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This year’s banquet was just as chaotic as the last… Courtesy of the champagne and Yuuri’s ability to get seriously drunk.
“Victor! Dance with me, please…!”
Victor looked to his partner and laughed as he realized just how disheveled he had become. Provided, he was partying with the other skaters and Cristophe had certainly pushed him along, seeing as Yuuri’s shirt was unbuttoned and slouched completely off of his shoulders and was barely hanging onto his arms, and his tie had once again been fashioned around his head. Phichit simply waved Victor over as he held up his camera to record, and he just seemed entertained that this was happening yet again. Yuri was sulking in the corner after having lost a dance battle with Yuuri, but this year had decided he too would record the shitshow of the drunken party antics and had hidden his face behind his phone to do so.
“Just one dance, okay?” Victor stood and smiled, holding his hand out. “Then I’m done for the night.”
“But there’s so much left in the night!” Yuuri leaned onto Victor’s side and clung to him, and his words slurred together in typical fashion.
“Yeah, Victor, let’s go! Dance floor!” JJ’s voice echoed from the back, while Christophe nodded and dragged Victor and Yuuri to the floor. Several other skaters were laughing and encouraging the pair to dance from the edges of the room.
Sure enough, the end of the night came far quicker than Yuuri implied. The night had been cut short by a drunken pole dance accident and several other very tired and drunk people leaving to get rest and sober up. Victor and Phichit had to help carry the drunken skater back to the hotel.
“I can walk!” Yuuri protested.
“You can barely speak, Yuri,” Phichit laughed. “Let us know when you get the slurring under control and we’ll consider.”
Victor nodded and shifted as he pulled out the hotel key card. “You’re resting, no need to get alcohol poisoning!”
“You drank too…”
“I can hold my alcohol.” Victor nudged the door open and nodded to the bed so Phichit knew where to go. “You cannot.”
The pair put Yuuri on the bed, and Victor thanked Phichit for the help.
“Sure, just make sure I get an invitation to the wedding!”
Victor smiled, a sparkle in his eyes and a dash of pink appearing on his cheeks. “Of course, but just… Keep it quiet for now?”
“Sure, sure. See you guys tomorrow!”
Victor dimmed the room’s lights and propped the bathroom door open just in case. Yuuri rolled over on the bed and hummed as he tried to shuffle the pillows to something he liked.
“Hey, Victor…”
“Now, now, you need to get rest! We have a long day tomorrow after all.”
“But I don’t want to… I want to keep going!”
“You threw up after hanging upside down on the pole for too long.”
“But I’m fine now!”
“I don’t think so, dear.” Victor started to change his fancy outfit out for his comfier clothes, a gray t-shirt with an Olympics logo on it and a set of blue sweatpants. “You get rest today.”
“I don’t want rest…”
Victor sighed and pulled Yuuri’s clothes from the suitcase. “Come on, let’s get something comfier on.”
“This is comfy!”
“Yuuri, please…”
Yuuri grumbled as Victor helped him change, insistent that he can do it himself, but clearly unable to without help. His coordination for non-dancing activities had been lost hours ago, and Victor couldn’t help but laugh as he folded the blue-framed glasses and set them on the bedside table next to Yuuri’s phone, which Phichit had already put on the charger.
“It’s kind of hot that you’re stripping me…”
“Hmm, I think it’s more endearing for tonight. After all you did spill champagne everywhere.”
“Are you sure about that…?”
Victor kissed Yuuri’s cheek and pushed his bangs out of his face. “Absolutely.”
“It’s a party night though…”
“It’s a rest night now. Airport tomorrow.”
“Can we do something though?”
“No, not tonight.”
Yuuri cried out as Victor refused. “Victor… I just want you…” His accented words slurred together, and his hand missed Victor’s arm by a good bit.
“Not now, my little piggy,” Victor scolded before pressing a squeeze bottle of water in Yuuri’s hand. “Sober up and I’ll consider.”
“Please…?”
“I’ll sleep next to you but not with you, ok?”
Yuuri nodded, his eyes wide and pleading. Victor could tell that he had forgotten that they usually sleep in the same bed anyway, and it was adorable to watch Yuuri’s eyes fixate on him as if they didn’t know each other so well already. Yuuri held the water bottle close while Victor turned the TV on, the chatter of the sitcom a low roar to fill the emptiness of the room, then put his phone on the charger on his nightstand. A small hiccup resonated through the room as Yuuri waited, and Victor couldn’t help but laugh and press another small kiss to Yuuri’s lips.
