Inconvenient Crush

by Heavenly Pearl

Shortly after fifteen-year-old Otabek moves to Toronto to train with Alain and Nathalie Leroy, he finds himself crushing on their oldest son, JJ, the current junior World Champion. Too bad JJ already has a gorgeous girlfriend and considers himself straight...

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Done." Otabek handed his workbook over to JJ, gnawing at his bottom lip as JJ looked over his assigned practice problems. "So, how many did I get wrong?"

"None, actually."

That couldn't be right. He had to have made at least a couple of mistakes. "Come on, really. Just because you're my boyfriend now, that doesn't mean I want you to go easy on me. Tell me the truth."

"I'm not," he insisted. "Every single answer on this page is correct." JJ smiled as he closed the workbook and set it back down on Otabek's desk. "See, you can do it when you put your mind to it."

"That's only because I have a great tutor," Otabek said without thinking, a warmth rising to his cheeks when he realized what he said. It was true, though. He had watched the instructional video going over the lesson several times beforehand, but it wasn't until JJ broke things down and explained it to him that he finally understood how to find the circumference of a circle.

"I do seem to have a real knack for it, don't I?" JJ rubbed at his chin. "Maybe I should become a teacher once I stop skating…"

"You'd be good at it. Either coaching or teaching."

"You think? In that case, come here," he said, patting his thigh. "You deserve a special reward from Mr. Leroy after getting a perfect score on your homework."

Otabek gave him a flat look. "I take it back. You'd be a horrible teacher."

"Bekaaaaa…" JJ reached for his arm, pulling Otabek out of his chair and onto his own lap. "Do you want your reward or not?"

Staring into JJ's blue-gray eyes, Otabek's heart began to race in anticipation. "I-I do."

Grinning, JJ cupped Otabek's chin in his hand and angled his head downward, gently pressing his lips against Otabek's. Otabek let out of soft sigh, his mouth dropping open to allow JJ's tongue entrance. JJ deepened the kiss, careful to keep his arm wrapped securely around Otabek's back.

His mouth eventually drifted downward, trailing down Otabek's cheek to his neck. Otabek started to protest the abandonment of his lips until JJ latched onto a patch of sensitive skin near where his neck met his shoulder, lightly sucking. He involuntarily gasped, JJ letting out a pleased chuckle.

"You like that?"

"Yeah," Otabek breathed. "Keep going. Don't stop."

Following orders, JJ resumed what he was doing. His free hand, which had been resting on Otabek's knee, started wandering along the inside of his thigh. Otabek's heart rate quickened as the hand slowly inched upward, but just as it neared the apex of his leg, the familiar sound of a FaceTime notification came from the direction of his open laptop.

"Ignore that," JJ murmured, moving to kiss Otabek once again on the lips.

As much as he wished he could… "I can't… Come on, JJ, let go!" Laughing as he escaped from JJ's octopus arms, Otabek moved back to his desk chair and pulled his laptop, which he had slid aside to have enough room to work on his homework, closer to him. "It might be my par– Oh, it's Leo."

He blinked at the notification in the lower right hand corner of the screen. It was unusual for Leo to video call him. Typically, they just texted each other.

"Oh? I haven't seen him since Junior Worlds," JJ said. "Let me say 'hello'."

"Oh, okay." Otabek accepted the FaceTime invite, the call connecting while JJ scooted his chair over so they were both in view of the built-in web camera. "Hey, Leo," he said when Leo's face came on screen.

Beside him, JJ casually slung an arm over Otabek's shoulder and waved to the camera with his other hand. "Leo, my dude, how's it going?"

"Oh...hey, JJ," Leo said, obviously surprised by his presence. "Long time, no see, man."

"JJ was just helping me with some geometry problems," Otabek explained before Leo could even ask. And it was technically true, even if their study session had become more of a make-out session. "I'm taking some online classes over the summer."

"Still a math whiz, huh? JJ used to help me with my math homework sometimes, too. Probably would have flunked without him."

"Come on, you weren't that bad," JJ said.

"Maybe not, but I definitely wouldn't have gotten the grades I received without you."

"Always happy to help!" He finally pulled his arm away from Otabek. "Anyway, how's your training for the new season going? Have you picked out your music for your new programs yet?"

The three of them spent the next few minutes discussing their new programs. Leo was still struggling to decide on music for his new free, but not only had he cut and remixed his music for his short program, he had also self-choreographed it, following in the steps of the great Viktor Nikiforov. Of course he approved of Otabek's choice of a Reckless Abandon song for his short, lamenting he hadn't thought of the idea first. JJ had chosen to skate to more traditional pieces but with more modern arrangements to give them some "JJ Style" flair, which also earned Leo's seal of approval.

"Well, anyway, I should probably go take my shower now," JJ said after awhile, pushing his chair back. "It was good talking to you, Leo."

"Yeah, you, too," Leo said. "Good luck with your senior debut!"

"Thanks. If you ever want any advice on that quad toe, send me some video and I'll try to give you some handy tips." Since they couldn't kiss in front of Leo, JJ settled for patting Otabek on the shoulder. "See you in the morning, Beka."

Otabek glanced up, giving him a small smile. "Good night, JJ. Thanks again for the help."

"Any time!"

"You and JJ seem to be getting along well," Leo remarked once JJ had left, the door softly closing behind him.

"Y-Yeah, he's a good guy."

"I'm glad. He doesn't seem to have many skater friends. We hung out some while he was training here, but I think I was the only one who really reached out to him. To be honest, I felt kind of sorry for him."

"Really?" JJ seemed to have no shortage of friends nowadays, although it was true that he wasn't particularly close to any of the other skaters who trained at the rink with them. Aside from him, most of JJ's friends were either hockey players or classmates from school. "Maybe other skaters are jealous of him?"

"Maybe." Leo shrugged. "Right now, though, you're the one I'm jealous of! Seriously, you got to see Reckless Abandon, live and in person?"

"It was pretty amazing…"

"Oh, man, I wish I could have been there! The video you sent was awesome, but… Is Nick as hot in real-life as he is on camera?"

"Even hotter," Otabek said. "And his riffs were incredible!"

Closing his eyes, Leo rubbed at his temples and muttered to himself, "I will not die of jealousy. I will not die of jealousy…"

Otabek chuckled, reaching for the forgotten bottle of Gatorade sitting on the side of his desk and taking a sip. Leo's reaction was even better than he had been expecting.

"Wait, what's that?" Leo asked upon opening his eyes again.

Otabek swallowed, wiping his mouth with his arm, and furrowed his brow. "What's what? This?" He shook his half-drunken bottle. "It's just orange Gatorade. You have it down in the States. We used to drink it together all the time." In fact, it was Leo who had first introduced him to the popular sports drink, which wasn't readily available in Kazakhstan unless you went to an international supermarket.

"No, not that. On your neck. Turn your head a little to the right again…"

Still confused, he nonetheless did as he was asked.

Leo's eyes widened. "Otabek Altin, is that a hickey?"

"Uh…"

Otabek covered his neck with his hand, warmth coming to his cheeks. Did he have a hickey? JJ had sucked on his neck earlier, but he hadn't realized it had been strong enough to leave behind a mark…

"It is!" Leo exclaimed, taking his reaction as confirmation. "So, things are going well between you and that girl, huh? What was her name again? Samantha?"

"Oh, uh..." Otabek lowered his hand. "Sam and I actually broke up the day after the concert. It just wasn't working out."

"Oh, man, sorry to hear that! But…" Leo frowned. "That hickey looks too fresh to be from a few days ago. So who…?"

Otabek sighed. More than anything, he wished he could tell Leo – or anybody at all, really! – about him and JJ. Though Leo wasn't the type of person to spread gossip, especially not about something as personal as someone's sexuality, he couldn't betray JJ's trust.

"Beka?"

"I...I'm actually seeing someone new," Otabek finally revealed, knowing he needed to at least give some kind of explanation for the hickey on his neck. "I know it seems fast, and I know what you must be thinking, but… I've liked this person for a while now, even longer than I liked Sam, and it turns out he likes me, too, so…"

Leo held up his hands. "Hey, no judgment. It's not like you and Samantha went out that long anyway. What was it, like a few weeks, tops?"

"Yeah, about a month, I think."

"It is kinda fast, but you know your own heart better than I do. If you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

"I am," Otabek said softly. "Really happy."

"Good. So, this new guy...does he have a name?"

"He does...but he's not out yet. We're keeping it quiet for now." He could at least reveal that much.

"Are you okay with that? You hated having to hide our relationship when we first started going out."

"You knew?" Otabek thought he had done a good job of hiding it.

