CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FIVE

Getting the thoroughly-inebriated Russian back over the wall was a challenge, but they eventually got him back by walking him down to where the lower deck rose up to create the barrier wall. Yuri gave back the coat he'd borrowed to go out earlier in the night, quickly threw on the pants that had been tossed to him, and went back to gather up his husband's things where they'd been thrown everywhere. Minako stayed to make sure Viktor didn't wander off, pulling her cardigan back on and rubbing her arms where she'd become a bit chilled.

Yurio watched the Asian skater closely as he wandered back and forth between various couches along the wall, picking up where Viktor had tossed his things, and putting on more of his own clothes as he got to where he'd hung them on the railing.

"Guess you'll have your hands full tonight." The teen suggested.

"Maybe for a little bit." Yuri agreed quietly, pulling one sock on and then the other before slipping his feet into his shoes, "I'm just going to put him in the shower and then to bed. I'm more worried about the hangover he's going to have in the morning than anything else."

"You two make me question the sanity of drinking."

Yuri just laughed at that, "I promise...in moderation, it's fine. Just...don't drink when you're really emotional."

"You couldn't tell he was when you left?"

The older skater paused then, halfway into the shirt he was trying to put back on. His brow crinkled a little, but then he shook his head and pulled the garment over his head, "He gave me no indication that he was even half as upset about today as I was. I thought he just felt sorry for me." Yuri explained, straightening out the vestment where it came down over his lithe frame, "But I'm not sure it's worth discussing with him while he's still filtering so much alcohol out of his system. If he remembers what happened tomorrow...I'll talk to him about it then." He turned his eyes over to where Otabek was wall-flowering again, watching quietly from the sidelines as things were starting to wrap up. Yuri flipped the borrowed scarf over the back of his neck, and turned towards the older teen, "I doubt this is how you expected tonight would go."

"Hm?" Dark-brown eyes turned towards him, "Oh, this?" Otabek looked over at where Viktor was still snuffling a few shaky breaths, leaning against the wall, holding his coat closed with a hand pinching the front together from the inside, "No. But...it's competition. There's a reason the score box is called the 'kiss and cry.' People are bound to go from one extreme to the other, pending their results...and yours earlier today, well… You didn't cry, so someone had to."

The older figure nodded, taking his glasses back where Yurio was holding them out and slipped them onto his face, "Yeah..." He paused, but then reached to where he'd gathered up his husband's things, and pulled everything into his arms, passing by the Kazakh to get back to Viktor and Minako, "Well, I better take him back so he can sleep this off. We should go." He turned then to the blonde, "Are you going to shuttle back with us or are you just going to call it a night, since we're already here where you're staying?"

"I'll go with you to the shuttle, but I'm going to stay here." Yurio answered simply, "Babysitting Viktor is your job."

.

.

Minako held the hotel room door open as Yuri shuffled his half-clothed partner through, and then followed after them, letting the door gently click closed.

Viktor hadn't said anything since coming back over the railing, looking rather run-down and introspective.

The water to the bathtub started up, and Yuri waited for it to get luke-warm before plugging the drain and coming out again. He stood next to the ballerina, and they both watched as the Russian turned his back to them and laid down sideways against the bed, legs still hanging off the end. He pulled lightly on the woman's sleeve and had her follow back towards the door, their voices obscured by the running water behind them, "...Thanks for making sure we got back. I know it's late."

"I feel like I'm partly responsible for this." She answered, glancing back towards the main part of the room, seeing only the silver man's lower legs past the headboard. He moved only to kick his shoes off. "But I promise, he didn't seem out of sorts when we started. I don't know why he started gushing like he did. I would never have let him drink if he I knew he was this upset."

Yuri shook his head, "It's fine. I had no idea either, and I should've been the one to know." He lowered his head and sighed quietly, "He's gone through a lot in his years...I guess he's just gotten so good at repressing the things he doesn't want to think about, that he can fool even those closest to him into thinking nothing is wrong even when there is."

