**A/N**

My immense apologies that this is a day late-- yesterday I was incredibly busy and my internet cut out for an hour (for the first time ever, timing?!) and I barely managed to publish this chapter on AO3. (Have I mentioned that I'm on AO3? I am-- same username!) I'm afraid that publishing under Wattpad slipped my mind. It won't happen again.

Same as last week, the footnotes are bracketed by *s.

***

On the morning of his 27th week, Yuri woke up late. The baby had been kicking all night, making it impossible for him to sleep until the early hours of the morning, and therefore rendering him immune to the blaring of his alarm until nearly an hour of half-asleep snooze button pushes had passed.

*Yuri had noticed that the baby, having apparently grown used to Yuri's previous nightly work on "All I Ask Of You" had become irritated by the ending of such events, and had chosen to lodge her protest in the form of kicking until they resumed. As a result, Yuri was now several days underslept, and was appreciating how strong his daughter's legs were with a new respect.*

Moving through his morning routine quickly, Yuri was in the shower before ten minutes had passed, and, water running, he missed the unmistakable sounds of the floorboards creaking that signaled Otabek beginning to go about his day from down the hall. Otabek, though, noticed that the shower was on, and, reasoning that Yuri was running late, retreated downstairs to begin making breakfast until he could access the bathroom.

Otabek was at the foot of the stairs when he startled; a loud bang had sounded from the bathroom above him, and he looked up, gazing at the ceiling. His eyebrows creased.

"Yuri?" He called.

No response.

"Yuri?" He tried again.

Nothing.

Maybe Yuri couldn't hear him over the water, he reasoned, for it was still running loudly and he knew that the man was in the shower. Otabek's blood ran cold.

Yuri was in the shower. There had been a loud bang from the bathroom and Yuri was in the shower.

And as said realization came, all common sense went. Normally, though it was hard to imagine what constituted 'normal' nowadays, Otabek would've climbed the stairs, knocked on the bathroom door, and inquired if everything was alright. It's what he would have done, had things been normal. But things were not normal, and the thought didn't even enter his mind.

Operating solely on the fear that Yuri had fallen and that he was hurt because falling in the shower was one of the most common causes of harm to both mother and child, Otabek flew back up the stairs, bursting into the bathroom without so much as a second of hesitation.

Yuri was not, as Otabek had expected, lying, possibly unconscious, on the shower floor. Instead, he was bent over at almost a right angle, hand braced on his thigh to keep his balance, and reaching carefully down to the tiled floor for the shampoo bottle that, from the looks of it, had been knocked off of the shower's shelf.

At the sound of the door crashing into the wall, Yuri looked up. He froze.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, both paralyzed in horror. Then, after taking a most-likely inexcusable amount of time to process anything besides the fact that Yuri was fine, *he was unable to process things such as; Yuri was naked in the shower and Yuri was probably both humiliated and livid at this blatant invasion of privacy* Otabek tripped over himself in his haste to turn his back to his almost-ex husband.

"I-I'm sorry!" He managed to choke out, eyes wide behind his hands even though he was no longer facing the shower (whose curtain was currently in the wash, leaving the entirely clear stall on full display if Otabek should turn) "I-I didn't mean-- I heard a crash and I thought-- I was worried--"

"It was the shampoo," Yuri said weakly, "it fell,"

"Right, yeah, I, uh, saw that," and then, hating himself even more because he had just admitted that he'd looked even if his eyes hadn't been focused on Yuri's body, Otabek took several quick steps to the door. "I, uh-- sorry again." He mumbled, maladroit, as he pulled it shut.

Yuri stood frozen in place after Otabek had gone, struggling to process what the fuck had just happened.

Belatedly, his hands flew to cover himself, the horror washing over him as he realized that Otabek had seen him. He had seen him naked, in the shower. Yuri felt ill.

Now every time Otabek looked at him, he'd see that in his memory, that horror of horrors that was Yuri's current body. And the worst of it all, it was more than just him being pregnant. A swollen belly-- that was to be expected, but...

