The tension could be cut with a knife but worried browns searched for icy blues, finding nothing because they were casted downwards as his finger was swiping distractedly through his Instagram feed, hearting pictures from time to time. Yuuri wasn't used to this – they rarely fought and when they did, they immediately reconciled but this time was different. Viktor's pained face still haunted him and he felt his skin crawl at the memory, his hands hurting under the cold water. As usual, his husband woke up early in the morning for his run with Saka and when he came back, Lola was still sleeping so he thought it was the perfect moment to tell him about the mail. They were having coffee when Yuuri began to talk and hell unleashed; there were no shouts, no crying but Viktor's disappointment was clear, nevermind the feeling of being betrayed – it was written all over his face. He mumbled a "Do whatever you want" and after that, the Japanese could almost feel him retreating in his shell.

So now, almost an hour later they were both in the living room, the silver-haired man completely oblivious to everything that was going on around him, both waiting for Lola to wake up. When she tiptoed to them, Yuuri opened his arms for her and she hurried towards the safe hold, burying her face in his chest.

"Good morning, princess!" He kissed her head and she turned to look at Viktor who smiled at her and went closer to kiss her cheek.

"Good morning, malysh!" She didn't say anything and clung onto the brunet as he got up and went to prepare the breakfast they all needed. Yuuri continued to talk to her, explaining to her everything he or they were doing so she would feel included but also because there was a buzzing voice that didn't let him be. His eyes were attracted to where his husband was staying, their puppy settled in his lap while his hands were caressing him and his warm voice was whispering in Russian.

They didn't have a proper conversation and he hated that. He hated when he was shut out without a chance to explain himself but he couldn't force Viktor into listening to him. He let out a long sigh when they all sat at the table and observed that Lola was looking back and forth between them, probably feeling their discordance. In the mornings they were usually very close, just like they were during the rest of the day – touching briefly, holding hands, kissing and hugging.

"What's the matter, zaichik?" Viktor's voice startled both of them and when his fingers brushed through her messy hair the girl sighed but sustained her stiff posture. "Do you want me to braid your hair after breakfast?"

"I think you'll look so pretty after Papa will fix your hair" He was trying to start a conversation but received nothing but the cold shoulder.

Viktor was the only one fixing her hair as he was an expert – 10 years of long hair have taught him a lot when it came to all types of hairstyles and today he decided for one fishtail braided ponytail. She stood still, being a good girl easily because her Papa was very gentle with her hair, understanding that her locks were rather difficult. When he was done he kissed the back of her neck and she ran towards Yuuri who was preparing tea. She tugged on his pants and he smiled, looking at the masterpiece.

"Such a beautiful girl" He praised. "What cup do you think Papa would like for his tea?" She pointed towards the light blue one which had dots all over and he smiled as he took it from the shelf.

Viktor was playing with Lola when Yuuri came to ask him if he needed something from the grocery store cause he was going for a quick trip there, as they needed some more milk.

"No." He said without looking at him, his fingers busy with pink Lego pieces. The Japanese sighed, disarmed by the dynamics and sat on the armchair that was most close to them, admiring their building. Viktor was a wonderful father, just like he knew he would be but the way he was acting was silly and futile.

"Stop this" He said after a while and that was for the first time he received a look - a long and pressuring stare followed by a grimace.

"Stop what?"

"Vitya"

"Don't Vitya me –"

"You're acting childish" Yuuri was surprised by his snarl but before he could apologise the older man exploded.

"I'm not childish, I'm upset! I can't believe you were so tactless, that you didn't ask about my opinion before answering that woman! It's not all about you, Yuuri, it's about me too, it's my family too, you know?" His tone escalated with each word until Lola finally burst into sobs because of the scary sounds her Papa was making. She never saw them arguing before so Viktor pulled her in a tight hug, rubbing her back. "It's okay, baby, Papa didn't mean to speak so loud, I'm sorry." He whispered and kissed her forehead, trying to cease her on-going cries.

He got up, still holding her tightly and began to walk around the room, rocking her gently and continuing to coo her. He looked at his husband only for a second before focusing on the little girl.

"We need to talk about this."

"The time for talking was before you sent that email and made a decision for both of us."

"So what are you going to do? I'm sorry Viktor, I understand that I was wrong but you can't continue to act like that." The discussion was going in an unpleasant direction once again so Yuuri decided it was time for him to get out of the house.

Not a single word was spoken until the Russian finally announced he was going to be out for the evening, not giving any detail on where he could spend his time. It was not that Yuuri didn't trust him, it was just that he got so worried every time he had no idea where the other was, thinking about the worst case scenario and imagining all types of unfortunate events so when dinner time came and the man was not back he tried to reach him through the phone, surprised to find it was turned off. It was late and Lola was beginning to feel unsettled, not used to be apart from Viktor for so long so Yuuri decided to go to the only place where he was sure he was going to find him. He called for a cab and after they changed their comfortable clothes for ones in which they could wear outside, the car followed the familiar road towards the ice-rink, parking in front of the imposing building. The lights were on and the man was sure that there was only one person inside and that was his husband.

