BV11: If At First You Don't Succeed
Original Prompt: Ivan gets sick somehow, he either overworks himself or catches it on the job, whatever the reason, he's incapacitated and on sick leave. The other heroes can't come see him because they can't all catch the sickness and leave Sternbild helpless. So poor sick Ivan is left home alone to recuperate.
Happy holidays! Another chapter may follow shortly.
Doctor's log.
In what seems to have been an effort to improve personal physical fitness, the patient has succumbed to exhaustion as a result of over-taxing his body.
...Is what Yuri Petrov thought to himself as he surveyed the gasping, limp body of one Ivan Karelin who he had placed on his bed. Picking him up had been no simple and easy feat. When the doorbell rang, he took his time in putting away the cape he was stitching and put it back safely in his closet. Whoever was ringing the bell had obviously gone out of their way to reach his home, so they would have no problem with waiting a few more moments for him to leisurely take his time in reaching the door.
The bell hadn't rung again since the first time he heard it from his office. That wasn't really the suspicious part, though. When he opened the door, it seemed as though there was no one there. Then he heard the quiet sound of breathing and looked down to where he found Ivan slumped against the side of the door. He said his name, but... nothing.
How he had even wound up like this was still somewhat of a mystery, though Yuri was sure that he was aware of what the real cause was. Ivan mentioned recently that he wanted to try to climb higher in the ranks for the holidays. He liked the thought of being a strong inspiration for kids, but even more than that, enjoyed the thought of having special edition action figures of Origami Cyclone. Apparently that was a thing only for those at the top.
Yuri knew it wasn't about the action figures. He could tell just by looking at him that it was for a more personal reason than that. He thought he had been trying to help Ivan's confidence and yet here he was. After risking his own well-being to prove himself as a useful hero, he had gotten himself into such a condition.
Waking him was to no avail. Pulling him up by the arm was just going to dislocate something, so he knelt down and did his best to gather him up in his arms until he felt like he could stand while holding him and not accidentally drop him.
He was heavy, but the walk up the stairs was actually a lot less strenuous than he expected. If it wasn't just his imagination, he thought Ivan felt lighter than usual. Against the arm he had around his chest and arms, he could feel each of his ribs. The arm under his knees could feel how hard and bony they were.
He knew Ivan was thin, but not quite like this. As he looked him over on his bed, he slid his shirt up a little. It made him suddenly feel like a pervert, like he was doing something he shouldn't be while he was asleep, even though he had seen him naked countless times before. It was different while he seemed so out of breath and weak, though. Placing a palm against his bare waist, he knew that he had been right. Ivan wasn't built like the other male heroes, but he also wasn't what Yuri would have called weak before.
“Looks like your special training didn't work the way you wanted it to,” he said quietly to the unconscious Ivan.
“Yur... i.”
He was awake now? Yuri didn't want him to be. As much as he wanted to yell at him for getting himself into dire straits, he would have been happier if he just stayed asleep to recuperate and fix the stupid mistake he'd made.
One eye opened and Ivan looked up at him blearily through teary eyelashes. “I...” His lips sunk into a frown and pain crossed his face.
“Explain what happened later. I'm not going anywhere.”
It was fortunate for him that it was a Sunday. Had he done this any other day of the week at this time, there was no guarantee that he would have even been at home to help him. He knew that though, didn't he? To think that with whatever clear thoughts Ivan had left, he thought 'I should go to Yuri' made him feel... Important.
That thought left him feeling like he had to especially prove that he was worthy of that kind of trust then. As long as Ivan stayed in bed laying down, Yuri was confident that his condition couldn't get a lot worse. The damp November air outside would have probably made him sick on top of exhausted which would have been very bad, so he hoped that he hadn't stayed outside to make the journey to his house.
He stopped in the bathroom to retrieve some aspirin from the cabinet above the sink and moved to the kitchen to fill a glass of water. When he returned to his darkened bedroom, the room seemed quieter; Ivan's gasps turned into softer breaths through his nose.
