CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED NINETY THREE
"Wow~!" Viktor cried out excitedly, clapping his hands together before reaching them over to pull his partner into a tight hug, "You scored even higher than at your last two events! That's amazing!"
Yuri felt a wave of relief wash over him, and he dropped his head forward, "...Okay then...I'm done...time for a nap..."
"Not so fast." The Russian laughed, "Your friend Phichit is up next."
The younger skater flopped anyway, stretching his arms up over his head as he draped himself sideways and over his spouse's lap rather dramatically, "...I'm sure Phichit-kun will do great..." He said, his voice comically strained as his exhausted self finally let go of all the tension and apprehension he'd felt prior to his turn. He felt a hand patting his side, and heard a quiet chuckle of a laugh through the roar of the cheering audience.
"I've heard it said that cats are actually liquid, because they take the shape of whatever crazy thing they sit in...but I can feel you turning to liquid yourself." Viktor mused, "Are you actually a cat?"
"I guess it would explain why Yurio likes me so much."
The Russian guffawed a laugh, shaking his head as he turned to wrap his arms around his husband's frame, twist, stand, and hoist the man upwards. A gentle upward toss to get a better grip, and Viktor had one arm under the fatigued athlete's bum to hold him up, feeling Yuri slump against his shoulder like a sack of spuds. He pat the skater's side with his free hand and carried the poor man out of the kiss and cry, "That would answer so many questions."
"Securing a strong lead, Skater Yuri can finally relax. Seems his coach feels the same way!"
Thinking the Russian was going to carry him through the doors back into the Players Lounge, Yuri let himself relax even further, going so far as to close his eyes where he slouched against the tall man's broad shoulder. Just as he was settling in though, he felt Viktor spin around suddenly and stop moving, and cracked his eyes open to spot Phichit and Celestino there in front of him instead of the bar area.
The anxious Thai skater was pulling his blade-guards off, standing just inside the gap in the rink wall, and handed them over to his coach. Phichit had a nervous look on his face, but that quickly changed over to surprise when he realized a certain pair of hazel eyes were staring back at him...equally surprised, "Yuri!"
"G-Ganbatte!" The startled older skater said instinctively, feeling the slight tilt of his husband's head where Viktor was glancing back over the other shoulder to see what was going on.
"...Well, I've never scored over 300 before..." The Thai skater sighed, trying to look a bit more cheerful then, "But I'll do my best."
Yuri grimaced slightly, unsure how to answer to that. He then wiggled a bit where he was being held, pulling his right arm up from where he'd had it curled over his partner's chest, and leaned his whole frame forward with both hands reaching out over the wall.
Viktor could tell what his spouse was trying to do, and backed up a pace or two to accommodate him, keeping the younger man balanced while he reached over the rink wall to pull his friend into a hug. His right hand braced the lithe younger man's waist, the other holding to the back of one thigh.
"This is only your second time at the Final." Yuri started, pausing there with his arms over Phichit's shoulders, "And you already score way higher than most average skaters, and you keep setting new personal bests. You'll score over 300."
Celestino smirked at that, crossing his arms as he watched.
The youngest skater blinked at that, but the realization was stark, and he finally cracked a smile and returned the hug, "Thanks, Yuri."
"Mh." They pulled back again, and Yuri moved to hold himself up by settling his hands on his partner's lower back, "Go out there and show them who Thailand's best-ever skater i-YAA!"
"...Y-Yuri...?" Phichit blanched, seeing the suddenly-horrified look on his friend's face, only to look aside and see a rather scheming smirk on the silver Russian's.
"He's going to make you late." Viktor mused, spinning around on the heel of one blade-guard, looking rather proud of himself, the hand that had previously been on the back of one leg now clasped slightly higher, against the subtle inward curve of his husband's derriere and the back of one thigh, "I don't know that the ISU folks will give everyone a few extra minutes to wish each other good luck. So...Phichit... Davai~!"
