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"Vitya. Vityaaaaaaa. I'm dying."
Victor, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket and sprawled out on the couch, looked up from his book at the sound of his fiance's pained groaning from their shared bedroom. He should have known something was wrong, as Yuuri was normally quick to snuggle under the blanket with him and play on his 3DS while Victor read. Every so often, Yuuri would huff and crinkle his nose adorably at something in the game, and Victor couldn't help but find it incredibly endearing every time. He would smile and nuzzle his face into Yuuri's neck, causing his fiance to blush a particularly lovely shade of crimson.
Tonight, however, Yuuri had dragged himself straight into their room after dinner, leaving Victor cold and alone on the couch. Even Makkachin, who normally draped himself across the couple's lap, was absent.
"What's wrong, love?" Victor shouted back, marking his current page with his favorite poodle bookmark. Yuuri had bought it for him off of Etsy as a gift, and after seeing how much Victor loved it, a pack of six more arrived a few days later. Each one featured a grinning poodle face on a metal clip in varying shades of white, brown, black, or gray, sporting different accessories. Victor's favorite was a chocolate brown poodle wearing sunglasses and a bow-tie.
"I'm dyiiiiiing." Yuuri whimpered, his voice muffled behind the bedroom's partially closed door.
Concerned, Victor tossed the blanket away and dropped his novel onto the end table with a soft thud. His knees protested slightly as he stood up, causing Victor to wince at the pain. Despite the discomfort, Victor moved swiftly to the bedroom to check on his incapacitated fiance. He pushed the door open with a soft creak and immediately spotted a Yuuri-shaped bundle of blankets on the bed. Makkachin lounged at Yuuri's feet (or at least where Victor guessed Yuuri's feet were--it was hard to tell under the mass of blankets), his tail thumping on the bed as he spotted his owner.
"Yuuri? Are you alright?" Victor moved to the side of the bed and attempted to gently pull the blankets off of Yuuri's head so he could see the younger man's face. Yuuri responded with a pained groan. His face was pale and his forehead was beaded with sweat, and when Victor rested the back of his hand on Yuuri's cheek he immediately felt heat. "I think you have a fever. Let me get the thermometer and check."
Yuuri shuddered, and muttered something into the pillow that Victor couldn't understand. "What did you say?" Victor tried to clarify.
With another pained groan, Yuuri rolled over and very clearly wailed, "bucket, now!"
Victor did not waste any time rushing to the supply closet to grab a wash bucket. He seemed to make it just in time, as Yuuri ripped the bucket out of Victor's grip immediately and began to empty the contents of his stomach. Victor rubbed his back and cooed soothingly until Yuuri stopped heaving, then removed the bucket with a slight grimace. Yuuri rolled back over and cocooned himself back in the blankets while Victor completed the unpleasant task of cleaning the bucket, before replacing it at the bedside, just in case. Makkachin, who had been displaced by Yuuri's sudden movements, re-settled himself at Yuuri's feet.
"Keep an eye on him for a minute, ok Makka?" Victor scratched the poodle's neck affectionately, earning a sloppy lick on the hand.
There was a thermometer somewhere in the apartment, or at least Victor was pretty sure there was. It took a bit of tossing medications and first-aid supplies out of the bathroom drawer, but Victor did locate it after a few minutes of searching. He shuffled back into the bedroom to his miserable fiance and peeled the blankets back from Yuuri's face again.
"Here, let's take your temperature while I get you something to drink." Victor put the thermometer under Yuuri's tongue, trying not to coo at how pathetically adorable the man looked at that moment. While the thermometer worked, Victor padded back into the kitchen to start boiling water for tea.
Victor arrived just in time to hear the thermometer beeping, and a quick check revealed a low grade fever. Yuuri likely just needed fluids and rest to fight whatever bug he had.
"You have a fever, but it's not too high. No practice tomorrow, lots of rest, and stay hydrated. I have some water boiling for tea. What would you like?"
"Ngh. Just need Vernors." Yuuri clutched his stomach as he mumbled a response.
"Vernors?"
"Vernors. Need some."
