тнιѕ ιѕ an oтayυrι oneѕнoт!

•×•×•

Yurio scrolled through his phone, his Siamese cat on his lap. It was a rainy Wendsday, and practice was in an hour.

Instagram had nothing new, except that picture of Viktor and Yuri snuggled up together with the caption:
"Came out!!! He's mine now. ;)"

Yurio thought love in general was gross, but he was just glad that Viktor would stop ranting to him about that pig.

His phone chimed; a text. Yurio felt his face warm the tiniest bit when he read the contact.

Otabek.

Yurio couldn't explain, much less figure out why Otabek caused him to feel so weird inside. Otabek made him feel like a small tabby kitten instead of the fierce lion he really was.

oтaвeĸ: prιveт yυrιo! praтιĸa ne nacнalo do 4. delaт' vy ĸнoтeт' ĸ тυѕovaт'ѕya?
( Translation: Hey Yurio! Practice doesn't start until 4:00. Do you want to hang out? )

Otabek spoke Russian? That was new, even though Yurio often saw bits of Russian sprinkled in his texts.

Hesitantly, Yurio responded:

yυrιo: da ĸonecнno. dolzнen ya vѕтreтιт' vy gde-тo ιlι вυdeм vy vyвιraт' мenya vverĸн?
( Translation: Yeah, sure. Do you want me to meet you someplace or will you pick me up? )

A few minutes later, Yurio got his response.

oтaвeĸ: вol'noy vyвιraт' vy vverĸн. vιdeт' vy v a мalo! ;)
( Translation: I'll pick you up. See you in a few. )

With a straight face, Yurio shifted on his couch a bit, signaling for Lev to get off his lap. Swiftly, the Siamese leapt from his lap and onto the coffee table.

Yurio headed straight for his closet, throwing together a casual outfit. He decided on a plain black shirt with a leopard print sweater with matching sweatpants and sneakers.

Yurio jogged downstairs, waiting for Otabek by the door way. Suddenly, it occurred to Yurio that Otabek had no idea where he lived, since he'd told no one; he liked to avoid people in his apartment as much as possible.

As soon as Yurio reached for his phone in his sweater, it rang. Otabek.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Yurio. I just remembered that I don't know where you live... Mind telling me?"

"Yeah... Just don't tell anyone, Beka." Yurio said sharply as he proceeded to tell Otabek his address. The last thing he wanted was those fangirls stalking him or Victor and Yuri stopping over.

A black motorcycle pulled up in front of the small complex merely 14 minutes later. Otabek's face was partial covered by his scarf, helmet, and sunglasses but Yurio's couldn't help but think that this just made Beka more mysterious.

He gave off a bad boy vibe that was somehow gentle and was clearly the silent type but that drew Yurio in as he greeted Otabek.

"Hey Beka. You have any plans on where we're going?"

"Not really, but we could try to wing it."

Damm... How's he so cool and collected doing even the simpliest things? Yurio thought, admiring the older boy. He got onto the motorcycle, put on a helmet and held onto Otabek's waist when they started to speed through Russia.

The buildings were a blur and the people were mere strokes on the sidewalk. When Otabek drove, he drove as if it was the end of the world, or as if some of Yurio's fangirls were chasing behind them.

Yurio gripped Otabek's waist tighter to fend off the slipping sensation he was feeling inside, even though he was secure and safe on the motorcycle.

Despite this, Yurio enjoyed the ride, with the wind whipping at his hair and the thrill of speed he felt; so it's accurate to say he was slightly disappointed when Otabek's slowed down and parked in front of a quaint café.

Yurio slowly let go of Otabek's waist and a small part of him felt let down. He brushed this off as disappointment from the ride's e nd, but that small part of him longed to be in contact with Otabek once more.

Ugh. I feel like that pig... All gooey and weak on the inside... I refuse to let that happen! I'm the freaking White Tiger of Russia; I am fierce and shall not let some guy march into my life make me vulnerable and helpless!

Otabek glanced at Yurio, sending him a small smile as he held the door open for Yurio. Yurio stared at this gesture in surprise for a few but quickly held his head high and marched right into the café. People stared as Yurio stomped to the counter and slammed his hand down to tell the cashier his drink order.

Otabek looked at the boy curiously, almost dreamily. Yurio could sense Otabek's gaze on him and he tensed up. He didn't mind being watched by large crowds but with individual people... He put up his tough exterior and acted as he he didn't give two gold medals.

Yurio slid to the side to pick up his drink and Otabek came up behind him, leaning down to his neck. He put his hands on the boy's shoulders and murmured in his ear,

"What'd you order?"

The younger boy froze and let out a breath. This guy will not take me down, he thought frustratedly. He swerved around and was met with Otabek's neck. Yurio craned his head up to meet Otabek's face.

"Pure Black Coffee; no cream, no sugar."

