#bysoti(d) drabble

Roma struggled in Riku’s arm, demanding to be put down, and after looking at Yuuri, set him down.

“あ！わんわん！(Ah! Doggy! lit. woof woof)” Roma crossed the short distance toward Vicchan as fast as his little stubby legs could carry him while Yuuri sat down on the floor next to his dog. Vicchan was pretty chill, but he also hadn’t really spent any time around toddlers, so Yuuri figured it was for the best.

“Лаского, (gentle)” Alexei said. “Vicchan is our friend.”

“Papa! わんわん！” Roma pointed and bounced from foot to foot in excitement. “Yuu-nii! わんわん！” And then burst into giggles that only got louder as Vicchan bounded around Roma getting closer and then darting away much to the toddler’s delight. Roma tried to follow the movements, but couldn’t keep up and plopped down, landing on his butt and giggling more, giving Vicchan the opportunity to dart in closer and sniff at him.

Roma put his hands up and managed to grab a fistful of Vicchan’s curly coat, but Yuuri darted forward and gently unwound Roma’s hand, reminding him to be gentle. “Vicchan doesn’t like his fur being pulled. It hurts him.” Vicchan darted behind and around Yuuri before darting back out. He pressed his head down near his front paws and then leaped toward Roma who giggled and then scrambled away on his hands and knees as Vicchan chased him in a small circle.

“That’s it, Yuu-kun. You have to come back. My kid wants to keep your dog.”

Yuuri snorted and shook his head at Alexei as he watched Roma play with his dog. It was a nice thought, but even if he did move back to Japan, he wouldn’t move back in with Alexei and Riku and Roma. Yuuri wasn’t really sure where he belonged at the moment.

“Yuu-nii!” Roma threw himself at Yuuri who caught the little boy easily in a hug before he plopped down on Yuuri’s lap moving his foot away from Vicchan’s snout every time the dog tried to sniff at his feet. 

I have a drabble for you!  A couple people mentioned wanting to read what happened in the hallway of the karaoke place between Yuuri and Shuji, soooo...

Yuuri shut the door to the box, cutting off the very unexpected choice of some metal band he'd never heard of that Noda-Chan was currently screaming into the mic.

He paused a few steps down the hallway and went over the couple of orders people had asked him to place before continuing down the hall.  Loud metal popped into existence and Yuuri looked back toward their box. Shuji had come out and was heading for him

“Did you want me to get you something too, Shuji-kun?”

Shuji smiled at him and easily caught up.  He swiped his blue bangs out of his eyes.  “No. I. Just wanted to talk to you for a minute and that is impossible in the box while Noda-Chan is getting her aggression out.

Yuuri smiled,he couldn't help it. The image of Noda-Chan yelling into the mic had been really funny.   He was about to ask Shuji what he wanted to talk about when shuji started talking again.

“You have a great smile, Yuuri.”

Yuuri could feel his face heating.  He knew that Shuji liked him, had been told and eventually could maybe sort of see it himself, but the compliment took him by surprise.

So did the way. Shuji wrapped his fingers around Yuuri's wrist and then pulled him in close and off balance, fingers of his other hand landing on his cheek guiding him closer.

Yuuri let his eyes close as Shuji's lips claimed his. It was probably the most competent first kiss he'd had with someone… Especially recently.  Shuji's lips were soft but demanding and Yuuri enjoyed it and started kissing him back.  He could feel Shuji's smile against his lips and Yuuri stepped forward, pushing Shuji back the final step until he was against the wall.

As Shuji's hand tightened on his hip, Yuuri came back to his senses.  This shouldn't be happening, especially in the hallway at a popular karaoke place.  He pulled away, breaking the kiss.  Shuji didn't seem to mind, he smiled at Yuuri.

“Finally.”

Yuuri flushed.  “You know what I'm going to say, don't you?”

“Of course. You're moving. I'm moving. This will never work out and you're still hurting from the way Shouta ended things.  You don't want to date and we can't get caught because you're still under the impression that they're going to kick you out of school for any small indiscretion.”

Yuuri's mouth fell open a little as he listened to Shuji list all the reasons that anything happening between them was an awful idea.

“But you have to admit, a secret kiss in the hallway at the karaoke box while our friends keep singing just a few feet away, oblivious, is pretty EXCITE.”

