Victor's Birthday Surprise
By Spunky0ne
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A package is expected for Victor's birthday, but the one he gets is not exactly what he is expecting…
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Chapter 1: The Package
Yuuri Katsuki sat cross-legged on the bed in his Saint Petersburg hotel room, his face rested on one hand and his brown eyes glaring out into the stormy darkness as his cell phone rang and rang repeatedly and he patently ignored it.
I'm not answering, Vitya, he thought angrily, so you might as well stop calling.
He waited after the ringing stopped, then scowled as the notification sounded for yet another voice message.
I shouldn't even listen to it.
I should just erase it without listening, like I did with the others.
I'm still so mad at him!
He got drunk again and forgot to pick me up at the airport. He said he was waiting on pins and needles, so excited I was coming back home in time for his birthday, yet he couldn't even bother to meet me at the airport like we planned.
And the worst part was that he was getting drunk with an old guy friend of his. I mean, I don't think there's anything between them, but…who knows, with Victor? He was a playboy before we got together, and…I don't know, maybe he still fools around.
No, that's not fair, is it?
He's never…no, I don't think he would ever…
I don't want to think that, but what am I supposed to think when he stands me up at the airport because he's too busy getting drunk with some other guy?
He looked down at the cell phone, his heart flickering ambivalently.
I shouldn't.
I really shouldn't.
Just ignore it.
Let Victor be the one who's waiting and worrying.
But within minutes, his curiosity got the best of him, and he dialed the number for his voicemail. The message began, and immediately, he moved the phone farther from his ear as the sound of a baby wailing nearly drowned out Victor's voice.
Geez, where is he?
A twinge of worry touched his insides.
Oh man, what if he got hurt and that's at a hospital waiting room or something?
"Yuuri, please answer your phone!" Victor shouted over the baby's howling, "I really need your help. I can't explain. I'm sending a car to pick you up. Please, please, please forgive me and come home? I'm sober. I swear I am. And…and I'm sorry! I'm more sorry than you know. Come on, Yuuri, it's almost my birthday. Are you going to be so mad we don't even spend my birthday together?"
The message ended and Yuuri stared at the cell phone, pondering what to do.
He sounded pretty frantic. I mean, he obviously wanted to apologize and wanted me to forgive him…but there was something weird about that whole thing. I wonder what's going on.
The landline in his room rang, and he picked up the receiver.
"Mr. Katsuki, your ride is here, sir."
That's so presumptuous of him!" Yuuri mused angrily,"He assumes that just because he wants me to, I'll forgive him like that and come home. If he was so hyped for me to be home, why was I waiting for hours at the airport with no ride because I thought he was coming to meet me and he didn't?
I'm still so mad at him!
Well, even if I go home, I should make him sleep on the couch…at least until his birthday. It's only another day. I don't think it's too harsh, given what he did.
"Thank you," he said into the phone, "I'll be down to check out in a minute."
He checked the room carefully, making sure everything was in his bag, then he took the elevator down to the lobby and quickly checked out. He found a dark colored limousine waiting and climbed in.
"I'm Mr. Katsuki," he said tentatively, "You're here for me?"
"Yes," the driver said, nodding, "Good evening, Mr. Katsuki."
"Oh, good evening," Yuuri said back.
He climbed into the car and the driver pulled away from the curb, heading down the street and in the direction of the lovely home he shared with his coach and lover, Victor Nikiforov.
After the Grand Prix Finals, when I took silver, Victor and I had to separate for the Russian and Japanese Nationals, because they took place at the same time. But I planned to come back between Nationals and the Four Continents and European Championships. I was excited about sharing Victor's birthday with him for the first time.
I guess he wasn't as excited as I was…at least, if he was, he did a horrible job of showing it by getting drunk and forgetting to meet me. Victor is just an idiot sometimes, and he forgets things, sometimes important things. I already knew that about him.
I wonder if I should have been more understanding.
Well, the truth is, I probably would have been more understanding if he and his old friend Oska hadn't posted pictures of themselves being drunk together and dancing at some bar while Victor was supposed to be picking me up. I get that Oska showed up all of a sudden, and even that Victor was surprised and happy to see him. None of that bothers me as much as him forgetting to meet me while he was with another guy.
What am I supposed to think?
It made me feel like I'm not so important to him…if he could forget me that easily.
Gah! He makes me so mad sometimes!
Stupid Victor!
He felt his temper flaring hotter as the car arrived at their home, but he got out and paid the driver, then he walked up to the front of the beautiful, sprawling one story home he shared with Victor. As he reached the steps, he heard a continuation of the wailing he had heard on the phone.
"What the heck…" he muttered, sticking his key into the lock and unlocking the door.
