Be brave little one.
Make a wish for each sad little tear.
Hold your head up though no one is near
Someone's waiting for you.
Chapter Three: Growing Pains
Most would say that he was gifted. Others would say blessed. Some would argue that he was both. Yet Yuri Plisetsky would tell them all to go fuck off.
He simply wanted to skate.
At 17 years old, he had been around the sport long enough and obtained enough nicknames – Ice Tiger of Russia, Russian Punk, Russian Fairy to name a few – that most would assume to just leave him alone. In fact, most did. Then there were the assholes. The ones who wanted to rile him up, just to see what the hotheaded teen would do.
Especially in the last year since he had presented as an alpha.
Yuri fucking hated it. He hated everything about secondary genders – from how the hormones overrode the brain to the overwhelming smells to the urges to feelings of being lost in a rut and not knowing what transpired during the haze. Then again he had only been through two of them, recently coming out of his second rut since it was the off-season.
Thank God there were suppressants for alphas just like there are for omegas. Or else he didn't know how he'd been able to handle what happened to his body.
Presenting later than most wasn't unheard of, especially for someone who was as active was Yuri was. And never presenting before 16, Yuri had always assumed that he was a beta. Hell most of the skaters he knew were betas! There were very few alphas and omegas. Of course that asshole Jean-Jacques "JJ" Leroy was an alpha and so was Leo de la Iglesia, which surprised even him. And he always knew that Yakov was an alpha, but he never knew until much later on in life that Lilia was an omega. When it came to the omega figure skaters, Christophe Giacometti and Guang Hong Ji were two that everyone knew of. Other than that, all of the other skaters he competed against and even practiced with were betas.
Except two. Everybody assumed since Yuuri Katsuki has such a feminine physique that he was obviously an omega, while Victor Nikiforov was taller with a more muscular frame would definitely be the alpha in the relationship. At first, Yuri did too. That was until he presented.
Shortly after the Worlds, Yuri had been at the rink preparing for the next season with Victor and Yuuri in St. Petersburg. Nothing much, just some conditioning. Yuri had been feeling a bit outta of sorts. Calling it an early day, he had gone back to his apartment to try and sleep off whatever was bugging him.
Instead, Yuri woke up a few hours later feeling that his entire body was on fire and there were so many new smells around him – some sweet, some sour, some vague some strong. Stripping down to nothing but his boxers, he couldn't for the life of him understand what is going on. His breathing was heavy, sweat was running down his face and body and his groin had begun to ache. Blinding reaching a hand into his own boxers, Yuri felt his own stiff cock – the slightest touch causing him to groan.
That was when Yuri knew what was wrong with him.
He was presenting.
Needless to say, the days that had followed for Yuri were pretty much a blur. He had been told from Victor and Yuuri that he had managed to send them a cryptic text message of sorts that had stated 'presenting – text when done' and left it at that. Victor in his overbearing, smothering ways had wanted to rush over to Yuri's new apartment and make sure he was ok, while his fiancé had suggested holding off. At least one idiot in that relationship had a brain.
"So now that you presented as an alpha, are you going to want an omega like tradition dictates or throw caution to the wind?" Victor had asked one night the following week after Yuri's presentation.
"What the hell do you mean old man?" Yuri asked as he grabbed a piece of pizza to put on his plate.
"He's asking what type of mate are you going to want?" Yuuri replied while Victor happily shook his head 'yes' off to the side. "Pay no attention to him. This is coming from a man who didn't even want a mate for the longest time."
"Not until that fateful Grand Prix Banquet in Sochi…" Victor said as he wrapped his arms around Yuuri and kissed his lips. Across the round kitchen table in Victor and Yuuri's apartment, Yuri pretended to gag.
"Ugh, disgusting," he said before taking a bit of the pizza. "Anyways, Victor do all alphas take omegas for mates?"
"Most do. But a lot marry other alphas or some betas."
"Yet omegas are rare aren't they?"
"Exceedingly."
"And you went all the way to Japan for yours?"
"Uh. No."
"Hun?"
Yuri looked back and forth between Victor and Yuuri several times before realization dawned on him. "You're an Omega? Katsudon is an alpha?"
"And it's the biggest secret in Russia." Victor said winking at him.
