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Viktor was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He really was going to talk to Percy about retiring after this Quidditch season this time. No more putting it off for one more season, one more match; he really felt like he was close to being done after all these years. He had taken Bulgaria to the Quidditch World Cup twice and won, and the Arrows were at the top of the league (much to Ron's grumblings) almost every season.
But he had lost his love of the game.
It was no longer exciting or fun. It was long, tiring hours of training and strategy meetings, having to keep his fitness routine up when he just wanted to laze around on his sofa in joggers. Viktor thought it might even be nice to put a bit of weight on, to allow the physique he had worked on since he was 12 to actually reflect the fact that he was now a 41-year-old man.
Viktor had been talking to the coach, just throwing it out there. There were still 2 months of this year's season left, so after his conversation with Percy, he could let the coach know his decision.
Viktor thought it might even be nice to be a househusband for a few years, trying to make up for all the time he had missed with Dara. She wasn't due to start Primary school for a year and a half, and Molly (or whichever aunt or uncle was at The Burrow) watched her whilst Percy was at work and he was busy with his career.
How nice would it be to send Percy off to work and meet him for lunch with Dara, maybe meet him after work, and go to the park just to be there? Ready and available for his family.
With that thought, he opened his front door into what he could only describe as pandemonium.
There were kids everywhere, screeching, screaming, laughing, and trailing flour behind them.
Viktor looked around at the state of his home, surprised. Percy was a neat freak. What in Merlin's name was going on?
He was still standing in the doorway when a little screech reached him. “TATI!” the white blur screamed as they launched themselves at him.
He looked at his precious girl as she cuddled him tight, transferring all the flour coating her to his dark uniform. Viktor couldn't help a grimace; Percy would be pissed. Speaking of his husband. "Where's daddy ангелче (angel)?" he asked.
Dara smiled at her Tati as she started talking a mile a minute, switching from Bulgarian to English and confusing Viktor. Even now, 25 years after hearing English, he still found it hard to understand when people spoke too fast.
Instead, he started prompting her in Bulgarian and she started on an epic tale about four and monsters and gremlins that he could actually follow.
He had never been more grateful that Percy was insistent that their child be bilingual, that his language and culture were just as important as the one she was being predominantly brought up in.
Just one of the many reasons he adored his husband, Viktor thought as he walked through into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. Stunned.
Percy stood there with Neville and Pansy's twins, head thrown back, laughing as one of them threw glitter all over him and the other. Dara wiggled until she was put down and went running into the fray.
Viktor was still amazed that Percy was laughing when the house looked like this.
It never looked like this. Even when they had the extended Weasley clan over.
Percy must have felt his stare as he looked over and saw Viktor, his smile getting even bigger as he spotted Viktor.
Percy patted the kids on the head, fended off a bunch of other redhead children that Viktor couldn't tell apart under the mess, and made it to Viktor, leaning up to give him a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, love, you're home an hour early,” Percy said with a smile.
"Yes, and I am also off for a few days, with it being Christmas next week," Viktor said, deciding to leave the important conversation they had to have until later.
He looked at his husband, stunning underneath everything that was covering him, and laughed as Percy tried to blow a wisp of something-covered hair out of his face.
Viktor leaned forward and moved it for him. "You're a mess," he whispered in Percy's ear.
Percy went red, his blush was evident on his pale skin. “You deal with Dara and the demon Longbottom twins for a few hours and see how tidy you look," Percy said back with a cheerful laugh.
He left Viktor's side to return to the mass of kids scattered about their home. Viktor just smiled as he walked around cleaning up everywhere but the kitchen where Percy seemed to be holding court with what looked like a dozen kids ranging in age and height; he was sure Fred Jr and James-Sirius were there too, then again, now the lads were big enough to floo alone they were often in and out all of their families floo's as their dads worked.
In the middle of the chaos, though, were Dara, Aster and Ivy being the loudest, the jumpiest and the most out there of all the kids.
Viktor smiled at them softly as he watched, hoping to see much more of this in the future.
He waded into the fray, wrapped an arm around Percy's waist, and kissed his cheek. "What have you been doing, anyway? Why is the house a mess?" Viktor finally asked.
“What have we been doing, kids?” Percy asked the assembled mass of children.
Viktor couldn't help but smile when over a dozen children started shouting about baking and decorating, flour fights, and glitter pranks.
He pulled Percy close and soaked in the love and excitement in the kitchen. Sure, for the first time, about his future decision.