To prime yourself for this story, please read the story New beginnings before this one. [ s/12302447/1/New-beginnings ]

After finishing New beginnings, I came to understand that I'm not done with Yuuri and Victor just yet. This is a story based on the feeling I have that Victor would actually be happier just being Yuuri's coach and lover and officially retiring from figure skating. How would Yuuri and Victor deal with the consequences of this decision?

Also; I'm totally winging it with the skating. Kinda. Enjoy!

"Yuuri?" Victor came though the front door of the flat.

"Hi, Victor, welcome home! How was practice?" Yuuri's voice came from further in.

"It was fine," Victor said loudly as the took off his coat. "The short program is almost done, just have to go through it a couple of more times. I've contacted the head of the orchestra at the Mariinsky too, so we'll see if I have to tweak it once I have the music."

Victor walked towards the kitchen, stroking Makkachin's head as the poodle scampered around his legs. He felt parched. He got a bottle of water from the fridge and greedily drank it. He felt Yuuri's arms around his torso.

"Wow, you really are Japanese! Sneaking around like a ninja."

Yuuri scoffed in response.

He turned around, placed the bottle on the countertop and returned the embrace. He kissed Yuuri on the head, nuzzling his hair. I hate it when we're not together.

"So!" Yuuri's voice made him leave his train of thought. "Dinner, eating in or out?"

Victor pondered for a second.

"In, I think. You don't mind?"

"No, absolutely not. Want me to cook?"

"Would you? Wow, amazing! Yuuri's cooking tonight!"

Victor tilted Yuuri's face upwards and gave him a deep kiss. One that made him weak at the knees. One that made Yuuri moan against his mouth.

"Payment enough, I hope?" Victor smiled. Yuuri was the better cook, by far. He really needed to encourage him in any way possible.

Yuuri patted Victor on the chest, laughing a bubbly laugh.

I love you, I love you, I love you. This is what keeps me going. I want this to be forever.

Victor ran his fingers though Yuuri's hair. It was slightly longer now, he noticed. It suited him. He playfully pulled one of the thicker strands repeatedly.

"And you, young man? Practice tomorrow?"

"Definitely. Combination training, if I'm allowed to have a say."

"I had something else in mind. Maybe you can convince me?" Victor winked as he walked out of the kitchen. "I'm taking a shower!"

Yuuri opened the fridge. What to make, what to make... Vegetable pasta, maybe?

He'd been in St Petersburg for almost a month. Victor had been coaching him for almost three weeks. The week he stayed off the rink had been pure bliss, he reluctantly admitted to himself. And I'm supposed to be a professional figure skater...

He remembered the little things, like being presented with a spare set of keys. Seeing an Instagram post with a photo of their two toothbrushes in his feed, the caption had been heartbreakingly sweet. 'Everything looks better in pairs'. Walking with Victor around town so that he would find his way on his own. Having a sightseeing of his new home rink. He felt warm inside, thinking back.

Yuuri shredded some carrots and fennel, filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove. His thoughts drifted off, thinking about the theme for his upcoming season. Trust. Victor had seemed enthusiastic when he told him about it. Called it important.

Victor had been very thorough, questioning Yuuri about what he thought about the word. What his perception of trust was. How he could translate Yuuri's thoughts into movements. Yuuri loved seeing Victor work. The choreography he'd shown him sparked the same feeling he'd felt inside when he saw the Eros routine. How could I possibly pull this off?

It hadn't been as tough getting into the mindset, but the movements linked together were more intricate and demanding. Victor trusts me. He knows I can pull this off. Therefore, I must show him that I have trust in him, too.

The boiling water brought Yuuri back, and he quickly put the vegetables in.

He smelled Victor before he saw him.

"This is so good!" Victor beamed at Yuuri. "I really appreciate this." Victor reached for Yuuri's hand, giving it a squeeze. The smile Yuuri gave him made him weak.

After dinner, they lazily lounged in the sofa. Yuuri had almost immediately drifted off to sleep, on top of Victor and between his legs. Yuuri's breathing was slow. Deep. Calming. Victor traced the edge of Yuuri's shoulderblade with his fingers through Yuuri's shirt as carefully as he could.

In order to keep himself occupied, Victor played with his phone. He took a photo of their interlaced right hands.

v-nikiforov

v-nikiforov With my sleeping beauty~!

posted 0 minutes ago

He checked the time. 23:13. Probably time for bed soon. Victor was supposed to meet with Yakov in the morning in order to practice. He usually scheduled his sessions early in order to let Yuuri sleep. Yuuri wasn't really a morning person, so his sessions started after lunch most of the time.

Victor put his phone on the floor. No, we really need to get to bed. In order to wake Yuuri in a gentle fashion, he trailed his fingers along Yuuris spine repeatedly. Trying his best to count the vertebras. Yuuri shifted after a while, and slowly inhaled for something that felt like forever. Yuuri shuddered under his touch.

"Yuuri..." Victor's voice were barely a whisper. "Ticklish?"

"No," Yuuri yawned. "Just goosebumps."

"We really should go to bed."

"Just a moment longer, please." Yuuri's voice grew more silent with every word.

"You're going to fall asleep again." I love when you do that. You're hopeless.

They remained still and quiet in each other's arms for a while. Victor could tell by Yuuri's breathing that he resided in the borderlands between being awake and asleep.

"Whatever," Victor whispered as he reached for his phone to set the alarm.

To: Yuu~ri!

I set your alarm, you can thank me later. Which I hope you'll do... See you at the rink! xxx

Victor put his phone in his puffer and reached for his water bottle. He had a joint training today. Yakov was barking instructions at the far end of the rink, his voice booming.

