Chapter Twenty-One: Spring Awakening

Flynn shook Yuri's shoulder. "Hey," he whispered. "Yuri, wake up."

Yuri's arm flailed over and smacked Flynn. It happened to hit his face, though that hadn't been Yuri's intention. "Go 'way. Too early." Flynn had a habit of getting up before the sun even rose, but Yuri was certain he'd said today was his day off and they should be sleeping in, dammit. "Go back to sleep."

"I can't. You're kicking me and making the whole bed shake."

"Huh?" He pried his eyes open and as consciousness came to him he noticed the vibrating of the bed. "Shit. Sorry." He reached out and put and hand on his thigh. "Stop that."

"Can you take your medicine now?" Flynn glanced at the clock. "If you can lie still we might be able to get another hour of sleep."

"Yeah. Lemme get it." He started to sit up, but Flynn hopped out of bed first. He slept on the edge, because if either of them was going to get out of bed quickly, it was going to be him for obvious reasons.

"Which one is it?" Flynn stared into the cupboard under the nightstand, tired eyes trying to discern which medication was which through the dark room.

"Brown one."

"I don't see a brown one."

Yuri groaned and rolled on his side. "There's two in the back corner."

Flynn shuffled bottles around and then pulled out a pair of orange bottles. "These are the only ones in the back corner." He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. "They looked brown in the darkness."

"There's got to be a brown one in there."

More shuffling. "I don't see one."

Yuri groaned. It was too early for this. "Crap."

Flynn looked to him with concern. "Will you be ok? What happens if you don't take your medication?"

"I'm not gonna die or anything. I'm just spasm-y." He rolled to his back and rubbed his eyes. "Damn, this is annoying. Where's the nearest pharmacy?"

Flynn sat on the edge of the shaking bed. "It's about a ten minute walk from here. I'd better get going."

"Hold on, you don't have to go. I'll get it myself."

Flynn twisted around and rubbed Yuri's spasming thigh. "You know I can walk faster, and do you really want to deal with your legs kicking out while trying to steer?"

He was right, of course. Yuri would just slow him down, so he'd be better off waiting at home because he was help-

Yuri ground his palms into his eyes. No, not helpless. He'd had three lengthy discussions with Sarah now and it was getting easier to remind himself needing assistance for certain things wasn't the same as totally helpless. Sometimes he needed to let people do things for him and that was ok. "Fine. You're right."

Flynn leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe you can cook breakfast while I'm out?"

It was an obvious attempt to make Yuri feel better by giving him something to do, but he'd take it. "Yeah, sure, I can do that."

"See you in a bit. Hope your legs don't drive you crazy."

By the time Yuri managed to get out of bed and into his chair, Flynn was already out the door. Getting up in the morning was such a hassle. He had to go to the bathroom first - that was a rule. He had scheduled times for catheterizing himself, and if he deviated from the schedule he'd piss his pants. He'd gotten the hang of it, but lubing a rubber tube and sticking it in your dick could never be said to be a fun time for anyone.

Dressed and ready to go, he rolled to the kitchen and tossed some bacon into a pan. With a kettle heating up on the stove, bacon sizzling away, and eggs sitting out to be cooked when Flynn got closer, he put down a bowl of food for Repede and called the job well done. Yuri sat in the middle of the kitchen, feeling pretty satisfied with himself. Could a helpless person cook bacon? Certainly not. He'd managed to do all that while his legs were still jerking, even. They kept twitching like he was bouncing his feet, and even though he couldn't feel it, it threw off his balance and made staying in the chair more difficult. He always had at least a few spasms throughout the day, but without the muscle relaxant, it was really driving him mad.

Then, just as he was thinking about how annoying it was, the twitching stopped. His left leg gave a few more half-hearted jerks, but otherwise they were still. Yuri stared at his knees, then held out his hands. "Seriously?"

He wasn't going to complain, but he hoped Flynn wouldn't come home and think he'd made the early-morning trip for nothing. While waiting for Flynn, he poked the bacon around the pan and threw a second batch on. Repede gobbled up the strips Yuri tossed to him. Yuri was going to wait for Flynn to get back, but it smelled so good so he ate one and swore Repede to secrecy.

