CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED FIFTY ONE

"Ow."

"Sorry."

"...Ow."

"Ahhh, there's another one. How many of these things do you have up here?"

"I dunno, you were the one who watched them get put in."

"If by 'watch' you mean 'was physically present' then yes...otherwise, no."

Yuri sat anxiously on the side of the bed, Viktor in front of him with a big-tooth comb and a fine-toothed comb held up between a few fingers of the same hand; both of them were in their Team jackets by then. With great care and gentle ease, the Russian painstakingly went through the younger skater's hair and brushed it apart from where the staples were, gently easing through the black strands that had been caught in a metal loop and needed to be freed so he wouldn't look silly.

"These staples are massive~!" Viktor said, both impressed and mortified.

"And they're causing massive pain. Are you almost done?" Yuri cast his eyes towards the digital clock on the night-stand, "We need to get going. There's only 10 minutes left."

"It'll take 15 seconds to get there though." The Russian countered, flicking the big-toothed comb through from back to front one more time to comb everything into place and cover as much of the damage as he could, "But...there. I think it's as good as it's going to get until those things come out."

"How long do I have to leave them in?"

"A week and a half-ish."

"We'll be back in Japan by then..."

"Speaking of Japan." Viktor paused, leaning back on one hand to look at his handiwork, raising the other without the combs to flick some hair into its usual messy affect, "Your big sister called me last night. Do you remember anything I said about it before?"

"Mari-nee-chan..." The younger figure spoke quietly, his brow furrowed in worry, "My whole family must be worried. I haven't called home to tell them I'm okay."

"I'm sure Mari's already talked to them on your behalf by now and has explained what's going on, or at least that you needed to rest." The silver legend explained, leaning a bit forward then, "I told her that we were getting ready to come back to the hotel. But...yes...when we're done at the meeting, we should call home. I thought maybe we would before going, but..."

Yuri lifted his eyes a bit, but then turned them down, looking past his husband's knees to the pile of gear on the floor against the wall, "...I took up all the time we had..." He drew in a nervous breath and looked up again, "Sorry."

Viktor just cocked his head aside, silver-grey bangs flitting as he moved, "Why?"

"...I put you on the spot almost as soon as I knew Phichit-kun wasn't going to be coming back." The younger figure acknowledged, feeling a little guilty for it, "I know...it... ...It wasn't very good..."

Giving a dubious smile, the Russian tilted forward even further, free hand coming up loosely against his husband's shoulder as he pressed in for a kiss. After a few seconds, he pulled back, and moved that hand up further to brush some of the raven hair from the man's eyes, "Did you get what you needed from it?"

"...I think so."

"Then it was perfect." His smile was warmer that time, and Viktor stroked a pale cheek with his thumb before rising up to stand, stepping away to put the combs up.

Unsure what to say beyond that, Yuri pushed off the edge of the bed as well, fingers brushing against the wall as he stepped around to the table near the television, reaching for his blue-rimmed glasses and slipping them onto his face quietly. When he turned towards the door, he spotted an out-stretched hand angling towards him, and he looked at it briefly...but then stepped past it. Instead, he stepped right up in front of his partner and wrapped both arms around his trunk, burying his eyes against the crook of the man's neck. He felt the Russian's arms come around him in turn, and then held there a little while before he'd caught his breath and lifted his head again, "...Okay...let's go."

.

Stepping out of the elevator, the door to the right conference room was easy enough to spot, given the horde of press and journalists hovering near to it. If the Grand Prix Final was nothing else, a media hot-spot was it. Yuri carefully raised his unheld hand to make sure his ear-plugs were still in place, and stepped cautiously forward, drawing in a deep breath in anticipation of the clamor to come.

As he moved ever closer, he realized he could see a small gathering of other competitors loitering just outside the conference room as well, pulling water from the cooler set up on a nearby table as they waited for things to get started. He recognized a few faces pretty quickly, though was surprised to see so many non-Men's Singles people in the crowd, along with their coaches and choreographers. A few heads suddenly popped up as they started to spot him and Viktor coming, and many expressions changed from bored waiting or nervous anticipation to excited realization.

He couldn't really hear them, but he could feel the floor vibrating as many of them started to come forward. Those who came running were from the Ladies Singles event, who hadn't seen him since arrival at the event in general, including Mila, Sara Crispino and her twin, who himself hadn't made it into the Final as a competitor, and several others who'd heard what happened and were worried about a fellow athlete.

