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"Yuuri, I'm going to do the laundry now." A bit startled, Yuuri looked up from the bed where he was sprawled on his stomach in front of his laptop. Chris was currently standing in the doorway, clad in blue jeans and a grey sweater, a small laundry basket balanced on his hip.
"Do you and Viktor have any dirty clothes that need laundering as well? I'll just pop them in the washer along with these while I'm at it." He continues, gesturing to his basket.
"Oh. Are you sure?" Yuuri sits up and straightens his glasses. "I mean, I can always do it instead if-"
"Nonsense. Today's your day off and you should enjoy it. Viktor should be arriving soon from the supermarket and he'd surely have my head if he finds out that I let you do so much as pour me a glass of water!"
Yuuri couldn't help but giggle as the Swiss skater even clenched his chest in dramatic effect. While the three of them mostly split the household chores evenly among them, they mutually agreed that each person should get a break from chores once a week. It was Yuuri's turn today.
"Alright then. Hang on, let me get them." He moves to get up from the bed but is stopped by Chris waving a hand in the air.
"Please, allow me." And with that the tall blonde disappears into Viktor and Yuuri's massive walk-in closet, to find what he knows is their laundry hamper tucked neatly into a corner.
The younger man sighs and goes back to his laptop. He had been about to check out a link Phichit sent him (something about an online craft shop specializing in plush animal hats) when he heard a soft thud come from the closet.
"Everything okay in there, Chris?" He calls out.
"Oui, oui. Silly me just knocked over one of your boxes, is all." Came Chris's muffled reply from inside. "I'll clean it all up, don't wor-"
-Oh no, it couldn't be?- Yuuri thought with a start, heading over to check.
"Chris?"
"Yuuri... Is this-" He hesitates for a moment before turning to him. "Is this what I think this is?"
Chris was standing in the middle of the closet (a room, really), an array of colorful apparel strewn under his feet. He must have knocked over one of Yuuri's storage boxes that contained his summer clothes. But it wasn't the mess that caught Yuuri's attention, it was the worn-out white t-shirt the Swiss man current held in his hands, a look of awe and disbelief on his face as he stared at what was on the shirt's front.
"No... " He whispered, cold sweat on his temple. "Oh dear God, no."
It had been a gift from Mari on his 21st birthday. A big and glittery heart-shaped print of Viktor flashing his megawatt smile, his signature affixed in silver pen on the bottom. She said she got it off an online auction site, and the signature was indeed genuine. It had been his favorite shirt - a prized possession. But right now, he wanted nothing more than to burn it in a blazing pyre then fly back to Japan only to scatter the ashes in Hasetsu's sea.
Before Yuuri could register what he was doing, he dove and snatched the offending piece of clothing from the older man's grasp and then scrambled into shoving it into the bottom of the empty box, stuffing the rest of his summer clothes on top of it. He quickly hid the box at the very back of the closet, behind his other storage boxes, before slowly turning to Chris.
"Please don't tell Viktor..." He pleaded softly. "My mom must've packed it in by mistake. I swear, I thought I'd left it in Japan. I really didn't mean to-" He looked just about ready to cry.
-He must think I'm such a freak now-
"Oh, Yuuri..." Chris sighed, pulling him into a hug. "There's no need to be embarrassed. I won't tell Viktor, alright?"
"Really?" He hugs back.
"Of course! It's my fault for being clumsy, anyway. I'm sorry for upsetting you, Yuuri."
"No, I just overreacted. It's just so embarrassing." Yuuri blushes as he pulls away to smile sheepishly at the taller man.
Chris chuckles and leads him by the hand back to the married couple's king-sized bed. "Sit down. I'll be right back."
Yuuri does what he's told. "Where are you going?"
"I'll show you something to make you feel better." He winks, before disappearing down the hallway to his bedroom.
The Swiss skater returns after a few moments with a book in hand. He places it on Yuuri’s lap as he settles down beside him.
