CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED TWENTY FOUR
Though it was still daylight when the train arrived, by the time a certain triad of skaters made it to their taxi, the winter sun had already set, leaving Hasetsu on the precipice of twilight. The last rays of light vanished over the horizon, and streets lights twinkled on as the car left the lot and passed underneath.
The trio were squished into the back seat, their things piled up in the front passenger foot-well with Yuuko as they regained their wits about them. She glanced back at them with a worried smile, trying not to laugh, though internally she was in stitches at the sight of them.
"...I think one of them got me on the mouth..." Yuri said stiffly, mashed in the middle as usual. He repeatedly opened his mouth and made a face, as though trying to get the taste off his lips and tongue without touching them.
"What?" Viktor said in a quiet monotone, turning his head slowly towards his partner, "Say that again?"
The younger skater turned as well, but was more annoyed than anything, "...One of those crazy excited fans who mobbed us when I pulled my medals out...I think one of them...might've kissed me in the middle of the frenzy... I have this weird minty taste in my mouth that-"
The Russian's eye twitched...and suddenly he was pulling at the door handles, "STOP THE CAR AND LET ME OUT."
"V-Viktor!?" Everyone called in shock.
The cabby did as told in his stunned surprise, and the silver man practically broke the door-handle off in his efforts to get out. Yuri tried to hold him in, but a swift kick to the inside panel sent the door flying open anyway, bouncing back and needing another kick, followed by the territorial skater jumping out immediately after. He took a few angry steps back towards the train station, which was barely across the street by that point, and shook a fist at the doorway, "WHOEVER KISSED MY HUSBAND WILL RUE THIS DAY." He yelled.
"Viktorgetbackinthecar!" Yuri begged, arms around his waist from behind while Phichit and he tried to get the man back through the open passenger door.
"I WON'T STAND FOR THIS!" The Russian went on, being pulled one reluctant step backwards as he lost ground, though he still shook his fist. There were a number of fans who had poured outside Hasetsu Station to see the skaters leave, and they were all looking rather nervous as he yelled at them, "YURI IS MINE, YOU HEAR ME!?" He pointed emphatically at his wedding band, "HE GAVE THIS RING TO ME! I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT GETS TO KISS HIM! IF I EVER FIND OUT WHO PUT THAT MINTY TASTE ON HIS LIPS, I'LL-"
He continued to flail and protest as he was finally dragged back into the taxi, Yuuko hopping out to push the door closed after his feet were shoved in. She jumped back in front again and told the driver to floor it, getting the perturbed Russian as far away from his new enemy as possible.
Yuri and Phichit heaved a sigh of relief to feel the taxi moving again, but Viktor was glued to the window, watching the station disappear around the corner and out of sight, as though thinking that if he pushed his face against the glass hard enough, he might be able to pass through it on a molecular level. He kept the annoyed look on his face until the train station was entirely too far away to see anymore, but even as he peeled himself off the door, he still looked ultra-annoyed.
"Wow!" Phichit said, holding a hand to his heart from the adrenaline rush, "Viktor went from zero to 60 in two seconds flat!"
"We need to get back to Yu-Topia in a hurry..." Yuri agreed, "There's only one thing that can calm him down now..."
"NoonekissesYuriEXCEPTME." Viktor continued to seethe, pulled back down across the legs of both younger skaters where they'd hoisted him inside. His arms were up as though he were trying to grab for the imaginary neck of the fan who'd dared get so close, "NOONEBUTME."
.
The moon was already bright in the sky when the taxi pulled up in front of Hasetsu's last hot-springs resort, but the lights and colors shining out from it was unlike anything Yuri had ever seen. Lanterns were hung along every awning, with smaller lanterns of different colors going in woven patterns around the big ball-lights that were already there. A few fans and photographers were waiting at the entrance, but by and large, it seemed that most of them had gone to wait at the train station. It was a relief as well to see the big 'CLOSED FOR TONIGHT' sign hanging under the main arch that lead into the resort.