Surrounded on all sides, Yuri looked around, but the fear of his headache coming back if there was too much noise kept him from pulling the ear-plug out to hear what everyone was saying. He glanced aside to his husband, who he could see was already doing his best to quiet the crowd, a finger on his lips before moving than hand out as if to physically gesture the idea of lowering the volume. Chris and Phichit were coming up through the crowd as well, standing close by. Yuri hadn't spotted Otabek yet, though given the hour, he supposed the Kazakh might be standing aside by Yurio, who to that point hadn't made himself known.

Viktor nudged his partner's arm with an elbow, and nodded his head to let him know it was quiet enough to safely take out one of the plugs. Nervously, Yuri did so, withdrawing just the right side, and being surprised at how quiet things had gotten. All he could hear were the clicks of camera shutters, feet shuffling along on the floor to get a better vantage, and the ambiance of the hotel itself. At least, until Mila spoke softly.

"How do you feel? Do you think you can still compete?" She wondered.

"I think so." The raven-haired figure said, nodding his head, "I feel a lot better now than I did last night."

"Still a bit sensitive to loud noises though, huh?"

Again, Yuri nodded, "It's slowly going away. I'm just being cautious for now."

"That's really good to hear, Yuri." Sara added, "When we heard what happened, we were all pretty torn up about it. No news, no updates, nothing at all...we weren't even sure if you'd gotten out of the hospital yet. Not until just a few minutes ago, when Chris told us you were here and coming to the meeting."

"Sorry to have worried all of you." The skater reluctantly pulled his hand free from where his partner held it, setting both palms flat against his legs as he bowed somewhat deeply to the group, "I'll make it up to everyone with my skating."

Mila smiled brightly, and moved in to hug the older figure, pulling him up and out of the bow, "You don't have to apologize for anything. It wasn't your fault. We're just glad you're going to keep going."

Sara joined in on the hug as well, though in doing so, making her brother's eyes twitch nervously, "Don't over-do it, Yuri! We're all rooting for you though, whatever you decide."

The hug from the two ladies became a hug from the two Men's Singles skaters who'd turned up as well, but when Michele caught sight of a certain Japanese skater's hand coming around his sister's lower back, he nearly screamed, picking frantically at the fingers like he thought he could unlatch them without being noticed. Sara just grabbed him and pulled him in to join the group, making the hapless twin flail and whine.

Watching the show of affection from just inside the doors, Yurio stood quietly, keeping an indifferent look on his face. Beyond him, waiting inside the conference room already, were JJ's parents, and the rest of the media that needed to set-up tripods for their video cameras, as well as ISU officials and a few assorted event staffers who were trying to organize the chaos.

Otabek stepped up next to the Russian Tiger when he caught sight of the teen looking curiously outside, but noted the sound of applause and went to take a look for himself. Looking towards the elevators, he spotted the sizable group, as well as the obvious-as-anything silver-grey head sticking up slightly taller than most people around them. As the crowd shifted a little, he caught sight of Yuri, trying to be polite as he tried and failed to put the second ear-bud back in as the clapping rose unexpectedly. The lady skaters near to him were apologizing for getting everyone all excited, but, Otabek surmised, Yuri was trying to assure them that it was okay. He took a step into the hall and started heading over, only to pause when he realized Yurio wasn't following, and glanced back to gawk at him, "Aren't you going to come say hi?"

The teen turned his green eyes towards him, but then twisted on his heel to go back into the meeting room, "We should find some seats before we lose them. The thing's going to start any second."

For a moment, the Kazakh considered following, but thought better of it before turning too far back into the room. He vanished beyond the edge of the doorframe to head towards the gathered mob, leaving the Russian Punk somewhat confused and feeling just a tad betrayed.

The group was already starting to open a path so the skaters could get into the room, many in the media still taking a proverbial catalogue of photos, others recording video on their smart-phones. But, just as Otabek was about to move out of the way, avoiding being half-trampled by where the press wasn't entirely watching where it as going, he heard his name being spoken, and he paused, glancing up to see Yuri looking straight at him.

"Hey." The older skater waved, "I was wondering where you were."

"I was just waiting in the meeting room." The Kazakh answered stoically, stepping a bit closer to hold out his hand, "It's good to see you back. I knew you wouldn't give up."

Yuri gave his best smile, despite the slight headache he'd already started feeling, "I'd pull myself around the ice on a little sled if I had to."

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that. Let's get inside so the ISU can tell us all what's going to happen."

