"Nnn-nnnngh..."
"Hey, can you hear me?" called a familiar voice.
"Ugh... Wh...what... Where...am I...? Urgh..."
"Get his head wrapped up! Hurry!" another voice shouted. Yuri was on the edge of consciousness, his head pounded something awful, he couldn't move, something felt broken, and he felt something soaking his hair. His eyes were glued shut, so he could not look up and see where the source of the deafening sound was from, or what he felt all over his body, or why he was moving without having done anything. It hurt to think, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to simply exist. He felt his life slowly draining from his fragile body as he was tossed around mercilessly. He consented to simply lie there and let whomever was moving him do what they so chose. He had no power left in him.
"Are you alright? Can you answer me?" once more rang that familiar voice. He couldn't quite pinpoint just who it belonged to, but he knew the person, of that he was sure. "We're going to stitch you up, so just stay with us, okay?"
"How could this have happened? How could he be so hurt after that crash?"
"Yeah, and especially during the warm-up period, too."
Everything began to fade from the world around him. He was able to crack open his eyes slightly, but it did nothing to help as everything was just a blurred mess of colors. He coughed weakly, acutely aware of the blood that came up and the cloth that was placed over his mouth to soak it up.
"Did...did I do...alright...?" he forced out before everything was dark again. He could only hear one voice, and that was the one that kept urging him to stay awake for them. But he had no intention of doing so, knowing that as long as he was aware of his surroundings he was also aware of the shooting pain that would not leave him alone. His mind wandered off into dreamland, and he slowly relaxed.
...Am I dead?
Is anyone here?
I hope I'm not alone...
What happened to me?
I was just skating like usual... What went wrong?
Wait...am I...moving?
Yuri! Yuri, are you alright?
Oh...someone else came... Are they here to save me...?
Come on, let's get him stitched up! We don't have any time!
Please stop screaming...
...
"Yuri?"
That voice from earlier... It's back?
"What...? Where am I?" he groaned with cracked voice. His eyes fluttered open slightly, taking in the hazy figure standing next to him. The sight of this particular person would normally make his heart jump, but he was too groggy to care. The person above him sighed.
"Well, I'm glad you're okay. You had us all worried, you know. The other skaters are all outside waiting to hear your voice. Maybe you should do something?"
"Vi...Viktor..." he breathed hoarsely. "Why...are you here?"
"Because I care about you, Yuri. Is that wrong?"
Yuri flinched at his sudden effrontery.
"What? N-No! I didn't mean it like that-"
He was cut off by Viktor's laugh. He loved that laugh.
"I'm just joking, Yuri. You fluster easily, you know that?"
Yuri looked away. Vitya saw this and decided to act before tears formed. He knelt down and gripped the tired skater's hand in his own, gently caressing his cheek with the other. He bent down until their noses nearly touched, ensuring he had his attention.
"Yuri, you don't have to worry about a thing anymore. If you like, I will stay here with you and help you recover. And you know why?"
He was silent.
"Because, Yuri. Because I love you. And I want to protect my katsudon."
Yuri jumped when he heard those words, accidentally hitting foreheads in the process, and backed away with a deep blush to his face.
"V-Viktor?" he stuttered, but was once again cut off by the aforementioned Russian, this time for entirely different reasons. Viktor leaned in, a sparkle in his eye hinting at what was coming next, and they locked lips. Yuri's heart skipped a beat at the initial shock; of all people Vitya could be kissing, it was him? What made him so special? He just got in a bit of an accident, that's all. Who cares that he got cut up by a bunch of skates flying at him? Skaters were hurt all the time.
His thoughts raced as fast as his heart did, but he still relished in the closeness he shared with his lifetime crush. This was the stuff of dreams, to share a kiss with the world champion figure skater that was Viktor Nikiforov. He was not about to ruin this moment, and therefore he didn't. He held the older man's face in his hands, pulling him in and trapping him in the kiss for the next solid three minutes. It was Viktor who ended it, just as he had started it, by slowly pulling away from the lovesick youth lying in the hospital bed.
"Yuri, you should get some sleep now."
"But, Viktor..."
"Don't worry, I'll be right here with you. So just make sure you get well soon, okay?"
Yuri's eyelids were already fluttering shut even as he whispered "Okay..." and fell asleep, held lovingly in the arms of his idol, his hero, and his Viktor.