CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED FIFTY THREE
Yuri meandered around the ice a little bit as he headed towards center, tugging slightly on the frilled black tufts of fabric coming out from under the sleeves of his costume jacket. Hands went up to adjust the lapels over his chest, and straighten the collar of his turtle-neck. Eyes went back towards Viktor on the rink-wall for a moment, but he saw the man looking off to the side at something, and when he looked in the same direction, spotted Asahi in the stands watching him. Yuri braked like he'd planned to, a small wave of ice dusting away from his blades as he slowed and took position, but he kept his eyes in that same direction until he'd completely stopped.
It's been such a long time since him and I spent any real meaningful time together...at least, outside of a competition. But even then, after what Viktor said...I suddenly feel like I barely know him.
He sighed and brought up his right hand, kissing his ring for good luck before taking position and lowering his gaze towards the ice.
He's also gotten so much better than he was the last time I remember watching him skate. What's he been up to all this time? Why did we stop talking...?
A chill went down his spine, but the music suddenly started playing overhead, and quickly drowned out the eerie feeling.
Oh oh oh oh ohhhhh
The right hand raised up as he rotated back on the left blade, twisting himself around until he faced the other way and had both arms at his sides again.
Oh oh oh oh ohhhhh
A toe-pick nudged him backward, and both arms raised together, sweeping in an arc as he brought them in again and he passed the flat edge of the rink, passing closely by his spouse.
Oh oh oh oh ohhhhh
Flying out across open ice again, he twisted sharply around onto a backward inside edge, twizzling a few times as he traveled, and leaned back into an outside spread-eagle when his free blade came back down to the frost.
Oh oh oh oh ohhhhh
Arms went out as he curved through the short-end of the rink, and twisted to the left, facing forward, left outside edge leaving a white line in his wake as the right came up behind him. With a quick thrust, that right leg vaulted him into the air, and Yuri landed the triple Axel - his favorite jump - with ease, hearing the crowd cheering all around him.
I messed up tonight, I lost another fight, I still mess up but I'll just start again.
I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground, I always get up now to see what's next.
Viktor watched the pseudo-step-sequence carefully, hyperaware of the other eyes that were on his husband. As something of a spiritual successor to the previous year's 'Eros,' this Short Program was full of playful innuendo, something the Russian knew Yuri had never done before becoming the man's coach and choreographer. He could only wonder the impression it would leave on those who watched.
The last few beats of the music echoed through the stadium, and as Yuri slid in reverse through the center of the rink, he did his side-clap maneuver; hands coming in from the sides, left from higher up and right from below, hitting as they passed in front of himself, and then splaying back out in opposite directions, all while he swiveled his hips. Just as the lyrics returned though, the backward trajectory became the entry-point for the first spin, and Yuri kicked his right leg up to start the camel-spin.
His costume shimmered like light on a lake, drawing the eyes of everyone in the stadium.
I won't give up, no I won't give in, 'til I reach the end and then I'll start again
The camel spin morphed to a broken-leg sit spin before Yuri switched feet under himself, spinning on the right blade as he rose into the scratch spin. His rotations never slowed down, earning him applause from the audience as he set both blades back to the ice again and started gliding away.
No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail.
The left leg folded over the right as the skater bent down, and suddenly he was airborne again, spinning four times through the quad Loop, landing, and doing the same thing again for the triple Loop. Unlike at the Grand Prix Final though, Yuri saw no need to raise his arms up for those jumps, and kept them folded over his chest.
I won't give up, no I won't give in, 'til I reach the end and then I'll start again
No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail
Asahi's eyes followed every movement, his expression unchanging. Every angle, every edge change, every flake of frost that flicked off of Yuri's skates was data in an analysis in Asahi's mind.
...He's completely different from before. More loose, more open...it's like he's a different person. What happened to the Yuri that was so modest and reserved? The one that impressed with his spins, not his sex appeal? Even his costume...the Yuri I remember almost never had so much light reflecting off of him. This...this is almost exhibitionist...
Yuri threw himself for the flying camel-spin, hands behind his back for the first rotations. He then straightening himself out slightly to dip for the foot-change, reaching for the frosted blade as the clean one took its place on the ice, and started to pull that boot behind himself as the rest of his frame leveled out again.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Try everything
Holding the blade steady, Yuri twisted himself a bit straighter, arching his back to its absolute limits as he reached up with his free hand and pulled his leg the rest o the way up for the full Biellmann spin
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Try everything
Mercifully, he wasn't as dizzy as the last time he did that maneuver, and Yuri was able to finish out the array of rotations without losing sight of the horizon.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Asahi's eyes had gone wide though watching it, then almost furrowed into an expression of confusion and dismay.
...Who is this Yuri that's suddenly so flexible? A full Biellmann spin? That kind of move is usually reserved for the Ladies...
Look how far you've come, you filled your heart with love,
Baby, you've done enough, take a deep breath.
