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Viktoria woke to a gentle breeze ruffling the fine hair on the back of her neck, most of her silver hair bundled up in a knot on the top of her head. Spring was truly on its way in late April, and god, she wasn’t ready for the heat Hasetsu had planned. She groaned softly at the sheen of sweat coating the back of her neck and rolled into Yuuri, her sweet, if snoring, fiancée. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, but Viktoria could tell something was wrong today. Her usually soft, sweet features were twisted up in pain; creases had furrowed between her inky brows and she was sweating too, though it seemed it was a bit more severe to be just from the heat.
Viktoria hated it.
The visible pain on her features wrenched at her stomach and, even after seeing how early it was in the morning, she had to wake her sleeping beauty.
“Yuuuuu-ri…” Viktoria cooed, kissing her ear softly, pulling back their padded duvet. “Dobroye utro… it’s time to wake up~”
Yuuri didn’t stir, but she did moan softly. And not the good kind of moan. Not the toe-curling, thigh-quaking kind of moan. No, this was a pain moan. Viktoria’s heart jumped up into her throat as she jumped out of bed, peeling back the covers completely, maybe she had hurt herself in her sleep, maybe the fall she had taken during practice the other day had finally begun to show signs of injury.
“Noo…” Yuuri whined when the covers retracted; she reached out grabby hands for the billowy white duvet that she and her Vika shared, but it was nowhere to be felt or returned to its rightful place, wrapped around her body entirely. “Vikaaaaaaaa…” she groaned, rolling to the side to pull the blankets back. Surely her blanket hog of a fiancée had stolen it from her. But there was no Vika.
Slowly, her eyes opened to their bedroom, all the windows flung open and and the duvet on the floor. There was a frantic voice in the kitchen and the sudden clattering of something on the tile floor, and as Yuuri moved to see what was happening, it hit. Another sharp pang of pain in her stomach.
Oh.
It made sense now.
She laughed tiredly and laid back down into bed slowly, reaching for her phone resting on the side table, sliding her glasses back onto her face so she didn’t need to hold her phone two inches from her nose. Her calculations from last week had been right.
She had stopped taking her birth control about a month ago, and the doctor had told her that the first cycle after the hormones worked their way out of her system would be particularly rough. But this rough? God, even before she began taking the hormone shots, things had been relatively easy to manage. Her cramps had never been this bad. She had only really been taking the shot as a method to control her cycle; skating was a lot easier when she didn’t have to worry about staying off the ice for a few days every month.
“Vika?” Yuuri called, unwilling to move from the only comfortable position, curled up on her right side, facing the open window overlooking Hasetsu. If she squinted, she could see Yutopia from here. “Vika?” She called again when no answer came.
Suddenly, a scuffle of both bare feet and paws hurried toward the bedroom. Viktoria, her sweet, silly, and incredibly loving fiancée immediately hurried to her side. “Yes? You’re awake, thank god. Are you hurt? What’s going on? Is it your ankle? I knew I should have been more careful with those jumping exercises so early after the off-season. Do you need pain killers? An ambulance? You should just fire me as your coach, I swear, I’m so sorry, love, I’m-”
Yuuri laughed at her babbling and lifted one hand, pressing a single finger to her soft lips. “Shhh. Let me talk, babe.” her laugh shifted to another pained moan.
“Yuuuuuuuuuri, are you sure you’re okay?” Vika whined, crawling back into bed with her. “I can still call emergency if you’re not well. Or your mother, would that help?”
“Vika, please, I’m fine, it’s just my first period after the birth control.” Yuuri explained, smiling weakly as Viktoria wrapped her strong, lean body around Yuuri’s own soft, out-of-season self. She was always one to gain quickly, and in the small gap between seasons, she had gained quite a bit. Viktoria spoiled her rotten with sweet treats and snacks now that they lived together in Japan. They had moved back to Yuuri’s hometown after Vika retired, three years after returning to the ice after her season away. Whether it was something small from the conbini on the way home or something homemade, Yuuri almost never went hungry. “The doctor said it would be a harsh one, especially since I was on hormones for so long…”
Viktoria’s face shifted from worry to relief. “Oh, alright, sweetheart. I was worried!” she scolded gently. “You were moaning in your sleep like you had been stabbed in the chest, detka...”
