Work Text:
Mila was excited.
She was excited for many reasons. The main one was she was finally moving into her dorm room. But the second excitement was getting the call that she was going to be a Desk Assistant at her dorm. A Desk Assistant didn’t sound like too much fun but it was a way to make some extra money. Besides Katsuki had talked about how he had enjoyed it and it sounded like simple work for decent money. Plus, she would be able to work on her homework while she was working.
Mila was walking up the drive-way of the Nikiforvo-Katsuki home with a tank-top in hand. Her car parked on the street, full of her stuff for her room. Viktor, Katsuki, and Yuri had offered to help move her stuff in to the dorm mid-morning. Of course, she lived in the city and could honestly continue to live at home but her parents had encouraged her to live in the dorm (at least the first year) to get the full college experience, as they had called it.
Knocking, Mila heard a muffed, “come in.” Pushing open the door, Mila saw Katsuki placing some textbooks on the kitchen table. The red-head was trying to remember if she had ever seen the family eat at the table, most of the time it was used as a massive desk for homework.
“Ah, Mila. Viktor is getting the last of Otabek’s stuff in the car,” Katsuki said in greeting.
“Is Yuri in his room? I have the tank-top he asked me to bring,” Mila said.
“I think he’s in his bathroom, putting on some lotion for his tattoo,” Katsuki answered.
“Did it turn out nice?” Mila asked. She was happy for the brat but a bit miffed that he had gotten the tattoo without her.
“Yes, it did. You can go see for yourself,” Katsuki said with a smile.
Mila gave a wave as she walked downstairs to Yuri’s room. The bathroom door was open and the older teen watched as Yuri was rubbing lotion over a brown mass of ink that stuck out on the blond’s pale skin. The tattoo took up the whole space of Yuri’s left shoulder blade. Yuri had been secretive about what he was getting tattooed.
“Is that…is that a pirozhki?” Mila asked softly.
It looked so much like the Russian dish, like two pirozhkis leaning against one another, one of them had a bite taken from it and Mila could clearly see beef and cabbage. There was even some steam with faded grey ink making the appearance of having just come fresh from the oven. Stepping closer and Mila could see, written in black ink and in Russian was a name underneath the pirozhkis.
Nikolai Plisetsky
Watching as Yuri turned to face her, a light blush crossing his face. “Da,” Yuri whispered.
“It suits you, brat,” Mila said smiling.
“Spaiso, Baba,” Yuri replied. “Did you bring it?”
“Yes, I did and I’m going to be upset if it looks better on you than on me,” Mila said handing over the plain dark-grey tank-top. Mila had questioned when she received the text last night from the younger. He claimed that he wanted to borrow one of her racerback tank-tops so the cloth wouldn’t rub against his tattoo.
Yuri carefully put on the top, hissing slightly when the material hit the tattoo. Mila watched as the blond turned to look back at the mirror to see that the tank-top was not touching the ink. “How does it look?” Yuri asked, doing a little spin to show off his outfit.
Yuri was wearing plain black athletic shorts that Mila was pretty sure were Otabek’s, if the fact that they looked to be rolled-up at least twice and tied tight so not to fall off. He also had on black socks and was probably going to wear his running shoes today to help with the move-in. Yuri also had on the pendent Otabek had gotten him for his sixteenth birthday, nearly six months ago. The younger’s blond hair was in a sloppy ponytail.
“Like you’re ready to get sweaty moving me into my dorm room,” Mila said.
“Who said I was helping you?” Yuri shot back.
“Yuri! Mila! We need to get going!” Katsuki’s voice came from the top of the stairs.
The pair raced upstairs and Mila watched as Yuri bummed into Otabek in his rush up the stairs and the older teen simply helped balance his boyfriend to stop him from falling. The group stepped outside and Mila moved towards her car, thankfully the passenger seat was free of stuff (Mila hadn’t bothered to pack some of her winter clothes yet, knowing she’d have at least two months before having to worry about wintry weather).
“I’ll ride with Mila,” Katsuki offered and Mila heard Viktor whine. “Viktor, this way we can unload her stuff and I can go park her car. That is if you’re fine with that?” Katsuki turned to her. Mila nodded, she trusted the Japanese man’s driving over Viktor’s. “The University is very focused on moving cars along quickly but hopefully since you two are in the first section it shouldn’t be too busy.”
“That’s fine with me,” Mila said with a shrug. Truthfully, she had never spent time alone with Katsuki. Sure, she had been invading his and Viktor’s house for the past four years but always to hang out with Yuri. The short car ride would allow for Mila to pick Katsuki’s brain about being a Desk Assistant.
“Ask away,” Katsuki promoted as Mila followed behind Viktor as he turned down University Drive towards where vehicles were instructed to begin driving on campus in an orderly fashion instead of a chaotic situation.
Mila smiled, forgetting how good Katsuki was at reading people. The man was getting a graduate degree in psychology after all. “Did you enjoy your time as a Desk Assistant?”
“Very much so, expect the early morning shifts, those were always a pain but I did only live two floors above where I worked so I can’t complain too much of getting to the front desk by 5:50,” Katsuki explained.
“5:50?” Mila repeated turning to look at the older man, her car was at a stand-still with all the people moving in. “Why 5:50 and not 6?”
“Desk shifts start at ten minutes before the hour, I never knew why and I just never questioned it. Besides I planned to never have shift when the mail came so that was nice. Mail was always a pain. Each hour has its own expectations on what the DA or CA is supposed to do. Simply stuff like changing the duty board or cleaning the space,” Katsuki went on.
“Wait? CAs have desk shifts too?” Mila asked as turned her attention to the man next to her car. “Lawrence Hall.”
“Keep driving and following the signs to Lawrence, it’s a bit tricky to get there but more helpers are along the way,” the man stated waving them along.
