Chapter 2: The Ice Princes
"Yuri, get that leg up higher!" Yakov snapped, "What's gotten into you today? Have you forgotten that you have a major competition in a few days?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm not stupid, old man," Yurio said irascibly, "Stop bugging me so I can concentrate!"
He made a turn and noticed the absence of the other skater who usually shared the rink with him during his morning session.
"Hey, where the hell is Victor this morning, anyway?" he asked, "Is he slacking off again, so close to the competition. You should be yelling at him, not me."
He made a little sound of surprise as the old man's face took on a genuinely worried look.
"Vitya was almost hit by a car last night," Yakov explained, "He was injured when Yuuri Katsuki pulled him out of the car's path."
"Damn it!" Yurio swore, "Is he all right? Is the pork cutlet bowl okay?"
"Yuuri wasn't hurt. He told me that Vitya has a mild concussion, a sprained wrist and a lot of cuts and bruises, but if he rests between now and the competition, he will be able to compete, though he may not be at his best if he can't practice much."
"The stupid asshole," Yurio huffed, relieved now that he new his friends weren't hurt, "He was probably drunk and stumbled out into the street, right?"
Yakov's frown deepened and he crossed his arms as he answered.
"Yuuri was clear that, although the two of them had been drinking, both remembered that the light for them to walk was on, and Yuuri recalled that he heard the car's engine accelerating as it approached the red light."
"It was accelerating," Yurio repeated, his expression darkening, "Are you saying some son of a bitch was trying to hurt those two? Trying to kill them?"
"Their intent is unknown and the police so far cannot conclude anything for certain. But Yuuri passed on a warning to me, and you should inform Otabek when you see him."
"Inform me of what?" the handsome Kazakhstani skater asked as he walked into the rink preparation area, "Did something happen?"
"Yeah, something happened," Yurio said in a low, furious tone, "Someone may have been trying to run down the pork cutlet bowl and that idiot, Victor, last night while they were walking home from the club they go to."
"We can't be sure, but it did look as though someone was trying to injure or kill Yuuri Katsuki and Vitya," Yakov added, "If someone is out to harm them, then all of the highly ranked skaters could be at risk before worlds. You two need to be very careful when you are out in public. I have arranged for a bodyguard for those two, and because of your high ranking, I want to do the same for you."
"What? Are you kidding me?" Yurio complained, "You said they don't even know if this was just a drunk or reckless driver or if they meant to hit those two fools. I don't need someone following me around everywhere. It would be a pain in the ass."
"I don't know," Otabek said, frowning, "There seems to be enough concern that you should consider it."
"Are you going to get a bodyguard too, then?" Yurio demanded, "You're a top-seeded skater too."
"Hmm, I'm not sure," Otabek answered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "but while we decide about that, perhaps we should watch out for each other."
"How so?" Yurio asked.
"Maybe you should come and stay with me at my apartment or I should stay in yours…just until we know if there is a threat," Otabek answered, his tone revealing nothing more than calm concern.
Yurio blushed brightly.
"You want to move in together?" he asked, his voice shaking very slightly.
"For our safety," Otabek reasoned, his quiet eyes focusing on the Russian youth's widened ones and his usually unsmiling lips turning upward just a little.
"You really think there's danger to the rest of us?"
Otabek shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not. But if you don't want to hire a bodyguard while we are waiting for news, this seems like a good middle ground."
"I'll leave it to the two of you then," Yakov grunted, turning away.
He glanced down at his watch and made a sound of disapproval.
"Yuri, when Yuuri Katsuki arrives, you tell him I want to talk to him. If Vitya comes with him, then send him to me also."
"You don't think Victor will be here for pork cutlet bowl's training?" Yurio asked, "He was feeling that bad?"
"He was already sore and starting pain medication and he's a thirty-year-old who has been competing professionally since he was thirteen. He is going to be in agony this morning."
"Are you sure that pork cutlet bowl will come to practice if Victor's feeling that bad?"
"Vitya won't let his husband neglect his training. Yuuri will come. Vitya might push himself and come as well, that is, if the bodyguard doesn't stop him."
A little smirk rose on Yurio's lips.
"You hired a brute to watch them?" he asked, "Is he another one who used to work for the government?"
