Yuuri woke up comfortably warm. He could feel a soft breeze tousling his hair, making it tickle his cheeks pleasantly, his feet were warm as opposed to the usual ice sickles they usually were in the mornings, and the pain in his neck was completely gone.

He kept his eyes closed, yawned softly and turned over onto his side. A bounce, he was definitely not in his block and this was definitely not the lower levels. He could tell by the smell if everything else hadn't already tipped him off. It was fresh and clean, a faint musk to the air and he felt his body stretch as he pulled more and more out of sleep.

His body relaxed and he felt his awareness begin to fade again just as a blaring beep beep beep sounded through his ears.

He sat up and gasped, even after spending some time knowing he wasn't in his block, he was still a little shocked to find himself in a nice cozy bed, bigger than any he had laid eyes on before. The room was dark but a dull light illuminated everything vaguely. He could hear the late night sounds of the city coming in from the window across from the bed and the memories from the previous day began flooding into his memory.

He had an Alpha. Finally.

He looked over to see Victor reaching up and slamming his hand down on his alarm clock before sitting up lazily and yawning.

Even in the dull light, it was easy to see the well-toned muscles that made up Victor's body and Yuuri felt a shiver travel up his spine. Victor grumbled for a moment and then pushed himself off of the bed, heading toward the bathroom where the dull light that illuminated the dark room, cut off as he shut the door behind him.

Yuuri froze. Was he supposed to be on the bed? He and Victor must have fallen asleep last night when the Alpha had been discussing some ground rules. He wasn't sure the Alpha would want him in his bed. Victor had told him that he hadn't planned on taking him as a lover. But he had also said that he wasn't going to be cruel, he wanted Yuuri to be happy with him.

Yuuri looked at the floor and thought he should jump down, just in case as the door from the bathroom opened and the room was flooded in light.

Victor yawned again and padded over to the bed, flipping the light on and causing Yuuri to retract at the sudden painful shock.

"Oh, sorry Yuuri." Victor said with a hint of amusement.

Yuuri blinked a few times and then smiled softly. Victor grabbed his phone and turned it on as he walked out of the bedroom and disappeared into the kitchen. Yuuri hesitated for only a moment before deciding to go with his gut. He had done that yesterday—had a gut feeling that his master would like to show off his new pet to the angry yelling old man. He hadn't thought about crawling into the Alpha's lap, he'd just done it. And Victor had liked it. His gut seemed to point him on the right path.

So he crawled out of the comfy bed and followed his master. He found the silver haired man standing infront of his coffee maker, still looking down at his phone. Yuuri slipped onto one of the bar stools and rested his elbows on the bar, watching as Victor now moved to the fridge, pulling out half&half and an egg.

When Victor turned around and looked up from his phone his eyes went a little wide and he looked down at the single egg he had in his hand. "Oh, do you like eggs?"

Yuuri shrugged. "Never had one before."

Victor tilted his head, his hair falling messily into his face. "You've never had an egg?" He asked a little disbelieving.

Yuuri shrugged again. "Fruit and water." He said softly. "To keep our figures." He explained, motioning down at his petite frame.

Victor nodded slowly and then glanced around the kitchen. "I don't think there's a single fruit in this whole apartment."

Yuuri smiled and shook his head. "There's no need to fuss over me. I can have whatever you'd like me to have."

Victor gave him an odd look and opened his mouth before closing it. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead he turned around and got another egg from the fridge. "Well, let's try an egg this morning and if you don't like it, we can get some fruit."

The egg was—interesting. Yuuri didn't dislike it, exactly and it definitely hit the spot, but he couldn't quite figure if he liked it. Victor had added mushrooms and cheese to his own, and Yuuri had his plain. He wondered if the mushroom and cheese would make it better, but then again—he'd never had either of those either.

After breakfast Yuuri followed Victor back into the bedroom where the Alpha began pulling out the clothes he wanted to wear for the day. Yuuri sat on the edge of the bed, watching with curiosity as the Alplha chose, decided against and finally compiled the outfit in full. Yuuri thought that Victor would look pretty much the same in anything he wore, but the Alpha was meticulous and picky; carefully choosing a shirt to match his tie and making sure his slacks were just the right shade of blue to offset the whole thing.

He wondered if the Alpha would be just as picky about his own clothing. He hadn't seen any sort of pet clothing anywhere, and just as he had the thought, Victor turned around and sighed.

"I guess we'll have to go shopping for you today." He said with a vague smile. "I only have the clothes that my father's last pet wore, and I don't know if they'll fit you."

Yuuri nodded and smiled. "I don't think it matters what I wear, Alpha. Anything will do."

