CHAPTER FIFTY

-Lemonade!? What do you do when life throws more than lemons!?-

Yuri looked at the listing for order of performance, and took a photo of the paper on his phone, for lack of being able to focus enough to remember what it said. All he knew was that he was close to the end, and so were Victor and Yurio, but he couldn't remember what order. Seeing 'Nikiforov' twice just confused his memory. It wasn't uncommon for ISU events to customize the order skaters went on the ice, so as to maximize the audience's attendance. If it meant putting potential medalists at the very end, they'd do it.

He moved off from there to go to the practice rink for his own sake, not having done anything on the ice yet that day. But, the frustration of dealing with Yurio had made it hard for him to do much that was meaningful. People were watching with morbid curiosity as he flubbed his jumps over, and over...and over… It was pitiful when he finally landed something, but it was just a double Toe-loop.

When he finally got his turn to practice his entire Free Skate, he ended up declining. His ego couldn't handle how poorly he'd warmed up and he didn't want it to get worse. So, he moved to the benches on the other side of the rink wall and looked at his phone, hoping Victor would call or text him to tell him what was going on. There was only an hour left until the Men's Singles event would start.

I should just send him a copy of the line-up…

Yuri sighed and did just that, attaching a copy of the picture he'd taken and sending it. Victor wasn't looking at his phone though, since the caption by the message only said 'Delivered,' never 'Seen.'

"Yuri…?" Came a familiar voice.

The skater looked up and saw his Thai friend looking back at him, Celestino just behind.

"You okay?"

"...More or less." Yuri answered glibly, and looked back down at his phone, hoping the status changed.

"I haven't seen you mess up jumps like that since Soch-"

"I know, I don't need a reminder." Yuri interrupted. He lowered his head, "It'll be fine."

"Did you and Victor…?"

"Huh?" He raised his head again, "Oh, no...it's not Victor. It's the Russian Yuri. He's being super melodramatic and I just... I got angry."

"Well, that's why they call him the Russian Punk, right? Bad temper, bad manners, poor social skills..." Phichit mused cautiously. He exchanged worried glances with his coach, but Celestino shook his head, unsure he could do anything to resolve the issue on his own.

"I know his reputation...but a list that short doesn't do his nature justice..." Yuri sighed, and rubbed his eyes on the sides of his wrists. He could feel the desire to cry, but refused to let a single tear fall.

"Foul language, arrogant, bratty, selfish, egotistical..." Phichit went on, listing the descriptors on his fingers as he went, trying his best to get his friend's spirit up, "The complete opposite of you..."

"...He has some redeeming qualities..." The older skater said, "He just...chooses not to make them common qualities."

"I can't even understand why his little fanclub likes him so much." Phichit said, moving to sit next to his friend, "Have you ever really looked closely at the photos they take with him? He looks absolutely miserable when he's with them. The fakest smile I've ever seen."

"He is absolutely miserable." Yuri agreed, "I think the only person with fewer social graces than Yurio is Seung-gil Lee. At the Rostelecom Cup...I was waiting for the elevator, and Michele's sister Sara saw Seung-gil there in the lobby near me. She tries to invite him out to dinner and he just...completely dismisses her. He actually told her to her face, 'What do I get out of being nice to you?'"

"She needed some cold water for the burn, huh?"

"Right?" Yuri agreed, "I took another elevator after that. I actually ended up with Yurio in there... I tried to wish us both luck, but he was as indignant as ever." He shook his head. A moment later, Yuri felt his phone buzz in his hand, and when he looked at the screen, he was relieved to see Victor's name there, "I gotta go." He said, reaching down to take his skates off, "Thanks for cheering me up, Phichit-kun."

"Sure! If I don't see you again before you go up, good luck!"

"You too."

Yuri finished getting his skates off and grabbed his gear, heading to a less noisy area before actually looking at the message.

[Where did you go?] Victor had asked.

[I went to practice.]

[Come back to the hotel as soon as you can.]

Yuri felt his heart go up into this throat, "What in the world…?" His thumbs were a blur on the touch screen, [What happened?] He asked frantically, thinking the worst.

[Just come back.]

