CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT
Performances went by in a blurry haze, going slow and fast simultaneously. There was little Yuri could do but wait, and stare absentmindedly at the ice, and the colorful but shadowy, blurry figures making their way across it. They danced to the beat of his own heart, which thumped loudly in his ears as his nerves grew. Though he couldn't remember what he saw, the score-board showed that Leo had knocked Minami off his pedestal with his performance, though he seemed to take it in stride.
"Next on the ice, representing Kazakhstan...Otabek Altin!"
Viktor felt those hands clamp down on his arm anxiously, and lowered his own hand to clasp the man's knee, "Maybe take a page from my book and try not to worry about it so much?" He suggested.
"Can't help it. Wish I could do something to make it better again without having to put other people through so much grief."
"You're not putting anyone through anything."
"Still wish I could fix it."
"It'll all be over soon enough." Viktor reassured, and gave the knee a gentle squeeze.
.
['Völuspá' - Wardruna]
Yurio kept his eyes on the ice, and watched his friend find center to take position. Butterflies flew in his gut, and their fluttering became a maelstrom when the Norse music start to pound overhead, filling the arena with the sound of something akin to a war-drum. Well, this is fitting, he thought stiffly. He couldn't help but look over to his pseudo-sibling, sitting between Minako and Mikhail on his left. The look on the petite teen's face was unmistakable; watching the Free Program was agony. It only took about thirty seconds before...
"I can't do this." Nikki said suddenly and stood up, "I feel sick."
"I guess we can go." Mikhail added, and made ready to push himself up from his seat, only to find his daughter sneak by his spot before he could do anything.
"Let me just go stand in the hall. Half the reason I don't feel good is because of what you're going to do soon. I just..." She started, and paused to swallow a nervous lump in her throat, "...I just want to be away for a minute... Until he's done."
"You can't just go off by yourse-"
"Dad would you just give me some breathing room!?" The teen harped frantically, "It's bad enough that you have to get involved in the first place!"
"Sorry?"
"It's just the hall," Yurio interjected, and pushed up to his feet in the aisle, "I'll go stand with her."
"Alright, alright..." Mikhail relented, and lifted his knees slightly to let the blonde go by. He watched the pair step off down the stairs to the nearest exit, and vanish under the stands. He grumbled slightly as he slouched in his seat, until he felt a pat on his arm as Minako switched seats to be beside him.
"Being a parent is fun, huh?" She said half-sarcastically, "That's why I abstained."
"You're not now."
"I have the benefit of learning from all your mistakes before I make them myself."
Mikhail looked at her incredulously, "You think I'm making a mistake right now?"
"I think there's no way you can win here, no matter what you do." She answered easily, "I've seen a lot of teenager drama over the years, teaching ballet, but I never had to go through the whole process with any of them. I just...kind of helped distract from the situation while the kids were in my studio. Watching you stumble through this like a drunk elephant has been very educational."
The Russian sighed and grumbled even more, "And yet, just a few weeks ago, you were saying I'm the biggest idiot in the world when it comes to dealing with problems in my family. What changed?"
"You were dealing with Viktor before, someone you had barely just reunited with and didn't really know that well. You were stepping all over him, not just on his toes, and made decisions about a bunch of things that negatively impacted him. This situation is your own kids, people you've known and been involved with for a long time. Not to mention, they are kids...Viktor's an adult."
"...Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better."
"Just remember what I said earlier...let him do the talking."
.
With the Free Skate in full swing, the arena's halls were sparsely populated, which made it easy to be visibly frustrated without making a scene. Even so, Nikki was hyper-vigilant about her surroundings, and just leaned against a wall with her arms crossed over her stomach. She groaned and dipped her head down, "...I don't feel so good."
Yurio quirked a brow at her, "You need a bathroom or something?"
"I couldn't really eat. I have nothing to heave."
Green eyes scanned around the hall, careful for any prying eyes, "You probably feel sick because you haven't eaten. We should get you something."
"Dad'll get mad if he finds out we went somewhere else."
Yurio already had his cellphone out, "I'm texting him to say where we're going. Come on."
Nikki blinked at him in confusion, but the older teen turned on a heel and started to walk away, leaving her nothing to do but follow or go sit in the stands again. The decision had already been made, and she pushed up to her normal height to go after him. With a quick skip, she caught up, and walked close beside him, "...You shouldn't have to do this."
