Chapter Text

Chapter One:  Viktor was always extra, even at age seven 

In which Viktor Nikiforov proclaims Yuuri Katsuki as his, in front of the entire school. 

Viktor Nikiforov knew he was a talented child.  His mother often told him that he was destined for something great.  As a three-year-old, he had asked her what “destined” meant back then and she smiled that sweet heart-shaped smile of hers and explained that one day he will find himself using his gifts for something good.  And that he will bring joy to many people.  It took awhile for him to realize that she had not meant gifts like the stuffed poodle he got for his birthday or the expensive jewelry that his father gave his mother on their anniversary, but rather a skill or a talent.

No one could ever say that Viktor Nikiforov lacked in confidence.  However, he was never arrogant-again another word that his mother explained to him. He excelled in all his subjects under the instruction of the private tutors his father hired, reading at a young age and becoming fluent in English and French, in addition to his native Russian.   

So it was no surprise to his parents when he received his letter of acceptance into the prestigious Kubo International School for Gifted Students. It was a prestigious private school that began with kindergarten all the way to grade 12 and only accepted the best of the best. The admission process was daunting, consisting of an array of practical and written tests, essays, multiple individual interviews with the parents and the child, a psychological test, and a group interview to see how the child interacts with his peers. Being accepted into Kubo International was no small feat and being able to afford it was no easier. As the only son of a wealthy CEO and a retired professional figure skater, it looked like just another milestone for Viktor’s way to greatness.

With his natural charm and bright disposition Viktor easily became one of the most popular students upon entering the school. His peers waved and many of the older students also cheerfully greeted him as he walked down the halls to his homeroom.  The Nikiforov name was illustrious and well-known internationally due to the success of the family business, Nikiforov Industries, which continued to grow and expand globally even in light of the recent recession.

Viktor gave a quick grin to a blushing beta that he vaguely recognized from his grade, only half listening to Chris babble to Mila and Georgi about the latest video game his father bought for him. Chris, short for Christophe Giacometti, was an alpha and was the son of wealthy Swiss philanthropists.  Georgi Popovich, also an alpha, came from a family of lawyers while Mila Babicheva was the daughter of Russian socialites and the sole alpha female in their tight-knit group. But to Viktor they were simply his three closest friends.  He may have been popular, but Viktor treasured the friendship that he cultivated with the other three. He had already known Chris since they were family friends before they started school at Kubo International and the two quickly befriended Georgi and Mila on their first day of kindergarten the previous year.

Many years from now, Viktor would tell you that he couldn’t recall anything particularly special that would have pinpointed that the day would be a turning point in his life. It was the 17th of September, and it started off like any other ordinary day.  The novelty of the new school year had already begun to wear off. While some of the upperclassmen already began to groan about projects and assignments, his class of hyper first graders still had yet to completely shake off the excitement from summer vacation.  He entered their homeroom first and took his seat in the first row, draping his bag behind his chair and propping his head on his hand as he stared out the window.  

Georgi sat down to his right, Mila followed and took her seat the next column over while Chris passed him to take his seat in the row behind Viktor.

“What’s with the new desk?” Chris pointed to Viktor’s left. Viktor blinked at the empty desk and chair beside the window.  He turned around and saw that it was the only desk placed in the column, sticking out like a sore thumb.  There were no other desks behind it.  

“We’ll be having a new student join us today,” their teacher Ms. Arena stated as she walked into the classroom and took her place behind her own desk in the corner.  She shuffled a couple of papers and circled something with her pen. “He will be coming in shortly, so for now let’s start with attendance…”

The next minute passed in its usual fashion. Viktor was already back in a daze, only briefly interrupted in his daydreaming to raise his hand when his name was called before he turned back again to the window to stare at the tree branches dancing hypnotically.  Their green leaves were still flush and full in color under the last few warm days of summer.  Soon enough October will be coming and the autumn wind will begin to chill the leaves in different shades of red and yellow.  

A knock at the classroom door interrupted his wandering thoughts again as he and all the rest of his classmates perked up and turned their heads toward the door.  Ms. Arena stood up to open the door and they watched as she bent down to shake a small trembling hand.  “Hello, you must be Yuuri, welcome to Kubo International.” A soft mumbling reply can be barely heard as the students broke out in curious whispers.  They were getting impatient to see the newcomer since the door blocked the new student from view.

“Come on, I can’t see,” Chris muttered as he tried to peer over the heads of the other students.  Ms. Arena was still talking to Yuuri in a hushed voice.  

Viktor couldn’t see the student yet either, but since the door opened he smelled something really nice.  It was a strange mixture of fresh crisp air, not unlike the winter air he loved to ice skate in when he and his mother used to go to the outdoor rink.  Mixed with it was a floral scent, although he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what type of flower and strangely, a hint of cinnamon.  Viktor frowned at the otherwise beautiful scent being doused with the unpleasant acridness of distress.  Whoever the new student was, he must have been very uneasy at his new environment. He clenched his fingers.  The thought of the student being in distress unsettled him, and not simply out of a sense of empathy.  His brows furrowed. A wave of protectiveness welled up in him. He felt the inexplicable need to soothe away the student’s fears.

At last Ms. Arena bent to stand up and pushed the door open the rest of the way, finally revealing the small raven-haired Asian boy.  Burgundy brown eyes blinked at the rest of the classroom like a deer caught in headlights behind a pair of eyeglasses.  

Blue eyes widened.  ‘Oh…’  Viktor straightened in his chair as his eyes stared at the new student. He was shorter than average. Even though Viktor could tell that the boy was slightly chubby, the clothes still slightly dwarfed his body, further accentuating his small frame. ‘He’s really cute.’

The young boy bowed his head and allowed himself to be led to the front and center of the room. Viktor could see how he was worrying his bottom lip in his nervousness and how the hand that was not in Ms. Arena’s was trembling at his side.  

Ms. Arena stood at the front of the room and gently steered the new student to stand in front of her.  She placed her hands lightly on Yuuri’s shoulders.  “Everyone, please welcome Yuuri Katsuki.  He will be joining us today.”  In a softer voice she asked, “Yuuri, would you like to introduce yourself?”  The boy still had his head bowed down as he shuffled his feet.  The little boy whispered a reply.  Viktor couldn’t even hear him from the front row.

“I’m sorry, Yuuri sweetie you will have to speak a little louder.  Don’t be nervous, we’re all friendly here. Everyone wants to meet you.”  

Yuuri tilted his chin high enough just to show his brown eyes behind the fringes of his bangs, “I’m Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Good, and how old are you, Yuuri?”

“S-six.”  That response prompted a series of titters throughout the room.  

“Why didn’t he start on the first day, Ms. Arena?” A female beta asked from the back of the room.

“Yuuri had to take some extra special steps, Yuuko. But you see, Yuuri here is very smart.”  Ms. Arena positively beamed and lightly patted Yuuri’s shoulder.  “He passed the exams with grades high enough to get a scholarship into our school! And that’s something to be very proud of, right Yuuri?”

The boy just gave a small squeak and quickly nodded his head.

“As an international school, many of us were born outside of the United States or our families came from other countries.  Where is your family from, Yuuri?”

“Japan.”

“That’s where Yuuko is from as well,” Ms. Arena said. When she sensed that she wasn’t going to get much else from Yuuri she turned to the rest of the class, “Everyone please be nice to our new student. I don’t want to hear anything unfriendly. Remember, treat others the way you want to be treated.  Now Yuuri, you can take that seat we prepared for you by Viktor over there.  Viktor, please raise your hand.”

Viktor gulped as Yuuri locked his eyes on to his.  He raised his hand, feeling it shake slightly as he sensed his heart rate increase as he watched the younger boy take a tentative step towards him.  Yuuri shuffled over to him in small steps, hands clutching the straps of his backpack.  Although he was unable to lock eyes with anyone earlier, Yuuri’s eyes appeared to be just as unable to break eye contact with Viktor’s.  

As he passed by Viktor’s desk, he was able to get a fresh wave of Yuuri’s scent.  The wash of nervousness that initially overpowered his scent began to dissipate, leaving behind his natural aroma of fresh winter air and hint of cinnamon.  Viktor took in a deep breath and smiled when he discovered that he was now able to identify the floral undertone of Yuuri’s scent. He smelled of magnolias.  Freshly bloomed, just like the bouquet his father once gave to his mother.

He reached over and offered an open palm to Yuuri.  The shorter boy blinked wide eyes at him and hesitantly raised his own right hand to place it in Viktor’s.  Viktor smiled at the perfect fit.  Even Yuuri’s fingers were soft as he shook it in a gentle handshake, “I’m Viktor Nikiforov.” He gave the new student a wide smile.

“H-hi, V-Viktor,” Yuuri whispered and ducked his head in embarrassment.  His cheeks grew a violent shade of pink.

‘Adorable!’  Viktor hesitantly let go of Yuuri’s hand as Ms. Arena called the class’s attention to their first lesson of the day.  The warmth that he felt in his chest earlier swelled and flowed from his head to his toes.  His right hand, the one he used to hold Yuuri’s felt warm as he rested his head on it, trying to discreetly sniff at the residual scent of magnolias that Yuuri left there.  He couldn’t understand why but he was so happy and he knew it had everything to do with the new student beside him.  Something clicked in him then and there, like something shifted in the universe and all was finally right again.  

“You’re staring at him again, Viktor.”

“Hn?”

“See, I told you, there’s something wrong,” Chris muttered to Georgi and Mila while they sat down eating lunch outdoors later that Friday.  The weather was still fair and they took full advantage of it on a set of tables placed at the edge of the playground.  They watched as their silver-haired friend stared at the new Japanese student sitting at the opposite corner of the courtyard surrounded by a small group of betas and omegas.  They had just learned that the new student was an omega, so it made more sense that he didn’t spend so much time around alphas since omegas tended to socialize more easily with betas and fellow omegas.

“Do you think the new student is actually a witch and placed a curse on Viktor?”  Georgi hissed as he turned to look at Yuuri with suspicious eyes.  

“Oh God please not with the witches again,” Mila groaned and rolled her eyes.

“You don’t understand, my babushka told me this story once about how one girl in her village cursed this boy who was mean to her. He lived the rest of his life like the walking dead!”

“Are we talking about zombies now?” Chris perked up at the opportunity for a change in topic, “My cousin got this new video game where you shoot zombies, it’s called–”

“No!  The boy was placed under a spell and he couldn’t control his body. But he can still breathe, eat, and walk so he spent the rest of his life trapped because no one could tell that there was something wrong with him. What if that happened to Viktor?”

“Your grandmother seriously has got to stop telling you all those horror stories.”

Mila huffed and turned over to poke Viktor on his side, “Hey, Viktor.  Viktor!” She gave him three more successive pokes.  The third poke seemed to finally wake him up from his trance.

Viktor coughed on the juice he was drinking and sputtered, “W-what?” He crushed his empty juicebox and placed it on his tray.  

“Care to tell us why you’ve been staring at Yuuri this whole week?  Why don’t you just go over and talk to him already? You can invite him to eat with us.” Viktor turned around to look back at Yuuri and pondered her idea as if he never thought of it before.  

“But Mila,” Georgi protested.

“You see, Georgi,” Mila said gesturing with her head to Viktor, “He’s not under a witch’s spell at all, but he is sick.”

“What do you mean sick?” Chris asked confused.  

Mila sighed and explained as if she were talking to toddlers instead of two boys her age. “Viktor’s lovesick. Duh! Isn’t it obvious?”

“What’s being lovesick? I don’t get it,” Chris was not getting the picture at all. Understandable given his age, but a little hard to believe given how we all know how he will turn out after puberty hits.

“He’s in love!” Georgi gasped in comprehension and clapped his hands. “My babushka also told me these beautiful fairytales where true love’s kiss would break any curse.”

Mila facepalmed. “I thought we just said that Viktor is not under a curse.”

Chris shifted over the bench closer to Viktor, “Hey Viktor, are you in love?”

Viktor balked and turned around with wide eyes. “Am I what?”

“Come on, from one alpha to another,” Chris said borrowing a phrase he often heard his older cousins use with their friends, “are you in love with Yuuri?”

“Yuuri?”

“Yeah, Yuuri Katsuki. I think we only have one Yuuri in our class. Maybe in the entire school. Are you in love with him?”

Viktor blinked quickly as he leaned away from Chris. “Um…”

Mila and Georgi shifted closer to the now uncharacteristically skittish alpha.  He appeared to be deep in thought.  He turned around to look at Yuuri again, one finger on his lips like he always did when he was trying to figure out a hard puzzle.  After a couple of seconds passed this way, Mila decided to speak up.  “How do you feel when you see Yuuri, Viktor?”

Viktor turned back to Mila.  “I don’t know. Warm, I guess?”

“Like a fever?” Chris gave a soft oof when Mila elbowed him in the ribs. 

“Chris, quiet. You’re not helping.”

Viktor shook his head and laughed. “No, of course not!  More like the kind of warmth you feel when you drink hot chocolate after a very cold day.  The kind of warmth that goes all around your body.”

“Go on.”

Viktor smiled at Mila and closed his eyes, picturing something in his mind’s eye.  “It’s the kind of warmth I also felt when Mama used to hug me.  My heart also beats faster when I see him, but not because I’m scared, just happy.”  A wide heart-shaped smile formed on his face as he finally opened his eyes. “Yes, that’s it.  Yuuri makes me happy. And I want to have that feeling all the time.  Back when I shook his hand on his first day, I felt some sort of spark too.  Something felt right.  I didn’t want to let go of his hand.”  

Mila squealed causing the boys to cringe. “I knew it! Oh Viktor,” she leaped over to hug him, “You’re in love! Go get him!”

“He is?”

“I am?”

“Who’s getting who?”

“Viktor is going to get Yuuri!” Mila yelled back at the two other boys.  She turned back and placed both hands on Viktor’s shoulders, leaning over so that her eyes were aligned with Viktor’s.  “Viktor, don’t you see? You have to tell Yuuri you love him. Court him, woo him like a true alpha.  Then he will surely fall for you too! It’s destiny!”

‘Destiny?’ There was that word again.  “You are destined for great things,” his mother once said.  He could almost see her warm emerald eyes shining down at him.  Maybe Yuuri was also part of his destiny.  He shook his head.  No, Yuuri was definitely part of his destiny. What was that other word again? Fate? Yes, that was it.  They were meant for each other.  That’s why he felt such a close bond to him the moment they first met.

“Any true alpha knows what he wants and gets what he wants. Never be afraid to claim what is rightfully yours, Viktor,” another memory, this time his father’s words came to mind.  It was one of many lectures he received on bringing pride to the Nikiforov family.  “Never be afraid to claim what is rightfully yours.” The words rang again in his mind. That’s right.  His father always taught him that Nikiforovs always get what they want and he was no exception.  Viktor nodded, hands fisted by his sides as he stood up with a determined glint in his eyes.  

“Viktor?”

“Yes, I am in love with Yuuri Katsuki.”  He turned to see his closest friends looking at him with varying expressions. Chris looked amused; Georgi appeared a strange mix of happy but also nervous, no doubt still wondering if Yuuri had him under a spell; and Mila looked absolutely delighted.  “And Yuuri Katsuki is mine.” He turned around to watch the omega laugh at something a fellow omega said.  Even from afar, his heart swelled at hearing the sweet tinkling tune of his omega’s gentle laugh.  He wanted to make Yuuri laugh as well.  With a new mission, Viktor straightened the lapels of his uniform jacket and strode over to the opposite end of the courtyard with confident strides.  

“Wait Viktor, where are you going?” Mila called out.

“Viktor?”

“Hey, Viktor!”

Viktor didn’t hear his friends as he continued to walk over to Yuuri Katsuki.  Students of varying ages parted and stared at him wondering what he was doing at the part of the courtyard where omegas and betas generally congregate.  He ignored the confused looks of teachers and staff who hesitated to confront him on why he was in this section of the courtyard. While the school didn’t have explicit segregation rules for the secondary genders outdoors, it was almost an unspoken rule to have the students in separate areas.  

As he came closer to the object of his affections, Viktor called out, “Yuuri!”  The omega squeaked and ducked his head as he stared back at the alpha quickly approaching him.  

“V-Viktor?”  Yuuri brought his arms and legs closer to his body from where he sat on the bench, a nervous omega’s protective instinct to make himself smaller.  The omegas and betas around Yuuri gave Viktor a confused stare and began to whisper.  

Viktor paid them no mind. He only had eyes for Yuuri as he gently took the omega’s right hand and then his left hand until he was holding both gently in the small space between them.  He took the moment to memorize the sight before him.  Yuuri was staring at him with wide eyes, the same deer in headlights stare that he gave the class on that first day.  But this time, those two gorgeous eyes were trained on him and him only.  He could drown in them forever.  A pink blush gave his cheeks a healthy glow and the September breeze gently swayed his raven hair back and forth, allowing Viktor to breathe in Yuuri’s scent.  This was the closest he’s been to Yuuri outside of class.

He gave Yuuri his trademark smile, causing the omega to blush deeper and give a tremulous, tentative smile back.  The entire courtyard was silent, with teachers, students, and staff trained in on the strange image of the young alpha and omega.

Without breaking eye contact with Yuuri, Viktor took a deep breath and proclaimed in a voice loud enough to be heard in the entire courtyard, “Yuuri, starting today, I’m your alpha and you’re my mate!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: All Yuuri wanted was a first week without panic attacks

But since when did Yuuri ever get what he wanted?

Just when he thought that he was blushing hard enough, Yuuri felt his cheeks and ears grow even hotter.  He could feel sweat begin to collect at the back of his neck.  He leaned back from Viktor but couldn’t move further since his hands were still being held tightly in the alpha’s hands.  

“W-what?” Yuuri could hardly recognize the high-pitched squeak that came from his lips. He blinked and shook his head, as if it would help him make sense of the strange scenario he found himself in.

Viktor’s heart-shaped smile grew even wider and he tilted his head, taking in how Yuuri now looked like a ripe tomato.  “You’re my mate, Yuuri.  As your alpha, I’ll always be by your side and take care of you from now on.”  He paused and thought of the words he heard from one of the movies he saw Baba Lilia watching, “‘In sickness and in health,’” he quoted, “And in death we do not...part?” His brows furrowed. No, that didn’t sound right. How did it go again?  Oh well, it didn’t matter.  “Something like that!” He beamed and swung their arms back and forth.

“Yuuri, smile!” A voice came from Viktor’s right and the alpha turned and was blinded by a flash.  He blinked his eyes several times and saw that it was the tan beta that was sitting beside Yuuri earlier.  Viktor couldn’t really see his face since it was being obscured by a polaroid camera but he remembered the beta who usually sat at the back of their classroom.

“PHICHIT!” Yuuri looked positively horrified as he watched the beta take one step to the left.

“You’re still not smiling,” Phichit complained. Another flash.  “Viktor, you too please.” The beta made a waving motion with his hand. 

“Okay!”  Viktor gently steered Yuuri to his right, arms around the omega’s shoulders. “Cheese!”  Yuuri just stood tense, shoulders hunched as Phichit took one step closer.

“Perfect!” Another flash.  Phichit looked back from the camera.  “These are going to look great!” He said, shaking the developing polaroids.

“Thank you! It’s Phichit, right?  Can I have one?”  Viktor said stepping away from Yuuri.

“Sure!”

Yuuri groaned and dropped his face in his hands.  He still couldn’t understand what was going on.  Just two minutes ago he was chatting with Phichit and laughing at something Guang Hong said to Leo when he noticed Viktor walking over to them.  He actually smelled Viktor’s unique eucalyptus and citrus scent before he saw the alpha, the wind carrying it over to where he was sitting.  Ever since his first day he was very attuned to the alpha’s whereabouts and he didn’t know why.

Now that his initial confusion was gone it was as if someone turned on the volume again in the courtyard.  He heard some cooing and giggling, mostly from omegas, about how cute he and Viktor looked.  Then came the whispers and hushed voices that created the song of gossiping students which were then punctuated by some hoots and raucous laughter from older betas and alphas. Yuuri peered through his fingers to see his classmates staring and pointing at him and Viktor.  His eyes skittered back and forth to look around the courtyard and to his dismay he could still see all of them looking at him.  Yuuri then bit his lip when he noticed that it wasn’t just the students.

The teachers. Grown-ups were also looking at him.  Yes, some of them were smiling but Yuuri caught more than a handful that looked at him and Viktor with concern and a hint of disapproval. 

No. No, no, no…

He gasped and took a step back.  Yuuri felt himself tense up even further as he took a deep breath.  Was he in trouble?

“Yuuri?”

The omega ignored Viktor’s worried call.  Instead, he stepped further back away from the alpha and turned in the opposite direction looking for some means of escape.  Anywhere that will hide him from the courtyard’s piercing stares. 

Yuuri’s breaths became shallower when he couldn’t find a clear path.  Students and grown-ups were everywhere, and they were still staring!  Why can’t they stop staring?!  He began to hyperventilate. 

“Oh no…” Phichit was frowning as he began to recognize what was happening to his best friend. 

“Phichit, what’s going on?” Viktor frowned at the beta, torn between grabbing Yuuri’s hand and standing where he was.  In his moment of hesitation, Yuuri took two more steps away from him. 

“He’s having a panic attack.” 

“What’s a panic attack?”  Whatever it was, Viktor hated it.  If he thought Yuuri’s scent was bad while he was nervous on his first day in front of the classroom, it was nothing compared to how he smelled now.  He couldn’t even find a trace of Yuuri’s natural scent anymore.  It was completely cloaked by the overpowering stench of distress. 

The poor omega began to gasp for air.  That was enough. Viktor himself began to get nervous as he reached out to place a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. 

Wrong move.  Yuuri flinched away from the contact.

Viktor drew his hand back, hurt by the rejection. “Yuuri?”  The omega seemed to be in his own world.

Phichit stepped beside Viktor, and Leo and Guang Hong stood up sensing that the situation was getting worse.  “Take deep breaths, Yuuri,” Phichit coached. 

Yuuri’s hands began to shake as he let out a whimper.  He looked over Viktor’s shoulder to see a stern looking teacher walk over to them.  “NO!”  And with a burst of adrenaline he bolted, pushing through the crowd in front of him. 

“Yuuri!”

Yuuri’s parents always told him that he was special.  Okaa-san, Otou-san, and Mari-neechan were all betas.  Because of that he was always referred to as their sweet omega son.  He knew that it was meant as a term of affection, and there were plenty of times that he would smile and hug his mother back when she would coo at him and refer to him as her baby omega. 

But there were also plenty of times that he hated it. 

Sometimes, he thought, maybe if he wasn’t an omega he wouldn’t be so short. Maybe if he wasn’t an omega he wouldn’t be so chubby. Omegas were known to have softer bodies, a natural adaptation that lend to their predisposition to nurture and soothe. 

Worst of all?  Maybe if he wasn’t an omega he wouldn’t be so weak.  Maybe if he wasn’t an omega he wouldn’t always be so nervous, so scared of every little thing.

Why couldn’t he just be born a beta instead?

Somehow, even among such tumultuous and self-destructive thoughts, Yuuri excelled.  His pre-school teachers noted his quiet competitive nature.  Yuuri always studied hard and in kindergarten, he was able to already take math classes with the second graders.  Minako Okukawa, his ballet instructor and longtime family friend of the Katsukis, graduated from the Kubo International School for Gifted Students and was the one who brought the idea of having Yuuri apply during one of the many dinners she spent at their inn. 

“Kubo International huh?  That’s the large private school over at Willowbrook County, isn’t it?” Toshiya asked over a cup of sake. 

“I heard it’s very hard to get in,” Mari noted as she looked over at her brother who was only half-listening to them.  He was too busy devouring his katsudon to pay the conversation any proper attention.

“It is, but I think Yuuri-chan can do it,” Minako turned her eyes to the young omega as well. “And I think it will be good for him.” 

“But can we afford it?  Private schools, especially ones as prestigious as that is most likely out of our budget,” Hiroko said, “Of course I would like the best for Yuuri-chan as well, but we also have to be realistic.” 

“Don’t worry Hiroko-san, there are a few scholarships that Yuuri-chan can qualify for.  It’s going to be hard, but I think he will be able to get at least one to make it more affordable.”  Minako turned to Yuuri then and asked, “Yuuri-chan, what do you think?”

Yuuri paused with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, “Think about what?”

“Kubo International, should we give it a try?” Minako smiled, catlike and mischievous as she bent down so that she was eye level with Yuuri.  She bumped his shoulder with her elbow.  “I think you should give it a try.”

The omega wasn’t sure what the woman was referring to but knew from past experience that it was always best to simply agree.  It caused him less trouble in the long run.  “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”  He went back to eating his katsudon. 

Boy did he end up regretting that decision very quickly once he found out what he just agreed to. 

Fall and winter that year were a whirlwind, as Minako helped him and his parents gather all the materials needed for his applications.  Three essays, three letters of recommendation, and a portfolio that included some pictures and videos of his past ballet performances as demonstration of his extra-curricular activities were submitted right before the deadline. 

If he thought that was bad the interviews were a lot worse.  Minako helped his mother pick out his first suit and he couldn’t help but fidget under the stiff collar and the tight tie.  He had no idea how he survived those interviews.  It was a blur of faces, and for the life of him Yuuri couldn’t recall the details. Perhaps it was his mind’s way of repressing what must have been a traumatic experience.  He simply sighed in relief and was grateful that all of it was over. 

By the time winter gave way to spring he had forgotten all about Kubo International School.  Until that one April day—he could remember it clearly because it snowed that day.  Unfortunately not enough for school to be cancelled.  Yuuri was just on his way back, walking side by side with Mari after getting off the bus when he saw his mother come running out to the sidewalk. 

“Yuuri-chan, come quick!  It arrived earlier today, but we wanted you to open it!  Minako-san is here too, come!”  Hiroko was bouncing up and down in excitement as she waved a large envelope in her hand. 

“There’s a letter for me?”  Yuuri was confused. He never got any mail.

“Oh it must be your decision letter,” Mari grabbed on to his hand and tugged him forward.  “Come on, don’t you want to know?”

“Know what? What’s the decision for?”

“Whether you got accepted into that Kubo place.” 

Yuuri blinked and groaned internally as he trudged on forward.  He had wanted to forget all about the school.  He then winced as he began to feel guilty.  It wasn’t fair to his parents, Mari-neechan or Minako-sensei though. They worked hard for it too.  As they reached their porch his mother gave his forehead a kiss and handed him the envelope.  He grasped the slightly frayed edges feeling the weight of several papers inside. 

They stepped inside and made their way to the dining area of their inn.  His father and Minako were already seated on one of the tables. 

“Come on, Yuuri, right over here!”  Minako patted the chair next to her.  She appeared to be the most excited out of all of them. 

Yuuri walked over and dropped his backpack on the floor as Mari and Hiroko sat down.  With shaking hands he chose one corner and began to carefully tear off the edge.  Everyone around the table leaned forward as he placed his small hand inside to pull the papers out.  He first took the topmost paper.  It was thick and looked fancy somehow, even though it was plain ivory in color.  ‘Here goes,’ Yuuri took a breath and unfolded it. 

“Well?”

“Dear Yuuri Katsuki, we are pleased to inform you—” He got cut off with a loud squeal in his ear as Minako reached over to trap him in a tight hug. 

“ACCEPTED! I KNEW IT! YES!!!!”

Cheers erupted around the table as his parents stood up and hugged each other. Even Mari beamed as she walked over to join Minako in hugging Yuuri. 

“Oh Yuuri-chan my sweet baby omega, you should be so proud of yourself!”  Hiroko gushed.  Was she actually crying?  Toshiya laughed and gave Yuuri a gentle pat once Minako and Mari let go of Yuuri.  

Yuuri smiled and just stared at the acceptance letter in disbelief.

“What are the other papers in there?” Mari shuffled them around. 

“Let’s see, a campus map, brochures on different clubs, forms to purchase his uniforms and school materials, tips for the first day…” Minako flipped through them quickly and handed them over to Toshiya when she couldn’t find what she was looking for.  “Come on, come on, ah here we go.”  She opened another plain white paper and quickly skimmed its contents.  “Look at this Yuuri-chan, not only did you get in, you also got a scholarship!”  She turned the paper around and showed it to his parents.  “This should cover his entire tuition, this is excellent!”

Hiroko gave a sigh of relief, “Oh that is just wonderful!  That settles it,” she stood up and gave a kiss on Yuuri’s cheek and ruffled his hair before she skipped back to the kitchens. “I’m making Yuuri’s favorite tonight!”

Minako began to talk excitedly about how her first day was like.  Yuuri began to tune them out as he stared down at his acceptance letter, still not quite believing it.  He was thankful that for once, the mean voice inside his head that constantly spouted insecurities was quiet.  He smiled.  Maybe, this won’t be so bad after all. 

This was bad. 

"What do you mean 'Yuuri's not a student?'" 

“We’re sorry Mrs. Katsuki, but we never received a response after we sent Yuuri's acceptance letter.  We thought you have chosen another school for Yuuri, so we never enrolled him.”

Yuuri worried his bottom lip as he watched his parents talk to the woman behind the desk.  He should have known that something would go wrong. He should have known it was all a mistake.  How could an omega like him ever think that he could have gotten into a school like this?  The moment he stepped inside he felt like he didn’t belong. It began to make more sense now though... why he never received his uniforms when his parents ordered a set together with their response. Why he didn't receive any communication on what classroom he was assigned to.  The Katsukis just figured that everything was going to be settled on his first day. 

"That can't be right, we sent our response the very next day. How can we possibly turn down Yuuri's acceptance?" Toshiya insisted.

The blonde elderly lady hmm-ed and typed something into her computer. She read something on her screen. "I just double-checked.  There's nothing in the system that says that we received anything." 

"It must have gotten lost in the mail somehow.  I can even send you a copy of the check we wrote for his uniforms. Please do something, our family worked so hard for this, Yuuri especially," Hiroko leaned forward with pleading eyes. 

The woman nodded and stood up. "If you don't mind, I'll go and talk to the head of our Admissions Committee. It may be awhile though, Mr. Davis is just wrapping up a meeting." 

"Take all the time, we're more than willing to wait." 

She stepped out and left Hiroko, Toshiya, and Yuuri alone in the office.  Hiroko gave a sigh and Toshiya held his wife's hand. "Really, all this for a lost letter? It's not fair." 

"Don't worry dear, I'm sure it will all work out." 

But things never worked out for him, did it?  Yuuri cringed as the thoughts took over his head again and drowned out the sound of his father reassuring his mother.  Why would things ever work out for him?  And even if they did turn out right, does he seriously think that he really belongs in this school?  How can he possibly be good enough to stay? Everyone must be so much smarter than him. He'll surely fail all his classes.  

He wasn't sure how long he was stewing in his thoughts when the blonde woman came back in the room.  

Hiroko and Toshiya straightened themselves.  The woman was smiling. That was a good sign, wasn't it?  

"I'm pleased to say that Mr. Davis agreed to enroll Yuuri.  We didn't feel that it would be fair to Yuuri to be denied an education at our school for something that wasn't his fault." 

"Oh thank goodness! Thank you so much..." Hiroko's eyes turned to the nameplate in front of the woman's desk "...Ms. Christie. Thank you."

She waved her hand. "Please, Mrs. Katsuki feel free to call me Marie.  And honestly, I'm happy Mr. Davis agreed to accept Yuuri." She shifted her eyes over to the young omega, "I'm just glad I was able to deliver good news. I can't think of having to turn you away."  She turned in her chair and reached down to retrieve several packets of papers from one of her desk drawers.  "Now, we'll have to have you fill out all this paperwork. I'm afraid Yuuri will be missing a couple of days because it will take time to straighten everything out and arrange his schedule, but I'm sure our teachers will help make the transition as easy as possible." She turned the papers so that his parents could read them and handed them a pen.  

The next hour was spent reviewing and signing the documents.  All was well until Hiroko reached a document about his tuition. 

“But Yuuri got a scholarship, we thought that covered all the costs.”

Marie smiled, apologetic, “I’m so sorry ma’am, but I’m afraid that his scholarship only covers half the cost of his tuition.”

Those words caused his parents to balk.  Toshiya was incredulous, “Only half, you say?”

“Perhaps I can refer you to our financial services? I’m sure Ms. Reynolds is available.” 

Hiroko turned to her husband and then both looked at their son who just stared down at the floor.  The two parents communicated with each other silently and Toshiya nodded, coming to a decision.  “Yes, if we can speak with her that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Very well, this way please.”

Minako was shocked when Yuuri's parents told her about Yuuri's "first day." She was very apologetic and embarrassed when she found out about the misunderstanding over his scholarship. “It would have covered the cost back in my time, I had no idea the tuition could have increased that much! I’m so, so sorry!” The words were complete with dogeza that flustered his parents as they attempted to assure her that everything would be alright.   

In the end, Yuuri's parents had to take on a loan for some of the costs.  

He was so scared once his real first day finally arrived.  It wasn’t the normal sort of nerves that he would typically have on his other first days in preschool or kindergarten.  It must have been the thought that he was in such a prestigious school that scared him even more.  Failure was one of the biggest things Yuuri was scared of.  What if he ended up not being smart enough to stay in the school?  What would he do then?

Before he knew it, the man who guided him to his homeroom knocked on the door and walked away as soon as a nice brunette beta bent down, “Hello, you must be Yuuri, welcome to Kubo International.”

“T-thank you ma’am.”  At least she looked kind.  His teacher last year was actually a very strict, domineering alpha.  If this was his teacher then maybe he can get through this. 

“Aren’t you a charming young man? My name is Ms. Arena. I’m sorry you had to miss the first few days, but don’t worry we’ll get you up to speed on everything. Now come, your classmates are excited to meet you.”  She stood up and opened the door the rest of the way. 

Yuuri gulped as he stared at all the faces looking at him.  Wait, was that Phichit?  He looked at the beta in the back of the room who looked just as surprised to see him.  Normally the sight of his best friend would make him happy but he still found himself frozen stiff as he followed Ms. Arena.  He bowed his head in an attempt to shield himself from all the stares. 

Ms. Arena placed her hands gently on his shoulders to make him stand in front of her.  “Everyone, please welcome Yuuri Katsuki.  He will be joining us today.”  In a softer voice she asked, “Yuuri, would you like to introduce yourself?”

“Good morning. I’m Yuuri,” he whispered softly.

“I’m sorry, Yuuri sweetie you will have to speak a little louder.  Don’t be nervous, we’re all friendly here. Everyone wants to meet you.” 

He lifted his chin slightly so he wasn’t mumbling down his shirt, “I’m Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Good, and how old are you, Yuuri?”

“S-six.” 

“Why didn’t he start on the first day, Ms. Arena?” The question made him wince. 

“Yuuri had to take some extra special steps, Yuuko. But you see, Yuuri here is very smart. He passed the exams with grades high enough to get a scholarship into our school! And that’s something to be very proud of, right Yuuri?”

It wasn’t the full truth, but Yuuri appreciated how Ms. Arena kept quiet about the whole fiasco with his enrollment. He quickly nodded his head.

“As an international school, many of us were born outside of the United States or our families came from other countries.  Where is your family from, Yuuri?”

“Japan.”

“That’s where Yuuko is from as well. Everyone please be nice to our new student. I don’t want to hear anything unfriendly. Remember, treat others the way you want to be treated.  Now Yuuri, you can take that seat we prepared for you by Viktor over there.  Viktor, please raise your hand.”

Yuuri glanced up to see an silver-haired alpha sitting in the front row.  He raised his hand and Yuuri stared at the long hair the boy wore in a ponytail.  The light from the window beside him caused the silver hair to glow and he was reminded of starlight.  He was very pretty, and his eyes reminded him of the sea when he visited his hometown of Hasetsu the previous summer.  There was something in the boy’s stare that drew him in and Yuuri felt a wave of butterflies flutter in his stomach as he shuffled over to the empty desk beside the boy. 

The alpha had a nice smile as he reached over for a handshake. “I’m Viktor Nikiforov,” the boy said.

“H-hi, V-Viktor.”  He smelled really nice, like eucalyptus and citrus.  It was a scent that reminded Yuuri of a light feeling, the kind when you had no worries to weigh you down and all was right in the world.  He smiled to himself as he bent down to take out his notebooks and writing utensils.  The entire morning's lessons passed smoothly and Yuuri noted that he wasn’t anxious at all, which was really odd.  What he didn’t know was that it was due to the alpha’s presence beside him. 

Yuuri would have given anything for that lightweight feeling again.  But right now, as he cowered underneath a set of bleachers rocking back and forth in a fetal position, all he could feel was a crushing weight in his chest.  He didn’t know if he made things worse by running away from the teacher.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he whimpered.  Why was he always so stupid?! Now he was just going to get into more trouble!  And when they kick him out, what was he going to do? How can he possibly face his parents?  Mari-neechan or Minako-sensei? All of them worked so hard to get him in here and he can’t even last a full week without getting kicked out?

“Yuuri,” He recognized Ms. Arena’s voice.  “Yuuri, everything’s going to be okay.  Are you hurt?” 

He simply shook his head but made no move to get up. 

“Everyone’s worried, Yuuri, why don’t you come out?”

“Am I in trouble?”

“What? No, of course not.  Sweetie, I promise you’re not in trouble. No one is.” 

Yuuri couldn’t find himself to fully trust her words but did finally lift his head from his arms.  He saw his teacher kneeling a couple of feet away from him. 

She smiled and leaned back.  “There we are.  It’s okay Yuuri, take your time, I’m just going to stay right here until you’re ready, okay?”

Yuuri sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his arm as he sat up.  That was one of his worse panic attacks but he was thankful that at least he didn’t pass out.  He peered over and tried to see past Ms. Arena’s shoulder. 

She must have sensed what he was looking for.  “Don’t worry, Yuuri no one else is around. Recess is over.” 

“I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetie.” 

A small flicker of hope.  Maybe he really wasn’t in trouble after all.  Yuuri knew he couldn’t stay under the bleachers forever and he felt bad making his teacher sit in the dirt.  He slowly crawled over and hesitantly took Ms. Arena’s offered hand as she helped him stand up. 

“There we are,” she tried to brush the dirt from his jacket and pants.  “Are you sure you’re ready to go back? We can stay out here a little more if you need more time.”

“But what about classes?”

“There’s a substitute teacher filling in, don’t worry about that.” 

Yuuri thought about it for a moment but decided against it.  “It’s okay. I’m okay.” 

They eventually made their way back to the classroom and Ms. Arena thanked the substitute teacher as she took her place behind her desk.  The students looked curiously at Yuuri but otherwise said nothing as he took his seat next to Viktor. 

The alpha looked at him with relief in his eyes.  Yuuri took a deep breath and grounded himself in Viktor’s calming scent.  He opened his notebook but blinked when he found a small scrap of paper underneath it.  In messy print, it said ‘Are you okay? I’m sorry if I scared you.  Are we still mates?’  There was a sad face with tears in the corner of the paper.

Yuuri smiled at the message and looked over to Viktor who was looking at him apprehensively as he waited for his reaction.  Yuuri placed the paper down to write his own message before he passed it over to Viktor who quickly read it.

‘You don’t have to say sorry. And yes.’  Yuuri crossed out the sad face Viktor drew and made a new drawing beside it. This time there were two stick figures. One was slightly taller, with bangs and a ponytail next to a smaller one with glasses.  The stick figures were holding hands and smiling. 

Viktor beamed as he reverently folded the paper and tucked it next to the photo Phichit took of them earlier.   

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Because an impassioned Viktor is a distracting Viktor

Viktor had almost forgotten all about the incident in the courtyard earlier that day.  All he cared about was that Yuuri was doing much better and he was pleased when no hint of anxiety clouded his omega’s scent for the remainder of the afternoon. When it was time to pack up and leave he held Yuuri’s hand as they walked out of the classroom. Georgi, Chris, Mila, Leo, and Phichit followed behind. 

Viktor fished out the picture Phichit had given him earlier that day and showed it to Yuuri.  “Look how it came out, our first photo!”

“Er…” Yuuri agreed that Viktor looked great. The alpha was really photogenic.  Viktor was beaming in the photo with his right arm around the omega's shoulders.  Yuuri’s photographed self just looked wide-eyed at the camera in shock as he stood with hunched shoulders, body tilted a little awkwardly towards Viktor’s due to the alpha’s tight grip. He didn’t think he looked good at all, especially with his blazing red cheeks.  “It looks… nice?”

“You don’t like it?” Viktor pouted and he turned around to Phichit. “Phichit, Yuuri didn’t like your picture!” He said petulantly.

The beta laughed, as Yuuri sputtered, trying to think of words to reassure the alpha. “It would have looked good if Yuuri would just smile. But don’t worry, I can take more next week! I just need more film.”

“Okay!”

Mila, Chris, and Georgi looked over Viktor’s shoulder to take a peek at the photo. “I think it looks cute!” Mila said. “You’re good at taking pictures, Phichit.”

“Thanks, it’s my hobby.”

“What do you take pictures of?”

“Anything and everything.”

Yuuri smiled, “Phichit likes to take pictures of his hamsters.”

“Hamsters are cute, I wish I had a pet,” Mila sighed. They finally reached the doors and stepped outside.  “See you next week!”  She and Georgi waved as they made their way over to a bus.  Phichit said his goodbyes as well with another promise to have enough film for their next photo session.

Yuuri turned to Leo.  “Aren’t you taking the bus today, Leo?” The beta usually joined Phichit home.  He shook his head, “Not today. I’m going to be hanging out with Guang Hong. I’ll just wait for him here.  See you guys!”  Guang Hong was one year younger than them.  The two had apparently known each other all their lives since their parents were close business partners. 

Viktor smiled as he gently led Yuuri off to the side of the path, allowing all the other students to make their way around them.  He squeezed the omega’s hands as he tried to think of what to say. “Are you sure everything’s okay now?”

Yuuri blinked back up at him and gave a shy smile. “I think so.  I just got scared that I got in trouble, that one teacher that came to us looked angry.” 

Viktor recalled the man Yuuri was talking about.  It was Mr. Thompson, a chemistry teacher who was well-known throughout the school as a disciplinarian.  He was the one who held onto Viktor when he tried to scramble after Yuuri when the omega ran off. 

“Did… did you get in trouble?”

“N-not at all!” Viktor gave a disarming smile and swung their joined hands back and forth as they walked slowly towards the street. It was half true.  Mr. Thompson did take him aside and told him off for “harassing” Yuuri, whatever that meant, and causing a scene. But after that no other teacher confronted him.

“Okay…”

Speak of the devil, Mr. Thompson was there talking to Viktor's grandfather in front of their car.  They were still too far away to hear the conversation but it didn’t take a genius to guess what they were talking about. Yakov groaned and rubbed his temples at something the teacher said, a habit he had whenever he got exasperated at something that Viktor did. Which happened all the time.

“Yuuri!” The omega turned his head to see his sister calling out from the backseat of Minako’s car.  The woman herself was sitting in the driver’s seat and honked the car’s horn in greeting.  Yuuri was surprised when he saw Minako talking to Ms. Arena who stood on the sidewalk beside Minako's open window. 

Yuuri stepped away from Viktor, “I have to go now. See you!” He waved as he walked over to Minako’s car.  Mari opened the back door and scooted aside so he could get in.   

“I will see you Minako, we should catch up some more for dinner one time,” Ms. Arena said. She turned to Yuuri as he walked over.  “See you next week, Yuuri, have a great weekend.”

“Bye Ms. Arena,” he called as he got into the car.  He still wasn’t sure why she was talking to Minako.  He closed the door and turned his attention to the front, meeting Minako’s eyes in the rear view mirror.  “Do you know Ms. Arena, Minako-sensei?”

“Yes I do, I graduated just one year ahead of her. We were friends in school. I honestly didn’t even know she taught here, we lost touch in college.”

“How was your day, Yuuri?” Mari asked.

He put his seatbelt on, “It was fine.” 

“So who’s this Viktor I heard about?” Minako said, peering at him again from the rear view mirror with mischief in her eyes.

Yuuri stuttered. “V-Viktor?” What did Ms. Arena say to Minako? She said he wasn’t in trouble!  He looked more closely at Minako who was smiling that catlike smile again.  It didn’t look like he was in trouble though.

“Yeah, you see Steph--that’s Ms. Arena’s first name by the way, was talking about this charming young alpha in your year who said something very interesting during lunchtime today.”

Yuuri looked down at his shoes and worried at the edge of his sleeves.  He could sense Mari’s stare beside him. 

“Um… what did she say he said?”

“That’s the thing. Unfortunately, Steph wasn’t actually there when it happened. She just heard from the other teachers that there was this whole commotion in the courtyard during your recess when Viktor came to your group of friends and said something to you.  It must have been quite the scene though, everyone’s been going on about how cute you were!”

Yuuri blinked in relief.  It looked like Ms. Arena didn’t talk about the part where there were some teachers who didn’t appear too happy. Or maybe she didn’t hear from those teachers.

“Spill it, Yuuri,” Mari was growing impatient, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Well…he said that he was my alpha and that I was his mate.”

“WHAAAT?” Mari’s mouth hung open in shock.

“Ohohoho, did he now?”

Mari placed a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder so he would turn to her. Her face looked grim, “Is he bullying you, Yuuri? Tell me the truth.”

“Bullying?! No! Viktor would never do something like that!”

“Woooow, just one week at your school and you already know him so well. So quick to defend your alpha!”

“Minako-sensei you can’t be encouraging this,” Mari reprimanded the older woman.

“Tell me more about this Viktor, Yuuri,” Minako demanded, ignoring Mari.  “Was he that silver-haired boy you were holding hands with?”

“Yes, that was him.”

“He seems friendly enough. He looks positively charming actually. Very handsome. He also comes from a rich family judging by that Maserati he got picked up in.”  Minako pulled them to a gentle stop at the red light and took the opportunity to turn around in her seat so she can see the blushing omega.  “You really know how to pick them well!” She winked. 

“Minako-sensei!” Both Katsuki siblings called out at the same time. Mari in consternation and Yuuri in embarrassment.  Yuuri groaned and placed his head in his hands. 

“And that brings me to the other thing Steph mentioned,” Minako’s voice became more serious as she placed her foot on the accelerator again, the light had turned green.  “She said you ran away and hid under some bleachers.  Is everything okay?”

“Yuuri… did you have another panic attack? Did this Viktor scare you?”

“Nooo…” Yuuri moaned through his hands. Why was Mari-neechan always assuming the worst of Viktor?  “It’s just that everyone in the courtyard was staring at us. Everyone, even the teachers. And some of them…didn’t look so happy,” he confessed.  “Even though Ms. Arena told me later that I wasn’t in trouble.  One of the teachers looked angry and he was walking up to us.  I-I panicked then.”

Minako gave a noncommitting hum, mulling the information over.  “But how did you feel when Viktor said that he was your alpha?”

Yuuri turned to look out the window and watched the trees pass by in a blur.  He never really took the time to process his feelings, being too preoccupied earlier with worrying about getting expelled.  “Um...Happy, I think?  Viktor’s always been nice to me.  He’s nice to everyone, actually.  I think he’s popular too. I see a lot of people say hi to him in the hallway, even older students.”

He smiled and began to babble, feeling that light feeling in his chest again as he recalled Viktor, “He has this really nice heart-shaped smile...he likes to hold my hand a lot and I like it because my hands are always cold but his hands are warm but not sweaty or icky. He also has this really nice scent. I also really like his hair, I think it makes him look very pretty. He must take really good care of it because it shines all bright when the light is on it and…”

Mari and Minako’s eyes met in the rear view mirror as Yuuri went on and on about the alpha.

Well now… wasn’t this something?

Viktor similarly was waxing poetic about Yuuri to Yakov.  “My omega’s the cutest omega in the entire class. No, the entire SCHOOL!  Georgi thinks he’s a little chubby but I don’t care, I like it actually, it just makes it more fun to hug him!”  Viktor kicked his feet in the air in glee and Yakov grunted at how the child's shoes scuffed the bottom of the dashboard.

“Yuuri has this really cute laugh too, I heard it all the way across the courtyard. I wanna hear him laugh all the time.  He smells soooo nice, Deda, on his first day I knew I was already going to like him just from his scent.  It's like the magnolias Papa used to get Mama.  He also has the prettiest eyes, they’re nice and brown but very rich. Like chocolate!  Do you think he’d like it if I give him chocolate?  I can give him some Cadbury, or do you think he likes Hershey’s more?” Viktor paused in his monologue and waited for his response.  When Yakov remained quiet the seven-year-old shrugged, clearly used to his grandfather’s ornery behavior.

“Cadbury then.  He’s my mate after all so I’m sure he likes what I like too. He can be shy, but once he gets to know you he talks more, at least that’s what Phichit said.  Phichit is Yuuri’s friend, by the way, we actually share the same classroom but I never really talked to him before since he sits way in the back.  He took a picture of us after I told Yuuri that I was going to be his alpha from now on. Oh right, the picture!” Viktor gasped and reached down to retrieve it from his backpack.  “Deda, LOOK!  Isn’t Yuuri cute?!”

Yakov yelled as a blurry photo obscured his view of the road. “BLYAT! Vitya, put it DOWN!”  He shoved the boy’s arm away as the car swerved slightly to the right. Thankfully traffic was light and there was no car in the lane beside them.  He always thought he was going to grow bald taking care of his grandson, not die in a car accident! 

Viktor looked heartbroken, clutching the polaroid.  “You don’t like it either?  I don’t think Yuuri liked it and I don’t know why… do you think it’s my smile? Is it too wide?” He leaned up and began practicing different variations of his smile in the side-view mirror. 

Yakov swore he could feel a vein protrude in his forehead. It was going to be a long ride home.

Viktor gave a forlorn sigh that was really strange to see from a seven-year-old but he recovered very quickly.  "But you know what?  Yuuri's a really good artist too, you should see the picture he drew of us! Wanna see it?!" The young alpha was already reaching down his bag again.

Yakov panicked and quickly reached over to grab a hold of Viktor's arm to keep it down. The man did his best to keep the steering wheel steady but his movement still caused them to jerk slightly to the side. The car next to them honked and swerved away to avoid getting hit. "Not now, Vitya!"

"Fine..." The boy crossed his arms and sulked down in his seat.

A few seconds of blissful silence passed. Yakov breathed out in relief. And then...

"Did I mention that Yuuri has the cutest smile? I can't wait until Phichit takes another photo of us!"

Yakov pulled them to a stop at an intersection. The poor man rested his forehead on the steering wheel desperately trying to tune out Viktor's voice. 

Forget a long ride home. It was going to be a long day.

Minako wasted no time informing Yuuri’s parents about Viktor. 

“Yuuuuuri-chan has an admirer~” Minako sang as they gathered around the table for an early dinner. 

“Oh?” Hiroko perked up as she set their entrees down. “And who is this admirer?”

Minako was enjoying every moment and nudged Yuuri. “Come on, Yuuri, earlier in the car you couldn’t stop talking about him.”

“I did not!” Yuuri protested. 

“Did too,” Mari said, starting to fill her plate with rice and tempura. “You kept going on and on about him.”

“So what is your admirer’s name?” Toshiya asked beside his wife.

Yuuri’s ears turned red as everyone looked at him.  “Viktor.”

“Is he a beta?”

“No, he’s an alpha,” Mari answered for Yuuri. “And get this: this Viktor kid said he was ‘Yuuri’s alpha.’  But apparently he’s nice. Or so Yuuri says.”

“He is!” Yuuri insisted.

Hiroko giggled, “Ah I remember my childhood crush. They’re such sweet things, aren’t they?”

Toshiya turned to ask Minako, “How did you find out about this? I couldn’t imagine that Yuuri-chan told you himself.”

“He didn’t, I found out from his teacher.  Steph was one year younger than me when we went to Kubo together. I had no idea she came back to teach there.  What are the odds that she’d be Yuuri-chan’s teacher, right?  She happened to walk by my car and I told her that I was picking up Yuuri-chan.  She thought at first that I was his mom,” Minako snorted at the idea.  

“Well I’m glad that you’re making friends, sweetie,” Hiroko smiled at Yuuri.  “I noticed over the days that you’re becoming less and less stressed. That’s good. Studying is important of course but so is having fun.”

Toshiya nodded, “Yes, those are the memories you’ll keep coming back to.”

Minako laughed at his words. “Oh don’t get me started on your college days, Toshiya!  I still remember you getting drunk and dancing on the table at the campus center.” The adults began to laugh at the shared memories. Yuuri was glad for the change in topic as he finally began eating properly. 

Viktor on the other hand had no qualms talking about Yuuri. In fact, the moment Lilia opened the front door, he rushed forward to give his grandmother a hug and said, “Baba, I must tell you about my new mate!”

Lilia’s perfectly trimmed brows furrowed as she changed her glance from Viktor’s beaming face to her husband’s sour expression.  “Oh?  What is this about a new mate?” She awkwardly patted Viktor’s head.  Physical signs of affection never came to her naturally.

Yakov muttered something unintelligible as he shrugged off his coat, passed it over to a maid and requested some wine.  “I’m going to my study,” was all he said before he went to the right wing, clearly not wanting to participate in the conversation. “…Almost got into an accident. Twice! Of all things…” was all Lilia heard as he turned the corner.

She decided to humor the child. “Alright then, Vitya, who is this mate of yours?” Viktor grabbed one of her hands and practically skipped down the hall.  Lilia sped up her steps to match his speed. 

“His name is Yuuri, and he’s the cutest omega in the entire school!  He’s shorter than me, and he wears glasses.  He’s shy but very, very nice.  He smells really good too!  I told him that I was going to be his mate today.  His friend Phichit took a picture of us, do you wanna see it?!” 

Lilia's eyes widened as she took in the sight of her grandson in front of her.  It was unbelievable. 

Later that night when she was sitting up in their bed, Lilia placed a bookmark in her novel before setting it aside as she heard her husband’s footsteps come closer.  She watched as their bedroom door opened and Yakov stepped inside in his usual pajamas carrying a newspaper. 

“You were in your study the entire day.”

Yakov scoffed, “I needed the entire day.”  He placed the newspaper on their bedside table and turned off the lamp before he climbed on the bed.   

Lilia blinked her eyes to adjust to the darkness as she felt his weight settle next to her. “This Yuuri that Vitya keeps talking about...”

Yakov groaned and turned away from her. “Please woman have mercy and do not speak that child’s name again. Vitya couldn’t stop talking about that omega, just leave it be.”

Had it not been beneath her, Lilia would have snorted.  “Yasha, the ride from Vitya's school to our house is only 25 minutes long.  I had to listen to your grandson for two hours before I was able to convince him to go play in his room.” Her husband’s response was lost in his pillow.  She reached over to place a hand on his arm.  “Yasha, please.”

The man relented and lifted his head from the pillow but did not turn over to face her. It was enough to satisfy Lilia.  “Can’t you see how happy Vitya is?” She pleaded. 

“Yes. It’s pretty clear.”  

“Whether or not this is just a passing childish infatuation I am happy that Vitya found a friend.”

“Vitya’s always had friends.”

“Yes, but apparently this Yuuri is a special one.” Lilia frowned and asked the question she’s wanted to ask all day.  “I thought you of all people would be relieved that Vitya’s starting to be more like himself again.”

Away from her view a flash of hurt passed through Yakov’s eyes before he screwed them shut. “Of course I'm relieved. It's just…” his voice came out gruff and he opened his eyes once more. He stared angrily into the darkness. “It's because he should have been here.  Vitya shouldn’t need some small omega to bring him back.  He should have brought Vitya back!  Instead he just left, like the COWARD he is!”

Lilia began to feel tears at the corner of her eyes as she reached over to hug her husband from behind.  She pressed her face against the back of his neck and grasped his hands. Yakov met her halfway and intertwined their fingers, holding them against his chest. The couple stayed in that position each lost in their own thoughts until they both fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: To Marry My Yuuri, Viktor on a Mission!

Once Viktor gets an idea into his mind, he is nothing but persistent

The following Monday had Viktor practically skipping to his classroom at the thought of seeing Yuuri again.  The weekend was absolutely tedious without him and he decided that he will invite the omega over to his house next weekend. He would have done so already if it weren’t for his grandparents forcing him to attend a stuffy dinner with neighbors on Saturday, and then a charity ball on Sunday.  He really hated those events and didn’t understand why he had to be there. All he did was smile and suffer from the older ladies fawning over how cute he is. Why must they always pinch his cheeks?

He waved at Georgi, Mila, and Chris before also turning his attention and greeting Leo and Phichit who sat further back.  He pouted when he saw that Yuuri’s desk was still empty but made his way over and sat in his own.

Chris peered curiously at the blue gift bag Viktor was carrying. “What do you have there?”

Viktor smiled back and handed it over to Chris. He put a hand inside and retrieved a bar of chocolate.

“Chocolates?  Isn’t it early for Halloween or Valentine’s?  Can I have one?” Chris whined when Viktor made a motion to give him the bag back, “Aw, come on!  Why show me when I can’t have one?”

“Sorry, but those are for Yuuri.  But don’t worry, I got a separate bag here for you guys,” he said, raising the white gift bag he held in his other arm, “I’ll share it during recess.”

Mila must have been eavesdropping on their conversation because she butted in, “That’s so nice of you, Viktor!  Yuuri’s going to love it.”

Viktor’s chest puffed up with pride at her approval.  “You really think so? I wasn’t sure if he’d like Hershey’s or Cadbury. I ended up just bringing both.”

“It’s chocolate. Who wouldn’t like chocolate?” Georgi asked rhetorically. The idea that anyone would refuse it was just absurd.

“I’m going to give it to him after lunch.  Can we ask Yuuri and his friends to eat with us?”

“Sure.  Why not? I think his friends are nice,” Mila looked over Viktor’s shoulder, “Good morning Yuuri!”

Viktor turned around so quickly he could have gotten whiplash.  He waved his hands excitedly at the omega.  “Yuuri!  How was your weekend?”

Yuuri smiled sheepishly at the sudden attention as he sat down. “Hi Viktor.  It was good, thanks.  How are you?”

“Happy now that you’re here!”

Yuuri blushed as Mila aww-ed at the candid comment.

“Will you and your friends sit with us at lunch, Yuuri?”  Viktor asked, “We can eat together and then play during recess.”

The omega looked surprised at the invitation. It wasn’t really common for omegas their age to be hanging around alphas.  “Do you think it’s okay?  You don’t think we’ll get in trouble?”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Georgi shrugged.  “It’s not as if we’re breaking any rules.”

“I’ll talk to Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong then.”  Yuuri said, turning around and waving at his friends at the back.  Phichit smiled and gestured to his polaroid camera giving him a thumbs up.   Yuuri sighed, almost forgetting about the photo session he promised the previous week.  Viktor returned Phichit’s thumbs up and mouthed a ‘thank you’ to the beta.  

At that moment Ms. Arena walked into the classroom and called their attention for attendance and everyone settled down.

“What’s that you got there, Yuuri?”  Georgi asked curiously during lunch later that day. He was pointing to the rectangular package Yuuri placed on the table.  

“It’s my lunch.  My mom packed me some since we had leftovers from the weekend,” he said, unwrapping the koi-patterned cloth and revealing a bento box.  

“It’s so pretty!” Mila said as she leaned closer.  “That doesn’t look like any ordinary lunch box.”

“It’s pretty common in Japan.  It’s nothing special, really,” Yuuri said blushing at the attention.  He opened the box to reveal sushi, shrimp tempura, gyoza, and several slices of pickled radishes.  Chris and Mila ooh-ed at the exotic looking dishes while Viktor leaned over beside Yuuri to smell the food.

“It smells good. Does your Mom cook?”

“Her and my dad, yeah.”

As the group of friends ate, Viktor stole glances at Yuuri between bites of food.  He was just so curious and eager to take in every little new thing he learned about Yuuri, like how he would wrinkle his nose a little bit before laughing at one of Chris’s jokes, how he would duck his head when he began to feel shy, or how he liked to tap his chopsticks at the side of his bento box while chewing on his food.  Every now and then Yuuri would return his gaze and blush a little all while giving him the shy smile he loved so much.

Once everyone more or less finished their lunch, Viktor reached down and lifted up the two bags he was carrying earlier that day.

“Finally! I thought you weren’t going to pass them out after all,” Chris whooped as he leaned over the table and reached a hand out. “Come on, gimme gimme.”

“What is that?” Leo asked.

Beside him, Guang Hong’s eyes widened as he turned his chin up, taking in the scent.  “Ooh, is that…?” He trailed off as he began to smell a sweet aroma emanating from the bag.

Viktor passed the blue bag to Yuuri and the white one to Chris.  Chris quickly opened it and cheered as he grabbed a handful of chocolates before passing the bag around the table.

Yuuri curiously peered down at his bag. Bright brown eyes widened in surprise before he turned back to Viktor. “Chocolates, for me?”

“Yup! I was telling Deda how much I loved the color of your eyes and how they remind me of chocolate!”

“They do?  I don’t see what’s so special about my eyes,” Yuuri said as he reached down for one and picked a Cadbury creme egg and began to unwrap it.  “Thank you, Viktor.”

“Anything for my mate!” Viktor smiled and hugged Yuuri, relieved that the shorter boy liked his present.  The omega’s eyes bugged out in surprise and he coughed as he almost choked at the sudden declaration.

“V-Viktor!”

“This is perfect!” Phichit took a picture of the moment.  “Or almost perfect.  Yuuri, stop getting so red!”

“It’s okay, my mate is perfect in any color!” Viktor laughed when his comment just made Yuuri blush harder.

Mila gushed at the scene, “Aww look, they’re so in love!” Chris simply shrugged beside her, not really impressed while Georgi was too busy trying to choose what chocolates to pick from the bag.

Leo passed a chocolate over to Guang Hong and said “Well if you guys love each other so much, why don’t you two marry? My mom says that people who love each other get married so they can live happily ever after.”

Viktor gasped, “I never thought of that before!” He loosened his hug so that he can look into Yuuri’s eyes.  The omega was still a piping bright red.  “Yuuri, we should get married!” At those words Yuuri squeaked and his eyes widened even further. “Then we can live happily ever after!” Viktor hugged him again and nuzzled Yuuri’s cheek.

“Um, you two can’t just marry,” Georgi said.

Mila frowned at him, “Why not?”

Georgi gulped as everyone around the table turned to look at him.  Viktor looked absolutely crushed and betrayed.  “N-not that I don’t want you two to marry!  But you have to court Yuuri first!” That seemed to appease his friends.

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Court Yuuri? What does that mean?”

“It’s that thing that grown-ups do before they get married. So that you can prove yourself to the person you’re marrying,” Leo replied.

The first-graders continued their conversation as they got up from the lunch table to throw away their trash and return their trays before making their way outside to the courtyard.  Viktor was quiet as he held Yuuri’s hand and mulled over the revelation.

The omega sensed his discontent and squeezed Viktor’s hand.  “It’s okay, Viktor, we can get married later after you court me.” ‘Whatever courting means,’ Yuuri added to himself silently making a mental note to ask his older sister later when he got home.

Viktor smiled at Yuuri’s reassuring words and squeezed his smaller hand back.  “Yes, after I court you!  I’ll be the best alpha ever!”  Little did Yuuri know that Viktor was just as clueless on what courting entailed.  Was it like an exam that he had to take?  It didn’t matter.  Whatever it was, he was definitely going to do it, and do it well so that Yuuri will have no doubt that he should marry him!

But first… he had to do some research. He cannot do it with Yuuri knowing however. Viktor was embarrassed and he didn’t want the omega to find out that he didn’t actually know how to court someone.  How bad would that look? And so while Yuuri was preoccupied during recess climbing on the slide with Guang Hong, Viktor took the opportunity to walk up to Georgi who was attempting the monkey bars.

“Hey Georgi, you know a lot about courting right?”  He was the one who brought up the topic after all.

Georgi looked down at Viktor as he stopped in the middle of the monkey bars, shoes dangling two feet above the ground.  “Um, I guess?”

“How do I court Yuuri?”

The raven-haired alpha paused in thought.  When he began to feel his hands starting to slip he gave up on completing the set and allowed himself to fall on the ground beside Viktor.  “My mama said that papa would give her flowers.”

That seemed simple enough.  “Is that it?”

“No, he did other stuff too. He used to give gifts, like jewelry.” Georgi turned to look at Yuuri, “I don’t think that Yuuri is really into jewelry though.”

Viktor hummed in agreement.  “That’s okay, I can think of another gift. Thanks Georgi, you’re the best!”  He patted his friend's back and returned to Yuuri's side.

At the end of the school day, Viktor walked with Yuuri hand-in-hand once again as they walked down the steps.  The alpha smiled when he saw Yuuri carrying the blue bag of chocolates he had given him earlier that day.  “Did you like them?”

“Of course!”  Yuuri nodded adorably, “Thank you again.”

“Which do you like better, Hershey’s or Cadbury?”

“I like them both, but if I had to pick… Cadbury.”

“Ha, I knew it!” Viktor fist-pumped.  He could see his grandfather parked in his usual spot.  “Say Yuuri, I was wondering... would you like to come over and play at my house this weekend?  I wanted to ask you to come this past weekend but my grandparents dragged me out to boring grown-up stuff.”

“I’m sorry, Viktor but I can’t. I have a ballet recital on Sunday and I’m practicing for it on Saturday.”

“Oh.”  The alpha visibly drooped.

“B-but you can come to my recital!” Yuuri quickly said to placate the alpha, upset at seeing Viktor look so down. “I-if you want to that is.”

“Really? I can come?!”

Actually the mere thought caused Yuuri’s heart to race in apprehension.  He honestly didn’t like the idea that there would be more eyes to see his performance, to see any potential failure should he misstep or freeze onstage.  But before more dark thoughts entered his head he gazed back at Viktor’s excited eyes and grounded himself in how happy the alpha looked at being invited.  No, he can do this.  “Yes, really.”

“Okay, then I’m going to have front row seats!  I’ll come there early.  Let me know where it will be tomorrow, okay?  I’ll get my grandparents to bring me there.”  He gave Yuuri one last hug before they parted, Viktor walking over to Yakov and Yuuri over to Minako and Mari.

“Deda, I need you to take me somewhere this Sunday,” Viktor said once he got into the car and put on his seatbelt.

“Where would you possibly have to go on a weekend?  Is it a school function?” Yakov pulled out of his spot and made a turn over to a main street.

“Nope, it’s Yuuri’s ballet recital and I can’t miss it!”

Yakov sighed.  “Fine, but we’ll have to bring your grandmother too. She’d want to watch.”  Lilia was a former prima ballerina of the famous Bolshoi Ballet back when they were still in Russia.  She had long since retired, but had still kept active by being one of the top ballet masters. He felt guilty that they uprooted their lives to move to the United States, although he knew that it wasn’t his fault given the circumstances.

“Great, that’s perfect!  And there was another thing I wanted to ask you about Deda.”

The older man internally groaned and wondered what his grandson’s next request could possibly be.  Best to get it over with.  “What is it?”

“How do I court Yuuri?”

“… WHAT?!”  Yakov quickly glanced down at Viktor who had a notebook and pen out.  It looked like the boy was writing some sort of list.  “What kind of nonsense are you going on about, boy?”

Viktor sighed and tried to explain patiently as if Yakov was the child and he was the adult, “You know, ‘court.’  I’m going to marry Yuuri but Georgi and my friends said that I can’t until I court him and prove that I am a good alpha.”

“I…” He was at a loss for words.  There were so many things wrong with that statement, where does he even start?  He internally cursed as he looked at the street sign they just passed.  It was going to be at least another twenty minutes before they got home.  He never knew how to handle these situations and preferred to leave them to his wife.

“Come on, Deda, you must have courted Baba too right?”

Yakov sighed and knew he had no choice.  He was going to have to say something.  “You can’t just court Yuuri, Vitya.”

“Why not?  Then how are we going to live happily ever after?”

“... Look Vitya, you’re too young.  Courting is only something grown-ups do.”  He took advantage of the red light to look at his grandson who was frowning down at the notebook he held in his lap.  “Do you understand?”

“But I want to marry Yuuri and I can’t marry Yuuri if I don’t court him.” Viktor began to tap his pen against his notebook impatiently.  

“Marrying is also only something grown-ups do.”  

“That’s not fair, I’m seven already, why do I have to wait if I know I want to marry him now?”

“Because…” Yakov was struggling to find the right words.  He waved his left hand in an agitated motion, frustrated at finding himself in this situation.  “You’re just too young.  Look, I understand that this Yuuri is a close friend-”

“He’s not just a close friend, Deda, he’s my mate,” Viktor was starting to get frustrated and upset at the turn the conversation was taking.  

That word again.  Yakov sighed and rubbed his temples as the car behind them honked its horn.  The light had turned green.  He turned his eyes back on the road and got the car rolling again.

“I already told him that I was his alpha and he said yes. He also said yes to marrying me.”

“Vitya, you’re too young to really know if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone.”

“Why?  I know that Yuuri makes me happy and I want to be with him all the time.  How is that different from you and Baba or Mama and Papa?”

“Things change when you get older, Vitya. You will change, Yuuri will change.  In a couple of years you will look back on this and realize that this was just a passing phase.  I’m not saying that you two won’t stay friends but you just cannot know if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone until you know them for much longer.  And when you’re much older.”  

“Well, I still think you’re wrong.  If you’re not going to tell me how to court Yuuri, I’ll just ask Baba.” Viktor closed his notebook and proceeded to look out the window at the passing houses uncharacteristically quiet in his own silent version of a tantrum.  

Yakov grumbled under his breath.  And this was exactly why he preferred to leave all the talking to Lilia.  

Yuuri placed his shoes and backpack down once he got inside their front door.  Minako walked on ahead to the dining area, eager to take advantage of the large TV there to watch the latest soccer game with his dad.  Mari was beside him taking off her fall coat and hanging it on a coatrack.  

“Give me yours, Yuuri.”  The omega shrugged his coat off and handed it to his sister who stood on her tiptoes to drape it on top of her coat.

Yuuri’s eyes darted around to make sure no one else was nearby. He didn’t know why but he felt self-conscious and wanted to ask his sister alone. “Nee-chan?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

“What does ‘courting’ mean?” His eyes flitted away to look down at his feet when Mari turned around to fix him with a piercing stare.  

“And why exactly do you wanna know about that?”

“Well…”

“Yuuuuriii…” Ah there was that tone again, the tone that his sister took whenever she knew that he was hiding something from her.  

“There were some kids talking about it in school and I just wondered-”

“It’s Viktor, isn’t it?”

Yuuri fiddled with his hands, “I didn’t say that it was him.”

Mari sighed and put her hands on her hips, making her look much older than the 13-year-old she really was.  “But it is him.  I’m right, aren’t I?  Don’t lie to me, Yuuri, you know I can tell if you lie.”

Yuuri gave up his pretense.  “Yes, it’s Viktor.  He wanted us to get married but then our friend Georgi said that he can’t marry me until he courts me first.  Viktor got so sad then but I told him that I can marry him after he courts me.  So what does courting mean?”

Mari’s stern expression quickly turned into one of bewilderment at Yuuri’s words.  Okay, calm down, this was no big deal.  Little kids, omegas especially, liked to play house all the time, right?  This is just another one of those make-believe games.  Although Mari can’t really say for sure since she usually roughhoused with the rest of the rowdier betas and alphas when she was Yuuri’s age, being a bit of a tomboy.  She decided a little bit of information can’t hurt.

“Courting is something grown-ups do to show that they love each other.  In your case, Viktor is the one who will court you and try to show that he can be a good alpha.”

“How?”

“Well…” she recalled some of the older students back in her school.  “He may give you gifts, for one.”  

This got Yuuri excited.  “Really?  Even if it’s not Christmas or my birthday?” Courting must be so much fun!  “Should I get him something too?”

“Usually it’s just the alpha or the beta who does it.”

“Okay!  But maybe I can still think of something to give him.  Wow, I can’t wait to see what Viktor gets me.”  Yuuri gave Mari a hug, “Thanks, Nee-chan! I’m going to do some homework now.”  He bent down to pick up his backpack and went upstairs to his room, all bubbly and cheer.   

Mari just shook her head, amused.  She’s never seen Yuuri so happy to do homework before.  ‘I must really meet this Viktor one time.’  Her curiosity was piqued last Friday when Yuuri first mentioned Viktor but now she really wanted to see just what kind of boy this Viktor was to make her brother so happy.  She walked over to the dining area to join Minako and her father, already hearing the cheers from them and the other avid soccer fans staying at their inn.

Lilia just barely opened the front door before Viktor gave her his customary hug and said, “Baba, please tell me how to court Yuuri.”  She saw Yakov standing behind their grandson who returned her questioning look with a sullen expression.  

“Don’t look at me, he’s all yours. I already tried,” he mumbled as he walked off.  

The corner of Lilia’s lips quirked up in a wry smile.  She could already tell how that conversation must have went.  “What did your deda say?” 

Viktor gave a huff and stomped ahead of her as he made his way over to the parlor where he knew Baba liked to drink her tea and talk to guests.  “Deda wasn’t helpful. He didn’t say anything, just that I can’t marry Yuuri yet cuz only grown-ups can marry.” He turned around to face Lilia when she sat down on her favorite plush chair.  “But I already know that I want to marry Yuuri so I’m going to court him now.” He crossed his arms and stared at his grandmother with a stern expression daring her to defy him.  

Lilia couldn’t suppress the soft laugh that escaped her at the hilarious image of her young grandson trying to look intimidating but only managing to look as threatening as a newborn puppy.  “Vitya, come here.”  She opened her arms and the young alpha quickly complied, giving her a hug.  It was rare for his grandmother to initiate hugs like she did just now.  “You know, right now you reminded me of your mother.”   

Viktor turned his face up, “Really? Was she angry all the time?”

“No, the opposite really.”  Lilia gave him a rare smile and her eyes glazed over while recalling the memories.  “You’re very much like her, same silver hair and same smile.  She was always happy and cheerful just like you.”  

“But then why would I remind you of her just now?”

“It’s because she was happy all the time, that it’s also easy to remember the few times that she wasn’t.”  But back to the topic at hand.  “So you want to know how to court someone?  It’s true though what your Deda said.  Courting and marrying is something only grown-ups do.”  

“But Baba~” Viktor began to whine but didn’t break away from her embrace.  “Why do I have to wait until I grow up if I know that I want to live happily ever after with him now?”

Lilia let out a breath and took a moment to organize her thoughts. It was so difficult to argue with a child’s simple logic. To them things were black and white.  They lived in the present and still didn't appreciate the true concept of the future, as much as little kids always say that they want to grow up. She decided to approach the subject through a different tactic.

“Did you know that your mother didn't like your father when they first met?”

“What? But Mama loved Papa!” Viktor was incredulous at the thought that his parents could have ever been anything but in love with each other. 

“I promise you, I'm telling the truth.  He came off as very arrogant at first, as if he was better than any alpha.”

Viktor nodded his head deep in thought. He remembered Mama telling him to never be arrogant. Was she referring to Papa all the while? “Then how come they got married?”

“Because your Papa changed into a better person. He became nicer. It was difficult at first, but in the end your Mama fell in love with him.”

“But Baba what does this have to do with me and Yuuri?”

“What I'm trying to say, Vitya, is that over time people can change. You may think that Yuuri is the right person for you now but as you two get older, things can change and you may not end up together.” She leaned back to carefully observe Viktor's expression. 

The young alpha was silent, taking the time to absorb her words. “I think… I understand.” 

Lilia nodded and made a move to stand up. “Well then, your tutor should be arriving in a couple of minutes-” 

“But I still think that you and Deda are wrong.”

Lilia paused in surprise and watched as Viktor stepped back and pointed a finger to his heart. “I feel something here, Baba. I know that me and Yuuri will be together. We might change, but I know that we'll still be together.”  Viktor gave a small smile. “I’ll go to the library.  But later tell me how to court Yuuri, okay?”  He didn't wait for her response before going out of the parlor to retrieve his backpack.

Later that evening Lilia went into her husband’s study after tucking Viktor in bed. She opened the door to find Yakov reading a book and nursing a glass of brandy. “Yasha?”

“Hm?” He turned his eyes up and set the book aside. “So how did it go?”

Lilia sat down at the chair opposite his desk. “Better than your conversation with him, I suspect.  But he’s persistent and stubborn.”

“Hn, just like his father then. Damn bastard, passing all his bad traits over to his son.”

“Yasha.”

“Fine, fine I’ll stop.  So what did you end up telling him?” Yakov took another shot of brandy.

“Well in the end I did give him some courting advice.”

Yakov almost choked on his drink and coughed.  “What?! You're actually encouraging this?”

“I don't like to think of it as 'encouraging' but I'd rather have the boy learn from us than get information from other… less reputable sources.  You know that Vitya will just go ask others if we don't tell him anything.”

His wife had a point. “Alright, then what did you tell him?”

“After Yuuri’s ballet recital, he’ll be giving him a bouquet. I promised to take him to the florist tomorrow after his lessons so he can choose what flowers he wants and place an order.”

Yakov leaned his head back and stared at a random point in the ceiling. “We're actually doing this. Letting our grandson court some omega from his class before he even starts puberty.”

“If this is just a phase, it will pass Yasha. After all, children like to mimic adults. Let Vitya play this out. It makes him happy and it's not harming anyone. This weekend we’ll be meeting this Yuuri and his family and we can see for ourselves if everything is alright.”

Yakov had to admit that he was curious to see what the omega was like. “Come, let's go to bed.” He stood up and took his wife's hand and they made their way upstairs.

Before the students knew it another week drew to a close and Sunday came around.  Yuuri was sitting in one of the front row seats after finishing the final rehearsal with his age group.  On the stage the students from the youth level classes began their warm-ups to practice. 

Idleness was never his friend in this situation and he was a basket of nerves as the time of his recital came closer. Not even the thought of seeing Viktor and receiving his first courting gift could calm him down.  Throughout the past week Viktor kept babbling about how excited he was to give Yuuri his first gift and watch his performance.  

Yuuri let out a deep breath as he began to fidget.  Oh he was really beginning to regret inviting Viktor over.

“Yuuri, calm down.”  Phichit walked over when he sensed that his best friend was working himself into a panic. He and Phichit were in Minako’s pre-ballet class.  It was how they knew each other for the past two years before they realized that Phichit was also a student at Kubo International on Yuuri’s first day. The beta gave him a hug.  “Everything will be fine.”

“But what if he sees me mess up?  What if I don't do well and he realizes that he doesn't want to marry me anymore?”  Yuuri whimpered and clapped his hands against his cheeks. “And he told me that his grandparents wanna meet me too. What if they don't like me? And his grandma!”  Yuuri gasped and grabbed Phichit’s shoulders. “Phichit, he told me that his grandma used to be one of the top ballerinas in Russia! She's going to think I'm so bad!”

“Woah, woah, woah Yuuri calm down!”

“Oh I never should have invited Viktor.  This was a bad idea!”

“Yuuri, come on you're going to be great.  And even if you make a mistake-which you won't-Viktor will never go back on marrying you. Remember how excited he was to court you?”

“Yuuri, Phichit, come. Let's go out in the back and do some stretches,” Minako called from the side. She saw the telltale signs of Yuuri's nerves and knew that the omega needed the distraction.  As she expected, Yuuri nodded and stood up, eager to have something to do.

Thirty minutes later Mari arrived together with her mother. She held a camcorder while her mom carried her own camera as they each took seats a couple of rows from the front.  Around them, several families were already starting to filter in.

“It's a shame your father couldn't come,” Hiroko sighed as they settled down.  Toshiya had to leave unexpectedly when their shipment of fresh linens called to say that their truck broke down. It normally wouldn't have been considered anything urgent but they were longtime friends of the family who owned the laundry service they contracted with and Toshiya decided to drive out to help them fix the truck.

“It's okay, Kaa-san, I’ll be sure to record everything for him.” She looked down to power up the camcorder and double-checked that the battery level was good before she heard a loud voice from the back of the auditorium.

“Ah, I'm so excited! Quick, I want front row seats!”

Hiroko and Mari turned around to see a young boy run down the middle aisle, his silver hair trailing behind him free from its usual ponytail, carrying a large bouquet in his arms. It was an odd sight considering that the bouquet was half his height and must have been obscuring quite a bit of his vision as he made his way to the front.

“Vitya, slow down,” an older woman wearing a fashionable gray frock coat followed the boy, walking arm in arm with a man wearing a trench coat and felt hat. The couple carried themselves with a dignified air and looked nothing like the hyper child who had placed the bouquet on a seat and proceeded to stand right next to the stage on his tiptoes, trying to look around the group of students for someone. His guardians both had rather austere looking expressions but didn't look unkind.

“But I’m looking for Yuuri, Baba.” 

“He must be backstage, Vitya, have some patience.”  The man sat down next to the seat with the bouquet while the woman paused at the side of the aisle, examining the ballet students that were going through the motions of their performance.

Hiroko bent down to Mari and whispered, “Is that…?”

“Yeah, that’s Viktor.  And I guess those are his grandparents?” 

“In that case we may as well introduce ourselves then,” Hiroko said cheerfully.  She stood up and called out to Viktor.  “Excuse me, did you say that you were looking for Yuuri?”

Viktor and his grandparents turned around.  The young boy smiled and passed his grandmother to jog up to Hiroko and Mari’s row.  “Yeah!  Do you know where he is?”

Lilia walked up behind Viktor and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Vitya, mind your manners.” 

“Oops, sorry.”  The young boy blushed slightly and smiled bashfully before holding a hand up to Hiroko.  The woman laughed as she shook the boy’s small hand.  “I’m Viktor Nikiforov and I’m Yuuri’s mate.”  This time his words caused Lilia to blush.  Mari could see the man from earlier facepalm at Viktor’s words in the corner of her eyes. 

“O-oh, is that so?”  Hiroko was caught off-guard by the comment.  She turned her eyes to the woman who looked apologetic and flustered.  Hiroko took pity on her and decided not to make a big deal out of Viktor’s words.  “I’m Yuuri’s mother, Hiroko Katsuki,” she extended her hand to the woman who smiled and shook her hand.

“Lilia Feltsman.  I’m Viktor’s grandmother.” She gestured to her husband who stood up and made his way over, “and this here is my husband, Yakov.”  He nodded his head in greeting.

Hiroko patted her daughter’s head and smoothed her hair, her hand coming to a rest on Mari's shoulder.  “This is Mari, my eldest.” 

The young teen straightened her posture and looked up at Lilia and Yakov.  “Nice to meet you.”  She tilted her head down to look at Viktor, “Yuuri’s told me a lot about you.” 

That got Viktor excited again.  “Really?  Do you know where he is?” 

Lilia sighed and sent another apologetic look to Hiroko.  “I’m so sorry for my grandson.  He’s just very excited to see Yuuri and give him his bouquet, which I had already told him,” and with this she stressed her words and gave a squeeze to Viktor’s shoulder in reprimand, “has to wait until after Yuuri’s performance.”

With those words, the lights dimmed and Minako took to the stage with a microphone in hand together with a younger blonde woman, and called for everyone’s attention.  “Ladies and gentlemen, in a couple of minutes our recital will begin.  I’m Minako Okukawa and I teach the pre-ballet and co-teach the boy’s classes with Celestino Cialdini here in the Willowbrook Dance Academy.” 

Minako passed the microphone to the other woman, “And I’m Sarah Feldman and I teach the youth division.  We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to come to tonight’s performances.  We'll begin with ballet followed by our tap, jazz, and modern classes.  The students from our summer classes will proudly display the culmination of all the hard work they’ve put in all summer. I’m happy to say that many of them have decided to stay on for the remainder of the year and I’m sure all of us look forward to their continued growth in the performing arts.” 

The audience clapped as Yakov and Lilia waved their goodbyes to the Katsukis and steered Viktor back to their seats in the front row.

“Well, they seem like a charming family,” Hiroko whispered to her daughter as the two sat down.

“But where are his parents?” Mari wondered aloud.  They didn’t get to continue the conversation however as music began to play and the curtains opened to reveal a line of cute young girls wearing pale pink leotards and white stockings.  As the soft piano notes filtered through the speakers, the girls raised their arms in fifth position and walked across the stage. 

Lilia sighed as she watched the young girls twirl clumsily.  It was so cute to watch when children were just beginning to learn the basic steps. Nostalgia began to take over as she recalled fond memories of teaching younger classes back when she was still a ballerina and she reached over to hold Yakov’s hand. 

“I missed this,” she whispered over to her husband.  He squeezed her hand in response. 

Light flute tones rose in the instrumental music and a smaller group of young boys walked into view and formed a line behind the girls.  In the middle was Yuuri wearing a tight white shirt and dark blue leggings.  Beside him was Phichit. 

“Baba, that’s Yuuri,” Viktor grabbed her arm and pointed to the young omega with his other hand. “And there next to him, that’s Phichit.”

“Shh…” Lilia took a look at Yuuri who appeared deep in concentration as he executed a simple first arabesque in parallel with the other boys.  She was impressed.  Out of the boys, he actually had very good form and was graceful given his age.  The Phichit boy was also pretty good. 

“Isn’t he great, Baba?” Viktor whispered a bit more softly.  “I wonder why he’s not wearing his glasses.” 

Lilia suspected that Yuuri could simply jump up and down the stage and Viktor would still be impressed enough.  As the music drew to a close Minako went on stage and gestured to the dancers who lined up and bowed, her students following suit as the audience clapped. 

Viktor stood up and clapped the loudest.  “Yuuri!  You were great!” He jumped up and down and waved his hands trying to get Yuuri to see him. The young omega appeared to be looking for the source of his voice as he squinted across the bright stage lights.  Viktor got impatient and decided to stand up on his chair ignoring his grandparents' scolding. 

Minako must have seen him though as she stepped over and whispered something in Yuuri’s ear while pointing to Viktor.   Yuuri squinted in his direction and Viktor could tell the moment their eyes met because of the telltale blush that spread across his face. 

“Vitya, get down this instant!” Yakov hissed.  On Viktor's other side, Lilia held on to the boy's hand to make sure that he didn’t fall off the seat. 

Viktor nodded and jumped down from his chair and reached over to grab the bouquet that he handpicked for Yuuri earlier that week. “Okay, I’m going to give it to him now!” 

“Wait!” Yakov attempted to reach over and grab a hold of his grandson but the young alpha was too fast, already weaving his way around the other families who were sitting in the front row. 

A couple of rows behind, Mari watched the young alpha curiously as she held on to the camcorder.  “Wait a second, is he seriously…?” She looked skeptical as Viktor hopped up the steps located at the edge of the auditorium that led to the stage. “Oh god he seriously is.”

Her mother must have seen as well because she whispered an “oh my,” as her wide eyes followed Viktor running in front of the dancers across the stage, clutching the bouquet in both hands.  Yakov was muttering several Russian curses under his breath while Lilia held both hands to her cheeks to cover her embarrassed flush as her eyes followed Viktor's movements.  All around them several members of the audience began to laugh at the spectacle while others continued to clap and cheer the young students. 

Yuuri watched incredulously as Viktor made his way over to him.  “Yuuri, here! My first courting gift to you!” Viktor exclaimed as he presented Yuuri with a bouquet of magnolias, freesias, and primroses interspersed with sprigs of baby’s breath gathered in lilac tissue paper and clear cellophane. The package was neatly tied together with a bright yellow bow.  Yuuri blushed violently as he accepted the flowers, gasping because they were much heavier than he anticipated.  Viktor stepped closer and helped support the flowers with one hand, the other wrapping him in a one-armed hug. 

“You were great, Yuuri!” Viktor said over the sound of the audience.  “Do you like my gift?”

Yuuri shifted the bouquet in his arms so he could see the alpha more clearly.  “I love it, Viktor, thank you. And thanks for coming.”  He smiled up at Viktor who beamed back widely in response. 

Back in the audience Hiroko snapped one picture after another furiously as Mari stood on her tiptoes and zoomed in her camcorder to focus on Yuuri and Viktor. 

“Your father has to see this,” Hiroko gushed.  “This Viktor is just so adorable!”

Mari laughed as she gazed at the image of her younger brother and the alpha in her camcorder’s display.  “You can’t even see Yuuri, Kaa-san! The bouquet’s completely blocking his entire face!” 

It took a moment for the audience to settle down, but eventually a laughing Minako escorted Yuuri and Viktor back down the stage to reunite them with their respective families.  As the rest of the recitals progressed, it was easy to tell who really stole the show that night.  Everyone’s families went back home that evening talking about the adorable scene of an overeager silver-haired boy stealing the show by bounding up the stage and presenting one of the young ballet dancers with flowers. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Meeting of the Two Families

 Viktor has an important list to make. Meanwhile, the Katsukis and Feltsmans come to an understanding.

When Minako led them down from the stage, she passed by Viktor’s row first and passed his hand over to Lilia.  Viktor frowned and made to follow Yuuri back to his seat, but his grandmother held firm.  “You can see him after all the performances are done, Vitya.”

The young alpha pouted but acquiesced, smart enough not to push his luck too far.  He crossed his arms and half-heartedly watched the remainder of the performances, not really interested anymore since Yuuri was no longer in them.

Meanwhile Yuuri took a seat between his mother and Mari, cradling the bouquet carefully in his arms.  “Those are really pretty flowers, Yuuri-chan,” his mother whispered.  “We’ll have to find a vase when we get home.”  

Yuuri nodded and stared down at the flowers, no longer paying attention to anything onstage.  He breathed in deeply and savored the mixed scent of the magnolias and freesias and gently traced the edge of one of the bright yellow primroses.

Once the evening’s program ended, the two families met in the hallway behind the auditorium.  Viktor skipped ahead of his grandparents and reached out to hold on to Yuuri’s hand.  He began to recount the story of how he picked the flowers earlier that week and how hard it was for him to keep it a secret.  Mari curiously watched the two interact behind her younger brother.  Minako stood beside Hiroko, now having changed back from her ballet outfit to her brown trench coat, blue cardigan, and jeans and waited for Lilia and Yakov to walk over. 

Lilia’s eyes softened upon seeing Viktor talking to Yuuri, the two in their own little world.  “I’d like to thank you for inviting us over to Yuuri’s performance.  I’m very sorry for my grandson causing that scene earlier tonight.”  

“Not at all, I thought it was adorable.  They’ve become so close, I’m glad that Yuuri’s found another good friend in his new school.”  Hiroko gave a kind smile as she silently observed Yuuri nodding to something Viktor was saying.   

Minako took the momentary lapse in conversation to clear her throat to address Lilia, “I have to say, Ms. Baronovskaya that we’re very honored to have you here tonight.  I’ve always admired your work.”   

“It was my pleasure, Ms. Okukawa.  You’re a great performer yourself.  I was one of the judges during your Prix Benois de la Danse.  And please, just Lilia is fine. It’s been so long since I’ve heard myself being called by my maiden name.”  

A light pink blush dusted Minako’s cheeks as her eyes widened, “You remember me?” 

“I knew you looked familiar when you went on stage, and the moment you introduced yourself I remembered.”

Minako positively brightened under the recognition and simply nodded in response, her smile wide.   

“Would you and your grandson like to join us for dinner one of these nights?  If tomorrow wasn’t a school day we can have you over tonight, but it may be best to postpone it to another day so that these two won’t be sleeping past their bedtime.”   

Lilia turned around with a questioning glance at Yakov.  He shrugged and nodded.   

“Baba, Deda, can we go? Pleeeaase?  I wanna see Yuuri’s house!”  Viktor must have been listening in as he quickly stepped over and clutched the edge of his grandmother’s sleeve.   

“Well, we wouldn’t want to impose…” 

“Please, the pleasure would be ours.  We’d be happy to have you over.”

“Baba~”  Viktor began to whine and rock on his feet back and forth, still holding on to her arm.

Lilia sighed with fond exasperation at Viktor and took a hold of his hands.  “In that case I don’t see why not.  What day would work best?” 

“Would this Friday evening be good?  At least they won't have school the next day.”   

“That should be fine,” Yakov said.  “We can easily rearrange Viktor’s lessons with his tutor.” 

“And of course, Viktor’s parents are invited as well.  We’d love to meet them.”   

There was a momentary pause and then, “Ah, I’m afraid it will just be me and Yakov accompanying Viktor,” Lilia said as she felt Viktor and Yakov tense by her side.   

Hiroko and Minako sensed that something was off but were thankfully saved by Yuuri.  “I can’t wait!”  The omega piped up as he went over to give Viktor a hug, the first time that he initiated one himself.  “We’re going to have so much fun, Viktor!”  The tension left the taller boy as he smiled back and nodded, eager again to think of the new playdate. 

“Our family runs the Lakeside Inn over by Crystal Lake,” Hiroko said. "Just past Overpeck County Park." 

“We're familiar with that area.  What time would you like us to come over?”   

“Perhaps around six. We don’t anticipate having guests over next weekend so we should have plenty of room in our dining area.”   

“We’ll see you then.  Thank you again.  Say goodnight, Vitya,” Lilia said as she tugged on Viktor’s hand to emphasize their need to leave.   

“G’night, Yuuri! G’night Mrs. Katsuki, Yuuri’s ballet teacher, and Mari!  See you tomorrow, Yuuri!” Viktor said as he walked away towards the guest parking lot with his grandparents.  The Katsukis and Minako waved their goodbyes and walked in the opposite direction to follow Minako’s lead to the employee's parking lot where she had parked her Camry.

“Wow,” Minako breathed.  “I never knew that Lilia Baranovskaya married.  And to think that she’s Viktor’s grandmother!  I’ve got to say though, Viktor must take after the other side of the family because I don't see any resemblance at all.” 

“I am curious why his parents cannot come, it’s a shame.” 

Mari allowed the adults to talk while she watched her brother hold on to the bouquet, touching some of the petals lightly.  “You did great up there, Yuuri.”  

“Thanks,” Yuuri smiled.  “I wanted to be my best since I knew Viktor was there.”   

“He seems nice enough.”

“I told you,”  Yuuri smiled in triumph at his sister’s admission as his eyes spotted a small white card nestled among the flowers.  He reached in a hand to pick it up and quickly recognized Viktor’s messy print. 

Dear Yuuri,

Hope you like my first courting gift! I’ve got more!

Love,                                                  
Viktor  

Yuuri’s face almost split at the size of his grin.  He placed the card back and swung his feet back and forth.  He would have hugged the flowers if he wasn’t so afraid to crush them.  Courting was so much fun, he can’t wait to see what other gifts Viktor had in store.

Hiroko got up from her place on the couch later that night when she heard a car pull up in the driveway.  She opened the front door to find her husband make his way over the walkway, looking a little tired.  There were some grease stains on his navy sweatshirt and a smudge on his left cheek but he otherwise appeared well.   

“Is Yuuri still up?  I’m sorry I missed him.”  He took off his shoes and laid them on the shoe rack by the door and stretched his arms.  

His wife smiled and reached over to wipe the smudge on his cheek with a tissue.  “I just tucked him and Mari in.  He’s probably still awake but I think it’s best to let him sleep.  He has school tomorrow.   How's the Lee's truck?”  

Toshiya stretched and yawned, "We actually got it up and running pretty quickly, but by that time I knew that the recital was almost over so I stayed behind to help them distribute to other clients.  Our sheets are in the trunk of the car, I'll get them tomorrow.  So how was Yuuri's performance?"

“He was great!  You can see for yourself; Mari recorded the entire thing and I took many pictures.  We also met Viktor and his grandparents.  That child is so sweet, he even gave Yuuri flowers.”  

“Is that so?”  

Hiroko nodded.  “Come, I can show you the video. But first, you should eat.  His grandparents are lovely, if not a little strict, but it’s clear that they dote on Viktor.” 

“So Yuuri’s made a good friend?”  

“I think so.  I invited them over for dinner this Friday.  I figured that would be good since it won’t matter if the children sleep a little later and we don’t have any bookings over the weekend.”   

“That’s a great idea.  I’d like to see this Viktor kid myself.  It’s good that Yuuri’s making more friends. I’ve never really seen him excited to go to school before.”  He sat down at the table and Hiroko walked over with a reheated bowl of udon.   

“Did you know that Viktor introduced himself to me as Yuuri’s mate?”  Hiroko chortled.   

“Really now?”  

“It’s very sweet though, this childhood crush that they have.”  Hiroko poured herself a glass of tea as she watched her husband eat.  “But I must admit, I don’t think mine was this serious.  We never actually called each other mates, although we would play house.” 

“I don’t recall myself doing anything like that either. Children tend to pick up on things; this Viktor may be imitating his parents or something to that effect.  Are you worried?” 

“Not really. I mean, I’ve watched them interact myself and everything is innocent.  I can tell his grandparents were embarrassed and they seem to be the type to keep Viktor in check, not that I think he would do anything inappropriate.  It’s hard to think of them doing anything bad with the two being so young.”

“I think you’re right, and we can talk to his grandparents when they come over next week.  But how about this parents?” 

Hiroko’s brows furrowed.  “That’s the thing.  His parents seem estranged from them.  I did extend the invitation to Viktor’s parents but it made the atmosphere awkward.  They simply told me that his parents wouldn’t be able to come.”   

“That’s curious.  Maybe we’ll learn more this Friday.”  The evening progressed peacefully for the couple.  Meanwhile, upstairs, Yuuri slept soundly in his bed, curled on his side and facing the flowers that his mother placed in a porcelain vase by his bedside table.  

“So your Papa made a painting of your Mama as one of his courting gifts?” Viktor asked Leo during recess that Tuesday.  The two were sitting on the dolphin statues located near the slides.  

Leo nodded and looked across the playground watching Guang Hong show Yuuri and Phichit something he picked up off the ground.  “Yep.  He's an artist, so he created a painting of my mom.  She hung it in our living room.”   

Viktor frowned as he wrote down the idea in his notebook.  Leo curiously craned his neck to look over his shoulder.  

“Wow, you’re really serious about this courting thing aren’t you?” He read Viktor’s list which so far only had a few items

    Court Yuuri. Gift Ideas.

• Georgi: Flowers - done! :)
• Georgi: Jewelry, but not jewelry - still have to think of something else!
• Guang Hong: Plushie
• Leo: Make Yuuri a painting

“Of course, I am! I have to prove that I’m the best alpha for Yuuri so we can live happily ever after!”  

“Let me know if you need any help, maybe I can lend you some of my dad’s art supplies.” 

“That’s okay, I can just ask Baba to buy me some.  Thanks, Leo!”  Viktor clicked his pen closed and stood up, looking next for Mila.  Little by little he’s been asking his friends for courting ideas while Yuuri’s been preoccupied.  And so far, his list was still too short.  He looked around the playground and saw Mila standing next to a beta from their class.  Turning around, he saw that Yuuri was now looking at some polaroids that Phichit took earlier that week.  Satisfied that he wouldn’t be missed, Viktor walked over to Mila, notebook in hand.

“Hey Mila,” he waved in greeting and gave a small smile to the beta.  

“Hey Viktor, you know Yuuko right?” Mila gestured to the shorter girl beside her.  The beta smiled back.  “What’s up?”

“I was hoping you can give me some courting ideas.”   

“Oooh, you’re courting Yuuri?”  Yuuko asked, pigtails bouncing as she hopped on the balls of her feet.  “I think it’s great!  You two are really cute together.” She gave Viktor a wink.   

He blushed under her praise.  “Thanks, do you have any ideas too?  I only have a few and I gotta do a good job so that Yuuri can marry me.”   

Yuuko gushed, “Aww that’s so sweet! Let me think, let me think…” she placed a finger on her lips.    

While she was brainstorming, Mila suggested “How about you cook him something?” 

Viktor blinked. “Um… I don’t really know how to cook though…” 

“Well my Mama said that the best way to someone’s heart is through cooking.  She loves to cook, so she would always make Mom’s favorite dishes.  I’m sure you can always ask your Baba or Deda to help you.” 

“Actually we have a chef cook for us.  Baba and Deda don’t cook much.” 

“Then that’s even better! You have someone who cooks as their job, so I’m sure you can easily get your chef to help you!”   

“Hm, okay…” he wrote down the idea but couldn’t help but feel like that would be cheating.  He should do something on his own, shouldn’t he? 

“Oh I have one, how about a love poem, Viktor?”  Yuuko snapped her fingers as the idea came to her mind.  “Write a poem about how much you love Yuuri.  If people do that on Valentine’s Day, then that should be a good courting gift, right?” 

“That’s a good one, thanks Yuuko!” Viktor nodded happily, eager to make his list longer as he jotted her idea down.  He was relieved.  Compared to Leo and Mila’s ideas, a poem sounds a lot easier since he had no idea how to paint or cook. 

On Thursday, Viktor was able to catch Chris by himself while most of their other friends were playing tag.  Chris had gotten tired and was catching his breath while leaning against a tree.  Viktor pretended to need a rest as well.   

“Hey Chris, you got a moment?” 

The other alpha was still panting but nodded, slowly getting his breaths to even out.  “Yeah, just give me a sec…” He allowed himself to slide down to sit at the base of the tree.  After a few seconds passed he finally spoke up, “What is it?” 

“I was hoping you can give me courting ideas for Yuuri.”  Viktor fished out his notebook and opened to a dog-eared page.  He handed it over to Chris who frowned and read it curiously.   

“Your list looks good so far.” 

“Can you think of anything else?” 

“Hmm…” Chris was quiet for a moment.  “How about a massage?”

Viktor looked at him skeptically.  “A massage. Where did you get that idea?” 

“Well, lately my older cousin’s been courting this girl from his high school.  Says it’s pretty serious.  He was hanging out at my house with his friend once and I heard them talking.  His girlfriend always complains that her muscles hurt cuz she’s part of their high school’s swimming team, so he massages her all the time.”

“Okay… I don’t know if Yuuri is going to like it though if his muscles don’t hurt.”  Viktor looked and saw Yuuri on the swings with Yuuko who had joined their group recently.  He never looked like he was in pain.   

Chris meanwhile watched Mila get tagged by Georgi before turning around to give chase to Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong.  “Well, I think it should still be good because my cousin said that it puts omegas in the mood to do other fun things and get to second base.”  

“What other fun things?  And what’s second base?”  Viktor asked, bewildered. 

Chris shrugged, “I don’t know, cuz my mom walked over then and she smacked him on the head for talking about stuff like that in front of me.  I asked him when she left what she meant and he just said I’ll find out when I get older.” 

“Ugh, I hate it when older people say that.” 

“I know, right?! It’s annoying, he says it all the time.  I can’t wait until we get older.”  The two shared a sigh of mutual woe.  Viktor nevertheless jotted the idea down.  

It was on Friday when Viktor was able to approach Phichit alone.  He was the hardest to get by himself since he tended not to stray too far from Yuuri.  Luck was on Viktor’s side that day though when he heard the beta say that he was going back to their classroom to retrieve more polaroid film that he left in his desk.  He followed Phichit and bumped into him on his way back to the courtyard.  

“Hey Viktor, you didn’t need to come in too.” 

“Actually, I was hoping to talk to you alone that’s why.”

“Oh, really?  Why?”  Phichit's smile turned mischievous.  “Is it because of Yuuri?”

Viktor coughed and stood up straight, unconsciously trying to make himself look taller.  “Before I say anything else, you have to promise me not to tell Yuuri anything.” 

“Hmm…” the beta made a show of thinking it over.  “Okay, fine.  As long as it’s nothing bad.”

“Never!” 

“Okay!”  Phichit gave him a smile.  “So what is it?  Tell me, tell me!”

Viktor took out his notebook and flipped to the page.  “I was hoping you can give me some courting ideas for Yuuri.  I’ve already asked everyone else.” 

“Oooh… well I’ve got a couple of ideas.” 

Ideas as in more than one? This is great!  “Awesome, what can you think of?”  Viktor clicked his pen open, ready to take notes.   

“You can take him out somewhere.  Did someone think of that already?” 

“Nope.”  He scribbled it down.  “Like where?”  

“Maybe a movie?  You guys can also eat out somewhere after.  Then maybe you can play in a park or something.” 

“That sounds like a good idea to do on a weekend.  What else?” 

“Well, my dad gave my mom a family heirloom before they married.”  

“What’s a heirloom?” 

“Something special passed down from your family. Like your great grandparent gave it to your grandparent who gives it your parent and then to you.” 

“Ooh…” Viktor was lost in thought as he wracked his head for ideas.  There might be something he can give, he might just have to ask his Deda first.  “Thanks.  Is that all?” 

“Yeah, I’ll let you know though if I think of more ideas!”   

“Thanks Phichit, you’re the best.”   

The beta smiled and gave him a gentle nudge on the shoulder.  “Now come on, let’s go back and you go first so Yuuri doesn’t get suspicious.”

Viktor was practically skipping down the steps once classes ended since he will be joining Yuuri on his ride home that day.  Mrs. Katsuki had called the night before and proposed the idea of having him get a ride home together with Yuuri so that they could play before dinner later that night.  He was ecstatic when Baba gave permission although Deda grumbled a bit over him not doing his homework at first. 

Yuuri smiled seeing how happy Viktor was as the two walked together to Minako’s car.   

“Hey Yuuri, Viktor!”  Minako called from the open window. 

“Hi Minako-sensei!”  Viktor had taken to calling her by the same title that Yuuri used which amused Minako to no end.  Mari opened the door and scooted aside to make room for Yuuri and Viktor.  Once all the kids had their seatbelts on, Minako pulled out of their spot and made their way to the Katsukis.   

“So you excited, Viktor?” Minako called from the front. 

“Really excited!  I can’t wait to see your house, Yuuri.  Thanks for letting me come.”

“Sure, I wanted to be able to see you since we couldn’t hang out last weekend.” 

“Nah, I loved going to your recital.  You were great, even my Baba said so!  And plus, I got to give you my first gift.  Don’t forget, I’ve got another one and I’ll give it to you later today.”  Viktor winked and patted his backpack.

Minako lifted one eyebrow and looked at the two in the rearview mirror.  “What’s this about gifts?  Am I forgetting someone’s birthday?”

Viktor turned to her eagerly, “I’m giving Yuuri courting gifts so that we can marry.”

Minako burst out laughing. “My goodness, you two!  Do your parents know about this, Yuuri?”

The omega blinked and blushed. He ducked his head down.  

“I’ll take that as a ‘no.’  Oh boy, you two never cease to surprise me!  Was that what your flowers were for, Viktor?”

“Yup!  It’s okay, Minako-sensei, I can tell Yuuri’s parents later.  My Papa always told me that a good alpha doesn’t keep secrets from family, and Yuuri’s kinda like my family now too since we’re mates!”   

“I’m sure Yuuri’s parents will be glad to hear that,” Minako sniggered to herself in her own private joke while Mari gave the woman an unimpressed look.   

The ride to Yuuri’s house took slightly longer.  Viktor looked out every now and then to find that they were in a sleepy suburb with the houses spreading further and further apart.  They passed several historical monuments and landmarks, as well as the county park that he knew his grandparents sometimes went to for walks on the weekend.  Minako made a turn down a winding hill and they passed a wooden sign that said “Lakeside Inn” that hung at the entrance of a narrow gravel road.  Tall spruce and pine trees surrounded them on all sides before they stopped in front of a Victorian cottage.   

“And here we are~”  Minako sang as she put the car on park and got out.  

Viktor pushed his side door open and took Yuuri’s hand to help him hop down while Mari got out on the other side.   

“Ah, what a gentleman!" Minako clapped.  "Come, let’s go in.”   

Viktor meanwhile craned his head to look around the trees surrounding the lawn.  “Wow, I didn’t know you lived in a forest Yuuri!  Your house looks so cool!”   

“Wait til you see the lake out back,” Mari said, walking beside Yuuri.  

Viktor’s eyes widened.  “Woah, you live by a lake!?” 

Mari chortled.  “Yeah, hence the name ‘Lakeside Inn.’  Not really original, but my dad just kept the name from when his uncle used to own it.” 

Viktor stood back and allowed Minako, Mari, and Yuuri to enter through first.  He took in the sight of the small but homey-looking interior.  There were several landscape paintings that hung in the foyer but he could barely make out some family photos in the hallway leading to the stairs.   

“You wanna hang out in the back?” Yuuri asked, shrugging off his backpack.

“Yeah, I wanna see the lake!”  

Minako called from the living room, "You two be careful, okay?  Don't get too close to the lake, I don't want to have to fish you two from the water!"

"Don't worry, Minako-sensei we'll be good!"

“Yeah, we’ll be good!” Viktor called as he allowed Yuuri to take his hand and lead him to the backdoor which opened to an elevated deck.   

Mari was right, the backyard--if it could be truly called a backyard, held an even better view.  The house was perched on a gentle slope that ended with a wooden dock which stretched several feet into the lake.  There was a canoe and two kayaks tied at the end, rocking up and down gently in the water.  He could see a large shed several feet away from them that had several oars resting against its side.  A few feet from that were three sets of picnic tables and benches.  He shifted his gaze to the other side of the yard to see a volleyball net and portable basketball hoop that had extra sandbags placed on top of its base.

As they walked down the deck’s stairs Viktor saw a small fenced garden that held a few flowers but much more vegetables.  Yuuri followed his gaze and explained, “My mom likes to grow some of our vegetables herself.”  

“I think it’s neat!  We have a garden too in my house but it’s just flowers.”  

The two made their way over to a wooden swing near the lake and the two climbed on top of it, turning their gaze back to the water.  They sat in silence for a while, Yuuri allowing Viktor to take some time to absorb the view.  After a couple of moments Viktor breathed out, “This place is awesome Yuuri, you must have a lot of fun here.”

Yuuri smiled bashfully and kicked his feet back and forth, setting the swing in motion. “I like it too, but it gets boring after awhile. I mostly just stay inside now.”

“If I lived here, I would go on adventures everyday!”

Yuuri giggled and Viktor smiled, reaching over to hold his hand. “No really, look!"  He pointed to a small dot at the opposite edge of the lake.  “See that land?  That’s where the dark kingdom is.  An evil witch lives there and we gotta protect our castle here from her dark powers! Cuz if we don’t, everything in your Mama’s garden will die and everyone in the kingdom will starve.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened and gasped starting to get into the story, “How would we stop her?”

“It’s easy, I’ve got a magic wand,” he reached down and picked up a long branch on the ground and began to twirl it around. “The only wand that can cast spells powerful enough to kill the witch!”

“How about me?”

“You can be the kingdom’s top knight!”

Yuuri laughed and leaned his head back, looking up at the sky through the gaps in the wooden awning.

“Oh before I forget,”  Viktor said as he picked up the backpack he had carried with him.  “You ready for your second gift?”  He grinned when Yuuri’s head snapped up and leaned in eagerly.  

“Yes, please!” He watched intently as Viktor unzipped the bag and fished for the item inside.

Viktor took out a large package in green tissue paper and gave it to Yuuri.  The omega took it into his hands feeling something soft inside. No wonder Viktor was able to squeeze it in his bag. “Go on, Yuuri, open it!”

“Okay.”  The sound of paper tearing filled the air surrounding them. “Ah, it’s so cute!”  Yuuri gasped at the stuffed brown poodle.  “Oh, what’s this?” he noticed a little slit along the dog’s spine.  

“It’s also a tissue box cover, so you can put tissues in it.  Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I love dogs! Thank you so much, Viktor!"  Yuuri beamed and nuzzled his cheek against its fur and breathed in the scent. It smelled strongly of Viktor.

“I always wanted a dog too.  I have a similar plushie at home,” Viktor smiled in satisfaction at seeing Yuuri in awe at his gift. This courting thing was a piece of cake!   

“What a charming place they have,” Lilia said a couple of hours later as she stepped out of the car, taking Yakov’s offered hand.  

“I just pray that this dinner will go peacefully.  The last thing I need is our grandson making another scene.”

The two walked up the steps and Yakov pressed the doorbell.  After a few moments, the door opened to reveal Hiroko.  “Welcome!” she greeted as she opened the screen door and stepped aside to let the two in.  

Lilia noticed the shoes along the doorway and made to ask if they should remove theirs but Hiroko shook her head.

“Please feel free to leave them on, all of our inn’s guests walk with shoes in here.  It’s just a hard habit for us ourselves to break.”

“You have such a lovely home, Hiroko.  How are the children?”

“Thank you!  Viktor and Yuuri ate with Mari earlier. The two had a great time playing outside.  They tired themselves out and fell asleep while watching some cartoons. I had my husband carry them upstairs to Yuuri’s room to sleep.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“Oh it’s no trouble really.”  Hiroko stepped into the dining area and gestured to the biggest table where the food was already set.  Minako and Toshiya stood up when they saw the guests.  “Anata, this is Lilia and Yakov.”

Toshiya made his way over and shook Lilia and Yakov’s hand. “Toshiya. It’s great to meet you two.”  

“Our pleasure as well,” Lilia gave a soft smile as she shook his hand.  Toshiya pulled out a chair for her and gestured to Yakov to take the seat beside her.  Lilia nodded to Minako who sat across from her, “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you too, Lilia,” Minako smiled, still unable to believe that she was now on a first name basis with one of her childhood idols.

“We hope you didn’t wait too long for us,” Yakov spoke up as he looked at the dishes in front of them.

“Not at all. We did say six after all. It was all in good time since I added some extra side dishes.”

“Thank you again for having us,” Lilia said as Yakov was passed some salad.  He looked curiously at the sesame dressing but poured it over the greens before he passed it over to her.  

“And we’re happy to have you here.  With our Yuuri and Viktor getting to be such good friends, I figured that it would be nice for us to get to know each other.  The two had so much fun earlier today,” Hiroko smiled as she offered a teapot.  “Green tea?” She offered Yakov first.

“Yes, please.  Thank you.”

“It is such a nice place you have here.  Yakov and I sometimes go on walks in the nearby county park.  We just never ventured down this road before.”   

“I’m not surprised, this is such a sleepy town,” Toshiya spoke while his wife poured Lilia her tea. “But we do tend to get good business since there are not a lot of major hotel chains in the area.  Many people like to come here for the historic landmarks and prefer a small family-owned inn anyway.  The lake view is the main attraction.”

“Has your family always lived here?” Yakov asked.  

“No, we used to live in Japan until Mari was five-years-old.  My uncle used to run this place with my aunt but after he passed away my aunt gave it to us, since she preferred to move to Hawaii where my cousins lived.  At that time, we used to own a hot spring business in Japan but there was just not enough visitors to keep it afloat.  We moved here then.  Minako herself moved here about a year after us.  How about you and Viktor?”

Yakov took a sip from his tea and placed the cup down.  “Viktor was born in New York City, but his parents moved here shortly after looking for a quieter place to raise him.  Lilia and I originally came here for vacation some time ago, but when his father had to go back to Russia for business she and I stayed behind to take care of Vitya.”   

The unspoken question hung in the air.  Lilia decided to finally lay it out in the clear.  “Vitya’s mother, our Katya, died almost a year ago.”  She placed a comforting hand on Yakov’s arm when she felt her husband tense at the mention of their daughter.  

There was the sound of dropped cutlery and Minako mumbled an apology.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” Hiroko gasped out. “Poor Viktor! I’m just grateful that you’re here for him.”

“Your grandson is very strong to go through something like that so young,” Toshiya said frowning. “My condolences.”

“Thank you.  To be honest our Vitya didn’t fare well for several months.  He was very close to his mother.”

“Of course, there’s no stronger bond than that between a mother and child.”

Yakov gave a weary sigh that appeared to age him several years, “He refused to leave his room for the first two months no matter how hard we tried to drag him out.  And even then he was a shell of what he used to be, simply going through the motions. He hardly spoke a word.  It’s only for the past month or so that he began to be part of the living world again.”

Lilia gave a sad smile.  “That’s why we were so happy when he and Yuuri became friends.  Viktor’s progressed so much these past few weeks, and we think a big part of it is because of your son.”

“And we’re happy too that Yuuri’s found a friend in Viktor. You see our son,” and at this Hiroko's eyes flitted to her husband who nodded in encouragement. “Our Yuuri has always been an anxious boy.  Even at a young age he’s always felt pressure to do well and doesn’t take setbacks or failures easily.  We’ve always done our best to encourage and support him.  Your son has done wonders in making Yuuri feel more at ease in school.  It’s the first time that we’ve seen him look forward to going to class.”

Lilia nodded and was thankful that the feeling was mutual in the two family’s appreciation for Yuuri and Viktor’s friendship.  She decided to address the other elephant in the room.  “I believe you are aware of this little courting game that they’re playing, correct?”

Hiroko giggled and her husband chuckled. “Ah, yes, Minako had informed us of it earlier today.  And Viktor himself told us that he was courting Yuuri so that they could get married.”

Yakov groaned, “We’d just like to let you know that we have tried talking Vitya out of it, but our grandson doesn’t listen and won’t see sense.”

Lilia quickly cut in, “Please do understand that we assure you that nothing… inappropriate will happen.  I keep a close eye on my grandson and we make sure that he doesn’t get his hands on anything that would be a negative influence on him.”

“Oh please do not worry yourselves,” Hiroko reassured, “I never suspected that anything like that would happen. Viktor’s clearly a well-behaved child and he’s a young gentleman when it comes to Yuuri. I’ve only ever seen them hug or hold hands, nothing more.” Beside her Toshiya nodded while Minako remained silent, lost in her own thoughts.   

Later that evening the Katsukis lead Yakov and Lilia upstairs.  They passed Mari’s bedroom and Hiroko paused to open the door to Yuuri’s room carefully, trying not to make any noise.  Everyone’s eyes softened at the scene in front of them.  

The lights were left on and they could see Yuuri curled on his side a foot apart from Viktor who lay facing him on the omega’s twin-sized bed.  The blankets were drawn up to Yuuri’s shoulders but Viktor must have kicked his off during his sleep, the sheets entangled around his ankles.  Between them was the brown poodle plushie/tissuebox cover that Viktor bought for Yuuri earlier that week. But the sweetest part was how, even in sleep, the two held hands in the space between them.

Hiroko stepped aside and watched as Yakov walked up to the bed, eyes uncharacteristically tender taking in the peaceful view in front of him.  Lilia made her way beside him and gently reached over to softly cradle Viktor’s cheek in her palm, watching as his eyelids fluttered open at the contact.  “Baba?”  He mumbled something in Russian.

Lilia grinned, “We must go now, Vitya. It’s late.”  

Viktor groaned and snuggled further into the bed closing his eyes again.  “Wanna stay with Yuuri.”  

Yakov sighed and reached down to pick up his grandson, grunting at the weight.  “Another time, Vitya.”  

Viktor whined and continued to hold on to Yuuri’s hand even as he felt himself being lifted up.  The movement jostled Yuuri awake and the omega whimpered, still half-asleep.  “Viktor?”  He yawned and turned over to see Viktor being carried by his grandfather.

“Come now, Vitya, let go.  You can sleep over another time,” Lilia wheedled. Viktor pouted when Yuuri himself let go of their hands to rub the sleep from his eyes.  

“Bye, Viktor.” Yuuri watched him from his place on the bed and waved.

“Bye, Yuuri,” Viktor waved sadly as he rested his head on his grandfather’s shoulder.  The two held each other’s gaze until he was carried out the room, Toshiya turning off the lights and closing the door behind him.  

Back in the bed Yuuri sighed with his arm still stretched out at his side. The area of the bed where Viktor had lain was still warm.  His hands felt the soft artificial fur of the plushie Viktor gave him earlier that day and he reached over to pull it close to his chest, burying his face into its soft warmth.  It was no substitute for the alpha but it still had his scent and he allowed himself to be lulled by it, feeling himself falling into slumber again.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: The Courtship of Yuuri Katsuki

Ganbatte, Vitya-chan! Davai!

The following Monday night Viktor sat hunched over one of the desks in the library.  He had long since finished his homework, his tutor having already left two hours earlier.  Around him were several crumpled pieces of lined paper.  He frowned in concentration as he tapped his pen against the edge of the notebook, making several dots against the page as he reread the entire piece from start to finish.

My dear Yuuri

Sweet omega, smiles soft and bright

You make my heart happy

When I see you, I feel so light

Eyes rich like chocolate

And hands perfect in mine

You can keep my heart and lock it

Because only with you I shine

When we marry, I hope it will be soon

I will be the perfect alpha and mate

I would give you anything, even the moon

Because this our destiny, this is our fate

So please accept me

And say that I can call you mine

I will be forever happy

If we can be together for all of time

His frown melted away and his eyes shone brighter as he reached the end of the poem.  That sounded as good as it will ever get.  “This is the best one so far,” he said, finally leaning back and stretching.  Beyond the library’s open door he heard his Baba’s voice call for him.  

He gasped when he saw the time on the grandfather clock.  “Wow, it’s already seven?” No wonder, he was late for dinner!  He closed his notebook and hopped off the chair finally feeling the pangs of hunger.  First things first, he’ll get some food then he can rewrite the poem on nicer paper. Maybe he can even ask Deda to give him some of that fancy paper he kept in his study.  

---

Viktor gifted Yuuri with the poem during recess two days later.  He stepped back and let the omega read it grinning when he saw the omega’s face get redder and redder with every line he read.  Behind him was Phichit and Yuuko.  The rest of their friends were preoccupied playing in another area of the playground.

Yuuri appeared to be at a loss for words and looked like he was re-reading the poem again from the very top while Yuuko sat back and swooned.  “Viktor that was the sweetest thing I’ve ever read!  You’re so good with words.”

“Well done Viktor. Look, I think Yuuri can’t talk anymore. It’s that good!” Phichit teased, nudging his best friend who ducked his head behind the paper.

“Th-thank you Viktor.  This was really good. You should be a poet,”  Yuuri’s smile outshone the sun.  

Viktor’s chest puffed up with pride. The cramped fingers and endless revisions were worth it.

Now if only he was just as successful in making this painting.  This time, Viktor was in the sunroom that weekend sitting on a wooden stool in front of a canvas propped up on an easel.  The light from the glass panes bathed the room in a warm glow in the October afternoon.

Earlier that week he had convinced his Baba and Deda to take him to a local art and crafts store to buy the supplies he needed to make a new painting.  Instead of oils, the store employee recommended acrylics and suggested the cheap student-quality paints seeing as he was still young and new to painting.  However, Viktor protested, determined that he will make this painting with nothing but the finest supplies.  With the brushes, easel, canvases (he got several since judging from his poem it would prolly take him several tries until he was satisfied), palette, and paints, the combined cost ended up totalling over $200 which to any other family would have been quite the indulgence for a child’s sudden whim to paint.

He told his grandparents that they learned some stuff in art class and wanted to give it a shot but saw how his Deda narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. He had a feeling that his Baba suspected something too but decided to play along.

He looked down at the table he asked one of the maids to set up next to the easel for him which held several open art books of various paintings, trying to draw some inspiration from them. On the other side were some polaroids of Yuuri, courtesy of Phichit, so that he had a reference.

His eyes bored holes into the empty canvas in front of him as if it personally offended him.  He huffed.  Well, this painting wasn’t going to paint itself.  He dipped his brush in some water, wiped off the excess on a napkin like he read in the “Acrylic Painting for Beginners” book he bought, and dipped it into some of the blue paint before making a swipe across the canvas.  

---

"It's... well, it's interesting, I’ll give it that." Minako commented as she stared at the painting that Toshiya just finished hanging in their foyer. Yuuri’s father set aside the original landscape painting that used to hang on the wall as he, Mari, and Hiroko stared at the new addition to their interior decor.

Mari and Minako were curious when they saw Yuuri walk over to the car earlier that day carrying a large rectangular package wrapped in brown paper.  He said that it was another courting gift from Viktor but the alpha told him not to open it until he got home. Once they arrived home, Minako gathered Hiroko and Toshiya as Yuuri opened the package to reveal a painting housed in a varnished wooden frame.  Yuuri had tilted his head at it curiously, not sure what to make of it, but asked his father to hang it before going upstairs to do his homework.

“I still don’t really get what it’s supposed to be,” Mari muttered as she took a step closer to peer at it.  The style reminded her of the paintings they learned about in art class, with the brushstrokes similar to a Van Gogh painting.  However Viktor's strokes were a bit thicker, a bit wilder, and way more erratic.  The image was less defined compared to a typical impressionist painting which made it even more difficult to distinguish what the subject was.

“Oh here, look at this part,” Hiroko pointed to a set of two short blue lines above two thicker whitish-gray strokes.  “These here look like Yuuri’s glasses.”

“Huh?” Minako said skeptically, “You mean to tell me that this is supposed to be a portrait of Yuuri?” She tilted her head as if it would make it easier for her to find Yuuri’s likeness.

“Ah, now that you mention it, I kind of see the resemblance now.”  Toshiya chuckled.  “Look at the mix of black, dark blue, violet, and brown above.  I think that’s supposed to be his hair.”

“But why is the skin a weird mix of pale yellow, white, pink, and beige?”

“I guess that’s just the style?”

“Well it’s a weird style then,” Mari said, finally stepping back to take the entire image in.

“Dio mio! What a beautiful work of art!”  An accented voice cried out from behind the group and everyone turned around to see Mr. Viscomi, an Italian tourist who had been staying at their inn for the past two days.  The elderly man clapped his hands, his eyes alight with wonder as he gazed at Viktor’s painting.  “Scusi, permesso, please let me get closer.”  

The group parted to allow the man through and watched with puzzled expressions as Mr. Viscomi stepped right up to the painting and leaned back.  “Che bellissima!  What an invigorating painting!  The composition, the brushstrokes, the depth, the sheer magnitude of emotions-I can just taste the longing and admiration the artist holds for this subject.”

The Katsukis and Minako were amazed at the outpouring of praise the man heaped upon the painting. This was the liveliest they’ve ever seen him.  

“Well, some of the lighting is off… yes… but still, it’s not enough to detract from what is obviously a sheer amount of raw talent!”  Mr. Viscomi peered at the corner of the painting, trying to read the messy signature.  “V. Nikiforov?  I don’t believe I’m familiar with that artist.  Sounds Russian.”  He turned around to address Toshiya.  “How much?”

Toshiya blinked.  “I beg your pardon?”

Mr. Viscomi gestured to the painting wildly.  “Please, I would like to purchase this painting.  I’m an art collector, Mr. Katsuki, and I must have this for my collection.”  

Hiroko spluttered in disbelief.  “I’m sorry, Mr. Viscomi, but I’m afraid that the painting is not for sale.”

“Five thousand dollars!  I will pay five thousand for this painting.”

