Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OC. Everything else belongs to the original creator

3rd Pov

The two tried to keep up with him, but he kept on going ahead of them since the two managed to do something for his birthday. Yuri frowned, shouting over to Viktor who only laughed at how far ahead he was, but the blonde wasn't pleased, "Viktor hold up!"

She flew out to Russia to spend his birthday with him and Akira managed to get some help from Yuri and some of the other rink mates of theirs along with Vakov's permission so they could set up the rink up. It was a gift that they all put together for Viktor, but it was only Yuri along with Akira that were going to be with him.

"Vitya!"

Stopping, waving over at them while chuckling at how they caught with him, "Hurry up you two~!"

Releasing a deep breath, she stopped once reaching Viktor as she got a hold onto his arm before he had the chance to run off again, "Can we just settle down and take our time to enjoy the moment?"

Rolling his eyes, Yuri placed his hands into his pockets while responding back, "If it's even possible..."

They continued on together until reaching the ice rink that the two Russian skaters go to, but Yuri and Akira stopped the silver haired skater from entering the building, "Close your eyes first."

Raising a brow at their request, Viktor did what they asked as he covered his eyes and he allowed the two to guide him in. Akira made sure he wasn't going to peak while Yuri opened the doors as they walked through the lobby and into the hall until reaching the rink. The blonde boy was actually taken back at the finished picture since he was there earlier with the lights on, but now it was different by the way the colors lit up the place. Glancing over his shoulder, Yuri waited to see what Viktor will say once he opens his eyes. Letting him go, she stood beside Yuri who was near the bench that held the other things, but the two waited for his response.

Yuri folded his arms while Akira offered a smile as they finally said, "Happy birthday."

Viktor couldn't describe how he felt when he realized how it wasn't just a normal thing that he expected when entering the rink area, but the fact that effort was put into it and honestly he wouldn't have thought it'll be done for his birthday. But he was glad he'll be spending his time with friends which was the only thing he could ask for, yet he was impress with how they managed to do everything.

The two step aside as they exposed some glow sticks along with a few sparklers that they could use to light up the rink as they skated. Akira glanced around the rink to see that it held a different tone to it, she smiled over to see that Viktor was taken back since he wasn't expecting any difference and she offered him a glow stick, "I thought we can have some fun with this, so we can give this place a little color for a special occasion."

He smiled, taking account of a few side glow fibre optic cables that gave a nice glow to the rink and his eyes shifted back to the spare glow sticks that were on the bench along a few sparklers. Viktor chuckled to himself, cracking the glow stick to activated it, he glanced between the two, "Add some flare I see~" Waving the blue glow stick at his foreign friend before shifting his attention over to the blonde, "I like how you guys think."

Muttering, Yuri looked away as he mentioned, "It was a team effort with everyone and Vakov gave us the okay, so thank them later."

Viktor honestly didn't know what to say at the information, but he smiled at the thought before responding back, "I'll keep that in mind when I see them again."

Akira leaned against the railing, she needed to remember to take a picture of the finish product, "It'll be quite a nice view after we skate around with some of these," Stepping back, she saw how Yuri already had one of the sparklers lit as he took a moment before messing around with it.

Laughing, he leaned his head against the palm of his hand while tapping the glow stick against his chin as he watched the blonde get ahead of them, "Aren't you eager~"

"If only we can do this during our routines," His eyes watched how the sparkler looked as he twirled it, Yuri didn't wait for the other two as he entered the rink first.

"It'll be a beautiful performance especially if you're part of the audience to see such show," Stepping onto the rink, Akira swiftly moved across the ice while her eyes trailed the colors that were being shed.

A faint smile appeared across his lips as he watched the two enter the rink while moving with the sparkler at their sides. Viktor had to admit it was quite a sight, entering the rink as he circled around while commenting, "A magical feel to it."

"This is looks awesome if you do a triple axel," Yuri chuckled to himself, landing his jump while his eyes watched how the sparkler made the performance even more of a sight.

She smiled at his comment, Akira held the sparkler carefully while proceeding into her transition to a spiral, "I think even a simple spiral is more stunning," Rising back up, Akira kept moving on her own while her eyes caught sight of what the sparkler left behind as she skated.

From the corner of her eye she noticed there a different color then she finally saw Viktor gracefully skated on his own before he sent a smile over to her. Skating over to him, yet they kept to their own space and Akira was thinking while glancing over to the two Russian skaters, but she looked over her shoulder to see Viktor skate around her a bit.

"Do you celebrate Christmas?" Raising a brow, Viktor hasn't asked her about it since he himself doesn't celebrate the holiday because it's not something they'll do, but he wasn't aware if Akira takes part of Christmas, "I mean you're here, but it don't take it the wrong way. I appreciate it, seeing you here. I simply don't want to feel as tho you dropped everything for something like my birthday."

