Chapter 11: Mì Tigre
Yuuri felt the bed move, and he opened his eyes and rolled over to find Victor, naked and sliding into the bed next to him.
"Victor," he complained in a whisper, "I told you that you should wear pajamas, now that we have Tora to think about. What if she has a bad dream and needs to come in here?"
"Eh, I'll unlock the door after we're done."
Yuuri caught a whiff of alcohol on his husband's breath and scowled.
"You're drunk!" he exclaimed softly, ducking away and avoiding a kiss, "Stop it, I'm not making out with you when you're drunk."
"Come on, I've been thinking about you all night," Victor said, trapping his slighter mate beneath him and seeking his mouth again.
"Mmph, Victor!" Yuuri yelped, pushing him away, "I don't like it when you drink too much. Why did you do that? I thought you were just meeting with Detective Daniels, then you were coming back here."
"Well, we met like we planned and talked for awhile, then I decided to get something to drink after."
"The meeting must not have gone very well," Yuuri gathered, "What did she say to you?"
Victor yawned and sat up, carelessly letting the bedding fall away so that he was fully revealed.
"She did some checking into Sage's brother and sister, but found no sign that they could be involved in something like what we've been experiencing. It doesn't mean that they aren't involved. It just means that if they are, they are doing a good job of concealing it. We are basically stuck back at square one, while also being in a foreign country, two strikes, she says."
"That's not good," Yuuri said unhappily.
He started to complain again as Victor's hand slid down between his thighs, then he spotted the troubled look on his partner's face and instead relaxed his body, allowing the more intimate contact.
"No. I don't like this, Yuuri," Victor confided, "If it wasn't for the fact you are competing, and we need to be here…"
He let out a discontented breath, continuing to gently stimulate Yuuri's awakening nether region.
"Will you please let me kiss you?" Victor pleaded anxiously, "I'm stressed out and I need to feel close to you. I'll shower and clean up after. You could come in with me."
"Will you promise not to get drunk again while we're here? Especially not in front of Tora?" Yuuri asked sternly.
"I wasn't drunk in front of her," Victor objected, "I didn't even come back until I knew she would be sleeping."
"But you would be if she needed us. We need to stay sober and focused, in case there's trouble."
A look of guilt overtook Victor's usually untroubled face. Yuuri's expression softened and his fingers traced the lines of his husband's comely face.
"Victor," he whispered, "just, please at least promise that you won't drink any more tonight. Tora hasn't ever seen you act out like that. She doesn't know that side of you or that side of me, and I kind of hope she never has to see it."
Victor gave him an anguished look.
"What do you expect me to do!" he exclaimed softly, "Someone is terrorizing us, Yuuri! We are doing everything we can, but we can't figure out who they are and we can't stop them. I don't want to lose you or Tora."
"I know," Yuuri assured him, "But you have to keep it together. You have to do that for her, even though it's hard. She's just a kid, Victor. You can let down in front of me, just…don't let her see you like this. She needs to feel protected. She needs to feel safe, and that's a feeling she gets from us. We have to stay strong for her."
"And what about when, because you know it's not if, Yuuri? It's when this bastard makes a move. What if we can't stop it? What then?"
Yuuri looked up quietly into Victor's still anxious eyes and spread his thighs invitingly. He lifted his head off the pillow and met his husband's mouth for a long, passionate kiss, then slowly coaxed him into joining their bodies.
"We'll fight together, like we always do," Yuuri whispered, running his hands down Victor's naked back and moving his hips to deepen their connection.
Victor's worried eyes grew hazy and he returned Yuuri's fierce kisses with equal abandon. Their words gave way to a flurry of heated thrusts and soft, breathy moans and sighs as they writhed heatedly together. Victor's eyes closed and he collapsed onto Yuuri's bare, sweating shoulder, panting softly. His graceful fingers traced the gentle curves of his husband's body as he caught his breath and loosed it in a sigh.
"Thank you for calming me down," he whispered, kissing Yuuri on a blushing cheek, "I know I shouldn't get like that. I was just…worried, and I didn't know what to do."
"It's okay," Yuuri reassured him, "I don't always know what to do either."
Victor smiled.
"I should go and shower," he sighed, "I probably smell like I just crawled out of a bottle of vodka."
"You don't smell too bad," Yuuri chuckled, nuzzling close to him, "You can wait til morning, if you want."
"No, I'd better clean up in case Tora wakes up during the night. I do think it's important to be a good father to her. I didn't have much of an example to learn form, but that's no excuse for not doing right by her."
Yuuri bit his lips gently, his mind going back to his husband's reaction to Tora's behavior upon seeing the fancy hotel.
"You shouldn't feel guilty, Victor," he said quietly, lacing their fingers together, "You didn't know you had a daughter."
"No, but I really wish I had," he said softly, "I didn't spend much time with my own parents after I qualified to train pre-professionally as a very young child. I was eight years old when I moved to the dormitory at the training facility. I wasn't abused, or anything like that, but the hours were long, and I only saw my family on the weekends. Then later, not so much at all. When I was barely older than Tora, I was slipping out and drinking with the others. I never tried the drugs, but more because I was scared it would be discovered in the drug tests that we had to submit to before each season started. Don't get me wrong. I've always loved skating, and I don't regret doing as I did. I don't blame my parents for sending me away. I had talent, and I needed to be where I could develop it. I just…missed a lot."
