CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED NINETY

Though the ice still needed time to be resurfaced before the afternoon hockey group could skate, a small crowd had already gathered at the edges of the rink, watching the duo of figure skaters polishing their choreography. Precious few had any idea who or what they were doing though; hockey and figure skating didn't often overlap, save in passing.

Asahi was winded by the end of it, sweating a storm as he made that last glide towards the rink wall. He clutched his arms over the edge of it and held himself up - barely - heaving for air.

Yuri followed after casually, none worse for wear, and paused close by with a heel pick against the ice, "...It really is eerie how similar you and Viktor are. I'm having déjà vu all over again."

"...S-similar!?" The older figure chortled in disbelief, looking back over a damp shoulder, "How is that...even possible? By all accounts...h-he and I are...galaxies apart in terms of having anything in common besides you and skating."

Yuri hesitated a moment, contemplating whether to explain or not. He mentally shrugged and moved his blade from heel-pick to toe-pick and pushed off to move again, "I guess it's just some stuff I've observed. Don't worry about it."

"Don't let him stroke-out on the ice, Yuri!" Minako called from overhead suddenly, waving down at them from her vantage on the raised seating area, "It'd look pretty bad for him to teach you all about the OCs only to not be able to participate in them himself."

"Haaaai." He answered casually, looking back at the multicolored figure still gasping for breath nearby, "C'mon, let's get going before they chase us off with the Zamboni."

"Wait..." Asahi said, catching Yuri a bit off guard. He pushed up on the wall to straighten himself out, only for the look on his face to betray him slightly. The discomfort of being worn-down and exhausted was overtaken by the nervousness of a coming admission, and Asahi kept his eyes low, focusing on the yellow plastic stripe that lined the base of the wall. He swallowed anxiously and looked up, grey-brown eyes trying - but reluctant - to look directly into Yuri's. He drew a sharp breath and exhaled, "...I know that...what I did to you on Friday was wrong..."

Yuri held still where he was, feeling a flutter in his chest, but not sure what to do other than listen.

"...And all the things I said to you, too...the accusations, the criticisms, the doubts I had...I know I had no business voicing any of those opinions, especially given how I, quite literally, didn't know anything." Asahi went on, still unable to raise his glance higher than the younger man's chest or shoulder. He finally managed to catch his breath though, and spoke a bit more calmly, "I can't fathom how uncomfortable I must've made you just to tell you all that stuff that's ancient history, and to make you feel like I thought you owed me something for my trouble. It didn't really hit me until after the fact how stupid and wrong I was about all of it...and had been for so many years. I'm...honestly not sure that it ever would've been so clear to me unless it had been you that told me. Not even Riku could convince me that effectively. That what if question plagued me night and day..."

"It sounds like Riku really cared a lot about you." Yuri finally spoke, hands finding their way into his jacket pockets, "I wish I'd known him. Maybe things would've been different for everyone if I knew what had happened to the both of you way back then."

"...Maybe..." Asahi lowered his eyes again, "You only really saw him that one time, at the last Nationals we all attended together...but you were so caught up in how badly you'd performed that you probably don't even remember him being there."

Yuri averted his gaze as well, "...Yeah..."

There was a strange pause then. Yuri wasn't sure if that was all the older figure wanted to say, and hesitated to start moving towards one of the doorways that lead back to rink-side. Hearing his husband calling out to him after arriving at the bottom of the stairs on the far end caught his attention, too.

"Yuri..."

Cherry-hazel eyes went back to Asahi, and he found the man finally looking at him straight-on. He held his ground though.

"There aren't words strong enough to describe how sorry I am for what I did to you." The older skater finally confessed, "I'm not even sure it's sane to expect - or even ask - for you to forgive me...not right now, or anytime in the future. I deserve what I get. I took something precious away from you, and I can't ever give it back, much as I wish I could."

