CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE

Arriving in the midst of the Ladies Medaling ceremony, Yuri and Viktor found it almost too easy to get by unnoticed. Most of the media was still covering the ice, and the 4th-through-6th place Ladies skaters were getting their gear together in the Players Lounge.

Not everyone was too busy to notice the Men's event's top contenders, though.

"Nikiforov-san!"

Both heads popped up to hear their names, and looked back the way they came to see a certain familiar excitable Japanese face coming after them with two camera crews trailing close behind.

"Gospodin Nikiforov!"

The duo turned again, this time in the other direction, seeing a group of RSF reporters coming from closer to the rink entrance. They'd been covering Mila's Silver medal victory, and were just finishing up their coverage of the victory lap when they'd heard the cry rise up.

Yuri turned first towards the more hurried group, "Morooka-san!" He said excitedly, raising one hand to wave as he set his bags down, "You look like you just ran a marathon."

"We'd heard rumors that you two had finally arrived, so we've been searching!" The newscaster puffed, leaning over one knee as the other hand held the microphone, "...Chotto matte kudasai..."

"Hai." The skater nodded, reaching up instead to pull his scarf off as he waited for the reporter to catch his breath. He turned to where he could hear the unmistakable sound of Russian being spoken close by, and looked to spot the RSF reporter speaking to his husband. As per usual, he had no clue what was being said, but judging by the look on Viktor's face, it was easily a much more pleasant interview than the somewhat-infamous confrontation in St. Petersburg nearly a year prior. It didn't take terribly long for Yakov to show up either, and though Viktor had never let go of his hand, Yuri noticed rather quickly that the conversation would have nothing to do with him. Instead, he turned back towards the one group that did seem to care about him, and was pleased to see that the eccentric sports reporter had caught his wind again.

"Moushiwake arimasen." Morooka started, bowing quickly, "Nikiforov-san, you had quite a number of your fans worried about you this morning when you didn't come to Official Practice. You look to be in high spirits though. How do you feel about tonight's event?"

Yuri bowed his head down out of habit, "Everything is fine." He reassured, "Folks who've been following behind the scenes will be aware of my small accident on Thursday-" He explained, touching lightly to the tender mark on his forehead, "...Viktor and I focused so much of our energy yesterday on making it through the Short Program that we were completely wiped out by the end of it, and went to bed early. We decided it would be better to rest, and practice later."

"Sou da yo! You used to train here in Detroit, ne?"

"Sou desu. We went to the Detroit Skate Club, my former training facility when I still skated under Celestino's guidance."

"If sure all of your former rink-mates were quite worried about you. How did they handle the news?" Morooka wondered, holding out the microphone.

Yuri smiled nervously, "We actually only saw one person earlier; Coach Gerard. Everyone else is around here, I imagine." He gestured and looked out towards the stadium through the door near the rink, "Viktor, Phichit-kun and I went to go say hi to everyone shortly after arriving in the city though, so we at least got to see them all before things got hairy."

"Do you have a message for them if they could hear you now?"

"Just that I'm okay and I think things will work out. Viktor really pushed me hard earlier. We're both still concerned about potential reinjury during my turn, but I landed most of my quads during practice, and I'm not nearly as dizzy now as I was yesterday." He answered, turning slightly again to check the status of his partner's interview. They seemed to be focusing on Yakov for the moment, so Yuri took the chance to lean in and whisper, "Viktor, do you want to add anything to my interview?"

When the Russian turned his head to glance back, the cameras actually turned away from him, which he thought strange, but shrugged and ignored, "Hold on just one second."

They did, and Yuri held up a finger apologetically, only to find the entire group shift away from his partner a few seconds later. Even Viktor was a bit surprised, looking away to spot Mila coming in from rink-side. Yuri squeezed his hand to get his attention back, "Are they done already?"

"...I...guess so?" The silver athlete answered, giving a weird look before finally turning on his heels to join the JSF interview instead, "What'd I miss?"

"We were just talking about our practice at the Skate Club earlier."

Morooka was more than excited to get his chance at the Russian skating legend, "Skater Yuri was explaining that you were working him over earlier today. His fans are no-doubt curious if that means you've given your blessing for him to return to his normal difficulty level?"

"Not entirely." Viktor answered with an anxious smile, stepping in closer to snake his arm around his husband's back, "He's capable of skating a perfect program. I watched him do it twice earlier this afternoon. But...I'm still biting my nails when he stumbles!"

