Chapter 4: The Barrage
Victor woke the next morning to find Seva wide awake and sitting silently on the bed, looking straight in front of him.
"Good morning Seva," he said looking down at the boy and smiling in greeting.
He noticed Yuuri, curled up and leaned against the side of the bed, sleeping in a kneeling position.
"Should we wake Yuuri" Victor asked Seva, who nodded a barely visible, short nod.
Victor smiled and leaned down to whisper in his deeply slumbering husband's ear.
"Good morning, my love."
Yuuri jumped awake, thinking he was late for something again. He suddenly remembered what had happened the night before. Seeing Seva he realized it had not been a dream as he had hoped, for Victor and the boy's sake.
"S-sorry. Good morning, Victor. Good morning, Seva-kun."
Seva blinked in surprise and tugged on Victor's arm, looking up at him questioningly.
Victor's smile warmed and he nodded in understanding.
"In Japan, sometimes an ending is put on your name. Yuuri's parents call me Vic-chan. Yuuri is sometimes called Yuuri-kun by his longtime friends. In your case, it acknowledges you are a young boy. It is affectionate."
Seva gave Yuuri the tentative beginnings of a smile.
"You like it when I call you that?" Yuuri asked, looking relieved, "I don't have to…"
Seva shook his head firmly and smiled that tiny smile again.
"I think he prefers you call him your way," Victor said decidedly.
"Thank you, Seva-kun," Yuuri said, blushing slightly, "I'm glad you like it."
Yuuri looked at the clock and made a worried exclamation.
"I should go start my morning practice," he said figuring he would be alone this morning through his exercise and morning run, "You two will probably want some time together."
Victor's head tilted slightly.
"What do you say Seva? Would you like to help me with Yuuri's training this morning?" Victor asked.
He was actually surprised when Sevan gave another single nod.
"Okay, well, let's get dressed and then we will show you what we do in the mornings."
Victor went through the boy's meager possessions and found suitable clothes for their day.
"Hey, I can't believe you still have this!" Victor exclaimed, pulling out a stuffed poodle that looked like it had been well loved.
Victor smiled when Seva reached for the toy and he handed it to the boy with a grin.
"Let me guess" Yuuri said, matching Victor's smile with his own, "you gave that to him."
"I did give that to him. How did you guess?" Victor joked.
"Is it your favorite, Seva?" he asked.
He got a smile and a nod from Seva in answer to his questions.
"Well, do you want to leave him here, so he doesn't get lost?"
Yuuri was kneeling so he was at the boy's level. He got another nod as the boy put the toy on the now made bed. Yuuri felt his heart ache for the silent little boy, but was unsure what more he could do at that point.
"I will let you guys get ready and I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast"
Yuuri took his clothes to the bathroom to get dressed.
Victor helped the boy get dressed for the day, then he paused and thought for a moment.
"Okay, my little one. I am going into another room to get dressed. I will be right back" Victor said, unsure if it was okay to dress in front of the boy or not. Soon he back, dressed in his workout cloths.
"You ready?" he asked holding out his hand.
His smile grew bigger as the boy took the offered hand.
Unsure what Victor's little boy would eat, Yuuri helped his mother set out a simple breakfast for Seva. He was sure this would be different for the boy, but he hoped it would be ok for everyone involved.
"Mom stop fussing it will be fine" Yuuri said.
Minako sat nearby, having been told the basics of what was going on, although Yuuri had not gone too into much detail.
Soon, Victor and Seva arrived, and stood, hand in hand near the breakfast table.
"I am sure it will be fine, thank you" Victor said when Yuuri's mother explained she had no idea what to do for breakfast for the little boy, and how sorry she was for both of them.
"Are you hungry, Seva?" Victor asked, getting a nod from the boy in response.
The little family of three sat down to eat breakfast. After they were done, Victor stood and motioned for Seva to join him.
"That was delicious, thank you," he said gratefully to Hiroko, "It's time to get started with our day."
Yuuri joined Victor and Seva, and the three of them made their way to the doors of the inn. The minute they stepped outside, they found themselves being ambushed by a sea of curious reporters. At first, Yuuri and Victor looked confused at the disruption, but then a familiar voice broke through the crowd.
"Victor, is it true you've become the guardian of a child? So soon after your marriage to Yuuri Katsuki? Is it an adoption?" Hisashi Morooka asked, making his way to the front of the crowd, "Word is spreading that a boy arrived here, and that you are his legal guardian, but no other details have been made available. Do you have any comment?"
