"He's not taking visitors," the nurse said cooley. She sat behind her desk, phone in one hand, coffee mug in the other, and a pile of patient files scattered across the workspace.
"Are you sure? Did you tell him it was us specifically?" Victor asked. She sighed, pushing back a lock of her dark hair.
"Victor Nikiforov and Yu-"
"He knows you're here." She pushed several files off to the side, clearly busy. "I'm sorry but he's not seeing anyone."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we just stopped in for a minute. We're leaving for the airport soon but we want to check in before we go," Yuuri explained. The nurse gave him a sympathetic glance.
"I can't allow you to go in without permission." Yuuri's face fell. The phone rang. After a brief exchange, she riffled through her piles and plucked out a thick binder. Getting to her feet she walked around the counter, "excuse me, I have to meet with one of our doctors." After a few steps she looked back over her shoulder, "if it's any consolation, it's clear you care for him. I'm sure he knows that."
Yuuri looked at the floor. The overhead lights reflected brilliantly off the linoleum. Victor put a hand on his back,
"I'm sure he's fine. You know how Yurio can be. My guess is he's in there watching daytime television with a tray full of jello."
"Yeah," Yuuri stuck his hands in his pockets. "we should go or we'll miss our flight."
The cab ride to the airport was unnaturally silent. Yuuri gazed out the window, nibbling on his thumbnail, his leg was bouncing. Victor put a gloved hand on his knee. Yuuri looked over.
"Something bothering you?" Victor asked. Yuuri shook his head. "Do you have a headache?"
"No."
Victor raised an eyebrow. He lifted his hand, fingertips dancing gently over the butterfly bandages on Yuuri's forehead. Yuuri cringed, pulling Victor's hand away.
"It's not bad," Yuuri explained, downplaying the persistent ache behind his eyes. Victor's eyes narrowed, sweeping over Yuuri's face.
"Yakov will send updates. There's nothing to be worried about."
"I'm not worried," Yuuri said quickly. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the screen for a moment before his gaze settled out the window once more.
"Of course not," Victor murmured.
The flight was uneventful. Victor slept, Yuuri tried to but his headache was worsened by the increased altitude and piercing sound of a baby crying. As the plane began to descend Victor woke up, stretching with a groan. The baby was still upset and voicing it for the entire cabin to hear. "They should really put age requirements on flights like this," victor whispered.
"Tell me about it," Yuuri replied. He could feel the bags under his eyes darkening by the minute.
"You didn't sleep at all did you?" Victor asked.
"I'll sleep when we get home."
Home. The Hasetsu airport wasn't crowded at all. There was no annoying babies, loud businessmen, or antiseptic stink of a hospital. Yuuri took a deep breath. Boy did it feel good to be back. Victor's phone chimed.
"Is that-" Yuuri cut off watching Victor read the notification.
"Yurio is staying with his grandfather for a few days."
"That's… good" Yuuri said.
"Yes. It is." Victor slipped his phone back in his pocket. With a smile, he draped his arm across Yuuri's shoulders. "A dip in the hot spring would feel wonderful right now." Yuuri nodded in agreement.
They had hardly put a foot in the door when Yuuri's mother ambushed them.
"Mom!" Yuuri ducked to avoid her prodding hands. Rapid fire Japanese circled the room. Victor's eyes flicked back and forth, between Yuuri and his mother. The older woman put her hands on her son's face.
"We saw the accident on TV. You fell so hard…" she pushed his hair back, examining the bruised bump and gash extending into his
hairline. "Ohhh," she whined, eyes filling with concern. Yuuri took her hands in his own. He spoke gently in Japanese, doing his best to ease her nerves.
"I'm alright. I went to the hospital and everything," he glanced at his coach, "Victor was very thorough." Victor smiled at recognition of his name. Yuuri's mother turned to him.
"Thank you for looking out for my son." She said to him in English, bending at the waist in display of her gratitude.
"Of course. We look out for each other."
She smiled wide, eyes crinkling at the edges.
"You must be hungry. Come, I'm making your favorite." She took both of their hands, pulling them deeper into the inn.
