Written for a request on my sneezehq tumblr. Set post-series. Enjoy!
"Are you sure that you don't want to sit out practice today?" Yuuri asks tentatively, a worried frown creasing his face as he looks Yuri over.
He has good reason to be concerned. Yuri looks like he's battling a nasty head cold; his face is paler than usual, his lips are chapped, and his nose is tinted pink. Still, the Ice Tiger of Russia isn't about to let something like a minor illness keep him off his beloved ice.
"I'm fine, stop mother-henning me katsudon!" Between how congested Yuri sounds and the raspiness of his voice, it's difficult to make out exactly what he just said. The pointed glare and scowl on his face get his point across well enough, though. "Stop pestering me and let me skate already!" Yuri huffs and yanks off his skate guards, heading for the rink. His dramatic exit is made less effective when he has to stifle several sneezes and a cough into his shoulder on the way.
Yakov takes one look at his youngest student and sighs. His immediate instinct is to order Yuri off the ice until he's better, but he knows Yuri well enough to know that the teenager won't listen to a word he says. This is going to be a long training session.
They begin with warmups, and Yakov deliberately moves through them extra slowly this morning in an attempt to convince Yuri to give up and go home. Yuri is stubborn and refuses to give in, even though he's sniffing every few seconds and he keeps coughing into his shoulder. The other skaters keep shooting each other and Yuri worried glances, but Yuri ignores all of them, concentrating solely on himself.
They take a break after warming up, and Yakov reluctantly says that they'll work on jumps next. Yuri is still going strong, but his breathing is more ragged than usual. Surely even his impressive stubbornness can't hold out too much longer.
"Your nose looks like a red traffic light," Mila teases while they all gratefully gulp down water. Yuri narrows his eyes at her but doesn't retort, choosing to save his breath for now.
Georgi decides to join in. He's always happy when he's not the butt of the joke. "It's the same shade as my girlfriend's lipstick. I don't think that it works as well for you, though."
Yuri slams down his water bottle with an angry hiss and storms back towards the rink. "While you're busy gossiping, I'm going to get back to training!" he calls over his shoulder. It would be much better of a response if his voice didn't crack on the last word.
Yuri's performance quickly deteriorates once they start on jumps. His head is stuffy and it keeps interfering with his balance, making his landings clumsy. Also, he keeps coughing and sneezing mid-jump, which throws off his position and causes his jumps to be under rotated. Still, he persists, attempting jump after jump, until a poorly timed sneeze ruins his attempt at a triple lutz. He can't quite find his feet to salvage the landing, and ends up crumpled in a heap on the ice. It's not a bad fall, but Yuri just lays there for a moment. He's really, really tired, and the cool ice feels good on his flushed face.
"Yuri!" shouts Yuuri upon noticing the fallen skater. Victor is closest to where Yuri fell, and he's at Yuri's side in an instant, carefully helping him sit up.
"Are you hurt?" Victor asks urgently. His hands are hovering near Yuri's face, desperate for something to do.
Yuri nods wearily and swats Victor's hands away. "I'm okay," he mumbles, swallowing hard against his sore throat. "Just got dizzy for a second." He lets out a few quiet coughs into his elbow to try to relieve the itchy tickle in the back of his mouth.
"I think you're running a fever." Yuuri is right on Victor's heels, and he crouches down next to Yuri and puts a hand on his forehead to confirm his suspicions. "Yeah, you're definitely a little warm."
"Well you know what that means," says Yakov as he makes his way over to their little group. Everyone on the rink has stopped to gawk, and Yuri goes bright red and hides his face behind his hair.
"No skating until your fever is gone," Yakov orders sternly. Yuri groans but doesn't argue; he's really starting to feel crappy now. His throat is scratchy, he can't breathe through his nose, and his head has started to hurt. Maybe getting some rest won't kill him after all.
Yuuri gently helps the sick teenager stand up. "Let's get you home and in bed. I've got a recipe for the soup that my mom used to make me when I was sick. I bet you'll love it!"
Yuri follows him off the ice obediently. Sleep and soup sounds heavenly right now.
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