The next morning, Nikolai woke up ridiculously early. He wasn't sure if he was excited about spending the day with Aliya, or simply more rested than usual because he hadn't skated late last night. Either way, he was wide awake shortly after the sun. Unfortunately for him, his brain hadn't considered the fact that it was early morning, and he didn't have to be at practice with Aliya until that afternoon. For a while, he simply stayed in bed, staring up at the ceiling and wiling himself to go back to sleep. He eventually gave up on that and decided that he should go make some breakfast.

Usually, his otousan was the one who cooked for them. He had taught some of the art to his children, though, adamant about passing on some of their Japanese culture. And whenever they visited their grandparents, it certainly seemed to pay off. Obasan in particular was always thrilled to see Nikolai or Aki cook a Japanese dish. So, although it was not Nikolai's best skill, he knew his way around the kitchen well enough. Today, for the first time in quite a while, he decided to make use of that talent.

Although he was confident in his cooking skills, Nikolai struggled more than he had anticipated without the use of his left arm. He nearly caved and took it out of the sling, since the doctor had said that it wasn't strictly necessary for a grade I sprain. Then he remembered that his parents could wander into the kitchen at any time, and decided that it was in his remaining health's best interests to keep it on.

Just when he was finishing up, his papa wandered into the kitchen, yawning widely. He smiled sleepily. "Ohayo, Nika! Mmm, that smells nice! What are you making?"

Nikolai smiled back. "Nothing too fancy, Papa. Just some eggs, toast, and rice. I put out some yogurt with fruit, too, if you want any." He gestured towards the table, where he had already set places for himself and his parents.

Victor looked suitably impressed. "Oooh, very nice, Nika! I'll just make some coffee and then I'll have some."

Nikolai gestured towards the coffee maker. "Already made."

The impressed look deepened as Victor walked over to pour himself a cup of coffee. "Wow, Nika, you've really thought of everything today, huh?"

Nikolai hummed as he finished putting the eggs on a plate. "Well, I woke up early today, so I didn't have anything better to do." He carried the plate over to the table and sat down in his place.

Victor followed his son, taking his own seat. "Any particular reason you woke up early?" he asked lightly, taking a piece of toast and reaching for the jam.

"I'm not really sure."

"Hmm," his papa mused as he spooned eggs onto his plate. "Maybe you're just worried about your hockey?"

Nikolai was surprised to hear the suggestion coming from his papa and even more surprised to find that it wasn't true at all. He really wasn't concerned about missing hockey for a week. "Um, not especially, Papa," he replied absently, confused by this new revelation.

His papa sat back and began eating, chewing contemplatively as he eyed his son. "So, any big plans for today?" he asked lightly.

Nikolai jumped a little bit in his seat. Did his papa know? No, how could he? Unless Yuri had talked to him about it last night after Nikolai left their apartment? But why wouldn't his papa just say something directly to Nikolai then? He sneaked a glance at Victor, but he was simply eating his breakfast, an innocent look on his face.

Well, Nikolai supposed there was no use in lying to him. He'd find out soon enough, if these practices went on for a week or two. He might as well get the whole ordeal over with now. He cleared his throat nervously and started, "Well, actually, Papa, I'm headed over to the skating rink today."

Victor's eyes widened a bit, but all he said was, "Oh?"

Nikolai swallowed a mouthful of dry toast, and went on, "Yeah. So, you know, since I can't play hockey for a week or two, I thought…well, since Aliya is still looking for a partner, and I know how to skate a bit, we're going to practice together until I heal up." He darted a quick glance at his papa before barreling on, "But it's not a big deal, I'm just helping out a friend for a little bit, you know? She just needs someone to train with, and I have nothing better to do, so we thought it could work for now." He finally gathered the courage to look directly at his papa.

Victor was looking back at him, his ice-blue eyes wide, a small smile pricking the corners of his mouth. When he noticed his son's expression, he wiped the smile off his face, but the sparkle in his eyes remained as he replied, "Of course, Nika. I understand. That sounds like a great plan."

Yuuri came padding into the kitchen just then, and asked, "What's a good plan, Vitya?"

Victor turned to his husband, his eyes holding the same delight they had every morning when he saw Yuuri. "Ah, zvezda moya! Good morning!" He rose up in his chair slightly as Yuuri approached the table, brushing a tender kiss to his husband's lips. He settled back down as Yuuri seated himself at the table as well. "Nika was just telling me about his plans for today."

"Oh, you mean about practicing with Aliya?" Yuuri asked lightly, reaching for his rice bowl.

Nikolai stared at his otousan. "How did you know that?" he asked.

Yuuri looked back at him, eyes blank. "Yuri told us," he answered simply.

