CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIXTY THREE
Feeling like he was experience Cat Paralysis, Mikhail gave his nephew a look and crossed his arms. It had been about ten minutes since the younger Russian had fallen asleep with his head on his lap, and it didn't seem likely that the man would wake up anytime soon...not that he should, but still.
Mikhail looked from the skater to the water he'd put on the coffee table...and reached as far as he could go...but it was still two feet too far away. He slumped back into the corner of the sofa, thinking maybe he could slide out from under Viktor's head without waking him up. As soon as he tried to sneak to the side though, one of Viktor's arms came up to go over both of his legs and pinned him even more than he'd been before.
Goddamnit, Viktor.
The announcers on the television were saying something or another that he wasn't paying attention to. However, footage descended onto rink-side, and Mikhail got a good look at the mob of skaters that were about to go out. Yuri and Yurio were slightly off to the side, like the teen was trying to explain something to his older counterpart at the last second, making wide gestures with his hands as Yuri was nodding repeatedly. From that vantage, it was easy to see that Yuri was wearing Viktor's team jacket, and Mikhail smiled to know that Viktor himself probably would've enjoyed to see that.
He reached for the tablet at least, and finagled a way to record the footage for later.
The LiveStream was sourced out of Japan like usual. It seemed like NewsCasters Morooka and Oda were following Yuri to every one of his competitions. Thankfully, they were speaking in English, so understanding them was easy.
"Welcome, International audience, to the Shanghai Cup of China Exhibition Gala! The skaters are about to get started!" Morooka was saying.
"This weekend was fairly intense." Oda added, "And despite some hang-ups, I think we really got a good taste of the kind of competition we're going to be seeing at the Final. For Ladies Singles, we've confirmed Sara Crispino of Italy has made it again. In Men's Singles, Yuri Nikiforov of Japan has secured his place as well. This will be his third year running in the Final, and the home crowd in Japan is really excited to see what he can do."
"That was quite the last-second victory for him, too, wouldn't you agree?"
"Absolutely. We've seen Skater Yuri collapse under pressure before, but this time, he was able to shake it quickly. Coming out of the Short Program with a score less than 75, then belting out over 225 in the Free Skate and securing a Gold medal for Japan...he had us really worried there for a bit."
"Skater Yuri's Coach and competition, Viktor Nikiforov of Russia, is slated to go on the ice next weekend in Sapporo, Japan. We expect he'll be confirming his place in the Final as well at that point."
"Yes. Currently, the other guaranteed Finalists for Men's Singles include Otabek Altin of Kazakhstan and JJ Leroy of Canada, both of whom took a Gold and Silver each at their qualifying events. The last several slots are up for grabs between Yuri Plisetsky of Russia, Christophe Giacometti of Switzerland, and Phichit Chulanont of Thailand, who will be competing against Skater Viktor at NHK. A similar roster to last year, but we're already seeing some rather interesting scores."
"It looks like the skaters are ready to get started. Let's get down to the ice."
Mikhail looked back down on his nephew and pat his upturned shoulder, resigned to the fate that he'd be stuck where he was until the man woke up again...or until the end of the Exhibition, whichever came first. He could feel how his nephew twitched at times though in his fitful sleep, eyes darting this way and that under his eyelids. He could only wonder what the man was dreaming about. Lifting grey-green irises back to the television though, he heard the absolute weirdest mash-up being played for the skaters as they flew out across the darkened field.
['Rednex Vs Psy - Gangnam Eye Joe' - on YouTube channel magebarf]
The mob burst out onto the ice to excited cheers, and Mikhail caught on quickly to what Yurio must've been telling Yuri to do. The skater was hanging rather close to Otabek, following slightly behind in his footsteps so as not to be in the way.
He must've missed practice this morning. Did he not sleep either?
There wasn't a whole lot of specific choreography, which was good for Yuri; the gaggle of skaters moved like a flock of birds just like at Worlds, weaving through one another on the ice and executing various trade-moves as they hit certain marks on the ice. Yuri had at least taken off the Team Russia jacket by then, likely handed off to the only member of Team Russia who was actually (still) in China that weekend.
