Chapter 14: Little Piggy and the Wolf

Victor found himself smirking a little at how Yuuri simply knelt near him, hands clenching on the tops of his thighs, and gazing at him with a stricken, wide-eyed expression as the Russian skater ate voraciously.

"This is sooooo good!" Victor exclaimed, "There was a meal on the plane, of course, but it doesn't come close. This is wonderful."

"Oh, it's so nice of you to say that, Vic-chan," Hiroko chuckled as she, Toshiya and Mari entered the room and sat down at the table with them.

"So, how was the flight coming over from Russia?" Toshiya asked conversationally, "I hope it wasn't too bumpy."

"That wouldn't be good, with you having been in the hospital recently, would it?" Hiroko added sympathetically, "I hope you're feeling better, Vic-chan."

Victor couldn't help but notice Yuuri flinching visibly at the mention of his illness.

"I'm doing much better," Victor assured them, "I did have to have a small procedure, but I'm healing all right. It wasn't terribly serious."

"I noticed the little scar you have," Yuuri said, blushing.

"Is that all you noticed while I was naked with you, Yuuri?" Victor countered, aiming to change the direction of the conversation.

We are not ready to talk about that yet.

"W-well, I um…err…"Yuuri stammered, blushing more darkly.

"Thank you all, by the way, for the gifts," Victor continued smoothly.

He pulled the omamori out of the pocket of the inn robe he wore.

"I've been taking this with me everywhere I go."

"That's so sweet, dear," Hiroko gushed, her eyes sparkling, "We're happy you like it."

"I haven't thought of a wish to make for the Daruma yet," the Russian continued, giving Yuuri a teasing glance, "Maybe Yuuri can help me think of something while I'm here."

"I-I'll try to think of something good!" Yuuri answered determinedly, his hands clenching and his voice almost shouting.

Victor met Yuuri's eyes again, biting at his lips to control his amusement at how his attention made the younger man react so strongly.

"And the paper cranes were so lovely," he went on, "It must have taken so long to make all of them, but I understand origami can be soothing to someone who suffers a lot from nerves?"

"Yeah," Yuuri said sheepishly, "That's why I have about a million of those already. I do find it soothing to make them."

"You made all of those, Yuuri?" Victor asked, his eyes widening, "So many?"

"Yeah, I get nervous…a lot."

Yuuri sucked in a surprised breath as Victor took hold of his hands and examined them closely.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he managed, staring, "What are you looking for?"

Victor gave him a cute little wink.

"Paper cuts," he joked, making all of the Katsukis laugh with him.

Victor felt a sweet, nostalgic fluttering in his heart.

This…is how I always imagined my family would be. If I had a family, we would be comfortable with each other and joke and tease, just like this. Not that Yakov, Lilia and Valentin aren't family to me…they are. I just mean that if I hadn't been thrown away. If my parents had wanted me and I had grown up in a normal home, this is what I imagine it would be like.

Yuuri is so very lucky!

I wonder if he knows that, or if Yuuri takes this for granted.

"And thank you, Yuuri," he said, continuing their conversation, "for your kind words and the invitation to come here."

"Oh…w-well I…" Yuuri stammered, going an even darker shade of pink as Mari snickered, "I uh…felt kind of bad after the way I ignored you when you called out to me after the Grand Prix Final. I should have taken that photo with you. I was sad afterward that I let my emotions ruin what that day was supposed to be like."

"It's all right," Victor said disarmingly, "We're here now. We can take all of the photos you want to, and I'll share them on my Instagram!"

"Well, I don't really feel like I deserve it," Yuuri complained, "I was completely humiliated.

"Yeah," Mari said, smirking, "wasn't Victor's score like over a hundred points higher than yours, Yuuri?"

"Thanks a lot!" snapped the Japanese skater, making his sister chuckle, "Like I wasn't humiliated enough already?"

"Why are you humiliated?" Victor asked, letting out a huff of breath, "Do you think that in my career, I haven't also made mistakes and given a terrible performance? Let me reassure you that every skater has. We're going to fix that humiliation, Yuuri. We're going to do something about that…eh…maybe as soon as I've had a chance to rest from the flight."

"Oh, of course," Hiroko said, standing, "Mari, come and help me prepare a place for Vic-chan."

"I better get back to taking care of the guests," Toshiya sighed, following the two out of the room.

Victor yawned sleepily.

"It shouldn't take long for them to finish," Yuuri said bracingly, his eyes blinking curiously as Victor stretched, then just laid down on the floor, curling around the old poodle next to him, "Um, hey, at least let me give you a pillow for your head if you're going to do that!"

Yuuri grabbed a clean floor cushion and Victor yawned and nodded his gratitude as he accepted it and laid down again.

