Chapter Text
Yuuri is abnormally silent.
The occasional honk of a vehicle passing them by penetrates through the metal and glass of Viktor’s vehicle disturbing the cold silence shared between them; because Yuuri is silent and his demeanor stops Viktor from starting a conversation.
Perhaps Viktor took the situation too lightly.
From the way Yuuri behaved, Viktor concluded it was the first time Yuuri ever stepped in to a police station.
The police station.
There is a first time for everything they say and Viktor can only hope that Yuuri will get used to it and it will not affect his training. But Yuuri is looking out the window for a period unfitting for Viktor’s liking and is a clear sign that he is avoiding peace talk.
Still, Viktor knows Yuuri like the back of his hand. It’s never a good idea to let Yuuri’s mind wonder in silent suffering. So after suffering Yuuri’s silence to his maximum limit, Viktor calls him.
"Yuuri, are you mad at me?"
Viktor is treated to a persistent silence and he does his best to drive the vehicle in the annoying silence. The raven hair is hiding Yuuri's features as he keeps gazing out the window. He keeps patting the glass with a finger where small petals of snow are stuck outside of the window. Yuuri is a sight to sore eyes even in his current pissed off state and this only urges Viktor to know the true feelings running in Yuuri's head. He realizes that he has to have a talk with Yuuri before he drives the car to a wall. So Victor pulls the car to the side and kills the engine.
“Now what?" Yuuri asks clearly annoyed, still not moving his gaze from the window, knowing very well he is delivering ultimate torture to Viktor.
“Oh! Thank all skating gods, you can talk" Viktor exclaims with animated hands.
Yuuri tries to hide the frustration he feels but his face betrays him. As he glances at Viktor for the first time since they got in to the car, Yuuri's face bares every emotion that runs through his head; fear, anger, frustration and a thousand more feelings even Yuuri cannot put his finger on, feelings so raw and rampant that Viktor doesn't even have to try to read his face to know them. Viktor only wants to bring back Yuuri's smile with and the pink blush that he is dangerously addicted to but the situation is dire. He knows his decision has hurt Yuuri and it breaks his heart. But Viktor cannot regret what he did. It was the best thing to do for his Yuuri.
"I'm sorry" Yuuri says with a heavy sigh, and fixes his eyes at the car's carpets, away from Viktor, again. "I'm just worried for your safety, that's all"
"Oh! Dear Yuuri, I know, but...? Viktor inquires peering in to Yuuri's view. “Sure you're not mad at me?"
Yuuri knows Victor can read him like a book. He's glad about it most of the time...most of the time because he is not good with words all the time. But in moments like this he just wish he could be a closed book.
"Fine, I'm mad at you too, stupid Victor trying to be a hero" he spats out his anger at Victor. “It’s just that, you’ve done so much for me and I don’t want you in trouble because of me. Why can’t we just loose one gold if it means you are safe?”
Yuuri immediately regrets when he see Victors face fall, like Yuuri threw a stone at him. Yuuri immediately starts melting, regretting everything he said whether they were right or wrong.
"I'm so sorry" Yuuri apologizes again, louder than necessary and wonders how many times he will repeat this 'snap at Victor-apologize-then repeat' circle to day. All because he answered a call meant for Viktor and ever since then, his anxiety's got the best of him.
Few hours ago, had been the best morning though.
The weather had decided to surprise them by not snowing for full 24 hours.
Yuri loves snow. He had just come out of the bathroom when snowing restarted and he ran outside to actually feel it on his skin. The moment Viktor heard feet thumping through the hallway he knew what Yuuri was up to, this wasn't the first time.
Viktor left the breakfast preparations and followed him, then stopped at the door and got lost in the sight that was Yuuri; without a care in the world, beautifully pink and basking in the snow. Only his towel covering up his lower body and baring the well sculpted chest to the snow. The joy that had spread over Yuuri over a simple snow fall was difficult for Viktor to apprehend. He just absorbed it as another one of his Yuuri’s antics that he cherished.
But ever the coach Victor was, he recovers his wits quickly and considered sending a warning at Yuuri's way about catching up a cold. But then decided against it. Yuuri was a grown man, so no matter how protective Viktor felt, he had to trust Yuuri and hope that he will know his limit to enjoying the snow before catching a cold.
“Viktor, come and join" Yuuri invited oblivious to the blush dancing on Viktor's cheeks, his blood pumping everywhere in his body with a sudden urgency. "Thanks, but I'll pass" he manage to politely reject the offer for his dignity's sake and returned to the kitchen.
By the time he was done with the breakfast Viktor knocked on the shared bathroom door hoping Yuuri had finished his second bath after the impromptu snow dance. What he never expected to find was Yuuri to be answering his phone with the bathroom door hanging mid open between them. Viktor had forgotten his phone inside the bathroom when he took his morning shower and now Yuuri was in his towel, Viktor's phone pressed against his ear looking like he is listening to the ramble of a ghost. Judging from the look, Viktor knew very well who should be on the other side of the call. So he snapped the phone out of Yuuri’s hands and disconnected the call promptly, pushing it down his jean pocket.
