A/N: Hi there, you cutie pie, you! How are we today? Doing well, I hope? First, before we get to the fun and adventure and the resolution of last week's cliffhanger, guess what? I have some good news I'm saving for the end. If you're also here for my Mystic Messenger fic or my Ouran fic, you already know. But you guys get even MORE good news! I, uh…I posted an Otayuri one-shot last Saturday called Pierced Through the Heart if you're interested. It's good, old-fashioned fluff. I like it. I think it's cute. If you want to give it a little lookie-loo, that'd be cool. Now, how about the chapter for today, yeah? Ok.
No. He wouldn't do that to me. If Victor was making a comeback to the skating world, he would've told me about it. We would've had one of those nights where we split a bottle of rosé and he pins me down for the sake of taking care of my skin. This is probably the press trying to rile me up since I've been behaving myself lately. They don't have a story of Violet Plisetsky's meltdown to sell, so they want to stir up shit with Victor and me.
I could see the headlines now. Violet Plisetsky drops Victor Nikiforov over his comeback. Since we made public statements after the divorce that there was no drama between us, that bomb got diffused before it was even made. I'm sure if they were to blow this up, I'd be the one made out to be the bitch. Victor was, is, and always will be the skating world's golden child. Me? I'm just the whore that got lucky and fell into his charitable lap. Then, no doubt, the bitch that broke his heart.
No. Victor wouldn't do that to me. Not my Victor. I'm just overthinking a rumor that's probably not even true. Once I slipped the mob of vultures, I got myself an iced coffee and decided I'd go look in on my boys. Victor and Yuri were still probably practicing their program for the seasons. And the rink they practiced at wasn't too far from here. It'll be a nice surprise for both of them. Besides, after something like that, who better to make me feel human again than Victor?
When I got to their home base, I saw Yuri take a pretty hard fall. But to my surprise, he hardly flinched. Yuri got right back up and took a couple laps to get his speed back. Wow. Hard to believe he was the same little boy who cried buckets on our kitchen counter just a year ago over scraped up shins. I'm so proud of you, Yuri. But please. Be careful. Know your limits. It's bad enough that I had to have that talk with Yurio. I don't need to have it again.
I hung back for a while, keeping myself hidden. The last thing I wanted to do was be a distraction. If Yuri caught sight of me, there's not a doubt in my mind he'd come running. He needed to practice, too. Although, I wasn't expecting his daddy to step on the ice, too. I'm sure he's just helping Yuri by example. That's always the way Victor's taught. It's how he taught me how to skate. Don't let the press rile you up, Violet. That's what they want. Happy place.
I could watch Victor skate for hours. The way his body moved made pure poetry that could bring Shakespeare to his knees. That man could tell his life story on ice. His movements were so graceful and so complex, yet Victor pulls them off with the greatest of ease. They were enough to make anyone swoon. But then, a few new ones caught me off guard. Victor usually had a specific set of moves he'd do while practicing with Yuri. I knew damn well he wasn't having Yuri do quads. Victor's skating pretty hard.
Wait…I don't think this is just a practice for Yuri. Someone's shaking the rust off. You son of a bitch…
"You are making a comeback!" I screeched at the top of my lungs, trying to hold back how pissed off I was.
"Oh!" Victor cut the music, "Hi, Violet!"
"Mama!" Yuri squeaked, skating excitedly over to me and jumping into my arms.
"Yuri," I put him down, not breaking my glare at his father, "I want you to go to the locker room."
"But Mama," he clung to me, "I…"
"Yuri," I repeated, "Go to the locker room. I need to have a word with your father. Go now."
"Ok," Yuri let me go and did as he was told.
"Violet?" Victor checked me over, confused and worried, "Are you ok? You look like a mess."
"I just got jumped by press on my way home from practice," I grumbled.
"Oh my God," he gasped, putting his hand to my cheek, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Possibly," I started to relax a little. I knew I had to ask him, but it was nice that Victor still cared about my well-being, "Victor…I need you to ask something and please answer it honestly."
"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Victor took a seat on the partition.
"Are you making a comeback this season?" I asked bluntly. There was no other way to do it.
"What?" he squeaked, "No."
"Victor…" I could see right through him, "You've always been a horrible liar."
Victor looked down at the skates on his feet with a hint of shame, "You're not the only one who misses it, Vi. The lights, the crowds, laying all you've got out on that ice. I miss it terribly. When Chris and I were in Malta and made the side trip for your vodka, we ran into Yakov. What can I say? He makes a compelling argument. He told me that all I'd have to do is ask and he'd coach me again. We're just trying things out for now. Yakov should be in the US in a few days. How did you find out?"
"Some reporter asked me about it." I think I'm going to throw up, "Initially, I thought it was just a rumor. A little something, something to set me off and get me pissed."
"Are you mad?" he winced.
I let out a heavy sigh, doing my best to hold myself together, "No. I'm not mad that you're making a comeback. In fact, I'm glad you are, Victor. You have an incredible talent that's loved by millions around the world. It just would've been nice to hear it from you instead of some random asshole reporter shoving a camera in my face."
"Violet…"
I wasn't sticking around. If I did, I would've said things I know I would've regretted. Like how I can't believe he's doing this. I could see us coming back together. Like, together, together. Like we were going to pair skate again. But oh, no! I can't believe he's doing it by himself. I can't have anything, can I? Heaven forbid I have ONE THING. I just wanted to go back and skate. Right now, I need this more than he does. I needed a friend. But I'm pissed off at Victor. DAMMIT! Well, I did have more than one. I went back to my building and stopped exactly a floor under my own. I knocked on the door, even though I knew I didn't have to.
"Hi, Violet," Chris answered the door.
