Author's Note: WRITE! FUCKING WRITE, GODDAMN IT! (Miwaku, 2017).
Miwaku: I don't own Yuri! On Ice. (20 chapters and still nothing, FF?)
WARNING (more like surprise): There will be animals talking (like legit talking) to each other and they could understand one another. Humans can only hear them as animal sounds. And I know all of us love the animals in YOI.
Chapter 20
"Remind me again, why the fuck am I here?"
"You wanted to soak in the hot spring, Yurio."
"...And why the fuck did I have to take a private plane with you guys?"
"...Less hassle with customs?"
"...Damn. Good point."
"Yurio, shush with the cursing. The puppies will hear you."
"To hell with-!"
"Arf!"
"Woof!"
"Meow!"
"Calm down everyone. Let's just try to sleep, okay, Viktor, Yurio?"
"Fine."
"Hai hai!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Welcome back, Yuuri!" Hiroko pulled her son down to hug and kiss his cheeks. "And congratulations on winning gold!"
"Thanks, kaa-san." Yuuri grinned and hugged his mother tightly. "It's good to be back."
Makkachin let out a small bark at that which was not heard by the humans. He did not mind. He had to agree with Yuuri though. While Russia will always be his home, there was still something special when visiting Japan, especially when they go visit Yuuri's family.
"The atmosphere in this place is so warm and cozy." Aprichin murmured in surprise. She stood beside the basket where her puppies were sound asleep.
Makkachin nodded at that. "Yeah. Welcome to Hasetsu. We're currently at Yuuri's family home with the amazing hot pools."
"Hot pools?" Aprichin cocked her head at the side in wonder.
"You'll see later." Makkachin winked.
"Right." The apricot-colored poodle snorted at the wink.
The two poodles looked up when they heard a shout and a grunt.
"Yurio!" Mari placed her arm on the blonde man and ruffled his hair. "You've gotten taller again. Not the tiny little squirt anymore."
"I was not tiny." Yurio bristled at that. Diana, who was in his arms, hissed at Mari who just laughed and waved off their anger.
Makkachin smiled at the sight. "That's Mari, Yuuri's sister. She's the one who named Yurio 'Yurio' back in the past."
"She's quite interesting." Aprichin noted.
Makkachin glanced at his lover and noticed the slight tensing. "What's wrong? Is it the puppies?"
"Oh no, the puppies are fine." Aprichin sighed. "I'm just worried that Yuuri's family won't like me."
Makkachin blinked at that. "They will love you, Aprichin. They're not evil villains. They're pretty much the people who taught Yuuri kindness. They're very sweet and they'll definitely give us treats at dinner time." He made eye contact with Aprichin and it was as if Aprichin saw something in his eyes that she visibly relaxed and nodded.
"I trust you, Makkachin." Aprichin whispered and bumped her nose with his.
It made Makkachin giddy and ecstatic that Aprichin felt that. He wanted her to rely on him, to know that she did not have anything to be afraid of now that she has a family to count on. He would continue this until the end of time, no matter what.
Suddenly, a wooden window slid open, revealing Yuuri's grinning father.
"Hello, Viktor-kun." Toshio greeted from behind the counter.
"Papa Katsuki!" Viktor exclaimed. "How have you been?"
"All's good, Viktor-kun. I can see that you brought giant Vicchan again but I think I'm seeing double?"
"Tou-san, kaa-san, Mari-nee-chan, this is Aprichin." Yuuri patted the apricot-colored poodle then gently took the basket of puppies. "And these are their pups."
"Oh, that's so adorable." Hiroko cooed over the little balls of fur in the basket. "And so many of them."
"There are ten of them!" Viktor said proudly.
Mari whistled lowly. "Damn, that's a lot of pooping and peeing when they grow up."
Yurio rolled his eyes. "I dread to think that."
"Real talk." Diana grumbled and gave the two poodle parents a glare.
Makkachin huffed out a laugh at that. Aprichin looked affronted but there was amusement in her eyes.
The talk stopped when the puppies began to wake up and whine, sensing to find where their mother was for food.
"I guess it's feeding time." Yuuri laughed.
"They can stay at a corner in the kitchen. It's always warm there." Hiroko suggested. "Mari, help them with the luggage and show them the guest rooms."
Makkachin followed Yuuri and his mother to the kitchen and his mouth watered at the different smells of food surrounding them. Another thing he missed here in Hasetsu was definitely the food.
Yuuri placed two large dog beds by the corner. Makkachin urged Aprichin to go to her own bed then went to the basket to nuzzle their pups for comfort. One by one, the puppies were moved to Aprichin and then, all ten of them were now sucking with fervor.
"They're going to be energetic little pups when they grow up." Hiroko told her son.
"We'll be prepared for it." Yuuri smiled.
Once the two humans left, Makkachin turned to Aprichin and licked the side of her face. "Love you."
Aprichin flushed at that but smiled widely. "Sap."
"Only for you." Makkachin curled up on his dog bed, watching his pups and Aprichin who decided to take a nap. A yawn broke out of his mouth and he decided that jet lag was hitting him and a nap was in order.