“I… we…”  Toshiya’s eyes widened comically and turned his head desperately to his wife. It was so tempting!  Minako was no longer hiding her disbelief, her jaw dropping at the offer.

“Seven thousand dollars!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Viscomi, but...it’s not for sale.”  Hiroko repeated, but this time her words were weak as she balked at the amount of money.  Beside her, Minako gasped for air and clutched at her chest as if it physically pained her that Hiroko turned down the man.

“Then do you have others from this artist?  Do you know the artist?  I must meet him or her.  You don’t understand, this talent must be recognized!  I must take some pieces for an exhibit!”

“Viktor told me that this was his first painting,” a small voice piped up.  Mari and the adults turned around to see Yuuri walking down the stairs, looking at the scene in front of him curiously.  He ducked his head down when he saw everyone look at him. “I-I don’t know if he made others. He told me he had a hard time making this one.”

“Ah, hello young man,” Mr. Viscomi smiled gently, walked over, and bent down so that he was eye level with Yuuri.  “And who is this Viktor?  He’s a very talented painter.”

Yuuri turned his eyes to the floor and mumbled, still uneasy at talking to strangers especially grown-ups, “Viktor’s my mate.  He painted this for me as a courting gift.”

“Mi scusi, did you say ‘mate’?”  Mr. Viscomi muttered something in Italian. “Americans are much more forward than I thought.  Is this some odd custom I’m unaware of, having kids court each other?” He directed the question to Hiroko and Toshiya.  

Hiroko blushed while her husband simply shook his head vehemently. “Ah… it’s just a little game the two play.  Viktor is one of Yuuri’s classmates.”

“Davvero?  You mean to tell me that I’ve been praising a five-year-old’s masterpiece?”

“V-Viktor is seven.” Yuuri whispered.

The man gasped.  “An undiscovered child prodigy. This is excellent! Oh the art community will love this!  What do you say to $10,000?”  

In the end, a disgruntled Mr. Viscomi finished his stay and left two days later without a single painting. He did make Toshiya promise, however, that he would arrange a meeting between him and Viktor Nikiforov when he comes back to the area on his next trip to the United States.

Viktor’s next challenge was to somehow cook Yuuri something.  He had asked Mila to ask her Mama for a simple recipe and she had returned the following day with a list of instructions on how to make a chocolate cupcake.  He then asked their chef, Mr. Moreau, to set aside the ingredients.  When the man offered to bake for him, Viktor turned down his offer, saying that he was planning to bake with his Baba later that night. That earned him a raised brow but Mr. Moreau complied and left earlier that afternoon, typically leaving early since he and his grandparents often ate dinner out during the weekends.

Right now Deda and Baba were walking out in the county park near Yuuri’s house as they liked to do on lazy Sundays like today.  They invited him to join them but Viktor declined, saying that he was going to make something else for Yuuri.  Now that he was alone he can get to work.  

Viktor fished out the recipe that Mila got from her Mama. There were only six steps and they seemed simple enough.  He rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the mixing bowl and looked back at the recipe.  It called for ¾ cup of cocoa powder.  Viktor had a hard time opening the box and ended up getting a whole bunch of cocoa powder on himself when he was finally able to pry it open. He was about to pour it into the measuring cup but stopped.  If ¾ cup was good, then the full box would be even better, right?  That should add some extra chocolate flavor to it!  He nodded and poured the entire box into the mixing bowl.  

What’s next… ah, ¾ cup of flour, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.  Viktor was unable to find the actual measuring spoons so he just did his best estimating the amount using a regular tablespoon.  

Then the recipe called for three large eggs.  He went over to the fridge and grabbed them from the side shelf.  Just toss them in right?  Viktor dropped them in the bowl and watched as one of them cracked against the side, making the yolk and egg white dribble down the shell and into the disastrous mixture.  

The last thing was the butter sticks.  He went over to the fridge again but found that there were only two.  Now that wouldn’t do.  He grabbed a chair to see if he may have just missed one of them but still couldn’t find any. He did, however, find a box of cream cheese sticks further back.  Cream cheese, butter, what’s the big difference?  They were both sticks so that was close enough.  Viktor reached over and opened the package to take one out and tossed it together with the butter sticks into the bowl.  

Now for the actual mixing.  Mr. Moreau had helpfully left the mixer out and prepped it on one of the granite counters.  Viktor placed a chair against the counter and grunted as he struggled to climb up the chair while carrying the mixing bowl.  He can’t wait until he’s older so he can also get taller! He lifted the top of the mixer and placed the bowl inside before replacing the top so that the beaters dug into the mixture.  

Here goes nothing… Viktor pressed the on button and promptly yelped when some of the flour and raw egg splattered against him.  He desperately looked at the appliance and pressed the buttons randomly until one of them finally turned down the speed.  Unfortunately he was too late since most of the recipe was now on him in the form of cracked eggs and globs of half-mixed flour and cocoa powder.  Viktor groaned in dismay when he saw that there was hardly any left in the bowl.  

He growled in frustration and sat down in the chair. Good alphas never give up!  Yuuri was worth it!  He got off the chair and pushed it over to the cabinets that he knew had a whole bunch of instant and premixed food.  There’s gotta be something else he can make!  

---

That peaceful walk did wonders.  There was nothing like a breath of fresh air, warm sun, and a good conversation with his wife that rejuvenated and helped put Yakov in a rare good mood.  Now all he needed was some brandy together with his favorite book to top it off.  The couple walked up the front steps to the mansion and Yakov got the front door open.  

Once he did, all senses were on high alert. Something was terribly wrong.  While he couldn’t see it, he could clearly smell smoke.  Beside him Lilia gasped.  “Vitya!”  There was a commotion coming from the kitchen.  The two quickly ran over to the source of the sound, the smell of the smoke getting stronger.  By the time they reached the hallway leading to the kitchen they could already see smoke and most alarmingly, the flickering light from what were undoubtedly flames beyond the doorway that lead into the kitchen.  

“VITYA!”  Yakov called out as the two finally entered the kitchen. His grandson’s back was facing him just a couple of feet away as Viktor stared eyes wide at the flames that came from what used to be their microwave.  In front of it was Anna, one of their maids, who was struggling with the fire extinguisher.  

“Bozhe moi,” Lilia breathed in horror as she quickly grabbed Vitya and held her to him making him step further away from the flames.  

“Give it here!”  Yakov grabbed the fire extinguisher and pushed Anna away to safety as he stepped up to the flames and activated the extinguisher, sending a steady stream of white foam into the base of the fire.  After a few seconds all the flames were extinguished.  Yakov tossed the extinguisher aside and gasped for breath.  He literally just lost at least five years of his life right there.  “What happened?!” He turned to Anna, the poor woman trembling and shaking her head.  

“I don’t know, Mr. Feltsman!  I came here when I heard Vitya yelling and saw the flames!”

“It’s my fault,” a quivering voice came from the boy still held tightly in Lilia’s arms.  “I did it. It was all my fault.”  Tears began to stream down Viktor’s face and he flinched when Yakov turned his angry gaze to him. “I’M SO SORRY!” The boy began bawling and turned around to bury his face in his grandmother’s middle.  

Yakov was about to make a retort but cut himself off when Lilia gave a warning look.

“Vitya...it’s alright.  We’re just happy that you’re okay. That Anna’s okay.  But please tell us what happened.” Lilia ran her hands through Viktor’s long hair as she tried to soothe the young alpha.  

“I was trying to cook.”  

Yakov closed his eyes in exasperation as he turned away and began to rub his temple.  He already knew where this was going.  

“Cook?  But Vitya you could have just gotten me to make you something,” Anna said.

“I wanted to cook something for Yuuri on my own. It would be cheating if I got someone else to help me.”

Anna frowned in confusion, not knowing who Yuuri was or what he had to do with Viktor’s sudden urge to cook.

Lilia gave a weary sigh as she knelt down in front of Viktor. “Oh Vitya…”

“I’m sorry.”  

Yakov walked over and stopped in front of them.  Lilia shook her head and mouthed ‘not now.’  The poor boy was clearly remorseful enough. “It’s alright, Vitya, it’s alright.  Just please don’t do anything like that again. You scared us.”

The boy nodded furiously. “I promise.”

Viktor was uncharacteristically despondent and quiet the following day in school. Yuuri could tell that something was instantly wrong when Viktor could hardly look into his eyes when he greeted him a good morning before the bell rang for classes.  The young alpha lacked his usual cheer as he sat down and laid his head on his arms, tracing random patterns on his desk with his index finger.

Yuuri turned around to see Mila, Georgi, and Chris frowning at Viktor.  That confirmed that he wasn’t imagining things.  

---

“Hey Viktor, can I talk to you alone?” Yuuri approached Viktor during recess.  Behind him, Phichit, Leo, Guang Hong, Georgi, Mila, and Yuuko carefully observed their interaction.  

“Huh?” Viktor was staring off in space.  “I’m sorry Yuuri, what did you say?”

“Can I talk to you alone?” Yuuri repeated. He was carrying a bag in one hand and held out his other to Viktor.  The alpha blinked at the offered hand before he took it, getting up from the bench.  

“Oooh look at that, your chubby little lovebird wants to talk to you Nikiforov!”  A stocky alpha one year ahead of them called out.  Viktor turned around, frowning, and was about to yell back when Yuuko beat him to it, huffing and stomping over to the older student.

“Hey, Takeshi Nishigori! You leave them alone right now!”  Yuuri blinked, never seeing the cheerful girl this angry before.  Yuuko actually growled and stood on her tiptoes, trying to intimidate the older alpha.

It appeared to work since Takeshi actually raised his arms in front of him in defense, clearly wary of Yuuko who had her fists clenched by her sides. “Okay, okay, sheesh.” He actually blushed and pouted, walking away dejectedly.

Yuuri was a bit confused with Takeshi’s response but he had more important things to take care of. Namely, his upset mate. Viktor was still staring at the space where Takeshi was.  Okay, something was definitely wrong. “Come on, Viktor.”  He tugged the alpha’s hand and he complied, turning around and letting Yuuri take the lead as the omega led them to a secluded tree at the corner of the courtyard.  

Yuuri sat down, placing his bag beside him and Viktor copied him, crossing his legs and not bothering when the position caused some grass stains on his pants.  Yuuri allowed a few seconds to pass before he asked, “What’s wrong, Viktor?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”  That did not sound convincing at all. “Just tired is all.”

“Hmm… okay.”  Yuuri turned to look up at the leaves above them. Some were already turning slightly yellow.  “So nothing happened this weekend?”  He looked back at Viktor to see the alpha wince and duck his head down.  Yuuri narrowed his eyes at the motion. It was so odd to see his own tic mirrored by Viktor and even stranger still to see the alpha so reclusive and closed-off. He squeezed Viktor’s hand.

Viktor sighed and mumbled. “Maybe a little something did happen.”  Yuuri remained quiet. He wanted Viktor to tell his story on his own pace and didn’t want to pressure him.

“Or maybe… something kinda big happened.  I might have caused a fire in our kitchen.”

That confession surprised Yuuri as he gasped and turned his whole body to face Viktor. “Oh my god, is everyone okay?”

“Y-yeah everyone’s okay!  Deda was really angry but I think Baba stopped him from punishing me cuz I normally would get in reaaally big trouble for something like this.”

“How did you set the kitchen on fire?”

Viktor ran his hands through his hair in frustration.  “I was trying to bake you a cupcake as my next gift, but I spilled the mix all over me so I tried to microwave you some soup for lunch instead.”

Yuuri frowned, confused. “But my mom microwaves soup all the time and she never caused a fire.”

“Anna says it’s cuz I left it in the can.”

“Oh…”

Viktor groaned and pressed his knees against his chest, burying his face in his arms. “I’m so sorry Yuuri, I’m such a terrible alpha.  I was gonna make you something good and I couldn’t cook you anything. I don’t have a gift for you this week, but I promise I’ll get you an even better one next week to make up for it!”  He lifted his face up to reveal tears streaming down his cheeks.  “You’ll still marry me, won’t you?”  His lips began to tremble as he held in a sob.

Yuuri’s heart broke at the agonized expression on Viktor’s face.  He never wanted to see him like this again.  Viktor was always cheerful, always bright like sunshine and it was all levels of wrong to see the alpha like this. “Viktor, please it’s okay!”  You’d think he said the opposite though because his words just caused Viktor to cry even more.  “Really, Viktor!  We’re mates and I’ll definitely marry you no matter what!  I don’t even care if you never even gave me gifts.”

Viktor rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “R-really?  Even if I can’t prove myself as an alpha?”

“Yeah, really.”  Yuuri smiled and reached over to wipe away the tears with the edge of his sleeve. “Cuz you’re already perfect. You're my alpha, remember?”

Viktor laughed in relief and he bent his head forward until his forehead was resting against Yuuri’s. The omega giggled at the contact.  “And besides, this time I have a gift for you !”  

“What?  A gift for me?” Viktor blinked in confusion. “But why? I’m the one who’s supposed to be courting you.”

Yuuri shrugged and turned around to retrieve the bag he placed beside him earlier. “I didn’t want to be the one getting the gifts all the time, so I wanted to make you something. As a thank you too for everything until now.”  He placed the bag in front of Viktor. “Here, go on ahead.”  

A shadow of a smile appeared on Viktor’s lips as he reached out to pull the bag closer to him.  He pulled out the tissue paper in it to see a curious shape inside. “Oooh, what’s this?” He reached in and  felt paper against his fingers as he pulled the gift out.  “Wow! Amazing!”  A wide smile spread across his face as he stared in awe at the bouquet of blue origami roses.  It looked just like normal flowers, complete with the green stems and leaves also made of paper.  “This is so neat, Yuuri! My omega’s awesome!”  Viktor reached over to give Yuuri a hug.  

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!  Thanks Yuuri!”  

The moment was interrupted by a cough and the two students broke apart and turned around to see a tall woman in a red sweater and gray corduroy skirt walk over to them.  She had long graying brown hair tied neatly into a bun at the base of her neck and peered down at them with calculating hazel eyes behind a pair of cateye glasses. “Mr. Nikiforov, Mr. Katsuki?”  The young students separated and looked curiously back at the woman.  

“Yeah?” Viktor was the first one to speak up as he reached over to hold Yuuri’s hand.  He can already tell the first signs of Yuuri’s stress as he tensed up beside him.

Viktor wondered if this woman was going to tell them off like Mr. Thompson but to his surprise she simply gave them a thin smile and stopped a couple of feet in front of them.  “What were you two doing?”

“Yuuri was just giving me a gift.”

“Is that so?  What’s the occasion, Yuuri?”

Yuuri ducked his head and clammed up.  Viktor frowned, thinking it wasn’t any of the woman’s business.  “A late birthday present.” It was a lie since if ever it was closer to a very early birthday present, but those were the first words that came out of Viktor's mouth.   

The woman smiled again although it did not fully reach her eyes.  “Well then, you two best return to your friends.  People worry when you’re by yourselves.”

“Okay,” Viktor got up with the origami bouquet in one hand and tugged on Yuuri’s with his other.  He was eager to get away from the creepy lady.  His mate complied, reaching down to carry the now empty bag as the two made their way back to their circle of friends.  

“That was weird,” Yuuri whispered and Viktor simply nodded, not sure what to make of the woman either.  

“Yay, they’re back!” Phichit yelled as Chris whooped.  

Leo spotted the paper flowers in Viktor’s hand. “Ooh, what’s that Viktor?”

“Hey that’s pretty cool!” Georgi remarked as well.

“Where did you get it?” Guang Hong asked.

Viktor beamed, heart-shaped smile back on his face as he held up the bouquet proudly. “Yuuri got them for me as a courting gift. Aren’t they great?! I have the best mate ever!”  As he was surrounded by their friends, Mila took the opportunity to whisper to Yuuri, “Hey, good job. Whatever you did, you snapped him out of it.” 

Yuuri gave her a grin and Mila nodded in thanks.  

“Okay, group picture time!” Phichit called out to a random student and asked him to take a picture of them.  “Come on everyone, right over here!”  The friends all gathered together, Yuuri taking his place by Viktor’s side.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Viktuuri’s First Date!

 Vitya-chan was seven-years-old when he went on his first date

Later that week Viktor skipped across the empty ballroom and made his way over to the hallway that led to the parlor.  He stopped in front of an ornate china cabinet, specifically looking at the set of bejeweled egg-shaped ornaments that were perched on the middle shelf.  He hummed to himself as he scrutinized each one, wondering which one he’d like to give to Yuuri.  He finally settled on the red one. Red was the color of love or something like that, right?  Not to mention that when the light was reflected in Yuuri’s eyes he can see hints of crimson mixed with the burgundy brown. Yeah, it definitely had to be the red one!  

Now comes the hard part.  He had to ask Deda.  He remembered one time that Baba said that the most of the eggs came from his side of the family.  He made his way over to his grandfather’s study and knocked on the door.  

“Come in.”  

“Deda?”  He opened the door and walked inside to find that his Deda talking to someone on the phone.  

“Perhaps next year, Christov… but in the meantime I don’t mind doing consults every now and then… yes of course I still want to judge, but you know that I don’t have that kind of time right now. I’d have to fly out of the country for the competitions and I can’t leave Lilia behind. It wouldn’t be fair…”  Yakov’s eyes flitted to Vitya as he continued to chat and looked down at some papers on his desk.  

“Yes, I got the files you sent.  You do know that I could easily just print out the applications myself, yes?” Yakov covered the bottom of the phone with his hand and whispered to Viktor, “What is it, Vitya?”

“I wanted to ask you something, Deda.”

“Well?  Quickly, boy, you can see that I’m on the phone.”

“You know those shiny egg thingies Baba keeps in her parlor?”

“Christov now you’re just being ridiculous! How can you possibly expect the girl to do quads when she recently sprained her ankle and fractured her toe? It’s too soon!”  

Viktor decided to just keep talking since it didn’t look like Deda was getting off the phone anytime soon. “Anyway, I was saying...is it okay if I give Yuuri one of those shiny egg thingies? I wanted to give him a heirloom as a courting gift and that counts as a heirloom right?”

His grandfather frowned and waved him away as he listened intently to the man on the other end of the line. “Yes, yes, whatever Vitya.”

Viktor smiled and cheered.  “Yay, thanks Deda!” He smothered his laugh behind a hand when Yakov shushed him and waved him off.

“And close the door!”

Viktor closed it happily as he skipped back over to the china cabinet and opened it to reach for the egg he chose earlier.  Yuuri’s going to love this!

---

“Lilia, dear, I can’t help but notice… did you give away one of your prized Fabergé eggs?”

Lilia opened her eyes and furrowed her brow as she gently placed her teacup back on its saucer and looked back at the elderly lady who sat across from her in the parlor.  “I have not. Why do you say that, Agatha?”

The woman pointed a frail finger in the direction of the china cabinet behind Lilia.  “Well the middle one’s missing.  You had three, correct?”

“What?”  Lilia turned around incredulously her eyes zeroed in at the china cabinet.  Sure enough her treasured set of Fabergé eggs, two of them gifted by Yakov on their wedding and given in turn to Katya upon her marriage was missing one member.  And her favorite one, the only egg that was actually originally owned by her and not given by Yakov!

“Oh dear, please don’t tell me it was stolen!”  Agatha gasped aghast as she watched Lilia stand up and make her way over to the china cabinet as if getting closer will magically cause the missing egg to appear from a hidden corner.

“Anna!” Lilia called out.  The maid quickly ran over from an adjoining room.

“What is it, Mrs. Feltsman?”  

“Have you noticed that one of my Fabergé eggs is missing?”

Anna frowned.  “I just cleaned this room the other day, ma’am.  It was still here then.”

Lilia narrowed her eyes.  “Please get my husband from his study.”

The maid returned a few moments later with a worried Yakov in tow.  “Lilia, what’s going on?”

“One of the eggs is missing, Yakov.  The one that came from my grandmother!  Do you know where it is?”

“How can I possibly know?”

Agatha stood up and sensed the mood sour further.  “Perhaps I’d best take my leave.”  Her eyes flitted back and forth between the bickering couple.  It didn’t appear that either of them heard her.  Anna did, however, and offered the elderly lady her coat and escorted her out the door.

“Calm down, Lilia, I’m sure it must be somewhere.”

“You mean to tell me that an inanimate object magically gained the ability to walk out the china cabinet?”

“Hi Baba, hi Deda, I’m done with my lessons now.”  Viktor walked over to the middle of the room and looked curiously at their angry expressions.  “Are you fighting?”

“Nevermind us, Vitya,” Lilia said dismissively. “We’re just looking for one of the eggs in the china cabinet.”

“Oh the red one? I gave it to Yuuri yesterday.” At that both adults turned to Viktor with incredulous expressions.

“I’m sorry, Vitya, what did you say?”  Lilia begged all the gods in the universe that she heard her grandson wrong.

Viktor shrugged.  “The red egg, right?  I gave it to Yuuri as a courting gift.  Phichit suggested giving a family heirloom and it counts as a heirloom right?”

Lilia stared in front of her unseeing, suddenly feeling faint as she slowly sat down in her chair.  Yakov hurried by her side.  “Lilia!”

“Yes, a heirloom...a most precious one. You gave it to Yuuri.” Lilia was still dazed.

Viktor beamed, not sensing the atmosphere in the room. “Yup! And he loved it! We played with it during recess and made a game out of it.  You know like how we hide eggs during Easter?  Chris was really good at hiding it too. I think it was cheating really. He hid it in a sandbox, you know?  That’s not fair.”

“You did WHAT?!” Lilia clutched her chest as Yakov yelled and grasped her shoulders in worry.  It looked like she was about to have a heart attack.  

Viktor laughed. “Don’t worry Baba we found it in the end! It just took us like twenty minutes, but Guang Hong found it on time before recess ended."

Lilia was heartbroken. “But Vitya, why did you give it to Yuuri?  Why didn’t you ask us first?”

At those words Viktor frowned in confusion.  “But I did. I asked Deda the other day.”

Yakov yelped when sharp nails clutched his arms in a painful grip.  “I’m sorry, Vitya, can you please say that again?” Lilia asked, her voice deceptively calm.

“Um… I asked Deda?  And he said yes?”  Viktor began to grow worried and backed away, now sensing the tension in the air.  His eyes grew wide as he took in his grandmother’s murderous expression that thankfully was trained on his Deda and not him. “Er… I’m gonna go play upstairs in my room now. Bye!”  He quickly turned around and ran out the room.

“Lilia! Dearest, please, you’re hurting me.” Yakov trembled under the weight of her stare and was no longer able to hold in his whimper as he felt her nails pinch down further into his skin. “Please let me explain!  I was distracted!  It must have been when I was talking with Christov on the phone, you know how I get-”

“Darling Yasha, you do not know true pain. Not yet.” Lilia gave a cold smile before she stood up and shoved him away.  “That Fabergé egg was worth $8 million, Yakov!  Eight million!  To think that my grandmother’s treasure has been reduced to a child’s plaything!”  

Upstairs Viktor could have sworn he heard a high-pitched yell.  He shuddered.  Wow, sometimes Baba could be downright scary!

---

“Kaa-san, can you please put this in the glass case where you keep your figurines?”  

Hiroko turned around from washing the dishes and gasped at seeing the jeweled ruby-red egg nestled in Yuuri’s two hands.  It was around six inches tall, not counting the four curved golden stands attached to its base. She stared in awe with a slack jaw as she took in the gold detailing, the white diamond-striped pattern encrusted with miniature pearls and the pink roses inlaid between the white stripes.  She hurriedly wiped her hands on a dish towel before bending down to pick it up from Yuuri with both hands.  It was lighter than she thought it would be.  “Yuuri-chan, where did you get this?”

“Viktor gave it to me.”   

Hiroko held it closer to her face and saw how even the edges of the roses had gold detailing. She frowned when she noticed a bit of sand stuck between some of the rose petals.  “Why is there sand and dirt on this?”

“Chris hid it in the sandbox yesterday.”

“Yuuri-chan, this is not a toy!”  She rotated the egg in her hands and was relieved to see that no other damage was done that a good dusting couldn’t fix.  “This… this looks very expensive.  Are you sure that Viktor’s grandparents are okay that he gave this to you?”

Yuuri shrugged.  “Viktor said he asked his grandpa if it was okay. I’m going upstairs now. I still have some homework to finish.  Thanks Kaa-san!”  And with that he made his way to his room.   

Hiroko was still skeptical but she nevertheless made her way over to the glass cabinet in their dining hall and rearranged the figurines inside to make space for the egg.  Minako followed her movements from her seat at the table where she was reading a magazine.  

“Wow, Hiroko! Where did you get that?” Minako stood up and walked over.  

“Another one of Viktor’s gifts.”  

“A Fabergé egg?  That looks authentic!”

“The pearls and diamonds on it certainly look authentic.”

“I can’t believe this… just how loaded is Viktor’s family?  I mean, I know his dad is a CEO and that Lilia came from an old aristocratic family but still, to be giving antiques like this away...” Minako shook her head in disbelief, her arms akimbo.  Her eyes narrowed and a playful smile spread across her face.  “So...when can we start planning the wedding ceremony?”

Hiroko giggled and smacked Minako’s arm.  “Minako-san, you stop it right now.”

“I’m serious, Hiroko!”

The following week, Viktor approached his grandparents after dinner. The couple was seated in the living room with his Baba reading a novel and his Deda reading the daily newspaper.  It was the friendliest he’d  seen the two together recently without Baba staring daggers into his Deda’s direction.  As he made his way closer, Lilia placed a bookmark on the page and placed it on her lap.  “What is it, Vitya?”

“I wanna take Yuuri somewhere this weekend.”

“Oh?  What did you have in mind?”

“Phichit suggested movies first. Then we can go eat, and maybe hang out in the park later?”  

Yakov spoke up from behind his newspaper.  “It’s supposed to rain starting the afternoon on Saturday.  You won’t be able to go to the park.”  

Viktor pouted.  Stupid weather, ruining his plans to court Yuuri!

Lilia pondered on it for a moment, laying her head back in the tufted ottoman.  “How about the ice skating rink, Vitya?” Her recommendation had the desired effect as Yakov put down his newspaper and Viktor perked up at the suggestion.  He hasn’t skated since his Mama died and although he was still saddened at the reminder of her death, the young boy couldn’t help but be happy at the thought of sharing something dear to him with Yuuri, who had easily become one of the most important people in his life.  

Yakov and Lilia were carefully observing Viktor’s reaction and were pleased when a soft smile lit his face.  “I think that’s a great idea Baba.”

Lilia gave a pleased hum and reopened the book in her lap.  “Well it’s settled then.  Your Deda will take you.”

Yakov coughed and looked at his wife incredulously.  “W-what?  Why me?!” He gulped at seeing the steely glint in his wife’s eyes as she returned his pleading expression with a devious smile.  Oh this was most certainly payback.  He internally groaned and accepted his fate, the dread settling in a cold pit at the bottom of his stomach.

“We’re gonna have so much fun, Deda!” Viktor whooped.

---

Yakov grumbled as he slowly ambled behind the pair of kids in front of him. He parked a couple of streets away, since the public parking lot in the town center started to fill around this time due to the people who liked to dine in the restaurants and cafes that lined the main street.  

Viktor was happily skipping along the sidewalk, holding on to Yuuri’s hand as he gently prodded the omega to loosen up and have fun.  It had taken a couple of minutes but soon enough Yuuri too began to laugh and follow along, allowing himself to be pulled by Viktor into the occasional pile of multicolored leaves and giggling when Viktor would kick them into the air, causing them to rain down them.  Yakov had long since given up trying to get them to stop, all his scolding falling on deaf ears.  Did they even remember that he was still here?  

“So you’ve never gone to the movies here, Yuuri?”

“Nope.  I always went to the one in the mall near our school.”

“Well you’re gonna love this theater!  It’s pretty small, but the seats are really comfy and they have extra snacks too.  Not just popcorn but pizza, cheese fries, hot dogs… I used to go here with my Mama a lot.  She liked to watch old black and white grown-up movies, but she’d come here with me too when new Disney movies came out.”

“What did you guys watch last time?”

“The Lion King.”

“Ooh I watched that with Mari-neechan. I liked it a lot!”

“I was thinking of watching the newest one that came out in the summer. I didn’t get to see it yet, did you?”

“Nope.  What’s it called again?”

“Um…” Viktor frowned as he racked his memory. “Pokey-ontas?”

“It’s Pocahontas, Vitya.” That earned him two surprised looks as the boys turned around to look at him as if they just remembered that they weren’t alone.  Lilia had made him call the theater ahead to make sure there was a child-friendly movie. 

“Here we are!” Viktor pointed at the the classic marquee that listed the theater’s current movies. “Come on, Deda, hurry!” He tugged Yuuri’s hand as the two hurried on ahead.  Yakov muttered under his breath as he tried to speed up his strides to catch up to the two boys.  

Once inside, he gave Viktor some money so that he and Yuuri could go on ahead and order some snacks while he purchased their tickets.  “Don’t order too much now.  Remember that we’re going to have a proper lunch after this.”  Viktor simply nodded as he and Yuuri went on line at the snackbar.  

“Which movie, sir?”  A teenager with a black cap and matching shirt asked him from behind the counter.

“That damn Disney movie. Two kids, one adult.”

“Your total’s going to be ten dollars.”  He handed her the necessary cash and she gave him his tickets with a sympathetic smile.  He turned around and saw Viktor and Yuuri walking up to him, each carrying a kid-sized popcorn bag and soda.  

“Yay, Deda’s got the tickets!  Which theater?”  

Yakov sighed and looked down at the stub.  “Theater four.”

“Okay, that’s the one all the way at the end.  Come on!” Viktor waved for his Deda to walk more quickly.  Yuuri smiled up at the taller boy and allowed himself to be led down the hallway.  

Yakov gave another long-suffering sigh as he trudged on ahead.  

---

He was actually pleasantly surprised as they sat down in a cafe two hours later.  The movie was actually pretty good.

But back to the present.  His eyebrow twitched as Viktor slurped up his spaghetti, causing the sauce to smear against his cheek.  Yuuri giggled as he ate his own pasta more neatly.  

“Vitya, stop playing with your food.”

“‘M not!” Viktor swallowed. “‘M just sucking up the noodles, Deda!”

“Then stop making noise while you eat.”  

“Ish sho goo’ though!”  Viktor gave him a cheeky smile as Yuuri laughed.

“Vitya!”

Viktor bowed his head down but was still bashfully smiling as he proceeded to eat normally.  Yakov gave a longsuffering sigh as he stared out the cafe’s floorlength windows.  The clouds were already starting to get darker outside.  

He began to feel a pulsing rhythm on his forehead as he heard the beginnings of another round of giggling coming from the two boys in front of him.  He peered from the corner of his eye to see movement. Viktor must have been playfully kicking Yuuri’s feet under the table.  The omega’s shoulders were shaking as he was trying to hold in his laughter all while trying to finish his lunch.  

“Viktor, you’re still making a mess,” Yuuri said softly as the other boy continued slurping up some pasta.  Every now and then the end of the noodle would flick against his cheek, leaving a smear of red spaghetti sauce around his mouth.  “You can twirl the pasta around your fork first.”

“Whaddya mean?”

Yuuri scooted over in his chair and leaned in closer to Viktor, reaching out with his right hand to take Viktor’s fork and twirled the fork around to gather the pasta around the tines. “Like this.”  Yuuri then lifted the fork up to Viktor’s mouth. The alpha complied and opened his mouth wide allowing Yuuri to place the pasta into his mouth.

Viktor swallowed and said, “Ooh, okay!”

Yakov paused.  Did the little omega really just feed his grandson?

Yuuri smiled and placed Viktor’s fork down. He was about to pick up his own fork to eat one of his meatballs when Viktor coughed and asked, “Actually Yuuri, do you think you can do it for me again?”

“Oh, you want me to show you again?”

Viktor gave an innocent heart-shaped smile that was not convincing at all to Yakov’s eyes, “No, I think I know how to do it but I think you do it better.” His eyes flicked over to his Deda quickly before going back to Yuuri, “I don’t wanna make Deda upset by making a mess after all.”  He finished the statement with an expectant smile.  

Yuuri glanced at Yakov and leaned back towards Viktor’s direction again, “Okay then.”  He proceeded to feed Viktor the rest of his pasta.  

Yakov internally groaned and rested his forehead in the palm of his hand in an attempt to shield his face from view.  He prayed that no one else in the cafe noticed the children’s odd behavior.  Viktor was truly his father’s son.  

A few minutes later the waitress came by to pick up their empty plates and offered the dessert menu which Yakov promptly turned down to Viktor’s disappointment.  

It looked like it was going to rain at any moment by the time that the group exited the cafe.  Luckily, they were safely back in the car before raindrops began to fall.  It turned into a downpour by the time Yakov pulled into the ice rink’s parking lot.  He turned around and handed Viktor an umbrella, “You two will have to share.” Yakov then grabbed his own umbrella and tucked a duffle bag under his arm before making his way out of the car.

Viktor hopped down the seat and opened the door, opening the umbrella before taking Yuuri’s hand.  He pulled the omega close to him and followed his Deda into the building.  “I used to go here with Mama all the time. She was a professional figure skater you know, and a really good one!  You should see all the medals she has at home.  Deda used to coach her,” Viktor nodded to his grandfather who was over at the rink’s desk.  He was well-known at the rink and the man behind the counter welcomed him with an eager smile.

“Yakov!  So nice to see you again!”  The man’s smile faded a bit as he said a bit more gently.  “I hope things are better?”  His eyes saw Viktor and Yuuri holding hands behind him.  “I see Vitya’s got a guest?”

Yakov nodded. “Good to see you too, Mark.  Well enough as you can see.  Vitya’s ready to skate again.”

“Hi Mr. Von Beyer!”

“Hello there Vitya, we’re so happy to see you again.  And it looks like you brought a friend.”

Viktor grinned and gestured to Yuuri who gave a small wave.  “Yup, this here is Yuuri. He’s my ma-”

“Any rinks free right now, Mark?”  Yakov quickly cut off his grandson.  Viktor must have noticed because he pouted at his back.  

Mark was a bit confused but quickly looked down at his schedule.  “The zamboni should be almost done with Rink 2 and it’s free for the next two hours.”  He winked. “If anyone asks, I’ll just say you rented it, okay?”

Yakov nodded. “Thanks. We’ll be sure to make a proper reservation next time.”  

“You kids have fun!”

“Thanks, Mr. Von Beyer!”  Viktor gave a wave as he followed his grandfather over to the skate rental.  Once they were able to get Yuuri a pair of skates that fit, they made their way to a set of seats that were located right next to the rink’s entrance.  Yakov crouched down in front of Viktor and opened the duffle bag he carried with him revealing a pair of white skates with golden blades.  

“Here, let’s see if these still fit, Vitya.” Viktor took off his shoes and set them aside.  

Yuuri watched intently as the taller boy placed his feet into the skates, Yakov taking time to tighten and tie the laces.  

“How is it?”

“I think it’s good, Deda, thanks.  Can you do Yuuri next?”

Yakov shifted over, Yuuri already having taken off his shoes.  Yuuri mimicked Viktor’s earlier movements, wincing a bit once Yakov finished tying the laces.  Yakov must have sensed his discomfort.  “It has to be tight, Yuuri.”

Viktor patted his hand before holding it in his own. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Now try standing.”  

Yuuri did, and wobbled quite a bit.  He yelped but Viktor and Yakov held firm.  The little omega blushed as he tried to balance on the thin blades.  How can he possibly ice skate if he’s having such a hard time staying on his feet?  

“Try to evenly distribute your weight, Yuuri.” Yakov suggested.

It was easier said than done but finally Yuuri was able to stand still. He wasn’t confident if he’d be able to do it without holding on to Viktor.  Yakov took some time to retrieve his own pair of skates from the duffle bag and tied up the laces.

Viktor smiled and tried to temper his excitement down for Yuuri’s sake.  “Don’t worry Yuuri, we’ll walk slowly, okay?”  The three shuffled as a group over to the rink and finally stepped inside, the temperature instantly feeling at least ten degrees cooler.  By the time they made it to the edge of the ice, Yuuri was trembling and it was more from the cold now rather than his difficulty with his balance.  

Yakov nodded to Viktor who took his first step back on the ice.  He stayed by the edge, holding out one hand to Yuuri.

“Come on Yuuri. Don’t worry, I’ll hold on tight and Deda will help too.”  He gave an encouraging smile and Yuuri gulped, deciding to have faith that the alpha will be able to prevent him from falling face-flat on the ice.  He wordlessly took his hand and placed one shaky skate on the ice and then another.  

“There, you’re doing great Yuuri!” Viktor grinned.  Yuuri, however, was too focused looking down on his skates and trying to keep his balance to notice it.  

“Now try marching forward, Yuuri.” Yakov said, hands still holding the back of Yuuri’s shoulders within easy reach to support him should he fall.  It’s been awhile since he’s trained novices, but he easily  remembered the tips that his assistant instructors would give to new skaters.

Yuuri bit his lip and tried to do what the man suggested but ended up sliding a bit too much on his left foot which sent him falling. Thankfully Yakov was quick enough to support him before he went sprawling butt-first on the ice.  

Viktor noticed the frustrated look on Yuuri’s face. “It’s okay, Yuuri, it takes awhile before you get the hang of it. Here,” he reached over and grabbed Yuuri’s hands.  The omega’s knees buckled as he struggled to stand straight, but get up he did.

“Try pushing forward a little, Yuuri. One foot at a time.” Yakov nodded to Viktor.  “I can hold him, Vitya. How about you show him?  Remember how you did it on your first day.”

“Yeah, got it.”  Viktor skated backwards a bit which Yuuri watched with enraptured eyes. “Like this, Yuuri.” He pushed forward on his right foot, then the left.  “Did you ever ride a scooter before?”

“Yeah, I did once. My sister used to have one before she broke it.”

Yakov loosened his hold on his arms a bit before gently nudging Yuuri forward.  “Remember how you would push off the ground with your foot?  It’s like that.  Try doing that with your right foot.”

Yuuri bit his lip and made an attempt, surprising himself when he was able to do the move without falling down. His eyes brightened. “I did it!”

Viktor laughed and skated a bit closer. “That’s great Yuuri, now try it with your left foot.”

This time he was a bit shaky but still, at least he didn’t fall down.  

“Now let’s keep doing that, Yuuri.  I’m still behind you.”

Yuuri looked a bit worried, just realizing that they were getting further away from the rink’s entrance.  Viktor took a hold of his hands. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your hands okay?  And we’ll stay close to the side.  If you get scared you can just reach over and hold on to the edge.”

Yuuri nodded and bit his lip in concentration.  They continued that way for awhile, making it to the opposite side of the rink.  

Yuuri looked back and saw how far he’d skated.  

“You’re doing well Yuuri.  Most new skaters aren’t able to make it this far so quickly.” Yakov commented.  It made Viktor proud since he knew how rare his Deda would offer praise.  

“I want to see you skate, Viktor.” Yuuri said softly.  

“Yes, how about we take a break first. Vitya you can do some warm ups while Yuuri and I sit down.” And with that Yakov led Yuuri over to a nearby opening in the rink that had a couple of seats right next to the ice.  

“Okay,”  Viktor grinned and pushed off, gliding away into the ice.  Yuuri watched, transfixed with how the alpha made it look so effortless, so graceful.  He made some crossovers before turning around to begin skating backwards.  

“Viktor’s been skating since he was three-years-old,” Yakov said at his side.  “Always clumsy, that kid.  But put him on the ice and he never had trouble.  My Katya barely had to teach him before he just started gliding on his own.”  There was a faraway look in his eyes that made Yuuri wonder if the man even remembered that he was there.  It was more like Yakov was talking to himself, lost in his memories.

“I’m going to try to jump, Deda,” Viktor called as he passed by them.  That got Yakov’s attention as he stood up and made his way back on the ice.  

“Vitya, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“But I already did my warm ups!”

“You haven’t skated in months. We have to build you back up before you start jumps again!”

Viktor turned to look at Yuuri who was watching the exchange intently before he winked.  “I’m still gonna do it!”

“Vitya!”

Viktor laughed and got into position, slowing his skating to a moderate speed and extending his arms out to his sides.  He then bent his left knee and hopped into the air, making a single twirl before landing with his right toepick on the ice and placing his left foot flat with his arms extended. “See, I did it!  Yuuri, did you see that?”  He waved his arms.  

Yuuri jumped up and began clapping, “Viktor, that was awesome!”  He stood against the counter as Viktor skated over to hold Yuuri’s hands, ignoring Yakov’s stern expression.

“I told you I could do it Deda.”  He grinned cheekily.  

“The landing on your right foot was still shaky.  You should be happy you didn’t bend your ankle the wrong way. No. More. Jumps.”

Viktor groaned. “Ugh, fine.”  He turned back to Yuuri and gave him a heart-shaped grin.  “Did you like it though, Yuuri?”

“I loved it! You’re so great at skating, Viktor!” The taller boy preened at the praise.  

“Thanks! Now how about we skate some more? I can’t wait until you get comfortable enough so we can skate together.”  And with that, the trio began to continue skating with Yuuri along the edge of the rink.  By the end of the hour, Yuuri became comfortable enough that he didn’t need Yakov’s support behind his back all the time. He still occasionally fell, but his movements became less choppy and he started to develop some semblance of a glide rather than shuffling awkwardly on the ice.  

---

Yakov groaned as he heard his back crack when he lay down and stretched on their bed.  Beside him, Lilia smiled to herself in satisfaction. “So, how did it go?”

“Woman, I’ve had my back bent for 2 hours teaching that little omega how to skate.”  

“Is that so? You poor dear.”  That remark earned her a disgruntled look.  

“Thankfully the omega was a quick learner.”

“And Vitya?”

“Stubborn boy still made a jump, despite me telling him not to.  That boy is trying too hard to impress that omega.”

“I’m glad though. It was a risk, having me suggest that Vitya take Yuuri ice skating. But I didn’t want one bad memory to ruin something that used to be such a big part of his life.”

The two laid back in silence for awhile and Yakov closed his eyes when he felt his wife place a soft hand on his arm.  

“You know, Yasha, I think our Vitya will be just fine.”

Yakov opened his eyes again and recalled the proud look on Viktor's face, alight with triumph at successfully executing the jump as he absorbed Yuuri's praise.  A shadow of a smile ghosted his lips. “I think so too.”

---

Several feet away, in the room on the opposite end of the hall, Viktor still lay awake in his bed. He was still filled with the excitement of teaching Yuuri how to ice skate, still filled to the brim with the happiness and contentment that came from another day of successfully courting the omega.  

He turned and faced the bedside table where he could see the framed photo of him and his parents, lit by a nearby nightlight.  In the picture, his mother was laughing and holding a four-year-old version of himself, the two having identical heart-shaped smiles. Her long hair was flowing in the wind and he vaguely recalled that spring day when one of his hats got blown away from his head.  His father, ever the stern man, only spared a thin smile but his blue eyes, the same eyes he inherited, were softened with affection as he gazed at his wife. He was wearing his usual charcoal gray business suit, blonde bangs swept to the side.

He wondered what his father was doing now.  It’s been so long since he’s seen him.  His thoughts then turned back to Yuuri.  He’s been courting Yuuri now for several weeks and he was pretty much done with the list.  But no, there was actually one more gift he wanted to give and this time, Viktor noted with pride, the idea will all be his.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Of Memories and Anticipation

The love story before Viktor and Yuuri

One of the earliest memories that Viktor could recall was when he was four-years-old and he ran away from his Mama while they were walking in the county park near Yuuri's house.  It must have been late November because he remembered that his birthday was coming up the following month. His Papa was away in another country because of work and he had really been looking forward to seeing him again on his birthday.  

“I’m so sorry, Vitya, but your Papa said he wouldn’t be able to make it after all,” his Mama said with a sad smile as she squeezed his hand.  “But I promise, we’ll still have fun, okay?  Your Baba and Deda are coming over to visit.”

He remembered growling in frustration and stomping his foot. “I don’t care about Baba and Deda, I want Papa to come!” The anger in his words stunned his mother.  

“Vitya, you shouldn’t say things like that.  I know you’re upset, but-”

“No!”  He let go of his mother’s hands and ran ahead in the trail, ignoring her calls.  After a while of running he decided to turn and get off the path to make his way towards the river.  He stomped through milkweeds and snowberries and pushed his way across the tall cattails, finally making his way onto the thin sandbar. It was high tide and there was not much space before his feet would start treading water.  Viktor huffed and sat down right at the water’s edge, not minding the squelch that signified the mud that was ruining his clothes.  Mama would be upset later but he didn’t care.  

Stupid Papa. He always had to go away on trips. He should have expected this though, that he would end up not showing.  He always failed to come home somehow.  But a small part of him still hoped that this time would be different. That this time, he would actually make it. He was going to turn five-years-old after all, so he’s a grown-up now.  

Viktor leaned over and rested his weight on his toes to look at the water.  His reflection stared back at him, short silver hair with bangs swept over his left eye. His Mama always liked to style his hair the same as his father’s, saying that he was the alpha of the house while his Papa was away. Viktor frowned and roughly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands when he saw the tear streaks trailing his cheeks. He didn’t even realize that he was crying.

There was the sound of rustling coming from behind.  Viktor ignored it, figuring that it was just the wind making the cattails swish back and forth but then a soft voice spoke up.

“Um… are you okay?”

Viktor tensed but didn’t turn around, not wanting to reveal to the stranger that he was crying.  It must have been a kid like him since the voice was tiny and rather high-pitched. “I’m fine.”

The voice settled behind him as he heard the sound of tiny feet on the muddy ground. “Oh okay. I just wanted to make sure. I saw you running over here and you looked sad.”

Viktor pouted. “I’m not sad,” he insisted with a huff.

“If you say so…” An indistinct voice called out from the distance.  “I think my parents are calling me, so I’m going now.”  Viktor heard the footsteps come closer and a white cloth appeared over his shoulder.  “Here, use this. Don't cry anymore, okay?”  

So the stranger already saw him crying earlier.  He must have missed him while he was running along the trail.  Viktor wordlessly took the piece of cloth and turned it over.  It was a white handkerchief with navy blue stripes running along the edge.  On one corner there was a set of foreign letters embroidered in dark blue thread. He fingered at it curiously and turned around to ask what it said but found that the stranger was gone.  

That was around three years ago now, Viktor recalled as he looked down at the same handkerchief that he had kept from that day.  It was buried at the bottom of one of his shirt drawers.  He never really did find out who that other child was.  He and his mother still frequented the park afterwards and he played with many kids in the playground, but none of them had the same voice as that kind stranger who comforted him that day. He regretted not being able to thank him or her.

Viktor walked over with the handkerchief and made his way to his parent’s bedroom.  Checking to make sure that no one else was around, he opened the door, careful not to make any noise and closed it behind him.  It still looked like it always had back when his parents were still there since Anna and the maids cleaned it routinely even with the lack of inhabitants.

He stepped over to his mother’s dresser and pulled out one of the top drawers, finding several jewelry boxes.  He opened them one by one.  There were many priceless necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings with some of them appearing to belong more to a museum than tucked away in a dresser.  But there was a particular piece that he was looking for.  

Just when he was about to give up, his eyes spied a small jewelry box at the very back.  He reached over to open it and smiled in satisfaction at finding the golden ring he was looking for.  Unlike the other pieces in his mother's collection it was a very simple one, unadorned and lacking any intricate details.  But he recalled how his father once told him that it was a ring that they passed down from his side of his family to present to their mate.  He remembered learning that it was at least a hundred years old.  

Viktor nodded to himself and snapped the jewelry box closed, wrapping it in the white handkerchief that he brought with him.  He stepped back out of the room and quickly closed the door, feeling uneasy with staying in there any longer than he had to.  There were too many ghosts and memories in that room. 

“Hey Phichit!”  Viktor managed to get the beta to himself after lunch that Tuesday.  He purposely stayed behind while their friends went ahead when he saw Phichit still cleaning up his tray.  

“How’d it go?” Phichit asked eagerly, wasting no time.

The alpha laughed. “Great, actually. But we ended up ice skating instead of going to the park.”

“That makes sense. It was raining pretty much all weekend. That’s great though! How did Yuuri like it? I don’t think he’s ice skated before.”

“We had to teach him slowly but with me and Deda, he learned pretty quickly.  I can’t wait.  I think just a couple more times and he’ll be ready to ice skate with me for real!”  

“Aww I wish I could be there to take pictures!”

“Actually that’s what I was hoping to ask you about.” The two made their way outside and Viktor looked over to where Yuuri was sitting on one of the benches and chatting with Yuuko.

Phichit followed his gaze. “Whaddya mean?”

“I was hoping you can give me one of your pictures.  I wanted to give Yuuri a photo of us for him to keep. You haven’t given him any, right?”

Phichit smiled and shook his head. “No, I haven’t. But yeah, sure, I’d love to give you one! I can’t wait til you guys get married, it’s gonna be so cool!”  He waved over to Yuuri who was looking at them curiously.  “I can gather all my pictures and I’ll sneak away tomorrow during recess.  Meet me by the tree at the corner over there. You can take a look at them and pick which ones you want.”

Viktor gave a relieved smile. “Thanks a lot Phichit. I’m planning to frame the photo and-”

“Hey! Takeshi stop it!”  The two turned around to see Takeshi sniggering down at Yuuri. He had the omega in a headlock and was giving him a noogie.  Yuuko was standing up and smacking her fists against the older alpha’s arms to no avail.  “Stop it right now!” A couple of feet away, the rest of their friends saw the commotion and were making their way over.  

Viktor growled when he caught a glimpse of Yuuri wincing. He looked close to tears.  He ran over and shoved the older student.  He was at a disadvantage though due to Takeshi’s taller height. That, combined with his heavier weight, only allowed Viktor to push the taller student slightly but Takeshi's arm around Yuuri was still wound tight. The older student laughed at Viktor's pathetic attempt.  “Aww, your alpha coming to your rescue, Katsuki?”

Mila finally caught up and yelled, “Quit it, Takeshi, it’s not funny!” She slapped him across his back. 

“Yeah, just let him go.” Leo frowned by her side, Guang Hong behind him staring at the scene with wide eyes as Georgi also tried to push the older student off Yuuri.

“Why do you keep bullying Yuuri, anyway?” Chris challenged. “What’s he ever done to you?”

At those words Takeshi stopped, eyes wide with shock. “Wait, what?  I’m not a bully!”

Viktor however was not having it and proceeded to kick Takeshi really hard on his shin. “Get off him now!” The older student yelped and finally let go of Yuuri who gasped and curled himself into a ball on the ground.  

“I can’t believe you, Takeshi! You’re so mean!”  Yuuko scolded him as she wrapped her arms around Yuuri’s shoulders.  

Takeshi looked lost as he watched the little omega begin to tremble.  He was undoubtedly crying.  “I-I didn’t mean to…”

Viktor snarled and pushed Takeshi back before stepping between him and Yuuri. This time he succeeded in making him take several steps back.  “Leave already, before I tell on you!” The older alpha took one last look at the omega before he turned around and walked away.  

“He’s gone now, Yuuri, don’t worry,” Phichit said as he knelt beside Yuuri.  Yuuko had stepped aside to allow Viktor to wrap Yuuri in a hug, running a hand through his hair and whispering comforting words in his ear.  Georgi, Guang Hong, and Chris were behind them, their eyes trailing Takeshi to make sure that he wasn’t coming back.  

Mila followed their gaze but then went beyond Takeshi’s retreating form to see a tall lady watching the entire scene from the other side of the courtyard. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the woman frown and lift her right hand to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose before turning around and walking back inside the school.

One night later that week, Viktor asked his Baba to tuck him in earlier than usual saying that he wanted a special bedtime story.  Lilia wasn’t sure what to make of the odd request since Viktor had long since outgrown bedtime stories, usually more content to read books on his own before going to bed. She sat beside him and smoothed his hair back. “Was there a particular story you wanted me to tell you, Vitya?” She only knew of few Russian fairytales that her own mother told her.

Viktor blinked up at her. “Can you tell me how Mama met Papa and how they got married?”

Lilia leaned back in surprise. “What brought this on?” Viktor never really expressed an interest before.  

He shrugged under the covers, “I just wondered.  You told me before that they didn’t like each other at first but they still married.”  

“I did, didn’t I?”

Viktor nodded and looked at her expectantly.  Lilia sighed and prepared herself for a long story.  “They met in Moscow, around five years before you were born.  Katya had finished another skating season and won gold at the World Figure Skating Championships and she decided to take on some modeling jobs to earn extra money.”

Yekaterina Feltsman sighed as she leaned back against the velvet chaise.  It was a bit chilly in the studio and while she was able to bear it for the first twenty minutes, it has now been an hour and the Chanel dress that she was wearing was only made of thin layers of tulle and only reached her thighs.  They could have started shooting pictures earlier, but the photographer told her that the marketing team of the commissioning company wanted to be present for the session.  She watched as her father grumbled and walked over to her.

“I can’t believe this. It is highly unprofessional!  They have no respect for our time at all.”

Yekaterina smiled and reached a hand over to her father’s arm, like she had seen her mother do so many times in the past. “Calm down, Papa, it can’t be much longer.”  She should have known better than to let her father tag along to this photoshoot, but he was always overprotective and liked to accompany her if the location was local.  

Yakov glared at her hand. “Your hands are cold, Katya.  You must be absolutely freezing.” He shrugged off his coat and draped it over her form. “Where’s that damn photographer?  I’m going to tell him to start now otherwise we’re leaving, contract be damned!”

As if summoned, the elderly photographer, Feliks, called from the back of the studio. “They’re here, Katya dear!  And we have an extra special guest today.” He finally came into view with a little bounce in his step as he gestured to his assistant to hand over his camera.  Yekaterina watched curiously as a group of men and women in stiff business suits followed the photographer.  “We have here some of the top people from the marketing team at Nikiforov Industries.”  The group parted to allow a tall blonde man to walk to the front, strides confident as he towered over the group in his pristine business suit. He had a disdainful expression on his face and looked like he preferred to be anywhere else but there.  “And this gentleman here is Mr. Andrei Nikifirov, CEO of the company.  So pleased to have you with us Mr. Nikifirov, we’re honored.”  

The man nodded his head in greeting as his cold azure eyes behind his long bangs swept across the studio scrutinizing everything in the room before settling on Yekaterina’s form.  She couldn’t help but shiver under that piercing stare and she had the suspicion that it had nothing to do with the chill in the room.  

“Now, Katya dearest, please take off that jacket and let’s get started.”  

"About damn time," Yakov grumbled under his breath but acquiesced, retrieving his jacket and shrugging it back on before making his way to the side and allowing the photographer and assistants to do their work.  Feliks began by taking some test shots, every now and then pausing to bark commands at his assistants to shift the softbox around the set.  

“Alright, much better,” Feliks remarked as he inched closer to Yekaterina and adjusted something in his camera. “Relax, Katya, you’re much too stiff.  Allow your body to drape against the chaise. Let go of any tension, allow your limbs to be loose. There, much better.”  He leaned back to absorb the entire scene before addressing the assistant beside him. “Olga, give Katya the product and adjust her dress for me please.”  The woman nodded and returned shortly carrying a mobile phone and handed it over to Yekaterina before adjusting her dress, making the fabric show off more of her shoulders.

“Perfect, now Katya don’t clutch the phone, simply let it lay on your lap and just touch the end of it with your hand.  We want to be able to see the product more.” Yekaterina did as she was told, chancing a glance at Mr. Nikiforov to find him still staring at her with that same penetrating stare.  It was a bit unnerving.  

“And that’s it! Now hold that pose,”  The sounds of the camera’s shutter filled the studio as Feliks proceeded to take several shots.  She shifted every now and then under his instructions, trying other positions where she lay on her side, then on her back, and then some close-ups with the phone against her chest.  After several minutes, Feliks gave a triumphant smile. “And I think that’s it.  Perfect as always, Katya dearest.”  The man turned around and addressed the CEO, who was silent throughout the session. “What say you, Mr. Nikiforov?  These photos will look splendid on a magazine!”  

Andrei looked back at Yekaterina who returned his gaze with a light blush.  He huffed before shifting his eyes down to look disinterestedly at his wrist, adjusting his cufflinks.  “Acceptable, I suppose.  Our product will sell either way, even if the model you hired is only mediocre at best.”  He nodded to the employees standing beside him.  “Good day,” he muttered before turning around and walking out of the room without another word.  The marketing team must have been used to his caustic words since none batted an eye before following their boss out the door.  

Feliks stared at the door where the group exited his mouth hanging in shock while Yekaterina’s blush intensified in shame. Mediocre? Her?  Sure she was not a full-time model, only taking odd jobs every now and then when she was not too busy practicing for the skating season, but surely she was good enough judging by the price tags attached to the projects that she would sign on.

She was brought back to the present when she heard her father’s colorful curses and sighed.  

“Don’t listen to that man, Katya. His words are absolute lies.  The nerve, insulting you like that!  Making us wait for an hour and not even the least bit grateful!  Insolent, arrogant man!”  

Yekaterina nodded before standing up. She was perfectly fine if she never crossed paths with Andrei Nikiforov ever again.

“Wow, Papa was really mean, wasn’t he?” Part of Viktor was still skeptical that his father really said something like that.  All throughout this life, he had only seen his parents deeply in love and while Andrei Nikiforov was never really an emotional man, it was clear how he worshiped his mother and treated her like she was the only woman in the world.

Lilia smiled after she recalled the story her indignant daughter told her when she stormed home later that day, Yakov supplementing her story with his own angry recollection. “It was very mean. But you know what, I think your father fell in love with her even then.”

“But why would he say such bad things if he loved her?”

“Sometimes when people are confused with their feelings they try to push the other person away.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”  

“No, I suppose it doesn’t. But despite that, your mother kept running into your father the following year.”

Yekaterina frowned as she hung up the phone after talking with the representative on the other end of the line. She continued staring at the phone for several seconds after, as if it held the answers to the questions that swirled in her head.  

Her mother walked into the room. “Who was it, Katya?”

“Irina from Nikiforov Industries again. This time they want me to shoot a commercial.  In Thailand of all places. Apparently they want to go for a summer feel with their next theme.”

Lilia hummed and sat down beside her daughter on the loveseat.  “You know, dear, you don’t have to keep taking on these projects.”  She gestured with a hand at their surroundings.  “Look at where you live.  We are not in want of any money. At all.”

Yekaterina pursed her lips.  “I know, but I always like to donate the money I earn to charity.  To support the orphanage, you know?  It’s important to me, and I like to have something else to do when I’m taking breaks from skating.”  There was a momentary lull in the conversation as the young omega, just having blossomed into womanhood, curled her feet under her and looked down at the floor.  “But this time, Irina said that Mr. Nikiforov himself arranged a private jet to take me to the location.”  

Lilia frowned, “If the man makes you uncomfortable, Katya, you should turn down the offer.  There are always other companies to work with.”

“He doesn’t make me uncomfortable necessarily…” At one point the words would have been a lie but Andrei Nikiforov ceased to intimidate her for the last few months. At first, he was absent in the next few projects that she did with his company but recently the man would show up without fail.  “At this point, I’m more just puzzled.  You remember the scathing remarks he made after his first modeling session with me.  ‘Mediocre at best.’  I just don’t understand why his company keeps offering me contracts to do so many projects if he is so dissatisfied.  His marketing team was there too, so it’s not as if it is a secret how he feels about my work.”   

“Do you think he was saying that so that he can pay you less?”

“No, that’s not the case. He’s actually been offering to pay me more these past few projects that I agreed to do.” Yekaterina sat back.  “I’ll agree to this one, if only to find out once and for all what is going on inside that man’s mind.  If he’s even going to be there.” And if it was just like the last three photoshoots she had with his company, he will be there without fail, silently observing.  

Later that month, Yekaterina smiled back at the director when he announced the end of their session.  She got up and reached over to pick up the sheer fabric from the chair beside her and tied it around her waist to preserve some modicum of modesty since she was only clad in a bikini that revealed far too much skin for her own taste.  

She had caught a glimpse of Andrei again at the very back of the beach during the first take and she was resolved to get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all. She didn’t have to look far, the alpha towering over all the other shorter locals underneath a grove of magnolia trees by a secluded area of the resort.  

She walked with quick but quiet steps.  The man’s back was facing her but he must have sensed her approach because he turned around when she was only ten feet away from him, looking as if he expected her.  The expression on his face frustrated Yekaterina.  Was there nothing at all that perturbed this man?  

She cleared her throat. “Mr. Nikiforov.  I wanted to thank you for arranging all the transportation to take me here.  It made the trip go much more smoothly since this is my first time in Thailand and I know nothing of the language or the culture.”  She paused to allow the man to speak, but the alpha simply stared back at her. That same piercing gaze again.  

Yekaterina frowned, not being able to bear it much longer.  “But I also wanted to ask, why do you keep arranging these projects with me?  We both know how you feel about my work.”  Ah, finally a reaction.  Andrei’s blue eyes widened and he straightened himself, standing taller. “Mediocre, correct?  Those were your words back in Moscow.  So care to share with me why you still arrange all these commercials, all these photoshoots?  Surely there are other much better models and actresses out there worthy of promoting your products.”    

Yekaterina grew bolder and took a step forward which caused the man to take a step back.  It was the most discomfited she’s ever seen the man and it gave her satisfaction to finally see him something other than composed.  The months of frustration, of confusion and whirring emotions was finally pouring out of her and it was so cathartic.  She couldn't stop now.  “And why would the CEO himself attend so many of these events?  Surely you have your own marketing person in charge of these things.  What can you possibly have to do here?  Or is this a business practice unique to your company that I’m not aware of?” She finished her rant with arms crossed over her chest as she glared up at him, daring him to answer her.

The man’s nostrils flared as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  His eyes were a turbulent blue now, nothing like the cool icy steel that normally stared back at her.  He closed his eyes and opened his mouth as if to speak but closed his lips again and frowned.  After several moments he opened his eyes and looked back at her again.  Yekaterina wasn’t sure what to make of the emotions swirled behind those eyes.  

“I’ve never been particularly good with words, Ms. Feltsman.”

Yekaterina held her arms akimbo as she turned an eyebrow up at his statement, unimpressed, “Well then, Mr. Nikiforov, you’ll just have to find another way to elucidate this matter because I’m not leaving without an explanation.”

Andrei took a step forward, then two until he was towering above her.  Yekaterina had to tilt her head further back to return his stare but refused to be intimidated, alpha male status be damned.  She could almost see her own reflection in his eyes before they turned their gaze somewhere further down her face.

“Very well then, Katya.”

Her eyes widened in surprise because it was the first time he had ever addressed her by her first name. She was unable to react further, however, because Andrei had cupped her cheek and bent down, catching her lips in a kiss.

“And then they lived happily ever after?” Viktor asked eagerly, eyes bright.  

Lilia laughed and shook her head.  It was endearing how much of a romantic her grandson was. He definitely took after Katya in that regard.  “Oh no, not at all. Far from it, Vitya.  In fact, your mother slapped your father and refused to do anymore projects with him for the next several months.”

“Wait, but why?  Wasn’t that true love’s kiss?”  

Lilia paused to ponder his question for a moment.  “In a way, yes.  But I don’t think your Mama realized that she was also in love with your Papa until much later.”

“But then how did they get together if Mama no longer worked with him?”

Lilia smiled, thinking back to the chaos that ensued when Andrei Nikiforov showed up at their doorstep one April afternoon, six months after the incident in Thailand.  Yakov was absolutely murderous and probably would have done something drastic if she and Katya had not intervened.  “At that point, your Papa just had to court your Mama the old fashioned way.”

“So he gave her flowers and gifts?”

“Yes, several in fact.” And each and every one of them were more extravagant than the last.  Andrei Nikiforov never did anything by halves and once he had his sights set on her daughter, the alpha could not be deterred.  He pursued her with dogged determination.  It was very amusing to see the alpha so clearly out of his comfort zone.  It was obvious that he was used to getting what he wanted, and it must have been the first time in his life that he had to truly work for something. And he did so with a very charming, if not at times unnerving, tenacity.  

“In the end, Katya fell in love with him.”

“And where did they get married?”

“In the same resort in Thailand where they had their first kiss.  They exchanged vows underneath the magnolia trees. That’s why your Mama’s favorite flowers are magnolias, Vitya.”  She caressed his cheek as Viktor smiled, imagining his parents happy and marrying by the beach.  “And it was a gorgeous wedding.” She glanced at the clock beside his bed.  “It’s getting late.  One of these days, if you want, I can take out the photo albums so you can flip through the pictures.”  

“I’d love that! Thanks Baba!”  

“Goodnight, Vitya,” Lilia stood up and pressed a kiss on his forehead.  

“Night night.”  

Viktor blinked up at the ceiling as he pictured a wedding by the beach.  Speaking of weddings… Viktor laughed and smiled with giddiness.  He was gonna get to marry Yuuri soon!  Just one more gift.  He had already chosen the pictures after he met with Phichit yesterday.  Now all he had to do was ask his Baba and Deda to take him to a store to buy a frame for the two pictures.  

And then after that… Viktor reached out to a place behind his head pillow, feeling for the jewelry box he wedged between it and the headboard earlier that week.  He unwrapped it from the white handkerchief and opened the black velvet box to reveal the golden ring that now had a golden chain around it.  He knew the ring was too big for Yuuri since it was too big even for his own thumbs, so he took a chain from the shortest necklace he could find from his mother’s jewelry stash to thread into the ring so that Yuuri could wear it around his neck. 

Viktor sighed as he tucked the ring back again in its hiding spot.  Soon he can propose to Yuuri.  He closed his eyes and turned in his bed to snuggle into his pillows, a grin spanning from cheek to cheek.  He can already see in his mind’s eye the image of Yuuri with wide burgundy eyes alight with surprise, his cheeks flushed red and his mouth open in disbelief as he accepted the ring.  

“Then we can live happily ever after,” Viktor mumbled into his pillow as he fell asleep, dreams filled with him and Yuuri running and having fun along the beach.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Phichit, Captain and Official Historian of SS Viktuuri

Of Yuuri's friends, he shipped them first  

Phichit was proud to say that he knew Yuuri the longest out of all their friends.  Heck, if he was to be completely honest, he’d consider himself to be Yuuri’s best friend and he was sure that Yuuri would say the same.  Viktor was different of course, he was Yuuri’s mate after all, as the alpha was wont to remind them every now and then.

But back to him and Yuuri. They met two years ago in ballet class at Willowbrook Dance Academy.  Phichit was one of the shortest in the entire class since most of the students were at least one year older than him. He naturally gravitated towards Yuuri when he noticed that he was also just as short as he was.  Even back then, Phichit noted how skittish the omega was but also how determined he was to master all the steps and positions Mr. Cialdini and Ms. Okukawa taught them.  

At first Yuuri was very shy and would go out of his way to evade him whenever he approached the omega, but Phichit was persistent and his efforts and patience finally paid off when the omega began to open up to him. It was a long process though, that spanned over several months before Yuuri was fully comfortable in his company.  By the end of the first year, the omega began to joke along and initiate conversations with the beta until the two became stuck at the hip.

It was a shame that Phichit’s parents were so strict.  They didn’t really allow him to socialize with anyone outside of school, always wanting him to focus on his ballet classes and studies.  Perhaps that was why he was so desperate to have that one true friend in Yuuri.  And so, he made the most of his time with the other boy, chatting with him when they both arrived slightly early to their classes and sometimes lingering afterwards when their rides home were running late.  

Fast forward to this past September.  Imagine his surprise when Yuuri was introduced to the class on his first day.  Phichit had no idea that Yuuri even applied to Kubo International.  It explained a lot why the omega was more stressed than usual the year before.  When he confronted Yuuri about it during recess the omega blushed and said that he intentionally kept quiet in case he wouldn’t get accepted and asked for his forgiveness.  They hardly ever kept any secrets from each other.  Phichit shrugged it off though, the good friend that he was, since the application process to their school was daunting and he couldn’t really fault Yuuri for wanting to keep it a secret knowing how anxious the omega could get over things like that.  And to be fair, Yuuri also did not know that Phichit even attended school here.  It was odd, come to think of it, but it just never came up during their previous conversations.  

Then Viktor came into the picture. Phichit wasn’t sure what to make of Viktor Nikiforov at first.  He could clearly remember how the popular alpha made his way over to their side of the courtyard that one day and boldly proclaimed Yuuri as his in front of all the students and grown-ups.  It caused quite a stir afterwards.  He worried for Yuuri when the omega ran off but was relieved when Ms. Arena came back with him much calmer a couple of hours later.  He reserved his judgement of Viktor but kept his eyes on him warily, ready to defend his friend and fend him off if necessary.

But thankfully, he worried for nothing. Because the next few school days, it became evident to Phichit that the omega welcomed Viktor.  It would not have been obvious to anyone else, but Phichit knew his friend well and his keen eyes observed how the omega did not stray from his touch and advances.  He'd get surprised, yes, but Yuuri never ran away, never curled into himself the way he knew he would whenever he tried to avoid someone apart from that one time in the courtyard. Yuuri had explained it to him afterwards that he was scared of getting told off by the teachers, and wasn't upset because of Viktor himself.  

The alpha was overeager in his affections, definitely, but in an endearing way.  It was very amusing to watch Yuuri’s reactions to the alpha who was pretty much like a living barnacle, attaching himself to the omega and constantly giving him hugs, nuzzling his cheek, and holding his hand.  

Viktor wasn’t the only welcome addition, however. His friends, Georgi, Chris, and Mila, all three of them alphas but were very nice.  Before them, Phichit's closest friends in school were Leo and Guang Hong.  Phichit quickly introduced Yuuri to them and was easily welcomed into the group.  

After only a few days of spending lunch and recess together with Viktor's friends, Phichit could already peg down their personalities. Chris was a goofball, Georgi was a bit odd always going on about stories that his babushka would tell him, while Mila acted as the voice of reason in their group.  She was perceptive, just like him, Phichit noted.  An observer, but one who spoke her mind while Phichit tended to keep things to himself.  Guang Hong and Leo liked Viktor and his group as well and they ended up having the most fun Phichit could ever recall having during recess. And then after a few weeks Yuuko also joined in their fun.

Phichit wondered why they never all hung out sooner since all of them got along really well.  Usually alphas would play separately from omegas. It was almost like an unspoken rule in the school that the kids were content to go along with since alphas and omegas usually enjoyed completely different activities.  Betas had a bit more flexibility and can go in between groups depending on what preferences they had for games.

Apart from his friends, Phichit would say that his polaroid camera was his next best friend.  He loved it the first moment that his parents gifted him with it on his birthday one year ago, and he’s been in love ever since.  He considered himself the official photographer of their group. At first, his hamsters were his favorite subjects.  They were so cute after all!  But then once Viktor and Yuuri got together, he considered them his next favorite subjects.  Phichit loved a good story and his best friend and his mate were definitely the best love story he’s ever heard of. And the best thing was that it was unfolding right in front of his eyes!  How much more exciting can it get?  

He cataloged events big and small.  The first one was completely accidental and unplanned, namely the day when Viktor proclaimed Yuuri as his.  Viktor was a very spontaneous alpha and liked to do things right on the spot, but Phichit stood up to the challenge and always had his polaroid camera ready.

He recalled the time when Viktor approached him alone and asked for advice on how to court Yuuri. Oh how hard it was for Phichit to keep it a secret!  But he kept his promise and watched, satisfied, as Viktor began to court the omega properly.  Sadly, he wasn’t present for all the unveiling of the courting gifts and he was very upset when he was unable to take pictures of the time when Viktor ran on stage to present Yuuri with his bouquet after their recital.  And he was in a prime spot, too!  Oh well, there’ll be more opportunities, he’s sure.  

Fast forward a couple of weeks later, when Viktor eagerly told him of his successful date with Yuuri. Phichit honestly wasn't surprised when Viktor told him that their omega friend picked up ice skating really quickly.  Yuuri was always a quick learner and it was unfortunate that he was so harsh with himself all the time and unable to recognize his talents.  

He eagerly agreed to helping Viktor with his last courting gift for Yuuri.  Saving the best for last after all, right?  Phichit felt that it was just appropriate for him to contribute to what will be Viktor's last present before he wrapped up his courtship and proposed to Yuuri.  He went home later that night and quickly went through his boxes of polaroids, all meticulously organized by theme and date.  He had long since given up putting them in photoalbums since there were already stacks upon stacks of them in his bedroom.  Instead, he chose a select few to display all around his wall and kept the rest neatly in boxes that he placed under his bed.  

He opened a thick one that was almost as long as he was tall.  Lifting up the lid, he picked out the ones that had his friends and placed them in stacks before wrapping them carefully with string and placing them into a plastic bag.  

The next day, just as they planned, Phichit sneaked off quietly and hid behind the designated tree.  A couple of minutes later, Viktor appeared just as he finished laying out the photos on the bag to avoid getting any dirt on them. 

"Sorry for the wait," Viktor whispered which was unnecessary since they were a good distance away from all the other students. "But Yuuri was chatting with me for awhile so I couldn't walk away easily." 

"It's all good. Here, take a look at what I brought," Phichit scooted over and waved his arms over the photos with a flourish, watching Viktor carefully as the alpha's eyes widened and crouched down next to him, scrutinizing the pictures.  It was cute, really, how seriously he took this courting thing he was doing, but Phichit would not be satisfied if Viktor did anything less.  His best friend deserved the best, after all.  He was only being this helpful because he truly felt that Viktor and Yuuri were meant to be.  

The next couple of minutes passed in silence as Phichit sat back patiently.  Viktor had paused every now and then, his finger suspended a couple of inches above a picture he must have liked before he shook his head and continued perusing the rest. 

"Which ones do you like so far?  Maybe I can help you narrow your choices down." 

Viktor pursed his lips and lifted two pictures to show him.  Phichit leaned over. "Ah, those?" One of them was the photo of their entire group of friends that he had a random student take when Yuuri presented Viktor with a bouquet of blue origami flowers.  The other one was a picture of just Viktor and Yuuri under a tree that Phichit took two weeks into their courtship.  It was the first photo, he noted proudly, that Yuuri wasn't blushing.  In fact, by that point, the omega was smiling widely, completely comfortable with Viktor's tight embrace, their cheeks pressed together.  

"I can't choose between the two of them. As much as I love how Yuuri looks like in this photo," he waved the one with just him and Yuuri, "I also like how this other one has our entire group of friends. You guys are important too." 

Phichit smiled at the acknowledgement.  "Why not both then?" 

"Huh?" 

"Yeah, you can always get a frame that can hold two pictures.  I've seen them before.  You don't have to make yourself choose just one." 

Viktor blinked before a wide smile spread across his face.  "Yeah, you're right.  I'll take these two then. Thanks so much Phichit!"  He hugged the beta before standing up and tucked the pictures carefully in his jacket pocket.  "I'm gonna head back first okay?" 

"Yeah go on ahead while I clean up here." 

The next week, Viktor was able to talk to Phichit alone and excitedly whispered. "Yuuri loved it, Phichit!  I gave it to him when I hung out at his place this weekend and he absolutely loved it!"  He jumped up and down, ecstatic and Phichit was beaming too because both of them knew what was next. 

"I can ask him to marry me now!" 

"You two can get married!"  

The two friends laughed when they spoke at the same time.  Viktor shook his head as if in disbelief.  "Can you imagine it, Phichit?  Yuuri and I will be able to live happily ever after!"  The alpha actually twirled as he began to dance in place, clapping his hands.  His excitement was contagious as Phichit thought of all the film he would have to pack in his bag to prepare for what will be the biggest milestone yet in the Viktuuri timeline.  There was no way he wasn't going to take as many pictures as he humanly can. Viktor and Yuuri will just have to suffer and bear the flashes from his camera. 

"Don't rush into things though, Viktor," Phichit cautioned, not wanting to ruin his friend's good mood but at the same time wanting to give advice. "You gotta plan it well so that everything will be perfect.  You've done a great job courting Yuuri but this is now the main event, okay?" 

Viktor looked at him seriously and nodded. "Yeah, you're right.  Don't worry, Phichit, I'm not gonna let Yuuri down.  I may not know much about weddings, but I'm going to research as much as I can and see what I can do!" 

"Alright!  And just let me know if you need me or anyone else's help. We're all behind ya, you know?" 

As Halloween drew closer he begged and begged his parents to break tradition and allow him to go trick or treating with his friends.  They finally relented but with the promise that he be home by seven that night.  Phichit eagerly agreed.  

So now, here he was, dressed in a hamster costume as he trailed towards the back of the group while adjusting his camera on his neck and balancing his plastic pumpkin.  Mila dressed up as Superwoman and had Chris walking by her side dressed in fake military gear, mimicking a character from one of his video games. Georgi was dressed up as a ghost on a dare by Chris to prove that he wasn’t scared of ghosts.  He was fine as long as he didn’t see his own reflection in any of the houses’ windows or cars.  Guang Hong took the easy route, dressed as some sort of kung fu fighter with clothes he borrowed from one of his brothers who actually took kung fu lessons while Leo dressed as Aladdin, albeit with a shirt under the purple vest.  And closest to him was Yuuko, who was dressed as the Pink Power Ranger.

Phichit then turned his eyes to the very front where he saw Yuuri wearing a homemade costume made of a loose black-purple robe with long flowing sleeves. He had a cape that had a high collar and trailed all the way to the ground with some stars embroidered along it and wore a crown made of silver tinsel to mimic the appearance of stars.  Holding his hand was Viktor who wore a gown made of pale yellow with elaborate embroidering across his chest and white and an orange cape with faux white fur around the neck.  

They got the idea when Viktor told Yuuri of a fairytale about the God of Day and the God of Night. The God of Day, he had explained to Yuuri and his friends, fell in love with the God of Night and courted him until the two finally got together during an eclipse.  It was one of Viktor's favorite stories and he suggested that they dress up as a couple for Halloween.  Yuuri readily agreed and told Phichit how Viktor quickly went to his grandparents to hire a tailor to commission the clothes based on designs Viktor made with crayons.  Even with Halloween costumes, the alpha went all out.  

Phichit secretly thought that theirs was the most unique and creative costumes that he’s seen so far easily beating the costumes of even the older kids that they ran into. Mari and Minako led the group of first graders to their twelfth house of the day, Minako stepping aside to allow Mari to ring the doorbell.  Behind him, Phichit could hear Yuuri’s parents talk to Viktor’s grandparents.  They decided to tag along since they wanted to take advantage of the unseasonably warm Fall weather to walk.  

The door opened to reveal a young couple.  They gasped at the large group in front of them as Phichit and his friends all yelled “Trick or treat!” in unison.  

“Oh wow, there are so many of you!  And such cute costumes, Eric, look!”  The brunette pointed to Yuuri and Viktor.  

The husband smiled down at them. “I’m not sure I’m familiar with your characters, who are you guys dressed as?”

Viktor puffed his chest up proudly, “I’m the God of Day, and this here’s my mate, the God of Night.” Yuuri simply smiled at his side.

The woman actually squealed. “Ahh they are absolutely adorable!”  

The man stepped away from view and returned with a tray of assorted Snickers, Twix, Reese's cups, Milky Ways, Kit Kats, and 3 Musketeers chocolates.  “Now you can only grab two pieces each, I’m afraid.  Sorry we didn’t get more.”  He smiled at each kid as they took turns going up and choosing their chocolates, placing it in their own pumpkins and Halloween bags.  

“Have fun you guys and stay safe!”  The woman called before they closed the door.  

Leo looked down at his bag with satisfaction. “Alright!  It’s only been an hour of trick or treating and already my bag’s half full!”  

Georgi grinned as he reached down to munch on one of the Twizzlers he got earlier. “Yeah, this gonna last me a while.  Babushka doesn’t let me eat too much candy in one day.”

“Hey you guys, check out the next house over there!”  Chris yelled as he ran ahead of Mari and Minako and pointed to the house next door.  There was a large lawn that separated it from the last house they just left and appeared to be the most decorated house in the street.  Several fake headstones were artfully spaced across the yard with one of them having a fake skeleton in front of it, positioned to make it look like it was clawing its away up from its grave.  The bushes had fake webs strewn upon them and there were several small white ghosts hanging from the small tree with a plastic life-sized witch riding a broom hanging from the branches of the largest tree. A scarecrow with a creepy smile was awaiting them right at the entrance of the walkway.

“Come on, last one there is a scaredy cat!” Mila called as she waved her hand over to Yuuko who followed her as they ran to Chris.  Leo grabbed Guang Hong’s hand and ran after them shortly followed by Viktor tugging a reluctant Yuuri.  Phichit smiled, getting his camera ready and jogged to catch up to his friends.  

Minako smiled at their antics as she watched the group make their way up the walkway and slow down as they began to approach the porch.

“Man, it’s dark in there,” Chris muttered. He stopped right before the first step.  

“Do you think anyone’s even home?” Yuuko wondered as she too tried to peer past the curtains blocking the windows.  

“There has to be,” Viktor huffed and placed an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders noting that the omega was starting to get nervous. “Why would they go into so much trouble decorating the place if they’re not gonna give away candy?”

Leo nodded, “Well, unless they wanna be jerks I guess.”

“Nah, I don’t think people here would do that,” Chris countered.  A smile popped on his face as he narrowed his eyes over to Georgi who stood beside him. “Hey Georgi, how ‘bout you go ring the doorbell?”

From his spot Phichit could see the alpha’s eyes widen behind the two holes that he cut into the sheet of his costume.  “W-wait, why me?  I thought Yuuri’s sister was the one who rang the doorbell for us.”

The group turned around to look at the teenager who stayed behind on the sidewalk together with Minako.  

Chris snickered, “Nah, I don’t think she’s coming over Georgi, so you do the honors.”  He gave the other alpha a nudge on the shoulder. “Unless, you’re chicken?”  He began to cluck like a chicken as their friends laughed.

“Am not! Take that back, Chris!”

“Well go on ahead and ring the doorbell then!”

“Why should I? I don’t have anything to prove!”

Mila groaned and began to tap her right foot impatiently.  “Just do it, Georgi, you know that Chris isn’t going to stop teasing you until you do.”

“Ugh fine…” Georgi took a tentative step up and then two and then three until he was at the top of the steps.  He paused when he noticed the white ghost hanging right beside the doorbell.  

“Go on already, Georgi, you’re dressed exactly like that ghost anyway. Why are you so scared?”

“I told you, I’m not scared!”  Georgi growled, stomped over, and jammed his finger against the doorbell to prove the point.  The ghost hanging right in front it must have been motion or sound-activated because it began to violently shake and gave a loud wailing noise surprising the entire group.  Phichit screamed bloody murder, almost dropping his beloved camera.  

Mari and the rest of the adults turned around when they heard the kids’ piercing screams as they all scrambled to run away from the house as fast as possible.

“Holy shit, the ghost is real!” Chris yelled at the top of his lungs.

Lilia frowned. “Language, Mr. Giacometti!” But her scolding was lost in the volume of their screams as all the first-graders ran past them and cowered behind the adults.  

Minako and Mari were roaring in laughter when they realized what caused the panic while Toshiya chuckled and looked in amusement at the fake volume-activated ghost. “Technology these days, that’s just amazing!”

“Oh Yuuri dear, don’t cry,” Hiroko cooed at the omega as she bent down to wipe away the few tears that fell down his cheeks. “It was a robot ghost, okay?  It wasn’t real.”  

Viktor gave him a hug from behind. “Yeah, Yuuri don’t worry. I would have p-protected you anyway.”  But even the taller alpha was trembling a bit no doubt shaken even though he tried to feign courage.

Phichit turned around to see that an elderly man opened the door and laughed at them.

The man called out to the group, “It gets the kids all the time!  Best decoration I’ve purchased yet.” He cackled, slapping his knees before he turned around to call to someone behind him.  “Hey, Violet!  You should come here and see their faces, I scared another group!”  His voice carried over across the lawn.

An elderly woman stepped beside him carrying a huge bowl of what must have been candy.  “You’re a sadist, Eustace.  You kids don’t pay him any mind.  Come here and get your candy!”  

Yakov barked out a rare laugh and nudged Viktor forward. “Well, don’t keep them waiting, Vitya.  All of you, go get the candy so we can move on.”  The group followed his command, albeit hesitantly as they made their way much slower and slowed down even further as they went up the steps again, eyeing the ghost warily.  

Georgi stepped on a noisy board which activated the ghost again and caused him and the rest of his friends to scream.  Eustace began to laugh again as Violet groaned.  

“Is there an easy way to turn off that damn thing? I’m tired of hearing the poor kids screaming.”

“Not unless you get on a ladder, and I ain’t doing it until Charlie gets home.  You know how my hip gets.”

Violet sighed and stepped out since the kids refused to come closer.  “I’m sorry dearies, here, grab as much as you like.”  Yuuri and Guang Hong still ended up swiping one each, wanting to leave right away. Leo, Phichit, Viktor, Mila, Yuuko, and Georgi each grabbed only a handful to be polite while Chris gave a charming smile to the elderly woman.  “Don’t mind if I do, ma’am,” he said before using his arm to swipe a whole bunch into his bag practically emptying the bowl.  

Violet chuckled and gave the young alpha a playful smack on his arm. “Cheeky one, aren’t ya?  You kids have a good night.”

“Yep, don’t pee in your pants now!”

“Eustace!”  They could hear snatches of the couple bickering before the door was closed.  

Phichit walked over back to where Mari and the adults were waiting for them.  Yakov looked to the sky that was growing pink and violet with twilight. “It’s going to be dark very soon.”

“Aww, but Deda it’s still too early!”

Minako paused and looked at their hopeful faces.  “How about my apartment complex?”  She laughed when they perked up.  “We won’t have to worry about it being dark and getting colder if we trick or treat indoors.  And besides,” she winked, “there’s tons of apartments in a single floor, and the complex I live in is twenty floors tall.  There’ll be lots of trick or treating to do there.”  She turned around to appraise the reactions of the Katsukis and the Feltsmans.  

Lilia nodded. “That will be fine, it doesn’t look like they’re ready to stop just yet.” She turned to look at the Katsukis who also nodded their assent.  

With cheers, the group split up with Mari, Guang Hong, and Leo getting in Minako’s car, Yuuko, Georgi, Mila, and Chris in the Katsuki’s van, and Viktor, Yuuri, and Phichit with the Feltsmans. They created a short caravan and followed as Minako drove the five miles over to her apartment complex.  

Phichit’s only regret that night was that he never got to join his friends on all the previous years’ Halloweens.  But if he was able to go this year, he was optimistic that he can convince his parents to let him do it again next year.  And his only other regret was the next day when he woke up with an upset tummy from all the chocolate and candy he stuffed himself with the night before.  He still grinned though, looking at his plastic pumpkin that was still half-filled with sweets.  It was worth it for all the fun he had last night.

On Monday Phichit had his usual pre-ballet class that began at 6pm.  He got dropped off a little early.  He shrugged off his coat in the changing room and let it hang in his locker before shuffling down his jeans to reveal the standard black leggings the boys wore underneath.  He was debating whether to go straight to the studio or sit down by the bleachers and socialize with the few other boys who were early when he saw Yuuri go into the changing room.

“Hey Yuuri!” He called over.  

The omega smiled, “Phichit, hi!”  He jogged over and set his duffle bag down, his locker right beside Phichit’s.  

“It’s been awhile since you came this early.”

“Yeah, Otou-san had to take Mari to a friend’s party so he decided to drop me off first.”

“How’ve things been?”

At that Yuuri tilted his head at him and gave him a bemused look. “Phichit, we just saw each other in school a couple of hours ago.”

The beta laughed and waved his hand dismissively, “No, I mean between you and Viktor of course.”

“O-oh,” Yuuri smiled bashfully as he took off his sweater.  “Everything’s been great.  Thank you by the way.  I loved the last courting gift he gave me and he told me that the photos were from you.”  

“No problem!  I take the best pictures after all, so of course I had to share them with Viktor to give to you. But he was the one who chose them.”

The two walked out of the changing room and settled in their usual seats that were placed right by floorlength glass that gave them a view of the studio.  Inside they could already see a couple of their fellow students filtering in.  

“So how have things been between you two since then?” Phichit said teasingly as he nudged Yuuri’s shoulder.  “He’s been courting you for awhile now.  You do know that this means that he’s going to ask you to marry him soon, right?”

Yuuri smiled, looking down at his lap.  “Yeah.  He told me that this was his last gift for me.”

“And what do you think about marrying him?”

Yuuri stared at a random point ahead.  “I don’t really know why, but it feels right. Whenever I’m with Viktor I’m happy.” He turned his eyes down and pointed to his heart. “I feel something here.  And when he’s not there, it doesn’t feel right. I’m sorry, I’m prolly not making any sense.”  

Phichit simply nodded, “It’s okay.  I can’t say that I’ve felt the way you feel about Viktor but I think you guys are special.”

Yuuri gave his friend a heartfelt grin, appreciating his words. “Thanks.  I think Minako-sensei and my family think that me and Viktor are only playing a game.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, actually, I know that they think that it’s just a game. I heard my parents talking to each other once when they thought I already went upstairs.”

Phichit grew concerned.  “Does that make you mad?”

Yuuri shrugged.  “I dunno.  Maybe a little frustrated?  But I don’t care too much.  The only thing that’s really important to me is that Viktor isn’t playing a game with me and I know he isn’t.”

His answer satisfied Phichit as he saw Mr. Cialdini, or as the kids liked to nickname him, Ciao Ciao, waved them over from the middle of the studio.  Yuuri turned his head up, seeing the gesture as well.   

“Come on, let’s go,” he held out a hand to his best friend.  

Yup, SS Viktuuri was going to sail smoothly.  

It felt like forever, but in truth it was actually only a couple of days later that Friday when Viktor approached Phichit and Leo at the back of the classroom before classes started.

“I’m planning on asking Yuuri to marry me later today.”  There was a strange sort of nervous giddiness that was emanating in waves from the young alpha.  “I already told Georgi, Mila, and Chris,” he gestured to their other friends who sat in the first few rows and they waved back, Georgi holding a thumbs up, looking just as excited.

Phichit squealed, not caring if it made him sound girly. How can you blame him? His favorite couple was getting together!  Thank God he always started to pack extra film for his camera since the two got together.  

“That’s awesome, Viktor, congrats!” Leo said as Phichit nodded eagerly.

The alpha gave a shy smile, the expression a little out of character on his face, “Thanks, Leo, but I think you should save the congrats for later if Yuuri says yes.”

Now that got Phichit’s attention. “Wait, why do you say ‘if’?  Of course he’s going to say yes!”

“I-I hope so.”  Viktor turned to get something from the small bag he carried, revealing three small magnolias each on a small stem and handed two to Leo and one to Phichit.  “Later, when I tell you guys, you give it to Yuuri, okay?  You give one of them to Guang Hong later, okay, Leo?  Make sure to hide it from Yuuri until I tell you.”  

“Shh!” Phichit suddenly hissed, nodding to the front of the room. “You guys, Yuuri just came in.”

“Oh!”  The nervous expression on Viktor’s face was quickly replaced by a heart-shaped smile as he turned around to face his mate.   “Yuuuuuriii!” He ran over to the front and gave Yuuri a hug, the omega laughing and hugging him back. “I missed you!”

“Viktor, we just saw each other yesterday. You’re being silly.”

“Still!”

“Woo man,” Leo whispered as he hid his flower under his desk, Phichit following suit and placing it right by his camera, “This is gonna be awesome.”

---  

Classes were an absolute drag that morning and it didn’t help that Phichit kept looking at the clock every ten minutes.  But finally after science class, the bell rang to signal the beginning of lunch.

Everyone acted normally but Viktor hardly ate any food, something that Yuuri quickly picked up on.  

“Viktor, are you okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah, why do you think something’s wrong?” Viktor’s voice was a pitch higher than usual, the alpha shifting his eyes and refusing to return Yuuri’s worried look. “Everything’s fine!  I just don’t feel hungry.”

Yuuri pouted and reached over to place a palm on Viktor’s forehead, making the alpha blush furiously.  “Well you don’t feel like you have a fever.  And your tummy’s okay?”

“My tummy’s fine. Everything’s fine, I promise,” He gave a tight grin that wasn’t all too convincing.  

Yuuri decided to drop the matter and nodded, returning to his own bento box. When everyone was done with their lunch they made their way outside, Viktor taking the lead with his arm around Yuuri.  He turned around to look at Mila and made a gesture with his hand, communicating something silently.  She nodded in return and started walking more slowly.  Georgi and Chris must have also known what Viktor’s hand signal meant because they slowed their pace too.  

Leo looked at the alphas, confused.  “What’s going on?  Are we supposed to do something now?”

“Yeah,” Chris said, “Viktor gave you the flowers, right?  You all got them with you?”

Guang Hong nodded.  

“Good,” Mila said.  “In the middle of recess, Viktor said he’s going to go behind the tree in the corner of the courtyard.” She turned to look at Phichit,  “Same tree that he said he would meet you at, Phichit.  When that happens, you’re supposed to distract Yuuri so that the rest of us can follow Viktor after five minutes. We’re supposed to spread out and form a line to the tree and give Yuuri the flowers as he passes us one by one, then we all gather as a group over behind the tree.”

Phichit grew excited with every word that Mila said, clearly picturing the scene in his mind.  “And what will Viktor do?!”  

Georgi shrugged.

“Aww, he didn’t say?”

“Nope, he said it was a surprise.”  

Mila started picking up her pace again as they made their way over to the swing set where Viktor was pushing Yuuri.  

Guang Hong nervously fiddled with the flower he hid in his jacket pocket.  “I’m not good at keeping secrets,” he whispered.

“Just act natural Guang Hong,” Leo said encouragingly.  “Come on, if you’re worried we’ll go play by the slides so you won’t have to talk to Yuuri if you’re afraid of saying something.”

“Kay.”  

Georgi went back on his monkey bars while Mila and Chris went on the see-saw.  Phichit wasn’t sure where to go but decided to sit nearby beside the dolphin statue and check to make sure his camera was ready to take a boatload of pictures. He won’t be able to capture everything since he was part of Yuuri’s surprise, but maybe he can still sneak in a couple of shots before they made it to the tree.

After about ten minutes or so, Viktor must have decided it was time because he gently allowed Yuuri’s swing to slow down and bent down to whisper something in his ear, pointing over to Phichit.  Yuuri said something in response and made his way over to Phichit.  Behind him, Viktor gave the beta a thumbs up before grabbing the bag he used to hold the magnolias earlier that morning and making his way over the tree.  Phichit noted in the corner of his eyes how his friends also noted Viktor’s movements but still continued what they were doing, following the plan and giving him some time to prepare whatever his surprise was. He did his best to plaster on what he hoped was a natural smile.  

Yuuri smiled back and sat down, “Hey, Viktor said you wanted to talk to me about something. Why didn’t you come to me earlier?”

His mind whirled as he tried to think of an excuse and story on the spot. “You two looked like you were having fun. I didn’t wanna interrupt.”

“What did you wanna talk about?”

“Err…” Come on brain, don’t fail now! “Did you know that hamsters are color blind?”

“Really?” Oh thank God Yuuri didn’t get suspicious with his random choice of topic. “How did you find out?”

“My Ma gave me this book on different hamster facts recently.”  He pouted, “And to think all this time I’d show them all my favorite pictures. They don’t get to see the real colors!” 

Yuuri giggled.  

“And did you know that they’re near-sighted too?”

“Really?  So they need glasses like me?”

“Yeah, after I read that I suggested to my Ma to bring them to an eye doctor so we can get them glasses. She just laughed at me.  But it’s okay cuz they use their sense of smell to know their way around.”

“I wish I could do that!  Sometimes I like to take my glasses off, but it’s hard to see far without them.”

“And they can’t eat any candy either. I was gonna chop some of the softer candies we got from Halloween and feed it to them but Pa told me that it’s not healthy for hamsters.”

“That stinks.  Well, more candy for you then. I had to share some of mine with Mari-neechan.”

Phichit nodded and quickly sneaked a glance to see that all of their friends were gone from the playground.  He then looked over to see that they spread out and formed a line that led to the tall oak tree, just like they planned.  He grew excited and clutched his camera with one hand, the other he placed in his pocket feeling the flower that was still inside.  He never knew that a person can shake with excitement before, but he definitely was.  

“Phichit, what’s going on?”  Yuuri frowned at him as Phichit stood up and held a hand out to him.

“Come on Yuuri!”

“Okay?” His best friend was clearly confused and concerned at his odd behavior but nonetheless placed his hand in Phichit’s and allowed himself to be pulled up and out of the playground area.  He turned around and just noticed his friends, all of them waving at him, forming some sort of odd line towards a tree in the corner of the courtyard. Every now and then other students would pass by them but they all stood in place. “Why are they standing like that?”

“You’ll see, come!”  Phichit dragged a curious Yuuri a bit closer.  “Oh, and here,” he fished out the magnolia flower and held it by the stem. He turned and gave it to Yuuri who took it with a perplexed expression. “Wait… what... where did you get this?” Why was everyone acting so weird all of a sudden? Phichit simply gave a secretive smile as they walked closer to Yuuko who was the closest to them.

“Hey Yuuri!” The beta bounced on the heels of her foot as she presented Yuuri with another magnolia flower. Yuuri let go of Phichit’s hand and took it. “Wait, why another flower? Yuuko, do you know what’s going on?”

“I do~” Yuuko sang and giggled as she gently pushed Yuuri forward, walking on Yuuri’s other side.  Yuuri simply blinked as Yuuko and Phichit led him to Leo, who gave Yuuri yet another magnolia flower. 

"Hey Yuuri!" Leo greeted cheerfully as if there was nothing strange with handing Yuuri another flower.  

Yuuri took it, still confused.  Before he could speak up, Leo placed an arm around his shoulders and steered him over to Guang Hong who gave him yet another magnolia. 

“Guang Hong, you too? What are all of you guys doing?”

Guang Hong blushed and stammered, shaking his head. “Sorry Yuuri, I can’t say!”

“What’s this secret you guys know?” Yuuri pouted as he shifted his glance between all four of his friends now. Phichit simply laughed and poked his cheek as he took Yuuri’s arm and moved them along.  

“Don’t pout like that Yuuri,” Mila teased as they got closer to her and reached out to give him her magnolia flower. At this point he used both hands now to make sure he didn’t drop any of them.  

“But it’s not fair, why aren’t you guys telling me what’s going on?” Yuuri blinked as he suddenly realized something. “Wait, where’s Viktor?”  His question sent Mila and Yuuko giggling as Mila gently steered him over to Georgi who gave him another magnolia.  

“You’re gonna love it, Yuuri, don’t worry!”

“Wait Georgi, is Viktor behind all of this?  Is this another gift?” Everyone simply smiled back at him.  

Chris laughed as the entire group made their way towards him and presented Yuuri with his final flower with a flourish.  Phichit got a quick picture at this point, making Yuuri give him a wry look.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure even Viktor finished with all his courting gifts,” Chris said with a chuckle as he gave a dramatic bow and extended his arm to point behind the tree.  “Your mate awaits, Yuuri!”

A spark lit behind Yuuri’s eyes as he gasped and increased his pace as he quickly circled around the tree.  Phichit hurried after his camera right below his eyes ready to take pictures, all of their other friends right behind him.

“Viktor!”

Phichit gasped as he took in the sight before him.  Yuuri’s back was facing him, so he wasn’t sure what the expression was on his face but judging from his voice he sounded delightfully astonished. In front of him, Viktor was grinning, holding a single red rose which shook slightly from his nerves. It was really strange because Phichit never really saw him this anxious before, but he recalled how Viktor expressed his nervousness earlier that morning.  

Behind him their friends were hushed as they watched the scene.

“Oh my gosh, he made a heart out of the petals!”  Yuuko gushed.

“So cute, so cute,” Mila chanted behind her hands.

Phichit blinked and looked down at the ground where Viktor stood. And there, indeed was a heart made out of white magnolia and lavender rose petals that stretched the entire portion of grass between the tree and the wall that marked the edge of the courtyard.  Viktor stood in the middle.

“V-Viktor what is all this?”

Viktor cleared his throat and held up the single red rose, “Come here, Yuuri.” He gave a soft smile as he watched Yuuri walk over to him and join him in the middle of the heart.

Phichit was absolutely breathless with delight as he came to his senses and quickly snapped a picture of the scene in front of him.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: To Plan a Proposal and a Wedding

 Go grab your happiness, Vitya-chan!

After his lessons with his tutor, Viktor was able to convince his Deda to take him back to the arts and crafts store where there was a good selection of photo frames.  And that’s where he was now, standing on his tiptoes as he perused the various frames propped on the shelves, walking slowly up the aisle while he held the two pictures that he wanted to give to Yuuri.  

Some were easily rejected, being too girly, too simple, or too ordinary.

“Vitya, just choose a frame so we can go home.  It’s going to be your bedtime soon,” Yakov muttered from the end of the aisle.

“But Deda, this has to be perfect! It’s my last gift to Yuuri!”  Viktor pouted and ignored the rant his grandfather said in response.  In one ear, out the other.  

Viktor pondered on one of the products, a finger on his lip, before he shook his head and turned to the next one.

Oh!  This one was actually… pretty good.  Viktor turned around, “Deda, can you get me this one?  I can’t really reach it.”

Yakov sighed and walked over, grabbing the frame he pointed to and handing it to him.  

Viktor turned the frame over in his hands. It was a simple one, made of varnished wood. It was actually composed of two separate frames attached together with a hinge in the middle, which allowed you to prop it open like a book.  It allowed for one photo in a landscape orientation and another one in a portrait orientation which was perfect for what Viktor needed.  The only adornment were the words “Life” in the left frame and “& Love” in the other frame both written with letters cut from a bronze metal sheet.  

“So?” Yakov prompted by his side.

“This one, Deda, I wanna get this one.”  He smiled and handed his grandfather his chosen frame and skipped along behind him as they walked over to the cashier.  

“Life and Love.” It was perfect because that’s exactly what Yuuri has given him.  

They just exited the store when Viktor saw a set of toy capsule vending machines.  There was one in particular that he was very interested in. “Deda!”  He called out to Yakov, who already unlocked the car and was about to get in.  

“What now?  Don’t tell me there’s something you forgot to get.”

Viktor jogged over and held out a hand. “Can I have 25 cents, pleeeease?”

Yakov sighed and fished a coin out of his pocket.  “Just hurry on, it’s getting really late.” He dropped it in his grandson's outstretched hands.

“Thanks!”  Viktor smiled as he ran back to the vending machine, placing the coin in the little slot and turning the knob.  Please let it be a good one, please let it be a good one.  The plastic clack of the capsule sounded as it fell down and he reached in to retrieve it, quickly opening it.  Inside was a small plastic ring coated with golden paint to give it a metallic appearance. In the middle were three fake blue crystals. The best part though was that it looked just like the right size to fit on one of Yuuri’s fingers.

“Vitya!”  His Deda honked the horn of the car impatiently.

Viktor quickly placed the ring back into the capsule and pocketed it.  “Coming!”

Viktor was a super happy alpha because that Saturday he had arranged a playdate with his Yuuri.  His Baba and Deda dropped him off at the Katsukis' after lunch.  Yuuri’s parents weren’t around since they were currently touring one of Yuuri’s aunts who came to visit from Japan.  And so, Minako was the one who opened the front door.

“Hi Minako-sensei!” Viktor said as he hugged the woman.  Minako laughed and ruffled his hair.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble,” Minako called out to Yakov who waved his hand in response from the open car window.  “Now come on, lil Romeo, I’m sure your Juliet is here somewhere.”

“Viktor!” The little omega circled around the corner and ran over to him.

“Yuuri!” Viktor closed the remaining distance and the two hugged each other tightly.  

Minako smiled fondly at the sight before her.  You’d think that by the way they were hugging each other that they were parted for months instead of just seeing each other yesterday in school. “Did you eat lunch yet, Viktor?”

Viktor turned to Minako but still didn’t release Yuuri from his embrace.  “Uh-huh. Thanks Minako-sensei!”

Yuuri lifted his head up, “Great, I just ate too!  Wanna come play in my room? My aunt gave me these new Legos! It’s a really big set too, we can make a castle!”

“Really?! Yeah, let’s go!” The two ran up the stairs quickly.  

After two hours of playing, the first hour spent on constructing the castle and the second hour playing with it and making a story with the characters, the two kids decided to take a break.

Viktor didn’t mind the momentary lull, sitting back against Yuuri’s bed, his feet stretched out on the floor.  Yuuri sat beside him, still tinkering with one of the Lego characters in his hand.  

“Hey Yuuri, you ready for your gift?”  Viktor already made to reach out for his bag.  

Yuuri smiled wide and nodded his head.  “You already gave me so much, Viktor.”  

The alpha puffed up his chest with pride, “Of course, I have to give you a lot to show you how great of a mate I am!”

Yuuri giggled and accepted the package the other boy handed to him.  “I told you before, gifts or no gifts I will still marry you.”

Viktor leaned over to press his forehead against Yuuri’s as the omega unwrapped the gift between them.

“Oh wow!”  

Viktor leaned back to properly assess Yuuri’s expression and was relieved at the fond smile on his face as he looked at the pictures.  He traced Viktor’s image with his finger.  

“Phichit’s photos of course.  I got to choose them though. And I chose the frame too!”  

“I love it, Viktor!”  Yuuri pulled him into a hug which he eagerly returned.  “I’ll keep it right next to my bed. Here,”  Yuuri stood up and walked over to his bedside table and pushed the storybooks on it aside to make room for the frame.  “There, perfect!"  Yuuri stepped back to admire the pictures from afar.    

“Yup, I felt like it was only right to give you a reminder of all of us back in school for your last gift.  At first I was thinking of just getting a picture of us two but I needed to include our friends as well cuz they've always been there for us since the beginning.”  

The smile that his comment placed on Yuuri’s face was something that Viktor would never forget. As if he was the only other person in the world.  And Viktor was sure that if he could see his reflection now, that he would look the same way.  

Yeah, he and Yuuri will definitely get their happily ever after.  

Later that evening, it was almost time for Viktor to go home. Yuuri’s parents and aunt haven’t gotten back yet. Minako was in the dining area watching something on the television while Yuuri was in the bathroom upstairs.  It was just Mari and Viktor waiting in the living room, Mari leaning against the wall and Viktor sitting on the sofa, watching out the window that overlooked the driveway in case they saw the lights from his Deda’s car.  

Viktor decided to take the opportunity to ask Mari a very important question.  But he can’t just pop it out of nowhere.  He had to ease into the question first.  So he thought of asking the same thing his Baba would ask him when he would get home from school.  “So…” he pasted what he hoped was a natural smile on his face. “How was your day?”

Mari lifted one eyebrow wondering what the kid could want.  It was normal for Viktor to be friendly, but there was something about his smile that looked a bit exaggerated.  Her eyes narrowed.  “What do you want?”

Viktor’s smile turned sheepish as he turned his eyes to the floor and he began drawing patterns on the plush sofa with his finger.  “Who said I wanted anything?’”  

When Mari simply stared down at him the boy relented and took a deep breath. “Okay, fine.” It was now or never. “Since you're Yuuri’s older sister, I need to ask you something.” He said, suddenly serious.

Mari was puzzled at the sudden change in his demeanor.  “What?”

Viktor turned his gaze back to her, stood up, and clasped his hands in front of him. “I’d like to marry Yuuri, please.”

Mari’s eyes widened and she leaned forward from the wall to stand up properly. “Wait, what did you say?” She couldn’t have heard that right. 

Viktor pouted and repeated himself, a little louder, “I’d like to marry Yuuri. Pretty please.”

Oh dear God she actually heard it right. “Was that even a question?” Mari asked incredulously.

“I guess...? You’re okay with it, right?  I'm gonna have everything planned out.”

“Er…” How does one even respond to this? “Does Yuuri know about this?” Do your grandparents know about this? She added in her head desperately.  Isn’t this something grown-ups should be handling?  Why does she keep finding herself in these situations?

“No, cuz it’ll be a surprise,” the little boy had the audacity to give her a look as if that answer was obvious. 

“People don’t really give surprise weddings.”

The young alpha tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Why not?  People give surprise birthday parties.”

It was hard to argue with a child’s logic. “Agh, forget it!”  Mari shook her head in frustration not having the patience to explain.  “Besides you’re not supposed to ask me, you’re supposed to ask the omega’s parents!  I’m only his sister!” Mari strained her ears to hear the loud crashes coming from whatever action movie Minako was watching in the dining room. Gah, where was a grown-up when you needed one?! She was half-tempted to call Minako over.

“But Yuuri’s parents are away and I dunno when I'm gonna see them again! I gotta marry Yuuri soon, Mari-neechan.” 

Mari's eyebrow twitched. Okay the boy was already starting to call her 'older sister.'  This kid was moving way too fast in more ways than one. She struggled to come up with a response when she was interrupted by the flash of lights coming from outside.  They turned around to see a Maserati pulling into the driveway.  It was Yakov.  

“So you’re okay with it, right?!” Viktor asked, turning back to Mari with a hopeful smile.

“Uh…”

“Yay, thanks, Mari-neechan!” Viktor hugged her before stepping back.  “Promise not to tell Yuuri, okay? I’m going to throw him the best surprise wedding ever!”  

Soft footsteps came from the stairs as Yuuri made his way down.  

“Yuuri, my Deda is here to pick me up,” Viktor went over to meet him at the foot of the stairs.  

“Okay.”  The two gave each other a hug while Mari got the front door open.  “Thanks again for the gift, Viktor.”

“Of course! Anything for my mate,” Viktor winked and practically skipped out the door, for once not despondent that he had to leave Yuuri.  This time, the thoughts of planning their upcoming wedding filled his mind.  The boy hopped down the steps as his grandfather got out of the car.  

Mari walked down to follow but held out an arm to halt her brother.  "Stay here, Yuuri, it's cold out."  She walked over to Yakov who opened the door for Viktor.  

“Did he give you any trouble?” Yakov asked Mari.

The young teen opened her mouth, but then made the mistake of turning her eyes over to Viktor who was standing behind Yakov.  The little alpha was shaking his head violently and looked at her with pleading eyes.  Ugh, how was she even going to explain it to his grandfather anyway?  She couldn’t bring herself to repeat Viktor’s strange question... or was it really more of a request?  “...Er no, he didn’t.”  Viktor's shoulders lowered in relief while Yakov nodded and bid her a goodnight before getting back in the car.  

From behind the storm door, Yuuri waved Viktor and Yakov goodbye.  

“Okay, Yuuri, let’s go in. It’s starting to get cold.”  Mari gently nudged her brother back and closed the door, making sure to lock it. 

"Yuuri, did you know that Viktor wants to marry you?"  

The omega blinked back at her, the very picture of innocence.  "Yeah?  I mean, that's why he's courting me in the first place. So we can get married." 

Mari groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead.  "I can't believe... You guys are still seriously playing this game?" 

Yuuri pouted.  "It's not a game, Mari-neechan."  

Mari simply looked down at him, not really knowing what to say. 

"Mari! Come on over here, you're missing the best parts of the movie!" Minako's voice called over. 

"Nee-chan?" 

She turned down to look at her brother.  Little kids confused her so much.  Was she this much of a handful when she was a kid?  She'd like to say no.  "Go on Yuuri, go up to bed.  Otou-san and Okaa-san said they'll be back late tonight so Minako's sleeping over here." 

"Mmkay," Yuuri gave her a quick hug and went up the stairs.  Mari watched until his feet disappeared from view.  

If Viktor was serious about his research on courtship, he was equally serious if not even more tenacious when it came to researching on proposals and weddings.  In some ways, this was an even bigger challenge since none of his friends really knew much about either subject, and so he was left to his own devices.  But never fear, it was nothing that a Nikiforov alpha couldn’t handle!  

And so, the following day he went over to the room where his Papa had installed a large home theater system.  His Mama’s collection of classic black and white movies lined the shelves by the television, together with some of the Disney movies and other cartoon VHS tapes that were collected over the years.  He frowned in concentration as he read the titles from his Mama’s collection, tilting his head to the side in order to read them properly.  A Love Torn Asunder, A Passionate Romance, Stories from San Francisco, How We Met in NYC, When Minds Collide, The Strongest Bond, The Alpha and the Omega… he paused at the last title. ‘The Alpha and the Omega’ might have something interesting. He could vaguely recall his Mama watching it once, and if it was the movie he thought it was then there should be a wedding scene somewhere.

He pulled the VHS tape out and looked at the cover.  There was a woman in a white dress, hair styled in a 1950s coiffure. Her body was facing the man who held her in his arms and the two were staring each other with lovestruck eyes.  Well at least it was a love story.  He looked at the clock to find that it was one in the afternoon.  His Baba and Deda were away at some boring grown-up party that he was thankfully spared from so he should have a good few hours to himself to watch the movie uninterrupted.  

Viktor turned on the television using the remote and proceeded to remove the VHS tape and popped it into the VCR.  He turned up the volume a little bit and the sound of classical string music filled the room.  

One hour later, Viktor sat just one foot away from television, eyes wide as he watched the movie with rapt attention.  It was the proposal scene. After a long and hard courtship (wow, grown-ups sure were stupid! He did a waaay better job courting Yuuri), the leading alpha, William was ready to propose to the female omega, Delilah. He escorted the woman by the arm into a garden.  

“William, what can you possibly want to talk to me about alone?”  The woman in the movie batted her long lashes at the man.

“My darling Delilah, I have a very important question to ask you.  Depending on your answer, I may very well become the happiest man alive.”  William turned around and gave the woman a dazzling smile as he took her hands in his.

“Well then, let’s hear it. What kind of question can hold such power over you?”

“My Delilah…” the man trailed off as he knelt down on the ground.  The woman gasped when he reached inside his suit pocket to reveal a black jewelry box.

“William!”

“My wonderful Delilah, light of my life, sweetest omega that ever lived,” William paused and opened the jewelry box to reveal a ring. “Would you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

“Oh William! I never thought you would ask!”  The woman gasped and gave a dramatic swoon as she placed the back of her hand upon her forehead, the other on top of her heart.

“Delilah, dearest, please tell me your answer!”  William begged from the ground as he held up the ring higher.

“Of course, of course you silly man! I will marry you William Harrison!”

The man took out the ring and placed it on Delilah’s ring finger before standing up and pulling her in a passionate embrace.  Viktor stared wide eyed at the scene before he paused the video and began jotting down notes in his notebook.

Ask Yuuri to Marry Me

• Surprise him

• Tell him how much I love him

• Kneel down on one knee

• Ask him to marry me while kneeling

• Show him the ring

• Put ring on his finger after he says yes

The next major scene that interested Viktor was the wedding.  The leading couple had the ceremony in a small church. There were white drapes hanging, bundles of flowers hooked at the sides of the aisle, and a nice plush carpet that the bridal party walked down on.  Viktor’s pen was moving furiously across the paper as he frantically scribbled in his notebook, every now and then having to pause the movie in order to record the pastor’s words and the couple’s vows.  It didn't help that he didn't understand what some of the words meant. By the end of the wedding scene his fingers were cramping.  

Ugh, do he and Yuuri really have to talk that much on their wedding?  Can’t they just say that they wanna stay together forever and just leave it at that?  Geez, grown-ups have to make everything hard.

Just then he could hear footsteps coming down the hallway and he heard Anna’s voice call for him before she appeared at the threshold. “Vitya?  What are you doing here?”  She turned her gaze to see the movie playing on the television.  “Why are you watching that?”

Viktor shrugged, not really able to think of an excuse.

Anna gulped, if it was the end of the wedding scene she knew that the honeymoon scene was next and ‘The Alpha and the Omega’ was a film that was infamous in being one of the first to break the strict censorship laws of the 1950s Hollywood Era, featuring the first sex scene, although nothing too explicit was ever shown.  Still, it was definitely not for a child’s eyes.  She walked over and turned off the VCR.  “Come Vitya, it’s time for a snack,” she tugged on his hand the young alpha complied since he was pretty much done with his research anyway. “I made you peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Viktor grinned excitedly as he ran out the room.

Over the next few days, Viktor tried to plan his dream wedding.  He wanted to have it over at his place, and of course all of his and Yuuri’s friends have to come.  He flipped through the three gigantic photo albums of his parents’ wedding that his Baba placed out for him.  The resort was right next to a beach and just like Baba said, it was a gorgeous wedding.  His Mama was very pretty, but she always was so he didn’t expect anything different. She looked like the happiest omega alive being led down the aisle by Deda, even if Deda’s expression made it look like he very much preferred not to hand his daughter over to his Papa.

One thing that really stood out to him too, as his eyes flitted from photo to photo, was the abundance of flowers.  They exchanged vows under the magnolia trees but in addition to that there were a whole bunch of flowers placed along the side of the pews and even more during the reception.  

It was mid-November though, and there were hardly that many colorful flowers in bloom.  They didn’t live close to a beach either and Viktor figured it would be too cold to stay outside for too long.  Yuuri got cold easily and the last thing he wanted to do was to get him sick… What kind of alpha would he be if he let that happen?

Viktor blew out a huff of breath, making his bangs flutter.  He stared at the small vase filled with flowers on the end table beside the airmchair he was sitting on.  The flowers were still fresh since the maids tended to replace them every so often using the flowers that grew from the greenhouse.

Wait a second...Viktor blinked.  The answer was staring at him right in front of his face the entire time!  The greenhouse! Viktor gasped and leaped off the chair. He ran over to the closet in the entrance hall and opened it to reach for his coat, shrugging it on and making his way to the backdoor.  A waft of cold air filled with the scent of freshly clipped grass and the sound of a lawn mower greeted him as he opened the door.  Viktor closed it shut behind him as he hopped down the steps, just pausing to give a quick wave to their landscaper as he ran across the patio and onto the grass towards the greenhouse.  

He passed their pool which was currently covered with black tarp and then the entrance to the outdoor maze.  He continued to run, passing several more feet of plain grass and wondered once more why he lived in such a huge place.  Viktor was winded by the time that he was in front of the greenhouse’s doors and took a couple of seconds to catch his breath before turning the knob and making his way inside. 

Unlike the cool, crisp autumn air, the inside of the greenhouse was heavy with humidity and filled with the scent of various flowers.  It was a bit of an assault on his nose and he sneezed at the onslaught of the heavy floral perfume before his senses were able to adjust to it.  He remembered how his Papa had the greenhouse constructed for his Mama as a birthday gift.  It was modeled after the New York Botanical Garden and was just as impressive, especially considering that this was private property and not open to the public.  

He never really went here too often since all the scents tended to give him a headache when he was younger.  But now that he was older, he found that his body was better able to adjust to it.  Viktor walked around slowly, taking the time to look at the sights around him.  The brick path he was on was slightly wet, no doubt due to their gardner freshly watering their flowers.  

Hydrangeas, roses, orchids, lilies, daffodils, Chinese hibiscus, Chenille plants, African violets, fuchsias, petunias, geraniums, and more, many of them were some exotic-looking flowers and plants with names that he did not know.  

The brick path took him to a wider space underneath a glass dome.  In the very middle was a grand marble fountain.  A little cherub was perched on the rock, wings spread out, water pouring from his pitcher as several water spouts in the pool also shot water several feet into the air.  Benches lined the edges of the space.  Along the perimeter were cherry blossom and magnolia trees interspersed with peonies, calla lilies, gardenias, and lilacs. Viktor walked up to the side of the fountain subconsciously relaxing under the soothing sound of the running water. He took one last look around.  The bright sun gave the entire greenhouse a golden, almost unworldly glow.  It was warm, but not uncomfortably so.  

But most importantly, it was perfect.  Here, this is where he and Yuuri will get married.  

After dinner he followed his Deda to his study.  The older man raised an eyebrow when he noticed his second shadow but allowed Viktor to enter the room, even opening the door for him.  Viktor skipped on over and took a seat in front of the armchair before his desk.  

“What do you want, Vitya?” He asked, settling down into his own chair and picking up the newspaper that he had left there earlier in the afternoon.

“I wanna plan a party Deda.”

Yakov flipped over to the page and folded the newspaper over to pick up where he left off.  “And what’s this party for?”

“It’s gonna be Phichit’s birthday.”

Yakov frowned and peeled his eyes from the paper to look at Viktor who refused to meet his eyes.  “And why would the boy celebrate his birthday here of all places?”

“Cuz Phichit says his house is too small and we wanted to invite all of our friends. Besides, did you know how much he loves flowers?  I was hoping to have it over at the greenhouse.”

Yakov narrowed his eyes.  There was something very suspicious about the story and his grandson’s guilty expression wasn’t helping his case.  But as they say, ignorance is bliss.  The less he knew, the better.  “Fine, have the party here.”  

Viktor's head snapped up, the smile on his face wide enough to cause dimples.  He didn’t expect that he would run into such little resistance. “Really?!  I can have it here?”

Yakov shrugged.  “Yes. But keep me out of it.  Get Anna to help you.”

Viktor clapped his hands in delight and got down from the chair.  “Thanks so much Deda, you’re the best!  Yuuri-I mean Phichit! Phichit is gonna love it!”

Yakov’s eye twitched, noticing Viktor's slip-up. So he was right all along.  Well, all the more reason not to get himself involved.  He watched as his grandson made his way out of the room. “And don’t forget-”

“Yeah, I know, I’ll close the door!” A click sounded as Viktor closed it.  

---

Anna was one of the youngest maids, but due to her work ethic and her loyalty to her employers, she easily rose in the ranks and became the head maid for the household.  Her mother had worked for the Baranovoskayas, who were also a highly respected family descended from old aristocracy.  When she came of age, she had chosen to stay and work as a maid and join Lilia who had inquired for extra help. Anna eagerly took the offer, never really being much of a school girl.  Others may look down at her but Anna enjoyed her simple life.  She never would have guessed that she would end up joining the Feltsmans when they decided to make their stay in the United States more permanent.  

One morning she was finishing ironing the laundry when Viktor approached her.  She turned to the young boy who looked so much like his father but had inherited his cheerful nature and silver hair from his mother.  “Good morning, Vitya. Did you want me to prepare you an early lunch?”

“No, but I was hoping to get you to help me with a party I wanna have for one of my friends.  Deda said you can help me.”

She set down the iron and turned it off before gathering the linens she just ironed and placing them in the closet behind her. “And what kind of party is this?”

“It’s a surprise birthday party for my friend Phichit.  I wanna have it at the greenhouse cuz Phichit really loves flowers.”  

“Hmm… that can work. We’ll have to tidy the place a little bit and maybe set some tables and chairs there.  Around how many people are you planning on inviting?”

“Um…” Viktor mentally listed his friends and counted them out one by one on his fingers, “Less than ten, if all of them can make it.” And he really, really hoped they could!

Anna smiled in relief at the workable number.  A mansion filled with priceless antiques and items easily worth more than what she will ever earn in her lifetime would not mix well with too many excitable kids.

“I also want decorations,” Viktor said.  “Like maybe add extra lanterns and use tablecloths too.  A mix of white and pale blue.”

“Are those Phichit’s favorite colors?”

Viktor nodded eagerly.  

“And I want a whole bunch of flowers on the tables.”

“That should be fine, I can use some from the greenhouse itself. I’m sure Mr. Jenkins wouldn’t mind,” Anna said, referring to the elderly gardener who took care of the flowers with an almost manic passion.  Actually, she should probably ask for permission first just so that the poor man won’t blow a gasket when he sees his flowers clipped.

“And a cake of course!  I want one of those stacked cakes, three cakes tall!” Viktor said, gesturing how tall by stretching his arms wide. 

“You mean a three-layered cake?  Are you sure?  That’s a bit too much for just you and a few other kids Vitya.”  Anna winced when the alpha pouted and quickly reassured him. “But alright I can hire someone from the bakery to make one if you insist. But you’ll have plenty of leftovers.”

Viktor shook his head incredulously.  The idea of having too much cake was absurd, there could never be enough cake!  “Okay, but I’m going to find a design myself and you have the baker copy it!”

Anna thought to herself.  Custom-designed cakes always cost more money, but then again the Feltsmans never really cared about expenses when it came to their grandson.  “Alright.”  

“And do you think you can also have a big carpet right in front of the fountain? Just to make it look nicer?”

“I’m sure I can find one.”  Anna gave Viktor a bemused smile.  This Phichit boy is very lucky to find such a good friend in Viktor if the little alpha was going through this much trouble to arrange a surprise party.  "Any specific food you want me to have Mr. Moreau prepare?" She'd have to give their chef a good amount of notice even though this was a much smaller occasion to prepare for.  

"Katsudon?"

"I'm sorry?" That sounded like something foreign.

"It's this Japanese food made with fried pork and egg.  And I'll ask my friends what other food they like and tell you next week."

Anna took out a notepad from her pocket and jotted it down since she can't trust her memory to remember a foreign dish that she's never heard of before.  “Alright then.  Now would that be all?”

“Yeah, I think that’s it!”  Viktor surprised her when he rushed over to give her a hug.  “Thanks so much, Anna! You’re the best!”  

Anna was confused though when Viktor came back to her two hours later to give her a picture of his parents' wedding cake.  She shook her head in bewilderment and pocketed the photo, planning to give it to the baker tomorrow and place a request for a much smaller version of the cake.  Even if no expenses were barred for this party, there is no way that she in good conscience can place an order for a five-foot tall ten tier wedding cake.

After settling the surprise wedding preparations with Anna, Viktor went back to the greenhouse with a bag.  He felt slightly guilty that he lied to both Anna and his Deda (and by extension, his Baba too). But it was all for a good cause! After all, if he were to tell them the truth then that would ruin the surprise. He doesn’t trust Deda and Baba to keep it to themselves and not tell the Katsukis and of course Anna would never keep a secret from his grandparents either.  Anyway, once he and Yuuri get married they can go tell their family.  Plus, Mari already knows so it’s not so bad, right?  And he got her permission too!  Viktor thinks Mari-neechan is cool so she should hopefully be able to keep it a secret from Yuuri.  

So all that is left is for him to ask Yuuri to marry him.  In keeping up with the flower theme, Viktor decided to grab some magnolia flowers.  He’d have to ask Mr. Jenkins or one of his assistants to help since he doesn’t think he’s tall enough to pluck them from the tree.  And then maybe he can grab a bunch of petals from some of the other flowers there.  He was brainstorming earlier that day and decided to get his friends to help him.  After all, they were all important to him and Yuuri and they’ve supported them since the very beginning.  So it was just right if they could play a role too.  

