CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT
Coming in from rink-side as the event began, with the first group going out for the 6-minute warm-up, was like trying to walk up-river in a strong current. The two skaters squeezed up against a wall to get through while the rest of the mob went out, flooding onto the ice. Once they were clear, it was easy to get around; the prep area seemed to have been emptied by the deluge.
"I guess everyone else is either watching from the stands or taking their time getting here." Yuri commented, spotting only a handful of people. Some of them were stragglers from the end of the Ladies program, but even then, the gear from that group had been left behind, "...Or maybe they're all here and just in the audience right now."
"With only one spot on the Singles' Team up for grabs, it's kind of a big deal." Viktor commented, "In Russia, people would stick around all day to find out who got picked."
"I wonder if Yurio's anxious about it?"
"Inwardly, maybe...but he'd never show it." The silver legend mused, "But considering the competition, without me there, it's all but certain he's going to get picked."
"He really was the perfect age to join Seniors last year." Yuri added.
They wandered slowly around the underside of the arena, listening for the start of the first Free Program. So long as the warm-up period was going on though, there was little to do but wait.
"I kind of wish I had his confidence, at least at that time in my career. I feel like I'm almost playing catch-up, since this will be my first Olympics, and I'm already of an age where less prominent skaters are retiring." Yuri said, something of a sigh on his voice, but not letting it be too obvious.
"You're Japan's superstar now though." Viktor reassured, "I can't remember a time before where the names of any Japanese skaters in the line-up really caught my attention. There'd be a good one from America now and then, but usually it was European skaters and Russians who dominated the limelight."
"And by 'Europeans and Russians' you mean 'Viktor Nikiforov and some people whose names I can't remember'"
"I was trying to be discreet."
Yuri shook his head and laughed quietly, "Oh well..."
"You're going to go this year and win Gold on your first shot." Viktor stated firmly, looking quite happy about saying so, "And together, we'll own the Team Event, too."
"I've been meaning to ask about that, but I keep forgetting..."
"Oh?" The Russian paused, skate-guards thumping once more before he waited for his partner to look back at him, "What's to ask? Even if my nemesis makes it, he's nowhere near good enough to bump either of us from the Team Event."
Yuri shook his head, "I wasn't thinking about that. I've had it in my head since a week ago that you'd do the Short and I'd do the Free component."
"Mh...agreed. But?"
"We have a month and a half to get ready for it." He started, "We're each pulling one old program out for our individual competitions...do we want to pull more old programs for the rest, or make something completely new?"
Viktor blinked, but then pulled his hands back, one crossing over his chest to hold his side as the other elbow rested against it, a finger pressed to his lip in thought. He hummed quietly to himself as he considered it, "Well, logistically, it would be easier to bring back old programs...we're ready for them with costumes and such...we'd just have to practice them and refine the rough edges. But..."
"But?" Yuri echoed.
One eye cracked open towards the younger skater, "...We could do something entirely new if you wanted to. It's only one program for each of us. If push comes to shove and we just can't, then we'll each just do this season's SP and FS for the Team Skate, since they correspond. There's also one other hitch..."
"What's that...?"
"Yurio."
Yuri was the one that blinked then, "What about him?"
"It's more likely than not that he'll be going to PyeongChang to represent Russia. But this is the last weekend that Yakov and Lilia are his coach and choreographer. If he wants something new for the Games...it'll be me and Minako he goes to, since I agreed to be at least half of that new team."
Yuri just made a coy face, "It's the Olympics though. I'm sure he'd understand your conflict of interest if you declined to choreograph something for him brand new. You were willing to admit that'd be an issue if you were still skating for Russia, that you couldn't be my coach at the Games, too."
Viktor paused, but then smiled, "...Oh...right, of course."
"You forgot already."
The Russian just quickly threw his arms over his spouse's shoulders and pulled him close, nuzzling the side of his head against Yuri's rather exaggeratedly, "I love you~"
"Yeah yeah..."
[That concludes the warm-up period...all skaters please exit the rink.]
Yuri glanced up, "You wanna find seats and watch for now?"
"We should find Minako and sit with her. See the fans all around her lose their minds when we shower her with attention for no reason whatsoever."
"Oh! That sounds fun actually. Even though it's just us, that's exactly the kind of thing she always wishes would happen."
