Chapter Text
Yuri held the fitted sheet up in front of his face, rotating it in an attempt to figure out the correct orientation. Mari walked into the room as he threw it down onto the bed in frustration.
“Here, let me help.” Mari bent down and picked up one side of the sheet. She motioned for Yuri to take the other one. “You have it twisted.” Mari walked around the side of the bed until the sheet straightened out. Yuri allowed himself to be guided as they placed it on the mattress.
Yuri bent down and took the flat sheet out of the laundry basket. He dropped it onto the bed and looked at Mari, daring her to comment on his house keeping skills. “I know that you didn't come in here to help me make the bed.” Yuri lowered his eyes to look at the sheet that lay crumpled in the centre of the mattress.
“I came in here to help because I'm tired of seeing you torture yourself.”
Yuri was about to argue that he was not torturing himself, he was preparing a guest room. Except he knew that Mari was not only commenting on his pitiful attempt at bed making. She was instead criticizing his attitude and overall approach to life. Yuri had thought that the move back to Hasetsu would have given him some perspective on the situation with Victor but it had only served to complicate matters.
“I can't help myself. I miss him.” Yuri crumpled so that his body fell onto the mattress.
Yuri assumed that Mari would respond to the overly dramatic display with sarcastic advice like suggesting that he redecorate his bedroom. She instead decided to be pragmatic. “Why don't you just let him go. I mean, call him and say that you are going to skate with a different coach next season.”
Walking away from the situation was an answer but it was not the one that Yuri was looking for. If anything, he would rather torture himself by being in Victor's presence than regret giving him up.
“But Mari, you're forgetting that Victor's coming to Hasetsu next month.”
Victor had been planning to do a show at the Ice Palace for some time. He had kept it secret from Yuri until his last night in Russia, only choosing to disclose the information because he was sure that Yuri was going to hear about it from either Yuko or his parents once he returned home. Yuri had been stunned. He expected Victor to give him space over the summer. Victor explained that he had been planning the show with Yuko while he was still living in Hasetsu as a thank you to Yuri's family and community. Victor had gone on about the potential tourism money that the event would bring to the area. Mari, as a future business owner, could not say no to that.
“I take it that mom and dad said that he could stay here?”
Mari threw her hands up into the air when Yuri confirmed that their parents had in fact asked Victor to stay with them. “At least it'll be good for business.” Mari walked out of the room. Yuri got the feeling that he could not count on his sister's help with the rest of the beds.
Yuri was sitting in front of his bedroom a few weeks later when he saw an unfamiliar car pull up in front of the inn. The driver got out, walked around the vehicle and began unloading the trunk. Meanwhile, Victor exited the car.
Yuri heard footsteps approach him from behind. He turned to find his sister standing beside him. “So that's her?” Mari watched as Lena exited from the other side of the vehicle.
“Yeah, that's Lena.”
Mari shrugged, apparently Lena Nikiferova was not that big of a deal. “I'm not going to let some Russian hussy continue to walk all over my little bro.”
“You can't blame her for the sins of her husband.”
Mari deflated slightly. “You can at least appreciate my offer.”
Yuri shushed his sister as they made their way downstairs to greet Victor and his family in the foyer. Victor stood next to the door with Lena. He held Vladislav in his arms. Vladislav's hands were both wrapped around his father's neck. His face was buried into his dad's shirt.
“Vitya! We are so happy you're here.”
Yuri hung back while his mother rushed forward to greet their guests. Hiroko stood on her toes and planted a kiss on Victor's cheek. “Now, who is this?”
Victor tried to adjust his grip on Vladislav so that his son was facing forward. Vladislav wrapped his arms more tightly around his father.
“This.” Said Victor while adjusting his hold on the clingy kid. “Is my son, Vladislav. And over here.” Victor used his chin to indicate Lena. “Is my wife Lena.”
Hiroko shook Lena's hand and then turned her attention back to Vladislav. “Oh Vitya, he's so cute. How old is he?”
“Vladislav turned four last week.”
Hiroko continued to gush over Vladislav. “Hello Vuladisulavu.”
Yuri's mother's butchering of Vladislav's name finally caught the child's attention. Vladislav lifted his head and squirmed until Victor put him down. He gave Hiroko a wary glance before walking over to Lena and grabbing on to her leg.
Hiroko took a step back. “Is he ok?” She looked up at Victor. Yuri could tell by the expression on his mother's face that she worried that she had scared Vladislav.
Victor put a reassuring hand on Hiroko's shoulder. “Don't worry, we spent the past two days touring Tokyo. It doesn't surprise me that he's a little tired.”
Hiroko instructed Yuri to take the Nikiferovs' luggage and show them to their room. She apologized to Victor. “I am sorry. I did not know that you were bringing your family. I prepared your old room but I can see about getting you something else if you need more space.”
Victor brushed off Hiroko's concern. “That's not a problem. My old room will be more than adequate.”
Yuri took a hold of the two wheeled suitcases that stood next to the door. He noted that Victor and Lena both wore backpacks but he was surprised that the Nikiferov family had not brought more luggage with them. Victor, feeling the need to assuage Yuri's concern, informed him that he had all his costumes for the show and some other things shipped separately.
Victor suggested taking a dip in the hot springs after he and Lena had gotten their room sorted out. Yuri agreed to accompany Victor and Vladislav into the men's bath. He press ganged Mari onto taking Lena to the women's side.
“What? Victor's wife is too rich to figure out how to take a bath by herself?”
“Be nice ok?” Yuri worried that his sister's animosity towards Lena bordered on problematic. “You have to trust me that Lena is nothing like that. You'll probably get along just fine if you're civil with her.”
Mari sighed, complaining that her brother worries too much. “She at least speaks English, right?” Yuri assured Mari that Lena's English was almost as good as Victor's
Mari walked over to Lena and made an overly enthusiastic display of offering Victor's wife her arm. This left Yuri alone with Victor and Vladislav at the entrance to the men's baths.
“Mari's not thrilled about meeting Lena, is she?”
Yuri stared back at Victor with his mouth agape.
“Honestly Yuri, I'm a choreographer. I know body language.” Victor waived away the apology that he knew was coming from Yuri. “I'm not too worried. Lena has a way of putting people at ease.”
Victor closed the locker where he stored his and Vladislav's clothing. He then lead his son over to the showers. Vladislad eyed the low stools and nozzles suspiciously. The expression on his face lead Yuri to believe that Vladislav had never seen anything quite like this before. Victor sat down on one of the stools and beckoned Vladislav over. He turned on the water and held the nozzle up to Vladislav. “It's just like at the pool.”
“Pool?”
Vladislav was suddenly more interested in the endeavour. He accepted the nozzle from his father and proceeded to spray down his body, marvelling at a shower that he could control. Yuri completed his own shower and followed Victor and Vladislav into the hot spring.
Yuri lowered himself into the warm water. He manoeuvred himself so that he was sitting away from the other bathers and had a clear view of Victor and Vladislav. Victor stood waist-deep in the water. He was next to the deck and he held his hands out for Vladislav.
Vladislav was distracted by the rocks, plants, statues and the fountain. This place was not like any pool that he had ever been to before. He looked around. Yuri could tell that Vladislav was feeling overwhelmed by the scenery. He was not sure whether it was even ok for kids that young to go into the hot springs. His own parents had not actually let him use the main pools until he was eight. But Yuri did not say anything. He assumed that Victor knew what his son could handle.
Yuri had gotten into a conversation with another bather over Victor's upcoming ice show when he was interrupted by the sound of Vladislav screaming. He turned around to see Vladislav sitting on the deck and crying. Victor climbed out of the pool and picked up his son. Yuri apologized to the other bathers as he climbed out of the hot spring and followed Victor back into the change room.
“Is everything alright?” Yuri could see that things were not alright but he needed to start a conversation somehow.
Vladislav stood on the ground beside his father. His hands were wrapped around Victor's leg. His tears traced down his face and landed on Victor's damp leg. Victor offered his son some comfort by resting a hand on Vladislav's head. “Apparently the hot springs are too hot.”
Yuri offered to fill a smaller tub with warm water. “You know, like the one that Yurio used when he did not want to be naked in front of everyone.”
Victor smiled a bit at the memory but ultimately turned Yuri down. “I think that it's best if I take Vladislav to go and rest for a bit. There's no sense in us spoiling your bath.”
