in the night

Summary: Yuri shares his biggest secret with Otabek.

It's late when Yuri calls Otabek and asks him to come to his flat, nearing eleven P.M., but Otabek is wide awake and has nothing better to do so he says he'll come over. Yuri says it's important, and the tone of his voice is what gets Otabek more than anything else. He's never heard Yuri like that.

Over the hum of his motorcycle, Otabek puts one foot down in the parking lot outside of Yuri's apartment complex, propping his vehicle up as he texts Yuri with one hand. I'm here. He wonders what this is all about. He hopes it's not something serious. Despite his rather stoic demeanor, Otabek is often easily confused when it comes to serious matters.

He and Yuri have been friends since Yuri was fifteen-almost-sixteen, and now that he's seventeen-almost-eighteen that means it's been nearly two years. Otabek hums under his breath as he thinks about it, dismounting his bike and twirling the keys on his fingers.

He walks up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, up the two stories to Yuri's apartment and knocks on the door. There's a muffled "coming" and some fumbling, before Yuri gets to the door and cracks it open. He pulls it wider when he sees that it's Otabek, and there's a strained smile on his face.

Yuri never has to force smiles when he's around Otabek. So why is he doing it now?

"Are you alright?" Is the first thing out of Otabek's mouth when he steps inside and Yuri closes the door.

"I'm fine. You worry too much," Yuri says, tugging at the collar of his shirt.

Otabek's eyebrows knit together with worry. Maybe he is thinking about this too much.

"I just have something I want to tell you," Yuri murmurs. The rest of his words tumble out in a rush.

"Do you know – do you know what "transgender" means?"

Oh.

Otabek's eyes widen just a smidgen, and Yuri's face goes red. "No – no, you know what, forget it, just – fuck, why did I have to say anything?" He cards a hand into his long blonde hair, and Otabek reaches out, clasps his hand before he can do damage to himself.

"Yuri." Otabek says, his voice deep and reassuring as it always is. "It's alright. I know what it is." His thumb strokes the back of Yuri's hand gently. "Are you saying that you are…" He trails off, leaves the question open-ended on purpose.

Yuri nods. "My birth certificate would say I'm a girl, but I'm really not," he says, still breathless, still in a rush. His chest is heaving. "You believe me, don't you, Ota?"

"I believe you." Otabek lets go of Yuri's hand, lets a little smile cross his face. "Of course I believe you. You are what you say you are."

Yuri's breath leaves him all in a rush. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

They spend the rest of the night together, watching TV and laughing.