Viktor was still slightly suspicious of anyone waiting around, and he made an effort to put himself between the loiterers and his husband, making sure to keep an eye out in case anyone else decided to try to lip-lock the man.
That's when he heard the barks and whines, followed by a door sliding open.
The Russian's ears perked up, and a second later, he was knocked to the ground, snow flying up all around him as a spastic poodle was jumping all over him, licking and wiggling and barking and yipping. Viktor's mood shifted immediately, his scowls turning to laughter, and he eventually managed to sit up. Makkachin was bouncing off the proverbial walls with excitement though, giving the man only a moment of relief when he bounded off to jump at Yuri several times, and even Phichit once or twice before going back to his primary human, and knocked him right back down into the snow. The poor creature was practically vibrating with excitement, tail wagging back and forth so fast that it looked a blur, and he whined and rolled pitifully like he couldn't believe his eyes. Viktor finally managed to get his arms around the wriggly woofer, hugging him tightly, "Makkachin! I missed you!"
"Okaeri, minna-san~!"
Yuri turned his head up, and saw his mom there in the doorway first. His father was next to her, then Mari, the resort staff, Minako, Takeshi Nishigori, the triplets, and finally, sauntering up in a spa robe like he'd literally just hauled-ass out of the onsen to get to the door, Yurio.
The skater drew in a relieved breath, and turned to face them properly with a relaxed smile, "Tadaima."
.
The door to a cozy, albeit empty Russian house, opened and closed quietly. Footsteps echoed from the front hall as the lock was set, and the sound of fabric shifting and sliding resonated as a scarf was pulled away. The hardwood floor was colder than it used to be, felt through thin dress-socks like it was a slab of icy stone.
Grey-green eyes looked around the empty space, recalling the handful of times he'd been there when the dwelling was still occupied. Only the built-in fixtures remained then, and a few curtains, save the subtle shadows on the walls where picture frames had once been hung.
"...This place feels like a tomb now." Mikhail commented dryly to himself, raising the blinds to let some light in where the power had been turned off months ago. Through the front windows, he could see the volcano-red car he'd left parked in the drive-way, as well as a few people across the street giving it weird looks. It was impossible to hear what they were saying from inside, but the way they stopped and pointed, giving the car a ponderous expression, made the elder Russian wonder if he'd mistakenly given the impression that Viktor had finally decided to come 'home' again. He pulled away from the glass before anyone could see him, lest they mistake him for Viktor as well, and retreated to the relative safety of the kitchen at the back of the main room.
He pulled out his phone and checked the World Clock, seeing that it was round 8:30pm in Japan at that point, and supposed the skaters had finally gotten home by then as well. Their celebrations were likely well underway, and he wondered if it would be worth it to call and see how things were going without him. He thumbed over Minako's contact info for a moment...but then decided better of it, and put his phone away again.
Instead, he pulled up the email with his flight itinerary, checking the departure time for the 427th time since leaving Sapporo.
We decided to get to Canada as soon as possible...but Minako's going to be worn out by the time she gets to Edmonton...
His own flight was leaving out of St. Petersburg at midnight; a hellishly long time from the meager 2:30pm it was at that moment. It would still be a 14 hour flight before landing too, and it would be near 8pm when the plane touched down after the layover. On the flip side, Minako would be getting there 2 hours later, and her flight was several hours longer, and had two layovers in the midst of it all.
At least we'll be in Banff on Wednesday morning. I don't think I could stand waiting much longer to get out there. It'll be bad enough trying to sleep Tuesday night, even after Minako gets there to keep me company.
He went back to the contact list and hovered his thumb over the woman's name-plate, making a face like he was still unsure if it was appropriate to interrupt the festivities just to say hi. It seemed fate would have something else in mind though, since a sudden and loud banging at the front door sent the phone flying from his hand as he jumped in terror, landing face-down on the hardwood floor.
"Viktoooor!" Someone outside was calling, then banging again, "Viktooooor! Ty sejčas doma?"
"Ego zdes' net!" Mikhail yelled back in frustration, bending down to pick up the device, careful of his still-healing back, only to realize he'd clicked the call button and it was dialing out, "Shit."
