Sneezy in St. Petersburg (Yuri on Ice) (SS for iety)

[truth]

so there's a million yuri on ice fics out there, but guess what! i'm adding one more! @iety this is for you! i was so excited to get you as my SS! sorry that the formatting is lowkey fucked up and also sorry for the horrid title i think im funny! thanks Sen for the idea of a sick party host ...

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When you live with someone, you learn a lot about them that you didn’t know before, that’s just how it works. Living in Hasetsu together was different, because even though they shared a house, they slept in different bedrooms and led different routines. Staying in hotel with someone, you learn a little more, but hotels are only temporary. But living with Viktor in his flat comes with many things.

One of these things is that Viktor really likes to throw parties. Yuuri isn’t so much into this, he’d rather spend a night cuddling by the fire or reading a nice book than chatting and drinking with friends. So far Viktor has only thrown one party, and Yuuri spent his time in a corner of the kitchen, doing a lot more observing that participating. He’s content to do this, especially because a handful of Viktor’s friends don’t speak any English. Yuuri’s been learning some Russian, especially now that he lives here in Saint Petersburg, but it doesn’t go much further than basic phrases.

 

Tonight, Viktor’s planned a little holiday party. It’s a pretty small thing, since he saw how Yuuri wasn’t super comfortable with the last one, and he’s invited all the Russian skaters that Yuuri knows so he’ll have someone to talk to.

When Yuuri wakes up, Viktor’s already left to go get the food and drinks for tonight. He clambers out of their bed and takes a shower, then heads down for breakfast. Yuuri is sitting on a stool at the counter when Viktor walks in.

“Yuuuuri! I'm back!”

Yuuri looks up from his eggs. His boyfriend is standing there with his arms weighed down with various bags and a big smile on his face. But that's not what catches his attention. Yuuri’s eyes go straight to the red target in the center of his face. Viktor's nose is an angry shade of red and his cheeks match. They both know how cold St. Petersburg is in the winter, so they know to bundle up, but even with his heavy coat, gloves, hat, and scarf, it still looks like the cold got to him.

Viktor heads over to Yuuri and sets the bags down on the counter beside him. When Yuuri leans in for a good morning kiss, Viktor pulls away.

“No kisses.” He shakes his head. “I'm catching a cold.” That’s a rule they always break.

Those words cause a stir in Yuuri. He tries to keep his face neutral as he replies.

“Aw, Vitya.” He squeezes his arm comfortingly, but that's not enough for him. He can't help it. He reaches a finger out and bops Viktor on the tip of his cold nose.

“That explains this!” He says playfully. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's a horrible, horrible person and he has to bite the inside of his cheek as Viktor angles his head to the side, tipping his head up to the ceiling. A gloved hand is hovering beneath his nose.

“Y- hh - Yuuri…” He complains. He's stuck in pre-sneeze limbo. His eyes are starting to water and he blinks back tears, fanning his nose with his hand now as if to coax the sneeze along… And then it comes. His eyes squeeze shut, and the erratic hitching builds to one sharp inhale.

“HE’KTCH’EW!.. guh..” He pitches forward into his glove, letting out a little groan of discontent as he finishes. He sniffles a couple times, but doesn't pull his hand away. Yuuri thinks maybe he needs tissues, so he hops up and grabs a few paper towels, but as he's coming back, Viktor starts up again.

“HH’YSHH’EW! HE’TCHH’UE!”

Yuuri should have known better. Viktor always sneezes in threes, even if the first sneeze was provoked by an, er, outside force. He offers the paper towels out to Viktor, but he waves them away with his free hand.

“No, no, Yuuri, thank you. I just bought some tissues.” Those sneezes must have loosened some congestion in his head, because his consonants sound a little fuzzy. He roots around in one of the shopping bags for a second and produces a travel pack of tissues. Yuuri takes them from him and opens them up, taking a couple out and handing them to Viktor. He gives Yuuri a grateful smile and turns around to blow his nose.

Yuuri is feeling a little guilty for inducing Viktor like that. It’s all innocent (well, not so innocent) fun unless Viktor is actually more-than-a-little sick. His boyfriend has a reputation of catching the sniffles and touting it as if he’s dying and needs to be cared for. Yuuri, of course, does care of him with lots of tissues and kisses and cuddles, but he’s not rushing around for him like his personal servant.

“Have you had anything to eat?” Yuuri has finished his eggs, but he’s fully prepared to make more. Sometimes Viktor doesn’t take care of himself the way he should, which is funny, because he seems like the type who would. It’s not that he purposely denies himself comfort and such, but he forgets that his body needs to be cared for.

