A/N: Happy Valentine's Day, you cuties. Today is a day where you either feel uber grateful for your S.O or you're slightly bummed you don't have one. Or you just flat out don't care. Either way, if you do want something to celebrate today…It is Christophe's birthday. Will I be mentioning anything like that in this week's chapter? No. Because timelines didn't work that way. Oh, well. Maybe for Yurio's birthday in a couple weeks, I'll do something. I did last year. It's called Surprise. Hintity hint hint…Anyway.

If you're one of the many like me who are a little meh at not having someone for Valentine's Day, I will be more than happy to be your valentine this year. This is your one (1) senpai notice me pass. So, enjoy, my loving little kohai. Because not only is senpai noticing you, but senpai also loves you very, very much. And she shall be spending her Valentine's Day on the couch with a bag of mini marshmallows and some Cupcake Wars, instead of her traditional binge of Dramatical Murder…Maybe Dramatical Murder THEN Cupcake Wars…Or I just hang out with you guys instead. Enjoy!

I feel like shit. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I feel like absolute shit. Christophe, what the hell did you give me last night? The last thing I remember was a really sexy man asking if he could take me to one of the playrooms upstairs. He said he wanted to paddle my ass to the beat of the bongo drums in Toto's Africa. I wasn't sure what that meant, so I said no. After that, everything is kind of a blur. Where was I? Who did I go home with? Whoever it was, please still be as much of a ten as you were last night. Or at least an eight.

"It's good to see you're awake," a voice broke the silence in my dark room, "How are you feeling, Violet?"

Although it's throbbing, my head was still a little fuzzy. However, I could pick this voice out of a crowd anywhere. A sudden wave of calm pushed back the nauseam, "I've been better. Some water would be nice."

"I'm sure it would be…" Victor sat on the bed with me, "But before you get your water, you and I need to have a little talk."

"Victor," I groaned, "I already have a hangover from hell. Can you spare me the lecture?"

"This is no lecture," he clarified, his voice keeping a flat tone, "I'm not happy, Violet."

"Imagine being in my shoes."

"No," Victor hushed me, "No snarky comments. No witty retorts. When I say you and I are going to talk, I'm going to talk and you're going to listen."

"Alright," I nestled down in the blankets, bracing myself for what was about to come. Victor was pissed. There's no doubt about it. And I was never sure if he was going to stew in silence for a while before calmly venting or totally explode. For the sake of my head, I really hope it's the first one.

"First of all," he kept his head about him. Good sign, "What all do you remember from last night?"

"Not very much," I admitted, "I don't even remember coming here. Is this my condo or yours?"

"Mine," Victor filled me in, "Last night, you and my idiot husband went to a club called Cosmos."

"That I remember."

"What else do you remember?"

"Some of the rules," I thought hard, "There was some kind of no-no about dressing me in white. The safe word was stapler. There was some guy trying to hit on Chris, but Chris told him he was married, so he left him alone. Then, there was that guy with the paddle…After that, I'm drawing a blank."

"The guy flirting with Chris," Victor asked, "Was his name Willam, by chance?"

"I think so," I rubbed my eyes, "I got nothing else."

"According to the pictures," he pulled my phone off the charger. God bless him, he thought ahead, "You were quite the pole dancer. And the cage dancer, too. And some guy named Mike keeps texting you. He said he missed the rains down in Africa."

"That's what his name was!" I squeaked, "That would've driven me nuts. Thank you."

"You called me," Victor continued, glaring a little bit, "You also sent me a video of Chris dancing in a cage that was poorly shot. I came and got you and Chris and one in the morning. Celestino came over to stay with Yuri and Yurio. They're both at practice with him right now, in case you were wondering."

"Good," I sighed out, "They don't need to see this."

"Then, don't put them in that position!" he snapped. Uh-oh. I'm getting the worst of both worlds, "Violet, why did you get so stupid last night? What were you thinking? What were you hoping to accomplish?"

"I needed some inspiration for my program this year," I nursed my aching head in the fallout, "Some water please, Victor. If you even love me in the least bit."

"I understand wanting to get inspired," Victor threw a bottle of water at me, "But you're better than this, Violet."

