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Ok, ok so it’s been…6 years, I want to say.
Wow, that long?
Shushushu shush, story time.
He-he-he. Please continue.
For whatever reason, I was really into chewing gum.
one day, I somehow managed to get a lot of it in my hair.
Oh no bebe.
I know righ? I was in tears. I ran to Yakov’s office because, in
my mind, the only one that can help me was him. I burst through his
door babbling, picking up locks of hair in an effort to explain,
and probably not making any sense. I think he was in shock
since he was frozen in place for a good while. Ultimately, Viktor
came to my rescue. He rushed to my side and tried to soothed me,
saying things like everything will be alright, before telling Yakov
that we’ll be gone for the rest of the day.
Oh sweetie, thank goodness for Viktor. I’ll
have to thank him next time I see him.
Hahaha, don’t bother. I think Yakov was lecturing him
before I burst through the door. He probably saw me as an
opportunity to escape and took it.
Awww
I’ve done the same, but that’s beside the point. Yakov doesn’t
stop us. Honestly, Viktor was a big comfort. He didn’t lie or
promise to make the impossible happen.he just said that he’ll
take care of it. We got our things and he took me to his hairdresser.
The damage was bad. I was more than ready to cut it all off, but
Viktor asked if they could try something before doing anything
that drastic. I gave them my consent to do whatever they thought
would help as long as they would till cut it all off if I didn’t like it.
Two hours later I found myself with shoulder length hair and
apparently an undercut once I ran my fingers through it. Ever since
then, I’ve kept the same style. It took some time to get used to it, but
I loved it since.
Wow, thanks for sharing with me Mila. I’m still thanking
him for helping you. He probably understood how much
your hair means to you. You do look beautiful regardless what
you do.
Im so excites for our week together. I already want to be done and on
my way. Mickey has been sulking since I told him he can’t come.
If Emil wasn’t on his way for a visit, I don’t know what he would’ve
done. I just hope doesn’t do anything stupid while we’re enjoying
ourselves. I don’t want him to ruin our time or the surprise you have
planned.
Which reminds me, I have a little something for you too.
Aww, you didn’t have to. Having you here
is more than enough.
Hush you. No take backs allowed. When I found it, I just
had to get it. I hope you like it. ……tsk, I have to go. Mickey is
finally ready. See you in three days. Love you bye.
Love you too. See you soon. Tell the gate keeper
I say hi.
Mila ended the call once Sara stopped giggling. Talking with Sara always helps brighten her mood. Smiling she turned to lay on her back.
They had made plans to spend more time together during their off season. If all goes well, Sara will be in Russian before they know it. She couldn’t wait to go on more dates or stay in to enjoy each other’s company. Smiling, she got up and off the bed. She still had a few things to buy before she could deem her apartment perfect for her visit.
Grabbing her coat and keys on the way out, she made her way towards the front of her building. She needs to stop by the market to pick up some snacks and a couple of spices she’s running low on. Walking in the general direction of the store, she takes out her phone to check the list.
Remembering Sara’s surprise, she starts by looking through her email for the confirmation number. When nothing comes up, she tries looking for key terms. She feels her blood start to drain from her face when nothing works. She tried one last time. She allowed herself to breathe once the email popped up. Laughing over her overreaction, she opened it and froze in place.
Denied
Invalid form of payment…
Closing her eyes, Mila took a calming breathe. She looked again. Yup, it was real. Think Mila think. Why did this happen? You paid for the tickets before the deadline. Filled out the proper information and everything should’ve processed properly. Then it hit her. Shortly after setting everything up, she had lost her wallet. She immediately cancelled her cards and had replacements made. She must have forgotten to update her payment information.
Dropping her head into her hand, she groaned. Fine, whatever, she can still make this work. There are plenty of theaters playing Swan Lake in St. Petersburg. All she had to do is get tickets for this week. How hard could it be?
Extremely, as she soon found out. She kept searching while she bought the food. The earliest times she found weren’t for another three weeks. THREE, they don’t have three weeks. They’d be getting ready for the next season by that time. Dejected, she makes her way back home. Her posture reeking of disappointment. If Lilia ever saw the way she was carrying herself, she would be merciless.