Yuri was about to protest that it was really no trouble, that he could enjoy the hot springs any time he wanted seeing as he lived here but it was too late. Victor had already taken Vladislav over to the shower area. Yuri returned to the bath. His mom would only make him help serve dinner if he got out now.
Yuri emerged from the hot springs to find Mari sitting with Lena at a table in the back of the dinning hall. “Hey little bro!” Mari waived her arms in an exuberant display to call Yuri over to the table. “Mom said that we're on our own for dinner tonight. A bunch of clients who are in town for Victor's show just arrived and mom and dad are swamped with getting them fed.”
Yuri sat down at the table. A pitcher of beer, two glasses and an assortment of bowls graced the space in front of him. Yuri helped himself to rice and vegetables. Lena passed him a tray with grilled fish on it.
“Want some?” Mari dangled to half-emptied pitcher of beer in front of her brother's face.
Yuri looked at the frothy amber liquid.”No thanks. You look like you're enjoying yourself.”
Mari shrugged her shoulders and refilled her glass. She looked across the table at Lena, whose glass was still mostly filled. Seeing no other options, she placed the beer between the plate of fish and a tray that contained cut up pears and oranges.
“Did Victor not want anything?” Yuri felt bad for realizing only now that Victor was absent.
“He's with Vladislav. He'll eat later.” Lena explained that Vladislav had fallen asleep after his attempt at visiting the hot springs. “We did not want to leave him alone. It's his first night in a new place and he's not in the best of moods.”
Yuri climbed up the stairs to his bedroom after spending the past hour helping his parents with the dishes. Several Victor Nikiferov fans had travelled to Hasetsu to take in the ice show that was planned for the coming Saturday. Yuri had not expected so many of them to arrive so early. It was only Wednesday night and Yu-Topia was nearly at capacity.
Yuri opened the door to his room and flicked on the light. The sight of Mari sitting on top of his desk nearly caused him to scream and run out of the room in fright. “What are you doing in here?”
“Why? Am I interrupting your Victor Nikiferov fantasy time? I'm sure that Lena has gone back to their room. I can go get the real thing if you want.”
Yuri was suspicious. He did not understand why Mari was trying to convince him to indulge in his Victor Nikiferov fantasies. Unless... “Exactly how much beer did you drink?”
Mari looked up from counting on her fingers. “Well, I poured myself a glass, then I poured Lena a glass. You didn't want any so I poured myself another glass. The pitcher was emptied so that means I had at least one more glass.” Mari thought for a few seconds. “I also finished Lena's glass. She really does not drink much, especially considering the fact that she's Russian. So I guess I had four and a third glasses?”
Yuri sighed. At least the alcohol explained Mari's state.
“What? I also had food. Anyway, tonight was probably my last night to relax before total chaos descends upon the town this weekend.”
Yuri sat down on his bed. Mari had not left yet. It was obvious that she had come to talk about more than the number of drinks that she had had over dinner.
“Lena's way cooler than I expected.”
“Meaning?”
“You know, she's Victor's wife and all.”
“You sound just like Yurio.”
“Hey. Well, you know what I mean. If you can get over your incredulity that Victor even has a wife, Lena's just not the sort of person that you would expect. Like I would have guessed either someone who's just like Victor or one of those gold-digging housewife types.”
“Mari!” Yuri moaned. “I hope that you had the sense not to say that to her face.”
Chapter Text
“Good morning Yuri.”
Yuri did a double take. He had not expected to be greeted in Russian weeks after moving back to Japan. But there, right in front of him, stood Victor, Lena and Vladislav. The three of them, still wearing shoes, must have just gotten back to the inn. Vladislav, who looked a lot happier than he had the previous afternoon, was holding onto Victor's hand.
“I thought that I would give Lena and Vladislav a tour of the village. Sorry about not inviting you. I didn't want to wake you seeing as we are going to be busy at the rink later today.”
Busy at the rink? Yuri did not know exactly what Victor was talking about.
“Yeah.” Victor took note of the confused expression on Yuri's face. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I thought that we could train for a bit even though I am not officially your coach.”
“That sounds good.”
Toshiya dropped Yuri and Victor off at the Ice Palace a few hours later. Lena had elected to go for a hike with Mari leaving Victor in charge of Vladislav. The boy had absolutely refused to stay behind at the inn with Hiroko. Vladislav still had not gotten over the strange woman who could not pronounce his name and had begged to be allowed to stay with his papa.
Victor's additional luggage had been dropped off that morning. He was therefore using this trip to the rink to bring his costumes and other props for the show to Yuko in preparation for Saturday. Yuri was therefore recruited to wheel a large suitcase from the car to the arena lobby. The space had been decorated with large promotional banners that featured pictures of Victor. Yuri had seen them go up a couple of weeks ago but Vladislav was mesmerized. Yuri guessed that he had never seen so many large pictures of his papa in one place before.
“Victor!” Yuko waived at him from her position behind the skate rental counter.
Victor walked his son over to the rental counter. “Hello Yuko, I take it that you got my message? I thought that we could skate for a bit. I need to get accustomed to the ice.” Victor bent down to pick Vladislav up. “I almost forgot. This is my son Vladislav.”
“Yuri told me that you had a son.” Yuko studied Vladislav's face as if she was trying to determine whether this was some kind of prank on behalf of Victor.
“I think that he looks more like his mama but Lena disagrees.”
“Lena's your wife?”
“Exactly. I wanted you to meet her too but that will have to wait. Lena decided to go hiking with Mari instead.”
“Hiking with Mari?” Yuko's face clouded over. She knew what hiking with Mari would entail.
“Don't worry. Lena can handle it. She's strong.”
Yuko took Victor's suitcase to her office and returned with a pair of skates. “We have the place to ourselves until the 16:30 public staking session. I thought that I would join you and see what this little man can do.” Yuko nodded towards Vladislav. “Do you like skating Vulady-kun?”
Vladislav gripped his father's leg. He looked at Yuko but didn't say anything. Victor repeated the question to him in Russian. Vladislav responded with a shy nod.
“Sorry, Vladislav's English is not very good yet.”
“Actually...” Victor back-tracked. “How did your English get to be so great? I doubt that there are that many foreigners who come to the Ice Palace.”
Yuri was mortified. Victor's question was taking them into taboo territory.
“I planned to move to America for college, like Yuri did, but then I got pregnant and never ended up going.”
Even Victor did not know how to respond to that.
“But that's ok.” Yuko tried to smile. “My girls are worth it.”
Yuri did not believe that his friend was being one hundred percent sincere.
Things between them settled down after about fifteen minutes of warming up on the rink. Vladislav had become comfortable enough with Yuko that he had agreed to let her teach him at one end of the rink while Victor and Yuri practiced on the other three quarters of the ice surface.
“So Yuri, what have you been working on without me?” Victor performed a spread eagle, circling Yuri with his arms outstretched. He took a step inward, gliding until he stopped right in front of Yuri. Victor stood close enough for Yuri to see a bead of sweat trace its way from Victor's neck down to his chest via his shirt's deep v neckline.
Yuri took a step back. “Oh, you know. It's like I said. I'm working on strength and conditioning along with some program ideas for next year.”
Victor became overly excited at the mention of program ideas. He took another step towards Yuri, closing the distance between them. “Mind if I see? Do you have music yet? I could have something composed if you want.”
Yuri felt uncomfortable. Victor was way too involved for someone who was not even sure if he would be coaching Yuri next season. “Didn't we come here so that you could get used to the ice? You're here until next Tuesday. I can show you my stuff on Sunday or next week or whenever.
Victor was a bit disappointed with Yuri's reasoning. “Alright then. I'll show you what I have planned.” Victor skated to the centre of the rink and gave Yuri the signal to start his music.
The first piece on Victor's playlist was the music from his free program from the 2009-2010 season. Yuri, who had of course memorized the program, was surprised to note a few changes to the iconic routine. Victor had changed up some of the jumps by moving the triple Axel later in the program and replacing the quadruple toe loop with a triple. His sit spin position was not exactly the same either. Yuri was going to comment on the changes except that, instead of stopping at the end, Victor skated to another spot on the ice and signalled to Yuri to start the next track on his playlist. Victor went through another two programs before joining Yuri next to the boards.
