Secret Santa for Sen Beret (Yuri on Ice - M)

[iety]

A Yuri on Ice story for @Sen Beret !! I was really excited to get you as a recipient >:3 Enjoy this fic about Viktor and Yuuri catching a cold after the Hot Spring on Ice event!!

***

Winning the Hot Spring on Ice was a hazy memory, and it remained as such for years afterward. The relief and excitement that Viktor would be staying to train him, nervousness about the months of hard work ahead, and the brand new, thrilling, swelling pride all tangle inside him. Later he’ll piece together details like the crowd cheering, Viktor’s tight hug and the following lecture, each thing blurring into the next. There would be more moments after this, more achievements that represented greater things, but Yuuri holds on to this one in particular.

 

There is a clearer and quieter moment at the door of the locker room, before Yuuri goes to unlace his skates and peel off his sweaty costume. Viktor puts a hand on his shoulder, fingers fanning out toward Yuuri’s neck, nearly brushing his nape.

 

“Good job today, Yuuri,” Viktor says, voice low and private. “You’ve come far in the past months.”

 

“Thank you,” Yuuri bows his head. His cheeks are almost as sore as his legs.

 

“Go on then, get changed.” Viktor pats him heartily; without his years of practice Yuuri might have stumbled on his skates. “You’re coming out with us tonight!”

 

They all get celebratory drinks together, Yuuri and Viktor and Minako and Mari packed into a bar booth. Even Yuko and Takeshi stop in for a few minutes before they have to go home and put the triplets to bed. Only when Yuuri is here, seated elbow to elbow with Viktor and a few gulps of beer in his stomach, does he feel the exhaustion catch up to him. Fatigue makes all his joints weak and Yuuri lets it out in a long sigh, head tipping back against the padded booth seat. The muscles in his legs shiver. He feels like he could fall asleep right here if he let himself close his eyes for long enough.

 

A gentle nudge at his side brings him back. Yuuri looks over to see Viktor watching him. The concern creasing his eyes makes Yuuri sit up straighter.

 

“Are you alright?” Viktor asks, leaning in close to speak over the surrounding noise of the bar.

 

“I’m fine,” Yuuri answers, grabbing for his water glass and drinking to demonstrate his commitment to being fine. It’s true, though, really - he’s tired but he feels okay, maybe even great. It’s a giddy kind of exhaustion, something that could push through into delirium but was, for the moment, comfortable enough to settle into. Yuuri joins the excited conversation about the coming season and the other skaters and finishes his beer in the process. The door to the bar opens and closes as the night goes on, cold gusts of air prompting him to squeeze closer to Viktor’s side.

 

Yuuri and Viktor wind up back at Yu-topia, in Viktor’s half furnished room. Yuuri notes the added personal touches as he looks around. He sees more of them every time he comes in here. Now it’s the matryoshka dolls lined up on top of the dresser, separated down to the smallest one. Yuuri takes a moment to examine their rosy, smiling faces and intricate patterns.

 

Viktor suggests that he stay and talk some more before bed, and Yuuri is almost embarrassed to realize that he’d already assumed he’d be doing so, regardless of an invitation. Luckily, Viktor seemed to be on the same track. After all, the boxes full of old costumes are still piled around the room, and neither of them can resist going through a few more.

 

It turns out that Viktor has a story for every outfit. The shimmering leafy green suit and the time he had to skate on a sprained ankle, the tuxedo design with red cummerbund and the time he’d forgotten half a step sequence and had to improvise. Yuuri soaks it all up, adding comments with his own perspective from the opposite side, having seen it all either as a distant competitor or faithful fan. An hour passes before either of them realize.

 

Yuuri sits up a little straighter when Viktor pulls the crown of blue roses out of one of the boxes. He always thought it was so beautiful, and it stood out prominently in his memory. On Viktor’s head with his long silver hair, it had looked ethereal. Now he was seeing it in person.

 

“This was always one of my favorites,” Viktor says, and lifts the crown to his face, delicately smelling a flower as if they were real roses. He smiles at Yuuri, pleased with his little joke, but in a half second the curve of his smile wobbles and his brow creases. Viktor half-turns, raising his right hand to press his wrist beneath his nose and stifle a series of sneezes.

