Yuri settled back against the couch cushions. After spending two and a half weeks in the hospital, he was finally home.
"These PICC lines don't normally move out of place, Victor." He heard the visiting nurse explain. "I know it's a little worrying, but as long as Yuri doesn't move his arm much, he should be fine. Let's see, we've gone over the feeding procedure and the feeding pump. I'll be here to check in. You have my phone number if you need anything." She said gently. She turned to Yuri.
"Be careful when you're up and about. If you think the line might be out of place, you'll have to go to the hospital to have it fixed. They can do some imaging and guide it back into place. Yuri's all set for now."
"Thank you, Emma. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your help." Victor replied. The red-haired woman smiled warmly.
"That's what I'm here for," She said, gathering her equipment. "I will see you both tomorrow. In the meantime, my phone is on. You can call day or night if anything comes up or you think of any questions." Yuri nodded, feeling exhausted and ill. Despite the PICC line that was now providing him with the nutrition he would need and having no food in his stomach, Yuri couldn't get rid of the nausea.
Victor knelt in front of Yuri, his perfect blue eyes filled with concern. He took Yuri's hand in his own, lightly kissing it.
"We're okay," Yuri assured his future husband. "I'm not happy about this either, but I had to do something, and the doctor said this would be better for long-term use. We won't have to replace it as often as the other one."
"It's not that, Yuri. I keep thinking about all the complications. It's so close to your heart, and the damage it can cause-I'm sorry." The older man said softly.
"You don't need to be. I'm not. Being sick isn't the best, but we're hanging in there. "
"I'm grateful for that. You'll never know just how grateful." Victor wrapped his arms around Yuri. He softly pressed his lips to the younger man's belly, resting it carefully on his future husband's abdomen. Yuri smiled faintly, returning the embrace.
"It's still a little early to expect-"
"It's never too early to give our baby some love. Are you okay with my head on your belly like this? I'm not hurting you?"
"It's fine, " Yuri confirmed. "I want you to have as many special bonding moments as possible. It's important to me that you experience as much of this as you feel comfortable being involved in. I don't want you to miss out on anything if we can help it."
"Thank you, Yuri. If it ever does get to be uncomfortable-"
"I'll let you know," Yuri promised. Victor let out a contented sigh.
"My precious little one," The silver-haired man began lovingly. "Your mother and I love you so much already. I can't wait to hold you and show you everything. It seems like such a long time until I get to meet you. You are such an amazing gift.
Daddy loves you more than you'll ever understand. I'm looking forward to all your firsts and seeing you grow into the person you want to be."
For several minutes, the pair remained silent, taking in their moment of peace.
"It might not be long now," Victor said. "Until we find out if we have a girl or boy. We'll see our little one again in a couple of weeks, won't we?"
"Yeah. But as far as finding out, it might not happen this time." Yuri pointed out. "I didn't think you'd want to know. You love being surprised."
"That's true. It might be good to know, we can have everything ready. What do you think?" Victor lifted his head to meet Yuri's gaze.
"I'm not sure. I'll let you decide. There's still time to think about it." Yuri answered."Either way, we-"
"You let us know if you need anything," Hiroko's voice caught their attention, they turned toward the sound to see her gesturing the blond boy into the room. The teen offered a short nod of gratitude, allowing her to rest a hand on his shoulder. "You can stay as long as you like."
Yurio fixed his gaze on the small object in his hand, not bothering to acknowledge Victor and Yuri. The teen remained still. Victor stood, taking a step closer to Yurio, who pulled the object closer to his chest as if guarding it against the man.
"Yurio, we've been so worried. Are you alright?"He asked with concern.
"Yeah-maybe; I don't know."It was at that moment that Yuri understood.
"What do you mean, and who is this guy you're-" Yuri reached up, taking his lover's hand and pulling him onto the couch. Yuri leaned into Victor. He pulled his feet up. He allowed Victor to wrap his arms around him. The older man kissed the top of his love's head.
"Are you feeling alright?" Victor questioned. Yuri nodded.
"I just wanted you to sit with me."
Yurio lowered himself onto a chair across from them, avoiding looking in their direction.
"Yurio-' Victor began. Yuri shook his head.
"When He's ready, he'll tell us, be patient." The dark-haired man said, lightly kissing Victor's hand. Yurio drew in a breath.
"That call the other day," He began, pausing as if unsure what to say.
"Do you need to talk to Yuri alone? Victor asked. The teen shook his head.
"You'll know sooner or later. Don't make a big deal out of it. I have enough problems. I don't need to hear it from you."
"What do you mean?" Victor questioned.
"I was right." The teen said softly. "I was right, and I don't know what to do." Yuri knew all too well the feeling of uncertainty that followed his own diagnosis.
"You'll do the best you can," Yuri replied. "There are some hard decisions ahead of you, Yurio. But whatever you decide is best for you, that's what you should do."
"But I don't know what that is. I haven't told him yet. I'm pretty sure I know what he'll say. I just can't force myself to do it. Who would believe something like this?"
"Have you told anyone?" Yuri asked.
"My Grandpa was the one that took me to the doctor. He took it better than I thought. He knew something was going on. He was waiting for me to talk to him. He knew someone that went through it. I can always count on him to be in my corner." Yurio smiled faintly.
"You also have us. If there's anything we can do to help you through this, just let us know." Yuri encouraged.
"Can someone fill me in on what's happening? I'm so confused." Victor cried. Yurio stood up, crossing the short distance to the couple. He held out the object to Yuri. The dark-haired man took it, glancing down at the image.
"It should happen this summer. July fifteenth. The doctor said they rarely get here on the date. They come before or shortly after. I don't know if I can-part of me wants to, but then, I don't know what I can do about it. My heart is still in the rink."