Mila focused on catching up to Viktor that she jumped when Katsuki answered her question. “CAs are required to do two hours every week, as part of their job. The CAs have probably already picked their shifts and the Hall Director will gather the other DAs to fill in the schedule tonight, so make sure you know when your classes are and if there are any clubs you have your eye on.
“Because Lawrence is small, there are only five CAs so that leaves it open to more shifts for Desk Assistants. The weekends also need to be covered and you’ll work every other weekend. When I was at Lawrence we only had seven Desk Assistants and I was always put on the weekend with only three of us so we worked six-hour shifts,” Katsuki described.
Mila blinked, taking in all the information, and stopped her car as they parked in front of Lawrence Hall. Lawrence was one of the older buildings on campus and was where a lot of international students lived. Of course, the University was an international school and other dorms had floors dedicated to the international student population, Lawrence exclusive housed international students, usually by pairing them with an American student.
“Everything will be explained by an experienced DA or a CA,” Katsuki finished as he opened his car door, Mila did the same. Mila was barely outside in the late summer-heat when she watched as the most beautiful woman she had ever seen come charging towards Katsuki.
~
“Yuuri!”
Yuuri turned to see Sara Crispino walking towards him with a bright smile and her arms open wide. Yuuri returned the hug but quickly glanced around to make sure her brother wasn’t going to leap out and demand that he release his sister. A relaxed laugh echoed in his ear.
“Don’t worry, Micky is over at Shoemaker dealing with his own CAs and residents,” Sara explained as she let go of Yuuri and took a step back. “But I do understand why you think it would be a habit.”
Yuuri couldn’t help himself as he let out a small, nervous laugh. He had known Sara and Michele for the past four years. Yuuri had worked with both when he was a DA at Lawrence, the twins being a year behind him.
“Have you ever left Lawrence since you came here?” Yuuri asked.
“Nope! DA my first year, and then CA the next three. Now Assistant Hall Director for the next two!” Sara declared proudly. “I have a great staff, I don’t see any problem too big for us to handle.”
“Yeah, Phichit said that this year seemed better than last year, even with the last-minute changes,” Yuuri commented.
“Feel free to help any time now, Katsudon,” Yura snapped as he moved another box out of Mila’s car.
Yuuri blinked, he had been wrapped up in catching up with Sara he forgot that he was supposed to be helping unload the cars. I’m turning into Viktor…
“Ignore him, love, it’s fine,” Viktor as he put the bag of Otabek’s bedding on the ground. “You can watch the stuff while I help the kids move in.”
“O-okay,” Yuuri said as he watched the others empty the two vehicles.
“Is Little Yuri moving in already? Gahh… I feel so old!” Sara exclaimed.
Yuuri gave a frighten chuckle at the nickname. Yura had always hated being called ‘Little Yuri’ but the teen preferred it over what his sister, Mari, tried to call him. The first (and only time) Mari had called Yura ‘Yurio’ had ended with the twelve-year-old running out of his parents onsen (the trio had been visiting Yuuri’s parents for a month in the summer) and getting lost in Hasetsu. After that incident, there had been a long talk about identity and abandonment and nicknames. Yuuri’s family generally called Yura ‘Yuri-kun’ or ‘Koneko’
“No, Yuri is going to be a junior. The University has two more years to prepare before his arrival. But with Otabek,” Yuuri paused and nodded his head at the older teen, “and Yura dating, he will be here a lot.”
“Yeah, I remember Phichit saying something about that a few days ago. You’ve talked to Little Yuri about rules and stuff like that, right?” Yuuri nodded. “Good. I’m not too worried about him being in Lawrence a lot…” Yuuri was glad that Sara wasn’t blind to know that Yura would be at the dorm a lot. “…but I am worried about how Seung-Gil will handle it. Seung-Gil will be a good CA when it comes to dealing with incidents and University rules but dealing with personal problems… I worry.”
Yuuri worried about that as well. When Phichit had told him that the young Korean man was the last-minute replacement for Lawrence’s CA staff Yuuri had hoped Seung-Gil wouldn’t be Otabek’s CA. That wish didn’t come true. Though Yura would have avoided Lawrence if Phichit was Otabek’s CA, Yuuri thought. Yura didn’t mind Phichit…in small doses. (“He’s just so happy! How can someone be that happy all the time! And you and the old man say I’m addicted to Instagram. He posts at least three selfies every day!”)
“You’ll keep an eye on him, too?” Yuuri asked because he worried.
“Of course, but international students don’t cause too much trouble,” Sara replied.
“I’m not worried about the international students,” Yuuri countered.
The University was an international school; therefore, it wasn’t surprising that there was a lot of international students. But it was the American students who came to the University that scared Yuuri the most. During Yuuri’s first year there had been bigot American living two doors down from his room. He had had a few runs-in with the guy but thankfully the guy was kicked out of Lawrence by the time mid-terms rolled around. The guy had been tall and had no problem backing people into a corner or tripping them in the hallway.
“Excuse me, Sara, can you help us with this issue?” a brunette girl wearing a Residential Life polo asked.
“Of course. It was great seeing you again Yuuri! We’ll have to catch up when we have more time! You still have my number, right?” Sara called out as she walked backwards to help her staff.
“Yeah! Or you can get my number from Phichit. Message me when you have free time!” Yuuri offered with a wave as he moved to help get the last box out of Mila’s car.
“Who was that?” Mila asked.
“Sara Crispino, she’s the Assistant Hall Director of Lawrence,” Yuuri answered.
“So, she’s one of my bosses?”
“She’s actually your only boss. Lawrence is run by a graduate student. You’ll report directly to Sara. It would probably good to introduce yourself to her because you’re the last-minute desk assistant who replaced Seung-Gil,” Yuuri explained and watched in amusement as Mila blushed.
“I’ll go do that, then,” Mila declared. “Thanks, Yuuri.”
Yuuri blinked in surprise, that was probably the first time Mila had called him Yuuri in the four years he had known the red-head. It’s going to be an interesting year, that’s for sure, Yuuri thought.