"I guessed. Wasn't that hard to notice. After all, I hated keeping it a secret, too," Leo admitted with a small, sad smile. "I was so happy, but I couldn't let anybody know you were the reason why, all because of my stupid fears…"

"Hey, they weren't stupid."

"They kinda were. It turns out, most people were accepting of me being gay, after all. Even my abuela has come around, finally." He laughed. "Can you believe she actually asked if I had found a nice guy yet when we went to visit her yesterday?"

Considering how awful she had reacted when Leo first came out, that was kind of hard to imagine, but Otabek was glad she was beginning to accept it. Leo, who beforehand had been extremely close with his grandmother, had been devastated by her initial rejection of his sexuality. "That's great. And have you?"

"No, not yet! Still single and ready to mingle," Leo said with a sigh. "Man, you've had all the luck recently. You got to attend a Reckless Abandon concert, had a girlfriend, and now you even have a new boyfriend. Save some of that luck for the rest of us, will you?"

"You'll find a new boyfriend one day, Leo," Otabek assured him. "And I'm not as lucky as you seem to think…"

"What do you mean? Did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing." He decided against telling Leo about yesterday's collision with JJ. After all, other than that twinge he had felt last night when he was making out with JJ, his back felt mostly fine. Not a big deal. "Anyway, I'm supposed to have a video chat with my parents in about fifteen minutes, so I should probably go."

"Yeah, I need to start getting ready for bed, too," Leo said. "It was good talking to you, though. Don't be such a stranger! We may not be dating anymore, but I still consider you a good friend. I'm always happy to hear from you."

"Me, too. I'll try to be better about keeping in touch," Otabek promised. "Talk to you later."

"Yeah, later. Adios!"

Otabek returned the wave Leo gave him, then disconnected the call.

Standing, he walked over to look at his reflection in the mirror over his dresser, frowning as he turned his head to the side to better see the hickey JJ had given him. It was small, but very obvious, a dark red blotch near the bottom of his neck. If JJ intended to keep their relationship a secret, he needed to be more careful about leaving marks where anybody could see them. It was summer; it wasn't as if he could walk around in turtlenecks without everybody suspecting he was hiding something.

Otabek searched through the drawers of his dresser until he located a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt with a high enough neckline that mostly hid the hickey from view. If someone looked closely, they might be able to see the slightest edge of it poking out of the top, but it wasn't likely to be all that visible on camera. After changing into his nightclothes, he headed across the hall to the washroom to brush his teeth.

Though the door was unlocked, somebody was in the shower. Otabek quickly closed his eyes, turning back around.

"Oh, sorry."

"Beka, that you?" JJ's voice called out from over the sound of running water.

Oh, right. JJ had mentioned something about going to take a shower when he left the video chat.

"Um, yeah." Otabek stood with the door half-open, still not daring to look in the direction of the glass shower. "I didn't realize anybody was in here. The door was unlocked, so…"

"Stay. I don't mind," JJ said with a laugh. "Not like you haven't seen everything before, right? I'm about finished in here, anyway."

He hesitated for a moment before closing the door behind him and turning the lock, not wanting to risk anybody else walking in. The kids were already asleep, but better to be safe than sorry if they woke up, needing to use the toilet.

"I just need to brush my teeth and wash my face," he said as he walked over to the double vanity and started squeezing a small dollop of toothpaste onto the bristles of his dark blue toothbrush. "I won't be long."

The vanity stood directly across from the large walk-in shower. Otabek wiped some of the condensation off the mirror with his free hand, but even with a clearer reflection, there wasn't much to see. Much to his disappointment, the large amount of steam inside the shower concealed most of JJ's naked body from view.

The running water shut off as Otabek bent over to spit his toothpaste into the sink. When he stood back up, JJ was stepping out of the shower, using a fluffy white towel to dry off. He smirked upon catching Otabek's eye in the mirror's reflection.

"Like what you see?" JJ tossed the towel into the direction of the nearby hamper, then came up behind Otabek, wrapping his arms around Otabek's waist and landing a peck on his shoulder. He smelled strongly of invigorating citrus.

"You know I do," Otabek said softly, heart pounding as JJ's lips started trailing up from his shoulder to his neck. He allowed himself to indulge in the moment, letting out a small moan as one of JJ's hands snaked its way underneath his T-shirt, but when JJ's mouth once again latched onto his neck and began sucking lightly on his skin, Otabek came back to his senses. "JJ, come on, stop," he said, pulling away. "You're going to give me another hickie."

"Another?"

Wordlessly, Otabek tugged the collar of his T-shirt to the side and turned his head to the right.

"Oh," JJ murmured upon spotting the small bruise on his neck. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was sucking so hard."

Otabek sighed, releasing his collar and rinsing off his toothbrush before placing it back in its holder next to JJ's bright red one. "It's a good thing Leo pointed it out to me. If my parents saw me with a hick–"

"Leo noticed?" Behind him, JJ's entire body stiffened, his eyes going wide in the reflection. "D-Does he…? I mean, did you tell…?"

"About us? No, of course not," Otabek was quick to reassure him. "I did tell him I have a new boyfriend, but that's all he knows. He didn't seem to suspect anything about you, either." JJ visibly relaxed when Otabek turned around to face him, placing his hands on JJ's cheeks. "But you can't keep leaving hickies on me where people can easily see them, JJ. Not if you don't want people to start asking more questions."

"I know, I know. I'll try to be more careful in the future."

"Good," Otabek said, smiling and giving JJ a peck on the lips to show he wasn't upset, just concerned.

"But it's still okay to suck on you in other places, right?" JJ asked just as Otabek was about to turn around to finish the rest of his nightly routine.

"W-What?"

With a cheeky grin on his lips, JJ dropped to his knees on the cold tiled floor. "You know, I never did finish giving you that reward I promised," he said, reaching for the drawstring tie of Otabek's pajama pants and unraveling the knot. "How about I make it up to you by sucking you somewhere else? Somewhere that only I'm allowed to see?"

"You mean…?" Otabek swallowed hard, his hands blindly reaching behind him for something to grasp onto as all his blood seemingly rushed to his lower extremities.

"Yeah." He hooked his fingers around Otabek's waistband, starting to tug his pants downward until he stopped and looked back up. "May I?" JJ asked.

"Um…" Otabek tightened his grip on the edge of the marble counters, turning his head to the side. "Uh, yeah. That would… That would be okay, I guess. Just, don't take too long. My parents are about to call, and …"

JJ pulled his pants down in record time.

---

A FaceTime notification was waiting for Otabek on his laptop when he returned to his bedroom, completely spent after receiving JJ's special "reward".

Oh, crap, he thought as he took a seat at his desk. He hoped he hadn't kept his parents waiting for too long. JJ had done his best to be quick, but by the time Otabek had climaxed and finished hastily washing up afterwards, it had already been a couple of minutes after ten.

Well, he was already late. At this point, a minute or two wouldn't make much difference, so Otabek closed his eyes and took a moment to calm his still-racing heartbeat, inhaling and exhaling a few deep breaths until his pulse returned back to some semblance of normal.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," he apologized as soon as he connected to the call, his family's faces appearing on the computer screen. For the first time in a while, Otabek's entire immediate family was present for their weekly video call, his little sister Inzhu having finally returned from her summer camp.

"Oh, that's okay, dear," his mother said, smiling. "We weren't waiting long. Were you working out?"

"What?"

"Your face. You look rather flushed." She frowned. "You aren't coming down with something, are you?"

"Oh, no." Otabek shook his head, frantically trying to come up with a believable enough explanation. "I'm fine. I was...just down in the basement, watching a movie with JJ, and lost track of time. When I realized it was time for you to call, I rushed back up here as fast as possible."

It wasn't the best excuse, considering that he had never been much of a movie-watcher, but, thankfully, his parents seemed to accept it without suspicion. Meanwhile, Inzhu, sitting in her usual spot on their father's lap, started waving at Otabek with both her hands, clearly tired of being ignored.

"Beka, hi, hi! I'm ho-ome," she said in a sing-song voice.

"I see." Otabek affectionately smiled. "Welcome back. I've missed seeing you these past couple of weeks. How was camp?"

"It was awesome! Best week of my life. Guess what, we got to sleep every night in a real-life yurt! Isn't that so cool? So much better than the tents we always use when we go camping."

"Very cool," he agreed. Otabek had attended the same camp when he was around Inzhu's age, and the yurts had indeed been a highlight, giving him a taste of what it might have been like to live as a nomad on the steppes of ancient Kazakhstan. He credited the experience in sparking his lifelong love of history. "What else did you do?"

