I wish I had a better excuse for why I haven't updated in so long, but really all I can say is grad school is a bitch. But I've graduated now, so updates should be more regular in the future (hopefully). I hope that this turned out alright; I'm a bit rusty on writing for fun and not for school or work.

Anyway, since I graduated this past weekend, I figured that Yuri can too! I'm not sure how it works in Russia, but where I'm from in the US they allow homeschooled kids to attend the regular high school graduations so that they get a chance to walk with everyone else, so that's what I went with for Yuri since he's an athlete and homeschooled.

I really appreciate y'all being so patient with me. Enjoy!

The day dawns bright and clear, and checking the weather reveals that the temperature is supposed to be quite pleasant today. Yuri smiles to himself as he extricates himself from his bed. Usually when he wakes up this early, he's trying to squeeze in some extra practice and could care less if the sun is shining or if a monsoon is supposed to hit St. Petersburg, so long as he can still make it to the ice rink without incident.

But today is different, special, and Yuri wants everything to be perfect. Including the weather.

He's jittery with nerves as he gets dressed and makes himself breakfast, and he spends a long time fussing with his hair, trying to find the perfect style for all the pictures that he knows people are going to insist on taking. (Fortunately, Victor and Yuuri insisted on taking the day off, so there's no one to tease him for his nerves and how long he's spending on his hair, or kindly offer to help him.) Finally, after trying several different hairdos that don't quite seem right, he decides to just comb his hair out and leave it down, similar to the style he does for his free skate.

With that very important decision made, he grabs his bag and heads out the door. On his way, he can't help but notice the light from the rising sun revealing a hastily concealed banner that reads "Congratulations!" He smiles and shakes his head. Those two are so predictable.

The local high school is only a five minute walk from his apartment, and upon setting foot inside, he's immediately whisked away to change into his cap and gown, have excessive amounts of pictures taken, and begin the long, arduous process of lining up with everyone else in the correct order. The next time he spots a clock, he's surprised to see that two hours have passed already. Finally, the students manage to organize themselves into some semblance of an organized line, and they're finally allowed to enter the auditorium and take their seats.

A modest crowd has gathered in the spacious room, their excited chatter echoing off the polished wood floors and high ceilings. Yuri quickly glances around at their audience; one look tells him that it's primarily made up of family members and friends of the other graduates.

He breathes a sigh of relief when he doesn't spot any Yuri's Angels lurking anywhere. The incident in Barcelona still haunts him. It had been a nightmare trying to keep this event secret from even his most rabid fans, but Yuri had made it work. Today is about him, and he doesn't need a bunch of screaming girls chanting his name like a prayer to remind him of that.

In more welcome news, he spots his grandfather in one of the front rows of the bleachers—who immediately beams at him and waves upon spotting him. And next to him . . . there's Yakov and Lilia. Yuuri and Victor. Mila, and even Georgi is here, holding an embarrassing, over-decorated banner. Yuri can't help the smile at seeing them; his cheeks hurt from grinning. Even the look on Mila's face, which suggests that she's saying something that would profoundly embarrass him if he could hear it, doesn't shake his happiness and excitement.

A sharp voice comes over the loudspeakers—apparently the speaker would like to start the ceremony five minutes and needs everyone to shut the hell up now (ok, Yuri is paraphrasing). It takes a few minutes for everyone to stop talking and silence to slowly settle over the gathered crowd, but then the ceremony finally begins.

It's mostly a long and boring affair, filled with platitudes about how much potential they have and the bright futures ahead of them, which make Yuri roll his eyes. He's not particularly interested in hearing a lecture about the importance of receiving a high school education after he's already completed one. Being congratulated for how hard they've worked is nice, though. Slowly, mercifully, the speaker finally finishes droning on with his prepared speech and they're ushered to their feet, to line up once again beside the stage to walk.

The rest of the ceremony somehow passes by in a blur, and before Yuri really has time to think about it it's his turn to walk across the stage. He can hear Victor and Yuuri yelling like the dorks that they are as he makes his way across and shakes hands and valiantly tries to keep his cap from falling in his face or messing up his hair. From the number of camera flashes blinding him, he's sure that there will be no shortage of pictures of this moment; he's secretly grateful for that, even if outwardly he'll grumble at Yuuri and Victor for being overbearing.

As soon as he emerges from the depths of the dark auditorium, blinking at the sudden assault of light, he's immediately tackled in a hug by Victor, Yuuri, and Mila. Nearby, Yakov is gruff but proud, Lilia is dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, and Georgi is sobbing, wiping his eyes with the corners of his hideous poster.

"It's hard to believe that our little Yuri is graduating high school!" Victor exclaims, his big blue eyes tearing up with his own set of waterworks. Yuri rolls his eyes while Yuuri just smiles fondly at his ridiculous husband.

"Oi, geezer, try not to get your snot all over me," Yuri grumbles. "I still have to return these. It's been a while since you graduated, since you finished high school when the dinosaurs were still around, but hopefully you still remember how to act normal." Victor tears up even more at this, though fortunately he decides to cry all over Yuuri's suit instead.

Victor, after several minutes, does manage to pull himself together enough to insist that Yakov takes a family photo of them, since "it's not every day that your son finishes high school!" Yuri rolls his eyes and scoffs and sighs but agrees on the condition that they can go eat lunch as soon as "the torture is over with."

Lunch is at his favorite restaurant, which serves the best piroshky in the city (and Yuri is an expert on piroshky, and Yuri enjoys eating whatever he wants for once without worrying about his skating regimen or special training diets. He'll go back to thinking about that tomorrow, but for now, he's just enjoying the moment. Even the strict Lilia doesn't complain about his meal or dessert choices.

After dinner, they all head back to Victor and Yuuri's apartment, and since those two are the absolute worst at keeping a secret, the surprise party that follows is anything but a surprise. Still, Yuri can't help a little smile at the sloppily hung "Congratulations!" banner in the front hallway. (Professional skaters Yuuri and Victor might be, but professional decorators they are not.) Despite Yuri's usual hatred for parties and other social gatherings, he doesn't seem to mind this one too much. And he almost tears up despite himself when Victor and Yuuri insist on putting his high school diploma on the shelf of honor with their most important medals.

Tomorrow will be all about skating once again. But today is for celebrating.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!

(also why are endings so hard)