"I am sorry for forcing you this on you, though. I knew it would be too much," Viktor grimaces a little but smiles right after. He's not too upset, since he did get quite the reaction from Yuuri. He just wished that the other was coherent enough to uphold a conversation with him.

Yuuri shakes his head and smoothes out the wrinkles he created in Viktor's lapels. "It reminds me of the first time I met you."

Oh, right. He was also dressed up then, having just finished a shoot at the time. He wasn't nearly as dressed up as he was now, though. It's interesting to him to see how they went from Viktor slipping through the hospital staff to get to Yuuri to now, where he can just wave his way through and everyone knows why he's here.

"I hope that's a good memory," Viktor chuckles.

"Any memory with you has been good," Yuuri whispers back in reply.

He's thrown off by Yuuri's words. Has he forgotten what happened in the past two weeks? Surely not. What did he do to deserve someone as amazing as the angel latching on to him right now.

"There's some give to that..." Although, technically that wasn't his fault. Sure, he shouldn't have quit so suddenly on Yurio, but Yurio had no right to take his anger out on Yuuri after he already threw it at Viktor. Which then reminds him that he needs to talk to Yurio again...

It hurts to remember that week without Yuuri. Really hurts.

"Don't make that face. You didn't do anything. I'm the one that messed everything up..." Yuuri sounds just as pained as Viktor feels.

It's odd hearing Yuuri say that it was his fault though because nothing was his fault. Viktor would've reacted similarly to how Yuuri did if someone told him what Yurio did.

Viktor places a finger under Yuuri's bent head and lifts it up to meet his eyes. "You did exactly what everyone else would've done. No one blames you for anything. Please believe that."

"Can we stop talking about it? Please?"

Viktor can sense the pain in his voice and complies easily. Way to ruin such a good moment, Nikiforov. How very much like you.

They sit there in silence, and honestly Viktor has never been happier. Instead of talking, he thinks. He thinks about Yuuri and their fateful meeting, all that they've gone through in the short amount of time they've known each other, and just how much they already know about the other. It's fascinating. Really, it is. Almost like a story you read about in books and in magazines.

He's ripped out of his thoughts when his phone rings loudly, startling Yuuri as well as himself. Stumbling to get it out of his pocket, Viktor forgets to even look at the name before answering in a panic.

"Nikiforov speaking."

Yuuri laughs at him and places a hand over his own heart most likely to settle it. His heart monitor is going crazy. Viktor just sighs in exasperation, chuckling only a little as he waits for the other person to speak. There seems to be some kind of commotion on the other end. Maybe he should've looked.

"I would hope so. How'd it go?! What'd he say?! I need every detail!" It's Mila. Of course it's Mila.

"Oh, Mila."

Yuuri gazes up at Viktor with a smile on his lips and laughter across his face still. Viktor smiles back.

"Mind if I tell you when I get back? I've only been gone for an hour at best anyway. I'd like to enjoy my time here for the being."

"Yeah, sure no problem, party killer." He can practically hear the pout present on her face currently, which makes him laugh. "I did a great job though, right?"

"Too great if I'm being honest." Viktor adds a laugh. "I'll give you more details later. Is that all you called for?" He has a feeling the answer is no.

"You caught on too soon. Not fair." Mila pulls the phone away from her ear, but not enough since Viktor can still hear her telling Chris he won. "How'd you guess?"

"You only ever call if a sale is going on, or if something important has happened."

"I'll have you know the sale at Anthropologie was very important. You just don't appreciate the finer things in life. But yeah, you're right. Sorry to break up your date, but something's come up."

"Am I allowed to know what?"

Yuuri can obviously see the tension Viktor wears clearly on his face and silently asks what's wrong. Viktor shakes his head in response.

"Hold up." Mila says something to someone and seems to be walking, probably to find somewhere more private if he had to guess. "Pretend I never told you anything, got it?"

"You have my word."

"I'm going to have your car if you snitch. Remember the director who took charge of the Naturel shoot we worked on together two years ago? Ms. Dubois? Well..."

"I remember her. Mila, what happened?"

