Hello YOI fam. So there is no shortage of amazing canon Otayuri fics out there, and I know nothing about ice skating outside of the show. Also the friends to lovers troupe is my weakness, and I think Yuri and Otabek need some time to get there.

As a result, this is a neighbors/best friends/falling in love over time/modern day American high school AU in 5+1 style.

Otabek is 9 when he moves into the same apartment building as 7 year old Yuri

1.

There's a flurry of black and white as the other children run about the room, scurrying to their places on the bar. It's Otabek's first day in class, and he doesn't know where he's supposed to stand, let alone how to make his legs turn out the way the other boys' do once he gets there. The instructor, Ms. Lilia, is stern and unsmiling. Her only instruction is a sharp gesture as she points to a spot on the bar near the front, right beside a small blonde boy who appears to be a couple years younger than him. "Yuri," the boy beside him stiffens, turning his attention to the instructor at the front of the class, "This is Otabek. He just moved in across the hall from us, and his mother has asked that he join us. I'd like you to help him if he has questions. Understood?"

The small boy nods back, face pulled tight. "Da." Otabek turns to say hello, but stops short when the boy glares back at him too intensely, bright green eyes cutting through him. His breath catches in his throat and he forgets what he was going to say. Instead he just stands there staring, jaw hung open gaping like a fish out of water. The boy quickly loses his patience, finally snapping at him. "What are you looking at?"

The question pulls him out of his trance and he quickly turns away embarrassed - he'd never seen such a fierceness come from someone so young.

'He has the eyes of a soldier.'

The rest of the class goes by in a blur - Ms. Lilia is constantly shouting commands at the other dancers, their movements changing instantly to place a foot here, lift a leg there, drape an arm just so in response. He does his best, following the blonde boy before him, too scared to ask questions or interrupt his practice. Yuri's expression never wavers - each time he moves his face into view, his eyes are sharp, lips straight, brow furrowed in concentration. It's obvious by the end that this boy is more talented than the others, and he watches with wonder, fascinated by how someone could move so gracefully, yet be so strong.

Otabek leaves immediately when the class is dismissed, doing his best to get his bag and slip out quickly. His plan is thwarted however, when he sees his mother waiting in the front room. She sits patiently, smile never leaving her face even when she sees the clear signs of distress on the young boy's face. "How was it?"

The boy pulls his shoes on, stuffing the slippers into his bag carelessly in haste. "It was embarrassing. I'm not good at this, and the other kids are so talented. Can we go?"

Her smile falters then - Otabek has always been a polite boy and the outburst is uncharacteristic of him. "Don't be rude Beka, Ms. Lilia offered to let you join them so you could make new friends. You don't have to go again if you really didn't enjoy it, but at least thank her properly."

He sighs, frustrated by his own lack of abilities, but not wanting to be inconsiderate either. It had been kind of Ms. Lilia to invite him - moving to San Francisco had been good for his Mother and sisters, but the 9 year old missed his friends back in Almaty greatly. Moving in late spring had only made matters worse - school hadn't started yet, and there weren't many children in the small building they'd found an apartment in. When Lilia had noticed him and his mother bringing in groceries last week, the women had struck up a conversation while he continued on with the task. His mother had mentioned his love of music and lack of social interaction, so Lilia invited him to join her junior boys' ballet class. He wasn't particularly interested in dancing, but he agreed, desperately wanting to meet new friends.

Otabek rarely acted in a way that left him feeling guilty, but his behavior had done just that. It was one thing, disappointing himself, but disappointing his family, his friends, his mother - that was much more painful experience, and he did everything he could to avoid it. On the occasion he let himself give in to his anger or frustration, he'd hear his mother's words echo in his mind 'We must always been kind' and feel instantly ashamed. He shook his head in reproach, dark inky strands falling across his face. His anger had dissipated, and he held only fondness for the woman before him and the love she had passed on to him. "Sorry. Let's go back."

When they return back into the studio, the other kids have all left, leaving Yuri stretching by himself in the back as Lilia moves about collecting props.

"Ah, Symbat, how nice to see you. Otabek worked very hard today." Her stern formality is still there, but she's softened now that the class is dismissed.

"Thank you for having me Ms. Lilia. I did my best, but the others make it look so easy. Your son in particular is very good. I could never move like he does. I don't think I'm cut right for ballet." He does his best to be gracious, but he wants to make it clear the experience had not been one he wishes to repeat. Lilia picks up on the subtle message, appreciating his honesty.

"Ah, well Yuri is a special case. He's practically grown up in this studio - in part because he's always shown talent, but also because he needs somewhere to go when his mother gets her treatments done. I'm actually his aunt - he stays with me and my father part time. I'm sure he'd be glad to have a friend in the building."

Otabek smiles at her, but he doesn't get his hopes up. He doesn't think the other boy would want to be his, or anyone else's, friend. He's too serious, too focused, too solitary. He doesn't tell her that though, deciding instead to stay mute.

"Well thank you again Lilia, we'll see you and Yuri soon I'm sure." They women share a few more pleasantries before he and his mother leave. True to her word, his mother doesn't make him go back to the studio, but she does encourage him to go over and play with Yuri.

Despite Otabek's best efforts to visit, Yuri isn't home with Lilia and Nikolai much the rest of the summer. He sees the boy come and go with them from time to time, and he always wears the same stony expression. After the fourth failed attempt at a play date, Otabek resigns himself to staying in alone and reading to pass the time. When school finally starts up in the fall things get better - he meets a few other kids his age and likes most of them. He still doesn't find a best friend to replace the ones he left in Almaty, but Emil is friendly and Leo's a nice guy too. The rest of their friends are a bit odd, but he's happy to be at a school with lots of other international students so he accepts their strange customs in hopes they accept his as well. That JJ kid gets under his skin but he just shrugs it off.