The acidity in Victor's voice burned a hole in my heart. He was genuinely pissed off at me. I knew his grudges never lasted long, but when they're there, they hurt. My hangover wasn't nearly as bad as a Victor grudge. I'd take the hangover a million times over and amplified. I could see it all over his face and somehow, that made this even worse.

"Am I?" I caught my breath after a long, cold drink I felt in the pit of my stomach, "Am I really better than that?"

"Yes!" he growled, "You're a good girl, Violet. You're not some classless slut willing to sleep with anything with a pulse. There's a difference between being lustful and being reckless. And you were in no shape to be making rational decisions last night."

There it was. What lust truly meant. Like Chris said, love and lust aren't exactly the same thing. To expand on that, coupled with what Victor just triggered in my brain, lust doesn't have to make sense. I've been thinking way too much about this! It's not a rational thought. It was mere instinct and a primal, carnal one at that. Awesome. I just got the mindset. Thanks, Victor. Who would've thought you bitching at me would've worked?

"I think you have me on too high of a pedestal, Victor," I cuddled into the pillows.

"Wouldn't you if you were me?" Victor started to lighten up, "Mother of my children. My best friend. My wife at one time. You can't really blame me."

"A fall from that high could kill me…"

"You're not going to fall," he assured, 'Because we're not going to revisit this incident, are we?"

"Not for a while anyway," I sat up in bed, "The hangover sucks. I forgot what one of these felt like. I haven't drank like that in ages."

"London?" Victor guessed, a little smile gracing his face.

"You woke up in my panties," I laid my head on his thigh, feeling even more tired, "I was in your clothes from the night before. Chris was completely naked and spooning a giant stuffed banana. And poor, unsuspecting Yakov got an eyeful."

"He wasn't happy…"

"No, he was not," I giggled, "Was that the first time Yakov ever saw Chris naked?"

"No," Victor shook his head, "But that's not something someone gets used to seeing. I thought Yakov was going to kill me after that. You do know you'll probably go through the same situation with Celestino later, right? He's just as happy with you as I was."

"I'm not looking forward to that," I whined, "You think you could do a girl a solid and take that heat for me?"

"No, no, no," he sang, "That's not my heat to take, young lady. You've dealt with Celestino before. I know you can do it again. Besides, you know you're his ultimate weakness."

"I know," I blushed.

"But before you do that," Victor covered me up, "I suggest you get some more sleep."

"Ok," I let out a huge yawn, "Hey, Victor?"

"What?" Victor pulled my hair out of my face. Good. He's come back around.

"Can I ask you a favor?" I bat my eyelashes at him, fully aware that I'm not only Celestino's biggest weakness.

"Sure," he allowed, "What do you need?"

I curled into Victor's lap, reveling in the warmth of his body and the comfort it gave me, "Will you stay with me? Just until I fall back asleep?"

He thought it over for a minute or two. This would be the true telling factor of whether or not he was still mad at me. He sung his legs up onto the bed and pulled me to his chest. Memories of the old days swelled in my eyes, "Of course I will. Chris went to a yoga class, so he shouldn't be back for a while."

"Even if he does see us like this," I figured, "It's not like I'm having sex with you. We're not doing anything wrong."

"Exactly," he kissed the top of my head, "Go to sleep, Violet."

"I can't," I could already feel myself nodding off, "If I fall asleep, you'll leave me."

"Violet," Victor cradled me, "I promise I'll still be here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere, dorogoy."

With those few words of reassurance, I drifted back to sleep in Victor's arms. Every part of me was fighting the urge to break down right then and there. I missed this feeling. Of love…Security…Comfort. This warm, soothing feeling. I knew it wasn't going to last long, but for however long I had it, no one could take it away from me.

A little while later, I woke up to my stomach rumbling. It wasn't sure if it was about to empty out on the floor or if it wanted food. My money was on the latter. At least I'm hoping so. Because puking did not sound like fun times for Violet. After a further assessment of my current state, I did feel better. Tons better. Also, as promised, Victor hadn't moved.

"Hi there," he smiled down at me, "How are you feeling, Vi?"

"Better," I rubbed my eyes, "I'm starving, though. What time is it?"

