Chapter 37

Unknown

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Yuri only had a week before he had to be in Tokyo for the World Team Trophy. They had spent a few days in Helsinki sightseeing before coming home and doing interviews and photos for magazines. After World's, Japan asked him to be on the team since he was the world champion and was also on the team for the Olympics. Both, he worried about but for two different reasons. The trophy was so close after World's and he was exhausted but it seemed like fun and Viktor told him when he did it the atmosphere was fun and playful so it was a good time. Viktor also told him he should get closer to his Japanese teammates whom he didn't really know outside of Kata and that was only because she was coached by Viktor. Looking at the roster he saw he made the team as did Minami, whom he hadn't seen in ages. He heard he made it to World's but got the flu and had to drop out. Come to think of it, he didn't see him at Nationals either. Or maybe he did he just wasn't paying attention. He had been really focused on Alexander and winning during the whole competition.

Coming from the bedroom after getting laundry done Yuri saw Viktor playing with Alexander who was happily laughing as he was lifted in the air. Just watching his boys be together he heard Makkachin bark from behind him before he ran around him to join in the fun. Not wanting to be left out Yuri sat on the floor besides Viktor and watched them.

"My mother said she was asked to commentate the World Team Trophy so she is flying out for that and then figures since she is already in Japan she will fly home with us." Nodding to Viktor's statement as Alexander squealed from being treated as an airplane Yuri laughed internally at the fact that he was comfortable enough to multitask. When he was first born they were scared to do anything without full focus on their son.

"That will be nice. We can seriously house hunt then. I know we are cool with the landlord but I worry he will decide to kick us out one day."

"I have the same fear as well. On that subject though, what kind of house would you like to look into Yuri? Any features? Any dream home in mind?"

"Well…I would like a yard. Maybe not one huge but big enough for Alexander to grow up in and Makkachin to have space to run. And multiple bedrooms would be nice."

"How many bedrooms? I haven't really been looking at houses yet with competition still going on but I've been noticing signs and such, more."

"I have too. I don't know if that's recent or not but they seem to be popping up. And I don't know. Three bedrooms I guess. One for us, one for Alexander and then a guest bedroom would be nice. Having your mom sleep on the couch always makes me feel bad."

"If we stay local then she still has the inn."

"Well that's between you and her. But, okay." Bringing Alexander to rest against his chest Viktor kept him close while they both took a breather. Reaching over to gently rub his back Yuri watched his son smile at his touch.

Taking the train to Tokyo, Yuri was glad this was it for the season. He was ready to focus on the other things going on in his life and take it a little easier. They weren't going to take a vacation but just being able to sleep in and not worry about practice for even a week would be nice. Keeping Alexander on his lap Yuri watched Alexander being content playing with his favorite stuffed animal. If he didn't want to play with either of them he was happy to play with his stuffed tiger Yurio bought him before he was born. In fact that tiger was his favorite thing and he hated to part from it.

Arriving in Tokyo they met up with Viktor's mother who arrived before them and they all headed to the hotel. Unable to get combined rooms they did manage to get in the same hallway. Just getting to their room they changed their son before they did an early dinner. Hearing from Minako that she was in the city for the competition they invited her along though Yuri made sure to warn her that her idol was going to be joining them.

Listening to his future mother in law talking to his former dance instructor, Yuri was enjoying this conversation. They were talking about dance styles and techniques along with ways of teaching. Knowing his past was getting along with his future was a huge weight off his shoulders. Feeling Viktor put his arm around his shoulders Yuri leaned into him a bit, this was nice. It was hard to explain but it was nice. Just them together and enjoying this time as a family was the best part of this experience for him. He never thought he would be in love, have a son, or be engaged so to sit back and take it all in was pleasant.

"Mom. Yuri has practice tomorrow you can watch him then." Hearing Viktor talk to his mother while Yuri got Alexander ready for bed he let Viktor deal with this one.

"I could put him to bed in my room and you two could sleep soundly."

"Mother. I'm really saying no to this."

"Fine Viktor. I won't ask again. Let me say good night to my grandson then so you boys can get settled." Stopping what he was doing Yuri let her do as she pleased before he was kissed goodnight on his forehead as well and handed back his son.

"Good night mother. It really isn't personal. Maybe tomorrow we can do this. Since the free skate is Friday."

"I won't force you Viktor. Have a good night." Hearing the hotel room door close Yuri saw Viktor come into the bathroom shortly after to help him bathe Alexander.

"Is there a reason you told her no?"

"I don't know. I guess I just feel she smothers him too much."

"Well she does only see him when she is here."

