A/N: Hi, guys! The response on the last chapter I did like this seemed to be pretty positive, so why not try it again? I've been wanting to write a sic fic in the worst way lately. I don't know why, so don't ask. But here we are. Only thing about this particular chapter is that we're going to be switching up the POV again! That's right, kids. We're getting another Victor chapter! Yaaaay! *flaily Kermit the Frog arms* Enjoy!
"No...No, no, no..."
I lazily opened my eyes to find my wife in the middle of a mild tantrum, "Violet?"
"I can't get sick now," she gagged, "I can't..."
"Violet?" I worried. Not how I planned my morning. I thought I'd wake up, get some coffee, take Makkachin for a walk. Instead, I get Violet running for our bathroom, violently throwing up. And in record time, too. I got out of bed to go check on her, "Violet, are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she rinsed her mouth out, hardly able to stand.
"No, you're not," I held her up, "I know better."
"Victor, I'm ok," Violet shook me off, "Move. I have to go wake Yurio up and get him to the rink or Yakov's going to be pissed."
"Violet, no," I nearly had to hold this girl down, "You're obviously sick. Stay here."
"I told you I'm..." she stopped herself, "Hold that thought."
"Are you alright?" I asked, as if I didn't already know the answer.
"Fine," Violet went back to the bathroom only to empty the contents of her stomach yet again.
"What was that you were saying?" I stood outside the door, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you said you were fine."
"Shut up," she came staggering out of the bathroom like the drunk girl at the bar at two in the morning.
"Violet, please," I begged, "Stay in bed. I can take Yurio to Yakov. I need to practice with Yuri anyway."
"No," Violet fought me, "I'll be ok. I can do it."
"Oh, Violet," I let out a heavy, exasperated sigh, "I just had to fall in love with the stubborn American girl, didn't I?"
"I could've had the stockbroker," she reminded me, crawling back into bed, "Instead, I get the pretty Russian boy."
"I could've had the beautiful, leggy, Swiss man of my dreams," I blurted out, "But I get the pain in the ass American girl."
"What...?" Uh-oh...I knew that as soon as any mention of Chris tumbled out of my mouth, that wasn't going to be a good idea. I'd regret everything. Because it nearly had my wife in tears. Such a fragile heart in such a strong casing.
"You stay in bed," I demanded, hoping that if I changed the subject, her thought patterns would shift just as easily, "I'll take care of Yakov. Besides, he loves me deep down. I'm sure he won't mind if I'm there."
"Thank you, Victor," Violet kept her voice down...and wouldn't even make eye contact with me. I might have screwed up a little here.
"You're welcome," I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight, "Go back to sleep, ok?"
"Ok," she nestled down in her blankets a little more.
"I'll be back later to check on you," I assured, kissing her forehead, "I love you."
"Are you sure about that?" Ouch...I did strike a bad chord with her.
"Positive," I squeezed her a little more, making sure my arms weren't on her stomach.
"I love you, too," Violet rolled back into me.
I laid my wife on our bed so delicately and left her to sleep. My poor little angel...She has been working herself a little harder than usual lately. Between the hard practices with Yurio and the stress of dealing with Yakov, it's finally catching up to her. I remember in the old days when she could handle this with the simplest of ease. It's been a while since she's had to do something like this. Violet gave up her skating career, so I could finish mine and to raise the boys while I was gone. Maybe what she really needed was a break.
With the most dainty of footsteps and a little fear, I walked into Yurio's room. I didn't need the SWAT shield, so I had that going for me. Maybe waking him wouldn't be all that bad. I flipped the light on and immediately, his precious little face cringed, "Good morning, Yurio! It's time to wake up!"
"You're not Mama," he pulled his blanket over his head, "Go away."
"That's very true," I agreed, "But Mama isn't feeling well this morning."
Like a bullet out of a gun, Yurio jumped out of bed and bolted for our bedroom. I couldn't help myself. I had to follow him. Violet was trying to go back to sleep. She needed to be left alone. And I didn't need Yurio getting sick. I'm sure Yakov could write off Violet being sick, but from what I understand, Yurio was quickly becoming his prized skater. Rumor had it Yurio was going to be entered in Juniors this year. If he ended up getting sick, Yakov would truly have both his and Violet's head mounted over his fireplace. When I went back into the bedroom, I found Yurio curled up in a little ball in his mother's hip.
