Disclaimer – I do not own Yuri! On Ice
Chapter Three – Bonding
After their first meeting with little Yuri, whom Viktor had taken to calling Yuratchka just to differentiate the child from his fiancé, the pair made quick work of going to file the paperwork that was necessary to adopt the child and make him a part of their family. Based on the initial interactions between them and the little blonde both Viktor and Yuri were thinking that this was going to be a much more difficult adjustment period than they had initially anticipated.
But that didn't detract from their determination to do it and to make this work.
Because it was clear that little Yuri needed someone.
He needed them, Viktor was sure of it.
"I'm going to see if I can push this through more quickly…" Viktor commented to Yuri once they had started the process of adopting the grumpy little one. "I don't want him to be alone any longer than he has to be…"
"I know," Yuri said, giving his fiancé a hug and smiling at him. He knew that Viktor was all for this new transition in their lives and he was of the same opinion as the slightly older man. It was clear that little Yuri needed someone to take an interest in him outside of what he was capable of doing as a skater. Yuri knew that was what was drawing people to the blonde right now and he thought that was sort of sad and would prevent the child from being able to show his real self to other people. "We'll get to bring him home soon and then you can show me what a great Daddy you'll be," Yuri said, a tiny amount of teasing in his voice as he said this but all the same his words were sincere.
He really did think that Viktor would make a great dad.
Viktor chuckled slightly in response to Yuri's words about his parenting abilities. "And you'll make a great Mommy," he said, mimicking the teasing tone that Yuri had used with him. "Or papa, if you prefer," he added just so that his fiancé wouldn't think that he was actually going to get little Yuri to call him mommy or something else feminine like that.
"Somehow I knew I'd be the mom," Yuri said with a chuckle, not seeming to be upset about this in the slightest.
Which just caused Viktor to smile and then steal a quick kiss even though they were in public. Not that this was out of the ordinary, Viktor had never seemed to have a problem with public displays of affection. He was impossible to embarrass.
Unlike Yuri who was incredibly easy to embarrass.
And blushed at everything.
"You're doing that on purpose again," Yuri said, giving his fiance's chest a little push and then turning serious. "So what shall we do while we wait? You want to head back to the rink and see if he'll give us the time of day this time?" He had his doubts about this even as he made his suggestion but still felt that they needed to make the effort.
If only because they were going to be stuck together soon and it would be better for all three of them if they were at least on neutral terms if not on good ones.
Good terms would be preferable but Yuri thought that was aiming too high based on his first impression of the little one.
"That's a great idea!" Viktor was quick to agree, the man still smiling and even as he said this he looped his arm with Yuri's and started leading the way toward the rink. As he walked he was oddly quiet, lost in thought and trying to figure out just how to win over the little blonde hellcat that he and Yuri wanted to bring into their family.
He didn't have any illusions that it would be easy but he still thought that it would be possible.
It may take a lot of work but still possible.
SPACE
The walk to the ice rink didn't take too long and Viktor and Yuri walked into the building arm in arm, not having a problem that since it was public knowledge that they were a couple anyway so there was no reason for them to try to hide it. Not that Viktor would have been likely to do that anyway, he didn't seem to care much about what people thought about him in general. Not that he needed to since he had droves of adoring fans to boost his ego if he needed that.
Viktor and Yuri made short work of changing into their skates and then made their way to the ice, both of them looking around and simultaneously their gazes focused on little Yuri.
"He seems dedicated," Yuri commented as he watched the child attempting a combination spin.
"Hm," Viktor hummed, his gaze locked on the child and he was breaking down the little one's moves even as he made them. "Maybe we can get Yakov to let us work with Yuratchka today…that will be the perfect chance to bond!"
"And the perfect chance to get yelled at," Yuri added but he nodded his head as he stepped out onto the ice. "You ask, I'm pretty sure your coach doesn't like me very much."
"Oh he's just a grumpy pants like that," Viktor said, brushing off Yuri's words with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He's like that with me too," he added for good measure. But even as he said that he did take the initiative to skate over to the spot where Yakov was leaning against the wall and watching the various skaters that were under his tutelage.
Leaving Yuri to trail along behind him.
"Hey Yakov!" Viktor called out in his usual, chipper voice, the smile still on his face. "We wanna work with him!" Even as he said that he gestured toward the little blonde so that his coach would know who he was talking about. "Will you let us?"
Yakov almost rolled his eyes as Viktor came over to him and asked his question but he'd already talked to the younger man about the child so he was actually going to go along with this. Even though he didn't usually like to relinquish the reins of any of the skaters that he was training to other people. This was a special case and so he ended up nodding his head. "Very well Vitya, if you want," he said, trying to sound like he didn't really care and succeeding quite well with that.
"Thanks!" Viktor said with another grin before spinning around and grabbing Yuri by the hand. "C'mon, let's play coach Yuri!" he said, sounding so pleased with himself. It wasn't like he'd never played coach before, he did it with Yuri and got him all the way to the Grand Prix Finals but this was going to be inherently different.
One big difference was the fact that Yuri had actually wanted to be coached by him.
He was pretty sure that Yuratchka was going to feel differently about the arrangement though he could always be wrong about that. The child might be so focused on getting better that he wouldn't care that he was being coached by the very same people that he had been rude when they first met.