Yuri wasn't really sure how to respond to that. He stood where he was, pensive and apprehensive at the whole thing, "Uhm..." His attention was again pulled away by the sound of Minako harping at Viktor about something, and he turned his head just in time to watch the Russian unclip their puppy from his harness and let him run freely on the ice. On instinct, and instant nervous panic, Yuri crouched down to one knee and clapped his hands, trying to get the pup's attention, "Jiro! Jiro, come to me!"

Asahi watched quietly, unsure if his words had even reached the man. Seeing the Akita come stumbling across the ice was at least a welcome reprieve from the awkwardness of the situation moments before. Still though, part of him wanted at least some kind of acknowledgement that his words had meant something, and he watched carefully as Yuri toed-off to get to the pup and pick him up off the ice.

Blades scratched quietly at the frost as Yuri flipped around in reverse, with Jiro against his chest and one shoulder, sliding through a few backward glides as he thought about how to answer.

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone or something. He thought, patting the pup's head gently, even as the little creature wiggled in an attempt to get higher on his shoulder, Hearing all these things from Asahi this weekend has just been weird. If it wasn't the way we yelled at each other on Friday, then this right now...it's all so different from how it was in the past. And how he's calling Viktor Senpai? I wish I could poke further into that one because it just doesn't make any sense to me... Maybe I just need to think about it for a while. He's never been this open before. I kind of feel blindsided by it, like it's not really happening.

"Yuri!" Viktor called, watching his space-cadet of a husband sliding to a stop, "The Zamboni's coming out! Come back!"

He twitched slightly as the words brought him back to earth, but Yuri nodded and leaned so his blades would arc him back towards the wall. When he got there, he handed Jiro back to his partner, hearing a bunch more words from the Russian but not really taking them in.

Asahi must be thinking he did something wrong by now because I haven't replied to him... I should say something...but I just don't know what.

Yuri turned his eyes a little to where Asahi was putting blade-guards on as he stepped from ice to the concrete floor. For a moment, he hesitated...but just as the older figure was putting his second guard down onto the ground, Yuri reached his hand out and grasped the edge of a shoulder. Nothing was spoken aloud, but Yuri held that shoulder for a few seconds, giving it a squeeze as he reassuringly pushed on it. He then let go again to accept a blade-guard from his husband, looking up as a few whispers came his way from the man on the other side of the wall.

Asahi blinked at him, lips slightly parted where he was sure he should say something, but was stupefied into lingering silence. He just closed his mouth again and stepped across to rink-side like he'd meant to, his brain feeling fuzzy in accompaniment to how his thoughts now sounded like static in his head.

"Saito," Viktor's voice interrupted the static, and the skater turned to look.

"Hai? Senpai."

The Russian grunted and his eye twitched, but it wasn't a fight worth starting, "Yuri and I are hungry. You should come with us."

Asahi was stunned into silence again.

"That sounds like a great id-" Minako started, only for Viktor to point a finger between her eyes and cut her off.

"Not you. Skaters only this time."

"What!? Viktor-" She protested.

"You did your part, Minako-sensei, you can stop being our chaperone." Yuri explained, "We'll see you at the Exhibition later."

"Oh." She deadpanned them awkwardly.

Asahi just turned his eyes between each of the other members of the group.

What are they planning...? Is this the ambush...?

.

It was a small café that was directly across the street from the skating rink, with a rustic set-up. Hardwood floors, a bar area with wooden stools lining it, and a mere three tables; one for a large group of 6-8, then a smaller circular table next to it for a duo, and beside that in turn, another circular table with seats for three.

Asahi practically shook like a leaf where he sat, back towards the open air of the café so he wouldn't feel trapped. Yuri sat ahead of him to the left, and Viktor ahead and to the right, their backs both towards the wall, and the thin staircase that went up over their heads. The pair of them seemed to have no difficulty finding things to talk about, and frequently spoke in Asahi's direction as well, though they barely got an answer of any kind out of him.

This is really weird. He thought in a stifled panic, I'm not used to this. This isn't okay. This is awful. I don't know what to do.