He remembers her vividly. She kept trying to make advances on him and showed her disgust for Mila quickly and proudly. The shoot lasted longer than his and Mila's patience with the director. They voiced their complaints to Yakov afterwards, and he promised to never hire her again despite how well known she was. When Yakov was questioned about the shoot for a magazine, he held nothing back when it came to telling them all that happened between the director and his models. Her popularity amongst modeling agencies quickly vanished when the magazine was released. She even threatened to sue, but Yakov shut her up when the allegations were brought up again. It would be difficult not to remember her after all that.

"She's still holding onto that grudge pretty tightly. She's claiming that Yakov doesn't treat any of us right. There are videos circulating right now that aren't exactly helping. With you playing the runaway bride and word of your retire, people are starting to believe that you're staging all of this just so you can switch companies to the same one Chris works at. I'll let you find the rest out when you show up. Mandatory meeting in fifteen. You need to be there."

"After two years, she starts this?" Viktor groans and runs a hand through his hair, pulling at it in annoyance. "I'll be there. I might be a little late, but please tell Yakov I'm hurrying as fast as I can. I'm about twenty minutes out. Just warn him ahead of time."

"No problem, Viktor. Just... hurry. Things aren't looking good right now." Mila hangs up abruptly.

Viktor lowers his phone and just stares at the screen. Why did something always have to happen? At least he didn't really leave that time when he said he would. That wouldn't have helped at all. He forgot that he's with Yuuri until his voice speaks up from beside him.

"What's wrong?"

He smiles weakly at Yuuri and puts his phone away. "I'm always pulled away from you. Unfortunately, it's a little more urgent this time. I promise to tell you everything later. I'll call. I promise."

"Vitya..." Yuuri looks ready to say something else but doesn't. "Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"I'm really sorry." Viktor leans over and kisses his forehead before leaving his side and making his way out the door quickly, phone already in his hand.

.

. . .

.

"You're late. Get in here, Vitya. Shut the door."

Viktor does as he's told and slings his jacket across his arm as he makes his way to his designated seat in the conference room between Georgi and Otabek. None of them pay him mind. All eyes are on a worn out and frustrated Yakov, who stands at the front of the table with arms crossed.

"Vitya, you know as much as Mila's told you, correct?"

Viktor quickly glances over at Mila with furrowed brows. He didn't say anything, so how does Yakov even know that Mila told him anything? And then he sees Mila silently word out He figured out on his own. Of course. Yakov knows everything that goes on at all times. That shouldn't surprise him. He turns back to Yakov and nods.

"So we're all on the same page now. I'm not going to sugarcoat this. We're in trouble right now, so here are the rules. You are to be punctual to everything you have scheduled for the time being. You already should be punctual, but some of you like to get away with that just because certain directors or photographers or sometimes everyone likes you. That will not be tolerated right now. You will be put on a leave of absence indefinitely if you do."

Yakov kept his eyes pinned on Viktor as he said that.

"You will not accept interviews for the time being. The majority of you are terrible at handling situations like this, and I do not need anymore trouble especially from you lot. Got it?"

A collected yes fills the room with no question to his authority.

"That's it for right now. Do what you need to do and leave without question. Be cooperative. Be friendly. Do not leave margin for error. We can't have any of that. With that out of the way, I will now explain our situation. As you know, there are rumors going around that you are not treated properly with edited videos that back up those false statements. I will handle them as I see fit. Do not take matters into your own hands. The less we play in the public's hand, the easier this will be. That's it for the time being. You're all dismissed except for Michele, Yuri, and Viktor."

Mila mouths a quick good luck as she escapes the room with Sara. Viktor watches everyone else leave besides the other two Yakov mentioned before turning to the man himself.

"Michele and Yuri, your schedules are free until this is all over. I've declined all projects for you two. I need you two away from any attention."

"What?!" Yurio jumps up from his seat, annoyance clear in his eyes.

"Is it just us two?" Michele seems to share Yurio's anger, but he's making less of a show of it.

"For now, yes. It's only the two of you."

"Yakov, you're kidding right?! I'm doing great! How come Viktor gets to keep working?!"