Placing her hands into her sweeter, she shrugged her shoulders, "Not really, we mainly celebrate Christmas Eve more than the day itself and it's more of a time to spread happiness rather than the religious aspect of the day. You can even say that Christmas Eve kinda resembles Valentine's Day since it's thought of as a romantic day," Her fingers curled around the small box that was within her pocket, "However, it can still be spent among friends, family, and loved ones."

"I don't have family besides Haruka, but she understood my decision to fly out here. She has family visiting which I hope she's having a wonderful time with them," Akira smiled, remembering her brief call to see how her coach is spending the holiday and she was glad to hear the woman was enjoying her time with her family. Nudging him, she chuckled while reassuring it wasn't an inconvenience for her, "And I got to spend Christmas Eve with you and the others here and now I'm here for your birthday too."

Skating around him as she smiled, remembering that there was another birthday coming up, "I also heard about Georgi's birthday tomorrow, so we're still going to have this place for him as well, but we'll change it up a bit," Viktor returned the smile, recalling how one of his rink mates has their birthday beside his and he was glad to hear that they've planned something for Georgi as well. Raising a brow, he listened carefully as his friend mentioned, "Mila was talking up how she and the rest are going to personally bake him a cake, so you need to help out as well."

"I hope his day is as special as mine," Chuckling, he hoped that his rink mate would enjoy his birthday like he did his. He smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder while expressing his gratitude, "Thank you."

Removing her hands from her pockets, Akira shook her head before skating away while clearing up, "That's what friends are for and surely your rink mates are your family, so that's our job."

Viktor came to a stop, taking a moment to consider her words and he didn't really think much about it. Sure, he was familiar with most of his rink mates, but he hasn't spent much time with majority of them outside of practice, so he didn't think that about them. Taking a moment, he looked around the rink to see the work that his rink mates, his family put into for him.

Returning his attention back to the female skater, Viktor moved towards her while asking, "How long do you tend to stay?"

She didn't plan to stay long, only a few days, but long enough that she'll spend the important days with them, "I'll leave on the 27th."

He was disappointed to hear that she'll be leaving quite soon, frowning slightly to himself as he whined a bit in hopes to persuade her into staying a bit longer, "Stay a bit longer," Draping his arms over her shoulders, leaning against her while using his pouting face, "For me~"

Trying pushing him off her so she could remove the dead weight, Akira stopped once accepting the fact that he won't budge. Looking over to him, she offered a solution, "Or you visit for new years eve and stay a bit," It was one suggestion that could work if he decides to take the offer, she smiled before stating, "We'll be even then."

Just like that he removed himself from her, Viktor returned a smile at her as he accepted the suggestion, "Deal."

Folding her arms behind her, informing her friend of a few things so he won't be caught off guard, "I'm going to give you a head notice that we celebrate new years over five days from December 31st to January 4th, so it's quite busy."

"Well, aren't I lucky," Chuckling, Viktor offered some insight to when they celebrate the holiday in his country while hoping to see if his friend would take the chance to visit, "Christmas for us is normally celebrated on January 7th, so I hope you might spend it here with me and the others."

"I'll see," Akira took note of that, she'll like to visit again, but she also knew it was so much work for her to move between the two places within such a small time span, "But that's so much traveling for such a short period of time."

Giving his puppy dog eyes while lacing his fingers together as he tried to guilt trip her into considering the thought, "Pretty please~"

"We'll see," She'll give it some thought, but for now Akira will continue to skate while thinking to herself about some things she needs to handle later on, but she felt her arm get tugged back and it was Viktor that decided to pull her towards the sidelines.

The two came to stop, Viktor smirked at her since he's been taking notice something was her mind, "What else do you have up your sleeve, Akira?"

Akira smiled at him before handing over the small box that she had tucked in her sweater's pockets, "I have a gift for you. Got it before leaving Kyoto," She honestly didn't know how her foreign friend will think about the gift.

Blinking, Viktor opened the box to reveal a small red like figure attached to a chain, he recalled seeing it before whenever he was in Japan, "It's very different, but I've seen some of these whenever I visit."

Holding the chain up as he stared at the charm, his attention shifted back to Akira when she giggled before mentioning, "Of course you will, along with so many other type of charms or omamori that hold meaning."

"So what does this little red fellow mean then?" Raising a brow, the Russian wondered what it meant yet he took account of the features the charm held, "Oh, it doesn't have any eyes or is it supposed to be like this?"

The Japanese skater informed him what the purpose was surrounding the daruma doll, "You fill in one eye once you decide on your goal or wish," Taking it away from him, her eyes skimmed the small doll before looking back at her friend, "Once you achieve it then you fill in the second eye."

Placing it around him, Akira smiled at him before stepping back as she explained, "Thought it'll be a nice thing to have on you, reminding you of reaching for your goal," Chuckling she nudged his arm while making a comment, "But I believe you'll achieve anything in no time so without a doubt you'll have this filled in quite soon."

