***

The problem, Victor reflected, with being a competitive skater on the Russian national team was that the Russian National Championship always fell on Christmas weekend. Why? He had no idea. It wasn’t like there were loads of families all across the country tuning in to watch figure skating once all the presents had been unwrapped on Christmas day, or before they went off to mass on Christmas Eve. To be fair, there were probably some, but overall, not a lot. It wasn’t like figure skating was that big of a priority for the Russian public. 

It hadn’t really been a problem before Yuri came along, given that the only people he really wanted to celebrate with were his teammates, and the only present he wanted was another gold medal to add to his collection. 

But the thing was, now he had Yuri in his life. His soulmate. And now all Victor wanted to do was spend every moment of his life in Yuri’s orbit. He could practically feel the tattoo on his back, the mark that had first allowed him to identify Yuri as his soulmate in the first place, mocking him. He didn’t want an echo of Yuri, reaching out to him across time and space. He wanted Yuri himself. He wanted to curl up in bed with his soulmate under a heavy white comforter and watch snow fall on Saint Petersburg, to bundle up in thick coats and sweaters and scan the night sky for stars with Yuri by his side. He wanted to trade presents in person. He wanted to dance with Yuri to Christmas music in the kitchen. He wanted to trim the tree he’d bought for his apartment, and argue good-naturedly about who would get to hang the star upon the highest bough.

Yuri. Victor’s heart ached for him. 

But it wasn’t like Yuri was entirely free either; the Japanese National Championship was also this weekend, if only half a world away. Victor was sparing as many thoughts as he could for his soulmate while they both went through this little crucible alone. He kept on waiting for Yuri to text him well wishes, or an update on how he was doing, but so far, nothing. At some point this weekend, hopefully, maybe, they were going to facetime each other and open they gifts they’d exchanged the last time they’d seen each other, but there hadn’t been any word from Yuri on that front either. 

Even if Yuri had made Victor promise he wouldn’t open his presents until the actual day, and Victor, bemused, had agreed. 

It was funny, looking back on it, how much Yuri changed about his life, and Christmas was just the prime example. Before his soulmate, Victor had just trogged along with the usual Russian custom of waiting until both his birthday and Christmas to celebrate either. Now, though, either because he had someone he looked forward to celebrating with, or because Yuri was just generally the kind of person who got excited about holidays and birthdays and that had worn off on Victor, he looked forward to them. 

He’s started playing Christmas music in November this year. As a former December-First-Minimum hardliner for when that was socially acceptable, it wasn’t exactly something he was proud of. But he’d done it, and if he was being honest, blasting Mariah Carey as loudly as his speakers would go while he made dinner every night made life…better. Especially when he was so often missing Yuri. Especially when the St. Petersburg nights were only getting darker. 

“Victor!” 

He looked over from when he was warming up to see Yakov calling his name. If Victor had suddenly discovered the true meaning of Christmas this year, Yakov had done the opposite and become more of a Grinch than ever. 

“Ice. Now,” his coach grumbled. 

Victor rolled his eyes and checked his phone. Nearly time for him to go on, and still nothing from Yuri. Not even a good luck. Although, Victor knew his soulmate hadn’t taken to the ice yet. He wasn’t listening to English commentary of the Japanese men’s short program with one earbud. 

He gathered up his things and tried to still his heart. He wasn’t nervous. He’d never had nerves before a competition in his life. But this. The anticipation strumming through him. For once, he really did feel like a little kid, waiting for Santa Claus. One more skate, and this was over for him. One more skate, and he’d have another gold. One more skate, and he could enjoy the rest of the weekend. 

One more skate, and with any luck, Yuri would be waiting for him at the end. 

***

The problem, Yuri reflected, with being a competitive skater on the Japanese national team was that the Japanese National Championship always fell on the same weekend as Victor’s birthday. This had always been a problem for Yuri, and one he had likewise been a little bitter about. As a child, he’d been torn: who to watch, the seniors in his own country that he looked up to, or Victor? (He’d always picked Victor). But then he’d become a senior himself, and his own competitions robbed him of seeing his hero skate. It was grossly, meanly, unfair. There should be a rule, he thought, that no too countries could hold their national competitions during the same timeframe, if only so that people (him) could be spared all this trouble. 

And it was only worse now that he and Victor were together! All weekend long, all he’d wanted to do was text Victor, facetime Victor, glue his face to the screen on his phone and watch his soulmate skate (even though he knew it would be no different than anything else he’d already seen this season). But he couldn’t, because he had to skate, and he really, really wanted to pull out a gold metal. And on the times when he did try and send a text, it never went through. Yuri wasn’t sure if it was because of the distance, the notoriously terrible service at literally every ice rink he’d ever been too, or the weather that was piling both of them high with snow. 

