Usual Disclaimer. You know the deal. This one came up a little shorter, but I liked it.

R&R

Before they had even realized, two weeks went by. In between working shifts, Maryann had been teaching Layla some cooking, at the point she could now make an omelette without setting fire to the kitchen, and which was fairly tasty. Yuri's little sister would come by every now and then, since her school was close to her grandmother's house, during the afternoons. Sometimes she'd bring her physics homework and plead her brother for help, others she would just come for chitchat.

Normally, her agenda wasn't that free, as she would say, but since she was on hold because of her foot, she had some spare time. And on Thursdays, she would have piano classes, in the living room, with her grandmother. They were currently practicing for a recital she would have in two months' time.

Yuri ended up having to work in Cape Mery's time zone, so he was mostly stuck in meetings during nighttime and a couple of afternoons. And he had also resumed his course at the university of Paris since he had just a few credits left to finish. His classes were often in the mornings.

His brother came by twice on that time span. On the first, he was alone, and claimed to have forgotten some stuff in a room on the second floor, leaving fast, for his grandmother's dismay, for she had just baked fresh bread. As always, he seemed uneasy by his older brother's presence, and Layla wondered what had happened between those two.

On the second, he brought a friend. Alois was a slender French lad that seemed around fifteen or sixteen. He had pitch black curly hair, fair skin, and electric blue eyes. They were probably in the same class and had been assigned a work, hence why they were there. On this occasion, Yuri was stuck in a meeting upstairs, and his grandmother was working. So, she was the only one left to welcome them. She remembered Maryann saying he really had a sweet tooth and liked peach tea with honey. But before she could even ask anything, he cut her.

"Don't bother. We are only here for the books. It's an art history homework, and my grandmother has more books on that than the whole school library. You can bet." He snorted, heading towards the study.

"Hey, you don't have to be so impolite, Misha." His friend scolded him. "Sorry. He is not always like this, believe it or not." He scratched his forehead. "We should stay here, you know how protective your grandma is with her books, leaving the house with them without her permission seems not like a good deal. Besides, it's kind of hot out there."

The blond teen rolled his eyes defeatedly, getting a few books from the shelves, placing them in the dark oak table in the centre of the room. She brought them over a jar with water, and two glasses, so that they didn't have to leave the room while working, as well as some pastries.

Looking at him closely, the resemblance with his brother was uncanny. They could be easily mistaken for fraternal twins. He actually thanked her this time.

His friend had been right. The weather was hot on that day and being in the 28th week didn't make it any easier. Now hiding it was barely impossible, and backache and round ligament pain were her new best friends. Her balance was way shifted, and she had to become even more careful while walking. Today her feet were especially swollen, making it even more uncomfortable.

She had leaned against the couch and just risen her feet up when the blond appeared through the door with the empty plate of pastries. He motioned her not to try rising. "I can get them, thanks." He approached, touching her forehead with the back of his hand. "You look flushed. Have you been drinking enough water? I'll get you some. I told you not to bother."

Had she just been scolded? He returned with a glass of water with some ice cubes in. "Here."

"See, I told you he wasn't that bad." The other teenager laughed, leaning against the doorframe. "He just likes to play tough. By the way, it's almost time for your practice, isn't it? I'll tidy up the books, you better go." Mikhail glanced at his watch, jolting up and getting his rucksack hurriedly and clumsily, not without swearing in between. She didn't know how the front door still stood strong.

"Was that Mikhail? I swear to God if he hits that door once more, he's grounded for life! Why are you laughing? One day that door will positively fall. And he even left the study a ruckus, come on."

Not laughing was impossible. Yuri had just rushed downstairs, currently wearing a linen beige shirt which couldn't in any way match his down checkered pyjama trousers and brown loafers. Not to mention his glasses sitting much down in his nose than they should and the mug on his hand that gave the last touch of the "Dad" vibe.

"It's nothing. Were you hiding behind the stairs or so, to know he left the study untidied? I thought your meeting was still ongoing. Nice style, by the way."

"Ahem. Of course not, it ended a couple minutes ago." He cleaned his throat suspiciously and adjusted his glasses. "So, you're a friend of my brother's? Nice to meet you and thank you for keeping up with him. Misha can be a big deal. Now, I suppose I should help you before Ms. Maryann arrives and has a heart attack." He extended his arm for a handshake with the lad.

