Ensnare

Note: oh my god it’s 6 am in the fucking morning I have not slept and I have no idea what i’m doing. I wasn’t intending to write a fanfic for Christmas, but it happened anyways. I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I saw this and it inspired me to write this fic. This is all I could think of and I wrote it and i’m kinda pleased with the results. If it weren’t for @e-tan-sel​ and their amazing artwork, I wouldn’t have been able to write this. Credit goes to them! This can also be read here.

Rating: T for language

Pairing: Yuri Katsuki and Victor Nikiforov

Words: 1,853

Summary: “Victor, listen,” Yuri mumbled, reaching for his friend. He pulled the Russian into his close embrace. “I love you. But you belong on the ice, not with me.”

~*~*~*~*~

“After the final, let’s end this,” Yuri declared, putting all of his words out there for Victor to hear. It cut him deep inside-to do this to his long–term idol, coach, best friend, and eventual lover–but it had to be done. He needed Victor to see reason…this kind of thing doesn’t happen to people like him. Hope, like this, only exists in fairy tales. He wanted nothing more than to skate on the same ice as Victor, but instead, he got so much more. It was fun while it lasted, but facts were facts: Victor Nikiforov shined too bright compared to a pig like him. A few seconds passed in silence, but shattered when little droplets fell on Victor’s slippers. Yuri panicked, he’s crying! Tears welded in the Russian’s icy blue eyes, pooling until they dribbled down his pale cheeks. “Why?” the older man croaked. Yuri’s face fell. “Didn’t you tell me you want to win gold and eat lots of katsudon with me? What about the rings? Were those all lies?” “That’s not-,” Yuri tried to explain himself, but Victor beat him to the punch. “What is it then?!” he shouted, the hurt evident on his face. The tears fell like waterfalls now. He really hurt Victor, but he had a good reason. “Victor, listen,” Yuri mumbled, reaching for his friend. He pulled the Russian into his close embrace. “I love you. But you belong on the ice, not with me.” Yuri hoped Victor understood why he had to do this. What they had was…a blissful dream. They had to wake up sooner or later and face the truth. “I won’t be the one who stole Victor Nikiforov from the world,” Yuri said, blinking his own tears away. “Thank you, though, for everything.” Victor said nothing.

~*~*~*~*~

In the end, Yuri Katsuki managed to climb his way to second place, silver. A huge jump from last year’s sixth place, nothing. Victor congratulated him with a huge smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Yuri had no idea what could be filtering through Victor’s mind at this time. Outside of today’s free skate program, the two haven’t spoken much. Yuri assumed Victor finally grasped what he was trying to tell the Russian skater. Things are better this way, the way they were before. Perhaps the mumbles he heard around the crowd from the Cup of China were getting to him, maybe that’s what made him feel this way. But it isn’t his fault. It’s not like he asked Victor to come to Hasetsu and be his personal coach. Okay, apparently he did at last year’s banquet, but he was drunk–that didn’t count. What did Victor Nikiforov see in him anyways? Famous people like Victor don’t simply “coach” their fans, so why him? What made him, Yuri Katsuki, so special? As the two dressed for the banquet in their shared hotel room, Yuri noticed a look in Victor’s eyes that he couldn’t recognize. Something akin to determination and defeat. Yuri sighed, the silence between them was deafening. He struggled with his tie, something he could never really get the hang of. Okay, up…under…over..or was it this way? Ugh. He threw his hands down in frustration. Celestino usually helped him with his tie, but seeing as how he wasn’t present at the moment… “Here,” Victor beat him to the punch. He held the small blue tie in his hands and twisted the wrap until it fit comfortably around his neck. It brought forth the need for close proximity. Close enough for Yuri to feel Victor’s breath on his face, close enough to see the redness in the usual bright eyes…he could even feel the slight tremble in his fingers. The Russian’s hands lingered a little too long on the tie before he finally let go. Yuri glanced up to meet his coach’s icy blue eyes, “Victor–,” “We’re going to be late,” Victor turned for the door, opening it, and holding it open for the younger skater. “Come on,” Yuri stared for a moment before following the man in silence.

~*~*~*~*~

The banquet was–by all means–awkward. Interviews were allowed for the first fifteen minutes, after that, total privacy. People asked him questions about his feelings towards the final scores, what he felt during the free skate, and his future as a competitive skater. He could only answer half-heartedly as his mind worked elsewhere, eyes drifting to Victor every once in a while. The said Russian stood in his own corner of curious people, flanked by his coach, Yakov. Yuri Plisetsky managed to avoid the interviews, somehow. It probably helped to have Otabek standing behind him to scare everyone away. “Excuse me,” he walked passed someone–a reporter, probably–, and headed for the said gold medalist. “Huh?” the Russian punk greeted as Yuri finally reached him, “What? Tired of the fame already, piggy?” “Something like that,” Yuri answered, smiling faintly. “Congratulations, Yuri.” Yurio blinked, before he smirked, “Thanks. So much for winning gold and marrying Victor, eh?” Yuri’s smile faded, “Yeah,”