~
“That’s not obnoxious at all,” Yura muttered as he pushed open the dorm room.
A giant Canadian flag was hanging over the bed on the left side of the room and the blanket covering the bed was that of the Canadian flag as well. Otabek hummed in agreement but he honestly expected this with JJ as his room-mate. He still hadn’t told his boyfriend that his college roommate was going to be his host-brother/friend he had when he lived in Canada for a year. But in Otabek’s defense he had only found this out three days ago.
“It won’t be that bad,” Otabek muttered in Russian as he placed his laptop bag on the desk and rolled his suitcase with his sound mixing equipment next to it. Yuri placed the box of beddings and toilettes right next to the bed. Despite having already seen the dorm-room before, Otabek was still happy for the set-up of the room.
The room was spilt down the middle; a bed, a desk, and a closet for each person on each side. Making a clear sign of whose side was who’s side. The room itself was decent sized, with plenty of space in between the beds. The desk was small, only big enough to fit his laptop and have some space to work. Above the desk was a cork-board and a shelf. The closet was half hanging space and half drawers.
Otabek wasn’t too worried about sharing a room with Jean, he had done it before. Granted, Jean’s room had been bigger than the dorm. The Kazakh teen knew he could handle JJ and that the Canadian would respect his personal space. Otabek could handle JJ’s JJ-ness but he was concerned on how Yura would handle the personality of his old host-brother.
Maybe Jean has cooled off this past year, Otabek thought but as he looked around the room, the Kazakh teen knew that it probably wasn’t the case.
“Let’s go get more of your stuff, I’m sure they want Viktor to move the car,” Yura said already out the door.
Otabek nodded as he followed the blond. As much as he worried about his DJ stuff, he really didn’t want to keep opening his dorm-room over and over as the two made trips, Otabek placed the door stop to prop the door open. Yuuri was outside watching Mila’s and his stuff while he talked with an old college friend. Otabek’s room was on the third floor but with other people moving in, trying to catch the elevator would be a waste of time, besides he didn’t have that much stuff.
It only took the pair a couple of trips before all off Otabek’s stuff was in his room and Yura was hanging up some of his clothes in the closet as Otabek was setting up his laptop. The window was open sucking a light breeze in with the open door. Otabek put his school supplies into the drawers of the desk and Yura was making his bed when a loud, booming voice broke the peaceful silence.
“Otabek, man, it’s been a long time!” JJ shouted and Otabek had barely enough time to turn before he was caught up in a hug from the Canadian. Glancing over JJ’s shoulder, Otabek could see Yuri shoot him a frown and his ‘what the fuck’ face.
“JJ,” Otabek greeted as he gently untangled himself from JJ and moved to stand next to Yura.
Otabek watched as JJ turned his attention to Yura and his grin grew. “Man, those pictures do not to your princess justice. He’s almost as beautiful as my Bella,” JJ said with a grin. “I’m Jean-Jacques Leroy, call me JJ. It’s JJ Style!”
Otabek didn’t even need to look at Yuri to know that his boyfriend’s eyebrow was twitching and that he was struggling to control his temper. “You know this shithead?” Yura hissed in Russian turning to look at Otabek.
“Da, he was my host-brother when I was in Canada. And speak English, Yura, it’s rude to speak a language other people can’t understand,” Otabek said, giving the younger teen a firm look.
“Tch,” Yuri huffed. “If he wants to understand what I’m saying he should learn the language.”
“Are you going to introduce me to your princess, Beks?” JJ asked, completely misreading the tense situation. Otabek was glad to know that some things never changed.
Putting a gentle hand on Yura’s wrist to stop the blond from punching JJ’s face. Honestly, Otabek didn’t know if it was the nickname Jean kept calling Yura or what he called Otabek that had the young Russian upset.
“Yura, this is JJ my old host-brother from my year in Canada,” Otabek begin, making a point to translate what he had already told Yuri. “Jean, this is my boyfriend, Yuri, he’ll be here a lot.”
Otabek knew that to be true. Yura didn’t do a fall sport and had ballet practice with Madam Baranovsaya four times a week on campus after school. The high schooler had a University ID that had a certain number of meals a week at Gravey, the University cafeteria. The benefits of being the family member of multiple University professors.
“Nice to meet you, Princess,” JJ greeted holding out his hand.
Otabek watched as Yura glared at the limb before he turned back around to finish making the bed. Jean opened his mouth but the Kazakh shook his head. “I see you brought your guitar,” Otabek pointed out as he gestured to the case that was under the bed and stand next to the desk.
“And I see you brought your key-board. We can jam out like we used to,” JJ declared loudly. “Still interesting in music production?”
“Yes, still music with an emphasis in singing?” Otabek asked, trying to be polite.
“Yep!” JJ said, the ‘p’ sound popping at the end.
“Why’d you transfer?” Yura asked, impressing Otabek. It wasn’t as rude as it could have been, Otabek thought.
“Better music program,” JJ answered with a shrug. “Plus, Beks is going here and it was always fun collaborating with him on songs.”
Yura huffed and went back to unpacking some of Otabek’s stuff. Otabek slide his key-board under his bed. “Still dating Isabella?” Otabek asked, trying to distract JJ to give Yuri some space from the Canadian’s loud personality.
“Yeah, thinking about proposing,” JJ happily announced.
“Congrats, Jean,” Otabek mumbled, his face tilting in a slight smile. He was happy for Jean. Isabella was an amazing woman and had this great calming effect on his friend. And when Isabella was around JJ was much better at thinking before speaking.
“Is that a tattoo of a potato?” JJ asked.
Which would have come in handy at that very moment.
“Yurochka,” Otabek whispered stepping closer to the blond. Otabek could see Yura’s hands turn white and his whole body shaking. Placing a hand on the small of Yuri’s back to turn the younger towards him. “Yurochka, breathe.”
