Victor pushed open the door to the bedroom quietly. Yuri slept on his side in the new pajamas Victor had bought for him. Makkachin raised his head sleepily from the younger man's side. The large dog yawned, wagging his tail at the sight of his owner, but remained at Yuri's side.
The silver-haired man approached the bed, reaching out to stroke the poodle's head.
"Good boy, you've been taking good care of Yuri and the baby. I'll get you some special treats next time I go out." Makkachin rested his head on Yuri, staring up at the man, his tail lazily thumping against the mattress. Victor chuckled softly, turning his attention to his beloved Yuri. He stroked Yuri's short black hair affectionately.
"Yuri, it's time for your medicine." He called. "Come on, sleepyhead." Yuri shifted his head but continued to sleep. "You know I hate waking you up, you're so adorable when you sleep. Who am I kidding, you're adorable all the time, but I need you to take your medicine so you can try to eat something." He shook the younger man lightly. Yuri groaned.
"Five minutes." He requested, falling asleep once again. Victor sighed.
"You know what happens when you give me a hard time about waking up," Victor warned. When Yuri didn't offer a reply Victor again turned to the dog.
"Alright, Makkachin, Tell Yuri it's time to wake up." Makkachin let out a soft bark and began to lick Yuri's face excitedly. The dark-haired man attempted to pull away from the dog but was unsuccessful. Yuri chuckled as the affection continued, finally opening his eyes.
"Okay." He said, gently pushing the poodle away. "I'm up, you can stop now." The dog tilted his head slightly to the side for a moment and gave Yuri one last lick on the cheek before settling down at his side.
Victor took hold of the bottle beside the bed, removing two pills. "Can you sit up?"
"Do I have to?"Yuri grumbled.
"Yes, but not for long," Victor replied, waiting for Yuri to push himself up. Victor offered the pills and bottle of water to his love and watched him swallow the medication.
"I hate these pills," Yuri complained. "They make me feel sick, Almost everything does. It never gets easier." The younger man took several small sips and handed the bottle back to Victor.
"I know, just remember, you're not going to be sick forever. Soon our little miracle will be here and you'll be back to normal. Do you want a peppermint?"Yuri nodded. The mint offered only a short reprieve from the nausea that continued to plague him. The older man grabbed one of the mints, giving it to Yuri who popped it into his mouth.
"So, are you feeling any better?"Victor asked.
"Not really. Sorry about last night, were you able to get back to sleep?" Victor shook his head.
"Don't be sorry. I'm just glad you're okay. I was worried about you. I got your appointment set up for next Friday at three. I've already talked to Yuko and she's going to take us."
"She's been doing a lot for us lately. I think we might rely on her too much. I know she says to call if we need anything, but she's been taking me everywhere since I had the first appointment when I thought I just had a stomachache or the flu. She's the one that took us to the hospital too. She has her own family, we should consider other options" Yuri said. Victor nodded.
"I know, believe me, I thought about it. I'm not sure a bus is a good idea though. It might be more uncomfortable for you, You'd have to sit there through all the stops and I really don't want to put you through that. The taxi services around here aren't much better. I used one last time I went to the store and it took them forever to get there. Maybe if you start to feel better we can try it. I just don't want you to be stuck out there and something happens. We'll figure something out. For now, she's our best option we have."Victor lightly kissed his future husband's hand. "Do you think you'll feel like getting out of bed today? the doctor said it's good for you to have short walks if you can. I thought you might want to come with me to walk Makkachin. I'm not taking him far." Yuri frowned.
"I appreciate you wanting to do things with me, Victor, But I'd just slow you down and you know how I feel about-"
"It's not a race, Yuri. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you there."
"I know. " Yuri sighed.
"Here's what I'm thinking... You try to eat something, we'll take a walk, not far, we'll stay close, and when we come in, We'll get you back in bed so you can relax and get some rest. Maybe we'll watch a movie?"
I'll try to join you for the next walk," Yuri said, casting his gaze to the floor. "By the time I've finished the crackers and changed, I don't know if I'll be able to-" Victor placed a gentle hand under Yuri's chin, raising his head to look into his eyes.
"Are you still feeling that sick?" He asked in concern.
"It's just going to take some time after being in the hospital to get back into things. I'll try to be there for his afternoon walk. I'll-"Victor sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Yuri, do you feel like you need to go back?" The younger man shook his head.
"I don't think so. I'm tolerating a couple of foods with this medicine and I've only been home for a few days. It's just taking longer than I thought. ." Victor kissed Yuri's head.
"Take all the time you need. If you don't feel up to it today, at least come out and visit with your family. Your mother was asking about you this morning."Yuri again turned from him." Yuri nodded.
"I will." He promised.
"Will you be okay while I take care of Makkachin?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine, everyone's here if I need something. I'm glad you've been here for me, but I don't want you to feel like you're stuck here all the time. It's okay if you want to-"
"Yuri, I'm not here because I feel like I have to be, This is what I want. my whole world is right here in this room. Not because I have to be, because I really do want to be. I know you have family here and they're able to help. Maybe...when I say I need to be here for you and the baby, it's my excuse to stay close to you, just because I love you so much." The silver-haired man kissed the younger man's head once more before standing.
"I'll be back soon. I love you both more than you'll ever know." Yuri smiled faintly.
