In Sickness

Chapter one

  "Just rest now, whatever this is, we'll get through it together."Victor soothed. The silver-haired man ran his fingers through Yuri's short, dark hair while holding the younger man's hand with his other.

Yuri laid quietly in bed staring up at the older man, though Victor's words were encouraging, his eyes showed his concern. Yuri swallowed reflexively, the sharp pain in his throat caused him to wince. Along with his throat, Yuri's head ached, the fever and chills did nothing to ease his discomfort. Victor, however, was an amazing comfort.

Yuri had felt ill for the past four days and his beloved Victor stayed by his side, leaving only when there was an immediate necessity. Yuri couldn't help but feel a certain amount of guilt for forcing his coach to stay close to him constantly. the look in Victor's perfect blue eyes only added to this feeling.

"You know, you've gone through this a lot lately," Victor commented softly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I can still go out on the ice, it's not like I'm dying or-" Yuri began, only to be cut off by Victor.

"In your condition, I can't expect you to do anything but rest. I'm not letting you on the ice with a fever either." the older man insisted.

"It's not a high fever, I'm fine." the younger man insisted.

"Yuri, I want you to see a doctor." Victor frowned. He knew Yuri hated going to the doctor and the suggestion was likely to cause an argument.

"But Victor, what about the gold medal, shouldn't we keep the focus on our goal and -"

"You're absolutely right, we should, and my goal right now is to get you to the doctor, so let's work on that. It can wait until you're well again. I know it's important to you but you are more important to me. We'll have other opportunities. All I want you to do now is get better. I'll be right here."

"You know, You don't have to-"

"Hush, just take it easy." Victor continued to caress Yuri's hair as he spoke.

"But what about-"

"Don't worry about anything, I'll call the doctor and get you an appointment. I won't argue with you about this, you're-"Victor stopped suddenly.

"I'm what?"Yuri asked, trying to push himself up into a sitting position, only to have Victor place a gentle hand on his chest, preventing him from doing so.

"Don't." The older man said softly. "You're precious to me, and I'm going to take care of you, now and always."

"Victor-" The older man leaned down, pressing his lips to Yuri's forehead. when he pulled away, he paused to look directly into the younger skater's eyes.

"I love you more than anything in this world, Yuri. in sickness or health, I'm always going to be beside you." Yuri smiled, knowing that he meant every word.

Victor fixed the blanket around Yuri before taking out his phone and dialing a number. Yuri coughed suddenly, moaning softly as the pain worsened. Once more, Victor's soft hand was stroking his hair, causing him to visibly relax into his pillows.