Victor wasn't sure what "Vernors" was. Some kind of Japanese medicine? Yuuri seemed too out of it to give him a proper answer, so Victor decided the next best course of action was to check the local pharmacy. After setting Yuuri up with some herbal tea and a promise to be back soon, Victor grabbed his coat and made his way out of the apartment.
It was a short walk to the pharmacy, and Victor made quick work of scanning the aisles for something that seemed like it could be "Vernors". He really had no idea what he was looking for. Was it a pill? A liquid? Maybe it was some variety of herb? Victor wasn't sure how long he had been perusing, but it was apparently long enough to draw the attention of one of the pharmacists. A middle-aged woman with a kind face and hair pulled up into a loose bun offered Victor a sympathetic smile. He figured he must have a pretty panicked expression on his face, because people were normally much more star-struck when they approached him.
"Can I help you find something?" The pharmacist asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, actually," Victor confirmed. "I'm looking for something called 'Vernors'. It's for my fiance, he has a fever and threw up. He's Japanese, so I was thinking it could be some kind of Japanese medicine or herb?"
The pharmacist tapped her chin in thought. "I don't think I've heard of that. But maybe a fever reducer or an anti-emetic instead?"
Victor shook his head. "No, he asked for it specifically. He doesn't ask for much, so I think it must be something important."
"I'm familiar with most of our stock, but it's possible I've just never seen it. I'll help you look. Do you know what it looks like?"
"No, I don't know anything about it. He just said he needs it."
He couldn't tell if the woman looked amused or annoyed, but she started looking anyway. She sent Victor to the other side of the store, while she picked up various bottles in each aisle to inspect them. Maybe I can call Yuuri and ask again? He wasn't sure if Yuuri would be any more coherent, but he really wasn't getting anywhere, so Victor dialed the familiar number and waited for the other man to pick up.
Just as it seemed like the call would go to voicemail, Yuuri answered with a tired, "eh? Vitya?"
"Yuuri! I'm at the pharmacy looking for 'Vernors', but I can't find it. Can you tell me what it looks like? Or what it does?"
The line was silent for a few moments, and Victor was briefly worried that Yuuri had fallen asleep. Finally, the younger man replied groggily, "why are you looking for Vernors?"
Victor frowned. "You asked me for it."
"Did I?"
"Yes. Now, can you give me more information so I can find it?"
Victor heard a groan over the phone, then another brief pause. "I don't think Russia has Vernors."
"Is it a Japanese medicine?"
A weak laugh sounded through the speakers. "No, it's ginger ale. It's big in Detroit. Settles your stomach when you're sick."
"Oh. Well, I guess I should tell the pharmacist to stop looking."
"You asked a pharmacist to look for Vernors?" Yuuri sounded confused.
Even though he knew Yuuri couldn't see him, Victor dramatically threw his hand not holding the phone into the air. "You asked me for some!"
"Sorry, I was pretty out of it earlier. Phichit and I used to get Vernors for each other when we were sick. It's like magic. Thank you for looking."
Victor sighed and waved the pharmacist down to stop her search. "Anything for you, love," he said a little flirtatiously.
Yuuri laughed weakly again, before Victor heard a whimper, followed by retching sounds.
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Victor was thrilled with how easily Yuuri had integrated into his skating family. Mila had taken to Yuuri immediately, sweeping him up in a whirlwind of red hair and a fiery attitude to match. He seemed equally as fond of the younger skater, and the two could be found regularly exchanging gossip and tips for teasing Yuri. Georgi just seemed happy about Victor and Yuuri's relationship, the man often sighing contentedly and spouting off dramatic poetry about "true love". Yuri, despite all of his loud protests regarding Yuuri moving to St. Petersburg, spent a good portion of his free time lounging at Victor and Yuuri's apartment. Yuuri even taught him to make katsudon, and Yuri barely complained the entire time. Even Yakov seemed pleased with Yuuri's presence. He called the younger man a "good influence" and a "hard worker". Yakov wasn't one to deal out idle praise, so Victor knew the old coach was genuine.