"And it's not like the people around her know we're all acquainted."
Yuri rubbed his hands together deviously, "Let's do it."
.
Up in the stands, it was difficult for Minako and her charge to find seats again after having gotten up earlier. The arena was packed with people, forcing her and Asahi to stand on a pathway between the different levels of the stands, leaning against a railing just behind the last row of the lower tier.
[Eh...standing isn't so bad.] She tried to see the positive, [It's easier this way, to wave flags around at international events and still be able to see the ice.]
[I guess so.] Asahi tepidly agreed, pinching the front of his hoodie closed in front of his nose, hoping no one would recognize him again. They were on the other side of the arena from where they'd been before, so anyone who noticed him earlier would be too far away to notice him again. Still, the longer he stood, the more he could feel his stomach growling, and he knew he'd have to let the hoodie open up a bit so he could nibble on the snacks he'd bought, [Now that I'm thinking about it. ...I...don't think you've ever actually told me who you are. Other than the fact that you're not just some weird fan that follows Yuri around.]
[Oh!] Minako jumped up and looked rather embarrassed, but then covered her mouth in case her surprise was loud. When she was sure no one cared, she pulled her hands back again and leaned closer, [Sorry! ...I guess I should've thought of that. I'm Minako Okukawa. I was Yuri's ballet teacher back before he ever set foot on the ice. I went to school with his mom when we were kids.]
[...Oh, I guess that explains why you guys seem so close. You must live in Hasetsu, too.]
[Yeah, I see those boys almost every day. I was there when Viktor first turned up and saw with my own eyes how everything changed over the months.]
Asahi sighed, [I'd like to think you don't have to defend their relationship to me all the time.]
[That depends. Does me talking about it make you uncomfortable or is it just annoying?]
[...I don't want to offend you.]
[I asked the question. What kind of fool would I be if I got offended by you answering honestly?]
[It's annoying.]
[Then it's working.] Minako smiled, feeling a buzz in her pocket, [I want you to be able to leave this event with as much closure on Yuri's side as you possibly can. That way, you can focus on yourself and your future, not the past. You have a lot of healing to do...the less drags you down, the better.]
Asahi turned his eyes, looking past the rim of his dark-colored hood, [...Why are you so concerned about me anyway? You only just barely met me and it was under the worst possible circumstances. I'm surprised you're not chasing me out of here with a torch and pitchfork.]
The ballerina was typing something into her phone, but then pocketed the device and crossed her arms over the railing again, [I guess...it's for a lot of reasons. Plenty of crazy things have happened between me and the others lately, but we work through it. I've had to come to terms with how the things I want may hurt Viktor, and have tried to make adjustments to my plans to soften the blow.]
[The engagement to his uncle...?]
She nodded, eyes on the young skater on the ice, [There are aspects to all that, that I won't discuss with most other people...so you'll have to forgive me on that end for not being more specific. But, I was part of something that cut Viktor particularly deep. For a while, I thought he hated me, and was just putting up with me because I was around first. But I realized that for all the things I did that might've hurt him, there's still some fundamental fact about life...] She turned her head towards the taller figure next to her, [Sometimes you just have to do things for yourself that make you happy, even if it isn't something others will like. So...that's why I'm concerned for you. You did something that you felt you needed to do in order to close that chapter of your life, and I can't fault you for that. I don't agree with what you did, clearly...it caused a tremendous amount of pain to people I love. But I understand. I guess maybe I'm just hoping you get a better outcome than I have so far.]
Brown eyes just watched her in slight confusion, but before he could respond in any way, Asahi found his attention grabbed by the excited cries of some people in the audience behind him. Initially thinking they were in recognition of himself, he quickly realized that it was-
"MINAKO-SENSEI!"
"WAHH!"
Viktor and Yuri were on her like she was the celebrity, and she flailed from the surprise of their mob-hug. Other members of the audience were laughing and cheering at the skaters' sudden appearance, even if their affection for the supposed-stranger made no sense.
"YOU SAID YOU JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT DIRECTION TO WAVE IN WHEN YOU GOT ON THE ICE." She argued frantically through their laughing, trying to get herself loose from their overbearing affection. Of course, her flushed face gave away that she secretly rather enjoyed it, especially given how public it was. But, just as soon as it happened, she regained her senses, and suddenly opened her eyes wide, looking around to get her bearings and figure out where Asahi was.
