Somehow, the hours between practice and the afternoon always seem to slip away without giving any kind of warning or leaving any sort of sign: there's a light lunch that Victor tries to make sure Yuri eats, and run-ins with reporters and announcers –– the Japanese commentator who came to Onsen on Ice and the Southern Regional Championship is there –– and they're familiar enough, but all of their questions seem as directed at Victor as they are to Yuri.
Victor, will you be returning to compete after the Grand Prix Final this year?
Aren't you interested in defending your status as World Champion?
Do you think Katsuki Yuri will be able to beat your scores? Has it been difficult to find momentum after he took the last year off? What do you think of his chances, is he ready? Is it strange to be back here as a coach and not a competitor?
All of which he fends off with the same handful of answers: He won't decide on any plans until after the Grand Prix Final; coaching has been a new and exciting challenging for him, and coaching Yuri, specifically, has been hugely rewarding; it is strange, he's happy to be able to be here and eat absolutely whatever he wants.
(Pause for laughter.)
Somewhere in the mix, Minako appears, banner in hand, and it's a strange sensation to be a little relieved to see her, a small piece of Hasetsu here.
It makes him feel almost homesick.
He gives her as much time with Yuri as he can before they're called back to the locker rooms and she has to go take her seat, walks back through the crowd of people and press with one hand on Yuri's shoulder and the other waving amiably at the faces they pass, tossing smiles and a few short answers to shouted questions, but it's all just running interference. Under his hand, he can feel Yuri thrumming like the engine of a car left in park, ready to burst at any second.
He just needs to let it out at the right time, and Victor can help with that.
And then they're back: Chris stretching nearby, Guang-Hong looking pale and a little green around the gills in a corner, Ciao Ciao and Phichit in deep conversation ... and Yuri, focused on some inner thought, lost in his own world.
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Date: 2017-04-02 06:50 pm (UTC)Victor, will you be returning to compete after the Grand Prix Final this year?
Aren't you interested in defending your status as World Champion?
Do you think Katsuki Yuri will be able to beat your scores? Has it been difficult to find momentum after he took the last year off? What do you think of his chances, is he ready? Is it strange to be back here as a coach and not a competitor?
All of which he fends off with the same handful of answers: He won't decide on any plans until after the Grand Prix Final; coaching has been a new and exciting challenging for him, and coaching Yuri, specifically, has been hugely rewarding; it is strange, he's happy to be able to be here and eat absolutely whatever he wants.
(Pause for laughter.)
Somewhere in the mix, Minako appears, banner in hand, and it's a strange sensation to be a little relieved to see her, a small piece of Hasetsu here.
It makes him feel almost homesick.
He gives her as much time with Yuri as he can before they're called back to the locker rooms and she has to go take her seat, walks back through the crowd of people and press with one hand on Yuri's shoulder and the other waving amiably at the faces they pass, tossing smiles and a few short answers to shouted questions, but it's all just running interference. Under his hand, he can feel Yuri thrumming like the engine of a car left in park, ready to burst at any second.
He just needs to let it out at the right time, and Victor can help with that.
And then they're back: Chris stretching nearby, Guang-Hong looking pale and a little green around the gills in a corner, Ciao Ciao and Phichit in deep conversation ... and Yuri, focused on some inner thought, lost in his own world.
And, outside, the crowd beginning to grow.