Chapter Text
If someone had told him five years ago that he would be happily married at twenty-five with two dogs and a successful business, he would have sent them to get their head checked.
And yet, five years later, here he was.
Yuuri sighed, twisting the ring on his ring finger and smiling down at it. To that day, he could not believe he was lucky enough to be married to Viktor. It still felt like a dream even after nearly half a year, and the ring was a way to prove himself that yes , this was all true, and yes , he was indeed married to the man of his dream, and yes , he was very lucky.
He was alone at home for the moment with Makkachin and Vicchan, the apartment feeling empty without Viktor’s brightness to liven it up. Their pups were feeling the absence of their second daddy as well, moping around all day and staying as close to Yuuri as possible. It had been this way for the past eight days, since Viktor departure to Los Angeles. Fortunately, it was only for one more night, as Viktor only had gone back to tie up a few loose ends and was due back tomorrow, but it didn’t mean Yuuri didn’t miss him something fierce. Still, he found it impossibly sweet that despite the tight schedule Viktor somehow managed to make it possible to be back on Valentine’s day.
This would be their first Valentine’s day as a married couple, and Yuuri couldn’t wait to see his husband again. To soak in his scent, to get lost in the warmth of his mouth, to melt under his body’s strength. The last eight days were nothing compared to the time they had been forced to stay apart while Viktor had been finishing filming that skating movie, but it felt like an eternity since they had been last forced to be apart and Skype could only do so much after all. He missed how Viktor’s eyes would light up every time Yuuri brought out a slice of cake for him to indulge in, he missed the goofy heart-shaped smile that appeared whenever he would eat said slice of cake, he missed the smell of Viktor fresh out of a shower, his warmth whenever they cuddled up together…
Shaking his head rapidly to stop that train of thought, he focused on his plans to celebrate the day instead. He had many ideas on how to make it special, ranging from going around the town and revisiting their favorite places to having a quiet dinner at their favourite restaurant to simply strolling at the beach, admiring the view. He had poured over various magazines that he bought with a blushing face, asked Phichit and Chris for advice, which were mainly Phichit squealing over how cute they were, could he join in to take pictures, and Chris… well, Yuuri felt as though he needed to at least wash his ears with bleach or bang his head against some hard surface to clear his memory after that conversation. Against his better judgement, he had even asked Yuri, only to be yelled at and hung up on.
In the end, he settled for having a nice quiet dinner at home, knowing that Viktor would be tired from the long journey back, and would rather spend quality time together than going out and running the risk of bumping into fans. True, the people in Hasetsu were more respectful of their privacy, but someone always got a little over eager and it was all downhill from there. Pictures, videos, requests for autographs popped up left and right and before they knew it they were surrounded by fans and their date night was over. So a romantic night in should be the perfect chance to spend some quality time together uninterrupted.
Currently, he was in their kitchen, mixing together ingredients for the valentine’s day cake he had planned. He had decided to bake the typical Japanese Valentine Cake to adhere the traditions: a strawberry tofu cheesecake in the shape of a heart. True, it was kind of cliche, but there was something quite romantic about conforming to the old customs that Yuuri could not bear not to do his part. Anyway, Viktor had never had the chance to try it before, so it would still be a new taste for him.
A new flavor Yuuri hoped he would fell in love with.
Viktor returned a day earlier than he told Yuuri he would, but instead of going back to their place, he headed over to Yu-Topia instead to use the kitchen there. He had arranged for this before his trip as a surprise for Yuuri. He knew that Yuuri was expecting him to arrive on Valentine’s Day, probably preparing to wait for him at the airport. What he didn’t know, however, was that Viktor had secretly arranged to fly back the day before, thus granting him sufficient time to execute his plan.
Hiroko had been more than obliging, her eyes dancing with delight when he had told her of his plans before his trip. To celebrate the happy occasion, Viktor had spent every waking moment he could in his old apartment that Yuri currently occupied in L.A., practicing and practicing until he the cake he had chosen for Yuuri turned out perfectly. Viktor smiled, eyes misting over as he recalled the past and the countless happy memories tied to the cake that started it all. The first recipe Yuuri had shared with him, and the only one he felt fitting for celebrating their love. It was almost… no it was their very own special cake.
Humming to himself, he carefully followed the instructions Yuuri had typed out for him, swearing to himself that the ‘mochi disaster’ would not be repeated. As he slid the cake pan into the oven, Viktor breathed a sigh of relief. The cake mixture had tasted great, and the remaining steps were easy enough, as it did not involve any more mixing and stirring and whatnot. True, he did not know how to glaze and decorate it, so it was not as pretty as the ones Yuuri made, but it was the best that Viktor had ever made, and he knew Yuuri would appreciate the effort. And at least the cake would not result in any food poisoning, which was definitely an improvement compared to his past attempts at baking. Carefully packing it into a cake box before putting it back in the fridge, he looked at the clock. It was in the wee hours, so Viktor chose to tiptoe to Yuuri’s old room and sleep there, setting five different alarms to ensure he would wake up and be in time to return home. He did not want to return too late only to find that Yuuri had already left, thus ruining the surprise.
