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There was a clatter in the living room. Victor and Yuuri looked at each other, confused. Victor stepped out from the dining room, poking his head in. He had Kit on his shoulder patting her back. There in the middle of the living room stood his son, fists clenched at his sides. His teeth were clenched. He froze, looking at the sheer outrage etched onto the boy's face.
"Malyutka?" he asked cautiously. "Are you okay?" glancing around, he saw the phone case had been hurled across the room.
"No! Yes! I will be." he shook his head. He looked like he wanted to scream. He was only managing to contain it because he didn't want to upset Kit. He stopped and tried to breathe for a moment, Victor looking on in concern. He cross the room and picked up his phone.
"Otabek doesn't want to see me anymore."
"He what? Why? Did you have a fight?" Victor followed after him, handing the baby off to Yuuri when the blond went to the sink and filled a glass with water, downing it in one gulp and refilling it again.
"He said that I am immature, reckless, and that he wants someone closer to his level. He level," he spat. "Can you believe that?" Victor and Yuuri exchanged glances.
"I am not immature and reckless."
"Well, Yurio--." Victor began. Yuuri stopped him with a shake of his head.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Yuuri said gently. It was then that Yuri gasped, his hand shaking. The baby was passed back to Victor, Yuuri's arms going to wrap around the blond. He swayed gently, feeling the hot, angry, hurt tears spilling onto his shirt. He rubbed his back.
It hurt. It hurt to see Yuri in so much pain. It hurt to know that there was really nothing either of them could do about it. He was contemplating running the boy a bath, setting out soft, clean pajamas, and then setting him to bed with some tea and ibuprofen. They could talk about things in the morning. Things would look better in the morning if they could get through tonight.
"I hate him." Yuri whispered, in a small, hurt voice. A voice that spoke more to pain, and unanswered questions than hatred. He sniffled and pulled away from Yuuri. The older man just hummed, reaching for a paper towel and wiping down his son's face.
"I bet you do right now." he kissed his forehead. "So why don't I run you a tub and then..."
"No," he shook his head, removing himself further from Yuuri's arms. "No, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that pathetic eat ice cream in the tub thing."
"I like ice cream in the tub." Victor mumbled.
"But darling, it's okay to be sad." Yuuri watched his kid shake his head. He went with arms out for his sister, who was dutifully handed over. Kit gave him a gummy, wet grin and let her little fingers tangle in his hair. She never pulled, but she did like to wrap her fingers with those golden colored strands. Yuri nuzzled her, some of the misery melting off his face.
"Sure, it's okay. But I don't want to be sad."
"I really think that you should be sad if you need to be sad." Yuuri pushed gently. "I think this is something that Dr. Schultz could talk to you about."
"I don't want to." he shook his head, swaying as he bounced with Kit. "No, I don't! Nope, nope, nope." he sang. "Kitty is gonna come upstairs and help her big brother pick out something fabulous. And then big brother is gonna call some of his rink mates and go out."
"Out?" Victor cut in. "Now, wait a moment. Do you really think it's wise to go out when you're upset?"
"Can't think of a better time!" and the boy was up the stairs, talking to the baby as he went. Yuuri sat down hard in a chair.
"I can't believe Otabek broke up with him."
"Are we sure he isn't being dramatic and they're broken up and not taking a break or he misinterpreted something?"
"I don't know." Yuuri shook his head. "I'm not calling Otabek to ask, are you?" he had a fair point. He instead went to the fridge and pulled something out to try and fix supper. The water was beginning to
boil when their children reappeared.
"Didn't Kitty pick me a gorgeous outfit?" Yuri spun. He was wearing tiny denim shorts over a pair of ripped up leggings. He wore calf length boots with chains on them. A tight spaghetti strap tank top and a button down carelessly thrown over his shoulders completed the ensemble. He had brushed some blush over his cheeks, swiped eyeliner on. His eyes looked so striking that way, like anyone would have to look at him again.
"Kitty picked?" Victor repeated, as the smiling baby was put in her high chair. Yuri sighed and put her bib around her neck, kissed her forehead, giving her a little nuzzle.
"She did. I held up options, and if she giggled I took it."
"Maybe it was just gas." Victor shrugged. Yuri crossed his arms in a pout.
"You don't like it." Yuuri was shaking his head frantically again.
