Hey there, I haven't been notified about some of your reviews (or I just am confused and don't remember ^^'), but to those of you who have been asking: Yes, I do update on sundays, but as I'm located in Japan it might be saturday for some of you.
Thanks again for all your reviews, you guys keep me alive, I am so excited about every mail I get. Thank you so much! *-*
Chapter 9. On love: Bloom
The photo shoot was exhausting. It was Otabek's first time so he hadn't expected that what looked like natural posture in fashion magazines or on billboards were actually strange contortions he was probably only able to do because he was used to extravagant poses when he was skating. At least the clothes were cool, stuff he'd probably buy himself if it wasn't too expensive. When they were finished the director even let him pick one piece to take home and he decided on a black hooded sweatshirt with two short zippers on the sides of the waistband and really fluffy lining. It would keep him warm and he could even pull it over Yuri if the boy was freezing to death again.
When he picked up the Russian from the rink it was already half past nine and he was really hungry. It turned out Yuri was as well. They decided on going to a burger place a few bus stops away from the rink. Yuri had left his sports bag in the locker there and was now chomping on fries happily.
"I've tried to skate your short program", he munched, tossing a fry in sour cream until only the end he held between his pointy fingers was recognizable as a piece of potato. "It's tough as hell, I swear to God. You mustv'e trained years to perform like you did in winter."
"Months at least", Otabek replied. "You can pull it off in a week though I guess."
"No pressure", Yuri said with a grin. "Speaking of pressure, what are we up to after that." He gestured towards his half eaten quarter pound beef massacre.
"I really came up with something", Otabek said with a feel of pride.
"Oh, that's why you made me take back that order of vanilla ice cream hot brownie, right?"
Otabek nodded, sucking on the straw in his black iced tea.
"And you're not going to tell me what it is?" Yuri's eyebrows rose when Otabek shook his head.
"Surprise", he finally explained and he could see that he didn't like being kept on the tenterhooks. "You'll like it though."
He smiled mysteriously and Yuri, playfully pouting, focused on his burger again. The salad, bacon and tomatoes were sticking out at the back side and the burger was oozing sauces and meat juice. When Yuri took a bite a slice of tomato fell back on the plate with a nasty sound.
"You don't wear the ring", Otabek remarked and it made Yuri look at his right hand. There was only ketchup coming out between his white fingers.
"Yeah", he said, then wiped his mouth. "You said that I'd sure like to outshine Katsudon. Do you know how he did it?" When Otabek shook his head in response he sucked mayonnaise from his index finger and continued: "In a church. Victor told me when I called him earlier. He was almost crying because of all the romantic poppycock in his soggy old brain. Katsudon took him to a church and a choir was singing there and they slipped the rings onto each others fingers." He grabbed a napkin to wipe his hands, than reached into the pocket of his jacket and dragged the little box out. "Here." His voice was shaking a little when he put the box in the middle of the table so Otabek could take it. "If you want me to outshine lil' piggy and his swineherd, come up with something fancy."
He lowered his head and almost hid his face in the lump of bread and meat and topping, but his blush was clearly visible. "Nothing too sappy though, if you please!"
However that was supposed to work. Otabek took the box and shoved it into his own pocket, deep inside so he could never lose it. He'd have to come up with an idea soon as well, because he didn't like to keep Yuri waiting after he had been so happy that he had cried this morning. Otabek would never forget how it had felt to hold the boy close right there in the pedestrian area, the wind being cold and the smell radiating from the blonde strands so warm and appealing that he almost had kissed Yuri's pretty head. He'd probably decide spontaneously on when and how he was to hand the ring over.
Yuri unexpectedly (at least unexpectedly to Otabek) managed to finish up his burger and the fries he dipped in either sour cream or the mixture of oozes the burger had left on the plate. Otabek wondered what had become of the strict diet plan the Russian had mentioned shortly after his arrival, but if Yuri had decided to ignore it or even had forgotten about it, Otabek really wanted to avoid reminding the boy of it so he kept quiet about it. Yuri excused himself to the bathroom so Otabek checked his instagram for the first time after the return from the ferris wheel.
He had notifications about 8566 likes and 64 comments on the photo Yuri had taken of them with the pizza. He scrolled through the comments for some minutes. They varied from a simple Yummy to someone writing a whole paragraph about how beautiful Yuri was and another one about how badly in love she or he was with him and another one about that Otabek was so lucky because he had that angel with him and there were almost more emoticons than actual characters. It was tiring to read through it and he put the phone back in his pocket again.
It was just then that Yuri came over from the bathroom. He smiled at him, but something upset Otabek.
"Are you alright?", he asked cautiously. "Your eyes are red. Were you crying?"
"What, no, I just got a blow from the hand dryer in them, no worry", Yuri shrugged off. "Are we ready to go?"
