Viktor's usual star-struck smile crept across pale lips as he tapped them with his fingers. The rest of the evening, after he got out of the hot spring, has been very, very interesting. And that Katsudon bowl. Vkusno!
Turquoise hues shifted as a certain sleepy raven-haired skater wandered past his door. Shuffling to get up, the Russian grabbed the blanket that was on loan to him through the onsen and scrambled to the door. Both he and Makkachin peered out from around the door frame as Yuuri shut the door to his room.
Viktor glanced down to Makkachin, a bright smile crossed his lips as he strolled from the room and right up to Yuuri's door, the fluffy poodle at his side. He lifted a pale hand to the door, rasping away on it.
"Yuuuuuurrrrrriiiii! Let's have a sleepover! As your coach there's so much I need to learn about you!"
"NOO!"
His smile fell just a touch.
"Yuri!"
Viktor heard scurrying and what sounded like the shuffling of papers from within, but when he tried to open the door, it was locked.
"Yuri."
By the time he glanced to Makkachin again, his smile was nowhere to be found.
"Yuri?"
He felt the smallest tug at the sleeve of his onsen robe. Viktor saw familiar black eyes staring back at him, Makka's muzzle against his sleeve with a bit of the fabric in his mouth. Everything was going blurry when Viktor took a deep breath, smiling to the brown fluff ball.
"L-lets go to bed M-makkachin."
That usually calm and collected tone was breaking in places it shouldn't. He really didn't know what he expected. That was a lie, He knew exactly what he was hoping for. He was hoping for some sort of acknowledgment. Some shred of proof.
His room door slid shut behind him and he sunk to the floor. His body felt heavy. He had felt rejection before, he was not as naive as to assume everyone loved him. This, though, seemed worse. A wetness surprised him as did the rough tongue on his face. He reached out and scratched behind Makkachin's ears.
"Oh, Makkachin…"
A half-hearted laugh escaped his lips before he began to shed his sage green spa robe, crawling across the floor towards the futon as he did so. Viktor made a quick mental note that he needed a proper bed as soon as he could.
He shook out the blanket that he had taken with him, crawling underneath it. A sigh of relief slipped past his lips at the cool cloth against his skin. It only took Makkachin a moment to snuggle in under the blanket.
"He must be shy, Makka…. Like earlier when he was bringing my boxes up…"
A blush dusted Viktor's cheeks as he remembered how close he was able to get to him. The feel of Yuuri's skin under his fingertips again. His heart was racing as he stared down those ravishing, all-consuming, caramel shaded hues. He hugged Makkachin just a little closer, as he felt a dampness on his cheek again.
The soft breath on his neck from Makka tickled, his gaze shifted to this phone for the briefest of moments before he looked away. Reminiscing would only make this moment hurt more. His eyelids grew heavier as each moment passed, but before he drifted off into dreamland, he noticed an oddly familiar pair of ocean coloured eyes.
"Yuuuuuuuuuuri!"
A pale hand knocked against the still locked door.
"Yuuuuri! Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuri!"
A smile as bright as the sun greeted the raven-haired skater as he opened his door, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Ohayou Viktor…"
With a spin of the shoulders, Viktor turned the sleepy Japanese boy around and pushed him back into his room.
"Day One! Let's get you changed!"
Without hesitation, those pale fingers were at the hem of Yuuri's shirt, pulling the piece of fabric up. The most ungodly noise escaped the other's mouth before Viktor was roughly shoved out of Yuuri's room, the door immediately slamming behind him. Turquoise eyes stared at the door for a moment longer than he should have, curious as to this strange, bashful Yuuri.
"Make sure you are dressed for a jog!"
Viktor called out through the wooden door. With a sigh, he turned and headed down to the first floor of the onsen, his thoughts reflecting back to his first time meeting the Japanese skater. In turn, they shifted and began comparing that moment to now.
He was so lost in his thoughts, he narrowly missed running into Hiroko.
"Ohayou Vik-chan! Did you sleep well?"
She received a smile and nod from the silver-haired Russian, who then surprised her as he leaned in, giving her a warm hug. She laughed and returned the gesture, gently rubbing his back.
"I did sleep well, thank you Hiroko-san."
She laughed again, her hand covering her mouth as she did so.
"Call me Okaasan, you'll be staying a while, yes? Might as well get familiar."
Viktor smiled. A real smile. A pair of familiar but dissimilar brown eyes were watching from a safe distance. Observing mostly.
"Oh! 'Hir- Okaasan, do you happen to know if my bicycle arrived with my things yesterday?"
She looked around before tapping a finger on her nose.
"You should ask Mari, she would know."
Viktor nodded, offering a quick 'thank you' before Hiroko made her way past him. As soon as she was far enough away, his expression dropped. His thoughts had returned to Yuuri. A groan escaped his lips as he ran his fingers roughly through his hair, messing up the usually well-kept style. Viktor drew in a breath, angrily fixing what he had just done.
"It's outside in the shed."
