CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED TWENTY THREE

The last of the water gurgled as it spiraled down and into the drain, leaving a fine layer of bubble-film at the bottom of the tub. Yuri roughly shuffled a towel across his head, pulling one end to slide it right, then the other to pull it back the other way, until his hair was a fluffy damp mess of black, wavy quills. With the towel still on his head, he let himself imagine for a moment that he was back at home, even if only for a few seconds. He pulled the towel down over the back of his neck and over his shoulders just as he felt ten fingers and two palms slide up from the back of his hips. He looked aside and saw as a kiss was pressed to his bare skin, "Yes, dear?" He asked in a tease.

"You know I can't resist when you open yourself up like this," Viktor answered, purring the words to that shoulder, and kissed it again, "And you've been sitting on my lap for the last ten minutes."

"I have been." Yuri affirmed easily, "It's a bit hard to feel anything under the water though."

"Can you feel me now?" The silver wondered, and pressed himself flat against his beloved's frame as fingers pulled the younger man's hips back slightly.

"Mmh...that's better." Yuri answered, and rose up on his toes slightly to feel even more, "You skipped out on our morning romp." He pointed out, and savored the feel of those hands roaming across his skin.

"Is that why you went to play with our toy?" Viktor wondered, nibbling his way up from shoulder to neck as Yuri pulled the towel out of the way, "To make up for how I left you?"

"...It may have inspired an inquiry or two."

"Did you end up using it though?"

Yuri's cheeks gained a red hue as he considered his answer, "It's...a poor substitute for the real thing."

"Oohhh~!" Viktor gasped, and spun his partner around where he stood. Hands slapped down on the edge of the vanity on either side of the man's hips, and he leaned in close, "Yuri! You used it without me!?"

"...Uhm...I...I tried it a little bit...?" He admitted, embarrassed, looking down into those blue eyes, "I thought that if I tried it on my own, I could get used to it on my own terms, and figure out a way to like it more so we could use it together...but you were so distracted when you got back that you didn't notice I was...waiting for you..."

Viktor sulked and lowered his head, bumping the top of it to his partner's chest, "I'm sorry..." He whined, and held there for a moment. Before he said another word, his hands pulled off the edge of the counter and palms pressed together behind his partner's back, then moved forward and apart again to shove toiletries out of the way. Some got knocked into the sink, but Viktor paid them no mind, and reached instead for the towel Yuri still held. One quick swipe, and he furled it out against the cool countertop, then hoisted his beloved up to sit on it, "Let me make it up to you."

.

"Ah Christ, of course they're together." Yurio complained as he and Viktoria peered around the corner to the Parlor room. Their secrecy was exposed rather quickly by the pups that heard the whisper. Makkachin trotted over like the big goober he was, and Jiro pulled up the rear, but stopped halfway and went back to the pup-nest. He flopped back to the blankets to continue chewing on a jerky treat. Ghost simply watched the duo come into sight, watching their feet under the couch and then the rest of them as they came around the side of it.

"It's unlike you guys to be skulking around, never mind together." Mikhail pointed out quizzically. He lifted his eyes from his work laptop, which itself was perched on his lap on a fancy shelf-laden beanbag, "What's up?"

Viktoria crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one foot, but shrugged and gestured to the younger teen beside her. Yurio didn't miss a beat though, and all but dismissed the man's inquiry, "We came to talk to Okukawa."

Both elders were a bit surprised, though Minako showed it on her face less, "Okay." She answered simply. Mikhail went back to typing.

"Alone." Yurio emphasized.

Tippy-tapping fingers stalled again, and perplexed jade eyes lifted. He scanned his kids, then over to his fiancé, "...Should I leave...?"

"Nah, I'll go. It took you half an hour to get comfortable." She said, and rocked forward to get up onto her feet. She pet the man's head as she went around and followed the pair out the other side of the room, and left Mikhail in the adequate company of the pack.

He could only watch the group leave, ...What are they up to...?

Their travel took them all the way to the singular, circular nook on the third floor; away from prying ears on the first floor, and the potential offense of being heard out of context on the second. The room was bright, with red flower-print walls and four green loveseats. Directly in the center of the room was a circular table with books set atop, and under each window were bookshelves. Yurio stayed standing, but Viktoria and Minako both found seats to settle into.

"Can I ask at least why you want me instead of Mik?" The ballerina wondered, "I can wager a guess what this is about. I haven't exactly been part of it."

"Pipaw doesn't exactly listen to us." Viktoria pointed out, "...I mean, he does, but he doesn't always do what we ask him to."

"Teens don't always make reasonable requests." Minako retorted, "But I get it. What do you want me to do though?"

