Chapter Text
Victor knew something was wrong when he woke up.
Firstly, Yuuri wasn't by his side in bed.
Secondly, the wallpapers weren't supposed to be blue.
As far as he was concerned, the wallpaper hadn't been blue for almost four years. Yuuri had painted over it with white after Yurio complained that the wallpaper didn't match the decor.
Magically colour changing wallpapers wasn't the biggest issue, yet.
He climbed out of bed, and shouted, ' Yuuri?'
No one answered. Save for Makkachin bounding to him from the , wagging his tail.
' Where is Yuuri?' He asked Makkachin hopefully, and the big poodle simply stared at him, adorable eyes wide in puzzlement, almost like, who's Yuuri?
No. No. No. No.
He dashed to his room, ignoring Makkachin's confused barks, and seized his phone. To his utmost horror, the date on his phone screen was 17th December, 2015.
2015.
2015.
2015.
Panicking, he did the mental calculations in his head. He retired shortly after the Winter Olympics in 2018, which meant...
He had time-travelled. 4 years into the past.
***
He literally collapsed onto the couch, feeling dead inside.
Some part of him still wished this was a cruel joke. Because all the years spent with his beloved Yuuri was simply gone. Their kiss in the Cup of China, GPF Barcelona, GPF Marseille, the history making Quad Axel, Winter Olympics, their wedding... Gone.
Agape, Eros, Yuri On Ice, gone too.
Or it had been just a really good dream because he was pining over Yuuri after the banquet. Maybe everything never happened.
And he refused to accept that his 4 year love story had been thrown to the wind.
He hunched over, trembling, and sobbed into the cushions. Makkachin whined, alarmed by his owner's sudden change of behaviour. Victor hugged his over-sized poodle, crying into his fur, until he felt like he wasn't able to cry anymore.
He thought of his beloved, adorable husband Yuuri. They were supposed to become a world-class coaching team, taking up Yakov's mantle after he retired. But now, Yuuri was probably still 23 years old, suffering from depression because of his failed Sochi GPF in Detroit with Phichit, who wasn't the Captain of the Victuuri Fan Club anymore. He was going to live through ending up 11th the Japanese Nationals again.
He thought of his angry 'son' Yurio. He was supposed to be gearing up for his fourth GPF after learning how to do the Quad Loop and Quad Lutz. He was starting to be polite to both of them too. Now, he was probably still the 15 year old angry punk he used to be, trying to start his Senior debut with a splash and being extremely rude to everyone who would dare to question his ambitions.
Still feeling dead, he finally climbed out of the fetal position he was in, to make himself a sandwich at the kitchen. He opened the fridge and wanted to faint. The fridge was supposed to be stocked up with all kinds of Japanese food as well as Russian food.
Now, the fridge was almost empty. Save for the tub of peanut butter and sliced bread.
After eating his pitiful breakfast, he flicked open his phone, to find that he had 21 missed calls from Yakov.
His phone buzzed again for the 22nd time, and this time, he answered the call.
' VITYA WHERE ARE YOU?!' The angry coach's voice shocked him. ' YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE RINK BY 8. IT'S NOW 9. EVEN YURI AND MILA HAVE ARRIVED. THE RUSSIAN NATIONALS, VITYA! YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE FOR THAT! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!'
' Sorry Yakov, I-I'm not feeling well,' He hiccuped, startled at hearing his coach's yelling again. He almost missed it, to be honest.
' Wait, what?' Yakov's voice became diminished. ' Not feeling well? Wait. Are you crying? Vitya, what's going on?'
Tears started to form at his eyes again, and he cut off Yakov's call. He tossed his phone away, and sank into the couch, deep in thought. And crying.
Maybe Yuuri travelled back as well? His mind supplied helpfully.
No. If his Yuuri had travelled back, he would have called him already.
Forget about it. He was alone. Stranded and trapped in 2015.
He wondered what happened back in 2019. Did he simply vanish, leaving Yuuri alone to deal with his disappearance? Or had 2019 not even existed at all in the first place?
He allowed himself to calm down.
The most important thing now would be the Russian Nationals.
Which meant... he had to re-skate his old programs. The FS should be easy if his muscle memory worked, he always skated Stammi Vicino with Yuuri, but not doing the Quads.
Speaking of Quads, he hadn't been doing it since he retired. He had avoided doing those, in case he broke his leg or something. The only good thing about this messed up joke was that he had gone back to being 27 year old, when his body strength was at its prime. He could attempt Quads again.
So first up, he had to deal with his SP.
