CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED FOURTY FOUR
The middle of the night came, but sleep was hard to come by. Muscles and sinew still twitched from the excesses of practice, leaving every inch of him feeling a little prickly. Though it didn't help that curiosity was keeping his mind on a low-key simmer of interest.
Viktor leaned his face down a little and kissed the edge of his slumbering husband's neck, but then rolled away from his usual place on the man's back, reaching for his phone where it was charging on the nightstand just behind himself. When the plug unhooked, the screen lit up, illuminating the room in a dull glow. Hoping to prevent Yuri from waking up to the sight of it, Viktor quickly moved to place the back of the phone behind the man's head, so the light would face away from him...and the search began.
[JSF figure skater Asahi Saito_...]
Eyes scanned the results, and was surprised to find that the skater had his own Wiki page, something normally only reserved for the most well known or popular athletes. Yuri had only just gained his in the last year.
Who is this guy...? Why do I barely remember him? And why did Yuri never talk about him before?
Seeing much more to read than Viktor thought he could manage before his arm fell asleep, he gently coaxed his second arm out from under his husband's neck, where the younger figure had been using it for a pillow. When it was free, Viktor reached for a few pillows, placing two behind his own head as a platform to lean on, and the other between his shoulder and Yuri's back, to hopefully deaden the brightness of the light from his phone. Once he was certain Yuri wouldn't wake up from all the motion, the Russian went back to his 'research.'
Born: October 28 (age 26 years), Imari, Saga Prefecture, Japan
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 133 lbs
Medals: Gold (3), Silver (11,) Bronze (5), SEE MORE
Ah I don't care about that stuff...who is he?
He scrolled down the page, thumb pausing on a few bits to scan before moving on, then nearly flying past something that caught his attention. Slate eyes paused on the words 'Loss, Hiatus from Competition, and Subsequent Return.'
Though Saito had been selected by the JSF to represent Japan at the Four Continents and World Figure Skating Championships that season, Saito unexpectedly withdrew from competition, citing a personal loss. Though information on this is scarce due to Saito's absence from social media and his reluctance to speak publicly about his private life, it is believed that the accidental death of rink-mate Riku Itō is the source. Itō was killed accidentally when a car he, Saito, and their coach were traveling in was hit by a foreign driver, just outside of Kyoto. Saito and their coach escaped with minor injuries, but Itō was declared dead at the scene. In the days after Itō's funeral, Saito informed the JSF that he would not be able to attend the FC or Worlds, and was not heard from again until his announcement the following year that he had reunited with his former Juniors coach, Sayoko Nagisa, and brought on new Choreographer, Kyle Webber.
Saito later easily won 1st place at the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu Championship, and secured his place to qualify for the following Grand Prix Series, but chose to abstain, citing a desire to rise the ranks locally first, then going international after competing at the Japanese National Championships in December. Coach Nagisa has voiced interest in using the Olympics as a potential springboard back into world competitions, but with Yuri Nikiforov, husband Viktor Nikiforov, Himari Nakahama, and Niko Yatsumura already being selected for the Japanese Olympic team, it's possible there may not be room in the 5-member combined singles group, if the final spot is given to one of the Ladies' competitors rather than the Men's. It's an uphill climb for Saito, who has not officially competed in 2 years.
Viktor examined the photo on the side carefully, seeing Asahi standing on the center platform of the winners' tier, holding that same certificate that Yuri himself had won prior to the last year's Grand Prix Series. Asahi didn't look nearly as impressed with himself as Yuri had though. It was the same steely-eyed neutral expression he wore most of the time, so far as Viktor had seen.
Other than mentioning his name for the Winter Games, this whole thing doesn't talk about Yuri's part in all this at all. Do I have to wait to ask him about it? There has to be something...
