"So, what exactly happened?" Phichit fiddled with his phone as the trio plopped onto the couch, Yurio leaning against Otabek, feeling the tension of the last few days slowly begin to seep away.
"I don't know details." Yurio's lie rolled off of his tongue as if he were reciting his birthday, and he relaxed into Beka's chest, suddenly realising that he hadn't slept for two days. The strong but somehow gentle fingers that laced through his hair could have lulled him to sleep in a matter of seconds, but he forced his eyes to stay open. "Only that Yuuri is hurt and Viktor isn't in the best shape either. He's in no position to care for Yuuri on his own, and I'm not capable of looking after both of them."
"So… where are they?"
"Sleeping." Yurio found himself yawning, relaxing more and more into the warm body behind him. "Viktor and I have been surviving on coffee since before I called you guys. And according to doctors, rest will heal all injuries."
"Bullshit." Otabek half snorted half grunted.
"Agreed." Yurio yawned again.
"Why don't you go get some-" Phichit was rudely interrupted by a crash coming from upstairs. "What was that?"
"Probably just Makkachin. Damn dog is so annoying." But Makka was outside. Yurio was secretly concerned about the ruckus, but instinctively kept his tough façade in place, even thought he was half asleep.
The conversation lulled for a minute, Yurio nearly dozing off in Otabek's arms, but Phichit soon woke him up when he began talking about the upcoming skating season. He rambled about his music choice and possible themes for a good fifteen minutes, yielding no responses, before Viktor came padding down the stairs.
"Vitya?" Yurio spun around, nearly elbowing Otabek in the face. "How's he doing?"
"He's sleeping now but he panicked when he heard your voices and hid under the bed." Viktor ran a trembling hand through his hair. "He thought someone broke in."
"Can you blame him for being paranoid?" Yurio relaxed again as Viktor sat heavily in an arm chair in the corner of the room.
"Thank you, guys, for coming." Viktor did his best to smile at Phichit and Otabek, but it probably turned out as more of a grimace. "I appreciate it more than you know."
"So what exactly happened?" Phichit reiterated, hoping to gain some more insight with Viktor's appearance.
"He left the rink early a couple of days ago and walked home alone." Viktor sighed, forcing his mind to keep the images of Yuuri tied to the bed tucked away. "When I got here a few hours later he was unconscious and beaten. Somebody broke in and attacked him." Viktor's voice broke and he felt yet another wave of tears threatening to spill.
"He wasn't hurt too badly, was he?" Phichit looked horrified, which was warranted. He and Yuuri had been extremely close for years, so why wouldn't he be shaken up by the news?
"No, the worst was a couple of cracked ribs and a concussion." Viktor nodded, leaving the other part out. It would be revealed in time, on Yuuri's agenda. "He'll be okay in a week or so."
"You should change to locks." Otabek piped up, shocking most of the people in the room. He tended to keep quiet in group scenarios.
"I was thinking about it." Viktor nodded, shaking off his surprise. "But inviting strangers into the house right now…"
"Yeah maybe not the best plan." Phichit agreed.
"No." Silence filled the room for a moments and Viktor's eyes landed on Yurio. "It seems the fairy has turned into sleeping beauty." He smirked, feeling semi-content as he watched the younger boy snuggle deeper into Otabek's chest. Yurio had gotten even less sleep than Viktor in the past couple of days; it was good to see him relaxed.
Yurio grunted in protest at the nicknames, but couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He felt safe in Beka's arms, finally relaxed enough to doze off…
"We should probably put him to bed." Viktor let Makka in and chuckled at Yurio's feeble resistance as Otabek picked him up and followed Viktor up the stairs. Phichit followed, carrying both of their suitcases with him. "Here." Viktor presented the master bedroom and the remaining guest room to Otabek and Phichit, letting them pick whichever room they'd like. Otabek tucked Yurio into the guest bed while Phichit got settled in the master. Viktor was glad Otabek hadn't chosen their room, considering Yurio's knowledge of Yuuri's attack. Once everyone was settled and knew their way about the house, Viktor made his way back to the room where he and Yuuri were staying, smiling when he found Yuuri still sleeping, looking peaceful, and Makka curled up at his feet, guarding him.
Viktor quietly made his way across the room and climbed into bed next to Yuuri, instinctively opening his arms. His smile disappeared when Yuuri didn't roll over and snuggle into Viktor's neck. For the millionth time that day, Viktor cursed the men who had hurt Yuuri, vowing to kill all of them. He just stared, no longer tired, watching over Yuuri as if the blanket might strangle him or the mattress could swallow him whole. Everything seemed threatening now, and Viktor hated it. He hated everything that had happened in the last two days, and hated that he could do virtually nothing about it.
Otabek snuggled down in the comfortable bed, stroking Yurio's hair gently as the other slept soundly. It felt wonderful to run his fingers through the golden locks, so much better than just seeing them through a screen when the two skyped each other. They talked every day, but being together was different. Otabek only wished that they had been reunited under different circumstances. The visit would probably hold little relaxation with Viktor acting the way he was and Yuuri dealing with his attack. He knew that Yurio had called him because he couldn't deal with his friends on his own. Not that Otabek minded, any excuse to see Yurio was a good one. He was happy to have someone who loved him enough to ask for his help. He allowed Yurio's steady breaths to lull him to sleep, figuring the next day would be much less peaceful than their first night together.
Phichit scrolled through his Instagram feed, unable to sleep, even though he was jetlagged into thinking it was eleven pm. He simply scrolled, double tapping on nearly every photo he passed without thinking or stopping to read captions. Usually, he was much more into his social media, and would have posted about fifty million selfies by now, but his mind wandered to Yuuri, Viktor, and Yurio. Sure, they had a right to be upset about Yuuri's attack, but there was something… off about them. It just didn't make sense that the two of them were losing sleep over some broken ribs and a concussion. Yuuri would be fine in time. Sure, a break in was kind of scary, but they could just change the locks and make sure neither of them were home alone for a while and things would be fine. Yurio wouldn't have called unless Yuuri was on his death bed, or had endured something much worse than a simple clobbering. Phichit had heard all of the horror stories of playground bullies and abusive rink mates Yuuri had had to deal with in his life; there was no way some guy beating him up had put this much strain on Viktor and Yurio. And what was with them sleeping in the guest room…?