Chapter Text
The next month had come and gone, and yet neither Yuri or Otabek had mustered up the courage to speak to one another about what their relationship was or what it should be. They both liked each other - they knew that. They knew that they cared about one another and that they practically lived together, given Otabek’s unfortunate mishap with his parents. The only thing there was to do was to tell each other that they wanted it to go further. To make it official.
But how could they when everything was perfect the way it was? Yuri loved everything about it - the way they slept at each other’s sides, sometimes in one another’s arms. The way they looked at each other, the way they ate breakfast together. Every tiny thing they did together was perfect. So why change any of it for the sake of a label?
Otabek felt the same way, but he wanted to know what Yuri wanted. Did he really want to commit to a relationship? Did he even want to be with him? Otabek was worried, he really was. But as always, he wore a smirk and shrugged it off (he figured out not a week after that night, that Yuri became weak beneath his cocky gaze).
Mila noticed the tension between each of them. She hadn’t been at the apartment much so they could have time to themselves between their classes, Otabek’s work, and the band practices. She didn’t mind, though. She got to spend time with her singing instructor turned girlfriend, after all. Sara was always there for Mila, and gladly welcomed her into her house. Sara lived with her brother, Mickey. They were pretty close, but he still gave them space whenever they wanted it. He was protective of Sara (kind of surprised when she first introduced Mila to him as her girlfriend, but happy for her nonetheless), and he was scared of losing her to a random college student, since they’d been joined at the hip since they were only small.
In the late hours of one Sunday night, exactly one month and one day after they properly met when they went to lunch together, Otabek and Yuri sat at each other’s sides on the sofa of Yuri and Mila’s apartment. They were clung to one another; legs tangled and arms wrapped around each other’s bodies as they watched 10 Things I Hate About You.
Yuri leaned his head on Otabek’s shoulder, sighing contently as the pair felt comfortable in each others arms. Yuri looked up at the guitarist, letting thoughts swim around in his mind. Maybe a month had been enough time? Yuri thought to himself.
He sighed as he separated himself from Otabek, pressing his lips in a thin line and averting his eyes to the sofa. “Beka,” he began. “We really need to talk.”
Otabek knew it. He understood that they couldn’t just stay together blindly. He nodded, taking Yuri’s hands in his. “You know that I… I really like you, Yura. You know that, right?” Yuri nodded with a small smile. “I love everything about how things are. I don’t think we should ruin it.”
Yuri agreed with another nod. “I know, Beka.” He frowned. “I just… I want to make this official. I wanna be able to tell people that you’re my boyfriend, and I don’t feel like I can do that yet.”
Otabek could tell that he was upset, and pulled the blonde onto his lap. Yuri had both legs at either side of Otabek, and wrapped his arms around his neck. Oabek’s hands found his waist, and he leaned his forehead in to touch Yuri’s. “Yuri,” He muttered, his breath fanning over Yuri’s lips. “I want everyone to know that you and I are together, and I’ve been thinking this for a while but… before you and I become official, I want you to know where I come from and what my parents are like.”
Yuri suddenly felt nervous, pulling away from their embrace and letting his hands fall to his sides. “Beka,” he coughed. “Isn’t it a bit early?”
“That’s not why I want you to meet them, Yura.” Otabek shook his head, keeping his hands on Yuri’s hips. “I just want you to know what you’d be getting yourself into by being my boyfriend. Besides, it’s kind of a part of my upbringing to introduce you to my family before making any commitments.”
Yuri hesitated, but nodded with a sheepish smile. With a smile, Otabek placed a chaste kiss on his lips and continued to watch the TV program at his side.
With their fingers intertwined, Yuri and Otabek stood at the door of a large suburban home. Otabek breathed heavily, obviously nervous. Yuri squeezed his hand, helping him settle his nerves. He didn’t really understand why Otabek was so nervous, but he felt it necessary to calm him down. “It’s alright, babe.” Yuri offered a reassuring smile, and Otabek felt his heart flutter. “It’ll be fine.”
Otabek nodded and rung the doorbell, waiting for the door to swing open. When it did, he was relieved that it was his mother at the door rather than his father. “Hello, mother.” at his mother’s suspicious glare and harrowing silence, he continued. “This is Yuri. May we come in?”
Yuri was amazed. He had never seen Otabek like this - treading carefully, speaking so politely. It actually scared Yuri in a way, to think that his parents made him so nervous. Otabek’s mother looked at Yuri with a cold gaze, making him uncomfortable. She nodded shortly, disappearing into the house.