 

“Nnhkt’shhih! NHK’chh!-uhh...Ehgkt’SHOO!” Each one is a nasal squeak punctuated by a higher pitched, breathy exhalation. Viktor is finished after three, and straightens up with a few sniffles, rubbing at his nose and chuckling. “Excuse me!” He says. “Well, they may be fake, but they’re still dusty.” He gingerly places the crown of roses back in its box.

 

Despite the blush creeping down his face and the tension that shot across his shoulders, Yuuri ends up laughing along with Viktor.

 

Another hour goes by before they realize how late it is. Yuuri yawns his goodbyes and shuffles down the hall to his own room, almost dizzy with how sleepy he is. He falls into bed and rolls himself in a blanket, turning over regrets about staying up late even as he sinks into one of the deeper sleeps he’s ever experienced.

 

Which might be why he was late to practice the next day. It was hardly the way he’d wanted to start one on one training with Viktor, but his coach had made him feel a bit better with remarks about the importance of rest and so on. From there, the hard work began and the driving pace didn’t let up. Every day Yuuri ran, skated, perfected jumps and spins, every evening he stretched and soaked sore muscles, every night he slept like a rock. With this schedule, it was harder to get distracted by insecurities. When those thoughts did surface, he had help in clearing them away.

 

Training solo with Viktor is like nothing Yuuri’s ever experienced. He’d gotten used to being so close to his idol when Yurio was still here, but having all of the attention focused on him was different. Viktor is with him everywhere, at home and at work. Viktor’s eyes were on him only. Instead of increasing his anxiety, Yuuri can feel himself getting more and more relaxed.

 

Then, when Yuuri wakes up on the fourth day, he feels a sting in the back of his throat. It makes a thought germinate in his mind, but that thought doesn’t grow until he swallows and the sting becomes an ache. He lays there for a few minutes, for longer than usual, assessing. He tests his throat with a small cough and immediately winces. Then he ignores it and gets up.

 

It isn’t until Yuuri has eaten breakfast, showered, brushed his teeth, gotten dressed, and stepped out the door that he might perhaps start contemplating reality. After all, his full body exhaustion a few days ago, the dry sinuses he tried to ignore yesterday and now the sore throat that was only getting rougher are the unmistakable signs of a cold settling in. It always happens the same way with him, and he hates the predictability because it makes it impossible to deny. At least, it should, but he tries anyway.

 

That was life, and life went on. In this case, that meant getting up, getting ready, and heading off to the Ice Castle. He makes sure to drink hot tea with lemon with breakfast, takes a thermos with him and packs some fruit for a snack later. There’s nothing useful in the medicine cabinet but he makes a note to pick some up later. The cold is already here, but maybe he can ward it off just a little bit. This bit of doublethink is also part of the routine - Yuuri tells himself the cold isn’t happening, but acknowledges it enough to fight it.

 

His jog to the rink is clear and brisk. The sun is out and there are no clouds in the sky but the day hasn’t warmed up yet, and it’s cold enough to make his nose start running halfway across the bridge. His ears and fingertips freeze from the wind coming off the ocean. It’s not a very busy day at the Ice Castle, so Yuuri gets a chance to duck into an empty corner and quietly tend to his nose with a tissue or two. In the locker room he checks himself in the mirror in between stretches, looking for any outward signs. His nose is a little pink because he keeps either rubbing away itches or self consciously swiping at it with a tissue, but overall he looks fine. Yuuri squints at his reflection with suspicion, knowing that it’s a liar.

 

As usual, Viktor is already there, gliding across the ice with his arms gracefully outstretched. When he sees Yuuri, he comes to a stop against the rink wall with a wave and a smile, calling out a greeting.

 

Despite his trepidation, Yuuri brightens and waves back as he makes his way over to the ice. Practice always feels good, whether he’s diving into the excitement of a new routine or working away anxiety with repeated practice. The fact that Viktor is here with him is an added bonus.

 

“Good morning, Yuuri,” Viktor says, reaching over the low wall as Yuuri approaches. He puts his hands on Yuuri’s shoulders, gripping for a second and then sliding down to his hips. Viktor gives him an appraising look. “Have you stretched? You seem tense.”