"I learned my lesson and brought my wallet this time." He retorted, "Maybe if I had it before, the old man wouldn't have such a hair up his arse about this."
"He would anyway, the way it's going..." She sighed, and went quiet for a moment as they kept walking. As they rounded the last curve of the arena's main corridor to find the cafeteria stalls, she paused and tugged on the older teen's hoodie sleeve, "...You know Otabek better than I do. Is there anything papa has to worry about?"
Yurio looked back, but instead of shaking his head or nodding, he lifted his head up to look down his nose slightly, "No."
"...That's it...?"
"I've already said my peace about what I think of Otabek. I'd be beating a dead horse to just keep going." He answered, and turned to start walking again, "I just want this done and over with so we can all go back to living our lives. If Mikhail and Otabek can't come to some kind of agreement, it's going to be a pain in the ass for me, too."
Nikki made a face at him, "Well it's good to know you have everyone's best interests at heart."
"What food do you want?" Yurio asked, ignoring the stab, "There's sausages down that way, and pizza and subs down that way." He explained, and pointed down each direction of the hall.
"Uhh..."
"Popcorn, kettle corn...whatever 'dippin' dots' are...donuts? Who knows. Iced cream, coffee..."
Her stomach sank with each suggestion, "...I don't think I'd keep any of that down."
Yurio scanned for other options, but then one little stall at the far end, almost hidden against a wall like it was nothing more than another t-shirt vendor, and his eyes widened a bit. He reached for his sister's arm and started to move her over towards it, "I've decided for you then."
"But this stuff is all too greasy and sugary for me right now I don't think this is such a good idea-"
The shuffle was quick in those largely-empty halls; the music still boomed ominously through the arena. When they finally stopped though, they stood in front of a small shop; Noodle and Rice Asian Bowls. Only two other people stood in line ahead of them, and it moved quickly, giving Yurio the chance to place the order on Nikki's behalf, "Chicken teriyaki bowl with veggies and white rice."
"...Oh...o-okay...?" The young silver muttered in surprise. The food was made quickly, and they sat at a nearby compact metal table. They both looked up when the music stopped, and the audience roared its applause. Nikki looked down, dejectedly, at her plate, and poked at it with a plastic fork, brows furrowed, "...He's done... Not much time left."
"You have five minutes." Yurio corrected, drawing up jade eyes briefly, "Until he finishes his interview."
"...Oh, right..." She said, and looked down again. The plain, semi-sweet morsels were easy on her stomach, and upset it less than she thought it would. She was able to eat about a quarter of the bowl before the announcer called out Otabek's numbers.
"The score for Otabek Altin..." The woman's voice called, and gave the brief dramatic pause, "...172.8. He is currently in second place."
"Huh, wow. Best he can hope for now is Bronze." Yurio said, and shook his head, "That's not like him."
Nikki glowered across the table, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you want me to blame you for this?" He puffed, "Cuz I actually don't know what's going on in his head right now."
"But you said you talked to him after he blocked me."
"Yeah, and that was the whole conversation. He went dark after that."
"Well...what do you think?" She pestered, desperate for any kind of insight to fill in the gaps in time while they waited, "What would he normally do before a competition...?"
"Next to take the ice, representing China...GuangHong Ji!"
"Normally? Just relax." He answered, "A long and slow warm-up. Otabek has no significant ballet background so his upkeep is different from the rest of us. But this wasn't really a normal situation, so maybe he did something else."
"...I don't mean literally what he did. I meant...does he get rattled easily? Do you think he's bothered by what's happened...?"
"Of course he's bothered. He blocked you, didn't he?"
"OhmyGodwhydoyoukeepmissingthepoint!?"
"What is your point!?"
"Does he dwell on things!? Is he a worrier!?" She clarified, "Did he spend all afternoon thinking about this!?"
Yurio just paused right there for a moment, then deadpanned, "Honestly? Probably not. I imagine he went into a kind of mental hibernation after I talked to him last. We refer to ourselves like soldiers, and there's no room for emotion on the battlefield."
Nikki's brows both went up, "Says the guy who is nothing but emotions out there."