Viktor nods. “I had a pastry and some coffee when I was out.” He looks over at the bags on the counter and sighs. “I meant to get one for you, but it slipped my mind. There’s a different line if you want to take-out.” He waves a hand dismissively. “Anyways.”

Yuuri waits for Viktor to continue, but he says nothing more. He’s rubbing his nose with a fresh tissue and staring off into nowhere. His eyes have this distant look that doesn’t necessary indicate fever, but it means that Viktor isn’t running on full power.

“Well, you must be freezing! I’ll get you some tea to warm you up.” Yuuri places a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder and presses a quick kiss to his cheek.

He glances at the clock as he’s preparing the tea. It’s nearly noon. Time will only tell if Viktor is feeling well enough tonight. It’s not like they can just cancel the party (personally, Yuuri would do this, but Viktor would never allow it) so Yuuri is going to have to try his hardest to keep his boyfriend resting today. That means no more hour long shopping trips through the snow. He shakes his head to himself. Couldn’t Viktor have at least taken a cab or waited for Yuuri to get up? Maybe it wouldn’t have been any different if Yuuri had gone with him, but Yuuri wants to think that it would’ve been.

After he has his tea, Yuuri suggests that Viktor go take a nap. Viktor is hesitant to rest, claiming that there's “so much to be done!”, but Yuuri isn't having it.

If this was the first Viktor-hosted party Yuuri had seen, he might have believed him, but after seeing last time, he knows the only thing Viktor really needs to throw a good party is some strong alcohol and his charming self. However, his boyfriend maintains that it's the little party games that he plans that really bring the fun. Yuuri wants to humor him except now is not the time.

Viktor compromises on snuggling up with Yuuri on the couch and watching a movie. The no kiss rule is broken at this point, though only once. Or twice. Three times if the time Yuuri kissed Viktor on the tip of his adorably pink nose counts.

Viktor eventually does fall asleep and Yuuri slides out of his arms (a little reluctantly) and heads back into the kitchen. He should start setting up or whatever. Hopefully he can figure out what to do based on what Viktor bought.

Once he starts digging around inside the bags, Yuuri notices a pattern. There’s booze, some snacky foods… and then he comes to a bag that’s entirely cold supplies. Right. He did buy himself tissues. Yuuri knew that, he just didn’t realize that Viktor bought himself an entire cold care pack. There’s enough tissues packet in here to make a damn fort. Then there’s various medicines (Yuuri can’t read most of them) and a nasal spray, some cough drops… Yuuri didn’t know his throat was bothering him. He frowns. It’s not like Viktor to downplay.

He sets out the food and chills the drinks that need to be chilled, then he makes Viktor some soup. He has no clue how to make the kind of soup that Viktor likes, but he makes him something his mom used to make him when he was sick. Viktor doesn’t have a lot of the ingredients that he uses, but there’s onion and chicken stock so he’s got the important stuff.

 

Viktor comes stumbling into the kitchen a bit later, wrapping his arms around Yuuri from behind and peering over his shoulder to see what he’s making.

“Looks good.” He comments. His voice is unusually harsh in quality and it makes Yuuri wince sympathetically. Viktor notices and he gets himself a glass of water, then sits down at the counter and waits patiently for Yuuri to finish.

Yuuri brings him over a bowl when he’s done. He brings a second one over for himself and sits down beside Viktor. He already looks better than earlier, his eyes are brighter and he smiles tenderly at Yuuri when he tastes the soup. They chat for a bit, then Viktor decides he’s going to take another nap before the party starts. Yuuri is glad he didn’t have to push him this time.

 

The first guests knock on the door when Viktor is still asleep. Yuuri isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do in this situation. Should he wake Viktor first, or just get the door? Or is that rude? He doesn’t want to wake Viktor up if he needs to rest, but he also can’t really handle hosting a party without his charismatic partner. And even though he knows most of them now, these are Viktor’s friends, not his. By now, he’s spent too long deciding and has to hurry to open the door. He lets them in, tells them he’ll be back in a second, and then hurries back over the couch and shakes Viktor awake. He’s trying to be gentle, but he’s also sort of panicking a little bit.

Viktor sits up, eyes wide with alarm. They only grow wider when he catches sight of his boyfriend. “Yuuri! Are you okay?” He’s recognized the all-too-familiar anxious look in Yuuri’s eyes.

Shoot. He hadn’t meant to freak him out like that. “Yeah, I’m alright. It’s just…” He gestures behind him to where the guests are standing.