Viktor took a moment, curling his fingers over the charm as he thought about what wish or goal to set so he could fill in one of its eyes, but nothing came to mind. However, it was interesting to hear such a thing, but he appreciate it for what it's worth, "Thank you."

The blonde didn't look at him as Yuri handed over his present to Viktor while muttering, "And I got you this too."

"Aww thank you Yuri~!" Accepting the gift from the boy, Viktor attempted to pull him into a hug, but he only chuckled at how the blonde moved away from him.

Quickly escaping his reach Yuri wasn't one for hugs and definitely didn't want to be part of any it as he continued to back away, "Hey back off!"

Viktor only laughed at how the boy refused but it only made him want to drag the blonde into a hug even more just so he can mess with him, "Come on Yuri, a group hug~!"

Akira watched the two as Viktor chased after Yuri who continued to avoid the hug that the silver haired skater was determine to succeed. It was quite a show watching them skate around each other, one running away while the other continued to pursue his plans.

Calling out towards the blonde, Viktor pouted as he continued to pester the boy, "Yuri~!"

Frowning over to Viktor, he continued to skate away as he shouted, "No-" But before he knew it, Yuri was swiped off the ice and he narrowed his eyes over to see Viktor smiling at him, but the blonde looked away while mumbling, "I hate you..."

"Sure you do~?" Viktor chuckled at the boy's words, keeping him in a hold while pulling the other skater into the group hug.

Akira sighed, glancing over to the boy who wasn't pleased at all, "Just appreciate the moment Yuri, it can't be that bad."

"This is ridiculous," Yuri muttered to himself as he waited to be let go so he could quickly skate away from the two older skaters.

"Come on!" Letting them go, Viktor pulled his foreign friend along with him before she had the chance to skate away, "You're going to be my partner Aki, so keep up with me!"

The two skated away while Yuri kept to himself after having been dragged into something so ludicrous. Akira watched the blonde for a bit before she shook her head at Viktor while keeping up with him, "You're too much at times Vitya."

Turning around as he caught his friend, teasing her at how he was one step ahead of her and Viktor couldn't help himself from laughing once Akira sent him a look, "You're just upset I got you~"

Rolling her eyes, Akira stared at him for a moment and all she could picture was his long hair that he once had a few years ago, but she smiled once seeing how he playfully waved over towards the blonde who brushed it aside as he continued to keep a distance from them. Blinking, he looked back and he stared back at her for a moment then Viktor smiled to himself as the two skated together.

Wrapping an arm around her waist as the two moved together, leaning over her ear as he whispered, "Just stay by me."

She stared at him until she broke out laughing before she decided twirling out of his gasp, Akira kept a hold of his hand. Curling her fingers over him, she returned the favor for being a tease earlier, "Then don't let me go."

His expression soften, guiding them around through the area as he kept an arm around her while responding back, "I'll make sure of that."

Snorting, Yuri watched the two for awhile and it only made him shout over at them as he continued to skate on his own, but he frowned slightly, "I don't want to see anything between you two!"

Wrapping an arm around her, Viktor teased the blonde as he winked over to the boy, "Then you should cover your eyes~"

"Viktor!" Sending him a disapproval look, Akira moved away before turning as she crossed her arms but she wasn't going to scold, "You're only lucky it's your birthday."

"It was a joke Akira," Laughing at her reaction to his remark, Viktor was partially joking but he wasn't going to say anything about it without setting off a chain reaction. Coming to a complete stop, he pouted once seeing she gave him a skeptical look, "Don't give me that look."

Skating past him, Akira raised a brow before pointing over to him who was using his pouting face in hopes to guilt trip her, "Then don't give me that face either."

Smirking, Viktor stopped in front of her as he held his hand out, "That could be arranged if you skate with me."

It was basically the only thing we wanted to do, just spend time with his friend and finally enjoy something that was different from every other time. He hopes he'll spend many more of his birthdays with his friend and he was glad that his past action managed to get him a friend that actually bought him out of the boring routine of simply interacting with people in a unreachable way.

It was something that was natural unlike the other people that he interacted with where there's a unspoken distance that separated him from the others as if people were afraid of being frank with him or touch him like he was some time of god. Smiling, he got an idea on what to strive for and certainly he'll fill in one of the eyes of his daruma doll once his friend leaves Russia then it'll take him some time until completing it. But for now he continued to move alongside Akira before pulling Yuri with them as the three skated together. Without a doubt Viktor will cherish this moment as something memorable, so he could look back at whenever he needs to.

A/N: Thank you for reading and I really appreciate :) I've decided to do a one-shot that loosely connects to my fic Don't Let Me Go, it takes place more in the prime years of Viktor's career such as his late teens. I would've used this as some type of flashback if I decided to place it within the main story line that I'm creating. But since Viktor's birthday is coming up, I thought a one shot on its own was better idea to go with.

Until then, hope you have a good day wherever you are :)