Yuuri couldn't help himself, he laughed.

Yes, Shuji will ALWAYS and FOREVER try to work EXCITE into a convo.  He can’t help himself.

Also... I have about 8900 words of the next chapter done, aka, it’s almost done.  Like for reals.  I only have a couple scenes left to write, I think.  I think you’ll all be happy with it.

Not a POV switch (since Yuuri winning was off screen) but I’ll write it up as a drabble anyway…

Mari knelt at the table and wrapped her fingers around her glass of beer.  It was more fun to drink with Minako-sensei during these public viewings, but Minako had gone to see Yuuri skate in person.  Before he left Osaka, Yuuri had called and told them that he was going to win gold.  Mari wasn’t sure that she’d ever heard her little brother sound so determined.

Takeshi-kun pushed the bowl of eel hone senbei closer to her and pulled the edamame over.  She grabbed one of the bone crackers and cracked some off and into her mouth, grinning.  One day, probably after he could drink all the beer or shochu that Yuuko-chan would let him, he’d like these better than the edamame.  Mari preferred them.  The salt and crunch were much better even if the edamame went well with beer.

“You better be quieter with those things when Yuuri skates, or my wife might kill you.”

Yuuko was talking animatedly with Mari’s parents about Yuuri’s program.  Takeshi-kun was probably right, but Mari didn’t care.  It wasn’t like she would be eating while she watched her brother skate.  That would be a little rude.  No one who came for the public viewing would dare make a sound during Yuuri’s skate.

Mari would be the first to admit that she didn’t know anything about skating.  It was complicated, with a lot of rules, and required a patience that she never had for anything like dance.  And the music tended toward the soft, like the free skate piece that Yuuri was skating.  It was never something that she’d watch given her own devices.  That didn’t make her a bad person.  She still supported Yuuri; she’d cheer for him and do anything in her power to make sure that he could make his dreams of skating on that ice come true.

Not because she cared about skating.

Because she loved her little brother.

Not that she was going to admit that to anyone.  She’d just roll her eyes at them.

If her lips curled up into a small smile as Yuuri skated the song from some Ghibli movie she’d never seen, she wouldn’t admit it.  What she would admit to was that her brother had talent and it didn’t matter if he won a gold medal or not.  There was no denying his talent.  All someone had to do was watch him, just once, when he was at his best, like he was now, to know that her little brother was overflowing with talent.

Yuuko was still whispering to Mari’s mother, probably explaining what was going on, and Oka-san just nodded, as enraptured with watching her baby boy skate as everyone else in the public dining room.

When Yuuri left the ice and the scores came in and they announced that he’d actually done it.  He’d actually won gold, Mari turned away from the screen, pulling her headband off and used the motion of putting it back on to wipe at her eyes.

Alexei twisted and worked his way through the surprisingly cramped hallway of the arena.  Now that the Men’s Free Skate had finished, people were flooding the hallways.  Every skater had a retinue, some more than others.  On top of that there were things that needed to be taken care of by the ISU and JSF staff before the Women’s Free Skate tomorrow night.

Alexei knew more about how the behind the scenes worked now then he ever did as a skater.  He missed being ignorant, life was more enjoyable that way.

“Turov-san!”  Alexei swung around.  The person who had been talking wasn’t facing him.  Probably wasn’t even aware that Alexei was standing just being him.  No, the person was trying to get the attention of the same person that Alexei had been looking for.

“Riku!”

His wife turned, brushing a strand of hair that had escaped from her bun back into place.  She had a clipboard in one hand and Alexei could just make out the earpiece tucked around one ear.  He smiled and waved.  She sighed.

“Busy?”

Blinking, she looked at him.  “You know that I am.  I need to go and find the medalists and make sure that they go to the blood draw as soon as possible.”

“I know where Viktor is.  In fact, I’ll take you to him.”

“I was going to find Lambiel first.  He’s much more cooperative.  And polite and–”

“Ah, but Viktor adores me.  Besides, I’ve discovered something amazing by spending time with Yakov while I let you work.”

Riku reached up and stroked her fingers through Alexei’s hair.  “Yes, you’ve been an exceptional husband not hovering this time.”

Such praise practically made Alexei beam.  He knew he was easy like that, but he didn’t care.  “I know where Katsuki disappeared to.”

