Yuri

"I'm so glad you wanted to come to the store with me today, Yuri! I always love spending time with you." My mother says, pushing a cart into the grocery store. I adjust the mask covering most of my face, and stick my hands further in my pockets.

I don't dislike grocery shopping. I find an odd pleasure in roaming the store, admiring the multitude of food items and imagining the kinds of dishes I (or being honest, my mother) would create with them. But going to the grocery store meant going out in public which exponentially increased the chances of running into someone I know, which is why I avoided going for so long. But now with the possibility of a guest arriving hopefully tomorrow, I wanted to ensure we'd have plenty of food for him to indulge in.

I keep my head in my coat, trailing my mom like a lost puppy while she takes her sweet time in picking out our necessary groceries. God, I didn't bargain on it taking this long. What had we even run to the store for in the first place? Ah right, to purchase mochi to prepare Mari's favorite dessert. Hopefully it will cheer her up after the whole ice skater quitting debacle, or I'm never coming out of my room again.

Agitation sets in as I shift my weight from foot to foot, watching in disbelief as my mom seems to be comparing two of the same items. Gritting my teeth, I fold my hands behind my back and ask, "Would you like for me to get the rest of the items on the grocery list so it won't take so long?"

My mother turns to me, peering at me over her glasses. My smile is pathetically forced, but she hands me the list and pushes the cart my way anyway. I push the cart in front of me as I quickly move to the next aisle, squinting at the tiny writing my father had used while creating the list. How could my mother read this?

With my attention so fixed on the list, I'd lost complete sense of where the cart was headed. I glance up in time to see it gently tap the woman standing in the aisle. I heard her gasp in surprise, and feel my legs go numb. The bun containing her long brown hair was assembled the same way for as long as I've known her, and her long, lean dancer's body was always something I had strived for.

Before I even had a chance to apologize, she whips around and sticks her finger in my face. "Watch where you're going, you pillsberry doughboy! How disrespectful of you to push your cart into a woman while she's shopping? Where were your eyes, huh? I know exactly where you were looking, you perv!" Why, I oughtta-"

Pulling the mask off of the lower half of my face, I cower back. "M-Minako-sensei! It's me, Yuri! Yuri Katsuki! I'm so sorry for hitting you with the cart, I promise I wasn't doing anything bad!" I shut my eyes, embracing the slap I know she was about to unleash upon my cheek. Slowly opening one eye, I see her step back from me and squint.

"Yuri… Katsuki? Is that really you?" She asks in disbelief. I push my hat away from my eyes and offer her a warm smile, her face lighting up with recognition. I begin to prepare for a hug, when she steps back with a look of horror crossing her face. "What HAPPENED to you? You've gotten so… so… fat! Where have you been? What have you been DOING?"

I sigh, wondering why I thought this would be a happy reunion. "I've… had a really rough year. I coped with food and… now I'm fat and somewhat happy, I guess." I say shamefully, shrugging my shoulders.

My honesty takes her by surprise, and the look of disappointment is wiped off her face. She places a comforting hand on my arm, offering me a kind smile. "Well… It's really good to see you again. It's been quite a while."

I nod. "Yes, how have you been?"

"Nothing's changed. Still teaching at the studio. Still bartending. Anything to keep food on the table and alcohol in the fridge." She says, roaring with laughter. I smile awkwardly, lacing my fingers together in front of me.

"It's nice to hear you're doing well. We should catch up sometime, someplace different. I have to finish up with the groceries and find my mom."

"Right, I should be heading out too. Well Yuri, it was really nice to see you again… Oh, and I know it's quite chilly outside, but a run a few times a week never hurt anybody!"

"Noted. See you, Minako-sensei." I say, moving my cart to the side more to let her pass. She smiles at me as she goes by, and I watch her stroll towards checkout, her wine bottle in tow. Some people never change, I think to myself as I hurriedly add the remaining groceries plus some extra to the cart. Wheeling like a madman, I spot my mom idly walking down an aisle. I quickly push the cart towards her, hoping the sound of an oncoming cart will force her to stop rather than me call out for her.

I reach her as she comes to the end of the aisle. She looks at the full cart for a minute, and I worry she sees the extra items I'd thrown in. She nods satisfactorily, and I let out a sigh of relief that she didn't seem to notice. My instinct tells me my mother's perceptiveness caught it immediately, but with me being so overweight, she probably expected a few more junk food items to appear in the cart.

As we check out, I begin telling my mom how I ran into Minako-sensei. I decided to leave the drinking part out, not wanting my mother to worry for her. When our groceries were bagged, I grabbed all of the bags and followed my mom out of the store. My act of chivalry was not well received by my body as I huffed and puffed all the way to our car. My arms were visibly shaking, but my mom offered no help. I thank God that we didn't run into Minako-sensei now, or there'd be hell to pay.

I hand my mom the bags as she loads up the car, relieved to get rid of the extra baggage. Once secured, she smiles at me. "Thank you for taking the bags, Yuri. What did I do to deserve a son like you?" She asks.