Within the room, there was a high table set on top of a 2 foot high stage set against one wall, with microphones, water bottles, and a series of rather serious-looking officials waiting to get started. On the floor, there were several rows of chairs, a few in front with signs on them saying 'Reserved for Press' and the logos of various networks, particularly that of the NBC Sports Group. Other journalists were in the rows behind them, and finally, in the back row and standing in the wings, other athletes who wanted to see what was going on, and the assorted other media personnel who hadn't gotten there early enough to get a prime spot closer to the front.

Yuri was busy looking for a spot to sit in the media pit when Viktor pulled him in the other direction, forcing those brown eyes to look up at the table to see name cards in front of a few seats near the end...notably, for himself, alongside several others. He saw the Leroy elders already up there waiting, looking exhausted and disappointed. Isabella was nowhere to be seen, likely staying with her partner where he'd been kept at the hospital. Nervously, Yuri followed his husband up onto the moderate stage, and found the seat behind his card, feeling awkwardly on the spot being at the head of the room. It was like the season-end conference after Worlds all over again, but without the excitement of having won anything yet. There was an overhanging aura of worry looming over this new crowd.

"Let's go ahead and get started." One of the ISU officials said, speaking loudly to be heard over the crowd. The room started to get quiet, and cameras focused, "We'd like to, first and foremost, thank all of you for coming to this impromptu meeting this morning. NBC and its affiliates, sponsors, journalists, and participants alike. It's amazing to see such a show of support for our athletes in such times, so again, thank you." The clean-shaven older man said, looking practiced and ready, and glancing down at a few notes in front of himself, "The ISU has, unfortunately, had to break the news that there was an accident during All Day Practice last night. As you all have no-doubt already heard, Skaters Jean-Jacque Leroy and Yuri Nikiforov collided on the ice, and both were taken to hospital. Skater Yuri has recovered enough to join us here today with his coach, Mr. Viktor Nikiforov..." He gestured a hand down the table towards where the anxious figure sat, and again, Yuri bowed his head as the group applauded his presence, "...But unfortunately, Skater JJ was not so lucky. His coaches, and parents, are here today to make a statement on his behalf. If you would..."

The two anxious elders nodded and sat forward against the table, getting closer to the microphone with their notes; it was Nathalie who spoke, "Thank you, Chairman."

Yuri watched quietly, but Viktor was a bit more ambivalent, hearing them speak but not really listening.

"And thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for our son." The woman went on, reaching up an anxious hand to adjust her white-framed glasses. There was a quiet clapping from the audience before she started up again, "Alain and I saw JJ this morning and he is in good spirits despite his injuries. He regrets to tell his fans and supporters that he will not be able to skate at this Grand Prix Final though. His injuries were deep and he underwent diagnostic testing late last night to assess the damage; as we feared, it was a complete laceration of his Achilles tendon. He will be having surgery to repair it in a week. It's unlikely that he will be able to return to skating this late in the season, but he plans to work extra hard once he's been released by his doctors and will give a fantastic performance when he returns next season."

Hearing the description, even though he knew in his heart already, made Yuri feel a bit more anxious than before, wanting to sink into his chair and become small. He just lowered his head and clasped his hands together on the table instead, wishing he could remember more of the details, but drawing a blank. A dark, black, blank. He was pulled out of it by the room clapping again.

"For now though, JJ asks that people keep him in their thoughts while he recovers...for even in the darkest moments, it's still..." She and her husband held their hands up in customary fashion, trying to keep their spirits up, "...JJ style!"

The response from the room was courteous; a meager shadow compared to how a stadium full of the skater's fans would've applauded.

The Chairman nodded and leaned forward towards the mic again, "Thank you for your statement, Mr. and Mrs. Leroy." He turned to the audience, "Now, normal protocol with this sort of thing means that we would simply be moving on with the Men's Singles event with one less skater. However, we happen to have a particularly special competitor here at in Detroit already who is ready to fill in the gap." The man held his hand out into the audience, and Phichit stood up quietly, "Skater Phichit Chulanont of Thailand, who tied for 6th place in qualifiers and was narrowly beaten by Skater Christophe Giacometti of Switzerland, used to train here in Detroit with Skater Yuri a few years ago. We met with him earlier this morning to discuss whether he'd be interested in filling in that last space, and as luck would have it, he had all his gear with him still from NHK last weekend. We are, for the first time in ISU history, going to allow a non-qualifying competitor to take a skater's place after the unfortunate accident that forced the young Mr. Leroy to withdraw."

