CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED TWENTY TWO
Yuri kept his eyes towards the floor as they left the café and headed for baggage claim area. Viktor kept a protective arm over his shoulders, but he found it difficult to shake the worries that had so-deeply settled in. The Excedrin he'd been given hadn't kicked in yet either, so the throbbing under the cuts on his forehead was still pounding away, like someone was repeatedly thwopping him in the face with a hammer. By the time they found Yuuko, the pressure was so great, Yuri thought his eye would pop right out. He closed it and brought his right hand up, pressing the side of his wrist to his forehead just above it, drawing in a hissed, pained breath.
"Is walking making it worse?" Viktor wondered quietly, seeing the agonized look on his husband's face, "Do you need to sit down again?"
"That, or 15 minutes so these pain pills can work..." He answered anxiously, "It's throbbing so much under these cuts right now..."
The Russian gave a worried look, but then turned his head up as he spotted Yuuko just ahead with their things. He diverted their path and headed for her, "Sorry we kept you waiting."
"It's okay." She answered, stepping around the cart with the three suitcases, bending down a bit to try and see her childhood friend's face, "Yuri..."
"It's like we just can't catch a break." He sighed, pulling his arm down again, though knowing his eyelid was partly down...or at least feeling like it was, "I had such high hopes that the Final would be the payoff after everything that happened before, but it was just hit after hit this weekend. I can barely think straight...I'm just so mad about everything..."
"Take it easy for now." Yuuko recommended, curious but not daring to reach forward in that moment to examine the cuts she knew were hidden under that hair, "You're always majorly jetlagged after the shortest flights. The one you just came off was longer than a whole day. I don't know what Viktor's suggested so far, but if he hasn't said it, you should probably try not to react too much to the news until after you've had a chance to get a nap in. You'll think more clearly when you aren't so over-tired."
"I know..." Yuri answered, drawing in a breath, closing his eyes as he exhaled, "I just can't help it. It's like there's a brick in place of my brain and every question makes it harder to think. Why would the RSF do this to him? When did they even make this decision? Why couldn't they have waited until tomorrow to tell us? I'm tired of feeling like this...!"
"Shh." Viktor whispered, "You're only getting yourself worked up. Yuuko's right though. You'll have a clearer, and hopefully less painful head, once you've had a chance to sleep. You can never manage anything but to close your eyes for a long time when you try while we're still traveling."
"I know...that's why this is all so hard to box up." Yuri remarked, "Stress sticks to me like duct tape when I'm exhausted." He sighed and turned where he stood, wrapping his arms around his spouse and burying his face against the man's chest, and whined loudly against it.
"I hate to say it, but you're going to have to put on a show for the next few minutes." Yuuko explained, crossing her arms over her chest, "Not only is the JSF out there, but Saga Prefecture's leadership is, too. Ever since Viktor came, you've skyrocketed to fame. You're not just one of Japan's best skaters anymore...you're one of the best in the world. People who normally don't pay attention to figure skating are starting to. They brought you gifts, too..."
"Gifts?" Yuri repeated, turning his face out from his husband's jacket, "...Like what?"
"...Ah, well...I didn't see clearly, but I think...you might actually be happy with some of it." She explained nervously, "Makkachin might get jealous though."
"Makkachin?" Both skaters echoed, looking at one another in confusion, then back at Yuuko, "Why would Makkachin be jealous of my/his gifts?"
"Just come see." She suggested, moving back to the handle-bar end of the trolley, "It might get your mind off of all the negative you just went through."
The confusion and anticipation was enough to shock Yuri's brain into something of a reboot, and the worry and anger dissolved to allow for some semblance of relief, transient as it may be. Viktor got the brilliant idea to sit him on the suitcases like something of a parade float, too, making it so he wouldn't have to even walk...and so, Yuri finally made his 'triumphant' return, entering the hall lined on one side with a wall and the other with a dense thicket of fans and photographers. The screams of the fans who finally saw their idol was almost enough to knock Yuri off his mock throne, pushed by both Viktor and Yuuko. He smiled and waved as pleasantly as he could, going down the corridor for what felt like days.
