CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED THIRTY FOUR
"It's going to be so weird to be at a competition like this without Ciao Ciao." Phichit lamented quietly, trying to keep his spirits up all the same, "I wonder if he'll come anyway?"
"Didn't he go back to Thailand?" Yuri wondered.
They walked along Hasetsu's streets under the light of the street lamps, making their way back north to cross the first foot-bridge over the river. They could see the stone-faced stairway that rose above the road next to the water.
"Initially. He emailed me earlier saying he'd be in Michigan after all. He said that when we realized I wasn't going to be competing, and he had to break the news to everyone out there, they made a big fuss over it and insisted he come anyway."
"...So I guess they knew you were going to be there?"
"Yeah." Phichit nodded, taking the first step up the side of the bridge, "That's part of why they said he should come. He told everyone at the Skate Club that I'd be going with you and Viktor, so folks started making a big deal out of how we should all be there together. Ciao Ciao just isn't sure if he'll be watching the Final from the audience or from the Club. It's always weird to turn up anyway when you aren't part of things, especially when you were pretty sure you would be."
"That hasn't stopped Yurio from showing up whenever he feels like it." Yuri laughed nervously, "People stopped trying to tell him he couldn't be in the prep area after a while."
"It's a little different with him." The Thai skater sighed, his usual happy demeanor starting to fade out as they started moving across the thin pedestrian-only walkway, "He turned up unexpectedly at competitions he wasn't scheduled to skate at. For Ciao Ciao and me...going to the Final as spectators rather than competitors, after having come so close to getting in..."
The older figure gave a worried look, but wasn't sure what else to say. He cast his eyes up at Hasetsu Castle, one hand set on the painted wood railing of the footbridge, then looking off to the right where the second bridge would lead them beyond the Ice Castle and towards Yu-Topia. Snow crunched under their shoes as they kept walking.
"There's been times where skaters who win Gold haven't made it to the Final in the end." Yuri offered, "Viktor and I both tempted fate on that end this season. I could only imagine the shame if one, or even if both of us hadn't managed to get ourselves together and pull through the Free Program."
"I have nothing to be ashamed of." Phichit said, "Sorry if I made it sound like that. I'm sad that I'm not competing at the Final, but I'm still proud of what I managed to do so far this season. Tying with Chris for last must've made him nervous, too. He's been competing against Viktor almost toe-to-toe every year for a long time. If he didn't make it to the Final during Viktor's come-back season, he'd probably have burned the Little Caesar's Arena down just to stop the event from happening without him."
They both found an awkward sort of humor at the idea, and laughed quietly as they moved past the mid-point of the bridge.
"Yeah... Chris is right there between Viktor and I in terms of age. This might be his last chance to beat Viktor at something before one or both of them stops competing." Yuri agreed, "It was kind of funny listening to them at Worlds last year when we were doing our victory lap; hearing Chris offer to trade Viktor for the Silver medal if he disliked it so much..."
"Wow, yeah..." Phichit nodded, turning to look at the older skater next to him, "I remember watching the kiss and cry for your score...the look on Viktor's face when he realized you'd bumped him off at the end..."
"If that hadn't been his only competition last year, I'm sure he would've beaten me by a long shot." Yuri contested, turning slightly to start heading down the steps that lead to the last alley before arriving on the next major street, "He had only spent a few weeks practicing before then. A bunch of people were giving him grief about how he'd only be at Worlds, as though it was because he'd tried and failed to join the JSF instead or something, and had to settle at the last minute to stay with the RSF just to get to go."
"I remember." The Thai skater nodded, "People were really upset about it all back then. Some die-hard fans got really mad at him for delaying his return, as though he had any control over it."
"...He had some control over it, but..." Yuri lifted his head and sighed, "He chose to put coaching first. If Japan and Russia didn't always hold their Nationals at the same time then it wouldn't have been as much of a problem...but he still only gave himself two weeks to get ready."
"Isn't that what he's doing right now?" Phichit laughed, "Changing his Free Skate a week before the Final?"
"That's a little different. He's only planning one program, not three."
"Three?"
"I was counting the Exhibition, cuz he would've skated it whether he medaled or not."
"Ah, yeah."
"I stayed off Instagram for a while after I got to St. Petersburg. After seeing the subtitled video of the RSF conference, I didn't want to know what people were saying anymore."
They turned right as they made it to the main road, passing in front of the High School as they started to circle the bottom of the hill under the castle.
"Probably a good idea." Phichit agreed, "Some folks were saying some pretty nasty things back then. It took till Four Continents for it all to really settle down again."
"Some people in Korea actually thought Viktor was competing there." Yuri reminisced, "They all forgot that he was still coaching me. Some even thought he had managed to join the JSF at that point."
