The fans went crazy. By the following morning there were headlines such as "The power couple of skating expanded their family!", "Katsuki-Nikiforov family is growing" etc. and as amusing it was how much people cared about their personal life, the interest made Yuuri anxious. He was pessimistic by nature, he always thought of what bad things could happen and it was clear he was overthinking because he looked quite distracted. They decided to go shopping in the afternoon and now they were waiting for Lola to wake up from her nap, Yuuri preparing green tea for both of them. Viktor was checking his Instagram, reading the many wonderful comments that were congratulating them or that spoke about how cute the girl was, when he heard porcelain cracking and he realised his husband dropped one cup on the ground.
He got up immediately to see the brunet watching the pieces intently and went to grab the man's hand and pull him away from the mess.
"Sorry" He murmured distracted and Viktor kissed his cheek before murmuring a "Don't be" and grabbing the broom to swipe away all of the pieces away, so no one would get hurt. After he was done he wrapped his arms around his husband and kissed his forehead gently.
"What's the matter, solnyshko?" The question made Yuuri relax and Viktor smiled because he knew that was all it took for him to open up for him like flower. "Hm?"
"What if Lola gets hurt?" He asked and searched for light blue, waiting for an answer.
"What are you talking about, Yuu~ri?"
"Everyone is talking about her – what if some crazy guy targets her or if they write mean things or if they look up her past?" The Russian understood what he was referring to now so he cupped his head with both hands and leaned so their eyes locked. "I'm scared something bad will happen, Viktor"
"Yuuri" He murmured. "Nothing is going to happen to Lola, I promise. They're talking because they're happy for us, zoloste; they can't look up her past, everything from her file is confidential, remember? And we won't allow anyone to touch her but we can't keep her hidden either, love"
"I know – it's just that I want everything to go well" A short kiss stopped him and he inhaled deeply after that.
"And it will, I promise! I will do anything to keep the both of you safe. Look, I will ask everyone not to go overboard in a way that might endanger Lo's safety, alright?" The brunet nodded and accepted the following kiss before wrapping his arms around his husband and enjoying the warmth of the soothing hug.
"I love you"
"I love you too, you know that" The older man answered with his gentlest voice. "If it bothers you I won't post pictures of her anymore." The Japanese pulled apart to look at his husband who was looking like a rained puppy in that moment. He knew how happy he was to picture every part of his life and share it with the entire world so he didn't want to take that away from him, after all, Lola was so cute, he could barely stop himself from picturing her. She deserved all this attention and all the lovely comments.
"Don't be silly. I was overthinking, there are a lot of people posting pictures of their children and nothing happened to them" Viktor nodded and kissed his cheek. They remained flushed against each other for a few moments and parted only when a bark startled them and they turned around to see their puppy was jolly to see their daughter. As soon as they saw her they smiled sincerely and went closer to kiss her.
"Sneaking on us, princess?" The Russian asked teasingly and she smiled, ending with a yawn.
"Slept well?"
"Yest" Her voice was small as she was rubbing her eye and Yuuri picked her up.
"Do you want some tea?" When she accepted Viktor went to pour the warm liquid in two cups and her favourite sippycup with Winnie Pooh. They decided to indulge some cartoons until she woke up entirely so they sat on the sofa and enjoyed the serenity, making small talk. When Lola was done she offered her cup to Viktor who took it without hesitation.
"Mowe, daddy?" He was ready to answer when the realisation hit the both of them and their eyes widened as they looked at the nonchalant little girl. She probably had no idea how much what she just said made their heartbeats increase because she watched their expression confused, until the older man decided it was time to find his words and answer.
"Of course I can get you more, sweetheart." He kissed her head hurriedly before getting up and heading for the kitchen. "Daddy will get you more tea" Yuuri chuckled at the enthusiasm and then rubbed the child's head gently.
"Whaat?" She sang mimicking Viktor's way of dragging the last syllable.
"I think you made him very happy by calling him daddy" He confessed and her rosy lips formed a satisfied smile. "It's true"
"Daddy too!" She pointed towards the man in front of her whose grin got wider.
