Work Text:
Viktor entered their apartment as quietly as possible, closing the door slowly behind him and leaving the bags of groceries at the door. Usually, the two of them would go shopping together, but today Yuuri had planned a Skype date with Phichit, so Viktor decided he’d use the time to get that chore over and done with. Slipping off his shoes, he tiptoed into the living room, wanting to surprise Yuuri. Makkachin looked up at his approach, wagging her tail but Viktor silently brought his finger to his lips and she obediently lay back down. He saw Yuuri absorbed with his laptop, sitting at the dining table with headphones way bigger than Viktor thought necessary. Though that meant he definitely wouldn’t hear Viktor’s approach.
Viktor imagined coming up behind Yuuri, slipping his hands over Yuuri’s eyes with a loud “guess who!” Yuuri would, just for a moment, stiffen in surprise before relaxing and dragging Viktor into an embrace and then into the conversation.
None of those things happened.
Before Viktor could even finish saying “guess,” Yuuri jumped violently at the sudden appearance of Viktor’s hands coming over his eyes. He jolted up, top his head colliding with Viktor’s chin. “ Fuck! ” he all but shouted in Japanese as his hands came up to grasp at his head. Viktor wasn’t in a much better state, holding his chin and tentatively moving his jaw. Yuuri looked behind him and upon making eye contact with Viktor, he jumped up. Forgetting his headphones, his head was jerkily pulled back down by the cord before it was ripped out of the laptop. With the headphones gone, Viktor could hear Phichit laughing uncontrollably over the sound of ominous music. Yuuri pulled off the headphones, muttering apologies as he cradled Viktor’s face. “Jeez, I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?” His fingers massaged Viktor’s jaw gently. “I didn’t hurt your teeth, did I?”
Viktor shook his head, still feeling a bit shocked from the impact. He grabbed Yuuri’s wrist, though didn't move it away. “No, no, no,” he reassured. It’s my fault. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Viktor said apologetically. He had surprised Yuuri before but he had never reacted so violently.
Yuuri took a deep breath, visibly calming himself. “It’s okay, I’m fine. Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”
Viktor hummed consideringly before saying, “Maybe you should kiss it better.”
Yuuri’s expression softened as he pressed a kiss to Viktor’s chin. “All better?”
“I hate to interrupt,” Phichit’s voice rang out through the speakers, “but the zombies are eating your brains.”
Immediately, Yuuri pulled away from Viktor and grabbed his mouse. “Shit, shit, shit,” he mumbled, clicking rapidly.
“Such language, Yuuri!” Viktor chided lightly as Yuuri sat back down in his chair. Viktor didn’t hesitate in draping himself over Yuuri’s shoulders to watch the screen. “Hello Phichit!” he greeted, receiving a chipper “hello” in return. “What are you doing?” Viktor asked, directing the question at both Yuuri and Phichit.
Phichit was the one to answer, however, Yuuri’s attention fully on the screen in front of him. “We’re playing a game. Well. Yuuri’s playing, I’m watching.”
“Is that fun?”
“Yeah! We used to do this a lot in Detroit. I’m not good at these sort of games.”
Viktor hummed as he looked at the game, “The screen is awfully dark, Yuuri. Can’t you make it brighter?”
“The game is supposed to be dark,” Yuuri responded.
“No wonder you need glasses!”
“It’d ruin the mood if it were bright!”
“What mood is that?”
“Spooky,” Phichit chipped in.
“So, it’s a scary game?” Viktor asked, leaning further over Yuuri’s shoulder to get a better look at the game. Before anyone could answer, a zombie popped up on the screen with a loud scream. Viktor shouted, tightening his grip around Yuuri’s neck in surprise. A bloody “Game Over” dripped down the screen and Yuuri groaned.
“It’s the furthest we’ve gotten!” Phichit consoled.
Yuuri absentmindedly patted Viktor’s arm. “That only means there’s so much further we need to go next time we play,” he complained. When he noticed Viktor still hadn’t moved from where he had buried his head in the crook of Yuuri’s neck, he asked, “You okay, Vitya?”