"Ah, I remember how excited everyone got when you held out your hand during your Exhibition there." The younger skater mused, "The audience completely lost it when Viktor came onto the ice. Whatever fans he might've lost over his delayed come-back and all the confusion surrounding it, he gained legions more just on the Viktuuri ship." Phichit laughed and nudged his friend's arm with an elbow, "Did you see the hashtag at NHK where people thought you weren't going to skate at the Gala just because your hair was down?"
"Yeah!" The older figure nodded, "I checked the feed a while after the show and saw everyone flipping out. The tag changed over from #HairDownNotSkating to #HairDownSTILLSKATING. It's crazy."
Coming around the east side of the hill, they could see where Minako's car was still parked in front of the Ice Castle, and decided to head across the street rather than continue down the bridge as they'd originally planned. When they came to the outside doors of the rink and found them locked, Yuri cleared a foggy patch on the glass and looked inside.
"The lights are off, but I don't think Viktor would've forgotten to drive the car back." He said, trying to spot if any lights were still on, but it was difficult to tell around corners and through a few other doors within the building. He suddenly spotted Yuuko, coming into the skate rental area from rink-side, and waved at her, "Yuu-chan! Let us in!"
She came up quickly and unlocked the entranceway, pushing the outside panel open a bit, "Sorry! I didn't know if you guys were going to be coming back this late. Glad you rattled on the doors a bit; I wouldn't have heard you otherwise. Come on in."
The duo moved through, and the Madonna locked the doors again behind them, ushering them through to rink-side before anyone else saw and wanted to be let in, too. They passed by the main counter and looked through the glass to spot a certain silver-haired blur going by further in.
"Wow, he's been practicing this whole time?" Yuri wondered quietly, hearing the music playing louder as they pushed through the last barrier.
"Pretty much." Yuuko nodded, sneaking up to the rink wall with a skater on either side, with just their heads peeking over the edge, "Oh, did you ever get hold of Yurio?"
"Yurio?" He shook his head, "I didn't know I was supposed to."
"Yeah, he came by here earlier, looking for you apparently. He looked pretty upset that you weren't around. I thought maybe he'd text you or something."
"No...haven't seen or heard a peep." Yuri looked past the woman to Phichit on her other side, but made a face like he wasn't sure what to do.
The Thai skater shrugged as well, "He probably went back to Yu-Topia then."
"Did he say what he wanted?"
"He talked to Viktor a bit, but didn't say a word to me other than hello." Yuuko sighed, "It was super weird."
"...Uh oh." Yuri lowered his head down, only his fingers visible on the rink wall after that.
"Uh oh?" The other two repeated, forgetting to whisper.
"This whole thing with Mikhail...if Yurio came here looking for me, but then talked to Viktor instead and left all upset about something..." He said, the gears in his head turning, the idea of being quiet being lost on him as well by then, "I wonder if Yurio asked Viktor about being his coach again."
"...So Viktor said no...?" Phichit wondered.
"What'd I say no to?"
"GYAAHH!"
All three launched from the wall and backed up against the glass door, each of them on the edge of a heart attack from the surprise. When they got their wits about them, they saw the silver Russian leaning against the rink wall just by where they'd been a moment before, holding his head up with a palm under his chin, resting on that elbow, smiling nervously at them.
"Sorry?" He laughed.
"V-Viktor!" Yuri fell down flat on the floor, his whole body limp after the adrenaline rush of being so spooked.
The skater turned around where he stood on the ice, and hopped up to sit on the top of the wall, then swung his legs over the edge to sit facing them in the same spot, "Did you have fun?" He wondered casually, sweat rolling down his frame, his hair disheveled and sticking to his face in places.
"Yeah, dinner was nice." Phichit answered for them, dropping down as well with an exasperated heave for breath.
Viktor leaned down to rest a finger over his chin, looking on at them all curiously. He crossed one ankle over the other knee and laughed again, "How long were you guys watching for? I really got in the zone there for a bit."
Yuri raised one hand and pointed to the ceiling, "Just a minute or so." And dropped it again, "We saw Minako-sensei's car in the parking lot and came up to see if you were still here. We were on our way back to Yu-Topia otherwise."
The silver Russian nodded, but then moved his hands down to scrape the accumulated frost off of his blades, reaching first for the one that was already up over one knee, "Where'd you go? Someplace I know?"