More words were spoken at him, but Asahi could do little more than nod, even though he hadn't the slightest idea what had been said to him. He spotted Yuri smiling and then laughing about something, only for his attention to shift over to his phone for a moment. The younger figure's visage changed a bit, taking on a more serious tone as he clicked into the device and read something.

"Your tone shifted suddenly, my love." Viktor commented quietly, trying to look over his partner's shoulder to see what had caught the man's attention so suddenly, only for Yuri to playfully tilt away and out of his sight, "Uh oh, what are you up to?"

"Nothing." He mused, eyes and smile getting wider with each line of text he read, "Just getting what I want."

"Getting what you want? From someone other than me?" The Russian teased, "You have to tell me."

"No way, it'd ruin everything."

"Ruin everything!?" Viktor had both arms around the man in short order, all but gyrating against him in an effort to endear himself to Yuri's senses and admit the surprise, "What are you planning!?"

"You'll see, tonight."

Like earlier, Asahi's eyes moved back and forth between the duo, but he had no clue what to say. He focused his sights down towards the table, and the plate and cup that had been set in front of him some time earlier. He could still somewhat see the image of the coffee-foam artwork that had been drawn into his drink, but it was slowly-but-surely dissolving into unrecognizability.

"Asahi-"

He twitched in surprise, lifting his face up to spot both skaters across the table staring back at him, "...H-Hai..."

"You look really nervous. Are you okay?" Yuri wondered, "You've barely said a word since we got here."

"...Sumimasen..."

"Viktor doesn't speak a lot of Japanese..."

"...S-Sumimasen..."

Yuri deadpanned him for a moment, but then leaned towards his partner to whisper, "I think we're intimidating him."

"Yeah, without Minako, he's shut down again. Maybe we shouldn't have told her to head out so early."

The younger figure nodded slightly, but then pulled back again, about to put his phone away, only to pause and keep it out. He looked at the black faceplate for a moment, clicking the phone on and sliding through a few home-screen panels before stopping back at the first one. His thumb hovered over the Instagram button, "...Asahi."

"...Huh?"

"You should get on social media."

"Eh?"

"Oh, yeah..." Viktor agreed, getting his phone out as well, "I should've thought of that."

"Why?" Asahi asked apprehensively, even if the answer seemed obvious.

"You've been so out of the loop on everything for so long...you'd have a much easier time keeping up with all us scattered friends if you had an account for us all to follow. Your fans would probably enjoy that, too." Yuri explained, "You don't even have to make any kind of regular updates, or show off anything all that specific...even just a photo of where you're at in any given moment would be enough."

"...But that's...just so personal, don't you think?"

"Well, I was never all that good at using social media anyway...most of the content people see about me is through what they see on Viktor's account."

"Oh..." Asahi looked to the Russian, examining the silver legend's phone case for lack of anything else to do or say. He realized it was a caricature of the elder skater's wine-colored 'Aria' costume...but only by half. The left side of the case was blue for some reason.

"Otabek has an account that he keeps private," Yuri pointed out, "You could do something like that until you're used to the platform, then you could open it up to other people. We'd be happy to promote your page if you wanted."

"...P-promote me!?" Asahi seemed horrified by the idea, "That's just-"

Viktor leaned forward against the table, held back by where his elbows hooked over the edges, "...Judging by your reactions, I can't help but wonder what you think social media is actually used for."

"I...er, uh...well...I mean..."

"Tell me."

Asahi just blanched, "S-Senpai...!?"

Yuri snuck his hand in under the Russian's arms and pressed it against the man's chest to nudge him back against his seat, giving their third wheel some space to breathe again, "Viktor's right...what do you think SMS is for...?"

"Uhm..." He started nervously, looking at the dissolving coffee-foam art again, "Posting photos of peoples' food, vacations, their kids and pets, reporting in on every moment of their day..." His face went a bit red after that, "...Naked pictures..."

The two across the table looked at one another, the urge to laugh hidden under the edge of their disbelief. Yuri shook his head and leaned down slightly to meet Asahi at his same level, "...It's true that some people use it for stuff like that, but not everyone does. We sure don't."