"Yurio, you're fifteen, what are you-"
"You have no right to lecture me, Victor. It was my choice, and I made it. I'm dealing with it." Yurio growled.
"But you're-"
"Victor, I know this is coming from a place of concern and love," Yuri interrupted. "But I need you to try to understand how hard this is. Everything is changing, he has a lot on his mind. He needs support. What happened, happened. We can't change that, and there's no use getting worked up."
"I'm not trying to-it's a shock." Yurio scoffed.
"How the hell do you think I feel? You don't know what shock is until you find out you're growing a kid inside your body."
"I can't imagine. I know how I felt when Yuri told me. There was a moment of surprise, but it was one of the best days of my life. I won't be able to understand everything you're going through. It's a process that I'll never be able to go through. I only see a little bit of what Yuri goes through. I'm sorry."
"Whatever." the teen grumbled, taking back the sonogram picture.
"so, when do we get to meet your boyfriend?"Victor pressed. Yurio narrowed his eyes at the man.
"You don't. I don't need you sticking your nose in my business.
It's going to be hard telling him about all this. I can't deal with the craziness you'd bring into it." He sat back down on the chair. "How did you tell him?"
"I just said it," Yuri answered. "He asked me to marry him before he knew. It forced me into a situation where I couldn't hide it. Victor accepted our baby immediately."
"How could I not? We're going to have a little us!" the older man grinned.
"When you tell him, he might need time to process it. Try not to worry. Whatever happens, it's going to be okay."
"It'll have to be," Yurio sighed. "I think I'm going to go to the room. I'm not feeling very well. I'll have to see if I can find my mints."
"I still have a lot left. You can have them. I'll ask Victor if he'll grab them for you." Yuri offered. Yurio nodded. The silver-haired man helped Yuri to sit up before rising to his feet, excusing himself from the room.
A moment of silence passed between the two Yuris.
"You're kind of good at the support thing. You understand things."
"I grew up with a pretty understanding family. I guess I picked it up along the way. You know, Victor didn't mean to-"
"I know. He's always been the protective big brother type of guy. Sometimes, he drives me up a wall, and as much as I give him a hard time, I know why he does it. There have been times when I kind of needed that. But don't tell him I said this.
It'll go right to his head. I guess that's part of the reason I came here. The way you were talking to me on the phone, you didn't judge me." Yurio said.
"That's not what I'm here to do. I was scared too, and I still am. My family and Victor have been amazing. Keep in mind that our door is always open to you."
"You know, you're gonna be a good parent to that kid," Yurio replied.
"I hope so. I worry about that a lot. I've messed up on so much in my life. I just hope the baby doesn't end up-"
"I don't think they will. I watched Victor's last update video. It looks like you're pretty far from screwing that kid up. Is it true you can't eat anything?" Yuri nodded.
"Yeah. That's why I have this thing." Yuri pointed to the machine beside him. "It's not the greatest thing in the world, but it's helping me take care of the baby, so I can't complain."
"That sucks." Yurio shook his head.
"It does. But you do what you have to do for your family, even if it's not the easiest thing or the most comfortable."Yuri rested a hand on his belly.
"Doesn't that bother you?" The teen asked.
"What?"
"I don't even touch my own stomach. The thought of even the doctors near me makes me angry."
"It's a different experience for everyone, Yurio. You don't have to let people touch you. I didn't think I'd like it until Victor started doing it. It's calming. It helps build a bond with your little one."
"I don't know how you deal with him. I bet he's always trying to touch or-"
"Not always, but he does it a lot. I don't mind. I want him to bond with our baby as much as he can. This is probably the only time he'll get to do this. I want it to be special.."
Victor emerged from the bedroom, carrying the requested items. He gave them to the teen.
"If you need anything else, you know where to find us." He said with a warm smile.
"Yeah," Yurio said shortly. He turned to Yuri. "Thanks, Piggy."
"Try to get some rest," Yuri suggested.
"Yeah, I'll be around later." Yurio popped one of the peppermints into his mouth, turning to make his way to his room. The soft buzzing of the teen's cellphone reached his ears. He reached into his pocket, pulling it out and checking the display. He stood frozen as the name appeared on the screen.
Victor and Yuri shared a worried glance.
"What is it?" Victor asked.
"It's Kieryn. I know we need to talk, but I don't know if I'm ready. He's not a bad guy. I just don't know how to do this."
"It'll be okay. Whatever happens, remember that." Yuri reminded him.
"Yeah."
"You've got this, Yurio," Victor added. The boy nodded. He drew in a breath, leaving the room without a word. Yuri forced himself to his feet, again leaning into Victor, who wrapped his arms around the younger man.
"What's wrong, Yuri?" the Russian skater asked lovingly.
"I remember how scared I was to tell you about the baby. I thought you'd never want to see me again. You'd think I was lying. I just had so many thoughts in my head. I tried to call you so many times to tell you, but I couldn't. It's hard to know how someone's going to react to something like this, I just don't want him to get hurt. I'm nervous for him."
"I know. But like you said, there's only so much we can do for him. They'll have to handle it together. We'll wait a while and check in. Yurio's a strong kid, he's alright." He made sure to hold Yuri a little tighter in an effort to comfort him. Yuri knew he would continue to worry until he spoke to his former rival again.
"Come on, my Eros, let's get you to the room, you can lie down, and we'll talk. Would you like that?" Yuri nodded against him, allowing Victor to lead him into their bedroom and help him to bed. They were soon joined by Makkachin, who wiggled his way between them, resting his head lightly on Yuri's belly, before falling asleep.