"We love you too." He watched Victor leave. He resolved to force himself to get dressed for the day and attempt to join Victor and Makkachin on their next outing. He hated seeing the deep concern in the man's perfect blue eyes. After pulling on his clothes, Yuri laid back down, taking a second peppermint to hold off the returning nausea.
He pulled the blanket over himself, despite the warm weather outside, he found that he was feeling cold more frequently. Yuri shifted onto his side, closing his eyes, making a mental note to ask the doctor about it at the appointment. Moments later, he forced himself up, his hand covering his mouth. His stomach churned. He made his way into the bathroom, just in time. He pressed a hand to his aching belly as he retched, grateful that his family was working and unable to hear. Though he didn't have much food in his system, it felt like an eternity before the episode stopped. He groaned softly, sinking to his knees. His hands shook and he attempted to catch his breath.
"Seven months left." He whispered to himself.
Yuri?" Victor's voice called out. He waited as the sound faded, indicating that Victor had continued into the bedroom. Yuri pulled himself up to his feet and quickly brushed the taste from his mouth before moving to the door, straightening his shirt, and walked back to his room. Makkachin instantly hurried to the dark-haired man, stopping in front of him, his tail wagging happily.
Yuri smiled faintly, patting the dog's head in greeting. Victor stood still, watching his love closely.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." The younger man sat down at his desk. "I just needed to get-"
"Are you sure? You know you can tell me if something's wrong."
"I know. honestly, I'm okay. As about as okay as I'm going to be at this point anyway."
"Did you decide if you wanted to come with me this afternoon?"
"Yeah. I'm going to try. Maybe if I don't give in to being so tired, I can work up to doing more." Victor gently pulled the younger man from the chair, wrapping his arms around him.
"I want to be encouraging, but I also need you to remember that the doctor wants you to get some rest. Why are you suddenly-"
"Weren't you the one that told me to get out of my comfort zone?"
"You know what I meant when I said that. Besides, you weren't sick then. Now you have to think about your health." The older man kissed his head. "I do love you very much, Yuri. You know that don't you?" Yuri nodded against Victor's chest.
"I know. I love you too." Victor softly ran his slender hands over his future husband's back. That afternoon found Yuri, Victor, and Makkachin making their way around the hot springs. Yuri regretted the decision almost immediately.
"Aren't you hot in that sweater? it's like a million degrees out here." Victor pointed out. Yuri merely shook his head.
"I'm fine. The breeze is kind of chilly so it-" Victor turned to face him.
"Are you sure nothing's wrong? I know I keep asking but you just seem...I don't know like something's going on." He reached out to stroke Yuri's cheek. "You're paler than you were this morning."
"We didn't get much sleep last night, maybe that's it." Victor sighed heavily. They continued to walk. Yuri leaned into the older man's arm.
"What's-"
"Nothing. I think I'm going to have to go back to the room soon. I'm starting to feel really tired. I'm sorry, I know we haven't been out here long."
"I didn't think we would be. I'm just glad to see you're able to walk around a little. I was getting worried. I honestly didn't expect you to come out here today, not after last night."
"Yeah...I-"
"Don't apologize.
I'm glad I was here for you. Seven more months and things will get better."
"Can you believe on Friday I'll be nine weeks?" Victor grinned.
"I'm still amazed that-" The conversation was cut short by Victor's phone ringing. The silver-haired man removed the device from his pocket, surprised by the name on the display. He held the phone to his ear.
"Hel-" Yuri tilted his head slightly as Victor listened. "He's right here but he's not feeling-yeah, I'll ask him." Victor covered the phone with his hand.
"Yuri, I know you're not feeling well, but do you think you can talk to Yurio? He said it's private and he needs to talk to you."
"I don't know know what I can do, but I guess I could see what he wants." Victor offered the phone to his love, who held the device to his ear.
"Yurio?" He said. glancing over at the older man.
"I need to talk to you about something," Yurio demanded." I don't want anyone overhearing us."
"Yeah, hang on for a few minutes, I'll take the phone back to the room," Yuri promised, He turned his attention to Victor.
"It's okay." The Russian man said with a smile before Yuri could say anything. "Do you want me to talk you back to make sure you get there?"
"I'll be fine. You don't mind?"
"No. Makkachin and I will be in soon for the movie." Yuri removed his own phone, offering it to his love.
"I'll let you know when we're done."
"Are you sure you feel well enough to-"
"I'm sure. Please don't worry."
"I can't promise that," Victor said. "If you need-"
"I'll let you know." Yuri kissed Victor's cheek softly before making his way inside. He paused as a wave of light-headedness came over him. He lowered himself onto his bed, lying on his side, gently rubbing his abdomen.
"Yurio?" He called into the phone.
"I'm still here." the teen replied
"I'm in my room now, no one can hear us," Yuri informed him. "Is everything okay, you sound a little different." The teen hesitated.
"I need to ask you something and if you mention it to anyone-"
"I promise, whatever you tell me is just between us. I'm surprised that you chose to talk to me though, I mean-"
"Shut up, you're the only one I can ask. I saw the pictures Victor's been posting online."
"What pictures? I'm sorry, Yurio I haven't been online much, I've been-
"Sick, yeah I know. The pictures, I-how did you know?"
"About what?" Yurio sighed.
"your...sickness, how did you know?" suddenly it hit Yuri and he realized it could be a long conversation.