“Just surprised me,” came Viktor’s muffled response. Soon Viktor recovered enough and the three conversed for a short time longer before saying goodbyes. Once Yuuri hung up the call, Viktor remembered the groceries he had left by the door. As the two of them put away the food, Viktor asked, “Do you like those horror games?”
“Hm? Yeah, they’re my favorite.”
“Can we play together sometime?”
Yuuri laughed but when Viktor didn’t join in, he asked, “Are you serious?”
“Of course! I want to try the games you love!”
“We don’t have to play horror games, though,” Yuuri said hesitantly.
Viktor immediately protested, “But the horror games seem so fun!”
“No offense, Vitya…” Yuuri started slowly, “but you got scared watching The Princess and the Frog.”
Viktor huffed, “You have to admit, the Shadow Man was pretty scary!”
“My point exactly!” When Viktor didn’t concede to Yuuri’s argument, he tried again, “Let’s play a game that won’t make us keep the lights on at night.”
“But I want to play your favorite games!”
Yuuri got the feeling this would be one argument he wouldn’t be winning and reluctantly agreed, to which Viktor planted a large kiss on the top of Yuuri’s head. Yuuri knew Viktor would likely come regret this but he also knew once Viktor had an idea, it was near impossible to deter him. Yuuri would just have to pick the least scary games.
Viktor could barely contain his excitement as he pulled on comfortable clothes, having just finished his shower. A pair of pajama pants, well-worn and soft, and one of Yuuri’s old sweaters. It was stretched out, both from constant wear and Viktor’s habit of pulling the sweater over his knees when he sat. The sweater was especially loose around his shoulders, Yuuri’s shoulders being much broader than Viktor’s. The sleeves were a bit frayed, small holes and loose yarn decorated the cuffs. Yuuri would almost compulsively play with his sleeves when he was thinking and once a hole was started or a part began to unravel, Yuuri would be unable to leave it alone. Many of the clothes Yuuri had worn while attending university looked similarly in the sleeves. It was Viktor’s favorite sweater, though. Warm and comfortable. It made Viktor feel at home.
But reason he was so excited was because today he and Yuuri would be spending the evening playing video games together. Viktor never got into video games when he was younger. Simply, it was never something he was interested in. Yuuri, on the other hand, was huge into video games. Especially once he moved to America. Yuuri and Phichit would often have gaming nights and Yuuri found games to be a good way to unwind, a good way to bond, and a good way to slip into fantasy worlds.
Still, Viktor was excited to share this interest with Yuuri. Yuuri always showed interest in reading Viktor’s favorite books, in watching Viktor’s favorite movies, in skating Viktor’s favorite routines. Viktor couldn’t wait to share this too. When Viktor came into the living room, Yuuri was setting up his laptop, plugging it into the television and bringing a wireless keyboard and mouse over to the coffee table.
Viktor sat cross-legged on the couch and pulled the coffee table a bit closer to the couch. “Wouldn’t it be better to play at the dining table?”
“You’ll be able to see better on the television. Plus, isn’t it comfier on the couch?”
Viktor couldn’t argue with that, so he eagerly patted the spot next to him. Yuuri plopped down and began to get the game set up. “What are we playing?”
“This one is called Slenderman. It was the first horror game Phichit ever played,” Yuuri replied. It was probably the tamest horror game he had.
“Ohh, what’s the point of it?”
“You have to get all the notes from the trees before Slenderman finds you.”
Viktor nodded as if that made sense. Yuuri taught him the controls and off he went. “Wouldn’t it help the mood if you turned off the lights, Yuuri?”
“…Are you sure?”
“Of course!” Viktor clicked his character’s flashlight on and off repeatedly and Yuuri felt more nervous watching Viktor play than he ever felt playing himself. Still, he turned off the lights at his husband’s request and sat back down next to Viktor. “Oh, this is spooky!” Viktor spun his character around in circles.
