CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED TWENTY NINE

It was just after noon in St. Petersburg, and the sun was shining despite the winter snow, but it still felt like a war zone that had been active for months. A phone in a small office started to ring, and a mousy little woman picked it up, looking pale and somewhat scared, "Privet?"

"Èto ja, Viktor Nikiforov. Mne pozvonili okolo časa noči."

The woman was up out of her seat, the wheeled office chair flying away from her, "Spasibo, čto v konce koncov perezvonil mne! YAKOV!"

"...Yakov...?" Viktor echoed, chancing a look back at his husband, "...Whose phone number did the RSF give to me?"

"You don't recognize it?" Yuri wondered, "I thought it was going to be the landline he had in the country."

"...Same...maybe it went somewhere else."

"Vitya!"

"Yakov! What in the world is going on? Why are you there? Why am I calling this number?" The skater asked nervously, "What is this number even?"

"It's the skating rink, idiot!" The coach barked, "The one you skated at for years! I work here."

Both men were blown back by the bark, but Viktor made a face and shook his head, "I guess that explains some part of this craziness."

"You didn't know the phone number to the rink you skated at?" Yuri whispered, stunned.

"I never needed to call the rink that I skated at! I always had the cell numbers to people I needed to talk to!" He explained anxiously, turning back to the phone, "Is my father there...?" He wondered, leaning forward over the phone, "The RSF called and said he was trying to get hold of me despite the ban we put in place last year."

"He had choice words for whoever was going to tell him no." The gruff elder explained, "He came barging in here around 11am demanding someone call you to get you to the rink. I told him you don't live in Russia anymore and it would be impossible for you to just show up. Then he said you'd mentioned Nationals and he thought you would already be here and that if he found out you were in Moscow he'd just drive down there next... Vitya, it's all crazy here. He's got the entire building terrified."

"...I bet. What does he want? What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything! I just told him to call the RSF mainline and try to get to you the regular way. I wasn't going to call you for him and I figured the RSF would tell him no, too, and he'd either leave or we'd make him leave." Yakov went on, "I didn't want to put you in a position where you felt like you had to talk to him unless you actually wanted to. If I called you on his behalf you might feel obligated, so I left it to chance. I guess he scared them enough to call you despite the rest."

"So where is he now...?"

Yakov stuck his head out of the office and looked across the rink, through the doors that lead to the waiting area, "He's in the main hall. He's been stalking that area like a goddamn poltergeist since the message went out, and everyone that was already here for practice is scared to go by him so they can leave. Do you want to talk to him or should I tell him to get lost?"

"No, don't tell him to leave!" Viktor panicked, "I called because I wanted to! Put him on!"

Yakov waited a moment, "How are you doing right now, Vitya? Are you holding up?"

The silver legend hesitated, but then grabbed the phone and leaned back against the couch, and Yuri, and set the phone to perch on the side of his knee where he'd brought it up, "I'm doing as well as I can. It's been up and down."

"...Are you prepared to talk to Konstantin? I know you said things are better, but..."

"I'm okay. If it hadn't been for this turn of events, I was considering inviting him to Nationals outright." Viktor explained, adjusting where he sat as Yuri wiggled in closer as well, and reset the phone back down on the knee it had been on once the both of them had stopped moving, "Please put him on the line."

Yakov was still reluctant, but acquiesced, "Alright...hang on a minute. I'll get him."

They could hear the sound of shuffling as the older man started walking with the phone, followed by the click of a door, and finally, the washed-out sound of Russian words being spoken. A few tense seconds later, a clearer voice spoke.

"Viktor."

Yuri could feel the slight jump from his spouse, and reached for the man's hand to hold it steady.

"Papa."

"Ja uže zasomnevalsja, polučil li ty moe soobŝenie." Konstantin's voice was level but calm, at least for the moment.

"Nyet, ja polučil vaše soobŝenie." Viktor answered, "Tak počemu ty pozvonila?"

