CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED TWENTY ONE
With the moment - and the mood - utterly crushed, all Viktor could do was collapse and sulk until he fell asleep. Yuri stayed by and stroked the man's hair softly, half-disappointed that the whole thing had ended before it could even start. The toy was still in the sheets with them, though Yuri had pulled it out of the way a while ago, and he looked back at it idly.
I really wanted to see if I was over my fear of that thing... So much for that idea. He sighed and turned back, and just as he was about to set a kiss to his husband's sleepy brow, felt some of the crud come loose in his throat. He did his best to quietly sprint to the bathroom before it felt like half the fluids in his head came out in a blur of coughs. Jiro nudged his way through the partly-closed door, and whined for his human's attention. Even Ghost came, though she was as quiet as her namesake; beady dark eyes watched the retching. When Yuri finally finished, he turned and caught sight of the duo, and couldn't help but smile, "That's sweet. You're checking on me."
"Yuurriiiiii..." Viktor whine-moaned from the main room.
"Coming." He answered back, and headed over to the bed as before. Sullenly, he pulled the toy out of the blankets and put it into a drawer, then returned to his partner's side, "I thought you'd nap right up to skate-time." He commented as he sat beside his spouse's waist, and reached up to brush a few strands of silver from the man's hazy eyes, "You can't sleep?"
"I feel like I'm having a half-dazed nightmare..." The Russian explained, and curled his arm around his beloved's bent legs, "It was super vivid, too..."
"Well, you did say your dreams come in three types...either nothing at all, practicing a show, or this... What was it?"
Viktor crimped his lips for a moment as he thought, "The details fade so fast... I think I was trying to find high ground during a tsunami though." He explained, "But the part that made it bad was how I was trying to chase Nikki around during the whole thing. She was blaming me for the tsunami, too."
"...A tsunami...?" Yuri echoed skeptically, "Was it called Otabek?" He suggested. That just earned a playful thump against his leg, but he laughed anyway, "Sorry."
"I think my guilty conscience is getting the better of me," Viktor suggested, and looked from his beloved to the ceiling, "It's been a really long time since a girl's been this mad at me."
"You don't mean her, do you?" Yuri asked dubiously, and leaned down to rest over his husband's chest, head tucked under the man's chin, dreading the answer.
"Not that her, anyway. A different one." Viktor clarified, "This was number three; the possessive fan that I had to dump on the phone during a competition."
Oddly, Yuri felt a bit of relief to hear that, and he lifted up again to rest his cheek against his knuckles. He tilted forward slightly to kiss his partner's chin, "How long were you with that one anyway?"
Viktor's eyes widened, and he looked down in surprise, "...You're actually asking for details on one of my past lovers?"
Yuri quirked a brow, "I'm regretting it already."
The Russian puffed a laugh and relaxed his neck to lower his head again, "Just a few months. Makkachin had only grown to half his final size when I ended it."
"She was the one who got him for you." Yuri recalled, "After Kubochin passed."
"Her one worthwhile legacy," Viktor confirmed, "I'm sure she still pats herself on the back anytime she sees photos of me with Makka."
"You think she still bothers?"
"No doubt." He shook his head, "I've seen her a couple times over the years since then."
Yuri gaped to hear it, "Seriously? Have you seen her recently?"
"Huh? Oh, no...probably not in three years. Doesn't mean she hasn't been around though. She's harmless." Viktor reassured, "If there was anything to worry about you would've heard from her eventually. You've never mentioned being bothered by anyone about being with me though. I mean, outside the stuff we both dealt with."
"That you know of."
Viktor guffawed, and laughed roughly as he sat up and rolled them both over, pushing his husband to his back in the blankets before he moved in over him, "You'd never be able to hide it if it happened, my love. It would gnaw at you relentlessly."
"Or maybe I don't know about it either," Yuri posed, "With my conspicuous lack of activity online... Maybe there's a message, deep in the recesses of my inbox, waiting for me."
"Don't tempt fate. You know how stuff like that works around me."
"It only happens if you say it though...so don't." Yuri laughed, and lifted up as well as he could to steal a quick peck from his partner's lips, "Let's take the kids for a walk. The Broadmoor has a pet boutique."
Viktor looked a bit surprised, "You really want to go outside? You don't want to just stay here and be warm?"
"It's not like I'm going to go outside naked."
"This time."
"Viktor."
"I have an obligation to fulfill your kink one day, remember? ...Probably when it's warmer outside though."