He had to be patient and wait for Lola to make her small steps towards the ice-rink, hearing the ice swishing clearer and clearer with each moment. And there he was – Viktor Nikiforov, the living legend, skating around in circles, attempting small jumps from time to time and performing them perfectly, as expected. He always skated when he wanted to clear his mind, it was his hide-out and he looked beautiful, embraced by the coldness that made him iconic. No matter how much it pained to know he was heavily burdened by thoughts, it would have been hypocritical of him to say he didn't enjoy seeing him skating once again.

He tightened the grasp on the little hand that was covered by his and looked down at Lola.

"Isn't Papa amazing when he skates?" She nodded, though not entirely sure what that meant or how he could jump like that and they continued to look, Yuuri picking her up as soon as she began to change her weight from one leg to another. It took a few good minutes for Viktor to realise he had company and as soon as he saw them he began skating towards the edge, feeling like a cat that was caught while eating the cream.

"Hey" He said simply and smiled gently once he reached them. "What are you doing here?"

"We got worried because you didn't answer your phone, right, Lo?" She nodded and leaned so she could signal that she wanted Viktor to pick her up. So he did, even if he was on skates, knowing there were low chances of dropping her or falling. Once she was clinging on his neck she looked downwards at what seemed like a funny pair of shoes and pointed towards them.

"Do you like my skates, dorogoya moya?" She nodded. "Maybe daddy and I could buy you your own pair and teach you how to skate" He smiled and kissed her little ear. "I'm sorry for missing today, Lo. We should go home"

Yuuri felt relieved to see he was fine and all the way home he didn't speak a lot, making the ride seem longer than it actually was. The truth was, he was exhausted – he hated fighting with Viktor more than anything in the world and he hoped the other felt as tired as he was because he couldn't go on like this for another day. He knew they had yet to talk about what happened and he knew already how wrong he was and he was ready to apologise as many times as it was needed if that meant having his husband back. At home Viktor decided he should be the one bathing and changing Lola so he could make up for the lost hours and once he was done, they had a sleeping little girl in the middle of their king-sized bed.

Viktor headed for the living room where he found Yuuri checking something on his laptop and he sat beside him on the sofa, feeling Saka immediately climbed on his lap, begging for the attention that he immediately received. The puppy was wiggling his tail happily, contradicting their actual mood and the silver-haired man was ready to give up on any idea of a conversation when his husband left his laptop aside and turned towards him. They blinked rapidly.

"Lola's sleeping."

"Good" Was all he managed to answer and then leaned so he could pet Saka too. "Can we talk now?"

"I guess so." Yuuri's hand moved from the dog's fur to the other's fingers which he grasped gently, their eyes meeting once again.

"I am so sorry, Vitya." His voice was filled with regret and Viktor exhaled, feeling his body become lighter. His fingers linked with his husband's on top of their pet's back and the brunet smiled a bit, almost cautious.

"I know you are and I am sorry I've been so cold but I was and still am upset about what happened, Yuuri." When he usually called his name he would always drag the last syllable but this time that familiarity lacked. "But we can't change anything now, it's all done already. You could have woken me up or waited until the morning to answer her but instead you decided for the both of us and that makes me think you don't value my opinions at all."

"That's not true – Viktor!"

"Well, that's the impression you left me. And it is about Lola, our daughter. Have you thought that she might feel something about this too?"

"She's three and a half, she couldn't make such a decision."

"You agreed to let a woman who abused her in the past come and see her." Yuuri frowned – it was not like that, it was not.

"She wants to see her daughter for one last time, it would be inhuman not to let her do that!"

"Lola starved when she was with her! She was beaten by the men who were her lovers! I think she doesn't have the right to want anything like that and I don't want her near our child. OUR child, not hers, never hers!"

"What if she will hate us for keeping her from her mother if we don't agree to this?"

"I am afraid she will hate us for letting that woman approach her. She is getting better, Yuuri and all that meeting will do is to take us back to the start line."

"You don't know that!" Yuuri raised his tone, something strongly uncharacteristic. He knew Viktor had a strong point there but he also believed in people changing and he didn't want to hide anything from Lola, she didn't want them to despise them for never letting her see her mother. All children loved their mothers, right?

The Russian knew his husband came from a safe place and probably couldn't understand; he also knew he couldn't entirely understand either but one thing he knew for sure – after his mother abandoned him and didn't contact him for years he wanted nothing to do with her. The only relative he had was Yakov and there was no blood connection, only years of caring.

"Vitya –" His blue eyes closed and he pinched the bridge of his nose while leaning against the cushions.

