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"Because that's ridiculous, Victor!"
"How can you call my ideas ridiculous?" his voice, hurt and angry. It sent chills down Yuri's spine.
"When they are! You know that won't work for me. Why are you always pushing me like that?" Katsudon was shouting. Katsudon so rarely shouted. And it was so full of heartbreak, it made Yuri want to rush out of the room. Instead, he stayed huddled in his room, Potya on his lap. He stroked her fur, almost unaware that he was doing it. For her part, the cat simply sat and purred, content to be held and cuddled by her person.
"I'm not pushing you, I only want you to be the very best that you can be."
"So the way I am now isn't good enough for you? You're going to have to make me more? How much more can I give you, Victor? I'm in a whole other country. I married you. We have a child together. And it's still not enough. You're greedy and selfish." Yuuri accused. Yuri clutched Potya a little bit tighter. He wasn't used to hearing such harsh words coming from the brunet. He was usually so calm, so gentle.
It was perfect, really. He and Victor were not calm. Yuri ran so hot. And Victor was so flighty and scatter brained, Victor was so driven... it was nice that there was someone there to be steadying to them, someone there to settle them out. Yuuri was a cooling balm for both of them. But now he was so upset, and he wasn't sure how to balance things when Yuuri was like this.
Not only that, but Victor sounded so angry, and Yuuri sounded so hurt. It was a strange thing, coming from the love birds. Normally they were gross in how affectionate they were. But not this time. He peeked through the crack in his door, trying to see them. But they were deep in the living room, and there was no hope of seeing them.
"Where are you going?" Victor sounded exhausted.
"Out," there was a clatter of shoes and a rustle of a coat and then the slamming of the door. Yuri pressed himself back against the wall of his room, petting the cat. There were footsteps, a pause outside his room. He knew Victor saw the door cracked.
"Malyutka?" he called softly. "Did you hear that? Are you okay? No one is upset with you." Victor's voice was so gentle, so kind. It made Yuri's throat go tight. When he didn't answer, the door was pushed open, and Victor was there in a moment, kneeling next to him. He took the cat from the kid, giving her a kiss between her ears.
"Aren't you a good girl, guarding your boy?" he cooed.
"Is he gone forever?"
"What? Yuuri? No, of course not. He's just angry." he didn't look the blond in the eye. "He just needs space. Are you okay?" Yuri just shrugged and stood up.
"Shouldn't we go find him?"
"No, probably not." Victor said carefully. "I think he needs space."
That was strange, to Yuri. Yuuri was the type to reach for Victor when he was feeling anxious. He had a small circle that he seemed to rely on to get him through those moments. Phichit, for one. And sometimes even Yuri, if they were just in a crowd and he was having an off day. Yuri knew it in the way that he coaxed the boy close to his side and wanted him to stay close, sometimes even putting a hand on his shoulder to squeeze. It was a way for the older man to ground himself, and if it looked like he was just keeping a close eye on his ward, that would be okay. Yuri supposed that he could tolerate that once in awhile, just to help the Japanese man. As long as no one made too many comments about it.
"I'm fine," Yuri said shortly.
"People fight sometimes, you understand that, don't you? Don't you and Beka fight?"
"We're not married." he said, not looking his guardian in those intense blue eyes. It felt too uncomfortable in the moment. "We're not adults."
Victor just watched him for a moment as he threw himself onto his bed and pulled out his phone, ignoring the older Russian. He knew that it was bothering the kid, knew that it was itching underneath his skin. He sighed, tilting his head. He knew that this whole having parents was new for him, and hard. But it was healthy for couples to disagree, and he and Yuuri had a duty to show him that even when they fought that he they could disagree and still love one another, and would make up eventually.
"It's funny to hear you admit that you're not a grown up. You spend most of your time convincing me that you are." Victor stood up and then sat on the edge of the bed. "Everything is fine."
"Are you convincing me of that? Or you?" he didn't look up from his phone. That was a fair point. He just patted Yurio's calf, ignoring the way that he hissed and jerked his body away as though he had been burned and headed for his office. He needed some space too, maybe. He needed some time to work out what had happened between he and his husband.
Yuri: Do your parents fight?
Beka: Sure. Sometimes.
Yuri: Why?
Beka: I don't know. Because my dad makes bad jokes and my Mom makes bad fried eggs?
Yuri: I'm being serious.
Beka: Is everything okay?
Yuri: Piggy and the old man fought and piggy stormed out.
Beka: Oh.
Yuri: That's it? Oh?
Beka: Couples fight, Yuri. It's fine.
Yuri: It didn't sound fine.
Beka: Stay out of it, okay? They don't want you sticking your nose into it.
Yuri: But Katsudon is all alone.
Beka: He wants to be. Log in and I'll play you in game? Take your mind off it.