"Are you telling me I was wrong to say no?"

"No. I just see why she might want to be near him more when she can is all. Unlike my parents who are up the road she is countries away. I mean she did tease about that fact that the last time she saw him he was just born and now he is sitting up and getting ready to eat solid foods."

"You just want to spend the night alone with me."

"Ugh." Rolling his eyes at his fiancée Yuri focused finishing up with his son and got him wrapped in a towel. His little boy was still so happy with that cute smile on his face though he could see him nodding off. With Viktor's help they got him dressed for bed and tucked in.

"We are doing a good job, don't you think so Yuri?"

"I think so. He always seems happy. Why do you ask?"

"I'm glad you think so. And, I don't know. It just come to me earlier. We were so worried about being decent parents. Maybe that's why I was so against my mom taking him tonight because I feel like maybe she thinks we aren't taking good care of him.

"I don't think that's the case at all." Bringing Viktor to bed Yuri laid his head on Viktor's chest and listened to his heartbeat while they settled for the night.

"Yuri!" Coming to the arena Yuri heard his name being shouted from far away. Looking around to see Minami standing on the other side of the hallway waving to him he was still surprised someone was so excited to see him. Stopping, as Minami ran over to Yuri, Yuri was frozen as he got a giant hug from him.

"I'm so happy we are on the same team! It's like a dream!"

"Thanks Minami. So how are you?" Prying him off he caught up with him while they walked to the locker rooms and got ready to warm up.

Looking over at the coach seating Yuri saw Viktor sitting with the others holding Alexander who was having fun playing with his tiger and watching the men's short program. Since this was a friendly competition between teams everyone was wearing stupid looking outfits and hats and being goof balls but he had never had more fun. The teammates were amazing and they all supported each other. For once they weren't trying to go against each other they were working as a collective to win the most points for their team and countries. The person in first place got twelve points, second place got eleven and so forth and the team with the most points won. Moving to the kiss and cry the team members joined Minami and his coach to see the score and cheer him on. Seeing he was in forth wasn't terrible, he was one of the last men to go. Sadly Yuri knew he would probably drop lower as he had to go and so did Yurio for the Russian team.

Coming off the ice he met up with Viktor who happily threw his arms around him before they joined the team at the kiss and cry. Seeing Alexander wearing the giant pink bow they all seemed to be wearing while he was in Minami's arms Yuri couldn't help but laugh. For once he wasn't nervous about his score. He didn't really care about it. It was just nice to be around others and to know they accepted him, his son and his fiancée was the greatest feeling in the world.

Ending the short program in first he went to change before joining his teammates while the ladies short was getting ready to start. Coming back before Kata was up he sat with her and cheered the others on. He had this feeling he would lose his voice by the end of this weekend. Wishing her luck as she was up next Yuri was unable to stay seated and happily celebrated with the others as she landed her hardest quad. She had certainly come a long way with this program since her time in Hasetsu. Giving her a giant hug once she joined them in the kiss and cry he stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders in support while they waited for her score. Seeing her currently in first all of them cheered and congratulated her. Japan was currently in first place.

After the free program Yuri came off the ice to see his son now being held by Kata who was helping him cheer. This whole competition was such an experience and he loved it. With Japan winning the trophy and Russian in second Yuri was curious about how Viktor felt about all of this. Though, he wasn't going to ask him. Everyone cheered for everyone else and there was nothing wrong with that. It was good sportsmanship. In normal competition season everyone cheered for everyone else but you were also scared they would beat you. Here you didn't really care. It was a chance to have fun and celebrate the end of the season. Being told he was doing the exhibition Yuri debated what he wanted to do. He had two choices and both were perfect for this. Sitting in the hotel room with his options he asked Viktor to get his opinion. He had helped him with both and knew how tough the choice was. Picking one that had been created for fun and turned into an exhibition piece they both agreed it was perfect. Since this had been a fun competition it seemed this was the best course of action.

Performing with the team members Yuri found it hard to believe they had learned this just before. The winning team got to do a few routines together and they had learned simple choreography just before it. It helped that they all had dance backgrounds. Meeting with the Russian team Yuri saw Yurio was having a blast as well though he tried to play it cool since they had to do things together.

"Yuri! Will you be an extra in my exhibition?" Hearing Kata come skating over to him in practice Yuri was curious what he had to do. You were allowed one prop on the ice and he guessed a person could be used as a prop. "You don't have to do anything but sit right on the edge here. It will be fun promise!"

"Sure Kata. No problem." He was happy to see her talking to him more freely as well. He didn't have any reason not to help her out.