"Okay but I don't know how to play coach!" Yuri said as he was all but dragged to the center of the rink by his very enthusiastic fiancé.
"Neither did I, just go with it," Viktor responded before sliding to a stop and then looking at the little blonde that he was now only a few feet away from. "Hello again little tiger," he said, that smile still plastered all over his face.
"What the hell do you want?" little Yuri asked in a blunt and almost demanding manner, his green eyes focused on the taller man that had just decided to get in his way. He hadn't been paying attention to the exchange between Viktor and Yakov and so he had no clue what it was that was going on right now.
All he knew was that this guy was interrupting his practice again and that it was annoying.
"We're going to coach you Yuratchka!" Viktor said, once again sounding beyond excited by this prospect. There was a beaming smile on his face as he looked down at the little one, his blue eyes focused on the child's green ones as he answered the question that was asked.
Or rather responded to the demand that was made.
"Who the hell asked you to?!" the little blonde boy immediately demanded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he heard this. It wasn't like he didn't need the help, he did and he was aware of that, but by the same token he couldn't help but think that these guys were trying to but in and he didn't like it much.
Or so he maintained.
There was also the fact that he was trying to keep his distance, both in regards to location as well as on an emotional level. The little blonde was almost desperate for someone that cared about him but at the same time he was scared of that very thing.
Or, to be more precise, he was scared of the possibility that he would grow to care about someone only to have them abandon him in the end.
That was the driving force behind his attempts to keep these two at bay.
"Oh…well you see that's the great thing about having people that care about you," Viktor said when the child once again made his demands. "You don't have to ask for the things that you need."
This response gained a gasp from little Yuri, his eyes widening as his gaze flew to the older Russian.
It was as if the man was able to read his thoughts with the way that he responded. Yuri knew that he couldn't but that was kind of hard to focus on when Viktor had got to the heart of his insecurities and successfully poked a hole in the wall that he had constructed around his heart. It was tiny, barely perceptible, and even little Yuri wasn't aware of it but that one simple statement had set the groundwork for the relationship that Viktor and Yuri wanted to forge with this child.
"You're so full of it, geezer," Yuri snapped once he had recovered from his shock enough to be able to respond. He was once again trying to push them away, perhaps a bit more forcefully than before, but that was a self-preservation instinct at this point.
He needed it to save himself from pain.
At least he thought that he did.
"He is," Yuri said with a chuckle when he heard what the little one that shared his name said, unable to keep himself from grinning at Viktor's expense. "But he's actually a pretty good coach so you should really let him give you some pointers…" He kept his tone and expression neutral as he said this, hoping that he wasn't going to serve to set the child off again.
It didn't seem to take much after all.
"Like I need his help…or your help," little Yuri said as he gazed up at the black-haired man. His words weren't quite as forceful as they had been before however and he was slowly losing the intense desire to fight against this. He did need help if he was going to make it as a figure skater and maybe these two would be able to help him more than Yakov was right now.
They were weird but they were also both famous skaters.
"Oh you need all the help you can get Yuratchka," Viktor said immediately, his words having a double meaning to them that he wasn't expecting the little blonde to get. He was pretty sure that Yuri would get it but he was equally sure that the little one would not. Which didn't really matter nor did it affect things really. "And we're offering it…"
The response that he gained from Viktor only served to further irritate the little blonde and Yuri turned to face him, kicking at the ice with the toe of his skate as he did.
"You're…you're…okay fine," little Yuri said with a huff, his gaze intense as he focused it on Viktor. "Train me…but you'd better be able to really help me!"
"Such a demanding little tiger," Viktor said as he reached a hand out and ruffled the child's blonde hair in an affectionate manner. "We can help you…but that will only go so far Yuratchka. You're going to have to be able to help yourself as well."
Once again words spoken with a double meaning that he knew one of the Yuris would get and the other would not.
Yuri listened to what Viktor was saying to the child and he had to smile at that, thinking that he really did have a way with people in general. This was the first time he was witnessing his fiancé interacting with a child but he was pretty sure that Viktor was going to have a way with dealing with children as well.
"Listen to Vitya, he occasionally knows what he's talking about," Yuri said, his tone once again teasing as he made a shot at his fiance's expense. He was attempting to lighten the mood a little bit since the little blonde seemed so tense right now even though little Yuri was agreeing to allow them to train him.
And by virtue of that to get to know him better.
Which was what they really wanted.
"Chh," the boy sort of scoffed but he didn't actually argue with the words that were spoken to him. Little Yuri had no idea what these two were scheming but he didn't really care as long as they helped him to take his skating to the next level. He was determined that he was going to climb the ranks and be the best of the best and he was going to do it as soon as possible.
At least within the limits of the age restrictions that were in place for the various brackets.
"I think he's on board, let's get to work!" Viktor said happily, holding out his hand to Yuri and waiting for the other man to take it before turning to look at their temperamental little tiger.
Aforementioned temperamental little tiger just stared back at them and waited to see what they were going to throw at him. Determination shone bright in his eyes as he kept his gaze focused on the two men, refusing to back down and refusing to seem weak in front of them or anyone else.
A trait that would likely make Viktor and Yuri's jobs difficult but that would also serve him well later in life.
A/N – End of another chapter and they're bonding! Or trying to, Yurio's not making their lives easy in that regard. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and let me know what you thought. That helps to keep me motivated to update frequently. Thanks for reading!
