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To give credit to Yurio, it was a long presentation, and it wasn't particularly interesting. And he was young. Still, though, it wasn't very polite to spend a whole presentation slouched in your seat and fiddling with your phone.He wasn't the only one horsing around with a phone, of course, a few the of the adults had theirs out. Still, though...
"Put your phone away." Yuuri said under his breath.
"But this is taking forever," the kid huffed, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, I know that. Put your phone away." he said again, with a little more resolve behind it. He got the stink eye, but the phone did go away. He glanced around and realized a few of the others were sheepishly putting away their phones. He dragged his eyes back up to the presentation.
These were long and boring, but they were done at the beginning of every season. New rules, regulations, greetings for new skaters, announcements. They all hated them, but there was nothing to be done for it. He sat up in his seat and listened as well as he could, even though his mind was wandering itself. Victor looked interested, but then again, he was a coach and the changes in the points system might mean more to him when doing choreography.
Within a few minutes, Yurio was slumping in his seat like he was made of wax and left in the sun. Yuuri sighed and tapped his ward on the knee.
"Sit up straight." he hissed.
"Katsudon," the kid whined. "This is taking forever."
"I understand that. You're being rude, and you're making Victor and I look bad." the kid hauled himself upwards like it hurt. Maybe it did, they had been sitting for a long time. Yuuri reached into his bag and pulled out a few pieces of candy. He picked out one of the Life Savers in his ward's favorite flavor. He handed it to him. The young Russian cheered a little bit and unwrapped it, popping it in his mouth.
It lasted maybe five minutes before he was slumping again. Yuuri looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Yurio just scowled, crossing his arms.
"Sit. Up. Straight." he said softly. "I won't ask you again." there was rustling around him, and he realized the skaters who had been slumping were pulling themselves upright as well. Yuuri sighed and rubbed his eyes behind his glasses.
"I know it's hard, bud. If you can get through this with us, we'll let you pick dinner."
"Pizza?" Yuri asked, interest piqued.
"Pizza," the brunet agreed. He handed him another candy. The kid sat up straight, the promise of pizza enticing him. They hadn't had anything like that in weeks, training as they were. But, Yuuri decided, maybe they all deserved a treat for getting through this meeting. He went to face forward when he noticed JJ eyeing his bag. With a fond eye roll, he handed him a few pieces of candy. JJ beamed back.
The presentation finally ended, and Victor stood and stretched. Yurio bounced out of his seat. It really had been too long, Yuuri thought. He rotated his neck and rubbed at his shoulders for a few seconds. The kid was practically vibrating. Perhaps, Yuuri thought, he should see if Victor could suggest putting breaks or intermissions into this thing. Or maybe he should consider a fidget toy of some kind.
"Can we go eat now, please?" the blond pleaded. "I'm starving!"
"Oh, where are we going?" Victor smiled, easy going, happy enough to go wherever they wanted.
"Pizza!"
"Hey," Phichit seemed to come out of nowhere. "Care for some company? To go get pizza?"
"Always," Yuuri smiled at his friend. He noticed a few of the other usual suspects and laughed. "I'm sure we can push a few tables together. And maybe we all deserve some pizza after that presentation."
It was nice to be with his friends, though, the brunet thought. They spent so long apart, and they were so far apart. Why hadn't he thought of having dinner together before? He glanced at his ward, who looked content enough, now that food was promised. They were chatting about the closest local joint and agreed one one place. Once they reached the lobby, Yuuri put his hand on Yurio's shoulder.
"After we've made a stop at the restrooms." Yuuri said gently. The kid scowled.
"I'm not a baby." he protested. "I know when I need to piss."
"Well, we're all going to try before we leave." he shook his head. "Now let's hurry up and get it done so we can go get pizza, hmm?"
They headed towards the restrooms of the hotel, and Yuuri realized that the whole group of them were drifting that way. Maybe that presentation had been longer than he thought, if so many people had to pee by now. He really would need to mention it to Victor to bring it up with some of the other coaches, and maybe they could work on something.
The rest stop hadn't taken long, and they were all heading out. The sky threatened rain, and Yuuri frowned. Of course no one had an umbrella, why would they? The forecast had promised a clear evening. Well, all weather men were liars or gamblers, and they'd lost the bet tonight.
"Zip up your coat," he said absently, reaching for Victor's hand.
"I'm not cold."
"It's going to rain and you'll get soaked right to the skin. Please, spare me the worry when you're chilled and zip it up?" he gave a pitiful look to the blond. Yurio huffed and stopped, zipping his coat dramatically. The Japanese man hadn't even been sure that you could do something like that dramatically. You learned something new every day.
He heard the subtle sound of other zippers sliding up. He gave Yurio a triumphant look. If the others were zipping up, then he had to be onto something there. The kid didn't even glance his way, instead talking to Mila. Talking? Bickering. That girl was basically like a big sister, come down to pester him. Well, he could do with some pestering. He spent all his time either skating or traveling, and he never did really connect with people his age. Otabek was close, but that wasn't quite the friendship that he thought Yuri could use. He chuckled softly, knowing that Yuri would kill him if he knew that they sat up all night on the phone, not speaking, enjoying each other.
