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Chapter Text

August 2016

Yuuri Katsuki took a deep breath and then bellowed, “What did I say about going too fast?”

Little Yuri Plisetsky at least had the decency to look back at his instructor as he sped away on the ice. “But I wanna!”

With a small sigh, Yuuri caught up and grabbed his tiny hand to stop him from shakily skating even further away. “Please stay with the group, Yuri? For me?”

Yuri squinted up at his face before smiling gently and saying, “Ok!” He then yanked Yuuri behind him to rejoin the group. Yuuri resumed his duties of prying shaking hands from the walls and pulling uncertain children around the outside of the rink. He looked up after picking up one of his students from the ice to see Celestino standing outside the rink.

“Hi, Yuuri! How goes the lesson?”

Yuuri looked sheepishly around the rink to see the young children stumbling around the ice and laughed. “I don’t think they’re quite ready for the Olympics yet, but when they are, I’ll send them to you!”

Celestino laughed in return. “Well they certainly look good for three year olds! I don’t know where you find the patience to do it, Yuuri.”

Yuuri raised his eyebrows and said, “And I don’t know how you find the patience to teach your own three year olds.” As if on cue, the door to the rink burst open and Phichit huffed over to where they were standing.

“Ciao Ciao! Do I have to practice today? I just engaged in a Twitter battle with JJ and I can’t lose already!”

His coach's eyebrows scrunched together. “How do you battle using birds?”

Phichit sighed dramatically and draped his upper body over the wall of the rink. “How was I punished with a coach who doesn’t even know what Twitter is?” He peeked up at Yuuri and narrowed his eyes at him. “Yuuri, you know what Twitter is, right?”

Yuuri gulped nervously at his best friend and looked anywhere else. “Oh, look, Yuri must need my help!” He quickly skated away, chuckling at his friends cries of dismay. He glanced down at his watch and saw that the lesson was almost over. Yuuri gathered the little skaters on the opposite side of the rink and wrapped up the lesson with some words of encouragement. The tiny faces staring up at him in astonishment made his heart swell. He helped everyone get off the rink and started to undo their skates.

As parents came to pick up their children, Yuuri said goodbye to each child. The only child left was Yuri, who was currently playing with Yuuri’s shoelaces. He sighed internally but did nothing to stop him as he waited for the woman who had been picking up Yuri to arrive.

When the door to the rink opened, Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat. Because who else but Victor Nikiforov was walking through, taking off his designer sunglasses and throwing his gorgeous hair to the side. Yuuri only realized he was staring when Victor had stopped right in front of him, a light smile on his face. Yuuri quickly shook his head and blinked.

It was no secret that Victor had been training here for a couple of months. Phichit had told him all about the day he first arrived and how his routines were coming along. Yuuri would sit on his couch and soak in every word about his idol, sometimes closing his eyes and imagining what it would be like to watch Victor skate in person. He had been too shy to actually try to watch the man practice, but he had seen him around the rink a few times.

Of course, he had never said anything to him. And Yuuri didn’t think he could break that streak now, as both his voice and soul seemed to have left his body. He just opened his mouth and pointed at Victor.

Victor looked down at his finger, then back to his face, and just grinned even wider. “Yes, I’m here to pick up Yuri?”

Hearing his own name come out of Victor’s divine mouth did unhealthy things to his heart rate, but he quickly realized that he must have meant the Yuri currently plastered against his leg. He blushed as he saw his finger still pointing, and instead balled up his hands into fists by his side. “Oh, I, I’m so sorry for p-pointing, that was so rude of me, oh my god..” he mumbled, staring resolutely at the floor.

Victor waved a hand. “It’s quite alright…” he trailed off, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even catch your name.”

With a hard blush, Yuuri said, “Yuuri. Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Wow, two Yuris! I’m Victor Nikiforov, nice to meet you!” He thrust out his hand. “Thank you for taking care of my Yuri.”

Yuuri didn’t say what he was thinking, that of course he knew who he was, but he dazedly shook his hand. Then he really did say what he was thinking, which was, “Your son?”

Victor chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, no. Yuri is my nephew. My nanny quit on me a few days ago, so now I’m picking Yuri up.”

Ah, so that was who was picking up Yuri. Yuuri was also strangely relieved to hear that Victor didn’t actually have a son. Shaking himself from this line of thought, Yuuri leaned down to try to pry Yuri off of his leg. The young boy just squeezed even tighter and burrowed his face into Yuuri’s sweatpants.

“Ah, I’m sorry, normally he’s so well behaved in class. Come on, Yuri! It’s time to go with Victor!”

Victor perked up. “What did you just say?”

Yuuri looked up at him, confused. “Oh, just that he behaves well normally. He just doesn’t like saying goodbye, I think.”

Yuri responded by squeaking out, “I wanna stay with Yuuri!”

Victor looked from Yuri, to Yuuri, then back to Yuri, before finally settling his bright blue eyes on Yuuri. “Well, that settles it.”

Yuuri gulped. “Settles what?”

Victor lunged forward and cradled Yuuri’s hands in his own and staring deep into his eyes. If Yuuri’s soul hadn’t already flown away, he was sure that Victor could have easily seen it. “I’m going to take you home, of course!”

It took a few minutes for Yuuri to register Victor said after that. He just stared at Victor’s eyes and the way that his mouth moved as he excitedly chattered on and on about something that couldn’t have been more interesting than watching his shining face.

Eventually, Yuuri felt himself drift back to Earth, hands still in Victor’s. “What?” he asked simply, because simple was all he could handle at the moment.

“You’re going to be Yuri’s new babysitter, obviously! I’ve had so many quit on me because of his personality and unwillingness to listen, but if he listens to you then maybe he will behave better, and I really can’t do this on my own once the season starts because I’ll be too tired from training to properly raise a kid, because it’s not like I even know what I’m doing in the first place… Oh dear. I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Victor took a deep breath and Yuuri could see the faintest blush rising on his cheeks. “Well, you’ll do it, won’t you?”

Yuuri sighed dreamily and muttered an easy “Yes,” before gasping and saying, “Wait! I mean, I think I want to, but I have to look at my class schedule and your schedule and ask Minako and…” he trailed off helplessly, losing himself in Victor’s eyes.

Victor squeezed his hand and smiled. “How about I take us all out for some coffee and we can talk about it more in depth?”

Yuuri smiled back and felt himself relax slightly. “Yes, I would like that.”

As he sipped at his coffee, Yuuri finally came to terms that he was talking to Victor Nikiforov. The living skating legend who won an Olympics and five Grand Prix Finals and World Championships in a row. The same person who inspired Yuuri to even take up figure skating in the first place. The man whose routines he would copy back home with Yuuko. Whose face covered the walls of his room. Well, he supposed that was the hard part to absorb. The rest somehow felt easier.

Yuri was sucking on the straw that led to his chocolate milk and doodling on a napkin. Victor was staring at him intently, hands cradling his coffee cup. Yuuri blushed and stared back down at his own coffee. Victor broke the silence. “Well even though I technically already offered you the job, would it be ok for me to ask a few questions?” When Yuuri nodded, he continued with, “What work do you do?”

“Well, right now I’m in college at Wayne State. I study linguistics.”

Victor tapped a finger to his chin in thought. “How old are you?”

“23.”

“Ah, so you must be graduating very soon?”

Yuuri blushed and looked at his coffee again. “I actually took a year off in between high school and college to help my family run our hot spring. And even though this is my senior year, I will need another extra year to complete all of the requirements.”

Victor’s eyes glittered. “Hot springs! Is it nearby? I would love to try!”

Yuuri giggled quietly before replying, “No it’s in Japan.”

“Oh, so do you live by yourself here?”

“No, I live in an orphanage run by Minako-sensei. She’s an old family friend from Japan.” Victor’s expression softened, and Yuuri was quick to add, “Oh no, my parents are alive! It’s just a cheap place to stay here in America. And even though I’m rather old to be living there, sometimes I help take care of the younger children, cook, and clean.”

Victor smiled and nodded. “Interesting! Well, when are your classes?”

“9:30am-2pm every weekday.”

Victor clapped his hands together. “Perfecto! So you could take Yuri from daycare to the skating lesson or home! We live within walking distance of both.”

Yuuri nodded. He guessed this was really happening. There was just one more question that was burning at the back of his mind. “Uh, if you don’t mind my asking, why are you taking care of Yuri?”

Victor sighed and looked at the young boy, whose tongue was sticking out at the effort of continuing to draw on the napkin. He hadn’t looked up at the mention of his name. “His father, my brother, ran off a couple of months ago. His wife died in a car accident that day after the World Championships.”

Yuuri leaned over and placed a hand on Victor’s. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Victor squeezed his hand in response. “Thank you. Georgi asked me to take care of Yuri for a couple of days while he got back on his feet, and while I didn’t know the first things about children, I was already flying in to Detroit so I agreed. That was the last time I ever heard from him. I don’t have a clue where he is.” His grip tightened around Yuuri’s fingers before loosening and breaking the contact. “I can’t help but be so mad at how selfish he is being. I don’t mind looking after Yuri, but Georgi still doesn’t get to run away when things get bad.”

Yuuri scrunched his nose up. “Georgi? That name sounds familiar.”

“Popovich. He’s also a figure skater.”

“Oh of course! I had no idea you two were related.” Yuuri realized that this conversation had already long passed the line of what you tell a near stranger, but with Victor he couldn’t seem to question it.

“He changed his last name to my mother’s maiden name when they got divorced.” Victor waved a hand in front of his face. “Ah, but this is all in the past! My present is here with Yuri, and hopefully with you?”

Yuuri’s heart fluttered and he had to remind himself that a childhood (okay, childhood and adulthood) crush were no reason to misconstrue everything the man said. Still, he blushed and was about to speak when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked down to see Yuri proudly displaying his napkin. On it were three stick figures holding hands and a blob. Yuri proclaimed, “It’s you, me, Victor, and Makka!” Yuuri’s heart swelled at the sight and he ruffled Yuri’s hair.

He smiled warmly at the sight of them and said, “Yes.” He had no idea how any of this would turn out, but he supposed that was okay.

Yuuri stood outside of the house and willed his feet to move closer. He still couldn’t quite believe that he was supposed to enter and take care of Victor Nikiforov’s nephew. Just yesterday he had been teaching figure skating lessons like normal, and then the tornado that was Victor upturned his whole life. With a deep sigh, he put one foot in front of the other and approached the front door.

He tentatively rapped on the door and heard a high pitched scream from the other side. Before he could turn around and run all the way back to Japan, the door burst open and a very tired Victor ushered him in. Yuri was currently running across the living room wearing nothing but a tiger stripe hat and screaming at the top of his lungs. Victor sighed and spread his arms out wide, exclaiming, “Welcome to our home!” while holding a pair of zebra striped underwear in one hand and a leopard print onesie in the other.

Yuuri looked around in horror at the house. The floor of the living room was covered in toys, there were still moving boxes piled up in the corners, and from what he could see of the kitchen, the rest of the house was in similar shape.

Victor chased Yuri throughout the living room while trying to explain to Yuuri that he was so grateful that he could come help, as he had a late night training session that he couldn’t skip one more time or Celestino would “give him an off ice session to remember.” Yuuri shuddered at the phrase, recognizing it from Phichit when his friend would sneak his phone onto the rink.

When Yuri saw who came in through the door, he shrieked and hid behind his legs. Victor just collapsed onto his knees in front of them. “Please, Yuri, just let me put something on you. You’re completely naked.”

Yuri peeked his head out from between Yuri’s knees and responded, “hat.”

Yuuri chuckled softly. “He has you there, Victor.” When Victor mouthed “help” to him and started pouting, Yuuri took pity on him. “Well, that’s too bad, Yuri. I had a really fun game planned, but you need to be dressed to play.”

“Game?” both Victor and Yuri asked at the same time.

Yuuri sent a few winks Victor’s way as he explained, “Yeah, it’s a very very fun game, but it requires clothes. Oh well, maybe Victor and I can play it without you?”

With a shriek Yuri grabbed the clothes from Victor’s hands and held them out to Yuuri. “I wanna play! I get dressed!” he said proudly.

Yuuri smiled and helped him put his legs through the holes as Victor watched in amazement. “I knew you were the one.”

Blushing, Yuuri waved away the compliment, saying, “This always works with the kids at the orphanage. Ok, Yuri, wave goodbye to Victor so we can go play!”

Yuri pouted and turned away, but he still raised a single tiny hand and waved it twice. Victor’s eyes shone as he grabbed his bag and mouthed “thank you thank you thank you!” to Yuuri and then slipped out the door.

Yuuri scooped up Yuri and carried him to the mess of toys, asking, “So why don’t you show me which ones are your favorite?”

When Victor came back from practice, he went to hang up his coat and almost dropped in when he saw the living room. Every single toy was put away, all of the boxes were stacked neatly, and even the bookshelves were dusted. He walked to the kitchen and called out for either Yuri but quickly silenced himself as he saw the older Yuuri asleep at the table. There was a tiny bit of drool coming out of the corner of his mouth and his glasses were askew. Victor reached down to ruffle his hair and almost didn’t stop himself in time. That wasn’t appropriate semi-parent/babysitter behavior. Instead he ran an approving eye over the clean counters and floor.

He quietly padded over to Yuri’s room and found him asleep on top of the covers, clutching a stuffed tiger with his hat 99% off of his head. Victor leaned down to kiss his forehead and then quietly shut the door. He walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and a protein bar from the cabinet. Victor leaned against the counter and ate in silence, scrolling through his phone when suddenly Yuuri awoke. He whipped his head toward the clock, then Victor, his face a mask of horror.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry I fell asleep! And I wasn’t even awake to greet you when you arrived…” he trailed off miserably, turning his gaze to the floor.

“Please don’t worry about that, Yuuri. The house looks amazing, you didn’t have to clean! And if Yuri was able to fall asleep by this time of night then he must have been incredibly relaxed. Thank you so much for your hard work.”

Yuuri blushed and replied, “It was no trouble, really.”

Victor stood up straight and threw out his trash. “Well, it’s been a long day, so should I take you home?”

“Oh, that’s really not necessary, the bus stop is only a ten-minute walk from here. I’ll be fine!”

Victor hummed. “Can I at least walk you to the bus stop, then?”

“I, I guess so.”

They walked in comfortable silence most of the way, until Yuuri shyly asked about how the night’s training went. Victor animatedly chatted about how Celestino had different concentrations than his old coach, Yakov, when they rounded the corner and saw the bus was pulling into the stop.

Yuuri started to run forward, waving to Victor and calling out, “Good night!”

Victor waved back, a small but warm smile on his lips. “Good night.”

Yuuri settled into a normal-as-you-can-be-when-babysitting-your-idol’s-nephew routine after a few days. He arrived to the house before Yurio woke up and walked him to daycare before taking the bus to campus. After class he picked up Yuri from daycare and then walked him to the ice skating rink for lessons or straight home. Victor has erratic training schedules, interviews, appearances, and errands to run, but he was usually home around the time that Yuri went to sleep.

Despite all of the strange circumstances he was asked to deal with, the thing that annoyed Yuuri the most was the lack of real food in the house. There were protein bars and shakes and frozen meals, but Yuuri hadn’t been able to actually cook anything healthy for dinner since he started working for Victor. When he could not stand serving Yuri pizza one more night in a row, he took Yuri grocery shopping one day after daycare.

Yuri sat in the cart and sucked on a large lollipop that Victor had probably bought him in a moment of weakness as Yuuri carefully browsed the aisles, only selecting the most well priced items. He had already planned out a few meals that he thought Yuri would like and was halfway through his list when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Yuuri! I got off practice early for once and wanted to let you know I’d be home soon!”

Yuuri snatched a sleeve of Oreos out of Yuri’s little hands and placed them back on the shelf. “Oh, sorry, we went to the grocery store so we’re not home yet.”

“Oh, I know one you mean! It’s on my way, so I’ll meet you guys there very soon.”

“That’s not necessary…. He hung up on me. Typical Victor.” Yuuri looked to the young boy in his cart who folded his arms and nodded sagely in response. Yuuri pushed the cart through a few more aisles before he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Victor, and although Yuuri was now more used to seeing him every day, the sight of his idol still made his heart flutter.

“What are we shopping for today, Yuuri and Yuri?” he asked.

Yuuri handed him the list and Victor’s face screwed up in thought, his hand on his chin as he tried to help Yuuri navigate the store to grab their final items. It took a lot longer than when Yuuri shopped by himself, but it was also a lot more fun.

When they finally got to the checkout, both Victor and Yuri tried to sneak candy bars into the cart. Yuuri calmly put both back, and the two Russians gave him matching puppy dog eyes. Even though his heart melted, Yuuri held strong. “Someone needs to be the adult around here.”

Yuuri made a simple curry for dinner, but both Yuri and Victor wouldn’t stop talking about how much better it was than a frozen meal.

The babysitter easily got Yuri into his pajamas and lay down in the living room with him to read out loud before bed. Victor sat at the foot of the couch nearby reading up on the coming year’s competitions. Yuuri’s voice was hypnotic and soothing, and halfway through the second book he looked up to find he had put two people to sleep instead of one. He gently scooped up Yuri and tucked him into bed with his favorite plushie and returned to the living room.

Victor looked serene when he slept, the stress of skating competitively while raising a rambunctious child fading off his face. Yuuri carefully moved his laptop away and grabbed a nearby blanket and leaned down to cover him. Victor shifted slightly and mumbled something under his breath. Suddenly, with his eyes still closed, he grabbed Yuuri’s wrists and pulled him across his lap, calling out, “Go to sleep, Yuri!”

Yuuri remained frozen in shock for a few seconds before Victor awoke from his half-dream and they both jumped back from each other.

“I’m so so sorry Yuuri! I was having this nightmare that Yuri was crawling all over me and would never go to sleep, just like when it was only the two of us…” Victor spat out, his face turning red.

Yuuri stared resolutely at the floor. “It’s totally fine, you just surprised me is all. Yuri is asleep, so I’ll be going now.” He grabbed his coat and bag and was out the door a minute later.

Victor sighed and ran a hand down his face.

Yuuri fanned himself as he filled his water glass again.

Yuri stuck his tongue out like a panting dog. “It’s hot today, Yuuri!”

“It is, isn’t it? The end of summer can be gross.” They had spent all of their Saturday playing games inside, but the heat and humidity were still brutal indoors. Yuuri gazed thoughtfully at the closet in the hall. “I have an idea, Yuri!”

In record time Yuuri located the kiddie pool and inflated it in the front yard. Yuri was vibrating with excitement in his tiger swim trunks as he watched Yuuri finish filling it with water. “Are you done yet? I wanna swim!” he said, hopping from foot to foot.

Laughing lightly, Yuuri turned off the hose. “Yes, Yuri, you can get in now.”

Yuri yelled and jumped into the pool, sending a splash all the way to Yuuri’s glasses. He couldn’t bring himself to be mad, though, at the look of pure joy on Yuri’s face as he relaxed into the cool water. As he wiped off his glasses on his shirt, he saw a blurry figure enter the front gate.

“Victor? You’re home early,” he said, and then he put on his glasses.

A young woman with short red hair and a young child on her hip was beaming down at him. “Hi! You must be the new babysitter!”

Yuuri nodded nervously. “I’m Yuuri Katsuki, nice to meet you.”

The woman nodded back. “Mila Babicheva. Pleasure. I used to skate with Victor back in Russia. This is Irina, my little sister. She’s the same age as Yuri.”

At the sound of his name, Yuri glanced up and saw the two girls. He backed up to the far side of the pool and practically snarled up at them. “Hag!”

Yuuri gasped and admonished Yuri right away. “That’s not polite, Yuri! Apologize!”

Mila just laughed it off. “It’s okay, the kid seems to hate most everyone except Irina. And oh, Yuri?”

Both Yuris raised their heads in answer.

“Oh. Wow. Freaky. Also, confusing. Two Yuris won’t do. How about…. We call you Yurio?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and smirking at the littler Yuri.

Yuri gaped up at her. “No! No! No!”

This time when another figure came in through the front gate, it really was Victor. “Hey, Mila, Irina. Long time no see.”

Mila grinned at him. “How did you pick a babysitter with the same name as poor little Yuri? I decided to nickname your nephew ‘Yurio’ to avoid confusion in the future.”

Victor gave her a thumbs up. “Good idea! I was starting to wonder about that, myself. How’s your day been, Yurio?” he asked.

Yurio glared up at him. “No.”

Victor’s smile froze on his face. “No?”

“No,” Yurio echoed.

“Well then, how will we tell you apart from Yuuri?”

Yurio held up his hand to his chin in an adorable imitation of Victor and appeared to think very hard for a few seconds. “Yuuri can call me Yurio.”

Victor sighed in exasperation. “Well then, how can I address you?”

Yurio smiled. “You don’t.”

Victor’s smile fell and he turned to Yuuri in horror. “Did you hear that, Yuuri? Do you hear what he says to me? I don’t know if I’ll ever recover!” he cried with a hand draped over his face.

Yuuri couldn’t help but giggle at Victor’s theatrics. As the older man went to mope in a corner, Mila got Yuuri’s attention back. “We were heading to the pool, so Irina is already in her swimsuit, can she join Yurio instead?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

Mila put down Irina and she toddled to the edge of the pool where Yurio was splashing around. “Can I play with you?”

Yurio glanced her wearily before looking up to Yuuri for approval. His babysitter’s reassuring smile let Yurio give Irina a nod with a tiny smile of his own.

Yuuri and Mila sat on the steps and talked about the weather and other mundane things while the two kids played. Eventually Victor regained his dignity enough to join their conversation and they ended up laughing about something Yurio had done the other day when Victor suddenly snapped his fingers.

“Oh, Yuuri! I almost forgot!” He pressed a small metal object into Yuuri’s palm. He held it up to inspect it and gasped when he realized what it was. “A key to our house! Now you can come over whenever, even if we’re not home.”

“Are you sure? I’m just a stranger.”

Victor glared at him. “Don’t say that! You’re precious to me and Yurio! You helped us when we needed it the most! I don’t know where we would be if you hadn’t come into our lives. Yurio would probably still be miserable and I wouldn’t be able to skate anymore. You’re a part of our little family, too.”

Yuuri felt his eyes burn but he blinked rapidly and squeezed the key tight. “Thank you,” is all he managed to squeak out.

Chapter Text

October 2016

Yurio impatiently tugged at Yuuri’s pant leg. “Are you done?”

Sighing, Yuuri looked down at the boy. “I would be done faster if you put your toys away while I was working.”

A slight frown graced Yurio’s face. “But I don’t wanna.”

Yuuri ruffled his hair. “For me? Please?”

Yurio thought about it for only a few seconds before running out to the living room and cleaning up his toys. Yuuri hummed happily to himself as he was free to reattach the tiger ears to Yurio’s headband. He only looked up when he heard the front door open.

“I’m home!” Victor called out, taking his shoes off. He made his way into the living room and saw Yurio diligently cleaning up. “Wow, Yurio, you never clean like that for me.” His nephew stuck his tongue out at him but continued his efforts.

Victor laughed his way into the kitchen and greeted Yuuri. “What are you up to?”

“Fixing the headband to Yurio’s Halloween costume. Which probably wouldn’t break if you didn’t let him wear it 24/7,” he replied coolly, glaring up at the older man.

“Ah, haha, my bad,” Victor admitted, holding up his hands. “But I just can’t resist him!”

Yuuri sighed affectionately. “Well, at least tonight will be a quiet night. This is about all of the excitement I can handle for one day.”

A strange look crossed Victor’s face, but he was quick to ease it into something more neutral.

“Victor.”

“Yes?”

“What are you not telling me?”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Do you have to be able to read me so well?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes right back. “It’s my job to be able to tell what little kids are thinking.”

Affecting a shocked gasp, Victor glanced down at his phone. “Well, I received a weird message from Chris today. But I don’t think he’ll actually do anything about it.”

“What kind of weird?”

As if on queue, the front door burst open and a figure clothed in black with a giant demon mask strode into the house. Yurio shrieked and came bolting around the corner to jump into Yuuri’s arms.

“Chris!” Victor called out. “You know my nephew is only three years old, right?”

The figure removed its mask to reveal a handsome man with two-toned hair and stubble. “But I feel like he’s older every time I see him, Victor.”

“That’s obviously true, Chris. Yuuri, this is Christophe Giacometti, my old friend and now rinkmate.” Victor introduced.

“Yuuri Katsuki. It’s nice to meet you,” Yuuri said, still holding Yurio. “I’ve heard about you from Phichit! Your skating is quite impressive.”

Chris beamed and spun around. “Ah, glad to hear that news of my talents precedes me!”

Victor just frowned at him. “What’s with the getup?”

“Oh, this? I wanted to see what you thought before I wore it to my Halloween speed dating event. What do you think?”

Yuuri hummed politely while Victor replied, “It’s perfect for if you want to scare someone to death.”

Chris gaped at him. “What? Is this not how I should be presenting myself?”

Victor ignored him and instead asked, “Wait, speed dating? But what about Alexa?”

“No, no, we broke up.”

“Aaron?”

“We’re just casual.”

Yuuri took the opportunity to leave with Yurio. “I’m going to go calm him down and put him to bed. Enjoy your time catching up!” The young boy half glared, half shrunk away from Chris, and before Victor could raise a hand to stop them, they were in the other room.

Chris flopped down at the kitchen table. “You got anything to drink?” Victor sighed and grabbed some beers before sitting across from him. “Thanks.” He took a large swig and eyed his host. “So, what’s new? Besides your deadbeat brother leaving you the three year old and hiring a hot new babysitter?”

Victor flushed and motioned for him to lower his voice. “Chris! It’s not like that, please!”

Chris sighed. “Why? Is he straight? Taken? Underage?” he asked.

Victor huffed at him. “Please. I don’t know any of that. Wait, I mean, he’s 23, so I do know he’s legal. Oh god, that came out wrong, why do you bring out the worst in me?” he moaned, slamming his head on the table.

With another swig of beer and a giant grin, Chris replied, “You know you love me.”

Glaring at his friend, Victor straightened up. “Debateable. But please don’t talk about Yuuri like that.”

“Why?”

Victor snorted. “Because it’s inappropriate. He’s my babysitter.”

“Yes, he’s your babysitter. Why can I not think about him like that?”

Victor opened and closed his mouth. “Because I said so.”

Chris laughed airily. “Okay, okay, you win. But can you blame me for trying?”

Victor blushed. “Are you done teasing me?”

“Is that what I was doing?”

“Are you done whatever it is you were doing to me?”

“Oh, I’m never done. You know that, Victor!”

Yuuri finally got Yurio to bed after promising that he would personally make sure that Chris didn’t scare him in his sleep. Yurio had seen so set on that particular scenario that he wouldn’t have been surprised if it had happened before.

He closed Yurio’s door and made his way back to the kitchen where Victor and Chris were talking and laughing, 4 empty beer bottles between them and one more in each man’s grip.

Victor brightened at his entrance. “Yuuri! Join us! Grab a beer!”

Yuuri shook his head. “No, thank you, I don’t really drink.” But he still took a seat. “But, I do have a question for you, Chris. What was Victor like? Back in Juniors.”

Chris’s surprise showed only momentarily. “Ah, back in our younger years! Our dear Victor was much the same, unfortunately.”

Victor pouted, and Yuuri giggled. “What do you mean, unfortunately? I thought we were friends?”

Chris waved him off. “Victor liked to have this air of mystery and intrigue about him. But in reality, he was just a normal softie.”

“Okay, okay, I think he’s heard enough, Chris,” Victor said, trying unsuccessfully to stop the man from continuing.

“Victor was just like the rest of us. He had friends, less-than-friendly-acquaintances, and his fair share of crushes.”

Yuuri leaned in closer. Victor jumped up, yelling, “Chris, come on! Yuuri doesn’t want to hear about stuff like this, do you?” He hadn’t intended it to be a question, but it was, because he was staring intently at Yuuri and he was staring right back.

Yuuri’s mouth opened and closed, before asserting, “I do!”

Victor couldn’t really argue with that, so he resigned himself to the conversation and sat back down. He really tried to not think about what Yuuri’s words meant.

Chris laughed. “Well, my first year in Seniors there was this man,” he glared at Victor to silence his groan, “who was an on call doctor at all of the competitions. He was very handsome, and foreign, and Victor just loved to sometimes ‘accidentally’ hurt himself during warm up just so the hot doctor would have to help him,” he finished with a wag of his eyebrows.

Victor just buried his face behind his hands. “Are you done embarrassing me yet?”

Chris grinned wickedly. “Not even close.”

Victor’s first Grand Prix assignment for the year was Skate Canada in late October, and he fretted constantly about leaving Yurio and Yuuri alone in the days leading up to his departure. Yuuri and Yurio took turns assuring him that they would be fine without him, which made Victor feel better and worse at the same time.

On the day of his flight Victor cried and hugged both Yurio and Yuuri to his chest, both of them uncomfortable but not so uncomfortable that they couldn’t comfort him. Yuuri vowed to call him every day and Yurio even said that he might talk to him on the calls, too, which made Victor cry even harder.

Yuuri and Yurio went about their day as normal from there until it was time for Victor’s short program. Yuuri had been to busy to watch Victor skate anytime in very recent memory, as he became busy with school and then with Victor himself. However, now that he knew him so well, watching the routines felt more intimate, like he knew the difference between Victor’s projected emotions on the rink and the private ones he saved for home. Blushing, Yuuri returned his thoughts to Victor’s performance.

“Look at that, Yurio! Your uncle is in first place for tomorrow night!”

Yurio huffed, but Yuuri could tell that he wasn’t uninterested. As an avid skater himself, even at age three, he could appreciate good skating.

Immediately after Victor broke free of Celestino and Chris, he called Yuuri. “Hi! How are you? Is everything okay? Did you watch me skate?” Yuuri laughed and answered all of his questions and reassured him that they were fine.

“It’s getting to be Yurio’s bedtime,” Yuuri said as he watched the boy repress yet another yawn. “We should say goodnight. Do you want to say goodnight, Yurio?”

Yurio clicked his tongue at the phone, turning his attention back to his toy. Yuuri sighed and said, “Yurio says goodnight.”

“Well, goodnight, Yurio! Goodnight, Yuuri! I miss you!” he said, hurt seeping just a little bit into his voice.

Yuuri’s heart fluttered. “I- We miss you too!” he said. Yurio grunted in response and Yuuri ended the call with a final goodnight.

Getting Yurio to bed was the same as always, except this time Yuuri wasn’t leaving. He retreated into the guest bedroom and again was thankful that the house had one. He had a feeling that Victor wouldn’t have let him sleep on the couch, and he wasn’t ready to sleep in Victor’s bed, even by himself. Yuuri curled up under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

The next day was the same, with Yuuri alternating between caring for a 3 year old in person and a 27 year old over text. And honestly, Yurio was easier to handle. Yuuri knew not to take the constant check-ins as an insult to his babysitting abilities but as an outlet for Victor’s nerves. But Yuuri was patient and indulged Victor all day, then watched his performance with Yurio. Victor was even better than the previous night, and Yuuri told him so in the phone call afterwards. Victor cried and promised to be home the next night in time for Halloween.

Victor’s arrival back home was characterized by more hugs than his departure, if such a thing were possible. Yuuri also could’ve sworn that he saw Yurio smile when being hugged, but he would never voice that thought out loud. For trick-or-treating, Victor wore an old skating costume, Yuuri wore a witches hat, and Yurio surprised no one by donning a tiger outfit. Yuuri and Victor took turns cooing over how cute he was and taking pictures of him as he oscillated between a happy smile for his babysitter and a cool stare for his uncle.

After about 200 collective photos were taken, the group finally left the house. Yurio held Yuuri’s hand the whole time, and Victor didn’t push his luck asking for the same contact. Victor and Yuuri shared laughs at the other adorable kids out and about, and Yurio had the time of his life roaring at older kids.

When they rounded the final corner, Yurio skipped ahead and tripped over his shoelace. Yuuri and Victor both sprinted toward him.

“Are you okay?” Victor asked.

“Are you hurt?” Yuuri asked at the same time.

Yurio was lifted onto his feet by two sets of strong hands and he blinked up at them. He scrunched up his face for a few seconds, then relaxed. “I think so.”

Both men breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back. “Are you okay to keep going?” prompted Victor.

Yurio scoffed. “There’s more candy. I want more candy.”

Yuuri chuckled. “That’s fair. Let’s go, but stay with us, now, okay?”

Yurio nodded and held up his hand for Yuuri to grab. They went to the final few houses without any more mishaps. Mila’s house was the last stop, and her mother answered the door. “Oh, aren’t you all so cute!” she said.

Yurio bared his teeth, and she corrected, “I mean, fearsome! How fearsome you all look!”

Yurio beamed and held out his bucket for candy. “Trick or treat!”

Mila’s mother gave him a handful and turned to Victor. “Did you guys get a picture yet? I’d be happy to take one for you!”

Victor smiled graciously and handed her his phone. “That would be wonderful, thank you!” He squatted next to Yurio and Yuuri stepped out of the way. Victor frowned up at him. “Where do you think you’re going, Yuuri?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Yuuri explained, “Well, it should be a family picture.”

“I’m so glad you agree. Get down here, then. You’re a part of this family, too.”

Yuuri blushed but squatted next to Victor, Yurio in between them.

When they got home, Yurio proudly sorted his spoils on the living room floor. He even offered each of them a (single) piece of candy, which made Victor cry again. Yuuri didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was the only two pieces of candy Yurio didn’t like.

Victor finally recovered enough to flip through all of the pictures on his phone, awwing at what seemed like every other. He finally reached the last one and showed it to Yuuri, saying, “This one is definitely my favorite.”

The three of them were posed on Mila’s front porch. Yuuri was blushing profusely with a small smile, Victor was beaming and throwing up a peace sign, and between them was Yurio sticking out his tongue, his eyes closed.

“Yeah, that’s my favorite, too.”

November 2016

Yuuri finished putting Yurio to bed and sat at the kitchen table on his phone. Phichit was currently documenting all of the expressions that Celestino made throughout a practice session and Yuuri wasted time scrolling through the collection when the door burst open.

A big thump rang through the house. “Victor?” Yuuri called out. When there was no response he crept to the front door and was shocked to find Victor passed out on the floor. “Oh my god! Victor!” he shrieked as he ran to him.

Victor looked up and smiled. “Hi, mom.”

Yuuri frowned and touched a hand to his forehead. “You’re burning up. Are you sick?”

Sighing and tugging at Yuuri’s hand, Victor responded, “Who’s sick?”

Yuuri pulled his hand away and grabbed under Victor’s arms. “Alright, let’s get you to bed.”

“Ha. You said lettuce.”

Yuuri just rolled his eyes and dragged Victor to his room. Victor half-helped maneuver himself into his bed, and when he was finally mostly stable Yuuri said, “I’ll be back with some tea and soup. Don’t go anywhere. I mean, you probably can’t, but don’t.”

A shout of “Aye, aye, captain!” followed him out of Victor’s room.

Yuuri went through the now familiar kitchen to start preparing food for Victor. It wasn’t long before he was carrying a tray of chicken noodle soup and tea into Victor’s bedroom.

The Russian perked up at the smell. “I’m so hungry, Yuuri!”

With a chuckle, Yuuri set the tray down. “At least you know who I am now. And luckily, I brought you food.”

Victor pouted. “I’m tired. Feed me.”

Blushing, Yuuri looked down at his hands. “I guess you really are sick, so I should, right?”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Myself. I mean, eat your soup. I mean, I’ll eat your soup. Wait, I’ll feed you your soup. Yeah. That.”

Victor laughed. “You’re funny. I like you.”

Yuuri blushed even harder and grabbed the spoon. Victor closed his eyes and opened his mouth comically wide, and Yuuri had to giggle at the fact that he babysat a three year old that could feed himself better than this. Victor ate in contented silence, only broken by the occasional hum.

When Victor was done, Yuuri put the bowl aside and looked at Victor. His face was slightly flushed, his clothes sweaty, and his eyes half open. “Victor, we have to get you into dry clothes.”

“Okay,” he sighed happily, raising his arms up. Yuuri waited to see if Victor would participate in this disrobing, but he had to resign himself to doing it all himself. He grabbed the hem of Victor’s shirt and pulled, trying very hard not to ogle his idol’s body.

Okay, maybe he didn’t try all that hard.

Victor’s hard abs led to also hard pecs. Yuuri had definitely seen other men’s chests before, but certainly never like this. Never this close. Or this beautiful. Or this… this Victor.

Victor’s broad shoulders slumped down when Yuuri finally pulled the shirt over his head. Yuuri hastily glanced away and threw the shirt into the hamper. “Let me get you a clean one,” he said, turning away when he suddenly felt a weight on his back.

Victor had half jumped, half fell out of bed to grab Yuuri from behind. Yuuri squeaked but made no movements, Victor nuzzling into his neck.

“Hi,” Victor said simply.

“Uh, hi,” Yuuri mumbled back. “Can I go get you shirt? Please?”

“No, thanks,” Victor replied sleepily.

Yuuri sighed and peeled Victor off his back, wrestling him back into bed. “Okay. Shirt.” He grabbed the nearest clean one he could find and threw it at Victor. “I’ll be outside.”

Victor looked at the shirt in dazed shock, then at the empty room. He leaned up and put the shirt over his head, one arm in and one arm out. “Ah, I’m being troublesome for Yuuri again.” He grabbed his phone and started hitting buttons.

Yuuri slumped against the closed door and covered his cheeks with his hands. Oh, wow. That was a thing that happened. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to forget the feeling of Victor’s bare chest on his back, or forget everything in the world but that. He shook his head and went back into the kitchen to clean up the slight mess he made.

Yuuri was interrupted again by the door swinging open. He scrunched up his face, because everyone was home.

“VICTOR!” a voice bellowed, and Yuuri shot up to go shush the intruder. Mila, Chris, and Phichit were all throwing their shoes off and talking loudly.

“What are you doing?” Yuuri hissed angrily.

Chris laughed. “Obviously, we’re here to nurse poor old Victor back to health. He told us he was sick and needed help!”

Yuuri shushed him. “You’re going to…” Yurio stumbled in, yawning. “Wake up Yurio,” Yuuri sighed. “Well, great. Thanks for that.”

“Anytime, love!” Mila said, winking at him. “Now, where’s our friend Victor?”

Yuuri was about to tell them all to get lost when he blinked at Phichit. “Wait, why are you here? I didn’t know Victor had your number.”

Phichit winked at him in the exact same way Mila had. “Never underestimate Phichit Chulanont!”

Yuuri took this moment to reflect that Victor already had such dramatic friends and still felt the need to befriend the most dramatic person Yuuri knew.

Chris was already leading them to Victor’s bedroom and Yuuri took Yurio’s hand and attempted to put him back to sleep. After Yuuri finished a book and could still clearly hear the chatter coming from the room next door, he marched over and stared the three hooligans down.

“Leave. Now. All of you.” They sheepishly went to exit the room and Yuuri had to put a hand on Victor’s shoulder as he tried to get out of bed. “Not you, Victor, you can stay.” Victor smiled up at him and curled back up in bed.

Yuuri shut (and locked) the door behind them and resumed putting Yurio back to bed. With the excitement gone, the late time caught up with Yurio and he was asleep in minutes. Yuuri gently closed the door behind him before checking up on Victor again.

He was asleep, the small amount of light coming in through the window perfectly framing his profile. Yuuri crept up to him and took a moment to admire his beauty. He slowly pushed the fringe out of Victor’s hair when two hands caught his own.

Trying not to panic, Yuuri saw that Victor’s eyes were still closed. He tried to pull his hand back and was met with resistance.

“Stay,” Victor sighed.

Yuuri gulped and stood still for another few minutes. Eventually Victor’s breathing slowed and Yuuri was able to pull away. He crept out of the room and tried to slow his heart rate by breathing slowly as he labeled the leftovers in the fridge with a note that simply read, “Get well soon.”

Yuuri looked around the crowded coffee shop until he spotted long black hair. “Sara!” he called out.

The girl with purple eyes smiled at him. “Yuuri! Over here!” She patted the chair next to her and Yuuri settled into it.

“Thank you for meeting me! I’ve kinda fallen behind on historical linguistics and the material is already so difficult.”

“It’s no problem, Yuuri. I’m glad to help out. Besides, it’ll help me learn it all better.”

Yuuri smiled warmly at his friend. Sara Crispino was also a senior in his major, linguistics, so they often ended up in the same classes. While Yuuri had to work very hard at everything from school to skating, Sara had more natural talent. She still took time to help Yuuri whenever he needed, for which he was grateful.

They went through their notes together, Sara pointing out the gaps in Yuuri’s notes and explaining some of the more difficult concepts. Soon a couple of hours had passed and Yuuri felt much better about the class.

“Thank you so much, Sara! You were a huge help.”

Sara flipped her hair. “You’re welcome. Besides, it was nice to get away from my brother for a while. He’s SO overbearing that it’s hard to breathe sometimes.”

Yuuri nodded in sympathy. Her twin brother Michele was always keeping tabs on Sara whether she wanted him to or not. “Speaking of Mickey, how did you get away this time?”

Sara sighed. “I told him off last week, and he’s actually been giving me the slightest bit of space. I told him I was going to help you study, and he said to have fun.”

“Wow, that’s great, Sara! I won’t lie, he was a little too reliant on you before.”

“A little?” Sara said with a laugh. “I know, I know, that’s why I’ve been trying to make him live his own life more. So far, it’s working. Fingers crossed!”

Yuuri gave her a thumbs up. “I know it will!”

Sara smiled at him. “Thanks, Yuuri. Hey, did I ever tell you why Mickey and I aren’t in the same major?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, when we applied to colleges, he was insistent that we had the same major. You know, to ‘keep the family together,’” she mimicked. “So, I told him I was applying as an art major everywhere. But, I would change my major to linguistics after showing him my application.”

Yuuri stared at her in amazement. “Wow! That’s pretty… sneaky of you.”

She grinned back at him. “Yeah, I thought I was pretty smart. Then, when he found out, he was furious. He immediately tried to switch majors when getting to school, but some kid in one of his art classes, I think he was named Emil or something, convinced him to stay. And here we are today!”

“Well, I’m glad you’re getting to be more of your own person.”

“Me too!” she said, before looking down at her phone. “Ugh. Well, on that topic,” she picked up the phone as she rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mickey? What? No, I don’t know where your charcoal is.” She looked at Yuuri with exasperation. “I didn’t use it, so why would I know where it is? Where did you have it last? Okay, then check on the table. Wow, who could’ve guessed it would’ve been right there? Okay, okay, talk to you later.” She hung up and gave Yuuri an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, it seems he still needs me no matter what.”

Yuuri waved his hands. “That’s totally okay! And besides, if that’s all he needed, things are definitely better.”

Sara smiled at him. “You’re totally right. So. To the next order of business.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Yuuri. How is babysitting for your childhood idol?”

Yuuri blushed bright red. “Oh my god, Sara, you can’t just say stuff like that. There are people!”

She rolled her eyes again. “Come on, dish! You didn’t care about people being around when we were discussing diachronic and synchronic analysis.”

Yuuri gulped. Less than a year ago, he and Sara had the same picture of Victor Nikiforov. A beautiful skater and living legend, an eligible bachelor and universal heartthrob. Who also happened to be incredibly gorgeous, and pretty, and…. Okay, so maybe their views on Victor differed a little bit in that respect.

Regardless, Yuuri never dreamed that he would get to know Victor. That he would know what he looks like when he first wakes up, how he takes his coffee, what his favorite TV show is, or how his gaze softened when he thought about his family. Yuuri really liked seeing these private sides to Victor, but he also felt like sometimes he was overstepping his role as babysitter.

When Sara said something for the third time, Yuuri realized he had completely spaced out.

“Well?” she asked.

“Um, I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t listening.”

“You guess correct,” she replied, huffing. “So now you double owe it to me. How is it?”

Yuuri paused for a moment. “Nice,” he breathed.

“Nice? That’s all you have to say to me? Nice?! I need details! Details, Yuuri!” she demanded, crossing her arms.

Yuuri sighed and attempted to put into words the recurring dream he was living of babysitting for Victor and Yurio. When Sara was finally satisfied, she said, “I just have one more question. Do you like Victor?”

Yuuri blinked at her in confusion. “Of course I do. He was my childhood idol. Why?”

Sara narrowed her eyes at him, and when he added nothing else, she sighed. “Okay. Forget I said anything.”

She reached down to her phone and texted Phichit: “You’re right, he’s hopeless.”

Thanksgiving morning found Yuuri holding Yurio’s hand outside of the orphanage. Victor was at the NHK Trophy over the holiday, so they were spending the holiday with Yuuri’s housemates and friends. “Are you ready to go in?” he asked the young boy. Yurio took a deep breath and nodded.

Inside, the orphanage was bustling with activity. Children were scrambling around holding silverware or food, and Minako was directing them all. When she saw Yuuri, her face broke into a large smile. “Thank goodness you’re here! Get in the kitchen!”

Yuuri nodded at her and looked down at Yurio. “Would you like to come with me, or stay with everyone else?”

Yurio looked around at the chaos and then up at his babysitter. “I go with you.”

Yuuri led them both to the kitchen. It became clear immediately that help was needed, so he let Yurio cling to his leg as he made the rounds: turning down the stove, adding more salt to bowls, and grabbing knives away from the youngest housemates.

Before long, dinner was ready to be served and they all settled down at the large dining room table. Yuuri and Minako carved the turkey and the rest of the bowls were passed around. Yurio gazed in wonder at all of the different kinds of food, and Yuuri realized that this was probably the largest Thanksgiving dinner he had ever been to.

After stuffing themselves at dinner, the older kids helped clear the dishes while the younger ones went to go play. Yurio looked at Yuuri expectantly, and Yuuri sent him off to join them while he went back to the kitchen. He caught up with Kenjirou Minami, who was a freshman at his college. Minami’s biology classes sounded so different from his own, and Yuuri took a moment to appreciate that he loved his own field of study so much.

“How is babysitting going, Yuuri? We sure miss you here!” Minami said as he dried a pan.

“It’s good!” Yuuri replied. “But I’m sure you mean you miss my cooking more,” he laughed.

Minami straightened up. “No way! I…” he was interrupted by Yurio latching back onto Yuuri’s leg.

“Ah, sorry, Minami. What is it, Yurio?” Yuuri only had eyes for the young boy, so he missed the crestfallen look on Minami’s face.

Yurio tugged him towards the playroom, and when they got there he showed Yuuri a small house made with building blocks. “Oh wow, Yurio! Did you make this yourself?”

Yurio smiled shyly and shook his head. “Hana helped.” He pointed to a young girl who was playing with the blocks a few feet away. At the sound of her name she looked up and waved. “Hi Yuuri!”

Yuuri waved back, and then ruffled Yurio’s hair. “I’m proud of you for making another friend.”

Yurio glowed at the praise. “Can we call Victor now?”

“Sure thing, Yurio.”

Yuuri never really liked celebrating his birthday. It didn’t feel like that important of an event to him, and being the center of attention made him feel awkward. However, he also appreciated that it meant something to his friends, so he begrudgingly accepted their invitation to karaoke on his birthday.

Phichit finished belting out “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and collapsed next to Sara and Yuuri. “That’s it, I’ve used up all of my emotional energy for the night.”

Yuuri snorted. “Good. I don’t think I can take any more of your power ballads.”

Phichit pouted at him. “You know you love them.”

“I know nothing of the sort.”

Sara interrupted them by clapping her hands. “Okay! Now we can either let Phichit sing ‘Shall We Skate’ for the tenth time tonight or we could hear Yuuri sing!”

“Yes yes yes! Please Yuuri!” Phichit begged. “I’ll get on my hands and knees if I have to!”

Yuuri blushed. “That won’t make me sing.”

Sara crossed her arms. “Come on, Yuuri! It can be your birthday present to us!”

With a frown, Yuuri said, “I don’t think that’s how it works,” but he started scrolling through the songs anyway. He stopped on ‘Eye of the Tiger’ as he remembered Victor dancing around the house singing it and playing air guitar while Yurio looked on in amazement.

Phichit broke him out of the thought by clicking on the song. “Here we go!” he said as he stood Yuuri up and placed the microphone between them. Yuuri rolled his eyes but decided to play along, trying to channel Victor’s joy into his performance.

When the song finished, Yuuri was breathing hard but smiling. They took a break to sip at their drinks and started talking about figure skating.

“Congrats again on your silver at the NHK Trophy, Phichit!” Yuuri said.

“Ah, thanks, but your boy Victor stole my gold,” Phichit replied.

Yuuri’s face flushed. “He’s not my boy.”

Phichit rolled his eyes. “It’s a figure of speech, I already know you’re too dense to know your own feelings.”

Yuuri frowned. “What feelings? He’s my childhood idol.”

“Childhood?” Sara clarified.

“Okay, okay, all the time idol. But lots of people have idols!”

“Most people don’t babysit for theirs,” Phichit added.

Yuuri looked at his friends in disbelief. “Is this an intervention or something? I thought it was my birthday night out?”

Sara nodded apologetically. “Sorry, sorry. You’re right.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Yuuri. You’ll realize when you’re ready, Yuuri.”

Yuuri stared down at the floor, still flushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Phichit and Sara shared a knowing glance. “Okay, okay.”

Chapter Text

December 2016

If Yuuri had to use one word to describe his life at this moment, it would be: “stress.” Finals were coming up faster than he wanted to admit, and Yuuri desperately needed to pass all of his classes. He couldn’t afford to fall any further behind on his four (now five) year plan.

It didn’t help that university finals and the Grand Prix Final were at the same time, so Victor had been putting in extra time at the rink as Yuuri was sleeping less and less to study. By the time Victor actually flew to France (leaving with the customary hugs and tears), Yuuri felt like a dead man walking. Thankfully Yurio seemed to be able to sense that Yuuri needed some peace and quiet because he behaved more than usual.

As this was Victor’s third competition, Yuuri and Yurio had established a comfortable routine. Now, however, Yuuri would go straight from Yurio’s daycare to the library. Many pots of coffee and study sessions later, Yuuri walked into his finals with his head held high. He walked out 90 minutes later with his head slightly lower, but still relatively high.

Yuuri went straight from his last final to pick up Yurio from daycare. “I’m done my finals!” Yurio gave him a thumbs up. “Do you want to go somewhere fun today?” Yurio’s face lit up at the suggestion. Yuuri took him by the hand and they walked to a nearby bakery. Normally, Yuuri wouldn’t let Yurio overindulge in sweets, so when Yurio was offered a whole doughnut he accepted happily. They sat in the bakery and ate, talking about the things most important in Yurio’s life (tigers, Yuuri, and ice skating, in that order).

Before long it was starting to get dark out. “We should head home, Yurio,” Yuuri said, looking at the darkening sky.

Yurio followed his gaze and agreed, “Okay.”

Then, Yuuri touched his chin in thought. “What if we did something exciting instead?”

Yurio beamed and threw his hands over his head. “Yay! Exciting!” Yuuri couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm and led him out by the hand. He had been wanting to take Yurio to the Christmas market for a while now, but this was his first opportunity since it opened. He also thought that it would have been nice to go with Victor, but he was incredibly busy with skating, and it would still be fun with the young boy.

Yurio looked around in amazement at all of the lights and decorations. People were selling crafts in booths, and Yurio tugged his hand to point out a reindeer carved from wood. There was a nice couple with a giant dog that Yurio gazed up at in wonder. He made Yuuri take a picture of it so they could show Victor, and he didn’t want to say goodbye when they had to leave. The sight of Yurio hugging a dog bigger than him warmed Yuuri’s heart, and he sent the picture to Victor with “Have you thought about getting him a pet?” Victor replied “Yes, but he is a little young. We’ll see.”

Later they strolled through carolers and teenagers dressed like elves to get to the main attraction: a picture with Santa. As they approached the line, Yuuri could feel Yurio stiffen.

“Are you scared of Santa?” Yuuri asked. Yurio gulped and nodded. “Why?”

Yurio looked down at the ground. “I’m naughty.”

“I don’t think so, Yurio. I think you’ve been a very good boy.”

“I put a bug under Victor’s pillow.”

Yuuri made a valiant effort not to smile. “That wasn’t very nice, was it?” Yurio shook his head mournfully. “Are you sorry you did it?” He nodded in response. “Well, then, so long as you apologize I think you should be okay to see Santa.”

Yurio brightened. “You think so?”

Yuuri ruffled his hair. “I know so. Come one, let’s go get in line.”

After he had put Yuuri to bed that night, he texted Victor a photo of a very conflicted looking Yurio sitting on Santa’s lap. He captioned it, “He left a good luck bug under your pillow.” 30 seconds later Victor texted back “<3 <3 <3.”

Victor brought home the gold medal from the Grand Prix Final, Chris got bronze, and Phichit got fifth. Celestino was happy to be coaching half of the contestants that year and was all smiles in the many pictures that Phichit posted with him. Victor was only home for a short period of time before he was already flying away again, this time to Russia for the 2017 Russian Championships.

After enduring Victor’s customary hugs and cries, Yuuri helped him load his bags into the taxi. “Will you text me when you get to your hotel?” he asked.

Victor looked at him in confusion. “What hotel? I’ll be staying at my apartment.”

Yuuri’s hand faltered on its way to the next bag. “Isn’t this your house?” he asked.

Victor waved a hand. “Technically, this is Georgi’s house. I’m just staying here while I take care of Yurio. I still keep my apartment in St. Petersburg.”

Oh. Of course, Yuuri thought. How had he let himself forget that this was a temporary thing? Sooner or later Yurio would be somewhere else, Victor would be back in Russia, and he would be back to being his boring self alone in Detroit.

Yuuri tried to shove that thought out of his mind the same way he shoved the suitcase into the trunk, but he was successful with neither. Eventually Victor got the suitcase into the trunk himself, and Yuuri could do nothing but wave as Victor was driven away. Now it was just Yuuri, Yurio, and his anxiety-ridden thoughts. Great.

Yuuri went back inside to check on Yurio, who was carrying a tiger figurine around the living room and roaring loudly. Yuuri let himself be chased all around the house, and Yurio tickled him so hard he started crying. It was hard to remember to be sad about his situation after that.

Yuuri and Yurio had fun together for the few days that they were alone together. The daycare didn’t run this close to the holiday, so Yuuri took him figure skating more often than not. Yurio was getting really good (for a three year old) and Yuuri didn’t mind the extra practice himself. Yuuri spent his time at home working on Christmas presents for Yurio and the kids at the orphanage, who he felt a little guilty about leaving alone so often. Yurio was also working on a craft, which Yuuri easily guessed was his birthday present, but Yurio was intent on making it a surprise. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fathom that asking for help every few minutes, receiving said help, and then shooing Yuuri away so he wouldn’t “ruin the surprise” meant the surprise was ruined immediately. Yuuri still appreciated the effort.

They watched Victor breeze through the competition and easily win the gold. Victor vowed to return as soon as possible so he wouldn’t miss Christmas, but Aeroflot had other plans. His plane was delayed twice due to snow, and Victor didn’t make it home until 1 am. He carefully eased the door open and was surprised to see Yuuri and Yurio still awake.

“Merry Christmas!” they both said.

Victor looked at his watch. “Didn’t I miss Christmas by an hour?”

Yuuri looked at his own watch. “I don’t know, I see that it’s 11:55 pm. You just made it in time! Now we can celebrate together.”

Victor couldn’t help the tears that started flowing down his face. “Yuuri, Yurio…”

“But Yurio will probably only be awake for another five minutes so we should open the presents.”

Victor managed to compose himself. “Okay, that’s a good idea.” Yurio shoved a box at each of them. They opened them to reveal macaroni necklaces. “Thank you, Yurio, I love it!” Victor exclaimed, quickly slipping it on over his head.

“This is beautiful, Yurio, thank you!” Yuuri said, doing the same.

Yurio beamed at the praise and said simply, “You’re welcome.”

Yuuri handed Yurio a gift bag. “Here’s something for you, too.” Yurio opened it to find a little tag with his name and Victor’s number on it. “It’s a lost kid tag. They’re really useful for if he wanders off, you’ll be able to find him easier. I made them for the kids at the orphanage, too.”

Victor watched Yurio rub his face on it. “And I see that tiger print is still popular.”

Yuuri laughed. “I guess so.”

Yurio hugged him in response. Victor took the opportunity to run to his room and return with two boxes. He handed the first one to Yurio, saying, “Merry Christmas, Yurio!” His nephew gingerly opened the box to find a tiger print hoodie. He couldn’t seem to process the gift, just staring at it until he crushed his uncle into a giant hug. “I’m glad we were both right about the tiger print,” he laughed.

Victor then smiled mischievously. “Of course, we can’t forget about the single greatest gift ever to be given in the history of time.”

Yuuri frowned. “And what would that be?”

“I’ll be right back!” Victor said, running out the front door.

Yuuri and Yurio just looked at each other. “I kinda don’t want to know what he could possibly be planning,” Yuuri said. Yurio nodded.

Victor opened the door again, but this time he wasn’t alone. A single “woof” was the only warning they got before they were tackled by a large poodle.

“Makkachin is here from Russia!” Victor yelled proudly. Yurio was gasping and giggling as the dog licked his face mercilessly. “It took some time to get the paperwork sorted out, but she’s finally here with us now! And I thought she missed me, but it seems she likes you two more,” he said with a frown.

Yuuri ran his fingers through Makkachin’s soft fur. “She’s perfect,” he whispered. Yurio climbed on her back and attempted to have her carry him, but Victor quickly put a stop to that, reminding Yurio that she was no longer a young puppy.

Eventually they all calmed down from the excitement of the new addition to the family. Yuuri got up and began picking up the wrapping paper. “Well, Yurio’s been up long enough, and I…”

“What about my gift to you, Yuuri?” Victor asked.

Yuuri froze. “What gift?”

“This one!” Victor said, holding out the box.

“Uh, I, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think to get you anything, this isn’t necessary, I’m so inconsiderate, I’m not even family,” Yuuri babbled, backing away.

Victor just smiled easily and stepped closer. “Yuuri, please, I wanted to, and I keep saying you’re family. So here.”

Yuuri gulped and took the box, opening it to find a beautiful blue scarf. “Oh, thank you Victor, I love it!” he said, feeling how soft the material was. “Well, I’ll be sure to get you a nice birthday present in return. When is it?”

“My birthday?” Victor asked, blinking. “December 25.”

Yuuri smiled and nodded, then froze again. “Wait. What. Today is your birthday, too? Now I feel even worse!”

“Please, Yuuri, don’t feel bad. I don’t expect anything more in return when you’ve already given us so much. Besides, we never told each other our birthdays, so you couldn’t have known.”

Suddenly, Yuuri really felt that Victor needed to know when his own birthday was. “November 29. Mine is November 29. My birthday, I mean.”

Victor clicked his tongue. “See, I missed yours, too. Do you think that makes me a bad person?”

Yuuri flushed. “No, of course not!”

Victor grinned. “See, you have nothing to be ashamed of, then! We’ll just be sure to celebrate them together next year.”

Yuuri’s heart fluttered at the easy way that Victor said “together” and “next year,” but all he could do was smile back.

January 2017

The nearby Christmas market easily transitioned into a fair in early January for the new year. Victor was excited to go with Yuuri and Yurio this time, so the three of them bundled up and walked with Makkachin to the square. A band was covering Journey songs and Yuuri noticed Victor humming along as they explored the stalls. Yurio touched every single expensive thing he saw, keeping Yuuri on edge and watchful.

When Yurio got hungry they bought some pulled pork sandwiches and sat on a bench, watching the people go by. Victor pretended not to notice Yuuri sneaking bites to Makkachin. They had all finished eating when Yurio saw a young couple carrying a baby walk past. “Where is momma?” he asked.

Victor sighed. “She’s not here anymore, Yurio.”

“Then where is she?” he asked again.

Yuuri jumped up. “I’ll be right back, please wait for me.”

Victor attempted to gingerly answer Yurio’s questions as best he could until Yuuri returned holding a cone of cotton candy. He handed it to Yurio and said, “Your momma is up in the sky.”

Yurio looked up at the sky and squinted. Fluffy clouds covered the sky. “I don’t see her,” he said sadly.

“But do you see the clouds?” Yuuri asked.

Yurio frowned. “Yeah.”

Yuuri smiled at him and pointed at the cotton candy. “Your momma sent this cloud to you as a gift from the sky! She’s been watching you and said she is really proud of the good boy you’ve been.”

Looking from the cotton candy to the sky and then back, Yurio smiled. “Okay.” He yelled at the clouds, “Thank you momma!”

Victor reached around Yurio and gripped Yuuri’s shoulder, mouthing the words “thank you.”

Victor won gold again at the 2017 European Championships in the Czech Republic. Luckily, he returned to Detroit just in time for the annual Ice Show put on by the rink. The different age groups of skaters would perform their short routines choreographed by the instructors. Yuuri’s group, the youngest, was last to go.

Yuuri helped Yurio get into his costume. For once, it wasn’t tiger print, but instead a light blue with snowflakes all over. Yurio was nervously glancing left and right as Yuuri brushed the hair out of his face. “Don’t be nervous, Yurio. You’re going to be amazing. You’ve been practicing really hard, haven’t you?” Yurio nodded at him. “See, it’s going to be okay! And Victor will be out there watching.”

Yurio finally relaxed his shoulders and nodded resolutely. “Okay, I’ll do my best!”

“I know you will. Ah, it’s time. Let’s go with everyone else!” Yuuri led the way to the rest of the skaters and they took their place on the ice. Classical music played and the little kids twirled around, some aimlessly, some with direction. When the music swelled, most of them did the twirl that was choreographed as Yuuri led them through a simple dance. He spent the last part corralling them all into the center so that they could finish the performance together. He had them all bow to both sides of the rink to the audience’s applause, then he led them off the ice.

When Yuuri was done with his ice skating teacher duties he took Yurio to go get Victor. They found him wiping tears from his eyes in a throng of all of the family members. Victor crushed Yurio in a bear hug, which Yurio only protested half-heartedly. “That was incredible, you were amazing, Yurio! Perfect! Captivating!”

“Okay, okay, let the poor kid breathe,” Yuuri laughed.

Victor gasped and released. “Ah, sorry! I was just so enthralled by your performance. You’re going to be a professional like me someday, I can tell.”

Yurio blushed at the praise. “Thanks. It was fun!”

Yuuri felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Celestino beaming down at him. “Nice work, Yuuri! They all improved so much under your wise tutelage.”

“Thank you, but most of them were already talented…”

Celestino clapped him on the back. “Don’t be so modest! Coaching is no easy feat. I would know, I have my hands full with this one,” he pointed to Victor, “and this one,” he pointed to Phichit who was running up behind him.

“YUURI!” Phichit yelled as he skidded to a half in front of his friend. “That was so cool! You can’t even tell that they’re so young!”

“Thanks,” Yuuri said. “They’ve been working really hard.” When Celestino glared at him, he corrected himself, “We. We’ve been working really hard.”

Celestino began talking to Phichit and Victor about their training regiments and Yuuri felt a tug on his pant leg. He squatted down to talk to Yurio. “Yes, what is it?”

The child kept a hand scrunched in Yuuri’s pants. “Do you really think I can do it? Do you think I could become a real skater like Victor and mama and papa?”

Yuuri’s heart swelled, and he gripped Yurio’s shoulder to mimic Celestino. “You definitely can if you want to! It will take practice and hard work, but it’s possible if you put in the effort! I know you have it in you to be even better than all of them.”

Yurio smiled at him shyly. “I want to practice more then.”

“I can take you to the rink more often. Would you like that?”

“Yeah!” Yurio yelled, running forward to give him a hug.

If Yuuri had looked up at that exact moment, he would have seen the look on Victor’s face as he watched the two talk. But he instead closed his eyes, hugged him back, and wished for Yurio to find the courage and strength to one day realize his dreams in a way Yuuri had never been able to.

February 2017

Yuuri looked up from reading “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” to Yurio to find drool practically dripping from the kid’s mouth. With a laugh, he closed the book. “Yurio, are you hungry?”

Yurio’s hair bobbed wildly as he nodded his head. “I’m starving!”

“Would you like to make some pancakes? Like in the book?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Yurio yelled, jumping up from the living room carpet, waking up Makkachin from her nap, and bounding to the kitchen.

Yuuri laughed, closed the book, and followed him. “What would you like to put with the pancakes?”

Yurio touched his chin and thought before exclaiming, “Everything!”

“How about one thing?”

“Hmmmmm…. Strawberries!”

“Okay, let’s do that,” Yuuri replied. He got out all of the ingredients and pans they needed. Slowly, he guided Yurio through making the pancake batter, allowing the child to stir until his arm got tired. Then, they carefully cut up the strawberries, with Yuuri handling the knife and Yurio handling everything else. Once they were finished cutting, Yurio got excited and dumped the pile of strawberries into the batter before Yuuri could stop him.

Yuuri was about to correct him when he remembered cooking with his mother at a very young age. He would often make mistakes, but his mother would never yell at him, just pat his head and tell him how proud she was of him for helping in the first place. Then they would always eat together and his mother would say how good it tasted because it was Yuuri’s. He really missed his mother and his whole family, separated by oceans as they were. He had barely even been home in the last four years because of how busy he was because of school. He mentally vowed to call his parents tonight, but first he had some good memories of his own to make with Yurio.

He patted Yurio’s head and said, “Great job, thanks for helping! Now let’s get the pan ready. Be careful, it’s gonna be hot.” He started to heat up the skillet and turned to get the cooking spray. When he looked back at the pan, Yurio was on his toes grabbing for the handle to see what was going on. As it started to fall, Yuuri instinctively dashed forward, gripped the pan, and threw it back on the stove. He knelt down to make sure that Yurio hadn’t been touched by the hot surface. Thankfully, he was unhurt. Yuuri wished he could say the same of himself.

There was already a large red mark on his hand where he grabbed the pan, and he knew it was going to turn into a mild burn. Oh well, it was his own fault for leaving Yurio unattended. He winced as he ran his fingers down the afflicted area. Yurio noticed and looked at him with concern. “Did you get an ouchie?”

Yuuri gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Only a little one, It’s just hot here,” he said, pointing to his burnt hand.

Yurio frowned and leaned up, blowing hard on his hand. When he was out of breath, he asked, “Better?”

Yuuri smiled down at him and gave him a hug. “Much better now, thanks to you. I’m just glad you didn’t get an ouchie.”

The rest of the cooking experience continued without incident, and the pancakes turned out decent. The strawberry bits were very lumpy, but Yurio grinned as he wolfed down his portion. Yuuri was sure to say, “These are delicious, Yurio. Thank you for helping, I couldn’t have done it without you!” Yurio just smiled bigger.

Yuuri wrapped the last few pancakes in plastic wrap and left them on the counter for Victor when he got home later that night. Yurio helped him clean up the kitchen and they continued to read together until it was time to start putting him to bed. Yuuri sent Yurio to brush his teeth and was tidying up the living room when Victor walked in through the door. “I’m home,” he called.

“Welcome back!” Yuuri answered, waving his hand. Victor met his gaze and smiled warmly, before he caught sight of the (now much redder) mark on Yuuri’s hand. Victor’s smile quickly melted into concern as he rushed to his side.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“Ah, I burned myself when we made pancakes. It’s not a big deal, really.”

Victor grabbed his hand and brought it close to his face to inspect the mark himself. Yuuri blushed as he felt the man’s fingers run over his hand before indeed agreeing that it wasn’t that serious. Victor sighed and placed a light kiss on the burn.

If Yuuri was blushing before, you could fry an egg on his face at that moment. Victor then realized what he had done, and he quickly dropped Yuuri’s hand. “Ah, I should go get you some ice!” He whipped around and bolted to the kitchen before Yuuri could regain his composure.

“Are these the pancakes you made?” Victor asked from the kitchen. Yuuri lightly shook his head to clear his thoughts before following Victor.

“Yes, Yurio and I made them. Those are for you to try.”

Yurio came back from the bathroom to tell Yuuri he was done brushing his teeth and say hello to Victor. He saw that Victor was holding the pancakes and grinned expectantly. Victor handed a bag of ice to Yuuri, then hummed thoughtfully as he took a bite. “These are certainly inter…” he started before he caught Yuuri’s pointed glance. “...Incredible! These are incredible! Wow, Yurio, these are the best pancakes I’ve ever had!”

Yurio beamed. “Thanks! I tried really hard!”

Victor chuckled. “I’m sure you did. Now, off to bed.”

Yuuri led him to his bedroom. When Yurio was asleep, he rejoined Victor in the kitchen. “Thanks for indulging him. He was very proud of those pancakes.”

Victor laughed again, and Yuuri thought about how much he enjoyed hearing the sound. “Well, thank you for looking out for him. I’m so sorry that his carelessness got you hurt.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “Oh no, I really should’ve been watching him closer! It’s totally my fault.”

“I really don’t think it is, Yuuri.”

“No, no, it’s my fault.”

Victor held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Will you at least let me drive you home for your trouble?”

Yuuri blushed slightly. “That’s not necessary.”

Victor grinned. “I insist. Come on, I won’t change my mind.”

Yuuri relented and they spent the ride in comfortable silence. When they approached the block of the orphanage, Yuuri realized he didn’t want to leave Victor. Unfortunately, the car stopped in front of his residence anyway.

Yuuri hesitated a moment too long to open the door because Victor looked at him with that same concerned look and asked, “Is something wrong?”

Of course, many things were wrong. Yuuri’s chest felt warm and his heartbeat was fast and overall he knew that he shouldn’t be affected by any of this, so he just smiled and said, “No, I’m good. Thank you for the ride,” before practically jumping out of the car.

He got to the front door and nervously fiddled with the key and the lock for almost a minute before he finally got the door open. Relieved, he darted inside and closed the door behind him. He looked out the window, where he saw that Victor was only just now pulling away, which did nothing to cool the warmth spreading through his chest.

Yuuri always helped the kids at the orphanage make chocolates the day before Valentine’s Day. Both the girls and the boys liked taking sweets to their classmates and friends, so making a lot of them in bulk was cheaper and easier for Yuuri to deal with than individual requests. This year Minami helped him wrangle the littlest kids away from the hot pans (which Yuuri never took his eyes off of) and eventually they all came away with a nice little bag of chocolates.

Yuuri had made two extra, one of which he knew he would give to Yurio. The other, he wanted to give to Victor. But he couldn’t bring himself to think that without feeling embarrassed. What if Victor hated them? Surely many people would give him much fancier gifts on Valentine’s Day. At least Victor was too nice to say such a thing out loud. Maybe he would think it was an awkward gift and too forward? But he was giving the same thing to Yurio, so hopefully it wouldn’t be weirder than he made it.

Yuuri shook his head. This line of thought was getting him nowhere. All he could do was give them to Victor and hope for the best. Still, he went to bed that night slightly worried about what the next day would bring.