“Can you do that again…?”
Victor hummed and leaned in, this time hanging on longer, hands on Yuuri’s shoulders, with the taste of alcohol permeating the pair’s senses. Victor parted and smiled while Yuuri looked into his eyes with a sense of haziness and adoration.
“Let me do a couple of things and I’ll lay down with you, okay?”
Yuuri smiled and nodded, then took a large swig from the water bottle.
Thirty minutes later Victor walked out of the bathroom, his hands wrapped in a towel he was using to dry his hair off before he laid down and held his darling close to him. Said darling was currently entranced by a baby show commercial, sure, but there was something precious about it as he muttered about it to himself in his native language.
Victor hung the towel on the bathroom door and called out to Yuuri, his lips upturned as he walked back to the bed.
Yuuri reached his arms out, the exhaustion starting to hit him, and Victor tsked as he crawled under the sheets and held Yuuri close. He sighed as he relaxed against Yuuri and ran his fingers through the drunken man’s hair. A gentle kiss was pressed to Yuuri’s forehead, and Victor finally felt at home for a moment in time.
“You’re so warm, Victor…” Yuuri curled closer into Victor, and his hands rested at his chest and shoulder. His heartbeat gave Yuuri a sense of grounding, gently through the layers of skin and clothes, yet still reliably there.
Victor just shushed his partner and pulled the blankets on top of them. He kissed Yuuri’s head again and took a deep breath, the smell of champagne and Yuuri’s shampoo filling his senses. Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat for a moment as he felt Victor’s fingers brush against the nape of his neck, and Victor rested them at his shoulder.
Yuuri’s face had been red with the alcohol, but his cheeks seemed to blush deeper as he looked up to his partner. “Can you kiss me again…?”
“Hmm, maybe…” Victor yawned and rubbed his thumb against Yuuri’s shoulder.
“Please…?”
“Alright, but we sleep after.” Victor’s hand returned to the back of Yuuri’s head as he pulled the man in for a kiss, their lips interlocking while Yuuri’s arms wrapped around his partner’s neck. They were gentle with each other, even as their hands roamed across their bodies in an effort to find a better way to stay comfortable while still being infinitely close. Victor’s fingers found themselves tangled in his partner’s dark locks, while Yuuri found comfort in the small of Victor’s back while his hand looped under Victor’s arm to find a resting place on his shoulder. They basked in each other, glad to be in each other’s arms.
Yuuri broke the kiss first, dazed and out of breath. “That was so good…”
Victor used the back of his hand to wipe away the extra saliva on his lips, and his expression softened as he pushed Yuuri’s hair back in place. “I would hope so, dear.”
They looked deep into each other’s eyes with pure adoration and wonder, just long enough for Yuuri to finish catching his breath. Their hands stayed on each other, and their bodies remained intertwined as they rested momentarily. Soon Yuuri leaned in for another set of kisses, these peppered gently over time as the pair melted into each other all over again.
Victor was the one to stop this time though, having decided that he had spoiled Yuuri enough.
“Sleep now.”
“Victor…”
“I love you, Yuuri.”
“I love you too, but-”
“We can enjoy ourselves when we’re rested, okay?”
Yuuri pouted at the thought, but he immediately calmed as Victor pressed one more kiss to his forehead.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“I love you so much, Victor…”
“I wouldn’t know how to exist without you anymore, my dear.” Victor took a deep breath and hugged his partner close. He watched Yuuri slowly drift into sleep while petting his head softly and with great care. Once he was sure that Yuuri was asleep, safely and calmly, he closed his own eyes and let sleep take him.
The next morning was far less pleasant as Yuuri woke up and immediately clutched his head, turned away from the sunlight peeking through the window, and groaned at the building nausea.
Victor on the other hand was well awake and already dressed. His hotel coffee was on the table, his bags packed, and his side of the room clean. His eyes brightened as he saw that Yuuri had woken up, and he sat on the bed next to him.
“Morning, dear!”
“Everything hurts and I’m dying, Victor…”
“Nonsense, it’s just a hangover!