By that point, Flynn would probably be home in about five minutes, so he cracked a few eggs into another pan and left them to cook. The water in the kettle was boiling, so Yuri grabbed a mug from the back of the counter. Yuri didn't see the appeal of hot leaf water himself, but Flynn was a loser who liked to sip his tea while reading the newspaper like a square. Yuri held the mug in his left hand and grabbed the kettle with his right. Pouring into a cup on the counter while sitting down was way too tricky, so he held it over his lap as he filled the mug.

And then his leg spasmed again. His right leg jolted his arm and the kettle slipped from his grip. Habit led him to correct the mistake with his index finger, but his stump only scraped the edge as the kettle crashed to the ground. Boiling water gushed from the spout as it fell and he watched it bang against his knee before hitting the floor with a clang and creating a pool of hot water.

"Ah, crap," Yuri muttered, setting the mug on the counter. His left pant leg was streaked with steaming water. He was no medical expert, but steam coming off your body probably wasn't a good sign.

Repede whined and Yuri turned the chair around. "Stay back, the water on the ground might still be hot." Yuri picked up the kettle, which had begun to cool off now that it wasn't full of boiling water. The kettle went on the counter, he turned off all the burners so he didn't need to worry about breakfast burning, and then he looked down at himself. He'd been moving with a mindless calm, but alarm bells were going off in his head that were getting harder to ignore. His pants weren't steaming anymore, but if he held his hand over the damp splotch just above his knee, heat radiated off.

Burn first aid. He knew this. Put the burned skin under cool running water and eat an apple gel. All the apple gels had been moved to Yuri's room since he ate them so frequently, but what was he supposed to do about the water? He couldn't exactly hop up on the counter and stick his legs under the sink.

The front door opened and Flynn called, "Mmmm, I smell bacon! That my reward for fetching this for you?"

Relief struck Yuri more than he'd thought it would. "Hey, uh, Flynn? I have a bit of a problem."

Flynn arrived in the kitchen and set a paper bag on the counter. "What do you need? Why are your pants wet?"

"I dropped the tea kettle on myself."

Flynn snorted. "Since when were you such a klutz? Don't worry about it, I'll mop up the puddle. I'm not going to make you get down on the ground to do that."

Apparently Flynn interpreted Yuri's calm demeanour as a sign he was unhurt, which Yuri couldn't blame him for. Normally in a circumstance like this, Yuri would be on the ground cursing and yelling by this point. At least, he thought so, but he wasn't actually sure just how badly he was injured. "The water was boiling, Flynn. I think I burned my legs pretty bad."

Flynn's smile dropped in a fraction of a second. "What - are you serious? But, you're not - oh shit."

"Yeah. I want to run some cool water over them, but I'm not sure how to reach the sink."

"No, no, that won't work." Flynn's head darted around the kitchen, and then inspiration struck and he ran forward. Without comment, he grabbed the handles of Yuri's chair and hurried out of the kitchen.

Usually Yuri would be pretty mad at getting pushed around without asking, but he could forgive Flynn in his moment of panic. Flynn was actually freaking out more than Yuri was, which Yuri found mildly funny. They entered the bathroom and then Flynn's hands went for Yuri's waistband.

"Whoa, shouldn't you buy me dinner first?"

"You need to get your pants off immediately."

"Who doesn't long to hear that from a sexy knight?" He pushed up against the armrests so Flynn could pull his pants off. When his legs were bare, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of the bright red streaks peppered with blisters. His left leg had gotten the worst of the water, but a crescent-shaped burn on his right knee showed where the kettle hit him. He couldn't feel these blisters, but the memory of heat scorching into his skin and leaving dozens of small, deep burns flared through his mind.

While the memory gripped him, Flynn pulled him to the edge of the tub and positioned his legs under the faucet. By the time Yuri snapped out of it, water already streamed over his legs. They'd started spasming again, splashing the water around.

"I'll get a gel." Flynn returned within a minute. After Yuri ate the apple gel, Flynn asked, "Are you sure you're not in pain?"

"Really, I'm fine."

Flynn sat on the edge of the tub. "It's bizarre, isn't it?"

"Pretty weird." He ought to be in horrible pain right now, but he wasn't even fazed. "I think you're more alarmed about this than I am."

"I'm always worried when you're hurt, which is distressingly often. Are you at all alarmed? Not about being in pain, because I know you aren't, but are you alarmed at being badly injured?"