At first, Yuuri had been incredibly anxious about making a good impression on Victor's friends and rink mates. The first few weeks at the rink consisted of Yuuri awkwardly bumbling through conversations and breathing through panic attacks in the locker room. Victor tried multiple times to convince Yuuri that he was already well-liked by the Russian skating team just based on his obvious love and affection for Victor, but Yuuri insisted he needed to build up those relationships himself. It was a relatively easy task, as Yuuri was quite likeable, although completely oblivious to his own charms. Within a month, Victor noticed Yuuri comfortably talking to other skaters during breaks.
Generally, Victor was thrilled to see Yuuri enjoying relationships with the other skaters, but occasionally he watched one of their rink mates get a little too familiar with his fiance. Yuuri, of course, never noticed the flirting. In those situations, Victor would swoop in for an loving peck on the cheek, or a flirty squeeze on the rear if he was feeling particularly possessive. Without fail, Yuuri would blush beautifully, and Victor would take great pleasure in watching the would-be-flirt sulk with disappointment.
Victor also enjoyed sharing aspects of his life with Yuuri. Makkachin's favorite dog park, the best scones in the city, his favorite museum, Victor wanted Yuuri to see it all. Much to Victor's delight, Yuuri seemed thrilled to share Victor's favorite experiences. Yuuri had sheepishly admitted it was partly his inner fanboy, but Victor knew Yuuri also genuinely enjoyed learning about Victor's life and hobbies. It was one of the many reasons that Victor loved his fiance.
Of course, Victor wanted to learn about Yuuri's life too. He had a head start after living in Hasetsu, but there was still so much about Yuuri that Victor was discovering. Like how Yuuri hummed the same three or four catchy pop songs in the shower, or that he hated tomatoes unless they were cooked, or that he liked to roughhouse with Makkachin on the floor.
One of the many things Victor found fascinating about Yuuri was his obsession with a card game he learned in Detroit. "Everyone at the rink played on their lunch break, Vitya!" Victor didn't understand the appeal, but Yuuri seemed to enjoy it so much that Victor agreed to learn. Additionally, after Yuuri explained the need for two more people, Victor dragged Mila and Georgi in as well. Yuri showed up when they all sat down to play the first time, scowling and exclaiming he didn't want to play "a dumb card game", but he snatched the dealt cards out of Victor's hands anyway. Yuuri decided to take on a teaching role to maintain an even number of players.
For as brilliant at skating as they all were, none of them seemed to grasp the concept of the game, which was called "euchre", as Victor was reminded for the umpteenth time after he kept calling it "eustace".
"So, ace is highest?" Victor asked tentatively.
Yuuri's smile was patient, unlike Yuri who scowled across the table. "No," Yuuri responded, "Jack is highest."
"Is your memory that bad, old man?" Yuri smirked. The teen had started refusing to be on Victor's team after Victor kept missing his turn because he was batting his eyelashes at his fiance.
"Oh please Yura, it's not like you're any better," Mila countered. "Remember when you thought a 'kitty' referred to an actual cat?"
Yuri's face turned almost as red as Mila's hair, and Yuuri laughed. Victor couldn't help but think he had never heard a sound more beautiful than his fiance's laughter.
"Ok, are we ready to keep going? Gerogi, are you going to pick it up?" Yuuri's chuckles faded as he attempted to steer the group back on track.
Georgi frowned. "I think that depends. Yura, what cards do you have?"
Yuri was about to answer his teammate when Yuuri scolded, "no table talk!" Was it wrong for Victor to think that Yuuri looked adorable when he was annoyed? The corners of his lips turned down ever so slightly, and his brow furrowed with frustration. Yuuri proceeded to explain the rules to Georgi again, but Victor was paying more attention to the shapes Yuuri's lips were making than the sounds that were coming out.
"...Vitya? It's your turn." Yuuri's voice, now directed at him, cut through Victor's daydreaming. He blinked a few times, catching Mila's amused grin and Yuri's disgusted scoff.
"Um." Victor was struggling to remember the rules, or what the best play was for the cards in front of him, but he didn't want Yuuri to have to explain it again. Truthfully, he may have wanted to show off for his fiance a bit, so Victor threw on his most confidant grin, picked a card that he remembered having value, and tossed it into the center of the table.