Viktor understands instantly, sending Yuuri an apologetic look as he gets up and smoothes his hair, sticking out a hand to their guests. “Alexander, Diana.” Oh, yeah, those were their names. “Sorry you had…. me…!” He’s speaking in Russian and Yuuri can only pick up pieces of it. Viktor is laughing now and the couple is laughing too. “Can I … you two … drink?” Yuuri hates this. He hates it so much. Viktor had to deal with the same thing when they were in Japan and Yuuri never realized how confusing it must have been for him sometimes. They head over to the bar counter and Viktor pours them both drinks, then turns to Yuuri, his expression apologetic.

“They speak very little English.” He explains. Yuuri had figured as much. Viktor would never intentionally leave him out of a conversation. On the bright side, Viktor seems like he’s feeling much better than earlier and Yuuri’s worries start to dissipate. He should trust Viktor on this, he’s not inclined to lie about this sort of thing. He’s not inclined to lie to Yuuri, period. Something about how their relationship began as coach-student keeps them always open with each other.

 

As the night wears on, Yuuri can see Viktor steadily growing more weary. Though his smile is just as wide, he’s stopped laughing so much. His speech has gotten a little more quiet and raspy and he keeps swallowing like his throat is bothering him. Maybe he isn’t so fine, after all. But he has done a lot of talking, maybe his voice is just getting tired. Maybe.

    Yuuri lets this go on for a little while longer before he has to interfere. Viktor just stopped in the middle of a conversation to have a full on sneezing fit. He’s been pinching his sneezes away with neat little stifles between his forefinger and thumb, but now that he’s not able to do that anymore, Yuuri is getting worried. He tugs on Viktor’s sleeve gently, indicating for him to come with him when he’s done with this conversation. Viktor doesn’t stop what he’s saying to Georgi, but Yuuri knows that he’s felt the tug by the way his hip nudges Yuuri.

    When he’s done, he turns to Yuuri and takes a step away from the chatter. He smiles at him, but he has a concerned crease between his eyebrows. “Yuuri, are you okay?”

    Seriously, Viktor is so selfless when it comes to Yuuri, it’s crazy. “Yes, Vitya, I was worried about you.” He places a hand on Viktor’s arm and meets his eyes. “Are you okay?”

    “Yes, of course, dear Yuuri.” Viktor grins brightly at his boyfriend and ruffles his hair, but then he catches sight of Yuuri’s gaze. Yuuri is pissed. He’s not actually mad, but he wants Viktor to cut the act. They can always be real with each other, even if they can’t be real with the rest of the world, that’s how it works.

    He withers under Yuuri’s gaze, which has turned from frustrated to almost hurt. His shoulders sag and his smile is replaced with a solemn line. Viktor shakes his head. His voice is soft when he finally speaks. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I really don’t feel well.”

    There we go. He’s worried for him now, but mostly he’s just relieved that he’s admitted it. That was so out of the ordinary for him to pretend like he was just fine. Viktor’s all about attention whenever he’s under the weather. “It’s okay, I promise. Thank you for telling me. Why don’t you head to bed early?”

The tissue that’s been resting in Viktor’s hand all night comes up to rub at his nose. He sniffles a few times, then look at Yuuri with tired eyes. “I’ll just go take a quick nap and then come back.” He compromises. He pulls out his phone to glance at the time. “It’s already close to midnight, they should be leaving in an hour or so.”

Poor Viktor. Yuuri brushes his bangs back from his face and presses a kiss to his forehead. “It’s alright. You’re sick, you can’t help it. I can handle things for a bit.” He promises, taking Viktor by the shoulder to steer him up to the bedroom.

Viktor follows without protest. His posture falls under Yuuri’s grip and he leans into him as they head up the stairs. The bedroom is much more quiet than it is downstairs, and now Yuuri can hear how Viktor’s cold is affecting him. He’s sniffling constantly, and he’s so stuffed up that he’s breathing through his mouth. He sits obediently down on the bed and leans back against the pillows. His eyes are glazed and a little unfocused, like he might have a slight fever.

Yuuri’s heart twists. He hates seeing Viktor like this. He hates it extra because of how part of him likes it. When Viktor’s head ducks down into his battered tissue, Yuuri has to bite his lip.

“EH’SHH’IEW!… snf snf …. HH’TCHH’UE!.. EH’GSHH!... uh.” He blows his nose and then sighs and closes his eyes, frustrated with the lack of productivity. He gives a few quick sniffs.

“Bless you.” Even though this isn’t something Yuuri was brought up saying, he always says it to Viktor. He hands him the plain tissue box from the nightstand. It’s not the Makkachin plushie that Viktor likes, that one’s down with their skating gear, but it’ll do.  