"Lots of stuff! Lessee…" She started counting on her fingers. "We did horseback riding, practiced archery, swam in the lake, sang traditional songs, played some assyk…Oh, and look what I made!" She held up a powder blue handkerchief, embroidered with what looked to be a couple of large white lilies, the unofficial flower of Kazakhstan. The stitching was a bit crude and uneven, as to be expected for a nine-year-old girl who had no previous experience in needlework, but Otabek could tell she had worked very hard on it. "I did it all by myself!"

"Good job! It sounds like you had a lot of fun."

Their mother chuckled, reaching over to smooth down some dark flyaway hairs that had fallen out of Inzhu's braid. "She hasn't stopped talking about it since she arrived home."

"Please, can I go back next year?" Inzhu begged, turning around to face their father and bringing her hands together in supplication. "Pretty please?"

"Inzhu, we already talked about this. I said your mother and I would think about it if you keep your grades up and do all your chores."

"But I always do! You know I do!"

"It's too early for us to make a decision like that, sweetie," Mother said. "The registration fee for that camp is quite expensive. We'll have to see if we can afford it again next year, okay?"

Inzhu sighed, turning back around. "Okay… I understand…"

"I'm sorry," Otabek said softly.

If they didn't have to spend so much on him training abroad, his parents would have plenty of money to send Inzhu to summer camp every year – not to mention everything else they had to sacrifice because of him. All the more reason he needed to make the podium at his two Junior Grand Prix events and earn a spot in the JGP Final. Junior skaters didn't win as much prize money as seniors, but any little bit of extra income would help offset at least some of his expenses. Perhaps he could even pay for Inzhu's camp registration fee himself. It was the least he could do to make it up to her.

"Beka, don't worry about it," Father said. "In fact… It's not official yet, but I may be up for a big promotion soon."

"What? You didn't tell me anything about that," Mother said, her eyes widening as she turned to look at him.

"I didn't want to get your hopes up if I didn't get it, but it's almost a done deal at his point, according to Mr. Shaidorov. I'll know for certain sometime next week. If I do get it, the increase in my salary should be more than enough to cover Inzhu's camp fees, Beka's training costs, and maybe even that second honeymoon to Paris I've been promising you for years."

"Oh, that's wonderful news, honey!"

"Yeah, congratulations, Ake," Otabek said, a huge weight lifting off his shoulders. For so long, he'd felt like such a financial burden to his family, no matter how much his parents insisted they didn't mind supporting his Olympic dreams. Inzhu, in particular, had missed out on a lot of the fun childhood memories he had experienced due to money being so tight. "That's awesome."

Inzhu threw her arms around their father's neck, kissing his bearded cheek. "Yay, Ake!"

He rubbed the back of his head, uncharacteristically bashful. "Again, it's still not official, but…" He cleared his throat. "Anyway, enough about me. How have you been, Beka?"

"Oh, yes. Will Samantha be joining us tonight?" Mother asked, clapping her hands together. "I've been so looking forward to finally meeting her. She has returned from her trip, right?"

"Uh, yeah, she got back a few days ago, but…um…" Otabek inhaled a deep breath, wringing his hands underneath his desk, out of view. He hated dampening the happy mood with his news, but there was no point in putting it off. "Well, we decided to break up."

His mother's dark eyes softened. "What? Oh, no… I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"Yes, I'm sorry to hear that, son," Father echoed.

"I'm okay, really." He lifted up his hands. "It just...wasn't meant to be."

"Well, you are only fifteen, after all," Mother said with a gentle, sympathetic smile. She was taking the news better than he thought she would. "I'm sure one day you'll find the right girl for you."

"Or boy," Otabek corrected, not for the first time since he came out as bi.

"Y-Yes, of course, forgive me. The right person for you."

I might have already found him, Otabek thought, but of course he couldn't say anything about JJ. His parents might have been liberal enough to (mostly) accept his bisexuality, but they were not so liberal that they would be comfortable with the idea of him living under the same roof as his new boyfriend. Instead, he steered the conversation to the usual topics of his schoolwork and skating.

Though Otabek hadn't intended to mention anything about his on-ice collision with JJ, not wanting to worry them, his mother picked up on the slight grimace he made when he accidentally hit his back against his wooden desk chair while shifting in his seat, forcing the story out of him.

"You have a back injury?"

"It's just a little bruised, that's all," Otabek said, silently cursing his carelessness. After taking the day off from practice and resting as much as possible, he barely even noticed the pain anymore unless he bumped into something, and even then, it was relatively mild. He'd suffered worst injuries over the course of his skating career. "Nothing to worry about."

He hoped.

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"Michel, the physical therapist who works at the rink, looked it over right after it happened. He told me to rest for a couple of days, but he didn't think it was that serious."

Mother pursed her lips together. "A physical therapist is not a medical doctor, Otabek. What do your coaches say?"

"They said to let them know if the pain gets any worse, but to just try to rest and limit my physical activity for a couple of days, like Michel said. They'll have me checked out by a doctor before allowing me back on the ice."

"Shouldn't you see a doctor right away, get an x-ray or something?" Father asked. "What if it's something serious?"

"X-rays apparently aren't all that helpful in the first few weeks of a back injury, according to Mr. Leroy. Unless I'm in a lot of pain or experiencing numbness, he doesn't think it's necessary. Chances are, if something's wrong, it'll heal on its own after some rest."

"I don't know…" Mother murmured, bringing a hand to her cheek.

"Mr. Leroy is a respected strength and conditioning coach who has dealt with a lot of skaters' injuries over the years. He knows what he's talking about, and so does Michel," Otabek insisted. "Seriously, though, I'm fine, Ana. You don't need to worry. It's just some light bruising."

She still didn't look quite convinced, but his father reached over to squeeze her hand. "Dinara, I know you're concerned – so am I – but I'm sure his coaches know best. They have far more experience with these things than we do."

"I suppose so, but… Oh, it's at times like these I wish you weren't so far away, Beka," she said. "Don't try to be a hero and push through the pain like that time you sprained your ankle during the warm-up at that minor competition in Astana. If your back starts getting worse, let the Leroys know right away and go to an actual doctor to have it checked out."

Otabek resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I was ten years old when that happened. I was young and stupid. I know better now."

Although he had managed to win the bronze, even while skating his free in the worst pain of his life. Sure, he'd had a healthy eight point lead after the short program, which certainly helped, and only four boys had even competed, but at least he hadn't landed in last place, off the podium.

"Do you? I know how you can get."

"I promise, I'll take care of myself, Ana," he said. "I won't let all the sacrifices you and Ake have made for me be in vain."

---

New programs meant new costumes.

After the Leroys returned home from church the next day, Nathalie sent Otabek and JJ downtown to see her good friend, Oksana Bychenko. Oksana, who had immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in the early nineties with her family, had designed the majority of Nathalie and Alain's costumes – as well as Nathalie's wedding gown – back when they had competed as ice dancers, and now she did the same for JJ and his siblings, along with many of the skaters who trained with them. The moment the bell above the door rang as they stepped inside her modest studio, Oksana descended upon JJ like a doting babushka.

"JJ, my sweet boy!" The tiny woman, speaking with only a hint of her native accent, pulled JJ down so that she could kiss his cheeks, leaving behind imprints of her rosy lipstick. "How are you? It's been so long. I watched you skate at Junior Worlds on the Internet. You looked so handsome!"

"All thanks to you, Mrs. Bychenko," JJ said. "Your costumes are my lucky charms."

"As they should! And now you are World Junior champion. It won't be long before you are an Olympic champion like your parents. Speaking of your folks, how are they doing? I hope Natasha isn't working herself too hard."

"They're doing well. Maman sends her love as always. She says she'll try to drop by on your birthday in a couple of weeks."

"Bah, birthdays." Oksana waved a dismissive hand. "At my age, all they're good for is counting down the years until you die. No, they're for the young, like you." Looking up at him, she rubbed at her chin. "Your birthday is coming up soon, too, isn't it? The week before mine?"

It was? That was news to Otabek. JJ hadn't mentioned anything about it to him, although, to be fair, he hadn't thought to ask.

"Yeah, I guess it is," JJ said. "Didn't realize it was coming up so soon, to be honest."

"And how old will you be? I'm getting forgetful in my old age."

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen!" Oksana brought a hand to her chest. "My, the years do fly by. I swear it was only yesterday I was changing your dirty diapers."

"Yeah...uh…" JJ bashfully rubbed his neck. "Anyway, Mrs. Bychenko, this is Otabek Altin, one of Maman's new students," he said, lightly pushing Otabek forward. "He's been living with us for the past month or so."

She turned her attention to Otabek, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses as she sized him up. "Ah, yes, Natasha mentioned you the other day, the promising boy from Kazakhstan. Do you speak Russian?"