Yakov pinches the bridge of his nose in anger. "Michele, you're free to leave."

Michele quickly picks everything up and hurries out of the room, leaving Yurio to seethe in anger on his own.

"You have an uncontrollable temper. Fix it, then I'll reconsider you not working. I can't afford for you to yell at anyone on set of a shoot without me being there to diffuse the situation. I'm not your babysitter, and I shouldn't have to act like that. If that's your only fight against my word, then leave already."

Yurio mutters something incoherent under his breath and storms out of the room.

Yakov sits down in his chair at the head of the table, and Viktor watches as the man lets out a long sigh. "Viktor, you don't have any jobs this week either but for different reasons entirely."

"Why?" He doesn't really have to ask since the answer is obvious.

"You're retirement is in question as well as your loyalty to this agency. I don't want to know what your thoughts are on any of those things, I'm just telling you that you don't have anything coming up. Use the time wisely. Preferably to stay out of the public eye, but you're old enough to think on your own. I trust you to know what you're doing."

"Retirement is a thought, but I don't plan on wasting any time on it soon. I like the career I've built for myself so far, and Yuuri is proud of what I do and wants me to keep going as well. So I will."

"I told you I don't want to know."

"But Yakov-"

"No is no, Vitya. As CEO, I'd have to say what I know, and I'd rather stay out of discussions centered around those details of your life. Don't tell me anything unless you're ready to share your thoughts with the world. Got it?"

Viktor nods, unsure really what to say on his own. He knows what he wants, but if Yakov thinks otherwise, then he'll wait to talk to him until this whole thing is over. Yakov does have a point.

"Good. Now leave."

Without another word, Viktor leaves the office space. Time to himself. Wow. He hasn't had that in a long time. More time with Yuuri, he thinks. Although, Yakov did tell him to stay away from the public eye... This'll be the most boring week ever, Viktor thinks.

.

. . .

.

He was right. It is the most boring week ever. It's only been a day, and he's still sitting on his couch flipping through hundreds of channels trying to find anything to watch. He hasn't yet. So frustrating.

"Have you found anything yet?" Mila plops down on the couch next to Viktor with a yogurt in hand. He forgot he invited her. Oops.

Instead of giving her a real answer, Viktor groans as he throws his head back on the cushions of the couch, still flicking through channels. Absolutely, positively bored out of his mind. Maybe he should call Yuuri when Mila leaves. Again. He's tried calling a lot already, but Yuuri was either in testing or asleep. Which makes sense. He's just upset that he hasn't been able to talk to Yuuri yet. Not Yuuri's fault at all.

"Do you really do nothing outside of work and Yuuri?" Mila disapprovingly waves her spoon at him.

"I have plenty of hobbies." Viktor sits up straighter, landing on the news channel.

Mila snorts at him and takes a biteful of yogurt. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

He shouldn't have picked this fight with Mila. Because she's right. Viktor has no hobbies. Never has. Except those few times he used to go skating every winter with everyone in the agency. That only lasted three years, though, and it was when most of them were just starting out. Wow, how times fly. "I skate."

Mila seems to be holding back laughter. "No, you don't. You were awful the last time we went as a group! So you don't have any hobbies. I was right." She smugly finishes her yogurt before setting it on the table and stealing the remote out from Viktor's hands. "No way. As long as I'm on Viktor duty, I'm not watching the news."

Mila and Chris have come over one at a time to keep Viktor occupied since he's not really allowed to go anywhere or do anything and have decided to call it that. Viktor duty. He doesn't need someone to watch over him. He's not that old.

"This is ridiculous." Viktor gets up from the couch with a huff and makes his way to the door.

"Hey, Yakov said you're not allowed to go anywhere." Mila stands up as well, ready to stop Viktor if she needs to. "Your drinking buddy will be here in less than an hour if you just wait."

Viktor slips his shoes on and puts his arms through the sleeves of his trenchcoat, hand ready on the door knob. "He said to keep a low profile, not that I was stuck at home. I'm going for a walk." With that, viktor storms out of his flat, too exhausted from not doing anything productive. Maybe he'll just see if he can visit Yuuri. It's only four in the afternoon, so it's not too late. He could be asleep, though... He'd feel awful if he woke him up.