"Victor," Yuuri said quietly, taking on a serious tone, "thank you for coming to Hasetsu. I mean, I never dreamed that you would…"

He broke off, making a little sound of surprise as a soft snore emanated from the Russian's curled body.

"Oh," Yuuri chuckled softly, "you must be so tired. Sorry."

He watched raptly, unable to fully believe his idol was really there.

This is Victor…my idol, the one whose beautiful skating changed the course of my life! He's really here in front of me, curled up and sleeping on my floor. I've looked at him so many times on TV, memorizing every little thing about him…his soft, smooth hair, his perfect skin, the purring sound his voice makes when he's relaxed. I love his scent. There's something about it that seems so…stirring.

Wow.

He really is lying there on the floor with his pet poodle and sleeping as though he laid in a soft, perfect bed, when the floor is anything but. I get dizzy looking at him. I wonder how crazy I've got to be, believing what's in front of me. This man…Victor…

With no one watching him, Yuuri was content to remain on his knees near the Russian legend, clenching his hands on his thighs and swallowing hard as Victor sighed so cutely in his sleep and hugged Maccachin closer.

In that article I read, years ago, it said that Victor was given Maccachin by his coach, Yakov, when he suddenly became ill and had to leave the skater's dormitory in Saint Petersburg. He lived with his ballet instructor, Lilia Baranovskaya, the former prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet. She used to be married to Yakov. Victor was twelve years old when Maccachin came to him. That means he's at least fifteen now. That's really old for a standard poodle to live.

I wonder if Victor worries about that, Yuuri mused, his mind going back to the loss of his own beloved poodle, He seems really attached.

Unbidden tears welled up in the corners of Yuuri's eyes and might have overflowed if he hadn't suddenly been interrupted by Minako dashing into the room with Hiroko a step behind.

"What the heck?" Yuuri exclaimed, keeping his voice carefully hushed.

"Oh my god, it's really him!" Minako yelped, "What is doing here, lying on the floor in one of the inn's robes?"

"Well, he soaked for a long time in the hot spring and after he ate, he was just so tired that he laid down right there, by the table."

"And now, he's sleeping soundly as a baby," Hiroko said, gazing at the Russian man adoringly.

"Have you even asked him any questions or were you just staring at him with those wide eyes all night?" Minako asked accusingly, "Yuuri, do you understand? There is a rumor going around that he's here to be your coach!"

"I know that," Yuuri said dismissively, "That's the first thing Victor told me."

"Well, did he tell you the reason he decided to come to be your coach?"

"Eh…um, we didn't actually get to much talking," Yuuri said, blushing.

"Victor told the reporters that he came to Hasetsu because of that viral video Yuko and Takeshi's kids uploaded. He said that he saw the video and he was so inspired that he dropped everything and came here to coach you. Victor chose you to be his protégé! Do you even know how amazing that is?"

"Victor was inspired by me?" Yuuri asked, turning his head to look at the Russian skater more closely.

Yuuri and Minako startled as Victor suddenly sneezed and sat up, blinking and yawning.

"Oh, I'm so hungry," he sighed, turning his head to look at Yuuri, Minako and Hiroko, "Is there more food around here?"

"Yeah!" Yuuri squawked nervously, "We have tons of food. What would you like?"

Victor's head tilted as Maccachin's did the same.

"What's your favorite food, Yuuri?" Victor asked curiously, "If I'm going to be your coach, that's something I should know, don't you think?"

"Ah, yeah sure. I guess," Yuuri answered uncertainly.

Victor nodded and smiled warmly.

"So?" he prompted Yuuri, "What is it? What is your favorite food?"

Is it going to be this hard to learn everything about him? Victor wondered as Yuuri turned for a moment and said something quietly to Hiroko,

"Okay," Yuuri said, seeming to gain a measure of confidence, "Mom's going to bring it. I think you'll really like it."

"Can't wait to try it. So then, tell me more about you, Yuuri."

As they waited, Victor continued to gently prod the Japanese skater with questions, only to find that doing so only heightened Yuuri's obvious anxiety.

This doesn't make sense. Yuuri asked me to come here! He practically advertised his love for me for everyone all over the goddamned world! So, why does he look at me like that? Like I'm some kind of horror out of one of his worst nightmares? He wanted all of this to happen? Where is the boy who lost at the Grand Prix Final and got drunk and asked me to be his coach? Where is the alpha? The strong, unyielding Eros, who took me to bed and made me pregnant that night?

Is Yuuri playing some kind of game?

Is he too intimidated to accept that his desires have come to life, and are standing right in front of him?

Is he panicked?

Bipolar?

Does he have multiple personalities?

Victor took a steadying breath, prepared to risk everything…then, he smelled a heavenly, savory scent on the air that made all of his thoughts scatter immediately.