At least the next morning brought nothing out of the ordinary. When he brought Yurio home from the rink, he gave him the chocolates. Yurio was so happy he bounced off the walls and hugged Yuuri’s legs tightly. Yurio happily munched on the chocolate as the babysitter read him a few books while they both cuddled Makkachin. After dinner, Yuuri cleaned the kitchen and kept glancing nervously at his bag. Victor’s chocolates were securely inside, and he didn’t know if he would find the courage to give them as a present. He pushed that thought out of his mind as he continued scrubbing the single clean pot in the sink. When even that could no longer be a distraction, he resigned himself to puttering around the living room as Yurio played with his toys.

Finally, Victor came home and Yuuri was equal parts excited and terrified of what would happen. He also couldn’t help but notice that Victor was carrying an extra bag with him that looked suspiciously full. Yuuri had a sinking feeling that he confirmed by “casually” walking past the front door to check the lock: the bag was full of chocolates and cards and other gifts more expensive than his homemade chocolates. He sighed and took a moment to be thankful that he decided not to give Victor his embarrassing chocolates.

Yuuri sat on the floor to pick out some stories for bedtime while Yurio looked over his shoulder. Victor settled on the couch and reached for his back pocket, then his front pocket, and he sighed. “Yurio, I left my phone in my bag. Do you think you could grab it for me? My knees are a little stiff after all of the quads Celestino had us do today,” he asked.

“Yup!” Yurio ran to the hallway and turned right. Yuuri remembered that he thought Victor’s bag was on the left, closer to the door, but he turned his attention back to the pile of books and petting Makkachin. He heard Yurio yell, “Yay, more chocolates!” Ah, he must have found Victor’s stash of presents. Yurio ran back into the room and showed Victor a little bag, asking, “Can I have these, Victor?”

Victor examined the present and said, “Yurio, these aren’t mine. Apologize for going through Yuuri’s bag without asking.”

Yuuri froze and almost didn’t turn around. Turning around would acknowledge the situation, and he knew he didn’t want to do that. Still, he slowly looked at what Yurio was holding. It was his chocolates for Victor. Why did Yurio have to find that and show Victor? Why?

Yuuri gulped. “Ah, yes those are mine.”

“Sorry for going in your stuff,” Yurio said, eyes down.

“No, n-no, it’s okay! It was an a-accident,” Yuuri stammered.

Yurio relaxed. “Then can I have them?”

Yuuri’s eyes immediately shot to Victor, then back to the chocolates. “No!” he almost yelled, before willing himself to lower his voice. “I mean, no, those are a gift for someone else. Sorry.”

Yurio frowned slightly, but Victor ruffled his hair. “Alright, Yurio, give the nice present back to Yuuri.” Yurio reluctantly handed back the bag. Yuuri took it, his hands shaking slightly. He put them down, took a deep breath, and went back to looking through the books.

Once he had put Yurio to bed, he quickly put on his coat and shoes. He was about to sneak out the front door when Victor’s head popped out of the kitchen. “Ah, you’re leaving, let me walk you to the bus stop.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Yuuri said.

Victor smiled at him. “You always say that, and I always do it anyway, so why not just let me?” he asked.

Yuuri thought about that for a second before nodding hesitantly. “Okay, thank you,” he said.

They walked to the bus stop, and their shoulders brushed twice (but Yuuri wasn’t counting). When they got to the stop, Yuuri turned to look at Victor. He closed his eyes to summon all of the courage he had in his body, and then reached into his bag to grab the chocolates. Before he could let his anxiety or nervousness get the best of him, he thrust the bag into Victor’s chest.

“I made these for you,” he said simply.

Victor smiled at him. “Thank you,” he replied simply.

Yuuri found himself returning the smile. That went much worse in his head.

When making breakfast one morning, Yuuri asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time. “Victor, would you please teach me some Russian?”

Victor blinked at him, an unreadable expression crossing his face. “Russian? Why?”

“I feel bad that he’s surrounded by English here in America, and I don’t think it’s incredibly useful to teach him any Japanese. I think it would be good if he could speak Russian with more people, and I spend a lot of time with him.”

Victor blinked again. “Those… Those are very good reasons.” He smiled. “Sure, why don’t we try a quick lesson after Yurio goes to bed tonight?”

When the time came, they sat at the kitchen table with one of Yurio’s Russian storybooks in front of them. Victor was reading the words out loud, then explaining what they meant in English. Yuuri tried to pay attention, but he found himself focusing a little too hard on the shapes that Victor’s lips took while pronouncing the foreign syllables. The beautiful sounds sent shivers up his spine, and he couldn’t concentrate on any actual learning. His attempts to repeat after Victor were poor, and his pronunciation was terrible. After almost an hour Yuuri felt like he hadn’t learned a thing. Nevertheless, he thanked Victor for his time and went home.

The next night they tried again, and Yuuri made more of an effort to actually pay attention. He learned how to say please, thank you, hello, and goodbye, which was already more than yesterday. With those small feats accomplished, he fell back into old habits of concentrating more on Victor than the lesson. This time, when he went home, he called Phichit to complain.

“I’m just really horrible at Russian,” he said into the phone.

Phichit laughed at him. “I’ve never known you to be bad at a language before! What about it is so hard for you?”

Yuuri thought about it for a moment. “I think I just can’t get over how it sounds. Everytime Victor says something, I can’t think about it as an actual word. I get confused and can’t pay attention to the right things.”

Phichit laughed again. “Oh my god you’re hilarious Yuuri,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Yuuri asked.

Phichit stopped. “What do YOU mean?”

“Now I’m really really confused,” Yuuri said.

“Ohhhh, right. You don’t know.”

“Know what?”

Phichit sighed. “I don’t think you’re bad at Russian, Yuuri. I think you’re having a hard time concentrating on anything other than Victor.”

Yuuri took a few seconds to be thankful that they weren’t Skyping because he could feel his face flush. “No! I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s painfully obvious.”

“I swear, you will find a listing for a new best friend on Craigslist if you keep this up.”

“Nooooo!!!!!” Phichit wailed. Yuuri pulled the phone away from his ear, wincing at the volume. “Okay, okay, I give up! But if you’re serious about learning Russian, maybe try a different teacher? Just in case Victor’s learning style isn’t for you, or something.”

Yuuri nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea! Thanks for the help Phichit.”

“No problem, my friend. Now, let’s talk about me. Today, on Twitter…”

Once Yuuri had helped coach Phichit through another social media crisis, he decided to follow his advice. The next day, he told Victor about his switch.

“Thank you for agreeing to teach me so far! But I’m afraid I’m not being a very good student, so I won’t waste your time anymore. I’m going to ask Mila to teach me some Russian instead.” Yuuri said while bowing.

“Please, please, there’s no need to bow!” Victor said until Yuuri stood up. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better teacher…”

“No, no, it wasn’t you!” Yuuri said. “I just couldn’t concentrate fully. Phichit said I may need a different learning style or something.”

Victor smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well, hopefully she can be of more help to you than I was.”

Yuuri thanked him again and went next door. Mila agreed, especially when he told her the reasoning. She also laughed for a solid two minutes before saying yes, but Yuuri couldn’t figure out why. The first thing she taught him was to call Yurio “котенок” because it would “drive Victor crazy.” Yuuri wondered if he hadn’t made a mistake after all.

Chapter Text

March 2017

Yuuri and Yurio stopped at the grocery store on the way home from ice skating lessons. They went up and down the aisles slower than usual and glancing worriedly at his phone. Eventually even Yurio noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yuuri smiled. “Nothing, I’m just very tired.” Yurio frowned as if he didn’t believe him, but let Yuuri continue to push him around aimlessly in the cart. Suddenly Yuuri whipped his head to look at his phone, grinned, and said, “Well we’ve got everything we need. Let’s head home?”

They paid for their groceries and walked home. Yurio could still guess that something was up, but he couldn’t figure out what. Yuuri unlocked the front door and let Yurio go in first. Hesitantly, he pushed open the door and was greeted by yells of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY YURIO!”

Yurio blinked in confusion before his face widened into a smile. The whole hallway was decorated with balloons and streamers, and a small group of people was wearing party hats and grinning at him. Yurio turned around to Yuuri and half-asked, half-yelled, “It’s my birthday?!”

Yuuri chuckled. “С днëм рождения,” he said. In English, he translated, “Happy birthday! It’s a surprise party for you! Victor planned it.”

Victor held out his arms dramatically, tears streaming down his face. “Happy birthday, my beloved nephew.” Yurio hesitantly gave him a hug, which only made Victor cry harder. Luckily, everyone else broke them up to give their own well wishes.

Phichit snapped a selfie of him and Yurio. “My young dude, your fashion sense is impeccable as always,” he said, pointing to the tiger print hoodie he was wearing. Yurio gave him a thumbs up.

Mila put down Irina, who wobbled over to Yurio and started talking to him about something that seemed to be very important and engaging. Mila said, “Yuuri, your Russian is improving. You must have a fantastic teacher.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes at her. “I’m still not sure that half of what you’re teaching me isn’t dirty words.”

She gasped at him. “How dare you? It’s way more than half!”

Chris sauntered up to them. “Did I hear someone mention dirty words?”

Victor was right behind him. “No, no, Chris, you’re needed over here. Where Yuuri isn’t.” He grabbed Chris’s shoulder and pulled him away from the conversation.

Mila shook her head. “Men, am I right?”

Yuuri just looked at her in confusion. “Are you right?”

She winked at him. “I always am.”

“Well, you make no sense, so I am going to go make the katsudon.” Yuuri strode purposely into the kitchen with the groceries. He put on the rice, pounded out the pork cutlets, and began frying them when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Yurio.

“Can I help?” he asked.

Yuuri smiled. “Sure, let me just finish this dangerous part and then you can.”

Yurio’s face lit up. “Okay! I’m good at cooking now!”

Yuuri laughed. “Yes, you are.”

Once he was done frying the pork, he had Yurio help him cut onions and crack eggs. Soon, many bowls of katsudon were done and everyone sat around the kitchen table to eat.

No one (except Phichit) had ever had katsudon before, and they all raved about how delicious it was and how good Yuuri was at cooking. He blushed at the praise and thanked Yurio for helping make his celebratory birthday dish. Yuuri looked around the table. Phichit was still instagramming his bowl, Chris and Victor were arguing about who was better at quads, Irina and Yurio were flinging peas at each other, and Mila was sneakily giving Irina the rest of her peas. Yuuri smiled and went back to eating, happy that he could help build these memories for Yurio. He tried and failed to not think about how he had no idea where any of them would be for the next birthday, but for now, this was enough.

Yurio stared intently at the TV. There was a documentary DVD about big cats on, and Yurio had watched it three times this week. Not even Yuuri could peel him away from the TV. It was Victor’s day off of training, but Yurio didn’t want anything to do with either of them.

Yuuri turned off the TV and Yurio spun around and almost hissed at him. “I was watching that!” he yelled.

“I have a better idea,” Yuuri said.

Yurio frowned. “Better than big cats?”

Yuuri leaned down and smiled. “How about if you go see some big cats? In person at the zoo?”

Yurio froze. “Zoo?” He turned to Victor for help with the unfamiliar word.

“Зоопарк“ Victor translated.

Yurio’s eyes lit up. “They have tigers there!”

Yuuri laughed. “Yes, they do. Would you like to go?”

“Yes! Yes! Tigers! Зоопарк! Zoo!”

“Great, I will get you packed up and you can go with Victor!”

“What do you mean?” Victor asked. “You’re coming, naturally.”

Yuuri shook his head. “No, it’s your day off, you should go with him alone.”

Victor frowned. “Do you dislike us that much, Yuuri?”

Yuuri blushed. “No, no, it’s not that!”

“Then, we want you to come. And if you want to come, too, it shouldn’t be more complicated than that.”

Yuuri bit his lip. Victor always said stuff like this, like it was no big deal. Yuuri felt like it was a pretty big deal. “Are you sure?”

Victor nodded. “Positive.”

Yuuri sighed. “Alright, I’ll go get Yurio dressed.”

They all piled into Victor’s car. Yurio struggled against his booster seat to press his face as close to the window as he could, staring in awe at all of the buildings going past. Victor put on a Foreigner CD and Yuuri had to endure his singing all the way to the Detroit Zoo.

Yuuri held Yurio’s hand as they all walked through the main entrance. The babysitter grabbed a map and studied it. “Let’s make a big loop around and save the best for last: the tiger!”

Yurio nodded. The head of his tiger hoodie bobbed up and down with him. They headed to the first exhibit. Yurio was amazed by every single animal he saw at the zoo. He looked up in wonder at the ones bigger than him (most), and the few that were smaller were equally interesting in his eyes. Yuuri borrowed Victor's camera and took lots of pictures of Yurio’s reactions.

They made their way across the zoo to the far end to see the giraffes. Victor bought them some feed and he held out his full hand. A giraffe wandered over and began licking up the feed. Yurio shyly held out his food, too, and the giraffe moved over to him. Yurio’s face froze in shock as the tongue moved across his little hand, and Yuuri giggled as he took multiple pictures of the two of them. Eventually, the child relaxed and smiled at his new friend. Then, Victor practically ripped the camera out of Yuuri’s hands when a young couple walked by, passing it to them and asking for a picture of the three of them together. This time Yuuri knew better than to fight it, but he was still incredibly thankful to be included. When they ran out of feed, they went to go wash their hands and Yuuri suggested they eat some food of their own before going to see the tigers.

“Ah, good idea, Yuuri, I was starting to get hungry,” Victor said. “I think I saw a restaurant back the way we came?”

“That’s alright, I packed a lunch for us,” Yuuri replied, pointing to his large backpack. “There are some picnic tables up ahead that we can use.”

They made their way over to a table and Yuuri took out three bento boxes, placing them down in front of each person. Victor laughed. “When did you possibly have time to make these?”

Yuuri blushed slightly. “Before I came over, I had thought that we might go out somewhere today.”

“Well, good thinking! Let’s eat!” Victor said, peeling the top off of his. Inside was a mess of food in the middle making an indistinct shape. The other boxes looked the same.

“Oh my god!” Yuuri exclaimed, taking the boxes back. He hastily poked his chopsticks around each one before returning it. This time, the middles were decorated with their own cute faces.

Victor smiled warmly. “Ah, now I see! Thank you Yuuri, these look amazing!” He took a bite and sighed. “And they taste amazing!”

“It was no problem at all,” Yuuri supplied, digging into his own.

Yurio also began wolfing down his bento. “Вкусно,” said between bites.

Yuuri just hummed in agreement until Victor helpfully whispered “delicious” to him. “Cпасибо, Yurio!” he replied. “I’m glad you like it.”

When they finished putting away their empty bentos, Yuuri consulted his zoo map. “Next stop, tigers!” he said.

Yurio cheered and started running off in the direction that Yuuri had pointed. Yuuri started to follow him when he felt a drop of water on his scalp. He felt the top of his head and looked up at the sky where angry storm clouds had rolled in. He pointed them out to Victor, who looked grimly ahead. “If it rains, I don’t think we’ll be able to see the tigers,” he said to Yuuri.

Yuuri nodded. “Hopefully, if we hurry we can make it.” The skies picked that moment to open up and start pouring rain on them. Yuuri wrangled the umbrella out of his bag, opened it, and moved to cover all of three of them. Victor picked Yurio up to keep them all dry as Yuuri apologized, “I’m sorry I only thought to bring one umbrella with me.”

Victor laughed it off, saying, “That’s one more umbrella than I thought to bring! Thanks to you, we’re not completely soaked.” Then, hoped out loud, “Well, maybe the tigers will still be outside?”

On queue, a loudspeaker crackled to life and a voice said, “Due to the inclement weather, all outdoor animals are being moved inside. Please move to take shelter in the nearest building or leave the park.”

Yurio pouted. “I wanted to see the tigers,” he said, nearly jumping out of Victor’s arms when a peal of thunder rang out around them.

Victor patted his back. “Sorry, котенок, come back with Yuuri a different time to see the tigers?”

Yurio continued pouting, but to a lesser extent. “I’m a tiger, not a kitten. And promise?”

Victor ruffled his hair. “I promise. Now let’s head home so we can get dry.”

Yuuri pretended that the promise made to appease a four year old child was also made to him.

As Yuuri finished cleaning the last pot in the sink, Victor grabbed a towel to dry it. “So, tomorrow is White Day,” he said.

Yuuri blinked at him. He probably hadn’t thought about White Day since coming to America for college. “Ah, I guess it is,” he replied, continuing to scrub.

“As a very scholarly source that definitely is not Wikipedia told me,” Victor said, “White Day is where you give a return gift for Valentine’s Day.”

Yuuri smirked and handed Victor the now clean pot. “Thank you for the culture lesson,” he said. “I take it that’s not my gift?”

Victor shook his head and smiled. “No, no. I wanted to properly thank you for the delicious chocolates. Is there anything you would like in return?” When Yuuri went to open his mouth, Victor raised a hand. “Because I’m getting you something, whether you like it or not. Tomorrow is another day off.”

Yuuri sighed and looked at the ceiling. He thought for a while, then clapped his hands together. “Toilet paper!”

Victor’s smile fell. “That’s what you want as your gift? We can get that anytime?”

Yuuri smiled and shook his head. “Well, it’s always so expensive at the places right by the house. How about for my gift you drive us to Costco where it’s cheaper?”

With a sigh, Victor gave in. “Okay, okay, you hardly ask me for anything, so how can I say no?”

Yuuri gasped and took out his phone. “I almost forgot, I need to tell Phichit! And he said splitting a Costco membership would never come in handy…”

The next morning Victor drove the three of them to Costco as promised. Yurio had never been in a store so large before, used to the relatively small grocery stores by the house. Yurio took them through their grocery list, buying items in bulk, before they reached the toy section. Yurio attempted to jump out of the cart but his foot stuck. Laughing, Victor helped him out and placed him on the floor. “You can pick one. Oдин,” he emphasized, raising a single finger.

Yurio nodded and started inspecting the toys within his reach. Yuuri wandered to the next aisle to look for a few more spoons to replace the ones that Yurio had “lost” at daycare. He was rifling through a collection of silverware, then he suddenly stopped when a cute collection of mugs caught his eye. They were light blue with a darker blue pattern around the edges. He sighed and lightly ran a finger down the handle. They were so pretty, unlike anything he had at the orphanage. Nothing he kept there could be too nice because the littler kids would break things more often than not.

“That’s pretty,” Victor suddenly said, appearing almost magically next to him.

Yuuri squeaked and jumped backwards. “Ah, Victor! You scared me!”

Victor laughed. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to. But do you like that mug?”

Yuuri looked back at it. “Yeah, isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yup!” agreed Victor, picking it up and putting it in the cart. “And now I have a proper present for you for White Day!”

“Uh, you don’t have to.”

“Nonsense, now you have a mug of your own that you can keep at our house!”

That made Yuuri pause for a moment. Truly, he already felt more at home at Victor’s house than at the orphanage, but there was little physical evidence to tie him there. Having his own mug was tangible proof that he belonged there with them, even if only temporarily. It felt incredibly intimate, but somehow still right.

“Alright,” he said. “Thank you very much, Victor.”

Victor smiled. “You are very welcome, Yuuri.”

The beautiful spring day called Yuuri and Yurio outside to play. Victor was busy with training for Worlds and Yurio was full of energy. Yurio ran around the yard with a doll and Yuuri sat on the steps. Eventually Mila must have seen them because she brought Irina out to join them. Irina was carrying an action figure and joined in Yurio’s game. Mila sat next to him on the stairs.

“Yo,” she greeted.

“Hi,” Yuuri said back. She leaned over and pinched him. “Ow! What the?”

Mila laughed. “Did you forget that it’s St. Patrick’s Day? You’re not wearing green!”

Yuuri frowned. “Yeah, I guess I forgot both that and your freaky super human strength.”

She grinned at him. “Just because I’m no pro skater like your boyfriend doesn’t mean I don’t have guns,” she said, flexing her arms.

Blushing furiously, Yuuri said, “Please, you know it’s not like that. At all.”

Mila shrugged. “I don’t know that I know anything.”

A small smile crept across Yuuri’s face. “Ah, finally something true.”

She frowned at him. “Whatever.” She turned her gaze back to the playing children. “Oh wait! Yurio isn’t wearing green either!” She leapt up and ran towards the boy before Yuuri could warn her against it.

Mila chased him around the yard with her fingers pinching like crabs. Yurio screamed “баба” at her and stuck his tongue out as he outmaneuvered her.

She replied, “Ooh, Yuuri is not gonna like it when I tell him what that means!” She finally caught up to him and pinched his side hard once before darting away and laughing. “Who’s the old woman now?”

Yurio was about to retaliate when Yuuri raised his hands. “Alright, let’s calm down! How about we go to the park and look for four leaf clovers?”

The children cheered in response, and Mila fell onto the ground panting. She side-eyed Yurio before grabbing Irina’s hand and following Yuuri’s lead to the nearby park.

When they got there, all four of them ran to a patch of clovers and began searching. Irina and Yurio lost interest quickly, chasing butterflies and digging up worms. Mila herself just sat down to text “some hockey player.” Yuuri eventually found a couple of four leaf clovers, so he strategically lay them out in an empty space and called Yurio and Irina over to help him search for a little longer. Their faces lit up as they grabbed the special clovers, telling each other how lucky they were going to be from now on. Yuuri took a picture of them grinning and holding up the plants.

Yuuri hummed while stirring the pot on the stove. He tasted a sip of it, added a bit more salt, then lowered the heat to a simmer. Yurio took the bowls to help set the table when Yuuri heard the door open.

“I’m home!” Victor called as he took his shoes off.

“Welcome back!” Yuuri replied, spooning soup into the bowls. “Dinner is ready.”

Victor entered the kitchen and smiled. “Ah, it’s so nice to come back from training to a home cooked meal.”

Yuuri swatted Victor’s hand away from the bread still on the stove. “If you like it that much you’d stop trying to eat it before it’s ready.”

Victor pouted at him. “You literally just said that dinner was ready. Please, Yuuri, I’m starving.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “You certainly will starve if you don’t wash your hands and wait until I serve you.”

Victor huffed to the bathroom to wash up and he could swear he felt Yurio smirking at him the whole time.

They finally settled down and began eating. Victor was complimenting Yuuri’s cooking when he suddenly remembered, “I have great news! We’re going on vacation!”

Yuuri and Yurio just stared blankly at him. “I’m sorry?” Yuuri asked.

“The World Championships this year!” Victor explained.

“Oh, they’re in Finland, right? Well, it isn’t exactly a vacation for you because you’ll have to skate but you should still have a good time!” Yuuri said.

“No, no. I mean all of us are going!”

“I’m sorry?” Yuuri repeated.

Victor sighed. “It’s really my last competition of the season, so I organized everything for us all to go! Normally there’s no point because I have to train before and after so we’d have no free time, but this time there’s no training after! I’ve arranged for us to stay a few days afterwards so that we can all sightsee together!”

Yuuri held up a hand. “Whoa, slow down. Why am I going, too? Shouldn’t it just be you and Yurio?”

Victor pouted. “Wow, Yuuri, so selfish. Who will watch Yurio if you don’t go? If you don’t go, he can’t go, and then you’re denying my family time. Do you hate me that much?”

Yuuri blushed and shook his head. “Of course I don’t hate you! I just feel like I would be out of place there.”

Victor waved his hand. “Nonsense, both of you belong wherever I am. Now, I’ll be leaving this Monday to get settled, but you two don’t need to be there until Wednesday. Then we’ll all be there until the next Wednesday. Yuuri, will you be okay to take a week off of classes?”

“I’m sure I can manage,” he replied. “My friend Sara takes really good notes, and I don’t have any exams coming up that I’ll miss.”

Victor clapped his hands. “Wonderful! Now, I’ve taken care of the flights for both of you. Yuuri, I swear, do not even try to fight this. You are not paying for anything when I’m making you watch Yurio on the trip that I proposed. You both will share a hotel room in the hotel with the rest of the skaters. And I’ve arranged for Celestino to get you both passes to the event. You won’t be allowed everywhere in the venue, but you’ll be able to go most places. Ah, this will be so exciting! Now you both get to see me skate in person!”

Yuuri couldn’t help but smile at that. He had always dreamed of seeing Victor perform in person, but he had never really imagined that it would actually happen. And he certainly didn’t include Yurio or babysitting in those imaginations, but he couldn’t complain. This was still incredible.

Yurio frowned. “What about Makkachin?” he asked, petting his new friend.

Victor laughed. “I managed to arrange that, too! She’s been to a few competitions in the past, so I know she can handle it. I know flying with an animal can be kind of stressful, so she’ll come early with me. No one should have to keep tabs on a dog and a four year old on a flight. But it’s worth it, because it’s our first trip all together as family, I couldn’t leave Makkachin out!”

Yuuri didn’t know how many more times he could handle Victor blatantly including him in his “family,” but he knew he loved it every time.

The day Yuuri and Yurio were supposed to fly out to Finland, Yurio was still 100% unpacked.

“I wish I was surprised,” Yuuri laughed as he helped the kid pack. Yuuri made sure that enough pairs of underwear and socks made it into his suitcase, because if Yurio had his way he would have only packed hoodies and tiger shirts.

Yuuri had flown plenty before, so he wasn’t nervous about himself, but Yurio was still relatively new to the process. He was captivated by the giant planes at the airport, and he didn’t let go of Yuuri’s hand once as he was constantly surrounded by unfamiliar people. First there was an eight hour flight to Paris, but luckily that was overnight. Yurio was too excited to sleep for a while, but eventually staying up past his bedtime and a few stories made him tired enough to pass out. Yuuri gratefully followed his lead. They spent their quick layover eating breakfast at the airport before taking a quick three hour flight to Helsinki. By the time they got their luggage it was dinnertime. They checked into the hotel and met Victor for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The skater wasn’t able to eat anything fancy, but he still relished spending time with Yurio and Yuuri before his skate the next day.

Yurio was still full of energy when the sun went down, but luckily Victor kept Makkachin in his own room. Yuuri had a feeling that the two of them would just rile each other up even more. Yuuri put on a calming movie and Yurio went from bouncing off the walls to fast asleep halfway through. Yuuri crawled into his own bed and contemplated the fact that he was at the 2017 World Championships to see Victor. Or rather, he was here by Victor’s invitation. Insistence. It felt weird, but nice. He let those thoughts lead him to a deep sleep.

The next day was the Men’s Short Program. They got breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant and then took Makkachin for a walk while Victor practiced. It was cold but they played around in a nice park before getting lunch at an outdoor cafe. Eventually Yuuri left Makkachin in their room and took Yurio to the rink. Their passes easily got them inside, and Yuuri texted Victor to let him know they were there. He was in a skater’s only area so they found seats and watched the warm ups. When Victor’s group got on the ice he spotted them immediately and blew them a kiss. Yurio stuck out his tongue and Yuuri blushed.

Yuuri and Yurio watched the first group skate their programs. They were both enthralled by the beautiful routines. Even though Yuuri only figure skated as a hobby and taught lessons to little kids, he allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to skate in front of an audience like this. It was probably incredible, but it was also probably very stressful. As tempting as it sounded, he would stick to babysitting and linguistics for now.

Soon it was Victor’s turn to skate. Yurio paid more attention than he would admit. Victor’s music was haunting and beautiful, and his skating reflected it. The beauty and grace that Victor’s skating showed brought tears to Yuuri’s eyes. When Victor finished, gazing sadly at the ceiling, Yuuri gave him a standing ovation. Even Yurio clapped for him. Victor broke his pose and waved to the audience, immediately picking them out of the crowd and smiling wide. His score was very high, and he was placed in first for now. Most of the skaters had already gone, so he was expected to stay there.

They watched the rest of the short programs, but Yuuri didn’t believe any of them were quite as good as Victor. Not that he would ever say that out loud to Phichit or Chris. But then again, Phichit knew him well enough not to ask how he compared to Yuuri’s idol. When the last skater was taking the ice, he got a text from Victor. “After this they’re doing a tribute to Anya. I don’t think Yurio needs to see it.” Yuuri frowned as he typed back, “Are you sure? I think he can handle it.” Victor typed, then stopped, then typed more, then stopped, before finally responding, “I trust you.”

Yuuri sighed and looked over at Yurio. The child was smiling as he watched the skater twirl on the ice. Yuuri firmly believed that Yurio was capable of more than everyone gave him credit for. He took a deep breath and responded, “I’ll let him see, but I’ll also keep an eye on him.”

The skater’s scores came in and everyone clapped. They cleared the ice and a video started on the main TV. “This year, we mourn the loss of one of our own, ice dancer Anya Plisetsky,” a voice read. A picture of her smiling on a podium came up, and Yurio gasped.

“That’s mama!” he said, tugging on Yuuri’s shirt.

“Yes, it is,” Yuuri murmured.

“A tragic car accident claimed her life one year ago, and the ice skating community still feels her loss. She was a great skater and person.” A short video compilation of her skating played.

“Mama was a really good skater!” Yurio said.

“Yeah,” Yuuri said, smiling. “Someday I know you’ll be that good!”

“Really?” Yurio asked, his eyes shining.

“Really,” Yuuri affirmed. “Come on, the show is over for the day and we can go find Victor.” He took the child’s hand and led him to the back of the venue. They wandered through lots groups of coaches and skaters in sweats until they saw Victor.

The Russian man shrieked and ran towards them. “Yuuri! Yurio!” he yelled as he hugged them both. “I’m so happy you’re here!”

Yurio wiggled out of his grasp and Victor backed up. “How was everything?” he asked, giving Yuuri a pointed look.

Yuuri smiled. “It was all great. You had a good time, didn’t you?” he asked, ruffling Yurio’s hair.

“Oh, Victor, it was awesome!” he yelled. “They went around like whoosh, whoosh, and they jumped! They jumped so high! And I saw mama and she was so good, and now I wanna skate more!”

Victor looked surprised before his face melted into a smile. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, Yurio. Tomorrow I have a little free time, maybe we can get lunch?”

Yuuri nodded. “Sounds good! I’ll take Yurio back, it looks like you’re not done here.”

Victor looked back to see his coach glaring at him and pointing at his watch. “Ah, yes, Yakov still has things to discuss with me. It seems like I might have kept him waiting.” He laughed lightly and waved goodbye. “I will see you both tomorrow then!”

Back at the hotel, Makkachin was very happy to see them. They took her out for a final walk and admired the new scenery. Yurio convinced Yuuri to buy him a doughnut and they munched all the way back. The day’s excitement put Yurio to sleep earlier than usual, but Yuuri still wasn’t tired. He tried to sleep for a while before giving up and walking around the hotel. He pulled up Victor’s room number and went to knock on his door.

A loud voice from inside made him pause. He could immediately tell it was Victor, but in a tone angrier than he had ever heard. "Я знаю, мама, ты слишком занята и важна, у тебя нет времени для твоей семьи. Извини, что я спрашивал. Всё прекрасно." And although Yuuri’s Russian was still poor, he could pick out “mother,” “busy,” and “family.” Yuuri turned around to walk away when the door opened and Victor saw him.

“Oh, Yuuri! How long were you standing there?”

Yuuri blushed. “Not long, I swear! I didn’t overhear a thing, I’m so sorry to interrupt, I’ll just be going…”

Victor grabbed his arm. “No, I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have to hear such ugly things. Well, you know the situation, it’s just… Complicated,” he finished, shrugging. “You’re probably here for a reason. Would you like to come in?”

“Ah, no, I mean, I was here for a reason, but it wasn’t a good one, so-”

Victor smiled. “Great, come on in.” He half pulled, half guided Yuuri into the room and onto the couch. “Do you want anything to drink? I have some water and wine I’m not allowed to drink.”

“No thanks, I’m good,” Yuuri squeaked.

Victor settled down on the couch next to him. “I’m guessing you heard me yelling at my mother.”

Yuuri immediately looked away, and Victor laughed. “Yeah, I thought so. Sorry about that, I’ll apologize to her later. She was just being stupid as usual.” Yuuri opened his mouth to ask, then immediately shut it. Victor smiled at him. “I don't think I ever told you what happened when Anya died. I want you to know, so don't even think of telling me it would be overstepping to ask.”

Yuuri found himself smiling at that, because that's precisely what he was going to say, and the atmosphere felt a lot lighter.

“It was the day after Worlds,” Victor started. “I got a call from Georgi that Anya had been in an accident and didn't make it. He said he needed to be at the hospital and asked if I could watch Yurio for a few days. I accepted immediately and flew to Detroit. After a while I hadn't heard anything more from Georgi and called him, but his phone was off. I started calling the rest of our family, but no one had heard from him.”

Victor sighed. “At first I wasn't too surprised. Georgi was always terribly dramatic, and please don't say it's genetic, Yuuri, you hurt me so.” Yuuri smiled softly before Victor continued. “He and Anya were on again, off again for years. I thought they mostly drove each other crazy, and maybe they did. Half of his routines were love songs for her, the other half break up songs about her. Eventually though they settled down and moved in together. She was pregnant soon after and Yurio was born. She retired when she found out, and Georgi skated one more season under Celestino before retiring himself.”

Yuuri wanted to say something in response, but he couldn't think of anything that actually contributed to the conversation. Instead, he just continued to listen.

“Once it became clear that Georgi wasn't coming back, I was left in charge of both the funeral arrangement and taking care of Yurio. I didn't really mind, because it was the off season, but it was still overwhelming. And Yurio was much worse than he is now, he wouldn't do anything but cry or scream at me. All he wanted was Anya, and he didn't know why she wasn't there.” Victor’s face was unreadable. “The rest of our family was no help. My mother runs her own business in Russia and said she was too busy. My father and his new wife are off backpacking somewhere and couldn't be reached. The only people that even offered to help were Anya’s parents, but Nikolai fell down the stairs and can't take care of anyone. So it's just me and Yurio.”

Yuuri swallowed. That was a lot to take in, but he wanted to be sure that Victor was done before he said anything. Victor looked at him and smiled softly. “Thanks for listening, I don’t think I’ve ever laid it all out like that before. I hope you don’t think my family situation is too insane.”

Yuuri returned the smile. “Not at all. You and Yurio are doing the best you can, and I think you’re doing a great job with him.”

Yuuri hesitated for only a second before reaching forward and grabbing Victor’s hand, just like he had when they first met.

“Well, I guess I told the story a little wrong,” Victor said.

Yuuri’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “How?”

“It’s not just me and Yurio anymore,” Victor said, squeezing his hand.

Yuuri blushed but didn’t move his hand. “Yeah, I guess not,” he confirmed. The angle of their hands was a little weird and his palms were sweating, but he didn’t want to move. He didn’t want this conversation, however awkward, to end. He felt closer to Victor than he ever had before. “I’m very thankful that you brought me here,” he said suddenly.

Victor blinked at him, then smiled again. “Of course, Yuuri. I’m having a much better time with you here. Oh, and Yurio, too. I like having a family.”

And Yuuri thought about his own family back in Japan. He really did love them, and he missed them, but it was really nice to feel part of this family, too. No matter how fleeting or non-traditional it was. Yuuri opened his mouth to reply, but a giant yawn came out instead.

Victor laughed, disconnected their hands, and stood up. “Come on, it’s way past time to go to bed. I’ll walk you back to your room.”

Yuuri thought about protesting, but instead he let it happen. He yawned once more on the way, and when they reached the door, they just stood in the hallway and looked at each other.

“Well, good night, Yuuri. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Victor said.

“Good night,” Yuuri replied, before slipping quietly into the room. Yurio was still sound asleep, and he crawled under his own covers trying to slow down his heartbeat.

There was a single free day between the Men’s Short Program and Free Skate, but Victor had to spend most of the day practicing with Yakov. He had lunch off again, and he spent it with Yurio, Yuuri, and Makkachin. For the rest of the day Yuuri took Yurio sightseeing. It was slightly warmer that day, so they wore lighter jackets and went to some local shops (avoiding anything on Victor’s list of places they weren’t allowed to go until he was done with skating). After dinner, they watched an on demand movie and both passed out in the first half hour.

The next day was the Free Program, and the Men’s were in the early afternoon. Yuuri took Yurio to a diner for breakfast and watched the child eat what looked like half his weight in pancakes. Then they said goodbye to Makkachin and headed to the rink for warm ups. Victor looked in top form (as usual, if you asked Yuuri), and soon the competition was starting.

Fewer skaters made the cut to the second day, so all of the programs were on a high level. Phichit did much better than his current standing would have suggested, which made Yuuri flush with pride for his best friend. He was sure to take a lot of photos of the Thai skater’s performance to show him later. Phichit still probably wouldn't medal, but he would certainly be remembered. Chris fell on one of his jumps but otherwise did very well himself. Victor went last, and he smiled at Yuuri and Yurio before taking his place on the rink.

His program and the accompanying music were incredibly beautiful. Yuuri felt some of the same sad emotions that were present in the short program, but his free skate had an underlying positivity to it. All of the melancholic motions led to a grand and hopeful finish that brought Yuuri to tears again. Watching Victor skate was magical and powerful in ways he couldn't hope to describe.

Victor won the gold, which was completely unsurprising to Yuuri. The confident Canadian skater Jean-Jacques Leroy took silver, and Chris nabbed the bronze. Victor somehow managed to pick Yuuri and Yurio out from the crowd, waving and smiling at them from the podium.

After the short ceremony, Victor changed quickly and met them in the lobby. “Let's go eat something!” he said.

Yuuri held Yurio’s hand as they walked to the door. “Alright! Anything in particular?”

Victor smiled. “Anything covered in grease and loaded with carbs.”

With a laugh, Yuuri replied, “I think we can do that.”

The three of them walked to a nearby restaurant and Victor ordered whatever he wanted off the menu, gleefully snapchatting pictures of all the disgusting food to Celestino. They ended up with way too much food for the three of them, so they took the rest back to the hotel. Their conversation continued all the way to Yuuri and Yurio’s room, so they invited Victor in.

After properly greeting Makkachin, Victor told them all sorts of stories about what was going on behind the scenes of the event, from juicy skater gossip to weird equipment malfunctions. Yuuri was fascinated and engaged the whole time, but Yurio started getting drowsy when it was well past his normal bedtime. Yuuri was the first to notice and shooed Victor out. While Victor wasn't thrilled with the the sudden end to the night, he was convinced by Yuuri that a well rested Yurio would be able to do more sightseeing the next day.

Victor was very excited to be out of training for even a short length of time, so he took full advantage of his time off. He dragged Yuuri and Yurio to a few tourist traps in the morning, walking Makkachin with them. Apparently, Victor had already made a lunch reservation for team at a restaurant that Yuuri felt that he and Yurio were severely underdressed for. The food was amazing, though, so Yuuri couldn't complain. Much.

After lunch Victor got an angry phone call from Celestino about how he wasn't technically on break yet, there was still an exhibition tomorrow, they retired to the hotel. Victor pouted the whole way back, but Makkachin and Yurio chased each other in circles and it was so cute he mostly forgot to be angry. Victor had one last practice before dinner, so Yuuri took Yurio out to a park with the dog. They ate dinner at the hotel and walked around again afterward. Yurio and Makkachin ran around while Victor and Yuuri hung back. They chatted easily about whatever topics came to mind, and Yuuri would have found it boring with any other person. Somehow, with Victor, nothing seemed boring.

When they finally wandered back to the hotel, they said goodnight and went to their respective rooms, because Victor needed to rest for his exhibition skate. The following afternoon they all gathered at the rink to watch the top skaters perform, which Yuuri was looking forward to immensely. Yuuri had even helped pick out the music for this program, so he was especially excited to see it live. That had been a fun night, going through Victor and Georgi’s old tapes and CDs to find the perfect song. Victor’s skating was just as impressive in this exhibition, but he was able to skate a little freer and have more fun with his choreography. Yuuri couldn’t stop smiling once, and even Yurio had a great time watching.

When the event was over Victor was actually fully on the off season, but they all found themselves too tired to do anything but go back to the hotel and watch a movie. Yurio lay on his bed and fell asleep first, while Victor and Yuuri sat on the other bed and tried to stay awake to the end. Both of them failed, and Yuuri woke up cuddling Makkachin. Victor was curled up next to him, on top of the covers. He laughed quietly to himself before covering him up with a blanket. Grabbing his jacket, he left to take Makkachin on a walk before the others woke up. When he got back everyone was awake and they ordered room service and watched another movie. Victor’s incredible energy was gone and he just laid on the bed, napping, but Yuuri didn’t have the heart to rouse him. After lazing about the room all day, Victor finally looked human and ready to take on the day, even if it was almost dinnertime.

“Alright, we actually have plans for today!” Victor said as he stood up and stretched out his bag.

“We do?” Yuuri asked.

“Yes!” Victor said. “Yurio, you should get dressed in something comfortable. Yuuri, you should get dressed in something nice. And I’ll leave to go get dressed, too.”

Yuuri eyed him suspiciously. “And why are we dressing differently?”

Victor winked at him. “Why, it’s a surprise of course!”

Yuuri sighed and started getting them ready. Sometimes it was just easier to resign himself to Victor’s whims without question. They met in the lobby soon after, and Victor began walking them towards the rink. Still, Yuuri knew better than to ask any more questions, even if he noticed that Victor was also dressed nicely.

When they got to the rink, it was very quiet. Yuuri could tell immediately that there was no big event going on, but as they got inside he saw that there was still someone else there.

“Yakov!” Victor called happily, scurrying over to hug the man standing next to the rink.

“Vitya,” he responded, hugging back before clearing his throat and breaking the contact.

“Ah, yes, this is Yakov,” Victor explained when Yuuri and Yurio caught up. “Yurio, he used to be me and your… Well, my old figure skating coach from Russia,” Victor said.

Yurio squinted suspiciously at him but still shook his hand. “Hi,” he greeted.

“Hello, Yura,” Yakov replied. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard you’re an aspiring skater.” Yurio nodded. “Good, good. It runs in your blood. You can be a champion someday if you work hard.”

Yurio apparently deemed the man acceptable and was chattering away with him about how his figure skating lessons were going. Yuuri smiled at the sight but still shot Victor a look that he hoped conveyed “this is nice and all but mind telling me what we’re doing here?”

Victor understood and laughed. “Yakov has generously agreed to give Yurio a private lesson and watch him for the night! Would you like that, Yurio?” he asked, squatting down to his nephew’s level.

Yurio looked at Victor, then back to Yakov, then to the ice. “Yes,” he said. “I want to skate.”

Victor stood up and grinned. “Great! Then me and Yuuri will go out to dinner and be back later. Thanks so much, Yakov!” He grabbed Yuuri’s arm and started heading to the door.

Yuuri was still in shock for a few seconds before he realized what was happening and dug his heels into the ground. “Wait! What? Why…?” he sputtered.

Victor stopped and frowned at him. “I thought it would be nice to give you a break from babysitting, so you can have a vacation, too. And I mean, if you don’t want to go with me…” he trailed off.

“No! No, I mean, I want to.”

“Great, then let’s go. See you later, Yakov! Yurio! До скорого!” Victor waved as he dragged them away.

Yuuri eventually got his feet back under him and insisted on walking next to Victor like a normal person. The sun was setting and Victor already made a reservation at a way too fancy and expensive restaurant, but Yuuri wasn’t in the mood to argue it. Instead they easily walked along the sidewalks and talked about the events of the last few days. When they got to the restaurant Yuuri was very glad Victor had told him to dress nicely because otherwise he would have been way too embarrassed to eat at such a nice place.

They were seated at a cozy table in the back, and the lighting was so low that Yuuri was glad he hadn’t taken off his glasses. Yuuri thought about ordering the cheapest meal on the menu, but he had a feeling Victor wouldn’t let him so he settled on something in the middle of the price ranges. Victor ordered a nice bottle of wine and Yuuri decided to drink only a few glasses. It was exquisite and probably the nicest thing he had ever drank. By the time the food came they were still wrapped up in conversation, but they settled into an easy silence while eating. Yuuri was also sure that he had eaten few things that tasted better than this.

Yuuri insisted he was too full for dessert, and Victor insisted on paying (which Yuuri was mostly happy about because while Victor paid him a lot of money, he still had to pay for school). They left the restaurant pleasantly full and took their time walking back in the general direction of the rink.

Yuuri glanced up at Victor and still couldn’t help but be blown away by how attractive he was, especially with a light blush dusting his cheeks. Whether it was the wine or the cold Yuuri didn’t know, but he was happy for it. Yuuri remembered his Russian lessons with Mila and decided now was as good a time as any to try something.

“Hey, м-мой дорогой,” he said, stuttering only a little.

Victor stopped walking immediately and stared at Yuuri, his eyes wide. “What did you say?”

Yuuri blushed and shoved his face into his hands. “I knew it, I knew I couldn’t trust her, she has it in for me for some reason, oh my god I cannot believe I just ruined everything…”

Victor laughed and tried to pull Yuuri’s hands away. “Aw, come on, it wasn’t even bad, I was just surprised, I promise.”

Yuuri eyed him from behind his fingers. “You promise?”

Victor nodded seriously. “I promise.”

Yuuri sighed and lowered his hands but avoided Victor’s gaze. “Well, I’m never speaking Russian again.”

Victor pouted at him. “Don’t say that, I love hearing you speak Russian. What was it you said before?”

“Oh no, I am NOT saying it again. Who knows what it really means.”

Victor giggled. “And what did Mila tell you it meant?”

“She said it was a nickname for you. That I should call you when we were alone… Wow how am I so gullible that sounds so sketchy.”

Victor waved his hand. “She was just pulling your leg. It’s totally fine, Yuuri.”

Yuuri finally met his gaze. “What does it actually mean?”

This time it was Victor’s turn to blush and look away. “My darling,” he said.

Yuuri froze and then giggled. “Oh my god, she’s unbelievable.”

Victor laughed, too. “Yeah, that’s totally Mila. Did you think it was a curse word or something?”

“I honestly had no idea until you reacted so strangely. Now I just know I can never trust her again, or I need to get better at double-checking everything she teaches me.”

“Well, did she teach you any other ‘nicknames’ for me?” Victor asked.

“Oh no, oh no. Fool me once…” Yuuri began, laughing.

Victor pouted at him. “Come on, please?” He put his hands together, pleading.

Yuuri sighed and looked away. “Детка,” he whispered, then he jolted his head back up to look at Victor. “But that’s the last one I remember, I swear, so don’t ask again!”

Victor fluttered his eyes. “Ah, but now you’ve called me your lover!”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and lightly punched his arm. “You are such a dork. Come on, we have to go get Yurio.” He turned and started pulling Victor towards the rink.

“Whatever you say, mой дорогой,” Victor cooed playfully.

Yuuri laughed. “Shut up!” he said before turning around to stick his tongue out at Victor.

Chapter Text

April 2017

Yuuri scanned the library’s tables before finding his friends. He hefted his backpack over his shoulder and sat down next to them. “Hey Phichit, Sara!”

They smiled warmly at him. “Hi, Yuuri! How was Finland?” Sara asked.

He scratched the back of his neck. “Ah, it was good. I wasn’t expecting to have as much fun as I did. Victor won gold, Chris won bronze, and Phichit did really well, too!”

“Ah, you flatter me, Yuuri.” Phichit’s smile turned sly. “But, we’re talking about you at the moment. Now, for my question. How are you and Victor doing?”

Yuuri blushed and looked away. “Well, we’re friends, so we’re doing fine, I guess.”

Phichit sighed. “Come on, Yuuri, I can’t spell this out every time! I need details! I need to live vicariously through you!”

Sara snorted. “I think you live vicariously enough.”

Phichit rolled his eyes. “Not romantically! That’s why I need to know what’s going on with Yuuri!”

“There’s nothing romantic about our relationship,” Yuuri squeaked.

“Now that I don’t believe,” Phichit said. “Did you guys go out on a date at all?” Yuuri gulped and blushed harder. “OH MY GOD YES” Phichit yelled, and a few people at neighboring tables turned to glare at him. “I need the details more than I need oxygen right now, Yuuri. Where did he take you? Did you guys kiss? Oh my god how did I not hear about this on social media…”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “Please, Phichit, it was NOT a date. I don’t think. No, no, it definitely wasn’t. We just went out to dinner.”

Phichit’s eyes widened. “Dinner? As in a dinner date?”

Yuuri covered his face with his hands. “No, as in dinner. A shared meal between two people. Nothing more.” He remembered the pet names, the laughing… And decided he should just die right here instead of continuing the conversation.

Sara smiled softly and patted Yuuri’s head before glaring at Phichit. “Last I checked, this was a session to catch you both up on the classes you missed at Worlds, not a gossip session.”

“Oh Sara, everywhere that I am is a gossip session,” Phichit said.

“I’m noticing. Now, I don’t have all day, so you can torture poor Yuuri later,” Sara huffed.

Yuuri looked at her with hurt eyes and Phichit pumped his fist in the air. Sara shrugged and got out her notes. “You don’t pay me enough for this.”

“We don’t pay you,” both of the boys said in unison.

“Exactly.”

Victor looked up from his phone as Yurio sighed for the seventeenth time that morning. “What is it, котенок?”

Yurio glared at him. “When is Yuuri coming?”

“I told you, it’s his day off. You’re with me today.”

Yurio sighed again. “I’m bored.”

Victor rubbed his temples. “And I told you, we’re going to see your grandparents soon. Just a little while longer.”

“But I’m bored now.”

Victor stood up. “Alright, alright, let’s go early, then. Go get your shoes and coat.”

Yurio shot up and sprinted to his room. Victor could only wonder how kids had so much energy. He went to go get himself ready and found Yurio pacing by the door. “Okay, let’s get in the car. I’ll tell Diana we’re coming early.”

Victor buckled Yurio in securely before getting into the driver’s seat. St. Joseph Mercy was forty minutes away in Ann Arbor, and Yurio fell asleep five minutes in. Victor chuckled at his tiny snores and put on some soft music. When they got to the hospital, Victor parked and woke Yurio up. They approached the main entrance when he saw his nephew looking around nervously. Victor squatted down and said, “You’ve never been to a hospital, ah, больница, before, right?” Yurio shook his head. “It’s okay, it’s just a very large building where people go to get healthier. Don’t be scared.”

Yurio sneered at him. Why was he already sneering at four years old? “I’m not scared,” he said, his voice only shaking a little.

Victor chuckled and stood up. “Well, then there’s no need for you to hold my hand.” He started walking towards the door and let Yurio grab his sleeve as he followed.

They signed in and took an elevator to the second floor. Victor took two wrong turns before finding his way to Rehabilitation Services. Once there, he quickly found the right room and knocked. A voice inside told them to come in.

Inside an elderly man was laying on the hospital bed, and an elderly woman sat in a chair next to him. She rose upon seeing them and smiled. “Привет, Юра, Витя,” she said.

Yurio hid behind Victor’s legs. The woman slightly frowned at that, greeting Victor and smiling again. “Нам говорить по-русски или по-английски?” she asked.

Victor smiled back. “Either, although because he will be living in America we mostly use English. Hello, Nikolai, Diana.”

The man waved. “Vitya, so good to see you. Thank you for bringing him. Hello, Yurochka.”

Victor looked down at Yurio. “These are your grandparents. Do you remember them?”

Yurio looked at both of them somewhat suspiciously. “I think so.”

Both Nikolai and Diana breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s been a while, Yuri. Are you having a good time with Victor?”

Yurio slowly edged out from behind Victor’s legs. “He’s okay.”

Nikolai laughed. “What a ringing endorsement.”

Yurio took a deep breath. “I ice skate.”

Diana grinned. “Wow, just like your mother! I bet you’re amazing.”

Yurio smiled shyly. “Yuuri says so.”

Victor helpfully mouthed “the babysitter” at them.

“I wish I could ice skate,” Nikolai said. “Do you think you could teach me sometime? When I get better?”

Yurio contemplated that for a moment. “Okay,” he said.

Victor pushed Yurio closer to the bed so he could continue talking to his grandpa about figure skating, then he moved to talk to Diana.

“How is he?” Victor asked.

“Getting better every day,” she replied. “It’s been more than a year since his fall, but the doctors say he’ll make a full recovery, just slowly. We’re not as young as we used to be,” she laughed.

Victor smiled. “That’s great to hear. And he seems to like you, which is good. He’s not exactly the warmest with strangers.” His eyes widened. “Not that I think you two are strangers!”

Diana waved her hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine. For a child so young, we might have been.” She turned to watch Yurio animatedly talking to his grandpa. “I think this will work out well.” Turning back to Victor, she asked, “Are you still fine with taking care of him for now?”

“Of course, it’s no trouble at all. I have help with a long-term babysitter when I’m training.”

“That’s good. Thank you so much for stepping up when we couldn’t. I know it would mean a lot to Anya.”

“That’s what family is for.” Victor frowned. “I want to apologize again for my useless brother, if only he would have…”

Diana help up a hand. “Please, it’s alright. Losing Anya was hard on all of us. There are more important things right now than being mad at him,” she said, her gaze drifting back to Yurio.

“I completely agree.”

When they finally said goodbye to his grandparents, Yurio looked much happier than he did earlier in the day. Once they got back on the road, Victor asked, “What did you think of them?”

Yurio screwed his face up in thought. “I like them,” he said. “They’re nice, and they like talking about skating.”

Victor smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

Back at the house, Victor made grilled cheese, which Yurio happily devoured before going off to play. Victor had just finished washing the pan when he heard the front door open. Chris walked in, carrying a six pack of beer.

“You sounded like you could use this,” Chris said, jingling the beers together.

“Chris, it’s two o’clock in the afternoon.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and you still sounded like you could use it. Don’t argue with me.” He rummaged around in the drawers until he found the bottle opener and popped two open. He sat at the table and put his feet up, taking a large sip from one beer. “So, what’s up?”

Victor sat down across from him and sighed, taking a sip from the other. “We just were at the hospital, visiting Anya’s parents.”

“Oh,” Chris breathed.

“Yeah,” Victor reiterated. “Nikolai fell right around the time Anya died, and he’s been in rehab ever since. But he’s getting out soon, and they want Yurio to live with them when he’s better.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “Wow. And you don’t want to?”

Victor was quiet for a moment. “It’s not like I don’t want to. I just realize that it would be better for him to have two adults in the house, plus they’ve actually raised a kid before. They know what they’re doing. They’re old and they lost their only daughter, so getting Yurio is the only good thing to come out of this situation for them.”

“Well, is it good for you? Did you think this was gonna be forever?”

Victor sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I thought or think about all of this. But it’s what’s best for Yurio, it’s a great home for him to grow up in.”

Chris took another large sip of beer. “Well, I applaud your maturity for once,” he said.

Victor snorted. “Coming from you, I can’t tell if that means a lot or nothing at all.”

Chris glared at him. “Well, it’ll still be tough for you. Do they have a timeline?”

“Yeah, Diana said he’s only in the hospital once a week for now, otherwise he’s at a separate rehab facility. And he’ll be done with that in about six months. Then, the doctors say with hard work he’ll be back to 100% in another six months. So they want to take him early next April, soon after Worlds.”

Chris whistled. “So you have a year.”

Victor nodded.

“Have you told Yuuri?”

“Not yet.”

Chris narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to, right?”

Victor huffed. “Of course! I’m just waiting. I think he’s gonna take it hard.”

“Well, don’t wait too long.”

“I won’t,” Victor said, looking at the floor. “I mean, not tomorrow or anything, but before April. But you can’t tell him, either! I want him to hear it from me.”

Chris laughed. “Of course, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Victor leaned back and sighed, drinking more beer.

Yurio gazed wistfully out the window. “I wanna play outside.”

Yuuri put away the books they had been reading. “It’s raining.”

“I know,” Yurio said. “But I still wanna.”

Yuuri paused. He remembered one rainy day a long time ago his mom had let him go outside when it was pouring rain. They were dressed in rain coats and rain boots, and he marveled at how different the world looked when it was wet. It was a fond memory.

He went to look in the closet, and sure enough, Yurio had a rain jacket and rain boots. “Okay, okay, Yurio, we can go play outside.”

Yurio jumped from the window. “Really?!”

Yuuri smiled. “Yes, let’s get ready, though.” He donned his own rain gear before dressing Yurio. His rain jacket was bright yellow and the hood looked like the head of a duck. He quickly snapped a picture to send to Victor later. “Stay close to me, Yurio. You’re so cute I’m worried you could get snatched up.” Yurio nodded gravely.

They went out the door with their hoods up. Yuuri checked that they weren’t getting wet before leading them down the sidewalk. Yurio happily skipped and jumped in every puddle he saw. They continued walking until Yurio gasped and ran forward to a nearby bush.

“What is it?” Yuuri asked, following him.

“A frog!” Yurio yelled. “Look at him. He’s so small.”

Yuuri knelt down next to him. “Yes, he is.” He heard a weird noise behind him and turned around. On the other side of the road was a group of frogs, one large and two small.

Yurio turned to look as well and gasped. “Is that the family?”

“Probably,” Yuuri replied. “Maybe he wants to go to them?” A car sped past them. “Ah, but it’s probably not safe for him to cross the road.”

Yurio tugged his babysitter’s sleeve. “That’s no good! He has to go back! You can’t be separated from your family, it’s too sad.” Yurio looked like he was about to cry, and Yuuri hoped it was only about the frogs.

“Why don’t we help him get there?”

Yurio immediately relaxed. “Okay!”

Yuuri stood up and put his hands on his hips, thinking. “What if I carry him, and you help me look out for cars?”

Yurio straightened up. “I can do it!”

Yuuri smiled. “I know you can.” He tore a leaf off of the bush and held it out in front of the frog, silently willing him to jump onto it so that Yurio would be happy. Thankfully, the frog carefully crawled onto the leaf.

With a sigh of relief, Yuuri gingerly brought the leaf up on his hand. “Okay, Yurio, are we clear?” Although he waited for the child’s signal, he also looked for cars himself. Because while he trusted Yurio, there was no good reason to put his life into the hands of a four year old. When the road was clear, they slowly crossed. Yurio cheered when they got to the other side.

The frog croaked happily and jumped off of the leaf. A few hops later and he was back with his family. Yurio waved as they scampered off into the nearby bushes.

“You did great, Yurio!” Yuuri said, patting the hood of his jacket. “Are you ready to go back home?”

Yurio nodded, and they turned around before the boy pointed at the sky. “What’s that?”

Yuuri glanced up as well. “Oh, wow! It’s a rainbow!” Yurio just blinked up at him, so Yuuri pulled out his phone and tapped a few times in his translator app. (Luckily he had a waterproof case, or as Phichit liked to call it, a Yuuri-proof case.) “Радуга,” he supplied.

Yurio grinned. “Ah, I remember! It’s so pretty!”

Yuuri smiled back. “It is, isn’t it? What a rainy day this has been, and we’re still dry! Now let’s get back before-”

He was cut off by a giant truck zooming past and completely drenching them. Yurio laughed happily and shook out his jacket.

“This is my life,” Yuuri said as he steered them further from the road.

When they got back, Yuuri made sure to dry them off completely and cooked them a warm dinner of garden vegetable soup. Victor came back from his day of light training after they had already eaten, so Victor told him about his day in between spoonfuls of soup. It sounded like Chris and Phichit were playing a game to see who could make Celestino go crazy the fastest, and everyone in the rink was losing. Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at Victor’s terrible impressions of everyone’s accents.

Victor asked about their day, and Yuuri froze. “I… I might have messed up.”

“What do you mean?” Victor asked with a frown.

“Yurio had a lot of energy today, and he wanted to go outside, and even though I told him it was raining, he seemed really sad, so I took him anyway.”

Victor held up a hand to his mouth. “Ничего себе, Yuuri,” he said in mock horror, “I may have to fire you on the spot. How dare you take my nephew outside?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “I meant, we got completely soaked. I dried him off as best I could, but he might still get sick or something. It was really irresponsible, and I’m sorry,” he finished by bowing.

Victor was silent for a few moments, then called for Yurio to come in from the living room. The child bounded in. “Yurio, what did you do today?”

His eyes lit up. “Oh, we saw a frog, and then we rescued him, because he lost his family, and then we saw a радуга! And a huge truck went WHOOSH and we got soaked! It was so fun!” he babbled.

Victor turned to Yuuri, who had straightened up by now. “It seems like Yurio had an awesome day, so I don’t see what the problem was, especially if you were careful afterwards. I appreciate your concern, but a little water is fine, especially if you gave him such wonderful memories.”

Yuuri visibly relaxed. “So you’re not mad?”

“Of course I’m not.” Victor smiled. “I think you’re doing a great job.”

“Okay, okay, you know flattery will get you nowhere,” Yuuri said, blushing.

“Can I still flatter you anyway?” Victor asked, winking.

Yuuri flushed a deeper shade of red and opened his mouth when Yurio interrupted with, “Why is Yuuri a Помидор?”

Victor whipped his head around. “Yurio! I forgot you’re still here!”

“Duh,” Yurio responded, placing his hands on his hips.

Victor sighed. “Yuuri is not a tomato, why don’t you go and play some more?”

Yuuri finally came back to Earth. “Yeah, uh, come on, Yurio, let’s go play.” He held up a hand to his embarrassingly red face and walked to the living room.

May 2017

Yuuri was in the middle of reading Yurio a book about clownfish when the door burst open. Yuuri was so used to this by now that he didn’t even look up.

“Yuuri! Yurio! I now have the day off!” Victor happily exclaimed.

“What did you guys do to poor Celestino this time?” Yuuri asked, flipping the page. “It’s only nine in the morning.”

Victor winced. “I’ll have you know, I was completely innocent,” he said.

Yurio huffed. “Probably not.”

“Hey! Is that any way to speak to your uncle? Anyway, Chris brought in new music to show Celestino for his short program. I don’t know what happened, but Celestino stormed out of his office within five minutes and Chris was running after him, wearing only...”

Suddenly Yuuri knew where this was going. He had only met Chris a few times, but it was obviously not a story fit for a four year old. He looked at Victor before motioning for him to stop, then pointedly glancing at Yurio.

Victor noticed and his eyes went wide. “...Only his normal ice skating clothes! Because he’s an ice skater! Who was fully clothed!”

Yuuri sighed and Yurio frowned at them. “I don’t get it,” he said to Victor.

“Well, what should we do for your day off then?” Yuuri asked, not so subtly changing the subject.

Victor looked at the book in Yuuri’s hands. “Ah! How about we go to the aquarium!”

Yurio brightened. “Yeah!”

Both adults relaxed now that they were off of the stripping topic. “I think that’s a good idea,” Yuuri said. “Belle Isle Aquarium isn’t too far away, and admission is free. Minami went there on a class trip and said it was pretty interesting.”

Victor clapped his hands together. “Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s all get our shoes and we can go!”

Yuuri stood up. “Yeah, give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.”

Fifteen minutes later they were loaded in Victor’s car and on the way to the aquarium. Yurio pressed his face to the window to watch as they crossed the Detroit River. Once they were parked, Yuuri held Yurio’s hand as they walked to the entrance. “Did you know that this is the oldest aquarium in the country?” he asked. Both Victor and Yurio shook their heads.

Once inside, Yurio’s eyes were wide and looking around at absolutely everything possible. Yuuri gently peeled him away from the glass multiple times, but he couldn’t get mad at him because his enthusiasm at seeing the fish was so endearing.

He and Victor hung back a little to take pictures of Yurio pointing at the different colors of fish he found at a particularly big window. Victor got a nice shot and leaned in to show Yuuri, who also leaned in and cooed at how adorable it was. A passing elderly woman saw them and giggled before saying to her husband, “Ah, I remember young love,” before squeezing his hand and continuing to walk away.

Yuuri froze when they heard it. He was too scared to look at Victor. What kind of expression would he have? Would he be mad that someone assumed that? Would he be disgusted that someone could think that about him and Yuuri? Those thoughts ran through his head until Victor touched his arm, asking, “Are you okay?”

Yuuri forced himself to look at Victor. Surprisingly, there was no anger or disgust, just concern. “Ah, sorry, I’m fine. That was just a little embarrassing.”

Victor shrugged. “Well, I don’t mind it. And you shouldn’t, either. Ah, Yurio is moving on to the next room,” he said, jogging after him.

Yuuri swallowed. If only it were that easy, for him to just not mind it. He didn’t need constant reminders that he kinda sorta maybe had some weird warm feelings for Victor. Well, he knew he could get through the day. So long as nothing else like that happened, anyway. He went to go follow Victor and Yurio.

Before long, they reached the end of the aquarium and were deposited by the gift shop. Yurio tried to get Victor to buy him a bunch of toys, and Victor almost did before Yuuri glared at him. Victor frowned and changed his stance to picking a single toy. With much deliberation, Yurio selected a tube filled with a bunch of plastic fish. As the cashier was ringing them up, a woman paused and did a double take.

“Is that Victor Nikiforov?” she asked, poking her friend in the side.

Her friend squinted and then gasped. “Oh my god! Yes it is!” They joined hands and squealed before turning to look back at him. Yuuri was still the only one to notice what was happening, as Victor was politely conversing with the cashier and Yurio was busy trying to open his new toy.

“Go ask for his autograph,” the first woman said, pushing her friend forward.

“Come with me,” the other woman whined, trying to pull her along.

As they approached, Yuuri quickly grabbed Yurio and moved to the side.

The second woman cleared her throat. “Ah, um, are you by any chance Victor Nikiforov?”

Victor finally noticed them and turned around, grinning. “Why, yes I am!”

The women smiled back. “Would you mind taking a picture with us?”

By now, a few more people in the gift shop had noticed and were whispering about what was happening, and Yuuri could already see recognition dawning on a few more faces as they recognized Victor. He took Yuuri’s hand and quietly led him out of the gift shop.

Once outside, he steered them to a nearby bench and put down their things. Yurio frowned and handed him his still unopened tube. As Yuuri fiddled with the lid, he tried not to think about how famous Victor was. About how many fans he had, and how good he was at figure skating. About how he had no business being seen with someone like Yuuri, and it would hurt his image if it got out that he was caring for Yurio. Okay, maybe Yuuri wasn’t actually trying that hard not to think about it. Once the first traitorous thought came, he welcomed the others, falling into the familiar state of wallowing and self pity.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Victor jogging out of the gift shop, head turning frantically. When he saw them, he walked towards them and smiled. “There you guys are! I was looking everywhere! Sorry about that, it can be a hazard going anywhere if I’m recognized.”

Yuuri gulped, then smiled weakly. “Ah, yeah, I totally understand.”

Victor stopped at their bench and frowned down at the tube in Yuuri’s hands. He looked at it for a second, then popped it open and handed it to Yurio. “Well, I’m starving. Should we go get lunch somewhere? My treat!”

Yuuri nervously looked at his bag, sitting beside him on the bench. “I, I packed us some bentos, but maybe we want to go somewhere more private to eat them.”

Victor’s eyes widened. “Bentos? When did you have the time to make those?”

“This morning.”

“Hmm,” Victor said, furrowing his brows. “Didn’t I give you, like, ten minutes notice that we were coming here?”

Yuuri smiled shyly. “Fifteen.”

Victor grinned back. “Okay, fifteen minutes. Still, doesn’t it take, like, at least twenty minutes to make rice? Are you a wizard?”

Yurio gasped at that and took a step back.

“No, no, I’m not a wizard,” Yuuri laughed, already feeling more like himself, “but I do need to keep some air of mystery about me.”

Victor laughed, too. “Okay, okay, well, I see a table right there. Let’s go sit down.”

Yuuri stood up and held his bag protectively. “Wait, shouldn’t we go somewhere else? Like where people won’t recognize you and take pictures?”

Victor shrugged. “I don’t mind if you don’t.”

Yuuri took a deep breath. “I guess it’s fine. I just don’t want to be, you know, troublesome to you.”

Victor put a hand on his shoulder. “How could you be troublesome to me? You’re helping me take care of my nephew, which I wouldn’t be able to do on my own. At all. I promise, you’re keeping me sane.” He smiled gently at Yuuri and gave his shoulder a light squeeze before removing his hand. “Okay?”

All of the stress and doubt of the day seemed to be melted away by Victor’s smile. “Okay,” he breathed.

They settled down at the table, and Yurio looked at Yuuri like he still didn’t quite trust him, but he seemed to forget about it halfway through his bento.

Today was the first day of the new session of ice skating lessons. Yuuri already recognized a lot of names on his list, but there were a few new ones, as well.

The doors opened and Yuuri glanced up in surprise. It was still twenty minutes before the class was supposed to start, and usually he and Yurio were the only ones who came this early. Maybe Celestino needed something? No, a beautiful woman wearing a long dress walked in and floated towards him. Maybe she was lost?

When she reached Yuuri, she reached her hand out over the barrier where Yuuri was already on the ice. “My name is Nadya Altin, you must be the figure skating instructor.”

Yuuri shook her hand and nodded, before remembering to add, “Ah, Yuuri Katsuki.” He stepped off the ice and put on his blade guards to be polite.

She nodded back. “Pleasure to meet you. My son, Otabek, will be in your class this session.”

That’s when Yuuri noticed that there was a small boy standing behind the woman’s long dress. He was serious looking, with dark hair. He blinked up at Yuuri and didn’t say anything.

Nadya waved her hand. “Sorry about him, he doesn’t get along with most people.”

At that, Yuuri laughed. “I know just the type.” As if on queue, Yurio skated over and walked off the rink. “Who’s that?” he asked, eyeing the other boy suspiciously.

“This is Otabek,” Yuuri replied. The new boy just stared at Yurio, still not saying anything.

Yurio huffed. “What are you looking at?” he asked.

“You look like a soldier,” Otabek finally said.

Yurio looked down at himself, then back at Otabek. “What?”

Otabek stuck out his hand. “Are you going to become friends with me or not?”

Yurio took his hand and shook it.

Nadya and Yuuri shared a look of shock. Yurio had never had anyone ask to be his friend before.

June 2017

The weather was starting to get warmer, and now that Yuuri was done with classes for the year, he was able to more fully enjoy the time he spent with Yurio (and Victor). While he was glad to be in college, he was even more glad to not be for a little bit.

One night, Mila burst in through their front door.

“Do we ever lock the front door?” Yuuri asked, to no one in particular.

Mila stomped up to him and waved two very full grocery bags at him. “Look at all of this говядина! I forgot our fridge is still broken until I already brought it home. And it was the meat manager’s special, so I can’t return it. Can you store it for me?”

Victor called out from across the room, “You do realize that I’m the one you should probably ask?”

Mila snorted. “Please, I know who really runs this house.”

Victor just shrugged at that and resumed scrolling through his phone.

Yuuri sighed. “Yeah, let me go find space for it.” Once the meat was safely tucked away into the fridge, he finally thought to ask, “Wait, why did you buy, like, five pounds of beef?”

She grinned at him. “Obviously, so we can have a barbecue!”

Yuuri winced. “Was it obvious? Wait, just how many people are you inviting?”

Mila started counting on her fingers. “Ты, я, мой брат, моя сестра, Витя и Юра.”

Yuuri scrunched up his nose. “Me, you, your sister, your brother, Vitya, and Yura?”