Yuri hightailed it into his step-sequence, his intricate moves and flawless footwork reminding the audience what he'd long-been famous for. Viktor had never needed to teach him how to skip his blades across the ice; the ice bowed before him in that regard already. Seamless transitions between mohawks and 3-turns, choctaws and brackets, arms and legs moving somehow in a harmony of dissonance that any new skater would never be able to follow. Even Yurio, who prided himself on being able to memorize the moves to 'Agape' on his first viewing, would likely need at least a second glimpse of Yuri's footwork just to follow it.
Don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast, sometimes we come last, but we did our best.
Frost flew from Yuri's golden blades as he braked harshly, stomped down with one in time with the last three beats of the stanza. Just as he looked up though on that last clap onto the ice, he looked straight at Asahi, and time seemed to hold still for a moment. The song moved on though, and Yuri pushed through the forward-inside twizzle to break away again to finish up the step sequence.
I won't give up, no I won't give in, 'til I reach the end and then I'll start again
No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail
Viktor had finally let himself start to enjoy watching the program, leaning one elbow against the rink wall as the hand on the other arm tapped it lightly to the beat. The show's hardest jump was coming up, and it was a relief to the senior skater to be able to watch it without worrying that Yuri might not rise from it again like the last time he'd done it for points.
Yuri slid down the long-way center of the rink, and spread his arms out wide before leaning forward and lifting his left leg out behind himself. As his fingers gripped the boot still sliding across the frost, the left was straight up in the air above him for the Charlotte Spiral.
He can do a free split now, too? Asahi was surprised to see, Another move straight from the Ladies' program... Does he think he's too good for 3-turns and mohawks like the rest of us? This program is full of hubris... My Yuri would never let himself be seen as a spectacle like this... This isn't art. This is attention-seeking. His eyes went back to Viktor and narrowed slightly, What did you do to him?
Yuri straightened out from the Spiral with just enough time to set his boots together and stretch the right leg out behind himself, leaning onto the outside edge of his left blade. Gold glinted in the light, his silver outfit shimmering like a thousand stars, and he gouged his toe-pick down for the liftoff. Four perfect spins and a clean landing later, and Yuri was being cheered for his quad Lutz, sliding out in reverse without so much as a shadow of his prior performance - and nearly-scraping the ice with his face at the time - shaking his resolve.
I'll keep on making those new mistakes, I'll keep on making them every day...
The elated skater pressed on with the show, leaning through another outside spread-eagle and the twizzles that followed, tapping his toe-pick down again to stop himself dead-center in the rink.
Those new mistakes
Hands went onto his hips, and Yuri looked aside to his husband, giving a wink as he did that famous shoulder-waggle.
Viktor loved every second of it.
A swift pick-up in speed with a few backward cross-overs put Yuri in position for the last required element of his program, but he opted for the Death Drop entry rather than just sliding into that last spin, lowering down on the landing and going straight into the shoot-the-duck pose; hands gripping the ankle of his extended leg.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Try everything
He let go and twisted himself around, free leg coming around the side from where it had been out front, left arm bent behind his back as the right curved up over his bowed head. A few quick rotations later, and his feet switched off, grabbing his left ankle as it folded under himself and the right took over balancing the spin on the ice.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Try everything
Rising back up to standing and slowly twisting off, Yuri swung his free leg out like a pendulum to turn himself around, facing forward as he made his way back towards center. He could feel the cool beads of sweat on his skin, but it was a welcome sensation to how hot he was otherwise.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Try everything
Gliding forward, Yuri bowed slightly, left arm rising up behind his back as the right went low in front. He swiftly spun around as he straightened up again, frost kicking up from his feet, the end of the program clearly in sight now.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh
Returning to where he'd started over the JSF logo within the ice, Yuri twisted around and planted a toe-pick down, halting him in place. He cocked his right hip out to strike the final pose, bringing his right hand up to smooth out his hair, fingers trailing down the side of his face and neck before reaching out ahead of himself.
Try everything.
His hand went down to perch on his hip, and the music gradually faded out, vanishing entirely under the maelstrom of cheers crashing in from all sides.
Asahi clapped, slowly, but only out of obligation.
Next to him, Coach Nagisa saw, and looked up to see the unimpressed look on the skater's face, "What's the matter? Are you worried?"
"I don't know what Viktor's been teaching him these past 2 years, but that was grotesque." Asahi commented stiffly, "I never thought Yuri would stoop so low as to go for sex-appeal. He already had enough charm on the ice. He didn't need whatever this was."
"Lots of skaters do this sort of thing."
"Not Yuri."
The Coach sighed at him, but returned her sights to the ice, watching as all the different soft-toys and flowers were being thrown out for the younger skater. Yuri waved and bowed to all sides, then eased his way back to rink-side as a number of young ladies skated out to clear the rink.
"It's a marvel how relaxed you get when you're not worrying about your scores." Viktor commented, waiting his husband with open arms, and wrapping them around the man as he slid right into him, knocking him back on his heels a little before evening out again. He kissed Yuri's ear where he could, given that Yuri was still clinging into the hug for balance.
"Haah...I had a lot of fun this time." The younger figure answered, tip-toeing off the ice and rotating around his spouse in the process, then looked up, "I wish every time was like this."