[You're going to make me sit on a shuttle for 10 minutes, not knowing what's going on, with a message like that sitting in my mind?]

[Dealing with Yurio is exhausting.]
 [Since you sent me the schedule, I know we have time.]
 [...so...come back to the hotel!]

Yuri's face flushed where he stood, and he glanced around to see if anyone noticed. People were walking by him without any reaction though. His phone buzzed again.

[Besides, you left your outfit in the room when you stomped off in a huff. You should come get it~]

"Oh heck." He started running at that point, making his way through the throng of people; some were leaving after the earlier event, others were starting to arrive for the one to come. He even shot past Chris, who waved as Yuri ran by.

"Yuri!" He called out to him, "Why the rush? The event's about to start!"

"I'm not up till the end...and I left my outfit at the hotel!" Yuri hollered back, turning as he ran, "Besides, Victor needs me!"

"...What for?"

"The stuff he stopped skating for!"

Even Chris' face flushed at that, and he smirked deviously as he watched the younger skater get onto the nearest athlete's shuttle, "Yuri, you sly dog. Go get him."

By the time the shuttle finally arrived at the hotel, Yuri was ready to jump out the door, whether or not the vehicle was still moving. He'd messaged Victor when he saw the street signs close to the hotel, and expected to see him there in the lobby. That failing, Yuri rushed over to the elevator; one of the doors was opening as he ran up, and to his delight, Victor was one of the people within it. There were some stragglers that made Yuri impatient, waiting for them to get out of the way, but when they were finally clear, he rushed through the opening to throw himself at his husband.

"Yur-"

The whole thing reminded him of the Regional Qualifiers earlier in the season...but this time, he didn't have a bloodied-up face to give Victor the excuse to duck at the last second, and felt the warmth of those arms wrap around him in surprise. His lunge pushed the silver Russian right back inside the chamber again, with both arms up over his shoulders. As Victor tried to reorient himself, Yuri tilted his head around, using his toe to hit the 'Door Close' button to prevent other people from boarding; they seemed to get the hint though without needing the doors to shut them out.

"Wow...Yuri..." Victor was finally able to say, returning the hug properly as Yuri turned his head back around; the doors finally closed and the elevator started to go back up again. The Russian pulled up and practically dragged his husband over to the terminal to hit the button for their level before returning his attention where it belonged, "You're eager."

Yuri pulled in close to the taller figure, "After what happened earlier, I feel like I have to claim you again."

"Being territorial?"

"Absolutely!" He leaned up, and pulled Victor's head down at the same time, kissing him right there in the elevator. The Russian's arms snaked up his back to hold him closer, fingers clenching at the thicker fabric of the man's black track-suit coat.

They didn't even bother with clothing when they made it back to their room, simply moving whatever they needed out of the way to get at one another. Victor was still inside him when they finished. Yuri wasn't entirely sure the door had latched...but that didn't matter...he wanted his husband and he got him. All his reservations went out the window and he cried out as loud as he ever had, much to the pleasure of his partner's ears. The frustration and tension of the earlier afternoon was finally gone, and the pair heaved relieved breaths against each other's frames.

Victor just huffed a laugh between heavy gasps against Yuri's chest, "Well, that worked out rather well." He leaned his head down to kiss at the man's neck a little, "So now all we have to do is go to the Free Skate, win the thing, get our medals, and come back."

"...What time is it now?" The younger man wondered, panting as well, legs still tightly clenched around Victor's waist, ankles crossed behind his back.

The Russian reached past him to the night stand, grabbied his phone, and leaned up just enough to hold it in front of him, keeping himself firmly planted inside the younger man, "...Just about 12:30."

"Still two hours before either of us goes up."

"Interesting that they chose you to go dead last today." Victor mused, finally withdrawing to lay on his side next to his partner. The sensation drew half a moaned gasp from the smaller figure, and Victor moved to rest his free hand on Yuri's half-bare chest, the other holding his head up, "You know why, right?"

"...I'm last-last?" Yuri pulled his ringed hand up to place it over Victor's, "I knew it was one of us, but…I couldn't think clearly earlier so I wasn't sure which it was."