That was a tempting offer. He did like playing games with Beka. But no, there were more important things at stake right now. It nagged at the back of his mind. It was a pebble in his shoe he kept stepping on.
Yuri: If we fought, would you want me to storm out?
Beka: I wouldn't like it. But if that's what you needed, then I would want you to do what was best for you.
That was something thought provoking. He slipped off the bed and went to get his hoodie. He wriggled into shoes and grabbed his wallet, shoving his phone into his pocket.
"Old man!" he hollered.
"Don't call me that!"
"I'm going to find Katsudon!"
"I think we should leave him alone." Victor emerged from his office with a frown. "I know that was upsetting, but you can't go and smother him."
"When has that ever stopped the two of you from smothering me?" he rolled his eyes. Victor could only pause. He hated it when Yurio had a point. He sighed and leaned against the doorway, seeing the determined look in those big green eyes.
"Don't go wandering everywhere. Stay close. He wouldn't have gone too far. And come back when it gets dark, whether or not you've found him. I won't have TWO lost little lambs."
"Shut it," he scowled. He headed out, hands in his pockets, shoulders pushed up towards his ears. He slouched down the street, trying to think where Yuuri would go. But he wasn't at the little coffee shop they sometimes got breakfast at. And he wasn't at the grocery store nearby. And he wasn't at the park where they walked Makkachin.
"Where else would he go?" Yuri asked himself, looking around. It was starting to get near dark, and he'd have to go home soon. H didn't want to return empty handed. He shivered at the chill in the air as it bit at the tip of his nose.
Of course. Where else would he go? Realization hit him over the head, and he felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner. Almost at a run, he headed for the ice rink. Sure enough, the door was unlocked. He burst in and headed for the ice, grabbing the railings and watching. Yuuri was in the middle, practicing a few jumps. He stopped when he heard the footsteps and looked up, ready to shout.
But the his eyes landed on the blond haired kid, and his frown melted into a smile. He skated to the railings.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"You're not supposed to leave without telling someone where you're going." Yuri said softly. The older man reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. "What if something happened to you, and it left Victor and I all alone without you?"
"Oh sweetheart, I am sorry." he murmured. He was reminded of the time they had fought, when Yuri disappeared. Of course he'd feel that way, of course he'd be confused. "I should have told Victor or you where I was going. Family does that. We don't leave each other to worry. Do we?" he bent to kiss Yuri on the forehead.
"It's fine," his voice was gruff, but his cheeks were pink. "But are you coming home?"
"Yes," he blinked. "Did you think I wasn't?" Yuri just shrugged. The brunet caught his chin, brought green eyes to peer into warm brown. "Were you scared, Yuri? Did I scare you?"
"It was a long time ago." his voice was small, uncomfortable, uncertain. "But sometimes people would come when I was with Levi. And they wouldn't come back. People who had been nice to me. Given me sweets and helped me take a shower. But they'd never stay. And I would sit by the door sometimes and wait for them to come back. They never did. Anyone who hung around Levi and was kind didn't stay around for too long, not once they realized what kind of person he was."
"Sweetheart," he breathed. They never heard him talk about his time with Levi, or at the orphanage. Yuuri suspected he didn't remember most of it, and what little he did remember didn't seem particularly nice.
"And I just... I know it's stupid." he scowled down at their hands. "I know that you'd come back. You love the old man too much to stay away for too long. It just scared me. A little. Maybe."
"I'm sorry," Yuuri said sincerely. "I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear I'd be back. And I'm sorry that you felt that way, sweetheart."
"I don't like when you and Vitya fight." he admitted.
"I know. I don't either. And we don't do it often. But sometimes, when people live together, they fight. It doesn't mean that we don't love each other It doesn't mean we won't work it out. And most importantly, it has nothing to do with you. We love you even if we don't like each other at the moment." he pressed his forehead against Yuri's.
"It's cold here. Do you want to walk me home?"
"Cold outside, too." Yuri mumbled. But he waited for his guardian to take off his skates and put on shoes. They headed out of the rink, shoulder to shoulder, for the short walk home. The sky was dimming, but a sleepy hush was not falling over the city. The live of the city followed around them as they approached the condo and walked up the stairs.
"There are my boys!" Victor said from the kitchen. He poked his head out, wearing a silly pink checked apron and waving a spoon. "You're just in time for supper."
The tension that had been in the air was dissolved. Yuuri just smiled warmly at his husband and walked into the kitchen, pecking his cheek before going and stripping off his coat and shoes. Yuri looked at the two of them, confused, before peeling off his own outerwear.
"Are you still mad?" he asked cautiously.
"Maybe a little. But we're calm enough that we can discuss it later. Aren't we, Victor?"
"Of course!" he grinned at Yurio and turned back to the stove. The blond looked between them and shrugged, shuffling over to the couch and flopping down. At least he'd get dinner out of it.