"O čem ty govoriš'? My možem videt' vaš avtomobil'!"
"Uhodi požalujsta!" Mikhail yelled finally, hoping the interlopers would take the hint and disappear.
"Hey hun!" The phone said, catching the perturbed Russian off-guard, "I didn't think you'd be calling again tonight. What's up?"
"Shitshitshitshit-" Mikhail whispered between clenched teeth, pulling the phone up to his ear nervously, "Ahhhhh hey there. I juuuuuust...thought I'd...check in?"
"Why do you sound weird?"
"Viktoooor!" A different voice called this time; it sounded like a woman, "Podojti k dveri!"
"Nyet! Ja ne Viktor!"
"...Who are you yelling at?" Minako asked nervously; her cheeks were slightly pink from the fun already. The party all around her was in full-swing, though as a family affair it was less a rambunctious, excitable event as it was an evening of storytelling and congratulations. All three skaters had been given the resort's famous pork cutlet bowl for their victories, and were sipping quietly at their half-empty drinks as the triplets were fawning over all the medals on display before them. Yuri had abstained from alcohol that night, but Viktor was still nursing a beer, and raised it up at the woman where she'd tried to duck out of sight.
"Minako-senseeeeiii...you're supposed to be drinking with meeee!" He called out, waving his tall, curved glass around, one arm over Yuri's shoulders as he rocked from side the side, taking his hapless husband with him.
"I'll be right back!" She answered, "Mikhail's yelling at someone on the other end!"
"Why is Uncle Mimi yelling at anyone...?" The young Russian happily wondered, his voice slightly slurred from the buzz.
"I'm trying to find out!" The ballerina turned her attention back to the phone, "Sorry hun, did you answer that question already? I was talking to Viktor."
Mikhail blanched; he'd gone to the door since then and was staring down at the same three people that had been across the street before, "Čto ty hočeš'!?"
Those three sets of eyes blinked back at him, "Vy ne Viktor."
"Èto to, čto ja skazal!"
"Kto ty?"
"Mikhail Rozovsky, dyadya Viktora."
"Da neuželi."
"Da! Proŝajte!" The elder grumbled, finally turning to close the door on the nosey neighbors, and planted his back against it for good measure, "Christ these people. They see Viktor's car in the drive and suddenly they think his happy ass moved back to St. Petersburg! They thought I was him, too!"
"Calm down, hun." Minako advised, waving her free hand in a downward sweep as though he could see it, "Go to your happy place. Pleasant thoughts."
"My happy place...?" He repeated, sliding down the door until he was sitting on the floor, "My happy place is like 5000 miles away."
"I appreciate that, but it's not going to help you right now to dwell on the distance." She laughed, "Where are you right now anyway that people think you're Viktor again?"
"I went to check on his old house while I was in town. Kon couldn't take Viktor's car so I-"
"Wait, hang on, let me just put you on speaker so everyone can hear you."
"Speaker? Wait, what!? No, Minako-!"
"It's Mikhail, everyone! Say hiiiii~!" The ballerina put the phone down in the center of the main table and turned up the volume, taking her place next to Yurio again like where she'd been before.
"Hi Uncle Mikhail!" Everyone answered, save the Russian Tiger, who sat silently and stoically through it all.
The elder Russian just dropped his own phone from the sheer horror of his disbelief, feeling like he might be blue in the face from being put on the spot. He reached down for it again and pulled it back up to his ear, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "...Hi everyone."
"So how'd today go? Did you get the car thing sorted out?" Minako went on, "You were about to talk about it."
"...Uhhhhhhhhh...yyyyyyeaaaaaaaaaaasssssss...?" He answered nervously, his voice almost a squeak at the end.
"What happened, Uncle Mimi?" Viktor mused, leaning in over the table to be heard more clearly, cheeks flushed from the alcohol, "Did he take one look at it and laugh?"
"He didn't laugh, per se..." The elder Russian answered. He was sweating bullets already, Did Viktor tell them who Kon is? Should I avoid suggesting it!? Those triplets don't miss anything that happens to Viktor, especially if it's on Instagram...I doubt they'd let something like this slip! Crap! What do I say!?
