Set my mind at ease (or: further miscommunications and extended metaphors through skating)
‘Yuri,’ Viktor says, putting his fork down. ‘I have to tell you something.’
Yuri freezes. Then he puts his fork down and looks at Viktor, wide-eyed. ‘Okay.’
‘I can’t cook.’
‘Okay.’
‘I can’t… do this to food!’ Viktor says, pointing at his chicken. ‘This is delicious and I have literally no idea how you did it.’
‘I just…’ Yuri starts to speak, and Viktor speaks over him.
‘I can heat up meat until it’s edible! I can calculate nutrients! But I can’t cook and I don’t know how and I…’ he swallows. ‘Never wanted to. Mostly I eat take-out and whatever they’re serving at the sports centre.’---
Or: a longfic study in why dating someone in your highly competitive field is not, perhaps, the wisest of ideas. [Ed: yes, I changed over the summary. This quote is rather more representative.]
Growing Old With Mercy (When We Are Old and Gray)