Yuri knew he wasn't asleep. He seemed too stiff now for that to be the case.
“Relax. Take this,” he said gently, holding out the glass of water and his palm with the aspirin. “If you can't do it yourself, I can help.”
Ivan's cheeks already looked flushed, but they darkened even more at the suggestion. At that, he was suddenly acting more awake and Yuri couldn't help the soft snicker that escaped his lips. He apologized for laughing, but kept a mental photo of Ivan's weary indignation.
As much as his embarrassment pleased Yuri, it was cracked in two when Ivan reached up and missed the glass.
“Huh...” he mumbled, swaying slightly back and forth as he sat up to take it. His hand had gone right passed it, not even close to taking it. He tried again but this time, Yuri held it away from him and gently tried to make him stay put. Even if Ivan managed to hold the glass in his hand, Yuri was picturing the contents of it splashing all over the bed and carpet.
“I'll help. Don't think anything of it.”
Ivan nodded weakly and moved over a fraction to allow Yuri to sit next to him. He didn't even seem to have the energy to jump like Yuri expected when he wrapped an arm around his waist. He placed the aspirin in Ivan's palm, which he popped into his mouth. Thankfully, he didn't miss.
“Here,” he said as he held up the glass and moved it toward his lips. Ivan watched it like it was a trick from one of those 3D movies, leaning back, then forward to try to figure out how far away it was. “Stay still. I've got it.”
Ivan took a mouthful of water and tipped his head back, downing the medicine with an audible gulp. His eyes closed almost immediately after and he slumped back into Yuri's hold. He didn't want him to drift back off just yet, though. Who knew what he had endured? As far as Yuri could tell outwardly, he looked like he was dehydrated and he wanted him to finish the whole glass just to be sure.
He shook his shoulder gently with the hand that held him up and Ivan's eyes blinked open as if in surprise. “Ah...?”
“Finish it.”
Ivan stared at him miserably, his lips tightly sealed.
“It's an order from me,” Yuri said firmly. “I don't want to walk away and come back to find that you've shriveled up.”
Ivan made a face. Part of him seemed to find that funny, but mostly gross. “Got it,” he croaked. He reached out to the glass, sliding his hands around Yuri's as he brought it closer to himself again. The first few sips looked like they were an effort, but then the rest went down as if he couldn't get enough of it, making Yuri wonder if he should go get him another glass.
“...You sure drank that fast. Are you still thirsty?”
Ivan just put up a hand and slowly laid back onto the bed. “'m fine,” he mumbled. “Hurt all over. Wanna sleep.”
He proceeded to close his eyes and snuggle into the top covers and Yuri just stared down at him, somewhat amused at how despite his debilitating weakness, he still seemed to have the same Ivan attitude. He used up all his strength to get to his house and collapsed, and was laying there now looking like he didn't have anything to be concerned about.
If this was how it felt to have someone rely on you, then was this what it felt like to be one of the heroes? Yuri put a hand to his chest and used the other to lightly brush some damp hair out of Ivan's face.
Under the palm he held to his chest, he could feel the pulse of fondness filling his heart.
It was official now, wasn't it? Ivan belonged to him now, just as he'd wanted. He just hadn't expected this - to feel like he belonged to him, too.
Now wasn't a time to let himself start idling while thinking about something like that. If he started, he knew he could sit there for an hour or more just thinking about the implications such a thing had on his future. Meanwhile, Ivan needed him.
He smiled to himself as he stood, holding the glass in one hand. Brushing the wrinkles out of his slacks, he walked to the bedroom doorway where he paused for a moment to look back, just to be sure Ivan was really asleep this time. Satisfied, he left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen again.
He wondered how much truth there was in the home remedy of chicken soup. Really, he wasn't even sure if it would cure Ivan's problems, but it probably couldn't hurt. It looked like he had been forgetting to eat while he was doing whatever he was doing to get stronger and ended up running out of steam. A bit of hot soup would be sure to replenish that steam. If he managed to make him eat a bunch of chocolate-covered bananas that one time, then he had a feeling he could get him to eat some homemade soup.