Yuuri giggled softly and winced as the pain of clenching her stomach muscles rolled through her body, only amplified by the cramps. “You’re impossible.” Yuuri said simply, setting her phone aside. “I feel gross though, are periods always this bad?”
Vika laughed and shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’ve never had a rough one.” she said, reaching back for a hair elastic and slipping out of bed. “Let’s get your bangs out of the way, I bet you’ll start feeling a little cooler.” Viktoria offered, seeing the sweat beading on Yuuri’s brow. She settled in behind Yuuri and gathered up the shoulder-length sheet of ebony hair and tied it up in a messy tail, clipping back her shaggy fringe with her signature blue barrettes.
“Mmn, thank you, love.” Yuuri hummed, feeling the heat of her skin die down a bit. “I think I’m going to need a shower, though… I’m sweaty.” Viktoria laughed softly and nodded.
“Da, let’s get you up, hm?” she said with a smile, slowly helping her fiancée out of her fetal position, setting her two feet on the floor. “Do you need some painkillers? I believe that was one of my original offers…” Viktoria suggested as they made their way to the ensuite slowly, taking measured steps.
“Yeah, and a big breakfast… something with lots of carbs. Ohh, can you make me some of your crepes?” Yuuri asked, already feeling a few cravings setting in. Yes, she remembered these. She had always had the cravings, which her mother had only ever indulged for her, whipping up just about anything her cranky, hormonal daughter whined for. (Behavior which was, mind you, dear reader, completely outside of Yuuri’s usual kind, shy and soft temperament.) “And… can we go to Yutopia for dinner? I want katsudon…” she said as Viktoria sat her down on the edge of the tub and turned on the shower.
“Of course we can, Yuuri. Like I could ever deny my sweet little kobuta-chan her favorite food.” Viktoria said with a wink, waiting for the water to heat.
“Even though I’m on my diet?” Yuuri asked, batting her eyelashes at Vika sweetly.
“You get a pass this week, Yuuri. You know that.” She replied, easy as breathing. As soon as the shower was hot enough, Viktoria pulled Yuuri to her feet and kissed her sweat-slick forehead, giggling at the salty taste. “Let’s get you all clean, porosenok.”
Yuuri laughed at the cute expression on her fiancée’s face, but a cramp quickly stole her breath away and she swayed forward into Viktoria’s arms. “Oh, f-fuck…” she swore, clutching at the soft flesh of her lower belly.
Viktoria’s eyes went wide and she let Yuuri lean against her chest. “You said you haven’t had a hard one like this before?” she asked, mostly unprepared for what a hard cycle would entail. Her own lean body fat made things far easier for her, her periods often so light that they barely made a blip on her radar. Yuuri shook her head but didn’t say anything, trying to hold in the pained moan threatening to spill from her lips. “Would a bath be better, lyubov moya?”
Yuuri nodded, and god, it took all of Viktoria’s strength not to pick her up and set her in the bath herself at the pained smile on her girlfriend’s lips. She quickly off the tap and turning to the massive Japanese-style bath, a luxury that she had no idea she was missing until that snowy spring day, so many years ago. (It had taken her a few tries to figure out the complicated heat settings on the built-in control panel, but Yuuri had only been happy to teach her how hot she liked the water. Which was just this side of scalding.)
“Is it a salts kind of morning, or a bomb kind of morning?” Vika asked gently, rifling through the cupboards under the sink to find all the soothing products she knew Yuuri loved; the Japanese bath salts, the pile of bath bombs, the bottles of scented oils, and of course, the gingersnap-scented lotion she favored.
“The salts, please.” Yuuri replied, sitting on the edge of the bath as it filled. “And can you grab me some--” she began, but was immediately cut off by a tall glass of water being set in her hand.
“Drink up, please.” Viktoria said, “And take these.” Vika dropped a few capsules into her outstretched hand. “I’ll make a big breakfast for you and you won’t be lifting a finger, da? Do you understand me, Katsuki Yuuri?” she wagged her finger at Yuuri like a doting mother, and Yuuri tried to stifle her laugh.