The doorbell rang, making Yuuri curse. He had just put the completed cake into the fridge to cool and settle, and was about to change out of his ratty baking clothes. He head two hours to get to the airport to pick Viktor up, most of which would be spent in the car, driving. Thankfully, he had decorated the apartment the night before, which had saved him some time. However, the unexpected visit would delay him from seeing his husband faster, which set him into a foul mood.
He had gone nine days without seeing Viktor, and every minute that prevented him from finally seeing his husband was a minute wasted. Thus, nobody could blame him when he irritatedly threw the door open. However, the sight stopped him short, and the tirade that was about to leave his lips died, instead giving way to an open jaw. Viktor beamed, pleased that he had successfully surprised Yuuri, and presented him with the cake box and exclaiming, “Surprise! Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Yuuri stared wordlessly at Viktor, then at the box of cake in Viktor’s hands, stunned. The image finally registered in his mind, and he soon dissolved into giggles. The giggles then escalated to a full blown laughter, and Yuuri soon had tears streaming down his face. It was now Viktor’s turn to be shocked, and his expression turned downcast. This was not how he imagined the situation to go.
“Was it not a good surprise?” Viktor asked, hurt evident in his tone.
“No! It’s not that! I love the surprise! It’s just…” Wiping away the tears that had formed in the corner of his eyes, Yuuri pulled Viktor into a tender kiss, mindful of the cake, before gently tugging on Viktor’s hand and motioning for Viktor to follow him. Yuuri slowly lead Viktor into the living room, and Viktor was floored. Yuuri had decorated the place, and adorning their coffee table were roses and candles.
“Wait here,” Yuuri said before darting to the kitchen faster than Viktor could reply. He quickly returned, but this time was bearing an enormous heart-shaped strawberry cheesecake. “Surprise!” Yuuri exclaimed, blushing.
Viktor could see why he had just started laughing. He wanted to laugh himself. Both of them had similar ideas, resulting in them now having two cakes to eat. Viktor was ridiculously happy however. This just proved that they were so in sync! He just barely managed to stop himself from dropping his handmade cake onto the floor and jumping into Yuuri’s arms, which would have caused said man to drop his cake, something he absolutely did not want. Instead, he settled for smiling widely.
“I can’t believe you managed to bake this!” Yuuri marveled, as he bit into another slice of the Ptichye Moloko cake Viktor had baked. It was his third already and he just couldn’t get enough. It might have been the bias speaking but to him, it tasted even better than what he normally baked! “And you didn’t burn down your kitchen or anything?”
Viktor pouted, before laughing. “Thankfully, no. Yurio would have killed me had I done that. The first few turned out bad because I didn’t measure the correct amounts of ingredients and I couldn’t whisk the mixture properly. But practice makes perfect!” Scooping a portion of the cake onto his fork, he brought it up to Yuuri’s mouth, intention clear. With a blushing face, Yuuri hesitantly wrapped his lips around the fork, moaning at the taste. Viktor could not help it. He leaned in, pressing kisses onto Yuuri’s lips.
If anyone had told Viktor five years ago that he would have found love and life in a little town, that he would have fallen heads over heels and be happily married, Viktor would have simply smiled and waved their comments off, writing them off as crazy. Yet here he was, five years later, happily feeding his love. And he could not ask for anything more.
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Recipe: Strawberry Tofu Cheesecake
Ingredients
(makes one 18cm round cake)
crust:
- 100g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
- 50g unsalted butter, melted
filling:
- 6tbsp warm water
- 2tbsp gelatin powder
- 250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature
- 150g silken tofu
- 45g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
- 5tbsp caster sugar
- 4tbsp lemon juice
jelly:
- 1 box Jelly crystal (strawberry flavour)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup cold water
Strawberries, sliced
Method:
Crust:
Combine crushed digestive biscuits and melted butter together in a mixing bowl. With the back of a spoon, press the biscuit crumbs firmly onto the base of the baking pan. Chill in the freezer while you prepare the filing.
Filling:
- Measure the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin powder (without stirring). Set aside to allow the gelatin grains to bloom.
- With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, silken tofu and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add in sugar and beat till well-mixed. Add in lemon juice, beat till well-mixed.
- Stir the gelatin solution, which should appear soggy. Pour the solution through a sieve into the cream cheese batter. Beat the batter again until well-mixed. The finished batter should be thin and runny.
- Pour the batter onto the chilled crust based. Tap the pan lightly to remove any trapped air bubble. Refrigerate for at least 4hours or overnight.
Jelly:
- Dissolve the jelly crystal in the cup of boiling water, followed by the cold water. Pour the jelly on the chilled tofu cheesecake layer.
- Arrange the sliced strawberries on the cake. Let it set in the refrigerate for an hour.
- To unmold, carefully slide the removable pan downwards to release the cake.
Recipe: http://www.lirongs.com/2014/03/recipe-strawberry-tofu-cheesecake.html