Yuri listened to the back and forth for a while, reassured in the tone of each speaker even if he had no clue what was being said between them. At one point though, Viktor had started nodding about something, making Yuri furrow his brow in confusion. He wanted to ask what was going on, but wasn't quite ready to reveal himself yet. He knew it was inevitable though once he heard his name from the other line.

"Gde Yuri?"

Viktor pulled his head back a little in surprise, but then settled again and smiled, giving his husband's hand a squeeze, "On zdesʹ so mnoj." He explained, then turned his face and held out his free hand, "I win. Pay up."

"W-what!?" Yuri blanched, "What are you talking about!?"

"We had a bet that you'd give me an allowance of cash if my father asked about you at Nationals. Since I'm not going, this technically counts. So?"

Yuri's face was bright red, mostly out of confusion than anything, but then shook his head and regained his composure. He clapped his hand against his husband's for a shake of concession, "Fine...fine... We'll go to the department store tomorrow and you can buy anything you want."

"Yatta~!"

"Ja ne znaju, čto ty skazal." Konstantin's voice echoed again between them, but Viktor was far too pleased with himself to be startled again.

"Izvini, papa, ja vyigral spor."

Yuri continued to listen closely, wishing he could understand even the smallest thing about what was being said. But, he was content to watch his spouse for reactions given that he couldn't, and for the next half hour, their back and forth was cordial enough, so far as Yuri could tell. At one point, Viktor had started crying again, but it was clearly not because of anything Konstantin had said, and even as Viktor drew in closer for the comfort of his partner's touch, Konstantin's replies seemed neutral and even humbling. Yuri was really surprised at it all. Even when the conversation finally ended, and Viktor draped himself across his husband's lap with an exhausted heave, Yuri was still perplexed.

"...So...?" He asked aloud, looking down on the silver legend, "I could tell he was talking about what happened to you, but I didn't understand if he explained how he found out about it."

Viktor smiled, "The phone Mikhail got him at NHK. He still had it, so he dialed up my uncle to ask how I did at the Final. Apparently the paper he reads hadn't mention the results all week for some reason."

"...For some reason." Yuri echoed, an eyebrow quirked.

"Right?" Viktor agreed, "So Mikhail told him what happened, and then apparently Yurio swiped the phone and they bantered back and forth about what the RSF had done. Next thing my papa knows, he's hopped into the truck my uncle bought for him after NHK, and he drove all the way back to St. Petersburg, thinking he'd give the RSF a piece of his mind." He explained, thinking on the idea fondly as he turned to lie on his back instead, head on his husband's lap, looking up at him as he continued, "All he could get to was my old rink, where him and Mikhail showed up last year. There's no RSF office in St. Petersburg though, so Yakov gave him the number to call. Papa says they tried to blow him off, so he told them...'If you don't put a message through to my son, I'm going to come to Moscow and make you wish you had.' Or something along those lines...it was funnier in Russian."

"Wow..."

"It gets even better though." Viktor said, feeling in better spirits than he had all day, "He suggested the same thing you did."

"...Eh?"

"To make the RSF feel really stupid for what they did to me...Papa suggested you be the instrument of my vengeance. To make sure the RSF never sees another Gold medal or hears the Russian anthem play, he wants you to win Gold from now on, no matter what it takes." Viktor said, looking almost giddy about it, "I don't know if I'd let you go that far, doing anything to win Gold...but, as long as you can manage it fair and square, you absolutely should."

"I plan to!" Yuri answered easily enough, "...But...what were you guys saying that made you upset enough to cry...?"

"Oh..." Viktor's eyes turned, and he reached to take hold of the hand that had settled on his chest, "He asked me why I ever thought to give up the Gold to you in the first place, and I told him about how you'd gotten hurt...it upset me to think about seeing you in the hospital again."

"...Sorry..."

The silver legend's expression seemed hopeful though, and Viktor reached up to touch his fingers to his partner's cheek, "Papa said you're a force to be reckoned with, if you still managed to beat everyone else for Silver despite how badly you'd been hurt. He even said he felt a little embarrassed for thinking you were weak before."