The sudden voice made Viktor jump, gaze immediately shooting to the tanned brunette standing against the dining room door frame. A pale hand hovered over his heart as he offered her a smile.
"Mari… you startled me! … oh.. Um… Thank you."
The ever watchful gaze made Viktor feel uncomfortable as he headed for the door that led him out of the onsen. Once he was outside, he glanced around before spying a small shed near the edge of the building.
Viktor was adjusting his bicycle seat when he was greeted by one adorably plump Kobuta-chan, dressed in sweats, Makkachin at his side. When their gaze met, the Russian offered a sweet smile.
"Where is the ice rink?"
Yuuri looked past Viktor, adjusting his glasses slightly before he pointed to the Japanese castle on the small hill in the distance.
"The ice castle is right below that."
If Yuuri hadn't of been staring at the distracting silver locks as they danced in the breeze, he may have missed the small devilish smirk that crossed Viktor's lips as he straddled the bright yellow bicycle.
"Good. Doesn't seem too far! Off we go!"
An instant sense of dread washed over Yuuri's face as the Russian pedaled away, a happy Makkachin bounding beside him.
"Come along Kobuta-chan!"
A whistle slipped through Viktor's lips as he turned out of the onsen, barely catching sight of Yuuri as he started in a jog after him.
Viktor never needed a reason to be on the ice.
It was the place he felt most home at.
Well.
A smile crossed his lips as he drifted, getting a feel for this new ice rink. If it had been up to his own mother, he was sure he would have been born on the ice. Viktor laughed inwardly at his own thoughts before he caught sight of a similar pair of turquoise hues again.
He blinked a few times and then they were gone.
It was nice meeting the caretakers of the rink and their three adorable little girls. He was surprised to find out that the Nishigori's had been skating with Yuuri for so long. And that Yuko and Yuuri used to be rink mates as children. Viktor enjoyed the stories that Takeshi and Yuko told him, with a furiously blushing Yuuri in the background.
He could appreciate hometown ice rinks, the ice was well taken care of, loved even.
Viktor spun softly before gliding to a halt in the middle of the ice. His gaze wandered as he took in the structure, everything familiar from the video that pulled him here. His heart was racing as he glanced to the side, eyes falling on Yuuri for a brief moment. The Japanese skater was on the sidelines, stretching. He looked focused, determined, but disappointed at the same time. Viktor's smile fell as he continued watching.
Viktor wished for nothing more in that moment than to know what was going through Yuuri's mind.
It wasn't until the Nishigori's appeared that he was drawn away from the entrancing raven haired skater. His mind wasn't focused enough yet to even try working on the Eros/Agape programs, so with a sigh, he skated into something familiar.
Stay close to me.
It seemed fitting that the first thing he skates on this new ice is the very program that brought him here. The music echoed only in his mind, settling his thoughts. He knew there was some chatter on the sidelines, the gang talking about something. In time for his first jump, he was reminded of what happened at World's.
It was the first time he really thought about it. Somewhere his thoughts were trying to connect dots.
After landing the quadruple lutz, he looked to the barrier. He spied Axel, Lutz, and Loop along with Yuko, star struck as they watched. He couldn't help but laugh, Lutz with a camera, Axel with a camcorder and Loop with a phone, his face on the case. He wondered if they were the reason Yuuri's video got uploaded.
If they were, he should take them out for ice cream.
Quadruple flip. He heard some commotion from the barrier but he couldn't focus on them. Not when his mind was pulling him elsewhere. He kept picturing Yuuri on this ice, doing exactly was he was doing with such a finesse that he wanted to see. A beautiful that set his heart on fire. He wanted to see the Japanese skater on the ice again. He craved more.
Unfortunately…
"The little piggy can't enter the rink until he drops some body fat!"
He called out, watching Yuuri's smile disappear as he extended a leg, gliding on the ice. Viktor could only imagine what was going through the poor boy's mind.
At some point, while Viktor was on the ice, Yuuri has disappeared, along with the Nishigori's, which left the Russian to himself on the ice. He resumed just drifting back and forth. It was strange, everything in the world was bright, but the colours were muted, unlike that morning where everything seemed, more saturated.
Viktor groaned loudly. He wished he had his music with him. At least then he could be productive. He wasn't expecting Yuuri to run off, though.
'You could always ask him…'
The voice in his head was not near as bizarre as the ocean coloured eyes in front of him. Viktor was used to having arguments with himself but was he really going to start putting a face to his antagonist within.
"NO!"
Viktor yelled, slamming his hands down on the rink barrier. His shifted his gaze around, thankful that he was still alone. Just as quickly as they appeared they were gone and Viktor exited the rink.
"...I can't…"
He whispered as if to make up for his outburst a moment ago.
"I have to move slowly, or..."
He couldn't help but laugh as he remembered last night and how close he got to Yuuri. So close. But then he ran, and it hurt.
But the platinum-haired Russian was a patient man.
And trust takes time.
