Chapter 2

At the World Championships a few weeks later, Otabek finally won his first World title, beating Yuri, who got the bronze. It was a flip-flop of their results at the Olympics, the two of them sandwiching JJ once again. Yuri was a little disappointed, but he didn't mind. Much. After all, his post-Olympic media appearances had severely limited his training time leading up to Worlds, to the point that he had almost considered skipping the event despite the pressure from the federation. Honestly, he'd been lucky to even make the podium, but it had been a poorly skated event all around. Only Otabek had risen to the occasion, skating two magnificent programs that might have seriously challenged Yuri for the gold if he had skated them as well at the Olympics.

In the ladies' event, Mila had an uncharacteristically poor showing, barely managing to stay in the top ten. She blamed the usual post-Olympics fatigue.

Looking gorgeous in slim-fitting black pants and a tuxedo jacket with no shirt underneath, Mila was chatting with her best friend Sara Crispino, who had managed to capture the bronze, when Yuri and Otabek joined them at the banquet closing out the competition. "Here, I thought this might cheer you up," Otabek said, holding out a champagne flute.

Her eyes lit up for a moment before she shook her head, declining the offered drink. "Thanks, but I don't really feel like drinking tonight."

Yuri raised an eyebrow at that. He never knew Mila to turn down alcohol, especially her beloved champagne. If he had been in her shoes, placing ninth after such an embarrassing performance at Worlds, he would be boozing until the bar ran dry.

"I'll take that if Mila doesn't want it," Sara said.

"Oh, sure." Otabek handed her the glass of champagne.

"Thanks." Accepting the flute, Sara glanced over at a nearby table, where her fiancé Emil was trying – unsuccessfully – to cheer up her twin brother Michele. Michele had been another victim of the post-Olympic let-down, earning his worst placement at Worlds ever. "Oh, dear, I should probably check on Mickey," she said, touching Mila's arm. The round diamond solitaire of her engagement ring sparkled in the light. "Call me when you know more, okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Mila managed a weak smile. "Thanks."

"What was that about?" Yuri asked after Sara was out of earshot. "Know more about what?"

"What?" She looked at Yuri as if she had just noticed he was present. "Oh, nothing important," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "We were talking about maybe going on a trip together sometime over the summer, just us girls. You know, before things get too crazy with planning the wedding."

"Awesome!" He had gotten used to sharing Otabek with Mila over the past four years, but he couldn't deny it would be nice to have some one-on-one Mila-free quality time for a change. "I mean, you should go," Yuri said, realizing he might have sounded too eager about the idea. "You and Sara always have fun together."

"Yeah…"

Otabek wrapped an arm around Mila's waist, kissing her temple. "Hey, are you feeling okay? You've been out of sorts ever since we arrived."

"I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all. It's been a long season."

"If you're tired, then let's go back to our ro—"

"Beka, you're the new World Champion!" she said. "You can't skip out of the banquet."

"You know these parties aren't really my thing."

"Oh, I don't know…" Yuri couldn't resist teasing. "You certainly knew how to party that night at the Olympics."

Sighing, Otabek pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't even remind me of that. I've almost managed to block it out of my mind."

"Come on. At least you weren't as wild as Katsudon at the banquet in Sochi."

"Did someone happen to mention the night my life changed forever?" a familiar voice asked.

Viktor and Yuri, who had coached Kenjirou Minami to a surprise fifth place finish, walked over to join the group, Viktor throwing his arm around Yuri's shoulders.

"I remember it like it was yesterday. My Yuuri was the most hand—"

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it a million times already, old man," Yuri said, rolling his eyes as he shrugged Viktor's arm away. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop on people's private conversations?"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that you talk too loud?" Viktor shot back.

Ignoring the two of them, Yuuri turned his attention to Otabek. "Congratulations on your world title, Otabek. We saw your free program. You skated great."

"Thank you," Otabek said. "It still feels a little surreal, to be honest."

"I know what you mean. When I won my world title, I –"

At that moment, someone loudly clinked on their glass. Yuri glanced over his shoulder, rolling his eyes once again when he saw JJ Leroy standing at the front of the room, his wife Isabella glued to his side as usual. "What's that bozo up to now?"

Not particularly interested in anything JJ had to say, he turned back around, only to find that the silver medalist had grabbed his friends' attention as well – all except Mila, who hung back, hugging herself. Yuri frowned, thinking Otabek was right. Mila had been acting strange the past few days, even before the ladies' event began.