Apparently, it wasn't the best choice, because Yuuri groaned. "Vitya! Why would you play that? Mila had it!" Yuuri sent him an exasperated look. "You had the right bower and you wasted it!"
Victor honestly had no idea what Yuuri was talking about, but he had that cute annoyed look again. "Sorry, love, I was distracted."
Yuuri huffed. "By what?"
Victor grinned. "By you!"
As expected, Yuuri smiled warmly and his cheeks grew pink, while Yuri shrieked in the background. "Ugh! If you can't stop ogling your stupid boyfriend for more than two seconds, I'm not going to play!" Yuri punctuated his declaration by aggressively tossing his cards at Victor, then stomped out of the room.
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Yuuri's English was excellent, far better than Victor's, in fact. Victor attributed this to Yuuri's time spent training in Detroit and being immersed in the language. Being fluent in three different languages, moderately proficient in one more, and able to say "can I pet your dog?" in at least another half dozen, Victor's linguistic abilities were nothing to scoff at. However, when it came to English, Yuuri was leagues ahead.
Occasionally, Yuuri would get flustered and slip back into Japanese (particularly when he was irritated with Victor), but these incidents were rare compared to the number of times Victor forgot an English translation.
Victor was fluent in the kind of English that made him charming in international interviews and competent enough to communicate with English-speaking competitors. However, he wasn't fluent in the kind of English that helped him be an effective coach. Sure, he knew all the English names for most skating terms, but he didn't know how to explain to Yuuri how to engage a very specific group of muscles in his legs. On the bright side, that did provide excellent opportunities for "hands on" teaching.
In their early days, Victor would sometimes bark at Yuuri in frustrated Russian, while Yuuri would respond in equally frustrated Japanese, when neither of them were sure how to communicate properly with the other. Victor liked to think they were past that hump now, as most of the time he didn't need spoken language to read what Yuuri was thinking or feeling. Victor could tell when Yuuri was going to ignore his advice to stop practicing a certain jump based on the way his body tensed and he frowned in deep concentration. He could tell when Yuuri was feeling insecure about their relationship based on the way Yuuri would glance anxiously at Victor while curling in on himself. He could tell when Yuuri was feeling a little frisky based on the way he would bite his lip and hungrily trace Victor's body with his eyes.
Still, Yuuri's English was impressive, and it wasn't just skating terms that he was fluent in. Yuuri had a mastery of the casual conversation that Victor could not comprehend. Hearing Yuuri and Phichit converse over the phone made Victor realize how much Yuuri must be slowing down his speech and enunciating to make sure Victor could keep up. Yuuri often had to explain slang terms and English jokes, though the humor was usually lost with translation.
One strange thing Victor noticed about Yuuri's English was how different it sounded compared to some of the American competitors, like Leo de la Iglesia. At first, Victor attributed the difference in his accent due to English being his second language, but he quickly realized that none of the residents of Hasetsu spoke with quite the same inflections.
Compared to other speakers of American English that Victor knew, Yuuri sounded very nasally. The only other person he could think of that sounded similar was Phichit, from what Victor could catch of their rapid fire conversations. He still found Yuuri's accent lovely, because of course everything about Yuuri was lovely, but it did seem peculiar. Really though, Victor would love Yuuri's accent no matter what it sounded like. He would even love Yuuri with a southern drawl, though he was quite happy that Yuuri did not have one of those. Victor had seen too many old cowboy movies and questioned his ability to take a southern sounding Yuuri seriously.
When Yuuri started speaking too quickly, it was sometimes hard to understand what he was saying. The combination of nasally overtones and unfamiliar slang words would leave Victor blinking in confusion.
There was one occasion where a grouchy Yuuri, in an attempt to get some space after an argument, grumpily told Victor, "Imunna go tuh thuh store tuh get sum pahp." It took a first round of translation from Phichit (who Victor had frantically texted) to realize Yuuri said he was "going to the store to get some pop", and a second round to clarify that "pop" referred to a carbonated beverage.
As Yuuri got more comfortable with Victor, he seemed to filter himself less and less. While Victor was thrilled to see Yuuri feeling more at ease with him, he started needing to keep a mental translation list.