"...Well, I...kind of was, at least back then..." Yuri admitted, his cheeks reddening again, "I was still so unsure of myself, and I was still so new in Russia...I must've looked like a scared little mouse back then."

"Hm...maybe a little bit." Viktor mused, "A scared little mouse with the heart of a lion."

"...Maybe just a tanuki."

"Tanuki?" The Russian sat up and twisted around, resting his chin on his husband's shoulder, "Why a tanuki?"

"...Tanuki are basically Japanese raccoon-dogs. Not very intimidating to think about or look at, but...they're mythicized for having huge balls."

Viktor burst out laughing, looking like quite the conundrum given the dark circles still under his eyes, "And here you're always trying to downplay your prowess by pointing out how you're smaller than I am. Just goes to show that it doesn't matter, because it's how you use them that matters."

"I guess so." Yuri allowed, rubbing his cheek against the top of his husband's head where the man still clung to one arm. I'm just glad to hear him laugh again...

"...Ah...there's been so much happening today...I'm exhausted again..." Viktor commented, "I hope you won't think poorly of me if I say I think I need to go to bed early..."

"Of course not." The younger figure reassured, turning to kiss the Russian's crown before moving to stand up and help the man up with him, "I'll just turn the boys out for a pee and give them dinner, and I'll join you, okay?"

"You sure...?" Viktor wondered, looking hazy already, "You slept most of the day."

"You don't sleep well unless I'm there, and I'm more than happy to turn in early anyway. Even before all this stuff with the RSF started, we talked about hibernating for a week once we got home...I still plan to make good on that." Yuri explained, stepping closer to set a hand on his spouse's hip and rise up on his toes a bit to steal a quick kiss, "I'll be after you in just a minute. Go on ahead."

The exhausted man nodded, stealing a kiss of his own before moving by to get to the stairs. He turned back briefly to watch Yuri calling the dogs to the back door and sliding the glass pane across to let them through. Their back yard was more like a porch that had grass on it, but it was enough for the purpose it was tasked with. Yuri stood just inside, wrapping his arms around himself as he waited for the two poofs to get back inside, quickly grabbing a towel from near the door to wipe their paws down before letting them run amok again. Viktor made it to the top of the stairs before seeing it though, finding his way to the bedroom by feeling at the walls.

By the time Yuri had finished putting kibble and fresh water down, and clicked off most of the lights, leaving a few proverbial night-lights on for the pups, Viktor had made it to the edge of their big bed. He had the blankets pulled back from his corner, ready to slip within and pull them over himself, but was sitting in place. Yuri paused in the doorway, perplexed at the sight, "Something the matter...? Why are you sitting there in the dark like that?"

"I thought my better mood might make it easier for me...to try and have a little fun with you before going to sleep..." He answered, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "But I think I still have this mind-body disconnect, and nothing is happening even though, in my head, I really want to..."

Yuri made a face as he came in and put the door to, pulling his glasses off as he came around the other side of the bed, "I don't think I've ever seen you just sit there staring at yourself like you could just will yourself into arousal."

"Normally I don't even have to just sit here either...I just think I'm about to get Yuri naked and everything just works." The Russian sighed, flopping back to lie down, looking at his partner from the upside-down vantage, "Is this what getting old is like? I don't respond the same way as I used to...?" He started to panic, bringing his hands up to the side of his head, "I'm not ready to be an old people! I was forced into early retirement against my will! I didn't sign up for this!" He whined.

Plugging his phone in and setting an alarm, Yuri stood near his side of the bed, peeling out of his clothes until he was in nothing but the usual form-fitting black underpants. It was still more than Viktor usually wore to sleep, at any rate, and more than the man was wearing in that moment, too. Yuri moved with purpose, lifting the blankets in the middle of the bed, folded over as they were from earlier, and nudged his head to wordlessly tell his husband to get his feet in.