Victor shook his head in disagreement. "No, I need you to look impressive. You represent my family when you're out in public and since you'll be in public with me until my business associates accept that I actually have a pet, we'll need to get you some things."

Yuuri didn't say anything. He had learned that having an opinion could be endearing in certain situations, but he just didn't know Victor well enough to be able to read him yet. Victor nodded to himself and laid his slacks on the bed neatly alongside the tie and shirt.

"For now, you care wear the suit in the front closet. It's dark blue—the only pet outfit you'll find."

Yuuri nodded and stood up, heading to the front closet to grab his new clothes. The material was light and breathable, something similar to workout material. It had a sparkling sequence pattern along the shoulders and down the sides of the pants that added a hint of flair to the entire ensemble. It was just a simple shirt and pair of pants with matching silk gloves, but Yuuri marveled at it. He'd never seen a pet wearing something so magnificent.

When he made his way back into the bedroom, Victor had gone into the bathroom again and was taking a shower. Yuuri slipped on his clothes and looked in the full length mirror that hung on the inside of Victor's closet.

The outfit suited him. It was maybe a bit small for him, but the stretchy material smoothed over his figure, showing off the curve of his hips and the slight muscles in his upper body. The sequence over the shoulders gave him the look of bulk that wasn't really there and when he slipped the silky gloves over his hands they appeared long and elegant.

He twisted and turned, trying to see himself from every angle and when he finally nodded to himself in approval he found himself hoping Victor liked it as well. The Alpha may have had no interest in bedding him, but that didn't mean Yuuri couldn't show him what he was missing.

With a private smile, Yuuri walked over to the bed and made it up the way it had been when Victor had showed him around last night. He fluffed the pillows, tucked the comforter over under and then laid the warm blanket that had fallen to the floor, neatly over the edge.

He removed the empty coffee mugs from Victor's side table and rinsed them out in the sink before setting them upside down to dry. He then grabbed the plates and forks they had used this morning and did the same before filling Victor's current mug of coffee and adding two table spoons of half&half and a packet of the sweetener Victor had used.

When Yuuri came back into the bedroom and set the coffee down on the side table, Victor had just come out of the bathroom, a towel tied around his waist and another in his hand petting down his hair.

The Alpha stopped and looked around surprised.

"Did—is Sophia here?" He asked, looking around the straightened room.

"No, I just picked up a little." Yuuri said, casually.

Victor seemed impressed, but the look disappeared and he looked sternly at Yuuri. "It's not your job to clean, Yuuri. I have a maid."

Yuuri struggled between the desire to be obedient and the desire to follow his training. He had always been trained to do these things, it was less work and more habit at this point. He took a breath and decided to be bold again.

"She must not be a very good maid. There were four empty coffee mugs on your side table."

Victor looked over to the table and then back to Yuuri, grinning softly as he rolled his eyes. "I suppose you took care of the dishes too, then?"

Yuuri shrugged. "Maybe if this maid doesn't have to worry about dishes and making the bed, she can focus on actually dusting."

Victor grinned broadly and shook his head. "She is kind of bad at that isn't she?"

Yuuri smiled and nodded his head gently.

Victor shook his head again and began dressing. Yuuri thought it was a bit open of the Alpha to dress in front of him, given his resolve to keep their relationship strictly professional, but he wasn't complaining either. He watched as the well-built Alpha pulled on his clothes, straightening and maneuvering until they were settled perfectly.

He then watched carefully as the Alpha returned to the bathroom and styled his hair, blow drying the last bits of dampness out while a bristle brush ran through the locks, causing a wonderfully fluffy maim to appear before he sleeked it down with a bit of gel. Yuuri was fascinated by Victor's morning routine. He had never seen anyone spend so much time on their appearance and still manage to emerge looking like they'd just rolled out of bed that way.

After rubbing some lotion on his hands and neck, Victor reached down and took a sip from the coffee Yuuri had refreshed for him. He looked down at the brew and then looked at Yuuri.

"Did you make this?" He asked, taking another sip.

Yuuri nodded and smiled. "I added another spoon full of the half&half. I saw you do it once yesterday."

"It's really good." Victor said impressed.

They piddled around the apartment for a few minutes, Victor looking for a spare jacket for Yuuri to wear before having to give up and promising to buy him one later that day, and they left the apartment, heading down to Victor's car to head back to the Agency.

The entrance to the office levels of the Agency were through the parking structure, and Yuuri had only used the entrance once, the night before when leaving. He felt odd coming through the doors, like he didn't belong, like he should probably use another door and leave this one for his Alpha and his co-workers. But Victor had been very clear that Yuuri went where he went.