"I'll be ok, Yuri," Violet cradled him, "I promise. Go with Victor to the rink."
"But Mama..."
"Go," she insisted, "You can handle Yakov by yourself for today, can't you, dovahkiin?"
"Yeah." It's amazing how with one little word, Violet could have Yurio so fired up.
"Come on, Yurio," I called for him, "We'll be leaving soon."
"Fine," he pouted as Violet gave him one last little kiss on the top of his head.
"Such a way with words, my love," I gushed a bit.
"Learn the dragon's tongue," Violet smiled, "And you could do that, too."
"Do you want anything before we leave?" I asked.
"No," she shook her head, "I'm ok. I'm just going to go back to sleep. If I need anything, I'll call."
"Ok," I blew her a quick kiss and headed toward Yuri's room. My favorite time of the day. He always looked so peaceful when he slept. Like a little angel. Just like his mother. Although I knew there was no blood relation, both those boys had so much of Violet in them and it warmed my heart to no end.
I sat at the edge of my son's bed and spoke softly to him, "Good morning, Yuri. It's time to wake up."
With a little smile on his face, Yuri pulled on my pants leg and pulled himself onto my lap, "Good morning."
"And how is my little piggy this morning?" I cuddled him.
"I'm sleepy, Daddy," Yuri let out a tiny yawn.
"It's time to get up, Yuri," I bounced him a little, "Today's going to be a very special day. We're going to do practice a bit different than usual."
"I don't want to try jumps," he whined, "I'm not ready for that yet."
"No, no," I assured, "You get to practice with your brother today."
"Really?" Yuri perked up a little more, "Why? Doesn't Yurio usually practice with Mama?"
"Yes," I nodded, "But because Mama isn't feeling well, he's going to practice with us. Or we're going to be practicing with him and Yakov."
"Yakov?"
"You haven't seen Yakov since you were little, little," I remembered. My last competition. Violet and the boys had come to Moscow that year to watch. We had the boys for a year at that point. Yakov hardly gave any of them the time of day. Then again, it was Yakov. He wasn't exactly the overly cuddly type, "You need to get out of bed, though."
"Ok," Yuri jumped down from my lap and before I knew it, the boys were ready. I've never seen Yurio skate. I didn't even know if he was any good. He must have been to catch Yakov's attention. The more I heard about Violet's experience with him, the more Yurio started to remind me more of someone else I knew. The three of us got to the rink at nine o'clock on the dot and the familiar silhouette of my former coach stood at the railing.
"Yakov!" I sang out, thrilled to see him again.
"Victor?" the vein stuck out in his forehead. It's funny. That only happens when I come to see him. It must mean he's happy to see me, "What are you doing here?"
"Yurio has practice," I nudged him forward, "Doesn't he?"
"Where's Violet?" Yakov wondered, almost sounding worried.
"She's home sick," I told him, "It's not a pretty sight."
"Surprise, surprise," he scoffed, "I always knew she couldn't handle it."
"Yuri," I hid my shaking from them, "Go help your brother with his skates."
"Yes, Daddy," Yuri took Yurio and helped him put his skates on.
"I don't appreciate the way you speak of my wife, Yakov," I glared through him, "She's been working herself ragged for the past two weeks with you and Yurio. I think her being sick is a good enough excuse for her to take a day, don't you?"
"You know, Vitya," Yakov brushed me off, "You should come back. The world could stand to see that fire again."
"I'm retired," I told him, "Besides, I'm coaching now, too!"
"What?!" Hey! That vein is back!
"Yuri!" I called out, "Show Yakov what I've taught you!"
"Ok..." Yuri skated out to the middle of the rink while Yurio stayed behind, watching his every move. I put on a piano concerto and watched as Yuri attempted a watered-down version of one of my old routines. He was still learning and his spectrum of moves was very limited if he couldn't do any jumps yet, but he could do spins like nobody's business.