“You're doing the short program from 2005? I love that one.”
Victor used his discarded sweater to wipe droplets of sweat off of his face. He drank from his water bottle before replying. “You told me that it was one of your favourites. I hope that you won't be disappointed.”
“It looked amazing, probably even better than I remember.” Yuri made a mental note to re-watch his recording of the performance, preferably late at night when there was little chance of being discovered by Victor.
“Unfortunately my old costume does not fit anymore. I thought about getting it altered but decided to go with a new one in case you or Vladislav wanted to wear it one day.” Victor set his water bottle back down on the boards. “Break time is over. I want to get through three other programs before Vladislav runs out of patience for Yuko.” Victor glanced across the rink. Yuko had drawn some shapes on the ice with marker for Vladislav to skate around.
Yuri was not sure if he had heard Victor properly. He would consider lending him another one of his old costumes? “It looks like your stamina has come a long way.”
“Why else do you think that I was training so hard? I want this show to be perfect for you.”
Yuri blushed and looked away. He had spent all this time thinking that Victor's training had been for the purpose of returning to competitive skating.
Victor skated through his other programs before leaning against the boards and declaring that it was Yuri's turn. “I need to go see how Vladislav's doing anyway. He has not been the happiest since we've been in Japan.”
Yuri had noticed that Vladislav seemed to be more irritable and clingy than usual. “It seems like Yuko's doing a good job at keeping him entertained.” Vladislav was still skating with Yuko at the other end of the rink. He had made it through the past hour without having a meltdown which was pretty good compared to his track record from the previous day.
“She does have a lot of experience.” Victor shuddered as if the very thought of having triplets was repulsive on a primal level. “One baby was hard enough.”
Yuri noted the Victor looked concerned.
“Lena and I haven't figured out what's bothering Vladislav. I was worried that he might be getting sick but I don't think that there's anything physically wrong with him.”
“Four year-old angst?”
Victor laughed at Yuri's suggestion. “Yeah, that's probably it.”
Victor skated away to join his son, leaving Yuri alone by the boards. Yuri connected his phone to the sound system and searched through his folder of skating music. Even though he had known about Victor's visit for a number of weeks, he did not feel ready to debut his new stuff in front of his former coach. Yuri had no reason to be embarrassed but still did not feel comfortable showing Victor something so unpolished. Yuri was about to hit play when an idea struck him. Instead of starting the music for his program-in-progress, he searched for the piece that Victor has used for his 2005 program. Yuri was sure that he still had the exact cut that Victor had skated to on his phone.
Yuri reproduced Victor's choreography to the best of his memory and ability. Victor had been seventeen years old when he debuted the program at the start of the 2004 Grand Prix Series but the elements were still quite demanding. Yuri remembered rushing to the rink after school to skate his version of the program with Yuko. He tried to capture that energy and make the legendary choreography his own.
Yuri stood facing Victor, Vladislav and Yuko who had gathered near the boards. The sound of Victor and Yuko's applause rang in his ear as he paused, arms raised and chest heaving.
“Way to embarrass me.” Victor skated over to where Yuri stood. He wrapped his arms around Yuri's waist and lifted him up in the air.
The sudden change in elevation destabilized Yuri, leaving him unable to field a response. Yuri felt his body slump against Victor once his feet were back on the ice. “Embarrass you?”
“Don't be so modest. The way that you switched up the camel spin and the lay back was genius. I should have you performing that piece in my show.”
Switching up the spins? Yuri's mind blanked. He did not understand how he could have messed up the program like that after having just seen Victor perform it less than an hour ago. “I'm sorry!” He blurted out before rushing off the ice.
Yuri did not make it very far before noticing that Victor was following him down the hallway. He held Yuri's skate guards in his hands. “I would put these on before you go any further.”
Yuri paused and slumped against the wall. “I'm so sorry. I usually wear them. I'm sorry.” He repeated, leaning against the wall.
Victor stooped so that his face was level with Yuri's. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I messed up your program.”
Victor could have chastised Yuri, a grown man, for getting so upset over performing the wrong spin. He chose to stay calm instead. “It's fine Yuri. Actually, it's better than fine. I would like to do it that way in the show if it's alright with you.”
Yuri could hardly believe that Victor was asking him for permission. “You don't need to ask me if you can do your own program.” Yuri mumbled without looking up.
“You're too modest.” Victor straightened up. “Do you feel like heading back to the rink or would you prefer to go home?”
Yuri considered his options. “I would like to stay and skate for a bit, maybe alone. Is that alright with you?”
“Of course. I think that Vladislav will need a break soon anyway.”
Chapter Text
“It must have been hard for you.”
“Hard?” Yuri looked at Yuko through the shelves of rental skates. He had decided to stay and help Yuko set up for public skating. “It was my fault really. How could I have messed up Victor's program right in front of him? Why did I make such a big deal over it? Victor's probably glad that I left Russia.”
“Oh, Yuri, no.” Yuko's hand paused half-way towards the pair of skates that she was about to pick up. “I meant that it must have been hard for you to go all the way to Russia only to find out that Victor has a family.” Yuko took the skates down from the shelf and placed them on the counter top. “I get the impression that Victor would very much like to continue coaching you. Organizing a whole ice show to say thank you to you and your family must mean something to you.”
Yuri looked down at his shoes. “I was thinking that it meant goodbye.”
“I don't think that Victor wants that at all.”
“He told me that he can't move back to Japan.” Yuri specified that he could move back to Russia in the fall but he was wavering over it. “He's the best coach I've ever had but it's Russia. Even if I did get over my crush on Victor, it's not like I could easily date someone else.”
Yuko walked around the shelf so that she was facing Yuri. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. They stayed like that for several minutes, hidden from view of the lobby by several shelves.
“Mama!”
A chorus of voices rang out from the entrance way. Yuko's children had returned home from school. “It looks like I'm going to have to get them a snack. You can join us if you want.”
Yuri looked back at Yuko. He was sorry to leave her but her kids were a lot. “I think that I'll head home of that's ok with you. Mari was out today and my parents could probably use some help at the inn.”
Yuri stood next to his mother in the kitchen, washing dishes while she grilled vegetables. Mari and Lena had still not returned from their hiking trip meaning that Hiroko was glad that her son had volunteered to help out with the dinner service.
“Is Mari ok?” Yuri had not heard from his sister all day. He hoped for Victor's sake that she had not done anything stupid with his wife. Yuri's experience with Lena had shown him that she was normally a rational person. However, the fact that she was in an unfamiliar area and did not speak the language put her at the mercy of Yuri's more chaotic sister.
“She's fine. Mari messaged me to say that they just missed their train. She is taking Lena out for dinner and they will come back on the evening train.”
Yuri relaxed. He was glad that Victor would not have to deal with having his wife lost in the wilderness on top of his kid being difficult.
Hiroko placed a few cups and dishes on a tray along with a covered platter of food. “Why don't you bring this to Victor and Vuradu..., his son.” Hiroko shook her head. She did not mean to disrespect Victor and Lena but she did not understand why they chose such a difficult to pronounce name for their child. “Who am I to judge. Maybe it's a very popular name in Russia.”
“I don't think that I met any other Vladislavs.”
“You're just trying to make me feel better.”
“No mom, really. Besides, everyone in Russia was probably happy that you gave me such an easy to pronounce name.”
Hiroko laughed at her son's joke. “You can join them for dinner if you'd like. I packed enough food for the three of you.”
“Don't you need to extra help with Mari gone?”
Hiroko swatted Yuri away with her hand. “Go eat. The dinner rush is over and your dad is distracting all of the remaining guests with alcohol so I think I'll be fine.”
Yuri carried the tray of food over to the disused banquet room that the Nikiferov family was staying in. He stood next to the door for a few seconds before knocking. He could hear Victor and Vladislav talking inside. Yuri raised his fist and knocked, entering when Victor told him to come in in Japanese.
“Oh, Yuri, it's you.” Yuri did not know whether it was just him or if Victor really did look mildly disappointed to see him.
“I brought dinner.” Yuri laid the tray on the low table in the corner of the room and set out the food and dishes.