For example, when Yuuri said he was buying "melk", he meant milk. Or, "why d'ya keep leavin' yur cloze out?" was asking why Victor was not cleaning up a pile of laundry. "You guys" referred to a group of people regardless of their gender, and "liddle kit'n" was "little kitten". The weirdest translation Victor had come across, though, was "jeet?" It was a phrase that Yuuri would throw at Victor when he wanted to know if Victor had already eaten.
Despite the English that was occasionally beyond his understanding, Victor loved listening to Yuuri talk. He loved the nasally tone and rushed sentences, even if he didn't always know what Yuuri was saying. Fortunately, Victor didn't always need to understand what Yuuri was saying.
As their relationship progressed, Victor had gradually learned to speak "Yuuri". It wasn't just navigating Yuuri's verbal language, it was learning his nonverbal language too. Yuuri didn't always say what he meant out loud, so Victor had to come to understand the intricacies of his fiance's communication. Victor learned to understand the subtle movements of Yuuri's body, the nature of his anxiety, and the meaning of his touches. While he wouldn't say he was quite fluent yet, Victor felt pretty confident he could add "Yuuri" to his list of proficient languages.
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There were days when Victor could tell Yuuri missed Hasetsu. He would stay on the phone longer than usual with his family, or scroll longing through photos from their time together in Japan. Sometimes, Victor could practically see the homesickness in Yuuri's eyes.
It was understandable, since Hasetsu had been Yuuri's home for so much of his life. Yuuri had close friends and all of his family waiting for him, cheering him on from afar. Victor probably would have been envious, if not for the fact that Yuuri's family and friends had enthusiastically accepted him as well.
After Yuuri won Onsen on Ice, Yuuri's mother had insisted that Victor call her "mom" too. She seemed to realize before anyone else that Victor was there to stay, and almost immediately started teaching him how to make Yuuri's favorite dishes. She also showed off her son's baby pictures, much to Yuuri's embarrassment and Victor's delight. Mari jokingly called Victor her "little brother", despite Victor being able to look down on the top of her head. She insisted it was about age, and "maturity", rather than height, but Victor still chuckled when she called him "little". Victor had initially bonded with both Yuuri's father and Minako over their mutual appreciation of the bottle, but it didn't take long for Victor to find them both likeable beyond the alcohol. Yuuri's father didn't seem to understand much about figure skating, but he was very clearly quite proud of his son. Minako, after her initial wariness of Victor and her you-break-his-heart-I-break-your-legs threats, turned out to be an excellent conversation partner.
Then there were the Nishigoris. Much like Yuuri, Yuuko had started off completely star-struck around Victor. He was convinced she may have even fainted a few times. Takeshi, however, had seemed completely unimpressed. In fact, Takeshi was the second of Yuuri's inner circle to give Victor the shovel talk. "I'm just saying," he said nonchalantly to Victor one day, "I'm very good at using the skate sharpener."
Although the triplets took to Victor from day one, it really wasn't until a few weeks in that they started hanging around him because they liked him and not because they wanted the Instragram hits. They could be a handful, but Victor really did love their enthusiasm.
With so many wonderful and supportive people in Hasetsu, Victor could understand why Yuuri got a little homesick. In fact, sometimes Victor thought he felt homesick for Hasetsu too. He missed the privacy of Ice Castle, and the warm meals that waited for them at the end of a long day. He missed soaking in the onsen, and letting Makka run loose on the beach. He missed all of Yuuri's friends and family.
So, whenever Yuuri got hit with a bout of homesickness, Victor did his best to make Yuuri feel loved and comforted. He'd sneak Yuuri into the rink after hours so he could privately skate his anxiety out, or arrange an afternoon off from practice so Yuuri could Skype his family, and sometimes, Victor would even make katsudon. It was never quite as good as Yuuri's or his mother's, but Victor was still proud of it.
The first time Victor made katsudon, after a video call with Yuuri's mother to make sure he was doing it right, Yuuri tried to insist he couldn't have it because he hadn't won anything. Victor, in turn, insisted that it was an incentive for future wins, and Yuuri relented with a laugh and a kiss.