He was happy. Aprichin was happy. Their pups were happy and healthy. What more could he possibly wish for?
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."
Aprichin groaned. There was a paw prodding her nose and it was waking her up from the wonderful nap she was having.
"Good evening to you, too, Sleeping Beauty." It was Diana who was poking her nose. "You need to eat dinner."
Aprichin looked at the puppies who were just sleeping and not sucking on her quite swollen and reddening teats. She did not really want to part with her puppies. There was this niggling fear inside her that something might go wrong if she takes her eyes off of them for even just a few seconds. Call her paranoid but from her experience, vigilance is a must.
"Hey, it's alright." Diana sat on her stomach with her paws curled in her body. "The pups are not going anywhere. Not on my watch."
"Really, Diana? You're gonna watch them for us?" Aprichin was surprised that the siberian forest cat would offer that herself.
"Yeah, yeah, just this once." Diana rolled her eyes. "Just so you and Makkachin can eat and go to the hot pools." She shuddered. "Ugh, the hot pools."
"I've been hearing about that. What are they?" Aprichin questioned.
"Just the most awesome things in the world." Makkachin butted in, licking and nuzzling Aprichin from behind excitedly.
"More like the most irritating things in the world." Diana growled out and flicked her tail at Makkachin. The brown poodle sneezed at that.
"Let's go, then." Makkachin butted his head on Aprichin.
Aprichin just chuckled. Her lover was really excited and insistent. 'Lover?' She willed herself to not blush. She stared at the brown poodle's eyes and saw the love and happiness shining on them. 'Yes, lover.' She never expected to fall in love, especially to someone she just knew a few months back. But then again, not everything in her life was expected.
She stood up, licked their puppies one by one, and then, walked beside Makkachin to the direction of their owners. Once there, she shared a sly glance with Makkachin who grinned in reply. Then, they whined loudly.
"Love, it's your turn this time."
"But-"
"Viktor."
"Okay, okay. Time for food." Viktor raised his head up from Yuuri's lap and stood up. "Let's go, Makkachin, Aprichin."
When they finally got their food, they ate silently, listening to the conversation at the other room.
"Yuuri, I'm surprised to see Aprichin. I didn't expect you to adopt another standard poodle since you still have Makkachin."
"Actually, kaa-san, Makkachin saved Aprichin from somewhere. She was so thin and weak, we couldn't just leave her like that."
"From somewhere? You know, I think I've seen Aprichin. On the TV, I think."
"Really?" It was Yurio who said that. "Probably just a look-alike. Poodles are pretty much common in dog shows."
Aprichin flinched at that, almost unnoticed by Makkachin but to no avail. She was oblivious to it though. She remembered dog shows. They were the words that she never wanted to hear...ever.
"You okay?" Makkachin asked in a low voice.
She shook herseelf out of her stupor. "Yeah. Just remembering a nightmare." 'Not so much a lie, huh?'
"It'll be okay." Makkachin smiled. "Want me to sleep beside you later?"
Aprichin giggled, the words helping to release the fear. "We won't fit in the dog bed with the puppies."
"Ah true." Makkachin pouted, making Aprichin giggle again. "Then let's go to the hot pools."
"The most awesome things in the world?" Aprichin teased.
"Yup!"
They finished their meals and went to their owners once again. Makkachin barked and softly prodded Yuuri with his paws. Aprichin hoped that they would understand that Makkachin was trying to say, "We want to go to the hot pools."
"What do you want, boy? More treats? Or a bath?" Yuuri asked.
Both poodles barked at the last question. Hiroko and Toshio laughed at that.
"I'm sure the hot water can help all of you relax." Toshio said with a smile. "Especially Aprichin who just gave birth."
Aprichin blinked in surprise at the statement. 'Wow. They do care.' She felt a nudge and saw Makkachin looking smug. 'Yeah, yeah, told you so.' She just smiled and turned away.
"They can soak in the wooden tub." Hiroko told Yuuri and Viktor. "We'll do the rest. You can also go dip in the hot springs to get rid of the jet lag."
"Thank you, Mama Katsuki!" Viktor embraced the woman tightly then faced Yuuri. "Let's go, lyubov moya! Hot springs!"
Everyone was on their feet and went to prepare everything needed for the hot pools which was synonymous to hot springs, Aprichin deduced. When everything was all set, Makkachin immediately jumped into the pool, splashing hot water at the female poodle's face.
"Hop in, Aprichin." Makkachin sighed and melted against the edge. "It's so comfortable."
Aprichin just rolled her eyes. "Scoot over." She gingerly went to the tub and quickly groaned at the warmth covering her entire body. It was like she was wrapped up in a fresh hot pirozhki but a wet one. And she did not mind one bit.
"Most awesome thing in the world?" Makkachin grinned.
"Most awesome thing in the world." She agreed and even leaned on Makkachin to get more heat. "Mmm, comfy." It was probably the hot water that was muddling her senses and making her do something as bold as this but as of the moment, she really did not care. And Makkachin did not care also because he just accepted the weight on his body and relaxed.
There was a brief silence before Makkachin broke it.