His mind felt wiped clean by the flash photography used when he greeted the JSF leadership, eyes dazzled and swirling by so many blinding explosions of light. He couldn't remember what had been said when he moved on to the next group, though he assumed it was the usual congratulations and excited anticipation of his attendance at the All Japan Championships two weeks hence.
For once, Viktor stayed in the background, clapping politely as Yuri was nearly drowned in attention. At least, until the JSF officials dragged him into a few photos, recognizing the man's influence on their star skater and wanting him to be part of things.
The Governor and his entourage made Yuri really nervous. He'd never seen them in person before, and was stunned that any of them would bother coming to a welcome-home party for athletes. The meet-and-greet went by in a flash, just like the JSF one did, but when it came time for the gifts Yuuko had mentioned...Yuri's attention was focused. The traumatic revelations of a few minutes prior were properly shunted to the back of his head.
In the hands of one of the Governor's secretaries came with squirmy, wiggly form of a Silver Brindle Akita Inu puppy.
When Viktor saw it, his eyes went wide, and suddenly he looked really worried. He was behind Yuri though so Yuri didn't see it. Yuuko, on the other hand...
"What's with the look?" She wondered quietly.
Viktor leaned close and held a hand up to hide his voice, "I promised Yuri I'd get him a gift. I was going to get him a Shiba Inu puppy. Akitas are like...four times the size though, so it's like they just gave him four times the gift."
"Then just think of something else."
"That was hard enough to think of!" Viktor protested, "What could be better than a puppy!?"
"When it comes to buying gifts, it's less about what it is and more about what it means to you." Yuuko explained, "That's why garbage-gifts from little kids are so good, because to them it means everything even if to you it's just macaroni pasted to colored paper."
Viktor still half-whined to himself, putting on a smile and clapping as Yuri gaped at the pup, not sure what to make of it.
There were other gifts, but none quite so intriguing as the dog. When everything was finally over and Yuri was allowed to return to his family, carrying the pup with him, he wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't help but laugh a little though as the tiny flufferbutt whined and licked the side of his jaw, muffling damp breaths into his ear.
This was really great timing, Viktor thought, sliding an arm over his husband's shoulder and meeting the puppy for himself, giving it a gentle rub behind one ear and down its back, seeing the curled tail whipping back and forth excitedly, It was just the sort of thing Yuri needed to get his mind off of what happened.
"What are you going to call him?" Yuuko asked, watching as the puppy licked her fingers and nosed her hand.
"I'm not sure." He answered, "I wasn't expecting to get another dog, so I hadn't thought about names I might someday give to one."
"We'll think of something once we get to know him," Viktor suggested, "Right? The dog Yakov gave me was named Kubochin, because that's the first sound he made after I met him. The dog I had when I was a kid was named Losi, which is Russian for 'moose,' because he was a big ol' thing."
"That's so cute!" Yuuko fawned, "But...what do you mean 'Kubochin'? I thought it was always Makkachin. You had that magazine photo-op with a dog that looks just like him."
"Makkachin is only about 6 years old, but 12 years ago, the dog I had when I was 16 for that photo was Kubochin. He was about 4 years old in that photo. They only live for 12-15 years anyway, but Kubochin died kind of young." Viktor explained, letting Yuri hand him the Akita puppy, "That's one of the reasons why I didn't mind taking time off so suddenly last year. Makkachin is middle-aged, but because Kubochin wasn't much older when he passed, I worried about how often Makkachin was left alone by me constantly being away for competition, and I wanted to be around more."
Yuri grimaced, "...That doesn't make me feel better at all!"
"It's okay!" The Russian assured, "Since Makkachin stays at YuTopia when we're gone, it's no problem. Back in Russia, he'd be put into a boarding kennel. Staying with your parents is much better."
"Vic-chan was kind of young when he passed, too." Yuuko commented, "Yuri got him when he was 13, so Vic-chan was only 10 at the end."
"Yeah..." Yuri sighed and nodded, "I was pretty torn up about it when I found out that he died. I shouldn't have stayed away for so long, but I couldn't take him to Detroit with me, either. I got him for myself, but he ended up being my parents' dog in the end, really, since I was away for the last 5 years of his life."
No one really knew what to say after that, so there was something of an awkward pause in the conversation. They just started moving towards the train terminal instead. Yuri pushed the luggage cart while Viktor carried the puppy, and Yuuko walked alongside. By the time they got their tickets and were waiting for their train to pull into the station, the air around them seemed less sad.