"What was that!?" He harped, and stood half-way on his chair in a defensive posture.
"I've seen the videos. Don't lie. You're super emotional when you skate. I've also heard other people say you get really greedy or angry out there sometimes." She pointed out, and nibbled on another bit of grilled chicken, "At least, last year."
"...What about this year?" He asked grimly, and slowly lowered down from his high perch again, as though dreading the answer.
"Uuhhhhh...not...that...?" She said, unsure, "I actually haven't heard much about this year. Maybe you should ask Cousin Viktor what he thinks later. He's going to be your choreographer later on, right? He would know how to play-up your state of mind. He'll have to make decisions about the kind of program you can do best, based on where your head is at."
"Tsh..."
"That's what you did when you picked this food, right?" She asked, and pointed at the dwindling pile, "...I mean, you really zeroed in on this one."
Yurio looked at it for a moment, then shook his head, "It's...the meal Yuri got me last year... When I got kicked off Yakov's team. I was feeling really gross and nauseated at the time, too...and I remembered how this food didn't upset my stomach. It's plain and simple. Just some sauce for flavor, but otherwise entirely bland."
"...That's...really sweet of you." The younger teen commented, "That's when Papa got involved, right?"
"...Y-yeah..." Yurio admitted nervously, a hand on the back of his neck as he looked away, "Yuri and Viktor asked him to sponsor me, as a way of holding me over until I could restore my reputation. He even paid to fix my finger."
"...Your what." Nikki stammered.
"My finger." He repeated, and held up his right hand to show the line-scar across the top of his middle knuckle, "I broke the tendon when I punched a wall during the competition. It's still a bit stiff, but...you'd never know unless I told you." He explained, and lowered his hand again, then looked away, "Yuri also...started me on some specific training back then, which I think helped more than anything else in getting me back to a decent place in my head."
"Really? What kind of training?" The silver teen asked, and stood up to get rid of her empty plate. She turned her head for just an instant to make sure she didn't miss the bin, but when she turned back around again, Yurio was there behind her, standing ominously-awkwardly close. Before she knew it, both arms went around her slim frame, and he gave a squeeze that lasted a good few seconds. Too stunned to even return the gesture, all Nikki could do was stand there in shock until he let go, then gape at him.
"Hug training." He finally answered, "Yuri said it helped him when Viktor did it, so he thought it would help me, too. I'd say I was paying it forward by doing it for you, but...you're way ahead of me in that department, so I'll just offer one and say things will be fine. So, there it is...things will be fine."
"...Yuri..."
"Let's go get Otabek then."
"W-what? With me, too?"
"Sure? No sense making twenty trips." He answered, as though it was the most obvious thing, "Unless you don't want to come."
"It would be awkward wouldn't it? He blocked me...he may not even talk to you if I'm around..."
"Just come on. We'll figure it out."
The descent to the public section of the prep area was even more nerve-wracking than watching Otabek skate had been, but at least the nauseated feeling was gone. Once they were there, it was easy to get their bearings. Competitors wandered or warmed-up, watched the show on the various televisions, or paced anxiously as they waited for their turns. Neither of the two expected to see Yuri or Viktor down there since they knew they were in the stands, but Yurio still kept half an eye out for Yuri anyway, half-expecting the man to be nosy. He didn't spot him though, and the two made their way across the floor to where the post-skate interview backdrop had been set up. Otabek was still there, surrounded by the media corps in front and a pillar of flowers on either side, with the sponsor-logo wall behind him.
Nikki couldn't help but want to hide, and slipped easily behind Yurio's slim frame, being even smaller than he was. She could feel her heart threatening to burst out of her chest, but she held it in and swallowed anxiously. She was at least grateful in the moment that the interview was too far away to hear Otabek's voice; she might've run off if she could.
"What could they possibly still be talking about?" Yurio complained impatiently.
"Well, you did say that he didn't do as well as you expected...maybe they're asking him about it." Nikki posed, and dared to look around. Just as she did, the crowd seemed to disperse, and for a split second, it looked like Otabek had spotted them. She eep'd and hid again, heart pounding even harder, "This was a bad idea. I should've gone back to sit with papa."