"Aprichin, just how many teats do you have?"
"What? You got a problem with them?"
"It's not that! It's just...weird."
"Are you calling my nipples weird, Makkachin?! You mutt!"
"Wait! That's not what I meant. Don't dunk me in the-"
Splashes and barks were heard from the area by Yurio who just shrugged and placed a warm towel on his eyes. He flinched when he felt a foot touch his leg. And what he saw made him want to claw his eyes out.
"You fucking perverts! I'm still here, goddamn it!"
"S-S-Sorry, Yurio-oh..."
"Be a good boy and leave us, will you, Yurio?"
"You shut the fuck up, old man! Whatever, I'm outta here."
It was just the first day of their arrival in Japan and it was already crazy. What more in the next days?
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Two weeks have passed since they arrived in Hasetsu. During those two weeks, Yuuri and Viktor dedicated into training themselves harder for the NHK Trophy that was almost two weeks from now, to be held in Kumamoto. Yurio would join them for his own training for the Grand Prix Final. Much to Yuuri and Viktor's dismay, they could not have both poodles join them with their morning jogs because of the puppies. However, they make up for it in the afternoon walks as a cooldown from their whole-day training.
But in those two weeks, there were drastic changes in the ten puppies. All of them were able to see, hear, and even walk although it looked more like crawling than walking. It made Viktor excited like crazy whenever he saw a new 'milestone', as he calls it, fulfilled by any of the puppies. He posted loads and loads of pictures and short videos on his Instagram that gained him and Yuuri more followers. Yurio grumbled that he was not supposed to be 'involved in their shit' but nope, it just made the Yuri Angels grow in population.
One day, Yurio decided to take a day off. He explained to his coaches that he just felt like relaxing that day. Yuuri agreed while Viktor gave him a job.
"You have to take pictures of the puppies. Keep us updated with anything, especially milestones!"
Yurio thought that it was a troublesome job but nonetheless accepted it (though it was not because of the new tiger shirt he found fucking amazing that was used for bribery, not really).
After saying goodbye and assuring that he would take care of the puppies and keep them updated, Yurio slid the wooden door shut with a groan. "And here I thought I could relax." He muttered and stared at Diana who was curled up on the table. "If only I was a cat." His siberian forest cat just opened one eye then closed it, ignoring her owner. "Yeah, to not give a fuck and sleep all day. What a life."
Shaking his head off the morose thoughts, he approached the kitchen and there he saw the two adult poodles asleep. The puppies however, were awake and roaming around.
Yurio crouched down and stared at the crawling balls of far. Now that he had a good look on them, they all eerily looked like replicas of their parents. Well, almost. There were others who have combined colors which either made them more brown than apricot or more apricot than brown.
He counted them to make sure they were still complete but he noticed that one was missing. 'Shit!' He looked around and found the missing puppy who was about to fall off a step. He picked her-he noted the genitals-up as gently as he could and put her back close to her mother. But after she was put down, she crawled towards his direction, nose twitching while locating his scent.
"Sheesh, you're a persistent one." Yurio rubbed a finger on the body of the puppy softly. "Just like your parents."
He was a bit weirded out that he was talking to the puppies who probably would not remember anything about him but then, he felt his muscles slack and the headache he was feeling since early morning cease to be painful. He read an article about that in Twitter, about pets helping with good physical and mental health. He had to admit, it was true. It was definitely true that he relaxed when Diana would curl up on his chest and purr in delight at the feel of his fingers.
Yurio blinked in shock when all of the puppies were now close to him and some were even trying to climb up his shoes. He fought the urge to push them away and just sighed and sat on kitchen's wooden floor, cross-legged. There were those who gave up on climbing him and just laid beside him, seemingly falling asleep. Then, there were the others who were determined to find out what was so interesting on climbing him. He took them up and placed them on his lap.
'What the actual fuck am I doing?' He could not help but touch the fur of the puppies. It was so soft that it was addicting. 'Well, who the fuck cares?' He let himself go lax in front of the pups. When he gently carried one pup on both of his hands and stared at the sleeping face, he closed his eyes and smiled.'They don't care at all.' Here, in the kitchen floor, with poodle puppies surrounding him, he smiled. He was happy to finally manage to just sit back and enjoy the quiet sounds of the Katsuki household.
He never noticed the furious tapping of three girls as they captured the beautiful and aesthetic sight of Yuri Plisestsky smiling while being surrounded by poodle puppies.
Although he found out about it in the afternoon when he opened his phone that was flooded with notifications. 'Damn those Nishigori triplets.' And the most popular comment was from Otabek, which was just a simple heart emoji but it made his heart beat a bit more quickly. 'Beka...' He blushed and hid his face on his hands.
Despite that there was only one photo, Viktor and Yuuri did not mind and was so happy with Yurio's now viral photo. Yurio just growled at them to not bring it up again.
It was a pretty normal and mild day so to say.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: I still think it's quite awkward (why are you like this, self?). But it's a filler chapter so yeah. I'm excited for the next chapter!
Expect in the next chapter: Roar, Gasp, Shake
See you next time!