We will go where our dreams come true

[yokunaru]

[Time passes by so quickly, Yuuri muses as he steps off the train and joins the crowd making its way toward the station's nearest exit. It's true that he'd seen Minami at Nationals just the week before, but between the practices and the interviews, a competition is hardly the place for doing much catching up.

A few other familiar faces had been amongst the competitors, too--ones that Yuuri recognized from the regional championships. Minami and his friends had made a point to seek him out when they could at the time, and it had been...nice to be included in a group again, especially when Viktor wasn't there to ground him.

I'm here. His cell phone goes right back into his pocket as soon as sends the text to Minami.

The simple hotel he'd booked for a couple nights is only a short distance away from Minami's home rink, which makes it easy for him to drop off his sparse luggage and head right over. The building's lobby is strangely empty when Yuuri arrives, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. No one seems to be stopping him from going right in, though, so that's exactly what Yuuri does. The rink is easy enough to find from there.]

Comments

[boogiedown]

[Minami manages a faint smile at that. Only a fraction of the usual wattage, but at least it flickers on.]

Right. So I never meant to tell you - I just -

[He lets out a growl of aggravation and flops down on the bench.]

Tired. I feel tired.

[yokunaru]

It just came out because I saw you skating the routine. [It's easy to fill in the blanks from there. Yuuri perches gingerly on the edge of the bench beside him.]

Did...did the crying help? [Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on his legs as he keeps his eyes trained on the river.][More quietly, he adds ] I am sorry, Minami. I didn't mean to upset you.

[boogiedown]

I don't know.

[He at least feels less - something. Angry? Frustrated? Whatever boiled up, it's been released now.

There's a duck on the river, herding around a group of fluffy ducklings. Minami locks his eyes on them. Determined to watch them. To not notice Yuuri's hair fluttering, the curve of his ear - Damn it. No. Ducks.]

Thanks.

Though I guess it's dumb, saying I wasn't going to tell and then skating it.

[yokunaru]

[Well, "I don't know" is still better than a hard "no". Following Minami's lead on this, Yuuri watches the family of ducks as they swim past. He pauses to ruffle through his pockets and bag to see if he has anything he can feed them, but comes up empty-handed.]

Skating is... it's how we express ourselves when we can't say the words. [There's a soft, amused huff from him.] Ah, sometimes those skating moments get seen even when we don't want them to be. It's happened to me before, too, Minami. I don't think it's dumb at all.

[boogiedown]

[Minami's actually got a couple of granola bars in a jacket pocket. He begins crumbling one to pieces, holds some out for Yuuri.

He tilts his head, when Yuuri says he's had that same experience. It makes him feel better. Marginally.]

Really? When - Oh. You mean "Stay With Me"?

[yokunaru]

[His lips quirk up in a smile as he takes the granola pieces with a soft "thanks".] Yeah. Would you believe I only meant to skate it for one person? Yuuko-san. She's one of my best friends. Ah, you must've met her at the Grand Prix Final viewing party, right?

[Yuuri sighs as he drops the food into the water, enticing the duck family to swim closer for a meal.]

Anyway, I...I'd thought of retiring for a time after doing so horribly at the competitions last year. Skating that routine was my way of telling her I'd keep going, and not to worry about me. [Once, he might have found it difficult to open to Minami and tell him all of this, but Yuuri's finding it easier to do so now. It's a show of trust, as much as anything. That no matter what happened from here on, he still considers Minami a friend. Yuuri smiles wryly.] I meant to skate it privately for her, but her triplets recorded it and posted it online instead.

[boogiedown]

Oh no, is that what happened?!?

[At least only one person saw Minami embarrass himself. That video got millions of views. Minami can't even begin to imagine what that would be like. Your heart ripped open and going viral.]

Um. I watched it. A bunch of times. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was -

[His head sags between his knees. Great. Another thing he's messed up.]

[yokunaru]

Hey. [There's a soft smile on his face as he reaches out and rests his hand on Minami's shoulder.] It's okay, Minami. You didn't know.

Besides... [Yuuri's voice goes soft with contemplation.] It was sort of embarrassing at the time, but in a way, it's what got me here today. Even if I did keep skating as I was, how far would I have gone without Viktor and Yurio pushing me?

And I never would have tried to connect with you or anyone else like this either. [It's hard to admit, but Viktor had been right. He'd kept himself too far from everyone else, choosing to stay off to the sidelines alone rather than joining in and supporting each other in turn.]

[boogiedown]

[At least this time Minami doesn't flinch. Or jump. The warmth is still there, but it's... more manageable?

With a deep breath, then he pushes himself back up to sitting.]

Then I'm glad it happened! I'm glad you did it!