All Yuri knew, at the end of the day, was that he wanted to be with Victor, couldn’t, and all around him were all the little reminders of how everyone else got to be with their soulmates for the holiday. His parents. Yuuko and Takeshi. Christmas and Christmas Eve were for lovers, and it was physically painful to be separated from his for the holiday. There was no escaping the Victor-shaped space the haunted his steps when everyone else was coupling up everywhere he looked. 

But he kept his head down and tried to ignore it. He kept trying to get something through to Victor in his freetime, or waiting to see if Victor would call or text him toon. He tried to focus instead on getting home after this was done, soaking in the onsen and baking Christmas Cake with Mari, just like he did every year. These were the traditions he loved and adhered too, and if he was lucky, the next year, or in a few years at least, he would get to share them with Victor, and get to see Victor’s traditions too. 

That’s what sharing a life with somebody meant, and Yuri wanted that. He had always wanted that, before he met Victor, but something about settling into their relationship this fall and really committing to each other and making it work, in spite of all the obstacles, made the prospect of that future, that shared life, that much more exciting. 

“Yuri!” 

He looked up to see one of the other skaters, a sweet girl everybody called Chie, calling his name. She grinned at him. 

“Trying to reach Victor again?” She asked. 

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Yes,” he admitted. “Sorry if I haven’t been very…present.”

“It’s alright,” she said, waving him off. “It’s important to carve off a little extra time for the people we love most this time of year, and I know he means a lot to you.”

“Thanks,” Yuri said. 

She shrugged. “I just know the feeling. My girlfriend went to her dad’s in England for the holiday so…I’m all alone. And since you’re in the same boat, I thought you might want some company. Want to go watch the last few skates with me?”

Yuri grinned. “That would be great, actually.”

“Great!” 

She held out her hand, and Yuri took it. In a year, maybe more, maybe less, he reminded himself, he would get to do this with Victor. But for now, it was just nice to have a friend. 

***

When the competition ended, Victor had a gold and a text from Yuri. It wasn’t the text he wanted, granted. There was no promise of when they could see each other, in person or on facetime anytime in the near future, but there was a cute picture of him, holding up a gold medal of his own, a little doodle of a poodle and HAPPY BIRTHDAY written above it, and a very sad little text (complete with a :/) about service being terrible and Yuri apologizing profusely about continuously missing out on reaching him. 

It wasn’t as good at having Yuri with him, but it still warmed his heart. 

Soon, Victor reminded himself. Soon we will be together, and one day we’ll get to celebrate together every year for the rest of our lives. 

It made his heart ache and glow all at once to think about. What was a gold medal compared to a minute spent with his Yuri? 

But Victor didn’t have too long to wallow in the feeling; he had a plane to catch, and Petersburg to return to, and Makkachin to spend the holiday with, if not Yuri. He sent off a quick response to Yuri before he finished zipping up his bag and getting ready to go: Facetime later?

He held his phone in one hand, holding his breath without meaning too, hoping to get a quick response, but it didn’t come. He knew it wouldn’t. Not when Yuri was plagued by terrible service. But it didn’t stop him from wishing it would happen, and hating everything that kept him from just being at Yuri’s side for the duration of the holiday. 

***

At home, Yuri found everything was the same. His dad had strung up an absurd amount of lights around the onsen. His mom was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, frying chicken because she refused to buy it when she knew she could make it better, and shooing him and Mari out before they could eat the entire meal before dinner. But if Yuri had thought that falling into family traditions would make him miss Victor less, he was mistaken. If anything it was worse, because now he was getting reminded of all the things he had left off his mental checklist of things he wanted to show off to his soulmate. 

He played games with Mari to distract himself. Played with Yuuko’s triplets. Went on every errand his parents needed somebody to run. And constantly, he was checking his phone. He’d responded to Victor’s request to facetime with an enthusiastic yes (they still had presents to swap, after all), but the time difference between them made actually getting in contact difficult. He’d spent all day yesterday getting back and then settling in, and he knew Victor had been flying too. And now today, six hours ahead, he kept on trying to think of what was a reasonable time to call and wake Victor up. 

He had both of the clocks going on his phone, and every time he looked, it was still too early. Which was unfortunate, because with every passing minute, they just got closer and closer to “Christmas dinner time”. Which started at 3:00. Because of course it had to be early, when so many people were coming over for his mom’s cooking. 