Riku blinked.  “I didn’t know that you wanted to know.  It’s on record who’s coaching him.  Somewhere.”

“Ah, well, I was curious, but it wasn’t a necessity that I find out.  Besides, his coach is here.”  Alexei smiled. “I was just talking to him.”

Alexei knew that Riku had a sixth sense for his foolishness, but he didn’t care.  He knew that she’d play along.  “You were just talking with your former coach, Mr Feltsman.”

“Exactly!”

Riku grabbed his arm.  “Wait.  Katsuki Yuuri is training with Yakov Feltsman?”

“Katsuki Yuuri is not only training with Yakov Feltsman.  Katsuki Yuuri has started to fascinate Viktor Nikiforov.”  Alexei paused.  “And Yakov wants me to go to St Petersburg to evaluate him.”

***

Alexei gripped the handles of his duffle bag a little tighter and weaved through the crowd in the international terminal.  He didn’t need to look for Riku, he just knew where she was, and if he could just get the crowd to part then he’d be able to see her and everything would be perfect.  Or on the way to perfect.

He managed to round the corner and just like he knew, there she was, looking at the watch she wore on her wrist instead of looking for him in the crowd.  Though really, he knew he probably stood out from the majority, but still.  “Riku!”

She glanced up and smiled.  He watched as her gaze lingered on his face.  Then she took a large breath.  It wasn’t the welcome he’d expected.

“You want to coach him.”

Ah.  She knew.  Of course she’d know.  She was Riku.  He nodded.

“That much?”

He nodded again.  “It’d mean living in Russia until his contract with Yakov expires.”

Another deep breath.  “He’s not like the other students you’ve worked with.”

Alexei shook his head.  Yuuri was better.  So much better.  There was a well of untapped potential and fire to succeed that Alexei was sure not many saw.  It reminded him of someone.

“Ok.”

“Just like that? Ok?”

Riku stood up on her toes and pressed her lips lightly against his cheek.  He’d missed her.  So of course he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun them around.  Her laugh was both delighted and exasperated.  When he set her down, she just looked up at him and shook her head.  “If you want me to make you work harder for a yes…”

Alexei shook his head.  “No.  That’s all right.  Let’s not.”

I’ve been thinking about this for a while.  What was going through Yuuri’s mind when he found out his coach quit...

Yuuri skated around the rink slowly, going through the compulsory figures that he'd learned, but never needed.  Still, he liked them.  Not that it mattered anymore.  Everything was over.  He'd finally started competing, doing better than he'd ever imagined he would and then it was all over.  He should be watching the Grand Prix Final.  Viktor was skating in it.  He might not get gold -- even if he deserved it in Yuuri's opinion -- but his skating would be amazing.

Yuuri sighed.  He just couldn't watch it when all his hopes and dreams were likely to be dashed.  It'd only been a week or so since the Junior Nationals that had changed everything.

Takeshi was on the ice with him, skating backwards with a frown on his face and he wasn't looking at Yuuri.  He blamed himself a little.  Yuuri had realized that much.  He hadn't actually expected their coach to announce that he was going to drop Yuuri and move up north.  Takeshi had told Yuuri as much, but it didn't change the fact that if Takeshi and Yuuko hadn't quit skating when they did that he'd still have a coach.  He'd have a coach to go with him to the international competitions that he was informed he'd be assigned to after Nationals were completed near the end of the month.

Now he didn’t have anyone to go with him.  He was a Junior National medalist without a coach.  His coach must have thought his winning was a giant fluke because why else would he drop Yuuri to go train someone who wasn’t a Junior National medalist.

Maybe if Yuuri was really lucky, Minako-sensei would go with him.

Yuuri glided to a stop in the middle of rink.

Did he really think he could compete INTERNATIONALLY?!

He squatted down and looked at the ice between his skates.  He saw Takeshi's skates before he heard his voice.  There was too much static in his head to make out what he was saying, but Yuuri was sure that he was saying something.

It didn't matter.

"Takeshi, do you think they're actually going to send me to Junior Worlds?"

Takeshi's snort came through loud and clear.  "Of course, you idiot.  You won, didn't you?  They always send the winner."  There was an edge of bitterness, but Yuuri knew that it wasn't towards him.  At least he was fairly sure about that.  It'd only taken years to realize that Takeshi was harder on himself than anyone else.

