"Viktor!" Alisa says sharply to get his attention as she heads towards them. They're all packing up for the Grand Prix Final, and she's just glad to have caught him before he left. "You got a letter from your friend." She says as she holds out the plain white envelope with the neat block handwriting to him.

Afraid that he might be in trouble at first, the Russian looks up from where he is packing away his skates, blinking a few times as he takes a moment to process what he's been told. Looking down at the letter, he smiles softly and takes it from her. Outwardly he's remaining calm while inside he wants to cheer and spin and dance. He's been worried that the package might not arrive or that Yuri wouldn't like the contents. He wouldn't write and spend the postage on a letter just to tell Viktor he hated it.

"Thank you, Alisa." Viktor says as he takes the letter gently from the woman, nodding slowly as he reads over the front as if there might be some secrets contained in the simple address. "Will you check on Makkachin at the kennel for me while we're gone? I just want to make sure they're treating him right." It's the same kennel he's used for years and years, so he has no reason to think that they wouldn't treat his dog right, but it doesn't keep him from being concerned.

With a sigh and then a smirk, Alisa nods a little. "Sure thing, Viktor. Break a leg." She says as she turns, waving over her shoulder and heading back to her little office.

Deciding that he doesn't want to read something so precious to him around the others, and especially around the young spitfire Yuri Plisetsky, Viktor gently tucks the letter into his jacket pocket. "I'm all done here, Yakov, I'm going to finish getting things from my apartment, I'll meet you at the airport!" He calls toward his coach with a little wave before he walks out of the rink, not stopping until he is in his lonely apartment, without even his dog to greet him at the door.

Everything is already packed, Viktor is meticulous about this sort of thing, but now he's glad for it because it means that he has time to sit down and really absorb whatever it is Yuri might have wanted to write to him. He can't help but smile as he looks at the neat, blocky writing that he can only assume comes from Japanese being his first language.

As he sits down and gets comfortable with his legs stretched out on the couch, Viktor smiles a little, finally starting to read through the letter. He can't help but laugh a little and feel a surge of affection for this man that he's never met, and a surge of pleasure shoot through him that the younger man saw the difference in his program. It was subtle, but it was what he felt, the hope of something new, and the promise of an end to his loneliness.

Viktor pauses in his reading and then lowers the letter. Is that really what he thought, after only two letters from this man, this fan of his? That there was hope for an end to his loneliness? He is a fellow competitor afterall, and while he may not be in the same level or competitions as him yet, Viktor is sure that Yuri will make it eventually. Is it good to let his feelings run away form him like this? Then again, he had kept his feelings to himself for so long, maybe it was time to let someone in. And it seems very clear that his heart at least, has chosen to start weaving its attachment to this strange Japanese skater.

Reading the rest of the letter, Viktor brings his free hand up to rest it over his mouth, smiling slightly behind his hand and then sighing a little. E-mail, hm? Maybe he should send his new pen pal a picture just to elicit a reaction. He could already tell what a charming, nervous personality Yuri has, one that he would love to see on display in person. Maybe that is a bit sadistic of him, but he can't help but find it to be adorable.

There is a certain intimacy to letters, knowing that someone put pen to paper and writes something specifically for someone. It's something more tangible to hold onto as well. And Viktor has to admit he kind of likes that. But then again, as Yuri said, it does take letters a long time to get from Russia to Detroit. And with him always traveling for competitions during the season he could miss letters, so email does have its perks as well. It's quicker, they can send pictures, share more with each other much easier.

Considering all the many possibilities, Viktor pulls out his phone, and puts the email into it just in case, so he will have it with him. He then smiles a little as he looks at his phone and he folds the letter up to put it back into its envelope before he holds his phone at arm's length and turns on the camera. He gives a faint smile as he looks into the camera, then lifts the letter, address out so it's very obvious what it is, and kisses the envelope softly, taking a picture to capture that moment. He hesitates though, not sure if he wants to send it, then he shrugs and opens his email program, deciding on something simple for now.

~oOo~

Date: 15 Dec 2011, 3:42 PM

From: v-nikiforov

To: k-yuri

Subject: Letters and Loneliness

Attachment: Letter . jpg

Yuri,

I just finished reading your letter. Thank you for responding, and for your words. I was very touched by them. I am so glad you noticed the change in my program! I know it was a little subtle, I wasn't sure if anyone would see it. I have a few differences for the Grand Prix Final, too, so be sure to watch!

To answer your question, I have no family, and my life has been skating as long as I can remember. I guess I've neglected other parts of my life. I'm glad it's not been the same for you. You seem like too kind of a person to be on your own.

Thank you for your email address! I think we should become friends, or perhaps pen pals. I think I will still write you letters, because there are some things which are more meaningful when they are written down I think. Besides, I might find some other cute gift to give you during my travels! I'm sorry I didn't get to see you at Skate America, I'll be sure to look up the video on my flight. I'm sure you did better than you were expecting.

I'm leaving for the Grand Prix this afternoon, in a few hours in fact. It's an 18 hour flight, so I won't arrive in Quebec until very early tomorrow morning. So don't worry if I don't reply to any of your emails right away, I'm probably just sleeping! :)

I just wanted to send you this quickly before I leave, and I've included a picture just for you. It may not be a gold medal, but I think you'll like it. ;) Feel free to send me an e-mail back, I think we should be pen pals, and I'd love to learn more about you! Don't be shy!

Your Friend,

Viktor

~oOo~

Viktor reads it over once more and then smiles, nodding to himself and attaching the picture he took before sending it, giggling a little to himself before he gets up and goes to put Yuri's letter carefully in a small box in his bedroom with the other one before collecting his suitcase and heading to the airport to meet with Yakov, reminding himself that he needs to find the Skate America performances and see how well his new friend did when they get on the plane.

Once he gets to the airport, he sighs a little and tries to ignore Yakov, at least getting to board early because they have First Class tickets. Getting comfortable in his seat, Viktor pulls out his earbuds and puts them into his phone before finding the video he wants and watching the performance and frowning a little. While it's clear that Yuri needs help on the technical aspects of his piece, he got much higher points for the performance. It was good, but there was a stiffness to it that bothers Viktor, something that was missing from the performance. A part of him wanted to write a critique for Yuri right then and there, but thinking back on the two letters and how hard on himself the boy seemed to be, the silver-haired skater decides to keep things to himself for now. He'll say something if Yuri asks him, but he'll have to figure out a way to do it tactfully so as not to damage what little confidence the younger man seems to have.

Finally, he has to shut his phone off as the plane taxis out and Viktor turns to look out the window, smiling slightly as he thinks about the slight tweaks he made to the ending of his program, and he wonders if Yuri will notice or if he will understand. The boy seems to be fairly intuitive and understanding of the language of skating, making him confident in his fellow competitor's ability to understand the rapidly evolving story he's telling.

I wanted there to be more to it, but I just couldn't get my brain to wrap it back around, and most of Viktor's rinkmates from the show (Yuri, Mila, Georgi) would either not be there or be in Juniors at this point since I set it back 5 years. My brain just wasn't up to creating someone new today. Sorry!

Also, I know that there's no real email address in there. It's because I had one, but Fanfiction ate it. They will not accept the 'at' symbol at all, but in case you wanted to know I had Viktor's as seryy-dot-com, and Yuri's as hasetsuice-dot-com. I wanted to keep this formatting though to let readers know it's an email and not a written letter. I think they still might do both, or go back and forth depending on their mood. We'll see! I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you all for the wonderful reviews!

Reviews/Comments welcome and encouraged!