"Yes," Yakov replied, his own lips quirking, "she is."
Otabek gave the younger skater a curious look as Yurio laughed and turned his attention back to his skating.
"What's so amusing?" he asked.
"Those two will be protected," Yurio answered as he turned and gathered speed.
He launched his agile body into a perfect quadruple salchow, then headed back towards his good friend.
"They will be protected and this woman will also give them a very hard time, I am sure."
"And that makes you happy?" Otabek asked, looking amused.
"Fuck yes, it does," Yurio snorted, "Those two are a thorn in my side all of the time with their sexy talk and making out and teasing me when they get lucky and beat me. They deserve this and I'm going to enjoy every minute."
Otabek watched, his calm eyes twinkling very slightly as Yurio executed a lovely spin combination.
"Now that you know they are going to be okay, you will," he said softly, "You are always intriguing, to say that least…Yuri Plisetsky."
XXXXXXXXXX
Yuuri felt the bed move, then his eyes flew open at the sound of his husband's low, anguished groan.
"Vitya!" he called out, climbing onto his knees beside the Russian skater, who only groaned again fitfully, "Vitya, are you all right?"
"Ow," Victor whimpered, trying hard to hold his aching body perfectly still, "Don't move the bed, Yuuri. It hurts. It fucking hurts!"
"Okay," Yuuri answered, trying hard to keep his voice from shaking, "tell me exactly what hurts."
"I think fucking everything," Victor complained, keeping his body curled around a sympathetically whimpering Maccachin, who thumped his tail and turned his head to lick Victor's sweaty face.
"Ow! Hold still, Macca," Victor groaned.
"I'll get you a pain pill," Yuuri said, climbing carefully out of the bed, "Don't move, okay?"
"Nooooooo," Victor panted, "I don't like taking those."
"Don't be a baby, Vitya," Yuuri chided him as he pulled a yukata around his slim body, leaving the front open, "You only had one dose last night. Your doctor said not to just endure the pain. You need relief so you can get up and around."
"Oh god, I can't move, Yuuri!" Victor moaned.
"That's why you need this," Yuuri said patiently as he returned to the bed and handed his still reluctant husband a large pill and a glass of water, "Go on, now."
Victor looked as though he still wanted to complain, but he sat up, grimacing and swallowed the pill with a mouthful of water.
"Drink all of the water I gave you," Yuuri reminded him.
"Okay, okay, Doctor Katsuki," Victor said sulkily.
Victor nudged Maccachin off the bed and started to put his legs over the edge, but a sharp pain made him stop and swear.
"Ow, goddamn it!"
"Take it slowly," Yuuri scolded him, moving to help him, "The pain pill takes a little time to kick in."
"Now you tell me," Victor said, brushing the hair away from his eye.
Yuuri took one look at his husband's face and winced.
"Oh man, that looks bad," he said, moving to sit down gingerly beside Victor.
"It stings," Victor sighed, "but my arm hurts more…and my head."
"The doctor said that you would be really sore after sleeping, and that it could be worse tomorrow than today. Weren't you paying attention at all?"
"I was hurt and still drunk when he told me everything," Victor whimpered, touching the scratches on his face lightly with his fingers and flinching.
"Don't touch it!" Yuuri exclaimed, pulling his hand away.
"Ow!" Victor yelped, "My wrist, Yuuri!"
"Oh, sorry!" his partner apologized hastily, "Damn, you're just hurting all over, aren't you? But, at least your bangs cover up a lot of the cuts and bruising on your eye and face."
"That doesn't make me feel any better. I hurt all over," Victor sulked.
"Sorry," Yuuri said sympathetically, his arm wrapping around his injured lover, gently, "I'm pretty achy too, although I was able to protect myself better since I saw what was happening."
"I haven't forgotten that you saved my life," Victor said quietly, "We could have died last night."
"Yeah," Yuuri agreed, tightening slightly the arms that held Victor, "I'm glad neither of us was hurt too badly. As much as your injuries hurt, at least they are minor."
"They don't feel minor," Victor sighed raggedly, "although, I think the pain pill is helping."
"Can you get up now? Here, let me help you."
Go slow," Victor warned him, "it still hurts a lot."
"Okay, we'll go slowly."