“Very good, my young student!” Mila said, clapping.

“I’m older than you. Wait, that’s six people. Why did you buy five pounds of meat?”

Mila frowned. “What, should I have bought six?”

Victor popped his head into the kitchen. “Oh, a barbecue! That sounds fun! Should we do it tomorrow? I have off”

“Yeah, sounds great!” Mila replied. “We’re all free after Andrey’s hockey practice in the morning.”

Victor smirked. “Speaking of hockey, how are things with your own hockey player?”

Mila rolled her eyes. “Please, Витя, we’ve been done for two whole months. Keep up with the times, old man.”

Victor gasped. “Take it back! I’m not old!” He desperately turned to Yuuri. “I’m not that old, right? Right?”

Yuuri tried his best to stifle a giggle. “So I shouldn’t tell her about the time you almost got a senior discount at the diner?”

Victor fell to the ground. “Yuuri, пожалуйста, please, you’re killing me…”

Mila guffawed. To her credit, she only took three pictures of him.

The next day, Victor drove the seven (Chris somehow found out and insisted on tagging along) of them to Kensington Park in Brighton, Michigan. It was only a thirty minute drive from Detroit, but it felt much longer when Chris spent the whole time talking about how Victor “really needed a minivan to complete his soccer mom aesthetic” for the next outing.

Everyone jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped moving to stretch and get away from the building tension between Chris and Victor. Luckily, Victor just took a deep breath and wandered away, muttering, “I don’t even know soccer, wouldn’t I be a figure skating mom?”

They grabbed a picnic table next to a grill and started setting up their food. Yuuri tried to cook the meat, but Victor insisted.

“Please, Yuuri, you’re always taking care of us. I can do it just this once,” Victor said, keeping the bags out of Yuuri’s grasp. “This should be a vacation for you! You’re always working so hard for us. Why don’t you and the kids go down to the lake?”

Yuuri sighed. “Okay, thanks.” He led Mila, her siblings, and Yurio towards the water. The sand was hot, but the water was still cool this early in the season. They found a few oddly shaped rocks, and Andrey chased Yurio into the water with a weird plant that he found. Mila and Yuuri laughed and snapped a few photos. Eventually everyone was wading in the water and splashing each other. They wandered back almost an hour later, all of them varying degrees of wet.

Victor was grilling the beef, and Yuuri realized he had never seen him cook before. It was certainly a welcome sight, as he looked completely natural with a beer in one hand and spatula in the other. He was wearing what looked like designer sunglasses, a light button down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, revealing sculpted forearms, and tucked into casual slacks that nicely hugged his...

Yuuri shook himself, realizing that train of thought was going nowhere fit for a wholesome barbecue. Victor and Chris then noticed them approaching.

“We’re almost done here,” Victor said, “and then we can eat!”

Mila groaned. “How are you not done already? I am literally going to starve to death.” Andrey and Irina solemnly nodded from below her.

Chris laughed. “How are you so dramatic?”

Mila stuck out her tongue at him. “You have no room to talk.”

Chris sidled up to Yuuri and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Yuuri doesn’t talk to me like that, I like him much better than you,” he said, leaning down to nuzzle into his neck.

Yuuri gasped and tried to wiggle away, but Chris just leered down at him. “Il s'est mouillé... et peut-être pas avec de l'eau !”

Victor frowned and pulled Chris away, then wrapped Yuuri up snugly in a big beach towel. “He was right, you really are soaked. Go dry off before you get sick.” Yuuri opened his mouth to protest before Victor gently turned him and shoved him towards the car. “I brought an extra sweatshirt, go put that on, too. You’ll get cold.”

Yuuri shrugged and went to the car to grab it. When he got to the bathroom and looked in the mirror to dry off his hair, he looked down at his chest. He was wearing a white t-shirt, and it was so wet that it was completely see through. Yuuri was glad that Victor had suggested he change. Wait, was that why Victor had suggested it? He shook his head and changed quickly.

~~

When he rejoined the others, Victor was actually done cooking the meat. Yuuri watched as he deftly piled everything on a plate and went to cut some tomatoes to go with it. Victor’s knife slipped and he accidentally cut his finger. Yuuri immediately rushed forward, asking, “Are you okay?”

Victor grimaced but waved him off. “It’s fine, I’m totally fine, look, I’m not even bleeding! It was a really dull blade.” He looked back down at his hand. “Wait, I guess there is a tiny drop of blood-”

That was the last thing Yuuri remembered before he woke up under the tree, Victor and Mila looking concernedly at him.

“Thank god you’re awake,” Victor said, touching his face. “How do you feel? Lightheaded? Dizzy? Faint?”

Mila chuckled. “Заткнись, Витя, успокойся! Я знаю, что ты любишь его, но ему надо дышать!”

Victor blushed, but continued checking on him. Yuuri then realized that he hadn’t responded to any of Victor’s questions. “Fine, no, no, and no.”

Victor sighed. “I’m glad you’re okay. Was it the blood?”

Yuuri looked down at Victor’s other hand where a small bandaid now wrapped around his finger. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing, but I faint at the sight of blood.”

Mila stood up. “Well, everyone’s fine, so can we please eat now? I’m still starving, you know.”

Victor helped Yuuri up, holding him even when he was standing. “Victor, I think I’ve got it now.”

“Nope, I can only watch you collapse so many times in a day, and you’ve already reached your quota. I’m helping you to the table,” Victor said. Yuuri couldn’t really argue with that, so he let Victor guide him to the table and sat down. His mouth started watering at how good all of the food looked.

Mila joined them. “Alright, finally, we can eat!” She immediately began scarfing down her food, her siblings and Yurio following suit.

Yuuri looked at them all in horror. “Just how hungry were you?”

Mila just winked because she was still too busy inhaling the food.

Yuuri woke up to his phone ringing. He scrambled out of bed to answer it. “Hello?” he croaked, his voice still scratchy from sleep.

“Yuuri!” Sara yelled. He winced and pulled the phone away from his ear.

“What is it?”

“Oh mio Dio, did I wake you up? I’m sorry!” she said, her voice returning to a normal level. Yuuri gratefully brought the phone back to his ear.

“Yeah, but it’s fine, I was sleeping a little late, anyway. What’s up?”

“The flower festival is still going on, right? My manager just cancelled my shift, so do you want to go with me?”

Yuuri hummed. “Well, that sounds like fun, but I’m babysitting today. It’s a special training day.”

“That’s fine! You can bring the kid with you!”

“Would you be okay with that? I wouldn’t be able to just relax and have fun with you if I’m watching Yurio.”

Sara laughed. “I don’t mind! Besides, it’s summer! We should do fun things while we can.”

Yuuri smiled. “You’re right about that. I’ll be sure to double check with Yurio, but I think he’ll say yes.”

“Great! Text me later?”

“For sure.” Yuuri hung up and swung his legs out of bed to get dressed.

When he got to the house, Yurio was very enthusiastic about the flower festival, so they decided to meet Sara after lunch.

Sara was the one who spotted them first, calling out and running towards them. “Hey!” she greeted Yuuri, and then, “Hi, my name is Sara,” to Yurio.

The child regarded her for a moment before replying, “I’m Yuri.”

She nodded. “Yeah, just like Yuuri.”

“No, I’m Yuri.”

“That’s what I said. Yuuri.”

“You’re saying it wrong.”

Yuuri stepped in between them. “Hey, let’s go look at some flowers, okay? Yurio, take my hand. И будь хорошим.” He pretended he didn’t hear Yurio murmur “You be nice,” under his breath.

They walked through the booths lining the square, gaping at all of the different colors and sizes of flowers. When they neared the end, they spotted Mila carrying Irina to a nearby booth.

She saw them, too, and came over. “Hi guys!” Irina waved at Yurio, who silently waved back. Mila looked at Sara, then to Yuuri. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Who’s your friend, Yuuri?”

“Ah, this is Sara, she’s my classmate. Sara, this is Mila, Victor’s neighbor, and her little sister Irina.”

“Pleasure,” Mila said, still smiling, but now at Sara.

Sara smiled back. “Nice to meet you,” she said. “Is Victor as crazy as Yuuri tells me?”

Yuuri gaped at her. “Sara! You can’t say stuff like that!”

Mila threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, honey, you have no idea. I could tell you so many stories from his younger days. I remember them well. Maybe I’ll tell them at your wedding, Yuuri?”

Yuuri blushed. “Come on, you know it’s not like that.” Then he frowned. “And, he’s older than you, too.”

Mila waved her hand. “Whatever.” She leaned over to whisper in Sara’s ear, “Isn’t Yuuri so adorable when he pretends not to be in love with him?”

Sara glanced at Yuuri’s flushed face and giggled, before whispering back, “Totally, he’s so clueless.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and dragged Yurio and Irina to a nearby picnic table. “When you two are done gossiping about me, we’ll be over here doing crafts.”

The women exchanged a look before bursting out laughing. After they regained control they joined the others. Yuuri was teaching the children how to do leaf rubbings with the materials he had packed. Being a babysitter meant that Yuuri always had art supplies with him. It was just habit at this point. Luckily, he had extra paper and pencils.

Yuuri looked up at them. “How nice of you to join us.”

Mila laughed and sat next to Sara. “What are we drawing?”

Yurio’s tongue was out, and he was still carefully rubbing his leaf. Irina was done and squinting at hers.

“I thought once we finished this, we could draw some pictures?” Yuuri offered.

Mila grinned. “I’m an amazing artist, you’re gonna be blown away,” she said, grabbing a piece of paper and some crayons.

Sara gulped nervously. “Drawing? I’m not really good at that…”

Yuuri shoved paper at her anyway. “Come on, you’re sitting at a table with four year olds. It’ll be fine.” She reluctantly took it and started drawing.

Yuuri and the children did the same, and after a while they all finished. Mila proudly held hers up. It was a beautiful picture of the surrounding trees, flowers, and stalls overflowing with flowers. Everyone gaped at it.

“Wow, I had no idea you were actually a good artist,” Yuuri said.

Sara nodded. “That’s, like, really good.”

Mila beamed. “Just one of my many talents.”

Yuuri held his up. “This is just a picture of a flower.”

Yurio proudly picked up his drawing. Everyone squinted at it, but no one dared hazard a guess as to what the blob with lines was. Yurio sighed. “It’s Makkachin!” he said.

“Oh, definitely!” Yuuri said quickly. “I was about to say that! It’s so good, Yurio!” Yurio smiled and put his back down.

Irina showed hers to everyone. It was just a bunch of scribbles of different colors. “What is it?” Sara asked.

Irina just shrugged. “Modern, I like it,” Mila said.

“Well, I guess that’s everyone, great job, all…” Sara started nervously.

Mila smiled slyly. “Oh, no, I think we’re forgetting the most anticipated masterpiece that you drew.”

Sara shook her head, her long hair flying. “Nope, nope, I didn’t draw anything.”

Mila grabbed for the paper, and Sara’s hands shot out a split second too late. Mila looked at it for only a second before bursting out laughing. “Oh my god this is terrible,” she wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye.

Sara blushed. “I said I was bad at drawing.”

Yuuri peered at the drawing. “What even is that?”

“A person,” Sara squeaked.

“Really? I would’ve guessed a cow,” Yuuri said.

Mila laughed even harder at that. “A cow!” she cried.

Sara got up and huffed away, Mila slowly following her, still laughing.

They returned a few minutes later. Mila looked smug and Sara was blushing. Yuuri made a mental note to ask about that later, but for the moment he kept entertaining the kids, who had gone back to drawing like nothing had even happened.

Eventually, they got up from the table and started walking around the nearby park. Sara had tried to talk to Yurio and Irina a few times, but they both didn’t seem interested in her.

“Is it because I’m bad at drawing?” she asked Yuuri.

He laughed. “No, Yurio doesn’t like most people, and Irina is pretty quiet. They just take some time to warm up to people.”

She sighed. “You just make it seem so easy and effortless. The whole kids thing, I mean.”

“It’s my job, you know. To be good with kids.”

“I know, I know, I just wish it was something I could be good at, too.”

Yuuri thought for a moment, then stopped walking. “I’ve got an idea,” he told her, before pulling their group over to a small grove of grass.

“Sara, why don’t you show them your gymnastics?”

She blushed. “Yuuri! You know I haven’t done that competitively since high school!”

“It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, plus I know you still practice, sometimes. They’ll think it’s cool?”

She sighed and moved to the end of the clearing. Yurio and Irina were watching, but they weren’t really interested. As she started running and did a simple front flip, their jaws dropped. When she came running back, they met her halfway, pulling at her pant legs.

“Do that again!” Yurio yelled.

“Flip! Flip!” Irina pleaded.

Sara looked down at them in surprise. “You liked that?”

Yurio nodded. “That was cool.”

Sara made eye contact with Yuuri, who mouthed, “Good job,” at her. Even Mila, who was standing silently next to him, looked impressed.

“Okay, stand back, I’ll do it again.”

Yuuri finished up his skating lesson for the day. The kids slowly trickled out with their parents, while Yurio and Otabek chatted away in the corner. Yuuri always kept his skates on until the last kid left, because he knew from experience that if one of them tried to skate after the lesson he had to be able to go out and bring them back.

Otabek’s mom finally came to pick him up, and Yurio sadly said goodbye. Yuuri was finally about to take his skates off when he heard the door open again. Strange, the rink should be free for another hour before professional rinktime began. He looked up and saw Victor walking towards him.

“Victor, this is a surprise,” he said. The older man looked at him strangely.

“I’m glad I caught you before you left.”

“Is everything alright?” Yuuri asked, suddenly worried. “What’s going on?”

Victor laughed nervously. “Ah, nothing. I just wanted to tell you something, before I met with Celestino.”

Now it definitely sounded like something was wrong. “Are you hurt? Is something happening?”

Victor sat them down on the bench. “No, no, nothing like that.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m retiring from figure skating.”

Yuuri froze and stared at him. “Retiring,” he repeated.

“Yes, I’m retiring,” Victor said, letting for it to sink in.

Yuuri tried to process his thoughts, but found he couldn’t. “Why?” he asked simply.

“Well, I want to spend more time with Yurio. It feels wrong for me to work and train when I could be with him. This off season has really made me appreciate the time I spend away from the rink. When you told me about the flower festival and how much Yurio enjoyed it, I couldn’t help but think of all of the things in the future that I’m going to miss because of skating.”

Yuuri swallowed. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way…”

Victor grabbed his hand. “No, this is 100% me. This isn’t your fault at all. In fact, you’re the only reason I could’ve skated last season at all.”

Yuuri looked away. “But you can’t quit. You spend plenty of time with Yurio. He’s really grown to love you, can’t you see that? He wants you to be happy and do what you love, not make pointless sacrifices in his name. Don’t quit skating.”

Victor sighed. “It’s not a big deal for me to quit. I’ve already accomplished a lot.”

Yuuri whipped his head towards him and blinked away the tears that were threatening to form. “It’s a big deal to some people!” he almost yelled. He breathed and then continued quieter, “A lot of people love your skating. Look up to you. Are inspired by you. I know Yurio is one of them.” He swallowed, and said even quieter. “I’m one of them, too.”

Victor looked taken aback by Yuuri’s words, so he continued. “Can you truly say you’ll be happy if you quit skating? Is that what you really want to do? Or do you want to prove something to yourself about how much you care about Yurio? Because I know you care a lot, more than you have to in this situation, so you shouldn’t sabotage yourself and your own happiness. That’s how you can be the best guardian to Yurio.”

Victor swallowed. “But don’t all guardians sacrifice for their children?” he asked quietly. “I’m willing to do it if it’ll help at all.”

Yuuri looked at him pleadingly. “Please, Victor, think about this a little more. I know there’s more to you than your skating, but you shouldn’t just throw it away because you think it’ll help Yurio. I know you can still be good to him and skate. I’ll help you.”

“I-” Victor started. He swallowed. “I just don’t think my skating is as big a deal as you say it is. I haven’t even been skating that well recently.”

Yuuri squeezed his hand. “Maybe I can help with that, too. Showing you how important your skating is.” He got up and removed his blade guards before stepping out onto the ice. He glided to the center of the ice, before sprinting back to the edge and fiddling with his phone. Victor just watched, dumbstruck, as Yuuri left it on the edge and went back to the center of the rink.

Yuuri posed with his hands by his sides, looking down at the ice. Victor thought that it looked familiar, and then the first notes of the music started playing.

Oh. Oh. Victor recognized it now. It was “Stay Close to Me,” his free program from last season. The last time he skated this, he was leading a completely different life. It was just him, Makkachin, and Yakov in Russia.

Yuuri gracefully glided across the ice, perfectly recreating his choreography. He looked incredibly beautiful, capturing all of the emotions that Victor could never quite seem to portray himself in this program. Of course he still won gold, but he had felt somewhat dissatisfied every time he climbed the podium. He remembered winning at Worlds last year, looking out into the crowd, and wishing to see a face of someone he loved out there. He almost felt empty, like he was missing something important.

Whatever he was missing back then, Yuuri did not seem to be missing it now. His movements were longing, yes, like Victor’s. But he also looked like he knew exactly what he was looking for, he had it in his grasp and it was starting to fly away. Like he already had the person close to him, and was urging them to stay, not calling out for someone in the distance.

As Yuuri landed the jumps, even with fewer rotations, Victor found himself unable to look away for even a second. Yuuri was incredibly beautiful, and Victor wanted nothing more than to go on the ice and join him. He stayed rooted in place, however, and watched as the best performance he had ever seen happened right in front of him. Yuuri entered the final spin and Victor felt something drip down his cheeks. He lifted his hand to his face and it came away wet. He realized that he was crying.

Yuuri struck the final pose, panting and staring up at the ceiling. Slowly, slowly, he turned to look at Victor. The look Yuuri gave him was so full of hope that Victor couldn’t bear to quit if it meant destroying that look and disappointing Yuuri. He did love skating, and he did love Yurio, and if Yuuri said he could do both, then he could do both. He would do both. Now that he knew how much his ice skating meant to Yuuri, he remembered how much ice skating meant to him.

Victor opened his mouth to say something when Yurio called out, “That was awesome!” Both of the men turned to see Yurio nodding proudly. “You’re even better than Victor,” he said, looking at Victor like he was throwing down a challenge.

Victor nodded, too, wiping away the last of his tears. “Yeah, you’re right, Yurio, he is pretty awesome.” Yuuri nervously started skating towards them. Victor gave him a watery smile before turning to Yurio. “I’m gonna have to practice really hard if I want to be more awesome than that at the Grand Prix, right?”

Yuuri gasped. “You mean-?”

Victor nodded. “Yeah. Thank you, Yuuri. For everything.”

Yuuri walked off the ice and as soon as his blade guards were on, he was crushing Victor into a hug. Victor stiffened in surprise for a moment before relaxing into it. Yuuri was still warm from the exertion of the skate, and his head fit perfectly against his chest. Victor breathed in his smell and grasped at his back, hoping the moment would never end. Yuuri finally pulled away when Yurio said, “Hello?”

They turned to look at him, both blushing a little and smiling sheepishly. Yurio sighed. “You guys are weird.”

Chapter Text

July 2017

Yuuri heard a knock on the door as soon as he stepped out of Yurio’s room for the night. That was strange, most people just came in. In fact, Yuuri couldn’t think of a single person who would come over this late and also be polite enough to knock. Cautiously, he crept to the front door and opened it.

Victor was standing there, his arms full of boxes stacked all the way up to his chin. Yuuri quickly stepped aside to let him in. Victor sighed and dropped the boxes with a bang, which the babysitter was quick to reprimand him for.

Victor’s eyes widened and he nodded, realizing that Yurio was already asleep. They paused for a moment, hoping the child wouldn’t wander out of his room to investigate. After a minute, when it became clear that they were safe, they moved to the kitchen where they could actually talk.

“What was all of that?” Yuuri asked.

“Fireworks!” Victor said, smiling. “Since the Fourth of July is coming up, I figured it would be a fun summer activity for us!”

Yuuri eyed the hallway apprehensively. “Like big ones?”

Victor chuckled. “No, no, they’re little handheld ones. Sparklers, roman candles, and poppers. Stuff that the kids can use.”

“Victor, Yurio is not going to use a Roman candle.”

“Yes, I know that! But he can watch me set one off!”

Yuuri sighed. “I’m guessing this is an entirely non-selfish decision, then.”

“You know me too well. How about tomorrow night when it gets dark? I’ll text Mila right now and see if she wants to bring her siblings.”

Yuuri leaned over Victor’s phone. “Tell her she can bring them over sooner, I’ve got a craft we can do in the afternoon, too. They should wear old clothes.”

Victor laughed and shook his head. “Are you prepared for every single situation? You’re like a super-babysitter.”

Yuuri laughed, too. “All I can promise is that I use my diaper-changing powers for good.”

With a shudder, Victor said, “I’m so glad that’s not a part of our lives.”

“Aw, come on, it’s not that bad,” Yuuri said, punching Victor’s arm. “If you can win a gold medal at the World Championships, I think you can manage to change a diaper.”

Victor stuck out his tongue. “Of course I can change a diaper! I just don’t like to.”

Stifling a giggle, Yuuri dramatically rolled his eyes. “Now that, I have to see to believe.”

Victor mock gasped. “I so can do it! You’re not calling me a liar, are you?” He stepped forward until he was directly in Yuuri’s personal space. “I wouldn’t lie about something as important as diapers.”

Yuuri gulped and tried not to look at Victor’s lips. Why was he looking at Victor’s lips? Wait, he wasn’t looking at Victor’s lips. Or was he? What was happening again?

Victor seemed to notice that Yuuri wasn’t saying anything. “Are you okay? Do you feel warm?” He frowned and held up a hand to Yuuri’s forehead.

Yuuri made another valiant effort to look away from Victor’s lips. Instead he stared at Victor’s eyes. Victor’s big, blue, beautiful eyes…

“きれいな! Uh, I mean, home! Home!” Yuuri squeaked. Victor leaned back in surprise as Yuuri tried to get his thoughts back under control. Thank goodness he hadn’t said that in English. “I need to get home,” he explained, his voice returning to a more normal octave. “I have classes tomorrow.”

Victor frowned. “It’s Friday. And it’s summer.”

“Yeah. I meant, I have, um, to, you know, study! For class. Next year.” Yuuri cursed himself before scuttling towards the hallway. “Anyway, I’ll see you in the morning. Yeah.” He awkwardly grabbed his shoes and coat before practically running out the door. Once outside the house, he leaned against the front door and took a few deep breaths.

That was weird. Why was that weird? Victor didn’t do anything out of the normal. Maybe Yuuri really was getting sick? He felt his own forehead. It was burning up, but so were his cheeks. He decided to just go home and get some sleep. Probably drink a large glass of water. Yeah, that would help.

The next morning, when Yuuri woke up, he felt completely normal. Relieved, he brushed his teeth and got ready to head over to Victor’s. Last night was just a weird occurrence, today would be back to normal. Especially because Victor wouldn’t be home until dinner.

When he got to the house, Victor was on his way out the door, smiling and waving something about “If I’m late one more time Celestino will eat me for breakfast.” Yurio stared up at him expectantly. “What are we doing today?”

Yuuri smiled. “I brought you some new clothes! Let’s try them on.”

Yurio looked at the outfit in Yuuri’s hands with narrow eyes, but he put it on, anyway. Yuuri also put on his new outfit, and he heard the front door open.

“Привет!” Mila yelled out. “Hello! We’re here!”

Yurio’s eyes narrowed further. Yuuri just laughed and crouched down to ruffle his hair. “You wanna do something fun?”

Yurio’s eyebrows furrowed as he considered it, weighing fun with Mila. Evidently, fun won out because he relaxed. “Yeah, let’s have fun!”

With a smile, Yuuri stood up. “Alright, then. Let’s go meet them.”

Mila, Andrey, and Irina were standing in the hallway. “What’s the plan, my man?” Mila sang.

“Backyard,” Yuuri answered. He spread out a large white sheet over the lawn while the others watched. Then, he grabbed a tube of red paint. Without hesitation, he squirted a large amount directly onto his hand. The children gasped.

“You’ll be messy!” Yurio cried, running up to pull the paint away from Yuuri.

“It’s okay,” Yuuri said, smiling. “This is special paint! It’s okay to get it on you. Do you want to try?” Yurio swallowed, then held out his hand. When Yuuri gave him some, he shivered at the cold. The babysitter then rubbed his hands together and put them on the sheet. When he pulled away, his handprints were visible. “We can paint like this!” he said. “Andrey, Irina, do you want to try?”

All of the children eventually joined in, if hesitantly at first. They ended up getting paint all over their arms, legs, and clothes, and they all collapsed into a laughing heap in the middle of the sheet covered in hand and footprints at the end. Makkachin even showed a burst of energy and jumped into the middle and rolled around in the paint. Yuuri eventually got up and chased everyone off so he could hang up the sheet on the clothesline. He and Yurio were wearing old second-hand clothes, which he was thankful for as they were now ruined. After cleaning Makkachin off as best they could with the hose, Mila took her siblings back to shower, and Yuuri cleaned Yurio and himself up in the bath. Yurio didn’t mind the mess, and it came off easily enough, anyways.

Once they were clean, Yuuri moved to the kitchen. He had bought a watermelon recently, and today seemed like a good summer day to eat it. He cut the fruit into wedges and made up a plate of them to bring out onto the front porch. Soon the Babichevs were back and they helped clear the plate. Then the children ran around the front yard playing tag as he and Mila leaned back on the stairs, watching.

“Wanna practice some Russian?” Mila asked. When Yuuri nodded, she asked, “How do you say: My name is Yuuri?”

“Mеня зовут Юрий,” he responded.

“I am 24 years old,” she prompted.

After a second of thought, he said, “Мне двадцать четыре года.”

“I am a babysitter.”

“Я... Я... Няня!” he remembered.

“I am in love with Victor.”

“Я люблю... Wait a second!” he yelled, whipping to glare at her. “What’s the deal with that?”

She grinned at him. “What do you mean? We’re just practicing Russian?”

Yuuri scowled at her. “I don’t know why I even talk to you. You’re the literal worst.”

Mila laughed and tapped his head. “Aw, come on, you love me anyway. How else would you learn Russian to woo Victor?”

Blushing furiously, Yuuri swatted her hand away. “I am doing no such thing. It’s for Yurio.”

“Yeah, totally. That’s the only reason. I believe that,” she said, in a tone that made it clear she believed no such thing.

“Whatever,” Yuuri muttered. “I couldn’t like Victor. He’s basically my boss, that would be horribly inappropriate.”

Mila sighed and leaned back further on the steps. “I don’t know, I think it would be cute.”

Yuuri sat up abruptly when he saw Victor walking towards the house from around the corner. “Mila, shut up, here he comes.”

She laughed and mimed zipping her lips shut.

Victor opened the front gate with his feet, his hands full of paper bags. “I’m home! And I brought some take-out for dinner!” he called.

Yuuri leapt up to grab half of the bags. “Here, let me help.” He resolutely ignored Mila’s snickering and helped Victor bring everything into the house. By the time they had dished up enough plates for everyone, the sun was already setting. They all sat on the front lawn eating and enjoyed the food. Yuuri recognized the bags from Victor’s favorite Chinese take-out place. By the time they were finished, it was pretty dark. While Yuuri collected the plates, Victor hauled out his huge stack of fireworks.

The children looked at the pile of boxes warily. “What are those?” Andrey asked.

“Fireworks!” Victor happily said. “And don’t worry, I double checked that they’re legal here.”

Mila scrambled over. “Hah, like we care! This is gonna be so awesome!”

Still, the children didn’t look too convinced. Yuuri held Yurio’s hand as they watched Victor and Mila alternate setting off Roman candles (a safe distance away). Yurio valiantly did not cry the first time, but he did hide his face in Yuuri’s hoodie. Eventually, he turned around to watch and was transfixed by the beautiful colors and lights. He even clapped after Victor set off a particularly large one, which made everyone smile. Makkachin mostly just slept on the stairs, already having used up her energy for the day.

Once the Roman candles were gone, Victor took out a box of poppers. He demonstrated by throwing one at the pavement, where it seemingly disappeared with a large pop. Yurio immediately hid behind Yuuri’s legs, but once he was coaxed into trying one for himself, he laughed gleefully and threw as many at once as possible. Yuuri sat back and enjoyed the sight, not at all surprised that the loud and angry noisemakers would be his favorite.

Finally, Victor took out multiple boxes of sparklers out. “I bought red, white, and blue!” he proudly exclaimed.

“For Russia?” Mila asked.

With a frown, Victor replied, “No, for the United States. Where we are right now. And for the holiday of American independence. Which is happening now.”

“Geez, Uncle Sam, I was kidding,” Mila said. “No need to get so defensive, I just thought you liked Russia.”

“I can like multiple places,” Victor huffed. “Now, I’m going to go set off sparklers with my nephew.” He practically dragged Yurio away to a corner of the yard and helped him hold an unlit sparkler.

“What’s with him?” Mila asked.

“I wish I knew,” Yuuri said with a sigh. “I’ll grab Andrey if you want to help Irina.” They each helped the kids play safely with the sparklers. All of them stared wide eyed at the fizzing flame reaching down their sparkler, taking a few tries to get comfortable enough to actually wave them around. After a while, Andrey and Irina ran around with them, only coming back to get new ones when their current sparklers ran out.

Yuuri stole more than a few glances at Yurio and Victor. Yurio was still more scared of the sparklers than Andrey and Irina, but Victor was very patiently letting him get comfortable with each step before moving onto the next one. When Yurio finally held a lit sparkler all by himself, he grinned proudly up at Victor who smiled back and ruffled his hair. The sight made Yuuri’s heart flutter, and when Victor directed that same smile right at him, he quickly blushed and looked away.

Eventually, they used everything that Victor had bought and the children were yawning every few minutes. Mila waved goodbye as she herded her siblings next door, thanking them profusely for the fun day. Yuuri could tell that Yurio was exhausted by how slowly he moved once inside, so as soon as he was in his pajamas and on the bed he was asleep. Yuuri chuckled at the sight, tucked him in, and went back outside. He found Victor leaning against the kitchen counter, staring off into space.

“Uh, hello?” Yuuri asked quietly.

Victor started and looked at him. “Oh, hey. Sorry, I was just thinking.” He didn’t say what about. “Is Yurio asleep?”

“Yeah, he was thoroughly tired out by the busy day,” Yuuri said. “He’s out like a light.”

“Good,” Victor smiled. “Do you have a second to talk?”

Yuuri’s heart dropped, but he nodded anyway. The last time Victor had a talk with him like this, he was announcing his retirement from skating. Victor gestured to the kitchen chairs, which Yuuri warily sat in across from Victor himself.

With a sigh, Victor said, “There’s no easy way to say this, and I can’t really wait any longer.”

Yuuri swallowed but didn’t look away.

“Anya’s parents, Nikolai and Diana, I told you about them, right?”

“Briefly,” Yuuri replied. “But nothing much.”

“Well, they wanted to take Yurio in after, you know. But Nikolai had taken a pretty serious fall down the stairs, and he was in no physical condition to do anything. But, he’s out of the hospital now, he’s in a rehab facility.”

When Victor didn’t continue, Yuuri supplied, “That’s good, right? I’m glad he’s getting healthy.”

Victor took a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah, it’s good. In fact, once he’s healthy, they’re going to take Yurio in themselves.”

Oh. Oh. Yuuri said nothing. Of course this was all temporary, he thought. Yurio was only with Victor until his grandparents were healthy, then Victor would go back to Russia and fame. Yurio would be raised by people who loved him more than anything. And Yuuri the important babysitter would go back to being just Yuuri.

He looked up and realized Victor was staring at him. He had been silent for a long time. “When?” he managed to ask.

“Well, even once he’s out of the facility, he will need time to get his strength back and fully heal. Then, a little more time to prepare their home for a four year old. So, their estimate is April.”

Yuuri squeezed his eyes shut. 10 months. Just under a year. He supposed he always knew there was an expiration date on this arrangement, he just didn’t expect to actually hear it. To have it be so soon. But, he was sure that Anya’s parents were caring and kind people. To want to take in a little boy and raise him as their own….

He stood up and slammed his hands on the table. Victor jerked backwards and looked up at him. Yuuri took a deep breath and said, “This is what’s best for Yurio, right?”

Victor gulped. “Um, yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

Yuuri’s hands scrunched into fists. “Then, I’m so happy!” He sank back into his chair. “I really want what’s best for him. So this is a good thing. And I’m happy for them.”

Victor gave him a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m happy for them, too. And I’m ready to make the best of the time we still have together.”

“Have you told him yet?” Yuuri asked.

“No,” Victor said with a frown. “I don’t think he’s ready to think about moving to another home, yet. He’s just now warming up to me, I don’t want to freak him out when it’s still so far in the future.”

Yuuri thought that 10 months was not quite “far in the future,” but he said nothing.

“I took Yurio to meet them recently, and he liked them well enough. I’ll work to make sure he adjusts to them in time, and we’ll tell him when he’s ready.”

An unwelcome thought came to Yuuri. “And what will you do? In April?”

Victor looked at the wall. “I haven’t really thought about it, honestly. I’ll compete until then, at least. Worlds are in April. After that? I might sell this house and go back to Russia to train under my old coach, Yakov. Or I might not. As I said, I haven’t thought about it too much.”

Yuuri nodded slowly, still digesting everything that Victor had said. “Okay. Thank you for telling me all of this.”

Victor’s eyebrows rose. “Of course I would tell you. You’re important. To me and to Yurio.”

When Yuuri took the bus home that night, Victor’s words ran through his head over and over as he stared out the window. Important, sure. But for now. Until April.

Yuuri aimlessly walked out of the library. Since Victor had told him a few days ago that Yurio was living with his grandparents in April, he found it hard to concentrate on other things. Thoughts of what his life would be like without Yurio and Victor were constantly bouncing around his head.

He was jolted out of it by Sara slapping a hand on his back. Quickly glancing around, he saw her worriedly looking straight into his eyes. “Earth to Yuuri!” she said. “You in there?”

“Ah, sorry, I was just thinking,” Yuuri replied.

Sara’s look became concerned. “Are you okay? Wanna talk about it?”

Yuuri shook his head and smiled. “No, I’m fine, thanks.”

Sara didn’t look convinced. “Well, okay, but I’ll walk you to Victor’s house anyway.” She ushered them onto the sidewalk.

“That’s not really necessary,” Yuuri said.

“Nonsense!” she replied. “I miss you! I feel like I hardly ever see you around, you’ve been so busy with babysitting, so this is also me selfishly wanting to catch up with you.”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that,” Yuuri mumbled, looking down at the floor.

“It’s totally fine, Yuuri, I get it,” Sara said, swinging an arm around his shoulder. “Your job is important to you, and the kid is cute. And so is…” She was silenced by a glare from Yuuri. “Okay, okay!”

“How’s your job going?” Yuuri asked, desperate to talk about anything other than Yurio and Victor.

Sara sighed dramatically. “It’s so boring!!! I have to scoop ice cream all day, and I don’t even get to eat any of it?”

Yuuri giggled. “That’s a shame, I’m sorry.”

“Me too! I definitely should’ve asked about that in the interview. Oh well, I guess some parts of summer are still exciting, so it’s okay.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Sara blushed. “Oh, you know, things, stuff.”

Yuuri looked at her in disbelief. “Sara! Oh my god!”

She lightly punched his shoulder. “Shut up!”

“Who is it?” Yuuri pleaded. “Tell me, or I’ll put Phichit on the case!”

“No!” she cried out. “Okay, fine. It’s your friend, Mila.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened. “I thought you two hit it off at the flower festival! Way to go, girl.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, we’re not like, really dating or anything. We’ve hung out a couple of times just the two of us. But every relationship I’ve messed up in the past has been because things were rushed, so I really want to take this slow. I’ll express my feelings properly once I think she likes me properly.” Sara said shyly.

“I think that’s a really good approach,” Yuuri said. “But I think she totally likes you now.”

Sara smiled. “I hope so, because I like her, too.”

Suddenly, Yuuri stopped walking. “Oh wow, so you’re only walking me home to maybe see Mila outside, right?”

Sara smiled and pulled him along. “Caught me! But you’re too nice to deny me.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes, but followed her anyway. When they reached the house and there was no sign of Mila, Sara agreed to come in anyway since she already walked over. Yurio’s eyes widened when he saw her and he immediately demanded, “Flip, flip!”

Sara laughed. “Is that what he thinks of me?” Still, she did a few simple somersaults to appease him. He applauded politely and yelled “again” enough times that Sara was starting to get busy.

“That’s enough,” Yuuri said, stepping between them. “How about some juice?”

“Juice!” Yurio agreed. They chatted around the kitchen table until they finished, and Sara looked at her watch.

“Sorry, I should be heading back soon.”

Yuuri and Yurio led her to the door. “Well, thanks for catching up with me! Even though you didn’t see Mila.”

She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it, I still had a good time. Oh.”

When Yuuri swung open the front door, Mila was passing their gate, a girl with short blonde hair hanging on her arm. Mila waved at them, yelling, “Hey Yuuri, Sara!”

Sara was frozen in the doorway, so Yuuri dragged her down the stairs. “Hi, Mila.”

The other girl was giving them a weird look, so she shrugged and walked away. “Well, bye Mila, I can see myself off from here!” Mila waved back.

Sara shook her head, then asked, “Mila, who was that?”

Mila blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Ah, haha. I guess that was sorta… My girlfriend?”

Sara froze for another few seconds, then immediately jumped forward. “Eh? Girlfriend? What do you mean? Since when?”

Grinning sheepishly, Mila replied, “I guess, yesterday? I don’t know, apparently she was a classmate of mine that I never met. She asked me out, and I initially said no because I didn’t know her, but she said we could get to know each other while dating, so I said I’d try.”

Yuuri’s mouth dropped open in shock. Oh no, poor Sara. He looked over and could tell what she was thinking. She had been trying so hard to take things slow with Mila to not mess things up, and had instead been beaten by someone who just asked her out without even knowing her. And Mila hadn’t seemed like the kind of person who would agree to date a total stranger.

He looked over at his friend, who was staring resolutely at the ground. From what Sara had said and from what he had seen, there was a real connection between the two of them. Now she would never get to see exactly what it was.

Well, Yuuri thought that until Sara fiercely looked up and yelled, “Mila, I like you!”

Yurio pulled at Yuuri’s pant leg. “Yuuri, I like you!” he repeated.

“Oh, wow, okay, this is grown-up talk, we’re going inside,” Yuuri said, grabbing Yurio’s hand. He must have wandered to the street when they took too long.

Mila sputtered. “What? You… What?”

Sara took a deep breath. “I definitely like you more than that other girl does!”

“Seriously? But, I mean, I’m dating her now, she already confessed…”

“Is this a first-come first-served bargain sale or your life? What happened to the proper order of things? Aren’t feelings more important than asking first?”

Mila said, “I mean, yes, but…”

Sara sighed. “Well, if you’re so into doing things backwards…” She took a step forward and pulled Mila into a kiss.

Yuuri gaped.

When Sara pulled back, she angrily exclaimed, “If your policy is ‘first-come, first-served,’ just remember who kissed you first!” She stomped halfway to the next block, before running back. “Don’t repeat what I do!” she said to Yurio, before continuing her exit.

Mila was muttering to herself and robotically walking back to her house. Yurio tugged on Yuuri’s hand. “Does Sara like Mila?”

Yuuri thought back to his friend’s excitement when talking about hanging out with Mila and taking things slow to not mess them up. Even if her plan was destroyed now, her feelings were still present. “Yes, she does,” he said. “Now, let’s go inside.”

Victor heard a knock on the door. Yuuri had already left after he put Yurio to bed, and Mila and Chris would’ve barged in without knocking. He quickly pulled on a shirt and went to the door. When he opened it, Mila’s face poked in.

“Oh, hey, Mila,” he said. “Sorry, I just got out of the shower…” The door closed. Victor stared at it in confusion for a few seconds before Mila opened it a sliver again, then closed it. When she opened it the next time Victor just yanked her inside. “Just come in already!” he said. She nervously shifted from foot to foot in the hallway. Sighing, Victor offered, “Do you want to sit down and eat something?” She nodded and followed him to the kitchen.

As she sat down, Victor looked through the fridge. Whenever just Victor lived in a place, the fridge had beer, vodka, chicken. Once Yurio moved in he bought a lot more packaged meals. Since Yuuri came, however, you could actually find fresh fruits and vegetables in the fridge, as well as healthy snacks. Victor decided on carrots and ranch dressing, pulling them out and setting them on the table. “So,what’s up?” he asked, grabbing a carrot.

“Um, I’ve got a friend,” Mila began hesitantly. “Two girls confessed to her on the same day. What should she do?”

“Go out with the one you like more,” Victor said bluntly.

Mila gaped at him. “It’s a friend, not me!”

“Oh, right, sorry.” Victor knew it was certainly not a friend, but he would let Mila have this one.

“And you say that, but it’s not so simple. My friend accidentally already agreed to go out with the one she likes less.”

Victor blanched at that. Maybe it was a younger people thing to “accidentally” agree to go out with someone.

“Твоя подруга большая лгунья, such a bad liar that it would eventually come out that your friend liked the other girl more, right? That would just end up hurting the one she was actually going out with.” Mila’s face froze in shock. “This is your own fault for saying yes without thinking, Mila!” he scolded.

She grasped at her hair. “I don’t know! I’m bad at stuff like this? Like, what does love even feel like? How do you know?” She jumped up. “I’ve never dated anyone before, I have no idea what I’m doing! Скажи, Victor, what is love?”

Victor tried to lean away. “Don’t you have any friends your age you can ask, not an adult?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ew, no, they don’t know what love is! I want a mature perspective from an old person!”

Victor scoffed at her. “I’m 28, I’m not that old!”

“Пожалуйста, Витя, please!” she begged, almost getting on her knees. “What does love mean to you?”

Victor grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair. “Well, there are a lot of things. Finding them physically attractive is a part of it, but there’s more. Like wanting to see their smile and hear their laugh, wanting to protect them, and wanting them to always be by your side…” He trailed off as he thought about what it meant that the only thing he could think about was Yuuri.

Mila looked up at him expectantly when a noise made them look to the doorway where Yurio was standing. He groggily rubbed his eyes and then stopped when he saw Mila. “You kissed today!” he said, pointing at her.

Standing up, Mila ran over to him to pat his head. “Ah, kids these days, saying the funniest things when they’re half asleep!”

Yurio just looked at her blankly before turning to Victor. “I have to go pee.”

“Alright, котенок, let’s go,” Victor said, leading him to the bathroom. Once Yurio was tucked back in, he returned to Mila in the hallway.

“Um, thanks for listening,” she said. “Sorry for bothering you.”

“It’s not a problem,” Victor replied. “I hope everything goes well for you.”

As she was leaving, she leaned back in and whispered, “Please don’t tell anyone about this.”

Victor agreed. As he locked the door, he reflected that even Mila, who he always viewed as the little sister he never had (or wanted), was starting to grow up and be mature about love. Someday even Yurio would someday have similar feelings. He hoped he would be around to see it.

Sara lay on her bed, completely covered in blankets. She was ready to crawl under a rock and never come out. How embarrassing??!! She couldn’t believe she had kissed Mila like that, after yelling that she liked her. Mila was already dating someone else, so she would obviously be really mad at her, and now she had ruined a perfectly good friendship in addition to all possibility of romance....

She was jerked out of her self-deprecating thoughts by the sound of her ringtone. Curious, she checked to see what it was.

Mila Babicheva: Are you free tomorrow?

Sniffling, Sara responded she was and flopped back onto her bed.

After a day of wallowing and running through the worst case scenarios in her head, she got dressed and headed to the park where she was supposed to meet Mila. The Russian was standing under a tree and quickly waved her over, smiling. Sara took a moment to be thankful that she didn’t appear to be mad.

As Sara got closer, she noticed a large red mark on Mila’s forehead. “Oh my god!” Sara exclaimed. “What happened to your head?”

Mila grinned sheepishly. “Ah, you see, that girl that I agreed to date…”

Sara gasped. No way Mila got beat up because of her stupid kiss?!

“I got this mark from bowing all the way on the ground to her.” That made Sara pause. “I told her that, you know, I couldn’t really date her after all.”

Sara’s breath hitched in her throat.

“I thought about it a lot, and I’d much rather spend time with you than with her. You know, I don’t really have any clue what love is, but I know when I think about who I wanna be with, it’s you…”

Reaching up to her face, Sara felt tears spilling from her eyes. Mila noticed and jumped up to brush them away. “Дерьмо, now I’m making you cry, what did I do, I’m so sorry…”

Sara hiccuped. “Sorry, no, I was just thinking… That you were being really charming just then…” She smiled and took Mila’s hand when it was offered to her.

Then, Mila leaned up on her toes and kissed Sara’s forehead. “Now we’re even!”

Sara blushed furiously, but she squeezed Mila’s hand as she felt her heart squeeze with happiness.

August 2017

Yuuri and Yurio sat on the couch together. The August heat was stifling, and they had both spent all their energy playing that morning. Yurio was nodding off against the babysitter’s shoulder, and Yuuri was struggling to stay awake, himself. Victor opened the front door and saw them. He quickly took a picture before being noticed.

“Hi, Victor,” Yuuri muttered, yawning.

Victor’s heart felt like it could explode from his chest. “I see you two are busy.”

“Ah, sorry, it’s just so hot out today.”

Victor chuckled. “You guys could go somewhere cooler, like maybe the pool?”

Yurio snapped awake. “Pool?!” he said while jumping off the couch.

Yuuri started, then smiled at him. “Yeah, okay, I can take you to the pool.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Victor said. “Celestino caught a cold so he gave us the rest of the day off, so I can even join you!”

Yuuri froze. He hadn’t anticipated that. Not that he didn’t want Victor to come, but he didn’t want Victor to come. He would have to see Yuuri in a swimsuit. He wasn’t totally ashamed of his body, but he was more than a little self-conscious. And more importantly, he would have to see Victor in a swimsuit. Victor, with his gorgeous physique. His body sculpted from marble. No, no, Yuuri didn’t think he would survive a trip to the pool with Victor.

“It’s fine!” Yuuri accidentally yelled. Both Russians blinked at him. “Uh, I mean, you don’t have to! I’m sure you have, like, things to do. And I can take Yurio myself, you don’t have to worry. Enjoy your time off, leave the babysitting to me!” The excuse sounded weak, even to him. And did Victor look almost disappointed?

“Oh, okay. Well, you still shouldn’t go by yourself with him. It’ll be really crowded on a hot day like this.”

“I- I’ll call Phichit! He’s been bugging me to hang out all summer.”

Victor frowned slightly, then agreed. “Okay, I guess I have a few errands I need to run, anyway. Have fun, you two!” he said, before walking back out the door.

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief, then looked down at Yurio. “Let’s get you into your swimsuit.”

Three and a half coats of sunscreen later, Yuuri and Yurio waved down Phichit at the pool. The Thai skater immediately began racing Yurio to the pool, and Yuuri could only helplessly yell at them to slow down as they jumped in. The child definitely enjoyed the water, especially on the hot day. It was nearing mid-afternoon, and the heat even made Yuuri shed his t-shirt and join them. Yurio couldn’t venture much past the shallow section, so they mostly just splashed each other.

After a while Yuuri demanded that everyone get out and reapply sunscreen, so they drank some water in the shade. Yurio and Phichit teamed up to beg Yuuri for ice cream, which they obviously received.

Once they properly digested, Phichit got a devilish look on his face. “I have an idea, follow me,” he said, dragging them towards the diving board. He ran off the length and propelled himself facing backwards, gracefully spinning twice before not so gracefully falling into the water. Yurio squealed with glee and clapped as Phichit climbed out of the pool. “Well, what jump was that, Yurio?”

The boy crinkled his nose. “A double salchow?”

Phichit laughed. “Yup! Well, I mean, the best I could do not wearing skates and off a diving board.” He managed to do two more jumps before a lifeguard summoned him to the side of the pool and berated him for a full minute while Yuuri and Yurio tried (unsuccessfully) not to laugh.

When Phichit got back from his talking-to, they all decided they were hungry enough to call it a day. Phichit forced them to take one final group selfie at the pool, then they got dressed and dried off. “Send me that picture,” Yuuri asked as they grabbed their bags.

Phichit winked at him. “You got it, bud,” he said, tapping his phone furiously. How he could do it while maintaining eye contact was a mystery to Yuuri, even after all these years.

They stopped for dinner at a local pizza place. Phichit eyed Yuuri warily when he ordered four pieces for himself. In response, he blushed and murmured, “What, Victor probably hasn’t eaten yet.” Once they sat down to eat, Yuuri checked his phone. “Hey, Phichit, you said you would send me that picture of all of us.”

Phichit grinned at him. “Oh, I could’ve sworn I sent it! Lemme check,” he said, scrolling through his phone. He dramatically clasped a hand over his mouth. “Oh dearie me, it seems I made a mistake. I must’ve accidentally and unintentionally sent it to Victor instead!”

Yuuri froze. “Phichit, no.”

“Phichit, yes.” He turned to show his phone to Yuuri. And there it was.

Phichit Chulanont: Attachment: 1 image

Phichit Chulanont: Pool party!

As Yuuri was reading, a new message popped up.

Victor Nikiforov: Thank you! As promised, I’ll cover for you next Thursday

Yuuri narrowed his eyes at his friend. “As promised? What’s that about?”

“Shi… Shucks! You weren’t supposed to see that.” He hastily locked his phone and glanced nervously at the four year old not paying any attention to their conversation. “I’ll send it to you now, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

Yuuri looked down at his phone when the image arrived. He was very shirtless in the photo. Like, his shirt was not on. And you could see his naked chest. More specifically, Victor could see his naked chest. He buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know why I put up with any of you,” he muttered as Phichit laughed and pulled him up.

“Come on, Victor’s pizza is getting cold, Yuuri.”

When Yuuri came to the house one morning, Victor answered the door looking extremely haggard. “Yuuri,” he whispered, grabbing onto his shoulders.

Yuuri gasped as Victor’s beautiful blue eyes locked onto his own. “Please, please,” he whimpered.

“Please what?” Yuuri managed to whisper back.

“When does Yurio’s big cat DVD have to go back to the library?”

“What?”

“He’s watched it every morning since you got it for him. Every. Morning. I don’t think I can take it again.”

Yuuri heard a roar come from the TV and an imitation of the same roar come from Yurio. He laughed and peeled Victor’s hands off. “Today, actually, you’re in luck.”

Victor collapsed on the ground and hugged Yuuri’s legs. “Thank you so much, Yuuri. You’re my hero.”

Yuuri laughed nervously and wiggled out of Victor’s grasp. Boy, he was getting clingier and clingier. “Why don’t you get ready for practice and I’ll get him ready to go to the library with me?”

Looking up with grateful eyes, Victor nodded and shambled to his room. Yuuri shook off the weird feelings that encounter gave him before heading over to where Yurio was sitting in front of the TV. It looked like the program was wrapping up, so he patiently sat next to the boy until it was over.

“Alright, Yurio, let’s go to the library today,” he said. “Let’s get you dressed and we can pick out a new DVD to watch!”

Yurio nodded vigorously and allowed Yuuri to dress him. They put Makkachin on a leash and brought her with them. When they got to the library, Yuuri tied the dog outside and moved the stack of items they had borrowed to the counter. He was about to hand them to the librarian when Yurio quickly grabbed his hand.

“No!” he called.

“Quieter,” Yuuri warned.

“No!” he whisper-shouted. “I want to watch that more!”

Yuuri took back the stack and squatted next to him. “But you’ve already watched this a lot. Don’t you want to watch something else?”

Yurio shook his head. “No, I want to watch the big cats!”

Yuuri tried to take another approach. “This is due back to the library, so we have to give it back. We were only borrowing it.”

Tears swam behind Yurio’s eyes. Sighing, Yuuri stood up and whispered to the librarian. She nodded, and Yuuri pulled the child up to the height of the counter. “Yurio, this nice librarian is really interested in big cats.”

“Yes, I am,” she said with a smile. “I was wondering if you would lend me your DVD about them so I could learn about them?”

Yurio swallowed, then looked to Yuuri. When the babysitter nodded gently, he replied, “Okay, you can watch it.” She smiled graciously and accepted the stack of items. Yuuri thanked her profusely as they went to pick out a new DVD to watch. Or maybe a few DVDs so Victor didn’t go crazy.

After they made their selections, Yuuri read him a few books under a tree so they could cuddle with Makkachin. Then they went out on the playground for a while, and eventually Yurio got hungry enough for lunch. They got sandwiches at a place nearby, eating on a park bench. After playing there a bit longer, Yurio’s eyelids started to droop. Looking at the sky, Yuuri noticed that their relatively late lunch threw off his sense of time and it was already starting to get dark. He needed to get home to make dinner right away! He stood up, stretched, and tapped Yurio’s shoulder.

To his dismay, the child was already asleep. He shook him a little harder but he just curled into his arm. Oh well, he would just have to carry Yurio home. Yuuri grabbed Makkachin’s leash and saw that the dog was trying to nap, too. He shook her, as well, and she also seemed determined to stay asleep.

With a sigh, Yuuri picked up Yurio and held Makkachin’s leash with the other hand. He pulled the dog along, but couldn’t come up with much strength when he was focused on holding Yurio. He only got to the other side of the park before he had to stop at a park bench and rest. There was no way he was getting anywhere fast with these two sleeping like this, and he didn’t really want to wake them up if they were both so tired. Resigned to his fate, he picked Yurio back up again and rounded the corner when he heard a voice call out to him.

He turned around and saw Chris jogging towards him. “Yuuri, long time no see!” he drawled. “Far too long…”

“Hi, Chris,” he replied, panting slightly.

Chris looked him up and down. “What pickle are you in now, my friend?”

“Ah, sorry, they’re both sound asleep and it’s hard for me to carry them both.”

The skater clapped his hands. “Well, what a good thing I was here to help you! Let me get dear ole Makkachin for you.”

Yuuri smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much! We aren’t too far away from the house, so I hope it’s not too much trouble.”

Chris waved his hand. “Not at all. Now, up we go, puppy!” He hauled Makkachin up. “Oof, never mind, no puppy. Dog. Grown dog.”

Yuuri giggled and focused solely on holding Yurio. He and Chris talked the whole way back, and really soon they were back at the house. “Thanks so much for helping me, Chris,” he said when they got to the gate. “Um, do you want to come inside for dinner? I’ll be cooking something, but I don’t know what you like.”

Chris laughed. “Thanks for the invitation, but I’m good. I’ve got a hot date tonight,” he said with a sultry wink.

Yuuri gasped. “Oh no! You won’t be late, will you?”

“Not at all. Well, see you later!” he called out, waving as he walked away.

Yuuri picked up the leash, and Makkachin yawned and stood up. He rolled his eyes, muttering, “So now you wake up,” but he couldn’t find it in his heart to actually be mad at the dog. He set Yurio on the couch and started on dinner. Halfway through Yurio stumbled in asking to help, so Yuuri had him stir.

By the time Victor got home, the table was set and they were all able to sit down right away. When Victor asked about their day, Yurio proudly said how he lent his big cat DVD to a nice lady at the library and got some new ones instead. Yuuri couldn’t remember the last time he saw Victor so happy. Yuuri mentioned that Yurio and Makkachin were sleepy and he had to carry them both back.

“What?” Victor asked. “How were you able to do that? You should’ve called me!”

Yuuri laughed. “Ah, no, it was fine. Chris ran into us and he was able to help. I guess all of that training really pays off, because he was super strong! He could lift Makkachin really easily.”

Victor frowned slightly. “I see.” He went back to eating silently. Yuuri was curious, but he didn’t press the issue.

Once they cleaned up the kitchen and Yuuri put Yurio to bed, he went into the hallway to find Victor waiting for him. “I’ll walk you to the bus stop?” he said.

Yuuri agreed, by now knowing to just not fight it, and they walked in comfortable silence. Yuuri was glad that the awkward dinner conversation was over. He shivered when they rounded the first corner, silently cursing himself for not thinking to bring anything other than a t-shirt with him. Even though it was August, it could get chilly at night.

“Oh, here,” Victor said, immediately shrugging off his jacket and draping it over Yuuri’s shoulders.

Yuuri blushed and stopped walking. “It’s fine, you should keep it on.”

Victor stopped as well. “No, I insist, you’re cold.”

“Won’t you be cold if you give me your jacket?”

“I’m Russian, don’t worry about it!”

“But Victor…”

He suddenly grasped Yuuri’s shoulders. “Please, let me be cool to you, too!”

That made Yuuri pause. What did he mean by that? Could he be… Jealous of what he said about Chris? That made no sense. But it was the only thing he could think of, so he just blushed and muttered an agreement, starting to walk again.

Yuuri did appreciate the jacket, and he pulled it closer around himself. The scent of it was distinctly Victor and seemed to envelop him. It was nice. When they reached the bus stop, Yuuri cursed that it had to come so soon. He turned to give Victor back his jacket, but the skater just smiled and shook his head. “Just give it back to me tomorrow?”

Yuuri shyly nodded and waved as he got on the bus that pulled up. Once on it and away from Victor’s sight, he allowed himself to cuddle into the jacket further. After all, he only had one night with it, and he was going to make it count.

Chapter Text

September 2017

“Are you free this Saturday?”

Yuuri looked up from making dinner. “What, sorry?”

“Are you free this Saturday?” Victor repeated.

“Oh, I think so,” Yuuri said as he stirred the pot on the stove. “Why, what’s up?”

Victor shifted. “Yurio and I are going to visit his grandparents in Ann Arbor. I wanted you to come along.”

Yuuri stopped and turned to face him. “Isn’t that a bit personal? Wouldn’t I be intruding?”

“Not at all!” Victor said. “I think we-Yurio would appreciate having you there! Besides, I keep saying you’re a part of the family, and it’s going to be a family trip. And I think you would feel better about the whole, um, situation, if you got to know them better.”

Yuuri stared at him for a while after he was done talking. “Yeah, I guess so. Okay, I’ll come along.”

Victor gave him a relieved smile. “Thank you.”

When Saturday arrived, they loaded up the car and hit the road for Ann Arbor. Victor’s usual music filled the car, but Yuuri found that it didn’t help his nerves. He stared out the passenger window the whole time, worrying about meeting Yurio’s grandparents. Victor had said enough times that he considered Yuuri to be family, but that didn’t mean that they would feel the same. Surely they would think he was intruding on a private occasion? What if they hated him? Or even worse, what if they were wonderful people who loved Yurio and he couldn’t justify being upset about this situation….

Victor roused him from his thoughts by placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’re here. Are you okay?” Yuuri gulped and nodded. When he looked out the window, he saw a beautiful park. He was glad they weren’t at the Plisetskys’ house, this felt like more neutral ground.

They got out of the car and wandered to the center of the park. Yurio looked tired after napping the whole way over, and he rubbed his eyes to adjust for the bright morning sun. Victor looked around and finally waved to an elderly couple sitting on a bench who stood up and waved back.

The man was broad-shouldered, with a two-toned beard and hair. By his side was a petite woman with short hair and a friendly smile. As they all approached each other, recognition crossed Yurio’s face.

“Бабушка? Дедушка?” he asked.

“Да, Юрочка,” his grandfather said, smiling warmly. He then saw Yuuri and said, “Oh, sorry. My name is Nikolai, and this is my wife, Diana. You must be Yuuri.”

“Здравствуйте, очень приятно” he replied, bowing slightly.

“Витя, ты не сказал нам, что он может говорить по-русски!” Diana said, batting Victor’s arm.

He smiled proudly in response. “Он хороший ученик.”

Yurio grabbed Yuuri’s sleeve and tugged on it. “Can we go play?” he asked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Yuuri replied.

Nikolai stepped forward. “Can grandpa play with you, Yuri?”

The child looked up at him, crinkling his nose in thought before relaxing his face. “Okay,” he agreed, walking towards the playground. Yuuri and Nikolai followed closely behind.

Yurio found a sandbox and immediately kicked his shoes off to jump in. He began making random piles of sand around himself. Yuuri and Nikolai joined him shortly, helping him make bigger structures and playing with some toys that were left there. Once Yurio got bored, they moved to the rest of the playground. With his shoes securely back on, the child ran to the slide and went down it multiple times.

Nikolai chuckled as he and Yuuri hung back and watched. “He has quite a lot of energy, no?”

Yuuri smiled. “Yeah, he really does.”

“He’s a good kid,” Nikolai said with a wistful smile. “But he certainly has an attitude, just like his mother.”

“I never knew her.”

“Oh, she would’ve liked you,” Nikolai said.

Yuuri scrunched up his nose. “How do you know?”

“Well, Yuri and Victor do.”

“Ah,” Yuuri squeaked, turning his reddening face back to the playground where Yurio was still running around.

“My wife and I want to thank you for agreeing to come and meet us today,” the older man said after a silence. Yuuri turned to face him again. “It’s important to us that all three of you are comfortable with the situation before we take him. We are very excited to raise him, but we want to be respectful of both of your feelings.”

Warmth flooded Yuuri’s chest because they were being so considerate. But with the warmth there was an undercurrent of cold, because he still didn’t think he deserved it, and they were still going to take Yurio (and basically Victor) away from him.

“You’re being very thoughtful, спасибо,” is what Yuuri said instead. They continued to watch Yurio play until he tired himself out a little bit. He started walking back when a small dog ran up to him and licked his hand.

“Makkachin?” the child asked. “No, you’re too small.”

Yuuri jogged over, Nikolai not far behind. “Who’s this?”

“I don’t know,” Yurio replied, giggling as the dog continued licking him, “but he’s nice.”

Yuuri reached down and saw a collar on the dog, with a tag and a number hanging off. He looked around but didn’t see anyone who was paying any attention to the dog. “Let’s walk around a little to see if we can find his owners?”

Nikolai and Yurio agreed, and they started walking around the edge of the park. The dog happily stuck next to Yurio, and they made it all the way back to Victor and Diana with no clues as to who the dog belonged to.

“What do we have here, Юра?” his grandmother asked.

“Собака,” Yurio responded, smiling and petting him. “He’s just like Makkachin, but small.”

“We found him alone,” Yuuri filled in, “and walked around with him but can’t find his owners.”

“Was there any information on his collar?” Victor asked. “We should return him soon, I would hate to be separated from my own dog for too long.”

Yuuri nodded. “Yeah, there was a phone number. I’ll call it now.”

While he made the call, the others kept Yurio and the dog occupied. A panicked woman answered the call, and he explained that they found the dog. Once he gave her their location in the park, he hung up and looked back to Yurio. He and his grandma were talking while petting the dog, laughing and smiling at each other. Despite the sadness he still felt, he realized how loving Nikolai and Diana were, especially to Yurio. They were going to do a great job raising him.

He saw a woman with long dark hair round the corner, then cry out to them. He waved her down and she ran towards them. “Ogbo!” she cried. At the sound of his name, the dog perked his head up and ran towards her. She sighed and rubbed behind his ears. “Thank you so much for calling me! He ran off when I turned my back and I couldn’t find him anywhere!”

“No problem,” Yuuri said. “I’m glad you were able to be reunited.”

Yurio was looking sadly at the dog. The woman walked over to him and ruffled his hair. “Did you make a new friend?” When he nodded sadly, she said, “Thank you for taking care of him for me! You’re a very good little boy.” Yurio smiled slightly at that.

She stood up and hooked a leash on her dog’s collar. “That is the last time I let you off the leash! Ever!” she gently admonished, before standing up to face the adults. “Thank you so much again.”

When she was gone, Victor smiled. “Wow, quite a bit of excitement for one day!”

Nikolai nodded in agreement. “Speaking of, we should be heading back. Thank you for meeting with us today, all of you.”

Yurio cheerfully waved goodbye as Victor and Yuuri led him back to the car. As they drove home, Yuuri still couldn’t sort the mess of emotions in his chest.

As Yuuri finished up his figure skating lesson, he noticed that Yurio and Otabek were together again. Both were quite good at skating, but their styles were different. Yurio’s moves were graceful, but you could see his angry personality was still bubbling underneath. Otabek, on the other hand, showed a lot of raw power in his strides, but he didn’t have the natural grace of Yurio. Yuuri knew that they both could easily become monster skaters, as they easily outshone everyone else in the class, regardless of age.

The two friends were skating lazy circles around each other away from everyone else, talking in hushed tones. Yuuri long ago gave up on forcing them to stick with the rest of the class, especially because they already knew what he was teaching. As long as they were still practicing and didn’t get into too much trouble, he let it slide. Turning back to the rest of the students, he starting teaching the simple spin that would eventually be in the choreography for their next upcoming ice show in January. The children completed slow spins at their varying levels of skill, and Yuuri made the rounds to help who he could. Before long the lesson was over and he was helping everyone off the ice.

Yurio sprinted over to the wall and immediately stopped an inch away from the wall, looking over his shoulder to smirk at Otabek. The other boy skated over normally, narrowing his eyes at his friend as a gentle warning to behave himself. Yuuri was thankful someone else helped keep Yurio in check.

Yuuri thought over his skeleton of choreography, trying to think of what he could add in that would keep the two of them occupied during class. Yurio had already improved so much since last year, and while this show would be impressive, he could only imagine what he would be capable of at the next one…

With a start, Yuuri realized that Yurio wouldn’t be at the next show. He would be in Ann Arbor with his grandparents, at a new rink. Without him. He just as quickly shoved the thought aside, but he still felt generally uneasy as he waited for everyone to get picked up. When Otabek was the last kid left, he sat down on the bench and put his head between his knees. He was still trying not to think about the future, but he couldn’t help himself. It felt horrible to imagine Yurio going away, but it felt even worse to think about how selfish he was being. He didn’t have Yurio’s best interests at heart.

He heard the door to the rink open, and Otabek’s mother walked in. Yurio waved goodbye as Otabek went to join her. Yuuri gathered his bag and took Yurio to follow them out. Halfway to the door, Victor and Celestino came in.

“Ah, Nadya, just the person I wanted to see!” Celestino said. “I have a question for you about your son.” He started going into detail about something, but Yuuri wasn’t listening. Victor was one of the last people that he wanted to see right now, since he was feeling so down about everything.

“Hi, Yuuri!” Victor said, smiling brightly. He gently tugged him away from Celestino’s babbling by his elbow. “I was just coming by with coach to discuss my Grand Prix events, even though it’s not until next month. How were lessons?”

Yuuri looked at him, and the genuine look of interest that Victor gave him sent a stab of pain into his chest. This was the man whose family he was thinking so selfishly of, he didn’t deserve his kindness. He looked down and mumbled, “Fine.”

Victor took a step closer. “Is everything alright? You don’t look well.”

Still avoiding eye contact, Yuuri laughed nervously. “Ah, I’m fine.”

He took another step closer. “Really? You know, if something is bothering you…”

“I said it’s nothing.”

“Yuuri…” he said, taking another half step towards him.

“I said it’s nothing!” Yuuri yelled, pushing Victor backwards. He obviously wasn’t expecting it, because he fell backwards onto the ground.

Yuuri gasped and threw his hands over his mouth. Oh shit. He hadn’t meant to do that at all, but Victor was getting so close, and he had felt horrible…. He shouldn’t have taken it out on him.

In a flash Celestino was over, Nadya following behind. “What’s wrong? Victor, are you okay?” He glanced down worriedly at his student, offering him a hand to get back up before looking curiously at Yuuri. “What happened?”

Yuuri gulped and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Victor was chuckling. “Sorry to worry you, Ciao Ciao, but a bug was on my shirt and Yuuri was getting it off. I must have lost my balance. You know how slippery the rink can be.”

Celestino glanced between the two of them. Yuuri’s face was bright red, and he was looking anywhere but at Victor. “Okay, well, be more careful, Victor. The season has basically begun, and we can’t have you hurting yourself on or off the ice.”

“I will, coach, promise,” Victor said, glancing at Yuuri.

“I’ll take Yurio home now,” Yuuri mumbled, before grabbing their bags and scurrying out the door.

Celestino watched him go and shrugged. “Well, Victor, let’s talk about Skate Canada.”

Victor couldn’t get Yuuri to look him in the eyes. He had thought that they had a great connection, friendship, and…. Well, a great friendship. Yet, somehow Yuuri was completely avoiding him. He would answer his questions and talk to him about Yurio, but other than that he would just run away or not make eye contact. Victor couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong. He hadn’t been nearly as forward with Yuuri as he could have been (as he wanted to be), so he could probably rule that out. Had he been rude at some point? Or did Yuuri figure out his feelings and not return them?

He was driving himself crazy with all of the speculation. Yet, the last time he asked Yuuri how he was, he ended up getting literally pushed away. Oh, maybe that was it. He should probably apologize about that. He looked up from his phone and saw Yuuri reading a book to Yurio on the living room floor. While Victor sat away on the couch, Yuuri finally looked relaxed and happy. And Victor was certainly not being creepy by watching him.

When Yurio yawned twice on the same page, Yuuri laughed. “Alright, I think it’s time for bed. Let’s get your teeth brushed.” Once they were out of the room, Victor sent out a quick text to Chris. He wanted to talk to someone, and he also wanted a drink. Luckily, Chris could usually help with both.

Eventually Yuuri came back out into the hallway. “Um, he’s asleep.”

“Oh, thank you,” Victor said, awkwardly rising to his feet and walking towards him. He braced himself for Yuuri to run out the door, but instead he hesitated with his hand on the door knob.

Suddenly, he turned to Victor and bowed deeply. “Простите меня, пожалуйста!”

Victor froze. “For what?” He was the one who should be apologizing.

“For pushing you, the other day at the rink,” Yuuri said, still staring at the floor. “It was uncalled for, and I’m very sorry for treating you like that.”

Victor gently pulled him up. “It’s okay, Yuuri. I’m sorry for pressing too hard, asking you how you were. You pretty obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and I got in your space anyway.”

Yuuri glanced up at him through his incredibly thick and beautiful eyelashes. “R-really?”

Victor smiled easily. “Yes.” They were finally talking, finally looking at each other. Yuuri seemed to notice it, too, because he blushed and looked away again.

“Well, I should be getting home,” he said, starting to turn the doorknob.

Before he knew what he was doing, Victor grabbed his other hand. “Wait!”

Yuuri turned to look at him. “What?” he asked. His face was reddening even more, and his glasses were falling off his nose. Victor resisted the urge to push them up, then run his hands through his hair. But this wasn’t the time.

“Ah, sorry,” he said, releasing his hand. “Good night, Yuuri.”

Yuuri looked at him, a little confused. “Okay. Good night, Victor,” he replied, before walking out the door.

Victor sighed heavily and flopped back down on the couch. Okay, wow, he had zero self-control when it came to Yuuri. He would have to be careful not to do anything stupid. Eventually a single knock on the door was followed by Chris bursting in.