The applause for the Thai skater was much louder and excited than it had been for JJ, though given how it was happy news rather than sad, it was to be expected. Phichit sat back down again next to Chris and blended back into the crowd.

"To make it clear, however..." The Chairman went on, "If it hadn't been for Skater Phichit's GP score being high enough to qualify, even if his total score did not, we wouldn't be taking this into consideration. We will not be making similar concessions in future if it happens that present athletes did not score as high."

Michele scowled comically from his spot in the back, crossing his arms and making quite the pouty face.

Sara huffed a laugh and pat his shoulder, "Chin up, Mickey...maybe next year you'll get in."

"You said that last year."

"And then Viktor came back." She smiled sweetly, "Maybe next year he won't."

The taller Crispino just grumbled and folded his arms a bit tighter.

"The last item for this brief meeting is Skater Yuri Nikiforov, who was involved in the accident last night." The ISU brass started up again, making the room go quiet once more, save the soft clicking of cameras from all sides, "There was some worry about whether he would be able to continue with the competition or if he would have to withdraw as well. He is here to tell us all what he's decided to do."

Like before, the hand gestured down the table, and Yuri nodded his head, clearing his throat nervously as he leaned towards the mic in front of him, "I'm going to compete."

The room erupted into applause, even though at least half of those in attendance already knew what he was going to say.

The skater narrowed his eyes a bit against the blinding flashes from the audience, opting to bow his head again instead, "Thank you everyone for your support."

Viktor smiled anxiously on the side, but said nothing.

"Are there any questions?" The Chairman asked, opening things up to the floor.

Several hands in the press mob went up, but it was someone down in front who got the first nod.

"Skater Yuri, do you have any comments about the accident?"

The question was up-front enough, but it was still rather vague and open-ended, making Yuri wonder if he was being set-up for something. He shook his head, "I actually have no memory of it whatsoever. The last thing I remember, before waking up in the hospital was arriving at the arena, but I'm not even sure if that's a true memory or just a stand-in, since I'd been there once earlier in the day as well."

"Do you have any message to or for Skater JJ?" Someone else asked.

That one made Yuri hesitate, and he glanced aside to look at his partner before answering, "I wish him a speedy recovery."

The reporter who'd asked the question was a bit surprised by the simple and short nature of the answer, but his turn was over, and someone else was called to stand.

"Coach Viktor, do you have any comments?"

The Russian lifted his eyes, not having expected to be asked anything, but he shook his head, "None other than to give your support to Yuri so he can skate his best tonight and tomorrow. Even though he insists he's recovered enough to compete, it's a simple fact that he hit his head yesterday, and we'll all be watching him more closely when he performs. No one should have to go to competition with a handicap or an injury, same as how no one should be going into things with an unfair advantage."

The meeting didn't last much longer after that, keeping it short and sweet for the sake of keeping the rest of the event on schedule. As the media was cut loose and people started moving out of the room again, Yuri caught sight of the Russian Tiger leaning against a wall near the back, keeping close to Otabek, Yakov, and Lilia. There wasn't time to dwell on it though, since he could hear his partner calling out to a particular group of people waiting out in the hall for them. Cherry-hazel eyes turned away from the blonde and saw a trio of silver-haired heads instead, with a certain ballerina standing nearby...plus one more.

"Mari-nee-chan!"

"Yuri!" The older Katsuki cried out, rushing forward and into the doorway, and throwing her arms over her younger brother in something of a well-meant tackle-hug.

The skater just flailed, feeling his hand being pulled out of his partner's, "Ahh, my head! Don't jostle me around so much!"

"Sorry! I was just so worried!" She called back, pulling him upright like normal and holding his head between her hands like she thought she could make the jarring pain go away by doing so, "It was so weird to hear someone else's voice answer your phone last night!"

"Have you talked to mom or dad?"

"Yeah, I called them as soon as I got off the phone with Chris." The woman answered, pulling her hands back a bit to rub her eyes, relief flooding through her, "They want to hear from you as soon as you can manage."

"Yeah, Viktor and I were going to call once we were done here."

"You should've called sooner!" Mari scolded, reaching back over to wrap both arms around her brother's head and pulled him close, "They're worried sick! I bet they're still awake right now, waiting for you!"

"Maarrri...ow, Mari, Mari-nee-chan...ow! Let go! Hanase!"

Having watched to that moment in wry amusement, the silver genius finally stepped in, gently prying the woman's arms off his husband's head and pulling him back to safer territory again, "We'll call home as soon as we get someplace quiet. Yuri needed to rest as long as he could."

