This is based on a request by AspergianStoryteller. I wasn't able to spend as much time on it as I'd wanted to, so I hope you'll like it. I plan to involve Yuri more in the future.

Team Effort

Yuuri was feeling rather tired. Dizzy, too. He hadn't done that much today, though. Yuri was staying over, and after practice, the two of them had gone sightseeing. Viktor would come to the apartment later. That's what he had said, but there was still no sign of him.

"It's nice that Viktor's going to make oyakodon for dinner," Yuri said, "but how is he going to do that if he isn't here?"

Ah, food. Yuuri now understood why he was feeling rather bad: he had completely forgotten to have lunch. Yuri had bought something from a vending machine, but Yuuri had decided to eat something at home. Which he had wanted to do. It just hadn't happened.

"I'm going to call Viktor," Yuri said, getting out his phone. "I want dinner, and that bastard's supposed to be making it right now." He dialed the number and waited, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the couch. Viktor picked up, and what followed was a conversation in rapid Russian, which Yuuri was unable to follow, despite the language course he was following.

Yuri hung up and dropped his phone next to him on the couch. "The bastard says he's going to be late. He asked if we could make dinner."

"Is there a recipe?"

"In the kitchen."

They found a piece of paper with handwritten Russian on it. "I can't cook and you can't read Russian well enough," Yuri said.

"So, you'll read and I'll cook?"

"Correct." He scanned the paper. "Okay, step one..."

"I usually do all the cutting beforehand, so I don't have to think about that anymore once I've lit the stove."

"Fine. Let's get to it, then."

Yuuri looked around him. He reached for the fridge, pulled back again. He turned around, indecisively. He moved to the cutlery drawer, but at the last moment, he turned to the cupboard with the bowls. He didn't open it, however.

"Katsudon, what are you doing?"

Yuuri looked around again. "Is this a good time to mention I have executive dysfunction?"

"I don't know what that means, but is it going to interfere with dinner?"

"Maybe. I don't cook often, but when I do, I write down every step I have to take beforehand. If I don't, then I have no idea what to do. I want to cut the vegetables, but without knowing the specific steps necessary, it's not going to happen."

Yuri opened his mouth. Closed it again. "I'm hungry. I want dinner. I'll do anything you ask. Do you need me to recite the recipe as if it were a Shakespeare poem?"

"I need you to break it down for me in tiny steps. I can't look ahead. Tell me what I need to do right now. Then say the next step. And the next. Pretend I've never been in a kitchen before."

Yuri nodded and read the recipe. "Grab the vegetables."

"Not nearly specific enough."

"Take the vegetables from the fridge."

"Getting closer."

Yuri looked up. "Open the fridge."

"Now we're talking." Yuuri opened the fridge and waited.

"Grab the vegetables."

"Which ones?"

"Um... Onions, green onions, mushrooms and carrots."

"Tamanegi, negi, shiitake to ninjin... Got them."

"Put them on the counter. Hey, Katsudon, don't forget to close the fridge!"

"Then say so!"

"Now I understand why it takes you so long to learn new skating moves!"

"But when I do learn them, I almost become world champion."

"Touché. Now, open that drawer. Grab a knife. Open that drawer. Wait, close the first one! You're even more chaotic than I am..."

After a lot of initial panicking, they fell into a smooth rhythm. "Now pour the egg into the pan. Stir. Put the lid on. And now wait for that bastard to come home."

Said bastard was met with a delicious scent upon entering the apartment. "Tadaima!" He pulled off his shoes and coat and walked into the kitchen. "Did you two find the recipe?"

Yuri looked up from a crumpled piece of paper, his face red as if he'd just skated a routine. "I didn't know there were so many steps to beating an egg."

Yuuri threw his arms around Viktor's neck. "I'm tired..."

Viktor smiled. "Why don't you two sit down? I'll serve the bowls."

The two nearly ran out of the kitchen and flung themselves on the couch, not intending to move anymore. Viktor lifted the lid of the pan. "Looks good! Maybe I should let you cook more often."

"No!" came the collective cry.

Viktor smiled as he filled the bowls with rice. Part of him had expected to find their kitchen burned down.

The three of them had dinner without saying much; they were all tired. After a few hours, Viktor decided to be the responsible one. "Yurio, bedtime."

"You can't tell me..."

"We're going to the cat cafe tomorrow, remember? You'll have to get up earlier than usual, and still have enough energy to pet all the..."

Yuri grabbed his toothbrush and stormed into the bathroom.

"I guess I'll do the dishes and go to bed as well," Yuuri said.

"I'll help."

They went into the kitchen, where Yuuri stared at the dirty bowls. He knew he had to turn on the tap. He imagined his hand reaching out. It didn't happen.