Yuri's face went red, "And I'll still be leaving the house while fully clothed."
"You've walked out naked before."
"And I regret it!" He puffed, and tried to wiggle up to sit, only to find Viktor personifying the Immovable Object, "Also I don't remember it, so I don't know if it counts."
Viktor just looked down, brows up.
"...I'll replace the mochi I stole when we get home again." Yuri offered, "And whatever else I might've eaten while sleepwalking."
That earned a smile, and Viktor lowered down to steal a peck of his own before he got out of the way and offered his hands to help, "I accept these terms."
.
The pack was harnessed and their humans were dressed, and the whole gaggle of them went for the back door. They passed the Parlor Room on the way with their shoes and spotted the Rozovsky clan - minus one - watching a movie on the projector.
"Hey, we're gonna go take the pack for a walk." Viktor called to them as he carefully wrapped a plush scarf around his neck and shoulders, "See you later."
"Byyyyyye."
Yurio perked his head up.
The walk to the back exit continued as the pair closed-up their winter coats. Yuri was careful to pull a surgical mask over his face before wrapping his own scarf over it, then made sure the scarf was neatly tucked into his jacket as he buttoned it closed. All three pups scrambled excitedly around the door to the rear veranda, but just before Viktor could reach for the handle to let them loose, their attention was grabbed by one certain Russian Tiger.
"Where you going?"
Viktor looked back, hand still paused in its reach for the handle, "...Out?"
The teen grumbled in frustration and stepped closer, "What the Hell did you do earlier?" He asked instead, quieter, "Nikki refuses to talk to anyone and she locked Viktoria out of their room."
Viktor's brows raised, but he finished his reach for the door handle and pulled it open with a grumbled sigh. Makkachin and Ghost pulled mightily, but Viktor held them fast, and they soon realized they wouldn't be going anywhere without his leave. The Russian stepped outside after his husband, then turned to the Tiger, "I only asked Otabek if he had a thing for Nikki so I could maybe convince him not to. He was concerned that you were mad at him. I guess the two issues overlapped enough that he took action in the only way he thought would help. I didn't tell him what to do. I was just as surprised to find out what he'd done as she was."
Yuri listened quietly, but kept his eyes down on Jiro as they waited. He was a bit surprised that Yurio didn't lash out angrily, and glanced up.
"...Otabek thinks I'm mad at him? What the Hell...? Why?"
"You'll have to talk to him; I'm done. I've already stuck my foot too-far into it, and I don't want to do more damage." Viktor deferred, and turned to his spouse, "Let's go."
"Yeah..."
Yurio grumbled, but the door closed, and he could do nothing more.
Viktor reached for his beloved's free hand and pulled that exposed skin into his pocket. Their pack trotted out front of them, snuffling at the icy but snow-shoveled ground as they passed between the two large frosted croquet lawns. At the end of the walkway, they took a right onto the main sidewalk, and Viktor puffed a fog of perturbed air, "...I'm never going to live this down, am I?"
Yuri rubbed his thumb across his partner's hand in the pocket, "All things pass with enough time. The hearts of teenagers are fickle things."
"Oh boy, I know it."
"Every slight feels like the end of the world," Yuri continued, "Every little push-back from an authority figure seems like a personal attack."
"Otabek kinda went a bit too far by blocking her though, don't you think?"
"...Maybe." He tacitly agreed, "But I don't know what else he could've done... Now that it's done, we practically have to get Mikhail's permission for them to talk to each other."
"Yeah..." Viktor nodded quietly.
The crosswalk that lead to the main Broadmoor complex came up quickly, and they scuttled over while traffic was clear. They held to the right as they went through the first small parking lot, and spotted the glass-front of the Pet Boutique with its two bronze dog statues out front, just ahead on the left side.
It was entirely unavoidable; photos had to be taken. All three pups were lined up in front of the doors, with the statues bookending them on each side; one a golden retriever, the other a Welsh terrier. In typical dog fashion though, it was hard to get all three to pose at the same time, so after a half dozen photos with one or two looking at the camera, Yuri laughed and resigned to it all, and posted what he had, "This is great. I've been posting pics of the kids in the room this whole time. Our followers will be glad to see these guys outside. They must think we never leave."
Viktor spied over a shoulder as the photos went onto their Pups of Nikiforov account, "We'll post a video later, showing them how much space we have for these three to play in at the house."
"Alright...let's get inside. It's a bit nippy out here."