"I mean, you look lovely, Yurotchka." he said smoothly. "Very nice." he brightened a bit, grabbing his phone and a typing in a few things. He beamed and shoved his phone in his pocket.
"They'll be here in twenty."
"Who is they?" Yuuri asked, casually. Yuri rattled off the names of some of the skaters a little closer to his age, dropped the name of a club. It wasn't his first choice, and he would rather Yuri stay home. He wanted to work through the broken heart together. But, he reminded himself, Dr. Schultz did say that they couldn't treat him like a little boy forever. He was allowed to a real life without his parents breathing down his neck. And so when a car horn honked, he ran out with a wave.
"Are we sure we like this?" Victor turned from the stove. "It seems like such an impulsive thing to do."
"He's a child. I can't think of any better time to be impulsive. I do wish he'd talk to us about this Otabek thing, but we can't make him. That'll just shut him down more." he went to gather plates.
"I don't like it."
"We have the tracker on his phone." Victor pointed out.
"It isn't his whole body I'm worried about right now. I'm worried about his heart. If he just tries to pretend that this isn't happening, I don't know if he can really work through it." he warmed Kitty's bottle, presented it to her with a smile. He ate one handed, the other hand helping her prop up her bottle.
"I would very much like to give that Otabek a piece of my mind." Victor growled. Yuuri just snorted.
"You love 'that Otabek'. They're young. Things will work out the way they're meant to between the two of them. All we can do is support him and love him through the pain."
"I would fall apart if you left me." Victor admitted, seeming to deflate. "I was hoping that he and Otabek would have what you and I have."
"They are young." he repeated. "It's hard to watch your kid hurt, isn't it?"
"I have loved Yura since I have known him. He has been mine since he was such a little baby." he gestured with his hands. "Just like Kit. I do not like seeing my children suffering." he put his head dramatically down on the table.
"Why can't we wrap them in plastic forever?"
"Because then they wouldn't experience life. And that's not fair to them." he rubbed the back of Victor's neck. "Come on, help me get Katherine in the bath, then you can rock her to sleep. You look like you could use some baby snuggles."
The older Russian perked up a bit at that. They bathed the baby in the sink, laughing as she smacked the water and giggled, pumped her legs, splashing a bit. Her eyes were already drooping shut by the time Victor got her upstairs and on the change table. She made little fussing noises as her arms were threated into pajamas and she was zipped in.
Her favorite place to sleep was cradled in Victor's elbow. Victor sometimes liked to joke that Yuuri got a snuggly kid who just happened to be a teenager, and his snuggly kid was an infant. Although they both knew that either kid would snuggle with them, even if they would never dare to say to Yuri's face that's what he was doing.
He rocked, feeling Katherine beginning to fall asleep.
"Someday, you won't want me to rock you to sleep." he murmured, his fingers rubbing down her face. "You'll want to go to bed all by yourself. You won't need me. You'll dress in adult clothes, with make up, and you'll go out and night. And then what will Papa and I do?" he sighed.
"Enjoy our time together." Yuuri murmured from the doorway. "Set her in bed and then come to bed with me, love."
"I don't know if I can sleep with Yuri is upset and out of the house."
"Come to bed anyway." Yuuri was skilled in getting people to sleep. He always seemed to be able to figure out just where to rub on their head, their neck, their back. He always seemed to accommodate any snuggling position. He was calm tonight when Victor curled around him, their legs tangled. Even though he had been sure he wouldn't sleep, Victor was snoring as soon as his head was tucked under Yuuri's chin.
He maneuvered his husband over a bit and began to scroll through his phone, liking some pictures that Phichit had posted, giggling at some silly selfies that Chris had put up. Just when he was starting to wonder if they had told Yuri about curfew tonight, the phone rang.
"Hello?" he kept his voice hushed.
"Papa?" his son, with a watery voice and sniffles, sounding lost and far away.
"What is it, honey?"
"Will you come get me? I-I know I could call an Uber but--."
"I will be right there. Send me your location." he began to remove himself from the bed. "Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"
"Yeah," he mumbled. Yuuri slipped on his slippers and grabbed his keys. Victor barely stirred. He hoped that he'd be back before his husband or daughter woke. He listened to Yuri's whimpers and sobs as he tried to stifle his crying.
"Are you okay, baby?" he put the phone in the holder, switched it on speakerphone and let the GPS steer him towards the boy.