"Jeeze, you're totally losing it." Yurio puffed, and looked back at her over a shoulder, "Just stay here a second then. I'll go talk to him on my own first, then bring him over."
"Okay, okay..." She drew in a frantic breath, and shook her hands out to try and ground herself, "Whew...okay...I'm good, okay, it's fine. It's going to be fine."
"Stay right here."
"Right here. Staying."
"Here."
"HERE."
"Good. I'll be right back. Don't move."
Nikki nodded emphatically, and Yurio stepped away, making his way through the crowd that had gone to hear what Otabek had to say. A few lingered to wait for the next skater, but most filtered by to go back into the stands.
"I wonder what they'll think of this back in Kazakhstan?" Someone asked to their friend as they walked, "This was his worst Free Skate score for the last three seasons."
"Well at least he didn't do as bad as Yuri. The poor guy should've just sat out if he's really that sick." The friend answered.
"Oh gosh, yeah, that was painful to watch yesterday. Still though, I'm worried. Otabek didn't seem as focused as he was in the SP."
Nikki's brows furrowed as their conversation faded out in the distance, People can tell that sort of thing...? They talk about him like they know him...
"Èto devočka, kotoruju ja pomnju." A closer voice said, drawing up the teen's attention by the foreign sound of it. It immediately sent chills down her spine, and all she could remember was her father's warning from the day before.
'If they wanted to hurt us, you'd be easy pickings...and you just declared to the whole world that you're here and apart from us.'
Oh my god, are these some of those Russian hecklers that boo'd at Viktor? She panicked mentally, Did they come to hang out around Otabek just in case I was here? Yuri! Come back! She thought frantically, and tried to look around inconspicuously for where her brother had gone. She couldn't spot him in the crowd, but just as she was about to take a step forward to go find him, even though she'd just said she'd stay where she was, she felt a bit of her hair lift up.
"Eë volosy pohoži na ego, da? Serebristymi." A second voice commented, almost mocking, but still in the sense that the conversation was private. Then, suddenly, it wasn't, "Where you go, gorl? You lost? Can't find bessroom?"
Yurio made a face as he stalked up behind his friend, and cleared his throat rather loudly and deliberately to get the man's attention. Otabek just paused for a second as he cleared a spot to sit down, then shook his head lightly, "What is it." He said glibly.
"What, I can't come talk to you after you skate? I followed you all the way to China, didn't I?"
"We did an Exhibition there together."
"Only because I went." Yurio retorted, "What happened out there?"
"Nothing. I just didn't land my jumps as well. Shit happens." The Kazakh answered, and slumped back to start untying his boots, "I'm still in second place, and halfway through the event, that's not nothing."
Yurio hesitated a second, and pressed his lips together as he thought about what to say next. With a sigh and a head-shake, he spat it out, "Look, Nikki's da-...I mean, our dad wants to talk to you."
"Our?" Otabek repeated, pausing where he was at the surprise of hearing the word.
"Don't judge; this situation is good for me." Yurio puffed haughtily, shoulders scrunched up. Like a ruffled and annoyed bird, the blonde grudgingly continued, "We all talked to Mikhail earlier and convinced him that he should ask you to unblock Nikki."
Otabek paused again, but then went back to unlacing, "I guess that's nice?"
"Would you talk to him then?" Yurio asked instead, "He just wants to hear it from you that you're not a weirdo."
"That doesn't change the fact that everyone thinks I am anyw-"
"STOP IT!"
Both skaters lifted their heads like a pair of alerted security dogs.
.
Viktor stretched his arms out for a moment before he finally set his mind to his work, and leaned forward in his seat, "I should get going and do my final run-through." He said, and twisted around to look back at his spouse, "Stay put and stay warm. I'll bring you back some hot chocolate when I'm done, okay?"
Yuri nodded as he leaned forward, "Looking forward to it. Good luck out there."
"Keep your eyes on me alone, my love." The Russian mused, and gratefully had his parting kisses. He ruffled Jiro's head as he pulled back, and leaned down to kiss his husband's noggin one more time for good measure, then finally took his leave.
.
"There goes Viktor. ...They sure are taking their sweet time down there." Mikhail complained quietly, eyes on his phone, "Nikki must be really dragging her feet with whatever she's eating."
