Author's Note: Guys, I'm so excited. I can't believe I am really lasting this long for a story. YOI is really a life-changer, I swear. Thanks for the encouragement, people! I love you! And again, I apologize for this to be so late. (Fucking review classes, I swear.)
Miwaku: I don't own Yuri! On Ice. (Should I give up or should I just keep cussing FF?)
WARNING (more like surprise): There will be animals talking (like legit talking) to each other and they could understand one another. Humans can only hear them as animal sounds. And I know all of us love the animals in YOI.
Chapter 19
Klavdiya just came out from her shower when she noticed her two cronies standing in front of the table where her phone was, as if they were shielding it. "What are you two doing?"
"We're protecting the phone, Boss."
"Or it might get hurt or worse, destroyed."
"Did you drown yourselves in weed?" Klavdiya rolled her eyes. "My god, you two are so stupid. What happened anyway?"
"Your phone kept blinking."
"And buzzing with the notification sound."
Klavdiya realized what was happening. "Those two posted something and it's hitting the internet quick! Give me that!"
"No can do, Boss!"
"You have to pinky promise that you will not hurt it!"
"Ugh, fine! I promise not to break it or I'll stick a thousand needles in my eye blah-blah-blah! Now, can I get my phone?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Why do I even keep you two?" She muttered and took hold of her phone. She eagerly read the notifications and clicked the one that will redirect her to the original post. The Instagram post was definitely becoming viral with the insane amount of likes, comments, and shares it was gaining by the second...and it was just posted thirty minutes ago. Hell, famous internet sites were already making articles about it.
She wanted to check out her other notifications but she kept staring at the little balls of fur on the screen. "Are those...puppies?" She rubbed her eyes and kept blinking. She even refreshed her browser and the picture remained the same. They were definitely puppies.
"Awww, I didn't know you love seeing poodle puppies, Boss!"
"I have more pictures from Pinterest right here!"
"Twiddledee, Twiddledum, shut up for a minute!" Klavdiya smacked their foreheads to silence them. "This is it! This is the ultimate plan!"
"Plan?"
"Ultimate?"
"Yes!" The blonde woman practically hissed the word out. "And we will not fail, I assure you." 'No more Madam Nice-Nice here. This is where everything will go down for you!'
Her two cronies shared a determined look and nodded at each other. They will not fail their boss. "Yes, Boss!"
Klavdiya smirked. "Now, here's the plan..."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Viktor stretched his arms out as he yawned widely to get the sleep off his mind. After the second most exciting night in his life (the first is, of course, his and Yuuri's first love-making. It still sent him shivers and sparks of pleasure just remembering that night), he and Yuuri dropped to their bed with the latter already asleep before his head fell on the pillow. Viktor did not sleep as quickly as his lover since his body was still buzzing in happiness at the thought of the ten wonderful puppies their poodles gave them.
He felt a sense of pride course through him. While he never thought of having another poodle when he still has Makkachin, after seeing Aprichin's weak form on his brown poodle's body, he just knew that he could not ignore that. He and Yuuri cared for Aprichin, helped her, loved her, until she began to bloom. She became playful just like any other dog and even though there were still bouts of flinching and hiding, the positive outcomes outweighed the negative.
And now, Viktor grinned as he tiptoed out of their room (he let Yuuri cuddle his pillow and sleep some more) and looked at the huddled brown and apricot-colored fur in the middle of the room. And when he went closer and saw the little puppies already awake and drinking milk from their mother, he could not help but let out a short squeal.
"You are all so adorable." Viktor whispered with teary eyes. "And so precious." He gingerly touched one of the apricot-colored puppies who only twitched before continuing on sucking. "Congratulations, Makkachin, Aprichin."
"Love, you're quite emotional." Viktor turned to see Yuuri leaning by the bedroom door with a small smile.
"I can't help it. They're just so beautiful." The silver-haired man walked to his lover and hugged him tightly. "Our babies have their own babies now."
"Even so, Viktor." Yuuri placed a hand on Viktor's cheek. "They still need us. And we'll be there for them. Always."
"Yes. Yes, we will."
They were silent as they stayed in their embrace until Yuuri pushed Viktor gently. "I'm gonna go take a hot shower. I still have the free skate later."
"Oh right!" Viktor beamed, feeling excited for later. "I'm gonna get ready, too."
Yuuri shook his head. "No, you need to be here for the puppies."
Hearing that made Viktor deflate. "What? But what about you?"
"I'm gonna be alright, Viktor. The puppies and Makkachin and Aprichin in the meantime, need you more."
Viktor pouted but solemnly nodded. "I wanted to watch you skate live, lyubov moya. Yet, I know that the dogs need all the help they can get. It would seem that we will have to make do with the hotel TV."
"Just like everyone else in Japan." Yuuri chuckled. Viktor had to smile, remembering the days of watching Yuuri on their family's small TV with Minami and the triplets cheering at the background.
"I love you." Viktor said and gave Yuuri a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Love you, too." Yuuri smiled and then went back inside the bedroom to get ready.
Viktor decided to call room service for their breakfast. While waiting, he took care of the dog bowls and filled them with water and food. When their breakfast arrived, Yuuri just finished with his business in the bathroom and together, they ate in warm silence.
Just as they were finishing, there was a knock on their door. Viktor laughed when he saw Makkachin stare at the door warily. 'He's so protective.' He thought fondly and opened the door, seeing a familiar blonde with a grumpy expression. "Yurio!"