But no one would really expect to see breasts on a man. Pregnant or not.

Of course, this... new feature on Yuri's body made sense: it (they?) had started developing when Yuri had hit four months, and now were noticeable enough that he had (more than once) been mistaken for a woman with their presence. Barely an A cup, but enough that he'd had to make a trip to the maternity store, wishing desperately to vanish into thin air, Yuri's breasts were supposed to shrink when he stopped nursing, and he felt that that moment couldn't come soon enough.

Of course, he knew that his body was going to change, that it had already changed, immensely. He knew that his new figure wasn't him being 'fat' or 'unattractive', it was because he was carrying a baby, and the breasts and changes were just side effects of that. He knew that that was nothing to be ashamed of or judged for. That didn't mean he liked to flaunt it, though.

He wasn't embarrassed and he didn't struggle with image issues, but the knowledge that Otabek had seen Yuri, naked and exposed, so changed, from the last time he'd been privy to his nudity, settled oddly in Yuri. The embarrassment at being walked in on in the shower was present, obviously, but more so than it would have been had Yuri looked the way he had five months ago.

It made Yuri feel less than, somehow, as if this version of himself, husbandless and a soon-to-be single parent, was a broken model of the previous one, of the person he had been before. And having Otabek see him like that, as someone who had known Yuri better than anyone when he had been at his best, felt like he was just giving Otabek more material on Yuri's shortcomings: more reasons to prove that he was right to have left him. Especially since Yuri knew that Otabek's memory of him was so marred by this new, downgraded version.

It didn't matter, Yuri reminded himself: Otabek's perception of him wasn't relevant anymore. Except, even if Yuri was loath to admit it, it did.

Yuri's phone pinged on the counter, a text surfacing.

Yuri shook his head, the intrusive thoughts dissipating; he didn't have much time until Victor would pick him up to go to the studio, so Yuri forced himself from the shower, dressing and walking downstairs, all the while firmly repressing the desire to hide from Otabek's view.

Otabek was in the kitchen, as was expected, and looked up as Yuri entered the room. His gaze was broken off, though: quickly, a pained expression making a fleeting appearance on Otabek's face before he schooled it back to its custom stoicism.

Great, he can't even look at me anymore.

Wordlessly, Yuri crossed the room, wrapped in his bulkiest sweater of the kind he'd foregone months ago due to the intense July heat. 

*Saint Petersburg was in the middle of one of the most intense heat waves it'd had in decades, the temperatures skyrocketing enough for the news to warn against any excessive time outside and the risk of heatstroke.*

Grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl on the table, Yuri turned to leave the kitchen, intending to wait on the porch for Victor. Just as he reached the doorway, though, he was stopped by a voice.

"I really am sorry," Otabek said, and Yuri could envision the sincere, apologetic expression etched into his face without even turning to look, "I didn't think: I just burst in like that. I shouldn't have."

Yuri, back turned and motionless in the doorway, nodded slightly. "Next time, just knock first." A horn honked outside, and Yuri was gone.

***

Yuri'd just finished with his second-to-last class of the day and was passing the front desk when his attention was caught by a stream of colorful swear words, swear words in the voice of someone he'd heard curse under 5 times in his life-- and two of them had been labor.

Yuuri hung up the phone with a sigh, and, noticing Yuri watching him, gave a small, exasperated smile.

"I let Victor handle the summer camp registrations this year," he said, "I should've known to do it myself -- Luci is changing an age division, which makes everything more complicated -- but," he sighed, shaking his head ruefully, "ah well, there's nothing I can do about it now."

Yuri nodded, pulling out some paperwork and beginning to file it as Yuuri busied himself with his phone, undoubtedly trying to find a spot for Luci at the camp. He looked up suddenly, a tentative, scheming smile on his face.

"Yuri," he began, "Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays aren't very busy for you, right? Not too many classes?"

Yuri nodded, resigned to what he already knew would be his fate. "Not many, no. None on Fridays."