"Da. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Bychenko."

"Please, feel free to call me Oksana Serhiyivna," she said, switching to Russian as she took one of his hands between her own. "It's always so nice to have the chance to chat in one of my mother tongues, especially now that my son has moved out and my husband long passed."

Otabek sympathized. "I know what you mean," he said, switching to Russian as well. "I've lived away from home for the past three years, so the only chance I get to speak Kazakh nowadays is when I call or visit my family."

"Three years? And you're still so young, too…" Her eyes softened. "You must get homesick often. It's been well over twenty years for me, and I still miss my beloved Kyiv."

"I do miss my home and family, but training abroad is what I have to do to become the best in the world. It's the only logical path for me."

"So determined… Yes, I can see it in your eyes. They're the eyes of a future champion." Finally letting go of the grasp she had on Otabek's hand, Oksana switched back to English, bringing JJ back into the conversation. "Now, then, we should get to work on designing these new costumes. Who would like to go first?"

"JJ can. I don't mind waiting."

"You sure?" JJ asked.

"Go ahead." JJ already had a good idea of what he wanted his costumes to look like, anyway. Over dinner the night before, he'd shown his family and Otabek some rough sketches he had drawn of his designs, declaring them full of "JJ Style", whatever the hell that meant; Otabek still hadn't quite figured it out.

"In that case, feel free to have a seat," Oksana said, nodding her head toward the cozy sitting area set up in the corner of the room. "We shouldn't be too long. Come, JJ. Let's get you re-measured, then you can show me those sketches I know you brought along, you cheeky, cheeky boy!"

JJ laughed. "You know me too well, Mrs. Bychenko!"

Once they had disappeared behind the long white curtain hanging on the back wall, Otabek sat down on one of the over-stuffed couches and pulled out his phone to look up JJ's profile on the ISU website. Sure enough, July 15th, 1997 was listed as his day of birth, so JJ's birthday was only a little more than a week away. Nine days, to be exact. Shit, that didn't leave Otabek much time to find him a present.

He frowned, switching over to Amazon's website. What to even get a guy like JJ, who seemed to want for almost nothing? Otabek couldn't afford to buy him anything too expensive, especially not after he finished paying for two of Oksana's custom designed costumes, almost guaranteed to be at least a couple of thousand Canadian dollars each. (He planned to reuse last year's program and costume for his exhibition to save some cash. It wasn't as if he'd had the opportunity to skate in exhibitions all that often as a junior anyway.) JJ already owned plenty of clothes, books, and video games. Maybe a Blu-Ray or something? He liked Marvel movies...but JJ probably owned most of those, too.

Some sheet music for his guitar? Or some new picks? Otabek mentally filed both under "Maybe", but neither idea seemed quite right. At a loss, he typed "birthday gifts for him" in the search bar, but the vast majority of the suggested items were tools and grilling equipment, playing up the usual gender stereotypes. As appealing an image of JJ in a flannel shirt and a low-slung toolbelt was, he was hardly the "handyman" type.

A tie? JJ usually wore one to church...but again, he probably owned more than enough. A mug? Water bottle? Too generic. New wallet? But the designer Ralph Lauren one JJ currently used was still in great shape and probably cost far more than anything Otabek could afford to buy him. A keychain?

No, definitely not a keychain.

Otabek continued searching fruitlessly on the website until the white curtain was pulled aside. JJ and Oksana exited the back room, laughing at some joke that Otabek wasn't privy to, and headed over to the cash register, where JJ paid his consultation fee by credit card.

"Okay, your turn, Otabek," Oksana said after they had completed the transaction and JJ plopped down on the couch beside him. "Come with me, please."

"I'll be waiting," JJ said as Otabek stood. "No rush."

Nodding, Otabek slid his phone back into his pocket and followed Oksana behind the curtain, leaving JJ behind.

The back room served as Oksana's studio, filled with colorful bolts of fabric, containers overflowing with sparkly sequins and Swarovski crystals, and several dress forms covered with costumes in various stages of completion. Two women, both around middle-aged, were painstakingly gluing silver rhinestones onto a black dress featuring a modified tutu for a skirt. Otabek would bet good money the costume was for yet another ubiquitous "Black Swan" program. Another in the corner was working on the sewing machine. Oksana stopped for a moment to check on her work, saying a few words to her in a language Otabek didn't recognize. He was fairly certain it wasn't Ukrainian. Yiddish, perhaps?

"Follow me," Oksana said in Russian after she finished her inspection.

She led him behind another curtain to a smaller area that served as a dressing room. There was a large full-length mirror on the back wall, a pedestal in front of it, and three silver hooks on the side wall to hang up clothes. Without needing to be asked, Otabek took off the unbuttoned shirt he wore over a plain white T-shirt and hung it on one of the hooks before stepping up on the pedestal, facing the mirror. He'd been measured for costumes plenty of times before, so he already knew what to expect.

Thankfully, with the help of a tutorial he found online, he'd managed to conceal the hickie JJ had given him with the make-up he normally used during competitions. If someone looked closely, they could probably tell something was slightly...off about his skin tone, but it passed on a quick inspection.

Oksana grabbed the tape measure from around her neck and got straight to work on taking his measurements, continuing to chat to Otabek in Russian about his new programs and what kind of look he wanted for his costumes. Unlike JJ, he wasn't all that picky about what he wore, so Otabek decided to leave most of the creative decisions to Oksana aside from specifying that he wanted to wear ripped jeans as part of his short program costume.

"Ripped jeans, eh? Well, simple enough," she said, crouching down to run the tape measure along the inside of his leg. "Inseam...28 inches…" Oksana stood back up, still fairly spry at her age, and reached for the pencil she had tucked behind her ear, scribbling down the number in the tiny notebook she kept in her smock pocket. "Hmm, I suppose I'll need to make the pants a little longer."

"Longer?"

"You're at that age, right? Fifteen, sixteen?"

"Fifteen," he said. "I'll turn sixteen in October."

Oksana nodded. "I thought so. My Maksym was short like you until he turned fifteen. Then he shot up like a weed! Now I can't even pet him on his head unless he bends down," she said, chuckling. "Your time is coming soon, just you wait."

Otabek frowned, staring at his reflection in the mirror. "Great…" he muttered in Kazakh under his breath.

Nearly every competitive skater dreaded their teenage growth spurt. Most fans tended to focus on the girls developing breasts and hips, calling it the "puberty monster", but growing taller could be just as detrimental for boys in the sport, throwing off their center of gravity. Though Otabek wouldn't mind adding a couple of inches to his stature in order to give him more "presence" on the ice, he feared what kind of havoc a big growth spurt would have on his jumps. He was so, so close to mastering the quad salchow. The last thing he needed was to lose it completely right before his first competition on the Junior Grand Prix.

Otabek wasn't typically a praying man, but he closed his eyes and sent a quick prayer to Allah that his growth spurt would have the decency to wait until closer to his birthday, when he'd be done competing in his two events. Even if it ended up ruining his chances at the Final, assuming he even qualified, at least he'd have a decent chance to earn a high enough score to be considered for a spot on the senior Grand Prix the following season, which was his main goal.

"Anyway, I'll add about three inches to the pants, then hem them up," Oksana said. "That way it will be easy to make alterations if necessary without having to create a new pair. I'll choose fabrics with a little more give as well. Sound good?"

"Uh...yes, thank you..."

After Oksana finished with the rest of the measurements, she led Otabek back to the studio area, where she quickly sketched out what she had in mind for both of his costumes. The sketches were on the rough side, but Otabek mostly liked what he saw, only making a couple of suggestions of things to change. With that done, Oksana showed him some fabric samples, including some stretch denim material – regular denim would be too tough to skate in – for his short program costume. The final choices would be decided later, once the designs were completed, but it helped to know what fabrics and colors he liked and disliked.

"Okay, that should be about it," she said when they had finished, scribbling some notes on the back of one of the sketches. "I'll e-mail you when I've finished the designs, then we can set up another appointment to finalize the details. I'll expect a twenty percent deposit at that point to get started on creating the actual costumes, with the rest to be paid in full once the costumes are ready."

"Yes, ma'am. That won't be a problem," Otabek agreed. He already dreaded what the final cost would end up being, but if he wanted to be counted among the best skaters in the world, then he needed to look the part.

"Good. Follow me. I'll bill you for today's consultation."

They headed back to the lobby in front. Otabek frowned upon seeing the empty sofa, wondering where JJ had gone until he looked out one of the large windows on the facade of the building. Several mannequins stood behind the window, displaying some of Oksana's designs, but he could just make out the back of JJ's partially-shaven head outside. He must have gotten a call and stepped outside to take it.