Yura turned in a flash and Otabek could see liquid forming in the younger’s green eyes. The older teen didn’t know if they were tears of rage or tears of angst of something so personal insulted. The fresh tattoo had deep, personal meaning to Yura. It was honor of his deduskha.
“I’m going to help, Baba,” Yura snapped as he moved towards the door.
“Yura, wait,” Otabek called following Yura into the hallway.
“Let me know when this Canadian shithead is gone!”
Otabek watched as Yura stomped down the hallway to head to the second floor.
~
JJ watched as Otabek followed his boyfriend into the hall and tried to think about what he had said that had Otabek’s kitten in a huff. JJ remembered Otabek saying something along the lines that the blond didn’t like too many people.
SLAM!
JJ looked up in shock at Otabek kicked the door stopper away and the wind took the door and slammed it shut. JJ didn’t have any time to ask before he felt a harsh grip on the collar of his t-shirt and shoved back into his closet door. Honestly, JJ wanted to laugh, Otabek had grown a bit over the past year but JJ still had at least four inches but the unforgiving glare in the Kazakh’s brown eyes held had JJ paying attention.
“That was the last time you insult Yura’s tattoo!” Otabek growled.
“So, it’s not a potato. I’m sorry but I don’t know what it is,” JJ defended himself, raising his hands in surrender. He had only seen Otabek this angry once before and it had been terrifying.
“It’s a pirozhki, its Yura favorite dish. His grandfather used to make it for him when he was little,” Otabek explained, his grip on JJ’s shirt had relaxed somewhat but his voice was still tense.
“I didn’t know, Beks. You know I didn’t know,” JJ pleaded and he watched as Otabek shoot him a look that clearly stated, ‘you do now’ as his friend let go of his shirt and took a few steps back.
JJ gave his friend a few more minutes before he propped open the door again to suck in the breeze. He had barely opened the door when the CA person he had met yesterday was holding a clip-board and a black permeant marker.
“Don’t slam the door,” the CA said. JJ couldn’t remember his name.
“It was an accident,” JJ said. “Won’t happen again.”
The CA’s face didn’t change but he looked over to Otabek. “Are you Otabek Altin?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Seung-Gil, I’m the Community Advisor for this floor. I’m your CA. If you have any questions about anything, come talk to me. I live at the corner room,” Seung-Gil explained. “And since you’re both here, here is your roommate agreement, make sure to fill it out together and turn it into me with the next few days. Take it seriously because if there ever is a fight, we’ll go back to what you put in this agreement to help settle it.”
Seung-Gil walked out the door before he quickly turned around, “Otabek, do you go by Otabek or some other nickname?”
“Otabek.”
JJ watched as Seung-Gil wrote Otabek’s name on the University logo that was on their door. Waiting until the two were alone again, JJ held up the agreement. “What to fill this out later?”
“No, let’s do it now,” Otabek declared.
JJ swallowed down his nerves as the two moved their desk chairs over to his side of the room and began filling it out. It was simple; what time did you need to wake up for classes (classes didn’t start until at least 9 for either of them), what time did you go bed (both were night owls), could music be played without headphones (absolutely). Most of the questions were quick to answer as the two had roomed together before.
The question that had the pair stop was about guests, both day and over-night. Otabek had already said when he introduced Yuri that the blond would be here a lot, even though JJ knew the younger teen was still in high school (he and Otabek still messaged each other on occasion). However, from the sound of it, Yuri lived in a house that was six blocks away from campus and his guardians (his parents? JJ wasn’t completely sure on the proper term) were professors at the University or something to that effect.
“Are you okay with Yura spending time here?” Otabek asked, he was calm and level-headed. The wonderful thing about Otabek’s anger was that it generally burned bright and was over quickly.
“Yeah, sure. I mean you had to deal with Isabella being over all the time,” JJ said with a shrug.
“This will be different. Yura wants to spend the night here,” Otabek clarified.
“As in, you guys sleeping together?” JJ asked.
“Yes,” Otabek stated flatly.
JJ could feel a blush forming. It didn’t bother him that Otabek was bisexual, honestly JJ found himself checking out guys too often to be classified as straight. But JJ was a devout Catholic, and while he didn’t believe the whole ‘gay people are going straight to hell’ bullshit, he did believe that sex before marriage was a huge no-no. But Otabek wasn’t Catholic and honestly…
“Jean,” Otabek interrupted his spiraling thoughts. “Yura and I would just be sleeping, period.”
“Right, because he’s sixteen and you’re eighteen and it’s illegal here,” JJ commented knowing that while the age of consent in Canada was sixteen, in America it was eighteen.
“Not necessary…”
“Yura, Otabek, Viktor and I are going… oh, hello.”
JJ looked to see an Asian man with floppy black hair and blue-rimmed glasses standing in the doorway. He looked nervous but he quickly gave a warm smile.
“Oh, hello, you must be Otabek’s roommate. I’m Katsuki Yuuri, you can just call me Yuuri or Katsuki, whatever is easier. I’m Yuri’s brother’s fiancé. I am also a graduate student at the University,” Yuuri introduced.
“I’m Jean-Jacques Leroy, call me JJ. Wait, both your names are Yuri? Isn’t that confusing?” JJ questioned turning to look at Otabek. The younger shrugged but then again, JJ had only heard him call the blond ‘Yuri’ once otherwise he called him ‘Yura.’
“A little bit but we’ve had plenty of time to figure out a system of not getting confused. Anyway, Viktor and I are going to move the vehicles and then walk back to campus. Did you have your book list, we can go pick them up from the bookstore?” Yuuri asked.
“Yes,” Otabek said as he grabbed a black folder and pulled it out two sheets. “I was going to go this afternoon or tomorrow and get the ones I couldn’t find online.”