“Da, I understand you, Viktoria Nikiforova.” she replied, giggling under her breath as she took the painkillers and washed them down with the cool water, watching as the bath filled. “You don’t have to do all this…”
Viktoria tossed in a few handfuls of Yuuri’s lavender-scented salts and swirled the hot water around gently before leaning down and kissing her forehead. “I know I don’t have to. But I want to.” she said simply. “You’re my Yuuri. And my Yuuri needs to be loved and cared for when she’s not feeling well.”
Yuuri’s heart soared at hearing her girlfriend so sweetly tend to her, and felt her eyes flutter shut. “Thank you, lyubov moya.” she murmured the pet name under her breath, catching her soft lips in a kiss before pulling away. “Help me into the bath?”
“Moichiron,” Vika replied in her stilted Japanese, a heart-shaped smile on her cheeks, as always. “Take as long as you need.” Yuuri settled gratefully into the bath, the bathroom lights dimmed, the heat just right, and a cherry blossom-scented candle lit, she nearly fell asleep a second time, lulled into complete relaxation.
Viktoria smiled proudly to herself when Yuuri didn’t emerge from the bath for nearly two hours, wearing just her Team Russia jacket and a pair of soft, cotton boyshorts; the time gap had given her plenty of time to craft the perfect breakfast for the two of them to share.
Viktoria had whipped up a massive pile of crepes for both of them, Viktoria’s own topped with fresh fruit and honey. Yuuri’s… well, Vika may have gone overboard on Yuuri’s. Hers were loaded with cream cheese, powdered sugar, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. All of the fixings that she loved were so cruelly denied her during the competitive season were piled up on a plate for her enjoyment.
“Smells yummy…” Yuuri mumbled as she made her way into the kitchen, dropping onto one of the barstools at the counter.
“Spasibo, Yuuri,” Viktoria chirped happily as she turned away from the stovetop, finishing off the last of Yuuri’s crepes. “I’ve got all your favorite toppings. And a little bit extra as well. Just in case.” she said, quickly shooing Yuuri out of the barstool and toward the living room, where she had constructed a small nest of sorts, blankets and throw pillows stacked in a vaguely Yuuri-and-Vika-shaped cuddling den. “Now, cuddle in, I’ll be bringing your breakfast over in a moment, da?”
Yuuri laughed softly and did as she was told, curling into the warm pocket of blankets and pillows. Tucked in with her heated blanket were her favorite plushies from various competitions; the stuffed Makkachin and one of the first she had received in her professional career-- the onigiri-shaped cushion Mari had gotten her after she took last place in her first competition at age twelve.
She, of course, remembered the day like it was yesterday. Her big sister brought her the cushion after the scores were announced. It was just a small, regional competition, nothing anywhere close to the level she competed at today… but it was still her first. Yuuri could barely keep her eyes off her brand new skates while the medalists took the podium. Her legs and feet ached from the exertion, her hip throbbed from the nastiest of the spills she had taken in her Free skate.
"You'll be alright, nee-chan. I just know you'll be up there with Viktoria in no time." Mari had said, a crushing hug held her tight to her chest. “We’re all so proud of you.”
Yuuko and okaa-san had joined in the hug, and while it didn’t lessen the sting of the loss, she remembered that moment the next season when a gold medal hung around her neck.
“Yuuri?” Viktoria’s voice shook her from her memories as a tear slid down her cheek and into the slightly discolored cushion clutched to her chest. “Are you alright, lyubov moya?”
Yuuri laughed despite herself and nodded, rubbing roughly at her cheek with the sleeve of her borrowed jacket. “I’m fine, Vika. Just a little emotional is all.” she explained, humming happily as Viktoria settled on the couch beside her, a tray full of their breakfast set on the ottoman in front of them.
“Are you sure, love? Do you want to talk about it?” Viktoria asked, wrapping a long, slender arm around her waist. “If you need an ear, I’ll gladly listen, Yuuraya.” she mumbled, pressing her soft, thin lips to Yuuri’s heated cheek.