Yuuri nodded sympathetically.
"Well, you made up for some lost time when you came to Hasetsu, right?"
"Right," Victor agreed, kissing Yuuri's lips warmly, "Your parents are wonderful. I felt like I was back in a family the moment I stepped in the door. Yuuri, I want Tora to have something more like what you had. I know that our fame is going to impact her life, but I still want there to be fun for her. I want her to enjoy being a child. I don't want her to have too many worries."
"I know," Yuuri agreed, "I feel the same."
"I wonder if letting her enter professional competition will be good for her. Maybe it would be better for her not to have that pressure."
"What are you talking about? Tora loves to skate. You know that," Yuuri chuckled, "You're just stressed out. You should try to go to sleep."
"You're sure I don't smell too bad."
"You don't smell too bad. You can shower when you get up…although, you'll probably be hung over. Why don't you sleep in, and I'll take Tora down to practice with me. I think she's meeting her friends there anyway."
"Hmm."
"Victor?"
"What?"
"You're not still disapproving her surprising that boy, right?"
"Don't stress me out, okay?"
"Heh, okay."
XXXXXXXXXX
Yuuri slipped out of bed in the morning, leaving his still sleeping husband softly snoring, and he dressed and left the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. Tora scampered over from where she'd been looking out the floor to ceiling windows of the high rise. She smiled up at Yuuri.
"Where's Daddy?" she asked, "Doesn't he usually get up early?"
"Yeah, he does," Yuuri chuckled, "but he's sleeping in a little. I have to get a quick bite to eat and get down to the ice rink. And you are meeting your friends, right?"
"Uh-huh," Tora said, her smile brightening, "We have it all set up with Nico's coach. He's going to be so surprised! Can we go now?"
"Sure," Yuuri laughed, "let's go."
The two met their bodyguard at the door, and they took the elevator to the first floor, where a limousine waited outside the front entrance. They stopped first at a little café to eat, then headed on to the Detroit training facility. The two put on their skates, and Tora looked around and found where her female friend waited.
"Johnna!" Tora exclaimed softly, grabbing her friend and hugging her tightly.
"Tora, oh my god! I didn't know if you were ever coming back! We were all so surprised when you just disappeared. You know, Nico was really scared for you. I was too."
"Sorry," Tora said ruefully, "These people just showed up and said that Mom wanted me to go to my dad in Russia."
"I can't believe that Victor Nikiforov is your father!" Johnna exclaimed.
"Neither could I!"
"He's married to Yuuri Katsuki, who used to train here, right?"
"Yeah," Tora said, turning back to where Yuuri was sitting and adjusting the laces on one of his skates, "Want to meet him?"
"Can I really?" the other girl said excitedly.
"Sure, come on."
Tora grabbed her hand and the two ran to Yuuri.
"Johnna," Tora said, "this is my…um."
She paused, blushing.
"Well, Yuuri's kind of like my other dad. He's married to my dad."
"So, sort of like a step-mom, er, step-dad," Johnna concluded.
Tora grinned.
"Yuuri's my best friend in Russia. Yuuri, this is my best American friend, Johnna Williams."
"It's nice to meet you, Johnna," Yuuri said, bowing, then shaking the delighted teen's hand politely.
Johnna glanced at her watch.
"C'mon, Tora," she said, grabbing Tora's hand again, "We've got it all ready."
The two ran over to where a teen boy was skating, Johnna keeping herself positioned so that the youth wouldn't see who was with her. Tora ducked behind the skating rink wall and waited as her friend moved to the boom box, where the boy's music was playing. She stopped the music, earning a curious look from the boy.
"What are you doing, Johnna?" he complained, "I'm right in the middle of something."
"Eh, his coach said, giving the girl a knowing wink, "you can take a break for a minute. I need to do something anyway. I'll be right back."
"O-kay," Nico answered, looking befuddled, "that was weird."
"Weird, huh?" Johnna giggled, "What do you think of this?"
She started the music, watching and giggling again at the annoyed look the boy gave her.
"Thanks a lot, idiota," he complained, "You're not very nice, teasing me about her."
"Who says I'm teasing," Johnna said, stepping aside.
Tora appeared from behind the ice rink wall, smiling as she skated to her floored friend and extended a hand.
"Tora?" Nico exclaimed, blinking in shock as he accepted her hand, "You're back?"
"For awhile," the blushing girl answered, turning so that his arm was around her, "I'll explain in a minute. Can we skate first?"
Nico broke into a wide, happy grin.
"Sure, little tigre!" he laughed.
Yuuri leaned against the wall, watching and smiling as the two began an ice dance, set to a pretty Spanish song.
She reminds me so much of Victor sometimes. She's a really beautiful girl. They look at each other the way Yuko and I always did. They must have been really close before Tora was taken away.