Vladislav waived to Yuri from his place in Victor's lap. Victor stood up and placed his son on the floor. They both walked over to where Yuri was sitting next to the table. Vladislav held on to Victor's hand, which was nothing new. He did however look the happiest that Yuri had seen him during his stay in Japan. Vladislav even went through the trouble of thanking Yuri for the food when he had been quite sullen towards him over the past few days. Yuri questioned Victor regarding the change in behaviour.
Victor shifted some of the rice from his bowl into Vladislav's. He then placed a hand on his son's back. “I read Vladislav some of the books that we brought with us when we got back earlier this afternoon. Vladislav enjoys a series called 'Vladoshka', basically Little Vladimir.”
Yuri looked at Victor quizzically. He did not see what a book had to do with Vladislav's mood.
“The books are about a seven year-old Soviet boy named Vladimir Vladimirovich. He's the son of a military officer.”
Yuri had no trouble figuring out where this was going.
“The stories basically use Vladoshka's adventures to show kids how great Russia is.” Victor poured himself some tea and took a drink. “I was reading Vladislav the book where Vladoshka visits Saint Petersburg with his family. You cannot imagine my surprise when Vladislav stops me to ask whether we're ever going back.”
Vladislav thought that they were moving here. “Is that why he cried over almost everything?”
Victor shook his head in embarrassment. “Apparently.” Victor invited Vladislav to sit in his lap. “He thought that we were moving into your parents' house. Like when you lived with us.”
“I miss Russia.” Vladislav chimed in. He understood more English than Yuri gave him credit for. “Papa said that we stay here.”
“I meant during our trip.” Victor kissed the top of Vladislav's head. “Only during our trip.”
Chapter Text
Victor spent most of the following day at the Ice Palace with Yuko. Neither of them would let Yuri anywhere near the building. Yuri could only image what was going on in there. Victor had made arrangements with local vendors for decorations and sales of drinks and snacks during the show. Victor had once confessed to Yuri that his father was disappointed that neither he nor Andrei had any interest in getting involved with the family shipping or oil companies. Victor's dedication to the ice show and his involvement with local merchants had Yuri wondering whether Victor really did have a latent interest in business. He would need it if he ever wanted to make coaching work for real.
Victor more than made up for his absence on Friday by barging into Yuri's bedroom early Saturday morning.
Yuri, roused by the sound of his door being shoved open, sat up in bed. “Victor?” Yuri regarded Victor who stood beside his bed. Victor wore split seam shorts and a Team Russia dry-fit shirt. “You want to go for a run now? It's not even morning yet.”
Victor looked around Yuri's room, taking in the photos of himself that stared back at him. Victor shook his head. He still could not believe the extent of Yuri's poster collection. “I already jogged down to the beach and saw the sun rise. I can assure you that it's morning.”
Yuri responded with a barely audible grumble. He liked looking at Victor but if he had just come in to wake Yuri up and insult his poster collection then he had another thing coming. “So you're just here to chat?”
Victor sat down on the bed. “I'm kind of nervous.”
Yuri sighed. “I am not sure whether I believe you.” Victor appeared to be the picture of calm. “You've done what? Won the Olympics twice, the World Championships five times, the European Championships eight times and the Russian National Championships ten times?”
“Yes but none of those were in front of you.” Victor laid down and stretched out. The lack of space in Yuri's single bed meant that Victor's body was pressed against his. They were separated by the blanket and both of their clothes but it felt intense after over a month of separation.
“You know that some of them were.” Yuri turned over so that his back was facing Victor. “Don't even get me started on the Grand Prix, you know, where we met?”
“You don't even remember that that was were we met.” Victor wrapped his arms around Yuri and pressed his face into his back.
“That feels weird.” Yuri was laughing too hard to feign indifference.
Victor let go of Yuri and turned on to his back. His shoulders lined up with the edge of the mattress. “I just want today to be perfect, you know?”
Yuri lay in silence with Victor for a few minutes. “You're always perfect.” Yuri turned to look at Victor. His former coach had a smile on his face and tears welling at the corners of his eyes.
Yuri and Victor laid on the bed and stared up at the ceiling while the rising sun began to light up the room. Neither moved or said very much until Victor abruptly sat up, ruining the moment. He needed to leave if he wanted to eat breakfast with his family before heading out to the rink. Yuri watched Victor stand up and leave the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Yuri rolled over onto the part of the bed that Victor had occupied instead of getting up himself. Victor had not lied about having gone for a run. The sheets on that end of the bed smelled faintly like his sweat but Yuri did not mind. He could close his eyes and imagine that Victor did not have to leave him as he drifted back to sleep.
“You're wearing that?”
Yuri was accosted by his former dance teacher, Minako, upon entering the dinning room. She was sitting with Mari at a table in the corner. Yuri hesitated to approach them. His parents were busy finishing up the breakfast service which meant that he would get no reprieve from their constant barrage of insults.
“Minako, you know that my little brother likes to keep things comfy-chic.” Mari smirked, she was only encouraging Minako.
“I don't know. He could have at least put in a bit more effort, you know? Like wearing one of those nice tracksuits, like Victor's kid.” Minako then burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh my god.” Minako managed to gasp out between bursts of laughter. “You told me that Victor was married and that he had a son but seeing it for myself really got me.”
“It was a lot for me too you know.” Yuri raised his hand to cover his mouth. Being rude to Minako would get him nowhere.
“Easy bro.” Mari leaned over the table so that she was between Yuri and Minako. “We don't want to start anything before the show.”
“No, sorry Yuri. I shouldn't have laughed.” Minako pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “It was more of a comment on Vlad-a-whatever.” Minako shook her head over the name. “He's just so Russian.” Yuri looked at Minako as if to say of course, he's from Russia. “But you know what I mean. I spent five minutes with the kid and could see his pride for the mother land.”
“Victor says that that's what they're teaching in school these days. Vladislav wants to win gold medals like papa someday.”
“Isn't he like three?”
“He's four but he goes to a preschool. Apparently they have pro-Russia lessons.”
Minako looked surprised. “His parents are ok with that?”
“They're Russian too.”
Yuri accompanied Lena and Vladislav to the Ice Palace a few hours later. Lena was surprised to see the crowds of people gathering outside and in the arena concourse. “Is this place usually this busy?” Lena had spent enough time in Hasetsu to know that it was not a bustling metropolis.
“This is all for your husband. It's normally pretty dead around here.” Yuri glanced around. It looked like all of the food trucks and half of the souvenir vendors had migrated from downtown for the event. “We still have some time before the show starts if you and Vladislav want to get a snack or something.”
They walked around the vendor area until Vladislav informed his mama that he wanted an ice cream by pointing out a food truck that was selling it in fish-shaped cones. Yuri helped Lena order a strawberry-flavoured ice cream in a taiyaki cone for Vladislav and a taro-flavoured one for herself.
“You don't want anything?” Lena grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser on the food truck counter and passed Vladislav his cone.
“Um...” Yuri looked at Lena. His attention was drawn to the ice cream in her hand. It was just starting to melt and Yuri could not deny that the dessert would be delicious. “I would it's just that...”
“Is this about the time that Victor called you fat?” Lena stared Yuri straight in the eye, ignoring Vladislav who was tugging on her hand and pointing to a booth that was decorated with multi-coloured streamers.
“You know about that?” Yuri was incredulous. He could not believe that Victor had told Lena that story when Victor had not even told him that Lena existed.
“Victor's told me a lot about you.” Lena took Vladislav's hand in her free one. They moved to the side to allow the next customers to order.
Yuri hoped that Lena could not tell how awkward he felt. He was never quite sure what she knew about him. “Everyone was calling me fat back then and they weren't wrong.” Yuri hoped that Lena did not think that this was the time or place for a talk about body image. “If Victor's told you about me then you're probably aware that I have problems managing my weight.”
Lena wiped a smudge of ice cream off of Vladislav's chin. It was hard for her to supervise her son eating a messy snack and lecture Yuri on the importance of moderation at the same time. “I am aware, to some extent, but I also know that it's important not to be too restrictive.” Lena encouraged Yuri to chose one thing to eat before they went inside for the show. “It's not like you're going to overeat out here anyway. Vladislav and I are here for you.”
Yuri doubted that he had Vladislav's support. Victor's son usually gave off the impression that he merely found Yuri to be tolerable.
