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“You don’t have to stay here and babysit me, Phi,” Yuuri said. He pet his friend’s head, laughing as the dog-sized dragon chirped. “There won’t be another one like Anderson. You chased him off and he won’t be back. And…”
“Yuuuuuriiii,” Phichit whined with a hint of a chitter. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“I’m not going to let you skip out on Chris and Seung-gil just to hover over me.” Yuuri ruffled some of Phichit’s head feathers. “You’re going to be late for dinner with them if you keep dallying here with me.”
“You are!” Phichit gasped. “What are you hiding from me, Katsuki Yuuri?”
“I’m not?” Yuuri tilted his head. “You weren’t paying attention.”
“Rude!”
“Really, I’m not hiding anything,” Yuuri said. He blinked at Phichit, whose scarlet and gold scales glimmered in the poor lighting of their shared living room. “I told you I was meeting Viktor for coffee?”
“The human?” Phichit chittered again, sprawling his body atop Yuuri. Like this, he was the size of a great dane, and weighed just about as much. “From the woods? And Plisetsky’s?”
“That’s the one, yeah,” Yuuri said, rubbing the back of his neck as he resigned himself to his fate of being crushed by his best friend. “Why are you a dragon in the living room, anyway? It’s not like we live in a luxury flat. We don’t exactly have the space…”
“It’s cold out and a dragon’s heat core is the ideal temperature,” Phichit stated simply. “It’s freezing. It’s like, in the negatives.”
“Fair enough, but you really need to get ready to meet your boyfriends. And I’m supposed to be getting ready to leave, too.”
“Oh!” Phichit scrambled off the couch, leaving Yuuri with a body-wide cold spot. “Come with me to dinner!”
“Phi—”
“I know, you’re meeting your human,” Phichit cut him off. “But like, at least come say hi? They haven’t seen you since the day I terrorized Anderson. They should see that you’re doing okay. You’ve been holed up in this apartment for too long!”
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Yuuri sighed.
“Nope! We’ll go right now so you have time!” Phichit chirped before his body collapsed in on itself and reformed as a person. He stretched his arms and ran his hands through his hair, making sure he was presentable. “’Kay, let’s go.”
Yuuri sighed, firing off a text message to Viktor.
Phichit ’s kidnapping me to be a fourth wheel. Send help.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Chris said, arching his eyebrows as Phichit showed up with Yuuri in tow. “I thought you’d be holed up at home with a game or something. You hate going out.”
“I had plans, but Phichit apparently thought I needed to change them.” Yuuri sighed. “I didn’t want to intrude on your dinner date, but I was dragged here against my will.”
“Resorting to kidnapping, Phichit?” Seung-gil asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Well, how else was I supposed to get him out?” Phichit whined, flopping his body weight against Seung-gil.
Seung-gil sighed and braced himself against Phichit’s weight, wrapping an arm around the shapeshifter’s waist. Phichit preened at the contact, snuggling further against him. “Phichit…”
“Let’s get seated!” Phichit threw his arms around Seung-gil while making a grab for his best friend. Yuuri stepped away with a bit of a twirl, keeping his tail out of Phichit’s reach. In doing so, he bumped right into a solid form that wasn’t there before.
“The reservation’s only—”
“Yuuuuriiiii~”
Yuuri visibly relaxed, letting out a private sigh. He turned to face the owner of the voice that joined them. He smiled, stepping back for some space.
“Viktor.” Yuuri held out his hands, and Viktor took them without further prompting. “Come to rescue me from fourth wheeling?”
“As you wished, of course,” Viktor replied with a wink, looking utterly delighted when Yuuri blushed—even more so when the unicorn’s horn emitted a faint pink glow that matched his cheeks.
“Oh my God, Yuuri, how could you?” Phichit whined, despite the grin on his face. “So rude.”
“I told you, Phichit. I was supposed to meet Viktor but you kidnapped me,” Yuuri chastised, still flush in the cheeks. His tail twitched about, nervous. He gave Phichit’s boyfriends a sheepish smile. “It really was nice to see you two. And I appreciate all your concern, but I’m alright, really. It’s been months—and Viktor isn’t Anderson. You don’t need me hanging around on your date.”
