CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO
Yuri had gotten himself so worked up about the potential for the JSF to meet him at Fukuoka Airport that he couldn't touch the champagne he'd been given. He just gave it over to Viktor and proceeded to stew in his growing anxiety.
Viktor couldn't help but worry, "Yuri...why are you getting all riled up about this? Going home is making you more paranoid than going on the ice to do a show..."
"I don't actually have to talk to anyone when I skate..." He answered, his seat straight up again and one arm crossed over his chest, the other propped up where he had his hand over his mouth nervously, "At competition, I can just make an excuse to leave if an interview is getting to be too much, but at Fukuoka, they know perfectly well that I'm not in any real hurry because train tickets don't get bought ahead of time."
"We can just say you're family's expecting you home right away."
Yuri shook his head, "I can't just ditch JSF reporters when I'm skating for them." He sighed, "It would be incredibly rude to just run off. I couldn't stomach it."
"You can barely stomach the idea of facing them at all."
"I knoooowwwww..." Yuri whined, rubbing his hand over his eyes, "Tasukete...Viktor..."
"I wish I could." He answered, "If we were still on the ground, maybe I could do something, but on a plane...we're already stuck. But maybe there won't even be anyone but the fans, like here at Incheon?"
"...You're right..." Yuri nodded, pulling his hand down and thinking on it...then leaning over to hold his whole head over his knees, "What if they're all at Yu-Topia?"
"Yuri...!"
The young skater suddenly had an idea, and pulled out his phone, sending a group text to his sister, Yuuko's whole family, and Minako.
[Guys! If there's any JSF people skulking around Yu-Topia, tell me!]
He watched the screen desperately for some kind of answer, but nothing was incoming. He supposed they were all too busy with other things to see the message on their phones. He lowered his head in disappointment, and was putting the device back when he felt a buzz. He frantically pulled it back and looked, seeing a message from Mari.
[No one's here but customers, little brother.]
He let out an audible sigh of relief, but that only meant they weren't there yet.
[Will you tell them not to hang around if they show up later?]
[We would anyway. This is still a business, even if you and Viktor are here.]
[Hey Yuri!]
[Yuri!]
[Uncle Viktor!]
The triplets had seen the message together.
[Didn't you read the JSF page, Yuri?]
He gawked at Takeshi's message.
[...They posted about it!?]
[Sorry. We all thought you knew. They're arranging a big thing at Fukuoka Airport for when you land. We're on our way there now to join them, actually.]
Yuri was surprised at that last part, and shook his head before dialing them up with FaceTime to make it easier. When the call was answered, it seemed like the phone was being tossed around by everyone trying to get at it first.
Lutz managed to secure it and was the first to officially answer, "Hey guys!"
"Hiiii~!" Viktor chimed in, trying to get into the shot but only seeing half of himself in the frame as he leaned over.
"Uncle Viktor! Yuri stole the gold from you!"
"Snatched it right out of your hands like Yurio did to him at the Final!" Axel added, swiping the phone.
"Girls!" Yuuko was saying off-screen.
Viktor was just gawking, giving Yuri the same vibe as back when it became known that he hadn't mentioned providing his own music in the past.
"Guys, c'mon, he worked really hard too! And I didn't snatch anything from him! If his coat wasn't so heavy during the Short Program, he'd have gotten the gold easy!" Yuri explained, "Plus the quad axel is really hard! He should've gotten the gold medal just for pulling that off..."
"Yuri, it's okay, really..." Viktor started, drawing the man's attention away from the phone, "I came to Yu-Topia to coach you until you won gold...and I did that, so mission accomplished, right?"
"...For the Grand Prix Final...not the rest..."
The Russian shook his head, "You won the gold fair and square. Every skater goes back and criticizes their own performance, telling themselves that if they did this or that differently, they'd have gotten enough points to win 1st place...but the truth is that hind-sight is 20/20 and you can't go back. All you can do is work on being better for the future. I made mistakes and you didn't, it's as simple as that."
The group on the other end of the line was just listening intently, watching the exchange like curious birds.
"And it's not like I've never won silver before. My winning streak was 5 years running because I didn't win gold before that, remember?"
"Still..." Yuri sighed.