Nikolai groaned. Of course. While Yuri liked to pretend otherwise, his parents were his closest friends, and he was known for broadcasting information to them. Honestly, Nikolai was lucky that he hadn't posted this info on any social media sites.

His papa cut in, "Don't worry though, Nika. We aren't going to go spreading it around. You probably don't want your hockey friends to know you're doing this for a week, right?"

Nikolai blinked at him in shock. He hadn't thought his papa cared about his reputation with his teammates. "No, I guess not," he answered slowly. "Thanks, Papa."

Victor simply smiled sunnily in reply, and went back to eating his breakfast. Nikolai turned to his otousan for his reaction. "Well, Otousan, what do you think?"

Yuuri looked at him thoughtfully. "I don't suppose it really matters what I think, does it? You should do what you think is best. And if you feel like you have to do this for your friend, then that sounds like a good use of your free time this week."

The table lapsed into a brief silence as Nikolai chewed over their reactions along with his breakfast. Eventually, his parents began an innocuous discussion about some new skating regulations, which Nikolai ignored. He finished his food and began clearing away dishes silently. His parents, still talking fluidly, rose to help him out.

When the table had been cleared, his otousan stretched and said, "Well, I'd better get to the rink and get ready for the kids. Nika, I'll see you later, I suppose?" He smiled warmly at his son.

Nikolai started a bit. He hadn't thought about that aspect of this new schedule. "Yeah, I suppose you will."

Yuuri gave his husband a kiss goodbye, waved to his son, and left for the rink. When the door had closed behind him, Victor turned to Nikolai. "Well, I'd better get going for the day, too. We've had a ton of meetings lately. Honestly, I'm just ready for the season to start so we can get to our real work." He rolled his eyes conspiratorially. "Anyway, are you going to be ok by yourself until practice? Anything I can get for you to do?"

Nikolai rushed to say, "No, Papa, I'm sure I can find something to do. I don't need you to help me find chores to do."

His papa chuckled. "That wasn't what I was thinking, but that's not a bad idea. If you get really bored, the bathroom could always use a good cleaning." He winked at his son and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Well, I'm off too, then. Have a good day, and have some fun, ok?"

Nikolai allowed himself a genuine smile. "Yeah, I think that I will."

Despite his protests that he didn't need help amusing himself, Nikolai found this to be far from the truth as the morning wore on. He split his time between fiddling around on his phone and staring uselessly into space, imagining what practice with Aliya was going to be like. He was ecstatic at the chance to be close to her and hold her for an entire week, without needing an excuse to touch her. Still, the excitement of these thoughts weren't enough to save him from his boredom. By the time he needed to get ready to leave, he was seriously contemplating taking up his papa's suggestion to clean the bathroom. Instead, he decided that he would simply head to the rink a little early.

When he actually arrived at the rink, however, he realized that he was perhaps a bit too early. His otousan was still running his class, and was surrounded by a giggling bundle of very small children who slid around comically on the ice. Nikolai hesitated at first, but decided that it wouldn't hurt anything if he simply skated laps for warm up like he usually did.

As soon as he stepped out onto the ice, however, he realized that he had made a grave miscalculation. He hadn't been accounting for the children. His otousan, of course, had noticed him as soon as he entered the arena, greeting him with a small, private smile. The children hadn't noticed his presence until the slamming of the gate announced his arrival, and the sudden sound caught their attention. He froze in place as six sets of eyes turned upon him simultaneously.

His otousan chuckled. "It's ok, everyone," he said to his class, "That's just my son, Nikolai. He's here to skate for a bit."

One little boy with a shock of blond hair chirped, "Is he a 'fessional skater, Yuuri Toshiyavich?"

Yuuri replied with a smile, "Why, I suppose you could say that. He's here to practice with a professional skater this week."

The children regarded him with something bordering awe. Nikolai shifted uncomfortably on the ice. "Otousan, don't tell them that. I'm not really a professional skater, I'm just here to help."

One of the taller children, a bright-eyed girl, asked, "So does that mean that you're here to help us for our class?"

Nikolai looked down at her in surprise. "Oh, no, that's not what I, um…" he looked at his otousan, sending a silent plea for help.

Before Yuuri could say anything, though, the other children chimed in.

"Yeah, he should help us!"

"Come on, it will be fun!"

"It's ok if he skates with us, isn't it, Yuuri Toshiyavich?"

"Pleeeease?"

The children all looked up at him expectantly. Nikolai turned to his otousan helplessly. Yuuri simply chuckled and said, "Well, I don't see any harm in it. Nika, we were just going to practice our backwards skating. Would you care to help?"