“Do you have the ones you got marked? Because the bookstore will be crazy this afternoon and all-day tomorrow and I know you said some of your professors already sent out an e-mail to have some reading done before classes start. I can go get your books and let you set up your room,” Yuuri offered.
“Okay. Let me grab some money,” Otabek said.
“Keep it,” Yuuri stated and JJ blinked in shock. “You can pay us back later, after you get some money from the radio-station job.”
JJ listened as Otabek mumbled something in a language JJ didn’t understand as he handed the older man the papers. Yuuri gave a reply with a smile and more words JJ couldn’t make out. “Did you want me to get you a University planner? They’re really nice, with lots of space to write assignments, and a section for finals week, and come with some coupons.,” Yuuri went on. “I was going to get one for myself.”
“Yes, thanks Yuuri,” Otabek said.
“You’re very welcome,” Yuuri replied before he turned to JJ. “Did you want a planner too, JJ?”
“That’d be great, thank you Yuuri. Let me know what I owe you,” JJ said, gracious by the offer.
Yuuri smiled before looking around the room and a frown formed on his face. “Where’s Yura?”
JJ glanced at Otabek quickly and wondered what the younger would say. ‘My roommate insulted Yuri’s tattoo and he went running off somewhere.’ But Otabek wasn’t that kind of guy. “He went to go help Mila with her room,” Otabek said quietly.
“That works out great! I was going to offer to get Mila’s books too. She’ll have less time as she has a Desk Assistants meeting after lunch,” Yuuri explained. “After we get the books, we should go out to lunch somewhere before you have to be back for first-year orientation. You’re welcome to join us, JJ.”
JJ didn’t know what to say so he just nodded dumbly, glancing at Otabek to know if he was responding right. He had already messed up with Otabek’s kitten, he didn’t want to mess up with the kitten’s family.
“That sounds good,” Otabek said.
“Okay, it was nice to meet you, JJ. I’ll be back with the stuff in a bit, feel free to have Yura show you around campus. The University has practically been his second home for the past five years,” Yuuri said with a wave as he walked out the room.
The room settled back into a silence as the older man left. JJ was trying to take everything in. A man he didn’t know was offering to buy him a planner and inviting him out to lunch with his family. “Yuuri is really… is he always that nice?” JJ asked.
“Yes, always. Yuuri is an international student from Japan, so he knows what it’s like to leave your country to go to school someplace else,” Otabek explained.
“That’s pretty cool,” JJ muttered and he heard Otabek hum in agreement before he went back to unpacking his room. “I’ll go bring this” JJ held up the roommate agreement “to Seung-Gil. Be right back.”
JJ delivered the agreement to an unhappy looking CA and the Canadian wondered why the guy, who didn’t seem to like people, was a CA when it was in their job to be happy and helpful. But then, move-in day was stressful and overseeing a bunch of international students was the icing to the top of the stress cake.
Walking back to his room, JJ thought about his interaction with Otabek’s kitten. He wasn’t good with people. Otabek had pointed it out when they were living together and Isabella was understanding as well. But those two had taken the time to get to know JJ and all his awkwardness. I wonder if Yuri will bother, JJ thought as he entered the room. He hoped so. JJ missed hanging out with Otabek and it would suck if the Kazakh’s boyfriend hated his guts. But something Otabek had said earlier was bouncing around in his head.
“Otabek, you said that Yuri’s tattoo was of a pirozhki.” JJ paused unsure if he had said the word right. Otabek nodded his head. “And you said that Yuri’s grandfather used to make them for him. What do you mean by used to?”
Otabek sighed and looked down at his feet before glancing up and staring directly at JJ. “Yura’s grandfather passed away when he was eleven and Yura’s been living with Viktor and Yuuri in America since. Yura got the tattoo last night and his grandfather is a sore subject for him. That’s why I snapped at you as harshly as I did.”
JJ felt horrible. A manifesting guilt forming in the pit of his stomach that made him want to throw up. He hadn’t felt this bad since the hockey play-offs last season when he choked up and missed what could have been the winning goal.
“Jean, breathe. It’s okay, you didn’t know. Yura will be mad for a bit but he’ll move on,” Otabek said. “Just… just try not to be so loud, it’s a bit overwhelming at times.”
“Yeah, sure got it. Thanks, Beks, truly,” JJ said sincerely.
“Let’s get Yura to show us around campus. He knows all the outs and ins of this place. Even knows how to get into the abandon, closed-off tunnels,” Otabek suggested.
“Let’s go!” JJ exclaimed with a huge smile. “This campus isn’t ready for JJ Style!”
~
Seung-Gil was done with people for the day.
Seriously, he was just done with dealing with people and it was barely ten in the morning. Why did he ever take the job as a CA? Because Phichit said it was going to be easy. The last two weeks of training hadn’t been hard by any means. Yes, it was a lot of information to take in but there was Phichit and Alison (both former CAs that the rest of staff could go to for assistance). The dealing with people was the hard part.
Being desk assistant the past two years had been annoying but manageable. Then, Sara had come up to him during the summer (one week before CA training was to begin) explaining that a Lawrence CA had dropped due to getting a job offer and they needed to fill the space. And Seung-Gil had applied last spring and was put on the ‘we’d hire you but we’ve already filled all the positions’ list.
Seung-Gil was in his room checking off that he had received another room-mate agreement. The University third-year oversaw ten rooms that were full, meaning he had to deal with twenty residents. Phichit was on the other half of the floor and had the same number, meaning that there was forty-two people trying to live on one floor and try not to kill each other.
Maybe I can scare them into following the rules, Seung-Gil pondered.
A knock on his open door had the Korean man looking up to seeing the familiar face of Katsuki Yuuri. For a moment, Seung-Gil was confused because Katsuki was no longer a DA at Lawrence, hadn’t been the past year. Katsuki had been one of the DAs of Lawrence along with Phichit and Seung-Gil during their first year. But then Phichit’s words from last night came back to him.
