Here's my gift for the Victuuri summer gift exchange! I was matched with Baph who requested a domestic life prompt. Hope you like it! :)
"I think you're both going to really love this one!" The real estate agent declared for the umpteenth time as she unlocked the door to yet another condo. "It has everything you're looking for!"
Yuuri was tempted to remind her that she'd said the same thing about the last three places they'd visited today, but he bit his tongue.
If he was being honest, she had shown them some great condos in the past two weeks. On paper, every listing looked perfect. High ceilings, large windows, hardwood floors, updated appliances, newly renovated bathrooms, and most important – pet-friendly. But with every visit, Yuuri would find something wrong with the place. Either the bedrooms were too small, the kitchen didn't have enough counter space, the windows needed replacing, or the ceiling had water damage.
Technically, most of these issues were either fixable or easy enough to live with, but they just didn't feel right. Yuuri didn't want to settle for anything but perfection. He hated moving, and if they were going to buy a home together, it had to have everything.
Victor had suggested twice already to buy a fixer-upper, gut the place, and create the perfect home, but Yuuri refused. That took a lot of time and a lot of stress that Yuuri wasn't ready to take on. With Victor's return to the ice, things were stressful enough. They'd only been in Russia for a few weeks, but Yuuri wanted to get settled so they could get themselves into a routine.
"We've already seen one other listing in this building, but I think you'll enjoy this layout much better!" The real estate's cheery tone was starting to get to Yuuri. Sasha was great, she spoke English and had come highly recommended, but Yuuri wanted today's viewings to be over already.
"This is the building with the dog park in the back, right?" Victor asked as he took off his shoes.
"Yes!" Sasha beamed. "And each unit comes with two parking spots, which is rare."
All the building features were starting to bleed together for Yuuri. "But there's no guest parking?"
"No, there is guest parking but not as much as some of the other places we looked at. They also have twenty-four-hour security, which I know was an important selling point for you both. The –" Sasha's phone began to buzz, cutting her off mid-rant. "I'm sorry, it's my husband. Do you guys mind if I take this quickly?"
"Go right ahead," Victor plastered on one of his media-perfect smiles as he skimmed the brochure for the unit.
"Thank you," Sasha answered the phone and put it to her ear. "You two take a look around, and I'll be right back."
Yuuri wandered into the living room, observing the place with a critical eye.
"Oh! This is the place with that pool house you liked!" Victor called from the kitchen.
"No, that was the building with the ugly orange carpets in the hallway." Most of the condos they'd visited had been staged perfectly for potential buyers. This one, however, looked professionally decorated. "How long has this one been on the market?"
Victor opened the folder that had all the printouts of the listings they were visiting today. "Just over a month."
"I wonder why it hasn't sold yet." So far, Yuuri hadn't seen anything wrong with this one.
The layout was beautiful, all open-concept and modern design.
Sasha was right. This place did have everything. Heated floors in both bathrooms, lots of storage space, perfectly sized rooms, and everything looked newly renovated.
"I really like these counters," Victor commented, running his fingers along the cool marble surface in the bathroom. "And is that a sauna?!"
Yuuri nodded as he ran the water in the shower to check the plumbing. "What do you think of this one?"
"I think it's great!" Victor noted making his way back into the master bedroom. "But I've loved most of the places we've seen. You're the picky one."
"I'm not picky!" Victor gave Yuuri a pointed glare. "We're not shopping for clothes or shoes, Victor. We can't just return it if find something wrong with it later."
"Yeah, but any problems we find can be easily fixed. All the places we've seen have been in great locations with amazing amenities. Once we buy a place, we can fix it up however we want."
Yuuri knew Victor was right.
He wasn't sure why he had to find something wrong with every place they visited. Deep down, he knew his problem really wasn't the ugly wallpaper in the lobby or the colour of the kitchen cabinets. Buying a home was a big deal.
It meant making roots that weren't easily removed once planted. Sure, Victor had declared they'd get married once Yuuri won gold, but what if that never happened?
Yuuri twirled the gold band on his ring finger. "I just want to make sure we find a place that we can live in for the next however many years."
"We can live anywhere." Victor shrugged nonchalantly. "Once we move all our stuff and Makkachin in you'll see. We can hire a designer and decorate the place however we want."
"That's not what I meant." Yuuri took a seat on the perfectly made bed. "I want to pick a place that when you come home after a long day and open the door, it feels like home."
"Yuuri," Victor's expression softened as he joined him on the bed. "That little room at your parent's inn and every hotel room we've ever shared has felt like home to me. It doesn't matter what country we're in or what roof is over our heads, my home is wherever you are."
Warmth bloomed in Yuuri's chest, making his body feel tingly. "Really?"
"Of course!" Victor scooted closer to wrap his arms around Yuuri's waist.
"Even our room at Yakov's?" Victor's coach had been kind enough to let Yuuri and Victor stay with him until they found a place of their own.
"Yes, even Yakov's." Victor placed a kiss on Yuuri's temple. "Although, I really want to get our own place. Yakov snores louder than a freight train, and he's a total slob. His bathroom gives me anxiety every time I go in there."
