Work Text:
Yuuri doesn’t normally spend a whole lot of time in front of a mirror, but Viktor’s room has one that extends nearly from the floor to the ceiling. He has to pass it on his way to the dresser to get his clothes, which is how he ends up in front of it, squinting critically at his reflection.
He knows he’s gotten a little bit chubby, so he’s not exactly surprised at what he sees, but he’s also not exactly filled with joy at the softness of his stomach. His tummy protrudes a little bit over the waistband of his underwear, his hips are a little bit fleshier than they had been mere months ago, and he can even see the evidence of his weight gain in the chubbiness of his cheeks. He’s seen himself like this before—his body has always had a tendency to put on weight easily, so it’s not exactly shocking.
That doesn’t mean he’s in love with the idea, though. He’s supposed to have a figure skater’s body… if he’s going to regain any respect after his horrific last season, he’s going to have to look the part.
“Yuuri,” a tired voice calls from behind him. “What are you doing over there? Come back to bed.”
Yuuri turns around to see Viktor propped up on one elbow, rubbing at one eye sleepily and yawning. He reaches out one hand towards Yuuri, flashing him a smile that is bright like the soft morning sunshine that’s currently filling the room with a pale glow. “Are you admiring my gorgeous boyfriend without me? How rude.”
Unable to banish the flush that heats his cheeks, Yuuri pads over to the bed and slips in under the blankets, while Viktor grins at him. As soon as Yuuri is back in the bed, Viktor scoots in close and curls one arm around his waist. Yuuri takes this opportunity to duck his head and tuck his face into the crook of Viktor’s neck. It's a feeble attempt to hide his blush.
“You’re so embarrassing,” Yuuri mumbles.
“I’m embarrassing because I think you’re gorgeous?” Viktor asks sleepily as he burrows in closer to Yuuri.
“You think you’re so smooth.”
“I am,” Viktor says cheerfully. “That’s why you’re blushing right now.”
Yuuri groans and tries to duck away when Viktor takes this opportunity to start pressing laughing, fluttering kisses all over his face, placing extras on his burning cheeks.
“You’re ridiculous,” Yuuri protests, not even trying to hide the fondness in his voice. He attempts to squirm away, but Viktor has just enough strength to keep Yuuri close—it might also be the fact that Yuuri doesn't exactly want to get away from him, but Yuuri doesn't think he needs to admit that out loud.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered and blushing,” Viktor says shamelessly and plants a final kiss onto the tip of Yuuri’s nose. He pokes Yuuri’s side. “And when you giggle.”
“I am not giggling,” Yuuri disagrees, but then Viktor pokes his side again and no sane person could ever call the sound that comes out of his mouth anything but a giggle.
“You were saying?”
“Hush,” Yuuri admonishes feebly, then flops down and pulls the blankets over his head.
This doesn’t deter Viktor in the slightest. He scoots in under the blankets as well, manoeuvering himself until he’s settled with his chin resting on Yuuri’s shoulder, his arm curled around Yuuri’s waist, pressed so close together that it feels like there's absolutely no space between them. Viktor has been consistently proving since they started dating that he was an octopus in a previous life.
“Hi,” Viktor says in his ear, soft and teasing. Yuuri doesn’t have to see his face to know that he’s grinning.
“Hi, Vitya.”
Viktor just hums happily and nestles into Yuuri’s side, falling silent.
Yuuri sighs. Without the distraction of Viktor’s silliness occupying his mind, Yuuri’s thoughts soon return to his reflection in the mirror. Competition season is quickly approaching, and he can’t seem to get rid of the stubborn layer of stomach fat will poke out just noticeably under any of his skin tight costumes.
He’s back on track with his eating and exercise regime, but it’s always been hard for him to get rid of weight once he lets it accumulate. If he’s being honest, he’s starting to worry. He’d thought that he would have gotten rid of it by now, and competitions were so close.
“What are you thinking about?”
Viktor’s tired voice interrupts his stream of thoughts, pulls him back into the soft bed and the warmth of his boyfriend curled around him.
