Pandora drew today's prompt: phone. This is set a week or two after Yuri's 17th birthday, just after the 2018 Winter Olympics, and JJ is 20.
There are a great many things that have proven baneful to Yakov's existence; long ago, it was his marriage, a few years back it was Viktor flying to Japan unannounced, more recently it's been his ever-thinning hair and the hunt for a warm enough hat that both suits him and lasts all winter. Right now, however, the biggest grievance in his life is Yuri Plisetsky's phone.
He's grown used to the sight: the twitch of Yuri's hand, the flash of yellow and the walls that go up the moment Yuri's eyes land on the screen. His protégé has always been attached to the thing, as most teenagers tend to be, but now it seems that whenever Yuri's attention is not explicitly required elsewhere, his phone is in his hand and he is oblivious to all else, always with a look of flushed concentration on his face. Even Lilia, who can usually get Yuri to do anything she asks with little to no fuss, is faced with hesitation before eventual compliance: a slow slump and the offending phone slipped away into Yuri's pocket.
Yakov thought little of it at first, but as time goes on and he finds himself forcing Yuri to put the damn thing away more often than he feels he should, he begins to grow irritated. He knows Nikolai is fine and a slip of focus like this going unchecked for long enough could start costing Yuri places on podia. He already came second in Taiwan two months ago – to Jean-Jacques Leroy of all people! – and while he still got gold in the Olympics last month it was a far closer call between him and Yuuri Katsuki than Yakov would have liked.
The final straw comes when Yuri's supposedly-on-silent phone makes a trilling noise from the stands during practice and makes him hesitate on his step sequence, to the point that he almost loses his balance. Sighing in frustration, Yakov turns off the music and beckons Yuri over. He doesn't miss the glance Yuri gives his jacket as he skates over, and he folds his arms as Yuri comes to a stop in front of him.
"We are flying to Italy for the world championships in the morning," he says flatly.
Yuri's eyes narrow. "Yeah I know."
"Really?" asks Yakov. "Because it seems to me like you've forgotten."
"I haven't," says Yuri through gritted teeth. "I'm going to get that gold."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes." Yuri's eyes blaze.
"Then can I have some more focus from you please?"
Yuri nods, face pink, but even now his eyes dart momentarily to his jacket and Yakov sighs.
JJ puts his phone to one side and runs a hand through his hair yet again. With no idea of what else to do, he gets up and back out onto the ice, hoping the motion helps clear his mind because all he can think about right now are green eyes full of tears and a wrenching in his heart.