cuttlemefishwrites:

Let me tell ya’ll a story.

I’m going to be stuck in airports and planes for 14 hours so here we go! Writing this on my phone on Tumblr. Let’s make this Halloween-themed. Ya’ll can send requests/prompts and I’ll happily add them into this story — let’s see how wild things get.

There’s a split second during which Viktor questions exactly what he’s doing, but it’s short-lived — or it feels short-lived to him. Makkachin runs ahead, sniffing around the overgrown bushes around the perimeter of the house. Christophe slams the car door behind him and pulls down his sunglasses to examine the house. Viktor bought it on a whim, with the ice and snow of winter covering up the most insulting aspects of the facade with such charm than Viktor had pictured himself sitting on the porch and holding mason jars with tea while he watched Makkachin tumble into small hills of white. “Cute, you said,” Chris reminds him, “quaint, you called it. Viktor, this is none of those things.”

Viktor has to admit Christophe is right. He doesn’t even know where to begin. But Viktor has now retired and paid stupidly for a rundown house. He rubs at his temples, “it’s totally what I wanted.” He’s lying. “A fixer-upper. That’s what this is. Just wait. It’s going to be super cute by the time I’m through with it.”

Christophe has the decency not to comment on Viktor’s inability to even clean his drains appropriately. In the distance, Makkachin comes back running at full speed, running straight into Viktor’s legs to knock him off kilter and onto the ground. She whines, searching for his hands.

“You think she saw a rat?” Chris asks, pursing his lips.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her act like that before?” he whispers, sitting to rub behind his dog’s ears soothingly. He presses a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay girl.”

“Well, that settles it, doesn’t it? You can’t stay here.”

Viktor chuckles, “don’t be silly. She’s fine. And I’ll be fine, too. Come on. Let’s get the bags out of the car and then I’ll show you the lake. The inside was also a lot better than the outside, at least that’s how I remember it.”

Chris frowns, “if you say so…”

The inside isn’t much better. Viktor is floored as they open the door to cobwebs and dust bunnies. “At least there’s furniture?” Viktor tries, biting his bottom lip. After a moment, he sighs. “I didn’t remember it was this bad. I swear it was so cute and pretty when I stayed here. The guy that owned it —“

“Yuuri, yes, you mentioned him all season. I’m sure he was very pretty, Viktor.” Chris arches an eyebrow, watching as the poodle stands desperately by the door, sniffing for an exit, “okay, so Makkachin and I are going to my hotel room. And then we’re calling a lawyer. You got scammed, my friend.”

“I saw this place, though. I offered to buy it. It’s not like I can claim I didn’t know it needed some fixing.”

“I admit, when you showed me the picture, it was just as bad, only with snow and you looking the happiest I’ve ever seen you,” Chris admits. “But based on your face, I’d say the guy sold the place, then trashed it.”

“He wouldn’t,” Viktor pouts, walking over to the dining room table. Sturdy wood. He reaches for an enveloped addressed to him. He lifts it for Chris with a smile. “Welcome home present?”

“No one knows you’re here except me,” Chris reminds him. “What’s it say?”

“Its a thank you card. From Hiroko and Toshiya Katsuki. They’re thanking me for buying their son’s home from them, but they also…” He frowns, slipping the card back into an envelope. “They said Yuuri was…”

“That’s nice. Let’s take that as evidence.”

Viktor is already typing wildly on his phone when Makkachin whines at the door. A knock makes Christophe jump, but he recovers quickly, opening the door.

“Can I help you?”

Viktor follows quickly, looking over Chris’ shoulder to find Yuuri, the former owner of the home, standing just outside the door with a bright smile. He lifts a toolbox, “hi, I just wanted to give you a welcome home present.”