Chapter One: Viktor was always extra, even at age seven

In which Viktor Nikiforov proclaims Yuuri Katsuki as his, in front of the entire school.

Viktor Nikiforov knew he was a talented child. His mother often told him that he was destined for something great. As a three-year-old, he had asked her what "destined" meant back then and she smiled that sweet heart-shaped smile of hers and explained that one day he will find himself using his gifts for something good. And that he will bring joy to many people. It took awhile for him to realize that she had not meant gifts like the stuffed poodle he got for his birthday or the expensive jewelry that his father gave his mother on their anniversary, but rather a skill or a talent.

No one could ever say that Viktor Nikiforov lacked in confidence. However, he was never arrogant-again another word that his mother explained to him. He excelled in all his subjects under the instruction of the private tutors his father hired, reading at a young age and becoming fluent in English and French, in addition to his native Russian.

So it was no surprise to his parents when he received his letter of acceptance into the prestigious Kubo International School for Gifted Students. It was a prestigious private school that began with kindergarten all the way to grade 12 and only accepted the best of the best. The admission process was daunting, consisting of an array of practical and written tests, essays, multiple individual interviews with the parents and the child, a psychological test, and a group interview to see how the child interacts with his peers. Being accepted into Kubo International was no small feat and being able to afford it was no easier. As the only son of a wealthy CEO and a retired professional figure skater, it looked like just another milestone for Viktor's way to greatness.

With his natural charm and bright disposition Viktor easily became one of the most popular students upon entering the school. His peers waved and many of the older students also cheerfully greeted him as he walked down the halls to his homeroom. The Nikiforov name was illustrious and well-known internationally due to the success of the family business, Nikiforov Industries, which continued to grow and expand globally even in light of the recent recession.

Viktor gave a quick grin to a blushing beta that he vaguely recognized from his grade, only half listening to Chris babble to Mila and Georgi about the latest video game his father bought for him. Chris, short for Christophe Giacometti, was an alpha and was the son of wealthy Swiss philanthropists. Georgi Popovich, also an alpha, came from a family of lawyers while Mila Babicheva was the daughter of Russian socialites and the sole alpha female in their tight-knit group. But to Viktor they were simply his three closest friends. He may have been popular, but Viktor treasured the friendship that he cultivated with the other three. He had already known Chris since they were family friends before they started school at Kubo International and the two quickly befriended Georgi and Mila on their first day of kindergarten the previous year.

Many years from now, Viktor would tell you that he couldn't recall anything particularly special that would have pinpointed that the day would be a turning point in his life. It was the 17th of September, and it started off like any other ordinary day. The novelty of the new school year had already begun to wear off. While some of the upperclassmen already began to groan about projects and assignments, his class of hyper first graders still had yet to completely shake off the excitement from summer vacation. He entered their homeroom first and took his seat in the first row, draping his bag behind his chair and propping his head on his hand as he stared out the window.

Georgi sat down to his right, Mila followed and took her seat the next column over while Chris passed him to take his seat in the row behind Viktor.

"What's with the new desk?" Chris pointed to Viktor's left. Viktor blinked at the empty desk and chair beside the window. He turned around and saw that it was the only desk placed in the column, sticking out like a sore thumb. There were no other desks behind it.

"We'll be having a new student join us today," their teacher Ms. Arena stated as she walked into the classroom and took her place behind her own desk in the corner. She shuffled a couple of papers and circled something with her pen. "He will be coming in shortly, so for now let's start with attendance…"

The next minute passed in its usual fashion. Viktor was already back in a daze, only briefly interrupted in his daydreaming to raise his hand when his name was called before he turned back again to the window to stare at the tree branches dancing hypnotically. Their green leaves were still flush and full in color under the last few warm days of summer. Soon enough October will be coming and the autumn wind will begin to chill the leaves in different shades of red and yellow.

A knock at the classroom door interrupted his wandering thoughts again as he and all the rest of his classmates perked up and turned their heads toward the door. Ms. Arena stood up to open the door and they watched as she bent down to shake a small trembling hand. "Hello, you must be Yuuri, welcome to Kubo International." A soft mumbling reply can be barely heard as the students broke out in curious whispers. They were getting impatient to see the newcomer since the door blocked the new student from view.

"Come on, I can't see," Chris muttered as he tried to peer over the heads of the other students. Ms. Arena was still talking to Yuuri in a hushed voice.