Yuri gave a nervous look, but turned back to the cameras, "We actually spent a lot of time specifically working on falling safely. We'll never be able to prepare for everything, but we've done our best to manage what we can."

The newscaster nodded emphatically, "That's good to hear. Everyone back home in Japan is sending you their well-wishes!"

The skater pulled his arm free from around his husband's back and set both hands to his sides, bowing forward respectfully, "Arigatou gozaimashita."

"I think a question on everyone's minds though now is...you two look extremely fancy." Morooka mused, gesturing at their formal attire under their coats, "Is there some special occasion you were celebrating?"

Viktor was quick to pull his partner into an excited hug, "It's the one-year anniversary of our engagement! Yuri arranged a really special dinner out, so we just got back from there!"

"Ah, hai, hai! We remember when you two first debuted those golden rings at last year's Final!" The newscaster recollected happily, "It was quite the surprise to find out they weren't just matching charms for luck like everyone was speculating! You two were married right before Worlds, too!"

Yuri couldn't get free of the amorous hug, so he just settled his arms over his husband's shoulders and turned to look at the older man speaking to them, "That's right."

"We went back to Barcelona for it, too!" Viktor explained happily, "And then we had a big wedding party back in Hasetsu when we got home! Yuri's parents arranged a Japanese wedding ceremony for us, too! So we were married twice!"

"I'm still upset that I missed the party at the Ice Castle!" Morooka lamented, turning his attention back to Yuri, "It was like déjà vu all over again for me! Like when I first caught wind of your 'Aria' video going viral before Viktor-san showed up! I was stuck at the office in Tokyo back then, too, and the JSF sent a different team to cover it!"

"We would've been honored if you could've come." The younger skater explained, feeling himself being let down to stand on his own power again, "I think things would've gone a lot smoother if it had been you there."

Viktor slid one arm over his husband's shoulders and gave something of a wry grin as he leaned close, "Well, you wanted it to be kept small and personal, so no one told the big wigs what was going on. It was only after our friends started showing up that people realized something was going on. So many skaters in one place..."

"Yeah..." Yuri had the same wry smirk then, "I remember when Minami-kun showed up at the last second..."

.

In Hasetsu, the cheering party was already in full swing despite it only being around 10am. That certain petite skater heard his idol say his name, and those big brown eyes started getting watery with tears . Much to the chagrin of other patrons, Minami lunged forward to wrap his tiny arms around the television, "SENPAI MENTIONED ME."

.

"Kenjirou Minami-kun," Morooka said, mostly for the audience, "He's finally going to be coming to Four Continents this year. Are you excited to see a familiar face at a big event?"

"I've been excited!" Yuri confirmed, "Viktor and I went to go cheer for him at Regionals earlier in the fall. He's been ready for the bigger competitions for a while. Even though he's been in Seniors since last year, for some reason, he's been nervous about trying to compete in the GP Series and similar events. He came to visit at Four Continents last year though so maybe he's gotten over his nerves about flying overseas for competition."

"Speaking of Four Continents last year...it was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where the Olympics are going to be held in February. Do you have aspirations to go represent Japan?" The newscaster wondered, "As one of Japan's top figure skaters, you've been offered a spot before, but you turned it down."

Viktor's eyes twitched, and he turned slightly to gawk at his husband, "...You never said you were offered a spot."

"I never went, so what's the difference?" Yuri gawked back.

"Mmmmnnnnnnn..."

Uh oh... He could feel the sweat on the back of his neck to see 'that' look on the Russian's face.

"Do you think you'll accept this year if you're invited?" Morooka asked again.

"Viktor and I are talking about it." He answered anxiously, "There are a lot of weird logistics we have to consider, since he's likely to get an invitation to represent Russia again as well. He won't be able to compete and coach at the same time, especially not across nationalities."

"Viktor-san, you've been an Olympian a number of times," The announcer explained, "Almost since the day you joined Seniors. You'd already taken the world by storm with your popularity and skill in Juniors, so it was only natural to send you off to represent Russia as soon as you were eligible. What are your thoughts on this complication?"

The Russian hummed a quiet breath to himself, putting a finger on his chin as he considered it. His attention was grabbed briefly by the sound of the RSF reporters spotting Yurio and Otabek arriving, and pulling them aside for interviews. He grit his teeth silently, but then simply slouched across his partner's back, right arm around Yuri's side as the left came up to curl under that shoulder before himself, "Naturally, I'd like to go as both coach and competitor...but like Yuri said, that wouldn't be feasible. It would present a conflict of interest to skate under the Russian flag only to coach and athlete skating for Japan. It's something I have to think about."