"What the hell was that?" Yuuri questioned stunned. "Or more correctly, who the hell was that?"
Viktor stopped midway debating how to answer but left without answering at all. He could hear Yuuri following him close behind. Viktor silently sat at the table and stared at his breakfast.
"Viktor!" Yuuri repeated weakly.
Viktor expected him to shout at him, start an argument so they could both forget why they started it by the time they finished it. But all he head was Yuuri's weak plea, almost at the verge of tears.
Clearly he had heard enough of the secret Viktor had been keeping. Viktor decided to talk and put down the sandwich he was holding.
"Why did you answer my private phone?" Viktor still asked angrily trying to stall the oncoming questioner from Yuuri, not meeting Yuuri's eyes.
They both knew Viktor didn't really mean it. In fact Yuuri answering Viktor's phone had become a norm because Viktor kept forgetting where he kept it. When the ringtone is all over the house and Viktor starts fishing for his phone, Yuuri is always the first one to find it, may it be on the kitchen counter, in the bathroom, on the book shelf or under the sofa, and Yuuri answers it as soon as he finds it before the call is dead.
Viktor doesn't mind Yuuri answering his phone at all. For him it is a chance to show off his prized possession – Yuuri Katsuki, to showcase the fact that he's got him, near him, by his side, answering his private phone, like a dog who mark its territory to demonstrate ownership of its space.
Makka would understand.
So when Viktor accuse him of answering his private phone, Yuuri doesn’t even bat an eyelid to acknowledge the accusation and Viktor was relieved.
"How much did you hear" he finally asked accepting defeat.
"Everything" Yuuri said shakily. "They want you to make sure I don't get to the Gold medal this year" Yuuri declared proving he heard everything. "They also said this was the last reminder and to get back to them with your answer before evening"
So, Yuuri has heard everything. Viktor realized hating himself for forgetting his phone so easily when he had a secret to keep. Why couldn't the bastard recognize it wasn't Viktor who said 'Hello' to his phone?
"Viktor, tell me everything..." Yuuri pleaded again and sat down next to Viktor. "Whatever this is, we are going to go through this together" he assured as he placed his hand on Viktor’s arm, ever so slightly.
Viktor let out a sigh and deflated, then took a breath to calm down while Yuuri waited trying his best to not show how close he was to self-explode with nervousness.
"I didn't mean to hide anything from you, but I could say I didn't know any better" Viktor admitted and Yuuri nodded in understanding although he had no idea of what is going on.
"I got the first call two weeks ago. They were saying the same thing, flub your program, do something to your skates right before the final, anything that will destroy you on the ice."
"If not" Yuuri asked while fear slowly crept its claws in to his brain.
"I don't know what they meant exactly, but they said it would be something I will regret,"
Yuuri shuddered upon hearing this, his grip on Viktor's arm tightening. But Viktor doesn’t look like he was bothered at all.
"So," he continued “First, I thought it was a joke, then they called a second time, and told me, they were bettors-albeit illegal I presume, and that if you win gold he was going to lose a lot of money. He didn't think I could be persuaded by money, but he thought fear of death might be a good candidate. When they called a third time, I asked them to stop whatever the joke they are doing-in different wordings though.” Viktor adds.” And they decided to prove themselves to me”
“Oh my god Viktor”, Yuuri said realization dawning, “yesterday, when a car almost hit you, on the way to the rink, that was them?”
“Yes,” Viktor agreed. “So I guess they can actually kill me if they want to".
Yuuri hitched his breath shocked. Not just by the tsunami of information flowing from Viktor but also by his utter indifference to the gravity of the situation.
"You should be proud my Yuuri, someone bet a lot of money that you will win gold this time. If I am a bettor, I would bet everything I have without a second though that you will win”
"I’m flattered, really Viktor, but a bet involves two parties and this person or bettor who is calling you, also bet a lot of money that I won't." Yuuri argues hoping to talk some sense to Viktor. “And he is willing to murder.”
"Yeah, but now he is trying to get me to flub you, which means even he believes that you will win gold. Maybe he had a few flutes of champagne in when he made the bet, but now that he is sober..."
Yuuri winced recognizing the reference, “not funny at all Viktor”.
Viktor gave him his famous wink as a reply, and a moment passed between them while Viktor chew in to his sandwich and Yuuri tried to get his head in the right place.
“But why wouldn’t they just ask me to sabotage myself? In exchange of my own life? Why are they asking you to do it?” isn’t it the easiest way?
