Archive of Our Own

“Tadaima!!!”

Oh, how Viktor longed to say those words.

“Okaeri!!!”  

As did Yuuri, from behind, carrying in his husband’s remaining suitcase before shutting the door. 

It was a lot heavier than he had remembered when he helped him carry it to the airport once seeing him off for his sponsor trip in St. Petersburg. While there, Viktor met up with his old teammates to leave on a small trip that his old coach Yakov had planned to personally catch up on everyone’s life and well-being. 

While Viktor was happy to see and hear from everyone, speaking about his life with his family made him eager to return to home. 

But now those two weeks of separation were behind them…

“It goes without saying…” Yuuri met his hand, rubbing his thumb against him, “but I missed you so much…” 

The smile Viktor wore across his face read clearer than words spoken, “Yuuri.“ Dropping his bag, he moved in to cup Yuuri’s cheeks. They both admired their ridiculous nature for a moment until Viktor pressed forward, shutting his eyes, and— surprisingly met Yuuri’s fingers. 

He had stopped him.

Viktor looked over the block of his hand, at Yuuri’s smirk. “Yuuri- what’s that face for?”

He laughed. “Not yet, I- hm…” he then moved his hands over Viktor’s eyes.

Viktor laughed heartily. “Yuuri!!” 

He could see Viktor’s face growing red under his palm.  Chuckling with him, Yuuri pushed against him from behind, “Shut your eyes and follow me. No peeking.”

Viktor laughed again, following his lead, “ Hai, da, da ...” 

Viktor definitely was not thinking of cheating. He would never, it was all part of the fun. He could tell he was being led to their bedroom, especially once he heard Yuuri slide their door open.

“Yuuuuuri~” Oh, he had to know where this was going. “Shori’s not home~ Just carry me over the threshold.”

“That would defeat the purpose of the surprise…”

“Oooh~ now I’m really excited.”

Thoughts flew around Viktor’s head as to what the surprise could be. They did discuss a pole for Yuuri to teach and perform on during one of their last pillow talks. But with Shori still so young… there was no way to make it subtle in their home. They were past that point in their lives where they felt they couldn't risk anything like that… at least as a permanent house addition with their child. Besides, even the simplest of gestures and surprises would send Viktor over the edge. Especially now.

As long as he had his Yuuri, in the life they built together, nothing could make Viktor happier.  

Yuuri pulled him to a stop, laughing, “Are you ready, Vitya? Count with me: ras, dva, tri !!”

Viktor felt Yuuri’s hands lift from head, and with happy anticipation, finally opened his eyes.

Nothing could make him happier. Until…. something didn’t.

“Ta-dah!” With outstretched arms, Yuuri presented the secret project he had been planning since Viktor left. He had more than enough time to do it while Viktor was away for much longer than usual.

“Yuuri… did you buy a new bed?”

“Yeah! Isn’t it pretty? Look how much wider it is!” Yuuri made his way to his normal side of the bed, lightly taking a seat, winding his hand over it like a game show assistant marketing off a grand prize.

The mattress they had previously shared came from the very beginning of their relationship when Viktor first moved to Yuuri’s family establishment, Yu-topia. From what started as Viktor and his previous companion, Makkachin, the pattern of occupants grew once Yuuri and he became official. By the looks of the then mattress, one would assume that it could hold at least three people, but that reality changed once they started sleeping together. It could hold two people at maximum, at least vertically. It technically could hold more people if they turned the bed horizontally, but who would want to sleep in a plank? Especially for how tall they were by regional standards. Their limbs would more than likely hit the floor. But it suited them for the time being, even with the adult human sized dog that would occupy them more times than not.

But with Makka gone, it had suited them well for the time being as a couple. It was only with a growing child who had frequent nightmares that it became clear how small it was getting for them. Along with the wear and tear of it throughout all the years.

Yuuri saw the need for change and acted on it himself. 

“It’s so hard to find stuff like this over here,” Yuuri explained. “And for so cheap too! I guess it was meant to be…”

He took a look back at Viktor, whose bewildered expression was still as frozen as a marble bust.

It was still a wonder to Yuuri, being married to this man of nine years, seven months, two weeks and three days, and together for eleven years, two months and some change, that there were still moments that he felt Viktor couldn’t be read.

It was both daunting and exciting... depending on the situation, of course. Yuuri couldn’t tell what he felt about this moment in particular, but it had been nearly two weeks since he was able to hold his love at all. Even from just the gestural play of holding his hands to block his cheating gaze, the minimal grazes of where his fingers hit his cheekbones and eyelids…. the most non-enticing, unsexy, least sensual place to find a spark in another, lit the fire in Yuuri. His excitement was racing, and craving his touch.

Smoothing the duvet sheets underneath him, he gave his man a small, inviting smirk, “What are you doing over there? Come here; this is your bed too.”

Maybe this was too much. Or maybe he chose the wrong color. It was a dramatic quirk that he’d come to understand over these past couple of years. Viktor was sensitive to color scheming, as Yuuri had noted both before and after personally knowing him. After all these years, Yuuri thought he had somewhat of an idea of the range that would fit them best, though at times he would miss. But that was an easy enough fix. 

“No.”

Or maybe it wasn't... Regardless, that certainly wasn’t the answer Yuuri expected.

“Huh?”

Suddenly Viktor’s marble position shattered, worry now painted on his face. “Where- what did you do with the old bed; the mattress?”

“...I got rid of it?”

In an instant, Viktor’s worry turned into a confusing sort of expressions. Once again, Yuuri couldn’t read them, but he at least knew that they were the exact opposite of what he had expected, or really wanted. 

 “Viktor?”

Viktor slid his hands over his cheeks, cupping his own head in his hands. “How- Yuuri, are you kidding me?”

Oh, the tone in his voice gave it away. Viktor was not happy.

Yuuri quickly got up, all previous thoughts quickly fleeting from his mind. “What?”

Viktor didn’t even look over to see him approach. His eyes were glued to the bed, looking as if he could burn a hole right through it, which was probably what he at least wished he could do at that moment.

Yuuri reached for him, and Viktor dodged it, as if all that previous banter had never happened.

“Don’t- don’t touch me.”

“Viktor.” Yuuri was now just as much in a state of shock as Viktor probably was. “What is the matter with you?”