~
“Little Yuri’s boyfriend, Otabek Altin, is one of your residents,” Phichit declared.
“So?” Seung-Gil shrugged not bothering to look up from finishing the door decorations the pair were working on. Seung-Gil had zero artistic talent and Phichit loved this kind of stuff. Therefore, letting the Thai man do most of the work seemed like the best thing to do.
“So, that means Little Yuri will be here a lot and Yuuri is probably going to talk to you tomorrow!” Phichit exclaimed.
“Katsuki? Why would he talk to me?”
“Because Yuuri is a protective mama bear! That’s why! And Little Yuri is only sixteen and I don’t need to tell you that if something does happen in the dorms, it will look much worse if a minor is involved, especially a child of a University professor,” Phichit explained.
“University professor? Katsuki isn’t a professor,” Seung-Gil argued.
“No but Viktor is. And seriously Little Yuri is practically Yuuri and Viktor’s son. Nothing will ever change that! And Professor Feltsman and Madam Baranoysaya are like Little Yuri’s grandparents!”
~
“Hey, Seung-Gil, do you have a minute?” Katsuki asked.
Nodding, Seung-Gil stood up and waved the older man into his room to speak in private.
“I don’t know if Phichit or Sara warned you, but Otabek Altin, one of your residents, is dating Yuri who is only sixteen… and while Viktor and I have talked to both about having a curfew when it comes to the dorms and school nights and respecting University rules. I know, I,” Katsuki paused and Seung-Gil was starting to wonder where this was all going.
“Yuri’s going to be here so often it’s probably going to feel like you have another resident and I would appreciate if you could keep an extra eye on Yuri when he’s here. I know it’s not your job and if him being here causes serious trouble, then Viktor and I will just say that Otabek has to come to the house instead of Yuri invading the dorm,” Katsuki finished.
Seung-Gil didn’t know what to say. Yes, it wasn’t his job to baby-sit high schoolers but he knew it shouldn’t be that hard. From what Phichit had said, Otabek was a quiet guy and the kid would probably hang with his boyfriend in his room without making trouble. At least that is what Seung-Gil hoped would happen.
“Yeah, I can keep an eye on him,” Seung-Gil muttered.
“Great! Um… here’s my number in case something does happen. Feel free to call at any time if there’s a situation,” Katsuki said handing over a business-card that had his graduate student information on one side and what Seung-Gil guessed was his personal cell phone number hand-written on the back.
“How often are you allowing Yuri to spend the night here?” Seung-Gil asked as he recalled Otabek and JJ’s roommate agreement allowing over-night guests.
“Only one weekend a month and he’s not allowed here during finals week, like at all. I can have him or Otabek warn you when those weekends are if you’d like,” Katsuki offered.
Seung-Gil shrugged, it didn’t matter to him. Phichit would probably warn him long before Otabek or Yuri even had a chance to.
“Well… I’ll let you get back to your job,” Katsuki said stepping out of the dorm-room. “Thanks, Seung-Gil, truly. You could have said no but I really appreciate that you didn’t.”
This is going to be a long year, Seung-Gil thought with a heavy sigh.
~
Yuri was annoyed and wondered if he needed to look up justifiable homicide on his phone. Because seriously it was tempting.
The blond didn’t know what was worse. The stupid nicknames that Beka’s shithead of a roommate kept saying or Baba not shutting up about working for the most beautiful girl she had ever met. Yuri felt like gagging. Instead of committing murder, Yuri was lying on Mila’s bed and focusing his attention on feeding his Instagram addiction.
Katsudon had just left with Mila’s book list and talked about how when he was done they should go out to eat as a family. Which, okay, Yuri could handle that. But then Katsudon had to mention that he also invited Beka’s stupid, shithead roommate to lunch too.
I hope he trips and breaks his nose! And what is up with that stupid phrase… it’s JJ Style. Tch, what a moron, Yuri thought and he couldn’t get that phrase and pose out of his mind.
“And then Sara said that she couldn’t wait to get to know and was glad that I was… are you even listening to me, runt?” Mila asked.
“Da, Baba! Sara this and Sara that. Oh, take me Sara I’m yours!” Yuri proclaimed loudly, not caring who heard. It was highly unlikely that anyone else on Mila’s floor spoke Russian.
“Who’s Sara?” Otabek’s familiar voice came through the door.
Yuri smiled and turned to greet his boyfriend but froze when he saw Canadian shithead behind him. “What’s he doing here?”
“He’s here because you’re going to give us a tour of campus,” Otabek stated.
“Like hell I am! He can get lost and miss all his classes for all I care,” Yuri snapped standing up and glaring at the confused Canadian.
“Yura,” Otabek said in that tone that always made Yuri pause.
“Yeah, Yurrraaa,” Mila said giggling throwing an arm around his shoulder, being mindful of his tattoo. “Be a good host and show us around campus.”
“Get off me, Baba!” Yuri hissed buckling his shoulder to get Mila off, the motion moved his shoulder blade in a way that made his tattoo hurt.
“Yura,” Otabek repeated, frowning. Yuri huffed and looked down at his feet. “And speak in English.”
“Fine,” Yuri muttered. “Where do you want to go?”
“I wouldn’t mind knowing where my classes are and the gym and the radio-station,” Shithead stated.
“Ohhh, we should show him the ice rink too!” Mila exclaimed.
“How about we start with that? Since it is on the other side of campus and then we can work our way back,” Otabek suggested.
Yuri just nodded and moved out of the way as Mila grabbed her room inventory, as that needed to be submitted before they got a building key and a semester sticker. The small sticker was put on the student ID cards of the dorm students. Each dorm had a distinct color and all they had to do was flash their ID when the dorm was locked at 7 pm and Night Security kept watch.
Yuri waited outside as the others got what they needed. Otabek was the first one to step outside and the older teen stepped up into Yuri’s personal space, placing a calmly hand on the small of his back. “JJ didn’t know about your tattoo, Yurochka. I’ve set him straight,” Beka whispered into his ear.
