I've set this post-series, with Otabek living in Russia and training under Yakov. You can view Otabek and Yuri's relationship as romantic or platonic, whicheve makes you happiest. Enjoy!
There's less than five minutes before they need to leave for practice, and Yuri hasn't even left his room yet. "It's almost time to go," Otabek says, standing in front of Yuri's closed door. He doesn't want to cross Yuri's boundaries, but his friend never oversleeps like this.
"We're going to be late," he tries again. Still no response. He knocks on the door, then carefully pushes it open.
By the looks of it, Yuri hasn't gotten out of bed at all today. His phone alarm is still going off, but Yuri, still tangled in his nest of blankets, doesn't seem too bothered by it. Otabek swipes the device off the nightstand and turns it off.
Yuri stirs slightly when the annoying chime stops, green eyes opening into little slits. His nose is tinged pink and there's a flush on his cheeks. "Otabek? Is it time for practice?" he rasps. His voice catches, sending him into a harsh coughing fit. Otabek helps him sit up and rubs his back until he can catch his breath.
"You're not going to practice today," he says, tone gentle but firm. He's hoping that if he goes about this the right way, Yuri will be less likely to resist.
Surprisingly, Yuri doesn't even put up a token argument. "Mmkay," he agrees softly. His head tips sideways and comes to rest on Otabek's shoulder. He winces at the heat coming off of Yuri's skin.
"You're running a fever," he says, brushing Yuri's hair back from his forehead.
Yuri sighs contentedly at the gesture, but groans when Otabek shifts him so that he's lying propped up on the pillows. "'M tired," he whines, making a grab for Otabek's arm when he turns to leave.
"I'll be right back, I just need to grab a few things," Otabek soothes, prying Yuri's hand off his arm. "Do you think you can stay awake long enough to take some medicine?"
The only response he gets is an incoherent mumble. Otabek takes it as agreement, and goes in search of medicine and a thermometer.
By the time he returns with cough medicine, fever reducers, a thermometer, and a glass of water, Yuri is sound asleep again. Soft snores emanate from the cracked open door to his bedroom.
"I need to take your temperature," Otabek says, gently nudging Yuri's shoulder. It takes a couple tries, but eventually green eyes open and focus on him with a feeble glare. It's less than intimidating.
Despite his grumpy expression, Yuri is surprisingly compliant. He doesn't protest when Otabek puts the thermometer in his mouth, just stays quiet and attempts not to cough while it's under his tongue.
There's a loud beep from the device and Otabek takes a look at the reading while Yuri coughs harshly into his elbow. His efforts to suppress the brewing fit just made it worse; Otabek rubs his shoulders and frowns at the number on the thermometer. It's pretty high: 39.4. He hands Yuri the glass of water when the fit finally ends. "I think you caught that flu that's been going around." Yuri nods absently in response, still trying to catch his breath.
Otabek manages to coax Yuri into taking some medicine, and tries to persuade him to lose the blankets so he won't overheat. Yuri is stubborn, though, so they compromise: Yuri will keep only one blanket if Otabek stays with him.
"You're warm," Yuri explains, curling up next to Otabek like a cat. He's always clingy like this when he's sick and running a fever. After a few more coughing jags, he seems to settle down, green eyes drifting shut.
Otabek cards his fingers through Yuri's long blond hair. "Get some rest. I'll be right here."
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