Yuri knocked on the door to his friends' apartment, shifting impatiently as he waited for them to answer. He heard the scramble of Makkachin's claws on the floor as the poodle came running at the promise of guests. Then, a few seconds later, the door cracked open uncertainly. Yuri was confused for a moment before he looked down and located the one who had opened the door. A smile cracked across his face as he saw Aki straining to hold back the poodle (who was taller than her) as she struggled to fully open the door.

Yuri stepped forward, beckoning to his husband as he said, "Get the dog, Beka." Holding the door knob with one hand to block Makkachin's escape into the hallway, he scooped up Aki in his other arm. Otabek stepped in smoothly behind him, catching the poodle by the scruff and hauling him away from the entrance so that the two men could step fully inside.

Once the door was shut, Otabek released Makkachin, but still used his body to block the dog's path to his husband. He ruffled Makkachin's curly hair as Yuri turned his full attention to their friends' daughter, who was now perched happily on his arm. "Thanks for getting the door for us, Aki."

She beamed at him. "Hi, Yurio! We have a party today!"

He smiled back. "Yes, your papa told us it was a party, but wouldn't say what it was for. Do you know?"

Aki nodded sagely. "Papa has to go to the doctor tomorrow."

Yuri was confused. "The doctor? Why would he invite us over for that?"

The little girl shrugged as her papa entered the room. His eyes lit up as he saw the Plisetsky-Altins standing there. "Ah, you made it!" he exclaimed.

Aki struggled out of Yuri's arms, running over to her papa and declaring, "I helped Tousan! I opened the door!"

Victor smiled down at his daughter. "You did a great job, Akiya." He ruffled her hair before turning his attention to his friends. "I appreciate you both coming today. You see, I am going through quite the ordeal tomorrow, and could really use the emotional support."

Yuri was starting to feel apprehensive. "Old man, what the hell are you babbling on about?" he snapped.

Making a show of staggering over to a chair, Victor sat down heavily. "I didn't want to worry you two before, but the truth is...I'm going in tomorrow to have surgery."

Yuri stared at him, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, his husband supplied the questions he wanted to ask. "Surgery? Victor, is everything ok? This is the first we've heard of you being sick."

Victor raised his hand and waved it weakly. "Well, I didn't want you to fret over me. There's really nothing that can be done other than letting the surgeon do his job. So, tonight, I just wanted to have an intimate dinner party with some of my closest friends to help take my mind off of it."

Nodding, Otabek said in his serious voice, "Of course, Victor."

Yuri flicked his eyes over at Aki to see how she was dealing with the talk of her father having surgery. She had gone over to a bookshelf and pulled down a board book, and was flipping through its pages nonchalantly. He wasn't sure if she was ignoring what the adults were talking about, or if she was too young to really understand that her papa's life could be in danger. After all, she was only three. She was hardly old enough to fully grasp the concept of mortality.

As he was musing, Yuuri poked his head in from the kitchen. His eyes brightened at the sight of the guests. "Ah, Otabek, Yuri, you made it! Excellent! We're almost ready to eat, if you'd like to settle yourselves in. Vitya, can you get everyone drinks, please?"

The blond glanced at Victor, watching as the older man levered himself heavily up from his seat. He noticed Yuri watching him and shot him a long-suffering smile before shuffling off to the kitchen to obey his husband's request.

Yuri sighed and spoke to the child. "Aki, come on, let's go sit down. It's time for dinner."

Shutting her book, Aki flung it to one side and bounced up off the floor. "Ok!"

"Hey now, put that book away first. Don't leave things all over the floor."

"Haaai." Aki bent over and scooped up the book, shoving it haphazardly back onto the shelf before bounding over to link her hand with Yuri's, pulling him into the dining room. Otabek followed behind them, and although his face betrayed nothing, Yuri didn't miss the twinkling laughter in his eyes. His husband always seemed to find it entertaining when he interacted with Aki.

As they settled into their regular seats at the table, Victor came in and began arranging glasses, making a big show of moving in the most ponderous way possible. Yuri watched him out of the corner of his eye as he got Aki settled into her seat, trying not to worry about Victor's mysterious ailment.

Yuuri's voice called from the kitchen, "Vitya, can you come help me carry some of the plates?"

Giving a heavy sigh, Victor raised his voice and called back, "Of course, lapochka." He tottered off to answer his husband's call.

When he had left, Yuri leaned over and hissed in Otabek's ear, "Do you think Victor's going to be ok? He hasn't said what's wrong, but he's acting pretty weird."

"I'm not sure, but if Yuuri isn't concerned, then it's probably not something too bad."

Yuri leaned back in his chair and clicked his tongue, but he had to admit that Otabek was probably right. This did little to allay his worries though, as Victor came back into the dining room encumbered by dishes, moving as if he were held down by leaden weights. Automatically, Yuri jumped up and snatched a couple things from Victor, snarling, "Give me those. You look like you're about to drop the food all over the floor."