It felt like a while since he made chicken soup. While he knew how to do it and technically had all the ingredients, he didn't have the most optimal ones. But maybe he was just being too picky. Ivan wouldn't care what kind of chicken he used, would he...?
Well in any case, he wasn't going to poison him. At worst, it would turn out okay. So deciding that his expectations shouldn't stop him from making Ivan soup, he went about gathering the ingredients from around the kitchen.
As he stood over the stove, stirring the soup, he realized that he had almost forgotten completely about what he was doing before Ivan arrived at the door. The moment he saw him there, repairing his costume became the farthest thing on his mind. He realized that he probably shouldn't think about it too symbolically, but it felt like that meant something.
He became so absorbed in his own thoughts again that he didn't even hear the footsteps behind him. The second he heard a creaking of the floorboards, he swung around with the ladel in hand and was immediately glad that any hot soup that dripped from it was directed away from Ivan's face.
“Ah... I'm sorry. I didn't hear you at first.”
Ivan's eyes were still a little wide and shocked, but he let out a breath. “N-no, I'm sorry. I should have said something first. I... didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. I'm sorry.”
“It's fine,” Yuri said, slowly turning around to return his weapon to the pot. He was glad Ivan hadn't thought anything of his reflexes. He could have accidentally smacked him right in the face with the thing if he hadn't just as quickly realized who was standing there. “I've been making soup. You can go ahead and sit down at the table. It's almost ready.”
He could hear the smile in the next sigh that Ivan made and heard one of the chairs at the table slide back before he sat down.
“How long was I asleep? Have you been making this the whole time?” he asked, his voice still sounding a little sleepy. “You really didn't have to...”
“No, I wanted to.,” he said, turning around to appraise his appearance further now that he was sitting up and surrounded by the light from the kitchen. “You look like you've been neglecting yourself. Haven't you been eating anything?”
“I... I guess I forgot.”
“You forgot,” Yuri repeated, pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling an eye twitch. “If you're trying to build muscle, you shouldn't be forgetting to eat. You're just going to lose mass that way. All over a toy...”
“It's not just any toy!” Ivan said, his chair creaking as he sat up straighter defensively. “It's an action figure and you didn't let me explain before when I first got here.”
“As I recall, you were passed out in my bed...”
Ivan fidgeted and whined embarrassedly. “Well. Yeah, there was that. B-but let me explain! I was doing my training in the gym by myself earlier today and then my phone rang. It was my manager and he was like 'Ivan, I have some news that will really excite you' or whatever and I was like 'oh my god, did I finally manage to become number one?'” He laughed nervously. “I have big dreams, you know... Uh. Not number one, but I did climb up. I'm number seven now!”
Yuri turned back to the stove and tried not to let himself laugh. It wasn't that funny, considering. Ivan worked really hard to get that far and he didn't want to sound like he was making fun of him, but... Seventh.
“They said they're rewarding my good effort by releasing my very own limited edition holiday action figure!”
He was glad. It wasn't number one, but Ivan accomplished something he tried so hard to do.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Yup. It's going to be released around Christmas. I can't wait. When I got the news, I-I got excited and wanted to tell you right away. I guess I didn't realize how worn out I was.”
Yuri ladled some soup into a bowl and returned to the table, setting it down as he pulled out a seat for himself. “Just promise me that you'll be more careful if you're going to keep training. You know I would open the door for you again if I had to, but I don't want this to happen again, please.”
Ivan stared at the soup hungrily and nodded quickly, whatever it would take to get the soup passed over to him. “I promise, I promise.” He looked up at Yuri when he still didn't hand over the soup. “I-I mean it.”
Yuri sighed, smiling slightly. He passed the soup across the table to him and handed him the spoon, thinking, I don't like it when you make me worry.