I watched Yakov's face as Yuri began his routine. A few sitting spins and a good salchow with a nice step sequence. With a little more practice, I'm sure he and I could get him to master a few jumps before the start of the season. But today seemed off. Yuri was a little shakier than he usually was. Even the simplest of spins he would miss. What was wrong with him? This wasn't like him.
"Call me when you're ready to make your comeback," Yakov shrugged me off, "Yuri! Go."
"Yes, Yakov," Yurio skated to the middle of the rink after putting something on from Violet's playlist, no doubt. The orchestral intro brought back a very warm memory for me. This was our song. Since when did Yurio skate to our song? Even stranger yet, why was he skating to our song better than I did? I guess Violet's been doing well with him. This had her written all over it. I don't know why I'm so surprised, though. She was the one that choreographed this routine in the first place.
I remember that night. We had gotten married earlier that day. She fought me tooth and nail about having a wedding. But we were in Rome. We were competing that night. God, she was beautiful that day. After our wedding, her eyes shined a little brighter. She put a little more energy in every single move. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she broke down in my arms at the end of our routine. I think that's what put us over the top. A few months later, we adopted the boys and it's been history ever since.
As the song came to a close, Yurio looked like he was ready to come apart. The look of sheer exhaustion almost broke me. If I had to judge him, though, I'd say he did the routine justice. Even though it was originally choreographed to be a doubles routine, he made it a single. And he made it his own. That might have been our song, but that was Yurio's program.
"You over rotated again, Yuri!" Yakov snapped as Yurio skated back to the railing.
"I know," Yurio panted over the rail, "I'm trying not to, Yakov. I really am."
"Don't listen to him, Yurio," I brushed him off, "Your rotation was fine. Your form was excellent, if I do say so myself."
"Victor," Yakov growled, "Are you the one coaching him?"
"No, but..."
"Then let me do my damn job!" If that didn't bring back memories, "Don't listen to him, Yuri. You listen to me and no one else."
"Yes, Yakov," Yurio nodded, "I'll try not to over rotate next time."
"You won't try," Yakov started to settle down a little, "You'll do it. There is no room for trying when you're competing."
Violet wasn't kidding. Yakov was unnecessarily rough with Yurio. That's going to take a toll on him, too. If he didn't blow Yakov off once in a while, Yurio was going to end up miserable. I knew how he could be. Maybe Yurio wasn't ready for this kind of thing. I shook everything off and watched Yuri attempt his own routine. Still a little shaky. What's the matter, Yuri? You're never like this when it's just the two of us. You're better than this.
Soon enough, our practice had come to an end and the three of us headed home. A long, quiet ride back to our penthouse. I unlocked the door and I heard Makkachin jump down from the bed, only to jump on my leg. I gave him a quick pet and put the boys down for a nap. While they slept, I poked my head in our bedroom door. Speaking of sleeping beauties...
"Vi," I whispered, "You awake?"
"Yeah," she spoke softly, "I'm up."
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" I asked.
"Like I'm dying," Violet groaned, "But I'll be fine. How was practice?"
"You were right," I confirmed, "Yakov is hard on him."
"Told you so," she pulled her blanket over her shoulders.
"Although," I went on, "I think he'll be alright. Yurio has thick skin. If not, he'll develop it."
"I hope so," I could see it all over Violet's face. She worried about Yurio more than anyone else. Not sure why, but she did.
"You need anything?" I offered.
"No," she sighed out.
"How about some of this, then?" I crawled in bed with her and like a magnet, Violet stuck to my hip, "Is this alright with you?"
"Always," Violet almost fell back asleep.
"Is there anything else you need for today that I should know about?" I asked, twisting my fingers in her hair.
"Yeah," she nodded, "Yurio's got dance lessons with Nat at one."
"Uh…" I drawled, "What?"
Not that I didn't like Natalia. It's just that every time I got around her, she turned into a puddle. I guess I had that effect on a lot of people. I can't help that. But I knew she wasn't ever going to be able to treat me like a normal person. I just hope she understood what boundaries are this time around. We wouldn't want a repeat of last time…
A/N: And we're going to leave it here. This is why. Because the next part deserves its own chapter. Trust me. And I cannot wait. Also, I missed having a Victor chapter. Victor chapters make me smile. Because he's such a cutie. See you next chapter! xx