And Yuri made himself sit through it all with a tight smile. He thanked the people who congratulated him on his medal, and chatted with Minako about the skating season, and Victor, and what he was looking forward to in the spring. He bought out the Christmas cake he and Mari had made yesterday, and allowed himself a glimmer of pride over how everyone ooooed and ahhhed over it. And afterwards, he helped clean up, because he was a good and diligent son, and he didn’t want to let anyone down. 

But all the while, in the back of his head, all he could think about was Victor, and the carefully wrapped presents they’d traded ahead of time, with the promise they’d wait until Christmas to open them. 

Yuri really liked the presents part of Christmas. America had rubbed off on him like that. And he’d spent a lot of time this year agonizing over the best gifts to get Victor. 

It was 9:00 when he finally slipped back to his room, shut the door so no one would bother him, and called Victor. 

***

Victor’s heart leaped in his chest the moment he saw Yuri’s call coming through. He’d known it was coming; away from competitions, and terrible service, Yuri had finally been able to reassure him that yes, they could call later, he would find the time. And here it was. At last. Finally. 

If he rather unceremoniously dumped Makka off his chest like she was no more than a beg of potatoes so he could get off the couch and run to retrieve his presents from the bedroom, the Yuri never needed to know that. Especially since Victor only picked up the call once his presents were in hand. 

And the grin that split Yuri’s face the moment Victor answered was brighter than a thousand suns. 

“Hi,” Victor said. 

He was a little breathless. It wasn’t entirely from running to his bedroom and back. 

“Hi,” Yuri replied softly. 

Victor held up his presents, if only to keep himself from turning into a simping, bumbling mess. It wasn’t that he felt the need to constantly keep up his cool, collected appearance around Yuri. Quite the opposite. But he had a blubbering, goofy story to tell that would make Yuri laugh and convey his love more precisely than turning into a romantic mess ever could. 

“Do you want to do this first or do you want to something silly first?” Victor asked. 

He settled back down onto the couch and patted for Makka to come and join him. She just eyed him with suspicion and sat down on the floor. 

Yuri laughed, and Victor shifted his attention back to the bright, wonderful man on his phone screen. 

“Something silly,” Yuri said. “And then we can do presents.”

Victor smiled, wryly. 

“So I was standing in the airport yesterday to catch my flight,” he said. 

“Uh huh,” Yuri said. 

The way he propped his chin up on his knuckles as he settled into listen…Victor’s heart almost melted. 

“And I was looking at the departures board, and I kid you not, I almost got on a flight to Japan instead.”

“Why didn’t you?” Yuri asked. His face was warm with affection. If he’d been there, Victor would have kissed him then. 

“Well, two reasons,” Victor said with a chuckle. “One, I didn’t know if it would take me to the airport closest to you, or, honestly, even exactly how to get to where you are from where I was.”

“I can show you later,” Yuri said. “What two?”

“I thought to myself ‘well, what if he shows up in Petersburg and you fly all the way to Japan and he’s not there?’”

“Oh, Vitya,” Yuri said. 

It wasn’t often that Yuri called him that. Just every now and then, but every time he did, a starburst flared in Victor’s chest. 

“It’s silly, like I said,” Victor continued. “And I told myself that as soon as the thought crossed my mind, but I have to admit that a part of me was holding out hope literally until the moment I walked through the door and saw you weren’t here.”

“Next year,” Yuri said. “Or the year after.”

“Soon,” Victor agreed. 

And for a moment, neither of them said anything. They just soaked up each other’s presence across the distance between them made small by their screens. When Victor felt tears prickling on the backs of his eyes, he plastered on a bright smile. 

“Now,” he said. “Presents!” 

And Yuri smiled that brilliant, cheerful smile again. 

“You go first,” he said. “Since one’s for your birthday.”

“Which one?” Victor asked, weighing the two presents in his hands. 

They were about the same size and shape, but one was wrapped in shiny blue paper with a gold and white ribbon, and the other was wrapped in gold with a blue and white ribbon. If nothing else, he had to admire Yuri’s neat ability for such perfect coordination.

“Hmmmm” Yuri said. “I’ll say…blue for Christmas, gold for your birthday.”

Victor shot Yuri a smile and set the blue present aside. He propped his phone up on the end-table next to the couch and carefully tugged off the ribbon, then started to pick off the tape. Yuri laughed at him. 

“Come on,” his soulmate teased. “Rip it. You know you want to.”

And with a laugh, Victor did as Yuri said. He tore away the gold paper to find a neat, beautiful notebook inside. The cover was marbled, blue and gold and cream. The pages were thick and heavy, with just a little bit of texture. It was the kind of notebook he was almost afraid of ever writing in, because he didn’t want to mess it up. He was speechless. 