If things go well… A sense of nervousness washed over Viktor.  If things go well then Yuuri will say yes.  It wasn't very common that he felt tense like this, but this was something very important after all!  His happily ever after depends on whether or not Yuuri will accept him.  

He took a deep breath, getting himself lost again in the wonderful blend of the various floral scents that filled the greenhouse.  He can do this!  But first, he needed some flowers.  

Oh God, if he thought that he was nervous the day before, then Viktor was downright terrified right now.  He can hear Chris commenting on Yuuri’s progress as the omega made his way closer to them.  

“Yuuko just gave her flower so they’re all making their way to Leo now.”

“Okay…”

“Alrighty, now they’re up to Guang Hong.”  

“...” The hand holding the single red rose was currently shaking.  Steady, steady… you’re a Nikiforov, Viktor you can do this!

“You okay there, Viktor?” Chris quickly popped his head around the tree to see his friend just staring down at the rose, looking like he was about to be sick. “You got this, don’t worry!”  He gave his best friend an encouraging smile before whipping his head back to track Yuuri. 

“Sweet, now they’re up to Mila... and there goes Georgi!  I’m gonna be next soon, Viktor, get ready!”

“K-kay,” Viktor gulped and quickly reached into his jacket pocket for the nth time that day where he felt two lumps, one was the jewelry box that held his Mama’s old ring and the other the toy ring he got outside the arts and crafts store.  

“Viktor!” He lifted his head up just in time to see Yuuri run around the tree.  

His nervousness abated a bit and he grinned when he saw the delighted expression on his omega’s face.  He loved surprising Yuuri, but he knew that based on what happened when he proclaimed himself as Yuuri’s alpha two months ago, that Yuuri preferred to be surprised in a more private setting.  His omega was a shy one, and got easily flustered in front of crowds.  That’s why Viktor specifically decided to only involve their friends and chose this specific location.  This tree, where he had planned a few of his courting gifts together with Phichit and where Yuuri comforted him that one time (and what will be the only time, he silently promised himself) that he felt like a failure as an alpha.  Yuuri had said back then that he would marry Viktor no matter what.  Well, let’s hope that it still holds true.  

“V-Viktor what is all this?” Yuuri gestured to the magnolias in his hands.

Yuuri looked so cute when his eyes were wide like that.  Viktor cleared his throat and held up the rose in his hand.  “Come here, Yuuri.”  

Always trusting, the omega walked on over to join him in the middle of the heart that he created just moments ago using the petals he collected from the greenhouse.

Yuuri took the rose and gave him a confused smile.  “Thank you… but Viktor, can you tell me what’s going on?” He quickly turned around to see Phichit and all their friends staring back at them.  “Did you tell them to give me those flowers?”

“Yup, it was all my idea,” Viktor said proudly as he placed his hands behind his back.

“Yuuri…” He swallowed heavily when Yuuri turned around again to face him. “Yuuri, since I met you I knew that you were mine.”  He placed a shaky hand on his chest, right above his heart. “I felt something here and I knew that you were my mate.  As I got to know you, I learned that you make me happy and I never ever want that feeling to go away.  Baba and Deda once told me that we may change someday as we get older but I know that no matter what I still wanna be with you.”

Yuuri watched Viktor with an enraptured expression, eyes wide as the hands holding his flowers began to shake as well.  

Viktor continued with a determined expression and continued speaking from his heart, “And that’s why I courted you because I wanted to show that I am a good alpha.  I hope that my gifts showed you how much you mean to me.”

“I loved your gifts, Viktor, but like I said even without them I don’t care. You’re my alpha,” Yuuri said softly with a blushing face.  His words made Viktor blush as well.

“Thanks Yuuri,” Viktor said much more softly as he fidgeted and then quickly removed his other hand from his back, his right hand shaking, knuckles white with his fingers clutched tightly around a small black velvet box. “T-then,” Viktor took a deep breath as if to steel himself and got down on one knee as he opened the box to reveal a golden ring tethered on a golden necklace. “Yuuri will you marry me?”

Yuuri gasped as he stared wide-eyed at the ring. Viktor panicked when he started to see tears begin to pool in his omega’s eyes.  

“Yuuri?” He was torn between looking scared and heartbroken.

“Hai!” Yuuri practically shouted.

Viktor frowned and tilted his head to the side in confusion, “Hi?”

Yuuri realized what he just said and nodded emphatically switching to the right language, “Yes!  I said yes!”  

“Really?!”  Viktor’s eyes widened as his trademark heart-shaped smile took over his face.  “You’ll marry me?!”

“Of course I will, Viktor!”

Viktor quickly stood up and practically leaped to glomp Yuuri. “Yuuuurii! Now we can live happily ever after!” He leaned back and the two stared at each other lost in their own world each with beaming smiles.   

Beside Phichit, Mila and Yuuko gave high-pitched squeals, practically blowing off his eardrums as Chris whooped and Guang Hong and Leo clapped.

Georgi called out, “Come on, Viktor, you’re supposed to give him the ring!”  

“Oh, right!”  Their friends laughed as Viktor took a step back to take the golden ring out of the jewelry box.  “It’s still too big for you, Yuuri, so I put it on a necklace.  Here,” he unclasped the necklace and placed it around Yuuri’s neck and snapped the clasp closed again.  “Papa told me that it’s tradition in my family to give the ring to your mate.  It used to belong to my Mama.  But don’t worry, I got another one!”  And with that Viktor fished something else from his jacket pocket to reveal a clear round plastic ball.  He popped off the cap and retrieved the plastic toy ring.  “Here, I think this one will fit you!”  He gently took Yuuri’s hand and placed it on his ring finger.  Yuuri smiled as he held his hand up, the toy ring a perfect fit.   

“Thank you, Viktor!  For both the rings.  I’ll keep them on forever!”

The two laughed as they hugged each other tight, their friends quickly running over and engulfing the couple in a group hug.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: The Beginning of Our Happily Ever After

Viktor and Yuuri say their vows under the magnolia tree

Viktor was pretty much on cloud nine for the following days. Anna had relayed to him that she ordered a cake with the bakers and already spoke with Mr. Jenkins and some of his assistants to make the necessary arrangements for the party. She and another maid will be going to a couple of stores to buy some additional items like tablecloths and ribbons for the flowers.  All that was left was to talk to his friends so that they can all agree on a date and get some ideas on what food they would like to have.

So there they sat in the cafeteria finishing their lunch.  Viktor took his place beside Yuuri as always and held his omega's hand once both of them finished their lunch.  He had always liked holding hands before, but now Viktor can’t help but grasp Yuuri’s right hand in particular to feel the plastic band of the toy ring that Yuuri kept on his finger.  He knew that Yuuri also wore his Mama’s old ring on his neck, but Yuuri always kept it safety tucked away under his shirt, afraid that it might get caught on something or scratched.  

“Hey guys,” Viktor began, making everyone turn to look at him.  “I was thinking of holding a party over at my place. We never hung out together yet at my house after all.”  Mila, Georgi, and Chris had been at his house before, but he hasn’t invited them over since his Mama died.  The three alphas gave him a soft smile while all the others grew excited at the idea of seeing his house for the first time, Yuuri included.  

“That’s an awesome idea, Viktor!” Yuuko said.  “When can we come over?”

“I was thinking this weekend actually.”

“Yeah, why not? As long as it's the weekend my parents should be fine.”

Yuuri turned to address Phichit. “Phichit, do you think your parents would be okay?” He was the only one of their group who recalled how strict Phichit’s parents were.  It was the main reason why he and Phichit never got to properly hang out together outside of their ballet classes.  To Yuuri’s surprise, Phichit laughed and waved his hand dismissively.  

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, and you know why?” Phichit giggled as the others looked at him in confusion. He explained the situation for their benefit.  “Yuuri’s talking about how my parents normally don’t let me go over to other people’s houses.”

Georgi frowned.  “Why not?”

The beta shrugged.  “Dunno… I guess they just want me to study all the time. Or practice ballet.  That's why I was so happy to be able to trick or treat with you guys this year.” He turned to Viktor, “But anyways, I think they should be okay now is because my Ma is actually a big fan of your grandma, Viktor.”  

“Really?  How does she know Baba?”

“Ma’s told me that she watched your grandma perform one time in Russia when she was little and wanted to learn ballet cuz she loved it so much. She even went to a school in Paris for a couple of years but stopped after she married Pa.”

“But when did she meet Baba?”

“She saw your grandma when you guys dropped me off after trick or treating. She really wanted to go outside and say hi but her English is not too good.”

“We’re very lucky then that Viktor gave you a ride home that night!”  Yuuri said happily. “I really hope you can come, Phichit.”

“Yeah, you can tell your Ma that I invited you especially cuz you see…” Viktor turned his eyes away and looked down at his tray, “...I may have told my Deda that it’s gonna be your birthday.”

Phichit gave him a confused smile. “Wait, what?  Why would you say that? My birthday’s April 30.”

“I needed a reason why I wanted a party with all of you so soon!”  

“Viktor, it’s not good to lie,” Yuuri admonished squeezing his hand.  

Now Viktor felt guilty again.  “I’m sorry, but I promise to tell them the truth after the party!”  He couldn’t reveal that he wanted to surprise Yuuri with their wedding and didn’t want to risk his grandparents telling the Katsukis his plans.  

“Aw, forget about that Yuuri! We’re gonna have so much fun!”  Chris said, pounding his fist on the table and making Georgi frown at him when he caused his juicebox to tip over. “It’s been so long since we got to go to your house, Viktor!”

“I wanted to ask you guys what kind of food you wanted.”

“Can’t go wrong with pizza,” Leo said.

Georgi brightened at the mention of food. “How about some okroshka?”

Mila grimaced and stuck her tongue out, “Ew, Georgi, you actually like it?”  Her comment made Viktor chuckle knowing that Mila absolutely hated vegetables.

“What? My babushka makes them real good!”

Mila winced. “No, just no. How about something more normal like shashlik or pelmeni?”

Viktor nodded and looked to his other friends. “How about you guys?”

Yuuko shrugged, “I’m not really picky. I’m sure I’d like whatever you have.”

Guang Hong, “One time I went to a party with Leo… I really liked those tiny hot dogs they had.”

Viktor smiled. “You mean pigs in a blanket?”

“Really, that’s what you call them?”

“Yeah.” He turned to look at Phichit, Yuuri, and Chris.  “How about you guys?”

“I second the pizza.  Or spaghetti, or both.  You gotta have cake though since it’s Phichit’s ‘birthday,’” Chris snickered, nudging Phichit’s shoulder.  

Phichit, “Yeah since it’s gonna be my pretend birthday, let’s have cake!”

Viktor took out his notebook and wrote down the food they all mentioned. He smiled internally when he thought of the huge cake he had Anna order for them.  “How about you, Yuuri?” He smiled at the omega encouragingly.  

“I’m fine with anything too, really.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s great enough that we all get to hang out at your house!”  

Viktor grinned and closed his notebook once he jotted everything down, planning to tear off the page and give it to Mr. Moreau later when he got home.  He hoped that the chef would be able to prepare everything, especially some good katsudon so he could surprise Yuuri.  

A couple of minutes later, Viktor was on the see-saw with Yuuri when he noticed that Yuuri stopped smiling and looked at something behind him.  He frowned and stopped when his feet reached the ground, turning around to see an unwelcome face.  Viktor growled and got off his seat, making sure that Yuuri got down the see-saw safely as well.

He stood in front of Yuuri as if to shield him from view.

“What do you want?!” He called out with his fists clenched at his side.  His angry shout caught the attention of their other friends, who began to walk over to them.

“Viktor…” Yuuri whispered worriedly behind him. He felt his omega place a shaking hand on his wrist.  

“It’s okay, Yuuri, I’ll protect you.”  Viktor stood taller and he took comfort when Chris, Georgi, and Mila walked to his side to stare down the intruder.  Phichit, Guang Hong, and Leo stayed next to Yuuri while Yuuko stood off to the side.

Takeshi Nishigori winced when he saw all the younger students’ hostile faces.  He held his hands up, bowed his head, and walked towards them more slowly, afraid to do anything to provoke them. “L-look, I’m not here to cause trouble.” He chanced a glance over at Yuuko and blushed.  “I promise.”

Viktor took a quick glance at Yuuri when he felt the omega squeeze his wrist gently, “Let him talk first, Viktor.”  Viktor felt proud at how Yuuri walked up beside him and looked up at Takeshi, no longer hiding behind him.  

“What are you here for, Takeshi?” Mila asked.  

Takeshi took a look at Yuuri.  “I came to say sorry for what I did.  I didn’t realize I was being mean, and I swear I’m not a bully.”

“Took you long enough to say sorry,” Chris said defiantly, crossing his arms.

“Why were you even picking on Yuuri, Takeshi?” Yuuko asked, more curious now than angry.  

Her question strangely made Takeshi blush and he refused to meet her eyes.  “I-I can’t really say why.” He lowered his hands to his sides and awkwardly swung them back and forth as if he didn’t know what to do now that he said his piece.  “Just...I’m sorry, okay Yuuri?”

Viktor turned to carefully observe Yuuri’s expression.  The omega gave a small smile.  “It’s okay, Takeshi.”  He walked up to the taller alpha and held out his hand.  “Friends?”

Takeshi smiled in relief and nodded eagerly.  “Yeah, friends!  Thanks Yuuri,” he shook the omega’s hand.  

“Yo Takeshi, come on we need you to make our teams even!” A blonde beta called from the other side of the courtyard.  “What are you doing over there with the younger students?”

Takeshi turned around, “I’m coming!”  He turned around, “I’ll see you guys around, okay?”

“See you Takeshi,” Yuuri said.  

Takeshi nodded and ran over to rejoin his friends.  Viktor watched the older alpha leave before turning around and pulling Yuuri into a hug.  “My omega’s the sweetest ever! You’re so nice to forgive him just like that Yuuri.”

Georgi nodded, “Yeah, I dunno if I would have just forgiven him that quickly.”

Yuuko gave a knowing smile.  “It’s nice that Takeshi finally apologized.  I never told you guys this, but we used to play together when we were younger.”

Phichit’s eyes widened. “Wait, how do you guys know each other outside of school?”

“We used to be neighbors but I moved away one town over last year.  And since he’s a year older and hangs out mostly with older alphas we just kinda lost touch.”  She turned to Yuuri and smiled.  “He’s really nice deep down. He likes to tease people sometimes but I was surprised when he started picking on you out of nowhere. I dunno what got into him but at least he said sorry now.”

Yuuri nodded, thinking of the new friend he just made.  Okaa-san had always taught him to forgive people who say that they're sorry because it always took courage to admit that you did something wrong.  And he could tell earlier that Takeshi was being honest when he said that he never meant to be mean.  It was nice, actually, to think that he just made friends with someone older than him.  The rest of recess passed peacefully among the friends.  

---

Viktor went to bed that night feeling accomplished.  He was able to hand Mr. Moreau the list and got confirmation from the chef that the food wouldn’t be an issue.  He just needs to hear from his friends tomorrow that they would be able to make it that weekend, preferably that Saturday.  He hoped all of them would be able to come.  He had no doubt that Yuuri should be able to come since their families knew each other at this point.  Georgi, Mila, and Chris were a given too as long as their families didn’t have any other plans for that day.  But he can count on them to do their best to come no matter what.  

The next day, Viktor made sure to eat his breakfast more quickly and was dropped off to school ten minutes earlier than usual. Just as he hoped, Yuuri was not yet there since he typically was the last of their friends to arrive, living the furthest from the school.  

“Good morning,” Mila greeted as he sat down.

“Hey, you’re pretty early today, Viktor,” Georgi noted, watching his friend curiously as he got his notebook out of his bag.  “What are you doing? I thought you were done courting Yuuri.”

“Of course I am! But now we gotta get married, right?” Viktor replied eagerly.  “So can you guys come this Saturday?”

“Yeah, all of us can make it,” Chris replied, nodding to Yuuko behind him and Phichit and Leo who sat at the back of the room. “All of us here can come.  Leo walked with Guang Hong to his homeroom on his way here and said Guang Hong can also come.”

“Great!” Viktor turned over and gestured to Leo, Phichit, and Yuuko to come over.

“Morning, Viktor, what’s going on?” Phichit asked.

“Before Yuuri comes, you guys make sure to come around noon, okay?  I’ll tell Yuuri to come later around one so we have time to prepare our surprise.”

“What surprise?” Georgi asked.

“I’m planning a surprise wedding for Yuuri! That’s why I pretended that it’s Phichit’s birthday.”

“Oh my God, Viktor, you’re a genius!” Mila gushed, thankfully not loud enough to capture the attention of their classmates. “Yuuri’s gonna love it!”

Phichit and Leo walked over. “Wait, what’s this about a wedding…?”  Phichit looked like Christmas came early. He looked incredulously at Viktor who nodded in response.

“You heard it right, the hangout I was planning this weekend is actually a surprise wedding for me and Yuuri!  Well, a surprise for Yuuri at least,” he laughed as he opened his notebook.  “I did some research this weekend by watching a movie that had a wedding scene. Chris,” he turned to the blonde boy.  “You’re going to be my best man, and Phichit… I don’t know how much Yuuri knows about weddings, but I’m pretty sure you should be Yuuri’s best man.”

Chris frowned in confusion, “But what does a best man do?”

Viktor shrugged. “Dunno exactly, but they pretty much stood behind the bride and groom--or in me and Yuuri’s case, the groom and groom during the ceremony.  I think they also make some sort of speech when the people eat after.” He then turned to Mila, “Mila, can you be the minister who will marry us?”  

The female alpha gasped and nodded eagerly. “Of course I will!  What am I supposed to do?”

Viktor flipped to the next page and tore off the sheet of paper.  “I tried to copy down the speech that the minister in the movie said.  It’s kinda long but I guess that’s what grown-ups do in weddings.”

Mila turned the piece of paper over to see Viktor’s poor handwriting.  “Er…” she couldn’t clearly read all of the words because of his poor handwriting. And even some of them were words she didn't understand let alone know how to pronounce.

“Hide the paper quickly Mila, Yuuri just came in!” Georgi elbowed the girl and she quickly balled the paper into her hand.  

“Good morning, Yuuri!” All the friends said in unison, making the omega give them a weird look.

“Why are all of you guys around Viktor’s desk?” The omega cautiously stepped around them to take his own seat.

“Nothing!”

“Just talking about video games.”

“Thinking of what we can do at the party.”

Viktor gave a forced laugh and waved off Phichit, Leo, and Yuuko as they made their way back to their desks.  “Anyway Yuuri… can you come this Saturday?  Everyone else can come!” He held his breath until he saw the omega nod.  

“Yup, Minako-sensei herself will drop me off since Mari-neechan has a soccer game that day.”

Viktor turned away and gave himself a triumphant smile.  Everything was going well so far! He can’t wait until this weekend!

Lilia watched curiously from one of the large bow windows on the second floor that gave her an excellent view of the grounds. She was looking specifically at Mr. Jenkins’s assistants who were carrying three foldable tables into the greenhouse.  

“Lilia, what are you looking at?”  Yakov asked as he stepped beside her.

“Anna told me that Vitya’s planning some sort of party for that Thai boy… Phichit, was it?” She could see Yakov nod from the corner of her eye.  

“I wonder why the greenhouse of all places.”

“Better there than in the house where something can get broken.  Boy thinks he can fool me.  It’s not really for that Phichit boy.  It’s something for Yuuri, although I’m not sure why Vitya would lie.”

“I wonder if it’s for Yuuri’s birthday then.  Whatever it is, I’m glad.  Anna told me that Vitya invited all of his friends from school.  It’s been so long since he’s had friends here.  Although I do plan on confronting him after all this is over on why he’s pretending that it’s Phichit’s birthday.  It wouldn't be good to let him get away with lying to us if what you're saying is right,” Lilia gave a soft sigh and took her husband’s hand in hers. “Come, let’s eat lunch.”

Viktor woke up early that Saturday out of his excitement. He rushed downstairs and surprised his Baba and Deda that he was up early enough to join them for their breakfast.  He typically slept in on weekends.  

Lilia gave him a knowing smile as the young alpha wolfed down his syrniki. “Someone’s very excited for his party.”  

“Mm-hmm! I shu’ am!” Viktor smiled with his mouth closed, giving a good impression of a chipmunk.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Vitya,” Yakov grumbled over his cup of coffee.  

Viktor made quick work of the rest of his syrniki and then reached for his glass of milk drinking it all in one go. “Kay, I’m done!” He ran back upstairs to his room to get ready for the rest of his (really big!) day.  Viktor brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on the white collared formal dress shirt that he typically hated to wear.  Weddings were supposed to be a bit formal though, so he figured he should at least wear a nice shirt although he absolutely refused to wear a full-on suit. Thus, he hopped into a pair of denims and hurriedly tied on the laces on his sneakers before putting on a cashmere sweater, making sure the collar was tucked in nicely.  

By the time he jogged over to the greenhouse, Anna and Nadia, another one of their maids, appeared to be putting some finishing touches by the fountain.  Anna had added some extra decorations, placing white and sky blue balloons along the perimeter.  Small vases of white roses accented with rich purple heliotropes were placed along the length of the table.

Nadia walked over to what was likely going to be the buffet table since Viktor saw her lay out several thick placemats for the heated dishes.  “Mr. Moreau will have the food delivered from the kitchens later, Vitya, so that everything will still be hot.  In the meantime, he’s going to prepare some snacks and appetizers in case your friends get hungry early.”

“Sounds good!” Viktor said as he looked at the green carpet that Anna had instructed the men yesterday to place right before the fountain, underneath the cherry blossom and magnolia trees that he intended to stand under together with Yuuri.

Everything had been finalized and the snacks were laid out in bowls in the buffet table by the time his friends began to arrive.  Mila, Georgi, and Chris arrived together since they carpooled with Georgi's dad.  They decided to wait in the foyer for the rest to come.  

Phichit came a few minutes later, already taking several photos of his house as he ambled over to his front door, to the embarrassment of his Pa who stayed in the car until his son got in the door.  “I’m so excited, Viktor!  You should see my bag, it’s filled with so much film.  I’ve got my usual polaroid camera in there as back-up but today I’m gonna use a real camera!  It’s my ‘birthday’ after all.” The beta winked and the group laughed.

Yuuko was the next to arrive and she did so with wide eyes. “Wow, Viktor, your house is prolly the biggest mansion I’ve ever seen! And I thought my aunt’s place was big.”

Leo and Guang Hong arrived together with Guang Hong’s chauffeur giving the two kids a ride. “Sorry we’re a little late, my Dad got held up in traffic when he was dropping me off at Guang Hong’s place.”

“It’s fine, Leo,” Viktor took a quick glance at the clock that hung on the wall. “We still have at least thirty minutes before Yuuri gets here.  Let me show you guys where I have everything set up.  And remember, Phichit, if we run into anyone pretend you got surprised, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Viktor I got it,” he said taking a couple of snapshots of the group as they made their way to the backdoor and outside.  

“Even if it’s a little cold, at least it’s sunny.  It’s still a perfect day for a wedding,” Yuuko commented as she took in the sights of the patio and swimming pool.  “You gotta invite us here again Viktor in the summer!  We can have a pool party!  You even have a slide!”

“That’s a great idea!”

“Wait, where are you taking us Viktor?  We’re gonna have your wedding outside?” Georgi asked confused as the alpha led them further across the lawn.  

“Not exactly,” Viktor pointed to the large glass building ahead of them.  “There, that’s where me and Yuuri will get married.”

“Oh my god, the greenhouse? Viktor, that’s perfect!” Mila gasped and began walking faster.  

“Yup,” Viktor smiled in satisfaction and held his head higher, “I made sure everything was ready this morning. Just wait until you see how it looks!”   The group walked faster to match Viktor’s pace until they finally reached the door.  Viktor opened it and turned around, walking backwards slowly so he can watch his friends’ expressions.  They looked just as amazed as he did as they took in the sights of all the different flowers and trees around them.  

“It’s like a magical garden,” Yuuko gasped out with wide eyes.

Georgi sneezed.  “The smell of all the flowers is kinda strong though.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned.

Viktor smiled encouragingly. “Don’t worry, you get used to it after a couple of minutes.”

“Yeah, Viktor’s right,” Chris said.  “I remember it being way worse when we tried going here when we were younger.”

Phichit was preoccupied taking several photos as they walked along the path.   

“This is a great idea, Viktor,” Leo said. “Yuuri’s not gonna expect any of this!”

Guang Hong nodded beside him, “Yeah, he’s gonna love this surprise for sure!”

“So are we going to have the wedding somewhere by these flowers?” Chris gestured to the path they were in.  

“Nope.  There’s a bigger space further down by the fountain. I got Anna and Mr. Moreau and Mr. Jenkins to set everything up the past few days. Come on!” He gestured over to them and jogged the rest of the way to turn around a corner to the center.  

“It’s so beautiful Viktor!”

“Wooow!”

“Man I can’t wait to see Yuuri’s face when he gets here!”

“This is gonna be the best wedding ever!”  

Viktor smiled, extremely proud of all the planning he put in.  If his friends’ reactions were anything to go by, then he absolutely couldn’t wait until Yuuri arrived.  He looked at his watch. In just a couple more minutes Yuuri should be here so he had to wrap this up quickly.

“Mila, Chris, Phichit, we’re gonna be over here by the fountain.”  Viktor walked over to the spot under the magnolia tree.  “This is where me and Yuuri will be standing, so Mila you should stand over there,” he pointed to the area right by the base of the tree.  “Phichit, you’ll stand behind Yuuri and Chris, you’ll be behind me.”  The three took their places as Viktor turned around to address the rest of the group.

“Georgi, I was thinking you can walk Yuuri down from the end over there.”  Georgi nodded.

“Guang Hong, you’ll be the ring boy. I got myself a ring to match Yuuri’s.”  Viktor took the toy capsule out of his pocket and handed it over to the younger omega, thinking back to earlier that week when he asked for several coins from Deda.  The man had waited impatiently in the car while Viktor stood in front of the vending machine.  In the end it took seven tries until Viktor was able to find a ring that matched the color of the one he gave to Yuuri before.  “I can ask Yuuri later to give him his ring to you too so that you can carry them together in this.” Viktor then took out the white handkerchief and placed it in his hands as well.

“Do I go before or after Georgi and Yuuri?”

“Before, I think.” Viktor actually didn’t really remember but he figured the order didn’t really matter. “Yeah, and the rest of you guys can walk in too and just stand around us.”

“You should prolly go back by the front door Viktor if you want to meet Yuuri there,” Mila said, taking note of the time.

“Yeah, I’ll go. For now, go and hide somewhere around here so that when Yuuri and I come in you can say ‘surprise’ okay?”

He smiled when his friends nodded and gave him a thumbs up.  Ah this was really happening!  They were gonna have so much fun!

He made it just in time because it wasn’t even five minutes before Viktor recognized Minako’s Camry enter the gated driveway and make its way over before their front steps. Minako stepped out and didn’t bother hiding the impressed look and wide eyes as she took in the sight of the mansion before her.  “Good afternoon, Romeo,” she called over to Viktor. “I’ve come here to deliver your Juliet!”

“Hi Minako-sensei!” Viktor jumped down the steps just as Yuuri opened the back door and hopped down onto the driveway. “Yuuuuuuri!” He engulfed the omega in a hug, nuzzling his cheek.  

“Hi Viktor!” Yuuri giggled as he hugged Viktor back.  “Is anyone else here?”

“Nope, you’re the first one! Come on,” he tugged on Yuuri’s hand and led him through the house and out the backdoor.  

“Minako-sensei’s right, you know. You really do have a big house, Viktor.”  

“I don’t know why.  It’s just me, Baba, Deda and some of the maids that stay over here.  I think it feels lonely to have a house this big if your family is not big. I like your house way better,” Viktor said as he walked arm-in-arm with Yuuri across the grass.  

“Hmm… I can see how it can feel lonely. Where are we hanging out then if we’re not staying inside your house?”

“It’s a surprise, you’ll see!”  Viktor beamed and took the time to look at Yuuri.  His omega was wearing his blue coat which was currently unzipped since it wasn’t too cold. Underneath he can see a red knit sweater that made the red hues in his brown eyes stand out. “You look really pretty, Yuuri.”

His comment made the omega blushed and Yuuri smiled over at him.  “Thanks!  You look nice too, Viktor.” He looked back ahead of them and noticed that they were making their way towards a strange glass building.  “Is this where we’re going?  What’s over there?”

“Yeah we’ll be staying here today.”  Viktor gently tugged on Yuuri’s hand as they walked a bit faster until they reached the greenhouse’s entrance.  Viktor took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Wow, Viktor, this place is so pretty!  All these flowers!”  Yuuri rushed forward, tugging Viktor along with him as he quickly stepped inside and walked up the path, craning his head this way and that as he took in the sight of all the flowers and trees around them.  “Is this the garden you were telling me about?”

“Yeah!  My Papa made this place for my Mama as a gift once.”  Viktor smiled and allowed himself to enjoy the awed expression on Yuuri’s face as the omega’s eyes flitted from flower to flower.  “Do you like it?”

“I love this place!  You must have so much fun playing here, Viktor!”

The alpha laughed, “Actually I never really played here much. When I was younger all the scents from the flowers would make me sneeze. It’s only now that I can handle it.”

Viktor grew excited as they made their way closer to the fountain where he knew their friends were hiding.  He carefully trained his eyes on Yuuri when they finally turned the corner to the center dome.  By that time the sun hit the glass just right and filled the room with a very bright glow.  He drank in Yuuri’s gasp when he saw the tall fountain and the tables set up for them. “Wow, Viktor you really didn’t have to go through so much trouble for our hangout.”

“I didn’t really do much, don’t worry.”  Viktor took a quick glance around the room.  The place appeared empty and he wasn’t sure when his friends were planning to reveal themselves.  “Come, let’s get closer to the fountain.”  Yuuri followed him over to the fountain and they stood on the carpet right by the tree.  

That must have been the cue their friends were waiting for because all at once they jumped out from behind the tree and shouted “SURPRISE!”

Yuuri screamed and clutched Viktor’s arm but quickly laughed when he saw that it was just their friends.  

Phichit took a series of pictures as the rest of them laughed.

“Oh man Yuuri you should have seen your face!”

“Did we surprise you?”

“You did! But I don’t understand, what’s this surprise about?” Yuuri turned to Viktor who took both of his hands in his.  

“It’s our wedding Yuuri! I wanted to give you a surprise wedding.  What do you think?”

“Our wedding?!”  Yuuri gasped and smiled widely. “We’re going to get married now?!” Their friends giggled as they gathered around them.  

“First thing’s first, Yuuri, take your jacket off so you’ll look nicer in the pictures!”  Yuuko took his jacket and draped it on one of the chairs.  

“And I’ll take your ring too, Yuuri so that you can exchange rings with Viktor,” Guang Hong said as he stepped up and held out his hands to show the white handkerchief folded in a square and supporting Viktor’s ring.  

Yuuri stared down at it in a daze as he took his off and placed it right beside its matching twin.  “You got another ring, Viktor?”

“Yup! So we can match.  It took me a couple of tries too until I finally got the same color,” Viktor laughed.  

“Should we take our places then?” Mila asked as she walked over to the base of the tree.  

“Yeah, let’s get this wedding started!” Chris clapped. “Then we can start playing, then we eat, then we play again!”

Georgi smiled and took Yuuri’s hand, earning him a confused glance. “Viktor says I’m supposed to walk you down from the other side of the room.”

“Yeah, Viktor stays over there by Mila. We go over there first to the other end, form a line, and walk down back over to Viktor,” Yuuko directed as the rest of them walked over to the other side of the clearing.  

“Okay, hold the position you guys let me take a couple of pictures first!”  Phichit called out as he snapped some photos of the group. He then turned around to take a picture of Mila and Viktor by the tree before hopping his way to take his place in the line.  

Chris began humming the Wedding March and the rest of the group followed along as they began to walk down towards the fountain again.  Viktor and Yuuri only had eyes for each other as he made his way closer to them.  Georgi let go of Yuuri’s hand and gave it over to Viktor who quickly intertwined their fingers in a familiar motion.  The rest of their friends gathered in a semicircle around them.  

“Okay, time for my speech then, right?” Mila turned to Viktor who nodded. She took out a piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and smoothed it down her front before holding it in front of her.  

“Dearly beloved… we are gathered here this day in the face of this company...to join Viktor and Yuuri in ma-tri-mony...com… commended to be?…” Mila squinted and held the paper closer to her eyes. “Gah Viktor, I can’t read your handwriting!” The girl stomped her foot in frustration as she waved the paper in his direction. "And what does 'commended' even mean?"

Viktor gave a sheepish smile ignoring Chris’s snickering behind him. “Sorry, I was trying to write really fast while I was watching the movie!”

Yuuri smiled by his side, “It’s okay, Mila, just make up your own words.”

Mila paused and placed the paper away in her pocket before clearing her throat. “Okay then.  Dearly beloved we are gathered here this day to join Yuuri and Viktor in marriage. They love each other a whole lot, ever since they saw each other in Yuuri’s first day at school.”  She smiled over to Viktor who nodded at her encouragingly.  “Viktor knew that he wanted to be with Yuuri forever” she then shifted her glance over to see a blushing Yuuri, “and Yuuri here said that he wanted to be with Viktor forever too.  I seriously have never seen a cuter couple.  Viktor makes Yuuri happy and Yuuri makes Viktor happy too, which is what being married is all about.  Even if things get rough, they are there for each other.  I think it’s the most awesome thing in the world!” Mila turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, now time for the rings, right?”

Guang Hong stepped over and held his hands up with the rings.  Viktor took one and Yuuri took the other.  

“I promise I will always stay by your side Yuuri,” Viktor said, “I’ll be the best alpha and mate and I'll love you forever and ever!” He placed the ring on Yuuri’s finger.

“And I also promise to be the best omega and mate to you too Viktor.  I love you too and I don’t want to leave you, ever.”  Yuuri gave a soft grin as he mimicked Viktor’s motion and placed the ring on Viktor’s finger.  

“And there we go! You guys are now married!” Mila clapped and all the rest of their friends cheered.

“Yay! Now you should kiss Yuuri, Viktor!” Yuuko said by Guang Hong’s side.  

“K-kiss?”  Yuuri turned into an embarrassing shade of red.

“Yup, married people kiss each other all the time,” Leo said.

“Okay!  I’m going to kiss Yuuri then!” Viktor said eagerly as he stepped closer to Yuuri and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He laughed when he saw the omega turn even redder.  Yuuri gasped and clapped his hands to his cheeks feeling just how hot they were. 

“Alright! I totally caught that on camera!” Phichit said.

“PHICHIT!” Yuuri groaned as he buried his face into Viktor’s side, the taller alpha laughing and hugging him.  

“It’s okay, Yuuri, you guys are married now so it’s okay to kiss!” The group laughed when they received an unintelligible mumble in response.  

“Are you happy, Yuuri?” Viktor whispered from above his head. In this position, Yuuri realized that he could actually hear Viktor’s heartbeat.  He smiled at hearing the comforting rhythm.  

“Yeah, I’m happy Viktor.  Really, really happy,” he whispered back and hugged the alpha tighter, Viktor likewise tightening his arms in response.  And it was true, he’s never remembered feeling this happy before.  In the end, all the times that he was so happy recently… they all were because of Viktor.  

Yuuri finally allowed himself to turn his head up and smile at all the love he saw in Viktor’s eyes.  Yes, he loved Viktor Nikiforov and he can’t wait to live the rest of their lives together just like all married couples.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Adjusting to Married Life

 Yuuri becomes Yuuri Nikiforov. Now if only everyone else would understand.

Yuuri and Viktor shared a chair as they and their friends ate, not wanting to be separated.  Viktor kept an arm around Yuuri’s waist while Yuuri leaned against his side.  Everyone had already eaten lunch before they came, so they munched on the hors d'oeuvres that Anna and Nadia had laid out on the table.  The “newlyweds” took turns feeding each other Cheetos and Doritos while the rest of their friends took advantage of the other selections.

Guang Hong was happily munching through a pile of pigs in a blanket that he requested while Yuuko and Georgi seemed to be the only ones taking from the tray of crudités since they were the only ones who liked vegetables in the group. Chris was eating some garlic knots and malakoffs dipped in marinara sauce while Leo piled his plate with a mix of mozzarella sticks, fried onion rings, and potato wedges.  Phichit was enjoying the variety of pizzettas that Mr. Moreau cooked.  

After a few minutes of eating, Mila stood up and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. She held up her glass of Coke and raised it in the air, remembering how her Mom and Mama would do the same during the boring grown-up fancy dinners they sometimes forced her to attend. “I wanna say congrats to the newly married couple, Yuuri and Viktor!”  Everyone smiled and raised their glasses too.

“To Yuuri and Viktor!”

“Yay!”

“Congrats!”

Mila smiled and turned to Chris, “I think this is the part where you’re supposed to say something, Chris.”  

The alpha got caught off guard.  “Wait, what am I supposed to say exactly?”

“I dunno, something about Viktor since you’re his best man I think.  Just make it up!” Mila gave him an encouraging smile and sat down.

Chris blushed and stood up, looking over to Yuuri and Viktor.  He cleared his throat. “Okay… um… what to say… well I’ve known Viktor since forever, I think. His dad and my dad are friends, you know?  So I think I was one of his first friends here.  Viktor’s awesome.  He’s a great alpha, as I’m sure Yuuri can tell after Viktor courted him.  He’s brave, he’s strong, and he’s nice.  Viktor’s always friendly with everyone but I could tell that when he met Yuuri that it was a bit different… I gotta be honest, I don’t really understand it, but Viktor said that he knew he and Yuuri were meant to be together.

Like Mila said earlier, you two make each other happy so I think you guys should always stick together. That’s why I’m really happy that you agreed to marry Viktor, Yuuri, otherwise Viktor would be a pain.  You have no idea how annoying he can be when he doesn’t get what he wants!”  That last comment made everyone laugh.  “And yeah I think that’s it. Congrats again!”

“Thanks, Chris!” Viktor clapped and everyone else joined in.  

“Alright Phichit, now it’s your turn,” Mila nodded over to the beta who put his camera down and stood up.

“Well, I’m happy that I get to be Yuuri’s best man cuz like Chris and Viktor, I think I knew Yuuri before anyone else here since we’ve been friends through our ballet classes,” Phichit smiled over at Yuuri who grinned back at his best friend.  “Yuuri’s a really sweet omega. He can be very shy but really, once you get to know him, he’ll be one of the best friends you can ever ask for.  I’m so happy that you got into the same school as me Yuuri, cuz now we can have more fun together!”

He then turned his eyes over to Viktor, “And Viktor, I think you already know how lucky you are to have Yuuri.  He’d be the best mate.  But I can tell that Yuuri is also very lucky to have you.  You’re prolly the only person who can surprise Yuuri the way you do without scaring him away.  At first I wasn’t sure what to think when you came over to us that day, but these past few months you make Yuuri so happy that I know you guys are meant to be together.  So thanks Viktor, for making my best friend happy and for having your friends be a part of our group too.”     

“Thank you, Phichit,” Yuuri smiled up at his friend.  

Shortly after, Anna and Nadia returned to clean up some of their plates while the kids decided to play a game of hide and seek with Chris volunteering to be the first seeker.  The abundance of flowers and foliage gave many potential places to hide and worked well in masking everyone’s scents which made the game all the more thrilling. While Chris stood before the fountain counting to thirty aloud, everyone ran off in different directions.  

Viktor grabbed Yuuri’s hand and led him to the path that wound its way towards the west end of the greenhouse, Yuuri covering his mouth with his hand to smother his laughter.  He followed the alpha over to a dense cluster of shrubs.  After checking to make sure that there were no thorns or rocks embedded in the dirt, Viktor motioned Yuuri over and the two crawled under the small opening between the branches to make their way to the back, finding a small space just big enough to fit the two of them.

“Ha, I bet Chris won’t be able to find us.” Viktor snickered and wrapped his arms around Yuuri to hug him closer, Yuuri more than happy to hug the alpha back.  He tucked his head under Viktor’s chin and listened to his heartbeat, finding that the soothing sound was quickly becoming something that he would love to listen to all day.  

“You think he can find us by our scent though?”

“Nah, did you smell the flowers right in front of the shrub?  It’s gonna throw him off for sure.”

In the distance they heard a shriek and laughter.  Looks like the first person was caught.

“That sounded like Yuuko,” Yuuri whispered.

“Or maybe Georgi. He sounds like a girl when he gets scared,” Viktor smiled when Yuuri giggled.  He let out a happy sigh and bent his head down to rub his cheek against Yuuri’s head, subconsciously scenting the omega.  Yuuri meanwhile rubbed the ring hanging from his neck, taking comfort in the feel of smooth metal between his fingers.  

There was another whoop from Chris and this time they clearly heard him yell out, “Gotcha Mila!”  

Mila’s response was lost in another round of laughter.  

Viktor leaned his head back to look at the small ray of sun that shone down from the glass ceiling above.  It must have been past four, but with it being Fall the sun looked like it was going to set within the next couple of minutes.

“This is the best wedding ever, Viktor. Thanks for everything.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Yuuri. I like making you happy. And now that we’re married I’m super happy too.”

“You are?”

“Of course!” Viktor looked down to see the omega staring back at him with curious eyes. “How can I not be?”

Internally Yuuri always wondered what Viktor saw in him but he had a feeling that saying the truth would just upset the alpha and therefore remained quiet.  Instead, he shrugged and leaned back into Viktor, listening carefully as he began to hear footsteps closing in on the path right by their hiding place.  

“Shh…” Viktor held Yuuri tighter and the two held their breaths.

It was Chris.  “Okay, so far I got Georgi and Mila, those two were so easy.  Where’s everyone else?”  Yuuri could now see Chris’s feet in the space between the shrubbery.  The couple waited with bated breath until Chris finally walked away further down the path.  He must not have walked more than ten feet when they heard a “Got you!” followed by a high-pitched scream.  “Haha Guang Hong, Leo why didn’t you guys split up? You were too obvious!”

Leo groaned. “I didn’t want to leave Guang Hong by himself, he gets nervous playing hide and seek if he doesn’t know the place.”

“Anyway I only have Yuuko, Phichit, and Yuuri and Viktor left. Hmm… I bet some of them are back over by the fountain.”  The group passed by their shrub again.  

Once they were out of earshot Viktor gave a triumphant grin. “Heh, told you they won’t catch us easily. I’m great at hiding you know.”

“They’ll have to find us sooner or later.”

“Nah…” Viktor settled down to make himself more comfortable and hugged Yuuri tighter. “I’m okay just hugging you like this for the rest of the day.”

Yuuri blushed but gave a small smile. “Really?  Won’t you get bored?”

“Nope.”

“Aaaah!” There were two sets of screams that came from the fountain making Yuuri and Viktor jump. Yuuri almost screamed, clamping both his hands over his mouth.  

“Ha! I got Phichit and Yuuko! Wooooo! Now to find Viktor and Yuuri.”

“I’m sure they’re together.”

“Yeah, when are they not?”  

“Do you think they’re hiding up a tree?”

“Nah, I don’t think Yuuri would wanna climb a tree.”

There was some sort of commotion as Viktor heard Anna’s voice.  She was too far away though for him to make out what she was saying. Thankfully Leo’s voice carried over to their hiding place, “Yay, dinner!”

“Oooh that looks really good!”

That perked up Yuuri’s interest.  “Did they say food?” As if on cue, the omega’s stomach gave a loud rumble.  Yuuri clutched his stomach in embarrassment when Viktor looked down.

“Are you hungry?”

Yuuri was too mortified and simply nodded in response.

“Okay, let’s go out now then.” Viktor shifted over and was about to crawl back under the branches. He stopped when Yuuri took a hold of his wrist.

“But Chris didn’t catch us yet.”

Viktor turned around and shrugged.  “But you’re hungry. I wouldn’t be a good alpha if I let you get hungry, Yuuri. Come on, I don’t think Chris will ever find us anyway.”

They made their way back to the tables to find that Mr. Moreau, Nadia, and Anna were already setting up the dishes Viktor had requested.  Yuuri breathed in deeply, savoring the delicious scent that wafted from the trays.

“Ah, there you are Viktor!” Anna called as she finished setting a fresh set of plates on the table. Their friends already took their seats and turned around to see them.

“Ha! I could have caught you if I really wanted to, you know,” Chris chirped up as he reached over for a slice of margherita pizza.

“Sure Chris,” Viktor stuck his tongue out as he and Yuuri took their previous chair at the middle of the table.  Anna smiled and served him some pelmeni with a skewer of shashlik.  

“Thanks Anna!  This is Yuuri, by the way.  He’s my mate and we just got married!”  Viktor beamed and hugged Yuuri closer to his side who gave a blushing smile to the maid.  

“Y-your mate, you say?”  Anna blinked down at the bespectacled omega.  So this was the omega who Viktor burned their microwave for.  “And what do you mean married?”

“We’re married,” Viktor repeated and tilted his head a bit. How else was he supposed to explain it? “But don’t tell Baba or Deda yet cuz we’re gonna tell them later okay?”

Anna was clearly still confused but simply gave him a bemused smile before grinning at Yuuri and walking over to serve food for the other children.  

“Mr. Moreau, do you have the katsudon for Yuuri?” Viktor called over to the chef.  The man smiled and nodded, making his way over with a covered tray. Beside him Yuuri gasped.

“You made katsudon? For me?” Viktor laughed at the shiny starry-eyed look on Yuuri’s face.  

“Yeah, I got our chef Mr. Moreau to make it!”

The man placed the tray before Yuuri and uncovered it making Yuuri’s eyes widen further at the tantalizing scent that filled his nose.  

“It’s not too often that I prepare Asian dishes but this was a good exercise.  I hope it’s to your taste,” the chef said as he stepped aside to serve the other dishes.  

Yuuri eagerly dug in and took a bite. “Mm! It’s really good!”  Not quite as good as his Okaa-san’s, no one can beat hers, but it was still a very good imitation.

Viktor smiled in satisfaction and began to eat his own dinner.  Pretty soon the table grew quiet as everyone began to eat their food, the occasional mm’s and sounds of satisfied appetites the only things that punctuated the silence.  By this point it was already dark outside but the lights on the greenhouse were left on and additional decorative lanterns were hung in the area to keep everything well-lit.

Viktor and Yuuri were already done eating when Mr. Moreau came in again with a three-layered cake. Viktor’s brows furrowed in confusion since he definitely provided Anna with a picture of his parent’s wedding cake, and that was definitely taller than him.  So why this miniature little thing?  

“Yay cake!”

“That looks amazing!”

“Yeah, happy birthday Phichit,” Chris snickered and winked over at the beta sitting across from him.

“Wow,” Yuuri breathed by Viktor’s side.  “The cake looks really good!”

That appeased Viktor and he decided then not to make a big deal out of it.  If Yuuri was happy with a much shorter cake far be it from him to complain.

Anna took the time to serve the cake after Phichit turned down the offer to blow candles.  He didn’t want to ruin his photos of the cake by stabbing the beautiful frosted surface with candles!

As the group enjoyed their dessert, Yuuri and Viktor taking turns feeding each other from the same slice, Lilia and Yakov walked into the clearing and were surprised at all the decorations that completely transformed the place.

Viktor smiled and waved over to them, “Hi Baba, hi Deda!”  

Lilia gave him a soft smile. “It looks like all of you are having fun. Did you enjoy dinner?” Her question was met with a chorus of yesses and nods.  She turned to Yuuri.  “I invited your family over for dinner. They should be arriving shortly.  But you children can spend your time here.”

Viktor let out a sigh of relief.  He knew he’d have a lot more fun spending time with his friends.  “Okay, me and Yuuri can pass by later because we have something to tell you guys!”  Underneath the table he felt Yuuri squeeze his hand.  

---

And that’s how the two “newlyweds” found themselves in the parlor a couple of hours later.  Their friends had already left earlier that evening.  Yuuri’s Okaa-san and Otou-san were seated on a loveseat opposite of Viktor’s Deda and Baba while Minako and Mari each sat on plush armchairs beside the window.  

“Hi Baba, Deda,” Viktor called out as he and Yuuri walked over with each other’s hands clasped in the other’s.  

“Oh Yuuri-chan good,” Hiroko placed her teacup back on its saucer.  “It’s starting to get late, I was just about to get you.”

“Before that Okaa-san Viktor and I have something to say,” Yuuri said, his heartbeat beginning to increase in nervousness.  Viktor gave his hand a gentle squeeze before letting go to wrap his arm around Yuuri’s shoulder, hugging him close.

“And what is that?” Lilia asked lightly while her husband narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Viktor’s eager smile.  

“Me and Yuuri got married, Baba!” Viktor beamed with a heart-shaped smile.  

Toshiya choked on his tea and began to cough into his teacup before placing it down on a nearby table, his wife quickly reaching over to pat his back.

Minako didn’t bother hiding her laughter while Mari sighed and planted her forehead in the palm of her hand.  

“What on Earth are you talking about, Vitya?” Yakov spluttered, his face starting to grow an alarming shade of red.

Viktor gave him a puzzled look.  If marrying was supposedly a grown-up thing why do adults seem to be so confused when he tells them that he and Yuuri are married?  “You know… married, married.”  He held up his hand to flash his ring and motioned for Yuuri to do the same, the omega complying and spreading his fingers to indicate the identical band adorning his ring finger.  “We got matching rings and everything.”

Lilia was shocked, not knowing what to say.  She quickly got her bearings though and turned to the Katsukis.  “I swear to you, we had no idea this was going on.”  

Hiroko too was at a loss for words. “Well, I… it’s a sweet little game they play…isn’t it?” It wasn’t clear if she was desperately trying to convince herself or the Feltsmans.  

“But it’s not a game, Okaa-san,” Yuuri sighed.  

“Yeah!” Viktor piped up, eager to try to convince Yuuri’s mother.  “I courted Yuuri like a good alpha and he said yes to marrying me!” He pointed a finger over to Mari,  “I even asked Mari-neechan for permission!”

At that Mari squeaked when everyone’s eyes turned to her.  “I didn’t think he was serious, I’m sorry!” She said defensively.

“So we’re mates and husbands now,” Viktor finished.  A sudden thought came to him and he turned around to look at his omega.  “Hey Yuuri does this mean that you’re Yuuri Nikiforov now?”

Yuuri blinked back up at him.  “I think so?” He never thought of it before.

“You two are so cute!” Minako tittered as she struggled to hold down another round of laughter.  

Viktor smiled at Minako, “Thanks!" before he turned to his grandparents. "But yeah, I’m sorry for lying that it was Phichit’s birthday but it was the only way that I could give Yuuri a surprise wedding.”

Yakov groaned and gave an unintelligible mumble.

“Surprise wedding?” Minako snorted.  

“Um… Yuuri-chan this is all really sweet but it is getting late,” Hiroko stood up, taking the lead since it looked like her husband was still in a daze.  Yakov and Lilia were thankful for the opportunity to end the evening as they stood up as well, Minako and Mari following suit.  

Mari decided to help her parents a bit and walked over to tug on Yuuri’s free hand.  “Come on Yuuri, time to go.”

“Okay,” Yuuri deflated a bit, Viktor just as upset at the thought of him leaving after such a wonderful day.  “Bye, Viktor…” He said sadly with a pitiful look on his face, Viktor returning his expression with a pout of his own. He wanted to get rid of the omega’s sadness.  Yuuri shouldn’t be upset after they just married after all!  

So he did the only thing he can think of to cheer Yuuri up.  “Bye Yuuri,” he bent over to place a kiss on Yuuri’s lips, the two not noticing how the entire room froze at his action.  “See you Monday, okay?”  

“Oh my goodness,” Hiroko breathed as she felt her husband tense under her arm.  

Minako was for once, shocked into silence while Yakov choked down a strangled Russian curse.  

“Vitya!” Lilia reprimanded.  

Viktor frowned and turned around, annoyed at being interrupted while saying goodbye to Yuuri.  “What?”

“You can’t just…” Lilia trailed off and gave a haphazard gesture, “you can’t just kiss someone like that!”  She practically had to force out the word ‘kiss’ from her lips.

Viktor actually growled in frustration and stomped his foot. “But we’re married now!  Leo said married people kiss all the time, so I can kiss Yuuri if I want to!”

“Vitya!”

“But Baba!”

“We must really be going,” Hiroko sensed the situation going downhill and fast.  She motioned to her daughter and Mari took her cue, tugging a reluctant Yuuri and practically dragging him out the room.

“If I wanna kiss Yuuri, I’m gonna kiss Yuuri! I’m his husband now!”  Viktor held his arms akimbo and glared up at his grandmother and grandfather.  

“Vitya, don’t you dare raise your voice at your Baba like that!” Yakov yelled back as the Katsukis made their way to the door.  Yuuri bit his lip in worry as he kept his eyes trained on Viktor, the young alpha upset and practically throwing a tantrum behind them.  

“Bye, Viktor!” He called over.  His words had the desired effect because all the anger left Viktor immediately as he turned around and gave a beaming smile again to Yuuri. Yakov stared down at his grandson his mouth open in disbelief at the transformation.

“Bye bye Yuuri!  I love you!” He gave a heart-shaped smile.

Yuuri smiled widely, “I love you too!  See you Monday!”

“See you!”

Yuuri smiled in satisfaction as he climbed to his usual seat at the back of his parent’s Honda Odyssey, humming a tune softly to himself and ignorant of the awkward silence that settled in the car.  

Later that week Ms. Arena went over beside Yuuri's desk and whispered in his ear. “Um… Yuuri? Can I talk to you for a little bit before you go to lunch?”   The omega blinked up innocently at her, wondering what the teacher could possibly want.

“Okay.”  He wracked his brain trying to recall if he forgot to do an assignment or something, but still couldn’t figure out a reason why he would get in trouble.  Beside him, Viktor gave him a questioning glance from his desk and Yuuri simply shrugged in response.

Once the bell rang, the students filtered out of the room.  Viktor whispered, “I’ll just be outside in the hallway, okay?” He gave an encouraging smile and gently squeezed Yuuri’s shoulder before following the rest of their friends outside.

Yuuri walked over to Ms. Arena, who was still organizing some papers on her desk.  “Hi Yuuri, don’t worry this should be quick.”  She set some of the papers aside and gestured for him to walk closer to the desk so she can show him his papers.  Yuuri shuffled over and peered at the papers she laid out.  They were the assignments that he submitted earlier in the week and based on the “Great job!” and “Awesome” stickers on the top, he got good marks on them.  

“I was wondering Yuuri, why are you writing your name this way?” She pointed over to where Yuuri wrote in his neat print all on the top of the papers, “Yuuri Nikiforov.”

Oh so that’s what this all was.  “Because Viktor and I got married.”

There was an awkward silence and then, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”  

“Viktor and I got married this past Saturday. So I’m Yuuri Nikiforov now since he’s my alpha.” Yuuri showed the teacher his ring.  

Ms. Arena gave a nervous laugh.  “Yuuri, it’s okay to play house and pretend that you’re mates, but when it comes to schoolwork and real life that’s when you should stop playing.”

“But Viktor and I aren’t playing. He really is my mate, Ms. Arena.”

The young woman cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair.  “You have to start writing your real name Yuuri, otherwise I’m afraid I might have to talk to your parents about this.”

“Okay…” Yuuri turned his eyes to the door to see Viktor peeking in from the hallway.  “Can I go now?”

Ms. Arena sighed, seeing the young alpha waiting for him.  “Alright, you can go. But please remember what I said Yuuri.”

The next day a bewildered Ms. Arena shook her head when Yuuri submitted his papers with his name now written as “Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov.”  

That’s why later that afternoon she went outside early, easily spotting Minako’s Camry parked in its usual spot.  She was free for the last period of classes and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to talk to her friend.  “You’re close to the Katsukis right?” She asked when Minako got out of her car, Mari in the backseat pretending not to be eavesdropping but clearly intently listening in on the conversation.

“I’m pretty much their aunt, why?”

“It’s just… this past week, Yuuri kept signing his papers as Yuuri Nikiforov. I talked to him about it yesterday but now all he’s doing is writing his name as Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov.  Are his parents aware of this?”

Minako snorted.  “About his name change?  No… but everything else?  Then yes.  Viktor and Yuuri told all of us that they got married, so that’s probably what brought this on.”

Stephanie was surprised at her friend’s nonchalance.  It was clearly nothing new to them.  “You’re… not worried about this?”

“Hiroko and Toshiya… those are Yuuri’s parents by the way… they’re not really sure what there is to do.  Yuuri’s the first omega in their family for a long time and they’re sometimes at a loss when it comes to things like this.  It doesn’t help either that Yuuri’s the baby of the family.”  

“Perhaps we should consider having them talk to our school counselor?  She specializes in child psychology and secondary gender studies.”

Minako huffed and crossed her arms, looking back at their old school.  “Maybe?  I don’t know Steph…sometimes I feel like escalating things that way will just make it worse.  Why not just let things play out on their own?  Viktor hasn’t done anything inappropriate in school has he?”

Stephanie was baffled.  “Like what?  I haven’t seen him do anything.”

Minako nodded in satisfaction.  “Good… his grandparents called over earlier this week and told Yuuri’s parents that they gave him a stern talking to about not kissing Yuuri.”

“They’ve been kissing?!”

“Just a simple peck on the lips.  It’s all pretty innocent if you ask me.”

“But Minako… they’re only kids!”  Stephanie shook her head and bit her bottom lip, thankful that she didn’t witness anything like that happen in the classroom.  She wasn’t sure how she would handle something like that.  Just then, the school bell rang and shortly after students began to pour out of the front doors.  Minako and Stephanie watched as Yuuri and Viktor were among them, walking over hand-in-hand.  

“Hi Ms. Arena!” Viktor called over cheerfully as he swung Yuuri’s hand back and forth between them.  “Hi Minako-sensei!”

“Hey there little Romeo,” Minako smirked and bent over to ruffle Viktor’s hair, making the alpha laugh and bat her hands away.  

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Yuuri!” He bent over and gave Yuuri a quick kiss on the lips, making the omega blush and give him a bashful smile.  

“Hey! I thought your grandparents told you to stop that!” Mari called over from her seat inside the car.  

“They said no kissing in school! And we’re not in school anymore so this doesn’t count!”  Viktor stuck his tongue out and gave Yuuri a last hug before waving goodbye to his teacher.  “Bye Ms. Arena!  Bye Minako-sensei!”

Stephanie simply waved back in a daze, before turning to her old friend.  “Just… please consider what I said, okay Minako?”

“Will do!  I’ll talk to Yuuri’s parents about it,”  Minako got back in the car.  “Come on Yuuri, you’ll be seeing him again tomorrow.”  Yuuri blushed and stopped waving to Viktor to get inside the car.  

Minako took some time to back herself out of the parking spot before getting back on the road.  “So Yuuri, what’s this about you signing your papers as Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov?”

Yuuri groaned and slumped in his chair.  

Meanwhile Viktor was blissfully ignoring every angry word that poured out of his Deda’s mouth.  

“Vitya, what did your Baba and I just tell you the other day!?  No kissing! And what do you do? You kiss that poor boy right in front of his teacher!”

Viktor began humming under his breath, twirling his ring around his finger.  

“Don’t you dare ignore me while I’m talking to you boy!”

“You said no kissing in school.  But school’s done for the day, so I get to kiss Yuuri.”  Viktor smiled cheekily when his statement was met with silence, Yakov quickly glancing over to him with a vein protruding on his forehead and a murderous expression on his face. “That’s what you said Deda, and that’s what I promised.”

“Vitya!”

“Besides, I like kissing Yuuri. It makes him get all red and he gives me this cute little smile!”  Viktor sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around himself, clearing wishing that he was hugging Yuuri instead. “He’s so warm and cuddly!  I have the best omega ever!”

“Vitya no!”

“Vitya yes!” Viktor nodded and giggled at his own little joke.  

---

“Okaa-san!”  Mari called out as soon as they got through the front door.  She hurriedly kicked off her shoes and stomped over to the kitchen where she knew their mom would be cooking dinner.  “I have something to tell you!”

“Nee-chan no!”  Yuuri gasped in distress and quickly took off his shoes before running over to his sister and hugging her from behind, trying to get her to stop.  “Don’t!”

“Yuuri, let go of me!  She has to know!”

“No she doesn’t! Viktor didn’t do anything wrong!”

“She’ll be the judge of that,”  Mari grunted when the omega proceeded to wrap himself at the bottom of her left leg, forcing her to drag him on her foot down the hallway.  “Ugh Yuuri, why are you so heavy?!”  

Minako laughed at the spectacle.  

“Nee-chan please!”

“What on Earth is going on?!”  Hiroko walked around the corner and looked at them in alarm. She was wearing her cooking apron and her hands were covered in flour.  

“Okaa-san!” The two siblings called out simultaneously.

“Yes?”

“Viktor-”

“Didn’t do anything wrong, Okaa-san!” Yuuri butted in and glared up at his sister who glared back down at him.

“Yuuri-chan…”

“Viktor kissed Yuuri before he got in the car today.  His grandparents talked to him, right?”

“I… yes…”  Hiroko frowned and wiped her hands on her apron.  “That’s what they told me at least.”

“Well then why is he still kissing Yuuri?!”

“Because we’re married!” Yuuri cried out in frustration.

“Oh my God Yuuri, will you stop saying that?”  Mari scowled at her younger brother.

Yuuri tilted his head up defiantly.  “But it’s true!”  

Mari huffed in frustration and turned to their mother. “And you know the other thing?  His teacher says that now Yuuri keeps signing his papers as Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov.”

Hiroko blinked several times and turned to look at Minako who gave a helpless shrug.  

“Yuuri-chan, you two should stop playing this game now…”

“It’s not a game!  Why does everyone keep thinking that we’re playing a game?”  Yuuri whimpered and let got of Mari’s leg to slump down on the floor with his shoulders hunched.  His eyes began to fill with tears. Mari crossed her arms but her eyes softened when she saw how much all of this was upsetting him.

Hiroko tutted and bent down to reach over for her son.  “Yuuri, please don’t cry.” She wrapped him in her arms and rocked themselves back and forth.  “It’s just… we’re starting to worry about you two.”

“Why?” Yuuri’s lower lip trembled.  

“Well…” Hiroko turned to look at Minako who gave her an encouraging nod.  “... none of this is really normal, sweetie.  People don’t get married at your age.”

“Why?”

“You’re just too young.”

“Then that’s stupid.”

“Yuuri-chan!”

“What? It’s true!”  Yuuri grumbled in his mother’s arms.  “Viktor worked hard! He did everything right.  He gave me so many gifts, Okaa-san.  He courted me and I love him so that’s why we married.  Me and Viktor are grown up now anyway!”

Toshiya finally made his way downstairs after hearing all the commotion. “What’s going on?” He asked, passing by Minako.  He frowned, looking at his daughter then at his wife who was hugging their youngest on the floor.  “Yuuri, why are you crying?”

“Viktor happened, that’s why,” Mari sighed as she sat down on the floor beside her mother and Yuuri.  

Hiroko gave her husband a pleading glance and Toshiya raised his palms up.  “Yuuri-chan, why are you crying?” He bent over to ruffle Yuuri’s bangs.

“Okaa-san says I can’t be with Viktor, but I’m already married to him.”

“Yuuri…”  Toshiya frowned and looked to his wife.  “This thing you guys are doing.  It was cute at first but at this point we’re starting to worry now.”

“But why?!”  Yuuri whined and crossed his arms tighter against his chest.  “You knew Viktor was courting me, you knew he was trying to marry me… why are you trying to stop us now that we’re married?”

“Would you believe me if I were to say that it’s for the best?”

“No…”

“But it really is for the best Yuuri.”

“No!  I’m staying with Viktor!”  Yuuri shoved himself out of his mother’s arms and stood up, almost tripping over Mari.  “I told Viktor that I was going to stay with him forever when we married and I keep my promises!”  He stomped out of the room, everyone looking at the uncharacteristically angry omega in disbelief.  

The following school day found Yuuri and Viktor hiding behind their favorite tree during recess.  Yuuri recounted the debacle to his husband (because good husbands don’t keep secrets from each other!) and Viktor nodded in sympathy.  The alpha traced his thumb in circles over the omega’s hand.  

“Grown ups sure are stupid, aren’t they?” Viktor asked rhetorically.  Yuuri kept quiet but he could feel the omega nod in agreement beside him.

“Did you get in trouble yesterday too?”

“Yeah… Deda wasn’t too happy with me and tried to get Baba to get me to stop, but I didn’t listen to them.  It’s a fun game, really, I like to see how red I can make his face get before he starts yelling.”

Yuuri giggled.  “You shouldn’t make your grandpa that mad, Viktor.”

“I can’t help it though. It’s so fun to make him angry. He reminds me of a big bear except with way less hair!”

“I can never do that with my parents.  I’m surprised I didn’t get in trouble for yelling at them yesterday.”

A comfortable silence settled between the two.  In just a couple of weeks winter would set in and they would no longer be allowed outside for recess.  They were making the most of the opportunity to be alone while it lasted.  

After awhile Viktor spoke up.  “Hey Yuuri…”

“Yeah?”

“No matter what happens, we’ll stay together right?”

“Of course!”

“Do you promise?”  Viktor turned and gave Yuuri a piercing stare.  

“I promise Viktor. Always.  We’ll stick together no matter what.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Honeymoon? A sleepover at the Katsuki Inn!

And the Katsukis and Minako see how lovey-dovey our couple can be 

It was a quiet evening later that night when Minako finally brought up her conversation with Yuuri’s teacher from earlier that afternoon.  Mari had already gone to sleep herself and so it was only the adults sitting in the living room.  

Toshiya gave a weary sigh and massaged his temples, for once looking older than he really was.  Hiroko’s eyes were downcast, trained on the ivy pattern on the sofa.  

“So what do you think?”  Toshiya asked, taking off his glasses to wipe them on the hem of his sweater.  

Minako turned her gaze over to Hiroko.  

“I don’t know… Getting others involved?  And a school employee who knows nothing about Yuuri or Viktor?”  The mother worried the bottom of her lip. She turned her eyes to their longtime friend. “What do you think, Minako?”

Minako looked up at a random point in the ceiling.  “I personally don’t think it’s a good idea.  If Yuuri is this upset with you two how much worse will it be if we were to pull another adult into this?  And an authority figure within the school at that.”

“Authority figure?  But I thought you said Ms. Arena was suggesting a school counselor.”

“I wouldn’t trivialize their role, Hiroko.  They can have a lot of sway in situations like this.”  

Toshiya’s shoulders slumped.  “As much as I would like professional help in all of this, I think Minako’s right.”

“And Yuuri-chan was enjoying school so much too,”  Hiroko sighed and sat back.  “Fine, so we won’t ask for help.  But how do we move on from this?”  

“I say you two talk to Lilia and Yakov.  They are probably finding themselves in the same boat.” Minako huffed and rolled her eyes.  “Actually, scratch that.  They probably have it worse judging from that tantrum that Viktor threw the last time we were there.”  

Hiroko and Toshiya winced, recalling the incident from a couple of days ago.  “Viktor is such a sweet child most of the time but when he doesn’t get what he wants...”  Hiroko shook her head in sympathy at what Lilia and Yakov have to deal with.  “Omegas can be tough to raise, but I’m still so glad that we have our Yuuri-chan.  He’s such an angel, I can’t imagine having an alpha.”

Toshiya chuckled.  “Yes, we should count our blessings.  So it’s settled.  Let’s talk with Yakov and Lilia sometime tomorrow while the kids are in school.”  

---

Lilia had presumed that they were calling to complain about how Viktor was still kissing Yuuri.  It took a couple of minutes for Hiroko and Toshiya to placate her, although they still did greatly appreciate her and Yakov's efforts to rein in their willful grandchild.

“We just wanted to discuss what we should do about Yuuri and Viktor,” Hiroko said, the phone on speaker mode between her and Toshiya.  

Lilia must have done the same on her end because it was Yakov’s voice who spoke up next, “Separating them won’t work, especially since they practically share all their classes together.”

“Not to mention that Viktor will be even more difficult than he is now,” Lilia sighed.

“Yes, and Toshiya and I are definitely not trying to stop them from being friends either.  It would be wrong at this point to just separate them.”  Hiroko said, turning and catching her husband’s eyes.  

“But this game has to stop,” Lilia’s voice was weary and the Japanese couple could easily imagine the older woman shaking her head.

“How do you propose we do it though? It doesn’t seem like talking to them has really done anything,” Toshiya asked.

“This is all Andrei’s fault,” they could hear Yakov grumble in the background.  “Useless, good for nothing… Vitya inherited his stubbornness he should be the one here to deal with all of this.”  His voice was soft enough that Hiroko wondered if they were meant to hear his comments.  Who was Andrei?  

“Yasha…” Lilia hissed.  “Not now please.  I’m sorry Hiroko, Toshiya…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Vitya threw another tantrum last night.  While we do not want to spoil him, I can’t fully blame him for being upset when he feels like we’re punishing him for being with Yuuri.”

“I’m starting to feel that all our efforts to try to get them to stop this game are backfiring.  They're probably even further encouraged to continue their behavior as a way of defying us.  You know how children are. The more you tell them to stop something, the more tempted they are to do it..."  

“I agree with you.”

“Then do you propose that we should just leave things alone?” Toshiya spoke up.  “Perhaps we can do better in establishing boundaries.  We should at least make sure that we don’t let things escalate in school.  I’m not sure if you know but our son began to sign his name as Yuuri Nikiforov on his assignments.  His teacher confronted him about it earlier this week.”

“H-he was?”  Lilia stammered while Yakov groaned and muttered an oath beside her.  

“I think we’ll just have to be candid with them and say that they will get in trouble in school if they let anyone else know about what they’re doing.”

“It wouldn’t be a lie, I can only imagine how wrong this can look like to any other sensible adult.”

“Then we’re in agreement then?”

“Yes, Yakov and I will speak to Viktor tonight.”

“Good, then we’ll do the same with our Yuuri.”

---

Around the same time that the two families were chatting, a couple of miles away, Yuuri and Viktor were in the cafeteria eating with their friends.  Takeshi joined them, strangely enough, sitting beside Yuuko and occasionally contributing his own two cents about a new video game Chris got.  

Chris turned away after they exhausted their conversation of game strategies and cheats to turn to Viktor.  “Hey Viktor, I've got something to tell you!”

Viktor swallowed the piece of sushi that Yuuri fed him with his chopsticks before replying. “Yeah?”

“There’s still one thing you and Yuuri have to do to be really married.”  That caught all their friends’ attention and everyone in the table turned to him.  

Takeshi frowned.  “Wait, what’s this thing about Yuuri and Viktor being married?”

Yuuko waved off his question.  “It’s a long story, but pretty much they got married this past weekend.”

Viktor pouted at the thought of having to do more things to make him and Yuuri official. Why does the universe keep trying to throw these curveballs at him? It's starting to get really annoying.  “What do you mean?”

Chris cleared his throat.  “You see, some of my relatives just came back from Switzerland.  One of my cousins was the best man for his friend’s wedding.  He just came back yesterday.”

“Okay…” Viktor wasn’t really sure where this was heading.  

“Yeah, so his flight got delayed so he had to stay over with the newlyweds.  They spent this thing called a honeymoon in a skiing resort there.”

“What’s a honeymoon?” Leo asked.

“I don’t know but it sounds yummy,” Guang Hong said, licking his lips and imagining some sort of pastry in his head.  

“Do you mean Viktor has to give Yuuri a honeymoon?” Phichit asked from his seat next to Takeshi.

“It’s not a thing you give, it’s a thing you do,” Chris said, proud to know something that no one else on the table did, not even Takeshi! “It’s something people who just got married do for fun.”

“So what, they went skiing for a honeymoon?” Georgi asked, confused.

“It’s not even winter here yet though,” Yuuko commented as she looked outside the window as if to check if snowflakes were finally falling.

“You can go skiing in the Poconos sometime,” Mila suggested, “Me and my parents went there once.  It was boring though cuz they would only let me do the bunny slopes.”

“My cousin wouldn’t tell me too much about it, but he said that his best friend and his wife spent most of their time in the hotel.”

“Then that’s boring, why would they waste all their time there when they could be playing outside?”

“I don’t know,” Chris shrugged.  “The only thing he kept complaining about was how he hardly got any sleep because he had to stay in the room next door and his best friend and his wife were screaming all night.”

Georgi gasped, “Why?  Was there a ghost?!”

“My cousin said that their bed kept banging against the wall.”

Georgi’s shoulders slumped. “Oh my god, the hotel was haunted!”

“Err… I don’t think that was the case because he said that they were having lots of fun next door.”

“How is screaming while moving your bed against the wall something fun?”  Phichit wondered aloud, scratching his head.

“Come to think of it, one time I did hear my mom and dad screaming one night in their bedroom,”  Leo mumbled, eyes narrowed in thought.  “I thought they were just fighting, but when I asked them about it the next day they said that everything was okay.”  

“Is it something grown ups do for fun then?”

“It must be.”

“Man, grown ups sure are weird.”

"How come I get in trouble if I make too much noise but it's okay for grown ups to make noise at night? That's so not fair!"

“Viktor?” Yuuri nudged the alpha beside him gently, seeing the alpha deep in thought.

Viktor wrapped an arm around him in response.  “I don’t want to bring Yuuri skiing though, it would be too cold for him.”

“It is Thanksgiving weekend next week, maybe you guys can do something then?” Mila suggested.

Viktor remained silent with his index finger tapping against his lip.  

Yuuri decided to help him out.  “What about we just sleepover at my place, Viktor?”

The alpha perked up at his suggestion. “Really?”  Viktor’s blue eyes shone with excitement.  “You mean it?!”

Yuuri giggled.  “Of course.  We don’t have to go to a ski resort or anything like that. Let’s just spend some time over at my place.”

“Yay!”  Viktor hugged Yuuri tightly. “I love you so much Yuuri, you’re the best!”

“Do you think your parents would be okay with it though, Yuuri?” Phichit asked with concern.  “They’re giving you guys a rough time about Viktor right now, right?  And aren’t things the same for you, Viktor?”

The couple leaned back from each other.  Yuuri bit his lip but Viktor was defiant, “Ha! As if I would let them keep me away from my Yuuri!  I’d walk all the way to his house if I had to!”

“I can try to ask my parents tonight,” Yuuri quietly offered.  If Viktor was willing to risk getting in trouble so that they can have a honeymoon he felt that it was only fair if he were to put in some effort and take a risk too.  

“I hope they’ll be okay with me staying over,” Viktor said, turning to him.  “Especially if we have to keep hitting the bed against the wall all night.  I know my Baba and Deda will get very mad if we do that in my house.”   

---

Yuuri peered curiously around the corner to see his Otou-san seated at the table reading a newspaper, a guest sitting a couple of chairs away on the opposite end.  His Okaa-san poured some tea and served a tray of pastries for the stranger.  He took a deep breath and was thankful for once that they had a guest staying over.  Hopefully if the man stayed there his parents can’t get too angry, right?

He followed his mother to the kitchen and watched her place the clean dishes back in the cabinet.  “Okaa-san, can I ask you something?”

Hiroko turned around and looked down at her son, internally relieved that he looked like his usual timid self instead of the angry boy who stormed up to his room the night before.  “What is it Yuuri-chan?”

Yuuri ducked his head down and began to fiddle with his hands.  He couldn’t really look at his mom in the eye, still feeling guilty for yelling at her and his dad the night before. “We’re not going anywhere special this Thanksgiving right?”

“Not this year, no. We actually have a couple of foreign guests who booked two rooms over the weekend.”

“I was wondering if maybe Viktor can stay over for a sleepover?”  Yuuri wisely decided to keep quiet about how it was for their honeymoon.  By now the smart omega knew better than to mention anything about his marriage to the alpha.  

Hiroko stared at her son for a while, thinking over the request carefully.  Either way, it wasn’t a decision that she should make by herself.  “Anata,” she called out to her husband in the dining hall.

Yuuri took a deep breath when he heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor as his Otou-san stood up and walked around to enter the kitchen.  “What is it Hiroko?  Do you need help cooking?”

“Oh no, dinner is pretty much ready, but Yuuri-chan was just asking me if it would be okay to have Viktor over for a sleepover next week.”

Toshiya adjusted his glasses and looked down at his son who bravely returned his gaze.  “School’s out starting Thursday, right?”  

“Yes.”

Toshiya looked back to his wife and the two seemed to communicate with each other silently, years of marriage and even more years of friendship allowing them to converse without the need for words.  After a moment the man nodded and smiled back down at Yuuri.  “Sure, Yuuri-chan.  You can invite Viktor over.”

Yuuri gasped in surprised delight and clapped his hands in excitement.  “Really?”  A part of him couldn’t believe it.  He was prepared to make 101 arguments to convince his parents.

Hiroko nodded, “Yes, but we do have a couple of rules.”

That made the omega blink.  “What rules?”

“First, we’d like you to keep quiet about this game you and Viktor are playing when you are with other people. Other adults, especially the ones in your school will not be happy if they see you two keep playing this game of yours Yuuri-chan. You and Viktor can get into a lot of trouble.”

Yuuri quieted and listened to his mother as she continued.

“So please, no more talking about you being married to Viktor or how you are his mate.”

Toshiya made a sound of agreement, “And go back to using your real name, Yuuri.”

Yuuri frowned.  “But my name really is Yuuri Niki-”

“No, Yuuri-chan.  You’re still a Katsuki.”

The omega sighed and turned his head down, a part of him still wanting to protest.  At least his parents are allowing him to still be together with Viktor.  And they were right… he had a feeling, based on his talk with Ms. Arena earlier in the week, that the other adults in the school would not be happy if they found out that he was married to Viktor.  He’d hate for the alpha to get into trouble because of him.  He tilted his head back up.  “Okay then.”

Hiroko bent down and extended her pinky before Yuuri.  “Promise, Yuuri-chan?”

Yuuri nodded and linked his own finger with his mother’s. “I promise.”

---

They had just finished eating dinner.  Viktor was about to go upstairs when he saw Anna walk over to his Baba.

Lilia looked up from wiping her mouth on her napkin.  “What is it, Anna?”

“A phone call for you, Mrs. Feltsman.  It's Mrs. Katsuki.”

Yakov too looked up from his seat.  Viktor gasped and followed his Baba as she stood up and walked over to the drawing room next door.  Taking a seat in an armchair by the phone, she pulled up the handset.  

“Hello?  This is Lilia… Hi, good evening Hiroko, how are you?”  Lilia gave Viktor a look of fond exasperation as he walked up to her and clutched her knees, bouncing in place.  

“Oh no, you’re not interrupting at all, we just finished dinner… A sleepover?  This Thanksgiving?”  Those words caused a huge smile to spread across Viktor’s face as the alpha gasped and walked over to his Baba’s side, leaning up on his tiptoes to try and press his ear against the phone in a futile effort to hear what Yuuri’s mom was saying on the other end.

Lilia frowned and covered the mouthpiece, "Vitya!" she hissed and pushed him away.  

Viktor leaned back and pouted.  “But I wanna hear what she’s saying, Baba!”

“Patience, Vitya,” Lilia uncovered the mouthpiece.  “I’m sorry, Hiroko, what were you saying?”

Viktor crossed his arms and scowled. He began to tap his foot impatiently.  Behind him, Yakov walked into the room and watched his wife talk on the phone.  He passed by Viktor and shook his head in disapproval.  “Vitya, stop that, it’s rude.” He took a seat beside Lilia.

The alpha gave a melodramatic groan.  He stopped tapping his foot but kept scowling.

“I don’t see why not… yes, of course… but perhaps if it’s not too much trouble,” and at this Lilia’s eyes turned to her grandson, “maybe you can ask your daughter to stay with them, just to make sure that nothing erm… untoward happens?”  She turned to her husband who raised an eyebrow at her curiously.  “Yes, and if they’d like they can spend the next day with us, whatever suits you and Toshiya… alright, yes that sounds like a great idea, I’ll talk to Vitya myself…Thank you, Hiroko, good night.”  Lilia turned to return the phone to its base.

“What did she say, Baba, what did Okaa-san say?!”  Viktor patted her knees in his excitement.  “Come on, tell me tell me!”

Lilia gave her grandson an unamused look at the way he addressed Yuuri’s mother.  So he's calling her Okaa-san now?  “Mrs. Katsuki wanted to extend the invitation to have you sleep over at their place on Thanksgiving weekend.”

Viktor jumped up and whooped.  “YAY! And I can go right? Right, right, right?”

“Yes, Vitya you can go.”

“ALRIGHT!” Viktor gave his Baba a very tight hug.  “Thank you Baba! I love you!”

“But if you go, Vitya, you have to promise me a couple of things.”

That gave the alpha pause but the elated smile still refused to disappear from his face.  “What things?”

Lilia cleared her throat and held up her index finger.  “One, no more mentioning to anyone else about this game you’re playing with Yuuri.”

Viktor groaned, “Baba, how many times do Yuuri and I have to tell you guys? It’s not a game!”

“Then however you want to call it.  Do not mention it to anyone else.  Yuuri already got in trouble with Ms. Arena earlier this week because he started using your last name.  It’s just not proper, Vitya.  And honestly, many other adults in the school will be a lot meaner than Ms. Arena.” When Viktor remained quiet, she held up a second finger, “Two, I want you on your absolute best behavior while you stay with the Katsukis.  You are a Nikiforov, Viktor, do not bring shame to the name.”

“Okay, I promise.  So can I go to Yuuri’s?”

Lilia nodded. “Very well.”

“And no more kissing!” Yakov interjected from his chair. “Absolutely no more kissing, Vitya!”

Viktor tilted his head.  “Like… at all?”

“No means no, Vitya.”

Viktor hmm'd.  Behind his back, hidden from his grandparents’ view, he crossed his fingers.  “Okay, then. I promise.”  

Yakov blinked.  Was it really that easy?

Viktor gave an innocent smile. “I’m going upstairs now, okay?  Bye!”  He skipped out of the room.  “I’m going to Yuuri’s~!” He sang out.  

Lilia shook her head with a wry smile. “That boy…”

Yakov frowned and turned to his wife.  “Did he really just agree to no longer kiss that omega?”

“Oh Yasha, Vitya was crossing his fingers behind his back. He didn’t mean it.”

“What?!”

“You cross your fingers out of sight if you’re lying.”

Her husband spluttered and grumbled under his breath.  “Damn kids, I don’t understand them sometimes.  Our Katya was never this complicated.”

“Hn,” Lilia stood up and reached out a hand to her husband who took it and got up as well. “Honestly though, Yasha, did you really think that you can get Vitya to promise that?”

“One could only try…”   

The two kids were a bundle of energy on the ride home from school the following Wednesday.  Mari huffed in her seat and leaned her elbow on her armrest, watching Yuuri and Viktor from the corner of her eye.  The alpha was babbling again and showing Yuuri a large stuffed poodle he procured from a duffel bag he had packed for the sleepover.

“This is Makka!” Viktor said, proudly showing off the plushie and reaching over so he can deposit it in Yuuri’s arms. The omega cooed at the toy and cuddled it close his chest. He ran his hands through its fake fur and buried his nose into it, taking a deep breath and enjoying how it was imbued with Viktor’s scent.  The stuffed toy must have been a favorite, because the alpha’s scent on it was so strong.  Yuuri didn’t notice how he started rubbing his cheek against it.  He would do the same action with the stuffed poodle that Viktor had given him several weeks ago, but unfortunately the alpha’s scent on it has long since faded.  

Viktor beamed, enjoying how the omega loved his favorite toy.  “Baba said that Mama bought it for me back in Russia on her last trip.”

“Makka’s really cute, Viktor!” Yuuri lifted his head back up and contented himself with running his hands through the toy. It was considerably bigger compared to the one he had at home. He was confident that if he were to stand it up that it would be almost as tall as him.  

“What did you name the one I gave you, by the way?”

Yuuri blushed and mumbled, “Vicchan.”

Viktor smiled at the name, “Vicchan?”

Mari sniggered beside Yuuri.  “Yeah, he named the little dog after you.”

Yuuri’s blush turned even redder, now reaching his ears.  “I named it Vicchan since it always reminded me of you.”

“Aww, Yuuri, that’s so cute!”  Viktor gave a heart-shaped smile and reached over to give Yuuri a hug, or at least tried to, since the enormous stuffed poodle was in his way.

“And why did you name yours Makka?”

“Oh, cuz Mama’s favorite drink was macaccino.  It’s a type of coffee and has the same exact color as Makka! So I named him Makka.”

Minako smiled to herself as she made a turn into the driveway.  Hiroko was right.  Viktor was the sweetest, most charming boy. He had that natural charisma that was endearing because it was so genuine and such a cute thing to see in someone so young.  Just as long as you didn’t get in his way.  Otherwise, the little angel can change into a stubborn brat really quickly.  

The woman parked the car to the side of the Katsukis’ van, purposely avoiding parking behind the guests’ rental car in case they decided to leave to go sightseeing later in the day.  The children got out and Minako helped Viktor carry his duffel bag with his extra clothes and toiletries for the sleepover.

Mari went inside first, calling out “We’re home!” as she took off her shoes. Minako and Yuuri followed, and Viktor, now having been to Yuuri’s multiple times, took off his shoes on instinct and placed it next to Yuuri’s.  

Hiroko appeared in the foyer, followed shortly by Toshiya. “Welcome, Viktor,  I’m glad you can stay over! How was school for you and Yuuri today?”

The young alpha smiled, “Hi Okaa-san, Otou-san,” he didn’t really notice how the two adults’ eyes widened at the way he addressed them.  “School was super slow.”

“Yeah, we just wanted to go home so we can start playing,” Yuuri interrupted.  

“Well, how about you two go on upstairs and I can prepare you a snack so you have something to eat before dinner?”

“Okay, thanks Okaa-san,” Yuuri said.  He, Viktor, and Mari took off their jackets, Minako helping them by hanging them on the coatrack before she took off her own.  The young omega and alpha went on ahead upstairs.  

Toshiya watched them go up before turning down to address his daughter, “Mari-chan, if you can help your mother prepare the snacks so she can help me with dinner.  The Angaras confirmed that they’re planning to just eat here for tonight so we can use the extra hands.”

“Sure,” Mari started making her way to the kitchen but was stopped by her father’s hand on her shoulder.  She turned around and looked at him in confusion upon seeing the uncertain expression on his face. “What is it?”  

“Ah...once you go upstairs to give them the snacks, perhaps you can stay there.”

Mari’s mind was quick.  Her eyes widened in realization at her father’s insinuation, but she still wanted the verbal confirmation of her suspicion, “...Why?”

Toshiya blushed a bit, clearly uncomfortable with having to spell it out.  “Well...you know how the two have been. It seems that this whole kissing business started when one of their friends introduced the idea to them.  Your Okaa-san and I just want to be extra safe that nothing else happens.” His oldest child sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll do that.”

Toshiya smiled in relief. Thank goodness at least one of his children was easy to deal with. “Thank you, Mari-chan.”

---

Viktor sighed happily and took a deep breath once they reached Yuuri’s room.  “Ah! I love your room, it’s just full of your scent!” He quickly ran across and jumped on Yuuri’s bed.  

Yuuri laughed and followed Viktor at a slower pace.  He deposited Makka beside Viktor and hopped up, making the bed bounce.  Viktor scooted over to make more room for him.  

“Oh, there he is!”  Viktor smiled and reached over to retrieve the plushie he had gifted Yuuri several weeks ago.  “Hi Vicchan!” He held up the plushie above his head and addressed it, “Have you been good? Have you been watching over my omega?” He used his hands to move the stuffed toy’s mouth and gave two high-pitched barks before turning around to Yuuri. “Yup, he says he’s been good!”

Yuuri giggled at Viktor’s antics. “Vicchan has been a good puppy.” Since Viktor got a hold of his plushie, he clutched Makka to his chest. It was only fair if they got to exchange. “I hug him all the time since he reminds me of you.  It was really great right after you gave him to me since he was still filled with your scent.” He looked down at Makka and ran his hands through it. “It’s too bad that the scent went away...But I still love Vicchan and hug him all the time!”  Yuuri added defensively, not wanting to sound ungrateful. “I still love Vicchan, I promise.”

Viktor laughed, “Don’t worry, Yuuri, I get what you mean!  It’s the same thing with how Makka used to smell like Mama.”

Yuuri tilted his head in curiosity as he watched the alpha begin to rub Vicchan against his cheeks and neck.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m rubbing my scent all over it!  That way Vicchan will smell like me again, and our scent is strongest at the neck, right?”

The omega’s eyes widened in comprehension “Oooh, that’s a good idea!”

Viktor paused and made a waving motion at the plushie Yuuri was holding in his arms.  “Do the same with Makka!”

Yuuri hesitated, his hands suspended an inch above Makka as he was about to pet it again. “Are you sure?  Won’t that just get rid of your Mama’s scent more quickly?”

The alpha gave a shrug, his eyes sad. “It’s been gone for a long time, Yuuri.”  Sensing his omega’s hesitation he added, “Really, don’t worry! If it doesn’t even have my Mama’s scent anymore I’d rather Makka smell like you so he can at least keep me company when you can’t!  Please?”

Well, he could never say no to those imploring eyes. “Okay, if you’re sure,” Yuuri placed his arms below the toy’s two front legs to pull it up against his cheek and proceeded to mimic Viktor’s motions with Vicchan earlier. Viktor smiled and returned to doing the same with Yuuri’s plushie.  

And that was the sight that greeted Mari when she opened the door with a tray of sandwiches and juice boxes.  “...What are you two doing?”

Yuuri and Viktor lifted their heads up from the plushies.  “Hi Mari-neechan, I’m making Vicchan smell like me again cuz Yuuri said it went away.”

The older sister’s eyebrows furrowed at Viktor’s explanation and turned to Yuuri.

Her younger brother shrugged, “I like Viktor’s scent and when he’s not here I miss him. Vicchan helps.”

Mari sighed.  These two were way too dependent on each other. She can see why her parents were starting to get worried.  “Okay…” she placed the tray on Yuuri’s desk. “Come on, you two eat first before you go back to playing.”

“Kay,” Yuuri lifted one leg over the side of the bed and allowed himself to slip down to the floor, leaving Makka on the pillows.  Viktor followed.  They were surprised when Mari left the room but returned shortly after with an armful of magazines and a walkman and headphones.  Yuuri followed with curious eyes as he watched her sit down on the floor by the window.

“What are you doing, Nee-chan?”

Mari lifted a single eyebrow at him and gave him an unimpressed look. She fiddled with the walkman in her hands and plugged in her headphones.  Looking back up, she pointed at the alpha sitting beside him. “I’m on ‘No Kissing Duty.’”

“What’s No Kissing Duty?” Yuuri asked.

Mari snorted at the innocent eyes that Viktor trained on her while he was munching on his sandwich. Please, as if she’d fall for that act now.  “Just what it sounds like, Yuuri.  To make sure that there’s no kissing between you two.”

Viktor swallowed the bite of his sandwich and groaned. “Oh come on!  We’re not in school anymore, I should be able to kiss Yuuri here!”

Mari rolled her eyes. “No means no, Viktor.  That’s part of the rules while you are here.”

“But that’s not fair!”

“Life’s not fair, kiddo.”

Yuuri blushed and took a big bite to spare himself from having to reply while Viktor mumbled crossly under his breath.  The alpha began to bite more angrily, his teeth gnashing on his sandwich with more force than necessary.  

Mari smirked and pretended not to notice Viktor’s glare from across the room. Good, let him get frustrated.  The little brat’s gotta learn that he can’t have everything all the time. She had a younger brother to protect after all.  Mari opened up her magazine and began to flip through the pages.  She then placed her headphones over her ears and pretended to press play on her walkman. At least this will allow her to eavesdrop in case they plan to do anything mischievous.

Yuuri shifted awkwardly in his seat, sensing the displeasure coming in waves from the alpha seated beside him.  Desperate to fill the silence and distract Viktor, he nudged the alpha gently and asked, “So what are your grandparents doing right now?”

That startled Viktor out of his one-sided staring contest with his sister, “Oh, them?  They don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving.  I don’t think they’re gonna do anything special.”

“Did your Mama and Papa celebrate?”

“Not really to be honest, well at least not my Papa.  Both of them grew up in Russia but Mama’s always liked America and she liked to celebrate some of the same holidays when they moved here.  I think we sometimes had bigger than usual dinners on Thanksgiving but that’s pretty much it.”

By this point the two had already finished their sandwiches.  Viktor pried the plastic straw off one of the juiceboxes and pierced it through the seal and handed it over to Yuuri before preparing the other one for himself.  

Yuuri sipped the apple juice, chewing a bit on the straw.  He took a quick glance at his sister and saw that she was still preoccupied with her magazine and music before he decided to take a small risk in asking Viktor something that has been on his mind for awhile, “Say Viktor…”

“Yeah?”

“How come your dad’s never around?”

There was an awkward pause before Viktor shrugged.  “I don’t really know,” he stood up briefly to pick up the plushies from the bed and gave Makka over to Yuuri while he clutched Vicchan in his arms.  “He has to visit different countries for work. Mama always called him a workaholic but he used to at least visit us every now and then.”  Viktor petted Vicchan.  “But he hasn’t been back since…” his voice trailed off to a whisper, “...well since Mama died.”

Yuuri instantly regretted asking his question the moment he heard those words. “Viktor, I’m so sorry! I’m so stupid, I really shouldn’t have asked…” He quickly reached over for Viktor’s hands and intertwined their fingers.  

A few feet away, Mari’s eyes paused on the paragraph that she last read. She started to feel a little guilty eavesdropping, but her overwhelming curiosity won in the end.  It was a question the she, Minako, and her parents always had ever since Lilia revealed that Viktor’s mother died.  

“It’s okay, really Yuuri don’t worry.” Viktor gave a small smile and squeezed Yuuri’s hands gently.  “It’s kinda hard to miss Papa too much since he was never really around in the first place. I did used to miss him a lot, especially after Mama died, but after awhile I got used to it.”

Yuuri pouted, thinking to himself how unfair it was for Viktor to not have any parent when his father had the choice to spend more time with him.  He knew he wouldn’t be as understanding if he was in Viktor’s shoes.  

“And besides, he and Deda don’t really get along, even when Mama was around.  They always argued over everything and either Mama or Baba would have to stop their fights.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” Viktor snorted, lost in a funny memory, “It’s so weird to see Papa like that.  He’s usually very cool and quiet but then bring Deda into the room and boom! It’s actually really fun to watch.”

Yuuri smiled, grateful that Viktor’s mood can flip so easily.  They decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon building a doghouse for Makka and Vicchan using empty cardboard boxes that used to contain beer that his parents would order for their inn’s guests.  He and Viktor were finishing up taping construction paper to cover the drab cardboard when Hiroko knocked on the door and peeked in, smiling at the children on the floor and Mari who had transferred over to Yuuri’s bed.  

“Dinner’s ready, come on downstairs.”

---

Mari, Viktor, and Yuuri came into a fairly full dining hall.  The smaller tables were pushed together to form two bigger tables, one already filled with their Indian guests, the Angaras, and the other for them judging by Minako and Toshiya who were already seated.  

Viktor didn’t waste any time going over to the two empty seats and pushing the chairs together, gesturing Yuuri over.  The omega smiled and greeted his dad before taking the left seat, Viktor pushing the chair closer to the table while doing the same for the other chair before climbing on it.  

Toshiya lifted an eyebrow at the arrangement while Minako simply looked down at her plate although the smirk on her face betrayed her amusement.  

Mari, as usual, had no qualms speaking up, “Do you guys always push your chairs together like that?”

Yuuri smiled and Viktor beamed, “Yup! We sit like this all the time in the cafeteria.”  

Hiroko bit her lip but continued passing the bowl of mashed potatoes around. As per their Thanksgiving tradition, they tended to serve the more traditional American dishes.  Even though Thanksgiving was really tomorrow, their guests had requested to have the dinner early since they were going sightseeing the following day.  After Mari took from the bowl, she passed it on to Yuuri but Viktor reached over and gave Yuuri a big scoop for him before giving himself a slightly bigger serving. He then passed it over to Minako.  

“What a gentleman, you are Viktor,” she teased. 

“I really hope that’s the extent of what they do in school,” Hiroko whispered to her husband worriedly.  

But unfortunately it didn’t end there.  Hiroko and Toshiya kept shooting them baffled glances as Yuuri and Viktor took turns feeding each other turkey and stuffing.  Mari was outright staring by that point, not even bothering to hide the perturbed expression on her face, her dinner starting to get cold as she left it neglected.  

After dessert was served and finished, the children quickly hopped down their chairs and made their way upstairs, laughing as they ran down the hallway and up the steps.  

Mari finally finished her bread pudding after three quick bites, wiping her face on a napkin.  “So… you saw that too, right?”

Minako snorted. “How can we possibly miss it?”

Hiroko sighed and placed her face in her palms, her husband wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.  “What are we going to do about those two?”

“Well look at it this way, at least Viktor hasn’t kissed him at all today.”

---

Yuuri and Viktor stood back and admired the finished doghouse. Since Yuuri didn’t have enough of one color, it ended up being a patchwork of variously-colored construction paper.  The omega smiled and clapped his hands as Viktor placed the dogs inside one by one.  “They look so cute in it! I love it!”

“When we get older, I’m gonna build us a house!  It’ll have a treehouse and a playground inside so that we can have fun all the time no matter how bad the weather is.  And it’ll also have a movie theater, so we can watch all the movies we want and a swimming pool and a huge fort where we can play castle. We’ll also have a ton of rooms so that all our friends can sleepover.”  The alpha’s mind was whirling a mile a minute imagining their dreamhouse.   

Yuuri giggled and hopped on his bed, “That would take a long time to build all of that.”

“Maybe, but I bet I can still do it!” Viktor laughed and jumped up and flopped on his stomach, making him and Yuuri bounce.  “My Papa made our house for Mama as a wedding gift after all, so I bet I can do it too!” He got up and patted the mattress underneath, the creaking from the wooden bedframe reminding him of something important.

“Wait a sec, Yuuri, we’re supposed to make the bed make noise remember?”

“Oh you’re right!”  Yuuri began to bounce in place, giggling when the bed started creaking.  “Like this?”

“I have a better idea!” Viktor smiled mischievously and grabbed the pillow closest to him, smacking it against Yuuri’s legs. “PILLOW FIGHT!”

---

“Where on Earth do you think those two got the idea to do that?” Hiroko pondered out loud as she and Minako washed the dishes, Mari beside them wiping the plates and placing them on a rack.  

“Cartoons? Who knows,” Minako shrugged. “At least it’s fairly innocent as far as interactions go.”  

“Still… it’s just so strange to see a pair of kids feeding each other like that. And to think that they’ve been doing this in the cafeteria all the time?”

Mari nodded her head, completely agreeing with her mother.  

Toshiya came back with an empty box of beer.  “All of our guests are drinking now, some of them are out in the backyard.  I think we should be done for the night.  What are you talking about?”

Minako smirked over at the man, “Who else but the pair of lovers who were busy feeding each other during dinner.”

Toshiya groaned and shook his head, “Ah, you just had to remind me.”

Hiroko looked at his reflection through the window.  “What do you think we should do, Anata?”

“Those poor kids,” Minako tutted, “before we know it, you two will end up having to create a long list of things they aren’t allowed to do until they’re what… fifteen? Seventeen?”

Mari scoffed, “Assuming they’re even still going to be together that way.”  It was very disturbing for her to finally verbally acknowledge her younger brother’s… relationship to that alpha.  

“That’s true, things can change.  Perhaps they’ll start to act more normally once they get whatever this is out of their system…” Toshiya trailed off.  It was clear, however, how half-hearted that statement was.  

Hiroko turned off the faucet and it was then that they noticed a banging sound coming from upstairs.  She turned her head sharply at the ceiling and frowned. “What was that?”

Everyone grew quiet and stared at the ceiling. After a few seconds they heard another series of bangs followed by muffled laughter.  “Oh goodness…”  Hiroko whispered.  Everyone’s eyes grew wide.  

Mari blinked furiously up at the ceiling and muttered under her breath, “What. The. Hell.” For once her father was too distracted to tell her off for her language.

The tense moment was interrupted when Mrs. Angara walked in from the dining hall, “I’m so sorry.  My husband and I decided to go hiking tomorrow. We were hoping you can recommend some trails for us?”

Hiroko and Toshiya paused, a little conflicted, causing the guest to look at them in confusion.  It was clear that they were torn between being good hosts and running upstairs to see what their son and Viktor were up to.  

Minako decided to take over, smile plastered on her face, and gently nudged the Katsukis, “Of course they’d be happy to! Hiroko, Toshiya, you go on ahead and help Mr. and Mrs. Angara. I’ll go upstairs and sort things out.” She turned briefly to address Mari, “And keep on drying the dishes, Mari.”  That earned her a scowl but the young teen acquiesced.

The fake smile left her face as soon as she was out of the room. She walked down the hallway with quick strides and ran up the staircase.  The sounds of a creaking bed and laughter were getting louder, punctuated every now and then with shrieks. “What can you two be possibly doing now?” She whispered to herself as she made it to the second floor and whipped around the banister to Yuuri’s room.  

Minako flung the door open and was relieved to find the two bouncing on Yuuri’s bed in an intense pillow fight, the pillowcases appearing to be at the risk of bursting into a flurry of feathers at any moment.

“What are you two doing?!” The two children stopped jumping and looked immediately chastised.  

Viktor pouted at Minako for interrupting their fun, looking very much like a kicked puppy.  The pillow in his hands drooped down.  “But we’re newlyweds,” he said as if that explained everything. It just wasn’t fair, why did adults have to always ruin the fun?

Minako’s eyes widened comically, one finely shaped brow raised as she quickly gasped out a clueless, “Huh…?”

When Yuuri sensed her lack of comprehension he nodded and decided to tell the truth, “Minako-sensei, our friend Chris told us that in order for me and Viktor to be really married we also have to have a honeymoon.”

“Yeah, so we’re honeymooning,” Viktor said, clutching the pillow to his chest.  

“HONEYMOON?!!” Minako placed a hand over her chest and burst out laughing.  “Is that what this is?!”  Minako gestured at the pillows in their hands.  “A pillow fight, is that what Chris told you to do?”

Yuuri blinked and turned to Viktor, who frowned back at him in confusion.  “Well not exactly.  All he said was that we’re supposed to make a lot of noise at night.”

“Yeah, that and make the bed bang against the wall.  How did we do?” Viktor asked Minako eagerly.  

The laughter came back again in full force and when it didn’t stop, Minako shifted to lean against the doorframe, one arm supporting her weight while the other began to clutch at her side as she started getting a stitch from laughing so much.  “How did you do?!” She began to gasp for air and tears actually started to form at the corner of her eyes.  “AHAHAHAHAHA!”

Viktor and Yuuri looked at each other in alarm.  “Yuuri, I think we broke her,” the young alpha whispered worriedly.  

“Bang the bed against the wall?! Oh you kids, you don’t know ANYTHING! HA!”

Yuuri gulped and watched with worried eyes as his ballet instructor now crouched down on the floor with both arms hugging her sides. Tears of laughter were running down her cheeks. “What do we do?” He hissed desperately to Viktor.

“You two are so INNOCENT! IT’S SO CUTE!”

Another voice filtered from the hallway, “Oi Minako-sensei, Okaa-san is starting to get worried.” Mari came into view. “So what were they doing?”

“Hey, hey, Mari-chan listen to this,” Minako gasped, leaning over and grasping a corner of Mari’s shirt, “Viktor and Yuuri are newlyweds! And what do all newlyweds do for their honeymoon? Pillow fight!”  Mari gave her a confused frown and turned to look at Yuuri and Viktor on the bed.  

“So that’s what they were doing?  A pillow fight?”

Viktor shrugged. “What else would we be doing?”

Mari gave a relieved sigh and gently nudged at Minako who was still giggling.  “Go on downstairs and tell Okaa-san and Otou-san that everything’s fine. I’m going to get these two ready for bed.”

Viktor rolled his eyes. Women. If he thought omegas were a mystery, women in general confused him even more.  Mila was the one exception which is why they got along so well.

Minako gave Viktor and Yuuri a wink, “Good night you two newlyweds! Congrats on the honeymoon!”  She walked off with a jaunty wave.  They could still hear her chuckling down the hallway.

“Okay you two, help me fix the bed,” Mari said as she motioned the two younger kids off the bed so she could straighten the sheets.  “Viktor, you tuck in the top corner.  Yuuri, help out with the bottom one.” After some maneuvering the bed was as good as new.  

Good thing Minako caught them in time before they did any permanent damage to the pillows.  “Now go on and brush your teeth while I change into my pajamas.”  

Fifteen minutes later, Hiroko joined Mari as she tucked in Yuuri into bed.  Viktor was still changing into his pajamas in the bathroom.  “Your sister told me that you two were having a pillowfight,” she said as she smoothed over Yuuri’s hair and gave him a kiss on his forehead. “You got us worried, you know, making all that noise. We could hear it all the way in the kitchen.”

The young omega gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Okaa-san. Viktor and I just wanted to make sure we were doing the honeymoon right.”

The honey- what?!  “I’m sorry, Yuuri what did you say?” Hiroko’s hand stilled in Yuuri’s hair. Mari and Minako didn't tell her that one detail. 

“Honeymoon. Chris told me and Viktor that we had to make a lot of noise to honeymoon.”

Hiroko leaned back and stared at her daughter who refused to return her gaze.  “A honeymoon.”  

“Yup! It’s me and Yuuri’s honeymoon, Okaa-san!” Viktor said happily as he skipped over and made his way around her to get into bed next to Yuuri.  

“Um…” Hiroko paused, looking at the cot that she had prepared for Viktor beside the bed.  But the alpha was already making himself comfortable next to Yuuri, reaching over first to grab Vicchan and hugging him to his chest before stretching his arm out to hold Yuuri’s hand.  Yuuri smiled back up at him, Makka in front of him so that the two plushies were nestled in the space between them.

Mari huffed, “Well, it looks like I’ll take the cot tonight, then.”  She stretched, causing her pajamas to ride up her stomach a little before yawning.  

Hiroko stood up and paused to stare at her children and Viktor as they all lay in bed. She took comfort in how her son was separated from the alpha by two plushies. As long as all they did was hold hands like that, everything should be fine.  And besides, Mari was here.  She took some time to draw up all the blankets and tuck everyone in, giving a quick kiss to her daughter’s forehead and affectionately patting Viktor's hair before going over the door and turning off the lights.  “Sweet dreams, everyone.” A chorus of goodnights responded back before she closed the door.  

She was still in a daze as she made her way downstairs to find her husband and Minako over in the living room.  

Toshiya looked at his wife incredulously.  “Minako told me everything.  So they’re having their honeymoon now?”

Hiroko sat down beside her husband.  “I tucked them in.  Everyone settled down now.”

“Viktor’s in the cot, right?”  When silence met his question he gently nudged Hiroko. “Hiroko. Please tell me the alpha is in the cot.”

“He… well, he already got on Yuuri’s bed before I can say anything.”

“What?!” Toshiya stood up quickly.  “We can’t… not after… You saw how they’ve been!”

Hiroko grasped his wrist and tugged on it gently. “Toshiya, calm down.  Remember Mari’s there.  Nothing is going to happen.”

The man was still clearly conflicted.  “But…”

“And they had two stuffed toys separating them. They were just holding hands, I promise, Toshiya.”

“I…” The man’s shoulders slumped as all the fight left him. “Fine, but if Mari tells us that anything happens tonight Viktor will have to sleep in a separate room entirely.”  He sat down.  "A honeymoon. I can't believe it.  Where did they even learn about honeymoons?"

"He told me their friend Chris was the one who mentioned it to them.  Remember that alpha while trick or treating?" 

"My goodness, the last thing we need is someone telling them more about married life." 

"What can we do though, Toshiya? We can't isolate Yuuri or Viktor.  They're bound to hear about things here and there." 

Minako shook her head in sympathy, giving the two a soft smile.  “And all of this drama before Yuuri’s even had his first heat. Can you imagine?”

“Minako please not now.”

 ---

Soft snores came from underneath the blankets where Mari had buried herself in the cot.  Viktor turned around to get a glimpse of the teenager and snorted when he saw a tuft of black hair sticking up from the comforter.  He turned back around to see Yuuri staring at him curiously from across the bed.  “Does your sister really snore like that?”

“Yeah, she’s not that loud though. You should hear Otou-san, he can get really loud. Sometimes I even hear it through the wall,” he whispered.   

“He and Deda should compete. Deda is pretty loud too.” Viktor smiled and squeezed Yuuri’s fingers.  

“This was a great honeymoon, Viktor.”

“I wish we could sleepover all the time.  We should do this at my place next.”

“So are we really married, married now?”

Viktor humphed and Yuuri giggled at his pout. “We better be. Not that your parents believe us.”

“Or your grandparents.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay, we can just get married again too when we’re older. Maybe they’ll believe us then.”

Viktor’s eyes brightened. “That’s a great idea!  Maybe then we can have it at the beach like my parents.”

“I like the beach.”

“Then it’s a promise.”

“Good night, Viktor.”

“Good night, Yuuri.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: Happy Birthday, Yuuri Nikiforov!

There's no better alpha for Yuuri than Viktor.  Right?

Viktor woke up the following morning to the sound of someone walking down the hallway right outside Yuuri’s bedroom.  Narrow beams of light were filtering in through the closed blinds.  He blinked to find Yuuri still fast asleep, his hand still enclosed in Viktor’s while hugging Makka.  Viktor reluctantly let go of Yuuri’s hand to sit up, stretching a bit and yawning.  As much as he wanted to stay in bed, nature called.  He looked to find the cot next to him empty.  Mari must have woken up earlier.  He slowly pushed away the blankets and slipped down the bed. He tiptoed across the room and down the hallway to go to the bathroom.  

Once he was done he turned to head back to Yuuri.  Although he was no longer sleepy, Viktor didn’t want to just leave him alone. Maybe he could play quietly with some of his toys until his omega woke up and then they could go down together for breakfast.  Just as he was about to touch the doorknob, the door next to Yuuri’s opened, revealing Mari emerging from her bedroom.  

“Morning, Viktor.”

“Morning, Mari-neechan,” Viktor noticed a wrapped box in her hands.  “Who is that present for?”

Mari gave a small smile, “Well if you can keep a secret, it’s for Yuuri.  It’s his birthday tomorrow.”

“WHAT?!”

Mari frantically reached down to place a hand on Viktor’s mouth. “Shh, shhhhhhh!  Be quiet, Viktor,” she hissed.  “Don’t wake up Yuuri. Okaa-san is downstairs calling some people to see if any of them can come tomorrow.  Now if I remove my hand, do you promise to be quiet?”  When Viktor nodded she leaned back and let go.

Oh my God, what a bad alpha he was! How could he not know that it was gonna be Yuuri’s birthday?! Viktor whimpered and clutched at his hair.  “I didn’t know it was gonna be his birthday tomorrow, what do I do?” He stared at the ground in dismay.

The teen didn’t understand why Viktor was so upset. “Hey it’s not a big deal, Viktor. Don’t worry about it.  Yuuri never really made a big fuss over his birthday so I’m not surprised that he didn’t tell you.”

“But I didn’t even get him a present. And I didn’t order a cake for him. And then I didn’t even get to plan a party or anything. What if Yuuri has a terrible birthday cuz I didn’t know? He’s going to be sooo miserable and it’s gonna be all my fault. I’m such a bad alpha and we just got married and now our honeymoon is ruined and then what if he says he doesn’t wanna be my mate anymore and-”

“Woah, woah, woah, Viktor calm down,” Mari gawked at Viktor’s verbal diarrhea and quickly steered him away from Yuuri’s bedroom door and further down the hallway lest her younger brother woke up from the alpha’s panicked rambling. “Look, let’s go downstairs, get you some breakfast and-”

“Mari-neechan I can’t eat until Yuuri wakes up!”

The girl sighed.  “Okay, okay. Look, if you feel that guilty and again you really shouldn’t be-”

“But he’s my mate!”

Mari growled in frustration. Oh the things she and her family keep putting up with over this boy. “Fine, whatever… you’re mates.  If it will make you feel better, how about you help us plan the party then?”

“That’s a GREAT idea, Mari-neechan!” Viktor jumped and skipped over the last two steps of the staircase, making Mari wince at the sound he made as he landed and made his way to the kitchen where she could hear her mom talking to someone on the phone. Oh God, what did she just get herself into? She groaned and rounded the corner to follow Viktor.  From here she could hear her mother finishing up her call.

“Yes, that sounds great.  Thank you Lilia, we’ll see you then!”  Hiroko hung up the phone and turned around to see Viktor practically leap up to wrap his arms around her middle in a tight hug.  “Oof! Oh, good morning Viktor,” Hiroko chuckled as she patted the younger alpha’s head. “You woke up already?” She turned to address her daughter.  “Is Yuuri-chan still asleep?”   

Mari nodded.

“Okaa-san,” Viktor smiled, “Mari-neechan told me it’s Yuuri’s birthday tomorrow. As his mate I should help plan the party!”

Hiroko internally shook her head at how Viktor referred to her son as his mate once more.  It’s a good thing that Lilia and Yakov would be able to come by tomorrow; maybe they can chat a bit more about the two children.  But who could resist when Viktor’s smiling so adorably like that?  “Alright, maybe you can help me by distracting Yuuri tomorrow while me and everyone else prepares.”

“I can do that!”  Viktor let her go and stepped back. “But I wanna help plan too! Did you already order cake?”

“Minako’s going to be baking it at her apartment and will bring it over tomorrow.”

“Okay, but you gotta tell her to make sure that she uses Nutella chocolate. Yuuri loves Nutella. The frosting should also be pale blue, but with white edges. Also, she should add some white and pink sugar flowers on it.”  Viktor hmm’ed and looked down at his hand to lift his fingers one by one to make a mental list. “Next, you’ll need decorations.  Good food too, but I’m sure you can make awesome food, Okaa-san, since Yuuri loves your food so much. We need decorations, like a happy birthday banner and balloons and confetti poppers.

“Oh!” Viktor beamed, a sudden idea coming to him. “I just remembered, one time we read about horses in science class and Yuuri said he wanted to ride one. We should get some horses for the party! I remember going to a birthday party once where they had horses for the kids to ride on.  And the parents even gave the birthday girl a pretty horse for her birthday!  Do you think Yuuri would want a horse?!”

Hiroko’s eyes got progressively bigger with every suggestion the little alpha made while she saw her daughter facepalm behind Viktor.  

“Ah, horses are a bit too much, Viktor,” she raised her hands in a placating gesture when she saw him pout.  “Don’t worry, we already have most of the things ready.  It’s supposed to be warmer than usual tomorrow so we were just going to go to the playground by Overpeck Park and have a picnic there.”

“Oh…” Viktor drooped. A picnic?  By the playground? But that just sounded so… ordinary.  His mate deserved something waaaay better for his birthday!  He looked up and was about press further but decided to drop it for now.  He didn’t want to push his luck considering that they were already nice enough to let them have his and Yuuri’s honeymoon over at their house.  And it’s not as if he could do much anyway on such short notice.  He would just have to plan super hard next year to make up for it!  

“Okaa-san? Is Viktor down there?” Yuuri's voice called out from upstairs.  

“Yeah, he’s down here Yuuri-chan! Come on over and have breakfast!”  

Hiroko smiled as she saw her son come into the kitchen.  

“Morning, Viktor!”

“Morning Yuuri!” Viktor ran over and gave him a hug before he took his hand to bring him over to the dining hall.  

“I’ll go set out the plates,” Mari said.  

As they finally settled around the table, Toshiya joining them shortly after, Viktor thought hard over what gift he could give to Yuuri. It had to be a good one to make up for not planning a better party for him.  By the time that Yuuri finished his breakfast, Viktor finally got an idea.

As the omega headed upstairs to brush his teeth and Viktor purposely stayed behind in the kitchen while Toshiya, Mari, and Hiroko cleaned up and washed the dishes. He needed to call his Baba and Deda so they could buy the gift.  

“Okaa-san, Otou-san, I think I know what to get for Yuuri’s birthday gift.”

The Katsukis turned around in unison to look at the alpha who gave them a pleading look.

“Can I call my Baba and Deda so that we can go buy a gift for Yuuri?  I’ll be right back afterwards.”

---

After he brushed his teeth, Yuuri went back into his room to make his bed.  He had panicked a bit earlier when he woke up to find himself alone without Viktor beside him.  He had almost wondered if he had dreamt the previous day but his spot on the bed was still slightly warm and had his scent.  Not to mention the fact that he was hugging Makka.  Once he was done straightening the bedsheets, he went back downstairs to find Viktor hanging up the phone.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey Yuuri, my Baba just called. They said that they need me to go somewhere with them real quick but I promise I’ll be right back, okay?”

The omega frowned, “Why, where do you have to go?” He couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He was hoping that he’d have Viktor all to himself, as selfish as that was.

Viktor looked away, unable to meet the other boy’s eyes as he lied, “It's just one of Baba’s friends from Russia. She’s visiting and leaving tomorrow so she really wanted to see me before she left.”

With that Yuuri felt guilty. Maybe it was too much for him to try to keep Viktor to himself throughout Thanksgiving. Whether his grandparents really celebrated the holiday or not, it was meant to be spent with family. And even though they were married, Viktor still had his family too.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back later this afternoon, okay?” Viktor came over and hugged him.  “Deda will be here soon.”

They spent the next twenty minutes waiting for Yakov to arrive.  Yuuri waved goodbye from the front door, feeling downcast as Viktor got into the car and they pulled out of their driveway.  He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned up to see Mari.  “Don’t worry, he said he’ll come back and he will.  Now come on and help me with the laundry.  Okaa-san and Otou-san are doing some cleaning before the Angaras come back.”

Yuuri helped Mari sort some of the laundry as she loaded them into the washing machine.  

“So, Yuuri… I’ve been meaning to ask.  Why is Viktor so special to you?”

“Hmm?” Yuuri turned to look at his older sister but she kept her gaze focused on her task.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, you say he’s your mate.”

“Cuz he is.”

Mari gave a soft huff but her expression wasn’t unkind, just puzzled.  “Yeah, you say he’s your mate.  But how do you know?  I mean, take Phichit for example. You two are close too.”

“That’s cuz Phichit’s my best friend. But Viktor’s different.”

“And how so?”

Yuuri paused as he mulled over his thoughts.  It was just something instinctive and he didn’t really know how to express it in words.  “When I’m around Viktor, I feel light.”

“Light?” At that Mari paused and finally turned to him. “What do you mean by ‘light?’”

“Like you know that feeling when you get really happy?  Like maybe you got that toy you really, really wanted for Christmas?”  

“Okay… yeah, I know that feeling,” Mari took some time to absorb her brother’s words. “I just never felt that way about another person necessarily.  So Viktor gives you this feeling then?”

“Yeah. And of course I’m also happy when I see Phichit and my other friends but Viktor gives me that super happy feeling.  He also makes me feel very warm inside too.  All I know is that it feels right when he’s with me.”

Mari sighed as they finished loading the machine.  She poured in some detergent and pressed the buttons for the right settings and closed the lid.  As sweet as it sounded, it was still so very odd for kids to be feeling this way about each other.  This sounded way more serious than just your typical childhood crush.  

Is this because her brother is an omega? Did they get attached to alphas more easily?  Most of her friends were fellow betas or alphas, but she can’t recall omegas even at her grade having any relationships, although it’s common for students her age of any secondary gender to start developing crushes.  

Did it have something to do with pheromones, perhaps?  Sure Viktor displayed very strong alpha traits, but she couldn’t detect any strong scents and she already shared a room with him and Yuuri the day before. For once she wished she paid more attention during health class. They already learned the biology of the various secondary genders.  She coughed and blushed as she recalled the graphic pictures in their textbook, causing her brother to give her a questioning glance.

“Anyway, it looks like we’re done here.”  She bent down to grab the laundry basket and placed it aside before placing a hand on her brother’s shoulder as she led him back upstairs.  

---

Viktor arrived fairly quickly as promised around two hours later.  “Yuuri!” He cried out and wasted no time wrapping his arms around the omega, causing the shorter boy to laugh.

“Viktor, you did come back really fast!  Your grandparents aren’t upset?”

“Nah!” The alpha wrapped an arm around him as the two headed back upstairs to Yuuri’s bedroom. “They were just doing their boring grown-up stuff, drinking tea in Baba’s parlor.  They knew that if they made me stay too long that I’d just annoy them.” He snickered.

His comment made Yuuri smile.  He could just easily picture the kinds of trouble Viktor would do, perhaps even intentionally, just so that his grandparents would dismiss him.  “And you’re sure you didn’t want to stay there?”

Viktor gave him a bewildered look. “Why would I want to spend more time with them when I can stay here with you?” He followed Yuuri up the stairs. 

The two ended up spending the remainder of the day building a fort in Yuuri’s room.  Toshiya helped out by hanging one of their spare drapes above his son’s bed, making a tent of sorts.  Before the two kids knew it, Thanksgiving Day had gone and passed and it became Friday, Yuuri’s birthday.  The young alpha woke up before Yuuri once more.  A part of him couldn’t believe that he already slept over at Yuuri’s place for two nights, but then again time flies when you are having fun, right?

He looked back down to find the cot empty again.  Mari had slept beside them the night before but the teen must have woken up early to help her parents make last minute preparations. 

Viktor smiled down at Yuuri. He was currently breathing softly through his mouth. With his eyeglasses off, he could more clearly see his long black lashes.  The omega was still hugging Makka tightly to his chest.  So he was cuddler too, just like he was. The alpha ran a hand along Vicchan’s body.  It saddened him to think that he will eventually have to go home once Thanksgiving weekend was over.  But at least then, they’ll have their plushies to keep each other company!  And now Makka will smell just like Yuuri.  

He wished they could sleepover at each other’s places more often… Maybe he should ask his grandparents if Yuuri can sleepover one weekend.  It’s only fair to return the favor, right?  And he was on his best behavior! He didn’t even kiss Yuuri, so there should be no problems.  

A yawn interrupted his thoughts and Viktor looked down to see Yuuri shifting underneath the blankets.  He let go of Makka to rub the sleep from his eyes.  “Viktor?”

“Good morning, Yuuri!” He reached over to pat Yuuri’s head.  “Did ya sleep well?”

The omega was absolutely adorable, his burgundy eyes still a bit hazy from the last vestiges of sleep. “I,” he paused to let out another yawn, “I did.” He turned over to look at Viktor and smiled. “How long were you awake?”

“I pretty much just woke up.  Come on, let’s get something to eat!”

Breakfast was a simple affair, just some rice, miso soup (something that Viktor grew to love), and tamagoyaki.  

“I was thinking, Yuuri-chan,” Hiroko said as she stood up and gathered the used plates and utensils over to the kitchen, “that maybe we should go to the playground in Overpeck Park and have a picnic later there for lunch.  It’s supposed to be pretty warm today.”  She gave a pointed gaze and smile over at Viktor.

The young alpha took his cue, “Ooh that’s a great idea!  What do you say, Yuuri? We should totally go!”

Viktor’s excitement was infectious and Yuuri nodded eagerly.  He loved the playground and with Viktor there it would be even better, not to mention the thought of a picnic. “Sure, Okaa-san!”

“Great! Now you two go on upstairs and I’ll prepare some food for later,” she gave a wink to Viktor as the alpha gave her one last glance before they left the dining hall.  

---

“Ah, this is great! It’s been awhile since I’ve been here!” Viktor said happily as he swung his and Yuuri’s hands back and forth between them as they walked along the concrete trail that led to the playground area.  The Katsukis followed behind them, carrying baskets filled with food and a cooler filled with drinks.  

Yuuri’s eyes furrowed when he saw a familiar set of figures gathered around a long picnic table located a couple of feet away from the playground.  “Wait a minute…” He blinked then rubbed his eyes when the familiar faces smiled at him.  “Is that Minako-sensei, Auntie Rika, and Phichit’s mom? Oh! And your grandparents are here too, Viktor!” The omega turned around to find Viktor and his family giving him knowing smiles.  “What’s going on?”

Mari snorted, “Did you seriously forget, Yuuri?”

“Forget what?”

By this point Viktor couldn’t keep it in any longer.  “It’s your birthday, silly! Happy birthday, Yuuri!”

Yuuri gasped as Viktor enveloped him in a tight hug. “It’s my birthday?!”

Hiroko and Toshiya chuckled as they finally made their way over to the rest of the group.  

“Happy birthday, Yuuri!”

“You’ve grown, Yuuri-chan!  How old are you again?”  Auntie Rika asked beside Minako.  

Yuuri blushed at all the attention. “S-seven now.”  He wasn’t actually related to Auntie Rika, but she was one of his parents’ friends.  She used to come over to visit more often, but they moved further away to get closer to the city the past summer for her husband's job.  

Minako giggled as she took one of the baskets from Hiroko and began to lay out the food. “Let me guess, he forgot his birthday again?”

“He did,” Hiroko laughed.  

Yuuri blushed even harder and gave a sheepish smile.  He completely lost track, so absorbed with the honeymoon and having Viktor sleep over.  

Lilia reached over to ruffle Viktor’s hair. “And have you behaved, Vitya?”

“Yup! Best behavior ever,” Viktor said, the perfect picture of innocence which Yakov returned with a deadpan stare.  

“Ah, is this your grandson, Lilia?” Auntie Rika asked.  

“Yes, this is Viktor. We call him Vitya.”  Viktor gave his most charming smile to the rest of the adults which caused them to coo over how cute he was.

Yuuri turned his attention beyond the adults to peer at the playground.  

Phichit’s mother, Lamai Chulanont, which he would usually call Auntie Chu for short, must have sensed his curiosity because she said, “Phichit and your other friends are in the playground, why don’t you go over there?  They probably just didn’t see you arrive.”

“Awesome, Phichit’s here!  Come on Yuuri!”  Viktor tugged on his hand and Yuuri giggled as he let the alpha lead them to the playground.

“Those two are absolutely adorable with each other!”  Auntie Rika remarked as she opened one of the soda cans from the cooler.  “I don’t think my daughter will be too happy though,” she tittered.  