"That's what I thought," Yuuri said before raising both eyebrows and smiling in the way Yuri knew meant a request. "Is there any way you could watch Luci on those days?" Yuuri asked hesitantly, "Normally I wouldn't ask but since Vitya and I are both really busy then and the summer camp for Luci's age group is full... please? We'd really appreciate it."

Yuri sighed, "Do you need me to watch Elliot too?"

Yuuri grinned, "Thank you, Yuri! We really appreciate it! And no: he goes to a separate daycare which I signed him up for, so he's fine." Yuri nodded again. "I can bring Luci to your house after your class? It's only until six and then Victor can take her."

"Sure."

***

It turned out, as Yuri later discovered, that agreeing to watch a five, almost six,-year-old was far more difficult than he had anticipated.

"It's only for a few weeks -- one of the kids is moving and dropping out of the camp so we can get her in after that -- and if there are any problems just call me or Victor and we can sort it out. If you don't feel well or you're too tired some days just let me know and you don't have to take her--"

"I'm fine, Yuuri."

"Okay, but still," he insisted, "if something comes up or you just don't feel able, don't worry about it." Yuri nodded methodically as Luci bounced up and down in her eagerness to start playing. "Now, I packed her backpack with everything she might need, including snacks, and if she gets too excited just let her know-- she's good about calming down when she becomes overwhelming." Yuri nodded again. "Okay, um, I think that's everything? Victor will pick her up at about six, and-- oh! She can swim, since I see the pool's open, so you can let her go in, but I do ask that you stay out there with her when she does-- just in case."

"I will."

"Great!" Yuuri smiled, slightly manic, and crouched down to be on level with his daughter, holding her shoulders gently. "Luci, I want you to be on your best behavior for Uncle Yurio, okay?"

Luci smiled brightly, "I will!"

Yuuri smiled fondly, stroking his daughter's silky, raven curls. "Good girl. Now, Daddy is picking you up in two hours, okay?" She nodded, and, when Yuuri announced that he was leaving, she hugged him tightly and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Yuri wondered absently if that was what his daughter would do with him.

When Yuuri's endless instructions had at last petered out and he had left, Yuri turned to the little girl practically vibrating with excitement next to him.

"Can we go in the pool?" She asked immediately, staring up at Yuri with wide, pleading, puppy dog eyes. "It's so hot, and I brought my swimsuit! Even my goggles!"

"Sure." Yuri said, and, after letting the little girl get changed in the bathroom (he stayed outside the door-- how careful was one supposed to be with a five-year-old?) and changing as well (he told her to sit on the bed and pet Potya until he came back, and she did, thank God), they made their way outside.

Then returned inside, as Yuri slathered both himself and the impatient, little gremlin with sunblock, before finally making it to the poolside.

(When Yuri and Otabek had bought this house, they'd gotten it at an amazing price, since, as it was located in Russia, no one was crazy enough to purchase a home with an in-ground pool that they could only use about one month out of the year and have to keep from freezing over the rest of the time.

-- Honestly, the lunatic architect who thought that the pool was a good idea must've been more eccentric even than Victor. --

Yuri, being the adventurous, unorthodox person he was, had talked Otabek into buying the house, pool and all, with the justification that it would be great for low-pressure endurance training and the promise that Yuri would maintain it. A promise promptly broken the first time Yuri realized how gross a pool got after lying dormant for 11 months. Otabek had taken over shortly after, and when he had arrived several weeks ago, he had (with permission from Yuri, of course) opened the pool for the first time that year, though it had been thus far unused.)

Carefully setting their towels and two bottles of water a few feet away from the edge of the shallow end, Yuri let the little girl in his company dip into the pool. She shrieked in glee and proceeded immediately to dunk in and out of the water, emerging with great, volcanic splashes and giggling tremendously.

Yuri, meanwhile, lowered himself carefully down to sit on the third step into the shallow end, water halfway up his abdomen.

