Archive of Our Own ^beta

Waiting for nearly a week is a good strategy when you are planning to go after somebody, especially as they are somebody who hasn't figured out that you are interested yet, the slow and cautious approach is best. Show them you might be interested and allow them the opportunity to come to you if interested. Which would all work if you aren't Victor Nikiforov, You're not one of the best known Magi in the world, your lineage isn't linked to some of the older races, and you haven't been pining after this person thinking they are completely forbidden territory for the better part of two years.

Then it's perfectly okay to stalk the social media accounts from the friends you know are always around you, steal your employees laptops and phones to use several tracking programs to determine what is most likely your daily routine, and remove a Guardian Pet from their cage trying to convince them to help you acquire the person you are interested in. Well it's not but it's not really stopping him from doing that the second Yuuri leaves the shop. He even turned the open sign at the door to closed, meaning no more clients for the day as far he's concerned. Not that Milla did not turn the sign right back after Victor disappeared into the back rooms.

"Well, there is no way this can tun out right. Can it?" Yuri looks at the Milla and Georgi. "After all, we can only assume there is a very good reason for this guy pretending to be a non-magi to the point his self declared best friend has no idea."

Both Georgi and Milla have to agree. There are only a few reasons to depart from the Magi world completely and most of those are not by choice. Yet everything they saw up till know combined with this new information tells them that Yuuri cut his ties with the Magi world deliberately.

"This does explain though why he never sat down or stood in the places that Phichit boy always tries to get him to sit or stand. He'd blow his cover in seconds." Georgi slowly looks around. "How nerve wrecking it must have been for him to come in this shop every time and not reveal himself. One must admire that."

"Admire that!! I think he's an utter fool. Why even be around Magi when you try to pretend you are some boring loser anyway."

"They attend the same University, and Phichit was assigned as his dorm roommate because they are both Ice skaters on a similar scholarship and foreigners to boot." Victor steps out from the back, followed by the guardian pet who saunters over to a pillow that hadn't been previously there to lie down and apparently fall asleep. "Poorly that is all I can figure out right now. Who ever he was in the Magi-world his tracks have been wiped clean beyond my tracking skills. So I'm seeing what I can find about him in the non-magi world."

Victor gives them the brightest smile, Milla wants to tell him to calm down his pursuit but she is cut short when the door gets opened and a large group comes in making them very busy for the next hour and a half. At the end of that they are all exhausted and indeed call it an early day, forcing Victor to take them out for dinner. When they step into the back room though they are confronted with what Victor had been doing before. Every single one of their electronic devices are linked together in an intricate pattern running several magic based search programs at once. When Yuri tries to pull his phone from the set up he finds himself hovering at least four inches of the ground.

"Put me down you all man. You had no right taking my phone. I'm certain you violated at least four rules by that." Victor ignores Yuri while walking towards his spell.

He takes a look on his laptop and with a hefty sigh he dispels the item's. Yuri grabs his phone before his feet even properly hit the floor. Quickly checking if it's still working properly.

"Yuuri doesn't have much of a social media exposure, does he?" Milla looks over Victor's shoulder at the little information there is. "He's really done a good job at not sticking out too much. Do you think he's using some kind of glamour to hide himself."

Georgi reminds her that that isn't even possible as such a spell would have been picked up by either the wards or even him or Victor, which Milla has to agree upon. Georgi takes a quick look and points out something.

"Seems those three Magi are planning something for the fourth of July celebration next Monday. It states here they will all be going to the park near the beach, and Yuuri was tagged so I guess he's there then as well."

Victor looks at the small post Georgi is pointing at. It's not what he had hoped, after all the park is public ground and it will be impossible to make a large entry without using magic in such a place lest he reveals himself. Then again, it is public so there are no laws stopping him from 'bumping into' the guy. A plan forms and he decides it's what he's going to do, no matter how many times the three other magi try to warn him he might be getting in over his head.

The fourth of July celebration never meant much of anything to Yuuri. After all he wasn't raised in America, and it was never part of his history. But the moment Phichit befriended him and dragged Leo in the mix, he found himself being dragged along in preparations and celebrations that would leave his head spinning for days. This year being no different, as it seems at least half of the things Leo and Guang-Hong had bought that day in the curiosity shop were being used in making preparations. Leaving Yuuri to wonder if maybe he should skip out on going to the park with them. Not that they would allow him to do so. Yuuri has learned from previous attempts.