"Mama?" Yurio squeaked, running to me. Honestly, despite me being so pissed off, Yurio got me to calm down a little. He scaled my leg up to my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my neck.
"Hi, baby," I cuddled him, "Don't get me wrong, kid. It's always good to hang out with you, but why don't you run up to my condo? I'm in a gaming mood and I'm thinking something extra bloody and extra violent."
"Awesome!" he chimed, "And I get to play with Nadya, too?"
"Go ahead," I allowed, "Actually, if you could put a scoop of food in her bowl, I'd appreciate it."
"Ok," Yurio scurried out the door and headed to my place. He's not going to say no to that.
"So, Violet," Chris invited me in, "What's up?"
"Are you busy?" I asked, taking a seat at the table.
"No," he sat with me, "Why do I get the feeling you're about to punch me?"
"Our husband pissed me off," I pouted, "Did you know he was making a comeback?"
"I didn't know he was making it official," Chris admitted.
"He is," I snapped, "I had a reporter jumping down my throat about it today and it hit me. Once news of his comeback becomes official, they're not going to care about me anymore. His will always overshadow mine. And it's bullshit. I've been planning this since the end of last season. He took my announcement away from me and now, he might as well be taking the wind out of my sails, too."
"I'm sorry to say this, Violet," he apologized, "But maybe you might be a tad jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" I jumped on the defensive, only making myself seem guiltier of it, "I might be a little, but can you blame me? If golden boy Victor Nikiforov comes back, no one's going to even think to pay attention to me. I hate to sound like that whiny bitch, but he's already got everything. It'd be kind of nice for karma to kick a little something my way for a change. I thought it did when we went to Cosmos, but…Well…We all know how that ended."
"You'll be fine," Chris took my hand, "I know you will be. Think about it this way. You're already infamous. Between your trips to Cosmos that made the papers and your relationship with Victor, there's still eyes on you."
"Yeah," I grumbled, "Because I'm an absolute trainwreck. Thanks, Chris. You know how to cheer a girl up."
"Not necessarily," he clarified, "Yes. They may have you painted as a trainwreck now, but what do people love more than a trainwreck?"
"A dumpster fire?"
"A comeback story," Chris pointed out, "You may have been at your rock bottom and they still think you're there. But they haven't seen your comeback yet. There's no need for you to worry, Violet. Once you get back on the ice, I know they'll be watching you. Good or bad, there's always going to be eyes on you, Violet."
"Thanks, Chris," I laid my head on the table, "I think I'm going to head home. I got Yurio waiting for me upstairs. Although, there's a chance I might be sending him back. I'm pretty beat."
"That's fine," he hugged me tight, "We love you, Violet. Regardless of what everyone else thinks. If all else fails, we won't leave you."
His words offered little comfort. But a little was better than nothing. It sucked that I'd be kicking Yurio out. The ass beating in whatever game he and I decided would be a nice catharsis. But I needed some time to myself. I'm just glad he took it like a champ. Yurio knew he was always welcome to come over any time. Just not right now. Right now, Mama wanted to drink her feelings and she couldn't do that with a little one in the house.
I mixed up a batch of lemonade and got my Russian vodka off the shelf. I'm getting wasted tonight and no one's going to stop me. Something about vodka and my hot tub seemed to go well together. Well, Violet. It's just me and me. How about a toast? Here's to the true feeling of rock bottom of my skating career. Here's to the twenty-degree difference between living in the spotlight and living in my best friend's shadow. And here's to the liquid of his homeland that will help me forget it all.
Knock, knock.
Oh, hell. Why? Why couldn't I sit and get drunk in my hot tub in peace? What the hell? I'm already six glasses down. I yelled from my balcony, "It's open!"
Creak…
"Hi, Violet." Son of a bitch. Looks like it's time to down number seven.
"What do you want, Victor?" I started mixing my next drink, getting some of the lemonade in the hot tub. Oh, well. I could just call the building manager. He'll clean it for me.
"Can we talk?" he asked, taking a seat at the edge.
"Sure," I allowed, under just enough that I was already in and out.
"Look," Victor held my hand under the water, "I am sorry I didn't tell you. Really, I am. I didn't realize it would even upset you."
"I told you," I slurred a bit, "I'm fine."
"Good," he relaxed, "Because I'm making it official before the qualifier Saturday."
"That's fine," I allowed, internalizing everything as much as I could.
It was, in fact, not fine at all. I know Chris tried putting things into perspective, but what can I say? I'm human. Ura.
A/N: That last word? It's the Russian word for cheers. But that's not the point. The fact that Vi's getting trashed? That's a tad troubling. Also, I kind of love Chris and Violet's friendship. I find it endearing. We all deserve a Chris in our lives for when our mutually shared husband is under our skin. Now, do you want to hear my other good news?
Do you guys remember when I was still posting for Adopted last year and out of nowhere, you got an entire week's worth of updates? Well, guess what?
BOMB WEEK'S BACK, BITCHES! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you bitches. That wasn't nice. But my enthusiasm remains. For those of you who are new, bomb week is when I…well, I basically explained it already. Now, bomb week for you, friends is going to start (Yes. Mark your calendars.) August 13th. Now, for the new babies in the back, we're going to be on hiatus until then. And once I post on the 17th, we won't be back until September. When in September, I'm not totally sure on. Because I may post a week for FictionPress, too. Because they don't get nearly the amount of love you guys do. Mostly because of a bad start and people being dicks over there a lot. Not lately, though. Regardless, will you guys be ok until then? Because I'll miss you. I thought, what better way to celebrate the account birthday month than doing some bomb week action? It'll be on the 2nd, for those of you curious. Now, I have other things to do and I really have to pee. Is that too much information? It might be. Doesn't make it any less true. See you next chapter! xx