 

Maybe because your hands are all over me! Is what Yuuri wants to say, because he’s always preferred to tell the truth. Instead, his mouth spits out a lie that is much more stupid.

“I’m fine,” Yuuri says. “It’s just cold out.” Of all the things he could have answered with, he doesn’t know why he picked something that made it worse. He fumbles the gate open and coasts out onto the ice, hoping the session will just continue as normal. Of course, Viktor is here, so that’s a futile hope.

 

Viktor skates up past him, effortlessly circling around Yuuri. “It is cold, isn’t it?” He muses. “You’d better not come down with something. We have a lot of work to do, you know!” He wags a finger, smiling brightly. Yuuri almost misses the gesture when he ducks his head to hide the blush spreading across his face. Luckily, it soon blends into the flush of exertion as they get to work.

 

They go through warmups, Viktor skating alongside Yuuri to limber up with him and direct his form. Yuuri feels their collective momentum build and build as they go through the routines, motions weaving in and out of synchronization. They’re starting to move so smoothly, he’s almost disappointed when Viktor calls an end to the warming up.

 

“Go straight through your whole routine,” Viktor says, skating off to the side of the rink. He’s digging for something in the pocket of his Adidas track pants, and Yuuri watches curiously instead of moving to his starting position. He feels his sore throat go dry when Viktor pulls a white ball of crumpled tissues out of his pocket. “No music for this first run,” Viktor continues, flicking his bangs aside and burying his nose in the tissues, squeezing and pushing it back and forth. “I want to see where you’re at with it.” He punctuates his sentence with a sniffle and then puts the tissues away. As if it’s all normal.

 

Yuuri realizes he’s staring. He catches himself, nodding and skating out to his first position so fast he almost stumbles and faceplants. If he thought he was going to be distracted by his own cold, now he might have Viktor to worry about as well. Were they catching the same thing? The thought makes Yuuri’s face heat up and his arm hairs stand on end. He arranges himself in the appropriate posture, taking a deep, deep breath, determined not to let his stupid fetish, of all things, distract him from his work.

 

All the same, he flubs two of his jumps, touching down on one and outright falling on another. Viktor gives notes about his posture and the power in his spins and has him go again. This time Yuuri only falls once, but it surprises him more than the other times. He makes it through the jump okay, but when he touches down he can feel his knee wobble and his calf muscle shiver with fatigue, and then he’s rolling onto the ice. He’s only halfway through the routine. The cold air coming off the ice is getting to him and Yuuri finds himself needing to sniffle more and more frequently. He looks around for Viktor, half to apologize about falling and half to look for their Makkachin tissue box. Luckily, he doesn’t need to look far - Viktor is right next to the tissues, stifling a sneezing fit into a fresh handful of them. Gulping, Yuuri only waits a second before heading over.

 

“Hnnkht’chuu! Hh...ngsschh’hhuh! Hehh--! Hhng’CHHISHHhhuue! Mm…” Viktor shakes his head at his own inability to suppress that last one before looking up and seeing Yuuri. “Oh! Excuse me. Is everything okay, Yuuri?” He dabs at his nose with the tissues. The skin there is pink, starting to look red.

 

“Bless you,” Yuuri offers. Since they usually spoke English together, he liked using this phrase whenever a chance came. He’d picked it up in Detroit and didn’t want to let it go after coming home. “I, uh, fell again. And I need those, please.” He swings one arm in the direction of the tissues.

 

“Of course, here,” Viktor says, passing the box over. “Quickly, before I go through all of them.”

 

Yuuri grabs for some tissues, biting the inside of his lip. Now that he’s paying attention, or maybe because they’ve been exerting themselves, he can hear the slight roughness and dull congestion in Viktor’s voice. Turning aside, Yuuri wipes his nose and then blows it quietly, hoping to rid himself of the need to keep sniffling. Instead, his great idea backfires, and he very suddenly has to sneeze. He tries to stifle it, but he’s hardly as practiced as Viktor.

 

“H’h’nKTsschih! ...hah’GNXT!choo…” The half vocalized exhale that escapes him is something he can never help, and he tries not to visibly wince when he hears it come out of himself.

