Agape (book 2)

Chapter 3

   "About damn time you two got here!" Yurio screams at us from the other side of the rink. His young face glowing red with his indignation. I can't help but laugh as I take Yuri's hand. This little kid really is an interesting individual. I wave at him cheekily and watch as his body begins to twitch from the sheer intensity of his outrage. "What the fuck took you so long?!" He shouts at the top of his lungs. Mila and Giorgi cover their ears as they glance at us with amused and sympathetic expressions. It would appear that even after a year away nothing really has changed in my old rink.

   "We had a bit of a slow start this morning." I reply with a smile as Yuri and I walk to our shared locker. "One of us wasn't really ready to get out of bed when the alarm went off." I hand Yuri his skates as Yurio stomps over to us like a typhoon.

   "Just get out of bed you damn pig!" He snaps as he stops in front of the pair of us. I glance at Yuri curiously and begin to laugh a little at his stunned expression. "What is so God damned funny?!"

   "I never said that it was Yuri." I laugh. "The one to blame here is me." Yurio's face goes pale as he stares at me furiously pantomiming choking me before glancing back at Yuri. He mutters his apologies before rushing out onto the ice. I chuckle at his quick retreat, he truly is just a child.

   "Good to know that Yurio is still Yurio." Yuri whispers as he laces up his skates.

   "Were you expecting anything less?" I ask curiously as I take a seat beside him on the bench, sliding off my shoes.

   "I don't know. I mean he is only fifteen and he just won a gold medal, I was kind of expecting a boost in his ego." I smile softly as I bump against Yuri's arm playfully. "What?"

   "That will be you this year." I whisper before bending over to lace up my skates. He laughs quietly at my words as he rises to his feet. "I have absolute confidence in you." Yuri ruffles my hair lightly before walking over to the ice and skating smoothly out into the rink. I smile as I quickly finish lacing up my skates and follow after him. "I mean it!" I wrap my arms around him suddenly when I catch up with him. Yuri laughs in surprise as I twirl him around slightly. "This is going to be your season."

   "Don't tell him that!" Yurio cries out. I blissfully ignore him as Yuri allows me to twirl him around a bit more. He grips onto my arms and tried to shift his weight so he can support himself but I just hold onto him tighter. Not yet. I don't want to let go of him yet.

   "What is going on here?!" I sigh softly as I slowly shift my gaze over to Yakov who is staring at us with irritation from just outside the rink. His arms are crossed across his chest as his fingers tap irritably on the opposite arms as he meets my gaze. "You are supposed to be training not flirting!"

   "This is training!" I call back in response. Yuri is limp in my arms, it would appear that his bashfulness has gotten the best of him in this situation. "What you're seeing right now is part of my coaching method!"

   "Drop Katsuki, Victor!" He snaps as he slams his hands against the side of the rink. Yuri flinches from the sound and I rub my thumb gently along his ribs trying to soothe him. "This is ridiculous! You both need to focus!"

   "Victor." Yuri whispers. "Please let go." I sigh softly as I gently release Yuri. He glances at me apologetically before skating off to the other side of the rink. Yakov begins to spit out demands to us in Russian and Yuri looks completely lost, an innocent look of confusion clear on his face. I feel a spark ignite in my chest as Yakov scans the room. He eventually notices that Yuri isn't moving and opens his mouth to say something but I quickly skate over towards Yuri and grab his hand. "What are you doing?" He asks as I drag him across the ice.