Chapter 2. On love: Hedgehog

Overall it was strange. Within moments Otabek's state of mind had not only changed drastically but for the long haul as well. There was no one as strong as Yuri Plisetsky. Or so he had thought. No one with spirit and the will to fight like the boy they called "the fairy". Or as Otabek had pointed out back then "with the eyes of a soldier". The emotions that drove Yuri were anger and perfectionism and the will to step out of a competition as the lone and undeniable champion. He had even put the guy in his place who had the word victory in his name. But now Otabek had to admit that there was a side of Yuri he had never seen before, probably no one had ever seen before. With the exception of the late Nikolai Plisetsky at least.

He sighed and put his fork down when he finished. After Yuri had cried a little more, they had decided not to let the potatoes go to waste and the blonde skater had returned to his normal self a little, as he had started to complain about the weather and how the bus line from the airport sucked and that it was a pain in the ass that Otabek lived on the fourth floor with no elevator and how they could leave the front door of the house open, it was no wonder if Otabek was stabbed by a maniac fan one day (Otabek didn't mention that he certainly didn't have any maniac fans, because it was kind of relieving to see Yuri shaking off the pain from before). He had rambled on like that for some time now but it was obvious that he just wanted to distract from his breakdown earlier, although Otabek had a feeling that Yuri was relieved after he had talked to him.

"Are you finished?", the blonde asked and looked closely at Otabek's empty plate. When the dark haired nodded, he looked at his own plate, still half full. "If you're still hungry, I'm full as well."

That was probably an offer, because Yuri had a feeling he had cut Otabek's ration short and felt guilty now, but Otabek shook his head. "It's fine. Keep eating."

But now it was Yuri's turn to shake his head. "I have a strict diet plan, you know. And I had cake at the airport café already. Don't let Yakov know though." He chuckled and leaned back in the chair and Otabek didn't comment on how diminutive the other looked although he seemed to have grown since they had last seen each other. His hair had grown a lot as well, giving him a more androgynous look than ever before. Otabek really wasn't sentimental or something but there was no denying that Yuri was for sure the most attractive human in the world. For not to say beautiful.

He stood up and started tidying up the kitchen and Yuri helped him. It felt awkwardly natural how they worked together in silence. Otabek had always preferred to be by himself, but somehow Yuri's presence was… blissful.

After they were finished Otabek suggested to show the Russian around. His flat wasn't huge or something, it was still his pride though and Yuri seemed a little impressed especially when he saw the shelves in the living room. They were lined along two walls and contained mostly music. Yuri let his fingers run along the backs of the discs that were in thorough order.

"Wow", he whispered, "I didn't know you're into classical music that much." He crouched to take a closer look at the collection of Vivaldi vinyls. "I mean I noticed that you skated to classic stuff earlier but I somehow thought that your trainer chose the music."

Otabek sat down on the couch and watched Yuri who tossed his head to read the names of the records.

"I like this one. The four seasons. I skated to a section of Summer some time ago, it's really hard though."

"I know", Otabek answered and Yuri looked at him in surprise. "I've seen a video."

Yuri stood upright and tried to get his hair behind his left ear. He really was tall now. And he blushed a little. "Did Mila send it to you?" When Otabek nodded, he pouted. "Can't that bloody hag keep anything to herself?" He came over to the couch and let himself fall next to Otabek who smiled.

"It was really good though", he said and Yuri shrugged.

"Whatever you say."

They sat in silence for a moment, before Otabek inquired: "There are a few things I need to know." When Yuri nodded slightly he went on: "I don't want you to get into trouble, and to avoid that you need to provide me with some information." He sounded like a machine and he knew that, and it was obvious from Yuri's frown that he had noticed as well. Speaking of problems socializing… "I wonder who knows that you are here. Your mother and Yakov are the very least who need to know. They are in charge of your best interests, so they must give their permission to let you stay here. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, you need governmental permission to leave Russia, especially if you are underage, depending on the reasons for your exit. Are you allowed to leave without a custodian or legal guardian before the age of 16 anyway?"

"I'm 16!", Yuri interrupted and crossed his arms.

One of Otabek's eyebrows rose. "Is that so?"

"It's my birthday today!", Yuri snapped. "Do you think I'm some kind of moron? I'm very well aware that I wasn't supposed to go anywhere without those fucking watchdogs observing every single step I take. When I went to Japan last year to see Victor it was pretty much illegal and I got in a huge mess when I came back and that is the only reason why I stayed with my mother all that time, because I don't want to get in trouble again like before and I don't want to be caught being a minor without legal permission to leave fucking Russia and I don't want to be sent back to that place!" His voice had gotten louder but Otabek didn't want to interrupt, because he really needed to know what Yuri's purpose was.