Yuri really seemed to be enjoying himself at least, figuring out the pattern of the other figure skaters and falling into place. When it came to having individual groups of folks go across the ice while the rest stayed closer to rink-side, he was even encouraged by the others to go out and take-part despite not having practiced it with them. He managed reasonably well, twizzling across the ice and vaulting into a triple Axel where he could. Thankfully, he'd been familiar with both songs, so figuring out how to do the dances with the other skaters wasn't terribly difficult.
For his last set of solo-moves, Yuri whipped out the camel spin and choreography from the end of his old Eros program, figuring it would probably be the easiest thing to mix with the song's energy. All the other skaters formed two long lines across the ice, getting ready for the big coordinated finale. Otabek and Sara were out front together, leading the rest.
Heeeeeeey sexy lady~! Op...op, op, op...oppa Gangnam style!
The entire group started doing the horse-dance with the lasso, then jumped onto toe-picks to put their hands on the left knees and kick their right legs out.
Heeeeeeey sexy lady~!
They hopped back to standing upright, pumping their arms out near their chests, then doing what could only be described as the 'Sprinkler' move.
Op...op, op, op...Hey-hey-hey heyheyhey...oppa Gangnam style!
All the skaters got into the final pose at the same time, throwing out their right legs ahead of them, and then thrusting it behind, digging toe-picks into the ice as they all brought their right hands up to give a coy look, putting it aside their chins, the left hand hooking down at their sides.
BOOM.
Yuri was catching his breath, but laughing, bumping fists with Otabek as they both went back towards the rink exit, "That was great." The older skater was saying, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "I haven't heard either of those songs in years. Someone would put them together like this."
"Oh, you like mash-ups?" Otabek wondered, "What about rock remixes?"
"Sure." Yuri answered, stepping off the ice just near where Yurio had been waiting with Viktor's jacket and both their blade guards, "You DJ, right?"
"Yeah. You're even older than I am, so you'd be able to come if you wanted."
Yuri grimaced at the mention of their comparative ages.
Yurio looked like he was about to have a heart attack, "Wait, you won't let me come, but you're inviting Katsudon? What the Hell!?"
"He's old enough to go. You're not." Otabek said with a playfully mocking smirk, reaching out a finger to thwap the teen's nose with a flick before taking his skate-guards, "You can come when you lose your jailbait status."
"Shots fired." Yuri grinned.
"JAILBAIT!? ...BUT THAT'S FOREVER FROM NOW."
"Isn't your birthday in March?" The Asian skater wondered, putting the second guard onto his skates, "You're 16 now. You'll be turning 18 right before Worlds...next year." He pulled Viktor's jacket on after that, reaching out to pull on the sleeves where the Russian's arms were just slightly longer than his.
"It's December 1st right now! That Worlds still another 15 months away!" The teen was still protesting.
Yuri just laughed at Yurio's protests, pushing him along the rink wall so they'd be out of the way until their turn. The first Exhibition on the ice was the Pairs Gold medalists, and they had already started by then.
.
Not having any particular attachment to the Pair skaters, Mikhail twiddled around on his iPad, keeping the stream active in the background while he played some Russian knock-off of Fruit Ninja. He passed a few minutes that way, getting through the Bronze Ice Dancers and the Ladies Silver medalist before something else caught his attention.
Viktor had rolled onto his back, but his breathing had gotten shallower and he had sweat beading on his forehead.
Mikhail's brow furrowed at the sight of it, and no longer cared so much about whether moving would wake his nephew up. He pulled himself out of the corner and set a pillow under Viktor's head in place of his leg, feeling at his forehead again.
Still no fever... Is he having a nightmare?
The younger Russian's hands were twitching where they'd come to rest on his chest and stomach, and his head turned from one side to the other. The look on his face was one of fear, confirming Mikhail's worry.
Poor guy can't rest even now. I wonder if it would be a mercy to wake him up, or just to let him get through it?
He moved off towards the kitchen to get a cold washcloth, and set it over Viktor's forehead to keep him cool.