Viktor couldn't see the student yet either, but since the door opened he smelled something really nice. It was a strange mixture of fresh crisp air, not unlike the winter air he loved to ice skate in when he and his mother used to go to the outdoor rink. Mixed with it was a floral scent, although he couldn't pinpoint exactly what type of flower and strangely, a hint of cinnamon. Viktor frowned at the otherwise beautiful scent being doused with the unpleasant acridness of distress. Whoever the new student was, he must have been very uneasy at his new environment. He clenched his fingers. The thought of the student being in distress unsettled him, and not simply out of a sense of empathy. His brows furrowed. A wave of protectiveness welled up in him. He felt the inexplicable need to soothe away the student's fears.

At last Ms. Arena bent to stand up and pushed the door open the rest of the way, finally revealing the small raven-haired Asian boy. Burgundy brown eyes blinked at the rest of the classroom like a deer caught in headlights behind a pair of eyeglasses.

Blue-eyes widened. 'Oh…' Viktor straightened in his chair as his eyes stared at the new student. He was shorter than average. Even though Viktor could tell that the boy was slightly chubby, the clothes still slightly dwarfed his body, further accentuating his small frame. 'He's really cute.'

The young boy bowed his head and allowed himself to be led to the front and center of the room. Viktor could see how he was worrying his bottom lip in his nervousness and how the hand that was not in Ms. Arena's was trembling at his side.

Ms. Arena stood at the front of the room and gently steered the new student to stand in front of her. She placed her hands lightly on Yuuri's shoulders. "Everyone, please welcome Yuuri Katsuki. He will be joining us today." In a softer voice she asked, "Yuuri, would you like to introduce yourself?" The boy still had his head bowed down as he shuffled his feet. The little boy whispered a reply. Viktor couldn't even hear him from the front row.

"I'm sorry, Yuuri sweetie you will have to speak a little louder. Don't be nervous, we're all friendly here. Everyone wants to meet you."

Yuuri tilted his chin high enough just to show his brown eyes behind the fringes of his bangs, "I'm Yuuri Katsuki."

"Good, and how old are you, Yuuri?"

"S-six." That response prompted a series of titters throughout the room.

"Why didn't he start on the first day, Ms. Arena?" A female beta asked from the back of the room.

"Yuuri had to take some extra special steps, Yuuko. But you see, Yuuri here is very smart." Ms. Arena positively beamed and lightly patted Yuuri's shoulder. "He passed the exams with grades high enough to get a scholarship into our school! And that's something to be very proud of, right Yuuri?"

The boy just gave a small squeak and quickly nodded his head.

"As an international school, many of us were born outside of the United States or our families came from other countries. Where is your family from, Yuuri?"

"Japan."

"That's where Yuuko is from as well," Ms. Arena said. When she sensed that she wasn't going to get much else from Yuuri she turned to the rest of the class, "Everyone please be nice to our new student. I don't want to hear anything unfriendly. Remember, treat others the way you want to be treated. Now Yuuri, you can take that seat we prepared for you by Viktor over there. Viktor, please raise your hand."

Viktor gulped as Yuuri locked his eyes on to his. He raised his hand, feeling it shake slightly as he sensed his heart rate increase as he watched the younger boy take a tentative step towards him. Yuuri shuffled over to him in small steps, hands clutching the straps of his backpack. Although he was unable to lock eyes with anyone earlier, Yuuri's eyes appeared to be just as unable to break eye contact with Viktor's.

As he passed by Viktor's desk, he was able to get a fresh wave of Yuuri's scent. The wash of nervousness that initially overpowered his scent began to dissipate, leaving behind his natural aroma of fresh winter air and hint of cinnamon. Viktor took in a deep breath and smiled when he discovered that he was now able to identify the floral undertone of Yuuri's scent. He smelled of magnolias. Freshly bloomed, just like the bouquet his father once gave to his mother.

He reached over and offered an open palm to Yuuri. The shorter boy blinked wide eyes at him and hesitantly raised his own right hand to place it in Viktor's. Viktor smiled at the perfect fit. Even Yuuri's fingers were soft as he shook it in a gentle handshake, "I'm Viktor Nikiforov." He gave the new student a wide smile.

"H-hi, V-Viktor," Yuuri whispered and ducked his head in embarrassment. His cheeks grew a violent shade of pink.