"Oi, we still have warm-ups, remember? Or is your memory loss acting up again, old man?"
"Still a bundle of joy, Yurio." Viktor chuckled. The banter between him and the blonde prodigy never failed to amuse him. "Why don't you come in first? Yuuri will be ready."
"And what about you?" Yurio raised an eyebrow as he looked at Viktor's plain shirt and pajama pants.
"I have to stay here for the pups."
"That's a surprise, not being there for Katsudon."
Viktor gave Yurio a gentle smile. "My family needs me after all." And even if he still felt a bit sad that he could not watch his lover skate live, he would stay with Makkachin, Apricin, and the puppies, cheering for Yuuri.
While Yurio just rolled his eyes at the sappy statement, the silver-haired man did not notice Yuuri's cheeks flushing and eyes sparkling in happiness.
After a few minutes of Viktor fussing over Yuuri, Yuuri reassuring Viktor that everything will be alright, and Yurio grumbling that they should get a fucking move on, the two competing skaters left for their warm-ups. Viktor, in the meantime, slumped his body on one of the couches and pouted.
'Now, I'm bored.'
He tried everything, from browsing TV channels to reading old issues of fashion magazines and even did some cartwheels. He plopped down on the rug beside the poodles, sighing tiredly. He was feeling so antsy and jittery, especially now that he was not beside Yuuri for the competition. He knew that his lover still had some anxiety before performances and it was his job to comfort him and give him encouragements. But for today, he would believe in his Yuuri and watch him from afar.
Suddenly, he felt something wet touch his arm. He glanced at that and blinked when he saw one of the puppies bumping his (Viktor checked) nose on his arm. When he looked at the other puppies, he saw that they were now getting a feel of their surroundings other than their mother and it would seem that one of them managed to get to him.
It was too cute of an image that he had to take a picture. And it was as if a lightbulb flickered on. It was a rare stroke of genius that he knew Yuuri would be proud of him (and would gently tease him for being a bit childish).
"Why don't we do something for lyubov moya, hm?" Viktor said excitedly to the puppies. Makkachin and Aprichin yipped in agreement with him. "Great! Let me go get my phone." 'I hope this will be enough for you, Yuuri, lyubov moya.'
There was still an hour before the start of the free skate (and who knew that cartwheeling and reading old fashion statements passed time quickly), enough time for his plan. Opening the camera of his phone once he got it, he said, "Alright, let's do this!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Yuuri huffed out a breath as he finished his stretching exercises. It was a bit disconcerting that he was in a competition without Viktor beside him. Sure, there were times that one really cannot be with the other because of other commitments, however, this time, they were just in the same area but not together.
He did not mind though. He remembered the look on Viktor's face as he said to Yurio about being there for the family ('Puppies.' His mind supplied). It made his heart beat quicker as if he was falling in love again with the silver-haired man.
Yuuri shook his head when he felt his cheeks heaten up. It still made him flustered. He needed to focus. It was close to his turn already. He might as well get himself ready.
He was about to remove his earphones when his phone vibrated. 'Probably just Minako-sensei sending a last minute message.' He took out his phone, opened it, and was surprised to see a notification from Instagram that he was tagged in a post by Viktor. Tapping it, he blinked when it was actually a video. He tapped it again to play.
"Yuuri! I hope you're doing okay there and I hope you can watch this before your performance. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you at the moment. It's because of these little cuties that I'm stuck here watching TV for the live telecast." Viktor turned the camera to the TV showing the competition then back to himself. Beside him were the puppies and the parents, Makkachin and Aprichin. "You know, they're really persistent, specifically this little ball of fluff." He gently poked a brown puppy on the nose, making it twitch. "They really want to support you."
'Oh, Viktor.' Yuuri felt his eyes water as he continued watching the video.
"This little puppy is cheering you on. And this little puppy is supporting you. This other little puppy is already becoming your biggest fan. And this other little puppy is saying, 'You can do it!'..." And so on and so forth, Viktor continued his commentary while Yuuri just watched and listened, his tears already flowing down his eyes. He could see and hear their love even from just his phone screen. It boosted his confidence and strength to do his best in his performance.
"And finally, combine all of that, you get me, lyubov moya." Viktor stared straight at the camera. Yuuri felt that it was as if he was physically in front of him. "I know you can do this. We love you and we're supporting you here in the hotel room. We'll be waiting for you here." Viktor winked and smiled. "Laters." Then, the video ended.
Yuuri smiled so widely that he thought that the muscles in his cheeks would get ripped from the stretching. His anxiety was gone. No doubt was left. He would perform beautifully, for the dogs, for Viktor, for his family. He was ready for it. And no one could stop him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"The final scores are up, and Yuuri Katsuki won gold for his flawless performance of his free skate with Yuri Plisetsky in second and Seung-gil Lee in third. Congratulations to our winners!"
Viktor cheered at that while the poodles barked in excitement. It disturbed the puppies a bit but they were not much perturbed and went back to their naps.
A performance full of love, inspiration, and joy was definitely a gold-winning performance.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Awkward. Ending. And. Super. Late. Update. I'm sorry for my procrastination. I'm gonna do my best to update faster...hopefully.
Expect in the next chapter: MORE FLUFF, Onsen, Calm
See you next time!