“Nothing important,” Yuuri lies. “You can go back to sleep.”
“Yuuri!” Viktor pokes him. He does that a lot, Yuuri’s noticed. “Everything you think about is important to me.”
“Viktor...” Yuuri sighs.
“Yuuri." Viktor says his name quietly, still gentle, but his voice takes on a stern cadence. "I won't make you tell me solnyshko, but you know you can tell me anything, right?"
Despite all the times Yuuri has heard Viktor call him that particular pet name, he still feels a faint flush creep over his cheeks. He’d like to know if some day he’ll stop blushing every time Viktor compliments him or does something romantic. Probably not.
“Yes, of course I do," Yuuri assures him quickly. He doesn't want Viktor to ever think otherwise. "Just… I.” Yuuri sighs. “I’m worried about getting the rest of this weight off before competitions start.”
“Don’t.”
Yuuri blinks at the blunt answer. “Um.”
“If you don’t lose the rest of it, that’s okay,” Viktor says, yawning, as if it were a casual and unimportant thing they were talking about.
“It’s not okay,” Yuuri says quietly. “No one will take me seriously.”
That rouses Viktor quite quickly. He lifts his head off of the pillow, leaving Yuuri’s side bereft of his warmth.
“Yuuri,” he says, his voice soft, but Yuuri doesn't miss the stern cadence underneath the words. “Do you believe in your abilities?”
Yuuri swallows thickly. “I—I… yes.” He knows he's gotten better. Some days, of course he has his doubts. He's scared of returning to competing, he's scared of embarrassing himself again, he's scared of failing. At the end of the day though, he knows he's good. He's worked hard for it, and despite the doubts that creep against the back of his neck sometimes, he knows that.
“Then you have nothing to worry about!”
“Viktor, you know that’s not how it works.”
“You’re an amazing skater, Yuuri,” Viktor tells him, a smile soft and fond on his lips as he reaches out with his long, elegant fingers to gently brush them over the crest of Yuuri’s cheekbone. His hand slides down, fingers trailing lightly down the expanse of Yuuri’s bare skin and settling just over his belly button, where Viktor lets his fingers linger. “Everyone will see that.”
Viktor runs his fingers over the pale stretch marks that are splayed like tree branches across his stomach and hips. One night, Viktor took the time to kiss every single one of them: all over his stomach, his hips, his thighs. He didn't stop until Yuuri was flustered and laughing, and he had made sure his lips had touched every single jagged line. That was one of the nights Yuuri started to realize just loving and affectionate Viktor truly is.
“Yeah, but you’re my boyfriend,” Yuuri points out hesitantly. After all these months, the word 'boyfriend' still rolls off his tongue in awe, the syllables still new and tantalizing in his mouth. He is in Viktor Nikiforov's bed, and Viktor Nikiforov is lovingly telling him not to worry about his weight. He's comfortable with Viktor, yes, but sometimes this is all still a little hard to believe.
Quickly, Yuuri pushes those thoughts out of his mind. “You might be a bit biased," he continues.
Viktor shrugs. “Before I was your boyfriend, I was your coach,” he says simply. “I know your abilities, Yuuri. Your weight won’t stop you from succeeding. I believe in you.”
Yuuri fights the urge to cover his face with his hands. Viktor is always so persistent in his affections and endless support, for which he is endlessly grateful. “I—Thank you, Viktor.”
Grinning, Viktor leans in and kisses him quickly. “Besides, I love your tummy!”
Yuuri actually squeaks when Viktor ducks down to press obnoxious kisses all over his stomach, his fingers digging into Yuuri’s hips to keep him still. “A cute tummy on my cute boyfriend.”
“Viktor, oh my god,” Yuuri admonishes, but he’s laughing, he can’t help it, his boyfriend is so sweet and honest and genuine, even when he’s silly like this. Yuuri can hardly stand it.
It isn’t long before Yuuri hauls Viktor up so they’re face to face and kisses him long and soft until they completely lose track of time, just because he can.