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Viktor let out an irritated huff and sat back in his chair. Then straightened up and looked at the papers in front of him again. Nope, those numbers still didn't make any sense. He never deemed himself to be a genius but doing a simple tax calculation shouldn't take any superior knowledge from you, shouldn't it? Since it's kinda a part of everyday life and everyone is supposed to be able to do it, right? Right???
Well, apparently, not. Viktor propped his forehead with his left hand, a pencil in his right one, opened the fifth clean page in the notebook and started scribbling, his eyebrows furrowed. After a few seconds of intense thinking he came to a conclusion that it was no good and therefore should be left for later. He slammed the pencil on the table a bit harder than he should have and rose from his seat. A nice cup of hot tea will distract him.
Halfway to the kitchen he bumps into Yuuri coming out of their bedroom and yawning, his hair disheveled and sleep still in his eyes. Viktor couldn't help but crack an adoring grin. He takes advantage of his not quite awaken husband doing some stretching, his arms drawn behind his back, and slides the hand around his waist landing a peck on the soft cheek, lines from the pillow still on it.
"Morning, love. Slept well?"
Yuuri hums something indiscernible but supposedly affirmative and rolls his shoulders. Viktor lovingly ran fingers through his hair and left him be. He knows Yuuri can't function properly without doing his morning exercises first so he doesn't bother him with talk and proceeds to the kitchen. There he fills the kettle with water and pops it onto the stove. He prefers those old-fashioned ones over electronic, because they make the kitchen really cozy, with fire underneath and water bubbling inside.
A white porcelain pot with a delicate floral pattern is taken out of the cupboard, its size perfect to contain tea for just the two of them. Viktor then rummages through their collection of various kinds of tea and picks a small half empty paper bag with "Kyoto Sunrise" written on it. He opens it and brings closer to his face to smell, inhaling the scent slowly. Mint and lime. Just the right light composition to make the morning perfect. Viktor hadn't been a fan of green tea before he met Yuuri, preferring his morning drink the traditional Russian way - black, strong and sweet, but Yuuri liked it, and Viktor was determined to try out things that his husband liked. He didn't even notice how he developed a taste for it.
He carefully puts a couple of teaspoons of tea into the pot and waits till the water boils. Two cups matching the teapot are set on the tray beside it. Just that for now, no food, they will have their breakfast later. Sharing a plain cup of tea first thing in the morning, at the table facing each other and smiling over the rim of the cup or cuddled on the sofa, have become their small ritual. Viktor leans at the kitchen counter and smiles absentmindedly.
Who could've thought it then, back in Hasetsu, that they would end up like this? So unbelievably, unashamedly happy and in love. Though Viktor always knew that he had fallen for the man at that banquet, swayed away in the dance and utterly smitten by the Japanese skater's suddenly revealed ardour and charm. His Eros he didn't know he had.
The kettle boils, the water hits the bottom of the pot soaking tea leaves and making them whirl as they are slowly starting to give their colour to it. Viktor puts the lid on to keep the magic in and give the beverage time to brew. He then picks up the tray and returns to the living room.
"Tea for my Katsudon", he announces from the threshold. He expected to find Yuuri stretching but the man was sitting at the table bent over the bills.
"Ah, just leave them, I'll sort that stuff out later", he sets the tray on the coffee table near the sofa.
"No, I've actually already done it", Yuuri raises his head, glasses already on his nose, and turns to face Viktor, one elbow on the back of the chair. Viktor blinks.
"You have?"
He comes up to the table, puzzlement written all over his face, and looks in the notebook. Yuuri's neat scribbles cover half of the page, not a single trace of him making a mistake and correcting it, nothing's crossed out or erased and written again.
"I can't believe this..", Viktor's eyes are as wide as the saucers under their teacups, "I can't fucking believe you! I spent hours trying to figure this shit out, and you just came out of bed and single-handedly calculated the hell out of it in, like, five minutes".
Yuuri chuckles and gets to his feet.
'Well, I did go to college, remember?", the Japanese moves to the table attracted by the gentle tea scent and fills both cups. "Graduated just before you decided it would be a great idea to hunt me down in Hasetsu and greet me stark naked in the onsen".
"You majored maths?", Viktor's eyebrows lift in surprise as he comes nearer, arms on his hips. "I would have never thought, it doesn't suit you at all".
"Accounting, actually", Yuuri smiles, lets go of the pot and straightens up. "Thought it would have been nice to have some back-up skills in case I hadn't…”, he flinches, “... you know, got back to skating. That seemed like a reasonable choice since I could've been of help in my family business".
The are both quiet for a moment, pondering over that imaginable direction that their life may have taken. The one where they didn't meet. The one where Yuuri didn't find strength to get up to his feet after his grand failure, and Viktor didn't find his infinite source of surprise.
"I'm glad I didn't have to put them to practise", Yuuri's voice is small and his eyes are cast somewhere past the teapot. It feels like he is traveling to that alternative universe right now, so distant he looks. Viktor decides to break the spell.
"Alright, mister", he seizes Yuuri's hand and pulls him down. The other man lets out a yelp and finds himself in the Russian's lap with his hands locked behind his back. "What else do I not know about you?"
Yuuri's eyes are sparkling with laughter and tenderness. and Viktor takes his glasses off to see them better.
"You don't really think I'll let everything out at once, do you? As far as I know, Viktor Nikiforov likes surprises, and I can't let you lose interest in me".
"Never”, Viktor raises his hand and rests it on the nape of Yuuri’s neck pulling him into a gentle kiss. “You will never cease to amaze me”.