"Thanks!" The younger skater clapped his hands together and bowed his head behind them, and quickly turned, getting a nod from his coach before flying out across the ice.
Yuri was still red-faced from the unexpected grab, but all he could do was sigh and hang limp over that shoulder, watching the floor go by, past the end of his fingers.
"Now on the ice...representing Thailand...Phichit Chulanont!"
"It's just like that time you wouldn't let me help you." Viktor mused, "And I carried you to bed after."
"...Please try not to run by face into another wall...?" The young skater protested, careful then to avoid putting his head in the way of one himself.
"Oh, did I bump you back then?" The Russian laughed, carrying his 'trophy' into the Players Lounge finally, "Gomen?"
"It's fine..." Yuri sighed, reaching one hand up to rub his face, the phantom pain creeping in briefly, "How long are you going to hold me up by the backside though?"
"You'll slide off, or my shoulder will cramp, if I hold you up any other way." Viktor answered coyly, leaning his head back slightly in an attempt to see his partner out the corner of one eye, "I honestly didn't mean to surprise you like that...but I could feel you slipping. It was just my good fortune that it turned out this way."
"Mhm..." The younger figure huffed, resigning to his fate as he heard the sound of Phichit's performance begin. He could only wonder if his coach would continue toting him around that way when their friends would come up to talk about the show.
['Shatter Me' - Lindsey Stirling feat. Lzzy Hale]
"I can hardly believe them..." Minako sighed, finally falling back into her chair to relax, "The way Viktor reacted when Yuri came off the ice though...he had to have known Yuri's plan..."
"Yuri said they were practicing all day at his old Skate Club." Mari pointed out.
"Oh, you've talked to him?"
I pirouette in the dark
I see the stars through a mirror
"Well, texted." She answered, "When I heard that him and Viktor hadn't gone to Official Practice, I messaged him to ask what happened. Turns out, they had sort-of already planned on it this way, so they decided to sleep in instead." Mari pulled her eyes up from the ice to glance at the woman next to her, "Haven't you talked to him?"
Tired mechanical heart, beats 'til the song disappears
"After ruining his night yesterday? No..." The ballerina sighed, eyes out on the rink again. Phichit was gliding across the ice, footwork teasing a pseudo-step-sequence as the tone of the music intensified, "I feel like I should keep my head down for a while."
"Oh, cuz of your chat with Viktor?"
Somebody shine a light, I'm frozen by the fear in me
Somebody make me feel alive
"The talk itself? No... The way Viktor reacted though?" Minako was sinking into her jacket, "I don't think I could've upset him more without hitting Makkachin with my car."
"...Yikes..."
Outside spread-eagle...
And shatter me...!
Triple Axel...clean landing. Phichit twisted himself over again to carry-through the end of the glide with another outside spread-eagle for added difficulty.
So cut me from the line, dizzy, spinning endlessly
"What'd you tell him to make him so angry anyway? He was way more intense than the time he went after Mikhail's son." Mari wondered idly, "Is he just being dramatic over nothing again?"
Somebody make me feel alive...
"...I wouldn't say it's nothing."
Phichit pushed through a 3-turn, putting himself onto his back-right outside edge, left leg behind it...
...and shatter me...!
...He struck the ice with his toe-pick, spun four times, and landed on the same foot and edge gracefully.
...I need to be able to turn that quad Toe-loop into a Flip or a Lutz by Worlds, or I'll never catch up to Yuri...!
Shatter me!
Another 3-turn, and the Thai skater vaulted into the triple Lutz, triple Toe-loop combo, sweeping through with ease and gliding away for the figure-8 of outside-to-inside spread-eagles.
"Well, Viktor seems to be fine again, given how he's back to molesting my brother in public again." The Katsuki daughter shrugged, "Whatever it was, I'm sure he's over it."
"Mmhh..." Minako sunk a little bit further, her eyes barely peeking over the edge of her scarf.