"So, that is him?" Victor said suddenly from Yuuri's side.
"Victor! I thought you were sleeping in," Yuuri said, greeting his piqued husband with a warm kiss."
"I wanted to see who this boy is," Victor said, frowning and studying the two friends, "He sure has his arms around her a lot."
"Well, of course he does," Yuuri snickered, "it's an ice dance."
"I know what it is," Victor said irritably, "I know exactly what it is."
"What?" Yuuri inquired, turning his head to observe Victor's uncharacteristic scowl, "What do you think it is? It's just two friends, who haven't seen each other for awhile."
"You know what I mean," Victor said, more sternly, "Yuuri, I was only a little older than Tora when I started chasing girls, and the way that boy is looking at her."
"Calm down, will you?" Yuuri said, laying a hand on his husband's arm, "They're just acting because it's the routine they did together before. Tora told us about it, remember?"
"I remember, but that doesn't mean that he can put his hands all over her."
"He's just lifting her," Yuuri laughed, "Come on. Lighten up. They're just dancing together. It's kind of sweet, don't you think? And that song is pretty."
"What song is that?" Victor asked.
"It's Me enamore de ti by Chayanne," Yuuri answered.
"A Spanish love song?" Victor mused, his eyes darkening.
Victor took a step away, but stopped again, gazing at Yuuri in surprise as his husband gave him a stern look.
"Don't go over there and mess this up for her," Yuuri warned him.
"Tora is ten years old, Yuuri," Victor objected, "and that boy…"
"That boy is her very best friend," Yuuri said pointedly, "Just like Yu-chan was my very best friend growing up. Even before I understood that I was attracted to a man, I was only ever friends with Yuko. We were best friends, and there was never anything else, okay? We skated to love songs, and no one ever mistook it for more than it was. So, I think you should take it easy and don't judge what you haven't been here to see. Tora's been through a lot. She needs her friends."
"Hmm," Victor huffed, returning to Yuuri's side and bristling as Nico's arms curled around Tora, and he dipped her gently, "I'm not so sure she needs that one."
"Stop it," Yuuri said in an exasperated tone, "Cause you know if you wreck this for her, she's going to be really mad at you."
"Sometimes you have to let your kids be mad at you," Victor argued.
"Yeah, when they're doing something wrong," Yuuri replied, shaking his head, "But they're not. Look at them. They're just happy to see each other. He must have been really worried about her when she disappeared like that. I know how worried I would have been if Yuko had disappeared while we were kids."
Victor gritted his teeth, glaring as the two skated past, and Nico lowered Tora into a perfect death spiral.
"You think I'm overreacting?"
"Just a little," Yuuri laughed, "Relax. Tora's perfectly safe."
"Eh, you're probably right," Victor sighed, "I'm just tense."
"She's your daughter. You're just trying to protect her. I get it," Yuuri said cheerfully, "But, I don't think you need to be worried about Nico. He seems like a really nice kid."
"He's fourteen. He's a horny boy," Victor scoffed.
"He's her friend," Yuuri said warningly, as the music ended and Nico hugged Tora tightly, then kissed her on the cheek, making Victor stiffen, "Be nice."
Yuuri and Victor walked over to where the two skaters were stepping off the ice. Noco's brown eyes widened at seeing Victor and his also famous Japanese partner.
"Wow, Victor Nikiforov!" Nico gasped, extending a hand, "It's really great…amazing to meet you!"
Yuuri shot Victor a look of warning, and his partner sighed and accepted the boy's hand.
"It's nice to meet you too, Nico. I hear you and my Tora are good friends."
"Yeah," Nico agreed, "she's the best. Before she left, we were thinking of maybe being partners for pairs skating."
"Pairs skating. Ice dancing," Victor mused, "Looks like you're multi-talented."
"Oh, the ice dance was just for an exhibition," Nico explained, "It was for a charity event. Everyone really liked it. They said we made a good couple…erm, for the skating, that is."
"Hmm."
"You're here for the Grand Prix Series competition, right?" Nico asked.
"That's right," Yuuri answered, "I'm competing and Victor's here as my coach."
"Wow, I didn't think I'd ever get to meet the two of you, and you're Tora's dad! I had no idea."
"Right, well, it's nice meeting you, but we have to go. Yuuri's training, you know. Come, Tora."
"But…"
"Oh, Mr. Nikiforov, I'm done with my practice. Would you mind if I took Tora down to the amusement park? It's not far."
"Well…"
Victor flinched as Yuuri poked him in the ribs.
"Er, I suppose it's fine, but Tora has a bodyguard, who is not supposed to lose sight of her. She can go, as long as you two don't slip away from him. Got it?"
"No problem!" Nico promised.
"Thanks Daddy. See you and Yuuri later!"
Victor's scowl returned as Yuuri kissed him and patted him on the cheek.
"You did the right thing," he assured his unhappy husband.
"Maybe, but I kind of feel like smacking that boy. We make a great couple," Victor scoffed, "I'm going to have eyes on that boy, every minute."
"I'm sure he won't mind," Yuuri said, grinning, "He really idolizes you."
"Great…"