Yuri looked to his legs with a frown. Flynn obviously wanted him to say yes, but he wasn't going to get better if he lied about how he felt. "Sort of."

"You certainly seemed calm when I came home." Flynn leaned forward on his knees, face heavy. "What I'm wondering is if you were calm out of shock, or calm because you don't care if you get injured or die?"

He had to think about that. What had he been thinking at the time? He'd been in a state of thinking 'I need to fix this' and then dealt with it as best he could. It hadn't occurred to him to freak out, because it didn't hurt and because his survival instincts had been hibernating lately. The important thing, though, was that he had immediately tried to figure out how to treat the burn. Not once did he think about how it didn't matter, or how he wished he'd hurt himself more so he might have died from it. "I wanted to heal myself. I didn't let myself freak out because I had a problem to solve."

Flynn looked up with a soft smile. "You wanted to live?"

Yuri nodded once, firmly. "Yeah. It didn't even occur to me to see if I could let the burns kill me."

"I can't describe how relieved I am to hear that."

"Sorry for screwing up breakfast."

Flynn lightly punched his shoulder. "You know I'm not worried about that."

Yuri was in a good mood as he made his way home. It felt rude to think the reason for his happiness was that Estelle wasn't here, but it was more complicated than that. He'd argued with her this morning as he prepared to leave for Sarah's house. She wanted to walk with him like she always did, but Yuri insisted on going alone. He didn't even want Repede to come with him. It wasn't that he didn't want his friends around, he just wanted to do one thing by himself for the first time since he was injured. After months of supervision and assistance, it felt wonderful to make his way down the street on his own.

Talking to Sarah wasn't fun. She asked sensitive questions and made him talk about all the shitty things he'd like to forget, even going back further than Carter. He wasn't going to tell her about Ragou and Cumore, but he hadn't realized how much guilt he still carried over failing to protect Estelle from Alexei until Sarah cracked that egg open. He was always unhappy while talking to her, but every time he left, his head felt clearer than ever. Comparatively, today hadn't been that bad. They talked about burning his legs a few days earlier and she shared his enthusiasm for immediately jumping to treat the injury. It seemed like a little thing, but Yuri had been hoping for an anvil to fall out of the sky and crush him for so long that not being content with a major injury was a big thing.

The beautiful weather didn't hurt either. Spring had finally arrived, bringing chirping birds and the ever-present dripping of melting snow. Everyone he passed wore summery clothes to celebrate the warmth, even though by the end of summer this same temperature would be the cue to pull out the coats. He made his way along the main road in the public quarter, just daring anyone to comment. This wasn't the most direct route home, but on a beautiful day like this, he didn't feel like going inside yet. This was the kind of day he used to spend just wandering around and stretching his legs. He could still do that, it just meant stretching his arms instead. He wouldn't stay too long, because Estelle would worry about him if he took too long to get home, but half an hour or so to enjoy the tranquillity of independence was all right.

"Excuse me, sir?" Someone tapped his shoulder.

"Yes?" he snipped, stopping short and glancing up. Too many people already had stopped him to ask if he needed help. Did it look like he needed help? Why was it that the mere act of using a wheelchair apparently put up a banner screaming 'help me!' Yuri had never been that stupid about disabled people when he could walk… had he? Actually, if he'd spent twenty-one years assuming anyone who couldn't walk was practically helpless, that would explain a lot about why he had jumped to considering himself helpless at first.

"I'm sorry to bother you," the woman said, "but I'm afraid these groceries I'm carrying are killing my back. I was in an accident a few years ago, you see, and it's been sore ever since. I always think I can carry more than I can." She smiled sheepishly and gestured at the paper bag on the ground. "I hate asking people for help. You know how it is, don't you? As soon as you ask for help, they treat you like an infant."

Yuri's irritation vanished and was replaced with empathy. "Heh, yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"I knew you of all people would; that's why I wasn't afraid to ask you. If it isn't too much trouble, could you possibly help me carry this home? I only live a few streets from here."

"I'd be happy to!" He really would. The thrill of being asked for help lifted his spirits so high he might be floating. He started to lean down to grab the bag, and then reconsidered. "Can you lift it onto my lap? I think I'll fall out if I try to pick that up."

