they could take that year as a 'paid vacation' without having to leave the ice and also gain more experience in dealing with young skaters. Yakov supported that idea, mainly because he wouldn’t allow Viktor to coach Yurio until he proved that his husband wasn't his only success.
Yuri Plisetsky was fine with that. He also didn't want to be trained by Viktor until Yakov retired as a coach, saying something about 'not wanting to be under his bald shadow', as the blond boy was more than aware that the 'Old Man' and the 'Katsudon' were his only 'not so bad' option as coaches in the future.
So Viktor knew that Yuuri was right and that their time in America would serve them well when they decided to be duo coaches, especially since now they had time to learn their respective languages and loving each other without having to worry about stressful competitions and the press.
"Hello! My name is Katsuki-Nikiforov Viktor." The Russian man introduced himself to his Japanese class with a huge smile, and used the hand that was wearing his wedding ring to wave. He also was pleased to note that no one recognized him. "I'm 34 years old. I was born in Russia, but I'm married to a wonderful Japanese man and I lived with him in Japan for a year. However, we will be living a few months here for work, so I want to use this time to improve my Japanese and be able to communicate better with my in-laws and sister-in-law. I hope we all get along!"
Viktor could swear he heard some 'awww' and other approving sounds from the whole class.
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A few weeks later.
Yuuri was chatting with Yurio, who was complaining about Yakov's yelling and Mila's teasing, when a couple of classmates approached. A blonde and a brunette.
"Hey... Yuuri, right?" Claudia, the blonde one, spoke to him after sitting down next to him.
"Oh. Yes?" He smiled gently after putting his smartphone away. There were still several minutes before class started, so the idea of talking with his classmates sounded nice. The girls smiled back at him.
"Sammy and I have noticed that we never see you after school. What do you study?"
"Oh." He looked at them in surprise for a few seconds and then blinked. "No... I ... I'm not a student ... Um, I mean, I already graduated years ago, I'm just here for the Russian class. Actually, I work at the Detroit Skating Club."
Both girls looked at him in surprise, and the Japanese man feared he had been recognized. Luckily, it wasn't the case.
"Are you saying that you're older than us?" Inquired Sammy, the brunette, who seemed mortified at the news.
"Yeah… uh… I'm 30 years old." He informed them with a small smile. Yuuri sometimes forgot that people tended to see him younger.
"Oh my! I didn't expect that." Claudia said after laughing. "You don't look so old! And I here thought you weren't friendly to us because you were shy, but now I see that surely you're not interested in being surrounded by scandalous children." She said jokingly and they both laughed.
"Is not that!" He said right away waving his hands. "After class I have to go to work. I didn't really stop to think about whether you guys wanted to talk to me. I'm sorry..."
Actually, Yuuri was a lot more in agreement with Claudia's theory, since all his life he had had to put up with rowdy young people on the skating rink while he was the type of person who preferred silence. Nothing personal. But he wasn't going to confirm it. That would be rude.
"Don't worry, we understand. You must be a very busy man. I have heard that there are Elite athletes in that club. Surely your job isn't easy." Sammy said, shrugging it off. "By the way, Claudia and other guys were wondering if you want to study with us."
"Study with you?" He repeated, confused. "Oh, you mean like a study group?"
"Yes!" The blonde girl affirmed after clapping her hands. "You have already been in Russia and your pronunciation is much better than ours. It would help us a lot if you could support us with the conversation part. Most of us are free in the evenings. What about you?"
"Oh…" Yuuri frowned and thought for a moment, until he realized that he and Viktor now had a fairly flexible schedule, with no worries beyond their students' trainings and their language courses. Rarely did they or their students have interviews or photoshoots for advertisements. "Yes. I think I can make a space. Just tell me when."
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A few days later, Yuuri made his way to the campus cafeteria. He had arranged to meet his study group around six in the afternoon. Viktor decided to go to the market and then wait for him at their rented apartment to have dinner together.
When Yuuri came through the door it took him a few seconds to recognize his classmates, it was until one of them raised an arm and called him that he approached them.