“Hangovers are the worst.” Yuuri sat up slowly, a hand over his eyes in a feeble attempt to block the bright light of day.
Victor’s laugh rang through the quiet room, and he pulled Yuuri close to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You should really work on that then.”
“Wait, hold on,” Yuuri asked, suddenly sitting straighter than before. “What happened last night?” The usual tone of panic began to sink into his voice as he scrambled to figure out what happened.
“No memory, again…?”
“I’m a lightweight, I know I am, just…” Yuuri froze as his recount of the previous day lead him to the answer. “The banquet. Oh no.” His fingers immediately began to pick at his skin, soon finding a scrape from a previous practice session, and he dug at the spot relentlessly. His mind raced and spun in circles, a dizzying feeling that he hated more than the feeling of rising nausea.
“You had fun! No harm done, apart from maybe your liver.”
“And my head and stomach-”
“Look, you’re fine! Let’s take some deep breaths, okay?” Victor smiled and gently took Yuuri’s hands away from the scab he had torn open, opting instead to keep them enclosed in his own. He had learned how to help ground Yuuri after he got to Japan and met him sober, and he wasn’t about to let his partner struggle without any help.
The pair watched each other breathe in and out slowly, Yuuri’s breath far more unsteady as he tried to both calm his mind and fight off nausea, and over time some of the worst of Yuuri’s thoughts began to settle into a worried, but far less terrifying state.
That of course was when his nausea turned up a notch, and Yuuri unsteadily ran to the bathroom. He was grateful that the door was still propped open, as he barely made it to the toilet before losing the ability to keep it down. Victor followed quickly after him and sat on the floor alongside him.
Yuuri grimaced and whined as he pulled away from the bowl. Victor immediately handed him a wet washcloth to wipe his mouth with.
“Thanks… Never let me drink again…” He wiped his mouth gently with the washcloth then threw it onto the sink counter.
“No guarantees!”
Yuuri just let out a sigh of exasperation as he collapsed into Victor’s arms, glad that the horrific experience of hurling his guts out in a hotel bathroom had at least made the nausea fade to a manageable level.
“Are you sure we can’t recover here for one more day…?”
“There’s a flight to catch, that is unless you want to be the one to argue with the airline.”
“No, I think the pain of the lights is enough for me.”
“Think of it like this,” Victor said. His hand took one of Yuuri’s. “We’ll get to go back home and see Makkachin sooner, right?”
“That would be nice…”
Victor grinned and helped Yuuri to the bed, then found the clothes Yuuri had packed to wear at the airport.
“I’ll find the sunglasses and medicine while you get ready.” Victor handed him the clothes, and Yuuri muttered a quick thanks before giving his partner a kiss on the cheek.
Yuuri changed as quickly as he could, but before he could get his shirt on the smell of another cup of coffee made him retch again.
“Yuuri?”
“Y-yeah…”
Victor sat back down with him, meds in hand and a frown gracing his face. His hand rested on Yuuri’s shoulder. “You really overdid it…”
“I feel like absolute shit…” He groaned and flushed the toilet, but stayed close to the bowl and rested against the tub.
“You know what? Let me call the airline, I’m sure they can wait another day.”
“Are you sure?” Yuuri’s hands shook as he reached out to Victor, who took his hands and kissed them gently. “I know we need to get home…”
“I changed my mind. You need a day of rest. At least the rest of this morning. I’ll make the negotiations, you focus on getting better.”
“Victor…”
“I’m not taking you on a flight if you can’t stop throwing up. That’s bad for everyone.”
Yuuri sighed and nodded, internally relieved he was able to avoid the loud bustle of a crowded airport, let alone the feeling of being on a plane.
Victor grabbed the refilled water bottle off of the counter and passed it to him, and Yuuri uttered a small thanks as Victor stood and stepped out to make the call.
Thankfully, the flight could be rescheduled for the next morning, and Victor helped Yuuri back into his comfy clothes and into the warm bed. As Yuuri curled up for a long nap and Victor sat next to him and watched whatever weird TV show was on, they took each other’s hand, the warmth and love radiating through their bodies. Yuuri sighed and wondered how he managed to get such a loving fiance. More importantly, though, he wondered how the hell he let himself get here, hungover in a hotel far away from home after a competition and falling asleep to the sound of quiet Russian commentary and the air conditioning’s low rumble.