"Okay." Yuuri's mouth opened. "We will meet her. But not in our home." The man nodded, receptive at the request. "And she won't be allowed anything that would make Lola uncomfortable."

"Of course not." He scooted closer and after a beat, the silver-haired man leaned against him, inhaling deeply the familiar scent he was enveloped in.

"I hate it when we fight." Yuuri turned to kiss his forehead, still feeling guilty to have caused all that. "But I'm still mad."

"I'm sorry." Viktor knew, he really did; he turned so his lips were pressed against his lover's neck, feeling the lovely pulse. He felt the breathing quickening and he smiled a bit, feeling the tension finally beginning to break. He got up so he could properly kiss the parted lips that were waiting. It was soft at first but then it turned passionately, quickly filled with neediness, limbs clinging at everything they could reach. Yuuri ended in Viktor's lap and they were both impossibly turned on when they parted. Viktor's cold hands began to roam under his husband's shirt as they kissed chastely again and again and Yuuri had to grab them to stop him from going further.

"Hm?"

"We can't." His voice was trying but was failing miserably to sound sternly. He wanted to but... "Lola"

"You're right." The other left out a long sigh and initiated a long embrace. The silence was serene so they kept their mouths shut for a while, knowing they needed it badly. It seemed like hours until one of them spoke. "I love you"

"I know – I love you too and I hope you will forgive me because I really am sorry." The answer was another slow kiss and after that they went to shower and straight to bed.

Lola was watching both of them cautiously. She woke up a few minutes ago and surprisingly enough, her parents were still sleeping so she remained quiet, knowing she had to be a good girl. She had to be a good girl, otherwise her daddies would take her back to that big house filled with children and she didn't like that – she liked having her own room, running around with Saka, going to the park and eating all kind of good things. She also liked her daddies a lot even if sometimes she had no idea how to act around them. And now the pressure in her tummy began to grow and she winced because she needed to go potty really bad but she couldn't tell anyone because she didn't want to upset them. They were already acting weird, she wanted to go back to the time before, when they were kissing and hugging all day long and when they were happier. She tried her best but in the end her body gave out and she began to cry as soon as she felt her pajamas getting wet, knowing she will be in trouble for this.

Yuuri opened his eyes when he heard a loud sob and met Lola's scared expression so he got up and saw the mess under her. The wetness crept on both sides so he picked her up.

"Vitya" he called and the man mumbled in his sleep before turning to the other side. He was extremely tired so there was no surprise he wanted to rest some more. He concentrated on the little girl who was still crying and got up, heading for the bathroom where he put her down, making her cling to his leg, scared. "Lola, sweetheart" He cooed. "We talked about this, whenever you need to go potty you have to tell us." He said and started a lukewarm bath, knowing she needed that. She was obviously very scared, being one of the first times she directly did something they expressly told her not to.

"D-daddy" She whimpered and he turned around, watching her terrified eyes.

"Yes, baby?" Her arms rose in a manner that indicated she wanted to be held so he squatted and pulled her in a hug, his shirt already ruined. His Lola was trembling like a leaf so he held her tightly and kissed her head again and again. "That's my good girl, it's okay, nothing bad happened, we will wash everything. But you have to tell us when you need potty, okay?" She nodded, clinging to him. Her daddy didn't look happy yesterday and she didn't want to make him sadder.

He slowly undressed her, cautious as always and then placed her in the water, gently washing her little body after putting her hair up in a bun. He was getting better at dealing with her hair. There were some scars on her tummy and arms and he always felt anger boiling his blood whenever he saw them but he kept his smile on as he cared for her, talking this entire time to make her feel more comfortable. He was drying her body with a fluffy towel when Viktor came in, a frown on his face.

"Yuuri – the entire bed is wet." At that, Lola's bottom lip began to quiver so the brunet smiled and turned to his husband while holding her close.

"Oh, come on, Papa, we'll wash it and it will go away. Lola's very sorry." She nodded hurried, afraid she might be rejected and Viktor blinked. "You're not mad, are you?"

"I am not." He stepped closer and kissed Lola's head. "Good morning, malysh!" He smelled the nape of her neck and smiled because it smelled like strawberries. "Lovely strawberry girl." He then moved to his husband, pressing his lips chastely against his. "You smell like pee." They both burst into chuckles and Yuuri slapped his shoulder gently, faking annoyance. "Yuu~ri! Don't hit me in front of our daughter!"

"You deserve it, Katsuki-Nikiforov!" His face split because of the grin that couldn't be postponed and he earned another sound kiss. Blue eyes followed them curiously and after a few moments, Lola understood her daddies were not sad anymore.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and for all the lovely reviews! I know this chapter was more Viktuuri than Lola-centric but it was still revolving around her and I hope you liked it! Have a wonderful week! xx

zaichik - bunny