He waited anxiously as Ivan lifted the spoon to taste it, then gave himself a mental pat on the back when Ivan grinned and took another bite. He was glad that Ivan had interrupted his day.
INDEX
Happy holidays! Another chapter may follow shortly.
Doctor's log.
In what seems to have been an effort to improve personal physical fitness, the patient has succumbed to exhaustion as a result of over-taxing his body.
...Is what Yuri Petrov thought to himself as he surveyed the gasping, limp body of one Ivan Karelin who he had placed on his bed. Picking him up had been no simple and easy feat. When the doorbell rang, he took his time in putting away the cape he was stitching and put it back safely in his closet. Whoever was ringing the bell had obviously gone out of their way to reach his home, so they would have no problem with waiting a few more moments for him to leisurely take his time in reaching the door.
The bell hadn't rung again since the first time he heard it from his office. That wasn't really the suspicious part, though. When he opened the door, it seemed as though there was no one there. Then he heard the quiet sound of breathing and looked down to where he found Ivan slumped against the side of the door. He said his name, but... nothing.
How he had even wound up like this was still somewhat of a mystery, though Yuri was sure that he was aware of what the real cause was. Ivan mentioned recently that he wanted to try to climb higher in the ranks for the holidays. He liked the thought of being a strong inspiration for kids, but even more than that, enjoyed the thought of having special edition action figures of Origami Cyclone. Apparently that was a thing only for those at the top.
Yuri knew it wasn't about the action figures. He could tell just by looking at him that it was for a more personal reason than that. He thought he had been trying to help Ivan's confidence and yet here he was. After risking his own well-being to prove himself as a useful hero, he had gotten himself into such a condition.
Waking him was to no avail. Pulling him up by the arm was just going to dislocate something, so he knelt down and did his best to gather him up in his arms until he felt like he could stand while holding him and not accidentally drop him.
He was heavy, but the walk up the stairs was actually a lot less strenuous than he expected. If it wasn't just his imagination, he thought Ivan felt lighter than usual. Against the arm he had around his chest and arms, he could feel each of his ribs. The arm under his knees could feel how hard and bony they were.
He knew Ivan was thin, but not quite like this. As he looked him over on his bed, he slid his shirt up a little. It made him suddenly feel like a pervert, like he was doing something he shouldn't be while he was asleep, even though he had seen him naked countless times before. It was different while he seemed so out of breath and weak, though. Placing a palm against his bare waist, he knew that he had been right. Ivan wasn't built like the other male heroes, but he also wasn't what Yuri would have called weak before.
“Looks like your special training didn't work the way you wanted it to,” he said quietly to the unconscious Ivan.
“Yur... i.”
He was awake now? Yuri didn't want him to be. As much as he wanted to yell at him for getting himself into dire straits, he would have been happier if he just stayed asleep to recuperate and fix the stupid mistake he'd made.
One eye opened and Ivan looked up at him blearily through teary eyelashes. “I...” His lips sunk into a frown and pain crossed his face.
“Explain what happened later. I'm not going anywhere.”
It was fortunate for him that it was a Sunday. Had he done this any other day of the week at this time, there was no guarantee that he would have even been at home to help him. He knew that though, didn't he? To think that with whatever clear thoughts Ivan had left, he thought 'I should go to Yuri' made him feel... Important.
That thought left him feeling like he had to especially prove that he was worthy of that kind of trust then. As long as Ivan stayed in bed laying down, Yuri was confident that his condition couldn't get a lot worse. The damp November air outside would have probably made him sick on top of exhausted which would have been very bad, so he hoped that he hadn't stayed outside to make the journey to his house.
He stopped in the bathroom to retrieve some aspirin from the cabinet above the sink and moved to the kitchen to fill a glass of water. When he returned to his darkened bedroom, the room seemed quieter; Ivan's gasps turned into softer breaths through his nose.
Yuri knew he wasn't asleep. He seemed too stiff now for that to be the case.