And now he regrets his decision more than ever. He seems to have forgotten that almost everyone in the world knows where his apartment is. There are dozens of magazine reporters in the lobby of his building, and he knows for certain he didn't bring anything as a disguise.

Viktor slips out of the elevator and walks along the wall with his head down, praying that no one will notice him.

That didn't last very long.

"It's him!"

Without looking back, Viktor runs for it. His eyes focus solely on the door as he bolts down the length of the lobby. Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea... He can hear the mob chasing him but pretends like he can't as he makes his escape, almost slamming into the glass swinging doors in the process.

Ducking into an alleyway, Viktor manages to lose his paparazzi and only exits when he can no longer hear their shouts. Beginning to walk in the opposite direction, he realizes that maybe Mila was right. Maybe. He'll never admit that to her face. She would never let him live it down. He doesn't know where he's going, and he's not sure if he really should go to the hospital. Sure, the need to see Yuuri is killing him, but with what's going on, maybe this should be the first time he listens to Yakov.

It only takes him a second before Viktor's cackling with laughter to himself. Away to the hospital he goes!

Viktor walks down the block more before hailing a taxi. As long as he's smart about this, everything will be okay.

He should've expected this to say the least. Chris won't stop calling his phone, as if he knows Viktor will cave and answer it at some point. Holding strong, he shuts his phone off. Chris knows where he's going anyway, so what's the point of answering the phone?

Asking the taxi driver to drop him off down the block, Viktor gets out of the car and walks slowly towards the hospital. There's nothing discreet about him, but as long as he acts normally he should be fine. Hopefully.

The lady behind the front desk waits for him to make his way up, knowing exactly who he is and why he's here.

"You don't have very long. He has a few important tests today."

They're always important, he thinks, but there's this expression on her face - the 'I'm so sorry' kind of look - that scares Viktor just a little. He always gets this look from the hospital staff, so he doesn't really know why her's in particular scares him more deeply than everyone else's. It's that expression that makes him walk just a little more quickly towards Yuuri's room. He has a bad feeling, but he's hoping he's wrong.

The sigh of relief comes immediately when he sees Yuuri after bounding over to the window in his rather large room. Yuuri looks to be just as excited as him as they see each other.

But he doesn't miss the odd spark of sadness that forms in Yuuri's eyes. It's there for only a moment, so Viktor has nothing to call him out on. That bad feeling is back.

Yuuri scrunches his eyebrows as he notes how oddly relieved Viktor looks. "What's wrong?"

Shouldn't he be the one asking that? "Huh?"

"You look like you expected me to not be here."

The sadness is back, but Viktor doesn't want to ask just yet. "I don't know what I expected." That at least is true. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." The shy smile on his face makes Viktor smile in return. "What happened when you left? I was never around for your calls."

For a split second, Viktor thinks that there's something going on with all the testing he's been undergoing. There has to be something. But it can wait. He's not sure he's ready. "Someone we weren't a fan of in our business has shot back at Yakov, and now a few of us have to lay low for the time being. Myself included. The trick is going to be getting out of here without being caught." Viktor chuckles, but really he knows how difficult that's going to be. Yakov is going to kill him.

Yuuri's frown deepens. "Is everything going to be okay?"

"More or less. Yakov holds a pretty high position in the industry. There's no way they actually believe what's being said about the company. Everyone just likes drama, so I give it a week before the whole thing blows over." Viktor shrugs. He is right to some degree. Once things cool down, he's sure that everything will go back to normal, but it may take longer than he let on.

"I'm sorry." Yuuri looks more upset than he does himself over the whole situation.

"What for? You haven't done anything wrong. It's just someone who doesn't like being shown up or put down. She creates problems and is attacking the biggest name in the business. It happens all the time."

"Still..."

"How are you, though? I heard you've had a lot of testing done lately."

Yuuri's nose wrinkles in disgust, and then the sadness is back in his eyes. "I'm okay. Don't worry about me, though. You have enough on your plate."