He clicked back out to the main browser and searched again, this time for both Asahi and Yuri together. There was only one relevant result that mentioned them in the same place, the rest of the listings each bringing up individual mentions. Viktor clicked into it, seeing an old webpage from years ago, though the entire page was in Japanese and had no option to translate. There was a group photo of about 12 young teens at the top of the page, and when Viktor zoomed in on it, was certain that he could spot Yuri in all his low-res, pixilated glory, standing in the middle row...right next to what the Russian could only assume was a much-younger Asahi. Even in his youth, and surrounded by excited, happy faces, the man had that same neutral expression on his own. Viktor scrolled down a little further and spotted what looked like a roster of names and ages.
The image itself was clearly a scanned newspaper clipping, so the 'print' beneath the group photo was a bit blurry, but Viktor had seen his husband's name in Kanji often enough to recognize it even in such low quality. The number next to it was (14,) and the blob of text that came after was accented with the number (15,) confirming at least that it was likely to be Asahi even if he couldn't confirm for the moment.
Viktor huffed a sigh to himself and let his phone drop down to his chest, and looked up at the dark ceiling.
Looks like I'll have to ask. Whatever history they have together predates widespread use of social media, even by clubs...
He lifted the phone again and looked at the picture one more time. He smiled at the sight of his adorably young future husband, and kissed the screen before shutting it off. One last reach to plug his phone back in, and Viktor returned to cuddling up against Yuri's back for his next attempt at sleep.
.
It would be an understatement to suggest that Asahi slept worse than Viktor did, having put his head down, but never quite managed to turn his brain off. So many questions rattled around in his head, but knowing his old friend's habit for only using social media to watch others, and never post about himself, he couldn't help but wonder if there was even much of a way to find out what had been going on these past two y-
Viktor's a prolific SMS user. Why didn't I think of that before? What's that old site Yuri used to talk about...? FaceySpace? MyBook?
He rolled over in bed and reached for the nightstand where he knew his phone was sitting, and pulled it from the charger. Sitting against the wall with his knees pulled up, Asahi pulled up Safari and started typing into the search field.
[Victor Nikiforov social media]
The results page was bursting with articles with the Russian's mention, but about 5 items down, Asahi spotted a familiar name.
Instagram...? That's a newer thing right? It looks like he's posted here tons...thousands of pictures...
Clicking the link though just lead him to a page demanding that he download the Instagram app. With a quiet grumble, he agreed, and tapped the button that forced him into the App Store. A minute later, as the hotel wifi would allow, he was able to go back and properly load the Russian's page. There were a handful of posts from Nationals already, but nothing substantial. He was somewhat surprised to notice though, that a good number of the posts he saw were candid photos of Yuri, and several of two different dogs. The further back he went, he started to see more that included Viktor himself, either with a selfie-stick or simply holding the camera out as far as his arm could go. One picture that made Asahi huff a quiet laugh was seeing one of Yuri passed out on a kotatsu, surrounded by paperwork. He dared to click into it to read the caption, and saw both what Viktor said about the image...and a few comments.
v-nikiforov
Viktor Nikiforov
[photo: Yuri dead at the kotatsu]
11,412 likes
v-nikiforov I thought it was a personal problem of mine when I kept falling asleep looking at the citizenship paperwork stuff the JSF sent to me...but even super-smart titans like y-nikiforov have fallen. My poor, sweet, noble hubby...he tries so hard. I'd be lost without him.
Load more comments
y-nikiforov I think I've learned the contents of the entire package by osmosis just by having fallen asleep on it so many times. Don't worry though, we're about half-way through...you'll be a Japanese citizen yet.
There were other comments, but Asahi didn't care to read. He knew that very first one was Yuri and clicked over to his page instead, seeing a strikingly different place than Viktor's. There were barely 150 photos since the account's creation, and most were from the last month and a half, with the image of a puppy coming up first and foremost as the most recent submission. There was a good chunk from what looked like an Exhibition at the Ice Castle, a few formal Japanese wedding family portraits, and then a smattering of images from the months before that, leading back to what looked like some time Yuri had spent in Russia.
