CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED THIRTY THREE

Lying flat on his front with a pillow wrapped in his arms, Yuri rested contentedly, relishing in the tickle of silver hair tracing across his back. Viktor kissed long lines across his skin, and savored each relaxed breath. He rubbed one hand against the younger man's ribs and leaned down to rest against that thin frame, "Is this why you told me to go shower?" He teased, and kissed the back of one shoulder before he perched his chin atop it.

Yuri turned his head slightly and cracked one eye open, "Maybe a little bit." He answered, then closed his eyes to savor the warmth again, "I've been wondering how to do that for a while but you hardly ever give me the opportunity."

Viktor puffed a laugh against his beloved's skin, "When I said it would be hot to watch you tease yourself, I never meant to imply that you had to get started alone."

"No, but I don't think I could get going with an audience." Yuri answered, "I'd be thinking about everything except what I was doing."

"Hm, you and your big brain," The silver shook his head, and lifted up slightly as he felt his partner wiggle to turn onto his back. Chest to chest and nose to nose, Viktor looked into his favorite eyes, "We still have to go downstairs."

"And I just got you all sweaty again."

"Yes, look what you've done." Viktor laughed, and leaned closer for a few kisses, "How could you."

"I couldn't help it. I just want you all the time."

"Hmmm...you're starting to make me wonder if I can keep up with your appetite."

"Oh don't worry," Yuri reassured; he moved one hand up to brush a few still-barely-damp strands of silver hair out of his partner's eye, "You were tailor-made, just for me."

"I believe that." Viktor mused, and drew in for another long kiss, "We should get hosed-off though and head downstairs. I haven't eaten since before skating, so I'm famished."

.

All cleaned-up and clad in their comfy ensemble of bathrobes, flannel pants, and slippers, the boys finally descended to the first floor and made their appearance through the kitchen. The pack was quick at their heels, but dinner-orders had to be placed before either were ready to emerge in the dining room. Viktor was sure to ask for some mulled wine as well, enough for the both of them since Yuri wasn't skating, but he then drew a deep breath and stepped through that last open doorway to the huge open room.

Seeing so many people in the same room was rather odd, especially with all the equipment - both on the table and still worn by the newcomers. All eyes were on them, and the pair quietly sat at the nearest end. Ghost growled low in her throat, but Yuri did his best to quietly keep her calm at his side, putting her between their two seats. Makkachin was quietly optimistic, tail swaying slowly as he looked around, but he slunk under the table by Viktor and sat down. Jiro wasn't ready to hide though, and stood alert between Yuri's seat and the edge of the fireplace on the opposite wall.

"Hm...well, this isn't awkward or anything." Viktor said, trying to break up the tension, "...I hope you didn't need us down here urgently or anything."

Mikhail deadpanned them both from the opposite end of the table, but he shook his head, "No, not urgently, there was plenty else to do while we waited." He explained, but then gestured at the detail's team-lead, "He'll interview you both."

"...Does 'he'll' have a name?"

"Jim." He answered for himself, hand extended, "Pleasure."

"Ofcourseit'sJim." Yuri whispered sarcastically, "It'salwaysJim."

Viktor made a face at him, but then reached to accept the handshake, and Yuri did the same right after. The both of them were nervous, but keeping Ghost where she was took up most of their attention.

"It's good that you have a dog like that around you," Jim told them as he pulled out a seat closer to the boys, and slid a laptop down the table-cover, "What kind is it?"

"She's a Russian Ovcharka." Yuri answered, "We actually just got her."

"Oh? For protection?"

"By circumstance."

"She belonged to Viktor's father first," Mikhail spoke-up for them, "I made a pit-stop in St. Petersburg on the way back from Vienna to check on him. He'd died. I took care of his animals, and brought her back with me to Hasetsu. Viktor and Yuri decided to take her in for me."

"Mr. Rozovsky said you two were in Russia before Vienna." Jim added as he turned back to the athletes, "Can you tell me about the trip?"

Viktor grimaced slightly, "My father and I had been estranged for years, but we'd gotten back into contact about one year ago, after my mother's accidental death. I wanted to see him, since he'd come a long way in repairing the damage to our relationship, but by the end, we couldn't find enough common-ground to make future efforts worthwhile. Yuri and I left, believing we'd never see the man again. We just didn't think he'd die right after."

"Is there any reason to suspect foul play?"

"I can get you the information you need on Konstantin's death if you need it," Mikhail interrupted again, "Everything about it was perfectly natural. He had a major stroke."