"Maybe they'll realize that I only won because of a fluke."

Another snort.

"Besides, I can't go without a coach.  What am I supposed to do without a coach?"

Takeshi was quiet for a minute and then he reached down and hauled Yuuri up with a strong hand on his bicep.  "You don't worry about that.  The adults do.  Your parents.  Minako-sensei.  They'll figure it out.  All you have to do is skate."

Yuuri chewed on his lip.  "I guess."

"YuuRI!"

They both looked toward the boards where Minako-sensei had just arrived.  She was beaming.  It was the first time Yuuri had seen her smile since his coach quit.  "Minako-sensei?"

"Yuuri, I hope you have a good winter coat because we're going on a trip after New Years.  You and me.  I just finished talking with your parents."

Yuuri frowned hard enough to cause his forehead to wrinkle.  "Where?"  It couldn't be a competition because there weren't any that early in the year from what he understood.

"Saint Petersburg.  I've found you a coach."

Yuuri swallowed.  He could feel Takeshi stiffen next to him.

"Saint Petersburg?"  Yuuri only knew of one coach that coached in Saint Petersburg, but there was no way that Minako meant him.  There were others there as well.  There had to be.

"I got off the phone a little while ago with Yakov Feltsman.  He's going to coach you, Yuuri!"

Yuuko, who hadn't made it onto the ice yet, screamed.

Takeshi slapped Yuuri’s back hard sending him to his knees on the ice.  He’d have to thank him later.  If Takeshi hadn’t made him fall, he would have anyway.

“Does that... Am I...”  The question was there, on the tip of his tongue struggling to get out, but instead it was strangling him and his voice.

“That’s right, Yuuri!  You’re going to train with Viktor Nikiforov!  Aren’t you excited?”

“Hey, Shuji… san!”

Shuji stopped and turned.  He didn’t think that he’d ever been called san before, especially not by anyone older, but the voice was speaking in English and sounded foreign, so he turned and put on his ‘always please the fan’ smile.  What Shuji hadn’t been expecting was for Yuuri’s Russian skating friend to be the one calling for him and running up to him.

The smile slipped for a second, but he put it right back on.

“Ah… Viktor, right?”  Maybe?  It was the name that came up the most when it came to skating, so Shuji figured that might be this guy’s name.  It seemed appropriate.

“Yes! Wow!  You’re great with names!  I’m horrible at them.  Well, mostly.  Sometimes though, a name sticks.  I had to make sure I remembered yours though.  You’re the singer of the band that got Yuuri to perform in the music video, right?”

Viktor was talking way too fast for Shuji to pick up ever word, but the gist was clear.  He wanted to talk about Yuuri.  Well, Yuuri was Shuji’s second… maybe third… no, definitely second favorite topic.  Right after EXCITE.  Shuji himself was probably number three, but EXCITE and Yuuri were much more interesting.

“I am the lead singer of EXCITE!”  He paused, putting the sentence together in his head before speaking.  “Does Yuuri need help?”

“Oh!  No! Not at all.  I don’t think.  He’s just warming up and talking to his coach.  No.  I heard through the grapevine that you might be able to get me some exclusive merch with Yuuri on it.”

Shuji frowned.  There was a lot about that sentence that he didn’t understand.  “I am sorry.  Merch?”

“Oh! Ah!  Sorry!  Items.  Like….” Viktor paused and digged into the messenger bag he had slung over one shoulder before pulling out a small case with a figure skate on one side and a silhouette of Yuuri on the other.  “Stuff like this.”

Shuji reached for the case and turned it over in his hands.  “Where did you get this?  They only made a few hundred and I haven’t been able to find one for over a year!”

Viktor laughed.  “Ah, I got it from Yuuri’s friend.  Yuuko Nishigori… Oh, wait, it’d be Nishigori Yuuko here.”  He swallowed.  “So… um… is there a way to get other things like this?”

Shuji heard him, but was still busy flipping the little case over in his hands.  “Like the stuff that was released with the MV?”

He glanced up.  Viktor was nodding really fast.  “Exactly!”

“What’s in it for me?”

Viktor bit his lip.  “I… well, I have two of those little cases.  You can have that one, I guess.”

Shuji smiled.  “You’ve got a deal.”

***

If he was surprised when Yuuri stopped next to his desk at school the next day, he didn’t let it show on his face.