With a nod Otabek got up and into his jacket and went ahead to pay at the counter. Yuri was following him close but having some trouble with the zipper of his coat. When they stepped outside he was still fiddling with it and Otabek's eyebrows narrowed a little when he closed the gap between them and took on the task. The slider had become stuck, but after a few careful movements Otabek managed to get it all the way up to Yuri's neck. He stood straight and there were shadows on one half of Yuri's face and the dim lights of the streetlights on the other half and he looked like a piece of art.
Otabek felt that he was staring, wondering why Yuri didn't comment on that, why he just stood still and let Otabek look him over, and he noticed that he was too close, way too close to Yuri's face, but most of all he noticed that Yuri didn't look like he had before, that something had changed and that this wasn't the Yuri he had fallen in love with anymore. The Yuri who had made him fall for him with everything he got had been a serious, grimly determined little boy with a soldier's eyes and later a still determined, angry, desperate boy on his way to a gold medal and still with those intense, piercing eyes. But it wasn't like that anymore. It all was so clear now. It changed everything in Otabek's head as well as in his heart when he stood there in the middle of the pavement, leaning in to Yuri a little. He wasn't a little boy anymore. He had changed so much in so little time. Not only had his hair grown longer, he was way taller than before now too, making his limbs more slender and delicate and fragile looking. His features had matured as well, not as obviously, but now that Otabek thought about it he realized that it was probably why he hadn't been able to take his eyes off Yuri for days. He was no longer a boy. He was a young man.
"You look good with that on", Yuri whispered, clearing his throat right away, because he clearly hadn't intended to whisper.
Otabek moved his head in a lack of understanding.
Yuri smiled a little and rose his hand, pushing back a loose strand of Otabek's short hair. "They messed up your hair, but the make-up is really nice. I'm looking forward to see the photos." He lowered his hand and stuffed both fists in the pockets of his coat and then he lowered his head a little as well, chuckling silently.
For a second Otabek was confused, but then he remembered that he had indeed not removed the make-up from the photo shoot earlier. It wasn't very noticeable and the make-up artist had explained that she'd only apply a little to accentuate his features and it didn't even feel unnatural. He smiled shyly.
"Actually I totally forgot about that", he explained and saw Yuri blushing.
"I've been wondering if you did that to confuse me", the blonde said glancing at Otabek through his blonde bangs. "I find you pretty hot after all. It's a weird feeling." He chuckled again and Otabek was speechless and that made Yuri blush even more. "Can we leave now?", he continued nervously. "Before I babble even more awkward bullshit..."
With a nod and a "Sure" Otabek started walking. He felt the urge to reach out for Yuri's hand and he heard the blood rush in his ears and when he looked at Yuri his heart beat harder.
The blonde walked beside him without a word and the silence was heavy with meaning but Otabek didn't understand any of it, neither his own twisted feelings and thoughts nor Yuri's confusing, slightly ashamed words. Hadn't they decided to become friends? And didn't friends – like Yuri had reminded him not so long ago – tell each other if not everything then at least something? How was it possible then that with every word and every look and every second Otabek understood less of what was going on between them? Was there something going on between them after all? Or was he only misreading the very bizarre, very confusing signs?
"It's over there", he said shaking the thought off and pointed at the small acrylic glass canopy.
"That's a bus stop", Yuri recognized with confusion in his voice but Otabek only gave him a smile.
"A street car stop actually. Wait for it, you'll see."
They sat down on the bench. The cold wind blew one page of a newspaper past them and messed up Yuri's hair so the Russian had a little struggle with his long strands whirling around his head. "Sure sucks to be a lion when it's windy", he said with a grin and pulled up his hood, cramming the blonde mess into it so that at least he could see the red car approaching. "Do we get on?"
"Yes, that's ours", Otabek answered.
The car stood and they hurried to the opening doors, Yuri already suspecting that it was no ordinary street car: "What is it?"
Otabek just smiled at him as he got on.
Originally it had been an ordinary streetcar, but that must've been years ago. Now it was Almaty's famous Tram Café with a few small tables, a counter with a fully automated coffee machine, a little bar and the friendly waitress Otabek had had on the phone earlier when he had reserved the table.
"Mr Altin, am I right?", she said with a smile just when the car started going again and when he nodded led them to their very small table in the back of the car.
She let them sit and handed them the menu. "Call or raise your hand if you are ready to order", she explained before retreating back to the counter again.
Yuri's eyes were wide as he looked around. "This is so cool!", he said, trying to get out of his coat but was too distracted by his surroundings to focus on the task. "I've never seen something like that."
Otabek was actually very glad that Yuri liked it. He had been lucky that there was an open time slot tonight, because usually you needed to reserve a table early. The Tram Café was very popular after all.
