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"Talk to me about the nightmares, Viktor,"
Slowly, the set of crystaline blue eyes before him flickered upwards, expression falling as Viktor shifted slightly again, pursing his lips
"Have you had any lately?" Yuri pressed gently
"Have they been getting any better? Or.... any worse?"
"That's... a complicated question," Viktor said with a quiet sigh, pushing his fingers through his hair and shifting uncomfortably on the couch
"I think... they've been getting more vivid.... but... I don't think I'd describe it as 'worse' or 'better', it's kind of a mixed bag, I don't like experiencing it, but I can't say that the memories are entirely bad,"
Yuri nodded slowly, crossing one leg elegantly over the other
"You said they're getting more vivid, are you having a harder time waking up? Is... the sleep paralysis-?"
"No," Viktor said quickly, shaking his head
"I'm not experiencing sleep paralysis again,"
"That's good," Yuri smiled warmly, checking off the option in his notebook
No sleep paralysis- that was certainly an improvement
"So what about them is more vivid? Are you.... feeling the sensations physically? Or are the.... visuals more extreme? Or...?"
"It's um... yeah, I feel the sensations, atleast I think I do, but when I wake up there are no marks or anything,"
"That's an improvement, no marks, you're not scratching yourself anymore," Yuri noted, scribbling another note down
"I'm concerned that you're physically feeling it though," he added a second later
"I worry that something has come along to trigger you,"
"I haven't been triggered," Viktor promised with a frown, straightening his posture a little
"I think it's just.... I don't know, maybe now that the freshness and adrenaline of it all have worn off it's like... my mind is trying to process,"
Yuri's lips ticked up into a slight smile, he was kind of impressed by Viktor's thought process, they hadn't been having these sessions for very long and yet he was already making alot of progress
"That's a possibility," Yuri agreed, shutting his notebook and glancing at the clock
Ah, they had run over again, he kind of thought that they had but he never wanted to cut any patients short, least of all Viktor, who was such a special case
"Are you ok with us ending things here for the day? I'll see you again on Friday,"
"Well I would hope that you'd see me again before that," Viktor chuckled, sliding off of the couch and sauntering over to the doctor, making no efforts to hide the fact that he was sliding into Yuri's lap, a smirk settled on his face, much to the- admittedly playfull- roll of Yuri's eyes
If the session was officially over, then Viktor would officially not be Yuri's patient- for the time being
Meaning that they could transition to the other part of their relationship
"You know exactly what I meant," Yuri pointed out, smirking as Viktor wrapped his arms snuggly around Yuri's neck and leaned down, giving him a long, slow kiss
Yuri sighed quietly, relaxing as he wrapped his arms around Viktor's waist, his head falling back a bit as he pulled away
"I have another patient in thirty minutes,"
"Oh good, plenty of time,"
"I have to prepare for that," Yuri insisted gently, giving Viktor a playfull pinch, much to Viktor's dissatisfied groan
He definitely didn't want to budge from this spot
"This is why I insist on being your last appointment of the day," Viktor sighed
"And you usually get that spot, someone beat you to it this time," Yuri teased back, earning another groan of frustration from his partner
"Come on, it's just two hours, you can live that long,"
"If you say so," Viktor grumbled, reluctantly climbing out of Yuri's lap as the therapist rose to his feet, smoothing out the lines of his pants carefully
"Go home, Viktor," Yuri insisted, cupping his lover's face and dragging him down for a much lighter, more chaste and innocent kiss
"I'll be there soon, I promise,"
"I know," Viktor sighed after a moment
"I know you've never broken a promise to me,"
"Exactly," Yuri smiled back, kissing his forehead before ushering him out of the office
Viktor left with reluctance, but atleast he seemed a little more willing to go than he had a few minutes prior
Yuri sighed, leaning against the wall for a moment to collect himself and rubbing his face before leaving the office as well to consult breifly with another doctor, relieved to see that the man he needed was already done with his own current appointment and had just stepped into the hall as well
"Oh, hey Yuri!"
"Hey Phich," Yuri greeted with a soft, slightly tired smile, moving closer to his best freind
"Done with your afternoon delight already?" Phichit teased, earning a roll of Yuri's eyes
"Very funny,"
"Oh come on, it's a little funny, the circumstances that brought you two together are-"
"Tragic,"
"Bizarre," Phichit concluded instead, pausing for a moment
"I guess 'tragic' doesn't fit too badly, but there's more to it than that,"
Yuri knew that, and although he tended to focus on the tragic parts- a hazard of the job- if he'd been an outsider to the situation, he might have found the bizarreness to be more accurate
"I know," he finally said, sighing quietly
"Sorry, it's just hard for me to see it as anything else when I'm the one talking to him about it,"
"I get it," Phichit smiled warmly, pulling Yuri into a quick hug
"So what's up? You look like you have something specific you want to talk about,"
"Ah, is it that obvious?" Yuri muttered back, rubbing the back of his neck as Phichit released him
"A bit," Phichit winked back
Yuri sighed, glancing up at his freind as they started down the hallway
"The nightmares are getting more vivid, I'm worried that he's going to relapse,"
Phichit nodded, a frown etching into his expression
"Do you think you need to try hypnotherapy?"