“Alors, Victor,” he said, shaking his head, “quelque chose te tracasse?”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” he retorted. “Come on, I need a drink.” They went to the kitchen and Victor poured them each a shot of vodka, keeping the bottle on the table. Chris raised an eyebrow but took it anyway.

“Well, what’s all this about, then?” Chris asked.

“Yuuri is avoiding me, and I don’t know why.”

Chris giggled. “Oh, Victor, I didn’t know this was a lover’s quarrel.”

With a frown, Victor replied, “It’s not. That’s the thing. We haven’t done anything.”

“You haven’t done anything?” Chris asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Ugh, no, get your mind out of the gutter,” Victor said, although he knew he wasn’t one to talk. “I really haven’t even flirted with him that much.”

“But you have? Flirted with him?” Chris asked.

“Of course! Well, I mean, I’ve tried to. I don’t know if he’s noticed or not. But I don’t think I’ve done anything that would make him want to avoid me like this.”

“Well, I can’t say how he feels, but I would bet that Yuuri doesn’t dislike you,” Chris said, putting a finger to his lips.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Victor muttered, taking another shot of vodka.

“Mon ami, you need to just talk to him,” Chris said. “How will you know how he feels if you don’t ask him? Not just about you, but if something is bothering him. Because I would bet that he’s not acting this way just because you’ve been pushing yourself on him.”

“You’re probably right,” Victor sighed. “It’s just hard,” he said, pouting. When Chris started to grin, he pointed at him and gave him a warning glare. “Don’t. Even. Think about it!”

Chris laughed and tossed back another shot. “Ah, everyone always lusts after the Great Victor Nikiforov, but nobody knows that he lives such a hard life. Falling in love with your babysitter and all, it sure makes things complicated for you.”

Victor blushed and looked away. “Shut up.”

Since Yuuri stayed up late studying the night before, he decided to make tea with breakfast. Victor had morning training, so it was his job to get Yurio ready to go to daycare. He took his prized mug out of the cabinet and placed it on the counter. The water was starting to boil, and he was so wrapped up in thinking about his classes for the rest of the day that he didn't notice Yurio was behind him until he spoke.

The sound made him jerk around, and his hand sent the mug crashing to the floor. Before he could do anything else, the mug shattered everywhere. As crushed as he was about the mug, his first thought was of Yurio. Quickly, he scooped him up in his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Yurio blinked at him. “I’m fine, you’re the one who broke something.”

Yuuri sighed in relief. “Okay, yes, I did. But it’s dangerous in here, there’s broken glass and it’s sharp.” He tip-toed around the kitchen and deposited the child in the hallway. “Alright, I need to clean this up. Do you think you can get out the clothes you want? I’ll help you get dressed as soon as I’m done.” Yurio nodded and walked to his room.

Yuuri turned around and surveyed the damage. He grabbed a nearby box and started putting the pieces into it. He could try to glue it back together once he got home tonight, and hopefully it would still be usable. Once he got all of the pieces that he could, he swept up the tiny shards and threw them away. Satisfied that the kitchen was safe, he went to help Yurio get dressed. The whole day he thought about just how important that simple mug was to him. Not only was it a present from Victor, but it symbolized his place in the house. He had a mug there, so therefore he belonged. Now that it was broken, he had basically broken his connection to the house, to Yurio, to Victor. Those thoughts ran through his head all day, much to his dismay.

When his classes were done, he picked up Yurio from day care. Luckily they had ice skating lessons today, because he always found that skating helped his anxiety. By the end of the session, he felt almost completely better. He and Yurio had a nice walk home, but as soon as he saw the box with the broken mug he felt worse again. When Victor got back, Yurio was already asleep and Yuuri left right away. He couldn’t handle talking to Victor right now, knowing that he had broken the mug he had received as a present.

That night, at his desk, he carefully tried to glue all of the pieces back together. Luckily, the bottom had only split into a few large chunks, but the top was in much worse shape. He managed to create a relatively good base, but the top didn’t want to cooperate. He still did his best and let it dry overnight.

As soon as he woke up in the morning, he took the mug to the sink and filled it with a little bit of water. Almost immediately it leaked everywhere. Blinking back tears, Yuuri realized that he had really broken it. He would have to tell Victor eventually.

With a heavy heart, he headed to the house. He couldn’t look at Victor the short time he was there; his guilt was still fresh. Throughout the day he tried to think of ways to avoid telling Victor about what had happened, but eventually it was time to put Yurio to bed and Victor was walking through the front door. Yuuri rushed to Yurio’s room and read to him long past when the child fell asleep. When he couldn’t put it off any longer, he cautiously crept into the hallway. Victor was sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

“Ah, Yuuri,” he said, smiling softly. “Is he asleep?”

“Um, yeah,” he replied, looking away. “I have something I need to, uh, tell you.”

Victor’s smile disappeared. “What is it?”

Yuuri gulped, opened his mouth, and immediately lost all of his courage. “You know what, it can wait. I’ll see myself out, bye.”

Before Victor could respond, he was out the door. He hated himself in that moment, but he still couldn’t bring himself to go back in and confront him. Without looking back, he started walking towards the bus stop.

A few days passed in the same way. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find the courage to tell Victor about the mug. Eventually, Victor was the one to bring it back up. Yurio was asleep for the night, and as Yuuri tried to sneak out the front door, Victor came out of the kitchen. “Yuuri?” he asked.

Silently cursing his timing, Yuuri closed his eyes before turning around. “Yes?”

Victor took a deep breath, then asked, “What did you want to bring up a few days ago?”

This was it. He couldn’t avoid it anymore, even though he wanted to. “I’m so sorry Victor, but I broke the mug that you gave me for White Day.”

A weird look crossed Victor’s face. “That’s what you wanted to tell me?”

“Yes.”

Victor sighed in relief. “Ah, is that it?”

“What do you mean, ‘is that it?’ I broke it.”

“Yuuri, I’m not mad at all about it, if you’re worried about the mug. Accidents happen.” He paused. “You and Yurio didn’t get hurt, did you?”

Yuuri shook his head again. “We’re fine. He’s fine.”

Victor exhaled heavily. “I’m glad. I don’t know what we both would do without you, Yuuri. So, are we good?”

He looked Victor in the eyes. There was nothing there but concern and affection. Even though he knew he didn’t deserve either, he said, “Yeah, we’re good.”

The next night, Victor was home later than usual. Yurio had been asleep for over an hour, and Yuuri sat in the kitchen on his phone. Luckily, he didn’t have any homework to do when he got home.

Finally he heard the door open and Victor walked into the kitchen. “Ah, I’m sorry I’m so late!” he said, dropping his bag on the floor near the table. “I hope I didn’t keep you from anything important?”

“No, just my bed,” Yuuri joked.

“Well, I would hate to keep you from your lovely reunion any longer, but do you have a minute?”

“Uh, sure,” Yuuri agreed.

Victor sank into a chair across from Yuuri and rummaged through his bag until he pulled out a cardboard box. “Here, I got this for you!”

Curiously, Yuuri felt the weight of the box before opening the lid. Inside was another mug, almost exactly like the one he had just broken.

“I know you were upset about breaking the mug I got you, and you thought I would be mad about it, but I’m really not, Yuuri. And, well, I’m not a Costco member myself so I had to go to a different store and this was the closest thing they had… Are you crying?”

Yuuri sniffed and dabbed at his eye. “I- I don’t deserve this from you.”

“What do you mean? You accepted the first mug.”

“Not just the mug! Your- your kindness,” he said, feeling a tear roll down his cheek. “I’m not a good person, Victor. Yesterday, when you said ‘is that all’ about the mug, I- I thought you were a horrible person.” Victor blinked in response. “And even now, when you asked me to talk, I… I thought that you were going to tell me that Nikolai wasn’t better and couldn’t take care of Yurio. And I was happy with the thought! So… So, I don’t deserve anything nice from you.”

Yuuri stopped and took a deep breath, willing the tears to stop coming. Victor was frozen in place across the table, so he continued, his emotions now flowing freely. “Even if I wear a false smile, I can’t truly from the bottom of my heart wish for Yurio’s happiness if it means he’s not with me, I just love him like my own family. I’m really a very very selfish person, so you don’t have to show me this kindness anymore.” He realized that he had closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Victor was standing right next to him.

Before he could say anything, Victor was pulling him up into a hug.

Yuuri blinked in confusion as Victor’s arms tightened around his back. “Victor, what-”

“I’m sorry,” he breathed into Yuuri’s ear. “I’m so sorry, Yuuri, for making you worry about things like that all on your own.”

Why is he still showing me this kindness? I showed him just horrible I really am, and still. His tears started flowing again, and he could feel Victor’s shirt getting wet where his face was pressed into his shoulder.

Suddenly, Victor pulled away, his eyes wide. “Sorry! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have just done something impulsive like that, it’s so inappropriate, please don’t hate me,” he said, his words gradually dissolving into mumbles as he turned away.

When Yuuri saw him moving away, he reflexively grabbed onto Victor’s shirt. “I’m sorry… For being so selfish.”

Victor turned back and looked at him. “You’re not selfish, Yuuri.”

What? Yuuri was surprised.

“It just shows how much you care about Yurio, that you feel such deep and complicated emotions,” Victor continued. “But at the same time, I can now see how painful these emotions are to you, so next time, please share them with me?” Yuuri almost gasped. “I’m the one causing you to feel this way, and I forced you into this situation. So please, let me help when it gets bad?”

Yuuri gulped, his hand tightening around Victor’s shirt. Was it really okay? Even if his emotions weren’t under control? “I- I feel like the places I belong are disappearing slowly,” he said hesitantly. “I haven’t been home in almost five years, and soon I’ll be graduating college. I don’t know what I’ll do after, what country I’ll live in, if I’ll have a job. When I think about the future, I get really insecure. And I even broke the mug you gave me! To me, that mug meant that I had a real place in your home, that I belonged. And I carelessly broke it. And you said, ‘is that all?’”

“Oh,” Victor replied, looking bashful. “No wonder you were upset with me. I had no idea, I was just grateful because I thought you were going to tell me that you were resigning.”

“What? Resigning?”

“Yeah,” he said with a sigh, searching Yuuri’s eyes. “But, it’s no use. For Yurio, and for me, it has to be you, Yuuri.”

He really didn’t deserve such kindness from Victor, he thought. But maybe, he could still accept it, he thought as he felt the tears start to flow again. Tentatively, he tugged on Victor’s shirt as he kept crying. Slowly, Victor stepped forward and cradled Yuuri’s head while pressing him against his chest. Yuuri nuzzled into the fabric and gripped the back of his shirt, letting go of all the emotions he had kept buried for so long. Victor stroked his hair gently, and Yuuri felt himself relax.

Maybe the reason he was getting so nervous around Victor wasn’t because of the mug or Yurio’s grandparents. Maybe it was because, just like Victor’s body heat and his own tears, Yuuri’s feelings for him were reaching a boiling point.

Suddenly, he heard a pattering of steps and Yurio popped into the kitchen. “I’m thirsty,” he announced, rubbing his eyes. Victor and Yuuri sprung apart, their hands still raised as they looked down at the child. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Victor recovered and knelt down. “So, you’re thirsty?” When Yurio nodded, he stood up to get a glass of water. “How was your day? I haven’t seen you since this morning.”

“Good! Yuuri and I played at the park, then we went to the library, and we got to take Makkachin!”

Victor chuckled as he filled the glass. “Wow, sounds exciting!”

“Yeah!” Yurio said proudly, accepting the half-full glass.

“Okay, let’s get you back to bed,” Victor said, leading him back to his room.

Yuuri wobbled back to the table and collapsed into a chair. Running a finger around the rim of the mug, he thought to himself, I’m in love with Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri Katsuki: SoIKindaSortaMaybeAmInLoveWithVictor

Phichit Chulanont: The sky is blue.

Sara Crispino: The earth is round.

Yuuri Katsuki: Hello what??

Phichit Chulanont: Oh sorry I thought we were stating obvious things

Yuuri Katsuki: Obvious?

Sara Crispino: Please, we aren’t blind haha

Sara Crispino: But congrats on finally realizing it!

Yuuri Katsuki: Wow thanks guys I’m feeling so loved rn

Phichit Chulanont: Oh come on Yuuri we’re just kidding!

Phichit Chulanont: Did something happen???!!!

Phichit Chulanont: o(≧▽≦)o

Yuuri Katsuki: No!

Yuuri Katsuki: ...Or like maybe

Sara Crispino: (⊙_⊙)

Phichit Chulanont: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Phichit Chulanont: I NEED DETAILS

Yuuri Katsuki: We just like hugged

Sara Crispino: Omg when’s the wedding? Haha

Yuuri Katsuki: SHUT UP

Phichit Chulanont: Ok but like when do we get to give him the “hurt Yuuri and we’ll kill you and they’ll never find the body speech” because I need advance notice

Yuuri Katsuki: Wait what why

Phichit Chulanont: Um duh? Because I need time to write the speech and I need to mark it in my calendar. Sara are you free Sunday afternoon?

Sara Crispino: Hell yeah let’s do it

Yuuri Katsuki: No I haven’t even told him stop why are you like this

Phichit Chulanont: But he’s so into you

Sara Crispino: Agreed

Yuuri Katsuki: Please do you even know me?

Yuuri Katsuki: I’m not gonna act on this

Phichit Chulanont: (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Sara Crispino: ( ╥ω╥ )

Yuuri Katsuki: Can we please communicate in something other than emoticons

Phichit Chulanont: คุณจะเป็นสาเหตุที่หายไป

Sara Crispino: Sei una causa persa

Yuuri Katsuki: ENGLISH CAN WE USE ENGLISH

Yuuri Katsuki: あんたらの二人を大嫌い

Sara Crispino: Okay but seriously Yuuri you should ask him out or something

Phichit Chulanont: Agreed

Phichit Chulanont: You’ll never know until you try!

Phichit Chulanont: Just don’t think about how if he says no it’ll be awkward for your job

Sara Crispino: PHICHIT

Phichit Chulanont: OK IT’S NOTHING HE WASN’T ALREADY THINKING

Phichit Chulanont: I’M SORRY YUURI DON’T HATE ME

Sara Crispino: Yuuri it’ll be ok! Go for it!

Sara Crispino: Yuuri?

Sara Crispino: Oh no did he leave? I blame you, Phichit

Yuuri Katsuki: ୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨

Phichit Chulanont: Yuuri I have a very important question to ask you

Phichit Chulanont: And if you value our friendship you’ll be honest

Yuuri Katsuki: Ugh what

Phichit Chulanont: Did you seriously just take that entire time to look up that one emoji

Yuuri Katsuki: Ye

Phichit Chulanont: KATSUKI YOU CAN’T BE CLUELESS ABOUT BOTH THE INTERNET AND DATING IN ONE DAY, I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THIS

Yuuri Katsuki: You didn’t raise me

Yuuri Katsuki: Also I’m older than you

Yuuri Katsuki: Also I’m going to bed

Phichit Chulanont: Ugh fine

Sara Crispino: Ok well I’m grilling you tomorrow after class haha

Yuuri Katsuki: NO AND GOOD NIGHT

March 2002

Victor got home from school and walked into his house. He knew no one was home, so he didn’t bother greeting anyone, he just walked into the kitchen to grab a snack. On the counter was a note saying “I won’t be home for dinner, here’s some money, buy something for your brother.” He rolled his eyes. Typical mom.

He pocketed the money and settled onto the couch with a bag of carrots. All he really wanted to do was eat a bag of chips, but he had a competition coming up. He sent Georgi a text and took out his backpack to start his homework. Practice had taken longer than usual, and he needed to get a full night of sleep. Eventually Georgi texted back that he was eating at a friend’s house. Victor knew that was typical, too. His brother always seemed to have a house to stay at, while Victor was left here alone. Sighing, he got up to microwave a frozen meal. He carefully selected the one with the most protein and stared at it turning round and round.

What’s Georgi doing right now? Probably sitting at a full table with a home cooked meal. It was probably like the sitcoms on TV, with everyone talking about their day and laughing together. Is that what other families are like? If so, ours is a little too “do as you please” for my taste.

He hissed when he grabbed the tray and it was still hot, waiting another minute before trying again. Victor turned on the TV and found the channel showing the World Championships of figure skating. As he spooned the food into his mouth, he drank in the beautiful routines of the skaters. He vowed that he would never be like his own parents, instead he would be incredibly successful like these athletes. They represented their countries on the highest stage of the sport, and Victor knew without a doubt that he could join them someday. He wasn’t the greatest now, but he was practicing harder than ever. Someday, he would win a gold medal. Already he was starting to win a few medals in Russia, so hopefully he would be able to join the Junior Grand Prix next year.

After the competition was over, Victor was packing up his bag to start going to bed when Georgi walked in.

“Mама дома?” his brother asked.

Victor snorted. “What do you think?”

Georgi hummed in response. “Ugh, I needed something signed for school.”

“Hm, we can’t disturb her at work. Call dad?” Victor suggested.

“Thanks but no thanks, some random woman will just pick up,” Georgi said. “I’ll just sign it myself, I guess.” He started to walk up the stairs when Victor stopped him.

“Oh, I almost forgot, here’s your half of the dinner money. I know you need your blades sharpened again,” Victor said, slipping him most of the bills his mother left.

“Sweet, thanks!” Georgi said, grabbing the money and bounding up the stairs.

Victor heard a cry of agony, and he almost rushed up to check on his little brother, but when he heard the yell of “София” he just sighed and went back to packing up his bag. Girl problems were nothing new for Georgi, after all.

December 2008

Victor tapped his leg as he listened to the phone ring. Normally Georgi would pick up at the last possible second, and Victor was about to give up when he heard a click and “Aлло?”

“Georgi! Happy birthday!”

“Ah, thank you, Vitya. Sorry I missed yours yesterday.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Victor said. “After all, 20 is a lot less exciting than 18!”

Georgi laughed. “I guess that’s true. Oh hey, guess what? I got into Wayne State!”

“Congratulations!” Victor said. “Um, which one is Wayne State again?”

“Ah, come on, Victor! That one in America!”

“Oh, right, I knew that.”

“Liar.”

With a laugh, Victor said, “Okay, okay, you caught me. But I’m happy for you! Is that where you wanted to go?”

“Yeah, I think so. They have a good skating program there, too, and I’ve already been scouted by the coach, Celestino.”

“That’s awesome, little brother!”

“How’s Saint Petersburg State?”

Victor sighed and flopped onto his bed. “Oh, you know, same old, same old.”

“Come on, college life has to be more interesting than that!”

“It really isn’t. I skate, I take classes, I skate some more.”

“Well, the skating is at least paying off! You just won, what, a bronze in the Grand Prix Final?”

“Haha, yeah. Next year I’ll be taking the gold, though!”

“We’ll see about that, I may take it first!”

Victor snorted. “Okay, Georgi, I’d like to see you try.”

“Is that a challenge, old man?”

“Haha, you’re on.”

They caught up for almost half an hour before they started to run out of things to talk about. Eventually, Victor brought up the dreaded topic. “Did you read mom’s email?”

Georgi exhaled heavily. “You mean mom’s lawyer’s email? Yeah, I did.”

“Well, it’s not like we didn’t expect a divorce. But she couldn’t have waited to do it not on one of our birthdays?”

“They did wait this long,” Georgi said with a sigh. “At least we’ll both be fully moved out for the majority of it.”

“Yeah,” Victor said. “Still…”

“I know,” Georgi agreed.

April 2016

Victor wrapped up his final interview of the day. Who knew that winning your fifth consecutive World Championships gold medal would merit so many questions? It wasn’t like he had anything different to say than the last five years. He skated, he had a dog, and no he didn’t want to comment on his love life. He made his way back to the locker room and stripped off his costume, turning his phone on. Not that he expected anything more than a “congratulations” text from Ethan, but still.

His street pants were on when he heard his phone buzz a few times. He must’ve had more than a single text, then. Curious, he looked at this screen and saw a bunch of calls from an unknown number in America. That was strange, the only person he really knew in America was his brother. His phone buzzed again, this time with an incoming call from the same number. He unlocked it and answered, “Hello? Oh, Georgi, why are you calling me from this strange number? Is something….” He froze with a single arm through his shirt. “Wait, what happened?”

He was on the next flight to Detroit that night. The whole time traveling he felt numb. It was completely shocking to lose his sister-in-law this way. She had driven Georgi so crazy, and no doubt he did the same thing to her, but when they actually settled down in Detroit he had seen first-hand how happy they were. And he knew they both loved the ice, yet they still retired early to start their family. He had seen their son, Yuri, a few times when they visited Russia, but he had never actually flown out to visit them before. Thinking back on how busy he thought he was with training, he cursed himself for putting his career before his family. Now she was gone, and he would never get to know her any better.

Georgi had been pretty distraught on the phone, but what he had managed to say was that he left Yuri with his neighbors, the Babichevs that Victor remembered from Russia. Georgi was heading to the hospital to take care of the arrangements and other unpleasant things, but Victor was happy to help in whatever small way he could, even if it was just taking care of Yuri until Georgi got back on his feet.

May 2016

It quickly became apparent that Georgi was not coming back anytime soon. No one had heard from him in almost a month, and the call he gave Victor was the last contact he had with anyone. He never made it to the hospital like he said he would.

Victor would have cared a lot more if he wasn’t left arranging the funeral of his sister-in-law and taking care of a three year old by himself. Georgi could be dead for all he knew, and as far as he was concerned, he was as good as dead to him. Despite Victor’s anger at the situation, he tried caring for Yuri the best he could. Unfortunately, he had zero experience with children. And as far as he could tell, Yuri was no ordinary kid. Not only was he grieving the loss of his mother and disappearance of his father, but he had quite the attitude. Luckily, Victor was able to take some time off of training, but he was still completely drained.

He had originally stayed at Georgi’s house, and when it became clear that he wasn’t coming back soon, he had to file as owner and continue paying the mortgage. He wouldn’t move Yuri back to Russia in this state, so he figured he might as well make himself at home here in Detroit for the time being. Victor still had no long-term plans whatsoever, other than his probably foolish hope that Georgi would someday come back. Both his parents had made it pretty clear that they wouldn’t help with the kid, other than sending him money every once in awhile. As much as Victor didn’t want that kind of help, he still cashed the checks because who knew that kids needed so much? Plus, paying a mortgage was putting a dent in his savings account.

Today was another day of Yuri crying all over the house, asking for his mama. The days were starting to blend together for Victor, who hadn’t left the house in a couple days. Once he thought about it, the only place he’d been in the last week was the grocery store. It wasn’t like he could drop Yuri off anywhere in this state, anyway.

He thought about the last time he had even seen Yuri before this. He was less than a year old then, and the three year old crying in front of him was almost unrecognizable to him. Yuri must not even remember him, he thought guiltily. He really should have visited more often, it would’ve helped immensely in situations like this when Yuri looked at him like a stranger.

Well, it wouldn’t do to mope. He was the one who insisted that Yuri stay here in this house with him. Anya’s parents had been willing to take him in, if not for their recent injury, and the only other solution was putting him in an orphanage. Victor just couldn’t bare that thought, so he had decided to stay here, but even now he was wondering how feasible his plan was. Could he even call it a plan? Staying in his brother’s house and secretly wishing for him to return was hardly a plan.

He was roused from his thoughts with a call from Ethan. Sighing, he picked up. “Hello?”

“Victor? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Is anything new?”

Victor silently cursed himself. He hadn’t even told his own boyfriend that he was in America and suddenly the guardian of a child.

“Oh, hey. Sorry, I’ve been pretty busy. My, uh, my sister-in-law died.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks. So, I’ve been in America to take care of my nephew.”

“Really? America?” The why didn’t you tell me didn’t even need to be said. “Ah, that’s a tough situation. How is your… Brother?”

“He’s, ah, he’s gone. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“I see.” There was an awkward silence. “Do you, uh, do you need anything?”

“No, thanks, I’m good.”

Victor could practically imagine the look of relief on Ethan’s face. They had never talked about anything like this before. “Ah, well, I guess give me a call if you do. I should get going, though, I’ve got work.”

“Yeah. See you.”

June 2016

Victor collapsed on the couch, exhausted. He had enrolled Yuri in a local daycare, so he could at least relax somewhat during the day. And relaxing usually meant errands and a work out. He was in no shape to even think about figure skating competitions, and while he didn’t know about the future, he couldn’t bring himself to stop skating altogether. The latest babysitter he had hired was almost at the end of her rope. Unfortunately, he now knew the signs of babysitters getting ready to quit on him. He didn’t know if he could take care of Yuri all by himself.

He sighed and resumed reading his childcare book. He only had a chapter left, then he had to go to the grocery store and pick up food for the week. Before he could even turn the page, he was asleep. When he woke up, he was drooling and an hour had passed. Great, now he would have to run to the store and back. His limbs still felt heavy, and when he stood up his vision swirled for a minute.

What am I doing? Is keeping Yuri in daycare and with a nanny any better than putting him in another home? I have no idea how to raise a kid, I might just be wasting my time. And Yuri still hates me anyway.

Sighing, he took a quick inventory of the fridge and started walking to the store. Halfway there, he got a call from his mother. Against his better judgment, he answered.

“Виктор? Are you still in America?”

Hello to you, too, mother. “Yes.”

“So you’re still taking care of that kid?”

“Yuri. Yes, I am.”

“It’s obvious that Georgi isn’t coming back, just dump the kid with her parents. Hey, put that down! Next time run that by me! Sorry, I’m still at work,” she said, not sounding very sorry at all.

“I can’t, they’re still grieving, and Nikolai is still in the hospital.”

“Well, I don’t see how that makes the kid your responsibility.”

“That kid is your grandson.”

“Hey he’s certainly not my responsibility! You and Georgi were enough to deal with.”

Victor hung up on her and continued walking. He didn’t want to deal with her right now, or really ever. At the store he grabbed everything on his list and walked back as fast as he could. He wanted to be back before Yuri and the newest nanny, lest she quit even earlier.

He beat them back by only a few minutes, and the babysitter practically ran off when she saw Victor was home. Well, he would just prepare himself for her resignation soon. He could probably find someone to replace her. He sighed and looked down at Yuri, who was sitting in the corner and angrily smashing toys together.

Victor didn’t bother trying to talk to Yuri when he was like this, as it usually ended in his own physical pain. Instead, he went to the kitchen to throw together something for dinner. They ate in icy silence, but at least Yuri wasn’t yelling at him tonight. Victor managed to get him into pajamas, and Yuri jumped into bed and wouldn’t answer any of his questions, instead resolutely staring at the ceiling. He didn’t know which he hated more, the silent treatment or the screaming.

When he was getting ready for bed himself, he got a call from Ethan.

“Hey, Victor. It’s been a while.”

It had been a while. Victor probably hadn’t done anything other than text him since he got to America. “Oh, yeah. Hi.”

When the silence went on too long, Ethan coughed and said, “So, I’m in Detroit for business. Are you free to get lunch tomorrow? Noon?”

“Yeah,” Victor agreed.

“Okay, my hotel has a restaurant. Will you meet me there?”

As Victor drove up to the hotel, he found that he had no strong feelings about seeing Ethan again after so long. Ethan seemed like a piece of his past already, though they were probably technically still dating. When he found the correct table, they drank their waters in silence after greeting each other awkwardly. Eventually, Ethan spoke up.

“I have feelings for someone else,” he said, staring down at his glass.

Victor stared over his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I see.”

Ethan jerked his head up and glared at Victor. “‘I see?!’ You idiot, is that all you have to say to me?” When Victor only blinked at him in response, Ethan stood up and stomped away, before throwing a final “whatever!” over his shoulder.

Victor watched him go. It’s not like he had a right to stop him, especially after how little effort he put into their relationship since he got here. Well, if he had a boyfriend this morning, he certainly didn't have one now.

He went to the rink to skate and clear his head some, and he got home in plenty of time to actually make dinner this time. Wasn't he supposed to feel happier than this?

Yuri was in a yelling mood today when he got home, and he screamed at both Victor and the nanny until he fell into tears and slammed the door to his room. Victor’s heart ached for the boy, but any attempts he had made at reaching out only seemed to make things worse. Not for the first time, he wondered what he was actually doing here.

Yuri calmed down slightly for dinner, but he ate with a scowl on his face and didn’t say anything the whole time. Victor found he had no more energy to give, so he left the kitchen dirty and scrolled through his phone on the couch. Some of his old rinkmates were posting pictures of their adventures and lives, and Victor stared helplessly at their happy faces. Before he could fall too deeply into a unhappy spiral, a knock at the door distracted him.

Mila’s mother, Vera, was on the porch holding a pan. “Привет, милый, I hope I’m not disturbing you,” she said, brandishing the object in her hands. “I brought you a casserole!”

Once inside, she started cleaning the kitchen. “Oh, no, you don’t have to do that,” Victor said.

“Nonsense, let me! I won’t be able to relax around a dirty kitchen, trust me,” she said with a wink. Victor couldn’t find the energy to argue with her, so he just thanked her and put away the casserole for the next day’s dinner.

“How are you holding up?” Vera asked as she dried a plate.

Victor sighed in response. “Not great, I’m afraid.” Yuri wandered into the kitchen at the sound of their conversation.

“Ah, Yuri!” she exclaimed. “Do you remember me? Ты помнишь меня?”

Yuri frowned and backed up. “No.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Victor said. “It’s been more than three months and he’s barely warmed up to me.” He sighed and put his head in his hands. “I’ve been wondering if my choice to wait here for Georgi is actually troublesome to Yuri after all.”

Vera hummed, then turned to look at the child. “Yuri, what would you prefer? Staying here with Витя, or going to live with your бабушка и дедушка?” Yuri stared at her blankly. “Ah, what was I thinking?” she asked, laughing. “He’s only three, he doesn’t know…”

Yuri trotted over to Victor and grabbed his leg. “Victor,” he muttered, burying his face into the man’s pants.

“Oh!” Vera said, covering her mouth with her hand. “It looks like he’s taken a liking to you, after all!”

Victor looked down in astonishment. “What? But he never does what I say, and he cries or screams all the time…”

Smirking, Vera said, “Irina does the same things to me, too. When kids cry, it makes you feel like you’re a horrible parent, certainly. But at the same time, even at this young age, they can tell who takes care of them.”

When she said goodbye for the night, Victor put Yuri to bed and then sat back down at the table.
When he and Georgi had been young boys in Russia, they had both separately vowed to live unlike their parents. Victor always thought that being successful would make him happy. Now, as a five time World Champion, he had very little more to accomplish in figure skating. Georgi, on the other hand, had gotten married, settled down, and had a child. Certainly they were both living different lives than their parents, yet neither of them were happy, if Georgi was even alive. What Victor was sure of was that there was a child who needed him, and sitting around waiting for Georgi to come back was doing neither of them any good.

Victor knew that he would need to commit one way or the other, and he already knew what his choice would be. He had some calls to make if he was going to move to America permanently. What was Georgi’s old rink?

August 2016

Victor parked in the lot of the skating rink. It had been a horrible week, since his most recent nanny had resigned a few days ago. It was a wonder he wasn’t on a secret caretaker blacklist by now. If it meant picking up Yuri himself for awhile, he could deal with that during the off-season. However, competitions were coming up and Celestino was already starting to ramp up their practices. Victor knew he needed a replacement if he wanted to keep skating, so he would figure something out. He always did.

He strode up to the doors and took off his sunglasses, tossing his hair out of his eyes. Quickly, he looked around for his nephew, and saw him playing with a cute man’s shoelaces. Victor walked up to him, the mystery man’s jaw dropping and his finger pointing at him. Grinning easily, Victor looked down to the man’s finger, then back to his face. “Yes, I’m here to pick up Yuri?”

The man blushed cutely behind his glasses and started stammering something. Victor paid attention, but he was mostly intrigued by the way Yuri was captivated, too. His nephew had moved to gripping the man’s muscular, sculpted, delicious… the man’s leg. A plan was slowly forming in Victor’s mind, and it made his heart race.

Chapter Text

October 2017

It always surprised Yuuri how much he missed Victor during competitions. By now he was used to seeing Victor nearly every day, as he hardly ever took days off. It’s not like Yuuri even felt like babysitting was work anymore, he truly loved Yurio and spending time with him was a gift that he treasured. And Victor… Well he now knew how he felt about Victor, but he didn’t expect their relationship to change. There was no way Victor felt the same, and even if he did, it would be inappropriate because he was technically Victor’s employee.

He was roused from this train of thought by Yurio tugging on his pant leg. “I’m hungry,” he said with a frown.

Yuuri smiled down at him. “Okay, what do you want me to make?”

Yurio considered this for a moment. “Ice cream.”

Stifling a laugh, Yuuri replied, “I meant for dinner.”

“Ice cream.”

“Real food.”

“Curry.”

“Okay, now that I can do. Let’s go to the kitchen.”

Yurio was now better at helping in the kitchen. Yuuri had always let him help, but now that he was older he could actually make the job easier and not harder. He could fetch most ingredients, so long as they were low enough, and he could actually mix bowls without spilling half the contents. Before too long the curry was ready, and they sat down at the table to eat.

Yurio ate happily, and when he was done he asked, “When does Victor skate?”

Yuuri glanced at his watch and replied, “In about an hour. What do you want to do until then?”

“Will you play with me?”

“Yeah, let’s clean up the kitchen first, though.”

Once Yuuri was satisfied with their cleaning job, they moved to the living room and got out some toys. Right now Yurio was currently very into Power Rangers, which Yuuri at least grew up with, too. Still, he mostly just followed Yurio’s lead, who was talking excitedly about how they were going to stop Pikachu’s evil plan to take away all the candy in the world. Yuuri didn’t have the heart to tell him that “Pikachu” was actually a Charmander toy.

Eventually Yuuri’s phone alarm went off, signaling that it was time to turn on the TV for Victor’s free skate. He quickly grabbed the remote and found the right channel. The previous skater was getting set up on the ice, so they still had a few minutes to wait. When it was finally time for Victor to perform, Yuuri had to remind himself to breathe. Victor was breathtaking as always, and his skating had only become more impressive. Yuuri took a moment to be thankful that Victor had not retired this season, because the only thing that warmed his heart like Victor’s presence was his skating. Although, now that he thought about it, he would much rather Victor just be here with him right now.

Victor’s scores came in, and he easily placed in first. He flashed a brilliant smile at the cameras from the Kiss and Cry and Yuuri felt a stab of pride that it didn’t look quite like the smiles he and Yurio received. He had been in first yesterday, too, so he won the Skate Canada gold medal, one step closer to qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. Not that Yuuri had any doubt Victor would make it.

“Not bad, старик,” Yurio said, his arms crossed.

Yuuri could still see that he was impressed. “Oh yeah?” he said with a laugh. “And can you do better?”

“Of course,” Yurio huffed, but he immediately started laughing as Yuuri leaned over to tickle him.

“I can’t wait to see that,” he said as he tickled him relentlessly, “but I think you might need to be just a little bit older to beat him.”

“Ack! Ack! Stop!” Yurio laughed, as he squirmed to get away.

“You can’t stop the tickle monster!” Yuuri said as he followed him.

Yurio screamed as Yuuri chased him around the house. Eventually they both got too tired to continue and collapsed on the couch. “When does Victor come back?” the child asked.

“Aw, do you miss him?” Yuuri asked, patting his head.

Yurio swatted his hand away and scowled. “No!”

But Yuuri knew better. Yurio cared for his uncle, even if he didn’t do a great job showing it. “Tomorrow morning.”

“In time for trick-or-treating?” Yurio asked.

“Yes, in time for trick-or-treating,” Yuuri reiterated. “Now, it’s almost time for bed, Юра. Pick out some books for us to read.”

Once Yurio was asleep, Yuuri moved to the guest bedroom and put on his own pajamas. When he crawled into bed, he felt his phone vibrate. He contemplated letting it wait until the morning, but as soon as he checked the screen, he was glad he didn’t.

Victor Nikiforov: I miss you both! Can’t wait to come home tomorrow!

Yuuri couldn’t stop the blush that spread across his cheeks.

Yuuri Katsuki: I miss you too

He deleted the text and started over.

Yuuri Katsuki: We miss you too! Yurio seems to think he’s a better skater than you haha

Victor Nikiforov: While he is quite good for a four year old, I think he may need a few more years to beat me haha

Yuuri Katsuki: That’s what I said!

Victor Nikiforov: You know what they say about great minds ;)

Yuuri Katsuki: Okay okay Mr. Flattery. Don’t you have an early flight tomorrow?

Victor Nikiforov: Yeah, but I’m not tired

Yuuri suddenly wasn’t tired either. He rolled over onto his stomach.

Yuuri Katsuki: Me neither

Yuuri was waiting for a reply when his phone started buzzing furiously, showing an incoming call from Victor. “Hi,” he answered.

“Hi. I’m not the best texter, so I figured I’d just call you.”

“That’s fine,” Yuuri said, rolling onto his side.

“Also, I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Yuuri’s chest felt tight. “You are such a dork.”

“I know,” Victor laughed. “Still. Tell me about your day?”

They talked for a few hours, and they barely managed to say goodbye before both falling asleep.

Yuuri frowned as he looked at the sight in front of him. Yurio was wearing his tiger costume, which he refused to change from last year. The only problem was that he had grown since last Halloween. Luckily, the costume still fastened, but it was about two inches short in the arms and legs. The result was comical, but Yuuri was worried that he would be cold because of the extra exposed skin. He quickly went through Yurio’s dresser and found a pair of long socks and gloves. “Here, wear these.”

As Yurio finished getting dressed, Victor popped his head into the room. “I brought your costume, Yuuri!”

“What do you mean? I’m wearing my costume,” Yuuri said, gesturing up to his witch hat.

“No, no, I got you a costume!” Victor said proudly, throwing a package at him. “So you’ll match me and Yurio!”

That… That did sound nice. He looked down at the cover of the package and sighed. “Really, though? Isn’t this a bit corny?”

“I think it’s cute,” Victor said. “Come on, please wear it? For me?”

Yuuri gulped. “I mean, I didn’t say I wouldn’t wear it…”

“Great! Get dressed!” Victor said, grinning and ducking out of the room. He immediately stuck his head back in, “Oh, and I had to guess the size, so I hope it fits!”

In the bathroom, Yuuri tried on the costume. The shirt fit well enough, but the bottoms were tight. Very tight. He turned around and looked at his butt in the mirror. The khaki shorts were basically skin-tight and left little to the imagination. He really wished Victor had gotten a size bigger, but it should work for one night.

Sighing, he put on the hat and walked out into the hall where Victor was taking pictures of Yurio. When he heard the door close, Victor turned around and his jaw dropped.

Yuuri blushed and covered his face with his hands. “I knew it, it doesn’t suit me at all.” He turned around to go back into the bathroom when he heard Victor’s phone hit the ground. Surprised, he turned back around. “Are you okay? You dropped your phone.”

Victor shook his head and blinked. “Oh, sorry, I’m fine. No, Yuuri, that looks really good on you.”

He felt himself blush even deeper. “You think? The shorts are a little small.”

Victor gulped. “I mean, I think they’re okay. Better than okay.”

What’s gotten into him? “Well, if you say so. It’s already dark, should we head out?”

Yurio nodded enthusiastically and started dragging Victor out the door, who laughed and said, “Shouldn’t zookeepers be in charge of the tigers, not the other way around?”

“You’re a bad zookeeper, then,” Yurio muttered.

They made their way around the neighborhood, and Yurio alternated between holding Yuuri’s and Victor’s hands. When Yuuri found himself holding onto Yurio, Victor always hung back, seemingly distracted by something. Yuuri was about to ask about it when they found themselves at the last house. Vera Babicheva opened the door and almost screamed. “Aren’t you just the cutest things I’ve ever seen!” she said, stuffing handfuls of candy into Yurio’s bag to his delight. “Витя, где ты нашел такую семью? Как мило!” she asked, winking at him.

“I’m just lucky, I guess,” he said, smiling at her. “Oh, before I forget, will you take a picture of us?” He handed his camera to her and stood behind Yurio.

Yuuri hesitated for only a moment before he joined him. Victor grinned at him until Vera yelled, “Витя, смотри в камеру, а не на своего парня!” Once she snapped the picture, she gave the phone back and waved goodbye.

When Yuuri got back to his own room after putting Yurio to sleep, he had a few texts to go through.

Victor Nikiforov: Attachment: 1 image

Victor Nikiforov: This is a great picture!

He smiled as he looked at it. Yurio was adorable as always, and Yuuri had to admit that he didn’t look bad in the photo. Sure, the pants were a little tight, but everything else fit pretty well. Victor was gorgeous as always, but he also had an adorable blush dusted over his cheeks. Yuuri quickly set the image as his new background and read the rest of his texts.

Phichit Chulanont: So, I was looking through Instagram

Phichit Chulanont: And I saw Victor’s photo

Phichit Chulanont: I had no idea they made sexy zookeeper costumes!

Yuuri Katsuki: Victor has that effect on everything he wears

Phichit Chulanont: I wasn’t talking about your boy toy

Phichit Chulanont: Yuuri, I didn’t know you had it in you to wear hot pants ;)

Yuuri gasped and looked back at the photo. Oh my god. He covered his face in embarrassment. He checked his phone when it vibrated again.

Phichit Chulanont: Let me guess, Victor bought it for you?

Yuuri Katsuki: Yeah, so?

Phichit Chulanont: No reason ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sighing, Yuuri sank into his bed.

November 2017

Yuuri spotted Mila and Sara sitting on a park bench. Sara was whispering something into her girlfriend’s ear, and when Yuuri waved to them, her face turned bright red and she immediately pretended she hadn’t been doing anything.

Yurio’s eyes widened when he saw Sara. “Flip, flip!” he demanded, running over and pulling on her pants.

She laughed, “At least he remembers me!”

Mila smiled and brushed the hair out of Sara’s face. “You’re pretty hard to forget, моя любимая.”

Victor, Yuuri, and Makkachin followed closely behind Yurio, and Victor’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “We’re not disturbing anything, are we?” he asked.

Mila just rolled her eyes. “Hey, aren’t we missing someone?”

“Yeah, Phichit is coming, too,” Yuuri said. His phone buzzed and he looked down to check it. “Ah, that’s him now. He said he’s walking over. I’ll tell him where we are.”

As they waited for Phichit, Makkachin successfully begged for petting from everyone. After a few minutes, Sara waved down Phichit.

“Well, shall we?” Victor asked. They all began walking through the park to scout out a good spot for their picnic blanket. Once they laid everything out, Yuuri began taking out the lunch he packed. Cooking for five people was a nice change, and it reminded him of living at home in his parents’ hot spring.

Everyone praised Yuuri’s cooking, and he just smiled and nodded. When the food was gone, Phichit and Yurio played catch with Makkachin’s favorite frisbee. The chilly November air was starting to cut through Yuuri’s jacket, so he pulled out some blankets. Mila and Sara shared one and cuddled, giggling every so often. Yuuri gave the other blanket to Victor and contented himself with taking pictures of his friends playing catch. Yurio would sometimes furiously run to catch the frisbee before Makkachin if Phichit was throwing, and when Yurio threw he could only make it go a few feet before it hit the ground.

Whenever Yuuri got a particularly good shot, he would lean over to show Victor, who smiled and asked that he get copies later. After the third time through this, Victor sighed and just inched next to him so that their thighs were touching. When Yuuri stared at him, Victor shrugged and said, “What, your phone screen is hard to see from far away.”

Yuuri agreed that it was a good excuse, so he resumed taking pictures. When he shivered once, Victor covered him up with the blanket already around his own legs. “Can I see that one?” he asked, leaning closer.

Their shoulders were touching. Their shoulders were touching. Yuuri willed his heart to slow down as he scrolled through the photos with Victor. Eventually he allowed himself to relax into Victor’s side, even daring to inch closer (obviously so he could get under the blanket more).

He lost track of what was happening around him that wasn’t Victor, because he was flicked in the head by Phichit and he hadn’t even realized he was near him.

“Earth to Yuuri! Hello?” Phichit said.

“Oh, sorry, hey,” Yuuri said, smiling stupidly.

Phichit leaned back up put his hands on his hips, mumbling, “เด็กไม่รู้เรื่องรู้ราว.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Phichit said, smiling sweetly. “But Yuuri, how could you? You invited me out and made me a fifth wheel?”

Yuuri froze. “What.”

“Mila and Sara,” Phichit said, counting on his fingers, “you and Victor, then there’s me, all by myself. So cruel,” he said with a sigh.

Panicking, Yuuri looked at Victor then back to Phichit. “Uh, no! No way, you have Yurio!”

Phichit pouted, then leaned down to hug Yurio. “Oh well, if this is what I have.”

Yurio snarled and tried to claw out of his embrace. “Ew! No!” He broke free and ran over to Makkachin, hiding behind her.

“Okay, scratch that. I’m not even the fifth wheel, I’m the seventh wheel!” he said, collapsing dramatically onto the picnic blanket. “What even has seven wheels?”

Yuuri disentangled himself from Victor’s blanket and went to go rouse his friend. “Please, Phichit, don’t say such things!”

Yuuri was unloading the dishwasher mechanically, his thoughts elsewhere. He was definitely not thinking about Victor. When his fingers closed around his mug (the mug that the person he wasn’t thinking about bought for him, twice), he held it up in front of his face. It really was quite pretty, and Yuuri felt a surge of emotion at how lucky he was to have it in his life. The mug. Not anything (or anyone) else. Before he could stop himself, he rubbed his cheek against it and closed his eyes, sighing.

“What are you doing?”

Yuuri stopped immediately and turned to look at the doorway. Yurio was standing there, curiously watching him. The mug was still on his cheek.

“Uh, um, I’m…” Yuuri said, racing to think of an excuse. “I’m just trying to make sure it’s clean!” He continued to rub the mug against his face, then said, “Yup, it’s clean!” He put the mug down and repeated the action with another cup. “Yeah, so is this!”

Yurio looked at him for another few seconds, so Yuuri added, “Actually, we’re out of dish soap! Why don’t we go to the store and get some more?”

Yurio’s face brightened. “Yeah! I’ll get my shoes.” He ran out of the kitchen, and Yuuri sighed in relief.

They took Makkachin with them and stopped at the local convenience store, and on the way back Yurio stopped and squatted at the edge of the sidewalk while Makkachin sniffed it. “Look!” he called, urging Yuuri over. He leant over and saw what the child was looking at.

“It’s a pomegranate,” the babysitter said. He looked up and saw a blooming pomegranate tree reaching over a small fence. “See, there’s a tree right here! That’s where it fell from.” Yurio gazed up at the tree in wonder. “The tree is blooming, so the fruit are ready to eat!”

“そうですよ!” a voice said from behind the tree. Yuuri started as an elderly woman holding a broom smiled and walked to the fence. “It’s the season for them, but…”

“I’m so sorry!” Yuuri blurted. “We were rudely having a conversation in front of your house…”

She laughed. “It’s no problem…” She stopped when she saw Yurio, then she put her hands to her cheeks. “Oh my! A little boy and a dog! You’re so cute! I love your sweatshirt,” she said. He smiled and hugged his tiger hoodie close.

“Do you want to take some pomegranates home?” she asked.

“Ah! ありがとう, how much money for one, then?” Yuuri asked.

“No charge, silly,” she laughed.

“Aren’t they expensive?”

“At the store, yes. But there’s no one here to eat these. I live alone, and I already gave a lot away to my neighbors,” she said thoughtfully. “But kids these days would rather eat candy and such, right?” She turned away sadly. “I guess you don’t want any, I can’t blame you. I’ll just sit here alone and watch the birds and bugs eat the ones that don’t rot…”

“We’d love some!” Yuuri said.

“Great!” she grinned.

They sat on her porch and she brought out a bowl of pomegranates. “Here you go,” she said proudly, sitting down to pet Makkachin. “These are ready to eat today! Please help yourselves.”

“Thank you,” Yuuri said as he helped Yurio eat his. He struggled using a spoon and holding the fruit at the same time, but he smiled happily as he ate a spoonful of the seeds. “Вкусно!” he said, stuffing his face.

“ユーリはこれが美味しいと言います,” Yuuri translated. She nodded happily. When Yurio was done, he wiped his hands off and looked at his babysitter expectantly. “What about Victor?”

“Ah, I wonder if we could ask for one more…” Yuuri trailed off.

She overheard and said, “Do you have one more person? Take one more for Victor!”

They thanked her profusely and made their way back home. “What a nice old lady!” Yuuri said, which Yurio nodded to.

The rest of the day was uneventful until Victor came home. Before dinner, Yuuri told Victor about their new friend and gave him the last pomegranate. Victor agreed that they tasted very good, but Yuuri honestly wasn’t thinking about much except how cute Victor looked when he was eating.

When Yuuri got his thoughts back under control, he set the table as usual and asked Yurio if he wanted water or juice. “Water,” he said, sitting down next to Victor. Yuuri went to fill up his cup before Yurio cried out, “Wait!”

“Is everything okay?” Victor asked, slightly panicked.

“Cup,” Yurio demanded. Yuuri handed it to him, wondering what he was up to. He didn’t realize until it was already too late and Yurio was rubbing the cup on his face. “Yeah, clean,” he decided, handing the cup back.

Yuuri considered how quickly he could leave the country. But with his passport at the orphanage, it probably wasn’t possible to avoid this conversation.

Victor laughed. “Котенок, what are you doing?”

Yurio looked at him, completely serious. “Checking if the cup is clean.”

“Why?” Victor pressed.

Yuuri preemptively covered his face with his hands. “Because Yuuri was doing it this morning. With his mug.”

“With… His mug,” Victor repeated slowly. If Yuuri removed his hands, he would’ve seen Victor regarding him carefully. However, he did not, so he only saw the palms of his hands. “Well, Yuuri was probably only doing that because the dishwasher was acting strange, right?” he asked, prompting Yuuri to cautiously look at him. Victor’s eyes were sparkling and he winked. “So, you don’t have to check anymore, Yurio.”

Yuuri smiled and nodded. Thank goodness Victor didn’t notice anything strange! “Yes! Yes. The dishes are all clean now, I promise. Let’s eat! いただきます!”

The next day, Yuuri reminded Yurio that they should thank the lady that gave them the pomegranates. He let him decide what they could give her in return, then they walked Makkachin by her house again. “Hello!” Yuuri called outside her fence.

She turned around and smiled. “Oh, hi! It’s the cute boys from yesterday.”

Yurio smiled shyly. “Hi. Thank you for the pomegranate. It was yummy.”

Her face brightened. “I’m glad you liked them!” She turned to Yuuri and asked, “Was the person named Victor also able to eat his?”

Yuuri’s face flushed immediately. “Ah, um, yes, thank you.” She stared at him with a curious look on her face until Yurio caught her attention.

“Бабушка,” he said, holding out his hands. “These are for you.” She held out her own hands and accepted the acorns. Yurio then scurried behind Yuuri’s legs.

“Thank you! You are so cute!” she said, grinning. “If you like them, take some more pomegranates today!” She turned around to start picking more.

“Isn’t it rude for us to keep accepting them from you?” Yuuri asked. “Isn’t there something we can do for you in return?” He remembered when they met she had been holding a broom. “Yes! How about we clean your yard for you?”

Her face screwed up in thought. “You don’t need to do anything in return, but that would be appreciated for an old woman like me…”

Yuuri smiled and rolled up his sleeves. “Leave it to us! Come on, Yurio, let’s get cleaning!”

The woman relaxed on her steps with Makkachin while Yuuri and Yurio gathered up the leaves on the ground into bags. She went into the house after a while, and when she came out the yard was completely clean. “Oh my, you boys are so good to me!” she said. “I brought out a snack, please wash your hands here and we can eat!”

As they happily enjoyed the pomegranates and tea, the woman asked, “Are you still in school?”

Yuuri swallowed and smiled. “Yes! I’m graduating college from Wayne State this year. Oh! I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Katsuki Yuuri, and this is Yuri Plisetsky and our dog Makkachin.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she replied. “My name is 田中恭子.”

“よろしくお願いします,” Yuuri said.

“So then,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially, “好きなメンズとか居んだろ?”

Yuuri promptly spit out his tea, some of it getting on Yurio’s pants. “What?” he sputtered.

She just smiled at him. “Isn’t that what you kids call young men these days?” Yuuri hastily wiped off Yurio’s pants and didn’t say anything. “So? How about it? Do you have a man you like?”

Yuuri knew that he liked Victor, but he also knew that he should keep that a secret to not complicate their friendship or working relationship. “No!” he said, fighting the blush already creeping across his face.

“嘘だ,” she said easily. “You’re bright red! You wouldn’t lie to an old lady, would you?”

Yuuri gulped and looked at her smiling face. “Well? Tell me what kind of a person he is? You can even whisper it to me in Japanese, I won’t tell anyone.”

He resigned himself and leaned close to her ear. He told her about Victor’s kindness and reliability before running out of words. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I know how to say any of it,” he confessed to her, putting his head in his hands.

“Ah, to be young again,” she said, smiling.

Yuuri looked up at her. “Well, truthfully, he’s a person I should definitely not be in love with.”

A surprised look crossed her face. “Oh no! Is he married or something?”

“No, no! Nothing like that!” Yuuri said.

She smiled sweetly at him again. “Well, then, shouldn’t it be okay? You’re still young, and I don’t know the circumstances, but it seems like a waste that you can’t pursue your feelings.” She gazed wistfully out at her garden, where Yurio was currently chasing Makkachin around under the trees. “Besides, won’t such a fine man be snatched up by another person in the blink of an eye?”

Yuuri tensed up. “Is that so?” It’s true that Victor was already 28 and almost 29. Certainly it wouldn’t be weird for him to get married soon. Now that Yuuri thought about it, he didn’t even know if Victor already had someone else that he liked…

He quickly shook himself away from that thought. “Ah, well, as long as Victor is happy…”

Her face brightened. “Victor! I knew it!”

Yuuri smiled bashfully. “Ah, yes, it’s him.”

“Then, good luck, dear,” she said, patting his arm. “And make sure to come visit me again sometime! I have plenty of pomegranates. Oh! And thank you for the cleaning.”

“It was no problem! Thank you for the delicious fruit!” Yuuri replied, getting up. “We should go back, I gave to make dinner. Then, we’ll see you soon!” Yurio waved goodbye until they couldn’t see the house anymore.

Thanksgiving fell during the NHK Trophy again, just like the previous year. Yuuri didn’t mind too much, because he knew Victor would be home for his birthday in less than a week. Still, it was a little lonely with just him and Yuuri.

They ended up at the orphanage again, helping out Minako with the big meal. Yuuri was still friendly with everyone there, but as he worked his way around the kitchen, he kept opening wrong drawers and running into counters. With a start, he realized that he had stopped thinking of the orphanage as home a while ago. Now, it was Victor’s house that he was most comfortable in, where he knew he belonged. Smiling to himself, he mixed a bowl when a hand touched his shoulder.

“Hi, Yuuri,” Minami said shyly.

“Oh, hi,” Yuuri said. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, your babysitting job and school must be keeping you busy,” he said, smiling. “But you look different now.”

Yuuri laughed. “I’m almost 25, I must be starting to look like an old man.”

“No, that’s not it,” Minami said, hands on his hips. “You look… Happier?”

A blush immediately spread across Yuuri’s face. “What?” he laughed.

“Maybe not just happier,” Minami said, ignoring Yuuri’s reaction. “Also a little sadder. I guess that doesn’t make any sense. Oh! I’ve got it!” he said, clapping his hands together. “You’re in love!”

Yuuri almost dropped the bowl he was using. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“You didn’t deny it, though,” Minami said with a wink. “As the resident Katsuki Yuuri expert, it’s my job to notice these things.”

Staring down at the bowl, Yuuri swallowed. “Well, I mean, maybe…”

“I knew it!” Minami shrieked. He flashed a peace sign and said, “I’ll be rooting for you! Even if I… I’ll be rooting for you!”

“Um, thanks, I guess,” Yuuri murmured. “I’ve got to go check on Yurio.” He dashed out of the kitchen and locked himself in the bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror, he didn’t think he looked any different than usual. But if Minami could tell, then his feelings were beginning to show, regardless of how hard he tried to keep them hidden. Sighing, he thought, It won’t be too long until even Victor notices. What then? He splashed some water on his face and went to go find Minako to help set the table before she yelled at him for slacking off.

The day before Yuuri’s birthday, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Specifically, Phichit wasn’t planning anything. Which was incredibly suspicious.

Phichit agreed that they shouldn’t go overboard for his party, and he handled all of the details himself. He invited only Sara and Victor out to a local bar for a few drinks while Mila’s mother watched Yurio. Yuuri was totally fine with that, but he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. He got dressed in fitted jeans and a button down and looked at himself in the mirror. 25. He was getting old. The new watch on his wrist caught the light and gleamed. He looked down at it and smiled. It was way more expensive than he would have bought for himself, but he couldn’t very well turn down Victor’s birthday present.

Sighing, he stood outside and waited for Phichit to pick him up. Within a few minutes he drove up with Sara and Victor already in the car. “Happy birthday!” they all yelled as he climbed in.

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, blushing slightly. “It’s not a big deal, though.”

“Well, it’s a big deal to me,” Phichit said as he pulled away. “That’s why I planned everything myself.”

“Thanks, Phichit,” Yuuri said earnestly. “It means a lot that you didn’t go overboard like you wanted to.”

Phichit was suspiciously silent.

“Phichit?”

“Uh, don’t thank me yet,” he said, grinning sheepishly.

Yuuri froze. “What do you mean?”

“Well, um, about not going overboard.”

“Phichit.”

“Yes.”

“We’re not friends anymore.”

“Yuuri I’m sorry! But you would have really let your 25th birthday party be a few drinks at a bar? With just the 4 of us?”

“Yes! That sounds lovely!”

“Well, how about renting out a whole club and inviting everyone you know instead?”

Yuuri tried to open the car door, but it wouldn’t budge while the car was moving. “No! That sounds horrible!”

“Oh come on, give it a chance!” Sara said. “I think it’ll be fun.”

Victor just smirked. “I tried to tell Phichit you wouldn’t like it.”

Yuuri glared at them all in turn. “So you were all in on this?”

“Guilty,” Sara admitted, holding up her hands.

“I was against it,” Victor said, but he was interrupted by Phichit.

“Yeah for like a hot minute, then you totally helped us rent the club and get an open bar,” Phichit accused.

Yuuri frowned out the window. “I hate you all.”

Victor just smiled. “Nah, you love us.”

Phichit parked and said, “Okay, the club is just a few blocks that way. Let’s go!!”

Yuuri followed them, grumbling under his breath the whole way. As soon as they walked through the front door, he grabbed a shot and downed it. He might as well make the most of the night.

He supposed he did barely know everyone that was there, but a lot of them were just classmates that he hardly ever talked to. He also recognized a lot of skaters from the local rink. Yuuri was feeling a lot better after the first shot, so he did a celebratory shot with Sara for his birthday. Then he did a shot with Phichit for his silver at the Rostelecom cup. Then he did a shot with Victor for his gold at the NHK trophy. Then he did a shot by himself because he was feeling so much better than when he started the night.

“Is it hot in here?” he asked no one in particular, starting to unbutton his stifling shirt. He grabbed one more shot just because, and the last thing he remembered was putting down the shot glass.

Victor had developed a strong tolerance to alcohol over the years, but he realized that at 28 he probably couldn’t drink like he was in college anymore. He had taken a shot with Yuuri and sipped on a mixed drink the rest of the night. Besides, he saw how Yuuri was downing them himself, and he figured he could afford to be the responsible adult tonight.

He glanced over at the birthday boy and saw that he was starting to unbutton his shirt. Unfortunately, wait, fortunately, he stopped at three buttons, but there was still enough skin exposed to make Victor have to swallow nervously. Now was not the time for such thoughts. Still, it wasn’t like he couldn’t go over and talk to him.

He came up to Yuuri and smiled, asking, “How’s the party going?”

“Victor,” he said, putting his hands on Victor’s shoulders. Whether it was a gesture of affection or to keep himself upright, Victor couldn’t guess. “It’s great. This is great. I’m having a great time. Great.”

Victor laughed. “That’s good to hear!”

Yuuri frowned and leaned back. “It’s so hot,” he complained, his hands moving back to his buttons.

“Ah, let’s keep your shirt on,” Victor said, grabbing his hands so they couldn’t unveil any more delicious skin. As much as he enjoyed the view, Yuuri didn’t know what he was doing.

Yuuri’s eyes closed and he squeezed Victor’s hand. “Ah. Victor, Витя, Victor,” he said.

Victor smiled at the nickname. Yuuri had never used it before, and it made it feel like he was starting to view them more as equals and friends than employer and babysitter, even if Yuuri was also incredibly drunk. “Yes, Yuuri?” he asked.

“You’re great,” he continued. “I like you. Do you like me?”

“Of course,” Victor said.

“You’re great,” Yuuri reiterated.

“Thank you,” Victor said, trying not to laugh.

“It’s so hot,” Yuuri said again.

“I know, I’m sorry. Why don’t we get you some water?”

“Okay,” Yuuri agreed easily.

Victor eyed him apprehensively. “Can you wait here? I’ll go get you some.”

“Okay, I’ll wait here.”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t.”

Victor looked at him one last time, then rushed to the nearest bar to grab a glass of water. By the time he made it back, Yuuri was nowhere to be found. “Блять,” he muttered as he began searching nearby for the drunk man.

A loud cheering sound from the middle of the dance floor caught his attention, and as he turned to look, his jaw dropped to the ground. “Боже мой,” he whispered.

Yuuri certainly wasn’t hot anymore, as he had shed all of his clothes but his underwear. He was holding himself up on the pole using only his legs, which was an incredible physical feat. His head was thrown back and he flung one arm out to the side before curling back in, flipping his legs around and sinking down the pole. Then he drew his legs back into a straddle and slowly moved up to standing and looking out at the rest of the dance floor with half lidded eyes. As he strutted around the pole on the ground, flicking his hips back to the pole with a jolt, Chris eagerly ran up, already half naked himself. He and Yuuri grinned at each other as they started supporting each other on the pole, twisting and dancing.

Victor had no idea that Yuuri was capable of moving like that. He was entirely captivated by the performance, and he joined the applause of the crowd that was gathering to watch. As Yuuri continued, Victor felt himself falling helplessly more and more in love.

When Yuuri finally struck a pose and caught his breath, everyone cheered and whistled at him. He grinned almost shyly at them, scanning the audience until he saw Victor. He smiled even wider and ran towards him. “Victor! I did great, didn’t I?”

Victor chuckled. “Yes, Yuuri! That was really impressive, where did you even learn to pole dance?”

“College,” he answered vaguely, looking down at his chest. “Oh, I’m almost naked, aren’t I?”

“Um, yeah, I guess so,” Victor said, as if he hadn’t been acutely aware of that fact since he saw Yuuri on the pole.

“I should probably find my clothes,” Yuuri said.

“Yeah, probably,” Victor agreed.

They stood and stared at each other for a minute, then Victor grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the middle of the dance floor. “Let me help you find them!”

Once they had located Yuuri’s clothes and wrestled him into a state of decency, much to Yuuri’s dismay that it was still hot, Victor took his hand again. “Do you want to, um, dance with me?”

Yuuri smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Victor liked Yuuri’s confidence while drunk, although he supposed he really just liked all aspects of Yuuri.

They twirled around the dance floor, barely even noticing the music. Victor was too focused on the way Yuuri’s eyes squinted when he smiled at him, the way his cheeks were flushed, the way his eyes shone with adoration as he stared at Victor. Yuuri was just so cute that Victor honestly didn’t know how to handle himself, and on their next change of movement he tripped. Yuuri caught him in an impressive state of dexterity for how much alcohol was in his system, their chests pressed together to steady them. Victor looked up at Yuuri from where he was hanging, and their faces were so close all he could do was swallow and blush.

Yuuri smirked at him and pulled them both up to a standing position. Victor took a deep breath to say something when Yuuri fell against his chest and sighed deeply. “This was a good birthday,” he said, clutching the fabric of Victor’s shirt.

“Really?” Victor asked, smiling.

“Really.”

Victor hesitated, then brought a hand down to gently stroke Yuuri’s hair. He relaxed even more and nuzzled closer to Victor’s chest. “I’m tired,” he murmured.

“And drunk,” Victor supplied helpfully. “How much did you even drink?”

“A lot,” Yuuri admitted. “What time is it?”

With a glance to his watch, Victor said, “Just past 1am.”

“That’s late. I should go home.”

“I agree,” Victor said, chuckling. “You probably won’t have a great day tomorrow. Do you want me to get you a cab?”

“Yes please.”

Victor waved goodnight to Phichit and Sara, pointing to the sleepy Yuuri still clinging to his chest. Phichit wolf-whistled and Sara gave him a lecherous wink and thumbs up. He rolled his eyes in response and took Yuuri outside where they waited for the cab.

When it pulled up, Victor gently helped Yuuri into the back. He went to close the door when Yuuri looked up at him in shock. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“To tell the driver your address,” Victor explained.

“No, no. Your house,” Yuuri said.

Victor’s eyes went wide. “Yuuri…” he started.

“It’s too late for me to go back to the orphanage, I’ll just wake everyone up,” he said with a pout.

Victor relaxed a little, ignoring the slight stab of pain. Of course, Yuuri just wanted to sleep in the guest room where he could have some privacy when he was obviously very drunk. “Okay,” he said, climbing in back with Yuuri. He gave his own address to the driver and let Yuuri lean against him. For as well as the babysitter was handling his liquor, Victor knew he really had drank a lot. He might not even remember this tomorrow.

When they got to his house, Victor paid and helped Yuuri through the door. The alcohol was catching up with him, and he was almost completely supported by Victor the whole way to the guest room. He tried to deposit Yuuri onto the bed as gently as he could, then he went to quickly gather some things. He came back a few minutes later with his arms full. Mentally bracing himself for the task ahead, he said, “Alright, let’s get you into some pajamas.”

Yuuri smiled at him. “Okay,” he agreed easily, lifting his arms up. Victor looked away and pulled the shirt over his head. He grabbed his pajama shirt and managed to get Yuuri into it, but not without several eyefuls of his deliciously bare chest. Now, for the pants. He took a step back and contemplated his plan. It was simple, wasn’t it? Just take off Yuuri’s slacks and put on the pajama pants.

Victor took a deep breath and moved back to the bed. “Okay, Yuuri, lift your hips please.”

Yuuri did as he asked, and when Victor moved to unbutton his pants, he giggled, then sighed, “はい.”

Trying and failing not to blush furiously, Victor mechanically took off Yuuri’s pants and pulled the pajamas on. They were too loose and hung off his hips, which Victor only looked at to make sure he had put them on correctly. He had.

“Okay, well, it’s time for you to go to bed,” Victor said, straightening up. “I left some water on the night stand, and some aspirin for the morning.”

“ありがとう,” Yuuri said, snuggling into his pillow while staring up at him.

Victor knew enough Japanese to recognize that, so he smiled and said, “You’re welcome,” moving to exit the guest room. Before he had even taken a step, Yuuri was grabbing at him.

“待って、行かないで下さい!” he called.

Victor turned back around, his face screwed up in worry. “What’s wrong? In English, are you okay?”

Yuuri tugged on his shirt sleeve, pulling him down to sit on the bed. “Don’t leave,” he said, frowning.

“Oh. Okay,” Victor said with a smile. “I’m right here.”

Yuuri relaxed and fell back into the bed, closing his eyes. He didn’t let go of Victor’s sleeve, so he just sat there awkwardly, not sure where to look.

After a few minutes Yuuri opened his eyes and frowned up at Victor. “ねえ、横たわって！僕を抱きしめてがほしい,” he said, pulling Victor down next to him.

For a second Victor panicked, but Yuuri just snuggled up to him, closing his eyes again. Victor knew that Yuuri was very drunk, but so long as he didn’t do anything, this was probably better than making him upset by leaving. He wouldn’t actually sleep here, just wait for Yuuri to fall asleep and then leave. Besides, friends could cuddle platonically, couldn’t they?

Yuuri opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at Victor. Neither of them said anything for a minute, and Victor was going to tell him to go back to sleep when Yuuri leaned forward and kissed him.

It was only a slight brush of lips, but Victor could’ve sworn his heart stopped and then resumed beating impossibly fast. Yuuri immediately pulled back, smiled, and then snuggled back into his chest.

Victor had no idea what to do, so he settled on stroking Yuuri’s hair until he could hear his breathing even out. He waited a few more minutes to be safe, then carefully extricated himself from Yuuri’s grip. He quietly snuck out of the room and went to his own to get ready for bed. As he brushed his teeth, he couldn’t stop staring at his lips. The lips that had touched Yuuri’s. In a kiss. Yuuri had kissed him. His heart was still beating fast at the thought, and he curled into bed blissfully happy.

His alarm went off early the next morning, and he practically sprang out of bed. He was still happy from last night, and he got dressed for his run in record time. Peeking his head into the guest room, he could see Yuuri was still asleep. He’d wake him up before he left for practice, but not too much before, as he definitely needed to sleep off all of the decisions he made last night.

He found himself completing his route much faster than usual and he rushed home to see if Yuuri was awake yet. He opened the door and saw Yuuri sitting on the couch, mug in one hand and phone in the other. “Oh, hey!” he said, waving at Victor.

“Hey,” he said, taking his sneakers off. “How are you feeling?”

Yuuri winced. “Not great,” he admitted. “My head is killing me, but I took some aspirin, so I should feel better soon.”

“That’s good,” Victor said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. How was he supposed to bring up the only thing he had thought about since last night? So how about that drunken kiss and cuddle?

Victor thought about it for a little longer while Yuuri kept scrolling through his phone, but a gasp roused him from his thoughts. “Oh my god,” Yuuri whispered, dropping his phone.

“What is it?” Victor asked. When Yuuri didn’t respond, he glanced down at his lap. Instagram was open on his phone, and Yuuri had pulled up one of Phichit’s pictures from last night. It was a really nice shot of Yuuri and Chris on the pole. Victor made a mental note to ask Phichit for all of his pictures later.

“Ah, that was quite something,” Victor said with a chuckle.

“You saw that?” Yuuri squeaked out.

With a frown, Victor replied, “Yeah, I think everyone did. But you were really good!”

Yuuri buried his face in his hands. “I can’t believe this. How could I do something like that?”

Beautifully, Victor thought, but instead he said, “What, don’t you remember?”

When Yuuri looked at him blankly, Victor’s stomach fell. Maybe he didn’t remember. “What do you remember?” he asked, fearing the worst.

“Well, I was doing some shots with everyone. Then I did a few by myself. And, uh, I think that’s it. I just kinda assumed that I was really tired so I fell asleep and ended up here. Oh god, this is so embarrassing!”

Victor took a moment to process Yuuri’s words. If he didn’t remember pole dancing, or dancing with Victor, or even how he got here, there was no way he remembered cuddling him. Kissing him. “Do you, uh, do you remember anything else?” he asked hesitantly.