If Victor missed Hasetsu after less than a year of living there, he couldn't find it surprising that sometimes Yuuri seemed to miss Detroit, too. They'd be walking along the Neva, and Yuuri would sigh and say it reminded him of the runs he'd take along the Detroit River. He would describe how the lights of Windsor's nightlife would reflect across the water, and how he and Phichit would lean on the barrier and watch boats go by. Or, he'd longingly describe the bakery in Greektown that he and Phichit couldn't pass without breaking their diet. One time, Yuuri proudly showed off a baseball he got from a professional game. "I caught a foul ball at a Tigers game, Vitya!"
Yuri, who had been lounging on their couch at the time, bounded over to Yuuri with an excited, "they have a sports team called the Tigers??"
Before knowing Yuuri, Victor's impression of Detroit had not been a positive one. However, Yuuri seemed to have enjoyed his time there. His eyes would light up when he would talk about his time training under Celestino. When Victor suggested that they visit one day, Yuuri had grinned and declared that he would take Victor to all of his favorite places. "Ok, Detroit style pizza is a thing, and you'll love it!"
Despite how often Yuuri spoke about his time in Detroit, the one thing Victor could not get a grasp on was American geography. While Yuuri was certainly not an expert, he seemed to have a decent understanding of the general area around where he had trained.
"Detroit is northern, yes?" Victor asked one day, looking at a map on his phone of the US. He honestly couldn't remember which state was which.
"Well," Yuuri responded, "Michigan is fairly north in America, but the state is technically in the midwest. And Detroit is southeast." Yuuri held up his right hand, four fingers together and thumb slightly outstretched, and pointed to a spot near the base of his thumb.
Victor wasn't sure why Yuuri was pointing to his hand. American Sign Language? "Which one's Michigan?"
Yuuri frowned and waved his hand slightly. "This one."
"Which one?" Yuuri wasn't pointing at the map, but he was still waving his hand around, more aggressively now.
"The one that looks like this! The mitten!" Yuuri sounded frustrated, but Victor wasn't sure why, since he was the one speaking in cryptic American hand gestures.
Victor looked at the map again and zoomed in on the spot that most resembled what Yuuri was talking about. "This one?" He pointed, and Yuuri nodded. "But you said it's west? This is more like east-central."
"It's just the region." Yuuri pointed to a few other states. "They call it the midwest."
"Hm. What state is this?" Victor gestured to a landmass north of the state Yuuri had identified as Michigan.
"That's Michigan too."
"That doesn't make sense. How can they both be Michigan?"
"That's the upper peninsula." Yuuri pointed to the northern portion, which Victor thought resembled a rabbit. "And that's the lower peninsula." He pointed to the mitten shaped portion again.
American geography didn't make any sense. Why would a state have multiple parts? "Is that Michigan too?" Victor gestured southeast of the mitten.
"No, that's Ohio. People from Michigan would probably be offended if you asked if they were part of Ohio."
"Why?"
"They don't like Ohio."
"Why not?"
Yuuri shrugged. "Sports? I don't know, a few of the other skaters at the rink poked fun at their friend for wearing something from Ohio but I didn't understand why."
It really didn't make sense to Victor. "Where's Detroit, again?"
Yuuri pointed at his hand again, but Victor still didn't understand what he was doing. "Yuuri, why do you keep doing that?"
"I thought you wanted to know where Detroit is?" Yuuri was frowning again.
"I do, but I don't know what that means!" Victor grumbled, frustrated that they seemed to be talking in circles.
"You don't know what what means?"
"That thing you keep doing! That gesture!" Victor pointed at his hand to emphasize what he was saying.
A few blinks, then Yuuri burst out laughing. "Oh, Vitya, I'm sorry." Still giggling, Yuuri pulled the map over, then held out his hand again. "See, the lower part of Michigan looks like this." He waved his hand a little to grab Victor's attention. "And the upper part looks like this." Yuuri moved his left hand, thumb pointing up, horizontally over his right. "It's like a map. People from Michigan point at where they're from."
"Oh." It made sense, kind of. American geography was still weird.