"This way," Oksana said, leading him to the cash register.

Otabek filled out the short form she handed him to give his contact information, then paid the $60 consultation fee.

Outside, he found JJ leaning back against the display window, his cheeks uncharacteristically red as he stared intently at something on his phone. Otabek walked over, tapping him on the shoulder.

Jumping at his touch, JJ almost dropped his phone on the sidewalk, catching it just in time. "Oh, Beka, it's you," he said, letting out a relieved sigh. "Don't startle me like that!"

Otabek furrowed his brow. "Who else would it be?"

"I don't know. Maybe a fan or something?" JJ pushed himself off the window and slipped his phone into his back pocket. "Anyway, you finished? That didn't take as long as I thought it would."

"Yeah. I decided to leave most of the design up to Mrs. Bychenko."

"Cool. So, what do you want to do now? We've got the whole afternoon free. I texted Maman and told her we would be back by dinner time. Figured since we're downtown, I could show you around a bit."

Otabek shrugged. "Maybe get some lunch? I'm getting kind of hungry," he said, his stomach audibly growling just to prove it. No matter how much he ate lately, it never seemed enough...

JJ let out a boisterous laugh, patting him on the back. "Yeah, I'm getting pretty hungry myself. There's a vegan restaurant nearby I've been meaning to try out. The food there is supposed to be really good. Wanna see if it's worth the buzz?"

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good."

---

JJ hadn't wanted to deal with the hassle of trying to find parking in the city, so they had taken the bus downtown instead of his car. It didn't take long for them to walk to the restaurant JJ had in mind, though. It was only down the street, hardly giving Otabek enough time to pry for possible birthday present ideas or ask what JJ had found so interesting on his phone.

"It's such a beautiful day. How about getting a table out on the patio?" JJ suggested as they walked up to the host station.

"Sure." He had no real preference.

"Table for two on the patio?" The hostess checked the seating chart and grabbed a couple of menus. "You're in luck. We happen to have just one available table left outside. Right this way."

She led them through the nearly-full dining room – beautifully decorated with living green walls and rattan furniture – to the back door, which led out onto the patio. It was just as gorgeous as the interior, covered with potted plants and climbing vines. A canopy of fairy lights hung overhead; they were currently turned off, but Otabek could imagine how beautiful they must be at nighttime, casting a soft glow over the diners sitting below.

Though he had assumed eating outside would be rather noisy with all the cars constantly driving by out front, they were sitting far enough away from the street that the sound was only a mild annoyance. Otabek barely noticed it as he looked over the menu, choosing a grilled avocado sandwich that looked quite appetizing. When their server came by with their green teas, JJ ordered the cauliflower steak for himself, along with a fresh garden salad for the two of them to share as an appetizer.

This is almost like our first date, Otabek thought after the server took their menus away, leaving his view of JJ across the table unobstructed. JJ grinned, perhaps thinking the same thing. Otabek wished he could reach across the table and take JJ's hand, but thinking better of it, he brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat instead.

"So...your birthday is coming up?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I probably should have told you earlier." JJ sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Like I said, I nearly forgot about it myself until Mrs. Bychenko mentioned it. It's hard to believe it's already the middle of summer break. Feels like the school year ended just last week, you know?"

Maybe for those students who actually attended a physical school...

"It's fine. It's not like I asked either," Otabek pointed out. "Do you have any special plans to celebrate?"

"My folks usually throw me a big summer pool party. They haven't mentioned anything about it yet, but I assume it'll be the same this year," JJ said, taking a sip of his green tea. "Everyone always looks forward to it. It's a total blast!"

"Oh."

"Don't worry, it'll mainly just be my friends from school attending. You don't have to worry about dealing with Oncle Louis again."

"No, it's not that," Otabek said. JJ's uncle hadn't even crossed his mind, although he was glad to hear Louis Leroy would not be in attendance. "It's just –"

"Oh, did you have something else in mind? 'Cause I can tell them not to bother, that I just want to keep things low-key this year."

"Low-key" and "JJ" didn't belong in the same sentence. Besides, JJ's eyes had lit up with glee when he mentioned the party. It didn't take a genius to see it was something he looked forward to every year as well.

Otabek waved his hands in front of his chest. "No, you don't have to do anything like that." It wasn't as if he could take JJ on some big, romantic date to celebrate, anyway, as much as he would have like to. If JJ canceled his annual birthday party to spend the day with him instead, it would almost certainly rouse suspicion with his parents. "I was just wondering what kind of present I should get you."

JJ smiled. "I'm sure I'll love anything you give me," he said, which wasn't helpful at all.

By that time, the server arrived with their salad and a couple of plates. They split the salad between them, JJ drowning his portion with the restaurant's signature vegan ranch dressing while Otabek chose the balsamic vinaigrette.

"Are you sure there's nothing special you want?"

"Seriously, I'd be fine with almost anything," JJ said with his mouth full of lettuce. "You don't need to overthink it, Beka."

"But…" Otabek sighed, poking at a cherry tomato. He didn't want JJ to think his gift was just "fine". He wanted to give him something special, something to show just how much JJ meant to him. "Hypothetically, if you could have anything in the world – anything at all – what would it be?"

"An Olympic gold medal." He didn't even pause to think about it.

Otabek resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, yes, I know that, but… Can you at least give me some kind of hint of what you want for your birthday? Something within reason?"

"Well, actually…" JJ bit down on his bottom lip. "There is something, but…" He shook his head. "No, never mind. Just forget it."

"What?"

"It's nothing."

"You can't say something like that and not expect me to be curious," Otabek said. "Come on, tell me. I won't laugh or anything like that."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

"Then...okay." JJ set down his fork and pulled out his cell, tapping the screen a couple of times before inhaling a deep breath and sliding the phone across the table. "I kinda, maybe want to try...this?"

Otabek reached for the phone, his eyes widening when he saw what was on the screen. "This" turned out to be a Wikipedia article about anal sex, a rather graphic illustration placed prominently near the top of the page. Thankfully, Otabek sat with his back toward the railing surrounding the patio, so there was nobody behind him who would be able to see over his shoulder.

"Oh...wow." He didn't know what else to say. "Is this what you were reading earlier?" If so, no wonder why JJ had been so startled when he had tapped his shoulder.

"Yeah, um… I had a few questions and started doing some research." A faint blush colored JJ's cheeks. "They didn't really cover stuff like that at St. Michael's, you know?" he said, referring to the private Catholic high school he attended part-time.

"Yeah, I imagine not."

Memories from around the time he first started to suspect he wasn't straight came to the forefront of Otabek's mind. Curious, he had also engaged in his own independent research into gay sex on the Internet, coming across some things he had probably been far too young to see.

"So, do guys really like that?" JJ asked, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Having a penis shoved up, you know…"

"Their ass?" Otabek set JJ's phone down on the table, making the screen go to sleep in case any servers passed by. "Yeah, some do. It's supposed to feel really good."

"You've never…?"

"No. No...not yet," he admitted. "Leo and I… We made out some, but that's it. We weren't ready to do more than that." And he had never even broached the topic with Samantha, assuming she wouldn't be interested.

"But you want to?"

"I mean, yeah, someday. I'd like to give it a try." Otabek tilted his head to the side. "What about you? Is this really something you're interested in doing?"

"I mean, maybe?" JJ sat back and scratched the side of his neck. "Isn't that the gay version of 'going all the way'?"

"'Going all the way?'"

JJ took a large bite of his ranch-covered broccoli, chewing longer than usual before responding. "You know how some couples – straight couples, mostly, I guess? – they stick to, like, handjobs and oral, but it doesn't really count unless the penis goes into the vagina? That's called 'going all the way,' at least around here, and it's considered a pretty big deal."

"Ah." Otabek had suspected it meant something like that. "Well, for me, sex is sex. It doesn't matter what kind it is," he said with a shrug, taking a bite out of a cucumber slice. "Do you still consider yourself a virgin, since we apparently haven't 'gone all the way' yet?"

"I...don't know? Kinda? Technically?"

He arched an eyebrow. "You're 'kinda technically a virgin'?"

"Well, it sounds kind of stupid when you say it like that," JJ muttered, stabbing at a piece of celery with his fork.

"Wait, no, I wasn't making fun of you," Otabek said. The last thing he had wanted was to shame or embarrass JJ. "Sorry, I...uh… I think it depends on the person, what they consider 'losing their virginity' or 'real sex'. If you want to consider yourself still a virgin because you haven't had intercourse yet, I don't think there's anything wrong with that." He frowned. "But, JJ, are you really ready to take that step? Didn't you want to wait until marriage to 'go all the way'?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean, I did. I…" JJ sighed, his shoulders slumping. "To be honest, that was really more Bella's thing than mine," he confessed. "I agreed with her that it was a good idea at the time – that's what we had always been taught – but now… I don't know." He set down his fork. "Let's say, hypothetically, in the future we were to get legally married. It's not like the church would recognize our marriage. Not only are we both men, but you're not even Christian, and I doubt you would be willing to convert."