He seemed to not know details. None of the reporters really seemed to know the details of what was going on. Some even shouted questions about Yuuri and Victor being married. Others shouted about the child.
Victor smiled, holding up his hand to signal for everyone to be quiet so he could answer them.
"Yes," he said calmly, "as you all should know, Yuuri and I are married. It has been all over the news. As for the child, I will not go into detail at this time. I will only say that he is the son of my best friend, who recently passed away unexpectedly. I have been left custody of the child, so I am now a father. Yuuri and I both are this boy's fathers," he beamed holding Yuuri's hand as he felt Seva cowering behind him.
Victor felt Seva's head burrowing into his back and reached around to place a calming hand on him. Victor and Yuuri took a few steps back so the boy was pushed back inside the inn.
"Well, that was annoying," Victor said, though he was all smiles, "How do we get to Ice Castle now?" he asked Yuuri.
"I'm not sure" Yuuri said, shaking his head, "there isn't really a back way out of the inn." Normally, they would just push through, answering questions until they escaped the crowd, but they suspected they couldn't do that with Seva.
"Should we leave Seva with Minako or my parents, so we can try to go get rid of them? At least they haven't come inside," Yuuri said, noticing that Seva had a death grip around Victor's waist and his face was still buried in the Russian man's back. The child looked absolutely terrified.
"Seva, can you stay here with Minako or Yuuri's parents while we go talk to the people outside?" Victor asked, but the boy just gripped him tighter.
Victor pried the little boy's grip loose, kneeling down, only to have the death grip move to being around his neck.
"This seems more like it might be separation anxiety than fear," Yuuri suggested, "Seva just lost his father, Victor. Maybe, he is afraid that if you leave him, something will happen to you too. You can understand how he feels, right?"
Surprise and realization erupted on Victor's face and he gave his husband a look of deep gratitude as he looked into Seva's frightened eyes.
"Seva, you don't need to worry. I'm not going to leave you. Yuuri, sorry about this, but can you and Toshiya try to get rid of them?"
"Of course," Yuuri answered.
Victor waited until they were alone, then turned his attention back to the boy.
"Seva," he said softly, taking one of the boy's hands from around his neck and holding it gently, "I know that you have been through something terrible. I can imagine you are so scared because Anton is not with us anymore. We cannot bring him back, even though we both wish he was here. I want to tell you that I miss Anton too. I am…so very sad that my friend has died. But, it comforts me to have you here. I promise you, I will take care of you and I will not leave you. I know it's hard for you to trust that, but you will feel more comfortable and you will trust me more to come back as time goes on."
Victor looked up as Yuuri returned to the room.
"Well, the coast seems to be clear now," he said in a relieved tone, "We just made sure they understood that we are still dealing with everything and we need time and privacy to gather ourselves. I don't think they'll bother us now."
"Good, then we should be going," Victor said, standing and taking his son's hand.
"Actually," Yuuri said, stopping him, "Morooka stayed for a few minutes after everyone else left and he apologized for bothering us."
"As well he, and the others should," Victor sighed.
"He also commented that somehow the press knew that Seva wasn't talking."
"They knew?" Victor repeated, looking mystified, "But…the only ones who would know about that are the police that investigated Anton's death and maybe the people who were involved in Seva's custody exchange. None of them should have been talking."
Victor considered briefly, then let out a frustrated sigh.
"Of course, if there was an unscrupulous newsperson and he or she managed to pay off the right people, I suppose the information would be easy to get. I'm not happy about that getting out, but it won't change anything if people know."
"Morooka also gave me the name of a child psychologist who specializes in getting traumatized children to communicate through play."
"Through play?" Victor repeated thoughtfully, "You mean, they give the kid toys and watch them or something?"
"Something like that," Yuuri affirmed, "but he said that it was something that's been really helpful to kids like Seva. I mean, we don't have to use the reference he gave us. I'm sure that we can find someone that you and I can trust…"
Victor frowned and tilted his head.
"Doesn't Minako know a child psychologist?" he asked, "I think she said she dated one awhile back?"
"Right," Yuuri agreed, "His name is Asahi. I can talk to Minako and get his information. We can at least talk to him and see if he thinks that kind of therapy would be helpful. I just can't think of another way to understand what's going on in Seva's mind, and what he might be struggling with. I want to help him, Victor."