Yuuri cautiously supported Victor around the waist as he rose onto shaky legs. He swayed a little and swore several times, then he reached over and picked up his robe from the bed. Yuuri helped him slip the robe on, then he smiled at his husband, wearing a relieved expression.
"The worst is over for now, right?" he said, trying to sound cheerful.
"If you say so," Victor said, his voice still a little sulky, "I still hurt, just not as badly."
"You need to walk around a little and stretch out, and we should have something to eat."
Victor glanced at the clock and shook his head, then he winced and his face crinkled up as his head ached and throbbed for a moment.
"It's getting late."
"We're taking our time," Yuuri insisted, turning Victor towards the bathroom.
They had only taken a few steps when they heard a knocking on the front door.
"I'll go get that," Yuuri said, letting Victor go, but pausing to watch that he could stay on his feet, "I'll be right back."
Victor limped into the bathroom, groaning and using his uninjured hand to hold his aching side. He turned his head to peek at his torso and groaned again at the bruising on his ribs.
I'm glad they're not broken, but damn, they hurt! The pain pill is helping, though.
He slipped out of his yukata and walked naked back into the bedroom to choose something to wear. He heard Yuuri's voice and a scolding feminine voice, then Yuuri's voice objecting. A moment later, the bedroom door opened and an older woman with sharp, stern features and silver hair pulled back into a tight bun, stepped into the room with a sputtering Yuuri on her heels.
"Wait! Don't go in there. Victor is na-…"
He paused, blinking as Victor met the old woman's eyes unabashedly.
"Who are you?" he asked, frowning, "and do you mind waiting outside until I get my pants on at least?"
"I am Gavriila, sent by Yakov to watch you," the woman said shortly, "Judging by those bruises, you need the watching."
"Well, as I said," Victor answered calmly, "you can watch me all you want when I am dressed."
Gavriila's icy blue eyes raked over Victor's body and she scowled and shook her head.
"What's to see?" she huffed dismissively, turning out the door again, "I will make something for the bruises."
"You don't have…" Victor began.
He broke off as Gavriila sent Yuuri scrambling towards Victor with a savage glare and started out the bedroom door.
"Wow, she's really scary," Yuuri said, looking anxiously in the direction the old woman had gone, "She said she's a bodyguard sent by Yakov."
"Well, I don't think I need a bodyguard. I'll just tell Yakov it's too much. After all, the police haven't even concluded that what happened was anything but an accident."
"I did hear the car's engine accelerating," Yuuri reminded him.
"But the person could just have been very drunk. It could have been someone leaving the bar, as we were at the time."
"I know, but the person did just drive away after," Yuuri recollected.
"Either they were drunk and didn't know what they were doing or they tried to hit us on purpose and were escaping," Victor acknowledged, "but there wasn't enough evidence for the police to know for sure, so neither can we. We'll be careful, but I don't think we really need Gavriila."
"More like Godzilla," Yuuri said under his breath.
He colored as Gavriila appeared in the doorway and glared at Victor, who was still naked.
"I told you to wait until…"
"I have treatment for bruises."
"I've already taken my pain pill," Victor said, blinking in surprise as the old woman ignored him and strode forward, pushing him down onto the bed on his back as Yuuri skittered out of the way.
"Hey!" Victor objected, "I said I don't…"
"Shut up and lie still," Gavriila ordered, placing a restraining hand on the Russian skater's chest and using the other to press the warm, odd smelling compress to the large, dark bruised area on Victor's ribs.
"That…" Victor began, then he paused, blinking in surprise as the warmth seeped into torso and seemed to swiftly reduce the ache in his ribs, "That is amazing! Where did you learn to make that? Was it in your government training?"
"I learn in the field," Gavriila answered in an unaffected tone, "Sometimes necessity is best teacher. Compress works fast. Get up now."
Victor sat up on the bed, marveling at the lack of discomfort.
"It still looks ugly."
"It will heal faster now," the lady bodyguard informed him.
"Can you heal my wrist faster too?" Victor asked, seeming to forget that he was still naked.
"Joints are more difficult," Gavriila explained, "But I can put some on your face. Just don't get in your eyes or it will blind you. Hold still now."
"Wait, what?" Victor yelped, trying to pull away as Gavriila moved so she straddled his body and moved the compress to cut and bruised cheek, "Why are you sitting on me?"