He posts more than he used to, but still...
If the photos weren't of the dogs, or food, or what looked like the streets of Paris, the pictures always had both Yuri and Viktor in them, never just one of them. The photos were never too personal though, and in many cases, looked like they'd simply been saved from albums other people posted, then uploaded to his own account.
Going back to Viktor's account though, and looking through the comments, something became rather obvious.
Looks like he's living vicariously through Viktor's content. He leaves a note on practically every post. That was how he was back then, too...he'd have an account just to watch people, and let others make posts about what he was up to. You'd have to know who he was hanging around to see anything about him. If you didn't really keep tabs on him and everyone around him, you could easily lose him. I know that much from personal experience...
He sighed and clicked out, tired of seeing the affection between the two men.
I shouldn't have looked. What was I hoping to gain from it...? Even if Viktor was just using him in the beginning, he's obviously been sucked in by how sweet Yuri is, too. But...maybe he was never insincere in the first place... It's hard to think of anyone being around Yuri and still take advantage of him...
He clenched his eyes shut and put his phone away, then roughly pulled a pillow around each side of his head as though he could block his thoughts from the outside.
No, no, no...NO. I can't let myself get wrapped back up in him. It was hard enough getting over it the first time...
The memories came unbidden though. Images of years ago flashing in his mind; words spoken, laughter shared, tears shed...and the screech of tires before the scream of metal twisting and crunching all around. Asahi lurched up, grabbing his phone back again and nearly tumbling off the edge of the bed as he sought in the dark for his backpack. He pulled the headphone cables out and struggled to untangle them, but eventually figured it out enough to put the buds in his ears and find an mp3 of an ambient background noise; a thunderstorm, as recorded from inside a tent. The gentle patter of rain on the tarp, and falling on the leaves of unseen trees on all sides...it quelled the nightmare in the skater's mind and gave him some semblance of peace.
Still, once he settled back down and set his head against the pillow, it didn't get rid of the pain that had stalked its way into him. His eyes burned and his chest ached.
...It's been seven years since he left me...so why does it still hurt like it happened yesterday?
.
Though still sleepy, the excitement for the day ahead was growing by leaps and bounds. For once, both Yuri and Viktor were bouncing in place like little kids, trying to get through the boring chores of adult life before being freed to the great and glorious Universal Studios Osaka. Waking up, getting dressed, getting their gear together for the Official Short Program Practice, breakfast, then actually going to the Official Short Program Practice...and then they knew they'd be cut loose.
Given that the hotel was part of the USO compound, there were plenty of park maps for participants to look at before going there. Yuri and Viktor were shoulder to shoulder at the communal breakfast table, plates on either side and the map in the middle.
"Okay, so we have at least 6 hours to do whatever we want, between practice and the OCs...where do you want to go first?" Yuri wondered, using a clean and unbroken pair of chopsticks to point down at the paper, "The entrance is over here, and I think we can safely skip the Sesame Street and Hello Kitty areas...unless you've been hiding a secret love for toddler entertainment from me all this time?"
"What? Pfft. No way. We have to go to Harry Potter first." Viktor huffed, nudging the chopsticks around with a fork until they were hovering over a picture of that iconic castle, "I fully intend to be equipped and ready to fight off dinosaurs with my broom and wand and Hogwart's uniform."
"I absolutely agree." Yuri laughed, "Can't be too safe from the Dark Arts or raptors."
"Ahhh I'm so envious of you guys!" Minami whined from the other side of the table.
"Why? Don't you get to go?" Yuri wondered, lifting his eyes from the map.
"I do! I just have to wait until tomorrow!"
"Well that's not horrible."
"But you get to go TODAY! It's the WORST!" The teen flailed back and forth in his seat, forcing Hikaru and Yuto on either side of him to lean away to avoid being hit, "I'M SO JEALOUS I COULD DIE."
The two older skaters side-eyed one another and then smirked, "We also got Express Passes with timed entry so we don't have to wait in ques."