"That just makes things harder for you in the end."

"...Yeah."

"Well, at least you had fun with Yura and Otabek, right?" Minako wondered, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Actually, yeah, I had a great time." Yuri smiled, "I feel a lot better about what happened today because of them. Tomorrow will be fine."

The ballerina nodded, and pat the skater's shoulder before turning to head towards the door, "That's good to hear. I'm looking forward to your big come-back. If anyone can pull it off, it's you, Yuri."

He just huffed a nervous laugh, "Well, I can't make any guarantees about my Free Skate, but I'll do my best."

"That's all anyone can ask. Oyasumi, Yuri."

"Hai. Oyasumi."

The door closed with another click, and Yuri drew in a deep breath, stepping back into the main room to check on his partner. Viktor was lying on his right side, so his bangs were hiding half his face, and he'd reached out from inside the jacket and had a pillow between his arms where he'd squished it against himself. His eyes were barely peeking over the top of it, and though his hair was in the way, his barely-open eye could still be seen through it.

Yuri wasn't sure what to say, if anything at all, so he just sat in front of Viktor's bent knees and put his left hand on the man's hip, patting it gently. He held there a moment before twisting around to kiss the side of the Russian's head, "I pulled a bath for you. It should help you relax."

One visible slate-blue eye turned a little, but not completely, towards him, and after a moment, the silver man seemed to agree. He pulled away from the pillow and pushed to sitting upright, his coat falling off his bare shoulders as he went. He let Yuri pull him towards the bathroom, where the large Jacuzzi was almost full.

Yuri cut the water off so it wouldn't overflow with the man sitting in it, and then looked at him quietly before moving to get him undressed again. Wordlessly, he undid the belt and button and let the slacks fall to the floor, then casually put his palms on the man's waist to guide him out where the clothing still clung around his sockless ankles. He looked up and away from the edge of the tub only long enough to see the Russian reach up with his right hand and rub his nose on the back of it, then turning to make sure he didn't trip over the lip and fall in rather than step in.

The water was warm, but not hot, making it less likely to start a headache prematurely. The Russian sat with hardly a splash, and sunk down to just above his nose, his knees still managing to stay under the water despite being so tall. He kept his eyes on their rippling image under the surface.

He hasn't looked at me since I got onto the railing with him. Yuri noted, sitting on the edge of the tub and stroking his husband's messy hair a little. I wonder what he's thinking...

That seemed to be answered rather shortly in itself, since Viktor rose back up above the water to sit forward and make space behind himself, nudging his head just-so to tell the younger figure to get in with him. The gesture was obvious enough, and Yuri did as bid, pulling his things off and then slipping into the offered space. The Russian leaned back against his chest and sank a little again, keeping his hands over where his husband's had come around the front of his chest. The water had risen enough to spill over the lip a little with Yuri included, but it didn't matter. The bath mat absorbed most of it anyway, and the rest drained out through the over-flow spigot under the faucet within a few minutes.

They held there wordlessly for a while, with Yuri pressing his nose against the back of the silver head in front of him, at least until Viktor tilted a little to lean back against the side of the younger man's shoulder. Yuri waited until he stopped moving again to do anything else, then leaned forward a little to press his lips against the newly-exposed neck, and stayed there quietly.

A vague memory crept into Yuri's mind at that, and he huffed a quiet laugh to himself against the man's skin, kissing it lightly and then moving up further to just under his ear, "...We were like this just about a year ago, right after we'd gotten back to Hasetsu after the Final." He started, speaking the words against the pale flesh in front of him, "Of course, it was you behind me at the time, and we weren't in a tub, but...otherwise the same..."

Viktor kept his eyes down on the water as he listened.