Yuri looked at the food trucks that were parked around the arena. “I would like to get some barbecued squid skewers.” Yuri looked down to see Lena wiping at the ice cream that was dripping on to Vladislav's hand. “Why don't I meet you at the picnic tables?” Yuri gestured towards a grouping of tables that had been set up under some trees.
Once they had finished eating and Lena had helped Vladislav wash his sticky hands at the fountain, it was time to go inside. Victor's show was starting soon and Yuri needed to show Victor's wife and son to the seating section that had been reserved for friends and family of Yuri and Victor. The space was already occupied by Yuri's parents, his sister and Minako. The few remaining seats were reserved for Takeshi and the triplets. Yuko herself was acting as Victor's master of ceremonies.
Lena had just gotten Vladislav, who had been adamant about sitting with his mama, comfortable on her lap when the two of them were distracted by Axel, Lutz and Loop who ran ahead of their father and pushed themselves into the reversed section. The sisters were arguing about who got to sit up front and who had to sit in the second row with their dad when they noticed Vladislav. Yuko must have told her daughters that Victor's wife and son would be coming to the show. Of course the girls would gravitate towards the foreign woman and boy who were sitting in their section. The fact that Vladislav was wearing a Russia tracksuit did nothing but clarify the situation.
“Look!” Loop, or maybe it was Lutz (Yuri could never tell), pointed to Vladislav and Lena. “That must be him.”
Axel pulled Yuko's phone out of her pocket. “We need to document this for the 'Gram!”
Takeshi made a feeble attempt to control his daughters but did not actually manage to stop them from crowding around Lena, Vladisalv and (by proxy) Yuri.
Vladislav pressed himself more firmly against his mama's body. He had come to the rink with the intention of watching his papa perform. No one told him that he would be swarmed by three she-demons. Lena, who could not communicate with the Nishigori triplets, wrapped her arms tighter around her son. She looked at Yuri, imploring him to control the girls.
“Hey.”
Yuri's soft voice managed to get their attention in a way that their dad's yelling could not. “What Yuri-kun?” Axel looked at him, the nickname was hot on her tongue. It was clear that the triplets were not here to mess around.
“It's time to sit down. You wouldn't want to disappoint all of these people who came to see the show by standing up and yelling. Would you?”
Loop (or Lutz?) looked around. She realized that only her dad and Yuri's family were sitting near them and decided that Yuri's threat was not such a big deal. She continued to talk loudly to her sisters.
Yuri chose to go with a different tactic. “You don't want to upset Vladislav.”
This caused them to pause. “It's not fair. Mama told us all about Vlady-kun but we never got to meet him for ourselves and now you're just telling us to sit down.” Axel flopped down into the seat beside Yuri in the front row. “We never get to meet anyone cool.”
“We need to document this.” The kid who was probably Loop pointed her mother's phone at Vladisalv and Lena.
Yuri stood up and stepped between the triplets and Victor's family. “You can't put photos of someone on the internet without their permission.”
“We'll just post one. We just need to prove that we've seen him.”
Yuri grabbed the phone out of Loop's hands. “No. Lena and Vladislav do not want to be featured on your Instagram.” Yuri passed the phone back to Takeshi. “It's time to sit down anyway. The show is going to start soon.”
Yuri shook his head. The Nishigori girls were oblivious to the fact that not everyone likes getting yelled at by strangers in a foreign language and having their picture posted on their Instagram account. Yuri was about to relay this information to the girls before realizing that there was no way that they would understand. Neither of those things would phase them in the slightest. He relented and decided to formally introduce them to Lena and Vladislav instead.
“Alright.” Yuri spoke in English even though he knew that none of the kids understood it very well. “These are Axel, Lutz and Loop Nishigori. They are Yuko's daughters. They are seven years old and are very excited to watch Victor skate.” Vladislav waived and said hello after some reassurance from Lena. “They're kind of the reason that Victor decided to coach me.” Yuri said the last part half to himself. He was not sure how Lena would feel knowing that it was Yuko's daughters who posted him Stammi Vicino video to Instagram.
“This is Vladislav and Lena, Victor's son and wife.”
“Yuri-kun, are they good at skating like Victor?” The Nishigori siblings looked at him expectantly.
“Vladislav likes to skate with his father. Lena skates too but she prefers hockey.”
Yuri's remark earned him a quizzical look. They did not see how THE VICTOR NIKIFEROV could have married a hockey lover. “Victor should have married an ice princess, or you.”
Yuri blushed and shushed the kids. He was glad for Lena's sake that they had spoken Japanese and that the lights were beginning to dim.
A single spot light shone down onto Yuko who stood at centre ice. She faced the crowd, holding a microphone in her right hand. “Welcome to a special presentation by world-renowned figure skater Victor Nikiferov: Love on Ice.” The crowd cheered. “Mr. Nikiferov would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting Hasetsu and he hopes that you will enjoy the show.”
The lights dimmed again. The rink was left in the dark until a blue-washed spot light illuminated Victor who stood on the left side of the ice. Victor's position and costume were enough for Yuri to guess that Victor would be performing his gold medal-winning short program from the 2010 Olympics. It was a bold choice considering the recent press that had come out of Victor's public announcement of his marriage. The formerly little-known photo's of Victor's proposal to Lena following the Vancouver Olympics had made the rounds on more reputable sites. Yuri wondered if this performance was Victor's way of addressing the press.
Yuri kept his eyes trained on Victor while listening intently for the crowd's reaction. Most of the audience were not hardcore figure skating fans so Yuri did not expect them to notice the changes that Victor had made to the program. He was however unsure as to how many people would make the connection between the performance, the 2010 Olympics and Victor's marriage proposal. The crowd remained mostly silent, cheering on some of the jumps, before providing a more robust ovation when the music concluded. Yuri had to admit that the response was pretty normal. In fact, some audience members cheered more loudly when Yuko came back on to introduce Victor's next performance.
Victor followed his first program up with Stammio Vicino which, being Victor's most recent competitive free program, earned a more enthusiastic response.
“Don't you wish that you were out there?”
Yuri jumped in his seat. The question had come from nowhere. A glance around told him that Axel had gotten out of her seat and was standing beside him. “What?”
“You know, skating with Victor. Like for your exhibition.”
Yuri wanted to tell Axel to go and sit down but he knew that that would not work. He instead tried to explain that yes he liked skating with Victor but that he also liked watching Victor skate. “It's so pure. Sometimes you just don't want to get in his way.”
Axel sighed loudly and shook her head. Adults could be so weird sometimes. She stomped back to where her sisters were sitting thinking that, if she were Yuri, she would have marched down to the ice and begged Victor to let her skate with him.
Victor's next piece completely surprised Yuri.
Victor had returned wearing a fitted black turtleneck shirt and black pants, nothing like his usual costumes. Yuri did not recognize the music either. He first thought that it might be a new program but that changed when he realized how simple the choreography was. Victor did nothing more advanced than a double Salchow but somehow made it look exquisite. The performance was well done but Yuri hoped that it was not a prelude to Victor thinking that he was getting to old to skate. Yuri was glad that most of the audience were not the sort of die-hard skating fans who would boo Victor for such a display. He did notice some confused glances but most audience members were entranced by the simple beauty of the whole thing.
Victor followed the strange routine with his 2005 free skate program. Yuri noted that he did switch the spins as Yuri had done by accident two days prior. Yuri had to admit that it was a good move even if it would have earned Victor fewer points in competition. Yuri turned his attention to Victor's costume. The sequined blue outfit was a perfect replica of the original. Knowing Victor, it had probably been made by the same seamstress. Yuri regretted not having chosen it when he and Yurio had gotten free rein over Victor's costume collection.
Yuko came on the ice to congratulate Victor when the music ended. She announced that there would be a twenty-minute intermission for ice resurfacing and preparations for the second half of the show. Yuri knew that there would be a rush for the bathrooms and the food trucks so he elected to stay in his seat. What he really wanted to do was find Victor and ask him about the third performance. However, he knew that Victor would need the intermission time to get ready for the second half of the show and should not be disturbed. At least that was what he overheard Lena explaining to Vladislav from the seat next to him.
Lena.
Maybe she would know what the third program was supposed to be. Yuri wondered whether it was something that Victor had made during his rehabilitation from injury back in 2009. That was how Lena and Victor met so asking her about it was worth a shot.
“Lena?”
Lena turned to look at Yuri.