To Minako's surprise...he was still standing there, albeit utterly paralyzed.
"We had nothing better to do, so we figured we'd come pester you." Viktor teased, reaching up to try putting her hair back into a more neat arrangement.
Yuri backed up from her other side and leaned forward on the railing, paying no heed to the awkward figure standing just behind where his husband was standing, "Sorry to scare you. We managed to sneak pretty close from the second tier before people started making noise about us."
"Yeah, you two are a regular pair of lions...yeesh." She fanned herself to calm down.
"Gomen~!" Viktor mused, squeezing more between the ballerina and the stranger nearby so he could lean forward on the railing and get a better look at the rink, "The view from up here isn't actually too bad. Do you mind if we hang out until group 2 goes out?"
"Do I mind?" She echoed, almost mockingly, "Of course not, but-" Yuri came around from behind her, and suddenly both skaters were between her and Asahi, though neither of them knew it. She gave a strange look, "I...wouldn't want to distract the whole nearby area with you two. No one will watch the performances if they're too busy looking back to gawk at you boys."
Yuri made an awkward effort to latch onto his partner's back and look over a shoulder, but given his smaller stature, he barely made it 2/3rds of the way up the Russian's forward-tilted frame, so he just held there with a wry grin, "I guess we do attract a lot of attention." He set his cheek against the man's jacket and looked around, past Minako, and spotted nearly every face looking back at him, many with their smartphones up, "Maybe we should've put on disguises. My glasses alone don't cut it when I have my hair up."
Viktor playfully wiggled his back end, swaying Yuri from side to side as he held on, "No, you don't quite have Clark Kent's legendary ability to completely hide his Superman alter-ego with just a pair of plastic frames."
"Alas."
"You two dorks are going to start bumping into people if you're not careful." Minako warned, looking a bit nervous as their antics were coming dangerously close to knocking Asahi over...but that almost made it worse.
"Oh..." Viktor realized, standing straighter and pulling his partner inward as he rose, and turned his head to the left, seeing the tightly-cinched hoodie around the head of the man standing next to him, "Sorry. I hope we're not bothering you."
The secretly-panicking skater shook his head, then went back to his paralyzed trembling as Viktor smiled at him and turned away again, I'm gonna have a heart attack standing here like this...or twelve...
The Russian just pulled Yuri forward and swapped their places, letting the man relax against the railing before taking his customary place behind him. One arm went around Yuri's waist to settle a hand on his stomach, the other curled under the opposite arm to hook his fingers to the front of that shoulder, his chin on the other, the front of his body pressed to the back of his partner's, "I think this works out better. I'm too big for you to hold onto like that and still hope to actually see anything." He cocked his left leg forward a little, pivoting casually on the heel-guard of his blade.
Yuri sighed, but seemed content either way, especially as he felt his spouse turn his head slightly to kiss the edge of his ear, "Guess so. What number are we on now? We'll have to head back down after 11 probably. We already put our skates on, so..."
"This is just the 5th skater." Minako answered, trying to see past the duo. She thought she could see Asahi's legs at least, in the gap under where Yuri leaned, but those legs were walking away suddenly. The figure turned and started heading down the stairs towards the lower level's exit, and Minako gave a slightly sad face as the man left.
"...You okay?" Yuri wondered, getting her attention back, "You looked upset all of a sudden."
"Huh?" She blinked strongly and shook her head, but resigned herself to the new situation and found a place next to the two men on the railing, leaning forward on it as well, "No, it's fine. ...So, have you seen your little admirer yet today?"
Finding the sanctuary of the halls beneath the arena, Asahi let himself inhale air again finally, leaning against a wall until his heart no longer threatened to burst inside his chest. He undid the tight strings of the hood and opened it up a little, letting his teal bangs tumble out as he caught his breath.
That was too close...they just popped up out of nowhere. If either of them saw me talking to her, who knows what they'd think...of me, or of her...
He sucked in a sharp breath and tried to calm his rattled mind.
I have to get my head back... I should probably go find Coach Nagisa, too... She'll chew me out if she doesn't watch me eat something with her own eyes.