Okay. I'm attempting this thing. I haven't written anything in a long time, so don't be too hard on me. Hope you like it.

Warning: I don't really know what I was doing here. It's kinda needlessly long. Basically, I coulda cut a lot out of it and had the same story. But I didn't.

Also, sorry for any errors. I did my best, dammit!

The Runaway

Otabek opened the door to the little apartment he'd rented for the summer to find his best friend Yuri standing there, typing furiously on his phone.

"Yuri?"

Yuri's eyes went wide with surprise. "Hey. I was just about to text you."

Otabek stood in the doorway, expressionless. "While standing on my doorstep?"

"Yeah... I didn't wanna come over uninvited," the blond told him. He casually slipped the phone into his pocket. "What brings you here?"

"I should be asking YOU that," Otabek murmured.

Yuri laughed uncomfortably. "I mean, what brings you to the door? Heading someplace?"

"Yeah. I wanted to buy a few groceries," the older man said, looking Yuri over. "What brings YOU here?"

"I'll come with you," Yuri said, blatantly ignoring Otabek's question.

It was pretty obvious to Otabek that his friend didn't want to talk about why he'd come over, so he let the topic drop. He reached around the corner, grabbed the spare helmet and gave it to Yuri. "Alright," was all he said. The two hopped onto Otabek's motorcycle and headed out.

The Kazakh ice skater had only moved into the apartment a few days ago and he'd seen Yuri every day since his arrival, so he shouldn't have been surprised when he showed up today. As a matter of fact, he'd decided to spend his summer in Yuri's hometown at the younger skater's request. They didn't even have any particular plans for the summer. Yuri had just asked him to come and he'd agreed without question.

And of course Yuri had helped him move his few things into his apartment, along with Victor and Yuuri—those two couldn't be separated. Then during the following days Yuri would text him to ask if he could come over. The two of them would just hang out for the whole day, sometimes going to the movies or out to eat or on a stroll around town and sometimes just staying at Otabek's place chatting or watching movies or listening to music or playing video games. It was nothing major.

Once they arrived at the store, Yuri hopped off the bike, took off his helmet and adjusted his hair. "I know this place well, so if you're looking for something specific, just let me know. I'll take you straight to it," the blond said, a little more enthusiastically than was expected.

Otabek simply gave a nod.

Watching Yuri as he led Otabek around the store was somewhat amusing to the older man. The blond didn't have his hands shoved in his pockets like he normally did and he didn't seem cranky like he always was. There was actually a smile on his face and a pep in his step as he clung to the side of the little cart Otabek was pushing around. The younger man seemed almost...EXCITED to be there.

"If you're cooking, can I help?" Yuri asked.

Yuri always helped him cook when he came over, so why would today be any different? "Sure," was all Otabek said.

"Awesome! Can I stay over?" Yuri asked.

Well, that had come out of nowhere. "Okay."

"Thanks! I kinda got into an argument at home that I'd rather not go back to," Yuri said like it was nothing.

That wasn't unusual, except the part about not wanting to go back to it. "Wanna talk about it?"

Yuri's eyes lit up and he practically pranced off and picked up two huge steaks. "Otabek! Let's get these!"

He was gonna take that as a no. Of course, if Yuri wanted to talk about something, he'd just talk about it. Otabek just chuckled. "Alright."

Yuri rushed over and placed the meat in the cart before Otabek had a chance to change his mind. The younger skater was way too energetic for someone who'd just been in an argument he didn't want to talk about or go back to.

It took marinating the steaks and putting them in the fridge for Otabek to think about what was actually happening today. Yuri was planning on spending the night, but the blond hadn't brought anything with him. Also, Otabek's place only had the one bed. Well, the couch was kinda comfy. He'd napped on it before, so that should be okay. But what about overnight gear and clothes? Sure, he had extra toothbrushes and other toiletries that Yuri could use, but did the younger skater expect to borrow his clothes? They'd never fit.

"Yuri...," Otabek said, watching his friend rummage around the kitchen for something to eat in the meantime.

The blond grabbed a box of cereal, milk and a bowl and looked over his shoulder at Otabek. "Yeah?"

The Kazakh skater joined Yuri next to the fridge and leaned against the counter with his arms folded. "Did you intend to spend the night when you came here today?"

Yuri laughed uncomfortably as he poured cereal into his bowl. "Yeah."

"And you brought nothing with you?"

"I brought my phone."

"That's not what I mean. No toothbrush? No pajamas? No clothes for tomorrow?"

