CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED SIX
As with most mornings, when Yuri's phone alarm started buzzing, he was the only one who responded to it. Almost by instinct, he heard that telltale jingle and started reaching for it, even with his eyes closed and his mind wanting to go back to sleep. His hands pawed for the edge of the bed, but the phone was just out of reach, and Viktor was clinging to his back enough that the younger figure couldn't wiggle free. So, in such an event, Yuri slid one of his legs out from under the covers, jerked it forward until his toes caught the edge of the night-stand, walked them forward towards his phone, and then flicked it over towards the edge. That leg slithered back into the warmth of the blankets and Yuri was able to turn the alarm off.
The Russian's grip relaxed a little when he felt his partner stop trying to wiggle away, but the man was still 2/3rds asleep as it happened, so he completely passed out again once the movements were all done and settled.
"Neh, Viktor..." Yuri attempted, speaking softly as he reached up to rub his eyes with his free hand. He rolled onto his back, turning his head towards the sleepy skater, phone resting on his chest as he decided 15 more minutes wouldn't be the end of the world. He clicked on his phone to set the Snooze timer, dropped it into the blankets, and rolled over further to face his husband. He quietly nuzzled in closer, wedging his head under the man's chin and snaking an arm over his side, squishing himself in as close to Viktor's chest as he could, raising one leg over the man's thigh for good measure.
Still, no matter what, the buzzer came on again and it always felt like it was 3 seconds later, not the 15 minutes that had been set. Viktor grumbled quietly as he rolled onto his back, dragging Yuri with him, even as the younger figure was pawing for the phone again. When the buzzing and noise was finally off again, Yuri couldn't bring himself to try falling asleep again, but dozed for a while where he'd been pulled up onto the Russian's chest.
I don't want to get up...it's so warm here...
He lifted those tired hazel eyes up to see his sleeping partner, and reached up to brush a few silver strands away to better see his husband's face.
I feel bad needing to wake him up...this might be the last time until later tonight that his mind will be at peace... Still though, he wanted to go back to that other rink after Official Practice...so we need to get moving...
"Viktor..." Yuri said again, pushing up a little to wedge his left arm under himself against the Russian's chest, the other still pawing at the man's hair, "It's almost 8. We should get up."
"...I am up..." He replied quietly, his eyes still closed though.
"Yeah me too, like every morning, but I meant the 'standing up' kind, not the 'standing at attention' kind." Yuri corrected, giving the man a look as he finally pushed to sit up and threw his legs off the edge of the bed, "I don't need you teasing me when I have to wait."
"Sorry..." Viktor mumbled, almost smirking to himself in his drowsy haze as he raised his arms up to stretch a little. One of those blue eyes finally opened though as he relaxed again, "I promise I'll make it worth your while."
"I don't doubt it." The younger skater huffed, his cheeks a bit pink at the suggestion. He leaned back on his hand to quickly kiss his husband and then rose to standing, "Come on then, the rest of you needs to be up, too. The buffet downstairs will still be fresh if we go quickly."
The Russian reluctantly started to push himself up to sitting and rubbed his eyes for a moment. As silver hair came tumbling back over the left one, he felt his skin twitch slightly, and the trepidation of what was coming later in the day started creeping back up in his gut again. When he pulled his hand back, he turned his uncovered eye towards where Yuri was walking away, then glanced around the room a little bit. It was quiet until the sound of water started, but it wasn't enough to pull the skater out of his thoughts. He glanced down at the blankets still covering his lower half, observing the different warm layers...the regular sheet, the thicker fleece blanket, and the comforter on top. With an inquisitive hum to himself, Viktor wondered on something, but soon shrugged and pushed to get out of bed as well.
Yuri had a frothy toothbrush in his mouth when he caught sight of his partner coming around the corner, but was a bit surprised to find the man just leaning against the bathroom doorframe, "What is it...?" He wondered, toothbrush still in place.
"Do you think we'll come back before the Free Skate or should I just bring everything from the start...?"
The younger skater pulled the toothbrush out and shrugged, "Depends, do you really want to carry everything around all day? We couldn't get that rock out from the wheel-well under your rolling suitcase since we don't have a screwdriver, and it's kinda heavy..."
"...Yeah."
"Why?" Yuri wondered, rubbing the foam off his mouth on the back of his wrist, "You think the Exhibition practice will take a long time...? I know I'm not as quick as Yurio is to memorize new programs, but-"
"No, it's not that." The Russian shook his head, "The part you have to remember isn't even half as long as a Short Program, so I'm not worried about that at all. You'll be fine."
"What then?"
"...I think I'm going to need to bring some extra stuff, that's all. We can just come back and get my other things on the way back from shopping. I'll just bring my skates for now." He said, tapping the doorframe with one hand as he moved off beyond the corner and out of sight again.