Helping her with her exhibition piece by just sitting off to the side looking bored he found it so hard not to smile and ruin what she wanted from him. Before he knew it though it was his turn and he took to the ice one last time this season. Waving to the crowd he let the music start "Shut up and dance" was his favorite song to just listen to when he needed to get moving. Viktor had introduced it to him and while he forgot how he said he first heard it the song was still catchy and super perfect. Moving to the side of the rink he pulled Viktor out with him half way though the song since Alexander was happily with his grandmother. They had talked about Viktor joining him as a "former and new world champion in one place" piece. And this song was great with adding people into it. Seeing Viktor skating with him, both had smiles on their faces. In this moment they had no cares in the world. It was just them and the crowd they aimed to please.

The next morning after they rolled out of bed an hour before check out they gathered their things and headed to the airport. Yuri was holding Alexander while they waited in line to get their boarding passes and to check their luggage. Viktor was on his phone reading the articles from the exhibition. So far he heard nothing but praise over what they did yesterday. The fans really seemed to love it and the skating world thought it was a really cute idea. Being next in line the couple moved to be helped. Yuri knew Viktor did all the booking since he knew what flight his mother was taking to get to Hasetsu so he paid more attention to Alexander than to Viktor since his son kept wiggling in his arms wanting the attention of his grandmother who was waving at him. Hearing Viktor make a comment to the woman waiting on them Yuri turned around to see what was going on.

"What do you mean it doesn't work?"

"I'm sorry sir but you don't come up in the system."

"How is that possible?"

"Viktor is something wrong? Do you need my help?" Switching Alexander in his arms he tried to figure out what was wrong.

"Do you have other id?"

"I have my old driver's license." Watching Viktor pull out his wallet Yuri saw him take out his Russian driver's license. He never realized Viktor even had one. Though he guessed it did make sense since he was old enough to drive. Seeing him hand it over they both waited as she did a few things then shook her head.

"I'm sorry sir."

"I have the paperwork for my flight I don't get the issue."

"Your flight information is correct I have you here but your information doesn't show up."

"Is your system having issues?" Butting in Yuri was curious if they tried him if they would have an issue.

"Yuri I did yours first." Hearing Viktor's defeated voice Yuri saw the look on his face. Something came to mind for him.

"According to our database Viktor Nikiforov doesn't exist."

"Viktor." Feeling his heart stop Yuri was devastated for his fiancée. How could someone not exist though when they both knew he was right here?

"I guess they didn't waste any time since the season ended."

"Viktor…"Seeing him walk away Yuri grabbed their bags and followed him. Hearing Mrs. Nikiforov's voice running after them they both waited for him to say something.

"The ISU told Russia they couldn't act until after the season. Since I wasn't competing they had no real reason to go after me. Season's over so I was deleted from everything. My passport is invalid my id is invalid. According to them I don't exist." Watching him start to laugh it was easy to see it wasn't funny. He was falling apart. "Yuri…I'll…I'll take the train home. You go catch your flight with my mother."

"Absolutely not! Viktor! I'm not going to make you travel alone. I'll give up my seat and we will take the train." Hearing his mother say she will do the same thing they saw it didn't really phase Viktor.

"Is everything alright with him?" Seeing Yurio had slowly walked over it was easy to tell Viktor was not himself. Both shook their heads and everyone seemed to know what happened without being told.

"Does he need help getting home?"

"It's alright. We are going to take the train. They don't need a valid id to travel."

"Okay. Well…if I can help somehow let me know. Okay?"

"Thanks Yuri, I will. Have a safe flight back. Please let us know when you land." Seeing him nod the younger Yuri yelled out to Viktor only to be unheard. Once he was out of sight with Yakov and the rest of the Russian team Yuri saw Viktor was walking away again. Running after him they tried to get him to stop. They didn't want to force him to pull himself together since it wasn't easy to recover after learning something so tragic but if he focused they could find a solution.

"Mother. I want you to go back to Russia."

"Forget it Viktor. Don't worry about me."

"I said go back!" Hearing him get nasty towards her both stopped and had their breathes catch. "Go home! You aren't welcome here so go!"

"Viktor! Stop this isn't like you. I get you are in shock but don't get mad at your mother. This isn't her fault."

"Leave me alone Yuri!" Being yelled at Yuri pulled Alexander closer to his body not wanting Viktor to go after their son next. Handing him over to his grandmother Yuri grabbed Viktor and pulled away from the others that were watching them fight. He could feel Viktor trying to pull away but he wasn't giving in.

"Viktor! I get you are hurting but getting mad at your mom, pushing me away does nothing! Let's go home and fix this."