"Yeah, it's all you."

Yuri thought for a moment as he caught his breath, lifting his left hand to move the bangs from his eyes, stuck there from sweat, "It's probably nothing. But...if I had to make a story out of it... They expect you're going to win Gold. So...they're putting me last to give me a fighting chance; to get myself together in an effort to beat the score I'll know you get."

Victor nodded and smiled, drawing in closer. He slid his hand through the cooling mess on his husband's stomach, admiring the fact that he'd had the pleasure of being the reason it was there, "So, how was the rest of practice?"

"...Unhelpful." Yuri laughed nervously at himself, "Had some stuff on my mind...you know how it goes..."

"Did you land any jumps?"

"...A double Toe I think?"

"Hah, wow...~!"

"How'd things with Yurio turn out?"

Victor sighed, and turned to lay on his stomach, arms crossed under his chin, "Turns out he has abandonment issues. He thinks I've forsaken him, and he really really resents me for it. Catching us in the back hallway, and then me calling him Yurio when I went to catch him, really set him off. He thinks we're too focused on each other to worry about him anymore."

"Hm..."

"Both of his parents ditched him when he was really young... I mean, his mom was physically around, but she never took any interest in him, so she might as well have not been there at all. His grandpa was the only one who stepped up. When he got into skating, he made it his whole life, as many of us do...and a skater's team skating team becomes their second family. Since Yurio barely had a first family, the skaters he knew stood in for the people missing in his life."

"So how does he see you?"

"It's hard to describe..." Victor said, trying anyway, "A mix of a brother, father, and guardian...does that make sense?"

"I guess so."

"He absolutely refuses to be called just 'friend.' I think Japanese has a word for that sort of thing...a bond that's deeper than just friends, but not lovers?"

"There's no specific word for that, people use the term 'nakama' with that meaning. It really just refers to people that you share a goal with, whereas 'tomodachi' is people similar in age."

"I guess that's close enough, since we share skating." Victor turned his head to glance at where Yuri was still lying on his back, "What were you ranting about before you stormed off?"

"...I said some unkind things." He admitted sheepishly, "I had to get it out of me...but I didn't want anyone to know what I had said. Hearing you guys talk in Russian sometimes...I figured it'd be the same if I suddenly spoke a language none of you understood."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so flustered before."

"I try not to get angry if I can help it." He said quietly, "I guess that's why I cry so much instead..."

"Do you feel better?"

Yuri hesitated to answer for a moment, using the time instead to pull his t-shirt off, and used it to clean his stomach, "I felt better only after you texted me." He finally admitted. He then hoisted himself up to sit astride Victor's somewhat-bare back, reaching his hands under the man's arms and around his chest to hug him, and settled his face against the crook of Victor's neck and shoulder, "And I especially feel better now. I'm going to get ready though..."

"Okay."

.

Within the hour, the two of them had finished cleaning up and gathered their things, and headed down to the shuttles in front of the hotel. Yuri didn't need much more than his skates and backpack, but Victor still brought a whole rolling suitcase and a large carry-bag with him.

"I'm still a little sad that you won't give me even the tiniest shred of a hint at what your Exhibition is going to be." Victor said, holding fast to his hand as they approached the last waiting van.

"I might have a bit more self control than you do." Yuri pointed out with a smirk as he offered the rolling case to the driver at the back hatch, "Years of avoiding drinking taught me a lot of that."

"I have plenty of self control!"

"Sure, just like that time you stripped naked and threw your underwear at some poor kid's head in China? People photos of the whole thing." He said as he watched the suitcase arranged in the luggage bay of the van, and guided his husband back towards the side door, "Or the other night when you practically started making out with me in front of everyone?"

"You were in on that one. I can't claim total responsibility."

"I guess I'm a bit of an enabler." Yuri laughed, taking Victor's hand again and kissing the ring as they got into their seats for the short trip.

Most of the crowd was already inside the arena when the pair arrived, so they were able to get in without much trouble. When they stood outside the doors that lead into the prep area, Yuri paused and took a deep breath.

Victor looked over at him curiously.

"...Let's do this thing."