Confused, Viktor did as he'd been 'told,' lying straight with his head against the pillows. He watched wordlessly as his partner reached to grab for the corner of the blanket pile and pulled it over, then crawled on top of his lap, and pulled the blankets right up behind himself, letting them rest against the small of his back. Yuri found his hands after that, clasping them over his stomach, then leaning forward and pulling them above his head to the pillows and the headboard.

"You're turning 29 in a week and a half, not 60. You're nowhere close to being an old people." Yuri explained quietly, looming so closely that Viktor could feel the tips of raven hair brushing against his skin. He moved closer to rub the tips of their noses, softly and carefully, then paused and looked into those slate eyes again, "But you're going through something of a trauma right now and you can't expect everything will work like it should when you're so conflicted about so many issues. The RSF, a group that was once your foundation, your bedrock, your constant...it abandoned you. Your father, someone who was always gone, antagonistic, threatening...now he's got your back and is defending you. Everything is flipped over and turned backwards, and in the grand scheme of things, I'm fairly new in your life, too."

"Maybe..." Viktor sighed.

"So...let me try instead." Yuri offered, tilting his head a bit and moving in closer to speak the words against his partner's lips, "If your head is getting in the way then I'll just bypass it. Don't think...just feel me."

"But what if nothing happens and you put in all that work for noth-"

Yuri wouldn't hear it, stopping the words with a kiss. He could feel his partner tensing under him, fingers clenching a little tighter where he held them.

Don't worry about me. If I get myself all worked up in the attempt to excite you then I'll just finish on my own, too. You liked watching me do that last time...

He pressed his hips forward, slowly but firmly, then rolled them back again. The kiss continued, pausing only for breath before starting again. A while after, he started rotating his hips in a small circle, moving over every inch. Unsure if his touch was having any response, Yuri pulled one hand free, sliding it down the length of his husband's chest and stomach, pausing briefly against his waist before reaching into center. Though he could only grasp at part of the man's member, since he was sitting on the rest, Yuri was still pleased to find that there had been some progress made. What he found was at least straight and resistant to changing, even if it was still a little soft, and he curled his fingers around it to help it along, "There, see?" He mused, drawing a hissed breath from his partner.

Viktor was lost in the feeling, eyes closed and attention focused.

Yuri watched the man's face as he continued the strokes, feeling the man's body responding more and more with every passing minute. When enough had been done, he reached to Viktor's nightstand and pulled out that small blue bottle, secreting a squeeze of the liquid into his hand and warming it there before applying it to his husband's own skin. It didn't take much more time for him to feel that his partner was finally ready, and he rose off the Russian's hips just far enough to slide the man between his legs and up behind himself. He pressed in for another kiss as his thumbs worked to pull the black fabric away, just enough to make access possible, and then used the fingers of one hand to help guide. A few slides to feel where things were, and Yuri sat back against the length of stiffened flesh, letting it into himself. He heard Viktor hiss another breath, and he sat straighter, lifting his face up as he felt every inch going deeper, until they were nearly flush against one another.

The Russian was already out of breath just from that effort, but he cracked an eye open to look up at his partner. He slid his hands up the pale thighs straddled against his sides, then up the man's front, until he could reach no further without sitting up, and then did that as well. His own knees parted, and Yuri sank between them, back curved as he leaned in closer, arms going around him to keep him near, "...You're...amazing..."

"When I want my Viktor, I get him." Yuri whispered, smiling at his achievement and feeling rather proud of himself. He started the slow roll of his hips again, sliding a few inches up that shaft, and then down again, hands holding tight to the man's shoulders, "And I want you..."

"I'm yours."

.

The 10am alarm was prematurely raised by Makkachin, bringing his bowl to their bedroom and setting it on the floor before starting the quiet whine. Jiro scampered in soon after, the stairs being something of an obstacle to his stubby legs, but he eventually made it and sat next to his poodle elder.

The pile of blankets and pillows and limbs as slow to respond.

Makkachin whine-barked a little louder. Jiro joined in with his little yips.