 

“Bless you, too,” Viktor returns the sentiment, eyes twinkling as if he has more to say, but thankfully he keeps it to himself. Yuuri’s glad he has a handful of tissues to hide his face in, especially since Viktor continues, “did I jinx us by talking about catching something?” Apparently he couldn’t hold his comments back after all. “Let’s take a short break and then get back to it,” Viktor finishes, standing. “Can I take those for you?”

 

He’s holding out a hand, and Yuuri realizes he means the used tissues. It’s a struggle to keep his eyes from going too wide, but he manages to hand them over mostly like a normal person (but only after crumpling them all into an impenetrable ball).

 

Digging in his bag, Yuuri finds that his thermos of tea is still warm and soothing on his throat. He offers some to Viktor and they share it without saying a word about contagion. As they rest, Viktor adjusts the lacing on his skates and Yuuri stretches his back a little, trying to act like he’s not listening to every single sniff coming from the other man. When Viktor starts coughing, as quietly as possible and muffled into his sleeve, Yuuri decides he’s had enough break time and heads out onto the ice. He thought he was getting over his hero worship, but seeing Viktor coming down with something was an event he was unprepared for.

 

“Ah ah, don’t get started without me, Yuuri,” Viktor calls from behind him, voice still a little rough from the small coughing fit.

 

“Having trouble keeping up?” The words come out of Yuuri’s mouth before he fully realizes it, sounding a good deal more teasing than he meant them too. He’s rewarded with a smirk from Viktor, who comes speeding back out onto the ice as his tacit answer.

 

They get back into practice. Yuuri works on spins and goes through segments of his routine, trying to hone each aspect to perfection. It’s no different from other training sessions, but Yuuri finds his energy draining quicker and quicker. toward the end, the cold air is making his throat ache and his nose is so blocked he has to keep breathing through his mouth. He also has to sneeze, but he’s been denying the urge for the past half hour.

 

He’s gliding through the transition from a jump sequence to a step sequence when nudging his tongue against the roof of his mouth and holding his breath stops working. The sneeze gets stifled almost to silence, with only a sharp head bob and a shaky exhale as evidence. Yuuri manages to keep skating through it, which is something he’s done before. However, he’s not prepared for the second sneeze, and the third, and the fourth. He stumbles to a stop, bracing his hands on his thighs before he falls over.

 

When Yuuri looks up, Viktor is coming to a stop in front of him with the tissue box in his hands. Despite burning ears and wobbling knees, Yuuri takes the tissues he desperately needs.

 

“Thank you,” he murmurs quickly, half muffled, before blowing his nose and cleaning himself up.

 

“I think we’re about done,” Viktor says, glancing at the clock on the rink wall. “Let’s take the rest of the day off, anyway. I think we could both use it.” His smile is so bright Yuuri can hardly refuse. His nose is pink and starting to look chapped already, or maybe it was just his pale skin that made it stand out so sharply. While Yuuri watches, Viktor’s nose twitches with a deep sniffle and he has to glance away.

 

“Sure,” Yuuri answers, staring out over the ice. “I want to pick up a few things, so I’ll meet you back at home.” That was another thing he had to get used to; referring to home as the same place for both him and Viktor, the same place they went at the end of the day.

 

“Of course!” Viktor pats him on the shoulder and turns to go, but then looks back over his shoulder. “Oh!” he says, raising a finger, “get us some more tissues while you’re out, hm?” That raised finger curls under his nose and rubs back and forth.

 

Yuuri’s stammering, “y-yeah, sure,” comes a second too late, directed at Viktor’s back as he skates away. Yuuri hangs behind on purpose, taking his time changing out of his skates and getting his stuff from the locker room. When he finally walks out, Viktor is nowhere in sight. Which is lucky, because walking into the bright winter sunlight provokes the tingle in his nose into another sneezing fit.

 

“Hep’isschh’ew! Heh’NNTT!choo...h’h’mMPFT!choo…” While the first one escapes into the air, the others are caught in his scarf, between pinched fingers. Yuuri digs in his pockets before realizing that Viktor took all the tissues with him. Sighing, Yuuri sniffles his way down the steps and to the convenience store. There he anxiously paces the cold medicine aisle a couple of times before coming away with a bag full of stuff. Trying to think about what Viktor might prefer while he’s dealing with a cold had nearly fried Yuuri’s brain, so he got some of everything. It was definitely too much.

