Chapter 22: Deadly Heat

Yuuri leaned over his laptop keyboard, clicking and pausing to read, then moving on to another website, then another, whispering to himself as he searched for some sign of the connection between Victor and a woman called Yume.

"Victor Nikiforov and girlfriend Yume…nothing. Victor and Yume…no. Is Victor Nikiforov seeing anyone…oh my god, like a million possible, of course. Could she be a model? Another skater? No, I knew the names of every Japanese skater competing and I never heard of a Yume…damn, who is she?"

He left the computer and rummaged through a stack of recent magazines, poring over the Russian legend's interviews and Q and A sessions until his bed and floor were a mess.

"Nothing," he mused, "No sign of him even knowing someone named Yume who was a coach, a skater or anything!"

He jumped as a knock sounded on the door, then cringed and blushed as Mari poked her head into the room.

"Hey Yuuri, can you…"

She broke off abruptly, frowning at the destroyed bedroom.

"What happened in here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh," Yuuri stammered, "I uh…I was looking for something."

"Like what?" his sister asked, giving him a disapproving look, "A how to emulate Victor guide? If you want to copy him, why don't you just ask him how instead of shooting off a canon in your bedroom?"

"I…but I…didn't…"

"You better clean that up."

Yuuri groaned and put his face in his hands as the door closed with a pronounced thump.

"Oh my god."

With a ragged sigh, he restacked the magazines and put them back into the boxes he had taken them from, carefully storing them under his bed. He turned off the lights and laid down, furrowing his brow and going back in his mind to the sight he had seen earlier in the guest room bathroom.

Victor was distraught.

Damn, maybe I should've just gone to him. It would probably be better than this sneaking around and trying to figure it out behind his back. Mari's right about one thing. Victor is here. There's no need to daydream or to use other means…I can just ask him.

If only I'd stop feeling breathless and weak just every time he looks at me. I freak out when he comes near me. I can't keep acting that way if I want him to be able to coach me properly. I have to…

I don't know what it is exactly that I have to do, but I am sure it isn't sneaking around and searching for information behind his back.

He agonized about the problem overnight, but was just as stymied in the morning as he had been the night before. And he continued to freeze up every time Victor's ocean blue eyes turned in his direction.

What is Victor thinking when he looks at me?

If he truly came to Japan for this girl, Yume, and she didn't reconcile with him, then maybe it's a burden now to remain here. Maybe Victor just wants to go home. Still, it didn't seem like he'd really given up. He was depressed and crying, but even like that, there was something about him that told me even though she left him, he wasn't defeated by that. He's going to focus on other things and he's going to try to forget her.

Maybe…

…just maybe I could be the thing that makes him forget…

"Yuuri, your free leg is looking sloppy!" Victor snapped, breaking into the Japanese skater's reverie.

"Sorry," he apologized, making the correction.

Maybe it's not so good to think about this while practicing.

"That's better," Victor praised him, "much better."

Yuuri threw himself headfirst into his practice, working harder than he ever had as Yurio noticed his efforts and did the same.

I almost forgot about that aspect of all of this, Yuuri realized suddenly, If Yurio beats me in the Hot Springs on Ice competition, then Victor will go with him back to Russia!

A sinking feeling crept through his midsection.

What if Victor is weary of being in Japan because things ended badly with his girlfriend? What if he really wants to go home?

I don't want Victor to leave!

He suffered a moment of panic, but reined himself in swiftly.

I have to keep Victor's attention on me. After all, even if Yume is the one who Victor loves, he also loves my skating. Girlfriend or no girlfriend, Victor is a professional skater, so I have a chance here to keep his attention on me. I can't let this opportunity pass!

"Yuuri, what's wrong? Are you getting tired or something?" Victor asked, noticing how unsettled he seemed, "I can work with Yurio if you need a break."

"No!" Yuuri shouted, earning a surprised look from his coach, and an agnostic grunt from his skeptical opponent, "I'm fine. I'm sorry. I just…"

"It doesn't matter how much you practice or whether or not you pay attention to Victor," Yurio huffed condescendingly, "You are going to lose and Victor and I are going back to Russia!"

"Now, now, don't be rude, Yurio," Victor chided the teen.

He brushed his Russian teammate off and turned his attention back to Yuuri.

