CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE
Viktor still had Yuri by the hand as they inspected the crowd from a distance, but the two exchanged looks and finally came out of hiding, half-jogging over to where the mass of welcome signs was waiting for them.
Somehow, shockingly, they were able to get pretty close before anyone really noticed them, since most of the crowd seemed busy talking amongst themselves in anticipation and weren't keeping an eye out.
"Hiii~!" The Russian called out, "We're here!"
The nearest people who heard him turned their heads, and then realization dawned...and the entire crowd went crazy with excitement, rushing up to surround the pair. Similar to when they'd been spotted in Moscow, the crowd was pouring congratulations over them, especially Yuri, just as Viktor had predicted. Not that he himself was lacking attention, but...Yuri was Asian, and they were Asian, so he was kind of their hero.
Snacks and food were on offer fairly quickly after that, but feeding the weary travelers wasn't all the crowd was excited for. There were certain photo ops they were hungry for.
"If you two are married then why don't you ever post photos as a couple?" Someone asked, "You know, doing couple-type stuff!"
"...We've posted pics like that." Yuri blurted, although quietly, "The marriage certificate, the Gala that we danced at together... Uhh..."
Viktor suddenly realized what they meant, and pulled up from where he'd been nomming on a cupcake someone gave him; he didn't notice the frosting on his nose, "I know what they want!"
The younger skater looked at him, then laughed to himself, "I think I do, too." He leaned in to unexpectedly lick the tip of Viktor's nose, taking the icing with it, and pulled back again to watch the Russian's reaction. Several people took photos of it, and were leaning in as well as though the act were just a prelude.
Viktor just gawked in surprise, but then smiled, licking his fingers quickly before moving in to pull Yuri close and kiss him right there in front of the crowd. Cameras flashed and people cheered, some even hollering out to those who weren't so close that 'They kissed!' and 'They did it!' and then 'They're STILL DOING IT!'
When Viktor finally let Yuri come up for air again, they were both trying to catch their breath. Viktor nosed him a little, "We should skate with them a little! We still have time!"
"We have like 30 minutes."
"That's enough!" Viktor was up, trying to pull Yuri along, "We brought our skates as carry-ons because we knew we'd be in Incheon anyway! Let's use them!"
Those who were close enough to hear the man's words were off like a shot, rushing over to get their blue rental skates before there weren't any left. Yuri then reached for his backpack and unzipped it, handing Viktor the velvet cases with their medals before getting the skates from the bottom, and then putting the medals back in the empty space.
Viktor had his on in record time and pushed to stand, hopping to get his blade guards off as Yuri was finishing with his laces. With all 4 guards safely stowed in Yuri's pack, they made their way onto the ice...with about 50 other people. Many of them even seemed like aspiring skaters themselves, able to keep pace with the pros as they skated in reverse or went faster. Some even tried to show off their own tricks, replicating some of the maneuvers the pair recognized from their own programs, though nothing more complex than a double jump.
They were begging the two to perform the signature quad flip, but both were reluctant.
"We just ate! It'd just turn into a quad bleh if we tried now!" Viktor laughed.
Yuri nodded emphatically in agreement, although he had an idea and leaned over to whisper, "We could do the death spiral from Duetto..."
"Okay~!" The Russian said excitedly, stepping away just enough to give a signal for folks to start clearing out, "Make space! Make room!"
The fans were starting to get energized, watching Viktor skating quickly around the rink as the open space widened, then finally going back to where Yuri had gone to the center. He skated around his partner with an arm around him as they whispered, deciding where to start off. The fans could only wonder what they were saying, watching as both of them were pointing to various ends of the rink and making spinning gestures with their hands as they made up their minds. When they'd agreed, Viktor moved off again, and Yuri skated the opposite direction, giving them the most space possible.
Viktor stepped on his toe-pick, looked around, glanced over at Yuri, and they nodded at one another, so the Russian clapped once and they lifted their right hands, reaching out to each other at the moment in Duetto where they'd come up out of a combination spin. They built up speed with their wide circles, then kicked off into the double axel, single toe-loop, and double flip, then spun outward again. The blind backward skate was done with their eyes open this time, given how many people were on the ice, and the four huge pillars, but to the audience, it looked more or less the same; they spun around and passed one another before the feigned near-collision.
Back out to the sides of the rink, moving close by the spectators who were still on the ice with them, and Yuri took Viktor's hand, moving back towards the center of the open area where Viktor spun him closer for a moment before letting him drift again, holding tightly with their clasped hands as Yuri started to tilt over, skates going way out ahead of him as he was turned in a wide circle. Viktor was good at dipping his partner so low to the ice that his hair could skim the surface without dropping him, and he spun the younger skater three times before pulling him back up again to vertical.
Still holding hands, they moved through the next set of elements, a few kicks and twists that lead into the last balance maneuver of the program. Yuri leaned in close and held his hand under Viktor's back as the man crossed his legs and let his husband lower him down. Yuri's free arm was up, and Viktor's was out ahead of them, whilst Yuri lowered his face down close enough to nearly touch his nose to his partner's chest. Soon, he was pulling the Russian back up again, and they split off without looking at one another to go to opposite ends of the rink.
They paused where they were, reaching one hand up to the rafters as they started to push off with their toe-picks again, moving back towards the center of the ice. They reached out both hands for one another, the fingers of their left hands lacing together as they pulled each other into a slow rotation, pulling one another closer until finally entering the final pose, with their ringed hands up to nearly touching the other's down-turned face.
The crowd was cheering wildly.
Yuri was still panting despite having only done a quarter of the program
'Now boarding...Japan Airlines flight to Fukuoka, Japan. All guests please return to Gate...'
They couldn't hear the rest of it, but they knew it was theirs, so Viktor pulled Yuri quickly to the rink exit amidst the continued cheering of the crowd.