“Do you know where Victor's third program came from?”
“He told me that it was based on a program that he made when he was ten. He cleaned it up a bit but it is essentially the performance that Victor made during his first year on the Saint Petersburg novice circuit.” Lena adjusted Vladislav on her lap. “Apparently his papa wouldn't let him wear the sparkly costumes that he wanted so he 'rebelled' by choosing plain black.”
Lena's story of Victor's preteen angst brought a smile to Yuri's face.
“Classic Victor, right?” Lena nodded conspiratorially. “Unfortunately I get the feeling that someone..” Lena pointed to Vladislav who was unzipping his tracksuit jacket to reveal a Russia t-shirt underneath. “Is going to be just like his papa when he's older.”
“I have a feeling that Victor would have no problem with Vladislav wearing sequins.”
“Exactly. Victor is going to be begging him to wear some sparkly thing while this kid is asking to be allowed to compete in a tracksuit.” Lena kissed Vladislav on the cheek.
Victor opened the second half of the show with his upbeat exhibition piece from 2011. Yuri remembered having stayed over in Moscow for the extra day of the World Championship to watch the Gala. It had been worth it even if it meant paying more to extend his hotel stay. The audience seemed to appreciate this version of the program too. The exhibition piece was followed by Victor's short program from the 2013 season which was in turn followed by nothing less than Eros.
Yuri heard the familiar notes of what had been his short program piece play on the arena's sound system. Victor began at centre ice but his starting pose was very different than what Yuri's had been. The way Victor stood would have him facing the judges if this had been a competition as opposed to facing the 'coach' position like Yuri did. Yuri knew that Victor had originally choreographed both Eros and Agape for himself before making adjustments to accommodate Yuri and Yurio but it still perturbed him a bit to see the familiar step sequences being fundamentally altered in right in front of him. There was also the matter of Victor's costume.
Yuri had selected a suit from Victor's archive that Victor had worn when he was fifteen. Although he had returned the outfit at the conclusion of the season, Victor, not being able to fit into the original garment without significant alteration, had gone with a completely different look. Victor wore a tight black bodysuit that had strategically-placed cut-outs that were done in red lace. The costume looked like something that Christophe Giacometti might wear. Yuri was pleased to note that instead of adopting Chris' signature sensuality, Victor's movements were more reminiscent of Maria's alluring assertiveness. He wondered whether Victor was also thinking about spread sheet and board meetings as he skated across the ice.
Victor's performance of Eros garnered him a standing ovation. Yuri liked to think that it was partly the result of them remembering that he had performed to the same song at the Ice Palace a year earlier. Yuko went onto the ice after the crowd had calmed down. The spot light shone on her, illuminating her face as she made an announcement. “Victor would like to announce that his next performance will be the world premier of his new short program: Re-Birth.”
A collective gasp rose from the crowd as the lights dimmed. Yuri could not help thinking that a new short program could only mean one thing: Victor was planning a return to competitive skating. Yuri did not know whether he should be excited or disappointed by the news. He could not say no to new Victor content but he had no idea what that would mean for his personal situation. Yuri worried that his indecision over whether to move back to Saint Petersburg had influenced Victor's apparent bid to return to competitive skating.
The house lights brightened to reveal Victor standing on the ice surface. He was immobile, waiting for the music to start. Yuri listened carefully as the first few notes of a classical piece filled the room. The music started off light but then began to build in both intensity and volume as the program progressed. Yuri did not recognize the piece. He imagined that Victor had had something original composed for the occasion.
Yuri watched Victor's camel spin. The Swarovski crystals on Victor's mesh top glittered in the spotlights. Victor stopped spinning and skated backwards across the ice where he performed a triple Axel-triple loop jump combination. The program finished off with a triple Salchow. Yuri imagined Victor upgrading the jump to a quad if this had been a real competition. Leaving a quad until the very end was risky but he was sure that it would be possible. Victor had come a long way in terms of stamina as he had already performed seven different programs prior to this one.
Yuri was moved. He did not feel the need to scream out his affections for Victor like certain audience members did. He merely stood and clapped stoically. He looked over at Lena who was standing beside him. She had put Vladislav on the ground but held one of his hands as he jumped up and down cheering for his papa. Lena herself was silent but Yuri could detect a faint hint of pride in her smile. He guessed that she would be happy about Victor's return to competitive figure skating as it would cement his resolution to stay with her in Saint Petersburg.
Chapter 5
Notes:
The sixth 'chapter' contains an extensive discussion of the motivation, characters and themes of this series. Many topics that are presented in the work are discussed in more detail. I am open to discussing additional themes or questions. Thank you for taking the time to read this less-conventional work. I know that not many 'Yuri on Ice' works feature Victor with a wife.
Chapter Text
The last day of the Nikiferov family's stay in Hasetsu dawned bright and hot. Yuri's parents, taking note of Vladislav's earlier complaints about the hot springs being too hot, suggested that Yuri take their guests on a trip to the beach. Hiroko, too busy with all of the clean up from the weekend to accompany them, had prepared Yuri a large camping backpack filled with snacks and beach toys that she had salvaged from when Yuri and Mari were young.
Yuri, lunging the heavy bag, walked down the trail to the beach beside Lena. Victor, walking hand-in-hand with Vladislav, trailed them by a couple of meters. He was occupied with pointing out plants and birds to Vladislav who happily played along with his father's tour guide game. Yuri only hoped that the kid would not be disappointed by the beach itself. Between the hot springs, thinking that he was moving to Japan and having to endure the Nishigori triplets, Vladislav was not having the best trip.
Yuri was glad when they finally reached the sandy shores. He set the bag down with a thud and proceeded to root through it for the blanket and sun umbrella that his mother had managed to stuff into it. Upon finding the amenities, he passed them to Lena to set up. They had the place to themselves aside from a few stray seagulls who were flying around in search of free food.
Vladislav rapidly grew bored of sitting on the beach and announced that he wanted to go swimming. He removed his t-shirt and threw it dramatically onto the sand. Lena, who also wore her bathing suit underneath her clothes, removed her t-shirt and shorts and accompanied him to the edge of the water. This left Yuri sitting alone in the shade with Victor.
“Do you remember coming here last year?”
Victor's question broke the companionable silence that had settled in between them.
Yuri was about to reply that he would never forget it when he was interrupted by Victor.
“I asked you whether you wanted me to be a coach, a father, a brother or a lover.” Victor blushed a bit on the last word. “Do you remember what you told me?”
“To be yourself.”
“Exactly.” Victor paused. “You didn't know that I already was a brother and a father.”
Yuri nodded, conscious of the fact that Victor did not say lover.
Victor's gaze travelled over to where Lena stood holding Vladislav who was kicking his legs in the water. “I love him more than anything.” Victor waived to Vladislav who had flipped over to show his mama that he could float on his back. “Keep it to yourself for now but Lena agreed to having another baby.”
Yuri thought back to Mari's comment about Lena not drinking much. He wondered whether it was possible that she was already pregnant. Her bikini revealed a flat enough looking stomach but even the child-hesitant Yuri knew that a pregnancy could take weeks to show. “But I thought that Lena wanted to do FINA (Federation International de Natation).”
“Yes, she is. She was informed that she's on the short list as a therapist for Team Russia. We're going to try later this summer. That way the baby will be born after next skating season.” Victor mused over the fact that they would not have to try very hard to conceive if their next kid was anything like Vladislav. Yuri fought the urge to cover his ears. Sometimes Victor provided too much information. “But aren't you going to be competing again?”
Victor flashed a confused look.
“At least that was the impression that I got after Saturday's performance.”
“Oh, yes... that. We decided as a family that I'm going to make a run for Peyongchang. Re-birth is the first step.”
Peyongchang was just under three years away. Yuri wondered where Victor's family and Olympic plans left him.
Victor reached into the pocket of his linen pants and pulled out a small velour-covered box. He flipped open the lid and held it in front of Yuri. “I would like you to be a part of our journey.”
Yuri looked down. A thin gold ring lay on the tiny pillow on the inside of the box. “Consider this to be payback for the ring that you bought me in Barcelona.”
Yuri's head spun. He could barely feel the warmth of the sun on his skin or the wind in his hair. The sounds of the squawking seagulls and Vladislav's splashing faded away.