“Really, bunny? Kidnapping Yuuri so he can’t get coffee with such a pretty human?” Chris snorted. He studied Viktor carefully. Viktor blinked back at him, and found himself caught in a cage of eye contact. Viktor shuddered. “He’s fine, bun. He won’t hurt Yuuri.”
“Hmph.” Phichit pouted. “You’re too soft. I hate it when you do that.”
“What?” Chris grinned.
“Read minds like that,” Phichit said, whining. “It isn’t fair. With you around, I don’t get to be scary and threatening.”
“I’m not a mind reader, bunny.” Chris rolled his eyes. “Not technically, anyway. You can still be threatening if you want. If worse comes to worst, we can set Seung-gil on him.”
“That’s not funny…” Seung-gil sighed, but didn’t complain, not when Phichit pecked him on the cheek and with Chris holding his hand.
“Go have dinner, you three.” Yuuri linked his fingers with Viktor’s. “Don’t overwhelm him so soon. The shapeshifting was unsettling enough the first time around.”
“I’m fine, Yuuri!” Viktor smiled, waving the hand that wasn’t linked with Yuuri’s. “Really, it was surprising at first, but I’ve adapted.”
“Really?” Yuuri tilted his head.
“Well, I mean…” Viktor fidgeted. “If adapting is what it takes to get to know you—and maybe someday be with you?”
“Oh, that’s precious.” Chris snickered. “Keep this human.”
Both Yuuri and Viktor blushed this time. Yuuri made a face at Chris before tugging Viktor away.
“So—uh…” Viktor faltered. “They’re… Different? Are they like you and Phichit?”
“Mm… Sort of?” Yuuri hummed. “We’re all different, though. I mean, it’s obvious what I am. Phichit is a shapeshifter, remember? He’s still amused by you throwing a rock at him, by the way. He can change into pretty much anything, but he has a fondness for being a dragon during the winter. Something about being from the tropic and cold not agreeing with him.”
“The blond—is he?” Viktor bit his lip. “I felt like he was going through my secrets.”
“Knowing him, he probably was.” Yuuri shrugged. “He’s a kind of clairvoyant. Most human clairvoyants can’t really control their abilities, right? But Chris is in complete control and sometimes it gets downright terrifying. Trust me, you experienced nothing. Do you remember that man we mentioned the day after we met?”
“The asshole who wanted to kill you and take your horn as a trophy?”
“Mmn.” Yuuri gave Viktor a strangely neutral smile. “The only reason he was left alive was because Phichit chased him into the woods as a dragon. For all his bluster, he’s not the type to take a life. If Chris—or Seung-gil, for that matter—were the ones to deal with him… Well. Chris wouldn’t have killed him, but he’d have wished he were dead. Chris can show you your worst fears—make you live them, trapped inside your head. What he was searching for with you? He just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t have to. After the Anderson Incident, they’ve all been pretty protective.”
“So Chris is the scariest one of your friends?” Viktor shuddered.
“Well… I suppose he is, in the sense that he has absolute control over what he is and what he can do,” Yuuri said. “Seung-gil is… Well, there’s no dancing around it. He’s a werewolf. That’s why you didn’t hear from me much the other weekend.”
“That must be rough.” Viktor tilted his head thoughtfully. “Does he—you know, go feral? I’ve heard about werewolves losing all humanity during the full moon.”
“We keep him calm enough.” Yuuri shrugged. “Chris and Phichit keep him grounded enough to remain aware, and my job is to… Well. Sit there, I guess. I tend to radiate pacifying magic, to a degree. Even when I’m— Well. When I have my days. Typically the ones that lose it and go feral are the ones that don’t have a safety net to keep them grounded. Anyway, enough about that. You get the gist of what we are.”
“Sounds like you have a lot of responsibilities,” Viktor said.
“That doesn’t matter. We’re family, so we take care of each other.” Yuuri hummed. “It’s been that way for years. Hey—where were you going to take me, anyway? Not Plisetsky’s, I hope?”
“Uh… No.” Viktor laughed. “Little Yura is working there today, under Nikolai. It’s a family run place, so no. We! Are going to have our coffee out on the other side of town. Away from the woods.”