Viktor's positive Yuuri is avoiding everything that's been going on with him. That can only mean that something's wrong. He could ask Yuuri's doctor, but he'd rather hear from Yuuri. "I like worrying about you, Yuuri."

Yuuri smiles weakly. "Thanks, Vitya."

Viktor smiles back in return, hoping it'll help Yuuri feel better about whatever seems to be wrong.

"Wait, if you said you're supposed to be laying low, then why did you come here?" Yuuri looks absolutely confused, and Viktor almost laughs.

"That's a trade secret, my dear Yuuri." Viktor winks at Yuuri, who blushes profusely and laughs. "I really wanted to see you. I was so bored without you."

"It's only been two days since you were last here."

"Exactly! Ugh, Yuuri, how am I going to live?" Dramatically, Viktor throws his arm over his eyes and leans back in his seat. "This is the end of all the endings, Yuuri!"

"Vitya!" Yuuri manages to say between laughs. "Shh, someone's going to walk in here and wonder what's wrong!"

"Oh, Yuuri! My broken bones are mending!"

Yuuri shakes his head, still laughing at Viktor's antics. "Are you quoting Taylor Swift now?"

Viktor sits upright and gasps loudly. "Yuuri, you listen to Taylor Swift, too?"

"You send me that same song over and over-"

"-and over again if IIIIII could. I love that song, too! How did you know?" Viktor gasps again and laughs loudly as Yuuri rolls his eyes at him.

"Vitya." Yuuri tries to hold onto a serious expression through his laughter.

Viktor holds his hands up in surrender. "Alright, I'm done. I promise. I've had too much freetime on my hands."

Yuuri shakes his head once more. "It's been two days, Vitya. Two. How long are you supposed to be laying low?"

"A week."

"This is going to be a long week for you, isn't you?"

"You have no idea."

They both share one more laugh together before settling into quiet. Quiet, save for the hum of the machines Yuuri's tied to.

"Hey, um... Viktor?"

Viktor looks up and furrows his brow as he notices how nervous Yuuri looks all of a sudden. His nervousness starts to make Viktor uneasy. He can feel the tension from before creeping back and making it hard for him to breathe right. Yuuri bites his lip and fiddles with his fingers, the exact same motion Viktor's associated with bad news. Viktor sucks in a deep breath and waits for Yuuri to speak again.

"So I got news from the doctors yesterday..." Yuuri looks up and tries to gauge Viktor's expression before continuing. "They found something... new... about what I have."

Viktor tries to steady out his breathing again, waiting on bated breaths for the rest. "And?"

"Well, they found out it's not contagious."

Viktor's eyes widen as he processes the new information. "Wait... did you say it wasn't contagious? You're not kidding, right? This isn't a joke?" He was expected awful news, but this... this is incredible! "Yuuri! That's amazing!"

"Wait, Viktor. There's more." Yuuri squeezes his eyes shut tightly, head turned down towards the floor.

"What is it?" Viktor finds himself leaning forwards.

"Uhm... They told me... They told me I only have a month left."

Silence.

Viktor can't seem to process what Yuuri said. It's like time has slowed almost to a stop. It's only until Yuuri looks up at him when he realizes that this is really happening. But maybe he didn't hear him correctly. Maybe he's only been hearing what he keeps thinking Yuuri is going to say.

"I'm sorry..." Yuuri's voice is already raw.

And then it hits Viktor hard. Yuuri's crying. This is real.

"I'm so sorry, Viktor. They just told me." Yuuri throws his head into his hands, crying with apologies streaming off his lips.

This is real.

This is real.

One month.

That's all they have left with each other.

Just one month.

.

. . .

.

I am so sorry for how late this is! College has been the struggle along with other things going on. I really do apologize even more so since this chapter is much shorter than any other chapter in this story. I hope this was at least worth waiting for lol The looooong hiatus is over! I'm back to writing! Hello summer! I can't wait to bang out more chapters for, especially since this story only has a few chapters left! I am very excited to be nearing the end, though. Thank you for reading! Please look forward to more updates in the future!