Yuuri leaned into the affectionate touch of her fiancée and released a long, slow breath. “Just remembering how much this plush changed for me… well, not the plush itself, but… the day I got it.” Yuuri said, eyeing the plate of breakfast that looked like it would be a bit too cold by the time she finished telling the story. “But… um, do you mind if we talk about it another time?” She nodded at the stack of crepes and Viktoria laughed, kissing her cheek again.
“We can talk about it whenever you’d like, Yuuri.” she said with a soft smile. “Eat up, zvezda moya, I expect to see all of this put away in this cute, squishy belly of yours.” Vika chirped, leaning down and lifting up the hem of her borrowed jacket.
“Vikaaaa~” Yuuri whined with a soft laugh, batting at her top knot as she peppered kisses along the soft, stretch mark laden skin of her lower tummy. She fully intended to pull Viktoria away from her stomach, but (and this was more than likely entirely some sort of the placebo effect) it felt good, like the heat of her skin alone was dispelling the pain of her cramps. “Oh… that’s…”
Viktoria smirked up at her fiancée, laughing gently. “Do you want me to stay here while you eat, lyubov moya?” she asked, making Yuuri flush bright red.
“Yes please.” she answered after a few minutes of needling and pressing, Viktoria’s teasing and more than a few more kisses pressed to her belly. “You wore me down, are you happy?” she laughed, pulling the tray closer to them.
Viktoria nodded, burying her face in Yuuri’s belly, kissing every inch of silky flesh she could reach. She, of course, mourned her opportunity to feed Yuuri, but only for a few minutes; the ache was soothed by the soft, pleased sounds Yuuri made as she ate and the slight swelling of a food baby as the crepes slowly disappeared from her plate.
Yuuri was sound asleep again by the time Viktoria stole her plate and loaded it into the dishwasher. Makkachin had quickly taken up residence in the warm spot she had left behind, resting her head in Yuuri’s lap. The heated blanket was wrapped snugly around her frame, tucked in around her thighs and hips.
Her quiet snoring underscored a rerun Viktoria had long since stopped paying attention to, choosing instead to clean up the mess she had left behind in the kitchen. It wasn’t often that Vika took the time to clean, Yuuri usually did it.
But Viktoria could manage it today. For Yuuri.
One of the tougher symptoms of Yuuri’s anxiety was the way clutter only exacerbated the issue. In a particularly bad episode Yuuri might not sleep at night in favor of scrubbing the grout in the shower for the fourth time that week, or reorganizing the pantry again. Yuuri had enough to focus on within her own body; Viktoria could easily manage putting away the frying pan and mixing bowls.
A sudden snore nearly made Vika jump out of her skin, and Makkachin nearly threw herself off the couch at the sound. Yuuri’s snoring never failed to make Viktoria giggle, especially when contrasted with the angelic expression she wore while she slept. She set down the pan she had been working on and crossed to the couch, kissing Yuuri’s forehead. Her skin was significantly cooler now, barely a whisper of the fever that had been there before.
She smiled to herself as he walked back toward the kitchen, an idea bubbling in the back of her mind as she thought of all the ways she could spoil Yuuri rotten today. There was still a leftover box of brownie mix from Chris’s and Phichit’s visit last weekend, and a full can of frosting as well…
Her phone vibrating pulled her out of her thoughts and nearly skittered into the full sink; she had admittedly set it a bit too close to the edge, like Yuuri had chided her for a few too many times. Her poor, abused iPhone lived to see another day when she snatched it up before it dropped into the soapy water-filled basin.
one new message from: okaasan❤️❤️
Viktoria smiled, having nearly forgotten about her conversation with Yuuri’s mother.
okaasan❤️❤️ (sent 11:46) That would be lovely, Vicchan! I’m sure Yuuri would love to spend the evening soaking and having some yummy comfort food.
okaasan❤️❤️ (sent 11:47) Mari is bringing a friend by tonight too, tell Yuuri that Haru-chan will be joining us when she wakes up!
