The cold wind slapped Yurio as he stormed out of the apartment, furious with himself. He'd done it again, yelled at Otabek for no real reason. The anger never seemed to fully leave his mind. It lay dormant until roared to life with little provocation. In this case, Otabek had forgotten to feed the cat exactly on time. A small mistake, but Yurio had snapped and screamed as though it was the worst possible crime.

In an effort not to make things worse, Yurio had left the apartment to wander the streets until he calmed down. He understood why he was stressed. The plateau in his skating was dragging on, with no visible improvement in months. Maybe 24 was just too old to continue. Retirement might be the smartest option but the idea of not competing was so foreign he couldn't grasp it. He had no clue what he would do next with his life. Otabek had handled the transition much better, without the histrionics that seemed to accompany Yurio on any life change.

The icy wind was finally starting to cut through his anger and the coat he'd grabbed from beside the door. He realized belatedly that it was Otabek's leather jacket and not one of his own coats. The scent of cologne calmed him down enough to allow him to think clearly. These shouting matches were starting to be a weekly occurrence and Yurio knew it was all on him. He was angry with himself for not being able to do better at skating or even making a decision on what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

Yurio knew he needed to get back before Otabek got any more worried. His concern and forgiveness each time made Yurio feel worse about his outbursts. How could the older man forgive him for the unreasonable anger? Yurio was terrified that the next snap would be the final straw, the time Otabek decided he'd had enough and that the younger man was no longer worth his time.

With these thoughts getting stronger, Yurio hurried back to their apartment to make sure Otabek hadn't chosen to just leave. He opened the door and felt both relief and remorse when he found both Otabek and the cat in the kitchen, Puma eating his food noisily.

"I'm sorry, Beka," he blurted quickly before he lost his nerve.

Otabek just held his arms open for the younger man, who reluctantly went to him and simply stood there while Otabek held him. They stayed like that for several minutes as Yurio's tears started soaking through the older man's shirt.

"I really am sorry, Beka. I keep snapping at you for no reason just because I'm stressed out. You don't deserve that. I really don't mean to but I can't seem to stop."

"You've been so worried about your skating. I know that and its okay. Just know that I'll support you no matter what you decide to do, my tiger."

Yurio sobbed until he felt completely drained. He truly didn't deserve a good man like Otabek but at the moment it really did feel like that maybe everything would work out.

Thanks everyone for reading. I haven't posted in many years. Also posted on Archive of Our Own under the same name. I do not own these characters.