“The pattern reminded me of Jupiter,” Yuri said. “Or at least, how it looks up close. And, I don’t know, thinking of Jupiter always makes me think of you, because it’s this big, giant planet that sort of lords over our solar system, and anyways, I thought it would be good for your poems, and…yes. I saw it in a shop, and I knew it had to get it for you.”

Of course Yuri would remember his poems. Of course he would. It may not be something Victor advertised to the world at large, but it was something his soulmate could never forget. And of course he would find something as stunning as this for Victor to keep them in. Something that married Yuri’s love of the stars with Victor’s love of words, so that Victor could always carry a symbol of everything he loved with him wherever he went. 

“I–” Victor started. He shook his head. For once, words wouldn’t do. 

And from the smug look on Yuri’s face, Victor could tell that was exactly what his soulmate had been hoping for. 

“Open the other one,” Yuri said. 

“No,” Victor protested. He set the notebook aside; he could write in it later. “No, it has to be your turn now.”

In comparison, his gift to Yuri didn’t seem nearly as good, but oh well. He would have years of playing this game; of trying to one-up Yuri in Christmas and birthday presents. 

He held his breath as Yuri flashed him a smile, and then tore open the wrapping on his present. And his heart stuttered at the expression that flashed across Yuri’s face as he saw it. 

“Oh,” Yuri breathed. 

He flipped open the little note Victor had tucked in with the main gift. At the top, Victor knew he would see the little sketch Victor had (poorly) made of Sagittarius; the constellation they both had tattooed on their back, the tattoo Yuri had gotten years ago that had led Victor to him. Below it, Victor knew the poem he’d written by heart. 

And what can I say, darling, Except that I’m missing you all the while? Count the stars when I fall asleep and Imagine one day how they’ll align. Together, apart, together and then I can’t tell you how I long for The days when I’ll hold you again

Below it was another poor drawing of Capricorn, his sign. But the poem didn’t matter. It did, but it wasn’t the most important piece, and Victor held his breath as Yuri set that aside and looked at the picture frame he’d carefully wrapped. The picture he’d even more carefully picked out inside of it. 

It was of the two of them, taken this fall when they’d gone out to breakfast at their favorite cafe with some friends. Yuri was laughing at something Victor said–even Victor couldn’t remember what–and the look Victor was giving him gave away everything that was in Victor’s heart, but that was the point, wasn’t it? To wear your hear on your sleeve with the person you loved? The odds were low that Yuri would ever open up the frame and see it, but on the back, Victor had written an extra little note. I love you,  always. Here’s to many more days like this together.

“Do you like it?” Victor asked. 

Yuri looked up at him with a smile. 

“It’s perfect,” Yuri said. And then he chuckled. “And fitting, as you’ll see in a second. It’s your turn again.”

Victor pressed his lips together, barely containing a grin, or his excitement, and ripped open the paper on his other present. He laughed as soon as he saw what it was. Because of course he and Yuri thought in the same vein. Of course they did. 

Yuri had also given him a framed picture of the two of them, but this one was from one of the days they’d spent together at the beach. A stranger had offered to take it of them, and they’d agreed without thinking too much of it. They had their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, and the stranger–apparently unsatisfied with Victor’s smile–had told Yuri to tell a joke, so he’d laugh. And Yuri and turned to him and said “Only backwards poets write inverse.”

And it was a terrible, terrible pun. And Victor had stared at him incomprehensibly for a moment, and then it had all clicked, and he hadn’t been able to stop laughing.

In the photo, his expression said all of that. It said ‘I cannot believe you just did that, and I cannot believing I’m laughing anyways,” and Yuri’s face was openly pleased with Victor’s reaction as he just beamed with amusement and pride. He had never seen how the picture turned out; just noted the stranger’s gruff observation that he looked much more natural when he laughed, less like he was faking a smile. But seeing it now warmed his heart. Before they had gotten together, there had been this moment between them, and looking back at it now, Victor couldn’t deny the seeds of something blooming between them there. Clear in the photo, but hidden from them at the time. 

“You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever found,” Victor said. 

He was looking at the Yuri in the picture when he said it, but he meant it for the Yuri on the phone with him now. He glanced up to see his soulmate blushing, and busying himself with fussing over discarded wrapping paper to pretend he wasn’t. 

“Yuri?” Victor asked. 

Yuri looked up at him, waiting for whatever was going to come next. Victor thought of saying it then: I love you. The words were balanced on his tongue. But this, between them, it was all still so very new, and the words felt cheap, almost, next to these gifts, which said it louder than life anyways. 

“Merry Christmas,” Victor said. 

Yuri smiled at him, and Victor imagined that Yuri knew what Victor had almost said, and was saying it back with that expression. 