"Alright," The watchman agreed, and made some notes on his laptop, "Then let's go back through the rest of the trip. Considering the circumstances we've been called out early for, can you say you noticed anything weird while in Russia?"

"Nothing that can't be explained by incompetence or being paid minimum wage." Viktor shrugged, though the strained look on Yuri's face made it clear that more could be said. Jim's steely eyes turned to the younger man, but Viktor just leaned down between the two to draw back the guard's gaze, "It's not a conspiracy when things go wrong on a trip."

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the silver quizzically, and Minako whispered something to her fiancé behind her hand. Mikhail nodded in agreement, and Minako rose up to stand, "Yuri, come with me for a bit."

"...Eh?"

"Come." She repeated, and raised her arm out for him, "Bring Ghost. She'll give herself an ulcer like this."

"...Alright..." He agreed tepidly, and pushed out from the table again, whispering to the Ovcharka to follow. He kept hold of his husband's hand as long as he could, and kissed the crown of his head as he passed behind, "I'll be back soon, hopefully."

Viktor watched the pair go, followed by Jiro quickly after, and reached down to rub his hand over Makkachin's head where the pup had set his snoot on his knee. He waited a little while after Yuri and Minako had gone out of sight before he said another word, "...I can't say certain things when he's around. He's already a very anxious person...I don't need him paranoid and anxious."

"We get it, don't worry." Mikhail reassured, "Minako thought you might be holding back. That's why she wanted to separate you guys. Now you can speak your mind. What happened?"

"Makkachin was neglected to the point of abuse on the way into Russia." Viktor answered, "He was never let out of his crate on the entire trip over with Aeroflot, so when we finally got him back, he was covered nose-to-tail in his own waste, and he acted traumatized. We had to take him to a groomer in St. Petersburg as soon as we got out of the airport." He started, and leaned back in his seat as notes were taken, "Yuri and I went to get our R.V. while Makkachin was getting cleaned up, but someone at the groomer's recognized us and apparently mentioned it on social media. When we got back, Yuri took Makkachin to the camper while I paid...but we were being waited for. Yuri was already in the camper when some hecklers came up and knocked on the door. Yuri told me after that Makkachin had gotten really riled-up, so he didn't open the door...but when I came out to catch up with him, I found a group of goons waiting outside. The one knocking had a baseball bat. I got pelted with snowballs from crap they scooped off the street, but I managed to send them away. Yuri doesn't know about the baseball bat. Do not tell him."

"We won't." The elder agreed, "What else?"

Viktor grimaced slightly, "...Yakov caught wind of the fact that the hecklers had recorded the entire thing, and posted it online. Yuri and I both saw the video...it's grainy as Hell and you can barely tell what's going on, but...you can sort-of tell it's me...barely. Yakov says he got the video taken down, but I think it's safe to say that once something is online, it's there forever."

Mikhail rubbed his temples, "Why didn't you say anything about this?"

"Because I was already busy trying to keep Yuri's heart-rate down over what Saito did to him. After everything else, spending time with my father was the best part of our Russia trip...but even he felt like he had to protect us, after a fashion." Viktor admitted grimly, and crossed his arms, "And then I had to go and be a huge jackass at Euros, so everything about the Russia trip got put on the back-burner while I tried to run away from, and then confront the mess I made."

"...Is there anything else we should know?"

"No." He answered firmly, only to pause and shake his head, "Except..."

"Except?"

Viktor sighed and lowered his head, "The two guys that Otabek stomped... Walking in on the aftermath of that whole thing wasn't the first time I saw them. When Yuri and I took the dogs out after practice, they walked by us outside the pet boutique. Ghost snarled at them...maybe she saw something in their souls that the rest of us didn't notice. Not even Jiro or Makkachin did anything. I thought it was just Ghost being Ghost. She doesn't make a sound unless...she thinks something's wrong."

Mikhail couldn't help but shake his head slightly, and looked back over his shoulder just to be sure Yuri wasn't standing right outside, "...I'm going to guess that Yuri doesn't know it was the same people."

"No. They'd already been taken away by security by the time Yuri was asked to come down. He...has no idea." Viktor confirmed, "I'm keeping it that way on purpose. I don't want hi-"

"...Paranoid and anxious. We got it." The elder Russian acknowledged, "I don't disagree. Sometimes we have to protect people from themselves, too. Aaaaanything else?"

"...Not that I know of. Unless you haven't told them about my old house in St. Petersburg."

"I told them."

"Then that's it."

.