"HNNGGGGG MY HEART-"
Yuri laughed and shook his head, listening as Viktor started plotting the actual stores they would need to go to. He felt his chopsticks move again, and lowered his eyes to spot them tapping down on the first store, "We have to go straight to Ollivander's." The Russian stated, "We'll get our wands first, and then..." He slid the wooden utensils across to the next spot, "We head to Dervish and Banges, and get our uniforms. There's a bunch of other accessories here, too, and if we can't find what we want there, we can head over to Gladrags Wizardwear, or Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods."
"We should check out Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, too." Yuri added, tapping down on the location, "Just in case the other places don't have absolutely everything already. You know how these places work. They hide bits and pieces of the set in different shops so they force you to go into every one of them looking for them."
"Right?" Viktor laughed, reaching for his mug to sip at the half-drunk coffee, "That's okay though. Even if they manage to trick us into getting way more than we have any business buying, we should be fine."
"We're going to need another room in the house just to fit all our nerdy souvenirs."
They turned to look at one another excitedly, "But it'll be so worth it!"
"SO JEALOUS."
"Get the butterbeer as a frozen thing." Hikaru recommended, flicking a strand of curly brown hair from his eye, "Then it's like ice cream. The drink is too sweet...like fizzy liquid butterscotch."
"Oh, did you go?" Yuto wondered, looking right over Minami's head to see the other skater, "When did you have time?"
"My family came last year during the summer. I'll bet it's a lot easier to go during the winter since fewer people want to go sightseeing in the cold."
"Don't count on it." He gave a wry smile, then turned back to the oldest skaters at the table, "Maybe the only benefit of going in winter is that it won't be so hot. Maybe it'll give a nice little ambiance to the Harry Potter section since some of those books cover the winter time...I dunno about the Jurassic Park area though. Might feel a bit out of place to go on those rides when the dinos couldn't survive in that climate."
"Psssht." Yuri waved a hand, then thumbed back at his husband, "Winter is this guy's natural habitat. The animatronic dinosaurs will be fi-" He stopped suddenly and turned his head, deadpanning Viktor where he'd suddenly felt the man's mouth over that very thumb he'd stuck out, "What are you doing."
The excited silver legend just smiled though, thumb still caught in his mouth.
"Did I get whip on me somehow and not notice?"
Viktor bit down lightly as he tried to stop himself from laughing, but shook his head a little to indicate no.
Yuri smiled nervously, turning back to apologize to the others at the table for the odd display, but then spotted three figures walking a short distance behind them. One he immediately recognized, and raised his chopstick-holding hand up in the air to wave, "Asahi-kun! Come sit with us!"
Grey-brown eyes turned slightly, but the older skater looked away rather quickly, "Thanks, but-"
"It's practically the Kyushu table over here!" Yuri went on, low-key trying to get Viktor off his thumb while he spoke, though the man held firm, "You remember Minami-kun...he trounced me at that last Nationals we were at together. Hikaru-kun and Yuto-kun were there too bu-"
"I know them, but I'm g-"
Yuri suddenly made a weird sound; something like a high-pitched squeak of a gasp. His eyes went wide, and he suddenly rose from the table, thumb winching out of the Russian's grasp by leverage and speed alone. He wiggled his way out of his seat and went around rather quickly, leaving Viktor in a confused heap, "Nagisa-kōchi!" He finally managed to say, rushing up to the small group and nearly knocking Asahi out of the way to get closer to the woman he'd spotted, "I almost didn't recognize you!" He bowed his head politely and tried to regain himself, "I had no idea you were here!"
"Yuri-kun..." She answered happily, reaching one hand forward to find the one that probably wasn't wet, and pulled it up to pat it gently, "You've gotten so big since I last saw you. Are you letting your hair grow out again? You don't normally style it like this unless you're skating."