"We were in one of Yu-Topia's smaller, private rooms, watching tv or something...you were leaning against a pillow that you had propped up against the table, and I was in front of you. You had your arms around me like this, trying to get me used to the idea that we were finally more than just friends, that the rings I got really were for an engagement, not just for good luck... And you started kissing the side of my neck." He did so to his husband for emphasis, going from just about the shoulder to just under the man's ear like before, "My heart was going like a jackhammer. You'd snuck your hand under my shirt to put it against my skin and felt it pounding away, and pressed against it like you thought you could slow it down by sheer force of will, but the closer you held me, the harder it beat." He nosed the damp silver-grey hair a little, "You did that for a few minutes, until I'd lost my focus on the television entirely and couldn't pretend you weren't doing anything anymore. I finally tilted my head away so you could do whatever you wanted. My face was probably beet-red by then, though I'd clenched my eyes shut so I couldn't see. Then you moved your hand over like this..." His right hand went from over the Russian's heart to the farther side of his chest, fingers barely brushing across a certain pink nub, "...and I squeaked like a little kid. But you kept going, kept kissing, nibbled on my earlobe...and let your left hand wander." Yuri said, mimicking the description as well as he could while he was still speaking, his left hand going lower. He huffed another quiet laugh, "I didn't even know what you were doing to me, but then you said, 'Oh...what's this? Did I excite you?' and put the tip of your pinky finger under the edge of my spa pants. I brought my knees up so fast after that, but all you could do was laugh at my expense, and said, 'You should let me help you with that.'"

The hazy Russian could barely think, but the vague recollection was there.

"You tried, but I started to flail and protest, and eventually I yanked on the blanket so hard that it pulled it out from around you. I wrapped myself in it and caterpillared out of the room in a big hurry... I forget how long it took, but I managed to get back to my room somehow, and threw myself onto my bed, still somewhat rattled by what had happened." Yuri went on, moving back down to his partner's neck, "I was so surprised at myself for having gotten that way because of you...I didn't even know what to do with myself after that. You came and found me a little while after that, and slung me over your shoulder to get me back to your room...but you didn't try to get at me again that night, even though you teased me about it. It was another week before you made another attempt...and that was the night you'd gotten all dressed up to do Aria at the Ice Castle."

Viktor remembered his fast-as-lightening bike ride back to the resort to get his outfit, and how excited he'd gotten to perform that piece at the rink he'd known for the previous 9 months; putting the long-coat on to get back to the Ice Castle and the look on everyone's faces when he'd taken it off, stepping onto the ice.

"I'd finally gotten to a point where I could see you as another human, rather than a deity...and then you stepped out on your gold skates wearing that outfit, and you were a god again." Yuri went on, "Then you told me to skate Aria with you… It was probably the craziest moment of my life up to that point, right after having you show up in the first place."

"...Mh."

It was the first sound the Russian had made since ending his rant in tears, but Yuri took what he could get, "Yeah. Ever since the first day I knew about you, you were always full of surprises...but I never imagined I'd ever be involved in any of them. But now, we're getting to surprise the whole world toge-"

"I didn't know how upset I was until I was drunk."

"...-ther..." Yuri finished abruptly, his breath caught in his throat. He coughed, "Viktor..."

The silver Russian slid a little further into the water, "...I didn't even know I was upset."

"You must've been bothered somehow for it to come out like this." Yuri pointed out, raising one hand up out of the water to push the man's hair out of his face, "Screaming off a rooftop that you'd overcome this?"

The Russian just blew bubbles where he sunk even more.

"You spend so much time and energy worrying about me that you don't worry about yourself."

One visible blue eye turned aside at the words.

Yuri leaned closer, "Am I really that much of a burden?"

Viktor was up like a shot, splashing even more water out of the tub, twisting where he sat and looking squarely at his partner, "You're not a burden. Don't ever say that."

"But-"

"I like worrying about you."

"But you just-"

"...It's easier than worrying about me. At least I can do something if it's you."

"You were literally just screaming off a rooftop about how you thought you were a failure at everything involving me." Yuri crossed his arms, "You can't blame all of that on the fact that you're drunk."

