Chapter Text
It was late when Victor arrived home from practice. It had been a long day, and he wanted nothing more than to cuddle with his amazing boyfriend. Yuuri had already gone back to their St. Petersburg apartment after Victor dismissed him from training earlier that afternoon. His performance had seemed lackluster today; he'd flubbed most of his jumps, and his skating had lacked the usual grace that captivated his every audience.
Victor could tell that Yuuri was just as frustrated with the session as he was, though, and so he chose not to comment. He hoped that today had just been a fluke - they all had their off days, but Victor worried that there was something more to it. Perhaps Yuuri anxiety was spiking again?
Victor's own practice had been nothing short of grueling. Yakov had him run through every step of his program at least a dozen times before finally sending him stumbling towards the change rooms. If Victor could ask for one thing right now, it would be a calm evening full of hugs and Yuuri.
Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans for the Russian alpha, for as soon as he stepped through the door, his senses were assaulted by the sharp scent of a distressed omega. Victor's eyes widened and instinct took over as he rushied down the hallway and turned towards their bedroom door, where the origin of the scent was. The door was closed, but he could hear light sniffles coming from behind it. Thinking it was his love's anxiety acting up again, Victor took a deep breath and slowly opened the door.
"Yuuri?" he called softly, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room. His gaze was immediately drawn to the lump of blankets sniffling in the centre of the bed. He approached it quietly, not wanting to scare his mate, whilst releasing some calming pheromones help settle Yuuri and let him know he was there.
He was surprised when the blanket burrito shifted, revealing a mess of raven locks and Yuuri's too-pale face, save for his nose and cheeks which were tinted a light pink that was certainly not from the ice.
"V-Victor?" he mumbled, eyes glazed as he let out another tiny sniffle, before he seemed to snap awake as his eyes widened. "Oh! What time is it? I didn't mean to fall asl-" He was cut off by a wet coughing fit, chest heaving with the force of each breath as he gasped for air between expulsions. "S-sorry," he managed, after the fit was over, glancing over at the platinum-haired man. "W-when did you get home?"
"Just now," Victor answered softly, brow crinkled in concern as he sat on the edge of the bed, raising a hand to check his mate's temperature. The heat he found there was alarming.
"You're burning up," he tsked, "Is this why your were shaky at practice today?"
Yuuri blushed, the redness of his cheeks a stark contrast to the rest of his complexion, and nodded tersely. "I'm sorry that I let it affect my performance. I should be able to push through things like this."
"Yuuri!" Victor exclaimed, shocked, "You shouldn't have pushed through it at all! I want you to tell me when you're not feeling well. It's dangerous to skate with a fever!"
"Sorry," his mate mumbled, eyes flitting down to the sheets and twisting his fingers today.
Victor hooked a finger under his love's chin and gently guided his face up to meet his eyes again.
"It's okay; I'm not mad," he cooed. "I just want you to feel like you can trust me with these things. As my fiancee, you are my top priority, and I want to know when you're not at one hundred percent."
Yuuri nodded. "I do trust you," he assured, "it's just that I didn't want to fall behind in my skating. World's is only a month away..."
"Your health is more important than a competition, Yuuri. Besides, there's plenty of time between now and World's, and your performance is already progressing wonderfully. A couple of missed practices won't change that," Victor murmured soothingly, his thumb brushing gently across the Japanese boy's cheek as he cupped his face with one hand.
Yuuri sighed, leaning into the touch with a contented hum. They both stayed like that, not willing to move, before their moment of peace was interrupted by the smaller boy's nose suddenly wrinkling before a soft, ticklish "chuu!" burst out of him, startling the both of them.
The omega stuttered out a frantic apology, quickly turning his head to the side and bringing a hand up to his nose as another, wetter "ixtchh!" sounded through the room.
"Ah, bless you, Yuuri," Victor cooed, unable to stop the wide grin overtaking his features. "I forgot how cute your sneezes are!"
Yuuri blushed brightly, ducking his head and mumbling another stuttered apology.
The sight of his flustered, red-nosed omega was too much for Victor to resist. He kicked off his shoes, tossing his jacket onto a chair in the corner of the room before scooping his love up into his arms, shifting them so that the smaller man was cradled against his chest. Running his hand through slightly-damp raven locks, he suddenly noticed the Team Japan jacket Yuuri was still wearing.
"You're still in your skate clothes!?" he cried, and the omega ducked his head again, cheeks flushing with another blush.
"I meant to change when I got home, but I lay down for a second and I think I just fell asleep," he mumbled, coughing lightly into his shoulder before letting his head fall onto Victor's broad shoulder.
"Oh, vozlyublennaya," the alpha murmured. "How about we get you changed before you go back to sleep, yeah?"
Yuuri nodded wearily, and so he carefully lifted him up, still ensconced in the sea of blankets he'd reated, and placed him on the end of the bed. Victor then went and grabbed some soft grey sweatpants and a long-sleeve navy blue shirt. Somehow, he managed to wrestle the blankets from where they were twisted around Yuuri without jostling the smaller man too much, and quickly helped him change into the comfier clothing.
The omega sighed as the soft fabrics brushed his skin, and when strong arms wrapped carefully around him and pulled him back into the bed, he couldn't repress the loud purr that emanated from him.
He quickly felt his eyelids grow heavy, and snuggled even closer into his fiancee's embrace as he drifted off to sleep.
Victor smiled as his mate melted against him like warm putty, soft and limber beneath his hands. The scent of his love was still a bit strange due to the illness, but comforting nonetheless.
Slowly, the alpha let his head fall back against the headboard of their king-sized bed, eyelids falling shut and breath deepening as he allowed himself to fully relax. This was the cuddles session he had been waiting for.