Chapter Text
Of all the new holidays Victor had brought with him into his life, Yuri likes Hannukah the best. At the start of their relationship, Victor’s arm around his waist and his hand encircling Yuri’s own as they lit the menorah were enough to make Yuri want to melt and drip away like candle wax. Now however, the weight of his husband’s head resting on Yuri's shoulder and the comforting hum of his voice against Yuri's back as he recites the prayer fills Yuri with a brightness and warmth to match the flickering flames. (Plus, Hannukah has the best traditional foods, at least in Yuri's opinion. How could one say no to fried potatoes and jelly-filled donuts?)
Technically Hannukah is already over - it had fallen this year right around Japanese Nationals, and as such the eight nights have already been celebrated, either at Yu-topia with the Katsukis or in a hotel room in Tokyo. As wonderful as holidays spent at the hot springs were (though he could take or leave the hotel, to be frank), it was important to Victor that the candles be seen from the streets of St. Petersburg, and so they'd tacked a ninth night onto the end once they'd made it back home to the apartment.
"...l'hadlik ne'er shel Hannukah," Victor finished, holding the bottom of the shamash in the flame of another candle until the wax becomes soft, and pressing it carefully back into its place. Their arms that had been holding the candle fall back around each other, Victor's around Yuri's waist, Yuri's over Victor's neck, and their lips meet for a blissful moment.
"Happy Hannukah again, Victor," Yuri whispers softly onto Victor's lips, admiring the way the reflected light of the candles makes his eyes sparkle.
"And to you, bubbeleh," Victor replies.
They gaze out the window together in silence, watching the snow fall and cover the street below, catching the light of streetlamps and passing cars.
"In the quiet of the night, let our candle always burn, let us never lose the lessons we ave learned," Yuri quietly recites.
"Ah! You noticed it too?" Victor asks happily.
"Actually, that's part of why I chose Teo Torriatte in the first place," Yuri said, turning around to better face him. "Lighting candles and passing stories from one person to another... it reminded me of all the new experiences you've given me. Though it was in part just lucky timing as well," He explains with a gentle smile.
"Aw, Yuri, my beautiful Yuri!" Victor cries out happily, cupping Yuri's face in both hands and pressing a kiss to his forehead, "I love that so much! Thank you!"
"I'm glad," Yuri laughed, cheeks still squished between Victor's hands. From elsewhere in the apartment, a timer sounds. "Now, since the candles are lit, shall we partake in the rest of the festivities?"
"Of course, of course!" Victor answers, and ushers him into the kitchen where sufganiyot bought at a bakery on the way home from the airport and latkes courtesy of Yurio and his grandfather await them.
"Oh, I meant to ask this a week ago but it slipped my mind," Yuri begins, taking one of the latkes directly from the cookie tray they'd been reheated on, "So, Lev isn't Jewish then?"
"No, the side of my family he's on is mostly non-religious," Victor says, sounding almost disappointed, "But, Lev has been very curious about it all recently! He's such a cute little cousin," he adds, before taking a bite of his own latke and practically melting at the taste. Yuri is inclined to agree with this assessment, but it's also very funny to hear the two-meter-tall man described as a "little" anything. But thinking about him, something else comes to mind.
"Hey, is it okay for me to ask what you and he talked about when you both disappeared after the competition?"
"Mm," Victor nods, holding a finger up as he finishes chewing and swallowing, then says, "You!"
"M-me?" Yuri asks, somewhat surprised.
"I mean, essentially, yes! He was looking for relationship advice, and asked me what it was I did to get you to stay with me. Can you believe that?"
Yuri can't help but laugh remembering the silly dramatics they had gotten themselves into at the start of their relationship. "I feel like no one ought to follow our advice in that respect."
"Yes, to be honest, I panicked a bit. So I just told him what I love so much about you and pretended it was advice!"
"And? What did you say?" Yuri asks with just the slightest amount of mischief, lacing his fingers with Victor's across the kitchen counter.
"I said... he should continue to surprise his husband in little ways," Victor says, rounding the end of the counter to pull Yuri close, holding his waist and changing the grip of their hands to lead him in a slow dance, "To win his heart all over again every day. But at the same time, to be reliable, a constant in his life, even as their lives change around them."
"That's... actually pretty good advice, I think." Yuri says thoughtfully as they sway to the music only the two of them can hear (though he still blushes at the sentiment). "I think I ended up conveying something similar to Kenma, actually, through my program... he mentioned at dinner that it ended up claryifing something for him. I wonder if he was looking for the same advice as Lev and didn't realize it."
"See, we do have something to offer to the younger generation!" Victor says with a grin as he dips Yuri, and suddenly their lips are pressed together again. And in the silence that follows, they hear the distinct sound of a dog munching on something she shouldn't be. The two men pull themselves upright again to see Yulia, her front paws up on the counter, finishing off one latke and then sniffing towards the tray, eyeing another.
"Yulia! No! Bad dog!" Yuri scolds, and Yulia drops down from the counter to come sit in front of him, wagging her tail and staring up at him innocently. Victor laughs, and Yuri pushes him away. "Don't you laugh, it's your fault she's so spoiled!" he pouts, crossing his arms. "I swear, you let her get away with more than you do me."
"When have I ever, for a moment, not showered you with all my love and affection?" Victor whines, eyes pleading as Yuri rebuffs his attempt to hug him.
"When you smack my food directly out of my hands and eat it in front of me?"
"That's just tough love!"
As they squabble affectionately, Victor managing to capture Yuri in his arms and trying to kiss him again as Yuri struggles to pull away, laughing, Victor's phone chimes.
"Ah! That's Lyovochka!" he says, and quickly manages to plant a smooch on Yuri's cheek before pulling his phone out of his back pocket.
"I hope we'll be able to see him and Kenma again sometime soon," Yuri says, giving up and relaxing into Victor's embrace as he checks the message. "I'd love to meet some of the friends they were talking about as well..."
"Actually, we may have to make a trip to Tokyo in the very near future..." Victor says, smiling wide and angling his phone for Yuri. It takes him a moment sounding out the Cyrillic characters as Victor beams with pride, and he asks:
"Sorry, I haven't learned this one yet, what does 'помолвлен' mean?"
"It means 'engaged'!"
And a moment later, a picture from Lev comes through: a selfie of himself grinning with an arm around Kenma's shoulders, pulling him close. Kenma has the lower half of his face covered with a hand, but his eyes betray his own smile. And on his ring finger, a small band of emerald and silver. Yuri smiles back at Victor.
"Loverboy proposed!"