“What do you mean?” Lamai asked.

“Ah, it’s just that she’s had the biggest crush on Yuuri for the longest time.”

Mari smirked as she heard the comment and followed Yuuri and Viktor to the playground.  Oh this should be fun to watch.  

“Hey, Yuuri’s here!”  Phichit yelled over to Guang Hong and Leo.  The three boys laughed and ran up to Yuuri and Viktor.

“Wow, Phichit, Leo, Guang Hong, I can’t believe you guys are here!”  Yuuri beamed. Viktor smiled beside him and wrapped an arm around the omega.

“Happy birthday!” The three greeted in unison.  

“Our families didn’t really go anywhere this Thanksgiving, so we were able to come,” Leo explained.  “Phichit’s mom gave us a ride.”

“Oh my gosh, Yuuri! Happy birthday!”  The group turned in unison to find a raven-haired Japanese girl with short pigtails run over to the omega and hug him.  “I’ve missed you soooo much!”

“Chi-Chihoko!”  Yuuri blushed as he waved his arms awkwardly by his side, obviously uncomfortable with the touch.

Viktor frowned at the scene before him and glared at the girl.  

Chihoko?

Who was this Chihoko?

And why was she hugging his Yuuri like that?  

He couldn’t even clearly see the girl’s face since her head was buried in Yuuri’s hair.  Viktor’s hands twitched by his side. He had a desperate urge to pry them apart and push the girl away but his Baba always told him to be a gentleman to girls.  But when he saw that Chihoko began to nuzzle Yuuri’s head he had enough.

“Hey, let him breathe!” Viktor scowled and nudged the girl away.  Thankfully the girl complied and blinked over at him.  She was taller than Yuuri and just around his height.

The girl seemed to size him up.  “And who are you?  Are you one of Yuuri’s classmates?”

“Yeah, that’s Viktor,” Phichit said.  “He’s in our year.”

Viktor gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He offered his hand which Chihoko took and shook. The two began to compete on who can squeeze the other’s hand more tightly.  Around them Yuuri and the group seemed to sense the mood sour.  When the two refused to let go of each other’s hands, Yuuri began to get worried.  Chihoko and Viktor were openly glaring at each other at this point.

“Um… Viktor?  What are you guys doing?” He asked worriedly.  A couple of feet away he could hear his sister snickering.  What was so funny?

Chihoko was the first to let go. She gave a wince and dropped Viktor’s hand as she massaged her fingers.  “Hmph.”

Viktor flicked his hair over his shoulder, giving a triumphant smile.  “I’m Yuuri’s mate,” he said proudly, reaching over and hugging Yuuri close to him as if to emphasize the point.  He nuzzled Yuuri’s head for good measure, making sure to replace Chihoko’s yucky scent with his own.  

“Oh really?  That’s weird cuz from what I remember, I am Yuuri’s mate.”  Chihoko stepped up to the couple and crossed her arms.  “I met him first.  I’ve known him since he was a baby!”  

Yuuri squirmed uncomfortably as the air around them filled with tension.  The rest of their friends sensed it too as they took several steps back.  He only paid half a mind to Phichit snapping pictures of them.  He inwardly groaned. Ugh, trust Phichit to document anything and everything.  

“No, I am Yuuri’s mate! I courted him and married him,” Viktor growled and gently took Yuuri’s hand to show her the ring on his finger.  “See? We got matching rings! We got married at my Mama's greenhouse. We even had our honeymoon the other day and we made a looot of noise and banged the bed real hard so we’re married, married!”

Chihoko sneered. “I would have married Yuuri if I didn’t move away last summer!  But I met him first, so Yuuri’s mine!”

“No he’s not, he’s mine!”

“Um, Viktor… Chihoko…” Yuuri began but his voice was lost as the two alphas focused on intimidating each other.  

Mari laughed and decided to separate them before the two started resorting to blows.  “Okay you two, break it up.” She stepped over and pushed Viktor and Chihoko firmly away from each other.  “Come on, be nice to each other, okay?  It’s Yuuri’s birthday after all.  Go and play a game or something.”

“That’s a great idea, Nee-chan,” Chihoko smiled, the perfect picture of innocence.  Pah! She couldn’t fool Viktor though, he could clearly see the invisible horns above her head.  What a sneaky, evil alpha girl. Stupid Chihoko, pretending she’s all innocent.  

He conveniently forgot how he also tended to do a similar thing with Mari and the grown-ups.

The female alpha gave him a calculating look from the corner of her eye.  “How about we go play a game of race? There’s a track right over there,” she pointed to an empty track near the creek.  

Viktor’s eyes narrowed.  “You’re on.”

---

Meanwhile the adults were having their own conversation by the picnic tables.  The Katsukis and the Feltsmans divulged their dilemma over Yuuri and Viktor’s unconventional relationship and were currently talking about the latest developments from the other night.  

“A honeymoon?” Lilia whispered aghast.  Yakov didn’t even deign to say anything, his face in his hands.  “Where on Earth did they even learn about honeymoons?!”

Hiroko gave a weary smile. “It was Chris, their classmate.  The good thing is that he didn’t know much. But he was the one who planted the idea of making a lot of noise on your bed.”

Rika coughed, almost choking on her soda. She quickly swallowed it before laughing. “I’m sorry, but that’s just so funny!”

Minako chortled. “Oh you should have been there, I caught the two red-handed, clutching pillows, jumping up and down Yuuri’s bed.”

Yakov was muttering something in Russian under his breath.  Based on Lilia’s blush, it was something unflattering.  

Rika giggled. “And I thought my Chihoko had a big crush on Yuuri!  It looks like this Viktor is going to give her some competition.  But then again, Yuuri never showed any interest in her.”  She turned around to see Mari and the children walking over to the track and noticed how Yuuri was holding Viktor’s hand.  She shook her head when she watched her daughter walk over and grab Yuuri’s other hand.  The omega stepped closer to Viktor as the alpha glared at her daughter.  “Oh dear, it looks like they’re already competing.”

The rest of the adults turned their heads to follow her gaze.  “Tsk. Vitya…” Lilia muttered under her breath. “That stubborn boy.”

“I’m afraid my Chihoko is equally as stubborn, Lilia,” Rika remarked. “She’s positively spoiled.”

“Vitya is too,” Yakov said.

Rika smiled. “But look how much closer Yuuri is walking next to Viktor. It looks like he favors your grandson.”  

“And that’s exactly what’s been making us so worried these past few weeks,” Lilia said.

“Why, did something happen?” Lamai asked.

“Well… the two keep going on and on about how they’re mates and how they’re married.”

“Not to mention how Viktor began kissing Yuuri.”

“Oh wow!”

“That’s a very serious childhood crush you have there,” Rika said giggling.  

The Feltsmans and Katsukis gave half-hearted smiles.  Oh, she and Lamai didn’t even know half of it.

Ignorance is bliss after all.

---

After one lap, Leo and Phichit decided to stop.  The two betas were huffing, sweat beading on their foreheads and chests rising and falling with exertion.  Phichit bent over to catch his breath and gave a dramatic swoon as he allowed himself to fall beside Yuuri.  He and Guang Hong had opted out of racing and decided to watch their friends run along the track.  Mari was sitting on the grass as well only a couple of feet away.  

“Wow, look at them go,” Guang Hong was awed at how the two young alphas were on their way to completing their second lap.  It didn’t look like the two were going to stop anytime soon. Every now and then one would lead but then the other would quickly catch up. That pattern continued as the two began their third lap.

“I think it’s cute how they’re competing for you,” Phichit giggled as he sat up.  

His remark surprised Yuuri and the omega gave his best friend a confused look.  “What do you mean competing for me?”

Mari laughed at how oblivious her younger sibling was. “Yuuri, can’t you see?  Viktor’s jealous. He’s trying to show you he’s the better alpha.”

“But why would he do that? He has nothing to prove, we’re already married.”

“Ehh… I don’t think Chihoko sees it that way, Yuuri,” Leo commented as he sat beside Guang Hong.  

Great, just great. Yet another person who didn’t take his marriage to Viktor seriously.  Yuuri bit his lip in worry and stood up. He had to put a stop to this.  The two were going to run themselves to death at this rate.  He walked over to the track and called out.

“Viktor!”  

The alpha perked up as he saw his omega standing by the track, a heart-shaped smile appearing on his face.  “Yuuri!”  He sped up and made the rest of his way over to him, engulfing Yuuri in a very sweaty hug.  

Chihoko followed closely after, scowling at Viktor.  She quickly replaced it with a bright smile when she noticed Yuuri giving her a questioning glance.

“Ha, I bet I could have beaten you if we just kept racing!” She wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand and took her hair out of her pigtails to run her fingers through them.  The black strands began to fall out of her hair ties midway through their race.  Her eyes narrowed when Viktor turned around in front of Yuuri and let the omega run his hands through his silver locks before gathering them into a ponytail.  

The male alpha smirked at her.  “Sure, Chihoko,” he said cheerfully with a fake smile plastered on his face.  

Chihoko gave him a stink eye. Oh she knew the omega-stealing brat was being sarcastic.  

“I was thinking… how about we just go play in the playground?” Yuuri asked the two of them as he finished tying up Viktor’s hair.  

“That’s a great idea, Yuuri!”  Chihoko shoved Viktor out of the way, causing the alpha to stumble aside as she stepped in front of Yuuri. She ignored his indignant “Hey!” as she turned around and ran her fingers through her hair again. “Before we go play, do you mind fixing my hair too?”

“Um…” Yuuri paused, his hands still suspended midair. “I’m not sure how to do pigtails though…”

“Oh that’s okay,” Chihoko chirped and waved her hand dismissively, “You can do a ponytail too!”

“Er, okay…” Yuuri bit his lower lip and gathered her hair to groom it and fix it into a ponytail.  The female alpha gave Viktor a smug smile and lifted one eyebrow in a mocking challenge.  Your move.    

Viktor glared back at her.  Oh, it was so on!

Beside them Guang Hong, Leo, and Phichit inwardly groaned while Mari hid her snickering behind her hand.

---

The adults were talking about other lighthearted topics. Lamai and Lilia in particular began talking about their mutual love of ballet, the Thai woman confessing how she had seen Lilia’s performance in Paris one time and got the inspiration to pursue ballet herself.  Rika chimed in with a question or comment every now and then.  Even though she wasn’t a ballerina herself, she had enrolled Chihoko in ballet classes at the Willowbrook Dance Academy before their family moved away.  

Eventually, however, the topic delved back to the subject of Yuuri and Viktor.  

“Why don’t you just leave the children be?” Rika suggested. “Like you said, if you tell them to stop, the more they will want to do it.  I know my Chihoko is like that at least.”

“But we’re just worried that they’ll do something that can get them in trouble in school,” Lilia replied.  “I don’t know how kindly teachers will take it if Viktor starts going around telling everyone that they’re married and kissing Yuuri in front of the other students.”

“That’s why we made them promise not to mention this game of theirs in front of other adults,” Hiroko added.  

“And how was Viktor at your place?” Yakov asked.  “He didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”

“Viktor was fine,” Toshiya said.  “We had Mari stay with them in Yuuri’s bedroom.  I don’t think he’s kissed Yuuri once.”

“Good!  It looks like he could actually listen for once,” Yakov muttered.

A happy shriek from the direction of the playground caught the adults’ attention and they all turned around in the direction of the sound.  

“What on Earth are they doing?”

“Wooo, go Viktor!”  Leo yelled as he cheered on his classmate.  Viktor and Chihoko were on two sets of parallel monkey bars, each alpha swinging to the platform on the other side.  Viktor grunted as he slipped just as he was about to reach the platform.  He let out a cry of frustration and clenched his fists before opening them to see his skin rubbed raw.  He hardly went on the monkey bars and it showed, the pads of his palms at the verge of blistering.  

Chihoko landed with a triumphant cry. “Ha! I won!” She stuck her tongue out at Viktor before turning around to address Yuuri. “Did you see that, Yuuri? I’m great at the monkey bars, aren’t I?”  Her shoulders slumped and she pouted when she saw the omega walk over to Viktor instead.

“Viktor, are you okay?” Yuuri asked worriedly.

“‘M fine…” Viktor hid his hands behind his back.  He was still sullen at losing and didn’t want to reveal his nearly-blistered palms, his pride already wounded enough as is.  The omega tutted and reached over to gently take his hands in his, wincing at how tender they looked.  “Viktor, you almost got blisters!”

“Should we go ask for a bandaid?” Guang Hong asked, stepping up to the two.  “Phichit, your mom was carrying a first aid kit, right?”

Phichit laughed, “Yeah, she always brings one around. She always worries over stuff like that. You want me to grab one, Viktor?”

“I’m fine you guys, don’t worry!” He turned his hands around so he can hold on to Yuuri’s hands instead.  “I’m a super tough alpha!” Eager to change the topic he spotted the swings on the other side of the playground.  “Come on, let’s go on the swings next!”

Chihoko passed him and bumped into his shoulder none-too-gently, “I bet I can swing higher than you!” She skipped ahead.

“Viktor, come on don’t pay attention to-” Yuuri began but sighed when Viktor let go of his hand to catch up to the other alpha, going on the other swing.  He shook his head and took a deep breath before he went over to take the empty swing between the two.  He gave Phichit and Leo a helpless look as the two betas laughed, Guang Hong looking a bit more sympathetic as they took the remaining swings.  

Mari stayed behind on one of the benches, looking over at the kids and laughing internally at Viktor and Chihoko’s antics. It was only a small smile that betrayed her amusement. She took out her Game Boy from her jacket and turned it on to play Mortal Kombat 3.

After a couple of minutes she could hear her Okaa-san calling her name.  Mari paused her game and looked up, seeing Hiroko walk a bit closer.  “Mari, can you bring the kids over?  We should have them eat.”

“Okay!”  Mari turned off her Gameboy and pocketed it before she walked over to the swings.  

“Mari-neechan, who’s winning?” Viktor asked eagerly.  

“Psh, it’s so obvious! I’m winning! Right, Nee-chan?” Chihoko asked sweetly.  

Mari snorted and crossed her arms. “As if I’d get between you two. I am not getting involved in this. Come on, it’s time to eat.  Go back to your competition later.”

Viktor pouted.  “I won, anyway,” he muttered before he let the swing lose momentum a bit before jumping off. He dusted his hands off and turned around to help Yuuri only to find Chihoko walking over to help his omega off the swings.

“U-um, it’s okay Chihoko, I got it,” Yuuri said, politely declining her hand.  

“Nonsense Yuuri! Here, let me help.”  She grabbed the chain of the swing with one hand to steady it while she used her other hand to hold on to Yuuri’s.  “Go on, you can jump down now.”

Viktor growled and stalked over to grab Yuuri’s other hand. “Here, Yuuri, I’ve got you too!”

Yuuri returned the two alpha’s eager smiles with a blank expression.  He was getting really tired of all their posturing.  This was getting really silly.  “You two… don’t really need to do this.  Really.”

“But it’s your birthday, Yuuri!” Viktor said eagerly as he hooked an arm around Yuuri and followed the rest of their friends and Mari back to the picnic tables.  

“Yeah, you deserve to be treated special, but not just today. Everyday!” Chihoko said giving the alpha a pointed look before mimicking his moves with Yuuri’s other arm.

“Come on you three, less talking, more walking!” Mari called out from several feet ahead.

And once again Yuuri found himself seated between the two alphas at the picnic table.  Minako had arrived an hour before the Katsukis and decorated the table with a disposable pale blue tablecloth and placed several white and blue balloons around them, anchored in place with plastic weights.  

Yuuri and his friends watched eagerly as his mother and Auntie Chu helped Minako unpack the homemade cake from the box.  Viktor smiled in satisfaction when he saw the pale blue and white frosting that he had told Okaa-san to use earlier.  Minako must have sensed his approval because she winked over at him and said, “Don’t worry, I used Nutella.”

Yuuri gasped and clapped his hands in delight. “Oooh, did she say Nutella?” His mouth began watering already.

“Yup!” Viktor said proudly, leaning closer to Yuuri. “I told Okaa-san that you loved Nutella.”  He shot a look across to Chihoko who scowled over at him.  Bet you didn't know that! 

“Aaand here we go,” Hiroko beamed as she carefully placed the cake with seven lighted candles in front of Yuuri.  As everyone sang Happy Birthday to him, Yuuri closed his eyes and smiled, thinking long and hard over what to wish for his birthday.

“Alright! Go and blow the candles Yuuri!”  The omega laughed and leaned over to blow the candles to the cheers of his friends and family, but not before he finally decided on his wish.

Please let me and Viktor be happy together forever.

After cake and other small desserts, Yuuri began opening his gifts.  Minako gave him a new pair of ballet shoes. “Yours is starting to get too small, Yuuri!”

Yakov and Lilia gave him his own pair of skates so that he wouldn’t rely on the rental skates whenever Yuuri joined Viktor at the ice rink.   “Rental skates are of horrible quality and they hardly ever sharpen them right,” Yakov had grumbled.

Phichit gave Yuuri a scrapbook of a great selection of pictures of him and his friends.  Everyone had ooh-ed and aah-ed at them as they flipped through the pages.  Viktor’s chest puffed with pride as he noticed how several of them were of him and Yuuri. Ha! Beat that Chihoko!

Leo gave Yuuri a set of cute piglet-themed stationary while Guang Hong gave Yuuri a pair of soft blue gloves.

And Chihoko… Viktor grumbled when Yuuri gasped as he opened Chihoko’s present for him.  It was a huge Lego starship set.  Yuuri’s jaw went slack as his hands traced the picture in the front.

“Wow, that’s awesome! I’ve heard these got sold out,” Leo said eagerly as he bent over to get a closer look.  

Viktor crossed his arms in displeasure. He didn’t see what was the big deal.  

“Of course, anything for Yuuri!” Chihoko smiled.  “You love it, don’t you, Yuuri?”

Yuuri nodded and smiled. “Thanks, Chihoko!”

Now that wouldn’t do.  Viktor frowned and called out to grandparents.  “Baba, Deda, can you please get the presents we got for Yuuri?”

“Presents? As in more than one?” Phichit asked, perking up.  

Hiroko and Toshiya watched curiously as Lilia and Yakov got up from the table. “Where are you going?” Hiroko asked.

“We left the presents in the car since we didn’t want to risk them getting lost or stepped on,” Yakov replied.

“We’ll be right back,” Lilia said as she and her husband went to the parking lot.  

“Viktor?”  Yuuri asked, “what did you get me?”

Viktor laughed at his mate’s slightly worried expression. “Don’t worry, Yuuri, I hope you’ll like ‘em!”

Lilia and Yakov returned shortly after, each with several boxes.  Minako gawked as Rika and Lamai scrambled to clear a large space on the table for the two to place the gifts.  

“Oh my goodness,” Toshiya murmured.  “Lilia, Yakov, you really shouldn’t have let Viktor buy all these things for Yuuri.”

Yakov gave a shrug as he set his own gifts down, stretching his arms. “You’re not the one who has to put up with Vitya when he gets his mind set on something.”

Mari whistled as she looked at the huge pile that was now in front of her younger brother.  It looked like Lilia had taken her time to wrap each and every one of them since she doubted that Viktor wrapped them himself.  

Yuuri didn’t even bother hiding his disbelief.  “Wow…”

Phichit bounced in place excitedly. “Well, come on Yuuri!”

“Yeah, Yuuri, open them!”

Viktor laughed and pointed to three bigger boxes on the side. “Go and open these first!”  He leaned back to watch as Yuuri began to tear off the wrapping paper and looked at Chihoko from the corner of his eye.   See?  I can do even better than you.

The female alpha narrowed her eyes at him.  

Yuuri gasped.

“Oh my God!”

“Wait, is that?”

“It is! It is!”  

“A Playstation?!” Yuuri whispered as he looked at the box reverently.  “Viktor! You got me a Playstation?”

“Alright!  Yuuri you gotta share later okay?!” Mari called over as she smiled widely.  Finally!  A gift she can benefit from!

Hiroko gently nudged Lilia.  “Lilia, honestly you shouldn't have.  This is way too expensive.” The older woman shrugged.  She would have said that money was never an issue for them but that would just sound too much like bragging. 

“Yup!  Now go on, you didn’t even open the rest yet,” Viktor prompted as he handed over another similarly sized box.  

It was like deja vu as everyone repeated similar exclamations when Yuuri tore open the paper to reveal a Nintendo 64.

“Viktor, you didn’t need to get me this AND the Playstation!” Yuuri cried almost in dismay.  

“Nonsense, each come with their own set of games, so why not get both?”

Mari nodded eagerly as her head began to fill with thoughts of how much fun she was going to have. “Exactly, makes perfect sense!”  She quieted when Toshiya nudged her half-heartedly.  

“Don’t encourage him,” her father whispered.

“And here,” Viktor pointed to a slightly smaller box.  Yuuri smiled and opened it next.  “Yay! My own Gameboy!  Thank you sooo much Viktor!”  

It turns out that the rest of the smaller gifts were all the currently released games for each of the consoles.  

“Woo man, Chris is gonna be jealous! He’s been wanting some of these games for the longest time!” Leo crowed as he looked at a couple of them, eyeing the Super Mario 64 and Tekken 2 in particular. "You got your own collection now!" 

“It’s okay, I’ll invite you guys!  They can come over, right Okaa-san?” Yuuri asked.  “Viktor gave me a bunch of controllers, so a bunch of us should be able to play!”

Viktor gave a heart-shaped smile and hugged Yuuri. “I thought it would be awesome since it’s soon gonna be too cold to play outside!”  He couldn’t help it and gave Yuuri a quick kiss on the lips.  

“Vitya! No kissing!”

---

Later that night Viktor and Yuuri lay awake once more while Mari was sleeping in the cot beside them.  

“Did you have a fun birthday, Yuuri?”

“Yeah, it was the best birthday ever!”

“Really? Even if we didn’t do anything super special?”

“Viktor, you, our friends, and my family were there. That’s enough for me.”

Viktor hummed, tracing circles on Yuuri’s hand with his thumb. “And your presents?  You liked them?”

Yuuri gave a knowing smile as he responded to Viktor’s real question. “Yes, Viktor, I loved your presents.  Every single one of them.  You didn’t have to get me so much-”

“Nonsense, you deserve the entire world, Yuuri!”

Yuuri blushed so hard that Viktor could see it even if they only had a nightlight illuminating the room. “Viktor…”

“Yup, my mate deserves only the best.  They were better than Chihoko’s right?”

Yuuri sighed.  The female alpha was sullen for the rest of the party but insisted that she was going to win Yuuri over before she and Auntie Rika left.  “Yes Viktor, they were better than Chihoko’s.”

“Good!” Viktor snuggled in his pillows more, taking comfort in the reassurance.  But there was one more question he had to ask before he could call it a night.  “And I’m a better alpha than Chihoko, right?”  He looked at the other boy, his eyes vulnerable and uncharacteristically hesitant. 

Yuuri smiled at him, “Viktor, I could search the whole world. Nobody is better than you.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Repercussions

 Sometimes people mean well. It doesn't make it hurt less. 

It all started with a school assignment.  

It was just a simple show and tell.  Ms. Arena wanted the first graders to practice their public speaking skills and assigned the class to prepare a quick 1-2 minute presentation on their favorite toy.  Naturally, Yuuri chose to present on Vicchan and Viktor chose Makka.  

The presentations themselves went without a hitch.  A couple of students commented on how both Yuuri and Viktor had very similar toys, and another asked why Yuuri’s toy smelled so much like Viktor and vice versa, but Ms. Arena quickly steered the conversation and prevented the children from making any incriminating remarks.  

It was during recess when things went awry.  Yuuri was hugging Vicchan to his chest while Viktor was showing off Makka to a besotted Guang Hong who absolutely adored the plushies.  Takeshi came over to return a video game that he had borrowed from Chris, and one of his alpha friends from his year tagged along.  

“Hey guys,” Takeshi greeted as he approached the group.  He passed the video game cartridge over to Chris.  “Thanks for letting me borrow it over the weekend, Chris.”

“Sure thing, how did you do?”

Takeshi smirked and crossed his arms. “I beat all twelve levels in one day,” he said proudly looking smug.

“No way!  You’re lying.”

“I swear, I hardly took any breaks. My mom practically had to drag me out to eat.” He gestured to the blonde alpha beside him. “This is Carl, by the way.  He played too, so you can ask him if you don’t believe me.”

The alpha beside him looked a bit bored as his eyes trailed over the group only to stop at Yuuri. “Hey…” His brown eyes perked up. “Whatcha got there?” He asked as he strolled over.

Yuuri jumped as the older alpha approached him. Viktor standing just beside him, turned around and stepped closer upon sensing the omega’s unease.

“Um… this is Vicchan.”  He clutched the plushie closer to his chest and subconsciously curled his body away from the other student.  

“Can I take a look at it?  It’s a poodle, right? My younger sister’s birthday is coming up and she loves poodles.  My mom doesn’t let us have pets though.”  He craned his neck a bit to try and get a better peek at Vicchan. “I think I wanna get something like that for her.”

Yuuri flinched and scrambled away when Carl reached his arm out.  “I-I’m sorry, I don’t like other people touching Vicchan.” Yuuri’s words were pretty much muffled as he ducked his head behind the plushie.  

“Hey come on, don’t be like that.”  The older alpha frowned and Takeshi tensed a couple of feet away as he sensed the mood turn sour.  

Viktor frowned and stepped in front of Yuuri to put a halt to the older alpha’s advances. “You heard Yuuri, he doesn’t like other kids touching his toy.” He held out Makka.  “Here, if you really want you can take a look at Makka.  He’s a poodle too.” Viktor honestly wasn’t too excited at letting a random stranger touch his plushie but he would do it if it can spare Yuuri from the alpha.

Carl scoffed and waved a hand to dismiss Viktor’s offer. “Nah, that stuffed toy is too big, my mom wouldn’t like to buy one that big since my sister already has a bunch of other ones.” He nodded to Yuuri. “But his is a good size.” He made out to reach over again and growled at Viktor when the smaller alpha roughly shoved his hands away. “Why are you making such a big deal?  I just wanna see it!”

Viktor growled right back and pushed against the other student.  “And my omega said that he doesn’t wanna let you!  So go away!”

“Your omega?  What the hell, are you guys dating or something?”

Mila sneered and stepped up beside Viktor.  “Not that it’s any of your business, but they’re married.  You should leave now if you know what’s good for you.”

Carl sniggered and didn’t look intimidated at all by all the angry stares he was getting from the first graders.  “Seriously?  You’re crazy.” He turned an incredulous glance to a silent but frowning Takeshi.  “Are you really friends with these guys?”

Takeshi’s scowled. “Actually, I am.” His words caused Yuuko to smile at him.  He walked over and tugged on Carl’s arm.  “Come on, let’s just go.”

The other boy laughed, “I will, I will...just let me-” He quickly made a feint and sidestepped Viktor to grab Vicchan from Yuuri who yelled and clutched at the toy harder. “I just wanna take a look it!”  

“Hey!”  Viktor growled and tried to push off the alpha but his grip was tight.  Yuuri yelped and held on to Vicchan desperately.  He dug his feet into the ground and tried to pull the stuffed toy down.  

“Let go! Please!” He gasped.  

“You let go!”

“But it’s my toy!”

“And I just wanna take a look, come on!”

Phichit looked worriedly at Vicchan’s legs, noticing that they were being stretched to their limit, the stitches getting strained. “You guys…”

Takeshi tried to shove Carl away. “Come on, Carl, why are you doing this? Just leave him alone!”

“Why are you taking their side?”  The older alpha grunted and gave a strong tug.

A tear sounded as Vicchan’s rear legs, the ones clutched tightly in the older alpha’s hands, got torn off.  Carl stumbled back at the sudden loss of tension and almost tripped over Takeshi.  

“What the hell did you do, Carl?!” Takeshi yelled.

“I…” Carl looked at the two ripped legs in his shaking hands.  He quickly dropped them and wiped his hands furiously on his pants as if to rub off the guilt.  He jabbed a finger at Yuuri. “It was his fault! If he would just let me take a look I wouldn’t have broken it!”

“Yuuri…” Yuuko gasped and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder as she saw the omega stare at the torn plushie in his hands.  His whole body began to tremble.  “I’m so sorry Yuuri, we can fix Vicchan, don’t worry. My mom’s really good at sewing.”

“V-Vicchan,”  Yuuri’s lower lip trembled and he gave out a loud wail. “VICCHAN!” He began to sob violently as he hugged the plushie desperately to his chest and curled into a ball on the ground. “VICCHAN!”

Carl began to back away with his hands raised in the air in an attempt to placate the omega.

Viktor was rooted to the spot. His eyes bored holes at the image of the two broken legs that Carl had dropped on the ground before turning his gaze over to Yuuri who began to yell the plushie’s name over and over, tears streaming down his cheeks.   

It was his undoing.  

With a furious yell he turned around and leaped at Carl, surprising everyone with how high he jumped.  The momentum brought him and the other alpha tumbling a couple of feet across the ground, Viktor rolling on top as he began to punch the other boy in a blind rage.

“OH MY GOD!”

“Viktor!”

“Holy shit! Viktor stop!” Chris, Takeshi, and Georgi ran over to the fighting alphas.

Carl yelped when one of Viktor's fists hit the corner of his eye before raising his arms in front of his face defensively.  “GET OFF ME!”

“YOU MADE YUURI CRY!”

“I’m sorry!”

“LIAR!” Viktor swung his arms back as he continued to furiously pound at whatever his fists could reach.  He had already gotten a few good hits on Carl’s arms, and more dangerously, at parts of his exposed head.  He was lost in his fury, not noticing how other students began to form a circle around them.  

Gasps and excited whispers filled the air before the telltale chant began. “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”

A few feet away, Yuuri gasped when he realized what Viktor was doing.  “Viktor?”  His eyes widened and he choked back a sob.  

Yuuko wrapped him in a hug as Phichit quickly scrambled over to retrieve Vicchan’s torn legs before the other students stomped on them.  

Leo and Mila watched the horrific scene with morbid fascination. “I never knew Viktor can be like that.” Leo whispered.

Guang Hong moaned and bit his lip. “Oh he’s going to get in so much trouble!”

“Viktor come on, stop!”  Chris tried to tug Viktor off but the alpha roughly shrugged his shoulders out of his grasp.  

“I’m going to make him pay for breaking Vicchan and making Yuuri cry!”

Georgi looked worriedly at all the students that surrounded them.  “Viktor please stop, you’re going to be in so much trouble!”

“I don’t care! He made Yuuri cry!” Viktor grunted as he landed another punch to the other boy’s shoulder.

Carl was crying in earnest at this point.   

“What in the world is going on here?!”  The students in one corner parted to reveal a stern woman in a sharp-looking business suit and a young brunet man.  The woman had a slight Nigerian accent which did nothing to detract from the command in her voice.  Her eyes widened at the scene before her.  “What is this?!  Stop this at once!”  The man rushed over to separate the two boys.  Viktor grunted as he was picked up roughly, his arms still swinging widely.  “Mr. Nikiforov, I’m appalled!”  The woman turned around and addressed a female teacher who was running over to the commotion.  “Ms. Valdez, go get the nurse. Quickly!”

Mila gasped. “Oh crap, it’s Principal Obayemi. This can’t be good.”

Ms. Obayemi’s frown deepened when she saw Carl’s busted lip, his left eye beginning to swell at an alarming rate with blood oozing from his nose.  “I will not tolerate such violence in my school.” She turned and addressed all the spectators.  “All of you, go back to your classes. Recess is over.”  She then looked at Viktor, Yuuri, and the rest of the group.  She pointed to Carl.  “This young man will wait here for the nurse and go to the infirmary.  And as for the rest of you, I want you all in my office. Now.”  

Viktor stared back at her and unclenched his fists, holding in a wince when he felt how bruised and scratched they were, with some knuckles bleeding.  He turned his worried eyes over to Yuuri who looked back at him distraught.  Viktor walked over and held one of his hands tightly. Whatever happens, they were going to face it together and he’ll do his best to make sure Yuuri didn’t get in trouble.  

The principal lifted an eyebrow at his actions but didn’t say anything.  She nodded to the teacher who had helped separate Viktor and Carl.  “Come now, no time to waste.”  She turned and walked back into the building, with Viktor and Yuuri behind her and the rest of their friends trailing behind.  Guang Hong paused to pick up Makka from the ground where Viktor had dropped it before chaos erupted.  With shaking hands, he tried to take comfort in the plushie before he followed the rest of his friends. 

---

Lilia was drinking tea and enjoying the fall scenery in their backyard when Anna informed her that she had a phone call.  Expecting one of their friends or perhaps even the Katsukis, she was caught by surprise when Anna told her that it was a gentleman from Kubo International.  Assuming the worst, that Viktor had fallen ill or had gotten into an accident, she quickened her pace and only spared a moment to tell Anna to get her husband as well before she picked up the phone.  

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon ma’am, I’m Mr. Mayers.  We need an urgent meeting regarding your grandson.”  

“What happened?!”  

Yakov had entered the room at that point and frowned at seeing the distressed look on her face.  

“Lilia, what’s going on?” He reached over and held her shoulder.  Lilia waved him off and listened intently to the man at the other end of the line.

“Your grandson has been involved in an altercation with another student.  Principal Obayemi would like to speak with you and the parents of the other involved students.  

“But Vitya, I mean, our Viktor-he is alright?”

“Your grandson is fine ma’am.  Would you be able to come over now?”

“Of course,” she met her husband’s eyes. “We’ll be there right away.”  

“Thank you, we’ll have the meeting at the principal’s office.  Her secretary will meet you at the entrance hall.”

Lilia hung up and placed a steadying hand on her husband's forearm.  

“Lilia, what is it?  What happened to Vitya?”

“Vitya got into a fight.”  The two shared a look.  They both suspected that somehow Yuuri must have been involved.  

Yakov scowled and tugged at her hand.  “Let’s go.”

They arrived at the same time as the Katsukis.  Hiroko looked a bit disheveled, as if she only had little time to make herself presentable before leaving. She and her husband made their way over to them from the other end of the entrance hall. “Lilia! Oh goodness, they called you too?”

Lilia sighed and placed a comforting arm around the distressed woman.  All of her and Yakov’s suspicions were confirmed.  “Yes, we just got called thirty minutes ago by a Mr. Mayers.”

Toshiya walked up to them. “Yes, he was the same one who called us as well.”  

Yakov saw the door down the hall open to reveal a blonde middle-aged woman.  “Are you the Feltsmans and Katsukis?”

“Yes, we are.”  

The woman nodded and opened the door wider.  “This way, please.”

Lilia took a deep breath and steeled herself as they followed the woman down a hallway that ended in a large suite outfitted with couches and portraits of previous principals and board officials.  The woman walked on ahead and knocked on the door at the end of the room and peeked her head inside.  “They’re here ma’am… Alright, I’ll let them in.”  The woman turned around and gestured them inside.  “Principal Obayemi will see you now.”

The group shuffled inside the room and Hiroko gasped at seeing her son curled in a chair at the side of the room, tears pouring down his cheeks as Viktor was pressed against his side, holding his hands tightly as he gazed back at his grandparents with a determined stare.  

“Oh Yuuri!”  The mother ignored the other occupants in the room as she knelt down in front of her son and swept him in a fierce hug.  

Meanwhile, Lilia gasped at seeing Viktor’s torn hands and disheveled appearance.  “Vitya…”

Yakov swore under his breath and turned to look at the woman who sat behind the ornate desk, before he swept his gaze over to a blonde boy sitting beside an angry-looking woman who must have been his mother or another relative.  The boy himself was quite the sight, left eye swollen shut, nose crooked with his nostrils plugged with gauze to stem what must have been a bad case of nosebleed and his lip cut in one corner.  His face and arms were littered with an ugly smattering of bruises.  

“Mr. and Mrs. Feltsman, Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki, please take a seat.”  Principal Obayemi gestured to the empty chairs that were set up in middle of the room.  “I thank you for coming here on such short notice but as you can see, we had a situation that happened earlier during recess today.”  

Hiroko reluctantly let go of Yuuri to follow the woman’s orders and took the seat closest to him.  

“I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.  I’m Nwamaka Obayemi, Principal of Kubo International.  Before you arrived, I already had the opportunity to interview the students individually on what happened.  It appears that an altercation between Mr. Nikiforov and Mr. Fisher started when Mr. Fisher broke Mr. Katsuki’s toy.”  

Hiroko just then noticed the torn plushie that Yuuri clutched to his chest.  Goodness, all this chaos over a toy?

Yakov was indignant.  “I promise you that our grandson would not act out this way on a whim.  He must have had a good reason to defend his friend.”

The woman sitting beside Carl scoffed.  Lilia frowned and expected her to begin a tirade against her son’s mistreatment but was surprised at the words that came out of her mouth instead. “I agree.  My little Carl here can be a downright brute,” she sneered down at her son and tugged at his ear in frustration.

Carl winced and whined. “Mooom, stop it!” He cupped his hands over his ears.

“Just wait until your father hears about this, Carl Jacob Fisher, you are grounded for a week!  Just when I didn't think you could do worse, now you're picking on little omegas younger than you?!  I’m so ashamed.  We raised you better than that!”

Ms. Obayemi cleared her throat.  “Yes, well…” She too did not expect that the mother would side against her own son.  “I’m afraid I will have to suspend your son for a day, Mrs. Fisher, since he instigated the entire incident and because of his history of starting fights with other students.”

Mrs. Fisher nodded and turned to address the rest of the group.  “Fine with me.  I’m very sorry for my son’s behavior.  I assure you that his father and I will give him a good talking to tonight.” She stood up and tugged on her son roughly, “Get up!  We’re going home now.”  Everyone watched with wide eyes as the woman dragged her son, hearing his half-hearted protests and whines down the hall before the door closed.  

The principal placed her hands in a steeple as she gazed at the two families.  “You are very lucky that Mrs. Fisher actually sided with your sons.  In the worst case scenario she could have pressed charges.  Mr. Fisher ended up with a broken nose.”  

Yakov’s eyes narrowed when he caught how Viktor’s chest puffed with pride.  That damn boy better not do or say anything that will dig him into a deeper hole than he’s already in.  

“Vitya, did you really attack Mr. Fisher like that?” Lilia asked her grandson.  Viktor has never, ever, displayed any violent tendencies.  It was hard to believe that the bruised student was all a result of him.  

“Yeah, and I hit him real good too!”

“Vitya!” Yakov barked out.

“What? He deserves it for breaking Vicchan and making my Yuuri cry.  You weren’t there, Deda, Yuuri was so upset.” Viktor tightened his arm around Yuuri, making the shorter omega lean further into his side, “He still is.”

Toshiya’s fingers twitched, half-tempted to pry the two children apart.  He chanced a glance at the principal and a cold weight settled in his stomach when he noticed how she peered at the students with suspicion.  Unfortunately, it looked like she had already taken note of Viktor’s overly familiar way of addressing and holding Yuuri.  

“I am very tempted to also give Mr. Nikiforov a one-day suspension.  But after listening to the other children and since he otherwise has had a pristine record in our school, I decided to leave him with only a warning.  Please do not make me regret this decision.”

“Of course. We will talk to him after this,” Lilia said.  

Hiroko made to stand up, “In that case, thank you Ms. Obayemi, for settling all of this.  I think we’ll-”

The principal cut her off with one raised hand. “Mrs. Katsuki, I’m afraid that this meeting is not over.”

Hiroko gaped for a moment and blinked before she reluctantly settled back down in her chair.  

Principal Obayemi continued.  “Had this just been regarding the unfortunate altercation earlier today, it would have been a lot simpler, but I’m afraid that there have been other, more concerning matters that have been brought to my attention.”

Toshiya forced himself to speak, “And what are these matters you speak of?”  He felt his hands begin to sweat.  

The principal pursed her lips and seemed to mull over her words before she spoke again, “Matters concerning the relationship between your son and Mr. Nikiforov.”

The Feltsmans and Katsukis stiffened at her words.  They all knew what she meant, but Lilia decided to play ignorant.  “What relationship do you speak of, exactly?”

“It has been brought to my attention, Mrs. Feltsman, that your grandson has been playing this… courting game of sorts with Mr. Katsuki.  Some teachers have noted this and thought that it was an innocent game of pretend, but it has become apparent that it’s getting out of hand.”

She turned to look at Viktor, who stared at her coldly and the omega who refused to meet her eyes and stared down at his feet instead.  A knock sounded at the door.  “Ah, perfect timing.  Please come in,” she called out.  

The door opened to reveal a tall bespectacled woman.  Viktor sneered when he recognized her as the creepy woman who had confronted him and Yuuri several weeks ago behind the tree.  The woman turned an eyebrow up at his sign of aggression but ignored him, taking the seat that Mrs. Fisher occupied minutes ago.  

“Mr. and Mrs. Feltsman, Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki, this is Ms. Eickmeyer, one of our school counselors, but most importantly she's also a trained psychologist.  She specializes in secondary gender studies and has been the one cataloging all the actions that she’s determined to be warning signs between Mr. Katsuki and Mr. Nikiforov.”

“Warning signs?” Lilia said, her tone incredulous, “Surely this is all an exaggeration.  You said yourself, Principal, that this is simply a child’s game.”  She waved her hand and gestured to Viktor and Yuuri.  “It’s been a long day for all of us.  The poor omega is shaken and our Vitya is too.  We’d all just like to go home and have the chance to talk to our boys.”

Hiroko and Toshiya turned to the woman with a renewed sense of awe at how self-assured she sounded.  Apparently acting was another one of Lilia’s hidden talents.

“I’m afraid that this conversation can no longer be delayed, ma’am,” Ms. Eickmeyer shifted her legs and peered at the group from behind her glasses, her eyes glinting with serious intent.  “In fact, the actions between these two in the past few weeks have been particularly alarming.  The incident earlier today cemented all my suspicions.”

Lilia huffed as her attempt to end the meeting early were dashed.  Yakov reached over and held her hand. “Fine then. Enlighten us why you’re so concerned about our grandson and Yuuri.”

“I have been called by Mr. Thompson earlier in the year when he witnessed how Viktor approached Yuuri back in September.  According to his account, as well as the account of several other teachers who were there, Viktor had proclaimed himself to be Yuuri's mate and alpha.”

“And are we to take every single word that children say literally now?” Lilia scoffed as she crossed her arms.  In the corner of his eye, Yakov could see Viktor open his mouth and quickly shot him a look that shut him up but not without receiving a withering glare in return.  

Ms. Eickmeyer smiled although it did not reach her eyes.  “You are correct, Mrs. Feltsman. That by itself would not be any cause for concern but I have been consulted nonetheless to observe these two over an abundance of caution.  Are you aware that your grandson has been exchanging gifts with Mr. Katsuki?”

“I… yes, we have been aware,” Yakov stumbled when he realized that it would not be realistic to also pretend that they were 100% ignorant of what was going on.  “And why can’t Viktor exchange gifts with a friend? How is that alarming?”

The psychologist pushed her glasses further up her nose and frowned. “Your grandson is already displaying genuine courting habits, Mr. Feltsman. I’m afraid that those were not simply a gift exchange between friends.”

Toshiya was about to add in his own comment when a knock sounded at the door. Principal Obayemi frowned when it opened to reveal the woman who had led them to her office earlier.

“Mrs. Katsuki, your daughter and Ms. Okukawa arrived.”

Hiroko explained to the Feltsmans, “I called Minako and told her quickly what happened before we came here. She must have picked up Mari from school.” She turned to address the principal.  “Can they join us as well?  Minako is practically family.”

Ms. Obayemi nodded to the woman at the door. “Very well. Have them come in and please bring more chairs into the office.”

The door opened wider and a dazed Mari walked in first, seeing her parents in front of her before gasping at the sight of her younger brother.  “Yuuri!  Are you okay?” She hurried over and knelt beside the omega, much like her mother had done moments earlier.

Minako blinked and mumbled under her breath, “The last time I was here, it wasn’t the fondest memory,” no doubt recalling a time when she had gotten in trouble.  She turned and frowned with concern at sensing all the tension in the room and watched Mari whispering something to Yuuri.

Moments later the woman who had escorted them returned with two foldable chairs.  She placed one beside Yuuri which Mari took and another beside Hiroko for Minako.

Hiroko whispered to her friend, “Viktor got in trouble for fighting another boy when he broke Yuuri’s toy.”

“Ah…” Minako turned to look at the woman sitting a couple of feet away from Yakov.  “And who is she?”

“The school psychologist.”

Oh boy. That can’t be good.

Ms. Eickmeyer cleared her throat. “As I was saying, Viktor and Yuuri have been engaging in courtship rituals that are hardly appropriate for anyone their age.  And it is not only that… have you not noticed how they have been scenting each other?”

The adults tensed once more.  Toshiya mumbled, “We always just presumed that it was natural to happen given that they spend so much time with each other.  They’re best friends, I don't think they're intentionally scenting each other.  I don’t see what’s so disturbing-”

“I’m afraid, Mr. Katsuki, that as disturbing as it may be, the relationship between your son and Viktor is not platonic.” She nodded to the young alpha who continued to glare at her as if her very existence offended him, “His posturing, his mannerisms, they’re all clearly that of an alpha staking his claim on a mate.”

“That’s cuz Yuuri IS my mate!”

“Vitya!” Yakov snarled, “You be silent right now!”  The stupid boy was damning them all!

Viktor made to shout back but closed his mouth with gritted teeth when Yuuri whispered something to him.  He forced himself to calm down as the other boy began to draw soothing patterns on his hand with his thumb.  Yuuri then noticed how quiet the room got and looked up at the adults with wide eyes.  Why were they looking at him like that?  Did he do something wrong?  

Ms. Eickmeyer leaned back and pursed her lips. “It’s just as I said.  Your grandson is clearly convinced that Yuuri is truly his mate.  These kind of delusions are not healthy for a child of any age, let alone one who has yet to fully mature.  To think that the rest of their friends are following along and even encouraging this behavior.  It sets a very dangerous precedent and before you know it, other children will follow suit.”

Hiroko could no longer stay silent, “As much as I want to respect your professional opinion, ma’am, I still feel that you are overstating your case.”

“Am I?  Consider this, Mrs. Katsuki.  What all of us just witnessed is a common way of an omega placating his alpha.  If you pay close enough attention, your son began releasing pheromones to calm Viktor.  The fact that the alpha responded means that he recognizes your son as his mate.”

Lilia crossed her arms.  “It’s impossible that the two children are bonded.  You can see from here that both are unmarked.  And if you’re trying to imply that they’ve been engaging in any inappropriate physical-”

“The two do not have to mark each other to be bonded on some level, Mrs. Feltsman.  All it takes is mutual recognition of the other’s status and the kind of physical closeness that the two currently have right now.”

Noticing that the psychologist was making little headway to convince the adults, the principal decided to try a different tactic.  “The reason why we’re so concerned is because the attachment between Viktor and Yuuri can also have consequences to their health.”  She was satisfied when she noticed a few eyes widen.

It was the first time Minako spoke up. “What do you mean ‘consequences to their health?’”

“A premature attachment like this can result in precocious puberty.  Hormonal imbalances that can result in early heats or early ruts.”  That finally drove a point home judging by how Hiroko turned to her husband before she looked at her son, who seemed confused with the turn the conversation was taking.  

Ms. Obayemi pursed her lips.  “I think it’s best if we have the children step out momentarily before we continue our conversation.”

Yakov nodded and the principal picked up the phone on her desk and spoke to someone, the lady from before coming in once again.

“Karen, can you please take the students to Ms. Arena?  Her classes should be over at this point.  And if you can summon Dr. Siddiqui that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Right away, ma’am.  Come on you two, let’s bring you back to your homeroom.”  

Viktor got off the chair first, taking Yuuri’s hand and spared a moment to send a quick glare to Ms. Eickmeyer before the door closed.  

“The alpha genes in that boy are very strong,” the psychologist noted with a wry smile.

“Courtesy of his bastard father,” Yakov muttered to himself before he was quieted with a pinch on his arm from his wife.  

It was a few awkward moments before a knock sounded at the door before a middle-aged man in a white coat stepped in. “Ms. Obayemi, you called for me?”

“Yes, Dr. Siddiqui, come in please,” the woman gestured to the chair beside Mari.  “These are the Feltsmans and Katsukis, grandparents and parents of the young alpha and omega pair.”

“Ah, I see.”  The man must have been familiar with their case since comprehension dawned on his face and he leaned back in his chair.  

“I was hoping that you can explain to them the physical consequences of an early bond.”

The doctor straightened his shoulders.  “Well… hormonal imbalance will be the natural result.  The secondary gender genes will be activated too early upon the formation of a bond.” His tone was clinical, detached, as if he was reciting his words from a medical textbook.  “For alphas it can be as benign as an early growth spurt, but other possibilities are increased aggression to other alphas.  Early ruts can be the worst possible manifestation.  On average as we all know, alphas experience their ruts at the age of fifteen to eighteen.  Mr. Nikiforov can experience his as early as thirteen.  All of this can be exacerbated if there is a family history of strong alpha genes or early ruts.  Are there any?”

Yakov muttered.  “All the alphas in his family are arrogant, but we are not aware of any such medical history of early ruts.”  He spat the last few words as if they burned his tongue.  

Dr. Siddiqui nodded. “I see.  And the mother?  Any history from her side?”

Lilia squirmed in her chair and looked uncomfortable with the question. “We cannot be sure…”

“I’m sorry ma’am, what do you mean?”

Ms. Obayemi turned to the Russian woman.  “It would be best to disclose any history you’re aware of, Mrs. Feltsman.”  She then realized the possible cause of her discomfort.  “Unless… would you like to discuss this in private without the Katsukis present?”

“No, it is not that!  I’m perfectly fine disclosing anything in front of Yuuri’s parents.” She reached over and held Yakov’s hand. “It’s just that we truly don’t know.  Our Katya, Viktor’s mother… Yakov and I adopted her when she was eight years old.  We do not know anything of her medical history.”

Minako’s eyes widened in comprehension.  It finally made sense.  It explained so much why Viktor looked nothing like Yakov or Lilia.

“I see… well, in that case, there’s nothing we can do.” The doctor cleared his throat.  “But as for omegas, the consequences are very much similar.  They experience their first heat around the same age that alphas experience their first rut.  It is possible that your son can experience his much sooner, perhaps even as early as twelve if he truly recognizes Viktor as his mate.”

“And is there an objective way to prove all of this?  Can you actually run a blood test to see if their hormone levels are not normal?” Toshiya asked.

“I can, yes, with your consent.  It is possible that the levels may not significantly deviate from normal since it can take several months or even a few years to truly manifest. However, behavioral changes can start much earlier which I’m presuming Ms. Eickmeyer already explained?” He trailed off and looked at his colleague sitting across the room.

“Indeed, I have.”

“If what all of you are saying is true… is there a way that this can be stopped and reversed?”

“Well yes, if the object of the bond is gone, everything should slowly return to normal.”

Lilia frowned.  “Wait… you can’t possibly mean…”

“Separate Yuuri and Viktor?  I believe that’s exactly what we’re suggesting Mrs. Feltsman,” Ms. Obayemi cut in, although her tone was gentle.  “I’m afraid that is the best course of action for everyone in the end.”

“The two are close friends, it would be horrible to just separate them like that,” Hiroko was upset and raised her voice for the first time that evening.  

“A clean break is necessary, Mrs. Katsuki, otherwise I’m afraid it defeats the purpose of stopping the bond between the two,” Dr. Siddiqui explained in a conciliatory tone.  It still did little to placate her.  

“We have two other first grade homerooms that we can assign Yuuri to.  It will take a while to reorganize his schedule, but I can have Karen do it tonight,” Principal Obayemi supplied.  “These are extenuating circumstances after all.”

“But I can’t… Yuuri…” Hiroko shook her head and looked down.  Toshiya frowned and leaned over to whisper something in her ear.  Mari watched the exchange with a sense of dread.  As much as she wanted to protect her brother, she knew that separating the two was also not the right thing to do. They can’t possibly go along with this can they?

“Anata…” Hiroko looked helpless at her husband who gave a grim nod in return.  She sighed before turning to the principal.  “Is it possible if we make this only temporary?  Can we separate them, just so that whatever… bond… there is between the two can be broken, but then have Yuuri join them again next year?  If they separate it should be enough to break the bond, correct?”

“Dr. Siddiqui, Ms. Eickmeyer, what are your thoughts?”

“Hypothetically, that can work.  Bonds need nurturing and any premature separation can dissolve the bond before it becomes permanent.”

“I am willing to give it a try.  I will continue to observe the two and see how they progress.”

“Very well, it’s decided then.”  

While the principal called someone on her phone again, Mari turned to her mother.  “Okaa-san, I don’t think this is a good idea.  Yuuri will be devastated.”

Hiroko turned teary eyes to her.  “I’m sure he will be, Mari-chan, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t like to do.”

Minako crossed her arms and remained silent.  Deep down, she agreed with Mari but Yuuri was not her son and it was not her place to disagree right now.  

“Are you sure there’s no other way?”

“I don’t think there is, sweetie.  Don’t worry, it’ll be temporary.  The year will be over before all of us know it.”  It almost sounded like the woman was convincing herself.

The principal hung up the phone. “I just called Ms. Arena.  She is coming back with the boys.”

Yakov rubbed his temple. “This is going to be a nightmare.  Vitya is going to be absolutely impossible to deal with.” Lilia took deep breaths to steel herself for the chaos that she knew was coming.

Moments later a knock sounded on the door and Ms. Arena walked into the room, holding hands with Yuuri and Viktor beside her.  

“Thank you, Ms. Arena, we’ll take it from here.  The meeting is almost over.”

“I…” Stephanie turned over to see Minako, taking in her friend’s troubled expression.  All the relatives looked like they were preparing themselves for an oncoming storm. “I’ll go then.  Good night everyone,” she walked back stiffly and closed the door.  

Hiroko leaned over and beckoned her son over.  “Yuuri-chan, come here.”  The omega bit his lip and obeyed, walking over to his mother with hesitant steps.  Viktor followed closely behind but was stopped from reaching out to Yuuri by Lilia.  He looked up and was about to argue but shut his mouth when he saw the expression in her eyes.

“Baba, what’s going on?”

Toshiya decided to spare his wife.  “Yuuri-chan… we talked with the other adults.  Certain… things between you and Viktor are causing us to worry. Things that can be bad for your health.”

“My health?”  Yuuri tilted his head in confusion. “But I feel okay.  I don’t feel sick.”

“It’s not necessarily something you feel now, sweetie,” Hiroko said.  “But something that can happen as you get older.”

“I don’t understand…”

Toshiya wrapped one arm around his son, “The thing is, Yuuri-chan, we all agree that it’s best if maybe… you and Viktor can spend some time apart.”

“What?!  What do you mean spend time apart?”  Viktor butted in, glaring at Yuuri’s parents.  

“Vitya!” Lilia held on tighter to his arms as the alpha tried to shake his way out of her grasp.  “Don’t raise your voice!”

Viktor growled and saw the psychologist’s assessing gaze from the corner of his eye. “You! This is all your fault! You stupid, mean woman, I hate you!”

“Vitya!”

“You’re right,” Dr. Siddiqui commented to Ms. Eickmeyer.  “The young boy is already displaying acts of aggression.”

“What do you mean spend time away from Viktor?”  Yuuri asked worriedly, feeling a sense of dread wash over him.  

“You will be switched to a different homeroom, sweetie.”

“What? No!”  Tears began to fall down his face. “Okaa-san, why…”

Hiroko gasped and bent down to wipe the tears from her son's cheeks.  “It will just be temporary Yuuri-chan, I promise. Just for a couple of months.”

“Months?” Yuuri gasped.  “But I promised Viktor that I’ll stay with him forever.”  He backed away and began to hyperventilate.  

“Yuuri-chan? Yuuri!” Hiroko frowned as he noticed the telltale signs of a panic attack.  “Yuuri-chan, please, calm down your breathing.  You need to breathe!”

“Yuuri?”

“Oh my god.”

Dr. Siddiqui stood up and made his way over, but Viktor beat him to it.  The young alpha placed his hands on Yuuri's shoulder.

“Yuuri! It’s okay, I’m here!”

Yuuri turned his eyes over to Viktor and clutched his wrists.  His eyes were wild as his face began to turn pale.  

“Just breathe with me okay? One,” Viktor made an exaggerated inhale.  “Two,” and exhaled. “One...two…one...two…”

The adults watched amazed as Yuuri listened and calmed down, his breathing slowly returning to normal.

“See?  We’re okay now…” Viktor smiled.  

Now the tears began to fall from Hiroko’s eyes.  “Thank you, Viktor,” she gasped out and placed a trembling hand over her mouth.  This was making all of this so much more difficult. How can they possibly separate these two?

Ms. Eickmeyer didn’t seem to agree.  “Such co-dependence is not healthy,” she stated and stood up.  

Viktor glared back up at her.  Lilia reached out to him.  “Vitya, please, stop that.”

“I’m not stopping anything if you’re trying to keep me away from Yuuri.  He’s my mate, Baba, and mates stay together.”

“Vitya,” Yakov hissed.  “It’s because you keep saying things like that that’s causing all of us to get worried. As much as I hate to admit it, the woman and doctor is right.  It’s not healthy for you two to stay together like this.”

“What are you saying? I’m not making Yuuri sick!”

“Vitya…”

Ms. Obayemi stood up, “I think it’s best if you all go home and continue the conversation there.  I don’t feel like we’re going to be more productive by discussing this here.”

Lilia sighed.  “Very well. Come on, Vitya.”  

“No!” Viktor slapped her hands away.

“Vitya, how dare you!  Don’t ever raise your hand against your Baba!” Yakov lost his composure and grabbed at the boy’s arm and yanked him roughly, causing the young alpha to stand on his tiptoe to keep his foot on the ground.

“Yasha, please that’s not necessary, you’re only going to make this worse!”

“He hurt you!”

“And all of you are hurting my Yuuri!” Viktor growled and tried to swipe at his grandfather next.  Hiroko and Toshiya leaned away to avoid his swinging arms.

“Vitya, we’re going home and that’s final!”

Yuuri whimpered.  He knew that Viktor and his grandparents were simply going home, but there was something about the gravity of their actions that suggested something more final… something that he couldn’t place his finger on.  This was wrong, all of this was wrong.  “Viktor…” He called out worriedly to his mate.

The young alpha grunted as he was tugged towards the door.  “Yuuri, it’s okay don’t worry, I’ll see you tomorrow!” The look on his face did little to convince him.  Viktor must have sensed that something very bad was happening as well.

Why did it feel like he was not going to see him tomorrow?  Why did it feel like Viktor was leaving him forever?  He looked up at his parents. “Okaa-san, Otou-san please!  Don’t make Viktor leave!”

“Yuuri-chan…”

He whimpered in frustration and turned to the only other adult he trusted. “Minako-sensei!”

The ballet teacher gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’m so sorry, Yuuri-chan.  This is out of my hands.”

Why was nobody stopping this?!

The omega quickly slipped out of his parents’ grasp and ran over to his sister. “Nee-chan please! Don’t make Viktor leave!”

“Yuuri…” she bent down to envelop her younger brother in a hug. “You’ll see him tomorrow okay?”

“No I won’t!” Yuuri began wailing.  “You’re all looking at me like that, I know you’re lying!  Don’t lie!”

“Vitya!” Yakov tugged on his grandson’s arm again, his wife on the other side, but the alpha stood firm as he looked at the omega with a torn expression.

“Yuuri-chan-”    

“I love him!”  Yuuri screamed at the top of his lungs.  “VITYA DON'T LEAVE! I LOVE YOU!”  It was so wrong that those heartfelt words were shouted in such a desperate and pleading tone and that was why everyone, Viktor included, was stunned into silence and stared at the bawling omega with wide eyes.  A tense quiet filled the room for the next few seconds, only interrupted by Yuuri’s occasional sniffles.

“Yuuri…” Tears began to fall down Viktor’s face as Yuuri’s words sunk in.  

“Come, Vitya, let’s go.”  Viktor was so shocked that Lilia was actually successful in finally pulling him out of the room. He stared at the door as it closed.  

Vitya.  

Yuuri had called him Vitya.

He clenched his fists.  There was no way that those stupid grown-ups were gonna separate them! He wasn't going to let it happen!

But the following school day he stood beside his desk, eyes vacant and hollow as he stared at the spot where Yuuri’s desk used to be.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: The Space Between Us

 Just when things look terrible, Yuuri makes a new friend and ally

"You can't separate me from Yuuri forever," Viktor muttered from the back of the car.  He glowered at the back of his Baba's head and crossed his arms, clenching his fists and ignoring the protesting stretch of the cuts on his knuckles. 

Lilia turned around and looked at him.  "Vitya, please understand.  Your Deda and I didn't want to do this.  But after talking with the people from the school, we don't have much of a choice."

"You're lying." 

"Vitya, enough," Yakov barked out.  His patience was wearing thin.  Actually, it was gone the moment they set foot out of that office.  "If you had just behaved yourself, none of this would have happened." 

"I'm not going to say sorry for what I did.  That boy was mean to Yuuri and he deserved what he got."

Yakov was about to retort but stopped when Lilia placed a hand on his arm.  He quickly glanced at her to see her shake her head. Not now. He narrowed his eyes and settled for grumbling under his breath, finally pulling into their driveway. 

Viktor wasted no time running upstairs to his bedroom and slamming his door the moment they got inside the mansion.

Yakov glared at the elaborate staircase that led to the second floor.  "We cannot keep letting him get away with this kind of behavior." 

"Yasha, don't." 

"Lilia, how can you possibly still be defending him?" 

"Think about what he just went through, Yasha. Give it time.  Vitya is understandably upset.  Disciplining him now will do more harm than good." 

---

Yuuri was inconsolable the entire ride home.  He continued to cry out for Viktor the moment the alpha was dragged out of the principal's office by his grandparents.  Once it was obvious that his mate wasn't coming back, the poor omega began to wail loudly and hid his face in his torn plushie in a feeble attempt to muffle his cries.  

"Please have your son come in thirty minutes before school starts.  I will have Karen provide him with his new schedule and escort him to his new homeroom," Ms. Obayemi said as the Katsukis stood up and prepared to leave. 

"We will, thank you ma'am," Toshiya said as he placed a hand behind Yuuri to usher him out the door.  

By the time they reached the car, Yuuri's cries dissolved to broken hiccups and sniffles.   Mari offered him some facial tissues in the car but the omega was stubborn, ignoring her and wiping his tears on his sleeves instead.  

"Don't worry, Yuuri, I'll fix Vicchan the moment we get home," Hiroko offered as she turned around to see her son's face buried in the aforementioned toy. "You'll see tomorrow, he will be as good as new." 

"I just want Vitya," Yuuri whispered. 

Hiroko's eyes flitted to her husband's before looking back at her son.  "Yuuri... I'm sorry, you know we can't do that.  Please just give it some time, I promise you will see him again.  We are just worried that this thing you two are doing will get you sick someday.  We don't want that." 

Mari hesitantly reached over and placed an arm around her brother. Thankfully, he didn't reject her touch.   She sighed and scooted as far as her seatbelt would allow her and rested her chin on her brother's head.  

What a mess. 

Chris and his friends were at a loss on what to make of this new Viktor.

It brought back terrible memories of the awful months that followed his mother’s death.  The Viktor back then had been quiet, subdued, and isolated.  He and his friends had tried everything to get him to come back.  None of their attempts were successful, and in the end it was Viktor himself who slowly came back to them on his own.

This, however, was something else entirely.  

Yes, he was still quiet and he was closed off from them again, almost as if he was lost in his own world.  But there was also a silent rage that boiled underneath the surface.  He could see it in Viktor’s eyes.  They weren’t vacant. Instead they were angry and filled with a type of cold fury that he knew his friend just barely held in check, almost as if any wrong move would cause him to lash out.  It was why everyone was walking on eggshells around him.  Even other students who would usually greet him in passing or strike up small talk now gave him a wide berth in the hallways.  

Chris knew that his friends always thought of him as the joker in their group, the laid-back type.  But he knew Viktor, and very well at that.  He was one of Viktor’s best friends and being chosen to be his best man for his wedding just about a week ago was proof of that.

They were all so happy then.  How could things have changed so drastically so quickly?

The entire group was so confused the day after the big fight, when Yuuri’s desk disappeared.  At first he and his friends thought that it was just a mistake, that maybe overnight one of the custodians had cleaned the classroom and for some reason had gotten rid of the desk. It did look odd after all since Yuuri’s was the only extra one in that lone corner.

“You don’t think he got kicked out or anything do you?” Georgi whispered worriedly to a frowning Mila.  

“No way. Why would Yuuri be kicked out?  He wasn’t even the one punching that older student.”

Phichit was standing by Georgi’s desk.  “It still doesn’t make sense though.  Why would it just be gone?”

“Hey Viktor…” Leo called over when the alpha came in.  The silver-haired alpha made no move to indicate that he heard anything, his eyes trained on the empty space where Yuuri’s desk was supposed to be.  He walked over, not paying attention if he was about to bump into any of his peers.  Instead the other students skittered out of his way, taking note of the bandages on his hands.  

“...Viktor?” Mila asked tentatively as the alpha walked up to them, still staring at the empty space. He stood there for a couple more seconds before his expression hardened and he sat down in his desk, now turning his gaze to the front of the classroom.

Mila took a step and opened her mouth to say something but Georgi placed an arm on her shoulder.  

“Not now, Mila,” he whispered.  

Mila bit her lip, still clearly torn but acquiesced and took her seat.

---

It wasn’t until lunchtime that Viktor opened up.  His friends didn’t disturb him, not wanting to pressure him to talk too early.  While this was the first time that Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong have seen Viktor like this, Georgi, Mila, and Chris knew better than to pry when Viktor isolated himself from his friends.  Chris and Georgi were whispering to one another when they heard Viktor speak up.

“They wanted to separate us.  I didn’t think they’d actually do it,” he muttered, crumpling his empty juicebox in his fist.  Guang Hong gulped as he watched the motion, no doubt getting an unpleasant reminder of the previous day’s events.

“Why would they do that?” Phichit frowned, still confused.  “How can fighting Carl yesterday make them think that separating you guys is a good idea?”

“I don’t really get it either,” Viktor frowned, the first emotion he displayed on his face all day. “But they said something about how what we’re doing is not healthy.  How it could lead to an early rut or something…”

“An early rut?” Leo mumbled in confusion.  

“I wish I even knew what a rut was.  Do you know Chris?” Georgi turned to his friend.  His older cousins always somehow gave them tidbits of information.

Chris shrugged.  “I dunno much. All I know is that when my cousin goes through it he stays in his room for a week.  He also looks really bad afterwards too, like he was sick or something.  I asked my parents about it once but they said they’ll tell me when I’m older.”

The friends groaned in unison.  Why was it always like that?

“That, and the only other thing he told me is that it sucks when you don’t have anyone to spend it with.” Chris crossed his arms and sighed.  “I wish I knew more, sorry.”

“Do you feel sick, Viktor?”

“No, and that’s the thing that makes me so angry!” Viktor scowled and ran a hand through his hair. “They kept going on and on about how me and Yuuri will get sick if we stay together, but both of us feel fine!” He looked at his friends and challenged them. “Do I look sick to you?!”

The group shook their heads.  Viktor huffed and turned his gaze to the wall.  He was doing that a lot lately, Chris noted.  

“I want Yuuri back.  I’m going to get him back.”  

“But how?  We don’t even know where he is.”

“I do,” Viktor muttered, making everyone perk up in interest.

“You do?!”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?  Where is he?!”

“Yesterday they were talking about switching him to one of the other homerooms.  So he must be either with Ms. Valdez or Mr. Gilbert.”

“God I hope he’s with Ms. Valdez, I’ve heard Mr. Gilbert is terrible,” Leo whispered, earning him a hard nudge by Mila.

“Shh!” She shook her head frantically and looked carefully at Viktor. Thankfully, he didn’t appear to hear his comment.

“How are you going to get him back, Viktor?”

The alpha gritted his teeth.  “I don’t know, but I’m going to get him back somehow.”  

No one stopped Viktor when he walked away from them to sit down in one of the benches.  "I don't like this," Mila said as she watched him cross his arms and stare down at the ground.  "I feel like the adults are not telling them something." 

"Do you think they're lying?"  Leo asked.  

"This is awful," Georgi moaned.  "It's like the stories where the prince is separated from the princess by an evil witch." He scanned the courtyard and pointed to Ms. Eickmeyer standing across from them.  "And she's the one, right there!" 

"Who?" Phichit frowned and turned to the woman he was pointing to.  You mean that tall lady with glasses? 

"Why are you calling her a witch?  Who is she?" Guang Hong asked.  

"You guys were already gone by that time, but I had to stay outside the principal's office until my parents got one of our drivers to pick me up.  I heard her talking to that other lady outside the office and they were saying how they had to keep Yuuri and Viktor away from each other.  The evil witch was watching them this entire time!"  

Mila sneered at the psychologist, although it was a useless move since the woman wasn't even looking in their direction at that time.  "I knew it, I saw her one time after Takeshi was teasing Yuuri.  I always thought there was something fishy about her." 

"I know!" Georgi wailed, "And now she placed a curse on them and tearing them apart! What can we do?"

Mila rolled her eyes and decided not to clarify how she didn't think that the lady was literally a witch.  But she most certainly was another word that rhymed with witch, although her parents always told her not to use bad words.  

"Do you think she's going to go after us next?" Guang Hong asked, biting his nails.  "I don't want to leave you guys." 

Leo tutted and wrapped an arm around the younger student comfortingly.  "Don't worry Guang Hong, I don't think they're really after us.  For some reason they're only after Yuuri and Viktor." 

"Is it cuz they're married?" Phichit asked. 

"It must be," Yuuko said.  "Do you think we broke a law or something when we got them married?  Did we have to do it in a church, is that why?" 

"I don't think so.  The witch must not want them together, but why would they get sick if they get back together? It just doesn't make any sense."

And so the conversation continued among the first graders, each theory continuously getting stranger and more outlandish than the last.  

---

Please let me and Viktor be happy together forever.  

He should have known.

All of his fears were coming true.  It’s actually quite laughable how he used to get so worked up over exams, how he’d feel overwhelmed whenever he completed his assignments because… what if this answer was wrong? What if he can do better?  

But this?

Ever since Viktor and their friends came into his life, Yuuri learned to appreciate that there was so much more to school than just getting top grades.  Of course, he didn’t let any of subjects slide; he still got high marks, but now Yuuri treasured his friendships, his mate.

So why did they take both away from him?  

Honestly, he should have seen this coming.  He always had the worst luck.  Nothing ever really worked out in his favor.  Someone in the universe must have gotten quite the laugh at his expense, lulling him into a false sense of security by giving him so many days full of fun, full of smiles, full of love only to snatch it away now that he was happy and content.  

He had known when Viktor was dragged out of that office yesterday that it was the last time he was going to see him for a long time. Maybe even forever.  

But was that even possible, though?  They still went to the same school after all.  So what if he was now in Mr. Gilbert’s homeroom?  Surely they can still see each other, right?  Even if his classes were all reshuffled so he didn’t share any of them with his mate or any of his friends anymore?  He was hoping that he’d see them again during lunchtime, only to find as the minutes ticked by that the fourth bell came and went and his class was still not going to lunch.  

So it appeared that he was reshuffled into the late lunch period.  His stomach grumbled for the rest of the succeeding hour, but Yuuri paid it no mind. He was distracted instead with the sounds of the other students playing outside. They only had about two more weeks of recess outside before the school would soon mandate them to spend recess in the gymnasium instead.

His eyes stared down at the paper in front of him, the lines of his notebook drifting in and out of focus.  He grimaced when he heard the sounds of other students outside laughing during recess.  Although the windows were closed shut, he can still hear the muffled sounds through the panes of glass.  

And to think that yesterday he used to be one of those students playing without a care in the world.  Just him, Viktor, their friends, and Makka and Vicchan.

Vicchan.

His mother had repaired him as soon as they had gotten home as promised.  She had placed the plushie on his bed that morning when she woke him up for breakfast.  Yuuri had picked him up earlier and looked at him over carefully.  He was relieved that the plushie looked good as new. He would have thought that all the events of the previous day were a dream if it weren’t for Viktor’s scent fading away from Vicchan due to the scuffle of the previous day.

Yuuri sighed and tried to ignore the pangs of hunger that were getting more and more painful by the minute. He was used to eating his lunch much earlier and it was going to take a while to adjust to having to eat later.     

And that was why he breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang to signal his class’s turn for lunch.

---

Viktor did all he can to postpone going back inside.  The entrance from the courtyard led to the cafeteria and he knew that if he stayed back long enough that there was a very high chance that he could catch a glimpse of Yuuri eating his lunch.  

He was currently behind a line of fifth graders, and the taller students looked at him curiously, wondering why a random first grader was with them.

“Hey Viktor, did you lose track of your class?” An older beta asked gently.  

“No, just didn’t feel like going in yet,” he mumbled, not really wanting to prolong the conversation.

The older student must have sensed it because he stammered, “Oh, o-okay then,” and left him alone after that.  

Viktor sighed and began to tap his feet with impatience, stepping forward every now and then once the line of students started to go into the door. He perked up when he finally stepped into the cafeteria and made to crane his head and look for Yuuri when an arm blocked his view and held firmly onto his shoulder.  

He turned his head up sharply, almost getting whiplash and snarled at the face that looked down at him.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Viktor, and it’s not going to work,” Ms. Eickmeyer said firmly, not at all affected by his anger.  She steered him with a surprisingly strong grip towards the cafeteria’s exit.  Viktor did his best to peer around to look for Yuuri, getting frustrated when a line of taller students blocked his view.

“Let go!” He growled and tried to shrug off her hands, but the woman held tight.  

“No, you’re coming with me to Dr. Siddiqui’s office.  Your grandparents consented to running the blood test.”

Viktor struggled the whole way through, trying to drag his feet on the ground, and even at one point trying to take a bite of the woman’s arm only to be thwarted time and again. He didn’t care about the scene that they were undoubtedly  making in the hallway, all the students they passed turning their heads to watch him be dragged off behind the tall, stern-looking psychologist.

He finally gave up and stiffly followed the infuriating woman when they finally made it to the wing that led to the infirmary.  She opened a door and they passed a few empty examination beds that were partially obscured by half-open privacy screens.  

A nurse seated at a desk in one corner paused momentarily to look at the newcomers before she looked back down at the charts she was sorting.  Ms. Eickmeyer didn’t spare the other woman a greeting as she led him to a room on the opposite end of the suite.

Viktor’s nose wrinkled at the sterile scent of the entire room, a mix of alcohol and bleach with a hint of anxiety and discomfort that permeated throughout the area into a nauseating mixture.  It was a wonder that anyone would want to be treated there. He hated going anywhere that remotely reminded him of a hospital.  Hospitals meant sickness.  Hospitals meant death, not that he was there to visit his Mama in the hospital in Saint Petersburg before she died.  

Ms. Eickmeyer knocked on the door twice and was answered by a curt, “Come in!” before she turned the doorknob and escorted Viktor in.  

Once inside, the acrid scent of fear and pain assaulted his nose and Viktor gasped. It wasn’t just any scent, it was-

“Yuuri!” He turned angrily to the doctor who was seated behind his desk. “What did you do to him?!  He was here! I know he was here, I can smell him!” He renewed his efforts to escape the woman’s grasp.

“I told you it would have been a better idea to draw the alpha’s blood first,” Dr. Siddiqui commented with a deadpan expression as he turned to an open kit and picked up a tiny glass vial of clear liquid.  “Perhaps we should give him a sedative first?  It will be hard to draw blood if he’s this agitated.”

“That may be a good idea,” Ms. Eickmeyer noted as she forced Viktor to sit down in a foldable chair.  Yuuri’s scent was strongest there, the alpha noted.  He must have been so scared, Viktor bit his lip to hold down a whimper.  And he couldn’t do anything to protect him. He hated feeling this helpless!  What kind of alpha was he if he couldn’t even protect his omega?  

Dr. Siddiqui drew up the liquid into a syringe and made his way over to Viktor. He tried to flinch away but the physician wiped an area of his arm with an alcohol swab and quickly injected him with the unknown liquid with practiced ease before he could even attempt to get off the chair.  

“Ugh,” Viktor blinked rapidly when his vision began to blur a bit. He started to feel sleepy all of a sudden.

“And there we go.  I may have injected a bit of a higher dose than usual, but I felt that it was necessary given how agitated he was.”  

The doctor turned to retrieve a fresh needle and two empty vials from his kit before he made his way beside Viktor again.  “You may feel a small pinch, Viktor, but it will be over before you know it.”

Viktor grumbled something unintelligible as the doctor did his work, only wincing slightly when he felt the needle pierce his skin again.  He yawned and stayed still, glaring instead at the woman who watched the entire scene with a curious expression.  

“I really hate you, you know,” he muttered at her.  

“You’ve made that quite clear on several occasions, Viktor,” the woman noted.

“I’m still going to get Yuuri back, just you wait.  You can’t keep us apart forever.”

“I’m sure.” The words were practically dripping in sarcasm.  

Viktor frowned, knowing that somehow the woman was making fun of him.  “It’s a promise. We’re married and I love Yuuri and we’re supposed to be together forever. Bad guys always lose.  And you’re a bad guy. Or a bad lady. Whatever.”

“He’s still pretty coherent considering the amount of sedative I gave him,” Dr. Siddiqui noted, earning him a glare from the young alpha.

“And you, evil doctor guy. I hate you too.”

Dr. Siddiqui didn’t pay him any mind, giving a hmm of satisfaction once the second vial was filled.  He withdrew the needle and discarded it in a sharps container before going back to place gauze and a bandage on the site. “And there we go, all done.” He turned to address Ms. Eickmeyer.  “Would you be able to escort him back to his homeroom?”

The woman scoffed.  “I should.  I’m sure if left to his own devices he’d try to sneak back to the cafeteria.  I’ll bring him back.”

“Judging by the way he’s acting now, it won’t be long before the sedative wears off. I suggest trying to get him back quickly before he becomes more unwieldy.”

---

Disappointment wasn’t even a strong enough word to describe the way Yuuri felt when he failed to see Viktor during lunchtime that day.  No, Yuuri was more devastated than anything.  It was the only thing that had kept him going all morning and it looked like that small window of opportunity passed.  He could have sworn at one point that he caught a whiff of the alpha’s scent, but it was fleeting and he was uncertain if he just imagined it.  

It was like everything was upside down.  He almost felt like he was having an out of body experience, which was odd since this is the first time he felt this way.  Almost like a nightmarish movie that he was watching from a detached distance.

His stomach grumbled and he looked down, poking at the slight pudge along his waist.  He had almost forgotten that he was starving.  He took out his chopsticks from their container and proceeded to pick halfheartedly at the bento his mother packed for him.  He must have spent five minutes in this manner when he felt a small poke on his side.  He jumped and gave a high-pitched yelp before turning around to see a shorter Japanese boy give him a wide smile, revealing two rather sharp-looking incisors separated by a gap where he must have lost a tooth.  The boy’s uniform was littered with grass stains.  

“Um… can I help you?”

The boy beamed, “Hi!” He held up the tray he was balancing on his arms.  “Can I join you?”

“Uh…” To be honest, Yuuri didn’t feel like having any company, wanting to drown in his melancholy for the rest of lunch and for the remainder of the day.

The boy must have taken his silence for agreement and smiled.  “Thanks!” The boy set his tray down and squeezed in the small space between Yuuri and another student.  “I’m Kenjiro Minami!” He thrust a hand out to Yuuri, almost smacking him in his chest.

Yuuri sighed internally, all chances of solitude fleeing out the window. “...Yuuri Ni-” he winced, “I mean Yuuri Katsuki.”

Kenjiro tilted his head, “Yuuri Nikatsuki?”

“No, just Katsuki.”

“Oh okay.  Nice to meet you!  I’m in kindergarten.  I usually sit over there,” he jabbed a finger in the direction of a group of betas and omegas sitting one table over. “But I saw you and you looked so lonely. No one should be lonely at lunch, so I came to say hi!”

Yuuri bit his lower lip and tried to think of a good response. He knew that it would only be polite to say thank you even if he truly preferred to be alone.  Is this what Mari-neechan meant by a white lie?  He wondered what the color white had anything to do with it though. “Thanks then.”

“No problem!” And Kenjiro proceeded to eat his lunch, giving Yuuri a little reprieve as he ate a few pieces of his sushi.  He noticed that the younger student quickly devoured his lunch. He pushed over his bento box.  

“Would you like some of mine?”

“Huh?” Kenjiro looked at the offered food, almost drooling.  “Are you sure you don’t want to eat the rest?”

Yuuri shrugged.  “I’m not really that hungry.” And he figured that he should get Kenjiro to eat it, knowing that his mother would get worried if she found out that he hardly ate anything. It was odd, considering how hungry he was just an hour earlier.  

“Okay then, thanks a lot Yuuri. You’re really nice!”  Kenjiro leaned over and began to make quick work of the rest of the food.  “I feel like I only saw you today. Are you new here?”

“No, not really. But I was transferred to a new homeroom, so my lunch period changed too.”

“Why?”

“It’s… a bit of a long story.”  Yuuri turned away.

Kenjiro must have noticed the change in his mood and tried to switch the subject.  “We should spend recess together too!”

“Uh.. I was just going to sit down on one of the benches.  I don’t feel like playing right now.”

“Oh… okay,” Kenjiro was undeterred, “I’ll sit with you then!”

Yuuri grew flustered and held his hands out.  “You really don’t have to do that Kenjiro, but thanks.”

“No really, we’re friends now aren’t we? We should hang out together!”

And that’s how Yuuri found himself ten minutes later, sitting down on one of the benches.  

“Who did you used to hang out with before?”

“Um… there was Viktor and his friends, Georgi, Chris, and Mila. Then there was also Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong.”

“Hey! You know Guang Hong?”  Kenjiro clapped his hands in delight.  If he was a puppy Yuuri swore his tail would be wagging.  How was the little kid always so full of energy? Or happy for that matter?

“Yeah, he hangs around with us since he’s best friends with Leo.”

“Cool! I used to go to the same Pre-K as Guang Hong, but we went to different homerooms this year. He’s with Ms. Liu I think.  And I think I know Leo! He’s that older beta right? In your year?”

“Yeah, that’s prolly Leo you’re talking about…” Yuuri sighed and trailed off, looking up at the tree branches.  Almost all the leaves were gone.  He shuffled deeper into his jacket, stuffing his hands deeper in the pockets.  His hands were always cold, but Viktor used to keep them warm for him.   ‘I wonder what Vitya’s doing now.  What everyone’s doing now.’  A sudden thought came to Yuuri and he gasped out loud, surprising Kenjiro.

“Say Kenjiro…”

“Yeah?”

“If I write a letter, do you think you can give it to Guang Hong?  Then maybe he can give it to Viktor!”

“Uh… sure!  Yeah, I can do that for you Yuuri!”  Kenjiro was a bit confused why Yuuri can’t just give the letter to Viktor himself but he was eager to do something for the omega since it was the first time that he had even a glimpse of happiness on his face.  

After all, friends like making each other happy, right?

---

“Hey Viktor! Viktor, wait up!”

Viktor furrowed his eyebrows and stopped in the middle of the hallway, not reacting when it caused an older student to stumble into him.  He turned around to look for the voice.  

“Viktor!” Another louder voice chimed in. This time he recognized it as Leo’s.  The crowd parted to reveal Leo and Guang Hong who both jogged up to him.

Guang Hong smiled and bent over to catch his breath.  “Great! I was so worried I wouldn’t catch you in time.”  He looked around really quickly before shoving a piece of paper in his hands.  “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

“See you, Guang Hong!” Leo waved as Viktor looked down curiously at the paper.  

It had Guang Hong’s scent but underneath it smelled like-

“Yuuri,” he whispered to himself.  

He quickly pocketed the paper and hurried outside, not bothering to say goodbye to Leo as he stepped out to the school’s front grounds.  He searched for Minako-sensei’s car and deflated when he saw that it was gone.  He stepped aside and hid behind one of the tall columns and opened the paper with shaking hands.  

Dear Vitya,

I hope Guang Hong is able to get this letter to you. I met a new friend, Kenjiro, who knew Guang Hong and said he can give the letter to him to give to you.

I really, really, really miss you.  I hope you’re okay. Are you eating your lunch right? I’m not around to share my lunch with you anymore so I hope you’re still eating well.

Okaa-san fixed Vicchan, so he’s good. You can’t even tell that his legs got cut off. Your scent is going away but I still hug him a lot because he’s all I have now.  I hope Makka’s okay too.

Do you think they will really keep us away from each other for the rest of the year? That’s what Mari-neechan said. I don’t know if I can wait until next year to see you again.

I don’t feel sick so I really don’t understand why we can’t see each other. Do you feel sick? I really hope not.

Please write to me, okay? And don’t bother waiting for me after school. Okaa-san said that since my last period is free I get to go home 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the students. I’m sure the adults did that on purpose.

Love you always!

Yuuri

Viktor shook as he read the letter, not even caring about the time that passed. His Deda must be wondering what was taking him so long.  He reread the letter one more time before he folded it and tucked it into the deepest pockets of his backpack and made a quick dash to his Deda’s car.  

The ride back home was uncharacteristically silent.  Just last week, Yakov would have given anything for a reprieve from Viktor's inane ramblings, but this silent boy seated beside him was not his grandson.  He looked at Viktor from the corner of his eye, trying not to make himself too obvious.  

Meanwhile Viktor paid his Deda no mind.  He was very much still angry with both of his grandparents for agreeing to separate him from Yuuri.  Dealing with the stupid school officials was one thing, but the fact that his and Yuuri's families agreed to it filled him with such a sense of betrayal.  There was only one small part of his mind that whispered that perhaps they were right.  Perhaps, with him being a kid, he didn't know if there really was something that he could be doing that is somehow hurting Yuuri.  But whenever that small part of his conscience spoke up, he quickly quashed it down.  

Once they arrived home Lilia was the one who initiated the hug when she noticed that Viktor was making no move to hug her.  She gave a worried glance over to her husband.  The boy just stood there in her arms, standing stiffly, his arms by his side as he refused to reciprocate.  She sighed and bent down so she can whisper in his ear.  "Just a couple of months, Viktor, please-"

"No!"  He pushed out of her arms and ran up the stairs. 

"Vitya!" Yakov yelled. "Come back down here and apologize at once!" 

The slam of his bedroom door was his only response.  

Viktor had no time to be talking to his Baba or Deda right now.  He had a mission to write a letter to Yuuri after all.  

---

The next day Yuuri was making his way to his math class when he saw Kenjiro approaching him from the other side of the hall, jumping and waving his hand in the air.

“Yuuri! Hi!”

“Kenjiro?”  A small ember of hope flared within his chest and Yuuri clutched the straps of his backpack in a tight grip as he jogged over to the shorter student, anticipation rising when he watched Kenjiro retrieve a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket.  

He finally reached Yuuri and gasped with excitement, practically vibrating with manic energy. “I got your letter to Guang Hong yesterday.  He told me how this is a top secret mission!  I don’t really know what’s going on, but this is so cool! He gave me this letter for you today. Let me know if you have another letter and I can try to give it to him before classes end! I gotta go now, bye!”  He placed the letter in Yuuri’s hands who grasped it tightly as if it would disappear between his fingers at any moment.  

He turned and went over to his math class, taking his seat and opening his workbook before unfolding the letter and smoothing it out.

Dear Yuuri,

I really, really, really, really miss you lots too! All our other friends miss you too.  Don’t worry I’m still eating okay even if it’s yucky cafeteria food. Makka is okay too. I miss your lunches. 

I don’t feel sick either.  Do you think the adults are lying to us? I don’t know why they would. Baba and Deda always told me it’s bad to lie so I don’t think they would lie to me. They like you and Okaa-san and Otou-san too.

Are you okay? I got poked with a needle yesterday and I could smell you in the room. You smelled so scared. They didn’t hurt you, did they? If they did I will beat them up, just like I beat up Carl Fisher!

I wanna see you really soon. I don’t know how, but I will think of something. No way they’re going to keep us away from each other for months.

I really wish I can hug you right now.

Love,

Vitya

Yuuri gave a heartfelt sigh and reluctantly folded the paper up again as their teacher began to write several math problems on the chalkboard for the class to complete.  It was like reading Viktor’s words gave him another breath of fresh air, and he hadn’t even realized that he was drowning.

What they were both going through right now was horrible but if there was one truth that Yuuri still held on to, it was his trust in his alpha.  

He had no doubt that Viktor would make sure that they were reunited somehow.

All he had to do was wait.

‘Please think of something soon, Vitya.’

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: The Science of Soulmates

It is no less real just because you do not believe in it.

It felt like months but in reality, it was only another week that has passed.

Viktor did everything that he could think of, including going to school early to see if he can catch a glimpse of Yuuri in his new homeroom--one of Yuuri’s letters saying that he was reassigned to Mr. Gilbert’s class, sneaking in between classes by pretending he had to go to the bathroom, or dodging Ms. Eickmeyer during lunchtime.

But no, it seemed like the stupid evil monster lady told his other teachers about what was going on, because Viktor started being chaperoned from one class to another. And while he still was unaccompanied when going to the bathroom he noticed how there always happened to be a staff member passing by, no doubt keeping an eye out for him and making sure he didn’t stray.

It was all so very frustrating, and it did nothing to quell his anger.

His Baba and Deda picked up on it too.  In the beginning, they tried to engage him by having him eat dinner with them, coming up with boring random errands and activities to distract him.

“What do you think of visiting the ice rink again, Vitya?”

“Vitya, can you accompany me to Ms. Epstein’s later?  She told me last time how it’s been so long since she’s seen you.”

“Vitya, let’s go shopping today. You’re already beginning to outgrow some of your clothes.”

It was all very tedious but Viktor bore it all knowing that avoiding them will just make their attempts even more aggravating.

But when none of his attempts to meet Yuuri that week were successful, his frustration got to a boiling point and he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Vitya-” His Baba began later that evening.

“No!” Viktor slammed his utensils down and pushed his chair back roughly, creating a horrible screeching noise that made everyone in the room wince.

“Vitya!” Yakov yelled but the boy ignored him and ran out of the dining hall, no doubt going to his room.  He and Lilia grimaced when they heard the slam of his bedroom door seconds later.

Lilia gave a weary sigh and placed both of her hands on her face. “What are we going to do, Yasha?”

“I don’t know…” The man turned to look at Viktor’s plate and concern bloomed within him once more when he took note of how little the boy had eaten.  He had been eating less and less the past few days. Lilia followed his gaze and frowned when she noticed the same thing.

“He’s not eating.  And I highly doubt that he’s eating much in school either.”

They had been getting reports from Ms. Eickmeyer as per their previous agreement.  Dr. Siddiqui had also called the previous day to inform them that while not significantly higher, Viktor’s levels did come back higher than the 95th percentile of his age group.  Yakov and Lilia quickly called the Katsukis later that night and the omega’s parents informed them that Yuuri’s results were also similar.

It was all so very heartbreaking, what they were putting the two kids through. But what else could they do?  When even the blood tests objectively confirmed what the physician and the psychologist have been warning them of all along?

“Yuuri-chan also hasn’t been eating either,” Hiroko’s voice came over the speaker phone. “We’ve tried everything, I even cooked him his favorite dishes. He just leaves the food untouched outside his door.”

“Vitya is always angry now. He’s never been like this before.”

“Our Yuuri-chan's just withdrawn. He doesn’t come out of his room. I feel like all he does is do his homework and go to bed.”

And between those words was that unspoken question. 

Were we in the wrong to do this? 

It was never said aloud, and it seemed like the two families were just waiting for the other to be the first to acknowledge it.  In the end, the phone was always hung up without anything being said. 

What to do? What to do?

By the end of that week Minako had enough of watching the two parties go back and forth without being closer to a resolution than when the entire mess first started.  She decided to consult with someone she knew from college, a beta that she roomed with for two years before she transferred to Paris to study ballet after winning a scholarship.

Her name was Hima Chaudhry and like Ms. Eickmeyer, she majored in secondary gender studies.  However, she had also double-majored in a new field.  From what Minako could recall, Hima had told her that few universities around the world even offered the major.  It was something in Latin and she had to wrack her brain for a while before she recalled the term.

Animatotusology. The science of soulmates.

She recalled how she had to school her features into a neutral expression to avoid snickering at the word. It was quite a mouthful and didn't quite roll off the tongue.  Hima knew her very well at that point and had given her a wry smile.

Well, this was hardly a laughing matter now.  Minako took a deep breath and made her way to her small office which was really just a corner in her apartment that housed her bookshelf and desk. She pulled out the volume that she was looking for, fingers tracing the spine of the hardcover book.

“The Truth Behind Broken Hearts,” she whispered aloud. Minako sat down on her computer chair and opened it, flipping the first few pages to the dedication page

Dedicated to

Swetha, my dearest sister

Minako, my dear friend

And Sasidhar, my very own soulmate

Beneath that was Hima’s handwritten message.

Hey Minako!

Can you believe it? Here’s your own personal copy, as promised! All seven years of my PhD and beyond condensed into these 225 pages. Thank you for always being there to listen to my ramblings as I wrote the manuscript. Please stay in touch.

Forever your friend,

Hima

She had fond memories of Hima. The girl was introverted, much like Yuuri, and was very much dedicated to her studies.  There were many a nights that she would read out passages of her research to Minako, and even when she moved to Paris the two would still keep in touch with Hima mailing pages of her manuscript to her for feedback.   “It’s always best to get an outsider’s critique to make sure I’m not losing the reader!” She had said.

Minako made herself comfortable and opened to the next page.  

Introduction

Throughout the several thousands of years of written history, there has always been the ballads, the epic plays, and great tales of romance that describe the tragic demise of two lovers. And even more recently there are the odd news reports of a seemingly mysterious death of a man or woman shortly following the death of their partner.

We have always called these deaths the result of a broken heart. Those who believe in an afterlife content themselves with the comfort that at least in death the two souls can reunite. When my own mother died just one week after my father’s untimely passing to cancer I was never satisfied with these empty comforts. I wanted to learn more.

This book is an extended version of the thesis I wrote for my PhD in Animatotusology - the science of soulmates, a new and emerging area of research that, at the time of writing, is only offered in five universities around the world. I have done my best to include additional background material, to consult with fellow experts in my field to help bolster my argument that soulmates are not just a romantic notion used for entertainment in the latest bestseller or rom-com movie, but something that truly does exist. It is my hope that through this book I can explain the current knowledge to a wider audience.

I hope that these pages can give others answers, just as I, in the end, found my own truth about my mother’s death.

---

There was a gentle series of knocks at his door.  

Yuuri whimpered and turned away from it, clutching the plushie in his arms and burying his face in Vicchan. “Go away,” he mumbled, “I’m not hungry.”  His voice was likely not loud enough to be heard behind the wooden barrier, but he knew that Mari-neechan would get the gist.

The door latch clicked as it was opened.

“Yuuri, come on…”

“No, I’m not hungry.”

He could hear his sister sigh.  There was a moment of silence where she was probably standing in the doorway. He heard her shuffled footsteps across the carpeted floor.  Mari placed the tray on his desk and sat down beside her brother.

“You can’t keep doing this forever, Yuuri.”  

Mari frowned in frustration when her younger brother didn’t even answer her quip.  She hesitantly reached out and placed a hand lightly on where she thought his leg was.  It was hard to tell considering how deeply he buried himself in his blankets.  

There was a moment of silence before a soft voice spoke up. “Just leave it there, I’ll eat it later.”

“You say that all the time and you end up not eating anything.  I’m not leaving until you take at least one bite.”

“But I’m not hungry.”

“Yuuri-”

“Just go, Nee-chan.”  Yuuri snuggled deeper into the blankets until only a tuft of black hair was exposed.  

Mari opened her mouth to reply but simply sighed in the end.  She got up, feeling helpless and hating it, before she made her way out of his room and closing the door.  She made her way downstairs and saw how both her parents turned to look at her with hopeful expressions.  Mari shook her head.  “No luck.  Again.”

Hiroko ducked her head and stared at the cup of tea she held in her hands.  Toshiya took off his glasses to rub at his temple as Mari took a seat next to him.

“I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“I knew it was going to be hard but I never thought that things would reach this point.  Our baby’s going to make himself sick at this rate.”

“I don’t suppose it’s too early to try and talk to the principal again?  Surely someone else in the school must have noticed his behavior.”

“I feel like what we’re doing right now is causing more harm than good.”

Mari remained quiet as she half-listened to her parents converse.  It was simply a repeat of a similar conversation that they had yesterday.  In the end, they could never agree on what to do.  If only she attended the same school as Yuuri, then maybe she can do some investigating of her own, or at the very least try to give Yuuri some company and make sure he was eating well.  

Her poor brother was suffering, and she was sure that Viktor must be as well. And the worst part is that she cannot think of a single thing she could do.  

---

Soulmates, once bonded, will all have a certain level of co-dependence.  It is a common misconception that every soulmate pair is perfect, but in fact, there are varying degrees of harmonization between the two souls.  Some soulmates end up having a more platonic relationship and are not necessarily involved romantically.  These kinds of soulmate pairs can function independently of one another.  The opposite end of the spectrum is the reverse--a soulmate pair that fuses so perfectly that they are 100% co-dependent.  

While such a description sounds like the core of an ideal romantic story, such co-dependence can actually be detrimental to the soulmate pair.  They would always have to maintain a certain degree of physical proximity or else there can be negative consequences to their health.  Excess fatigue, decreased appetite, debilitating headaches, all general constitutional symptoms that are often misdiagnosed by healthcare providers as common ailments.  

The better the harmonization between two soulmates, the more in tune they are to each other's emotions. Upon consummation of a bond, they will be able to have a sixth sense of the other's emotions, at times, to the point of developing empathy.  They can feed off each other's emotions and in theory even influence the other's emotions.  Some scholars even postulate that they may be able to read their bonded's thoughts, but this is still considered controversial and not all experts agree that pairs can have this capability. 

Minako paused her reading there. She has read enough in the past hour.  She set the book down and picked up her phone, dialing a phone number that she had long memorized.

“Hello, can I please speak to Hima?  This is Minako… yes, I’ll wait, thank you.

“Hey Hima?  I’m so sorry for calling out of the blue like this.” Minako closed her eyes and pictured Yuuri vividly in her mind.  “But you see, my close friends have a son who is likely going through a bond severance that you described in your book.”

---

Yuuri was sitting beside the dolphin statue during recess the next day, Kenjiro straddling the statue and pretending to be a pirate with one of his other classmates.  He paid them no mind, eyes focused solely on Viktor’s latest letter.

Dear Yuuri,

I’m getting really angry with all of the stupid grown-ups.  I’ve tried to see you so many times last week but nothing works. Stupid Evil Lady is making all my teachers keep an eye on me. Even when I try to run really quick in the hallways they keep catching me.

My Baba and Deda are annoying me too. They keep trying to get me to eat even if I’m not hungry. Yesterday my Baba got really worried and made me go see a doctor. The doctor said she couldn’t find anything wrong with me.

They’re making me angry cuz they always say they want me to get better but all I want is you. And when I tell them that they said that I still can’t see you.

I’m still going to try see you though! Please wait for me.

Love,

Vitya

Yuuri sighed, a small smile lighting his face for the first time that day and hugged the paper to his chest, as if that would allow him to hug Viktor.

“You must really like Viktor, huh Yuuri?” Kenjiro chirped beside him.

Yuuri gave the younger omega a small smile.  “I do.  We’re mates after all.”

“Wow, really?! That’s so cool! I hope I can find my mate someday.”

“I’m sure you will, Kenjiro.”

“Viktor must be so brave, being willing to get in trouble just to see you. It reminds me of the fairytales my Okaa-san would tell me.  How the princess is locked in a tower and the prince has to go through lotsa dangerous stuff to get to her!”

Yuuri laughed softly at the thought.  Kenjiro’s imagination was funny. He really appreciated how kind the younger student has been to him, carrying his letters to Viktor back and forth between him and Guang Hong.  Lately some of their other friends pitched in and wrote short messages at the back of Viktor’s letters.  Many of them encouraging, some simply updating him on the latest things that were happening like how Phichit got a new hamster, and some asking how he has been. He treasured each and every one of them.  

He was always the happiest whenever he received the letters, since they were his last connection to Viktor and their friends.  

Yuuri gave a smile to Kenjiro while the younger boy babbled about a new toy his parents gave him recently.  He was really indebted to Kenjiro.

‘I’ll wait for you, Vitya.  Just come soon.’

---

Minako approached the Katsukis the next day while the children were still in school.

“Any improvement?” She asked while taking her place beside Hiroko to help with the dishes.  

“None,” the poor mother’s voice was weary.  “If anything, I would say it’s gotten worse.  He doesn’t eat a single thing now. At least the week before he would at least eat a small snack.”

Minako pursed her lips and recalled the conversation she had with Hima the night before.  They spent an entire two hours on the phone. She would undoubtedly be racking up her fees with the international call once she receives her phone bill later that month, but this was an emergency.

“Say, Hiroko, when we’re done do you think you can get Toshiya to come down here?”

“Sure…”

Moments later they were all seated in the dining area. The two parents looked at their longtime friend curiously.  

“What did you want to talk to us about, Minako?”

“You guys remember Hima, don’t you?”

“Wasn’t she your roommate before you left for Paris?” Hiroko asked.  

Minako nodded. “Yeah, that’s her.  Remember that weird double-major she had?”

“Um… I think secondary gender studies, right?” Toshiya frowned.  “Did you mean to ask her for a second opinion about Yuuri and Viktor?”

“It’s not just secondary gender studies, but she also studied about soulmates.”

The two simply blinked at her, taking in her words. Hiroko was the first to break the silence, giving a nervous laugh. “Soulmates?  Minako you can’t surely be implying…”

“I’m not implying, I’m saying that they are.”  Minako turned around to retrieve the book from her messenger bag and slid it across the table towards the couple.  Toshiya picked it up curiously and looked at the cover.

“The Truth Behind Broken Hearts?  Minako you can’t be serious,” the man said incredulously.

“Give it a read and then tell me that I’m not being serious,” Minako said, her expression stern.  “I didn’t sleep a wink last night reading that book.  It explains so much.  I didn't get to finish it completely, but I read enough.  I’m convinced that Yuuri and Viktor are soulmates.  It’s why the two are not eating, why the two are refusing to leave their rooms, and why none of this is going to help them get any better.”

Hiroko took the book from her husband’s hands to turn it over herself.  “I… are you sure about this?”

“I’m very sure. And 100% serious as well.”  Minako stood up.  “I think that book itself will be enough to convince you two, and if not… well, we're going to have a phone conference with  Hima later tonight, and if that's still not enough, I invited Hima over.  She’d like to rent a room here for the next week starting tomorrow. She’s catching a flight tomorrow.”

Hiroko’s eyes widened. “Minako!”

The older woman gave a wry smile to her friend.  “You can thank me later.  Now, I’m off to teach my ballet class before I pick up Mari and Yuuri from school.  I suggest you get some reading done before then.”  

---

When a soulmate bond is severed prematurely several things can happen depending on the level of co-dependence. Platonic soulmates will experience a brief period of intense mourning but will eventually recover as their souls acclimate to the lack of their other half.  For those, like my parents, whose souls are so intimately entwined, the pain will be excruciating and will never end.  Some people are driven insane by their grief and will take away their own lives.  I know that my mother did not commit suicide.  Her autopsy report was inconclusive, since it did not find any evidence of physical harm apart from moderate dehydration which the doctors had reported was not severe enough to have caused her death.

No, my mother and other souls that were like her, had died because her soul could not cope without its other half.  When this occurs, the natural tendency is for the soul to join its pair in the afterlife, and as such leave its physical embodiment on Earth so that they can be reincarnated together.

---

You know, the real irony was that he wasn’t even trying.

That afternoon Viktor really did need to go to the bathroom.  He drank a lot of water earlier after playing an intense game of dodgeball during gym the period before.  It was the perfect outlet for all his frustrations and anger and he may or may not have thrown the ball harder than necessary, causing some intense bruises when the ball hit the students in the opposing team.  

But since the teachers couldn’t prove that he did it intentionally they couldn’t really give him any punishment.  He still got told off, though, for using unnecessary force. 

There was a commotion at the opposite end of the hallway, out of his line of sight, but it caused the passing staff member to turn around and stop following him in order to investigate what caused the noise.  Viktor shrugged and opened the bathroom door.  He figured that he would go to the bathroom first, and if there were still no eyes, try to sneak by Yuuri’s math class.  He already had his omega’s new schedule memorized at this point, Yuuri having given him a copy in one of his previous letters to him.

The door didn’t even open all the way when he heard a gasp.  The scent hit him before he saw the omega. Magnolia, fresh winter air, and a hint of cinnamon.

“Vitya?!”

“Yuuri?”  Viktor blinked and rubbed his eyes furiously, thinking that the other boy in the bathroom was a hallucination. It must have been a mirage, a product of his imagination because he was so desperate to see him.

“Vitya! You came!”  A warm body hit him as arms wrapped around him.  Viktor instinctively wrapped his arms around the smaller boy.

But no, mirages can’t touch you, so that must mean-

“Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri!” Viktor nuzzled the other omega and held him tighter to his chest. “I can’t believe it, you’re really here!”

There was something off about Yuuri’s scent.  He smelled… tired?  He opened his eyes and reluctantly stepped back so he can get a better look at his omega.  Bright burgundy eyes blinked back at him.  

“Vitya?  What is it?”

“Are you okay, Yuuri?”  Viktor frowned as he took note of Yuuri’s disheveled appearance. There were dark circles under his eyes and-he gripped Yuuri’s sides harder, it looked like he lost weight.  There was slightly less baby fat around his cheeks and even his skin looked sickly pale.  “Do you feel sick?”

“I just haven’t been sleeping well or eating much lately.”  Yuuri pouted and looked up at Viktor. “And I can ask you the same thing. You don’t look great either, Vitya.”

“I haven’t been eating much either.”  

How can the two of them look so different after just almost two weeks apart?  

Anger bubbled in his chest again as he hugged Yuuri once more.  The grown-ups lied to them.  They said that they would make each other sick but that wasn’t true at all! No, instead his omega was sick because he wasn’t around!  Did they think that they could get away with lying to them like this?  Just because they were kids?

“Okaa-san and Otou-san were wrong.  I think we only started getting sick when they made us stay away from each other.”

Viktor gave a small smile. He and Yuuri were always on the same wavelength.  

“Yeah. That’s what I just thought too.”

“What are we going to do, Vitya?”

“Just leave it to me Yuuri, I promise I’ll fix this.”  He nuzzled the crown of Yuuri’s head.  “I promise.”

Yuuri sighed and hugged him tighter. “I trust you.”

---

They had parted reluctantly after a few more minutes, but this time Viktor had a renewed sense of purpose.  He didn’t even bother paying attention to the remainder of his lessons, not that he was even focusing much anyway since Yuuri left his homeroom. He tapped his pencil absentmindedly in his notebook, his mind whirling trying to come up with ideas.

It was hopeless trying to talk to his Baba and Deda.  He had tried that approach very early on to no avail.  None of the grown-ups at school were of any help either and Yuuri had told him that his parents were also of no use.  His sister was the most sympathetic but Mari-neechan couldn’t do much, just being a couple of years older than them.

If his Deda and Baba noticed anything different about him later that day, they made no mention of it.  Dinner was a silent affair, Viktor playing around with the food on his plate before excusing himself and going up to his bedroom.

---

Meanwhile the Katsukis congregated around the dining room table.   Yuuri had long since gone to bed and Mari had went upstairs a few minutes earlier.  The adults finally deemed it safe that they would not get any distractions.  Minako dialed Hima's number and the three listened to the dial tone on speaker phone before someone answered. 

"Hello?" 

"Hima?  It's Minako. I'm here with Hiroko and Toshiya." 

"Hi everyone, Minako told me what was going on with your son." 

"They got the chance to read some of your book earlier, and I think I've gotten them pretty convinced." 

"I'm glad.  I suppose I should open this up if you have any burning questions first before I ask mine." 

"Hi Hima, it's Toshiya. Thank you for talking to us so late. I'm sorry that we had to reconnect again under these circumstances."

"It's no problem at all, Toshiya, and it's no trouble really.  Minako knows that I've always been a night owl.   It's early, considering how late I usually sleep." 

"This is Hiroko, Hima, I think I would like to ask a question before we begin... have you ever heard of a soulmate pair finding each other as early as Yuuri and Viktor?" 

"I can't say I have to be honest. I think the earliest cases that have been documented at least tend to be in their teen years. I want to say fourteen is the earliest I can recall off the top of my head.  It doesn't mean it's impossible though." 

"What I don't understand is how the two children could possibly know that they are each other's mates if they haven't even matured enough to detect each other's pheromones?" 

"Ah, yes, that's actually a common misconception.  And I can't blame you for thinking that way, either, since we've been drilled on the biology of secondary genders at such a young age. Many people focus too much on physical aspects of mating and think that we are attracted to one another based purely on how appealing another's scent or pheromones are to us.  Soulmates focus on the spiritual aspect, Hiroko.  So it is quite possible that the two have sensed it instinctively.  Were they close since they met?" 

Minako spoke up this time, "Yes, from what I heard my friend say. She said that Viktor took the first step and literally claimed that Yuuri was his mate in front of all their classmates in the schoolyard." 

"Ah, yes, that sounds like instant recognition of the bond then." 

"But how can they be so sure?" Toshiya asked, still confused.  "When they never even knew each other before then?" 

"The concept of soulmates is not entirely logical, Toshiya, and it is purely based on instincts. Tell me, did Yuuri say anything of how he felt when he met Viktor?" 

Another voice interrupted, causing the adults to jump in their seats.  "Only that he had this feeling of lightness," Mari called out, clothed in her pajamas as she walked closer to the phone. 

"Oh, who is this?" 

"Mari! You should be in bed by now," Hiroko murmured, standing up.  How long was she eavesdropping? 

"It's our daughter, Mari. She's the eldest," Toshiya explained for Hima's benefit. 

"Ah, nice to meet you Mari. Tell me, what else did your brother say?"

Mari shrugged, but then realized how useless the gesture was since it wouldn't be seen on the phone. "He couldn't explain it too well. He only described as this feeling of being light and very happy, as if you finally got found something you were looking for."

"Interesting. Although I can't blame him for not being more descriptive. He is still a child."

"Which is why it makes all of this so hard to believe. He just turned seven a few weeks ago, so he was only six when he met Viktor. Viktor himself isn't that much older."

"Well then how about we think of it this way... what are the symptoms of the bond severance that you are seeing in your son right now?"

"He's not eating," Mari jumped in once again.  "He won't leave his room.  And I saw him clutching his head earlier today, so I know he has a headache."

"You didn't tell us about that Mari," Toshiya said, frowning.

Mari shrugged.  "I just remembered it just now.  Besides, I figured that it was linked to him not eating much.  I didn't think it was anything new."

"I'm glad that the two are not experiencing more symptoms. Perhaps it's because the bond is still young," Hima's voice spoke up from the phone.

Hiroko tugged on Mari's arm. "Mari-chan, come on, you should go back to bed. I'll tuck you in."

Minako stood up. "Don't worry about it Hiroko, I'll do it. You should sit here with Toshiya and continue talking with Hima."

"Are you sure?"  But Hiroko already sat back down.  

Minako nodded. "I insist.  Every minute you spend with Hima is important," she turned her eyes over to Mari.  "Come on, Mari."  She gently pushed the teen back towards the hallway.  Mari frowned and reluctantly acquiesced, but still spared one more look at her parents.  Once they were out of earshot Minako leaned over to whisper. "So how long were you listening in on us?" 

"Long enough," Mari said not the least bit ashamed.  "It was the next best thing since Okaa-san and Otou-san hogged that book all night.  I wanted to read it myself, but they wouldn't take even the smallest break."

"I can't blame them.  I can tell that they were skeptical at first but I think Hima's convincing them now." The two walked up the steps and tiptoed across Yuuri's room and into Mari's open bedroom door.  

Mari settled herself under her blankets and pinned Minako with a serious look. "I wanted to say thank you Minako-sensei.  For doing this."

Minako huffed. "Oh don't thank me just yet.  This is still an uphill battle and we haven't reached the top yet.  Convincing your parents is one thing, but they're not the only ones who need convincing."

Mari nodded in agreement. "Yes, we'll have to convince the Feltsmans too. Still, it's a step in the right direction."

"That it is.  Then the hardest task of all will be to get the people in the school to listen to us."

"What happens if they refuse to listen?"

Minako shook her head and bent down to ruffle Mari's hair. "Don't think about that just now.  Let's stay optimistic, okay?  We'll take it one step at a time.  Hima can stay here for about a week, so we'll know by then what happens."

Mari yawned and snuggled deeper into her comforter.  "Well, if they decide not to listen to us then we can just transfer Yuuri and Viktor into a brand new school.  They can come over to mine."

"Let's hope we won't have to resort to that.  Goodnight, Mari."

"Good night, Minako-sensei."  

---

That night, Viktor lay in his bed staring at the ceiling.  The beginnings of a plan were starting to form in his mind.  The image of Yuuri, distraught, trembling, and weak wouldn’t leave his head.  All this time, he was willing to stay away from the omega since a small part of his heart still had trust in the adults, in his Baba and Deda that their separation was somehow for the best.  But they couldn’t be more wrong.  His omega did not look well and was suffering just as badly as he was.  He sat up in bed and looked again at his digital clock.  It was 3:05am.  Viktor clenched his fists and a newfound determination lit a fire in his eyes.  He knew what he had to do.

He wouldn't be able to do it alone. He would have to get his friends to help out, although without telling them of the full plan.  He normally would feel guilty at withholding important information from them--information he knew that if they were aware, would change their minds in helping him with this task.  But at this point Viktor no longer cared.  Yuuri needed him, and if he had to take advantage of some of their friends' trust then so be it.  He knew that they would forgive him in the end, and all of this was for the best anyway.  There was no way that he will keep playing nice anymore. He had tried that, and look at what it did to him.  

No, Viktor Nikiforov was no longer going to play nice.  By around twelve hours, if things go right (and they will!), the adults will see firsthand what happens when they lie and separate him from his mate. 

Chapter Text

Too Little Too Late

The adults make their first move, but our couple leaps beyond their reach

“Welcome, Hima! Thank you very much for coming here on such short notice,” Hiroko bowed and gestured for the woman to enter while her husband picked up one of the woman’s suitcases and carried it into the foyer.  

“The pleasure is all mine, Hiroko. I’m just sorry I had to come here under these circumstances.  Any updates on your end since our conversation yesterday?”

“The Feltsmans will be joining us shortly.  Until then please make yourself at home and let’s fix you a snack first. I’m sure the flight from London tired you out.”  Ever the hostess, Hiroko showed the woman the way to the dining hall.  Toshiya followed closely behind.

Mari watched the scene before her curiously.  She had developed a little cold overnight and was excused from school that day.  It was the first time she met the woman.  She looked kind, if not a little disheveled from traveling.  

The Katsukis had poured over the book once again after hanging up with Hima.  They still had so many more unanswered questions but the conversation had to end since the woman still had a flight to catch in a few hours.

Mari wished she could get her hands on the book so that she could also read it but her Okaa-san kept the volume by her side at all times, practically glued to it ever since she started reading it.  She and Otou-san must have been reading until very late, judging from the dark circles under their eyes.  

She still wasn’t sure what to make of the woman, but if she was here to help Yuuri somehow then she will give her the benefit of the doubt.  Minako-sensei was a great judge of character after all and she knew that she was friends with the woman.

She walked over to the dining hall and sat one table over so she would be able to watch everyone’s expressions, always the observer.  The adults didn’t seem to pay her any mind, Minako engaging Hima in small talk, asking about her husband and daughter while Hiroko emerged from the kitchen with a tray of cookies and coffee.  

“How long have the two known each other?” Hima asked.  

“Not terribly long.  Just since Yuuri’s first day at the new school, which would be mid-September.” Toshiya spoke up.

“So almost three months then.  It’s still long enough to create a bond.”

Hiroko cleared her throat, “This concept you spoke of in your book.  The soulmates that are completely dependent on one another.  How can you tell?”

Hima leaned back in her chair and looked at the mother and her husband with an assessing gaze.  “There is no objective way of doing it.  You would have to be skilled in reading auras in order to determine, and there are very few people around the world who actively practice the skill.”

“Would you be able to do it for our Yuuri?”

“I’m not an expert by any means but I can read auras a little.  My own grandmother taught me.” Hima took a sip of coffee.  “And if your son’s soulmate bond is very strong then it will be very easy for me to read his aura.  However, I will need both children here.”  

Hiroko and Toshiya looked at each other.  It was a stretch, but it was possible that they could convince Lilia and Yakov to bring Viktor over given the circumstances.  The school didn’t have to know.  

Toshiya nodded.  “The alpha’s grandparents should be arriving soon.  If we can convince them, then they can probably bring him here right after school.”

A few moments later the doorbell rang.  

“Ah, that must be the Feltsmans right now.  I’ll get it,” Minako said, standing up and making her way to the front door without awaiting a response. She opened the door to find Yakov and Lilia standing on the porch, looking a bit more weary but still as polished as ever.

“Good morning, Minako,” Lilia greeted as the younger woman stepped aside to let the two additional guests in.

“You two look a bit tired,” Minako noted as she took in Yakov’s appearance.

“Vitya’s condition is getting worse,” the man muttered, but without the usual bite in his words.  

“And your Yuuri?” Lilia asked as she shrugged off her coat and placed it on the rack.

“Not much better, I’m afraid,” Minako murmured.

“So where's this other expert you consulted?  Hiroko told us it was someone you knew.”

“Yes, a close friend of mine from my college days.  She flew over from London and arrived just a few hours ago.”

“That’s very generous of her,” Yakov said, surprised that Hima would travel so far as he handed his coat to his wife.  

“Hima’s always been dedicated to her research, and this is a very unique case for her.  No one’s ever heard of a soulmate pair finding each other so young.”

“How fortunate that we get to deal with one,” Yakov muttered sarcastically as he followed his wife and Minako to the dining hall. A woman of Indian heritage around Minako’s age was seated across from the Katukis wearing a traditional multicolored sari.  She stood up as she saw the new guests come in.

“Hello, how do you do? I'm Hima.” She reached a hand out and shook hands with Lilia then Yakov.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Lilia murmured.  "I'm Lilia and this is my husband, Yakov."  

“Please, Lilia, Yakov take a seat with us,” Toshiya gestured to the two empty chairs closest to them.

“I’m sure Minako must have mentioned… we knew each other from university.”

“We’re the alpha’s grandparents.  I presume the Katsukis told you what’s been going on between their son and our Vitya?”

“They did, yes, but I was hoping to also hear from you directly what your grandson is going through right now.”

“He’s hardly eating anything and he’s constantly angry, which is not like him at all.”  

“That sounds just like Yuuri without the anger,” Toshiya commented as everyone took their seats.  

“Anything else?” Hima prompted as she took out a notepad and began jotting down notes.

Lilia shook her head.  “If he is experiencing other symptoms then he’s not sharing them with us. We did have him checked out by a pediatrician a couple of days ago and the woman couldn’t find anything wrong with him physically.”

“Yes I suppose at this point they wouldn’t be able pick up anything,” Hima noted as she placed her pen down.  “Let’s start from the beginning of this mess. What did the school officials cite as their main reason for separating the two?”

“They said that having them spend time together can eventually lead to precocious puberty. How it can have detrimental consequences to their health in the long run,” Hiroko said.  “I didn’t want to believe it at first, but they made a very convincing case. We even consented to bloodwork and their hormone levels did come back higher, although not by much.”

Hima winced.  “That’s going to make our fight more difficult, the fact that they now have hard proof of their theory.  School officials like cold hard facts, like the bloodwork results you mentioned. That’s why my area of research doesn’t gain much traction. They turn their nose up to things like this and call it ‘fake science.’  The thing with soulmate bonds is that it cannot be fully elucidated through tangible means.”  

Just then a doorbell rang, cutting off whatever comment Minako was about to say.  Hiroko stood up and frowned.  “We’re not expecting anyone else… who can that possibly be?”  The mother walked over to the front door and looked through the peephole to see an anxious looking blonde woman in her early 30s.  Hiroko furrowed her brows.  Wasn't she one of the maids in the Feltsmans?  Now concerned, she cautiously opened the door.  “Hello, can I help you?”

The woman’s mouth moved but no words came out.  She seemed to come to her senses and finally spoke with a thick Russian accent.  “A-are the Feltsmans here?”

Hiroko blinked and opened the door wider to invite the woman inside. “Yes, they are.”

“I’m Anna, one of their maids.  We’ve got an urgent phone call from the school. I told them that the Feltsmans were here but I wanted to make sure to deliver the news myself.”

My goodness the poor dear looked so distressed. “Is everything alright?”

The woman simply shook her head, her grasp on the English language seemingly failing her as she felt stressed once again.  “Please, can you just take me to them?”

Hiroko took one last glance at the limo that was running in their driveway, the driver still inside the car.  “Of course, right this way.”

“Anata, who was that?” Hiroko could hear Toshiya’s voice call out from the dining area.  The two women rounded the corner into view.  

“Anna?  Why on Earth are you here?” Lilia gasped out.  

Anna struggled to form a coherent sentence in English.  Finally, the woman decided to simply resort to speaking in Russian.  The rest of the people in the room watched in confusion, the only word they recognized being Vitya.  Lilia gasped and Yakov barked out what sounded like a question in their native tongue.  

Hiroko felt fear growing in the pit of her stomach as the Feltsmans' expressions grew increasingly worried. 

Just to add to the disorder, the phone rang.  Mari frowned and immediately got up to answer it, not wanting the adults’ conversation interrupted.  It looked like something serious just happened and Mari wasn’t going to allow what was most likely a telemarketer interrupt whatever important conversation they were about to have.  She picked up the phone from its receiver. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Ms. Arena from Kubo International.”  Mari recognized the voice as Yuuri’s previous homeroom teacher.  “Can I please talk to Mr. or Mrs. Katsuki?”

“Um…” Mari turned around to see the group in the dining hall still deep in conversation.  “Can they call you back?  They’re in the middle of something important right now.”  

“I’m sorry but I’ll have to insist. It’s an emergency.”

A shiver went down her spine and a deep sense of foreboding filled her.  Of course, if there was something that happened to Viktor then it was just as likely that her brother would be involved too. Mari gasped, “What happened? Is this about Yuuri?”

“Please, just transfer the phone over to one of his parents-”

“Mari?”  Hiroko got up and walked over to her daughter.  “Who is that on the phone?”

“You can tell me, I’m his sister!” Mari grew frustrated. She grumbled when her mother gently wrestled the phone from her grip.

Hiroko frowned and placed a steadying hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Hello? This is Hiroko Katsuki.”

“Mrs. Katsuki oh thank goodness!”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s Yuuri, ma’am. He’s gone missing.  We’ve searched the entire school. He never came back after lunch.”   

“I don’t understand,” Hiroko said slowly.  “What do you mean he’s missing?”

“Just that ma’am, he was at lunch. We don't know if he was still around during recess but when his class was called back for class he wasn't there.”  The phone dropped from her hand to clatter on the floor.

“Okaa-san, are you okay?  Okaa-san!”  

---

Viktor set out to work right after that night that he thought of his plan.  He had begun with the essentials, a thin but compact blanket that did a great job of warding off the cold, a swiss army knife, a set of stainless steel cups and sporks, matches, a compass, two water bottles, some scent-masking products from his Mama's dresser, a flashlight, and several extra batteries.  He had packed the items little by little in his bag over the next few days, his Deda not bothering to ask why his backpack looked fuller than usual.  On another day he stuffed a whole bunch of snacks, lying that their class was having a party and everyone was assigned to pitch in with food contributions.  And finally, a huge wad of cash that he pilfered from his Deda’s drawer one night while he and Baba were out.

During recess he would sneak off to their favorite tree and hide the items in a plastic bag deep in one of the bushes.  By this time his friends didn’t make a big deal, being used to his new proclivity to be alone.  He then set out to look for a loose panel in the wooden fence.  He finally found one that appeared to be broken towards the bottom where the rail appeared to have rotted. He grabbed the end with both hands and pushed against the panel. With a crack, it finally gave way.  Viktor blinked at the resulting hole he made, quickly looking around to see if anyone heard the noise.  With some extra digging, it should be big enough for him and Yuuri. It would be a tight fit, but they should hopefully squeeze through and make their escape.  

He then set out to write a letter for Yuuri

Dear Yuuri,

I finally got an idea. Let’s run away. I hope it won’t be forever. I want the stupid grownups to know that they can't keep us apart. If we run away then we can be together again.  I’m great at hiding, remember? There’s this place in a park I used to go with my Papa. Baba and Deda don’t know about it.  It’s not too far from the school so we should be able to walk there.

We’ll have to go this Friday. After this week we won’t be outside anymore and it’s going to be harder to leave. Make sure to dress super warm and see if you can sneak some food behind our favorite tree. I got some supplies for us too in a bag under the bushes. 

I promise I’ll take care of you! I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to us.  You should write a letter to your parents, but make sure they don’t see it too early.  Trust me okay?

Love,

Vitya

When his omega responded with a brief but clear'Yes. I’ll be ready,' Viktor couldn’t wait.  It was the shortest letter his omega wrote to him throughout their brief correspondence, but it held the most significance and filled him with the greatest amount of hope yet.  On Thursday night he had one final task, to write his own letter for his Baba and Deda.  He decided to hide it under his pillow, knowing that the maids usually cleaned his room during the weekend.

Strangely enough, he didn’t feel nervous.  Why would he be? No matter what happens he will be reunited with Yuuri. He didn’t feel guilty either.  Of course his Baba and Deda will be upset when they discover that he ran away. But honestly? They were asking for it.  If they never separated them, if they had just listened to him, then he wouldn’t feel the need to take such drastic actions, to run away.  

Well, they’ll find out soon enough. He just hoped that they would start taking them seriously after everything was done.  

No one goes between him and Yuuri. No one.

