Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started one day as Victor browsed on his phone in the grey light of dawn. Yuuri was spending the morning training with Minako, which meant that he had several hours to kill before he had to meet up with his student at the ice rink. While he had tried on several occasions to join Yuuri at practice, the fact that his presence had his protégé tripping over his own feet caused Minako to prohibit him from coming to watch.

Thus, days like this usually meant curling up with Makkachin and interacting with his fans through social media—along with enjoying a bowl of katsudon and a dip in the onsen, of course.

The night before, Victor had uploaded an older photo of himself and Christophe enjoying popsicles in the snow just prior to the Grand Prix Final banquet. They were laughing, hands outstretched toward the night sky; Sochi was a blur of bright lights behind them. He had simply tagged the post with the word “nostalgia” and left it at that.

To his fans, this seemed like a sign that he missed skating, missed being the star instead of being the inspiration. For him—for Victor–it was more of a reminder of the journey that he’d started that evening in Sochi—of how one single night of fun could change the entire course of his life and career.

What with being the most famous person in ice skating at the moment, Victor had a huge fanbase on Instagram. The photograph he posted last night had surged in popularity, but Victor was quick to notice that the hit count was even higher than usual—not that he minded. Curious as to what caused the difference, though, he began to scroll through the notes before he happened upon what seemed like an innocuous comment:

The statement didn’t make any immediate sense to him, but apparently, many of his fans took offense. The individual who had made the original comment had stepped into taboo territory, the masses claimed, but no one ever seemed to say exactly why. They just appeared to be shocked that someone would actually say such a thing on his social media page.

No matter! Google could and would fill in the blanks for him. A quick search unearthed the meaning behind the word “fic,” which led him down the trail to another phrase—one that would fit his situation even better.

Thus was Victor Nikiforov introduced to the world of real person fiction.

Hello, icebladez58! Your story was such a delight to read! This is my first time encountering this kind of writing.

There is just one thing I need to tell you: I can guarantee you that I have more stamina than Chris. I would prefer to not go into intimate detail as to how I know this (It is duller than you think haha!), but just remember how he can barely contain himself on the rink. If we were lovers, I’d be the one outlasting him. ;)

Anyway, I really enjoyed your description of my hair!! Like a halo around my head?? I had not realized that people were still so interested in it being long. Should I grow it out again???

-V

“Victor, you’ve been spending a lot of time staring at your phone recently,” Yuuri said one day as they watched the Zamboni circle the ice rink. It had been about a week since Victor had been introduced to the world of RPF, and the observation was… well, accurate. That wasn’t to say that he was ignoring his dearest Yuuri though.

After all, it wasn’t his fault that his student still prohibited Victor from sleeping in his room or accompanying him into the shower. Reading fanfiction was something that happened when Yuuri wasn’t available to him, and if Yuuri happened to catch his coach finishing a story as he came back into the room, well, where was the harm in that?

Mere hours after discovering the world of real person fiction, Victor had already uncovered a website that was a practical treasure trove of these “fanfics.” Two days later, he had his own account there—all the better to keep track of what he was reading, of course. Victor was a frequent user of the kudos system, and on more than one occasion, he’d found himself commenting (ah, correcting?) writers on their stories. Thus far, though, no one seemed to believe that it was actually him replying. Apparently, celebrities reading stories about themselves was completely and utterly unheard of; he’d been called a weird roleplayer or a troll in most cases.

Ah, but back to his cute student noticing his current preoccupation—

While there was no hint of disapproval in Yuuri’s tone of voice, Victor felt that he may as well come clean about his new obsession. After all, he felt that this could be something the two of them could… enjoy together, in a manner of speaking.

“Did you know that our fans write about us, Yuuri?” Victor asked, his smile bright and playful.

“Eh?” Yuuri could be so very eloquent at times.

“They write about all of us. You. Me. Phichit. Chris. JJ.” Ah, the confused look on Yuuri’s face was endearing, and Victor couldn’t help how his smile turned affectionate. “Sometimes we are just friends, but sometimes…” Reaching for his protégé, he tilted his chin upwards, slid his thumb over the swell of Yuuri’s lower lip. “They think that there is much more to our relationships.”

At that, Yuuri flushed, his cheeks turning a delightful shade of red. Was it so wrong of him to want to tease him just a little? Pressing closer until their foreheads bumped, Victor lowered the pitch of his voice; Yuuri shivered and swallowed hard. “Did you know that there are people out there who want me to sleep with Chris? I’ve been reading stories about us together.

“They say that it’s our friendly rivalry that makes us an appealing couple.” Yuuri’s pupils dilated, and Victor could hear his breathing quickening. “What do you think of that? Do you think we would be a good pair?”

Yuuri made a garbled noise before shoving him away. “I-I don’t know,” he finally ground out, eyes frantically looking everywhere but at the man standing right beside him. Victor chuckled and winked at his student. “Or would you rather they write about us?”

