LINKDING

<blockquote>In a universe where same-sex pairs skating is entirely normal, things turn out a little differently for our heroes.</blockquote>

<blockquote>After Yuuri moves to St Petersburg, he decides that learning to speak Russian is an important step in his relationship with Viktor. Russian may be tough, but Yuuri will be tougher. Probably.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Anonymous asked: Okay friend, here’s a fun idea. YOI AU where everything is the same, but Viktor never cut his hair."</blockquote> ➤ that's....literally all this is, yup, and for some reason I'm here for it

<blockquote>It all starts because Isabella asks him, point-blank, the question J.J.’s never quite had the nerve to ask himself. It’s tickled at the edge of his mind before, but he’s never let it take hold; it would only—complicate things. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” she says, and there’s a glint in her eyes he hasn’t seen often. Curiosity and pleasure and apprehension all at once, like the day she asked him out for the first time, or years later when he dropped to one knee with a ring in his pocket and his words almost failing him.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Whenever the phone rings at 4 a.m., it’s never someone calling to say you won a million dollars or an all-expenses-paid cruise to the Caribbean, or that your bronze medal has just been bumped up to silver due to some kind of scandal. 4 a.m. calls are reserved for emergencies and tragedies, so Otabek’s heart almost slams out of his chest when Yuri’s name pops up on the screen at 4:13 a.m. on a freezing January night.</blockquote>

<blockquote>It's maddening to find out how much more he has to learn about Yuri -- but at the same time, Victor is glad of it too.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Yuri tucks his face into his outflung arm. "I haven't done anything with anyone." Since it's Otabek, he doesn't have to explain. He can just look at the way the grass bends under his arm, trace his eyes down the blades into the shadow of his body. "You didn't tell me how it doesn't work. I want to know." Otabek sighs. "It doesn't fit." As if Yuri could resist that challenge.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Do you still paint your nails at all?” Yuuri asks. “Yeah,” Victor says—and it’s a moment before he realizes this is a lie. He still intends to paint his nails. He still thinks of himself as the sort of person who paints his nails. But he hasn’t actually done it in years.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Yuuri's husband is possibly not as oblivious as he seems, because he grins and asks, "Have you never looked up Yuuri?" "There's a porn actress with the same name who went into politics," says Nate, "so she's most of the results, and some stuff about figure skating." "Some stuff about figure skating," Victor says ruefully to Yuuri.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Have you ever accidentally committed fic? There are lots of Yuri-is-adopted stories on the AO3, mostly with Victor and/or Yuuri as the adoptive parents. Seeing those stories, I found myself thinking of real Russian orphanages and international adoptions from Russia. And almost before I could stop myself, this fic happened. It's rather dark, in its way, so be warned.</blockquote>

<blockquote> [life lesson: if some dumb-dumb actually tags you in a callout post on tumblr and says shitty, baseless things about you, don’t engage them.  write petty fic about otabek and yuri as grandpas who live on mars instead!!  you’re welcome.]</blockquote>

<blockquote>"What is it with alphas in rut and feeding me?" says Yuri. It just comes out, because Yuri is a disaster. "What," says Victor. "What," says Yuri. "What?" says Victor. "I'm not in -- which alpha was feeding you? What did they feed you? Were they courting you? Did you --" "I'm going back to bed," says Yuri.</blockquote>

<blockquote>There are a few things which Sara Crispino remembers about Orientation Week. The first is that, despite the best and most serious efforts of the nuns, quite a lot of off-site drinking, dancing and general disreputability is involved. Instead of individuals, she remembers crowds and atmospheres. ... The third thing Sara remembers from Orientation Week, although she doesn’t think about it much until later, is the red-headed Women’s girl.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The entire hockey team falters, faced by Katsuki's dark eyes shaded by his inky eyelashes. It's very effective. Mila's going to find out what mascara he uses. "Did - did someone pull a prank on you?" says Katsuki. His Russian isn't terrible, but between his soft voice and his frankly adorable accent, half-American and half-Japanese, he sounds like a little lost lamb.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The morning after the banquet, Yuuri wakes up to a hangover, a few fuzzy memories of the previous night and the realization that he sent some guy dickpics last night...and had gotten one back.   Cyrillic guy seemed nice. Friendly. Somebody he might have wanted to hang out with, if things had been different.   Yuuri hoped he hadn't pretended the guy was Victor Nikiforov or something stupid like that. When he got that drunk, all bets were off.</blockquote>

