Viktor knew that this program was going to fail. There was no way that he was going to win anything with this program. Viktor's negative thoughts were starting to affect him and it showed in his dancing. Lilia had Viktor dancing with one of her students from the local ballet school. Viktor's job was to imitate the girl and try to copy the way she moved however, if Lilia's frustrated expression was anything to go by he wasn't doing a very good job.
"Enough,Viktor stand by the barre. Ms. Talia take out from the top please." Lilia instructed, the girl nodded and slipped into first position then started the simple routine again.
"Look see how her movements are soft, delicate. See how she extends all the way through the movement to the very tips of her fingers. Look at how soft her steps are, as if her feet are made of feathers." Lilia said watching the girl as she finished the dance with a graceful pirouette ending in fourth position.
"She is the epitome of grace." She said then turned to Viktor with a scowl. "You, however, may as well have two left feet the way you dance."
Viktor felt his cheeks heat up in frustration. He knew he wasn't performing the dance right yet. He had heard as much from Lilia at every single rehearsal. 'Extend all the way Viktor, open your hips Viktor, be more graceful Viktor, do this Viktor, you're doing that wrong Viktor,do it again Viktor. Nag, nag, nag, nag, nag.' He was starting to think that Lilia had something against him.
"Run it by yourself, this time copy her movements." Lilia instructed. "Face the mirror this time so you can see what you are doing and make the adjustments." Viktor nodded apprehensively and took his starting position. Lilia gave the cue and Viktor was off. He counted in his head to keep time, one two three, one two three, one two three. But as Viktor watched himself in the floor to ceiling mirror he could see all the mistakes he was making. A missed step here, a wobble there, the more mistakes he noticed the more frustrated Viktor got. The more frustrated Viktor got the more mistakes he made.
The more mistakes he made- "Enough! Quit dancing!" Lilia shouted hotly. She stormed across the studio and got in Viktor's face. "What is wrong with you,why can't you manage such simple choreography? We have been over it half a dozen times already!" She said between clenched teeth.
Viktor's face started to color red in frustration. "I still don't understand how a man could possibly dance like a woman. Even just copying feels wrong!" He growled, Lilia threw her hands up in frustration.
"I keep telling you but you don't want to listen to me!" Lilia shouted then pinched the bridge of her nose and growled audibly. "I cannot teach someone who does not want to be taught. Get out of my studio." She commanded pointing at the door.
Viktor trudged out of the studio with his head hung in shame, he had never been kicked out of a studio before. Viktor didn't know what to do now so he headed back to his room. Makkachin eagerly greeted him at the door, pouncing up and bracing his paws on Viktor's stomach, as he licked his face happily. Viktor patted Makka's head sadly, then flopped down onto his bed.
"Makka what am I going to do." He groaned, throwing an arm over his face. "I need to do this program, there isn't enough time to start a new one. I just don't understand how to skate this program." Makka hopped up onto the bed and placed his head on his master's stomach and sighed. 'Maybe some sleep will help me make a decision.' Viktor thought as he drifted off to sleep.
. . .
Back in the studio Lilia sighed as she watched Viktor leave the studio. She turned to Talia and said, "Thank you Ms. Talia, you may leave." After Talia had left the room Lilia retrieved her cellphone from her pocket and dialed Yakov.
Yakov answered the phone after half a ring. "What did he do now?" He groaned, Lilia could almost picture him pinching his nose as he struggled to hold onto his temper.
"He still isn't picking up the choreography."
"Still!" Yakov shouted, Lilia had to hold the phone away from her ear as Yakov started tho rant in Russian.
"He is still having trouble embodying his role as the woman in the piece."
"He needs to figure it out, it is too late to change the program."
Lilia braced herself for Yakov's undoubtedly unhappy response as she said. "I do not think that I can help him with this program."
There was a pause and for a second Lilia thought he had hung up on her and then, "What?! What do you mean 'you don't think that you can help him with this program'?! Who else is going to help him, you are the best ballet teacher in all of Russia, surely you can find some way to help him." He said almost desperately.
Lilia huffed as if offended. "I said that I can't help him with his program not that I wouldn't help him at all." She said, then paused before continuing, "I did have someone in mind that would be perfect to help Viktor."
"Do what you must, but do it quickly we are running out of time." He stressed and then hung up the phone.
Lilia then scrolled through the contacts on her phone. When she found the one she was looking for she tapped on it and made the call. It rang once, twice, a third time and just as it was going to go to the fourth thing someone picked it up.
"Hello?" The person said.
"Yes, hello, is this Minako Okukawa? This is Lilia Baranovskaya, I had a favor to ask of you."
. . .
*Meanwhile in another dance studio in another country.*
Two figures stood on opposite sides of the studio their chests heaving from exertion. Suddenly the figures ran towards each other and met in the middle of the studio in a passionate embrace. The taller figure pulled the smaller against their sculpted chest, which you could see underneath the gray tank top that clung to them with sweat.
The taller figure wrapped one smooth, tan arm around the other's waist, while the other hand smoothed up the other's chest to rest against the base of the smaller's throat. The smaller figure gripped the arm around their waist with one hand while the other carded through the hair of their companion. The taller pressed their face into the side of the smaller's neck as they rocked side to side, still intertwined.