"Every time could be like this." The Russian pointed out, "Just treat every event like this. You know you're amazing...you don't have to prove it anymore."
"We'll let the judges decide that." Yuri huffed, giving an anxious smile before he pulled his arms back. His hands perched onto Viktor's hips for a moment before he pat them both and stepped aside, reaching for his jacket and tossing it loosely over his shoulders, slipping his arms into each sleeve before offering one elbow to his coach, "Shall we?"
Viktor looked at him for a moment, but reached aside first to collect the blade guards, "You're forgetting these."
"Oh! That's embarrassing..." Yuri swiped them quickly and leaned down to slide them on, then tugged his partner along towards the kiss-and-cry, giving Viktor only seconds to grab the Makkachin tissue box and water bottle before they were out of reach, "Guess I had too much fun."
The Russian sighed but smiled, and followed closely, Sixteen kisses missed... He's acting so naturally, but surely he knows what he's doing...?
Sitting on the bench with the sponsor board behind them, and flowers on each side, they waited patiently for the tally to be announced. Yuri kept his legs bent, skates perched under the bench as the guards over his toe-picks pinched the ground under them. Viktor had his legs stretched out in front, crossed at the ankles casually. To the silver legend's confusion, albeit slight relief, Yuri had at least settled a hand on his thigh as they waited, and was idly rubbing his thumb back and forth.
"It's been a long time since I was happy to be right here." Yuri commented, eyes forward towards the score screen, "Normally I'm all worried or nervous... It's kind of nice to know I don't have to worry about getting punished if I don't do well. I can just relax and take my score as an assessment rather than a judgment."
"You worry so much about that kind of thing." Viktor commented, reaching his left arm out to settle it across his spouse's back, settling his fingers to curve around the man's hip on the other side, "But I guess this is kind of a nice change... You suffered enough in the struggle to get through the Grand Prix Series. Now's the time to just kick back."
"Right?" Yuri smiled in agreement, then heard the start of the announcer's voice, and lifted his head.
[The score for Nikiforov Yuri-san...] It started, causing a slight hush to overtake the audience, [101.26.]
The skater seemed pleased enough, "Still over 100, but not as high as I thought I might get."
Viktor didn't need a translation then, seeing the numbers written out on the scoreboard in front of them, "Maybe you were too relaxed."
Yuri turned his head and kissed the edge of Viktor's closest shoulder...
Seventeen...!
...But then rose to stand up, and waved out briefly to the crowd as the Russian stood up as well, "I guess I didn't take the program as seriously as I did before. I just did it like a casual practice." He commented, finding his partner's hand before looking back.
Viktor was gathering up the tissue box and water again in his free hand, but then followed after his partner as Yuri lead them towards the prep area. They paused briefly as Minami fawned at his idol, sticking his head out through the curtain and saying some excited words that the silver legend wasn't paying attention to.
He's dodged a kiss from me once, because he probably spotted Chicken-butt coming in from rink-side before I did. The rest of the time, he's just made himself unavailable; turning his head or keeping a distance, or kissing somewhere other than my lips. I wonder what'll happen if I try when we're out of sight of that guy?
Yuri finally nudged Minami back through the curtain enough that they could get within, and the camera crews were there and waiting for them, photos being snapped and flashes dazzling in their eyes. Minami was quickly pulled aside by his own coach so the duo could get the focus they'd earned, and Yuri started heading towards the interview area. The sound of the announcer in the arena was muffled, but it wasn't much longer before the music of the next competitor started playing; classical music of some sort or another.
Viktor suddenly paused in place, forcing Yuri to turn and face him where their linked hands pivoted him back around.
"...Viktor?"
It's just cameras here...and that guy won't be able to see what they're filming from where he is in the stands... Or did Yuri not see him out there? Maybe he thinks Chicken-butt is down here somewhere.
Yuri tried stepping off again, "...Come on, they're wanting to do the interview..."
"Don't you think you're forgetting something...?" Viktor wondered, giving something of a skeptical look, even as the younger figure was trying to pull him forward unsuccessfully, "Yuri."
"...Eh?"
The Russian's expression changed, given his exasperation.
Yuri immediately recognized it as the 'well, I'm tired' face from Barcelona the year before, and started to get nervous, but did a count of everything, "...Water bottle, jacket, skate guards, Makkachin, you..." He glanced up at the man's face, "I don't know what I'm missing."
A finger went up to the man's lips, but Viktor's expression didn't change for the better, "Yuri."
"Nani...?" (What?)
"Yuuuriiiiiiii." Viktor said again, this time more insistent.
Brown eyes blinked in confusion, but when the Russian sighed a slight whine, finger pressing up against his lips a bit more, the realization dawned, and Yuri quickly stepped back, rising up on his rubber toe-picks to nudge the hand aside and give the man a quick peck, "There! Now c'mon!"
Viktor was hardly satisfied, but at least he gave up enough to grant them forward mobility again, and sulked his way after his spouse towards the interview panel.
I'll get a proper kiss from you sooner or later. You owe me seventeen and a half of them now.