"Yes, of course." She heaved the bag onto Yuri's lap.

He couldn't tell how heavy it was, but based on how solidly it sat there, it must be more than a pile of feathers. He glanced in and saw smaller packages of fruits and vegetables. "My name's Yuri, by the way."

"Oh, yes, I know. You've been in the papers."

"Ha, right." After a lifetime of obscurity, it was still weird sometimes to think he was famous now. He hadn't wanted the publicity for stopping Alexei, destroying the Adephagos, or re-taking Zaphias, and he certainly didn't want it for being the commandant's tragic and scandalous boyfriend. There was nothing to be done about that now, though. "What's your name?"

"Catherine," she replied. "I live this way."

They turned off the main road and down a smaller one lined with shops. In the shade of the buildings, small piles of brown snow had managed to survive. "So, how did you get injured?" Yuri asked. Catherine walked slowly, and Yuri wasn't sure whether that was because of her own aching back or out of consideration for him. Either way, it was nice. He couldn't look people in the eye without straining his neck, but he preferred to at least not look them in the butt.

"Well… I don't really like talking about it…" She bit her lip and glanced away.

"Oh, I get it." As annoying as the newspapers were, it was lucky that at least no one had to ask him that. He couldn't think of a way to say 'I was kidnapped and tortured' without dragging the conversation down.

"We can cut through here; it will be faster." She turned off the road and onto an even smaller one, with bumpy cobbles he struggled to get over. His jostling chair caused the bag of groceries to sway dangerously.

"Sorry, can you slow down a tad? If I go much faster, your groceries will fall."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Here, I'll help you out." She walked behind the chair and grabbed the handles.

Yuri's irritation snapped back in full force. "Actually, I'd rather if you didn't." She might be a fellow crip, but that didn't give her permission to push him without being asked. Flynn didn't even have permission to do that.

Catherine apparently didn't grasp his tone, because she blithely pushed forward.

"Stop." Yuri reached for his wheels to force her to stop, but before he could, Catherine jerked the back of the chair upward. The chair tilted forward, throwing Yuri to the street. He barely caught himself on his hands, and he heard something snap. Catherine shoved his chair away with a crash, and it landed on the side, big wheel still spinning. Yuri shoved his arms against the ground to roll onto his back. He was afraid a bone had broken in his legs, but then he realized it had just been a carrot in the bag he'd landed on.

There were more important things to worry about now, though, like the knife Catherine pulled out of her belt. Everything was happening too fast to even wonder what prompted this attack, and he had a split-second to act as the knife plunged toward him. All he could do was throw his arms up and try to bat her away. He deflected the knife by letting it gouge his forearm, but that was better than letting it sink into his throat.

"What the hell?!" Yuri roared.

Catherine was on her knees now, straddling him with hatred on her face. "It's time for you to pay for what you've done, Yuri Lowell."

The knife flashed and his hand caught it this time. The blade dug into the side of his palm, but in the rush of the fight it might as well have been as numb as his legs. He couldn't even begin to try to throw her off. He threw a punch, socked her in the gut, and then pushed his elbows against the ground to try to sit up. Catherine grunted but didn't fall over - damn, this was where bucking his legs would be useful. Adrenaline shot his heart rate through the roof. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't throw her off him and he could only use his arms as a shield so many times. This bitch was going to kill him! Terror gripped him. She's going to kill you and there's nothing you can do about it. Maybe you can get around the house and roam the streets on your own, but you're still useless in a fight. All you can do is lie there let her end your pathetic life.

Catherine came at him with the knife again. Yuri didn't know if it was panic or courage that rushed through him, but his hand moved faster than a striking snake. He snatched a cantaloupe from the grocery bag and whipped it in front of him just in time to catch the knife. Catherine growled in frustration when the hilt hit the rind. Yuri twisted his wrist and yanked the knife out of her hand. He tossed it to the side and while she was still flustered from the loss of her weapon, Yuri smashed his elbows against the ground and pushed himself upright. He grabbed the front of her shirt and let gravity pull them both down, twisting to the side so her shoulder smashed the ground.