"Ah." The boy blushed. "Sure, that'd be neat. Thanks."

"No problem. And you stay right there. Two can do this work. Besides, you really look flushed." He didn't even look back, yet he knew she had thought about rising, but to get more water.

"You don't have to be so overprotective like that. It's not that much of a big deal. I feel way better than before. I can get myself water, thank you. I'll just rise slowly. See? Not a big deal."

"Just be careful." He pinched his nose, closing some of the books, but keeping the pages marked. He knew his brother would come back later to finish. That wasn't missed by Alois, of course.

"That was kind." The teenager thought out loud, being side eyed by the trapeze artist. "I didn't mean it to go out." He lowered his head, joining some paper sheets that had flown with the window breeze.

"I used to do that for him when we were kids, he'd always leave his reports unfinished and lose the spots on books. With some time, he learned how to do that by himself. He is brilliant, but too disorganized. Has he been taking his ADHD medications?" Yuri climbed the mobile stairs to place a book on the top shelf.

"Sometimes. How'd you know that I knew about his medications?" He handed the older another book that belonged to the farthest shelf.

"Because you are his friend, right?" He winked. "In our family, we don't get the chance to have many of those, sadly. So, he went to practice. Is he good?" The teenager's blue eyes lightened up.

"Yeah, the best, but people refrain from telling him that, in hope he will be more punctual and polite. You should go see him at rehearsal someday. I mean, shouldn't be hard for you, since…" He was cut midsentence.

"I'll think about it." Yuri answered sharply, climbing down the staircase. "Good, this looks better now." He stretched his back. "Would you like some coffee before you leave? I'll make some."

"There is no need, I am already leaving." He shook his hands and head nervously.

"Seems like I was faster than you, Mr. Killian. Now he'll have to stay." The former Kaleido Star grinned while proudly holding a bottle with warm coffee and a few cups in a tray.

"You're spending too much time with grandma. Let me just see if it's drinkable first. You'll thank me later; it might be poisonous. You never know." She narrowed her eyes and elbowed his ribcage.

The boy laughed once again. "How long have you known each other? Seems like ages."

"Let's see. We were fifteen and sixteen at our auditions, so around five years… I guess. And we've been partnered for about the same time, with some spiny situations in between, right? I suppose having to synchronize on stage does that. We ended up understanding slight behavioural cues from each other even before we were a couple. Yuri was way better than me at that, though." She smiled, serving both. Yuri glanced jokingly at her, while taking a small sip. "Stop that! I have improved. I hate you sometimes."

"Fine, it's safe to drink. I can't risk my brother losing a good friend, right?"

Mikhail entered the studio fast, straight to the male changeroom. Him and his terrible time management, again. He managed to swallow a lisdexamfetamine capsule before presenting to his class.

"Late again, I see, Brass. I sincerely haven't forbidden you from being in this play in respect to your mother. You better give it all today, and I trust you are already warmed up from your bike. Your partnering skills are lacking a lot. You might be good alone, but there is unfortunately no-one else I can put in this pas-de-deux. Now, chop-chop, fast you go. Isabelle, your belated partner is here. Aimeé, to the piano you go."

His teacher was grumpy as always. How he hated the practice with the girls. He didn't want to do the pas-de-deux. He shone better by himself. They all talked about how he lacked feeling when dancing with her. Isabella wasn't bad, very good, in fact. Just… There was no way there could be chemistry between them. And if there is something he was bad at was faking chemistry, especially on stage.

"Now. Let's picture the scene. You are the nutcracker and you have finally won your battle with the Mouse king. At last, you can be with your beloved Clara, and have turned into a prince. Remember you'll be both dancing after Nadja and I's Coda, and I hope you can keep up with that."

"If that's how not to pressure us, Mr. Mathéo, I wonder how it would be if you wanted, right, Misha?" He rolled his eyes.

"Let's do this." He positioned himself beside her, holding hands. Remember Mikhail, you are there to show her, make her shine. Clara is the focus in this dance. You are there to support and treasure her, you were her gift. Only he didn't, did he? He couldn't even support himself. Who was he trying to deceive?