“Do you ever listen to me? Honestly, Yuuri.” There was hurt and anger in his voice. Again, the total opposite of what Yuuri had wanted or expected.

Still, the comment stung after all the work Yuuri had done for him during these past few weeks. “What do you mean, ‘do I ever listen to you’? You were complaining about how you’ve been waking up with a sore back for so long now? The both of us have.”

“So that means it’s just the bed?”

“‘Just the-’ what?” Yuuri almost found the words coming out of him comical, and he’d give into a chuckle if he didn’t see that Viktor was somehow hurt by all of this. “Viktor, what else would it be?”

“I don’t know, Yuuri, we’re athletes? We’re getting old?” Viktor started to angrily tear off his gloves. “That’s not the point!”

Yuuri found it hard to find the words. “What is the point then?”

“What I just said before: you don’t listen to me. You never take my feelings into account for anything and do your own thing.” 

Yuuri gapped his mouth at the irony. Who was Viktor talking about; Yuuri or himself? This made no sense.

Viktor shoved his gloves into his pocket, hesitating to remove his scarf but clenched it in his hands. He abruptly turned, leaving their bedroom, back into their dining area. “You did it while I was coaching you and you continue to do it after the fact.”

Yuuri narrowed his eyes, following after him. “Your feelings? What about mine? I planned this all to make you happy.”

“Me, or us?”

“You and us! It’s our bed!”

“That’s not my bed!”

Yuuri had to throw out a laugh. He couldn’t hold in how ridiculous this was going. He wasn’t going to argue with his nearly forty year-old husband about a mattress.

“Vitya, come on! What is this?”

“I don’t know, Yuuri! What is it?” 

“I don’t know! I’m not the one upset over a damn bed!” 

“No, Yuuri. I don’t think I’m the one who was upset enough to change it so sneakily without letting me know.”

The absolute bewilderment threw Yuuri for a loop. “Viktor, of course you were going to find out eventually. I wasn’t trying to hide it-“

“Yet nothing was said to me.” Viktor pulled out his phone, checked the time and shoved it back in his coat pocket, reaching for the gloves he just pulled off to yank back on. He started to make his way through the living area towards the door. “I’m going to pick Shori up from school.” 

“Why? I’m the one who usually picks her up after school.”

Viktor turned around. “Because I haven’t seen our daughter in two weeks. Is that a good enough reason for you?”

Yuuri’s hesitation didn’t have to do with anything petty, but the sign out system for Shori’s school was heavily in Japanese. Viktor’s grasp of the language was at a good point that he would be capable of signing her out on his own, but in the case of a curve ball, Yuuri was the one who usually went for them. Yuuri could tell that nothing he would say at that point would change his mind, so he let him go with a nod.

“Then…” Viktor continued, turning to face the door entry way, “maybe I’ll look at some places to stay for the night. I don’t want her to be involved in this.”

Yuuri’s mouth dropped, following him from behind. “Honto!?” Yeah, this was too over the top. “Viktor, what in the hell has gotten into you?!!”

Viktor whipped his head around again. “Have you not been listening to me?!”
Yuuri stood firm in the entry way as Viktor aggressively threw on his shoes, then moved back to face Yuuri.

“All those years ago, we said the biggest problem in our relationship was communication - and then you turn around and do that without telling me. This is a continuous problem, Yuuri, and you act like it doesn’t matter!”

“It does matter, Viktor! This wasn’t meant to upset you! It was supposed to be a surprise!”

“Well, it sure as hell is.” Viktor flung open the door. “How excellent you continue to be at that!” And then slammed it from behind him.

_________________________________________________________________________

Beyond the tweaked magazine covers, starlit interviews and glamorized social media posts, the pair had their problems. It was common that with petty instances like this, they would seep through, and like any normal marriage, it would occasionally result in an argument, even a blow out. 

But this time around, there was something that cut a little deeper than usual between the two.

It was evident more to Yuuri when Viktor had suggested spending the night elsewhere. For as mad as they would get, it was abnormal that they would go as far as that point, especially when the family had been split for weeks before.

Something was definitely wrong, but Yuuri couldn’t bring it up again until later, not with Shori being home. It was clear that this was not going to be a pretty settlement, and he too didn’t want her to be a witness to it. 

Shori settled in from school that afternoon, and the entire family had dinner together. The banter was mostly between Shori and Viktor, or Shori and Yuuri, but not between Yuuri and Viktor. 

The evening came and Viktor spent time with Shori to make up for the time he lost with her during these past few weeks. Yuuri gave them some space, holding out in their bedroom, eyeing the bed from the mirror as he folded their clean laundry away. It had been untouched since Yuuri had left after Viktor only hours before.

Down the hall, he could hear Shori ecstatically screeching about something her Papa had said, a mixture of familiar Russian and inaudible gibberish that the walls clouded.

Yuuri sat on the bed, wanting to flop down but feeling almost guilty for doing so… not that he understood why. None of this made any sense to him, which made it all the more frustrating. And for Viktor to throw some hurtful claims back at him… it was a lot.

His eyes kept peering up at the digital clock on his phone. It was past Shori’s bed time, but he wasn’t going to dispute anything. He was glad that she was happy that Viktor was home. As time passed, it became more and more quiet.

Soon, he heard Viktor slide her door shut.

The previous plans Viktor had announced earlier in the day had not gone the way he had projected them. He made his space on their living area sofa, with a blanket and pillow and phone at his hand for entertainment. It definitely wasn’t enough room for his long legs, or his sore back, but Yuuri definitely was not going to start that whole separate argument now.

“The only reason I’m here is because I don’t want to upset Shori by not being here…”

Yuuri’s patience was low, especially at that point of the night. It didn’t help with all the other baggage that was weighing over this. “Yeah, because seeing her parents sleep in separate rooms isn’t going to raise any questions.” With a roll of his eyes at Viktor’s brow raise, Yuuri continued. “Maybe it would have been more convincing if you just let me pick her up.”

“Hm, look at you, thinking ahead. Where was this all before, Yuuri?”

Yuuri could tell in his tone that if he started arguing now, they wouldn’t stop. And with how late it was, he wasn’t going to chance it, especially with Shori there. So he turned around to head into bed before it got any worse.

“Whatever. Good night, Viktor.”