"Damn..." Otabek muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Yurio to hear and shoot him a smug smirk. "How do you drink that stuff?"

"It's easy once you get used to the taste." Yurio took a quick sip as if it was a shot.

"I might try that sometime." Otabek sat at a small table and Yurio followed in suit.

"Hey, aren't you going to order anything?"

"Not that hungry or thirsty... Just to hang out. But... That's not the only reason I asked to hang out."

Yurio stayed silent waiting for Otabek to continue, sipping his coffee. The Kazakh hesitantly continued.

"I also came to ask you a question. How do you feel about pair skating?"

Yurio coughed, almost choking on the coffee he had in his mouth. He took a few seconds to recover with Otabek's help but eventually managed to put together a response.

"I don't have any opinions on pair skating but I don't hate it. It's mostly for show and is hard to get down, but if you have the qualifications it could be fun or whatever."

"What exactly do you mean by 'qualifications '?"

"Well, you most definitely have to take weight and height into consideration... Then there's the way they work together. There needs to be a strong relationship, professionally and personally; like as friends. In other words, there needs to be chemistry." Yurio explained, and Otabek nodded.

"Would you ever consider it?..." Otabek tried to drop it calmly and Yurio had to stop for a second to calm his head before he answered.

Otabek keeps asking me about pair skating... Does he possibly want to do pair skating with me?! I mean, I wouldn't mind that much, I know he'd be a great partner unlike Mila who always lifts me up over her head as if she's going to throw me off a cliff. Plus, we have all of the qualifications... It has to be what he's going to ask me. And even if it isn't I have to stay casual and careless!

"Mmm, I would, depending on who I'd be skating with. Definitely not Mila, if she lifted me up she'd probably drop me. Not Yuuri, he's nowhere near as strong. JJ is too arrogant and self centered... Chris is too perverted... Phichit will follow me everywhere with that horrid selfie stick of his. Victor is too loyal to Yuuri and Georgi is too dramatic. That leaves... You." Yurio breathed out the last part delicately.

Otabek looked away silently. "I know, I'm not the ideal skating partner and I know it's not really your thing but I thought it'd be fun. I just couldn't find the right person."

"Who said it wasn't my thing? I said I would with the right partner, didn't I? Clearly you fit the qualifications; we support each other's skating, you're tall and strong while I'm petite and light. Not to mention we're friends. And you never know. This whole pair skating thing could be fun." Yurio flashed Otabek a smile.

Otabek let out a breath he self consciously holding and returned the smile. "Actually there's one qualification that I want to change."

Yurio frowned, setting down his coffee. "And that is?"

"The friends part." Otabek said, glancing at Yurio for his reaction. Yurio's face immediately fell and he looked disappointed for a second, but regained himself so quickly it was as if it never happened.

"Oh... I see. I guess it was wrong for me to assume that we're friends." Yurio huffed.

   "Wait Yurio, that's not what I meant-"

       "Just forget it! I was too hopeful anyways." Yurio scoffed and stormed out of the café.

Great. I let him into my life and he stomps all over my happiness... Boys are so confusing. Not to mention cruel... And people say girls are bad. Clearly they've never experienced boys.

Otabek sat there for a moment before running out of the café to Yurio who was already storming down the street.

"Yurio, wait!"

Otabek took a deep breath and met Yurio's eyes with his, clutching his wrist from behind. "I... I want us to be a bit more than that... More than just friends."

Yurio froze in the middle of the street, avoiding eye contact with Otabek, who stared at Yuri with sadness.

"That's the last thing I wanted to get off of my chest. If I disgusted you, just please stay away from me... I can't take you hating me-"

Otabek was cut off from a sharp laugh from Yurio.

"You damn bastard..."

Yurio had figured it all out now. The fuzzy feeling, the blushing. Everything.

He had broken the one rule he set for himself:

♥never fall ιn love♥

"I could never freaking hate you. That's impossible." Yurio spat out frustratedly.

With that, Yurio swerved around, stood up on the tips of his toes, grabbed the hem of Otabek's jacket and crashed his lips onto Otabek's.

Otabek stumbled back from shock but quickly wrapped his arms around Yurio's waist while Yuri wrapped his hands around Otabek's neck.

"Mmmn." Otabek groaned when Yurio broke the kiss for air after a few moments.

There was a thin line of saliva connecting their lips and Otabek broke it by giving Yurio another kiss. The smaller boy was breathing a little bit heavier than normal, but was quickly regaining his breath.

"Did you enjoy that as much as I did?" Otabek huffed, catching his breath as well.

Enjoy that?; an understatement. It was like the 4th of July in my heart, candy on my lips and World War II in my head.

"You taste like mint..." Yurio muttered hazily as a response and Otabek smiled.

"And you taste like coffee. Really nice coffee."

Yurio smiled. "Could we go to the park?" He glanced at the clear park across the street.

   "Sure thing... Kitten."