CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED FIFTY NINE
Just as Viktor promised, the remainder of the night was care-free and, more importantly, had little and less to do with a certain event that had taken place earlier in the day. Room-service was ordered, and hot cocoa sipped...and in the midst of some truly trash television – so trash, there weren't even subtitles available for those present who spoke next to no Japanese – a back massage was given. With no understanding of what was going on in the program – some game-show or another where contestants had to contort their bodies into odd positions so that a wall, which moved on a platform towards them at some speed, would pass over and around them without knocking them down – Viktor opted to put his attention to better use.
Yuri sat cross-legged on the bed, with the Russian's long legs parted on either side of him from behind, hands kneading and rubbing on sore muscles. Shoulders, sides, upper back, neck, lower back...Viktor smoothed them all out. He knew he'd done a good job when he noticed that his young husband had fallen asleep under his touch, head drooping down, breathing deeply.
Viktor gave a relieved sigh and a smile at the sight of it, and gently pulled the man back, tucking that nearly-naked frame under the covers cozily. He himself stepped aside only long enough to cast aside his nearly-dried clothing, and hang up the rest that had been pulled out of the bathroom earlier in the night. He made a face when he realized how soggy his partner's costume had gotten, but hung all the pieces of it up and spread them out so air could circulate around. Even Yuri's heavy winter jacket – the same one Viktor had bought for him in Barcelona the previous year – was a little damp.
If it's still wet in the morning then I'll just give him mine for the day, and I'll wear my long-coat instead. Packing extras of everything has finally come in handy.
With everything put in its place, Viktor set his phone to silent and turned on the alarm for the following morning. He rubbed his chin in thought though as he sat on the edge of the bed, covers pulled back on the corner as he waited to get in.
I don't want to put Yuri in a position where he has to see Saito before I've had a chance to deal with this. We may have to skip morning practice…
He cast his crystal eyes to his slumbering partner, and reached over gently to stroke his fluffy black hair.
He's already done so much and worked so hard...with all the practice we did for the Grand Prix, he can probably skate the Free Program in his sleep. I won't bother him with this… If he gets antsy, we'll just find another rink in the city and practice like we did in Sapporo and Detroit.
Fingers went to the list of past text messages then, and Viktor scrolled through all the familiar names, until he spotted one in particular.
I feel like we kind of ditched her today… I hope she doesn't think we cut her off because of the talk we had yesterday.
He started thumbing a message into the field.
[Hey, sorry to bother so late at night. You don't have to answer right now.]
[Yuri and I are going to skip morning practice...do you want to join us for breakfast? I have some chores to take care of after, and I don't want to leave Yuri by himself while I'm out.]
He clicked out of the window and set an alarm for 10am. Just as he was reaching to plug the phone in for the night, he saw the small drop-down window where Minako had answered unexpectedly.
[For sure. When should I come?]
[We'll be up at 10 so maybe get here by 10:30?]
[I'll be there.]
Viktor looked on at the screen for a moment longer...but then started thumbing another message.
To his surprise, she sent another one as well, and he saw that they'd both asked the same question.
[How are you holding up?]/[How is Yuri holding up?]
[Oh...I'm okay.] Minako answered, [I called Mik after I last saw you guys...we're sorting things out. Seeing those Opening Ceremonies yesterday and that (SUPER ADORABLE!) re-proposal you did for Yuri got me thinking about my own situation.]
[You're reconsidering the engagement?] Viktor wondered dubiously.
[...Sort of?]
[I'm not sure. I don't want to feel like I'm tied down.]
[I get that. Marriage is for lovers, not for friends with benefits.]
[...I wish I could've put it that simply, cuz yeah, that's about the size of it.] Minako answered, the three jumping dots noting her continued typing, [In any case...your turn. I wanted to ask about Yuri earlier but I wasn't sure how many other people had already asked the same thing.]
[Have you heard anything?]
[Nothing beyond the crowd's shock and awe when people noticed you suddenly carrying Yuri out of the stands.]
[He had a panic attack. It was intense enough that it knocked him out for a few minutes.]
[AFTER a program?]
[It wasn't about the program. He ran into an 'old friend' and got into a bit of trouble over it.]
[Oh...you mean Asahi?]
[You know him?]