They were trying for the seventh time getting through the first half of the variation.

"Five, six, seven, eight… That's better. Improve that face, Mikhail, you are not trying to kill the Mouse anymore. Rise her a little more. Now you aren't synchronized at all. Stop."

Would it even hurt for him not to talk for a minute? Mikhail couldn't even hear the piano on the back. Just the critique. He was never good enough. They were never synchronized.

"Can't you just SHUT UP for a moment?! You just keep babbling about how much I can't focus, but you just don't let me!" Now he was practically screaming on the top of his lungs. "I never said I wanted this role. Why can't you put on someone else? Or just make it like the original one, in which Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier do the Grand Pas-de-Deux. You both know that by heart. I'm out of here."

"You control your temper, young lad." His teacher was now louder than him, holding the young dancer by an arm.

"Or what? You are going to hit some sense into me? Like that old teacher used to do when you were a student? I'd really like to see you try. I don't bleed like my brother. At least I can be better than him in something." He was now shedding tears of pure rage.

"Михаил, хватит!" Both men froze at once. The former combative teenager stood small upon hearing that voice and those words. "Get your things. Now. I am sorry, Mathéo, Isabella. Seems like today we wasted your time. I apologize."

"Мама, прости..." His voice was barely a whisper, head down in a mixture of shame and sadness.

"So… How was your day, grandmother?" Yuri inquired, handling the noisette potatoes to the older woman. "Were there any good groups today?"

"Hm… Mostly same as always. But the youngest group was exciting. The kids really wanted to learn, and some of them even correctly answered some of my questions. And your day? I reckon you met Alois. What did you think of him? Ladies first." She passed over the fish towards him.

"He seemed like a good person, and he cares about Mikhail. Besides, he is very polite. And handsome. I suppose that's it for a first impression."

"I know, right? Isn't he! And can you believe he hasn't had a girlfriend yet? I can't! Anna told me he is very shy at school and is always hiding after Mikhail. Seems like they became friends after your brother beat the hell out of some older guys who were picking on him. Misha came back with the biggest black I'd ever seen. Nadja was so worried that she took him to the hospital for a CT scan of the head to make sure he hadn't had any brain damage."

Yuri nearly choked himself with a herringbone, eating a big chunk of bread and drinking a whole glass of water at once, hitting his chest coughing non-stop for a few minutes. "You two can finish, I'm going up, not quite hungry anymore." His voice was croaky.

"You sure?" Layla asked, holding his hand.

"Yeah, don't worry." He kissed the top of her head lovingly. "Takes more than that to end me."

"Ha-ha." She rolled her eyes.

Layla finished dinner quite fast. She'd known him better than just to simply believe things were just okay after that scare at the table. After helping his grandmother with the silverware, she went straight up to their room.

He sat shirtless at the foot of the bed, still coughing. On the place where he'd hit to unchoke, a bruise was already forming. And it scared her more than she wanted to admit. She approached quietly, sitting beside him, running her fingers through his hair, the other examining his chest.

"Hey there. Guess I might have miscalculated my strength." He laughed half-heartedly, placing a hand over hers and pulling her closer. "It's just bone. I haven't hit a lung. I can breathe easily. Truly."

"You better, you idiot." She buried her face onto his torso, drawing a pained long breath and rubbed the left side of her belly. "He got uneasy and almost found my spleen. Guess it's getting a little crowded in there."

"Don't even say anything like that. Little aubergine here has at least eight weeks more to go before he decides to play any weird games. Heard that, right, baby boy? Behave." He placed his cheek over her belly. If he tried, he could hear their heartbeat. His movements were now way stronger. She giggled as he kicked right at Yuri's ear. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You never said what you think of Alois."

"He is nice." He spoke, absentmindedly, now laying on her lap.

"Is that all?"

"Pretty much. Why?"

"Just a bit anticlimactic. I thought you'd make a joke about how I said he was handsome." She teased. He burst out laughing.

"Oh, please. He's no match for me. Besides, you'd have to be born again." She gazed at him with a quizzical look. He was now staring deep into her blue eyes. "Layla, he blushed at me twice."

"Oh… OH!"