As Yuri watched Luci play, (luckily the girl seemed content to play by herself with minimal participation on Yuri's part) he found his thoughts returning to those of that morning. He glanced down at his swimsuit. He'd only agreed to go in the pool because Luci had all but begged him to, and, feeling slightly tense about not being in the water with her after what Yuuri had said, he'd given the little girl what she'd wanted. Still, though, as Yuri sat in the shallow, tepid water, he couldn't help but foster the irrational hope that Otabek wouldn't see him wearing his . After The Shower Incident™, the less of Yuri's body Otabek saw, the better.

A black and white, gingham tankini (maternity bathing suits were mostly multi-pieces, something about allowing the abdomen room to grow without any pressure being put on it), Yuri's swimsuit had been the least eye-catching option he'd been able to find, though he still felt barely short of naked while wearing it. As most were, Yuri's suit was skin-tight and revealing, highlighting the changes to Yuri's figure that he had felt so very prominent over the past few days. It made him feel exposed, or like he was being indecent by wearing it: as though he was something that was particularly vulgar or inappropriate to see.

No matter, though, for Luci didn't seem to be paying him the slightest bit of attention, and Yuri took some relief in the fact that he doubted Otabek would be home before Luci had tired herself out and the pool was traded for another activity.

"Uncle Yurio!" Luci cried suddenly and Yuri felt himself startle when he realized that she'd swum all the way out to the nine-foot deep, deep end without him noticing. "Watch me flip!"

"Luci!" Yuri called back, but it was too late: the little girl was already under the water, emerging a second later, coughing but smiling.

"It was good, right?" She asked brightly, and Yuri nodded, a slight tightness in his chest at the sight of the little girl in such deep water.

"Yes," he replied, motioning for her to come back, "but why don't we stay in the shallow end for a while? You can do handstands." he offered in an attempt to pacify the little, discontented frown she wore.

"Why?" She asked, but grudgingly began to swim back toward him.

The tightness in Yuri's chest lessened somewhat as she grew closer. "Because," he said, "it's more fun over here."

"No, it's not," Luci pouted, but sat by his side all the same. Yuri let a hand run over her sodden, dark locks. "I can't flip over here!"

"Why don't you try to do a cartwheel?" Yuri asked, aiming to distract her.

"A cartwheel?" She mused, "You can't do those in the pool."

Yuri shrugged, "You can try." Probably not the best sales pitch.

Luci looked at him suspiciously, far more perceptively than a five-year-old should, but waded a few feet out nonetheless, taking the correct stance and experimenting with different ways to perform an underwater cartwheel. Yuri was fairly sure that it couldn't really be achieved, but it was entertaining the little girl, so his goal had been met.

As they kept seeming to, Yuri's thoughts drifted back to that oh-so-unpleasant subject and began to build again, distracting Yuri enough that he jumped when Luci appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, at his shoulder.

"Can I braid your hair?" She asked chirpily, "It's pretty and yellow; it would look nice."

"Uh--" Yuri began but was interrupted when Luci squealed and pointed at something over his shoulder.

"Uncle Beka!" She cried, and Yuri's stomach sank as the little girl clambered out of the water and raced towards Otabek, who had just poked his head out of the back door.

Otabek laughed, the warm sound filling the air, and was momentarily heedless of any hesitance or qualms. "Luci!"

He bent and caught her as she launched herself into his arms, walking down the steps to swing her gently around on the flat ground. That tightness in Yuri's chest increased from where it had been dissolving as he watched the little girl fly in the air, hair whirling and whipping around her face as she was spun. While he watched though, Yuri could see how careful Otabek was being, his grip firm but not painful on Luci's armpits, and how controlled the motion of spinning her was.

"You got so big," Otabek said, laughing as Luci attached herself to his chest like a monkey after he tried to set her down. "Stop growing!"