The ground rules they had gone over the previous night had been simple. A few of them had been obvious and others were a little strange to Yuuri.

"You stay by my side." Victor said sternly. "There are buildings and business that don't allow pets, but if I go in, you go in. Stay close to me and don't look anyone in the eye in those situations." Yuuri had nodded his understanding as Victor went on.

"If someone gives you an order, you ignore it. You are not the company pet or a working pet, you're my pet. And if I don't tell you to do it directly, then don't do it."

Yuuri nodded again and then chewed his lip before asking, "What if you're not around?"

Victor had tilted his head slightly and then kindly responded, "If you follow the first rule, then that won't be a problem." Yuurin nodded, then Victor went on, "but if you do find yourself in a situation where I'm not there use your best judgement."

"Do not speak to other pets unless I say it's okay. There are a few that I don't want you mingling with. If another Alpha touches you, winks at you, makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, you tell me as soon as we're alone. I don't want you to eat anything offered to you by anyone but myself. . ."

There had been many rules and Yuuri had memorized them all, paying close attention to Victor's wording and trying to understand the meaning of each one. He had no reason to think that the pet of an elite Alpha would be any different than an average Alpha, but he supposed he'd been wrong.

They entered Victor's office and Yuuri made his way over to his pet cushion, fluffing it comfortably before sitting down. The cushion was much softer and firmer than the one that had been in his block. He liked the polka dot design and the feel of the soft fur.

Victor poured himself another cup of coffee, his third that morning, and then sat down in his chair beside Yuuri. He sipped his coffee silently for a moment and then looked down at the young pet.

"Will you be alright just sitting there?" He asked a little curiously.

Yuuri grinned, "It's the same as sitting in my block. Only you have these nice big windows that have a better view."

Victor chuckled softly. "Alright well, let me know if you get bored." Yuuri nodded, but had no intention of doing any such thing. He would be perfectly happy looking down at the tiny cars rushing by, and if he did get bored, he could always take a nap. There had been no rule against a nap.

Victor's work kept him busy for most of the morning. Yuuri watched as he checked emails, read papers, made notes and phone calls. He was level headed and calmly assertive and Yuuri had the idea that Victor was one Alpha who actually could do without a pet calming his rages. He had only known him for a day, but Yuuri thought it'd be very strange to see the Alpha emotional.

By the time Victor had finished off another two cups of coffee, Yuuri had just woken from a nap. He had curled up on his cushion and found the sounds of Victor's typing very soothing. He'd not slept very deeply but he'd appreciated the rest just the same. It had been a long time since he'd gotten a good night sleep, and even though last night had been fantastic, he was still pretty exhausted.

When he had first arrived at the Agency, he had been 20 years old. The previous Agency he had been trained at, had traded him for another pet due to Yuuri's odd mannerisms and reluctance to behave. He wasn't a bad pet exactly, he just had problems not speaking out of turn and doing things differently than he'd been told. The Agency that traded him had bought him as a pup and when 20 years of training and teaching didn't crush the spirit out of him, they'd given up.

The Nikiforov Agency meant nothing to Yuuri. All he knew was that he was lucky not to have been given to a facility. The Nikiforov Agency had seen him as much too attractive and well-bred to pass on and after 3 years in the Nikiforov training program they had deemed him ready to be sold.

He was never sure why he had such a hard time being sold. There had been many times he thought he'd been picked, only to find that the family or Alpha had gone with another pet. So many times he asked what he was doing wrong, only to be told to keep his mouth shut and maybe wiggle his ass a little more.

His year in the blocks had quieted his spirit a bit, he used to play, loved walking outside with the workers and other pets, loved romping around and laughing. But a year in the blocks had changed him. He'd grown weary and nervous, trying his best to be desirable, and still failing.

His last week at the Agency began with a rundown from the Pet Experts, telling him how his transfer to the facility would take place. He had been told to keep his manners but be flexible, as the facility would retrain a few things. He was told how to keep himself safe, the facility didn't screen their clients as Agencies did, and he was told to keep himself looking nice as best he could.

He'd fallen so low that by the time Victor had come to get him, he'd actually thought he was being sent to the facility early. He had no idea who Victor was, and didn't really question why he was being taken upstairs, he'd only thought that this was it.

Now that his future had finally been settled, Yuuri noticed how tired he'd been. The few days alone had been exhausting for him, and the past year had not been much better. But now—now he stretched and yawned, rolling over onto his back with a sigh.