She turns to bring the cart back, and I shake my head. "Nothing. You've done absolutely nothing to deserve a failure like me." I say once she's out of an earshot. I sit in the passenger seat of the car, ashamed at how much sweat I'd broken out in carrying a pathetic load of groceries to the car. Minako's comments were hurtful… but they were true. How HAD I let myself get this way? What would Vic_Nik25 think when he saw that I was just a fat, lonely kid? I sigh, feeling sorry for myself as my mom gets into the driver's' seat and drives the short distance home.

Once back at the hot spring, she puts the car in park. "You are not a failure." She said, her eyes staring off into the distance. I look at her confusedly, then remember the comment I had made in the parking lot. How the HELL had she heard that?! She had to have been at least 7 meters away. She turns her head towards me, but I keep my eyes on my lap. "I would never let my son become a failure. You have not failed me. You have not failed this family. Yuri, the only person you failed is yourself. And you know what the great part about letting yourself down is? You can let yourself back up again. You can improve. Yuri, no one is harder on you than yourself. You've come so far… I'm so proud of you. And I love you so very much, Yuri. I always have, and I always will. There's nothing you can do that will ever change that."

Fuck, I'm crying again. Tears roll down my cheeks, spilling down the front of my nose and onto my hands. I let out a huge sob, and look at my mom out of my peripheral vision. Surprisingly, her eyes remain dry. The feeling radiating from her is not necessarily love, but firmness. She's demanding me to stop feeling this way, to stop feeling sorry for myself. The thought of my parents being disappointed in me is nonexistent, and I should quit living my life thinking this. My mom didn't intend for this to be a speech, but a wake-up call. I wipe my nose on my sleeve and look at her through glassy eyes. She smiles at me, her eyes crinkling in the corners. She pulls me into a hug, and I rest my head on her chest like a child. Inhaling, I drink in the scent of my mother; food, laundry detergent, perfume, and heat. It's a scent I've used for comfort in my most lonely days, the days before Vic_Nik25 came into my life.

Once collected, I peel myself off of her and give her a determined nod. Satisfied, she slides out of the car and reaches for the groceries. I meet her halfway, taking the portion closest to my side. I walk in beside her, not struggling nearly as much as before, and place the bag on the kitchen counter. The lobby of our hot spring is oddly empty. Normally the mid-morning is when all of the oldies come out for their wake up soak and breakfast. What gives?

My questions are answered when Mari enters the doorway of the kitchen, her eyes wide and panting. It looked like she'd seen a ghost. "Mari?! Dear, what's wrong?" My mom asks, rushing over to my sister, placing her hands on her shoulders. Mari looks past mom at me, and I gulp. Oh no. What had I done to get her this crazed?

She points a wavering finger at me, and says: "Hot spring. He's here." Her voice is raspy, as if she's been yelling.

"He? Who's "He?" Yuri, what's going on?" My mother asks. But I breeze past her, not even bothering to worry about how Mari knew about him. But he's actually here. A day early, at that. My Vic_Nik25… he actually came to me.

You'd think I would be running to the hot spring, anxious to finally meet him. But my walk is slow and clumsy, stumbling over the uneven carpet. Our guests are eyeing the first hot spring as if a pot of gold were in there, but they couldn't enter for some reason. As if I had the magic touch, I push on the door and feel the heat from the water rush at me and steam my glasses. I walk hesitantly around the rocks, and see a man sitting at the end of the pool. He meets my eyes, brown meeting an icy blue. I stare at him, unable to form words, and he smiles. This man… I know this man. I rack my brain, God, when had I seen him before? His face burned in my mind, but his association was a question mark. He stood gracefully, completely nude, and that's when I realized. He had the grace of an ice skater… THE ice skater… The one and only Victor Nikiforov.

He really was him.

"You must be Yuri Katsuki." He says, a heavy Russian accent prevalent in his speech. I stupidly nod, and point a wavering finger at him.

"A-and yo-you're… Victor Nikiforov."

The man laughed, his gray bangs falling in his eyes. With a slim finger, he pushes them aside and says, "Well yes, that's my real name. However you probably know me better as Vic_Nik25."

"You're really here…" I say, amazed at the fact that he was standing right in front of me. His nudity hadn't even registered in my mind. Once I noticed, an uncomfortable blush spread across my cheeks and I forced my eyes to remain on his face.

"Yes, I'm really here. Did you not think I was telling the truth?" He asks, stepping out of the water. I made a weird sound as he moves closer to me, turning my head to the side to avoid seeing anything I shouldn't. Victor grabs my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. He smiles at me. "Well, I'm here. And I'm real. And there's so much I want to talk to you about, Yuri… It's a pleasure to meet you."

To those of you living in the United States, Happy Independence Day! Thank you for bearing with my upload schedule. I'll do my best to get more content out in a quicker time frame!