[Sure.] She explained, [I've followed Yuri to all his local events, remember? I know basically everyone he does. Asahi was Yuri's skating buddy back in Juniors. I know they kind of drifted apart after Yuri moved to the US, but Yuri made himself scarce to basically everyone after that. He's never one to ignore someone he knows just because he hasn't talked to them in a while though. Was it bad?]
[It's hard to explain. Let's just say that we became aware of one of the (probably many) broken hearts Yuri left behind.]
[….]
[Oh boy.]
[I always had a feeling about that one, but Yuri never said anything, so I didn't either.]
[I see.] Viktor sighed and slouched where he sat, [I haven't told Yuri what I plan on doing yet because I don't want to upset him more than he already is, but I'm tempted to file an official complaint with the JSF about it.]
[Wow...what happened to make you think you need to take it THAT far?]
[Saito violated Yuri's space and trust. That little shit kissed my husband.]
[WHILE YOU WERE THERE?]
[Oh believe me, if he did that while I was standing there, I'd have been taken out of the building in handcuffs.]
[Yuri had stepped out during my interview to talk to Yurio about something. It happened before I caught back up with him.]
[...Oh… Wow. This...wow. How are YOU handling it?]
Viktor grumbled discontentedly, [Yuri said Saito is super Japanese. I think it's a testament to my willpower that I didn't find out what room he's staying in and demand that he commit ritual suicide in it.]
[Yeah seppuku at a skating event would probably make things way worse than they are already.]
[Anyway though...try to have a better night. I'll see you boys in the morning.]
[Da...thanks. Night.]
Viktor plugged the phone in and clicked the screen off, then reached over to flick off the last light in the room, plunging it into darkness. He pulled his legs up and shuffled under the cool blankets and sheets, draping them across himself before wiggling over the few inches before he found his husband's form.
"Everything okay?" Yuri asked unexpectedly, feeling his partner pause for a second before finally coming to rest next to him.
"Oh...yeah, that was Minako. I asked her out with us in the morning since we haven't seen her all day." The Russian explained, rolling to his side as he reached forward under the blankets. His hand found Yuri's shoulder, then slid across the man's back, and he moved the rest of the way forward so he could get comfortable. He leaned forward from his side, rubbing his hand back and forth over his partner's skin, "As your coach, I'm making an executive decision to skip Free Skate practice." He said quietly, but dramatically.
"...As your coach, I'm making an executive decision to concur."
Viktor chuffed, nosing in closer and rubbing up against one cheek, "You're the best coach."
Yuri hummed a quiet smile, turning his face and finding his way forward, nosing his way around in the dark until he found the kiss he was after. He held there in its warmth for a few seconds before pulling back again, "I must owe you a hundred of these by now..."
"Oh don't worry about your kiss-debt. You'll be paying it back with interest. I'll make sure of it."
He huffed a laugh and lowered down to the pillow, breathing something of a sigh of relief, "And none of our regularly scheduled kisses count towards the principle balance..."
"...I have no clue what you just said. It's too late for me to brain good."
"Sorry." Yuri mused, lifting up to find one more quick kiss before settling down, "I'll make it up to you tomorrow. No more holding back."
"Mmmh...I can't wait."
.
It was an easy thing to fall asleep after a day full of Universal Studios and competitive skating, but in spite of the many exhausting hours spent expending all that energy, a single 5 second encounter at the end of it had made it rather difficult to rest in all that time spent unconscious. When the alarm rang the following morning, and Yuri was jarred awake by it, he felt as though he'd just been woken from the deepest of slumbers by the trumpeting of a military bugle. He practically saw stars floating in his eyes as Viktor tried to get him out of bed. He managed to snooze a few more minutes when the silver Russian stepped aside to shower, but being awoken a second time was still startling.
He became aware of his surroundings sometime after they'd already reunited with Minako in the hotel restaurant, but before food had arrived at their table. He thought he heard a few familiar words about the JSF, competition, and something about paperwork, but without context, it passed through Yuri's mind like wind and was quickly forgotten.
"Yuri-"
He squinted as he turned his eyes towards the sound of the voice that spoke his name, "...I can see sounds..."
"Hm." Viktor looked his partner over more carefully then, combing his fingers through the man's hair, "I think I should put you back to bed."
"...Ikitakunaaai..." Yuri whined.
"Huh?"