"Vitya! You're up! From the second sit spin!"

"No, from the 4-3 combo," Victor hollered back. He unzipped his puffer and threw it across the side board of the rink.

"Don't mouth back! You do what I tell you to or..."

"Or else, what?" Victor tried his best to sound extremely flippant as he passed by, preparing a quad lutz-triple toe loop combination. He positioned himself on the right backward outside edge of the skate, prepared his left arm and leg for the jump and... flawless clockwise rotation.

"Yakov! Watch!"

Victor decided to add some flair to his toe loop by approaching it differently, rotating counter-clockwise in the air. Just for the heck of it. It became a double, but the expression on Yakov's face was enough. Mission accomplished. He finished with a death drop and did some sit spin variations, just for good measure, before he finished with an end pose.

"Vitya!" Yakov looked... teary eyed. And mad.

"Great, huh?" Victor stopped in front of his coach as brusquely as he could, sporting a sly smile. He made sure that his skates created a huge, powdery cloud of ice. Shit, that was tough. My knees are killing me.

"Vitya, I forbid you to play around like that! It's not like you can use it in your program anyway! You need to be careful, you're no teenager anymore."

Victor put one finger to his lips and winked.

"All about surprising the audience, Yakov." But I'm at my limit. This magician's hat is getting empty.

Yakov gave Victor a supportive pat on the back, and told him to cool down. He was done for the day.

"See you later, Makkachin!"

Yuuri grabbed his backpack before exiting, making sure that he locked the door. It was quite a luxury to live so close to the rink, it was within walking distance. He could only assume that Victor had taken it into consideration when he got the place.

He exited the lift, put his earphones in and started his playlist. If I keep a higher pace, I'll be there in fifteen. Yuuri started with a light jog and gradually upped his speed as he headed for the rink. Definitely a great warmup.

The rink started to loom in the distance. Yuuri ran up the stairs and looked at his phone. 17 minutes.

He went inside and changed clothes. As he laced up his skates, a gang of young girls squealed as they exited the rink, heading for the outside. He couldn't understand them, but he nodded politely as they passed. He suddenly caught them saying "Vitya" in the same squealing tone.

He really has this effect on everyone. The wonderful, approachable Vitya. My super nova.

Yuuri entered where the girls had exited, and saw Victor on the ice. Go figure they squealed. I feel like going crazy too when I see him.

Victor had been adamant since the very beginning that his and Yuuri's training sessions would be separated without any kind of overlapping. He pointed out that Yuuri needed to skate without disturbances, that it was important for him to focus and not be affected by others at this stage. Not until he knew his choreography by heart. Yuuri complied. And why wouldn't he, he trusted Victor.

Yuuri slowly walked to the entrance of the rink, the characteristic sound of the skate guards rattled with every step.

He was breathless. Victor still hadn't gotten his music from the Mariinsky, but seeing him skate without it was even more spellbinding. Victor skated with a slightly pained expression, his movements were like poetry. Out of an Ina Bauer with an outlandish layback, he performed a scratch spin. As the momentum waned, it became slow. Seductive. Perfectly centered. Victor continued to stretch out his arms, almost in a beckoning way, before retracting them as he moved into a backward crossover. It was like he spoke to an audience that wasn't there.

As Victor caressed his face, his lower lip getting caught by the movement of his fingers, Yuuri understood the story Victor was trying to tell. He felt cold inside. It was like he'd witnessed something that was forbidden, something that wasn't meant for him.

It's like he's... saying goodbye?

Yuuri stifled a sob. He didn't understand, but at the same time, it all made perfect sense. The separated training sessions, the focus on Yuuri's season, the dodged conversations about Victor's routines. It all made perfect sense, and Yuuri felt mortified. Cheated. Stupid.

He turned around and walked to the locker room. He felt dizzy. He wanted to puke. He tried his best to undo his skates, but ended up pulling them off by force. Leaving them on the floor, he darted for the bathroom. Covering his mouth with both hands. I'm going to throw up, I'm going to throw up! I can't breathe!

As soon as he'd slammed the door shut, he passed out.

Victor stood on the ice. Waiting.

"Tired little piggy. I know I set your alarm."

He reached for his phone. Nothing, no texts or missed calls. He opened his call log to find Yuuri's number and pressed it. No answer.

Victor skated to the exit and got off the ice. Might as well get some coffee. He's probably on his way.

Walking through the locker room, he felt more at ease. He noticed Yuuri's backpack and skates on the floor. So he is here.

He sat down on the bench. He decided to wait for him. When maybe ten minutes had passed, Victor found it strange that Yuuri still was a no-show. He picked up his phone again and called Yuuri.

That's strange... I think I hear his phone?

As Victor stood up, wondering why he heard Yuuri's phone with that silly ring signal, he saw Yuuri's shoes on the floor. His heart started to beat faster. Why would he go anywhere without something on his feet?

Victor got to Yuuri's voicemail. He hung up and re-dialled. Yuuri's phone rang again. Victor followed the sound, getting more and more worked up. What the hell is this? Where is he?

Victor walked past the bathroom two times before he realised that the sound was coming from within.

"Yuuri? Yuuri! Yuuri, are you in there? Are you okay?"

No answer. Victor's heart was beating its way out of his chest. Victor pushed down on the handle and noticed that the door wasn't locked.

"Yuuri, I'm opening the door! I'm coming in, okay?"

Victor buckled at the knees when he saw him. Face down on the floor in a contorted way. A small smear of blood on the basin.

"Yuuri! What the hell, Yuuri! Someone, help!" He filled his lungs to their absolute maximum, screaming as fear took over. "POMOGITE MNE!"