Yuri shakes his head. 'He just told me to find you and Mila. He said he was going to find Georgi.' No mention, of course, of the reason why Yakov had sent him off on his own in the first place.
Lilia scans the sea of heads around her, then looks back at the two skaters. Yuri is clearly fading fast, remaining upright only through some combination of determination and spite, and even Mila has just had to stifle a yawn against the back of her hand. These events, however necessary they may be for ensuring that the sponsors feel that they are getting their money's worth, always go on for too long. After enough alcohol, any sensible and useful conversation devolves into the same gossip and jokes that make the rounds year after year. If they are to dispel the smiling, silver-haired ghost in the room, it would not do to leave too early...but Mila's yawn has just made Yuri fight back a yawn as well, and that decides it for her.
'Head over to the doors that lead to the hallway,' she tells them. 'I will find Yakov and let him know that the three of us will be leaving, with or without him and Georgi.'
Fucking finally, Yuri's expression says, though around Lilia he would never voice something like that aloud. He starts to turn to go, but when Mila doesn't follow immediately he pauses, and tugs on the end of her wrap. 'Are we doing this thing or what?' he says wearily, holding out his arm for her to take.
Mila presses her lips together to hide her surprise. Yuri must be exhausted for him to make an offer like that, with no outside motive or prompting. Still, he'd be mortified and withdraw it in an instant if she pointed it out to tease him about it, so she accepts his arm without comment. 'We'll wait for you just outside the door, Lilia, if that's all right -- it's a little too warm in here.'
Lilia pauses for a moment to watch them leave, her gaze lingering on Yuri's retreating back until she is confident that no one will hinder their departure. From what she has observed this evening (and will mention when she compares notes with her ex-husband later), the general opinion on Yuri is favourable -- a vague, cautious, guarded sort of favour, but favour nonetheless.
(Yuri Plisetsky's not approachable in the same way that Viktor Nikiforov is, of course. Not nearly so ready with a smile or a laugh, a cheerful word or an attentive ear, or that casual charm that any marketing team would kill to have as the face of their product. He apparently has a youthful, dedicated fan-following on the Internet, but he's by no means a proven attraction either on or off the ice. But for someone so young, the boy's clearly got plenty of fire in him -- by this point, most everyone in the room knows that he'd given Feltsman the slip and stalked Nikiforov to Japan of his own accord in a white-hot rage earlier in the year -- and among those who have heard about the confrontation in the lobby, in this crowd of old Muscovites there's more than a bit of pride at the thought of one of their own going toe-to-toe with someone from the St. Petersburg set and not backing down. Consensus seems to say that if Feltsman thinks that the kid's good enough to have a fighting chance on the senior circuit before he's even old enough to shave, there's no reason not to watch him tomorrow.)
The rest will be in Yuri's hands on the ice this weekend.
no subject
Lilia scans the sea of heads around her, then looks back at the two skaters. Yuri is clearly fading fast, remaining upright only through some combination of determination and spite, and even Mila has just had to stifle a yawn against the back of her hand. These events, however necessary they may be for ensuring that the sponsors feel that they are getting their money's worth, always go on for too long. After enough alcohol, any sensible and useful conversation devolves into the same gossip and jokes that make the rounds year after year. If they are to dispel the smiling, silver-haired ghost in the room, it would not do to leave too early...but Mila's yawn has just made Yuri fight back a yawn as well, and that decides it for her.
'Head over to the doors that lead to the hallway,' she tells them. 'I will find Yakov and let him know that the three of us will be leaving, with or without him and Georgi.'
Fucking finally, Yuri's expression says, though around Lilia he would never voice something like that aloud. He starts to turn to go, but when Mila doesn't follow immediately he pauses, and tugs on the end of her wrap. 'Are we doing this thing or what?' he says wearily, holding out his arm for her to take.
Mila presses her lips together to hide her surprise. Yuri must be exhausted for him to make an offer like that, with no outside motive or prompting. Still, he'd be mortified and withdraw it in an instant if she pointed it out to tease him about it, so she accepts his arm without comment. 'We'll wait for you just outside the door, Lilia, if that's all right -- it's a little too warm in here.'
Lilia pauses for a moment to watch them leave, her gaze lingering on Yuri's retreating back until she is confident that no one will hinder their departure. From what she has observed this evening (and will mention when she compares notes with her ex-husband later), the general opinion on Yuri is favourable -- a vague, cautious, guarded sort of favour, but favour nonetheless.
(Yuri Plisetsky's not approachable in the same way that Viktor Nikiforov is, of course. Not nearly so ready with a smile or a laugh, a cheerful word or an attentive ear, or that casual charm that any marketing team would kill to have as the face of their product. He apparently has a youthful, dedicated fan-following on the Internet, but he's by no means a proven attraction either on or off the ice. But for someone so young, the boy's clearly got plenty of fire in him -- by this point, most everyone in the room knows that he'd given Feltsman the slip and stalked Nikiforov to Japan of his own accord in a white-hot rage earlier in the year -- and among those who have heard about the confrontation in the lobby, in this crowd of old Muscovites there's more than a bit of pride at the thought of one of their own going toe-to-toe with someone from the St. Petersburg set and not backing down. Consensus seems to say that if Feltsman thinks that the kid's good enough to have a fighting chance on the senior circuit before he's even old enough to shave, there's no reason not to watch him tomorrow.)
The rest will be in Yuri's hands on the ice this weekend.