Yuri frowned at his cereal bowl. "I didn't really think about it."

Otabek sighed. "Yuri..."

"What? I was pissed. I wasn't thinking," Yuri told him, pouring milk into his cereal bowl.

"Aren't you a little old to be running away from home?" Otabek asked with a little chuckle.

"I'm not 'running away from home'. I just needed some time to myself."

"Where do you plan on sleeping?" Otabek asked. "There's only one bed here, you know."

Even through the blond tresses shielding Yuri's face, Otabek could see the younger skater's cheeks flush deep red. But his statement came boldly, "With you."

For some reason Otabek felt his own face become warm. He didn't like where this was going. Why was Yuri so embarrassed about the prospect of sleeping with him? "The couch," he said quickly, without realizing it.

Yuri finally looked up at him, still blushing slightly.

"I'll take the couch and you can have my bed," Otabek elaborated. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't comfortable with the idea that Yuri had become flushed at suggesting they sleep together. Friends shared beds sometimes when it was necessary. He supposed that in this case it wasn't really necessary, though. He had a perfectly fine couch to crash on.

"Oh... Okay." The blond took his cereal to the couch and started poking at it.

That was close. Something awkward had narrowly been avoided just now. However, now it was really bothering Otabek. Had the idea of sleeping together been suggested without the addition of that strangely adorable blush, he wouldn't have thought twice about it. He would've gone ahead with it and everything would've been fine. But that blush seemed to suggest something completely inappropriate.

Far back in the recesses of Otabek's mind, he knew exactly what that 'something completely inappropriate' was. As a matter of fact, he'd thought about it only once a long time ago when they first became friends.

No! No, he hadn't. He hadn't thought about it even then. It had been a passing thought. Barely a thought. A whisper of part of a thought, not even fully developed. And it wasn't coming back now.

Yet he could feel his face burning from a thought that wasn't even there.

"Otabek? Can we watch a movie?" Yuri asked.

He was still standing in the kitchen. How long had he been standing there? "Yeah, go ahead," Otabek said, pouring up a bowl of cereal for himself.

Otabek frowned at how overly conscious of Yuri he was now. The younger skater was sitting on the farthest side of the couch, as usual, with his legs wide open, as usual. But the blond was studying and picking at the couch the entire time the movie played.

As a matter of fact, Otabek saw very little of the movie. His eyes kept venturing over between Yuri's spread legs to those dainty little fingers fiddling around with his couch.

"Otabek?" Yuri said.

The Kazakh skater finally looked up at Yuri's face. "Yeah?"

"Can we have steak now? I'm starving."

Otabek stifled a chuckle. "Okay. Let's cook some steak."

Yuri hopped up way too enthusiastically and happily pranced to the kitchen.

Yuri was finally in the mood to talk about what had driven him from home by the time they started cooking. He'd already started living with Lilia and Yakov again and he'd caught them in a 'compromising position' that Yuri didn't want to describe at the moment—or ever.

"It was even more gross than when the old man and the pig are groping all over each other. Fucking disgusting," Yuri told him while he cut veggies, making the most amusing expression of revulsion Otabek had ever seen.

The older man tried not to laugh, but a little chuckle slipped out.

"It's not funny. You're not constantly surrounded by people who thrive on PDA. You saw those two the other day while we were helping you move in. It was like a nightmare," Yuri whined.

Otabek actually thought that Victor and Yuuri were pretty cute. "I'm sure that once you find someone you're like that with, it won't bother you so much."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that."

"You won't even know until it happens. Then one day you'll be doting on someone and you won't be able to take your eyes off of them. And you'll want to be close to them and touch them all the time. And you'll want to kiss them all the time and you'll look just like Yuuri and Victor," Otabek said.

Yuri rinsed the vegetables and tossed them into Otabek's steamer. "If that ever happens, I want you to club me over the head."

"You don't think you'll ever be so in love with someone that you won't want to be away from them?" Otabek asked with a frown. Why was he frowning?

The blond shrugged, his hair effectively curtaining his face once again. "I-I don't know. I can't see into the future."

"I think you will. You seem like the type of person who doesn't fall in love easily, but you'd probably fall hard once you do," Otabek said quietly, yet it was loud enough to be heard.

"Oh, no. You're a romantic. I never would've guessed," Yuri said, looking away. "What? Do you have a lady friend back in Kazakhstan that you're waiting to propose to or something?"

The question was probably intended to be sarcastic, but it seemed more earnest than Otabek had expected. "I wouldn't be spending my summer here if I did."