Victor smiled faintly. "Thank you Yurio." He placed the other dishes down and sat heavily in his chair as Yuuri entered carrying the rest of the meal. He arranged the dishes efficiently before taking his own seat and inviting everyone to eat.

Throughout the meal, Yuri couldn't keep his gaze from straying to his friend repeatedly, watching him closely for signs that would betray the nature of Victor's illness. He was unable to discern anything helpful, other than a general lethargy in his movements. He also noticed that Yuuri gave his husband several exasperated looks.

This finally came to a head when the meal was over and Yuuri stood up from the table. "Vitya, let's take the dirty dishes to the kitchen, then we can get the bottle of wine out."

Victor gave an audible sigh, and Yuuri snapped, "Don't you think you're being overly dramatic about this whole thing? It isn't as if you can't carry some plates!"

Yuri rose from his seat, snapping, "You know, Katsudon, it's pretty obvious that the old man isn't feeling well! So maybe you can cut him a little slack since he has to have surgery tomorrow!"

Victor winced, and Yuuri's face hardened as he turned to his husband. "Oh, is that what you're going around telling people? You know, Vitya, I did agree to this ridiculous dinner party, because I recognized that maybe you were a little nervous, and could use some moral support, but don't you think you've taken it a bit too far?"

"And don't you think you're being too harsh on someone who's sick?" Yuri cut in.

Yuuri's dark eyes turned on his friend. "If that were the case, then of course I'd be more lenient. How heartless do you think I am?"

Looking back and forth from Yuuri's hard face to Victor's chastened one, Yuri began to get a growing suspicion that he was missing a crucial piece of information here. "Then what the hell is going on?" he demanded.

Yuuri snorted. "Well, I suppose, technically it is surgery. But really, it's an outpatient procedure, with next to no risks."

"Now, muzh moy, that's not fair! There are always risks with surgery!" Victor interjected indignantly.

Sighing heavily, Yuuri rubbed the bridge of his nose. "For the last time, Vitya, getting hair implants does not count as actual surgery!"

Yuri lowered himself slowly down into his seat as he stared at Victor. He propped his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together tightly. "I'm sorry, did you say hair implants?"

Victor protested, "But they're going to put me under and everything! How does that not count as surgery?"

Yuuri interjected, "Vitya, for heaven's sake! It's local anesthesia! And they're only doing that really small patch at the back of your head! I hardly see what all this fuss is about!"

Yuri stared incredulously as Yuuri turned to him with a sigh. "I suppose I should have expected this. He wanted to order a banner for tonight that said 'Good luck, Victor.' That should have warned me that he would play this up for you for some sympathy."

A snort came from next to Yuri, and he looked over to see Otabek fighting to keep a smile off of his face.

Yuuri rubbed his nose again. "You should have seen him this week. He's been dragging himself all over the apartment, acting like he's got a broken bone or something. I'm surprised he hasn't made out a will."

"But, dorogoi, I made up a will a long time ago. And, of course, modified it when we got Aki." Victor smiled up at his husband in a way that the other man usually found endearing.

Now, however, it just seemed to add fuel to the flame. "And that's another thing, Vitya! Aren't you ashamed of acting this way in front of your daughter? You're going to worry her!"

At the mention of her name, Aki chimed in, "I just wanna go play. Is that ok, Tousan?"

Yuuri smiled at his daughter. "Yes, of course. Go play a little bit before bed."

She scurried off. When she was gone, Victor said mildly, "She doesn't seem to be very worried."

His husband glared fiercely at him. "That's not the point and you know it." He stepped back from the table and pushed his chair in with a definitive clack. "This is just getting ridiculous. Vitya, I'm going to go into the living room and enjoy a nice glass of wine with the other healthy people who aren't getting life-altering surgery tomorrow. You are free to join us once the table is clear, if you don't mind." Although his words were courteous, his tone left no room for argument.

Otabek and Yuri stood to follow as Victor whimpered, "But, lapochka, that's not fair, I'm not supposed to have any alcohol tonight."

Yuuri stopped in the doorway and gave him a cold look over his shoulder. "Oh, that's right, isn't it? Then I suppose you won't be able to have wine with us. Get yourself a glass of water while you're in the kitchen." He strode out of the room.

Otabek followed him, clapping a hand wordlessly on Victor's shoulder as he walked past.

When they were alone, Victor looked hopefully at Yuri, who quickly stood up. He couldn't resist giving the other man at least a small piece of his mind. "You know, that was kind of a dick move, trying to get a banner and all that. Kind of serves you right that you can't drink with us."

Victor's face broke into a conspiratorial smile. "Oh, don't worry about that. I bought myself some sparkling juice in anticipation of this. And I was able to smuggle some cupcakes into the basket when we were shopping for dinner." He winked at Yuri as he stood up and started stacking dishes.

Yuri stared at him incredulously, then swept out of the room without another word. Sometimes there was just no reasoning with his clearly insane friend.