"Well? What'd he do then?" Viktor pressed on.
"...Uhhhmm..." Mikhail reached down to anxiously toy with a corner of his coat, "...Well, he didn't take your car, for a start...I still have it... I...just ended up buying him a big truck instead. Your tiny little Audi would've been like a skateboard for him."
"Right?" Viktor laughed, "Well, I guess I should've figured as much. Will you be auctioning the car to recoup the cost? You'll probably make a profit off of it, considering what some fans would probably pay to buy that thing."
"No...I had plans to send it to Japan for you, actually." The elder answered, sighing and stretching his legs out straight ahead of himself, "I drove it over to your old place, just to make sure it was still in good shape before I put it on a cargo plane. I psyched your neighbors into thinking you were moving back or something. They came and pestered me like I was you."
"Oh...!" The younger Russian seemed to think it funny, "Yeah, my neighbors back then were all really proud of me being there. Yuri and I moved out so fast though that I never really got to say goodbye. Now I kind of feel bad that they went after you! I should go back at some point just to see them all...maybe in the summer like Yuri suggested. But anyway..." He took the conversation in a B-line, "When are you coming back to Hasetsu? Tomorrow? It sounds like the stuff with Papa is done and over with."
"...I won't be going back before the Final. I'll be meeting you guys in Detroit." Mikhail answered simply, "...Some stuff came up that I need to deal with."
"Is everything okay?" Yuri asked, hearing the change in the older man's voice, "Your tone went 180 just now."
"Eh...I don't want to ruin the night with more of my crap, so..."
"We're just milling about right now, Uncle Mimi." Viktor explained, "What's going on?"
The elder's knees came back up again nervously, and he wrapped his free arm around them as though he could hide from a phone conversation somehow, "...It's...well... It's my kids, back home. I...have to go back to Canada for a bit."
"Oh." Yuri spoke for them all, glancing at his partner anxiously, "...What's wrong with them? Did something happen?"
"To them specifically? Not exactly...but sort of."
"Are they okay?"
"I'll find out Wednesday morning."
"You can tell us, Grandpa Mikhail!" The triplets suddenly interrupted, surrounding the phone on all sides.
Mikhail felt like a dead man, going completely pale at the sound of those words, "G-Grandpa...?"
"Well yeah." Lutz said, as though it was the most obvious thing, "Mom and Yuri and Uncle Viktor are all around the same age...and you're old enough to be their dad...so that would make you like our Granddad!"
Minako just burst out laughing.
"And that makes you Grandma Minako!" The girls followed-up in unison, pointing at her all together, "Since you're dating!"
The ballerina just gasped loudly and went as pale as Mikhail had, and dropped to her side between the tables. Makkachin came up quickly and sniffed her hand, then licked her face and barked once in an effort to make her rise from the dead again. Minako just twitched where she was, "G-Grandma...Minako... My life is finished... This is it. I've entered into the final stage of existence and then it's all over. I'll never be young again."
Everyone else just quietly laughed behind their hands at the pair's expense, even though both of them were in the midst of a sudden midlife crisis from the whole thing. Everyone else...except Viktor and Yuri, anyway.
"Uncle Mimi...what's going on with your kids?" Viktor asked pointedly, the whole thing having suddenly been a dry buzz-kill, "Why do you have to go back to Alberta suddenly? Is it about the call you made yesterday?"
Mikhail picked himself up from the floor where he, too, had dropped after hearing the Grandma reference. He sighed and nodded to the empty house, "...My ex-wife passed away. My kids were trying to go it alone without telling me. I found out when I called my partner here at the new St. Petersburg worksite, and now I have to go back to Banff to sort those three out. Pick up the pieces and figure out what to do with them."
The room was quiet after that, everyone staring at Minako's phone like they weren't sure how to answer.
Yuri reached under the short table and set his hand on his husband's thigh to reassure him.
Viktor reached down as well and set his hand on top of it in turn, returning his attention to the phone, "I'm sorry that happened. I don't really know much about that situation, but..."