 

On the walk back over the bridge he checks his phone, thumbing through social media, and he has to stop in his tracks for a moment. There is Viktor’s latest instagram post, a selfie of him with his green robe artfully parted to show some chest and collarbone, lounging on his bed with a tissue half raised to his face. The caption says, “I’m catching a cold,” followed by many emojis. Yuuri has to take a second or two to catch his breath before he pockets his phone again and heads home at a renewed pace.

 

There’s food ready for him at home, but he doesn’t see Viktor. As Yuuri is sitting down to eat, Mari shows up toting some laundry to fold and lets him know that Viktor went to take a nap half an hour ago. Yuuri remembers the selfie and surprises himself by laughing into his rice.

 

Viktor being asleep gives him some time to clean up and change at his leisure. He dumps out his bag of cold supplies and gives the hoard a judgemental look before lining it all up in the bathroom by category. Tissues here, capsules there, liquids somewhere else. He’s so engrossed in the task of organizing that when a hand touches Yuuri’s shoulder he almost jumps a mile in the air. Instead, he just jolts and makes a very adult squeaking sound.

 

“Ooh, you got everything. Thanks, Yuuri,” Viktor says from behind him, and his voice sounds so close to his ear and so congested. Every syllable bounces dully off the roof of his mouth and resonates in his stuffed up sinuses. The sentence is even followed by a ponderous sniffle.

 

“Yeah, kind of!” Yuuri has to take a steadying breath before he could talk, and even then it came out high pitched. “I wasn’t really sure what to get, so I just…” he gestures at the assortment, and then turns around to face Viktor. “How are you feeling?”

 

“I’m alright,” Viktor shrugs, cavalier posture holding for all of one second before he slumps. “Worse than earlier, actually,” he admits, punctuated with another sniff. “And you?”

 

Thoughts of denial rush through Yuuri’s head before he realizes he has no chance of getting away with it. They had just watched each other steadily come down with a cold, after all. Maybe even the same one. In the end, he shrugs as well. “A bit worse,” Yuuri answers. “But at least we have medicine...now…” Yuuri trails off as he sees the foggy look in Viktor’s eyes progress quickly to sharp irritation and then helplessness. He reaches behind him and grabs some tissues to hand over just in time.

 

“Hh’h’ISSCHHh’uue! Hn’ISSHHhiiihh! Oh...excuse me…” Viktor’s speech has to struggle through a morass of fatigue, thickening accent and congestion. “I keep doing...d-doing thihh--tschIISSSHH’heww! ...doing this.” He noses around in his handful of tissues with some pitiful snuffling sounds.

 

“It’s fine!” Yuuri squawks. “Bless you!” He wonders if he’ll ever stop blushing, but in this lifetime, it’s unlikely. Stepping aside to allow access to the now packed medicine cabinet, he gestures at all there is to choose from. “Have whatever you want. I took two of these.” Yuuri pokes at an open packet of capsules.

 

Viktor follows his lead, swallowing two capsules with big gulps of water. He exhales deeply when the glass is drained, going limp with exaggerated satisfaction. “You’re a lifesaver, Yuuri,” Viktor says. His eyes are tired, cheeks flushed and nose twitching with quick groups of sniffles, unwashed bed hair hanging over his forehead. Yuuri drinks it in, trying not to swoon.

 

“It’s no problem,” Yuuri says, only half hearing how soft his own voice is, “I needed some too, anyway.” He can’t quite decipher the tender look Viktor is giving him, but it makes his insides roll over each other.

 

“I’m going to the hot spring,” Viktor says, stepping back and stretching. The previous moment dissipates in a half second, but Yuuri’s already catalogued it away. “Join me if you want to. I think it could make us both feel better.”

 

The smirk on Viktor’s face and the implications in his tone are enough to make Yuuri think about automatically declining. A week ago he probably would have. Soaking in the spring had become their habit, especially after a day of hard training. Today hadn’t exactly been hard, but it had its own difficulties.

 

“Sure,” Yuuri nods. “I’ll see you in there soon. You know where the towels are?”

 

“Mm,” Viktor murmurs in lieu of a full sentence, wandering off with two fingers rubbing his nose back and forth. A few seconds later, when he’s out of sight, a half stifled sneeze comes around the corner. Yuuri quickly heads to his room to change.