"It is pretty nasty in there." Yuuri laughed, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I really don't know how it's gotten that dirty again. I've cleaned it twice already."
"There must be a mess fairy that lives in there because I've cleaned it too and somehow overnight it gets bad again."
"Sorry," Sasha waltzed into the room, bringing Yuuri's thoughts away from Yakov's apartment and back to this one. "My daughter's home sick from school and my husband really doesn't handle bodily fluids all that well."
"We understand." Victor stood, and Yuuri followed. "We can reschedule the other viewings if you need to go."
"No, no that's fine. My husband just gave her some medicine so she'll be asleep any minute now. Should we take a look around together or is this one already a no?"
Yuuri felt bad. They'd seen Sasha every couple days now, viewing places after practice and on their days off. She'd been so patient every time Yuuri rejected another condo, assuring him that they'd find the perfect place.
"Actually, I really like this one." Yuuri turned just in time to see Victor and Sasha's shocked expressions. If Yuuri had been quick enough, he would have taken his phone out to snap a picture of the surprised looks on their faces. "Let's take another look and maybe see the amenities? You said this place had two parking spots?"
"Yes!" Sasha snapped out of her shock before Victor, her professional smile replaced by genuine excitement. "As we already mentioned, there is a dog park at the back of the building, but they also have a little rec centre that can be accessed through the rock garden or the parking garage. The second floor has a party room that can be rented out, the pool and hot tub is on the main level, and the basement has two squash courts, a billiards room, and a beautiful library."
"Wow, all that sounds great. How much is it?" Yuuri hadn't bothered to ask the price of any of the places they'd seen. Victor insisted he'd reiterated to Sasha everything they'd already discussed.
"It's in our budget," Victor answered cryptically.
Yuuri and Victor had very different ideas on what their budget should be. Victor promised Yuuri he'd told Sasha to look at places that weren't on the higher end of what they'd discussed, but seeing Victor's face made his stomach drop. "Which is?"
Sasha checked her notes. "The listing price is 96,000,000 RUB, but I'm sure you can get it for 92. That asking price is a little high."
Yuuri felt his mouth go dry. "And how much is that?" Yuuri couldn't do the math in his head, nor did he want too.
"Oh right!" Sasha reopened her folder. "I have the price of each listing in Yen and American dollars, just like you asked."
"I didn't ask for that?" Yuuri turned to Victor.
"I did," Victor affirmed, "I know you're still not used to Russian currency yet, so I asked Sasha to figure out the exchange rate."
"Ah, here it is!" Sasha grinned. "This one's 187,944,000 yen or 1,653,700 dollars."
Yuuri felt like he was going to pass out. "Victor! That is not even close to what we agreed on!"
"It's not?" Sasha asked, looking between the two of them.
"Do you mind giving us a minute, Sasha?" Victor's voice emanated enough sweetness to give Yuuri a cavity.
Yuuri hated it when Victor used that tone. It meant he would pull out all the stops to convince Yuuri that whatever he was proposing was a great idea.
At the rink, that tone usually meant Victor wanted Yuuri to try something new that stretched the limits of what was humanly possible. In public, it was the tone he used to persuade Yuuri that yes, going to another bar was, in fact, a good idea. In their personal life, almost always that tone meant trouble.
"Sure." Sasha only hesitated a moment before collecting herself and closing the bedroom door as she went.
"Okay so hear me out. Monetarily speaking, we can afford this place even though I know you'll insist we can't." Yuuri tried to interject, but Victor kept talking.
"If you look at it as an investment, even if we do decide to sell in a few years we'll make back our money if not more but because we lived in it." Yuuri couldn't fault the logic in that argument. As one of Victor's fans, if he'd had the means to do so, he would have jumped at the change to live in a home Victor once owned.
"But, we both discussed that Russia would be our home for the foreseeable future. If we do end up staying here, it's a great starter home. Everything we need is within walking distance, and I've heard great things about the schools around here."
"Schools?" Yuuri felt the need to pinch himself.
"Yeah, schools. Although, now that I think about it, maybe we should enroll our kids in private school. What do you think?" Victor took out his phone from his pocket. "I'm sure there's a good private school close by. Let me just – "
Yuuri cut him off by dragging Victor in for a kiss. The touch of his lips added fuel to the burning blaze of adoration Yuuri felt for this man. Victor responded in kind, seeming totally unfazed at being interrupted mid-sentence. When they pulled apart, Victor looked more than a little amused. "What was I doing again?"
"Looking up private schools in the area." Yuuri couldn't help but laugh. "But we should probably talk to Sasha about putting in an offer for us first. We can debate the pros and cons of private schools on our own time."
"Really!" Victor beamed, wrapping Yuuri into a tight hug. "I thought I was going to have to do a lot more grovelling in order to convince you."
Yuuri loved Victor. He loved him so much it hurt.
Sometimes when he was alone, and he thought about just how much love he had for his fiancé, it scared him. But in moments like this, when Victor's love was palpable, bleeding into every inch of Yuuri's heart, he knew that there was nothing to be afraid of.