"Can I have your attention please?" JJ bellowed, his voice loud enough to fill the banquet hall even without the aid of a microphone. "Bella and I have the most amazing news to share." Smiling, he wrapped his arm around Isabella's waist and pulled her closer. "This is the biggest secret I've ever had to keep, but, well – do you want to spill the beans, or should I?"

"You do it, babe," Isabella said. She had an adoring look on her face as she looked up at him that almost made Yuri want to gag.

"You sure?" She nodded, and JJ moved to place a hand on her stomach, practically bursting with pride as he announced, "The truth is, Bella is three months pregnant. We're gonna have a baby!"

Everyone clapped and cheered, a few of JJ's Canadian teammates coming up to congratulate them personally. Even Yuri managed a polite applause, having mostly outgrown his teenage hatred of JJ. Now he was more like a mild annoyance, a fly to be swatted away when he got too close but otherwise easy to ignore.

"How wonderful!" Viktor said. "But who are they again?"

Beside him, Yuuri sighed. "Vitya, that joke has grown stale. You know perfectly well who they are."

"Oh, right!" Viktor hit his fist against his palm. "PJ and Annabel!"

"Your husband is an idiot," Yuri said to Yuuri, not for the first – and certainly not the last – time.

Smiling, Yuuri wrapped his arm around Viktor's waist and kissed his cheek. "Yes, but he's my idiot, so I guess I'll keep him."

"That wasn't right?" Viktor asked, tilting his head to the side.

At that point, Yuri wasn't sure if he was joking or not anymore; it could sometimes be hard to tell with Viktor.

"Anyway, I'm happy for them," Yuuri said. "Becoming a parent is one of the most amazing experiences in the world."

"How is little Nikusha, by the way?" Yuri asked. "You didn't bring him with you this time?"

"No, my sister's taking care of him while we're gone. It's nice for them to spend some time together every once in a while."

Yuuri's older sister Mari had served as their egg donor, meaning she was Nikita's biological mother, while Yuuri was his uncle. Viktor, of course, was his father by blood. Yuri sometimes wondered if that was strange for Yuuri, knowing that Nikita wasn't biologically his son, but it never seemed to be an issue with them. The two of them were doting dads, full of love and adoration for their child.

At the mention of their son, Viktor's face lit up, and he pulled out his phone, eager as always to show off the latest photos of Nikita. As he and Yuuri launched into a story about Nikita's first visit to the aquarium, Yuri glanced around, realizing that Otabek and Mila had managed to slip away from the group without him noticing.

"Something wrong?" Viktor asked, sensing Yuri's distraction.

"You see Beka and Mila anywhere? They were just here a minute ago."

"No… Oh, wait, I think I see them. There they are."

Yuri turned in the direction Viktor indicated. Otabek and Mila were standing near the entrance of the banquet hall, Otabek rubbing her arms. She nodded at something he said, then he kissed her chastely on the forehead before Mila left the banquet without him. Yuri frowned, wondering what had happened.

"Go on," Yuuri encouraged him as he took Viktor's arm. "We're going to go congratulate JJ and Isabella." He emphasized their names for Viktor's benefit. "We'll catch up later."

Yuri walked over to where Otabek was still standing, staring at the door, and tapped his shoulder. Startled, Otabek jumped and turned around.

"Oh, Yura, it's you."

Yuri nodded his chin toward the door. "What's going on with Mila? Why did she leave?"

Otabek crossed his arms, frowning. "She said she wasn't feeling well, but…"

"You don't believe her?"

Sighing, Otabek rubbed at his forehead. "She's been acting strange, right? I'm not just imagining things?"

"No, you're not. I've noticed it, too," Yuri said. "You really have no idea what has been bothering her?

"At first I thought it was because she didn't skate very well, but she's been like this for the past few days."

"Maybe she really is sick. I heard there's been a stomach bug going around. Leo and Guang-Hong both got hit with it."

"Maybe," Otabek said. Yuri could tell he didn't really believe it, though.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure she'll be fine in a couple of days," Yuri said, grabbing Otabek's hand and pulling him toward the dance floor. "Come on, let's dance, World Champion."

Otabek grinned. "I like it when you call me that."

"Yeah, well, don't get too used to it. I'm taking the title back next season."

"We'll see…"


It was a stomach bug.

