CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY

Never one to enjoy wearing hats, Viktor could make no excuse; the need to be able to walk more than 5ft without being recognized - both by fans and ne'er-do-wells - was slightly more important than maintaining perfect hair. Helping with the decision to wrap his noggin was the increasing whip of winds. Having at least half-accepted that such a scenario would present itself, Viktor came fashionably prepared for it, and as he and his beloved stepped out of their dorms dressed entirely in normal garb, Viktor had his head and face warmly covered with a plush knit cap and matching scarf. The pair wore their comically large - nearly tablet-sized - badges until they made it to the gates, and then slipped them into Yuri's knapsack for easy access again later. By the time they made it to the train station, it was clear that they were safe - after all, it was Jiro who got all the attention, not them.

Viktor looked from phone to scenery as he tried to pin-down where they were heading, "...How hard could it be to find two child-size statues of the Olympic mascots?"

Yuri glanced around, but the station was too full of people to catch sight of anyone that might look familiar, "Can you see a store-front in the background?"

Blue eyes looked down at the screen again, "...Yeah but they're written in Korean."

"Lemee see." Yuri said, and leaned in to get a look of his own. He poked around on the phone, zooming in on every detail, until one part of the frame stood out, "There...'Jewelry Factory.'"

"How did you-" The silver puffed, and pulled the phone back up in front of his nose like he couldn't believe it. Sure enough, barely visible at the far edge of the photo, was a sliver of signage written in English. Viktor deadpanned, "Oh."

"Now we just need to find that store." Yuri went on, and pointed to what looked like a map of the terminal. They gradually made their way through the throngs of people and found what turned out to be a rather unhelpful diagram. Yuri grumbled at it and made a face.

"Found it." Viktor chirped, "We just needed a better vantage." He pointed at the thick crowd surrounding the barely-visible Olympic display, just past a big Christmas tree on their left. They slid behind the miniature white picket fence that protected the tree from being walked over, and followed the glass walls until they finally found themselves in front of the Jewelry Factory; Jiro did the rest, barking happily at the other half of their merry band.

.

The trip on the newly built Gyeonggang line KTX was only a half hour long, zipping them from the coast to the mountains in record time. Packed tight even in First Class, and with every seat facing forward, catching up properly would have to wait until they disembarked again at Jinbu Station. A few obligatory photos were taken by the much-larger mascot statues outside, and they were off again in one of the many shuttle-busses ready to take them to the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center.

Viktor let out a long sighed breath as the bus took them up into the mountains, knees pressed straight into some poor soul's back in the seat ahead of him. The bus was crammed full of people, and all Viktor could do was squirm and fidget in his narrow chair. Yuri tapped his leg though and gestured across the thin aisle towards someone who - quite possibly - was even more uncomfortable than Viktor was.

"He's like two inches taller than you, and I bet most is in his legs," Yuri whispered, amused but also piteous towards Mikhail's discomfort, "At least you can still move around if you sit up straight."

"Sitting up straight defeats the purpose of being comfortable."

"I think you're up a creek either way then."

"Unfortunately..." Viktor sighed.

It wasn't a long trip though, and the silver was up on his feet before the final brake, standing in the aisle with a hand clutched to his husband's...all the while, making the same pitiful, impatient, pre-freak-out half-whines as a certain internet-famous opera-singing French bulldog. He made a face the whole time, waiting for everyone in front of him to finally disembark, and all but flung himself off the steps to the outside once he was close enough.

"Someone remind me why I don't just have us flown up here so we can parachute to the grounds." Mikhail grumbled, stretching out after getting entirely cramped-up from the small seats.

Yuri and Minako looked at one another, and both abruptly pulled out their phones, loaded up their camera apps, set them to selfie-mode, and turned them to face the elder, "This is why." They explained.

All he saw was his own face on their screens, and he deadpanned dryly at them, "...Fine."

They both puffed a few quiet laughs to themselves as they put their phones back. With distractions over, the group finally got their first good look at the ski jumping complex, and looked up the two huge, rounded ramps from their vantage at the edge of the parking lot. Off to one side were a few practice ramps. Surrounded by rocky hills on the side of one mountain, covered tip-to-tail in snow, with thin woods closer to the tops, it certainly felt as remote as they knew it to be. In a valley between ridges of the mountain, a viewing square was set up at the base of the jumping ramps, and seating bleachers were arranged on three sides, which were filling up quickly. Nikki stepped ahead of them and prompted the forward venture, and the bunch of them finally found seats on the far right side.

