Learning To Count(Otabek x Yuri) [boyxboy]

Chapter Fourteen

'You're such an ass,' Yuri grumbled as Otabek posted the morning selfie he'd demanded they take before getting up. 'That was so unflattering.'
'That's why it's a morning selfie,' Otabek said it like it was obvious.
'Oh, of course. I don't have any clothes, by the way, since my shirt is now... Stained.'
'Hmm? Borrow some of mine,' He dug through his wardrobe and threw a shirt at him. Yuri pulled it on and was relieved that it swamped him. Firstly, he couldn't handle it if he fit Otabek's shirt- he wasn't fat, but he had so much muscle that for Yuri to be of the same proportion would mean he was fat. Secondly, he hated anything that showed his body. This was why he stuck primarily to oversized sweaters and shapeless hoodies. He borrowed a spare toothbrush and they brushed their teeth together, their eyes occasionally meeting in the mirror as they checked each other out not-so-subtly. When Yuri dragged his eyes away to inspect himself in the mirror, he groaned in frustration. His neck was littered with hickeys, with one particularly large one just underneath his jaw in the most visible position possible.
'What are you, a leech?' He whined, prodding at them and wincing.
'Next time I see you, wear a turtleneck and it won't happen.'
'Oh, so it's my fault?'
'You did kind of tell me you wanted it rough.'
Yuri grunted and flipped him off, yanking his fingers through his hair and tugging it back into a bun as Otabek dragged him downstairs to the kitchen where his parents were sat at the table discussing the newspaper headlines. They looked up and Yuri immediately felt incredibly self conscious about his neck, but all they did was smile and Otabek's dad uttered a gruff hello before returning to his paper.
'I'm just saying that in light of the recent claims made on....' He continued to blather to his wife, who was feigning interest as her eyes drifted across the business page.
'Still reading up about your opposition?' Otabek leaned over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. She nodded vacantly and continued to search the articles for whatever she was looking for.
'Okay, we have... Cereal, toast, yoghurt, cereal in the fridge for some reason- mum, why is the cereal in the fridge?' Otabek pulled a box of name brand cereal out, a frown on his face.
'Your father likes it cold,' She explained, her eyes still not leaving the pages of the paper.
'Right. Well, that's your options.'
'Can I just have a glass of water?' Yuri knew he'd never get away with it before he even asked, but it was worth a try.
'Cereal it is,' Otabek winked, stretching up to pull two bowls down from a shelf. He hummed as he poured the milk in over the cereal and grabbed two spoons, tapping them rhythmically on the counter before placing them in the bowls. He handed one over to Yuri and they sat down next to his parents, who didn't look up.
'I'm not really hungry,' Yuri said quietly, wishing they could have done this somewhere else or at a different time. He wasn't ready to admit that he still couldn't eat, even after everything he'd said last night. 'I don't want to get cramp again.'
'Not a chance,' Otabek leaned forwards and took his spoon for him. 'Do I have to feed you?'
Yuri, humiliated to be in the presence of two adults and being threatened with being fed, snatched the spoon back and begrudgingly ate half a mouthful.
'There. Happy now?' His voice had an icy edge to it and Otabek chuckled at his attitude.
'Five more?'
'No.'
'Four.'
'No.'
'Five.'
'You just went up!'
'Yeah, if you're difficult the number goes up.'
'That's so unfair! Anyway, you can't threaten me. I could just walk out now and go home and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it,' He pointed out. Otabek took his hand from across the table, their fingers locking together.
'Do you remember the first time we met?' He asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.
'Sure. You spilt tea all over me.'
'No, actually. I was lost in the hospital and I ended up staring at you. You got kind of pissed off.'
'Oh god, really? I forgot about that! I'm sorry, I was in a bad mood- doctor's appointment, you know...'
'That much was obvious when you decided we were playing truant. You were brave enough to make me abscond with you. And when we went to London and trainhopped and you just went along with it.'
'I also passed out and ran away from you,' Yuri reminded him, not seeing how this conversation was related to anything.
'Then you climbed up a tree and told me you were going to get home on your own. If you're so brave that you can do all of that, can't you handle five spoonfuls of cereal?'
Yuri groaned in frustration and glanced across at Otabek's parents, who had their eyes trained on their respective newspapers.
'They go completely deaf in the morning,' Otabek assured him. Yuri's hand trembled as he raised the spoon to his lips, an internal battle sparking up inside. Yes, he could perfectly well eat the food. All he had to do was instruct his muscles to do so just five times and he was free to go and Otabek would stop worrying about him. On the other hand, his mind was screaming at him that something so simple as liking somebody was not enough to allow him the self-indulgent pleasure of eating. It would be a betrayal of everything he'd worked for. If he ate this, thought it may be small, what next? Would he be taken over by the unstoppable urge to binge until he could barely move and then be forced to throw it all up again, tearing apart his throat and ripping his insides to pieces. He could not endure that pain for another moment.
His phone rang and he dropped the spoon suddenly, scrabbling to pick up the call. It was from his mother and he instantly felt cold fear settle into his stomach.
'Hi, sweetheart. Do you have a moment?'
'Yeah,' He stood up and indicated to Otabek that he needed a minute or two. 'What is it?'
'Did you forget about your appointment today?'
'Shit,' He cursed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Of course... She'd scheduled an appointment with a new doctor after the clinic had completely failed to help him in any way.
'Are you still at your friend's?'
'Yeah. Sorry, I forgot. What time is it?'
'In about an hour. It's quite a drive, though, so we should be leaving now, really. Text me the address and I'll pick you up.'
'Okay. Sorry, I should have remembered.'
'That's okay, darling. I'll see you in a minute, okay?'
'Yeah.' He hung up and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. How had he ended up like this? He'd never faced any trauma or hardship in his life so why did he have to be the one to be anorexic? There were times when he felt like he didn't deserve it and the entire universe was just pitted against him, and this was one of those moments.
'Everything okay?' Otabek stepped out into the hallway, and he nodded because he didn't trust his voice not to crack for the time being. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves so that he could speak.
'Doctor's appointment. I need to go.'
'Oh, sure. When can I next see you?'
'I don't know,' Yuri smiled, and Otabek wasn't sure but he thought he could detect some sadness behind it. Within twenty minutes he was gone, and they had barely spoken a word. Otabek couldn't put his finger on when exactly the atmosphere had changed into something a little wrought with tension, but for that twenty minutes he had felt it. He knew it was probably just Yuri being on edge over a doctor's appointment, but he couldn't help but blame himself a little.
'Is that the friend?' He jumped as his mum tapped him on the shoulder.
'Yeah,' He sighed, not bothering to lie.
'I can see why you're worried. He's the one from the hospital, isn't he?'
'You remember?'
'I heard you talking.'
'I have no idea what to do with him. He literally looks like death.'
'It's tricky. Is he seeing a doctor?'
'Yeah. He just went to hospital for two weeks and he came out looking worse. How is that even possible?' He slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. 'They should've helped him!'
'Come on. Sit down, have a coffee, and invite one of your friends over,' She knew her son was extroverted and needed to be around people to recharge, but she had too much to do and too many business calls to take and she didn't think he'd talk much to her anyway. 'Where's Sirabhi these days?'
'Yeah, I'll text her. Can I have a few people over?'
'Knock yourself out. Don't drink too much!'
'We won't drink.'
She raised an eyebrow and just patted him on the shoulder. He half-smiled and pulled his phone out to text his friends, however much he'd rather be spending time with Yuri, and prayed that by some miracle they'd relieve the feelings of stress that were beginning to creep up on him.