Somebody make me feel alive, and shatter me...
Phichit glided at an angle, leaning back as his left leg went up high for the Spiral-entry triple Axel, landing flawlessly to begin his step sequence.
If only the clockwork could speak, I wouldn't be so alone
"But speaking of Elder Doofus, where is Mikhail anyway? He sure it taking a long walk. He's missing everything."
"He never came to these events in the first place because he had a passion for figure skating," The ballerina pointed out, "If he did, it wouldn't have taken him so long to figure out what happened to Viktor when they were estranged."
We'd burn every magnet and spring, and spiral into the unknown...
Death-drop entry into a combination-spin, bending immediately into a sitting-twist variant with one arm raised up towards the rafters.
Somebody shine a light
I'm frozen by the fear in me
"Maybe he went to go find his kids then." Mari surmised, "I'm sure he'll be back in time for Yurio."
Eyes were fixed on the televisions behind the lounge counter. Yuri had finally been allowed to walk on his own again by then and had chosen to sit at the bar, watching Phichit's performance from the warmth and relaxed atmosphere of the Players Club. A tall glass of clear bubbly soda was fizzing in front of him, ice cubes rattling within as he tilted the drink around in a circle where he held it in his hands.
Chris was leaning against the counter next to him, idly holding the nib of a water-bottle to his lip, practically dissecting the show like he could see the points adding up in his mind's eye, numbers scrolling over the television screen like Stock Market trends. The numbers for the TES and PCS were listed in the top left, but Chris' brain was dissecting every new tally, thinking on the full break-down of Phichit's scorecard.
"Shouldn't you be stretching already?" Yuri's voice spoke, making both the Russian, who was leaning against his partner's back while standing behind the tall chair, and Chris, look up.
"I will in a bit." Viktor answered, sliding in a bit closer, "I'm cozy right now."
"Shouldn't you be doing your post-skate interview? Yuri." The Swiss skater wondered, pulling up from the water bottle, "I'm sure they're antsy for you." He pointed towards the hall beyond the glass walls.
"I'll go once Phichit-kun is done. I want to be back in time to watch Yurio." The younger figure answered, "I promised I would, and he'll kill me if I miss it again."
Chris huffed a laugh, spotting that very Russian Punk coming sauntering their way with his small entourage, "Then I suppose I'd better finish stretching out, since I'm up next."
"I'll come find you before you go up."
The older skater nodded and pushed off the counter, patting Yuri's shoulder as he moved off.
Viktor waved pleasantly before returning his arm to its warm place around his husband's thin frame. When he turned back though to look at the television screens again, he caught sight of the group coming up on his other side, and while initially lifted his head at them, soon lowered it back down to rest his chin on his spouse's shoulder like before, "You guys are quite the little gang now." He mused.
"Otabek and I made them come down here,"
"He made them come down here." The Kazakh was quick to correct.
"...So it's on us to make sure they don't get kicked out again." Yurio explained, ignoring the previous comment, and nudged his head towards his silver-haired 'sisters,' "Their dad would probably turn me into minced-meat if they got tossed into the concourse alone."
"He's your dad now, too." Nikki pointed out, nudging him with one elbow.
The blonde just made a face, like he wasn't sure how to answer to that, but then shrugged and gave a smug look, "It's a formality."
The younger teen reached a hand up and pat the Russian Tiger's braided head, "Pretty soon you'll be calling him that instead of 'old man' or his name. I'm sure of it."
Yurio just shrugged and looked aside like the thought was embarrassing.
Nikki turned her attention towards the two much-older skaters, then more specifically at the younger of the pair, "You did really great out there! The audience went totally nutty with that last jump!"
Yuri smiled nervously and reached a hand up to scratch the side of his chin, "Thanks."
"It was a quad Axel, the hardest jump there is!" Viktor explained proudly, rubbing his cheek against the side of his partner's head like a cat claiming territory, "It's going to be his new signature move!"