He walked into the entry of the house and realized that the noise was coming from the kitchen area. He walked into the kitchen and slid to a stop as he spotted Victor standing in the kitchen, facing away from him, and carrying a silver-haired baby on one arm, while his other hand was occupied with his cell phone.
"Okay," he said into the phone, "so she gave me a bottle with some formula in it for the baby. Do I warm it up? Do I just give it to her? What do I do? She's screaming her head off. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong. What do I do?"
"Victor!" Yuuri shouted over the din.
Victor turned around, nearly dropping the phone.
"Yuuri, thank god! HELP ME!"
Realizing that few answers would likely be given until after the baby stopped crying, Yuuri stepped forward and picked up the bottle of formula. As Victor stood, bouncing the baby girl gently and pleading with her in Russian to stop crying, Yuuri warmed the formula and checked the temperature, then he took the baby from his harried lover and sat down with her at the table. He slipped the nipple of the bottle into her mouth, and she instantly quieted and gulped happily at the formula.
"Oh my god, how did you do that?" Victor half sobbed, "She was just crying and crying, and I couldn't hear what they were telling me on the phone!"
"What who was telling you on the phone?" Yuuri asked.
"Information," Victor answered, "I don't know anything about babies, so I called Information."
"You…called Information," Yuuri said, shaking his head, "Victor, that number is to ask for phone numbers, not to get tips on how to handle a baby. And anyway, whose baby is this? I didn't think you were in touch with your family."
"I'm not," Victor said, taking slow breaths to calm himself, now that the baby was quiet, "This woman just showed up on the porch. She knocked and I thought it was you coming to forgive me. But she was there, and she had this baby, and she said that we spent the night together and had sex a lot of times about a year ago. I have no idea who she is, but she insists, you know? And the baby, she has my hair and eyes. I can't say I'm not her father, right? But, just like that, this woman puts the baby in my arms and she says it's my problem. She doesn't want the baby, so she just tells me it's mine! She tells me I owe her money for her medical bills too. And she left without telling me how to do anything! The baby took one look at me, and she starts to scream."
"I think I'd scream too, if I found out my father was a drunk who couldn't remember making me," Yuuri said dryly.
Victor may be a genius on the ice, but he's just not so smart in other ways.
"That's so mean, Yuuri," Victor said in a sulky voice, "You didn't get a baby dumped on you by surprise. How do you even know what you're doing, anyway? You're the youngest child in your family, right?"
"Yeah," Yuuri affirmed, "I am. But, I also needed to help earn money to pay for my skating and ballet costs, so I helped some people by looking after their kids…including a few babies."
"So, you know what to do, right?" Victor asked.
"I know what to do," Yuuri affirmed, "But, if the baby's going to stay with us, we're going to need a whole lot of things."
"I can get anything you want, by tomorrow, if we need it fast."
"Well, she'll need a crib to sleep in, clothes to wear, diapers, wipies, more formula, and that's just the beginning."
"Okay, while she's quiet, let's figure this out," Victor said, sitting down at the table and tapping on his phone, "We'll keep her in the spare room, I guess."
"I think she should be in with us," Yuuri suggested, "We're not the mother who had the baby, and we both sleep pretty soundly, so to be sure we don't sleep through her crying, we'll put the crib in the master bedroom, in the little alcove near the window. She'll probably like looking out at the back yard. It's pretty."
"Okay. Okay," Victor said, typing hastily, then showing his phone to Yuuri, "Here are some cribs. Is there a certain kind we should get?"
"This one looks good," Yuuri said, pointing out one of the cribs, "It's nice, but not too flashy or expensive. We'll need to order some blankets, sheets and things for it too."
"All right," Victor said, frowning and typing for several minutes, "Here, there is a set here that seems to have all of that. What next?"
"Ah, a changing stand, maybe a little dresser for her things. She'll need a few toys."
"Can we pick the toys later?" Victor asked in a panicky voice, "I'll show you the changing tables and baby dressers."
"Okay."
Yuuri looked down at the baby girl's pink face, watching as she sucked contentedly at the bottle. Her little hand reached up to touch Yuuri's cheek and Yuuri laughed softly.
"She's so cute, Vitya!" he said, admiring her, "She does look so much like you."
"I swear, I don't know how this happened," Victor complained, "I don't usually make mistakes like that. I'm careful, you know, because I used to sleep with a lot of women. This girl, I don't even remember her. I look and look at her, but I don't remember at all. She said that we met at a friend's party last year. I went to a lot of friends' parties, and I swear, Yuuri, this is before I met you."
"Don't worry. I believe you," Yuuri sighed, shaking his head, "I know what you were like before, and I can see pretty clearly that this must have happened a little before you came to Hasetsu. I'm not worried you cheated on me to make her."