"Is there something I can do to help, Yuuri?" he asked more quietly as Yurio skated away from them, "You know, you can't focus properly on skating if you have something on your mind. Sometimes you need to talk about it and get things resolved. I don't mind listening."

"Oh," Yuuri said, blushing, "um…"

This is so embarrassing. I don't want to look bad in front of Victor. I have to put this out of my head until later. I have to stop letting it get in the way of my training or…wait…

"Uh, I guess it isn't really something that should be bothering me, but I was talking to a friend who saw a skater perform, supposedly someone from Japan. He wasn't sure if he had her name right or not, but he said that he thought she was amazing and asked me to help find out what events she might be in this year so that he could be sure to watch them."

"Oh, okay."

"He…ah…said that he heard a rumor you might have dated her?"

Victor gave him a blank look.

"Hmm…I don't think I've ever dated a Japanese skater, Yuuri."

"I guess she could have been American or something," Yuuri stammered self-consciously, "Her name is Yume?"

For just an instant, something intense seemed to flash in the Russian legend's eyes, but he quickly controlled whatever it was and shook his head dismissively.

"No," he answered matter-of-factly, "I haven't ever dated or even met a skater by that name."

Victor paused and laughed ruefully.

"I haven't had the time or energy to date anyone at all for the last five years or so, but I'm sure you know how it is when your whole life revolves around competitive skating, da?"

"Oh, right," Yuuri agreed, starting to turn away.

He stopped and looked back at Victor as he continued.

"And calling what I did dating is kind of stupid anyway since when it was a real relationship, it was so controlled and had so many rules to protect my public reputation and the girl's privacy that we barely even got to be alone."

"It sounds…really difficult."

Victor nodded, taking hold of Yuuri's shoulder and reaching down, lifting one foot to brush the ice off of a golden blade.

"It was a pain in the ass, and it ruined any real chance any of us had at being happy, but reputation is important to the powers that be in the Russian Skating Federation and when you achieve celebrity status, you really lose the ability to do anything but focus on what you're being paid to do…which, in my case, was skating."

Victor surprised him with a self-satisfied little chuckle.

"So, I just acted out in the ways that they didn't care about."

"What? Drinking?" Yuuri asked, looking amused.

Victor nodded.

"As long as I got to the ice and won, they didn't care if I spent the rest of my time in a drunken stupor. It was only the things that they thought might affect my skating in the short term that they cared about."

"Wow," Yuuri said, shaking his head, "I didn't have any idea it was that complicated."

He paused for a moment, trying to imagine.

"It sounds sort of lonely."

"Mmhmm," Victor affirmed quietly.

Yuuri frowned and furrowed his brow.

"Victor, you said that the real relationships were controlled. What did you mean? Did you have pretend relationships?"

Victor laughed.

"Mostly when I was young and really trying to surprise people," he explained, "Like when I would be interviewed and they asked about my love life. I didn't want to seem boring, so I would say something surprising, like when one reporter asked me if I had a girlfriend and I told him no, but that I had a cute boyfriend."

"Oh, that's funny," Yuuri said, smiling, "I think I remember you saying that."

"Well, Yuuri," Victor said, narrowing his eyes, "I would love to stand around and talk with you all day about my love life, but we do have something we're supposed to be doing right now."

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry!" Yuuri apologized hastily, pushing off and restarting his practice.

Yuuri continued to watch Victor closely after that, but the only result was that over the rest of the week, he found Victor Nikiforov to be steadfast in his dedication to teaching them and he was equally devoted to getting falling down drunk every night. Stymied and overwhelmed by the importance of the upcoming competition, he finally had to let go of his questioning and focused on just his training.

After all, everything depends on me winning this competition with Yurio. If I lose, Victor will go back to Russia.

If I lose, it all ends right now.

XXXXXXXXXX

The sound of the closet door slamming open brought Victor awake with a start, and he had one moment of glaring at his equally angry looking teammate before his head began throbbing and a swell of intense nausea sent him hurrying into the bathroom to throw up. He could almost see Yurio standing out in the bedroom, tapping his foot impatiently and the sound of his complaining floated in through the open bathroom door.

"Fucking drunk! Hurry up and finish throwing up so I can get ready for practice."

"Just a…"

Victor paused and retched, then grabbed a bit of toilet tissue and ran it over his mouth.

"Just a damned minute."

"Forget it, I'm coming in," Yurio snapped, barging in as Victor threw up again.