"Translate what we want into something he'll actually consider." Yurio answered that time, eyes on the bright window. He turned to face the woman, looking rather serious, "What he's doing to Nikki is cruel and unusual."

Minako quirked a brow, but then settled back in her seat a bit, one arm stretched over the backrest, "I thought you'd be relieved if you had Otabek all to yourself again."

"That's not the point." He grumbled, and squeezed his crossed arms defensively. He fell quiet for a moment though, and side-eyed his discomfort, "Actually, that's the whole point. I don't 'have him all to myself,' as you put it." He said, adding air-quotes for emphasis, "Otabek's completely pissed off right now. Whatever him and Viktor talked about at practice earlier has him totally spooked and on guard. He really believes we think he's got bad intentions, and it disgusts him."

Minako nodded as she listened, "Mikhail did some pretty questionable stuff when he was a teenager, and he thought he was doing the right thing back then, too. Sometimes you don't realize what you're doing until you have the benefit of hindsight and life-experience."

"Otabek isn't trying to break up anyone's marriage!" Yurio argued, "I feel like I have to defend his honor in all this now and it's not right!"

The ballerina flinched slightly, "I'm afraid Mik's behavior was a bit more sordid than just that, but...I take your point."

Viktoria looked on dubiously, "What did Pipaw do...?"

"And is it somehow worse than buying someone a birthday present - as normal people do - and offer to fix someone's broken phone because the only other person present didn't have their bank card?" Yurio added skeptically.

"Not important and oh lord yes it was way worse." Minako relented, and raised her hand, "Mik's doing his best. Try to understand. He got thrown into the deep end on this whole 'full time dad' thing and maybe he's not the best at it. I'm not sure what help I can be given that I have zero experience in this sort of thing though."

"You don't have to be a professional mom to talk to him for us." Yurio answered, and started pacing back and forth across the small floor, "Telling him he's treating his kid like a piece of valuable inventory would reach him where he's at though. He may not have styled his hair like it the whole time, but he's totally been in business Mik mode since Detroit. You can't tell me you haven't noticed how he's changed."

Minako looked aside slightly, "I have, but...a lot changed right around then, not just getting his girls from Banff. I mean, he got thoroughly rejected by his son out there, too... Then like the next day, he found out about my stupid situation, and proposed to me on the spot...only for me to be like, yeah, no, just kidding." She explained, "Let's not forget the debacle with Viktor, and then Asahi, and then Viktor and Asahi. As soon as he sorts out one problem, another one crops up in its place. He can't catch a break."

"This really shouldn't be as big a deal as it's turning out to be," The Tiger grumbled, "All we want is for him to make peace with Otabek and say it's okay to unblock Nikki."

"You're asking Mik to give his blessing."

"I'm asking him to quit suggesting that Otabek's a bad person." He argued, frustrated, "He treats me like his little kid brother, for fuck's sake! For all anyone knows, he's doing the same with her!"

"Is that what Viktor asked him about?" Minako wondered, and put a finger over her lips in consideration, "Blocking her might be how he's backpedaling out of getting caught."

Yurio grabbed the sides of his head with both hands and grit his teeth in a frustrated snarl, "Or maybe he's just tired of being accused of that!"

"But you don't know."

"I prefer to believe he doesn't, because if he did, then it would be weird."

"Weird? For you, you mean."

"Of course, for me! I refuse to be a third wheel." He harped, "I already dealt with that after Viktor dropped me for the other Yuri."

Minako couldn't help but laugh, "Oh, were you and Viktor an item before?"

"OhmygodNOwhywouldyousaythat!? YouknowwhatImean!" The teen's whole head turned red under his golden hair.

"Are you worried Otabek's going to take Nikki from you then?" She continued to tease.

Viktoria's whole body twitched when she heard it, and she looked at her 'brother' skeptically, "You know you can't-"

"I'M NOT." He insisted, steam practically coming out of his ears, "WHY CAN'T I JUST TRY TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR MY FRIEND WITHOUT PEOPLE THINKING THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON!? I CAN'T EVEN BLOCK YOU GUYS LIKE OTABEK DID."

"Chill, chill..." Minako reassured, "I'm just teasing you."

"God, it's bad enough that you people thought I was in love with Yuri before." Yurio went on irritably.

"Oh...yeah, I almost forgot about that one." She said, and looked up in thought, remembering the entire Trophée de France situation, "It's only been a few months since then, too. Sheesh..."

"So will you ask him for us?" Viktoria finally asked, "So Nikki can come out of our room again and not feel like we're all trying to ruin her life."

Minako rubbed her chin for a moment, "I can...but I think I need a bit more to go on than just you guys. If Viktor talked to Otabek then I need to know what they said to each other, too. Maybe I can try talking to Nikki, too..."