That was the plan, according to Victor. Victor, who tended to tease a lot to open up Yuri’s confidence and loosen his nerves, wanted to get married when Yuri won gold. Yurio stopped his antics when he saw the far away look in Yuri’s eyes. Something must’ve happened to create this tension between Yuri and Victor. He noticed it during the free skate program, but assumed it was because of the pressure of the competition. “Victor, is it true? Are you returning to competitive skating next season?” a woman asked Victor, who looked uncomfortable at the situation. “I haven’t officially decided just yet–,” he replied, but another reporter stepped in. “Is Yuri Katsuki still keeping you all to himself?” A majority of the crowd turned their eyes on Yuri, himself. Oh great. It’s bad enough when Chris mentions it privately, but when it’s out there for everyone to hear? The ill self-doubts that have been plaguing Yuri’s mind since the beginning? Perfect. He caught Victor’s concerned gaze, but instead, decided to stand up for himself. “Actually, I’m retiring,” Yuri announced, tucking his hands into his pockets as he faced the room, who all listened intently. “Tonight was the last skate of my career, and now, Victor Nikiforov is free to do whatever he pleases.” Dead-fucking-silence. Apparently, no one had heard of Yuri’s retirement plans and hearing it straight from the man himself was like finding out that pigs could suddenly fly. (Or in this case, skate.) He spotted Jean-Jacques and Chris in the back, jaws dropped. The others sporting their own stunned expressions. Then, all at once, the crowd erupted in chaos. “Yuri Katsuki, is this decision based off your scores in the last competition, or your overall skating career?” “What the hell, piggy? You can’t freaking retire!” “Can we expect a play on words? Are you changing to pair skating, similar pair skating, or are you actually retiring?” “Wha? Yuri! You can’t go yet!” “What do you plan on doing after your retirement? Any future plans?” “Mr. Nikiforov, did you know about this?” “Victor, what do you have to say about Yuri Katsuki’s idea?” At that moment, the crowd had fallen silent as they waited for their favorite champion to answer the question and speak his thoughts. Yuri silently begged Victor didn’t say something stupid like– “If Yuri plans to retire, then so will I,” –that. Yuri was seventy-percent sure someone fainted in the back. Where is a clock? Haven’t the fifteen minutes passed by now? “Victor,” Yuri stopped the crowd noise. Locking eyes with the said man, he frowned, “Stop joking around already. Being my coach means killing you as a competitive skater, and since I’m not about to ask you to keep coaching me, my only other choice is to retire. That’s my decision, and mine alone. I told you, you belong on the ice.” “What is it you said? You won’t be the one who steals me from the world?” Victor took a step forward, “Something cannot be stolen from someone if it does not belong to them in the first place. The world doesn’t own me. You told me yourself: you want me to be me, and I am free to do whatever I please. If you are retiring, then so am I.” “I’m not going to let you throw away your life, Victor!” Yuri raised his voice as he met Victor half way, the two standing apart by a mere foot. “How can you ask me to return to the ice when you are retiring? There is no ice without you, Yuri.” “You’ve done it before, you can do it again!” Yuri shouted, “Call me selfish or not, I don’t care! It’s time to go back to the way things were! I’ve taken enough from you, Victor.” The Russian smiled, his face calm and his blue eyes twinkling. He gripped Yuri’s right hand in his own and placed it over the left side of his chest. their rings covering each other. “The only thing you could have ever stolen, Yuri Katsuki, is my heart.” Of course Victor had to say something like that in front of dozens of people–reporters included. He couldn’t just accept Yuri’s terms and move on, no~, he had to make a scene and embarrass them both! “And now,” Victor kneeled in front of Yuri, hand in hand, “as I get down on one knee, I ask–officially–will you marry me?” Okay, now, he was one-hundred-percent sure a couple people fainted. “V-Victor, you can’t just–,” “Awe, c'mon, Yuri~, you wouldn’t reject me in front of everyone, would you?” Victor pouted, his lower lip poking out. “Even if you do, I still need payment for coaching you…say, five gold medals and we’ll call it even?” “D-dammit, Victor..,” he completely trapped me! Looks like I’m living a fantasy after all. “How can I call myself a coach if my pupil only won silver? Either way, there is no ‘ending this’ now. You’re stuck with me, Yuri Katsuki, 'till death do us part and then some,” Victor’s grin stretched wide. “You’re unbelievable,” Yuri murmured with a sigh, his eyes softening and his lips curling into a smile. “Besides, there’s no reason I can’t both coach and compete at the same time, I’m Victor-fucking-Nikiforov,” he shrugged, “I am not letting go until you say yes.” “Yes!” Yuri cried out, suddenly remembered the position they were in and the audience they had, “Just get off the floor already!” He heard cheers and congratulations but he saw only Victor, his official fiancé. The rings banded on their fingers held an all new meaning: a promise, a brighter future, and a new life. Yuri realized…unless you can read someone’s mind, you shouldn’t assume you know what’s best for them. And as he kissed his lover’s lips, he realized dreams can come true for those who work hard and never give up. He also believed in luck… I guess the rings fulfilled their original purpose after all. ~*~*~*~*~

Bonus:

Five of the six Grand Prix Finalists gathered around Phichit and his smartphone.

“Did you get the pictures?” Yurio asked.

Phichit showed off his phone and threw a thumbs up, “I got the pictures.”

“We’re so going to show these at their wedding.”

~*~*~*~*~

I almost forgot to write the bonus scene! Also I’m a huge sucker for confrontational scenes with an audience, i have no idea why i love the concept. Hope you enjoyed! Credits to @e-tan-sel​ for the comic and inspiration for this fic! And thank you so much for letting me write this! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, etc…have fun and be safe! I’m going to fucking bed it’s 6 fucking 30 AM

~Simply Arien