He didn't tell his friends about their plans to run away.  He simply said that he really wanted to see Yuuri again, face-to-face, even if it was just for a few minutes.  Mila volunteered to make up an excuse to talk to Ms. Eickmeyer or as he liked to call her, Stupid Evil Lady so that he would have enough time for Yuuri to join him after he finishes a quick lunch.  

Chris had pointed out the holes in the plan, saying that it was still possible that other teachers or staff might be keeping an eye on Yuuri.  Viktor reluctantly conceded the truth in the other alpha's words, and figured that if worse comes to worst, he'd just grab Yuuri and make a run for it.  He still felt that they had a higher chance of hiding Yuuri in a crowd of other students rather than risk trying to meet him some other time during classes when the hallways were bare.  They got lucky the one time they bumped into each other in the bathroom. Even on the off chance that they could meet up again there, they would have a harder time escaping from the school.  Viktor would still have to pick up their supplies and they couldn't exactly leave through the front door...not that he said all of that out loud of course. 

He had told Yuuri to eat a good lunch before they left.  That Friday, Viktor himself finished his meal, surprising their friends. It was the thought of reuniting with Yuuri that finally gave him the semblance of an appetite.  They needed their energy after all before they made their escape.  

Viktor nodded to Mila to give her the go signal to approach the psychologist.  Mila gave him a thumbs up and made her way over to the woman.  He watched as Stupid Evil Lady bent down and Mila whispered something in her ear.  The woman nodded and went back into the school, Mila following shortly behind.  Good, it looked like she took the bait. She really was stupid, ha!

“Looks like the witch fell for it, Viktor,” Georgi commented as he and his other friends came over.  

“Perfect,” Phichit said, dusting off his dirty hands on his jacket.  “I’m going to sneak inside and get Yuuri out, okay?”

Viktor nodded and the beta took off, weaving in and around the other students in the courtyard. As much as he wanted to be the one to get Yuuri, he knew that it was a smarter idea to get someone else less noticeable into the cafeteria to sneak him out.  All the teachers and staff would know to be on the lookout for him and he couldn’t afford to be caught. Not when their freedom was so close.  

The rest of the first graders continued to fidget, trying and failing to look natural when in truth they were just as anxious as Viktor to see if Phichit would be successful in sneaking their friend out.

But successful he was, because a couple of minutes later, Phichit reemerged from the school, arm in arm with a shorter boy wearing a puffy jacket with a comically large hood.  It was a good idea, Viktor thought, since it hid Yuuri’s face well.  He doubted the omega could see much further than his feet.

And it looked like his omega also followed his instructions to dress warmly, bundled up much more than the day’s weather really called for.  Even though he had a shelter in mind that they could take cover in, Viktor figured it was better to be safe than sorry since he knew how easily Yuuri got cold. It wouldn’t do to get him sicker than he already was.  

The two best friends slowly made their way towards them.  Georgi and Chris whooped while Guang Hong and Leo cheered once they finally made their way to them. Viktor couldn’t wait any longer and walked towards them with long strides. “Yuuri,” he half-whispered.  

It looked like the omega heard him because he saw the head turn towards him, although his face remained obscured by his hood.  “Vitya?” Yuuri called back.  

Viktor beamed, the happiness practically bursting from his chest.  Phichit smiled as he watched Yuuri let go of his arm so he can reach towards the source of Viktor’s voice.  The alpha closed the remaining distance between them and enveloped Yuuri in a tight hug.  The rest of their friends then hugged them in turn.  

“I’m so happy to be with you guys again,” Yuuri gasped as he hugged back someone, he couldn’t even tell who.  

“Aww Yuuri we missed you so much too,” Yuuko gushed back as Leo squeezed his side and Chris ruffled his hair.  

“It’s really not fair how they separated you from us,” Georgi said with a nod.  

“The letters helped a lot. Thank you Guang Hong,” Yuuri said to the younger omega.

Guang Hong smiled bashfully. “It was nothing really. I wish we could have done more.”

“Viktor did everything he could Yuuri,” Leo said.

Yuuri smiled softly. “I know.  Thank you for coming to get me in the end.”

Chris smiled and gently nudged Yuuri and Viktor towards their favorite tree. “You two better go and chat. You probably don’t have much time before someone notices. I don’t know how long Mila will hold them off.”

"We'll keep an eye out and warn you if it looks like they're coming back. If anyone's watching it would look weird if they notice all of us going behind the tree," Georgi said.  

Viktor gave Yuuri a knowing glance as he watched his eyes fill with tears and his lips tremble.  He knew how much it tore Yuuri up to lie to their friends like this, but Yuuri was just as desperate as he was to leave the school.  The school that used to be the place they looked forward to seeing each other had quickly turned hellish since their forced separation. “Come, Yuuri,” he urged the shorter boy.  

Yuuri nodded and allowed himself to be led by Viktor behind the tree.  “I know it’s for the best, but…” he gasped and furiously wiped away his tears with his sleeve. “I just feel bad for not telling them what we’re about to do.”

“It’s hard, I know.  I feel bad too,” Viktor turned to make his way over to their hidden supplies, knees on the ground as he prostrated himself to reach underneath the bushes to retrieve the bags. “But in the end, it’s better this way. They would get in trouble otherwise if the adults find out that they knew about the plan.”

Yuuri nodded silently as he watched the alpha finally retrieve their bags.  

“So now we've got blankets, some food, and tools to make sure we last for a couple of nights,” Viktor said, looking proud of the preparation and thought they put into preparing their survival packs.  “Over here, Yuuri, this is where we’ll leave.”  He placed the bags down so that he can push away the paneling that he broke off from the fence earlier that week. "It's prolly tight, especially with our coats on, but I think we can still squeeze through.”

Yuuri shuffled over, “Wow, you really worked a lot, Vitya.”

“Of course! It’s how we’re going to escape after all.  Do you have the letter for our friends?”  He began shoving the bag through the hole as he watched Yuuri nod and pull out a plain lined paper from his pockets.  

“Yeah, I’ll go leave it here.”  The omega turned around to place it at the base of the tree, placing a rock on top of it to ensure that it didn’t get blown away by the wind.

“Perfect. Now you go first, I don’t think we have much more time. Our friends can come back any second.”  Viktor stepped aside to let his mate go through and watched anxiously as Yuuri pushed his own bag through the hole before he squeezed his way through.  After a few seconds only his legs were visible until finally the omega made his way to the other side.

“Kay, I got through! You next Vitya.”

“Okay, I’m going now okay?” Viktor copied Yuuri’s motions and pushed his way through.  It took him a little bit longer since he was larger but eventually he was able to make his way up and rejoined Yuuri on the other side of the fence.  

Yuuri beamed as he watched Viktor stand up.  The alpha bent down to pick up their bag of supplies and held his hand out to Yuuri who took it without hesitation.  Finally, things felt right again.

“We’re really doing this,” Yuuri said, staring down at their joined hands.

“Yup. We have to.” Viktor never felt surer of anything else before.

Just then they heard whispers on the other side of the fence.

“I’ll get them… Viktor, Yuuri?  You guys should come back. Mila is prolly on her way back now…”

Yuuri slapped a hand on his mouth to hold in his surprised squeak.  

Viktor narrowed his eyes. They didn’t get as much of a head start as he would have liked. That meant they would have to run twice as fast to make sure the adults don’t get a hold of them.  “Come on, Yuuri,” he whispered urgently, tugging on the omega’s arm as he led them down the street.  

Yuuri followed him with wide eyes, the two breaking into a run.  

On the other side of the fence Georgi was frowning in confusion at seeing the clearing empty.  “I don’t get it. Did they sneak off somewhere else?”

Chris called out, “Hey Georgi, what’s taking you so long?”

“They’re not here!”

“What?”

Leo, Phichit, Guang Hong, Chris, and Yuuko walked around the tree to join Georgi.  “Woah, where did they go?”

“That’s what I was wondering.”

“But we would have seen them come out. There’s no other way around the tree,” Phichit pointed out.  

"Was that hole in the fence always there?"

“Hey, Phichit, what’s that by your foot?”

“Huh?” The beta looked down and lifted his foot to find that he had stepped on a piece of paper. He bent down to pick it up. 

“This looks like Yuuri's handwriting,” Phichit frowned as he unfolded the paper.  He gasped as he read the words, his eyes wide.

“So, what does it say?”

“Phichit?”

Oh my God. Yuuri, Viktor, what did you do?!

---

Hima and Minako joined the Katsukis in their van, following the Feltsmans’ limo.

The tears wouldn’t stop falling down Hiroko’s face.  Toshiya was uncharacteristically silent, and had been since he heard Hiroko gasp out the news moments before.  Minako held on to the poor mother’s arm with a strong grip as Hima sat silently in the corner, hands on her chin in contemplation.  Mari was worrying her bottom lip.  She had insisted on coming despite not feeling well and Hiroko had only agreed since no one would be at home to watch over her.  

The cars finally pulled into the school’s driveway.

“This is really happening,” Minako whispered to herself as the entire group gawked at the sight of the police cars.  There were several officers already some appearing to be searching for the two children, others talking to school officials.  Everyone got out of the cars. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki, Mr. and Mrs. Feltsman!”  Their heads turned around in unison to the source of the familiar voice as they saw Ms. Obayemi pause in her conversation with what looked like the head detective before she made her way down the stone steps.  

“Any leads?” Toshiya spoke out first as he jogged over, tugging his wife along.  

The principal shook her head.  “The investigation just started.  But I think you should come inside.  We have several of Yuuri’s friends in my office.”  The principal opened the door and the group followed her down the familiar hallways back to her room.   Exactly where all this mess first started , Mari noted silently, recognizing the irony in the situation.   And now the mess just got ten times worse.

“We tried interviewing them earlier, but they hardly gave us much information to work from,” the principal explained as she opened the door into the suite.  “But perhaps if they see familiar… friendlier faces, the children may be more willing to open up in case they were holding something back.”  She opened the door into her office and stepped back to allow the group inside.  “I will let you be alone with them for now while I talk to the officers outside.”  

Hiroko nodded her head silently and turned around to find Yuuri’s entire group of friends hunched down in chairs.  Some had blank expressions while others were crying silently.  The only one making any sound was Phichit, and he did nothing to suppress his sobs as tears ran down his cheeks.  

“Oh Phichit,” Hiroko murmured. Maternal instincts took over as she grabbed some facial tissues from a box on the principal’s desk to gently wipe away his tears. “There now, calm down.  Crying will not help us find Yuuri and Viktor.”

“We didn’t know!” Phichit gasped out as he began to cry even harder. “I swear, we didn’t know that they’d do this!”

“Do what, Phichit?” Toshiya asked gently.  He knew he had to tread carefully, otherwise the beta may just clam up and refuse to say anything more.  

“Run away!”

“Phichit,” Yuuko hissed beside him in a warning.  

Lilia frowned at the beta girl.  “Please, little one, if you know something, please tell us.  Our Vitya and Yuuri can be in trouble and we won’t be able to find them if you don’t help.”

Chris crossed his arms, unconvinced. “But how do we know that you won’t just get Yuuri and Viktor into more trouble?”

Georgi nodded, “Yeah! You guys are helping the evil witch right now. You’re with the bad guys, so we can’t trust you!”

“Evil witch?” Mari muttered.  What on Earth were these kids talking about now?  

“He means the psychologist,” Mila translated from her seat beside Georgi.  “It was the psychologist woman who started this and made you guys separate Viktor and Yuuri.  If you didn’t separate them they wouldn’t have run away.”

Yakov’s fists clenched by his side.  He hardly had any patience to put up with this.  “Listen here, our grandson and your friend can be in danger.  This is no longer a joking matter.  Tell us what you know.”

“We don’t know much though,” Guang Hong whispered, ducking his head much like Yuuri when all the adults’ eyes turned to him.  

“Yeah,” Leo spoke up.  “They didn’t tell us about their plans.”

“How can you even be so sure that they ran away then?” Minako asked.  “For all we know, they could have been kidnapped.”

The first graders shook their heads in unison.  

Hima spoke up for the first time.  “How are you all so sure if they didn’t tell you about their plans?”

Phichit bit his lip as he retrieved a crumpled paper from his sweater with trembling hands.

“Phichit, don’t!” Mila gasped as she reached over to try to grab the letter.

Yakov was faster, however, and quickly plucked it from the beta’s grasp and unfolded the paper, almost tearing it in his haste.  

The adults crowded around him to try and read the words on the paper.

To our friends,

I’m sorry that we lied to you, but Vitya and I are going to run away. We really, really don’t want to be separated anymore and the grownups aren't listening. Please don’t be mad, and don’t worry. Vitya will keep us safe.  He’s great at hiding and we brought stuff to help us!

I’m sorry I can’t say more but Vitya says that you might get in trouble. I hope to see you again someday.

Love,

Yuuri

Yakov just noticed that his hands were trembling when he realized that the words were shaking in front of him.

“Oh God!” Hiroko gasped and almost made to fall on her knees before Toshiya shouted out in alarm and grabbed onto her arms, Minako doing the same as they supported the woman.  She gasped out something in Japanese, Yuuri’s name the only thing they understood in her panicked cry.

“I can’t believe this… Vitya!” Yakov turned and punched the wall behind him. “I swear, the moment I get my hands on that boy-!”

“Yasha, everyone, we have to tell the officers about this,” Lilia cried out.  “Quickly, before it gets dark.  Perhaps we can get track dogs to hunt down their scent before they get too far.”

Minako nodded as she and Toshiya deposited Hiroko down a chair.  “Exactly! Come, you and me can go outside and tell them the new development.”

---

By this time Viktor and Yuuri were a considerable distance away from the school.  Viktor finally deemed it safe enough for them to take a quick breather.  The two were panting as they leaned over with hunched shoulders, struggling to catch their breath.

“Y-you okay,” Viktor panted, “Yuuri?”

The omega nodded as he wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand.  “I’m okay.  You?”

“‘M fine,” Viktor mumbled, smiling despite the seriousness of their current situation.  How can he not be happy now that he and Yuuri were finally together? But now they had to be careful. It was already bad enough that they ran so far without masking their scents, but the need to put distance between them and the school was their main priority earlier.  “Let’s take a minute here, okay?” He looked around at the street corner they found themselves in.  Thankfully this part of town had a lot of trees and shrubbery they could hide behind, with sprawling lawns that would allow them to hide from the eyes of any homeowners peering out their windows.  

He placed an arm behind Yuuri’s back and steered the omega behind the bush, peeking back at the house to find that the curtains behind the windows were closed.  He set down his backpack, his shoulders sagging practically crying with joy upon being relieved of the heavy burden.  

Yuuri watched curiously as his mate bent over to unzip the backpack, sifting through its contents. “What are you looking for, Vitya?”

Viktor let out a cry of triumph. “This thingy!” He proudly held up a tube of what appeared to be lotion. He twisted off the cap and poured out a white cream and began spreading it on his neck and his arms, anywhere where he had exposed skin.  “Here, Yuuri,” he said handing over the tube. “Use this too!”

Yuuri sniffed at the contents daintily, noting its distinct medicinal smell and wrinkled his nose.  “What is it?”

“It’s a scent masking cream! Super strong too,” Viktor leaned over, practically shoving his face right in front of Yuuri. “Come on, try to smell me, do you smell anything?”

Yuuri turned his head to dip his nose at the column of his neck where his scent glands would be and sniffed. He stepped back and blinked several times, eyes wide in amazement. “I don’t smell anything!” It was actually very disconcerting not being able to smell Viktor’s comforting scent.

Viktor smiled. “Exactly!  Now go on and use it too.  It’s from my Mama. Papa would always make sure she used it whenever she went on trips without him.” He gently nudged the omega’s hands holding the tube.  “We gotta make sure they don’t smell us the rest of the way. I wanted to use it earlier, but we had to run from school before the adults came.”  He craned his head a bit to keep watch, switching his gaze back and forth between the street and the house.  

Yuuri nodded and squeezed out a generous amount, imitating Viktor and spreading some on his neck and face.  He turned his head back up at the sound of a click followed by a fizzing noise to find Viktor spraying himself with a clear spray from an aerosolized cannister.

Viktor smiled reassuringly.  “It’s a similar thing, but for the rest of your body.  Go on and close your eyes, I’ll spray some on you.”  Yuuri complied, hearing the click and the fizzing once again.  After a few sprays, the alpha stepped back. “All done! You can open your eyes now.”

Yuuri watched as the other boy packed away the two items, zipping up the overstuffed bag with some difficulty, settling the backpack on his shoulders and hefting up the plastic bag once again.  “Where do we go next?”  

Viktor took Yuuri’s hand in his once again. “There’s another park somewhere around here.  My Papa and I would go there for fun.  There’s a small shed there that’s empty.  Not a lot of people go there since it’s a pretty old park.”  

Yuuri smiled as he allowed Viktor to lead them there.  This was really cool, it was like they were going off on an adventure!  They can explore the park and have their own castle hideaway!  Maybe there was a playground somewhere in the park too.

But the most important thing was that there were no more mean grownups who kept trying to keep him and Viktor apart.  No more mean grownups who didn’t understand that they were married.  No more mean grownups who’d lie and say that they were making each other sick.  No more mean grownups who’d bring him into a room and poke him with a needle to get some blood for some sort of test to see if he was starting to get sick.  No more mean grownups who’d force him to change homerooms and separate him from all his friends.  He knows they’ll be okay though.   Phichit, Guang Hong, Leo, Yuuko, Chris, Mila, Georgi, … and Kenjirou, you guys will be okay.  

Yuuri smiled at Viktor when the alpha gave him a quick glance.  The houses were starting to get further and further apart now, the sidewalks looking more dilapidated and in dire need of repair.  He had to carefully watch where he stepped to avoid tripping on the uneven pavement. And don’t worry, Viktor and me will be okay too.

---

The sun was already setting when the head investigator, a stern burly-looking man named Hubert Jones motioned Minako over.  The press was notified a few hours earlier. They slowly trickled in at first but starting about an hour ago they all seemed to descend upon the school in a swarm until there was now a large group congregated in front of the school.  The Katsukis were currently standing side by side with the Feltsmans and Hima, surrounded by Phichit’s parents, Rika, and relatives of what must have been Viktor and Yuuri’s classmates.  

“I think it’s time you make that statement you prepared to the press.  We’re going to have it over there,” he pointed to a makeshift podium that was hastily set up in the school’s driveway.  There were several microphones, some labeled with logos of recognizable news channels perched on stands and a handful of lamps strategically placed to provide an appropriate amount of light.  “They’re gonna pounce you with a lot of questions,” Officer Jones warned.  “It’s a prestigious school for rich students in a quiet town.  The fact that it involves a Nikiforov doesn’t help with the hype either.  It will be all over the news but at least this way we’ll have a lot of eyes out there looking for the kids.  You don’t have to answer any of their questions, I’ll help ferry you out after you make your statement.”

Minako nodded.  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”  She had volunteered to talk to the press earlier when the officer first brought it up.  Toshiya and Hiroko had nodded after an initial moment of hesitation.  With everything going on they agreed that Minako would make a more presentable statement.  Even though she was honestly just as overwhelmed and reeling with the recent turn of events, a great performer can always put on a show when the situation called for it.  Lilia will be making a statement herself right after her.  

Two prima ballerinas putting on a show of calm when they were anything but.  

“Five minutes,” the officer said with a nod before walking away to address his men and several volunteers who had gathered to assist in the search.  

Minako walked over to the Katsukis and Feltsmans, the crowd of other parents around them easily parting as they recognized her.  

“Any updates?”  Hiroko asked with hopeful eyes.  

Minako shook her head. “None, I’m sorry.  Officer Jones just came to me to give us a heads up that me and Lilia should get ready to give our statements soon.  The press already set up there,” she pointed to the designated area.  The entire group turned around in unison to watch as the reporters began to gather there, vying for good spots closest to the front.  

“Are you sure you’re okay with doing this?” Toshiya asked.  He was holding Mari’s hand.  The young teen was standing on her tiptoes trying to get a better view.  Since they arrived at the school Minako noticed that either Toshiya or Hiroko kept her closely by their side, often holding her hand as if they were afraid that Mari too would disappear.  

“Any luck contacting Viktor’s father?” Minako asked Yakov.  

“None.  Tried all the numbers we had but we can’t get through.  Damn bastard was always hard to get a hold of.”

Lilia sighed.  “It doesn’t help that it’s past midnight there now.  We’ll try again when it’s morning there.”  She took a deep breath when she saw Officer Jones approach them.

“It’s just about time.”  He turned to address the Katsukis and Yakov.  “I suggest staying here.  You can hear the statements later in the news.  Going up there now will just make the reporters come after you even more.”  

Yakov crossed his arms but nodded.  “Fine. We’ll stay here.”

“Good.  Ready, ladies?”

Lilia tilted her chin up, all poise and elegance.  She held a hand out to the younger ballerina.  “Come Minako, let’s do this.”  

Minako plastered a small smile on her face and took her hand, grateful for the comfort the older woman offered.  

“Yes, let’s.”  The two women set off behind the officer, backs straight and steps confident.

It was showtime.

---

They had finally arrived at the shed just a couple of minutes after the darkness set in.  Yuuri was grateful.  They had long gotten out of the worn park trail and there were no longer any lamps to light their path.  In any other situation Yuuri would have been scared beyond belief, but he was here now reunited with Viktor.  Even though the temperature grew colder with the setting of the sun, he still felt comfortable all bundled up in his thickest jacket walking hand-in-hand with Viktor.  

Most importantly was the deliciously warm feeling in his chest that Yuuri felt ever since they got back together again and still persisted just as strong even now.  Perhaps that’s what gave him courage.  Nothing bad can happen now that he and Viktor were together again.  

“Tada! Here we are!” Viktor cheered as the shed came into view within his flashlight’s beam.  Viktor grunted as he pushed the door open with some effort, the old wood and rusted metal hinges creaking loudly in protest.  “There should be a lantern somewhere here,” he turned his flashlight to the side. “There!” He set down his flashlight and turned a knob in the lantern’s side, bathing the room in a yellow glow.  “Awesome!  The batteries still work.”  

Yuuri smiled as he closed the door behind him.

Viktor picked up the lantern to place it on a small plastic table, and turned the flashlight off.  The shed was very small, meant more for storage but it was clear that someone had refashioned it at some point into some sort of temporary makeshift living space.  He could see two sleeping bags rolled up in one corner beside a wooden dresser.  There was a cracked mirror hanging on the far wall.  The table had to sets of foldable chairs and was set against a small window with the curtains currently drawn closed.  The opposite wall had a shelf that housed several pots and pans.

“It’s not much,” Viktor said, setting down his bags.  He looked uncharacteristically bashful as he watched the omega take in the room.  “My Papa and I found it one time.  We’d go here whenever we’d visit this park.  He said once that he’d find a way to buy some of this land so he could replace this shed with a small cabin or something but well… you know… he never came back.”

Yuuri quickly picked up on Viktor’s unease and hugged the alpha.  “I love it Viktor!”  

Viktor gave a hesitant smile.  “You do?”

“Mmm-hmm, really!  We can fix it up a bit tomorrow, it’ll be our very own castle!”

The alpha’s eyes lit up, Yuuri’s excitement was contagious.  “Yeah!  Our very own castle, that’s it!  Tomorrow we can built a fort too! Together!”  He hugged Yuuri tighter. “No more stupid grownups!”

Yuuri laughed and nuzzled his face into Viktor’s neck.  “Yeah, no more stupid grownups.”

Several thousands of miles away, Andrei Nikiforov groaned as he woke up to the sound of persistent knocking on his bedroom door.  He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “Enter,” he said curtly, allowing his displeasure to seep into the single word.

His personal assistant, a beta woman by the name of Natalya entered the room. The brunette was already wearing a business suit, hair and make-up impeccable despite the ungodly early hour.  She didn’t even blink an eye at seeing her boss getting up without a shirt.  

“There had better be a good reason for waking me up early today,” the alpha growled lowly at the woman, his voice still slightly hoarse with sleep.  

“There is, sir, urgent news regarding your son.”

The man’s sapphire eyes widened, pupils contracting.  His heart raced although his next few words were carefully neutral. “What is it?”

“It’s all over the news, Mr. Nikiforov.”  She walked over to his television set and turned it on, switching quickly to a news station. In front of a red banner at the bottom of the screen were white cyrillic characters that spelled out “Breaking News: Nikiforov Heir Missing in the USA.”  There was a woman of Asian descent in front of several microphones.  

“Turn up the volume.”

“Yes, sir.”

Andrei focused his hearing to get passed the Russian voice-over translation, wanting to hear the woman's words in the original English.  “Yuuri Katsuki was confirmed missing after his lunch period earlier this morning.  The school contacted his family shortly after.  As you can see, we’re working now with the authorities and volunteers to begin a more extensive search.  The school and surrounding streets have already been combed through and we are planning to continue to expand the search area.  I’m sure Officer Jones will be able to give you more details.  If anyone has any information about Yuuri or Viktor please contact the authorities immediately.  Thank you.”  The Asian woman stepped aside.  

Several reporters began to ask questions but a police officer stepped up to the microphones. “Again, I ask that all questions be held off until the end.  I will answer to the best of my ability but the family prefers to hold off on answering any questions right now.  Next is Lilia Feltsman, grandmother of Viktor Nikiforov.”

The father's fists clenched as he watched the familiar face step up to the microphone.  “Viktor Nikiforov was noted to be missing after recess, around the same time that Yuuri Katsuki was also found missing. It is believed right now that the two children are together, as they are close friends-”

A reporter off-screen rudely interrupted Lilia, “Does Andrei Nikiforov know that his son is missing?”

Lilia simply blinked but chose to answer the question.  “Not to our knowledge.  We have attempted to contact him several times ourselves.  We believe that he is currently in Moscow and if so, then it is early morning there.  As Minako said, we ask that anyone with information contact the authorities immediately.  I will not answer further questions at this time.”  Lilia stepped away and turned to the Asian woman, and the two were escorted by police officers out of sight of the camera.  

He needed more information, but first thing’s first. “Natalya, give me my phone.”

“Here, sir,” the assistant had come prepared and handed it over to him.  

Andrei opened his hand to take the phone, noticing that he was apparently clenching his fingers tight enough to draw blood on his palms.  He dialed a number and held the phone to his ear.  There were only two rings before a voice answered.

“Yakov speaking.”

“What. Happened.” Andrei bit out.

“Nikiforov! You damn bastard, we’ve been trying to contact you! Vitya is-”

“I saw Yakov. In the news. Was he found?”

“No. We’re searching throughout the town right now. The police started a grid search, and they have track dogs, several volunteers are also helping.”

Andrei’s eyes turned to the window and saw the snowstorm still on full blast outside. "Yakov," His voice was deceivingly calm, but the older man on the other end of the line can clearly feel the static tension practically zap him through the phone.  No, Andrei Nikiforov was not just angry. He was absolutely furious.  "Once this blizzard is over, I am going to get on the next plane there.  You have precisely that amount of time to think of an excuse why I shouldn't kill you the moment I see your face."

Yakov spluttered but was met instead with the dial tone.  That bastard had the nerve to hang up the phone on him!

"Yasha?" Lilia's voice whispered by his side. "How did it go, what did Andrei say?"

"As well as it can ever get," Yakov grumbled and stood up.  "Come on, let's go."  

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: The Misadventures of Two Wayward Boys

In which the adults continue their frantic search while our favorite couple camps out

“Here. The dogs are signalling that the trail ends here,” one of the handlers tugged on the leash when it became evident that the canines were not going to move any further. The German shepherds sat down at the policeman’s signal.  

“It’s a dead end,” Officer Jones said gruffly.

Yakov let go of Lilia’s hand and walked up to the man with an alarmed expression. “What do you mean ‘a dead end?’  How can the trail just stop?”

The officer paused, mulling over how best to phrase his next words without throwing the relatives into an even bigger panic.   “Something caused their scents to stop right here. None of our dogs can pick up anything beyond this spot,” he gestured uselessly at the corner of the street.  He turned his head to look for one of the policewomen who stepped out of the house in front of them.  “Any sightings, Alice?”

The blonde officer shook her head. “None, sir.  The couple living here said they were gone for most of the day and only came back about an hour ago.”

“You don’t think that someone took them, do you?” Lilia whispered to the officer, as if saying the words too loudly would make them come true.  

Hiroko gasped, “No, that can’t be!” The woman grew pale. Toshiya bent down and whispered something in her ear.  

Minako bit her lip as she tried to think of another reason that would explain the sudden disappearance of the two boys’ scents.  

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Officer Jones placed a hand on Lilia’s shoulder.  “We’ll regroup and intensify our search around this area.  Even if the trail ends here, it’s still the best lead we have so far.  You take a quick break while I radio the rest of my men with the new plans.”   

Lilia’s shoulders slumped as she leaned against Yakov.  Minako crossed her arms and stared at the house closest to them.  If the trail ended here then something must have happened to the two.  She didn’t want to voice her theories aloud but with every passing minute it appeared more and more likely that the boys were taken by someone.  And the fact that the person didn’t bring them to the authorities, when the case of the two missing kids had circulated all around the local news stations by now, raised the chances that the person did not have any good intentions.  

She was pulled from her morbid thoughts by the sound of Hiroko fretting over her daughter.  “You’re sick, Mari-chan.  If all you have is a cold right now, staying out here will make it worse. I don’t want to let this turn into a fever,” the mother said, hugging the girl and placing a kiss on her forehead.  

“Okaa-san I’m fine. Really!” Mari stepped away from Hiroko’s arms to furiously wipe away at her runny nose.  She was already starting to sound congested and Hiroko felt guilty for letting her stay so long with them. They had honestly just lost track of the time searching through their assigned streets.  

Every hour that Yuuri remained missing was another hour that he could be in danger.  Hiroko was still reeling and adjusting to the fact that her son had willingly ran away.  “This could have all been avoided,” she whispered to herself, her voice wavering and full of regret, “if we just didn’t separate them.”

A hand gently squeezed her arm and she turned to see Hima give her a comforting smile.  “Hindsight’s always 20-20, Hiroko.  We’ll find Yuuri and Viktor. Have faith.”

Toshiya nodded and turned to address his daughter.  “You really should go home, Mari-chan.”

The girl groaned. “But Otou-san how can I possibly just go home if we haven’t found Yuuri yet?!”

Minako stepped up and grabbed Mari’s hand.  “I’ll bring her home. Come, Mari.”

“But I want to help!”

Toshiya nudged Mari forward.  “The last thing we need is for you to get sick, Mari-chan.  We can’t search for your brother if we’re worried about you getting sick.”

“Your father’s right, Mari,” Minako urged, trying to get through to the headstrong teen.  “Make things easier for them by giving them peace of mind so that they can focus on finding your brother.”

Mari sighed but grudgingly acknowledged the truth in Minako’s words.  “Okay… but promise me you’ll call the moment you find Yuuri.  I don’t care what time it is.”

Toshiya nodded and planted a kiss on the top of her head.  “Of course.  We promise.  Thank you, Minako, for everything today.”

“No thanks necessary.  Would you like to come back with us, Hima?”

Hiroko blushed with shame as she just realized how horrible it was for their guest to be going through all of this with them. “Oh my goodness, Minako’s right, Hima!  We’re so sorry for you to come all this way and get involved in all of this.  Please, do go back with Minako. I’m just sorry that I didn’t suggest it sooner!”

“It’s quite alright!  I’m fine really.  I’m used to running on little sleep and with all the adrenaline I have in me, I know I won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight. I can’t possibly go to sleep knowing that your son is still missing,” she reassured the Katsukis. “I’d rather help find your son and his friend.”

Toshiya sighed and gave a small smile. “We’re really indebted to you, Hima. Thank you. But please, the moment you’d like to go back, just let us know.”

---

A couple of miles away, Viktor and Yuuri were having a great time catching up on all that’s happened during the past two weeks that they were apart.  They could only fit so much in their letters after all.  He and Yuuri had unrolled the sleeping bags and placed them side by side underneath the shack’s sole window.  Yuuri had pointed out that they should take advantage of the clear sky and the moonlight pouring in through the glass panes and reserve their lantern and flashlight.  Viktor agreed right away. His omega was super smart!  It was one of many reasons why he loved Yuuri so much.  

The two had a bit of fun after they settled down, creating a little fort in the small space behind the shack by hanging an extra blanket on top of some string Viktor found and tied onto two bare nails that jutted out from the wall.  

Right now the two sat side by side atop the sleeping bags, blanket draped around their shoulders, with one of Viktor's arms wrapped around Yuuri.  The two boys finally felt at peace.  They were safe, away from the clutches of the stupid grownups who made up some twisted lie just to keep them apart.  The image of Stupid Evil Lady’s face popped in Viktor's head again making him growl lowly as he munched down on his potato chips with gritted teeth.

Yuuri paused in his monologue about Kenjirou.  “Vitya?  Are you okay?”  Yuuri must have heard him.  

The alpha squeezed Yuuri’s shoulders and nuzzled his forehead in apology.  “Sorry, I was just thinking of the stupid woman who started all of this.”

“Oh, her...”  Yuuri leaned back and tugged on the edge of the blanket. “Don’t think about her anymore, Vitya. She’s just going to make you mad.”

“I know, but I just wonder why she’d make up a lie like that.  Why would she tell our families that we’d make each other sick?  Baba, Deda, and your parents were okay with everything until she showed up,” well that wasn’t 100% true, “or at least mostly okay with everything until they had that meeting.”   

He could feel Yuuri shrug his shoulders.  “I’m not sure why.  Grownups can be weird sometimes.  We both know their rules don’t make sense either.”  The smaller boy reached down for the open potato chip bag to pop a couple more chips in his mouth.  

Viktor distracted himself by looking over at the other empty bags of chips and snacks that littered the table after they devoured half their food supply.  Their appetites had come back in full force the moment they finished playing.  He bit at his bottom lip as he mentally counted the few bags of food that must be remaining.  It was much less than what he had prepared for. Maybe enough for tomorrow if they were careful, but he would never stop Yuuri from eating to his heart’s content, not when the younger boy was obviously starving after so long.  

There’s no helping it. They’d have to look for food somehow tomorrow. Anyway, no sense in worrying about it now.  They should just get some sleep soon and set out the next day to search for something to eat.  And with all the blissful ignorance and unrealistic optimism that can only be gifted to a child, Viktor’s mind moved along to other thoughts.  

“Well, their rules are stupid.  I hope our families realize that they’re lying soon so we can go home eventually.”

Yuuri hummed in agreement before it turned into a yawn.  The omega allowed himself to slump beside Viktor, his limbs turning limp as he placed his head on the alpha’s shoulder.  

“Sleepy?”

“A little.  Mostly tired.”

Viktor nodded, staring at how the moonlight cast shadows on the wooden wall across from them, emphasizing the cracks and crevices into a distorted pattern.  He yawned and nudged Yuuri gently.  “We should go sleep.  I’m also tired.”  

“Okay.”  Yuuri shifted over and settled himself down on the side against the wall, fluffing up the one pillow that they found tucked in the sleeping bag earlier.  Viktor laid down right beside him, his head occupying the other half of the pillow.  He could still see Yuuri’s soft smile half-hidden in the shadows.  

“I’m so happy that we’re together again,” he whispered. He reached over to hold Yuuri’s hand.  

“Me too.”  Yuuri squeezed his hand back.  

---

Mari couldn’t help but feel guilty at the thought that she was back in their house, comfortable and warm, all while her brother was somewhere out there even if he was by choice.  The fact that things got so bad to drive him to take such drastic actions... She could only pray that he was safe, wherever he was, and that he was still with Viktor.  As much as a part of her was absolutely furious with the alpha for getting her brother to play along with the idea of running away--because there was no way that Yuuri thought of the idea himself, she knew that Viktor would do his part in keeping Yuuri safe and protected.

But then again that alpha also had a bad habit of coming up with the craziest ideas (hence why they were gone in the first place!) and diving into trouble headfirst.

Oh God.

Mari gave a shaky exhale and clutched at her head.  Her swirling thoughts did nothing to alleviate the pounding in her temples as she breathed through her mouth, her nose completely congested at this point.  The cold medicine that Minako forced her to drink earlier alleviated the symptoms a bit but they were quickly coming back.  

Instead of going inside her bedroom, she pivoted and turned the doorknob next door to enter Yuuri’s room.  If her sense of smell was still intact the young teen knew that she would be able to take in her brother’s familiar scent.  She sat down on the edge of his bed and hesitated just for a moment before she laid her head down on his pillow, clenching her eyes shut.  

I swear to God Yuuri when I see you again I’m going to give you such a yelling. If Okaa-san doesn’t ground you I’m going to make sure myself that you never leave the house ever again.  

She was pondering whether she’d be successful in convincing her parents to transfer Yuuri to her school so that she can keep a closer eye on her brother when she shifted her head and heard a crinkling noise underneath the pillow. Mari frowned and placed a hand underneath the pillowcase when her fingers came in contact with something.  

Sitting up, the beta lifted the pillow to find a folded piece of paper.  She gasped, easily recognizing her sibling’s handwriting on the front.

Okaa-san, Otou-san, Mari-neechan, Minako-sensei

She lifted the paper and opened it, finding a letter

Dear Okaa-san, Otou-san, Mari-neechan, and Minako-sensei,

I know you will probably be mad at me for this, but please know that I wanted to run away with Vitya. I didn’t want to be away from him anymore and no one was listening to us.

I think the people in school were lying when they said that we will make each other sick. I only started feeling bad when I got separated from Vitya, and I don’t want to feel sick anymore.

I don’t want to run away forever. I hope that you will start listening to us so Vitya and I can come back again.

Love,

Yuuri

P.S. Please take care of Vicchan!

Mari didn’t even realize that she was crying until she saw teardrops begin to dot the paper.  “Yuuri…” she whispered desperately.  Everything was so wrong.  Is this all just a nightmare?  Please, let her wake up to find her brother safe.  There’s no way the two can last long out there. It was winter for heaven’s sake!  

A voice calling her name startled her from her thoughts.   “Mari, what’s going on?”  Minako was standing in the threshold.  She walked over when the girl held out the paper.

Minako sat down beside her and took a few seconds to read the short note.  “Oh Yuuri…” The woman sounded absolutely exhausted.   She folded the letter again neatly and got up, tugging on Mari’s arm.  “Come on Mari, you should get some sleep.”

Mari hiccuped, wiping away furiously at the few tears that still fell down her cheeks. “How can I possibly sleep after reading t-that?!”

“I know it’s hard. This is tough on all of us.  But you losing sleep and getting sicker is not going to help anything.  Think of it this way...the sooner you get better, the sooner you can start helping your parents look for your brother again.”  Minako bent down and wrapped her arms around the girl, Mari accepting her embrace and hugging back. “Please be strong for just a little while longer.”  

Mari nodded and gave one last squeeze before letting the older woman go.  Minako-sensei was right.  Crying was not going to solve anything. She had to be strong for her parents and most importantly, Yuuri.  It was only a matter of time before they find him safe and sound.

She absolutely refused to entertain the notion that there could be any other outcome.

---

“There’s not much information on them.  It appears that the Katsukis are your typical middle class, first generation immigrants.  They came from Japan almost eight years ago and own an inn a few miles away from your home.”  Natalya summarized the investigator’s findings as she pushed a manila folder over to Andrei, who opened it and sifted through the papers inside.

“It’s not my home anymore, Natalya,” he said almost distractedly as he peered at a newspaper clipping that advertised the inn, a bit outdated based on the year it was published.  There was a picture of the Japanese family standing in front of a modest Victorian cottage.  The bespectacled couple had kind smiles, each one placing an arm around their two children, a daughter and a young boy who looked to be around Vitya’s age.  So he must be the Yuuri Katsuki who was missing alongside his son.  

“Sorry sir, your former home then.”

“So tell me… how does a family of such a humble background have a son who is attending Vitya’s school?”  He thumbed next at a mostly blank paper that said “Criminal records: None.”

“Scholarships, sir.  He got high marks on the entrance exams.  They had to get loans for the remainder of his tuition.”

“Hn.” Andrei looked once again at the photograph of the family.  They looked so average, so unassuming.  But appearances can be deceiving.  It was slowly starting to add up in his head.  He knew the area they lived in. It was a quiet town, boring and ordinary. Nothing that would attract a good amount of patronage for their inn. Business must be slow and if that’s their only source of income… it made sense if they have somehow gotten their boy to try and get into Vitya’s good graces.  God knows how friendly and magnanimous his son was, something he had inherited from his mother.  It would not take much for their son to woo his way into Vitya’s circle of friends.  

And now to orchestrate this whole “running away” scheme?  How on Earth did Lilia and Yakov fall for this sham?  The Feltsmans were always too gullible. As gruff as Yakov appeared to be, he knew the man would fall for any sob story.  And now their idiocy has allowed those Katsukis to sink their claws into his innocent son.

Well he’ll play along for now.  And the best way to reveal the Katsukis’ true selves is to bait their greed.  They still had a few minutes before the plane took off.  “Natalya, call Yakov and tell him to announce to the press.  I’ll give a $10 million reward to anyone who finds my son.  Same goes for the other boy.”

---

Viktor’s brows furrowed as he blinked at the sunlight now pouring through the window.  He winced when he felt his shoulders dig into the thin sleeping bag and into the hard wooden floor.  Despite the slight ache in his muscles, it was the best sleep he’s had in a long while, and he knew it was all due to Yuuri’s presence beside him.  The omega was still hunched over on his side, facing Viktor, one hand held in Viktor’s while the other curled into a fist next to his chest.  

The silver-haired boy smiled and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Yuuri’s ear.  The touch roused the other boy and Yuuri slowly opened his eyes, still bleary from sleep.  They looked so brown without his glasses in the way.  “Vitya?  Is it morning already?”

“Yup, we can stay here if you want though.”

“Mmm…” Yuuri smiled and twisted his hand so he can intertwine his fingers with Viktor’s.  “I had a good dream just before I woke up.”

“What was it?”

“Everything was back to normal again. It was you, me, our friends, and our families playing in the park. And it was spring too.  No mean grownups.  We were playing with Makka and Vicchan.”

Viktor gave a soft smile.  “That does sound like a good dream.”

“Do you think Makka and Vicchan are okay?”

“I’m sure they are. Did you leave Vicchan on your bed?”

“Yeah.”

“I left Makka on my bed too. I actually hid my letter for Baba and Deda underneath him.” Viktor sat up and stretched his arms.  “I was thinking of getting something to eat.”

Yuuri sat up as well, drawing the blanket around his shoulders.  “What do you mean?”

“Well… we still have a few bags of snacks left, but I think we should try and look around for more food to be safe.  We can always save what we have for emergencies.” Viktor got up and already began tying his shoes back on.  

“Okay…” Yuuri followed his lead and began to put on his shoes as well.  Viktor held out his coat for him and Yuuri zipped it up.  The two then took some time to reapply the scent masking products.  

“Ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”  He took Yuuri’s hand and opened the door. The two paused for a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the bright sunshine before stepping outside.  

They walked for several minutes, easily losing track of time as they babbled about random things.  They were so absorbed in each other's company that they remained ignorant of how eerie it was for them to be the only ones walking along the empty trail. They finally reached the edge of the park, coming to a small road.

“Oooh I don’t think I’ve seen this place before.”  Viktor and Yuuri peered across the narrow roadway to find a derelict gas station on the other side. The two boys wondered if it was even still open but judging from the “OPEN” sign on the convenience store behind it, it was.  

Viktor looked both ways across the road before coming to a decision.  Convenience stores meant food and right now, he and Yuuri needed some.  “Come on, Yuuri,” he tugged on the other boy’s hand as they ran across the road and jogged up to the store, stopping right before the glass door.  Viktor peeked his head out to try and catch a glimpse inside.  

“What are we going to do, Vitya?  If we go in they might catch us.”  

“I’m thinking of sneaking in and just getting some of those chips over there,” he nodded his head in the direction of the aisle closest to the door.  

“Wait, isn’t that stealing?” Yuuri frowned and bit his lip. “I don’t want to steal.”

“It’s not stealing if I leave money behind,” Viktor proudly held up a couple of bills he had gotten before leaving home. They were a hundred dollars each.  “This should cover it, right?”

“I think so…”

“Great! Now just stay here and keep an eye out while I sneak in.”

---

Yakov had finally managed to convince Lilia to allow them to go home for some rest.  They had gone all night without a single wink of sleep as they completed their assigned part of the town.  When they still found no trace of either child, Lilia had insisted on continuing to search with the other volunteers in the surrounding towns.  She had refused to go back and sleep and it wasn’t until morning that she finally relented when she almost fell after stumbling upon some uneven pavement.

“I’ll be upstairs,” Lilia whispered as she ascended the staircase.  Yakov made to follow her but the woman shook her head, and he decided to give her some space.  He watched as she reached the landing, but instead of turning left to go to their bedroom she made a right and went down the hallway, heading towards Viktor’s room instead.

He groaned as he stretched out a crick in his neck.  All that searching and nothing.  Not a single clue as to where to look next.

Dammit, Vitya… where are you?!

He had settled into the dining room a few minutes later and was eating a small breakfast. The coffee he was currently drinking was the only thing that was keeping him up at this point when Anna walked in with the phone in her hand. He immediately got up. “Who is it?” Was it Officer Jones with a new lead?  Did they find Yuuri and Vitya?!

Anna shook her head at his unspoken question.  “It’s Mr. Nikiforov’s personal assistant, Mr. Feltsman.”

Yakov’s expression fell as he huffed and took the phone.  “Natalya?”

A familiar voice spoke on the other end of the line, “Mr. Feltsman, good morning.”

The man grumbled something under his breath.  The morning hardly constituted anything close to “good.” “What does he want now?”

“Mr. Nikiforov would like to have you make an announcement that he’ll reward $10 million to anyone who returns his son or the Japanese boy.”

“What?” Yakov wasn’t sure what to think.  As much as he detested the thought that people would need monetary enticement to return the children… it can only help right? “Very well… We’ll make the announcement later today.”

"Thank you," was the curt reply before the woman hung up.  

“Yasha, who was that?”  Lilia walked into the dining room and sat down in the chair next to him.  

He looked at his wife with concerned eyes. “Why aren’t you sleeping upstairs?  Are you hungry?” He was about to call Anna for another plate but Lilia cut him off.  

“I'm not hungry, Yasha.  But who was on the phone?”

Yakov sighed.  “It was Natalya, delivering a message from Nikiforov. He wants to offer $10 million for the safe return of either Yuuri or Vitya.

Lilia nodded before she closed her eyes, exhaustion clearly evident in her posture.  “It’s just like Andrei to think that way. He always believed that money can solve everything.”  She opened her eyes and stared off in the distance before she passed a paper across the mahogany table. “I found this on Vitya’s bed.”

Yakov frowned and turned the paper over. ‘To Baba and Deda’

Dear Baba and Deda,

I’m going to run away and take Yuuri with me. Since the meeting with Stupid Evil Lady, everyone’s been mean to Yuuri by keeping him away from all our friends. I don’t care if they’re mean to me, but I'm not going to stay away when I see that he’s been getting sick.

All the grownups in school are lying to you. Yuuri and I just started to get sick when they kept us away from each other.

So I’m going to make sure we never leave each other again. Take care of Makka and if you promise you’ll let us stay with each other we might come back.

Bye,

Vitya

“What are we going to do, Yasha?  I always thought that we’d be able to find them in a few hours the most but now almost an entire day has passed and-”

“Right now, we rest.” He could already see Lilia open her mouth to protest again.  “We have to, Lilia," he insisted.  "As much as I want to continue searching, we’re not going to be helpful if we don’t get some sleep.  Come, at least for an hour.  Once we’re up we can regroup with the Katsukis and go make the announcement together.”  

---

Manuel Jose Rubio might be an old man, but he refused to be deadweight for his family.  His children and grandchildren were already busy as is trying to keep themselves afloat and he wanted to do his share of the work.  Coming to the United States was an accomplishment, yes, but it felt like trying to make a living here was a much tougher battle.  Those naive fools back in Puerto Rico always made it sound so easy, as if money grew from the trees here.

So when his daughter approached him with the idea of manning their convenience store he had jumped at the opportunity.  His ultimate dream would be to open a restaurant, with him being a former chef, but they already struggled to pay the bills month by month to even entertain the idea of saving money to invest in anything like that.

“Abuelo, I’m going to study upstairs okay?  Just tell me if someone comes in and I’ll come back down,” Gloria called from the back of the storage room.

“Go already, I can handle things here,” he called back.

“You know mommy doesn’t want you touching the cash register. Not after last time.  So just call me, okay?”

“Fine, fine.” Ah, he might have forgotten to mention that he was legally blind.  Cataracts and all. Gloria was referring to one incident when he mistakenly used a fifty dollar bill when giving a customer’s change.  Thankfully the woman was honest and had pointed out his mistake, helping him count out the correct amount.  

He could see a bit but only very blurry figures.  Hours passed with him behind the counter, sitting down and forcing himself to listen to a radio news station in an effort to improve his English.  

“And this just in, there’s been an update in the case of the two missing children.  Our reporter is on the scene right now. Megan?”

“Good morning, Joe, I’m right here in Mulberry Township where just minutes ago Yakov Feltsman, grandfather of Viktor Nikiforov, announced that Andrei Nikiforov, CEO of Nikiforov Industries and Viktor’s father, has offered a $10 million reward for the safe return of his son or Yuuri Katsuki.  There’s a crowd in front of Kubo International right now as volunteers gather once more to begin another day of searching for the two lost children.”

“God help those two kids. I hope they’re found,” Manuel said aloud.  He sat up sharply when he heard the chimes signal that someone opened the door.  

“Hello? How can I help you?” He said with a thick accent.  He frowned when no one answered and got up from his chair.  He looked around the aisles but couldn’t find a blurry form that signaled a customer.  A robber then?  He grabbed the baseball bat he kept under the counter.  He then heard the sound of small shuffling steps and then a thud as whoever it was ran into a shelf.  Several items were heard falling down the floor. “Who’s there?! Answer me!”

“Ow…” A voice called from around the corner.  Manuel followed it to one corner of the store, his arms poised to swing the bat if the robber made any move.

“Thief!”  

“I’m not a thief, I left money at the shelf, look!”  The voice who answered him was indignant.  An arm was raised and Manuel frowned when he realized how short the figure was. That combined with the rather high-pitched voice signaled that it was a young boy.  

“I was just going to grab some snacks and leave money on the shelf.”

Manuel didn’t bother to actually look back knowing he wouldn’t really be able to see it from the distance. He didn’t want to turn his eyes away from the boy.  “Why don’t you just come up and pay?” He said suspiciously.  

“I’m not telling,” the boy said petulantly.  

The door opened, causing the chimes to ring once more.  “Vitya…?”

“I’m okay, don’t worry!”

Manuel quickly glanced down to see a small figure pass by him to reach the other boy.  “Are you two by yourselves?  Where are your parents?”

“Um… Mom and Dad are busy so we had to get food on our own.”

Dios mio what is wrong with this country?  If America is so great why would these two boys be scrounging around for food?  Were they being abused at home?

“Are you two alright at home?  Do you need help?”

Viktor frowned, not really understanding what the old man was implying.  “Um, yeah we’re okay.  Just hungry. There’s no food at home so…”

Well that wouldn’t do.  Manuel was very familiar with how an empty stomach felt like and no child should have to live through that.  “Keep those snacks and come here with me. I’ve got more food to give you.”  

Yuuri’s eyes perked up and looked to Viktor who nodded.  They decided to trust the grownup for now. They followed the old man back to the register and watched as he bent down to retrieve a plastic bag.  “Here’s some apples.  My grandkids keep packing them for me but they forget that my teeth aren’t that great.  Too hard to chew.” He pushed the bag into Viktor’s hands.  “And here…” he bent down again to retrieve several bread rolls from his lunchbag.  “You two bring this too.”  

“Wow, thanks a lot mister!”

“Rubio.  But you can call me Manuel.  What are your names?”

“I’m… Vincent!” Viktor beamed and gestured to Yuuri who gave a shy wave. “And this here is um… Eugene! Yeah, Eugene.”

“Okay… Vincent, Eugene.  Well you two be safe going back home now. And if you get hungry again just come here okay?” He didn’t want to think of what could happen if the two kids were caught trying to get food from somewhere else.  Others may not be as friendly or forgiving.

“Sure thing, thanks so much Mr. Manny Rubio!” He only barely noticed the boy slap some money on the counter before he could protest, the two running out the store just as Gloria came back downstairs.

“Abuelo, who was that? I told you to call me if someone came!”

“Don’t worry yourself, they already left.” He watched as his granddaughter's blurry form came closer to him.  

“Oh my God, did they leave all this money?” She picked up the bills to count them.

“They did, why, what’s wrong?”

“Abuelo, they just gave you $700!”

Meanwhile, Yuuri and Viktor giggled as they walked back towards the shack, swinging the bag of food between them.  

“He was so nice to give us all this food!”  Viktor reached down into the bag.  “And I think the bread is freshly baked cuz it’s still warm!”

Yuuri was already starting to feel his hunger.  All the excitement of their exploring from earlier masked his appetite but now it came back in full force.  They retraced their steps until they reached a fork in the path.  Viktor pointed to the opposite trail that they came from.  "I remember this sign, let's go this way instead! There's a playground a couple of minutes from here.  We can eat there and then play!" 

The omega nodded his head eagerly and followed the alpha's lead.  The playground was smaller and was clearly older than the one from Overpeck Park or their school playground.  The swings creaked and some of the paint from the wooden structures were peeling off.  The boys overlooked it all and sat down on the bench, each eating a bread roll and allowing the comfortable silence to settle between them.  

They played for awhile afterwards, enjoying the fact that there were no grownups to scold them for playing too soon after eating.  An hour or so must have passed and by then the sun was already starting to set.  Yuuri finally acknowledged that he was thirsty, and Viktor agreed that it was best for the two of them to start heading back before it got too dark.  Tomorrow they can visit Mr. Rubio again and ask for some water bottles.  

The two were back on the trail that led towards the shack when Viktor saw a large bird fly out of a tree.  “Hey, I think that’s a hawk! Come on, Yuuri!” He laughed and ran ahead to follow the creature.  

Yuuri giggled as he followed the alpha. The two continued to chase the bird for awhile but finally slowed down once the omega started to get winded.  He turned around when he felt a tug on the bag he carried.  

Yuuri let out a moan of dismay when the plastic bag got caught on one of the branches of a shrub he passed, tearing a hole into the bag and causing the apples and bread rolls to tumble out and down the sloping path.  

“Yuuri?” He heard Viktor’s voice call out from ahead.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, the bag just ripped. I’m going to get the food, some of them fell down!”  The omega didn’t wait for his mate to respond, getting off the path and making his way down to grab the fallen items. He picked up one apple and two bread rolls, cradling them in his arms.  They definitely went over the three second rule but oh well. His parents weren’t around anyway and it’s not as if they had a lot of food right now.  His brows furrowed.  He was sure that Mr. Rubio had given them more apples, where have the others gone?  He looked around him to find no more and decided to make his way further down the hill.

Ah, there they were! Yuuri smiled as he spotted two more apples a couple of feet away from him. He jogged over and bent down to pick them up.

“Do you need help, Yuuri?”

Yuuri turned around, “I’m okay Vitya! I got them.”  He heard a twig snap really close to him and jumped, whipping his head back around to see a black bear slowly approach him.  Yuuri stood still as he watched it with wide eyes, his breath stuck in his throat.  The creature appeared to be interested in the food he cradled in his arms, its nose twitching as it stepped closer on four hulking legs.

Yuuri’s mind drew a blank. He began to tremble.  

Viktor must have made his way over because he heard the other boy scream. “Yuuri! Get out of there!”     

But the omega stood still.  Why couldn’t he move?

The bear growled at something behind him as a rock was thrown at it.  Yuuri watched with detached eyes as he saw the rock bounce off its forehead and land in the space between them.  

“Yuuri!” Viktor grabbed his wrist and tugged him back. “RUN!”

The shorter boy blinked and was finally roused from his trance.  He gasped as Viktor proceeded to drag him up the hill.  He heard a growl and the sound of pounding feet as the bear took chase, having been angered by the stone that Viktor had thrown at it. The two boys quickly scrambled on all fours, the grass and dirt making their climb slippery. Once they ascended the hill, Viktor grabbed Yuuri’s hand and the two ran as quickly as they could down the trail.  

“I don’t get it, don’t bears hibernate in winter!?”  Viktor yelled as the two dashed past several trees. It was almost dark, the sun having set and leaving only a pink orange border at the edge of the sky.  

“I don’t know!”  Yuuri quickly glanced over his shoulder to see the bear still behind them but thankfully several feet away. “Maybe it’s hungry?”  He dropped the bag of food and watched as the bear ignored it in favor of continuing its chase.  “It’s still after us!”

Oh God maybe the bear thought they were food!

“I don’t think we’re going to reach the shack, Yuuri,” Viktor huffed as they continued to run for their lives.  “We have to find some other place to hide!” He knew they couldn’t keep running all night.  They would tire out eventually and there was no way that he was strong enough to fight off that bear.  The alpha craned his neck to search for some place that they could climb up or crawl under. Anything that would allow them to get out of the way of the stupid bear!  And here he thought bears were nice and cuddly. He’ll never look at a teddy bear the same way again!

“Vitya, there! How about there?!”  Viktor’s eyes followed the direction where Yuuri pointed to see a tall outcropping of rocks.  Maybe they could climb up?   

The two began to run towards it and tried to find a spot that would allow them to climb.  Viktor jumped up and was able to grab onto a small notch in the rock but fell down when he tried to hoist himself up. He yelled in frustration.

“It’s too slippery, we won’t be able to climb up Vitya!”  Yuuri whimpered as the two heard the bear get closer.  

No no no no, there has to be another way!  Viktor frowned as his brain scrambled for other ideas.  He looked around them.  There were no trees that had branches low enough for them to climb.  And the bear could still clearly see them, so there was no place for them to hide.  The alpha looked around the outcropping.  If they couldn’t climb up then maybe…

“There!” The alpha gasped as he spied a narrow opening on one side of the rock.  It looked just wide enough for them to squeeze through and was definitely small enough to keep the bear away.  “Let’s go, Yuuri!” He grabbed his omega’s arm again and ran towards their last chance of escape.  “You first!” He pushed Yuuri through and watched as the smaller boy  disappeared in the shadows.  

“Quickly, Vitya!”  Yuuri’s hand shot out to grab Viktor’s arm and pull him through.  Viktor made it just in time as the bear finally reached them with an angry growl, the two boys screaming at the top of their lungs.

Yuuri tried to push himself back further but there was no more space behind him.  The two yelled again as the bear proceeded to swipe its paws against the opening.  “Vitya, I can’t move back any further! There’s no more room!”

Viktor yelled as the claws tore at his jacket, the downy feathers falling onto the ground.  He tried to lean as far back as he could, but the bear could still reach him with its front legs.  

Yuuri gaped, eyes wide at the horrible view over Viktor’s shoulder as the bear growled again, opening its massive jaw and showing an impressive set of sharp teeth.  He grasped tightly around Viktor’s middle in a futile effort to pull the alpha further back.  

Viktor watched as the bear raised its front leg once more. It was as if everything was in slow motion. He could clearly see the thick muscles covered by a layer of fat underneath the dark fur, the thick padding of its paw, and the sharp claws with some piercing scraps of cloth from where the bear had torn his jacket.  He could only stare in horror as the bear swung down its paw, closer and closer.  

“VITYA!”

Viktor closed his eyes. All he could recall was a sharp pain and everything got dark.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: When Paths Converge

In which there are multiple reunions, with one several months in the making

Hiroko had mostly just tossed and turned on their bed, sleep eluding her for a few hours.  The only reason why she knew she had fallen asleep briefly was because she recalled her dream right before she woke up.  It was of Viktor and Yuuri, walking away from her.  She had been calling out to them in her dream but the two boys couldn’t hear her.  The mother had finally woken up in a cold sweat, Yuuri’s name spilling from her lips in a breathless cry.  

The two families met up at the Katsukis’ a few hours later. “Lilia, please. This is too much.  I can understand offering reward money for Viktor, but why in the world would his father also give money for Yuuri?”  Toshiya shook his head fervently, his arms raised as if that would make Lilia take back the offer of $10 million that Andrei had volunteered.  Did they really need to give a reward?  Why would someone need it to ensure the safe return of two children?  Surely there were still good people out there, judging by the number of volunteers helping them yesterday.  It especially felt wrong to be indebted for such an exorbitant amount of money.

“I know it may sound like a lot, but this is nothing to Andrei.  Please accept it.  I think we can all agree that it was Viktor who thought of this idea of running away and involving your son in the first place.  Their letters confirm it.”  

Hiroko was about to speak up but Yakov interrupted her, “And besides, any help we can get in returning Yuuri safely raises the likelihood that we can also get our Vitya back. So to be honest, this is offer is not 100% selfless.”

“But we cannot possibly ever pay you back,” Hiroko said incredulously in alarm.  

Yakov gave her a strange look, finding her suggestion ludicrous. “We never expected you to,” he said slowly as if it was obvious.

“But Yakov, it’s ten million dollars,” Toshiya insisted.

Lilia paused and hesitated just for a second before she decided to speak. She only hoped that the Katsukis won’t take it the wrong way and think that she was boasting or patronizing them. “Vitya’s father is the CEO of Nikiforov Industries.  His net worth is over a billion dollars, Hiroko.  Truly, we’re not exaggerating when we say that $10 million is nothing to him.”

Silence settled in the room as everyone absorbed the information.  They had known that Viktor’s father was the CEO of a large company, and it was obvious from their visits to their mansion that he came from an affluent family but they had never known the true extent of his wealth.

When the Katsukis still looked hesitant, Minako decided to speak up from her seat beside Hima.  “What Lilia and Yakov mean to say, Toshiya, is that Andrei Nikiforov is filthy rich and $10 million is practically change money to him.  Let’s just go with it and pray that maybe the money will increase the effort to bring the boys home.”

“Very well… I guess all that we can say at this point is thank you.  We’ll have to give our thanks to Andrei ourselves when we get the chance,” Hiroko said.  

“Good. We're sorry that we didn't bring it up to you before updating the press but Minako told me that you two were asleep and we didn't want to wake you up. We wanted to release the statement as early as possible to hopefully bring more volunteers to help us today.”

The phone rang from the end of the hall and Toshiya got up from the table. “I’ll get it,” he said.  He picked up the phone from its receiver. “Hello?  Oh hi Anna, yes they’re here.” Yakov and Lilia glanced over upon hearing the maid’s name.  Toshiya covered the bottom of the phone as he called Lilia over.  “Lilia, it’s Anna. She says she needs to speak with you.”

Lilia got up to Toshiya as he handed over the phone. “Hello Anna? What’s wrong?” Lilia’s eyes widened and she looked at the clock on the opposite wall. It was only 3:30pm.  “He landed already?”

Yakov bit down a curse.  He knew very well who Lilia and Anna were talking about.  Andrei Nikiforov can only bring trouble right now.  Dealing with that man was like pulling teeth.  He was too used to getting his own way, consequences be damned. He would no doubt ruffle a lot of feathers with the police force, and the last thing that they needed right now was to offend the people who were crucial to getting Yuuri and Vitya back.  

“What, he’s on his way here?!” Lilia looked at her husband in alarm and Yakov stood up from his chair. “Now?!” The young woman on the other end of the line must have sensed Lilia’s distress because Yakov could vaguely hear snippets of her profuse apologies in Russian as he made his way over to Lilia.

Well damn.  It looks like the shitstorm was going to make its way over to them a lot sooner than anticipated.  And now all their hopes of dealing with the inevitable confrontation with Vitya’s father (because any conversation with that man ends up being an argument) in the privacy of their home were now dashed.  

“Yakov, Lilia, what’s going on?” Toshiya asked, getting worried at seeing the two so clearly agitated.  “Who’s on his way?”

Lilia murmured something back to Anna in Russian before hanging up the phone.  “It’s Andrei. He’s on his way here.”  The couple was still standing up, finding themselves too tense to go back and rejoin them at the table.  

“Well all the better. At least this way we can thank him personally for offering to help find our Yuuri.”  Toshiya became puzzled when his statement was answered with a wince from Yakov.  

Hiroko moved to reassure them, not understanding what all the fuss was about, “It’s perfectly fine, Lilia, I can easily fix up a small meal for him.  And if he’s tired out from the journey, there are rooms already available for guests upstairs.”

“It’s not that, Hiroko,” Lilia answered with a sigh as she and Yakov finally made to sit down again at the table.  “It’s just… Andrei is not exactly friendly.”

Minako frowned at her comment. “What exactly do you mean by that?”  How can a man who offered $10 million for Yuuri’s safe return possibly be considered unfriendly?

“He is not the most… charming person.  Andrei tends to give off a very bad impression. He’s a stubborn man and is used to getting his way.”  Lilia explained only the bare surface.  

“He’s a downright smug mu’dak who thinks of nothing but himself,” Yakov spat out.  The Katsukis, Minako, and Hima were taken aback, surprised by the level of vitriol in his words.  

Lilia tried to lessen the level of hostility from her husband’s description.  “It’s true that he can be disagreeable… but truly, Andrei can be a kind man, he is just very selective on who he deems to be worthy of that kindness.  And since the death of our Katya, he has closed himself off to everyone.”  

“But of course, the death of a loved one can only bring terrible grief to the widowed mate,” Hima said.  “Depending on how deep their bond was, he could still be going through a bond severance right now.  Remember, not many people rebound or recover from them well.”  

The Feltsmans looked at her with new understanding.  They never thought of it that way before. But the moment was interrupted by Yakov’s gruff words, “You may be right.  But then again, you may also be wrong.  In my opinion, Andrei Nikiforov is and has always been a conceited bastard, bond severance or not.” He crossed his arms. “Speaking of bonds…” He turned to Hima, “Whatever happens, don’t tell Andrei about Viktor and Yuuri’s… unique relationship.  They are simply best friends and nothing more.”

Hima paused, hesitating over the ethics of withholding information like that from the child’s own father.  

“Yakov…” Lilia admonished softly, “are you sure that’s the right thing to do?  Andrei is honestly not as heartless as you think.”

Her husband looked dubiously at her.  “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”  

The rest just looked on in silence as Lilia frowned and gave off a frustrated huff.  While it was true that there were many parts of Andrei’s personality that left much to be desired, it was equally true that Yakov had been biased against him since the moment the two met.  It was no secret that he never approved of Katya marrying the man, always believing that his daughter deserved much better.  Yakov had the tendency to constantly assume the worst of Andrei and to ignore the moments that the man showed just how much he loved his wife and son. “Yasha…you know that Andrei loves Vitya deep down. He wouldn’t want to be kept in the dark about something as important as this.”

“Yes, because he’s clearly shown that by abandoning him to us these past few months.”

“He’s grieving, Yasha…”

“No, he’s being a coward is what he’s doing. And he has the nerve to call himself a father.”

It was becoming more and more evident that this was an old argument between the two.  Minako decided to speak up, “If I may… how about we just focus on finding the two for now?  We can size Andrei up when he arrives and try to see how he may react to Yuuri and Viktor’s relationship before we decide to divulge anything.”

Yakov nodded and crossed his arms.  “Fine by me.  But I’m telling you now, he’s not going to take it well. To be honest, I myself am already skeptical enough with the idea of the two being soulmates.  It’s only because I cannot deny the peculiarity of Vitya and Yuuri’s relationship that I decide to give your friend’s theory a chance.” He turned to address Hima, “No offense.”

The Indian woman waved away his apology.  “None taken. Most would not even give me the time of day, so you’ve already been a lot more respectful than most people I’d contend with.”  

The doorbell rang, interrupting whatever Lilia was about to say.  Everyone but Hima and Minako made to stand up.

“Blyat , that must be him,” Yakov muttered, as he turned towards the direction of the hallway that led to the foyer.  “I’ll go get the door, the rest of you can stay here.” He took half a step but was stopped by Lilia holding onto his wrist.

“Wait, Yasha, stop.  It shouldn’t be you.  This is not our home.”

“I…” Yakov blinked a few times, just coming to his senses. “You’re right…”

Hiroko and Toshiya stood up as well.  “I’ll go answer the door and lead him straight here.  There should be no problems with that right?” Hiroko suggested.  

Lilia nodded and prayed that Andrei didn’t do anything drastic that would set off the Katsukis the moment they opened the door. The man could be so unpredictable.  But she knew that this was the better choice rather than to have herself or Yakov meet him at the door.  An argument would undoubtedly explode the moment her husband and son-in-law meet. “Alright, we’ll stay here then.”

Hima looked questioningly at her.  “Would you prefer if me and Minako give you privacy?  We can go upstairs if you think that would make you all more comfortable.”

“There’s no need. I know that Andrei will be here until Vitya is found and if that is the case, then he will have to meet you all sooner or later.  We might as well get it over with now.”  

Yakov gestured to Hiroko, “You best go.  Andrei never liked to be kept waiting.”

Little did the group know that someone had already beaten them in opening the door.

---   

It was 3 pm local time when the private jet touched down on the tarmac several minutes earlier than their anticipated arrival time.  Andrei quickly got off the plane and down the jetway, not bothering to look back to make sure that Natalya followed him.  The woman was efficient and the perfect assistant, always anticipating his next moves and knowing how to prepare for the succeeding steps without him having to command her.  It’s why they worked so well and seamlessly together.  

“The limo is ready, sir, at the arrivals section.”

“Very well,” Andrei took the shorter express line for immigration and customs reserved for VIPs.  Even with the faster service the entire process was still tedious, and it was through decades of practice in masking his emotions and self control that he was able to reign in his anxiousness to be done with it all and drive himself over to the mansion, speed limits be damned.  

He had to catch up to the Feltsmans and learn what new developments took place while he was flying over.  And then perhaps a quick stop to whoever was heading the investigation if they had any further inside information.

He and Natalya finally spotted a man holding a sign stating “Mr. Nikiforov” near the ground transportation exit and headed over.

“Welcome back to America, Mr. Nikiforov.  My name is Fernando and I’ll be your driver today.”

Andrei simply nodded at the other man before the driver quickly took the few luggages they brought and led them over to the awaiting limo, opening the door for the executive and his assistant to step inside.  He took a moment to place the luggages in the trunk before going back to his seat.  

“Where to, Mr. Nikiforov?”

“Make your way to Mulberry Township,” Andrei ordered.

“Right away. Traffic should be light, so we should be there in thirty minutes.”

“Make it fifteen.”

“I…” The driver looked worriedly at the man through the rear view mirror. He was met with an imposing cerulean eye, the other hidden by platinum blonde hair.  The cold gaze made him feel three feet tall, daring to be defied.  Fernando gulped and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Yes, sir, fifteen minutes it is.”

He grasped for the gear shift and quickly got them out of the airport and onto the turnpike, transferring over to the leftmost lane and praying that there were no police on the lookout for speeding cars.  If he had to make it in fifteen minutes then he would have to go at least twenty miles per hour above the speed limit in order to make up for the traffic he knew they’d encounter in the local roads.

Andrei sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, staring out the window.  He wanted to be anywhere but here.  “Natalya, call the mansion. I want to make sure the Feltsmans are there.”

“Very well, sir,”  Natalya dialed the numbers and Andrei listened carefully as Natalya spoke to whoever answered the phone.

“This is Natalya.  We are arriving in about ten minutes. Mr. Nikiforov wanted to make sure the Feltsmans were home… No?  Then where?... Just a moment, let me get something to write down the address.”  Natalya quickly produced a pen and pad from her suitcase.  “Alright, I’m ready…” Andrei watched from the corner of his eye as the assistant hurriedly wrote down the address.  “Very well, I’ll inform him.”  Natalya hung up and turned to her boss.  “The Feltsmans are in the Katsuki residence right now.  She gave me their address: 801 Overpeck Lane, Hillsdale.”

“Ah, in that case the exit for Hillsdale is closer,” the driver commented from the front.  He looked at the green overhead sign they just passed.  “Very good timing, ma’am, it’s coming up in one mile.” He quickly transferred over to the rightmost lane as they exited off the turnpike and down a quieter county road.  They passed by several open areas of grass and trees before they entered a more residential neighborhood with modest houses.  Fernando made a couple of turns through the local streets and they passed a group of adults dressed warmly accompanied by a smattering of policemen.  

“That must be one of the search parties,” Natalya commented from his side.  

Pitiful.  If those people represented the volunteers that were helping the search for his son and that Japanese boy then it was no wonder that they were still unable to find them.  This would all end today.  He began to tap his index finger on his knee as they passed what must have been the town center, judging by the number of commercial establishments and broader streets.  

“How much further?” He did not have to raise his voice to express his displeasure and Fernando understood as the he bit his lip and looked at the time on the console.

“N-not much further, Mr. Nikiforov. Just one more mile.”

“Natalya, while I speak with the Feltsmans, call the local police station and find out who is heading the case. I want an update.”

“Very well, sir.”

They passed through what appeared to be several historical landmarks before they made a turn down a winding hill. Fernando made another right turn into a gravel road that had a sign “Lakeside Inn” on the front.  He made a stop at the end of the driveway.  “We’re here, sir,” the driver parked the car and got out, getting the door open for Andrei and Natalya before he closed it and proceeded to open the trunk to retrieve the luggage.  

Andrei looked down at his watch.  Fernando was successful in getting them here in fifteen minutes.  “Tip him well,” he muttered to Natalya in Russian. The woman nodded and began to count some American bills from her pocket.  Andrei took a deep breath and took a moment to take in the sight of the same Victorian cottage he saw in the picture a few hours before.  “How quaint,” he said derisively as he walked out of the driveway and up the walkway.  

The Katsukis and Feltsmans had a lot to answer for.  Andrei raised his hand and pressed on the doorbell firmly.  He could hear the chime ring through the door.

Moments later he heard soft footsteps approach the door and it opened to reveal a Japanese girl a little over half his height.  She must be the sister.  

Mari frowned at him. “Who are you?  Do you have information about Yuuri?”  The man looked very intimidating.  Standing over six feet, his impressive height alone gave him a very imposing air, and the trench coat he wore accentuated his broad shoulders, the gray fabric contrasting against his alabaster skin and platinum blonde hair. Two pairs of blue eyes pierced down at her in a steely gaze causing her to fidget.  

Silence settled between the two as Andrei simply stared down at her, clenching his fists and causing his leather gloves to make a sound which just caused the girl’s eyes to look down at them.  

“I am here to speak with the Feltsmans for updates on my son.”  

Several footsteps could be heard making their way towards them. “Mari-chan, what are you doing up?  You should be resting in bed.”

Mari turned around to see her mother frowning at her before the older woman looked up and paused at the sight of the other man by the door.  

Hiroko straightened herself and addressed the man just as her husband walked up behind her. “You must be Mr. Nikiforov. Anna called us and said you were on your way. Please come in, I’m Hiroko Katsuki and this is my husband Toshiya.”  She held out her hand for a handshake but the man stood there and simply looked down at it. He turned his eyes up once more in a blatant gesture of ignoring the offered hand, making no move to shake it. The atmosphere quickly turned awkward.

Mari looked between her Okaa-san and the man.  What the hell was wrong with this guy?  How could this possibly be Viktor’s father?  The physical resemblance was uncanny.  The only deviation from his sire’s features was that Viktor’s hair was long and several shades paler.  But the two personalities could not be more different.  To think that the affectionate, cheerful, amiable Viktor was related to this man…

“Um…” Hiroko blinked and let her hand drop to her side.  Was Mr. Nikiforov not familiar with handshakes?  Did they not do them in Russia?  

“You may call me Andrei.”

Hiroko, Mari, and Toshiya heard the sound of footsteps behind Andrei as a young brunette appeared behind him.  “I’ve called and spoken with an Officer Jones.  He is to join us in a few minutes,” she addressed Andrei.  She turned her head and looked at the Japanese family.  “Good afternoon, I’m Natalya, Mr. Nikiforov’s personal assistant.”

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Toshiya and this here is my daughter Mari and my wife, Hiroko.  Please, both of you come in,” Toshiya gestured as he and his wife moved back so that the two could enter.  Andrei stepped inside and looked around the small foyer.  

Hiroko wringed her hands nervously as she watched the man’s assessing gaze pass judgement over every nook and cranny of the space before him.  She could have sworn that she caught a hint of a derisive smirk but she wasn’t sure if she imagined the twitch of his lip since it was quickly gone and replaced with a neutral expression once more.

Toshiya assisted Fernando with bringing the luggages in the house before he took the lead and walked ahead to show their two guests towards the dining hall, Hiroko and Mari following behind them.  

The mother took a moment to whisper in her daughter’s ear.  “If you’re hungry, there’s food already prepared in the kitchen.  How are you feeling?” She carded her fingers through Mari’s hair.  

“Better.  I’m not hungry; I’d rather hear what’s been going on.”

“No matter what happens just please stay quiet, okay?”

They all reached the dining room and Mari took a seat one table over, the same one she had occupied when Hima had first arrived.  To say that tension filled the air would be an understatement.  Mari was not even present to hear anything from the adults’ conversation earlier but she could clearly see the open hostility between Yakov and Andrei.  Yakov was a lot more obvious in displaying his animosity, already red in the face with a telltale vein popping on his forehead.  It looked like it was only Lilia’s firm grasp on his arm that was holding him back from pummeling Andrei.  The younger Russian man simply had his fists clenched at his side but now there was an open sneer at his face.

“Andrei, please,” Lilia hissed. When they made no move to acknowledge her plea she barked out something in Russian that made the two men finally snap out of their staring contest. Andrei huffed and took the chair at the head of the table, removing his gloves and steepling his fingers.  

Natalya took the seat next to him, one chair separating her from Minako and Hima. Toshiya and Hiroko sat down once more with Toshiya across from Natalya and Hiroko beside Yakov.  Toshiya gestured across to Minako and Hima.  “Minako a family friend, and Hima a new acquaintance of ours here for a visit.”  

Andrei gave the other two ladies a cursory glance before focusing his gaze once more on Lilia.  “I want to know what progress was made in finding my son.  Have you made the announcement regarding the reward money?”

“We have. Yasha announced it a few hours ago.  Most of the surrounding towns have already been thoroughly searched. There’s only a few more left before we would have to start venturing to the next county.”  

“There’s been several volunteers in addition to the policemen leading the search,” Toshiya added.  “The news has spread nationally, so all surrounding states are on the lookout for our sons.”

A twitch in his jaw betrayed how Andrei was gritting his teeth.  He began to tap his index finger impatiently on the table.  “And how exactly did this occur?” His words grew quieter but there was a raging fire in his eyes.  “What abysmal sort of security does the school have to allow two children to easily leave?”

“Look,” Yakov bit out.  “There’s no sense in worrying about that now.  In the end, Vitya and Yuuri are gone.  We have to focus on finding the two kids.  Every minute we waste sitting here is another minute that those two are lost out there-”

“What of tracking dogs?” Andrei cut him off.

Minako shook her head.  “They were able to track their scent up to this street corner one town over, but they said that the trail just stopped.”  She refused to get intimidated as those two azure eyes bored into her.  

Natalya’s brows furrowed, the first true sign of emotion on the woman’s face. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Minako finally turned her eyes away.  “We don’t know…” But it was clear to everyone else in the room what the implications were.

Andrei stood up abruptly, causing his chair to screech onto the wooden floor.  He banged a fist on the table.

“Andrei!” Lilia shouted indignantly.

“I’ve had enough,” the man growled as his eyes swept over everyone in the room, finally settling onto the Katsukis, Minako, and Hima.  His eyes narrowed.  “You will tell me all that you know right now.”

“B-but, that is all we know…”  Toshiya spluttered as he leaned back, bewildered at the man’s sudden aggression.  Hiroko breathed in and grasped her husband’s arm in fear.  The Feltsmans were not exaggerating when they warned them about Viktor’s father.  Mari watched the entire scene with wide eyes. She could almost feel the hair at the back of her neck rise.  

“Nikiforov, stop this at once!” Yakov stood up as well, followed closely by Lilia.

“I will once your friends start disclosing everything.  Where is my son?”

Hiroko was absolutely baffled. “How on Earth would we know?!  We’re trying to find our Yuuri too!”  

Andrei glared at her and Toshiya stood up as if to shield his wife from the taller man’s anger.  “Why would we know where your son is?”  Toshiya asked as he gestured to everyone else around the table.  “We have been searching out there the moment we heard that they were missing, and were about to start searching again before you came!”

“Lies, all of it.  To think that you are all still putting up this act even now…”

Minako couldn’t stand it any longer. She stood up and slapped her hands on the table, leaning over.  “Look, I don’t understand what sort of twisted logic you have to think that we are intentionally hiding your son, but if you’re not going to help us then we’re going to leave right now and rejoin the search parties.”

Andrei took a deep breath in through his nose and glowered at the woman before his eyes flitted to something just over Minako’s shoulder, located in the display cabinet behind her.

“You dare deny it when the proof is located right behind you?!”  Andrei growled out as he stalked over to the cabinet and tore one of its doors open, causing all the delicate figurines and ceramic and porcelain china to rattle precariously.  He shot a hand inside to grab the ruby Fabergé egg and held it above him.  “This!  An heirloom worth millions, isn’t that what your family is after?”

“I…” Hiroko simply stared at him flabbergasted, her mouth opening but struggling to form words.

Lilia scolded the man. “Andrei, stop this! It was a gift!”  She yelled out the half-truth not wanting to get into the details of how Viktor had unwittingly given it to Yuuri in his courtship of the omega.  

Viktor’s father gave a hum of satisfaction. “Of course it is, that’s what they’re after, aren’t they?”  

“After what ?!” Minako screamed in exasperation.  She was very much tempted to slap the man’s face.  It was only Mari’s presence next to the man that held her back.  She didn’t want to risk the chance that the young teen would get hurt in the fray.

Andrei scowled at her.  “The money of course.  Your inn business here is obviously modest at best.  Once your son had gotten into Vitya’s school it was the perfect opportunity for you to take advantage of his and his peers’ generosity. And you have seen firsthand just how wealthy we are, haven’t you? Cannot stand to let go of such opulence without getting a taste of it yourself?  Such greed, not being able to resist climbing up the social ladder by association.”

“What in the world are you talking about, Nikiforov?!” Yakov spat out, already making his way around the table towards the man, Lilia and Toshiya trying to hold him back.  “How dare you accuse the Katsukis like that! Apologize at once!”

Mari and Minako took a few steps back, Minako grabbing Hima’s arm to drag her off her chair and out of the way in case the confrontation became physical.   

Andrei ignored his father-in-law and sneered. “And now you’ve involved my innocent Vitya in all your scheming.  So who was it going to be?  Who out of the two of you,” he gestured to Minako and Hima “was going to pretend that they were the one to finally ‘locate’ the two kids?”

“Pretend to do what?” Hima asked, the first time that she spoke out now that the man was involving her.

Andrei scoffed and placed the Fabergé egg on the table before running a hand through his bangs, turning his head to fix one azure eye to her.  “Pretend to be the one to find my son and Yuuri.  It would be the perfect ploy, no?  That would get you $20 million dollars.  So tell me, if I hadn’t offered the reward money were you the one who was going to write a ransom letter?”

Lilia had enough. “Andrei you have gone too far!  I don’t know what sort of madness has been plaguing your head since my Katya’s death, but this is a new low!  Don’t you dare make such senseless accusations.  The Katsukis have done nothing but support Vitya.  Their Yuuri is the reason why your son is happy again, truly happy!” Lilia’s shook with the violence of her emotions, her eyes alight with turmoil.  “You should have seen the way Vitya was after Katya’s death.  And for you to just leave, causing him to lose both parents in one day-!”

“Don’t you dare speak her name,” Andrei hissed, cutting off Lilia’s tirade.  He gritted his teeth, breathing in heavily and obviously struggling to calm himself down.   “Never speak her name!”

Lilia’s expression slowly turned from anger to a wretched sort of sorrow.  She pursed her lips and turned away, reigning in her tears and refusing to let them fall.  “You were not the only one who lost her that day…” she whispered.  Yakov placed a comforting hand on her forearm, glaring back at his son-in-law as if daring him to speak again.  

Hima scrutinized Andrei with an indiscernible expression.

Silence settled then as everyone in the room got weighed down by the mayhem of emotions.  Outrage, confusion, frustration, and indignation cut open old wounds between the Feltsmans and Andrei, rubbing them raw with a burn that neither party could shake off.  

Mari finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief when it looked like the worst was over.  It appeared that everyone was slowly calming down.  

The doorbell rang just then and Hiroko quickly ran down the hall to answer it.  

“That must be Officer Jones,” Natalya commented.

Andrei clenched his fists once more and straightened his shoulders to prepare himself to talk to the newcomer.  They’d better have new information on his son otherwise he’ll start hiring men of his own.  If the Katsukis refused to cooperate, he’ll just have to find his son himself.

Hiroko returned shortly followed by a balding middle-aged black man who took off his hat as his eyes swept across the room before settling on Andrei.  “You must be Mr. Nikiforov. I'm Mr. Jones, the police chief.”

“What news do you have?”

“We have finally searched all the remaining towns within the county.  We’ll be extending the search further.  There’s many more volunteers today compared to yesterday since news have spread nationally now.”

“Internationally, actually,” Andrei said as he swiped his gloves off the table to put them back on again.  “That’s how I found out.  It’s all over Russia, and likely all of Europe as well.” He walked up to the chief of police.  “You will take me to where the scent trail ended.”

Officer Jones nodded his head.  “Very well, we were about to go back there anyway.”  Andrei and Natalya followed him back out.  

“We should go too,” Hiroko said.  She turned around to her daughter.  “Mari-chan please stay here and rest, okay?  Go and eat.  We’ll call you with updates.”  

Mari sighed as she watched everyone get up and put don their jackets.  It was so frustrating not being able to do anything.  

‘I don’t care how mean he is.  If he’s the one to find Yuuri and Viktor, I’ll be happy.’  She said to herself as she watched everyone make their way outside.  She closed and locked the door before she made her way to the window overlooking the driveway, leaning her forehead against the cold glass.  “Please find them soon.”

---

Andrei could feel himself getting increasingly anxious as Officer Jones drove them to the location.  The streets began to get more and more familiar as the minutes passed.  Finally, they pulled up to what would have otherwise been a quiet residential street.  It was currently blocked off to local traffic and filled with several police cars with the occasional homeowner watching curiously from their lawns and porches at the proceedings.

He and Natalya got out of the car and followed the man, silently observing how the other officers greeted their superior before turning back to what they were doing.  The woman looked behind her to see the Katsukis and Feltsmans park their car nearby, making their way towards them.  

Officer Jones stepped up the sidewalk and the three walked down to the end of the street.  He finally stopped at the street corner, gesturing to the space before them.  “Here, this is where their tracks ended.”

Natalya frowned.  “When you say end…”

“Just that ma’am. The scents stop here abruptly.”

“So you imply that they were abducted.”

Officer Jones sighed and rubbed a hand to his temple.  “Unfortunately all the signs are pointing to it, yes.”

The growing sense of foreboding at the pit of his stomach was getting more difficult to ignore.  Andrei looked around at the surrounding houses.  It still didn’t feel right and he knew that it wasn’t simply his refusal to believe that his son was kidnapped.  He ignored the sound of footsteps behind him as the Katsukis and Feltsmans caught up to them.  There was a small voice inside his head that he refused to acknowledge- a voice that whispered of a possibility that perhaps the Katsukis were innocent after all.  Because why else would they still deny it?  They could have easily taken the money he offered back in their house.  Was it because they were unsatisfied with the amount?  Were they still stalling, waiting for him to offer more, $30, $40, $50 million?  

He steeled himself.  Either way, he was going to search for his son.  And he knew just where to start looking.  

“There’s a park near here… have you looked there?”

Officer Jones nodded.  “If you mean Dunsfeld Park then yes.  We started searching a bit the day before but didn’t get the chance to comb through completely.”

“I’m going there,” Andrei set off in the direction, strides long and confident.  Natalya jogged over to catch up with him.  “Would you like me to get a car to take us there, sir?”

“No need. It’s close enough to go by foot.” Not to mention that he wanted to take the chance to keep his eyes peeled for more clues that he would otherwise miss by taking a car.

Yakov muttered an oath and ran to catch up to his son-in-law, Lilia right by his side and the Katsukis, Hima, and Minako not far behind. “Why that park?” Yakov asked as he stared at Andrei, growing frustrated when the man wouldn’t look his way.  “Nikiforov, answer me!”

“I used to take Vitya to that park,” the man finally answered, his words soft.  His eyes took on a faraway look as he recalled memories of days past.  “We would go together especially when Katya was away. It was a chance for me to spend time with him. Father and son, alpha to alpha.”  

Yakov grew quiet and slowed his pace, giving the man his space.  For once he decided not to provoke Andrei further.  Behind them, Officer Jones gestured to a group of nearby policeman to follow them as he joined the Katsukis.  They should take advantage of the remaining hour of daylight.  

“As much as I hate the man, I hope that his hunch is right,” Minako said as she walked beside Hima, the Katsukis in front of them.  “Now that I think about it, it’s not so farfetched that the two would take shelter in a park.”  

A couple more minutes of walking and they finally reached the entrance of the park.  Hiroko frowned at seeing how it had obviously seen better days, the cobblestone paths crumbled and the grass overgrown and unkempt.  

“This park used to be very popular when I was a kid, but as you can see not many people come here anymore,” Officer Jones remarked as they continued to follow Andrei and Natalya.  He gestured to two of his men.  “You go to the path on the right.  Let me know if you see anything. The rest of you come with me as we follow Mr. Nikiforov.  Remember to be systematic because we’re unlikely to finish searching this entire place tonight. We need to know where to pick up tomorrow.”

Lilia crossed her arms as they walked deeper into the park. Andrei had led them to a trail that had tall trees lining the path.  “A part of me can’t fathom how Andrei would willingly take Vitya here.  This park doesn’t look like anything that would live up to his high standards.”

“Perhaps the solace then,” Yakov remarked. “The park is clearly abandoned and we both know how antisocial Andrei can be.  If what he wanted was peace and quiet with his son then he would rather go here than any other place overrun with people that he deems to be beneath him.”  

“Wait, where are you going?” Yakov and Lilia looked up upon hearing Toshiya’s voice to see Andrei get off the trail and into the forest.  

“Nikiforov?  What the hell are you doing now?” Yakov muttered as they followed.  

“There’s an abandoned shed in the middle of this park that Vitya and I would use to store our gear when we’d go camping here.”

Hiroko and Toshiya looked at each other silently, filled with a renewed hope. Everyone picked up their pace, eager to make it to this shed before it got dark.  Twilight was already upon them.  The policemen must have thought the same thing as they retrieved their flashlights from their belts and shone them across their path, keeping an eye out for any clues.  

After several more minutes of walking the group rounded a bend of trees and entered a glade.  In the middle of the clearing was an old shack that, just like the rest of the park, had long since fallen in disrepair. Hiroko and Lilia gasped almost in unison as they all ran ahead towards the structure, Andrei in the lead.

“Wait, Mr. Nikiforov, don’t! What if the kidnapper’s inside?!”  Officer Jones called out as he and his men ran forward, guns drawn.  The father ignored them as he swung the door open.  The officers caught up to him, pointing their flashlights into the shack over his shoulder.

Andrei frowned and wordlessly grabbed at the flashlight of the officer closest to him, using it to light his way as he went inside.  The Feltsmans and Katsukis followed with Natalya, Minako, and Hima staying outside due to the lack of room.

Andrei’s eyes swept over the used sleeping bags under the makeshift blanket fort, the empty bags of snacks that littered the table, and the two overstuffed backpacks by the door.  

“Oh God! That’s Yuuri’s!” Hiroko gasped.  She pushed her way past Andrei and kneeled down on the floor, clutching the bag and weeping.  

Andrei gave a grimace at the woman’s overt display of emotion.  He looked down as the corner of his eyes spied something bright that his flashlight shined upon the table.  He walked over to see a white tube left near its edge and picked it up. His eyes widened in recognition.  “This is Katya’s…” he whispered to himself.  

Yakov turned to him, “What did you say?”

Andrei held the item up.  “This is Katya’s scent-masking cream.”

"You mean to say that they've been trying to hide all this time?" Natalya asked.  

“Of course, prescription strength scent-masking cream would cover up their tracks like that,” one of the police officers said in realization.  “Wow, those are some damn smart kids.”

Had the situation not been so dire Andrei’s chest would have visibly puffed up with pride.  Instead he simply said, “Of course my Vitya is smart. He is my son after all.”

“Oh shut up, Nikiforov,” Yakov groaned.

“But the fact remains that they’re still missing,” Lilia said as she wringed her hands.  Yes she was ecstatic at this new development, but they still have yet to find the two kids and it was now dark outside.  

Andrei nodded and made his way back out, Officer Jones following him as well as the Katsukis and Feltsmans.

“Well they can’t be that far from here,” the chief of police said as he flashed his light beyond the trees.  Just then they heard two high-pitched screams echo from the distance. “What the hell?”

“Oh my God! Vitya!” Lilia gasped and grabbed Yakov’s hand.  “We must go!”

“That must be them,” Toshiya said with worried eyes.  

“Well come on, no time to waste!” Minako yelled as she took off.  Andrei quickly caught up and passed her.  He could hear Officer Jones commanding his men behind them.  It was good that they decided to come along.  No matter what happens, they will have back up nearby.  For awhile the only sounds he heard were the crunches of dead leaves and twigs being broken under his feet, and the footsteps of everyone else behind them as they gave chase.  One minute passed in this manner and he got worried that they were going in the wrong direction when the screams picked up again once more, and this time they sounded closer.

He pushed aside two evergreen shrubs to find a plastic bag with apples and bread rolls laying discarded on the trail.  The screams continued again and he looked up to see the outline of a tall outcropping of rocks loom before them. He ran towards the source of the shouts, the volume getting louder and louder as he got closer.  He abruptly stopped, almost tripping when he found a black bear.  It was growling and clawing at something at the base of the rocks.

“VITYA!” Came a desperate, high-pitched scream.

Andrei’s eyes grew wide as he sprinted towards the bear, for once having no plan and running completely on instinct.  

“Mr. Nikiforov wait!”

“Oh my God, Yuuri! Viktor!” Hiroko yelled aghast at the sight before her.  Even though she could not see the children she knew that they must be behind the hulking creature.  

“Vitya…” Lilia’s voice ended in a choked breath.  Yakov was yelling obscenities beside her.

Andrei stopped just feet away from the bear and picked up a large branch from the ground. He brandished it wildly and yelled, instantly getting the bear’s attention focused on him.  The creature growled and stepped to the side, away from the outcropping.  It seemed to be intimidated by him as it began to back off.  

“Good, the bear’s starting to move away. Everyone try to make a lot of noise so we can scare it off!” Officer Jones began yelling and waving his arms, the others following his lead as they made their way closer as a group towards Andrei and the bear.  The creature must have sensed the danger before it as it turned around and scrambled off between two shrubs and out of sight.  

“Keep an eye out for the bear,” Officer Jones commanded his men.  “If it comes back and looks like it’s about to attack, shoot it.”

Andrei dropped the branch as he ran the few remaining feet to the outcropping. He could see a fissure in its base now where the two children must have tried to hide.  Even though the imminent danger of the bear was gone he actually grew more terrified.

For why would there be so many screams from the two boys earlier only for there to be silence now?

No, it can’t be…

“Vitya!” He dropped to his knees before a pair of two legs clad in Kubo International’s uniform.  Andrei shone his flashlight into the fissure and swore when he found Vitya’s form laying prone inside. His jacket was torn in the pattern of the bear’s claws, downy feathers littering his chest and the ground around him.  He could not make out Viktor’s expression, for his long silver hair covered much of his face, his head turned to the side.  

“Vitya! Vitya wake up!” He made to pull the boy out gently and paused to see a pair of two small arms clasped around his son’s middle.  He shone the flashlight inside once again and his eyes widened to find another boy laying behind Viktor, his legs and chest beneath Viktor’s body.  The boy also appeared to have passed out since his eyes did not open even when he flashed the beam directly on his face.  It was Yuuri.

“Get an ambulance here, quickly!  We found them but they’re unresponsive!” Officer Jones barked out as the rest of the group gathered around them.  

“Yuuri! Oh my Yuuri!”  Hiroko wailed with her hands over her mouth as she watched Toshiya kneel down beside Andrei.  Hima wrapped an arm around her as Minako bent down beside Toshiya to see if she could help.  “Oh God, is he alright?!”

Andrei reached with shaking hands as he gently placed one underneath Viktor’s head, the other under his torso as he gently lifted the boy up and onto his lap.  He shook him again gently. “Vitya, wake up!”  The boy remained silent.  Andrei had never felt such fear before, not since the death of his Katya.  No, he refused to even entertain the possibility.  He may not be a religious man, but there was no way that God would take away his son, not at such a young age.  He himself may not deserve any kindness, but his son was innocent. Katya would never allow it.

Once he lifted Viktor off the other boy, Toshiya and Minako pulled out Yuuri’s prone form as well.  Hiroko hurried over to look at her son as Toshiya gathered him in his arms.  “Yuuri?  Please, wake up.  You’re safe now.” The boy remained still.  “Yuuri…?”  

Minako bit her lip and pressed a finger to Yuuri’s neck, feeling for his pulse.  She breathed out a sigh of relief as she found it, thrumming in a comforting rhythm and watched as the boy’s chest rose and fell.  “He’s alive, don’t worry.  Yuuri’s alive! Look, he’s breathing.”  Hiroko gave out a cry of relief as Toshiya smiled, the first time he had since the whole debacle started.  

Natalya bent over Andrei’s shoulder and did the same with Viktor.  “He’s alive sir.  His pulse is strong and look,” she gestured to the boy’s torn jacket.  “These look superficial. I don’t think the bear’s claws pierced through.”

An officer came running up.  “The ambulance is here! We’ve got stretchers.  We’ll have to carry them there since we couldn’t bring it down all the way here. We’re parked in a nearby trail.”

Andrei nodded and stood up, his son cradled gently in his arms.  Toshiya did the same with Yuuri as they walked towards the paramedics and allowed them to take over in strapping the two boys on separate stretchers.  The search had finally come to an end.  Now all they can do is continue to pray as they hope that both boys will wake up soon.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 21: To Tie Up Loose Ends

 Waking up and winding back down to reality

Phichit thought that things were bad enough as is the moment the grownups separated Yuuri from them.  He was proven wrong though when Viktor and Yuuri ran away.  There was a heavy atmosphere of tension throughout the school, and he and his friends could feel themselves under the scrutiny of not only the rest of the student body, but the teachers and other staff as well.  Their judging stares were a constant nuisance.  His only comfort was that he was not alone in this.  He and his friends stuck together even closer than before.  Recess was now held indoors, so the group of alphas, betas, and in Guang Hong’s case, omega would sit in the corner of the gym away from the other students.  Even Takeshi stayed by their side and glared openly at anyone who looked their way.  

Although he hasn’t seen it himself, he heard snatches here and there of how the school hired contractors to repair the fence.  There were also plans apparently to further remodel it once the weather got warmer.

Even though the rest of their peers were suspicious of them, thinking that they were somehow involved in helping the two run away, the school officials and police already knew better and no longer bothered them after that one afternoon they spent in Principal Obayemi’s office right after the news broke out.  In the end, it was Yuuri’s note that had absolved them of any guilt.  Apparently they ran some tests, something to do with DNA and fingerprints that confirmed the authenticity of the note.  

It was just like Yuuri to help his friends even when he was gone.

Phichit started crying happy tears when his Ma had told him the news that the two were found.  He had been staying upstairs in his room ever since he got back home, not wanting to hear more of the news of the frantic search for his friends.  It was just too much.  At one point his parents even left to help in the search and left his grandma behind to watch over him.  

Imagine his surprise when his Ma tore his bedroom door open and said that the Katsukis and Feltsmans found Yuuri and Viktor themselves.  He joined her immediately downstairs where his Pa already had the television turned to the evening news.   Phichit quickly scooted over and sat at his Pa’s feet in front of the sofa.  His Ma took the seat beside his Pa.

A blonde female reporter sat in the news station’s desk.  The headline below her read “Missing Children Found.”

“Many of us can finally rest easy tonight knowing that Yuuri Katsuki and Viktor Nikiforov were finally found a little over one day of searching.  The seven-year-old boys were discovered to be missing shortly after their lunch periods on Friday and a frantic search for the two has called on many policemen and volunteers.  Earlier today, Yakov Feltsman had made an announcement on behalf of Viktor’s father, Andrei Nikiforov, that a ten million dollar reward would be given for the safe return of either child.  So who is the lucky recipient of that reward?  Don has more on the story.  Don?”

The screen switched over to an older man who stood in front of a park entrance.  Phichit couldn’t make out too much of the background since the camera’s spotlight focused mostly on the reporter, but he could make out the yellow tape that blocked the general public from the entrance.

“Good evening Sandra, I’m here at Dunsfeld Park at Kensfield Heights, located approximately 2 miles away from Kubo International School, where Yuuri Katsuki and Viktor Nikiforov are both students.  Details are still coming in, but it appears that there will be no reward recipient tonight since sources have told us that it was the Katsukis and Feltsmans themselves, together with Mr. Nikiforov, who found the two children.

“I have interviewed several policemen at the scene earlier and was informed that it was a very dramatic rescue.  The two children were attacked by a bear and the families and police had to scare the creature away.”   Don made a gesture to the person behind the camera and it panned to give the audience a view of the police cars and ambulances parked beside them.   “It appears that the children may have suffered injuries and are now being taken to a local hospital.”  

“Any official word on their condition?” Sandra asked from the station.  

Don shook his head.   “None yet, but we were informed just minutes ago that an official press conference will be held in a few minutes-”  The screen blacked out as the television was turned off.

“Hey!”  Phichit had cried indignantly, turning around to see the remote in his Pa’s hand.  “Pa, why did you turn it off?! I wanna find out what happened to Yuuri and Viktor!”

“I’m sure they’re fine, Phichit,” the man said, looking at his wife and communicating to her silently.  Phichit frowned when he saw his Ma nod in response.  

Phichit was about to protest when his Ma placed her hands under his armpits to pick him up and off the floor. “Come, it’s bedtime for you anyway.”

“But Ma!”  

“You heard what the reporter said. Nothing is official yet. Rest easy now that Yuuri and Viktor are safe.”

Phichit squirmed in her grasp and looked over her shoulder to find his Pa turning the television back on but muting the volume. It was not fair! “But Ma, they said they had to take them to the hospital! They got injured!”  A cold wave of fear washed through him and he tensed as his Ma carried him the upstairs.  “What if they got hurt?  Like really, really hurt?!”  As strong and brave Viktor was, there was no way that he was a match for a bear.  

“I’m sure they’re fine.  They would have announced something right away if it was serious,” Lamai lied as she balanced her son on one arm so she could use the other to push his bedroom door open.  She deposited her son on his bed and tucked him in.  “Now, if you’re really good and you sleep well tonight, I’ll find out what hospital they’re in so we can go visit them tomorrow, okay?”

Phichit finally quieted and nodded his head frantically. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay.”

It turned out, though that both families wanted some privacy and therefore politely turned down Lamai’s suggestion for a visit.  To say that Phichit was upset was an understatement.

“They assured me that everything was fine, sweetie. I talked to Yuuri’s Ma herself,” she hugged her son.  “Apparently Yuuri just woke up and is still feeling a bit disoriented so they want to make sure he has his energy back before welcoming visitors.”

Phichit had simply given a sullen sigh all while he was internally screaming in frustration.  So Sunday had come and gone and the only thing he looked forward to was the possibility that both boys would be back in school.  Hence, another disappointment when the bell rang that Monday and there was still no Viktor in his desk.   

“Do you think they’re okay?” Guang Hong finally spoke up and broke the silence during recess.  He had ran into Kenjirou earlier and confirmed that Yuuri had also not returned to school.

“My Ma says they are.  But if they’re really okay, why can’t we visit them?”

“Are you even sure that they’re still in the hospital?” Mila asked.  “Maybe they already went home and are just resting there.”

“I guess that’s possible,” Georgi said as he rested his head on bent knees.  

The friends sighed almost in unison, each and every one of them just eager to see either friend back.

“VITYA!”

Yuuri was only half aware that the scream came from his own lips as he watched the bear’s claws descend.  Viktor’s jacket was torn once more and Yuuri whimpered when he felt the claws pierce his own skin as he was clutching Viktor tightly.  The bear swung its arm again and managed to land another hit, causing Viktor to be tossed to the right.  Yuuri gasped as he watched the alpha’s head hit the stone wall.  There was a grunt, then silence.  He became a dead weight in his arms.

Yuuri whimpered as he struggled to hold Viktor up.  He could have sworn he heard screams in the distance but he wasn’t so sure anymore if that was himself screaming again.  The poor boy panicked as he swept away Viktor’s bangs to find his eyes closed.  “Vitya?” He whispered.  He placed a gentle hand behind Viktor’s head and gasped when it felt wet.  He tore his hand away and held it up to his eyes. There was a dark substance on it.  Although it was almost completely dark he could smell it clearly.

It was blood.  Viktor’s blood.  

Yuuri began hyperventilating. His vision began to narrow, the edges turning black.  It was getting harder and harder to breathe.  Any moment, he knew he would pass out.  His last memories were of him crying and holding on to Viktor as tightly as he could. 

He would do anything to take it all back.  If he knew that running away would lead to this… with Viktor getting hurt, he would have never followed through. He would have happily stayed alone and been good in his separate homeroom, away from his mate and friends.  

Anything to get Viktor back.  

After that everything was black.  Every now and then he could feel snatches of light shine upon his eyelids and could feel his body moved to and fro as someone moved him.  He could have also sworn he heard Okaa-san and Otou-san’s voices… even Minako-sensei’s.  They sounded worried and he felt a fresh wave of guilt flow through him as he thought of how much trouble he put them through.  Does this mean that he and Vitya were found?  How long have they been gone again?  

Yuuri always had trouble sensing how much time passed after his panic attacks.  Was he out for a day? Two days? Three days?  A week?  No matter what happened, he just hoped that Viktor was okay.  The alpha was the constant center of Yuuri’s mind and his thoughts would constantly gravitate back towards his mate’s welfare.  

He had to convince his parents not to get Viktor into trouble. He didn’t know how they would take it when they found out that it was Viktor’s idea.  He didn’t want more grownups mad at Vitya.

The scent of the forest went away to be replaced by a sterile scent.  It was unsettling, the artificial smells that came from medicines, machinery, and antiseptics that hung like a suffocating cloud over the more disturbing smells of sickness and pain.  He whimpered when he felt something sharp pinch his arm.  There were more words, muffled and incoherent from above.  Then something soft and warm covered his left hand.  

“Yuuri-chan, we’re right here, okay?  Just please wake up soon.”

That was Okaa-san.  Was she crying?   ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to make you cry.  I just wanted to be with Vitya again.’

Time passed again before Yuuri finally felt himself rise back to full consciousness.  Sounds became more distinct, smells became stronger, and he was finally aware of how heavy his arms felt, how weighed down he was by fatigue.  Even his eyelids felt heavy and he moaned a bit as he struggled to finally open them.

There was a gasp to his left. The hand holding his tightened.  “Yuuri-chan?”

“Yuuri!”

He mumbled something.  He wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say, but it was frustrating looking at the blurry figures all around him.  Did his glasses get lost in the forest?

“Oh, he must be looking for his glasses. Here,” came Minako-sensei’s voice as the blurry figure on his right side leaned over with something in its hands until Yuuri felt his glasses perched again on the bridge of his nose.  He blinked twice.  Now everything was clear.  He winced at the sight of his Okaa-san clearly having cried earlier.  Her eyes were reddish and puffy.  His Otou-san behind her misinterpreted his wince for pain.

“Are you hurting, Yuuri-chan?  Tell us where it hurts and we’ll get the doctor for you.”

Yuuri shook his head.  “‘M okay…”  

“You better be telling us the truth, Yuuri.  Are you sure you’re really okay?” Came a stern voice and Yuuri turned his head almost up to see his sister peering down at him.  

“Mari-neechan.”

“How’re your hands, Yuuri-chan?  Do you need any pain medicine?”

Yuuri blinked and looked down to see both covered in bandages.  At his confused look, Toshiya explained.  “They said it looked like claw marks.  You gut some cuts, but thankfully nothing too deep that requires stitches.”

“Either way, we should get the doctor and tell him that he’s awake.  I’ll go.” Minako made her way across the room and out the door, closing it softly behind her.

“You had us so worried, Yuuri-chan.”  Hiroko whispered in a broken voice.  

“I’m sorry.  I just wanted to be with Vitya again.”  Speaking of Viktor…

Mari sensed his thoughts and softly patted his head.  “He’s okay, Yuuri.  He’s just in another room down the hall.  He’s asleep too.”

“Is he hurt?”

“Just a little bump from when you guys were hiding from the bear, but nothing serious.” Toshiya spoke up.  The tension finally left his shoulders and he allowed himself to finally relax into the chair that Minako just vacated.  “Please, Yuuri-chan promise us that you’ll never do something like that again.”

Yuuri paused for a moment but finally nodded.  “I promise.”  After their stunt lead to Viktor getting hurt he would never willingly do something like that again.  Even if it meant bearing with the misery of being separated from his mate.  “Are you mad?” He asked in a wavering voice, ducking his head away from their stares.  

Hiroko sighed.  “No, we’re not mad Yuuri-chan.  We were just really worried when you and Vitya-chan ran away.  But you’re both okay now and that’s all that matters.” She leaned over and finally gave her son a hug.  Yuuri cried in her arms.  It just wasn’t fair.  Why couldn’t he have his family and Vitya too?  

Their embrace was interrupted by Minako returning in the room with an elderly man in a white coat behind her.  The man had a kind smile and exuded a calming aura.  “Ah, there he is.  Our sleeping beauty is finally awake.”  He adjusted his half-moon glasses on his nose and walked up to his patient.  “How are you doing, young man?”  

Nonetheless Yuuri was always wary of strangers.  “I’m okay…” he whispered shyly.  

“Good, good.  Now if you don’t mind, can you follow my finger?” He moved his index finger in a straight line across, then up and down, then diagonally.  Yuuri tracked its movements with his eyes.  

“Alright, now try not to blink, I just have to shine some light on your eyes and see how they look.” The doctor retrieved a penlight from his pocket and turned it on, moving it from the side of either eye.  “Good, pupils are intact and responsive.”

“Now, can you tell me your name?”

“Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov.”  

That caused the old doctor to stammer.  “I-I’m sorry?”

Mari groaned beside him and his parents and Minako-sensei gave embarrassed laughs.  “It’s just a little game the two play,” Minako explained to the doctor.  “They like to play house and pretend they’re married.”

“I see,” the doctor laughed good naturedly.  “Ah kids.  That’s why I love pediatrics so much even after all these years.  Such innocent youngins they are.” He turned back to Yuuri.  “Now Yuuri, can you tell me where you are and what date it is?”

“I’m in a hospital right?”  Yuuri paused as he looked out the window.  It appeared to be midday.  “I’m not sure what day it is though, but I think it’s still December.”  

“Well he seems to still be oriented.  I can’t blame the poor boy for not really knowing what date it is, so I’m not going to count that against him.  Since he’s up, I’m going to discontinue his IV and once he feels up to it I encourage you all to call our nutritional services and bring up a small meal.  I’ll be back later, but I’ll update his chart right now.  If he does well after the meal, you’re all free to go.”

His parents and Minako-sensei murmured their thanks as the doctor made quick work of retrieving the IV from his arm and placed a colorful bandage.  Yuuri flexed his hands.  

Hiroko leaned back and smiled.  “I think I’ll take this time to quickly update Lamai and your other friends, Yuuri.  They’ve been worried the past few days too.” Yuuri nodded. Right, his friends.  In all the mess he felt guilty that he had almost forgotten about them. 

A few minutes passed, the grownups having some light conversation.  As curious as they were for more details of how Yuuri and Viktor escaped, they knew it was too soon.  Yuuri needed to recuperate and bringing up memories of a stressful time (albeit considerably waaaay more stressful for them than the two children) would likely be detrimental to that.  And so they talked about how they could open their inn again to reservations, of the upcoming holiday season and the gifts they still had to buy for friends and family.  

The door opened softly and an Indian woman entered carrying several plastic bags.  She looked over the room, taking notice of the happier atmosphere before her brown eyes settled on Yuuri.  A smile spread across her face. “Oh, he’s awake!”  

Yuuri simply stared back at her curiously, wondering if she worked in the hospital.  

Toshiya stood up to help Hima with the bags, placing them on the small table.  “This is Hima, Yuuri, one of Minako-sensei’s friends from school. She came all the way from London to help you and Viktor.”

Now Yuuri was really curious.  “What do you mean help me and Vitya?”

The woman gave him a kind smile and walked up to him.  Yuuri blushed as he watched her scrutinize something around him, her eyes seemingly darting to various places above his head, then to his sides, and then finally to his chest.  Hima turned back to address his father.  “Your son has an old soul, Toshiya.  It’s been through several lifetimes.  I’ll just need Viktor here too.”

‘An old soul?  What does that mean?’ He looked up to see if his sister understood but she appeared to be just as befuddled by the odd statement as he was.   ‘And why does she need Vitya?’

Toshiya untied the plastic bags and peered inside.  “Lunch is here.  Here’s one for you, Minako,” he passed one styrofoam takeout box to the woman.  “And here, you eat too Mari-chan.”  His sister nodded and walked away from Yuuri’s side to get the food.  “Do you feel up to eating, Yuuri-chan?”

Yuuri nodded eagerly causing the grownups to chuckle.  

“Alright, I’ll go order from nutritional services. I think it’s best to go with their food for now to be safe.”  

His own tray of food arrived a few minutes later and his mother returned.  “All your friends say ‘hi’ Yuuri and hope to see you soon.”  Hiroko smiled as she shared a takeout box with Toshiya.  The next few minutes passed in comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional slurping of noodles as everyone enjoyed the Chinese takeout.  

Minako sighed in satisfaction and she tossed the empty container into the trash.  She turned to see Yuuri almost done with his food, fiddling with the blanket with his one hand and nodding his head to something his sister was saying.  “Now that you’re awake, let me show you who else has been waiting to see you,” Minako gave a mischievous smile as she leaned over to retrieve something from a bag.  Yuuri watched her curiously and gasped once she turned around to reveal the item.  

“Vicchan!”

Toshiya laughed as Yuuri reached his arms out for the plushie and hugged it to his chest instantly.  Yuuri buried his head into the fake fur, taking comfort in the traces of Viktor’s scent.  As always it was a poor substitute for the alpha but it was better than nothing.  

‘Vitya, please wake up soon.’

---

Andrei stared at his son’s still form on the hospital bed.  It was disturbing. Viktor had always been full of energy, all movement and boundless exuberance with the vitality of youth.  He could talk a mile a minute about anything and everything that captured his attention.  But this?  The silent, motionless boy before him was not his son.  

“Sir?” Natalya asked softly behind him.  “Are you sure you don’t want eat?  It’s already been several-”

“I’m fine.  You can go get yourself something.”

The assistant sighed and excused herself.  She would still get something for him.  Hopefully once the food is in front of him the man won’t be able to refuse.  It reminded her starkly of the dark days that passed after Yekaterina’s death.  In the last few weeks, Andrei had finally started showing signs of recovery and for this to happen now…

It didn’t help that the doctors couldn’t come up with a good explanation for why Viktor was still unconscious.  They determined back in the ambulance that the cut at the back of his head was shallow, and when he still didn’t wake up, they did a CT scan over an abundance of caution which ended up not revealing any acute abnormalities.  They all pinned it down to a case of shock, for who could blame a poor child for not being overwhelmed after almost being mauled by a bear?  

“Just go, Natalya,” Yakov grunted from his seat on the armchair beside the window, Lilia sitting on the window’s ledge. “No sense in you starving yourself just because my bastard son-in-law refuses food.”

Natalya wisely chose to remain quiet as she stepped out of the room.  She went to the hospital’s cafeteria first, but after perusing the limited selections, decided to try her luck in looking for a restaurant nearby.  Finding a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away suited her just fine. It was definitely not the fine dining she was used to, but she did not care enough to venture further. She stepped into the small space and walked up to the counter.

“Hello,” came a voice beside her.

Natalya turned and her eyes widened at seeing the familiar face.  It was the friend of the Katsukis.  Well, just because her boss was rude to them earlier did not mean that she had to follow his example.  She nodded her head. “Good afternoon.”  

“Here to get food as well?”

“Yes.” She looked at the menu above the counter and frowned as she perused the dishes.  “Ah… would you recommend anything to me? I can’t say that I’ve eaten in these sorts of places often.”

“Well you usually can’t go wrong with Happy Family.”

Natalya looked at the woman to see if she was making some sort of jab at the Nikiforov’s less than ideal family situation.  “I beg your pardon?”

But Hima blinked innocently back.  “Happy Family.  It’s a mixture of broccoli, carrots, baby bamboo, chicken, shrimp… I’ve ordered several of those for myself and the Katsukis.  You should try it.”

“What a strange name to call a dish.”  Natalya turned back as one of the cooks came to the front to take her order.  “I’ll have what she ordered.  Four please, for carryout.” She might as well get some for the Feltsmans as well to be nice.  

“Mr. Nikiforov… has he always been withdrawn like this since his wife died?”

Natalya shot her a shocked look.  What a question to ask someone who was barely your acquaintance!  It was hardly any of the woman’s business.  

Hima gave a reassuring smile and backtracked.  “I apologize. I know I must come across as very forward, but from reading your personality it hardly seems like you are the type who likes to circle around. So I decided to go straight to the point.”

“Mr. Nikiforov is… he is a very reserved man.  And with these circumstances…”

“Half his soul is missing.  It is a burden too terrible for anyone to bear.  But for his wife to pass away so suddenly...”  Hima sighed as she shifted her weight to the other foot and leaned against the counter.  She has been waiting for several minutes already before Natalya arrived.  “It is the reason why Mr. Nikiforov stays in Russia, yes?  The late Mrs. Nikiforov was buried there?”

Natalya paused and hesitated in answering her question.  But it wasn’t exactly something private and could easily be looked up in public records.  “Yes, she’s buried in the family cemetery together with the other Nikiforovs.  Mr. Nikiforov had to fight for it too, since so many from the family disapproved of their marriage in the first place.”  

Hima nodded in understanding and placed a hand under her chin as she contemplated.  The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together.  “Being close to the place where the physical body was buried makes it easier for the widowed half to bear the pain of a severed bond.”

‘Bond?  What sort of nonsense was this woman spouting?’ “I don’t understand what you mean…”

“I can explain, but I cannot guarantee that you will believe it. Many people don’t.”  She turned back to the counter and started drawing a pattern on it with her finger distractedly.  “I study soulmates, you see.  Everyone on this Earth has a fated soulmate and each pair develops a bond should they decide to spend the rest of their lives together.  Depending on how strong the bond is, it can dictate just how painful the separation will be should they not die together.  Not many people recover from it well.  I’m imagining that this is what’s happening to Viktor’s father.”  

Natalya kept quiet as she took in the woman’s words.  As much as her first instinct is to laugh the woman’s theory off, she was raised to have an open mind and least of all, be polite.  

Hima smiled at her silence.  “Take the information however you wish.” The two ladies turned to watch as the cook from earlier came back with several plastic bags and handed it over to Hima.  “Thank you,” she said as she balanced the bags in both hands.  She looked into Natalya’s eyes one more time.  “I just hope that, for Viktor’s sake, Mr. Nikiforov recovers so he can truly be a father again.  I’m sure that’s what his wife would have wanted.  Viktor doesn’t deserve to lose both parents.  Take care, and please send my regards to the Feltsmans.”  The woman walked away with a wave and out the door.  

Natalya watched her through the glass windows until she stepped out of site.   ‘Yes, I’m sure that’s what Mrs. Nikiforov would have wanted too.’

---

“He looks so much like Katya.”  

The words were whispered so softly that Lilia almost thought that she imagined it.  However in looking at her husband’s shocked expression she knew that Andrei must have said the words.  It was very uncharacteristic of him to willingly speak of his wife--her daughter.  She recalled just how less than a day ago he raged against her even mentioning her name.  What brought this on?  She craned her head and caught a glimpse of the side of Andrei’s face.  The man’s head was bowed, his bangs hiding his eyes.  His posture made him look so vulnerable.  

“Why did you let him grow his hair so long?  He looks so much like her now.”  Andrei reached out with a shaking hand to brush away Viktor’s hair only to stop at the last minute and returning it back to rest in a clenched fist on his knee.  The action almost made Lilia cry out.   ‘Oh for God’s sake, Andrei, go and touch him! Go back to your son, he needs you so much!’  Her throat felt raw as she held back her frustration and her tears.  They were so close, and yet Andrei always held himself back.  This was the closest that they’ve been in so many months since that tragedy.  If Andrei would just take those last few steps…

“He wanted to grow it out.  Said that it helps him remember her.” Her husband said gruffly beside her.  Lilia reached out and placed a hand on Yakov’s arm.  

Andrei shook his head.  “So he’s sentimental then. Just like her.”  He hung his head.  “The news always reported him as being in the first grade.  Why would he still be there?  He should be in second grade by now.”

“Vitya missed a lot of school after… you know.   He could have easily made up his missed classes through home tutoring but he refused to leave his room for several days and he was hardly in a condition for any studying.  In the end, we decided to keep him back a year.  Chris, and if you recall his other close friends, Mila, and Georgi, they were all a year behind, so we felt that it would be better if he at least had close friends to anchor himself to once he went back to school,” Lilia explained.  

Andrei clenched his fists at hearing how torn Viktor was over Katya’s death.  He was always so close to his mother, and for a boy that young to be a victim of such a tragedy...It was inexcusable, it was unfair, and it was also why he had such a difficult time facing his son.   ‘Tell me Vitya, are you dreaming of your mother right now?  Is that why you are still asleep?’

As if hearing his thoughts, the boy on the bed groaned.  Lilia and Yakov perked up as Andrei almost visibly jumped at the unexpected sound.  

“Vitya…?”

“Nn… head hurts,” Viktor muttered as he blinked his eyes open.  Andrei stared wide-eyed as he looked in the mirror image of his own azure eyes.  

“Oh Vitya, thank God you’re finally awake!” Lilia cried happily as she rushed over to his side, Yakov standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder.  

“Why?  How long was I sleeping?” Viktor blinked as he turned to see a face that he has not seen in several months.  He gasped as his eyes widened in surprise.  Andrei was unaware that his were just as wide.  “Papa?”

Andrei’s heart skipped a beat.  “Vitya… you’re alright.”  He said a prayer mentally in his head thanking his wife for sending his son back to him.  

Viktor bit his lip and squirmed a bit, hesitating for a moment before he finally pouted and held his arms out.  “I want a hug.” He stared at his father’s eyes as if daring him to turn him down.  

Andrei let out a breath and smiled.  It was small, but it was the first genuine smile that graced his face in so many months.  He leaned over and enveloped Viktor in a hug, embracing him tightly while being mindful of his injury.  “My little Vitya,” he whispered.  He felt the small arms wrap around his back.  This… he missed this.  He sighed and nuzzled his nose against his son’s cheek taking in the comforting smell that was the perfect blend of his and Katya’s scents.  Viktor was the embodiment of their love, the only physical proof he had left that he was once blessed with having Katya in his life.  

“I missed you, Papa,” came Viktor’s voice in his ear.  

“I missed you too.”

That was the sight that greeted Natalya when she came back with the food.  She stood silently by the door, refusing to make any further move that would alert the two Nikiforovs and interrupt the moment. The Feltsmans looked up from where they stood.  In the end, Andrei pulled back but stayed by Viktor’s side as the doctor entered and did his quick check-up of the boy.  

“Things look well.  I’d say just have him eat and he should be discharged today if there are no issues.  Glad to have you back with us, Viktor.  I’ll go get the nurse to stop the IV drip okay?” He gestured down at the boy’s left arm which made Viktor just realize that it had a plastic tube sticking out of it. What the heck was this thing?   

Minutes later, everything was finally blissfully clicking back into place as Natalya distributed the food and everyone began eating.  Lilia could hardly believe their luck.  A clean bill of health, save for a cut that should heal with time… Andrei looking the liveliest that he’s been in months although it was very surreal to see him eat something as ordinary as Chinese food out of a takeout box.

Of course it had to come to an end.

“Where’s Yuuri?” Viktor asked while playing with the food on his tray.  

Lilia and Yakov tensed as they saw the hint of a smile leave Andrei’s face.  The man turned and shot his son a piercing look.  “Yuuri?  You mean that Katsuki boy?” Viktor remained oblivious to the glower that was now on his father’s face or the cold tone his voice took. “Why on Earth would you concern yourself over that boy?”

Viktor rolled his eyes. “He’s not just a boy, Papa, he’s my-”

“BEST FRIEND!  He and Yuuri are best friends!” Yakov barked out to cut off Viktor.  He gave his grandson a pointed look.   ‘Don’t you dare say that blasted four-letter m-word, Vitya!!!’

Viktor pouted while Andrei turned his ire over to Yakov.  “I would hope that from now on you and your wife will do a better job screening potential playmates from digging their greedy hands into my son.”

His father’s words caused Viktor to frown at him in confusion.  Greedy?  His Yuuri wasn’t greedy.  “But Yuuri’s nice, Papa, I love him!”  He reached up to grab his father’s hand.  “He’s okay right?  Is he here in the hospital?  Come with me so you can meet him! Yuuri’s super nice.”

Andrei tried to school away some of the anger from his face before turning around to address his son.  “I’d rather not, Vitya.”

“But why not?  He’s my mate.  He’s a Nikiforov now too, Papa!”  

‘Shit!’  Yakov took a deep breath as he and Lilia almost leaned away from Andrei.

Natalya blinked several times.  It appeared that Andrei was equally as bewildered because it actually took him a few seconds to speak up once again.  “Your… what?!”

Viktor beamed his heart-shaped smile.  “Yuuri’s my mate, Papa! I married him!”  

Natalya dropped her spoon on the floor as she stared agape at the young Nikiforov.

Andrei tore his gaze away from the exact copy of his mate’s smile.  He glared at Yakov and Lilia, his blue eyes frigid with outrage.  “Yakov, Lilia, I want to talk outside. Now.”  He stormed out the door.  