"Yakov was the one who burned the house down." Yuri corrected, and looked back over his shoulder, a book in-hand from one of the many cases, "Viktor's house had been vandalized, maybe even by the same idiots who came after us by the groomer's. Yakov set it on fire so Viktor wouldn't see how badly it had been defaced."

"...How do you even know that?" Minako quirked a brow; she sat on one of the small couches by the fireplace.

"Because I saw traces of the spray-paint on the rubble, and I thought it was suspicious that someone would burn the place down after wasting all their time scrawling their garbage on it." He answered, and turned back to the book-case, "Yakov was the one who told us it burned down in the first place, so when I saw him again at Euros, I asked."

"You guys really can't catch a break." Minako huffed, and shook her head in disbelief, "It's a wonder you haven't had worse troubles."

"Viktor's the greatest skater who ever lived," Yuri reminded, "And he took off to coach a foreigner, and married that foreigner, who also happens to be a guy, and gave up his Gold medal to that foreign guy, and then wiggled-out of being put to pasture by his bosses when they tried to punish him for all the rest."

"...If it were any country other than Russia..."

"Maybe if I hadn't been so naïve about it all." Yuri chided himself, and thumped the book closed before he slid it back into the gap it had come from, "I was just...so excited about all of it. Viktor said Mila even warned him about being like this...way back in Barcelona. Even Yurio knew better... I mean, he yelled at the entire Russian press corps during that post-Nationals meeting, and told them all to mind their own business, because what Viktor does in his private life has no bearing on his skating. Every time it happened, I just brushed it off as a one-time thing... It's impossible to please everyone, so it's inevitable to run into people who disagree with us. But it's just gotten so much worse since the RSF fired Viktor. Some people in Russia really are just...incomprehensibly angry at him..."

"That puts you in a bind, too, you know." The ballerina pointed out, "You've already been approached by people who want to hurt him. I'm surprised you're not more concerned."

Yuri slid his finger along the spines of more books, and slowly made his way across the wall, "...Maybe I'm in denial. I can't wrap my head around why or how anyone would go this far out of their way to get to him. I mean," He said, and twisted on his feel to look at his former teacher, "How much money did it cost for them to come out here just to boo at him? He still broke the SP record and won Gold. What were they hoping to achieve?"

"Maybe they were hoping to do more and just didn't get to."

"...Now you're just trying to scare me."

"Crazy fans have done worse than what these hecklers have." Minako shrugged, "I just think you need to take it seriously. Even Viktor is acting like this is no big deal. Who knows what those idiots would've done to Nikki if Otabek hadn't pummeled them right away."

"Maybe Viktor's just trying to put on a brave face for my sake."

"That's entirely likely, too."

"What do you want me to do about it though? It's not like I know how to stop this."

"Just be more aware of your profiles." She answered, "Mik's almost done getting us set up with the people who can make an actionable impact on things, but it's going to take a bit of sacrifice on your part so that it can work. No wandering off alone, maybe keep back from the fans for a little while...tell us when something happens immediately rather than waiting until weeks later... I'm sure there's more that I don't have the imagination for, but...whatever these security guys tell you to do, heed their advice."

"You know I'll listen. I'm worried Viktor won't."

"Convincing him is going to be your job." The ballerina pointed out, and rose up from the sofa, "He may not listen to most people, but he listens to you. Use that to protect both of yourselves."

"...How long is this even going to last...?"

"Mik hopes that if the IOC lets Russian athletes go to PyeongChang, then the fans who are mad at Viktor getting to go despite the ban will settle down."

Yuri grumbled, "It's not like Viktor's been entirely without suspicion. He's having to do extra drug screens and is having his entire history of achievement questioned. He's even re-planning his entire Exhibition to make a statement about it all... I mean, maybe the JSF wouldn't have even given him an invitation if we knew beforehand that Russia was going to get banned."

"We can't know. We can only work with what we do know...and unfortunately, people who are mad make a lot of assumptions, and look for people to blame and take their anger out on. Viktor turned into an easy scapegoat."

"...I guess so..." Yuri lowered his head, and looked to Jiro, who perked up slightly with a tail-wag when he realized his human was looking in his direction, "I just want this craziness to be over. We just wanted to have a good time despite me being sick. Everything was going really well."

"You still can have a good time. Having these guys walk with us will be a little bit weird, but...I think things will feel pretty normal otherwise. So go back to Viktor, have your dinner, and then relax. We're taking care of everything. Just be aware of your surroundings and let me or Mik know if you see anything weird."

"...Alright."