The door jingled as it was pulled open, and the pack filed in. Curious noses went everywhere as quickly as they could, sniffing at fancy chew-toys, scent enrichment, pet shampoos and conditioners, and specially bagged treats that were on a shelf just too high for them to reach without getting up on their hind legs. The SkateHusbands made sure they didn't though, and perused the store as they greeted the friendly singular staff member, who sat behind a desk on the far right side of the small store. The higher shelves held canvas-printed artwork of famous people with their pets at the Broadmoor, as well as pet-themed pillows, smaller framed pictures, mugs, keychains, little statues of dogs and cats, haute couture collars and leashes, and dozens of other little knickknacks. They browsed for a little while and settled on buying a few bags of locally-made treats, and offered a few pieces to each pup once they'd sat and laid down on command.
"I thought it would be really hard to take on so many dogs at once," Viktor commented as Makkachin snoffled the treats from his hand, "I guess we got lucky."
"I think Ghost's behavior is more because of your father than anything," Yuri suggested, rubbing his hand down Jiro's back, then moved over to the big squish of an Ovcharka next to the puppy, "I imagine he had an iron grip; firm but fair...at least with her."
"Hah." The Russian scoffed, "And the horse I guess."
"I hope he's doing okay in his new home." Yuri added, "Čužak..."
"Your pronunciation is better," Viktor commented.
"Ghost's original name is unfortunately still beyond me," Yuri mused warily, and rose back up to his feet. He found it odd that Ghost tugged on her lead suddenly, and spun him half-'round as she went behind him. Her deep, low rumble of a growl was unmistakable though, "What the-"
Viktor looked over in the direction she was facing, and spied a pair of men walking along on the side-walk, like anyone else might've been. The big squish's body suddenly puffed up though, and the Ovcharka looked like half a lion, with her dark face coming through the mane-like brown fur around her neck and shoulders. She barked twice at the pair; one spat angrily at the ground, but they both kept walking. They vanished into the parking lot a minute later, but Ghost still seemed bothered by them.
"...What was all that?" Yuri asked nervously, "She just snapped."
"Dogs sense things we can't," Viktor pointed out, and drew closer, "Maybe those guys had bad auras or something. They came all the way here to boo me, and they have to sleep somewhere."
"Here though? No one knew we'd change hotels. Not even us. How would they know to be here?" Yuri asked, "I didn't even tag our location in my Insta posts. The only people who know where we're staying are our friends."
"Yurio maybe?"
"...I hadn't thought of that. He tags himself all the time, too."
"And you did just post the pics to the Pups page..."
"That was five minutes ago." Yuri retorted, "There's no way."
Viktor nudged his head past his husband, "The Broadmoor main hotel entrance is right behind you, my love. Through that road-arch and hang a left."
Yuri shook his head though, "I don't want to believe that people are trying to find us. There's got to be a limit to how far someone will go to bother you."
"There's some tennis players who have been stalked," Viktor pointed out, "One even who came home from competition to find someone hiding in her closet, writing her love letters."
Yuri deadpanned, "Okay that's just creepy."
"That's why they're called stalkers." Viktor puffed, and pulled his husband under one arm so they could head back. Even after they'd made it to the sidewalk on the road, Ghost was still on alert, ears up and eyes scanning. Viktor shook his head, "If it ever came to it, and I told you to run, would you?"
"Hell no." Yuri said instantly, "You're out of your mind if you think I'd leave you behind."
"Even if I told you to?"
"I wouldn't care. I'd rather go down with you than go on without." He explained, "I could never forgive myself if I abandoned you in a dangerous situation."
Viktor couldn't help but smile, even if it was an awkward one, "I guess I understand..."
"I know you're protective of me," Yuri went on, and slid his arm behind his partner's back as they walked, "But I've told you before that if you go before I do, I won't last long after. A life without you isn't worth living...not anymore. So...again, no, I wouldn't run. If I did, I'd spend the rest of my last few days torturing myself over what I could've done if I hadn't. I couldn't live with the shame."
"...That makes sense." Viktor nodded, and they paused to check for cross-traffic before heading to the other side, "Well, maybe it was nothing then. Ghost's whole lineage was bred to protect the pack. Maybe we just need to be better pack leaders."
"Maybe..." Yuri agreed quietly, "Poodles are easy compared to huge Russian prison-guard lion-dogs."
The silver huffed a laugh, and felt better, "And she's our lion-dog."
