'Just say you're in love already!' Virtue and Moir capture gold and our hearts in Olympic career finale

Weeknights spent watching Jeopardy, occasional ballroom dancing and private 10-year anniversary skates — that'll be the future for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, they joke, after the golden moment Monday that closed out their on-ice story, two decades in the making.

"Maybe we'll take up tennis," Virtue laughs, still beaming from their second gold medal of the 2018 Olympics after edging out France's ice-dancing duo Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, by a mere 0.79 points.

• WATCH: Virtue, Moir claim ice dance gold in thrilling finale
• ANALYSIS: There will never be another Virtue and Moir

The pair finished with a world record overall score of 206.07, beating their own personal best in a magical skate to Moulin Rouge with a chemistry so convincing that fans were every bit as glued to their whispers and glances, as their skating itself. 

I've waited to hear Tessa laugh and cry at the same time since 2010.- Scott Moir

And the mania isn't limited to the hometown crowd.

The pair made international headlines Tuesday morning, with the New York Times crowning them "Ice-dancing's king and queen" and the BBC asking, "Is this the Olympics' greatest 'love story' ever told?"

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But while they may be Canada's favourite couple on ice, the pair maintain they're friends and "business partners," despite fans' best wishes.

Whatever you say, guys.

Regardless, after 20 years building toward that winning career finale, there's something that makes the victory even sweeter, says 30-year-old Moir.

A promise to 'skate for each other'

"We just feel so fortunate to have each other, to have this business relationship … We've been through so much together. It's crazy," he told CBC's Heather Hiscox after their record-breaking performance, looking back on their journey since adolescence.

But it wasn't always strictly business for the pair, who, in their 2011 book, Tessa and Scott: Our Journey from Childhood Dream to Gold, confirm they did once "date," if you can call it that, when Virtue was eight and Moir, 10.

The romance lasted eight months, Moir recounts, and spanned just a few phone conversations.

"I liked Scott," Virtue recalls in the book. "I don't know if he liked me, but we just went along with it.

"I remember my brothers talking me through the phone call with her, I was so nervous," Moir recounts. "We'd sit there and not say anything."

Fast forward to 2018, while winning was certainly the goal, Monday's skate was about something more, said Virtue.

"We said to each other before we went out that we would skate for each other," the 28-year-old said.

"We were so ready and trained, we didn't want to miss a moment of it. And how cool that after 20 years to be able to share that together."

'A special relationship'

For Moir, the moment was a personal victory, too.

"I've waited to hear Tessa laugh and cry at the same time since 2010," he said. On Monday, she did. And Moir says "It was worth it."

And while the darling duo say they've reached the end of their Olympic careers, they now plan to go on tour, which is sure to keep fans swooning and guessing about the possibility of a real romance to go with their on-ice intimacy.

And remarks like this, to the question of what he loves most about his skating partner, just keep tugging at our heartstrings. 

"How do you narrow it down? She is an all around beauty," Moir says on the pair's website.

Virtue's response to the question: "His drive, his relentless pursuit of perfection, his sense of humour, and his reactions to my all-emoji text conversations."

"This is a special relationship," Moir told Hiscox. "And it's not going anywhere, that's for sure."

But couple or not, many fans prefer to believe they'll skate off into the sunset together lovingly twizzling in each others' arms. 

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