“Merry Christmas,” Yuri replied. 

  Through the years We’ll always be together…

–“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

***

The problem, Victor reflected, with being a competitive skater on the Russian national team was that the Russian National Championship always fell on Christmas weekend. Why? He had no idea. It wasn’t like there were loads of families all across the country tuning in to watch figure skating once all the presents had been unwrapped on Christmas day, or before they went off to mass on Christmas Eve. To be fair, there were probably some, but overall, not a lot. It wasn’t like figure skating was that big of a priority for the Russian public. 

It hadn’t really been a problem before Yuri came along, given that the only people he really wanted to celebrate with were his teammates, and the only present he wanted was another gold medal to add to his collection. 

But the thing was, now he had Yuri in his life. His soulmate. And now all Victor wanted to do was spend every moment of his life in Yuri’s orbit. He could practically feel the tattoo on his back, the mark that had first allowed him to identify Yuri as his soulmate in the first place, mocking him. He didn’t want an echo of Yuri, reaching out to him across time and space. He wanted Yuri himself. He wanted to curl up in bed with his soulmate under a heavy white comforter and watch snow fall on Saint Petersburg, to bundle up in thick coats and sweaters and scan the night sky for stars with Yuri by his side. He wanted to trade presents in person. He wanted to trim the tree he’d bought for his apartment, and dance to Christmas music in the kitchen. 

Yuri. Victor’s heart ached for him. 

But it wasn’t like Yuri was entirely free either; the Japanese National Championship was also this weekend, if only half a world away. Victor was sparing as many thoughts as he could for his soulmate while they both went through this little crucible alone. He kept on waiting for Yuri to text him well wishes, or an update on how he was doing, but so far, nothing. At some point this weekend, hopefully, maybe, they were going to facetime each other and open they gifts they’d exchanged the last time they’d seen each other, but there hadn’t been any word from Yuri on that front either. 

Even if Yuri had made Victor promise he wouldn’t open his presents until the actual day, and Victor, bemused, had agreed. 

It was funny, looking back on it, how much Yuri changed about his life,and Christmas was just the prime example. Before his soulmate, Victor had just troged along with the usual Russian custom of waiting until both his birthday and Christmas to celebrate either. Now, though, either because he had someone he looked forward to celebrating with, or because Yuri was just generally the kind of person who got excited about holidays and birthdays and that had worn off on Victor, he looked forward to them. 

He’s started playing Christmas music in November this year. As a former December-First-Minimum hardliner for when that was socially acceptable, it wasn’t exactly something he was proud of. But he’d done it, and if he was being honest, blasting Mariah Carey as loudly as his speakers would go while he made dinner every night made life…better. Especially when he was so often missing Yuri. Especially when the St. Petersburg nights were only getting darker. 

“Victor!” 

He looked over from when he was warming up to see Yakov calling his name. If Victor had suddenly discovered the true meaning of Christmas this year, Yakov had done the opposite and become more of a grinch than ever. 

“Ice. Now,” his coach grumbled. 

Victor rolled his eyes and checked his phone. Nearly time for him to go on, and still nothing from Yuri. Not even a good luck. Although, Victor knew his soulmate hadn’t taken to the ice yet. He wasn’t listening to English commentary of the Japanese men’s short program with one earbud. 

He gathered up his things and tried to still his heart. He wasn’t nervous. He’d never had nerves before a competition in his life. But this. The anticipation strumming through him. For once, he really did feel like a little kid, waiting for Santa Claus. One more skate, and this was over for him. One more skate, and he’d have another gold. One more skate, and he could enjoy the rest of the weekend. 

One more skate, and with any luck, Yuri would be waiting for him at the end. 

***

The problem, Yuri reflected, with being a competitive skater on the Japanese national team was that the Japanese National Championship always fell on the same weekend as Victor’s birthday. This had always been a problem for Yuri, and one he had likewise been a little bitter about. As a child, he’d been torn: who to watch, the seniors in his own country that he looked up to, or Victor? (He’d always picked Victor). But then he’d become a senior himself, and his own competitions robbed him of seeing his hero skate. It was grossly, meanly, unfair. There should be a rule, he thought, that no too countries could hold their national competitions during the same timeframe, if only so that people (him) could be spared all this trouble. 

And it was only worse now that he and Victor were together! All weekend long, all he’d wanted to do was text Victor, facetime Victor, glue his face to the screen on his phone and watch his soulmate skate (even though he knew it would be no different than anything else he’d already seen this season). But he couldn’t, because he had to skate, and he really, really wanted to pull out a gold metal. And on the times when he did try and send a text, it never went through. Yuri wasn’t sure if it was because of the distance, the notoriously terrible service at literally every ice rink he’d ever been too, or the weather that was piling both of them high with snow. 