"Yuuri! We're glad you were able to come." Said Paul, who gestured for him to sit in the chair next to his.
Paul was a nice boy, with brown hair, and with an accent that Yuuri couldn't recognize and didn't want to assume. He was also kind, very kind… too kind.
At the table was also Karen, the youngest of the group, who had a… very strong personality, and her hair wasn't natural blonde. She always tried to talk to Yuuri about topics that he didn't understand, like queer tv shows or makeup.
Katherine was the last one to arrive, with her striking pink hair with purple highlights and her bag with characters from some anime that Yuuri didn't recognized.
The table then was filled with the six people, including Yuuri, and each one with their respective drinks, snacks, and class notes.
"Let's review lesson 4." Sammy announced and everyone opened their notebooks.
As the minutes passed, Yuuri tried his best to explain in the kindest way and step-by-step the correct pronunciation of the words and their meaning, but he needed a lot of coffee and deep breaths for that.
He wasn't a patient person. Viktor was a patient person. That's why his husband was a better coach than he; but at least the Japanese man knew how to stay cordial and not lose his cool in moments of boredom, even if Paul kept looking at him and pretending to pay attention even though it was obvious that he wasn't.
"Yuuri." Katherine called him. "Tell us about yourself. Do you have a hobby or a favorite series? We don't know much about you."
"Um… I like video games, and my favorite sport is ice skating."
"Oh, then you must know Jean-Jaques Leroy!" Paul said excitedly, but Claudia looked at them, confused.
"And who the hell is that guy?"
"He's an ice skater." Paul replied after shrugging. "I've never actually seen him skate though. I only know him from my sister, she's a fan of his music band and won't stop talking about him at dinners. What about you, Yuuri?"
"He's not one of my favorite skaters, but his routines are fun to watch." He said trying not to laugh. Yurio would be delighted to hear that conversation. "I support Phichit Chulanont, he's a member of the Club."
"What about your favorite games? I like Five Nights at Freddys." Sammy said.
Yuuri fought not to roll his eyes. At least Sammy hadn't said Minecraft or something like that.
"I like Mario games and any role-playing games."
"Oh. Are you one of those people who dresses in cosplay while playing board games? My little brother does that with his weirdo friends." Katherine said with a mock face of disgust.
"Uh… No. I think those are Tabletop role-playing gamers." Yuuri replied after laughing.
After an hour, some of his classmate began to retire to go to work or to their respective homes, Paul being one of them, who said goodbye to Yuuri and tried to pay for him (Yuuri refused, of course) and then asked for his networks to stay in touch in case they meet again to study. Yuuri added him to his social network that he used for leisure things not related to his work.
The Japanese man was about to get up from the table when Sammy and Claudia, each with a smile, asked him to stay a few more minutes.
"And… what do you think of Paul, Yuuri?" The blonde girl asked, and Yuuri looked at her in confuse for several seconds until she continued. "He's handsome, isn't he? And he's only 5 years younger than you."
"Uh, yeah. He's… a nice boy." He replied cordially, scratching his head, trying to understand the situation. "Why do you ask?"
"We know that Paul has a crush on you." Sammy said, straight to the point. "In fact, he was the one with the idea for the study group and for us to invite you." She smiled. "You should have seen him, he didn't stop looking at you the whole time."
Yuuri looked at them wide-eyed, stunned. Even his glasses slipped and he had to put them in place.
"You never mentioned having a partner, so we thought…" Claudia started to say, but she abruptly stopped speaking when Yuuri raised his right hand and showed his shiny gold ring. "Are you're married?!" She asked, also stunned. Yuuri nodded as he now looked at both girls with a serious expression. "Why didn't you mention that you were married and why aren't you wearing your ring on your left hand?!" She exclaimed, between embarrassed and surprised.
"Yes, I'm married. I have been for the last five years." Yuuri answered in order. "I'm sorry if I never mentioned my husband Viktor, I didn't realize I hadn't done it before. And finally... When the teacher showed her own wedding ring I thought that had made it quite clear. By the way, my maiden name is Katsuki. "
Yuuri wasn't sure whether to laugh or be bothered by the ambush, but he guessed that he couldn't be bothered with college kids for having the childish idea of trying to match people like in American movies.