“I too wondered about it” Viktor says. “Not that I want them to do it” He quickly added. “But if they are who they say they are, then they should have figured that out too, right? If they are taking a risk by involving me in it, there should be a reason. The only reason I could come up with is, it’s just business for them. If you just lose gold it’s not that tabloid worthy. Athletes lose their gold goals all the time.”
Yuuri stares at Viktor not having the faintest idea of where Viktor is going with this and Viktor fully turns to him, taking his student’s hand in his.
“You may not have noticed Yuuri, but we are a quite famous pair of coach and student. I believe they want to pit us against each other. Create a scandal. Don’t forget, we are going to compete with each other in the next season. Viktor Nikiforov back stabs his own protégé Yuuri Katsuki - exclusively on ‘xyz’ tabloid. ” Viktor echoes the possible news heading. “Sounds very profitable to me”
“That’s disgusting!” Yuuri straightened up pulling his hand out of Viktor’s safety, unable to believe what Viktor was saying. It was just too dramatic for Yuuri’s Skating-only-focused mind to accept and Viktor saw the hesitation.
“I came to that conclusion because they wanted to know what I’m going to do exactly. What, when, where and a photo proof. Why do they need all that info if only they want is to win a bet?”
“They are trying to trap you!” Yuuri exclaimed. “And that means they are not just winning the bet but earning profits too. They are going to sell the story!”
“Yeah. I figured that much.” Viktor stated humorlessly.
During the full minute silence that passed next, Yuuri felt the air run out of oxygen and suffocate him. He took his usual calming deep breath and settled in his chair escalating the discussion to the next level, knowing very well he won’t like Viktor’s plan. “So, what are you planning to do?”
“Well, one of the very first things they said was not to contact the police. Now that they have given me their last warning, that’s the first thing I’m going to do, I’m going to the police station and lodge a complaint. I have a friend in the nearest station, he’ll save us a lot of time. But after my tasty sandwich of course.” he said taking a bite. ”You should put on some clothes and grab a bite, they will need your input about the today’s call”
Yuuri gave it a thought for a moment, like really gave it a thought while Viktor continued to savor his sandwich like it was the only thing that mattered. Yuuri knew right then Viktor had made his decision, but he at least had to try. A thought strike him as Viktor pushed his plate of sandwiches at Yuuri.
“Viktor you can’t go to the police.” Yuuri said concluding and Viktor looked at him like he was being ridiculed.
“These peoples will kill you, they already almost did,” Yuuri reasoned while Viktor’s mumbled protests fell on Yuuri’s deaf ears.
“Viktor I can’t let you risk your life and I can’t let them trap you either. So I’ll do something about it myself. I will destroy my own program and we’ll strike a deal with them. I’ll call them myself, give me back your phone!”
“Did the snow do something to your head?” Viktor laughed ruffing Yuuri’s hair pretending to search if Yuuri’s brain was still there while Yuuri sat slumped helpless. “Don’t you get the simple idea behind this? If they kill me, they get no story! Which means they are only threatening to kill me, won’t execute that for real!”
“My head is fine!” Yuuri took Viktor’s hand out of his wet hair and placed it on the table, but their hands still lingered in each other’s.
“They would still win the bet. If something happens to you, I will become a horrible mess and won’t even be able to wear the skates right, let alone winning gold! Don’t you get it Viktor? It’s a win-win for them.”
Viktor had given Yuuri a long look of assessing, wondering if Yuuri was becoming too dependent on him, but he only saw so much longing and true affection in his student’s eyes that his heart skipped a beat, realizing that in return, there is nothing he wouldn’t do for Yuuri.
If there is something Viktor knew about coaching even before he became a coach was that, being a coach entailed the unpleasant duty of telling your student what they don’t want to hear, showing what they don’t want to see, pushing them to do what they thought they couldn’t do, so they could become what they always knew they could be. Yuuri may think he is weak without Viktor, but Viktor only saw another opportunity to show Yuuri how strong he could be.
So, from that moment onwards, in Yuuri’s perspective, it had been pure abuse at Viktor’s hands. His coach pushed him to dress up, dragged him to the car without a care for his growling stomach and then locked him inside until they reached the police station. After the complaint was lodged, which thankfully happened quickly with the help of Viktor’s friend, here they were, heading back not to their home, but the rink, having a very heated moment inside the car despite the snowing outside.
“Yuuri, you need to understand why I really did it, it has nothing to do with…I mean, I’m not a stupid hero, I’m just trying to do the not-coward-thing here” Viktor tries to explain and Yuuri silently listens.
“If you consider this matter carefully, you will understand that this isn’t just about us. This is about all the skaters. Say, this year you flub your program, but what happens next year, what if they attract to Yurio? Mila, Georgie?
Yuuri looks at Viktor horrified. He hasn’t thought about it. All he though was ‘what-if’ scenarios with Viktor in it. But now the whole bunch from Yurio to Seung Gill is there. Through the images, he hears Viktor’s daring-do voice.