All Yuri knew, at the end of the day, was that he wanted to be with Victor, couldn’t, and all around him were all the little reminders of how everyone else got to be with their soulmates for the holiday. His parents. Yuuko and Takeshi. Christmas and Christmas Eve were for lovers, and it was physically painful to be separated from his for the holiday. There was no escaping the Victor-shaped space the haunted his steps when everyone else was coupling up everywhere he looked. 

But he kept his head down and tried to ignore it. He kept trying to get something through to Victor in his freetime, or waiting to see if Victor would call or text him toon. He tried to focus instead on getting home after this was done, soaking in the onsen and baking Christmas Cake with Mari, just like he did every year. These were the traditions he loved and adhered too, and if he was lucky, the next year, or in a few years at least, he would get to share them with Victor, and get to see Victor’s traditions too. 

That’s what sharing a life with somebody meant, and Yuri wanted that. He had always wanted that, before he met Victor, but something about settling into their relationship this fall and really committing to each other and making it work, in spite of all the obstacles, made the prospect of that future, that shared life, that much more exciting. 

“Yuri!” 

He looked up to see one of the other skaters, a sweet girl everybody called Chie, calling his name. She grinned at him. 

“Trying to reach Victor again?” She asked. 

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Yes,” he admitted. “Sorry if I haven’t been very…present.”

“It’s alright,” she said, waving him off. “It’s important to carve off a little extra time for the people we love most this time of year, and I know he means a lot to you.”

“Thanks,” Yuri said. 

She shrugged. “I just know the feeling. My girlfriend went to her dad’s in England for the holiday so…I’m all alone. And since you’re in the same boat, I thought you might want some company. Want to go watch the last few skates with me?”

Yuri grinned. “That would be great, actually.”

“Great!” 

She held out her hand, and Yuri took it. In a year, maybe more, maybe less, he reminded himself, he would get to do this with Victor. But for now, it was just nice to have a friend. 

***

When the competition ended, Victor had a gold and a text from Yuri. It wasn’t the text he wanted, granted. There was no promise of when they could see each other, in person or on facetime anytime in the near future, but there was a cute picture of him, holding up a gold medal of his own, a little doodle of a poodle and HAPPY BIRTHDAY written above it, and a very sad little text (complete with a :/) about service being terrible and Yuri apologizing profusely about continuously missing out on reaching him. 

It wasn’t as good at having Yuri with him, but it still warmed his heart. 

Soon, Victor reminded himself. Soon we will be together, and one day we’ll get to celebrate together every year for the rest of our lives. 

It made his heart ache and glow all at once to think about. What was a gold medal compared to a minute spent with his Yuri? 

But Victor didn’t have too long to wallow in the feeling; he had a plane to catch, and Petersburg to return to, and Makkachin to spend the holiday with, if not Yuri. He sent off a quick response to Yuri before he finished zipping up his bag and getting ready to go: Facetime later?

He held his phone in one hand, holding his breath without meaning too, hoping to get a quick response, but it didn’t come. He knew it wouldn’t. Not when Yuri was plagued by terrible service. But it didn’t stop him from wishing it would happen, and hating everything that kept him from just being at Yuri’s side for the duration of the holiday. 

***

At home, Yuri found everything was the same. His dad had strung up an absurd amount of lights around the onsen. His mom was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, frying chicken because she refused to buy it when she knew she could make it better, and shooing him and Mari out before they could eat the entire meal before dinner. But if Yuri had thought that falling into family traditions would make him miss Victor less, he was mistaken. If anything it was worse, because now he was getting reminded of all the things he had left off his mental checklist of things he wanted to show off to his soulmate. 

He played games with Mari to distract himself. Played with Yuuko’s triplets. Went on every errand his parents needed somebody to run. And constantly, he was checking his phone. He’d responded to Victor’s request to facetime with an enthusiastic yes (they still had presents to swap, after all), but the time difference between them made actually getting in contact difficult. He’d spent all day yesterday getting back and then settling in, and he knew Victor had been flying too. And now today, six hours ahead, he kept on trying to think of what was a reasonable time to call and wake Victor up. 

He had both of the clocks going on his phone, and every time he looked, it was still too early. Which was unfortunate, because with every passing minute, they just got closer and closer to “Christmas dinner time”. Which started at 3:00. Because of course it had to be early, when so many people were coming over for his mom’s cooking. 