Viktor stared in confusion at his father’s retreating back.  “Why is he mad?” His Deda simply grumbled while his Baba bent down to give him a kiss on his forehead.  “Don’t mind your Papa right now, Vitya.  Just stay here while we have a grownup conversation, alright?”

“Fine…” He crossed his arms.  “But if you don’t come back quickly I’m going to find Yuuri myself.”  

Lilia sighed.  “Please, just stay here Vitya. We’ll visit Yuuri together later.”  She left to follow Andrei and Yakov.  

For a few awkward seconds everything was silent, the only other person in the room was Natalya who fidgeted in her chair.  Finally she stood up.  “I… I’ll join them as well. Please stay here, Viktor.”  

Viktor shook his head as he was left in the room. Grownups were so weird.  He fidgeted and crossed his arms as he watched the minutes pass on the clock at the opposite wall.  

Viktor scowled. Well this wouldn’t do.  The whole point of them running away was to be together again and now that they were caught the stupid grownups separated them once more!  He sure as heck did not go through all that planning, all that scent-masking cream, and ran away from a bear just so that they could separate him from his mate again.  Stupid grownups, when would they learn?!   The young alpha growled and ran a hand roughly through his hair and winced when it caught a tender spot on his head.  He pulled his hand back and frowned at seeing a bit of blood on his fingertips.  He must have gotten a cut back when they were trying to fight off the bear.  

He could worry about that later though. Right now he had Yuuri to find.  He took the time to look around him to find the hospital room empty save for a reclinable armchair, some weird beeping machine, and a weird metal thing that had an equally strange see-through plastic bag hanging on it which had a plastic tube that trailed into his arm.  The doctor said someone was supposed to come and remove it for him, but they haven’t arrived yet.  Viktor decided to just pull it out himself and winced when he withdrew the needle.  Blood began to trail down his arm.  He roughly wiped it away with his blanket, causing a macabre pattern on the otherwise pristine white cloth.

Okay. It looked like he was set to go.  He scrambled on his knees to the end of his bed to see that it was pretty high.  But nothing too high that an alpha like him couldn’t jump!  Viktor smiled and hopped down, beaming when he successfully cleared the first hurdle.  

He opened the door and peered out.  There were other rooms that must have been similar to his, all with closed doors.  A woman who looked like a nurse was walking at the end of the hallway, thankfully facing the other direction.  

Where could Yuuri be?  

He could hear some yelling in Russian, undoubtedly from his Papa and Deda.  They must be in another corridor just out of sight.  They should be careful though… if they keep it up, the hospital might kick them out!  Any other boy his age would be scared stiff by the loud voices but he had long since gotten used to his Papa and Deda fighting.  In a way, it was comforting in its familiarity.  His Baba always put an end to it somehow before it got too out of hand.

Viktor took a deep breath and quickly jogged down the opposite direction from the screaming, making sure to keep his steps light.  The floors felt so cold and hard under his bare feet.  He looked back and forth and noticed how all the rooms had names printed on it.  

Katsuki, Katsuki… he was looking for a Katsuki.  He reached the end of the hallway and was about to turn around to try the other direction when he found that there was another wing.  He might as well try there.  

And so Viktor went, his soft steps the only noise in the halls that was separate from the beeping of machines, unaware that there was another pair of eyes tracking his movement.  

Miller… Rooney… O’ Donnell… Chang… Katsuki!  There it was!  Viktor let out a triumphant whoop as he opened the door and rushed inside, surprising everyone in the room.  

“YUUUUUUURRIIIII!!!!!!”  He yelled as he ran past someone’s legs and made his way to the hospital bed in the middle of the room.  Yuuri was dressed in identical robes, appearing to be in the middle of eating.  He gasped and dropped his utensils as he saw Viktor pop into the room.

“Vitya!”  Yuuri beamed as he held out his arms.  Viktor grunted as he tried to hop onto the bed. It was just a bit too high and the alpha desperately tried to claw at the bedsheets to hoist himself up.

Minako chuckled at the sight before she walked on over and placed her hands around Viktor’s waist, lifting him up to the bed.  “Okay little Romeo, up you go.”

Viktor didn’t even bother to thank her, mind set on a single goal as he quickly scrambled over to Yuuri.  “Yuuuuuurrii!”  He enveloped the young omega in a fierce hug, Yuuri wrapping his arms around him just as tightly.  

“Vitya, you’re okay! I’m so happy you’re okay, I was so scared!”

“Ha, even a huge scary bear is no match for an alpha like me!”  

Hiroko and Toshiya shook their heads as they watched the two boys fondly.   It was clear to everyone in the room that the two should never be separated again.  Hiroko turned around when she heard a gasp and watched curiously as Hima covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes practically twinkling as she stared at the two young boys.  

“What is it, Hima?” Minako asked.  

“They’re one whole,” Hima smiled softly.  “It’s been so long since I’ve seen a pair so attuned with one another.  Not since my own parents…” She pinned a serious look at Hiroko and Toshiya.  “It’s no wonder that the two can’t stand to be without the other.  They’re both old souls, and they’ve bonded many lifetimes ago.  They are destined to meet each other time and again, and no intervention, no force in the mortal plane can ever separate the two.”

“When I get home, I’m going to get rid of all my teddy bears,” Viktor grumbled as he held on to Yuuri’s hands gently, taking in the bandages that covered the cuts that Yuuri sustained. “Bears are not cuddly or friendly.  I’m really sorry you got hurt, Yuuri.”

“I’m okay, Vitya, really!  They don’t even hurt at all.”  Yuuri sighed as he cuddled beside Viktor, for once ignoring everybody else’s presence. He normally wouldn’t be so affectionate with someone else in the room.  

“We’ll have to put up a good fight with the school,” Toshiya commented as Hima smiled at the two children.  She was clearly looking something no one else in the room could.  “And for us to succeed, we’ll need the Feltsmans on our side as well.”

---

“What is with this mate nonsense that my son is spouting?!”  Andrei ran a hand roughly through his bangs as he stepped  into Yakov’s space.  “What in the world are you teaching my son?!”

“We’ve taught your son nothing.  He got himself attached to that boy well on his own!”

“There is no way that my Vitya would do something like that! He may be friendly, but to claim that omega as his mate is just-”

“It is true, Andrei,” Lilia cut in, knowing that she’d have to stop his tirade unless they were to call attention to themselves. She looked around at the empty corridor.  “We had no role in introducing the two to each other. They’re classmates, that’s how they met.  Vitya was the one who introduced us to Yuuri.”

“I don’t like how he talks about that other boy.  He sounds too attached,” Andrei muttered.  “I’m right aren’t I?” He challenged.  

Lilia struggled to find the right words… to find something that would not be a complete lie but not the complete truth either.  “They’re… as Yasha said, they’re best friends.  He does treat Yuuri differently.”

Andrei shook his head and turned away, walking up to the floor-length window beside the elevator.  He placed an arm against the glass and leaned against it.  “This was a mistake.”

Yakov could have sworn that he felt his heart skip a beat.  “What?”

Andrei ran his other hand through his bangs once more.  “This… leaving Vitya here.  This was a mistake.”

Lilia let out a breath, her eyes widened in disbelief.  She took one step towards Andrei. “You can’t possibly mean-”

“I never say anything that I do not mean.  You know me better than that, Lilia.  Leaving Vitya here in America was a mistake.  I’m taking him back with me to Russia.”

Yakov clenched his fists.  “Now listen here, Nikiforov.  You can’t just leave your son to our care, for almost a year, go back to Russia and not even try to give any sort of contact, only for you to prance back into his life just to uproot him from everything he knows!”

“Andrei, please reconsider,” Lilia begged.  “You’re not thinking clearly right now.  I know these past two days have been trying, but don’t do anything rash.  Everything that Vitya knows is here.  This is the only place he’s ever known. For you to just move him to another country now, after he’s finally adjusted after losing his mother…It’s not right.”

“It will not be easy, but it will be the best for him in the long run.”  Andrei turned around and ignored the two, walking past them and back into Viktor’s room.  

“I can’t believe this…” Lilia whispered as she held on to Yakov’s hand.  

“I wouldn’t put us down as defeated just yet,” her husband said.  “Andrei’s got another storm to deal with if he thinks that Viktor will allow him to be dragged to Russia without a fight.  Let’s see how Nikiforov deals with his own brand of stubbornness.”

The two jumped at hearing Andrei punch the wall.  

“Nikiforov! What the hell are you-?”

“He’s gone!” The man stormed out, his eyes wild.  “Vitya’s gone!”

“What?” Lilia pushed past him and gasped at seeing the room empty.  Her heart began to race at seeing the blood splattered on the white blankets, the needle left on the side of the bed.  Viktor must have pulled it out himself.  “We should call security.  He couldn’t have gotten far.”

The sound of fast footsteps rounded the corner as Natalya peered into the room over Yakov’s shoulder. “Viktor went into the Katsuki’s room. I watched him go there.”

Andrei growled.  “This stops now.  Show me where.”  He followed Natalya around the corner into another wing.  Lilia and Yakov had to jog to catch up to his long strides.  They winced as the tall man slammed the door open.  

“Hi Papa!”  Came Viktor’s cheerful greeting from inside.  “Come meet Yuuri!”

“If the Katsukis aren’t enough to temper Andrei’s anger, please let Vitya work some sort of miracle,” Lilia whispered, barely loud enough for Yakov to hear as they pushed their way inside to a now crowded room.  He squeezed back her hand in comfort.  

Andrei was currently towering over the two boys at the foot of the bed, his back facing them.  Viktor was beckoning his father forward with one hand, the other arm holding Yuuri close to him.  The omega himself was looking up curiously at the newcomer.  Andrei’s posture looked tense and while they couldn’t see his face, Lilia knew that his expression must not have looked happy because everyone else in the room was on edge.  Toshiya inched closer to his son’s side, an arm reaching out slightly ready to shield his son at any moment.  Hiroko was next to him.  She pushed Mari behind her. Minako shuffled over at the opposite side of the bed, her eyes narrowed at Andrei.  

Viktor remained blissfully ignorant of the tension in the room and continued smiling over at his father.  “Come on Papa, don’t just stand there!  Meet my Yuuri!” He turned to the omega and said proudly, “This is my Papa, Yuuri.  Don’t be shy, he always just looks like that when you first meet him.”  

“Okay…” Yuuri whispered as he looked back at the man.  He frowned at the smaller boy but stepped closer, forcing Minako to step back as he made his way to Viktor’s side.  

“Vitya, we must talk.”  

“Okay, after you talk to Yuuri.  Here,” he grabbed Andrei’s hand and held Yuuri’s with the other, forcing the two to hold hands.  “Um… Papa, you’re supposed to shake his hand.” Viktor sighed as he moved his father’s hand up and down.  

Yakov swallowed a groan behind his hand.   ‘Vitya, damn the things this boy does!’

“Um… hi…” Yuuri whispered up at the man.  He had the same exact eyes as Viktor’s but they were piercing through him with a weird expression… almost angry.  Was he mad because he and Viktor ran away?  “I’m Yuuri.”

Andrei let go of the boy’s hand, not deigning him with a response.  He turned to address his son. “Vitya, no more of this mate nonsense.  You’re coming back with me to Russia.”  His statement was met with gasps, but none as loud as Yuuri’s.  The omega whimpered and held on to Viktor’s hand tighter.  

“Vitya…?  You’re leaving?!”  Tears began to fill the younger boy’s eyes.  

Viktor remained quiet, but the smile on his face quickly left and was replaced with a frown.  “What are you talking about?”

Andrei sighed and gestured uselessly at the area around them.  “This nonsense you keep talking of.  This talk of mates and running away.  I obviously made a mistake letting you go after your mother died.  I’ll keep a closer eye on you. And to do that you’re returning with me to Russia.”

Viktor clenched his fists and hugged Yuuri back.  “No, I’m not.  I’m staying here.”

“I wasn’t asking you, Vitya.”

“Well I’m telling you Papa that I’m not leaving.  I married Yuuri and he’s my mate.  Mates don’t leave each other.  That’s why we ran away, and I promise I’ll run away again if you try to separate me from him.”

Yuuri gasped as he hugged Viktor back.  He struggled to remain under control. The last thing he needed right now was another panic attack.  With his luck they would take the opportunity to leave while he was passed out.  He cannot let that happen.  “Please don’t take Vitya away.”  He whispered, not realizing that his words were loud enough to be heard throughout the room.  

“They’re not taking me anywhere Yuuri, don’t worry.”  Viktor reassured him as he glared back at his father.  “I’m not leaving Papa. I like it here. I wanna stay.”

“Vitya-” Andrei struggled to reason with his son.

“No.”

The man closed his eyes as he struggled to remain calm.  He had no problems showing his anger, but never in front of his son.  “Vitya this is non-negotiable.”

“I’m not trying to ne-negoti… whatever with you,” Viktor grumbled in frustration with the unfamiliar word.  “I’m staying right here with Yuuri and Baba and Deda.  You can stay here too if you want.”

“Vitya, you know I can’t do that.  Work-”

Viktor rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Yeah, work, I know.”  He had grown tired of that excuse a long time ago, even back when his Mama was alive.

“Vitya, don’t you dare take that tone with me.” Andrei growled over at his son.  Obviously the Feltsmans weren’t doing a good job either disciplining his son. He was being spoiled too much, becoming impudent this quickly.  All the more reason to bring him back to Russia where he can groom him into a proper alpha worthy of taking over his empire once he was ready to retire.  

“Andrei… can’t we just wait to finish this conversation at home?  This is hardly the place to be discussing this.”

“There’s nothing to discuss Baba, cuz I’m not leaving anywhere.”  Viktor said while not straying his eyes away from his father’s.  They were currently at a standstill.  

‘Ha!  How does it feel now, Nikiforov, dealing with your own brand of bullish stubbornness?  Vitya got it from you after all.’  Yakov thought almost gleefully as he took pleasure in seeing the usually composed alpha struggling to convince his son and failing badly.  

“I’m happy here, Papa. With Baba, with Deda, with Yuuri and all our friends.  I’m not leaving.” Viktor said before turning away from him and hugging Yuuri, petting the omega’s head as he tried to comfort the shorter boy.  Yuuri peered between Viktor’s arms with wide eyes at the man who had the power to shatter his world with his decision.

“Vitya…”

“It’s what Katya would want, Andrei,” Lilia spoke up finally, placing a hand on his shoulder.  She squeezed it to emphasize her next words.  “And you know this.”  

The words appeared to have taken the fight out of Andrei as he looked down at his son with torn eyes.  

Yakov stared at him from his place a few steps away.   ‘Yes, you know it very well Nikiforov.  Katya was the one who wanted to move here after all, to build a family here.  You made that promise to her.  And as much as I hate you, I know you are a man of your word.  Don’t go back on your promises now.’

“Fine Vitya, you’ll stay.”  Andrei shook his head, his expression indecipherable.  He whispered something to Natalya and the assistant nodded, following him back out the room.  

Viktor watched him walk away while half his face was still buried in Yuuri’s embrace.  He felt a pang of sadness that was only tempered with relief that he wouldn’t be torn from Yuuri’s side.  It was a familiar sight after all, watching his father walk away, his shoulders broad and his strides confident.

‘Goodbye, Papa.’   

Chapter Text

Chapter 22: Smile, You're on Camera!

 At the age of 7, Vitya handles the media buzz like a seasoned celebrity

Yakov and Andrei were alone in front of Viktor’s hospital room while Viktor, Natalya, and Lilia were inside with the doctor as they completed the discharge process.  The two men could hear the murmuring beyond the closed door.

“I’m flying back tonight,” Andrei said as Yakov glared back up at him.  “I want you to contact me the very moment that Vitya starts acting up again.  I don’t want to hear about another stunt like this one through the news of all places.”

“So you’re leaving just like this.  Your son ran away, almost got killed, and you’re leaving.” Yakov struggled not to strangle Andrei.  The man had the uncanny talent in provoking his most violent rage by simply existing . “I swear, Nikiforov-”

They were interrupted by the doctor exiting the room, almost stumbling into the two.  “So sorry!” He said, blinking at the two men.  “Your son is clear to go, Mr. Nikiforov.  If anything comes up, please feel free to contact us.  I left my information with Mrs. Feltsman.”  He nodded at them, “Have a good evening, you two,” and walked away.

Andrei opened the door and went back into the room.  Yakov decided to stay outside. He didn’t want to see Vitya’s face when Andrei says goodbye.  It might just be the last straw that will make him throttle the father onto the floor. He didn’t care how much taller and stronger the man was.

Inside the room, Andrei walked up to his son.  Viktor was perched at the edge of the hospital bed, dressed again in his school uniform since they didn’t have the opportunity to retrieve a fresh set of clothes from home.

“Vitya…” The way Andrei clenched and unclenched his fists belied his uneasiness.  There was a flash of vulnerability in his eyes.  He ignored Natalya and Lilia’s stares as he focused on his son.

Viktor blinked wide blue eyes back up at him.  “Yeah?” He sounded resigned, already knowing what was about to happen.

Andrei sighed as he bent down.  “I have to go.  I want you to behave.  Be good for your Deda and Baba.”  He reached an arm out and squeezed Viktor’s shoulder.  “Promise me this, Vitya.”

Viktor’s eyes flitted over Andrei’s shoulder to look at his Baba.  Lilia’s expression implored for him to just comply with his father.  He turned his gaze back to his Papa and brought his arms behind his back to cross his fingers.

“I promise.”

Andrei nodded.  “Good.”  He got up and paused, awkwardly deciding last minute to give Viktor a quick kiss on the forehead before turning around and nodding to Natalya.  “Let’s go.”

“Goodbye Viktor, goodbye Mrs. Feltsman,” the assistant said as she followed her boss back out the door.

Lilia walked over and sat beside her grandson to wrap Viktor in a hug.  “Everything will be okay, Vitya,” she murmured, running a hand softly through his hair.

Viktor hugged her back.  “I know.  It’s okay, I’m used to Papa leaving.  And besides… I don’t think he liked Yuuri so much, so maybe it’s better that he’s gone.”

“Vitya…” Lilia clucked her tongue, not sure what to say in response to something like that.   She turned when she heard someone enter the room.  It was her husband.

Yakov gave her a knowing look. “Come on, Vitya.  The Katsukis are almost ready.  We’re thinking of inviting them to come over to stay at our place.  It’s starting to get late, and your Baba and I still have to talk to them.”

That seemed to do the trick; Viktor immediately perked up.  “Really?  Yuuri gets to sleepover?!”  He immediately hopped down the bed.  “What are we waiting for then?  Come on!”  He ran out the room.

“Vitya!”  Yakov followed the boy, grumbling about his grandson along the way. “Don’t run!”

Lilia gave a relieved huff.  It was a blessing how children can be so resilient.

A few minutes later the two families were at the lobby of the hospital.  Their heads turned toward the entrance where they found a horde of reporters and camera crew waiting.  Everyone stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, including several other patients and visitors.  It appeared that it was only the hospital’s security and a few policemen that were holding the eager press back.

“They’re here!”  One of the reporters cried out, and several cameras began flashing in their direction.

“Oh my goodness,” Hiroko breathed as she held on to Yuuri and Mari’s hands.  Most of them were looking at the media with dread.

Viktor, however, was absolutely ecstatic.  “Wooow!" He was grinning from ear to ear as he took in all the people.  “They’re here for us?”

None of the adults answered him. They began talking amongst themselves debating on whether to leave later or perhaps look for a different exit.

Mari, turned to look at Viktor from her position beside her mother.  “What did you expect?  You and Yuuri were all over the news while you were missing you know.”

“Really?!  Yuuri!”  Viktor smiled and clutched his mate’s other hand, swinging it back and forth in excitement. “Yuuri, did you hear that?! We’re famous!”

The omega’s reaction could not have been more different. He looked at all the cameras in worry.  “Um…”

Yakov interrupted the two.  “Alright, let’s do this.  I will go first.  Lilia, you carry Vitya.”

Viktor laughed as she bent down and picked him up.  “We’re famous, Baba!”

“Shh… not right now, Vitya.  Stay quiet for me, okay?”

Hiroko followed suit and carried Yuuri in her arms while Minako took over and held on to Mari’s hand.  The group watched as one of the police officers walked over to them.

“Sorry you folks have to deal with all of this.  But we’re here to escort you out.  We got some of the valet workers to bring your cars over at the end of the driveway.”  The group followed his lead, the sounds of the reporters getting louder once they walked past the glass doors.

It was naive of them to think that the attention shifted away from their case.  The boys were still all over the news, after all, and once the police had confirmed that the two boys ran away of their own volition, the media became curious to learn more about the two and find out their reason for running away in the first place. Viktor being the only son of a  billionaire was the icing on the cake.

Yakov cringed as he pushed away some of the reporters. He cursed under his breath as he began to see spots in his eye from all the camera flashes.  Lilia was beside him, carrying Viktor in her arms, as another officer flanked her other side to push away the more insistent reporters.

“Viktor! Was it true that you were attacked by a bear?” Lilia was forced to stop as the microphone was shoved in front of the young boy’s face.  It would have smacked him in the nose otherwise had she stepped any further.

Viktor blinked down at the microphone, his eyes wide and getting cross-eyed with looking at something so close to his face.  “Um… yes?  It was a black bear.”

“Were you hurt?”

Viktor shook his head and puffed out his chest proudly. “Nope!  And my Papa came and scared it off too!”

“Why were you in the woods in the first place, Viktor?”

He shrugged.  “We just had to run away,” he said as if it was obvious.

“Enough questions,” Yakov grumbled as he pushed the microphone away and ushered his wife forward.   Viktor, however, turned around in Lilia’s arms to continue looking at the reporter.  Figures.  His grandson was practically preening under all the attention.

“And why did you run away in the first place, Viktor?”  A female reporter shouted from behind them.

‘Shit!’ Yakov pushed Lilia forward faster.  Viktor smiled over his Baba’s shoulder.  “It’s cuz the stupid grownups in the school were trying to separate me from my mate!”

“Vitya!” Yakov yelled indignantly as he turned back to see several of the reporters staring at the boy in confusion.  The one who had asked the question looked like she was about to ask another question, no doubt to clarify his statement.

Viktor waved at the other cameras as they began to blind them once more in a furious flurry of flashes.  He then pointed to Yuuri, who was a few feet away behind them being carried in Hiroko’s arms, Toshiya and Minako similarly trying to help the mother push through the throng of reporters.  “See that cute omega over there? That’s Yuuri! He’s my mate! Say hi Yuuri!”  The little boy blushed under all the attention and buried his face in Hiroko’s neck but gave a weak wave which was really more a feeble wiggle of his fingers.  The female reporters almost cooed at his bashfulness.

Yakov gave a sigh of relief as their limo was almost in sight, the valet worker stepping out and keeping the door open for them.  But of course, the precious few seconds was still enough for Viktor to enact more damage because another reporter asked, “What do you mean by mates, Viktor?”

Viktor gave a wide grin as he proudly held up his arm, using his other hand to point to the plastic ring on his finger.  “We got married! See?  We have matching rings so we can live happily ever after!”

Yakov finally got the passenger door open and steered Lilia and his grandson inside.   ‘Shut up shut up shut up!’  He grit his teeth as he got in, slamming his door closed and putting the car in gear and making his way out of the driveway.  If he barely missed hitting a reporter on the way out it was an accident.  Really.

“Aww, Deda, why are we driving away so fast?  The news people had more questions for me!”

“Oh Vitya…” Lilia sighed as she finally let the boy scramble away from her arms. He pressed his face against the window to watch the reporters get smaller as they drove further away, their cameras still flashing in the distance.  She only gave him a few seconds before she pulled him back beside her and secured him in place with a seatbelt.

And now here they were, only minutes away from their mansion.  Minako was following behind the Katsuki’s van together with Hima. They should be safe for now.  Finally, they can regain some semblance of normalcy back in their lives.  Yakov would never have thought that he’d be more grateful for another quiet afternoon with just him and his newspaper.

He heard a small gasp from the back of the car.  It appeared that his grandson just had a revelation. “Baba!  Do you think this means that Yuuri and I will be on the television later?!”

Lilia closed her eyes and appeared to take a few moments to summon some inner strength before she answered.  “Perhaps, Vitya.”

“That’s so cool!”

Yakov frowned as he turned to corner.  From the distance he could already see several cars parked in the street, with some vans belonging clearly to news stations judging by the logos printed on them.  “I can’t believe it.  They tracked us down here too?  Why can’t we just be left alone?”  It was disgusting, how desperate they were to get a peek of them.  And over two minors no less!  Was their town so quiet that they were willing to milk this story for every drop they could get?

As they approached closer and closer to their driveway it apparently seemed that way.  Yakov was grateful to see that there were several policemen keeping the reporters at bay, waving the few reporters who tried to shove their cameras across the barricade.  Anna, Nadia, and their groundskeeper pulled back the gates as he, the Katsukis, and Minako pulled into the driveway.  They quickly closed it soon after, making the reporters clamor at the gates trying to get their attention.

“Vitya!” Lilia shouted, but the alpha had already unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door.

“Hi!” Viktor called out to the reporters, waving his arms.

“Dammit, Vitya!” Yakov yelled as he unbuckled his seatbelt and shoved it aside to grab the boy who was beginning to make his way over to the reporters.  He bent down to grab Viktor and hoisted him up.  “Vitya, don’t go to them!”

“Why not?” Viktor grunted as he was placed over his Deda’s shoulders unceremoniously like a heavy sack.  “They’re just here to ask questions, I wanna answer them!”

The Katsukis began to step out of their van one by one.  Yuuri was the last one to get off, still being carried in his mother’s arms.  He looked curiously at his mate being carried a bit more roughly by Yakov.  As relieved as the older man was at finally having his grandson back, he still couldn’t help but get fed up with the young alpha’s antics.  “We don’t talk to reporters, Vitya.”

“Why not?” He asked as he waved over at Yuuri and allowed himself to be carried up the steps.  Anna opened the front door for them as Lilia walked inside, shrugging off her coat and giving it to Nadia.  Yakov turned around to watch their guests get in.  It was only once Anna closed and locked the door did he deem it safe enough to place Viktor back on the ground.  The alpha grumbled at being rough-handled but his mood quickly changed once Yuuri was also placed down by his mother.

“Yuuuuuuurriii!  This is so fun, we can have a sleepover here now!” He eagerly wrapped the smaller boy in a hug.

“Speaking of sleepovers,” Minako spoke up, dropping her duffle bag by the wall, “I should go back to your place, Hiroko, and grab some clothes for us.  We don’t know how much longer we’ll have to stay here after all.”

Toshiya bit his lip and looked at Lilia in concern.  “Are you quite sure that you’re alright with us staying here?  We really don’t want to impose.”

Lilia waved his concern off.  “Nonsense.  You’d never impose. I think after the events of the past few days it goes without saying that all of you are practically family now.”

“I’ll be heading off then,” Minako said.  “Anything you need me to get apart from an extra set of clothes and toiletries?”

Hiroko bit her lip.  “We should be the ones going, Minako.  You shouldn’t be troubling yourself over this. You’ve already helped so much.”

“It’s fine, Hiroko. Really.  I think I’ll have an easier time getting past the press if they’re still hovering around the area.”  Minako already made to get out the door.  “If I’m not held up, I should be back in an hour, okay?”

“Baba, Yuuri and I are going to my room!”  Viktor called out as he led Yuuri up the stairs.  Mari made to follow but took a moment to glance at her mother and Lilia, silently asking for their permission.

“Go on ahead, Mari,” Lilia said, waving her off.  “You might as well settle down while we wait for dinner to get ready.  Do you prefer to have your own room for tonight?”

Mari’s eyes turned to her mother.  “If it’s alright, I think I’d rather stay in the same room as Yuuri.”  It was their first night to be truly reunited after all the chaos of the past two days and a part of her still needed reassurance that her brother wasn’t going to disappear again.  Hiroko seemed to understand this as she smiled softly and nodded to her daughter.

“I think Vitya’s bed will be large enough for all three of you,” Yakov said, taking off his coat and handing it over to Anna.  “Go on upstairs and see what you think.  If you prefer, we can arrange for another mattress to be brought over.”

“Thank you both so much for all the help and for letting us stay,” Toshiya said as Anna gathered his and Hiroko’s coats to hang in the closet.

“Again, we’re happy to have you here,” Lilia reassured them, knowing that the Katsukis still felt like they were intruding and taking advantage of their hospitality.  “It will give us time to consider what to do with Vitya and Yuuri.”  She led them to the parlor and everyone sat down.

“Speaking of Viktor and Yuuri,” Hima added.  “Do you mind if I go upstairs and join the children?  I’d like to take this opportunity to observe them more and maybe ask them a few questions.  I can share my findings with you all after dinner.”

“I don’t see why not.  Thank you, Hima.”

The woman grinned and made her way upstairs.  When it seemed like the woman was out of earshot Yakov crossed his arms and sighed.  “What are your thoughts on this whole ‘soulmate’ business?  I will be honest, a part of me still doubts your friend’s theory.  The fact that Vitya wasn’t feeling well after the two separated doesn’t lend much proof.  Vitya has always been a dramatic child and he likes to act out if he doesn’t get his way.”

“Are you saying that Vitya was faking his symptoms?” Lilia turned to her husband with a frown, daring him to defend himself.

“N-no, not that!  Not that at all!”  Yakov backtracked.  “What I mean to say is that Vitya can be very dramatic if he doesn’t get his way.  He could have stopped eating as a form of rebelling against us.  And that could then explain the rest of his symptoms...the headaches, the fatigue--anyone would feel bad if they were starving themselves!”

Lilia shook her head.  “I still feel like that’s not enough.  Vitya may be dramatic, yes, but he would not be able to put up an act like that for weeks.”

“And Yuuri-chan had the same symptoms,” Hiroko added. “I don’t think our son was doing it as a ploy to be reunited with your grandson. He can sometimes get panic attacks but we’ve never seen him behave the way he did when he was separated from Viktor and his friends.”

“But I think we can all agree that we should not separate the two anymore, am I right?” Toshiya gauged both Lilia and Yakov’s reactions, trying to decipher what the two were thinking.

“Yes, it’s very clear that separating them caused more harm than good,” Lilia said.

Yakov nodded and massaged his temples. “It would be very difficult for the school to put up an argument that the boys should be separated after the stunt the two made.”

“But what about the potential consequences in the future?  The precocious puberty that the doctor and psychologist was talking about?” Hiroko asked.

“Let us be realistic here.  If I, myself, am skeptical enough with the idea of the two being soulmates, then I highly doubt that the school will take that as a valid argument,” Yakov said.  “We are more likely going to be laughed at.  They’ll think that Vitya inherited his insanity from us!”

“Maybe we can still have Hima as our expert but just… phrase things more carefully,” Toshiya suggested.  “We don’t have to use the term ‘soulmates.’”

Silence settled in the room as each adult ruminated over the best course of action.

---

“Look! Now Makka and Vicchan can sleep together again too!” Viktor held up the plush and bopped its nose on the smaller stuffed poodle that Yuuri carried in his arms.

Yuuri giggled as leaned over to pet Viktor’s stuffed toy.  “Hello, Makka!”

Mari smiled as she sat down on the carpeted floor. She came upstairs with the intent to watch over her brother and maybe berate the two a bit for their recklessness, but after seeing the two so happily playing together again… she couldn’t find it in herself to ruin the moment.  She opened her bookbag and opened a folder to pull out the last make-up assignment she had to do.  Minako was kind enough to drop by her school to pick up her missed work. She had already finished working through most of it while waiting for Yuuri to wake up.

Meanwhile Viktor pulled out a Hot Wheels set from a chest and the two began setting up the racetrack when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Vitya called out as he made his car go through the plastic racetrack.  Yuuri clapped in amazement when the car zoomed through the three loops without falling. Mari turned around to see Hima walk into the room.

“Hello,” Hima gave a small wave and saw a wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room.  She walked over to sit down there, resting her arms on her knees and leaning forward.

The three children looked curiously at her.  Mari decided to make the introductions.  “Yuuri, you already met her earlier.  Viktor, this is Hima. She’s one of Minako-sensei’s friends from college.  She came from London to help us convince the school officials to let you two stay together.”

“Really?” Viktor put down his toy car and tilted his head to the side.  “How are you going to help us?”

“I study soulmates.”  Hima grinned as she took the time to observe Viktor’s aura.  His soul was old, a few lifetimes older than Yuuri’s.  She took in the cord that wrapped around the two. For two souls that have not yet consummated their bond in their current lifetime, the cord was strong, several threads thick. Their auras ran along it, not yet fully intertwined but it was to be expected given their age.

“Oooh… that’s neat!” Viktor perked up and bounced in place.  “So you believe that Yuuri and I are mates, right?”

“Yes.”

The lack of hesitation caused Yuuri to smile widely.  Hima was the first adult to believe them without question.  And he could tell that she was being honest, that she wasn’t simply agreeing for the sake of placating them.

“You must be smart then,” Viktor said as he reached over and held Yuuri’s hand.  “Not many people believe us.  I don’t know if even my Baba and Deda really believe me when I say that Yuuri and I are mates.”

Yuuri nodded.  “I don’t know if my Okaa-san or Otou-san really believe me, either,” he murmured, his eyes turning over to his older sister.

Mari opened her mouth to refute the words but paused when she realized that she couldn’t exactly defend their parents.  They did still have their doubts… and her?  If Mari was to be completely honest with herself then she’d have to admit that she also wasn’t 100% sold on the soulmate theory. Yes, Viktor and Yuuri had an unconventional relationship, but to start believing that soulmates really exist?  It was something out of a romance novel, not reality…

Hima gave a sympathetic smile, her eyes dim with the experience of having dealt with skeptics and naysayers time and again.  “It’s alright.  You can’t fully blame them.  People find it hard to believe what they don’t understand, especially something that cannot be easily seen for those who don’t have the Sight.”

She leaned closer to the two children.  “Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?  Maybe if I learn more information I can try to convince your families.”

Viktor looked at Yuuri who nodded back at him.  “Sure, okay.”

“How did you know that Yuuri was your mate?”    

Viktor’s smile melted into a heart shape.  “Oh that’s easy.  Yuuri makes me really happy!  When I saw him on his first day of school, I just felt this warm feeling right in here,” the alpha patted a hand above his heart.   “Like drinking hot chocolate!  And I love his scent too! He smells like magnolias--those are my Mama’s favorite flowers you know, and like fresh clean air, like in winter after the snow’s just fallen.  It reminds me of the times when Mama and I used to go ice skating in the outdoor rink in the park.” He turned to hug Yuuri, making the omega blush.  “And there’s also a hint of cinnamon, like the color of his eyes!  Yuuri’s super sweet too, and the cutest omega ever.  He’s so nice and just seeing his face makes me happier.    

“My Papa once told me that a true alpha knows what he wants and gets what he wants.  So since I want Yuuri, I told him that I was going to be his alpha and that we’re going to be mates!”

Mari snorted at how Viktor used his own father’s words to claim her brother as his mate.  After seeing how Mr. Nikiforov reacted to their relationship it was the sweetest irony ever.

Hima stared, amused as Viktor went on and on about Yuuri.  She turned to look at the omega who was still blushing furiously but nonetheless was still hugging the alpha back just as tightly.   My goodness, these two are just too much…  “And you, Yuuri? How did you know that Viktor was your mate?”

“Um… well it’s like Vitya said.  I felt a feeling in my heart too.  Like everything was right again,” he looked down and fiddled with a loose thread from his uniform.  “And… when I first started in the new school I was always nervous.  But then I realized that whenever I saw Vitya or was close to him, I’d feel less nervous… like being near him makes me less scared?  Vitya’s a really nice alpha. He’s nice to everyone, even to people outside our class.  And he’s really brave.  He courted me and married me.  And when Vitya isn’t around, I don’t feel well.  It hurt here,” he pointed to his chest again.

His actions made Viktor lean back as he nodded grimly, the smile leaving his face.  “Yeah.  It hurt me there too,” he said as he placed a hand on his own heart.

“It’s like something was missing, right?” Yuuri wondered aloud.  “It’s kinda hard to put in words…”

“Yeah! I felt that way too,” Viktor nodded his head furiously.  “It really, really hurt when they separated me from Yuuri.  They said they were doing it because we were going to make each other sick but the grownups in the school were lying!  Yuuri and I only started feeling bad when they separated us!”

The omega nodded and sighed as he remembered those terrible weeks.  “Why would they lie to us like that?”  He asked the woman.

Hima wasn’t sure how to answer that question.  The school officials did have a valid concern about the possible sequelae of precocious puberty.  Theirs was the first case that she’s aware of.  Even in her past research, the youngest soulmate couples she knew of at least met each other in their teens.  But how would she go about explaining it to these two?  Hima was saved by a knock on the door.

“I’m back.”  Minako stepped in carrying Yuuri’s sports duffle bag and Hima’s carry-on.  “Lilia said that dinner's almost ready.  Let’s go on and change our clothes.”  She placed the duffel bag on the floor and pointed to it.  “I squeezed in some extra clothes for you there too, Mari.”

Hima stood up.  “Where will we be staying?”

Minako nodded her head back out towards the hallway.  “Come follow me.  Anna showed me our rooms.  This place is gigantic, so we can each have our own guest room.  We’ll meet you guys downstairs in ten minutes, okay?”

A few minutes later, everyone freshened up and gathered in the dining room.   Anna and Nadia helped Mr. Moreau serve the food while the adults enjoyed some lighthearted conversation.

While Mr. Moreau served dessert, an assortment of bite-sized cakes and eclairs, the topic eventually turned back to the reporters.

“I really hope that things will calm down soon enough,” Hiroko said as she watched her son bite down on what appeared to be his third petit four.  Her eyes then turned to Mari who was going through her own plate of confectionaries just as quickly.  She shook her head in amusement.  The mother would normally forbid her children from eating too much sweets so close to bedtime but she honestly couldn’t find it in herself to stop the two, just relieved enough that they were a whole family again.

“I’m sure it will,” Minako reassured her.

“Yes, all it takes is for another headline to take over for the media to move their focus on a new obsession,” Hima added as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Well I don’t mind, Ms. Hima, I actually like talking to them!” Viktor butted in as he wiped a smear of chocolate from his cheek with the back of his hand.

“Vitya, mind your manners.  Use your napkin, please,” Lilia admonished.

“Here Vitya,” Yuuri leaned over to wipe the remaining residue with his napkin.

“Yuuri, I think you missed a spot,” Viktor’s eyes lit with mischief which belied the fake innocent grin he plastered on his face.

“I did?” Yuuri dabbed the napkin against the alpha’s face once more, his eyes narrowed in concentration.  Maybe he needed new glasses?  He could swear that he didn’t see anything left on his mate’s face.

Hima tried to stifle her giggle at the alpha’s actions while Mari groaned from across the table.

“Your grandson is a natural Casanova, Lilia,” Minako laughed.

Lilia gave a wry smile while Yakov grumbled under his breath, “That boy is going to be the death of me someday.”

“Wait, what time is the news?” Viktor asked abruptly as he looked around the table.

“There’s usually local news at seven…” Toshiya trailed off as he finally realized why the boy was suddenly interested in watching the news.

Viktor turned his eyes to the clock at the end of the hall.  “It’s almost eight, so maybe we didn’t miss everything!”  He pushed away his seat abruptly and hopped off his chair, tugging urgently on Yuuri’s arm.  “Come on Yuuri, let’s go see if we made the news!”

Yuuri took one more second to stuff his mouth with one more eclair before getting off his chair and following the other boy to the entertainment room.

Mari pushed her chair back as well.  “Thank you very much for dinner,” she said before she trailed behind the two boys.  She was just as curious to see the news coverage.

The adults stared after them.  “Let’s go see.  Maybe we can gauge how long the media frenzy will last,” Lilia said.

By the time that the adults joined the children, they were sitting on the floor in front of the television which was already turned to the local news channel.

“Anything Viktor?” Minako asked as she settled down at the end of the long sofa together with Hima and the Katsukis.  Yakov and Lilia sat down on the loveseat behind the children.

The silver-haired boy turned around with a pout.  “No, I think we missed it.  It was just weather and sports stuff left.”

“Well how about CNN?  That’s what Otou-san watches since they run the news all day long,” Mari suggested as she took the remote to begin flipping through the channels to locate it.

“I don’t know if the news is big enough to be on a national news network, Mari,” Toshiya said as he watched his daughter continue flipping through the channels.  He didn’t want the children to get their hopes up. Yuuri silently wondered who on Earth would want to watch the news all day. Everyone knows cartoons are the only worthwhile things to watch on TV.

“It can’t hurt to try though,” Mari said.  She leaned forward when she noticed the numbers circling back to the start.  “Ugh, I think I’m just went through all the channels.”

“Oh there! I think you just passed it, Mari-chan,” Hiroko called out.

“I did?” The girl began flipping down the channels until the telltale CNN logo appeared at the corner of the screen.

A black man wearing a dark navy suit smiled from behind a desk, a brunette woman in a coral dress sitting beside him.

“Good evening everyone and welcome to the CNN Evening News.  I’m Leon Harris.”

“And I’m Donna Kelley.”

“Tonight, we have a happy ending to the search for the two lost boys in New York.”

The screen switched to two pictures, one of Viktor and another of Yuuri in their school uniforms.  Viktor gasped with delight, wrapping an arm around Yuuri.  “Oh my God Yuuri, we’re on TV!” Yuuri, however, placed a hand on both his cheeks, horrified as he saw his face on the screen.

“Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki, both first grade students at the Kubo International School for Gifted Students, were found missing this Friday and an extensive search ensued.  Altogether, nearly 100 local volunteers and policemen combed through the surrounding towns.  On Saturday, the search was about to be extended to Connecticut and New Jersey with the rest of the nation on the lookout in case the boys were kidnapped across state lines.”

The screen then switched to a silent shot of Andrei walking through a grand-looking lobby surrounded by people in business suits.  

“Viktor Nikiforov is the only child of Andrei Nikiforov, billionaire and CEO of the Nikiforov Enterprises.  He had even offered a $10 million reward to anyone who safely returned either boy.  Lynne Russell is on the scene and has more on the story.  Lynne?”

The screen split to show a woman holding a microphone nod into the camera.  She was one of the reporters from earlier, as evidenced by the hospital’s sign behind her.  “Good evening, Leon, Donna, I’m currently at Saint Margaret’s Community Hospital where earlier today the two boys were discharged after they were cleared to go home.  The two were located in Dunsfeld Park, around two miles away from this hospital.  The police had confirmed that, in the end, it was the two families who had discovered the two boys.”

The screen then changed to camera footage of the rundown shack that Viktor and Yuuri had taken shelter in before going back to show Lynne.  “They also ruled out any kidnapping attempts, as it was found that the two had purposely run away from school.  It is still not fully clear why the two ran away but so far from what we could glean, it was an interesting reason.”  The reporter smiled impishly with a bit of mischief in her eyes.  “I had the chance to ask Viktor himself very quickly as the families left the hospital earlier today.  I’ll let you see for yourself.”

The screen then showed footage of the scene from earlier that evening, with Yakov in the front, Lilia carrying Viktor beside him and Hiroko carrying Yuuri.  You could see the back of Lynne’s head as she jostled with other reporters around her.  She was one of the ones at the very front and the cameraman had a good angle as it focused on Lilia stopping right in front of another reporter who had (very rudely) shoved a microphone in front of Viktor’s face.

“Viktor! Was it true that you were attacked by a bear?”

“Um… yes?  It was a black bear.”

“Were you hurt?”

“Nope!  And my Papa came and scared it off too!”

“Why were you in the woods in the first place, Viktor?”

Viktor can be seen shrugging.  “We just had to run away.”

“Enough questions,” Yakov had grumbled in the video as he moved the microphone out of the way and ushered Lilia and Viktor forward and past where Lynne was standing. Viktor then peered directly at the camera for one second as his eyes swept across the line of media personnel from the top of his grandmother’s shoulder.

Lynne then called out in the video.   “And why did you run away in the first place, Viktor?”

The alpha’s smile was bright in the footage.   “It’s cuz the stupid grownups in the school were trying to separate me from my mate!”

You could still hear Yakov’s indignant, “Vitya!” in the video as the boy soaked up the attention and began waving to the other reporters like a seasoned celebrity.  Viktor then pointed to someone out of range from the shot and the cameraman shifted to follow to where he was pointing--namely Hiroko holding Yuuri, Toshiya beside her.  The top of Mari’s head was also visible from where she was trailing her mother.   “See that cute omega over there? That’s Yuuri! He’s my mate! Say hi Yuuri!”

Only Yuuri’s feeble hand wave was visible from the camera’s angle, his face buried in his mother’s neck away from view.

Back in the entertainment room the real Yuuri eeped as he stared wide-eyed at the television, his hands covering his mouth as he stared at his figure in the television with embarrassment.

Viktor gave him a hug and whined, “Yuuurrii, you should have looked into the camera!  Don’t hide your face, you’re really cute!”

Lynne in the video spoke up once more after she regained her bearings.  “What do you mean by mates, Viktor?”

The Viktor in the footage proudly showed his plastic ring.  “We got married! See?  We have matching rings so we can live happily ever after!”   Those were his last words as Yakov had finally opened the car door open and Lilia rushed inside.  The screen split back to a shot of Leon Harris and Donna Kelley in the studio.  Donna giggled as she turned to Leon.  “‘Mates,’ did I hear that right?”

“So it seems that the two children had a whirlwind romance?” Leon laughed back good naturedly.

Lynne nodded and smiled.  “It seems so, kids say the darndest things after all.”

“Well I’m sure that their families are happy to finally be reunited with their children,” Donna said.  “And hopefully whatever that supposed ‘separation’ was by the school won’t last.  I’d hate for the two to successfully cross state lines the next time they try to run away. Thank you, Lynne.”

The other reporter nodded before her feed was shut and replaced by another headline.  “Next up, an Egyptian woman who had initially been denied a U.S. visa to come donate bone marrow for her dying brother will now be allowed to come to the United States after all--” the television was placed on mute as Mari turned back to her parents.

“Wow… we actually made it on CNN.  That’s a big deal, right?” She asked incredulously.

“I still can’t believe we were on TV!” Viktor cheered, finally noticing Yuuri’s uneasiness.  “Don’t be scared, Yuuri, it’s awesome that we got to be on the news!”

“You better not be getting any ideas, Vitya,” Yakov hissed from his seat.

Viktor snickered.

“It’s starting to get late.  It’s just about time that the children should be heading up to bed,” Lilia said, standing up.

“You’re right,” Hiroko nodded as she walked over and tugged on Yuuri’s hand.  The omega yawned.  “Come on, Yuuri-chan.  We should head upstairs.  You too, Mari-chan.”

Yuuri, Viktor, and Mari ended up sharing the bed.  Viktor smiled up at his Baba as she drew the blankets up to their shoulders.  Yuuri sighed in contentment as he snuggled into Makka and reached over to hold onto Viktor’s hand. The boys had decided to exchange their plushies earlier so that they could scent them once again.  After all, even after the past two days they knew that this sleepover would not last forever.  They would inevitably be separated again, if only for Yuuri to go back to sleeping at his family’s house.  

But Viktor was optimistic that their families would be able to talk to the people back at school so that he and Yuuri can be together again.  Although his Papa wouldn’t be around to help (not that he looked like he supported his relationship with Yuuri in the first place), his Baba and Deda can be scary when they have to be. He watched as Hiroko bent down to place a kiss on Yuuri’s cheek and smiled when she leaned over to give him an affectionate pat on the head.  Mari was on the opposite side of the bed so she simply gave her mom a wave.  

“Good night, everyone,” Hiroko smiled as she took in the sight of the three children snuggled side by side.  She turned around and followed Lilia out of the room, turning off the lights.  The last view she saw were their outlines on the bed dimly lit by a nightlight on the opposite corner before the door closed with a soft click.

They rejoined the rest of the group downstairs in the living room.  Hima, Minako, and Toshiya sat on a settee by the fireplace while Yakov sat on the couch across from them.  Toshiya shifted over to make space for Hiroko while Lilia sat down beside Yakov.  

“How were they?” Yakov asked.  “Was there enough room?  I can have Anna bring a cot over or prepare another guest room.”

“No need, there was more than enough space on Viktor’s bed,” Lilia replied.  

“Hima told me that she was able to talk to the two earlier,” Minako said.  “But we wanted to wait for everyone before she shared her observations.”

“Alright then,” Hiroko said, smiling over at Hima.  They owed so much to the woman after all, for coming all the way from London and helping them throughout the search efforts.  

Hima took a breath as she felt the weight of everyone’s eyes in the room trained on her.  “I think before I even begin to talk about Yuuri and Viktor specifically, I should backtrack a bit and give a bit more history on animatotusology--the science of soulmates,” she added when she saw Yakov and Lilia’s confused looks.  “Most cultures, if they trace back, have their own concepts of soulmates.  But over the years the science has fallen out of favor and most people dismiss it as fantasy or romanticize it for the latest blockbuster or television drama.  But they no longer truly believe in it."

She shrugged, “It goes without saying that I do.  Where I come from, we used to believe very deeply in soulmates and my most of my family still do, although my father was a bit more of a skeptic.  It used to be tradition that families would turn to those gifted with the Sight whenever their sons and daughters were of marriageable age.  We’d call them ‘Thread Readers’ because they had the ability to see where their threads led to. All soulmate pairs are connected by a thread which is actually where parts of their souls are interwoven.  It is invisible of course to everyone else without the Sight.”

“And this ‘thread’ you talk about, you mean to say that soulmates have to always be near each other?” Yakov asked incredulously.  Lilia silently elbowed his side, not wanting him to be so obvious of his skepticism.  

Hima simply took it in stride.  “No, not always.  Not all soulmate pairs are equivalent, and each have a different degree of codependence.  In the beginning of a new lifetime, the cord can stretch infinitely, which is why soulmates can be reincarnated on opposite ends of the world.  And they will not necessarily reunite in all their lifetimes either.  It’s only once they consummate the bond that certain soulmate pairs may have to maintain a certain degree of closeness depending on their level of codependence.”

“And what dictates that?”  Toshiya asked curiously.  “How dependent they would be on each other?”

“Usually the more lifetimes they are able to meet, the stronger the bond between two soulmates are.”

“And earlier, when you said ‘consummate a bond,’” Lilia asked, her cheeks slightly blushing, “do you mean…?”

“Ah, yes you’re correct.  I’m referring to sex,” Hima confirmed.  “That’s when one’s soul surges and it flows through the bond.  The stronger the thread between two soulmates, the more easily the two are able to actually exchange a part of their souls into one another.”  

“My goodness,” Minako gave an impish smile as she stared into the flickering flames in the fireplace.  There was a bit of an awkward silence after that, only interrupted by the sizzling and popping sounds of the logs.

Toshiya coughed.  “So what do you see in Yuuri and Viktor?  Are they one of the soulmate pairs that have a stronger bond than the rest?”

Hiroko turned to look at her husband and Hima smiled when she noticed that the father no longer even questioned whether or not the two boys were soulmates.  

“Yes, they have a very strong bond in fact.  One of the strongest I’ve ever seen.  The vast majority of soulmate pairs are simply connected by a thread.  What Yuuri and Viktor have is an actual cord, a very thick one in fact.  Their souls are already intertwining even before they’ve consummated their bond.  It’s believed to be very rare.”

“So it means that the two’s souls must have met in several lifetimes then,” Minako mused aloud, connecting the pieces of her friend’s theory.  

Hima eagerly nodded. “Exactly!  They both have very old souls… Viktor’s is slightly older, but that is why the two children are so close together.  Soulmates that have a bond as strong as theirs tend to gravitate to each other throughout their lifetimes, increasing the chances that they meet.”

“And in this lifetime they just happened to meet at a very young age,” Lilia said.  Yakov glanced at her.  She appeared to be digesting the information and while others would not be able to discern much from her neutral expression, he was able to read his wife and he could tell that Lilia was slowly beginning to believe Hima’s words.  Yakov looked down at his hands… what did he believe?  

“Yes.”  Hima closed her eyes and leaned back.  “Now about the folks back in the school… They do have a valid concern regarding precocious puberty and I will be honest in saying that that piece of the puzzle is outside my area of expertise.  I study soulmates and secondary genders with a minor in psychology, but I do not have the medical background to give you advice on what is best for Yuuri and Viktor for that part of the equation.  All I can confidently say is that if you separate them now, it will also be detrimental to their health.  They have a very high level of codependence.  You all saw firsthand what happened when you simply separated them in school.”  

“And to think that Andrei was thinking of bringing Vitya to Russia. The bastard,” Yakov muttered.  

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Hiroko suggested, leaning forward so that she can turn her eyes to everyone else in the room.  “We know right now that no matter what, the two should stay together… and as for this precocious puberty, we cannot possibly be the first families to deal with this.  There has to be other children out there that have a hormonal imbalance for other reasons, not necessarily because their situations are like Yuuri and Viktor.  There has to be some sort of medication or treatment to correct any imbalances, right?”  

Minako eagerly nodded, “Hiroko has a good point.  I mean, come on, there has to be a pediatric specialist out there somewhere that we can talk to in the future if we start to see signs in Yuuri and Viktor.”

Lilia and Yakov’s eyes brightened. Why haven’t they thought of it before?  “Yes, and we can even start our research to find a specialist in the coming years so that we’ll know who to consult with once the time comes.”  There was no limit to where they can look.  Money was never an issue, after all.  They would even pay to have the doctor fly into the States if they had to.      

Hiroko gave a happy sigh as her shoulders finally relaxed, the weight finally off her shoulders.  “I’m so happy that we all agree on this.” It would have been terrible if the Feltsmans were like Andrei.  She internally shuddered just thinking about the man.  It was so hard to believe that he was Viktor’s father, but there was no denying where his looks came from.  As terrible as it was that he was so estranged from his son, perhaps it was better that Andrei wasn’t around to influence him.  

“It’s settled then.  Tomorrow, we’ll talk to the school officials.  It’s starting to get late, so I propose that we discuss what we’ll say tomorrow morning,” Lilia said, standing up.  “I’m sure we can all use this time to finally rest.”

“Yes, I think a good night’s sleep will help us in the long run,” Toshiya said as he stood up and held his wife’s hand as she got up as well.  “Thank you once again for all your hospitality.”

Lilia smiled. "It's a relief in many ways that you are here.  It makes it easier to discuss everything.  Good night everyone.”

“And if you need anything, Anna is always up early. Feel free to ask her for anything you might need,” Yakov said before he followed his wife up the stairs.  

Minako stood up and stretched.  “Thanks for everything Hima.”

Hiroko looked at the woman. “Yes, thank you.  Really, we’re really indebted to you Hima.”

“Not at all, Hiroko,”  Hima said, waving her hand.  “It was wonderful seeing such a strong bond firsthand.  Viktor and Yuuri are a very unique soulmate pair.  Do you mind if I write about this?  I will not include any information that will identify them of course, just my general observations.”

Toshiya shrugged. “I don’t see the problem with that.  Perhaps it will help others who might be in a similar situation.”

“Great, thank you.  I’ll just ask permission from Yakov and Lilia as well tomorrow.”  

“Good night!  And thank you too Minako,” Hiroko said as she and Toshiya also left the room to go head upstairs.  

The two old college roommates were the only ones left in the living room.  Minako stared into the dying embers, the light from the flames reflecting off her face.  “Say, Hima I was wondering… if the concept of soulmates used to be so accepted in society, what happened?”

Hima blinked over to look at her friend, her posture indolent as she finally relaxed back on the settee.  "The problem with soulmates is that love does not discriminate.  It doesn't care about race or social classes.  A king should not be married to a peasant.  So when soulmate pairs began to interfere with plans for advantageous marriages, they began to fall out of favor.  That, and sometimes religions began to label those with the Sight as witches or accusing those who believe in it of heresy.  In the end, it fell out of favor and people no longer believe in it." 

A few minutes later, when Minako finished changing into her night clothes and making herself comfortable in the luxurious four-post bed she stared up at ceiling.  She recalled Hima's words from earlier.  'So I guess I will not meet my soulmate in this lifetime.'  The moon in the clear sky beyond the floor length windows was the only witness to her sad grin. 'Well, better luck in my next life.'    

Several hundred miles away, Andrei sat in the lounge in Keflavik International Airport as he and Natalya waited for his private plane to be prepared to take off for the remaining leg of their journey back to Moscow.  Always hating idleness, Andrei decided to take the opportunity to make an important phone call.  

He had a revelation so to speak, when he left his son.  Vitya was always affectionate, something he clearly inherited from his mother, and needed someone to lavish his affection upon.  He was under no such delusions that Lilia and Yakov would be enough.  The two grandparents loved Vitya of course, but did not exude the same level of physical affection that his son would crave.  And the mansion that he had built for his beloved Katya was never meant to be so quiet, so lifeless.  He and his late wife had always planned to have a large family, and Vitya was only supposed to be the eldest of many children to come.

But since that dream was no longer within his grasp… any boy as affectionate as Vitya would understandably be driven crazy and begin acting out at being so alone within those large halls.  Clearly lavishing the boy with endless toys and gifts did not compensate for the lack of a playmate, a constant companion.  And turning to that Yuuri Katsuki boy was out of the question.  He would not let his son be taken advantage of.  

His internal musing was cut off when the ring tone was replaced by a man’s voice on the other end of the line, “Allo.”

“Evgeny, it’s Nikiforov.”

“Mr. Nikiforov!” The man sounded surprised, his voice more alert. “Good evening, or rather…”

“It’s morning.  I’m here in Iceland with Natalya.  We should be arriving in Moscow in nine hours.”

“I see.  I’ll inform my secretary that we don’t need to have our meetings cancelled then.”

“It’s already been done.  Natalya called ahead earlier.  Listen, is your son still with your father?”

Evgeny stammered at the abrupt and strange question. Back in his office, he looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on the conversation, paranoid at being overheard.  It was a silly notion considering that his phone wasn’t on speaker.  “Y-yes, he is…” Why on Earth would Mr. Nikiforov be asking out of the blue though? “Why, is there a problem?”

Andrei smiled in satisfaction as he looked down at the wedding ring he still wore on his finger.  “No.  In fact, I think I just found a solution to both our problems.”    

Chapter Text

Chapter 23: A Storm Brews in Russia

On different sides of the world, two boys make a promise involving each other

Mari woke up cold the following day.  She frowned and looked down to find that Yuuri had stolen most of the sheets and had cocooned himself in the comforter, leaving only his face visible. His hand also poked out between the folds of the blankets, clutched tightly in Viktor’s hand.  Somehow, Makka ended up on top of the smaller boy.  Viktor laid right next to Yuuri, their foreheads pressed against each other with Vicchan trapped in the small space between them.  The alpha apparently felt warmer since he had kicked off his side of the blankets, leaving the sheets tangled between his pajama-clad legs.  

‘How can they even breathe hugging each other that close?’ Mari wondered. She turned to peer across the dark to find the digital clock on Viktor’s table marking the time as 6:30am.  Mari internally groaned.  Okaa-san had told her last night that it was about time for her to go back to school now that she was finally better and Yuuri was found.  Yuuri and Viktor, on the other hand, were staying over until things can be sorted out back in their school.   

Well, no sense in delaying the inevitable.  And with that thought, Mari sluggishly got out of the bed, taking care to be as quiet as possible. Her brother slept like the dead but she wasn’t sure whether Viktor was a light sleeper or not.  The bedroom door opened just as she bent over to retrieve her backpack and a change of clothes from the duffel bag Minako-sensei left the previous night.  

“Mari-chan.”  Mari turned around to see her mother pop her head into the room before opening the door wider and tiptoeing inside.  

It took awhile for Hiroko’s eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room but when her vision cleared she smiled at the sight of Yuuri and Viktor pressed up against each other almost comically, her son drooling into the pillow underneath him.  

She and Toshiya spoke some more after they went upstairs the previous night.  In the end, they both decided to support Yuuri and Viktor.  The two would likely face more challenges, judging by the backlash they had already faced in their school.  They didn’t need to be further antagonized at home.  

Yuuri and Viktor are soulmates.  By the end of the night, she and her husband finally embraced the concept.  A few days ago the very idea made her apprehensive at the thought that her son would be involved in a strange relationship that left him much too dependent on another person.  

But the more Hiroko thought about it the more she grew to understand that it wasn’t the unhealthy attachment she first envisioned it to be.  Yes, Viktor and Yuuri were codependent, but her Yuuri was still Yuuri.  They were equals who brought out the best in each other.  Yuuri made Viktor live and effectively pulled him from a depression based on what Lilia had divulged to them, as awful as it was to think that a child so young would struggle with depression.  And Viktor was Yuuri’s anchor when the world became too much and her son began to let his anxiety overtake him.

And best of all?  The thought that there was someone out there who loved her son so wholeheartedly, who had already loved him through several past lifetimes and will continue to be there for him when she left this world for the afterlife filled her with such warmth. What they still had right now was an innocent childlike love but Hiroko could just so easily envision them growing old together, their love maturing into the kind of love that she felt for Toshiya.  

And with that thought Hiroko smiled and turned to her daughter who had finished changing into a fresh set of jeans and sweater, her hair combed and pulled back by a headband. The mother wordlessly held out a hand to Mari and led her out the door, pulling it closed behind them with a soft click.  The two made their way downstairs.  

“Did you and Otou-san decide what to say to the people in Yuuri’s school?” Mari really wished she could be there for the confrontation.  

Hiroko nodded. “A bit, yes. We talked it over with Viktor’s grandparents earlier this morning while you were all asleep.  Minako had to go back to prepare to teach some classes at the Dance Academy, so your Otou-san will drop you off first before coming back here. Then all of us will go together to Kubo International to settle things.  Lilia had already called the school up to set an appointment so they’re expecting us.”  And settle things they will.  Hiroko would not feel so self-assured if it was just her and Toshiya  but Lilia and Yakov boosted her confidence that things would turn in their favor.  

Mari smiled up at her mother and squeezed her hands in a silent gesture of encouragement.  

---

“Well, this is it,” Toshiya took a deep breath to steel himself.  He smiled down at his wife as she nodded back up at him.  Hima was behind them all, taking in the view of the prestigious school that Minako graduated from before they met in university.  Now that they were no longer preoccupied with searching for Yuuri and Viktor she was better able to appreciate the classic architecture, the Roman-inspired columns that lined the facade and the stone steps spanned across the front lawn.  

Yakov groaned before her.  “Let’s just get this over with,” he muttered as he  strode forward, Lilia close behind him.  They walked up the pathway to find a familiar blonde figure waiting for them at the top of the steps. Hiroko wracked her memory to try to recall the secretary’s name… Karen, was it?

“Good morning,” the secretary said once they got closer.  “Ms. Obayemi is ready to see you.”  The woman plastered a fake smile as she opened the door for them.  Lilia internally grinned in satisfaction as she took in Karen’s stiff posture as the woman led them down the hallway to the office.  If the secretary was any indication of how the principal herself felt then it was a good sign.  

The hallways were empty since the first period of classes had already begun.  They only encountered a few staff and the occasional student as they walked down the familiar path. It was strange to think that they made the same trip almost a month ago.  

Hopefully, after they resolve all of this, they won’t have to go down these halls again.

Karen knocked once before opening the door. “They’re here ma’am,” she called into the room before she opened the door wider and gestured them inside.  Yakov and Lilia walked in first before Hiroko, Toshiya, and Hima followed.  Hiroko blinked to find Ms. Obayemi standing up before Lilia and shaking their hands.  On the side of the room was Ms. Eickmeyer and Dr. Siddiqui, the two simply nodding to them in greeting and standing before their chairs.  

“Mr. and Mrs. Feltsman, good morning,” the principal then turned to Toshiya and shook his hand. “Mr. Katsuki,” then hers, “Mrs. Katsuki.”  She then saw Hima.  

Hiroko smiled and gestured to the woman.  “This here is Hima, a friend of ours.  She also specializes in secondary gender studies.  

Ms. Eickmeyer’s eyes glinted at the newcomer upon hearing those words while Ms. Obayemi blinked and shook Hima’s hands as well.  “Pleasure to meet you.  I’m Nwamaka Obayemi, principal of the school.  Please all of you, take a seat.”  

She took her own seat behind her desk and leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table and her hands clasped before her. “Before we begin, I would just like to say how myself and everyone else here in the school are relieved that Viktor and Yuuri have been found.  How are they?”

“Well enough,” Yakov grumbled as he settled down in his chair.  He shot a quick glance to the doctor and psychologist who met his stare with neutral expressions, their faces carefully kept blank.  

“We’re just happy that they’re back safe,” Hiroko said needlessly, her tone a bit kinder in an effort to lessen the tension that was already filling the room.  

Lilia felt that skirting around the issue was not going to help their cause and decided to get to the heart of the matter.  “We’d like to reinstate Yuuri back in his original homeroom, together with Viktor and the rest of their friends.  As we can all see, it was a mistake to have them separated in the first place.”

Ms. Obayemi pursed her lips and closed her eyes, appearing to consider her reply.  She opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off--

“With all due respect, Mrs. Feltsman separating the children was hardly a mistake,” Ms. Eickmeyer spoke up from her seat to Toshiya’s left, hers and Dr. Siddiqui’s chairs arranged to face them.  “It was doubtlessly a difficult separation for the two, yes, but in the end it was all for their benefit.”  

“We’d have to politely disagree with that viewpoint, Ms. Eickmeyer,” Toshiya spoke up as he reached over his armrest to hold Hiroko’s hand.  

“Have you not seen how sick our Vitya and Yuuri became the moment they were separated?” Lilia turned to the physician and prodded Dr. Siddiqui.  “You told us that you were closely observing the two. Surely you could not have missed that?”

The physician colored and squirmed in his seat.  “Yes, well… I--”

“Theatrics, all of it,” the psychologist waved off, growing frustrated.  “Children act out when they do not get what they want, Mrs. Feltsman.  Surely this is not the first time you have seen your grandson do something like this?  And he has now started to influence your son as well, Mr. Katsuki.”  She held firm.  “You cannot give in to a child’s tantrum for something as important as this.  It is not healthy for a child to be developing an attachment this early… to start referring to a fellow student as a mate in a serious manner that none of us can no longer turn a blind eye to!”

Ms. Obayemi’s eyes widened at the woman’s vehemence.  An awkward silence settled in the room and Ms. Eickmeyer blushed when she realized how loud her voice had gotten.  And so she spoke up once more, her tone now a bit more conciliatory.  “I mean… you cannot possibly believe that this is all just a game for the two, right?”

Lilia shook her head.  “Yes, I believe we all stopped that delusion quite a while back, Ms. Eickmeyer.”

“Then…” The psychologist appeared to be at a loss for words, not knowing what else she could say to make the parents and grandparents see reason.

“If I may,” Hima spoke up for the first time, glancing around the room.  “Any efforts to have stopped a bond from forming between Yuuri and Viktor is too late at this point.  The two have already bonded, even if it’s not in the physical sense.  The two innately view each other as mates and it would be painful and cruel to try and keep the two apart now.”

“That may very well be the case,” Dr. Siddiqui replied politely, “but how else are we to handle this?  A bond this early would lead to a precocious puberty for Yuuri and Viktor, something that can be detrimental to them both.”

“We appreciate your concern, but we will cross that bridge when it gets there, Dr. Siddiqui,” Yakov said.  “We will hire a pediatric specialist to handle the hormonal imbalances that you’re warning us of when the time comes.  It is a risk that we are willing to take.”  He gestured to the Katsukis.  “That all of us are willing to take.”

Ms. Obayemi cleared her throat.  “If the Katsukis consent to it, then that’s fine.  But how does Mr. Nikiforov feel about this?”

A flash of annoyance flitted through Lilia.  She had a feeling that the question would come up and she was hoping to avoid it.  “What do you mean?” She asked coolly.  It was interesting how they were so keen on getting Andrei’s consent now when they had no qualms obtaining permission from just her and Yakov back when Dr. Siddiqui performed bloodwork on Viktor.

“Forgive me for saying this, but you are simply Viktor’s grandparents.  It is Mr. Nikiforov himself who should be making a decision.”

“Andrei purposely stepped out for this meeting because he was afraid that he would be unable to control his temper,” Lilia lied through her teeth, gaining confidence when she saw the school officials’ eyes widen.  Ms. Obayemi leaned back and straightened herself.  “To be honest, Ms. Obayemi, the man was very angry to hear that a pair of two seven-year-olds were able to easily escape such a prestigious school, especially when his son was supposed to have been supervised the entire time.”  

“I…”

“And to think that all it took was to break apart a piece of the fencing in the courtyard?  He was absolutely livid.”  

“As much as I hate my son-in-law I cannot fault him for that,” Yakov added to his wife’s tale.  “So actually we are doing you all a favor by not having him here.”

“He even threatened to withdraw the $2 million donation that he had promised to the school.  I, of course, convinced him that it’s not necessary, that we would be able to talk to you all to straighten this mess out.”

“You’re right, it’s not necessary at all,” Ms. Obayemi butted in, clearly unnerved at the thought of losing such funding.  “Well then, as long as we have his consent that he is willing to take the risk…”

“He is.”

“Then that’s all we need.  I will see to it that everything is fixed and Yuuri returns to his original homeroom with Ms. Arena tomorrow.”    

“Now Vitya, do you remember what I just said?”

The alpha groaned as he scuffed his black uniform shoes against the sidewalk. “No kissing Yuuri, stop telling everyone that we’re married or mates, and don’t get into fights!” He repeated back in a whiny voice.  “Can we go now?”  

It was already the next day and the Feltsmans and Katsukis came together to drop them off at school.  Yuuri’s family slept over the previous night one last time, and they decided to drop the two children off together before the Katsukis continued on in their van to drive Hima to the airport to catch her flight back to London.

Viktor normally wouldn’t be so excited to go back to school, but he was desperate at this point to escape his overbearing Deda and now that he and Yuuri would be together again, the two really wanted to see their friends after so long.

“And you better not be crossing your fingers behind your back.  Your Baba told me what that means, Vitya, and good alphas don’t lie!”

Viktor immediately blushed with shame but for once he was actually innocent. “I’m not!” He squawked indignantly, raising his left hand and then the other one that was currently holding onto Yuuri’s hand.  “See?!”

“Alright, Yasha, I think Vitya gets the point.” Lilia bent down to give a parting kiss on his forehead.  “Be good Vitya and let us know if anyone gives you trouble, okay?”

Beside her Hiroko was fixing up Yuuri’s scarf and giving him a parting kiss on the cheek.  “You two should head inside now, it’s cold out.  Minako-sensei will be here later to pick you up, Yuuri-chan.”

The omega nodded and stepped aside as he allowed himself to be pulled by an eager Viktor towards the rest of the students heading inside.  

“Bye Okaa-san, Otou-san! Don’t worry, I’ll protect Yuuri!”

“But don’t start any fights!” Yakov yelled back.  He sputtered with indignation when Viktor stuck his tongue out at him.  Hima giggled at the sight from her seat inside the Katsuki’s van.  

‘I think the two will be just fine.’

---

Needless to say, their friends were overjoyed at seeing them again.  

“I can’t believe it!” Phichit cried, looking teary-eyed as he tackled Yuuri into a fierce hug.  “I mean, we saw your desk here again,” he gestured over to Yuuri’s usual seat by the front corner.  “But I didn’t want to believe it until I saw you!  But you’re here now and you’re okay! I mean, you are okay right? I heard something about a bear, but you obviously didn’t get eaten, unless you were eaten but the bear threw you up because you didn’t taste good. Ma told me not to worry cuz bears don’t usually eat humans but then I thought--”

“Phichit!” Yuuri gasped as he struggled to breathe, growing alarmed at actually seeing tears fall down his best friend’s face.  “I’m okay, really!  We didn’t get eaten!” Yuuri beamed over at Viktor.  “Vitya protected me!”

“Woah,” Chris’s eyes widened as he looked at his best friend with a new wave of respect.  “You fought off a bear?!”

Viktor blushed, “Um…”

“That’s so brave of you, Viktor!” Leo cheered.  

“Wooooow,” Mila gasped with wide eyes.

“That is so cool!” Yuuko practically screamed, making her pigtails bounce.  

“It’s just like my babushka’s fairytales!” Georgi gushed, reaching over to grasp Viktor’s shoulders.  “You’re the alpha prince who defended his omega!”

Viktor’s blush intensified as he started to shake his head.  “You guys, I didn’t really fight off-” The rest of his sentence got drowned out by the sound of the bell to signal the start of the school day.  

Ms. Arena walked into the classroom. “Alright everyone, please take your seats.” She smiled down to see Yuuri and Viktor take their seats behind their desks.  “Yuuri, Viktor! We’re so happy to have you back.  Settle down everyone, it’s time for attendance.”  

Yuuri stifled his giggles as he looked over at the blush that was finally beginning to fade away from Viktor’s cheeks.  The two had been so overwhelmed with joy over the reunion with their friends that none of them noticed how the rest of their peers were hanging on to every word, and since Viktor’s sentence got cut off, they were all under the impression that he had valiantly and single-handedly fought off a giant bear.

And there you have it, the birth of a school legend.  The tale got spun and respun, each account becoming more and more ridiculous.  By the time recess came around the word around school was that Viktor Nikiforov not only outsmarted their teachers and successfully ran away but, blessed with super strong alpha genes that he inherited from his father, he had--depending on who you asked--punched back, shot with a makeshift bow and arrow, kicked, and one student proclaimed on his grandmother’s grave, threw the bear across a field.  

The older students of course had a bit more sense and knew that it was all a bunch of hogwash but even they tended to believe that Viktor did something that somehow scared off the bear before his father came to save the day.  

“Ugh this is so embarrassing you guys,” Viktor bemoaned as he watched Guang Hong take a seat next to Yuuri on the gym floor, the younger omega also overjoyed at seeing his friends back.  “I didn’t really do anything to the bear.  I mean, me and Yuuri were just running away from it.”

“But you still protected Yuuri,” Guang Hong insisted as Leo eagerly nodded by his side. “That has to count for something.”

“Yeah, but everyone keeps making such a big deal out of it, as if I actually fought the bear or something,” Viktor grumbled, feeling embarrassed at how it couldn’t be further from the truth.  He had tried to explain to the countless number of students who came up to him to welcome him back. And even the upperclassmen congratulated him on outsmarting the teachers and the bear. Sure he could take credit for outsmarting the school but he didn’t like getting recognition for something he didn’t actually do.  “Someone even told me that I should teach them how to punch a bear in case they run into one when they hike next summer.”

“Don’t worry about that anymore, Vitya,” Yuuri said as he held onto the alpha’s hand.  “You did try to explain to them. It’s not your fault.  And besides, don’t you want to talk to them about you-know-what?” The omega smiled when Viktor’s eyes widened with glee.  

“Oooh, I almost forgot about that!” Viktor gasped.  

“What do you mean ‘you-know-what?’” Chris tilted his head, puzzled.  

“You almost forgot about what?” Mila asked.  It wouldn’t be the first time.  Viktor tended to be forgetful as long as it was something that didn’t involve Yuuri.

“My birthday!  It’s coming up in a few days and Yuuri and his family are staying over at my place.  I wanted to invite you guys over too, what do you think?”

“Wait, when’s your birthday?” Yuuko asked.  

“My birthday’s on Christmas. Well, Christmas for most of you guys at least.  People in Russia celebrate it on January 7.”

Yuuko and Leo visibly deflated.  “I’m sorry, Viktor, but my parents are hosting a Christmas party that day at our place, so I don’t think they’ll let me spend it with you.”  And the male beta did look genuinely sorry.  

Yuuko sighed,  “I know my parents wanted us to visit Japan during Holiday break, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be gone by then too. Sorry Viktor.”

The alpha shook his head, still smiling. “It’s okay, really.  To be honest, I’m used to it just being me, Georgi, and Mila since everyone is usually busy on Christmas.  I’m just really happy that Yuuri’s family decided to spend it with us.  How about you, Chris?”

The alpha paused and tried to recall his family’s holidays plans. “I think I might actually make it this year.  I know Dad’s going to be busy doing work on some project so usually if that happens we just relax over here. I should be able to come.”

Guang Hong nodded. “I think I’ll be able to come too since my family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas.  We sometimes have relatives from China come over but I know my grandparents and aunts are going to Europe instead this year.”

“Awesome!  Just tell me when you know for sure so I can tell my Baba and Deda.  And don’t worry, Yuuko, Leo, there’ll be a next time.”

“Yeah I guess,” Yuuko trailed off, swinging her legs back and forth as she thought about how much more fun she’d have with her friends rather than spend time with her cousins.  She was the youngest of all of them so they were not exactly close.  Yuuko would honestly prefer to be over for Viktor’s birthday party instead.

“And Mila and I should be able to come,” Georgi said as he looked over at Mila who nodded in confirmation.    

“Great!  Then I can at least tell Anna and start planning,” Viktor said excitedly as he reached over to hug Yuuri.  The omega smiled and looked over at Phichit who gave him a bright smile back.  His mind was already slowly forming an idea for Viktor’s present and he’ll be needing Phichit’s pictures to help put it together.

Several thousands of miles away lived another member of the Nikiforov family, a young boy who’s been isolated by the controversial circumstances of his birth.  Yuri Plisetsky lived in Russia all his life, in a provincial farming village with his grandfather Nikolai Plisetsky.  Unlike Viktor, Yuri had not grown up in the lap of luxury, although his life with his grandfather was definitely comfortable and above the living standards of most of the other villagers.  

At the age of five, Yuri was thoroughly convinced that grownups were stupid.  The people in the small village that loved to coo at how “cute” and “adorable” he was and pinch his cheeks were stupid, his Mama who did nothing but stay in her bedroom all day during the few times that she would visit him was stupid, and the strange man who randomly came over and gave him weird looks was stupid.

It was everyone really except his Dedushka.  Dedushka was nice. He’d play with him after he was done working at the farm. He’d usually have the field helpers take care of most of the work anyway.   “As much as I hate to acknowledge it, I’m starting to get old, Yuratchka.”   He had flexed his fingers to emphasize the point.   “These joints just don’t work as well as they used to.”  

Yuri had not said anything in response back then, not really knowing what to say.  Dedushka was the only constant in his life and he could care less that the man was old, even if he knew that it wasn’t exactly normal to live with only your grandfather for company, at least according to what the nosy kids and their even nosier parents said back in the primary school he attended. He was technically too young, but his Dedushka said that he was smart and wanted to make sure that he got a good education.  Yuri had puffed out his chest in pride at that praise. Yes, he was smart, unlike the stupid six-year-olds he was stuck with.  

But back to his nosy classmates… they used to ask him where his Mama and Papa were after they noticed that it was his Dedushka who would pick him up after school.  Yuri had not deigned them with a response, seeing how it was none of their business.  But nonetheless it did make him realize for the first time that his circumstances were not exactly orthodox.  He had always stood out like a sore thumb in his school, being the only student that looked well-dressed.  Somehow, he always got a nice set of fresh clothes almost like clockwork, every month.  And in the provincial farm village he grew up in, where everyone practically lived at the poverty level, he was the only one that was dressed in something that did not look like a hand-me-down or stitched together with scraps to cover-up worn holes.

It never really bothered him, but his curiosity was piqued and he had asked Dedushka one evening. “How come Mama and Papa don’t live with us?”

There had been a pregnant pause after that.  Yuri had stared at Dedushka with a piercing gaze.  He could tell that the older man was stalling for time, keeping his eyes on the plate before him and chewing his food more slowly than usual.

“Your Papa is away, Yuratchka.”

“Away where?”

At that point Nikolai Plisetsky finally met his grandson’s eyes. “I’m not sure, to be honest.  Your Papa travels around the world for work.”

Yuri had thought that it was quite selfish for a dad not to bring his son with him on some trips.  That was the point when he had decided that his Papa was also stupid.  

“And Mama?”

If it was possible, the worn look in Nikolai’s eyes grew even wearier.  He waved off Yuri’s question, clearly uncomfortable with the entire conversation.  “Well… you’ve seen your Mama, Yuri.  Sometimes she’s not that well.”

Yuri had played around with the remaining food on his late.  He hated vegetables but his Dedushka always made him eat them.   “Is that why she just stays in her room when she visits?”   He had asked without looking up.   

Another awkward silence had ensued.  Yuri almost thought that this grandfather was not going to answer until he had taken Yuri’s empty plate together with his to wash in the kitchen.  It was only when the man finally stood up with their plates and utensils did he answer him with a “Yes.”

After that conversation, his Dedushka told him that he was going to be homeschooled from then on.  A tutor would come by every weekday, Mr. Sokolov, who made things only a tad bit more tolerable by at least sparing him from having to go to school and interact with other kids.  He was super boring, but he’d always come by with his cat and Yuri absolutely loved cats.  

Mr. Sokolov still wasn’t cool though. The tutor was super strict and kept assigning Yuri hard math problems.  Who needs math anyway?

Dedushka once told him that he last saw his father when he was only three-years-old which explained why he could not remember the man.  It was like the man had left and erased all traces of himself from Yuri’s life.  He left no belongings in Dedushka’s house, no photographs, nothing.    

Even Mama, as infrequent and fleeting her visits were, kept a few of her belongings in the guest room where she would stay.  One time he had asked her how his Papa looked like.  He was around four-years-old back then.  Even with the characteristic obliviousness of a child he quickly knew that it was the wrong question to ask.  He remembered the incident clearly.  Dedushka was out in the farm that day and had already prepared dinner for them knowing that he’d be finishing later than usual.  His Mama’s door was left ajar when it was normally closed and locked and so Yuri’s curiosity got the better of him and he decided to take the chance and enter his Mama’s room, clutching his stuffed tiger Potya tightly in his arms.  

The curtains had been drawn almost completely closed, leaving only a narrow space for the afternoon sun to peek through.  The rays landed on his Mama’s platinum blonde locks.  The woman was lying facedown in the bed, her arm outstretched towards the nightstand.  

Yuri bit his lip as he shuffled over the remaining distance to the bed.  He winced when he stepped on a particularly noisy floorboard, causing a loud creak that almost seemed deafening in the silence of the room.  He frantically looked up when his Mama groaned.  The woman had shifted a bit but made no further motion to suggest that he woke her up.  

Regaining his courage, he took a few more steps until he reached the side of the bed.  He shifted his gaze from his Mama’s still form to peer curiously at the items on the nightstand.  It was a bit of a mess.  There was a small clear bag that held some weird kind of powder in it, a spoon, a lighter, and a syringe containing a liquid that had an odd sort of brown tinge to it.  

He had gasped and took a step back.  He hated needles!  He’d get stuck by them sometimes whenever his Dedushka would take him to the doctor for his shots.  Why would his Mama have one in the room?  

“Yura, what are you doing here?” A hoarse voice had interrupted the silence, making him jump.  He had turned around to see his Mama getting up, using one shaky arm to support her weight.  Her blue eyes were bloodshot and her hair was unkempt and a bit oily.  Her movements had caused the blankets to fall down, revealing bony shoulders and equally thin arms. She was skinny, skinnier than he remembered her being in her last visit.

Dedushka once told him that Mama used to be very pretty, that she’d even go around the world acting for movies and television dramas or model like for those magazine pictures and billboards he’d sometimes see on the rare trip to the city.  It was only because of his steadfast trust in his Dedushka that he believed him. Because if it weren't for that then he'd never believe that his Mama was at any point pretty judging by the way she looked now.  

She must be really sick, sicker than what Dedushka would admit if she had to inject herself with medicine all the time.  Yuri suddenly felt guilty for all the times he thought mean thoughts about Mama for not visiting him more often.  Why wasn’t she staying in a hospital?

“What are you doing here, Yura?”  His Mama had repeated.  Her voice was a little clearer this time.  He had watched as her eyes flit uncomfortably towards the nightstand before looking back at him.  She self-consciously tugged down on the long sleeves of her sweater to cover her wrists and sat up.  

Yuri stood taller and clutched Potya more tightly, drawing upon some inner strength. “I wanted to ask about Papa.”

That was obviously the wrong thing to say because the tired look in his Mama’s eyes had quickly turned into a steely glint. She had scowled and ran a hand roughly through her hair, growing frustrated when her fingers got tangled in a few knots. “Why would you be asking about him now of all times?”   She then paused and suddenly whipped her head back to face him, the sudden action causing him to jump back. “He’s not here, is he?!”  Mama had quickly looked at the open door.

“N-no, he’s not.  I just wanted to ask because a few kids at school were asking about him.”

His Mama’s posture had relaxed as she reached down the foot of the bed to grab her robe and wrap it around her sweater for extra warmth.  “Sooksin, that’s what your Papa is.”

Yuri had frowned at the unfamiliar word. “What’s ‘sooksin?’”

“A bad word that you shouldn’t repeat unless you want your Dedushka to smack you. And then me for using that word in front of you.”

The sound of footsteps had interrupted them as Nikolai knocked on the doorframe before opening the door wider, surprised to see Yuri in the room. “Yuratchka?  What are you doing here?” He had looked worriedly at his Mama.

“It’s fine, Kolya. Yuri was just checking in on me.”    

Yuri had remained quiet, burying his face in Potya’s fake fur.  That’s all he really remembered from that day.  It was another several months before his Mama visited again.  Nothing stood out from the last visit, she still looked the same, but apparently something happened because that was the last time he saw her.

Dedushka told him a couple of months later that Mama died in the hospital.  Yuri had an idea what death was.  Mr. Sokolov’s cat had died a few weeks prior.  Dedushka said it was a similar thing. It was basically going to sleep and never waking up but that everything’s okay because Mama was in heaven watching over them.  He asked too if it meant that Mr. Sokolov’s cat was with her or if there was a separate heaven for cats. Dedushka just shrugged saying that he wasn’t sure.

Well, if Mama was up in heaven then Yuri really hoped that she wasn’t watching right now because she probably wouldn't be happy with his behavior.  The weird man who randomly came over to visit them, Mr. Evgeny must have said something to Dedushka while he was finishing his homework because the two were talking in hushed whispers as he came downstairs to eat dinner.  And that was fine with him. Mr. Evgeny usually came every one or two months for dinner.  

But what was wrong was this talk about him going to America.  Yuri already knew that Mr. Evgeny was stupid, but why was his Dedushka taking his side?!

“What do you think, Yuratchka?  It will be exciting, right?”  Dedushka had a very stiff smile on his face, looking at him apprehensively for his reaction.  

Yuri gave the old man a blank look.  Shock quickly turned to rage, however, and he bit down on his lip to try and contain his anger. Under the table, hidden from the adults’ view his fists were clenched tightly and began to tremble with his suppressed emotions.  Yuri glared at Mr. Evgeny. Somehow he knew that it was all the stupid man’s fault!  

“No! I don’t wanna leave, I’m staying here!” He bit out through gritted teeth.  

“Yura…” Dedushka said plaintively but the young boy wasn’t having it.  He was quickly turning red and Nikolai knew that was a bad sign.  Yuri hardly threw tantrums in front of him but on the rare occasions that he did… He turned to Evgeny and whispered. “Genya, let’s talk this over.  I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“We can’t keep putting this off, Kolya.  You know this as much as I do.  Don’t think I haven’t noticed you having trouble walking around.  You need to take care of yourself as well.”

That quickly cut off the biting words that were about to pour out of Yuri’s mouth.  He looked worriedly at his Dedushka for confirmation.  Dread began to settle in his stomach, making him feel queasy when the older man did nothing to refute Evgeny’s words.  Was it because of him?  Was he making Dedushka sick too?  Yuri looked down at his untouched dinner plate.  Then a few months ago… did Mama die because of him too?  Was he somehow making everyone sick?  He watched his fists begin to shake again, not from anger this time but from some unnamed emotion churning in his gut.  

“Genya I can handle it. Really.  There’s no need to uproot Yuratchka from everything he knows.”  

“He’d have a better future there, Kolya, you know that.  Do you think we can keep doing this forever, just hiring tutors here for Yuri?  And then what after that?  Eventually he will be going abroad.  What better way than to start now?  And Mr. Nikiforov was very generous to offer to have him stay with his own son.  Raising Yuri among his peers is much better than having him stay in this small village with these ignorant people who probably never stepped a foot more than 50 kilometers away.”

“Don’t forget, you were raised here too Genya.”  For the first time that night Nikolai’s eyes burned with resentment and hurt.  “Don’t you dare forget your roots and don’t you dare belittle them.”

Evgeny had the decency to appear ashamed, but he soldiered on.  “I know, and I’ll never forget.  But that’s why I had to struggle so hard in the first place to get to where I am now.  How can you ask Yuri to go through the same when he has the chance of a lifetime for a better life now?”  

“I don’t want to go.” A small voice interrupted the two and the men turned around to look at Yuri who was still staring at his clenched fists.  He didn’t care if he had to live with a total stranger.  If it would make his Dedushka feel better he’ll do anything, as long as he got to stay in Russia.  He used to hate the village they lived in but now the very thought of moving somewhere else, a different country entirely (he’s seen maps, he knows how far away America was from Russia) terrified him.  “Not there. I can go somewhere else but not there. I want to stay in Russia.”

“Yuratchka-”

“But Yuri, there’s nothing here for you in Russia. Not yet at least,” Evgeny stood up from his chair and walked over to bend down to match Yuri’s height on the chair.  “You’ll have a much better chance there to build yourself up to the life you deserve.  Once you are ready, you’ll come back I promise.”  

Yuri glared back at the man.  Who was he to make all these decisions all of a sudden?  He’s never spoken so much to him before, just staying for a quick dinner before leaving. Why was he butting into his life now and telling him what to do and where to live of all things?  He began to seethe, the anger coming back in full force.

“Yura…” Dedushka noticed all the warning signs and tried to calm him down to no avail.  

“NO! I’M STAYING!”  Yuri then promptly kicked at the man, which at his current position allowed him to land his foot on the man’s chin.  Evgeny cried out a Russian curse and stumbled back, nursing his injury.  

Yuri pushed his chair back and jumped down, running up the stairs as fast as he could and slamming the door.  He paid no attention to his Dedushka’s calls from the dining room.  He was not going to say sorry. Stupid Mr. Evgeny deserved what he got!

It was only about a week to his birthday when Viktor received the phone call.  He was wearing his pajamas and was laying on his stomach in bed.  Scattered before him were several colored pencils in various colors as he propped himself on his elbows drawing a picture of himself and Yuuri in his sketchpad using one of Phichit’s pictures for reference.  He heard a knock on his door before it opened, revealing Lilia.

“Vitya?”  

“Yeah?”  He took another second to color in Yuuri’s brown eyes before looking up.  He wasn’t sure what to make of the expression on Baba’s face.  “What is it Baba?”

“Your Papa’s on the phone,” she said after a moment.  She walked over to look at the picture he was drawing and smiled upon seeing the obvious resemblance.  Viktor really did have great artistic potential. But back to the matter at hand… “He would like to speak with you Vitya.”  She watched as a curious look settled over Viktor’s face, his eyes holding a slight hint of uncharacteristic anxiousness.  

“Er… about what?”  It was a bit early for Papa to greet him a happy birthday. Was he planning to visit?  While he would normally be eager to see his father again, he could tell that the older alpha was not exactly fond of Yuuri.  And he couldn’t really understand why… what was wrong with Yuuri?  How could anybody not love someone as perfect as his Yuuri?  His Papa never seemed to mind Chris, Georgi, or Mila the few times he saw them.  But if Papa didn’t like Yuuri then he probably wouldn’t really like his new friends like Phichit, Guang Hong, or that new younger omega that Yuuri invited to his upcoming party, Kenjirou.  “Is he coming to visit me for my birthday?”

“Not exactly, but we’re going to have an extended visitor of sorts and we’re expecting him to arrive in the next few days.”  

Viktor looked up at his Baba with wide eyes, now very much intrigued.  “Who?”  

The sound of shouting interrupted them and the two looked at his open door to find Yakov stomping down the hall and into his bedroom.  The man was currently cursing up a storm at whoever was at the other end of the cordless phone he clutched tightly in his hand.  

Viktor’s curious eyes widened even further, amazed at the level of vitriol that was spewing from his grandfather’s mouth.  “Wooow,” he breathed as he listened to the angry Russian expletives.  “Hey Baba, what does ‘svoloch’ mean?”  

Lilia tutted at her husband as he continued screaming himself hoarse into the phone before pinning her grandson with a stern look.  “Nothing that you should know.  And if you say that word again I will clean your mouth out with soap.”

The young alpha promptly closed his mouth before his lips curved into a mischievous smile.  

She covered his ears with her hands before shouting at Yakov.  “Yasha have some restraint!  Mind your language in front of your grandson!”

Yakov muttered one last curse and said as his parting words, “I swear to God, Nikiforov, if you lead me to an early grave I’m dragging you down to hell myself.” He shoved the phone into Viktor’s hands.  “Your father wants to talk to you,” he bit out before he turned around and strode out of the room, his shoulders still tense with agitation.  

Viktor blinked down at the phone before cradling it up to his ear.  He saw his grandmother sit down at the edge of the bed beside him from the corner of his eye.  “Hello?”

“Vitya.”  He heard his father’s voice respond softly.  The background on his end was quiet, so he must be either at his office or back in his mansion.  

“Hi Papa,” a small smile spread across his face on reflex.  Even with his Papa so estranged from him, Viktor couldn’t help but feel warm whenever he heard his sire’s familiar, calm voice.  

“How are you?”  Andrei’s voice was gentle, a tone he reserved solely for his son and, once upon a time, for his wife.  

“‘M fine… are you okay too?” Viktor asked almost shyly.  

“Yes,”  Andrei looked absentmindedly at the paperwork he held in hands.  The Cyrillic characters began to blur together.  “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.  Do you remember your Aunt Irina?”  

“Um… a little bit.”  The truth was that he could vaguely recall her face.  He remembered a tall woman with long platinum blonde hair and azure eyes, both the same shades as his father’s.  The details were lost with time, since he was around five-years-old the last time he saw her.  “Why?”

“Your Aunt Irina had a son a little younger than you.  His name is Yuri.”

“Yuri?”  Viktor wondered at the strange coincidence.  Of all the names, why would his cousin share pretty much the same name as his mate?  

“Yes… he’s been living with his grandfather the past few years, but the man is getting older and is starting to have trouble caring for him on his own.  I offered to have Yuri live there with you.  He will be attending the same school as you, Vitya.”

“Oh…” Viktor perked up a bit at the thought of having a new friend. No, not just a friend, but family, and a boy around the same age as him.  This could be fun!  

“I want you to help him, Vitya.  Unlike you, Yuri grew up in Russia and I’m sure it will be a difficult adjustment for him.  He should know some English since he has private lessons, but I want you to be there for him and help him adjust to life there.  Will you do that?”

“Yeah, sure!”  Viktor’s smile turned into a heart and his eyes sparkled at thinking of all the fun they could have.  Oooh, it will be awesome!  Yuri’s going to love his mate and his friends!  The more, the merrier!

“Promise me, Vitya, don’t just be a cousin to him.  Treat him as your own brother.”

“Yeah, don’t worry Papa, I promise I’ll be the best older brother ever!”

Andrei closed his eyes in satisfaction upon hearing those words.  “Good.  Thank you, Vitya.  And an early happy birthday to you.  You should receive my gift that day.”  

“Kay, thank you Papa! I love you!”

“I love you too.  You should go to bed soon.  It’s late there now, yes?”

“Yeah, I’ll go brush my teeth. Bye bye, Papa,” Viktor turned his eyes up towards Lilia.  “Do you wanna talk to Baba?”

“Yes, please pass the phone to her.”    

“Okay,” Viktor turned over the phone to Lilia and scrambled off the bed. He whooped as he ran out of bedroom to go brush his teeth.  “We’re gonna have so much fun!”  Lilia could hear him say down the hall.

The grandmother smiled fondly at how excitable Viktor was. Then again the young boy was always eager to make new friends.  The smile faded though as she heard Andrei call her name from the phone.  “What are you scheming, Andrei?”

There was a brief moment of silence at the other end of the line.  Andrei sighed before he said, “Vitya needs to spend more time with his own kind.  He’s been acting out because he’s lonely.  My purpose for sending Yuri there is twofold.  He will become a companion for my son and I will also be helping Evgeny avoid scandal.”  

Lilia frowned and closed her eyes as she massaged her temples.  “Andrei… you truly are something else.”  She felt like she was one of few people on Earth who tried to understand the strange logic that ran the man’s mind.  It was something that she struggled with ever since Katya finally welcomed the man into her life and began dating him in earnest.  In the end, she felt that the only person who truly understood Andrei was Katya herself.  

“What do you mean?”

“What you’re doing right now… you can’t just move people around like pawns on a chessboard. You’re playing with people’s lives, Andrei.  How does your nephew feel about this?”  

There was a pause on the other end of the line as her question was met with silence.  Had she had less dignity, Lilia would have groaned out loud in exasperation.  Instead she simply took a calming breath and said in a deadpan tone, “Andrei… did you even bother to ask how Yuri feels about this?”

A slightly furrowed brow was the only visible sign of Andrei’s discomfiture. He would never admit it to any soul, but the truth was that apart from Katya, Lilia was the only other person in the world who had the capability of chastising the grown alpha.  Not even his own parents had the talent of making the alpha feel shame over his actions, something that Katya used to joke was the reason for his stubbornness and arrogance.  “He’s a child, only five-years-old.  I don’t see how Yuri can grasp the full nature of his circumstances.”

“Of course he cannot!” Lilia couldn’t help but raise her voice a little in her frustration. “But that doesn’t negate the fact that Yuri is a child with feelings.  You cannot just move him about according to your whims just because you feel like he can fill in a void in Vitya’s life.” 'A void that I don’t think truly exists anymore at this point,’ Lilia thought to herself as she recalled how happy Viktor has been ever since they had settled everything in the school.  She even saw Viktor skip to school yesterday when she and Yakov dropped him off.  Yes, Viktor was ecstatic at the thought of having family stay with them, he always had a big heart like that. But to uproot Yuri from Russia just for this?  “That child is not like one of your employees, Andrei.  You cannot just command him to do what you want as you please.”

“Yuri will undoubtedly have a difficult time at first,” Andrei conceded, “but that is why Vitya will be there for him.  In the end, this is the best for everyone. Yuri will have a brighter future there.”

“A future away from everything he knows, including the only family he does know.”  Lilia was still not buying Andrei’s argument.  

“The only family he truly knows here is his grandfather. That is all.”

“Yes, because Evgeny refuses to reveal to the child that he is his father.”  Lilia shook her head at the entire mess.  It caused quite the outcry within the Nikiforov family when the news broke out that Irina was pregnant. Very few people knew that Evgeny was the father. In the end, Irina was disowned and Andrei was the only one out of the entire family who took care of her against their parents’ wishes.  With such a dysfunctional family, could she truly blame Andrei for being the way he is?  

“Don’t you see, Lilia?  Yuri growing up isolated in Russia with only his grandfather for company will do nothing but harm him in the end.  Nikolai is getting old, he’s starting to have issues with his farm and now he’s starting to have more health issues as well.  He will have a much more stable home there with you, Yakov, and Vitya.”

Lilia was beginning to understand Andrei’s viewpoint now.  She could almost picture Katya’s smile in her mind, her daughter once saying, "See, Mama?  I told you that Andrei is a kind and caring man.  He just buries his love deep down."  

“If you are certain, Andrei.  I have a feeling nothing that I say will dissuade you anyway.”

“I am certain,” the man’s voice was confident but lacked its usual arrogance.  His tone was almost warm.  “And I know that this is what Ira would have wanted as well.  I couldn’t save her, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t save her son.”

There was another moment of silence as both adults thought about the woman’s tragic death, just a few months after Katya’s own untimely passing.  It had been a difficult time for all of them, Irina had become a dear friend to Katya, the two quite close as sister-in-laws. “Very well, Andrei.  Of course we’ll welcome Yuri with open arms here.  We’re also his family  through Vitya.  But if I sense that things are not improving, I will have to insist that he goes back there.”  

“Understood.  Good night, Lilia.”  The man didn’t bother to wait for her response before he hung up.  She rolled her eyes as she turned off the phone.  Typical Nikiforov behavior.  

“Baba?”  Viktor called as he skipped back into the room.  

“Vitya, you took quite a long time to brush your teeth.”  Not that Lilia was necessarily complaining.  It was good that she had a few extra minutes of privacy to speak with Andrei.  

“I was talking to Deda about all the fun Yuri and are I gonna have here.  I don’t think he’s that excited about Yuri coming though.”   

“Hn,” Lilia distracted herself by gathering all the colored pencilsscattered across Viktor’s bed and placing them into his artbox.  “You know how your Deda is.  It takes him some time to warm up to new people.”  Although she was sure that it wasn't the full reason why her husband was mad, but Viktor was too young for her to share everything. Even though the boy was well aware that his Deda and Papa didn’t get along it wasn’t prudent to air out all the ugly details to a child.  

“I guess…”  Viktor hopped up on his bed and crawled over to his pillows before settling himself under his blankets.  “I’m sure he’ll like Yuri, though. I mean, he’s my cousin so he must be nice, right?”  It made Viktor wonder why Yuri never came to visit him before.  But then again, he hardly went to Russia himself so it’s not as if he was any better.

Lilia smiled at Viktor as she closed his sketchpad and placed it and his artbox over on top of his desk.  She sat down once again at the edge of the bed, tucking Viktor snugly under the blankets.  It was just a force of habit really, since she knew that he always ended up kicking them off in his sleep.  “Just take it easy on Yuri, Vitya,” she said cautiously, not wanting to ruin his excitement but at the same time trying to gently tell the boy not to get his hopes up too high.  “It’s going to be difficult for him. He’s pretty much moving away from all that he knows.  Don’t be too surprised if he’s not exactly happy to be here.”

Her words seemed to knock some sense into her grandson.  Viktor blinked.  “Oh, I never thought of it that way before,” he said softly.  “So why is Yuri coming here to stay with us Baba?  Did something happen to his papa too?”  Viktor remembered learning that Aunt Irina died, just a few months after his own Mama’s death, but he had been so upset still over his own Mama and had never been that close to his aunt that he hardly paid any attention to the news.  

“His Papa is away a lot, Vitya.  He doesn’t really live together with Yuri.”

“Oh…” A thoughtful expression passed over Viktor’s face.  “We have a lot in common, then.”

Lilia hummed in agreement, wondering how she didn’t think of it before either. A determined glint came back to her grandson’s eye.  “Don’t worry, Baba, I’ll do my best to make him happy here.  I made a promise to Papa after all.”

“Yuri will be lucky that you’re here for him then,” Lilia smiled and bent down to press a kiss on his forehead before standing up.  “Goodnight, Vitya.”

“Goodnight Baba.”

“So basically your cousin is gonna arrive in a couple of days and is going to stay with you?” Chris asked curiously during recess inside the gym the next day when Viktor shared the development with his friends.  

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Viktor said as he intertwined his fingers with Yuuri’s.

“How long is he staying?” Yuuko asked curiously. She scooted over to make room for Takeshi as he sat down on the bleachers to join the group.

“Hey Takeshi,” Viktor greeted before turning back to Yuuko, “I think he’s actually staying, staying.”

“Like forever?”

“Yeah.  Unless he really hates it here or something I guess.”

“Who is staying where?” Takeshi asked, puzzled.

“Viktor’s cousin from Russia is coming to live with Viktor,” Phichit explained.  

“And guess what his name is!” Mila asked teasingly.  

Takeshi blinked and leaned back, “Um…” There were so many possible names, how was he supposed to know?

“It’s Yuri!”  Leo exclaimed, not being able to help himself.  “Isn’t that weird?!”

“Huh,” Takeshi looked over at Yuuri.  “Yeah, that is weird. What are the odds, right?  I didn’t know that Yuri was a Russian name.”

“It’s actually fairly common in Russia,” Georgi said.  “People just spell it different ways in English.”

“Do you know what homeroom he was assigned to, Viktor?  He might even be in the same homeroom as me.  Or maybe Kenjirou.” Guang Hong asked.  

Viktor groaned. “Aww, I forgot to ask my Papa that!”

“It’s okay, you’ll find out in a few days anyway,” Leo said.  

“Anyways, I actually came over to ask if any of you want to play kickball with my friends,” Takeshi said, gesturing over to the group of older betas and alphas on the other corner of the gym.  “It’s more fun with more people.”

Georgi, Mila, Chris, Yuuko and Leo immediately nodded their heads.  They made to get up from the bleachers.

Phichit stood up as well. “I’ll pass on playing but I’ll take pictures! I wanted to practice taking pictures of people moving.”  

Guang Hong stood up beside him, “And I’ll come watch.”

“Awesome!” Takeshi looked over to his other two friends.   “Yuuri, Viktor?  You guys interested?”

“Thanks Takeshi, but we’ll pass.  Yuuri and I are gonna talk a bit more,” Viktor said.

“Okay, maybe next time then,” Takeshi nodded his head over to the corner.  “Come on, we only have like ten minutes of recess left!” The friends decided to race over there with Phichit and Guang Hong following them at a slower pace.  

Yuuri smiled over at seeing their group get along with Takeshi and his friends.  

“I hope Yuri will like it here,” Viktor said.  

It took a few seconds for Yuuri to realize that Viktor was talking about his cousin and not himself.  It was strange sharing a name with someone who will also soon become a part of Viktor’s life.  “I think he will.  He might not be exactly happy at first--I know I would be sad at leaving a place I grew up in and scared too,” Yuuri said and Viktor turned to look at his mate.  “But we’ll be here for him, Vitya,” the omega said with a comforting smile, confident because of his faith in Viktor and their friends.  “It’s not just you who will be here for him. He’ll have friends in us too.”

Yuuri’s rare moment of confidence boosted Viktor’s own and he nodded eagerly.  “You’re right. Thanks, Yuuri.”  He squeezed Yuuri’s hands.  “I promised my Papa that I would be the best older brother for Yuri, but I forgot how important it is for him to have other friends too.  And I wanna do a good job because I remember how bad it was when my Mama died.  Yuri lost his Mama too.” Viktor grimaced as he recalled his memories of the terrible months.  "I was sad for the longest time.  I wanna make sure that Yuri knows that there are people out there who care for him, just like I got happier when I met you."

Yuuri's eyes widened at hearing Viktor's confession. He had always seen the alpha happy, with the one exception being the few weeks they spent apart. It was difficult to imagine his mate being so upset, but he knew he'd also feel terrible if any of his parents died.  He hugged Viktor.   

“Vitya...Don’t worry, we’ll be here for him together.”

Viktor smiled softly as he leaned over to press his forehead against Yuuri’s. He looked down at their joined hands. “Yeah, together.”

But Yuri’s expected departure date of December 22nd came and went and he was still in Russia.  Not that Yuri was complaining, but he just wished that it wasn’t because Dedushka got sick.  He was at the hospital waiting room with Mr. Evgeny and someone the man knew from work, Ms. Natalya. He had no idea what business the woman had in visiting his Dedushka since he was pretty sure she didn’t know Dedushka but apparently it was because she was supposed to bring him to America.

Great, just another person to add to his list of ‘stupid people.’  And to think that Mr. Evgeny thought that he should still leave and go to America?  

Well, he sure showed him exactly what he thought about that idea.  Yuri had never thrown such a violent tantrum in his life.  Apparently even their neighbors heard him yelling, which was quite the feat since their houses were separated by a large swath of pasture.  And so Mr. Evgeny gave in and allowed him to come visit his Dedushka.  

“Evgeny Petrov?” A doctor stepped out of a patient’s room and called out into the waiting room.  Evgeny and Natalya stood up and Yuri quickly followed suit, hopping down the uncomfortable plastic chair.  He quickly ran over to the doctor before Evgeny could reach out and grab a hold of him.  

“Yuri!” he heard the man call out.  But Yuri ignored him as he stopped right before the doctor, the older man blinking down at him.  

“Is Dedushka okay?”

The stern-looking doctor smiled.  “Yes, don’t worry.  Your grandfather will be just fine.” He looked up to see Evgeny and Natalya walk over.  “It’s just a mild case of bronchitis. He doesn’t have any pneumonia, and he has no fever.  Just a day or two at most and he should be good to go.”  He stepped aside and opened the door, gesturing for the three to enter.  

Yuri quickly ran over to the edge of the bed.  “Dedushka!” He cried out happily at seeing the man awake.

“Yuratchka, you’re still here?”  Nikolai looked over at Evgeny.  

“He refused to leave until he knew that you were okay.  He put up quite a forceful argument.” Evgeny gave a small smile.  “I’m glad to see that you’re well.”

Nikolai chuckled and stretched an arm out to pat Yuri’s head.  “I can imagine.  Now, Yuratchka, don’t go causing trouble for these folks.  I’m alright.”

Yuri’s cheeks puffed up as he pouted.  “I wanted to make sure you were okay.  You scared me,” he admitted in a softer voice.  

Nikolai’s eyes were rueful.  “I’m sorry for worrying you, Yura, but you heard the doctor.  I’ll be alright, I promise.  You should probably leave soon though.” He looked at Natalya, asking her silently.  

The woman nodded and glanced down at her watch.  “If we leave now, we will still have enough time to reach the airport and catch a red eye flight.”  

“There is a forecast of an incoming snowstorm,” Evgeny said worriedly.  “It would be best if you two can leave tonight to make sure you don’t get delays.  It’s expected to come in tomorrow morning.”  

Yuri scowled. He didn’t see what was the big deal. Why the rush to send him off? He could just as easily wait until after the storm.  

“Yura, come here,” Nikolai waved a hand over and the boy quickly complied.  Once he was close enough, Nikolai reached over to hold on to Yuri’s free hand, the one that wasn’t currently holding Potya.  “It’s time, Yura.  As much as I hate to say it, Mr. Evgeny is right.  You’ll be better in America.”

Yuri shook his head furiously, starting to feel tears well up in his eyes. He was not going to cry in front of Mr. Evgeny and Ms. Natalya! He couldn’t understand what was the big deal about America.  What was so good about it, and why can’t he just stay here in Russia?  “I promise I’ll be good, I promise I’ll do my homework without complaining anymore.  I even promise to eat all my vegetables! Just don’t make me leave,” he hissed out. Yuri was embarrassed at how his voice wavered and buried his face behind Potya to hide the tears that finally fell down his cheeks.

“Oh Yuratchka,” Nikolai’s face grew sadder as he let go of his grandson’s hand to wipe away the tears with his thumb.  “Yura, Yura, please don’t be sad.”

“I’m NOT sad!”  Yuri gasped out.  “I’m angry!  I don’t understand why all of you want me to go away!  Do you hate me? What did I do?!” He couldn’t recall getting in trouble recently, at least nothing out of the ordinary before this sudden talk of him leaving.

“Yura, please, it’s not that!”  Now even Nikolai was getting a bit distressed.  He desperately tried to reason with his grandson.  “It’s because you also have family there, they’ll be able to take better care of you there.  And you can go to a good school, a school full of smart kids like yourself.”

“I don’t care. I don’t know any of them, I just care about you! I want to stay here!”

“Yuri…” Evgeny softly began as he walked over to kneel down on his knees beside the child.  “Let your grandfather rest.  Things have been a little difficult for him right now with his farm--and it’s not because of you, I swear,” he quickly added at seeing Nikolai’s warning look.  “But if you stay in America you’ll be taken care of by your other relatives.  You’ll like your cousin Viktor and I know you’ll like your new school.  It will let your grandfather concentrate on himself and get better.  And I promise, once things calm down and your grandfather feels well, I’ll have him come visit you.”  

Nikolai looked at Evgeny in surprise.  

Yuri glared at the man, daring him to lie.  “You promise?” He asked bitterly.  

Evgeny nodded solemnly.  “I swear to you, Yuri.  Your grandfather will get better and he’ll visit you.”  

Yuri turned his eyes over to Nikolai.  For a few seconds the room was completely silent before the boy nodded, resigned.  “Fine.  I’ll go.”  

Hours later he and Natalya were in the first class cabin flying hundreds of feet in the air.  Yuri would normally be delighted at the new experience, but unfortunately the boy couldn’t bring it in himself to be excited over his first airplane flight, knowing that it was sending him further and further away from Dedushka and everything he knew.  

Natalya sensed that the boy wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon, despite how late it was.  She decided to occupy the boy's time in a different way.  “Yuri, I have some pictures that you can look at.”  

The boy simply glared up at her, silent.  He continued to run his fingers through his worn tiger plush, subconsciously finding comfort in the familiar motions.  Natalya let the boy’s anger roll off her and reached to her side to retrieve a set of photos from her suitcase.  She used her other hand to lower Yuri’s tray table before him and placed the photos on the flat surface.  

Yuri frowned but his curiosity took over as he leaned to get a better look at the pictures.  The first one was of a grand-looking building in the middle of a beautiful campus.  

“That one there will be your new school,” Natalya explained as she saw the picture he was looking at.  “It’s just less than half an hour drive away from your new home.”  

The young blond then looked at another picture of a young boy with shoulder-length silver hair and blue eyes smiling toothily up at the camera.  Something about the boy annoyed him immediately and Yuri couldn’t really figure out why.  Maybe because the boy just looked so happy.

“And that’s your cousin, Viktor.  But we all call him Vitya.  He’s seven now, but he will be eight in a few days.”  

‘Hn, so this is Viktor.’ Yuri’s eyes narrowed as he peered down at the picture. He could see the family resemblance now.  The boy’s eyes were exact copies of his Mama’s.  Yuri’s eyes were green, so he figured that he got them from his father.  He then looked at another picture where Viktor was standing in between an older-looking man and woman, who looked to be a little younger than his Dedushka.  

“That there is Deda Yakov and Baba Lilia, Viktor’s grandparents.  They live together with him, and from now on they’ll look after you too.”

Yuri scowled. Well he sure is never going to call Yakov Dedushka.  He only had one Dedushka, and he was forced to leave him behind back in Russia.  

Ms. Natalya was apparently not as stupid as some other grownups because she seemingly read his mind and said, “It will be difficult at first, Yuri, but please give it some time and give them a chance.”  

Yuri didn’t deign her with a response.  Oh, he had his own plans.  He glared back down at the photo of Viktor.  Somehow this was all his stupid cousin's fault. Yuri had no idea how, but he knew it for a fact.  He did promise Dedushka that he’d go, but he never said anything about not trying to come back.  Well, he’ll just have to make sure to show them very clearly how dragging him here was a huge mistake.  

Stupid Viktor Nikiforov will find out just what it means to mess with Yuri Plisetsky.

Chapter Text

Chapter 24: Happy Birthday, Vitya!

In which a new addition to the family arrives at Vitya’s party

Viktor found himself floating on the edge of consciousness, enjoying the last vestiges of his dream as he slowly ascended to wakefulness.  He smiled as he blinked his eyes open to see the drapes of his four-post bed.  He couldn’t remember the details, but he knew that he had a happy dream, one that had his Mama in it.  

He yawned and let go of Yuuri’s hand so he could stretch, taking care not to hit the omega sleeping beside him.  His movements caused Yuuri’s brows to furrow, the omega’s lips jutted out in a pout as the smaller boy blindly grasped at the sheets with one hand, seeking out Viktor’s.  The alpha giggled and turned over so he could hold onto his omega’s hand once more.  Yuuri smiled in satisfaction the moment his hands were enveloped by Viktor’s familiar grasp and settled down once more.  He had been sleeping over at the Nikiforov mansion the past two days since their school’s Holiday Break started, and the Katsukis arrived the day before Christmas Eve to help with his birthday and Christmas celebrations.  

Viktor sighed, quite content with the past few days.  The only brief disappointment was when Yuri’s arrival date came and passed without his young cousin showing up.  Viktor had even created a “WELCOME YURI!” banner and hung it up in the foyer.  He even transferred all of his teddy bears (he now absolutely hates anything that remotely reminded him of a bear) and a selection of his other plushies and old (but still in excellent condition!) toys over to Yuri’s room.  He wanted to buy some new ones but Baba made a good point when she reasoned that he should allow Yuri to select what toys he’d like to purchase from the toys store.  

He, Yuuri, Baba, and Deda were waiting for about an hour in the parlor when Baba got the phone call from Natalya that they had not been able to make it on their planned flight.  He wasn’t too sure what happened, but Baba said that his cousin may be delayed for a few days.  Deda had simply cursed his father off again, complaining about how they weren’t informed earlier and simply grumbled on his way back to his study.  

He shrugged off the disappointment easily enough, going back upstairs with Yuuri to his room and talking about what other preparations they still had to make for his party.  In the past his Mama would always be the one to plan any celebrations, but he was pretty much a grownup now since he was married with a mate and all so it only made sense if he planned his own birthday party.  He had told Baba of his plans a few weeks ago and the older woman simply smiled at him indulgently and told him to do what he wanted and have Anna and Nadia help him out.  Deda said he cared less what he decided to do as long as he doesn’t set anything on fire. Again.  Viktor grimaced just thinking about that embarrassing mishap back when he was still trying to court Yuuri.

But now it was morning on Christmas Eve, the day before his birthday and he and Yuuri still had stuff to prepare before their friends arrived!  Chris, Mila, Georgi, Guang Hong, Phichit, Takeshi, and Kenjirou had all confirmed that they were coming, with everyone getting permission from their parents to arrive later that afternoon. Unfortunately Kenjirou and Takeshi won’t be able to sleepover, but at least most of their other friends would be able to stay. So basically it was a two-day celebration! It made Viktor practically vibrate with excitement.  

Yuuri must have sensed some of his eagerness to leave the bed because the omega squirmed a bit in his cocoon of blankets before he let go of Viktor’s hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes.  Viktor smiled as he watched those crimson-brown eyes blink open, gaze still unfocused and bleary from sleep.  

“Vitya?” Yuuri blinked again and squinted his eyes to look around the room. “Is it morning already?”

Viktor beamed.  “Yup! Good morning Yuuri!”    

The omega scowled and closed his eyes, drawing the blankets more tightly around himself as he curled further into their warmth.  “Five more minutes.”

“Yuuuuuri!”  His mate was absolutely adorable!  Viktor laughed as he poked Yuuri’s cheeks a couple of times.  “Yuuuuri, wake up! We still have to make sure everything is ready before everyone arrives!”

Yuuri grumbled as Viktor began to sandwich the omega’s cheeks between his palms.  The alpha was giggling as he smushed them together, making Yuuri’s lips pout out.  “Vityaa,” Yuuri whined as he finally opened his eyes again, “just five more minutes, please!” Crimson-brown eyes stared into ocean blue.  

Viktor smiled trying to stifle his laughter.  His omega was so cute when he was grumpy!  Yuuri was definitely not a morning person, something he learned quite quickly over the few times that Yuuri had slept over at his place.  He was the total opposite, but Viktor could never deny something that Yuuri wanted.  “Okay.” He nuzzled Yuuri’s forehead and settled down, curled beside the other boy.  Viktor contented himself with gazing adoringly at his mate, gushing internally at how cute the other boy looked swaddled in the blankets, his face completely surrounded with the sheets with tufts of jet-black hair sticking up messily at odd angles.  

Yuuri crinkled his nose and scowled.  “Vitya…” he whined.  

Viktor smiled wider.  “Yeah?”

“Stop staring at me.  I can’t sleep if you’re staring.”

“Wow!  How did you know?  Your eyes are closed!”

Yuuri sniffled and squirmed a bit.  “I can just tell.  Stop staring.”

Viktor giggled but complied, closing his eyes as his breathing also calmed down, basking in the warmth of being next to his mate.  

But it wasn’t even a full five minutes before he heard a knock on his bedroom door.  Viktor turned around to find Mari pop her head in the door before opening it wider and stepping inside.  He put a finger to his lips and gestured for her to be quiet.  Mari simply quirked up an eyebrow at him and walked up to the bed.  

“My Yuuri still wants to sleep,” Viktor whispered.  

Mari was unmoved.  “Well, my brother should wake up if he doesn’t want to eat a cold breakfast.”  She didn’t bother whispering, and in fact, spoke loudly no doubt in an attempt to wake up Yuuri.  

Viktor stuck his tongue out at her as Yuuri shifted beside him.  

“Nee-san?” Yuuri rubbed his eyes again as he blinked at her.  

“Wake up, Yuuri.  Okaa-san said breakfast is ready. It’s gonna get cold if you don’t come down and eat it soon.”

“Breakfast?”  Yuuri still looked like he wanted to continue sleeping, but his eyes appeared more awake.  

“Okay… you’re obviously still half asleep,” Mari tutted as she walked over to Yuuri’s side of the bed. She grabbed a corner of the comforter and yanked it back, causing Yuuri to whimper at the sudden cold and grab Viktor for warmth.  The alpha laughed as the smaller boy buried his face in his chest, hugging him tightly.

“Come on Yuuri, don’t make me get Otou-san to come up here and carry you down.”

“Get up so we can eat, Yuuri,” Viktor tried to convince the other boy in his arms.  “Aren’t you hungry?”

“He’s always hungry,” Mari said in a deadpan tone.  

Yuuri whipped his head around, almost bumping the crown of his head on Viktor’s chin in the process. “Am not!”  

“Are too.”

“Am not!”  Yuuri scowled at his sister, which would have looked intimidating if he still didn’t look so cute in the process.  Viktor stayed silent with bated breath as the two Katsuki siblings stared each other down.  The silence was broken when a soft rumbling sound came from Yuuri’s tummy.  

“Ha!” Mari’s eyes were triumphant, her lips curled in a smirk.  “Told you.” While the words may have sounded mean on any other person’s tongue, her tone was warm with affection.  She tossed the blankets back onto Yuuri once more.  “Five minutes.  If you two are not down in five minutes, I’m going to get Otou-san to pull you out of bed.”  And with that Mari walked out of the room but kept the door ajar in a last unspoken message for them to follow soon.

“‘M not fat,” Yuuri grumbled, his lips curved once more into a pout.  

Viktor smiled and hugged him one more time before sitting himself up.  “She didn’t call you fat, Yuuri.”

“But she was hinting at it by saying that I’m always hungry,” Yuuri said indignantly, wrapping his arms around his middle in embarrassment.  

Viktor gave him a quick peck on his nose. “Well, I don’t think you’re fat.  But even if you are?  I love you no matter what shape you come in.”  Viktor gave a squeeze around Yuuri’s forearms, where the boy also had a bit of chub.   

“Really?  Even…”  Yuuri paused, trying to mull over his next words. “Even if I blow up like a big balloon?” He asked timidly.  

“Yup, even then!”  Viktor thought the answer was rather obvious. Why would he care how Yuuri would look like?  He’d love him no matter what!  Viktor tugged on Yuuri’s wrists gently, urging the other boy to get up as well.  “Come on, let’s go eat!”  

---

Hiroko smiled once she saw the two boys make their way downstairs, dressed early in Christmas-themed sweaters.  Viktor was sporting a fashionable wine-red knitted sweater that had a green accent on the edges of his cuffs while Yuuri donned a Lion King-themed sweater with print of a young Simba wearing a Santa hat posed between Timon and Pumba.  “Ah, it's about time you boys came down. I was just about to go upstairs to get you!"  She gestured to the open seats next to Mari, who was already halfway through her breakfast.  

Yuuri’s eyes brightened upon seeing his Okaa-san’s traditional breakfast dishes.  Even after only a few days of staying over at Viktor’s he was already starting to miss her cooking.  At this point he was happy to eat pretty much anything that came with rice.   

“Right here, Yuuri-chan,” Hiroko chirped happily, patting the back of an empty seat as her son ambled on over to her. She poured some miso soup into his bowl and added another scoop of rice onto his plate.  Viktor took his seat right next to him.

“Some of your friends should be arriving soon,” Lilia commented lightly in between sips of her tea.  

“Yeah!  Yuuri and I can’t wait!”  Viktor said as he eagerly began to scarf down his own plate.  Yuuri nodded silently beside him. It wasn’t too long before the two finished breakfast and made their way to the den to check in on some of the preparations they had made the day before.  

Viktor had requested the smaller TV set that was there to be replaced by the much larger one they had from the entertainment room.  Then he and Yuuri removed all the cushions from the couches and had some extra pillows, blankets, and mattresses brought down on the floor.  With Anna and Nadia’s help, they hung several light blankets across the room, joining them from end to end into a makeshift tent. The remaining space was decorated with Christmas lights, in keeping up with the holiday theme.  With the large, almost floor-length windows that encompassed one side of the wall offering a beautiful view of the spruce evergreens and frosted grass of the backyard, they wouldn’t have to stretch their imaginations much to make believe that they were camping outside.  

It was where they were going to sleepover with their friends.  Viktor got the idea after his fun adventure with Yuuri back in the cabin (and they did have a lot of fun running away up until they ran into the bear).  Viktor smiled proudly as he took in Yuuri’s happy expression.  “What do you think?”

The omega clapped happily before he bent down to test the softness of one of the mattresses.  He stretched himself out to gather up one of the nearby blankets and began to straighten it and arrange it on top.  Viktor watched amusedly as Yuuri began to roll up the edges to make a sort of cushion and tucked the pillows at the sides.   

“All we’ll need is Makka and Vicchan, and then we’ll be set!” Yuuri said with a determined spark in his eye.  

Viktor’s response was interrupted by a doorbell.  The two turned to each other excited.  “They’re here!” They cheered in unison.  Viktor grabbed Yuuri’s hand as they ran down the hallway.  Lilia was just opening the door just when the two kids reached the foyer.  Mila, Georgi, and Chris’s faces smiled from the other side of the storm door.  

“Vitya, no running!” Yakov shouted from his seat in the parlor as the two ran past him.  Toshiya chuckled when the children just continued speeding around the corner without a care.  

“Viktor! Happy Birthday!” Mila greeted as she went through the door first, hugging the two boys.  “Well I know it’s tomorrow, but still!”

Georgi smiled and gave them a wave as he carried their bag of presents in addition to a backpack stuffed with stuff for a sleepover.  

Chris carried an even heavier looking bag.  “I brought my videogame collection! And Takeshi says he’s bringing extra controllers too!” He turned over to Lilia.  “Hi Mrs. Feltsman, you look absolutely beautiful this morning!”

Lilia simply quirked an eyebrow at him and nudged him inside.  Over the course of forty minutes, everyone had arrived, Kenjirou being the last one. His eyes were wide as they flitted back and forth, taking in the sheer size of Viktor’s home. For once, he was actually speechless.  