Yuri narrowed his eyes at Otabek. "I don't think I like that answer. Sounds like the minute you get a girlfriend, you'll dump me."

The older skater stiffened, completely forgetting what he was supposed to be doing. Yuri almost sounded jealous. "Of course not."

"Otabek? Why don't you have a girlfriend?"

This line of questioning was beginning to make Otabek feel nervous. And when he glanced up at Yuri, the younger skater's whole face was a dazzling shade of pink and he was staring down at the counter.

"I mean, you're a super talented ice skater and DJ and you ride a motorcycle. You're easy to talk to and you're nice and you can cook and you're just so cool," Yuri went on. "Who wouldn't wanna go out with you?"

Otabek found himself blushing, flattered beyond words.

Yuri stared down at the steak Otabek was cooking and frowned. "I might have to take back what I said about being a good cook. I hope that's not mine because I wanted mine rare. That thing's, like, medium well."

"Dammit. I wasn't paying attention," Otabek said, removing the steak from the pan. "I'll make the next one perfect just for you."

Yuri smiled brightly.

Otabek gave Yuri a toothbrush and towel and narrowed his eyes at him. What exactly was the blond going to do about clothes? He supposed he and Yuri could go shopping before it got too late and pick up some things for him...

"Which one is the underwear drawer?" Yuri asked quietly.

"Uh-ummm," Otabek stammered, heat making its way to his face and ears. "I'm sorry. What?"

Yuri quickly spinned on his heels and started rummaging through each of the drawers. "I-uh guess I'll need them all anyway since I have to find a shirt too."

The older skater watched speechlessly as Yuri pulled out a black pair of silk boxers and seemed to be staring at them.

"Okay. I've decided. Tonight is gonna be 'stay up all night in t-shirt and boxers night' night tonight," Yuri rambled senselessly, tossing the underwear at Otabek. "You'll wear those!" He quickly pulled out a black sleeveless t-shirt and tossed it at Otabek as well. "And that! You shower first and then after I'm done we'll play video games all night in our underwear. It'll be great."

Otabek had had no intention of staying up all night, but he supposed it wouldn't be too bad. Besides, how often did they have the chance to spend the night together? They should just make the most of it.

The Kazakh skater's hair was almost completely dry by the time Yuri came out of the shower. He, too, was wearing one of Otabek's sleeveless t-shirts which was adorably oversized. Yet for some reason Yuri had it pulled up, showing off the boxers he had on. They were dark green and were hanging half off his slender hips. However, one wondrous vision stood out beyond all others. Just above the waistband of those falling underwear was a tuft of silky-looking blond pubic hair.

"They're too big," Yuri said with a pout.

What he wouldn't give to take a picture of this beautiful person before him. And surely he knew how beautiful he was. He had his 'Angels' who always told him and his coaches who always told him. The mirror that always told him. Yuri didn't need yet another person telling him how beautiful he was.

So, Otabek sat quietly on the sofa, still staring at the hairs that peeped over the band of those oversized boxers. And he could swear he glimpsed Yuri's hand slowly trailing down toward those very hairs.

No. It must have been his imagination. He was already feeling a stirring in his lower abdomen, so he would have to be careful with those imaginings. Otabek finally looked away, choosing to stare at the blank television screen instead.

Yuri came over and noisily plopped down beside him, turning on the tv and the game console. The shoulder closest to Otabek was completely exposed and the older skater did his best not to stare at Yuri's flawless pale skin.

By the time the game started and Yuri was trying to hand him a controller, Otabek found that he had, in fact, been staring at that naked shoulder beside him.

"Um," Yuri began, wresting Otabek from his stupor. "Those boxers... They look really good on you."

"Everything looks good on you," Otabek murmured without really thinking about what he was saying.

The younger skater blushed and grinned at Otabek. "Really?"

Otabek wanted to take it back. He never meant to say it out loud, but it was too late now. It was already out there. "Um, yeah." He looked at the blond for only a second before turning his attention back to the television screen. "The game's starting."

"Oh, right," Yuri said.

And as Yuri turned his attention to the game, Otabek glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye and saw that the younger skater was still blushing.

The game started becoming quite unsuccessful after only a few hours, but that was because Otabek kept glimpsing Yuri nodding off in the middle of trying to play the game. It was cute that Yuri wanted to stay up all night with him, but it was pretty obvious that the younger skater was ready for bed.

"Yuri," Otabek said during one of Yuri's dozing spells.