One pale arm lifted in an arc, pulling the blankets away from a pair of blue eyes in the process, and Viktor squinted at the both of them, "...It better not be early..."

...Beee beee BEEE BEEE BEEE BEEE...

"...Mnnhhh...no...just on time..." He grumbled, rolling as well as he could to paw for the phone on the other side of the bed. He found Yuri stretching under him, hands and legs splaying out as far as they could, even though half were still trapped within the knot of blankets. When he finally got hold of the phone and pulled it free from its charger, he clicked off the alarm and let the phone fall to the sheets, "Five more minutes..."

"If you didn't set it then we'll just fall asleep for however long we feel like." Yuri pointed out, halfway through a yawn. He brought one hand up to his face and rubbed there tiredly.

"I see no problems here." Viktor mused, flopping back to where he'd been before.

After a few seconds, and a louder whine-bark from Makkachin, Yuri rolled and forced himself to sit up, staring blearily at the two dogs who gave him such soulful looks back. Even without his glasses, he knew what they were doing, and pity-gage was quickly rising to breaking point. When Jiro yipped, the needle went into the red, and Yuri relented, "Okay okay, I'm coming..."

The poodle was up on all fours again with his poof of a tail flailing back and forth.

"Go take your bowl downstairs...I'll be there in a minute..."

Oddly, Makkachin seemed to know what the words meant, and he picked his bowl up as told and went back down to the kitchen with it. Jiro stayed behind though...going down the stairs was much more of a trick than coming up and he wasn't ready to tempt fate yet. So, he sat, and watched as Yuri went for a bathrobe to warm his naked frame, and only stood up as it looked like the man was bending down to lift him up.

"We should go out today." Yuri commented idly, "Take in some of the sun before it goes down again and we lose the chance, like yesterday."

"Mhm..."

"Viktor..." He went on, stepping towards the bed again and sitting on one knee at its edge, "You'll fall asleep again."

"That's the plan..."

"Let's go!" Yuri said, more excitedly than as an order, "Makka hasn't gone on a walk with us since before the Final, and Jiro's never been."

Hearing that certain four-letter word, a very specific poodle on the first floor could be heard barreling up the stairs and into the doorway of the bedroom, eyes wide and tail wagging even more fiercely than before.

"See? Now you've gone and gotten him all excited." Viktor lamented despite his amusement at the sight, peeking his head out from under the blankets then to look at the woofer, "See how he likes this one then..." He rolled to his side and pulled himself over to just in front of his partner's knees, just as Makkachin came trotting further into the room, like they were going too slow and he needed to encourage the lazy humans to move faster, "V-E-T...that spells WALK." Viktor teased.

Makkachin just spun in a circle and barked again.

"Now you're just taunting him." Yuri chided, patting that silver haired head, "Come along, husband...let's get moving."

"Yes dear..."

Yuri stood back up again and shook his head with a quiet laugh, "I'll go ahead and make coffee. Don't take too long." He said, stepping off through the doorway with the Akita puppy happily in his arms.

Blue eyes watched them go and then come around to make their way downstairs, and soon after, Viktor finally managed to get himself out of bed, too. By the time he made it down to join the rest of the family, the smell of a rich medium Arabica was in the air. He cast his eyes towards the front doorway as he passed and realized their suitcases were still there, "We should probably put our things away before they start to stink."

"Who says they don't already?" Yuri mused, grabbing the creamer from the refrigerator door and setting it on the counter before moving off to find the kibble scoop, "If someone other than us walked in through the door right now, they'd probably complain about the smell."

"...Hm...maybe. If they aren't distracted by the coffee like I am. Or by other things." The Russian added, leaning on the counter against an elbow as Yuri bent down to pull kibble from the first bag, back end sticking out of the pantry.

"What other things?" He asked, oblivious.

"Oh, you know...certain assets." Viktor mused, rather proud of his pun.