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Victor couldn't think of a better way to wake up than wrapped around his fiance, Yuuri's bare skin soft and warm against his own. Despite the impending alarm, Victor was enjoying the radiating heat from the body beside him and the soft sounds of gentle snoring. He knew he tended to wake up shortly before their alarm went off, so Victor was doing his best to soak up as much fiance time as he could before he had to transition into coach time.
Before the alarm chimed, Victor switched it off in favor of a more personalized wake up. He waited until the clock was exactly on the hour, as sleep was a precious commodity for Yuuri, and he had chewed Victor out more than once for being roused even slightly earlier than the scheduled time.
Yuuri's back was bared to Victor, the sheets pulled down past his hips, and Victor couldn't resist placing a few kisses on the expanse in front of him. "Time to wake up, love." Victor pressed a kiss to the nape of Yuuri's neck, an unnecessarily loud smooching sound included.
The younger man grumbled in return, and went to grab a pillow to pull over his head. However, after so many mornings together, Victor knew to expect the maneuver and grabbed the pillow out of Yuuri's reach before he could use it as a barrier. Yuuri's hand sluggishly pawed at the spot where the pillow had been moments before, another grumble escaping from deep in his throat.
"Five more minutes..." Yuuri slurred, giving up on finding the pillow.
Victor chuckled, running his fingers up and down Yuuri's back. "You know that five minutes turns into ten, then thirty, then suddenly we're late and Yakov is making us run laps outside."
Yuuri mumbled, "I'll beg if you want me too."
Victor's finger's stilled for a moment, before he playfully jabbed Yuuri in the side. "As much as I would love to hear you beg, I think that would make us even later."
A groan, followed by what Victor assumed was a curse, was the only verbal response from Yuuri. He did, however, shift slightly as Victor's finger prodded a particularly ticklish spot.
Victor grinned deviously. If Yuuri is going to be difficult, I need to take drastic measures. Relentlessly, Victor started attacking his fiance's sides with dextrous fingers. Yuuri squealed, writhing and trying to wiggle out of Victor's reach. He succeeded, but only by rolling onto the floor with an undignified shriek.
Feeling accomplished, Victor rolled to the side of the bed and propped himself up on an elbow, smirking down at Yuuri, who looked like a pretzel on the floor. Makkachin, who had resigned himself to sleeping in his dog bed after his owners' rather rambunctious night, excitedly bounded over to Yuuri and began a thorough face licking.
Unable to resist Makkachin's charms, Yuuri's protests quickly gave way to bright laughter. "Ok, I'm up!" Yuuri gently pushed the enthusiastic poodle off of him and sat up. He craned his neck and looked up at Victor with narrowed eyes, but Victor could see the corners of the younger man's lips fighting not to turn upwards.
"I can take Makka out this morning," Yuuri stated as he stood up from his place on the floor and stretched, joints cracking. He grabbed his glasses off the nightstand before padding over to the bathroom, giving Victor a glorious view of his entire bare backside. Naturally, Victor wolf-whistled appreciatively. Once upon a time, the attention would have made Yuuri a blushing, flustered mess. Now, he just rolled his eyes and made a show of dramatically closing the bathroom door behind him.
Victor sighed contentedly, before getting himself up and dressed for the day. Of course, he stopped to kneel down and give Makka plenty of pats and scratches, hitting the spot behind fluffy ears that made the poodle's back leg move. Distracted by Makka, when Victor stood up and turned toward the bathroom he didn't realize that Yuuri was approaching. Quick reflexes avoided a full collision, but Victor stumbled and felt Yuuri's shoulder bump his own.
At the same time that Victor let out an exclamation of surprise, he heard Yuuri say, "ope!" After brushing themselves off, Victor didn't think much about the incident again, both parties moving on to continue preparing for their day. The rest of the morning, and practice, passed without further incident.
Fortunately, most mornings were not nearly as dramatic. Usually, Victor and Yuuri alternated who would take Makka out and who would prepare breakfast. They would brush their teeth side-by-side in the bathroom, and Yuuri would shake his head fondly at Victor's extensive daily skin care routine. Then, they would grab their bags and head to the rink together. If the weather was nice (or at least not horrible), they would walk as a warm up. If they weren't so lucky, they'd catch a bus.
