Hey guys, anyway, this chapter is gonna be broken down in like two parts, so please bare with me. Also, I really like JJ so I'm not bashing him but I'm sorry if I seem a bit mean to him _
Chapter 3
All's fair in love and war
There was a woman in a sky blue dress, she was tall and pale with long, straight hair streaming down like a golden waterfall, stopping just above the small of her back, and even though Yuri couldn't see her face, he knew that she was undeniably beautiful. He knew that she had cold grey eyes and a permanent scowl that looked so out of place on her delicate features. It had been years since he had last seen her, but he remembered those details with startling clarity. Parts of her were hazy, as if he were looking at her through a waterfall or a dusty window, reminding him of his time in Japan, all those years ago, back when he couldn't find his agape. He was an arrogant brat back then, and to be completely honest, that didn't change much, although now he was much better at controlling himself.
The nostalgia slammed into him like a physical blow, along with anger, hatred, regret, fear and, surprisingly, hope. What the fuck Yuri, he thought, clutching his stomach and trying to control his breathing while doubling over.
That's when he noticed the movement, his gaze darted back to the woman who was slowly turning around, Yuri held his breath in anticipation and-
His eyes shot open when he felt someone shaking him awake, "Wha-" suddenly a hand clamped down on his mouth, cutting him off. Yuri felt a wave of fear wash over him, instinctively reaching his hand out into the darkness to grab Otabek, the man who slept like a damn bear, but was intercepted by his hand being immediately pinned down against his chest. He felt tears sting his eyes, oh God oh God oh God, this is the end isn't it??, he thought, trying to bite the hand over his mouth but being unable to get his teeth into anything.
"Shhhh Yurio, it's me." a voice whispered in the dark.
Yuri felt two things in that moment, relief, like a wash of fresh air, and pure rage.
"What the fuck are you doing here geezer??" Yuri hissed, his eyes narrowing as he ripped the hand off his mouth, strength returning to him, and he slowly sat up, being careful not to disturb Beka, who simply rolled over and snuggled further into his pillow, mumbling something in Kazakh that sounded suspiciously like 'kitten'.
"We have to go." Viktor told him, his voice serious apart from the hint of excitement that ran through it. "What? Why??" Yuri asked, already getting out of bed despite wanting to murder the other man, "How did you get in here anyway? And why aren't we taking Beka??" Yuri demanded, slipping on what he hoped was his tiger print Uggs.
"SHHHH!! Yurio!!" Viktor whispered, starting to sound slightly annoyed as he tossed Yuri the first jacket he managed to find in the darkness, "I'll explain later."
It took Yuri a moment to remember the spare key he had given to Viktor and Yuuri so that they could feed Sur and Temnota when Yuri and Otabek went to Almaty for a week to visit Beka's family. It's not that he had forgotten to take the key back, it just seemed rational to let the older couple have a way of getting in, in case of an emergency. But of course, Viktor- never fucking listens- Nikiforov had other plans.
Cussing softly, Yuri tip toed out of the room and groaned as he realised that they were heading out the apartment. Yuri grabbed his phone from the couch, he must have dropped it there when he fell asleep watching a movie that night, he realised, managing a small smile while thinking about how Otabek must have carried him to bed. His smile quickly faded as he watched the lock screen light up, a picture of him and Otabek laughing like they had heard the funniest joke in the world appeared, and right above their heads was the time.
It was 3a.m.
/few hour time skip/
Yuri stared at the old, abandoned building and scowled, "Viktor. What. The. Fuck??" he asked, scowling. Viktor had driven them a good twenty minutes away from the apartment, to a generally fancier side of St Petersburg. Key word: Generally.
The building they were standing in front of looked ancient but, thankfully, stable. Almost all of the visible windows were broken and the door was semi caved in. The iron gates were nothing more than rust covered sticks and the grass came up to Yuri's ankles.
Viktor chuckled, "Come on, the other's should be here already." he said, walking up to the door and manoeuvring himself through the gap. He was still remarkably flexible, even through his retirement.
"I'm gonna kill him!" Yuri growled, trudging behind the silver haired man.
The inside of the building was just as dingy as the outside, cobwebs covered every corner and there was a thick layer of dust over all the surfaces. Yuri covered his mouth and nose with his hand and kept following Viktor, glancing at all the old and broken furniture. The building was once magnificent, Yuri could tell, although by now it was far beyond repair.
Looking down, Yuri could see several sets of footprints, including Viktor's. Yuri's scowl deepened as they approached a closed door, the buzz of excited conversation leaking through.