When Yuri walked Otabek up to the hotel room he was sharing with Mila after the banquet had ended, they entered to the disgusting sound of her retching in the en-suite bathroom. So that explained her bad skates and refusal to drink earlier, as Yuri suspected. "See, I told you. Nothing to worry about," he said to Otabek before saying good night and heading to his own room across the hall.

Mila was still sick a couple of days later when they returned home to St. Petersburg. As the new – and historic – World Champion, Otabek was expected to participate in a media junket, getting interviewed by journalists from all around the world. He'd wanted to cancel in light of Mila's illness, but she insisted she would be perfectly fine on her own for a few hours. That didn't prevent him from asking Yuri to check in on her every once in a while during his absence, though.

Beka worries too much, Yuri thought, carefully filling a Tupperware bowl with some of the leftover chicken soup he had made. It was just a stomach virus, not a terminal disease. After some bedrest, Mila would be fine. According to Otabek, she hadn't even thrown up that much since the night of the banquet – only twice since then – although she seemed pretty nauseated.

Well, if it eased Otabek's mind to know that Mila was being cared for while he was gone, Yuri wasn't going to argue, as unnecessary as he felt it was. The two of them lived together in the apartment right next door to his, so it wasn't like it was a huge sacrifice to pop over once or twice while Otabek was gone.

"Hey, Mila, I brought you some soup," Yuri announced, entering their apartment without knocking. The three of them had an open door policy, free to drop by each other's apartments whenever they wanted as long as the door was unlocked. On the occasions the door wasn't, that usually meant Otabek and Mila were engaging in certain…activities that Yuri wouldn't want to walk in on again – once was more than enough. "You hungry now or – What are you doing?"

He'd expected to find her curled up in a blanket on the couch, marathoning episodes of that American TV show about the demon-hunting brothers she loved so much. Instead, Mila had jumped up when he arrived, hiding her right hand behind her back. She was dressed only in one of Otabek's sweatshirts and a pair of socks covered in hot-pink hearts.

"Y-Yura, why are you here?" she asked.

"My question first," Yuri said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he set the bowl in his hands down on the coffee table. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing!"

He didn't believe her. "If it's nothing, then show me your hand."

"This hand?" She held up her left hand. "See, nothing."

"You know which hand I'm talking about." He stepped closer toward her, reaching for her right arm. "Come on, just show me."

"Yura, it's none of your busi— Hey!"

Yuri managed to successfully pull her hidden hand back in front of her, her fist wrapped around what looked to be some kind of white stick. "What's that?" he asked, yanking his hand away when a horrifying thought occurred to him. "Oh, geez, tell me that's not a vibrator. Lock the door when you're doing that stuff!"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Then what –"

Sighing, Mila unfurled her fingers, revealing the object in full. Yuri's eyes widened in shock. Though he had never seen one in person before, he'd seen them advertised in commercials, so he recognized what the item was on sight.

"Are you –?"

"Maybe?" She rubbed her forehead with her free hand. "I don't know. I haven't found the courage to take the test yet." She slumped down on the couch, hiding her face in her hands after setting the unused pregnancy test on the coffee table. "Oh, God, how did this happen?"

Yuri bit back a snarky comment about the birds and the bees; even he could tell it was not the best time for joking around. He sat down beside Mila on the couch, hesitating for a moment before placing a hand on her back and rubbing it around in comforting circles. "Does Beka know?"

Mila shook her head. "I didn't want to worry you two until I knew for certain. The only person I've told is Sara." She looked over at Yuri. "What am I going to do if it's positive, Yura?"

He inhaled deeply. "Don't think about that right now," he said, unable to come up with an answer. "Go take the test first. You might be worrying over nothing, you know."

"You're right." Steeling herself, she stood back up and snatched the test off the table. "You'll stay?"

He wasn't sure how his presence would help, but… "Yeah, of course. Whatever you want."

"Thanks," she said before heading to the master bathroom.

While she was gone, Yuri fell back against the couch cushions, staring blankly at the powered-off TV. A baby… Despite what he told Mila, he couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if she really was pregnant. They had never discussed the possibility of children or anything of that sort of nature. Perhaps naively, Yuri had assumed they would stay as they were for the rest of their lives, that nothing major would ever change between them, but a baby…

A baby would change everything.

Please let it just be a stomach bug, he prayed to a God he wasn't entirely sure he believed in. Please!