"No!" Luci squealed gleefully, wrapping her little arms around his neck, "I missed you, Uncle Beka! Daddy said I couldn't see you because you went on vacation, but he wouldn't let me call you-- why not? And why didn't Uncle Yurio go too? Mama and Daddy always go on vacation together-- with me!" Otabek's smile faltered slightly but he wasn't given the chance to talk, Luci continuing on and speaking in the excited, rapid-fire way all children did. "Uncle Beka!" She cried suddenly, eyes huge and little, rosebud lips stretched into a huge smile, "Will you braid my hair?"

Otabek blinked. "Sure," he said, and let her down, gently depositing her next to the pool, which she promptly threw her feet over the edge of and kicked happily, splashing water everywhere.

Yuri raised a hand slightly to shield his face from the displaced water, and, seemingly, that was the first time Otabek noticed his presence. As Otabek knelt slowly behind Luci and began to part her hair, he glanced apprehensively at Yuri, his eyes finding the swimsuit and the prominence of Yuri's abdomen, rising in clear view above the water. Otabek refocused on Luci's hair, an expression crossing his face too quickly for Yuri to read.

"I didn't realize we were babysitting," Otabek said, valiantly striking up a conversation topic and ignoring how his own eyes seemed to flick again to Yuri's swimsuit every few seconds. "I would've gotten something special from the store."

Of course, he'd gone grocery shopping-- Yuri kept meaning to, but every time he got around to it he found that Otabek already had.

"You're home early," Yuri said, shifting as nonchalantly as he could to move to a lower step: the water swelled and rose so just the top of his abdomen remained dry.

Judging by the slight, quickly suppressed wince Otabek showed, Yuri's words came out more curtly than he had intended.

"They rearranged my hours at the studio," Otabek said after a second, resolutely keeping his eyes on the intricate plait winding down Luci's back after another glance showed him Yuri's movement, and he bit his lip. "They swapped my time with another musician's: she goes in on Mondays and Fridays now, while I'm off. We just finalized it today."

Yuri nodded silently and Otabek tied off Luci's hair with the small hairband perpetually on his wrist.

"Thank you!" Luci said, all smiles, and hugged Otabek in a way that dragged him dangerously close to the edge of the pool. He set a hand down on its edge to steady himself and Yuri shifted lower; the water just below his shoulders now. "Now braid Uncle Yurio's!"

Both Yuri and Otabek froze, but, before Otabek could speak, Yuri was already shaking his head.

"No," he said, quiet but firm.

"Why?" Luci whined lightly,

Yuri took in a breath, eyes resolutely on the shimmering water. "My hair's a rat's nest right now," he said after a moment. "It tangles really badly whenever it gets in the pool." Luci's eyes moved to where only the last few inches of Yuri's hair swirled in the water, the rest perfectly dry.

Luci scrunched her little eyebrows and pouted, "Uncle Bekaaa," she begged, "please braid Uncle Yurio's hair! It would look so pretty!"

"Uh," Otabek started, glancing at Yuri, whose gaze stayed deliberately on the rippling, blue water surrounding him. "I don't think so," he said after giving up on meeting Yuri's eyes. Luci had to have asked for a braid. "I have some work to do, right now. Why don't you go back to playing in the pool?" Luci's complaints were tactfully ignored as Otabek gave her one last hug, ignoring the way her sopping bathing suit got him wet, and made his way back inside.

Their time in the pool didn't last long after that, Luci seeming to count any further moment without Otabek playing with her, a moment wasted. Not half an hour had passed before Yuri was being all but pulled inside by the little girl, determined to spend time with 'Uncle Beka.'

Yuri had only enough time to force her into normal clothes, towel her hair, and wait so he could do the same, before she was off and hurrying to the dining room where she'd spotted Otabek working on his laptop-- he hadn't been using the office since moving back in, seeming hesitant to occupy the space should Yuri need it, though he rarely did.

At this point, Yuri excused himself to the kitchen to prepare an afternoon snack for Luci. He took out the food Yuuri had sent with his daughter and cut up some strawberries and apple slices for the girl, though he took his time in doing so. When he eventually could delay no longer, he brought the snacks out to the dining room, and, upon finding no one there, the living room, where he could hear Luci giggling and Otabek's low, warm laugh.