"And you're our baby" Yuuri cooed and picked her up to place her in his lap. When Viktor came back with the tea he was basically sparkling so it took his husband's all might not to chuckle every time he looked at him.
Yuuri made an appointment to their doctor because they needed to register Lola and also because they needed her to have all types of tests done. The orphanage warned them from the first moment that she needed a few shots so they wanted to take care of that as soon as possible because they weren't to risk her health.
They asked a lot of people for recommendations of shops that had what they needed and they spent all afternoon looking for the right things. They started with the furniture – deciding on a light violet single-bed with canopy (because Viktor) and mostly white, pink and lavender pieces. They had some custom ordered too – a chest for toys, a hammock that could be put inside and after that they decided to have some people repaint the walls, deciding the walls should look like a sky filled with fluffy white clouds. Yuuri could barely stop Viktor from buying everything his eyes laid on but agreed to visit a toys shop before going home. They had guests for dinner – Yuri and Otabek who were regulars on Thursday nights so they had to hurry. Once they got into the huge shop Lola's mouth fell open – she was sure she never saw so many toys together before.
"We can pick..." Yuuri changed his mind in the last moment. He wanted to say one toy but the realisation that Lola only had a few stuffed animals pulled at his heart; she deserved so much more but he didn't want to spoil her either. "Three toys today to go home with us, okay?"
"Okay" She understood that so she pulled the both of them towards the nearest shelve where she began to look at all the pretty stuffed animals and puzzles. In the end she picked a stuffed ladybug, a Lego castle and huge colouring set and as they were going towards the cashier they reached a shelf filled with Disney dolls and once she saw Snow White her mouth formed a perfect "o". "Tis one too, daddy?" She asked innocently and pointed towards the princess – she really liked that one a lot. Yuuri felt his principles crumble when he heard the question and sighed.
"Yes, daddy, just this one." Viktor said and squatted to match her puppy eyes and exaggerate a pout. "And our myshka has been such a good girl" He kissed her temple and Yuuri knew it was a lost battle.
"Okay, just this one"
"And I think we need some colouring books too"
"Vitya!" Yuuri burst into laughter at the silliness but knew that the kiss that followed was meant to make him change his mind – and it did, because he couldn't say no to his sweet family. He wasn't going to deny that Lola needed a lot of things she had yet to experience and the childish part of his husband was not helping him with controlling his urge of buying everything at once.
They took a taxi home because they needed to prepare dinner yet and once they arrived the Russian helped with unpacking the new toys and then took Lola to walk Saka around the neighbourhood before they decided it was time to help Yuuri in the kitchen. Which was basically the brunet trying to keep them busy with small tasks so they wouldn't destroy anything. It involved baking so once the dish was in the oven they went to the living room where Lo began to play with her new Legos on the fluffy carpet, too busy to talk with her bunny to realise her daddies where cuddling without her.
But a peaceful snuggle was not what Viktor intended. Instead of that, a wicked grin appeared on his face as his fingers began to touch lightly Yuuri's sides, making the ever so ticklish man jump and laugh at the same time.
"Viktor!" He warned but the man was unstoppable, beginning to search under his shirt for more ticklish spots. He learned them all already so it wasn't hard to make the man chuckle hysterically, his face getting red at the ministration. The Russian loved to see him like this, out of breath, having a good time, his face a puffy mess and his cheeks red from the laughter. "Vitya, stop!" He laughed out loud and Viktor pouted, taking a break to let him breathe only before starting once again, making Yuuri squeak loudly, tears of laughter falling down his cheeks. "S-Stop!"
"Oh no, but what fun would it be then?" He asked amused and stopped when something hit his leg hard but not hard enough to hurt. He turned around and saw it was Lola who was still hitting his leg, her expression terrified and angered at the same time.
"Stop" She winced and gulped a sob when they both stared at her incredulously. "Stop!" She yelled and continued to punch the exposed skin of Viktor's muscular leg. When she began to scream so loud that it made their skin crawl, Yuuri changed his position, ready to stop her but Viktor acted before him.
