[Content Warning: references to childbirth in this section]
CHILDHOOD
“We are all, in a sense, experts on secrecy. From earliest childhood we feel its mystery and attraction. We know both the power it confers and the burden it imposes. We learn how it can delight, give breathing space and protect.” -Sissela Bok
In the beginning, Yuri was far too young to understand the concept of secrets, but it hardly mattered given that he had yet to master vocalization.
** ** **
With his wife resting in the hospital bed, covers tucked up to her chin, Toshiya sat in the nearby chair with his son in his arms. Visiting hours were nearly over and soon Toshiya would have to return to the onsen to see to Mari and their guests. His eldest was in the capable hands of her grandmother, but Hiroko would want a full report on how Mari was handling the current change in her life and transition to being a big sister.
But for now, he had this time with his newest child, his son.
The baby had given them a scare towards the end of labor, with his heart rate dropping and causing the midwife to encourage Hiroko into a number of positions to try and resolve the problem. After a long minute, the disquietingly slow thump from the monitor sped up into a far more reassuring drumbeat and the lines of strain above the midwife’s mask relaxed.
Although there were no further scares after that moment, Toshiya’s own heart did not feel as though it slowed back to normal until two hours later when the small, slippery baby finally emerged, complete with umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and quickly released by the midwife, and began to yell his disapproval to the world.
And now the baby lay swaddled in his arms, drowsing with his eyes mostly closed, though opening periodically to squint around as though to check as if his change in location was real.
Much like it had with his daughter seven years before, Toshiya’s heart felt full to bursting, a feeling somehow both longed-for and unexpected at the same time. Toshiya rubbed his forefinger in the baby’s tiny palm, smiling as his son grasped him with surprisingly strong fingers.
“Welcome, son. Listen carefully, because I have something important to tell you.” At the sound of his voice, the baby’s eyes opened and Toshiya had the impression that the baby was waiting for him to continue speaking. “I am already proud of you.”
[Fill] A Share of Joy and Sorrow - 1a (Eventual Yuuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov)
CHILDHOOD
“We are all, in a sense, experts on secrecy. From earliest childhood we feel its mystery and attraction. We know both the power it confers and the burden it imposes. We learn how it can delight, give breathing space and protect.” -Sissela Bok
In the beginning, Yuri was far too young to understand the concept of secrets, but it hardly mattered given that he had yet to master vocalization.
** ** **
With his wife resting in the hospital bed, covers tucked up to her chin, Toshiya sat in the nearby chair with his son in his arms. Visiting hours were nearly over and soon Toshiya would have to return to the onsen to see to Mari and their guests. His eldest was in the capable hands of her grandmother, but Hiroko would want a full report on how Mari was handling the current change in her life and transition to being a big sister.
But for now, he had this time with his newest child, his son.
The baby had given them a scare towards the end of labor, with his heart rate dropping and causing the midwife to encourage Hiroko into a number of positions to try and resolve the problem. After a long minute, the disquietingly slow thump from the monitor sped up into a far more reassuring drumbeat and the lines of strain above the midwife’s mask relaxed.
Although there were no further scares after that moment, Toshiya’s own heart did not feel as though it slowed back to normal until two hours later when the small, slippery baby finally emerged, complete with umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and quickly released by the midwife, and began to yell his disapproval to the world.
And now the baby lay swaddled in his arms, drowsing with his eyes mostly closed, though opening periodically to squint around as though to check as if his change in location was real.
Much like it had with his daughter seven years before, Toshiya’s heart felt full to bursting, a feeling somehow both longed-for and unexpected at the same time. Toshiya rubbed his forefinger in the baby’s tiny palm, smiling as his son grasped him with surprisingly strong fingers.
“Welcome, son. Listen carefully, because I have something important to tell you.” At the sound of his voice, the baby’s eyes opened and Toshiya had the impression that the baby was waiting for him to continue speaking. “I am already proud of you.”