"It's fine. We'd been separated for 8 years already. I barely knew her anymore." Mikhail answered nervously, trying to get off the floor at that point and rise back up to his feet. He dusted himself off once he was upright, and sighed, "It is what it is."
Yuri's eye twitched at the mention of the timeline, "...Eight years ago...that's when..."
"...When Sophia threw me out." Viktor finished.
"...You were thrown out by someone!?" The triplets were aghast, "Who would throw YOU out!?"
"Oh. Well." Mikhail cleared his throat, "That's kind of eerie."
"I cared too much for someone and sacrificed a lot to make her happy, and in the end..." Viktor explained briefly, "...One bad thing happened and she decided to cut me out of her life like a c-" He stopped suddenly, looking a bit guilty, "...Uhm..."
"...Like a cancer." Mikhail finished that time.
"Uncle Mimi, I didn't-"
"Don't worry about it." He shrugged, stepping back into the kitchen to lean against the counter-side of the island. He huffed a quiet laugh to himself, "What time of year was it?"
"What time of year?" Viktor echoed in confusion, but thought back, "...Right on the edge of fall and winter."
"Okay, that is just creepy." Mikhail chortled, "Same here."
"No way."
"Yes way."
"Wow~!" Viktor gave an uncomfortable smile, "Maybe I should call Sophia and make sure she hasn't keeled over suddenly, too..."
"Don't you even dare." Yuri gave him a serious look.
"Just kidding! I promise!" Viktor defended awkwardly, then reaching over to hug the man tightly, stroking his hair adoringly, "I would never!"
"Mmhh..."
"Yuriiii~!" Viktor lamented, "I love yoouuuu~!"
Yurio just rolled his eyes at them, even as the rest of the group found the whole display endearing, especially after Yuri had smiled again, letting himself accept that it was all a tease.
"I swear, one of these days, you're going to have to sit through an entire weekend of being jealous over me." Yuri explained, "Just so you can know what it felt like for me the whole weekend in Bordeaux."
"Nooo~!" Viktor whined, "I couldn't take it! You saw how I reacted just a couple hours ago!"
"Why don't you tell them the rest of the story, old man?" Yurio suddenly said; his first words of the whole evening.
All the smiles faded at the serious tone the teen gave, but their eyes went from him down to the phone on the table top again.
"The rest of the story?" Mikhail repeated, "What do you mean? I hardly want to get into all the annoying details of the downfall of my marriage. That's a stupid tale that even I don't want to hear."
"Not that, idiot." Yurio said bitterly, "About how you plan to take your kids to Detroit."
"...Eh?" Yuri blinked.
"...What?" Viktor added.
Minako just sat uncomfortably.
"Oh." The elder Russian coughed to clear his throat again, "It was an idea. I wasn't going to have them go to the Final or anything. They're all old enough to handle themselves. I was going to cut them loose on the fun parts of the city. You'd never even know they're there."
"...When were you planning on telling us?" Viktor asked stiffly, remembering all too clearly the first and last time they'd spoken to his cousins.
"Tomorrow." The older man answered simply, "Though I told Minako she could tell you tonight if you happened to ask about me."
The ballerina looked and felt horribly guilty, but she kept quiet, looking over briefly at Hiroko where she was coming into the room with a tray to start clearing the tables. The normally-cheerful woman blinked back at her, and paused where she stood, quietly wondering what had happened.
"I know it's a contentious issue since my son was a little shit in Calgary, but I-"
"It's fine." Viktor cut him off, "Bring them."
"...Huh?" Everyone replied, Mikhail included.
"I have this strange feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of them soon either way." The young Russian went on, resigned to the idea already. He glanced aside as Yurio pushed to stand and left the room without another word. A brief look over at Yuri, and the younger skater shrugged in confusion, giving his leg another gentle squeeze before rising up to go after the teen. Viktor watched him go, and then turned his attention back to the phone, "Your girls seemed fine, but your son needs to learn some things. Maybe the experience over the last 2 weeks has humbled him. ...We can handle it. Bring them."