.

Tak tak

"Viktoooor~!"

He stared at the ceiling irritably, and drew in a grumbled sigh, "Why." He whisper-whined, and looked down slightly to where his husband was cuddled-up beside him in their shared bed. He opened his mouth to speak, but another knock interrupted him.

"Viktor, are you really napping again!? I just want to ask you somet-"

Clik'whump

"...thing..." She finished, staring at the irritable figure looming over her, clad in only a blanket.

"What." He asked, hair a mess.

Minako's stunned and embarrassed expression was punctuated by the sudden and thunderous sound of thumps and clicks on the lower floor. She stammered as she unintentionally spotted Yuri - naked but covered - still in bed behind Viktor, "Uuhhhhmm..." She managed, then shook her head, "Sorry. I don't know why I didn't think you guys would...uh...be...occupied."

Viktor just grumbled some more, heedless to where the oldest two dogs suddenly came down the hall for them like a tsunami. The rush knocked the blanket off one shoulder, but Viktor kept his eyes forward, unblinking , "What do you want." He said, less a question than a demand. She barely had a chance to open her mouth though before the hand that held his blanket closed on his chest folded-out three fingers to stop her, "But if it has anything to do with Otabek then I don't want any part of it."

She deflated slightly, "I'm not asking for a favor. Just an answer." She asked meekly; Jiro finally trotted by, tongue lolling out as he went through the doorway and whimpered for attention and a lift at the bottom of the bed, "Yura says you talked to Otabek at practice this morning. Before he blocked Nikki online. Since Yura and Viktoria are worried, I'm trying to help smooth things over with Mik for them, but I need to know what you and Otabek talked about."

Viktor sighed, brows crinkled slightly, "...I wanted to ask him if he had a thing for her, so I could try and convince him to let it go before it became trouble. He got me first though, and asked if your Yuri was mad at him or acting weird. I told him that I wasn't sure, but if he was, it was probably because of Nikki. He asked point-blank if they were dating, I said no, then I finally got to ask if he was into Nikki himself, which he never actually answered... The next thing I know, he's angry at me because he thinks I'm trying to make him admit he's a creeper or something... Then he left, and I came back here, and that's when I found out he'd blocked her."

"And that was it?"

"That was it." He affirmed, "If he's into her, he's at least aware enough of the optics that he's keeping his distance. If not, he's getting put under a whole bunch of stress for nothing."

"And what do you think the case is?"

"I don't know him well enough to make that call."

Yuri finally slipped around the far side of the bed and shuffled under a blanket of his own towards the door, looking just as disheveled and twice as tired. Makkachin and Ghost stayed on the bed, but Jiro bravely jumped down, tumbled, rolled, and quickly hobbled after his human, "He'd give the shirt off his back to someone if he thought they needed it." He explained on his husband's behalf, "And he'd take a bullet for someone just as quickly."

"...You barely know him." Minako pointed out, "Hanging out with him in China that one time doesn't really count."

"He friended me on his private Instagram page after that," Yuri pointed out. Jiro bit down on the edge of the blanket and pulled on it playfully, but then twisted himself up into it and came to rest there by his person's feet, tail wagging where it was the only thing still visible of the pup. Yuri continued, "He actually posts quite a lot online, even though he's pretty quiet in person. I've never gotten the impression that he was a shady personality. What he's done for Yura since last year is a testament to his character, and I respect him a lot. The way Mik is treating him is insensitive and rude."

All eyes were wide at Yuri's words.

"For that little while after the Final, when Otabek and Mila were technically dating, he was a complete gentleman." He went on sternly, "He never treated it like a spectator sport, or a challenge, or talked about Mila like she was some conquest to brag about. Even when they decided it wasn't going to work, he was decent. I had to go to her page to find out what happened, since it took so long for me to even realize anything had happened."

"...What did happen?"

"Suffice it to say, she wanted more than he was willing to give at the time." He answered, inspiring surprised looks again. He shook his head, "He's probably one of the only people I know who could be left alone in a room with someone like Nikki and not try to take advantage of her. He'd probably beat the crap out of anyone who tried."

"...Oddly, I can totally see that." Viktor agreed.

"If Mik had to pick anyone to court his kid, he'd want someone like Otabek doing it." Yuri finished, "But whatever happens between him and Nikki, treating him like he's already done something wrong when he's just being himself is wrong. All Otabek's done is buy her a birthday present, and offer to pay for her phone repair, since Nikki couldn't pay, and Yuri didn't have cash on hand to cover it himself. And for the record, Otabek didn't even pay for it in the end...Viktor and I did." He whispered, just in case extra ears were listening that he didn't know about, "I told him he could pretend like he'd still done it himself anyway, because it was important to him that he be able to say he kept his word."