"There isn't anything to fix Yuri! I'm not even dead to my home land I never existed! They removed me from having any connection to them. I don't have a home! I don't…I don't have anything." Feeling him break down, Yuri was pulled closer as Viktor hugged him tightly. Having him cry on his shoulder Yuri wished there was something he could do.

Once Viktor was stable enough to move Yuri and his mother in law took them off their flight and left the airport to go the few blocks to the train station. Viktor stayed close to himself and silent throughout the trip. They both knew they needed to get Viktor home and the sooner they did that the better.

Watching Viktor just stare out the train car window even Alexander couldn't get his father to get out of this funk. Yuri refused to get mad at him since he knew what he was going through couldn't be explained but to know the person he cared the most for was hurting and felt lost and he could do nothing made him feel bad as well.

Yuri stood outside of their bedroom door knocking to have Viktor let him in. He was locked out of it yesterday and he left him alone figuring he needed time to himself. Now it was lunch time the next day and Viktor hadn't come out. He was getting really worried. Hearing the apartment door open Yuri saw it was his own mother with Viktor's. He called her and told he what was going on hoping maybe she could help her son since he couldn't. Seeing Yuuko and Minako coming in after them Yuri figured they were all together when he called.

"What is going on Yuri?"

"He locked himself in our room yesterday. I let him be but now I'm worried. He is self-destructing and I don't want him alone."

"You don't have a key?"

"We learned when we moved in the key doesn't work. The former tenants must have changed it and never told the landlord. We didn't worry about it was never an issue. We have never locked it before." They thought it was stupid to lock the door. Who was going to bother them? Alexander wasn't even crawling yet so it wasn't like he could walk into their room if they were doing things.

"Viktor…hunny…it's your mom. Please let me in." Moving back so she could knock and put her ear against the door everyone stayed silent hoping to hear even movement.

"Yuri. Where is Alexander?"

"In his crib. He is awake." Pointing to the open bedroom door they could see Alexander was playing by himself unaware of the situation. "Makkachin is with Viktor though and that worries me to. Neither have come out of that room." Holding himself tighter Yuri felt his mother give him a gentle hug to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.

"Yuri, do you have a hair pin?"

"Like a bobby pin? I don't think so. Let me see if I have something in the kitchen that might work." Going to look he was stopped by Yuuko.

"Here ma'am I have one." Watching her pull two out of her hair she handed them to her and watched her try to pick the lock.

"You know how to do that?"

"Hunny I am Russian. I know how to do a lot of things." Hearing her joke they all waited a moment before she stood back up and opened the door. Not even saying she was going in Yuri quickly followed her.

Entering their room Yuri saw Viktor just laying there. Fearing the worst he didn't breathe until he saw Viktor move at the shift in the bed as his mother leaned against it and pulled the covers off the bed.

"Viktor Dmitri Nikiforov, I raised you better than this! You have a family and a future to be around for so don't you dare let this take you from that." Watching him sit up Yuri could tell he looked defeated. His eyes were puffy from crying and they looked hopeless. For the first time since he knew this man he never saw him look defeated.

"Go away mother."

"No! Locking yourself in your room. Ignoring your son and your fiancée. You are stronger than this!" Hearing her get mad Yuri could tell she wasn't really. She was trying to give him strength. "What did I tell you when you were younger? Tell me. I want to hear you say it."

"…You told me you would love me no matter what. But, the road I faced would be tough."

"Yes. And I still love you and your fiancée still loves you. Russia may have turned its back on you but you still have a home. You still have people that love you." Seeing him look up Yuri saw their eyes meet. Moving towards the bed he kneeled next to her.

"Viktor. I don't know what you are dealing with but I'm right here. Together we can fix this. I love you. Please stop pushing me away. I don't want to lose you."

"Yuri…"

"Please Viktor. Talk to us."

"You both don't get it. I knew…I knew they would take my citizenship away but I'm completely removed from the country. My records are off the sights. You search for me in databases and I don't show up. According to Russia…a place I grew up in…learned to skate…became who I am today…I don't exist. I was never real. I learned my best friend growing up was killed in a freak accident and I can't even go to the funeral. I can't even contact the family." Watching him start to cry, Yuri reached over and pulled him close. "I knew Russia would hate me but I never expected this. If Japan throws me out I can't even get sent back."

After an hour of Viktor crying Yuri let him rest again though he took Makkachin with him and left the door open. Seeing his mother tending to his son he filled their friends in with what was going on.

"Mrs. Katsuki…how long will it take to plan a wedding?" Translating for his mother Yuri stopped at what he just repeated from Viktor's mother.