Although he did feel bad that he hadn't mentioned Viktor earlier. Would Viktor talk about him in his Japanese class?
"The teacher… Oh… It's true! She's married to a Russian man, and she told us that in Russia they wear the wedding ring on their right hand." Claudia remembered after hitting her forehead with her palm. "Yuuri, we're so sorry. We should have asked you first if you had a partner instead of assuming. I didn't even notice that your last name is composed. It's just that you're always so quiet, and, well ..."
Yuuri just laughed and shook his head. If it weren't because of Viktor following him like a bloodhound to Japan, surely he would still be a lonely bachelor.
"Okay. Don't worry. My husband will love hearing this story." He smiled. "Viktor says that 100 people could flirt with me at the same time and I would never notice it. Though I do feel a little bad for Paul, which explains why he insisted so much on paying for my tea and muffins..."
"Yeah… your husband is right. Karen was flirting with you during the first two weeks of school, and since you never noticed, we assumed you were gay." Sammy said, and this time Yuuri blushed completely. "Poor Paul, I'll have to break the news…"
When Yuuri returned to the apartment and told his husband about his day over dinner, Viktor laughed out loud, although he did felt a little sorry for that poor boy who had a crush with his adorable husband. But soon they forgot about it when Yuuri invited him to bed and their night ended with more than caresses and kisses.
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Viktor liked college more than he expected. Like his husband, he didn't study properly on a university campus. Most of his life he lived on a sports campus, where he had a few classes, but the main thing was always skating.
But now there he was, at an American university, watching boys 10 years younger than him rushing from one place to another in a hurry to get to their classes. In a way it was fun, as he only had to worry about his Japanese class and then go back to the Club to train his students.
But, the most rewarding thing, was walking around the campus after classes with Yuuri, during the days when Lily and Hyun were resting, because Viktor could see the looks that other boys gave him husband; He could see how they wanted to get closer to Yuuri and ask for a bit of his time, however, the silver-haired man always made sure to put a hand on his hip and kiss his lips to let everyone know that they were in love.
On the other hand, Yuuri could see girls huddling to see Viktor. The Japanese man, secretly and as if it were an accident, always put a hand on his butt to let everyone know that he was the only one capable of satisfying his husband. Viktor loved it.
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Yuuri was nervous. Hyun was nervous.
It was his Senior debut and he kept shaking and repeating to himself that he was going to fail.
Yuuri didn't know what to do.
He and Viktor would have loved to be together in that competition as Hyun's coach and assistant coach, but the Russian man had decided to stay at the Club to continue training Lily, as the girl had other events and needed to be more consistent in her jumps, while only Yuuri was left to go with Hyun to Canada.
However, it was Viktor who had insisted on Yuuri acting as Hyun's coach on that occasion, saying that they would understand each other very well. However, the Japanese man felt that as a serious mistake.
Hyun was having a panic attack. Yuuri was about to suffer one too.
It was true that Yuuri had retired with many gold medals, almost as many as his husband's. But that was thanks to Viktor's support and love.
It was Viktor who knew how to deal with his anxiety, even if he sometimes got frustrated and they ended up arguing; it was Viktor who knew what to say to reassure him, even if it made Yuuri cry a few times; it was Viktor who held him in his arms and reminded him how much he had trained and how much he loved him regardless of the result...
But Viktor wasn't there ... and Yuuri... He had learned how to deal with his anxiety over the years, relying on the love of his husband and his advice as a coach, because as much as he loved Viktor, he knew that Viktor didn't understand and never would know what anxiety feels like. And maybe… just maybe… he could help Hyun to calm down.
Perhaps that was why Viktor had sent him instead.
"Hyun…" The Japanese man approached slowly. The Korean boy raised his tense gaze from his bent knees and looked at Yuuri in terror.
"I'm-I'm sorry, Coach. I don't know what's wrong with me. I-I've never felt like this."