"Thanks everyone! Oh wait- SOMEONE GET ME A SELFIE STICK!" Viktor called urgently, moving back around towards the rink wall instead of the doorway, "Everyone come over to this side!"
The crowd rushed like a school of fish, and someone leaned over the wall to hand Viktor the item he'd asked for. He quickly crammed his phone into the holder and extended the line out as far as it would go, grabbing Yuri around the small of his back to pull him as close as possible. As he held the phone high up in the air, making sure everyone behind them was in the shot, he tilted his head back a little, "EVERYONE READY?"
"READY!"
He then turned his face to his husband, "Yuri!"
"Huh?"
Viktor quickly lip-locked him and took the picture...several pictures...a whole bunch of pictures. He practically had his thumb stuck down on the button like he was recording a movie. He only let go again after he was sure he'd gotten at least one picture where Yuri didn't still look surprised, and at least a few after he'd pulled away again and they were just smiling for the camera.
He pulled his phone back down and waved the selfie-stick until its owner claimed it, "Spasibo! We really have to go now! Thank you everyone for coming and feeding us! VKUSNO!"
"Thank you everyone!" Yuri agreed, calling out after.
They quickly pulled their skates off and stuffed them back down into the bottom of Yuri's backpack as the crowd was clapping and cheering, and the pair waved and bowed one last time before rushing off to catch their next connecting flight.
They were out of breath entirely by the time they got back to their gate and handed off their tickets...and as high as their spirits were at that moment, as soon as Viktor realized they were back in Economy again, he gawked at Yuri with a 'you did this to me' look on his face. Yuri nearly died seeing it.
"Never again."
"Never again, I swear!" Yuri agreed frantically as Viktor shoved him next to the window seat to take his own and comically sulk with his knees jammed up against the seat in front of him. But, as soon as he was resigned to his fate, he pulled his phone out again and started going through the album to pick the pictures he liked best so he could post them before the plane took off and he lost his wifi signal.
Yuri rested his cheek against his husband's shoulder as he looked through the photos as well, seeing one in particular that looked really nice, "I like that one. You gonna post these?"
"Absolutely."
"So that one lady that asked why we never posted pics of us doing couple-type things...I guess I never really noticed, but...did you?" Yuri wondered, watching as Viktor's thumbs were clicking away on his phone's little keyboard.
"I made sure it was like that." The elder admitted, "Being in Russia and all."
"Oh..."
"But now that we're gone, I can post all the kissy photos I want!" Viktor mused, making his husband's face flush. The last details of the post were entered, and he uploaded it to his Instagram account proudly.
v-nikiforov
[picture]
v-nikiforov Flying out of Incheon International! Thank you everyone who came and saw us off on such short notice! We love you! Next stop, Fukuoka!
#y-nikiforov #BackToJapan #LeavingSeoul #SkateHusbands #Viktuuri #ThreeHoursToHotSpringBliss #Katsudon #IncheonInternationalAirport #HeTastedLikeCupcakeFrosting
He made a second post after that using one of the not-kissy pictures instead, but with all the rest the same, save the last tag. His goal was to please his fans, and he knew that not every single one of them wanted to see the more intimate details of his life, so he made concessions for the ones who'd be alienated otherwise.
Yuri made a similar post to his husband's, but since his entire skating career was because of Viktor, he made sure everyone knew it. He would make no concessions. Every photo he posted, since they were so few and far between, was carefully selected and posted with serious intent.
If they don't like that I'm married to Viktor, then I don't need them as fans. Simple as that. He's the only reason I'm still skating at all right now. I owe everything to him.
The flight time itself wasn't as horrid as Viktor had worried, since it was just the last hour or so to get across South Korea, and then the tiny body of water that connected the East China Sea with the Sea of Japan. The train ride from Fukuoka to Hasetsu would actually end up taking longer, he realized, but at least on the train, there was more leg-room than even he needed.
"Nikiforov-san desu ka?" A meek woman's voice came.
Both men lifted their heads.
"Ah! Sumimasen...Katsuki-Nikiforov-san?"
"Hai...?" Yuri responded curiously.
"Kawari ni faasuto kurasu ni suwaru no ga suki desu ka?"
Viktor side-eyed him, thinking he understood what was just asked, but not entirely sure.
"Viktor wa kuru no desu ka?" He held up the man's hand in his own to indicate they were traveling together.
"Hai!"
Yuri smiled and nodded, "Arigatou. Wareware wa ukeireru."
"Did we just...?" Viktor wondered.
"We did. Let's go."
They were ushered all the way to the front of the plane and presented with new seats right near the exit. Viktor stretched his legs out as far as they could go anyway once they sat down.
"I wonder why we got upgraded like that?" Yuri asked quietly, mostly to himself as he put his pack in the new overhead compartment.
"This is much better." The Russian mused next to him.
Time passed quickly after that, but the situation still nagged at the young skater. He kicked his feet out nervously only to find that same stewardess coming back with a glass of champagne for both of them.
"Nippon no kinmedaru o kakutoku shitekure te arigatou!" She bowed her head several times as they took the flutes.
Viktor was entirely confused, but Yuri's face was flushed, so he could only guess at what had happened, "She said Japan...and thank you...and medal..."
"It's for winning gold." Yuri explained, still shocked, "They...they know me."
"Of course they do!" The Russian exclaimed, pulling Yuri over with an arm over his shoulders, "Everyone in Japan was watching you at Worlds! You haven't been home since Four Continents either so they haven't been able to thank you yet!"
The Asian's face went pale after that, "Oh boy..."
"What? What's wrong?"
"What if there's a big official thing waiting for me in Fukuoka?" Yuri wondered nervously.
"Better drink up!"