Yuuri sat in front of a steaming pork cutlet bowl. The atmosphere was relaxed. They had stripped out of their jackets and were lounging In comfortable cotton t-shirts and sweatpants. Victor leaned on the table with his elbow, one leg bent. He held a cup of warm tea, sipping periodically.
"How was Moscow? Did you do any sightseeing?" Yuuri's mother asked, clearing plates from another table.
"We saw a few things... we were going to go to the city after the competition but…" he trailed off looking at his still full bowl.
"They're always next time," Victor said, elbowing him playfully.
"We went all the way there and I didn't even skate. What a waste of time." The door slid open and Mari stepped inside. She waved her hand to dissipate the cloud of smoke that trailed her.
"That Yurio kid ended up competing didn't he?" She asked.
"Oh, that was awful to watch," Yuuri's mother exclaimed. "Sometimes you need to know your limits." She wiped a table down with a furrowed brow.
"My thoughts exactly," Victor said. Mari sat cross-legged across from Yuuri. Her eyes locked on Yuuri's forehead,
"man, you really bit it didn't you? Lemme see." Yuuri pushed back his bangs. Mari's face expressed both disgust and fascination. A smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Nice," she said.
"You should have seen the other guy," Yuuri mumbled. Yuuri's mother looked down at the table and realized her son had barely touched his dinner.
"You're going to eat that aren't you?" She asked. Yuuri looked down at his bowl, his stomach clenched, his upper lip twitched at the thought of finishing off the bowl.
"We ate on the plane. You know how Yuuri gets around snacks, he's probably still full of all the peanuts he put away." Victor said jumping to the rescue. It was a lie of course. But why make a mother worry.
"I'm just a little tired from all the travel," Yuuri said, apologetically handing his mother the full bowl.
"Why don't you two go unwind in the hot spring?"
Victor and Yuuri let the hot water melt away the day. Victor tipped his head back and closed his eyes Yuuri let his gaze trail over him. The steam caused Victor's hair to curl ever so slightly at the ends. His cheeks were rosy and beads of water ran down his neck and over his collar bones. His chest rose and fell with steady, strong breathing. You could almost see his heart beating rhythmically beneath his skin. When his eyes shifted back up Yuuri noticed Victor staring at him. His eyes were piercing. The color was undefined. Sky blue shifted into emerald green. They were as intense and flowing as the ocean itself. Yuuri's heart skipped. Victor's face relaxed into smirk,
"What?" he asked, pushing a curling lock out of his face. Yuuri felt his face redden, he averted his eyes quickly.
"Nothing." Victor's expression teetered on the edge of being smug. He would have to be blind not to notice the flush creeping over Yuuri's cheekbones. He took a moment to let his eyes wander. The fact that Yuuri' tracked his gaze made it even more satisfying.
"Um- I'm going to dry off. I think the heat is getting to me," Yuuri said, rising out of the water.
"Would you mind coming to my room when you're dressed?" Victor asked. "I want to discuss strategy for the upcoming competitions." His tone ventured into something sinful.
"S-sure." Yuuri exited the hot spring. His mind was spinning. It was always like this with Victor. The constant physical contact, his accent, the way he let his eyes linger. Yuuri had never had a friend act so personally, let alone a coach. He felt so calm with Victor and at the same time, there was something there Yuuri couldn't quite explain. Victor watched him go and believe me, he knew exactly what he was doing.
A.N~ There is so much running through Yuuri's head. Yurio will be spotlighted in the following chapters. (notice how I used an 'S') I'm not sure how 'action pack' these next sections will be. If you came here for an angsty quickie feel free to stop at the end of ch. 3. I was going to let this story fade away, but there is so much more. So much. It's time to move past physical pain. Past bandages and into embraces. This is what I do. It's one thing to break some ribs, I want to break hearts. It's easy to hurt. It's effortless. It's hard to heal. This will not be soft. It will not be fluffy. It will be real. If that sounds intriguing stick around. Because this is what I do, and I won't disappoint. -I Can Never Tell