"...Eh?"
The Russian turned his head to look at his partner, "What? It will be! Forget the quad Flip! And the Lutz, since it's Chris'! The Axel has to be yours!"
"...What's mine then...?" Yurio wondered anxiously.
"The Salchow." The two older figures answered in tandem.
"W-Why the Salchow!? That's the easiest jump!"
"Cuz you taught Yuri how to do it." Viktor answered that time, giving a dumb-happy smile as he said so, "You can have the Flip or the Lutz once Chris and I are retired though."
"I did the Flip in Bordeaux!"
"You did? I don't recall."
"V-Viktor...! It was during my Short Program! I'm certain you two were watching!"
"He's right." Yuri explained, leaning his head back a bit, "We both commented on it. It's why you asked me to tell you what score you should get afterwards."
Yurio gaped at the older skater, "...You told him to get 119!?"
Yuri turned back, his cheeks a bit pink as he raised his hands up to wave them back and forth defensively, "I wasn't being serious when I said it though! I didn't even think he would score that high, never mind because I told him to!"
"Well then tell him to score less than 200 when he goes up." The Russian Tiger thumbed at his older counterpart, but found Viktor snorting a laugh at him.
"Under 200? Yuri, that's impossible." Viktor explained, "I haven't scored under 200 in the Free Skate in years."
"It's never too late to set a new trend."
"If he's doing a thousand quads again then it probably would be impossible to score under 200." Nikkita pointed out, "He set a new World Record with his show last weekend, too."
"When did you become a scholar of figure skating...?" Yurio deadpanned her.
"I'm just sayin'!" She answered, giving the same look right back at him, but crossing her eyes outward to make the expression even more absurd.
"I'm actually only doing three quads this time." The elder Russian explained, much to the surprise of nearly everyone in earshot. All eyes were on him then, "Last weekend was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of performance. I never meant for it to be that way."
"...Your Yuri did four though...?" The young silver teen said dubiously, "Shouldn't you be trying to beat him?"
"Sure." Viktor nodded, "But the show I'm going to be doing tonight is the kind of show I'd meant to do this whole season. If I hadn't gotten so side-tracked with everything else...I never would've done 'Evoke' in the first place."
"Side-tracked...?" Nikki echoed, "You mean with all the stuff about our papa?"
"Mmmhhhhh...not necessarily." The lanky skater pulled one arm away from where it was wrapped around his husband's torso, and settled a finger on his chin, "He was a part of everything, but that skate wasn't because of him." He then pointed at himself briefly, "I meant my papa."
The two silver teens looked a bit uncomfortable at the mention.
"It's fine now." Viktor explained, "Things are better."
Not that it made any difference...but both of the Rozovsky daughters zoom'ed forward unexpectedly, latching all four arms around their cousin. Viktor's eye twitched nervously at the entirely unexpected gesture, "Ah...uhm..."
"We're sorry those things happened to you and that our older brother was such a huge butt to you about it back in Calgary!" They both said.
"...Er...thanks?"
Yuri gave a nervous smile at the sight of the two clinging to his partner, but said nothing, hoping the issue would go away if no one else expanded on it. When it looked like the duo might not soon let the man go though, Yuri tapped their shoulders to get their attention, and flicked his head in a 'please let go' sort of gesture. They both immediately pulled their hands back, and went to retake their places just behind Yurio, giving awkward smiles as they did so.
The blonde turned his head to watch them, only to catch sight of a dark blur out the corner of his eye. As he turned on the heel of one black blade, he saw the blur take the shape of a familiar figure. Words need not be spoken between them for Yurio to know what the man was there for, and turned back to the teens in front of him, "Time's up."
"Huh?"
Both pairs of jade eyes turned to spot their father standing in the glass double-doorway, members of the media crowding around behind him, practically lying in wait for any hapless athlete that dared wander their way. A generic event pass hung out of his right pocket, the word 'Sponsor' written across it, and a company logo in place of the membership photo.