Yuuri’s face screwed up in thought before he answered, “No, I don’t think so. Why? Oh no, did I do something else embarrassing?” he asked, looking away.

Victor’s silence made Yuuri freeze. “I did, didn’t I?”

Victor didn’t know whether Yuuri would classify the rest of his actions as embarrassing or not, but there was no point to denying what happened at the party where everyone could see. “Well, you danced with me,” he said, looking at him.

“Ah,” Yuuri said, smiling slightly. “Hopefully I didn’t step on you or anything.”

“No, no, you were quite good,” Victor said, reassuring him. “And, well…”

Yuuri sighed. “I’m almost like a different person when I’m drunk, so I’m sorry if I did anything weird.”

Victor didn’t know what to do. Should he tell Yuuri about what happened later? It was obvious that Yuuri wasn’t in control of himself last night, especially if he was blackout drunk. It was also probably unfair to make sober Yuuri take responsibility for drunk Yuuri’s actions, especially if he didn’t feel that way about him. Victor couldn’t handle a rejection or pity from Yuuri.

“No,” he said, smiling. “Nothing weird whatsoever.”

Yuuri eyed him suspiciously for a second before visibly relaxing. “Thank goodness,” he breathed.

Victor ignored the pain in his chest at Yuuri’s relief. He hoped that someday they would be able to kiss and both remember it.

December 2017

Another December meant another round of final exams. Luckily, as a (super) senior, Yuuri had a lighter class load and wasn’t nearly as stressed as previous years. Another December also meant another Grand Prix Final. When Victor left for his flight to Japan, Yuuri even sent him with a list of good restaurants in Nagoya. While Yuuri hadn’t been there that often, he still knew more about the city than Victor.

Yuuri and Yurio quickly settled into their no-Victor routine, and Yuuri finished his finals with few issues. Victor won again, although he was no longer head and shoulders above the competition. That wasn’t too surprising, as he wasn’t going to be competitive forever. At 28 he was already pushing the envelope, but Yuuri knew that Victor wasn’t done yet.

Victor video called them after the medal ceremony. Yuuri was happy to see his face again, and even Yurio seemed in a good mood during the call. They both congratulated him on the (seventh consecutive) gold medal. Victor quickly switched the conversation to how things were going in Detroit.

After a while, Victor had to go meet with Celestino and his rinkmates. While Phichit had missed the podium this year, Chris had managed to get bronze.

Yuuri was thankful for the call, especially because Victor had exactly one day of rest before he flew to Moscow for the Russian Championships. Luckily, he would be home earlier than last year, so missing Christmas wasn’t going to be a concern.

Yuuri and Yurio passed the first days of winter vacation cuddled up with Makkachin. The cold weather and absence of Victor made them a little lazier than Yuuri would ever admit, so he was more than a little overjoyed when Victor got home, his neck two gold medals heavier.

Surprisingly, Yurio was the first to tackle Victor in a hug when he walked through the door. Makkachin circled his legs excitedly the whole time, so Victor laughed and gave her a hug next. Looking up from where he was squatting, on the floor, he smiled at Yuuri. “Come on, you get one, too.”

Hesitantly, Yuuri embraced him. He smelled as good as always, and Yuuri hung on until Makkachin barked and nuzzled in between them. Victor chuckled and bent down to pet her some more. “Wow, I didn’t think I was gone that long! Actually, yes I did. I missed you all terribly.”

Yurio snorted. “I didn’t miss you,” he said, as if they could forget his display of affection a few minutes ago.

Yuuri ruffled his hair. “Come on, I made dinner.”

On Christmas day, Yuuri was both nervous and excited. He knew Yurio would like his present, but he had no idea how Victor would react to his. With a sigh, he walked through their front door. Victor had a little Christmas tree set up in the living room, decorated sparsely. Yuuri would have guessed it was because Victor got bored, or he remembered that he had a rambunctious four year old in the house. Actually, it was probably a little bit of both. He smiled as he took off his shoes and found Victor and Yurio in the kitchen.

“Merry Christmas!” Victor and Yurio called out in unison, Victor waving a spoon and Yurio running over to hug his legs.

“Merry Christmas!” Yuuri repeated. “I see you decorated a little.”

“Yes, a little,” Victor said with a laugh. “I was just finishing up the eggnog.” When Yuuri made a face, Victor was quick to say, “I put in half the alcohol and I’ll only let you have one! So don’t worry!”

Yuuri laughed. “Okay, okay, just one, then.”

When Victor and Yuuri were set up with their adult drinks and Yurio with his juice, they moved to the living room where a few presents were under the tree. Yuuri added his own and let Yurio hand them out, pretending to read the names on the packages as Victor whispered them to him.

Yurio got to open his presents first. He quickly tore open Victor’s present, revealing a new pair of ice skates. “You’ve grown a lot, so you needed a bigger pair,” Victor explained as Yurio hugged him. “Okay, котенок, open your other present now.”

Yuuri had sewn him a drawstring bag, which Yurio opened and closed multiple times in awe. “I figure you could carry around your favorite toys in it,” Yuuri said, “when you go back and forth between here and… Well, when you go around.” Yurio hugged him, too.

Victor smiled sweetly at Yuuri before turning his attention back to his nephew. “Well, what presents are we opening next?” Yurio thought for a moment, then said, “You both open mine.”

Yuuri happened to know that they were almost exactly the same, so he opened his at the same time as Victor. “Wow, I love it!” Yuuri said, holding up the cup admirably. “Did you make this, Yurio?”

“Yes,” he said proudly. “Almost by myself.”

Yuuri knew that that meant that he had gotten everything ready and Yurio just decorated the cups with bits of colored paper, but he still loved it. “This is so nice! Спасибо,” he said, scooping Yurio up in a big hug.

He hugged back for a second, then pushed away. “Victor? Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful,” Victor said, hugging him as well.

“Ack!” Yurio shouted, squirming in his grip. Yuuri quietly snapped a picture and chuckled. It was such a domestic feeling, and he was loving every second of it.

When Yurio finally broke free of his uncle’s grasp, he looked around at the rest of the presents. Sensing that his presents were gone, he resigned himself to sitting in between Yuuri and Victor. “You first,” he said to Victor.

Victor picked up the smaller gift and unwrapped it slowly. As he lifted up the lid of the box, he gasped softly. “Oh, Yuuri! It’s beautiful!” He tilted it down to show Yurio the light blue silk tie inside.

“Ah, I’m glad you like it,” Yuuri said. “I wasn’t sure about the color or anything…”

“I love it,” Victor corrected, smiling. Then he moved to the second gift, asking, “Now what did I do to warrant two presents?”

Yuuri snorted. “How about being born? It’s your birthday, too, isn’t it?”

“I guess,” he said, “but I also do enjoy getting presents.” This one was much larger and thinner, and when he unwrapped a corner, he stopped abruptly. “Yuuri.”

“Yeah? Oh no, you don’t like it? I can probably return it.”

“Yuuri.”

“Yes?”

“Is this what I think it is?”

“Well, what do you think it is?”

“A signed record of my favorite album, Journey’s Greatest Hits.”

“Oh. Yes, it is.”

Victor slowly and tenderly finished unwrapping it, gently running his fingers over the signature. “Where did you even find something like this?”

“Phichit is very good with the internet,” is all Yuuri said. “And when we were going through your tapes, I saw a record player but no vinyl…”

“It’s perfect,” Victor breathed. He looked Yuuri in the eyes and smiled brightly. “I hope you don’t get too tired listening to it, now.”

Yuuri laughed. “Not a chance.”

Victor carefully put the record aside. “Well, this is officially the best birthday ever. I feel bad that my present isn’t nearly as good.”

“I’m sure it’s great,” Yuuri said, waving his hand. He started to unwrap the gift in his hands. As the wrapping paper fell away, his chest grew warmer and warmer. It was a beautiful picture of the three of them smiling at the zoo, feeding the giraffes. But what really caught Yuuri’s attention was the picture frame. It was wooden, and engraved around the edges was the word “family” in cursive, then Yuuri’s name in Japanese and Victor and Yurio’s in Russian. He blinked back tears and rubbed his fingers over the carvings.

“Do you like it?” Victor asked hopefully.

Yuuri swallowed. “I love it.” If it weren’t for the child in between them, he probably would have tackled Victor in the biggest hug of his life. “Merry Christmas.”

Victor glanced down at his ringing phone, and was surprised at the caller’s name. “Ethan?” he asked, stepping out onto the porch.

“Hi, Victor. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Victor felt déjà vu, but he laughed it off. “Yeah, it has been, hasn’t it? What’s up?”

“I’m back in Detroit on business again. I feel like we kinda ended things on the wrong foot, so I thought maybe we could get lunch? As friends?”

“Sure, I’d like that.”

Ethan sighed in relief. “I’m glad. So, believe it or not, I’m staying at the same exact hotel as, god, what was it, just last year? Meet at that same restaurant?”

Victor laughed, “Ok, sounds good, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Walking back into the house, he found Yuuri reading to Yurio on the living room floor.

“Is everything okay?” Yuuri asked, looking up at him in concern.

“Yeah,” Victor said, smiling. “Everything is great.”

July 2015

Victor frowned down at his phone.

Christophe Giacometti: I’m in Russia! Come out for dinner and drinks with me and some friends tonight!

He contemplated how to turn Chris down when his phone buzzed again.

Christophe Giacometti: And don’t even think about ditching me! I haven’t seen you since Worlds!

Sighing, Victor typed a response.

Victor Nikiforov: Fine, what’s the address?

He thought for a second, then typed again.

Victor Nikiforov: Also, why are you even in Russia?

Christophe Giacometti: No special reason in particular ;)

He knew that Chris was only looking out for him, but Victor was rarely in the mood to go out with friends. Not that he had many, especially during the off-season when he wasn’t surrounded by skaters.

Glancing at his phone, he still had two hours until he had to be anywhere. That was an hour and a half available for a nap. When he woke up to his alarm later he didn’t feel any better, but he knew Chris was still expecting him to show up. Once he was dressed and combed his hair he hailed a taxi to get to the restaurant.

Walking in, he immediately spotted Chris at a small, almost full table. His friend waved him over and he took the only empty seat. “I already ordered for you,” Chris said, winking. “Je sais ce que tu désires.”

“Okay?” Victor said.

“J'ai presque oublié! These are my friends. Friends, Victor. Victor, friends.”

“Very helpful,” he said with a smirk.

“Fine, fine! This is Alex,” he said, pointing to a man with medium-length brown hair, “and this is Ethan,” he pointed to the other man, who had a beard and long blond hair tied back in a bun. “Je suis allé à l'université avec Alex, et Ethan est son collègue.” With the introductions out of the way, he resumed chatting with Alex in French.

Victor awkwardly took a sip of the water at his seat. Chris had made it sound like a much larger gathering than four people. And seeing how Chris was ignoring him, he turned to Ethan. “Hi, nice to meet you,” he said.

Ethan relaxed visibly. “Thank goodness you speak English. Chris and Alex have been using French all night.”

Victor chuckled. “Yeah, Chris can do that. So, you’re Alex’s coworker?” Not that Victor knew Alex, either, but he wasn’t great with conversation, so spitting back up Chris’s information seemed a safe place to start.

“Yeah, we work for the same pharmaceutical company, but different locations. Alex is out of Detroit, and I work here in St. Petersburg.”

Victor nodded and said, “Ой, вы говорите по-русски.” When Ethan just stared at him blankly, Victor asked, “Do you not speak Russian?”

Ethan laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m really bad at languages.”

“Oh, so you must have just moved here.”

“No, it’s been, what, almost two years?”

Victor stared at him. “You mean you’ve lived in Russia for 2 years? And don’t speak Russian? Doesn’t that make it hard for you?”

“Definitely,” Ethan agreed. “But I’m 28, and you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.”

Victor laughed, and the waiter brought over their food. Chris was right about what Victor liked, and he dug into the borscht immediately. He glanced over at Ethan and saw that he was picking the tomatoes out of his salad. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t like tomatoes,” he said.

“Well, can I have them, then?” Victor asked, popping one into his mouth.

Ethan gagged and pushed his plate over. “Yes please, get them out of my face.”

Once Victor was done, he went back to his own food. He felt his phone vibrate.

Christophe Giacometti: So how’s your night going? And I don’t mean the food ;)

Victor looked up at Chris and got a wink in person, too. Oh. He was being set up. He glanced at Ethan out of the corner of his eye. Well, Chris had been right, he did know what Victor liked. But to be fair, he liked a lot of different kinds of people.

He rolled his eyes at Chris and finished his bowl. Chris dramatically said, “It’s time for us to go to the next place!”

“Next place?” Victor asked, suddenly worried.

“You didn’t think I just wanted to eat, did you?” Chris asked, grinning. “Next stop: bar one of many!”

Victor groaned and sunk into his seat. Ethan nudged him. “Is your friend always like that?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Victor said with a small smile. “But he is my friend, so I’ll go along with it.”

The next morning, Victor woke up in an unfamiliar bed and his head was pounding. Groaning, he turned over and shoved his face into a pillow. The air hit his bare chest when he shifted, and he froze. Carefully, he opened his eyes and looked down at his bare chest. Very slowly, he lifted up the covers and sighed with relief when he saw his underwear.

Looking around, he had no idea where he was. He remembered going out for dinner with Chris, Alex, and Ethan. He remembered a couple of bars and drinking a lot, but that was it. Cursing himself, he swung his legs out of bed when the bedroom door opened. Ethan walked in and laughed at Victor’s panicked face.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry for surprising you,” Ethan said, laughing, “but I wanted to check if you were alive or not.”

“Still up for debate,” Victor murmured, rubbing his aching head. He saw that Ethan was wearing only pajama pants. “Um, did we,” he croaked, feebly motioning between the two of them.

“Oh, wow, you really don’t remember, do you?” Ethan asked, his eyes wide.

Victor shook his head, already fearing that he had done something stupid last night.

“Well, we didn’t,” Ethan said with a smile. “Do anything, that is. You got pretty drunk and threw up all over your clothes. Chris and Alex had gone ahead to a different bar, and my phone was dead, so I took you to my place. It’s hard for me to get anywhere unfamiliar, because, you know, I don’t speak Russian.”

Victor let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thanks for taking care of me, and I’m sorry I was a mess,” he said, bowing his head.

“It wasn’t a big deal!” Ethan said. He was about to speak again when a beeping noise cut through the air. “Ah, your clothes are done,” he said, scurrying out of the room. While he was gone, Victor went through his texts.

Georgi Popovich: Attachment: 1 image

Georgi Popovich: Isn’t Yuri adorable????

Victor glanced at the picture and went to the next message.

Christophe Giacometti: So I take it your night went REALLY well, you sly devil? ;)

He looked up when Ethan came back in with his clean clothes. “Thank you so much,” he said, taking them gratefully.

“You’re welcome,” Ethan said. “Did you want some breakfast before you go or something? I’ve got a pot of coffee, too.”

Victor took a deep breath. Why not? “Do you want to go out sometime?”

Ethan blushed. “Uh, Victor, we didn’t do anything, remember? So you don’t have to ask to be polite.”

“I’m not trying to be polite, I’m interested.”

“Oh, okay. Well then, sure?”

December 2017

The next day, Victor found himself driving to the same restaurant as last year. He still had no strong feelings about seeing Ethan, but at least this time it was appropriate. He found Ethan at the same table as before, but this time felt much more comfortable.

Ethan smiled at him. “Sorry for calling you here so suddenly.”

“It’s no problem,” Victor said with a smile. “How have you been?”

“Pretty well. Yourself?”

“Really good,” he said, and he knew that he meant it. “How is your job going?”

“No complaints,” Ethan said with a smile. “I’m still good friends with Alex. In fact, I heard that he’s finally dating Chris.”

“That’s good,” Victor said. “They seem like a good match.”

The waitress came and took their food orders, and silence fell upon the table when she left. Ethan took a deep breath and then asked, “Are you willing to try to do this again? To try us again?”

At Ethan’s words, Victor remembered their first meeting, Chris’s pretty friend who couldn’t speak Russian. Immediately, the memory shifted to Yuuri holding Yurio’s hand and laughing.

Without hesitation, he said, “I’m sorry,” and bowed his head.

There was a beat of silence before Ethan sighed. “I knew it,” he said. “I feel so much better now! Truthfully, I’m already in another relationship.”

“What?” Victor asked.

“Yeah, and he actually just proposed.”

“What?” Victor asked again.

“Well, if you think about it,” Ethan said, “we dated for a long time, didn’t we? And the way we broke up wasn’t very satisfying, so sometimes your face would just pop into my head. I didn’t want to hide it from my current boyfriend, well fiancé, so I told him everything.” He stopped to take a sip of water. “He told me to go see you and make a clean break, and he’d be there when I was done. Isn’t he great?” he asked with a smile.

Victor didn’t really know what to say, so he just nodded dumbly.

“But, I’m 30 now. I wanted to stop chasing your shadow and completely move on. So, here we are.”

“What would you have done if I said yes?” Victor asked, sipping his own water thoughtfully.

“I knew you wouldn’t,” Ethan said with a smile, “You don’t have any lingering feelings for me, or else you wouldn’t have let me walk away back then.” He gestured around them to the very restaurant where it had happened. “So, thank you, Victor! Thank you for letting me move forward.”

Victor stared at him for a minute before responding. “There is one thing I wanted to say. You did make me happy, Ethan, and I did like you. So, thank you, too.”

Ethan smiled at him, and the waitress interrupted them with their food. Ethan started eating his salad, and Victor asked, “Aren’t you going to pick out the tomatoes?”

“Nope!” he said. “I eat them, now.”

As they exited the restaurant, Ethan said, “Oh right, I almost forgot! I won’t invite you to the wedding, so don’t worry about that.”

Victor smiled. “Even if you did invite me, I wouldn’t have gone.”

Ethan smiled back. “Well, I guess this is goodbye, Victor..”

“Yes. Goodbye, Ethan.”

As Victor walked to his car, he thought about the moving forward he still had to do himself. When he finally pulled into the driveway, Yuuri waved from the front window.

Victor walked through the front door, and Yuuri held a finger up to his lips. “Yurio just went down for a nap,” he whispered. “How was your day?”

“Good,” Victor whispered back with a smile. “Can I talk to you in the kitchen?”

Further away from Yurio’s room they could talk comfortably. “What is it?” Yuuri asked.

“We know that Yurio is going to live with his grandparents in April.” Yuuri’s face fell slightly and he nodded. “We can’t send him suddenly,” Victor continued, “so I’d like to ask for your help in getting Yurio acquainted with them and their house.”

“Of course!” Yuuri said. “However I can help.”

“Thank you, but if you ever feel sad about this, won’t you please share it with me?” Victor asked, covering Yuuri’s hand with his own. “You can talk to me about it.”

Yuuri blinked a few times, then gave him a watery smile. “I don’t want to force you,” Victor started, but Yuuri interrupted him.

“No. Please, let me help. Until the end,” he said, giving his hand a quick squeeze.

Victor’s heart fluttered in the special way it did for Yuuri and for Yuuri alone.

Chapter Text

December 2017

As Yuuri and Victor walked down the hallway of the apartment building, they could already hear the music blaring. Victor gave him a look that Yuuri read as I’m 29, why am I at a college party? and Yuuri sent him back a look that he hoped conveyed Yeah and I’m 25 so let’s get this over with.

If Yuuri didn’t already know which apartment was Phichit’s, he could’ve easily guessed it was the loudest one. Victor raised a hand to knock, but Yuuri batted it away. “Only cops knock!” he said, glaring at him.

Victor laughed. “What?”

With a sigh, Yuuri said, “It’s just what Phichit says every time I knock. Just open the door and go in.”

Cautiously, Victor pushed the door open and walked in. The lights were off, but the room was still illuminated by black lights that made everything white glow. A speaker was blaring dance music, and the apartment was packed full of young people holding red solo cups. A large banner that read “Happy New Year!” was hanging from the ceiling.

Yuuri stepped in behind him and closed the door. It was so loud that he had to lean up and yell right in Victor’s ear, “Should we look for Phichit?” When Victor nodded back, they slowly made their way towards the center of the apartment, squeezing between all the people standing around. They found the host of the party in the middle of the living room. When he saw them, he gave them each a quick hug.

“Yuuri! Victor! I’m glad you could make it!” he yelled, leaning in close. “Isn’t this a great party?”

Yuuri nodded to avoid raising his voice. Phichit yelled again, “I even invited the basketball team! Rumor has it they’re in the building, so maybe they’ll show up?”

Victor shrugged at him, likely because he also didn’t know if the basketball team would show up.

“Well, I gotta go say hi to everyone else,” Phichit yelled, clapping both of them on the back. “Have a good time!” He scurried away to another group of people, repeating the process with them.

Suddenly alone in the sea of people, Yuuri felt a little anxious. It was getting harder and harder to breath, and he held up a hand to his chest to see if his heart was racing or not when Victor put a hand on his back. “Let’s look for a quieter place?” he asked, speaking directly into Yuuri’s ear. That sounded wonderful, so Yuuri enthusiastically nodded. He knew which room was Phichit’s (and the hamster posters helped), so he led them to a hallway and opened the second door. Luckily, no one else was in there, so he sat down on the bed and let out a sigh of relief.

Victor sat next to him and sighed, too. “Wow, I can actually hear myself think in here!”

Yuuri smiled. “Yeah, I forgot how overwhelming parties can be. I had no idea Phichit knew so many people!”

“Well, if he can fill a club with people you know, he can probably fill his apartment with people he knows,” Victor said with a laugh.

“That’s probably true,” Yuuri agreed. Do we have to go back to the party? Can’t we just stay in here until midnight? he thought. It didn’t look like Victor was in any rush to leave, so Yuuri leaned back against the wall and got comfortable. “So, do you think the basketball team will really show up?”

Victor chuckled. “I hope they do, wouldn’t that make this party epic or something?”

“Oh my god,” Yuuri said with a giggle, “I can’t believe you just said the word epic. Unironically.”

“I’m not that old!” Victor huffed.

“You’re 29,” Yuuri pointed out, trying not to giggle again.

“Yeah, yeah, and you’re no young man yourself, you’re 25!” Victor protested.

“I’m technically still in college,” Yuuri said, “so I’m still young.”

“Well, if I’m old, you’re old,” Victor said, crossing his arms.

“You’re cute when you pout,” Yuuri teased, regretting the words as soon as he said them. Before he could take them back or say anything else, Victor’s eyebrows shot up.

“Did you just call me cute?” Victor asked.

With a gulp, Yuuri had no choice but to nod.

“I personally would’ve picked gorgeous, handsome, pretty, or attractive, but I guess I’ll take what I can get,” Victor said with a dazzling grin.

It took Yuuri a moment to figure out that Victor was teasing him right back. “I don’t remember using any of those words,” Yuuri said, tapping a finger to his chin. “I also don’t think any of them really fit you.”

“Yuuri!” Victor gasped, clapping a hand to his mouth. “I thought we were friends!”

Suddenly the door opened, and a couple was making out in the doorway. They shuffled into the room and didn’t seem like they were going to stop anytime soon. Yuuri looked away, blushing, so Victor loudly cleared his throat.

The couple stopped and finally looked at both of them sitting on the bed. “Oh shit, sorry, we didn’t know this room was already taken for that. We’ll go somewhere else,” one of them said, quickly pulling the other person out of the room.

Yuuri was still saying “What do you mean, ‘that?’” when the door slammed closed.

Victor laughed and said, “Well, I guess we’re both old.” He stood up and held out a hand to Yuuri. “As much as I love sitting and talking to you, we can do that anywhere. Specifically, our favorite Chinese restaurant. I’m starving.”

Yuuri stood up and looked at his hand. “Won’t it be rude for us to leave so early? We only just got here.”

“I think we’re just cramping Phichit’s style,” Victor said, “and besides, it’s like we’re not even here if we just hide the whole time.” He wiggled his hand. “Come on.”

Yuuri took his hand, assuming Victor didn’t want them to get separated in the crowd of the party. Victor pulled them through the throngs quicker than their entrance, and Yuuri clung to his hand to keep up. When they finally reached the door and stepped out, Yuuri took a deep breath of the beautiful fresh air. He hadn’t realized quite how stifling the party and apartment had been.

Victor started moving down the hallway to the elevator, not releasing Yuuri’s hand. “I have to text Phichit that we left early,” Yuuri said.

“Okay,” Victor said, pressing the button for the elevator.

“I need 2 hands for that,” Yuuri insisted, pointing down at their joined hands.

Victor blushed as he followed Yuuri’s finger, but he held firm. “You can text with one hand.”

“Okay,” Yuuri agreed weakly, awkwardly fumbling for his phone and sending an apology text to Phichit. By the time he slid it back into his pocket, the elevator arrived and they stepped in. The ride down was silent, and Yuuri couldn’t fight the blush spreading across his cheeks. He stole a glance up at Victor, and was relieved to see that he was blushing a little bit, too. It made him look even better.

They walked to the car in silence, and once there Victor seemed to realize that he couldn’t hold Yuuri’s hand and also get into the car, so he let go and got in. Yuuri followed, and Victor drove them to the Chinese restaurant he had mentioned. There were only a few small tables, but on New Year’s Eve the place was pretty deserted.

They ordered their food and grabbed a table near the window, talking until the food was ready. When they were finally able to dig in, Victor stopped after a few bites. “Can I have a bite of yours?” he asked.

Overcome by wave of bravery, Yuuri shrugged and said, “Sure,” grabbing a piece of chicken in his chopsticks and holding it out over the table.

Without hesitation, Victor leaned over and ate it. Yuuri memorized the way his tongue darted out first. “Вкусно!” he said, smiling happily after he finished chewing. “Want some of mine?”

Yuuri took the offered bite from Victor’s chopsticks. “Yours is good, too,” he said. “But I think mine is better.”

Victor laughed at that, saying, “That’s good, because you’re not getting another bite of mine!”

Yuuri managed to steal 3 more bites of Victor’s food, but he only gave up 2 of his own, so he counted it as his victory. Once all the food was gone, they continued talking about whatever came to mind. They were halfway through an intense conversation on the pros and cons of pineapple on pizza when Yuuri felt his phone buzz. Sighing, he apologized to Victor and went to answer it. To his surprise, he had multiple messages.

Phichit Chulanont: I don’t mind, Yuuri ;) I hope you and Victor had fun while you were here, though! Oh and Happy New Year!

Phichit Chulanont: OMFG THE BASKETBALL TEAM CAME ASDJKFDKDS

Phichit Chulanont: Ok ok I’m calm. Cool as a cucumber. So how is your night with Victor? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Phichit Chulanont: Yuuri Katsuki why are you not answering your phone? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Phichit Chulanont: Ayyy get it boi ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I just hope you’re being safe

Confused and a more than a little overwhelmed, Yuuri typed a response.

Yuuri Katsuki: Of course I’m being safe??? I’m with Victor and it’s a nice part of town

He glanced up at Victor, who was staring out the window. Yuuri saw him absent-mindedly twirl a strand of hair between his fingers, then lick his lips, when suddenly Phichit’s text made a whole lot more sense.

Yuuri Katsuki: WTF NO PHICHIT IT’S NOT LIKE THAT GOODBYE FOREVER ALSO I HATE YOU

He slammed his phone back into his pocket. “Who was that?” Victor asked, turning his attention back to Yuuri.

“Oh, just Phichit being stupid.”

Victor lifted his eyebrows, but said nothing else.

“And he said it was okay we left the party, and Happy New Year.” Yuuri then slapped a hand to his forehead. “He said Happy New Year. It’s 12:30am. It’s 2018 and we didn’t even notice.”

Victor chuckled. “I don’t mind, I’m having a good time.”

“Yeah, me too,” Yuuri said, finding that the words were completely true.

January 2018

Yuuri stared out the passenger window. Victor had a Heart CD in, and while the mood of the car wasn’t happy, it wasn’t sad, either. The trip to Ann Arbor was without incident, and they soon found themselves at the Plisetskys’ house. Yuuri took a deep breath as they unloaded the car, mentally reminding himself that it was just a trip, just a house.

When they knocked on the door, Diana answered immediately. “Привет! Hello! Welcome!” she almost yelled, ushering them in. “Come on, it’s cold, come in, come in!”

Nikolai was still slowly getting up from the couch, grimacing slightly. His face morphed into a grin when Yurio waved from behind Yuuri’s legs. “Hello, Yura,” he said.

Diana was already scurrying to the kitchen. “Let me make you something to eat. Are you hungry? I’ll make something anyway.”

Everyone else sat in the living room to wait. Yurio got over his shyness pretty fast, telling his grandfather all about his ice skating lessons and the upcoming ice show. Then, he fell silent for a moment before leaning to whisper something in Yuuri’s ear. When he got a nod, Yurio asked, “Want to come see? Our show?”

His grandfather smiled warmly. “Of course! We’d love to!”

Yurio smiled back, and Diana brought in a tray with fresh rye bread and butter. Yuuri and Victor showered her with compliments on her baking, which she graciously accepted.

After they had eaten their fill, Yuuri went to use the bathroom. On his way back, his eyes fell on the mantle above the fireplace. Quickly glancing at Nikolai, he kept looking when the older man smiled his permission.

Picture frames of varying ages were lined up neatly. The first one seemed to be Nikolai and Diana’s wedding photo, which must have been almost 40 years old. There were also pictures of them and a young Anya, both on and off the ice. The photos got more and more recent, with some graduation photos towards the middle. Yuuri swallowed as he moved further down the mantle.

A larger frame contained multiple pictures of Georgi and Anya’s wedding day. Anya was practically glowing, and Georgi’s smile was so big that it almost didn’t fit on his face. He glanced at the wedding party and noticed with a pang that Victor was absent. The next frame showed Georgi kissing Anya’s pregnant belly. Yuuri almost laughed at it, because it was so cheesy and something he could imagine Victor doing in a heartbeat. Towards the end was a picture of an exhausted Anya laying in a hospital bed cradling a newborn in her arms, Georgi’s arm around her shoulder. They looked just as happy as every previous photo. The next photo was probably taken the same day, as it showed Nikolai and Diana beaming as they held Yurio in what looked like a hospital room. Finally, a more recent photo showed an older Yurio scowling as his grandmother smiled and hugged him, his grandfather laughing in the background. Yuuri thought it was really sweet to have so many reminders of her in the house.

He turned around to rejoin the conversation when he almost ran over Yurio, who was standing right behind him. “What are you doing?” he asked, craning his head up to try to see what was on the mantle.

Yuuri glanced to the rest of the adults, but none of them objected, so he answered, “Looking at some old pictures! Want to see?” When Yurio nodded, he hefted him up in his arms and went through the photos again. The child didn’t recognize anything until the wedding photos of his parents. “Mama!” he called, pointing at her excitedly.

Diana had risen and was standing nearby. “Yes, dear, это твоя мама,” she said with a sad smile.

“She’s up in the sky,” he said easily, pointing up.

She followed his finger, then chuckled. “Yes, she is.”

Nikolai added, “He seems to recognize his mother just fine, but not his father.”

“Ah,” Victor said. “That would be partially my fault.” Everyone turned to look at him. “You see, I don’t really think that my brother is qualified to be a father anymore. So, well, I haven’t been showing Yurio any pictures of him.”

Diana sighed. “Victor, you are truly a very considerate and responsible man. You’re probably thinking of us and our feelings, and we appreciate that.”

“But,” Nikolai filled in, “Whether or not he’s qualified is something that should be left up to Yurio, not any of us. When the time comes, he should make his own decision.”

Yuuri silently swallowed, looking around at the serious faces. Diana broke the tension by grabbing the wedding photo and pointing to Georgi. “Yurio, do you see this man? Next to your mama? That’s your papa.”

“Papa?” he asked with a slight frown.

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “Even now, I’m sure he’s thinking of us, wherever he is. So until he returns, please remember him well.”

Yurio reached out and ran his fingers over the faces. “Mama,” he said, “and papa…”

Victor took a deep breath and sank further into the couch. Yuuri glanced at him worriedly, letting Yurio back down onto the ground. Surely Victor had complicated feelings about his brother’s absence, and forgiveness wouldn’t come easily…

“Oh, Victor,” Nikolai said with a grin, “How is your relationship with Yuuri progressing?”

Victor stared up at him with wide eyes. “Это не ничего!” he said, a blush creeping over his face. Yuuri’s eyes moved everywhere in the room but on Victor.

“Заткнись!” Diana yelled, gently hitting her husband on the ear. “Don’t make fun of our guests and family!”

“What’s the harm in asking? They’re young, right?” Nikolai asked, giving up.

“Don’t pay any attention to him, dears,” Diana said with a smile. “Let me go finish up dinner. I’m making borscht!”

Soon they were all seated around the table happily eating. Yurio smiled at his grandparents around his spoon.

Once their bowls were clean, Yuuri took Yurio to go play in the living room, sensing that the others wanted to have a serious conversation.

Victor watched him go, then turned back towards their hosts. “Thank you again for everything,” he said, now talking about more than the meal.

“Нет, это не проблема,” Diana said with a smile. “And we also wanted to talk about the coming spring.”

Nikolai nodded. “I’m still recovering, but we’re on track for April.”

“That’s good to hear,” Victor said. “I’m glad you’re getting better.”

“As far as Yura is concerned,” Diana chimed back in, “we think it would be best if you made sure he knows what’s going on.” Victor opened his mouth, but she raised a hand. “We know he’s young and probably won’t fully understand it, but he’s already been ripped from his family once. We don’t want this to be another traumatic separation.”

“And it’s not like you won’t be able to visit him whenever you want,” Nikolai added. “We just don’t want any of this to be a surprise for him.”

Victor smiled softly. As much as he wasn’t looking forward to any of this, he knew it was inevitable and for the best. Specifically, it was in Yurio’s best interest. “Yes, of course you’re right. When the timing is right, I’ll talk to him.”

With everything settled, Diana wandered back to the living room. “Yura, we got you a present for Christmas!” she said. “Would you like it?” Yurio nodded eagerly, his eyes wide. “It’s in the garage, let’s go see,” she said, offering her hand. When Yuuri didn’t follow, she smiled and said, “You can come, too!”

They made their way to the garage, soon followed by Victor and Nikolai. It was dark, so she opened the garage door and let in the sunlight. In the middle of the floor was a small orange bicycle decorated with a big white bow.

Yurio’s jaw almost hit the floor, and he murmured, “Велосипед,” in awe.

Victor looked shocked, too. “Is this really alright?” he asked.

Nikolai smiled. “He’s a little young, but it should be okay because it still has training wheels.”

Yurio stumbled over and gingerly touched the handlebars. “Can… Can I ride it?”

“Yes, Yurio,” Victor said with a small laugh, “but thank your grandparents first.”

“Спасибо! Grandma and grandpa, thank you!” he said, grinning brightly at them.

Diana stumbled backwards, a hand on her heart. “What can I do, he’s so cute…” she mumbled to herself, while Nikolai laughed. He took a tiger striped helmet off a nearby shelf and placed it on Yurio’s head.

“Let’s try it out, then,” Victor said, helping Yurio onto the bike. He and Diana helped him learn how to peddle around the driveway, and soon he was circling the block on the sidewalk and laughing.

“Look! Look, Yuuri!” he called, waving before immediately putting his hand back on the handlebars.

“You’re doing great,” Yuuri called back. He took a few quick pictures and followed Diana and Yurio down to the end of the street.

Victor and Nikolai hung back. “Thank you, again,” Victor said. “You’ve already given him so much.”

“It’s not a problem,” Nikolai replied. “And I’m glad you brought Yuuri with you.” That made Victor look at him with his eyebrows raised. “I mean, earlier, my wife was talking to me about it. That because he isn’t related to us, he might find it harder to visit later. We thought that if he could see the environment Yura would be raised in, he might feel better about everything.”

“I see,” Victor said, smiling to himself. They were just as considerate as Yuuri himself.

Yuuri followed Diana as they rounded the corner. She pointed to the right, “There’s an elementary school straight down this road, and there’s a grocery store this way,” she pointed to the left. “Since we’re out in the suburbs, it’s peaceful here. Oh! But there’s a bus stop a few minutes that way.”

Yuuri smiled. It really was a nice area for Yurio to grow up in, and his grandparents obviously cared for him deeply. His chest felt a little less tight at the thought.

“And Yuuri,” she said, breaking him from his thoughts, “the train station is a bit aways from here, but if you call me I’ll come pick you up anytime.” Yuuri blinked. “So you can visit Yurio anytime! Even if it’s just you, we’d like to have you come by again.”

“Okay,” Yuuri agreed with a smile.

Sara Crispino: Phichit I need your help

Phichit Chulanont: Okay I’m here

Phichit Chulanont: But is there a reason why you’re not including Yuuri?

Sara Crispino: Yeah, I think it would be too much for Yuuri at the moment, and besides, you’re more… experienced

Phichit Chulanont: Okay is this going where I think it’s going?

Sara Crispino: So like Mila and I have been dating for 6 months

Phichit Chulanont: Oh no it is

Sara Crispino: And we haven’t like… You know...

Phichit Chulanont: Okay so my experiences in these matters don’t really translate to the advice you’re looking for friend

Sara Crispino: Sure they do! You’ve, you know...

Phichit Chulanont: Yes but it’s different

Sara Crispino: How is 2 girls kissing that different from a boy and a girl or 2 boys?

Phichit Chulanont: OH WE’RE TALKING ABOUT KISSING

Sara Crispino: ???

Sara Crispino: Yes what else would we be talking about?

Sara Crispino: OH MY GOD PHICHIT NO NOT THAT

Phichit Chulanont: Ok ok phew so yes I can help you

Sara Crispino: I think I need a moment

Sara Crispino: Ok we’re good let’s pretend that never happened

Phichit Chulanont: Pretend what never happened? ;)

Phichit Chulanont: But I thought you guys had kissed already? When you asked her out… or whatever it is that you did haha

Sara Crispino: Yes once! But that’s it!

Sara Crispino: We cuddle sometimes, and hold hands, but never anything more

Sara Crispino: And I’ve been making such an effort! I put on makeup and do my hair and she never makes a move on me!

Phichit Chulanont: Wow ok. I’m sure it’s fine though! She’s probably just shy about it

Sara Crispino: But she’s not! You know Mila!

Sara Crispino: Oh my god she’s probably not attracted to me at all

Phichit Chulanont: But she agreed to go out with you? She picked you over that other girl?

Sara Crispino: But Christmas...

Phichit Chulanont: Oh boy what

Sara Crispino: I invited her over to my apartment and told her my roommates were gone for the night

Phichit Chulanont: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sara Crispino: I know!!! But then all she did was play with my cat

Phichit Chulanont: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sara Crispino: MY LITERAL CAT PHICHIT

Sara Crispino: We were cuddling and watching a movie, and I thought she was gonna kiss me… Then she ran off to play with my cat

Phichit Chulanont: Ok but your cat is so adorable I don’t blame her

Sara Crispino: PHICHIT

Sara Crispino: I yelled at her to leave!

Phichit Chulanont: Haha ok ok!

Phichit Chulanont: Just talk to her about it? Apologize? Tell her what you want?

Sara Crispino: Ugh you’re probably right

Sara Crispino: But won’t that make me seem unsatisfied?

Phichit Chulanont: So? You ARE unsatisfied

Phichit Chulanont: She’s not a mind reader, just talk to her

Sara Crispino: Ok fine thank you

Phichit Chulanont: I know, I know, I’m always right

Sara walked around aimlessly after her classes. She thought about what Phichit had said, and she knew that she had to talk to Mila. The problem was how their relationship started. Sara had kissed her without permission, and it was like everything was built on something stolen. The more she thought about it, the more she thought Mila probably didn’t even like her that much. Bringing up the conversation would likely just lead to her getting dumped…

She groaned when she looked up and saw Mila’s house. Of course that’s where she subconsciously went.

“Sara!” someone called, and she turned to see Yuuri walking down the street. “I thought that was you! What’s up?” he asked, walking towards her with one hand holding Makkachin’s leash and the other holding Yurio. “You must be here to see Mila, right?”

Sara couldn’t help but blush and look away. “No! I mean, um, not today…”

Yurio giggled and tugged on Yuuri’s sleeve. “Sara likes Mila,” he said knowingly, as if Yuuri needed context. “And they kissed, too.” She bent down and put a finger to her lips, shushing him immediately. Yurio frowned. “Do you not like Mila anymore?” he asked sadly.

That made Sara pause and stand back up. She thought of the way Mila looked at her, would hug and cuddle her… “No. Of course I still like Mila,” she said. “Thank you, Yurio!” she said, leaning back down to pat him on the head. “Well, see you later, Yuuri!” she called over her shoulder as she walked the rest of the way to Mila’s door. He waved, even though he was incredibly confused.

Sara hesitated for a moment at the door, but she gathered her courage and knocked. A bright older woman answered the door almost immediately. “Are you Mila’s friend?” she asked. “Come in, come in! I think she’s home… MILA!” she screamed behind her. Sara just stood slightly inside the doorway, frozen in shock.

Footsteps approached, and then Mila stuck her head around the corner. “What?!” she yelled back before her eyes fell onto Sara.

“Is this a friend from school?” the woman asked.

Sara opened her mouth to respond, but not before Mila could jump over and sling her arm around Sara’s shoulder. “Nope! This is my girlfriend.”

Mila’s mother smiled. “Oh my! So this must be Sara. I’ve heard so much about you. My name is Vera Babicheva,” she said, shaking Sara’s hand firmly.

“Uh… Hi… I’m Sara Crispino,” she responded, still in a state of shock.

“My daughter can be very dense, but please take care of her!” Vera said, walking into the kitchen.

“Did you want to come up to my room?” Mila asked, pointing up the stairs. “Even though it’s a bit messy.”

“Ah, no,” Sara stammered. “It’s dinner time, so I should be getting home.”

“Didn’t you just get here? Well, okay. Let me walk you home, then,” Mila said, grabbing her coat.

Mila took her hand and led her down the sidewalk. The last time they saw each other, Sara had yelled at her to get out of the house, but Mila was acting like nothing had happened. And Mila had introduced her to her mom…

“Um, Mila? On Christmas, I wanted to… I wanted to k-kiss you.” Mila froze and turned around to look at her. “Do you not like that?” she asked, quieter.

“WHAT?!” Mila almost screamed. “Why would I not like that?” she asked.

“Well, we’ve been dating for 6 months,” Sara said, “and still…”

“Oh,” Mila said, grinning sheepishly. “That’s because I didn’t know when the right time for that was.”

Sara felt her mind go blank. She had definitely dropped many, many, many hints… Phichit’s words came back to her, “She’s not a mind reader.” So it should be fine if I’m just very clear, right?

“It’s always the right time for me!” she said. Even though this was embarrassing, she needed to say it.

Surprise crossed Mila’s face. “Really?” When Sara nodded, she added, “So now is okay?”

Sara blushed and stammered, “Of course it is…”

Mila closed the distance between them and leaned up to kiss her, gently pulling their bodies together. Sara sighed and hugged Mila close. There can be no mistaking that we feel the exact same way at this moment.

Victor sighed as he looked across the living room. Yurio was standing right in front of the TV, watching his favorite Power Rangers series. Victor had told him not to watch too close many times, so he walked over and moved him back a few feet. “I told you not to stand too close,” he said as he put Yurio back down.

His nephew blinked up at him, then back at the TV, where the special move sequence was already over. He started kicking Victor’s legs when he sat back down on the couch.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “I told you many times… Hey! Stop that!” Victor leaned down to duck away from a thrown stuffed animal.

Yurio quickly ran out of toys and flopped down onto the carpet, turned away and pouting. Why is he like this with me? Victor thought. He’s been better with me until recently, but he’s always obedient with Yuuri…

They both looked up when they heard the door open, and they were both disappointed when it was Chris and not Yuuri walking through the door. “Hello!” he called out. “I just wanted to drop by,” he stopped when he looked into the living room and saw that no one was happy to see him. “Thanks for the warm welcome,” he said, flopping onto the couch next to Victor. Makkachin came up and started licking his hand, and he laughed. “At least someone here is happy to see me,” he said, rubbing the dog’s ears.

“Sorry,” Victor said, “We were just expecting Yuuri.”

“Say no more,” Chris said with a huge wink.

Yurio continued pouting in the corner, and Chris was about to ask when they heard the door open again. “I’m home,” Yuuri said, walking into the living room.

In a flash, Yurio was attached to his legs, smirking at Victor. “Yurio?” Yuuri asked.

“Why are you looking at me like you’ve got some great lawyer defending your case?” Victor asked, crossing his arms.

“Is- is something wrong?” Yuuri asked, reaching down to pick up Yurio. He got out some paper and crayons for drawings as he listened to Victor’s complaints. “I see,” he said, glancing down at Yurio scribbling on the paper. “So, he’s not listening to you.”

“Yeah, he’s started throwing tantrums when it’s just us,” Victor said with a sigh.

“You’re just not respected by him,” Chris added, his arms full of Makkachin who was licking every inch of his face.

“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Victor jabbed.

“Well, if he’s becoming rebellious, it must mean that he feels secure enough with you to act selfishly. His sense of inner self is starting to develop,” Yuuri said.

“That’s a more positive way of looking at it,” Victor admitted, looking down at his nephew.

“What specifically does he do?” Yuuri asked. “I can help better if I know.”

“He deliberately spills his food, he won’t put his toys away, and he ignores me when I talk,” Victor said.

“Hey!” Chris called, shoving Makkachin off his lap to stand up. “I’ve got it!” he said triumphantly. “It sounds like we just need to make Yurio see Victor as someone he can respect, right?”

“No,” Yuuri and Victor said at the same time.

“I have just the thing to fix your problem,” Chris said, ignoring both of them. “I’ll bring it over first thing tomorrow!”

“But my plane leaves in the morning,” Victor said. “Come to think of it, you should have a flight soon, too! You know, a little thing called the European Championships?”

“My flight is later tomorrow,” Chris explained, waving his hand, “so I’ll just drop it off to Yuuri, then.”

He was already halfway out the door when he called out, “See you then!”

Yuuri and Victor exchanged a look. “What just happened?” Victor asked.

“I have no idea,” Yuuri admitted, looking back at Yurio. “What did you draw?” he asked.

“Bжух,” he said, showing his picture. It looked like a cat wearing a cone hat. There was also a line with scribbles coming out.

“What did you say?” Yuuri asked.

“Bжух,” Yurio repeated.

Yuuri looked at Victor for an explanation, but he shrugged. “It might be Russian,” he said, typing something into his phone. After about a minute of searching, he held out his phone to Yurio. “Bжух?” he asked.

When Yurio nodded, he showed the picture to Yuuri, as well.

“I still don’t get it,” Yuuri said.

“It’s apparently a Russian internet meme,” Victor explained, locking his phone and putting it back in his pocket. “Although, I don’t know how a 3 year old has been on the internet.” He narrowed his eyes at Yurio, who hastily began scribbling over the word “Xуй.”

“Can I also make a suggestion?” Yuuri asked.

“Yes, please do,” Victor said, immediately happy that he wouldn’t have to rely solely on Chris’s advice.

“How about a point card?”

“A what?” Victor asked.

“A point card. You could give Yurio stickers when he does something well, and he can put in on his card,” Yuuri explained. “Then, when he fills up the card, you can take him somewhere nice as a reward. It’ll help him become more confident, and it will be fun for him.”

“That sounds great,” Victor said.

“Then I’ll make the card while you’re gone!” Yuuri said proudly. “Oh! But be sure to only use the card as a supplement.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when you’re with someone for a long time, it gets easy to only say something when things go wrong. Please remember to take a moment and praise him when he does something well, too. Don’t overlook the happy moments.”

As Victor packed for Moscow later that night, he thought about what Yuuri said. It was true that he had been focusing on Yurio’s bad behavior and not really acknowledging his good behavior. What would I do without you, Yuuri?

As promised, Chris was at the house early the next morning, a little after Victor left for the airport. “Here it is!” he said, shoving a paper bag into Yuuri’s arms. “The secret item,” he said with a wink.

“Ah, thank you,” Yuuri said. “Can I look at what it is?”

“Of course!”

Yuuri examined the contents of the bag, then looked at Chris. “How is this supposed to help the problem?”

“Come here, I’ll whisper it to you,” Chris said.

When he was done, Yuuri gaped at him. “You really think this is going to work?” he asked.

“Obviously,” Chris said, rolling his eyes. “Just try it! I think you’ll be surprised.”

Yuuri shrugged and agreed. Later, when Yurio woke up, he found Yuuri doing the laundry. “Yuuri, watch Power Rangers with me,” he said.

“Okay,” Yuuri said, “but let me finish putting Victor’s work clothes on the line.” Luckily the house had a small clothesline in addition to the more modern washer and dryer.

Yurio looked up in awe as Yuuri hung up a red Power Rangers suit. Yuuri fumbled with the clothespins, hoping that deceiving Yurio like this would do more good than harm. Chris had assured him that it would be like believing in Santa Claus and that Yurio would understand it slowly as he got older, but Yuuri couldn’t help feeling worried.

When Victor got back from the competition, Yuuri had dinner ready and at the table. They ate together, and Victor told them all about the other skaters he met, and Yuuri congratulated him on another gold medal.

At the end of the meal, Victor noticed that Yurio’s plate was completely clean. Ah, I have to praise him, he thought. “You finished your whole dinner! Good job!”

Yurio didn’t say anything back, but his eyes were wide and he nodded quickly.

Yuuri looked at Yurio from across the ice. He was happily twirling around next to Otabek, their costumes catching the stage lights. Suppressing a pang of emotion, he turned his attention back to the younger skaters in the middle who were finishing their turns. The audience politely applauded the move, and Yuuri helped everyone move to the next part of the Ice Show choreography. Time flew by, and before he knew it everyone was in a line and bowing to their parents and families.

He herded the kids off the ice and into the locker rooms to take off their skates. He knew they were ready to go greet their parents, but he also didn’t want any of them wearing out their blades. Once he managed to pry Yurio away from Otabek, he took him to go look around the audience. When they walked out of the locker room, Yurio’s eyes widened and he ran to his grandparents.

“Бабушка, дедушка,” he said happily.

“Yura, that was amazing,” Diana said, leaning down to give him a hug.

“You were the best one out there,” Nikolai agreed, ruffling his hair.

Victor stepped out from behind them. “You’re definitely going to be better than me someday,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “But someday! Not today!”

Yurio stuck out his tongue in response, but seemed to appreciate the compliment.

Yuuri smiled at all of them, but it was hard for him to feel anything but sad. This was the last time he’d get to teach Yurio like this, and soon he would barely even see him at all. He shook his head and forced himself to not dwell on it. “Would you like me to take a picture of you?” he asked Yurio’s grandparents, taking his phone out.

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Diana said, picking Yurio up so that Nikolai wouldn’t have to stress his back.

Yuuri took the picture and promised to send it to them soon, as well as some other pictures he had been taking of Yurio. They thanked him profusely, then Diana held out her hand. “Phone,” she demanded to Victor. He did as she asked without question, and Diana ushered Victor and Yuuri to where Yurio was standing. “Now let me take a picture of you three,” she said, holding up the phone. “Smile!”

Victor immediately snaked his arm around Yuuri’s shoulders and pulled them down to Yurio’s level. Yuuri blinked a few times and then smiled at the camera, allowing himself to be happy for the moment and sad for the future.

Victor thanked her and took his phone back, tapping a few buttons to Instagram the photo. “Why don’t we go out to dinner?” he asked Yurio.

His nephew jumped up and down in excitement, saying, “Yes! Yes!”

Victor laughed and turned to Nikolai and Diana. “Would you like to join us? My treat.”

Diana said, “No, we couldn’t possibly intrude! You three go and enjoy yourselves, we have to be getting home.”

“Are you sure?” Victor asked, his brow furrowed.

“Yes,” Nikolai reiterated. “We’ll see you all again soon, take this night with Yurio yourselves.”

“Alright,” Victor said. “Then we’ll see you!”

“До свидания, Юра, Витя, Yuuri,” they called, waving goodbye as they left the rink.

“Well,” Victor said, turning to Yurio. “You’re the star of the evening, what do you want to eat?”

Yurio thought for a moment before declaring, “Pizza!”

Victor chuckled. “Pizza it is. Let’s go.”

February 2018

Sara woke up and looked at her phone, only to see that it was dead. She cursed under her breath, swinging her legs out of bed and checking the time on the watch on her desk. She was running very late. Quickly, she threw on some clothes and dashed down the stairs.

“You’re running late,” Mickey said helpfully, sipping coffee and not looking away from the trashy news TV show they both wouldn’t admit to watching.

“Thanks, I know,” she said, throwing a piece of bread in the toaster.

“I’m leaving without you in five minutes,” he said.

“No you’re not,” she replied with a grin. She started filling a glass of water and looked at the TV.

The announcer was saying, “Today, our newest story is that now local figure skating legend Victor Nikiforov is rumored to be romantically involved with musician Alejandro Rodriguez.” Sara stared helplessly as a picture of the two of them leaving the back seat of a taxi filled the screen. “Apparently the two were seen together at a party, and this photo was taken afterwards. Of course, both of them have issued statements that they are not dating, but every good celebrity relationship seems to start this way, doesn’t it, Dave?” The announcers laughed and continued joking with each other, and Sara realized that her glass was long overfull and water was spilling all over the floor. “Cazzata,” she murmured, grabbing a towel and cleaning up quickly.

“Is everything okay?” Mickey called from the couch.

“Yeah! Yeah, uh, I just need to change my socks,” she yelled.

Mickey sniffed. “Is your toast burning?”

Sara unplugged the toaster with jerk of her hand and threw the toast onto the counter, almost burning her fingers.

“Five minutes!” he yelled from the couch.

“Got it!” she said, already halfway up the stairs.

She took 10 minutes and, predictably, Mickey was still waiting for her. He drove them to campus and she practically ran out the car the moment it was parked.

“Bye!” he yelled at her retreating form. She waved and continued on. Finally, she was in the lecture hall of her first class. She flopped down next to Yuuri and gave him a worried look that he returned.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I was just in a hurry because I woke up late,” she said, catching her breath. “Hey, do you guys watch TV in the morning?”

“What? Yeah, we do,” he said.

“Um, what kind of TV?”

“Mostly kids shows as we send everyone off to school.”

Sara let herself breathe a sigh of relief. So Yuuri hadn’t seen the news. “Okay, good.”

Yuuri raised his eyebrows at her before pulling out his phone. “You’re acting strange,” he said, then his eyes froze when he looked at his phone. A news alert was on his lock screen that read “Local figure skater Victor Nikiforov dating musician Alejandro Rodriguez?”

Sara grabbed the phone out of his hands, but she was too late. “Hey, Yuuri, don’t take it to heart! They both released a statement saying that they aren’t actually dating!”

Yuuri blinked a few times, then smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s okay, really! Just because I like him doesn’t mean I actually need to date him or anything.”

Sara frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah!” he said, mustering some enthusiasm. “I just want him to be happy! Oh, here comes the professor,” he grabbed his phone out of her hands and shoved it back into his pocket.

Sara couldn’t really concentrate on the lecture, as she kept glancing at Yuuri’s expression. He seemed to be a little too focused on the professor, and his pencil was moving but he wasn’t taking notes. Sighing, she reminded herself to keep checking up on him to make sure he was okay.

Later that day, Sara met up with Mila for dinner. They were eating cheeseburgers in silence, and all Sara could think was, Is it really okay for Yuuri to like him and not want to date him? Won’t that make him sad?

She was roused from her thoughts by Mila waving a hand in front of her face. “Helloooooo,” she said. “You there?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Sara said, blushing. “I was just thinking about something.”

“Anything in particular?” her girlfriend asked, popping a french fry into her mouth.

“Do you think Victor is really a player?” she asked.

Mila gave her a weird look. “No, I don’t think so. He’s actually a really good guy, I’ve known him for a long time. And he can be kind of dense, but he’s still helpful,” she said, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “Why?” Suddenly her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me… You like him instead…”

“No! No! It’s not me!” Sara blurted out, hasty to reassure her. “It’s Yuuri!”

Mila smiled widely. “Ohhhh, okay. Well, I kinda figured that, but it’s good to know for sure.”

“You can’t tell anyone, though!” Sara said, shushing her.

“It’s not like I would,” Mila said, shrugging. “But I’m pretty sure that Victor likes him, too, so I can root for them, right?”

“Yeah,” Sara said, smiling and reaching across the table to hold her hand. Mila took the opportunity to steal one of Sara’s fries.

Yuuri laid on his bed, staring at his desk. Sitting on the desk was a nice bag full of homemade chocolates. Yesterday he was excited at the prospect of giving them to Victor. Now, he was just filled with dread. Was Victor really dating someone right now?

The rational part of Yuuri’s brain tried to tell him that Victor wouldn’t hold his hand if he was dating someone, and Yuuri had never seen him with anyone other than Chris, Mila, and Phichit. Plus, Yuuri knew exactly how much free time Victor had. He spent it all at home, and it seemed like a lot of effort for Victor to have a secret boyfriend.

Still, the anxious part of his brain whispered that Victor was just very free with his affections, and obviously he was dating someone famous and attractive. Well, he was definitely famous, but only probably attractive. Before he could stop himself, he was googling Alejandro Rodriguez.

He immediately regretted it.

The man was incredibly gorgeous, with a chiseled face and many shirtless pictures that showed his face wasn’t the only chiseled part of him. With a groan, Yuuri put his phone down. How could he expect to compete with someone like that?

Wait, I’m not trying to compete with him. Just because I like Victor doesn’t mean I need or want to date him.

Yuuri no longer believed those words. If he truly just wanted Victor to be happy, he would be filled with an emotion other than jealousy and hopelessness. He truly was a selfish, selfish man. He glanced back at the chocolates. Surely, he could still give them to Victor. If he was actually dating someone, he would just reject them, and Yuuri would pretend his heart wasn’t broken.

His alarm went off, and he stared at his clock. He really didn’t want to go to Victor’s or class today, especially because he hadn’t slept well due to worry, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. He couldn’t leave Victor or Yurio out to dry because of his own feelings.

Luckily, his time at the house passed quickly and without incident, and Victor was out the door fairly quickly. Yuuri dropped Yurio off at daycare and moped his way to his first lecture. Class dragged on, and he was thankful when it was over. Before he could get out of the lecture hall, Sara was stopping him.

“Hi, Yuuri, how are you feeling today?” she asked. When he just grunted in response, she smiled. “Hey, will you do me a favor?”

He looked up at her. “What is it?”

She handed him a flyer. “Mila really wants me to go to a baseball thingy with her, and I really don’t know anything about the sport and I think it’ll be a boring date. Plus, you know baseball!”

“Okay?” Yuuri asked, not sure where she was going with this.

“So the Detroit Tigers have a Valentine’s Day special event, and there’s a promotion where the more pairs of tickets you buy, the cheaper they get, so I want you, Victor, Yurio, and Phichit to come with us! That’ll make 6 of us! Plus, Phichit already said yes.”

Yuuri frowned. “But shouldn’t your Valentine’s Day date be just the two of you?”

“Not at all!” Sara said, smiling. “Mila says the more the merrier!”

“Well, okay, I’ll ask Victor about it,” Yuuri agreed. “But he probably already has plans…” he trailed off.

“Just ask him! Oh, and make sure you tell him it’s the Detroit Tigers,” she said, “because Yurio will totally love it!”

“Um, okay,” Yuuri said. “I’m gonna go eat lunch now?”

“Yeah! Sorry, have fun! Don’t forget to ask him!” Sara called, walking out of the hall.

Yuuri didn’t really know what was going on, but he was more than happy to help a friend out.

That night, Yuuri was nervous about Victor coming home. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t like he was actually asking Victor out on a Valentine’s Day date, they were just helping out their friends. Besides, Yurio and Phichit would be there.

When Victor came in through the front door, Yuuri waited until he took off his coat and shoes before asking, “Do you have any plans on the 14th?”

Victor thought for a moment, then said, “No, I think I’m free. Celestino gave us the day off.”

Yuuri figured as much if Phichit had already committed. “Um, Sara and Mila invited us to a baseball event. They said that if the three of us go, they’ll have 6 people counting Phichit, and it’ll be cheaper. Or something.”

Victor smiled. “Sounds fun to me!” He turned to Yurio, who was playing with a Power Ranger action figure on the couch. “Yurio, do you want to go?”

His nephew shrugged noncommittally.

Yuuri remembered what Sara had said, and added, “Oh, I’m supposed to say that the team is the Detroit Tigers.”

Yurio jumped up and grabbed onto Victor’s legs. “We have to go!” he yelled.

“Okay!” Victor said, laughing. “We can go.”

“Are you sure?” Yuuri asked, surprised at Victor’s easy commitment. “Don’t you have Valentine’s Day plans?”

“Nope,” Victor said with a smile. “Oh! But because it will be Valentine’s Day, I’ll be sure to wear a disguise. There will be a lot of people around, I don’t want you to be inconvenienced.”

That wasn’t what Yuuri was concerned about, but he let it go. If Victor was free, then it was fine.

Yuuri woke up on Valentine’s Day feeling a little excited. He looked at the homemade chocolates and knew he was going to give them to Victor. He just had to find the right time.

Because it was going to be cold outside, he wrapped himself up in a big jacket and warm pants. He found his hat and scarf and went to meet everyone at Victor’s house. Mila and Phichit were already waiting at the front door.

“Yuuri!” Phichit called, waving happily. “It’s been awhile! I haven’t seen you since New Year's,” he said with a wink.

“Ah,” Yuuri replied, blushing at the memory of what happened during (and after) his party. “Yeah, hi!”

“I wish we had some classes together,” he said with a sigh. “Oh well. We’re just waiting for Sara, right?”

Victor and Yurio came out of their house. Yurio was wearing a tiger beanie with little ears sticking up, and Victor was wearing a hat and glasses. “Hello!” they greeted.

Sara finally rounded the corner. “Sorry I’m late!”

Victor looked at her, then to Mila. “Wait. So Sara is your girlfriend?”

“Yup,” Mila replied, leaning over to give Sara a kiss on the cheek. “Well, now that everyone’s here, should we walk to the bus stop?”

They started down the sidewalk, and Sara fell into step beside Yuuri. “Did you bring the chocolates?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he whispered back, “but I’m super nervous about giving them to him.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she whispered, “just leave it to me!” She smiled and sped up to hold hands with Mila.

After a short bus ride, they were at the stadium. Since it was February and not baseball season, the event was mostly based on food, autograph sessions, booths, and rides.

They walked around the park outside the stadium. Yuuri had never been to an American baseball stadium before, so it was interesting to see how it was different from Japanese stadiums. He remembered going to see baseball games with his sister and parents, and he thought it would also be really nice to go with Victor and Yurio.

They wandered around the booths, looking at the different memorabilia being sold. Most of it was baseball related, and they didn’t buy much, but there was a tiger scarf that Yurio fell in love with. Victor happily bought it for him, saying he would get it on his birthday. Yuuri took a picture of a large sign that said “Detroit Tigers” and sent it to his family, knowing they would recognize the similarity to their favorite Japanese baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers.

By the food court, there was a beautiful carousel with hand-painted tigers to ride. Yurio’s eyes were wide as he begged to ride it. They all waited in line and went on together. Yurio was too small to hang on by himself, so Victor sat behind him. Yuuri took lots of pictures for them while they laughed as they spun round and round.

Soon it was lunchtime and they stopped at the food court. Once everyone had their food, they grabbed a big picnic table and ate.

Victor looked at Mila and said, “Wow, I just still can’t believe that you’re dating someone. I feel like you were 12 yesterday.”

Mila glared at him. “I’m 19, you old man. What are you now, 40?” He stuck his tongue out at her in response.

Phichit spoke up, “Hey, speaking of dating, what about you, Victor? And that musician?”

Yuuri’s heart stopped. What was Phichit thinking, asking a question like that so openly?

Victor frowned slightly. “You should know better than to believe gossip like that, Phichit. We both plainly said that we weren’t dating.”

“But that picture,” Phichit added.

“Yeah, it was cropped,” Victor said. “There were actually other skaters like Chris in the picture, but they made it look like just us.” Victor looked around the table at all of the people listening intently. “Wait, don’t tell me all of you believed that? You too, Yuuri?” he asked, looking at him directly.

“Ah, sorry, I only saw the news, not your denial,” Yuuri said quickly. “But, I’m glad to hear you say it yourself. If you say that you’re not dating, then I believe you.”

Victor smiled widely. “That’s a relief. Thank you.”

They threw away their trash and started walking around again. On an impulse, Yuuri bought a churro and started eating it. He couldn’t help but feel happy knowing that Victor wasn’t dating anyone. Yuuri still wasn’t going to ask him out or anything, but it was refreshing to know that Victor wasn’t taken.

Victor came up next to him, holding Yurio against his chest. “You look happy,” he said, smirking. “Is the churro that good?”

“Ah! Yeah, it is,” Yuuri said. “Do you want to try some?”

“Sure,” Victor said.

Yuuri scrambled to think of how to share it, since he didn’t have a knife and Victor probably didn’t want him ripping a piece off with his bare hands. He started to reach for a napkin when Victor just ducked his head down and bit off a piece, right from where the churro was in Yuuri’s hands. Right in front of his face.

Victor leaned back up and swallowed with a smile. “That is good!” he said.

Yuuri was speechless, and he heard laughter from his side. He turned and saw Mila, Sara, and Phichit all giggling to each other. Phichit winked at him, and Yuuri felt his face burning up. Why did Victor have to do these things to his heart?

Yuuri glared at them, and they walked over. “I think the ferris wheel is the last thing to do?” Sara asked. She looked at Phichit and Mila knowingly. “I heard it takes 14 minutes to make a full rotation.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Victor said, walking towards it. Yuuri glanced back warily at his friends, then followed Victor. They waited in line for a few minutes, then found themselves at the gate to the cars. It was cute; each car was shaped like a baseball.

Victor approached the first car, still holding onto Yurio. “Hey, what’s that?” Phichit yelled loudly, causing everyone to look at him. “There are toys on the next car? Really?” Yurio’s attention was piqued. Phichit grabbed him and pulled him away. “You better get on the next one, then, Yurio.”

Suddenly Mila was at the front, shoving Victor and Yuuri into the car. “Well, you two better get on this one, and we’ll take Yurio onto the next one.”

“What?” Yuuri asked, but he was too shocked to resist.

“Ma’am, please, you can’t shove them,” the ferris wheel attendant weakly protested, but Mila was too strong and fast.

“Have a good trip!” she said, closing the door to the car behind them. Yuuri was still standing in shock, and he saw the attendant give up and press the button to move the car. With a jolt, they started rising off the ground. He looked at Victor, who was just laughing.

“I don’t know what’s happening, either,” he said, “But it looks like you’re stuck with me for 14 minutes.”

Yuuri laughed weakly back. Yeah, 14 minutes alone in a ferris wheel with Victor. What could go wrong?

He sat down and nervously wrung his hands. They were stopped now, probably to load the next car. How much time has passed? Probably 30 seconds. Great.

The car slowly moved again, and now they could see into the next one. Phichit, Sara, and Mila waved at them, and Yurio held up an action figure to the window. So they really gave him toys? He turned back to Victor, who was taking off his hat and glasses.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, “but when I’m just with you it’s not like I need a disguise.”

“You’re right,” Yuuri said, trying hard to not focus on the way Victor’s hair was cutely curled from being in a hat all day. “Is it hard? Being famous, I mean. You always have to be on your best behavior, and you could get recognized anywhere.”

Victor hummed. “Maybe. I guess those parts can be annoying, but when I’m home or with you, I get to be myself, so I don’t mind,” he said with a smile.

Yuuri didn’t know what to say to that, so he smiled back. His phone vibrated, and he jumped to check it.

Sara Crispino: This is your chance! You’re alone with him, give him the chocolate!

Sara Crispino: ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

Oh my god, this was their plan the whole time. Yuuri gulped and looked up at Victor, who was gazing out of the window at the baseball stadium now below them. Well, if they went to all the trouble…

“Victor, I, uh, I made you some chocolate. That is, if you want it,” he finally said, holding out the bag.

Victor looked at him in surprise, then smiled warmly and accepted the bag. “Thank you, Yuuri, I definitely want it. And this is the second year in a row, too.” He quickly examined the bag. “This is homemade again, right?”

“Ah, yes. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? It was really good last year.”

Yuuri blushed. Not only did Victor remember the chocolate from last year, but he enjoyed it. A wave of selfishness came over him with the words, because if he could keep this happy and gentle Victor to himself he would do it in a heartbeat.

They talked about random things, and then suddenly the attendant was opening their door. Yuuri looked up in surprise, it only felt like a few minutes had passed since they got in. Victor stepped out and held out his hand to Yuuri. He blushed but took it, climbing out into the chilly February air. Victor didn’t let go of his hand until the next car with their friends was unloaded. Yurio ran to Victor to show him his new action figure, so Victor let go to give him a hug and look at the toy.

Phichit walked over and raised his eyebrows at him, and when Yuuri just blushed and nodded in response, Phichit gave him a big thumbs up. They all started walking back to the bus stop, and Mila sidled up to Victor. “Как прошел твой День Святого Валентина?” she asked.

“Прекрасно... Действительно прекрасно,” he replied with a smile. “Я думаю, что должен вас поблагодарить,” he added, and Mila winked at him.

Victor burst in through the front door and ran excitedly to Yuuri, who was making lunch in the kitchen. “I got the rest of the day off!” he said.

Yuuri smiled as he flipped the sandwich on the griddle. “That's nice,” he replied. “You’ve been training really hard for the upcoming Olympics, you deserve it. Do you have any plans for what you're going to do with your free time?”

“You,” Victor said, then he blushed and shook his head. “Okay wait! That came out wrong.”

Yuuri would've been more embarrassed if Victor didn't seem to have that covered for the both of them already. “Oh really?” he asked with a smirk. He hesitated for a moment before adding, “You’ll have to buy me dinner first.”

Victor’s blush only grew deeper, and Yuuri thought for a second that he had taken the joke too far, but Victor started laughing. “Yuuri!” he said. “That was the plan!” When Yuuri raised an eyebrow, Victor realized he still wasn't being clear. “The dinner! Not the... doing… Okay I'm going to try this again.”

He walked out of the kitchen, and Yuuri smiled and turned off the stove. Victor re-entered and greeted, “Yuuri! Hello!”

“Hi,” he said, trying not to start laughing.

“I just found out I have the rest of the day off! Vera already agreed to watch Yurio tonight, so would you care to also take time off and have dinner with me?”

“I would love to,” Yuuri said. “But nowhere fancy!” he added. “I don't want to spend a lot of money.” When Victor opened his mouth, he added, “Or have you spend a lot of money.”

“Fair enough,” Victor said with a smile. “There's a new Japanese restaurant that opened up in the city?”

“Sounds good,” Yuuri agreed. “And I can wear jeans?” Victor nodded that he could. “Then I approve.”