He stepped over Victor's bent legs to get to the sink and stood in front of the mirror, putting toothpaste onto his toothbrush as his elder teammate threw up a final time and collapsed back against the bathroom wall.

"I don't know how a pathetic, drunk idiot like you ever got to be champion," he scoffed.

Victor wrapped his arms around his midsection and groaned.

"Will you please get away from me?" he panted, "You're making it worse, you know."

"You look like shit, Victor," Yurio said, studying him more closely and losing a measure of the anger as a flicker of genuine concern appeared in his eyes, "Why don't you just stay here and we'll practice without you?"

"N-not happening," Victor grunted, bending forward and breathing slowly, "I'll be fine. Just leave me alone for a minute."

Yurio crossed his arms, still frowning, but no longer angry.

"I don't think you should be alone in your condition."

"Why?" Victor chuckled, wincing as a jolt of pain passed through his insides, "Are you worried I'll just die or something? That would be good for you, right? One less thing in your way as you claw your way to the top of the men's singles division?"

"Huh, like I'd need an old drunk like you to die for me to win," Yurio huffed, "If you hadn't quit, I'd have no trouble beating you."

"Right," Victor snorted, pushing himself onto his knees.

"Old geezer," Yurio chided him, moving to wrap an arm around him and helping him to his feet, "You're going back to bed."

"No, I told you I'll be fine," Victor insisted, his voice still shaking slightly, "Besides, we've only got two days left before the competition."

"You're not going to make it another two days if you keep doing this, stupid."

"Why do you care?" Victor asked, giving him a closer look, "You know, you have the program I promised you. If you wanted to, you could leave right now and not even take part in the competition."

"I know that."

"Then, why are you still here?" Victor pressed, "Unless…"

He blinked and frowned, then looked back at Yurio with a puzzled expression.

"You want that badly for me, the guy you call old geezer and who you tell every day that he's an old, washed up has been…to go back to Russia with you? I'll ask you again, why? What the hell do you have to gain by me going back to Russia?"

Victor paused, considering, the he snapped his fingers and grinned through the still rampant discomfort.

"I've got it!" he laughed, "I should have remembered that you asked me to sleep with you."

"WHAT? I DID NOT!"

"Of course you did," Victor giggled, "when you thought I was an alpha and you were in heat."

"YOU ARE NEVER TO TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN!" Yurio roared.

"Well, you aren't going to keep it a secret if you keep shouting about it. But, don't worry. I won't tell anyone you invited me to sleep with you."

"YOU'D BETTER FUCKING NOT, YOU BASTARD OR I'LL…"

He broke off as Yuuri stumbled into the room looking half asleep.

"Wh-what's all of the yelling about?" he asked sleepily, "Did I oversleep?"

Victor smirked devilishly and opened his mouth to answer, only to be drowned out by his Russian teammate.

"You always sleep too late and you eat too much, katsudon!" Yurio seethed, "Get dressed and let's go!"

Victor laughed again and turned back to find his workout clothes as Yuuri scuttled out of the room and Yurio huffed out a heated breath.

"You asshole," he said in a quieter voice, "I can tell that you don't want the little piggy to know you're an omega. What game are you playing, Victor?"

"If you know that, then why haven't you just told him?" Victor countered.

"Do you think I won't?"

Victor looked directly into his teammate's pale eyes.

"Yes," he said after a moment, "I don't know why, but I think you won't…and…I think part of it is that you want to prove yourself against Yuuri."

"I don't need to…"

"He was a top men's senior division skater, even if he didn't do his best in the final. You stand to gain in reputation from beating him," Victor concluded.

Yurio gave an agnostic grunt and stomped out of the room.

Victor sighed and gave a little shake of his head, then he started to dress. He had just finished and was heading to the bedroom door when a hard shiver passed suddenly through his body and he swayed dizzily for a moment.

Damn it.

He breathed in slowly and caught the slightest hint of a stronger presence of his pheromones.

I've had a few of those and brushed it off as being from my drinking too much, but it looks like my heat might be returning sooner rather than later.

He picked up his phone and started to search the contact numbers. After a few minutes, he shook his head and went to search through his suitcase.

Where did I put the phone number for the office of the doctor who took care of me?

He searched a little longer, then, worried about the time it was taking when there was training to be done, he clenched his teeth and dialed Yakov's number, only to find the call wasn't answered.