"I'm not sure how he'll respond to it, that might make things worse, you know? If he relives what drove him to attempt suicide to begin with..."
"But he's safe now," Phichit insisted, gently taking Yuri's hand
"He's with you now and you're keeping him safe,"
"Doesn't matter, the human mind is a tricky thing, it often prioritizes emotion over logic and if he experiences that kind of emotional drop again.... I'm afraid of what might happen,"
"I understand," Phichit nodded, giving a quiet sigh
"I'm sorry Yuri, I wish this was easier,"
"It's ok," Yuri promised with a weak smile
"I knew when I took him on that it would be difficult.... the... alien abduction patients are always a little harder to work with, there's just so much trauma there..."
"I know, I've got a few of those myself, hazard of the job,"
Yuri nodded in agreement, shaking his head
"I just wish I knew why this area was so prone to it..."
"Must be something environmental," Phichit suggested
Well, Yuri could agree to that...
"Try not to worry too much ok? He's.... he's got some trauma, but he's not fragile, you don't have to baby him,"
"Yeah... I know you're right Phich, thank you,"
Phichit gave a thumb's up before giving Yuri another quick hug and heading off to his next appointment, something Yuri really needed to do himself
He turned, intending to go back to his office, when he instead spotted a very familiar face
"Viktor, I thought-"
"Sorry, I got a bit lost, I'm still getting used to this place,"
Yuri nodded, smiling warmly and moving to take Viktor's hand
"I'll take you to see Chris, he'll get you home,"
"Thank you," Viktor smiled weakly, the playfullness from earlier apparently gone
Yuri just hoped it wasn't because he'd heard the conversation that had just taken place....
"Yuri, do you ever... regret.... saving me?"
Dammit
"You overheard me talking to Phichit, didn't you? Viktor listen, I know you're used to more confidentiality but-"
"Oh, no no, it has nothing to do with that,"
Well, that information was... surprising.... but not unpleasant to have, in fact, Yuri was glad to hear it, atleast he didn't have to feel guilty now
"I just... I can tell when you're distressed, and the fact that I'm still having nightmares of that night.... I know that bothers you-"
"It's ok," Yuri interrupted, reaching out to gently cup his face
"Viktor, I just worry about you, I want you to feel better, to be ok, because I care deeply for you and hate that you're in pain,"
"Thank you," Viktor smiled warmly, leaning down to give Yuri a gentle kiss
"I'm happy to hear that, and I'll get over the nightmares, I'm just... having a bit of a hard time, I think, adjusting after the abduction,"
"That's perfectly understandable," Yuri promised
"It always takes some getting used to, and the circumstances surrounding your's.... ofcourse you're having a harder time than some,"
"But.... it's made better thanks to you," Viktor promised, leaning down for another kiss and smiling against Yuri's lips
"I'll be ok, Yuri, now that I'm in your hands,"
Yuri nodded slowly, taking Viktor's hand in his own to lead him to where he needed to be
"Yeah," he finally agreed
"I'll make sure of that,"
Just a few months ago, Viktor Nikiforov had been "abducted by aliens" after an attempted suicide
Yuri had been the first on the scene and had been the primary force in taking care of the slightly older man ever since, something he definitely didn't regret, especially as their relationship grew and evolved around them, transforming out of just a typical doctor/patient relationship and into something much more
He wouldn't take back a single second of these last several months
He was glad to know through previous conversations that the feeling was very mutual
He took a breath as they walked, squeezing Viktor's hand comfortingly as he glanced out the window at the beautifull space sky
It was common-practice for Yuri's people to "abduct" the humans who were struggling and had a certain kind of quality that made them prime research subjects, that was a large part of Yuri's job after all- diagnosing and helping to heal the humans that came aboard the ship
Seeing those humans romantically wasn't nearly as common, but it wasn't taboo either, something that wasn't the case on Earth, as Viktor had once explained to him
But Yuri was glad things were different here, he had fallen for Viktor near instantly, the moment he had first set eyes on him, the moment he had first taken the human's hand and brought him aboard the ship....
And the feeling had been pretty mutual, considering how quickly Viktor had gotten attached to him
Not all abduction stories were nightmares, not all aliens were cold or cruel or malicious
Sometimes it was the human world that caused the nightmares, and Yuri was just glad to be someone who could help ease them