The ski-jumping qualifiers weren't long in coming, and the first athletes began their flights, some landing quite far on the decline and others barely finding any air at all. Each athlete was called by name and country on big outdoor speakers, and eyes went up the artificial hill, staring beyond the crest of the ramp to the lift-tower at the top of the mountain. At the height, a saucer-shaped viewing deck, where athletes and coaches waited for their turns in their own private lounge in the clouds. On the right, the main and largest ramp, with its entry-point pressed directly against the tower. Just beside it on the left, a slightly shorter and narrower ramp, with a curved outdoor bridge that lead from the tower to the top of the in-run. From their vantage in the stands, the group was able to get a good side-view of each jumper, and clearly saw the point of each landing.

On some of the impressive jumps, Yuri could feel himself leaning in place, as if trying to correct for any flaw caused by wind or poor technique. Reactions from the crowd were as benign as golf-claps, all the way up to people jumping out of their seats with excitement. Jiro joined in sometimes with a few excited barks, having no idea why all the people were acting the way that they were, but eager to join the fun anyway.

"So how are you feeling about the Team event tonight, Vivi?" Mikhail wondered as he finished a clap for an Austrian participant, "Does it make any difference to you or does competition always feel the same?"

"What do you mean? In general or just because I'm skating for Japan this time?"

"For Team Japan."

Viktor sat back in his seat, and threaded his arm back over his husband's shoulders, "It's the same as it always was, but I guess I feel a bit more pressure than before. Japan has stuck its neck out for me. Even with my track-record, and the confidence I have that I'll do just fine, I still don't want to disappoint them."

Yuri listened quietly to them, with Jiro on his left side in his own seat, and his hands retreated to his pockets for the warmth. He leaned into his husband's side, using the man's shoulder as a head-rest while they waited for the next athlete to square-up.

"Have you run into any trouble yet?"

"So far, no. It's been completely quiet."

"That's not true." Yuri scoffed; both of those silver-haired heads turned to gape at him, "Yakov told you to your face that you couldn't be anywhere near the OAR so long as they're working."

Mikhail gave his nephew quite a look, "You said there hasn't been trouble."

"I don't count that as trouble," Viktor defended between them, "Being told to screw-off is different."

"Mmmmmmmhhh..."

Yuri shook his head, but he then abruptly shot forward on his seat, hands clamped down onto Viktor's leg as he gawked at Mikhail, "Wait, is that why Yurio's not here? Was he told he can't be near Viktor, too?"

"Huh?" Both Mikhail and Minako gaped skeptically, but the silver answered, "No way, he's just gone to work-out with Beka... Otab...Otabeka... That guy."

Nikki sneered at him from behind Minako's shoulder, "Yousaidyou'dbenice."

Mikhail leaned back in his seat and turned far around to look at her, "I'm trying. Being a cantankerous old man is a hard habit to break."

"Otabek." She said, "Say it with me. O-ta-bek."

"...O-ta..." He started, "...Becky."

"DAD."

He just smirked to himself contentedly, "I'm sure I'll get it one day, when you're 30 and have a wealthy and successful husband that isn't him."

Nikki scoffed again, "...We're literally at the Olympics and he's an athlete here. I'm not sure how much more successful someone can be than this."

"When he's wealthy, too, you can speak of it again."

Viktor puffed a laugh, "Suddenly I'm glad that I didn't have to get your permission to date someone."

Yuri blanched, "That's horrible."

"You will always be my perfect, wildly successful, rich, handsome, and tasty pork-cutlet bowl fatale." The silver teased, and nuzzled the side of the younger man's sulking head, "Besides, I have this sneaking suspicion that Mimi's over-protective nature wouldn't have extended to my romantic overtures."

"Maybe." Yuri grumbled.

"Viktor isn't my baby girl." Mikhail added.

Nikki just threw her arms up in the air, "Ugh!"

"If I had been the one to guide Vivi on romance, it would've been my responsibility to teach him how to be respectful, responsible, and not to treat his partners like conquests." The elder explained, "That as a man, he's supposed to be a protector and a leader, to keep a good humor, and to know the difference between being strong and being a bully."

Viktor made a face as he listened, "...I don't think anyone specifically taught me those things."

"Yakov didn't?"