"Shortly after two," Victor helped me up, "I got up a little while ago and figured you'd be hungry, so I started cooking. I'm sorry that I wasn't here the whole time."

"You told me you'd be here when I woke up, though," I pointed out, "So, it's not all bad. Besides, there's food involved."

"Also," he filled me in, "The boys are home. Chris is home. Celestino's still here. I told him to go easy on you, but I'm not sure if he is or not."

"He will," I assured, "It's Celestino."

"Why don't you go take a shower?" Victor suggested, "I have pirozhkis to attend to."

"Baked or fried?" I wondered. I thought I smelled something yummy and Victor's cooking never disappointed.

"Baked," he steadied me while I stumbled a few steps. Damn, Violet. Are you still drunk? I still don't remember what Chris gave me, but I had the sneaking suspicion I was visited by a green fairy, "I figured you didn't need all the grease and I don't feel like mopping."

"That's awfully considerate."

"You want me run upstairs and get you some clothes?" Victor offered.

"No," I shook my head, "That's fine. I am stealing your sweats, though."

"Go ahead."

I dug through Chris and Victor's closet and pulled out a pair of Victor's sweatpants that I knew were WAY too long for me. Regardless, their shower awaited me. And it put me in such a happy place. My mind went back to St. Petersburg when Victor and I got our first apartment together. This was even before we got the boys. We were just about to go out for the night and I had yet to get the bathroom, so while Victor was in the shower, I had to see through the steam on the bathroom mirror. Nearly impossible, but somehow, I managed. Happy times.

When I got out, I braced myself for the shitstorm that was about to ensue. Celestino might as well have a noose ready for me. Maybe he could borrow one of the racks from the club last night. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. I walked out into the living room and saw him sitting at the bar in the kitchen. He was yelling at someone on the phone in Italian and I wasn't quite sure what he was saying. All I knew was that it wasn't good.

"Ascoltami, figlio di puttana," he snapped, "Lei sta bene! Dì altre bugie sulla mia bambina e ti finirò! Ci capiamo?"

"Violet…?" Victor kept his voice down, "Care to translate?"

"I don't know," I tried to figure that out myself, "Any idea who he's talking to?"

"Some reporter…"

"Coach," I took his phone from him and took over the call, "Hello?"

"Who is this?" the reporter's voice shook.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"My name is Doyle Wallace," he quivered, "I'm with Skate Weekly Magazine. I just wanted to know what Celestino Cialdini's thoughts were on Violet Plisetsky's downward spiral."

"Excuse me?" I started to understand more of what Celestino was saying. He was doing crowd control and cleaning up the sloppy mess drunk Violet left behind.

"She was seen coming out of a BDSM club last night," Doyle Wallace with Skate Weekly Magazine reported, "She was drunk out of her mind, being carried over Victor Nikiforov's shoulder with Christophe Giacometti following them. I'm asking about her downward spiral just as she makes what's supposed to be her big comeback to the figure skating world."

"This is something you can go on record with," I did my best to not yell at the guy, "Violet Plisetsky is not having a breakdown, Doyle Wallace with Skate Weekly Magazine. Her comeback is going to be huge and completely unexpected and nothing like her old stuff. And she's perfectly fine."

Click.

"Do you see what I've been doing?" Celestino immediately jumped down my throat, "I've been doing damage control since seven o'clock this morning! I had to turn my phone off while I was taking care of your boys! Voglio chiamarti ogni nome nel libro ora! Ti ho detto che mi darai un infarto un giorno! Vedi cosa hai fatto?"

"Celestino," I tried to get him to settle down, "You're speaking in tongues."

"I shouldn't have to do damage control for you like this, Violet," he scolded. But then, in the same breath, he began to come down from his anger, "What's going on with you?"

"Everyone's asking me that way too much lately," I rolled my eyes, regretting the decision as a pain shot through my head, "I'm fine."

"Violet," Victor stepped in, "Are you sure about that? Because ever since the divorce, you've been…off."

"I'm sure it's just stress," I assumed, jumping up on the counter, shoving a very hot pirozhki in my mouth, "OW! Shit…"

"Violet!" Celestino always hated when I cursed like a sailor.

"Sorry, Coach," I brushed him off.