The awkward silence was palpable, and the two girls turned back to their 'brother' briefly, whispering 'good luck' and 'davai' before offering their hugs and stepping off.
Yuri leaned back to get a better look past Yurio's hooded head, and spotted the dour look on Mikhail's face as he collected his kids. Their eyes met for an instant, and Yuri blinked, opening his eyes again just in time to see the elder Russian starting to move off again. He then turned back towards his spouse, who had been watching the entire thing as well.
"...Damn... I hope I didn't get them in trouble." Yurio sighed, "That'd leave a bad impression."
"I don't think it's you." Viktor answered, "Or them."
"...What then?"
Yuri reached an arm forward to clasp his fingers lightly around the teen's arm, getting his attention and pulling him back, "Come watch Phichit and Chris with me. Otabek, you too."
The awkwardness of the whole scenario made everyone act on auto-pilot, with the two younger skaters hopping up onto bar-stools in a row next to the Japanese athlete. The two teen girls looked back briefly as they made it to the door, waving just their fingers nervously as though they thought they were in trouble as well.
Viktor sighed and slouched a little where he still held to his partner's back, pressing his forehead down on the shoulder in front of himself before finally drawing in a breath and rising up to his full height. He moved around to his husband's side, whispered something in his ear, looked on longingly for half a second before stealing a kiss, and finally moved off. All three remaining skaters fanned forward to lean against the counter, each trying to look on at what was happening, watching as the silver legend followed in his cousins' footsteps. Most of the media was quick to try and get the man's attention, but Viktor held one hand up and told them all to wait until later.
"...I'm so confused right now..." Yurio grumbled, "If this is what having parents feels like, it kinda sucks sometimes. They don't even have to say anything for you to know something's wrong."
"This doesn't have to do with any of you guys." Yuri said, turning his head once his partner was out of sight, looking instead to the two younger skaters sitting next to him, "It's about yesterday night."
"Oh."
"...So, how about that quad Loop huh?" Otabek said stiffly, trying to divert the topic to the television instead.
"Did he land it?" Yuri asked, following along.
So cut me from the line, dizzy, spinning endlessly
Somebody make me feel alive, and shatter me...
"Uncle," Viktor called, half-walking-half-skipping to catch up, "Wait."
"Haven't you said enough already?" Mikhail said stiffly, pausing only long enough to look back over one shoulder before moving off again, "If you don't want me involved in things then quit coming after me."
"I never said that. Don't put words in my mouth." The younger figure said simply, stuffing his hands into his team jacket's pockets, "All I meant was that you're doing too much at once. If you still plan on moving everyone to Hasetsu, th-"
"Minako called off the engagement because of you." The elder said bitterly, stopping where he was, but not looking back. Both of his daughters were stunned to hear the words, and Nikki put her hands over her mouth, both pairs of eyes looking from their father to their cousin. Mikhail held his ground though, "Because of what you said."
"I can't make choices for her." Viktor explained, only then switching up his language preferences to something the girls wouldn't understand, for their sake, [But taking it out on your kids by playing keep-away from Yurio, like you don't want them getting too attached while you scheme your way out of moving to Japan, is childish.]
[Says the guy who slept in the car because he was too proud to sleep in his father's house...when it was your idea to go out there in the first place.] Mikhail retorted, [I did everything you asked of me and you still threw me under the bus in the end. I knew you'd be different from the kid I left behind 20 years ago, but I didn't think you'd grown up into an ungrateful jackass.]
Viktoria gave the two older figures a stern look, but then snuck behind her father and swiped the event pass from his pocket, dragging her younger sister back towards the Players Club, "If you two old farts are going to bicker, we're going back."
"Viktoria, come back with that, we're going to sit in the audi-" Mikhail started, taking a step towards her with an eye on the badge.
