The Plisetsky Twins
The young blonde seated by a window woke up to a bit of turbulence signaling the descent of the plane into Moscow. The bing of the ‘fasten seat belt’ sign went off as he wiped his eyes tiredly. He had slept the whole bit of the short trip from St. Petersburg, his home, to Moscow, his apparent new home. Yasha Plisetsky was in a very new and scary place in his life, his mother losing the battle of keeping him in custody, so he would be moving in with his grandfather and his twin brother, Yuri. A brother he only knew through letters and what the internet provided.
It all started when he was very young, probably around four or five years old. He faintly remembers going ice skating on the lake near their countryside home with his twin, while their parents watched happily. His brother Yuri had a natural talent for skating and it was apparent their mother was very intrigued to push this talent. Yasha on the other hand was always falling ill and was more often in bed with a cold than doing something productive. He grew more frail and ill as time went on and was sadly told by a doctor that he had severe asthma problems and being an athlete of any sort was out of the question.
Not that this made sense a whole lot to a five year old. Yasha was still always happy to play with his twin, even if it was under the blankets with a flashlight while telling stories and looking at picture books. It all happened so sudden when Yuri had left to live with their grandfather in Moscow, to train to be famous, because he had potential, and Yasha didn’t. According to their mother. Yasha remembers crying himself to sleep not understanding why Yuri had to leave and if he would ever see him again.
As the years went by, Yasha and Yuri grew more distant, going on with their lives. Yuri training to be figure skating phenomenon, while Yasha just stayed at home trying not to upset his mother or have an asthma attack. He preoccupied himself with books and videogames, actually becoming smart enough to become a doctor or lawyer in the future, but his mother only saw him as weak. He would also look at Yuri’s feats online and watch his competitions with awe. He was very proud of his twin and looked up to his older brother. Then one day he had the courage to write him a letter. This was about the time they were 12 years old. Yuri had written back, not forgetting him of course. Yasha was beyond happy and they continued this until the present time.
They are now both 16 years of age. Yuri has just won the Grand Prix Finals and Yasha would now be living with him and their grandfather, Nikolai. Yasha’s health had deteriorated at a quick rate due to him not having the necessary medications that his doctors prescribed him. Once Nikolai found out about this, he fought with the twin’s mother to have Yasha live with him, since she was too busy with her new boyfriend and didn’t provide the care Yasha needed. She of course disagreed angrily saying Yuri needed to focus and didn’t need Yasha distracting him. Nikolai just angrily hung up the phone as he continued his quest to have custody of Yasha.
So now it was the time little Yasha made the big move of one Russian city over to another one. To him it was a big move, since he rarely left his room. As the plane descended, Yasha looked out the window at the little houses and buildings and tried not to cry or get anxious. He was scared, excited and sad all at the same time and didn’t know how to handle the situation. He just hoped things would be better and he was also anxious to see Yuri again.
@posholnakhui
Yuri was grateful to have been let off the hook so easily. “Cool.. okay. I’m gunna go help grandpa make dinner. Take a shower and get unpacked. Just.. don’t go poking around in MY stuff, okay? Towels are on the shelves just outside the bathroom if you need one.”
The other boy was about to learn why both he and grandpa took QUICK showers - but Yuri wasn’t about to warn him about the 10 minute hot-water limit from the boiler in the old apartment building. He’d find that out on his own.
Yasha nodded and smiled a bit still having a hard time seeing his own face in front of him but act with a totally different attitude. He grabbed his suitcase and started to unpack some clothes and other items. Getting his toiletry bag and an extra pair of clean clothes he made his way to the bathroom. He found the shelf outside the bathroom and took one fluffy brown towel and then went inside. It was small but had everything one would need in a bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed at how tired he looked with bags under his eyes. Turning on the tap, he waited until it was warm enough and decided to start a bath. Once the water was full enough he sat down and closed his eyes almost falling asleep. It felt so good to relax his tense body and mind. Maybe things will be ok here after all. So far it was beyond what he imagined.
Yuri trudged out to the kitchen, pulled on an apron and found where he could help Grandpa with the dinner preparations. He was quiet - unsure of how to feel about the whole situation. Uneasy was the closest thing he could think of. Uncomfortable. Nervous - though that was stupid. He could understand nerves before a Skate or an Interview or meeting one of his idols.. but this?