"He said he doesn't wanna go." Minako explained, looking over from her side of the table, "But I get this feeling he wouldn't put up much of a fight if you took him anyway."
"Yeah..." The Russian agreed, thinking on it for a moment, "Well, we already ordered...we'll stay and see if he'll eat something. If not, then I'll ju-"
THWUMPK
"...Just...let him...sleep until we're ready to go." He finished, looking down at where Yuri had face-planted on the table-top. He grimaced slightly, but then just started moving dishes away, and pulled his loaned jacket off the back of his husband's chair. With a few quick movements, he'd created a small cocoon around his partner's head, leaving him in blissful darkness and quiet right there on their table, "...I'll just take his food to go and try to get him to eat later or something."
"Do you have a microwave in your room? I don't remember seeing one."
"Mmmhhhhhhrrrrr..." Viktor grumbled, realizing she had a point, "Okay maybe I won't do that then. I...ahhh this is such a weird situation."
"Well, I don't think he's particularly aware of what we're talking about anyway." Minako pointed out, "Especially now that you've made it so the lights are out for him. I'm not that surprised he didn't sleep overnight."
"He was out like a light though." The silver legend commented, gently stroking his partner's back as they waited, "I thought for sure that he'd sleep even better than I did."
The ballerina shrugged and smiled, "Sleep and rest can sometimes be different things. You did your best to wash the stain out, but he still had the worry about seeing Asahi at the Free Program on his mind."
"I'm really worried about his skating tonight." Viktor commented, "Even after everything that happened, he was still worried about Saito's ability to qualify for being part of the Olympic team. I'd hate to be the reason that's taken away, if only because Yuri would feel like it's his fault. I mean, I can play keep-away pretty well, maybe enough to salvage Yuri's skating, but Saito would be going up last tonight, and if Yuri realizes he doesn't go up at all..."
"You have to do the right thing, if not as a spouse then as his coach." Minako said simply, "In the grand scheme of things, what Asahi did might not've really been a huge thing...but in Yuri's head it was basically the worst thing that could've happened."
"I also told him I would let him know what I planned to do so he'd be able to consent to it." Viktor went on, "To give him some sense of control over the outcome, even if I ask that he not be there to see it. Whatever happens, he'll know about it long before we get to the arena tonight."
"So what are your plans?"
A waiter came up next to their table and started setting dishes down, though the ones that were there for Yuri were placed more in the middle than anything. Viktor thanked the man and he went on his way, "I already have the PDF documents saved to my email." The Russian explained, unrolling the utensils from the cloth napkin and folding the fabric over his lap before using the fork to skewer some fruit slices, "Given Yuri's condition now, I'm thinking I'll put him back to bed and then head down to the hotel's business center to print things out. The Men's practice will go till noon, so I expect that the shuttles will start getting back around 12:30...I'll be waiting in the lobby for Saito and his coach to get here."
"You're not going to call ahead?" Minako asked, unfurling her own napkin set and doing much the same that Viktor did, "It might seem odd if you're just waiting for them. What if they don't come right away? You'll just be waiting longer."
"I guess I can call." Viktor agreed, "Kind of takes the surprise out of it though. I didn't want to give Saito a chance to think up any excuses."
"You can just ask his coach not to warn him. If she does anyway, it won't change the fact that you're sitting them all down. This is a pretty serious thing. Regardless of how Yuri interpreted what happened, or what excuses he was willing to make, Asahi's actions could potentially sabotage Yuri's performance tonight and at competitions to come, especially the ones they share." Minako pointed out, pausing a few times to get a bit of food in, "This is also Yuri's first shot at the Olympics. He'd never forgive himself if Asahi made it onto the team and then collapsed at the Games from the sheer nerve and worry of Asahi being around...or even the shame of remembering what happened."
"I know. That's part of what I'm worried about seeing, too." Viktor admitted, looking over at the heap of his husband, "I like to think I got most of that out of him last night, but until I see how he reacts to seeing Saito again...I can't be sure."
"I think you're doing the right thing." The ballerina assured, "It's not like you're going to trap Asahi in a back-alley and break his legs. You're doing this the official way."
"...That part worries me, too."
"How?"
