Mari Katsuki knew little to nothing about figure skating. No matter how many times she would try to wrap her head around it, she could not seem to be that person who would ever actually get in on it. In fact, neither her nor her parents could get into the technicalities of it all. The only thing that they could all agree on is that he loves doing what he does. Her only exposure to it has only ever been what Yuri had shared with her and the many occasions she was actually able to watch him skate. One thing that she does know for certain is that it is something her little brother enjoys doing and that it is practically his life. And since the sport had nestled deeply inside her brother's heart, she could not help but be proud and supportive of him in pursuing his passion.
As for her, being the eldest of the two meant that she has to shoulder a lot more responsibility. She wasn't anything like her younger sibling who despite his rather timid nature, knew what he wanted to become early on in life. From a very young age, Yuri Katsuki knew that there was nothing else for him other than the ice. She other hand, was very happy to be where she was now. Being able to work along side her family in the hot springs wasn't so bad. Don't get her wrong, as much as she would love to have a glamorous career like yours and Yuri's and travel all around the world, she is painfully aware that it isn't all glitz and glamour for you guys.
It pays to be attentive to the fine print of things.
And besides, this was home. Nothing really beats the nice warm feeling of being surrounded with family.
And speaking of which, she could feel her chest swell up with pride when she watched Yuri finish a virtually perfect short program. She had just finished up her chores for the day and luckily, she finished early. She and the rest of her family were watching the event from the television in the living room along with the giant fluff ball that is Victor's dog resting her head comfortably on her lap* as she sat crossed legged on the floor. She could not understand most of the details, she was just happy that he was happy.
She continually ran a hand through the poodle's soft fur, stroking the dog's head as she continued to watch in anticipation. It has been quite a long time since she was able to do something like this. Back then, when Yuri still had Vicchan, it was a guilty pleasure of hers to give him belly rubs or a few friendly strokes on top of his head. It proved to be therapeutic to interact with the cute little puppy.
"Yuri did great today," Hiroko remarked happily, "I wonder how he's holding up out there."
Mari could not help but shake her head good naturedly at her mother, "Don't worry about him too much, mom," she started, "Yuri's in good hands, (Y/N) and Victor are there," she reminded her.
The Katsuki matriarch's expression turned bashful, "Sorry about that, but you do know your brother. He could get all antsy at the drop of a hat. I know that they're there with him but still..."
Sensing his wife's train of thought, Toshiya placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "You tend to worry too much, love," he interjected, "And besides, that (Y/N)'s got a good head on their shoulders. I'm pretty sure that they'll manage to bring him out of whatever funk he could get himself into."
Little did the three of them know that it was mostly the other way around wherein Yuri was doing most, if not all, of the 'looking out for you' part.
"Ah!" Mari exclaimed, "They're announcing his scores!"
The three of them were suddenly at rapt attention, making sure that they were all as quiet as they could possibly be (with the exception of Makkachin who busied herself by taking a nap). They could all see Yuri and Victor together on the Kiss and Cry on their TV screen wherein the dark haired male was clutching a soft toy close to his chest as they waited for his numbers. The three Katsuki's anxiously waited for the scores as well and could not help but feel like they were in the very same position as Yuri was. There was just this nervous energy that managed to tingle through each and everyone of them like electrical sparks from the ground working its way up. They all knew that he did well but on the very small and very unlikely chance that the judges may think otherwise, they wanted to see his reaction.
And just like a dam that had just let it's flood gates opened, a wave of relief and elation washed through them as soon as they saw the joyous expression on the silver haired coach's face as he practically threw Yuri a big hug. Yuri of course was speechless as he took slowly took in the fact that he has once again made it first on the ranking and surpassed his personal best
The Katsuki patriarch grinned at his son's achievement, "Well it looks like you were worrying over nothing. Should Yuri keep this up, we should start expecting more surprises from him often."
Mari gave her dad a flat look, "Then they wouldn't be surprises now, would they?"
A flash of urgency suddenly crossed the older woman's face as she turned to her daughter, "Oh, I almost forgot. I had prepared a couple of fresh steamed buns in the kitchen," she told her, "Would you mind replacing the plate back in Vicchan's shrine?"
Mari glanced back to the screen then back to her mom then back to the screen then back to her mom who was looking at her expectantly, "But Yurio is up next," she weakly protested. She looked at her mom for one more moment then let out a resigned sigh, "Okay, I'll do it."
She slowly pushed herself off the floor which in turn, woke up the napping dog, "Sorry Makkachin, duty calls go find another pillow for a while."
At first the poodle did not move from her spot, looking at the woman who gave nice belly rubs expectantly, as if she was waiting for her to repeat the soothing motion once more. Mari gave her a look, "What?"
If she didn't move, she would have become a perfect trip hazzard for anyone who would be passing by.
Fortunately, Makkachin got up from her lying position and wagged her tail, panting softly. Mari shrugged it off as nothing as she headed towards the kitchen. Once she was there, it was just as her mother had said, the steam buns were on top of the kitchen counter, already set on a nice plate. It was still warm and and had a bit of steam coming out of it. As soon as she took hold of the plate, the silly ball of walking fluff was right at her heels, pawing at the hem of her pants, black beady eyes glistening in the light.
"What's gotten into you?" Mari asked. She quickly pieced two and two together once she realized what the mocha colored pooch was looking at, "Do you want one?" she smiled as the pleading look on the dog's face intensified, "Alright, alright," she relented, "I'm going to give you just one, okay? And no way are you telling anyone I gave you any."
Mari set the plate back down on the counter. She took the one sitting at the very top and made quick work of unwrapping the treat from the plastic. Makkachin was already sitting patiently and licking at her lips, tail thumping against the floor happily. Mari chuckled at the pooch's expression and tossed the steam bun at her which she expertly caught in her mouth and then quickly devoured it.
"Well, that's enough of that, Makkachin," she said, "You head back to mom and dad, I'll just set this up for Viichan real quick, okay?"
Mari left the room just like that, expecting the dog to follow her instructions but instead she chose to follow her to the spare room where Viichan's shrine was instead.
She wasn't able to move as freely as she would have liked, not with Makkachin continually nipping and sniffing at her feet, hoping to somehow get another one of those steam buns, Mari concluded. As soon as she had finished her tasks and had gotten the old plate out of the way, she used her free arm and moved it underneath the poodle and lifted her up with absurd ease. Despite her size, Makkachin was fairly light which made her job of bringing her out of the room a whole lot easier.
Once they were outside the room, Mari perked up when she heard the deafening cheers from the television , "What?! Yurio's about to start!" She slid the door close using her feet and then stooped down to let go of the pooch in her arms. She made a mad dash back to the kitchen to keep the plate of old steam buns away and then made a beeline towards the living room all the while asking her parents if there was anything she missed.
Not knowing any better, Makkachin tried to worm her way in back into the spare room whose door still had a big enough gap to get into. The smell of fresh steam buns was too hard to resist.
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My take on how Makkachin would Makkachoke^^
okay, that joke was on bad taste. I'm sorry^^"
*I always imagined Makkachin to be a girl and the series never clarified the gender
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All About Us [Yuri Katsuki x Reader]
Fanfiction✴"Forever is a long time...but I wouldn't mind spending it by your side"✴ The thought of ice skating never once crossed your mind not until you had met him. You never intended to, he was just there at the right moment, at the right time. Neverthel...