They started flipping through the menu and Otabek made his decision soon but left the booklet open so Yuri wouldn't feel under pressure.
The blonde flipped the pages back and forth and finally looked up to Otabek. "I can't decide", he whined.
"Any preferences?", Otabek asked, resting his chin on his palm.
Yuri focused on the menu again. "The cakes all look very good", he said and flipped the page. "But the pancakes as well. And have you seen the tiramisu? There's one with raspberries and one with strawberries and one with starfruit as well." He sighed and it made Otabek chuckle.
"Then order everything and if you can't eat it all at once we take the rest home for tomorrow."
The tourmaline eyes lit up and Otabek couldn't help but think what a beautiful, vivid creature the soldier from five years before had become.
He rose his hand and the waitress came over to take their orders. After Otabek had made sure that it would be okay to take the leftovers home Yuri started to read his list of favored treats. Otabek almost felt a bit boring when he ordered only walnut pancake.
When the waitress asked for drinks Yuri seemed surprised. "I forgot about those!", he confessed and it made both Otabek and the waitress laugh.
"The tiramisu goes best with red wine", she suggested. The look Yuri gave him was unambiguous.
"You should take her advice", Otabek said. "I'll take a bushmill." The waitress gave them a wide smile and walked away.
The Russian's green eyes got wide. "Isn't the drinking age in Kazakhstan 18?", he asked in a hushed voice. The way he made the question sound as if he had ordered a kilo of Crystalmeth was kind of cute.
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure she won't call the cops", Otabek joked but Yuri didn't seem to be convinced so he added: "Actually, yes, it's 18, but we're not very strict here, so if you don't overdo it or misbehave there'll be no problem. And by misbehave I mean things like picking a fight with the rest of the customers, so relax."
Yuri leaned back in his seat with one eyebrow rising. "I'll trust you only because I know you don't want Yakov come here to get me out of jail."
Otabek laughed although the idea was really frightening. But there was really nothing to worry about. It had actually been kind of rude of him to not offer Yuri a glass of vodka before every meal, as he was his esteemed guest. But then again he didn't even have a bottle of vodka at home, a matter of fact that his father used to complain about when he visited him once in a while.
"Is this thing using a normal railway?", Yuri asked looking out of the window. They were passing a wide junction and Yuri followed the lights of the cars and lit windows outside with sparkling eyes.
"Yes, it has a timetable like a usual tram."
"That's so cool", he repeated, nestling with his hair with one hand, absentmindedly looking out of the window.
Their corner was really small and cozy and the light rumble of the wagon suited the low swing music from the hidden speakers and the dim light all adding up to the nice atmosphere Otabek had heard so much about. He felt the weight of the box in his pocket, not an actual, physical weight but rather an emotional one. He looked around his chin still on his palm but soon he caught himself admiring the blonde across the table again like his eyes shifted to him automatically after a certain period of time.
"You're staring again", Yuri murmured and turned towards him.
Otabek shrugged. "I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable."
"It doesn't. It's just that I can't imagine why you do that all the time." He combed his hair back behind his shoulders, but it fell back to frame his face immediately. "Then again I like looking at you as well." His lips formed into a slight smile.
Otabek nodded. "I just noticed that you really changed a lot since when we got to know each other", he explained. "You were pretty immature back then. Although your determination was a grown up's already. But it's been three months and you have developed so much it's almost spooky."
Yuri's voice was low but questing when he interrupted. "Don't you like it?"
Otabek felt Yuri sounded way too neutral, the Yuri from before would have been offended for sure, but maybe that was a part of the change as well.
"I'm in no position to judge your physical development", he answered and leaned back. "Much less how you have grown mentally. I can't really say I have known you for a very long time, well, at least not in person. That sounds like I'm a creep or a stalker, doesn't it?" He grinned but Yuri remained awkwardly still, so he got serious again.
"I like it", he said and supported the statement with a nod. "Everything. I told you before, I see you as you are now. I see that you have developed into a very pleasant-natured, upright, handsome, grown-up young man. I see that you are sad sometimes in a different way from how you probably were before, and happy sometimes in the same way and that your legs got slender and your childlike features have become more mature. Your way of talking has changed and so has, most likely, your way of thinking as well. I know that it's not going to stop any time soon, but that's okay. That's okay for me and it should be okay for you as well. I've liked you a lot when you were the small, noisy, slightly annoying Yuri, but I like the new Yuri as well, the Yuri who has endured so much in such a short time. I like you because you're my friend. And that won't change, no matter how much you change." He fell silent and Yuri nodded, but didn't say anything. He probably needed some time to let it sink in.
When the waitress came and put down the glasses in front of them Yuri looked up and smiled. "Thanks", he said but Otabek couldn't tell who exactly he was addressing.
t.b.c.