“Relax. Take this,” he said gently, holding out the glass of water and his palm with the aspirin. “If you can't do it yourself, I can help.”
Ivan's cheeks already looked flushed, but they darkened even more at the suggestion. At that, he was suddenly acting more awake and Yuri couldn't help the soft snicker that escaped his lips. He apologized for laughing, but kept a mental photo of Ivan's weary indignation.
As much as his embarrassment pleased Yuri, it was cracked in two when Ivan reached up and missed the glass.
“Huh...” he mumbled, swaying slightly back and forth as he sat up to take it. His hand had gone right passed it, not even close to taking it. He tried again but this time, Yuri held it away from him and gently tried to make him stay put. Even if Ivan managed to hold the glass in his hand, Yuri was picturing the contents of it splashing all over the bed and carpet.
“I'll help. Don't think anything of it.”
Ivan nodded weakly and moved over a fraction to allow Yuri to sit next to him. He didn't even seem to have the energy to jump like Yuri expected when he wrapped an arm around his waist. He placed the aspirin in Ivan's palm, which he popped into his mouth. Thankfully, he didn't miss.
“Here,” he said as he held up the glass and moved it toward his lips. Ivan watched it like it was a trick from one of those 3D movies, leaning back, then forward to try to figure out how far away it was. “Stay still. I've got it.”
Ivan took a mouthful of water and tipped his head back, downing the medicine with an audible gulp. His eyes closed almost immediately after and he slumped back into Yuri's hold. He didn't want him to drift back off just yet, though. Who knew what he had endured? As far as Yuri could tell outwardly, he looked like he was dehydrated and he wanted him to finish the whole glass just to be sure.
He shook his shoulder gently with the hand that held him up and Ivan's eyes blinked open as if in surprise. “Ah...?”
“Finish it.”
Ivan stared at him miserably, his lips tightly sealed.
“It's an order from me,” Yuri said firmly. “I don't want to walk away and come back to find that you've shriveled up.”
Ivan made a face. Part of him seemed to find that funny, but mostly gross. “Got it,” he croaked. He reached out to the glass, sliding his hands around Yuri's as he brought it closer to himself again. The first few sips looked like they were an effort, but then the rest went down as if he couldn't get enough of it, making Yuri wonder if he should go get him another glass.
“...You sure drank that fast. Are you still thirsty?”
Ivan just put up a hand and slowly laid back onto the bed. “'m fine,” he mumbled. “Hurt all over. Wanna sleep.”
He proceeded to close his eyes and snuggle into the top covers and Yuri just stared down at him, somewhat amused at how despite his debilitating weakness, he still seemed to have the same Ivan attitude. He used up all his strength to get to his house and collapsed, and was laying there now looking like he didn't have anything to be concerned about.
If this was how it felt to have someone rely on you, then was this what it felt like to be one of the heroes? Yuri put a hand to his chest and used the other to lightly brush some damp hair out of Ivan's face.
Under the palm he held to his chest, he could feel the pulse of fondness filling his heart.
It was official now, wasn't it? Ivan belonged to him now, just as he'd wanted. He just hadn't expected this - to feel like he belonged to him, too.
Now wasn't a time to let himself start idling while thinking about something like that. If he started, he knew he could sit there for an hour or more just thinking about the implications such a thing had on his future. Meanwhile, Ivan needed him.
He smiled to himself as he stood, holding the glass in one hand. Brushing the wrinkles out of his slacks, he walked to the bedroom doorway where he paused for a moment to look back, just to be sure Ivan was really asleep this time. Satisfied, he left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen again.
He wondered how much truth there was in the home remedy of chicken soup. Really, he wasn't even sure if it would cure Ivan's problems, but it probably couldn't hurt. It looked like he had been forgetting to eat while he was doing whatever he was doing to get stronger and ended up running out of steam. A bit of hot soup would be sure to replenish that steam. If he managed to make him eat a bunch of chocolate-covered bananas that one time, then he had a feeling he could get him to eat some homemade soup.