Victor frowned.
"You were just mad because you suspected me of sleeping with that old friend of mine, Oska!" he argued, "Now, you say you just trust I didn't sleep with this woman while we were together?"
"How would you remember who you slept with or didn't sleep with, Vitya?" Yuuri snapped, "The way you are when you get drunk, how do I even know you wouldn't sleep around on me!"
"Yuuri!" Victor shouted, "I've never done anything like that since we've been together, and you know it!"
He paused, paling as his loud voice made the baby start to cry.
"Shh! Keep it down, will you?" Yuuri scolded him, "Now, show me the changing tables and dressers."
He looked at the display on Victor's phone and pointed out one of each.
"One of us will have to stay with her and one will have to go to the store," Yuuri said, slipping the nipple back into the baby's mouth, "We'll need formula, diapers, wipies and a few other things. The baby's starting to fall asleep, so I'll go and get the things while you watch her."
"What?" Victor yelped, "You're going to leave her alone with me? Yuuri, she'll start screaming again. I think she dislikes me almost as much as her mother does right now."
"And you probably kinda deserve it," Yuuri said, under his breath, "Don't worry. You'll be fine. I'll put the baby down on the bed and you can stay with her and just make sure that she doesn't fall off, onto the floor."
The baby finished the last of the formula and Yuuri found a burping cloth and laid it over his shoulder. He held the baby gently and patted and rubbed her back until she let out several loud burps and a little formula dribbled out of her mouth.
"She threw up? Is she sick?" Victor asked worriedly.
"It's okay," Yuuri chuckled, "Babies spit up sometimes when you burp them. She's fine, Vitya."
"Oh, good."
Yuuri carried the baby into the bedroom and laid her in the middle of the bed.
"Yuuri, is that a good idea?" Victor asked.
"It's fine for until we have the crib," Yuuri assured him, "I made a safe little area for her. But you have to stay right next to her, and don't fall asleep until I get back."
Yuuri shot him a dirty look.
"And especially, don't get drunk and forget she's there!"
"Yuuri!"
"I'll be back quickly."
Victor watched in dismay as Yuuri walked out of the room.
"Don't take too long, okay?" Victor called after him.
He turned back and walked to the bed, climbing on and laying down beside the sleeping tot. His blue-green eyes focused on her pretty face and slightly heart-shaped mouth.
"Now that you're quiet, I can see that you're really pretty cute," he whispered.
He tilted his head, studying her closely.
I guess she really must be mine. It's terrible that I don't even remember making her at all. But, before I went to Hasetsu, I was more of a mess than usual. I was depressed because I wasn't doing well in my planning for the next season. I couldn't find the inspiration I needed, and that made it really a bad time for me. I did go to a few parties and I got wasted, trying to relax so that my inspiration would come back. I was less careful than usual, so I guess it's not surprising something like this happened.
I really hope that Yuuri doesn't hate me.
I hope this kid stops hating me enough that she won't cry every time I look at her.
Or, maybe it was like Yuuri said, and she was just crying so much because she was hungry and I didn't know what to do to help her. She's sleeping so soundly now.
He watched the baby's little chest rise and fall, admiring her long, silvery locks and smiling mouth, a pert little nose and ears just like his.
When she's like this, she really is cute. I just dread when she wakes up and wants something. I hope Yuuri gets back soon.
But Yuuri was still absent when the baby girl woke, and she looked up at Victor curiously. She reached up to touch his lips and nose, then poked at his cheek and made a gurgling noise.
"I sympathize," he sighed, "I don't know what to do either. We're sort of stuck with each other, aren't we?"
He felt a twinge of worry, but he forced a little smile for her.
"It'll be all right, little one," he reassured her, picking her up and hugging her to his shoulder, breathing in her sweet baby scent, "I'll do the best I can, and we also have Yuuri…at least as long as he doesn't get too mad and run away and leave us."
He tilted his head and gave the baby a quizzical look.
"You don't think he'd leave us, do you, baby girl?" he asked.
The door to the bedroom opened and Yuuri entered, carrying several things in a large bag. Victor started to greet him, but stopped and stared as a scary rumble sounded around the area of the baby's bottom, and an unpleasant smell filled the room.
"Oh no!" Victor gasped, paling.
"It's just a dirty diaper," Yuuri said shortly, "Here, change her."
"Oh, I'm not so good at this," Victor said, putting the baby on her back.
"Well," Yuuri said, looking him squarely in the eye, "now is when you are going to get good at it, Dad."
"Oh no, I can't!" Victor yelped, "That smell, Yuuri. It's horrible! I just can't!"
"Yes," Yuuri said, glaring and setting the fresh diaper, wipies, and changing pad on the bed, "you can."