Victor, noting that Yuri made no move to pick up the ring, took it into his own hands. “Here, give me your hand. It should fit right above your ring from the Grand Prix Final.” Victor showed Yuri his own right hand where his wedding ring sat above the one that Yuri had given him in Barcelona. “We will almost match.”
Victor picked up Yuri's limp appendage and slid the ring onto his finger. He was right about the new ring fitting right above the other one. Yuri looked down to see the two gold circles nestled comfortably on his finger. He had no idea what had possessed Victor to gift him with a ring right after proclaiming his intention to have another baby with Lena. Yuri was fed up with Victor's mixed signals.
Yuri's hand tingled where Victor was holding him. The return of feeling to his body was accompanied by hot tears. “Another baby and an Olympic bid? Where does that leave me?”
“Here, well in Saint Petersburg actually, with me. I am one hundred percent committed to being your coach.”
“How do you expect to have time for that?”
Victor reached out and touched Yuri's face, gently caressing his jaw line. “The baby won't be born until next spring and you know that I've been managing training, coaching and parenting since January. Think about it Yuri, some skaters have jobs.”
Yuri could not think while Victor blathered on about how it would be no different than Georgi being an accountant or Mila being a university student.
“Lena and I planned it out. She's going to finish up with FINA and then transition to being my therapist full time. It will make things easier in terms of pregnancy and maternity leave and set her up to get back into hockey after the Olympics.”
Yuri was not convinced that everything would be as easy as Victor seemed to think.
“You also have a very important part to play. Almost nothing has made me as happy as coaching and training with you.” Victor's eye's shone. “You saw re-birth. It was completely inspired by you. Your return after humiliation and your trust in me means everything. Your success this past season played a huge role in my decision to return to competition.” Victor continued to extol Yuri's virtues. He spoke rapidly, almost feverishly. “That is why I would like to formally invite you to move back in with us.”
Victor looked expectantly at Yuri. He wanted an answer now. Yuri's stomach fell. He regretted eating an extra rice ball at breakfast. He thought that he had been ready to commit to returning to Saint Petersburg before Victor's visit but now he was not so sure. Victor's feelings were intense and it scared him.
Yuri, in an attempt to avoid confrontation, tried to get Victor to make the choice for him. “Are you sure that you want me around? With the baby and all you're going to need the extra room.”
“Don't worry about that. The baby will sleep with Lena and I at the start. He can sleep with Vladislav later, plenty of Russian kids share bedrooms.”
Classic Victor. The kid had not even been conceived and he already expected it to be a boy.
“I can look into buying a second apartment in the building if you want more space. I just thought that you would be happier with some company.”
“But what about competitions? How will you coach if you're also competing?”
“That's going to be more difficult but, with a little help from Yakov and your friend Phichit, we can make it work.”
“Phichit?” Yuri really was surprised. Phichit could barely stand to be in the same room as Victor the last time that they were together.
“You're going to spend some time with Phichit and his coach next month. Ms. Satsuki agreed to help coach you next season if the two of you end up working well together. Think of it as a being a bit like Phichit's arrangement with Celestino. Ms. Satsuki will accompany you to competitions if I cannot be there. Yakov already agreed to let us train together so there will be no problems at home.”
Yuri had to admit that Victor really had thought of everything. In his heart he knew that he could not deny him and agreed to continue to train under Victor.
Victor threw his arms around Yuri and kissed him on both cheeks. He turned so that he was facing Lena and Vladislav who, after getting out of the water, had set to work building a sand castle with the toys that Hiroko had packed them. He watched them play for a few minutes before moving his face close to Yuri's. Yuri thought that he would be getting another kiss but Victor instead whispered into his ear.
“I wouldn't trade my family for anything but, if things had been different, I would not deny the possibility of there being something more between us.”
Chapter 6: Series Notes
Summary:
More information on 'How did it end up like this'.
Chapter Text
My previous Yuri on Ice-inspired work, JJ Challenge (not exactly recommended reading), features numerous references to the Summit Series which was a series of hockey games that were played between the Soviet Union National Team and a team that was comprised of Canadian NHL (National Hockey League) players in September 1972. The experience inspired me to learn more about the Summit Series and Soviet-era hockey in general. One theme that came up a few times was that Canadian/North America source material usually described the Soviet athletes and coaches as being cold, robotic and unfeeling until they won at which point they would engage in passionate displays of affection including kissing and hugging each other. One account that I read of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games states that the Soviet coach, Anatoly Tarasov, gave a congratulatory kiss to the coach of the gold medal-winning American team.
This information along with the realization that Victor, in as much detail as he kisses Yuri also kisses Yakov (the scene where Yakov takes Victor to the airport when he first flies to Japan), got me thinking about how the story might turn out if Victor's display of affection at the Cup of China really had just been a kiss. Victor was therefore given both a wife and a child to emphasize that Victor's kiss likely did not carry the romantic connotations that Yuri thought it did. 'It Was Only a Kiss' was initially supposed to be a stand-alone piece but getting a single comment on the work was enough to motivate me to continue and write a whole series based on the following premise: most of the events and backstory provided in the 'Yuri on Ice' series happened but Yuri then moves to Russia and finds out that Victor had been a husband and father the entire time. To this end, most of 'Yuri on Ice' is cannon to the 'How did it end up like this' series with the notable exception of Victor's comment that he had neglected life and love for over twenty years as this does not fit with the fact that he fathered a child in this version of the story.
Yuri Katsuki:
Yuri's backstory is basically what was presented in the original TV show with a few added details that are particular to this series. I decided to go with the timeline wherein the Sochi Grand Prix Finals occurred in December 2012. Yuri therefore goes about sixteen months between the fateful night at the banquet and Victor showing up in Hasetsu to be his coach. He filled the time by completing his undergraduate degree in biological science at Detroit's Wayne State University and competing in NCAA (National College Athletic Association) figure skating. Yuri was born on November 29, 1990 in this timeline.
All Yuri Katsuki-centered stories presented in this series have titles that were taken from The Killers' song 'Mr. Brightside'. The title 'It Was Only a Kiss' was chosen because it so perfectly encapsulates Yuri's feelings at the end of the first story. A decision was made to continue using the song 'Mr. Brightside' for story titles to establish a theme.
Lena Tarasova (Nikiferova):
Lena is an original character who was initially defined by her existence as an obstacle to Yuri's romantic fantasy. The decision to expand 'It Was Only a Kiss' into a full series meant that Lena needed to be fleshed out as a character with her own backstory and goals. With the exception of 'Eager Eyes' which features both Lena's and Yuri Katsuki's perspectives, all of the Lena-centred stories happen in the past and, for the most part, were released in reverse chronological order with the exception of 'This Love that I've Craddled' which was made after 'For a Second There We'd Won'. Lena (born July 1, 1985) loves hockey and aspires to work as an athletic therapist for Team Russia. She is named after Anatoly Tarasov who is considered to be the father of Soviet hockey and was the coach of the Soviet National Team from 1945-1974. Lena accepted an assignment to be a personal therapist to the injured figure skater Victor Nikiferov in the spring of 2009 in the hope that it would be a valuable stepping stone towards her goal of working with elite Russian hockey players. She had no plans of becoming romantically involved with Victor Nikiferov during the time that she was treating him.
The titles from all of the Lena-centred stories come from the song 'Miss Atomic Bomb' by The Killers. This song was chosen to go along with the 'Mr. Brightside' theme as 'Miss Atomic Bomb' is its lesser-know sequel. This plays into the fact that the largely unknown Lena creates a significant problem for Yuri when he finds out that she is married to Victor right after he moved all the way to Saint Petersburg to be with Victor.
Vladislav Nikiferov
Vladislav Nikiferov is the son of Victor and Lena. The initial decision to make Victor a father arose from the need to emphasize the point the Victor could not be romantically available for Yuri. Having a kid with someone is a significantly higher commitment than just being married to them. Vladialv's age (3-4 in the main timeline) was chosen so that he was old enough that Victor would consider a lengthy trip to Japan in the name of personal/professional development and young enough to give both his parents developed backstories instead of 'had a child at 18'. Vladislavs' May 19, 2011 birth date does rush things a bit considering that his parents only met about two years prior but Victor's impulsiveness and Lena's feelings of claustrophobia in her family's apartment had a hand in moving the relationship along.