They were in love. They didn't know it yet. That was fine, the Russian was young, and they had time.
He held open the door to the pizza parlor, ushering the large group in. He smiled at the sound of chatter as they were seated. Crowds could be difficult, so it was nice to actually be able to enjoy it. He sat next to Victor, and wasn't surprised when his ward claimed the seat on his other side. Like a cat, he mused. Yuri would pretend it was a total coincidence that he was existing in your space, even when he sought you out.
They ordered, happily digging in when their food came. He glanced at the blond and realizing he was moving to swipe his fingertips on his jeans. He reached over and stopped him, touching his wrist.
"Use your napkin, that's what they're for." he ignored the scowl he received in return, and the exaggerated motions of the fingers against the paper. It didn't escape him that Leo and Sara reached for napkins as well. Just as well, it would help the kid if he didn't think he was being called out. And they were setting a nice example. Not to mention pizza grease was a pain to get out.
"Right, Yuuri?" he jumped from his musing, blushing as Victor chuckled and kissed his temple.
"Sorry, lost in my head. What was that?"
He reentered the conversation, listening and add in. He barely noticed Yuri and Mila elbowing each other until he was jostled one time too many. He turned to give Yuri a raised eyebrow. The kid stopped, and he noticed even Mila looked a little abashed. Just as well, she shouldn't engage in that sort of thing either. T
After the pizza was gone, they lingered, sipping coffee. Yuri yawned, his head landed on Yuuri's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around his ward, pulling him into his side.
"Tired, sweetheart?" he asked softly.
"No," Yuri mumbled.
"Oh, really? You're just dozing into me for the fun of it?" that got a grumble, but he didn't press the issue. "It's late, and I think we should start heading home." he said louder. He had thought that Victor would gather them up, order an Uber or something. But instead, the rest of them started stacking their dishes and putting on their coats, even being sure to do the zippers.
The crowd headed back to the hotel. He knew Yuri was tired when he walked next to him, hands shoved into his pockets. He'd zipped his jacket without a word of complaint. He could hear his friends talking amongst themselves, about movies and chats and how about we hang out in this room or that room. Yuri didn't even seem interested.
"All right, sweetheart." he said as he unlocked the door. "I think it's time for you to brush your teeth and put on pjs."
Everyone froze.They were waiting for the tantrum, for the kick, for the kid to spin on his heel and stalk off. He hated being told what to do, and he'd never like to be told it was time to go to bed of all things. But the blond just nodded and walked into the hotel room. Yuuri turned then, looking at all the shocked faces around him.
"Well? What are you looking at? Go to bed!" he snapped, closing the door firmly.
"I don't believe it..." Mila said softly. "Chris said that the Ice Tiger was tamed but..."
"I know, it's a shock." JJ blinked a few times. Phichit just shrugged and headed for his room. "Where are you going?"
"Bed! I know what I was told." he headed for his door. "I don't want him back out here telling me again. Good night."
The others looked at each other and drifting into their rooms, plans forgotten. Teeth were brushed, pajamas donned. Before they even knew what they were doing, the skaters were climbing into their beds and turning out the lights. A few of them blinked a ceiling a few times, wondering how exactly they'd found themselves in this situation. But, it had been a long day, so maybe the extra sleep would do them good.
It happened throughout the rest of the summit. During another presentation when Yuri reached for a soda from the complimentary cooler and his guardian said he'd better take a water, Chris found himself doing the same. Perhaps a water would be better, he thought to himself, even though the kid rolled his eyes and scoffed.
JJ found himself ordered an extra side of vegetables when Yuuri prompted the young Russian to do so. He seemed almost surprised when his supper arrived with a salad and a steamed vegetable medley as sides. Although it was training season, he mused, so maybe it was for the best. Yuri only made a face and began eating his own supper without too much misery.
At the end of the weekend, Yuuri announced his husband and their ward would be going to the room early to pack up and make sure they didn't forget anything, AND to make sure everything fit in the suitcase. He didn't like messy packing. The other skaters trailed after him to their floor and disappeared into their own rooms.
"Everyone has been so well behaved this trip!" he mused. "We must all be getting old. There weren't any antics or late night parties or--."
"You really don't get it, do you?" Yuri snorted. The older man looked at him, confused. "They're behaving because of you."
"Me? I haven't been different this time." the blond just shook his head and finished packing, putting his bags by the door and then stuffing in headphones and flopping on the bed.
"He means," Victor spoke up, amused. "That you've been parenting at Yura so loud the others have fallen in line."
"I have not! Have I?"
"Afraid so, love." Victor chuckled. He saw the horrified look on his husband's face and wrapped him in a hug. "Don't worry about it. Maybe they all needed a little parenting, don't you think? Like you said, the whole lot of them actually behaved this year."
"I suppose..." he trailed off. "They must be angry at me."
"I don't think so. They're adults. You just have a powerful Mom voice." Victor shrugged.
Yuuri blushed and buried his face in his hands.