And Yuri made himself sit through it all with a tight smile. He thanked the people who congratulated him on his medal, and chatted with Minako about the skating season, and Victor, and what he was looking forward to in the spring. He bought out the Christmas cake he and Mari had made yesterday, and allowed himself a glimmer of pride over how everyone ooooed and ahhhed over it. And afterwards, he helped clean up, because he was a good and diligent son, and he didn’t want to let anyone down. 

But all the while, in the back of his head, all he could think about was Victor, and the carefully wrapped presents they’d traded ahead of time, with the promise they’d wait until Christmas to open them. 

Yuri really liked the presents part of Christmas. America had rubbed off on him like that. And he’d spent a lot of time this year agonizing over the best gifts to get Victor. 

It was 9:00 when he finally slipped back to his room, shut the door so no one would bother him, and called Victor. 

***

Victor’s heart leaped in his chest the moment he saw Yuri’s call coming through. He’d known it was coming; away from competitions, and terrible service, Yuri had finally been able to reassure him that yes, they could call later, he would find the time. And here it was. At last. Finally. 

If he rather unceremoniously dumped Makka off his chest like she was no more than a beg of potatoes so he could get off the couch and run to retrieve his presents from the bedroom, the Yuri never needed to know that. Especially since Victor only picked up the call once his presents were in hand. 

And the grin that split Yuri’s face the moment Victor answered was brighter than a thousand suns. 

“Hi,” Victor said. 

He was a little breathless. It wasn’t entirely from running to his bedroom and back. 

“Hi,” Yuri replied softly. 

Victor held up his presents, if only to keep himself from turning into a simping, bumbling mess. It wasn’t that he felt the need to constantly keep up his cool, collected appearance around Yuri. Quite the opposite. But he had a blubbering, goofy story to tell that would make Yuri laugh and convey his love more precisely than turning into a romantic mess ever could. 

“Do you want to do this first or do you want to something silly first?” Victor asked. 

He settled back down onto the couch and patted for Makka to come and join him. She just eyed him with suspicion and sat down on the floor. 

Yuri laughed, and Victor shifted his attention back to the bright, wonderful man on his phone screen. 

“Something silly,” Yuri said. “And then we can do presents.”

Victor smiled, wryly. 

“So I was standing in the airport yesterday to catch my flight,” he said. 

“Uh huh,” Yuri said. 

The way he propped his chin up on his knuckles as he settled into listen…Victor’s heart almost melted. 

“And I was looking at the departures board, and I kid you not, I almost got on a flight to Japan instead.”

“Why didn’t you?” Yuri asked. His face was warm with affection. If he’d been there, Victor would have kissed him then. 

“Well, two reasons,” Victor said with a chuckle. “One, I didn’t know if it would take me to the airport closest to you, or, honestly, even exactly how to get to where you are from where I was.”

“I can show you later,” Yuri said. “What two?”

“I thought to myself ‘well, what if he shows up in Petersburg and you fly all the way to Japan and he’s not there?’”

“Oh, Vitya,” Yuri said. 

It wasn’t often that Yuri called him that. Just every now and then, but every time he did, a starburst flared in Victor’s chest. 

“It’s silly, like I said,” Victor continued. “And I told myself that as soon as the thought crossed my mind, but I have to admit that a part of me was holding out hope literally until the moment I walked through the door and saw you weren’t here.”

“Next year,” Yuri said. “Or the year after.”

“Soon,” Victor agreed. 

And for a moment, neither of them said anything. They just soaked up each other’s presence across the distance between them made small by their screens. When Victor felt tears prickling on the backs of his eyes, he plastered on a bright smile. 

“Now,” he said. “Presents!” 

And Yuri smiled that brilliant, cheerful smile again. 

“You go first,” he said. “Since one’s for your birthday.”

“Which one?” Victor asked, weighing the two presents in his hands. 

They were about the same size and shape, but one was wrapped in shiny blue paper with a gold and white ribbon, and the other was wrapped in gold with a blue and white ribbon. If nothing else, he had to admire Yuri’s neat ability for such perfect coordination.

“Hmmmm” Yuri said. “I’ll say…blue for Christmas, gold for your birthday.”

Victor shot Yuri a smile and set the blue present aside. He propped his phone up on the end-table next to the couch and carefully tugged off the ribbon, then started to pick off the tape. Yuri laughed at him. 

“Come on,” his soulmate teased. “Rip it. You know you want to.”

And with a laugh, Victor did as Yuri said. He tore away the gold paper to find a neat, beautiful notebook inside. The cover was marbled, blue and gold and cream. The pages were thick and heavy, with just a little bit of texture. It was the kind of notebook he was almost afraid of ever writing in, because he didn’t want to mess it up. He was speechless. 