Yuri started to worry when Mila didn't come back out even after over ten minutes had passed. He didn't know how long it took to take a pregnancy test, but it seemed like she should have a result by now. Deciding to check on her, he headed to Mila's and Otabek's bedroom, his heart dropping to his stomach when he heard soft sobs coming from the en-suite bathroom.

Maybe they were tears of relief?

"Mila?" He lightly knocked on the bathroom door. "Hey, you okay in there?"

She didn't answer, but a short time later, the doorknob jangled and Mila came out, throwing herself in Yuri's arms.

"Oh, Yura…"

"H-Hey!" Yuri sighed and wrapped his arms around her trembling body, letting her cry into his T-shirt. There was no point in asking about the test result. "It's going to be okay," he said into her hair. "We'll figure things out."

He hoped.

He had no idea how long they stood there, Mila soaking his shirt with her tears, but after a while, Yuri faintly heard the sound of a door opening and closing, a familiar male voice calling Mila's name. Good, Otabek was home from his media junket. He was better at the whole comforting thing than Yuri was.

"Bedroom!" Yuri shouted.

A few seconds later, the bedroom door opened and Otabek came in. "Yura, what – Milasha? What's wrong?"

Yuri passed Mila over to a confused Otabek, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before he shook his head. It wasn't his news to share. "I'll give you two some privacy."

"Wait." She pulled away from Otabek's embrace, using her hands to wipe the tears from her face. "Don't go, Yura. This affects all three of us."

"…Okay."

Otabek's eyes darted between Mila and Yuri. "Milasha, what's going on? You're starting to scare me."

Mila took one of each of their hands and led them over to the bed, the three of them sitting down on the edge of the mattress. She didn't say anything for a long moment, closing her eyes and inhaling a deep breath as she attempted to compose herself. Noticing that her hand was shaking, Yuri gave it a squeeze, offering silent support. Her lips curled into a small, grateful smile before turning her attention to Otabek.

"Beka…I'm pregnant."


"Yura, you still awake?" a male voice whispered, the door to his bedroom creaking open later that night.

Laying on his side facing away from the door, Yuri reached behind himself and lifted his blanket in invitation. The intruder crawled onto the bed and slipped underneath the blanket, wrapping an arm around Yuri's waist as he pressed up against his back.

"Did you and Mila have a fight?" Yuri asked after a couple of minutes. It wasn't unusual for Otabek to come to him in the middle of the night on the rare occasions when he and Mila argued.

"A fight? No, not really." Otabek sighed, his warm breath brushing against the back of Yuri's neck. "It's just… I don't know."

Yuri reached over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand, then flipped around so that he and Otabek were laying face-to-face. "Are you happy? About the baby?" He'd left their apartment soon after Mila dropped the bombshell, assuming they had a lot to discuss and not wanting to intrude.

Otabek shrugged. "It hasn't sunk in yet, I don't think. It doesn't feel real."

"Yeah." He kind of understood the feeling. He still couldn't believe Mila was pregnant, half-expecting her to come barging in at any moment, shouting "April Fool's!" even though the first of April was still a couple of days away. Not even a known trickster like Mila would play such a cruel prank on them, though. "How's Mila handling it?"

"She's scared, confused… She doesn't know what she wants to do." Groaning, Otabek rolled over on his back, covering his face with his hands. "She keeps asking me what I think, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything… I just want her to do what is best for her."

It was a difficult decision, especially when keeping the baby would almost certainly mean the end of Mila's competitive skating career. Sure, every once in a while a female skater would attempt to stage a comeback after pregnancy, but it was rare for them to achieve the same success as they had before. The only exception Yuri could recall off the top of his head was the legendary pairs skater Ekaterina Gordeeva, but that was almost thirty years ago. The technical demands were much more difficult nowadays, especially for singles skaters. Already, at only twenty-three years old, Mila was having trouble keeping up with the younger generation of girls who were now attempting triple axels and even quads.

"Maybe it would be best not to go through with it," Yuri said in a soft voice. "If my mother had gotten an ab–"

Otabek abruptly flipped back on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. "Yura, don't." He brought his palm to Yuri's cheek, caressing the side of his face. "I know you and your mother aren't on the best of terms, but not a day goes by that I'm not grateful that she gave birth to you."

"Beka…" Yuri averted his eyes away from Otabek. "You want her to keep the baby, don't you?"

