HELLO TO ALL YOU LOVELY READERS! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!
Me: *barely crawling out of the hell hole called high school* I'M...ALIVE!
Yurio: You look like hell -_-
Me: I just got back *lays on floor* And SATs happened so I'll be dead for a while
Yuuri: Well, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll have some katsudon ready when you return
Me: Thanks *goes back to being dead and mumbles to audience* I don't own anything or anyone, except for OC children.
...
...THE NEXT DAY...
"Come on! We're going to the beach remember!" Hana shouted that morning all ready to head out before she went into the room Yusha was only to see him just emerging from his slumber. "Hurry up Yusha! You're such a slowpoke, you wanted to go to the beach in the first place remember!"
"What about Anatasia and Uncle Yurio and Uncle Otabek?" Yusha mumbled, sleep still trying to take over him. He had a hard time sleeping especially when the image of how scary his father looked when angry was still haunting him which only added more to the stress about this trip to the beach. "They're coming too right?"
"Not anymore," Hana sighed. "Anya got sick last night so Uncle Yurio and Uncle Otabek have to stay here and take care of her."
"Eh?! No way!" Yusha gasped, finally feeling more awake as he hopped out of bed and rushed towards the room where the Altin family were sleeping in. Sliding the door open, there he saw Anatasia in bed with a wet towel over her head as she sneezed then coughed. Uncle Otabek was sitting right beside her, keeping a close eye on her with dark heavy bags under his stoic eyes.
"Sowwy Yuwha," Anatasia sniffled when she spotted him at the door. "I wanna go but mommy and daddy swad I gotta stay." She began to tear up, ignoring how her father was looking a little panicked. "I know your daddy is scary to you, I wanted to be your brave buddy on the beach."
"I'll be okay," Yusha quickly reassured, not wanting to cause a commotion first thing in the morning. "J-Just get better. And daddy doesn't scare me so don't be stupid."
"You're stupid, 'tupid Yuwha," Anatasia groaned before she fell back asleep. Yusha shook his head, before bowing to his uncle but before he turned away, he heard Uncle Otabek call out.
"Just give your father a chance Yusha. He's a good man when you get to know him. Promise you'll try. Alright?"
He gulped, honestly he didn't know if he could. But regardless, he forced a smile to reassure his worried uncle, "Okay."His embrace around Vicchan only grew tighter to control himself.
...
"Just be confident with yourself and try to bond with your kids," Yurio repeated, handing Victor the packed bento lunches he learned how to make. "We know the beach gives you memories that you rather not feel vulnerable about but you have our support and your kids. Give yourself a break from having to stay strong. You're allowed to feel emotions and be yourself. Remember that this is for Hana and Yusha. Alright?"
Victor was a mess. He had hoped that maybe Otabek would join in the trip with Anatasia, seeing how she was close friends with Yusha but the poor girl got sick in the middle of the night. Now he was on his own with his kids, heading off to Hasetsu beach! A place that holds precious memories of Yuuri, especially during their first time getting along as coach and skater. He just hopes he could keep himself together without breaking down or doing something stupid that might make Yusha afraid of him more than he is now.
All he could do was force a reassuring smile to the ice tiger and nod. "Okay!"
...
"Yusha, you're really bringing Vicchan with you?" Hana asked in realization when she spotted the stuffed poodle in his brother's arms. By this point, they were crossing the first street after exiting the hot springs while Yusha just held onto his toy as if the question wasn't addressed to him.
"Vicchan?" Victor blinked out of confusion. The only time he heard that name was from Yuuri and that's when he would mention fond memories of the old poodle whether it was random timing or during the death anniversary. But then Victor, unfortunately, remembered that after Yuuri died, the name Vicchan was never mentioned again, at least not at his presence.
"Yeah, Vicchan's the name of Yusha's special poodle toy," Hana answered, gesturing to the said toy that Yusha was trying to hide and that was strikingly familiar to Victor in both joy and painful ways that he rather not remember right now. "He came up with it himself when Baba gave it to him on his first birthday."