“The other side…?” Yuuri perked up, expression brightening with the glow of his horn. His tail nearly wagged. “We’re going to the boardwalk?”
“I take it you like the ocean?” Viktor asked, watching Yuuri with a fond smile. The late afternoon sun was beginning to bleed orange. The changing color did nothing to distract from Yuuri’s innocent beauty. The unicorn sipped at his to-go coffee, rocking on his feet as his pearlescent horn reflected the light. He had his tail curled around his waist so other pedestrians on the boardwalk didn’t step on it, and Viktor marveled at him.
“I love the ocean. Especially at dusk.” Yuuri agreed, eyes still on the water. “It’s beautiful.”
Viktor stood next to him, linking their arms together. “Yeah. You are.”
“Viktor…” Yuuri cut him an amused look without turning his head. “That was cheesy. And lame. But mostly cheesy.”
“What can I say?” Viktor grinned. “Couldn’t help it. Sometimes looking at you disconnects my brain-to-mouth filter.”
“Now you’re just flattering me,” Yuuri teased.
“Is it working?”
“Hmm…” Yuuri looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, he smiled. He took his arm from Viktor’s and tossed his empty to-go cup in the trash before heading down to the beach. “It might be. Depends on what you want.”
“I— Hey, wait!” Viktor followed after him, slipping in the sand in his haste.
Yuuri glanced behind him with a toss of his head and a smile. And ran, all but jumping into the water. Viktor chased, torn between being delighted and bemused. Once Viktor caught up, he slipped his arms around Yuuri’s waist from behind and lifted him off his feet, spinning him around. Yuuri shrieked in laughter, kicking out, which only splashed up water.
“Viktor!”
“Yuuri~.”
Yuuri wiggled, and Viktor finally set him on his feet. Waves pushed against their calves as they stood in the water. Yuuri pulled Viktor’s arms from his waist and turned around. He looked up at Viktor—and left Viktor breathless. He was being honest, not just flattering, when he called Yuuri beautiful. His heart felt like a hammer against his ribs.
“Nothing,” Viktor finally said, once he caught his breath.
“What?”
“You asked what I want.” Viktor cupped Yuuri’s cheeks, rubbing his thumbs over rosy cheekbones. Yuuri’s horn matched his flush, but both were almost lost to the bleeding sunset. “I don’t want anything from you, Yuuri. Just you.”
“Just… Me?” Yuuri blinked. He put his hands on Viktor’s forearms, but didn’t push away.
“Just you.” Viktor repeated. “I’d want you all the same, even if you were just like me, an ordinary human with no magic to speak of.”
Tears pricked at the corners of Yuuri’s eyes, but he was smiling. A lump reformed itself in Viktor’s throat, but he didn’t have the opportunity to freak out over the tears as Yuuri pulled Viktor’s hands away from his face. He wrapped his own arms around Viktor and buried his face in Viktor’s shoulder, careful of where his horn was. An accidental skewering wasn’t how he wanted to show his gratitude. Yuuri said something, but Viktor didn’t catch it—the words disappeared in a mumble against fabric. Viktor smiled, and after a half-second of hesitation, let his hands rest on Yuuri’s waist.
“Hey…” Viktor poked him gently. “Are you okay…?”
“I’m better than okay,” Yuuri muttered, moving his head enough for Viktor to hear him.
“Glad to hear it.” Viktor smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of Yuuri’s head while avoiding the sharp horn.
A breeze picked up and they shivered. Right—they forgot it was in the middle of winter.
“We should get back before one of us catches a cold…” Yuuri sighed before huffing and pulling away from Viktor. He gave Viktor a tiny smile and tugged him out of the water and up the beach. “Phi probably won’t be home tonight.”
“Are you—?”
“Oh, God, no.” Yuuri laughed. “I was just thinking that it’s a shame, since we could make him share his dragon core heat with us. But blankets, hot chocolate, a portable heater, and bad TV movies will have to do.”
“I like the sound of that.” Viktor grinned, interlocking his fingers with Yuuri’s and following him home.
“Me, too,” Yuuri said with a content smile.
The air was freezing, but it didn’t hold a candle to the warmth kindling in Yuuri’s heart.