"Okay. Just breathe. May I come closer?" The boy nodded slowly. Yuuri sat next to him on the floor. "Breathe and count to 10... Or to 100, whatever you need." After a few minutes of just hearing the screams and cheers from the crowd as the boy's breathing calmed down, Yuuri continued. "Do you want to talk? Can you tell me what's going on?"
"I... am afraid of screw it up, Coach."
"Screw it up?" He repeated, confused. "How?"
"You... you are Viktor Nikiforov and Katsuki Yuuri, the best skaters in the world!" He exclaimed, still trembling. "People out there are waiting for me to carry my coachs' name up there, don't let them down." He put his hands to his face and continued to breathe hard. Yuuri listened. "I'm ... in fourth place right now, and Leo de la Iglesia in the lead. What if I failed and came in last place and stain your and coach Nikiforov names?! I would never forgive myself for that." Several tears began to fall from his cheeks and the Japanese man sighed.
Ah. That sounded familiar.
Luckily, Yuuri knew the answer.
"If that happens, Viktor and I will be there to support you." He smiled and placed a hand on the Korean's boy shoulder, who looked at him in surprise and disbelief. "Hyun, I think I remember that a few years ago there was a Japanese skater who came in last place in his first Grand Prix Final, and thanks to the support of his coach he continued skating for many more years..."
"Uh…" Hyun looked at Yuuri carefully, but seemed to understand what he was talking about. After all, he was a huge fan of his coaches and he knew their stories.
"Uhm. What I'm trying to say is… there will be times when you're going to fall, and it will hurt, but you have to get up and carry on. There are people who love and support you, and they will be happy to see you do your best regardless of the outcome, and that's includes Viktor and me. "
"But… I want to get to the podium…" He said, more relaxed.
"Then do it. Get to the podium. But don't do it for your coaches, or for your family, or for the public; do it for yourself, to be proud of yourself." Yuuri smiled.
Hyun still didn't seem very convinced, but at least he had stopped shaking.
"What is your favorite food?" Yuuri asked suddenly. The Korean boy blinked.
"Uh… Right now I'm obsessed with pineapple pizza." He answered a bit embarrassed. "I don't eat much of it because of the training, though… and because my classmates say it's an offense to pizza." He chuckled.
"Then you going to get a pineapple pizza every time you win. Three pieces for a bronze medal, six pieces for a silver medal, and the whole box if it's gold. I'll pay for it, okay?"
Hyun was silent, staring at the floor. Yuuri for a moment feared that he had made an insensitive move, as he was aware that not everyone was inspired by food as he did.
"I want...pizza." The Korean boy muttered after wiping his tears with the sleeve of his suit. He got up from the floor and looked seriously at his coach. "Can we… add chicken wings if I nail all my jumps?"
"Of course." They shook hands and the deal was sealed.
Hyun won six slices of pizza and an order of chicken wings.
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"Yuuri, where have you been all week?" Sammy inquired when she saw him enter the classroom. "The teacher said you asked permission to be absent but she didn't say where you went."
"In your social networks you didn't say where you had gone either." Said Paul. Since he learned that Yuuri was married, he had stopped being so pushy, but his crush on him continued. "Not that I stalked you or something, I just… We were worried."
"Oh…" Yuuri put his backpack on his table and thought for a moment. Maybe it was time to tell his colleagues about his work. "I went to Canada to support one of the skaters from the Club."
"Oh right, you work at that skating club." Sammy said after remembering it. "And what exactly are you doing there? Why did you even go to Canada?"
"I… uhm…" Yuuri was about to reply when Karen ran into the classroom with her smartphone in plain sight.
"Girls! BTS has a new song!"
Several girls screamed and gathered around Karen to hear the song.
"What is BTS?" Yuuri asked in a low voice to Claudia, who didn't seem to mind the matter.
"It's a South Korean band group. Sammy and the other girls are huge fans." She replied with a chuckle. "How come you don't…?" Claudia shook her head before finishing the question. "Sometimes I forget that you are much older than us and that you hardly use the internet. Surely you only know the Backstreet boys."
