Work Text:
To say that Otabek was surprised when his boyfriend emerged from the airport, almost a full year since they had seen each other in person, sporting his signature leopard print luggage set, limited edition, would have been the understatement of the century.
Sure, he knew that Yuri had gone through a couple of growth spurts since the last time they had seen each other, they had talked about it on Skype. Every time a growth spurt threw off Yuri’s skating, Otabek was there to listen to his complaints. But when they Skyped they were both sitting, and there was no way to really know how tall Yuri had gotten. Even when he had coached Yuri through some recipes, he had assumed that the height difference was just because the computer had been placed on the counter, or as Yuri had seemingly grown taller, a chair.
He should have know Yuri’s approximate height from watching his competitions on TV, but he assumed it had been a trick of the cameras. They say they add ten pounds, so it was possible they added three or five inches. Of course seeing Yuri standing next to Viktor should have been a dead giveaway, but it was possible that Viktor was just shrinking in his old age. There was surely no way that Yuri had grown so much as to pass even Viktor in height.
All right, so maybe all the evidence had been there and Otabek had only been trying to delude himself. It’s not like he was ashamed to not have grown an inch since his eighteenth birthday, when Yuri had clearly grown like a tree. But all that didn’t matter now that they were finally back together after eleven months and sixteen days, not that he was counting. Right?
Spotting Otabek, a smile sprouted on Yuri’s face as he sauntered towards his boyfriend. Straightening up Otabek smiled back, waving.
“Hey handsome,” Yuri said pulling Otabek into an embrace, which was only a bit disconcerting. The last time they had hugged, Yuri’s arms had easily wrapped right around Otabek’s rib cage. Now they draped over Otabek shoulders.
“Hey yourself,” Otabek mumbled, voice blocked out by Yuri’s sweatshirt. Their height difference meaning that Otabek was now the one who would have to be conscious that he wasn’t just talking into his boyfriend’s chest. “Are you ready for your 21st birthday?”
“I’m ready to spend the entire week with you” Yuri responded, leaning down for a kiss.
Otabek surged up into the kiss, only to realise that their lips only met when he was standing on his tiptoes with Yuri leaning down to meet him. Since they had started dating, they had never had such a height difference between them. Just like hugging, it would take some getting used to, but Otabek was pretty sure they would get used to it. He would make sure of that, because kissing Yuri had been one of his favorite pastimes. It was just another adjustment to make with Yuri’s new found height.
It wasn’t until later that night that Otabek found the one thing about Yuri’s growth spurt he wasn’t sure could be overcome. While kissing Yuri had been one of his favorite activities, he number one favorite thing in the whole world had been cuddling with Yuri. As they laid down to sleep, Otabek couldn’t get over the fact that Yuri was all elbows. While Yuri had never been soft, when they cuddled, Yuri would lay his head on Otabek’s chest and wrap his arms around him. Now, Yuri’s shoulder, elbow, and knee seemed to dig into Otabek in the most painful ways.
“Yura,” Otabek whispered, as Yuri tossed for the third time. “If it isn’t comfortable, we don't have to cuddle.”
“But you love cuddling,” Yuri responded quietly, keeping to himself that cuddling had also been one of his favorite activities. “I just have to get situated.”
“Oww,” Otabek hissed as Yuri elbowed him sharply in the side. “Maybe we should just figure it out tomorrow. You’re probably tired.”
With a sigh, Yuri disentangled his limbs and rolled onto his side. As he drifted to sleep Otabek wondered if maybe this was one effect of Yuri’s growth that they couldn’t overcome.
Waking up was always hard for Otabek, but it was especially hard when one’s boyfriend was curled around their back. Looking at the clock, Otabek decided that it was time to wake Yuri up. As he rolled over to wake Yuri with kisses, Otabek decided that, although they couldn’t cuddle like they used to, he could get used to being the little spoon. Maybe change wasn’t so bad after all.