Yuri punched her just below her ribs and then pushed against the ground with his other hand. He forced his torso on top of her and then his bloody hand came down on her throat. Catherine yelled and tried to push him off, but gravity was on his side now. He used one hand to pin her right arm against the ground - the one not trapped under his body - while his left hand struggled to crush her windpipe. Blood covered her neck from his bleeding hand, but because of the wound he couldn't apply enough pressure. He didn't like the idea of killing her, especially before finding out what her beef with him was, but he didn't have any choice. He had no way of subduing her and dragging her to the knights, or even running away, because without help he couldn't get back in his chair.

"Help!" Catherine screamed, struggling to throw him off. "Help me!"

"You hypocritical bitch," Yuri seethed. He squeezed harder, wincing as pain shot up his arm. His grip on her throat was slippery with blood. He didn't have much time. She was going to manage to throw him off any second now and if she pried the knife out of the cantaloupe, he was finished.

Yuri had never been so glad to hear the clanking of running knights. Catherine's screams had accomplished something, at least. He was just relieved he wouldn't be forced to kill her.

"I say! Unhand that woman!"

Yuri closed his eyes for a second. Of all the knights in the empire, why was it always them?

"Help me!" Catherine screamed. "Please, he's trying to kill me!"

Someone grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him away from Catherine. He rolled onto his back and saw Boccos standing over him with an angry expression.

"Yuri Lowell! I never thought we'd have to protect civilians from you!"

"Give me a break. She attacked me first."

"Th-thank you," Catherine sobbed as Adecor helped her to her feet. "I offered to help this man carry his groceries and then he just attacked me!"

"I say, this is a new low for you, Yuri Lowell!"

"Don't tell me you buy her crap." Arguing from his back on the ground was pretty frustrating when everyone else was on their feet. "She asked me to help her home, and then she dumped me out of my chair and came at me with a knife."

"That's ridiculous." Catherine rubbed her eyes and Yuri noticed how little pain her back seemed to be giving her. If she really did have a back injury, he was a Child of the Full Moon. "Why would I ask a cripple for help?"

"She has a point," Boccos said, looking down at him.

"Obviously it was an excuse to get me alone so she could murder me."

Adecor looked between them, his expression clearly saying that this was a situation far more complicated than his minimal training had prepared him for. "I say, you are both under arrest! We shall let Lieutenant Leblanc get to the bottom of this.

"No, please," Catherine cried as Adecor put her in handcuffs. "I didn't do anything. This awful man tried to kill me. I just want to go home!"

"If you really are innocent," Boccos said, grabbing Yuri's arm and rolling him onto his chest. "You will be free to go home in a short while." He handcuffed Yuri and then cut a long strip of fabric from his uniform. At least they weren't totally incompetent, Yuri thought as Boccos wound the fabric around Yuri's injured hand and arm to stop the bleeding. "All right, you two, off to the castle to let the lieutenant figure out which of you is lying!"

Yuri twisted his face off the ground and wiggled as much as he could. "Look, I know intelligence isn't a high point for you Tweedles, but I really don't think handcuffs were necessary here."

"It's standard procedure, I say! Now then, on your feet!"

Yuri stared at Adecor. Maybe if he stared long enough, the absurdity of what he'd said would sink in without Yuri having to point out how much of an idiot he was. After a long moment, Yuri said, "If you idiots charge me with resisting arrest for not standing on command, I swear I will throttle you."

"Oh… right…" Boccos glanced at the wheelchair on the ground and then quickly fetched it. Working together with Adecor, they grabbed Yuri under the arms and heaved him into his seat. His arm and hand ached as they pressed against the back, and then they were off.

Yuri hated letting other people push him at the best of times, but being pushed by Boccos while handcuffed was the ultimate frustration. What did they think he was going to do with his hands free? With his injured palm, he wasn't going to be able to push very fast anyway.

They couldn't reach the castle soon enough. They entered through the Knights' wing, which included Adecor and Boccos struggling to lift Yuri's chair up the steps. At the entrance to the prison cells, the Tweedles took one look at the stairs and then decided it wasn't worth the hassle. They left him in a locked room in a side corridor.

"Good thing you locked the door," Yuri shouted at the closed door as he listened to their clanking walk away. "That is the biggest deterrent to my escape plan." Handcuffs had always been a pain, but never more than now, when he relied on his hands to move. They could have left the door wide open and he couldn't have left the room, because without the use of his arms, his chair wasn't going anywhere.