'Adorable!' Viktor hesitantly let go of Yuuri's hand as Ms. Arena called the class's attention to their first lesson of the day. The warmth that he felt in his chest earlier swelled and flowed from his head to his toes. His right hand, the one he used to hold Yuuri's felt warm as he rested his head on it, trying to discreetly sniff at the residual scent of magnolias that Yuuri left there. He couldn't understand why but he was so happy and he knew it had everything to do with the new student beside him. Something clicked in him then and there, like something shifted in the universe and all was finally right again.

"You're staring at him again, Viktor."

"Hn?"

"See, I told you, there's something wrong," Chris muttered to Georgi and Mila while they sat down eating lunch outdoors later that Friday. The weather was still fair and they took full advantage of it on a set of tables placed at the edge of the playground. They watched as their silver-haired friend stared at the new Japanese student sitting at the opposite corner of the courtyard surrounded by a small group of betas and omegas. They had just learned that the new student was an omega, so it made more sense that he didn't spend so much time around alphas since omegas tended to socialize more easily with betas and fellow omegas.

"Do you think the new student is actually a witch and placed a curse on Viktor?" Georgi hissed as he turned to look at Yuuri with suspicious eyes.

"Oh God please not witches again," Mila groaned and rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand, my babushka told me this story once about how one girl in her village cursed this boy who was mean to her. He lived the rest of his life like the walking dead!"

"Are we talking about zombies now?" Chris perked up at the opportunity for a change in topic, "My cousin got this new video game where you shoot zombies, it's called–"

"No! The boy was placed under a spell and he couldn't control his body. But he can still breathe, eat, and walk so he spent the rest of his life trapped because no one could tell that there was something wrong with him. What if that happened to Viktor?"

"Your grandmother seriously has got to stop telling you all those horror stories."

Mila huffed and turned over to poke Viktor on his side, "Hey, Viktor. Viktor!" She gave him three more successive pokes. The third poke seemed to finally wake him up from his trance.

Viktor coughed on the juice he was drinking and sputtered, "W-what?" He crushed his empty juicebox and placed it on his tray.

"Care to tell us why you've been staring at Yuuri this whole week? Why don't you just go over and talk to him already? You can invite him to eat with us." Viktor turned around to look back at Yuuri and pondered her idea as if he never thought of it before.

"But Mila," Georgi protested.

"You see, Georgi," Mila said gesturing with her head to Viktor, "He's not under a witch's spell at all, but he is sick."

"What do you mean sick?" Chris asked confused.

Mila sighed and explained as if she were talking to toddlers instead of two boys her age. "Viktor's lovesick. Duh! Isn't it obvious?"

"What's being lovesick? I don't get it," Chris was not getting the picture at all. Understandable given his age, but a little hard to believe given how we all know how he will turn out after puberty hits.

"He's in love!" Georgi gasped in comprehension and clapped his hands. "My babushka also told me these beautiful fairytales where true love's kiss would break any curse."

Mila facepalmed. "I thought we just said that Viktor is not under a curse."

Chris shifted over the bench closer to Viktor, "Hey Viktor, are you in love?"

Viktor balked and turned around with wide eyes. "Am I what?"

"Come on, from one alpha to another," Chris said borrowing a phrase he often heard his older cousin use with his friends, "are you in love with Yuuri?"

"Yuuri?"

"Yeah, Yuuri Katsuki. I think we only have one Yuuri in our class. Maybe in the entire school. Are you in love with him?"

Viktor blinked quickly as he leaned away from Chris. "Um…"

Mila and Georgi shifted closer to the now uncharacteristically skittish alpha. He appeared to be deep in thought. He turned around to look again at Yuuri again, one finger on his lips like he always did when he trying to figure out a hard puzzle. After a couple of seconds passed this way, Mila decided to speak up. "How do you feel when you see Yuuri, Viktor?"

Viktor turned back to Mila. "I don't know. Warm, I guess?"

"Like a fever?" Chris gave a soft oof when Mila elbowed him in the ribs.

"Chris, quiet. You're not helping."

Viktor shook his head and laughed. "No of course not! More like the kind of warmth you feel when you drink hot chocolate after a very cold day. The kind of warmth that goes all around your body."

"Go on."