"No hitting! Never!" He warned and she continued to hit so he grabbed her arm, immobilising it and making the girl shut up completely, gulping her every sob and glancing at him in complete horror. "You're not allowed to hit anyone, ever, Lola!" Their eyes were at the same level and she seemed to hyperventilate when she heard his unusual stern voice. She never heard him using this tone before, he was usually jollier than anyone else in the room. "Now tell daddy what's wrong" She sniffled but didn't say anything, petrified. "Lola" His voice softened as he gently grabbed her shoulder and her frozen expression broke into terror; she jumped as burned, away from his touch and before he could react she ran towards the door heading to the long hall.
"Lola!" Yuuri tried but there was no way to stop her and Viktor got up, deciding to chase after her so she wouldn't hurt herself. She tripped and fell on her knees when entering their walk-in closet and she hissed in pain but got up as immediately, adrenaline pumping through her veins. When he entered the closet he turned on the light because the room had no windows and saw the girl disappearing between his and Yuuri's many coats and jackets. He expected Yuuri to follow but heard no steps and realised his husband probably wanted him to make things right so he got near the corner and kneeled on the floor, finding a peeking yellow sock.
"Lo" He called for her and heard a small whimper that broke his heart because it was clear she was scared beyond measure. "Dorogaya moya" He whispered and slowly pushed the light brown coat she was hiding after aside, seeing her knees were pink. "Come here" No movement so he grabbed another coat to put it aside, finally revealing Lola who had her back pressed against the cold wall and was barely breathing. "Come to me, malysh" She didn't flinch and it became clear she was not going to approach him anytime soon. So he went closer, using slow movements, giving her time to adjust to the idea even if her body was futilely pushing against the wall as if it wanted to escape. When he was close enough she turned white and he tried his best to pull her closer without hurting her but it was futile because as soon as she was touched she began to kick him, using all the force she had.
"No!" She kept repeating. "No!"
"Shhh, malysh." He cooed, holding her close so she wouldn't struggle anymore and just then the realisation hit him – it was the first time he picked her up. She was reluctant to even hug him so picking her up has been out of discussion until now. "Lo~la" He hugged her close, stopping her movements. "Tell me, princess, has daddy ever hurt you?" Silent sobs began to crush her little body and he rubbed her back in circles, doing his best to calm her down. "That's it, let it all out, sweetheart, it's okay"
"No" She whimpered and buried her face in his shirt.
"Daddy would never hurt you, princess. I love you so much" He whispered in her hair, making sure he spoke loud enough for her to hear it. It took a few minutes for her to completely calm down and she fell limp against his chest, her little body trembling. He heard the doorbell so he realised the guests have arrived and decided to take a few more minutes to make sure the girl was completely fine. So he began to walk around the little space while slowly rocking her back and forth as she slowed down with the silent crying. "Is my baby girl okay now? Do you think we can go and have dinner with Yurio and Otabek?" She nodded after a while and he kissed her forehead. "Let's go and wash our faces"
When he got out he almost bumped into Yuuri who had concern written all over his face.
"I came to get you" He hesitated and Viktor leaned to kiss his lips.
"We're okay now, right?" Lola nodded and rose her puffy face to look at his other father, her eyes swollen from all the crying. The brunet leaned closer to kiss her cheek.
"I'll be waiting for you right there, okay?" He pointed towards the living room where Yuri's booming voice was coming from and she nodded shyly. "Okay." After that he went back to the younger couple while Viktor headed towards their bathroom where he placed her on the larger side of the bathtub edge and wetted a cloth with warm water. He then tended for the girl gently, holding her chin up with one hand and admiring her pretty face. She looked like a doll. When he was done he squatted by her and took her little hand in his.
"I want you to tell me why you hit me" It lasted a bit, she needed a few good minutes until her raspy voice could be heard.
"Huwt" Her voice was small and he finally realised what has been going on inside her mind this whole time. She thought he was hurting Yuuri when tickling him and it seemed obvious because he had tears of laughter and begged him to stop. Of course a child raised in a violent environment could only think of bad things but that was not the case at all.