"He came up with the name himself?" Victor repeated in awe, seeing how confused Yusha looked at his shocked expression. "As in never hearing that name ever?"
"Yep. Crazy, right?" Hana nodded and then sighed. "But he shouldn't have brought Vicchan with him because he's going to lose him."
"Nuh-uh!" Yusha protested, hiding his face in the soft toy. "Vicchan's my special friend and I'm not gonna leave him alone with no one to play with him. He has a cool name and it's not crazy. We're going to be together no matter what."
He doesn't realize the deeper significance of Vicchan, Victor thought to himself as he grew quiet and simply walked while his children's squabble grew silent to his ears. Yusha, did you really come up with your poodle's name by mere coincidence or is there a part of papa that you can remember?
"Daddy?"
Victor snapped out of his thoughts, looking down to see that it was Hana who caught his attention as she pointed to the destination in front of them. "This isn't the beach, you took us to the park." Sure enough, there was no ocean meeting the golden sand or a sky full of clouds and seagulls. There were only trees, grass, and other Hasetsu citizens who were minding their own business in the nature scene.
"I thought we were supposed to go to the beach," Yusha mumbled in disappointment.
But the park is just as fun, right? Victor nearly tried to say out loud but was still stunned to answer. If he was being honest, he didn't realize that he was subconsciously leading them away from the beach until now. Was he really not ready to relive these memories?
"Daddy, did you forget how to get to the beach?" Hana tried to make it sound like he was playing a game, probably for Yusha's sake.
"Y-Yeah, that's it, I forgot the way," Victor sheepishly responded, scratching the back of his head. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find the right way to the beach very soon if we work together."
"Yeah!" Hana cheered in triumph as Makka and Yuuki barked with the same excitement. "It'll be our adventure to the beach!"
The next half hour was spent making turns and walking back around in an attempt to find the beach but somehow Victor was able to subconsciously lead them back to the same spot in the park. Surely he wasn't really doing this on purpose, right? This who day was meant to bond with Hana and Yusha but so far he was succeeding with Hana but not so much with Yusha.
"You don't know how to get to the beach, do you, daddy?" Yusha mumbled through his toy poodle.
"I-I guess I'm just getting a little lost here," Victor gulped but quickly forced a smile of reassurance. "We'll get there don't worry, but remember, the fun always is in the journey, not the destination."
"Yeah!" Hana full-heartedly agreed.
Yusha couldn't help but be confused with the excuse Victor used. He was certain that the beach was a place that unforgettable especially by the looks at how happy his daddy and Hana looked in his dream. So he quietly asked while looking down. "Did papa know how to get to the beach? Did he used to lead you there before?" He didn't mean to ask anything bad, he just thought that since his daddy seemed like the forgetful type then maybe his papa was the type to help him out whenever they might get lost.
"Yusha!" Hana scolded. "Daddy doesn't know, just don't ask any of that and let's just go on our adventure."
"No! I want to know. You're always telling me to not to ask anything about papa to anyone but I wanna know," Yusha argued, he was always told to be patient and give his daddy a chance but it was getting tiring. He couldn't hold in his frustration through every excuse his daddy would give to avoid talking about his papa or any memory for that matter. "I wanna know who my papa was, I wanna know." He looked up at his daddy with pleading eyes. "Please daddy, can't you tell me and big sis who papa was? How did he look like? If he ever loved us?"
"Of course papa loved us," Hana retorted nervously. "Don't be silly Yusha. Baba, Deda, and everyone else always told you that Papa loved us."
"But not daddy," Yusha countered. "He never told us. I want him to tell us about papa."
He didn't expect silence to be his only answer along with his daddy suddenly turning away. Nor the stoic answer from him. "Please, don't ever ask me anything about him, again. I can't remember anything to tell you, ask your grandparents, or your aunts and uncles when they get back. Just tell them that I forgot and couldn't tell you anything."