"Can you blame her?" Minako wondered, "You've never been asked to have a heart-to-heart with one of her friends before. She's probably nervous as all Hell."
"This shouldn't be any different than a Parent-Teacher meeting." He said, "I'm talking to a grown man about his relationship with my kid."
"Hun."
"It's true."
"Hun."
He turned his head and made a face, "Yes."
"Chill out." She told him simply, "Remember, and consider, what Viktor said before. There was a time where even he would've had to be careful if he'd been involved with Yuri when they were both younger. There's even a good chunk of years between us. I know she's your baby girl and you want to make sure she's safe, but you've got to stop projecting your worst self onto him."
He paused, and lowered his eyes, "...I can't help it. I'm...terrified of this."
"And that's perfectly fine. Every parent eventually goes through this with their kids. You can't stop every heartbreak in her life, but you can cause some of your own if you're not careful. And you don't want to hurt her yourself, right?"
"Of course not..." He answered sullenly, "I just thought I'd have more time with them before stuff like this would..." His words trailed, and he saw a new message from Yurio on his screen, "...Happen...?"
"What?"
Mikhail scanned the screen three or four times before he finally understood what the message read. He immediately stood up, and looked aside only long enough to say, "We have to go. Now."
.
Sneakers tapped on the concrete steps as Viktor made his way down to the prep area to find his things, but a commotion on the far side of the open space caught his eye. He quickly grabbed his water bottle and looked over, trying to get a better look. This is sad...I'm such a pigeon. Anything shiny and I have to look, he chastised himself, and took a sip as he spied anyway. At first, he couldn't see much beyond the presence of a few staffers from security, and two oddly familiar men beyond the barrier, but then... "Pfffft-" He spewed water everywhere, "Yurio?"
The sudden geyser of water caught the teen's attention, and he looked up to spot his older counterpart gawking at them. Without a second thought, he raised his hand, "Oi! Viktor!"
The Russian rubbed his mouth on his jacket's sleeve, but quickly walked over, "What in the Hell is going on? What's with all the securit-" He stopped, both his words and his steps. Several paces away from the scene still, he spotted a rather unnerved Otabek being clung to by an inconsolable Nikki.
"Vot on!" One of the weirdly-familiar men suddenly said, "Predatelʹ!" He snarled, and spat as far as he could over the barrier, straight towards Viktor.
That far away though, the skater could just take a surprised step back to avoid it, but the message it sent was loud and clear anyway. Viktor didn't even have a chance to be angry about it though before the larger of the three security detailers reprimanded the man rather severely. Those...are the two guys that Ghost growled at. What are they doing down here...? He wondered, then turned his eyes back to the terrorized teenager, taking what comfort she could from the Team Kazakhstan jacket she'd buried her face in. Everything seemed to happen so quickly; Mikhail and Minako arrived right after that, though even they were stunned into silence by the scene. Viktor looked right back to Otabek then, wondering how he'd react to Mikhail being there.
"Don't freak out." Yurio said immediately, and got between the two and their elders. He gestured furiously at the two men who'd been shoved even further away by then, "Those two massive cunts went after Nikki, and Otabek handed their asses to them for it!"
"What...why were you...huh?" Mikhail stammered, a thousand questions coming to mind at once. He closed his eyes and shook his head, and focused on the fact that his daughter was sobbing, "...What do you mean...'went after Nikki'?" He asked, "Is she hurt?"
Viktor looked at the two men more carefully then as his uncle tried to process the story. The taller of the two - the one that spat at him - had a hand on his upper gut, and there was a long, 16-inch line of dust still plainly visible on the front of his jacket. The other snorted back a drip of blood from one nostril, and was probing the inside of his cheek with his tongue. Viktor then spotted that one tooth in front was missing as well. Slate eyes went to Otabek then and scanned him as well; he still had his skates on - though one was half unlaced - and the knuckles on his right hand had a red mark, though not quite a cut.
"I went to ask Otabek to come and talk to you," Yurio had started to explain, "She was behind me while I was asking... We both heard her suddenly yell at someone to stop, and we saw those two defective assholes messing with her hair and hat. Otabek was on them like a bat out of fucking Hell! He clocked the one touching her hair right in the mouth, and then kicked the other guy in the guts right after! The idiot fell right on his ass! Then the security guys came and broke them up before Otabek could put them in the hospital!" He said, only to raise his voice louder, "THOUGH THEY SHOULD'VE LET HIM!"
