#yes they are absolutely hidden romantics and keep fresh flowers on their desk

[defiledtomb]

A view from Y's office:

[paintingwithwords]

A Working Birthday (Day 7: Romantic Birthday #yurribirthdayweek)

Author(s): paintingwithwords.tumblr.com

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences (to be on the safe side)

Yuuri got off the elevator and walked down the hall, Viktor at his side, as they made their way back to their room.  It had been a long day, and he was in a close second place behind Phichit after the short program.  He thought he might be able to close the gap with his free skate tomorrow, but he was still feeling the lingering effects of jetlag, and he wanted to get a good night’s sleep.  He knew he needed all the help he could get.

“Have you talked to your family yet?” Viktor asked as they neared their room.  He sounded as tired as Yuuri felt.  Coaching and competing was taking its toll on him, and Yuuri wondered how much longer he could keep it up.

Yuuri nodded, pushing the thought aside.  “I talked to them this morning while you were in the shower, just before we called the kennel and facetimed with Makkachin.  They wished me a happy birthday and good luck.”

“I’m glad,” Viktor murmured, “but I’m sorry I missed talking to them.”  He slipped their room key into the lock, opened the door, and motioned for Yuuri to enter in front of him.

Yuuri looked over at the neatly made king-sized bed and smiled as he unlaced his track shoes and left them by the door.  Long gone were the days of pushing beds together.  It had been fun in a way, but it was much more comfortable, and satisfying, to sleep next to Viktor without having to worry if one of them was going to wake up wedged in the crack between two beds in the morning.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take a shower,” Viktor said, helping Yuuri out of his team jacket.  “It’s got a pretty good massage setting.  Not as good as the one we have at home, of course, but it’s decent.”

“Okay,” Yuuri answered.  A shower sounded absolutely wonderful, especially with its endless amounts of hot water.  He felt Viktor’s hands settle on his spine, going straight for the well-hidden closure hidden in the sequins.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go out for your birthday?” Viktor asked, slowly unzipping the back of Yuuri’s costume.  “As your fiancé, I feel remiss not taking you out tonight to celebrate.”  

“As my coach,” Yuuri replied, looking over his shoulder at Viktor, “you would be remiss if you didn’t make sure I got enough sleep during a major competition.  We can celebrate tomorrow.  It won’t matter if it’s a day late.”

Viktor huffed and looked at him through the fall of his bangs.  “Fine then,” he pouted, feigning disappointment. “Don’t let me spoil you on your birthday.  I’ll just order room service for us and we’ll just have dinner here like a couple of boring people.”  

“We’re not boring, we’re sensible,” Yuuri answered as he took off his costume and deposited it on the counter next to the sink.  As he closed the bathroom door, Viktor called out to him, “Take your time, you know how slow room service can be.”

Yuuri was all too happy to take Viktor’s advice and and take his time in the shower.  The warm water did wonders for his sore muscles and he felt like he could’ve stayed there forever under the pulsing massage.  He felt better than he had all day and he began to wonder if Viktor really did want to go out.  Did Viktor really think he was being boring?  Maybe they could go out, just for a little bit.  He felt better now, and if they only went out for dinner, a couple of hours at the most, it wouldn’t really hurt anything, right? Determined, he shut off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist.  He took the other towel, threw it over his shoulders, and opened the door.

“Viktor, I was thinking that maybe-” Yuuri began, only to fall silent at the sight before him.

The lights had been turned off, but the room was dimly lit with the flickering glow of candlelight.  Yuuri could see tealight candles placed across the dresser and the nightstands. On the floor, a trail of red and pink rose petals led from the bathroom door to the small table by the window, and another trail led from the table to the bed.  On the table, two places were set, unopened room service cartons in place of plates. A bottle was nestled in the room’s standard plastic ice bucket, with a pair of champagne flutes next to it.  A single red rose in a vase had been placed in the middle of the table.

Pressing his hand to his chest, Yuuri looked over at the bed. Rose petals were sprinkled over the pillows and across the turned-back covers.  Yuuri was pretty sure there would be rose petals in the sheets as well. Viktor had done all of this, just for him?  

He looked at Viktor, standing silently beside the table, a shy half-smile on his face.  What had he done to deserve such a wonderful man?

“Happy birthday, Yuuri,” Viktor said, walking towards Yuuri.

Yuuri’s vision began to cloud with unshed tears.  He was so moved by what Viktor had done, the lengths he had gone to just to make his birthday special…  He pulled in a shaky breath, feeling overcome with love and joy and surprise and gratitude-

“The candles aren’t real,” Viktor murmured as he took Yuuri in his arms. “I was afraid smoke might set off the alarm, so these are little battery powered candles.   I know you don’t like to drink before a competition, so I ordered mineral water.  I had the flowers delivered to the front desk during the competition and they brought them up with dinner.”  Viktor looked down, fighting a frown, clearly uncertain with himself.  “I know it’s not much, but I hope this will be okay.  I’ll take you out for a proper dinner tomorrow night.”

Yuuri felt tears being to slip down his cheeks, but before he could do anything about them, Viktor sighed and wiped them away with his thumb.  He looked up into Viktor’s face and saw sadness in his eyes.  

“It’s terrible, isn’t it?” Viktor whispered.  “I’m sorry, Yuuri, I didn’t mean to upset-”

Yuuri reached up, took Viktor’s face in both of his hands, and pulled him down into a kiss, silencing him.  How could Viktor doubt that what he’d done was anything but wonderful?  He could feel hot tears spilling down his cheeks and he knew he needed to make Viktor understand that he was crying because he was happy, so very happy…

“This is beautiful, Viktor,” Yuuri whispered against Viktor’s lips, letting his hands rest at the nape of Viktor’s neck.  “So very beautiful and thoughtful.  What you’ve done…  I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

“So, these,” Viktor breathed, wiping fresh tears from Yuuri’s cheeks, “are happy tears?”

Yuuri nodded, smiling as he closed his eyes.  “Yes.  These are happy tears.  You make me happy, Viktor.  Every single day.”

He felt Viktor’s fingers slide under his jaw and tilt his head up for a soft and fleeting kiss.  

“Happy birthday, my Yuuri,” Viktor purred, brushing Yuuri’s hair back from his face.  “Would you please join me for dinner?”

“It would be my pleasure,” he replied , thanking whatever deities were listening that he had Viktor in his life.