"Hai!" He answered excitedly, "I have this image in my head of me doing my last Free Skate with a messy top-knot sort of thing. I once told Viktor about it-" He suddenly whipped his head around and looked back at his partner, "Viktorgetoverhere!" Then back to his former coach, "I told him last year about the idea and then I just kept putting it off. When we finally got home again after the Final, I realized how long my hair had grown and decided not to cut it right away...so now I have to style it back to keep it out of my eyes. Maybe it'll be long enough for the Olympics?"
"I'm so proud for you to get picked like this." The older woman said, letting Yuri's hand go and patting his arm, "Who knew I would get the honor of saying I coached future Olympians in my little skating rink?"
"Deshou!?" Yuri agreed, nudging the stoic and silent taller man next to him, "I'm sure Asahi-kun will get the last spot on the Singles team. Japan will dominate the podium with all of us there." He pulled his hand up over his heart just as Viktor was finally sauntering up next to him, "I swore a solemn oath that I'd never let Russia win Gold again. Be it the Grand Prix, Worlds, or the Olympics..." He looked rather determined then, balling that hand into a confident fist, "They'll regret throwing Viktor under the bus for years to come."
"I think it would be fitting though if I got on the podium at the end, and then the Japanese anthem played anyway." The Russian mused, setting his hand against his partner's lower back.
"Viktor!" Yuri bounced up on his toes, and gestured to the woman in front of them, "This is-"
"Sayoko Nagisa." He finished, then eyeballed the thin man behind her, "And Kyle Webber."
"Oh." Yuri deadpanned as his face flushed, "Howdoyouknowthem?"
The silver legend bowed his head, and reached a hand forward to shake with each of them, "A pleasure." He turned back to his husband and slid his other arm over the man's shoulders, pulling him closer, "I may be competing but I'm still a coach, so I try to remember the names of other coaches if I can."
"Oh...!" He felt a little embarrassed then, but shook it away, "Well, this is Coach Nagisa, she was mine and Asahi-kun's mentor when we were in Juniors!" He explained, suddenly grabbing the aforementioned former rink-mate by the elbow with his free arm, and pulled him into the group, "I was at her rink for almost as long as I was in Detroit after. During the week I'd take the train to Imari, and train with her when I wasn't in school, then on the weekends I'd go back home to Hasetsu and practice at the Ice Castle."
"Sounds busy." Viktor nodded, "Did you ever train with Riku Itō?" Slate eyes turned up towards Asahi, watching carefully for a reaction, though all it seemed to earn him was a slight pursing of the man's lips.
"...Who?" Yuri wondered, oblivious, "I don't think so...but it's been a long time. Maybe I just forgot."
"Oh, it was just a name I heard. I thought maybe he'd be one of the other 'dime a dozen top skaters with the JSF' you always alluded to before." The Russian explained, "I'm always eager to learn about your humble beginnings. His name wasn't on the roster for this event..."
Behind them, Minami, Yuto, and Hikaru were giving each other uncomfortable glances.
"Anyway though, it was nice to meet you." Viktor concluded, "Yuri and I have a busy day planned so we should probably try to stick to our schedule. We'll see you tonight at the Opening Ceremonies, okay?"
The coach and choreographer both nodded and started to move off, gesturing for their athlete to follow, but finding him unable to. Yuri still had him by the arm.
"I know it's short notice to say you should come with us to Universal Studios after practice, but maybe we can do something later?" He wondered, looking up at the taller figure, "Since you missed getting to come with us to the onsen last night. I'm sure there's some big touristy thing we can do tomorrow morning before the Free Program though, right?"
Asahi reluctantly looked at the younger man, but dared not betray his thoughts with a strange expression. He didn't have to look at the prickly Russian on Yuri's other side to know he was getting a disapproving look from him. He just nodded politely and gently pulled his arm back, "I'll think about it. Ja mata ne, Yuri-kun."
"Oh..." Yuri felt a bit deflated, but waved anyway as the trio stepped away, "Ja ne, Asahi-kun..."