Viktor looked from Yuri to Minako, shaking his bangs out of his eye as he lifted his head, "If the JSF decides to suspend Saito over this, how long will it be before a reason is given? What will the official reason be? I trust them to be discreet, but there are a lot of people potentially involved...any one of them along the chain of command could leak the real reason, and then Yuri would be traumatized all over again by the rumor-mill and gossip."
Minako hesitated a moment, tapping the blunt end of a fork against her chin as she looked on at Yuri's unconscious form. Every slow breath that made his frame rise and fall just so, and the wrinkles in the jacket as he moved. She looked over at Viktor again, "Well... Here's an idea."
.
The light in the room dimmed as Minako pulled the curtains aside. She glanced back to find Viktor setting Yuri against the edge of the bed, pulling the sweater over his head to leave just a t-shirt, and the pants off his legs. A quick shuffle, and Yuri was back under the covers, half-asleep already but still trying to focus.
"When will you be back...?" He wondered, looking up as the silver Russian pulled the blankets over and the glasses from his face, "Do you even know?"
"I hope it won't take more than an hour." Viktor explained, sitting on the bedside and putting a hand over his partner's chest through the comforter, "I'll come right back up as soon as we're done."
"You won't tell me exactly what you're going to do though..."
"Minako's going to come with me, so you just rest easy. I just can't tell you what I'm going to do yet because I'm not entirely sure myself. You asked me not to hurt him though, and I can at least promise you that much. I won't lay a hand on him."
"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep, knowing you're about to go confront him..." Yuri sighed, pulling his arms up over the covers, and finding his partner's hand with one of his own, "Are you sure you don't want me to be there?"
"You're the innocent party in all this. You don't deserve to be put in the middle." Viktor answered, curling his fingers around his husband's and patting that hand with the other. He rose up to stand then, and leaned over quickly to give a parting kiss, then reached aside to find Yuri's sleep mask, and slipped it over his spouse's head, "I believe that every word you told me is the truth and nothing else. You can rest now. I'll take care of things from here."
"...I can't believe I'm putting you through all this..." Yuri sighed, thumbing the edge of the black mask to see past it for a few more seconds, "This was supposed to be our fun event."
"We'll make Euros the fun event, and Four Continents. I plan on telling everyone we know that we should make those weekends extra special for you."
Those pale cheeks just reddened at the idea of it, "You're going to tell everyone what kind of muck I stepped in?"
"Not at all. This'll be celebratory. You got your first Olympic jacket and I got to join the JSF to go with you as a competitor. We have plenty to be happy and excited about anyway, without bringing the rest of it up." Viktor leaned forward again for one more kiss, then fingered the mask down to cover his husband's eyes, "Get some rest, my love. I'll tell you everything that happened when I get back. If you're awake enough, maybe we can even find a video of the Russian Short Program from overnight."
Yuri nodded, and let out something of a sigh, trying to relax, "...Okay..."
"I'll make sure he behaves for you." Minako teased, following the silver coach towards the door, "Gussuri oyasumi." (Sleep tight.)
"...Haaai." He hummed in answer, turning onto his side to get more comfortable, and listening to the footsteps, the door opening, and the click as it closed. He drew a deep, nervous breath, "...Please don't do anything crazy..."
In the hall, Minako quickly took the Russian's free arm and watched as he pulled his phone up to his ear, "Calling already?"
"Mhm." He answered, listening to the dial tone, "No backing out now."
A few tense seconds passed before it became clear that there would be no immediate answer. It wasn't that surprising though. Viktor heard a click and immediately pulled the phone away, tapping his thumb against the Speaker button in case the message that played wasn't in English. The first part was Japanese, as Viktor suspected, but the woman's voice thankfully said the same thing again in words he understood, and he pulled the phone back up to his ear to listen normally. The voicemail message beeped at the end, and he began.
"Yes, hi, this is Viktor Nikiforov, coach for Yuri Nikiforov..." He said matter-of-factly, "I apologize for calling you under these circumstances, but it's come to my attention that there has been some grossly inappropriate behavior coming from your athlete, Asahi Saito, directed towards mine. I'd like to meet with you and discuss this as soon as you're back from the practice session this morning. I'd appreciate a return call on this number to confirm you received this message." He pulled the phone away and ended the call, drawing a quick breath to collect his nerves. Blue eyes turned to the woman standing next to him, "...Ball's in their court. Now it's just a matter of time."