"Not really." Yuuri said, taking a bite of his own pizza slice. "It's just that people had gotten tired of asking and they just assume whatever they want to assume. Neither of us fit the "ideal mold" of our secondarys. And since you just presented there is the possibility that you may grow and change some, Yuri."
Great. That was the last damn thing he wanted to hear.
Of course, Katsudon had been right. Over the course of the next few months not only did Yuri growth almost 8 cm but also his shoulders grew broader, along with putting on a bit more muscle. It completely fucked up his skating to the point where he was falling on 8 out of 10 of his jumps. Fortunately Victor knew how to correct this problem since he had undergone a similar issue when he had a late growth spurt – yet not because he had presented as an alpha – but he was able to help Yuri through this crisis before the next skating season started.
With all the issues that came with presenting late, Yuri also made the decision to suppress. He had to make sure to keep his alpha side under control during the season. Sure he might like to act like the Russian Punk from time to time, but that didn't mean he wanted to live up to his nickname. In fact his alpha side scared the shit out of him. He hated to be out of control of his body while something so primitive and lustful was in control at times. Thankfully he had someone he could turn to for advice and who could guide him – that wasn't Yakov. He may never admit it, but he was thankful that Yuuri was there for him when others weren't.
His grandfather wouldn't understand what he was going through, since he was a beta. Nor would Beka, since he too, was a beta. Yes, he told them both that he had presented and yes, they both supported him. Yet, he felt isolated from them as well.
Good thing when he decided to suppress his alpha side, Yuuri had offered to go to the doctor with him. He had no idea what to do or even what to ask. He would never admit it, but he was thankful.
Even though he had presented as an alpha, one thing he found that hadn't changed was his relationship with his best friend Beka – Otabek Altin, the hero of Kazakhstan. They still talked just as much and even about the same things – skating, music, cats and life in general. And the previous off-season, they had each spent a week visiting the other. So why would anything change now?
Except he was wrong.
"So when are you wanting to come to St. Petersburg? Yakov is making me take classes at the University of St. Petersburg, but those don't last the entire off season." Yuri asked during one of their Skype conversations shortly after returning to St. Petersburg after the Worlds in Boston. He had just moved into his own apartment as well. Part of the deal about moving out from under Lilia's watchful eye, along with Yakov's, was that he had to attend classes at the University of St. Petersburg. Yuri had argued at first, but both Yakov and Lilia weren't budging when it came to Yuri furthering his education. Yakov made Mila take classes as well when she had finished her primary education. He was just upset that he hadn't forced Georgi or Victor to; but it was too late for that.
"I'm going to have to check with Sofia about her competitions."
"Who is Sofia?"
"My girlfriend…Sofia Glebova. She's a Kazakh rhythmic gymnast."
"Oh." Yuri said reaching over and plucking Potya up off the couch where she was curled up.
"Yuri? What's wrong?" Beka asked. His face was etched with concern.
"Nothing, I swear! Um, how long have the two of you been together?" Yuri said quickly, trying to mask his hurt.
"Not long. Honestly our parents set us up."
"Oh…anyways, let me know if you are able to come or not. Talk to you in a few days?"
"Of course."
Yuri ended the call and threw his phone against the pillows on his couch before curling up with Potya. Tears weld up in his eyes and slowly rolled down his cheeks. Why had Beka kept this from him? Weren't they best friends? They had always told each other everything from the start of their friendship. Hadn't they? So why was this hurting so much?
For what seemed like hours, Yuri lay against the cushions of his couch, clutching Potya against his chest. The only thoughts that had continually circled through his head were 'why had Beka not told him?'
Perhaps he didn't want to upset Yuri? Why, they were nothing more then friends. Beka had never expressed any sort of other feelings towards him. Even if Yuri had at one point had a "crush" on his best friend, he was too scared to do anything about it. Besides that was years ago…before Yuri ever presented…before any of the bullshit that was currently going on. Before Yuri realized just how deep his feelings actually ran.
Man he was fucked.
The disposition that has settled over Yuri stays with him for several more weeks. He refuses to talk to anyone. He even takes a mini vacation to Moscow to visit his grandpa, stating that St. Petersburg is too stifling and that he needs a break. Yes, he and Beka had their normal conversations via Skype and they still sent their normal text messages, yet things just didn't feel the same.