"Who?"
"Forget it." The blonde laughed more. "Look, the teacher is coming."
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"Oh, wow! Did you see that hottie who just walked in?" Karen said as everyone looked at the tall silver-haired man walking through the door, who seemed to be looking for something.
They were in another study session in the cafeteria, and Yuuri was so focused on reading his vocabulary that he never paid attention to when his classmates talked about other things unrelated to the class.
"How handsome!" Sammy exclaimed with flushed cheeks. "I wonder if he's looking for his girlfriend… I hope he doesn't have a girlfriend."
"Wait. Look at his hair! I bet he's a sugar daddy and he's looking for a sugar baby to take care of." Paul joked.
Almost everyone at the table was laughing until they noticed the silver-haired man walking up to them and stood behind...
"Yuuri!" The aforementioned man jumped on his seat and the silver-haired man immediately hugged him.
"Vi-Viktor." Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him, and Viktor wasted no time in planting his lips on his. They all blushed at the show of affection.
"Viktor?" Claudia repeated with wide eyes. "Yuuri. Is that… your husband?"
"Um, yeah." He replied with a completely red face, looking everywhere except at his classmates. "Viktor, they are my classmates."
"Hello, Yuuri's classmates!" The silver-haired man exclaimed with a smile, hugging his husband. "My Yuuri has told me a lot about you, and I would like to stay and chat, but I came for my beloved husband because we have an interview in half an hour and we must prepare for it."
"What?! The interview is today?" He exclaimed and got up from the chair as soon as he could. "Aaah, I'm so sorry, Vitya! I totally forgot." Then he turned to his classmate. "I have to go, I'm so sorry, I forgot I already had another things to do."
"It's okay, Yuuri. Thanks for helping us study today." Claudia said with a smile and made a gesture.
"Wait. Do you two have a job interview?" Sammy inquired, confused. Viktor laughed and Yuuri tensed.
"Yeah. I guess you can call it a 'job interview'." Viktor winked and no one knew how to react to that. "Excuse us. My solnyshko and I should go now. Nice to meet you! ... Ah! And don't forget to buy Vogue in two weeks!"
That same day, Yuuri's classmates had the great idea of Googling their names in hopes of finding out if Yuuri's husband was some kind of Russian supermodel.
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"So how does competition work?" Claudia asked a few days later.
After Yuuri explained to his classmate that he was in America on incognito and that he wanted to prevent the press from getting into his private life, they soon forgave his secrecy and understood his situation.
"Well… In not so technical words, the skaters go to different events to compete until there are six finalists, who then meet for one last event. This year the GPF will be in Spain." He responded with a blush and a small smile. Spain was a special place for him and his husband.
"Ah, that's why you were absent so much." Sammy said thoughtfully. "It is in Spain where you won your silver medal, right? That was wikipedia says." Yuuri nodded. "It's funny, I remember the news from that day, many years ago. The world press went crazy and said that a Japanese skater and his coach had engaged after the Japanese won silver, but I didn't pay too much attention to the news at the time."
"Oh, god. I can't believe I know two Olympic medalists!" Paul exclaimed with bright eyes. "Yuuri, I promise to be your biggest fan. I loved your Eros routine!"
"Eros?!" He repeated, stunned. "B-but that routine is so old and it never went the way it should!"
"Well, I prefer the duet routines that you do with your husband." Claudia said with her hands joined, feeling touched. "You two look so cute together, you can practically see the hearts flying around you two."
Yuuri was getting redder and redder. Despite their years of marriage, he still felt butterflies in his stomach when he thought and touched Viktor.
"But now you are a coach, right?" Sammy inquired. "Who are your students? I saw a bit of the past competition on the internet."
"Ah, yes. They are Lily and Hyan. Lily is American and competes in the Junior female branch, Viktor is the one who takes care of her training, and this season she has two bronzes and one gold. Hyun is from South Korea, and this season was his Debuting in Senior, he has a bronze and a silver medal. They both advanced to the Grand Prix Final." He said proudly.