“Ahh, I wouldn’t turn around so much…”
“How can I find the notes if I don’t look around?” Viktor looked at the keyboard, “How do I run again?” Yuuri showed Viktor the button and watched as Viktor sprinted through the forest, making sharp turns as he navigated. “Wow, he gets tired rea—OH LOOK! A note!“ Viktor cut himself off. “This isn’t that scary, Yuuri,” Viktor commented, as his character entered the abandoned bathroom. “Ugh, it’s filthy. There’s nothing even in he—ACK!!“ the next noise Yuuri heard was the sound of his mouse being flown across the room and Yuuri couldn’t help but also jump with Viktor’s surprise. “That was Thinman?” Viktor asked once he got over his fright.
“Slenderman, yeah.”
“How many notes are there?”
“Eight.”
Viktor sighed dramatically, “I only got one!” He insisted on trying again, but somehow didn’t even find one note. (“I didn’t even know Slenderman could appear before you found a note!”) Viktor tried a third time but was caught yet again just after finding a second note. “This game is impossible!” he complained after nearly throwing the keyboard in his shock.
“Let me try?” Yuuri suggested and Viktor scooted over, so Yuuri could have the keyboard, pulling the sweater over his knees in the process. A couple times Yuuri caught Viktor glancing apprehensively towards the window and Yuuri felt the need to remind Viktor, “Even if Slenderman were real, he doesn’t live in busy Russian cities.” Viktor felt as if the game was going on forever, the music getting louder and more threatening with every passing minute. He pulled the collar of his sweater over his mouth and nose as he watched, as if the sweater would protect him from being scared. Yuuri finally grabbed the eighth note, the music cut off abruptly, and Viktor waited in anticipation to see how the game ended, only to scream when Slenderman appeared in the screen.
As the credits began to roll the only thing Viktor could say was, “What the fuck?! Didn’t you win?”
“I did.”
“But you didn’t escape! What’s the point?”
“Now we can play on a harder difficulty?”
“ That was easy?” Viktor wanted to cry.
“I played it a lot…” Yuuri attempted to console Viktor. “The point isn’t to win, not really.”
“Then why play?”
“To get scared?”
Viktor looked aghast, “And that’s fun? I thought the fun part was to win the game!”
Yuuri shrugged, “For RPGs, yeah.” Viktor looked confused, so Yuuri elaborated, “Roleplaying games?”
“Roleplaying?” Viktor’s brow rose in surprise. “Like, ‘You’re a sexy cop’ roleplay?”
“Not like that!” Yuuri’s face went bright red. “Like, um, like, ‘I’m a hero and I have to stop the apocalypse’ kind of game?”
“That could be sexy.”
“But they aren’t sexy games!”
“Are there sexy games?”
Yuuri blushed and looked away, which was all the answer Viktor needed. “H-here, let’s get a new game.” Yuuri closed out of Slenderman and browsed his game library. “Maybe Five Nights at Freddy’s?”
Viktor nudged Yuuri’s shoulder gently, “What’s the point of this one?”
“You have to survive five nights without being killed by animatronic creatures.”
“Animatronic?” It was a word Viktor had never come across before.
“They’re, like, robot animals. You’ll see when you play! There’s no running around, so it should be easier.”
“So, just five nights? I can do that!” Yuuri booted up the game and passed the controls onto Viktor. Viktor tried to listen intently to the tutorial but grew bored by the droning voice and ended up zoning out until he was done. “So, I just have to use the cameras and make sure none of them sneak up on me?” Yuuri nodded. “Piece of cake!” Viktor said proudly. Viktor seemed to be doing well until he noticed one of the machines had moved, at which point he refused to look away from it.
“Viktor, there are others too! Watch out for them all!”
Viktor conceded and proceeded to freak out when he couldn’t find one of them. “I’m closing the door!”
“You’ll lose all your power!”