 

When he slides open the door to the bathing area, Viktor has already gotten comfortable. His head is tipped back against the smooth stone edge of the pool and a dampened washcloth is draped over his eyes and nose. Yuuri doesn’t blame him at all. He steps one foot in the pool and relief starts to suffuse his body, spreading as he submerges himself in the hot water. Viktor lifts one corner of his washcloth to peek at Yuuri, smiling. Then he takes the whole thing off and drapes it on the edge of the pool.

 

“Good, isn’t it?” When he speaks, his voice is deeper than Yuuri has ever heard it. It’s also very congested. Viktor keeps sniffling and sniffling, reflexively, like he can’t help it.

 

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that, if it’s my family’s place?” Yuuri says, grinning. He settles across from Viktor, splashing water onto his own arms and chest, warming himself up. The steam works quickly on him and he can feel his own nose start running more aggressively. He glances around anxiously, realizing he’d left the tissues inside.

 

“I can still say it’s good if i want,” Viktor is grinning, but then his eyes are squeezing shut and he’s pitching sideways into both cupped hands with a sneeze. “Hhg’ESSSCHH’UUE! Heh...hehh!” His head tips back, eyes open in slits, mouth open on a gasp and brow furrowed. Underneath the water Yuuri’s hands clench and unclench. On the other side of the pool, Viktor grabs for his washcloth and buries his face in it to catch more sneezes. “ISSHHiihh! H’h’YSSSHH’uue! Huh...tCHISSHH’huhh! H’uhn...mmg…” he makes a few tired, congested, noises, massaging his nose through the cloth.

 

Yuuri can hardly believe what’s happening in front of him. Between his cold, the hot steam, and this, he’s starting to get lightheaded. What’s worse, he feels like he’s about to put on a similar display. He’s reluctant to use a washcloth for such purposes, but even if he did have tissues nearby they’d just disintegrate in his wet hands. There’s a tiny splash as Yuuri bobs forward in the water with a stifled sneeze, quickly followed by another.

 

“Hh’NGKT!choo...heh’GXXT!chhoo…” he sniffles over and over to keep from embarrassing himself (as if he hasn’t done so already). From behind the cover of his cupped hand, Yuuri glances around for anything he could use, including washcloths. As if summoned, a fresh one flies into his field of vision and lands in the water next to him. He looks over to see Viktor waving.

 

“The steam is doing the same thing to me,” he says. “It’s okay, it’s good for you.” His chuckle wavers on an unsteady breath and he presses the cloth against his nose with repeated sniffles.

 

Yuuri grabs for the washcloth and cups it to his face, breath already hitching again. The warmth of it feels better than expected against his face and his swollen sinuses. Sadly, he doesn’t have much time to enjoy it before the sneezes hit.

 

“Heh’NGTCH!choo...uh...heh’kssch’oo! Heh’KISSHH’ooo!” Yuuri gives up on stifling, too relaxed and too tired to bother anymore. It feels much better, as well, and he soon finds his head clearing up considerably, the dull ache in his face fading.

 

The two of them sit in the spring together for a while, talking quietly about what they would do tomorrow and what the coming week held. They only needed to stop twice for Viktor to have a sneezing fit. When they were both half asleep and talking in lazily murmured sentences, there was a mutual agreement that it was time to go to bed. As he shuffles into the locker room, Yuuri is reminded of his fatigue the night of the Hot Spring on Ice event, the first sign of the cold that was now fully settled on him.

 

After they dry off and get dressed, Yuuri walks with Viktor to his room. He looks through the door and sees that more boxes have been unpacked, that there are framed pictures propped up behind the matryoshka and there’s a throw rug on the floor. He only stands there for a moment, just long enough to say goodnight, for Viktor to clasp his arm and thank him. Then he goes back to his room, crawling under the blankets with his eyes already closed.

 

This night and the night he won the right to keep Viktor as his coach are both hazy memories for Yuuri, tangled up with adrenaline and fatigue and the love that wouldn’t stop growing inside him. Both are nights he won’t forget. For how tired he is, it still takes a little while to fall asleep as he waits for his heart to stop pounding and his thoughts to stop racing. Though he’s felt these physical symptoms before, it’s not a panic this time. Yuuri turns the feeling over and over, wearing its edges smooth. He drifts off to sleep, wondering how they’ll both feel in the morning.