“Otabek’s here! Ken, come out of your garage and greet your son! He brought a guest!”
Otabek lead Yuri to the living room, sitting beside him on the comfortable love seat. In an instant, Otabek’s mother reappeared with his father, sitting on the lounge opposite him and Yuri. “So, Otabek,” Otabek’s father’s stare was colder than his mother’s. “Who is this? You brought a stranger into this home, so he’d better be important.”
“Father,” Otabek’s voice was now firm - it was completely different to the tone he used with his mother. “This is Yuri. I wanted to introduce him to you because…” He hesitated, glancing to the shorter blonde for only a moment before returning his stare to his father. “I want to be with him.”
There was a eerie silence that followed his declaration. It made the room seem darker, and the expressions on Otabek’s parents’ face made him feel ill. His mother spoke first, trying to be gentle. “You want to… be with him?” she repeated his words. “What do you mean, Otabek?”
“I love him.” His words shocked all of them, even Yuri. They hadn’t said the ‘l’ word yet, and he had only thought of the idea of loving Otabek once, but shook it off. It was so soon… surely he wasn’t serious? “I love Yuri, and I am not going to wait for your approval to be his boyfriend.”
“How dare you?!” Otabek’s father stood up, pointing his finger at his son. “You run away, casting aside your religion and your countries customs so you could go to a pathetic College, and come back two years later only to tell us that you’re gay? Gay?! You are such a disappointment!”
Otabek’s mother nodded, her disgusted expression bringing tears to both Otabek’s and Yuri’s eyes. “This is disgusting, Otabek.” She sighed. “To think that you would do this to your parents.”
“I said it before and I will say it again!” Otabek snapped, standing up and shocking Yuri. “I don’t care what you say, I love Yuri! And if you’re going to act like homophobic asshats rather than parents, I don’t want your blessing or your approval! Have a nice life.” He grabbed Yuri’s hand, kissed him for a moment (he didn’t regret edging on his parents at all), and pulled him out of the house, deciding that he’d never return.
They hopped onto Otabek’s motorbike, speeding away from his childhood home together. Yuri wrapped his arms around Otabek’s waist, hugging him and resting the side of his face on his back. “I love you, too.” He muttered, barely loud enough for Otabek to hear. The Kazakh man felt a smile play at his lips as he continued to ride, the warmth of Yuri against his back comforting him.
Otabek didn’t go to practice with Mila. He stayed at the apartment and lay with Yuri on the sofa in the living room, his mood having dropped drastically since they got back from Kazakhstan. The campus was a three hour drive from Otabek’s home town, so they got home at about 10.
Yuri only mentioned the meeting with Otabek’s parents once. “Beka,” he had mumbled, hoping that what he was about to say wasn’t going to offend him or make him think that Yuri was racist. “Is it like that in every Kazakhstan family?”
Otabek shook his head, understanding that Yuri was only curious. “No.” He answered quietly. “There are a few nutcase families that take their religion too far, like my parents. Not every family in Kazakhstan is Muslim either. It’s a popular religion there but there are a lot of Christians and loads of Buddhists.”
It was 11:15 now, and they were expecting Mila to tiptoe through the apartment’s door to avoid having an encounter with either of the lovebirds. However, when she padded into the apartment, boots tapping against the floor as loudly as normal, Yuri and Otabek gave her a glance before returning to their previous position. Mila tilted her head. When Yuri told her about how he was going to meet Otabek’s parents this afternoon, she became kind of worried. She knew what his parents were like, and she knew the kind of things Otabek went through when he was young.
“Guys, I want to talk to you.” Mila interrupted their hugs and kisses as she stood in front of the glowing TV. “It’s important.”
Yuri and Otabek nodded as she continued. “So, I’ve been thinking… this is my apartment, and Otabek has been spending more time here than I have. I’ve been staying at my girlfriends place with her brother as well, and I’ve decided something that I will probably regret.”
Otabek knew this would come. He knew that Mila would kick him out eventually, but he just wasn’t prepared for this. “Mila, before you say it, I just want you to know that I’m grateful-”
“I’m letting you live here.” Mila stopped him, a small smile playing at her lips. “I’m moving in with my girlfriend, and I’m giving the apartment to you both.”
Otabek was shocked and frozen, barely reacting to the beaming smile on Yuri’s face. Although it was a rare sight, he couldn’t bring himself to pay attention to it. “Otabek,” Mila sighed. “You’ve been practically homeless for a year. I don’t know how you haven’t had your own place by now, considering you have a job-”
“-With shit hours.”