"No," he admitted. "I... I just..."
"Sweetheart, please try and calm for me a little bit. I'm afraid that you're going to have a panic attack, and I am not right there to help. I'm right here, on the phone with you, and I will be there in ten minutes. So breathe with me. Just in and out... Good job, baby."
"I'm sorry." he managed.
"No, don't be sorry. There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm coming down the street, can you see me?" he spotted the boy, looking bedraggled on the sidewalk. He pulled up and Yuri dove into the front seat, putting on his seatbelt. His make up ran down his face in dark tracks. He was shivering slightly, even though the night wasn't that cold. Yuuri flipped on the heater.
"Breathe for me, baby." he encouraged.
Yuri took in a gulp of air. He whined, pulling his legs up. He looked so small, so fragile in the seat. Yuuri just bit his lip and steered them on towards home. He carefully extracted his son from the car, coaxed him into the house. He sat him on an ottoman, still crying, while he knelt and unlaced his boots. He reached out and pulled the elastic from his hair, letting his messy bun free.
"Papa," he managed. Yuuri stood up, letting the boy wrap his arms around him, bury his face in his waist. He muffled his sobs there, letting Yuuri's fingers stroke through his hair, gently untangling any knots.
"You need a bath."
"Okay," he was always so different after a good cry. Like all the anger and fight was gone. He walked him to the bathroom, holding his hand. He filled the tub with hot water and the sweet scented bath salts that Yuri favored.
"Have a soak, I'm going to talk to Dad."
"Did I wake him and Kitty, too?"
"No, no, honey. And even if you did, it's okay. What have Dad and I always said? You can call us if you need to come home. We'd rather you call us if you want to come home." he cupped his face, kissed his forehead.
"Just get in the tub, okay?"
Victor was awake though, looking concerned.
"What happened?"
"Yurio needed a pick up."
"Is he okay?" he went to peel the bedding back.
"No, not really. I've got him in the tub right now. Listen, do you think you can sleep in Kitty's room tonight?" they had added a twin size daybed to the nursery, in case one of them needed to stay with her when she got sick, or had a rough night. Victor nodded, his lips pressed in a thin line.
"Thanks, babe. I just think he needs me."
"Such a good Papa to our children." Victor cooed, giving him a kiss and gathering his pillow. "I'm going to beat the shit out of Otabek." it was said with the usual heartshaped smile. Yuuri could only roll his eyes. Victor would do no such thing. But he shuffled to the nursery, happy enough to sleep on the daybed and in arms reach of Kitty.
Yuuri laid in his bed, knowing what was coming. Sure enough, forty five minutes later, there was Yuri in the doorway. He was wearing an old pair of Victor's pants that bagged off him, one of Yuuri's old shirts that nearly went down to his knees. His hair was in a braid out of his face, and the make up was gone. He was left with red rimmed eyes and a trembling lip.
"Come here," he opened his arms. The boy scrambled to him, curling tight against him. "Tell me what happened, sweetheart."
"I went there to dance. And I was dancing and it was fun." he sniffled. "But a guy there really wanted to dance with him. And Papa, I didn't want to dance with him, not like that. But he wouldn't listen. He kept trying to back me into a corner. And Papa, I screamed. I kicked him. Until everyone was looking at us. And he just stared at me and then he laughed."
"He laughed." Yuuri's heart was in his mouth. He was tempted to ask for a description of this young man and go and find him, just to have a friendly conversation about boundaries.
"He laughed. He said I was just a baby, and if I was going to act like a child, I should go home. So I did."
"Oh sweetheart." it had to take him back to that conversation with Beka, the one where they broke up. "He was wrong, and you weren't."
"The bouncers threw him out, but everyone was staring at me, so I left. I just left, Papa. And I wanted to come home, but I couldn't think straight and--."
"You called me. And that was the right thing to do, okay? Trust me?" he peered into this green eyes, got a soft nod in approval. That was a relief. He cuddled him close.
"I don't want to dance with anyone but Beka." he confessed.
"I know. I know." he rocked them gently. He offered nothing more, remaining quiet until his son's cries had quieted, and he had fall into a heartbroken sleep in his arms. He eased him out, among the pillows, pulled the blankets around him. And then he curled close.
"Someday it'll be okay. Just not right now."