~The end~

[Sawyer]

Hey you!!!!! Hey. I’m so. Excited to read this and I’m going to give you a bulleted play by play right now because otherwise you’re going to be faced with a big wall of love alphabet (sorry if that didn’t make sense but I’m really excited??) aaaaaand here I GO!!!!!!

• COOL that you made this take place within the show, I didn’t even say it in my SS application but I love stuff like that? Because it adds to the realism of the whole thing, which I’m all about.
• “voice low and private” omfg.. love that… similarly… the leaning in close to talk to each other kind of intimacy is so my jam dude! And the cold gusts of air in the bar not only adds to the romance (if you know what I mean? do I know what I mean??) and makes me feel like I am there too
• OMG!!!!!! (I put “omg” in all caps myself because that’s how I feel) I can’t believe dude you like.. did it so… the sneezing is from flowers… but it’s actually from dust? because the flowers aren’t real? so omg? this is like, poetic
• and omg (how many times will I say omg?) the escalating volume/pitch of a sneezing fit is so hot
• I love the bold at the beginning of each sneeze too…. JUST saying… 
• I love that you wrote it more toward the beginning of the series, and it’s so sweet how Yuuri is becoming more relaxed around Viktor as they spend more time together
• testing a sore throat with a cough is so real and true.. wait a second oh my god just read the paragraph after that one and like… wow a list of the pre-cold symptoms are you kidding me?? thank you??? im weak in the knees the heart and the horn….. “he hates the predictability because it makes it impossible to deny”… this line rocks.. thank you…
• “that was life, and life went on” wow…….. I love you
• “The cold is already here” WOW… i love you!!!!! love this line as hell!!!!!
• You are like, in Yuuri’s head so well? with each paragraph I want to point something out about his narration and thoughts because it’s so in character, you are really good…
• Yuuri calling his reflection a liar is so fucking great, I love this.. and I love it especially because I can tell that YOU wrote that… I feel this with a lot of these lines actually maybe I’ll point out the next one too… maybe it’s like so embarrassing to you that I’m saying this but it makes me so happy
• omg!!!! Viktor smiling as he threatens Yuuri not to come down with something when he already has!!!!!!!!! I’m soaring
• OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Viktor and that tissue thing, you know the thing I mean, what the fuck, what the hell, my gay ass wasn’t ready dude, and like, I mean, how, he.. like… kept talking like it was no big deal.. well let me tell ya.. it was a big deal to ME!!!!
• omg wait do they have the same cold. hang on remember when I said I’m soaring well now I’ve become the damn plane (PLEASE don,t imagine me as a plane)
• Oh shit yeah. wowie. I’m freaking out alongside Yuuri, it’s like I’m reading my OWN narration, to myself, right now, as I read this fic, , , , ,
• “determined not to let his stupid fetish, of all things, distract him from his work” Hey you know what it’s fine. Leave it to me and MY stupid fetish >:3
• 
• AAAAaaaah you know what else. You’ve added a lot of little details and play by play sorts of things and it’s making the sneezing parts (I JUST read the next one!!) so much more exciting because they fit in so naturally and uuuuuhhhh and uhhh it’s really good
• Aw, the little bless you thing, that’s really cute, I love that… “didn’t want to let it go after coming home”… 
• Dude this is so…
• “Quickly, before I go through all of them.” <— this is so much the best……… he’s like.. referencing that something is going on without like.. saying it…
• omg I know I already said this but like I just remembered that flower crown thing and I’m so
• OMG!!!! again I wasn’t ready!!!!!! I know that phrase is like old or w/e but it’s so true for me right now tonight. Yuuri trying to stifle too is so cute and hot and wonderful and… “the vocalized exhale that escapes him” … jesus dude………… THANK you from me and from everyone else who reads this fic, tf
• Viktor asking if he jinxed it made me think omg did he mention that before because he had already come down with something? bro
• voice rough!!!!! voice rough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bro
• Yuuri flirting with him after that!!!! I love him!!!!
• Ohhh,,,,,… the cold air affecting him and making it worse.. I love that… poor Yuuri too but like I love that sorry but it’s true……
• skating through a sneeze? having practiced doing that before?? skating through more than one sneeze??? wait a second……. this is so much it’s so good I’m really…
• this whole time you’ve been like.. pressing buttons that I didn’t know I had!!!!
• Wow!!! This is so cool imo.. how they’re like, acknowledging the colds (The Colds) without being like, explicit….
• dude I LOVE the thought of Yuuri getting flustered buying cold medicine because it’s for Viktor and he’s imagining all the details!! me freaking too!!!!
• THE INSTAGRAM CAPTION MY EYES ARE WIDE
• oh my fffffucking god the detailed description of Viktor’s voice 
• O-M-G Yuuri trailing off his sentence when he senses a sneeze wtf thats really REALLY good!!!!
• “doing this” 
• ayiiiiiiieeeeeee (i dont know how to write a scream in the way I scream sorry)
• YUURI SAYING IT’S FINE, OMFG
• They’re being so.. normal and casual about it… hey how many times have I said that? like a lot right? but I love it and you write it so well… 
• the out of sight sneeze. the off screen sneeze……..
• the washcloth over the nose, wtf, that’s so lovely
• the “if it’s my family’s place” line!!!
• OMG, THIS IS HIS FAMILY’S PLACE, BUT LOOK at what’s happening because of it. his FAMILY’S place!!!! wow, I’m really , really ,, really , , , ,
• “It’s good for you”!!!!! YEAH! it’s good for ME too!!!! it is. it really is..
• Wow, the moment of truth when the stifles are set loose…….. Yuuri is so cute, I love him..
• I don’t remember if I said this before but I like all the little details about Viktor’s room that  you’re adding, and then it just continues more near the end here! It adds symmetry, it’s really nice…
• Those last few paragraphs were so sweet too, Yuuri’s cold-panic-arc plateauing and the promise of even more tomorrow… I’m so happy…