___________________________________________________________________________

Yuuri heard Viktor get up earlier than usual to retrieve something from their bathroom, probably to use the family communal one down the hall. He heard him slide Shori’s door open, along with some muttering. Yuuri’s hand found his way to his glasses as he started to get up and ready for the day. 

After Viktor got Shori up, he returned back to his post on the sofa, eyes unremoved from the screen of his phone. 

Usually, Viktor was the one who would take Shori to school in the morning, but it seemed like it was an unspoken decision that Yuuri was going to be the one to do it today. 

Yuuri made all of them breakfast, keeping Viktor’s plate in his spot on the table, in case he wanted something after they left. 

Yuuri gave Shori a three minute shout out to head out for school, and she was early, as she normally was, so she could say good-bye to her Papa.

“Papa! Ittekimasu!!” Seemingly on command, they both threw their arms into each other, Shori laughing as Viktor squeezed her, planting a few pecks on her cheek.

“Itterasshai. Have a wonderful day at school, Shornyshka.” Viktor’s nickname for her bounced off of the Russian pet name for “sunshine,” and her aura definitely had that effect on the both of them. 

Yuuri could tell he was trying to mask his emotions. He sounded more tired than angry, but maybe it was because he knew how he really felt.

But he also could see he was genuinely happy to be with her. 

Her papa gave her one last peck on the forehead before she ran over to her dad at the doorway.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

And they both started out the door. 

Yuuri noticed that she hesitated a little bit but quickly pulled herself to his side once the rounded out of the front passway. The space between them would usually quickly be filled with excited and wonderful nonsense that could only happen from a five year old’s mind, like a school topic that she’d somehow find a way to interject on how cute she thought beetles were, and how she looked forward to when she and Yuuri could catch them in the summer as they had for the past two when she got really invested in learning about bugs for some adorable reason. 

But the cold air wasn’t filled with that this morning. It was abnormally quiet between them. 

“Daddy.”

They were down the block at this point. “Hm?”

“You didn’t kiss Papa good-bye.”

___________________________________________________________________________

“Tadaima.”

“Okaeri.”

Yuuri hadn’t expected an answer. That gave him some hope. 

As he rounded the corner, he saw that his husband had seemingly never left that position on the sofa, even though it had been at least 45 minutes since he had left with Shori.

He took a deep breath after kicking off his shoes, and approached him. 

“Viktor… Shori knows we’re fighting.”

Admittedly, Yuuri was expecting some sort of look of concern or embarrassment on Viktor’s face, but instead, he was met with an even colder expression.

“So?” Viktor threw down his phone, and looked up at Yuuri with crossed arms. 

Like a stubborn teenager. 

“‘So’???? Right after you made this big deal about wanting to spend the night elsewhere because you didn’t want her to know!?”

“It’s bound to happen eventually, Yuuri. I didn’t want her to think that it’s as bad as it seems.”

“Is it though?” Yuuri wore the more concerned look out of the two. “You’re making it seem like this is the worst thing I could have ever done!”

“And once again, you’re not paying attention to what I’m saying-“

“I am! I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it all night, Viktor, and I don’t understand!”

“What is so hard to understand, Yuuri? That you need to communicate a decision you’re making for the both of us?”

Yuuri had just about lost it, raising his voice: “I need to communicate over something I was trying to surprise you with?! Over a bed? A BED , Viktor!”

Thank God Shori wasn’t home. This was what both were afraid of. There was a lot of back and forth from a distance, many things relevant and irrelevant being put on the table. Things that were bottled up and stored away came out as a reminder. 

Bottled frustration over a months old problem? Forgot, I had this. Let me chuck this into the fire.

Yuuri could feel the argument was turning sour and nasty, and tried guiding it back. 

“Viktor, you just want to fight about the same thing over and over again and not tell me what’s really wrong!”

“I am telling you what’s wrong!”

“You aren’t! No one is this upset over a bed!!”

Viktor grew silent and grabbed his phone. “I don’t want to talk to you right now, Yuuri.”

“Neither do I!” Yuuri pulled off his scarf, turning away. “You just want to make things more difficult.”

Once again, the day passed with little interaction between the two. For the most part, Viktor kept to his spot on the couch, on his phone, responding to emails while Yuuri cleaned the kitchen.

It was unfortunate that most of the times they fought like this, both of them found little petty things to call each other on. Sometimes, they’d voice it out and cause a small tiff, other times they’d bite their lip and bear it.

“So when were you going to let me know that you were unsure if the freezer was working? I had to hear it from Shori.”

“I don’t know Yuuri, I’ve only been away for two weeks.”

“This was before you had left!”

“Oh, so I guess that wasn’t going to be brought up either.”

“It’s being brought up now! Yes, because having this discussion about replacing the whole unit while you were leaving and on your sponsor trip makes a lot of sense. Who knows, you’d probably want to save this too.”

Viktor rubbed his forehead and sighed loudly, exhaling something in Russian.

And on a petty note, Yuuri also responded to it perfectly back in Russian, adding a little spice in Japanese, which Viktor understood very well, but chose not to continue on.

It was like this for the next couple of days. They’d put on a solo performance for their daughter, but found it hard to speak to each other without it trailing back into an argument.

And they both could see that Shori had been a little more quiet with them. It was definitely apparent to her now that she knew what was going on. But unfortunately, it seemed there was nothing they could do about it. 

They had to work it out for themselves.

__________________________________________________________________________


During one tension-filled morning, Viktor chose to finally leave his living room post. He threw on his coat to duck out of the house into the city market. He didn’t have anything in particular in mind for dinner, and hoped that coming across something that would inspire him to cook.

The weather was cold and damp, with a dark gray overcast that seemed conflicted of either snow or rain. It mocked his mood perfectly.

He entered a small shop that he always mistook for a Family Mart, and was pleasantly surprised, as always, that it wasn’t. The shop was a lot bigger than the usual konbini, and had a lot more fresh assortments of produce too.

He greeted the shop clerk, lightly bowing his head and sifted through the front array of displays.

Viktor’s palette for taste has always been pretty firm, finding a liking for high end food made with love, but yet never could replicate the dishes himself. That is, until Yuuri. But teaching Viktor wasn’t an overnight ordeal. More like many nights of guided prepping, trial with mostly errors, harsh critiquing that resulted in playful food fights, that sometimes resulted in-

Viktor tried to shake the red from his face like a dog releasing the dampness on their fur, which made him even more flushed and embarrassed if anyone had seen him.  
“Hey there, stranger!”