"Until further notice," he decided behind my back, "I'm going to take over coaching Yurio. And I don't want to hear any arguments from you. Victor's already given his approval."

"What?" I started getting angry again, "What the hell, Victor?"

"It's too much for you, Violet," Victor backed Celestino, "I think this is going to be good for both of you. Yurio has his program to worry about. You have your program to worry about. There's nothing wrong with getting a little bit of help with that."

"Yurio!" Celestino called out, "Come on!"

"Where are you going now?" I got defensive.

"Dance lesson," he said, "Always nice to see the Madame."

"Mama!" Yurio ran to me without even thinking and jumped into my arms, "Are you feeling better?"

"All kinds of better," I kissed his cheek, snuggling him tight to my chest, "Thanks, baby."

"Come on, Yurio," Celestino took him away from me, "Let's go see the Madame."

"But what about Mama?" Looks like someone hasn't been told the good news yet.

"She's still a little sick," Celestino lied to him, "I got you. Let's go."

Yurio looked up at me, then back to Celestino, "Do I still get coffee?"

"Since when do you drink coffee?" Victor gave him a look, "I thought you said it was just beans and water."

"Mama showed me what lattes were," Yurio bit his lip, "And they're so good."

"That's my boy," I smiled a bit.

"We'll see," Celestino pacified him, getting him out the door, "You know how Sharmay will get if you're late."

"Madame," Yurio corrected him, getting out of his grasp and running back to me, "I love you, Mama."

"I love you, too, dovahkiin," I sent him off, keeping him in the dark about everything else. He doesn't need to know what's going on. And just like that, Celestino took Yurio to see the Madame, leaving me behind.

"Violet," Victor joined me on the counter, "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" I had a feeling this wasn't going to end good.

"Have you ever thought…" he cut himself off, "Never mind."

"Have I ever thought what?" I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Have you ever thought about seeing someone?" Victor draped his arm around me.

"That's what last night was for," I jabbed, "And someone wants to play the bongos from Africa on my ass."

"That's not what I mean," he clarified, "I'm talking about professionally."

That was a red flag. That was a big red flag. I glared through Victor's soul, "A professional what?"

"You know what."

"No," I growled, "I don't. A professional what, Victor?"

"Violet…"

"Are you saying I'm going crazy here?" I snapped, "I'm in the prime of my life and I'm not allowed to do a little exploring now?"

"That's not what I mean," Victor jumped down from the counter, chasing after me, "Just…"

"No," I made a beeline for the door, "We're not having this talk today, Victor. I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"Violet, wait!" he stopped me in the middle of the hall, giving me what looked like a business card. How long was he planning on springing this on me? "I have a number of a doctor I want you to call. Please?"

"Ok, whatever," I took the card and shoved it in my pants pocket. Odds are, it's going to stay there. I didn't need to see a damn shrink. I'm perfectly fine. The fact that Victor even suggested something like that was bullshit. Why did everyone else not see it? I'm fine. I'm not having any sort of a psychotic break. I'm not going off the handle. I'm fine.

A/N: Hi, friends! I know this is going up kind of late, but it's been a very long day for me. I'm not going to go into details, but perhaps I'll tell you next week. BUT! First, a translation of Celestino's rant and him yelling at the reporter:

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch. She's fine! Tell more lies about my little girl and I'll finish you! We understand each other?

Then, there's him yelling at Violet:

"I want to call you every name in the book right now! I told you that you'll give me a heart attack one day! See what you did?"

Celestino cares. He really does. And so does Victor. They're the dads raising Violet on their own. Chris is the bad influence uncle. Yuri and Yurio are the poor babies caught in the middle. And Violet's the angry, angsty teenager that's sick of her overly doting dads. So, how else is she going to rebel? Well, she's already had the slight sexual awakening, courtesy of Mike from the BDSM club wanting to play the bongos from Africa. We'll see, won't we?

Now, a completely different matter, I'm toying around with the idea of starting a YouTube channel to keep my ramblings out of down here. I'm not quite sure what I'd be doing, but it's been something I've been wanting to do for a while now. If I were to do that, would you watch it? Just out of curiosity. Some food for thought. See you next chapter! xx