“Tch,” Yuri muttered bitterly. “I hate that shithead.”
“I know JJ can be a bit much but doesn’t mean to be a dick, he just comes off that way. He’s not bad once you get to know him. He’s nervous around people and acts loud to make an impression.”
“Well, he made a horrible impression and I can’t believe Katsudon invited him to lunch!” Yuri said through gritted teeth as he heard JJ’s loud booming voice behind him. Thankfully, Otabek just nudged Yuri forward and didn’t remove his hand. The move undoubtedly looked possessive but it gave Yuri an anchor to focus on and try to relax.
“It will be fine. Besides you need to get used to him if you’re going to be spending time in my room. And JJ even said it was okay for you to spend the night,” Otabek added.
“Tch, I’d spend the night even if he did care,” Yuri countered, even though he knew that Viktor and Yuuri wouldn’t allow him if JJ wasn’t okay with it. That was probably the main reason JJ was invited to lunch, to warn him of how much time Yuri was going to be there.
The rest of the walk to the rink was in silence, at least between Yuri and Otabek. Behind him, Yuri could hear JJ talking about himself. Thankfully, the ice rink was open, considering that it was where a part of freshmen orientation was held. Katsudon had talked about his first year at the University it had been outside in the football stadium but rain had cut it short. Now, it was at the ice rink.
Yuri talked about the ice rink and when it was open for students to use because the hockey team, figure skaters, and ice dancing team all practiced there. Next, the group moved onto the weight room, which Yuri had never been because he wasn’t a barbarian who lifted weights to get bulky. He preferred to keep his petite, ballet form. But Beka liked working out and looking at JJ, Yuri could tell that the Canadian did as well.
Yuri pointed out the direction of where Lilia’s ballet studio was but otherwise kept walking. They passed by Shoemaker Hall (where most of the dumb jocks lived) and the Science building and the Education building and where all the math and business classes were. Yuri would have loved to show them the library but he didn’t want to make Viktor and Katsudon wait with all the heavy textbooks, plus he was getting hungry.
“You need to check out the library! It’s four floors and there are computers and private study rooms and lots and lots of books!” Yuri exclaimed as he led the group back towards the center of campus.
The blond pointed in the direction of the campus radio station and continued walking to the theatre building, where the music and theatre majors spent a lot of their time. In the future, Otabek, Mila, and JJ would have most of their classes in that building.
“This theatre is amazing,” JJ commented.
“Didn’t it just get renovated?” Mila asked.
“Yeah, over the summer. New stage floor, new sound booth. I’m excited to perform here,” Yuri said bouncing all the balls of his feet.
“It should be great to see, brat,” Mila smiled.
Yuri shot the red-head a small smile as he finished his tour by pointing out Gravey and walking through Atwood to get back to Lawrence Hall. Yuri was describing the basement as they walked outside into the hot sun.
“This is perfect timing.”
Turning Yuri saw Viktor and Katsudon walking towards them with heavy bags of textbooks.
~
Viktor was thankful that Yura showed up right as Yuuri and him were getting back from the bookstore. To say that Viktor didn’t miss buying (and half the time never using) college textbooks would be an understatement.
“How was the tour?” Yuuri asked.
Otabek’s roommate, what is his name JB?, started talking in a loud voice about how this campus was amazing and he couldn’t wait to explore it in more details and see the abandon tunnels. Viktor had tuned out the voice but at the mention of the tunnels he looked towards Yura with a deep frown.
Viktor really didn’t want a repeat of three years ago when campus security escorted a dirt-covered thirteen-year-old Yura (in the middle of his Tuesday night class) stating they found him in the abandoned tunnels by the ballet studio trying to make his way over to Stewart Hall so he didn’t have to walk outside in the cold.
“Let’s get this books in so we can get some lunch. You guys need to be back for orientation activities and Mila has a desk assistant meeting,” Yuuri encouraged. “Mila, I have your books, Viktor has yours, Otabek.”
Viktor handed over the heavy bag over to Otabek and grabbed the back of Yura’s shirt before the blond to follow his boyfriend. “Let’s wait out here, Yura,” Viktor mumbled. Yura huffed and Viktor watched as he shot Otabek a pained look but the older teen just nodded, walking into the dorm with the others.
“What?” Yura snapped crossing his arms, glaring up at Viktor.
“Remember our agreement,” Viktor promoted and Yura sighed.
The agreement of Yura respecting all University rules when he was on campus as Yura’s actions reflected on not only Viktor but also Yuuri, Yakov, and Lilia. And while Viktor wasn’t too worried about his University standings (and certainly not Yakov or Lilia), he was concerned about Yuuri’s potential future of taking Professor Massey’s position when the elderly man retired within the next few years.
The agreement also including respecting Otabek’s need to study and his own grades at the high school. Besides his first year in America, Yura had made the ‘A’ honor roll ever semester. Sure, he struggled a bit in his math and science classes but Yura also kept a high academic standing. He had to, or else Lilia wouldn’t teach him and his free-reign to visit campus (read: visit Otabek) would be limited (i.e. taken away).
“Da, da, I remember. Unlike you, I have a good memory and remember my promises,” Yura countered.
Viktor scoffed light-heartedly and ruffed the teenager’s hair. Yura glared and took a few steps back as he fixed the ponytail. With his back to him, Viktor got a good look at Yura’s tattoo. It had turned out better than Viktor thought it would. The steam coming off the pirozhkis was a nice touch and the dedication to Nikolai was beautiful.
“How was the tour, really?” Viktor asked, trying to kill some time as they waited for the others to get back. The plan was to walk back to the house and have Viktor drive his SUV. The Russian was glad he let Yuuri talk him into it, as the vehicle easily would be able to hold all six of them.