Viktor snapped a photo of his soup, then happily started typing...and speaking the letters out loud, "V...k...u...s...no~!"

"...Okay, for the most part, we don't..." Yuri corrected stiffly, sitting upright again after that, "Social media isn't necessarily about all that super-personal or negative stuff. Some people run their businesses online and will use social media to network with similar businesses, or reach out to clients and customers. A few skaters actually use it to help crowd-fund their careers. We use it to post about our lives, but only in a superficial way...lots of stuff that's public knowledge or that they could see for themselves if they ran into us on the street. We played a game with fans while at Trophée de France by posting photos of where we were, so people could guess what rink we might be practicing at later on."

Asahi looked mortified, "...People were able to track you down that way!?"

"Well, sure..." Yuri was a bit surprised at the man's reaction...though after a moment, he wasn't, "That was the whole point of the game... Viktor really enjoys interacting with his fans, and we had 2 weeks to kill in Paris before moving on to Bordeaux. We don't always do that kind of thing though."

"I'm not sure we're the best examples of what social media can be used for." Viktor pointed out, snaking his arm behind his partner's back, "At least not me... I post lots of stuff that he'd probably consider too personal."

"Well, that's okay." Yuri went scrolling through his feed, trying to find a better example...and found one, though he grimaced as he clicked into the account's main profile, "Here...this page is all business. Nothing but photos from skating events...stuff you'd see on television." He held the device out nervously, "This page is run by the triplets who took the video of me that went viral. They're huge fans of ours, so they basically chronicle our competitions and practices for fans all over the world."

Asahi examined the screen, seeing a forest of small square thumbnails on a white background. He was initially impressed by the number of images, but when he reached across the table and poked at the most recent one, he saw it expand to show a telltale image.

viktuuri
 [image: Japanese Nationals podium lineup]
12,815 likes
viktuuri Congrats to Ϭv-nikiforov for Gold and Ϭy-nikiforov for Bronze! You guys worked so hard and skated so well more
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phichit-chu Congrats! I can't wait to skate against you guys again in Colorado next month!
christophe-gc Is that Dickbutt on the bottom left trying not to be near you two? How precious. Leave it to you to steal Gold at your first JSF event though, Viktor. Leave something for the rest of your new teammates, right?

Asahi's eyes narrowed at the sight of it, and he recoiled back into his seat, "...Yeah..."

"Huh?" Yuri was surprised by the reaction and turned his phone around to see what was so upsetting, and saw nothing at first. He scrolled the image higher on the page until Chris' comment was in the middle, "Oh..."

"What's wrong?" Viktor wondered, sipping at his tea briefly.

"Chris commented on the pic the triplets posted of us three on the podium last night."

"...So?"

Yuri leveled a flat look, "Chris was the one who came up with that cruel nickname that I used on Asahi when we first ran into him, remember?"

Slate eyes blinked, but Viktor put on a good show anyway and smiled, "Oh, sure...of course."

"You forgot."

"Only that Chris was the one who came up with it." The silver legend defended, "Hard to forget the nickname itself."

Asahi seemed to recoil into himself, somehow sinking even further beneath his side of the table. He let out a quiet sigh, "...I never used to hear the end of it from him."

"Eh?" Both wondered at the same time.

"You knew him back in Juniors though, right?" Viktor wondered.

"Hai, Senpai."

"But he was so cute and little back then..."

Grey-brown eyes lifted slightly toward the Russian, but no words were said.

"...Mmmhh..." Viktor grumbled and sat back again, "I have a hard time imagining that Chris being a bully."

Yuri held his tongue for a moment, looking from his partner to the man sitting across from them. He sat back as well, a finger on his chin in thought, "I don't know that Chris was purposefully cruel, but...thinking back on it, the stuff that we all thought was funny... Well, I mean, in light of what we learned this weekend, it probably wasn't funny at all to Asahi."

"What did he do...?" The Russian was morbidly curious.