"Is that executive dysfunction bothering you again?" Viktor asked, kissing him on his cheek. "I'll wash and you'll dry, okay?" He handed Yuuri the towel and they got started.

"I don't think I'll ever get Yurio to cook with me again," Yuuri said.

"It tasted great, though. I should come home late more often."

"Don't you dare." He placed the last bowl back in the cupboard and instantly felt arms around his waist. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Viktor's neck. "We might have to protect the cats from Yurio tomorrow."

"And we might have to protect ourselves when we try to drag him away." He first kissed Yuuri's forehead, then the tip of his nose, then his lips. Yuuri responded by playing with the hair between his fingers. He leaned back against the countertop as Viktor kissed down his neck. "Dessert's delicious as well..."

Yuuri blushed and turned Viktor around, pushing him against the countertop. "Then again, cooking with me is often a team effort..." he whispered before starting to undo the buttons on Viktor's shirt.

Viktor smiled and kissed him eagerly, allowing him to take the lead. Yuuri's hands teased, explored, and...

"Not having that 'executive dysfunction' anymore, I see."

They both jumped in surprise. Yuri was standing next to them, clad in baby blue pajamas with cute cats all over it.

"Hey there, Yurio!" Viktor smiled and waved.

"How long have you been standing there already?" Yuuri asked.

Yuri looked from one to the other. "Go to bed. The cats are waiting for us." He turned around and left without saying another word.

Viktor gave Yuuri one last kiss before they prepared for bed as well. They brushed their teeth, put on their pajamas and turned off the lights in the living room, where Yuri had already curled himself up in his futon. "You're going to have to explain that 'executive dysfunction' to me some time," he grumbled, "but even so... Perhaps we could cook together more often? It was chaos, but... I like chaos."

Yuuri smiled. "Of course, any time! Goodnight, Yurio!"

"Goodnight, Katsudon. And you too, bastard."

"Goodnight, Yurio!" Viktor chanted. "Don't let Makkachin lick your face while you're sleeping!"

"Wait, what?"

"Okay, that's enough excitement for tonight," Yuuri said, dragging Viktor along into their bedroom. He closed the curtains and crawled into the bed, where Viktor was already waiting for him. He placed his glasses on the nightstand and curled up against the body next to him. "Sleep well," Viktor said, nuzzling his hair. "Busy day tomorrow."

They listened to Yuri and Makkachin in the living room. "What are you doing? No, don't sit on me. Oof! You're heavy..."

Yuuri softly chuckled.

"I have something to confess," Viktor whispered, stroking his hair. "I could have made it home in time to make dinner. But I thought it would be nice for Yurio to cooperate with you on something. He tends to do everything on his own, but sometimes you have to work together with others."

"He seemed to enjoy it. And I must admit, it gave me quite a confidence boost as well. A few hours ago, I couldn't even bring myself to make lunch, and yet I've made a dinner for three. I can do anything! With some instructions, that is."

Viktor chuckled. "Love, I've told you before, don't hesitate to put up notes. I don't care if you tape the laundry instructions onto the washing machine."

"Careful what you say. I might start a sticky note invasion." He gasped. "But those come in different colors and shapes! Food-shaped sticky notes for food-related things, blue ones for water-related chores... And they might have dog-shaped ones for Makkachin-chores!"

"I feel a new project coming up."

"This is going to be amazing..."

Viktor smiled and kissed his temple. "Goodnight, love."

"Oyasumi."

They fell asleep, listening to Yuri's struggles. "No, stay there! No, don't do that! Come on, good dogs don't lick! Don't you dare! Oh, nevermind..."

So, the other day I stumbled across the term 'executive dysfunction', and I thought, wow, someone's put it in words! All this time I just thought I had a chaotic or slow mind or something, but it turns out that this is quite a common thing related to autism, AD(H)D and such. I got a bit excited and decided to write a story around it.

So basically, executive dysfunction causes problems with planning and estimating/managing time. It also makes it difficult to start on things. I'll open my books to start on homework, and think 'I'm going to start now. Right now. Now.' and nothing's happening. I might know in detail how to do something, but the action itself isn't happening. Same thing with food, which means I forget to eat very often. When I have a 3-step recipe, I usually turn it into 15-20 steps just to make sure I won't get stuck halfway through cooking. Otherwise I might forget things or take too long to perform one task.

I find that making lists and schedules help. Without them I become very apathic and get nothing done. When I start living on my own, I think I'll literally tape the laundry instructions onto the washing machine. I might also put up a whiteboard and list all the things I need to do that day, to keep things clear in my mind. And yes, the sticky note invasion is a real plan hehe.

Like I said, I didn't have much time to work on this story, so I'm sorry if it didn't turn out that well. I simply got excited about my new discovery and couldn't stop myself from writing about it.

Have a beautiful day!