"No, I wouldn't." Not unless there were big changes to church doctrine, and even then…

"So, if that's the case, what's the point in waiting just for a piece of paper? Why not...just do it?" Again, he sat forward, Otabek mirroring him across the table. "I want to be with you, Beka," JJ said in a lower voice. "Really be with you, in every way imaginable. Even if the church considers it a sin, I… I think I'd rather ask for forgiveness than risk never making love to you like that."

Otabek sucked in a sharp breath. Underneath the table, JJ had reached for his hand, his thumb brushing over Otabek's knuckles. "JJ…"

"What about you? Are you ready to take that step? Do you want to be with me...like that, too?"

"I…" His throat suddenly parched, Otabek reached for his glass with his free hand, taking several gulps of green tea.

Sex was sex. It should have been an easy "yes". Of course he wanted to be with JJ like that. It had been practically all he dreamed about since the moment he first stepped foot off the plane in Canada. Yet… It was a big deal for JJ. A huge deal. Otabek wanted to make him happy, but what if JJ ended up not liking it? What if he regretted "going all the way" and ended up resenting him?

"Your birthday is still over a week away. We don't have to decide anything right this moment," Otabek finally said, gently pulling his hand away from JJ's grasp when he saw their server returning to their table with their orders. "You should think about it some more and make certain it's something you really want to do. Besides, I don't even know if I'll be able to resume more vigorous activity by then." His back felt fine for the most part, the bruises already starting to fade away, but he still needed to see what the doctor said. The Leroys had already scheduled him an appointment on Monday with the same highly-respected doctor who had treated Alain's back injury all those years ago.

"Oh…yeah. It was just a suggestion, anyway," JJ said. "We don't have to rush into anything."

---

After their delicious lunch, Otabek and JJ caught a nearby bus, although to where, Otabek had no idea. JJ refused to tell him their final destination, wanting it to be a surprise. Looking out from his seat next to the window, Otabek didn't recognize the route they were taking, but that was to be expected. For the most part, he had only rode the bus to and from the skating rink and the stop near the Leroys' house with the occasional quick side trip to a nearby store, so the rest of Toronto was largely a mystery to him. He was enjoying the chance to see more of the city, though, JJ frequently leaning over him to point out various landmarks along the way.

"Over there is what will be the future Aga Khan Museum," JJ said as they passed by a half-constructed angular building. "It's not set to open until later this year, but it's going to be dedicated to celebrating Muslim cultures through Islamic art and objects. We can maybe check it out sometime if you're interested. I know you like history and that kind of stuff."

"Y-Yeah, that would be cool," Otabek said, although, at the moment, he was far more interested in JJ's lips, so close that he could feel JJ's warm breath brushing against the side of his cheek, the faint scent of his aftershave tickling at Otabek's nose.

JJ must have noticed him staring. A faint blush crawled across the bridge of his nose as he pulled away and sat back in his seat, coughing into his fist.

"Anyway, I probably should have asked this earlier, but are you going to be okay walking around a lot?" he asked. "The place where we're going is kinda big. I know you said your back was feeling better this morning, but…"

"I'll be fine. I probably shouldn't be running in a marathon or anything like that, but walking is okay, I think."

"Okay, but tell me if you need to take a break or anything. Don't push yourself."

"I won't," Otabek promised, starting to reach for JJ's hand until he remembered they were in public. Though they were sitting at the very back of the bus, out of view from most of the other passengers, the two teenage girls across the aisle who kept giggling and not-so-subtly checking JJ out could see everything they did from their vantage point. "So, when are you finally going to tell me where we're going?" he asked, awkwardly crossing his arms instead.

"And ruin the surprise? I already told you, you'll just have to wait and see."

"You aren't smuggling me out of the country or anything like that, are you? We've been traveling for a while now..."

"Of course not. We're almost there. Just another fifteen minutes or so."

In the end, "there" turned out to be the Toronto Zoo, the bus pulling up to a station near the zoo's front entrance to let passengers disembark. Otabek and JJ were among the last to get off, JJ excitedly tugging on the sleeve of Otabek's shirt to guide him toward the box office.

"This way, this way!"

Though JJ offered to pay for their tickets, Otabek insisted on covering both of their admittance fees. It seemed only fair, since JJ had picked up the tab for lunch.

"Man, I just love the zoo, don't you?" JJ asked once they had made their way inside. "Animals are the best. This has to be one of my favorite places in the entire city. Not that I have a ton of free time to visit with training and all, but Bella and I, we'd come here on dates someti–" He abruptly came to a stop, slapping a hand against his forehead. "Oh, sorry. I'm an absolute idiot."

"What are you talking about?" Otabek looked back, cocking his head to the side in mild confusion until he realized what JJ had said. "Oh, no, it's okay. You don't have to worry about something like that."

"Yeah, but...we can go somewhere else if you want. I wasn't thinking."

"JJ, we already paid for our tickets. It would be silly to leave before we even got the chance to see anything," he pointed out. All ticket sales were final, so they wouldn't be able to get a refund even if they turned right back around. "Besides, I don't expect you to avoid every single place you ever took Isabella on a date. That would be unreasonable. We'll just have to make some new memories of our own, right?"

JJ smiled, relaxing as he fell back in step with Otabek as they followed the signs to the nearby Indo-Malaya zone. "Right."

"So...you like the zoo?"

"Um, yeah, but Madi is the one who really loves it. For her birthday last year, my parents threw her a party here, and you'd think she had died and gone to Animal Heaven, she was so excited." He laughed at the memory. "It was literally all she could talk about for the next week."

"She sounds a lot like my sister. Inzhu just got back from summer camp a couple of days ago, and she's already begging my parents to sign her up again for next year," Otabek said. "I'm surprised your family doesn't have any pets, though, if you and Madeleine love animals so much."

"It's not for a lack of trying, believe me. We've all been asking Maman and Papa to let us adopt a dog for years, but Maman's allergic, and we're all way too busy with skating and traveling to really devote the time needed to care for one anyway."

"Yeah, I've been wanting a cat for a while, but with all the moving around I do, it just doesn't make much sense," Otabek said, empathizing. "Maybe once I settle down in one place and can support myself on my own –"

A short vibrating sound from JJ's phone, signaling an incoming text message, interrupted him. "Mind if I check that? It might be important."

"Go ahead."

"Thanks." While Otabek turned his attention toward the Indian peafowls running around in a nearby enclosure, JJ pulled out his phone and checked the text messsage. "About time!"

"What is it?"

"It's Maman. She sent me a link to the senior Grand Prix assignments," he explained. "They were just posted a few minutes ago."

It really was about time. Usually the senior Grand Prix line-ups were announced sometime in June, soon after the International Skating Union held their annual congress. "Cool. Which events did you get?"

"I don't know yet. I'm too nervous to check!" JJ held his phone out to Otabek. "You do it."

Otabek arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" he asked, faintly amused. He had never seen this side of JJ before; it was honestly kind of cute.

"Yeah, just click the link. It should download the pdf."

Otabek took the phone and tapped on the link in Nathalie's text message. As he searched the charts for Jean-Jacques Leroy CAN, JJ closed his eyes and crossed his fingers, muttering something in French under his breath that Otabek couldn't understand.

"Okay, you got...Skate Canada…"

"Expected that," JJ said, nodding. "And? Did I get a second event?"

"Still looking…" He started scanning the chart for the next event, hitching a breath as JJ moved to stand behind him, looking over his shoulder at the phone to join the search. "N-Not under Cup of China," he said, heart pounding for more than one reason. "But Trophée Éric Bompard… Yes!"

JJ's name was the second one listed for the French Grand Prix.

"Yes!" JJ whooped, throwing up his arms in celebration. The noise startled one of the nearby peafowls, who ran away and hid behind a bush. "Oops, sorry about that, little fellow," JJ said, chuckling. "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"Congratulations." Otabek turned around to face JJ, smiling. He wished he could join in on the celebration and kiss him, but aware of their very public surroundings, he settled for giving JJ a quick bro hug, patting him firmly on the back. "Were those the assignments you wanted?" he asked after handing JJ back his phone.

"Pretty much, yeah. I mean, it would have been nice to get NHK Trophy – I've always wanted to go to Japan – but France is great, too. It's been a couple of years since I last visited."

"You've been before?"

