I love these two so much. Anyway, usual story, this was posted to my tumblr originally, now it's here. Enjoy!
Yuri is finally asleep.
Otabek heaves a sigh of relief at the realization, running a hand over his face and through his dark hair.
It's not that he doesn't love his boyfriend-that couldn't be further from the truth. He absolutely adores Yuri, but today had not been easy for either of them.
For Yuri, it was the lingering high fever resulting from his current battle with the flu that had been going around. First Victor and Yuuri, had come down with it, then Georgi, then Mila, hell, even Yakov had caught it, shouting hoarsely at his skaters until he collapsed and terrified everyone; it had only been a matter of time before Yuri had gotten sick as well. He'd held out valiantly, drinking lots of orange juice and avoiding any contact with what he called the "plague victims" in an effort to ward off the germs.
All of his efforts had been in vain, unfortunately, and the day Otabek had been due to arrive in St. Petersburg for a visit, Yuri had woken up with a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. Yuri wasn't willing to give in so easily, fighting tooth and nail to pretend that nothing was wrong as he toured the city with Otabek.
That facade had been shattered when they were visiting the Kremlin. Yuri had been feeling dizzy and faint since they arrived there-at some point during their sight-seeing black spots filled his vision and he became unable to stay on his feet-and had eventually passed out and toppled over, nearly giving Otabek a heart attack. Otabek had caught Yuri right before he hit the floor, and upon feeling the heat radiating off his skin, had immediately called Victor to come take them home. Yuri had spent the next two days in bed, drained of all energy and delirious with fever, too out of it to even complain about missing practice.
Otabek was pretty sure that Yuri had been easier to take care of when he'd been in danger of boiling his brain.
Today his boyfriend had been more lucid than before, his fever lower, but he didn't seem any more comfortable. He'd been restless all day, tossing and turning, alternating between huddling under the covers, shivering, or throwing off the covers and sprawling out, complaining about being too hot. Due to his experience with taking care of his younger sister, Otabek was a model caretaker; he'd made cold compresses and changed them out, he'd made soup and ensured that Yuri ate something, and he had turned on the TV and attempted to make conversation to distract Yuri from how miserable he was feeling, but even his patience had limits, and he found himself grateful when Yuri finally found some restful sleep.
It wasn't as if Otabek was worried about catching this-the same bug had been going around his home rink in Almaty, and he had been sick a couple of weeks before coming to Russia. It was just hard to see Yuri so sick and miserable; and although he loved his boyfriend, Yuri was not the most pleasant or gracious person when he was unwell.
But now Yuri is asleep, sharp green eyes shut tight and his long blonde hair scattered across the pillows. Soft, tiny snores exit his slightly parted lips every few seconds. One of his skinny arms is still wrapped around Otabek's waist, trapping him there. Yuri had been feeling very cuddly right before he finally fell asleep.
Not that Otabek minds. Sure, his right arm is numb where Yuri has been sleeping on it and his back aches from the odd position that he's laying in, but it's worth it to feel Yuri's slight frame curled up next to him as he sleeps, hearing his soft pants of breath and feeling his warmth.
Otabek runs a hand through Yuri's silky locks before pulling him even closer to his side. "I don't get it. You're cute even in your sleep," Otabek says in a husky whisper, dropping a kiss on the top of his head. "Adorable even. What's your secret, huh?"
As Otabek watches, Yuri's thin lips twitch up in a smile before his features smooth back out into the calm of sleep. Otabek chuckles. "You're right," he says, stroking Yuri's hair back off his forehead. "I should try to get some sleep, too."
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