“Hi Kenjirou!” Yuuri greeted him. That seemed to pull the younger boy out of his stupor.

“Yuuri-senpai!”  Yuuri gave out an ‘oof’ as the younger boy barreled into him and wrapped him in an enthusiastic hug.  Yuuri looked across the room over the boy’s shoulder and gestured Viktor to come over.  

“Vitya, this is Kenjirou. He’s the one who helped deliver my letters when we got separated.”

“Oh wow, hi!”  Viktor stuck out his hand as the smaller boy shook it enthusiastically. “Thanks so much for helping out me and Yuuri back then!” His praise caused Kenjirou’s chest to puff out proudly, his cheeks blushing a light pink.

“It was no problem, really! I was happy to do it! It was like I was on a super secret mission!” His comment made the others laugh as they made their way into the living room.  They placed their gifts by the tree before they made their way to eat in the dining room where Mr. Moreau had set out an assortment of snacks earlier.  The adults had pretty much left them alone at this point, with Nadia or Anna just occasionally stopping by to clear up any messes and refill the refreshments.  

“Guang Hong told me your cousin will be coming into our grade. Is he here already?”  Kenjirou asked Viktor from across the table.  

“Yeah he’s gonna be in our school, but he’s not here yet.  We’re not sure exactly when he’s coming, and I don’t know what homeroom he got assigned to.”

“That’s okay.  Guang Hong and I will look out for him,” Kenjirou said, glancing at the omega who nodded in agreement at his words.  

“Not that there’s much to worry about,” Guang Hong added. “I mean, pretty much all the people in our grade are nice.”

“That’s good,” Yuuri smiled as he pushed his plate away from him, feeling full from all the food.  

“You see, Viktor? You don’t have anything to worry about!” Chris patted his best friend’s back.  

Viktor blinked, shaking his head.  “I wasn’t worried-” he paused, thinking about Chris’s words.  “Well, okay, maybe I was a little bit worried.”  He honestly just wanted to make Yuri’s transition into his new life with them as easy as possible.  Not having to worry about bullies was a relief.  

“Now come on, let’s go look through our gifts and sort them out!”  Mila led the way as everyone else followed her back to the living room.  They had just tossed the gift bags under the tree rather haphazardly earlier.  

“Let’s take them out of all the bags first,” Takeshi said, sitting at the foot of the tree.  “Here,” he said, passing Georgi one of the bags and giving Chris another.  

“Wow, your Christmas tree is huge Viktor!” Kenjirou exclaimed as he craned his neck to look at the flashing star perched on top of the tree.  The evergreen filled the space around them with the distinctive scent of fir.  The ceiling of the living room stretched three floors above the children, with the second floor opened to a balcony that spanned two of the walls, leading to the hallways that connected the bedrooms.    

“Yeah, I do think the tree they got this year is taller than usual,” Viktor commented distractedly as he began to pile a bunch of gifts around Yuuri.  The poor omega looked positively gobsmacked and watched with wide eyes as the pile got higher and higher.

“W-wait a second…” Yuuri mumbled.  His brows furrowed once the pile of gifts reached the height of his shoulders.  He stood up and watched with comically wide eyes as Viktor continued piling the gifts one on top of the other until they were finally tall enough to obstruct his view of the silver-haired male.  “Vitya!”  He cried out, now alarmed as he tried to shift his way around the boxes, only to find that he was effectively trapped in a circle of gifts.

He heard a chorus of laughter from their friends.

“Oh my God, Viktor, did you seriously just trap Yuuri in a wall of presents?”  He heard Takeshi’s chuckling from his left side.

“Huh?  Oh!  I guess I kinda did.”  Yuuri watched as one column of the gifts shifted over revealing a narrow view of Viktor’s silver bangs and his cerulean eyes.  “Sorry, Yuuri!”

But Yuuri wasn’t upset, he was simply bewildered.  “There’s gotta be a mistake. How are these all my gifts?”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “But they are though,” he insisted.

“How?!”  

“Well, all our friends’ gifts for you are towards the bottom.”

“Yeah, then how about all the other ones?”

Viktor didn’t answer him, simply saying, “Here, I’ll move some over so you can come out.”  Viktor’s head disappeared from view as he bent down to carefully shift the gifts over inch by inch until Yuuri was able to sidestep his way out.  

Yuuri sighed as he finally connected the dots.  “Then all the other gifts…”

“Are from me!”  Viktor’s smile was a huge heart.  He hugged Yuur tightly and in his eagerness actually managed to lift the omega a bit, causing the ravenhead to stand on his tiptoes.  “I couldn’t decide on one, so I just got you a whole bunch!”  

“Vityaaa….” Yuuri cried, covering his eyes when he began to see the flashes from Phichit’s camera. “Why?  I only got you one gift! It’s not fair.”  

“Aww, come on Yuuri don’t cover your face!” Phichit whined at the same time that Viktor laughed.

“Don’t worry about that Yuuri! I don’t care about the number of gifts you got me.  I mean, really, just you being here for Holiday Break is a big enough gift.”  Viktor relaxed his arms, letting Yuuri’s feet fall flat on the floor again.  

“Really?”

“Yeah really.” Viktor’s smile turned soft, but no less loving as he swayed them back and forth.  

“Yuuri-senpai and Viktor-senpai are so cute,” Kenjirou gushed beside Mila who was giggling.  

“Their love is forever, that’s for sure,” Phichit said, fiddling with a setting on his camera before taking another picture of the young couple lost in their own little world again.  

“H-here,” Yuuri murmured as he pushed Viktor away gently to allow him to retrieve a carefully-wrapped present a foot away from him.  “This is my gift for you.”  

Viktor held the square package reverently in his arms, treating the precious item like it was made of glass. “Yuuri…”  He was, for once, at a loss for words.

Yuuri smiled, already seeing how Viktor was already admiring his gift.  He hoped his mate would love it just as much once he actually opened it.  He shifted his attention to one of the smaller gifts and smiled upon seeing his name written in choppy font ‘To: Yuuri-senpai. From: Kenjirou.’

The sound of the doorbell echoed from the foyer.  The children looked at each other in confusion.  Everyone who had RSVP’d to the party already arrived long ago.  

Mila frowned and walked towards the hallway, being the one closest to it.  “Were you expecting anyone else, Viktor?” She glanced back at him.

“No…?” Viktor’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked at Yuuri who shrugged back at him.  

“It can’t be Minako-sensei. She already came two hours ago, remember?”

‘But then who can it be? Unless…’ Viktor gently placed his gift down at the foot of the tree before making his way over to where Mila was standing.  He walked passed his friend into the hallway leading into the foyer.  The rest of the children followed him, Yuuri still unawaringly holding onto Kenjirou’s gift.  

They could hear voices as they got closer and closer to the foot of the hallway.  

Lilia’s voice rang loud and clear.  “We were wondering when you two would arrive.  Welcome.” She was currently blocking Viktor’s view of whoever their guests were, but it was pretty much a given as soon as he heard Natalya’s familiar voice.  

“We’re sorry.  I was planning to call you during the layover but then there was some mishap with our bags and we had to have someone track them down.  Everything’s fine now though.”

Viktor stepped aside and finally saw Natalya decked out in a very thick coat that trailed past her knees.  From there, leather boots covered what would have been bare legs.  One of her hands held a fashionable purse, while the other held tightly onto a child just a tad bit shorter than Kenjirou.  He was a good few inches below her waist.  

The child stood out in stark contrast to the woman’s fashionable outfit, his own coat very puffy in a fire engine red.  His trapper hat was equally red, with only small tufts of blonde hair sticking out under the gray-colored faux fur.  

Lilia took a step forward and held out her hand and switching to Russian for Yuri’s benefit.   “I’m Lilia. You can call me Baba, if you like. It’s what Viktor calls me.” She gestured to Viktor beside her.   “Viktor is your cousin from your mother’s side.  His father is your mother’s older brother.”  

Yakov then stepped up beside his wife.  

“And this is my husband, Yakov.  You can call him Deda if you’d like.”

For some reason those words seemed to agitate the child.  He took a step back and shook his head furiously, grumbling something.  Whatever he said though was a mystery to everyone, since his checkered scarf muffled all the words he said.  The little boy then pinned Viktor with an intense glower and Viktor reflexively flinched back, almost stumbling into Yuuri.  The omega placed a steadying hand on his arm.  

The amount of anger in the younger blond’s eyes made Viktor take a step back.  After his Baba had talked to him, he had been prepared that Yuri might not exactly be too happy to be here.  But this?  The sheer amount of venom in those green eyes cut off any words that were struggling to be formed in his mouth.  

His friends stood stiffly behind him, Yuuri by his side.  Even the adults were quiet as they took in the tense atmosphere in the room.  Lilia looked silently at Natalya, the two debating whether or not they should say something to defuse the silent stand off.  

Yuri’s glare then turned from Viktor to look at the shorter, slightly chubby boy standing next to him.  Burgundy eyes blinked back as a shy, feeble smile appeared on the Asian boy’s face.  Yuri sneered at him and looked back down to where the boy was holding a wrapped present.  His eyes widened.

Wait… is that…?  

Everyone watched with bated breath as Yuri closed the remaining distance between the two of them with several small steps. Yes, it was!  

On the other boy’s sweater.  It was the lion cub cartoon!  He’d seen a poster advertising the movie before, but he and Dedushka didn’t have enough time to watch it in the city.  He none-so-gently smacked Yuuri’s arm away so he could take a closer look at the print and saw the words. ‘L-I-O-N-K-I-N-G. Lion King.’ He knew how to read English but he was still kinda slow.

“O-oh…” Yuuri whispered as he blinked down at the boy below him.  “Um… do you like the Lion King?” He had to fight the urge to take a step back.  The shorter boy was standing so close that his nose was almost pressed against his stomach.

Yuri’s eyes turned to him before he stood up again, straightening himself.  The two were in a bit of a staring contest, Viktor’s eyes flitting back and forth between them, unsure what to do.  

Then, Yuri jabbed a finger into the printed Pumba on Yuuri’s sweater, pushing into his stomach.    “Piggy!”    It was the first word they heard him say all day.  

Yuuri tilted his head in confusion upon hearing the Russian word.  He turned around to ask Viktor.  “Um, Vitya, what did he just say?”

But Viktor ignored him. “Hey! That wasn’t a nice thing to say!” He chided the younger kid.  

Yuri tilted his chin up defiantly and poked Yuuri once again in the tummy.    “Piggy,” he repeated.  

“But what did he say? It was something in Russian, right?” Yuuri turned his eyes to see Mila with her hands on her mouth and Georgi giving a disapproving frown.  He then looked at the grownups to see Yakov groan and Natalya shaking her head.  Lilia clucked her tongue and bent over to grab a hold of Yuri’s hand.  “Alright, obviously the little one is hotheaded from all the jetlag.  Natalya, come with me. Let’s freshen this boy up.”  The assistant nodded her head and followed the other woman out of the room.  Everyone watched as they dragged Yuri away, the young boy sticking his tongue out at them.

There was an awkward silence as they watched the trio go up the stairs to the second floor.  Chris let out a low whistle.  “Wow, Viktor, your cousin sure is something.”

“I was so scared, I never saw someone so mad before,” Guang Hong whispered, Kenjirou nodding his head frantically by his side.  

“Don’t make a fuss over it, everyone, I’m sure the poor boy is just very tired.  He’ll be in a much better mood once he starts getting some rest,” Hiroko said placatingly, placing a soothing hand on Viktor’s head.  She ushered the children back towards the living room.  “Now all of you go back and enjoy what you were doing.  I’m sure Viktor’s cousin will join you once he’s done settling down.  I’m just going over to make sure everything is set for dinner.  Minako-sensei will come get you all once dinner is ready.”  

It took some time for the same lighthearted atmosphere to return once they settled back near their piles of presents.  Everyone had a reasonably-sized stack, but Yuuri’s stuck out like a sore thumb with how it towered over everyone else’s heads.  He smiled, finding himself once again at the receiving end of Viktor’s over-the-top ways of displaying his affection.  He sidled over to Mila and decided to try his luck and finding a translator for Yuri’s Russian word earlier.  

“Hey, Mila?”

“Hm?”  The redhead tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear as she paused in looking at the label of the gift she held in her lap.  
Yuuri quickly flitted his eyes to find Viktor occupied with a new bag of gifts before looking back at her.  “I was wondering if you can tell me what Yuri said earlier,” he whispered.

“Oh, that…” Mila bit her lip and looked at Viktor, who was still blissfully unaware of their conversation.  “I’m sorry, Yuuri, I don’t think I should say if Viktor doesn’t want you to know.”  

Now that had the omega puzzled.  “But why?  Is it a bad word?”

The alpha sighed. “No, it’s not actually.  But the way his cousin said it was mean.”   

“Um...okay,” Well that pretty much did nothing but confirm the suspicions that he already had.  Figuring that he’d have no better luck with Georgi, if the other Russian-American’s inability to meet his eyes were any indication, he decided to just go straight to Viktor instead.  

“Vitya?  Whose gifts are those?”  

His mate sat back and looked at the pile he arranged before him.  “These are for Yuri actually…” he said a bit softly, no doubt still thrown off by his cousin’s demeanor earlier.  “I decided to get him a couple of gifts too so he doesn’t feel left out.”

“Oh.” That reminded Yuuri of something he almost forgot. He reached for one of the gifts he set by the tree earlier that day.  “Here,” he said, placing it on top of one of the shorter stacks in front of Viktor.    

“You got him a gift?”  Viktor blinked at the sparkling red wrapping paper.

“Yeah, I mean if he didn’t come today we knew he was gonna come sometime soon.”   

“That’s really nice of you, Yuuri,” Takeshi commented from a few feet away.  

“Yeah, and he looked so mean too.  If he’s not careful, he might get coal from Santa this year,” Guang Hong warned, sitting side by side with Kenjirou.   

Yuuri shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was over him getting Yuri a present.  They were going to be family after all.  He sat down next to Viktor, staring at Yuri’s pile of gifts.  It wasn’t much, but at least the young boy would have some presents to unwrap come Christmas tomorrow.  

Yuuri shifted, feeling the comforting warmth of Viktor’s arm against his own.  There were a few seconds of silence as they happily watched their friends peruse their gifts, some shaking the boxes or testing the weight in their arms to guess the contents.  

“Vitya… can you please tell me what Yuri said earlier?”

Viktor sighed, his shoulders slumping.  Yuuri felt guilty at ruining the alpha’s mood, but it still didn’t overpower his curiosity.  His mate mumbled something under his breath.  

“I’m sorry?”

“‘Piggy.’ He called you a ‘piggy,’” Viktor’s lips twisted as the very words themselves left a bad aftertaste in his mouth.  “I really wanted to tell him off for it but then I also remembered how my Papa wants me to make him feel welcome here.  Still, he shouldn’t have said that.”

“Oh…” Yuuri digested the words over as he turned down to look at his stomach, poking at the slight pudge.  “That’s what he said?”  He mulled over the words some more.  The younger boy was just looking so intently at his shirt.  

“Yuuri…” Viktor frowned, perturbed at how Yuuri was poking his chub.  He reached out to hold on to his wrist.  “Yuuri, stop that.  Don’t get bothered by my cousin.  He was just being mean.”

Yuuri shook his head.  “That’s the thing, Viktor… I don’t think he really was.”

Viktor opened his mouth but Mila cut him off.  “What do you mean, Yuuri?”  The girl walked over to them.  

“He was staring really hard at my sweater.”  Yuuri prodded at his sweater again, this time poking at the printed Pumba that was positioned above his tummy.  “I think he was just saying ‘piggy’ to Pumba here.”  

Viktor tilted his head to the side.  It seemed a bit unlikely, but it wouldn’t harm anyone to give Yuri the benefit of the doubt.  What if Yuuri was right?  His mate was super smart after all!

“Yuuri-chan!  Everyone!” All the children turned around in unison as Minako walked towards them. She paused underneath the arch that marked the beginning of the room and gestured her head back towards the hallway.  “Come on, dinner’s ready.”  

The children eagerly ran down the hall past her, some of them going off on a sprint once they smelled the delicious scents wafting towards them.  Viktor laughed as he tugged Yuuri forward.  The children settled down on the same seats they took earlier that afternoon, Yuuri naturally sitting side by side with Viktor.  The young omega clapped his hands as Hiroko set a steaming bowl of katsudon in front of him, complete with his favorite array of miso, pickled vegetables, edamame, and radish salad.  Kenjirou had a similar tray after he gave his preferences earlier while all their other friends had a variety of pastas or traditional Russian entrees.

Happy chatter began to fill the air as Minako and the Katsukis joined Yakov at the end of the table now that the children’s food were served.  They didn’t realize that Yuri was back in their presence until Lilia and Natalya emerged from the hallway, practically dragging the younger boy behind them.  Lilia was murmuring something under her breath at Yuri, probably trying to coax him to cooperate, but the little alpha wasn’t having it.  She let go of his hand with a sigh, taking a seat by her husband. Natalya took out the seat next to her, giving Yuri a pointed look, to which the boy simply responded with a glare.  

Yuri then turned his gaze to the table, stopping abruptly when it landed on Yuuri.  Everyone watched silently as the boy proceeded to circle around the table and chose a seat next to him.  He scrambled up the chair, pushing Phichit aside a bit roughly.  The older beta gave way easily, not wanting to put up a fight.  Anna came over and listed off to Yuri a bunch of what sounded like different dishes.  He shook his head after each and every one, instead pointing to Yuuri’s bowl.  

“You’d like that instead?”  She turned askance to the Feltsmans who shrugged.  

“If that’s what the boy wants,” Yakov mumbled as he continued eating.  

Hiroko stood up to help Anna. “I should have a few ingredients left over to have enough for him.”  The two returned shortly with Anna carrying another steaming tray of katsudon, just a bit smaller than Yuuri’s portion and placed it in front of Yuri.  They had wisely chosen to replace the pair of chopsticks with the usual spoon and fork.  

Yuri’s frown lessened in intensity as he took a cautious sniff.  Whatever he smelled must have satisfied him as he picked up the spoon and proceeded to shovel a large bite into his mouth.  His eyes bugged out comically seconds later, and he began to eat voraciously, using his other hand to haphazardly raise the bowl and placing his lips along the edge. His right hand used the spoon to simply push the food into his mouth.  

Viktor and the others stared at the boy.  It seemed like for every bite, another spoonful of food missed its mark and ended up trailing along the edges of his cheeks and down onto the table.

Lilia sighed.  “We’re going to have to teach that boy some manners soon.”  

Toshiya chuckled good-naturedly while Minako elbowed Hiroko gently.  “Looks like your famous katsudon won over another person, Hiroko.”

Hiroko tittered while Mari watched from her seat beside her.  “The poor dear must be so hungry to be eating like that.”

Yuri finally gasped for air and set his bowl aside once he absolutely decimated the katsudon.  He wiped away the stray rice from his cheeks with the back of his hand.  

Yuuri sighed, the younger alpha’s movements reminding him of Viktor.  On instinct, he reached out and gently wiped the residual food off Yuri’s cheeks.  The sudden touch startled the boy and he sat stock still, eyes wide as he stared back at Yuuri while the omega continued his ministrations.  Viktor watched the interaction with a pout while the others were waiting with bated breath to see if the younger alpha would throw a tantrum.

“There, all done,” Yuuri smiled in satisfaction as he set the napkin aside and continued eating, unaware of Yuri still gaping at him.  

“Yuuuuuuri,” Viktor whined.

“Hm?”  Yuuri turned around to see the alpha pouting.  “What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t wipe my mouth,” his mate said petulantly.  

“Um…” Yuuri furrowed his brows in confusion, leaning a bit forward to take a closer look at him.  “But… you don’t have anything around your mouth?” He could hear Takeshi and Chris snickering across the table.  

Viktor promptly dipped his fingers in his stroganoff and smeared them across his cheek.

“Vitya!”  His Baba scolded.  “Set a better example for your cousin!”

A few seats away, Viktor could vaguely hear Mari’s “Are you serious?” but did not pay it any attention. Desperate alphas had the freedom to do anything to get their omega’s attention after all.  Not that he was desperate.  He just needed to make a point.  And what point he was trying to make, he wasn’t exactly sure. But all he knew was that he needed to regain Yuuri’s attention. Now.

“Vitya… I just saw you make that mess,” Yuuri sighed.  

Viktor gave an innocent smile.  “I guess my hands slipped.”

“Yeah, he totally slipped them into his bowl,” Chris snickered over to Georgi.  “Complete accident, right Viktor?” He asked sarcastically.

“Yup, total accident!” The alpha was tone deaf to his friend’s sarcasm.  

Yuuri shook his head in bemusement and grabbed his own napkin to wipe off the sauce from Viktor’s face.  “There, okay now?”

“Thanks Yuuri!” Viktor gave the omega a wide smile and a quick peck on the forehead.  

“Yura! What are you doing?!” Came Natalya’s indignant cry from Yuuri’s other side.  The couple turned around to find Yuri’s face now completely covered in sticky rice.  He gave an angry huff and tugged onto the end of Yuuri’s sweater.  When the omega simply gawked at him, he tugged harder and pointed at his face and picked up his napkin, practically shoving it at Yuuri.

The ravenhead shook his head slowly, “How did you even get that all over you?” He whispered as he began to wipe off the napkin, but when that didn’t do much except smear the rice across Yuri’s cheeks, he began to just pick it off one by one with his fingers.  

Viktor almost growled in frustration. He turned, looking very intently at his bowl of stroganoff.  It was such a shame to waste food, but like he thought earlier, desperate times call for desperate measures. There was still a decent amount of sauce and pasta left to create a mess.  He reached out with both hands and grasped the sides of the bowl.  Just before he could lift it up, he heard a Russian curse and flinched when his Deda actually reached over the table, slamming the bowl back down onto its mahogany surface.

“Don’t you even dare, Vitya!”  Yakov yelled.  He continued to hold onto the bowl.  “What has gotten into you?”

Viktor blinked, not really sure what to say.  He turned around to find that Yuuri was pretty much done cleaning up his cousin’s second mess.  He frowned at his cousin, peering at him suspiciously. Even until now, Yuri just kept staring at the older omega with an unreadable look. Not quite glaring, and not quite angry but definitely intense.  There was something in the way that his cousin looked at his mate that unsettled Viktor.  Before he could call out to Yuuri to get his attention again, the lights in the dining hall turned off, engulfing them in darkness.  

“What’s going on?” Viktor asked as he instinctively held on to Yuuri’s trembling hand.  

“Vitya, what’s happening? Okaa-san?”  

They could hear some of their friends shrieking in surprise, the adults suspiciously silent until they heard a commotion coming from the adjoining hallway.  They could see Nadia’s face dimly lit by a series of eight flickering candles as she carried the cake over to the table.  

“Happy Birthday, Vitya!” Anna called by her side.  Viktor could hear Yuuri gasp next to him as everyone began to break out into the birthday song.  He turned to flit his eyes one by one on his friends and family until he finally settled his eyes on Yuuri who was also joining in the singing, for once not at all encumbered by his usual bashfulness.  He wasn’t even aware that he was crying until his mate gently wiped away a tear from his cheek.  

“Why are you crying, Vitya? Don’t cry.  You should be happy,” he said loud enough to be heard over everyone’s singing.  

“I am though.  I’m happy,” Viktor smiled his heart-shaped smile as the song drew to a close.   ‘I’m really, really happy.’ He stood up straighter and leaned over, taking a deep breath, pausing just long enough to make his wish-

‘I want me and Yuuri to be happy forever and ever.’

-and blew all eight candles to the cheer of his mate, their friends, and their families.

---

“Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase.”

“Hakuna matata, ain’t no passing craze.”

“It means no worries, for the rest of your days~”

After the inevitable sugar rush and subsequent crash that came with stuffing themselves full of Viktor’s chocolate birthday cake, two hours later found Viktor and all his friends sprawled out on the various mattresses scattered in the den.  Unfortunately there were two less in their party, since Kenjirou and Takeshi left shortly after eating.  It was why the grownups decided to have him blow his cake a day early, so that the two could at least partake in the celebration before leaving.

The only child who even looked remotely alert at this point was Yuri, who was sitting one foot away from the massive television screen, enraptured as he watched the cartoon warthog break out in song.  Yuri had absolutely no idea what the characters were saying most of the time, his ears still not used to the rapid-fire English. But he nonetheless remained captivated by the Lion King movie that was playing.

“Oh my God, Viktor, when is your cousin going to let us use the TV?” Chris grumbled, making Georgi groan as he flipped over to lay on his stomach.  

“Isn’t this like the second or third time he’s watched it already?” Georgi bemoaned.  “I wanna watch something else.  I’ll even play a videogame with you, Chris.”  Georgi turned around when he didn’t hear a response.  “...Viktor?  Are you awake?”

“Huh?”  Viktor’s head popped out of the side of a makeshift fort he and Yuuri had made earlier.  Or rather, Viktor had propped up the sofa cushions into a wall while Yuuri prepared the bedding with a single-minded determination, much like he had done earlier for their friends.  He wasn’t sure what was with his mate’s newfound obsession with arranging their beds, but he simply shrugged it off since it appeared to make him happy. And whatever made Yuuri happy made Viktor happy. “Did you say something?”

Chris simply pointed over to his cousin who was still sitting very close to the television.  Lilia had tried to pull the boy off earlier but only proceeded to almost send him into another tantrum and promptly gave up, joining Yakov upstairs.

“Can you… I dunno, ask him if we can change the channel? I wanna fall asleep to anything but a Disney song right now.”

“Um…” Viktor bit his lip, wondering if he should take the chance and try to wheedle his cousin into allowing them to regain access to the television.  He quickly glanced over at Yuuri who was already curled up in the blankets inside their fort, fast asleep, holding his hand.  But then again, this was likely Yuri’s third replaying of the Lion King and he had to admit that he was getting sick of hearing Simba’s voice himself.  “...Okay, I’ll try talking to him.”  He gently let go of Yuuri’s hand and crawled on all fours until he was out of their fort and padded over to the front of the den, taking care not to accidentally step on one of his friend’s sleeping forms.  

“Good luck,” Georgi whispered as he passed him by.  

“Uh… Yuri?” He started, standing behind the blond boy.  He decided to switch to Russian, his native tongue sounding a little odd after not using it for so long. “Um… Yuri?  Can I talk to you real quick?”  When his cousin didn’t make any move to acknowledge him, Viktor decided to continue.   “Listen… you’ve been watching Lion King nonstop and my friends really want to use the television now.  So… you’re gonna share, okay?”

“Tell him he can watch some more tomorrow,” Chris called out.  

Viktor nodded. “And Chris says you can watch some more tomorrow. So… I’m gonna grab the remote now, okay?”  He took the remote and changed the input back to the cable channels which caused Yuri to let out an indignant squawk that startled everyone awake.  Viktor dropped the remote in shock, wincing even more at the loud clack it made against the floor.  

“What?! What is it?!” Mila woke up, eyes wide.  

“Was that a cat?” Phichit groaned, waking up beside Guang Hong.  

“Ugh, if he keeps this up, he’s gonna wake everyone else in the house,” Mari muttered from the couch.  

“Vitya?”  Yuuri’s head popped out from their fort.  Viktor winced as he took several steps back from his cousin who was quickly turning red.  

“NO!” Yuri pointed angrily at the television. “NO, NO, NO!   Change it back now!”  He waved his arms wildly, causing the stuffed tiger plush in his hands to swing around haphazardly.  

“Shhhhh!” Viktor whispered frantically, looking at the hallway that led to the rooms upstairs.   “You’re gonna wake up the grownups!”  Would he get in trouble if he put his hand over his cousin’s mouth to smother his cries?

“Vitya, I think he just wants you to change it back to the Lion King,” Yuuri said, uncharacteristically calm as he walked over and changed the channel back to the movie.  Immediately pacified, Yuri deflated and turned back to the television, entranced once again.  “There,” Yuuri said, smiling as he placed the remote back on the table and tugged on Viktor’s hand.  “Come on, let’s go back to sleep.”

“Uuuugh, I can’t believe I have to listen to this all night,” Chris moaned, stuffing a pillow onto his face.  “Just let it end!”

“Don’t worry, the sooner you sleep, the sooner we can wake up to Santa’s presents,” Viktor said, trying to look at the brighter side as he followed his mate back to their fort.  He crawled in first and laid on his side, adjusting to the darkness.  He could still see Yuuri’s silhouette lit by the waxing moon’s white glow, the Christmas lights, and the light from the television screen in the background.  “You’re really good with my cousin,” he began carefully.  

“Hm?”  Yuuri yawned and was already halfway asleep, clutching Makkachin.  “I don’t think I did much.  You just have to give in to him every now and then.”

Viktor pouted which was lost to Yuuri since the other boy had already closed his eyes.  “I guess…”  An idea came to his mind.  “Say Yuuri…”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have a birthday kiss?”

“Mmkay,” Yuuri reached out and blindly gave him a quick peck on the cheek before resettling in his blankets.  “Night night, Vitya.”

Viktor’s heart-shaped smile made an appearance, dazzling in its brilliance.  “Night Yuuri!  You’re the best mate ever!” He reached over to grab Vicchan from the side and cuddled the plushie to his chest.  

What could have sounded like a “you too” was mumbled across to him.  He wasn’t sure if he heard it or was just imagining things but the gentle squeeze of his hand from Yuuri’s fingers was unmistakeable.  

A few hours passed when Yuuri found himself waking up.  From what, he wasn’t sure.  He blinked his eyes open, reaching over Viktor’s side to grab his eyeglasses and putting them on.  He had to blink several more times to get adjusted to the darkness.  He turned over to find that the light from the television was gone.  The only remaining source of light was coming from the Christmas lights they strung around the room.  

There it was… an odd shuffling noise.  Was one of their friends awake?  Or… He gasped.  Could it be Santa?  If it was Santa Claus, he didn’t want to call attention to himself.  His parents told him before that Santa doesn’t leave presents for children that woke up too early.  But still… a part of him really wanted to take the chance to get a peek of Santa Claus.  Maybe if he was quiet he can sneak a look without getting noticed.  

Yuuri quietly shuffled over to the entrance of his and Viktor’s fort.  He slowly inched his head out just enough to peek his head out.  He looked around the room curiously only to realize that Santa Claus should be heading towards the living room since that’s where the Christmas tree was.  He craned his head then in that direction. He could see the tree from where he was but there was no sign of anyone else in the room.  Then he heard the shuffling sound again and realized that it was coming from Yuri who was sitting with his back towards the television.  It appeared that he was nodding off to sleep but his head would then slip down and he’d shift in his spot until his head rested back against the television cabinet again.  

That can’t be comfortable.  Yuuri pursed his lips and looked at his surroundings.  All around him his sister and friends were fast asleep.  Mari was the only one sleeping on the couch while all his other friends slept on the mattresses arranged on the floor.  Georgi was in a weird position with his knees down on the bed and his butt slightly up in the air, his face tilted to the side.  Mila was curled in a ball while Chris was the complete opposite--all starfish with his limbs stretched across the bed.  Phichit and Guang Hong were side by side with their backs to each other.  Beside them was an extra set of blankets and pillows.  Why didn’t Yuri sleep there?  

He crawled across and gathered the extra materials, dragging them over inside the fort.  Luckily there was enough space, although it would be a tight squeeze.  Yuuri set to work, fluffing up the pillow and arranging the blankets into a cozy pile.  It would have been better if he had more soft sheets, but this would have to do.  He couldn’t explain it--it was almost instinctual, this sudden need to make the most comfortable bed possible.  And seeing his friends sleeping in the spaces he had prepared gave him this indescribable sense of pride.  Anyway onto more important things!  Off to get Yuri to sleep.  

Yuuri crawled out once again and tiptoed over to the younger child.  He kneeled in front of him and poked him gently on his side.  A pair of bright emerald eyes blinked wide awake, fixing him with the same intense stare that he had gotten earlier.  

“Come, let’s go sleep.  I set up a bed for you. Well, not a real bed but you know…” He trailed off, suddenly realizing that the other boy might not be understanding him.  Yuuri then pointed to the fort and then placed his palms against each other and leaned his head on top of them in what was hopefully a universal sign for “sleep.” “Okay?”  He tugged gently on the boy’s arm and was surprised when Yuri actually got up and followed him willingly.  He led him to the fort and got inside, taking his place once again next to Viktor.  Yuuri took his hand in his and laid down, looking over to see Yuri settling in on his other side. “Good night.”

The boy simply blinked back at him then yawned, looking much like a kitten.  How cute!  Yuuri smiled contently to himself.  To think that it was Christmas the next day, they were going to have so much fun.  And with those final thoughts, he fell asleep, dreaming of a cozy white Christmas spent with his friends and family.

---

On the second floor of the Nikiforov mansion, a set of heavier footsteps landed at the top of the stairs.  Minako could have been quieter if she really wanted, she was a ballerina after all, but it was way too late to exert the extra effort and she just really wanted to go back to bed.  She yawned and made her way back towards her room when the door to the neighboring guest room opened and she saw Hiroko and Toshiya peer out in their pajamas.  

“What are you two still doing up?” Minako peered at the couple curiously with a raised brow.   

“We… ah, we just wanted to make sure the kids were all settled,” Toshiya said with a chuckle.  

“Well the last of them finally settled down.  Viktor’s cousin was the last to fall asleep.  Lilia tried to get him to sleep earlier but he was just about to throw another tantrum so she just let him tire himself out.”  Minako yawned and looked at the clock hanging in the hallway.  It was 3 am.   

“Ah, so a bit too early for us to get the gifts out then,” Hiroko murmured, looking over Minako’s shoulder to make sure no one else was up.  “And Mari was asleep?”

“Yes.  I’d say get up at 5am to sneak out the gifts.”  

Hiroko looked at her husband who nodded back.  “Okay, we’ll do that.”  

Minako paused, suddenly remembering something that she should probably tell the parents.  “Oh and remember how you thought of hiring a  pediatric specialist for Yuuri and Viktor?”

The two parents looked at her, confused at the sudden change in conversation.  “Yes?”

Minako smiled wryly.  “We might want to get a head start on researching for one.  I totally just saw Yuuri nesting.”

Toshiya’s eyes bugged out while Hiroko gasped.  “What?!”  

“Yes, he was arranging the bedding for Viktor’s cousin.  And I definitely saw him do it earlier in the day too with the way he was setting up the beds for his friends.”  

Hiroko sighed. “Okay, we can talk to Lilia and Yakov sometime tomorrow after all the celebrations.”  

Minako grimaced and scratched the back of her head, looking contrite.  “Sorry, maybe I should have waited until tomorrow to tell you two.”

Toshiya shook his head.  “No, no it’s alright.  We’d like to know about something like this.  Good night, Minako, or rather… good morning. And Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too.  I’ll help you with the gifts in a few hours.”  

And after a few minutes, everyone in the Nikiforov mansion was fast asleep.  The addition of Yuri Plisetsky to the family was definitely going to instill some interesting changes in their lives.  And fairly soon the Katsukis and Feltsmans will discover that Yuuri suddenly getting nesting habits will be the least of their worries.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 25: A Newfound Attachment 

In which to Yuri’s immense relief (not that he’ll admit to it), not everyone in the Nikiforov mansion was stupid

Yuri just about had it by the time they arrived at the place where he was going to be staying.  After that long plane ride, a brief layover--that later turned out to be chaotic due to something that happened to their bags--and another car ride, he just wanted to sleep.  He sighed as the car pulled to a stop in the middle of the driveway.  

“There it is, Yura, it looks nice, right?” Natalya said from beside him.  He huffed and reluctantly tilted his head to look up the window.  The mansion was gigantic, bigger than anything he’s ever seen before.  How is this someone’s home?  He’s used to the small, worn village cabins with the peeling wooden panels and the galvanized metal roofs.  Even the dachas that the wealthier people owned in the more beautiful parts of the countryside were easily dwarfed by the grand building standing before them.

Figures that his brat of a cousin would be one of those snobby rich kids.

Yuri scrunched up his nose in distaste as the driver walked over to Natalya’s door and opened it for her.  

“Careful, miss, there’s a bit of frost setting in so the path is rather slippery,” he warned.  To Yuri it was mostly gibberish since he could not catch up to the man’s use of English.  Great, another thing he’d have to struggle with. How could he forget about the language barrier?  Nevermind how he pretty much excelled in his private English tutoring sessions. The people here just talked waaaay too fast to be able to catch up with them.

'Stupid Viktor.'

He heard Natalya murmur something in response as she stepped outside carefully and reached back into the car offer him a hand.  He scowled and took it reluctantly, clutching Potya close to his chest.  It was cold, but having long been used to harsh Russian winters, this was nothing.  Practically balmy, even.

He was about to tear off his trapper hat when Natalya tugged him forward, leading him down the walkway from the driveway and up several grand steps to an ornate-looking door embellished with a beautifully carved glass window. Natalya pressed a gloved finger firmly on the doorbell.  Yuri sullenly shuffled his feet in the snow as he listened to a series of chimes on the other side of the door.

Moments later, they could hear several footsteps and the door finally opened just as the driver caught up to them with their luggages in his hands.

A stern-looking woman with long ebony hair streaked with a few graying strands answered the door.  “We were wondering when you two would arrive.  Welcome.”

“We’re sorry.  I was planning to call you during the layover but then there was some mishap with our bags and we had to have someone track them down.  Everything’s fine now though.”

Yuri was only half-listening to the conversation between the two women, instead focused on the children standing behind the woman.  One of them, sporting a cashmere wine-red sweater was his cousin, Viktor.  He looked just like the picture minus the obnoxious smile and slightly longer hair.  What did he think he was?  A girl?  What boy in their right mind would grow his hair out that long?  

Just then, the woman in front of Natalya switched to their mother tongue, “I’m Lilia. You can call me Baba, if you like. It’s what Viktor calls me.” He glowered back up at her, ignoring her offered hand.  The woman took his rudeness in stride and gestured to his cousin peering at him curiously from behind her.   “Viktor is your cousin from your mother’s side.  His father is your mother’s older brother.”

Yeah, he figured that much.  Despite the difference in the shades of their hair color, their facial structures were very similar.  

His eyes then flitted over Lilia’s shoulder as a man of similar built as his Dedushka stepped over.  He looked a bit more polished though, and was clean shaven whereas his Dedushka had a beard.  

“And this is my husband, Yakov.  You can call him Deda if you’d like.”

Um...how about NO?!

“As if I’d ever call that fat old man Deda! I only have ONE Deda and I had to leave him behind! Now I’m stuck with you, him, and my stupid cousin! I hate you all!”   Unfortunately, Yuri wasn’t aware that his vitriol was wasted since his scarf muffled all the words he spouted out and rendered them incomprehensible.  He glared back at Viktor and felt a great sense of satisfaction when he saw his cousin flinch and take a step back.  Good, and he better stay away from him!  The smaller raven-haired boy beside his cousin held onto his arm to steady him.  Tch, look at how Viktor depended on a boy shorter than him to protect him!  How pathetic can his cousin be?

'Some alpha you are, Viktor.'

He then turned his attention to the boy who was holding onto his cousin.  He watched as the other boy, who appeared to only be slightly taller than him, give him a weak smile.  Yuri sneered back in response.  Anybody who was friends with his cousin must be equally stupid in his opinion.  

'Wait… is that…?'

Yuri could have sworn he caught a glimpse of that lion cartoon character on the boy’s sweater. And not just ANY lion cartoon, but that awesome, super cool, really amazing lion cartoon that he had always wanted to see FOREVER but couldn’t because he lived in a stupid village that didn’t have a movie theater.  Ugh, but he couldn’t see it clearly because that boy’s arm was in the way.  

Well, only one way to fix that.

The young alpha proceeded to close the short distance between him and the other boy with a few determined steps. He swatted the boy’s arm away to get an unobstructed view of his sweater and bent down to get a better look.

Yep, he’d recognize it anywhere. It WAS the awesome, super cool, really amazing lion cartoon!  If no one else was around, he’d totally hold up Potya so that Potya can take a look at it too. But alas, alphas had to keep up some appearances, you know.  He wasn’t like his stupid cousin, Viktor.

And yes, there with the English text.   ‘L-I-O-N-K-I-N-G. Lion King.’  

“O-oh,” the boy whispered to him.  “Um… do you like the Lion King?”

Yuri continued to ignore him, trying to wrack his memory.  The picture of the lion character was of the younger version of a lion. What was the term for that again?  It wasn’t called a lion baby.  Yuri flitted his eyes to look over at the other character. Ah, but he knew that one!  He jammed his finger into it.

“Piggy,” he said aloud. Still in Russian, but he’ll remember the English translation later, maybe.  It was the first coherent word he said to the entire group that night.

“Um, Vitya, what did he just say?”

“Hey! That wasn’t a nice thing to say!” His cousin admonished.  

Yuri frowned at the older alpha. What does he mean by “not a nice thing to say?”  He’s simply stating a fact!  Pumba is a pig.  Stupid Viktor.   “Piggy,” he repeated pointedly at his cousin, poking again on Yuuri’s sweater for good measure.  He heard the boy ask something to one of the other raven-haired boys as Lilia clucked her tongue and bent over to get a hold of the hand still poking Yuuri.  

“Alright, obviously the little one is hotheaded from all the jetlag.  Natalya, come with me. Let’s freshen this boy up.”

Ugh, great.  He couldn’t totally understand everything Baba Lilia just said, but he could guess the gist of it. It probably involved a bath.  

And Yuri hated showers and baths.

Lilia dragged him across the foyer and into a grand looking staircase, Natalya following behind them.  He craned his neck to see some grownups and the other children staring at him.  Tch, why were they staring at him?  He stuck his tongue out at them, eliciting a mix of reactions.  Yuri was determined not to care what they thought of him.  If he had his way, and he will, he won’t stay here forever.  He was not here to make friends after all.  

As they ascended the stairs, an image of the shorter boy wearing that Lion King sweater popped into his mind.   ‘But then again,’ he begrudgingly admitted to himself, ‘maybe not all of them were too bad.’

That Lion King boy obviously had good taste in cartoons at least, so he can’t be that stupid, can he?

Bathtime was as tedious an affair as he thought it would be.  The bathroom was just as grand as all the other rooms they walked through in the mansion.  The place was practically a castle!  How do you not get lost in a place this big?  At least it’ll make it easier for him to hide somewhere and avoid everyone.  

Yuri kept his eyes trained on the floor, practically glaring a hole into the lush area mat as Lilia finished drying his hair with a terry towel.  He then proceeded to wince as Natalya began to fit a shirt over his head.  

“I can do it!” He grumbled as he tore the shirt away from her grasp and proceeded to don it himself.  

“Is he always like this?” He could hear Baba Lilia ask Ms. Natalya.

“He has been difficult since we left.  But Nikolai did warn us that he tends to have a bit of a temper.”

Of course he has a temper. If you were surrounded by stupid, mean grownups with their equally stupid children, you’d always be pretty pissed off too!  And now that they took him and brought him all the way here?  

You can bet that Yuri Plisetsky is super angry.

“And here’s a sweater,” Ms. Natalya handed him one of the worn sweaters they had packed from Russia.  Yuri quickly snatched it too and put it on.  The two women then led him to his room, the young alpha taking the opportunity to hold one of the sleeves to his nose and take a deep whiff of the scent.  

It smelt of the cheap detergent and slightly mildewy scent that blanketed Dedushka’s house.   But most importantly, it still smelled of home.  

A wave of longing rushed through Yuri and he quickly tried to quash it as Lilia opened one of the doors that lined the long hallway.  

“This will be your room, Yura,” Lilia said, as she opened the door wider and stepped aside, turning on the light.   “Vitya is right next door, and ours is across the hallway if you ever need us.  But for now, let’s comb your hair and we can join the others for dinner.”  

Yuri sighed and resigned himself to his fate.  For now.  

Minutes later found himself being dragged by the women towards the dining room.  Hey, just because he cooperated earlier doesn’t mean that he could make things easy for them aaall the time.  It would give the grownups the wrong impression that they won, and nothing could be completely further from the truth.  

“Yura, please, just join us for dinner and then you can go back upstairs if you’d like. It’s just not a good idea to send you straight to bed if you haven’t eaten for so long,” Baba Lilia said softly to him, although there was a hint of frustration in her tone.  Her instant reflex would normally be to discipline the boy, but with it being Viktor’s party and in the presence of others, she didn’t want to make a scene in front of the other children and their guests.  She sighed and let go of his hand, making her way over to sit next to Yakov.  

The table had grown quiet as Yuri’s eyes scanned the occupants of the room.  If he had to sit next to someone, it might as well be the most tolerable person. Namely, Lion King boy. And there he was!  Unfortunately Lion King boy was sitting next to his stupid cousin, so he’ll just have to sit on the other side.  He made his way to Yuuri with a single-minded determination. The problem though was that another Asian-looking boy with a darker skin complexion was already sitting on the other side.  But Yuri didn’t let the older boy get in his way as he scrambled up the chair and shoved Phichit away. He would have probably ended up sitting on Phichit’s lap if the beta didn’t shuffle over.  Luckily the chair was big enough to fit the two of them.

A blonde middle-aged woman came up to him and listed off a few dishes to ask him what he’d like for dinner.   ‘No, no, and how about no?’  Yuri scowled and pointed instead to the strange-looking dish sitting in front of the boy beside him.   

“You’d like that instead?”  The woman asked as she turned to Baba Lilia and Yakov.  Baba Lilia looked ambivalent while Yakov mumbled something in response.  

An Asian woman stood up and said something before she and the blonde lady went to the kitchen, presumably to get him some of that food.  Yuri looked at the half-filled tray sitting in front of Lion King boy. He hoped it was good.  He probably should have gone for one of the more familiar entrees, but he was trying to make a point here.  Just because he is physically here doesn’t mean that he has to be part of their happy little family.  And this Lion King boy is obviously a guest and not related to his cousin, so he’ll just have to stick with him for now.

A few minutes later, the Asian woman and the blonde lady returned with a smaller, almost identical bowl of the mystery dish.  She placed it carefully in front of him and he leaned forward to take a cautious whiff of the food.  

He blinked.  It actually smells… pretty good.  He grabbed the spoon and scooted closer to the bowl to swipe a huge scoop into his mouth. His eyes widened.

‘Oh my God.  This wasn’t just good.  This was…’

THE BEST!  Well, second only to Dedushka’s pirozhki’s of course!  He quickly raised the bowl to his lips and used his other hand to make the spoon shove some more of the food into his mouth.  He didn’t realize until now how he was starving!  

It seemed like only seconds before he finished the bowl and he finally let it down with a clatter, taking a deep breath and leaning back in his chair, satisfied with his fill.  

Wow. Even the aftertaste was good!  He could almost still taste the savory seasoned rice in his mouth.  He looked down at the empty bowl, just realizing the mess he left on the table.  Oops.  He hardly registered the soft murmuring beside him when all of a sudden a hand reached out to gently wipe some of the remnants stuck on his cheeks.

He stiffened, the touch unexpected. His wide eyes traced the hand, the wrist, the arm back to the Lion King boy, who appeared very focused on his task.  What does he think he’s doing?  Yuri remained absolutely still, not knowing what to do. He tended to be very prickly by nature when it came to any form of physical contact with anyone save his Dedushka.  His instincts went haywire inside, not knowing whether to lash out or give in to the strange urge to relax and close his eyes, succumbing to his exhaustion from the long trip.  

But before he had to act, Yuuri had already leaned back and resumed eating his dinner.  

“Yuuuuuuri,” his cousin whined from Lion King boy’s otherside.  “You didn’t wipe my mouth.” Yuri frowned at his cousin. God, Viktor was so annoying.  

“Um...But… you don’t have anything around your mouth?” Lion King boy looked positively confused.  

Yuri blinked. Wait a second.  Did his stupid cousin just call Lion King boy ‘Yuuri?’

As in… they have the same name?!

He stared intensely at the two older boys, watching as Viktor dipped his finger into his bowl and smeared the stroganoff sauce across his face.  Tch, wow!  His cousin was that desperate to get attention?

Yuri narrowed his eyes, feeling the corners of his lips twist into an ugly scowl as his cousin’s ploy proved to be successful, for Lion King boy--no, Yuuri --sighed and proceeded to use his napkin to gently wipe Viktor’s stupid face.  The older alpha practically preened under the omega’s attention.  Yuri tore his eyes away from the scene. They were so lovey dovey it was embarrassing!  Just like those older couples he and his Dedushka would sometimes come across snuggling side by side on benches in the park.  He looked at the empty bowl before him, then at the clumps of rice that had missed their mark earlier and slid onto the placemat.  His scowl slowly turned into a smirk.

Heh.  Two can play at this game!  

He snatched at the clumps of rice with both hands and proceeded to smear them all over his face, ignoring Natalya’s indignant cry.  Can’t the woman see? He was on a mission!  After feeling the sticky bits of rice all over his face, he turned around and gleefully noted how the raven-haired Yuuri stared at him in shock.

His eyes flitted to his cousin behind him.  Ha! Take that, Viktor!

“How did you even get that all over you?”  Yuuri shook his head and tried to wipe the rice off with his napkin, then realized he was making things worse and simply started to pick off the rice one by one.  Yuri sat perfectly still, perfectly behaved and tame as he allowed Yuuri to finish cleaning up his face.  

Okay, so Lion King boy’s real name is Yuuri.  Yuri and Yuuri, what are the chances that they would have the same name?  Is that even a common name wherever he comes from?  His was definitely not considered unique in Russia...

His musings got interrupted by the sound of a loud clatter as Yakov leaned across the table and slammed Viktor’s bowl back down. “Don’t you even dare, Vitya!  What has gotten into you?”

Yuri smirked with glee at his cousin getting in trouble.  So he thinks he can make another mess so that he can also get his face wiped off?   ‘Hehe, beat that, Viktor!’  He then turned his attention back to Yuuri.  It was official. The older boy was his new best friend.  Not only does he have great taste in cartoons and food, he also shares his super cool and awesome name!  The only thing that confused him was why it appeared that he would willingly be friends with his stupid cousin.   

Just then the room got dark.  Yuri immediately stiffened in his seat, fight or flight instincts at the ready. Beside him, he could hear Yuuri call out for his cousin and scowled.  Okay, he has to show the other Yuuri that he was way braver than his cousin. But before he could reach over to grasp the older omega’s hand, there was a set of flickering lights coming from the hallway.  He turned to see a woman holding a cake with a set of eight candles, the other woman helping to serve the food earlier walking beside her.

“Happy Birthday, Vitya!”

Oh, so it was Viktor’s birthday?  Yuri’s brows furrowed and tilted his head to the side.  So he was three years older than him?  

“Why are you crying, Vitya? Don’t cry.  You should be happy,” omega Yuuri murmured beside him.  

“I am though.  I’m happy.”

Yuri frowned at his cousin, watching with confusion as he took a deep breath and blew out the candles to the cheering of everyone else in the dining room.  

‘What a dummy.  Who cries when they are happy?’

---

God.  This wasn’t just a good cartoon.  The Lion King was the BEST THING EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENTIRE WORLD! And it didn’t even matter that he could only barely understand what the characters were saying.

It wasn’t his fault that they spoke English too quickly.  

The only thing that gave Yuri a twinge of frustration was that his Dedushka was missing out and staying back in their home thousands of miles away.  But even that didn’t detract from his joy at finally seeing the cartoon that he’s been wanting to see forever.  

He easily lost track of time and hardly noticed when Viktor and his friends started to fall asleep behind him.  Baba Lilia was the only unwelcome interruption when she came by when he started his second viewing of the cartoon.

“Yura, please, you should really go to sleep now. You can watch some more of it tomorrow.”

“NO!”  Ah, his favorite English word.  He glared back at the older woman who simply turned an eyebrow up at him.  

“Yura, now you are being unreasonable,” Baba Lilia muttered as she reached a hand down to grasp his forearm, trying to get him to stand up from his seated position close to the television.   “You must have been awake for almost a day now, it’s not healthy for a growing boy.”

Yuri growled as he yanked his hand back. “NO!” He pointed to cartoon still playing.  Ugh, and she was making him miss one of his favorite scenes too of Simba and Nala messing around with the stupid Zazu bird!  

Lilia sighed as she looked around the room. The other children were either already or well on their way to falling asleep.  Mari was still awake, playing something on her Gameboy as she laid on the couch.  Well, the boy will just tire himself out sooner or later, preferably sooner.  She shook her head, and walked away, deciding to concede for now.  But if Yuri kept up this behavior she will have to start being strict with him soon.  It would do no good to allow the boy to keep rebelling.

Yuri wasn’t sure how many more minutes it was before he could hear his stupid cousin calling for his attention.  He did his best to ignore the older alpha.  Ugh, why can’t he just watch the Lion King in peace?

“...So… I’m gonna grab the remote now, okay?””

There was a click and--

The image of Pumba was replaced by a newscaster’s face.

WHAT THE-?!

Yuri screamed.  How DARE his cousin interrupt the cartoon movie?!  If he thought he was angry at the thought of being dragged thousands of miles into a foreign country, surrounded by foreign dummies, and a foreign language, inside a gigantic house, it was nothing compared to the absolute fury that filled him right now as he glared daggers into his cousin who was quickly trying to sush him.

Ha! As if.  Mess with Yuri Plisetsky, you are gonna live to regret it!

“NO, NO, NO!    Change it back now!”  He swung his arms around for good measure.  If he didn’t change it back soon, Yuri was gonna resort to blows. Then that would show him!

“Shhhhh!   You’re gonna wake up the grownups!”

Just then, older Yuuri stepped beside his stupid cousin.  “Vitya, I think he just wants you to change it back to the Lion King.”  Yuuri pressed a couple of buttons on the remote and Yuri quieted once he saw that Pumba’s familiar face appeared on the television.  

Yep, Yuuri is definitely his best friend.  At least there was someone here who understood him.  

Some time passed and before he knew it, Yuri was already halfway through his fourth viewing of the Lion King when his eyes began to blink close.  When he realized that he was nodding off during the ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ scene, he decided to call it a night.  He turned off the VCR and television, slumping against the television cabinet.  

A gentle poke on his side woke up him immediately, his green eyes wide as he blinked them open.  He was almost about to yell again but relaxed when he saw that it was just Yuuri.

The omega smiled and said, “Come, let’s go sleep.  I set up a bed for you. Well, not a real bed but you know…”  He trailed off, making a gesture to represent sleeping.  That was not necessary, Yuri understood him well enough earlier.  His English wasn’t that bad.  And so he followed the omega over to a neat-looking couch fort.  He looked down at the comfy-looking pillow and blankets arranged right next to his best friend and… ugh, his cousin.  He could see Yuuri settling down next to Viktor.  “Good night,” the older boy said.

Yuri yawned, feeling the exhaustion of the last twenty-four hours or so catching up to him.  He crawled under the blankets and snuggled against the fluffy pillow under his head.  Going to bed right beside his new best friend filled him with such a warm contentment, the emotion almost foreign to him.  The young alpha fell into a deep sleep almost instantaneously.

---

“Mari, quick get the camera.”

“It’s okay Mrs. Katsuki we can use mine!”

“Shh, Phichit, be quieter, otherwise you’re gonna wake them up.”

It was already bright behind Yuri’s eyes.  So it was morning already?  There was a bright flash behind his eyelids and he blinked them open, glaring when he saw a whole bunch of faces surrounding the outside of their fort.  In front was one of the boys from last night--Phichit, was it?  Who was holding a camera.  

“Yay! I think this is gonna be a great picture!”

“Hi Phichit!”  Ugh, he’d recognize that happy voice anywhere. It was his stupid cousin Viktor speaking from somewhere behind him.  “Good morning everybody!”

“Happy birthday, Viktor!” The redheaded girl sitting next to Phichit waved.  

“Come on, you guys should wake up!  Santa came over and got us more presents!”  Chris said eagerly.  

“Wow! Did you get to see Santa?!”

Ugh, can his dumb cousin speak any louder?  He wasn’t even laying right next to him and he already sounded like he was yelling right into his ear.  It was too early in the morning to put up with any noise like this.  Yuri scrunched his eyes closed again.  Would it be worth the trouble he’d get into if he were to smack Viktor?  

“Nah, the presents were already here when we woke up.”

“Yuuuuuuri!  Wake up, Santa came and left us presents!  Yuuuuurriiii~”

“... Five more minutes…”

And once again, Yuri agreed wholeheartedly with what the omega said. He knew there was a reason he considered Yuuri his best friend.  

“Come on, Yuuri-chan, don’t you want to see what Santa got for you this year?”

“Yeah, come on Yuuri!”  

Yuri felt the body behind his turn over.  “Santa?”

“Yeah!  Come on, and of course you have to open the gifts I got ya too!”

Some more shuffling and then- “Mmkay.”   

Yuri turned around, his curiosity overwhelming him and finally rendering him awake.  He saw Viktor blink back at him, looking at him with a curious, subdued expression before he turned back to the omega beside him, tugging gently on the omega’s hands. “Come on, Yuuri, let’s get up!”  

Yuuri turned over and smiled at Yuri.  “Good morning, Yuri.  You can get out first.”  He made a waving motion towards the front of the fort where the other children and grownups were waiting.  

Yuri blinked back.  Okay then.  He rubbed his eyes roughly before he turned over himself onto his hands and knees and began to crawl out.  The other kids quickly moved away to give him some space and he growled at the boy holding the camera when he saw another flash.  He glared at everyone else, daring them to make fun of him for falling asleep in the fort but no one made any indication that they were going to tease him.  

“Come on, Yuuri, let’s go!”  

On instinct, Yuri turned around, thinking that he was being addressed only to find that Viktor and Yuuri were now both standing up in front of the fort.  The woman who helped serve his dinner last night, who must have been Yuuri’s mother, ruffled the other boy’s hair lovingly as she said, “It looks like all of you have a lot of gifts to open this year, Yuuri-chan.”

“Did you get to see Santa, Okaa-san?”

“I’m afraid not.  Otou-san and I woke up pretty late this morning.”

“I can’t wait!  Yuuri, come on!”  Viktor tugged on the other boy’s arm as he led them off to the Christmas tree, the rest of their friends following closely behind them.  Yuri scowled. There was no way he was letting them leave him behind! He ran as quick as he could until he was able to reach Yuuri, stretching his arm out until he was able to grasp the omega’s other hand.  

The sudden touch startled the omega as he looked slightly down to see him holding on and running alongside him.  Yuri at first was a bit nervous that the older boy was going to shake him off but instead Yuuri simply smiled and squeezed his hand, tugging him forward.  He could hear a few of his stupid cousin’s friends snickering but decided they didn’t matter.  

They rounded the corner to the living room to find the Christmas tree and several new piles of gifts that had mysteriously appeared overnight.  All the children cheered as they all gathered around the piles of gifts.  Yuri’s quick pace slowed to a stop in front of a specific pile that Yuuri and Viktor had led him to.  

“This is yours, Yuri,” Viktor said, gesturing to the pile before him.  Yuri frowned, thinking there was some sort of mistake.  Surely Viktor meant the other Yuuri?  I mean, why would he have gifts if he just met them?  And he doubted Santa would know that he just moved here with them last night.  He frowned at his cousin who sighed and gave a soft, encouraging smile.

“Um…” Viktor scratched the back of his head, deciding to switch to Russian.   “I got some gifts for you… it’s not much but, I kinda wanted to welcome you here.”   Yuuri gave him an encouraging smile while standing beside the silver-haired boy.  

Yuri could feel a bright red blush bloom across his cheeks.  He scowled and ducked his head to try to hide his embarrassment as he occupied himself with the pile before him.  He wasn’t sure what to think.  Was Viktor saying the truth?  But why would he be so nice to him?  There has to be a catch.  Maybe Viktor was working together with Mr. Evgeny to try to make him happy so that he wouldn’t cause trouble for them.  Yeah, that sounded a lot more like the truth.   Maybe he should open the gifts and chuck them back at Viktor, ha! That would show him!  And so Yuri spent the next several minutes opening his gifts.  A couple of stuffed toys, Hot Wheels cars, Lego sets, and some practical clothes that he had no doubt were really more from Baba Lilia and Yakov.  His shoulders drooped a bit as his angry slowly dissipated.  The gifts were actually… really nice.  

He peered through a pile of gifts to see Yuuri slowly going through his own gargantuan pile.  Viktor was right beside the omega, cheering him on as the younger boy opened another gift. It appeared that Yuuri grew more flustered with every single gift he revealed.  

“Vitya… you really did not have to get me all this.”

“Nonsense Yuuri!  They were about to sell out of the Buzz Lightyear too, so I had to get it for you and Woody to complete it!”  

Hm, Yuri doesn’t think he’d seen that cartoon yet.   

“Well…”  Yuuri practically sweatdropped as he hugged the overly affectionate alpha back.  For some reason the image of the two hugging really annoyed Yuri.  “Thanks Vitya, I really love them a lot!”

“Yay! I’m glad you do!”  

“Yeah, and now it’s my turn to give you my gift.”  Yuuri stood up and leaned over to get it from Viktor’s pile and the alpha accepted it with both hands.  

“Thanks Yuuri!”

Yuuri giggled.  “Don’t thank me yet.  Go on ahead and open it first!”  And so his mate sat down and tore through the wrapping eagerly, not at all like Yuuri’s methodical and careful opening with his own gifts earlier.  

“Wow!”  Viktor had reached through the wrapper and lifted up a thick album.  He opened to the first page to see the first ever picture Phichit had ever taken of them.  “Yuuri…” He said more softly as he traced the image of the omega through the pictures.  He flipped through the first few pages to find the picture of him and Yuuri on stage during Yuuri’s dance recital. “...You chose all these?”  

“Aww Yuuri, that’s such a sweet idea!”  Mila had paused from opening her gifts to sit beside Viktor.  Chris, Georgi, and Phichit gathered around behind him to peer over his shoulder.  

The omega nodded and ducked his head as he blushed under all the attention.  “Phichit helped me of course.  It’s his pictures after all.”

“Yeah, but Yuuri did all the work!  He’s the one who arranged all of them and decorated the scrapbook!”  And indeed the omega did do a great job of sticking all the photos.  All of them had neat borders with each page having a different theme that complemented the pictures within them--a school theme with clip arts of crayons, blackboards, and textbooks for the photos taken at Kubo International; a ballet-themed page for Yuuri’s dance recital pictures; and a flower-themed stationary for pictures of their wedding.  

Even Yuri’s curiosity led him to take the few remaining steps to stand up next to Yuuri and watch as Viktor pored through the photographs.  It looked like the two have been friends for a long time, judging by the number of pictures there were.  The next few minutes passed by with the occasional commentary from one of the children and laughter as all of them recalled some shared memory.  Being the only one new to the group Yuri realized that it almost felt… lonely for him.

Tch, he was used to being alone though.  Being alone was better.  Being alone meant that you didn’t have to deal with stupid people and their stupid judging stares.  

“Oh!”  Viktor paused as he turned to an empty page.  He quickly flipped through the rest of the book only to find more blank pages.  

“Yeah, I wanted to leave some extra room for more memories.  You know, now that Yuri’s part of the family too!”  Yuuri said happily as he smiled at Yuri, causing the young alpha to blink back in surprise.  Viktor also looked at his cousin and gave him a soft smile.  “That’s a great idea Yuuri!”  He set the album aside so that he could engulf the omega in a tight hug.  “I have the best mate ever!”  

“You have another gift, Vitya,” Lilia said as she motioned her husband over.  Yakov sighed as he carried a large box over.  The children ooh’ed as they made some space to allow the older man to place it before Viktor.  It was wrapped in plain evergreen wrapping pair, decorated with a large ruby-red bow.  The only thing that stood out were the series of holes that were poked through the top of the box.  

Viktor stared at it with wide eyes.  “Santa gave me that?”  

“It’s from your father,” Yakov grumbled as he took a seat next to Lilia and crossed his arms.  

“Oh…”  Viktor stood up and untied the bow.  He lifted the top and peered down.

“Oh my God!” Mila squealed.  “Viktor, you’re so lucky!”

Phichit was the furthest away and couldn’t see the contents.  “What is it?! What is it?!”  

“It’s--!”

Viktor reached in and lifted it out to reveal--

“A kitten?!”  Georgi’s squeal was almost as high-pitched as Mila’s.  

Yuri’s eyes grew wide at the sight.  HIS COUSIN WAS SOOOOO LUCKY!!!!! IT WAS NOT FAIR!

“Um…”  the tiny ragdoll kitten gave a soft meow in Viktor’s arms as it began to squirm.  Viktor bit his lip as he struggled to hold onto it without clutching it too tightly.  “Er… hang on… OW!” He dropped the kitten but it was thankfully only an inch above the floor at that point.  Viktor pouted as he looked at his left hand, a scratch on his wrist.  “I think it scratched me!”

Yuuri quickly looked at Viktor’s hand while Hiroko went to look for Anna to ask for a first aid kit.  

“A cat?  What the hell is Nikiforov thinking?”  Yakov muttered as he walked over to quickly glance at Viktor’s wound.  “That thing better be vaccinated.”

“Natalya told me that she is.  I don’t think we have to worry much, Yasha.”

“Wait, so you knew?”  Yakov looked accusingly at his wife who simply raised an eyebrow back at him.  “You knew he was going to get Vitya a kitten and you’re okay with it?”

“It will teach the boy some responsibility.”

“Here we are,” Hiroko returned with a small first aid kit.  She opened it up and took some gauze to gingerly dab at Viktor’s already sealing cut and applied some antibacterial cream before placing a bandaid.  “There we go.”  

Yuuri bent over to give a quick kiss over the bandaid.  “There!  And now that’ll make it heal faster.”  

Meanwhile Yuri edged his way through Viktor’s circle of friends to reach the kitten, batting everyone else’s arms aside to lift the cute little animal in his arms.  A small smile grew unbidden on his face as he began to pet it.  Stupid Viktor.  All you had to do was be gentle.  See?  The little kitten didn’t scratch him!  What should he name her?  He pondered on it for awhile…

“Potya.”  

“Huh?”  Georgi and the others looked at him askance, including Viktor as he was still being fussed over by Yuuri.   “What did you say, Yuri?” Georgi asked.  

Yuri pointed at the kitten and repeated himself.  “Potya.”  

“You wanna name the kitten Potya?”  Phichit asked.  

Yuri nodded.  “Kitten is Potya.  Potya Plisetsky.”

Mila giggled, causing Yuri to glare at her.  What?!  It was a good name!  

“What do you think, Vitya?” Yuuri asked Viktor.  He shrugged.  He honestly wasn’t a big fan of the cat.  

“Yeah, sure, why not?”

---

A few hours later found the children gathered in the den again.  Georgi, Phichit, Chris, and Viktor were playing Super Mario Kart on Chris’s old Super Nintendo.  

“Woooo! First place, AGAIN!”  Chris whooped as he passed the finish line.  

“Ugh, I would have won if that stupid banana didn’t mess me up,” Georgi moaned.  He placed his controller on the floor and cracked his fingers.  “Does anyone else wanna play?  My thumbs are starting to hurt.”  

“Ha, you’re just sore cuz you didn’t win!”  Chris stuck his tongue out.  

“Am not!”  

“Are too!”

“Not!”

“Too!”

Viktor picked up Georgi’s controller and offered it to Yuuri.  “Do you wanna play, Yuuri?”  

The omega smiled and took the controller.  “Okay…” Mari smirked from her perch on the couch.  This will prove interesting.  

“Let’s do the rainbow road next!”  Phichit said.  

“Oooh, awesome, yeah let’s do that!” Chris eagerly agreed.

“Wait, maybe we can start at an easier level.  Yuuri’s just starting,” Viktor looked at his mate who simply shook his head.

“It’s okay Vitya, I can still play it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.  Go on!”  

They reselected their characters and chose the rainbow road.  It was down to the penultimate lap and Chris and Viktor were neck to neck on who was going to be first.  

“Ha!” Viktor cheered as Phichit fell off the track.  “Looks like it’s just you and me, Chris.”

“As if, I’m gonna make you eat my dust just watch!  Wait, what the-”

A shell had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and knocked him off the road.

“WHO WAS THAT?! I WAS SO CLOSE!  Phichit, was that you?!”  

“Hey don’t look at me, I’m all the way in fourth here…”

“Wait, then--”  Chris turned around to look incredulously at Yuuri who simply smirked but kept his eyes trained intensely on the television.  It was almost as if the omega was a completely different person.  

“YUURI?!  That was you?!”

Yuri’s chest puffed out in pride as he watched Yuuri’s character gain a lot of ground on Viktor.  

“Wow, amazing!  My mate’s so awesome!”  Viktor didn’t even look the least bit upset when  Yuuri’s Yoshi surpassed him and threw a banana peel for good measure, making Viktor’s Mario fall off the road and lose.  “You’re so good Yuuri!”

The intense look in Yuuri’s eyes faded away as he smiled bashfully.  “Oh it was nothing…”

“Heh, you guys obviously haven’t played much video games with my brother,” Mari snickered.  “He becomes a completely different person.  He’s super competitive and he hates to lose.”  She stood up.  “Anyway, while you were all playing, Okaa-san came by to say that dinner’s ready.  Let’s go have some food before you guys continue playing.”  

“Yay food!”  Chris said as he stood up and followed the older girl out the den.  “Winning makes me super hungry.”

“Hehe, so why are you hungry then?  You just lost the last round,” Georgi teased back as Mila walked beside them.

“Come, Yuuri, I’m starving!”  Phichit called the omega over.  

Yuuri paused when he noticed that Viktor was trailing a little behind, Yuri just getting up right behind him while clutching Potya in his arms.  “You coming too, Viktor?”  

“Yeah, we’ll be there in a sec Yuuri!  Please go and save a seat for me!”  

“Um…” Yuuri’s eyes turned curiously to Yuri before he shrugged.  “Okay.”  He followed Phichit to the dining room.  

Yuri made to run and catch up with them but was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.  

“Wait!  Yuri, I was hoping to talk to you actually.”  

Yuri turned around and glared at his cousin.  What could he possibly want?  Does he want his kitten back?  He looked at Potya in his arms, the cute little animal meowing softly back at him.  

Viktor sighed and switched to Russian.   “Look… you like Potya right?  I’ll give you Potya.  Like, officially give you Potya.  But in return can you erm…”   Viktor trailed off a bit, eyes a bit distant as he mulled over his words.  When it seemed like he decided on them, he nodded his head and his eyes flitted back to Yuri, serious and determined.   “If I give you Potya I want you to stop touching my Yuuri so much.  We’re married and he’s my mate, you know, so it really should only be me who should be touching him like that.  I mean, even his best friend Phichit doesn’t hold on to his hand so often or sleep right next to him at night.”

When his monologue was met with only silence and a scowl, Viktor continued on, his stance straighter and his hands on his hips, flipping his hair back over his shoulder with a quick flick of his wrist.  For some reason the motion rankled Yuri.   “Like right now, when we were playing video games, you were right next to him the whole time.  And you can’t do that cuz you see, when you touch him like that so much, your scent starts mixing with Yuuri’s and you can’t do that cuz Yuuri’s my mate.  Only mates can scent each other like that.  So… don’t touch him so much anymore, okay?”

Yuri simply glared at him.  He was not even going to deign him with an answer.  But apparently Viktor took his silence as assent because the alpha smiled and patted his shoulder.   “Great!  I’m glad we got that settled.  Now let’s go get dinner, Yuri!”  And with that the alpha left his cousin, practically skipping to the dining room.  

Yuri shook his head.  “Stupid Viktor,” he muttered in the empty room.  As if he was going to listen to his cousin.  He could do whatever he wants.  Who cares if it was Viktor’s house?  He was dragged here, he didn’t even want to be here in the first place!  

Nope.  Yuri Plistesky will just keep staying wherever he wants.  And if he wants to be next to Yuuri, then that’s where he will be.  He began walking towards the dining room, still carrying Potya in his arms.

Now that he thought about it, it made total sense. Yu(u)ri’s had to look out for each other, and most importantly, stick together!  He overheard his Dedushka once complain to one of their neighbors that stupidity was contagious.  

It was a miracle then that the omega Yuuri still had two brain cells to rub together if he kept spending so much time with his cousin.  

Good alphas looked out for omegas, right?  That’s what his teacher once said in school.  Yuri took a deep breath and puffed out his chest.  Yes, and that’s what he’ll do.  

Yuuri may not be stupid, but he wasn’t exactly the brightest either.  Otherwise, he’d stay away from his cousin. But oh well, good thing he was here now.  Yuri will make sure to take care of Yuuri and make sure he didn’t get stupid from Viktor’s stupid-ness.  

It was the least he could do as a good alpha.

Chapter Text

Chapter 26: A Little Separation Anxiety

 In which Yuuri's maternal instincts kick in over the course of the holidays and Yuri's first day at school

After Viktor and Georgi’s birthdays passed, Viktor went on to sleep over at the Katsuki’s until New Year’s as the two families had previously planned.  Of course the Katsukis were kind enough to extend the invitation to Yuri and welcomed him with open arms.

“Are you sure, Hiroko?”  Lilia asked worriedly as the two women peered at Yuuri sandwiched between the two alphas in the den.  They were playing with a Lego set, and Yuuri appeared to be increasingly uncomfortable with the way that the two boys were pressing onto him.  “You know how difficult Yuri has been the past few days.  I cannot guarantee that he will behave.”  

Hiroko’s smile momentarily faltered as she tried to ignore her own misgivings over her proposal.  But it wouldn’t do to just invite Viktor and not his cousin.  It would simply be rude and goodness knows how it would hurt the poor dear.  He just came into the country a few days ago; it was only right to help him get settled in with a new set of friends before school resumed.  

She and her husband definitely had their own concerns regarding Yuuri’s new preoccupation with nesting.  They were able to see it firsthand a few nights ago when Viktor, Yuuri, and Yuri were heading to bed.  Since the rest of their friends had already left, they decided to have the children just share the bed in Viktor’s room.  

Toshiya was just going upstairs to make sure that the children were getting ready to go to bed instead of being preoccupied with their new toys when he had rushed back downstairs and quickly ushered his wife to go up with him.  “Hiroko, quick!  Minako’s right, I think Yuuri is nesting.”  

Hiroko was in the living room with the Feltsmans at that time.  Her eyes widened at his exclamation, “You mean now?”

“Yes!  They’re in Viktor’s room.  Quickly, you have to see!”

“Goodness…” Hiroko looked askance at Lilia and Yakov.

“We might as well see for ourselves, Hiroko, so we know what we’re dealing with,” Lilia said, standing up with Yakov following suit.    

The four grownups went upstairs, making sure to keep quiet the closer they got to Viktor’s room.  Toshiya had left the door open ajar from when he was about to enter a few minutes prior and all four of them used the small crack to peer through.  

Inside they could see Viktor’s room in disarray, part of it from the mess the children had left earlier with their toys strewn about, but now Viktor’s blankets and pillows were tossed all across the floor.  Yuri’s back was facing them, his arms preoccupied with holding plushie Potya and the real kitty Potya while Viktor stood on the other side of the bed.

“My mate’s just fixing our bed, Yuri,” Viktor said needlessly.  It was agreed upon the day after his arrival that everyone would start talking to Yuri in English to help him get adjusted faster to the language.  “Don’t worry, we should be able to go to bed soon… I think…” He glanced concernedly at the omega who was currently fixing his blankets into a strange circular shape.  Why was he doing that?  “Um… Yuuri?”

“Hmm?”  Yuuri didn’t bother glancing up, tucking in a stray fold so that it didn’t ruin his circular arrangement.  

“Can Yuri sleep in his own room?”

The blond alpha actually growled at his suggestion.

With that Yuuri’s head shot up and he looked at Viktor with raised brows.  “Why?  There’s enough space on your bed for all three of us.”

“But Yuuuuuuurrii,” Viktor was outright whining at this point, all dignity forgotten (not that the eight-year-old had much to begin with).  “He keeps sleeping right next to you and I don’t like it!”  He stomped his right foot on the floor for good measure.

Yuuri tilted his head curiously.  “Why?” It wasn’t as if he no longer slept next to Viktor, his mate would simply just sleep on his other side.

“Cuz his scent rubs off on you!”

A blink.  “Um… well, if you want you can just scent me again the next day.”

“... Really?!”  Viktor looked absolutely excited at the idea.  “Okay!  I mean, I still want him to sleep in his own room, but if I can scent you that won’t be too bad!”

“Mmm-hmm...Can you hand me the blankets, Vitya?”

Viktor walked around his room and gathered the two blankets that were scattered on the floor.  “Here Yuuri!”

“Thanks!... That's much better.  Now can you get me some more blankets?”

Viktor scratched his head in confusion.  “Why?  Aren’t the ones we have enough?”  

Yuuri gently prodded one side of the nest.  “You can never have enough fluffy blankets,” he said matter of factly.

“Uh…” Viktor turned around and stepped out of the adults’ line of sight presumably to open one of the closets in this room.  “I think Anna stores some extra blankets here, yeah!  I got some.”  He came back within the grownups’ view, arms full of plush comforters and fleece blankets.  

Yuuri clapped his hands and eagerly reached out to drag the new additions into the nest.  Yuri stepped beside Viktor as the two alphas simply watched with bemused expressions, or rather, Viktor had a bemused expression while Yuri simply glared in confusion at what was going on.

All the while Yuuri was humming contentedly to himself.  After several minutes passed in this manner, there was a pretty legitimate-looking nest, if still a bit crudely made on Viktor’s bed.  

“Okay Vitya, we’re ready for the pillows!”  

“Kay!”  Since the sides of the nest were getting too tall for him to pass them over, Viktor simply went on ahead and tossed the pillows into the air, Yuuri catching them from inside.  

“Got them! … Okay, the bed’s ready!”

“Awesome!  I’m going to hop in!”  Viktor scrambled up his bed and jumped inside the nest.  “Wow!  Amazing!  This is super comfortable Yuuri!”

Yuri scowled and stomped his foot as he was left behind.  He tried climbing up the bed, but the task proved to be difficult with the two Potyas he was carrying in his arms. And there was no way he was going to leave them behind!  

“Wait a second, where’s your cousin?”

“Oh, him…”

“Vitya!”

“Stupid Viktor!” Yuri cried out from outside the nest.  “Let me in!”  Potya, the live one, meowed from inside his arms.  

Yakov sighed and decided that enough was enough.  It wouldn’t do to wait until Yuri threw another tantrum.  He opened the door wider, effectively announcing their presence to the children in the room.  He picked up Yuri in one smooth motion and deposited him in the nest.  The four of them gathered around Viktor’s bed.  

“Hi Deda, hi Baba!”  Viktor called from his place inside Yuuri’s nest, his smile all innocent as if he just wasn’t caught leaving his younger cousin to fend for himself beside the bed.  He was already all snuggled in a blanket side by side with Yuuri, who only had his head uncovered by the fluffy sheets.  

“Hello Yuuri-chan,” Hiroko said, her smile a bit strained from having witnessed her seven-year-old son displaying a secondary gender behavior almost ten years too early.  

“Hi Okaa-san,” Yuuri yawned and snuggled deeper into the blankets, curling over to his side to face Viktor.  “Vitya, Yuri, and I were about to sleep.”  He blinked as he watched Yuri settle down on the other side.  The younger alpha appeared to press himself closer to Yuuri just to spite Viktor and it seemed to work if the glare the older alpha was giving was any indication.  

“Don’t get so close to him,” Viktor practically hissed.  He turned and held onto Yuuri through the blankets.  

Yuri simply stuck his tongue out at him, Potya curled into a ball by his head.  

“Is it really a good idea to have the kitten sleep in bed with them?” Lilia wondered aloud.  

Yakov gave his wife a look of disbelief.  How can she possibly be preoccupied with the cat when their grandchild and his cousin were practically waging a territorial war over an omega?  

And as if to prove his point, Viktor’s voice cut through his thoughts, “Deda, make Yuri stop!  Yuuri’s my mate and he shouldn’t be allowed to stay so close to him!”  

“Vitya, Yura!  Stop this, both of you!”

All the while Yuuri simply yawned and pouted, his eyes already closed.  “Why is everyone so loud?”  

“If you two boys can’t behave, then neither of you will sleep beside Yuuri.  Yura, you can sleep in your own room, and Vitya, you can sleep in one of the guest rooms.”  

Viktor scowled back at his grandparents, giving them a look coming from someone who was utterly betrayed by his loved ones.  He held onto Yuuri more tightly, as if daring them to tear him away from the omega’s side.  

Hiroko sighed as she took this development in stride, just like everything that’s been happening between the two boys in the last few months, especially in the last few weeks.  “Now all of you behave and sleep well, okay?”  She tucked Viktor under the covers, the motion appearing to mollify him a bit.  At least she wasn’t like his grandparents who did nothing but threatened to tear him away from his Yuuri. The traitors!

Over the next few days the territorial game between Viktor and Yuri didn’t seem to improve much.  Every now and again a scuffle would inevitably break out between the two alphas, with poor Yuuri caught in the middle.  He’d always try to reassure Viktor that he was still very much his mate, and no, he was not planning on getting a divorce, what was a divorce in the first place even? And no, he didn’t think that Viktor smells, please don’t listen to Yuri, Vitya. But then Yuri would start getting angry at all the attention his older cousin would get, so Yuuri would then switch his focus on him and… well, you pretty much get the picture.

So now we fast forward back to our present time in which the two families confirm their plans for the remainder of the holiday break.

Lilia pursed her lips and appeared reassured enough by Hiroko’s words. “Alright if you’re sure.  It appears that Yuri seems to behave better when Yakov and I are not around, something that we will not tolerate longterm but I will let it pass for now.  I’m hoping that once he gets settled in he will be more agreeable...While Vitya and Yuri spend time at your place, Yasha and I will take this time to begin researching for a specialist...” Lilia’s words trailed off as she gave an incredulous look in the children’s direction at the opposite end of the room.  

Hiroko, Toshiya, Mari, and Yakov turned around to follow at her gaze to find Viktor sitting beside Yuuri.  That part of the picture was normal enough, however, the alpha was furiously rubbing his inner wrist along Yuuri’s neck to scent him as he glared at his younger cousin.  

“Where did he even learn to do that?” Toshiya gasped.

“Vitya!” Yakov barked out.  The three boys jumped and turned around simultaneously to them.  

Viktor was defiant. “What?!”

“Stop that right now!”

“Yuuri’s my mate, Deda!  Yuri’s scent shouldn’t be all over him!”

“Vitya don’t make me come over there!”

“Fine!”  Viktor stopped scenting Yuuri’s neck with his wrist but simply shifted his arm to hold his hand.  “Yuuri finally smells like me anyway!” The poor omega was blushing furiously under all the scrutiny.  

“Well… at least that’s the only way he knows how to scent Yuuri,” Mari muttered under her breath.  

Lilia sighed and massaged her temples.  She had to have a quick talk with Anna to make sure Viktor wasn’t watching anything mature on the television, not that scenting someone through your wrist’s scent glands was even considered explicit enough to be censored from an eight-year-old by society’s standards.  

“I’ll be sure to give the boys a good talking to about being on their best behavior,” Yakov said.  “If either of them go out of line, Hiroko, Toshiya, please don’t hesitate to call us.  I don’t care what time it is, I’m dragging both those boys home.”  

Toshiya gave a disarming smile.  “Now, now, I’m sure it won’t have to come to that.  But thank you anyway, Yakov, we appreciate it.”  

And with that, the Katsukis went back to their inn later that afternoon with Yuri and Viktor in tow.  Yuri had insisted on bringing Potya (both Potyas) and the Feltsmans were smart enough to have purchased several supplies and a carrier for the family to bring.  

Yuri watched with curious eyes at the streets they passed on their way to the Katsuki inn.  Everything was so different compared to the small farming village he left behind.  The roads were nicer, the cars were nicer, and the few people who still braved the cold looked nicer too.  And not one single Cyrillic character.  He was already getting used to the English language, adapting very quickly.  His speech already starting to be more fluid, and he could understand almost every single sentence that was spoken around him--with the occasional word that he had to guess the meaning of through context clues.  

Once they pulled into the driveway, Yuri decided that Yuuri’s house was waaaaay cooler.  So what if Viktor lived in a gigantic mansion?  Yuuri lived in an awesome wooden cottage house!  In the middle of a forest!  Yuri gasped.  What if there were tigers in the forest?!  

“Potya, maybe we can get you some brothers and sisters,” he whispered to the kitten in the carrier as Yuuri and Viktor took off their seatbelts.  He donned his gloves as he followed the two older boys out of the car, insisting on carrying Potya.  Mari opened the door for everyone, having already spent the past two days back in their house.  She peered at Yuri’s carrier and showed him where he could place it down in the foyer.  

“I can’t say I’m too surprised that you brought her too,” she commented as she helped the boys hang their coats on the coat rack.  “All of you be good while I help Okaa-san and Otou-san prepare dinner,” her words were addressed mostly to Yuuri who smiled and nodded his head before he led Viktor and Yuri upstairs to his room.  

Viktor ran on ahead to open the door to Yuuri’s room.  The young silver-haired boy took a deep breath and sighed at being imbued with Yuuri’s scent.  He made a little dance around the room and allowed himself to fall on his back onto Yuuri’s bed.

“I wish I could stay here forever,” he sighed happily, eyes still closed.  

Yuuri smiled and placed Vicchan and Makka on the bed beside Viktor.  “Won’t you miss your Baba and Deda?” He asked teasingly as Yuri came into the room, taking in the sights with wide eyes. Deeming it safe enough, the young alpha placed the kitten Potya down on the floor, the kitten giving a soft meow as it cautiously ambled about the room before choosing a sunlit spot on the floor.  

“Nah, Baba and Deda can come visit me here anytime they want,” Viktor’s heart-shaped smile lit up his face as he gently tugged the omega to join him on top of the bed.  Yuuri acquiesced and happily flopped onto his tummy beside his mate.  He smiled at Yuri as the younger alpha took in the ballet dance trophies and pictures that lined his walls.  

“You dance?” The young blond asked Yuuri.

“Yeah, I’ve been doing ballet since I was… well, I think I was younger than you actually.”  

Yuri blinked, taking in this new information about his proclaimed best friend.  “You good?”

Viktor smiled, eagerly chiming in, “Good?!  My Yuuri’s amazing!  I got to see him perform a few months ago and I gave him a bunch of flowers!”  

Yuri turned back to a photo that was pinned next to the trophies.  In it he could see a shorter version of Yuuri dressed in black leggings and a tight-fitting shirt in the third position.  He decided.

“I want dance too,” he said, walking up to Yuuri and Viktor.

Viktor scowled at the thought that it was just another ploy to spend more time with the omega.  

“Really?”  Yuuri asked curiously, wondering where the sudden urge to join his ballet classes came from.

Yuri nodded determinedly at the omega as he hopped up the bed.  Ballet classes meant more time with Yuuri and less time with Viktor after all.

“Okay then.  I can ask Minako-sensei.  I think she’s coming over for dinner tonight.”

“Why don’t you just ask Baba to give you lessons?” Viktor suggested.  “Baba was one of the top ballet dancers in Russia after all.  Our house even has a dance studio that Mama used to use.”

“Ooh!  That’s a great idea, Vitya,” Yuuri smiled.  

Yuri scowled. He knew what his cousin was doing.  “No,” he said, shaking his head firmly.  “I take class with you.”

Viktor groaned and simply flopped over to allow himself to cover Yuuri with his arm.  He mumbled something into the pillow that caused Yuuri to giggle.  Yuri gave the older alpha a suspicious look.  Whatever it was, he knew it somehow involved him and that it wasn’t anything flattering.

The three heard a knock before the door to Yuuri’s room opened revealing Mari.  She came in smelling of cooked food carrying a Christmas gift bag.  “Dinner is going to be ready soon,” she said as she placed the bag right beside Yuri.  “I got a few gifts this Christmas that I’m not too crazy about.  But I figured you like cats, so… have at it.” She gave a nonchalant wave before leaving the boys once again.  

“Ooh, I wonder what she got you.  Open it, Yuri!”  Yuuri looked excited as if the gift was for himself.  Even Viktor turned his head a bit to train a curious eye on it. Yuri nodded his head and proceeded to jam his arm down the gift bag, fingers spread out to touch whatever was inside.  He couldn’t guess the contents based on touch… it felt like a mix of soft fabric and… elastic bands?  His brows furrowed and he decided to just find out once and for all by taking the bag in both hands and turning it upside down.

Yuuri ooh’d as the contents fell.  It was a whole bunch of Hello Kitty merchandise… some hair ties, soft plushies, a bunch of stickers, and stationery.  No wonder Mari-neechan decided to give it to Yuri.  She never cared much for the character, although their relatives in Japan would still give her a bunch of Hello Kitty-themed items for her birthday and the holidays.  

Yuri was in heaven.  He gasped with delight and his eyes sparkled as he shuffled through the pile, sorting them into categories.  It was a shame that his hair wasn’t long enough to use the hair ties, but he noticed how Yuuri tended to groom Viktor’s hair.  Well, if his best friend liked long hair then he’ll prolly just have to grow his out too.  He bet it would look better than Viktor’s anyway… His Mama once told him that his hair was nice like sunshine!  And as for Viktor?  Tch, he had old man hair, ha!

This made it official.  His best friend’s family were the most awesome people ever.  Could he somehow convince Baba Lilia and Yakov to allow him to just stay with the Katsukis instead?  

Meanwhile, downstairs in the kitchen, Mari listened quietly to her parents talking amongst themselves about the latest development with her brother.  

“How long do you figure it’s been going on?” Hiroko asked Toshiya while she was making onigiri.  

“It couldn’t have been long, right?  If Yuuri’s been nesting like that it would have been pretty obvious judging by the nest we saw him make.  Even if Lilia or Yakov didn’t check, I’m sure Anna would have said something if she were cleaning Viktor’s room.”    

Mari bit her lip, lost in her own thoughts.  She didn’t think it was such a big deal that her little brother was nesting, since it seemed harmless enough, but if it was an indication of an early puberty then it could be worrisome.

“Hopefully Lilia and Yakov will find a nice pediatrician for Yuuri-chan and Vitya-chan,” Hiroko said lightly as she finished the last onigiri and set it on the plate.  

“We’ll take it one step at a time.  That’s what we’ve been doing and it seems to work so far.  Whenever we did anything drastic it would just push the boys away…” Toshiya said, trailing off, no doubt recalling how Yuuri and Viktor ran away for two days just weeks ago.  

It was something that still chilled the two parents whenever they sat down and thought about it, and they certainly did not want to repeat the same mistakes and make the two boys take even more drastic actions.  After the stunt the two pulled, what else could they do?  … Then again, this was Viktor they were talking about.  If there was something more dramatic that could be done, he’d think of it.  In the end, it was best not to dwell on it any longer.  

“And now what do you think is happening between our Yuuri-chan and Vitya-chan’s cousin?”

Mari snorted, unable to help herself, causing her parents to glance down at her.  “The alphas are pretty much having a pissing contest over Yuuri.”

Toshiya sighed.  “They are, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know if I would label the little Yuri as being infatuated with our Yuuri-chan.  I think he just formed an attachment to him as his first friend here.  It can be scary moving to a new place, let alone a completely different country.”

Mari wryly wondered what on Earth it was about her brother that drew alphas to him.  

They were interrupted by the doorbell.  “Oh, that must be Minako-sensei.  Mari-chan, you can go and get the boys down for dinner,” Hiroko said, sweeping her fingers affectionately through her daughter’s hair and gently nudging her towards the stairs.  And with that Mari went back on upstairs and opened the door to her younger brother’s room only to laugh at the sight that greeted her.  

Viktor was pouting sullenly behind his mate while her younger brother was preoccupied with brushing Yuri’s hair.  He then applied some Hello Kitty hair clips on the blond’s head.  

“Hi Mari-neechan!”  Yuuri paused to greet his sister.  “Yuri looks nice, right?”

“Mm-hmm, yeah,” Mari said, giving a soft smile as she took the younger alpha’s image in.  He looked almost adorable if it weren’t for the pointed look he gave her, as if daring her to insult his looks.  There were two Hello Kitty hair clips pinned in perfect symmetry on either side of his head. The look was completed with a headband with felt cat ears.  

“Just wait until your hair gets longer, Yuri, then we can also add hair ties to put it in a ponytail… like Vitya!”  

Yuri was happily nodding his head until the last part of that statement when he mentioned Viktor’s name.  The two alphas glared at each other.  

Mari decided to change the topic before another fight started.  It was going to be a long rest of their vacation.  “Come on you three,” she said, ushering the boys off the bed.  “Minako-sensei is here.  Dinner is going to get cold if you don’t come down soon.”

---

And dinner indeed got cold, metaphorically speaking, by the frigid tension between Viktor and his cousin.  Even Yuuri, who before had tried to diffuse the situation by engaging both in conversation, was quiet as he felt how things between the two reached a new low. It made everything all the more awkward when he remained sandwiched between the two.

“Mmm, the food is great, Okaa-san!”  Viktor said happily as he snuggled closer to Yuuri, as close as he could without sitting on the omega’s lap.  Only a few inches more and his elbow would be digging into Yuuri’s ribs.  

“Um… Vitya…” the omega started helplessly.

“Food is best!” Yuri said determinedly at Hiroko, waving his fork around in emphasis.  It was obviously supposed to be a compliment, but the aggressive way he said it made it obvious that he was daring Hiroko to acknowledge Viktor’s words over his.  

“My, my, Hiroko, such loyal fans of your cooking!” Minako teased from her seat.  

Hiroko gave a bashful smile, not really knowing what to say.  

In the end Toshiya saved her by chuckling, “Ah, thanks you two… but let’s just enjoy the food for now, okay?”

Mari shook her head in amusement as silence slowly settled among the group once more.  Unfortunately it didn’t last long.  

“Otou-san, do you let other alphas or betas sleep with Okaa-san?” Viktor asked.

Toshiya almost spat out his dinner. “W-what?” He spluttered, looking up with a stupefied expression at Viktor who was pinning him with a serious stare.  Minako began laughing uproariously.  

Viktor simply blinked and continued, serious, “Do you ever let anyone else sleep with your mate?”  Yuuri was blushing furiously and began squirming in his chair as if he was caught doing something wrong.  Yuri, however, turned his nose up at what his cousin said.  

“I-I beg your pardon?”

Mari couldn’t help it anymore. She too began to laugh, not bothering to cover her mouth for once. At this point there were tears at the corner of Minako’s eyes as she gasped for air in between bursts of laughter.

“Oh dear…” Hiroko murmured.  

“Viktor, I’m sorry, but what brought this on?  It’s such an odd question,” Toshiya was very much uncomfortable now, scratching the back of his neck and adjusting his glasses as if that will help him see things more clearly.   But all it made him see was Viktor’s serious cerulean eyes--eyes that were way too mature for his age.

“I ask because you, Okaa-san, Deda, and Baba are okay with Yuri sleeping with my Yuuri,” he remarked almost condescendingly.   “Now, how would you feel if I were to ask you to let someone else sleep with Okaa-san?  And if she smelled like that person the next day?”

Fresh peals of laughter came across from Mari and Minako.  

“I’m serious, Mari-neechan, Minako-sensei!” Viktor said indignantly, not understanding what it was about his question that they found so hilarious. Such was the innocence of youth.  “As Yuuri’s mate, I can’t just let him sleep with just anyone!  My Papa never let my Mama sleep with anyone else!”

Toshiya straightened his glasses as he wracked his brain to think of something appropriate to say.  It would be useless to inform Viktor that for betas like himself and his wife, having someone else’s scent wasn’t as much of a bother considering how their sense of smell was nowhere near as strong as an alpha’s or omega’s.  It would still miss the point.  

“Um… Vitya-chan, you see…”

“So why would it be okay for me to let my cousin sleep with my Yuuri?  Yuuri’s my mate, Otou-san, I shouldn’t have to share him.”

“Vitya…” Yuuri started helplessly, entire face now a furious red.  “I said you could scent me the next day…” Wasn’t that enough for him?  

“My Papa never liked it when Mama would go to work and come back without his scent, so he always made sure that she’d bring some of his clothes when she traveled.  And whenever she came back, they’d stay in their room for many hours cuz Mama said that Papa needed to scent her again.  Sometimes, I don’t even see them again until breakfast the next day.   I always thought it was weird but at least they were happy that Mama had Papa’s scent again!”

That made everyone minus the three innocent children lose their composure.  Hiroko planted a hand across her mouth to stifle her giggles while Toshiya finally let out his own chuckles, turning red with second hand embarrassment from Viktor unwittingly revealing his parents’ love life once upon a time.  

The silver-haired alpha did not see what was so amusing, however, and placed down his utensils, crossing his arms and glowered at Mari and the adults one by one.  Why weren’t they taking him seriously?!  This was so frustrating!  He had very legitimate concerns about his mate sleeping with his cousin!   

“We’re sorry, Vitya-chan,” Hiroko said, once she was able to maintain a semblance of control.  “But please… don’t say ‘sleep with.’  You are not sleeping with Yuuri-chan or Yura-chan.  You are sleeping next to them, alright?”

Viktor’s brows furrowed further.  Sleep with, sleep next to, what was the difference?  Ugh, grownups were so weird.  But if it would finally get them to take him seriously, sure, whatever.  He nodded.  “Okay… why is it okay for my Yuuri to sleep next to Yuri?” He glanced over at his cousin and was not surprised to find the blond alpha glaring at him.  

“Vitya…” Yuuri said softly.  He placed a calming hand on Viktor’s arm.  His mate’s tense stance relaxed just a fraction.  “Yuri is my friend and he’s your cousin.  We’re a family, okay?”

Viktor pouted.  “But Yuuri…”

Hiroko decided to take the window of opportunity that Yuuri’s comment opened, “Yes, Yuuri-chan is right, Vitya-chan.  Yuri’s part of the family now and it’s just fair for him to also spend time with Yuuri-chan, right?”

“But Okaa-san,”  Viktor begged and turned soulful puppy dog eyes to her, “why does Yuri have to sleep with my Yuuri?”

Toshiya butted in,"Next to-”

Sleep with, next to, whatever!  “Why does Yuri have to sleep next to my Yuuri?!”

Mari groaned while Minako simply looked on in amusement.  

Hiroko reached over to place a hand on Viktor’s shoulder.  “Vitya-chan, you must understand, Yuri is part of your family now.”  

The alpha frowned in confusion.  “Um yeah… he’s my cousin, I know that.”

“Yes, but now he’s with you here , with your grandparents and with us.  He’ll be with you in your school and with the rest of your friends.  We must make him feel at home, okay?”

“But we can do that and still let him sleep in his own room!”

Yuri threw daggers at his cousin.  

Hiroko remained patient.  “Vitya-chan, please think about it.  If you were in Yuri’s shoes, how would that make you feel?”

The alpha sighed and his shoulders slumped.  Yuuri smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.  Viktor appreciated the gesture and leaned his head on the omega’s head.  “Lonely, I guess.  Especially cuz everyone would still be new to me…” He sighed.  “Okay, fine…” Viktor’s eyes flitted over to his cousin.  “But I still wanna be able to scent my Yuuri!”

The two parents gave each other weighted looks, and even some of the humor left Minako’s face as she regarded her two friends and waited curiously for their response.  

Toshiya turned back to face the children.  “Vitya-chan, you can scent Yuuri-chan, but don’t use your wrists.”  He held a hand up to stop Viktor from protesting.  “Please, listen.  The scent glands at your wrists are one of the strongest-”

Surprisingly it was his son who interrupted him this time, “Um… but Otou-san, I think that’s exactly why Vitya wants to use them.”

“Yeah!  I saw my Papa do it for Mama one time,” Viktor nodded his head eagerly.  

Well at least that explained where Viktor learned the practice from.  “The thing is, the other grownups at your school might make trouble if they start noticing this.  Remember how they commented how they didn’t like you two scenting each other?  Before that was simply due to the time you’ve been spending together.  If you start scenting Yuuri-chan with your wrists, Vitya-chan it is very likely that you’ll get in trouble again.”  It seemed that he was making some headway judging by the comprehension that was filling the alpha’s eyes.  

“And we should not push our luck. We don’t want to do anything to make the school change their mind in separating you two.”

“Or make Papa angry,” Viktor whispered, looking down at his plate.  Yuuri reached over to hold his hand and the alpha squeezed it tightly back.  The two mates remembered how Andrei had almost dragged his son back to Russia.  Just the mere thought of being separated ruined their appetite, although it was a moot point since both of their dinners were almost gone.   

“Please don’t think badly of us, Vitya-chan,” Hiroko pleaded.  “We’re not trying to punish you, but what you two have… most people will not understand it.  And you have already seen a glimpse of what it’s like when people learn about the special bond you have with our Yuuri-chan.”

Viktor and Yuuri shared a look, communicating silently to each other.  Mari was unnerved by how mature the two looked at that moment, like the old souls that Ms. Hima once described them being.  It gave her whiplash, how the two can be innocent and carefree like the children they were one second before suddenly acting so much older than their age.  

All the while Yuri’s brows were furrowed as he became frustrated at being the odd one out.  What were they all talking about?  What’s this thing about a bond?  And Viktor and his Papa didn’t get along?  He decided to simply try to absorb as much information as he was able to glean from the conversation and maybe ask his best friend about it later.  

Viktor was the first to break his gaze with Yuuri and the two turned around in unison, nodding to the adults.  “Okay, then.  I don’t care if I get in trouble but I don’t want my Yuuri to get in trouble or for my Papa to get mad at Baba or Deda.”

Hiroko and Toshiya were visibly more at ease with their acquiescence.  Hopefully Viktor will keep to his word.  “Thank you, Vitya-chan,” Toshiya said.  

Minako gave a huff and resumed finishing the last few noodles of her soba.  There was never a dull moment in the Katsuki household ever since Viktor became a part of their lives.  She smiled wryly thinking how she’d never want to change what has happened in the past few months.  Even when the two ran away.  It was an unpleasant but necessary wake-up call for all of them, herself included.  Hiroko and Toshiya handled this new development well enough.  They’re bound to make mistakes again, of course.  It was the inevitable reality that came with parenthood.  She may not have her own children, and many times she was very much content with it.  It’s already been so rewarding just being part of Mari and Yuuri-chan’s lives, as the adopted aunt of the Katsukis. She peered back at Yuri, the blond alpha stealing glances at Yuuri every now and then.  And now for the addition of this spitfire…

“Well now that that’s all settled and done, I wanted to place my own request for something that I’ve been mulling over the past few days,” Mari said, pushing her bowl away and leaning back on her chair.  Everyone’s eyes turned to her curiously.  

“All talk of these Yu(u)ri’s is just downright confusing, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.”  She turned and pointed a finger to Yuri and he blinked back.  “So I decided.  From now on, you’re Yurio.”

Yuri pouted.  That’s not fair, why should his name change?!  He was about to protest when-

“Oh, Yurio!  That’s such a nice nickname!”  Yuuri clapped his hands and looked happily at Yuri.  “What do you think, Yurio?”

Yuri’s lips moved uncertainly, the words stuck in his mouth.  He decidedly ignored Viktor’s snickering from behind his best friend.  But if Yuuri liked it… and besides, Mari did give him those super awesome, super cool Hello Kitty stuff.  He traced one of the hair clips on his hair at the reminder.  Hmm...Yurio, huh?   It sounded pretty cool.   ‘Okay then.’  He nodded.  

Mari smirked.  “Awesome, it’s official.  Welcome to the family, Yurio-chan.”

The next few days went by and before everyone knew it, Holiday Break was done and another year was upon them.  Most importantly, it was going to be Yuri’s first day at Kubo International.  They found out that Yuri was assigned to the same homeroom as Guang Hong once they got his folder from the Main Office.   

“Be on your absolute best behavior, Yuri,” Lilia said, bending down to straighten his newly-pressed uniform jacket and tie. The blond alpha scowled and twitched in place. He had been fidgeting as soon as he donned the constricting outfit.  What was with these uniforms?  He’d never seen a school that required uniforms before, and they were so uncomfortable!

“It’s okay, Yurio, you’ll get used to it,” Yuuri smiled encouragingly beside Viktor.  He reached over to straighten the one Hello Kitty clip Yuri had insisted on wearing.  

“We’ll both be here when we pick you up later,” Yakov said.  He looked down at his watch, taking note of how it was close to eight.  “It’s best if all of you go on ahead.  It wouldn’t hurt to be early so you can have more time to settle down.”   He turned over to his grandson.  “Vitya, you watch out for your cousin, alright?”

Viktor nodded his head, surprising Yakov with his sudden maturity.  While Viktor may still not appreciate how Yuri unexpectedly took up his mate’s attention, he nonetheless felt responsible for his care.  Good alphas looked out for their younger cousins, right?  Even if that cousin was annoying and started copying you (he once saw Yuri trying to gather his own hair into a ponytail earlier in the day) so that he could try to steal your mate’s attention.  Yeah, even then.    

Yuuri waved goodbye to his parents before he reached over to take Yuri’s hand in his.  “Now come, I’ll show you over to Guang Hong, you remember him from the party, right?” He lead the way up the main walkway, Viktor taking Yuuri’s other hand as the three approached the front gates.  Yuri remained quiet as he tried to mentally sift through the many faces he met during Viktor’s party.  In the end he wasn’t sure; he shook his head.

Yuuri was undaunted and squeezed his hand.  “Don’t worry, we can walk you over to your homeroom and show him to you again.  I’m sure you’ll recognize him when you see him.  He’ll at least be one other familiar face for you.”

Yuri blinked and stopped, effectively tugging Viktor and Yuuri back.  The two older kids turned around to look at him.  

“Yurio, what’s wrong?”  Viktor asked.  He gently shepherded his cousin and Yuuri aside so they wouldn’t be in the way of the other students walking into the school.  

In all the talk of joining Yuuri and Viktor’s school, Yuri never realized that he would be in a different class.  He gritted his teeth as he internally seethed, angry with himself to be foolish enough to forget that--Duh! Of course he’d be in a different class, he was younger than them!  Maybe if he showed them how smart he is, he can skip a grade so he can join them?  Can he do that here?

His best friend, ever smarter than his cousin, sensed his thoughts, bending his head down and giving his hand a comforting squeeze.  “Hey, Yurio, it’s okay… if you’re in Guang Hong’s homeroom, that means that we’ll share lunch and recess together.  Guang Hong’s really nice and he said his classmates are nice too.  Everything will be okay…”

The bright smile on his best friend’s face though was partially eclipsed by the worried look in his eyes.

“Yeah, Yurio, don’t worry,” Viktor nodded his head eagerly and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. For once, Yuri decided not to flinch away from the contact.  “My Yuuri’s right.  You’re gonna be okay. You already have our friends, I’m sure you’re gonna make some new friends in your class too.  We’ll see each other in just a few hours for lunch, okay?”

Well it’s not like he really had a choice. Yuri simply nodded his head and allowed himself to be tugged forward towards his homeroom, even though he dreaded the moment he’d be separated from his best friend and--okay, he’ll admit it--his cousin.  Heck, he’d much rather be in the same homeroom as his stupid cousin Viktor.  Because, even though Viktor may be stupid, just by the virtue of them being related, he’s at least smarter than whatever stupid kids went to this school.  

The three came to a stop in front of an open door.  Almost half of the desks were already occupied by his classmates.  

“Here we are, Yurio,” Yuuri said.  He reluctantly tried to let go of Yuri’s hand but the younger alpha’s grip was tight.  

“Yurio, it’s okay, we’ll be together again for lunch,” Viktor tried to reassure his younger cousin.

“Viktor? Yuuri?”

The group turned their heads up to see Guang Hong walking over to them.  Yuri remained quiet as he watched the omega approach.  He instantly recognized the other boy but still felt awkward, not really interacting with him much during Viktor’s birthday party. “Hi Yuri, are you in the same home room as me?”

Viktor squeezed Yuri’s shoulder and nodded.  “He is, and we call him Yurio now by the way.  Makes it less confusing with my Yuuri having the same name.”

Guang Hong gave a gentle smile.  “That’s a good idea. Happy first day, Yurio.” His eyes flitted over to the Hello Kitty hairclip perched on Yuri’s head.  “Ooh, I like Hello Kitty too.”

‘Okay… Guang Hong can’t be too bad then if he also likes kitties.  He must be nice too if he’s friends with my best friend.’  And with that thought Yuri decided to get this (temporary!) separation over with and let go of Yuuri and Viktor’s hands to take the first few hesitant steps into his new homeroom.  He hoped that he looked much braver than he actually felt inside.  

“Watch out for him for us please, Guang Hong?”  Yuuri called out.  Yuri quickly whipped his head around, trying desperately to quell down the panic he began to feel bubbling into his chest when he saw that he and his cousin already stepped back into the hallway.   ‘Come on, you can handle this Yuri!’

Guang Hong nodded his head eagerly. “Of course, you guys don’t have anything to worry about, I promise!  We’ll see you both real soon for lunch.”

Yuri watched as his best friend gave him a tremulous smile and got tugged out of view by his cousin.  

---

Morning classes passed by excruciatingly slowly for both Yu(u)ri’s.  Yuuri noticed that he felt antsy the moment he left Viktor’s cousin in his homeroom.  He couldn’t help but fret over the younger alpha, his imagination going on overdrive on all the different ways that Yuri could be having the worst school day of his life.  What if Guang Hong was wrong?  What if everyone else in their class hates Yuri?  What if they make fun of him for his Russian accent?  Or tease him for wearing that Hello Kitty hairclip?  Yuuri bit his lip.  Then that would be all his fault.  He shouldn’t have let Mari give him those hair accessories, and he practically encouraged him, cooing over how nice they looked in his hair!  

“Yuuri…”

Or what if the teacher didn’t like Yuri?  Yuuri felt a bit guilty for making all those promises earlier about how everything would be okay.  The truth is, you will never know for sure if everything would be okay… but what else was he supposed to say?  He just basically parroted what his parents would say in this scenario.  Isn’t that what grownups say all the time?  That everything would be okay?  But then what if things don’t end up being okay, will little Yurio get mad at him?  Will he lose his trust?  He’ll never believe a single word that comes out of his mouth ever again!

Yuuri glanced at the clock on the wall.  It was already 11am, almost time for lunch.  His eyes widened with realization.  Oh no!  The past few days, they’ve been having lunch around this time, but lunch period here didn’t start until noon.  What if Yuri’s starving now?!  Yuuri bit his lip as he tried to recall what his Okaa-san packed for lunch today.  He should have extra food for Yuri.

“Psst!  Yuuri…”

Yuuri fidgeted and sighed, swiping his bangs away and began to bounce his right leg.  Just one more hour, just one more hour.

“Yuuri!”  He heard a hiss from his side and almost jumped when a hand reached out to squeeze his forearm.  Yuuri was torn from his musings to see his mate pinning him with a concerned look.  

Viktor couldn’t stand how the sour smell of anxiety clouded his mate’s usual sweet scent.  He would glance at the omega every now and then and saw the faraway look in his eyes.  The first hint of that scent began when they waved goodbye to his younger cousin.  He must have been worried over Yurio then.  But why would Yuuri be so worried?  Everything was going to be fine.  Yurio was even with Guang Hong.  He would even begrudgingly acknowledge that his cousin was smart and brave.  He was going to be just fine.  

“Yuuri…” Relieved at finally catching his mate’s attention, Viktor’s eyes flitted quickly to see their arithmetic teacher busy writing the next set of practice problems on the chalkboard before turning back to focus his attention on calming his mate’s nerves down.  “Yurio will be fine, I promise.”

It didn’t even surprise Yuuri that his mate was able to read his thoughts.  Viktor had always been perceptive like that.  “You can’t know that for sure though…” He whispered back as he turned his head to finally look back down on his worksheet in a meager attempt to try to pay attention back to the lesson.

“Of course he will,” Viktor insisted, making sure to keep his voice soft.  It did nothing to detract from his conviction.  “He’s a Nikiforov, Yuuri.  He’ll be fine.”   The confidence in Viktor’s eyes uplifted Yuuri’s spirits somehow and while it only alleviated his fears a little, it was enough to get him to finally concentrate for the next fifty minutes until the early lunch bell rang.

And the moment it did, Yuuri wasted no time.  Viktor had never seen his mate dash so fast towards the cafeteria.  For once, he was being tugged by the omega towards a destination.  “Yuuri, calm down!  Yurio will be fine.”

“I am calm,” Yuuri insisted.  However, the way he weaved in and around other students in record speed gave away his inner anxiety.  “I just wanna be sure.”

“Woah, Yuuri, what’s with the rush?”  Chris called out from behind Viktor.  He, Mila, and Georgi were trying their best to catch up.  Viktor glanced over his shoulder.  He couldn’t even see Phichit or Yuuko in the crowd anymore so they must have been further behind.  

“Are you trying to find Yura?”  Mila asked as she was finally able to match Yuuri’s strides. “He’s prolly already at the cafeteria since the classroom is closer there.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Yuuri mumbled.  He nonetheless quickly glanced through the open door to the homeroom in question as they passed by it.  

“I’m sure he’s okay, Yuuri,” Georgi said.  “He’s with Guang Hong anyway.”

Why can’t any of his friends understand though that they can never be one hundred percent sure until they see it for their own eyes?  Hence why Yuuri was doing his best to get themselves over to the cafeteria as fast as his short legs could.  He couldn’t fully explain why he felt uneasy ever since Yurio left.  He felt so silly now that he thought about how he and Viktor were the ones giving Yurio false reassurances when all along Yuuri was feeling the same trepidation over leaving Yurio by himself.  And he trusted Guang Hong, he really did, but there were just some things that were outside of his control-

Yuuri and Viktor hardly made it past the threshold of the cafeteria doors when a yellow and gray blur barrelled its way into Yuuri, making the couple take several steps back as Yuuri felt that impact of the forceful hug.  

“Yurio!”

The younger blond’s eyes were scrunched tightly as he bit his upper lip in an attempt to make himself appear calmer than he really was.  But the truth was that he was absolutely relieved to see his best friend again… even his cousin.  And that was saying a lot.  But it was a long four hours, okay?!  It wasn’t because he was weak or anything!  And it most definitely wasn’t because of those weird girls that started trailing after him the moment he was introduced to the class.  

“Oooh, Yurio!  That’s such a cute nickname!”  Sally whatshername squealed from the table he had leapt from.  

‘Oh God,’ Yuri mentally groaned.  

“Yuuri!  Viktor!”  Guang Hong walked up to his friends.  “See?  He’s okay, just like I promised.”

Phichit shook his head in amusement as he finally caught up with the group, Yuuko by his side.  Everyone watched as Yuuri ran a comforting hand through Yuri’s hair, hugging him tightly and patting his back in soothing motions.  Normally the fact that his mate was being physically affectionate with someone would rankle Viktor but even he could see how terrified his younger cousin had been at the separation.  

The silver-haired alpha wrapped an arm around Yuuri and ushered them towards their usual table.  

“Aww, you’d think they haven’t seen each other for an entire week,” Chris snickered as he walked behind Viktor.  

“First days can be tough,” Yuuko chided.  “Let’s not tease him so much.”

“Aww, Yuri! Are you leaving us?”  The group turned around to see a bunch of the younger girls pouting.  

“Oooh, it looks like you have a fanclub Yurio!”  Viktor gave a heart-shaped smile that made the girls giggle.  Yuuri blinked at the group curiously while Yuri simply scowled.  

The omega turned down to look at him.  “Would you like to sit with your classmates?”  There appeared to be enough spaces on the table to fit them all.  “We could join them…”

“No!”  Yuri turned his nose up and tugged his best friend forward.  There was no way that he was going to sit next to those girls if he could help it!  He didn’t understand what was with their obsession with him.  Ever since they saw him wearing his Hello Kitty hairclips they were basically fawning over the accessories and how cute they looked on his "soft silky hair."  

Viktor and Yuuri chuckled.  

“That’s so cute, Yurio already has a bunch of admirers!”  Georgi clapped a hand on Yuri’s back as they all settled down, Yuri and Viktor naturally sandwiching Yuuri.  

“You didn’t get food from the buffet line yet?” Yuuri asked Yuri.  The younger boy shook his head.  He had decided to wait for them beside Guang Hong, not wanting to risk the chance that he might miss them while waiting for food.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go get us some trays,” Viktor said standing up.  “A good alpha always provides for his family!”  He beamed as he almost skipped towards the buffet, eager in his role.  

Yuuri ran his hand through Yuri’s hair several more times, unconsciously mimicking the way Hiroko would do the very same to either himself or his sister.  Yuri pretty much lapped up the attention, for once not caring that they were in a public place.  Yuuko and Georgi took out their lunchboxes as Phichit and the others decided to follow Viktor to the buffet, not having any lunch packed for the day.  Yuuri let go of Yuri briefly to settle his own bento box on the table and unwrapped the patterned cloth, setting aside the layered plates one by one.

Yuri watched with curious eyes as plate after plate of food was laid before him, all foreign dishes with only a few he’d seen before after sleeping over at his best friend’s house.  

“You must be starving by now… here,”  Yuuri took a pair of chopsticks and offered one of the sushi rolls to Yuri.  Yuri grabbed it with his hand and popped it in his mouth, chewing happily as he watched his cousin precariously balancing two trays with him, a staff member trailing behind with a third tray.  

“I’m back!  And Mrs. Harper here has Yurio’s tray!  This is my cousin, Mrs. Harper.  His name is the same as my Yuuri’s, so we call him Yurio!”  

The elderly lady gave a gentle smile as she set the tray down before Yuri.  He was too preoccupied eating to flinch away as she patted his head gently.  “Now aren’t you all just the sweetest little dears.  Have a good lunch now.”  She smiled sweetly to the boys as she returned to the buffet line.  

“Vitya… you didn’t have to get me lunch too.  Okaa-san packed some for me this morning,” Yuuri murmured as the alpha nonetheless placed a tray before him.  

“Nonsense, Yuuri, I knew you were gonna share your lunch with Yurio, so of course I just had to get all of us some extra food!”  

Viktor sat down as he watched his cousin began scarfing down the food on his tray.  Yuuri sighed as he watched the mess, thankfully most of it staying on the tray rather than ending up on the table.  

“Do I get some of Okaa-san’s food too, Yuuri?”  Viktor smiled over at his mate expectantly.  

Yuuri gave him a wry smile as he pulled his bento box closer so he could also feed Viktor some of his Okaa-san’s cooking.  “You and Yurio are more alike than you two would admit.”  

Viktor waited a few seconds to swallow his food before sticking his tongue out at Yuuri.  

---

The group of friends decided to spend a relaxing recess.  Instead of playing their usual games, they used the next half hour catching up on what happened during the rest of their holiday breaks.  By this time Yuri had been introduced to the rest of the friends like Leo and Yuuko who had not been able to make it to Viktor’s birthday party.  

Yuri, understandably, did not really participate much in any of the conversations, content with simply sitting beside his best friend and listening to the rest of the group talk.  Little by little he was able to grow his vocabulary, including the weird slang and colloquialisms that he never learned in his English lessons. Right now he was listening curiously to Georgi, Chris, and Mila’s conversation since they were currently talking about his cousin and best friend.

“I just think it’s so romantic though, in the end,” Georgi said with a lovestruck expression on his face.  “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely terrifying right when we were in the middle of it, but think about it… to be torn apart from your one true love.  It’s so romantic to run away together!  I cannot blame Viktor for what he did.  If a bunch of evil grownups were also trying to keep me away from my one true love, then I’d run away with them too!”  

“Um… I guess,” Mila said as she absentmindedly twirled a lock of her red hair.  “I don’t know if I’d be that drastic, to be honest.  My Mama and Mommy would kill me.”

“Eh, as much as I support Yuuri and Viktor, this whole thing with mates isn’t for me,” Chris shrugged as he stretched his arms and flopped on his back on the gym floor.  “It’s too mushy ‘n stuff.  I can’t imagine being like that with someone.  Bleh,” he waved his hand as if to shoo the notion away.  

Mates, there was that word again.  He kept hearing his cousin call Yuuri his mate time and again.  Yuri might as well take this opportunity to find out more about it.  Seeing his best friend currently preoccupied posing for a picture for Phichit, he shuffled over to Chris, Georgi, and Mila.  

“Hey Yurio,” Mila waved at him.

Yuri decided to cut to the chase.  “What mates?”

“Huh?” Georgi scratched his head.  “You mean why are Viktor and Yuuri mates?”

Yuri nodded his head.

“Well… they got married earlier this year.  Viktor courted Yuuri cuz he fell in love with him.”  Georgi placed a hand over his heart.  “It was love at first sight!  Just like in the romantic fairytales my Babushka would read to me.”

Mila snickered as she elbowed Georgi.  “Funny you say that now… I remember back then that you thought that Yuuri placed a curse on Viktor!”

“I didn’t know him back then!” Georgi defended himself indignantly.  

Yuri frowned, still not understanding.  “But mates are for grownups.”

Chris snorted.  “Don’t say that in front of Viktor.  He always gets annoyed whenever he hears that.”

“That doesn’t really apply to Yuuri and Viktor, Yurio,” Mila explained patiently.  “You see, they know that they love each other now, so why wait?”  

Love?  Yuri tilted his head and furrowed his brow.  He never really understood the concept, apart from the obvious love he had for his Dedushka.  And he was pretty sure that his Mama loved him too, but it was hard to feel as attached to her since he saw her so infrequently.  Apart from the brief glances he saw of the parents who picked up his classmates from school, he had never really been exposed to what it was like to be happily mated.  Even his Babushka had passed away several years before he was born, so he never saw what his Dedushka was like back when his mate was still alive.  

Mila could tell that Yuri was still confused and so she pressed on.  “I mean, it’s not that much different from being best friends with someone, Yurio.  It’s kinda like a best friend you want for life.  And maybe someday want to have a family with, you know?”

A best friend for life, huh?  

Yuri turned around to look at Yuuri, who smiled and waved back at him.  

Now there’s a thought...

Chapter Text

Chapter 27: A War Declared 

In which Vitya pulls another Vitya move and battle lines are drawn!

“So how was your first day, Yura?”  Lilia asked the young alpha during dinner later that night.  

Yura shrugged and simply swallowed his portion.  There was no way that he was going to admit that he was scared stiff from being separated from Yuuri and Viktor earlier in the day.  And he will also never admit that he was finally relieved when the last bell for the day rang and signaled the end of classes.  To think that he will have to repeat all of this next Monday, and the day after, and the day after that…

“It was pretty good, Baba, Guang Hong looked out for him for us!”  Viktor piped up from his seat across from Yuri. The blond alpha glared at his cousin for answering on his behalf.  “Yura even has his own fan club now!”

“A ‘fan club?’” Lilia frowned in confusion as she turned askance to her husband who simply gave a roll of his shoulders.  “What do you mean?”

Viktor giggled at how Yuri scowled and blushed at her words.  “There’s this group of girls that really love his hair accessories, right Yura?”

“I hate them,” Yuri muttered and refused to say anything more.

“Now Yura, you shouldn’t say such ugly words.  ‘Hate’ is a very strong word and it should not be used lightly,” Lilia admonished as she reached over and wiped away some of the mess on his cheek with a napkin.   “And please, do try and eat like a proper gentleman. I refuse to raise a boy without some manners.”

Viktor gave out a lovesick sigh and absentmindedly pushed the remaining bits of food around his plate with his fork.  “If only my Yuuri were here, he’d help wipe away the food from my cheeks.”

“Vitya,” Yakov gave a warning grumble.  

Viktor groaned and pushed away his plate and chair from the table.  He hopped down and gave them a dismissive wave. “Yeah, yeah, I’m going to finish my homework.”  They watched as the young alpha dragged his feet across the floor and up the stairs.

Lilia’s eyes followed Viktor’s half-hearted march out of the room.  She tsked and got up as well, gathering the empty bowls. “The boy is just upset that he cannot spend time this weekend at the Katsuki’s.”  

Yakov grunted in acknowledgement.  “What did they say they were doing again?”

“A reunion with some of Minako’s relatives from Japan.”  

Yuri’s nose wrinkled in distaste.  Because as much as he hated seeing Viktor act all clingy and disgusting with his best friend, at least he would have still been able to see Yuuri.  But alas, that makes both of them disappointed at the prospect of a Yuuri-less weekend.  The omega, being the self-deprecating little boy that he was, would never have thought that he had become such a central part of both alphas’ lives in just a matter of a few months (and not even a full month in Yuri’s case).  Yuri scoffed and hopped down from his chair, following Viktor’s path from just minutes before with the exception of making a turn to his bedroom adjacent to Viktor’s.

And so Friday night passed onto Saturday, the two young alphas moping in their own way.  Viktor made his misery very obvious to everyone in the mansion, dragging his feet around the house with shoulders slumped and head hunched over.  Every now and then he would give out a sigh of despair and lament how wretched he was not being by Yuuri’s side.

“I’m going to die, Baba,” he bemoaned as he circled around her chaise for the n-th time that afternoon.  “What if Minako-sensei’s relatives take him back to Japan with them? I will never see my Yuuri again!”

“Vitya, don’t be ridiculous,” Lilia muttered without looking up from her novel.  She turned the page and rolled her eyes at seeing Viktor perch himself on the couch opposite from her, one arm over his eyes.  He was the picture-perfect image of a lovelorn man and it looked absolutely comical for a boy his age to mimic the pose.

“I should have brought my Yuuri home with me on Friday.  I wouldn’t be so miserable if I only had him beside me. I’m going to die of a broken heart, Baba.”

“Goodness, Vitya, now you’re just being dramatic.”

“A broken heart, Baba!”

“Vitya, please, your desperation is unbecoming.  Calm yourself. You will see Yuuri again on Monday.”

Yuri, who was sitting on the floor a few strides away, grimaced at his cousin’s shameless display.  How in the world could his best friend put up with someone so pathetic?   Yeah, he was pretty upset too that he hasn’t seen his best friend, but you didn’t see him crying or whining like his cousin who’s supposed to be three years older and more mature than him.  Stupid Viktor.

Viktor deflated like a ragdoll, limbs spread out and limp across the couch.  He turned his head to the side so his words wouldn’t be muffled. “Baba, tell my Yuuri that I loved him very much, but that I died a lonely miserable death without him by my side.  I just couldn’t wait to see him again and my poor heart couldn’t take it anymore.”