Viktoria squinted at the name, but after a moment’s digging in her mind for the person attached, she remembered Mari’s… friend. It was a miracle that she and Toshiya hadn’t read between the lines yet, or perhaps they had, and were simply being kind, but Haru-chan, Hamada Koharu, and Mari were certainly more than just friends. Yuuri had told her a few stories about Mari and her friend from high school, when she had spotted the two of them sneaking away to the onsen in the dead of night, or cuddling in Mari’s bed when she left her door open just too far.
Viktoria smiled and knew something important would be happening tonight. She could feel it in the air, and it seemed Hiroko knew too. She and Yuuri couldn’t be more different in that aspect, Yuuri often missed the writing on the wall when she wasn’t looking closely enough. That was hardly the case for Vika though, Yuuri saw through Viktoria like a pane of glass, sharp and bright and clear as day.
As if on cue, Yuuri moaned softly and stirred in her little cuddle pile, but the snoring didn’t stop. Vika made sure to set out more painkillers for her, when the dosage ran out.
Hiroko is an angel sent by god herself, Viktoria thought to herself as she replied with their estimated arrival time. And a request for katsudon for dinner.
Their plans in place, brownies in the oven, and Yuuri still snoring loudly on the couch, Vika stole away to the bathroom to shower, having spent most of the morning doting on Yuuri in place of her extensive morning routine. It was all very rushed, of course, she didn’t want to burn the brownies or miss Yuuri waking up without her.
Her various whipped moisturizing cremes and anti-aging serums applied, she began the careful process of styling her hair, but stopped short the moment she heard a soft, “Vika?” coming from the living room. Messy bun it is, Viktoria decided, knowing her fringe wouldn’t dry perfectly without intervention, but Yuuri was far more important than that.
“Viiiiikaa…” Yuuri’s voice said again, sounding a bit more petulant and spoiled than the first one. Viktoria laughed to herself as she hurried through the rest of her routine.
“Just a moment, love!” she called into the living room. Just as she finished up and began to head back out, she snatched up the bottle of vanilla and cinnamon scented lotion she had left on the bathroom counter. Yuuri might enjoy a little bit more pampering before they make their way over to Yutopia later.
“Did you have a nice nap, lyubov moya?” Viktoria asked when she returned to the living room, finding Yuuri snuggled up with Makkachin, scratching that spot behind her ears that she loves.
“Mhmm…” Yuuri hummed softly, waving one hand at Viktoria in that way that she had quickly come to understand as come here please. “How long have I been asleep?” she asked, her voice rough and garbled with sleep. Viktoria settled in beside her on the couch and rested her head in her lap again, facing her Yuuri’s belly.
“Not terribly long. Don’t worry about that. How do you feel?” she asked, smiling at the way Yuuri’s belly looked in her jacket. It wasn’t tight, exactly, but it certainly hugged her hips and the little swell of a food baby underneath more than her usual clothes do.
“Ano… e to…” Yuuri mumbled, trying to determine if the pain is just her full stomach or the cramps. “I’m not sure? I ate a big breakfast, so I feel kinda full, but I think my cramps are getting a bit better.” She smiled when she saw the bottle of medicine on the end table. “Did you bring this out for me, Vika?”
Viktoria smiled brightly. “Da! I can’t let my Yuuri be in pain, now, can I?” she said, not allowing a single inch for argument. “Should we take care of this tummyache of yours? I can go get some antacids too… you may want them, since we’ll be having katsudon later tonight. A settled tummy is the best tummy to fill up, no?”
Yuuri blushed and hid her face in her hands. “You’re so embarrassing…” she mumbled from behind her palms, her cheeks burning hotter than the fever from that morning.
“What, dorogaya? I thought our deal was katsudon being a reward for winning…” Viktoria trailed off, her eyes glinting mischievously up at her when cerulean blue met ambery brown. “I can always call okaasan and cancel our plans with them and Mari… and Haru-san…” Vika added, winking at Yuuri playfully, her long eyelashes almost brushing her cheekbones.