"Then let's consider something more pressing," Morooka smirked devilishly, "There's four Gold medals between the both of you in your run-up to the Final. Despite some hiccups, you both swept your pair of qualifying events in the Series and took 1st place at each event. How does it feel to be competing against one another now? As coach and student, as rivals, and as a married couple...it must make things rather complicated for you, ne?"

The duo of skaters side-glanced at one another, but then each smiled and shook their heads lightly, with Yuri speaking first, "Viktor has often said that he didn't really teach me to skate, so much as he helped me believe in myself, so I could bring out my full potential. To that end, he's more like my life-coach than my skating-coach. Being rivals means we push each other to be our best, and we're always trying to one-up one another in the process. Being spouses means that, after a hard day of training, we can pad each other's bruised egos and blistered feet. Even if only one of us, or maybe even if neither of us gets on the podium tonight...the fact that we got here and competed together means a lot."

"We share in each other's victories and losses, whatever they may be." Viktor added, "It's been a long and hard road to get to the Final...much more challenging than it was last year, when it was only Yuri competing. To go to four nearly-consecutive competitions, and being away from home for weeks on end, has been pretty hard on the both of us. But I think the difficulties we've faced have made us stronger, both as competitors and as a couple."

"And it seems that sort of thing will be continuing on into the foreseeable future, right?" Morooka wondered, "With both Japan and Russia hosting Nationals at the same time in 2 weeks, and the Olympics in February pushing Four Continents and Euros back to consecutive weekends in January...then Worlds like usual in March after that..."

Both skaters sighed dramatically, "We've been trying not to think about that too much."

"I bet!" The announcer laughed, "Well, it looks like the zamboni is making its rounds on the rink, so you two had best get ready for the warm-up period. Do you have any last statements before your Free Skates tonight?"

Yuri nodded, "For mine...I hope everyone can enjoy the program for what it is and not worry so much about my accident. I may be in 6th place right now, but I'm pretty tight to the bottom of the scoreboard...I'm still hoping for Gold tonight."

"And Skater Viktor-san..." Morooka turned the microphone slightly to the man where he was resting a chin on his partner's shoulder, "After your record-shattering Free Skate at NHK last weekend...do you think you can pull that off again to take back your title?"

The Russian just lifted his head and laughed, "No way! That was a once-in-a-lifetime performance! I'll be doing something a little different tonight. If I can at least beat Yuri somehow, I'll be happy."

"You say that like you wouldn't bury me anyway." The younger skater whispered.

"Of course, Yuri's still going to win Gold tonight." Viktor went on, his dumb-happy smile remaining.

"Are you saying you're going to let him have it?" Morooka was surprised.

"No way! I'm winning Gold for sure!" The Russian laughed, but then winked at the camera, "Honestly, Yuri would never forgive me if I pulled punches. Since he's up first tonight, his score sets the bar for the rest of us...and if I went out of my way to score lower, I'd have much more to worry about than just sleeping on the couch for a month. Yuri would probably steal Makkachin from me, too."

The younger skater just smiled and nodded like it was all true.

"Makkachin?" The reporter wondered, "Your poodle?"

"Yes!" Viktor suddenly lunged forward, whipping his phone out, "I have pictures! You want to see!? He's adorable!"

Yuri just grabbed his partner by the back of his coat and started ushering him away, pulling their rolling suitcase behind them, "Come along, husband. We'll be here all night if you get started." He lifted his head to look back over his shoulder, "Thank you, Morooka-san! I'll talk to you again after my Free Skate!"

"Ganbatte ne! Nikiforov-san!"

"Domo!"

"Spasibo~!" Viktor waved as he was dragged through the Players Lounge, passing where the RSF crew was still talking to Yurio and Otabek. Only a little further down, and they found the restrooms that were being used as a make-shift changing room, and Yuri finally let the man walk on his own. Viktor turned around, still looking at the one photo of the big brown boof that he'd managed to pull up before being dragged away. He smiled, but sighed, and put the phone away then, seeing Yuri holding up the pitch-black garment bag that came first out of the rolling suitcase.

"It's a crime that you're making me wait until your turn before I can see your new outfit." He commented, "You know what it looks like at least, right? So it won't be some horrid surprise if it's not quite what you wanted?"

"Da. I learned my lesson at Worlds." Viktor insisted, folding the bag over one arm, "And I think my tailors did, too. There's nothing heavy about this one."