"That 7-seater sushi place south of here." The younger skater answered, finally picking himself up again, only to spot Yuuko's expression changing. She started pawing at his shoulder frantically, eyes gaping wide as she looked ahead, right before falling back to the floor with an explosive nosebleed. Phichit quickly went around him to get to the woman's side, trying to see if she was okay, but Yuri just turned his head back to see what had caused it. Viktor had gone from defrosting his skates to pulling his wet t-shirt off, and rubbed his face on it as well. Yuri just blushed a bit and smirked, "Careful, Viktor. We might have to register your half-naked self as a weapon if you keep that up."
"A weapon?" The Russian chortled at that, furling the black t-shirt out and then flipping it over his shoulder like a rolled-up towel, setting his hands on his hips where he still sat and striking a minor pose, "Maybe a weapon of mass appeal."
"...S-So much Eros...too much Eros...!" Yuuko was muttering from the floor still, "It's not adultery if I'm only looking right?"
Phichit just smiled down on her uncertainly, "I...I don't know!"
Blades set down on the floor after that, and the skater stepped over to start helping the group back up to their feet. Of course, he helped his husband up first since he was closer, but then moved over to help get Yuuko up next, reaching both hands down to take hers and heft her up as though she were as light as air. She went up limply, like a loose-jointed mannequin, her nosebleed bursting like a dam all over again when she found her short-statured-self staring straight at the tall man's bare physique.
"I'd give you a hug as an apology, but I'm all sweaty." He teased.
Yuuko just frantically brought both hands down over her eyes, giggling nervously.
Yuri just gave an amused-skeptical look as he helped Phichit up, and leaned into his partner's earshot, whispering behind a hand, "I think you broke her brain."
"Maybe just a little bit." He smiled, rather innocently at that.
"Let's get back to Yu-Topia then. We can all sit in the onsen for a bit." The younger skater offered, finding a bare arm coming around him suddenly, followed by the full embrace of a slightly-tacky-feeling athlete, "Ack, V-Viktor...you're-"
His words were cut off with a kiss, and the fiendishly mischievous smile that followed, "I'm going to what?" The silver legend purred.
"Gah, you taste all salty. Pfleh..." The younger skater was making a face again, like when he'd noticed the minty flavor on his lips after their arrival.
Viktor just laughed, "You've never complained about that before."
And suddenly...there were two torrential nosebleeds spraying everywhere.
.
"Wow~! The hot-spring always feels so great after a long practice session!" Viktor called out, adjusting where his folded towel sat on his head, finding his usual place on the far end of the pool. He draped his left arm casually over his husband's shoulder, and reached forward with the right to pull a small glass of sweet-potato shochu from the wooden box it had been sitting in. Floating in the water was a barrel-bottom cut-out tray holding two smaller square wooden boxes, one empty save for the overflowing shochu still sitting in it, and the other holding a second glass, as yet untouched.
Yuri just sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, relaxing in the water with his head resting on the arm behind his neck, "This is really great."
"So what were you guys all talking about earlier, before I scared you?" Viktor laughed, sipping at his drink before setting the glass back down into its box, "Whatever it was, it was so important that none of you three heard me coming."
"Oh...Yuu-chan said Yurio had gone by the rink looking for me, but then left looking really upset when he found out I wasn't there." The smaller figure answered, opening just one eye to look at the man, "I hadn't heard from him at all since earlier today. I just thought...if he'd talked to you before he left the Ice Castle, whatever it was that upset him...might've been something that you guys talked about."
"Not much was said." Viktor shrugged.
"What was said though? Did he say what he wanted me for? I doubt he would've been upset at me not being there. Maybe annoyed, but..."
The Russian paused a moment to think, crystal-blue eyes watching as the door across from him opened and Phichit came out, holding the usual small towel in front of himself as he moved across the deck to the water's edge. The Thai skater and Yuri greeted one another as usual, though they'd only been apart for a few minutes while the former finished the required pre-onsen shower, and then slowly moved down to sit on the edge, letting his feet adjust to the heat for a bit.
"He didn't really say." Viktor shrugged, reaching a finger forward to make sure the floating tray didn't get too far away, "Something about the thing with Uncle Mimi."
"...Oh. I wonder if he called him after I left then." Yuri said quietly, snagging his glass from the tray while it was close and taking a light sip from it, "It's probably super late in Canada right now though."
"He said they talked." The Russian reluctantly confessed, "Apparently Mimi intends to move to Hasetsu at some point."
"What? He's already decided!?" Yuri moved to sitting upright, pulling his head off the man's arm and giving a somewhat alarmed look, "...But...his kids, they...wouldn't they hate it? I mean, if he comes here, then...right? He said so himself-"
"I already expected that it was a possibility from the moment he explained why he had to go back." Viktor said, looking somewhat disappointed, "And then he said yesterday that he was leaning a lot towards what Minako-sensei would want, which inevitably means he'll be coming here at some point."