"You have not the slightest of an idea how it is back there! How it feels to lose the only person who doesn't treat you like a literal cash cow, just to find yourself with a mother that doesn't have any interest in you unless you bring at least one gold medal home, per season! That place is shit, it has always been and now it's just getting worse and worse and I have no one, no one! Not even Victor is there, because he is all lovey-dovey with that snookums-katsudon, and I keep getting those mails and not even Yakov knows, because I feel so guilty and I just needed to get away! Every fucking day was like hell and I just thought Bear it, just a little longer, just some more days and then you can go and leave that shit behind just for some time, just 'till it gets easier, just 'till it doesn't hurt that much anymore. And I couldn't sleep last night, because I was so excited and so desperate to get out of there and I wrote my mother a letter that I won't be around for some time and I texted Yakov that I need some time for myself and I muted twitter and instagram. I just wanted to get away. I can't go on like that. I cannot be strong, for God's sake, not now, not with how things are right now."

Yuri had wrapped his arms around his knees close to his body in a way that must've been uncomfortable for anyone who hadn't been doing ballet for the bigger part of his life and Otabek had to think of a little hedgehog who curls into a ball and splays out his spikes so it doesn't get hurt. Yuri even had his forehead on his knees with his hair hiding his face in a light blonde mess so that Otabek couldn't even tell if he was crying, although his voice had cracked halfway through his monologue.

When he reached out to touch Yuri's shoulders, the younger skater turned his head a little to cast a glance at him through the whitish golden strands of hair and there was so much pain in his eyes that it made Otabek's heart skip a beat. "You don't need to be", he said in a low voice. "No one expects you to be strong right now. At least I don't." The tears started to drip off Yuri's lashes, but he didn't make a sound. "It's a good thing you came here. I wouldn't want you to be in a place that hurts you so much. Consider this place your sanctuary. I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel better."

Otabek heard Yuri inhaling tremulously and a second later he found the fairy in his arms, convulsively sobbing and although it surprised him how emotional Yuri got, he immediately realized that this was probably how he was supposed to be behaving after what he must've endured.

"I'm sorry", he murmured and laid his arms around Yuri. It felt really unusual to be so close to someone, but not in a bad way. Yuri clutched to his shirt and Otabek felt his skinny body trembling. It did feel bad in a way, but the immediate closeness wasn't the problem. "I can't even say Happy birthday, can I? It's not happy after all. I'm really sorry."

Yuri pressed himself harder into the embrace and Otabek let his right hand run up and down the Russian fairy's spine and wished he was better at making people comfortable for the first time in his entire life. He held Yuri for some time and silence covered them like a blanket that had been laid down on them only to emphasize Yuri's heartbreaking sobbing that slowly faded away as the fairy didn't have any tears left after what felt like an eternity. Otabek really wanted to say something supportive but he couldn't come up with anything, so in the end it once more was Yuri who broke the silence with his still unsteady voice.

"You really smell good", he muttered against Otabek's chest without letting go of the Kazakh skater.

"I showered right before you showed up", he answered and couldn't help to find the situation a little weird right now. Yuri had stopped crying some time ago but Otabek had let him in his arms, because he didn't have the heart to push the other away, so they still were very close although the tension had ceased.

"I like it", Yuri whispered. "Your smell I mean." When Otabek didn't answer, because everything that came to his mind sounded peculiar even only in his head, he distanced himself a little from Otabek, looking at him with shimmering green eyes and this time Otabek's vision got blurred even without the tea's steam from before. He swallowed and stared at Yuri who just stared back, but neither of them dared to move. "Aren't you going to do anything?", Yuri asked after a moment of hesitation and Otabek could only think of one thing he wanted to do now. "I don't know what you mean."

"I bet you do", was Yuri's answer, but when Otabek shook his head, be backed off and wiped the dried tears from his eyes with the sleeves of his animal print hooded sweatshirt and Otabek was relieved and disappointed at the same time.

The bells of the catholic church across the street started to toll like they were making fun of them and Otabek just sat there and watched how Yuri got himself together, his back straight and his face stern, but the brightness in his eyes betrayed him. He wanted to sit here forever and look upon this precious human being.

t.b.c.

BGM: Vivaldi's Four Seasons (obviously ^^)

I'll try to upload on sundays from now on, so you know when to check out on the latest chapter.