Chapter 2: The letter
"Victor" Yuuri breathed as his husband kissed down his throat to his shoulder.
Victor's hands curled around Yuuri's naked bottom and he pulled him closer, sinking into his protesting mouth, attacking the warm orifice hungrily. He rubbed and squeezed Yuuri's bottom, grinding against him as the two men kissed harder, biting at each other's lips and tongues.
The two were getting very into one another when suddenly a throat cleared. Yuuri turned, expecting his father or a male patron wanting to yell at them for practically defiling the hot spring. Yuuri sank futher into the water with a yelp and a splash when he saw that it was his sister, smoking a cigarette.
"Oh my god! What do you want, Mari?" Yuuri shouted, so embarrassed and his face beet red.
"You two need to get your butts dressed and get to the lobby now," Yuuri's older sister said as she noticed Victor not moving at all to hide his body.
She knew he didn't have a bashful bone in his body, but she did think, married to her brother, she was glad to see him finally turn him away.
"No sex. Lobby. Now."
She took another drag on her cigarette, then left the two men to it.
"Come on Yuuri. Something's not right," Victor said, climbing out of the hot spring and reaching for his clothes.
After they dressed, Victer took Yuuri's hand and the two headed to the lobby of the inn. When they arrived there, Victor stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the little boy they spotted in front of them.
"Seva?" he asked, causing the boy to look at him and to run to Victor dropping the letters he was carrying onto the floor.
Victor looked around.
"Where's Antiko?" he asked the boy in Russian.
The boy said nothing, but just hugged Victor's waist desperately. He buried his face in the Russian man's waist, his little heart beating a mile a minute. Being around all these strangers he didn't understand was hard for the boy. Luckily, Yuuri's mom had asked for his name in English. He cowered around the people he did not know. It was easy to tell the boy was terrified. Victor asked again why the boy was there alone and this time, the child pointed to the two envelopes. One looked very official and had Russian writing showing it was meant for Victor Nikiforov. The other one looked more like a personal letter. Vitya was printed on the front.
Yuuri picked up the letters, bringing them over to Victor along with the boy's small suitcase.
"Maybe we should take him to our room while we figure things out," he said, looking kindly at the boy, "He looks so scared, Victor."
Yuuri was just as confused as Victor, who looked to him to be very upset. So, he knew that they needed to figure this out sooner, rather than later, if possible.
"Wait Yuuri. Can I talk to you? Victor can take the boy your room, but I need to speak to you now," Toshiya said insistently.
"Okay," Yuuri said uncertainly, nodding to Victor to take the boy and go.
After Victor and the boy had gone, Yuuri gave his father a curious look.
"What is it, Dad?" he asked, frowning.
Toshiya motioned briefly to the papers Yuuri still held in his hand.
"Those papers look like something that would come from a lawyer. I want you to be careful. I have a bad feeling that nothing good can be in them even, though the second one looks less official," he said in a worried tone.
"Don't worry Dad," Yuuri said, shaking his head, "Victor seemed to know him. But you're right that something's not okay with all of this. I promise, Victor and I will be careful."
Yuuri rushed towards his and Victor's room. He laid his hand on the door as he heard Victor speaking in Russian to the boy. Yuuri had started to learn Russian since moving to Saint Petersburg to live with Victor, but he was far from fluent, so he could not pick up everything. Slowly, he opened the door.
"Victor," he said quietly, "Does he fully understand English?"
He could feel the boy's huge eyes focused on him.
"He does, I think. Seva, do you understand when I talk like this?" Victor asked getting only a little short nod they almost missed, "Good, I am going to talk like this so that Yuuri can understand us okay? He doesn't know Russian like you or me yet."
Victor got no response this time, however, since he now knew the boy understood, he continued in English.
"I suppose I should start with the more official looking one," Victor said, opening the large, heavy envelope.
He began to read, and after a few moments, his hands began to shake.
To Victor Mikailovich Nikiforov, regarding the custody of the child Sevastien Antonovich Lyutov:
It is hereby prescribed by Moscow City Court that, adherent to the wishes of the deceased Anton Osyenevich Lyutov, custody of the minor, Sevastien Antonovich Lyutov is granted to Victor Mikailovich Nikiforov.
Yuuri felt his heart break, knowing he had never seen Victor look so sad before. "Victor, what's wrong?" Yuuri asked, reaching out to touch his husband.
He was surprised, and even more confused when his husband pulled back from him.
"Victor, who is this boy?" Yuuri asked anxiously.
Victor was paler then normal, but he knew Yuuri deserved an answer, so he steadied himself, took a breath and introduced them to one another.
"Yuuri, meet Sevastien Antonovich Lyutov," he started slowly. "Seva, this is my husband Yuuri. This letter is not a happy one. it says that Seva's father, Anton has died. I am very close to Antiko, so he has left legal guardianship of Seva to me. Also, apparently Seva has not spoken a word since his father was killed."
Victor did not always word things the best way and he could come across as blunt or cold, which was not the case. He just didn't always know how to express himself in everyday life. Sure, around the media or when he was skating, he was fine. Or when he was alone with Yuuri. But the news of his friend's death was affecting him in a way he had never felt before.
"According to this, I am…" Victor couldn't continue his voice broke.
He picked up the second letter. Tears came to his eyes as he read the beautiful words.
My dearest Vitya,
I know that things did not end well between us, and I take responsibility for that entirely. Let me say again that I am truly and deeply sorry for the hurt I caused you. I wish that I could tell you why I had to leave, but as you know, the circumstances were not something I could write in a letter. I am glad to have heard that, in recent years, you have gone on with your life and you have a beautiful and gentle lover who treasures you. You deserve that.
Vitya, I swear, I never lost my love for you. I, too, went on and I married another and had a child, but I always knew in my heart that if things had been different, I would always have stayed with you. I regret that decisions I made before we met made it impossible for me to stay with you. But enough about that. Just know that you are still dear to me.
Vitya, as you know, Seva's mother passed in childbirth, and I have no connections to my family. Should anything happen to me, Seva will be alone. But, he knows you. Seva loves you. I have told him stories of the beautiful Vitya and he has met you on occasion, though not for a long time. In any case, there is no one that I would entrust him to…no one he would trust, but you. Please, if anything happens to me, take care of Seva. He is a dear, sweet child, and…I confess, as he has grown, I have wished a million times that he was ours. He even reminds me of you with his bright smile and playful ways. I will rest easier knowing that you will be there for him. Thank you, my love.
Forever,
Antiko
"Yuuri I need to tell you something but first let's get Seva to bed."