"...You don't look super-thrilled about that." The younger figure noted, slouching a bit where he sat.
"I can't tell Mimi what to do with his own life, and we're well past the point of me telling him to get out of mine. I just didn't want to worry about the rest until people actually started making decisions about what was going to happen. Cross that bridge when we come to it and all that." The Russian explained simply, unhooking his finger from the tray to grab at his own glass again, "What Yurio said was a really short thing, so I'm not actually sure the extent of what they talked about. I think Mimi respects us both enough to not just decide to come here without talking to us about it first though. At this point, he probably hasn't even left home yet, so whatever ideas he might've put into Yurio's head are moot. If his kids put up a huge fight about moving to Japan, then he'd be crazy to force them over here. They already left a bad taste in my mouth just from that one brief meeting in Calgary. If they come here with an attitude even worse than then, I'll boot them all into Hasetsu Bay myself."
"...Yeah..." Yuri nodded unenthusiastically, moving to sit back where he'd been before. He slid his hand back to his husband's thigh and leaned his head against the man's arm again, looking up into the clear sky, "All the stuff we told him over the phone, I hope we didn't give him the impression that he has to do something with Yurio though. We've already asked so much from him. Maybe it'd just be easier if Yurio stays in St. Petersburg, and Mikhail just goes between all these places like he did last year."
"Da. It's not our problem until someone makes it our problem." Viktor agreed, "Let them figure it out on their own."
"If Mikhail decides to move here though, and Yurio agrees to come, too...he'll need to get a new coach." The younger skater pointed out, "I mentioned it before, but you didn't really acknowledge it."
"Da." Viktor sipped at his drink.
"Did Yurio ask you to be his coach?"
"No."
"Oh..." Yuri drew in a breath and let it out again with a huffed sigh, "Then-"
"...It was heavily implied you conceited, narcissistic asshole."
All three pairs of eyes lifted in alarm to look for the source of the voice, eventually converging on the private bathtub that had been set-up to the side of the main spring, away from the main sitting area. Yurio's golden-haired head was barely visible over the edges of the wooden basin, emerald eyes staring daggers from where they sneered, then turned away. The teen hopped out the back, wrapped a towel around his hips and started moving over towards the shower-room door.
"Y-Yuri!" The raven-haired skater called out, quickly rising and making a splash in his desperate attempt to go forward through the water...only to feel a hand around his wrist stop him in his tracks. Hazel eyes turned quickly around, only for the figure to find his husband shaking his head, "But-"
"He's not our responsibility." Viktor said firmly.
"S-So you told him no out of hand!?" Yuri was incredulous.
"I only asked him what he was going to do about the problem, and he said nothing." The Russian clarified, "I didn't say a word in either direction."
"Would you be his coach then!?"
"...No."
"Wh-...Why not?" The younger skater was torn, "You agreed to follow him all the way back to Russia and be his coach if he won 'Onsen on Ice' last year!"
"And I already told you that I wouldn't have." The silver man shook his head again, letting his husband's wrist go, "I came here to be your coach. The fact that he showed up to try and drag me back was just a plot-twist."
"So then what was the point of it all!?"
"To motivate the both of you to try your hardest to win, but it was more for you than it was for him." Slate eyes looked up nervously, "Don't be mad at me for this. Please."
"I don't know what to think right now! Why would you refuse to coach him!? I don't get it! I thought we were passed all this craziness after Bordeaux!"
"I don't want to be the thing he hinges all his hopes on. I won't be dragged into the middle of it." Viktor said emphatically.
"So if he moves here with Mikhail without expecting you to coach him, would you agree to it then?"
"No."
"Wh-..."
Phichit watched the back and forth nervously, eyes darting between each of them as they spoke, but not daring to interrupt.
"...Why not...? You're his friend, aren't you...?" Yuri's voice got quieter.
"Of course I'm his friend. But that doesn't mean he's entitled to me. When he came here the first time, he acted like he owned me, trying to drag me back to St. Petersburg like he thought being part of the RSF meant I had no autonomy. That if I was going to coach anyone, it should be him-"
"He's not the same person he was back then! I thought you'd seen that by now!" The younger skater said angrily, turning to head towards the deck, and hoisted himself out of the water without looking back, "Yuri!"
Viktor was stunned to watch him go, enough so that he had no words to argue back about it. By the time the changing-room door opened and then closed again, the Russian was staring at the water's surface, alone in the onsen but for Phichit and the small towel Yuri had left behind in his rush to chase after the Russian Tiger.
.
.
.
(Author's Note: Ch11, and now 12, are both 100% brand new. Previous content was moved forward to Ch13.)