Yuri watched him go in confusion, "...Extra stuff?" He stepped out of the bathroom and turned to lean around the edge of the hall, watching where his partner was crouched on the floor, rummaging through a suitcase for the day's choice of clothing, "What else do you need to bring...? Can it fit in my backpack?"
"Don't worry about it." Viktor waved his hand to dismiss the whole thought, "If practice runs late then we'll just shop for our outfits after the Free Skate, or tomorrow morning after Gala practice. It'll be fine."
"You already know what you want us to wear?"
"Of course." He lifted that silver head and winked at his partner, "I already knew all those details before Uncle Mimi even picked us up yesterday."
"Back to Mimi again...does that mean he'll be allowed to talk today?" Yuri wondered, leaning against the wall and loosely crossing his arms.
"Not until after the Free Skate, at least. He needs to stew a bit longer. Maybe I'll make it go on until after the Exhibition. I haven't decided yet."
"...But does that mean you've forgiven him already, since you've set a time for when he's out of the dog house?"
The Russian had half-pulled-on a pair of underwear by then, but paused as he was pulling it up against his hips. When he moved again, he just sat down on the floor and started reaching for some thick crew-socks out of a nearby bag, "In purely scientific terms, I think I'm about 83.7% of the way to forgiving him."
Yuri cocked a brow, "83.7%...?"
Viktor nodded and smiled, lifting his feet to straighten out the fabric on each side, "I have documentation to back it up. It's all very highly technical research, but it's accurate. Peer reviewed, published, and everything." He twisted slightly to get one foot under himself and kneeled over another bag to find his grey practice-pants, "If the Free Skate goes well, I might let him buy me a beer after, but I haven't planned that far ahead yet. The day is still young, and I have a lot I want to do first that has absolutely nothing to do with him." He opened one bag and realized none of the clothing in it was folded, "...Hm, maybe laundry will be on that list. I don't think I've bothered since we left Paris."
"That's why you brought like 80 bags of clothing though, isn't it?" Yuri huffed a laugh and pushed off the wall, heading back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth.
The Russian pointed at their luggage, counting, "...I think only eight of these are mine!"
"Eleven of them are yours."
Blue eyes turned back to the pile in disbelief, "Whaaaat?"
.
.
.
Coming out of the Tsukisamuchuo Station, the pair quietly hung a left and started heading down the street. Another left around the corner of the supermarket, and one block eastward on Suigenchi Dori, they were able to spot the tennis courts in front of the Tsukisamu Gymnasium.
It was a different group of people on staff that day than had been there the night before, and unfortunately, they had no idea who either of the skaters were. Requesting a section of the rink be cordoned off was impossible.
"Guess we'll just have to take our chances and hope people using the rink realize you need more space once they see you working." Yuri suggested, shrugging as he put his wallet away from paying their entrance fee, "I'm sure at least someone here today will know who you are..."
"Maybe it's better that they don't." The Russian said, pulling a hand up to rub his chin as they stepped in through the doors that lead to rink-side, "If even one person knows who either of us is, they might record what we're doing and tag us online, and the whole show will cease to be a surprise."
"Oh..." Yuri answered stiffly, a bit confused, "...Is this a bigger surprise than just the fact that it's an Exhibition you haven't premiered yet?"
Viktor pulled his backpack off as he came to a bench he liked, and started unpacking his blades before moving to pull his shoes off, "I guess you could say that. To an extent..." His words trailed a bit as he pulled the first skate on and started working at the laces. Yuri started doing the same next to him. With the laces pulled tight but untied as yet, Viktor moved over to pull the other skate on as well, "I guess this is a show just for me."
"Even though I'm in it...?"
"You're part of me." The Russian nudged his partner with an elbow, "I meant that the show is more for my sake than anyone else's. It's like a sequel to 'Evoke.' You'll understand when you hear the song."
"...Is it an angry song again...?" Yuri worried a little.
"Angry? No, far from it. 'Evoke' is the storm. This new song is the recovery effort that comes after." Viktor explained, tightening the laces so they'd be even on both sides, and then standing up to set his hands on the rink wall, "Everything on the ice is love, and every performance is a story. Being self-aware is what makes each show unique. It's a double-edged sword though." He explained, turning his head back as Yuri finished tying his own laces, "When a show is supposed to reflect your happy self, and you step onto the ice with a cloud hanging over you...it's just not going to work. We both know that from personal experience."
The younger figure pulled the bottoms of his pants over the tops of his boots and stood up, stepping forward to feel his husband's left arm come up over his shoulders. The Russian took his right hand in his own, pulling it to his lips to kiss the golden band.