"No!" She barked, keeping it behind herself, and stared rather seriously, "You may be right that we don't speak Russian, and we're sorry for that, but if he's going to show up," She pointed at her namesake, "...and then you name-drop Yurio like you think we won't get the jist of it anyway...maybe you have been gone too long. We're not stupid. Come on, Nikki...we're going to hang out with people who don't suck."
The duo walked past Viktor, with Nikki giving one last look back over her shoulder before being dragged back into the Players Club.
Mikhail watched, completely dumbfounded, as his daughters chose Yurio over himself. Once they were out of sight, he raised his eyes to his nephew, [Well that's just great.]
[She spoke for herself. I had nothing to do with it.] Viktor said simply, staying put where he stood.
[Nothing to do with it?] Mikhail guffawed, huffing a mockery of a laugh at the unbelievable turn of events, [If you hadn't come after me just now, the three of us would still be going up to the stands together.]
So this is what it feels like to be blamed for everything, even when it's not your fault, Viktor thought, eyes narrowing just slightly, [Look, I've said and done things that I regret...how I behaved yesterday wasn't among my proudest moments.]
[What part, calling me out in front of everyone, or trying to hit me later?]
[All of it. Even for how I handled your son before. If I knew coming back to competition would be this stressful, I would've turned Yuri down and stayed as just his coach.]
The older figure was still incredulous, [Well that just makes it all better then, doesn't it?]
[Would you quit trying to be right for five minutes and just listen?] Viktor growled, [What I said yesterday wasn't right. When we were still at home, I told Yuri that I was sure you'd talk to us about your plans before you finalized them. When it turned out that you didn't, I got a bit angry about it. With everything that's happened since we got here...Yuri getting hurt, not being able to sleep because of it, and all the re-]
[BEAT IT!] Mikhail suddenly yelled, catching Viktor extremely off guard.
Just as the skater was about ready to raise things to the next level, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as his uncle started walking swiftly towards him...everything seemed to stop.
[GET OUT OF HERE.] Mikhail barked again, waving one arm in an arc like he was trying to scare off a pack of feral dogs, [YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SPORTS JOURNALISTS, NOT TABLOID REPORTERS. SCREW OFF. THIS IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS.]
Viktor lifted his head and glanced behind himself, spotting where his uncle had just spooked the cluster of RSF reporters who were trying to film them. With the cameras gone and the audio booms hidden, he glanced aside again, looking to the man who'd sent the group packing.
Mikhail just kept his eyes on them, careful not to let them start creeping in again, [Bunch of goddamn vultures, looking for scraps of meat where they aren't entitled to any.]
[...They've been acting weird. They walked out of an interview with me, and won't interview Yuri at all.]
The elder wouldn't answer to that, simply staring down the hall with an angry look on his face.
Viktor sighed, [...What I was trying to say before...] He started, feeling his heart calming some, [...I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be talking about anything yesterday. When the whole group came up, I had just gotten an earful from Yakov about a bunch of things...so I was already slightly irritable. What I said came out sounding worse than it is.]
[They say people speak more truthfully when angry or drunk, so I'd wager you meant exactly what you said.] Mikhail said stiffly, turning on a heel and going back the way he came, [Don't bother trying to walk it back. It doesn't matter anymore anyway.]
[Why, because you've already decided to run back to Canada with your tail between your legs? Your girls have already adapted to the idea of Yurio being their new sibling. You'll break their hearts to just call it off.]
The older man stopped dead in his tracks, twisting on one heel and giving quite the disdainful look, [Is this some kind of petty revenge of yours? Getting back at me for tearing apart your family 25 years ago by tearing mine apart now?]
[What?] Viktor shook his head, looking on in confusion, [That's not what I meant at all.]
"...The score for Phichit Chulanont...203.23... He is currently in second place."
The roar of the audience was enough to make it difficult to be heard in that hall, and all the two men could do was stare at one another. Mikhail eventually turned on his heel again and started walking, leaving Viktor to just watch in stunned, hurt confusion.