Yuuri pulled her hands down off her face and smiled at her impossible fiancée. “Fine, fine. I’ll take some antacids. And some ibuprofen. Best to stay ahead of the pain, right coach?” Yuuri teased, moving to lean down and kiss Viktoria but stopping short when another small clench of pain halted the movement.
Vika bridged the gap and kissed Yuuri’s waiting lips, setting a cool hand on Yuuri’s stomach below her borrowed jacket. The chill of her skin almost instantly soothed the pain and Yuuri relaxed back into her little cocoon of blankets and pillows.
“I’ll be right back, my sweet little Yuura.” Viktoria hummed as she sat up, headed back into the bathroom for the pink bottle of antacid. “You’ll take your medicine and I’ll give you a nice foot massage, okay?” Yuuri giggled in reply, seeing through Viktoria’s motives. (She liked her feet. What could she say?)
“Vika?” Yuuri called out just before she was out of earshot.
“Hmm? Do you need something else, darling?” she asked, pausing in her tracks.
“No, it’s just… do you think Mari is going to tell them about her and Haru-oneesan?” Yuuri replied, laughing quietly to herself.
“Mmm… I don’t know, love. It would certainly be the time to say so. All of us will be there, after all.” Viktoria mused in reply, making sure that if Yuuri decided to wear makeup tonight, (a rare occurrence when visiting Yutopia, since the rules dictated that makeup be removed before bathing in the springs) she would probably need to wear waterproof everything.
“One more thing, baby?” Yuuri called again after Viktoria. “Are you baking brownies?”
“I certainly am, and I saved the mixing spoon just for you, love.”
Yuuri, still a bit groggy from her several naps that day, leaned against Vika’s shoulder as their taxi drove them from their apartment to Yutopia. She smiled absently at the way that Vika seemed to bounce in the backseat, watching all the familiar scenery roll by. The drive never failed to excite her fiancée; as she had explained to Yuuri, it made her remember the taxi she had ham-handedly hired at the airport in Google Translated Japanese all those years ago, on a snowy spring day. The four-year anniversary of that day was just the month before, now that Yuuri considered it.
Viktoria smiled down at her and nuzzled her long, slim nose against the shell of Yuuri’s ear. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better, lyubov moya.” Vika whispered, her breath tickling her ear. “A little dip in the onsen and a nice, filling supper is just what Doctor Okaasan ordered, hm?”
Yuuri giggled and cuddled in a bit closer, glad to be rid of the cramps for the moment; Vika had buzzed around her all day, taking her temperature, offering painkillers and making kettle after kettle of soothing ginger and raspberry tea, at Yuuri’s request.
“Mmm, I think so…” Yuuri mused, her voice slightly muffled by the collar of Viktoria’s bright red training jacket. She hadn’t wanted to take it off, after wearing the garment all day. It smelled like Viktoria, her unique mix of hairspray and latent perfume, and wearing the jacket carried the unique experience of finding glitter in odd places after taking it off. (This being a side-effect of the nearly double digit years of Viktoria wearing the jacket over various sparkly and bedazzled costumes at nearly every event her fiancée competed in.) It was hardly a fancy affair, to be seeing her parents, but Viktoria had insisted on at the very least wearing pants with the jacket, which Yuuri had only fought her on for a few minutes.
Bundled up in a comfy pair of yoga pants, a soft, faded t-shirt under the jacket, Yuuri felt right at home when she and Viktoria stepped into the genkan of her childhood home. She smiled and waved at her big sister, sitting at one of the many chabudai in the main hall, playing a simple card game with Haru-oneesan.
Koharu had been a friend of Mari’s since middle school, and from that point on they had been nearly inseparable; Mari jokingly told Yuuri that Haru was her older sister, and insisted Yuuri call her oneesan when she was seven and Mari was fourteen, a habit that Yuuri had never really grown out of. Haru was Mari’s polar opposite, and it was truly a wonder how she and Mari got along so well, the quiet, careful, compassionate friend who never failed to appear when she was needed most.