“Pick you up at 6?” Victor asked.

“I’ll just be here, Victor,” Yuuri said with a quiet laugh. “But yes, 6. Now I need to feed your nephew.”

Yuuri tried not to think about the dinner too hard for the rest of the day, but he found himself growing excited. He didn't really think that it was a date, and he was pretty sure that Victor felt the same way. But it’s still nice to spend time with the person you love, even though Victor was just his friend.

Pretty soon it was 6pm and Victor was gathering up Yurio and his stuff for bed. Yuuri noticed and asked, “Oh, is he sleeping over?”

“Yeah,” Victor said. “Vera is just going to put him to bed at her house at the same time as Irina. Then we fully have the night off!”

Yuuri shrugged and followed him outside. They dropped Yurio off at the Babichev house and then climbed into the car. Yuuri was happy to note that Victor was also wearing jeans. As much fun as their fancy not-date in Finland was, he felt more comfortable at casual restaurants.

Victor turned the radio to Yuuri’s favorite classical music station and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the melody. The restaurant wasn't too far away, so they were parked and walking in soon after leaving.

The restaurant was nice but not fancy, and it made Yuuri feel at home almost immediately. They got a small booth in the back and looked over the menus, which were in both Japanese and English. Yuuri scanned it quickly before putting it down. Victor was still on the first page and looked up at him. “Know what you want already?”

“Yeah, they have katsudon, which is my favorite food,” Yuuri said, “so as soon as I saw that I didn't have to look anymore.”

“Isn't that what you made for Yurio’s birthday last year?” When Yuuri nodded, Victor added, “Well then, I’ll have it, too!” He put his menu down.

Once the waitress came to take their orders, Victor said, “So now I know your favorite food, what else should I know?”

Yuuri laughed. “There's not too much to know about me.”

“Nonsense,” Victor said, putting his chin on his hands. “Tell me about Japan?”

“Well, you know that my parents run a hot spring there. We also serve food like this. I helped out a lot when I lived at home.”

“Do you miss it?”

Yuuri thought for a moment. “Yeah, but not always. I haven't seen my family in almost five years, but I call them a lot. Still, it's nice to be independent and stuff, too, I guess. What about you? Do you miss Russia?”

“Not really,” Victor said quickly. “I don't really talk to my parents, as you've seen, and my friends are really all around the world. I actually like being here. Now, I believe we were talking about you. What's your favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“Your favorite ice cream flavor?”

“Mint chocolate chip.”

“What about your favorite movie?”

Yuuri laughed. “What is this? An interrogation?”

“No,” Victor said. “It's a da-”

“Here’s your food,” the waitress said, placing big bowls in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?”

Yuuri could've sworn that Victor glared at her as he said, “No, thank you.”

She turned to Yuuri and he shook his head before turning to his food. “This smells amazing,” he said, inhaling deeply. “いただきます!”

Victor started eating as well. After the first bite, he sighed deeply. “This is so good! But yours was better.”

“I'm glad you like it,” Yuuri said with a smile. “My mom’s is even better than mine.”

“I'll have to try it sometime then!”

Yuuri went back to eating to hide the blush spreading across his face at the thought of Victor in his hometown, at his house, meeting his parents. He was sure they would all get along great.

They finished eating in comfortable silence, too focused on the food to talk much. Yuuri insisted on paying, since Victor paid last time. When Victor kept protesting, Yuuri assured him that he could pay next time, which made Victor smile widely.

They went back to the car, and Victor said, “Well, we still have the rest of the night, so do you want to come back with me? Maybe you could help me set up my record player?”

“Sure,” Yuuri agreed, climbing in. Neither of them spoke much on the way back, but Yuuri didn't mind. He felt stupidly happy spending time with Victor like this.

When they got back, the house felt weirdly empty with Yurio. Yuuri suddenly realized that he and Victor were alone, but Victor acted the same as always, so Yuuri was quickly put back at ease. Together they dug the record player out of the garage and set it up on the coffee table in the living room. When it seemed to be ready, Victor gingerly took the vinyl record Yuuri gave him for Christmas out of its sleeve and set it on the player. The sounds of Journey filled the room, and they settled onto the couch. Victor sat close enough that their thighs were basically touching, and Yuuri found he didn't want to move away.

As Victor hummed along to the first couple songs, Yuuri finally asked, “What is it with you and this kind of music? I just mean, how did it become your favorite?”

Victor laughed. “You mean cheesy 80s rock?”

“Your words, not mine,” Yuuri replied, laughing too. “I guess I mean, you're Russian and this is all old American music.”

“Would you believe me if I said it’s from my time?”

Yuuri frowned. “No. You're only four years older than me.” He did some quick mental math and added, “You were also only alive for 2 years of the 80s.”

“That's 2 more years than you,” Victor said. “But, I have no idea. It’s just what I've always liked.”

They talked a little more, but eventually they just sat and listened to the music. Yuuri had never really listened to this album before, and while it certainly wasn't his favorite, he was just happy seeing how much Victor was enjoying himself.

Victor reached between them and gently took Yuuri’s hand. They both blushed, but neither made a move to pull away. Yuuri peeked up at Victor and would’ve done anything to know what he was thinking or how he felt about him. Well, anything but ask him. It was most likely a one-way attraction, but Victor was the one always holding his hand and inviting him out. Was it possible that…

Victor closed his eyes and sighed as the music changed. “This is one of my favorite songs,” he said. He opened his eyes and grinned at Yuuri. “Wait here,” he said, squeezing his hand and letting go to jump up. He looked around for a second before grabbing a shoe and then walking to the record player. He adjusted the needle to start the song over, then posed in the middle of the room, facing away from Yuuri.

The first notes filled the room, and Yuuri watched as Victor did nothing but tap his foot. He turned his head over his shoulder and made eye contact, gently swinging his hips back and forth. He lip-synced, “When the lights go down in the city, and the sun shines on the bay, ooh I want to be there, in my city, oh, ohhh, ohhh,” holding up the shoe as a microphone.

He turned around and started really getting into the performance, accentuating the drum hits with quick thrusts of his hips. Yuuri gulped as he continued, “So you think you’re lonely, well my friend I’m lonely, too, I want to get back to my city by the bay, ohhh, ohhh.”

Victor closed his eyes and got down on his knees, dramatically pretending to sing, “It’s sad, oh there’s been mornings out on the road without you.” Then he opened his eyes and reached to Yuuri, mouthing, “Without your charms, ohhh, my, my, my, my, my, my, ohhh, ohhh.”

He took the next line off, running his free hand down his chest as he stood up and walked closer to Yuuri, continuing the dance on the way. “Ooh I want to be there, in my city, oh, ohhh, ohhh.” Then he used the shoe as a guitar and pantomimed the guitar solo, screwing up his eyes in focus. He sang the chorus again, maintaining eye contact with Yuuri and using his hips a little more than necessary.

When the song finished, Victor stood in front of him, panting slightly, his cheeks red with exertion and embarrassment. “Well?” he asked.

Yuuri didn’t know what to say. Whether it was because his brain had short-circuited or Victor had stolen his breath away, the only thing he could get out was, “Wow.”

“Good wow? Or bad wow?” Victor asked, cocking his hip and resting the shoe on it.

“Good wow!” he was quick to add. “Definitely good.” Victor smiled at him, and Yuuri felt his thoughts beginning to return. “But you are definitely even more of a dork than I thought.”

Victor gasped in mock horror. “Dork in a good way? Or a bad way?”

“Good way,” Yuuri said, patting the couch next to him. Victor settled back in and leaned on his shoulder. His hand blindly moved around the couch until it captured Yuuri’s once again. They sat for a few minutes, willing their heart rates down.

“Where did you even learn to dance like that?” Yuuri asked.

“A certain pole dancing babysitter,” he answered with a grin.

Yuuri groaned. “Can we just forget about that? It's so embarrassing.”

“Never! It's even my phone background.”

“It is not.”

“It is! Do you want to see?”

“No! No, I believe you.”

“Good,” Victor said, snuggling closer.

After a few minutes a new song came on, and Victor stood up, not releasing his hand. “May I have this dance?” he asked. Yuuri nodded dumbly and let Victor pull him up. They moved to the middle of the room and he wrapped Yuuri’s hands around his neck, moving his own to Yuuri’s hips. They slowly danced around the room.

Victor was actually singing this song, his accent gently curling around the words. “Lying beside you, here in the dark, feeling your heartbeat with mine,” he sang. “Softly you whisper, you’re so sincere, how could our love be so blind.”

Yuuri tightened his grip around Victor’s neck, to remind himself that he was really there in his arms. The position made it difficult to avoid Victor’s soft gaze, and Yuuri let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Victor gently sang along with the chorus, “So now I come to you, with open arms, nothing to hide, believe what I say.”

“So here I am, with open arms, hoping you'll see, what your love means to me, open arms,” Victor crooned, leaning closer and quieting to a whisper at the end. Yuuri realized they weren't moving anymore, but Victor didn't seem to notice or care. Instead he reached up a hand to caress Yuuri’s cheek and leaned in even closer.

Yuuri closed his eyes. But this time, there was no Yurio to interrupt them, and there could be no one else on the planet as far as Yuuri was concerned, because Victor’s lips were on his. It was gentle and sweet and perfect, but most importantly, it was a kiss. He didn't know if it lasted a few seconds or a few minutes, but eventually Victor was pulling away. Without opening his eyes, Yuuri shook his head and pulled him back in by the neck.

Thankfully, Victor took the cue to keep kissing him, crashing their lips back together. Yuuri moved his hands to run his fingers through Victor’s hair, which made him moan and press them even closer together.

After another indeterminate amount of time, Yuuri finally broke away to breathe and look up at Victor in awe. His face was flushed, his lips were red, and his hair was a mess. Yuuri had never seen anyone more beautiful, and he gingerly reached up a hand to stroke Victor’s face and assure himself that this wasn't a dream.

Victor smiled and snuck his thigh between Yuuri’s, gently propelling them back into their slow dance. The music was still going and Victor leaned down to nuzzle into his neck. His light stubble rubbing across sensitive skin sent shivers down Yuuri’s spine. He held Victor as they danced long after the song changed to one less suitable for their current activity.

Eventually Victor leaned back up to smile at him. “The record is over,” he said gently, and Yuuri listened. The only sound was their breathing.

“I guess it is,” he said, smiling back.

Victor kissed him again, but only lightly. “I'll drive you home?” he asked.

“Mm,” Yuuri said, resting his head on Victor’s shoulder. “Soon.” He was both relieved and disappointed that this was all that was happening tonight. Honestly, he needed a little more time to absorb what just happened, because it felt a little like a fever dream.

“Whatever you want,” Victor agreed, laying his head down on Yuuri’s. He felt so safe and warm in Victor’s arms that he started to lose track of time and was brought back to his thoughts with a giant yawn.

“Okay,” Victor said with a chuckle, squeezing him before pulling away. “It's time for you to go home and to bed.”

As much as he didn't want to leave Victor and have this magical night end, Yuuri knew it must be getting late. “Okay,” he said, letting Victor lead him by the hand to the door and car.

The ride back was silent but comfortable as Yuuri looked out the window at the lights passing by. His chest felt light, like he was floating on air. He stole a glance to Victor, who had a hand on the wheel and the other threaded between Yuuri’s fingers.

They were at the orphanage too soon, and Yuuri tried to pull away to open the door. Victor held tight, and brought their hands up to his face, gently kissing Yuuri’s knuckles. “Goodnight, Yuuri.”

“Goodnight,” Yuuri whispered, before he exited the car and walked to the front door in a daze. In just a few minutes he was collapsed on his bed, pressing his fingers (that Victor had kissed) to his lips (that Victor had also kissed). He fell asleep smiling, playing the night over and over again in his head.

Chapter Text

March 2018

Yuuri opened the front door and was promptly tackled by a small blonde child. “Yuuri! I’m 5 today!” Yurio said, looking up at him in excitement.

“Yes, you are,” Yuuri said, smiling down at him. “С днëм рождения!”

“Yurio,” Victor called, presumably from further inside the house. “Can you please let Yuuri inside the house before jumping him?”

“Oh, sorry,” he replied, removing himself from Yuuri’s legs. “Did you bring me a present?” he asked, flashing puppy dog eyes.

“Yes,” Yuuri said with a laugh, “but you have to wait to open it until later.”

Yurio sighed but let Yuuri into the house. He took off his shoes and coat, then walked into the living room where Victor was already rising from the couch and moving to the hallway.

“Hi,” Victor said simply, scooping him into a big hug.

“Hi,” Yuuri replied, letting himself relax into Victor’s touch. The contact was short, and Yuuri tried to make eye contact with him after, but Victor was already whisking them into the kitchen.

“I already bought the cake,” Victor started, “and there’s ice cream in the freezer. I also bought paper plates and silverware. Oh! And I took out everything that you should need for the katsudon. But I might’ve missed something. Or many things. I don’t think I was really focused on the food last time you made it,” he said with a wink that made Yuuri gulp. “And everyone should be here in an hour or so. Any questions?”

How do you feel about me? Are we together? Why haven’t you kissed me since that night? Why did you hug me just now? Why do you make me feel like this? Do I make you feel the same way? Will your feelings change when Yurio is gone?

“No,” he said instead with a smile. “I’ll get started cooking now.” He busied himself with the familiar steps of preparing katsudon, and he lost himself in the process. It wasn’t until the first guest arrived that he remembered where he was. “Phichit!” he said, laughing as his best friend tackled him into a hug.

“Yuuri!” he yelled. “It’s been so long!”

“It’s been, like, 2 weeks,” Yuuri said with a chuckle, gently prying his friend off. “And we’ve texted each other every day.”

“It’s too long,” Phichit whined.

“Sorry, sorry,” Yuuri said. “I’ve just been… Busy.”

“Yeah, I know,” Phichit said. “You told me what was going on with Yurio.”

Yuuri just nodded. Phichit didn’t need to know all the complicated details of his life right now. As if on cue, Victor came into the kitchen and put a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. “I’m heading to the garage to grab some drinks, do you need anything?”

“Ah, no, I’m fine. Thanks, though,” Yuuri replied with a soft smile.

“Okay, well just let me know,” Victor said with a smile of his own, squeezing his shoulder and then removing his hand, although the hand might have trailed down Yuuri’s arm a bit.

Phichit cleared his throat to remind Victor he was there. “Hey, Victor.”

“Oh, hey, Phichit.”

“Congrats on the Olympic gold, by the way. I’d make a bigger deal out of it, but in your career, it’s really not, yeah?”

Victor smiled. “I still take it seriously, so thank you. You were pretty amazing yourself.”

“Well, I didn’t medal, but someday, I’ll be holding an Olympic gold.”

“I have no doubt you will,” Victor said, nodding solemnly. “Okay, I’m gonna go grab those drinks.” He flashed a final smile at Yuuri before walking out.

“Yuuri,” Phichit said accusingly, glaring at him. “Don’t tell me that’s not the only thing you’ve been busy with.”

Yuuri gulped and said nothing, just looking away and blushing.

Phichit practically gasped. “Oh my god Yuuri! You would’ve totally started saying ‘No no no!’ but you didn’t! You are! Yes!”

“What?” Yuuri whispered. “You’re not making sense. And be quiet.”

Phichit shook his shoulders. “I can’t believe it! You guys! You! You did it!”

“Well,” Yuuri started, “depends on what ‘it’ is.”

“The horizontal mambo?” Phichit asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Yuuri’s eyes widened. “NO!” he screamed, forgetting to be quiet.

“Tonsil hockey?” Phichit tried.

“That’s more than a little aggressive,” Yuuri whispered. “How do you even come up with these names?” He rolled his eyes.

“Aha! That wasn’t a no!”

“Ugh. I’m still unable to accept that it actually happened!”

“Still! Congrats on the new boyfriend, then, Yuuri!” Phichit said, slapping his best friend on the back.

The blush faded from Yuuri’s face, and he avoided eye contact again. “Ah, well, no, it’s not like that.”

Phichit froze. “What do you mean? How can it not be?”

“Here’s the juice,” Victor said, walking back into the kitchen. There was a knock at the door, and he turned to get it.

“This conversation isn’t over,” Phichit whispered as he helped set the table. Yuuri nodded in response.

Soon the kitchen was full of the party guests. The one thing that Victor didn’t seem to have taken care of beforehand was the fact that they didn’t have enough chairs at the kitchen table. Normally they had 4, and Victor found 2 more in the garage, but that still left 6 chairs for 9 people. Victor just happily announced that they could share and make it work.

Yurio sat at the head of the table and happily smiled at Otabek, who was seated right next to him. No one else was his age, so mostly everyone just ate. Mila was in Sara’s lap, and they were feeding each other bites of their food. Mostly, Mila was eating hers and Sara’s. Chris and his new boyfriend, Alex, were both trying to share a seat and not fall off. Yuuri took the only empty seat, which was thankfully next to Phichit. He leaned into his best friend and was prepared to start describing his current predicament when Victor was tapping his shoulder.

“Got any room?” he asked with a wide smile.

When Yuuri only stared up at him, Victor sat on the edge of his seat and nudged Yuuri’s butt over enough that they were sharing the small space. “Thanks,” he said, popping a bite of katsudon into his mouth. Yuuri was still speechless, but now off balance, and when his weight suddenly started falling, Victor grabbed his knees to pull him back onto the seat. “You fall for me so easily,” he said with a wink, linking their ankles together and only returning one hand to his bowl. The other stayed firmly on Yuuri’s knee. Phichit watched the whole exchange with narrowed eyes, and Yuuri just made what he hoped was meaningful eye contact with his friend.

When Victor became too preoccupied taking pictures of Yurio to flirt with Yuuri anymore, Phichit motioned to his phone. Yuuri got the message and took out his own.

Phichit Chulanont: Did you say you weren’t dating?

Phichit Chulanont: Because friends don’t act like that

Yuuri Katsuki: I honestly don’t know

Yuuri Katsuki: We haven’t really discussed it

Yuuri Katsuki: Or discussed anything, really

Phichit Chulanont: Well I gather you didn’t use many words ;)

Yuuri Katsuki: Ugh

Phichit Chulanont: Ok ok what happened then?

Yuuri Katsuki: Well we went out to dinner

Yuuri Katsuki: And then back to his place

Phichit Chulanont: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yuuri Katsuki: NO

Yuuri Katsuki: Anyway

Yuuri Katsuki: Then we sorta... slow danced and then made out

Yuuri Katsuki: Then he drove me home

Phichit Chulanont: Ayyyyyy get it

Phichit Chulanont: So what’s the problem?

Yuuri Katsuki: I still have no idea how he feels about me? Or like what we are?

Phichit Chulanont: HE MADE OUT WITH YOU I THINK HE LIKES YOU

Yuuri Katsuki: Ok so yes I know Victor probably likes me

Phichit Chulanont: March 3, 2018, will forever go down as the day that you finally considered the obvious

Yuuri Katsuki: SHUT UP

Yuuri Katsuki: Seriously is it weird that I want to hear that from him though?

Phichit Chulanont: I can see where you’re coming from

Phichit Chulanont: But I really think he likes you!

Yuuri Katsuki: But there’s a chance he doesn’t

Yuuri Katsuki: And we haven’t said if we’re dating or not

Yuuri Katsuki: And he hasn’t kissed me since

Phichit Chulanont: Do you want him to? Kiss you again?

Yuuri Katsuki: Yes

Phichit Chulanont: THEN LITERALLY TELL HIM THAT

Phichit Chulanont: Tell him “Hey I like you let’s make out some more”

“Who are you texting?” Victor asked, peering at Yuuri’s phone screen.

He squeaked in response and nearly threw his phone in the air. After a second, he hastily locked it and shoved it against his chest. “No one,” he blurted. When Victor gave him a weird look, he amended, “Phichit, I mean. I’m texting Phichit.”

Victor looked from Yuuri, to Phichit, then back to Yuuri, probably considering the less than 2 feet gap between them. “Okay,” he said, shrugging and turning back to ask Yurio if he wanted cake now or later.

Yuuri sighed in relief and looked at Phichit with wide eyes. His friend mouthed, “Tell him!”

Yuuri rubbed his closed eyes and considered his options. Certainly Phichit was right, but that didn’t mean it would be easy for him. I can afford to wait a little longer, he thought, glancing at Victor who was smiling at his nephew. I’m more than content with how things are now. Everything else can probably wait until Yurio is living with his grandparents.

Yuuri skated around the rink, looking out for the young children who were likely to fall in the middle of the ice. As usual, Yurio and Otabek were off in the corner, skating moves that were too complicated. Yuuri heard Otabek say, “I went on an errand by myself yesterday.”

“Really?” Yurio asked with a look of awe.

“Yeah,” Otabek said. “I went to the store without my mom.”

“That’s so cool,” Yurio said wistfully.

Yuuri didn’t think much of the conversation, returning his attention to a girl who fell and was crying by the opposite wall.

When he and Yurio were home later and Yurio was sitting on the floor telling Makkachin about errands, Yuuri realized it had made quite an impression on him. “I think Yurio wants to go on an errand by himself,” Yuuri said to Victor, who was reading a book on the other side of the couch, their feet tangled in the middle.

“Really?” he asked, putting the book down. “Isn’t he a little young for that?”

Yuuri frowned slightly, looking at the boy on the floor. “I don’t know. Probably, but I don’t think it’s a terrible idea, either. I think it would be more wrong to ignore his enthusiasm about it.”

Victor hummed in response, following his gaze to his nephew who was still babbling to the dog about going to the store by himself.

“Maybe we should let him,” Yuuri suggested, causing Victor to look at him. “It would certainly build up his confidence, make him feel more independent. And that’s not a bad thing.” Yuuri looked to the corner of the room. “Especially because he won’t have us with him forever.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” Victor agreed. “I think we can make it work.”

“I’ll do all the preparations, then,” Yuuri said, looking back to him. “I already have a good idea of how we can plan it so that he’s never in any danger. But I’ll need your help, too. When is your next day off?”

They discussed their plan while Yurio was distracted, then Yuuri started laying the groundwork for the big day. As expected, Yurio asked if he could go to the store on his own the next day, and Yuuri smiled at him. “Definitely!” he said. “Next time we need something, I’ll send you, okay? I know you can do it.”

Yurio smiled proudly back. “I can do it,” he said, to himself as much as Yuuri.

“Okay, let’s practice,” Yuuri said. “Pretend I’m the convenience store clerk. Here’s some money. How do you ask to buy something?”

They practiced that scenario until Yurio was confident in his answers and Yuuri was confident that he could properly buy something. He continued his own planning until the big day came a few days later.

Right after Victor had “left for training,” Yuuri told Yurio that they were going to make grilled cheese for lunch. Yuuri made the sandwiches, then opened the fridge and gasped loudly.

“What is it?” Yurio asked, walking over from the table.

“We’re out of ketchup,” Yuuri said, placing a hand over his mouth. “We need ketchup for grilled cheese!”

Yurio nodded. “Tomato soup?” he asked.

“What? I mean, no, I really really wanted ketchup on my sandwich,” Yuuri said, tapping his chin in thought. “Oh! I know!” he announced. “Yurio, do you think you could go to the store for me?”

Yurio blinked up at him, then realization crossed his face. “Go to the store? Alone?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Yuuri said. “An errand. Do you think you can?” The child frowned, and Yuuri was quick to add, “If you want to.”

Yurio took a deep breath. “If I go, I’m amazing?” he asked.

Yuuri blinked, then smiled. “Yes, if you do this, you’re amazing.”

“Okay,” Yurio agreed, clenching his fists. “I’ll do it.”

Yuuri took him to the hallway and helped him put on his coat, shoes, and hat. “You know the convenience store, right? Down the street, past the pomegranate granny’s house? That’s where you need to go. When you get there, ask for help if you don’t see the ketchup.” Yuuri handed him a small coin purse. “Here’s some money, I’m putting it in your coat pocket, okay?”

Yurio nodded along the whole time, listening carefully. “I put your name tag on your coat,” Yuuri said, touching the button on his chest. “My phone number is on it, so if you get lost, show it to someone.”

They walked out the front door, and Yuuri stopped him at the gate. “Be careful of cars! Make sure you look around carefully!” Yurio was still nodding, but now he was trying to start walking away, and Yuuri took a deep breath and let him. “Oh, and if you see a stranger,” he started.

“Must not go with them!” Yurio finished with a smile.

“Okay, go and be safe,” Yuuri said.

Yurio took a few steps and then turned around. “I might cry,” he announced, and Yuuri fought the urge to run and embrace him, “but I’ll go.”

Yuuri so badly wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to do any of this to be amazing, but he knew that Yurio wanted to prove himself, and he would be okay. They had already made sure of that.

“I almost forgot!” Yuuri said, rushing to Yurio. “Here are some fruit snacks. To give you power,” he explained, tucking them into Yurio’s other pocket. “Okay,” Yuuri said, standing up. “I’ll be waiting.”

Yurio waved and walked down the sidewalk. Yuuri took out his phone and texted Victor that he had just left. The rest was in his hands, and Yuuri trusted Victor. He was in a disguise (even if it was just a hat and sunglasses) and waiting just around the corner behind a newspaper. He would make sure Yurio got to the store and back okay.

Tanaka Kyouko stood in her garden, nervously pushing random dirt around with her rake. When Yuuri had been over and asked for her help, he had already taken care of all the yard work for her, so she just pretended to look busy and wait for Yuri to walk by. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy approaching, so she happily walked closer to the fence by her pomegranate trees.

“Hello, Yuri,” she greeted. “Is it just you today?”

“Yes, granny,” he said proudly. “I’m going to the store. All by myself.”

“Wow,” she said with a smile. “Aren’t you all grown up?”

Across the street she saw a handsome gentleman watching their exchange. He took off his hat and sunglasses and bowed slightly to her when they made eye contact. Oh my, that must be Victor, then, she thought. She remembered that Yuuri had mentioned that Victor would be watching Yurio on the way to the store when he explained everything a few days ago. He has very good taste in men.

She turned her attention back to Yuri. “Well, I’ll let you get on your way to the store. Be careful of cars, young man!”

He waved goodbye as he continued walking, thankfully in the right direction.

Victor put his hat and sunglasses back on and followed Yurio down the street at a distance. Thankfully, they were nearly at the store already, and there were no problems so far. When he turned the corner, he cursed himself for thinking that.

Yurio was frozen in the middle of the sidewalk, staring with wide eyes at a dog a head taller than he was. The dog was securely on a leash, and its tongue was hanging out while it panted happily, but Yurio looked frightened. Victor knew that Yurio was fine with Makkachin, but she was an old poodle that wasn’t bigger than his nephew. He had no idea how Yurio would react.

The dog gave a single bark, and Yurio was dashing backwards and into a small alley between two nearby buildings. Victor quickly followed but stayed outside the alley so he didn’t give his position away. It’s bad if he’s running, he’ll trip.

Sure enough, when he peeked around the corner, Yurio was on his hands and knees, staring down at the ground. Victor panicked and was about to run to him, but he remembered what Yuuri said about his independence and held off for a moment. The harm was already done, and he could help his nephew at any time.

Yurio stared down at his hands, which were red but not bleeding. He looked around, presumably for Victor or Yuuri, but no one was there. Victor didn’t need to peek to hear Yurio start to cry. His heart broke for the boy, and he had to hold onto the wall to not run to him immediately. Yurio could still (probably) handle this by himself.

However, the crying didn’t stop, and Victor swore. As he thought, Yurio was too young to do this himself. He would just walk around the corner and reveal himself, then take him home…

But then there was no more crying. Victor listened carefully and heard a light sniffing, then Yurio said, “Yuuri needs ketchup. Let’s go.”

Victor hastily grabbed the newspaper out of his bag and held it up to his face as Yurio passed him, shakily walking back towards the store. He lowered it once he had passed, and Victor watched the retreating back of his nephew. He had seen Yurio right after he was born, a helpless baby. He had seen a 3 year old Yurio readjusting when his entire world was turned upside down. And now, he was a 5 year old doing things on his own and solving his own problems. It scared him a little bit how grown up he was. Eventually, he wouldn’t need Victor or his grandparents anymore. He wondered briefly if all parents felt this way at some point. He moved to follow his nephew, when a voice caught his notice.

“Isn’t that a famous figure skater?” a woman asked.

He turned and looked for the speaker, and he saw two women standing across the street. He was about to quietly acknowledge them when he noticed that they weren’t looking at him at all. Instead, they were facing the complete opposite direction, looking through the window of a nearby cafe.

“Are you sure, Susan?” the other asked. “I don’t recognize him.”

Well, Victor knew they weren’t talking about him, as they hadn’t turned to look at him once. It was probably just Phichit or Chris, so he jogged to catch up with Yurio. Unfortunately, his nephew wasn’t there. He looked all around, suddenly panicking, and couldn’t see him anywhere. He was about to start calling out for him when he saw a cat jump out of another alley with Yurio right behind him.

Victor sighed internally. Thank goodness he hadn’t lost him. But, it was just like Yurio to go chasing cats. Thankfully, the cat was too fast climbing a tree, and Yurio lost interest and continued towards the store.

Victor slipped through the doors right after Yurio, keeping his hat and sunglasses on. The boy wasn’t very perceptive and didn’t notice him at all. Instead, he ran immediately to the candy section where a Power Rangers chocolate bar was displayed. Yurio touched them happily, then sat down in the middle of the aisle to keep looking.

You’re going to get in the way! Victor restrained himself and just kept looking at something at the end of the aisle. Luckily, the store attendant made her way over. “Are you alone today?” she asked him.

“Yup! I’m on an errand,” he explained.

The woman smiled. Victor knew that Yuuri had already talked to her about this. “What are you buying?” she asked gently.

Yurio’s eyes widened, and he looked at the candy in front of him guiltily. “Ketchup,” he said, standing up.

“That’s over here,” she said, pointing to the other end of the store. “Would you like me to help you look?”

Yurio nodded and followed her. Victor hung out in the aisle closest to the register, and they were there shortly, checking out.

Yurio reached up to put the ketchup on the counter, then handed her the $5 bill from his coin purse. The attendant counted out his change and handed it to him. Yurio looked at his hand holding the money in amazement. “More money!” he told her. She laughed and wished him a good day. He was halfway out the door before he turned around and remembered to say, “Thank you!”

Victor quickly thanked her as well before stepping out to keep following Yurio. He texted Yuuri that they had left the store and walked a few blocks behind Yurio before the boy stopped and sat down on the curb. What’s he doing now?

Yurio took out the fruit snacks and started happily plopping them into his mouth. Victor sighed and hung back, just watching for now.

Yuuri paced back and forth by the fence gate. It had been nearly 20 minutes since he last heard from Victor, and that was when they were leaving the convenience store. What if something happened to Yurio? Or Victor? Or what if something happened to both of them? Oh god something horrible happened, and I’m just waiting here. He almost started walking towards the store, but he stopped himself and took some deep breaths. He trusted Victor. Victor had it under control. And Yurio needed to do this himself.

He resumed pacing until he saw movement at the end of the sidewalk. Yurio was slowly walking towards him, but when he saw Yuuri, he started walking faster. Eventually he just started running, a few tears streaking down his face as he jumped into Yuuri’s arms.

“You did a great job today,” Yuuri said, nuzzling into the top of Yurio’s head. “I’m very proud of you. Welcome home.” The boy gently cried a little more before his breathing evened out. Yuuri took the opportunity to look into his eyes. “It’s cold, do you want to go in and eat lunch now?” Yurio nodded shakily and let himself be led into the house.

Yuuri took him into the bathroom so he could wash up. Yurio moved to put his hands under the water, then stopped. He looked at his hands, then held them up to Yuuri with a big frown. “I fell,” he explained.

“Oh no!” Yuuri said, dashing to get band-aids. “Let’s clean it!” He wiped Yurio’s hands down, then covered them with small bandages. Luckily, the skin wasn’t broken.

They moved to the kitchen, where Yuuri reheated the grilled cheese sandwiches. Victor walked in, his hat and sunglasses already off.

“How was training?” Yuuri asked with a knowing smile.

“It went well in the end,” Victor said, returning the smile.

“Well, thank you for your hard work,” Yuuri said.

“You, too.”

“Oh, hey. Did you know Yurio went to the store by himself today? To get us ketchup for lunch?”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Victor said, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his nephew’s head. Yurio only smiled proudly.

Yuuri made a big deal about how good the sandwiches tasted with ketchup, and Yurio couldn’t stop smiling the whole meal. He had watched Yurio grow up for almost 2 years, and he was slowly but surely developing into his own independent person. The thought warmed his heart as he smiled at Yurio and Victor across the table.

Victor was very much not looking forward to this conversation, but he had promised Nikolai and Diana that he would do it. Yurio was laying on the floor, moving his action figures around Makkachin’s sleeping body. “Юра?” he asked, trying to get his attention.

“Да?”

Victor smiled. “I need to talk to you about something. Do you remember how a few days ago you went on that errand by yourself?”

Yurio smiled in response. “Yeah. I’m amazing.”

“Yes, you are,” Victor said with a chuckle. “And you’re getting so big and grown up. That’s why I need to tell you something.” He took a deep breath and thought about things that made him happy. Of course Yuuri’s face came to mind, and he used the image as strength to say, “When the spring comes, we want you to go live with your grandparents. In Ann Arbor.”

Yurio frowned slightly. “Grandparents,” he repeated.

“Yes.”

“Бабушка, дедушка, Виктор, и Юрий?”

Victor sighed. “Нет, no. Just grandma and grandpa.”

“No,” Yurio said, crossing his arms. “Then I’m not going.”

“Yurio,” he started.

“I’m staying here with you.”

“It doesn’t mean we won’t see you,” he said, trying to reason with him. “We’ll still come to visit a lot! And you’ll have fun with grandma and grandpa!”

“I already told you, I’m not going.”

“Please, Yuri…”

“I hate you!” he suddenly screamed, jumping to his feet. He grabbed his nearest action figure and lobbed it at Victor’s head. “Я тебя ненавижу!”

Victor dodged the first toy, but was hit square in the chest with the second one. “Yurio, please, can we talk about this…”

But Yurio kept hurling toys until he ran out of them, then he huffed onto the floor in the corner and laid in a ball. Victor fought the urge to go touch him and make sure he was okay. His nephew was really mad at him, so it wouldn’t help in the moment. He had been told this so suddenly, of course he’d react like this. He probably just needed some time to process it. Quietly, he got out a book and stayed on the couch, ready to help if Yurio needed it.

Yuuri worriedly glanced at Yurio. Normally the boy was happier, but today he seemed to be in a foul mood, even when Yuuri played with him.

“Hey, Yurio! The World Championships are coming up, and Victor is going to be competing! Let’s make him a good luck charm?” he asked, desperately hoping to engage him in something.

Yurio didn’t respond, instead he just sat on the ground petting Makkachin. Yuuri sighed and got out some supplies anyway, hoping that he would choose to participate when he saw how fun it was.

“Do you want to help?” Yuuri asked as he was cutting out strips of paper.

Yurio shook his head and said, “He said bye to me.”

Yuuri’s heart sank. Victor must’ve told him this morning. He put down the scissors and moved to sit closer to him.

“I think he hates me,” Yurio whispered, blinking back tears.

Yuuri gasped. “Definitely not! Victor does not hate you! He loves you! And I love you!”

Yurio was looking away. “But he said bye…”

With a sigh, Yuuri pulled the boy onto his lap. “You know, we’re not the only people who love you. Your papa loves you, and your mama in the sky loves you. Your grandparents love you, too, and that’s why they asked you to come live with them.”

Yurio finally looked at him. “Really?”

“Really,” Yuuri asserted, wrapping him in his arms. “Even if we’re apart, it won’t change how I feel about you. I still love you, and I’ll always love you. And so will Victor.”

Yurio nodded slowly and wiped the tears from his face. “I love you, too,” he whispered.

Victor opened the door and sighed at the smell of delicious food. It had been a rough day of training, and he had even stayed late to really solidify his free program. The World Championships were starting too soon for his liking, especially with everything going on at home.

The sound of many voices coming from the kitchen made him pause, and he cautiously entered. Yuuri, Phichit, Chris, and Yurio were already seated, a giant bowl of soup in the middle. “Victor!” Yuuri called, smiling brightly at him, and suddenly all of his exhaustion from the day melted away. “I thought we could have a little Worlds send off dinner before it gets too close, so I invited Phichit and Chris over.”

“It’s fine,” Victor said, looking at their guests warily. He considered both to be his friends, but he really enjoyed spending time with Yuuri alone more than anything. He joined them at the table and prepared his bowl. Everyone else resumed their conversations, and Yurio was still ignoring him, so Victor just enjoyed the soup in silence.

He only started paying attention to their conversation when he heard his own name.

“...Do you know if Victor is keeping up his fitness?” Chris was asking Yuuri.

“Um, you know he trains almost every day, right?” Yuuri said. “With you guys.”

“What Chris means,” Phichit added, “Is how is his endurance? His performance?”

Yuuri frowned. “Wouldn’t you two know that better than me?”

Phichit smirked. “I don’t know. Would we?”

“Well, I’ve heard that you have some impressive stamina of your own. If Victor won’t check it out maybe I will,” Chris said with a giant wink.

Realization crossed Yuuri’s face at the same time that a blush did, and Victor had had enough. “Okay, consider yourself officially uninvited from my house at this moment,” he said, grabbing them both by the shoulder and pulling them to the door.

“Why? Do you need some alone time?” Chris asked, but he was already being pushed onto the porch.

“Here are your shoes and coats,” Victor said, tossing them to the ground and then closing and locking the door. He could hear their cries of remorse and banging on the door, but he just sauntered back to the kitchen like nothing was wrong.

“Can you just do that?” Yuuri asked from his chair, but he made no move to let them back in.

“Sure I can,” Victor said with a smile.

“Well, even if they were being annoying, they were just showing how much they love you by being here.”

Yurio looked up at that and smiled. “I love…” he started, then he realized what he was going to say and slammed his mouth shut with a glare at Victor.

“Oh, that’s right,” Victor said, chuckling and ruffling Yurio’s hair. “Earlier you said you hate me, right?” Yuuri’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything. “Well, it’s okay, because as for me, I will always love you. No matter what.”

Yurio stared resolutely at his bowl, but he didn’t start throwing things, so Victor counted it as a victory. Especially when Yuuri’s hand found his under the table.

Victor took his overnight bag out into the hallway and overheard Yuuri and Yurio in the next room. “Did you remember everything?” Yuuri was asking.

“I think so,” Yurio replied.

“Pajamas?”

“Yes.”

“Stuffed animal?”

“Yes.”

“Toothbrush?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I did help you pack, so you probably do have everything,” admitted Yuuri as he came out of the bedroom.

“Sounds good to me,” Victor said, taking the bag from him. “Let's load the car. Your grandparents are excited to see you!”

Yurio nodded shyly, and followed him to the driveway.

Yuuri kept talking, “Remember to say thank you a lot! If you need anything from your grandparents, be sure to ask! And if anyone asks to play with your toys, be a good boy and share!” Yurio nodded along to the lecture, climbing into his car seat.

“Lock up the house when we're gone?” Victor asked.

Yurio looked at him in confusion. “Yuuri’s coming with us,” he said.

Victor sighed. “No, he's not. It's just you and me, but we’re spending the night at grandma and grandpa’s, remember?”

“I'll be here when you get back tomorrow,” Yuuri said, ruffling his hair. “And you'll have a fun time!”

“Just one night?” Yurio asked.

“Yes, just one night,” Victor reiterated. “We’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” Yurio agreed, though uneasily. Victor took the opportunity to climb in and start driving away. Yuuri stood at the end of the driveway and waved at Yurio until they were out of sight.

Victor couldn't decide if the car ride to Ann Arbor felt like a few minutes or a few hours, but eventually they were pulling up to Nikolai and Diana’s house. As Victor parked in the driveway, both of them came out of the house to help with their bags.

“I'm so glad you could come!” Diana was saying excitedly as she ushered them through the door. “Our niece, Maria, and her children are here, too! Elena is around your age, Yura. She turns 6 soon. Hopefully you can get along. Are you hungry?”

“We’re fine, thank you,” Victor said.

“I’ll make something anyway,” she said, turning to the kitchen.

“Don't try to stop her,” Nikolai said with a laugh. “I've been trying for almost 40 years and she still makes food no matter what.” He pointed to the couch, where a woman with long blonde hair was holding a baby. “This is my brother’s daughter, Maria, and her son, Alexei.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“And you,” Victor replied with a smile.

“Is that a baby?” Yurio asked, pointing at them.

“Yes, Yurio,” Victor said. “Have you ever seen a baby before?”

Yurio thought for a moment. “At daycare,” he said. He climbed up onto the couch and looked curiously at the baby. “He’s so tiny.”

“Yes, you were tiny like that once, too,” Victor laughed. “Come on, let’s go find Elena to play with.” He led Yurio out of the room, muttering, “I’m much less worried about you hurting a 5 year old.”

As he and his nephew searched for Elena, he learned that Maria was a very bad whisperer. “Дядя, ты не сказал мне, что он такой красавчик!” Maria was trying to whisper to Nikolai. “I would’ve put on some makeup, and my hair's a mess.”

Nikolai chuckled in response. “He is handsome, isn’t he? He’s a professional skater just like Anya.”

Victor just smiled and helped Yurio look around the house. They finally found Elena coming down the stairs, and Victor took them all back into the living room where the toys where. Once they were there, he nudged Yurio to introduce himself.

“Привет, меня зовут Юрий,” he said, waving slightly.

Elena looked at him with narrowed eyes. Yurio looked up at Victor for an explanation, but he didn’t have one. Maria opened her mouth to tell her daughter to say hi back when the girl instead said, “You’re gross.”

Yurio looked at her in confusion. It wasn’t a word he had heard often, and when he remembered what it meant, a sad look crossed his face.

“Elena!” Maria yelled. “Apologize right now! That’s not nice!”

Yurio started sniffling, so Victor leant down and let him hide in his arms.

Elena made no moves to apologize, so Maria started babbling. “I’m so so sorry about her, really. I guess she’s been jealous of the new baby, and she’s been lashing out at boys because of it lately, I’ll make sure she apologizes, I’m so sorry…”

Yurio was starting to get control of his breathing, and Victor was soothingly stroking his hair. Maria was glaring daggers at her daughter and reprimanding her until the girl nodded and turned back towards Victor and Yurio.

Victor gently peeled his nephew out of his arms and turned him towards Elena. The girl took a deep breath, looked Yurio in the eyes, and said, “Извини.”

Yurio gulped and nodded. “It’s okay,” he squeaked.

Victor squeezed Yurio’s shoulder and then steered him towards the bag of toys that Yuuri packed for them. Once he was happily playing, Victor returned to Maria.

“I’m so sorry again,” she said. “Yuri is very mature, though. It makes me jealous when my daughter is misbehaving like that.”

“He wasn’t always like that,” Victor said with a laugh. “He used to be the same way, but he’s done a lot of maturing the past 2 years.”

Yurio started rummaging through his toy bag again and his Power Ranger action figure popped out. “Power Rangers!” Elena called from her play area a few feet away. “I love them! Can I see?”

Yurio looked at her for a few seconds, then let out a deep breath. “Okay, here,” he said, handing her the toy. Victor knew without a doubt that all of this was Yuuri’s influence.

Diana came out of the kitchen with a tray of vegetables and fruit. They ate and discussed various aspects of raising children. Victor was surprised with just how knowledgeable he was about the topic, especially considering how little he knew 2 years ago. Diana watched Yurio and Elena playing Power Rangers, the “gross” incident long forgotten. “Yuri really is well-behaved,” she said.

“He’s just on his best behavior now,” Victor said. “As I was telling Maria, he used to be much worse. Even now he still can be rude and rough with me. We fight quite a bit,” he admitted.

Diana hummed. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing,” she said.

“Anya always said that being rebellious means that kids have a strong sense of self,” Nikolai added.

“You don’t say,” Victor murmured thoughtfully. He thought back to what Yuuri had said. ”Well, if he’s becoming rebellious, it must mean that he feels secure enough with you to act selfishly. His sense of inner self is starting to develop.” It was strikingly similar to Anya’s views about children. They’re quite alike, he thought happily.

Maria looked at her phone and cursed. “I have to get back soon,” she said. “I still need to make dinner for my husband. Here, I’ll help put away the dishes. Elena, start cleaning up your toys.”

Nikolai and Maria got up to clean up the food, and Diana played with Alexei on the couch.

Victor watched Elena and Yurio clean up the living room. “Can we play again sometime?” Yurio asked her.

Elena nodded. “I have even more Power Ranger toys! I can bring them.” Yurio smiled at her. She regarded him for another moment, then said, “I’m sorry I called you gross.”

Confusion crossed Yurio’s face, as if he had already forgotten everything that had happened. Then he remembered, and he looked at her. “I’m not?” he asked.

“No.”

“Well, then, what am I?”

Elena pondered that for a moment, then said, “Just normal, I guess.”

Yurio smiled happily at her. Victor was glad to see him get along with kids his age. He rose to help clean up the kitchen when he was reminded of how bad Maria was at keeping her voice down.

“I never apologized properly, uncle,” Maria whispered loudly.

“For what?” Nikolai whispered, a lot quieter.

“For not helping out when you guys needed it. With Anya and… Well, our family didn’t help out with Yuri, and I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You were pregnant with Alexei, and you had a young child of your own to take care of.”

“Well, we still feel guilty about it. And my mom wants to apologize, too, she was really busy taking care of grandpa.”

“I should apologize for that, too, then. She’s been taking care of our father all by herself. Besides, Yura has been in good hands. Victor and Yuuri have been doing a great job with him. He’s been very supported, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you, uncle. In the future, we want to be around more for him. He and Elena can be playmates, so please let us help out more and let us know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Maria, but…”

Victor realized that if he already was listening in on their whole conversation, he might as well help put them all at ease. He entered the kitchen and said, “Thank you, Maria. In the future, we’ll rely on your family to help take care of Yuri.” Nikolai smiled sadly at him. Victor knew that when Yuri went to live with his grandparents soon, he would be well taken care of by many people here, even when he wasn’t here to see it.

“Oh, before I forget,” Victor said, trying to lighten the conversation, “Yuri made you both something.” He went back to the living room and rummaged through his own bag before he found the drawing that Yuuri had packed for him. “Yurio drew this for you.”

“Oh, Yura, I love it!” Diana said, giving her grandson a big hug. “I’ll put it on the fridge right now! Какой хороший художник!”

Yurio smiled proudly at the praise. Things got calmer once Maria and her children left, so Victor talked to Diana while Yurio explored the house and Nikolai finished dinner. After a few minutes, his nephew came back with a mass of yarn tangled around his arms and head. “What’s this?” he asked.

Victor didn’t knit, but he immediately recognized the knitting project unraveling around Yurio’s small body. He turned to Diana to apologize, but found her laughing loudly. “Oh, looks like you found my knitting piece!” she said, getting up to help Yurio untangle himself.

“I’m sorry about that,” Victor started, but she waved her hand in response.

“It’s just my practice piece,” she said. “I hid my real project in my closet. I knew 5 year olds were coming over.”

Victor sighed in relief while Diana checked her watch. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, so let’s wash up. Grandpa made pirozhki!” Yurio nodded eagerly.

Victor knew that Yuuri was an excellent cook that tried to make all of Yurio’s favorite dishes, but he thought that maybe Yurio had a new favorite meal after tonight. He couldn’t stop talking about how good the pirozhki were, and he ate multiple servings. His grandfather smiled warmly down at him the whole meal.

As they were clearing the table, Nikolai said to Yurio, “Would you like to visit grandpa sometime? If his health improves.”

Yurio frowned up at him. “You’re grandpa,” he said.

Nikolai laughed. “No, my father.”

Yurio looked to Victor in confusion. “He’s talking about your great-grandpa,” Victor explained.

Yurio smiled. “So many grandpas!”

“Yeah, you have a lot of relatives here,” Victor said, ruffling his hair.

“Let’s go get you ready for a bath,” Diana said. “It’s starting to get late.”

“Oh, I have some soap for him to use,” Victor said, moving to get his bag again.

“That’s fine, dear,” Diana started. “We have plenty here already.”

“Well, Yuuri prepared some for him. He thought that if Yurio had familiar scents in an unfamiliar place, it might make him more comfortable spending the night here.” As Victor said it, he thought about how it might have been rude or presumptuous. “Ah, I mean…”

“No, that’s a good idea,” Diana said, patting his hand. “How thoughtful of Yuuri, as always. We’d be happy to use it.” She turned to Yurio. “Do you want to see our bathroom? It’s very big.”

“Big bathroom!” Yurio repeated with wide eyes, grabbing her hand.

Nikolai and Victor watched them climb the stairs. “It’s nice,” Nikolai said, “to have the house full of a child’s laughter again.” He tapped his lips in thought. “I almost forgot, we were cleaning out Yura’s room and found Anya’s favorite book when she was his age. Would you like to read it to him tonight?”

Victor smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.” When Yurio was dry after his bath, he and Victor settled into the bed in the spare bedroom. Victor started reading the book, and his nephew did not look amused.

“You’re not doing it right,” he said with a frown.

“What do you mean?” Victor asked. He was pretty sure he was reading the book just fine.

“You’re no good. Yuuri will make different voices for everyone. And he acts out the parts.”

“Really?” I didn’t know Yuuri went to such lengths to entertain him. Shouldn’t he just be happy with someone reading to him?

He was roused from his thoughts by a gentle knock on the door. “Is he not sleeping?” Diana asked. “Should I bring some warm milk?”

“No,” Victor said quickly. He knew from experience that that would just make Yurio wet the bed. “Will you read to him? Apparently I’m no good.”

She laughed softly, then said, “If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Victor said. “I’ll just step out to make a call.” Before Yurio could think about it too hard, Victor slid out of bed and stepped around the corner.

When he didn’t hear anything but, “Start where Victor stopped,” Victor felt a complicated mess of emotions. Yurio was getting comfortable enough with his grandparents to start letting Victor go little by little, and while he was happy that Yurio was adjusting, it still stung. There was only one person he wanted to talk to right now, so he called them.

“Hello?” Yuuri answered.

“Yuuri! Hi!” Victor said, feeling better already.

“Hi, Victor. What a coincidence, I was just wondering how Yurio was doing.” Victor closed his eyes and thought about how good Yuuri’s voice sounded, even on the phone. “Victor?”

“Oh, sorry, I just really like the sound of your voice,” he said shamelessly. He could almost hear the blush on Yuuri’s face.

“Have I ever told you that you’re a dork?”

“Once or twice.”

Yuuri sighed. “It’s… You, too. It’s nice to hear your voice, too.” Victor smiled widely. “I was asking,” Yuuri continued, trying to get the conversation back on track, “how is Yurio doing?”

“Oh, he’s doing well,” Victor said. “Diana is reading him one of Anya’s favorite books from when she was young.”

Yuuri made a soft noise. “That’s really nice, mother and son enjoying the same book.”

“It is, isn’t it? And he doesn’t know I’m talking to you right now. He’ll be so mad that I’m keeping you all to myself.”

Victor would’ve bet money that Yuuri was rolling his eyes at that moment. He heard a few voices in the background, and Yuuri said, “Sorry, that was Minami. I promised to help him with his English homework.”

“Okay, I won’t keep you,” Victor said. “Good night, Yuuri.”

“Good night, Victor,” he replied softly before hanging up.

The next morning, Yuuri unlocked the front door and started making lunch for when Victor and Yurio got back. He was setting the table when he heard a car door slam in the driveway. Within a minute he was get tackled by Yurio. “Yuuri!” he called happily.

“Hi, Yurio,” he said, hugging him back. “How was the trip?”

“Good,” he replied.

“Hey,” Victor said, smiling at him from the doorway.

Yuuri blushed and looked away. “Hi.” Somehow, he was still feeling embarrassed about their phone call last night. As much as he was fine with not defining what they had (for the moment), he felt like they were constantly treading a line of what was okay and what wasn’t. And it always felt like Victor was tugging him over that line. Yuuri shook his head and turned back to Yurio. “I’m glad you had a good time. Do you want some lunch?”

Yurio nodded enthusiastically and Yuuri led him to the kitchen.

“Can I grab some to go?” Victor asked. “I need to get to the rink to practice because I missed so much yesterday.”

“Oh, sure,” Yuuri said, trying to squash his disappointment. “Let me get you a container.” In a minute he had a serving for Victor in a container and he was walking to the door.

“Oh, by the way, thank you.”

“No problem,” Yuuri said.

“I mean, not for the lunch. Wait, yes, thank you for the lunch. But also, thank you for helping with the overnight.”

“What?” Yuuri asked, confused. “I didn’t do anything but sit here and wait for you guys.”

“No, your suggestions. They really helped,” Victor said earnestly.

“Oh. Well, you’re welcome, I guess.”

Victor glanced at his phone and winced. “That’s Ciao Ciao. I have to get going, see you tonight!” he called, finally walking out the door.

I barely got to see you, and you’re gone again, he thought, frowning slightly. Even though he sometimes felt awkward around Victor, he still wanted to spend time with him. He turned back to Yurio and said, “Let’s have lunch, and then you can tell me all about your visit with your grandparents!”

Yurio followed him to the kitchen, but said, “I don’t want to talk about grandma and grandpa.” Yuuri looked at him in surprise. “I want to play with you.”

“Oh. Okay,” Yuuri said. This is a difficult time for him. He must still be sorting everything out in his heart, he thought. “I’ll play with you after lunch, then.”

Yuuri emptied the dryer of clean clothes and took them to the guest bedroom to fold. It was mostly Victor’s workout clothes, but he still sorted and folded everything carefully. He blushed while attempting to fold Victor’s underwear (Why are they so small? It will barely cover everything) and made his way down the pile to Yurio’s clothes. He moved to sort his socks, when his finger got stuck in a hole. Wincing, he held up the socks. They were one of Yurio’s favorite tiger striped pairs.

Now that he thought about it, the socks were pretty old. Yurio had grown a lot since getting them. Even if he fixed the hole, they would probably be too small, anyway. Sighing, he set the pair of socks aside and finished folding the rest of the laundry. By the time he had put Victor’s laundry in his room, Yurio was up from his nap, so he had the boy help put away his own clothes. When they got to the end, Yuuri remembered the socks. He showed them to Yurio and explained the hole and the fact that they were too small.

“I can’t wear them anymore?” Yurio asked.

“No, sorry,” Yuuri said with a smile. “So let’s say goodbye and thank you to them.”

“Bye, tiger socks,” Yurio said sadly. “Thank you,” he waved as Yuuri put them back into the laundry hamper. He would set them aside for Victor later, but the thought still made him sad. Yurio had grown so much in the past 2 years that he would continue to outgrow all of the clothes he had now. It made the socks seem precious, like throwing them away would be weird. Wait, he thought, isn’t asking if I can keep the socks even weirder than throwing them away? Still, he set the socks on Victor’s nightstand and played with Yurio for the rest of the day.

Yuuri left his last class of the day and went to go pick up Yurio from daycare. They didn’t have ice skating lessons today, so they enjoyed the nice walk home. It was still a little cold, but it had rained the day before and Yuuri loved the smell.

When they got home, Yurio gave him a lollipop. “Happy Day White!”

Yuuri blinked at him in confusion before he smiled. “Oh, White Day. Thank you, Yurio!” He accepted the lollipop. “Is this because I gave you chocolate on Valentine’s Day?”

“Yup!” Yurio said proudly. “Victor told me.”

“That’s very nice of you,” Yuuri said, giving him a hug. “Thank you.” They read a few books together before Yuuri started dinner. Victor was home later than usual, but they still had a nice meal together. Yuuri gave Yurio his bath and read him to sleep like normal, and when he exited the room, he suddenly remembered that he had meant to ask about the socks before. Victor was sitting in the kitchen, and rose when Yuuri entered.

“Um, I meant to ask you earlier,” Yuuri said at the same time that Victor said, “Can I talk to you for a second?”

They both stared at each other before Victor laughed and said, “You go first.”

“Okay. Well, I wanted to ask you about something. Do you remember those socks that I set aside?”

“Yeah, the tiger ones with a hole? I threw them away.”

Yuuri’s heart fell. “Ah, okay.”

Victor looked panicked. “Oh no! Was that bad of me?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Yuuri said, quick to assure him.

“Were they supposed to be for something?”

“No, it’s really nothing.”

“Yuuri,” he said, taking a step closer. “I can see that you’re upset. Didn’t I ask you to tell me if I do something wrong? I really don’t want to disregard your feelings.”

Yuuri chewed on the inside of his cheek. “It really doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it.”

Victor smiled. “All the more reason to tell me, then.”

Yuuri sighed. “Well, if you were just going to throw them away, anyway, I was going to ask if I could have them, instead.” He took a deep breath. “I know it’s probably weird, but… Those socks had a hole in them because Yurio was playing in them so much. To me, they were kinda like proof that he grew up healthy. So, even though they were old and worn out, I guess I just thought they were sentimental.”

Victor’s face softened. “Wait right here,” he said, dashing into the hallway. Yuuri did, nervously, until Victor came back and handed him a different pair of socks. Yuuri looked at them, then back to Victor. “But these don’t have a hole in them, so can’t he still wear them?”

“No,” Victor said with a smile. “They’re just too small, so Yurio doesn’t like wearing them much. So you can have these, instead, and I’m sorry that I threw out the other pair.”

“It’s fine,” Yuuri said quickly, closing his fingers around the socks. “Thank you.” He remembered that he had interrupted Victor earlier. “Oh, what was it that you wanted to say? Earlier.”

“Yes. That. Well, I also have a gift for you, because it’s White Day.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary.”

“I know, but I want to. So please, take a seat. I also have something to tell you.”

Yuuri’s heart immediately started beating faster, but he sat down at the kitchen table anyway. Oh no I thought we weren’t going to talk about anything for a while, I’m not ready for this, what if he says something bad…

Victor handed him a bag from across the table, where he also had sat down. “First of all, here’s the gift.”

First of all? he thought, but he accepted the bag and pulled out a small black box. “Ah, it’s in a box. Can I look?”

“Please,” Victor said.

Yuuri opened the box. Inside was a beautiful golden ring.

He closed the box.

He opened the box. It still contained the ring.

He closed the box.

He opened the box.

“Um, it’s going to be the same thing, no matter how many times you open or close it,” Victor said gently.

“I have a feeling,” Yuuri said, gulping, “that this is expensive. Really expensive. The most expensive gift by far.” He tore his gaze away from the ring to look at Victor. “I really don’t think I can accept this so easily…”

“Yeah, as I thought, this is probably a bit of a surprise,” Victor said with a nervous chuckle. “But, I have something to say.”

Yuuri just stared at him.

“愛してる,” he said, pronouncing it almost perfectly.

Yuuri just continued staring at him.

“Я тебя люблю,” he continued.

I really don’t know what’s happening right now.

“Sorry, should I say it in English, too? I love you, Yuuri.”

No, I really really don’t know what’s happening right now. Yuuri pinched his arm.

“It's not a dream, Yuuri,” Victor said.

Yuuri chuckled nervously because he didn't know what else to do. He pushed his chair back and started pacing around the room. He said he loves me. He said he loves me. He said…

“Yuuri, do you think you could sit down? And calm down a little?” Victor asked, rising from his chair. “I still have some more things to say, if you’ll listen.”

“Oh, yeah. Um, sure,” Yuuri said, sinking back into his chair. His heart was still racing, and he struggled to focus on Victor in front of him. Staring into his calming blue eyes, Yuuri let himself take a deep breath and relax just a little bit.

“あなたに 出 会えて良かったです,” Victor said, stumbling over the syllables a bit, but the meaning still came across perfectly. “I really am glad that I met you, Yuuri. I think I’ve loved you since the first time I met you.”

Yuuri couldn’t fight the smile breaking across his face. He really did say that he loved me. He really loves me.

Victor reached across and gently held his hand. “Whenever I’m with you, I’m feel so happy that I could burst. My life has changed for the better with you in it.” He squeezed his hand. “You’ve taught me so much about love and life in these 2 years I’ve known you, and I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone else as important to me as you are.”

Yuuri absently reached up and felt that his cheeks were wet. I’m crying, he realized belatedly.

“Are you okay?” Victor asked, suddenly concerned.

“Yeah,” Yuuri said, laughing weakly. “I’m just really, really happy.”

Victor sighed visibly. “That’s good.” He took a deep breath. “What I’m about to say isn’t easy, so please listen?”

Even as his stomach sank, Yuuri nodded. His head was such a swirl of emotions that adding more to the mix could hardly make it worse.

“I realize that this is a very emotionally charged time, for both of us,” Victor said, not releasing Yuuri’s hand. “Yurio is leaving soon, and he’s been with us for almost 2 years. I don’t want to also force you to think about your feelings for me while we’re dealing with this.”

Yuuri just looked at him, searching his eyes for answers, but not finding anything but a complicated mix of emotions.

“You’re only 25, and you still have your whole life ahead of you. I selfishly ask that you help me send Yurio to his grandparents, then graduate college. Get a job. Figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. And then, if I still fit into your life, I’ll be waiting patiently.”

Wait. Just now, did I get confessed to and also gently rejected in the same conversation?

Yuuri’s confusion must have shown on his face, because Victor sighed and squeezed his hand again. “Yuuri, I will always love you. But I don’t want us rushing into anything.” Victor blushed slightly, and said, “I realize this may seem contrary to when I… kissed you… But you’re so important to me that I want to feel like I’m giving you the time you need.” He nodded to the box holding the ring, still sitting on the table between them. “That ring is my selfish desire to show you that my feelings won’t change, no matter what. If you don’t want it, you could pawn it and use the money to pay for something you need,” he trailed off.

“No!” Yuuri finally spoke, sitting up straighter. “I definitely won’t do that.” He thought for a moment, trying to process everything Victor had said. He definitely loved Victor back, but if Victor wanted to wait, he could do that. “Wait,” he said. “Wait for how long?”

“However long you need,” Victor said, but Yuuri just glared at him. “Okay, okay, maybe a couple of months or something. I’m not a saint.” That made Yuuri giggle, and Victor turned serious again. “But really, just take your time. Think about it. I’ll be here.”

Yuuri looked at him gratefully, trying to come up with anything else to say, when Yurio walked in, rubbing his eyes.

“I have to pee,” he said to Victor, before realizing that Yuuri was also there. “Good morning?” he asked, confused.

“No, котенок, it’s still night,” Victor said, but Yuuri was already rising from the table.

“I’ll take him,” Yuuri said, leading Yurio to the bathroom. As they were washing their hands, Yuuri looked in the mirror at his bright red face. He took a deep breath and led Yurio back to his bedroom. When he was securely tucked in, he found Victor in the hallway.

“My cab is here,” he said, pointing to the door. Yuuri was confused for a second before he remembered that Victor was taking a red-eye flight to Milan for the World Championships that night. It looked like Victor had already taken most of his luggage out, and he only had a small suitcase left in his hands.

“Oh, good luck!” Yuuri said, cursing himself that that was all he had to say after their conversation.

Victor’s smile in return was genuine. “Thank you,” he said, looking like he was torn between taking another step towards Yuuri and just leaving. “Think about it,” he reminded, then he said, “Good night,” and turned to leave.

“Good night!” Yuuri called back, and Victor waved. He fell into the guest bed, his mind still swimming. He loves me, Yuuri thought, hugging a pillow to his chest. He really said he loved me. He turned onto his stomach and sighed happily before a different thought crossed his mind. Shouldn’t people be sure of the other person’s feelings before confessing like that? Oh my god, he totally knew how I felt about him. Well, I guess we did kiss. And Phichit knew. And Sara knew. Oh he totally knew. I must’ve been really obvious.

Yuuri tossed and turned before just curling up under the blankets. He shoved the thoughts of waiting out of his head and just focused on the fact that Victor loved him. He felt like the happiest person on the planet.

The next day, when he woke up, Yuuri felt like he was floating on air. He made Yurio a nice breakfast and almost skipped walking him to daycare. If the child knew that something was up, he didn’t say anything, but Yuuri’s good mood was infectious and they were both laughing by the time he dropped Yurio off. Yuuri got to his first class early and just stared at the chalkboard, twirling his pencil between his fingers.

“Someone’s in a good mood today,” Sara said, putting down her backpack next to him.

Yuuri was startled into throwing his pencil in the air, and she caught it and handed it back with a chuckle. “What’s gotten into you?”

He blushed and looked away. “Nothing,” he said hastily.

Sara got in his face. “That doesn’t seem like nothing,” she said excitedly. “It seems like something. Something that may or may not be related to Victor Nikiforov.” When Yuuri blushed an even deeper shade of red, Sara gasped. “Oh my god! No way!” The professor walked in and started setting up the projector, so she sank back into her seat, but not before saying, “Don’t even think about leaving class without me. I’m getting all of the details!”

Yuuri nodded and tried to concentrate on the professor, but he couldn’t find himself caring about the lecture. Not when Victor loved him. Sara was bouncing her leg next to him, stealing glances at him every few minutes as if to make sure he didn’t run away. When the professor finished speaking 50 minutes later, Sara turned to him and grinned. “Let’s go eat lunch!” she said.

They found a bench in a nearby quad and Sara started grilling Yuuri for information. He found no reason to hide anything, so he told her everything. He first realized that she didn’t even know about this kiss, so he started there and ended with Victor asking him to wait for him and then flying to Italy.

At the end of the story, Sara’s mouth was hanging open. “Che cazzo? First of all, don’t think I didn’t notice that you could do something like kiss Victor Nikiforov and not tell me!” He winced guiltily, but she continued. “Let’s talk about that later. Are you really okay with waiting to be with him? You both love each other.”

Yuuri stared at nothing as he thought about it. He found that he really was okay with it. “Yeah,” he answered simply, and Sara groaned.

“Ugh you are so lovesick! What exactly are you rushing into? A relationship? You’re 25, not 18. If he has the guts to give you a ring, why can’t you guys just start dating?”

Yuuri shrugged in response. “I mean, he wants to wait, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Now that Yurio is leaving really soon, it’s not really a great time to start dating anyone seriously.”

“But how can you stand waiting?” she asked. “You guys have already kissed and you practically spend everyday together, and you’re telling me you’re fine with just waiting a couple of months to start dating him?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “You’re being a little dramatic, Sara. We’re waiting a few months, not 10 years or anything.”

“I think you guys are the ones being dramatic!” Sara almost yelled. “When normal people like each other they get together.” She sighed and took another large bite of her sandwich. “I guess I’m just worried about you, Yuuri. I don’t want you to get hurt or anything.”

“I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine,” Yuuri said, picking at his bento.

“If you say so,” she said. “But you better text Phichit and tell him what happened!” She glanced at her watch. “He should have landed a while ago, and you have time before your next class. As your friends, we care about what happens to you.”

Yuuri snorted. “Or you care about the drama.”

Sara glared at him. “It can be both.”

Yuuri Katsuki: Ok so things have happened since I talked to you last

Phichit Chulanont: Did you finally tell him you liked him?

Yuuri Katsuki: No

Phichit Chulanont: BOY

Yuuri Katsuki: BUT!

Yuuri Katsuki: He did sorta give me a ring and tell me that he loves me and ask if we could date in a couple of months

Phichit Chulanont: Wait what

Phichit Chulanont: Sorry I had to read that like 3 times

Phichit Chulanont: And still I ask: WHAT

Yuuri Katsuki: You’re gonna have to be more specific

Phichit Chulanont: WHAT THE HELL YUURI

Yuuri Katsuki: More specific, same level of unhelpfulness

Phichit Chulanont: 1. Congrats on him saying he loves you, I just wanna say “I told you so”

Yuuri Katsuki: Ugh

Phichit Chulanont: I’m not done! See the 1? 1 of many!

Phichit Chulanont: 2. GET IT BOY I CANNOT BELIEVE VICTOR GOT YOU A RING

Phichit Chulanont: 3. PLEASE tell me that you misspelled “Then we made out for an hour” as “He asked to date in a few months”

Yuuri Katsuki: Are you quite done?

Phichit Chulanont: I think so

Yuuri Katsuki: Ok 3 is hardly “many”

Phichit Chulanont: Callout culture

Yuuri Katsuki: And no I meant what I said

Yuuri Katsuki: He told me it was an emotionally charged time for the both of us with Yurio leaving

Yuuri Katsuki: And that it would be best if we took some time to think about it before jumping into anything

Phichit Chulanont: Wait was it an engagement ring?

Yuuri Katsuki: What no?!

Phichit Chulanont: THEN I WOULD HARDLY CALL THAT JUMPING IN

Phichit Chulanont: IT’S JUST CALLED DATING

Yuuri Katsuki: I happen to agree with him

Phichit Chulanont: And I’ll support you, Yuuri

Phichit Chulanont: You know I always will

Phichit Chulanont: But I also will not hesitate to murder Victor and hide the body where it’ll never be found if he messes this up

Yuuri Katsuki: Whoa this took a turn

Phichit Chulanont: I’m just saying

Yuuri Katsuki: Ok that will NOT be necessary

Yuuri Katsuki: But thanks? I think?

Phichit Chulanont: You’re welcome

Phichit Chulanont: Ooh I’ll see him later today? Should I give him the talk?

Yuuri Katsuki: PLEASE DON’T

Phichit Chulanont: I’ll put that down as a strong maybe

Yuuri Katsuki: Ugh

Phichit Chulanont: You know you love me

Yuuri Katsuki: Eh

Phichit Chulanont: GASP

Yuuri Katsuki: Ok yes I do!

Phichit Chulanont: Good

Yuuri Katsuki: I must say, I’m surprised

Yuuri Katsuki: You didn’t use that face the whole conversation

Phichit Chulanont: What face?

Yuuri Katsuki: You know, the weird face thing

Phichit Chulanont: Oh! You mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yuuri Katsuki: Yeah that

Phichit Chulanont: Please Yuuri I can be serious when necessary

Yuuri Katsuki: Sure

Phichit Chulanont: You didn’t really set me up like you usually do

Phichit Chulanont: ( ╥ω╥ )

Yuuri Katsuki: Sorry about that

Yuuri Katsuki: But good luck skating! I’ll be watching

Phichit Chulanont: Does Victor know you like to watch ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yuuri Katsuki: See now you’re trying too hard

Yuuri Katsuki: That was so bad that I don’t think we can be friends anymore

Yuuri Katsuki: Goodbye forever

Phichit Chulanont: NO I’M SORRYYYYYYYY

Yuuri was not at all surprised when Victor won another gold medal at Worlds. He and Yurio sat on the couch and watched Victor skate with ease, winking at the camera and making Yuuri’s heart race. And when Victor sent him pictures from the banquet, Yuuri also noticed that he was wearing the blue tie he got him for Christmas. It really complemented his eyes.

Finally, it was the day that Victor was coming home. He would be home after dinner, and Yuuri was really excited to see him in person again, even though it had barely been a week. He was feeling restless, so he took Yurio out on a walk to the park.