Minako nodded, and looked to Viktor.

"I made a big scene so Yuri could do his part without Nikki realizing." He explained, speaking quietly as well, "But the principle of the thing is that Otabek did what any decent person would've, in the absence of alternatives. Apparently it was at his insistence that they went to the medic beforehand, too, since Nikki cut her finger on the broken screen. Whatever is between them, or whether anything happens in the future...I agree with Yuri that the way Papa Mimi is handling it now...leaves a lot to be desired."

"I think Mik's major issue is that he doesn't know Otabek at all." Yuri added, "So I understand it from that perspective...but that's an easy thing to fix. Keeping a distance and making up stories about the kind of person Otabek is, doesn't help at all...but that's all Mik's done so far. He won't even call Otabek by his real name."

Minako quirked a brow, "What do you mean?"

"He calls him 'Beka,' and refers to Kazakhstan as 'little former Russia.'" He answered, "Like he's trying to diminish who and what Otabek actually is. Maybe it's a holdover of the fact that Mik is a Soviet Union baby, but he's been in Canada long enough to get over it. Otabek wasn't even born yet when that whole thing fell apart."

"...You're suddenly rather knowledgeable about the fall of the USSR." The ballerina pointed out.

He grimaced slightly, "...Viktor and I may have watched a documentary on it last night."

Minako paused for a moment, but then nodded and took a step back, "Alright... Thanks guys. ...Sorry to bother you."

"...Where are you going now? Straight to Mik?" Yuri wondered, and took a step out of the room, only to pause and look back as he felt - and heard - Jiro tumble out of the blanket-teepee he'd made earlier, "Oh whoops; sorry little dude..." He said nervously, and crouched down to right the Akita to his four paws again. Jiro hardly seemed to remember his rough handling, and was just excited to get attention again, and licked the hands that helped him.

"I was going to talk to Nikki next, actually...if she'll open the door, that is." Minako answered, "Ideally, I'd want to talk to Otabek, too, but..."

"No, you should definitely talk to Mik before that." Yuri advised, "It won't mean anything to talk to Otabek first. Not since Viktor already tried."

"Sorryyyyy." He mumbled.

"I gotta figure out a way of getting Mik to back down from this without making it seem like he's approving a courtship." Minako said, and rubbed the back of her head pensively, "Nikki already knows where her father stands on this whole thing."

"...Maybe if she hears it from someone else, it'll mean more." Viktor suggested, "If she understands that her crush puts a burden on Otabek, maybe she can moderate herself so he doesn't get in hot water for being friendly. She's a good kid, but...quite physically clingy. That could be interpreted badly under the wrong circumstances."

"The outrage from Yuri's Angels when they saw Nikki glomp onto Yuri at the ice skating park in Detroit is practically legendary in his fan-circles." Viktor pointed out, "And we know they were just doing it to mess with his fangirls...but...they don't. They're still taking it seriously."

Yuri gave an inquisitive look, "You follow Yuri's Angels?"

"Pfft no." The Russian sputtered, but then grinned mischievously, "I stalk them."

"You stalk them." Yuri echoed, "How and why?"

Viktor just laughed a bit, "I poke in periodically to see what they're saying when something unexpected happens to Yuri on the ice." He explained, "I've been doing it since I challenged him to win Gold at Junior Worlds without quads. I've seen them react strongly to things before... I mean, they were freaking out when he won Gold at the Final in Barcelona. They were inconsolable when pics of Nikki hugging him found their way onto the page."

Yuri made a face, "...That's dedication. I can only wonder what the fan-pages said about us when we got together."

"I thought you said you wanted to be known as the man who took me away?" The Russian teased, and turned back into the room. He barely turned around enough to avoid flashing Minako when he stuck his arm out to reach around his husband's frame.

"Oh I did...I just didn't want to see the posts to confirm it," Yuri answered with a flush, and herded his puppy back inside as well. He turned back to give a wave to his former sensei, "...Uhm, good luck with Nikki. We'll try to stay awake for a bit in case you want us to help."

"We will?" Viktor blanched.

"You started this, so yes, we will."

"Cyka..." (Damnit.)

Minako waved back anxiously, but the door closed, and she was left alone in the hall once again. She drew in a breath to regain her courage, and backed off to head for that door by the stairs. Thankfully, neither Yurio nor Viktoria had been hiding around any corners, eavesdropping, so she didn't have any weird surprises as she stepped over. Still, standing outside Nikki's door was nerve-wracking. She swallowed a lump, and lifted her hand.

Tak tak