"Everyone at YuTopia is pretty excited about you coming home with Gold." Yuuko started, "It's basically going to be a big katsudon party."
"Wow~!" Viktor mused.
"Oh good," Yuri smiled and sighed, holding a hand against his stomach, "We'll have just enough time to sit in the onsen for a few minutes before it's finished cooking...then I can fall into a katsudon-coma for a few hours..."
"And it'll probably be dark by the time you wake up again," Yuuko added, "So you'll be able to watch the fireworks being launched from Hasestu Castle."
"They're launching fireworks?" The two skaters asked in unison.
Their train was pulling up just behind them.
Yuuko nodded happily, "They started setting things up after you left last week." She explained, "Everyone had a feeling that one or both of you would be medaling at the Final."
"Sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun~!"
.
At just under two hours, the train ride from Fukuoka to Hasetsu was a fairly quiet one. They sat in the last train-car, at the very back, and Yuri stretched out on the long bench-seat, the Akita pup having fallen asleep in his arms, wrapped within the jacket-cocoon that had been made for it. Viktor dozed a little as well once their travels were well underway, twisting so his back was against the wall and window, letting Yuri rest against his chest, tilted in towards the back of the seat so the pup-burrito wouldn't fall out of his arms.
Yuuko could tell the Russian was only closing his eyes for the sake of it though, sitting just ahead of them in a reverse-facing seat. Yuri was out cold, for once. Perhaps it was the familiarity of the train, and the quiet hum of the tracks; every plane felt different, but the train was always the same. Viktor drew a deep breath and shifted a little where he sat, trying to get comfortable, and hoping not to wake his spouse in the process.
"...I'm not sure if it's strange or admirable that you're taking this whole thing in stride like you are." The young woman commented quietly, keeping her voice down so as not to rouse Yuri either, "I figured you'd be a little more outraged that the RSF is ending your legacy this way."
Viktor just gave a sad and tired smile back at her, "Maybe I'm just not that surprised." He answered, "The RSF media was giving me the cold shoulder all weekend, focusing on Yurio instead or cutting my interviews short if I tried to get Yuri involved in them."
"Really?" She was surprised, "But you're...the darling of Russia..."
"Not anymore, I guess." He shrugged, "The RSF never really tried that hard to get me to come home after I came to Japan originally, either. They gave up entirely after Yurio came and left again without me. They hounded Yakov a little bit about me being in Japan and coaching a non-Russian skater, but that slowly faded to nothing, too."
"Were they that certain you were retiring?"
"Maybe." Viktor lifted his head a bit, resting his chin on the back of one hand where he'd folded his arm over the back-rest of their bench, "Though I'd never made any specific announcement that I never intended to compete again, even after taking a break to be Yuri's coach."
"It's still weird how calm you are." Yuuko said, giving the man a look.
Viktor could do nothing but offer a simple shrug and another smile, looking down fondly at his husband, resting against the crook of one arm and his chest, "After how Yuri handled this past weekend, the way he stepped up for me even after everything he had been through, maybe I just feel like it's my turn to be strong for him instead." He suggested, "Who knows how I'll feel later...but right now, I'm not bothered. It's kind of a relief, honestly. I truly and desperately did not want to go to Moscow without him. He was handling the idea a lot better than I was."
"He's felt like he's dealt with things on his own for most of his life," Yuuko explained, "Even when there were other people around to support him, he always thought he was on his own. You heard him say as much when he did his theme-announcement last year on television..."
"...Oh, is that was he said?" Viktor laughed, "He was talking in Japanese. There weren't any subtitles, so I couldn't understand him. I focused on how much I hated his outfit instead."
"OH." Yuuko blurted, then covering her mouth quickly like she thought she could take back her volume. The puppy squirmed and whimpered, stretching its tiny pink nubbins into Yuri's face before settling back down again. Yuri didn't seem to notice though, and she heaved a breath of relief, giving a nervous laugh thereafter, "...I guess I remember it differently because I understood it. I always wondered why you said you wanted to burn his tie though."
The Russian smiled innocently, "He told me what his theme was going to be, but I never knew what he said during that conference. I heard him say my name at the time. What was he talking about, I wonder?"