"No, no, no, no." He murmured lowly. "I'd never hurt daddy, Lo. I love daddy a lot, sweetheart. We were having fun, we were playing" He explained and she blinked, unsure. "I would never hurt daddy – or you" He repeated and got up so he could pick her up and kiss her temple. He held her for a while, until the silence was interrupted by the growl of her stomach that made her sigh. "Are you hungry, baby?" She nodded. "I think daddy made some delicious food for us, we should go and eat it"
Once they entered the kitchen they were greeted by the skaters and surprisingly enough, Yuri didn't made any comment about how late they were, he simply eyed the child, worried.
"We're sorry for keep you waiting" Viktor said and was ready to put Lola in her chair when she grabbed on his shirt tighter. "Do you want me to hold you?" She nodded so he accepted, even if he knew it was almost impossible to eat with her in his lap but he didn't want to let go after what just happened. The food was served – it was an Italian dish Yuuri worked hard on and as soon as it was laid in front of them the girl didn't hesitate to grab on it with both hands and stuff her face, in a manner that made Yuri gasp.
"Easy, sweetheart" Yuuri tried but she was unstoppable and after she was done she asked for more and of course she wasn't refused because God – they never wanted her to be hungry but the way she ate made them worry a lot. At her second dish Yuri couldn't help himself from commenting.
"You can't let her eat like that, she'll throw up" The Japanese frowned – he didn't want to take the food away from her either but it was clear she would be sick if she continued.
"Lola" He called and she stopped devouring, lifting her face that was covered in sauce, realising everyone was staring. She didn't like that they were looking at her like she has done something bad so she dropped the food she was holding in both hands and began to tremble. "Are you still hungry, baby?" Yuuri asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't restricting any basic need and she shook her head, gulping. It was like something switched inside her and it was all visible. They had apple pie too but she didn't want to touch it, instead she went to pick her bunny and played with him as the "adults" had a long and pleasant talk. She was obviously not willing to entertain anyone, she just made sure every few minutes that they were still there.
When Yuri and Otabek finally left Viktor took care of the dishes as Yuuri bathed Lola and got her ready for bed. She was still wearing diapers so they needed to start working on that too but it was too late to think about that now so he preferred to dry her hair while singing softly to her. And now came the hard part – if she slept well the first night, the following one has been terrible because she woke up several times and they decided to simply let her sleep with them because she cried hysterically whenever she opened her eyes and saw she was alone.
"Now, is Mr. Bunny sleeping with us?" She nodded and hugged the toy tighter to her chest, like someone would want to take it away. "Okay, baby. Let's put a clean diaper on and then go to bed." Changing the diapers was mostly his job but Viktor didn't refuse to help, even if it was clearly not his favourite thing to do. He wanted to take a shower so he decided to ask Viktor to stay with Lo but the girl refused to be put down. "Only 10 minutes, sweetheart." She shook her head and was ready to burst into crying so he sighed and decided he would wash once she was asleep.
Lola fell asleep pretty easily and it was normal because they had a rather active day. Once he was sure she wasn't waking up anytime soon he moved to the living room where he found Viktor who was placing the leftovers in the refrigerator. Yuuri didn't wait to wrap his arms around Viktor's back, making the other turn around so he could hug him properly and kiss his head.
"She's asleep" He murmured and the Russian nodded before lifting his chin to kiss those soft lips he loved so much.
"Do you want a glass of wine?" Yuuri nodded so the other went to pour red liquid in two tall glasses and they sat on their loveseat, Viktor's arm wrapped around his husband's shoulders.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" The older man sighed, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"She thought I was hurting you, I guess my actions triggered her" The brunet's eyes widened as he processed the words and the information clicked inside his brain, making a shiver crawling down his spine. "But I explained it to her and she finally gave in. She hid in the walk-in closet"
"Poor baby" The pale-haired man nodded. After half an hour of discussions and loving kisses Yuuri went to take his shower and they snuggled in the king-sized bed. The truth was that neither of them fell asleep right away, all kind of thoughts creeping on them. If Yuuri was used to the insecurities, Viktor began to feel like he was in his teenage years again, unsure of everything around him, scared that any wrong move would make everything crumble around him. He kept tossing and turning for a few good hours until the sleep finally took over him Lola woke up and began to whimper so they had to wake up once again and coo her. So far it happened two or three times a night and now it wasn't an exception.