"Maybe?" He laid back down, pulling his hand away. "I don't know. I mean, if Mila wants to keep it, of course I'll support her, but I never really thought… This wasn't supposed to happen."

"How did it happen?" Yuri asked. "Of course I know the mechanics and all, but you use protection, right?" He knew Mila didn't – something about hormonal birth control giving her side effects, like weight gain and migraines, that interfered with her skating – but Otabek was one of the most responsible people he knew. Yuri couldn't imagine him not taking the necessary precautions.

"Of course, always. Except…" He lowered his eyes. "Remember that night at the Olympics? The last night?"

"Yeah." Vaguely. It was mostly a boozy haze now.

"I don't," Otabek admitted. "At least, not much after we left the party. I was pretty smashed – we both were. We went up to yours and Mila's room, and I'm pretty sure we had sex, but I don't remember if I used a condom or not. Probably not. I don't think I had any on hand, and when I woke up, my sweater was covered in…you know, stuff."

Yuri stared at Otabek in disbelief. "Beka, you were at the Olympics. There were free condoms all over the place!"

"I know, I know!" He sat up, elbows resting on his knees as he pulled at his hair. "I ruined Mila's life. She trusted me to protect her, but I… I…"

Covering his mouth with his hand, Otabek's shoulders trembled as he choked back what sounded almost like a sob.

It was a sight Yuri was unused to seeing. Uncertain as to what he should do, he sat up as well, hesitantly wrapping his arms around Otabek's torso and leaning against his back. Otabek let out a shaky breath, but after a few moments, Yuri felt him begin to relax in his arms.

"You shouldn't put all the blame on yourself, Beka," Yuri said. "It was a drunken mistake, and it takes two to tango."

Truthfully, he was partially at fault as well. If he hadn't encouraged Otabek to drink so much at the afterparty, then sent the two of them off on their own despite knowing that they were too drunk to make responsible decisions, they probably wouldn't be in this situation.

"I know, but –" Otabek sighed, running his hand through his hair. "What the hell are we going to do?"

"I don't know." It wasn't his decision to make. Yuri knew what option he was hoping they would choose, but... "If you two do decide to keep it, though," he said, letting go of his hold on Otabek and drawing his knees to his chest, "don't ever let it feel like it was a mistake, okay?"

"Yura..."

Otabek turned to look at him, but Yuri glanced away, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "Anyway, you still have some time, right? Mila's not that far along if it was conceived the night of the Closing Ceremony. You two don't have to make a decision right this minute, so, um, just think things through, I guess?"

"Yeah, you're right," Otabek said, exhaling before giving him a small smile. "Thanks, Yura."

Yuri didn't think he had said anything that useful, honestly, but if it had helped Otabek feel a little better, he supposed that was all right.

"I should probably go. Sorry for disturbing you."

"Wait." Yuri reached for Otabek's wrist as he climbed out of the bed. "You can kiss me, if you want." They didn't kiss often. Yuri didn't hate it, but he didn't really care much for it either. He kissed Otabek on his birthday, on New Year's and Valentine's Day, and whenever he won a gold medal, but that was about it, except on rare occasions when he thought Otabek could use some comfort or cheering up. This definitely qualified.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Otabek climbed back onto the bed, hesitating for a moment before pressing his lips against Yuri's in a soft, gentle kiss. "Thank you."

"Go back to Mila," Yuri said. "She needs you right now."

"Right. Good night, Yura."

"'Night."

Yuri pulled the blanket back over himself as Otabek once again left the bed, but when he reached the door, Otabek turned back around.

"Hey, Yura?"

"Yeah?"

"I might be grateful to your mother for having you," Otabek said, "but she really is a bitch. You were never a mistake, and she's an idiot for never realizing that."

He smiled sadly. A better person might have been insulted to hear his mother referred to as a bitch, but Yuri had never claimed to be a good – or even decent – son. "Thanks."


A couple of weeks later, Yuri was making a batch of his grandpa's famous katsudon pirozhkis when Otabek and Mila came over, Mila letting out a loud moan the second she stepped through the door.

"See, I told you he was making pirozkhis," she smugly said to Otabek as she took a seat at the kitchen island and grabbed one off the plate he had already set aside.

Yuri, over at the stove, looked over his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow. "What, have you suddenly developed psychic powers?"

"No, just an increase in the sensitivity of her nose," Otabek said. "She claims she could smell you cooking the second we stepped off the elevator."

