A/N: Well, hi there! Welcome back to semi-regularly scheduled programming! You just happened to land back on the week where I'm doing a special for my Black Butler fic. It'll be two years on Wednesday that I started posting fic at all, so happy FF birthday to me! Yay! That's why you lovelies are getting your chapter today and next week, we will get back to everything being the way it usually is. Ok? Let's get to the competition, shall we?
When we last left off, it's come down to the wire. It's Yuri v. Yurio. Victor v. Violet. It's Junior Grand Prix time. Remember, Victor and Violet have a bet going where if Victor and Yuri win, Victor and Violet get a divorce and he married Chris. If Violet and Yurio win, Victor's doing one of Violet's old burlesque routines for an audience. But in all honesty, if you ask me, I think Victor would make a really beautiful drag queen. But that's just me. Let's read on, shall we?
Yuri had a hard time being still. I'm sure Victor had him all worked up about how important this event is. Especially with the kind of stakes on the line. Something about telling the kids that how well they do here will directly affect Mama and Daddy's marriage didn't sit well with me. And right before competition. I could tell when one of my babies was a little bundle of nerves.
"Yuri?" I gave him a nudge, "Are you ok, sweetheart?"
"Yeah," Yuri rocked himself, "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" I sat with him.
"Uh-huh..."
That was a line of crap. I knew him better than that. I sat Yuri on my lap, holding him against my chest, "Ok. I know you're oging to do great. No matter what."
"Thanks, Mama," Yuri laid his head in my shoulder, already starting to settle down.
"Hey, piggy," Yurio finished stretching, "Good luck."
"Thank you, Yurio," Yuri jumped down from my lap. Where the hell did Victor run off to? Yuri's about to go on. One would think his coach would be here to psych him up. Come to think of it, Chris was nowhere to be found either...I'm not going to ask...I've learned not to when it comes to those two. That's how we end up ruining Christmas.
"You can do this, baby," I kissed Yuri's cheek, "I'm going to go find Daddy, ok?"
"Ok," Yuri laced his skates up.
"Hey, Celestino," I grabbed my coach's arm, "You think you could keep an eye on these two? I have to go find Victor."
"Go ahead," he let me go, "I can handle this."
"If Yuri gets any worse," I warned him, "Text me. Call me. Let me know somehow."
"I will," Celestino shooed me out, "Now, go. Find your husband."
Husband for now, anyway. I left my boys in my coach's relatively capable hands and went on a great, grand search for Chris and Victor. God only knows where those two ran off to. Where to start...Calling him would probably be a good idea. Something to ease my mind a bit. I took my phone from my jacket pocket and dialed his number.
Ring...
Ring...
Ring...
"Hello!" my phone speaker barked at me, "You've reached the voicemail of Victor Nikiforov. Yes. That one. Please leave a message and I'll do my best to get back to you!"
Dammit. No sense in leaving a message. I'm sure he'd call me back. Eventually. I'm starting to worry about him. New York is a big city. What if something happened to him and I'm going to have to raise the boys on my own? Or with Chris? That'd really be the Jerry Springer moment to top this off with. Raising my adoptive sons with my husband's boyfriend. That'd be just as weird as taking Chris up on that offer to join them in their Twister game and me ending up pregnant. Who would be the father? Is it my husband? Is it one of my best friends that's also casually sleeping with my husband on the side?
You're overthinking again, Violet. Celestino was right. I talk too much when I'm nervous. I'm sure he's fine. Victor and Chris ran off to sneak in a little emergency stress relief before the competition. I remember when we were still competing. Victor would do the same thing before we'd go on. I just wish he would've told me where the hell he was going to be.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" Chris?
"I don't know," Victor's voice shook, "I love her, Chris. I really do. But if we end up winning, we're done. And it'd be such a big step for us. Are we even ready to do something as stupid as get married? Are we ready for that kind of a backlash? And what about the boys? How do we explain that to them?"
He was...Scared? Victor? My Victor? In the span of our marriage, I've never seen him so freaked. I knew the breakdown was inevitable, but I never thought I'd be seeing it with my own two eyes. Let alone eavesdropping on it. I always thought I'd help him through it like he's done with me for all these years.
"Vitya," Chris comforted him, "If the thought of us getting married is stupid, then the two of us are the biggest idiots in the world. It's alright if you're nervous. I understand. But we can get through it. We've managed to dodge the press for the past ten years about our relationship. If they know, then so be it. They'll know that I have the most wonderful husband in the world. And if they don't like it, they can kiss my perfect ass. As for the boys, I'm sure they'll understand. It's like Violet said. She's not leaving them. Everything's going to be fine."