Stranger was far from the word once he recognised that voice. It was still weird that he wasn’t arching his body to see her like the giant he was to them at an early time.

“Lutz! Nice to see you!” Viktor prayed she hadn’t seen him as he was before. Thankfully, he was facing away from her when she came in, so probably not. Knowing the Nishigori triplets, they would have definitely said something. Viktor had met his match to bluntness, times three.

“Mom’s coming in soon, too! We saw you from the car and she wanted me to catch you before you left.”

“Oh?” He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Yuuko. Even with this previous work trip he came home from, Yuuri’s been the one mainly taking Shori to practice. It had to have been at least a month.

Greetings came from the shop clerk as she walked in, bowing her head lightly as well, and exchanging small pleastentaries. Then she turned forward. 

“Viiiiktor~ What weird timing! How are you?”

“Just fine, Yuuko, my dear. How is everyone?”

“All is well, can’t complain!” 

Viktor couldn’t remember a time where he’d not heard Yuuko with energy in her voice. It was exhilarating, and definitely perfect for her job at the ice rink. He always admired it, thinking how it was not a surprise to him that Yuuri was so fond of her when they were young. 

“Kids are away for school, except for Lutz this week. She’s taking a local exam and wanted to drop by!” 

They both turned to face down the aisle, as Lutz rounded the corner, out of sight. His mind still had not registered that this fully grown young woman had emerged from the vessel of one of three little gremlins that welcomed Viktor to Hatesu all those years ago. The ultimate cataclysm for him meeting Yuuri, no matter how distant it felt. Despite all, he was forever grateful for them, and their antitics, that had surely evolved with them. 

“That’s nice. I’m sure you and Nishigori are enjoying the peace and quiet.”

“Yeah, we haven’t had any real time alone for what, twenty-one years now? It’s really nice.” The sparkle and far off look in her eyes was reminiscent and relatable, even for how sour things were. “But- uh- anyways, that’s actually what I wanted to ask you about! Me and Takeshi were thinking of taking a weekend trip to Osaka next week, we found this really cute venue for couples… it actually reminded us of both you and Yuuri with how- uh what’s the word I’m looking for…”

“Extra?”

“No no no! I mean… well maybe,” she scoffed at her own remark. “Ornate! That’s it! Anyway, I know it’s very sudden and I’m not sure what Shori’s schooling schedule is like now, but we didn’t want to go and not even extend an invitation.”

The more Yuuko tagged on, the more Viktor internally winced. Oh, how poorly the timing was for this. He was still upset, as was Yuuri, and had a hard time processing what it would be like if they went out like this so soon. But he also didn’t want to lie or squash the proposal.

“I’ll let Yuuri know and I’ll get back to you, if that’s okay?”

“Oh, more than okay! Again, no pressure or anything, just thought I’d leave it open for you two… I mean, obviously separate rooms and all, but I mean dinner reservations and all of that.”

“Of course.”

“If you can, just let me know by next week, okay?”

“Sure thing, Yuuko. Thank you for thinking of us.”

But unfortunately, it meant another thing he had to also worry about while this sparring continued with Yuuri… but Viktor didn’t have to mention it tonight.

“I’ll do it tomorrow…” he said to himself.

___________________________________________________________________________


“So I haven’t heard from Viktor yet, did he by any chance ask you about this weekend?”

Yuuri’s focus broke from watching Shori’s solo practice run, finding himself again behind the barricade at the Ice Castle rink. Slowly, the question processed in his mind. “This weekend?”

“About the Osaka trip?” Yuuko leaned against the edge, weighing herself on her clipboard. “I caught him at the market last week, told him about how me and Takeshi wanted to ask you both if you wanted to join us for a trip? He said he was going to ask you and get back to me, but I haven’t heard from him.”

“Oh.” And there it was, another sword piercing his side. Did Viktor do this intentionally… or rather, did he do it because he knew they weren’t well? Or because he wanted to hurt Yuuri…

For as much as he didn’t want to show it, Yuuri knew he couldn’t mask that he was disappointed. The problems with them seemed to continue to fall deeper and deeper. Still, he tried his best to hide it. “I’m sorry, Yuuko. He probably forgot, you know how he is.”

“Yeah.” He knew by that response that Yuuko wasn’t convinced. “Hey, are things okay between you two?”

He gulped. “Yeah, why do you say that?”

“I don’t know, you both seem very distant.”

“Viktor couldn’t come, Yuuko,” Yuuri played around it. “You know that.” But Yuuri knew he wasn’t fooling her by the stern face she gave him. Yuuko wasn’t dumb. Trustful, but no where near dumb. 

“I’m not even talking about you two together, I’m saying how you both are in general. I thought something seemed off with Viktor last week but figured he was having an off day and thought nothing of it. Now you, too-”

“Yuuko, we’re fine, honestly.” A lie that Yuuko probably saw right through. “But I don’t know if this weekend is going to work out. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Yuuko started to excuse herself, probably realizing that Yuuri needed space and stepped away. “Just… let me know if you need anything.”

Yuuri pressed his lips together, nodding. “Thank you.”

_______________________________________________________________________


“Does Shori have practice this weekend?”

That was the first normal question Viktor had in a long while. But Yuuri couldn’t tell if it was an intentional dig, and responded coldly. “Yeah, since you already decided we’re not going to Osaka.”

There was quick processing of confusion and horror on Viktor’s face as he cupped his hands over his mouth. “Oh my God. Yuuri, no. I honestly forgot.”

The delivery and expression seemed genuine enough, but the situation itself still hurt. Yuuri shrugged it off with his scarf to place on the rack. “Whatever, I don’t think it’s best if we would have gone anyway,” he said, and started to make his way to their room where he’d probably spend the remainder of the afternoon unless Shori needed him.

“I’d love to take you next time.” 

Yuuri stopped in his tracks, turning back to Viktor, holding the softest expression he had seen from him in weeks now. 

“The place they were talking about looked gorgeous inside… it’s definitely something I think we both would enjoy.”