“N-no! O-of course not!” Yuuri forced out a laugh and glanced, as if out of desperation, at the Zamboni; it was finally making its way off of the ice. “Hah… haha… Who would want that!?”

True enough, there weren’t really any Victor/Yuuri stories written at the moment, but then again, they’d had minimal contact with each other up until a few weeks ago when Victor had flown to Japan seemingly out of the blue. Most of the world still thought that there was nothing between them, eclectic career decisions aside. The photos from the banquet had (perhaps gratefully) never surfaced on the internet, so the fact that Victor was already quite smitten was sealed away from the prying eyes of the world.

As he watched Yuuri escape to the ice and out of his grasp, Victor couldn’t help but wonder how that would change the longer he was here. The world knew he had left Russia and that he had already refused one offer to return to his homeland. How long would it take them to realize why he’d forsaken everything that he had?

Most of his fans were still incredibly disappointed by his decision to coach and were begging for his return to the ice. (In fact, he’d read a handful of stories in which various rivals convinced him to come back with a few choice acts in the bedroom—not to mention plenty of tears from both parties.) The thing was, though, that the ice had never filled him the same joy that he had now watching someone else skate. Being here with Yuuri let him feel alive, let him remember that there was more to life than earning that next gold medal.

No, Victor had a feeling that these writers would be writing about something different in the months to come. The thought curled his lips into a small smile.

Hello, Ph-Ph-Phiiiiiiichiiiiiiiiiit!

While I cannot comment on if or where Phichit is ticklish, I can 100% confirm that Yuuri’s sides definitely are. :D Just watch out for when he flails his arms. He almost put me out of commission several times because of that!

That said, please be careful of how you portray Yuuri prior to competitions. While he has improved somewhat, it is still very difficult for him to settle down before he skates. I can only imagine what his blood pressure is like haha!! (I am not sure tickling would help ease his worry as you suggested. Maybe I should try it? Hugs work like a charm though!!) I wish you would write about me comforting him before skating! I am his coach after all.

Make sure to give me some cool lines next time!

-V

Most of the stories about Yuuri centered on his relationship with Phichit. It was understandable, given their history together, but leading up to the Cup of China, Victor had definitely noticed a slow but steady climb in the number of fanfic involving himself and Yuuri—albeit, mostly in Japanese. On the other hand, Russian writers, if they wrote about them at all, tended to paint Yuuri as someone who had stolen their precious Victor from their grasp.

“We have a name, you know. Victuuri.”

“…do you mean victory?”

“No, no~ Victuuri. It’s our pairing name.”

“Pairing… ?” Yuuri gave him a flat look as Victor continued to beam. Fishing out his phone, he pulled up the fanfiction website and then showed him the 153 entries that fell under the Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov tag. “See! Victuuri. Don’t you think it’s cute?”

“Are you still reading those stories?” Yuuri asked with a hint of disbelief, shoving his hands into his pockets. Despite Victor’s best efforts, his student was still disinterested in his fanon life. “Doesn’t it feel weird to you? After all, they’re writing stories about your life.”

“Hm…” Victor tapped his index finger against his chin before tilting his head and winking. “Nope!

“They have been giving me ideas on how to increase your eros though.”

“Ehhhhhh?” Visibly tensing at that, his protégé gave him a nervous look. “H-how are they doing that?”

“Well, a lot of them are suggesting that I show you what eros truly feels like,” Victor replied matter-of-factly. His eyes narrowed then in mischief. “I think people are amused that you think about katsudon to perform.”

“D-does it matter what I think about? So long as it works, right?”

“But Yuuri, don’t you want me to seduce you in the onsen?” He touched his fingertips to his lips, eyelids dropping to half-mast. Yuuri made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whimper before shaking his head vigorously. His (completely endearing) blush was now here full force, painting him crimson from the roots of his hair to well past the dip of his collar. “I can be your coach and your lover if you’d like.”

“I thought I already told you that—”

“You want me to stay the way I am. I know, Yuuri.” His smile went from teasing to affectionate then, and Victor reached over, pulling the other into a one-armed hug. Truth be told, he already knew Yuuri had plenty of eros in him, but his protégé seemed to have difficulty unlocking it without any alcohol in his system. While thoughts of katsudon were working for the time being, Victor hoped that his inspiration would turn to something else soon.

His coach perhaps… ?

Sighing inwardly, Victor halted that line of thought. It still felt a touch odd to be the one doing the chasing, considering how long he’d been the one who was chased for most of his professional career, and it certainly didn’t help that the young man still seemed convinced that this was just all one big joke to him. Clearly, Victor would have to be more… straightforward with his approach, to let Yuuri know that he wasn’t just here to tease and play.

In the meantime—

“I’m including a reading regimen as part of your training.”