Viktor opened the door and Yuri was almost blinded by the sudden burst of warm light, shielding his eyes he entered the room, waiting for his eyes to adjust, he slowly lowered his hand and looked around. He felt his jaw hit the fucking ground.
The room, firstly, well lit by several torches and candles, there was not a spec of dust anywhere and the air actually felt..fresh. But that wasn't what surprised him, what surprised him was the group of familiar faces all huddled around a...map??
"Yurio, this is our capture the flag team!" Viktor said proudly, gesturing dramatically at the group which included none other than:
Chris
Sara
and, so help him god, JJ.
Every year, most of the skaters would gather for a game of capture the flag, each year the teams and location changed, and each year it ended in disaster. It was practically a tradition.
"Hiiii Yurio~" Sara called out, waving cutely.
"What..." Yuri mumbled, feeling his brain actually lag.
"Hey Pretty boy" Chris greeting, with a seductive wink.
"The..." Yuri continued
"You're gonna eat a fly like that princess" JJ goaded, an arrogant grin spread shamelessly across his face.
"FUCK!" Yuri yelled, snapping. "YOU WOKE ME UP AT 3 A- FUCKING- M JUST TO BE EXTRA??!!!" He yelled, rounding on Viktor who held both his hands up in sheepish defense. "AND OF ALL PEOPLE, YOU HAVE THE KING OF DOUCHES???"
"That's Mr King of Douches to you." JJ deadpanned. "Eat a dick." Yuri responded, dropping himself onto one of the campchairs. There was no point in fighting right now, he was there, so were they, Oh Fucking Well. What he needed was a vanilla spiced latte and his bed, if only.
Viktor chuckled nervously, "Well, now that we're all here, let's talk business. We have a few hours before we have to head to the battle field, that should be enough time to come up with plan A and, just in case, a plan B." he said, his voice completely serious as he sat in the chair next to Yuri, "Also, we need a cool name."
"How about, the King's Knights??" JJ said, flashing a smile that made Yuri want to puke. "How about no." Yuri responded, unable to hold back any of his snide comments. Yuri had come to tolerate JJ over the years, considering he was a good friend of Otabek's, but now that he was in a bad mood, with that stupid dream ringing in his head, he wasn't in the mood to be civil.
"Now now Yurio, don't be mean." Chris teased. Yuri rolled his eyes and sighed, he had nothing but respect for the older skater, so despite his mood, he actually shut up.
Casually grabbing a notepad and pen from the make shift desk (which was basically two boxes stacked next to each other), Yuri quietly scribbled something down and tossed it on the desk, knowing that JJ would be the first to grab it.
Yuri smirked as JJ picked up the notepad, and held his breath in anticipation, this was going to be good.
"A team name, Princess?" JJ asked, using the one name Yuri hated more than anything. Grinding his teeth, Yuri simply stared at JJ who frowned as he started reading out the rough scribble on the paper, "Eye..yam..stew..pid."
Everyone burst out in a fit laughter, Yuri found himself with his head between his knees as he gasped for breath and looked up to see JJ, who was watching everyone with a bright red face, and fell into another laughing fit, God that was amazing, he thought, finally calming down, long after the others.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Yuri cleared his throat and sat back, "So...strategies."
Shaking his head slowly, Viktor frowned and taped his chin with his index finger, "Well, we'll need someone to watch the flag of course." He said, holding out his thumb on his other hand.
"And someone to cover that person, cause I'm sure the other team would leave at least two people on the front lines." Sara said, crossing her arms. Viktor held out his index finger as well, 2/5 of the team already.
"Two more will charge in for the flag, the faster we get it, the better." JJ said, frowning as he thought. Viktor added his middle and ring finger. 4/5
"And lastly, the fifth person will be the support. So they'll stay hidden but close to the two in front." Yuri finished, pulling over the map and looking at it. It wasn't a very large area, but it was enough for an all out war between the two teams. A lot of trees and hiding areas by the looks of it, perfect.
"But," Yuri looked at his team members, unable to stop himself from getting hyped up, "Who's gonna play which role?"
"Well, what would the other team expect us to do?" Chris asked, his french accent thick. "They would expect Viktor in front, of course, he loves the spot light." Sara said, holding her hand up to cut off Viktor's protests, "And they would probably expect me to the support cause there's no way you guys would let a woman in the front lines, or leave her to guard the flag."
The men nodded in agreement, "So I'll guard our flag and Sara will be one of the two in front. Reasonable?"
"I'll cover Viktor." Chris said, shooting a wink at his former rival, "So that only leaves JJ and Yuri."
