Chapter Text
It all started, Yuuri could now recall, a week before the argument finally broke.
Yuuri would claim it was their first real argument as a couple. Viktor would posit that their argument at the Cup of China was their first argument as a couple, followed by the one the night before the free skate in Barcelona, and Yuuri would counter that they were not a couple until their conversation after the cup (“Really, Vitya, if both people aren’t aware they’re in a relationship, it’s not a relationship!”) and that the Barcelona Miscommunication™, as Yuuri had taken to calling it, had not been an argument, as both he and Viktor had simply stated their opinions on the matter without attempting to bring the other to their side.
They would both agree that this one was an argument, though. About a week ago, Viktor had bought Yuuri a new cashmere sweater. It was soft and warm, the kind of thing Yuuri would never buy for himself because it was clearly so expensive, but it was a very nice and thoughtful gift from his fiancé who had clearly heard his complaints about the cold. Yuuri accepted Viktor’s gift graciously and moved on with his life.
Except that that was only the beginning. One joking complaint about how the only suit he owned was the one from the conference last year and a new suit appeared in his closet, complete with new cuff links with his name inscribed in kanji, which were clearly custom made, and a set of ties with matching pocket squares. All of it was a bit rich for Yuuri’s taste, but Viktor had been so proud and happy to show him the gifts that he wouldn’t’ve dared say anything.
Yuuri said off-hand that the knives were getting a bit dull; Viktor appeared with a brand new set and a sharpener. Yuuri bemoaned the thinness of the curtains one morning as they got up for practice; Viktor ran off during lunch to purchase and install blackout curtains. Yuuri mentioned that he’d probably miss the cherry blossoms this year, wouldn’t he, and Viktor went and imported a sakura bonsai. No big deal. Casual as you like. Express shipping.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was more of a lamp that broke the skater’s patience. Yuuri was finding it a bit difficult to read in the living room and suggested that they might want to consider moving one of the lamps in the office to the table by the armchair.
When Yuuri returned from an evening jog with Makkachin, he could only stare in dismay at the gorgeous work of art sitting on said table.
“Isn’t it pretty, Yuuri?” Viktor cooed. “It reminded me of the costume you picked for your short program this season!”
The Tiffany and Co stained glass lamp resting on the side table did indeed share its color scheme with Yuuri’s new short program costume. It was gorgeous, no doubt about it. But Yuuri knew without even having to google it that a lamp like that would run someone a minimum of $4,000 USD.
Yuuri couldn’t believe it. He knew Viktor was much more careless with money then he was, but he had never expected that the problem was this bad.
Last time Yurri had checked their shared bank account two weeks ago, it had contained 577669.32 rubles. He knew there was a separate account that Yakov had put in place when Viktor was younger to automatically pay the bills for Viktor’s apartment, so he wasn’t worried about that. But he’d had plans for some of the money in their shared account, which were now going to be cutting it very close. During last week’s call with his mother, she had suggested a week visit to Hasetsu immediately after the next competition as a surprise for Viktor and all his hard work pulling double duty as coach and student. Yuuri had thought this was a great idea and had started looking into plane tickets and a gift for Okaasan. In the shop window across the street from Viktor’s favorite café, he had found the perfect thing: A heart shaped necklace made from traditional Baltic amber. Yuuri had never purchased his mother anything so extravagant in his life, but had figured that since he had the money now, he might as well. She definitely deserved it.
The problem was that the necklace ran for 30,000 rubles, and with plane tickets for the both of them likely running about 70,000 rubles, Yuuri wasn’t sure if there would be money left in the account for both of those purchases. He really didn’t want to have to dip into his personal account because he knew there were upcoming skating expenses he was going to need to account for.
Yuuri could feel his heartbeat picking up from the combination of irritation and worry coursing through him. Viktor really could be such an idiot sometimes.
Viktor had stopped talking about the lamp and was now looking at Yuuri, eyebrows furrowed.
“Yuuri? What’s wrong? Do you not like it? I can get a different one if you’d rather-“
“バカ!” Yuuri yelled. He felt as surprised as Viktor looked. He wasn’t aware that he’d been on the edge of shouting, but clearly he had been. He sighed, and open his mouth to apologize, but Viktor started speaking first.
“Ох… ну ладно. Да. Если это то, чего ты действительно хочешь…”
And with that, Viktor turned, grabbed his coat off the rack, and walked out the front door. Yuuri had never heard a sound reverberate more than when the door closed behind him.