Vladislav was named after Vladislav Tretiak, the goalie for the Soviet National Team from 1968 to 1984, by his mother Lena. However, much to Lena's disappointment and Victor's joy, Vladislav is a devout figure skater who aspires to be like his glorious papa. Vladislav idolizes Victor but harbours feelings of abandonment over his long absence. His lack of understanding of the reasons behind his father's relocation makes him wary of Yuri Katsuki whom he sees as competition for papa's time. This series contains a single Vladislav-centric story 'Don't Let it Come as a Surprise' whose title comes from The Killers song 'Daddy's Eyes'. The song is generally thought to be about a man with a child who is cheating on his child's mother with another woman. The child is too young to understand their father's behaviour but the man hopes that they might understand the situation in the future. This song was chosen to symbolize the conflicting feelings of Victor (Vladislav's daddy) regarding his skating career, Yuri Katsuki and his commitment towards his family. Although it is mentioned several times that Victor has never 'gone all the way' with Yuri, he has behaved in ways that could be classified as cheating on some level despite maintaining that he also loves and cherishes the relationship that he has with Lena.
Yuri Plisetsky
Yuri Plisetsky is the only peripheral character to get their own stories in this series. Titles 'For What You Did to Me' and 'I'll Take You Home With Me' come from the My Chemical Romance song 'It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Death Wish'. 'For What You Did to Me' was written before a definite The Killers theme was established. The title song was chosen to show an angstier vibe than what was presented for Yuri Katsuki and was retained for the second Yuri Plisetsky story.
Yuri Plisetsky (born March 1, 1999) lives with his grandfather in Saint Petersburg. This arises from a mistake that I made while writing 'JJ Challenge' where I was convinced that Nicolai Plisetsky lived in Saint Petersburg with his grandson. I later learned that he lives in Moscow but ultimately decided to carry the arrangement over to this series. Yuri has seen himself as being semi-responsible for Victor ever since he helped him surprise Lena while he was a student at Yakov's summer camp back in 2009. He knows that Victor cares deeply about his family and friends but he views him as a largely incompetent person who gets by on his figure skating ability and his vast reserves of inter-generational wealth.
In the 'How Did it End Up Like This' version of 'Yuri On Ice' Yuri Plisetsky's trip to Japan was partially motivated by the need to yell at Victor for abandoning his son. Victor assures Yuri that Vladislav is fine in his mother's care but that does little to assuage Yuri's concern. He knows what it is like to have no parents (note that the exact reason why Yuri lives with his grandfather is never discussed in this series). This makes Yuri somewhat protective of Vladislav, going as far to blame any poor behaviour on Victor's genetics. Despite his initial reticence in 'For What You Did to Me' Vladislav likes spending time with Yuri and considers him to be a friend.
Yuri's exact relationship with Otabek is never defined as anything more than them being friends and Otabek being the coolest person that Yuri knows. The exact interpretation of Victor's decision to give Otabek a trip to Saint Petersburg for Yuri's birthday is left up to reader interpretation.
Victor Nikiferov
Victor is debatably the main character of the 'How Did it End Up Like This' series despite none of the stories being told from his point of view. An early draft of 'You're Going to Miss Me When I'm Gone' had a section told from Victor's perspective but that was ultimately changed prior to publication as I felt that it did not provide readers with any information that they were not getting from Lena. The absence of Victor's perspective became a creative decision to avoid giving definite information on Victor's perspective, leaving his thoughts and actions open to interpretation.
Victor's backstory has some similarities with the one that is presented in 'JJ Challenge'. Namely, he was born to Alexei and Katia Nikiferov on December 25, 1986. His mother Katia died in 1995 (at the age of 37) when Victor was eight years old. Alexei married Maria, the daughter of one of his coworkers, about two years later. The main divergence between the 'How did it end up like this' Series and 'JJ Challenge' is that Victor is homosexual in the latter whereas his sexuality is not clearly defined in the former. In addition to this, Alexei Nikiferov's character is less satirical. These differences result in two major changes: Victor and Alexei have a better relationship in 'How did it end up like this' and Alexei's second son is named Andrei as opposed to Victor. Victor is depicted as being somewhat close to both his father and stepmother who love and care for him despite his lifestyle not exactly conforming to what Alexei wants for his son. Victor having grown up with loving parents differs from what is presented in many 'Yuri on Ice' fan fiction stories. I chose this background because I wanted to create a character with an ultimately loving but complex relationship with his family.
Victor's sexuality in 'How Did it End Up Like This' is left up to the reader. Various theories ranging from Victor is heterosexual to Victor is homosexual but must deny himself to conform to the expectations of his country (Russian propaganda is brought up several times in this series) are proposed throughout the story but the only definite information that is provided by Victor is that he loves both Lena and Yuri and has no intention of leaving Lena and Vladislav. The many forms of love is one of the themes that is presented in 'Yuri on Ice'. I used this idea to show that Victor's love for one person does not negate his feelings for another. Victor's sexuality is viewed differently by various characters in the story to keep readers open for many possible interpretations of the minimal amount of information that is directly provided by Victor.
One of the things that surprised me the most while writing this is that Victor's relationship with Lena is actually kind of sad. Victor met and presumably fell in love with Lena while she was his athletic therapist. The story detailed in 'We Were Innocent and Young' introduces readers to a young man who is deeply depressed by an injury. Lena, who is first skeptical of Victor's ability to endure the recovery process, ends up being one of the few people whom he feels comfortable confiding in. Lena is pleased with the transformation that she sees over the three months that she works with Victor but assumed that she would never see him again after their Russian Olympic Committee-imposed partnership. Victor instead asks her to become his personal therapist for the 2009-2010 competitive season, culminating in a marriage proposal at the Olympic games. Lena's decision to say yes is at least partially motivated by her desire to escape having to share a small apartment with her parents, Nina, baby Irina and occasionally Ivan.
Lena experiences an unplanned pregnancy shortly after marrying Victor. The combination of the surprise, the impact on her career and the changes imposed by pregnancy is difficult for Lena. Things reach the point where Victor's support is the only thing giving Lena the strength to continue. Nothing regarding Vladislav's birth and first two years and eleven months of life are directly presented in the story but Lena spent the time obtaining new certifications to work as an athletic therapist to swimmers to better accommodate Victor's competitive schedule and their shared childcare responsibilities. Lena knows that her career is longer-lasting than that of an elite figure skater and therefore ended up being the one to make concessions. Lena thought that she was doing what she needed to support Victor and was therefore blindsided by the realization that her husband was again experiencing depressive symptoms in the spring of 2014. Lena was accepting of Victor's decision to move to Japan to coach Yuri because she understood that the change was necessary for him. She continues to support Victor as both a coach and an athlete even though she is aware of most of the things that Victor has done with Yuri.
Victor's relationship with Yuri is essentially what is presented in 'Yuri on Ice'. The part that was the most difficult for me to reconcile with is Victor's use of physical affection as a coaching strategy. I previously stated that Victor and Yuri do things that no one should do with their coach. Safe Sport policies are basically absent from the 'Yuri on Ice'. This was carried over into this series but was accompanied by concern expressed by both Yuri and other characters over the normalcy of his relationship with his coach. A significant question that is raised in 'How Did it End Up Like This' is how realistic it is that Victor could spend nine months with Yuri without telling him that he is married and that he has a son. This is particularly pertinent when the physical and emotional nature of Victor's relationship with Yuri is considered. Victor's explanation is that he tried to bring it up in the beginning but the fact that Yuri literally ran away screaming made him reluctant to bring it up again. He also states that physical contact seemed to help calm Yuri down, explaining the ways in which he chose to show affection. The idea did initially seem unrealistic until I remembered that Victor fails to bring up Yuri's antic's at the Sochi Grand Prix Final banquet in the TV Show. Victor managed to go eight months without bringing up Yuri's dancing and the reason why he decided to come to Hasetsu. He was surprised to learn that Yuri did not remember the evening at all and never questioned why Yuri was so surprised/afraid to see him when he first arrived in Japan. This slight makes it more likely that Victor could have similarly avoided bringing up his marital and parental status over the same time period.
girs_brain_cell on Chapter 5 Wed 21 Aug 2024 03:17AM UTC
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garbagella on Chapter 5 Thu 22 Aug 2024 02:09AM UTC
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