"Well, I did, and I was right, wasn't I?" Mila said. "Even Dr. Sotnikova said it was a common occurrence in pregnant women." She broke off a piece of the pirozhki in her hand and took a bite, letting out another loud moan. "Oh, my god, these are soooo good, Yura. I love it when you make pirozhkis!"

"Thanks," he said, taking the last pirozhki out of the frying pan and setting it on some paper towels to soak up any excess oil. "So, um, your appointment was today?"

"Yeah." Mila took a deep breath, some of her earlier joviality fading away. "We just got back."

"Oh."

Yuri wiped his hands with a nearby towel before taking off his apron and turning around to fully face them for the first time since they arrived. Otabek had moved to stand behind Mila on the stool, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"You've made a decision, then?" Yuri asked. "About the baby?"

They had chosen to wait until after Mila's first prenatal appointment to make their final decision about what to do, giving them time to think things over. Yuri already had a good idea which option they were leaning toward, having walked in on Mila the other day stuffing a throw pillow underneath her T-shirt to simulate the look of a pregnant belly, but a part of him still hoped he was wrong.

Mila nodded. "We went over all the options with my gyno, and after a long talk on our way home…" She reached for Otabek's hand on her right shoulder, craning her neck up to give him a soft smile. "We decided we're keeping the baby."

Yuri's heart dropped. So his guess had been correct, after all. "Are you sure? I mean, you'll have to give up ska–"

"It's fine," she said. "I was already thinking of retiring from competition anyway. I can't really compete technically anymore with the new juniors coming up. Sara's retiring, too. It's a teenager's game now, not made for us old hags." She smiled at the reference to Yuri's old nickname for her. "Besides, I've had a great career. I have no regrets."

"Yura, we've given this a lot of thought, and we want this baby," Otabek added, his eyes meeting Yuri's over Mila's head. "Genuinely want it."

"T-Then, that's great," Yuri said, hiding his disappointment behind a forced grin. "Congratulations!"

"Don't tell anyone yet, though," Mila warned. "I want to make it through the first trimester before we make a public announcement."

"Hey, I'm not Phichit. It's not like I'm going to blab it all over Instagram." Over two years later, and Viktor still hadn't fully forgiven Yuuri's best friend for accidentally spilling the beans about their surrogacy news in a comment.

"You better not." She hopped down from her stool and snatched another pirozhki from the plate, shrugging at Yuri's pointed look. "Hey, baby's hungry. Anyway, I'm going to run to the store to pick up some things for dinner. Beka, you need anything while I'm out?"

"I'm running low on shaving cream."

"Okay, I'll get some more," she said, pecking Otabek on the cheek. "See you later."

With that, Mila left, Yuri staring at the door as it closed behind her. "Is she really okay giving up her competitive career?" he asked. "If she really tried, I bet she could learn at least a triple axel to keep up with those jumping beans. Her double axel is really good! And everyone knows she's the best when it comes to the artistic side."

Otabek's face softened. "Mila isn't your mother, Yura."

"I know! But, still…"

"Of course a part of her is sad to retire, but she's had a long, successful career. Four Olympic medals and two World titles is more than most skaters can even dream to achieve."

"Yeah, I guess…" Yuri said, wetting a washcloth to wipe away the flour still on the island from when he had kneaded his dough earlier.

Otabek, coming up behind Yuri, hugged him around the waist, resting his chin on Yuri's shoulder. "Yura, please be happy for us."

Yuri sighed. He wanted to be. He hated that he was feeling jealous of a baby who wasn't even born yet, a baby who had done nothing wrong except simply exist. "Are you happy?" he asked. "Really and truly?"

"Yeah, I really am," Otabek said. "It was a shock at first, but the more I think about it, the more excited I become. I'm gonna be a father."

"Then I'm happy for you," Yuri said, a little more truthfully than he had when they first broke the news to him. Otabek's happiness meant the world to him, and if keeping the baby was what he and Mila truly wanted, then... Well, he would just have to learn to accept it. Turning around to face Otabek, he smiled and gave him a hug. "You're gonna be the best father, Beka."

DISCLAIMER: "Yuri! On Ice" doesn't belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter should be up in October.

Though I don't consider it technically a part of the "It's Complicated" universe, if you want some backstory about how Sara and Emil became a couple, you can check out my fic, "No Risk, No Reward".

Feel free to follow me on Tumblr! My username is kaleidodreams.