CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR
Viktor had hopped back onto the rink wall, and Yuri settled in as well, standing with his back to the man and his arms over Viktor's legs. The Russian had busied himself with smoothing out where Yuri's hair had become a little unruly from the skating, and then settled them to cross over the younger man's chest, fingers slipping just inside the sky-blue lapels. Their eyes rose up to focus on the blond in the middle of the rink, waiting for him to give the cue that he was ready.
The younger Russian finally stopped fidgeting though, and he nodded over the Yuuko to start the music. She reached over with a small remote to hit Play, and a half-second later, the deep techno began.
['Inner Universe' - Origa. Note: I prefer the intro to the full version of the song, so the time-edits will cut off the repeating chorus and the weird middle-section interlude.]
Yurio pushed off with a burst of energy, flying to the left with the tails of his coat flaring out dramatically. He spun around a few times in sync with the ups and downs of the song's intro, moving his feet quickly in a brief step-sequence, then switching into a flying camel-spin as the lyrics began. He grabbed the blade of his left skate and pulled it up behind his head as he rose that leg up with it.
Angely i demony krujili nado mnoy
Rassekali ternii i mlechnye puti
He lifted both hands over his head as he let the blade go, but continued spinning around, stopping only to drop both arms down as he started to skate backwards in a wide loop, shrugging out of the long black coat as he went. When it finally fell off his shoulders to land in a pile close to the rink wall where he passed at that moment, the hidden part of his costume was finally revealed.
Black boot-covers rose up to meet grey military-style pants, a replica gun-holster around his right leg, ending with a black belt around his hips. From there up though was different. His upper body looked like a half-finished cyborg, with the red flesh of synthetic muscle playing contrast to panels of white that looked like a plastic chassis. There were segments along his back that looked like sockets for cables to link up, and a clever trick of the light made sections of his arms look like there were holes through them where portions of his robotic body were yet to be installed. It all ended at his collar-bone, where from there up it looked like his neck and head were complete like the lower half of him.
Ne znaet schast'ya tol'ko tot,
Kto ego zova ponyat' ne smog...
He threw himself into a series of half-jumps as he 'skipped' across the ice, sliding into an outside spread-Eagle into his first jump as the first part of the chorus began.
Mana du vortes, mana du vortes
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
Triple Axel, double flip combo, followed by a speed-skate backwards as he pulled out of it, spinning several times as his arms went from being out to his sides to being overhead.
Mana du vortes, mana du vortes
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
He stopped suddenly to the 'quiet' part of the song, then stomped his right skate down as the lyrics came back with full force, launching forward into his second jump, a quad Salchow.
I am Calling,
Calling out!
Spirits, I am calling!
He quickly scissor-kicked through the air, camel-spinning across the ice after that before finally continuing the spiral in one spot, hopping from one foot to the other to energize the spin a second time.
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
He spun outward again, throwing himself into quad Toe-loop in time with the second thrum of the chorus.
Calling, Calling, in the depths of longing!
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
Viktor was entranced by the enthusiasm of the skate, thinking it suited Yurio as well as 'Welcome to the Madness' had after the Grand Prix Final. A thought crossed his mind as he watched the young teen continue on with the performance.
Yuri could feel the idea creeping through Viktor's mind just by the feeling it left in the man's fingers, where Yuri had them against his chest. He didn't have more than a moment to wonder what it was though before Phichit caught his attention, leaning in close over the railing so Yuri could hear him.
"Everyone's noticing the difference in the Russian Yuri's performance." The Thai skater said, "It's how they figured he would've performed at the Grand Prix Final or something. This isn't what people are expecting to see from someone who just lost their spot on their own country's team."
"There's more to what happened than just that." Yuri answered, leaning in over Viktor's leg so he could be heard as well, "Viktor and I ran into him at the airport the night we skipped the Banquet."
"But you guys said you didn't even know he'd been dropped by the ballerina who'd been choreographing his Free Skate. How'd you know about anything else?"
"We didn't. We only saw him after the call ended." Yuri explained, his eyes remaining on the blond even though he was talking, "I ended up talking to him alone after that and found out what happened only then."
His train of thought paused as he felt Viktor shifting behind him, and he stood upright as the man's legs crossed in front of him, careful of the extended part of the blades that went behind the heels of his boots, then finally relaxing again as they pinned themselves to the outside of his thighs. He leaned back into the man, bending his elbows so his hands dangled off the inside of Viktor's knees.