Yuuri had never been privileged to be in on every single thought in her big sister’s head, but she remembered the night Mari came home from what was supposed to be a date, stifling a sob. Yuuri was barely thirteen at the time, but Mari held her close and told her to swear off men. Haru was running through the main hall and up the stairs with a brief apology to okaasan before throwing Mari’s bedroom door open. Mari had apparently been stood up, a story she had regaled years later, after Yuuri and Viktoria had been together for a year or so.
Koharu was Mari’s best friend, but with the benefit of hindsight, Yuuri knew there was more there.
Her chestnut brown hair was braided carefully to the side that night, her dark chocolate eyes sparkling behind the round, silver glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Yuuri had probably harbored a childhood crush on her in the days before she knew Viktoria, but it was easily quashed the moment her fiancée’s silver hair flashed across an old tube TV screen at Ice Castle.
“Yuuri! Vicchan!” Hiroko called out from the front desk, stepping down from the small platform that helped her remain at eye-level for most of their customers. “Okaeri, you two.” she said, pulling them both into a hug before hurrying them away to the onsen. “Go on now, go relax before dinner. Goodness knows both of you deserve some spoiling.”
Yuuri giggled at the gleam in her mother’s eye as she thanked her and headed toward that familiar outdoor bath, where she and Viktoria had experienced their… well, their beginning, really. A very naked and surprising beginning, but a beginning nonetheless.
The bath worked its magic and almost all the pain coiling tight in Yuuri’s core released; the cramps slowly relenting as the healing heat of the water sank into her muscles.
“Bozhe moy, this is just what we needed, wasn’t it, dorogaya?” Viktoria moaned softly, leaning her head back against the rocky ledge behind her. “It’s helping your cramps, isn’t it?” she asked, turning slightly to meet Yuuri’s eye.
“Mhmm… definitely.” Yuuri replied, smiling at the cute, fluffy headband Vika had brought along to wear in the bath; a pastel pink thing that she had seen online. The polka dots on it never failed to make Yuuri giggle when she saw it, and despite every attempt on Vika’s part to persuade her, Yuuri much preferred her barrettes instead. Vika’s headband gently smoothed her bangs back over her long, sloping forehead, not causing extra stress on her hairline, which she was more than cautious about protecting.
“Everytime we come here I feel like I gain a few years of life back,” Viktoria smiled, reaching out her arm and encouraging Yuuri to crawl into the space she created. “Don’t you, zolotse?”
Yuuri moved slowly, lethargically, not quite eager to move too suddenly with the dense warmth of the spring around them. “Mhmm…” she hummed softly as she curled into Viktoria’s chest, knowing they were breaking a handful of PDA guidelines for the spring. But it was a Wednesday, and the spring was empty. “Maybe we should move back in…” she teased softly, watching and feeling Viktoria’s chest rise and fall with her breaths.
“Absolutely not,” Vika laughed softly. “I love your parents, Yuuraya, but not enough to let them hear us every time we sleep together. Not again.” Yuuri laughed again at the memory of her family’s slightly embarrassed faces at breakfast nearly every morning before they found their own apartment. The smirk on Mari’s face and the teasing about Yuuri’s apparent stamina, ‘You kept us up nearly all night, Yuuri,’ was the final nail in the coffin.
“Fine, fine. We should come over at least once a week, though.” Yuuri said, yawning slowly, languidly. “That… would be nice, don’t you think?”
Viktoria smiled and kissed the top of Yuuri’s head. “That sounds lovely, Yuuri.” she whispered, letting Yuuri slip back into sleep, at least for a little while longer.
Dinner, as Viktoria and Yuuri had expected, was full of an odd, staticky energy as everyone waited for the moment that Mari would stand and announce that she and Haru were together, but when Yuuri’s full bowl of katsudon (as well as a small, half portion of seconds) had come and passed, and KoMari, as Vika had so tastefully portmanteau’d their names, hadn’t said a single word about it.
No, it wasn’t until Yuuri was nearly flat on her back, shamelessly rubbing her full belly, and all the dishes had been cleared, that Haru cleared her throat.
“Okaasan, Otousan, Yuuri-chan, Viktoria… Mari and I would like to share something exciting with you.” she said, looking up to see four pairs of eyes that screamed ‘we already know’.