Viktor pulled his husband's ringed hand away from his phone and kissed the gold on it lightly, "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're not some dime-a-dozen top skater for the JSF anymore. You're the top skater. I can't be the only one acknowledging your skill all the time...own it a little! Besides, I wouldn't have done Duetto with you if I didn't think you could keep up, and you know me well enough to know that much is true." He mussed the man's hair a little affectionately, "I did once threaten to ditch both you and Yurio if you didn't have the skill necessary to do one of the shows I'd planned for myself, didn't I?"
"...Would you really have left?"
Viktor just laughed at that, "Considering all the reasons why I went to Hasetsu in the first place, no way! I just wanted to see how badly you wanted me to stay. You'd replicated Aria perfectly before so I already knew you could do it. And given where we are now..." He leaned into the frame to kiss his husband on the cheek, "...I'd say you wanted me pretty badly."
"Oooooooooooo!" All 3 girls on the other end cooed together.
"That's enough!" Yuuko said frantically, swiping the phone, "This is a rated G line!"
"But mooooooom!"
"They were just getting to the good part!"
"Let them keep going!"
"NOOOOOO!" She yelled, "You're too young!"
"Send us pictures, Uncle Viktor!" Lutz called out just as the line was disconnected.
Just in time, Minako finally replied, but not with text...she sent a photo into the group chat showing her happy self in front of a massive media crowd at the airport.
Yuri dropped, practically frothing at the mouth at the sight of it.
Viktor laughed and took Yuri's phone, taking a picture of himself just barely in the foreground with an 'oh my' expression on his face, and the catatonic Yuri in the background.
[Don't let him die before he gets here, Viktor!] Minako messaged, [His adoring fans have been gathering here since noon!]
[I'll pull his ghost right out of the ether if I have to.] Viktor typed in, smiling to himself as he hit 'Send.'
He clicked off the device and set it back in its owner's hand just as the plane's seatbelt sign finally came on. He nudged Yuri until he came out of his stupor and pointed, leaning over to do the buckles himself since the man seemed too delirious in thought to process what the sign meant.
Viktor then moved to cup Yuri's head in his hands, and turned his face to meet his own, touching their noses together lightly, "Just think...the sooner we get back, and wade through the quagmire of JSF reporters...the sooner we can get into the hot spring and get your fix of pork cutlet bowl. And after..." He was so close that Yuri could feel the words being spoken against his lips, "...we can have a little fun in my room."
The statement made Yuri deadpan him, "...In your room? Why so specific?"
"Because we did it in your room last time!"
"...We're a little bit noisier now than that time!" Yuri pointed out quietly, his face going red, "And my parents' room isn't that far away from where we put you in the banquet hall!"
The Russian just huffed the breath of a laugh against him and let him go again, moving back into his seat as the plane began to taxi under them. He winked, "Better keep it down then."
"You're the noisy one!"
"Oh! Right! ...I forgot!" He laughed, "You're still too nervous for all that!"
Yuri frantically put his hands over his husband's mouth, "Keep it down or you'll tell the whole cabin about it!"
He could see Viktor laughing behind his hands, just by the shape of his eyes alone, but that didn't stop the man from continuing his teases, sticking his tongue out to touch the palm of Yuri's hands. The wet sensation made Yuri pull his hands back quickly in confusion, but when he turned back again, Viktor still had the tip of his tongue sticking out. He looked way too pleased with himself.
"You're going to be the end of me..." Yuri sighed, watching as Viktor leaned forward on the arm-rest between them, as though offering him an out, "...If I do this, you'll give me peace for a while?"
Viktor nodded...he was still blep'ing, too.
The younger skater nodded, his face already flushed before he'd even done anything.
The Russian had closed his eyes in anticipation, but Yuri was going to drag it out. His hand between them came up and gently stroked the man's cheek, just barely under where his bangs came down over his eye. He leaned in and touched the tip of his nose to his partner's, gently drifting around idly, even moving down a little to touch it to the tip of Viktor's tongue where it was still poking out between his lips.