.
Winters north of St. Petersburg were cold and unforgiving, but when the snows finally stopped falling and the countryside was able to dig itself out again, there could be beauty and fun. It was barely October, but 5 year old Viktor was still depressed from the proverbial disappearance of his Uncle Mimi. Even the playful antics of Losi couldn't cheer him up.
Tatiyana followed close behind as the tiny silver boy wandered over the hill behind the house, making his way in whatever direction the massive black bear-dog carved through the snowdrift. It was hard to see where they were going under 2 feet of cold white fluff, but so long as the dog was content in where he was going, so too was Viktor.
The woman knew the pond was somewhere at the bottom of the hill, but the rocks surrounding it had been buried, so the lump of every tree stump, stone, log, and bush looked exactly the same.
Viktor found it, though.
[It's slippery...]
[Careful, Viktor...the pond isn't that deep but it'll still be cold if you fall through.]
Slate-blue eyes glanced back at her, but the boy did what any curious child would, and jumped up and down where he stood just to see what would happen. The water was frozen solid though. Not even the slightest bubble from closer to the ground sloshed around under the ice. For the first time since summer, the silver child found something to smile about.
He gave it his best effort, and cleared a tiny patch around himself, making the world's smallest skating rink, and carefully slid around on it in his little winter boots.
Losi was barking somewhere close by, and Tatiyana glanced over to see the black behemoth of a canine jumping from one previously-formed 'body print' to the next, gradually getting closer. She glanced back at her son though as he fell and gasped in surprise, and was about to reach out to pick him up again, but found him laughing instead of crying. Hearing the sound was a relief, and the silver-haired woman moved closer, helping to clear an even bigger patch. By the time they were done, there was a 10ft diameter circle of frozen pond exposed to the air, surrounded by a small wall of shoveled snow.
The dog bounded through again, not expecting the ice, and collapsing into a completely graceless slide right past the boy, stopping only as he hit the far snow-pile. Viktor laughed at it and gave chase. The dog hoisted himself back to his feet and barked playfully, jumping around on ready paws...still slipping once in a while, but at least staying upright.
[Does this happen every winter, mama?] Viktor asked, jumping on the dog's back and rolling with him as he flopped around to expose his belly, tail wagging away.
[Every winter.] The woman answered, a bit nervous to say so, glancing around briefly.
[The pond is frozen.] The boy went on idly, hanging onto Losi as the dog got back up again, and let himself get pulled along as four paws started walking again, [This is fun!]
[The ice will melt as soon as the winter's gone, Viktor.] The woman went on, [In summer it'll just be water again. Water and mud.]
[Do other people play on frozen ponds, too?]
[Sometimes.]
[But if this pond freezes every year, how come no one has played here before?]
[That's just how it is.]
[Why?]
[It's always been like that, for years and years, even before you were born.]
[...Why?]
[Get off the ice, Viktor.] A gruff voice came, catching both figures off guard, but none so much as the woman.
They looked up to the top of the hill and saw Konstantin glaring back at them.
[Why?] Viktor asked, innocently enough.
The older man narrowed his eyes, [Your father gave you a command. Your place is to obey without questioning it.]
[Just come off the ice, Vivi.] Tatiyana begged quietly, going over to wrangle her baby and get him clear of the pond before anything else could be said about it, [Just stay close to me and don't argue, okay?]
.
Viktor twisted to his side again, facing the back-rest of the couch. The cloth on his forehead fell off, and his bangs got messy from the water, but he stayed asleep.
.
[Don't ever let your father see these, okay?] Tatiyana said in a whisper.
It was January. Viktor was 6 by then. He beheld the oversized blades with wonder...and confusion.
[What are these for?]
[You wear them on your feet so you can skate!] She explained, [They're like shoes just for the ice.] She put one of the old-fashioned beams against the sole of her left boot to show him, [They're a bit big for you, but I think they'll do for now. Just promise me...you'll never use them when your father's home, okay? This is our secret, for when he's at the mill. And you don't tell anyone else about it, okay?]
[Okay!]