Yuri frowned and thought for a moment, Where would I be least expected. Somewhere nobody would guess, not even Beka. Yuri's face flushed as he bit back his pride and looked at his teammates, "I'll cover JJ and Sara."
"HUUUHH?" Everyone gasped in perfect sync, Yuri pulled his jacket hood over his head and shrugged, "Nobody would expect that..."
After discussing several strategies and game plans, they finally decided on the perfect one. It wasn't the noblest of plans, but hey, the winners got bragging rights and free food so nobody cared at that point.
"And one more thing." Viktor said, practically shoving all the papers and cups off the boxes, "I got us equipment." He stated, ripping the box open.
Yuri gasped as he picked up the first thing he saw, ignoring the protest his wrists made at the heavy object. It looked like a machine gun, except Yuri could see the point where you put in the paintballs. "Holy shit Viktor, this is amazing." he muttered, playing with the gun in his hand and trying to aim, it was heavy, but definitely usable.
Putting the gun down, he accepted the basic handgun that Sara passed him, wrapping his fingers around it and grinning at how natural it felt in his hand, this was gonna be so fun.
"We all get one of each, plus the walkie talkies, and-" Viktor continued, kicking the second box open, "-I got us kick ass uniforms."
/few hour time skip/
Yuri layed on his stomach on a thick tree branch, scanning the area around him while waited for the signal from Sara. He was perfectly hidden in a tree with his gun loaded and ready, the game had started a whole fifteen minutes ago and since then, they saw no sign of "The Ice Monsters".
Yuri heard the static from his communicator and held down the button, listening to the scratchy voice from the other side, "Ice Tiger? How's everything looking? Over."
Yuri rolled his eyes, "Viktor," he said, refusing to use the code name Ice Daddy, "Everything's fine except for this headache that keeps coming and going." He said, watching as JJ ran back, "Oh, there it is again." He said, frowning. He could hear Viktor laughing, "Control yourself Yuratchka, and you have to say 'over' when you're done talking!"
"Why?"
"Because its how you're supposed to talk when you-" Yuri let go of the button when he saw the flash of movement a few feet away from them, the brown hair darting into a bush in hopes of remaining hidden. Right on time. He looked at JJ who just glanced at him and tilted his head slightly then turned back to Sara, "I'm going to scout ahead again, stay here." He said, before running off, gun raised.
Yuri scrambled, less than gracefully, down the tree and walked towards Sara, his eyes heated with disgust, "Oi. Our team doesn't need a weakling like you on it." Yuri spat, his voice dripping venom and malice, "If I take you out now, we'd have a higher chance of winning"
Sara's eyes widened with confusion, "Yuri, what are you talking about? This isn't apart of the plan!" she yelled, taking a step back and trying to unhook her gun from her belt. Their uniforms were all black military style, loads of pockets and even bullet proof vests. Yuri raised his gun at a painfully slow pace, "It's for the team." He said, paying careful attention to the sudden footsteps headed towards them,
1.
The footsteps got closer as he finally held the gun in firing position.
2.
"SAARRAAAAA" He heard the dramatic Italian cry.
3.
Yuri watched as Sara's twin brother, Michele threw himself in front of her. With surprisingly perfect timing, Yuri pulled the trigger, watching with satisfaction as the sudden burst of colour spread over Michele's chest, staining his brown padded vest with a bright purple splatter.
"Y-You cheated!" Michele practically screamed, staring at them with wide, horror filled, eyes. Sara shrugged, "All's fair in love and war."
Yuri grinned before he started running in the direction JJ had gone in, the first part of their plan went perfectly, but they weren't done yet.
Yuri heard voices, they sounded closer than he would have liked so he skidded to a halt behind a tree, thankful for his fairy like figure. Glancing over, he saw JJ aiming his gun at Mila with Mila doing the same to him, "Just give up Jean, we all know I'm the fastest shot here." Mila practically purred, even though she didn't dare move. Oh no, Yuri thought, grinding his teeth.
Mira had the best aim out of all of them and to top it off, the redhead was right, she was the fastest shot. Even with the element of surprise, he had no way of getting a shot on her. "Yuuurrriiiii~" Mila called, making him cringe, shit. shit. shit. shit. Yuri raised his hands and slowly walked out from behind the tree, stopping next to JJ, who for once wasn't smiling. Even two against one, they all knew that Mila still had the advantage.
Just like that, their entire plan came undone. Unless...
In one swift moment, Yuri slide behind JJ, fast enough to surprise Mira, giving him a moment to aim and fire, unfortunately he had underestimated Mira's speed. By the time the paintball hit, JJ had one plastered against his chest. It was a sacrifice I had to make, Yuri told himself smiling smugly at Mira who was looking down at her outfit, "You ruined it Yuratchka!" She whined, "Good shot though."