“If we don’t give in to them, at the least they will think twice before they do it again. Hopefully with the help from the police, we might be able to stop it for good this time, don’t you think so Yuuri? Besides the police said they will come and tap our phones as soon as possible. They also arranged to give us a police guard until the matter is resolved. That’s pretty safe don’t you think?”
“Police guard sounds good. I didn’t hear that part actually,” Yuuri admits feeling a teeny bit good about visiting the police.
“Of course not, you went in to the car fuming as soon as you finished your statement!”
Yuuri has to agree. He did storm out of the police station. He also has to agree that Viktor is right. But the what-if scenarios wouldn’t stop playing in his mind. Maybe Pittchit made him watch too many crime movies. But Yuuri doesn’t want to play the brave one right now, he just wish he could be the selfish one for once in his life and save both of them. But obviously, Viktor seems to have the whole lot of next generation of skaters in his mind.
“I agree with you Viktor, I understand why you are doing this, but-“
“Hold it there Yuuri, hold it right there. If you understand me, that’s enough for me.” Viktor says putting an end to the discussion and starts the engine.
So Yuuri sinks in to the seat and put on his ear pods and play his music for his program. Now that he can’t indulge in the luxury of not having to win Gold, he has to spend every possible minute with his skating program, in or out of the rink.
“You weren’t secretly entertaining the idea that you don’t have to bother about winning gold at worlds, were you?” Viktor asks smirking at him.
Yuuri sinks further in to his seat. Oh, how he wish he could be a closed book!
That night Viktor is turning on his bed trying different positions, his usual line of thoughts streaming in his head, ranging from ‘What did he actually mean by the ring?,' To ‘did I give Makka enough exercises this week?' and back to ‘Maybe it is just a lucky charm just as he say’.
Viktor’s train of thought is disturbed when his door is banged opened with just one knock, and there stands the one Yuuri Katsuki, complete with the full package of rumpled sleep clothes and disheveled hair, which would have looked cute some other time had he wasn’t invading Viktor’s room in the middle of the night.
“God, Yuuri, give a man a second before you open a door, thankfully I’m descent right now” Viktor complains.
“I want to take it back” Yuuri declares with no care.
“What do you mean, you want your ring back?” Viktor asks horrified, all his dreams crumbling. He sits up on the bed like a bolt.
“No, no, no, no!” Yuuri rejects vehemently. “We should take back our complaint we lodged at the police, Viktor, these people must be really dangerous, and I can’t get my mind off of how he talked over the phone. If he is so terrifying over the phone, what if he comes to kill for real”
“Yuuri it’s too late now, there is an undercover police escort right outside our house, and our phones are tapped. We can’t go back now! Besides he can’t kill us, he has a bet to ride”
Yuuri sits at the edge of his bed. His hands grind in to the rumpled bed sheet.
“I know I’m supposed to act like a twenty five year old man, but it’s you in danger here, not me. Viktor…you know I can’t see you hurt” Yuuri’s murmur is barely audible even in the dead of the night. Viktor pauses breathing for a moment and wonders if answers to all his thoughts were lying in that statement. He considers closing in on the gap and kiss away all of Yuuri’s doubts. But Yuuri is upset now, upset that Viktor will get hurt. What he needs is assurance. So he reaches in and takes Yuuri’s hand and pulls him slightly.
“Come here”.
Yuuri scoots on to his bed slowly and Viktor pulls him in one heap, deposits him on the other side of the bed. A single tear falls down on Yuuri’s cheek that Viktor almost missed hadn’t he been so close.
“Nothing is going to happen to me, I’m here, and I’ll be with you as long as you want me. In any form you want me.”
Viktor can’t help but leave hints on the way hoping the dense Yuuri will pick them up, any form you want me.
“Yuuri, do you regret coming to Russia?” He asks while pulling up the covers over Yuuri.
“What? Viktor no!” Yuuri immediately clarifies. “You can’t have a country without a few losers in it right?
“I guess so.’ Viktor agrees closing the gap between their bodies as decently as possible.
“Whatever it takes, I promise you I will not let these sadistic losers win” he continues waving off Yuuri’s worries and spooning him. Yuuri, who is now pretty used to Viktor’s outrageous display of physical and verbal affection, lets him have it without as much as a flinch.
“Let’s get some good night’s sleep or we’ll be crappy on ice tomorrow, yeah? Coach Yaakov has a lot of catching up to do with me, especially in the ‘shouting at Vitya’s face’ department!”
“You forgot again, didn’t you” Yuuri accuses him recovering from his midnight crisis. ”I’m supposed to go to the Embassy tomorrow”
“What can I do?” Viktor says cooing, almost asleep in Yuuri’s comfortable warmth. “I’ve taken it for granted that you’ll always be with me”.