"What didn't he do?" Asahi corrected, "It wasn't just the nickname. Chris was...always very extravagant...and his mannerisms were over-the-top, nigh unbearable."

"That's just how he is though."

Yuri rubbed the side of his forehead as he tried to wrack his brain for memories of those days, "I'm having a hard time remembering anything from back then. So much of what I focused on what either myself, the sport, or you and Yu-chan..."

Both of them looked to Asahi after that, wordlessly asking for a bit of elaboration. He just sighed and tried to sit up straighter, "Let's just say that Chris never had any doubt about what he is, and he didn't care one bit what anyone thought of him for it. He would even..." His words trailed slightly, but he looked to Yuri for help.

"...What did he do?" Yuri asked.

"Well, you should remember...he did it to you..."

"Oh, the thing where he'd half-way feel me up sometimes, just to make me squirm?"

Asahi nodded.

Viktor just laughed at that, "But that's harmless! He did it to Yuri at Cup of China last year, too!"

"It wasn't harmless to me." The other figure said quietly, lowering his head, "...How do I even explain it though? You and him are friendly. You probably think he can do no harm."

The Russian scoffed, "That's not true. I've seen how Chris goes after people sometimes. He told Leroy to go suck on a tit once."

Both Japanese skaters' faces went red to hear those words.

"Oh yeah, it was at the GPF in Sochi 2 years ago." Viktor recalled, "We were waiting together just off of rink-side to get called out for the podium. Leroy was being his usually-unbearable self, boasting about something or another...I don't even remember what it was now. Chris and I were just...kind of gawking at him with these thoroughly unimpressed looks on our faces. We're both so much older than he is, and whatever he was on about just annoyed both of us, like...who is this kid? So Chris just takes a step towards him and says, 'You sound like a baby. If your girlfriend won't let you suck on her tit, why don't you go find your mother?'"

Red faces grew even darker.

Viktor gave an uneasy smile, "...Well, I thought it was hilarious... It was probably the only reason I got through that victory lap. It gave me something to smile about, because winning Gold again sure didn't do it."

Imaginary signs suddenly manifested over both Yuri and Asahi.

Last Place at Sochi.

Didn't go to Sochi.

Viktor deadpanned them, "...Sorry, I think?" He shook his head to clear the thought, "Anyway, this wasn't supposed to be my story...we were asking what Chris did to you."

"...H-hai...Senpai..." Asahi looked back down at the dissolving foam. He couldn't even tell anymore what it was supposed to once have been. He closed his eyes then and thought back on those uncomfortable days, "Just don't be mad at me for this?"

"Mad at you?" The duo echoed.

"Chris zeroed in on me once. I forget what event it was at...it was ages before Sochi though. You know how he gets when he's warming up for certain shows though..." He began hesitantly, "Well, I tend to meditate if I'm not stretching. He found me and started picking on me for it. Maybe something in me snapped, because normally I can just put whatever's happening around me down and ignore it...but he put his hands on me and forced me to react. It's likely he only thought he was being inappropriately funny again like he does with Yuri, but...to me, he crossed a line. Before I could even think, I...had him on the ground in a headlock."

The pair gaped at him, "You did what?"

"It was instinct! It was over before I realized it even began!" Asahi protested, "He just kept pushing and pushing...maybe it was worse because it was him and he's so out about everything, while I was...am...still so far back in the closet that I don't even know what direction the door is in. He just set me off that day. He was doing all these really hyper-sexual stretches, getting closer with each set...then he tried leaning against my back, and that's...when I lost it."

.

"DRAG ME INTO YOUR STUPID PERVERTED BULLSHIT AGAIN, I DARE YOU." Asahi yelled, eyes practically white from his rage, the Swiss figure wrapped up like a pretzel under him, "YOU'LL BE GETTING CALLED OUT ONTO THE ICE AS CHRISTOPHE CASTRATI WHEN I'M DONE...!"

.

"...He gave me peace for the rest of the weekend, but he still called me by that stupid name, especially when we were around other people." He went on nervously, "I've never done that kind of thing to anyone before or since."