"...No. I learned mostly from making mistakes... But, I like to think that I was already on the right path for most of that stuff." The younger silver defended, "I don't believe I ever had an inkling for being a bully, and I definitely never looked at my partners as being conquests. I was a bachelor for years because of it. I couldn't tolerate the idea of being with someone if there wasn't some meaning to it. I had my few flings, and then had my big season-busting disappointment...and just kind of gave up on the whole idea after that."

"That's just such a weird thing to think about," Minako said, shaking her head, "That you had the whole world in the palms of your hands and you just turned your nose up to all of it."

"...Well, not all of it." Viktor corrected, "I just never let anyone get emotionally close to me. The rebound I dated after Sophia was a big mistake, and it put me off the whole concept of dating for a long time. But, I'm glad about it either way. If not for her, I probably would've been with someone all along, going from one girl to the next, and my eyes would've been shut when Yuri came along."

"Are you suggesting I couldn't have seduced you away?" Yuri dared to wonder, "You've said pretty often that my drunk antics were enough to make you fall in love with me on sight."

"You do make a strong point, my love...but..." Viktor started, "If I want to be able to honestly say that I'm loyal, I have to believe I wouldn't have been emotionally available to anyone else if I was already taken."

"...That makes me feel better and worse at the same time."

"That's not to say you couldn't have had the power to make me fall out of love with someone, if it had ever gone so far." The silver pointed out, and squished his hand where it curved around his partner's shoulder, "I just mean that I wouldn't have been able to Indiana Jones it. Swapping my emotional attachments from one person to another, like putting a sack of rocks in place of a gold statue to stop a trap from springing."

"I think even the slightest thought that I wouldn't have been able to get you is depressing," Yuri sighed, "Even if what you're saying makes total sense, and any rational person should be able to appreciate it."

"Then I'll say no more. I'm yours, now and always."

.

The early afternoon switched from ski-jumping to freestyle skiing, and as the winter sun began its early descent towards the horizon, the crew made their way back to Gangneung.

Yuri checked his phone as their shuttle approached the Village gates, and he confirmed his suspicions to the others, "Yeah, Yurio's still with Otabek. They're actually in the dorm right now." He said, and looked up to the Kazakh flag hanging off their building, "We'll collect him and bring him to the arena?"

"Sounds good. See you guys again in a little while." Mikhail agreed, and he along with Minako and Nikki waved at them as they disembarked.

The pair and their pup made their way through the increasing winds to get back inside as quickly as they could, and made their way up to their floor to collect Viktor's skating gear and outfit. Once they had it all though, they went a few floors down and stepped out, seeing an entirely different display from Team Japan. It was already a bit of a mess, with trash on the floor and writing on the walls like the morning after a college party. It made Viktor's skin crawl, but not so much as it did when the both of them heard someone suddenly yelling in Russian from one room over.

"Idi sjuda i uberi ètot bardak!"

Yuri felt his heart go up into his throat, and he all but jumped into his partner's arms for safety. Several people suddenly came rushing out from all different ends of the floor, frantically scrambling to find garbage bags and started to gather up all their refuse. Impressively, within a minute, the floor was clear, and whatever had been done to the kitchen had seemingly been erased. Viktor nudged his head to the side for them to sneak through, and they stepped into the Kazakhstani dorm proper.

"Yuri?"

"Yuuuuuri~" Viktor echoed, and they rounded a corner into the common-space of the floor. They spotted their query sitting in a huge beanbag in front of a big-screen television, with Otabek beside him in his own, the both of them playing Super Smash Bros., neither of them particularly bothered by the panic outside, "...Oh, no wonder you didn't come running out with the others."

"The mess wasn't ours." Yurio countered, slouched back on his beanbag like he could sink into it completely, beating-down on Bayonetta with his Cloud, "I'm not cleaning up shit if I didn't put it there."

"That, but less vulgar." Otabek agreed, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees as he focused. His thumbs were quick, but not quick enough to stop his black-clad witch from getting booted off the side of the screen with dramatic effect. He narrowed his eyes, then cast a rather judging look at the Russian Tiger beside him, "...You've literally never played this game before and you're beating me. How is this possible?"

Yurio shrugged, "Sorcery?"

"We're heading up to the arena for the Team Skate," Yuri interrupted, "Mik was hoping you'd come with us to meet back with them."

"Is it that time already?" The teen puffed, and handed his controller over to the defeated Kazakh, "Alright. You gonna come too, Otabek?"

"I can."

"Let's head out then." Yuri said, turning back towards the exit, "...It feels weird being in someone else's section."