On the way, he noticed a pregnant woman had dropped a letter at a mailbox and was struggling to lean down far enough to pick it up. Quickly, he grabbed it and handed it to her.

“Why, thank you!” she said, dropping it into the mailbox.

Yurio stared up at her with wide eyes. “You have a really big belly!” he said.

Yuuri was about to apologize for his comment when she started laughing. “Yes, I do,” she said. “I’m pregnant, so there’s a baby in there.”

Yurio looked at her stomach in wonder. “Why is it hiding?”

“They’re growing,” she said. “They’re too small now, but when they’re big enough, they’ll come out.” She rubbed her belly and thought for a second, then asked, “Would you like to feel? They’re kicking.”

Yuuri was quick to say, “You don’t have to!”

“I don’t mind,” she said, squatting a little so Yurio could feel her stomach. His eyes widened and he said to Yuuri, “I feel them! I feel the baby!”

“That’s great,” he said, ruffling his hair and thanking the woman profusely.

They continued walking down the sidewalk when Yurio asked, “Where do babies come from?”

Crap. 5 is a little young for “the talk,” right? What am I thinking, it’s way too young. I’ll just tell him it’s a mommy and a daddy… Wait there are test tube babies and stuff too, now, right? I have no idea how that works, so how can I explain it to him? Yuuri, he probably doesn’t mean that. Just say… He saw that Yurio was still staring up at him, waiting for an answer. “Um, let’s go to the library and find some books about it! I’m sure then we’ll know!” Yurio seemed fine with that answer and Yuuri steered them away from the park and towards the library, relieved that he wouldn’t have to explain it himself.

About an hour later, they walked home with a couple of kid-friendly books about babies. He checked his phone: he needed to start dinner soon, and Victor should be home in a few hours. He took a few deep breaths to calm down from the thought and turned the corner to the house. Someone was already standing by the house, and he thought for a moment that Victor must have gotten an earlier flight.

No, he thought. That doesn’t look like Victor at all. Maybe it’s a solicitor? Or a friend of Victor’s? With a start, he realized that he recognized the person standing at the gate. He had seen plenty of pictures of him in the past, even if he had never met him in person. Before the figure even turned to look at them approaching, Yuuri knew who it was. Georgi Popovich.

Chapter Text

March 2018

Yuuri gripped Yurio’s hand a little stronger. As the man by the gate turned to face him, he knew without a doubt that it was Georgi Popovich.

“Papa?” Yurio said quietly, staring.

“Yes, that’s your papa,” Yuuri murmured, still in shock.

Georgi saw them and quickly turned the other direction to start walking away.

“Papa!” he called out, tugging on Yuuri’s sleeve excitedly. “Это мой папа!”

That made Georgi stop moving and shook Yuuri out of his daze.

I can’t let him disappear again, he thought. “Excuse me, but you’re Georgi Popovich, right?” he asked. “Please to meet you! My name is Yuuri Katsuki, and I’m Yuri’s babysitter.”

Georgi turned to look at him, but didn’t say anything.

Yuuri had no idea what to say next. “Um,” he started.

“Did he come to play?” Yurio asked.

“I don’t know,” Yuuri admitted, looking back at Georgi. “Ah, please come in! Victor won’t be home until after dinner, but… What am I saying?” he asked, suddenly feeling even more anxious. “It’s not my house! Ah, but it should be fine if I invite you in, because you’re family… Wait! It’s your house! Of course you should come in…” He realized he was rambling, so he just sort of gestured to the house and hoped that Georgi would follow him. Luckily, he did, and Yuuri unlocked the door and ushered everyone inside.

He helped Yurio with his coat and shoes, but Georgi just stood in the doorway, staring down the hallway. His gaze looked sad and miles away, so Yuuri just said softly, “It may not be my place to say this, but welcome home.”

Georgi seemed to come back to the present, and he smiled at Yuuri, but it was sad and small. “Thank you,” he said, taking off his shoes.

Yuuri couldn’t shake off the awkwardness of the whole situation, so he took Yurio to the living room. “Why don’t you play a little bit? I’ll be right back.” Yurio nodded and started loading action figures onto Makkachin’s sleeping back.

Georgi had wordlessly slipped into the kitchen and sat at the table, staring down. Yuuri figured that tea couldn’t hurt the situation, so he started heating some water. While he waited, he texted Victor.

Yuuri Katsuki: Hey, your brother is here at the house

There was no use saying anything other than the truth at a time like this, he figured. Victor’s response was almost instantaneous.

Victor Nikiforov: Can you keep him there for now? My plane just landed and I’ll be there as soon as I can

Yuuri Katsuki: Yes

Victor Nikiforov: Sorry you have to deal with this on your own, I’m hurrying as much as I can

Yuuri Katsuki: Don’t worry about me, just get home safe

Sighing, Yuuri took off the hot water and filled some mugs. He handed one to Georgi, who looked up at him with an unreadable expression. “Thank you,” he said before returning to staring at the table.

Yuuri sipped his own and tried to will Victor to the house faster. He had no idea how to treat the previously-missing father of the child he was babysitting, not to mention the brother of his not-boyfriend. Honestly, his head was swimming just thinking about it. So, instead of saying anything, he just awkwardly stood in the kitchen. He kept glancing at Georgi, but the man was unreadable. I can usually tell what Victor is thinking, but I can’t at all with his brother, he thought. He won’t look at me or Yurio. I just want Victor to come home and smile at me! He took a deep breath and tried to calm down a little bit. Victor would be here soon.

Yurio came into the kitchen and asked, “Yuuri will you read me a book?”

Yuuri brought himself back to the situation at hand. “Ah, sure, but later, okay? I need to make dinner first.” He opened the fridge to think of things to make when he remembered the man sitting at the table. He turned to Georgi and asked, “Would you like to eat with us?”

“I’m not hungry right now, thank you,” he said without looking up.

“Ah. Okay,” Yuuri replied. Victor! Please get here! He started throwing random vegetables into a pan on the stove, figuring that his years of cooking experience would produce something at least somewhat edible while his mind was occupied. As his mind raced thinking about how things would change now that Georgi was back, his hands did indeed produce an edible stir fry. He set aside a serving for Victor and split the rest for himself and Yurio. Yurio chatted animatedly about the game he had been playing earlier when Yuuri heard the front door open.

Thank goodness! Gratefully, he stood up and told Yurio, “Victor’s home!” He quickly grabbed their mostly empty bowls and put them on the counter. Victor peeled his jacket and coat off quickly and entered the kitchen, staring at his brother.

Georgi looked up at the noise, and saw Victor. “Long time no see,” he said.

Victor didn’t answer him. “Yuuri, could you please take Yurio to his room?” he asked, his voice cold.

Yuuri swallowed nervously and looked between the two brothers. He wondered for a second if it was okay to leave them alone, but he also knew that they were grown men who could handle themselves. Besides, he’d just be in the other room. “Sure,” he said quietly. He turned to Yurio and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go get your books and read them in your room, okay?”

“Okay!” he agreed happily.

They settled into Yurio’s bed and started reading the first book, but Yuuri’s thoughts were still in the kitchen with Georgi and Victor.

After a few pages he heard a loud crash and groaned internally. They might not be grown men, after all.

Victor took deep breaths to calm himself as he stared down at his younger brother. Georgi was laying on the ground next to his spilled mug of tea.

“That hurt!” Georgi said, rubbing his jaw. “Were you always this violent? I think my mouth is bleeding…”

“I’m not this violent!” Victor yelled angrily. “You’re the first person I’ve ever punched in my adult life!” He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed at his forehead.

“What have you even been doing for the past two years? You didn’t contact us at all! Do you know how hard it was on me? On Yuri?” Victor said, glaring at his brother.

Georgi said nothing and his face betrayed nothing.

“Ты меня не слышал?” Victor asked. “It’s been two fucking years, Georgi! What could you possibly have been doing that was more important than your family? Your own son?” Victor clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to voice his frustrations. “You left me to deal with everything! Anya’s funeral, caring for Yuri… You didn’t think to mention that you were leaving when you called me? I dropped everything to clean up what you left behind without a word.” He found the words wouldn’t stop flowing. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for Yuri in the beginning? To lose his mother suddenly, then be abandoned by his father?”

Georgi’s mouth opened and closed, but no sounds were coming out.

“Well? Will you say something? Anything?” Victor yelled. “Why are you even back, then? Don’t you at least regret what you did?”

“You could never understand,” Georgi finally said, staring into the corner. “You’ve never been married, never had kids. You’ve never lost the person you loved. Hell, I don’t know if you’ve ever even loved anyone. How could you possibly understand what I went through?” he said lowly.

Victor took a step back in surprise. “There are a lot of things that are wrong with this situation, but don’t you make me one of them,” he said, shock turning to anger. “Don’t you dare turn this on me. I was the one who was here, taking care of your son. You disappeared without a trace. I know you were hurting, Georgi. I know you are hurting. But this woman you keep claiming to be your love, Anya. She has a family, a child. Your family, and your child. You abandoned them. Did it ever cross your mind that they could be hurting, too?”

Georgi finally met his eyes, and he looked angry. Good, Victor thought. I’m angry, too. “Shut up,” Georgi growled at him.

“Oh, shut up? That’s your response? You’re telling me to shut up?!” Victor yelled turning to the table. He slammed his fists down, not willing to strike his brother again. He already regretted the first time. “Alright, I have no idea what you went through. And I hope I never do.” He turned and pointed at his brother. “But I knew when to ask for help! How to let other people in! Did it ever occur to you that we care? About you, about Yuri?”

Victor felt angry tears forming in the corners of his eyes, and he cursed himself for getting so emotional. No, I’m mad, dammit. And he’s the reason why. The least he can do is listen to me. “I know we were raised in a horrible family, but I always thought you and Anya could be different from mom and dad, from me. But for the last two years you’ve been nothing selfish and childish. Just because you’re hurting doesn’t mean you can throw everything else away.” Victor was pleading now. “Ask for help, beg if you have to. We all were ready and willing to be there for you. But you should’ve been there, Georgi.” His voice broke and he hated it. “You should’ve been there for Yuri. You have to understand…”

“I do understand!” Georgi snapped, burying his face in his hands. “Of course I understand. That doesn’t make it any easier. That doesn’t change what I did. And once I started running, I just couldn’t stop.” He wiped at his eyes. “Every single day I think back and regret what I did. I would change it in a heartbeat if I could. But I can’t. And before I knew it, the days turned into months and…” he broke off in a sob.

A movement at the entrance to the kitchen caught Victor’s eye and he turned to see Yuuri and Yurio peeking in. “Ah, I’m so sorry,” Yuuri started mumbling, his face red. “We heard a loud noise, then another, so we came to check if everything was okay, we didn’t mean to listen in…” He grabbed Yurio’s hand and said, “Let’s go back.”

But Yurio saw Georgi wiping his eyes and gasped. He ran to his father on the floor and glared up at Victor. “Stop yelling! You’re making papa cry!”

Victor looked from his nephew’s hurt eyes to Yuuri’s scared eyes. He sighed, feeling anger seep out of his body. I took things too far, he thought. I got way too worked up. Getting angry won’t solve anything. He looked back to Yurio gently patting Georgi’s leg in a comforting gesture. Nikolai and Diana did say that the decision to let Georgi back in or not should be his to make.

Yurio got up and was tugging on Yuuri’s sleeve. “I need a… A sticker thing!”

Yuuri thought for a second. “A what?”

“You put it on when you’re hurting,” Yurio explained, bouncing up and down in impatience.

“Oh! A band-aid?”

“Yes! Papa had blood on his lip.”

“You’re very kind, Yurio,” Yuuri said. “There are some in the bathroom, let’s pick one out, okay?” They disappeared together.

His brother then stood up and staggered into the hallway. “Just where do you think you’re going?” Victor asked, his tone neutral.

“I need to cool my head a bit,” he responded, toeing on a pair of shoes and closing the door behind him.

Yurio popped his head out of the bathroom at the noise and gasped. “Oh no! Where did he go?”

“Just on a walk,” Victor said.

“I’ll follow him,” Yurio said, but Victor grabbed him.

“No, let him go alone for a bit. It’s too late for you to go out.”

Yuuri glanced thoughtfully around. “I’ll go,” he announced.

Victor looked at him. “No, you don’t need to do that.”

“I want to,” he said. “I’ll give him Yurio’s band-aid, and I see that he also forgot his coat. It gets cold at night, even in March.”

“He’s a full-grown Russian man, he’ll be okay,” Victor said, but Yuuri was already putting on his shoes and coat.

“It’s still cold out. I’ll be right back.” He stepped out before Victor could stop him.

Yurio took the opportunity to look up at Victor. “Did you hit papa?” he asked.

Victor squatted next to him. “What? No!” Then he thought back to literally punching his brother in the face. “Okay, yes, I did.”

Yurio frowned at him. “Yuuri said no hitting when you fight. It’s mean.”

Victor sighed and then ruffled his hair. “Yuuri is absolutely right. I should not have done that. Sometimes adults make mistakes and do things they shouldn’t when they’re angry.”

“Okay,” Yurio said. “Do you hate papa?” he asked.

“No, котенок, I don’t hate him. I love your papa. I was just a little mad at him.”

“Do you feel better now?” Yurio asked.

“Yes, much better.”

Yuuri jogged around the block again. He now realized that volunteering to find Victor’s brother when he had no idea where he was might not have been the best idea. As he rounded another corner he spotted a figure sitting on a park bench under a street lamp and sighed in relief. He slowed down to a walk and approached him.

“Um, Georgi?” As he got closer he saw that the man was shivering. “Oh, as I thought, it can get cold at night!” he said, handing him the jacket. “I brought this from the house.”

Georgi looked up at him and nodded. “Thank you,” he said, gratefully putting on the jacket.

“Oh, and here’s a band-aid from Yurio, I mean, Yuri,” he said, handing it to Georgi. “He saw the blood on your lip.”

Georgi wiped a hand over his mouth and stared down at the blood on his hand, laughing softly.

“It’s amazing,” Georgi said, “it’s only been two years and he’s already grown up to be so caring and considerate. And here, I haven’t changed at all.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Yuuri said before he could stop himself. Georgi looked up at him. “I mean, you’re here, aren’t you? Didn’t you come home because you changed your mind and cleared up your feelings?”

“I wish,” Georgi said bitterly. “I just… I felt like I couldn’t stay that way anymore. Running away from everything. When Anya... “ He stopped to take a deep breath. “When Anya died, I couldn’t move on. For some reason, I thought that facing Yuri meant that I was accepting Anya’s death. And I couldn’t bring myself to do that.” He looked up at Yuuri, and his eyes were wide and pleading. “She was the love of my life. I didn’t want to think about her truly being gone. That I’d never get to see her, touch her, ever again. I didn’t want to be in a world that she wasn’t.” He tore his gaze away from Yuuri and stared down at his shoes. “I still think I feel that way. The only reason I’m back is because I saw one kid too many that looked like Yuri. Before I knew it, my feet took me back here.” He ran a hand down his face. “I didn’t expect him to call me papa.”

Suddenly, it was as if Georgi remembered who he was talking to. “Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you like this. We’re not even family. Victor has to put up with me, but you don’t.”

“It’s okay,” Yuuri said in what he hoped was a gentle voice. “I can’t begin to understand what you went through. But, I know that you’re back now!” That made Georgi look up. “Whatever mistakes you made, they’re in the past now. Apologize to everyone you’ve hurt, and then act differently. Be present. Stay with Yuri now while you have the chance! He’s already forgiven you, so if you walk away again, you’ll surely regret it.”

Then Yuuri blushed and looked away. “Ah, I mean, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so presumptuous, talking about your situation like this…”

“Thank you,” Georgi said. “I need to hear a lot of stuff like that. I can be pretty stupid, as you’ve seen,” he said with a weak smile.

“Still,” he said, “I’m sorry for being rude. You probably want to be alone right now. I’ll just go back to the house, then.”

With a final look, he started walking back, so deep in thought that he didn’t hear Georgi murmur, “I’m sorry, Anya.”

I can barely process the fact that Georgi is back after two years. Of course Victor told me that he had been waiting for Georgi to come back, but I never actually expected it to happen. I can tell he’s not a bad person, though. Then he remembered how angry Victor had been earlier. Certainly he has the right to be furious at his brother. But that was still a little scary to see. I’m just glad he’s calmer now. Hopefully he got two years of frustration and anger out and they can be civil again.

When he turned the final corner to the house, Victor was holding Yurio by the gate. Yuuri sped up and reached them quickly. “Were you looking for me?” he asked.

“Yes!” Victor said, and he was clearly recently distressed. “I tried calling you but you left your phone in the house!”

“Ah, sorry,” Yuuri replied. “But, Yurio! I gave your papa the band-aid. He praised you and said you’re a caring and considerate kid.”

Yurio glowed at the praise, smiling and snuggling deeper into Victor’s arms.

Victor smiled, too, and followed Yuuri into the house. He let Yurio down and then grabbed Yuuri’s hand. “Thank you,” he said, rubbing his thumb over Yuuri’s knuckles. “Thank you for being here for me, for us, for dealing with all of this mess. If it had been just me and Georgi, I don’t think we would have talked at all.”

Yuuri raised his eyebrows. “And you did a lot of talking with me here, you’re saying?”

Victor winced and let go of his hand. “Okay, yes, I overreacted. I yelled and I hit him, and I regret that.”

Yuuri’s face softened, and he grabbed Victor’s hand again. “I know you do. But Yurio and I don’t like seeing you like that. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve a severe talking-to, but please try to be friendly with him. For Yurio’s sake.”

“I will,” Victor vowed with a smile. He briefly held Yuuri’s hand to his face, then slowly breathed out. “Things just keep getting more and more complicated.”

Yuuri chuckled. “I think you mean exciting.” Warmth was radiating from their held hands and heating his whole body. His heart ached for Georgi, who lost his love, and Victor, who had been hurt by his brother. But even stronger, his heart ached with how deeply he was in love with the man in front of him.

“I should put Yurio to bed,” he said, regretfully letting go of Victor’s hand. He gave the child a quick bath and picked up the baby books they got from the library.

As Yuuri read one out loud, Yurio pointed to one of the pictures. “Babies are so small,” he said.

“Yes, they are,” Yuuri agreed. “You know, when you were a baby, you were small, too.”

Yurio pointed to the next picture. “So, I was in mama’s tummy, too?”

“Yeah.”

Yurio’s face screwed up in thought, then he sighed. “I don’t remember it,” he admitted.

Yuuri laughed. “Neither do I. No one remembers being in their mama’s tummy.”

They kept reading for a long time. Eventually Victor poked his head in, saying, “Hey.” He looked surprised, and then he asked, “Is he not asleep yet? That’s odd.”

Yuuri nodded. “We had to start and stop the book a lot. And today was really hectic.”

“The culprit isn’t even back yet,” Victor said with a sigh. “How long does he need to cool his head?”

Yuuri ran over his conversation with Georgi in his head. Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Maybe I was too rude to him… He was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of the front door opening. He climbed out of the bed to go to the hallway.

Victor had his hands on his hips, looking at his brother. “Those are my shoes,” he noted casually.

Georgi glanced down at his feet, then nodded. “Sorry, I guess I was absentminded and in a rush.”

“Well, you would always do stuff like that,” Victor said. “Did you cool your head?”

Georgi blinked at him, then said, “Yeah, I did.”

Victor nodded at him. “Good. Welcome home. Прости меня, младший брат.”

“Не ты один виноват. I’m sorry, too,” Georgi said, “for everything.”

Yurio poked his head out of his room, then yelled, “Papa’s back!” He came closer, then said, “Oh, you’re not wearing the band-aid.”

Georgi looked to Victor, then squatted next to his son. “Ah, thank you, Yuri. But the cut is on the inside of my mouth, so a band-aid wouldn’t help.”

“You didn’t put it on?” Yurio asked with a small frown.

Georgi opened the band-aid and put it on the corner of his mouth. “Это - хорошее место?”

Yurio smiled. “Дa!”

Georgi lightly touched his face. “Thank you, Yuri. For giving me the band-aid, for standing up for me earlier. I’m so sorry for leaving you earlier. I was being really selfish.” He rose and looked at his brother. “I’m sorry, both of you. I’m going to work hard to prove myself to you.”

Victor smiled and pulled him into a hug. Both of their shoulders started to shake, so Yuuri took Yurio back into his room to give them some privacy. He had been a little scared of Georgi at first, but now he could see that Georgi was just confused and emotional. Now that he had calmed down, Yuuri could see he was a just a man that had made a mistake. If Yurio could forgive him, surely everyone else could, too.

Victor drove his brother to Ann Arbor in silence. The silence wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, either. Now that he thought about it, the last time he saw Georgi in person had been three or four years ago. Yurio had been young, and Georgi and Anya were deeply in love. Looking at him out of the corner of his eye, Victor could see how different Georgi was now. The laughter was gone from his face, and he looked much older than 27. Still, Victor could also see traces of the boy that he grew up with under the hardened exterior. The fact that Georgi was even here was proof that he was still that good person. It couldn’t have been easy to come back after such a long time, no matter how mad Victor was at him for leaving in the first place.

He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he was pulling into the Plisetskys’ driveway sooner than he thought. He and Georgi made their way to the front door and rang the doorbell. Nikolai and Diana answered the door and gasped when they saw who was with Victor. No one spoke for a minute, then Diana said, “Please, come in.”

Georgi followed them into the living room, his eyes roving the space before landing on the photos of Anya on the mantle. Nikolai and Diana sat down on the couch, beckoning them to do so, as well. When everyone was seated, Diana took a deep breath and said, “It’s been a long time.”

Georgi started saying, “I’m so sorry that I…”

Nikolai raised a hand to silence him. “It’s alright, son. We’re happy to see you back.” He eyed him critically. “But, for Yura, it has been a very long two years.”

“I know. I know I messed up. The time that I was gone…”

“Hold on, dear,” Diana said, interrupting him. “What’s that under your eye?”

Georgi held up a hand to his face, then winced when he touched the light bruise. “Ah, well, that is, Victor…”

Victor shifted uncomfortably, but Diana relaxed. “Then I believe that no more anger needs to be added to the situation on our behalf.”

Nikolai nodded, then turned his gaze to Victor. “Georgi, your brother has had a very good sense of responsibility, taking care of Yura for you. And Yuuri has showered the boy with love and affection every day. You have abandoned him in the past, and they have set a high bar for raising him.”

Diana added, “Victor moved from Russia to America to be a guardian, and he’s done a wonderful job.” They shared a small smile before she continued, “Do you remember all of the responsibilities of being a father? Are you sure you’re ready to try again?”

Georgi swallowed, then nodded resolutely. “Yes. I’m ready. I know my words aren’t worth much right now, but I will show you with my actions. I’ll prove my determination by doing my best. And I will never, ever run away from Yuri again.”

Nikolai and Diana nodded along, holding each other’s hands.

“Please, I humbly request that you let me into Yuri’s life. To stay by his side and prove myself to all of you as the father I know I can be. The father that I haven’t been.”

Nikolai and Diana looked at each other, then back to Georgi. “We still think the final decision should be Yura’s,” Diana said, “but he seems fine with it, and we are, too.”

Georgi breathed a visible sigh of relief.

“I do understand your feelings,” Nikolai said, “but we’ve already discussed this with Victor over the past two years…”

“I’m aware,” Georgi said. “Victor already told me. You two will take care of Yuri here, right?”

“That’s right,” Diana said. “We’ve already done all of the preparations. So, what are your wishes? Staying by his side is very different than being a father.”

“I want to be a father again,” Georgi started, “but I know I need to take some steps first. I’m going to get a job and a steady income.”

“Where are you looking?” Nikolai asked. “Actually, where were you these past years?”

“I was working at a bed and breakfast in Wisconsin,” Georgi said. “It was out of the way, so no one recognized me, and I got paid in lodging.”

“Что ты будешь делать теперь?” Victor asked, finding that even he hadn’t asked his brother about his future plans.

“I can’t go back to skating,” Georgi said, “I wouldn’t be competitive after five years away. But I have an interview with the local rink here in Ann Arbor as an instructor and rink guard. I talked to Celestino, my old coach, this morning, and he was very understanding. He put in a good word for me and secured me the interview when I probably didn’t deserve it,” he said, wringing his hands together.

“And the house?” Diana asked. “What will you do with it?”

Georgi laughed lightly. “Although it used to be mine, Victor has been paying for it and maintaining it. I’ll leave that decision to him and help out with what I can.”

When everyone turned to him, Victor said, “I’ll sell it after Yurio moves out. I’ll move into a smaller apartment closer to the rink in Detroit.” He looked at his brother and said, “And yes I’d appreciate help with the process. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“So where will you live, Georgi?” Nikolai asked.

“I’m going to rent an apartment here, in Ann Arbor, for now. With your permission,” he said, looking Nikolai and Diana in the eye, “I’d like to visit Yuri every day. And someday, when I’ve earned back your trust and you can finally acknowledge me again, would you consider letting me live with him? Until he grows up?”

Nikolai squeezed his wife’s hand. “Of course.”

“We can all raise him together,” Diana said with a smile.

“Thank you so much. Thank you,” Georgi said, fighting back tears.

Yuuri sat in the kitchen, listening to Yurio and Georgi play with Legos in the living room. It sounded like they were making some robots together, and Yuuri smiled. I'm glad they still have a good relationship, he thought. Yurio already showed he still cared about his father, and Georgi had properly apologized. Nothing would be fixed overnight, but they were on the right path.

Victor joined him in the kitchen. “Thanks for watching Yurio earlier,” he said.

“It’s fine,” Yuuri replied easily. “It sounds like he's having fun with his father.”

“Yeah, it does,” Victor agreed with a smile. “Hopefully they only reconnect more in the future.”

Yuuri sat down at the table. “How did meeting his grandparents go?” he asked.

“Good, actually,” Victor said. He joined him at the table and then told Yuuri how their conversation went. Yuuri found himself crying a little bit at the end of the story.

Victor noticed immediately. “Oh no, are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to wipe the tears from his face.

Yuuri gave him a watery smile. “Yeah, I'm fine,” he said, letting Victor caress his face. “I'm just really happy to hear that. It's really great, he has even more people helping him out now. He’ll have a nice big family to support him in Ann Arbor.”

Yurio rushed into the kitchen, holding something made of Legos. “Look! Papa made a robot!”

“That's very nice, Yurio,” Victor said, slowly removing his hand from Yuuri’s face.

Georgi had stepped in right behind Yurio. He quickly glanced between Yuuri and Victor before turning to his son and saying, “Yuri, they're still talking. Let's leave them alone.”

“It's okay, you're not interrupting anything,” Victor said.

Georgi raised an eyebrow at him. “I think we are.”

Victor blushed in response. “No you're not! It's not what you think!”

Yuuri smiled at both of them. “Sorry, I'm okay. Really.”

“Let's leave them alone a little longer,” Georgi said, pulling Yurio out of the kitchen.

“We’re fine!” Yuuri said, trying again.

“Come back!” Victor yelled, successfully getting his brother back into the kitchen. “I wanted to talk to you, anyway. Where are all of your clothes right now?”

“Ah, still at that bed and breakfast in Wisconsin.”

“I thought so,” Victor said. “Tomorrow I'll drive you there and we’ll pick everything up.” When Georgi only gave him a weird look in response, Victor explained, “You're serious about staying with Yurio, right?” Georgi nodded. “Okay, then, you're staying here officially for now. And you've been stealing my clothes for most of my life, so that's stopping if I can help it.” Victor raised his eyebrows. “Don't you want him to get used to having you around?”

“Is it… Is it really okay for me to stay here?” Georgi asked.

Victor laughed. “You're asking me if it's okay? Isn't it your house?”

Georgi frowned. “Well, I guess so…”

Victor got up and clapped him on the back. “I wouldn't offer if it wasn't okay with me. You can use the spare bedroom. I won't move out of my room for you,” he said, laughing.

Yurio started jumping up and down excitedly. “Papa is staying here with us?”

Everyone looked to Georgi for a response, so he smiled. “Yeah, I am.”

“Yay! Let's play all night long!” Yurio said with a smile of his own.

April 2018

Yuuri woke up and stretched to pick up his phone. Silencing the alarm, he looked at the date. April 2. There were only five more days until Yurio moved away. He found he didn't know exactly how he felt about everything. He was still really sad to say goodbye to him, but he didn't feel as hopeless about it as before. Somehow, Georgi’s return only clarified how happy Yurio would be in Ann Arbor with a big family. He also knew that everything would turn out okay because everyone was so focused on giving Yurio the best possible environment to grow up in.

Still, coming down to the final few days made him aware of how soon it was coming to an end. But the possibility of being with Victor… That was exciting and unknown and Yuuri was going to be late if he kept up this train of thought. He sighed and got dressed for the day.

Victor said goodbye to Yuuri for the night and resumed packing up the living room. He was leaving most of Yurio’s toys for later, but a lot of random crap had accumulated on the bookcases and end tables. Most of it he had never bothered with, as it was more than two years old and foreign to him.

Behind a stack of children’s books he found a shelf full of old photo albums. He gently took out the first one and flipped through it. It was all pictures of Anya as she was growing up, and Victor couldn’t get more than a few pages in before setting it down for the next one. This one showed Georgi and Anya right after they got married, their rings proudly displayed in every photo. Victor smiled at the pictures, flipping to the end. Now a baby Yurio was in almost every picture, smiling and crying. Victor set this one aside, as well. The next few albums were of Yurio as he was growing up, but the last one was remarkably new. It was full of pictures of him, Yurio, and Yuuri from the last two years. He stroked one of the first pictures, of them at Halloween last year. He certainly didn’t do this, so it must’ve been Yuuri.

A sound from behind him made him turn around. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asked a sleepy Yurio.

“I woke up,” he explained, rubbing his eyes.

“Come here, then,” Victor said, making room in his lap. Yurio crawled into the space and blinked down at the photo album.

“That’s me!” he said, pointing at a picture.

“Yes, it is,” Victor laughed. He flipped through a few more pages with Yurio, reliving the memories that each photo represented. “We’ve been to a lot of places together, haven’t we?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Yurio said, yawning.

Victor looked at one of the pictures and thought for a moment until Yurio yawned again. “Okay, time for you to go back to bed,” he said, picking his nephew up. Yurio didn’t protest, he just snuggled back under the covers when Victor put him back in bed.

Victor packed the newest photo album in a moving box, but stacked the rest by the guest room door. Georgi should have a chance to look through them before they got packed for the move.

He put on his pajamas and jumped into bed. The emotional exhaustion of the past few days was catching up with him, and the sooner he fell asleep, the sooner he could see Yuuri again. As a result, he was asleep in record time.

The next morning, Victor woke up in a great mood. He sang in the shower, hummed while making eggs, and danced while doing the dishes. Georgi sighed at him as he sipped at his coffee at the kitchen table. “Must you be so lovestruck at all times?” he asked.

“I can’t help it,” Victor replied truthfully. He put away a stack of plates, then frowned at his little brother. “Wait, I thought you said I’d never loved anyone before,” he said, his tone teasing.

“Я думал так раньше, но надо быть слепым, чтобы не заметить, что ты любишь его!” Georgi said.

Victor shrugged and returned to putting away the dishes.

“What? You’re not going to correct me?” Georgi asked.

“A correction would imply that you said something wrong,” Victor said with a wink.

“I knew it,” Georgi said with a sigh. “Ah, to have love blossom at the tender age of 29…”

“Oh, shut up,” Victor said, sticking his tongue out. Georgi returned the face. This feels good, Victor thought. He heard the front door open, then thought with a grin, but this feels even better. “Yuuri!” he called. “Good morning!”

Yuuri came into the kitchen a minute later. “You’re in a good mood today,” he said.

“Yes, I am! Hey, wanna go to the zoo?”

“Sure,” Yuuri said with a smile. “When?”

“How’s now?”

“Now?” Yuuri asked.

Yurio barrelled into the kitchen. “Zoo?!” he yelled.

“Yeah, do you want to go?” Victor asked.

“Yes!” he yelled, as if it was obvious.

“Looks like you’re outnumbered, sorry, Yuuri, but we’re going to the zoo today,” Victor said with a laugh.

“I never said I didn’t want to go!” Yuuri said with a slight blush. “I’ll go! It’s just, I didn’t pack a lunch or anything for us.”

Victor waved his hand. “We won’t go all day or anything. I just remembered last night that when we went to the zoo last year, we didn’t see the tigers! You remember how it rained?” Yuuri and Yurio nodded. “So, let’s go see the tigers!”

“Let’s go to the zoo!” Yurio said, tugging on Victor’s sleeve.

“I already said we would,” Victor reassured him.

Yuuri looked around the kitchen, his eyes landing on Georgi, who was silent. “Ah, will you be joining us?” he asked.

“No, thank you,” Georgi said. “I think just you three should go.”

“Really?” Yuuri said. “Are you sure?”

“Positively,” Georgi said, winking at his brother.

Victor glared at him for a second, then smiled at Yuuri. “Well, that’s settled, then. Let’s load up the car!”

The whole way there, Victor played a Europe CD and sang along to every song. His good mood was infectious, and they all arrived at the zoo smiling. However, the moment they entered the front gates, their goal was completely forgotten. Instead, they wandered around the exhibits and even made their way back to the giraffes. Yurio immediately remembered how to feed them and begged Victor to buy them food. Of course he gave in and they let the giraffes lap up the food with their long tongues, giggling the whole time.

Victor was about to take a picture when he suddenly remembered why they were there. “Wait!” he yelled, startling Yuuri and Yurio. “Tigers! We’re here to see the tigers!” They quickly washed their hands and made their way to the tiger exhibit.

Yurio held onto Victor and Yuuri’s hands on the way, trying to swing between them. “Will the tigers roar?” he asked. “Will it be loud?”

“I don’t know,” Yuuri answered, “We’ll find out soon!” They approached the tiger enclosure and Yurio pressed his face as close to the fence as he could.

“They’re sleeping,” he said simply, and sure enough, all of the tigers were laying out in the sun, sound asleep. “They’re not roaring.”

“Ah, no, they’re not,” Victor said, tapping his lip in thought. “Actually, aren’t tigers felines? So they’re nocturnal.”

“Knock tuna?” Yurio asked in confusion.

“Nocturnal,” Yuuri said. “It means they like to sleep during the day, and they wake up at night.”

“So they sleep all day?” Yurio asked sadly.

“Yeah, but we can still take pictures of them!” Yuuri said. “Don’t you want to show your papa? And tell him they sleep all day?” Yurio nodded, so Yuuri helped him take a few blurry pictures, quickly snapping a few clear ones himself.

“Next time, let’s come at night!” Yurio said.

Yuuri smiled sadly at him. He knew that this was probably the last time the three of them would go out like this. “Maybe,” he said. “Let’s go home and eat some lunch.”

Victor and Georgi took the night to pack up the kitchen. Most of the odd appliances that they wouldn't need for the next few meals went into boxes, and most of the silverware was already away. Victor just bought paper plates and cups to use instead while they were in transition. Currently, they were packing up the glasses and crumbling paper to go between them.

Yurio wandered into the kitchen and asked what they were doing.

“Packing up the glasses,” Georgi explained.

“The paper,” Yurio said, pointing. “Why are you crushing it?”

“Oh,” Georgi said, looking down at the paper in his hands. “It's so we don't break the cups. If we put this in the boxes, they'll be safer when they move.”

Yurio hummed. “So, if you put in the paper, the cups won't break?” When Georgi nodded, he smiled. “That's good! Can I help?”

Victor let him use his papers and crumble them around the cups. Yurio started a few, then stopped. “Are we taking all of this to grandma’s house?”

“Yeah. That's soon, isn't it? A few more days?” Georgi asked, and Victor nodded at him. “Hey, Yuri. When you go to live with your grandparents, I'll be coming with you.”

Yurio looked at him in surprise. “Papa, you're coming?”

“Yes, but it might be a while until we can live together. But, I'll be there with you every day.” He hesitated for a moment, then added, “Instead of Yuuri and Victor.”

Yurio looked excited for a moment. “Will you push my bike every day?” he asked, then he paused. “Wait. Yuuri and Victor.” He looked up at Victor. “Why aren't you coming?”

Georgi sighed and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “It's complicated, Yuri. We can't all live together.”

Yurio frowned at him. “I want us to. You, me, Yuuri, Victor, grandma, grandpa, and Makkachin. All in the same house.”

Georgi removed his hand. “I'm so sorry, Yuri. It's all my fault. My stupid behavior is the reason you're so confused…” He trailed off and put his head in his hands. “It's my fault and I'm so sorry.”

Victor gently took Yurio’s hand. “Papa is a little upset, so let's give him some space? And I know you're getting upset, too. How about a nice bath?”

Yurio didn't seem to know how to respond, but at least he didn't shove anyone away. Instead, he just let Victor lead him to the bathroom. Over the course of the bath he seemed to forget the discussion, and they all gave each other big goodnight hugs before bed. But Victor knew everything would have to come to a head soon.

Yuuri looked around the rink. It was officially Yurio’s last ice skating lesson here in Detroit. Yurio, as usual, was skating with Otabek away from everyone else. Yuuri had barely been teaching him anything recently, mostly because he didn't have the heart to force him away from his friend and partly because he was getting scary good at ice skating. Yuuri was sure that he could compete someday if he wanted to.

They took a break halfway through, and Yurio was sitting at a nearby bench with Otabek, happily talking about how big his grandma’s bathroom was.

Celestino came out of the office and made a beeline for Yuuri. “How are you doing, Yuuri?” he asked.

“Fine, thanks,” he replied.

Celestino glanced at Yurio. “He's leaving soon, right?”

“Yeah. Day after tomorrow.”

Celestino hummed. “At least he seems to be positive about going.”

“Sometimes,” Yuuri said. “He gets excited about it, then he gets mad that Victor and I aren't going with him. I have no idea how he’ll feel on the actual day.”

“Well, he's still young,” Celestino said. “He might not understand exactly what's happening right now. He knows what the word ‘moving’ means, but he probably won't really understand the concept until he's actually living with his grandparents. He’ll only get older and wiser from here.” Celestino thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, scratch that. He'll get a lot dumber when he goes through puberty.”

That made Yuuri snort with laughter, and Celestino took the opportunity to clap his back. “Try not to worry too much about it, Yuuri. You both will be okay, I'm sure of it.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “Uh, I have to get back to the rest of the lesson.”

“Of course!” Celestino said. “And I have to track down a certain Thai troublemaker about his off-season training schedule.” With a grumble he headed back to the office and Yuuri returned the young skaters to the ice. He felt lighter this time, and he even found himself enjoying the rest of the time.

Georgi came early and sat in the stands, watching his son skate. Yurio noticed and waved happily, showing off a little more than usual.

When the lesson was over, Yuuri helped the skaters get off the ice and take off their skates. Yurio quickly went to his father and told him all about his skating. “You looked great out there,” Georgi said. “Say goodbye to your friends and we’ll go home.”

Yuuri knew that Yurio only really had one good friend in the class, so it made sense that he went straight to Otabek. “Bye!” he said. Otabek nodded at him, saying, “Bye,” in response.

Yurio then turned to Yuuri. “Come on, it's time to go home!”

“Ah, Yurio,” Yuuri started, “your papa is going to be home with you all night.”

“Okay,” Yurio said. “You come, too.”

“I can't,” Yuuri said. “But I'll be over tomorrow, okay? Why don't you tell papa about how well you ice skate?”

Yurio looked from Yuuri to his father before agreeing. He then took Georgi’s hand and started babbling about all of the ice skating moves he could do.

Yuuri watched them go. I'm really going to miss him, he thought. But I'm also so happy that he's going to grow up well surrounded by family.

Yuuri took a deep breath on the porch. He knew he had to go inside eventually, but he just stood and tightly gripped the key to the door. He also knew that he certainly wouldn’t need the key, but he still used it as an anchor as his thoughts drifted back to a hot August day two years ago. The first day he came to this house it was a disgusting mess of trash and moving boxes and he met two of the people he treasured most in his life. Today, he would walk into the house and it would be tidy and clean, but there would be new moving boxes. Realistically, it would look very similar to how it looked the past few days.

However, this was the final full day for Yurio in Detroit.

Tomorrow, he was moving to Ann Arbor.

Yuuri had accepted it, but it still stung a little.

He finally opened the front door was greeted like usual: Yurio running at him with a smile and hugging his legs. “Yuuri!” he said. “You’re here!”

“Yes,” Yuuri said with a little laugh. “I’m here.” He pried Yurio off his legs and walked to the kitchen where Georgi was packing up a few more things. “Do you need any help with that?” he asked.

Georgi turned around and smiled at him. “No, thank you. I’m almost done. You can relax with Yurio.” He hummed, then added, “Oh, and Victor isn’t here yet, but he’ll be back around dinner.”

“Oh, thanks,” Yuuri said. He wasn’t sure why Georgi felt the need to tell him that, but he was grateful. And while he was also glad that he was getting along with Victor’s brother, he had no idea how to really interact with him. “So, tomorrow’s the big day,” he finally settled on.

“Yeah, Nikolai and Diana will be here around 11am,” he said. “Almost everything is already there, so we’ll just take the last few boxes with us.”

“That’s good,” Yuuri said. What else is there to say?

“Victor won’t be coming with us,” Georgi said to break the silence.

“Ah, really?” Yuuri was actually very glad that he had this information. It would make tomorrow a little easier, being with Victor when everyone else left.

“Well, I have a few things to take care of,” Georgi said, sealing up the box. “Can I leave Yuri with you?”

“Of course!” He left Georgi to whatever he needed to do and found Yurio in the living room cuddling Makkachin. Yuuri looked around at the single stack of boxes, packed neatly. “Wow, Yurio, did you help pack everything up?”

“Yes!” the boy said proudly. “I packed all my toys!”

“That’s very good of you,” Yuuri said. A small pile of books that wasn’t packed caught his eye, so he examined them. “Oh no, these are library books! Good thing you didn’t pack them.” He found the due date on a receipt inside the first book, and was relieved to see that they weren't overdue. “Well, we can go return them and take Makkachin on a walk. Sound good?”

When Yurio agreed, Yuuri knocked on Georgi’s door. “Do you need anything? We’re going out to the library,” he asked when Georgi answered.

“No, I don’t think so,” he replied. “Victor said he’d make curry for dinner, but I don’t know if he already has the ingredients or not.”

“I can check and stop by the grocery store,” Yuuri volunteered. “We’ll be back soon, then!” He took a quick inventory of the kitchen, then got Yurio and Makkachin ready to go outside. The beautiful April day let them get away with wearing light jackets.

Yurio babbled the whole way to the library about ice skating and jumps, and Yuuri nodded along enthusiastically. At the library, they saw the usual librarian at the front desk. Yuuri handed her the books and talked to her for a bit while Yurio wandered around in eyesight. “He’s moving to live with his grandparents tomorrow, so thank you for always being such a big help when we came here. He really liked reading all of the books,” he said.

“It’s no problem at all!” the woman said. “I’m glad he likes to read, and I hope he continues with his grandparents.”

“Me, too,” Yuuri said, smiling.

Yurio brought a book to him and tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. “We should get this one!” he said.

“Aren’t you moving away tomorrow?” the librarian asked.

“Yes!” Yurio said, as if the two were unrelated.

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri said, “I’ll return it for him, we’ll just borrow this last book.” They gathered Makkachin back up and walked to the grocery store. Yuuri had just grabbed a basket when his phone vibrated.

Victor Nikiforov: I’ll be home in a few minutes

Yuuri Katsuki: So will we, Yurio and I are at the grocery store

Victor Nikiforov: Perfect! I’ll meet you there

Yuuri put down his phone and smiled. He realized that Yurio was looking at him expectantly and they hadn’t gone down a single aisle. He blushed and started muttering something about needing an onion as he directed them into the store. Yurio just happily followed.

He only needed a few things, so he was checking out after a few minutes of shopping. They exited the store and Victor was walking down the sidewalk. “Hi!” Victor said, waving at them.

“Hi,” Yuuri answered with a smile.

“I’ll take that,” Victor said, grabbing the bag out of Yuuri’s hand. He started walking towards the house.

“Oh, you don’t need to,” Yuuri said, but Victor just laughed.

“I came to carry your bag, silly,” Victor said.

“It’s, like, an onion and two peppers,” Yuuri said. “It’s not exactly heavy.”

“Please? Let me?” Victor asked, pouting slightly.

Yuuri’s heart melted at that. “Fine,” he said. Victor smiled and listened to Yurio talk about the cool new library book they just got.

Yuuri hung back and smiled at the two of them. Victor’s head was thrown back in laughter as Yurio mentioned something funny, and he leaned down to ruffle his hair. Yurio was smiling and looked a little taller than normal. Yuuri thought about how happy he was, despite how simple and domestic the situation was. Still, he loved Yurio, and he loved Victor, and he loved the fact that he got to meet both of them.

“You okay?” Victor asked, stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. He was giving Yuuri a concerned look.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “I’m great.”

“Good,” Victor said with a smile of his own. “Let’s go home.”

Victor did make curry for dinner, and Yuuri noted happily that his cooking skills had improved over the last two years. Although, pretty much anything was an improvement over frozen dinners.

“Thank you for the meal,” Yuuri said after he finished his bowl. “I’ll get started on cleaning up, then I’ll go read to Yurio.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Victor said. “Georgi will be more than happy to do it, instead.”

Georgi glared at his brother before smiling at Yuuri. “Yes, I would love to.”

“Are you sure?” Yuuri asked. “There’s not much to do, it won’t take me long, I’ll just grab the bowls…”

“Georgi can take care of it!” Victor said.

Yurio got out of his chair. “I’ll take my own bowl,” he said, grabbing his bowl and walking to the counter.

“Great idea! We’ll all take our own bowls to the counter, and Georgi will take care of the rest,” Victor said.

“Yes. Please. Let me do the dishes,” Georgi deadpanned.

“If you’re sure…” Yuuri trailed off.

“He’s sure,” Victor said. “Go spend some time with Yurio.”

“Okay. Well, thank you, Georgi. Let’s go, Yurio.” Yuuri took the boy to the living room and they read through half the book before Yurio started yawning. “I think it’s time for a bath and bed.”

Yuuri tried very hard to not think about the fact that he was doing all of these things for the last time as he bathed Yurio. He was halfway successful.

Yuuri continued reading the book to a cleaner Yurio in his bed. After a particularly big yawn, the child asked, “When grandma and grandpa come, is it goodbye?”

Yuuri’s heart swelled as he looked at him. “Yes, it is.” He stopped to give him a hug. “But, even after we say goodbye, I’ll always be thinking about you, okay?”

“Okay,” Yurio said, snuggling into his pillow. He was asleep a few minutes later. Yuuri gave him a light kiss on the top of his head and carefully closed the door behind him. He remembered that he was spending the night here, so he could have all morning with Yurio. He smiled at the thought and checked that the guest room was really free before he stepped in. There was a bathrobe on the bed, presumably for him, so he took a quick shower.

While he stood under the running water, he saw the rubber ducks on the edge of the tub and he remembered that he wanted to pack those in a bag before he went to sleep. So he didn’t forget, he went right into the kitchen after his shower. “Hey, is there a bag or something I can get? I want to pack Yurio’s bath toys for him.”

Both Georgi and Victor were sitting at the kitchen table with their phones out, and they were both staring at him. Yuuri looked down to make sure he didn’t accidentally wander in naked, but everything important was covered by the bathrobe.

“Is that the phone?” Georgi asked. “I think it is, I better go get it.” He practically jumped out of the kitchen.

“Um, I don’t hear anything,” Yuuri said, but it was too late. He looked at Victor, confused.

Victor blinked a few times, then shook his head. “Uh, yeah, sure, here,” he said, getting up to rummage through the almost empty drawers before handing Yuuri a bag.

“Thanks,” Yuuri said.

“Uh, no problem,” Victor said. “Also, you’ll catch a cold like that.” He carefully grabbed the towel from Yuuri’s arm and wrapped it around his chest. Yuuri glanced down and saw that it was hanging open a little bit in the front, but the tie around his waist kept him decent.

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri said, gripping the towel around him. “Both of you have been taking such good care of me, and even sharing a room so I can stay the night…”

“Oh! It’s nothing!” Victor said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ve shared a room and stuff before. Georgi just probably wanted to… We were just surprised by you walking out of the bath like… That…”

Yuuri felt a blush creeping up his neck. “Oh, uh, sorry about that.”

“Not a problem,” Victor said. “Just, uh, get dressed so you don’t get sick.”

“Okay, I will. Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight, Yuuri.”

Yuuri woke up to the smell of scrambled eggs. He fumbled for his glasses and stumbled out of his room at the exact same time as Yurio, who gave him a big “good morning” hug.

Victor and Georgi were already sitting at the kitchen table, a pot of coffee between them. “Good morning!” they both said.

“Good morning,” Yuuri grumbled. “I feel bad, you even made breakfast for us.”

“It’s okay, we thought you could use the time with Yurio,” Victor said with a smile. He handed Yuuri a plate of eggs and fruit, which he gratefully accepted.

“Oh yeah, are you still planning on selling the house?” Georgi asked while eating his own food.

“Yeah,” Victor replied. “I’m looking at apartments here that are smaller and closer to the rink.”

Yuuri silently chewed his food. He was glad to hear that Victor was staying in the area, but he was sad to see the house go. He did realize that it made no sense for Victor to keep it when he’d be living alone, though.

He was roused from his thoughts by Victor saying, “When you’re done eating, why don’t you go get dressed and play with Yurio? Nikolai and Diana will be here in about an hour.”

“Sure,” he said, finishing his last bite. “I’ll go do that now.” He quickly threw on the other pair of clothes that he brought and took Yurio and Makkachin out to the front yard. Pretty much everything was packed, so they mostly played fetch with whatever sticks they could find.

The hour seemed to fly by, and soon there was a car pulling into the driveway. Yuuri met them on the porch, and they all went into the house and greeted each other.

“Do you think we could rest a bit before leaving?” Nikolai asked. “We’re not as young as we used to be.”

“Of course! There’s no rush,” Victor said easily. “Yuuri, can you show them around a little?”

Yuuri thought that was a little silly, as the house was almost completely packed up and they had probably been here when it was Anya and Georgi’s house, but he did it, anyway. The tour was short, and they all ended up sitting in the living room.

“Oh! Before I forget,” Yuuri said, rushing to his bag. “This is his point card,” he said, handing it to Diana. “Victor and I were putting stickers on it whenever he did something good. And,” he said, giving her a notebook, “this is where I’ve been writing down notes. Like, his favorite foods and places we’ve been. It’s not really that important, but I thought, maybe it could help at some point.”

Diana smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you, Yuuri. I’ll read them carefully. You’re so thoughtful.”

Yuuri smiled back at her and was struck again by how nice they were. He wasn’t even their family, but they still treated him so kindly. He was very thankful to have a family environment here, so far from his own in Japan.

They all talked for a little while longer, then Nikolai glanced at his watch. “I know you said there was no rush, but we still have to unpack and make dinner when we get home, so should we get going?”

“Yes,” Diana agreed. She turned to Yurio. “Let’s get your coat and shoes, Yura.” She walked him through the house one more time to make sure they didn’t leave anything behind.

“All of the boxes are gone!” he remarked, looking at the almost completely empty living room.

“Yes, they’re at our house now,” Nikolai said. “Let’s go get in the car.”

Yuuri followed them and willed down his swelling emotions. It’s really important that I don’t look sad. Yurio will notice right away and won’t want to go. I just have to look happy.

“The boxes!” Yurio called, pointing to the full trunk.

“Yes, Yura, they’re in the car,” Diana said. “It’s time to say goodbye, now.”

Yurio just looked up at her, so Yuuri kneeled beside him. “Bye, Yurio. I’ll call you a lot, don’t worry!” He made sure he was smiling. “And I’ll send you pictures. Make sure you’re nice to your papa, grandma, and grandpa!”

Yurio’s eyes got wide and watery. He seemed to realize this was finally the goodbye. “Yuuri, when are you coming?”

Yuuri swallowed. “Ah, I haven’t quite decided. Once you’re settled.”

“Tomorrow?”

“No, not tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow?”

“No, that’s probably too soon.”

Yurio crossed his arms and sat down on the driveway. “Я не иду.”

Yuuri closed his eyes.

“You’re not going? Why not?” Georgi asked. “Aren’t you excited to come live with grandma and grandpa? I’ll be there too! We already packed everything up, remember?”

Yurio frowned up at him. “The goodbye with Yuuri and Victor is too long.”

Yuuri’s heart broke for him, and he opened his eyes to look at Yurio’s stern expression.

Georgi sighed. “Yes, Yuri. I know it’s a long goodbye. But it’s not forever, you’ll see them again! And I’ll play with you every day!”

“I’m very excited for you to live with us,” Diana said with a smile. “We can take baths in my big bathroom.”

“I’ll make you lots of pirozhki,” Nikolai added. “And Elena wants to play with you again. She said she’d bring her Power Rangers over.”

Yurio looked around him at all of the adults and started crying. “No!” he said, sinking to the floor. “No! I don’t want to say goodbye! Why can’t we all be together?” he asked, tears streaming down his face.

Yuuri looked helplessly at Yurio crying. What could he even say? How could he explain the complicated situation to a five year old? He had no idea how to reassure him that everything would be okay. Instead, he found himself crying, too. And once the first tear dropped, the rest came easily. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Yurio, I’m so sorry. We can’t stay together, and it’s sad, but we can’t.” He lifted his glasses to wipe his eyes. Everything was finally coming to an end, and he couldn’t bring himself to do anything but cry.

After a minute, he felt small hands touch his face. He let his glasses slide back down and saw Yurio clumsily trying to wipe his tears away. “Don’t cry, Yuuri,” he said. “I’ll go, so don’t cry.” They embraced and Yuuri willed his breathing to even out. “Just come play soon, okay?”

Yuuri finally smiled and let out a final sob. “Of course I will!”

Yurio wiped the last tears off his own face and looked up at his grandparents. “Let’s go,” he said in a small voice.

You made me so happy every day I was with you, Yuuri thought as he watched Yurio get buckled into his carseat. I had so much fun with you and truly enjoyed myself when we were together. I will never, ever forget that, no matter how far away we are.

Georgi climbed into the backseat with Yurio, and Nikolai and Diana got into the front. Diana rolled down the window and said to Yuuri, “I mean it. Whenever you want to visit, just say the word.”

“I will, thank you,” he said.

“I’ll call you when we get home,” Nikolai was saying to Victor. “Take care, and we’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, thank you,” Victor said. He hesitated a moment, then said, “I leave him in your hands, so take good care of him.”

“We will,” Nikolai said with a smile and a nod. He put the car in reverse, and Yuuri realized this was it.

“Bye, Yurio!” he called, waving at the window where he was sitting. “I love you! Always!”

Yurio smiled at him and waved slightly. “Love you,” he said quietly.

Then the car was at the end of the driveway, and it pulled away. Yuuri waved until it was out of sight, then slowly let his hand drop. It was quickly taken into Victor’s. “It’s a beautiful day,” Yuuri said, feeling the tears coming back. “I’m glad.”

“Me, too,” Victor said, squeezing his hand gently.

“Was I a good babysitter?” Yuuri asked suddenly, his eyes still focused on where the car disappeared around the corner.

“What?” Victor asked.

“I didn’t want to cry today,” Yuuri explained. “I wanted to send him off with a smile. But I didn’t. And there are other things, small mistakes I’ve made here and there. I don’t think I always did the right thing. I just…” he broke off.

“Yuuri,” Victor said, taking his chin and turning his head so they were looking at each other. “For the record, you were way better than a good babysitter. You were the best babysitter. But, even then,” he said, still gazing into his eyes, “we didn’t need a good babysitter, after all. We needed you. So cry if you feel sad. Share every emotion with us, because we’re family. You’ve been with us for two whole years.” He closed his eyes and brought Yuuri’s hand to his face, nuzzling into it. “Thank you for showering him with so much love. Thank you for everything.”

Yuuri laughed and sobbed and fell into Victor’s arms. Thank you, he thought. Thank you for making me a part of your family. Thank you for these lovely memories. I’ll cherish them forever.

May 2018

Yuuri stifled another yawn as he listened to the speaker drone on and on. Who even has their graduation at 10am? he thought to himself, not for the first time. He glanced at his watch, certain that at least 15 minutes had passed since he last checked. Nope. 3 minutes. Great.

The girl at the podium finally seemed to be moving to some kind of closing remark, and Yuuri tried not to sigh in relief. He already walked across the stage and shook the hands of a bunch of people he had never met before, so he was ready to leave. Sara had promised to take him and Phichit out to lunch after this and he was probably going to remember that more than this girl’s advice.

Finally, the president got up and ended the ceremony. Yuuri halfheartedly threw his cap into the air and then rushed to get away from everyone else. He quickly found the meeting place they had agreed on before and tried not to tear his gown off. He knew that Phichit would make him put it back on to take pictures, anyway. Something about having an “understanding” with his mom. It sounded kinda ominous to Yuuri, but he mostly trusted Phichit.

Yuuri nervously searched the people pouring out of the building, and eventually saw Phichit waving at him, breaking into a run at the last second and jumping into Yuuri’s arms. “We graduated!” he yelled.

“I know!” Yuuri agreed, laughing and trying to unwrap Phichit from around him. “I was there!”

“This is so exciting!” Phichit said. “Let’s take a selfie for Instagram, we have to be the two best looking graduates, right?”

Yuuri allowed him to take a picture of them, but he didn’t comment on the attractiveness comment. “Does post-grad life feel any different for you?” Yuuri asked.

Phichit giggled. “Not at all, but maybe when it’s been more than,” he checked his watch, “10 minutes.”

“Fair, fair,” Yuuri said with a laugh. “Sara is coming here, right?”

Phichit nodded and smirked. “Yeah, she should be here, soon. And I heard she brought a friend.”

Yuuri hummed. Maybe Mila? Then he spotted Sara walking towards them, waving. He waved back, smiling, when… Oh.

Because standing next to her, dressed in an incredibly gorgeous fitted suit and carrying a bouquet of blue roses, was Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri tried to will his heart rate down as they approached. Victor smiled at him, then thrust the flowers at him. “Um, these are for you. Oh! I mean, congrats! On graduating!”

Yuuri accepted them, smiling. “Thank you, they’re beautiful.”

“What’s that?” Phichit asked loudly. “Sara, there’s something really interesting you should see. Over there. Not here.”

“Yeah, totally! I’ll join you, over there. Not here,” she replied, also loudly.

Yuuri rolled his eyes, but appreciated the gesture as he was left alone with Victor. Well, even though he was surrounded by strangers on all sides, he felt alone with Victor. “How did you even get a ticket?” he asked.

“I may have asked Phichit for help months ago,” Victor said with a small smile. “Is that okay?”

“More than okay,” Yuuri said. “I’m glad to see you.” They hadn’t really talked since Yurio left, but he knew it was because they were waiting.

“Do you have a job?” Victor asked suddenly.

Yuuri blinked, but he quickly said, “Yeah, I have a job as a research assistant on campus.” He guessed that this was the first question all college graduates usually received.

“Great! Because, well,” Victor said, running a hand over his face. “I know I totally asked if we could wait before we… got together, or whatever,” he mumbled, blushing a little. Yuuri found it adorable. “Because I said I wanted you to graduate, which you did,” he said, gesturing vaguely at the crowd around them. “And I said I wanted you to get a job, which you did. And I also think I said that you should figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life, but that’s sorta hard to quantify, like how do you know? When you know, you know…”

Yuuri laughed and touched his arm. “Victor, you’re rambling.”

Victor visibly gulped and smiled. “Yeah, sorry. I’m a little nervous.” He reached down and grabbed Yuuri’s hand. “I said I’d be waiting patiently, but it turns out, that’s a little easier said than done.” Yuuri smiled at that, because he also was finding it hard to wait. “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ll still wait if you’re not ready, but is there a chance you’re ready?” he asked, searching Yuuri’s eyes.

“Yes, I'm very ready,” Yuuri replied easily. “And I never said it to you, but, Victor.” He reached up and caressed his cheek. “Я тебя люблю.”

Victor closed his eyes and breathed out shakily. He leaned in until their foreheads were touching and Yuuri could barely focus on his face. “愛してる,” he whispered, and then they were kissing again.

It wasn’t as passionate as the last time, but it was even better because Victor was in love with him and he was in love with Victor. There was no cheesy music, no fanfare, just the two of them finally together like he had been dreaming about for the last two years.

Victor pulled away too soon, and Yuuri whined to let him know that. “We’re in public, Yuuri,” he whispered, giving him a final chaste kiss on the lips before moving away. “And Phichit made me promise to help take pictures.”

“Ah, I was wondering why he really helped you,” Yuuri said with a laugh, not willing to look away from Victor’s lips.

“Are you guys done sucking face yet?” Phichit asked, walking back with Sara. “Because Nikiforov owes me, like, a billion pictures.”

“We are, and I do,” Victor said, chuckling. “Just give me a camera and I’ll do my best.” He leaned into Yuuri’s ear and whispered, “After all, you and I have forever, right?”

Yuuri shivered and smiled. “Yeah. 永遠に.”

Chapter Text

May 2018

Yuuri shyly glanced at the man across the table from him. He still couldn’t quite believe that it was Victor Nikiforov, his boyfriend. Victor looked up from his menu to smile at him and Yuuri felt his heart squeeze. He returned his gaze to the menu and tried to focus on it, but his thoughts were elsewhere. My boyfriend. My significant other. My lover… Okay how about just my boyfriend. This is a public place, Yuuri, get it together. He stole another glance at Victor, watching how he bit his lip as his eyes scanned the pages of the menu. How is it possible for a person to be so attractive? I must be the luckiest person on the planet.

Their waitress came to take their order in the middle of his thoughts, so he panicked and ordered the first thing he saw that looked fine. Victor ordered, too, and then they were alone again. But now no menus were between them, so Victor stared at Yuuri with a smile on his face, chin on his hand. “So, Yuuri,” he began. “Please tell me every detail of your life that I missed over the last month and a half.”

Yuuri blushed. “That’s a lot. Um, well, you know, I graduated. Oh, of course you know that, you were there. Well, I mean…”

Victor stopped him gently. “Don’t be nervous, Yuuri. It’s just me.” He smiled. “And if it helps, you don’t have to think of this as a first date or anything. Really, it’s our third date, so that’s even less pressure.”

Yuuri raised his eyebrows at him, and as soon as Victor realized what he had said, he started blushing furiously. “Wait! No! I don’t mean like that! I just…” he moaned and covered his face in his hands. “Now I’m getting nervous.”

Yuuri laughed and reached to peel his hands away from his face. “It’s okay. We can be nervous together.” Whenever Victor got nervous or flushed around him, he seemed to find his own confidence. “You said you wanted to hear every detail of my life recently, right? I’ll trade for every detail of yours.”

Victor smiled. “Deal.”

Yuuri took a deep breath and started filling Victor in on what had happened to him recently. Honestly, it wasn’t much at all. He had taken (and passed) his last round of finals, and then his job as a research assistant on campus had almost immediately started. “Oh, I guess there’s one more thing,” Yuuri said, as if he hadn’t been bursting to tell Victor since they sat down. “I applied for my Green Card.”

Victor basically gasped at him. “Really?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Yuuri affirmed with a small smile. “My Visa ends in a year, and, well, I want to stay here,” he said, blushing a bit. “So I applied for a Green Card.” Really, he had applied the day after Yurio went to live with his grandparents. Even though he loved Japan and his family, he knew the one place he wanted to stay, and that was with Victor and Yurio, in whatever way he could.

“That’s really great, Yuuri,” Victor said. “So you’ll stay here?”

“Yeah, I will, if I can. The lottery system will decide.”

“I just know you’ll get it,” Victor said with a smile. “Trust me, I know these things.”

Yuuri chuckled. “Oh really? It won’t be as easy for me as it was for you, Mr. ‘Please let me live in the United States I’ve won 2 Olympic gold medals, 7 World Championship gold medals, and 7 Grand Prix Final gold medals.’”

“First of all,” Victor pouted, “I only had 1 Olympic and 5 Grand Prix and Worlds medals when I applied for mine.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Only 1 Olympic medal, only 5 Worlds medals.”

“Second of all,” Victor continued, “That is way too long of a last name. Nikiforov is just fine.” His eyes twinkled, and he said, “Although, I may need to lengthen it soon. ‘Katsuki-Nikiforov’ has a nice ring to it.”

Yuuri couldn’t decide whether to sigh or to blush, so he did both. “You’re being rather forward for our third date, Victor.”

“Wait, I thought this was our first date?”

“Didn’t you just say it was our third? Besides, it would be even more forward for our first date!”

“I guess you just have that effect on me,” Victor said with a wistful sigh. “I can’t help but think about every good thing possible when it’s about you, Yuuri.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said, burying his face in his hands. “I appreciate the thought, but can we hold off on talk about marriage until at least the fourth date?”

“Depends,” Victor said with a smirk. “Is this our third or first date?”

Yuuri peeked over his fingertips. “Third.”

“Okay, then, agreed. I can wait a day.”

“A day?”

“Yuuri! Do you expect me to go a whole day without seeing you?”

Yuuri groaned into his hands. “You’re impossible. You’re an impossible dork.”

“Yes,” Victor said, holding out his hand on the table. “But now I’m your impossible dork.”

Yuuri slowly put his hand in Victor’s. “Yeah, you are,” he agreed.

Yuuri took a deep breath on the front porch. It had only been about a month, but it was the longest he had gone without seeing Yurio in two years. He tried to shove down his nerves, and the death grip he had on Victor’s hand helped ground him. Victor gave his hand a small squeeze and then rang the doorbell.

Diana answered the door almost immediately and she grinned at the sight of them. “Yura! You have visitors!” she called, ushering them inside. Yuuri had a minute to look around the house and he was struck by how clean it was while still obviously well-used and well-loved. However, that was as far as he got before he was tackled by a small blond child.

“Yuuri!” Yurio screamed, hugging his legs and making Yuuri take a few steps back to keep his balance. “You’re here!”

Yuuri felt a few tears well up in his eyes, and he scooped the child up into his arms. “Yes, Yurio, I’m here.”

They hugged for probably a minute before Victor cleared his throat. “Uncle Victor is here, too,” he announced.

Yurio looked over to him, as if finally noticing Yuuri didn’t come alone. “Victor!” he yelled, twisting in Yuuri’s grip so he could hold out his arms to the other man. Yuuri laughed and deposited him into Victor’s hug, and Nikolai and Diana watched with smiles on their faces.

When Victor finally let Yurio down, he started babbling. “I’m better at ice skating now, we go to the rink all the time. And I grew taller! And I ate really good pirozhki last night. And I ride my bike every day…”

“Yura,” Nikolai said gently, “How about we let them into the house first?”

“Oh, okay,” Yurio agreed easily. “I can show you all of my toys in the living room!” He grabbed a hand from both Yuuri and Victor and pulled them further into the house as they laughed and tried to kick off their shoes on the way. “Here are my Power Rangers,” he said, dragging them down to the ground with him. “These are the tigers, and they’re fighting with…” He talked about his toys for a while, and Yuuri and Victor happily nodded along.

“Dear, it’s time for supper,” Diana said. “You can play with Yuuri and Victor after. Go wash up.”

They all sat around the dinner table and were about to start serving the borscht when they heard the front door open. “I’m home,” Georgi called from the hallway.

“Papa! Yuuri and Victor are here!” Yurio called back.

Georgi poked his head into the kitchen and smiled. “They are! Sorry I’m late, work took a little longer than usual today.” He washed his hands and joined them at the table.

Yurio looked around the table at all of the adults smiling at him. “I’m happy,” he said simply.

Victor’s hand found Yuuri’s under the table.

June 2018

Yuuri was enjoying this party way more than the previous one he had been to at Phichit’s apartment. This time there were no red solo cups, no blaring songs, and no crowds of people. This was just a group of friends sitting around the living room with a bowl of chips and salsa on the coffee table, beers in hand. Yuuri was much more comfortable this time, but he was also sadder.

“Do you really have to go back to Thailand?” Yuuri asked his best friend with a frown.

Phichit smiled back at him. “There’s too much talent in America for me to stay here, I’ve gotta spread the ice skating love to all corners of the globe!” His face softened and he took his friend’s hand. “I’ll miss you, but this is something I need to do.”

“I know,” he replied. “I’m just gonna miss you, too.”

“I’ll Skype you every day! And I’ll text you every hour!” Phichit promised.

“And just when do I get Yuuri?” Victor asked playfully.

“I’m right here,” Yuuri said with a sigh.

“Sorry, Victor, but friends come before boyfriends,” Sara helpfully supplied. “We knew Yuuri first.”

“That’s not fair!” Victor huffed.

“I’m still right here,” Yuuri said.

“Come on Sara, we knew him first, but Victor knows him best.” Chris said, winking filthily.

“Chris,” Victor warned, but he didn’t stop there.

“I mean, you surely know him best, physically,” Chris finished.

“Okay, I’m not here anymore,” Yuuri squeaked, blushing and hiding his face in his hands. “We can talk about literally anything else, there’s nothing to talk about there. Nothing to report or discuss so let’s leave it alone.”

“We’re just teasing you because we love you,” Sara said, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

“And I won’t get to do it in person as much,” Phichit said. “But sure, we can talk about something else.” He leaned in to whisper in Yuuri’s ear, “But I am very interested in this topic and I think someday you’ll want to discuss it with me.”

Yuuri groaned and buried his face deeper into his hands.

“That’s not a no, Yuuri.”

“I know,” he whispered back.

October 2018

“I still can’t believe this,” Yuuri said, panting as he dropped the large box on the floor. He looked around at the apartment as his boyfriend dropped another box next to it.

“What? That you’re moving in with me?” Victor asked. “We’ve been talking about it forever, and you’ve practically been living here for months. Now you just pay rent,” he joked with a smile.

“No, that’s very believable,” Yuuri said, smiling back. “It’s just, everytime I come over, I’m reminded that you got a bachelor pad.”

Victor gasped. “Yuuri! That’s just incorrect!”

“You mean your spacious apartment that has only one bedroom with a king-sized bed, a deluxe bath with a jacuzzi, and a built in bar in your kitchen is a wholesome family apartment?”

Victor pursed his lips. “Chris said the same thing, and we googled it. A bachelor pad has two or more single men living there. I don’t see any single men here, do you?”

Yuuri glanced down to where their hands were intertwined, as usual. “No, I guess not,” he said with a smile.

“And! I didn’t hear you complaining about the jacuzzi when you used it last week!”

Yuuri sighed. “Still. It kinda feels like a bachelor pad. How old are you again? 29? Hm, this could be a mid-life crisis, Victor.”

Victor lightly punched his shoulder. “You’re no spring chicken yourself.”

Yuuri giggled. “Just admit it, you didn’t really want to be closer to the rink, you just wanted a cool apartment.”