"Y-You forgot?" Yusha whispered ever so softly, his eyes widening in disbelief. He squeezed his hold onto Vicchan, hoping against hope that what his daddy was telling him wasn't true. "Did you really forget everything?"
Victor didn't take much thought of how his words were about to affect Yusha as he nodded and replied without looking at him in the eyes. "Yes, I did."
"Liar!" Yusha shouted in anger and just before Hana could scold him again, he continued. "You're lying! How could you forget about papa? E-Everyone always told me that you loved papa and that he loved you. Did you lie to everyone? You can't forget! You can't!"
"Yusha-"
"No." Yusha protested to Victor's attempt to try to cover this up. "No, I don't wanna go. I want papa."
Such an impossible request that Victor nor Hana could attempt to tell him without doing any more harm but without hesitation, Yusha turned and ran away from them. They gasped in horror, wasting no time to run after him, calling out to him while Yuuki ran up ahead to run beside her companion and Makka stuck with them.
"YUSHA!"
Victor stopped mid-chase when he looked down, seeing little Vicchan forgotten on the ground which was probably an unnoticed mistake on Yusha's part. When he picked him up, Yusha was already out of their sight by the next turn that even Yuuki was sniffing around trying to find where he left off to. With no clue as to which way he went, the four of them helplessly wondered Hasetsu in search for the young Katsuki-Nikiforov.
...
"Stupid Hana! Stupid daddy!" Yusha huffed with frustration while holding his face up to keep the tears from falling. "Ojisan, Uncle Otabek and Uncle Yurio are liars too. Daddy doesn't want to tell me anything about papa, he forgot about him." He then shook his head in denial. "No! My real daddy would never forget papa! That mean man is not my daddy!"
He was so busy with his rant that he didn't notice that he wandering off the sidewalk until he no longer felt its surface and fell face front onto something hot and scratchy. Afraid that he might have ended up in the middle of a street, he quickly got up only to see that he wasn't in a street, more like a region of sand since he was spitting sand out of his mouth. Seeing the incoming waves of the ocean, feeling the sea breeze and hearing the sound of seagulls in the horizon, Yusha realized that he, by some miracle, was able to find the beach on his own!
"Hasetsu beach!" He cheered, dusting the sand from his shorts as he looked around with wonder. "I can find the nice man here! He'll help me get my real daddy back!" And just his luck, the beach did have several tenants enjoying their day by the sea, some wearing glasses so his search should be a short one at least.
So he began to wonder the beach, trying to remember the specific features he should be looking for so he wouldn't make mistakes like how the nice man had blue framed glasses in front of his brown eyes and had short raven hair. So far, all he found was a few men who almost looked like the nice man but they either had the wrong glasses or eye color. Where are you? He wondered to himself helplessly, seeing that there were lesser people he could try to identify with until he spotted someone standing in front of the ocean waves with raven hair and blue frames glasses above his head. THAT'S HIM!
Yusha wasted no time rushing forward, squeezing past crowds that were chasing their dog or a beach ball but never losing sight of the mysterious man's backside, hair, and especially blue framed glasses. He stretched his hand out, trying to reach for the man's hand and just as he was certain the hand was in reach, he made for the grab. But there was nothing but empty air for him to grab onto which only made him get unbalanced and fall face forward into the water. It tasted salty and bitter for his poor taste buds to handle as he resurfaced to cough out the water then frantically looked around to see if the man was nearby but there was nothing but the other tenants who he already saw on the shore.
He didn't have time to get disappointed or try to reassure himself to keep looking when he was suddenly washed under a large wave that he didn't realize was coming until he was choking on the salt. Yusha didn't know what was going on whether he should attempt to swim to resurface or let the waves bring him back, he didn't know! Wait...Where's Vicchan? He suddenly realized that he was no longer holding on to his precious toy as he frantically but in vain, tried to find his companion which only made it more difficult to breathe. But just as he was engulfed in that wave, a strong arm wrapped around his waist and instantly pulled him up to the surface within seconds.