Viktor curiously opened one eye, and deftly moved a hand forward to put a finger under his husband's chin, trying to encourage him to go faster. The anticipation was killing him. Yuri knew it though, and that's half the reason he prolonged the build-up as long as he did. He was just about there though, sticking out his own tongue just enough to match what Viktor was doing, and leaned in to touch them together. Viktor felt it, and immediately reacted, moving the hand from under Yuri's chin to cup around the back of his head and hold him where he was. It was a deep kiss, one they normally shared only when in private, but it was enough to sate the Russian for the time being.
.
.
.
They peeked through the barrier from where the second floor arrivals had let them off, and glanced down at the media mob on the lower deck. They were on their stomachs like snipers looking for a clear shot, given that the wall was almost entirely glass.
Yuri could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Dozens of people had signs welcoming Yuri home, with a few for Viktor scattered amongst them. Many held Viktuuri signs as well, which Viktor liked best anyway.
"You've got this."
"I don't got this."
"You've got this."
"THERE THEY ARE!" Someone yelled, pointing at where their conspicuous heads could be seen over the edge of the floor.
Yuri was up on his feet in a panic, and Viktor slowly pushed himself up after him, moving forward to wave at the group excitedly, "Hiiii~! Minako! Nishigori family! JSF!"
"Uncle Viktor!" The pair heard being called back, although the girls were hard to spot in the crowd.
Yuri finally waved, nervously as it was, and they headed over towards the escalators that lead down into the main waiting area. Minako was way out front with her sign, displaying it with a proud display of her ballerina skills just like when Yuri had arrived home in Hasetsu the previous March. But, this time, her sign had been changed to welcome Viktor home as well.
The interview came on like a swarm, but at least the reporters doing the questioning had the decency to do so in English, unlike in Russia, so Viktor wouldn't be entirely left out of the frenzy.
"You've just won Four Continents and World Championships gold for Japan! How do you feel, Yuri!?"
"Do you plan on continuing to compete!?"
"How was it to train alongside the Russian skating team!?"
"Are you really moving to Hasetsu's Ice Castle permanently!?"
"Will Viktor be choreographing your next shows!?"
"If Viktor's back to competing again, how is he going to coach you at the same time!?"
"How did it feel to compete against Viktor after he coached you to GPF Silver!?"
The questions were like bricks, coming at Yuri from all sides; when one hit, he stiffly answered.
"Training in Russia was different. I had a great time and learned a lot, but I'm glad to be back home again.
"Viktor and I are doing our programs for next year together so it won't be so hard to coach and practice at the same time. It'll probably be weirder for him to not have an official coach for once, since Yakov stayed in St. Petersburg.
"Competing against Viktor has always been my goal, so getting him to come back to competition after he stopped to coach me was a great feeling. I hope to continue skating on the same ice as him for a long time to come."
The questioning went on for some time after that, asking Yuri and Viktor both about how the two major competitions went and about all the things that happened while they were there aside from the shows that were put on television. Eventually though, Yuri got too tired to continue, and even though he was too polite to say so, was ready to leave.
Viktor entered coach-mode at that point, rubbing Yuri's shoulders from behind where he stood and stepped around him to wave a hand at the press corps, "I'm afraid that'll have to be it for today! Thank you everyone for your support, and for meeting with Yuri upon his triumphant return to Japan! We hope to bring many more gold medals back for the JSF!"
"Can we see them before you leave?" One of the reporters asked, "The gold medals!"
The prospect of showing off gave Yuri a little bit of energy back, and he moved to pull his backpack off his shoulders and open it. The three velvet cases sat on top of the pile of skates, and he pulled all three of them out, opening each in turn to make sure he had the right ones, passing them off to Viktor as he went. Since the second case was Viktor's own Silver medal, Yuri knew the last one was his own, and he opened it proudly, moving to grasp the wide colored lanyard around his hand, then the other where Viktor moved it closer to him...and then finally pulled both Golden discs from their cases at the same time to hold them high.
The mob started clapping enthusiastically.
At the back, the Nishigoris and Minako were clapping as well, and there was hardly a dry eye between them.
Viktor was clapping along with the rest of them, and only moved in closer when Yuri looked back at him, getting a bit overcome with emotion again at the outpouring of support. The Russian stepped closer to wrap both arms around Yuri's small frame, reaching one hand up to kiss each medal where he held them, and then kissed his cheek before squeezing him hard happily, "I told you you had this."
"I'd never have gotten to this point without you. Don't ever retire from being my coach!"