<blockquote>It’s Phichit’s fault. It’s always Phichit’s fault. (Or: A friendship told through three hamsters, a rice cooker, and the resurrected trade-and-barter system.)</blockquote>

<blockquote>Living with Victor is like a dream, a hyper-realistic one that only seems logical as long as you don't wake up.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Victor makes it his goal to get Katsuki Yuuri, figure skater, to the first page of Google results. There is no way he could let such a brilliant skater be overshadowed by Katsuki Yuuri, winner of some stuffy academic medal, who is probably 50 and balding. Or: Yuuri has made a name for himself outside of figure skating, and athletes are slow on the uptake.</blockquote>

<blockquote>‘You’re impossible,’ Yuri says, picking up a robe to wrap himself in. ‘I’ll get the 1989.’ Minami watches him go, and then turns to find Viktor watching him watching. ‘Ah,’ Minami says, and Viktor wonders for a second if he’s going to apologise. That’s happened before, and it always makes Viktor feel weird. He’s the one who commissions Yuri’s competition costumes, after all: how anyone could think he has a problem with other people checking out his husband, given that, is a mystery to him. He likes it, likes knowing that other people want what he, Viktor, has got.</blockquote>

<blockquote>As it turns out, Yuri doesn't mind Yuuri moving to St. Petersburg nearly as much as he thought that he would, but that doesn't mean it's not an adjustment for both of them.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Is this because I let you watch American movies as a child," says Yakov flatly. "The ones where the popular boy gives his coat to the pretty girl?" Victor puts up both eyebrows in a delicately mocking gesture that was unbearable when he was a fey creature of sixteen and makes Yakov yearn to clip him around the ears now, when he's twenty-eight. "'Let' me?" he says.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Viktor’s playing games with him, Yuri knows it. He’s still not sure what the win condition is - well, other than the Grand Prix, but surely that can’t be all there is to it. The thing is, he’s starting to see himself as a partner in the game, whatever it is, rather than the target.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Victor used to glance in the windows of marque studios and look at the flash on the walls sometimes, with curiosity more than longing. What would it be like to feel someone else’s soul? There are songs about it on the radio. Romantic. In his actual life, it’s always Yakov saying, “get over yourself, get more sleep, stop daydreaming on the ice.” Or it was.</blockquote>

<blockquote>In 1980, Yakov Feltsman is the USSR's skating hero. At a dull official reception, he defends his loyalty to the motherland – and makes the acquaintance of a beautiful young dancer from the Bolshoi.</blockquote>

<blockquote>‘He loves her?’ Plisetsky demands, which is not quite the question Takeshi was expecting. ‘He loves her since childhood, but she is married to you, so he is…’ Plisetsky looks disgusted, ‘all very sad, yes?’ ‘No,’ Takeshi says, very confident in that answer at least. ‘No, Yuri is not in love with my wife.’</blockquote>

<blockquote>By a strange combination of good luck and good friends, in fact, Phichit Chulanont has slept with a surprising number of people in the international skating scene. And most of them in groups. He’d like to say this was Christophe’s fault, but probably only half of the cases were.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Yuri wouldn’t categorically say that he’s moping. It’s just a crush, after all, and Yuri is fine. He is in control of his feelings. He hasn’t even checked Otabek’s Instagram account today yet! So, it’s completely unjustified that both Victor and Yuuri are holding this thing they aren’t calling an intervention for him. (Or, the Companion Fic to the one where Otabek pines for years.)</blockquote> ➤ Yuri's pov on the events of "But I'm Not There Yet"

<blockquote>There's two types of dates Victor and Yuri go on in St. Petersburg. Yuri likes them both.</blockquote>

<blockquote>After retiring from competitive skating, Yuri Plisetsky goes to Hasetsu to train for Victor's ice show. A lot has changed, but the welcome he gets from Victor and Yuuri makes it feel like home.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Are you not going to read the article?” she asks, flopping onto his bed. “Look who ranked second, just after Phichit Chulanont.” Otabek reluctantly scrolls down, and oh. #2 - Yuri Plisetsky  In the embedded Instagram photo just under that subheading, a very grumpy Yuri is cuddling a very grumpy-looking cat. The caption reads: I found the cat version of me at the shelter today. #iknowisaidnomorecats #canyoublameme (Or, the AU where Otabek and Yuri don't becomes friends in Barcelona, and there are years of pining.)</blockquote>