For a moment, Yuuri was numb to the pain of this silent war between them, that familiar flutter in his chest seeming to return. There were a few of firsts in this brief conversation, this being the first time Yuuri forgot they were fighting, until the reasoning returned. “I hope you remember next time…”

He meant that both ways, cold and warm, and Viktor seemed to read it as it was presented.

__________________________________________________________________________


Every Tuesday, they would let her Aunt Mari pick Shori up from school to visit her grandparents at the family-run onsen Yuuri and his sister had grown up in. He would usually pick up Shori before dusk so she could be home before dark.

“Irasshaimase!” Hiroko turned around, then laughed, “Ahh it’s you, Yuuri-kun, sorry, sorry!”

Yuuri snorted, smiling at the common mistake they all made throughout their lives, “Tadaima… hi, Mom.”

“I wasn’t expecting you so early! Mari-chan said you’d be here soon but we didn’t know how soon!”

“Hey,” Speaking of the devil, Mari entered behind Hiroko. She made her way through the dining area with fresh towels in her hands. “Shori was just behind me. She was helping me craft some banners for our hot pot event next week.”

Yuuri smirked. “Wow, forcing her to do the work for you, huh?”

“Hey, she wanted to, and we all had to do it. It's a tradition for us…” Mari started to turn the corner out of sight, but then threw one more remark over her shoulder, “Plus she’s really good at coloring; you should sign her up for art classes or something.” 

Yuuri smiled at that. He wondered if she would be up to taking art classes… he wasn’t sure if she had gotten from him. He felt he was more musically inclined than he was in the visual arts, that was more so Viktor.

“Yuuri-kun, can you come here please?” Hiroko waved from the kitchen doorway.

Yuuri followed in, pushing through the cloth curtains in the back to see her putting together something. 

“Shori was saying how Vicchan seemed a little sad,” Hiroko turned to hand him a wrapped bag of something very warm and delicious smelling. “I made this for him to cheer him up.”

Cheer Viktor up? Just Viktor? Normally, he’d be overjoyed at the gesture, and deep down he was, but he couldn’t help feeling hurt that his pain isn’t evident enough for his daughter to realize, and for his own mother to make him something, too. “Thanks, I will… ”

Without expectation, a few stray tears started to stream down his face onto the bag that Hiroko just handed him. 

Hiroko now looked worried. “Yuuri-kun, are you okay?” she took his hand and held it, drawing him close.

He sniffed, pulling his hand away to wipe his eyes. “I’m okay, Mom, sorry. Viktor is going to love this, I know he is.” 

He did love it. She made him her own version of pelmeni, something both she and him tried together years ago when they were still living in Yu-Topia. The pair had so much fun making it, the sight of them brought him to tears… how thoughtful. She had also put in a bowl of katsudon, of course. 

Viktor looked over at the kitchen where Yuuri was, as he started to put some dishes away. 

“Aren’t you going to take your katsudon?”

Yuuri looked over, and then turned back. “She made that for you.”

“I don’t think so, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri shut the cabinet, feeling himself get choked up again. 

He heard Viktor place it on the table behind them. He turned around, looking Viktor head on.

For the first time in a long while, Viktor gave Yuuri a soft smile. “No matter what, I’d never take your katsudon away from you…”

Yuuri pressed his lips together as his already achy and watery eyes started to uncontrollably stream once more. He shook his head at him, feeling like a fool and leaving the kitchen.

Viktor watched him turn and slide their bedroom door shut. His heart wanted to chase after him, but his body stood firm in place. He didn’t know what to do with himself, so he sighed and continued to rub his eyes.

_________________________________________________________________________


In the times his husband was away, it was hard for Yuuri to sleep without Viktor next to him, either in his arms or the other way around, his warmth lolling him to sleep. 

But the tired nights came from Yuuri’s mind keeping him up, replaying this past week in his mind. At times, he would feel firm and upset, not understanding how Viktor could read his intentions so wrong. Other times, he’d find himself in the wrong. Maybe he should have said something to Viktor about the change. Viktor was sentimental about change… when he chose to be. 

His final alarm went off from his phone. Yuuri tried to rub the problems and exhaustion from his eyes as his hand searched for his glasses. This was not a good way to start the day. 

The minutes crept by more quickly than usual. He skipped his usual restroom routine to make his way down the hall to Shori’s room. Gently rapping on it, he softly called for her. Followed after would be the usual sound of a groan or a shift in covers from the other side of the door, but not this morning. He pressed his ear to the door, knocking louder this time. “Shori-chan.”

Still nothing.

Unlike his husband, Yuuri was always more reluctant to enter his daughter’s room without invitation. She probably didn’t mind either way, but he still wanted to give her that privacy and freedom. But circumstances as they are, he gave way to his own rule, and pushed the door open. 

Bed. Empty. 

Oh. That’s not normal.

Trying not to let his anxiety catch up with him, he lifted the sheets to see if she was hiding. Not that he had expected her to, but then again, he wasn’t expecting this either. He checked under her bed. The slide-in plastic containers filled with her seasonal clothes… no Shori. Last place he could think of was her closet. Why would she be in there, he didn’t know, but still decided to open it.

“Shori? Shori.” He worked his way through her past costume bags and jackets, calling out her name as he pushed away the hanged garments. No Shori.

So she was not in her room.

That was unusual, unless it was like those movie nights where they all fell asleep huddled together on the sofa—

Sofa.

Yuuri made his way out of her room and rounded the corner to the living area. He could see Viktor’s feet hanging off the other side of the sofa, and soon enough, could see two heads, bodies curled up against one another.

_________________________________________________________________________

“Shori crawled in to sleep with me last night.”

“I know.” Yuuri turned to fish for his scarf out of the hem of his coat. “I can see that… being the one who just woke the both of you.”

Viktor lifted himself to look at Yuuri head-on. “I’m only saying that because I don’t want you thinking I’m stealing her away from you.”

Yuuri stopped in his tracks. That didn’t make any sense. “Viktor… what- what are you talking about?”

Viktor put out his hands, body language giving away the growing tension. “You look upset, that’s why I’m trying to clarify with you that-”

“This is the only reason I’m upset!?” Yuuri’s voice heightened more than he had planned, more than Viktor had either as he nearly jumped off the sofa. 

No, not a good start to the morning. 

He pressed his fingers behind his glasses into his closed eyes, sighing loudly, “Look, I don’t care that Shori went to sleep with you. But if she did, maybe try and wake her up so she’s not late for school.”