Viktor smiled at Mila and closed his eyes, picturing something in his mind's eye. "It's the kind of warmth I also felt when mama used to hug me. My heart also beats faster when I see him, but not because I'm scared, just happy." A wide heart-shaped smile formed on his face as he finally opened his eyes. "Yes, that's it. Yuuri makes me happy. And I want to have that feeling all the time. Back when I shook his hand on his first day, I felt some sort of spark too. Something felt right. I didn't want to let go of his hand."

Mila squealed causing the boys to cringe. "I knew it! Oh Viktor," she leaped over to hug him, "You're in love! Go get him!"

"He is?"

"I am?"

"Who's getting who?"

"Viktor is going to get Yuuri!" Mila yelled back at the two other boys. She turned back and placed both hands on Viktor's shoulders, leaning over so that her eyes were aligned with Viktor's. "Viktor, don't you see? You have to tell Yuuri you love him. Court him, woo him like a true alpha. Then he will surely fall for you too! It's destiny!"

'Destiny?' There was that word again. "You are destined for great things," his mother once said. He could almost see her warm emerald eyes shining down at him. Maybe Yuuri was also part of his destiny. He shook his head. No, Yuuri was definitely part of his destiny. What was that other word again? Fate? Yes, that was it. They were meant for each other. That's why he felt such a close bond to him the moment they first met.

"Any true alpha knows what he wants and gets what he wants. Never be afraid to claim what is rightfully yours, Viktor," another memory, this time his father's words came to mind. It was one of many lectures he received on bringing pride to the Nikiforov family. "Never be afraid to claim what is rightfully yours." The words rang again in his mind. That's right. His father always taught him that Nikiforovs always get what they want and he was no exception. Viktor nodded, hands fisted by his sides as he stood up with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Viktor?"

"Yes, I am in love with Yuuri Katsuki." He turned to see his closest friends looking at him with varying expressions. Chris looked amused; Georgi appeared a strange mix of happy but also nervous, no doubt still wondering if Yuuri had him under a spell; and Mila looked absolutely delighted. "And Yuuri Katsuki is mine." He turned around to watch the omega laugh at something a fellow omega said. Even from afar, his heart swelled at hearing the sweet tinkling tune of his omega's gentle laugh. He wanted to make Yuuri laugh as well. With a new mission, Viktor straightened the lapels of his uniform jacket and strode over to the opposite end of the courtyard with confident strides.

"Wait Viktor, where are you going?" Mila called out.

"Viktor?"

"Hey, Viktor!"

Viktor didn't hear his friends as he continued to walk over to Yuuri Katsuki. Students of varying ages parted and stared at him wondering what he was doing at the part of the courtyard where omegas and betas generally congregate. He ignored the confused looks of teachers and staff who hesitated to confront him on why he was in this section of the courtyard. While the school didn't have explicit segregation rules for the secondary genders outdoors, it was almost an unspoken rule to have the students in separate areas.

As he came closer to the object of his affections, Viktor called out, "Yuuri!" The omega squeaked and ducked his head as he stared back at the alpha quickly approaching him.

"V-Viktor?" Yuuri brought his arms and legs closer to his body from where he sat on the bench, a nervous omega's protective instinct to make himself smaller. The omegas and betas around Yuuri gave Viktor a confused stare and began to whisper.

Viktor paid them no mind. He only had eyes for Yuuri as he gently took the omega's right hand and then his left hand until he was holding both gently in the small space between them. He took the moment to memorize the sight before him. Yuuri was staring at him with wide eyes, the same deer in headlights stare that he gave the class on that first day. But this time, those two gorgeous eyes were trained on him and him only. He could drown in them forever. A pink blush gave his cheeks a healthy glow and the September breeze gently swayed his hair raven back and forth, allowing Viktor to breath in Yuuri's scent. This was the closest he's been to Yuuri outside of class.

He gave Yuuri his trademark smile, causing the omega to blush deeper and give a tremulous, tentative smile back. The entire courtyard was silent, with teachers, students, and staff trained in on the strange image of the young alpha and omega.

Without breaking eye contact with Yuuri, Viktor took a deep breath and proclaimed in a voice loud enough to be heard in the entire courtyard, "Yuuri, starting today, I'm your alpha and you're my mate!"

Cross-posting from Archive of Our Own. As you can tell, I tinkered with the ages of the characters to suit my AU. I adore young!Yuuri and young!Viktor and I wanted to read a fic of their younger selves interacting, so I decided to write my own. Comments and concrit are always welcome. And please reach out to me at .com! I'd love to talk about all things YOI!