Chapter Text
When they first started talking about the possibility of having a kid, Viktor immediately volunteered to be the one to carry the baby. “There were times I wished I had been born a girl, just because I wanted to be pregnant. Please, Yuuri? Let me do it?”
Yuuri smiled indulgently and hugged his husband. “I would love to see you pregnant, Vitya. I saw what Yuuko went through with the triplets and thanked my lucky stars every night that I would never have to go through that. I’ll take care of you so well, you know that.”
It had been a joyous occasion when they were approved to meet with the doctors who could perform the necessary surgery and treatments. Their joy quickly faded when, after the scans were complete, the lead doctor came in with a solemn face. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Viktor, you have a rare medical condition. Your body would reject the baby and any pregnancy you attempted would end in a miscarriage. I can’t in good conscience sign off on you going through that.”
Viktor couldn’t breathe. Yuuri rubbed his back and asked the question Viktor couldn’t. “What do you mean, Doctor?”
The doctor understood and addressed the answer to Viktor. “I mean, we could implant the artificial uterus just fine, create the support structures that would allow you to be impregnated, give you the hormones to create the right environment for your baby… but you have an immune disorder that would see the embryo as a threat and attack. You’d never make it to the third month of pregnancy before you lost the baby. And, unfortunately, we don’t know how to treat it.”
Viktor’s head dropped and he started crying. Yuuri pulled him in and rubbed circles on his back. He’d gone through the evaluation too, they could afford to have both evaluated, just in case of something like this. “What about me?”
“You’re fine. There are some small concerns in your genetic history about gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, but as long as you’re careful and conscientious about your diet and exercise, you should be able to carry a child just fine.”
Yuuri swallowed hard. He’d never wanted to be pregnant, but Viktor couldn’t do it. “Thank you.”
“You have as long as you need to make the decision, Yuuri. Viktor. I would suggest you go home, think it over, talk it over, and call us when you’ve made up your minds.”
“What’s to think about?” Yuuri asked. “Viktor can’t do it, we want a child, so schedule the procedures for me, Doctor.”
Viktor looked up. “Yuuri. You…”
“Shhh. If I was going to refuse to carry your child if needed, I would have refused the testing. I know we didn’t expect it to come to this, but it did.”
“You have time, if you need it to adjust to the reversal of your intended roles,” the doctor reminded them. “I know you want a child, but after getting this kind of news, it’s best to deal with one thing at a time. Come to terms with the change in your dream, then go through the pregnancy. You’re not even thirty yet, Yuuri.”
Viktor nodded. “Thank you, Doctor. We’ll… we’ll call you when we’ve… talked this over.”
Mari was not impressed when Yuuri called to tell her the news. “Yuuri, remember how you felt when the doctor told you the knee injury might be career-ending? You refused to go to the rink at all for months, even just to use the gym equipment there to keep in shape. You told me it wasn’t even that you missed the skating, it was that you never did win that gold medal at the Grand Prix Final that was so important to you.”
“That was different. That was…”
“You couldn’t watch others skate knowing that you didn’t have the chance to make your dream come true. It’s going to be hard on Viktor, watching you go through the pregnancy that he’s dreamt of since he was a kid and just got told he’ll never have.”
Yuuri covered his mouth with his hands. This was the retirement debacle all over again, Yuuri just assuming what Viktor would want and forgetting to talk to Viktor before trying to make a decision that affected both of them. “I am such an idiot.”
“Yes. You are. Go apologize to Viktor.”
Thankfully, Viktor accepted the apology. Yuuri gave him the time he needed, and six months later, Viktor came home from the rink with flowers and Yuuri’s favorite takeout. “Uhoh. What did you do, Vitya?”
“Nothing! Yakov’s youngest daughter is pregnant, did you know?” Yuuri shook his head. Viktor wrapped himself around Yuuri. “I’m happy for her. Genuinely happy, no self-pity.” Off Yuuri’s skepticism, Viktor chuckled and added, “Well, not much, anyway. If you’re still willing to put yourself through a pregnancy for me, I’m ready to call the doctor.”