Viktor started to follow suit again on the offense. “I do that every day, Yuuri, and you know that. I just slipped up this morning-“ but then stopped, noticing Yuuri’s breathing start to change. He could see it even from the room length distance between them, which was not good. “Yuuri, are you okay?”

Yuuri rubbed one of his eyes, unsure if they were watery from the tiredness or frustration. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m just glad she’s safe…”

__________________________________________________________________________


The whole ‘Shori Being Late For School’ mistake made its way firmly between the two. The rift was definitely showing as Shori and Yuuri started dinner alone that night. Viktor was once again with eyes glued to his phone, not once moving from the sofa. 

Yuuri was getting tired of this stubborn retaliation. In a both concerning and trivial gesture, he picked up Viktor’s full plate of food and walked to the sofa, standing at the side. “Viktor, I know you haven’t eaten anything today, so here, please eat.”

Viktor turned his gaze over to the bowl. Now Yuuri wanted to be the better person? At all the offerings of peace Viktor attempted to make these past couple of days, he only wanted to come to him on his own terms. No, that wasn’t happening. He kept his body firm in place, “No. Thank you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri felt a wave of heat flash over his body. There was Viktor again with the unnecessary prickliness. Well, if he wanted to start something, he picked the perfect night to do it. “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”

Viktor’s eyebrow flicked at the challenging tone in his remark. He assumed this sudden demeanor came from this morning, an accident he had no control over. “And I’m telling you, again, no. Thank you, Yuuri.”

Curling his lip, Yuuri started to step away. “God, you act more like a child than Shori.”

Finally Viktor turned to face him. “At least Shori actually can see when someone’s upset and will try to make things better.”

And suddenly, something snapped.

“Oh!!!” Yuuri flipped himself back around to face Viktor. “So only you are upset about this?!” He started to walk over again to him, voice growing louder with every word. “Is that why my family is only concerned about you and how YOU’RE feeling?! Everyone will know how YOU’RE sad, how YOU’RE off, and make you food and only ask about YOU when all goes bad?!” He then flipped himself around back towards the table. 

Viktor looked in horror at Shori, who looked petrified, her eyes locked on Yuuri. 

“But don’t worry about ME!! I’m the one who started this all, right?! This is all my fault!“

Finally, Viktor got up, but froze into place. “Yuuri-”

Yuuri turned back slightly, seeing the terrified expression that his husband wore across his face.
The mixture of anger from the pressure turning in his stomach made him nauseous. He pressed his lips together, walking back towards the table, tossing Viktor’s plate back in his spot as he flew past. “Whatever, Viktor.”

He roughly slid open their bedroom door and slammed it behind him, leaving the rest of his family frozen in shock.

________________________________________________________________________
 

The school day slowly crept by for Shori, which she was conflicted over. She had hardly slept the previous night and was looking forward to going home to take a nap, but at the same time was anxious about her parents and didn’t want to see them like that again.

But before she knew it, there came dismissal. As her classmates worked their way out to their parents, she could see how happy they seemed from the outside and wished she could have that back.

She heard a call from her sensei, and filed her way through backs and bags to search for her. And when she found her, she also found her Dad.

Yuuri gave an awkward, and unfortunately disingenuous smile. “Hey, Shori-chan.”

The pair walked again in an even more uncomfortable silence than they had since this debacle began. When they got to a street corner a little ways from her school, Yuuri sighed. “Shori-chan, I’d like to talk to you…”

They found a bench along one of the streets and took a seat. The place where they were was quiet enough, aside from some passing cars.



They sat facing the street, shoulder to shoulder. Yuuri peered down at Shori, who had her head lowered. He felt his stomach turn, but pressed on and sighed. “Shori-chan, I wanted to apologize to you about last night…”

Shori kept her gaze to the sidewalk below them. 

It crushed him how hurt she looked. “It wasn’t fair of me to yell like that in front of you.”

“Papa was yelling too…”

“Yeah…” He felt like his heart was torn at another angle. “Look Shori-chan, Papa and I are angry at each other right now. I know you’ve probably noticed.“

Shori nodded, again keeping her eyes fixed to the ground.

“I didn’t know how to talk about it with you… or even if I should. I don’t think we both realized that we needed to.”

“I’m sorry I said Papa was sad,” her voice started to crack. “I know you are too, now. I didn’t know.”

Another huge tear. “No no no, Shori, you did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong. It’s good that you told Obaasan that. Always let her, Jii-chan, and Aunt Mari know, okay?”

Shori shifted uncomfortably, playing with her plushie star chain on her school bag. “Are you both still angry, Daddy?”

Seeing that she was still upset, Yuuri took a moment to think of how to word it. He figured that there was no way to really dance around it, so he just spelled it out honestly. “We’re just… hurt, Shori-chan.” After another long pause, Yuuri turned himself more to face her. “Do you remember when you fell on the ice last summer and got that big cut on your leg?”

She nodded, finally turning to Yuuri. “It really hurt.”

“Hmm, and it took awhile for it to go away, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And you know what? It would have taken a lot longer if we didn’t try to take care of it. Remember, we put peroxide on,” he giggled, recalling this memory. “That cotton ball? You thought it was cotton candy.” He continued to laugh softly, remembering the joint reaction when both he and Viktor caught her as she tried to pop one in her mouth when they weren’t looking. “And then we put that bandage on it?”

“Papa kissed it.”

“He did. You felt better, right?”

“Mmmh.” An unexpected smirk started to form at the corner of her mouth. “So Papa has to kiss you for you to feel better!”

Yuuri could feel the red color his face as he let a laugh escape him. Like the changing tides, Shori would turn into a goofball. A force to be reckoned with. He wasn’t expecting her to phase into it now, but it was more than welcomed.

When she knew she had gotten them, she would gain momentum in her wild takes,
“And you have to kiss Papa so he’ll feel better!”

Yuuri laughed again, patting the air, trying to bring the conversation back, unfortunate as it was. “Shori, Shori… we’re not there yet.”

Shori settled down, the mischievous look still on her face. He could tell her antics wasn’t going to end for a while. Maybe she was trying to comfort herself through all of this adult nonsense. Adults, who were admittedly waging war starting over something as trivial as a bed, incredibly child-like and ridiculous. There were more circumstances behind just this disagreement, but he couldn’t help but be incredibly proud of his daughter for how she had taken this all. He was sure that Viktor was feeling the same. At this moment, Shori was probably the most mature one out of the three.