"Hm?" the blond asked, his eyes fluttering open.

"Let's call it a night, huh?"

Yuri frowned. "What? No! I came here to spend time with you. I said we were gonna stay up all night together and that's what we're gonna do."

"You can barely keep your eyes open. Let's just go to bed," Otabek said.

"No. I'm awake. I'm awake. See?" Yuri said, stretching his eyes as wide as he could.

That had been so cute that the Kazakh skater had to laugh out loud. "You're tired." He stood Yuri up and started walking him toward his bedroom.

"Fine. Fine. But I came here to spend time with you, so you're not sleeping on the couch," the younger skater said, taking Otabek's hand. "You're sleeping with me."

Oh, no. That was something Otabek was trying to avoid, yet he was letting his guest lead him to his own bedroom. He just watched Yuri's other hand tugging to keep his oversized boxers from falling off.

Once they got to the room, Yuri pranced over to the bed, making sure to keep a hold of his borrowed boxers, and hopped under the covers. Then he looked at Otabek with a playful glint in his eye. "Well?"

The younger skater seemed much more energetic than he had been while playing video games. (This isn't a big deal,) Otabek thought. (Friends sleep together all the time. It doesn't matter that Yuri was blushing when he suggested it. It's just a couple of friends sharing a bed.) The Kazakh native turned off the bedroom light and climbed into bed, making sure to keep a healthy distance between the two of them.

There came a few torturous moments of silence through which he was sure Yuri could hear his heart thudding madly within his chest. And it was all because the blond had brought back memories of an under-developed thought he'd had when they met again for the first time.

"Otabek?" Yuri whispered.

He'd been so sure that the younger skater was asleep by now. He thought about pretending to be asleep, but, "Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm not tired anymore."

That was the way it worked, wasn't it? "You're always the most tired right before you head off to bed, then when you finally get into bed, you're wide awake," Otabek said with a chuckle.

Yuri chuckled as well. "Yeah." He was quiet for a while before he added. "Hey, turn this way. I can barely hear you when you're lying on your back like that."

Otabek frowned. He already knew that Yuri was lying on his side, facing him, but did he really want them to be face to face while lying in bed? Yet for some reason, he couldn't say no to that. Otabek turned onto his side to face Yuri, even though it was too dark to see much of his face. "Better?"

"Yeah. I can hear you just fine now," Yuri told him. "So, can I stay over tomorrow too?"

"I guess. What? Are you still upset about Yakov and Lilia?"

Yuri groaned and shifted uncomfortably under the covers. "Don't remind me."

Otabek could practically hear Yuri's eyes roll when he said that.

"All that kissy-kissy stuff is so weird and gross. I don't even know why anyone would wanna do it."

Had Yuri really not gotten out of the 'cooties' phase? There was no way he was this stubborn about things involving romance, right?

Otabek suddenly felt Yuri scooting closer to him and he didn't really think twice about it until he felt Yuri's lips lightly touch his.

"I mean, what even IS that?" Yuri asked quietly.

The older skater stilled in shock. Yuri had just kissed him for no reason at all, besides to demonstrate the thing the blond hated. Or at least Otabek thought Yuri hated it. After feeling those lips touch his once more, he started to wonder if Yuri really hated it as much as he said he did.

He wanted Yuri's lips to touch his again, but he had a feeling that if he initiated it, there might be trouble. So, he remained still and stared at the features of Yuri's face that he could make out in the darkness. The younger skater seemed confused or surprised or maybe curious. It was hard for Otabek to tell with the scant light shining through his bedroom window.

"Do...do you like stuff like that? Otabek?" Yuri asked, his voice sounding much different than Otabek had ever heard it sound.

Otabek thought that it would be okay to speak, but his own voice came out more raspy than he expected. "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Um, yeah."

"You do? But isn't it weird?" Yuri asked before moving in for another kiss, this time staying in contact with Otabek's lips a little longer.

And this time Otabek responded, pressing his lips against Yuri's. He could feel heat burning his cheeks and ears. "I don't think it's weird," Otabek whispered.

What was he saying? It wasn't like he had a whole lot of experience when it came to kissing or romance or anything along those lines. He was a skater and he concentrated solely on his ice skating career ever since the first time he met Yuri. Besides DJing, he didn't have time for much else.

Otabek felt Yuri clutch his shirt as he kissed him yet again, this time accompanied by a little moan that sent something indefinable coursing through the older skater's body.

"I think it's weird," Yuri murmured.

Well, at least he wasn't calling it gross anymore.