The smaller figure suddenly broke away from the trailer who still held their arms up, now empty. Then the smaller turned back as if second guessing themselves. They waited at the other end of the studio for a couple moments more, before smiling and laughing. With their mind made up they took a couple of bounding leaps back to the taller. The taller caught them joyously 'round the waist then spun them in a small circle. The taller lifted their partner high into the air.
There the smaller seemed to float as if suspended by wires, while the taller made a couple of small turns. At last the taller set the smaller back on their feet then met once more for a softer embrace. They held the pose for a moment then broke apart.
Suddenly a voice spoke up from the other side of the studio. "Phichit, if you keep grabbing him so high on the waist you are going to hurt him." Minako-sensei said.
"What?" Phichit gasped, then turned to his partner and said, "Why didn't you tell me I was hurting you. I'm so sorry." Phichit apologized bowing toward them. His smaller companion scratched the back of their head sheepishly.
Minako chuckled, "When Yuuri gets into the heat of things he tends to not notice when something is hurting until he feels the aches and pains later."
Yuuri chuckled embarrassed, "It's true, sometimes I don't notice."
Phichit crossed his arms over his chest and chastised his friend, "Yuuri, that is so not healthy, what if you were having s-"
"Phichit!" Yuuri exclaimed, his face beet red with embarrassment. Minako just shook her head in exasperation at the two friends.
"Anyway Yuuri, I had a question for you. Do you by chance know who Viktor Nikiforov is?" She asked.
Yuuri shook his head negatively, "Should I?" He queried.
Phichit tsked in disappointment and padded over to his duffel bag on the other end of the studio and retrieved his cellphone, "Yuuri, you really need to pay more attention to social media." He said as he pulled up his Instagram account and showed Yuuri pictures of a very handsome man with striking platinum hair and cobalt colored eyes.
"Viktor Nikiforov is the biggest name in the men's figure skating world right now." Phichit explained flipping through the pictures. Yuuri liked the ones of him and his poodle."He is super nice and he has the cutest dog and he is an amazing skater. Not to mention he's drop dead gorgeous." Phichit gushed, Yuuri and Mikano rolled their eyes fondly.
"Anyway, Yuuri, I'm assuming you know who Lilia Baranovskaya is?" Minako continued.
Yuuri's face lit up in excitement at the mention of her, "Of course I do, she was the Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet. After her retirement she went on to train some of the best dancers in the business. She is an absolute legend." He gushed.
Phichit coughed suddenly though the cough didn't really sound like a cough but more like Phichit was trying to disguise the fact that he called Yuuri a nerd. Yuuri looked at his friend unimpressed. Phichit scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"What does Yuuri's adoration of Lilia have to do with Viktor though." Phichit asked.
"Well, Lilia has been helping Mr. Nikiforov with his Free Skate program this year but, she feels she doesn't have the skills necessary to help him. So, she contacted me to see if I could ask you, Yuuri, if you would be willing to go to Russia to help him." Minako explained smiling at her protege proudly.
"Me? How can I help him with an ice skating program? I don't know the first thing about competitive figure skating."
"She told me that he was in need of the skills you have as a danseur, that you are the only person she knows of that might be able to help Viktor."
Yuuri worried at his bottom lip then said, "What about the upcoming season, we still have t-."
"Yuuri don't even try that with us. We all know that this is the off season right now. Honestly you could use the break, I don't remember the last time you went on a vacation." Phichit scolded.
"He's right Yuuri, you could use the break. Go to Russia, help Viktor with his program, do some sightseeing, and relax. You deserve it, this past season has been our busiest season yet and you deserve a bit of a break." Minako urged, smiling fondly at her favorite student.
Yuuri thought it over for a moment and nodded, "You're right, I don't remember the last time I took a break from dancing. Alright, I'll do it."
"Excellent, and I can help you pack. With the way Viktor post's things on Social Media you are bound to be in at least a couple of pictures,-"
"Pictures?" Yuuri squeaked nervously.
"-and no friend of mine will be caught dead in any plain clothes. I've seen your closet Yuuri and why you don't take advantage of all the stylish clothes in there I will never know." Phichit gushed, seizing Yuuri by the elbow and all but dragging him towards the door.
"Oh and Yuuri one last thing," Minako said sweetly. Both men froze where they were and turned back to Minako nervously. "Just make sure you stay in peak physical condition, I know how you like to eat." Yuuri started to shake in his metaphorical boots. "If you don't you can rest assured that I will have you do nothing but Suicides until you are in fit enough shape. Do you understand me?" Minako said menacingly.
Yuuri nodded his head, not trusting his voice right then.
"She's right Yuuri, we can't have our Prima getting fat, how will I lift you then?" Phichit joked, nudging Yuuri playfully. With that Phichit dragged Yuuri away to go pack while Minako smiled at them with fond exasperation.
Minako pulled out her cellphone when the two friends left and made a call "he is on his way."
Hey all Renee120 here, I just wanted to thank you all so much for reading this newest fic of mine. I just wanted to take a moment and thank all the people who liked, reviewed, and are following this story it means so much to me. I also wanted to apologize for the VERY late posting of this chapter. I had this chapter written out before this but as I went to write future chapters the way the story was going was not like how I wanted it to go at all. So I went on hiatus for a while while I figured out what the heck I was doing with this story.
Don't worry this will not be the last we see of Minako or Phichit, just be patient.
Thank you again, and I will see you all in the next chapter which should be coming out before the end of the month. Stay cool this Summer it has been a hot one! ~Renee :3