"Wow~!" Viktor chimed, "He definitely never told me about that..."

"I can't imagine he would admit that happened." Yuri said nervously, "It's hard to imagine that it even has."

"At least I don't have to compete against him..." Asahi added with a sigh, "Not anytime soon, anyway."

"He'll be at the Olympics, I'm sure of it." Viktor pointed out, "We don't need to have another weekend like this though. I'll nip it in the bud before we get there." He went on, pulling up Instagram on his phone.

Yuri watched him seeking for the triplets' 'viktuuri' page, only to pull up the photo from earlier and tag Chris in a reply, "What are you doing...?" He wondered curiously.

"Nipping it in the bud." The Russian repeated, "At...Chris... Thanks...I'll...try." He said, reading his typing as he wrote it, "And yes...that is...Asahi Saito in all caps... Please...don't...be an ass. He...worked...hard. There, done." He posted the comment, and held his phone out for the younger skater to see, "He'll listen to me."

"Who doesn't listen to you?" Yuri quipped.

"...Yurio, Yakov, Mila, Georgi, my uncle..." Viktor listed, counting them on his fingers, "Basically all the Russians I know." He laughed, "No respect at all! It's heartbreaking."

Asahi was still gaping at the words the elder skater had spoken beforehand, eyes wide. He shook the confusion away and leveled the figure, "...Why are you defending me like this? Just two hours ago, you were ready to hang me out to dry."

"You're already dry. You did that to yourself." Viktor pointed out, putting his phone away again before reaching for his tea, "And I'm not entirely without reasoning ability. It's a long road that we have to travel before I'm ready to forgive you for what happened, considering I'll be looking at the reminders of it every day for the next week or two...but that doesn't mean I can't be civil on the way."

Yuri looked away slightly, a bit sheepish over knowing what his partner was referring to, ...My arms, my back...every time someone re-posts the video of me fainting...every photo of the awkward podium...

"...Reminders?" Asahi echoed, sinking again, "You mean...the bruises...?" He could feel the nervous sweat on the back of his neck as he looked down at the tabletop.

"There's more going on than just that, but...yes." Viktor confirmed, taking a sip, "When you completely give your heart and soul to someone, any slight against that person is a slight against yourself, too. It's hard to explain. It's not just being offended alongside that person for posterity's sake...you feel it. You're not the first person to do something that has hurt Yuri, and me in turn, and so long as we live, you won't be the last either. I mean, when Yuri wanted to visit Leroy in the hospital after the accident in Detroit, I refused to follow, because I knew what I'd say if I saw that idiot's face again so soon. What he did is unforgivable. His callous, arrogant indifference and selfish attitude knocked Yuri unconscious for hours, and Yuri came dangerously close to having to drop out of the Final for it."

The skater in question kept quiet, but he moved his hand over, under the table, and set it against his partner's thigh.

Asahi was silent as well.

Viktor sipped his tea again before he set the cup down, "Saito...as angry as I was at you for what you did to Yuri...and as angry as I still am, under the surface...I can see that you're trying to make amends, and that makes all the difference."

It made Asahi feel a little better, but he still had that lingering stain of guilt behind everything else, "...Thanks..."

"It's going to be a harder road for you though, I imagine," Viktor went on, "After this weekend, you should probably work on putting your feelings for Riku to bed finally. Minako mentioned that you had the strongest case of survivor's guilt she'd ever seen or heard of...and then, there's all the rest of what came up last night, too." The Russian pointed at the other figure casually, "You have a lot of really negative feelings floating around inside you. It's been two years now...I don't want you to hold it all in like I did, for over 20."

"...Over 20 years!?" Asahi was stunned, "W-what, why!?"

Viktor hesitated a moment, but he felt the hand on his leg give a gentle squeeze, and he nodded to himself mentally, "Because for all our differences...you and I are eerily alike. Your backstory is my backstory, with noted exceptions."

"...I...don't understand."