Mila raised an eyebrow, intimidating Otabek as he stopped and let her finish. “Anyway, I want you to live here with Yuri. There’s two bedrooms, and since you are both disgustingly clingy and never seem to separate, you can just use the other bedroom as a spare or a computer room or something, I don’t know. I want you both to pay rent though. 250 Euros a week from both of you, understood?”
They both nodded, ecstatic and excited. “Are you serious, Mila?” Yuri gawked, his grip tightening around Otabek’s hand. “You’re just gonna pack up and move in with your girlfriend? And since when did you have a girlfriend?!”
Otabek freed his hand from Yuri’s grip and let it slither around his waist. “Yeah, you didn’t even tell me, your best friend, that you were dating someone.”
“It’s not a big deal, guys.” Mila blushed, averting her eyes. “She’s italian, and she’s like, four years older than me but honestly, she’s gorgeous.” She snapped out of her daydream and crossed her arms. “Anyway, I have one more condition. All this furniture is mine, so I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t have sex on the couch or the table, thanks.”
Yuri and Otabek became flustered simultaneously, their eyes wide and their faces flushed as they spluttered and coughed objections (although, they were both thinking about making out on the couch just to spite her). “We won’t, we promise!” They said together, sending chills down Mila’s spine.
“Jesus Christ,” she scoffed as she sashayed into the kitchen. “Fuckin’ Shining Twins.” Otabek gave Yuri a bright smile and flung his arms around his shoulders. Yuri separated them and grabbed Otabek’s face, pulling him towards himself and attaching their lips. He was relieved (why wouldn’t he be, after seeing what he’d seen at Otabek’s house), and he had a perfectly good reason to kiss the shit out of him. “What did I say? No sex on the couch.”
With a chuckle, Yuri and Otabek broke apart. “We’re just kissing, don’t get your undies in a twist.” Otabek rolled his eyes, his arm around Yuri’s waist. “Besides, I do live here… don’t I?” He tilted his head to give Mila a smirk and a cocky tint in his eye.
“Don’t test your luck, Otabek.” Mila glared. “You’re lucky I so much as thought about giving you this place. It’s still my apartment, you’re just living in it.”
“So, what’s your family like?”
Yuri and Otabek lay on their sides, looking at each other with a look neither of them took any note of, on Yuri’s bed. Otabek tilted his head slightly, and gave a small smile. “You know what mine is like, so I think it’s only fair to know about yours.”
Yuri’s gaze quickly averted from Otabek’s eyes to the roof as he turned to lie on his back. “Before I came here I lived with my grandpa. I’ve been living with him since I was nine.”
“What about your mum and dad?”
Yuri hesitated, swallowing down the nerves that bubbled up in his throat. “My dad left my mum and I when I was four. I barely remember him and all I know is that he left to Murmansk with another woman.” At Otabek’s confusion, Yuri stifled a chuckle. “It’s in Russia. I’m Russian.”
“Oh! I’ve been trying to figure out your accent since I met you!” Otabek laughed. “You’re really good at English, you know.”
“I’ve always rathered English to Russian.” Yuri explained, shrugging. “I learnt to speak the language when I was like, seven. Its like my first language now.” Otabek traced Yuri’s palm with his fingers, an expectant look in his eye. “My mum… well… she was sick. In the head. She…”
Yuri choked down a sob, and Otabek shook his head. “No, Yura, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Yuri nodded, stifling an awkward kind of cough as Otabek hugged him. Otabek understood. He had an idea of what Yuri was trying to tell him. It was common, and it was traumatizing. He could only imagine what Yuri had to go through when he was young, after losing his mother as well as his dad.
“Yura,” Otabek smiled as he held him in his arms. “I hope you understand that… well, we have each other now.” Yuri nodded into his chest. “Despite your rough family history and my opinionated parents and their backwards rules, we’re both fine and we’re both happy, right?”
Yuri nodded as he looked up at Otabek, a smile playing at his lips. “I’m really happy,” he kissed Otabek for only a second. “I’m happy with you.”
They lay together on Yuri’s bed, legs tangled and fingers intertwined. They shared a comfortable silence, and needed no more than each others company to keep them satisfied. But suddenly, without really thinking it through, Otabek lowered his head and whispered into Yuri’s ear with a smirk playing at his lips. “You know, I wasn’t lying when I called you hot a month ago.”