"Well, don't wait all day..." The elder sister suggested, "It's not like he just stubbed his toe or something."

"So what's everyone waiting around here for?" Viktor wondered then, pulling his partner over a few paces to get closer to the rest of the clan, "Obviously not for the conference since you waited outside."

"Well," Minako stepped forward, "Other than bringing Mari by so she could see her little brother, we all wanted to check in on the both of you anyway. Plus, we have a certain Russian Kitty Cat to pick up. We still have all the rest of his competition gear to give back."

"Where is he anyway?" Mikhail wondered, "I didn't see him come out."

"I saw him at the way-far back of the room a second before we came through." Yuri said, tenderly feeling at the sensitive bits of his forehead and scalp, hoping not to see blood when he pulled his hand back. Thankfully, there was none, so it just hurt because it could, "I think he's avoiding us. Otabek came to say hi earlier but not Yurio."

"Hmph..." The elder Russian took a step forward, pausing only to set a hand onto the skater's shoulder as he moved into the room, "I'll go fetch him. Good to see you feeling better, by the way. You were pretty out of sorts last night. Almost made Viktor cry."

Yuri just sighed, "That's what I heard... I hope I didn't say anything else to upset people. I don't even remember it now. All of last night is kind of a haze at this point."

"Well..."

"Oh no." The young skater seized up, "What else is there...?"

Viktor made a face, giving a nervous smile as he knew what was coming, but said nothing.

"If you don't remember, then I guess we can tell you again now and get a more honest, and less angry, reaction from you." The older figure went on, reaching his hand back from the man's shoulder towards his lady love, "We're engaged."

"Whaaaaaaaat!" Yuri said in surprise, looking between both faces with a shocked look on his own, "W-when? How?"

"Earlier this week." The ballerina said, her cheeks a bit pink, still getting used to the idea herself. She held her left hand out to show the ring, which made Yuri's eyes widen in shock, having to blink a few times and even hold the hand to change what direction he looked onto it from, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"T-This...this is crazy." He stammered, "I can't even begin to imagine how many competitions I'd have to win Gold at to afford something like this." He started to feel a little down, seeing the simple gold band on his own finger, "...I had to put Viktor's ring on a payment plan..."

Mikhail could sense the shifting mood, and moved to turn the man around, sliding an arm over a shoulder to twist him the other way and face the door, "Never build the foundation of your love for someone based on how much you spent on a bit of jewelry around a single finger." He advised, "The rings you two gave to each other are valuable because you like them, not because of the amount of gold in them, or what company forged them. I doubt Viktor would give his up for anything. The same goes for you, right?"

Yuri nodded without hesitation.

"Then that makes your rings priceless." The Russian went on, "I mean, you didn't even change them out for anything fancier even after you got married. Normally, engagement rings get replaced at that point, or fused to a second ring. But you two kept the rings you already had. There's so much more meaning to those bands than just being a sign that you got hitched."

'This ceremony will not create a relationship that does not already exist between you. It is a symbol of how far you have come. It is a symbol of the promises you will make to each other to continue growing stronger as individuals and as partners. No matter what challenges you face, you now face them together, and no matter how much you succeed, you now do so together.'

Yuri remembered that day like it had just happened, and he glanced back down at his simple gold wedding band. He flared his nostrils and lifted his head, drawing in a deep breath before fanning himself with both hands, "Okay, I need to walk, otherwise I'm going to cry. Everything is really raw right now. I can't handle it."

Mikhail and Viktor huffed a quiet laugh between them, but the older of the two stepped further towards the door, "Why don't you two come with us to breakfast? Mari, you come too."

"Hah?" The confused Katsuki twitched to hear her name, "Oh...uh, well, okay."

"We're going to have something of a family meeting, but we're all family so I guess it doesn't matter if you're there. It partly involves you boys anyway." Mikhail explained, sticking his head into the room and looking around. He spotted the Russian Punk still wall-flowering on the far side just as Yuri had described, and raised a hand to tell him to come forward, looking back out as the teen half-trotted forward.

Yuri glanced up at his partner, unsure, "...Uhh...I dunno..."

Viktor seemed to share the sentiment, "Maybe we shouldn't. We haven't talked since that fight we told you about. I'd rather we not-"

They each caught sight of the teen, who to that moment had no idea they were still in the hall, and had stopped dead in his tracks as well, giving them an even more stunned look than they'd already had. Everyone went anxiously silent.