Victor looked down at him and smiled. "Good morning, lazing beauty." The Alpha said teasingly. Yuuri smiled back and yawned again.

"Why don't you get up and I'll take you for a tour of the office?" Victor asked, standing up and stretching himself. "I could use a break."

Yuuri stood and brushed off his clothes, looking around to check that there was nothing on his backside and then smoothing his hair down a bit. Victor had been clear that he needed to look nice, and he meant to do everything in his power to make Victor happy.

They left the office, Yuuri walking beside Victor though slightly behind. Victor showed him the entirety of the top floor and Yuuri suddenly began to understand just how much his life had changed.

The top level of the building was completely for Victor's use. Just outside his office door was a desk where his personal secretary worked. There was a copy room complete with state of the art machines, a small break room where a fully stocked fridge (no fruit still), a coffee pot, microwave and small stove were available. There were two giant conference rooms both used for meetings with the bigwigs of the company, and only able to be used if Victor called the meetings.

There was a large room that was filled with cubicles and computers that Victor explained used to be used by the accounting division before they moved to level 3.

"Now it's used for new employees training and for employees who's computers aren't working for some reason."

There was a small gym, a large luxurious unisex bathroom and a small balcony that overlooked the client parking lot.

"Why do you need all of this space to yourself if you spend all of your time in your office?" Yuuri asked before thinking. His eyes went wide and he dropped his head immediately. "I'm so sorry, Alpha." He said quickly.

Victor grinned and lifted the pet's head, looking into his eyes. "You are allowed to speak to me freely. Remember?"

Yuuri did remember, but that had been one of those rules that didn't make sense to him, and he knew it'd take him a while to get used to that one. He nodded slowly and Victor removed his finger from under his chin.

"Honestly, I don't need it. It made sense when accounting was here, but since we moved them down, it's just stayed like this. Sometimes I think about what I could do with this space that would be productive, but I really don't have a lot of free time to think about it."

Yuuri had always thought that there needed to be a team at every Agency that was dedicated to the protection of their pets. A team that would check up on the pets sold, check that the lower level pets were being treated properly and even dealing with the cases of harder to sell pets. It was a gap in the system that he, as a pet, could see plainly, but something like that would suggest that pets were more important than simple tools to be used by Alphas. He tucked the thought away into his mind, however and smiled at Victor.

Victor took him down to the next floor and showed him around the management offices. This floor was laid out the same as the top, only instead of two conference rooms, there was only one, and the other had been made into another set of cubicles used for the secretaries of all of the managers.

By the time they finished the tour of that floor, Victor had said it was enough for today and brought Yuuri back upstairs for some lunch. Yuuri had his first sandwich and he immediately decided that this was something he liked, ham with cheddar and lots of vegetables with mayo on pumpernickel bread.

Victor chuckled as the pet scarfed his food, "There's plenty more, Yuuri, slow down before you make yourself sick."

Yuuri looked up at him, mouth full to bursting and tried to slow down, chewing the food and swallowing it happily.

"I didn't know meat was so good!" he said happily.

Victor grinned and nodded, "I've always liked it. But I don't want you to get sick from a sudden change in diet, so I really am going to get some fruit for you and we can ease you into the meat and eggs."

Victor had told Yuuri that they were going to leave the office around 4 so that they could get to the market before it closed. Fruit, clothes and a new collar were all on the list and Yuuri was actually looking forward to seeing the market in person.

A loud knock came at the door and Yuuri jumped slightly before hearing his Alpha say "Come in" calmly.

The door opened and the same man from yesterday walked in.

"Victor, we need to go to an Auction soon. Pet sales have been going up steadily and we're almost at half capacity."

"Again?" Victor questioned, taking the paper Yakov handed him and reading it quickly. "Wow, I suppose it's a good problem to have. I'll take Georgi and Mila to the next one. When is it?"

Yakov looked at the paper, "Saturday after next. I'd say you'll want about 50."

Victor nodded and sat back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at the paper. "Which Auction House is holding the Auction?"

Yakov pointed to the paper but responded aloud, "St. Petersburg National."

Victor sighed and considered for a moment. He hated doing business with St. Petersburg National Auctioneers. It was owned by the same company that owned the facility they did business with, and the Auction House trade was a much uglier affair than pet sales.

Yuuri could see Victor's shoulders tense, his breathing coming a little harder—the changes were subtle, anyone else would think he was fine, but Yuuri could instantly tell the difference and he couldn't have that.

He leaned over, rubbing his cheek along Victor's leg. The Alpha reached a hand down and ran his fingers through the soft hair, playing idly while still considering his options.