So here he is in a park filled with dressed up people going out of their minds celebrating, sitting next to a bag he's not even certain he wants to know the content off, hoping nothing eventful will happen so that he can go home early and maybe get some extra sleep. He's amazed at how chipper the other three are, and he would have wondered if they took some boosters if he had not known them for longer than today, because he needs recovery time from the movie marathon they made him sit through since Friday. Maybe he could lay down and nap, he wouldn't be the only one doing so. That is when he hears the commotion. Apparently somebody brought a cute dog to the park. Yuuri being the dog lover he is looks up, feeling himself go rigid almost at once. He didn't.

Victor spend so much time trying to get the right outfit on that had Yuri not been at his grandfathers place since Saturday he would surely have kicked Victor out of his third story window or down the stairs. After all, somewhere around outfit seventeen even Georgi and Milla gave up on him and went out to meet up with some of Milla's friends for the day. Is it so hard to want to find the perfect outfit. He tried to ask Makka, but the Guardian Pet just reminded him that as far as they's concerned the whole concept of putting layers over one self is highly over rated. Which will teach him for asking an animal what to wear.

When he finally enters the park, with Makka on a leash, the celebrations are already in full swing. Leaving him amazed at what a chaos one can get during such an event. Amazed and excited, why had he never before gone and taken part of such a thing. Maybe next year he'll make Yuri go at one of these together with him and Yuuri. As he has no doubt they will be an item by then. Makka just let's out a sigh and shakes it's head.

"Honestly, how did you manage to survive this long around non-magi with out at least one guardian pet is beyond me." Makka grins at him. Victor sends the a pointed look.

"Just a reminder, non-magi pets do not talk." Makka lops out their tongue and boofs at him. Making Victor laugh, it does seem they will get along just fine.

"Oh, if I do manage to get you on a date with him. You'll owe me." Victor nods. He knows the rules, nothing is for free.

Victor wonders what there is to learn around here, as he can see so many different traditions he hopes to call his own one day. It doesn't take him long though to realize some very significant lessons, one never assume you can stealthily observe the object of your affection in a public place with children when walking around with a very cute dog and two, when those same children plead for you to release said dog from their leash so that they can play with it. Do not ever, ever, tell said children that that is not an option for the cute dog has a mischievous streak. Especially if that cute dog is a Guardian pet.

Yuuri stares in wonder when the pet Victor brought with him sneaks out of the leash they had on and starts jumping around his feet. This to great joy of most of the children around who are heavily in the dogs favor of not getting caught again. Cheering and encouraging them every time they avoid getting grabbed by Victor, making him tell the children to help him grab the dog instead. When he trips and something falls out of his pocket, Yuuri feels a rush of magic about. Enough to make the bag beside him slightly light up. he quickly dampens it before looking at the commotion again.

By now Victor is giving an earnest to god chase after the dog who picked up the item in their mouth and is running off with it. Ensuing a chase more commonly found in slapstick movies. Especially when it ends with the dog taking a very sharp turn at the edge of the fountain, and Victor unable to adjust going head first into it. The children who were also running and chasing the dog all stop and burst out in laughter as do a lot of the grown-ups around. Poor Victor will be all over the internet before he's even out of the water. Yuuri is convinced of that as he can see all three of his friends holding their phones up to capture it all. And by the comments Phichit are making he's probably live-streaming it as is.

Seeing the dog still going out and about like a crazy, knowing they are just toying with Victor he decides to step up. It seems the dog is following a certain pattern so it's not that hard for Yuuri to figure out where they are going. He stands up and walks towards a certain tree, grabbing the dog in their neck the moment the come past him. He makes the dog sit down and with a handkerchief he takes the magic orb from the dogs mouth. It is then that he recognizes the pet he is holding, nearly dropping both his hold on the dog and the orb. The dog takes their close proximity to lop their tongue over Yuuri's face and bark cheerfully.

"You are way to smart to be acting this dumb. So what are you aiming for?" Yuuri stares the pet down, who still refuses to answer him. Which is for the better as by now they are joined by Phichit and Guang-Hong and he can't risk them finding out. They would be way to happy to listen to him explain.

"Ah. You caught my dog. Thank you lot." Victor walks up to them, dripping wet, his outfit ruined by the grass burns from falling during the chase and the mud at the bottom of the fountain. "How can I ever repay you. he is of exceptional value to me and I would have been devastated had he been hurt or lost."

Victor gives them all his biggest smile while putting the leash back on the dog. "And you Makkachin. You know better than going out like that. What ever were you thinking." Still Yuuri can see the edges of a smile in the corners of his mouth so Victor doesn't seem too upset. "Now I'm going to miss the fireworks, as we have to go home and change."

"Oh but there's going to be a big display later tonight near the harbor. So you could go there after dinner tonight so not all is lost." Guang-Hong nearly trips over his words speaking to Victor. Making Yuuri realize his friends might be a bit impressed by the man. They all three practically swoon when Victor brights up.