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
Calling Calling, in the depths of longing!
Soboy ostat'sya dol'she...
Yuri could feel that Viktor was talking to someone from how far back he'd suddenly been leaning, since the man's legs were wrapped around him to keep from falling off the other side of the wall. He turned his head around from where Phichit had inquired about what they'd talked about at the airport, only to see Mikhail there behind them, too far away to hear what either of them were saying. The look on Mikhail's face said enough though, since the man seemed somewhat surprised at whatever Viktor had just mentioned.
"Yuri!" Phichit said, trying to get his attention back.
"Huh?"
"What'd he tell you?" He asked again, "About why he was cut."
"Momentary lapse of judgment and a few unkind words to the wrong people." The Asian skater answered, "We're hoping to get him reinstated though. Yakov said he was open to the idea but only if Yuri showed he was serious about making up for what happened."
"But nothing has happened on that end yet, right?"
The final part of the song was coming up, and Yurio had gone into his last set of signature spins.
"We got Viktor's uncle to agree to sponsor him for now, that way he can worry about his personal stuff rather than other things."
Mana du vortes, mana du vortes
Aeria gloris
Yurio had gone down to his knees with his arms reaching into the air...
Aeria gloris
...and then pulled them down to the top of his head before extending them down and out to the side.
The song was over, and he was panting heavily, but at least this time he felt good about his performance. The audience was cheering for him wildly, moreso than at Euros or even at Worlds.
...Maybe it's just because this place is small and it feels so full.
The roar was so loud that he couldn't hear the scratching of blades coming up behind him, and Yuri was able to tackle-hug him unexpectedly.
"K-Katsudon...?"
"That was amazing!" Yuri cheered, "I can't wait to compete against that next year!" He pulled off to let the teen finish catching his breath.
Yurio looked over to see Viktor skating to where he'd thrown his jacket to the ice. As the older Russian slung it across his arm, he came back around to center rink, clapping the whole way.
"Perfecto!" Viktor said happily, "But you forgot your phone was in here."
Yurio jerked, then reached for the pocket where he'd suddenly remembered putting the device, pulling it out to see if it was still operational. To his relief, it came on like normal. He then looked back up to the older skater, and bowed his head, "...If I can improve it at all, please tell me."
"Oh don't do that!" Yuri warned, waving his hands around frantically as he recalled how Viktor had picked his own performance apart the first time he'd done Eros at competition.
Viktor had a sinister gleam in his eye to match the grin on his face, but then pat Yurio on the shoulder to spare him for the moment, "I'll tell you later."
Yuri heaved a sigh of relief, watching Viktor pull the teen back towards the rink exit as Yuuko was coming back through it. She cheered him on as they passed each other, and headed back for the middle of the arena. She threw her free hand up into the air and spun around, "Yuratchka Plisetsky, everyone! Grand Prix Final gold medalist! Next year looks like it's already going to be crazy-interesting! I can only wonder what everyone else will do to match that!?"
More cheering and whistling followed that, and Yurio finally let it lift his spirits. He slipped his arms back into his long coat and put his blade guards back on, eagerly anticipating the next segment of the between-skate display.
"The next skater on the ice is one of Yuri's long-time friends, Thai skater, Phichit Chulanont!" Yuuko announced, getting a new round of applause as the man in question peeled out of his track suit, scarf, and gloves to get onto the ice. He'd gotten ready before ever leaving the locker-room earlier in the day, just as Chris had started to before everyone ended up hiding in there. With blade-guards given to his long-time friend, Phichit skated out quickly, making long circles around Yuuko before finally standing with her in the stationary spot-light, "Happy early birthday, by the way!"
He bowed his head happily, "Korb kun krup!"
The screen from before was lit up again with a new set of images, mostly featuring from Phichit's vast library of photos on Instagram.
"You know, as a prolific selfie-photographer, it was really hard to go through all of your archive to find the best pics of you and Yuri from when you were in Detroit...I don't think the ones we picked in the end even come close to telling the whole story of the time you guys trained together!" Yuuko was saying, "So thank you for knowing exactly what pics would work best and digging them out for us! It would've taken weeks to get through it all ourselves!"
Phichit laughed, "Sure! I think I've already taken over a hundred pics in Hasetsu, too!" He was entirely unapologetic about his obsession.