"I love you..."
"I love you, too," Chris kissed the top of Victor's head, "Win or lose today, that's not going to change. Although, your last name might."
"You think I'm taking your name?" Victor giggled, "I don't think so. You're taking mine."
"You're high," Chris gave him a shove, "You're taking mine and you know it."
"Hey," I broke them up, "Where have you boys been? Yuri's about to go on."
"Ok," Victor pulled himself together, "How is he?"
"You know how Yuri gets before a competition," I reminded him, taking his hand, "He's a little jittery, but I got him to calm down. And I think Yurio might have helped a little, too."
Yurio knew how to take care of Yuri when he was on shaky ground. Granted, at the time, it may not be the most gentle way of getting Yuri to relax, but it seems to work. Yurio had a brand of tough love all his own. And for whatever reason, it worked like a charm on his older brother. Yurio could say he hated Yuri all he wanted, but deep down, they really were brothers. I just hope that if Yuri wins tonight, they keep looking out for each other.
"Daddy!" Yuri ran to Victor's arms, "Where were you? I didn't know where you went."
"Uncle Chris and I had to talk for a minute," Victor cradled Yuri against his body, "I'm sorry, Yuri. But you're ok now, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Yuri had a smile on his face. That's all that mattered.
"Go on," Victor put him down, nudging him toward the ice, "Skate just like you do in practice."
"I will!" Yuri skated out to the center of the ice and began his routine.
"Hey, dovahkiin," I looked down at my other son, tying the laces on his skates, "You want to stay and watch?"
"Yeah," Yurio scaled up my leg and sat on my shoulders, "I want to see how piggy does under pressure."
"Believe it or not," Victor chimed in, "Yuri does excellent under pressure. The more, the better. He cracks and grows a new layer almost instantaneously. And he always comes out stronger."
"That's true," I nodded as Yuri landed his first jump, "Case in point. Not bad, Victor. Not bad."
"I try," he blushed a little, "I guess coaching him came natural."
"That doesn't make you the superior coach, though," I jabbed, "We have yet to go on."
"And we will end you," Yurio threatened.
"Yuri," I settled him, "A little trash talk is customary, but death threats are where we draw the line."
"Fine."
And before we knew it, Yuri's routine came to an end and the judges tallied his score. A respectable 91.24. I would've given it a little higher, but I'm not a judge. And I also might be a little biased. And trying to rig this so Yuri wins and Victor can get his chance at happiness with the man I know he loves more than me.
"Not bad," Yurio approved, "I'll probably do better, but not bad."
"Yurio," I scolded him, "Remember…"
"You said trash talk was customary," he threw my words back at me. I think it's safe to say that, despite Yuri's well done performance, Yurio wasn't shaken in the least.
"You can also get through this sport without it," I retaliated, "I did."
"We know," Victor praised, "And we're all very proud."
"Representing Kazakhstan," the announcer barked out, "Otabek Altin."
"Beka!" Yurio called out, making Otabek look toward him, "Davai!"
Otabek gave him a quick thumbs up before skating out to the center of the ice. It's pretty safe to say that those two are more than just rivals. Who would've thought my antisocial angel would've made a friend on these harsh streets of competitive figure skating? Then again, I really shouldn't be. I knew of a socially inept little girl that made two of the best friends she could've asked for because of the harsh streets of competitive figure skating. And she had work to do.
"Come on, Yurio," I took his hand, "We need to be in the locker room."
"But Mama," Yurio begged, "I want to stay and watch Beka's performance."
"We can't," I explained, "Because someone thought his games were more important than getting ready. Then, we had to go visit the madame, so we had almost no time. If I were smarter, I would've been getting you ready with the girls, but alas. Now, come on."
"But Mama…" I hated when Yurio got whiny, "Please? I want to watch Beka…"
I thought it over for maybe a minute or two before completely caving. I couldn't say no to that face, "Fine. You can stay for the first half, but for the second half, we're in that locker room. Deal?"
"Deal!" Yurio sat on the edge of the partition and watched intently at every move Otabek made. And I saw something there. A certain spark that I've seen before. I just couldn't place it.