Yuuri leaves his fiancé after tucking him in and heads back downstairs. He's expecting to need to entertain, but it looks like Viktor’s little party games have actually pulled through. He'd set out a bowl of cherries and insisted that it would be fun. Yuuri hadn't known what he'd meant, but here it is. Mila is teaching everyone how to tie a cherry stem with their tongue. Granted, she's not the best teacher, but it looks like everyone is having fun.

He rejoins the conversation and is in the middle of an awkward conversation in Russian, when someone taps him on the shoulder. He knows without turning around that it's Viktor. He looks back at him, and boy, does he look miserable. The look on his face barely passes for a smile. Yuuri quickly excuses himself from the conversation and pulls Viktor into a quiet corner.

“Love, what is it?” He opens his embrace, inviting Viktor in. Viktor falls into his arms and shakes his head, pushing his wet nose against Yuuri’s collarbone.

“I can't sleep.” He says this like it's the end of the world and for a sick and tired man, to him it probably is. He sniffles and itches his nose against Yuuri. God, Viktor is driving him crazy with that. It's making it harder to focus on what's important.

“Why not?” He strokes his nails through the hair on the back of Viktor’s head in a comforting manner. “Are you too congested? We could try a steam bowl or a shower?”

“It's too loud. And too bright. I think I should just -- hh gotta sn- hii - ze.” Viktor gasps, pressing his nose deeper against Yuuri’s skin. Clearly, his boyfriend is trying to kill him right here in public. Viktor pinches his nose shut and quashes the itch for now, then continues. “I think I should just hang out here for the rest of the night. I can’t sleep if they’re here. And I can’t send them home.”

“Viktor, these are your friends. They’ll understand if you're not feeling well.”

“But--” Viktor ducks his head, hiding his expression behind his bangs and his wrist, which is currently scrubbing under his septum. “I don't really want them to know.”

Yuuri can't help it, he laughs a little at this. Viktor is so funny sometimes in the ways he shows vulnerability. Sure, he’ll Instagram photos of himself sick, or he’ll put the entire course of a cold on his Snapchat story, but he doesn't want to end a party early because then his friends will know that he's not feeling well.

For someone who's spent so long in the spotlight, Viktor’s image means a lot to him, so Yuuri understands. He doesn't entirely understand, but he understands.

“Okay. Don't worry about it, alright? I’ll take care of it. It's no problem, I'll make up another reason if I have to.” He cups Viktor’s chin and tilts it up so he can meet his gaze. Two tired eyes stare softly back at him through a curtain of silver. His nose is red, chapped, and running and Viktor is constantly sniffling to keep the mess at bay. His lips are chapped, too, and they're parted so he can breathe, the poor thing. Yuuri is hesitant to let him go, but he has to.

“But you, sir, need to get back to bed.” He brushes Viktor’s bangs to the side and plants a kiss on his cheek.

“Yes. Thank you, Yuuri.” Viktor smiles and though it's a weak version of his usual beaming face, it's completely genuine. He heads back up to bed and Yuuri watches him until he disappears into the bedroom.

Now he has this to deal with. Yuuri doesn't have a brilliant plan yet, nor does he think he will ever, but he heads over to Mila, since she seems to be directing most of the party.

She's sitting on one of the stools at the counter, sipping a beer and chatting animatedly with Yurio. Hang on -- Yurio? Yuuri is pretty positive they did not invite him. The guy is 15. No, no, he’ll deal with that later. It's not a priority right now.

Yuuri goes over to her and explains the situation. He doesn't go into specifics but he explains that they want everyone out of the house, and how exactly do they do that? Mila is a great help. She smiles cheerfully and stands up on her stool, waving her beer.

“Let's continue this over at the bar! First round of drinks on me!”

That’s all it takes, apparently. Everyone heads to the door and starts making their way out, thanking Yuuri for having them over. Huh. That was easy. A couple people ask where Viktor is because they want to say goodbye and Yuuri just vaguely replied that he's upstairs. He's pretty sure everyone knows that Viktor’s sick. It's not like he was the picture of health earlier, and his voice certainly gave it away. Yuuri still doesn't entirely understand why Viktor doesn't want anyone to know. But he’ll let it go.

 

When all the guests have finally gone, Yuuri does a quick (very quick) cleanup. He's eager to get back to Viktor. He hurries up to the bedroom with a cup of tea and some more cold medicine. What he finds makes him smile. Viktor and Makkachin are curled up together on the bed, both asleep. Viktor is still sitting mostly upright. He's snoring softly. Yuuri sticks the tea on Viktor’s nightstand and leaves the medicine beside it. If Viktor wakes up, he can have it. Hopefully the tea won't go cold. Yuuri crawls into bed beside him as quietly as he can manage. He's debating shifting Viktor to a lying position when the man in question opens his eyes.