“Well, what was I going to do? Get a not cool apartment closer to the rink?” Victor asked.

“I guess not,” Yuuri said. “Well, I’m starving. Make me something for lunch.”

Victor started moving to the kitchen immediately, but he still sighed and loudly mumbled, “My boyfriend has been living with me for five minutes and already he’s making demands. I think I’m whipped.”

Yuuri tried not to chuckle as he sat on a barstool at the kitchen island. Makkachin heard them come in and was sitting at his feet, begging for scraps of their lunch. Yuuri smiled and opened his hands, showing he didn’t have any food yet. Makkachin pouted but curled up by his hanging feet.

Victor rummaged through the fridge and pulled out some vegetables. He chopped them up and threw them onto the stove, completely focusing on the cooking. Yuuri watched him move around the kitchen and tried not to think about how absolutely everything he did was attractive. Pretty soon Victor served up two bowls of stir fry and they sat next to each other at the island, trying to steal bites of each other’s meals.

Victor stopped them halfway through for a selfie. “Why now?” Yuuri asked.

“It’s our first official meal as roommates!” Victor said, pulling his phone out and smiling at it.

Yuuri also posed, but as soon as the picture was taken, he said, “You know, we’ve kinda been living with each other on and off for two years. Probably longer.”

“But this is special, it’s official,” Victor whined.

Yuuri gave him a kiss on the cheek and laughed. “I didn’t say no to the picture, we already took it, remember?”

Victor grinned at him and kissed him on the lips. “Yeah. Oh!” He jumped off the barstool and ran to the fridge. He took a picture off of the door and brought it back to the island. “Yurio had his first day of school last month, and I just got this in the mail from Nikolai and Diana! Isn’t he cute?”

The photo was of Yurio in the front yard of his grandparents’ house, a small smile on his face. He was holding a sign that said “Yuri’s first day of kindergarten.”

Yuuri practically cooed. “Oh my gosh, this is so cute!”

“That’s what I said!” Victor said, smiling at the picture. “Apparently he’s doing very well in kindergarten.”

“That’s great,” Yuuri said. “I’d ask for a copy of my own, but now that I live here, I guess this is my copy.”

“Yeah,” Victor agreed, giving him another kiss. “I’m very happy to have you here, for the record.”

“Me, too,” Yuuri said, smiling. “Okay, now for the real reason I’m dating you: it’s time for another bath in that jacuzzi.”

November 2018

“Congratulations on making it to the Grand Prix Final!” Yuuri said into the phone.

“Thanks,” Victor said in his ear. “How did I look?”

“Honestly, you were incredible. I’d love even more to tell you how you were in person. When are you coming home again?”

Victor laughed. “It’s a nine hour flight from Paris to Detroit, and my flight leaves tomorrow at noon.”

Yuuri sighed and glanced at his watch. 24 hours. “That’s too long,” he whined.

Victor was silent for a moment, then he said, quieter, “I miss you, too.” He took a deep breath, then brought back his cheery tone. “Hey, let’s have a date tomorrow night or something?”

Yuuri smiled. “Sure, but let’s stay in.”

“I’m fine with anything, as long as it’s with you,” Victor said with a chuckle.

They talked a little while longer, then they both went to bed. When Yuuri woke up the next morning, he felt butterflies in his stomach as he thought about Victor coming home. He did some quick calculations in his head and figured that Phichit would probably be done with practice by now. He called his best friend and smiled when he picked up.

“Phichit. I need that advice.”

When he finally got Victor home from the airport many hours later, Yuuri dropped his luggage in the bedroom. He quickly checked his appearance in the mirror (still fine, just like the last 10 times he checked) and went back to the living room. “Victor,” he started to call, but he saw his boyfriend already sprawled on the couch, holding the remote.

“What did you want to watch?” he asked, scrolling through Netflix. “I think we have a few more episodes of Stranger Things Season 2 to watch before Season 3 comes out next month. Oh, and we could order Chinese? If by ‘stay in’ you meant be lazy and not cook anything.”

Yuuri casually leaned against the bedroom door frame, letting his hip stick out. “Actually, when I said ‘stay in,’ I meant something very different.”

Victor finally looked at him. “Oh, sorry, did you not want to watch any TV, then? You’re probably tired, I’ll cook something for dinner.”

Yuuri sighed and dramatically placed a hand on his stuck-out hip. “Oh, no. I’m quite the opposite of tired right now.”

Victor gave him a weird look that quickly morphed into a smile. “Ohhhhh. Oh!” He jumped up from the couch.

“I mean, I guess you technically don’t have to join me,” Yuuri started, turning to go into the bedroom.

In a few seconds, Victor was grabbing his hand. “Wait! Please! Yes! I mean, no!”

Yuuri laughed and turned to face him. “Which one is it?”

Victor leaned in and kissed him hungrily, his hands wandering to Yuuri’s ass. They made out in the doorway for a few minutes, running their hands over each other, before Victor leaned back and pressed their foreheads together. “I’ll be honest. I don’t remember the exact question,” Victor said breathily.

Yuuri smiled at him. “Me neither.”

Victor placed another kiss on his lips. “I love you, Yuuri. With you, the answer is always yes.”

“I love you, too, Victor,” he said, grabbing his hand and leading them into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Yuuri Katsuki: You were right, I owe you $10 next time you’re here

Phichit Chulanont: I knew you were both criers haha

Phichit Chulanont: So like

Phichit Chulanont: I require details as payment ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yuuri Katsuki: Your payment is literally $10

Yuuri Katsuki: Come to the US to get it

Phichit Chulanont: No that’s my payment for guessing right about the crying

Phichit Chulanont: What about payment for the advice?

Yuuri Katsuki: Your payment is my continued friendship

Phichit Chulanont: ୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨

Phichit Chulanont: Please Yuuri!

Phichit Chulanont: Let me live vicariously through you!

Yuuri Katsuki: Ugh you’re the worst

Phichit Chulanont: Yeah I know ♡( ◡‿◡ )

Yuuri Katsuki: Fine Skype me and we’ll talk

Phichit Chulanont: Yessssssss ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Phichit made a big deal about flying to the US for Yuuri’s 26th birthday, and he was glad that no huge surprise parties were planned this year. Although, it probably had more to do with Phichit being overseas than Yuuri not wanting anything fancy.

He sat next to Victor on the couch, their thighs touching as he looked around at his friends sitting in his living room. He was so happy he didn’t know where to start. He was still hanging out with his friends even though he had already graduated college. He had his own place. Well, not really his own, but he didn’t mind his roommate, the love of his life. Victor probably could sense that Yuuri was thinking about him, because he ducked down and pressed a kiss under his ear, making him shiver. He playfully batted Victor’s head away and tried to resume focusing on the conversation everyone else was having. But when he turned his attention back, no one was talking.

He scanned the room and found that Mila looked the guiltiest, so he stared her down. She laughed and put up her hands. “Sorry!” she said.

“For what?” he asked.

“I was just talking about how nice it is to see you two together. I mean, I’ve known Victor for many, many years, and it’s a nice change.”

Victor smiled stupidly at her, squeezing Yuuri’s knee. “I can’t help it, he makes me the happiest man on Earth.”

Phichit sighed and took a quick picture of them. “They are so cute!”

Mila laughed again. “Yeah, I always knew Victor was totally sweet on the inside, underneath all of that skating bravado.”

Yuuri snorted, but put his hand in Victor’s. “He’s not that sweet, don’t let him fool you. He steals the covers and he tries to bribe Makkachin away from me when I’m not looking.”

Chris smiled wickedly. “Ah, Yuuri, you’re right, we should take your word for it. I guess you would be the only here who knows what he actually tastes like.”

Yuuri just stared at him. “I do know, and as I said, he’s not sweet.” Chris opened his mouth to make another innuendo, but Yuuri silenced him with a raised hand. “If anything, he tastes more salty. And he’s certainly not sweet on the inside.”

The room went deathly silent.

“Mon dieu,” Chris said.

Phichit pulled out his phone and snapped another photo of everyone. “I need to document the moment when Yuuri Katsuki officially became a savage and played Chris at his own game.”

Sara was dramatically sniffing and wiping away fake tears. “They grow up so fast,” she told Mila.

“What just happened?” Victor asked, staring at the wall in shock.

“Do you not like it?” Yuuri asked, squeezing his hand.

“No! I love it!” Victor said, shaking his head and staring at Yuuri. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Yuuri said, cupping his cheek.

“Get a room!”

January 2019

“Look what I got from Santa!” Yurio said, shoving a box onto Victor’s lap. “More Power Rangers!”

“Wow!” Victor replied, looking at them in awe. “These are so cool!”

“We can play with them together,” Yurio offered. “You, me, and Yuuri.”

“We’d like that,” Yuuri said, ruffling his hair. “What else did you get for Christmas?”

Yurio started talking about all of the toys and clothes he got as Nikolai and Diana watched and smiled. They played together for a long time, and Yuuri felt his heart swell seeing how much Yurio was changing and yet staying the same. He was definitely getting a little bit bigger, his hair was getting longer, and he seemed to be more confident and polite. But he was still the same child that Yuuri loved.

Nikolai disrupted them to suggest that they open presents, and Yurio was more than happy to stop if it meant more presents. Yuuri and Victor did their Christmas shopping together, getting Yurio some new books that would help him learn to read, yarn for Diana, a new baking pan for Nikolai, and new skate guards for Georgi. The Plisetskys (and Georgi) bought them some nice bottles of vodka, which Victor assured them they would gladly use. Finally, Yurio had drawn them very nice pictures with a new set of crayons and his grandparents had framed them.

After presents Diana gathered them up for dinner, promising that Nikolai had made some delicious roast pork. Yuuri had to agree that it was quite delicious, and he ate two servings.

Yuuri helped clean the dishes after they finished eating, handing clean pots to Diana so she could dry them off. “Thank you for having me over,” he said. “It really means a lot that you would let me spend the holiday with your family.”

Diana put down the dish she was holding and patted his cheek. “Please, Yuuri. You’re not here with our family, you are our family.” She smiled and kissed his forehead. “You and Vitya are always welcome here. Now, just like real family, less talking, more cleaning,” she said, lightly bumping hips with him.

“Welcome to the 2019 US Figure Skating Championships, broadcast here on NBC and sponsored by Prudential. It’s a beautiful day here in scenic Detroit, Michigan, where the best figure skaters in the country are competing for the National title and a spot on the US team at the upcoming World Championships in March. My name is Johnny Weir.”

“And I'm Tara Lipinski. Today is the last day of the actual competition, right?”

“Yes! Tonight we’ll see the Men’s Free Program. Can you tell us a little about what's happened so far for the men?”

“Well, this year has certainly been different than the previous few. The US can send two male skaters to Worlds, and for the past few years, the Championship has seemed to be a battle for third place. Phichit Chulanont and Christophe Giacometti have been trading the gold and silver and consistently keeping those Worlds spots. But this year, after completing college Chulanont has returned to his native country Thailand to skate, leaving one of those spots open for a new hopeful.”

“Well, Tara, unfortunately for those hopeful skaters, but fortunately for our country, we traded one powerhouse skater for another. Victor Nikiforov, 2 time consecutive Olympic gold medal winner, 8 time consecutive Grand Prix gold medalist and 7 time consecutive World Champion is skating in the US Championships for the first time. So, taking Chulanont’s Worlds spot will probably require beating the currently unbeatable Nikiforov. I've skated against him in the past, and I don't envy these skaters today.”

“Yes, Johnny, after the Short Program, Victor is ahead of Giacometti by almost 5 points, and the next best skater, Neil Clark, is almost another 20 points behind that. Certainly that’s a distance that can be made up in the Free Program, but as Nikiforov also shattered the record for highest Short Program score at the US Championships, it doesn’t seem likely, does it?”

“No, I don’t think so. Nikiforov is on a roll after winning the Grand Prix Final last month, and especially after some of the skating we’ve seen this week, I expect him to win big here, set a few more US records, and then do very well at the World Championships in two months.”

“Well, we’ll see if you’re right about the first part in just a few minutes when Nikiforov skates. But, tell me Johnny, why is this the first US Championship that we’re seeing Nikiforov skate in?”

“Nikiforov is a Russian national, but he’s been living in the US as a resident for the past two and a half years due to family issues. During that time, he has been skating for Russia as a citizen at all Russian and international competitions. However, he has now switched his country of representation to the US, which will be recognized at all US and international competitions barring the Olympics. When reached for comment, he said, ‘Not that I didn’t want to be in the US before, but I was here out of necessity. Now that my personal life is sorted out, I’m choosing to stay in the US, and it feels very important to me to change my home country to reflect that.’”

“Of course, we welcome him with open arms! He is a living legend in the sport, and we’re happy to see that whatever issues he had have been resolved. Watching him skate is truly a treat.”

“Speaking of, Tara, here he is, taking the ice. He will be skating to Rhapsody in Blue, by the American composer George Gershwin. His theme this year is “Home,” and he dedicated this season to his family here in the US.”

“The program opens with a beautiful step sequence. It’s truly amazing to watch someone skate and just not have any idea of how to critique their performance.”

“Indeed, and it's certainly not a feeling we’ve had watching some of the other skaters this week, Tara. This is a completely different level of performance. Here’s his first jump: a triple axel. And he lands it beautifully.”

“The family that he is dedicating this season to is here in attendance, as well. His brother Georgi Popovich, a retired figure skater himself, his nephew Yuri Plisetsky, an aspiring figure skater, and his boyfriend Yuuri Katsuki are all cheering Nikiforov on from the stands.”

“You can see the passion he feels as he moves into his next step sequence and combination spin. Now we’re approaching the second half of the program, where most of his jumps are for more points.”

“A quadruple salchow: flawless execution. Nikiforov is putting on a clinic for the other skaters.”

“Next, a quadruple toe loop, triple toe loop combination. I’m running out of ways to say that he is making absolutely no mistakes in an incredibly difficult program. And that is something I haven't said often, especially at a national and not international competition.”

“This song matches the selection for his Short Program, Simple Gifts, popularized by the famous American composer Aaron Copland. It seems that Nikiforov is embracing living here in America, and these scores will certainly help the US at Worlds.”

“These scores should be massive if Nikiforov skates anything like he is right now. I won’t waste breath stressing consistency, because he’s been consistent for 8 straight years. And hopefully for a few more under the American flag!”

“Definitely, Johnny! Nikiforov just turned 30, and even figure skating gods age. But watching this strong performance, I have no doubt that he could continue to compete for another few years with no problem. We’re approaching the final jump of the program: his signature quadruple flip.”

“And… Incredible, he made that look easy. This has easily been the hardest and most well-executed program so far. What a truly brilliant performance from the now-American Victor Nikiforov at his first ever US Championships. That was also incredibly refreshing after seeing senior skaters that couldn't even land a triple toe loop. Now, let’s wait for the scores. Tara, do you think this will be another record?”

“I do think so, while we also saw Giacometti give an amazing performance earlier, Nikiforov is on another level, and his scores should reflect that.”

“And it is a new American record! Both for highest Free Skate score, and highest combined score at a US Championship. As National Champion, we will see Nikiforov and also silver medalist Giacometti at the World Championships this March.”

“Ah, he’s blowing a kiss to the audience.”

“I would bet it’s at one specific audience member.”

“You’re not wrong there, Johnny. Please join us next time for the Smucker’s Skating Spectacular, as we see these top skaters perform some exhibition programs! Until then, I’ve been your host, Tara Lipinski.”

“And I’m Johnny Weir. Good night!”

April 2019

Yuuri bounced his leg up and down nervously, glancing up at the “Departures” board on the wall. Their flight was still delayed by 30 minutes. He bit the inside of his cheek and kept bouncing his leg until his boyfriend placed a hand on his knee. “Hey, you okay?” Victor asked.

“Yeah,” Yuuri answered automatically. Victor raised an eyebrow, so Yuuri sighed and said, “I’m just really nervous. I haven’t been home in five years.”

Victor squeezed his knee. “I know, and it’s gonna be okay, everyone will be very happy to see you! But it’s also okay for you to be nervous. I’m a little nervous, too,” he said, smiling. “But I’ll be right there with you the whole time.”

Yuuri smiled at him. “Thanks, Victor. But why are you nervous?”

Victor scoffed. “It’s very nerve-wracking to meet your boyfriend’s family! I need to make sure I make a good first impression!”

“Victor, please. You’ve sorta been a household name for my family for years before I even knew you.”

“Exactly! Those are high expectations! What if I don’t live up to them?”

“Impossible,” Yuuri said, pecking him on the cheek. “You’re perfect and they’ll love you. Because I love you.”

Victor giggled. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing you say that.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “It must have been hundreds of times by now. Is it really that exciting for you, even now?”

“Yes! Definitely! Here, I’ll try.” Victor leaned down by his ear and whispered, “Я тебя люблю.”

Yuuri shivered and closed his eyes. “You cheated. Russian is cheating.”

Victor laughed and pulled away, pausing for a moment. “Wait, are they calling our flight?”

Yuuri listened and then jumped up. “Yes! Grab your bags! We have to go get in line!”

Yuuri got into the hot springs and happily watched Victor lean back against the edge, his eyes closed and a sigh escaping his lips. “Yuuri, why didn’t you tell me your family owned a hot springs? And why haven’t we been here every day?”

Yuuri laughed. “Okay, I’m 100% sure I told you that literally the day I met you. And there are a million reasons? You’re a professional figure skater in the US, I was attending college in the US, and Nikolai, Diana, and Yurio are in the US…”

“Okay, okay,” Victor said, cracking an eye open. “You’re so mean to me. It’s a good thing I’m only dating you for your hot springs,” he teased.

“You own a personal jacuzzi, Victor. I would know, it’s the only reason I’m dating you,” he shot back.

“Fair,” Victor said, closing his eyes again and smiling. “But this really is nice. And so are your parents.”

Yuuri smiled. “Yeah, they are. And see? I told you they’d like you.”

“Good. That makes asking them easier,” Victor said.

“What do you mean, ‘asking them?’” Yuuri said.

Victor’s eyes shot open. “What?”

“Yes, what did you mean by that?”

“By what?”

“Victor…”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything, Yuuri.”

“You did! What did you say?”

“Nothing!”

“Fine then, you deserve this,” Yuuri said, jolting forwards and tickling his boyfriend’s sides.

Victor started howling in laughter and trying to swat his hands away. “Stop! Stop! Please! Mercy!”

“Tell me!” Yuuri insisted, pausing for a second.

Victor took a few breaths. “Never,” he whispered.

Yuuri was about to start tickling him again when he heard Mari call them for dinner. He narrowed his eyes at Victor. “You win this round, Nikiforov,” he said.

Victor just grinned at him.

May 2019

Yuuri sat on the couch, flicking through Instagram on his phone. It looked like Phichit was practicing quad salchows today, and Chris and his fiancé were making centerpieces for the tables at their wedding reception.

Victor burst in through the front door. “Yuuri! You have mail!” Yuuri dropped his phone and jumped up. He ran to the door where Victor was holding an envelope with shaking hands. “US Citizenship and Immigration Services,” he read from the return address. “That has to be it, right? But a letter? Isn’t is 2019?”

“That’s it, regardless of the year,” Yuuri agreed, reaching to take the letter. He started to open it, then stopped and held it to his chest. “What if I didn’t get?” he asked.

“Then you’ll be okay,” Victor reassured, placing his hands on his shoulders. “But it could be a yes!”

Yuuri swallowed. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Victor said with a smile. “Now, please open it, the suspense is killing me.”

Yuuri laughed quietly and tore the envelope open. He shakily removed the paper, unfolded it, and started reading. His eyes quickly scanned the words, but nothing stood out to him. After a minute, he sighed and shoved it at Victor. “I can’t focus on it, can you tell me?” he asked. Victor accepted it and read through it. Yuuri covered his face so he couldn’t see his reaction. “I didn’t get it, did I?” he groaned.

“This is a welcome notice,” Victor said.

Yuuri peeked at him from behind his hands. “What?”

“It’s a welcome notice,” Victor repeated, smiling. “Yuuri, you got it! I mean, there are other steps and everything, but you did it!”

“Really?” Yuuri asked, his heart pounding. “You’re serious.”

“I’m serious,” Victora affirmed, giving him a kiss. “Welcome to the US for good, Mr. Green Card.”

Yuuri smiled. “There’s the interview and the…”

Victor kissed him again. “Still, this was the hard part. I’m so happy for you, Yuuri.” He pulled Yuuri into his chest. “Although, now this means that I can’t suggest we move to Japan to live at the hot spring.”

Yuuri laughed and nuzzled into his neck. “No, I suppose not. Seems like we’re stuck with the American jacuzzi. Darn it.”

Yuuri straightened his tie and nervously ran a hand through his hair. Victor probably wouldn’t take long in the bathroom, but he welcomed the opportunity to quell his nerves. Tonight needed to go perfectly. He quickly ran through everything in his head.

Tonight was their first anniversary. This was the same restaurant that they had their first/third date in. Sara was here to take pictures. He already asked the waitress to have a bottle of champagne ready, and while she had given him a strange look, she had agreed. So far, everything was going according to plan. And he was 99% sure that Victor would say yes. 99.9% sure. Still, that 0.1% uncertainty was driving him crazy. He just needed to ask him and be done with it. Everything would be fine.

Victor walked back and smiled as he sat down in his chair. “Sorry about that,” he said.

“No problem!” Yuuri quickly assured.

“Well, happy anniversary, Yuuri!” Victor said, raising his glass of wine.

“Happy anniversary, Victor,” he replied, clinking glasses. They both took a sip, and then Victor put his down.

“So, it’s been a year, huh?” Victor asked.

“Yeah, that’s generally what an anniversary means,” Yuuri said with a smile.

“Ah, yeah, sorry, I’m just a little nervous,” Victor said.

“Why? It’s just me,” Yuuri said. I’m the nervous one, he thought, fiddling with the box in his pocket.

Victor took a deep breath and smiled, then he stood up. He walked over to Yuuri. He got down on one knee.

“What are you doing?” Yuuri asked breathlessly.

“I’m trying to be romantic,” Victor said. “Yuuri Katsuki, you are the love of my life. These past three years that I’ve known you have been the best of my life, and I want to spend the rest of it with you. I want to start a family with you, grow old with you, and wake up next to you every day. Would you do me the honor of being my husband?”

Yuuri wiped at the tears spilling from his eyes. “Yes, yes, of course,” he said, nodding and smiling. Victor smiled back up at him and slipped a beautiful golden ring over his right ring finger, similar to the one he had already given him a year ago. Yuuri touched it, almost afraid that it wasn’t real. But it was.

He also dropped to one knee in front of Victor, their faces now level. “Victor Nikiforov,” he began, smiling at his confused expression, “I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. Yet somehow, I still fall more and more in love with you everyday we’re together. And,” he laughed, “you already said this part, but I do want to start a family with you and grow old with you. So, will you please take care of me from now on?” He pulled out the box and showed the golden ring he bought that matched the one on his own hand.

“Yes! Yes!” Victor said, holding out his hand. Yuuri slipped the ring on and they embraced. Even though it was awkward that they both picked the same night to propose and ended up kneeling next to each other, Yuuri wouldn’t have it any other way. Because he was getting married to Victor.

Light applause started somewhere, and they remembered they weren’t alone. They helped each other stand up and held hands, not yet willing to break contact. Chris sauntered over, his phone up. “That was not quite what I was expecting,” he admitted with a laugh. “Victor asked me to come and take pictures of his proposal.”

Sara approached from the opposite side of the restaurant. “And I’m here to take pictures of Yuuri’s proposal,” she said.

Victor squeezed his hand. “So, you were really planning on proposing tonight?”

“Of course! Tonight was the perfect night!”

“I happen to agree,” Victor said. “I even asked your parents for permission!”

Yuuri looked at him in surprise. “Really? When did you do that?”

“When we visited.”

“Oh, okay. Ohhhhhh. That’s what you were talking about in the hot spring!” Yuuri said, remembering.

Victor blushed. “Yeah, I was thinking about it so much that I let it slip.”

“Well, at least this will be a good story,” Yuuri said with a laugh.

The waitress approached them with a cart and two bottles of champagne. “Um, since you both separately asked for champagne, I didn’t know if you wanted one bottle or two.”

They laughed and then Yuuri said “one” at the same time as Victor said “two.”

Yuuri glared at him. “One is fine, thank you,” he told her. Victor pouted, so he gave him a kiss. “I love you, Victor. I can’t wait to marry you.”

Victor smiled. “I love you, too, Yuuri. I can’t wait to marry you.”

July 2019

“We’re getting married, Carol!” Victor told the Bed Bath & Beyond employee, holding up his right hand to show off his ring.

Carol looked at him and smiled. “Congratulations, again.”

“Sorry about him,” Yuuri said, pulling Victor’s hand down. “You know we’re getting married because we’re here to do our wedding registry. And because he’s told you five times. He also told the Starbucks barista this morning.”

Victor grinned. “I can't help wanting to show off my trophy almost-husband, can I?”

“Can we do the registry first?” Yuuri asked.

Victor thought about it for a moment. “Okay, I guess.”

They both turned back to the employee. “Okay,” she said slowly. “I see on your paperwork that you’re getting married next April?” They both nodded. “Great! Do you already live together?” They nodded again. “Okay, so you probably already have a lot of essentials. What kinds of things are you looking to register?”

“Well,” Victor began, “we live in an apartment right now, but someday we’re going to move into a house, so probably kitchen supplies that aren't entirely essential.”

“He wants a Magic Bullet because he saw it on an infomercial last night,” Yuuri explained. “But, I already told him, we have a blender.”

“And I already told him,” Victor started, “it's not just a blender, it's also…”

“Then we’ll register a food processor,” Yuuri said patting his hand. “Okay?”

Victor frowned but he nodded. They both turned back to Carol, who was smiling but looked confused. “Okay,” she began again. “A food processor. Anything else?”

“Maybe some china?” Yuuri said.

“Very manageable,” Carol said, leading them towards the kitchen part of the store. “So using these scanners, just scan the code of anything you want to register and we’ll automatically add it to your online registry. Let me know if you need any help!”

They agreed and started going through the dishes. They quickly settled on a set of china and moved to the appliances section. Yuuri said no to a deep fat fryer but yes to a stand up mixer. When they finished they told Carol.

“That's great! Want to look at anything else?” she asked.

“What else is there?” Yuuri asked.

“I'll show you some popular items in our other sections,” she said, leading them to another part of the store.

“Oh! Yuuri, we have to get this!” Victor called, pointing to a wooden plaque that read “Mr. & Mr.” He dashed to the other side of the aisle. “Oh, and this, too!”

“Victor, you can’t just register every single thing that says ‘Mr. & Mr.’” Yuuri said with a sigh.

“But I can try,” he said, taking off towards the rest of the wedding decorations and scanning every “Mr. & Mr.” item in sight as Yuuri chased after him. Carol just rubbed her temples.

Yuuri took another sip of champagne to drain the glass. Victor helpfully replaced it with another full glass immediately. Phichit eyed him apprehensively. “You’re drinking a lot, Yuuri,” he said.

Yuuri shrugged in response. “It’s a wedding, and it’s free.”

“You’re right, but don’t come crying to me when you see pictures of drunk Yuuri pole-dancing tomorrow morning,” Phichit said with a chuckle. “I certainly won’t mind.”

“Neither will I,” Victor added. He wistfully looked out across the room to the dance floor where Chris and Alex were spinning around between other couples. “I’m glad that Chris got married, but I’m also glad that I already proposed to Yuuri. I wouldn’t be able to get through this whole wedding without getting down on one knee.”

Phichit laughed. “That would’ve been an interesting proposal, but it sounds like yours was interesting, anyway.”

“It was. And it was perfect,” Victor said, grabbing Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri smiled at him and finished his current glass of champagne. And again, Victor replaced it immediately.

“Victor, are you trying to get Yuuri drunk?” Phichit asked, a sparkle in his eye.

“Of course,” Victor said with a wink. “I may or may not have promised one of the grooms that I’d gift him a pole dancing partner again.”

Yuuri pretended not to hear that and continued downing the champagne. Phichit clapped him on the shoulder and said, “You’re a good sport, Yuuri.” Yuuri pretended not to hear that, too.

“Good job at Worlds!” Victor said. “That was a well-deserved bronze medal! Your footwork has really improved since you started training in Thailand.”

Phichit beamed at the praise. “Thanks! I’ve been training really hard. But, it seems I’ll always be second to you and Chris.” Victor opened his mouth to respond, and Phichit stopped him. “I don’t mind! When you two old men retire I’ll be on top of the world!” They both laughed and watched Yuuri keep chugging away at the champagne. “Yuuri told me he got a new job!”

Victor smiled widely. “Yeah! He’s now working as a translator for the Detroit Publishing Company! He starts next month.”

“That’s great,” Phichit said. “I’m really happy for you two. And living together, too?”

“Yeah, I’m happy,” Victor said, squeezing Yuuri’s hand. “Really happy.”

“I’m right here,” Yuuri said, rolling his eyes.

“Less talking, more champagne,” Victor said, tapping his glass. Yuuri huffed but he continued drinking. He finished the glass then loosened his tie.

“It’s starting!” Phichit said, grabbing his phone.

Victor waved down Chris, who got the message and started unbuttoning his shirt. Alex laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Yuuri made his way over.

When they were finished pole dancing and everyone clapped, Victor proudly called out, “That’s my fiancé!” and Yuuri blew him a kiss.

August 2019

“Victor, do you have time to finalize the guest list and wedding party?” Yuuri asked when Victor came in through the front door.

Victor smiled at him. “Of course, just let me take a quick shower. I’m still gross from practice.” Yuuri almost said, “You're never gross,” but he had indeed smelled Victor after practice and it simply wasn't true, so he just waited.

They soon settled onto the kitchen table and Yuuri consulted his wedding planning notebook. “Okay, so, wedding party,” he said, flipping to a page in the middle. “I think I have three people that I would like: Sara, my sister, and then Phichit as my best man.”

Victor nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Yuuri looked at him expectantly. “So what about you?”

Victor blinked. “Oh, duh. Sorry. I want Chris to be my best man. And, I guess, Mila. Oh, but you have three.”

Yuuri shrugged. “We could be uneven if we want. Do you have anyone else in mind?”

“Not really,” Victor said.

“Not your brother?” Yuuri added hesitantly.

Victor bit his lip. “I’m… I’m not sure.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said with a smile. “We can decide that later. But the wedding party definitely doesn’t have to be even, so don’t feel pressured to make him a groomsman. Alright, let’s do the guest list,” he said, flipping to a different page in his notebook. “I have my family, the Nishigoris, and a few family friends from Japan that you haven’t met. Then we have the Plisetskys, Georgi, the Babichevs, Celestino, Minako, a few of my friends from the orphanage, your parents-”

“I’m not inviting my parents,” Victor said, cutting him off.

Yuuri frowned. “Are you sure? It’s your wedding. And they’re your parents.”

“So?” Victor asked. “It doesn’t matter.”

“But-”

“It. Doesn’t. Matter.”

“Victor-”

“No, you don’t know them,” he said. “You’re my fiancé and you’ve never met my parents. That shows that they’re obviously not important or present, so why should my wedding change that?”

“I’m sorry that your parents are awful, but-,” Yuuri started.

“They’re not awful,” Victor replied coolly. “They just don’t matter. They don’t care about me, and I don’t care about them. You know they couldn’t be bothered to raise a finger when Anya died and Yurio needed help. They won’t even bother telling us they’re not coming.”

“That doesn’t mean-”

“Yes, it does-”

“Will you let me finish a goddamn sentence, Victor?” Yuuri asked calmly. “Or are you going to interrupt me all night?” When Victor didn’t respond, he continued, “You’re allowed to be mad at your parents, but you aren’t allowed to take it out on me.”

Victor sneered. “Oh, thank you for your permission.”

Yuuri narrowed his eyes. “There’s no need to be nasty.”

“Really? What if I’m mad? Not everyone grew up with a wonderful family, Yuuri. You don’t get to assume things about my relationship with my parents.”

Yuuri stood up. “I think you’ll find I didn’t assume anything. I asked you if you wanted to invite your parents to our wedding, and you snapped when I asked if you were sure. I know this is a sensitive issue for you, but it’s no excuse to treat me like this.” He went to the door and put on a pair of shoes. “I’m going out. I’ll be back later. Hopefully you'll have your head out of your ass by then.” He shut the door behind him and leaned against the wall right outside their apartment to wait.

A minute passed, then the door burst open and Victor ran out, tears streaming down his face. “Wait, Yuuri!” he was saying, before he stopped and saw him leaning against the wall.

“Hey,” Yuuri said weakly.

Victor jumped forward and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Yuuri,” he said, crying softly.

Yuuri stroked his hair. “It’s okay, いいんですよ. It’s okay.”

They embraced for a few minutes until Victor calmed down enough to pull away. “I shouldn’t have snapped like that, you’re right.”

“Apology accepted,” Yuuri said, giving him a quick kiss. “Just don’t do it again, okay? I’m so close to locking down that jacuzzi.”

Victor laughed wetly and shook his head. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Good. Now, let’s go back inside,” Yuuri said, leading him back into the apartment. He sat down on the couch and Victor crawled between his legs, his back to Yuuri’s chest. “We don’t have to invite them,” Yuuri said quietly. “I just want you to be sure you won’t regret it later.”

“I won’t,” Victor affirmed.

“Okay,” Yuuri said, kissing his hair. “That’s good enough for me.”

March 2020

“Welcome back to the 2020 World Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa, Canada! I'm Johnny Weir, and joining me as always is Tara Lipinski. We just saw the US’s Christophe Giacometti give a strong performance, and that leaves only two more left tonight to finish the Men’s Free Program.”

“That's right, Johnny. Next up is Canada’s Jean-Jacques Leroy. He's been a force to reckon with since he was 18 and won bronze at the 2015 Grand Prix Final, and now at 22 he’s better than ever, yet he has still never managed to get a gold medal against the reigning World Champion, Victor Nikiforov.”

“And if Leroy ever wants to beat the legendary Russian, I mean American, skater, it has to happen tonight. This is Nikiforov’s last ever competition. And what a career it has been, Tara!”

“Yes, he won his first gold medal in Senior International Competition at the 2011 Grand Prix Final, and he has literally not been beaten since.”

“That’s, what, 9 years?”

“That's right. He’s been the one to beat in Men’s Figure Skating for 9 years now, and he’s won 2 Olympic gold medals, 9 Grand Prix Final gold medals, 8 World Championship gold medals, 8 European gold medals, 1 Four Continents gold medal, 8 Russian National gold medals, and 1 US Championship gold medal.”

“That’s a lot of gold medals.”

“Understatement of the century, Johnny.”

“Now, at the US Championships at the beginning of this year, we said that Nikiforov probably had a few more good years left in his career, but at 31, his retirement announcement certainly makes sense. While he is still dominating the competitive figure skating scene, this year is the closest he’s ever come to losing since he started winning many years ago.”

“That’s right, Leroy’s personal best scores from the 2020 Canadian Figure Skating Championships two months ago were actually higher than Nikiforov’s from the US Championships. Leroy flubbed his quadruple lutz and got silver in the 2020 Four Continents last month, so we’re going to have to see if Nikiforov can retire undefeated or not.”

“Well, Tara, I think that the crowd here may favor one competitor tonight over the other.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed, what with all of the Canadian flags and chants of ‘JJ’ and ‘Canada.’”

“That’s the homefield advantage for Leroy, so we’ll see if he can dethrone the current champion tonight or if Nikiforov will go out in a blaze of glory.”

“Currently, Giacometti is in first, Thailand’s Phichit Chulanont is in second, and South Korea’s Seung-gil Lee is in third. However, I expect Leroy and Nikiforov to push both Chulanont and Lee from medaling positions.”

“I agree, Tara, we can expect them to be fighting for that first place slot, barring any unforeseen mistakes, which, to be fair, we have seen plenty of tonight.”

“That we have, Johnny. But here’s the big question: who do you think will win?”

“I really think Nikiforov is going to clinch his final win tonight. His retirement is a big deal, and I think he’s taking this competition very seriously. 31 is not that much older than 30, especially when we consider 24 to be old for a figure skater, so I think the real reason for his retirement will motivate him more than Leroy’s burn to dethrone him in his home country.”

“That’s right, Nikiforov is getting married to his fiancé Yuuri Katsuki next month. Congratulations to the two of them! Katsuki is even here, cheering him on. And I have to say, I agree with you. Leroy has been trying to beat Nikiforov for years, and he’s never once succeeded, so I don’t think tonight will be the night to change that.”

“Oh dear, we got too caught up talking about Nikiforov that we’ve already missed the first half of Leroy’s performance, Tara.”

“Well he just landed his big quadruple lutz cleanly, that will be worth good points, and every point will probably matter tonight. We’re approaching the second half of the program.”

“There was a bit of a stumble on that step sequence, but he recovered.”

“Next up is a triple axel: oh, that was a little over rotated.”

“I would say a lot over rotated, Tara.”

“The last element of his program: a combination spin. Very well done.”

“Now we wait for the scores. Do you think that that was the performance to finally beat Nikiforov?”

“Well, although it was technically more challenging, it wasn’t perfect, and I think that only perfection could possibly beat him at this point. I do think it’ll be really close, but those small mistakes might have cost him the win.”

“Ah, and that score will comfortably put him in first place, but it’s not quite the monster score we saw at the Canadian Championships. It's worth noting it's still higher than Nikiforov’s personal best this season. Now we’ll have to see Nikiforov’s response.”

“He’s taking the ice now. Regardless of tonight’s outcome, Nikiforov is a legend in the sport, and watching his last ever competitive performance is bittersweet.”

“His first step sequence is gorgeous, as always. Next up, the triple axel: beautiful.”

“He’s certainly starting out strong. Another step sequence, combination spin…”

“Tara, there are no words for how wonderfully he skates, but I’m paid to describe it, so I’ll do my best. Next, a quadruple salchow, and he lands it very cleanly. Wonderful height.”

“The program is winding down, and I haven’t seen a mistake or even a non-flawless element so far. Only a few more left. A quadruple toe, triple toe combination: excellent.”

“And here is his final element, his signature quadruple flip, the last jump that Nikiforov will ever perform in competition. And as a testament to his career, he lands it flawlessly. While Leroy’s performance was incredibly strong, I think we just saw the one program that can beat it.”

“That’s for the judges to decide, but I agree. Nikiforov is now in the kiss and cry with his coach, Celestino Cialdini, and Katuski, eagerly awaiting his final score.”

“And… A new personal best, and he’s done it! Tara, we just witnessed history! From 2011 to now, 2020, Nikiforov has been wholly unbeaten. This is the greatest career Men’s figure skating has ever seen, and he can retire with one final gold medal.”

“That leaves Nikiforov with the gold, Leroy with the silver, and Giacometti with the bronze.”

“Ah, Nikiforov and Katsuki are happily kissing and crying in the aptly named kiss and cry. What an amazing way to end an amazing career. I’m Johnny Weir, and with me is Tara Lipinski, and we’ll see you next season.”

April 2020

Yuuri approached the altar from the right side of the church, his footsteps slow and deliberate. He saw Phichit, Sara, and Mari already standing on the right of the altar, Chris, Mila, and Georgi on the left. The women wore the long, light-blue bridesmaid dresses, and the men wore grey tuxedos with varying shades of blue ties. He tore his gaze away from their clothes to make eye contact with Phichit, who gave him a very subtle thumbs up. They had rehearsed this what felt like hundreds of times, but this time felt so different, so real. Probably because it was. He was really getting married. To Victor. He couldn’t help the nervousness that was fluttering in his stomach. This was a huge step, he had no idea what he was doing with his life, and…

All doubts disappeared the moment he laid eyes on his future husband. Victor was approaching the altar from the other side, and he was breathtakingly gorgeous. His white tuxedo complemented his hair, and the blue tie brought out his eyes. Even more gorgeous was his face, which held the happiest smile he had ever seen. Yuuri smiled, too, and kept on walking, knowing that however scary the future was, at least he would be with Victor, so everything would be okay.

They met in the middle and held hands, staring at each other in a private moment before remembering they were in the middle of a wedding. They turned to the officiant, who started the ceremony with a quick speech. A lot more words followed, and Yuuri knew they were important words, but they seemed much less important than the man holding his hand.

Everything seemed to pass in a happy blur, and before he knew it, the officiant was reaching down to the cushion held by Yurio in a cute little grey tuxedo of his own. He handed them their wedding rings. Yuuri slid Victor’s ring on, and Victor slid his on. They each said two of the most important words of their lives, and then the officiant said, “I pronounce you equally wed. You may now kiss.”

And Victor smiled at him, and Yuuri smiled brightly back at his husband as they leaned in to kiss. It was their best kiss so far, and Yuuri wrapped his arms around his husband and felt like the luckiest man alive.

After the ceremony, they took what seemed like thousands of pictures, but every time Yuuri got frustrated his husband would squeeze his hand and everything was okay again. They finally made their way to the reception, and he readily accepted the offered glass of wine. It was an amazing day, but it was still stressful.

The speeches began shortly after they got there, and Yuuri was basically stuck on an emotional roller coaster. His parents made him cry tears of happiness with their well wishes and kind words. Chris made him cry tears of laughter recounting his and Victor’s hilarious first meeting at a competition. And Phichit made him cry tears that were very confusing, because he was touched by his best friend’s kind words, but the speech also brought up some questions about his bachelor party that were probably better left unanswered.

Finally it was time to eat, and Yuuri enjoyed the relatively quiet time with his new husband. It was nice to be surrounded by friends and family, but now they could finally just spend time together. Victor seemed to have the same idea, because he turned and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Hello, my husband,” Victor said with a smile.

“Hello, my husband,” Yuuri repeated, smiling himself. “We’re really married, huh?”

“Yeah,” Victor replied, toying with Yuuri’s wedding band. “It’s like a dream come true. Oh, and by the way, everything Chris said was vicious lies.”

Yuuri grinned. “The same with Phichit.”

“You mean there’s no video of you stripping to ‘Drunk in Love’ and then grinding on a parking meter?”

“Um, of course not,” Yuuri was quick to say. “And Phichit said that last night, not just now. Even he isn’t that terrible of a friend. But it’s still a vicious lie. On an unrelated note, remind me to find Phichit and ask him about deleting a certain video.”

Victor laughed and kissed Yuuri’s hand. “Could you be anymore perfect?”

“I could be you,” Yuuri said with a smile.

Victor was going to respond when they heard Phichit’s voice loudly ring out. “It’s time for the newly married couple’s first dance!” A round of applause washed over the hall before the notes of the song started playing. Victor stood up and offered his hand. “May I have this dance?” he asked.

Yuuri smiled and took his hand. “Of course.”

October 2020

“あなた, I’m home!” Yuuri called, toeing off his shoes at the front door. There was no response, so he set down his bag and wandered over to the couch. Victor was in the exact same place he had been in when Yuuri left for work that morning. He put his hands on his hips and asked his husband, “Have you left the apartment today?”

Victor glanced up from the TV to look blankly at him. “No.”

Yuuri sighed and turned to the TV. Victor was watching the Skate America performances. Again. He reached for the remote and snapped it off. “Come on, it’s not healthy to dwell on it like this.”

Victor shrugged.

“Please, Victor. You need to just move on and let this go.

Suddenly tears were running down Victor’s face. “How am I supposed to move on? Skating is all I’m good at,” he said shakily. “What do I do now? I have nothing.” He looked down at his hands helplessly as the tears continued to fall.

Yuuri rushed forward and grabbed his hands. “Skating is not the only thing you’re good at,” he said resolutely, forcing Victor to look at him. “You’re good at making pancakes, you’re good at stealing Makkachin away from me, and you’re good at giving backrubs. You’re good at learning other languages, and you’re good at… You know, private things,” he said, fighting a blush as Victor gave him a watery laugh. “And you don’t have nothing,” he continued, gently tapping Victor’s wedding ring. “You have me.”

Victor nodded and pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t apologize,” Yuuri replied, stroking his hair. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much this was affecting you earlier. It must be so hard.” Victor just nodded and nuzzled closer into Yuuri’s neck.

When Victor finally stopped crying, Yuuri drew back a little and pressed a chaste kiss onto his lips. “I’m your husband, so it’s my job to help you with these kinds of things, okay?”

“Okay,” Victor responded with a small smile.

“Okay,” Yuuri said, grabbing a nearby piece of paper and a pen. “I don’t think there’s a job for a professional Makkachin-stealer, but we can start with pancakes and backrubs. You can do whatever you want now. You may have accomplished your dream of a perfect figure skating career, but life is big enough for multiple dreams.”

September 2021

“Why does the flag have 13 stripes?” Yuuri asked, glancing up at Victor, then back at the stack of notecards in his hand.

“Because there were 13 original colonies in the US that declared independence from Great Britain,” Victor answered quickly. “Easy. Next.”

Yuuri flipped to the next card. “Why does the flag have 50 stars?”

“Even easier. Because there are 50 states in the US.”

“Okay,” Yuuri flipped again, “What is the name of the national anthem?”

“The Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key,” Victor said with a smile.

“Show-off,” muttered Yuuri, flipping to the next card.

Victor pouted and cuddled the tiny poodle on his lap. “Did you hear that, Annabelle? Yuuri thinks that I’m a show-off just because I’ve been studying harder for my Naturalization Test than he has!”

Yuuri sighed. “Victor, just because you’ve been studying longer doesn’t mean you’ve been studying harder. And you can try to make her like you best, but she’ll like me best, just like Makkachin.” He turned to Makkachin, who was laying in between them. “Isn’t that right, Makka?”

“Come here, Makka!” Victor called.

Makkachin looked between them, then sauntered over to Yuuri and presented her head for petting. Yuuri grinned at Victor as he pet her, and Victor just snuggled closer into Annabelle, who was too young to really understand that she was being fought over.

The phone rang and Yuuri went to answer it. He looked at the caller ID and smiled, answering and putting the call on speaker. “Hello?”

“Hi Yuuri!” Yurio said on the other end.

“And Victor,” Victor added.

“Oh. Hi Victor,” Yurio added, not nearly as enthusiastically, which only made Victor pout more.

“How are you, Yurio? How is third grade?” Yuuri asked.

“I’m good,” he said. “In school we’re learning about local government.”

“That’s great!” Yuuri said. “Victor and I are studying government, too. Maybe you can teach us next time we come over?”

“Okay!” Yurio agreed. “Бабушка can make borscht.”

“That sounds fun!” Victor said, jumping back in on the conversation. “We can bring our new puppy! Her name is Annabelle and she’s really nice, just like Makkachin.”

“What else is going on at school?” Yuuri asked.

“We read a lot,” Yurio said. “And I get to play soccer in gym.”

“That sounds like fun!” Victor said. “How is skating?”

“It’s fun, too,” Yurio said, “but I practice a lot.”

“Well, котенок, if you practice a lot, you’ll be really good! Then we can come watch you at competitions!” Victor said.

“Okay, I will,” Yurio said.

There was a bit of a shuffle on the other side, and then they heard Nikolai’s voice. “Привет, Витя, Yuuri,” he said. “Yura forgot to say, but his class is going on a field trip to the Capitol Building in Lansing next month. We thought you two might like to chaperone?” There was a pause, then he chuckled. “Here, Yura wants to talk again.”

There were more loud noises, then Yurio came back on. “I didn’t forget about that, you just didn’t ask yet.”

Victor laughed. “That’s okay, Yurio. I would love to chaperone your field trip!”

Yurio didn’t say anything for a moment. “What about Yuuri?” he asked.

Victor scoffed. “Do you not want me to come along? Aren’t I your family, didn’t I raise you for two…”

“Yes, I’ll come, too,” Yuuri said, rolling his eyes at his husband.

“Yay!” Yurio almost yelled. “You have to sign a form, so we can send it to you, and then we’re going to take a bus…” He rambled on a bit longer, and Yuuri and Victor smiled and listened.

October 2021

Yuuri and Victor smiled and held hands as they watched Mila and Sara in their first dance as a married couple. “It reminds me of our wedding,” Yuuri said, lightly squeezing his husband’s hand.

Victor turned to respond when Phichit interrupted them, throwing his weight over Yuuri’s shoulder. “I'm the last single one of us,” he sighed. “Yuuri, tell me I won't be alone forever.”

“Phichit, you're only 25. It's hardly weird for you to be single,” Yuuri replied, rolling his eyes.

“But you guys are married, Chris is married, Mila and Sara are married…”

“It'll happen someday, don't worry,” Yuuri reassured him. “If even I can get married, you'll find someone.”

Victor frowned at him. “Are you insinuating that you're not desirable? I'll have you know I fell for you the second I saw you, and anyone would be lucky to be married to you.”

Phichit pretended to gag. “Ugh. This is why I need single friends.”

Yuuri laughed. “It's a wedding, there are plenty of single people. Go find some.”

Phichit sighed again. “I hate it when you're right.”

“I know you do.” He watched his best friend walk away and Victor leaned in to kiss his neck.

“Speaking of how desirable you are,” he murmured, mouthing below his ear.

Yuuri shivered. “I think we were talking about Phichit, actually.”

“Well, I was talking about you. And our wedding. And what happened after…”

“I get the picture,” Yuuri interrupted. “And in case you haven't noticed, we’re still in public at a wedding. That isn't over.”

“We could leave,” Victor said, continuing to suck at Yuuri’s neck between his words. “We have a hotel room upstairs.”

“I know we do,” Yuuri said, trying and failing to convince himself that this was a bad idea. “People will notice if we leave so early.”

“I don't care,” Victor whispered. “Do you?”

Yuuri thought about it for a moment and realized he really didn't. “Okay, fine,” he breathed, and Victor immediately grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the door of the hall. Yuuri laughed and followed.

On the way Chris saw them and gave them a wink, and Yuuri blushed only slightly.

Later they lay in bed cuddling, Victor caressing the skin of Yuuri’s back in small patterns. “We’ve been married a year and a half, right?” Victor asked suddenly.

Yuuri hummed in response, feeling a little sleepy.

“We should have a kid soon,” Victor said.

Yuuri smiled into Victor’s chest. “Yeah, we should,” he said happily. “How many kids do you want to have?”

“17,” Victor answered without hesitation.

Yuuri tensed. “17?” he asked.

He could feel instead of see Victor nod. “Yeah, 17. Well, 17 or 1.”

Yuuri relaxed. “I was gonna say 1 or 2, so let’s go with 1, then.”

Victor kissed his hair. “1 it is. We need a house, then.”

“A house would be great,” Yuuri said, smiling. “With a big yard.”

“Maybe we can even find a house with a jacuzzi. So you'll stick around.”

“Eh, you're okay,” Yuuri said, pressing a kiss to his lips. “I might stick around anyway.”

“Oh really?” Victor asked, his eyes sparkling.

Yuuri grinned at him. “Really.”

September 2022

“This is it,” Victor said, squeezing Yuuri’s hand. “It’s our house.”

“It’s been two months and you say that every time,” Yuuri joked, but he understood the feeling. They owned a house together. Because they were married.

Yuuri got out of the car and made Victor follow them in. Annabelle and Makkachin greeted them at the door, barking happily. Victor laughed and went to the kitchen. “I’ll start lunch,” he called.

Yuuri wandered around the living room, looking at everything that made the house their own. The bookshelves were full of a wide collection of books: classic Russian and Japanese literature, cookbooks in French, American history books, and an increasing amount of parenting books. Dog toys were strewn about the floor, and Yuuri moved them all into their box in the corner. When he stood up, his eyes moved to the fireplace mantle and the many framed pictures resting on it.

The photos showed some of their most treasured moments: their wedding and subsequent honeymoon in Fiji, Chris proudly holding up a gold medal at his last ever Worlds, Phichit and his gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Yurio skating at an unofficial competition, their first wedding anniversary, Mila and Sara’s wedding, and most recently, Yuuri and Victor posing with their citizenship papers. He smiled at all of the memories.

They quickly ate together, then got right back in the car. “Do you think he’ll be excited or nervous?” Victor asked as they drove away.

Yuuri thought for a moment, then answered, “Probably a little bit of both, but I think he’ll do amazing.”

The drive to East Lansing was easy because it was a Saturday, so they arrived to the rink in only an hour and a half. They hurried in and took their seats, watching the end of the warm-up. Yurio was going around with the other skaters, practicing a few jumps and spins. They obnoxiously waved at him until he noticed them, and he smiled slightly and waved back.

“He’s going to be amazing,” Victor said, holding Yuuri’s hand. “He’s going to be amazing, right?”

“Yes, Victor, he’ll be amazing,” Yuuri reassured him. “He’s practiced a lot, and Georgi is a good coach. But it’s his first ever official US competition, so we’ll see how we places.”

They sat through quite a few young skaters before it was finally Yurio’s turn. His program was relatively simple, but he performed with a fire and passion that made up for the lack of finesse. Overall, Yuuri was incredibly impressed. While Yurio had always shown great skill in his figure skating classes, he had only been 5 at the time. Now, at 9, he was capable of more difficult moves, and he still looked great.

His score was good, but not the best. Victor sighed when they announced it, and his grip on Yuuri’s hand tightened. “I don’t think he’ll make it into the top 4,” he whispered.

Yuuri shrugged. “Then he doesn’t make it into the top 4. He can always make Sectionals next year. Besides, he’s competing with kids much older than 9. I think he did incredible.”

Victor smiled. “He really did, didn’t he? Oh, here’s Otabek, too.” Otabek was also much better at skating that he was four years ago, but his program was a little more put together, which was probably due to having Celestino as a coach. With Victor, Chris, and Phichit all gone, the aging man needed someone to channel his energy into, and Otabek showed a lot of promise. Yuuri guessed that both Otabek and Yurio could skate on the international stage someday.

Otabek’s performance was the last of the group, so Yuuri and Victor rushed to find Yurio when it was over. Neither of them had placed in the top 4, but when they saw Yurio, he smiled and ran to them.

“Did you see? Did you see me?” he asked.

“We did! You were amazing!” Yuuri said, wrapping him up in a big hug.

“That was incredible! Inspiring!” Victor said, earning a hug from Yurio, too.

Nikolai, Diana, and Georgi were standing behind him and hugged them, too. “We’re all very proud of you,” Nikolai said, and Yurio beamed at the praise.

“Well, now you’ve been in your first real competition,” Victor said solemnly, nodding at Yurio. “Remember this feeling, because someday you’ll be getting a gold medal at the Senior Grand Prix Final. I just know it.”

Yurio smiled at him. “Yeah, I will.”

October 2022

“She is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” Victor whispered in awe as he held their newborn daughter in his arms for the first time.

Mayumi, their surrogate mother, smiled at him. “She really is.”

Yuuri was still speechless, looking at Victor holding her. At his husband holding his daughter. Victor turned to him and waved him closer. “Come look at her, she’s gorgeous.”

Yuuri did look, and he was still speechless. She really was a pretty baby, even so soon after birth, and the way Victor was cradling her made his heart feel like bursting. He didn’t know it was possible to feel so happy. “Wanna hold her?” Victor asked.

Yuuri nodded dumbly and held out his arms. Victor slipped her into his grip and he marveled at how warm she was. She started waking up, yawning cutely and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at how cute she was. “Good morning, Shiharu,” he whispered to her.

Victor gently stroked her cheek. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered.

Yuuri laughed quietly. “You’ve said that already.”

Victor shrugged. “And I’ll probably say it every day for the rest of my life, because she is.”

Yuuri met his eyes and saw nothing but love and devotion. “Then I’ll listen to it every day for the rest of my life.”

November 2024

Victor almost dropped the pot he was cleaning in the sink as he glanced up at the clock. “Babe. We just missed Yurio’s skate.”

Yuuri sighed. “No, we didn’t. Colorado is in Pacific time, and we’re in Eastern. We still have three more hours.”

Victor’s face scrunched up. “Wait, Colorado is Pacific? I thought it was Mountain?”

“I think it’s Pacific.”

“I think it’s Mountain.”

“What’s mountain?” Shiharu asked from below them.

Yuuri smiled down at her. “We’re talking about time zones, sweetie. And, uh, you see, because the world is very big…” He trailed off as he saw her losing interest. “Let’s go play in the living room!” he said instead.

“Okay!” she said, toddling out of the kitchen.

Victor finished washing the pan and handed it to Yuuri to dry. “I’m googling this.” Before Yuuri even dried the pan, Victor was shoving his phone in his face. “Hah!” he yelled triumphantly. “Colorado is in Mountain time! I was right!” He bounced to the kitchen, singing, “Haru, papa was right and daddy was wrong!” Shiharu laughed happily with him as Yuuri rolled his eyes and finished wiping down the pot.

They were able to play together until it was time for the Midwestern Sectional Championships, and they all huddled together on the couch to watch Yurio’s skate. Otabek was on first, and the boy was as impressive as ever. He scored very well, and while they were happy, Yurio was the one they really wanted to watch.

They saw him exchange a few words with his new coach, Celestino, before skating out into the center of the ice. “I’m so nervous,” Yuuri admitted, clutching Shiharu’s hands as she sat in his lap.

“He’ll be great,” Victor said with a smile. “Right, sweetie?”

Shiharu nodded but kept staring at the TV as Yurio began his routine. Since starting with Celestino that summer, Yurio’s skating had improved incredibly. Georgi wasn’t a bad coach by any means, but he was no professional. Yurio’s current program was better suited to his strengths, and he looked more confident and strong out on the ice. Everything about his skating looked better, and Yuuri was mesmerized the entire time.

In what seemed like no time at all, Yurio was holding his final pose and the crowd went wild. He skated to Celestino and moved to the kiss and cry while the Katsuki-Nikiforovs waited with bated breath. “If he gets into the top 4, he moves onto the US Championships, right?” Yuuri asked.

“Yeah, and then I finally get to officially commentate on my brilliant nephew’s skating,” Victor said with a laugh. “With a performance like that, I bet he’ll be in the top 4 for sure.”

“He was really good!” Shiharu added.

Yuuri laughed and ruffled her hair. “Yes, he was. Oh!” The scores came up on the screen and they all cheered. “First place!” Yuuri said excitedly. “That’s amazing!”

“He certainly is amazing,” Victor agreed. “And only 11 years old? He’ll be a force to reckon with someday.”

January 2025

“Welcome back to the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships, sponsored by Prudential. We’re broadcasting live on NBC from the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. My name is Victor Katuski-Nikiforov.”

“And I’m Phichit Chulanont. We’re about to see the second group of skaters in the Men’s Junior division perform their Free Skates. Now, Victor, I have reason to believe that you may not be completely impartial during this next part of the competition.”

“What? Are you insinuating that just because my lovely and adorable nephew is one of the competitors that I can’t be impartial?”

“That’s exactly what I’m implying.”

“Well, you’d be 100% right, Phichit. Good thing I’m not a judge!”

“Yes, that’s a very good thing. Your nephew, Yuri Plisetsky, is 11 and competing in his first ever US Championships this year, right?”

“Yes, he placed 1st in the Midwestern Sectionals this past November to get a spot here.”

“How exciting! And placing 2nd in that competition is Otabek Altin, who will also be skating in this group. Is it also true that both Plisetsky and Altin were at one point taught by your amazing husband and my amazing best friend, Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov?”

“Yes it is! Although something tells me that he’s yelling at us right now for being unprofessional about this broadcast.”

“Ah, yes. Well, Plisetsky and Altin are on the younger side of the Junior division at 11 and 12, respectively. We still expect to see great things from them, both at this competition and in their future on the international stage.”

“I have no doubt that Yuri will someday surpass even our careers, Phichit.”

“And, I have no doubt that you are biased.”

“Incredibly.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes at his husband and best friend on TV as he bounced Shiharu up and down on his lap. They hadn’t shut up about how good Yurio and Otabek were the entire time, almost ignoring the poor boys that actually managed to beat them. Still, he was sure that Yurio would be more embarrassed than he was, so he sent him a quick text.

Yuuri Katsuki: Congrats on the bronze! And tell Otabek congrats on the pewter for me

Yuuri Katsuki: Sorry about my husband and friend, I owe you one

Yuri Plisetsky: You don’t owe me one, they do

Yuri Plisetsky: Seriously how embarrassing are they?

Yuuri Katsuki: Incredibly

Yuri Plisetsky: And thanks, and I will

Yuuri Katsuki: ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

Yuri Plisetsky: Ick

Yuuri Katsuki: ( ╥ω╥ )

Yuri Plisetsky: Ugh fine ♡( ◡‿◡ )

October 2028

The front door burst open and Yurio stalked into their living room, not bothering to take off his shoes. “Where is she?” he asked.

Yuuri laughed. “Shiharu is in the kitchen with Victor, they’ll be out in a minute.”

Yurio sniffed. “You guys are lucky I agreed to do this. I’ve got to practice a lot more now that I’m a Senior.”

“We are, and thank you again!” Yuuri said. “And don’t worry, Victor is your number one fan. He would never do anything to sabotage your season, you can train plenty tomorrow. Besides, who choreographed your senior debut program?”

Yurio huffed but didn’t disagree.

Victor and Shiharu joined them from the kitchen, and the girl squealed and tried to jump on the teen. “Yurio!” she yelled.

He half-scowled, half-smiled at her. “You’re lucky you’re so cute, because that’s not my name,” he said, trying and failing to admonish her. Yuuri couldn’t blame him; her cuteness got her out of a lot of trouble with him and Victor.

His husband took out a thick packet of papers. “Here is some important information for you, since it’s your first time babysitting her. Her bedtime, what toothpaste she uses, the books you should read and when, which pajamas to use, how many lights to leave on in her room…”

Yuuri silenced him with a kiss on the cheek. “Babe, I think he’s got it covered. You’ll read it all, right, Yurio?” he asked, giving the boy a wink.

“Totally,” Yurio drawled sarcastically.

Victor grinned. “Great! And the front page has my cell phone number, Yuuri’s cell phone number, the number of the restaurant, the number of our Uber driver, the…”

“I’ve got it,” Yurio snapped, grabbing the packet and putting his hands on his hips.“We’ll be fine. Go do whatever. She’s not a baby, she’s almost 6.”

“Yeah!” Shiharu agreed, copying Yurio’s pose.

Yuuri sighed. “You two are so cute!”

Victor nuzzled into Yuuri’s neck. “Not as cute as you.” He placed a few kisses on Yuuri’s lips until they were both giggling.

“Ew! Go be gross somewhere else!” Yurio said.

“Yeah! Ew, daddy, papa!” Shiharu agreed.

“We’re trying to,” Yuuri said, grabbing Victor’s hand and pulling him to the door.

September 2029

The Katsuki-Nikiforovs were all lounging around their living room on a lazy Sunday afternoon when there was a knock at the front door. Curious, Yuuri went to answer it, and Victor continued scrolling through Instagram on his phone. After a few minutes, Yuuri came back to the living room and said, “I’m going to go take Shiharu to the park. Come on, sweetie, let’s get your shoes and coat.” She followed with question, and Victor raised an eyebrow in question at his husband. Yuuri just shrugged and subtly motioned to Yurio, who was lurking behind him.

When Yuuri and Shiharu were gone, Victor moved over to make room on the couch for his nephew. He sat down silently next to him.

“What’s up?” Victor finally asked.

Yurio shrugged at him, staring down at the carpet. “I don’t know,” he said.

Victor nodded and leaned back, waiting. After a few minutes, Yurio added, “I just.. Skating is really hard, you know?”

Victor chuckled softly. “Yeah, it’s certainly not easy, that’s for sure. Is there something specific that you’re struggling with? You certainly made skating look easy last year, winning a gold medal at the Grand Prix Final your first year in Seniors.”

Yurio covered his face in his hands. “That’s just it! I already won gold at 15. Where do I go from there? What if I can’t do it again?”

Victor gently rested a hand on his knee. “You know, I struggled with this once or twice myself. How to keep going, keep improving, even once I had reached the top. It’s really hard, isn’t it?”

Yurio groaned from behind his hands. “I knew it would be hard. But.. Dammit!” He tore his hands away from his face and Victor could see he was crying. “I grew three and a half inches since May! I’m falling on triples in practice! I can’t even do spins right anymore. You at least were already grown once you started winning, my own body is betraying me,” he said, trailing off into a mumble.

“Your body is just growing,” Victor said. “It may seem like a betrayal now, but eventually you’ll become even stronger than you were before.”

“Eventually,” Yurio repeated. “Eventually isn’t next month. Eventually isn’t the next Grand Prix Final. People are expecting me to win again, and how am I supposed to do that like this?” he said, looking down at his hands like he didn’t even recognize them. “I feel like I just started figure skating again.”

Victor squeezed his knee. “You know what? You were incredible when you first started skating.” Yurio rolled his eyes, but Victor continued, “No, seriously! Even if it feels like you’re starting over now, you’re still better than you give yourself credit for. And you’re still better than a lot of your competitors. If you don’t win gold this year, so what? You’re 16! You have next year, and the year after, and every year until you’re 32.”

Yurio let out a watery laugh, so Victor kept going. “I know it seems impossible, and like the pressure can be too much. But you’re not alone. You have your grandma and grandpa, your dad, me and Yuuri, Shiharu, and Otabek. We’ll always be there for you, win or lose.”

Yurio sniffed and wiped at his face. “Thanks. You’re not too bad, I guess.”

Victor laughed and ruffled his hair. “You’re not too bad, yourself.”

“I tried talking to Otabek about this, but that loser has been getting taller gradually, like a normal person.”

“I agree, what a loser,” Victor said with a laugh.

“Well, he has his motorcycle license now and can drive me around on one, so I guess I’ll keep him around,” Yurio said, also laughing.

“You two have been inseparable since you were four years old, I think it’s gonna take more than a growth spurt to tear you apart.”

“Way more,” Yurio agreed.

“Are you feeling better now?” Victor asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Yurio answered slowly. “I know I’ll have to train harder, but I guess I would be training harder, anyway.”

“Yup,” Victor said. “Oh, and did you leave Nikolai or Diana in the car? I have some pictures of Shiharu to give them.”

Yurio gave him a confused look. “What? No, I drove myself here.”

Victor froze. “What.”

“Um, yeah. I got my intermediate license so I can drive by myself.”

“Боже мой,” Victor whispered.

“Hey! I’m a great driver!” Yurio said. Victor raised his eyebrows at him. “Okay, fine, I’m an okay driver.”

“My hydrangeas would beg to disagree, if they were still of this world.”

“That was one time, let it go! And, ‘my hydrangeas?’ You are so old.”

“I wish my hydrangeas could live to be old like me…”

“Ugh shut up, старик.”

May 2031

Yuuri laughed and watched Victor take picture after picture. Yurio and Otabek were in a gaggle of high school students posing for their prom pictures in the open park. He didn’t think any of them actually had dates, as not a single one of them were doing the classic “prom date” pose, but Wikipedia could only teach him so much, never having been to a prom himself. Still, the group of about 10 friends looked nice. Yurio was clearly uncomfortable, but Otabek’s calming presence was doing wonders for his patience.

Victor snapped another picture of them all lined up along a fence. “They’re all so cute! Or do you not call high schoolers cute?” he asked, taking another picture.

“I don’t think it matters, babe,” Yuuri said, trying to push the camera down. “And don’t you think we have enough pictures?”

“Never!” Victor gasped.

Diana was next to him and nodded solemnly. “You can never have enough pictures of an important event like this,” she said.

Nikolai said nothing, so Yuuri guessed he was also ready to be done with the pictures. He shot Yurio an apologetic look to say he tried to stop them, and the teen just grimaced back.

“I still can’t believe we’re not chaperoning tonight,” Victor said with a sigh.

“We’ve been over this. Many times,” Yuuri started. “It would be embarrassing to Yurio. You would have gone crazy. And really, you just wanted to go to a dance with me.”

“Yeah, but you would’ve looked amazing in a tux,” Victor mumbled, taking more pictures.

Yuuri playfully punched his husband’s arm. “I wore a tux for you at our wedding.”

“Yeah! That was 11 years ago!” Victor whined.

“How about every 20 years?” Yuuri offered.

“That’s so not fair, a body like yours deserves to be shown off in a tux at least every 10 years.”

“What’s that? Every 30 years?”

“Fine! Every 20 is fine,” Victor said, giving up.

“Ugh! Will you two stop flirting and finish taking pictures?” Yurio called, clearly reaching the end of his rope.

“I don’t know, I think it’s cute,” Otabek said.

“Not you, too!”

June 2031

Yuuri didn’t really remember much about his high school or college graduation ceremonies. His high school graduation didn’t really feel special at the time, and his memories of his college graduation were mostly just memories of kissing Victor. However, he knew he would remember today very well.

He sat in an uncomfortable auditorium seat, Victor on one side and Shiharu on the other. Nikolai, Diana, and Georgi were in the row ahead of them. All of them were buzzing with nervous energy as the speeches came and went, and when the names finally started, they eagerly awaited for Yurio’s.

When the announcer finally called, “Yuri Plisetsky,” Yuuri had to grab Victor’s hand to remind him that they were only supposed to clap at the end. But he couldn’t blame him, as watching Yurio proudly walk across the stage with a wide smile made him want to burst into applause, too. When all of the names were called, there were only a few more speeches before they were let out of the auditorium to find Yurio.

It took a few minutes of searching, but they finally found him in a relatively empty corner, which was lucky because the six of them took up quite a bit of space.

“Congratulations!” Nikolai and Diana called, rushing forward to give him a huge hug.

Yurio relaxed into it, still smiling. “Thanks,” he said.

Georgi stumbled forward, tears streaming down his face. “Это слишком эмоционально, я сейчас заплачу. I’m so proud of you,” he said, digging his face into Yurio’s shoulder.

His son rolled his eyes. “You’re already crying a lot,” he said, hugging him back.

Yuuri and Victor couldn’t help tearing up a bit, too. Yurio finally broke free of his father and came up to them. “What, I don’t get congratulations from you two?”

“No, of course! Congratulations!” Yuuri said, giving him a quick hug. “I just didn’t want to get in the way of your father.”

Yurio laughed. “I don’t blame you.”

“Congratulations,” Victor said, hugging him, too.

“And what about my favorite girl?” Yurio asked, looking down at Shiharu.

“Yay! Me!” she said, trying to jump up to hug him better.

Yurio laughed once he was finally free of the hugs. “Okay, I’m starving. Please tell me we’re going out to eat.”

“Of course!” Nikolai said. “Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere fast,” Yurio replied. “I’m starving.”

“You already said that,” Victor pointed out.

“I’m starving, I’m starving, I’m starving. There. Better?”

“Okay, dear, the car is this way,” Diana said, leading the way to the parking lot.

Yuuri watched them go for a second. Victor was swinging Shiharu’s hand as they walked down the sidewalk, Nikolai had an arm slung around Yurio’s shoulder, and Diana was chatting animatedly to a more composed Georgi. He couldn’t remember a time when he was happier as he hurried to catch up with them: his family, his love, and his life.