“Victor…”

Hello ViktuuryMarch!

Haha, you have made Yuuri very bold here! I like the way you think. ;) Sadly for me (for us all?), he has not even kissed me yet. I am starting to think that I will have to be the one who kisses him first. Yuuri tends to become very flustered when I show him any physical attention, but I hope that he demonstrates the same enthusiasm you have depicted him having here when I do. Ah, but when would be a good time?

Maybe I will take your onsen idea.

-V

The media was having a field day with the kiss in China.

Writers from all nations were quickly drowning the ice skating fandom in Victuuri fanfiction; the tag would go on to double in size overnight, and it showed no signs of slowing. After all, the ship was official now; their fans were vindicated.

That said, Victor was far too preoccupied to be thinking about fanfiction at the moment.

The award ceremony had passed in a blur of music and color, of bright lights and the roar of the crowd. He vaguely remembered watching Yuuri accept his medal and then pulling him into a fierce hug after that, but from there on out, it was merely a rush to get Yuuri back to the hotel, to get Yuuri alone because he’d kissed him and one kiss was never going to be enough now that he’d had a taste.

Always physically affectionate with Yuuri, Victor was even more so now as he walked his student out of the arena to the taxi, fingers entwined. Their shoulders kept bumping, what with their close proximity, and it was so damn hard to stop himself from simply leaning over and just pecking Yuuri on the cheek.

His heart felt full to bursting with affection—a sentiment that he demonstrated to Yuuri in exquisite detail later that night.

It would not be until they were on the flight back to Japan the next day that Victor would finally see what had happened to his favorite RPF tag. Truthfully, the thought that their public kiss would ignite such passion in the fans hadn’t even crossed his mind, focused as he was on Yuuri, but now that it was there for him to see… Well, he couldn’t help but be a little amused by it all.

“Yuu~ri~,” he said, leaning heavily into his protégé’s space and bringing his phone up for him to see. “Look, look! We’re now the most popular pairing in the fandom!”

“…Victor, really?” Yuuri mumbled, cheeks growing pink. He didn’t try to shy away though, and with some encouragement from his coach, Yuuri took the phone and started to scroll through the list of fic. While he might have been browsing a bit faster than Victor did when he was looking for new reading material, Yuuri did actually look like he was paying attention to the works presented for once. “All of these were uploaded recently.”

“That’s what happens when you kiss on TV.”

“Can you not say that so casually?”

There was no heat in Yuuri’s protest; the small, shy smile on his face even seemed to suggest a bit of pride regarding kissing his coach for all to see. Either way, Victor was beyond happy that Yuuri finally seemed to be accepting his physical attention now. The panicky, embarrassed reactions that he had gotten so used to had been decidedly missing since the free skate, and he relished it, took advantage of it now by resting his head against Yuuri’s shoulder.

His student returned the favor, leaning toward him as he continued to scroll; Yuuri would pause occasionally, as if considering something before perusing the list again. In their shared space, Victor would eventually allow his eyes to slide shut, dozing off, as Yuuri browsed, but at the soft sound of the other’s voice, Victor cracked open one eye.

“Hm?”

“Can I mark some of these for read later?”

Victor couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips. “Of course, Yuuri.”

Hi Internal-screaming!

Ah~ How could you have me saying such a thing to my precious Yuuri!? :’( I would be heartbroken if I ever had to leave him, and I have no doubt that Makkachin would be very sad, too. While I do miss Russia, I would never give up Yuuri just to go back there. I would invite him to come with me instead!

But this is what they call flangst, correct??? Since your story is still a WIP, does that mean that you will give us a happy ending? :) I hope that you will!

-V

It honestly hadn’t been that long since they had parted ways when he really thought about it, but it felt like an eternity.

Scrubbing at his eyes, Victor stared blearily at the clock on the wall, noting the hour for the millionth time. Yuuri had long ago sent him a text message saying that he was on his way home, but the radio silence now was killing him. It had been ages since they’d been separated like this, and the stressors that had forced them apart did nothing to help ease his mind.

Makkachin snuffled at him, wet nose bumping against his hand, and Victor stroked his head idly, his thoughts still a thousand miles away. The dog persisted, though, troubled by his master’s unusually downtrodden countenance, and placed his front paws in Victor’s lap. “Sorry, Makkachin,” he finally murmured, glancing down at his faithful pet; Victor gave the dog a half-hearted attempt at a smile. “You should still be at home resting, but you’re stuck here with me.”

While Victor had certainly been delighted that his pet was hale and hearty, the issue with that was that his attention was now solely focused on Yuuri—how it felt to kiss him, how warm he was beneath his fingertips, how he’d smile at the silliest things he’d say.

How he wasn’t here.