"That is a perfect idea, and as a thank you for catching my dog let me invite the four of you to dinner someplace. My treat."

Yuuri can see the radars in his friends heads stop. Going to dinner with Victor Nikiforov is like every Magi's dream, Yuuri would know as he had it himself when he was still a part of that world. But like everything else he had stopped with that when he had picked up his bags and left the day he turned eighteen. Choosing to chase his own destiny. Poorly he also understands that there is no way they are going to decline, after all who would?

In the end they agree to meet up at an Italian place not to far away from the dorms, as Victor has a car and can easily park in the neighborhood. He takes Makka out of the park by the leash still going on and on about what the hell the dog was thinking. Especially when he activated the orb, did they have any idea the problems they could have gotten into.

"Sure, and by doing so the object of your affection was able to smother what ever spell those three young ones had put on the fireworks they brought with them without anyone noticing. They were after all too busy staring and filming you."

Makka grins at Victor, who stops dead in his tracks and relives the moment. He has long ago learned how to see everything that happens around him when necessary. Sure enough he can recall the faint glow he had spotted at the edge of his vision at one point and indeed Yuuri had placed his hand over it to subdue it before anyone else could spot it. This makes him laugh, for to do such a thing you would have to be able to tap into your magi fairly deeply and fast. Leaving him no wonder that Yuuri is quite the capable Magi indeed.

"Sir. I do hope you are intent on cleaning that up. We do not allow for such things in our fine streets." The harsh voice from the officer in front of him pulls Victor from his dream of him and Yuuri preparing a meal with their combined magi. He blinks a few times then turns to what she is pointing at.

"Makka!!! We just came from the park. If you needed to do that you should have bloody well done it there."

All Makka does is turn around look at the lovely dump they just made near the fence and barks at Victor as if to say 'pretty made he', Victor reaches into his pocked for some paper towels or a plastic bag. Which he of course didn't put in there as he had thought Makka was better behaved than a normal dog. He doesn't want to use the handkerchief Yuuri had wrapped around the orb, so he takes a quick breath and calls a zip-lock bag into his pocket from home. Quickly picking it up while telling Makka off for being such a misbehaving dog that day. When he turns to the officer he can see that she is opening her ticket book ready to sign him up.

"Honestly Sir. Having your pets behave like this where you're from might be acceptable but here in America we do not allow such behavior."

Victor knows better than to go against the officer, waiting for her to ask him for his identification as he doesn't want to give her any reason to get annoyed for him reaching into his pocket for it. It's not the first time his accent made them look at him as if he's head of some crime syndicate. According to the Crispino's Americans watch to many crime series. He feels Makka pull the leash and he turns to tell them to stop doing that, only to see an empty leash and a dog bolting along the sidewalk. Completely forgetting the officer he runs after Makka yelling at them to come back, it's not permitted to be out without a leash on.

He only manages to catch up about a block from the house he shares with the other magi. To busy trying to catch his breath to even be ably to tell the Guardian Pet off for their behavior. When he walks up to the house he arrives at almost the sane time as Georgi and Milla coming home, both giving him shocked looks at his current state. Because although his clothes have since dried they bare every sign that they have indeed been soaking wet. They at least have the decency not to say anything. Poorly he's not that lucky with Yuri who at the moment the three of them walk in through the front door steps out through the floor-length mirror. He takes one look at Victor and burst in a fit of giggles. This is a sign for the other two to chime in and even Makka lets out some pleased barks. Victor just stumps up the stairs, going to change for dinner.

"Oh Victor." Victor looks over his shoulder to Makka. "When you get back from the Italian, don't forget to bring me some meatballs and a small piece of apple pie."

"What ever makes you think I need to bring you back anything. You humiliated me, made me run into a fountain, then pooped in the streets, topping it all of by making me run all the way from there to here to catch you again." Victor can't help that his voice sounds coarse, he is a bit upset as nothing went as planned.

"I made certain there were no magic mishaps by allowing him to silence the spell, give him a good reason to capture me, which allowed you to talk to him, got your attention when you were daydreaming so badly you were starting to exude your magic in the street, got you out of a ridiculous ticket by somebody forgetting her name meant she wasn't originally from here either." Makka grins, there is no other way for it. "But none of that matters as the promise you gave me was that you'd owe me if I managed to get you on a date with him. And last I checked, dinner counts as a date. Even if you screwed up by inviting his friends along."

At this Makka turns around, walks into the living room and takes over the couch. Leaving Victor realize that he really did screw up a perfect situation to get Yuuri alone with him.