"You wanted to show me a book?" Yuuri scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. It was a pretty book, sure. It was fairly heavy and thick, with gold trimming and gold ink printed on its cover. He could tell by the worn brown leather binding that it was quite old too, but he couldn't read the title as it was in German (at least he thinks it was German).
"Not the book itself, Yuuri. But rather what's inside of it." Chris smiles warmly, his large emerald eyes almost shining in anticipation.
"Eh?"
"Go on, open it. Flip the pages til you find it."
Yuuri wasn't even sure what he was meant to find, but he opened the book anyway and promptly flipped through its yellowing pages. He was almost halfway through the book when he spotted it. A pressed flower, nestled between pages 255 and 256.
"It might not look like much now, but it was once a beautiful bright pink tulip." Chris recalls wistfully.
"I think it's beautiful even now." Yuuri breathes, carefully running a finger along a dark maroon petal.
"It is, isn't it?" He laughs. "It's one of my most prized possessions."
The Japanese man turns to him then, an unspoken question in his whiskey-colored eyes.
"It's been twelve years ago by now." Chris sighs and crosses his legs, leaning back on his arms. "It was the year of my senior debut and Viktor had just won the European Championships. I congratulated him from the stands and he tossed me one of his tulips. My 15-year-old self was over the moon at being acknowledged by his Idol for the first time, and somehow I've kept that flower ever since."
"You've kept Viktor's flower... for twelve years."
"I know, it's a long time. But I'm a sentimental man." Chris pouts and Yuuri laughs heartily. "Don't you dare let him know! The Viktor that's my rival and best friend of over a decade would never let me live this down, you know?"
"I know, I know. It's just..." Yuuri beams up at him as he closes the book and sets it on the nightstand.
"Just what?"
"It's just really cute to think about! All this time... and you're his boyfriend now." He can't help but giggle at the idea.
Chris groans. "I'm being teased by Viktor’s husband, of all people. This is ridiculous!"
They both burst into laughter at that, falling back onto the bed while clutching their bellies. The laughter eventually died down after a few minutes and they laid facing each other, smiles on their faces.
"Thank you for sharing this with me, Chris."
The older man reached out and gently straightened out his glasses. "No, Yuuri. It's you I have to thank for sharing with me."
Yuuri, not missing the underlying meaning in those words, took Chris's hand and cupped it against his cheek. "But Chris, I think you're forgetting something important..." He says, voice a little lower than usual that it sends a slight shiver up the Swiss's spine.
"And what would tha-" Chris suddenly found himself pinned against the mattress, Yuuri straddling his hips with a shy but determined expression.
-Now I know what you mean by Yuuri constantly surprising you, Viktor-
"Nee, Chris. Aren't Viktor and I sharing you too?"
"Well now that you put it that way..." Chris flushes as he remembers their many passionate love making sessions ever since his arrival in St. Petersburg. "Yes, I suppose you are."
"Does that mean..." Yuuri looks away, suddenly bashful. "... you'll be my boyfriend too?"
"What?" Chris wasn't sure if he heard that right. Maybe his hopeful mind was playing tricks on him now.
"I didn't plan on asking you like this." He lets out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his jet black hair. "It's not very romantic, is it?" He grins sheepishly and Chris forgets how to breathe for a moment.
Yuuri stares at him with what he could only describe as fondness now, reaching for Chris's hands and holding it against his chest. "It's probably a bit awkward for me to say this now after all we've been through but... Christophe Giacometti, I've fallen in love with you. Will you please take responsibility and be my boyfriend as well?"
It was an absurd situation to be in, Chris realized. But as he stared at the beautiful man above him, his heart hammering in his chest, he knew he'd never have it any other way.
"Yes." Was all he managed to get out. But it was apparently enough for Yuuri as the next second he felt soft warm lips pressed against his.
Viktor came home about an hour later to find his two loves peacefully dozing in each other's arms. The sight was so adorable that couldn't help snapping a photo with his phone and setting it as his lockscreen. He didn't mind doing the laundry as much this time.