“The pattern reminded me of Jupiter,” Yuri said. “Or at least, how it looks up close. And, I don’t know, thinking of Jupiter always makes me think of you, because it’s this big, giant planet that sort of lords over our solar system, and anyways, I thought it would be good for your poems, and…yes. I saw it in a shop, and I knew it had to get it for you.”

Of course Yuri would remember his poems. Of course he would. It may not be something Victor advertised to the world at large, but it was something his soulmate could never forget. And of course he would find something as stunning as this for Victor to keep them in. Something that married Yuri’s love of the stars with Victor’s love of words, so that Victor could always carry a symbol of everything he loved with him wherever he went. 

“I–” Victor started. He shook his head. For once, words wouldn’t do. 

And from the smug look on Yuri’s face, Victor could tell that was exactly what his soulmate had been hoping for. 

“Open the other one,” Yuri said. 

“No,” Victor protested. He set the notebook aside; he could write in it later. “No, it has to be your turn now.”

In comparison, his gift to Yuri didn’t seem nearly as good, but oh well. He would have years of playing this game; of trying to one-up Yuri in Christmas and birthday presents. 

He held his breath as Yuri flashed him a smile, and then tore open the wrapping on his present. And his heart stuttered at the expression that flashed across Yuri’s face as he saw it. 

“Oh,” Yuri breathed. 

He flipped open the little note Victor had tucked in with the main gift. At the top, Victor knew he would see the little sketch Victor had (poorly) made of Sagittarius; the constellation they both had tattooed on their back, the tattoo Yuri had gotten years ago that had led Victor to him. Below it, Victor knew the poem he’d written by heart. 

And what can I say, darling, Except that I’m missing you all the while? Count the stars when I fall asleep and Imagine one day how they’ll align. Together, apart, together and then I can’t tell you how I long for The days when I’ll hold you again

Below it was another poor drawing of Capricorn, his sign. But the poem didn’t matter. It did, but it wasn’t the most important piece, and Victor held his breath as Yuri set that aside and looked at the picture frame he’d carefully wrapped. The picture he’d even more carefully picked out inside of it. 

It was of the two of them, taken this fall when they’d gone out to breakfast at their favorite cafe with some friends. Yuri was laughing at something Victor said–even Victor couldn’t remember what–and the look Victor was giving him gave away everything that was in Victor’s heart, but that was the point, wasn’t it? To wear your hear on your sleeve with the person you loved? The odds were low that Yuri would ever open up the frame and see it, but on the back, Victor had written an extra little note. I love you,  always. Here’s to many more days like this together.

“Do you like it?” Victor asked. 

Yuri looked up at him with a smile. 

“It’s perfect,” Yuri said. And then he chuckled. “And fitting, as you’ll see in a second. It’s your turn again.”

Victor pressed his lips together, barely containing a grin, or his excitement, and ripped open the paper on his other present. He laughed as soon as he saw what it was. Because of course he and Yuri thought in the same vein. Of course they did. 

Yuri had also given him a framed picture of the two of them, but this one was from one of the days they’d spent together at the beach. A stranger had offered to take it of them, and they’d agreed without thinking too much of it. They had their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, and the stranger–apparently unsatisfied with Victor’s smile–had told Yuri to tell a joke, so he’d laugh. And Yuri and turned to him and said “Only ackwards poets write inverse.”

And it was a terrible, terrible pun. And Victor had stared at him incomprehensibly for a moment, and then it had all clicked, and he hadn’t been able to stop laughing.

In the photo, his expression said all of that. It said ‘I cannot believe you just did that, and I cannot believing I’m laughing anyways,” and Yuri’s face was openly pleased with Victor’s reaction as he just beamed with amusement and pride. He had never seen how the picture turned out; just noted the stranger’s gruff observation that he looked much more natural when he laughed, less like he was faking a smile. But seeing it now warmed his heart. Before they had gotten together, there had been this moment between them, and looking back at it now, Victor couldn’t deny the seeds of something blooming between them there. Clear in the photo, but hidden from them at the time. 

“You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever found,” Victor said. 

He was looking at the Yuri in the picture when he said it, but he meant it for the Yuri on the phone with him now. He glanced up to see his soulmate blushing, and busying himself with fussing over discarded wrapping paper to pretend he wasn’t. 

“Yuri?” Victor asked. 

Yuri looked up at him, waiting for whatever was going to come next. Victor thought of saying it then: I love you. The words were balanced on his tongue. But this, between them, it was all still so very new, and the words felt cheap, almost, next to these gifts, which said it louder than life anyways. 

“Merry Christmas,” Victor said. 

Yuri smiled at him, and Victor imagined that Yuri knew what Victor had almost said, and was saying it back with that expression.