"That's great!" Claudia said. "I'll make sure to watch the final on TV. I want to see Coach Yuuri in action!"
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Spain, 2023.
"Viktor, where are we going? Our students need us at the banquet." Yuuri asked while grining. He had drunk a little but was lucid enough to keep partying.
Lily had taken gold in the Junior female while Hyun came in fourth, a great place considering he had competed against Yuri Plisetsky, Phichit Chulanont, and Otabek Altin. Hyun felt good about his achievement.
"It will only take a moment, Solnyshko." He kept pulling Yuuri by the hand until they reached a balcony. Viktor closed the door to block out the noise from the party.
"Something wrong?"
"I just want to kiss and congratulate Yuuri-sensei on his achievement today." Viktor cupped his husband's cheeks and kissed him on the lips. Yuuri responded right away, wrapping his arms around the silver-haired man body.
"It's not my achievement, it's our students'."
"Yes. It's true. But it's our job to guide them on the right path and be there to support them. And you did a better job with Hyun than I did with you in my first year as your coach."
"What? That's not true!" He looked at his husband in alarm. "You were just new and very inexperienced as a coach, but you helped me to trust myself, I will always be grateful for that."
"Yes. But you…" Viktor kissed him again. "You helped Hyun to keep his anxiety in order instead of scaring him. His previous coach called me a few minutes ago and thanked us for his progress. Even Yakov said we're not that useless, and Celestino already thinks of us as his colleagues." They both laughed. "I'm very proud of you, solnyshko."
"I'm proud of you too, Coach Vitya. You did a great job with Lily." Yuuri kissed him too.
They held each other, with Yuuri leaning his face on his husband's neck while the silver-haired man lovingly kissed his hair. After a minute of silence Viktor spoke.
"Yuuri… What do you think our next step should be?" He inquired in a low voice. "Go back to Russia or Japan?"
"I…" He thought about it for a moment, although, in fact, he had known the answer for months. "I would love to go back to Japan and make Ice Castle our headquarters." He raised his head and looked at his husband shyly. "I miss my family, my mother's katsudon, and Hyun said he would follow us anywhere to continue training with us. What about you?"
"Oh, Yuuri. I think the same! I also miss your family and eating katsudon." He showed his heart-shaped smile. "Also, my sensei says my Japanese is very good. Now I would be able to chat about tv dramas with your mom and gossip about the neighbors with your dad. And I'm sure Yurio will love coming back to Japan when he decides to be trained by us." He sighs. "Imagine it, Yuuri, the Ice Castle full of skaters with the potential to be the next Japan's stars, or the country they skate for. And we could give them Yu-topia discounts so they can rest and taste your parents' food." Yuuri laughed. "And… maybe, now we have time to go to an animal shelter and adopt a new member for our family, what do you say?" The Japanese man nodded and brought their foreheads together.
"Koishiteru, Vitya." He said, happy and relieved that they had come to the same conclusion. But if Viktor had wanted them to return to Russia, he would have supported him.
"Koishiteru, Yuuri." He placed his lips on his husband's to share a long and calm kiss, simply enjoying each other's company, with the music of the banquet in the background. "I will follow you wherever you go, even the end of the world. Being with you makes me happy, Yuuri, no matter where we are." Viktor whispered in his ear, and said it with such sincerity that Yuuri felt himself melt.
"So… Japan is our decision?" He asked to be sure and Viktor nodded vehemently. "I'm glad."
"Now, solnyshko, let's take advantage of the banquet to celebrate one of our anniversaries. If I remember correctly, it was here in Spain that you asked me to marry you." He winked, causing Yuuri to blush.
"Viktor, you know that's not how it happened."
"Yeah, that's how it happened and you won't make me change my mind." He kissed Yuuri's nose playfully and began to pull him back to the party. "Come on, solnyshko. Let's enjoy tonight before we have to break our heads with logistics and the moving."
"Okay." Yuuri smiled and followed Viktor into the room.
In a few days they would return to Japan to stay there for the rest of their lives and they were both looking forward to it.