She was so absorbed with her mood that she didn’t notice she was going to bump into someone until it was too late. She stumbled back upon impact, but was able to keep her footing. Which was more than she could say for the stranger. They had lost their footing and fell hard. “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry mis-” she quickly offered a hand to help them up when she noticed it was Viktor. “Viktor!” She would’ve dropped him again if he didn’t have a sure grip on her arm.
“That’s one way to great someone. How are you too Mila?” He brushed off any dirt he could see while he waited for her response.
Her cheeks started to burn, “sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Now would be a perfect time for the earth to swallow her alive.
He smiled and patted her head before telling her to follow. “What’s wrong? You’re not usually like this.” He even took some of her bags while they walked together.
“Is it that noticeable?”
Viktor hummed in confirmation.
Knowing from experience he won’t drop it unless she at least talked about what was bothering her, she sighed. “Sara is going to visit soon, but I messed up the surprise I had planned for her.”
“Hmmm sounds rough.” They stopped at a corner while they waited for the light to change. “Why don’t we go and talk with Yuuri? He would know how to handle this better than I ever can.”
She let him take the lead once they were able to cross, “sure, we always need someone more level headed in on our conversation or we might just go all out.” Seeing him stumble was almost worth it. “Why are you outside anyways? Most would assume, you’d be curled under a blanket next to Yuuri. In the dog house or forgot an anniversary gift?”
“Rude. I’ll have you know, I don’t forget anything about my Yuuri.” She arched an eyebrow. If she was going by his tone alone, she would’ve believed him. Sadly for his, she had a clear view of his ears that must be burning up with how red they became.
“Right, just like you didn’t forget his favorite flow-” she was cut off by gloved hands.
“Fine, I have them stored in my phone just in case.” She couldn't help, but grin. It used to be so hard to wiggle such a response from him in the past. Yuuri has done more for him than anyone will ever know. The same can probably be said about Yuuri if Phichit is to be believed.
Taking pity on him, she sidesteps his hands. “So what’s the real reason then?”
“Honestly?” she nods for him to continue. “I’m on a milk bone run. Yurio dropped by earlier and somehow got Makkachin in booties. BOOTIES Mila, you don’t put booties on a dog her age!”
“Awww, did you get pictures?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” He opened the door to let her in. “Poor Makka is going to see them in her nightmares for nights on end.”
They talked about Makkachin as they made their way to his flat. She more than welcomed the distraction knowing that focusing on her problem alone might lead to some drastic actions. It took some digging around before he found his keys to open the door. Ushering her inside he closed the door.
“Yuuri, I’m back.” He told her to leave her things on the kitchen counter and to take a seat in the living room.
From further in, they heard a muffled welcome back. Viktor set out to prepare some warm drinks for them.
“Viktor, she’s under the bed again.” Yuuri had stepped through the door with mussed hair. He was cleaning his glasses with a cloth when he looked up. “If you have the treats, try and get her-” putting his glasses back on, he finally noticed Mila. “Evening Mila how are you?”
“A bit frazzled, but nothing good company can't change. More importantly, what’s this about a hiding Makka?” Sure she might be avoiding the problem, but she did in fact want to know why Makkachin was under the bed.
He shrugged and took a seat across from her. “Yurio’s fault, he thought it would be funny. She didn’t think it was.”
“She’s avoiding the issue.” Viktor chimed as he came back with tea. He handed her, her cup before giving Yuuri his and a kiss on his forehead before going to find Makkachin. She snapped a picture of the smooch before he left. Phichit’s golden rule: phones out when Yuuri and Viktor are in the same room. She’ll be sending him the picture later and anymore if the opportunity shows itself.
“He’ll be back. Now, how may I be of assistance?” he directed his gaze back towards her. No way of avoiding his eyes now. Anyone that falls victim to his stare is doomed to follow instructions or in this case talk. Yurio is usually the only one to suffer the full force when he’s misbehaving.