"Don't move," the old woman scolded him, "I hold you still so it doesn't go in your eye."
"Well, maybe I don't want it near my…"
Victor's words ended suddenly in a dragging groan of relief.
"Oh my god, that feels so much better!" he sobbed gratefully, "I could kiss you!"
"Victor!" Yuuri objected.
"I would have to kill you," Gavriila said in a deadpan voice, climbing off of Victor and heading out the door again, "Get your clothes on so we can go."
"Yes ma'am," Victor snickered as she left the room, "You're right that she's scary, Yuuri, but that compress. I have to learn what's in it. It made the stinging go away so fast!"
"You do look a lot better, but are you sure it's not mostly that the pain pill took full effect."
Victor laughed and climbed out of bed. He picked up the clothes he had dropped when Gavriila had come in, and he began to dress as Yuuri retreated into the bathroom with his own clothing.
"Can I come in, Yuuri?" Victor asked, tapping on the bathroom door, "We need to hurry and get you to the ice rink."
"Just you," Yuuri said, cracking the door open to check the room.
"I think Gavriila is checking the house for signs of invasion," Victor giggled, slipping into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
"I think she is the invasion," Yuuri complained, "Is she going to be living with us now? I don't know if I can handle that. What if she barges in while we're having sex or something."
"Just tell her to wait outside while we finish," Victor snickered.
"Victor! That's not funny!" Yuuri snapped.
"Take it easy. She'll be here a few days and then the police will say we're safe and she'll go. It's no big deal."
"Maybe not to you, but I don't like people seeing me naked!"
"But you are so very beautiful, solnyshko!" Victor purred, hugging him from behind.
"Will you please get ready. Like you said, we're gonna be late to practice. I don't want to waste my ice time."
"Hmm, a few minutes ago, you just wanted to stay home with me. Now, you're in a hurry to go?"
"Well, you seem okay now, right?"
"Except my head is still a little spinny from the concussion and my wrist aches a little even with the painkiller."
"Well, you won't be on the ice today. You'll just be watching me."
"I get an ice dance with you at the end," Victor pouted, "I don't fall down during our ice dancing."
"You shouldn't take chances with that concussion," Yuuri warned him.
"You worry too much!"
"No, I don't."
"Of course you do."
The two continued their half-serious arguing as they headed off to practice with Gavriila following in a dark colored sedan.
"Does she have to do that?" Yuuri asked, looking around, "She's blocking traffic, driving so slow."
"Stop worrying so much."
They reached the ice rink without incident and headed inside, where they found Yurio finishing up his practice. The younger Russian stepped off the ice and headed towards Yuuri and Victor quickly.
"What's up with him?" Victor mused softly.
"I thought you weren't coming today," he chided Victor, "You almost got killed last night."
"Thanks for the newsflash," Victor joked, "I hardly remember last night."
"I'm not surprised with your stupid drinking," Yurio huffed, "You look like shit. Go home, Victor. I'll help Yakov coach pork cutlet bowl today."
"I'm really okay," Victor assured him, his eyes softening at the younger man's gruff way of showing his concern, "I'm not going on the ice except at the end of his practice for our ice dance."
"You should be in bed resting!" Yurio snapped turning away from them and heading to where Otabek waited nearby.
"Victor, Yuuri, I'm glad to hear you weren't badly hurt last night."
"It's mostly bumps and bruises. I'll be fine in a few days," Victor said, brushing the matter off.
"That's good. I see that you have a bodyguard."
"Yes, I'm surprised that Yakov didn't send one for Yurio too, since he's also a top seeded skater."
"He offered to," Otabek explained, "but I am having him stay with me until we're sure we don't need one."
"Sure, he lets Yurio decide for himself, but he sends that Gavriila without even asking us!" Yuuri complained.
"Yuuri, we need to get started," Victor chided him, "Come on, now. Get your skates on."
Yurio joined Otabek and the two headed out of the ice rink together.
"So, what do you think?" Yurio asked, "You think there really might be someone trying to kill those two?"
"Hmm, I don't know enough to decide. But, we'll be careful until we know for sure. Come on, you must be hungry after that."
The two walked down the street, heading towards the nearby mall and food court, neither noticing the man who followed stealthily in their wake.