Yakov had at that moment entered the room just in time to hear the end of Viktor’s monologue.  “You belong in the theater, Vitya,” he grumbled as he sat down the other end of the couch, spreading his newspaper before him.  Viktor chose not to react to the added weight on the couch, letting his body sag.

“What would Yuuri say if he were to see you now?”

“My Yuuri would be devastated that I’m this miserable. Then he would kiss me to make me feel better and give me a hug.  My mate gives me the best hugs, Deda.”

“Mm-hmm I’m sure,” Yakov muttered distractedly as he continued to read his newspaper.  

Yuri shook his head and wondered how long it would take for his stupid cousin to take the hint and realize that the grownups could care less about all his lamentations.  

“Yuuri!  I miss you sooooo much,” came Viktor’s wail once again.

Yuri gritted his teeth and jammed his fingers into his ears.  There was no way he was going to be able to put up much more of this!  He turned to see one of the decorative pillows on the couch. Would he get in trouble if he were to try to stuff one of them into Viktor’s mouth?  He’d be doing everyone a favor, right? Why was he making such a big deal anyway? This cannot possibly be their first weekend apart, can it?

“Vitya, if you’re going to keep that up you might as well stay in your room.  Either that, or I’ll throw you onto your bed myself,” Yakov warned from his seat beside him.  

“Fine!  I’ll mourn my Yuuri’s absence by myself!”  Viktor stomped his way upstairs and slammed his door shut.  

“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but that boy is much more bearable when that omega is around.”

“Thank goodness our Katya was never like that.  Can you imagine?”

“Must be Nikiforov’s genes at play.”

“Yasha…”

Yuri shook his head as he watched the grownups banter back and forth.  He turned back to his drawing of Potya as he clutched the stuffed Potya under one arm, the live Potya curled by his feet.  He then decided to draw a stick figure representing his older cousin being trampled by the cartoon Potya. Hehehe, yup, Viktor would immediately be squashed once Potya grew up into a tiger!  

And so the next few hours passed until Lilia went upstairs to get Viktor down for dinner.  Yuri had already taken his place at the grand dining table when he watched his older cousin be dragged to an empty seat across from him.  Wow, Viktor was still not over it? He can’t believe his cousin was still moping!

“Viktor, please stop this foolishness, it is quite unbecoming of an alpha,” Lilia tutted as she waited until Viktor climbed up the chair and pushed him closer to the table.  “In the meantime you will be happy to know that Mrs. Katsuki called earlier,” she said as she took her place opposite from Yakov.

Now that captured the alpha’s attention.  His head turned over to his grandmother so quickly that he could have gotten whiplash.  “What is it, Baba?!”

Anna came over to place the salad bowl and an assortment of appetizers on the table.  

“They ended up arriving a day earlier, so the Katsukis are back in their house tonight.  If you’d like, we can visit Yuuri tomorrow.”

“Really?!”  Viktor slammed his fists on the table in his excitement causing his grandfather to give out an indignant squawk. “We can go tomorrow?  How about tonight?!” He leaned forward and Yuri would be lying if he were to say that he didn’t want to see his best friend sooner rather than later.  “Please Baba, please please pleaaase?! I wanna see my Yuuri!”

Lilia sighed and ignored Viktor’s pleas as she proceeded to serve him some salad.  “We will do no such thing. It’s getting late, Vitya, and it would be rude to make ourselves guests at this hour.  Good things come to those who wait. You will see him tomorrow.”

“Awww, but I wanna see him now!”

Yuri agreed but remained silent.  He had more dignity than to whine like Viktor.  But alas, Viktor never had any dignity when it came to his mate.  Yuri was quickly learning that fact this weekend.

“No, Vitya.  You must learn to be patient.”

Viktor groaned but half-heartedly ate.  He didn’t even stay for dessert, mumbling a goodnight to everyone before returning upstairs.

“That boy is too spoiled for his own good.”

“What else do you expect?  He’s used to getting his way.”  

Yuri decided at that moment that he hoped he never fell in love.  It appears that love makes you very stupid. But then again, maybe it was just his cousin.

---

Unfortunately poor Viktor couldn’t fall asleep that night.  Maybe all the recent sleepovers from the holidays had spoiled him, but now it was just so difficult to go to sleep without his Yuuri beside him!  At least during the weekdays he would be exhausted from school and fall asleep within seconds.

But the weekends now were simply unbearable when he was parted from his Yuuri!  How was he able to cope before?

He sighed and turned around to look at the time on his digital clock.  It was already 11:05 P.M. It was completely silent in his room save for the tick-tock of the analog clock on the opposite wall.  

Uuugh he couldn’t possibly wait several more hours to see his Yuuri!  Viktor wasn’t even sure that he could even wait an hour more! His eyes widened as a thought came into his head.

So what if he didn’t have to wait?  What if he went on ahead and visited the Katsukis now?  

Once the idea came into his head there was no escaping it.  Viktor got up and shrugged out of his pajamas before putting on a warmer pair of jeans and a sweater.  He completed the outfit with a scarf and hat. He then hopped back up his bed to retrieve Makka before he toddled off to his grandparents’ room.  He opened the door just enough for him to see the vague outlines of his grandparents on their bed.

“Hey Baba, Deda,” he whispered softly.  Yakov simply snored back in response. “I’m gonna go to Yuuri’s now, okay?  It’s technically not running away, you know, since you did say that I can visit him tomorrow… and by the time I get there it will technically be tomorrow so… yeah.”  He blinked back as he watched them continue to slumber on. “Don’t say anything for the next five seconds if you’re okay with me going,” he murmured.

‘One. Two. Threefourfive!’

Viktor beamed. “Okay, I’m going now.  Bye,” he stepped and shut the door silently.  Yes! Now he can leave to go to Yuuri’s! He made sure to go down the stairs as quietly as possible, pretending that he was a ninja prince on a super secret mission to be reunited with his soulmate who recently returned to his own kingdom after a perilous journey overseas.  But alas, the ninja prince’s grumpy grandparents forbid him to visit his mate until the next morning. But Prince Vitya didn’t need any of his grandparents’ help! He could go see his mate on his own.

And so Viktor took a brief moment to pack up his backpack with a bottle of water, some Fruit by the Foot, a bag of potato chips (it’s never too late for a snack, and long journeys always made a royal ninja prince hungry!), and placed Makka inside before zipping it up and retrieving his jacket from the closet in the entrance hall.  He closed the door behind him with a soft click and whooped on the porch steps, enjoying how his breath fogged up in the air before his mouth.

And now on to start his journey!  Viktor took a few minutes walking down their stairs and driveway and cross their front lawn before he reached their gates.  He pushed his backpack through before he stepped sideways between the iron posts, just skinny enough to get his head and torso through.  Just like a ninja!

It was pretty chilly out, but Viktor always liked the cold weather.  Deda once said that it was because he was Russian, but he wasn’t so sure.  He doesn’t remember going to Russia before although his Mama told him that he visited it plenty of times when he was younger.  

Maybe that’s why he never minded the cold.  His poor Yuuri though was the complete opposite; his little omega got cold really easily.  Which is why it’s all that more important that he reunite with his long lost mate! If he had a hard time sleeping at night, he was sure that Yuuri was too!

One thing he didn’t like though was how quiet it was.  All he could hear were his soft footsteps and the streetlights casted his shadow in a frightening way, making it stretch across the street.  His swinging arms turned grotesque, his fingers growing into claws and his bobbing head turned into a freakish monster. Viktor gulped and resolved not to look at his shadow for the remainder of his walk to Yuuri’s place.  

“Hmm~ going to Yuuri’s~” Viktor hummed a little diddy to distract himself and get rid of the oppressive silence that surrounded him. “Dit doot doot doo, seeing my mate soon~”  He made a game up by skipping along the cracks that trailed the side of the sidewalk then proceeded to do a game of hopscotch.

---

“Hijo, if you’d just let me help you, we’d be home by now.”

“Papá, not right now please…” Fernando grunted as he made the finishing touches in securing the spare tire in place.  He rolled his eyes as he heard his ornery father mutter a few choice words in their native Spanish while he stood up and stretched.  “There, that should last us until we go home.”

“Everything good now?” Manuel Rubio tilted his head to the side as he heard the telltale clinks of metal as his son returned his lug wrench to his toolbox and lowered the car back down.  

“Yeah, we’re good,” Fernando opened the door and used his free hand to help his father up and into the passenger’s seat.  He got back and buckled his seatbelt, turning off the hazard lights. It was just their luck that his limo car got a flat tire but at least he still had a spare donut one ready.  His poor wife and daughter must be so worried by now though…

He looked at his side view mirror as he merged back onto the road.  A few minutes passed in comfortable silence when a flash of silver shined in the distance.  Fernando’s brows furrowed as he slowed down.

‘A boy?’

“Nando, what’s going on?”  Manuel frowned as he sensed themselves decelerating.  

“It’s a boy, papá!  There’s a little kid walking on the side of the road!”

“What?!”

---

Viktor must have spent the next three million minutes ambling down the road (in reality, it was only ten minutes) when he heard a car pulling up behind him and lights flashing across the street.  He turned around and raised his arm to protect his eyes from the glare of the car’s headlights. Viktor’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, maybe these people can give me a ride.  Cool!’ He stepped aside as the car pulled up to him, a slightly disheveled man wearing black slacks and a white dress shirt coming out.    

“Young man, what on Earth are you doing alone at this time of night?”

“Well it’s technically early morning Mr. Limo Driver Man, I’m just heading home,” Viktor gave the man a bright smile.  

“Where are your parents?  Do your folks know you’re out here alone?”  The older man scratched the back of his head as he frowned down at the young boy.  He looked familiar for some reason…

“My grandparents are sleeping.  I just lost track of time so I gotta hurry back home before they get even more worried.”  

“Uh-huh, okay…”  Needless to say, Fernando wasn’t convinced.  He sure wasn’t going to be won over by a smile no matter how charming this young man is.  He shook his head and started to walk back towards his car, ushering the boy over. “Come on, let’s get you back to your place.  I’ll give you a ride.” And to also just make sure that this was typical child mischief and not due to something more serious like a pending child abuse allegation...

Viktor’s eyes sparkled at the thought of getting a ride. “Really?!”

Fernando gave him an indulging smile.  “Yeah, come on kid. I bet it’s way past your bedtime.”

“Okay!”  He skipped right over and allowed Fernando to open the rear door.  Viktor hopped in, shrugging off his bag and blinked at the unexpected presence of another grownup in the car.  He couldn’t see him clearly, but for some reason the elderly man’s profile looked familiar. They were in a darker part of the street that had minimal illumination from the closest streetlight a few feet ahead so he couldn’t see the man’s features clearly.  

“You got the boy in?”  Manuel asked his son. Fernando knew that his father already knew the answer; although legally blind, his father had long since adapted and his hearing was unparalleled and gave him an ability to perceive his surroundings pretty well.  

“Yeah…” He turned around and double-checked that Viktor was strapped in before snapping his own seatbelt.  “Okay, young man, what is your address?”

Viktor proceeded to give him the address to the Katsuki’s Inn causing Fernando to frown.  “That’s about six miles away… how did you end up all the way here?”

Viktor shrugged.  “Took the wrong bus,” he said without missing a beat.  

“Wrong bus, huh?”  Fernando nonetheless took them out of park and put his gear on drive, rolling down the main road again.

“Yep,” Viktor said popping the ‘p.’  “Papa once told me I should bring a bus map.  Guess he was right.”

“And are you going to tell us what you were doing this late at night?” Manuel chimed in from his seat.  He wanted the boy to keep talking. Something about his voice sounded familiar...

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Fernando sighed and gave up.  He obviously wasn’t going to get a straight story out of this kid tonight.  
“You know, your voice sounds familiar,” Manuel finally decided to speak up.  “Have you gone to our store before?”

“Hmm?”  Viktor tilted his head and leaned forward as far as his seatbelt would allow.  When the soft glow from a passing streetlight briefly lit the profile of the man’s face, the boy’s eyes widened with recognition. “Mr. Manny Rubio!” He gasped.

The blind man’s eyes twinkled with mirth.  “Ha, I had a feeling it was you, Vincent!”

‘Vincent?’  Fernando frowned, using his rear view mirror to glance back at the boy.  For some reason, he really didn’t look like a Vincent. But for the more important question-- “Wait, how do you two know each other?”

“Mr. Manny was super nice and gave me and my mate some food!”

‘Mate? …What does he mean by that?’  “You come to our store a lot?”

“Nah, just once.  I’m sorry Mr. Rubio, but we lost some of your food.”  

“It’s fine, Vinny.  Is everything okay with your brother?”

“My brother…?”  Viktor suddenly realized that he must have been referring to Yuuri. “Oh, right!  Yeah, he’s okay.”

“He was the one Gloria told you about,” Manuel whispered to his son.

“No… him?!”  Fernando hissed back incredulously.   “He gave you $700?”

Viktor frowned and squirmed in his seat.  “You mean I didn’t pay you enough?”

“Young man, you paid too much in fact,” Manuel shook his head.  “We should return the extra money, Nando.”

“Nah, you guys can keep it.  It’s like a Christmas present!  From me and Yuuri!” Viktor said proudly.

“Yuuri?”

“Oh, I meant… Eugene! Yeah, me and Eugene!”  That was the fake name he gave Yuuri, right?

Fernando internally groaned.  This boy was such an awful liar.  Hopefully he didn’t lie about his address especially because he wasn’t sure how much longer their spare tire was going to hold.  He took in the few landmarks they passed. Come to think of it, some of these were starting to look familiar…

Sure enough, a few minutes later Viktor was able to start recognizing the streets that surrounded Yuuri’s home.  They passed by the county park first, followed by the trees and the wooden sign that signaled the Lakeside Inn. “Wait a second… I feel like I’ve been here before.”  Fernando peered around their surroundings, trying to wrack his memory but still failing to recognize when he was last here. Everything looked different in the dark of night.

It wasn’t until he pulled up towards the front of the house’s garage that the few landmarks they passed--the wooden sign at the front, the long gravel driveway, and the county park nearby that all three clues finally clicked into place.  

“This place looks really familiar.  Maybe I dropped off one of my clients here before...”  

But his words fell on deaf ears; Viktor already hastily took off his seatbelt and got out of the car, jogging up the porch steps and pressing on the doorbell three times.  Fernando winced at the thought of the noise it must have made for the occupants inside before he quickly followed the child. He took a moment to call out to his father to stay in the car as he jogged up the stairs.  

“Okay, hang on there,” he gently placed a hand on the boy’s fingers to move it away from its assault on the doorbell.  “Let’s give your folks inside a chance to actually answer the door, okay?”

Viktor groaned but acquiesced.  “I just really wanna see my Yuuri!”  

“What’s a yuuri?” That earned him a puzzled look.

“Yuuri’s my mate!”

“Your what now?”  

Viktor’s answer was cut off by the front door opening to reveal a disheveled Toshiya.  He didn’t see Viktor and first saw Fernando. “Can I help you, sir?”

Fernando took off his hat and started off with an apology.  The man was clearly of Asian descent and not the boy’s parents.  “Sorry, sir, we must have the wrong house. This young man here said he was your-”

“Hi Otou-san!”

At that Toshiya’s eyes widened and he gasped upon seeing Viktor standing side by side with the limo driver.  He scrunched his eyes shut and opened them again, still in disbelief that Viktor was in front of him. “V-Viktor?  What on Earth are you doing here?” He turned around to try and look at their clock but it was not within his view.  

Another voice could be heard coming from behind Toshiya.  “Anata, what’s going on?”

“Hi Okaa-san! Can I go up to Yuuri?”

“What!  Vitya, what are you doing here?!  It’s…” she paused, recalling the time that she saw on the digital alarm before she got out of bed.  “It’s past midnight!” She turned and just spotted Fernando standing in front of her husband. She clutched her bathrobe, embarrassed at the state of her dress.  

“Good evening ma’am, I’m so sorry to interrupt your sleep.  You see I saw this young boy here walking by himself along the main road a few miles away.  He said that this was his address…” Fernando must have realized how stupid he must have looked, blindly following a child’s instructions.  “Obviously we were mistaken.”

“But we do know Vitya actually.  We’re close friends with his family and would be more than happy to take him for the night.  We should probably call his grandparents so they won’t panic when they find him missing in the morning. Would you like to come in?” Toshiya asked as he stepped aside and ushered them inside.  Viktor bent down to retrieve Makka from the bag before hoisting the stuffed poodle in his arms and bounding up the steps.

Fernando barely made a step inside when he paused at the threshold and awkwardly pointed to the car still running in the driveway.  “Thank you for your hospitality but I should actually be going. My dad and I got a flat tire and our family is probably very worried by now.”

Toshiya peered over the taller man’s shoulder.  “Is that your father stepping out of your car right now?”

Fernando whipped his head back and started when he saw his father take a few steps out of the car. “Papá!  Get back inside, you can trip!” He called out in Spanish.  

“The tire’s flat, Fernando, I can feel it.”  

Fernando jogged back down the driveway and held on tightly to his father’s elbow.  Sure enough, the donut tire was now flat as well. He muttered a curse under his breath.  He knew he should have gotten a new one!

“Perhaps you two can stay the night?  We have a phone. You can call your families and give them some peace of mind.  But it’s probably best to hold the repairs for the next morning,” Toshiya said as he walked up to the two men.  “This is an inn, so there’s always a bedroom or two available. Please, stay the night. We won’t charge you.”

“What do you think Papá?”

Manuel shrugged.  “I’d rather go to bed.  We can handle the car in the morning.”  

“Okay then,” he turned back to Toshiya and nodded.  “We’ll stay for the night. Thank you.”

“Come, I’ll show you the rooms we have.”  And the three walked back into the foyer.

Hiroko was walking back down the stairs just as they were removing their coats. “Vitya-chan could hardly stay still enough for me to remove his backpack and his coat.  He’s upstairs with Yuuri-chan now.”

“We should probably call Lilia and Yakov. Even though I don’t want to wake them up, I also don’t want them to panic if they find him missing in the morning.”  

“I already did.  Yakov was absolutely furious but Lilia was able to reason with him to wait until tomorrow to come and get Vitya-chan back.  No sense in further ruining their sleep since he’s already here.” Hiroko gave the two men a gentle smile. “Thank you so much for bringing him safely to us.  Vitya-chan is a very sweet boy, but sometimes he can be a little…” She trailed off, unable to grasp the right words.

“Reckless?” Fernando supplied and the woman sighed and nodded.  

“Yes, exactly.  Come, let’s bring you both upstairs.  There’s two rooms available. They have phones in there where you can call your family.”  Hiroko led Fernando and Manuel up the steps, Fernando carefully holding on to his father’s hand as he navigated blindly through the unfamiliar house.  

Toshiya was a few steps ahead of his wife as he turned on the light in one of the rooms down the hall. “Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need anything.  There’s extra blankets and pillows in the closet. The bathroom is just down the hall.”

Fernando and Manuel thanked the couple profusely as they stepped back and gave their guests some privacy to settle down and sleep for the night (or rather, early morning).  

---

Meanwhile, Viktor placed his backpack against the wall by Yuuri’s dresser before he shrugged off his sweater and jeans and crawled under Yuuri’s blanket with Makka clutched in his arms.  

Yuuri began to squirm when he felt the extra weight on the bed.  He was blinking with his brows furrowed, eyes still glazed with sleep.  

“Yuuri!” Viktor whispered happily once his head popped up from underneath the covers.  
“Vitya?”  Yuuri blinked some more but still had the presence of mind to cover his mouth while he yawned.  “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you, so I walked over here!” He said proudly, puffing up his chest.  “And I brought Makka too, see?!” He held up Makka and gave two fake barks.

“Oooh!” Yuuri cooed and reached over to pet Makka.  “Hello, Makka. Here,” he pulled up his Vicchan plushie from under his blankets.  “We can switch.” The two boys went on ahead and exchanged the plushies between them.  

Viktor smiled as Yuuri’s eyes began to droop.  Now that he was safely in the Katsukis’ home, he had to admit that he was starting to get sleepy too.  Alas, the ninja prince finally made it to his final destination and got reunited with his beloved mate!  He’s earned the rest after such a perilous journey.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow. Then we’ll have all day to play, Yuuri!”

“Mmhmm… too bad you won’t be here when I wake up.”  

Now that gave Viktor pause.  “What do you mean?”

Yuuri shrugged, his eyes still closed as he snuggled Makka in his arms.  “You’re just a dream right now, Vitya. You can’t be here with me cuz the real you is back in your house.”  He opened his eyes, once again still hazy with sleep and gave a soft smile as he reached over and patted Viktor’s cheeks gently.  “Yup, you’re just a dream. I like it though. This is a good dream.” He closed his eyes once more. “Good night dream Vitya,” he mumbled.

Viktor pouted.  “But I am the real Vitya!”  He insisted. Yuuri’s soft breathing was his only response.  Ah, oh well. If Yuuri didn’t believe him then he’ll just be pleasantly surprised when he wakes up in the morning!

Yuuri was really reluctant to wake up that Sunday morning.  You see, he had the strangest dream last night. Viktor was in his bed and was happily telling him that he couldn’t wait until their playdate so he walked all five or so bajillion miles between their two homes.  It was oddly romantic and definitely something Viktor would do. But there was no way he would do that in real life. He’d get into so much trouble!

The young omega smiled, eyes still closed as he snuggled into his plushie.  Except… this doesn’t feel exactly like Vicchan? The soft fur felt a bit too fluffy to be Vicchan’s.  In fact, it’s almost like… He opened his eyes and gasped. “Makka?” How in the world did Makka end up in his bed?  “Then where’s Vicchan?”

“GOOD MORNING YUUURI!!!”

Yuuri yelped as two pools of blue filled his field of vision.  “V-VI-VITYA?!”

“Hi!”  Yuuri closed his eyes shut as Viktor proceeded to give him a bunch of kisses on his cheeks.  

“I missed you soooo much Yuuri!  Do you believe that it’s the real me now?”  Viktor paused to give Yuuri some room which was in reality, just enough for him to finally breathe.  “You wouldn’t believe me last night. Do you believe me now?”

“Last night!”  Yuuri was so confused as he saw that Viktor held Vicchan in his arms.  “So last night wasn’t a dream?”

Viktor shook his head.  “Nope, I really did walk over to your house!”

“But… all six bajillion miles?” Yuuri gawked at the thought of Viktor walking all that by himself.  

“Well… I maybe walked five million, but the rest I got a car ride.”  Viktor leaned in and gave a conspiratorial whisper. “And you’ll never guess from who!”  

Yuuri was super intrigued now.  “Who?”

“Mr. Manny Rubio!”

Yuuri gasped.  “But isn’t he blind?!”

“Oh, right. Don’t worry it was his son who drove.  His name’s Fernando. He’s pretty cool.”

“That’s nice of them to give you a ride!”

Viktor snickered.  “He still thinks my name is Vincent and your name is Eugene.”

Yuuri giggled.  “Well, it won’t be long before they find out the truth.  We should probably tell them.”

“You’re right.”

“VITYA!  COME DOWN HERE!  I CAN HEAR THAT YOU’RE AWAKE!”

Yuuri looked anxiously at his door.  “Oh no, your grandpa sounds so angry.”  

Viktor was unphased though and simply shrugged. “Eh, he’s always angry.”  He casually picked some lint off Vicchan’s fur. “After awhile you just get used to it.”

“VITYA!”

Yuuri gulped and ducked under his blankets just as his bedroom door opened.  Viktor followed suit, although there was still a sliver of his silver hair that remained visible above the blankets.  

“Vityaaa,” Yuuri bemoaned.  “I don’t want you to get into trouble!”

“It’s okay, Yuuri,” Viktor hugged him under the blankets. “A ninja prince has to do what he can to be reunited with his true love!”

“Vitya,” Lilia sighed as she stepped into the room and flipped the light switch on.  “You best come downstairs. As you can hear, your Deda is very angry with you. As am I.”  She walked up to the bed, Yuri close behind her. The young alpha jumped up on the bed and patted the lump under the blankets.  

“Yuuri wake up!” Yuri demanded as he pushed down on the lump.  He was eager to get the day started and he wouldn’t be able to do that until his best friend gets out of the bed.  “Wake up!” There were a few giggles under the blankets causing him to scowl. What was so funny?

“That tickles,” came Yuuri’s voice from underneath.  

Lilia sighed and stepped forward to pluck the blankets off, revealing the two boys underneath.  “Vitya.”

The little rascal had the cheek to smile up at her innocently.  “Hi Baba!”

Lilia turned up a single eyebrow.  “Don’t look at me like that, Vitya, you must know that you’d get in trouble for pulling a stunt like that.”

“Oh no…” Yuuri trailed off, clutching at the end of Viktor’s shirt. He looked absolutely terrified. “Vitya you shouldn’t have done that!  You were going to come visit me anyway.” He turned to Lilia. “Please don’t be mad at him,” he begged.

Lilia’s stern look softened as she turned to Yuuri.  “I’m sorry, but Vitya can’t keep getting away with this.” She reached over and pulled Viktor up. “Come, Vitya, we best get this over with.”  

Viktor groaned as he was lifted off the bed.  Yuuri anxiously hurried after him. Yuri sighed and followed his best friend and stupid cousin out the bedroom and down the stairs.  The sooner Viktor got this over with the better.

---

Fernando shook his head in bemusement as he watched Yakov settle down once it became evident that Viktor wasn’t heading downstairs anytime soon.

“I swear, one of these days…” he muttered incoherently under his breath.  

He didn’t envy Viktor one bit.  Fernando shuddered as he recalled some of his own lashings that he received when he was younger.  His father may be legally blind now but back when he still had his sight? He was not to be trifled with.  And actually, his father was still quite the force even now.

“Ah, well boys will be boys,” Manuel said as he sighed and felt for the coaster on the table and placed his coffee mug on it.  “Vinny seems like the type to get in trouble.”

“Vinny?” Yakov looked at the older gentleman.  

Manuel shrugged.  “That’s the name he gave himself.  Vincent and Eugene.”

Yakov groaned and massaged his temples.  “Why am I not surprised?”

“Good morning Deda!” Viktor pranced into the room, followed by Yuuri who had yet to let go of his hand.  His gaze traveled around the room and brightened when he saw Manuel.

“Mr. Manny?” Yuuri whispered.  

Manuel perked up and glanced towards the sound of Yuuri’s voice.  “Ah, is that you, Eugene? Or should I say, Yuuri?”

“Yuuri-chan, come on over and have breakfast,” Hiroko gestured Yuuri over the empty chair beside her.  

“Um, it’s okay, I’ll stay next to Vitya right now,” Yuuri whispered.  

“Vitya! Come here,” Yakov grumbled as Lilia took her seat beside him.  

Viktor sighed and shuffled over.  “Hi Deda.”

Yakov grabbed Viktor’s hand and tugged him over.  “Don’t you ever, ever do that again, do you hear me?!”  

“But Deda, you said that we could go to Yuuri’s house tomorrow and by the time I got here it was tomorrow already!”

“You can’t just run away like that, Vitya! Someone could have taken you.  What if these nice two men didn’t find you and some bad people did?” Lilia spoke up beside her husband.  

“But I didn’t run away Baba.  It doesn’t count as running away if I’m going to a place we know,” Viktor reasoned.  

Lilia sighed.  Semantics.

“We can’t let you keep acting out like this, Vitya.  First, you ran off with Yuuri in the woods. You two could have gotten hurt.  And now! Just a few weeks after, you run off by yourself in the middle of the night!”

And that’s when everything finally clicked into place for Fernando.  “Wait a second...Those two kids who went missing earlier this year… that was you two?!”  He gazed at the two children with a new set of eyes. “You were the ones that everyone was searching for?”

“Yeah!” Viktor said proudly, already forgetting that he was in trouble.  “Did you see us in the news?! Yuuri looked really cute, right?”

“Vitya!” Yakov clapped a hand roughly against his back and shook the boy.  “What was I just telling you?! That’s nothing to be proud of!” How in the world can he get through this boy?

“Well,” Manuel said nodding off to no one in particular.  “If I had known, I swear I would have called the cops immediately.”  

“How did you come upon them?” Lilia asked.  

Yakov sighed and let go of his grandson, letting him take his seat next to Yuuri.  

“It wasn’t so much like I came upon them, but they came to our store.  We have a small gas station and convenience store right on the outskirts of Dunsfeld Park.  I was listening to the news one day when these two came in. Almost thought they were there to steal from me,” Manuel chuckled as he recalled that day.  “Which reminds me, I still have to return that $700 you left on the counter.”

Yakov gave Viktor a wry look.  So that’s where some of his bills went.  “Keep it, I’m sure my grandson gave you enough trouble.”

“Yeah! You should keep it, Mr. Manny,” Viktor turned back to address his grandparents and the Katsukis.  “Mr. Manny was really nice. He gave me and Yuuri a bunch of food cuz we were running out.”

Lilia gave Manuel a soft smile.  It was such a blessing that were still good people like them in the world. A sudden thought came to her mind as she retrieved something out of her purse and passed it to her husband underneath the table.  She handed him a pen.

Yakov turned to her and gave a soft smile, a rare genuine one.  That actually caused Viktor to pause as he curiously peered at his grandparents.  Something was up.

“Say, Manuel, what is your full name?”

“Hmm?” The old man self-consciously scratched at his beard but nonetheless replied. “Manuel Jose Rubio.  Why?”

Yakov nodded and wrote down on the paper, tearing it off and passing it to him.  The blind man grasped for it when he felt the corner of the paper touch his fingers.  Fernando leaned over to see what it was and blanched.

“Wait a minute… you can’t possibly mean this?!”

Manuel frowned and held the thin piece of paper between his hands.  “What? What did he give me, hijo?”

“Papá, he just wrote you a check for twenty million dollars.”

“Qué?!” Manuel turned towards Yakov’s direction.  “But why?!”

“Well, we promised $10 million dollars for finding either child, and you technically found both of them.”

“But…” Manuel waved the check in his hand. “But I didn’t even know it was them!  I didn’t even inform the authorities! Why would you reward me?”

Lilia shrugged.  “You still helped them and that’s all that matters to us.  Please, we insist that you keep it.”
“I…” the man choked up and couldn’t trust himself to speak, so his son did it for him.

“Thank you.  I promise we’ll spend this money well.”  Maybe they can finally invest in the restaurant his father always wanted.  One to even rival the one they left behind in Puerto Rico and send some money to their relatives back home.  And now, maybe his wife can finally stop shuffling between all her minimum wage jobs while his daughter can finally focus on her studies.

Viktor and Yuuri beamed, happy that Mr. Manny got something in return.  

---

Shortly after breakfast, Fernando was able to replace the flat tire with the help of Toshiya and left with his father, but not without expressing their overflowing gratitude several times for the reward money the Feltsmans gave them.  

Vikor was given another earful by Yakov about not running away in the middle of the night again.  And so, the three children were upstairs playing in Yuuri’s room when it started.

“I made drawing for you,” Yuri said as he unfolded a paper from his pocket and passed it over to Yuuri.

Yuuri’s eyes widened in surprise as he took the paper and smoothed it out on the floor. “Oh! What’s this?” He and Viktor gazed down at the stick figures on the paper.  Viktor vaguely recognized it as one of the drawings that his cousin was making yesterday.

Yuri pointed a finger to the biggest stick figure on the paper with short yellow hair.  “This is me. I’m a big strong alpha.” He shifted his finger to the slightly shorter stick figure holding its hand.  “That’s you. Best friend.”

“Oh, that’s really sweet, Yurio!  Where is Vitya?” The smile faded from Yuuri’s face as the finger shifted over to the last stick figure that was buried beneath a fearsome looking cat.

“That’s Viktor. Stupid Viktor being eaten by Potya.”

“Uh…”

“Hey!”  Viktor scowled at his cousin.  “I’m not a weak or stupid alpha!  I’m super strong!”

“You like drawing?” Yuri ignored Viktor and asked Yuuri.  It was only his opinion that mattered anyway.

“It’s… a very interesting drawing, Yurio,” Yuuri said diplomatically as he desperately tried to keep a smile plastered on his face.  

Viktor’s eyes narrowed.  

And that’s how the next few hours went.  Yurio and Viktor were on a mission to outdo the other with their drawings.  Yuuri was, once again, stuck in the middle, filling in his Lion King coloring book more sedately compared to the frantic, almost manic pace that Viktor and Yuri were scrawing on their drawing pads.

“Here, my Yuuri!”  Viktor happily announced as he passed over his drawing to Yuuri with a flourish.  “It’s our wedding at my Mama’s greenhouse! Remember, when we gave each other our rings?”  

Yuuri’s eyes sparkled as he took in the beautiful picture.  He loved how his and Viktor’s likeness were surrounded by the lush greens and beautiful flowers in his garden.  

“You know…” and at this Viktor sneered over at his cousin.  “When I made you my husband and we promised that we’d love each other forever and live happily ever after?”

“Aww Vitya, this picture is so pretty!”

Yurio scowled and quickly made the finishing touches on his own drawing before shoving it over Viktor’s picture. “Here is my picture!”  

“Oh wow, is this supposed to be you when you’re older, Yurio?”

Yurio gave his stick figure self long blonde hair, in a ponytail much like Viktor’s (not that he would ever acknowledge Viktor’s hairstyle as being the source of his inspiration.  He may be a fierce cat, but he was not a copycat!) There were two circles on each of his arms to symbolize muscles and he made himself super tall. Yuuri could guess who his stick figure was judging by the mop of black hair on its head.  There was a heart between his stick figure and Yuri’s stick figure, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Viktor.

The older alpha growled.  “Why is there a heart between you two?”

Yuri raised his chin up defiantly at his cousin.  “Best friends forever.”

Viktor crossed his arms.  “No! Hearts are only for mates and husbands!  Not best friends.”

“No! Best friends give hearts too!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Yuuri worriedly looked between the two of them as he clutched the two drawings helplessly.  “Um… you guys can both give me hearts?”

“But Yuuuuuri!”  Viktor whined and clutched his mate.  “You’re my mate! I’m the only one who should be giving you hearts.”  The three stopped when they heard a cough from the door. They turned around to find Mari standing at the threshold, giving them a quirked eyebrow at the funny sight they made.  

“Okaa-san wanted me to tell you that lunch is ready… what are you doing?”

“Mari-neechan!  Hearts are just for mates and married people, right?” Viktor asked.  If anyone knew, it would be an older person like Mari-neechan!

“And once again I’m not getting myself in the middle of whatever you guys are doing,” Mari gave a dismissive wave and turned around.  “Come on, the food will get cold soon if you don’t come downstairs now.”

Yuuri perked up at the mention of food and gently placed both drawings back on the floor before getting up and ushering the alphas to follow.  And just like that, the omega’s mind was filled with thoughts of his first love, namely food; the little competition between the two alphas all but forgotten.  

Viktor shrugged at his cousin, the two silently calling it a temporary truce as they followed Yuuri down the stairs.  Mari watched the trio impressed. Her brother had no idea about the influence he held over the two alphas.

---

“Here we are, Yuuri-chan,” Hiroko poured a serving of miso soup into the small bowl and pushed it gently over to her youngest child before doing the same for Yuri and Viktor.  The adults must have already begun eating since their plates were already half empty.

“Thank you, Okaa-san,” Yuuri said as he dug into his food, Viktor and Yuri following suit beside him.  

Mari took a seat across from her brother and turned to her mother.  “Do you mind if I join you later?”

Viktor watched his sister-in-law curiously from his place.  

Hiroko turned to her husband who shifted his gaze over to the Feltsmans.  “I don’t see why not,” Lilia said. “Your daughter is very mature for her age, Hiroko.  I think she may even give us good insight into the candidates.”

“Canmidates?” Viktor tried to ask through his mouth full of rice.

“Vitya, please do not talk with your mouth full.”

“What are the candidates for, Otou-san?” Yuuri asked his father.  

“Well, we and the Feltsmans will be interviewing a few pediatricians for you two in the future.  Lilia and Yakov have been nice to do some researching and have narrowed a few candidates. We’ll be reviewing their portfolios later.”

“Pediatricians?” Viktor repeated, his mouth no longer occupied by food.  “Like a doctor?”

“Exactly like a doctor, Vitya,” Lilia confirmed.  “A pediatrician is a doctor who specializes in taking care of young children.”

“But why?”

“We want to make sure that you and Yuuri grow up strong and healthy, Vicchan,” Hiroko spoke up from across Lilia.  

Viktor frowned and remained silent but Yuuri spoke up although his whisper could have been easily lost if everyone else were not quietly eating.  “I don’t like doctors,” he murmured under his breath. Viktor reached over to hold Yuuri’s free hand under the table.

“Yeah, I don’t like doctors either,” he said more loudly.  “I don’t want to see one again. And Yuuri doesn’t want to see one either,” he said pointedly to his grandfather.  

Yakov sighed. “I’m afraid we don’t have a choice Vitya.  We want to make sure that you and Yuuri grow up normally.”

“Why wouldn’t we grow up normally?”

“We’re not one hundred percent sure, Vitya, and that’s part of the reason why we want to make sure by choosing a doctor to look at both of you as you get older.”

“We’ll make sure to choose a good doctor, Vitya, someone that we can trust.  That is why we’ve been spending the last few weeks going through a list of them to make sure we choose one that will treat both of you well.”  

“If you don’t like them, Yuuri-chan, Vitya-chan, we promise that we won’t force you to see them, alright?”  Hiroko offers to the two.

Yuuri gives his mate a quick glance before they nodded back in unison to their families.  They were still uncomfortable at the thought of seeing a doctor again but if it was someone that their families chose… it couldn’t be too bad, could it?  

Yuri, in the meantime, was getting very frustrated at always being the only one who didn’t understand what was going on.  What was with all this talk about doctors? Were his cousin and best friend sick? He leaned over so he can peer at the two curiously.  They didn’t look sick at all… He wanted to speak up and demand that someone tell him what was going on but it appeared that the conversation already flowed to a different topic and his chance was missed.  He huffed in frustration. Fine, he’ll simply have to get his answers later.

He gave a stink eye to Viktor as he watched his cousin place a couple of his pickled radishes onto Yuuri’s bowl.  “I remember you like the pickles, Yuuri,” Viktor said as he gave a quick peck on Yuuri’s cheek, causing a rosy blush to bloom across the shorter boy’s face.  

“Thanks Vitya,” Yuuri smiled and continued to dig into his bowl.  

Yuri glared at his own plate.  Fine! If being a good alpha meant that you give some of your food to your best friend, then Yuri was going to do it too!  Yuri growled and angrily shoved some of his food onto Yuuri’s plate, catching the omega by surprise.

“Um, Yurio?”  Yuuri was confused by the sudden pile of pickled plums and radishes that made their way to his plate.  “It’s okay… uh, this is more than enough. Thank you though.” He sweatdropped at the angry and confused look that Yuri gave him.  It was if the little alpha was asking “what do you mean you have enough?”

Beside Yuuri Viktor was practically growling as he leaned over Yuuri’s shoulder in an attempt to intimidate his cousin.  “Only I give Yuuri extra food!  Stop doing that, Yurio, you’re not his mate!  I am!”

“Vitya, please stop this nonsense at once,” Lilia hissed from her side of the table.

“But Baba!”

“Let’s all have some dessert, shall we?  Yuuri-chan, can you help me gather the cupcakes we made yesterday?”  Hiroko stood up and ushered her son over in a desperate bid to diffuse the tense situation.  Yuuri’s eyes immediately brightened at the mention of the sweet treats and hurriedly hopped down his chair, mind set on his new mission and once again effectively forgetting the squabble that Viktor and Yuri were having over him.  He didn’t really understand what the big deal was anyway if Yuri decided to share some of his food with him.

Viktor continued to glare at his cousin now that Yuuri was no longer sitting between the two of them.  Yakov sighed and resignedly stopped eating as he pushed his chair back to make his way over to Viktor and place a hand on his shoulder to prevent the alpha from doing anything.  “Come, Vitya,” he said, tugging him down and leading him by the hand over to the living room. “You stay with me where I can keep an eye on you. Apparently we can’t have you stay too long with your cousin without you two getting into a fight.”  He stopped to allow Viktor to take a seat on the couch as he watched his Deda hand him something from his Baba’s purse. “Here, occupy yourself with this.”

Viktor groaned as he recognized it to be one of the intermediate-level books his Russian literature tutor assigned him at their last session. “Deda, it’s the weekend!”

“Precisely.  And I’ve noticed that you’ve barely made any progress in reading that  book.”

Viktor grumbled under his breath and reluctantly opened the page where his bookmark was placed.  It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t like to read Cyrillic! What good was reading Russian books anyway if all he used in school was English?  

It seemed that Yakov could read his mind because his next words were.  “If your cousin has to learn and fine-tune his use of English, then it’s just as well that you make sure you don’t forget any of your Russian.”

“What use is it anyway if I only use English here?” Viktor murmured back in their native tongue just to prove the point that he was still perfectly fluent, thank you very much.

“Don’t forget Vitya that you’re the sole heir to your father’s company.  As much as I hate to admit it, he has all the right to bring you back to Russia once you grow up.”

Viktor scowled.  There was no way that he was willingly going to go back to Russia, not unless Yuuri would go with him.  

The sound of heels rounded the corner and the two males turned their heads up to find Lilia making her way towards them.  “The children can go over to the den. Toshiya will be joining us shortly so we can begin reviewing the candidates’ portfolios.”

Yakov nodded, glancing at his watch.  Good; it was just about two o’clock so they should have ample time. “Can we trust you to behave now, Vitya?  None of that shameless behavior you had just a few minutes ago. It is unbecoming; you’re supposed to be a role model for your younger cousin.”

“It’s not fair though, Deda!  Yuri’s trying to be too close to my Yuuri!”

“Yura has every right to spend time with Yuuri just as much you do, Vitya.”

“He’s not just spending time with Yuuri though, he’s too close to my Yuuri,” Viktor muttered discontentedly under his breath.  

Just then the two subjects of their conversation emerged.  Yuuri closely followed by Yuri. His mate beamed at seeing him, holding up a small tray of multicolored cupcakes.  “Vitya! Okaa-san says we can go eat these at the den. Yurio’s got the milk and Mari-neechan’s gonna come back up from upstairs to bring some of our toys.”  And like the shadow he was, Yuri was right behind him carefully balancing another tray with three cups filled with milk. “Come on!” Yuuri turned and eagerly led them over to the den.  It was one of the warmer parts of the house and he absolutely loved it on a cold day. Viktor practically tossed aside his Russian literature assignment and followed his mate over, chivalrously offering to carry his mate’s tray of cupcakes. Yuuri was all too happy with the help so he could rush on ahead and toss some of the sofa cushions on the floor and arrange a nice little space for them.

Mari arrived shortly after to see her brother fluffing some of the cushions and angling them just so on the large area rug.  Viktor and Yuri were munching on their cupcakes nearby, a momentary truce while they were busy eating the dessert. “Looks like it only takes a little sugar to make you two play nice with each other,” she teased, lowering the box of toys from Yuuri’s room.  

“I’m always nice, Mari-neechan,” Viktor smiled innocently.  Yuri rolled his eyes.

“Keep it that way for the rest of the day, okay?  I would say forever, but I’m not asking for a miracle.  The grownups are gonna do some important stuff, so don’t make me come here.”

Yuuri smiled.  “We’ll be okay Nee-chan,” he said before reaching over to get a cupcake for himself.  The next few minutes were spent in blissful silence.

Yuri was starting to feel full from eating his third cupcake and was washing it down with the rest of his milk when the light from the window caused a bright golden glint to flash at the corner of his view.  His eyes traced the light to something hanging out from Yuuri’s shirt. Was that a necklace?

Yuri peered at it and leaned closer.  “What’s that?” He pointed at Yuuri’s chest.  

“Hm?” Yuuri swallowed his cupcake and looked down.  “Oh, this?” He held up the Nikiforov family ring that Viktor had gotten from his late mother.  “This is Vitya’s wedding ring for me.” The alpha beside him puffed out his chest with pride. Viktor leaned closer and nuzzled Yuuri’s head.  

“Wedding ring?”  Yuri frowned. He remembered his Deda still wearing his ring, but it was on his finger, not on a necklace.  

“Well, it’s still too big for my finger,” Yuuri poked his ring finger through it to emphasize the point, “so that’s why I’m wearing it on a necklace for now, until I grow up enough to finally wear it.”  The omega smiled sweetly and blushed as he said the words.

“My Papa once told me that it was passed down from my family, it’s for our mates.  My Papa still has his own ring, but that’s okay he can keep it cuz we got these rings too,” and almost in unison he and Yuuri held out their right hands to show their plastic toy rings, each with a set of three matching plastic blue crystal.

Yuri blinked, wondering how he didn’t bother to see those rings before.  

“Good alphas court their omegas to show them that they love them, and if the omega loves them back, then they get to be mates and marry,” Viktor said matter-of-factly.  “One day Yurio, you’ll find the mate for you.”  He wrapped his arm around Yuuri.  “My Yuuri is mine.” He said with a heart-shaped smile although there was a bit of a glint in his eyes as he stared down at his cousin.  

Yuri’s brows lowered. There was no way that he was going to back down that easily.  Yuuri was his best friend! And best friends also deserved to be together forever.

Yuri had a resolution.  This week. He’ll definitely find out some more about this courting thing.  

The following day during recess Phichit was humming under his breath as he fiddled with his camera.  He leaned over to try to get a better shot of Yuuko and Leo as they were chatting a few feet away. He was just about to press the shutter button when he felt something tug the end of his sweater.  Phichit frowned and sighed when the perfect moment was gone. Well, his friends were still standing there, but he had wanted to have the light from the window to be angled just so in order to create a soft silhouette effect he saw in that photography book his Ma borrowed for him from the library but alas a cloud must have passed over because it suddenly dimmed.  

He lowered his camera and turned around in surprise to find Yuri’s hand fisted at the end of his sweater, the usual scowl absent on his face but his brows were still furrowed and he seemed to have this serious air about him.  In fact, Phichit could have sworn that Yuri was the most serious five-year-old he had ever met.

He gave a friendly smile.  “Hey Yurio, is there something I can help you with?”

Yuri glanced briefly to the side and Phichit followed his gaze to see Viktor holding hands with Yuuri as they walked aimlessly around the gymnasium weaving around the other students, Mila, Georgi, and Chris following shortly behind.  

“Is it something about Yuuri and Viktor?”

“Tell me about them.”  

“Huh?  Yuuri and Viktor?”

Yuri nodded.

“Um…” Phichit scratched the side of his neck.  “What about them exactly?”

“How Viktor courted Yuuri.”

Phichit brightened.  Now that was a great love story that he was more than happy to share!  “Okay, well it actually started pretty quickly during Yuuri’s first week at school.  It was during recess, and it was still warm enough that we spent it in the courtyard outside…”

---

Yuri was happy that he was able to get the full story from Phichit earlier that day.  It was even more convenient for him that it was all during one recess session, because once he learned about the whole concept of giving gifts to court omegas, he decided to use the little project they had during art class to dedicate his first gift to Yuuri.  

They learned how to create a small box and lid made out of popsicle sticks.  He crafted it reeaaally carefully, placing every stick perfectly straight and made sure to use enough glue to make it strong, but not enough so that it ran down the corners like the rest of his stupid classmates’ boxes.  Their teacher helped them place it one by one on the counter by the window to dry overnight and his chest puffed up in pride as he compared his to all the rest and easily saw that his workmanship was the best by far.

He couldn’t wait to color it the next day.  Normally he’d like to make it orange with black stripes, like a tiger!  But he recognized that Yuuri tended to like the color blue, so blue it would be.

Yuri was able to present it to Yuuri on Wednesday. He even added some glitter paint on it.  With the darker shade of blue he used, it almost looked like the twilight sky. His own art teacher had praised him and when he said that he made it as a gift for someone, had helped him wrap it in tissue paper and place it in a colored paper bag.  He thrusted it unceremoniously to Yuuri without warning as soon as he saw him at the school gates, the omega almost tripping if he had not quickly paused at the side of the main walkway. Their friends looked on curiously as Yuri fought a blush.

“What is this Yurio?”  Yuuri tilted his head to the side.  “Do you need help carrying it?” The omega nonetheless held onto the bag.  

Yuri shook his head furiously and mumbled something in reply.  
“I’m sorry, what did you say Yurio?”

“It’s for you!”  Yuri stood resolutely and held himself still as Yuuri blinked back in response.  

“Oh!”  His best friend looked surprised.  “For me? But what for?”

“I want to!”  

Viktor narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his cousin but Yuri’s eyes were trained on Yuuri anxiously as he waited to see how his gift would be received.  

Yuuri reached into the bag and Yuuko helped him hold onto one of the handles as he finally pulled out the gift and gently peeled back the tissue paper to reveal the craft popsicle stick box.  Everyone oooh’d.

“Thank you Yurio! This is really nice!”  Yuuri beamed and reached over to give the young alpha a hug.  Yuri’s blush intensified and he glared as Phichit snapped a picture of them but he didn’t dare move as Yuuri gave him a hug.  His best friend can give him a hug anytime, but anyone else but him and his Deda will be violently shoved away.  

Something was up.  At first, Viktor decided not to make a big deal out of it.  So what if his cousin made a little art project to gift to Yuuri?  He probably did it as a gesture of goodwill…maybe a thank you of sorts for being one of his first friends upon arriving to this country.  

But no, on Thursday Yuri had given Yuuri a card. It was decorated with more of that glitter paint that he had used for Yuuri’s popsicle box.  He read over Yuuri’s shoulder the words that Yuri wrote in his (awful, he’d have to say) print:

Yuuri-

You are my best friend.

Best friends are forever.

I am best alpha.

Others are stupid.

-Yurio

“Hey, other alphas aren’t stupid!   I’m not stupid!”  Viktor contested hotly upon seeing the words.  Yuuri giggled and hugged him back and that mollified him a bit.  He stuck out his tongue at his cousin who gave him a stink eye back.  He didn’t care that he was supposed to be the older one.

Then. Then!  Yuri presented Yuuri with a brownie that he had apparently purchased using his own allowance during lunch that Friday.  Yuuri had thanked the younger student and when he was assured that no, Yuri didn’t want it, he had gotten it just for him, the omega went on ahead and happily munched on his dessert.  

Yuuri’s eyes brightened as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.  He then glanced down and saw just how little Yuri had eaten. Omegan instincts were stirred.  “Yurio, you should eat more! Here,” he reached over and placed some of his sushi onto Yurio’s plate.  

“What do you think you’re doing?” Viktor hissed to his cousin.  “Why are you feeding my Yuuri?”

“Vitya?”  Yuuri paused and placed a hand on his mate’s arm.  “Vitya, don’t be mad. Yurio was just being nice.”

“No! He’s up to something.” Cerulean eyes narrowed further as his cousin stared back at him.  The three didn’t realize how their friends quieted around them, all eyes now trained on the scene the three were making.  

Yuuri sighed but continued to place another sushi on Yuri’s plate.  Growing alphas had to eat after all! His Okaa-san always made sure he was well-fed, and since Yurio didn’t have his Okaa-san here with him, he just had to watch out for him, right?

“Tell me the truth, Yurio,” Viktor practically growled under his breath.  “This entire week, you’ve been giving my Yuuri little gifts. What are you doing?”

There was a collective silence as their entire table waited with bated breath for the blond alpha’s response. And then-

“I’m Yuuri’s alpha.” Yuri muttered as he jutted his chin up at Viktor, a clear challenge.

Yuuri was struck speechless. His right hand holding his chopsticks froze midair. He stared in shock at the young alpha who clutched his arm.  

Viktor narrowed his eyes back at the younger alpha, all thoughts of his promise to his Papa to be the best older brother to his cousin forgotten. Challenge. Accepted.

His response must have been exactly what Yuri wanted.  The younger alpha released his hold on Yuuri’s arm but instead positioned his arms to wrap Yuuri in a hug and rubbed his cheek against the omega’s arm.  He smirked back up at Viktor.

… Did...did that little brat just scent HIS omega?!

A cold smile spread across Viktor’s face and he clenched his fists. Oh it’s war now.

Chapter Text

 Chapter 28: Alpha vs Alpha 

In which a battle ensues between our two young alphas! 

A tense silence settled among the table upon Yuri’s declaration. Yuuri was gaping at Yuri who was locked in a fierce staring contest with his older cousin.  Viktor still had that thin smile plastered across his face but his cold blue eyes belied the fury that he kept locked within. And hidden from view, underneath the table, his fists were clenched tightly, nails digging into his palms.

The moment was interrupted by a flash from Phichit’s camera.  Yuri blinked and scowled at the beta who waved his fingers at him as if to tell him ‘Don’t mind me, please carry on with what you were doing.’

Yuuri though took that break in the alphas’ stare-off to gently pry his arm away from Yuri.  “Um… Yurio, listen…” But Yuuri’s words got tangled in his tongue and he got even more flustered when he glanced up and saw Viktor’s tense stance.  The bell rang, signaling the end of the early lunch period and the beginning of recess.

Their friends began to clean up their lunch, Chris and Georgi hastily shoving the last few bites of their sandwich into their mouths while Leo and Guang Hong stood up almost simultaneously to place their empty trays at the counter.  Mila and Yuuko reluctantly tore their eyes off the trio to follow suit, whispering to each other. Phichit pouted and placed his camera away, no doubt frustrated at having another prime photo opportunity interrupted.

Viktor stood up while holding his tray as he watched Yuuri begin to recollect the sushi he initially placed on Yuri’s plate to transfer them over to an extra furoshiki he had tucked in his bento box.  “Here,” he said, tying up the cloth and offering the small bundle to Yuri. “I saw that you didn’t get to eat much so you can snack on these in the gym. Just don’t let any of the grownups see.” Yuri nodded and muttered what was likely a ‘thanks’ before he followed Mila and Yuuko to put away his tray.  

“I told you,” Viktor hissed as soon as his cousin was out of earshot--just barely. His knuckles were white with how tightly he was clenching his tray. “I told you he was up to something.  Yuuri-”

“Vitya,” Yuuri reached over and placed a hand gently on Viktor’s wrist.  The shorter male unconsciously released a wave of calming pheromones and Viktor instantly responded, his stance a notch less agitated.  “We’ll talk about it, I promise. Let’s just go to the gym first.” The couple caught up with the rest of their friends and Yuri instantly latched on to Yuuri’s right hand.  Viktor growled at the contact but begrudgingly quieted as Yuuri used his free hand to hold onto his and squeezed back. He could see Chris, Mila, and Georgi sneaking concerned glances at him every now and then but he refused to meet their gaze, resolutely keeping his eyes trained ahead as they finally made it to the gym.  

The group went towards their usual corner but Yuuri slowed his pace making the alphas stop beside him.  The two turned to him simultaneously.

“Yuuri?” Viktor asked curiously but his mate had his eyes trained on his cousin.  

“Yurio, Vitya and I have to talk alone for a bit okay?”

Yuri’s cheeks puffed up with indignation and he was obviously about to shout out a protest when Yuuri reached over to gently card his fingers through his hair.  “I promise we’ll be back soon, okay? Go and eat the rest of the sushi,” he gestured to the bundled furoshiki the blond alpha clutched by his side.

Yuri turned and glared at his cousin, silently pinning all the blame on him before he stomped off towards the rest of their friends who then pretended that they weren’t just staring at them the entire time.  

Yuuri gave the group a small smile to alleviate their concern and locked eyes briefly with Phichit.  The beta gave him a thumbs up and turned towards Yuri to engage the young alpha in some conversation in an effort to distract him.

“I told you,” Viktor hissed, just when they were barely out of earshot. “I knew that my cousin was doing something.  He’s trying to steal you away from me!”

“I…” Yuuri sighed as the two stood off in one corner by the bleachers.  He wanted to sit down but he could tell that Viktor was too upset to sit.  “Vitya, I think Yurio just wants to be a good friend.”

Viktor raised his brows at Yuuri.  “Yuuri, you heard how he said he wants to be your alpha.  You…” At this Viktor leaned back and his expression dropped.  “You don’t want him to be your alpha do you?”  There was a sudden panic in those eyes.  

Yuuri quickly grasped onto Viktor’s arms. “No!  Vitya, please, listen to me. I think someone might have told Yurio how you courted me. And for some reason, he thinks he has to show he’s a good alpha by giving me gifts.  But not because he wants to be mates with me. I don’t think he even knows what mates are.”

Viktor’s lips pursed and he turned his arms so that he could grasp Yuuri’s hands in his.  “But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s trying to squeeze himself between the two of us.”

“Yurio is…” Yuuri sighed and sat down, tugging Viktor to sit beside him.  “I think he’s scared.”

“Scared?”  Viktor tilted his head to the side.  His cousin? The one with the perpetual scowl on his face and glaring eyes?  That wasn’t exactly the kind of expression one would think of for a scared kid.  

“For some reason, and I don’t really know why either, but he seems to have chosen me as his first friend.  And maybe he thinks that you being my mate won’t allow me to be friends with him.”

Viktor frowned.  “That’s silly though, I mean you spend time with all of our other friends,” he gestured over to the group, who were now engaged in a game of dodgeball with some of Takeshi’s classmates.  “So I obviously don’t care if you spend time with other people. It’s not as if I don’t allow you to hang out with them.”

“Um…”  Viktor did have a point.  Yuuri was also stumped. “Well… maybe Yurio is just scared of all the changes he’s going through. I mean, it can’t be easy, right?  Coming to a new country, learning a new language, going to a new school and making new friends?”

“I guess…”

“HEADS UP!”

“What?”  Yuuri turned towards the sound of Takeshi’s voice-

“Yuuri watch out!” Viktor leapt up, startling Yuuri as his alpha caught the ball between his two hands, just mere inches from where it would have hit him on the forehead.  He tossed it back to their friends.

“Sorry!” One of Takeshi’s friends called out.

“It’s okay,” Yuuri said although his voice likely wasn’t loud enough to be heard across the gym.

Yuri glared at Takeshi’s friend as he strode across the gym towards them.  Viktor too was pretty miffed that his mate would have gotten hit if he wasn’t there to catch the ball.  But it was obviously an accident and no use starting a fight with the older student. Yuuri squeezed his hand as they reached the rest of their friends, meeting Yuri halfway.

“Sorry,” Takeshi’s classmate repeated.

“Stupid,” Yuri muttered under his breath at the older beta.  

“It’s okay, Yurio, it was an accident,” Yuuri smiled disarmingly at the other student to show him that no harm was done.  

“Just be more careful next time,” Viktor said, placing an arm around Yuuri.  

“I will, I promise.  I’m Matthieu by the way,” he said, stepping back and holding the ball up.  “Wanna play?”

And so the last ten minutes of recess was spent playing with some of the upperclassmen.  And if Yuri just happened to keep tossing the dodgeball violently towards Matthieu whenever he got the chance, well, no one called him out on it.

---

“Thank you for letting Yuuri-chan sleep over this weekend,” Hiroko said to Yakov as they waited for the children to emerge from the school gates.  She had joined Minako’s usual trip to the school so that she could drop off Yuuri’s sleepover bag and to also hear firsthand the latest updates on their recruitment for a pediatrician.

“It should really be us thanking you.  The boys behave better when your child is around.”  

Minako giggled and drew her scarf tighter around her neck.  “Yuuri sure does have those two wrapped around his finger,” she remarked, watching her breath fog up the air before her.  

Yakov mumbled something unintelligible under his breath before turning to them and saying, “Our first interview with the five candidates should start next week.  The first should be arriving Friday night, and the second on Sunday. Are you sure having them stay over won’t interfere with your other guests?” They had decided to have the candidates stay at the Katsuki Inn--not only would it be good business for them, but more importantly, it would allow them to spend more time with the candidates and see if they would be a good fit for Yuuri and Viktor.  

“Yes, Toshiya made sure to block off those dates, so we should be all set.” The mother gave a soft smile.  While naturally optimistic like her husband, she began to feel the need to find a pediatrician more urgently ever since they discovered Yuuri nesting at the Nikiforov mansion.  She wasn’t sure how much time they had before they had to start worrying about even more concerning behavior.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone from the final five that you selected,” Minako said, already reading her longtime friend’s body language and leaning over to wrap a comforting arm around the mother.  She turned to Yakov. “I got the chance to look through their profiles myself and they’re all very distinguished.”

The older man nodded, finally spying his grandson and his cousin walking alongside Yuuri down the steps.  “They are all very knowledgeable and highly respected in their field. I do not think any one of them is necessarily more qualified than the other in terms of their accolades.  In the end, it’s their personalities I think that will help us decide who will work better with the children.”

“I think so too,” Hiroko murmured as she recalled how scared Yuuri was at the thought of having to see a doctor. She never wanted to put her son through any kind of trauma ever again.  She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she watched her son walk over towards them, sandwiched yet again between the two alphas.

Her motherly instincts picked up something immediately, because there seemed to be a sort of tension among the trio--an even more intense one than the normal sort of bickering between Viktor and his cousin.  Oh dear, what could have happened now? “Hello, Yuuri-chan, are you excited for your sleepover?” Her suspicions were confirmed when her son nodded stiffly, his smile a tad too wide for it to be completely normal.

“Yup!  We’re all super excited!  Say Deda, can we go? My Yuuri’s getting a little cold,” Viktor said as he hugged Yuuri closer to him.  Yuri glared at his cousin and tried to tug him back towards his side. There was a bit of a scene as Yuuri was tugged back and forth between the two like a little metronome.

“Vitya, Yura!  Stop this!”

Minako laughed and stepped forward to place her hands on Yuuri’s shoulders to effectively end the little tug of war.  “Alright boys, we get it, now let’s get you in Mr. Feltsman’s car so you can start off your weekend. Now behave, okay?”

Hiroko reached over to hug her son.  “You feel free to call me whenever, alright?”  She looked over to Yakov. “Please feel free to reach out to us if you need anything. Anything at all.”  

Yakov nodded and tugged down his hat.  “Come on Vitya, anymore behavior like that and you won’t have your sleepover.” That caused three sets of eyes to turn on him, two glaring ones from the alphas and one set of wide eyes from a nervous Yuuri.   

“Come on Vitya, Yurio,” Yuuri whispered as he ushered the two alphas into the car.  However, Yuri kept his head poked out of the car, glaring at Yakov and the rest of the grownups, presumably still angry over Yakov’s threat to cancel the sleepover as well as equal parts curious over what they were discussing prior to their arrival.

Yakov simply raised his eyebrows at the little boy. There was no way on Earth that he’d ever find himself intimidated by Evgeni’s little brat.  How on Earth did Nikolai have the patience to raise this boy?

There were some hushed whispers from inside the car before a hand--Yuuri’s, judging from the blue coat sleeve, held on to Yuri’s shoulders and dragged him inside.  However, Yuri’s head just appeared over the backseat instead. Viktor’s head popped up moments later and they all watched, Hiroko and Minako giggling, as he pushed down on his cousin’s head to wrestle him out of their view.  

“It looks like those three will be a handful,” Minako commented lightly.

“Your Yuuri is always well-behaved.  I just wished I could say the same for my boys,” Yakov muttered. ‘Damn Nikiforov genes…’

Hiroko turned anxiously towards Yakov.  “Are you sure you’ll be alright with them?  Toshiya and I wouldn’t mind having them over at our place really…”

“No, it’s fine, Hiroko.  The boys will have to learn to behave.  Besides, between me and Lilia, I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Famous last words.  Yakov will learn to regret them very quickly that weekend.

---

Lilia met them on the porch steps as the boys got out of the car.  

“Hi Baba!” Viktor called as he and Yuri held on to Yuuri’s hand.  Yakov followed closely behind with Yuuri’s dufflebag.

“How were classes today?  Welcome, Yuuri.”

“Classes were good!”  Viktor chirped as he briefly hugged his grandmother.  

“Thank you for having me,” Yuuri whispered to Lilia.  

Lilia gave him a smile and gently placed a hand at his back to usher him inside, Yuuri’s comfort with the gesture was a symbol of how much he had grown to consider them as an extended family.  He would have never been comfortable otherwise with physical contact from people outside his circle of close friends and relatives. Lilia watched as the three boys hastily took off their shoes and scampered upstairs, eager to start their weekend together.  Anna followed them to drop off Yuuri’s bag in Viktor’s room. “You’re quiet,” she whispered over to her husband. “Is everything alright?”

“Those two boys were absolutely insufferable during the ride home.  They kept trying to get the poor Katsuki boy to sit closer to them and kept tugging him back and forth.”

Lilia hummed as she helped Yakov shrug off his coat. “Hiroko’s son thankfully inherited her patience.”

“And Vitya inherited all of his father’s possessiveness.  I could sense him glaring at Yura throughout the entire car ride.  You’d think he already claimed the Katsuki child the way he’d try to chase off Yura if the other boy so much as touched Katsuki.”

“They pretty much are mates in his eyes, though, you know that.”

“Don’t remind me.”  Yakov unwound his scarf and took off his hat, placing them on the coat rack.  “This can’t be normal, can it?”

“I think not.  At least, not to this extent.  This is more than a childish case of clinginess.  It’s all the better then that we find our pediatrician soon.”

---

After a few minutes of settling down and cooing over Potya, Viktor had the bright idea of painting.  He overheard his Baba tell his Deda one time that he was a gifted painter and well… his Baba wasn’t one to give praise lightly, so he must really be good!

And so he asked Anna to help set up a space for them to paint in the den.  She laid out a table and placed Deda’s old newspapers across it for easy clean-up after they were done.  They each had their own canvas propped on some easels. Viktor cooed over Yuuri’s painting, making the omega blush.

“Yuuuuriii~ your painting is so cute!”  His mate was painting a pair of poodles, one bigger and another smaller one.  “Is that Makka and Vicchan?”

Yuuri gave a shy smile and ducked his head.  “Yes,” he murmured, although his small smile grew pleased.  

“I just love how you named Vicchan after me,” Viktor smiled proudly.  “You know, so he will remind you of me, since I was the one who gave him to you as a courting gift and all… since we’re mates.”  He looked pointedly at his cousin and couldn’t help but smirk at the angry expression on his face.

Yuuri, meanwhile, nodded absentmindedly, unaware of the building animosity between the two alphas, too absorbed in creating his painting.

“Hmm… and what’s that supposed to be, Yura?” Viktor asked airily, flipping his hair over his shoulder.  He leaned over to get a glimpse of his cousin’s painting. It looked like a horrible mess of yellow and orange-red paint.  Oh no… didn’t his little cousin know how to properly mix colors? Judging by the black smudges it was supposed to be some sort of giant cat. What a pity little Yura didn’t seem to share his artistic talent.

“It’s a tiger,” Yuri hissed at Viktor.  He almost looked like a cat himself, shoulders hunched and teeth bared. If he truly was a cat Viktor had no doubt that Yuri’s hairs would be standing on end in a clear sign of agitation.

“Ah… and here I thought it was a painting of an overgrown bee.  Why that horrid yellow blob threw me off.” He turned back in a clear dismissal to concentrate once again on his painting.  It was of his Yuuri all huddled in his little nest. Ever since Christmas he noticed that his omega liked to create little nests wherever they stayed to sleep.  He should make sure to purchase some pillows and fluffy blankets for him then--only the best for his mate! He lifted his brush and was about to shade in Yuuri’s hair when a yellow blob landed on the canvas and desecrated the likeness of his beautiful mate.  What. The-

And there, smiling triumphantly like the devil incarnate was Yuri grinning impishly from his spot at Yuuri’s right.  He held up his brush that had the same exact shade of yellow that now besmirched his painting.

And just like earlier in the cafeteria, Viktor gave off a frigid smile, the end of his lips tightly curled in a valiant effort to mask the anger just simmering underneath the surface.   “You just ruined my painting of my Yuuri,” he said in Russian, the tone still falsely cheerful.

The foreign words caught Yuuri’s attention.  “Hm? Did you say something Vitya?” He blinked and looked over at Viktor’s painting, gasping.  “Vitya did you paint me?! But wait…”  Yuuri peered over and squinted through his glasses.  “Why is there a yellow circle on my nose?”

The hand holding Viktor’s paintbrush shook. “Why indeed, my Yuuri,” Viktor sing-songed as he dipped his paintbrush to get a healthy dollop of green paint on the bristles.   “Here’s some green for your overgrown bee, Yura!”  And with that Viktor flicked his paintbrush to fling the green paint over to his cousin, landing a blot successfully in the middle of Yuri’s painting.

“Vitya!”  Yuuri gasped, aghast.  “What are you-”

Yuri exploded.  He screamed and threw his paintbrush at Viktor’s canvas, causing a yellow jagged line to appear across the piece.  

“Yurio!”  Yuuri cried out in shock.  

“There’s more where that came from, Yura!” Viktor dipped his paintbrush again, one in each hand, before flicking them again at his cousin.   “Have at it!”

“I hate you!”

“You started it!”

“Can you two please speak in English?!” Yuuri cried as his eyes widened in alarm.  “Stop! We’re going to get into so much trouble!” At this point the two cousins abandoned their brushes and instead resorted to using their bare hands to grab fistfuls of paint to hurl at each other.  

A red blob landed on Yuri’s cheek to Viktor’s amusement.  The alpha was laughing until Yuri successfully hit him with some blue paint right on his bangs.  Viktor gasped and tentatively touched his hair where he felt some wetness. He growled when his fingertips came back blue. “You better pray that I can wash this off!” He growled at his cousin.  

“Vitya, Yurio! Please stop!”  However, the two paid no heed to his plaintive cry and continued to hurl fistfuls of paint to each other.  Yuuri dropped his brush and clapped his hands to his cheeks in horror as he took in the scene. At this point there was paint not only on the table but splatters of it across the floor.  One landed on an expensive-looking lampshade… another on a vase that probably was as old as the antique one his mother would guard in their dining room china cabinet, and yet more even managed to make their way on the patterned wallpaper and curtains.  

Yuuri clapped his hands on his mouth to muffle his panicked scream, but something in his scent must have alerted the two alpha’s to his distress because they turned almost in unison towards him, lowering their hands.

“Yuuri!”  Viktor gasped as he leaned over to clutch his hands on his mate’s shoulders, unaware that he just ended up smearing blue-green paint on the omega’s clothes in the process.  “Are you okay?! Did we hit you?” He looked worriedly up and down the shorter boy but couldn’t find anything amiss that would cause the acrid smell of panic in his scent.

“What were you two doing?!  We’re going to get into so much trouble!”  Yuuri wailed through his fingers as anxious eyes took in the utter disaster that became of the den.  From the plush rug to--was that paint on the ceiling?! There was paint everywhere!

“Vitya, what is this?!”  Lilia gasped as if summoned by Yuuri’s level of distress. And perhaps she was.  “What happened here?!” She gave all three of them a stern glare, already discerning that it must have been between Viktor and Yuri based on Yuuri’s panic-stricken eyes.   At the sound of her raised voice, the omega began hiccuping down his cries.

“It was an accident, Baba,” Viktor smoothly reassured her, albeit not exactly looking as contrite as he should.  He was more concerned over Yuuri. “Don’t worry, I’ll help clean it later,” he said as he rubbed his hand comfortingly up and down Yuuri’s back in an attempt to calm him down.  

“You better have a good explanation for this, Vitya, if your Deda sees this-”

“VITYA!  WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”

Yuuri hardly bit off his whimper and ducked his head as far down as he could.  If he was a turtle, he would have certainly retreated into his shell but as it is, the most he could do was lift his sweater to cover up to his eyes.

“Yuuri, it’s okay!” Viktor hugged him and nuzzled his head.  Even Yuri reached over from behind Yuuri to awkwardly place a small hand at his back.  

“Vitya!”  Yakov gritted his teeth and stepped forward, causing Yuuri’s eyes to widen even further.  The older man paused, however, when he noted the omega’s panicked scent grow even worse. He wrinkled his nose, the smell irritating and disturbing to any alpha.

“We’re sorry!” Yuuri gasped out.  

Lilia placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “Yuuri, did you actually have any part in this?”  

“You’re right Baba, it was me and Yurio who did this.  My Yuuri didn’t do anything,” Viktor said.

“Clean this up, then. The two of you, before dinner.  I’ll get Anna to supervise and make sure you don’t make another mess,” Yakov said with an air of finality.  He crossed his arms for added effect and raised his eyebrows to challenge Viktor and Yuri to defy him.

“Fine, sure,” Viktor shrugged.  

Yuuri gently pushed Viktor away so he could roll up his sleeves and begin cleaning, starting with the paint-splattered table.  Thankfully the newspapers saved him a lot of work.

“Yuuri~,” Viktor wheedled.  “You don’t have to help us. Yura and I will clean it up.  You can get a head start on eating dinner!”

“Vitya’s right, Yuuri.  It’s nice of you, really, but these boys have to learn their lesson and clean up after their own messes,” Lilia said, raising her eyes in emphasis.  The two young alphas understood her message and turned to help Yuuri.

“It’s okay, Yuuri, we can meet up with you at the dining room,” Viktor said.  “You must be hungry, right?”

He shook his head.  “I don’t want to leave you.  I’ll help,” he insisted softly. “Please…”

Lilia sighed and Yakov shook his head in resignation.  “Vitya,” he said as a final warning, communicating to him silently that he better make sure he does most of the cleaning.  

“Thirty minutes,” Lilia said as a compromise.  “If you don’t finish in thirty minutes, come for dinner and you all can finish this later.  I’ll have Anna come with cleaning supplies and to help out with some of the mess,” and at this, her eyes flitted up to see that one splatter on the ceiling, “that would be out of reach.”  

The three boys relaxed as soon as the grownups walked down the hall and out of sight.  

“Vitya, Yurio!” Yuuri hissed under his breath.  He was still anxious but felt much better when it became apparent that they were spared from the full wrath that they could have faced.  “What were you two thinking?! We could have gotten into so much trouble!” Yuuri cried indignantly. “We’re lucky that they didn’t cancel the sleepover, Vitya!”

Vitkor turned sheepish and gave off his patent “innocent” smile as he took his mate’s hands in his.  “I’m sorry, Yuuri.”

Yuri walked up beside Yuuri and gloated at how his cousin got chastised by his best friend.  It was just about time that he realized how idiotic Viktor could be. “Stupid,” he muttered at Viktor, sticking his tongue out at his cousin.

“And you, Yurio!”

Yuri’s eyes widened as the omega turned on him and fixed him with an intense stare.  He gulped and backed away one step, Yuuri’s panicked scent being replaced by the peppery cinnamon spice of anger.  “You weren’t helping either! What were you thinking, throwing that paint at Vitya?!”

Viktor snickered and stuck his tongue back out at his cousin.  

“Both of you!  I’m so disappointed!”  Yuuri crossed his arms and stared the two alphas down with a mighty glare rarely seen on the omega.  Viktor and Yuri immediately bowed their heads in submission. If the two were dogs, you could bet that their ears would be lowered, tails tucked low to the ground.

And that was the scene that greeted Anna when she stepped into the den.   ‘Oh no...’ she thought to herself as she lowered the mop to the floor.  Lilia had warned her how messy it was but she didn’t think that she was going to enter a minefield.  

“Hi Ms. Anna!”  Viktor didn’t miss a beat, hurrying over to her and rolling up his sleeves.  He took the roll of paper towels that she was carrying in her arms and tore several sheets off before passing some over to Yuri.  His cousin scowled but took them regardless and went to one corner of the room to begin cleaning some paint off the floor. Thank goodness the entire den wasn’t carpeted.  It would be easier to replace the rug than an entirely carpeted floor.

Anna looked up, tutting when she saw some of the paint on the walls and on the lampshades.  Even the couch wasn’t spared. She moved over and gently touched the spot to find it still slightly moist.  Hopefully the rubbing alcohol will work. She smiled when Viktor’s omega friend-or mate was it?-came up to her.  “It’s alright. I’ll deal with the paint on the fabrics here, you can help with the table on the floor.” The omega blushed and nodded, walking towards where Viktor was wiping some of the paint that had gotten on the end table on the other side of the room.  

She observed the three boys out of the corner of her eye, making sure that they were not making things worse and gently giving them tips on the proper way to wipe off the paint without further spreading it.  It was nice, this new normal. The mansion used to be so full of life back when the late Mrs. Nikiforov was still with them. Both Viktor and Mr. Nikiforov, when work didn’t command him elsewhere, brightened whenever she was in the room.

And when that tragic accident occurred… Anna could still recall the anguished cries when Lilia had learned of the news on the phone, Yakov reduced to tears…  It got so much quieter in the mansion after that, the large halls and empty rooms bereft of the warmth that had made it a home, the four walls no longer privy to the joyful laughter, the love that had sparked everything to life.  Yekaterina Nikiforov was much the nucleus that held the family together, and when she left…

Andrei left for Russia to make the funeral arrangements and they followed soon after.  What was surprising was that when they went back, Andrei did not join them. Lilia had warned her before they left Russia that their stay in the United States may be a more permanent one. Viktor had ensconced himself in his room once they arrived and refused to leave.  She recalled the trays of meals she’d bring upstairs only to return back down to the kitchen with hardly any bite eaten. She unconsciously tightened her grip on her towel and shook her head to will the thoughts away.

But at last, it seemed that dark part of the past was over.  The family was healing and moving on. It would have been much better, of course, had Mr. Nikiforov returned, but Anna wanted to recognize the blessings they were given and be grateful for them.  She smiled upon seeing the cute scene that Viktor and Yuuri made. And it seemed that she had this young omega to thank. She wasn’t sure yet what to make of this whole ‘mates’ thing that she hears Mr. and Mrs. Feltsman talk about, but it seemed harmless enough.  

And as she saw Viktor laugh at something Yuuri did, it cemented Anna’s conviction that this young Mr. Katsuki was a good influence.  She’d take cleaning a paint-stained den any day if it meant that this much happiness filled the Nikiforov home once again.

---

Dinner, surprisingly, went off without a hitch although Yakov expected nothing less from the the two alphas considering the warzone they made out of their den.  It was clear that the two tried to be on their best behavior, knowing better than to stretch their luck. They went back to the den for another round of cleaning and finished about an hour later.  

Anna had approached the two in the parlor to update them that all that was left was to replace the Persian rug since it was beyond any hope for salvaging.

Lilia had then made them shower separately--she did not want to risk causing another fiasco in the bathroom.  Yuuri worried as Viktor was tugged away from him, Anna leading the omega towards one of the guest bathrooms while Lilia tugged her grandson towards the master bathroom suite.  Yakov took charge of Yuri and dragged him towards his own bathroom.

Viktor became teary-eyed as he disrobed while his grandmother started the shower, fretting over the fate of his hair.  “Baba, do you think you can get all of it out? I don’t want blue-colored bangs!” She gestured for him to step into the bathtub and Viktor complied, gasping as the water was still slightly cold.  “Y-you don’t think it’s stuck forever do you? Will you have to c-cut my bangs?!” He slapped his forehead. “I have a wide forehead, I don’t like how I look without my side bangs!” That was something Viktor was particularly sensitive about.  “What if I scare Yuuri away?!” He asked hysterically.

Lilia tutted as she reached back to pour some shampoo in her hand before once again leaning over to massage it onto Viktor’s hair.  “Don’t be ridiculous, Vitya, acrylic paint is water-based, so it should be much easier to wash off. If I was so worried, I’d have all of you bathe immediately before you even had dinner.  Just some scrubbing and everything should be fine.” Viktor’s lower lip wobbled as he did his best to keep up a brave face, standing stiffly underneath the shower. “Alright, now rinse and make sure to use soap to scrub off some of that paint off your arms as well.”

A few minutes later, everyone reunited at the entertainment room.  Yuuri must have been the first one done since he hardly had any paint on him.  Viktor had taken quite some time, undergoing two more rounds of shampoo before moving on to conditioner and olive oil at Anna’s suggestion to get more of the paint off. And only then at the insistence of his Baba that there was no more paint left to wash off his hair did Viktor finally concede and ended his shower.  His fingertips were all pruny at that point. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure, however. He could still swear that part of his bangs had a hint of blue if he peered at them closely enough at a mirror under the right lighting.

Yuri was already sitting beside the omega, Anna leaning down to dry his hair with a towel.  Yuuri was combing his own hair, his scent that of a content omega. Viktor took in a deep breath, relishing the scent of freshly-bloomed magnolias.  It was especially strong after Yuuri freshly showered.

“Yuuuuri~” He greeted his mate as he sat down and without preamble, thrusted his forehead towards the smaller boy.  “You don’t see anymore paint, do you?! I made my Baba make sure it was all off!”

Yuuri’s eyes crossed at how closely Viktor’s forehead was to him and Lilia internally laughed as she nudged back her grandson to give their guest more space.  “Vitya, please…”

Yuuri gave his mate a comforting smile.  “Your hair is perfectly fine, Vitya; I don’t see anymore paint.”

Viktor gave him puppy dog eyes.  “Are you sure, sure?”

“Yes, don’t worry.  Come sit,” Yuuri patted the space next to him. “I can brush your hair.”  He held up his hairbrush.

Viktor’s smile grew wider.  “Okay!” He chirped, getting into position and sitting in front of his omega as he tilted his head back.  The moment was interrupted though when Viktor was shoved roughly by his shorter cousin.

“Brush my hair too!” He demanded.  He stared down Yuuri to see if his best friend would dare choose his cousin over him.  

“Um, sure Yurio, I can brush your hair too after.”

“No, not fair!  Why Viktor first?!”

“Hey, it makes sense since Yuuri’s my mate!”

Lilia closed her eyes and counted to ten.  Patience, patience…

Anna tried to diffuse the situation by holding up her own brush that she was carrying. “Yura, I can help brush your hair-”

“No! I want Yuuri to brush my hair!”

“Well I told my Yuuri to brush my hair first!”

“I’m younger!”

“Well, I’m older so I should be the one to go first!”

Yuuri’s eyes widened as he took in the scene before him.  Yuri and Viktor’s faces were reddening with their agitation and outrage.  The room began to stink of two young angry alphas. As the two continued their shouting match, Lilia massaging her temples while Anna stood beside her with her hand over her mouth, Yuuri saw Yakov walk towards them from the hallway.  He gulped, beginning to feel anxious once again as he saw the frown lines on Yakov’s forehead deepen. The two were still completely ignorant to his foreboding presence even when he finally stepped into the room.

Yuuri gulped and fisted his hand around his hairbrush.  “I’ll brush both of your hair at the same time!” He yelled loudly, well, in a volume that was considered loud for the omega.  That caught Yuri and Viktor’s attention.

Viktor blinked and tilted his head.  “But how?” He asked innocently. “You only have one brush.”  

Yuuri blushed. “Um…”  His mate had a good point.  

“Here Yuuri,” Anna was quick to lean down and hand her extra brush to Yuuri who took it with a grateful smile, happy for an ally. He turned determined eyes over to Viktor and Yuri, the two’s postures still stiff from their face off but now slowly relaxing as they mulled over his proposal.  

Yuuri cleared his throat.  “Yurio, Vitya, sit down in front of me so I can brush your hair.” He said determinedly, holding up the two brushes for emphasis.  “At the same time,” he repeated, as if daring them to challenge his compromise.

The two alphas knelt down and shuffled over before turning around so that their backs were facing Yuuri.  The omega held up both hands and gently drew the brushes down at the bottom of both alphas’ hairs, his motions awkward but as smoothly as he could given that he was not ambidextrous.  He would then replace the brush slightly higher on their hairs and repeat the motions again. Thankfully there weren’t any tangles to work through. His attention focused on his task, Yuuri didn’t see the looks of astonishment on the grownups’ faces as they watched the scene before them.

Well now… it was very clear that Yuuri had everything under control.  Taking advantage of the situation, Yakov opened his mouth and thus began another round of chastising from both him and Lilia.  The two alphas simply just looked down on the floor while he continued his tirade, Lilia elegantly putting in her own two cents every now and then in a much more level tone, never one to lose her poise.  

Once his wife was satisfied enough, she placed an hand on his arm to signal him to end his chastisements and he calmed down.  Yakov left them with one final warning before they left the three boys. Anna came back to leave them with a tray to enjoy a nighttime snack of cookies and milk, just in time for Yuuri to finish brushing the boys’ hair.  

And so the three boys retired eventually to Viktor’s room after brushing their teeth to wrap up their first night of their weekend sleepover.  Once again, Yuuri climbed on top of Viktor’s bed like an omega on a mission--and indeed he was, to make the coziest nest ever. He set off, gathering Viktor’s blankets and rolling them at the sides, stuffing them with pillows.  He turned to look at Viktor expectantly and held his hand out.

Viktor pretty much went on autopilot, knowing full well what to do by now.  He went to his closet and pulled out a whole stack of fresh blankets and comforters.  Yuri followed closely behind with a pillow stuffed under each arm.

“Thank you!” Yuuri chirped happily as they handed the materials over.  The two stood awkwardly as the omega continued to work. Without a distraction, the tension began to brew between the two of them once more and Viktor gritted his teeth, recalling how his younger cousin absolutely ruined the gorgeous painting he made of his mate!  

Beside him Yuri was scowling, blaming Viktor for getting him in trouble.  He wouldn’t have cared so much if it was just Yakov and Baba Lilia who yelled at him.  But now even his best friend got upset and told him off too!

At least it seemed that Yuuri was in much better spirits… the two could hear the omega mumbling to himself and humming contentedly when something he was crafting in the nest turned out the way he wanted.  

After a few more minutes passed in this manner they heard a pat and Yuuri’s head popped over the wall of the nest, eyes sparkling.  “Okay, all done!”

Viktor beamed and immediately hopped up his bed to join his mate, Yuri admirably not far behind although he struggled a bit more due to his shorter stature.  The older alpha smiled when he saw that Makka and Vicchan were already in their respective spots. He reached over for Vicchan.

Yuuri was settling down and tucking himself under the covers, leaning back to recline on a short stack of pillows, cuddling Makka in his arms.  He smiled at the two of them, all traces of his earlier anger and frustration gone. “I was thinking we can read something before going to sleep.  It’s still a little early.” He looked at the alphas hopefully. “What do you think?”

His mate’s heart-shaped smile made an appearance.  “That’s a fantastic idea, my Yuuri! And I know just the book!”  He leaned over his bed and reached out to a stack of books on his bed each one with a picture of a poodle puppy in front. “The Adventures of Pippa the Poodle: Pippa’s First Bath” was written at the top in bold yellow font.  It was a bit too young for them, but Viktor still loved to skim over the books since it reminded him of his Mama. And besides, maybe even Yurio will enjoy it then… Speaking of his cousin, the younger alpha scrambled out of the nest and down the bed.

“I’ll be back!” They could barely hear him call out as he zipped out of the room. The couple blinked but turned their attention back once again to the book.

“My Mama used to read this every night to me,” Viktor said happily as he turned the cover over to reveal the first few pages.  “That’s how I fell in love with poodles. Sometimes when Papa was home they’d take turns reading the pages to me.” Yuuri smiled as he took in Viktor’s little grin, his cerulean eyes equal parts sad and happy, undoubtedly lost in some nostalgic memory.  “And this is one of my favorite ones too, cuz you see-”

“Back!” Yuri’s voice carried into the room once again as the bedroom door opened and closed with a slam.  He climbed back into the nest and shoved the book on top of Viktor’s. “This!” He said, shaking it for emphasis.  The image of a cartoon tiger roared up at Yuuri and Viktor. He had to search for it deep in his old luggage bag since it was one of the few English books he had. “Puma Tiger Hunts.  Best book!”

“Oh,” Yuuri said diplomatically.  The tiger looked very intimidating and it didn’t take much for his mind to imagine it leaping off the page and growling at him.  

“No fair, Yura!  I had my book out first!”

‘Not again,’ Yuuri pouted as he gently lowered the two books. “We’ll read both of them then.  I’ll read one page from each book at a time.” He didn’t bother asking the two if that sounded like a good idea and simply opened both books to the first page so he could begin reading.  

And with that the three boys cuddled together in the nest.  Slowly, the bitter scent of Viktor and Yuri’s bickering dissipated to be replaced with the scent of two content, sleepy alphas.  Yuuri smiled a few minutes later when he heard soft breathing from both his sides. He turned one at a time to see Yuri and Viktor asleep.  He quietly closed the books and placed them right outside the nest and turned off the bedside lamp. Then Yuuri snuggled into his covers with Makka, placing a gentle kiss on Viktor’s cheek and then Yuri’s forehead before closing his own eyes and falling asleep himself.  

The LED light on the bedside digital clock just changed to mark off the next hour from 2:59 to 3:00 A.M. when Viktor’s eyes opened suddenly, breathing hard and gasping for air.  He shook slightly, still trying to calm himself down from the terrible nightmare he had. Beside him, Yuuri squirmed, most likely picking up on the traces of his stress and despair.  Viktor took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, patting Yuuri’s head before carefully climbing out of the nest, carrying Vicchan with him.

He had to talk to someone.  The image of Yuuri in his dream, waving goodbye before walking away still haunted him.  And although the dream Yuuri didn’t say anything explicitly, for some reason his dream self interpreted his farewell as a ‘forever’ kind of goodbye.  Like the goodbye Mama kind of goodbye. Except there dream Yuuri didn’t die, he just chose to walk out of Viktor’s life forever.

He padded across his bedroom, his eyes still not fully adjusting to the darkness.  It mattered little, since the room’s floorplan was already firmly imprinted into his memory, having grown up in these walls and staying in them for several months when his Mama died.  He reached out, opened his door and closed it behind him gently.

No one should be awake at this time of the night and he hoped it stayed that way.  He reached the parlor and scrambled on top of the plush chair usually reserved for guests.  The person he wanted to talk to wasn’t even on the same country as him anyway. He picked up the phone and dialed a number he long memorized, clutching Vicchan in his other arm.  

It took only two rings before a familiar, curt voice spoke across the line.

“Nikiforov speaking. You better have a good reason to call me, Yakov.”

“Hi Papa,” Viktor murmured back in Russian.

“Vitya?”  Andrei’s voice immediately took on a different tone. Gentler, and a touch of warmth.   “Is everything alright?  Are you okay?”

Viktor twirled the phone’s cord around his finger.  He reclined to allow his head to lay back on the chair.  His blue eyes blinked up at the ceiling unseeingly. “Yeah, I’m okay.  I just woke up from a nightmare.”

“Hmm, do you want to talk about it?”

“Um…” Viktor peered across the room and spied the large display cabinet that housed priceless antiques, including his Baba’s fabergé eggs.  There was still a space from where he had taken the ruby one to gift to Yuuri. He decided to answer his father’s question in a roundabout way.   “What do you do, Papa, if you really love something but you don’t want it to go and leave you?”    

There was silence on the other end.  Viktor knew his father was still on the line though, and waited patiently for his response.  

“Vitya, what brought this question on?”

“Just… please answer, Papa.”  Viktor asked urgently.

Andrei sighed and turned to see the portrait of his wife that he still kept in his office.   “Vitya, if you can then of course you should do your best to hold on to those you love.  But there are also things that are outside your control. And you should never force those you love to do what you want.  If you really love them, you will let them be happy.”

“O-okay…”   Viktor sighed.  That wasn’t exactly too comforting, was it?

“Now…” Andrei whispered gently, “Are you ready to tell me what it is exactly that is bothering you?”

“I… just don’t want my Yuuri to go away.”   The younger Nikiforov unconsciously held the plushie in his hands more tightly, almost clenching.  

Thousands of miles away Andrei blinked in confusion.   “Your Yuri?   Well, not to worry about that Vitya, I think your cousin is pretty much staying there.”

Viktor grimaced when he realized the miscommunication.  He was about to correct his father but stopped himself. He remembered that his father didn’t exactly approve of him being with Yuuri--how could he have forgotten that?!  He didn’t want to say anything that would make his father separate them.

“Um…”

“Listen, Vitya, changes always take time for people to get used to.  I’m sure this is a tough time for everyone as Yuri gets adjusted to life there.  Give it some more time. You’ll all be happy in the end, you’ll see.”  

His father’s words reminded him of his mate’s own words during their conversation in the gymnasium earlier that day.  Yuuri had mentioned about Yuri adjusting right now and possibly singling him out as his first friend and anchor here in this foreign country that has yet to be completely home.

Viktor bit his lip as he desperately held on to Yuuri’s earlier words that they were mates, that nothing was going to get between them.  He was being silly! Yuuri never made any indication that he was going to leave him!

‘But it wouldn’t be the first time someone left you, would it?’  

The thought, unbidden and dark, pierced through his consciousness and hit his one fear square in the center.  Once he acknowledged it, there was no removing it from his thoughts and it repeated over and over in his mind--a sick mantra, fermenting and spreading until it took over everything. It boomed, a foreboding echo that reminded him of the loneliness that had plagued him during those months.

‘Mama loved you and she left. Papa says he loves you too, but look where he is now.’

Viktor could recall the burning in his throat, the ache in his chest, from his heaving sobs.  And when he had cried out all his tears and there was nothing left but a wretched headache and aching eyes, he’d stare unseeingly into his ceiling.  He used to think he’d pour out all of himself into his tears and that he’d just be a gaping hole, a shell. Just empty, empty, so empty. No one to hug but Makka, the last gift his Mama ever gave him-

“Vitya?”  

Viktor sucked in a breath in a desperate attempt to avoid sobbing.  He curled around Vicchan and unconsciously took comfort as he breathed in Yuuri’s scent embedded in the felt plushie.  

“Vitya, are you still there?”

“Mm-hmm…’m still here,” he mumbled back.  

There was silence for another few seconds and then- “Would you like me to visit?”

Now THAT was not something Viktor expected.  He sat up straighter, feeling more awake.  “Um…” What should he say? What if his Papa does come and gets mad when he sees Yuuri--and not Yuri--but Yuuri, Yuuri, his Yuuri, here with him?  “I’m okay!” He was quick to reassure.  Perhaps too quick, because unbeknownst to him Andrei frowned back in his office and began tapping his fingers against his ornate desk.  

“Vitya… really, it’s no trouble. You only have to let me know, I can easily rearrange my schedule to come there.”

“It’s okay, Papa, everything’s fine… really.  I just had a nightmare.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah!” He forced some extra cheer into his voice.  “I’m a big grown alpha now, you know?”   

His father gave a soft sigh at the other end, the sound almost wistful in the otherwise still silence in the room.   “I know, Vitya, I know.”  

Viktor gave a gentle smile and cradled the phone into his ear.   “I’ll be okay, Papa.”  

“Vitya?”

Viktor barely held in a very un-alphalike yelp when he heard a second voice in the room.  He whipped his head towards the source and was surprised to find Yuuri standing at the foot of the parlor, rubbing his eyes.  His eyes were squinting at him groggily through his glasses.

“I’ll see you, Papa, bye!”

“Vitya-”  But Viktor didn’t bother to listen to the rest of his father’s words as he hung up the phone with a clack that almost echoed in the grand room.  Viktor’s heart fluttered like butterfly wings as he watched Yuuri shuffle over to him. His mate was sooo cuuuuuute! The omega’s hair was all ruffled, some strands sticking up at a near ninety-degree angle and there were wrinkles lining his cheeks from where the folds of the bedsheets pressed against him.  He wondered how on Earth Yuuri was able to walk towards him since it looked like his eyes were closed as he softly whined and made his way over into the chair Viktor sat on. He scooted aside to give his mate more room.

“Vitya~” Yuuri groaned as he slumped against Viktor.  And just like that, a heart-shaped smile grew on the alpha’s face.  “Why weren’t you in bed?”

Was that a pout on his Yuuri’s face?  Viktor leaned over so he could see. Yes!  It was! “Aww, Yuuri, did I wake you up?”

Yuuri pursed his lips and snuggled closer to Viktor.  “Yeah, one side of me was cold.” He kept his eyes closed.  “Why did you come down here?”

Ah, there was that.  Viktor hummed, buying some time while trying to think whether or not to talk to Yuuri.  In the end, he didn’t want to make something up. “I… um… talked to my Papa.”

Yuuri was surprised enough that he opened his eyes and turned to him.  “Your Papa?” He repeated.

“Yeah… I kinda woke up from a nightmare.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”  Yuuri asked him gently, his stance comforting but not pushing him.  

“I…”  Viktor trailed off once more, staring back at Yuuri’s crimson-brown eyes.  But in the wane light of the crescent moon they appeared more like the rich brown of his Mama’s coffee. He could almost recall the scent of the hazelnut creamer that she’d add… how she had laughed when she caught him actually opening up one of the tiny cups and drinking from it.   

“Vitya, you’re not supposed to just drink that straight!”   She had giggled as Deda had grumbled over how she should do better to keep him away from something so sweet.  

“He’ll get hyper from the sugar rush, Katya.”

Yuuri hugged back Viktor, bringing him back to the present and reminding him of his comforting presence.  Steadfast, but not pressuring him to respond. Viktor cuddled back and took in a deep breath of his mate’s scent, warm and familiar.  If there was anyone he could confide in, it would be Yuuri.

“You walked away from me in my dream.”  He let out a hitched breath at the pain those words caused.  “You left me.”

Two warm hands were placed on either side of his cheek.  “Vitya, I’m not going to leave you.”

“I know.”  

Yuuri stared into his eyes, judging whether Viktor truly meant those words and could still sense that there was still a hint of insecurity in them.  He hugged Viktor and decided a different tactic. “Mari-neechan once told me that our nightmares come from our fears. She’d sometimes come into my room and stay next to me when she hears me cry from my nightmares.  She says it’s a way that our minds try to make us stronger, so we know how to face them.”

“Does she stay with you the entire night?”  

Yuuri nodded.  “Sometimes, yeah, she’d end up falling asleep next to me.  Other times if I fall back asleep quickly enough, she’d return into her own room.”  He reached over to hold Viktor’s hand. “And Mari-neechan says that just because you get a nightmare that it doesn’t mean it will become true.”  

“Yeah… we’re married and we’re mates,” Viktor said with a bit more confidence as he turned his hands over so he could grasp Yuuri’s hands in his.  

“Exactly… and Vitya, we’re gonna sort this thing out with Yuri.  I promise. He’s your family now, and that also makes him my family.  But you’re my mate, and that’s not going to change ever, okay?”

Viktor nodded, a relieved laugh bubbling up his throat.  “Yeah, mates forever.” He leaned over and kissed Yuuri’s forehead as he slid down the chair and held onto Yuuri as he too hopped down.  

The couple climbed back into the nest gently.  Yuri was sprawled on his end like a starfish, the live Potya still curled asleep at the foot of the bed and the stuffed toy Potya’s tail held tightly in his fist.   Yuuri crawled in first, the bed dipping slightly and Viktor followed soon after. The omega smiled at his mate sleepily as Viktor tucked both of themselves in. The two fell asleep not long after, wrapped in each other’s arms.

---

Viktor woke up the following morning by a rough kick to his shins.  “Ow!” He cried out. He opened his eyes and glared at his cousin who glared right back.  “Yura, why’d you kick me!?”

“Why are you sleeping next to me?!”  Yuri retorted indignantly.

Viktor blinked and finally realized what his cousin was accusing him of.  Oh, so he had slept in the middle and Yuuri slept on the other side. He bared his teeth at his cousin.  “This is my bed, I can sleep wherever I want. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“We’re not even out of bed and you two are fighting already?” Came Yuuri’s tired voice from Viktor’s other side.  

Viktor turned back towards his mate and hugged him tightly, drawing a sleepy mumble from the omega. “Yuuuriii~! Good morning!”

“‘M still sleepy, Vitya, five more minutes?”

“But Yuurii~ don’t you want to eat breakfast?”

That caused the omega to open one eye.  “It’s breakfast time already?”

Yuri growled and got up to push on Viktor’s back.  “Up!” He didn’t appreciate how his older cousin was hugging his best friend.  “I wanna eat!” Especially if doing so will finally stop them from hugging each other. Blegh.

Viktor sat up and helped Yuuri disentangle himself from the sheets.  The omega looked even more frazzled than a few hours before but at least he was awake.  His mate looked adorable anyway no matter how messy he was!

Yuuri wordlessly held his arms out so that Viktor could help him up and out of the nest.  Yuri had already scrambled out of bed and was already whispering over to the live Potya kitten to wake up.  The little kitten followed the group of three boys as they made their way downstairs towards the smell of freshly cooked food.  

Yakov and Lilia were already seated, the plates before them already empty.  Lilia sipped daintily from a teacup while Yakov had his preferred coffee mug before him.  He glanced up briefly from his newspaper and grunted at the three boys as they took their seats.  

“Did you three have a good sleep?” Lilia asked.  

The boys nodded their heads in unison.  Yakov and Lilia shared a look but decided not to bring anything up.  Anna had spoken to them earlier that she thought she heard voices downstairs in the early morning.  She had gone to investigate but by the time she reached the floor she had seen Yuuri and Viktor heading back upstairs to bed.  She didn’t get to hear anything from their conversation.

It was curious though what the two could have been up to.  

“Deda, I was thinking we could watch a movie in the entertainment room later,” Viktor spoke up as he made his way through his grenki and orange juice.

“That should be fine.  Your Baba and I will be taking a walk in the park. Then we can head out to a restaurant for dinner.”

“Sounds good!”  

---

Shortly after, the three settled down onto the sofa.  Anna set some snacks upon the coffee table before them and Viktor hopped over to pop in the Lion King VHS tape.  He personally preferred watching something else but Yuri insisted and Yuuri said he didn’t mind watching it again for the n-th time.  Viktor begrudgingly agreed if only to please his mate since he was sure Yuuri wouldn’t appreciate another round of bickering between him and Yuri.  

Anna came by to drop off some freshly-cooked popcorn by the time they reached the scene that Simba and Nala escaped Zazu to venture off into the elephant graveyard.  Yuuri hunched over between the two of them, clutching the bowl in tight fingers. He always hated whenever the hyenas came on scene. They all just creeped him out so much!

Viktor, however, was enjoying the popcorn while Yuri, on Yuuri’s other side, was hooked to the television.  The younger alpha couldn’t wait until Mufasa would storm into the scene to save the day. He was still able to multitask and continued to grab handfuls of popcorn from the bowl.  

All was well until Viktor and Yuri happened to reach for the same popcorn.  Viktor growled as Yuri took advantage of his hesitation and swiped it away. He leaned over and began to keep an eye out for whenever his cousin would reach into the bowl to avoid touching the other alpha again.  But then he noticed something…

“Hey, not fair Yurio!”  Viktor protested across Yuuri.  “You’re choosing only the buttery ones, that’s why you’re only leaving the yucky plain ones!”

“Vitya…” Yuuri sighed, sensing another argument.

“I want butter ones!” Yuri shouted back.

Yuuri groaned, his shoulders slumping.  

“Well you have to share, Yurio!  It’s not fair if only you get all the buttery ones!”

“Here, then!”  

Yuuri yelped as Yuri’s hand narrowly missed his head.  The young alpha dug into the bowl to grab a handful of popcorn and tossed it at Viktor’s face.  

“Yurio!” Yuuri gasped.

Viktor growled, sounding comically like the angry little cartoon lion cubs they were watching and used both his hands to grab two handfuls of popcorn before hurling them over to his cousin.

“Vitya!” Yuuri yelled, shocked once more at his alpha’s behavior.  Alas, deja vu. He struggled to hold on to the bowl, the two alpha’s movements causing him to almost drop the ceramic bowl onto the floor.

Yuri hissed right back and yelled as he tossed another bunch of popcorn onto Viktor, showering Yuuri as well in the process.  On the floor, Potya began to nibble on some of the fallen popcorn.

“Vitya, Yura!”  Anna cried out in alarm as she stepped into the room. She had stopped washing the dishes as soon as she heard commotion coming from the entertainment room.  “Stop it, both of you! Mr. and Mrs. Feltsman are going to be so angry if they see this!” However the two hardly paid her any mind.

No, instead it wasn’t until Yuuri shouted at the top of his lungs that the two alphas froze midstrike, Yuri with his hand in the bowl and Viktor with his arm held behind his head midswing.  Once he got their attention Yuuri scrambled off the couch and gently placed the ceramic bowl on the coffee table. He then turned back to face the two alphas, hands on his hips. “This is the second time!  It’s too much!”

“Yuuri~”  Viktor wheedled but shut his mouth when his mate held a hand up.  

“No, not again Vitya.  And you, Yurio! Both of you should be so ashamed!”  He glowered at the two of them, his eyes glinting behind his glasses with intent.  “You two are going to get a time out.”

Viktor’s mouth dropped in shock while Yuri muttered incoherently under his breath.  

“Both of you, get off the couch. Now!”  

Anna watched with wide eyes as the two alphas glanced at each other before complying and hopping off the couch.  Yuuri nodded in approval as the two stood silently before him. Yuri was scowling down at the floor while Viktor, strangely, was looking at him with a small smile and awe in his eyes.

Yuuri turned over to Anna and bowed low.  “We’re sorry we made a mess again. I’m going to make sure Vitya and Yurio don’t do this anymore.  I promise to help clean up.” He stood upright again and gestured for the two alphas to follow him.  And with that, the three boys marched out of the room.

“My Yuuri is amazing!” Viktor gushed as he practically skipped behind his mate.  Yuuri blushed and gently swiped at his head in admonishment.

And with that, Anna was left in the entertainment room with the Lion King still playing in the background and a kitten meowing on the floor.  

---

Yuuri opened the door to Viktor’s room and held it open, ushering the two boys inside before closing the door gently behind him. “Okay, you two have to talk.  And I mean talk, talk. Okaa-san used to do this to me when me and Mari-neechan got into bad fights. Say sorry to each other and be good cousins. You two are family, you shouldn’t be fighting like this!  It’s mean for Anna to have to keep cleaning up after you two. And your Deda and Baba are going to get upset that you fought again!”

“But Yuuri~”

Yuuri cut him off, ignoring Viktor’s pleas.  “And until you two really make-up, and I don’t want you to just say you made up and not mean it!  You’re going to stay here until you make up for real.” Yuuri bent over to retrieve his dufflebag.  

“No!”  Yuri protested.  “I don’t want to be with stupid Viktor!”  

Yuuri shook his head.  “No, Yurio, you’re staying here until you two can be nice to each other.  Talk to each other. The faster you do, the faster you can come out.” With a stiff upper lip Yuuri marched out of the room and closed the door firmly behind him.  

“Yuuri?  Anna told me what happened, what is going on now?”

Yuuri jumped when he saw Lilia at the foot of the stairs looking up at him.  She and Yakov must have returned from their walk. She was still wearing a scarf around her neck.  

“I gave Vitya and Yura a time out.  They’re not coming out of the room until they can get along with each other.”  

Lilia’s eyebrows rose in surprise as the young omega huffed and placed his bag’s strap on his shoulders and walked past her down the stairs.  She shook her head, bemused at the entire scene. There was already some telltale yelling, albeit muffled, coming from behind Viktor’s bedroom door.  

And of course it would take an omega like Hiroko’s youngest and only son to take the reigns and get a handle on these two young alphas.

Chapter Text

Chapter 29: A Resolution

In which Yurio learns about life and love

The remaining vestiges of civility left the moment the two alphas heard the click of the door closing.  The two simultaneously turned to glare daggers into each other.

“This is all your fault,” Viktor hissed.

“No, this is all YOUR fault!”

“You’re the one being all selfish and keeping all the buttery popcorn to yourself!  It wouldn’t hurt you to share, Yurio!”

“Well, if you want to share so much you should share Yuuri! I will be a better mate!”

Viktor growled and took the remaining two steps to lean down over his younger cousin, taking advantage of the several inches he had over the shorter male.   “Mates do NOT share each other!  Yuuri’s my mate first, Yurio!”

“But you are a stupid alpha!”   Yuri growled right back and tried to make himself taller, standing as high as he could on his tiptoes.  

“Do you even know what it means to be someone’s mate?!” Viktor threw his hands into the air in exasperation.

There was a brief period of silence.  Viktor could tell that his cousin was doing his best to keep a stoic face, but the could see the fleeting uncertainty in his eyes before they steeled over once more.   “Mates are best friends for life,” he said, parroting the words that Mila told him a few weeks prior.

Viktor leaned back in bewilderment.   “What?!”

“Yuuri is my best friend forever.  So we’re mates.”  Yuri grew more confident and crossed his arms over his chest like he would see the men back in the village do all the time.  Ha, now he’s got Viktor trapped into a corner! He has to share Yuuri now. His cousin was actually very lucky. If he wanted, he could have just kept Yuuri to himself.  He’s just sharing his best friend because, for whatever lame reason, his best friend liked Viktor a lot.

“Who told you that mates are best friends?”  Viktor asked Yuri incredulously.

“... Mila.”  Yuri watched in confusion as his cousin groaned.  

“Ugh… are you kidding?!”   Viktor slapped a hand onto his forehead.  Yuri watched, growing increasingly confused but doing his utmost best not to show it outwardly.  

“I can’t believe Mila sometimes.”   Viktor shook his head and placed his hands on his hips, unconsciously mimicking the exact stance that Yuuri had moments before he left.  Viktor opened his eyes and turned towards his cousin, his bangs covering his left eye. A lot of the anger left him by this point. “Look, Yura, mates aren’t simply best friends.  Yuuri’s best friends with Phichit and they’re not mates.”

Yuri opened his mouth to protest but reluctantly held his tongue when Viktor held up a hand.

“Yura, I promise.  Mates are something different.  I love Yuuri and Yuuri loves me.  Like a Mama and Papa love. Like the love in those fairytales.  We’re gonna have a happily ever after kind of love. I courted him and we married and gave each other rings.  And then because grownups have weird rules we had a honeymoon too and jumped up and down Yuuri’s bed all night.”

Yuri blinked.  All this mate stuff sounded weird so far.

Viktor sighed.   “Becoming mates takes a lot of work, you know?  Me and Yuuri don’t do special hugs yet cuz we don’t want a baby to hatch.”   He grimaced.   “Baba and Deda say that if a baby hatches we’d have to take care of it like feed it and clean its poop and stuff.”

“Eww!”   Yuri was absolutely disgusted.  

Viktor shrugged.   “Yeah, that’s exactly what me and my Yuuri thought too.”

“No babies!” Yuri insisted. There was no way that he was going to be stuck helping his best friend take care of a baby.  He recalled the wailing babies being carried by the women in the village market back in Russia. God, they were so annoying and loud!  

Viktor nodded. “Yeah, well, that’s one thing we agree on.”   He sat down at the foot of his bed and Yuri begrudgingly followed his lead.   “So you see, Yurio, my Yuuri can’t be your mate.  You two can be best friends but you can’t be mates.  Your own soulmate is still somewhere out there.”

Yuri scowled and crossed his arms.   “It’s not fair.”

“Yeah, well… I guess I was just lucky that I met Yuuri early.  Everyone says you usually meet your soulmate when you’re older…”

Yuri gritted his teeth and chucked one of the nearby pillows at his cousin’s head.  Viktor yelped, caught off-guard.

“Gack! Yurio, what is wrong with you?!”  And just when he thought he was finally getting through to his cousin too!

“I hate you! It’s not fair!”

Viktor chucked the pillow away, making it bounce off the bed.   “What do you mean ‘It’s not fair?!’ I can’t exactly control when you meet your soulmate!”

“You have everything!  It’s not fair!”

Viktor was just about ready to rip his hair apart.  But no, he loved his hair too much. “What do you mean I have everything?! That is so not true!”

“You have your mate, your Baba, Deda--”

“I don’t have everything, Yurio.”   The image of his mother’s face came into his mind’s eye.   “Not by a long shot.”

He sighed, closing his eyes and tried to keep himself calm.  Nothing good would come from yelling again. He looked at the clock on his wall and scowled at seeing that it was almost going to be time for lunch.  He needed to be sure that his Yuuri eats well and that he can be there to have his mate wipe away the food from his cheeks when he eats.

“Look, Yurio, I know you’re not exactly having an easy time coming here and I’m sorry.  I promise I’m trying to help you as much as I can but you can at the very least be a little bit more friendly, you know?”

Yuri scowled at him.  Viktor had a lot of nerve, dragging him all the way over here, away from all he knows and ask him to be a bit more friendly?  How spoiled could he be? “Well maybe you shouldn’t have dragged me here then!  It’s not like I wanted come!”

“Wait!”   Viktor’s brows furrowed and turned to look back at the glare Yuri was training at him.   “Who said I was the one who brought you here?”  

Yuri crossed his arms.   “Like you didn’t?”

Viktor frowned.   “Um, yeah, I didn’t.  Like one day my Papa just called me and said--” Viktor’s eyes widened as he was struck with realization.  “Oh…”

“What?!”

Viktor blinked and pursed his lips.   “Um.. I think my Papa may have done something.”   He tapped his index finger against his lip.  

Apparently it was still possible for Yuri’s glare to intensify.  His cousin better explain himself very quickly otherwise he was going to get another pillow thrown at him.  

“Well I dunno for sure but I think my Papa may be the one who made you come here.”   And now that he said that aloud it made a lot of sense.  It was precisely the kind of thing that Papa was known to do.  He couldn’t recall any specifics but he’d remember his Mama telling him, saying things like “Dyusha, you can’t just make someone do that!”

‘Any true alpha knows what he wants and gets what he wants,’ Viktor could clearly hear his father’s voice in his head once again. ‘Oh Papa, you did another no-no again, didn’t you?’   He blinked back at Yuri, not really knowing what else to say.  Well except… “If he was the one who did this to you I’m really sorry.  I promise I never asked my Papa to do anything. I hardly even remember I had a cousin to be honest.”  And it was the truth.  

Yuri turned away, deciding to aim his scowl instead upon the floor.  There was a few seconds of silence as he seemed to mull over Viktor’s words.  Finally he said, “I hate your Papa.”

“Yeah, I think a few people hate him.  Deda hates him too, you should see when they scream at each other. Deda’s face becomes as red as a tomato!”

The corner of Yuri’s lips twitched at the hint of a smile.  He looked back up at Viktor. “You really didn’t bring me here?”

Viktor shook his head vehemently, causing his long silver hair to swish back and forth.   “I pinky promise, Yurio.” He switched to English, “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye…” That oath made his cousin look at him like he sprouted two more heads.  Viktor sweat-dropped. “Um… it’s a saying. In other words, I promise, promise.”

“Why do you want to die?”

“I don’t really want to die!”  

“If you die, do I become Yuuri’s mate?”

“No!  If you do that I’ll haunt you!  You can’t have my mate, I already gave you my cat!”

Yuri rolled his eyes.  Fair enough… as much as he hated to admit it.  

“Say Yurio… where is your own Papa?  My Papa and Deda never really mentioned him.”   Viktor watched as the frustrated spark in Yuri’s eyes faded to a softer expression, one caught between sadness and resignation.  

“Don’t know. I don’t remember him.”   The only memory Yuri had of his father was the tall silhouette of a man outlined by the flickering light of a candle.  There was a strong storm, and it had caused all the electricity to go down throughout the village. He could hardly sleep through the thunder and lightning.  

“And your Papa?” If Viktor was going to ask him these questions it was only fair for him to ask as well.

“He’s always away for business in Russia.  He mostly stays in Moscow when he’s there, but he also has to travel around the world.  He could be in Antarctica for all I know.”

“And your Mama?”

“Mama’s dead.”

Oh. Well that makes another thing they had in common. “My Mama died too.”

Viktor nodded.   “I don’t really remember her to be honest but I remembered when we found out.  She was my Papa’s younger sister.”

Yuri nodded, remembering that small part of their family tree.  Ms. Natalya had explained it to him over their plane ride when she had showed him the photographs of Viktor.  

“It’s okay though, Yurio, we’re a big family now.  You have me, my Yuuri, and because of that--Okaa-san, Otou-san, Mari-neesan, and Minako-sensei.  And then there’s Baba, Deda, and Ms. Anna and all of our friends in school…”

Yuri nodded. He did, didn’t he? And then once his dedushka gets better, he will be coming here too.  He did, promise, after all and he trusted his dedushka to keep his promises.

“So… are we okay now?  Yuuri is my mate but you know you’re still part of the family, right?” He paused when nothing but silence met his question. “Yurio…?”

Okay so his cousin was annoying and he hated it when he sometimes (or all the time) he had to share his Yuuri with him but Viktor would never ever wanted his cousin to be miserable, even if he never made that promise to his Papa about being the best older brother figure for Yuri.

Yuri was looking at him doubtfully, but there was a hint of hope in the child’s eyes. “I am?”

Viktor could just barely hear the words spoken softly in the quiet air between them, for once, lacking the tension that would normally be simmering between them.  

Viktor smiled softly.   “Yeah, really.”  

Yuri pursed his lips and hastily rubbed the heels of his palms across his eyes.   “Stupid…” he muttered.

“Yeah, I know.  But you’re now an alpha of the house, Yurio.  Papa left me in charge since he left, but I could use someone to help me look after the place.  And someone to help protect my Yuuri. Grownups can be pretty stupid. Can I count on you?”

Yuri nodded his head.  

“Good!”   Viktor hopped off his bed and turned to his clock.  Not too bad! He didn’t think they could get things sorted out this quickly.  “Then my Yuuri says we can come out now.

---

Viktor’s grandparents had gone to their bedroom to change out of their outdoor clothes after their walk. Lilia used the downtime to reorganize some of her jewelry inside her dresser drawers while her husband bathed.  She was just moving on to sorting through her closet when she heard a very unmanly yell come from the direction of their bathroom.

Lilia jumped, head snapping towards the bathroom. She dropped the evening dress she was holding before she quickly ran over. “Yasha, what’s wrong? Did you fall?!”  She turned the corner and stopped at the sight of her husband looking aghast at his reflection in the mirror, hunched over the sink with one hand clutching the marble counter and the other holding his hairbrush.  

“VITYA!” Yakov spat at his reflection.

Lilia’s eyes skittered back and forth at the scene, still not comprehending what was amiss.  “What is it, what happened?!”

Yakov was positively red with rage, and as the seconds passed his complexion started to turn into an alarming purplish color.  “Your GRANDSON!” He raised the hairbrush, several strands of graying hair resting on the bristles, knuckles turning white with his tight grip on its handle.  “Is making me BALD!” He shook it before practically chucking it at the counter.

The tension dropped out of her shoulders and Lilia practically sagged with relief (she would otherwise never tolerate such poor posture!).  “Yasha, don’t you dare scare me like that again!  I thought you fell in the tub and cracked your head!”

“He and Evgeny’s kid better stop their blasted fights!  This is all Nikiforov’s fault! I’m going to-”

It was through years of practice that Lilia was able to easily tune out her husband’s tirade as she closed the bathroom door and retrieved her fallen dress before hanging it back on the closet rack.  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was never dignifying to lose one’s composure after all. Her husband did it often enough for the both of them anyway.

Lilia turned to look at the clock and noted that it was soon going to be time for the children to eat.  She squared her shoulders and made her way to go out the door. No matter what the status was between Viktor and Yuri’s truce, it wouldn’t do to have the children hold off on eating a proper meal.  She walked down the hallway and rounded the corner to find Yuuri sitting down in front of Viktor’s door, his ears pressed against the wood in an attempt to listen in on the conversation on the other side.  He was holding Yuri’s kitten (everyone pretty much acknowledged by this point that Viktor held no interest in Potya) in his lap, the little cat purring as the omega cradled it in one arm.

She raised an eyebrow as she stopped a foot away from the young omega, turning her head to face her grandson’s door. It was oddly much quieter than before.

Yuuri smiled up at Lilia, not removing his head from the door.  “I think they’re almost there,” he whispered.

The older woman was skeptical. “You can hear them?”

Yuuri nodded. “A little… although I can’t really understand them. They’re speaking in Russian.”  

“Whatever ends up happening, if they don’t come out in an hour I want you to open the door and have them come downstairs if they’re not done by then.  I don’t want any of you missing lunch. I will make sure Anna heated the food Chef Moreau prepared.”

Yuuri smiled and nodded his head in acquiescence, patting the kitten in his lap as he watched Lilia go down the stairs.  

It was probably not even a minute later when the hushed voices on the other side fell into silence.  He then heard the quiet shuffle of footsteps approaching the door and stood up, taking a step back just in time for the door to open, revealing a beaming Viktor.

Yuuri didn’t even get a chance to assess the situation before Vitya engulfed him in a tight hug.  
“Yuuuuriii~!” All must have have been resolved for Viktor’s heart-shaped smile to be so wide.  

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to be hugged by his alpha, wrapping his arms around him and patting his back.  He peered around Viktor’s shoulder to look at Yuri who, for once, had the most neutral expression on his face instead of the glare that was almost perpetually present.  “Is everything okay now?”

“Yeah! I think we got everything sorted out!”  Viktor nuzzled Yuuri’s forehead.

“I’m glad.” Yuuri smiled as he handed Potya over to Yuri, who took the kitten eagerly.  

“Come back in my room, Yuuri, it’s warmer inside here,” Viktor tugged his mate forward and closed his bedroom door.  

Yuuri made a beeline for Viktor’s bed, climbing gingerly so as not to disturb what he had constructed earlier.  He smiled when he saw that it was almost exactly the way they had left it. Viktor and Yuri must not have fought then, which is what he expected since he didn’t hear anything heavy falling down while he was doing his best to listen in.  He fluffed up the corners of the nest once more and pushed some of Viktor’s pillows so they were tucked into the creases of the walls he had made. Once he was satisfied he patted the space beside him and gestured to the two alphas. “Come, it’s comfortable here.”

Viktor happily took up his spot beside his mate and surprised Yuuri as he leaned over to help Yuri by taking Potya and placing the kitten inside the nest.  It freed up Yuri’s hands to allow him to climb over the wall. He wasn’t anywhere near as graceful as Viktor, which was to be expected since he was shorter, and he huffed as he had to actually belly crawl his way across.  

“I’m so happy that you two sorted things out,” Yuuri smiled widely, his chest puffing out in a rare show of pride.  “I knew you would.”

“I had to clear some things up for Yurio.  He thought that mates were best friends for life.”

Yuuri blinked a few times before turning to the younger alpha who was blushing while pretending to be very preoccupied with petting Potya.  “Where did you learn that from, Yurio?”

Yuri ducked his head.  “Just… someone…” he mumbled.  He didn’t want to admit to him that it was Mila who told him that.  It was bad enough that he had to tell Viktor earlier. For some reason, he felt that it would just cause them to laugh and he didn’t want to reveal that he had learned it from a girl of all things, alpha girl or not.  

Viktor silently mouthed “Mila” when Yuuri turned his eyes back to him but the omega was unable to read his lips.  In the end he decided to drop it for the sake of Yuri’s pride. After all the most important thing was that they cleared it up.  “Mates are a little bit more different than just being very good best friends, Yurio,” he said gently, not wanting to make him embarrassed.

Yuri scowled.  “I know, Viktor told me,” he huffed.  “You guys have to love-love each other and be all weird and do courting things and jump up and down beds.”   

Yuuri nodded and reached over to tuck an errant strand of hair behind Yuri’s ear.  “Yeah, mates are when you make each other feel warm when you just see each other. When you make each other really happy and want to stay together.  But you’re more than just a best friend to me, Yurio, you’re part of my family too since Vitya and I got married.”

Yuri’s tense stance relaxed as he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Viktor told me that too.”  

“We always want you to feel happy and welcome here, Yurio.” Yuuri smiled gently, and Viktor nodded his head eagerly by his side.  “You should have seen how much Vitya prepared for your arrival. He helped Deda Yakov and Baba Lilia set up your room with some toys and he even made a welcome banner for you.  We were just not prepared when you ended up getting delayed and showed up during his birthday party.”

Viktor blushed lightly as Yuuri highlighted how much effort he put into Yuri’s arrival, but like with all things he decided were interesting, he gave it 150%.  

Yuri blushed as well, although his was more out of shame as he recalled his abominable behavior during his first few days with them.  He was very mean, he had to admit, and he internally cringed at the thought of how his Dedushka would undoubtedly slap his rump if he was there to witness Yuri glaring at the entirety of Viktor’s party, or the kinds of shenanigans that they got into earlier that day.  His musings got cut off when he tuned back to Yuuri’s words.

“I couldn’t understand you two, when I tried to listen through the door.”

Viktor’s brows furrowed.  “You mean you were just staying outside the entire time?  You didn’t have to wait for us like that Yuuri-”

Yuuri shook his head.  “No, I only just stayed for the last five or so minutes, really.  I started to get bored downstairs and I was curious how you two were doing.  You were talking in Russian, right?”

His mate nodded, “Yeah, I gotta admit that’s probably the longest I’ve spoken in Russian for awhile.  Even with Deda and Baba I usually talk to them in English, although they may answer in Russian most of the time.” He gestured over to Yuri.  “Ever since Yurio came, though, we’ve been talking in English mostly to help him get used to it.”

“Yeah, your English has gotten so much better already, Yurio!”

Yuri shrugged off the compliment but he couldn’t help but let a little smug smirk slip through.  “I’ve been studying it,” he mumbled.

“I have to say, I also do like how Russian sounds,” Yuuri confessed as he smiled sheepishly.

“Aww, my Yuuri is so sweet!” Viktor embraced Yuuri and nuzzled his forehead.   “I love you so much my most precious mate!”  

Yuuri blushed despite not understanding his last sentence.  He could only surmise what it meant, though, judging by the disgusted look Yuri pinned at his cousin.  “W-what did you just say?”

Yuri stuck his tongue out.  “Stupid lovey stuff. Yuck!”

“It’s not yucky, Yurio, it’s true love!”

“Well then, I love you too, Vitya,” Yuuri murmured in Japanese.  He blushed violently, the redness reaching the edges of his ears.  

Yuri growled and clapped his hands against his ears.  Okay, he got it! Everyone’s bilingual! Can they just stop saying mushy stuff now?!  He then realized something and made wild gesticulations with his hands, causing the two older boys to stop what they were doing and look back at him in confusion. “No hugs!”

“Huh?”

“No special hugs!  Special hugs means babies!”

“Babies?”  

“Don’t worry, Yurio!  Baba and Deda say that Yuuri and I have to be much older to have special hugs, so we’re not gonna have a baby!”

“No babies!” Yuri repeated.  

Yuuri scratched his head.  “How old do you think we have to be?”  

Viktor shrugged.  “I don’t know… maybe twelve?”

“Yeah, twelve is pretty old.  Mari-neechan is thirteen.”

“Oh wow, that is super old!  But yeah, that’s good, I don’t want babies yet either.”