He doesn't see Yuri much until December, when he comes to stay full time with Lilia. He starts at the same school as Otabek, and the brunette offers to walk together for Yuri's first day. Otabek wants to ask the boy how his mother is doing, how he got to be so good at ballet. He wants to ask him why he wears his hear long and why all his clothes have cats or leopard spots on them. Mostly, he just wants to get to know the other boy who seems so serious and strong and sad. He knows he was sad when his dad passed away and they had to leave every thing they knew behind to start over here. He thinks that maybe if he tells the other boy about his own sadness, he'll open up to him about his.

They leave the building together without so much as a hello. There's a soft crunch as they trudge through the wet dirt and leaves that have built up on the sidewalks. Cars pass by, honking in greeting and frustration and impatience. There are a few others milling about: the corner grocer sweeping the walk to his store, a homeless man pushing a shopping cart, a few young professionals walking to catch Muni. Otabek notices every sound, every smell, every movement about him - the silence between them is deafening, and he welcomes the distractions. When they're alone again and still have another half mile to walk, he decides the tension is too much and blurts out he first thing that comes to his mind. "Where did you move from?"

Yuri stops for a moment and gives one of his trademark glares. When the question finally registers in his head, his answer is short and leaves no invitation for a follow up. "I lived in the Tenderloin with my Mom. She's in hospice now, so I'm here." He looks back down and continues walking.

Otabek can tell from the boys demeanor that asking about her illness is a bad idea, and after catching up, he diverts the conversation to something safer. "Ms. Lilia is nice, so is Mr. Nikolai."

The blond scoffs, still looking down at his feet as they walk. "It's better than a boys home."

Otabek hadn't really thought about that - when his father passed, he still had his mother. If Yuri ended up with his aunt, it must have meant his father wasn't around. He knew about losing a parent, but not about being an orphan. Still, he could relate to having your life turned upside down and moving to a new place. "It's hard to leave your friends at your old school, but most of the kids at this one are nice."

A exasperated sigh leaves the blonde's mouth. He still refuses to look up, and the response he mumbles back is barely audible. "I didn't have any friends to leave." And I don't need any new ones. Yuri doesn't say the second part, but Otabek hears it anyway. From that day forward, they spend the walk to school together in silence.

It's March when he finally makes a break through. Otabek has just gotten back to the apartment building when he notices Yuri and another boy his age standing out front. The blonde looks irritated, but it's hard to tell if he is since that's how he always looks. A few steps later he comes into earshot, stopping immediately when they boy asks Yuri "Why do you pretend to be a girl?"

Otabek quickly realizes that the blonde is very angry - he can see his shoulders are tense and drawn up even beneath the black hoodie. "I'm not pretending to be shit, idiot. I'm obviously a boy."

The boy seems unfazed, and continues the line of questioning as he moves closer towards Yuri, backing him against he old brick wall. "Well you have long hair like a girl. And you dance like a girl. And you're pretty like a girl. And I uh, I like you like you, so you must be a girl."

Otabek is confused by the boy's statement, the schoolyard phrasing lost on him. 'He like-likes Yuri?'

Yuri, on the other hand, seems to understand perfectly. If he was mad before, he's furious now. "What? That's gross and stupid. Leave me alone."

The smaller boy spits the words out, a biting tone behind them. Otabek is observant - he can see that behind the tough exterior, the blonde is upset and fearful. The other boy has him cornered and is much bigger. He doesn't want to embarrass Yuri - he knows he's strong and independent - but he also doesn't want things to escalate further. Yuri will be angry about it, but he has to do what he thinks is right.

Otabek walks closer, standing between Yuri and the other boy. "He said to leave him alone."

He's glad to be two years older - the kid is big for his age but obviously outranked. He sulks and turns tail, clearly frustrated by the intrusion to their conversation.

When the brunette looks back at Yuri he's still angry, but there's a softness there now that wasn't before, and his eyes can't hide the relief that pours from them. "I could have handled him - it wouldn't have been the first jerk I had to tell off with my fist."

Otabek just smiles and turns to leave, hoping that giving the boy space will keep the delicate peace between them. To his surprise, Yuri reaches out, grabbing him by the sleeve. "Wait! Why did you do that? You almost never try to talk to me."

The question catches Otabek off guard - Yuri had made it very clear he didn't want to be Otabek's friend. He'd just picked up on the other boy's cues and left it alone.

"I didn't think you wanted me to." It's honest, and at this point he doesn't see the point in lying.

"Well I didn't then. You stared at me like I was a freak in ballet." Yuri's voice is quiet - he's vulnerable in a way Otabek has never seen him before.

Otabek wants to tell him that he'd taken his breath away - that he was so captivated by him the first day they met he'd forgotten his own name. He wants to tell him how he admires that he's so silent and strong even though his mom is sick. He wants to tell him that it's okay he's sad, because he was sad too but having friends makes it a little bit easier. He wants to say all of that, but he doesn't. Instead he tells him a different truth.

"I'm sorry. That day in ballet you were just so good, and I was so bad. I didn't think you'd want to be friends with a klutz like me."

Yuri's shoulders relax, and a smile creeps across his face. "You were pretty bad."

He looks up at the older boy and laughs at the frown directed back at him. "That's okay though, so are most people. Lilia says ballet runs in the family, so I probably wouldn't be as good if I hadn't been born a Plisetsky."

He can still be a bit rude, but the brunette is glad to see this other side of Yuri. He still doesn't know everything about the boy, and it will probably take a while for him to open up more, but you've got to start somewhere. "Do you want to be my friend Yuri?"

The smaller boy blushes, looking down at his feet like he always does when he's uncomfortable. When he looks up though, his smile is back, and there's a sparkle in his eyes that's never been there before. "Okay."