"A few times," JJ said with a nonchalant shrug as they moved onto the next exhibit, featuring the greater one-horned rhinoceros. He scrolled through the rest of the charts, checking out the rest of the assignments. "Tata Thérèse and Tonton Julien live in Poitiers, so we go visit them sometimes. I think the city is only a couple of hours away from Bordeaux, where the competition is being held this year."

"Oh, so they'll be able to see you compete."

"Yeah, they've never attended one of my competitions before, so that'll be cool." He glanced over at Otabek. "I wish you could come, too," he added softly.

But they both knew that wasn't possible. While Otabek could probably convince Nathalie and Alain to let him tag along with them across country to Kelowna, British Columbia to watch Skate Canada in person, going abroad to watch a competition where he wasn't even competing was almost certainly out of the question.

"Maybe next season," Otabek said, hoping they were invited to at least one Grand Prix event together when he finally made his debut on the senior circuit.

"Yeah, next season." JJ smiled, reaching over with his free hand to affectionately ruffle Otabek's hair. "That would be awesome...although I'll totally kick your butt on the ice."

"Yeah? Well, we'll see about that," he said, lightly knocking his shoulder against JJ's.

JJ just laughed in response, playfully returning the jab in kind.

"Yo, King JJ!" someone shouted from somewhere behind them, causing JJ to freeze in place, his eyes going wide.

Shit! They had run into one of JJ's friends.

After inhaling a deep breath, JJ pivoted around and smiled brightly as he waved to the couple walking toward them, a tall black guy who Otabek recognized as one of the hockey players who skated at the rink and a cute brunette in a ponytail who looked vaguely familiar, although he couldn't immediately place her. "Charlie, Caitlin, hey, good to see you," JJ said, greeting Charlie with an intricate handshake. "What's up?"

Oh, right, Caitlin. That was her name, one of Samantha's friends. Otabek had met her a few weeks ago at the house party, when she and Charlie had set him up to talk to Samantha.

"Nothing much. Just spending the day with my best girl," Charlie said, wrapping an arm casually around Caitlin's shoulders.

"Gotta get my fill of him before I become a hockey widow again," Caitlin teased, patting his chest.

"Hey, come on, girl, don't be like that! You know you're always number one with me."

"No, no, I've already accepted that I'll always come second when it comes to your true love. I'm fine with it, as long as there's nobody else." She tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. "Anyway, hi, Otabek. Sorry to hear that things didn't work out between you and Sam."

"Oh, um, thanks."

"You two know each other?" JJ asked, brows furrowed. As he had spent most of the party with his tongue stuck down Isabella's throat, of course he hadn't realized they had met before.

"We talked a bit at Jeremy's party," Caitlin explained. "Charlie and I actually did a little matchmaking, since I knew that Sam had a thing for Otabek."

Otabek slipped his hands into his pockets. "So, uh, how is Sam doing?" She never did respond to the last text he had sent with the photos he had taken of her at the beach, not that he had really expected her to.

"She's good, for the most part. She has a big audition coming up next weekend, so she's really thrown herself into rehearsing lately. I think it's helped to keep her mind off things."

"Oh, good." At least Samantha hadn't fallen into a depressive episode like JJ had after Isabella broke up with him. It made him feel a little less guilty for moving on so fast with JJ. "Tell her I said, 'Good luck'. Or, wait, should I say, 'break an arm'?"

"It's 'break a leg,' and I will," she promised.

"So, what are you two doing here?" Charlie asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "Out on your own romantic date?"

"Charlie!" Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He's an idiot."

JJ forced out a laugh. "Nothing like that," he said, Otabek suppressing a frown. "We don't have practices on Sundays, so I thought I would take Beka out to see some of the sights. He can't spend all his time at the rink, after all."

"In that case, you should definitely come check out the band sometime. Here, I'll text you the info." Finally letting go of his hold on Caitlin, Charlie pulled his phone out of his pocket. "We just got a regular standing gig at Vibe on Wednesday nights during the summer."

"Vibe? Wait, isn't that a nightclub? How'd you manage that when everybody's underage except for Zach?"

"They've come up with this new thing during summer vacation: 'Teen Night'. No alcohol served, just pop and water, and the entertainment is all young, local bands. Maybe not the biggest stage, but, hey, beggars can't be choosers. You gotta start somewhere, eh?"

"Awesome. We'll have to drop by one night and check it out."

"Yeah, sounds cool," Otabek said. He missed all the live music events he had attended back in Detroit.

"Great! I sent you all the deets. Hopefully we'll see you there sometime," Charlie said, putting his phone back in his pocket, then reaching for Caitlin's hand. "For now, Cait and I are going to check out the giraffes. See ya around!"

"See you!"

Once the couple were out of earshot, having turned in the direction of the newly opened Masai Giraffe Habitat, advertised on a nearby sign, Otabek turned his attention back to JJ. "Hey, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm good." JJ's broad shoulders relaxed, the tension finally leaving his body. "Man, that was a surprise! I wasn't expecting to run into anybody I knew today. It's a big city, but I guess the zoo is a pretty popular date spot, especially during the summer."

"Do you want to leave and go somewhere else?" He was the one to insist they stay and get their money's worth, but if the idea of running into Charlie and Caitlin again – or any of JJ's other friends – was going to stress JJ out, Otabek was more than fine with cutting their visit short.

"No, I'm okay, really," JJ said. "I don't think they really suspected anything, despite Charlie's stupid joke. He was just goofing off as usual. Let's maybe stay clear of the Africa zone for now, though." He pointed in the direct opposite direction of where Charlie and Caitlin had gone. "The Australasia Pavilion is that way, if I remember correctly. Come on, let's go check out the kookaburra!"

---

JJ remained on edge.

He did his best to hide it. He laughed and smiled and made silly faces at the animals, acting as if he didn't have a worry in the world, but every few minutes or so, he'd look back over his shoulder to make sure Charlie and Caitlin weren't lurking anywhere in the vicinity, ready to catch them in the act. Otabek pretended not to notice, just like he pretended not to care that JJ hadn't touched him once since the run-in, hands mostly in his pockets as he kept a respectable distance between them while they toured the various exhibits.

It's fine, Otabek thought, snapping some pictures of a yawning Sumatran tiger at rest underneath a tree with his cell. If he had known beforehand JJ planned on taking him to the zoo, he would have brought his good camera along with him. It's not like you didn't know what you signed up for when you agreed to be his boyfriend.

Maybe so, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. They hadn't even been doing anything overtly romantic! To an outsider, they had probably just looked like two teenage boys goofing off together. All Otabek wanted was to hold hands with his boyfriend in public without worrying about getting "caught"; was that so wrong?

Pushing his thoughts aside, Otabek returned to the subject of the Grand Prix assignments as they made their way to the next exhibit in the Eurasia zone. "So, do you have any tough competition at your Grand Prix events?" He had been so focused on finding JJ's name on the charts that he had paid little notice to the rest of the assignments.

"Not really. Winning gold at Skate Canada should be a cake walk now that Patrick's officially retired," JJ said with a nonchalant shrug. "My biggest competition there is Cao Bin, but I heard he's been dealing with another injury and might need surgery. According to Bella – um, she used to keep up on all the gossip about Chinese skaters when we were dating – rumor has it that he might pull out of the Grand Prix altogether. Of course, that was from a while back, so her intel might be out of date by now."

"Still, another injury?" Otabek raised an eyebrow. "He always has the worst luck." Cao Bin was one of the current top names – a supremely talented jumper – but he had yet to get through one season in the senior ranks without missing at least one competition due to some injury he incurred during training. Otabek doubted he would last more than a year or two before his knee finally gave out for good, forcing him to retire.

"Yeah, he really does… Besides him, I'm up against Popovich and Chulanont, but neither of them should be a huge threat for the gold. Popovich still only has a quad salchow, and Chulanont has yet to land any quads at all in competition. With the highest base value and the hometown crowd on my side, it should be a pretty easy win."

"What about Trophée Éric Bompard? Did Christophe Giacometti get assigned there again?" The popular reigning Olympic and world bronze medalist was a favorite invite of the French federation due to the proximity of nearby Switzerland. Fans in his home country could be counted on to cross the border for the chance to see him skate live, guaranteed to help boost ticket sales.

"Yeah, he'll be there. I'm not that worried about him, though. Giacometti's always been more of a late season skater," JJ pointed out. "He'll certainly do well enough to make the Final, but he doesn't believe in peaking too soon, so he probably won't go for his toughest layouts early in the season. Crispino and Nekola shouldn't be too difficult to beat, either. At worst, I get silver, but that should still be more than enough to qualify."