Today was one of those fair weather days, and the couple moved with purpose in the direction of the rink, rolling their shoulders and necks to loosen their muscles as they went. Yuuri was listening to Victor chat animatedly about the trashy Russian dramas he liked, nodding every so often or asking for clarification on a particularly convoluted plot point. While Yuuri's Russian had greatly improved during his time living in St. Petersburg, fast talking soap opera actors were still a little beyond his comprehension at times.
The two were so engrossed in conversation that they didn't notice a young man looking down at his phone and veering into their walking path. Victor didn't have time to warn Yuuri, and Yuuri didn't have time to move out of the way before he and the stranger bumped into each other.
Yuuri stumbled and exclaimed, "ope!" The stranger didn't look back or offer an apology, and Victor huffed at him.
Fortunately, walking speed collisions weren't an injury concern, so they both shrugged it off and kept up their brisk pace toward the rink. It was only as they made it to the doors that Victor realized Yuuri's response to being jostled by the other man was a little strange. In fact, now that he thought about it, Victor remembered Yuuri saying the same thing on other occasions, including the last time they bumped into each other in the bedroom. Victor never had really noticed, but it did seem to be one of Yuuri's weird quirks.
Victor thought about asking what the word meant, but they were approached by a scowling Yuri as soon as they walked through the doors and all other conversation topics faded.
It wasn't until a few days later, when Victor and Yuuri were helping their elderly neighbor move furniture, that Victor thought about the word again. The two were attempting to angle a couch around a sharp corner, when Yuuri bumped an arm rest into the wall.
"Ope!" Yuuri seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had said anything at all.
As curious as he was, now wasn't the time to ask. The couch was starting to feel heavy, and they needed to focus on getting the task done.
Once at home, Yuuri stumbled into the coat rack while pulling his shoes off, and Victor heard "ope" again. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask, until Yuuri pulled Victor close and demanded that the older man join him in the shower. All rational thought left Victor at that point.
It wasn't until Yuuri was asleep in his arms that night that Victor thought about "ope" again. He decided the best course of action was to make note of whenever Yuuri said the word.
So, for the next few weeks, Victor noted in his phone every time Yuuri said "ope". Once Victor started listening for it, he realized that Yuuri said it a lot. Yuuri would say "ope" when he bumped into someone (or something), but he would also say it when he dropped something. One time, Yuuri even said "ope" three times in quick succession as he rushed around in the kitchen with an overflowing mixing bowl. There were times Victor had indicated "???" in his notes, because Yuuri would also "ope" with seemingly no stimulus at all.
Finally, after hearing Yuuri "ope" after narrowly avoiding tripping over Makka's chew toy, Victor confronted his fiance with his research. "Yuuri, what does that word mean?"
Yuuri cocked his head slightly and nudged the toy with his foot to get it out of his path. "What word?"
"Ope," Victor responded. "You say it all the time."
"Ope?" Yuuri sounded confused, but Victor wasn't sure why, as this was one of his weird habits.
"Ope," Victor confirmed.
"I don't say that."
Victor scoffed and pulled out his phone, opening up to the list he had made. "Yes you do! You say it all the time! I couldn't figure out if it was a Japanese thing or an American English thing."
Yuuri took the phone from Victor, scrolling through the list. "Huh. Didn't realize I did that."
"So," prompted Victor, "what does it mean?"
Setting the phone down, Yuuri shrugged slightly. "It's just something people said in Detroit. I didn't realize I was doing it. It's kind of like 'oops', I guess." Yuri shrugged again. "You know, you bump into someone, and you just say, 'ope'. I don't really think about it."
"Ah, another weird American thing."
"Well, a weird midwestern thing, I think." Yuuri's expression suddenly looked unsure. "Does it bother you?"
"No!" The last thing Victor wanted was Yuuri to feel nervous about being himself. "I was just curious, that's all. I actually think it's kind of cute."
Yuuri smiled. "Ok."
Victor opened his arms for a hug, sensing Yuuri might need a little more reassurance. The younger man wasted no time crossing the room to accept Victor's offer, but on the way he bumped an end table with his hip and let out a soft, "ope."