"Wh-what…is…that?" he whispered, blinking in surprise.

He stared in wonder at the steaming dish that Hiroko set down in front of him as she happily announced.

"It's a pork cutlet bowl, extra large…our house specialty!"

"Wow! This looks amazing!" the Russian exclaimed, capturing a piece of the deep fried pork, egg and rice on his chopsticks and bringing it to his mouth.

As good as it looked, the dish tasted even better. It was so good that Victor lost all restraint and shouted his appreciation in Russian.

"VKUSNO!"

He tried to speak, but couldn't stop eating as he went on, so he naturally did a sloppy job of both.

"Rrrreally, there are no words! This must be what God eats."

"I'm glad you like it," Yuuri said happily.

Minako gave the two men a little smirk and jumped into the conversation.

"The rule was that he could only have one of these after winning a competition, because he gains weight so easily," she said, making the Japanese skater blush harder and pull at his somewhat tight clothing.

"Oh," Victor acknowledged around a mouthful of pork and rice, "so tell me, have you had a pork cutlet bowl recently?"

"Sure!" Yuuri beamed, falling right into the trap, "they're my favorite, so I eat them all the time."

"Oh really?" Victor noted, never losing his bright smile, "But you haven't won anything, have you?"

He barely managed not to laugh and choke on his food as Yuuri's blush roared back and his body tensed.

I think it's best to just be straightforward with him.

"Hmm," the Russian said, tilting his head, "you know, there's not much I can do with you until you lose that piggy gut and work off those love handles. You need to get back to your pre-GPF weight…or I can't coach you. So, why don't you lay off the pork cutlet bowls for awhile, okay little piggy?"

Although he tempered the harsh words with a bright, cheerful smile, he could practically see them bowling Yuuri over physically as the Japanese skater cringed and broke out in a sweat.

This is the alpha who took me to bed forcefully and bit me?

He continued to watch Yuuri closely as he finished eating, then he followed the younger man to the small banquet room Yuuri's mother and sister had swiftly reconfigured into a bedroom for him.

He still looks ready to jump out of his skin every time I speak to him. I guess I'd better do something to calm his nerves and reassure him.

"What an incredibly adorable little room!" he said admiringly, "Is there a sofa?"

"No, sorry," Yuuri apologized, barely lifting his head as he helped Mari move the last of the boxes in, "And sorry the room's so small, but this was all we had available right now."

"Don't you worry," Victor said bracingly, "I'll make it work."

He watched as Mari left, then he moved in closer to Yuuri, who was kneeling on the floor, resting after all of the heavy lifting.

"Now then, Yuuri," he purred, dropping down to the younger man's level and slipping a warm hand under Yuuri's chin, "Let's get to know each other. A relationship like this should be built on trust, don't you think?"

He made a sound of surprise and gave Yuuri a befuddled look as the Japanese skater backpedaled so hard that he almost crashed into the wall behind him.

What is wrong with him? Am I so scary to him?

"What's wrong?" he asked, remaining carefully where he was, "Why did you run away?"

"Er…um…leg cramp," Yuuri panted, "M-must've pulled something when I was moving the boxes."

He has to be playing some sort of game with me. Either that, or Yuuri suffers from multiple personalities or something like that. Maybe it just takes the right approach to activate his more dominant personality.

"So, um, if there's nothing else, I'll let you get some sleep now," Yuuri said awkwardly, climbing to his feet and heading out of the room, "Good night, Victor."

Victor hadn't even time to answer before Yuuri was out the door. He blinked slowly, then perked as an idea came to mind. Hopping to his feet, he grabbed the pillow that had been left for him and dashed out of the room. He saw Yuuri go into a room at the end of the hall and close the door and he followed, calling out to his flighty student.

"Hey Yuuri! Let's have a slumber party. It's a perfect way to get to know each other."

He wasn't expecting the howled, "No!" that sounded through the door and continued to try to coax the Japanese boy out, but after several minutes, he realized the effort was futile and he headed back to his room. He walked inside and turned off the lights, then he took off his top and plopped down onto the makeshift bed that had been made up for him on the floor. He wrapped his arms around Maccachin, sighing wearily at his failure to learn anything at all about his enigmatic student.

"How am I supposed to get to know Yuuri better if he keeps running away every time I try to speak to him?" he complained to the old poodle, "I'm being as nice as I can. I don't understand why he's so intimidated. Does he…maybe feel embarrassed and worried that I'll tell his family about what happened at the Sochi event? I suppose that could be it, but maybe it's worse and he is so upset by what he did to me while we were drunk, that he is blocking out the memory or something?"