Much to Yuuri's despair, Lola woke up really early, just like Viktor so he had to get up too because the girl refused to get out of bed without him. He managed to talk the doctor into programming them today so they got her ready, dressing her nicely and trying to explain they were going to meet a very nice lady that would make sure she was okay. Viktor had to meet his manager for lunch so he couldn't accompany them, which worried him a bit because it was the first time he would part with Lola for more than a few minutes. He was done putting her shoes on when he took her little hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it.
"Be a good girl for daddy, okay?" She nodded and he proceeded to press his lips against her cheek too. "I'll wait for you home after you're done" She held tighter on her bunny as she stared at him and Yuuri rubbed her back gently.
"Come on, sweetheart, let's go"
The man was slightly worried about this particular visit because Lola seemed very uncomfortable in crowded places and he was sure they weren't going to be alone because their doctor was rather skilled. He was also glad she was a woman because he knew the examination will go smoother with her than with any man. The cabinet was rather big so he saw on one of the chairs and placed Lola in his lap, waiting for her small feet to begin to slowly dangle.
Yuuri smiled when he saw a pair of twins – two girls, playing near them and they caught his stare because they waved at him, earning a wave back. They hesitated but after a few minutes they began to move closer and closer, talking loudly so they could be heard. Their mother seemed absorbed by a conversation with another parent so she didn't observe when they left, much to the man's amusement.
"What's your name?" They were talking to Lola and as soon as she met their stares she flinched, making Yuuri rub her sides gently, encouraging, even if he knew it was improbable they will get an answer.
"Lola" He said and kissed the nape of her neck. "Her name is Lola" His Russian accent was bad but his grammar was perfect after so many years of living in St. Petersburg (the many trials from his teenage years might have played a part in that too) and the little girl seemed dissatisfied by the strange words because she grew agitated. "They asked me your name, sweetheart" He explained and kissed her head. "I think they want to be your friends" The comment didn't affect her anyhow, she remained unmoved and he felt a tug at his heart.
When they were finally called to enter the office hell unleashed. She didn't want that strange woman to touch her, even if she was nice and her daddy explained to her that they needed to do that so they would make sure she is okay. So she started crying, the wails getting worse after the few vaccines – PVC, Rotavirus, Men B etc. When they were done she was still sobbing in Yuuri's shirt, not even wanting to look at the doc.
"It's okay, baby, it's all done now" He promised and kissed her head.
He told the woman about her behaviour when it came to eating so she recommended a nutritionist. Surprisingly enough she didn't have lice and Yuuri wondered how came they never thought about this – he knew it was common but he guessed they were simply lucky. She also wanted to make sure there wasn't any brain damage so she wrote them a reference for a good hospital.
"Lola, pretty girl" Dr. Golovanov called and she looked at her, sniffling but still surprised the woman was talking in English. "You've been such a good girl!" She praised and Lola looked up as if asking if he was agreeing.
"You are a good girl indeed" He smiled and she relaxed a bit. And he decided he could talk to Viktor to take her to their favourite sweetshop in town and treat her to something really good. They walked back home and stopped to buy groceries on their way, happy when finding Viktor already home, a big smile tugging on his lips.
"Look who is here! Welcome home!" He grinned widely and went to hug and kiss the both of them.
They decided to go to the park in the afternoon, after Lola's nap, and then have dinner out and they were ready to leave.
"Daddy!" They both turned around and saw Viktor put her dress inside out on her; they were still confused who she was calling for, though. So the Russian found a solution and went closer to her.
"How about you call me Papa so we know who you are talking to? Papa means daddy in my language so it's the same" She nodded and then raised her hands so he could put the dress properly. "Is my princess ready to play?" The girl answered by pulling on his hand on the way to the door, making him smile. "Okay, okay, but we need to wait for daddy." Yuuri went to the bathroom and as soon as Lo realised he was gone she ran in that direction, eager to find him, making Viktor chuckle. Their baby sure was something else.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading! I promise the next chapters will be better (I am doing my best but I still have exams going on -o-). I hope you enjoyed what you read so far; arigato for the lovely lovely reviews - they make my days a lot better! See you next time!
Myshka = little mouse
Dorogoya moya = my dear
Malysh = baby