Watching his student skate in Russia had been agony, and seeing how his absence had affected Yuuri only made him feel all the more guilty about leaving him alone there. Sure, Yakov had stood by his side during the competition, but… It should have been him. Victor knew that Yuuri could have skated a far stronger program, could have stood on that podium easily.

Victor groaned quietly and held his face in his hands.

He would have to make it all up to Yuuri somehow. Makkachin bumped his nose against his hands and whined softly, so Victor pulled him into his lap, embracing him as his thoughts wildly spiraled off again.

He thought of flowers, home-cooked meals, of hours spent in bed; the words “forgive me” whirled around in his head in Russian, Japanese, and English. Victor buried his face in Makkachin’s fur and sighed.

This wouldn’t do in the slightest.

In a desperate attempt to distract himself, Victor pulled his phone out of his pocket. He started with Instagram but quickly transitioned to the news and then a flight tracker. When refreshing the page following Yuuri’s flight did nothing to actually hurry his return, Victor retreated to the world of fanfiction. He’d found a kind of sanctuary in these stories, and he hoped to escape there again—not that it had worked out all that well for him on his way back to Japan alone.

Reading Victuuri would hit too close to home, so he scrolled through other offerings: an AU where Guang Hong and Leo were spies, a saucy fic about Emil and Michele, a domestic story about Sara and Mila. The list seemed never ending, and yet, nothing caught his interest. Victor would start reading something, only to stop halfway through the first paragraph and start the process all over again. He had even gone back to try and read some of his favorites that he’d bookmarked, but to no avail; his focus was completely and utterly shot.

Resigned, Victor stowed his phone and turned his attention back to Makkachin, who looked up at him with adoring eyes. “I guess we’ll just have to wait for Yuuri like this,” he murmured, ruffling the fur atop his dog’s head. “We’ll see him soon again, won’t we?”

Honestly, it would have made more sense to follow the Katsukis’ advice to stay at home and wait, but there were too many reminders of Yuuri there—too many reasons for him to miss the young man. So here he was, stuck at the airport far too early with nothing to ease the ache in his chest.

His dog was a warm presence by his side as the hours slowly ticked on by, and then, quite suddenly, Makkachin was gone in a flurry of furry limbs. Victor’s gaze tracked his movements and there—there.

He was home. Yuuri was home.

Hi trashtrashbaby!

Haha, surprise! I can proudly say that our rings are gold, not white gold. ;)

-V

The Victuuri tag was alive and well on this cold morning, as Victor discovered on his way back from the beach.

The night before, Phichit and Chris had provided their fans a plethora of new material to work with in the form of two photographs featuring coach and student with matching gold rings, and the entire ice skating fandom was in an uproar over how Victor Nikiforov and Katsuki Yuuri were now engaged. Given that no one seemed to know how the actual proposal went down, though, it was the most popular fic topic of choice at the moment, with the actual wedding following in popularity.

As he scrolled through the new influx of fanfiction, Victor remembered how Yuuri had bookmarked some stories on their flight back from China. His student had never gotten around to reading any of the fic that he’d marked for later, but now Victor turned his attention to the stories that Yuuri had picked out, curious to know what had struck his interest. Were Yuuri’s tastes like his own? Had he meant for them to read them together one day?

Idly, Victor scrolled down the short list of fanfiction that Yuuri had chosen as he meandered back toward the hotel, and as he read the synopsis of each, he found his heart aching with barely contained love and adoration. There were no tales of wild romps in the bedroom here, no stories about seduction or betrayal, no fic about them living completely different lives; each and every one was about them—of their growth together. In Yuuri’s list, there was a gentleness to his choices: quiet mornings where they woke in each other’s arms, a slow dance across the ice, whispered words of adoration, and him on bended knee.

Assuming that these were things that Yuuri had wanted to share with him, Victor couldn’t help but be a bit amused by the fact that they’d already accomplished all of the topics written about save for one. And even then? He had no doubt that they would be able to check that one off the list soon enough; Victor already had the engagement ring after all.

The hotel room was delightfully warm upon his return, and Yuuri was still fast asleep, not a hint of worry upon his slumbering features. It was quite rare for the skater to sleep so well just prior to a competition, but Victor liked to think that the small gold band around his finger had something to do with it—a tangible reminder that he was always here for Yuuri, that he need not worry about ever losing him.

They had a while yet before they would have to set out for the ice rink, so Victor eased himself onto Yuuri’s bed, sliding a little awkwardly beneath the covers with his fiancé. Beside him, Yuuri made a small noise before rolling over and slinging an arm over Victor’s stomach. The movement made him chuckle quietly as he returned the embrace.

After this competition, win or no win, Victor had every intention of wedding the man in his arms and continuing the story that they were writing together. He wasn’t sure if it’d be a grand affair or a small, private one as of yet, but there was one thing he wanted to bring up to Yuuri:

In a story he had read, the writer had Chris popping out of their wedding cake.

…It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?