She really couldn't be blamed if she caved within seconds. Especially, since Yuuri is just easy to talk with in general. She tells him everything. She ended up telling him more than she normally would. To Yuuri’s credit, he took it all in stride and didn’t interrupt. Even his occasional sip was polite and quiet. Once she finished, she took a big gulp of her tea.
“That is a big problem considering it's her favorite ballet.” She didn’t realize how much it was tearing her up inside until she had it all out in the open. If nothing else, just talking about it with someone lessened the burden. “I’m sure Sara won’t mind. All that really matters to her is you right. That being said, I understand the want to do something special. Is a dinner out of the question?”
“Pretty much. I’m cooking for both of us and I’m sure she'll want to help too.” Makkachin chose that moment to walk through their conversation and towards her bed.
She was quickly followed by a smug looking Viktor. “Ha, got her and I didn’t even have to use the milk bones.” Makkachin was already dozing and decided to ignore the promise of treats in favor of sleep.
He prepared his cup before sitting next to Yuuri. Seeing the concentration on Yuuri’s face, Viktor picked up where they had left off. “When is she flying over anyways? It might help to see how much time you’ll have to work with.”
She set her empty cup on the table. “Oh, …um if all works out she’ll be here in three days and she’ll be staying a little over a week.”
“That’s quite some time. Just enough time to set a couple things up if we’re smart about it.” Yuuri accidently got their attention when he gasped. He quickly apologized and excused himself promising to return with a solution to her problem.
Viktor didn’t look back until Yuuri was well out of his sight. “How do you think she’ll feel about one thousand roses?”
“Oddly enough, she doesn’t like the smell.”
“Favorite flower?”
“Aster alpinus, the blue variation although she likes them purple too.”
“How about a declaration of love?”
“I’m not Georgi so I’ll pass.”
Crossing his legs, Viktor started to tap his lips. “This is hard. Hmmm, you can give her something handmade, but that requires time. If push comes to shove, you can always get her jewelry. It’s hard to fail when gifting something tasteful. Something from Harry Winston might do the trick. We can make an appointment in their Moscow locatio.”
“I like the way you’re thinking. Let’s come back to it later. What else can you come up with?”
Before he could continue, Yuuri came back holding a white envelope. Taking one look at Viktor’s face, Yuuri let out an exasperated sigh and took his seat next to him. “No.”
“But Yuuri-”
“Sorry for leaving you guys alone together. Please forget whatever he said Mila.” Turning to Viktor, “you need to remember sometimes less is more.” He even looked away to avoid Viktor’s pout and puppy dog eyes. “Here you go.”
Looking inside at Yuuri’s insistence, Mila pulls out to tickets. “Wait! How? Are these?”
“Yup, they’re for Swan Lake too. The Mikhailovsky Theatre is a nice place.”
“I can’t take these! Don’t you already have a date planned around these?”
Giving up for now, Viktor turns his attention towards Mila. “Sure you can. I won those. I was aiming for third place because of the doggy suit that would’ve looked great on Makka, but I got second place.”
“They’ll go to waste if you don’t want them since we’ll be going to Hasetsu soon. No use in keeping them.”
Mila didn’t know what to say. Placing the envelope on the table, she gets up and hugs them both. “Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcomed.” Viktor helped them stand up. “Unless you want to stay for dinner, let me drive you home.”
Smiling, she thanked them again. “I’ll have to take a rain check on dinner. I still need to fix up my apartment.”
Yuuri helped gather her things and brought her, her bags. They hugged again at the threshold before she and Viktor made their way to his car. A short drive later they arrived. Thanking him one last time, she waved good bye before going inside.
“Mila we’re in The Mikhailovsky Theatre! Jeanne Sylvanie Arnould-Plessy used to perform here.” They were making their way to their seats, but Sara was over the moon. She just looks so happy talking about the things she loves.
“Sara the seats are over here.” The theater was nearly full by the time they sat down. Looking around they had a great view of the stage. “They’ll be starting soon. I hope it meets your expectations.”
Sara gave her a quick peck, “it already has. You’ll have to tell me how you got the tickets again.”
The lights made the sapphire pendant dazzle as she reached over to kiss Sara's. “After the show.” With that the lights dimmed and the room went silent. The curtains slowly parted. It’s time for the show to start.