Chapter Text
"It's going to be a 'beautiful sunny day, and the traffic looks pretty light today as well...on Longdrive…”
The sound of a lawnmower was coming through the open window, but it was a couple of blocks down, so no real bother.
Cars starting, and people heading to work.
A woman, middle aged, mother, stands at the bottom of the stair of her home.
"People, work with me, come on! We have relatives invading this afternoon! Yuuri! Mari! Mila! Yurio! Chop-chop!
Everyone GET UP!"
Yurio, 12 years old, blonde hair covering his face so that only a glimpse of green eyes can be seen, comes down the stair to his mother. "I think I'm sick. I'm going to go back to bed." He sighs and puts an arm to his head.
Mila, a small red headed 8 year old, is right behind him. "You're not sick!"
Yurio whirls around "Shut up you hag!"
"Make me!" Mila sticks out her tongue at Yurio.
Yurio lunges, and Mila screams "MOM- YURIO HIT ME!"
"No I didn't!" Yurio rolls his eyes, smirks and crosses his arms.
But their mother has already turned around, looking for something on the table.
Their father comes around the door into the hall. "Knock it off! Come on guys we have a wedding to get ready for!"
Yurio smirked. "C'mon Dad. I didn't hit her-at least not this time." He put his face level with Mila's but continued to talk to his father. "I'm not stupid enough to do it when you're right down the hall."
Mila mocked him, daring him to strike now.
Their father was heading to the bathroom, but a young woman, dark hair sticking out in spikes on her head comes barreling in the hall, snakes in front of him him and shuts the door.
"Hey, I was going in there!" he bellowed.
The girl poked her head out, scowling. "Dad, I’M the one getting married. And I have a serious problem." With that, she slammed the door, narrowly missing his face.
He looked over at Yurio, who just chuckled. "She got her period. Should make for an interesting honeymoon, huh?"
His father frowned. "Where are you learning this stuff?"
Yurio shrugged. "School."
His father nodded, and lifted his eyebrows. "Well at least I'm getting my money’s worth."
Up the stair, in the attic-turned-bedroom, a young, dark haired boy was looking at himself in the mirror, hair still wet from the shower.
He scowled at himself.
Then he smiled a coy smile, batting his eyes, blowing a kiss at the mirror.
He flexed in a side chest pose, and then the front double bicep.
He held this pose for a few seconds, then exhaled loudly, letting his arms relax.
Stuck out his tongue and waggled it at the face in the mirror.
He shook his head slightly, reached for the phone receiver and spoke. "Nope. Not one single bit of difference." He frowned at himself again in the mirror, then he fiddled with the radio, and found a song he liked and turned it up just a bit, still hanging on to the receiver.
His friend Pichit on the line, laughing. "Yuuri, did you think you were going to wake up suddenly transformed or something?"
Yuuri scowled. "No, but I thought I would at least see some difference. I'm sixteen today! But you can't tell, I still look..." He makes a disgusted face, "like a kid."
Pichit sighed. "Yuuri, you don't look like a kid, you look-"
"Utterly forgettable." Yuuri cut in, and sighed wistfully, looking out the window. " No one special. I better get dressed and get downstairs. My family probably wants to wish me a happy birthday."
"All right, see you at school. Cheer up, your going to have a good birthday!”
Yuuri hung up and sat down, looked back at the mirror, and put his elbow on his knee, chin resting in his hand.
"What you need is 4 inches of bod, and a great birthday."
*****
Downstairs, things had become more chaotic.
"Where's my ledger book?"
"Where'd you leave it?"
"If I knew I wouldn’t ask!"
"Where's Yuuri?"
"Where's my ledger book?"
"Where's Yuuri?"
Yurio, slinging his school bag over his shoulder, smiled. "Allow me!" He cupped his hands over his mouth. "HEY PIGGY!"
Yuuri came down the stair, and looked at his mother expectantly.
"You missed breakfast again, Yuuri." His mother distractedly trying to speak to him and hand her husband his ledger book.
"It wasn't my idea to give him his own phone line." His father grumbled, and took the ledger, headed into the study.
"You can grab a donut." Yuuri's mother said, and this made Yuuri frown deeper. "I didn't have time to make you your carrots today."
Mila piped up, "Why you eating carrots every day Yuuri?"
Yurio bumped Yuuri's arm with his shoulder. "Because he read it will make his muscles get bigger!" and laughed.
"Why would you want bigger muscles?"
"So some bo-hunk will come along and marry him." Yurio cried merrily.
Mila rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to marry anyone. Unless it's wonder woman."
Mila and Yurio headed out the door to school, and Yuuri stood silently waiting.
Yuuri’s mother sighed. “When it comes your turn to get married, honey do us a favor and elope!” She laughed. “Just kidding, Yuuri.” When she saw that Yuuri looked downcast.
“Is that all that you have to say to me?” Yuuri asked, eyebrows high, expectant.
Yuuri’s mother sighed again. “What do you want me to say Yuuri?” She patted Yuuri’s hand. “Now hurry up, you’ll miss the bus. Here’s some lunch money.” Yuuri’s mother disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.
Yuuri stood, a look of incredulity spreading over his face.
“I can’t believe this.” He held his hands up, then dropped them to his sides.
“They forgot my fucking birthday.”