“It was fine,” Yura shrugged. “I’ll probably get dragged into giving a more detailed tour tomorrow or something. It wouldn’t be so bad but Beka’s roommate is awful. A complete shithead!”
“Yura!” Viktor frowned but before he could ask the blond, Yuuri was back with the others. “Where did you want to go for lunch?”
“How about the food court at the mall?” Yuuri suggested. “That way there are options for everyone, plus we could stop at Target to get some last-minute things.”
“You are a genius, love,” Viktor declared pulling in Yuuri for a kiss.
“Tch, you guys are worse than teenagers,” Yura muttered.
“Yura, English,” Otabek prompted walking up to the younger teen and putting a hand on his bare arm.
Viktor couldn’t begin to list all the ways that Otabek was amazing when it came to dealing with Yura. Now, Viktor didn’t mean ‘deal’ like Yura was a huge problem but the past year had seen a calmer Yuri and that was mostly thanks to Otabek’s calm personality. Viktor liked to believe that it went both ways, while the older Russian didn’t know Otabek before he came to live with them but it was clear to see that over the year the Kazakh teen had come out of his shell a bit more.
“Let’s go.”
~
Viktor laid out on his bed and watched as his beautiful fiancé to some simply stretches before joining him. Viktor loved that his Yuuri was so flexible and even with his minor injury refused to betray his ballet training of his youth.
The trip to the mall, at the mall, and returning from the mall was uneventful. The food court had been a brilliant idea, it was quick and cheap with multiple choices. The trip to Target had been useful as well to get some last minutes items (bathroom supplies, a plastic drawer for Mila, and a stable table that would hold Otabek’s keyboard).
The hardest part of the day had been dragging Yura away from the dorm when it was time for freshmen orientation to kick off. Floor meetings, a tour of the campus, and book discussion (Viktor had hated doing it his freshmen year but his year’s book had been stupid) would take up the afternoon before finishing down at the ice rink for the big welcome. Honestly, Viktor thought the whole thing was stupid (and he liked doing cheesy activities).
There was of course the meeting for the International students. That was helpful for those who were out of their country for the first time. It was at that those meeting that Viktor had formed his friendship with Georgi and two years later had met Chris. But Otabek and Mila spoke English and we’re both classified as American students rooming with International students. Mila’s roommate was from Portugal, or was it Brazil? Then there was of course Otabek’s roommate, he was interesting…
“Do you think that Yura is going to murder JB?” Viktor asked.
“Who?” Yuuri asked pushing his glasses up on his face from where they slipped.
“JB?” Viktor repeated and frowned at Yuuri’s blank look. “Otabek’s roommate.”
“Oh, you mean JJ,” Yuuri corrected before giggling. “Where did you get JB?”
Viktor shrugged. He hadn’t been introduced to the young man and Yura had only referred to him as “Canadian shithead” during their time at the mall. Mila had been friendly to the man, pointing out locations on the car ride to the mall. “Do you think Yura is going to murder JJ, then?” Viktor asked again. “And I can’t see him and Otabek staying roommates long.”
“I’m sure Otabek and JJ will be just fine, they did live together before. Shared a room too, from the sounds of it,” Yuuri explained.
“Where did you learn this?”
“At lunch,” Yuuri stated moving to lay on the bed. “Because I listen after I ask a question, unlike you who likes to tune out.”
“I didn’t tune out,” Viktor defended, even though he knew that was a fat lie and Yuuri could see through it. But in Viktor’s defense, he was trying to make sure Yura didn’t kick JJ under the table and he was trying to listen to Mila talk on and on about how she loved her boss already, and Yuuri was just too beautiful not to look at (especially when he had rice sticking to his chin).
Yuuri gave that sly smile as he said, “I’m sure Yura will be just fine. If not, we’ll be seeing a lot of Otabek here instead of never seeing Yura.”
“Are we giving Yuri too much freedom?” Viktor asked.
It was a topic they had talked about all summer, had started talking about it the moment Yura and Otabek announced they were dating. He and Yuuri didn’t have anything against Otabek, the older teen was nothing if not polite and respectful. But the fact that Yuri and Otabek only had a wall between their living space was a cause for concern. Otabek was classified as their host child, making Yura his host brother (Viktor didn’t even want to get into what happened at school when it was out to the whole student body). But Otabek and Yura were no more related than Viktor was to Yura. Otabek was just Otabek, not Otabek the host-son or brother.
“Perhaps,” Yuuri whispered as he took off his glasses placing them on the nightstand “but Yura has never given us any reason not to trust him. Sure, he’s made some mistakes and lied a few times, all teenagers do, but he’s never broken curfew and he’s never broken into your not-so-secret vodka stash.”
Yuuri’s words were a comfort. Yura was by no means an angel but he wasn’t a demon that people tried to paint him as. Yes, Yura could have a bad attitude and a foul temper but the blond was getting better at controlling it or simply removing himself from the situation. Yuuri was right, Yura had only broken curfew once and had called in near-tears stating that Mila’s car had gotten a flat tire on the way back from the movie theater. And the vodka. Well, Yura had been curious and had asked if he could try some. Viktor had been thankful for small miracles.
“I know this isn’t the greatest of situations to be in and there will be bumps in the road but when hasn’t there been?” Yuuri questioned. “This year will be full of a lot of firsts, like every year is. It will take some time to adjust but I know that everything will work out just fine.”
Viktor smiled and leaned forward into Yuuri’s space to kiss this wonderful, brilliant, beautiful man that he had the honor of calling his fiancé. Yuuri was right (as he always was) that this year wasn’t going to be easy but Viktor couldn’t remember a year in his life that was easy.
“At least we can honestly say that we survived move-in day,” Viktor said as he broke the kiss.
“Move-in is easy, it’s move-out day that’s difficult… Vitya get off me! You’re heavy!”
Viktor refused to move and continued to pepper kisses across Yuuri’s face and neck.