The very first photo though wasn't a selfie. It wasn't even of Phichit himself. It was a photo taken of an extremely ill-prepared and entirely not-ready-for-a-photo Yuri. The older skater was trying his very first Coney Island hot-dog and had mustard, chili, and onion bits all over his face.
Yuri nearly died seeing it, "PHICHIT-KUN."
"Sorry!" The Thai skater laughed, "This was our first meeting though!"
"I didn't even realize you took a photo! You could've let me wash my face first!"
Viktor and the rest were in hysterics over it.
"It wouldn't have been as memorable!" Phichit called back.
"How old were you when that was taken, Yuri?" The Russian wondered, leaning against the rink wall near the doorway. He had his free hand up to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes.
"...Like...21 or something."
"Yuri had already been skating under Ciao Ciao in Detroit for a couple years before I got there." Phichit explained into the mic, scrolling through a few other choice pictures from when they'd first become friends, "We were roommates to save money. As you can kinda see in the background..." Phichit was pointing at a small section of the back of the room, "...there's a big poster of Viktor."
"Aww." The Russian moved to gently pinch Yuri's cheek affectionately, "You took me all the way to Detroit with you."
"This video was priceless though..." Phichit added, letting Yuuko hit Play on the next part of the show.
"Phichiiiiit-kuuuuuun! There he iiissssss!" Yuri was saying, his words slurred, sitting under a pile of blankets in front of their small television, "Can you believe he's here in the city for Skate America right now!? The skating rink is so close!"
"You sure you want to watch this while you're sick?" Phichit had asked, turning the camera around to show himself briefly as he laughed weakly at his friend's expense, then turning it back around to show Yuri looking right at him, gesturing at the television with both hands.
"You don't understand!" Yuri was saying, "HE'S RIGHT DOWN HIGHWAY ONE FROM HERE... Viktor freaking Nikiforov is practically IN OUR BAACKK YAAAARD."
"You have a horrendous cold and you're high on decongestants. You'll probably imagine he's talking to you next."
"I'm sick, not insane!" The older skater protested, "If I had been told to go to Skate America this year then I'd be there, too!"
"Not as you are."
"Maybe I wouldn't BE sick if things were different."
"Have you ever even said one word to Viktor when you have been around him?"
"...No." Yuri said sheepishly, pulling the blankets over him like a protective shield. He spun around after that, "Next year! I'll talk to him next year, if I see him! I swear it!"
Phichit went to Yuri's room and grabbed the framed poster from where it was sitting on a low-set shelf at the foot of Yuri's bed, went back out to the common room, and set it in front of his roommate, "Here."
Yuri grabbed it and hugged it to his chest under the blanket, "...He's gonna win gold again this year. I can feel it."
"...What year was that anyway?" Viktor wondered as the video cut off with Phichit shrugging with a smile in selfie-mode again, "Obviously not the one where we met..."
"No, that was two years prior...the same year Phichit got to Detroit. You were at Skate America and Cup of China that year, then at the NHK Trophy and Rostelecom Cup in the year between, and then at NHK again and Skate Canada when we did finally meet." Yuri answered.
"Ah, yeah, that's right." Viktor nodded, "Were you at any of them...? I don't remember even seeing your name on the list."
"I was at different qualifiers from you in all those years, and I didn't make the cut for the Final until the year we went to Sochi." The younger skater said, "I had all that time to work up the nerve to say hi to you, and I ended up freezing when you ended up being the one to start the conversation."
"It's always different to do things in reality than it is to imagine them." Viktor said, moving to step directly in front of his husband and slid his arms over the man's shoulders, peering slate blue eyes down into hazel brown, "I know what that's like, too."
"...Well, it's probably a bit different for you, Viktor." The younger skater huffed to himself, "When have you ever been in a position where you were trying to work up the courage to talk to someone you idolized your whole life?"
"What, you think telling you I was going to be your coach wasn't nerve-wracking?" The Russian wondered, putting his forehead down to Yuri's, "That was probably one of the most anxious moments of my life!"
"...Why? It was...just me, practically no one..."
"To me, you were a lot more than no one, Yuri." Viktor reminded, "Ah if you could've heard the things I was telling myself before you came bursting out onto the deck of the onsen...!"
.