“The reason,” Yuuri continued, “I’m bringing this up is that... when you’re hurt, in places that you can and can’t actually see, it takes time to heal. Sometimes, it may never fully go away. But when you treat it right, and give it love, it stings sometimes, but it helps make the healing faster.”

The words coming out of him were ones he felt he wouldn’t have recognized himself saying out loud ten years ago. It had taken a lot to be where he was at this point in his life, with much self-reflection and also the outsider support and love that he’s been better at receiving. He still had slip ups and wallowed… realizing then through a flicker of a thought he probably was doing now with Viktor, guilt and hurt trickling in. But at the same time, he felt that he was channeling in some of Viktor’s habits in finding the right words to say. Viktor may not have done it all of the time, but most of the time. It made him warm. 

What co-coaching and co-parenting does to someone.

“Do you understand, Shori-chan?”

Shori slowly looked up at Yuuri. “So… we gotta put a bandage on you and Papa?”

Yuuri huffed, smirking. “Exactly-” He shook his head, laughing. “No, you silly kid! C’mere!”

Shori screeched laughing as Yuuri grabbed and held her, nudging his head into hers. To hear Shori laugh like this after what she probably felt yesterday could make Yuuri cry. Instead, he hugged her tighter, and she reciprocated.

“I just want you to know that we love you, Shori-chan, okay?”

“Okay.” Shori pecked his cheek. Their love language wasn’t usually through kisses as much as through hugs. That was moreso Viktor and Shori, so whenever they happened between Yuuri and Shori, it was all the more special for both. 

“Daddy, you love Papa, right?”

Once again, Yuuri felt the red return to his face as he nudged against her head. “Shori, there will never be a ‘no’ to that question.”

___________________________________________________________________________

“Tadaima!!!”

Viktor’s mood perked as soon as he heard her voice. He turned from the food he was prepping in the kitchen for dinner and to his daughter, who ran swiftly at him.

“Okaeri, Shori-chan!”

Viktor knelt down with arms open so she could fill them,  planting a few kisses on her head. “How was school, my love?”

“Great!!” she broke from the embrace and slung off her school bag. “I made you something!!”

“You did?” He looked past her shoulder at the door, noticing he hadn’t heard Yuuri come in. “Shori, where’s Daddy?”

“He said he was going to be out for awhile, he wanted to drop me off so I could see you before he took me to practice!”

Viktor bit his lip and sighed. After that dinner blow-out a few nights before, he’d been posed in a lot of thought and reflection. Both of them had a lot of pent up anger and frustration, and admittedly had clouded Yuuri’s actions towards him, which have been nothing but kind. Sure, he did things that hurt Viktor, but he didn’t do them in spite. He didn’t deserve the way Viktor had been acting. He just wanted to find common ground to talk again, if he ever could.

The silence had been especially hard between them since that night.

“Here!! Ta-dah!” Shori pulled out this piece of paper from one of her folders. “Dozo!!”

Viktor took it from her and flipped it around.

“It’s us!!!” Shori let go of the surprise before he could even see it. “I drew it in school!”

There were some things in parenthood that Viktor had anticipated. His parenthood bucket list. And this was one of his top bullets… Imagining his baby bringing home her crayon rendition of his family was one thing. Having the actual piece in his hands was another. And of course, he was emotional over it.

“Shornyshka~” he lifted the paper a little more so his tears wouldn’t fall on it. They hadn’t made their way out of his eyes yet, but he could feel them coming.

“That’s us at Ice Castle!”

Viktor laughed. “Oh, my golden skates. You added them in.” He loved the fact that he and Yuuri were holding hands watching her skate. Accurate. Very accurate.

But there was one little part of it he wasn’t so sure about. There was a fluffy-like brown cloud above them, with three black dots…. he started to get choked up at one thought yet voiced his suspicion. “Shori-chan, who’s this?”

She looked over and pointed to the drawing. “Makkachin.”
_______________________________________________________________________

In a little over a half hour, Yuuri came back for Shori, who was fully prepared to leave. Then there came the realization that Viktor was nowhere in sight.

“Papa wasn’t feeling well… I think he’s in the bathroom.”

It was hard to conceal his emotions as of late, having been all laid bare. On the way to Ice Castle, he texted Viktor.

Y: Are you okay? Shori said you weren’t feeling well. I’ll be back soon.

About a block away from their destination, he got a response.

V: I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Good luck at practice.

He decided to ask Yuuko to watch Shori while he would go back to check on Viktor. She agreed to it and gave her best regards. “Just text me if you need anything, okay?”

For as sour as it was, he was concerned. It wasn’t like him to at least not wish Shori a good-bye on the way out. Something must be really wrong. He tried to quell his boiling anxieties down from the pit of his stomach. The walk home seemed to take twice as long as normal, even when he went into full out sprints down a few blocks.

Finally he made it to the door. He fumbled with his keys to open the door, immediately starting to kick off his shoes.

“Viktor?”

He rounded the corner and saw Viktor leaning over the fridge. He felt his heart fall into his stomach. “Viktor??”

Suddenly, Viktor raised his head. “Y-Yuuri? What are you doing home? Shori has practice!”

“I came to check on you, are you-” while approaching he could see how blood shot his eyes were. “Viktor, what’s wrong?”

In a moment, Viktor found it hard to find the words. There were so many things he felt he needed to say right then and now, but the first sentence came out, broken and tattered but all genuine: “Yuuri, I’m so sorry…”

Yuuri’s eyes bulged. “Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? I’ve been nothing but unfair to you these past few weeks…”

“It’s just… this wasn’t what I was expecting to walk into.” Yuuri started to walk towards him, arms extending. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Viktor let out a whimper, sliding his hand down against the fridge to his knees in a sob.

Yuuri quickly rushed to his side to catch and hold him. As he got to his level, he realized he was at eye level with Shori’s drawing. He had not seen it yet.

Viktor wiped his eyes with his shoulder. “Shori made this in school. Isn’t it beautiful?”

It probably wasn’t the appropriate time to do this but Yuuri couldn’t help but smile. It was so pure. How much he wished for things to go back to how they looked in Shori’s drawing... so happy and peaceful... 