It felt like a while since he made chicken soup. While he knew how to do it and technically had all the ingredients, he didn't have the most optimal ones. But maybe he was just being too picky. Ivan wouldn't care what kind of chicken he used, would he...?
Well in any case, he wasn't going to poison him. At worst, it would turn out okay. So deciding that his expectations shouldn't stop him from making Ivan soup, he went about gathering the ingredients from around the kitchen.
As he stood over the stove, stirring the soup, he realized that he had almost forgotten completely about what he was doing before Ivan arrived at the door. The moment he saw him there, repairing his costume became the farthest thing on his mind. He realized that he probably shouldn't think about it too symbolically, but it felt like that meant something.
He became so absorbed in his own thoughts again that he didn't even hear the footsteps behind him. The second he heard a creaking of the floorboards, he swung around with the ladel in hand and was immediately glad that any hot soup that dripped from it was directed away from Ivan's face.
“Ah... I'm sorry. I didn't hear you at first.”
Ivan's eyes were still a little wide and shocked, but he let out a breath. “N-no, I'm sorry. I should have said something first. I... didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. I'm sorry.”
“It's fine,” Yuri said, slowly turning around to return his weapon to the pot. He was glad Ivan hadn't thought anything of his reflexes. He could have accidentally smacked him right in the face with the thing if he hadn't just as quickly realized who was standing there. “I've been making soup. You can go ahead and sit down at the table. It's almost ready.”
He could hear the smile in the next sigh that Ivan made and heard one of the chairs at the table slide back before he sat down.
“How long was I asleep? Have you been making this the whole time?” he asked, his voice still sounding a little sleepy. “You really didn't have to...”
“No, I wanted to.,” he said, turning around to appraise his appearance further now that he was sitting up and surrounded by the light from the kitchen. “You look like you've been neglecting yourself. Haven't you been eating anything?”
“I... I guess I forgot.”
“You forgot,” Yuri repeated, pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling an eye twitch. “If you're trying to build muscle, you shouldn't be forgetting to eat. You're just going to lose mass that way. All over a toy...”
“It's not just any toy!” Ivan said, his chair creaking as he sat up straighter defensively. “It's an action figure and you didn't let me explain before when I first got here.”
“As I recall, you were passed out in my bed...”
Ivan fidgeted and whined embarrassedly. “Well. Yeah, there was that. B-but let me explain! I was doing my training in the gym by myself earlier today and then my phone rang. It was my manager and he was like 'Ivan, I have some news that will really excite you' or whatever and I was like 'oh my god, did I finally manage to become number one?'” He laughed nervously. “I have big dreams, you know... Uh. Not number one, but I did climb up. I'm number seven now!”
Yuri turned back to the stove and tried not to let himself laugh. It wasn't that funny, considering. Ivan worked really hard to get that far and he didn't want to sound like he was making fun of him, but... Seventh.
“They said they're rewarding my good effort by releasing my very own limited edition holiday action figure!”
He was glad. It wasn't number one, but Ivan accomplished something he tried so hard to do.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Yup. It's going to be released around Christmas. I can't wait. When I got the news, I-I got excited and wanted to tell you right away. I guess I didn't realize how worn out I was.”
Yuri ladled some soup into a bowl and returned to the table, setting it down as he pulled out a seat for himself. “Just promise me that you'll be more careful if you're going to keep training. You know I would open the door for you again if I had to, but I don't want this to happen again, please.”
Ivan stared at the soup hungrily and nodded quickly, whatever it would take to get the soup passed over to him. “I promise, I promise.” He looked up at Yuri when he still didn't hand over the soup. “I-I mean it.”
Yuri sighed, smiling slightly. He passed the soup across the table to him and handed him the spoon, thinking, I don't like it when you make me worry.
He waited anxiously as Ivan lifted the spoon to taste it, then gave himself a mental pat on the back when Ivan grinned and took another bite. He was glad that Ivan had interrupted his day.
INDEX