Victor gave Yuuri a look of gratitude and embraced him.
"I know you want to help him, and I appreciate that so much, Yuuri. More than you know. I was worried when Seva first arrived that it would hurt you to learn about Anton and me. I don't like to talk about the past, but he came here, and there it was, staring us in the face. You can't begin to know what it means to me, and to that little boy that you care so much for him."
"Of course I care for him," Yuuri said sadly, "Victor, as much as you and I love each other, I can never give you what Anton has…a child."
"Yuuri," Victor said, giving his husband a stricken look, "you know that…"
"I know," Yuuri assured him, reaching down to take Seva's small hand in his, "You overlook the fact, because you love me. I love you too, Victor, and…when Anton left this child in your care, I admit, I was afraid. But…I don't feel so afraid now. Things are different than how we planned, but now Seva has come to us, and he needs us. Now, we can be the parents we wished we could be for this little boy. It doesn't matter that he was born to someone else. He depends on us now, and we will be there for him."
Yuuri made a sound of surprise and stared as Seva jumped into his arms and hugged him as tightly as he had been holding on to Victor. Victor smiled with both warmth and sadness.
"I think that you made a good impression on our boy," the Russian said quietly, "Seva trusts you. I think he has very good instincts."
Yuuri looked deeply into Seva's sad eyes and squeezed his hand.
"So, you trust me?" he asked softly.
The boy gave a tiny little nod.
"Then, will you go with Victor and me to see someone who might be able to help you talk to us?"
Seva nodded again.
"Good," Victor said, kneeling beside Yuuri, "There is a lot we have to say."
He paused and looked at his watch.
"Ah, but we should really go and practice with Yuuri first. Come."
Yuuri's smile warmed encouragingly as the boy hesitated.
"It's okay now," he assured Seva, "The reporters have gone. No one will bother us. And hey, when we get to the ice rink, there are some children there who are the daughters of the owners. I'm sure you'll like them. They're very friendly."
"They are," Victor agreed, "And I'll tell you a secret."
Seva looked up at him, wide-eyed and curius.
"They helped Yuuri and me to get together," Victor explained.
How? Seva's eyes asked.
"You see," Victor went on, "Yuuri was very depressed one day, because he had skated in the Grand Prix Finals with me, but he got nervous and he made mistakes and fell a lot, so he came in last in the competition. But…Yuuri was a great skater, and when he was alone, he would copy my free skate program, and he never fell while he was doing it, because he wasn't nervous at all. Well, one day, as Yuuri was skating my free skate so perfectly, the girls shot a video of him, and they posted it online, and the video went viral!"
Seva's hands clasped together and his eyes rounded.
"I saw the video of Yuuri's beautiful copy of my program, and it melted my heart. I raced all of the way here, to Hasetsu, to find Yuuri and to be his coach. So…we owe those three girls a lot!"
"We do," Yuuri laughed, "They did us a big favor, even though they were doing something they kind of got in trouble for with their mom."
"It just goes to show, you never know what will happen next," Victor said, taking his son's hands, "And even when things are sad or scary, some good things can happen too. You must always try to stay positive and try your hardest. Bad things will happen sometimes and you have to be strong through it, but remember that things will always get better again. It will be okay."
Seva looked up at Victor and Yuuri and nodded in agreement. He held Victor's hand on one side and Yuuri's on the other as the three left the hot spring inn and walked to Ice Castle Hasetsu. Seva's eyes grew large again as they reached the rink and walked inside. Victor noticed the boy's rapt expression and squeezed his hand.
"It's like walking into a new world, isn't it?" he sighed.
Seva nodded enthusiastically. He watched closely as Yuuri put on his skates and started to skate.
"I usually skate with Yuuri," Victor explained, "but I'll stay with you for now."
Seva acted as though he had barely heard, He stood near the entrance to the ice, watching as Yuuri carefully warmed up, then began to practice his program. Victor noticed that the boy looked a little like he might be shivering.
But no…he noticed, that's not him shivering from cold. Seva likes this!
"You like to watch Yuuri skate?" Victor asked.
Seva nodded and Victor felt his heart begin to pound.
"Seva, do you want to try it too?"
Victor's heart throbbed almost painfully as the boy clasped his hands and nodded even more emphatically.
He wants to skate.
Our Seva wants to skate!