[Here, I'll help you put them on. You can skate for 30 minutes, but then we have go to back inside and finish with your school for today.]
[Yeah!]
Fully strapped in and ready to fly, the anxious child stood up...and didn't know what to do. The blades were adult-sized for his kid-sized feet, and they were heavy, but more than that...Viktor just didn't know what to do with them.
He turned back to his mother with confusion written on his face, [...How do I go...?]
Tatiyana laughed and stood up, walking out onto the pond in front of him and taking his tiny hands to pull him forward. He slid along the flat ice easily, blades scratching as he moved, and those azure eyes were wide with wonder.
[This is great! Mama!]
She let go of one hand and let him slip into a wide arc around her, staying in the center to act as a pivot, [Move your feet, Viktor...move them like you're walking.]
He lifted one tiny leg and set it down again, starting to get the hang of how the ice felt. When he was ready, his wind-chafed little face turned towards the woman and nodded...and she let him go. Viktor managed well enough, but he soon realized he didn't know how to turn, and he flailed as he went straight into a snow-mound at the edge of the 'rink.' Tatiyana stifled a laugh with a hand over her mouth, and Losi barked excitedly as she went over to pull the poor boy out of the cold fluff.
[When you want to turn, you have to lift your leg and turn your foot, then set it back down in the direction you want to go. Try again?] She explained, dusting the snow off his head and coat.
Determined, the boy nodded, and his mom took a position behind him, [I'll turn this time.] He said confidently
[Ready?]
"Da."
A gentle nudge moved him forward, and the little silver child glided across the ice. About halfway across the pond, he lifted his right foot, set it down with a slight tilt, and quickly lifted the left as he started moving in a curve. His footwork got better with each step, and he slid all the way back to where Tatiyana was waiting before.
He skated right into her, and she playfully let him knock her over, [Ohh! Viktor, you got me!]
[How do I stop...?] He asked with a huff, clinging to her coat as his feet scrambled under them.
.
Mikhail saw his nephew's breathing change; they were pained or ragged anymore. They had normalized. It was a bit of a relief, and the older figure sat in his corner again, wedging in just next to the pillow under Viktor's head.
.
The following year, the tiny silver Russian had improved his form significantly. It was still cumbersome to have the adult-sized blades on his shoes, but he'd grown into them a little, and was making his way in swift circles around the cleared patch of ice. Tatiyana stood in the center of the 'rink,' clapping and smiling excitedly to see him whiz past.
[You're getting really good at this! You have real natural talent, Viktor!]
[How come I can't tell anyone about this?] He asked pointedly, twisting around to slide backwards around the woman instead, hands no longer needed for balance, [I think everyone would have fun here.]
[We tell your father that we clear the pond so people don't accidentally fall into it, trying to find their way through the snow. Just leave well enough alone, okay? He has his reasons.]
Viktor pouted a little at that, but didn't argue.
.
"...Nyet..." The younger silver figure whimpered quietly, "On skoro pridet..."
Mikhail blinked at him, pulling the water-glass from where he'd been sipping at it, "...He's coming? Who's coming?"
.
[WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THE POND?] Konstantin's voice boomed.
All skating came to a sudden stop, and Viktor looked at the top of the hill, just near the house where his father had unexpectedly popped up.
[Y-you're home early!] Tatiyana said, shocked, standing quickly, [Don't worry, the pond is completely frozen solid!]
[GET OFF THE ICE, VIKTOR. NOW.]
The boy wasn't going to question it like before, and moved towards the nearest snow pile and jumped into it without a second thought, antique blades in the air behind him where he landed.
[Konstantin, this isn't fair!] He could hear his mother saying, [Ever since Mikhail left, he's had nothing to do! There's no kids his age here! I can't keep him cooped up in the house all winter...at least skating gives him something fun to look forward to! Let him have just this one thing!]
[No son of mine will skate.] The gruff older man said belligerently, [I'll fill the pond with concrete come summer if I catch him with those blades on again.]
.
Viktor's face changed again, like he was on the edge of tears. His eyes twitched and his arms trembled where they curved up towards him.