Being a living legend is hard. Coming back is even harder, especially when you're already twenty-eight. That's a lesson, Viktor Nikiforov must learn.
Excerpt:
Yuuri gazed into those clear blue eyes, wondering if his first assessment had been wrong and Viktor was nothing but lovestruck. Cool fingers brushed his cheek as Viktor leaned his forehead against Yuuri’s. He cupped Yuuri’s cheek and the distance between their lips closed. Yuuri opened his lips and—
“Is this what you called me for, Vitya?”
They pulled apart at once.
“Yakov!” Viktor exclaimed. “Hi! I was teaching Yuuri the difference between quad flip and quad Lutz.”
“I didn’t see any teaching.” Yakov wore his trench coat and his mafia hat. “If you’re only fooling around, I will go back home to my Sunday brunch.”
“Oh, Yuuri and I were just taking a break.”
Yakov’s tiny eyes narrowed. “What were you practising?”
“I was showing Yuuri my tricks for the take-off of his two new quads, but so far, we haven’t found one that Yuuri feels comfortable enough with to improve his success rate.”
“But Viktor said if I jump with the power of love—” Yuuri added.
“Nonsense,” Yakov snapped. “Love doesn’t give you high GOEs. Only a good technique does. Show me your quad, Yuuri.”
One week of shenanigans at the empty rink while everyone else competes at Europeans would be fun if it wasn't for unpleasant phone calls and unexpected visitors.
Excerpt:
“I had a realisation in the shower.”
In the middle of connecting his laptop with the TV Yuuri paused. “Is it something dirty?”
“Nah, Yuuri,” Viktor chided. He had changed into sweatpants and a black T-shirt that emphasised his well-shaped arms nicely. Yuuri wanted those arms to hold him. “Are you having dirty thoughts?”
The sparkle in his ice-blue eyes warmed Yuuri. Viktor had seemed miserable during ballet. He had been brooding all the way home and so Yuuri had kept him company without prodding. “Um, that was just a logical conclusion because we often shower together. Did you wipe the tub and the tiles?”
“As you instructed me.”
“Good boy,” Yuuri said. In front of the fireplace, Makkachin’s ears perked up.
He was pleased to see Viktor’s eyes widen. “I’m not keen on scrubbing off all the scale because I forgot to dry the shower. Although,” his voice dropped an octave, “I like the idea of doing it naked with you watching me.”
Yuuri finished the set-up and rose. “Your diligence deserves a reward,” he said and kissed Viktor on the cheek.
“Huh? What about my suggestion?”
“Um, feel free to clean up naked if you like that. It would give me more opportunities to admire your body.”
“I see.” Viktor held up the blue fabric Yuuri had taken for a towel in the dim light of a standard lamp. “Does this smell enough like me?”
With a small gasp, Yuuri took his Skate Strong T-shirt and inhaled the enticing mix of summer meadows, aftershave, and sweat. “Thank you!” He took off his hoodie and shrugged into the T-shirt that was now imbued with Viktor’s scent. “Now tell me your dirty shower thoughts, Viktor!”
“Actually, I had an idea for my free programme.” Viktor winked. “That will make it harder for you to beat me. I will show you tomorrow.”
Why is he so obsessed with his new programmes? He won’t present them this season. Shouldn’t he focus on coaching me and postpone choreographing to the off-season?
After Europeans, Yuuri faces the harsh reality of training at Vaganova Academy while Viktor ramps up practice to secure himself the third spot at Worlds…
Excerpt:
“Stop!”
And here we go. Composing his expression, Viktor faced his former teacher.
“First of all, we’re doing Russian ballet here.” A muscle in Lilia’s cheek twitched. “Not this contemporary nonsense. If you want to experiment with the pas de deux, do it with style.”
At the barre, Yurio paused his warm-up. His ponytail whipped as he turned to glare at them.
“Has Mikhail taught you this?”
“No,” Yuuri said.
Viktor held up one finger. “Well, actually, I’m teaching Yuuri the pas de deux.”
“You’re not a ballet instructor, Viktor,” Lilia snapped. “You’re both fools if you think you can do ballet on your own. Without a teacher, your skills will deteriorate. Never do ballet without a professional.”
“Um, we were just experimenting,” Yuuri said. “To find out if it works at all before—”
“I’ll teach you,” Lilia cut him off. “No more unsupervised experiments. I’ll help you refine your pas de deux although your concept is an insult to classic ballet, but I won’t oppose a creative interpretation Tchaikovsky would be proud of.”
“Thank you so much, Lilia!” Viktor exclaimed. “Yuuri and I deeply appreciate your advice!”
“Um…,” Yuuri muttered.
Viktor stroked his chin. “Actually, we could need a Rothbart for our performance. Yurio could take over this role!”
“No way!” Yurio yelled. “Leave me out of your courtship bullshit!”
From St. Petersburgh with Love (YOI continuation) - new chapter
Chapter 10: Things that happen when an adult couple lives together - excerpt
“Why do you always butt in on how I handle my athletes, Vitya?” Yakov asked sourly.
Viktor pouted. “I’m just pointing out ways to optimise training for all of us.”
“No, you’re trying to optimise training for yourself and your boyfriend.”
Huh? Is he still bitter over me taking time off to coach a student of my own? Or is this about something else? Viktor pulled a folded sheet of paper from his coat. “I’ve sketched my idea here. Have a look and tell me what you think, okay?”
Scowling, Yakov took the sheet from him. A long moment went by, filled with the scratching of blades on ice and Yakov’s eyes flitting across the sheet. Then he let out a long sigh. “It’s not that easy, Vitya. I must think this through. Let’s discuss this after Europeans.”
Viktor hated being left hanging in suspense. He hated not being taken seriously. It hurt that after twenty years, Yakov still had no trust in him. “No, Yakov,” he said. “No more power games. I don’t care if you think little of my coaching or doubt that I’ll be able to make a comeback. You accepted me back and I would love it if you gave me a chance. So, let’s get along.”
Still scowling, Yakov cast another glance at the paper sheet. “At least, you had the mind not to reschedule the times when I have the rink. If Georgi wants to skate late, he may have that.”
“Thank you, Yakov!” Viktor exclaimed and hugged his coach.
Yakov grunted. “Listen Vitya.” He jabbed his finger at Viktor. “The new schedule will come into effect after Europeans. I don’t care what you and your boyfriend do until then.”
“Okay. Now, let’s talk about sending me to Worlds.”
Twenty minutes later, Viktor left the rink. In the corridor, he stopped and checked his phone. He had one new message from Tasty Katsudon.
[Where are you?]
[On my way home. I’ll bring news], Viktor texted back.
...
Read Chapter 10 of From St. Petersburg with Love here
This is another chapter that I'm posting with a huge delay and I apologise for this. I always had the feeling that something was amiss, but I couldn't put my finger on it because as the writer of this, I tend not to see the forest for the trees. So I had a long and constructive talk with my beta who has read enough of this work by now to have a comprehensive overview. As a result of our discussion, I've made some structural changes, trimmed meandering dialogues, and amped up an entire story arc. This especially concerns the unpublished chapters, but I've also made some minor (and not plot-altering!!!) changes in Chapters 1-9. I hope these changes will make reading them more enjoyable and compelling.
You will find a list of all changes in the end chapter notes.