“Yuuri?” He sniffles and rubs at his neck, squinting through the dark at his fiancé. “What time is it?”

“It's just past midnight.” Yuuri is up again, handing Viktor two tablets of medicine from the blister pack and then the tea. “Here, take these before you go back to sleep, okay?”

Viktor nods and swallows the pills obediently. He winces as they slide down his throat and has another sip of tea. He opens his mouth to speak, and blinks a couple times, but then closes it again. He makes a frustrated face and flicks the tip of his nose gently with his index finger.

“HH’KTCHH’UU!... snf snf… EH’SHH’EW! … Oh, thank you, Yuuri.” Yuuri has pressed a couple white sheets over Viktor’s face. It’s as much for himself as it is for Viktor. Though he loves his boyfriend and his sneezes, he’d rather not catch his cold. That’s one thing they don’t need to share. If it happens, it happens, but there’s no need to increase his chances.

“Goodnight, Viktor.” He presses a kiss to his forehead as his boyfriend works the tissues over his nose. When he’s finished, Yuuri throws them away for him and tugs him down so he’s flat on his back, but props his head up slightly with his pillow. Viktor’s comfortable now, so his usual self is returning and he makes a grabby motion at Yuuri, signaling for him to come closer.

“Turn around.” Yuuri obeys, smiling as Viktor pulls his back into his chest. Viktor’s head comes poking over his shoulder for a second and kisses his jaw before tucking behind him again.

There’s stillness and near silence for a moment before Viktor behind to rub his nose back and forth on the back of Yuuri’s neck. His breath is hitching softly and that’s when Yuuri remembers: the third sneeze. Here it is. Yuuri tries not to tense up, but he’s about to lose his mind. Viktor can’t seriously be--

“H’TXCHH!” Viktor presses his nose against Yuuri’s neck. Alright. Okay. So he was serious.

“Bless you.” And now he won’t be able to fall asleep for hours. Thanks for that, dear boyfriend. But also, thanks for that.

“G’night, Yuuri.” Viktor cuddles up closer to his boyfriend and it isn’t long before his breathing evens out. Tomorrow won’t be any fun for him and it won’t be fun for Yuuri either, but for now he’ll just appreciate the feeling of their bodies together. He can’t imagine ever living without him.

Edited January 3, 2017 by truth

[iety]

OOOHHH WOW oh my gosh......this is so lovely and such a cute situation !! You wrote them both so well, I love Viktor being dramatic and broadcasting his illness but also still wanting to look cool in front of his friends. Yuuri's party anxiety is so relatable and I'm proud of him for conquering :'3

42 minutes ago, truth said:

“No kisses.” He shakes his head. “I'm catching a cold.” That’s a rule they always break.

This is where I started to melt omg it's soooo good. Viktor's progression from nonchalant to needy and kind of pitiful really got me as well :Dc Thank you for this amazing gift!!!! I'm gonna go read it like five more times.

[luckyleprechaun]

Ohhhhhhhhhh this is awesome! I love how Victor is slightly in denial and Yuuri just puts his foot down.  Good job!

[Sawyer]

Oh my god I love love love this!!!! Yuuri is the cutest boyfriend ever, and I really (actually!) laughed at the part where he sees Yurio at the party and wonders what the hell he is doing there! And the teamwork with Mila to get the party to move somewhere else -- I really love her a lot too! Always glad to see her!

Oh man, and the part about Yuuri not understanding but still understanding when it comes to Viktor and his image, and the whole thing with Viktor showing such a contrast of behavior because he didn't want to be seen as a sick party host when usually he's so open about having a cold... it's so precious and in character. I'm so glad you ran with this idea! You did such a good job. I think my favorite of all was the quiet confrontation during the party, where Viktor finally admitted to Yuuri that he wasn't feeling well... melted my heart and it's so hot and cute as well! I'm going to read this over and over now!!!

[bazzpop00]

I love this fic so much, Yuuri is just so adorable and sweet! Also, Viktor being in denial is just...YES

[queenie]

Well, this is just about perfect. I love the character detail that when Viktor has the tiniest sniffles he plays it up for dramatics, but when he's really ill, he keeps quiet. Yuuri's constant worried internal monologue about the details was perfect. The "wasn't at full power" and "not like Viktor to downplay" parts were my favorites. I can imagine Viktor having a whole gregarious party while hoping everyone ignores that he's got a cold! Wonderful. 

[valemari2012]

That was beautyyy, i loved it aaah haha... Victor and the posts in instagram... Oh Victor   . I'm wondering how Yurio got into the bar haha.