Viktor blinked at him, his mouth open like he was about to say something, but then stopped and sunk into himself a little, "...Point taken." He turned around again and resumed his prior position.

"What was it that set you off anyway? Minako-sensei said you were perfectly fine and then you just went off the deep end."

"...I don't even remember." He said quietly.

"Viktor."

"I don't!" The Russian insisted. He raised one hand out of the water to push his hair back, but kept his palm against his forehead, "...I'm going to have a raging migraine in the morning."

"Mhm."

"I can't guarantee I'll remember any of this after sleeping it off." He continued, "Sorry if I made a mess of things. I probably ruined your night."

"Nah, we were on our way back when I got the call. But now I worry about leaving you behind for anything again." Yuri mused, rubbing his cheek against his partner's ear, "I'll have to set-up a Baby Monitor or something so I can listen to you when I'm gone."

"...Might not work across continents."

"Eh?"

Viktor waited a moment, "I'm going to give my ticket to Sapporo to Yurio." He explained, "I'm going to Moscow."

"...What are you talking about? Sapporo is your event."

"I'll meet up with you again after I'm done, but I have to go. My Uncle..."

"Oh."

"I talked to him just after you left. It was his idea I go do something with Minako since he said she was bored. But he told me what he did to himself and…I want to go back. He's done a lot for me since he popped up. Helping him out and being with him to get to NHK is the least I can do." He reached back the hand that was on his forehead and set it against his husband's cheek, "There's no sense having you come back with me for this, since we'll lose our reservation if one of us isn't there to check us in on Monday, so I'm going back on my own."

"Does he even know you're coming?"

"No."

"...Do you even know where he's staying?"

"Minako does."

"...You haven't even asked her yet?"

"She stayed with him during one of their trips to Russia."

"She doesn't speak or understand Russian and she can't read Cyrillic either. What makes you think she's going to be able to tell you where Mikhail lives?"

"...Fine, then I'll ask Yurio"

"You didn't think this whole thing through, did you?" Yuri scolded, "Have you already bought your plane ticket?"

"Yeah."

"And you weren't planning on talking to me about it first?"

"I was going to tell you in the morning. I wanted you to relax before your Free Skate tomorrow." Viktor explained, "I didn't think you'd be bothered by it."

"Well...I'm...I'm not, it's just...I wish you'd tell me what you're going to do before you do it. I hadn't expected to watch Yurio for a week by myself."

"It won't be a week. I bought the tickets to Japan already and we'll be there Wednesday."

"You should probably talk to Mikhail as soon as you can then, before he buys his own ticket to NHK."

"I'm sure he already has. I'll pay him back for it."

"...This sure is turning into an expensive season." The younger skater lowered his face a little, pressing his mouth to the pale skin in front of him.

Viktor tilted his head a little, "Why are you worried about it? We've more than recouped our expenses in winnings already. The rest is gravy."

"...Still." Yuri sighed, pulling his arms up to wrap them over the man's shoulders instead, "I may not win anything at all tomorrow, so it'll be a big setback."

"Yuri..." The Russian sat up and turned, sitting on his knees, running one dripping-wet hand through his partner's hair, cupping it around the back of his head and looking at him squarely, "There's nothing I want more than for you to get on the podium, but it-"

Yuri wouldn't let him finish; he leaned forward through the water and planted his lips on his husband's.

The Russian was immediately silent. The hand that had been behind Yuri's head had flipped to go palm-down on the wall. Eyes were wide with surprise, but closed soon after, melting into the feeling, especially when he felt the younger man's arms go back over his shoulders to pull him closer. He let his own slide down his husband's back, and familiarity took over for a moment, hands finding their way down to the man's waist and hoisting him up and forward onto his lap.

It seemed that's what Yuri was hoping for though, since when he pulled back again, the relief was obvious on his face, "Hm…" Yuri started, pulling his left hand back to run a finger down his partner's pale jaw, "You were saying something?"

"Was I? I forget."