The blond boy chimed in, "Yeah, Nika Yuryevich! Can you help us?"

Nikolai sighed. How was he supposed to say no to these tiny faces? Wearily, he corrected, "Actually, my name is Nikolai Victorevich."

A small, dark-haired girl spoke up. "But I thought Yuuri Toshiyavich was your papa?"

He tensed up, ready for the uncomfortable conversation that usually followed this explanation of his name. "He is. But I have another father, and his name is Victor. So I take my name from him instead."

The children seemed to consider this for a second. "But what about your mama?" the blond boy piped.

"I don't have one," Nikolai replied, trying his best not to sound defensive to this bunch of preschoolers.

"But he has two papas instead, so that's ok, isn't it?" the tall girl asked.

The other children mumbled their agreement.

"Does your other papa skate, too?" asked a second boy.

"Well, actually, yes. He's a very famous skater, and he's won gold medals all over the world. He even won in the Olympics."

The children looked up at him, wide-eyed in amazement.

"Really?!"

"That's so cool!"

"No fair, both of his papas are the best skaters!"

"Well, that's why he's a professional skater, too, right?"

"Yeah, I bet he's really good!"

"Yeah, come on, Nikolai Victorevich, come skate with us! Show us how you skate!"

Their conversation devolved into a chorus of voices pleading him to skate with them, and a multitude of hands tugging on him. Nikolai looked around for his otousan in bewilderment, but all he got was a shrug and an amused smile. "Well, it looks like it's decided, then!" Yuuri announced. "So we'll do it like this: why don't the boys go with Nikolai, and the girls can come with me?" A few of the children started to protest, but Yuuri held up his hand. "We can switch off after a while so everyone can get a chance with Nikolai. Does that sound fair?" The girls mumbled their agreement, and the boys flocked over to Nikolai excitedly.

The blond boy tugged on his hand excitedly. "So can you show us how to skate backwards, Nikolai Victorevich?"

By the time parents began to trickle down to the gate, Nikolai had completely forgotten his earlier trepidation. All of the kids had swarmed over him, fighting for his attention like it was a prize. And, most surprising and best of all, not a single one of them had questioned him having two fathers, or even mentioned it past their initial confusion. They simply accepted him as he was, even looking up to him because of his talented fathers. It was such a refreshing change that Nikolai found himself getting lost in the work, directing the children subtly as they stumbled and tripped over their skates. He was so involved in his observations of them that when his otousan skated over and placed a hand on his shoulder, he jumped a little in surprise. Yuuri smiled and pointed at the parents, then called over the ice, "Well, that's all for today, children. Your parents are all here to take you home."

There was a collective moan of disappointment from the little group.

"Aww, already?"

"But it was my turn with Nikolai Victorevich!"

"That's not fair, I wanted a turn next!"

"Hey, Nikolai Victorevich, are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, can you come back and teach us again tomorrow?"

Suddenly, Nikolai found himself the target of six little hopeful faces, staring up at him like he was the moon. He stammered, "Uh, I'm not really sure, this isn't my class, so I can't really decide that…"

Yuuri skated up beside him and bent down to smile at the children. "Well, it is my class, and I say that it's just fine. But you have to convince Nikolai first. Can you all give him a big hug and tell him thank you so that he comes back tomorrow?"

A wall of small humans threw themselves at Nikolai, and he barely had time to stabilize himself before they hit. A chorus of small voices assaulted him, showering him with thanks and pleas to return. He glared at his otousan over the tops of their heads, but Yuuri simply smiled back serenely.

Nikolai exhaled deeply and looked down at the mound of small bodies surrounding him. "All right, I guess I can come back tomorrow," he sighed.

The children exploded in a flurry of cheers, and Yuuri laughed as he called over the ruckus, "Ok, children, you heard him, Nikolai will be back tomorrow. Now it's time to go home for the day, though. Thank you all for your hard work today." He bowed slightly to the class, and, apparently used to the gesture, they all bowed back, wobbling comically as they tried to keep their balance on the ice. Then they turned and skated off towards their parents, chattering at them excitedly about their new teacher.

Nikolai turned to his otousan. Irked, he complained, "Otousan, why did you let them swarm all over me like that? Won't I just be in your way tomorrow?"

Yuuri smiled back. "Of course not, Nika. Why would you be in the way? You were a great help today. And you saw how much the children loved you. You did very well as a teacher. You seem to have a natural gift for it."

Nikolai blushed. "Stop it, Otousan. I wasn't that good with them."

Yuuri chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that. But if you don't believe me, why don't you try asking Aliya what she thought?"

Nikolai froze. What? He turned slowly, dismayed, towards the side of the rink.

And, sure enough, there she was, watching him.