Maccachin whimpered sympathetically and gave him a sleepy lick on the cheek before lying down on the floor. Victor curled around him, breathing slowly and thinking quietly. He tried closing his eyes and letting himself fall asleep, but it was strange sleeping on the floor, and the little, unfamiliar noises made him come awake again when he did drift off.

I barely noticed the hardness of the floor at all when I was so exhausted after the long flight, but now I just can't get comfortable.

He turned on some very soft classical music, but he couldn't get used to the harder sleeping surface. At his wits end, he sat up and let out a ragged sigh of discomfort. He was surprised to hear Hiroko's voice call softly from outside the door.

"Vic-chan, are you still awake?"

"Y-yes," he answered, grabbing the top and wrestling it back into place as the door slid open and Yuuri's mother entered the room.

"Not to bother you, dear, but you sounded like you were restless. Is it too uncomfortable for you? We could try to find something softer for you to sleep on."

"Oh…no," Victor replied hastily, "It's really fine. I just…it's different here and I'm messed up from the long flight."

"Ah, that makes sense," Hiroko said, moving to his side and kneeling.

Victor gave her a quiet, curious look.

"It also makes sense that Vic-chan might be a little homesick from having jumped up and run away to Japan, ne?"

There was something so kind and so disarming about the woman that Victor's defenses were instantly crushed and he couldn't tell her anything but the truth.

Mmm, yes, I think that's part of it, but it's also Yuuri," he sighed, resting his arms on his bent knees and laying his face on his arms, with his head turned towards the lady innkeeper, "I know he is shy, but he won't even talk to me. Yuuri…wanted me to come here. I know he did."

"Yes," Hiroko agreed, nodding, "I'm sure he did want you to come here, but I think he's very, very surprised that you actually did. All of us are surprised, Vic-chan. We are surprised, but we are so happy that you've come to us."

"I'm happy to be here," Victor replied, smiling at her and lifting his head, "but I don't know how to get through to Yuuri, and I can't help him…I can't coach him if he won't even talk to me."

The little chuckle that escaped the elder woman surprised him, but he was floored as Hiroko curved a soft palm around his cheek and looked kindly into his confused eyes.

"Give him a little bit of time," she advised him, "Yuuri is an anxious boy, but there is one person who has inspired our Yuuri to grow strong and to become a competitive skater. I think the person who can motivate him like that, can also be successful in reaching Yuuri and earning his trust. Don't you agree?"

What is this feeling in my chest and in my stomach? It's like butterflies, but at the same time, I feel like crying.

"Are you all right, Vic-chan?" Hiroko asked, sounding worried.

"Oh, I'm fine," he answered, though he knew very well she could see he was the furthest thing from fine, "I'm just…I grew up a little differently, so I'm not used to…"

He paused, biting at his lips as Hiroko withdrew her hand, but remained quiet, watching him curiously.

"I mean that I didn't have a mother to touch me like that and give me advice or…comfort me. When I left the orphanage and lived with my dance instructor, Lilia, she was a good parent, but…maybe there was something about me…some part of me that was broken from not being wanted."

Hiroko's eyes widened and she nodded sympathetically.

"Yuuri told us that Vic-chan spent a lot of his childhood in an orphanage."

"Yes. It wasn't bad. The people who looked after us weren't unkind, although we did have rules we had to follow…chores to do. And if we were scared at night, we comforted each other. We didn't wake the adults. It was just…different, not bad."

"I see," Hiroko said quietly, "but it must be confusing to suddenly become part of a family."

Victor felt as though the breath had all been sucked out of his body and he stared at Hiroko in astonishment.

"B-but…you don't even know me!" he managed weakly.

Her easy giggle undid him all over again and he gazed at her helplessly tongue tied.

"Vic-chan," she laughed, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them gently, "you may have been living somewhere else, but some part of you has been living here in Hasetsu and guiding our Yuuri as he grew up. Ever since he was a little boy, he has always been watching your beautiful skating. It is from you that he learned to love the ice, and how to use skating as a way to express himself."

She paused for a moment, thinking carefully before continuing.

"It is as though, in your performances, you cast out little bits of your heart, and our boy captured those little pieces and made them part of his own. Do you understand?"

Victor smiled and nodded silently, his eyes tearing.

"For someone to give such a profound gift, not just to our boy, even, but to the world, such a man deserves to be welcomed as one of our own, don't you think?"

Victor couldn't think of a single word to say in answer, but he hugged Hiroko tightly, burying his face in her shoulder.

Is this what it feels like to be hugged by one's own mother? It's such a wonderful feeling, I can't help crying…and I have actually felt something like this before.

Yes…

I felt this kind of feeling when I was carrying Yume and I put my arms around my own body to hug her. This is maternal love, then. This is the love between parent and child. This is Agape.

I felt like it was gone when I lost her.

…but…

I was wrong.