This was such bullshit. He couldn't believe he had actually been arrested for trying to save his life. Actually, he could believe it, because that sounded pretty typical for his luck. Maybe this was a sign that life was going back to normal. He squirmed his arms, more because he wanted to move something than anything else. As the minutes wore on, adrenaline from the encounter faded and pain from his injuries increased. Who was that woman anyway? He'd spent the entire winter as an invalid; it wasn't like he'd had any time to piss people off. He'd wonder if a wheelchair murdered her family except she'd been pretty clear about him specifically needing to pay for something.

How long had he been here anyway? Estelle must be worried sick by now.

He was starting to wonder if they'd forgotten about him when the door finally opened and an angry Flynn entered. He shut the door and gave Yuri a stern look. "Tell me what happened."

"Well, hello to you, too."

"I don't want to believe it. I was told you were arrested for assaulting a woman. Please tell me there's another side to this story."

"She tried to kill me."

Flynn faltered. "She… what?"

Yuri tugged his hands and twisted enough to show Flynn the blood soaking through Boccos' makeshift bandages. "I don't know what her deal is, but she dumped me out of my chair and came at me with a knife."

"I'll get an apple gel." Flynn dashed from the room and returned minutes later, lemon gels in hand. He dragged a chair over and sat in front of Yuri, and quickly unlocked the cuffs. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I came as soon as someone told me what happened."

"It's fine. I didn't expect the Tweedles to handle this competently." When his hands were free, Yuri ate one of the lemon gels and the pain relief was instant. Lemon gels were worth their price. He unwound the bandages and Flynn handed him a damp cloth to wipe up the blood. The wounds were still sore, but all that remained under the blood was a raised red line, and even that would fade in a few days.

Flynn caught his wrist and examined the wound on his palm. "These are clearly defensive wounds."

"Yeah, that's what happens when crazy people try to knife you."

"Are you ok? This is the second time this week you've been gravely injured when left to your own devices."

"Are you really going to try to argue that this never would have happened before I was injured?"

"True. You do attract disasters like flies to honey."

"I should invest in more vinegar."

"Do you have any idea what you did to provoke her?"

"Why do you assume I provoked her?!"

Flynn just gave him a look.

Yuri crossed his arms. "Ok, I may not have a history of being the politest person, but I hardly think I've ever done enough to warrant an attempted murder. All she said was 'it's time for you to pay for what you've done, Yuri Lowell.' I don't know anything else."

"Hm…" Flynn had a theory, but he didn't feel like sharing it yet. "I'll look into this. Now, are you sure you're ok?" He looked deep into Yuri's eyes, his own filled with so much concern it radiated off him in waves.

"Yes. I'm fine. Actually, I'm more than fine." Yuri couldn't keep a grin off his face. "In fact, I feel better than I have in months."

"Really? That's excellent news, though I'm a bit concerned that nearly being murdered puts you in a good mood. You don't… well, it's not because you're happy about almost dying, is it?"

Yuri rested his hand on Flynn's knee. "Relax. It's not that I enjoyed coming so close to death. It's the opposite, in fact." He rolled backward, slowly because his hand still hurt, and took a deep breath. "I haven't been this eager to get on with my life since before Carter kidnapped me."

"So, it took looking death in the face to realize you didn't want it?"

"Sort of. It's not just that, though." Yuri balled his hands into fists and rested them on the armrests. "I fought back, Flynn. It was a lot more difficult than it used to be, but I did it. Even though I couldn't move my legs, I still managed to get the upper hand and disarm her. I can do this. I can fight. I can be me."

Flynn stared at him with a slight smile for a few seconds, and then a laugh broke out.

"What? What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry." Flynn shook his head, face still scrunched with a grin and soft chuckles. "It's just so you, Yuri. It takes nearly being murdered to cheer you up. What a ridiculous person."

Yuri crossed his arms. "Hey, I don't critique your coping methods."

Flynn stood and stepped to the side of the chair. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against the side of Yuri's head, arms wrapping his shoulders. "I'm really glad you feel better, Yuri. I'm also really glad you survived two major injuries this week without major consequences. I'd say I hope this is the end of you getting yourself into deadly trouble, but that would be naïve."

Yuri twisted his head and kissed Flynn's cheek. "You know me."