"Can I at least know what color it is, mostly?" Yuri handed off the folded black-and-red track suit set after that.

"It won't be a surprise if I let up now!"

Those brown eyes just looked on.

"I tried it on the night it arrived!" The Russian insisted, stepping past to open the heavy solid-wood door to the large single-person stall, "You'll like it!"

"I'll just wait out here until you're done." Yuri said, pulling the suitcase over a little bit to take a seat on a short couch nearby.

The silver genius held to the doorframe for a moment, watching his partner take that seat and pull his phone out. He drew in a breath, and looked back out into the Players Lounge for any sight of the remaining two members of the Men's event, though not spotting either. He did see the RSF crew depart from their latest interview, and the two younger skaters glanced up to each raise a hand in greeting in his direction. He nodded his head back at them, and then nudged it down towards the unsuspecting Japanese athlete sitting nearby, "Alright...I'll be done in a minute. I think you're about to have company though."

Yuri looked up, hearing the click to the door lock just as he spotted the Russian Tiger and the Hero of Kazakhstan walking up, "Oh, hey guys."

"Missed you at morning practice." Yurio commented, pulling his arms up as the older skater rose back to his feet and offered that finally-resumed greeting hug, "Everything good?"

"Mh." He answered easily enough, "Viktor and I slept in, that's all."

"You probably needed it." Otabek commented, "How's your head?"

"Better every day."

"That's good."

"How was the rest of the night at Campus Martius?" Yuri wondered idly, "I know Viktor and I kind of left rather suddenly...he was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow."

"Mikhail was tense, but everyone else had a good time." Yurio answered, "Nikki wanted to do my hair for today."

"Oh?"

The teen pulled the hood off his head, revealing the nest of loosely-tied braids, pulling his hair back into a rope-like cord at the back of his head, where thinner braids were looped around to act as ties and looped around. A few strands were deliberately pulled out to make the whole thing look messy and 'used,' "Took like 30 minutes. I'm still not sure it fits with my program...but she seemed happy enough to do it, so I let her."

"...That's different for you." Yuri quipped.

"I guess I got used to it because of Lilia." He kicked the ground with his sneaker absentmindedly, "She spent a long time trying out different styles last year before settling on what I had for Rostelecom and the Final."

The older figure nodded, not sure what else to say on the matter. He didn't languish in that uncertainty for long though, since the Russian Tiger reached around to hug him a second time, that time holding on a bit longer than before. Yuri blinked down in surprise at the top of the blonde's head, but then just lowered his arms down over those thin shoulders.

"...I don't know what changed, or why..." Yurio started quietly, "But I'm glad it's finally over. I'm...sorry for all the shit I started. I overreacted and never gave you a chance to set me straight."

"...I...guess we could've chosen better words in the first place." The older skater admitted, "But you know me...I'd never try to sabotage you."

"I know." The young Russian nodded where he still had his forehead to Yuri's right shoulder, "I think...part of me just...wanted to think you had... I was already feeling pretty sorry for myself. I'm not used to having to let other people sort things out for me, and with all this new stuff happening that was out of my hands...I didn't stop to think that things might work out some other way, even if it wasn't 100% how I wanted it."

"It happens to us all. ...I'm still helping Viktor learn to tell me about things as they happen, rather than bottling it all up. It's a process though. Sometimes you don't even realize something's bothering you until something else sets you off." Yuri rubbed the back of the teen's jacket, and Yurio finally let go, standing normally again and looking up, "But now that the three of us are talking again..." Hazel eyes glanced at the heavy wooden door, "Well, sort of..." He glanced back at the teenager, "Things will probably be better. We're still wanting to do that Team Skate we sorted out in Bordeaux, if you're interested."

"Really?"

"Mh."

"Didn't you say we all have to get on the podium...?" Yurio wondered skeptically, "Or was that just a challenge to make it fun?"

"A bit of both, I think. We're all defending Champions in some form or fashion. You're defending your title from the last Grand Prix Final, after all. I think you'll be up there somewhere."

The door suddenly cracked a bit, and Viktor pulled the heavy panel inward, clad once more in his team track-suit, and not a shred of his Free Skate outfit visible from anywhere, "Okay~! I'm done. You can come in."

Yuri nodded and reached for the rolling suitcase, careful none of the contents spilt out given the cover being undone, "Well, I'm going to get ready. We'll see you during the warm-up, okay?"

"Mh." The Russian Tiger reached his arm out again, and Yuri paused to reach back, giving a half-hug of departure, "See you in a few then."