"The backwards family that expected me to fit into the brick-and-mortar plan of life that they had, their objection to me making my own choices about my life... I left home at a really early age to do skating, and I became estranged from my family as a result. When I was reconnected with them last year, it...was a difficult thing to go through." He explained, surprising his partner as he went, "I took a few kicks to the ribs and a fist in the eye, twice in a row, over my relationship with Yuri." He confessed, strangely, "But in all honesty, I would do it again. No question. The last two years I've had with Yuri have made everything else completely worth it. I wouldn't give it up for the world."

Yuri's face flushed again. He leaned where he sat, pressing his shoulder against his husband's arm. The arm that was still around his back held him a little tighter, and a kiss pressed to the top of his head.

"I know it can be scary and difficult to do things that people close to you don't like or approve of," Viktor continued, pressing his cheek to his spouse's crown, "But the only person who can live your life is you. If you give other people the power to decide how you get to live it, you're not really living at all...so you have to do what makes you happy. I mean, it's impossible to please everyone, but in the end, the only person whose opinion should really matter to you is your own. As it happens, you're into guys. There's nothing wrong with that."

Yuri nodded and lifted his head a little, "It's not like there was ever a choice anyway. People always act like there's some switch that you can turn on or off at will...and completely neglect the fact that they themselves don't even have that power."

"...What about you though? All that talk about Yuuko back then."

Yuri gave a weird smile, "I'm not into guys. I'm into Viktor."

"Viktorsexual." The Russian laughed in agreement.

Asahi just balked a little, "...Yeah..."

"Did your parents ever threaten you over your preferences?" Viktor wondered, leaning back against his seat again.

"No...but the weight of their disappointment was crippling in its own way." Asahi explained sullenly.

"You don't even live with them though. What difference does it make now?"

"They still pay my way in life." He answered, "They've threatened to take it away if they ever found out I was involved with someone they didn't approve of."

"...But you were going to tell them about you and Itō in Kyoto."

"Riku was..." Asahi lowered his head down again, this time over where he folded his arms against the edge of the table, "...He was going to take me in if my parents took away my resources."

"And how was he affording it?" Viktor wondered, sincerely curious.

"He was in school. Skating was just a hobby of his, so he didn't train as extensively as people like us do." He explained, "His family paid for it so long as his grades didn't suffer. We...actually lived together in his apartment after the Sochi Final. That's part of why he was so sure he could handle it if my family cut me off, because he was already supporting me anyway."

"...From Sochi to Nationals was only two weeks though. How could he have known?"

"...I can't say our plan was perfect or well thought out." Asahi sighed, looking aside, "We just wanted to be free."

Viktor wanted to press further, but he realized quickly that it was a moot point. He could tell that the younger figure was starting to get soggy on the issue anyway.

Pointing out all the flaws in his and Itō's plans won't really help this situation, He thought to himself, propping a finger on his lips, his other hand gently going up and down his husband's back, He's really in a weird situation if he's counting on his parents to afford the skating. He really, really needs a better source of income...

Yuri squeezed the Russian's leg again to get his attention, and slate eyes turned his way, "He needs to get on social media. We gotta help him learn to network and crowd-fund so he can be on his own."

"Agreed."

"Asahi," Yuri started, speaking across the table again. He spotted the older figure twitch slightly to be called out directly again, "Go download the Instagram app. We're going to help you get off the family teat."

"...Family teat?" Asahi echoed incredulously, even as he pulled his phone up. He was surprised to remember that he already had the app after he'd gone looking for the silver legend's social media presence earlier in the weekend.

"You're incredibly popular, and a lot of fans are willing to help skaters afford to keep skating...but you have to get online so they know where to send the money." Yuri explained, "I'm shocked your coaches haven't forced you to do it already...but...I guess, if your family was paying them, they didn't really have reason to care one way or another." He shook his head, "In any case, get Instagram and make an account. Tell us the name you pick and we'll link to our pages, then all of our fans will see it and spread the word. We'll get you set up so people just see a donate button without you having to ask."

"...O-Oh... ...Okay..."