Halfway through Otabek's performance, as promised, Yurio and I went back in the locker room and got him ready. Yurio and I decided to go more for simple than over the top. We don't need extravagant pageantry to win. He could do it on pure talent and skill alone. I wouldn't have taught him any different. Although…I still wasn't sure if I wanted him to win or not. Of course I wanted him to win, but on the same token, I knew what his loss meant.
"Mama?" Yurio wondered, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I lied through my teeth, "Why do you ask?"
"You don't seem fine." Damn. That kid's more perceptive than I give him credit for.
"It's nothing you need to worry about, Yuri," I promised, tying his hair off, "Mama's got a lot on her mind. That's all."
"Ok." In that moment, instead of our usual pregaming ritual, Yurio threw his arms around my neck, "I love you, Mama."
I turned into a puddle, "I love you, too, baby. Never ever forget that."
"Only if you promise to never forget you're the best dragon in the world."
This kid's out to make me cry. I swear to God, "Alright, dovahkiin. Who's my little dragonborn?"
"I am!" Yurio started to psych himself up.
"You ready to go fight your monster?"
"More than ready!"
"Let's do this!"
The two of us went back out to the rink and Yurio went right to the center of the ice. We've been training for this day, this moment for so long now. We've had to deal with asshole coaches, brushes with an eating disorder, all the travel. And now, Victor and my marriage was on the line. Come on, Yurio. You know that even if you lose, I'll be proud of you. Tying exactly with Yuri would be the only way of getting out of this idiotic bet that shouldn't have been made in the first place. Why couldn't we have bet money instead of this?
I watched Yurio skate to the Tale of the Dragonborn, giving it less than he usually did. What the hell, kid? You're better than this. Why are you getting tripped up now? Then, what Celestino told me had slipped into my thoughts. If I'm not relaxed, he's not relaxed. And I needed to get him to settle down out there from over here…The only way I could think to do that is to jump on the mic again, but it's too late for that.
Still, my baby crushed his routine. Not as good as what he could've done, but still made me proud, "How'd I do, Mama?"
"Very well, Yuri," I kissed his little cheek, "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm so proud of you for getting to the finals. You're taking hardware home if you win or lose here."
We waited with baited breath for the results. 91.12…Yurio wasn't out to hear Yuri's score. I'm sure that 0.12-point difference would be the punch to the gut he didn't need. But the kid got sloppy. I wonder why…Was it me? Was it because I wouldn't tell him what was bothering me? Because he seemed so strong in the locker room. Like he was ready to kick someone's ass, even if it was his own ass. I guess Yurio does take after his mama. He can put up some serious walls, too. The rest of the skaters did their routines and we waited to hear the podium announcements. If I had this right, all of my boys made the podium.
"In third place," the emcee announced, "Otabek Altin."
"You did great, Beka," Yurio praised.
"Thanks, Yura," Otabek skated out to the podium.
"In second place," the emcee went on, "Yuri Plisetsky."
"I'm proud of you, sweetheart," I kissed his cheek, sending him back to the ice.
"I love you, Mama," Yurio hugged me tight before going back.
"And our winner," the emcee kept the crowd in suspense. I looked over at Victor, who couldn't be prouder, "Yuri Nikiforov!"
"I won!" Yuri lit up, "I won!"
"Yeah," my voice broke, "Congratulations, Yuri."
Yuri skated to center ice and I did all I could to keep myself from crying. My boys have come so far since Yuri was scraping his shins and Yurio was eating the ice. If anyone was going to be in the top two, I'm glad it was them. But I knew what Yuri's win meant. As did his father. Victor took my trembling hand in a gesture of solidarity.
"Violet," he worried, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," I nodded, burying my face in his chest, "I'm fine."
Was I, though? I'd have to explain to my boys right off their Grand Prix debut that Victor and I were getting divorced. Life as I knew it was about to change drastically. And I didn't want them to have that kind of stress in their lives, but we were going to go through it. Luckily, I know I wasn't going to have to go through it alone.
A/N: Yay! Yuri won! Yay…? And by such a slim margin? Where have I heard this one before? I knew it was going to be like the .12 that Yurio beat Yuri by (spoiler) in the anime because I'm cheeky like that. But I'm still proud of those two. They've worked their asses off all season to get where they were and they conquered.
Now, we have the post season banquet to look forward to. Next week. Pinky promise. And maybe then, I'll have that one up at a more human hour. I've been really bad about posting late the past few weeks. I don't know why. I don't know what's going on, but one thing is certain. See you next chapter! xx