"Are you sure we couldn't hold out for the next one? The last time we bought from St. Petersburg National, the pets were sick."

"If we wait until the next one, we may have to close sales for a few weeks. We'll run out of pets to buy." Yakov said shrugging his shoulders.

Yuuri wrapped and arm around Victor's leg and pulled himself up from the ground. Yakov stammered for a moment as he watched the pet crawl into Victor's lap and make himself comfortable.

Yuuri could feel Victor's breathing ease the moment he rested his ear to his chest and he nodded approvingly at the change. His Alpha needed to stay destressed and calm to make a big decision like this.

"O-of course it's up to you, Victor." Yakov said, staring confused at the nuzzling pet.

Victor continued running his fingers through Yuuri's hair and staring at the paper. He was silent for a long time before finally sighing and shaking his head.

"No, you're right. We'll go, but I want detailed records of the condition the pets are in upon arrival and I want the Experts here to receive the shipment in case any need medical attention."

Yakov nodded slowly and Victor cocked his head at him. "Problem?"

"It just seems you've gotten close to your new pet…"he said suspiciously, "in an awfully short amount of time…"

Victor stared him down, his hands moving gently over Yuuri's scalp. "What are you implying, Yakov?"

The old man eyed him back for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. "Nothing, nothing. You do what you want, Victor." He said turning away.

"I always do." Victor sing songed, leaning forward and looking down at the paper again.

Yakov shut the door behind him and Yuuri raised his hand slowly and began smoothing a finger down Victor's silky tie. He was comfortable, and as long as Victor was still thinking about the Auction, he felt he was right in staying put. It was obviously a source of anxiety for the Alpha.

Victor leaned forward, causing Yuuri to adjust his position a bit, and pulled up his computer, quickly typing several things before leaning back again and sighing in frustration. Yuuri nuzzled his neck gently and the Alpha stroked his hair a few times before nudging the pet gently, signaling him to get down.

Yuuri obeyed without question and made himself comfortable on his cushion again as Victor began pacing back and forth. He wasn't sure why Victor was so against this particular Auction House. Sure there were others that may treat pets a little better, but in the end they were all the same. Of course Yuuri couldn't say something like that out loud.

He stood up and walked over to Victor's coffee station. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" He asked as he watched the Alpha pace back and forth. Victor shook his head.

"No, I'd like to not have to deal with St. Petersburg National." He said a bit offhandedly. Yuuri watched him for a moment and then decided to make the coffee anyway.

It wasn't long before the bitter aromatic steam began filling the office and Victor stopped his pacing and looked over.

"Oh coffee! Perfect." He said, walking over. Yuuri made the cup the way Victor liked and the Alpha sipped happily, letting his hand come up to pet the silky black locks again.

Yuuri beamed. He may not have been able to help Victor in the most basic way Alphas used their pets, but he could keep him calm and happy, and that was something.

Victor finished his cup and then announced that it was time to go. They had a lot of things to pick up after all and Victor was eager to get his mind off of his moral conundrum. They left the building, hopped in Victor's car and headed for the market

The Market was really just a shopping center in the middle of town, but Yuuri had never seen anything so amazing. There were clothing shops, restaurants, Knick knack stores, perfume stores, music stores, furniture stores and even a few specialty pet stores. That's where they were heading first and Yuuri gasped as they entered.

The specialty pet story seemed like it could easily just be a regular store. There were food isles, clothing isles and isles with random assortments of things. Any of these things could be purchased at a regular store, but he kept his mouth shut about this as well. He was happy to have been chosen as Victor's pet, lucky even. His life could have been a lot worse and this was the best he was ever going to get. No need to voice his bitter thoughts.

Victor picked him out a special design of pet suit, limited edition. It was a spiraling sparkle design that went down one arm of the long sleeved shirt and repeated again down the opposite pant leg. It was dark blue at the collar of the shirt and slowly faded into a light blue grey at the bottom of his pants.

Victor had him try it on, and Yuuri noted that the Alpha chose the same size—slightly too small—as he was already wearing. He grinned at the thought, thinking that Victor must have appreciated the way the smaller size showed off his body.

Victor bought out the design, saying that it wouldn't do to have Yuuri wearing a design that just anyone could wear. They headed over to the isles with random pet necessities and Victor bought him a new dark leather collar, some bathing soaps and hair products, along with several new pairs of shoes and a new cushion for home. Yuuri picked out the same design cushion as the one in the office, smiling even as Victor made a face of annoyance.

He enjoyed the shopping trip immensely and after they stopped at the market to buy some fruit, they were on their way home.

Home. Yuuri thought it had a nice sound to it.