"When you did your 'Yuri on Ice' program last year, part of why it was so gratifying to work on with you was because of the journey it described." Viktor went on, letting the hand go to start pulling his partner's scarf away, "Even though I was the one who coordinated the sequence of required moves, teaching you how to land the jumps better to go for higher GOE values, pushing you to the absolute limits, and coordinating how best to put your existing skills and talents to use...it was still your story. There's no one in the world who can skate that show with more appeal than you have, because no one else has walked those miles in your shoes. And when I skated 'Aria' the year before that...it was my desperate cry out to the universe that I needed someone...but until after Sochi, I didn't know who I was even calling out for. The shows I did after that, once I knew...I really had my heart in it. Maybe no one else noticed, but the whole program changed in my mind."
The scarf was gone, and Viktor was pushing the heavy winter jacket off his partner's shoulders after that, rolling it up around his arms to set the small bundle down on the bench before doing the same with his own things. Yuri had been somewhat dumbstruck by what the man had said, and was looking out to the half-dozen or so people who were on the ice already, oblivious to them even being there. When the Russian was down to just his usual grey sweatpants and black t-shirt, the younger skater slipped in and wrapped both arms around the man's thin frame, pressing his eyes to his collar-bone.
"How long have you even been thinking about this new show, then...?" Yuri wondered, speaking the words against the black fabric.
The silver skater blinked down at his husband, but smiled and brought his arms up, weaving the fingers of one hand through that soft, black, spiky hair, "Since your friend's Short Program. ...It...really spoke to me." He pulled back after that, holding his palms gently to his partner's cheeks, and leaned in to lightly peck him on the lips before moving to grab his blade guards, "That's part of why I wanted to go talk to him after it was all done. To me, it was more than just a congratulations on getting 1st after the Short Program...it was a thank you. His performance told me what I had to do to move forward and get past all this."
Yuri set his own blade-guards next to his coat on the bench and started to follow his partner, feeling everything slide away as his golden skates touched down on the ice. The sound of metal scratching across the frost was a relief. Thinking back on the Free Skate practice earlier in the morning though, the young skater had been half-on-edge, knowing that what he saw was just the calm before the storm.
Cherry-hazel eyes looked up to see the silver Russian's hair gently flicking in the breeze with their glide across the ice. Viktor quickly turned around to face him, skating backwards as they came around the short end of the rink, sliding with effortless ease. The feel of the cold air was a pleasant reprieve from the heat of his worrying, but that didn't stop Yuri's mind from wandering anyway.
When Yurio skated last year...I thought his performance completely changed after our 'training' under the waterfall. He started thinking about his grandpa, and his 'Agape' really came through. It was obvious though when he couldn't focus, and he let his greed come in the way of the love he was meant to feel.
Viktor let go of his hand for a moment and twisted around on the ice, warming up with a few easy moves in the field, stepping blade over boot like he'd been born with skates on.
Yurio's Free Skate was a completely different show from 'Agape' though. If 'Evoke' is Viktor's 'Rage Skate,' then 'Appassionato' was Yurio's.
Cherry-hazel eyes followed the Russian's fluid steps, twizzling a few times and then changing directions to do it again.
The raw power that Yurio had in that program, doing all those jumps with his hands up in the air...even with that fall, he still ploughed through on just the fury of his hatred for the injustices he thought he'd been subject to. Wanting to show Viktor that he didn't need him after all, wanting to make me regret considering retirement after the Final... After all that raw emotion came out of him in that final Free Skate, even Yuri Plisetsky, the Russian Tiger, collapsed on the ice at the end and cried.
He followed at a slight distance as Viktor skirted the opposite end of the rink. Other skaters were starting to take notice, and many stopped where they were when they saw the telltale motion of a 3-turn. They all heard the toe-pick gouging into the ice, and watched as the silver Russian became a spinning blur, landing the quad Flip like he'd been carried on wings.
"Let's do that one side-by-side next, okay?" Viktor asked, leg still out from the landing, "We'll do it in the same spot I just toe-picked from. Keep the same distance between us as we have while doing that jump in 'The Ghost.'"
"Sure." Yuri nodded, falling in line to start picking up speed alongside his partner. Still, he watched the man, picturing him in his Free Skate outfit, imagining his blades really being on fire, leaving a trail of melted ice in his wake instead of scratches on the ice.
All the anger that Viktor's been holding onto since February... Getting to express all that pain in front of the man who'd inflicted it on him...the idea alone is scary. It's going to make Yurio's 'Rage Skate' look like a toddler's obnoxious temper tantrum. Hardly a serious display at all.
They came back around the small cluster of skaters and were heading back towards the clearer side of the rink. Viktor flipped backwards again, and Yuri did the same.
"One, two, three-turn, jump, okay?"
"Got it."
Slate eyes watched the ice fly by, and he nodded, "One...two...three..."
TAK-TAK...sKASsshhhhhh...
They glided off with ease, twisting back around to face forward again. They lifted their heads as they heard a few people starting to clap, and Viktor raised an arm to wave at them all happily as they passed by.
Yuri still felt nervous though. In a bid to calm his pounding heart, he reached to the right and took his partner's hand in his own, careful to lace their fingers together and hold tight.
It's going to be the performance of a lifetime.