But he didn't want to face Yuri(o) and Yakov at the rink, so he would probably just take a day off and go to sleep for the entire day.
***
He showed up at the rink on the second day with puffy eyes but he was too depressed to care. He missed Yuuri too much.
The first person he saw was Yuri, in his mid-teens, still short, icy blonde hair tied in a short ponytail. He was wearing his favourite black T-shirt for training, skating through his Juniors routine with his back to Victor. Yakov probably yelled himself crazy and made him practice.
Victor reminisced of a time when Yurio hated practice. It was only after Onsen on Ice that Yuri, fuelled by the ambition to defeat Yuuri, started to practice.
Victor watched, as Yuri-not Yurio, finished his FS routine (step sequences still sloppy, he remembered with a jolt) and scowled at him, ' What are you looking at, Victor?'
Ah, Victor thought with hurt, younger Yuri used to call him by name, not 'Old Man'.
' Nothing. Go back to your skating, Yuri,' Victor said, almost calling the boy Yurio.
For almost one millisecond, an expression that Victor couldn't quite figure out crossed Yurio's face, but it was gone in a second.
Yuri crossed his arms, snarling, ' You had better start practicing! Yakov was extremely angry yesterday.'
Victor unclipped his blade guards, and skated up to Yurio. He enjoyed the feeling of gliding across the ice. He skated a snippet of Stammi Vicino, pouring out his depression and longing into his step sequences.
When he was done, Yurio was actually gaping at him, ' What has gone into you today, Victor? Are you depressed or what? Heck, Yakov told me you were freaking crying over the phone yesterday. What the hell is wrong with you?'
Victor ignored him, and asked hoarsely, ' Now, Yuri, let's work on your senior debut.' He knew he had forgotten about this deal in his other life, so he had better get started with it soon, before he forgot.
' What the hell?' Yuri reeled back, confused. ' Senior debut? What are you talking about?'
It was Victor's turn to get surprised, ' Your Senior debut, remember? I promised to choreograph your senior program if you won the Junior GPF without Quads.' He had expected Yuri to remember this, because he actually flew to Hasetsu against Yakov's orders to make sure the deal was settled.
' Oh,' Yuri jumped. ' Yes. My Senior debut. Actually, you know what, forget about it. I have it covered.'
' What do you mean?' Victor stared at the boy. ' You have it covered?'
' I know what I will be doing for my Senior SP already,' Yuri looked determined. ' I have an idea for my FS too. I have the two songs down already, so I don't think I need your help anymore. Thanks for offering, anyways. And I really appreciate the fact that your memory works for once.'
Victor stood there, staring at him.
Wait. This didn't happen in the other life. How come Yuri knew what he was going to do? This didn't make any sense. He wasn't supposed to know his routines before Onsen on Ice and Lilia's unexpected arrival.
' Fine,' Victor said at last. ' Let's have a break before Yakov arrives.'
' Yeah,' Yuri nodded. ' I need some water.'
They sipped water at the side of the rink.
' So,' Victor started to say, hoping to lighten the mood. ' Where and how did you find your Senior routines?'
' Huh?' Yuri seemed surprised. ' Dunno, I just looked around... And it came to me.'
' It isn't like you, Yurio,' Victor commented, only to realise the nickname had slipped automatically on his tongue.
He had expected Yuri to get confused by the sudden variation of his name, but instead, Yurio stood up straight as if stung by a wasp, and bellowed angrily at Victor's face, ' HEAVEN'S SAKE OLD MAN! MY NAME IS NOT YURIO, FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME!'
' Sorry, sorry,' Victor said automatically, like he did for so many times. ' Fine, I- Wait. What did you just call me?'
Yuri, who was still fuming, answered, ' Hah? Old Man! Wait. What did you just call me?'
' Yurio,' Victor repeated. ' I called you Yurio.'
Yuri breathed in deeply, ' You called me Yurio. Oh my god. You... Don't tell me...'
' I have to check,' Victor pleaded. ' Tell me the names of the songs for your SP and FS.'
' That is hardly necessary,' Yuri was in awe. ' Fine. On Love: Agape and Allegro Appassionato in B minor.'
' You came back too,' Victor whispered. ' 2019, right?'
' After you and Katsudon's wedding,' Yuri said in a hushed voice. ' Wait. You remember Katsudon? Your annoying husband?'
' I do,' Victor placed a hand over his mouth. ' So this means...'
' Unless you have learnt to read minds, yes. We went back in time together. Oh god,' Yuri, now Yurio once more, grimaced.