"Konnichiwaaaa~!" Viktor said, standing in the entrance-way of Yu-Topia Katsuki, "I hope it's okay if I bring my dog here."
Yuri's father glanced past him to see the big brown poodle panting contentedly at the tall man's side, "Well, I don't see why not...but he can't go into the onsen!"
"That's okay! He can stay outside for now!" Viktor agreed, "This place looks really great! How much to stay for a while?"
By the time he'd gotten himself into the spring, most other patrons had already gotten out and went to eat in the common room, which was fortunate for him. He was sure that a skating town like Hasetsu would be familiar with him at least a little bit.
"Wow~!" Viktor said to himself quietly, looking around. He looked at the small towel in his hands and folded it before setting it onto his head happily, then finally stepping into the hot water.
'I haven't seen Yuri anywhere yet, but I don't want to just announce that I'm here, either.'
Viktor looked up as he heard the sound of what might've been an avalanche inside, then saw a door bursting open and a frantic black-haired young man in an oversized brown coat come rushing outside.
"Vik...Viktor...?" Yuri said, dumbfounded at the sight of him.
The Russian gawked right at him, almost as surprised, but then pulled the towel off his head and stood up.
'There he is. This is it. Be cool. Don't blow it by saying too much!'
"Yuri..." He started, "Starting today, I'm your coach. I'll make you win the Grand Prix Final." He did the wink for good measure, since most people responded to that well.
Yuri just kept staring in disbelief though, wordless as the huge red mask hanging on the wall behind him.
'...Did he hear me?' Viktor wondered, his hand still outstretched.
The Japanese skater finally cracked though, "EHHHHHHHHHH!?"
Viktor just laughed and sat back down, gingerly folding the towel and setting it back where it was.
"...But that...why!?" Yuri blurted, taking a hesitant step forward, further onto the deck, but staying well clear of the water's edge, "You...you just won your 5th consecutive gold at Worlds! Why would you...stop...?"
"What, you don't want me after all?" The Russian pouted, "And I came all this way, too..."
"Th-That's not what I meant!" Yuri protested, flailing his hands around, "You're a competitor though! If you're saying you're going to be here as a coach, then you..."
"...Will be taking a season off, that's right." Viktor nodded, moving through the water until he was closer to Yuri's side, then propping his elbows up onto the edge of the deck, resting his chin where his forearms crossed, "Is that okay? Yuri."
The wheels were turning in the younger skater's mind, but he couldn't find the clarity to say anything. His glasses just fogged up after that and he turned around, heading back for the door, and promptly running straight into it like he'd forgotten what direction it opened.
"...Yuri?"
'Have I scared him...? He's almost as speechless as he was after the last Final... What's the problem? You asked me to come! Why so quiet?'
"...I'm going to go shovel snow and think about what I've done with my life..." Yuri said flatly, escaping slowly through the men's changing room, and leaving the Russian to wonder what had just happened.
Viktor was a bit stunned, but then back-slid into the water a little until just his eyes were visible over the rocky ledge, 'What was that...? Such a cold response...I thought he'd be more excited. Was it because I didn't ask to see him straight away? Maybe he thinks I'm not serious.' He pouted a little, his brows furrowing...
...and then the door cracked open again, and Yuri was peering back at him.
"...Yes?"
"...N-nothing! I was just..." The Asian stammered, "...Making sure you were really there. You ARE really there, right?" His eyes narrowed since he wasn't sure, "Mom just woke me up, but maybe I fell back asleep or something..."
Viktor cocked an eyebrow, but then extended his right arm to lie straight along the deck, waggling a finger in a 'come hither' fashion. The younger man quietly slipped out through the door again, but stayed by it as it closed. Viktor waggled his finger again, and Yuri stepped a few nervous paces closer.
The Russian looked up at him from the onsen...then abruptly flung hot water straight at him without warning.
Yuri felt the water on his face, and rubbed it in surprise on the back of his sleeve as he stumbled backward, "Ah, what was that for!?"
"You're awake! See?"
He had to pull his glasses off to dry the water, but as he did so, seeing Viktor with just the nakedness of his unobstructed eyes, he suddenly saw the man with more clarity than before. Yuri quietly dropped down to his knees, Viktor's eyes on him just as intent as his own were in return, "...You're really here."
Viktor nodded and smiled.
'And I'll be here tomorrow, and the next day, and every day until you win gold at the Grand Prix Final.'