“Shuji-kun?”

He smirked and then let the smirk melt into a rather stunning – if he could give an opinion, and he could – smile.  “Yes, Yuuri-kun?”

Viktor stared at the string of kanji and other Japanese characters and sighed.  He had no idea what Yuuri was trying to message him or why he’d message him in Japanese.  But it was a message and Viktor liked it when he got messages from Yuuri, so he highlighted the text on his phone and entered it into an online translator.

And then stopped dead.

His breath caught in his throat and he felt lightheaded all of a sudden.

He needed help.

ViktorCHRIS!  HELP!YUURI SEXTED ME IN JAPANESE AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!!!SHOULD I FLY TO OSAKA RIGHT NOW?

Chris

WHAT?!How do you know it was a sext?

ViktorIt’s not a perfect translationbut the internet says that what he wrotewas basically“When you sneak over, make sure youcome up the tree.  I’ll sneak you breakfast.No one will know.”

ViktorHE WANTS TO HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH ME!WHAT DO I DO?!

Viktor bit his lip while he waited for Chris to respond.  And waited and waited.Chris wasn’t saying anything.  Viktor was about to call him when the notification chime went off and he hurried and opened it.

It wasn’t from Chris.

It was from Yuuri.

YuuriSORRY!  OMG!  That wasn’t for you.It’s so embarrassing.Isent the text to the wrong person.

Viktor frowned.  And then frowned some more.  Oh. Oooooh.

He’d probably meant it for the swimmer…

ViktorHA HA! of course.  No.  Why would you text me in JapaneseUh, who were you trying to send it to?

Another long wait where no messages came in.

Then:

YuuriJust a classmate.  From school.About school, I meanA proect. FromFor school

ViktorI see.  Do you have school projects often?

YuuriYeah. Sort of.  I mean. Yes.

ViktorWell… Good Luck!

Viktor buried his face in a throw pillow and screamed.  How could he have just wished Yuuri good luck on an assignation!  Why didn’t he admit that he’d translated the message!  He was so stupid!  With a sniffle he picked his phone back up.

ViktorFALSE ALARMIT WASN’T FOR ME

ChrisOh, honey….

ViktorYou already knew that, didn’t you?

ChrisWell…. obviously.Want to spend the weekend in the Alps getting drunk at a ski lodge with me?

ViktorYou are such a good friend.

A/N:  This is a what if scenario… it didn’t/won’t happen in bysoti(d)… at least not like this… but thanks to @skamhungary for the inspo of the text messages between Viktor and Chris! :D  Also, I couldn’t help but actually insert some gifs.  :D  Unfortunately, tumblr’s selection isn’t as robust as I’d like, but this works well, I think. :D

Shuji dropped his bag onto the seat in front of him and sat down in his own seat in the stands.  The ice in the arena had six skaters going around for warm-ups before they got a chance to go through their routine.

There was only one skater that Shuji cared about though.

Yuuri laughed and spun, pulling his tracksuit jacket forcibly out of the grip of the Russian skater, Viktor.  From the side of the rink, Shuji heard Yuuri’s coach yell something at them in Russian, and Viktor just turned and pulled an anime pose: pulling down his lower eyelid with one finger and sticking his tongue out.  It was a pretty good look for him, in Shuji’s opinion.

Yuuri, on the other hand, just squeaked and returned to his warm-up.  His skates cutting through the ice in some complex series of moves that Shuji knew that he’d never understand and really had no desire to.  Skating was fine to watch, pleasing on an aesthetic level, but not interesting.  Not to him.  Yuuri, though, was.  He was a mess of contradictions.  Humble and riddled with self-doubt, Yuuri was practically a shrinking violet most of the time, but then, when he got comfortable, when he was dancing or skating or even just joking around with friends, he was none of those things.  Push just the right button and he became confident and teasing, a little boastful.

Hot.

Shuji wasn’t the only one who thought so.  Obviously.  Shouta had kept Yuuri to himself for over a year, but now…

Shuji had a chance.  A small one.  He wanted to see if this pull that Yuuri had on him was because he couldn’t have him or because he wanted him.  It could go either way. It could work and Shuji would be able to take advantage of having an incredibly hot, sexy secret boyfriend for a couple of months before they each went their separate ways.  Or he could crash and burn in the most spectacular way imaginable.