And I am done now!! Oh my god, thank you so much, I can’t believe you added in so many things that I liked and even more that I liked and didn’t even know or remember that I liked? You are like a mind reader… This was so cool…… I’m so lucky that Junia gave you to me for SS and I’ve never had a close pal to do something like this with and it’s even cooler than I would have ever imagined!!!! You did such a good job, just like I knew you would, and now I’ll forever have this fic to read over and over (and over and over? I’m going to read it again when I wake up)… Thank you so, so much! Maybe it is really embarrassing that I wrote like a million words as a response to this but I want you to know how thoroughly I have enjoyed it!!!! And that’s that!!!!

[iety]

AAHH I'm so thrilled you like it!!! All these amazing comments are making me so happy, I love the play by play. Merry Christmas!!

[Sitruuna]

I feel kind os sillycoming here with my short as hell comment after Sen Berret's response but

The way Yuuri's cold progresses and how he observes Viktor's illness are both just This is incredible ok

[Spoo]

I basically second, third, and aggressively FOURTH everything Sen pointed out. Like, holy wow??? I was basically dead from the moment Victor first pulled a tissue out of his sweatpants.  Everything else was just an amazing bonus. The development of the colds - and especially how Victor's hit him harder right off the bat - was just.... *sigh* Wonderful job!   

[bazzpop00]

0_0 I'm dead right now, the details are just too good! Ugh the sneezes and everything were just so uuugggghhh!! I'm legit in heaven right now

[phoenix]

This was lovely and perfect and I was giggling because Yuuri's internal monologue every time Victor so casually talked about his progressing cold sounds just like mine would be in that situation - "IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING oh my god why are you talking about it don't stop talking about it I can't handle this," haha. The slow build at the beginning, and the sneezing from fake flowers(!), and the parallel colds, and practicing through illness (and skating through sneezes!)... yes. And then the onsen scene!! I just. *fans self* 

All of that not-super-coherent flailing to say: This was wonderful, and I'm so happy to have read it. :-) 

[groundcontrol]

This was amazing! I second (or third or fourth is it now? lol) the whole "make-sure-you're-not-catching-anything-even-though-I-already-have" as well as the sort of dance they do at the beginning around actually admitting either one is sick. Also, I love the coaching relationship here. Well done!

[lilysneeze]

no words, just hands down amazing!