As Yuri approached the room, he was met with the sight of Luci and Otabek playing with the dolls she had brought with her, and, to Yuri's slight surprise (though it had happened often enough that it shouldn't have surprised him anymore) a princess tiara that Luci had to have come with sitting on Otabek's head.

"Dance with me!" Luci cried gleefully, giggling when Otabek moved his Ken doll to seemingly embrace Luci's Barbie.

"It would be my pleasure." Otabek said in a low, formal voice that had Luci giggling and the former smiling slightly.

Luci made their dolls dance for a few seconds, then, getting bored, pushed them into Otabek's hands so he could take up the task.

"Wait!" Luci said suddenly, "They need music! Do you have music?" She asked Otabek urgently, eyes wide and alarmed at the thought that the prince and princess wouldn't have a serenade for their waltz.

"Can you say please?" Otabek asked, laughter dancing in his eyes as Luci immediately nodded frantically

"Please!!"

"Thank you," Otabek said, nodding his approval, "and it just so happens that I do have music." Reaching into his pocket, Otabek produced his phone, turning on a classical ballad quietly for the dolls to dance to.

Luci hummed along as the dolls revolved on the carpet, giggling occasionally when Otabek moved them so the Barbie was held in a pairs lift above Ken's head.

Yuri didn't know how long he stood watching them, concealed by the doorway, but what seemed very suddenly and all too soon, Luci noticed him.

"Uncle Yurio!" She cried, beaming, and Otabek's frame stiffened as Yuri froze even in his immobile state. He felt guilty, though he knew that watching a little girl play dolls with her uncle wasn't a crime. "Come play too!"

Otabek turned, obviously grasping for any air of nonchalance he could find, and failing spectacularly.

"I brought snacks," Yuri said stiffly, all too aware of Otabek's keen gaze boring into him, the man undoubtedly wondering how long Yuri had been lurking in the doorway and why he had been at all. "Luci, it's time for a break; you need to eat something."

Barbie still in hand, Luci hopped up from her previous position on the floor and scurried over to where Yuri had reluctantly come further into the room after being discovered. Yuri set the small tray of fruits and such down on the coffee table, handing Luci a juice box Yuuri had packed as well.

Unable to find a feasible excuse to vacate the room once more, Yuri slowly sat down on the far side of the sofa, close to the coffee table and almost blocked from view by Luci's kneeling form.

Having scarfed down her food and finished her juice box -- quickly enough that Yuri was vaguely concerned that she would choke -- Luci turned her gaze upon Yuri, puppy-dog eyes coming out in full force and Barbie in hand. "Will you play dollies with me and Uncle Beka?" She asked hopefully, her expression sweet enough to make Yuri feel like an absolute monster should he deny her.

Yuri glanced over to where Otabek remained kneeling on the ground with his doll, his back perfectly straight and his body angled in a way that didn't exactly put his back to Yuri, but made the prospect of conversation difficult. He hadn't moved since Yuri had entered the room.

Yuri also looked on to where he'd be expected to play if he said yes. The idea of trying to awkwardly kneel down on the rug, hindered immensely by his abdomen, made Yuri feel quite sure that he could not play with them: maneuvering himself gracefully onto the couch had been difficult enough, he didn't want to embarrass himself any more than necessary by trying to get to the ground without losing his balance.

"I don't think so," Yuri said at last, "why don't you two keep playing your game?"

Luci pouted, "Please! It's fun!"

Yuri shook his head, "No, not today."

"Fine." The little girl grumped, looking thoroughly put out. Then, seeming to have a brilliant idea, her face lit up. "Watch our game instead!" She chirped, positively buoyant at the prospect of performing with her dolls before Yuri. "You can see the play!"

"Luci, why don't we--" Otabek tried, speaking for the first time since Yuri's arrival, and seeming thoroughly disinclined to enact the five-year-old's idea. Luci cut him off before he could get any further, though.