Just as he was coughing out the extra salt water, he heard a worried voice frantically ask, "Oh my gosh!? Kid, are you okay?! What are you doing here by the ocean and not pay attention to the waves? You're lucky I was taking a break around here! You were so far from the rest of the families what were you thinking? Do you need to go to the hospital?! Where are your parents? Oh my gosh, please tell me you're alive!"
"I-I'm..*cough*...just fine," Yusha coughed out, looking up to see who was the crazy guy that saved him and is exaggerating about what just happened. His eyes widened in shock to see that the man in front of him was the same person in the photo who had dirty blonde hair with red hair sticking out from the front! Wait, I thought he was the dead guy?
"Whew, I thought you were a goner!" The 'supposed to be dead' guy sighed with relief until pointing to himself to introduce himself. "I'm Kenjirou Minami, nice to meet you despite the earlier scary circumstances. Might I get your name and your reason for being alone away from your family? They must be worried sick about you if you're all the way out here."
Oh, right. His family. Yusha nearly forgot the whole reason why he was at the beach alone but thinking about it alone was too much to try to summarize in simple words.
"Hey, kid," The one who calls himself Minami gently whispered. "Where is your family? Did you get separated from your mama? Or maybe your papa?"
Papa.
Yusha didn't think that word alone would trigger anything but his eyes were filling up with heavy tears that fell and he just became to cry right on the spot. Unfortunately, that wasn't the reaction that Minami was expecting as he began to panic again but more calmly than earlier.
"H-Hey, don't cry little guy. We'll find your papa, everything will be okay!"
That only made his crying worse.
"U-Um, how about we get you dried up and I'll take you to Ice Castle?" Minami squeaked out, a little relieved that Yusha's volume in the crying was lowering and turned to curiosity. "It's a skating rink where I practice my routines and I know someone who can help you find your pa-I-I mean family." It was probably best not to say the word 'papa' if triggers the child so badly. "You'll be safe I promise. Yuuko-chan is a very nice lady who runs the ice rink with a family of her own and I'm not wearing this volunteer badge for nothing."
On cue, Minami showed off a badge that was stuck onto his shirt that had his name printed along with the bold lines: Hasetsu Tour guide/Public Helper.
Yusha didn't think that was a thing.
"Y-Yuuko?" Yusha sniffled in realization. The word 'castle' reminded him of the building in the picture with that word at the end but this was the first time he ever heard that auntie Yuuko actually runs an ice rink. "Ice castle?"
"Oh, so you know her and the rink?" Minami asked as Yusha made a small nod. How could he not remember his aunt Yuuko?
"Not the castle though," Yusha added quietly. "But I heard that da-I-I mean Victor Katsuki-Nikiforov used to skate there." He couldn't say who his daddy was, if this strange nice man ice skates in a rink and know aunt Yuuko then he'd return him to his daddy without a second thought.
That was when Minami suddenly gasp probably from shock with a mix of excitement as he grabbed Yusha's hand to lead the way. "Victor Katsuki-Nikiforov practically lived in Ice Castle! Well, he used to before retiring to Russia but I'm pretty sure you knew that was he a big figure skating legend to win more than five gold medals while making records that were broken by his rivals and..." He paused for a moment, almost as if saying the next words were venom ready to choke him. But he took a deep breath, then managed to say the next words. "And his husband as well."
"Husband?" Yusha blinked in shock. Minami must mean his papa!
"Yeah, his husband Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov," Minami nodded with nostalgia.
...
Victor: Minami is not taking away my bonding moment!
Minami: Hey, tell that to Midnight, not me!
Yuuri: Don't worry Victor I'm sure she has something planned
Me: *still dead*
Minami: Oh dead *turns to audience* Midnight hopes you all enjoyed this chapter, leave lots of reviews to find out what happens between me and little Yusha and if Victor will ever find his son to try to make bonding moments comes true.