[It worked out. Yuuri's still here, still ahead of him, and it would have been awful if he'd just stepped down last year. Minami would never have gotten the chance to know him. To compete with him at both of their bests.]

I hope - I hope someday I'm glad I did this too!

[Minami punctuates that with an enthusiastic pelting of granola. The ducks paddle closer, and a few of the ducklings hops out of the water.

[yokunaru]

I hope so, too. [Something in him relaxes when Minami's enthusiasm begins to return. Distant as he might have been when they first met this season, Minami's slowly become a regular fixture in his life. It's startling to realize that it would hurt if he lost this new friendship so soon after it just began to get traction.

Yuuri smiles and lets go of Minami's shoulder, only so he can hold his hand out.]

Friends? [If he's learned anything in this past year, it's that he has to be willing to meet people in the middle, too.]

[boogiedown]

Yeah!!

[Minami returns the shake. He still wants to wind their fingers together. But he also wants to be friends a lot more. Maybe that's how this is finally going to settle.

He hopes so, anyway.]

Just - sorry, if I keep blushing?!

[Which he's doing now, ugh.]

[yokunaru]

[Yuuri blinks, startled, then throws his head back and laughs in a way that Minami's probably never really seen before, with the way Yuuri's so reserved most of the time.

He's still chuckling when he lets go.]

You don't have to apologize. I--as much it surprises me [Yuuri shakes his head before Minami can even interject. He knows, he's trying to understand a little more now] I know it'd be a lot to ask for you to just shake it off immediately. Even if you just want to be friends, feelings can be hard to push aside.

[A pause.] That's... I can say that because I've been there, too.

[boogiedown]

[Minami grins at that laugh. Regardless of attraction, he's proud just to get one out of Yuuri!]

Oh no - Oh God, Viktor actually lived at Yutopia, didn't he?! How did you not explode?!

[Please share this wisdom. Sitting on a bench together is hard enough - Minami really can't imagine what he would do if Yuuri was staying in his house for months. Probably it would involve aforementioned exploding.]

[yokunaru]

[There's an odd smile on his face now, even as he shakes his head.] Actually... it wasn't Viktor I was talking about.

But... [Yuuri chuckles.] Viktor wouldn't be the best example anyway. I spent most of the first few days running away and hiding from him because he was so forward and confusing. [A glance at Minami here. While Yuuri would understand the need to hide to some extent, he also hopes that isn't high on Minami's list of priorities right now. Not the best coping method, he's found.] He's also flat out admitted to me that he was trying to flirt with me the whole time.

[boogiedown]

..Who were you talking about, then?

I mean, you don't have to tell me!! Sorry, that's really rude!

[Minami is capable of realizing that. Even if it's usually too late to stop his big mouth.]

[yokunaru]

It's okay. I was the one who brought it up in the first place. [Yuuri cracks a smile, not looking offended at all.] Would you believe me if I said it was Yuuko?

She's still a good friend of mine, and she's married to Nishigori now, but for a while I had a crush on her. [Tilting his head back, Yuuri looks up at the sky, lost in thought for a moment.] I guess it made a lot of sense back then. She was one of the only few friends I had back then.

[boogiedown]

Yuuko's really nice!

[Ah, that's right, he would have spent time with her at the viewing party. When the triplets weren't climbing all over him.

Wait. Wait, hold on - Minami runs that through again and then blurts out -]

Um - you like girls too?!

[yokunaru]

[Yuuri's jolted out of his thoughts by the outburst, though he just blinks rapidly at Minami, like he can't figure out why that would be so surprising.]

I...guess? [Not exactly a firm answer, but Yuuri himself doesn't look too bothered. More...perplexed, as he tries to explain it.] Yuuko was the only one, and that was a long time ago. After I moved to Detroit, I got so busy that I never really had time for relationships.

[His reluctance to open up to other people might've had something to do with it, too, though Yuuri supposes they'll never really know now.]

[boogiedown]

Oh. Just - Um, I had crushes on a couple of girls, before you, so...

[Which only added to the confusion, made Minami think the current thing was just hero-worship. For a whole year. He doesn't know where he falls, really. And finding out Yuuri might be like that too, somewhere in the middle...

Well, add this to the list of Conversations Minami Never Expected to Have With His Idol. At this rate it's going to turn into a book.

He tosses more granola to the ducks.]

[yokunaru]

[There's a lingering sense of awkwardness as Yuuri seems to realize just how much he's actually revealed to Minami in such a short span of time, and yet, he manages to pull of a small smile.]

One more thing we have in common.

[That doesn't stop him from rubbing at his neck, just a touch bashful. Having talks like this is still new to him, but Yuuri thinks that it's helped them both--he certainly hopes so, even if he's starting to feel a little embarrassed about being so open.]