"Please?" Luci directed her plea at Yuri, imploring with her big, brown eyes and pouty, pink lips.

Yuri hesitated a moment before, slowly, "Alright." He said finally, "Show me your play."

Luci beamed and immediately catapulted herself over to where Otabek still knelt, beginning to talk in her high-pitched, Barbie voice and moving her doll accordingly.

Otabek remained still for a moment, before, with an "Uncle Beka, now!" He began to participate; slowly, some mix of apprehension and embarrassment weighting his motions. They had just gotten to the part where the dolls started to dance again (Otabek still incredibly stiff on arriving so) when the doorbell rang.

"Let me get it," Otabek said, apparently seeking an escape from the palpable tension in the room, though his lips quirked as Luci jumped up and hurled herself through the house to get to the door. "Luci, let me open it!" He called as he followed her, and, reaching the door, pulled it open.

Victor stood on the other side and leveled Otabek with one of the coldest glares he'd ever seen, eyes flicking from the princess tiara on his head to the excited, giggling Luci holding his sleeve.

"Daddy!" Luci cried, throwing herself into her father's arms.

Victor caught her but didn't take his eyes off of Otabek. "I didn't know you'd be home," he said. The 'if I had, I wouldn't have let Luci come,' was implied.

"My hours got switched," Otabek replied, voice and face stoic and impassive.

"Ah," Victor said coldly, glaring at him and stepping through the doorway. "Naturally. And you didn't deign to let anyone know?"

Otabek's jaw tightened, "It only happened today. I just found out myself."

Victor sniffed. "Naturally." Then, turning to Luci, "Go get your backpack, honey." Obediently, Luci, once let down out of her father's arms, scampered off to the living room in search of it.

Otabek, trying to defuse the situation, stepped back, gesturing vaguely at the kitchen, visible beyond a doorway. "Can I offer you a drink? It's hot today."

"Yes, it normally is in the middle of a heatwave," Victor replied snappishly, saying so as if to imply that the phenomenon was entirely Otabek's fault. "But no: I just want to get my daughter and go."

"Okay." Otabek replied, breathing deeply through his nose.

The silence rose and coiled around them, animosity charged and testosterone practically malodorous in the air.

"Why were you with Luci?" Victor asked suddenly, "We asked Yuri to watch her, where is he? Why are you around my daughter? I see no reason for you to be."

"Yuri's in the living room, where Luci and I just were." Otabek's jaw was tight, "And Luci wanted to play with me-- she said she'd missed me while I was on 'vacation.'"

Victor's eyes narrowed, voice low and incensed. "How dare--"

"Daddy!" Both men turned to see Luci, backpack in tow, standing in the doorway. "Why are you yelling at Uncle Beka?"

Victor shot Otabek a dirty look as though this was entirely his fault. "Don't worry about that, honey," he said, smiling at the little girl, "he just made me mad, that's all. Are you ready to go?"

"Why?" Luci asked, completely ignoring the second part of what her father had said. She blinked owlishly up at Victor. "Did he steal your apple?" Both men stared. "Cody took Allie's apple at lunch," she explained, dropping names and expecting them to know the people they belonged to, the way children so often did. "Allie got mad and then Mrs. Aivich made Cody give it back. Did Uncle Beka steal your apple?" If it were a different situation, Otabek would've been very tempted to laugh, but at the cold, stony look on Victor's face, it wasn't as funny as it might have been.

"No, honey," the man said, giving his daughter a small but genuine smile, before switching to glare at Otabek again, "Otabek didn't do anything bad to me." But Luci wasn't listening anymore, now babbling happily about how Olivia and Dahlia and her played horsies at recess.

Giving Otabek one last withering glare, Victor picked up his daughter and swept out of the house, slamming the door behind him before Luci even had time to turn and wave goodbye at Otabek. Otabek sighed, and Yuri, standing just out of sight behind the kitchen doorway, tried to figure out what the hell he'd just overheard.

**A/N**

NEXT UPDATE ON AUGUST 7TH.

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