Innocence
Prologue – The Dossier
The first person to discover his secret had been Phichit, almost ten years ago. It happened during the chaos in the barracks where they both used to sleep, the immediate result of a rumour about a surprise inspection. It was during the confusion that Phichit had found himself redoing Yuri's bed and, in doing so, he noticed the corner of what seemed to be a notebook peering out from under the mattress. At the moment, he didn't care too much about the contents, actually, just hiding the object to cover for his friend.
With the passing days, however, his curiosity had grown in intensity till Phichit took the first opportunity to confront Yuri, far from any possible eavesdropping.
He asked: "So, what are you hiding under your mattress?"
Yuri's eyes widened behind the glasses, sitting on that very same bunk. From his squirming, Phichit understood that he touched nerve. Bingo. It was something big, apparently. A wide grin spread across his face, as he leaned to put his arm around the other's shoulder with a conspiratorial look.
"How do you know this?" Yuri asked, voice so low it was barely audible. Phichit made a gesture as if to say he didn't consider the matter important. "It was when I made your bed before Sergeant Cialdini gave us the shovel talk about how dirty our rooms were. So, what are you hiding?"
"None of your business!"
"Let me guess, some porn magazines? You could share, you know? It's been so long since I've seen a girl that I'm starting to forget what they look like."
Yuri chuckled behind his closed fist. "I thought you liked wanking off thinking about Leo's sweet ass!"
"Yes, but after a while it starts to get boring!"
Phichit sighed dramatically, shoulders rising in an exaggerated manner. "No, seriously, what are you hiding?"
Yuri sighed too. He'd known Phichit since he had first enlisted in the Army. They faced all the humiliation and discrimination so often linked with having almond-shaped eyes together. Yuri every so often marvelled at the skill Phichit showed when he got his hands on any type of technology, no matter how new. Discovering that Phichit had a certifications in IT only made his admiration for his friend increase. He also knew that when Phichit fixated on something, it became impossible to make him change his mind.
This time he couldn't dismiss the possibility that soon, obsessed due to curiosity, his friend would wait for Yuri's first moment of distraction to get to bottom of the issue.
"If I tell you, do you promise to keep a secret?"
"I'll be as quiet as a mouse!" Phichit assured. Yuri didn't feel reassured in the slightest.
He kneeled on the hard floor and stuck his arm in the space between the lumpy mattress and the iron bed. When he pulled it out, his fingers were curled around a thin and rectangular object. It wasn't, contrary to Phichit's speculations, a porn magazine, more of a –
"Notebook. A dossier," the man commented as he opened it. "Not any dossier. A dossier about-"
Yuri prayed that everybody else was too busy with their duties to hear Phichit's surprised cry.
"Victor Nikiforov!
"Hush!" Yuri hissed, waving his hands. The notebook, now on the bed, was open to one of the first pages. It showed a series of notes written in neat handwriting, a collection of grainy photos, probably cut from some newspaper. Phichit scanned over it.
"Name. Birthday –so lucky to be born on Christmas day, do you think he receives double the presents? – Birth place. Rank. A short bio. Missions. Damn it, Yuri, I'm not saying this stuff is on Secret clearance level, but, you know, Russians aren't so generous with information about their military. How in heaven have you managed to put this together?"
Yuri shrugged. Caressing the notebook's yellowish cover, he felt a sentiment similar to pride blooming in his chest.
"It's nothing too big. Most of this stuff has been on the TV. Victor's too much of a genius for his name to not be on international newspapers. Then again, he's a little careless about his personal information. More than what the USSR would like to admit. His superiors hate him for it."
If Phichit opened his mouth a little bit more, his jaw would've ended up on the floor. Yuri was speaking with his usual shy voice, but in it there was a new assuredness and in his eyes, Phichit could see a kind of passion it makes you stay up at night.
Something passed in his head that, when it wasn't busy cracking codes, pined about Thai musicals and his hamsters back home. Phichit saw a little blush colouring the other's nose, almost a confirmation of his suspicions.
Yuri Katsuki has a damn crush on Nikiforov. This was what Phichit had thought.
Notes:
I'm crossposting this fanfiction firstly published here (archiveofourown /works/9652415/chapters/21808040) mostly because I worked really hard on it and want to give it as much exposure as possible.
The updates will be weekly, as the story is already completed.
The chapters will become longer and longer as they story goes on.