15

Chapter 16

For a while they sat silently, both staring out the window and waiting for the sound of a car passing by to give them some sign of life. They waited patiently until Hiroko cleared her throat to gain his attention and, turning towards her with a bright smile plastered on his face, he answered,"Yes, Mom?"

Hiroko smiled softly and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs and her face in her hands, giving Victor a gentle look. "What did you and Yuuri talk about?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to sound ungrateful or anything.

Victor glanced back outside at the street and shrugged lightly,"Nothing really..." he mumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable with all the attention directed at him. "He was just telling me how worried he had been when he saw me coming home in my wheelchair instead of walking. Then…well then we talked about Yuuko."

Hiroko smiled softly at that statement, feeling slightly better knowing that Victor was okay and that his problems didn't seem to outweigh the happiness that had bloomed in her heart when he said those words.

"You should go and see her." Hiroko suggested gently, "But don't force yourself. You need to rest and regain your energy."

"Yeah...I'll be fine." Victor agreed, although his voice seemed to betray the doubt that had arisen inside him.

"Are you happy that you've made amends?"

"...yes..." Victor murmured quietly and shifted uncomfortably, "But...it's hard to believe that this has really happened. Everything feels too good to be true."

Hiroko smiled at him and patted his knee,"You deserve to be happy, son. Do what makes you happiest."

Victor nodded softly in response and slowly pushed himself off the sofa. He gave Hiroko one final glance before making his way upstairs to his room.

When he entered his bedroom, he flopped onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling, letting out a deep sigh. His stomach growled slightly, begging him for food, and his mouth began to water just thinking about it. However, his stomach refused to obey him at the moment, not quite willing to admit that it had gone through hunger pains, and he rolled over so that he was facing away from the door as he tried to think of an acceptable reason as to why he wasn't hungry. He sighed quietly once more and closed his eyes as he attempted to fall asleep.

The next evening after dinner (which Victor ate very quickly because he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast), Victor left for Yu-Topia's hospital. As he walked past the entrance doors of his apartment building, he spotted Minako, standing by herself outside and waving enthusiastically at him. Even though they hadn't talked for quite some time since he'd last seen her, she still managed to catch him off guard and nearly give him a heart attack, but he waved back nonetheless, smiling brightly once he noticed her and running over to greet her.

Once he reached her, however, he stopped right in front of her and smiled awkwardly,"Hi Minako, I'm sorry I took so long."

Minako chuckled and shook her head,"That's alright." she replied softly, taking one of his hands into hers, "Come on, let's get inside and I'll explain everything to you."

With a nod, Victor allowed himself to be lead along into the building and up the stairs leading to their destination. Once they reached the top floor, they continued onwards until they reached Yuuri's door. Before Minako could open it, however, Victor placed a hand on her forearm and stopped her from opening it.

"Hold on. Don't tell me..." Victor muttered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.

"What? Why wouldn't I?" Minako inquired curiously.

Victor paused for a second before shrugging, "Nevermind." he dismissed dismissively