Why did he care so much about whether this guy liked him or not?
“Ah, Yura. You haven’t said anything since we got back from the airport.” Grandpa passed him vegetables to cut up into small pieces. Yuri enjoyed it. “How are you feeling? Unsure, hmn? It must be pretty strange.”
Why did Grandpa’s voice always calm him down, even when he was bringing up stuff that should have riled him up? Maybe it was the gentleness with which he said .. literally everything. “Yeah. It’s weird. We practically grew up in the same city and I don’t know anything about him. It’s like meeting me from another universe or something. And I don’t like it.”
“I can only imagine. It’ll take time, my boy.” Grandpa pulled him into a side-ways hug and pet his giant hands over Yuri’s pony-tailed hair. “I don’t expect it will be easy for any of us at first.”
“yeah.” Yuri grumpily agreed. “He better not snore.”
“YOU snore.” Grandpa chuckled.
“Yeah well HE better not.” Yuri grouched half-heartedly, moving the carrots he’d finished to the side so he would work on the onions.
The rest of dinner-prep went by with a much lighter mood than it had started - though Yuri noticed the ingredients for their favorite simple stew had changed slightly. That’s right.. this kid had a host of issues, including food allergies.
Yuri was glad he hadn’t ended up with the short-stick in regards to his health. Allergies. Asthma. Who knew what else. He wasn’t sure if he’d have the will to live if he were stacked with all that shit.
Yasha eventually forced himself to get out of the tub and safety of the warm water. Time to deal with more awkwardness. Sighing he dried himself and then put on a clean oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. Putting on his glasses he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He didn’t know where to put his towel so he took it back with him and hung it on the bed railing.
He could hear Yuri in the kitchen with grandpa and something smelled delicious making his stomach growl. He hoped that his grandpa remembered his allergies, he didn’t want to have to pretend not to be hungry in case he actually couldn’t eat the food. It was always so awkward when he ate at other people’s places, but it didn’t happen often.
He started to unpack his bag starting with all his medicines and medical equipment and quickly put them in his bedside drawer. Then he neatly folded his few items of clothes and put them on the shelf Yuri said was his. He only had one pair of shoes which was left at the front door. Lastly he took out the few books he brought with him and put them on the desk. He was just about to put away the bag when he saw his favorite old stuffed animal from when he was a baby. It was a giraffe and was very old and falling apart, but he kept it close to him always. Hiding it under his pillow and putting his bag under the bed, Yasha peeked a bit at Yuri’s stuff that were scattered around the room. So much was leopard and tiger print Yasha couldn’t help but laugh. He had to admit his brother had a really intense but cool sense of style. Complete opposite of himself. Taking a breath, he then decided to go to the kitchen, even though he really didn’t want to.
Upon entering the kitchen, he saw his ‘new’ family cooking and talking together happily and he smiled shyly. Not knowing what to do he made his way to the fridge and looked at all the pictures of Yuri and his grandpa. So many were of Yuri skating and it made Yasha happy to look at.
Yuri watched Yasha with a carefully guarded expression as he came out into the kitchen, hair still a little wet. He could see how thin he was - not the healthy kind of willowy like he was (though that perturbed him to no end - why couldn’t he gain muscle mass like Otabek or Georgi or even f’king MILA?).
He didn’t say anything, but Grandpa did.
“Ah.. Yasha. Feeling any better after your bath?” He asked, pushing some potatoes over for Yuri to concentrate his efforts on.
Yuri took special pleasure in the sound of the knife hitting the wooden cutting board with each slice.
“You look a bit more spry.” Grandpa smiled fondly. Gently. And that tenderness stoked a fire of jealousy in Yuri’s gut he was only too happy to use as fuel for cutting potatoes with.
Yasha smiled shyly as grandpa spoke to him in such a kind matter. He noticed Yuri cutting the potatoes a bit harder after he entered the room however, and felt a bit guilty.
Going up to his twin, and feeling a bit nervous to be so close to him, he cleared his throat.
“Um, can I help you with the vegetables?” He asked quietly.