Yuri smiled proudly, "Sorry Baba, but I have to get going."
Yuri felt something pull on his leg, looking down he saw JJ on the floor, what the hell?
"Go...On...Without me..." JJ gasped, clutching the spot he was shot, Yuri blinked slowly and shrugged, already walking away, "I was planning on."
After a few minutes, Sara caught up with Yuri, "Two birds with one stone?" she asked, gesturing with her thumb in the general direction of Mira and JJ. Yuri shrugged, trying to hide his smile. Shaking her head, Sara laughed, "Remind me not to get on your bad side." and with that, she was running ahead.
Staying a bit behind, Yuri tugged his hair into a high ponytail, his damp fringe falling on his eyes either way. He had decided to grow out his hair a while ago, knowing Otabek liked it better that way, so it was now slightly below his shoulder blades. He couldn't keep it too long because it would annoy him to no end during skating practises and even worse during actual competition. He would never understand how Viktor had become a gold medalist with his long silver hair.
Starting to run again, Yuri could have sworn that he caught a flash of movement in the long grass next to him. Stopping and holding his breath while looking around, Yuri didn't hear a sound. Damn animals. Pulling out his speaker, he clicked the button, "Viktor, how are things going on that side?" He asked, starting to walk again. Viktor's voice cracked through the static, "Everything is fine. No signs of the Ice Monsters so I assume everything is going according to plan? over." Yuri let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah, more or less, we lost JJ though but took out two from the other team." He said, holding up three gloved fingers, the odds were in their favour. Not waiting for a response, he broke out into a swift run, realising Sara would be way ahead by now.
By the time he had caught up with her, she had Pichit on the ground, his chest and legs covered with bright colours. Letting out a low whistle he helped the Thai skater stand up, "Damn Sara, you don't hold back huh." Yuri said, stepping away. Pichit and Sara laughed, "She's evil I tell you!" Pichit said, purely in jest. Thinking about the entire game so far, Yuri had to agree, she was pretty damn scary.
With a salute, Sara and Yuri were off again. Yuri could almost taste victory, there was nothing more satisfying than that. That was when Yuri heard the loud bang of a gun being fired.
Suddenly Sara was on her knees, bright green splattered all over her torso and her eyes wide open, "They...They got me! Yuri, go! quickly!!" She commanded, falling back on her butt and stretching a bit.
Narrowing his eyes, Yuri jumped behind a large rock. Standing on his toes, he could look over, giving him a good scouting position. Following the direction the paintball had come from, Yuri quickly found the attacker.
Yuuri was almost fully hidden, laying on his belly in the grass, his gun propped against a smaller rock. Yuri had to give the older man props for staying hidden in clear sight. After careful examination, Yuri took note of the red square that was tucked into Yuuri's back pocket. The flag.
Taking a deep breath, Yuri ran from the side of the rock and charged at the Japanese Skater. Firing randomly, Yuri didn't notice if he hit the other man or not, until he all but fell on him, panting and out of breath, "The..The..The frosted fangs win!" Yuri said, grabbing the red material and trying to catch his breath. He felt slight shaking under him and moved off Yuuri, frowning, "What's so funny, loser??" He asked, scowling. Yuuri kept laughing, changing from chuckling to full out hysterical cackles. Yuri looked down at the material and noticed a bit of black on the other side, turning it over his jaw dropped as he saw the words "SIKE" scrawled across it.
"ITS A FUCKING FAKE?????" He screamed, darting to his feet and grabbing his gun.
Wait.If it was a fake then...Yuuri, Pichit, Mira, Michele...
Yuri stared at his one remaining finger, if Yuuri was here, with a fake flag, then the real flag could only be with... His eyes widened even more, as he started running, after taking one last shot at Yuuri who was in tears from laughing so much.
It all made sense now! He knew the line up of players that showed up was too simple, plus the thing he saw move,
"BEEEKKAAAA!!!!" Yuri screeched, once he reached the place where their flag was being kept.
Otabek sat on the ground with his gun propped against his side and the blue flag of team Frosted Fangs between his teeth. Viktor and Chris, covered from head to toe in dozens of colours, were pouting like two year olds and leaning against a tree.
Dropping to his knees while panting, Yuri just stared at the grinning Otabek with a look of surprise, betrayal and praise, all in one. "You fucking cheat!" He yelled, his voice lacking all malice or even disappointment. He was impressed, he was very, very impressed.
Otabek winked at him and shrugged, "All's fair in love and war, Yura."