“She even drew Makkachin…” Viktor put his two fingers against the crayon outline like a memorial of his old friend. 

Yuuri could hear his heart being shattered again, and held him close.

They were silent for a while, until Viktor spoke.“Yuuri, I spent the last day with Makka on that bed…”

Suddenly, it all hit him. That memory, nearly eight years ago… blocked from his mind entirely for how devastating it all was to them. How it had triggered his own loss of his longtime companion, Vicchan. But Makkachin… probably Yuuri’s first love, even before Viktor. How enamoured he was by a poodle that inspired to get a friend of his own.

And seeing Viktor so broken… that entire year seemingly lost to the empty space in his heart. In their hearts. But a simple drawing, a simple mention of “Makkachin” sent them back to where they were, who they were at that time.

“Can you believe I spent my first night here on that mattress? Before all of this...” Viktor chuckled to himself, sniffing again. “I spent the first couple of nights crying myself to sleep because I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was so already in love with you, it physically hurt.”

It felt like Viktor was dancing on the pieces of his shattered heart with each loving memory spoken. Why did he not mention this before? ...How did he not register this before?

“All the family I had ever known up to this point have been with me there… slept with me, loved with me, loved on me... for all these years...” The final step to his routine on the broken glass, as tears started to roll down his face. 

“Oh, Viktor…”

Viktor wiped his eyes as Yuuri cautiously made his way over to sling his arm over his shoulder, pressing his forehead and nose to his cheek.

“Viktor, I’m so so… so sorry… ” Yuuri gulped as he heard his voice begin to crack. “If I would have known that you paired those memories… and with Makka…”

“You would have let us keep the bed?”

“I would have asked you before making that decision.” Yuuri pulled away to face Viktor head on,  “I get what you were saying now. But why didn’t you feel the need to bring it up before?”

Viktor sniffed. “I was in shock, Yuuri. I didn’t handle it correctly. I was upset, you were upset. I didn’t know if my reasoning would make sense to you. I didn’t know if my reasoning even made sense to me.”

“Of course it does.”

“And there were… so many other problems than just this one that came up…” Viktor paused, looking briefly at Yuuri, then turning to stare at Shori’s drawing again. “I’m still really bad at this, huh?”

Yuuri bit his lip, running circles along Viktor’s shoulders with his finger tips.

“How did we write our wedding vows about better communication and I trip up this badly, Yuuri?”

“It’s not just you, Viktor. We are a team.”

Viktor huffed, smirking with a bit of color showing along his cheeks. “A team effort of breaking vows…”

Yuuri gave a crooked smile. “We were known for defying rules.”

“Heh, not the rules I’d ever want to break.”

“I know, me too…” He turned to face him, brushing his hand against the side of Viktor’s face.

“Yuuri.” Viktor held Yuuri’s hand against his head, brushing his lips against it as he leaned into it. “You shouldn’t be the one apologizing… especially not at this. I let my emotions get the better of me, and made a material come between us for nearly two weeks…” His voice started to crack again, as more tears fell from his cheeks. “For two weeks, over a mattress.”

“But I see why you were so upset.” Yuuri smoothed his fringe to its comfortable side. “Like you said, Viktor, we have our problems that we need to work through.”

“That would tear up our family like this?”

Yuuri stopped, slowly shaking his head. “No, I don’t think so. That’s why we need to keep trying to speak out our problems when they’re fresh… and keep working on how we deliver them so we don’t end up like this.”

Viktor sighed, guiding Yuuri’s palm to his lips and pressing a kiss into them. “I don’t want it to get this bad, again. Ever.”

“Me too, Vitya…”

Viktor’s cheeks filled with red, as even more tears streamed down his face. “Oh, I haven’t heard you call me that in so long…”

Yuuri missed seeing his reactions, how that name worked on his love’s face more than he had realized, as he found himself pecking Viktor’s cheek.

Viktor removed his hand from Yuuri’s and instead, cupped his cheek to bring them both in for a long kiss. It wasn’t ideal, both messy with tears and drippy noses, but it didn’t matter. The connection and warmth from each other was all they needed. As far as they knew, it was the best they’ve had in so long.

Both let go, pressing into each other’s forehead and noses, chasing pecks on the lips and cheek, finding that common ground of familiarity. The silent sobs and sniffs soon turned into little spouts of laughing and giggles. A little more than the normal in-passing love signs from them. Especially now.

“I’ve missed you, Yuuri…”

“I missed you too…”

It was weird to feel as distant as they felt within those two weeks, feeling farther away from each other in their separate rooms when fighting than when they were physically separated by miles without their problems in sight.

There was a lot to be said and done, but to find common ground was all they could have hoped for now. And as it always seemed for them, it wasn’t that hard to fall in love again.

“I have not given us any room to make new… or happier memories…”

Yuuri shut his eyes to press against Viktor’s forehead again, humming. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

“Mmhm? If that’s the case then...” Viktor shifted a little, rolling his arms slowly around Yuuri’s shoulders, leaning his lips against his ear. “Yuuri~ I think me and our new bed had a bad start… is it possible that you could reintroduce me?”

The flush of red on Yuuri’s face could be heard in his laugh. “Vitya!”

Viktor pressed his signature finger to lips, turning back out to admire the mess he’d made of Yuuri already. “Too soon?”

Yuuri chuckled, shaking his head. “No, that was the original plan…”

Now, Viktor’s face grew red and warm. “Oh, you sneak. That’s why you were so set on it.”

“I-I didn’t buy it for that!”

Viktor raised his eyebrow, smirking. “You can’t lie to me, Yuuri. Remember that.”

“I’m not! That’s you thinking that way!”

“Mmh-hmm… just me.” He gave a light wink, laughing from his heart as he watched Yuuri’s face grow redder.

Yuuri side-tracked himself briefly looking at the clock. “Well, this is going to be a quick introduction because Shori gets out of practice in less than two hours.”

“I’m sure we can manage... oop!” Viktor gasped, laughing as Yuuri picked him up bridal style.

“I guess I can carry you over the threshold now.” Yuuri looked over, smirking. “As long as you try to behave yourself this time.”

Viktor laughed, pressing his face into Yuuri’s neck as he carried him. “No promises.”