Even after returning from seeing his grandpa, things seemed to be a little better. Yuri even went so far as to go to the rink for some off-season condition. Victor and Yuuri were still annoying as ever. Georgi had finally gotten over his last love interest; only to find a new one to he couldn't stop talking about; while Mila was going on about the new hockey player that she was dating. And of course, Yakov was red-faced and yelling at his skaters to get their shit together or go home – all of them except for Katsuki. He actually did what Yakov suggested, unlike his fiancé.
"So Yuri, Petro is throwing a party this weekend." Mila said, during their lunch break. "Want to come?"
Seeing that he honestly didn't have anything better to do with his last weekend before summer classes began at the University of St. Petersburg, he figured that he better go out with a bang. "Sure, why the hell not."
There have been times in his life that Yuri is thankful that his grandpa doesn't have Instagram. And this past weekend is one of them. He may have enjoyed it when he was tossing back shot after shot of vodka with a drop dead gorgeous model named Inessa Panina on his lap – who now according to her Instagram is calling herself his girlfriend. Thankfully, she's 18, he quickly learns once he is sober enough to focus on his phone the following morning. That he can deal with for now. Hopefully this all blows over.
But scrolling through his pictures from last night, his isn't so sure. There is picture after picture of him and Inessa kissing and cuddling – both selfies and some that had been taken by others – some are posted to Instagram and others aren't.
This isn't going to blow over quickly. He dropped his cellphone down on his bed before collapsing against it.
Fuck.
Thankfully he had been coherent enough not to sleep with her the night before because from what it looks like in some of these photos that just about happened. Plus he knew Mila had made sure that he got safely home via taxi last night – that he can recall somewhat.
His head was pounding from his hangover. Could this day get any worse?
Somewhere on his bed, his phone dinged with a text alert. Blindly reaching for his phone, Yuri found it and looked at his alert screen. It was a message from Victor.
The day just got worse.
|Old Man: 'We are about to leave for Japan! Don't forget to check on Makkachin for us! See you in three weeks!'|
That's right. Victor and Yuuri were leaving for their yearly trip to Japan during the off-season and he had been volunteered to watch Makkachin in exchange for katsudon dinners upon their return. He could live with that. Less cooking he had to do for himself.
But for now, he'd sleep. He'd check on Makkachin later.
Waking up a few hours later, Yuri thumbed through several alerts that he chose to ignore, a few missed calls from Yakov, and several texts from Mila. He actually read one from Inessa. He was surprised that she had put her contact information in his phone:
|Inessa: 'I'll see you in a few months when I get back from New York. Miss you already! 3'|
Yup. He was completely fucked.
The following morning, bright and early, Yuri had managed to drag himself out of bed. The night before, he had packed up everything he would need for the day – his skates, a notebook of some kind to attempt to take notes on – thankfully he was taking one dance class and one Introduction to French class with another class online - along with a change of clothes for practice. It was going to be killer, but to be able to live on his own, he'd suffer.
After stopping to check on and feed Makkachin, with a promise of a walk and more food later, Yuri dragged himself to his favorite coffee stand. He could use some caffeine.
"A black tea with milk and sugar," he said looking down at his cell phone as he ordered.
"That will be 200 rubles," the cashier said.
Yuri handed over the money before moving down to wait for his order. He still felt like utter shit from his hangover, so hopefully tea would help him out. As he waited, his sense of smell was suddenly taken over by the sweetest smell in the world. It was almost like fresh apples and cinnamon – no, more like a fresh apple pie. Like the ones his grandma used to bake so long ago…
It was then that Yuri looked up and was met with a piercing set of blue eyes.
A jolt went through his entire body, while the alpha part of his brain – the part that he tried so hard to suppress roared to life.
Mine. My Mate…
AN: Whew! I've been trying for days to get this done, but real life got in the way. But I finally got it typed up! So here's how this story works…the chapters flip flop for the most part. The next chapter with Victor and Yuuri will be taking place about the same time as the end events of this chapter. So in essence you've already got a sneak peek! ;)
Reviews, likes and love help me write faster!