"Otvali!" They spat at him.
"Vy parazity!" He barked back angrily, "Vy tak glupy, čto ne možete napisatʹ èto!"
"That's enough," Mikhail said, his voice lower than one could've expected. The two men were summarily shoved away by the security team, and stayed with them until the whole gaggle of them were out of sight. Minako watched her partner warily, but didn't know what to say. The Russian stepped closer to the little group, both scared and relieved all at once, though it paled to the feeling of his nerves creeping up. With Nikki clinging so desperately, Otabek could do little more than hold her, lest he do nothing at all and just look like an ass with both his hands up. The Kazakh looked clearly rattled, but whether it was at the prospect of incoming doom, or from the adrenaline of having just gotten into a 2-on-1 fight and won, Mikhail wasn't sure. The elder swallowed a nervous cramp in his throat, and finally found words, "...You...stepped into harm's way to protect my daughter." He said, all the while repeating Minako's advice in his head; Let him do the talking...let him do the talking...
Otabek didn't say a word though. He just lowered his head slightly in a nodding gesture. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.
Mikhail nodded as well, "...Then you did...what I couldn't."
Yurio and Viktor were both taken aback by the words, and side-eyed each other like they weren't sure they'd heard him right.
"All this time..." Mikhail continued, brows ruffled, making his scary business-mode visage look less intimidating, "I've been looking for any excuse to keep you away from her. I thought...you'd be like any other dumb popular jock, and take advantage of her trusting nature and friendly personality. People have been telling me that you protect the people you know...but I didn't want to think it was true. The worst thing...is that I made her miserable by being overbearing, like I was the only one who stood between her and being hurt. But...I wasn't even here. I couldn't stop anything. And now, she's hurt...and looking to you."
"...I just...did what any decent person would've done." Otabek finally said, "I...was just the first to get there."
"...All the same." Mikhail said quietly, "She wants to be around you, and I...guess I have no choice but to understand why. She feels safe with you. I can only be glad that you appear to be exactly what she thinks you are...and ask that you keep being that way to her."
Eyes widened to hear him say it, but none were brave enough to reply. Even Otabek was stunned, but as usual, he stayed quiet anyway.
Mikhail stepped closer and leaned down, hand slowly pressed to his daughter's back, "Sweetie, it's okay. It's done. They're gone." He said calmly. He could feel through her puffer jacket that she was tense and trembling, and her terrified sobs had switched to gasped, painful breaths, all but hyperventilating.
It took her a moment to finally register that it was him behind her, and she carefully unclenched herself from her friend, eyes red and swollen. Her throat hurt too much to speak, and all she could manage was a hiccupped attempt at saying 'papa.' Unable though, she finally loosened her grip enough to let Otabek go, leaving him with a big wet spot on the front of his jacket, and transferred her clutch to her father. Mikhail hugged her tight, and picked her up off the ground to carry her against his chest.
Otabek had stepped off a few paces by then, and just watched with uncertainty. He caught a glimpse from Viktor, but no one really knew what to say, so no one said anything.
At least, until Mikhail did, "Otabek," He said, drawing all eyes up quickly. He gave a clear nod to the Kazakh, waited for one to be returned, and turned to head out of the prep area with Minako.
Yurio gave a quick glance back, but then hopped to chase after them, "I'll see you later." He said simply.
Viktor watched them all go, perplexed but relieved, and looked at the skater next to him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uhm...thank you, for helping her." He said, "...I think-"
"They went after her to get to you." Otabek finished, "That's obvious. You really kicked a hornet's nest in Russia."
"...Y-yeah...seems so."
"You should all be more careful."
"...Yeah..."
.
.
.
Èto devočka, kotoruju ja pomnju = This is the girl I remember.
Eë volosy pohoži na ego. Serebristymi. = Her hair is like his. Silvery.
Vot on. Predatelʹ! = There he is. Traitor!
Otvali! = Fuck off!
Vy parazity! Vy tak glupy, čto ne možete napisatʹ èto! = You're parasites! You're so stupid, you couldn't spell it!