The Madonna blushed a bit, "He was explaining that his theme was 'love.' He mentioned your name because he used you as an example of a person he wanted to hold onto, though at the time he said that it wasn't romantic love...it was something more abstract than that. The love he had for everyone around him; friends, family, and you."
"Ah, I see. So that's why you guys complained."
"Hai, hai..."
"A lot of things have changed since then." Viktor went on, pulling his free arm down from the back-rest, and gently combed his fingers through his husband's hair, "Especially over the last few days, not even counting what happened earlier. I suppose he'll always have moments where his anxious heart will get the better of him, but more and more, I see him evolving into this powerful and confident person. He's so strong now. It makes me happy that I can still be a support for him, even though he's the one that's taken the lead at this point."
"...Really? He has?" Yuuko was surprised to hear it, "When did that happen...?"
"Just the other day." The Russian quipped, "We were practicing at his old rink, and it just kind of hit me that he'd become something akin to the alpha between us. For a minute, it was hard to believe, but once I accepted the truth of it, I started to like it. I wonder if that's what I was hoping he'd be all along, because I feel more relaxed knowing that he's in control of things now. ...It's probably the biggest reason why he was so upset about the phone-call earlier."
"I don't understand."
Viktor paused, thinking about his choice of words carefully, but then looking aside, watching the Japanese snow-covered countryside pass by through the window. He leaned his head back against the glass, "Before the season started, Yuri and I filed papers that he would be classified as my coach. Since I wasn't training under Yakov anymore, I needed a name to register with, so we agreed to put his. That means...anyone in the ISU or its subsidiaries who needed to contact me in my capacity as an athlete should've technically gone through him...but the RSF went to Yakov. I asked him why, and...he said the RSF doesn't recognize Yuri as anything but a Japanese skater. They were insulted by the idea of calling him about anything. He's younger than I am, and I was technically his coach first, never mind the disparity of our skating achievements..."
"Oh." Yuuko lowered her head, though raised her eyes to Yuri, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't just faking being asleep, and was actually listening to every word.
"It's done and over with now though, so there's no point complaining or arguing. The RSF made this decision to cut me off after NHK apparently." Viktor went on, "They were pretty offended by my Exhibition."
"Offended?" She echoed, aghast and surprised, "How could they have been offended by it?"
"I put that program together to send my father a message. He was very opposed to my relationship with Yuri. I wanted to tell him that I didn't care what he thought...that I was going to follow my heart wherever it lead, and stay true to myself no matter what." The Russian explained quietly, gently stroking his spouse's hair, "Apparently the RSF heard the message, too. They were already on edge about Yuri, ever since I brought him back to St. Petersburg last year. We were called out and condemned by part of the press corps during an interview there..."
"I saw. Even Yurio stood up for you guys."
"Yeah." He agreed, "The tension never quite went away though. That's a big reason why we ended up moving back to Hasetsu. It's safer here for us. I guess the RSF was just tacitly putting up with me since then. They were willing to tolerate my relationship so long as I kept winning for Russia like before. But then I ruffled feathers with my Exhibition...and then I gave my Gold away at the Final. That was the last straw for them. Yakov said they were originally going to let me finish out the year with them, but they wouldn't sign me on again for next season...announcing for me that I had officially retired, even if I had no plans for it just yet. I've been saying for a little while that I was considering going again next year with less difficult programs, just to see how far I could go on style points."
"Would they really do that though? Tell the world you're done on your behalf?"
"They have Yurio now." Viktor said, expression unchanging, "They don't need an old dog like me anymore. Retiring me would be the nice way of doing things." His voice tapered off there, and quiet filled the train car for a few moments. He huffed a sad laugh though, "It's fine though...really. If I'm not competing then I can focus on coaching more. It...it works out, in the end."
Yuuko watched the man's face quietly for signs of...anything. Deception, to himself or otherwise...sadness, anger...he was stony though. For the moment, Viktor Nikiforov was calmly accepting of his fate. She could only wonder how long it would take before the man would let himself react the way everyone else thought he ought to. Maybe he never will, though, Yuuko thought, letting the conversation fade to nothing, Or maybe he'll keep it private, and we'll never know.