"I wouldn't underestimate Emil," Otabek said of the current junior World bronze medalist from the Czech Republic. His weak PCS had prevented him from winning gold, but his tech score had actually been a point higher than JJ's thanks to having a higher base value. With the permission to finally attempt quads in the short program now that he was turning senior, his tech scores would likely increase even higher – even if Otabek thought JJ's overall technique was much better than Emil's. "I know he's not the most artistic skater, but he recently posted some clips of himself attempting the quad loop in practice. It's looking really good. He might actually be the first person to land one in competition."

"Yeah, I saw those clips, too." JJ frowned. "Apparently he wants to go for two quads in the short and four in the long. I applaud his ambition, but he's not even in the running for a spot in the Final with only one event. Phichit currently only has one, too."

Otabek sighed. The curse of being from small federations. "At least they managed to get one assignment." That hadn't been a guarantee since neither of them had a high enough season's best or world ranking to earn an automatic berth in the series, although both had been close, just outside the Top 24. "Maybe they can pick up another as an alternate, especially if the rumors about Cao Bin dropping out are true."

"Yeah…" JJ sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm pretty lucky that I was able to get the host spot at Skate Canada in addition to the spot I was guaranteed. It's tough for skaters from small feds to even get invited to a Grand Prix right out of juniors, but with so many retirements after the Olympics, there were probably more spots to fill than usual."

Which meant it would probably be even more difficult for Otabek to earn a berth next season…

"Oh, look, snow leopards!" JJ rushed ahead, walking over to the barrier fence outside the enclosure and waving his hand over his head like an overexcited child. "Beka, come on."

Chuckling, Otabek joined him, coming to stand beside JJ as he read the plaque displayed on top of the fence, which provided interesting facts about the species, like what they liked to eat and how fast they could run.

"Hey, look here." JJ pointed to one of the sentences on the plaque. "It says that this particular pair of snow leopards is originally from Kazakhstan."

"Yeah?"

Otabek glanced over. Sure enough, the two adult snow leopards, given the names Zamir and Aruzhan, had been found injured in the foothills of the mountains near Almaty. The Almaty Zoo had treated and rehabilitated them, but lingering health issues due to their injuries made it unwise to release them back into the wild. They had been given over to the Toronto Zoo last year, and Aruzhan had given birth to three healthy cubs, two female and one male, back in May.

"It looks like the zoo is running a contest to choose names for the new cubs," JJ said, nodding toward a nearby poster. He pulled his phone back out, going to the listed website. "I'm gonna nominate Otabek for the boy!"

"JJ…" Warmth rose to Otabek's cheeks.

"What? You don't want a namesake?"

"No, it's not that…"

"Then it's settled." JJ started tapping on the screen. "Give me a couple more Kazakh names for the girls."

"Um...Inzhu and Aliya?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Isn't Inzhu your sister's name?"

"Yeah, and Aliya is one of my cousins." Otabek shrugged. "They're just the first two names that came to mind."

"How do you spell them?"

He spelled them out for JJ, then took out his own phone to take some pictures. Reminiscent of their native mountain habitat, the exhibit had been created with a rocky terrain. Aruzhan, laying in the shade of a large boulder, nursed two of the cubs while the third played nearby, pouncing after a fluttering butterfly. Meanwhile, Zamir prowled around the rocks, still handsome and proud despite the slight limp in his hind quarters

"You know, snow leopards are actually considered a symbol of Kazakhstan. They're said to represent strength, power, and prosperity," Otabek informed JJ, who had joined him in taking pictures of the family. "There's one depicted on the official seal of Almaty, and they're printed on some of our currency, too. I even saw one in the wild once."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, I was hiking in the mountains with Ake...with my dad. I think I was around nine or ten, and Ake decided it was time for me to finally learn the facts of life." Otabek laughed, remembering how his poor father had fumbled through an awkward conversation about the "birds and the bees", unaware that Otabek had already learned most of the basics about sex and reproduction from his classmates at school. "He was in the middle of giving me the big talk when I spotted one in the distance. It was so beautiful and majestic, standing on the edge of a cliff…"

"Were you scared?"

Otabek shook his head. "No, it was a good distance away, so it never noticed us. We just stared at it in silence for a couple of minutes, then slipped away, going back down the way we came. Our hike got cut short, and Ake never did finish giving me 'the talk', deciding to stop by the library on the drive home and check out a book for me to read instead, but it...it was a good memory."

He leaned against the barrier, his folded arms resting against the top. An unexpected wave of homesickness washed over him. He'd just spoken to his family the night before, but talking to them over video wasn't the same as being with them in person. He missed going on long hikes in the mountains with his father and baking shek-shek and bausrak with his mother, their kitchen filled with the mouth-watering aroma of frying dough. He even missed Inzhu bugging him over and over to play "tea party" with her and her stuffed animals, although Otabek imagined she had long outgrown that sort of thing by now.

"You miss him, huh?" JJ scooted a little closer, their shoulders almost touching. "Your dad, and the rest of your family?"

"Yeah," Otabek admitted softly, tucking his phone back in his pocket. He'd have to remember to text some pictures of the snow leopards to his father later. "I miss home." Realizing how he sounded, he straightened his posture, waving his hands in front of his chest. "I mean, it's not like I'm miserable, or anything like that. Not at all. I'm grateful to your parents for taking me in and agreeing to train me, and I'm really enjoying my time here, but…"

"...it's not the same. Yeah, I kinda know how you feel. Papa came with me when I was training in the U.S., and we'd fly back to Montreal every other weekend to visit Maman, Madi, and Pip, which I know is a huge privilege that a lot of skaters who train abroad don't have, but still...it's rough to be away from your family, especially when you're so young."

"Yeah," Otabek said, sighing. "But it's a sacrifice I have to make if I want to become one of the best skaters in the world. I made my peace with it a long time ago." He jerked his head to the side. "Anyway, come on, let's get out of the way. We should let other people see the snow leopards, too."

They apologized to the small family behind them who had been patiently waiting for them to leave so they could have a better look, then started walking toward the red panda exhibit.

"Hey, do you ever wish you were born somewhere else, that you skated for a bigger fed?" JJ asked along the way. "I mean, if you were, let's say, Russian, you'd have access to some of the best coaches and choreographers in the world without leaving the country."

"I'd also have to compete for assignments against top skaters like Nikiforov and Popovich," Otabek pointed out.

"You could take on Popovich, no problem, especially once you get that quad sal under control. I'll admit he has some style and flair, and his overall technique is pretty good, but he's lacking that certain 'it' factor, you know?"

Otabek wasn't so sure about that – the judges seemed to love Georgi Popovich's skating, "it" factor or not, awarding him with plenty of medals both nationally and internationally – but he appreciated JJ's confidence in his abilities, nonetheless. "And Nikiforov?"

"Well, nobody can touch Viktor Nikiforov right now," JJ said. "Even I'm not so delusional to say I'll win a World title my first senior season against him, but it's not like he can stay on top forever, right? One day either age or injury is going to catch up with him." He shook his head. "Never mind that, though. Even if you couldn't beat Nikiforov, you'd still have a lot of advantages if you were Russian, right? Advantages that would make it a lot easier for you to achieve your dreams without having to live so far from your family?"

"Maybe so." It wasn't the first time someone had asked him something like that. Leo had once asked him a similar question while they were dating, but his answer still remained the same. "I won't lie and say the thought never crossed my mind. I know I probably would have had better opportunities and better training had I been born in Russia, but...I'm proud to be Kazakh. I love my homeland," Otabek said, clutching at the front of his T-shirt. "I want more than to simply win a lot of medals. I want to leave my mark as a Kazakh skater and make my country proud. The road may be difficult and filled with sacrifices, but I'm determined to prove even skaters from smaller federations can compete with the best in the world at the higher levels."

"Beka…"

"Besides…" Otabek brought his hand back down to his side, a small smile tugging at his lips as he glanced over at JJ. "If I skated for Russia, chances are, I never would have came here for training and gotten to know you so well."

"In that case…" JJ turned his head to look over his shoulder, checking to make sure the coast was clear, before he reached for Otabek's hand, entwining their fingers together. "I'm glad you're not Russian," he said softly, giving Otabek's hand a gentle squeeze.

Otabek couldn't agree more.

"Me, too."

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

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Surprise, I was able to finish by May anyway and didn't need that extra month after all! I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter, and Chapter 8 should be ready to post in early July, just in time for JJ's birthday, appropriately enough.

BTW, in this chapter, JJ mentioned that Patrick (Chan) retired, but in real-life, Patrick only took the 2014-2015 season off, then came back to compete for the rest of the quad, retiring from competition for good after the 2018 Olympics. That obviously doesn't happen in the universe of this fic since JJ's supposed to be the new Canadian star.