Yuri didn't notice, and just stood upright to walk the kibble scoop to Jiro's bowl, half-dancing around to avoid the puppy getting under his feet, "Well, I can only smell the coffee and kibble-powder. Maybe you're smelling the mummified remains of the apology bouquet." He gestured at it as he rose back up again from dropping the half cup of puppy chow, then returned to close the pantry door.

"Maybe." Viktor sighed, the pun lost of his spouse's morning-brain. He reached then for his phone, finding it set on the island counter where he'd abandoned it at some point the day before. It barely had a 6% battery by then, and he sullenly set the device back down again.

"Let's just leave our phones behind for a while." Yuri suggested, stepping towards the coffee maker to start pouring the dark amber liquid into the two mugs that were set there, "Enough people have been trying to get hold of us since we got home. I want to take a break for a little while."

"I don't think I have a choice. Mine's basically dead anyway."

"Good, then I won't have to try to convince you." He added, stirring in cream and sugar as they both liked it, and then handing off the first mug to his husband, "I was worried I might have to try prying yours from your hands with a crowbar or something."

Viktor took a sip, but then just smiled, "Vkusno~"

.

The air outside was cool, but it wasn't as bad as either had worried it would be. It was even possible to walk on the beach; enough of the snow had been able to melt that the sand was exposed. Jiro followed along after Makkachin's paw-prints, but was kept on a long tether by his harness in case he found trouble.

Ears and noses were quick to get a rosy tint to them in the breeze, but it wasn't enough to warrant wrapping hats and scarves around, so the pair just walked idly through it, thinking no more of it than they did the cold of a skating rink.

"I think I recognize this spot." Viktor said quietly, looking around, "Yeah...this is where we were when I first suggested being your boyfriend."

Yuri huffed and shook his head, pressing in a little closer where Viktor had their hands in his coat pocket, "Might be. Is that how you actually thought about it that whole year?"

"Of course. Look where it got me." The Russian smirked, leaning down a bit to nudge his partner's cheek with his nose, "I think it worked."

Yuri took the hint and gave the man the kiss he was after, taking another just for himself as well, "It might've helped."

A few more paces, and they'd caught up to the puppy, who had plopped himself down on a dry embankment and wasn't moving anymore. Viktor stepped up behind the pup and reached down to scoop him up, pulling his other hand free only long enough to dust off those cold, sandy paws, "Poor baby, are your nubbins all cold?"

"He'll own his beach next winter," Yuri commented, retaking that hand and finding its warm place back in the Russian's coat, "He'll be chasing Makkachin from one end to the other."

"Makkachin got way ahead of us, I think..." Viktor wondered, looking around, "I don't see him."

"Must've found something interesting to smell. We'll catch up."

It took another fifteen minutes just to get back to where the beach-side forest gave way to the handful of small resorts that dotted the tree-line. Hasetsu Castle was straight ahead, but in the distance. When they finally spotted the brown woofer again, he wasn't alone.

"Yuri! Vik-chan!"

"Mom...?"

Hiroko was standing in the sandy parking lot of the Niji no Matsubara Hotel, having followed the poodle to the edge of the beach, "I've been trying to call you for over an hour! Why won't you pick up?"

"We left our phones at home. What's wrong?" Yuri wondered, the pair of them stepping into a light jog to get closer, "We would've been back soon...there's no sense in you looking all around town for us."

"I went by your house first, but you weren't there...I know only a handful of other places that you two might go, and when you weren't at the Ice Castle, I came here. I spotted your car so I got out and found Makkachin!" She explained, "I'm glad I finally caught up with you, even if it took a while! I'll tell Minako-senpai and your sister that they can come back."

Both skaters gave each other a strange look, and asked in unison, "Why are you looking for us so urgently?"

"You have to come to the resort." She explained, already turning back to the supply van she'd driven there, "Come on! Hurry up!"

More side-eyeing and confusion, but the pair shrugged and started following after her, Akita in Viktor's arm and poodle at their heels. They turned only to get to the little red Audi that they'd arrived in, and pulled out of the lot to follow the van back to YuTopia.