This time Viktor didn’t listen and kept the door shut until his power went out and the door automatically opened. “Yuuri!” he whined, covering his eyes as the music got louder. He still jumped violently when the creature appeared on the screen, wrapping his arms around Yuuri. After a moment, Yuuri was about to suggest they stop with the horror games when Viktor suddenly sat up and declared, “One more time!”
This Viktor was more conservative with his use of lights and the doors and made it to day two, to his great excitement. He jumped up, punching the air. “Yuuri, I did it! Day one!”
“Good job! Four more days to go.”
Viktor did not make it four more days but was jump-scared halfway through the second day. “Don’t you have any easy games?” Viktor complained, retrieving the keyboard from where he had flown it across the room as Yuuri chuckled.
Yuuri made sure the keyboard was still working before exiting out of Five Nights at Freddy’s. “Maybe this one? You only need to survive for one night!” he said, clicking on Lights Out. He hesitated, though. It was probably one of the scariest games he had. After playing it, both he and Phichit silently agreed to sleep with the dorm lights on for nearly three days. “Actually, no, this game isn’t good.”
“But you said it was easy!”
“It’s really scary, though.”
“I can handle it!” Viktor didn’t give Yuuri the chance to quit the game, grabbing the keyboard and mouse from him. “Just one day! No notes, no anima… uh, robot animals. I’ll win this time!” The game started, plunging Viktor in the middle of a standard home without a tutorial. “How do you play?” Viktor asked, pressing the arrows even as nothing happened.
“Use the WASD keys to move. Click on stuff to use it.”
Viktor’s character wandered around the house and Viktor tried clicking on almost everything. “Nothing’s happening…” Viktor frowned as the character walked through the hallway. He clicked on a light switch and once the lights went out, Viktor yelped at seeing a figure at the far end of the hallway and turned the lights back on. The creature vanished and Viktor could feel his heart beat faster.
Cautiously, he turned the light off again and the figure reappeared. Repeatedly Viktor clicked the lights on and off watching as the figure appeared and vanished until one time it appeared directly in front of the screen and Viktor yelled, turning the lights back on again. “S-so, it only can live in the dark?”
“Yes, so make sure you always have lights.”
“Th-that shouldn’t be too hard!” Viktor said right as the lights above his character flickered. Swallowing, he asked, “Can I just leave the house? Let the monster move in?” The front door was locked, making it impossible for Viktor to leave. The lights continued to flicker before ultimately going out. The creature appeared again, looking as if it was made out of a combination of shadows and static. Viktor made his character sprint into the bedroom while muttering under his breath in Russian, “ Oh shit, shit, shit, SHIT!” the creature appeared right behind him as he slammed the bedroom door shut. “Can monsters go through doors?”
“They know how to use them?” Yuuri laughed.
Cornered in the bedroom, Viktor had no options except to wait it out. Even the bedroom lights started to flicker and Viktor gave up, hiding his face in his sweater again. “Can you just quit the game?”
Yuuri nodded but before he had the chance to turn off the game, the lights went out and the creature appeared on the screen. Viktor shrieked at the sight of a bloody, ghostly face, burying his face in the sweater entirely. Silence overtook the room, the only sound was Viktor’s heavy breathing. After a couple moments, Viktor asked quietly, “Can you turn the lights on, Yuuri?”
“Of course,” Yuuri got up quickly to turn on the lights, before sitting back down and pulling Viktor into his embrace. “Are you okay?” Viktor nodded. “Thank you for playing these games with me,” Yuuri said gently, rubbing up and down Viktor’s arms.
“I didn’t win a single game,” Viktor lamented dramatically.
“It’s okay. It’s not about winning,” Yuuri reminded Viktor. “Let’s put on a happy movie before bed. Tomorrow I’ll show you some of my favorite not-scary games.” That night they most certainly slept with the lights on, Viktor feeling safe in Yuuri’s embrace.
The next day, Viktor learned Animal Crossing was a much cuter and way safer game to play.