setting demons free (*leashed & under supervision)

(meme)

13. things you said at the kitchen table

‘I made,’ Yuuri says. He frowns down at the plate in his hands as though he’s not sure how it got there. ‘I made breakfast?’

There’s already a second plate waiting at Viktor’s place at the table — Viktor has a place set for him at the table. Viktor has no memory of the last time he ate at his kitchen table. To be fair, he has no memory of using most of the things in his apartment.

‘It’s just eggs,’ says Yuuri, wrinkling his nose just slightly. ‘There wasn’t much in your fridge.’ He leans over and prods at the steaming… something… on Viktor’s plate with the delicate tines of a fork. Viktor will have to teach Yuuri how to cook. ‘And tea? I just took these mugs out of the cupboard. I didn’t know which one was your favourite.’

Viktor didn’t know he had a favourite mug. The idea has never occurred to him. He takes a bite of his eggs, blinking, dazed, and focuses on Yuuri’s bare toes scrunching against the leg of the kitchen table. Coming back to Russia has sent the world teetering on its newfound axis, a little shaky after all these months, a little more unstable, and waking up alone on their very first morning together in St. Petersburg — the bedsheets left rumpled by Yuuri’s absence — made something in Viktor’s half-conscious self go suddenly cold.

Yuuri’s foot lifts off the floorboards and scratches at his other ankle. His fork scrapes against the plate. ‘Viktor?’

‘You’re still here,’ Viktor blurts.

Yuuri gets used to how physically affectionate Victor is, and welcomes his bear hugs and hands on his shoulder, but it’s really the fleeting touches that fluster him more.

Victor’s hand is firm on the small of his back while he critiques and adjusts Yuuri’s form on the ice. Victor’s voice is a steady, melodic thrum in his ears, saying something about engaging your core and angles of your free leg, combined with the buzzing of the rink, and Victor’s hand on his back is so warm, soaking through the thin material of Yuuri’s training shirt—

“Right, Yuuri?” Victor says.