Still not speaking to me…Is he ever going to stop being mad? I think I liked it better when he was yelling at me. I'd call Lilia, but she wasn't the one with me in the hospital and it would take time for her to find Yakov and get the information out of him. Luckily, it's not that bad yet, so I can probably look for the information this afternoon.

Yes, I'll have Yuuri and Yurio work on their programs on their own in the afternoon and make sure I find that number then.

Unfortunately for the Russian legend, after the discomfort faded and he became focused on training his students, he forgot completely and instead found himself leaving the ice rink to visit a highly recommended ramen restaurant.

Japan has so many great restaurants, he mused as he ate, I'm glad I'll be here for…

Victor's wide smile faded as he remembered.

Ah, as long as Yuuri wins the Hot Springs on Ice competition…and that's not a guarantee. I know Yuuri is capable of winning, but it's possible, of course, that his anxiety could become an issue.

There is also the fact that, while I feel that Yurio is starting to grasp the meaning of Agape, Yuuri's understanding and conveyance of the meaning of Eros is more tentative. He has the moves of the program down, but he needs to find the heart of it. That's not something I can teach him, because he is the one skating, so it is Yuuri's heart that will define his performance of Eros.

He swallowed hard, trying to push away his worry.

But after today, there is only one training day left, and I can't be sure that Yuuri's performance at present will be enough to overcome even an imperfect Yurio.

What do I do?

He left the ramen shop and headed back in the direction of Yuutopia Katsuki, his sharp mind working the troublesome problem. Being so focused on thinking, he missed the first mix of shivers and flashes of odd heat that preceded his heats. It wasn't until his pheromones became easily noticeable that he stopped in his tracks and took stock.

Oh…no!

His saving grace was that he was close to Yuutopia Katsuki, and that, after training long hours, Yuuri and Yurio should be asleep.

But…even if I get back, what do I do? I don't have any pills. I don't have the one meant for my first heat after the miscarriage. I don't know who to call!

He tried Yakov again, only for the call to be rejected again. He texted desperately, to no avail. By the time he reached Yuutopia Katsuki, strong throbs of arousal were tormenting him, and it was torture not to just run inside and head for Yuuri's bedroom.

There is no way that Yuuri is ready for this. I was hoping that my heat would wait until Yurio was gone and I could find a way to explain.

He stood in front of the inn, staring indecisively, then he circled around to the back, farther away from Yuuri's room. He paused just outside, wiping sweat from his brow and shivering harder.

The doctor said this heat could be dangerous because its intensity could shock my body. I need to…

"Well now, wh-whass this?" asked a deep, slurred voice.

Victor whirled to find himself face to face with a larger, more muscular man who was a frequent visitor to the inn.

"Ah…" he panted, backing away, "Maeda-san is it?"

"Thassit," the man drawled, reaching for Victor and grabbing his arm, "Y'smell damn sweet. C'mere."

"No, stop it!" Victor snapped, pushing the drunken man away and turning to go inside.

He felt a hard pull on the back of his coat and his feet slipped on the damp ground, making him have to grab onto the other man to steady himself.

"Much better."

"I said…"

Victor gasped as he was shoved back against the side of the building so hard that he was left breathless. His head struck a bit of wooden framing and stars exploded in front of his eyes. His legs collapsed and the other man followed him to the ground, clawing at his clothing.

"S-st-stop!" Victor hissed, barely able to make the word sound.

He looked up into the glazed over eyes on the man on top of him and panic set in.

"G-get off!" he gasped.

"No way, sweetheart," Maeda growled, forcing his nose deep into Victor's scarf and breathing in deeply, "Your body's screamin' for sex ri' now and I'm gonna see you get it."

I don't have the breath left to scream. The wind was knocked out of me! What can I do?

Steeped in terror, Victor almost missed the moment when something impacted hard with the back of the other man's head and Maeda crashed to the ground, revealing a dark figure that was armed with what looked like a frying pan. Victor had to squint to see.

"M-mama K-katsuki?" he stammered.

The ringing in his ears was too loud to hear her answer and even the stars he was still seeing in his head were dimming.

"P-please," he forced out as he began to lose consciousness, "Y-you c-can't tell Y-Yuuri!"

He felt her hand curve around his cheek and her gentle voice calling his name echoed in his aching head as everything went dark.