Set pre-series. I love Victor and Yuri's relationship when they're not at each other's throats lol.
Yuri whirls around, glaring at Victor as he breaks into yet another coughing fit. "Cover your mouth when you cough, geezer!" he snaps, a mixture of irritation and concern making his tone sharp. "Are you trying to infect the entire rink?"
The endless coughs finally cease and Victor rasps out an apology. They're only halfway through practice, but he already sounds exhausted and unable to catch his breath.
"Vitya! Get off the ice already, you're a mess today!" booms Yakov, testily watching the exchange.
Of course, Victor just shakes his head. "I can keep going," he insists, voice rough but still somehow cheerful.
"It's your funeral," Yakov says, exasperated. Victor is clearly not well enough to skate, but even sick the man is too stubborn to know when to quit.
Naturally, skating when you're ill has its consequences; Victor barely makes it into the locker room after practice before he collapses. Fortunately, Yuri is right behind him and manages to catch him before his head hits the ground. "You're burning up," he announces, feeling the heat radiating off the older man. "Why did you even come to practice today? Even I know better than to skate when I'm this sick." That last part is definitely not true, but Victor chooses not to call him on it.
"Needed to skate," murmurs the older skater. "I can't miss practice, I'll fall behind."
Yuri snorts at that. "You're the number one men's singles skater in the world. You really think that missing a couple of days of practice to get better will change that?" he scoffs.
"I have to keep skating," Victor protests feebly, making a futile attempt to get up again. Another bout of coughing sends him back to the floor.
"You're really going to try and skate again?" Yuri asks pointedly. "You can't even stand up right now, and I bet that if you faint again on the ice it's going to hurt."
Victor frowns. "I didn't faint, just got dizzy for a moment."
"And you fell over. Sounds like fainting to me." Yuri retorts, hands on his hips as he awkwardly stands over Victor, still lying on the locker room floor. "Also you're forbidden from skating for the next week or until you're better. Yakov's orders. I'm supposed to make sure that you get home without dying or falling in a ditch or something."
A grin is forming on Victor's lips, and Yuri scowls at him. "Don't read too much into it. I'm just doing it so Yakov won't yell at me." He sighs heavily. "Now let's get going. I've got better things to do today than take care of you."
"Thank you, Yuri," Victor says sincerely as Yuri hauls him to his feet and half-drags him out of the locker room.
"Shut up, geezer! Just try not to breathe on me too much. The last thing I need is your germs."
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