A funny word called Love

Chapter 40

Author's note: I really have no clue what to name Otabek's family members so for the time being their names are names found on a list of popular Kazakh names. If you have any suggestions for other names, please comment!

Yuri was in shock. The weeks leading up to going to Otabek's for Christmas had been hard, because he had to get all of his grandfather's things in order, and hold a funeral, which had been quite difficult, and Yuri was sure that he only got through it because Otabek was taking the time to help him through it, always willing to give advice, or just listen, or comfort Yuri. But now it was almost Christmas and Yuri was just in shock. He had arrived at the Altin house a few days ago and though he was slowly getting used to Otabek's family and home, it was difficult. Everything was just so different.

And Yuri doesn't mean that in a bad way at all. He means it in a very good way. He's just never been around this little yelling in his life. Growing up his mother was always yelling at him, and having Yakov as his coach, there was always going to be some yelling. But here? Not once had a single person raised their voice in the time that he had been there. It just felt sort of strange.

Another thing that was strange was that Yuri was not used to being doted on. But from the second he walked in the door, Otabek's mother, Alina, was very affectionate and kind, always asking if he needed anything, and telling him to eat more, because he was far too skinny, as well as asking him to call her Alina instead of Mrs. Altin. She talked to him as if he were her own child, and Yuri had to admit, it was nice.

He was also shocked because he had a vague awareness that Otabek had a younger sister, but Yuri had no idea that Otabek's younger sister, Madina, was the polar opposite of Otabek. She would not stop talking for a single second, and was constantly on some form of social media or another. Though Yuri had made a valiant effort, he could not persuade Otabek to get so much as an instagram, so Yuri had assumed that it was something with their family not liking phones or something. But Madina proved him very wrong. He was also surprised when Otabek and Madina started bickering over what tv show to watch. Otabek was always so cool, calm, and collected that he had never imagined Otabek bickering with somebody over a matter as seemingly trivial as what tv show they would watch.

Otabek's father, Damir, had tried to interfere, saying, "Children, if you don't calm down then we just won't watch anything."

However, this had only served to make the situation worse, leading Madina to start yelling at Otabek to stop being so stubborn, and Otabek yelling at Madina to just let him choose what to watch just this once.

In the end, it was Yuri who managed to calm them down, suggesting that they just play a board game instead, and soon enough, The Altin family and Yuri were all gathered around a table playing an intense game of monopoly.

The game grew more and more heated as Alina dominated over an entire side of the board, which Yuri dubbed as, 'Death Valley,' and Otabek, who was the banker, trying to take 'loans' from the bank, and Madina shoving him playfully when she caught him, and then forcing him to return the money.

"Can't we just be done now," Damir groaned, "We've been playing for two and a half hours, and it's pretty clear that Alina is going to win."

"No!" Otabek, Madina, Alina, and Yuri shouted all at once.

"We have to finish! We can't just forfeit and admit defeat!" Otabek said.

"Yeah, I was just about to make a comeback!" Madina chimed in.

"No you weren't. I was just about to win!" Alina countered with a smug expression.

Yuri just looked at them in wonder. 'So... this is what a family is supposed to look like..." Sure, he had always had his grandfather as family, but that was hardly what most would consider to be a normal family, though he was aware that family wasn't necessarily just being related by blood or anything like that. But regardless, this was more peaceful than anything when his mother was around, and simply more people and a whole lot louder than when it was just him and his grandfather.

Otabek had been noticing this entire time how Yuri always seemed so amazed at everything that transpired in the household. Like he had never been around people and seen them actually get along with each other. Though Otabek was aware that Yuri had never had more of a family than just his grandfather, he had thought that Yuri wouldn't be surprised to see how a normal family functions. But then again, Otabek didn't really know whether his family was normal or not. Either way, Otabek couldn't help but feeling sorry for Yuri, though he would never tell Yuri that unless he had a death wish. Family had always been a very important part of his life, and for Yuri, his grandfather had always been very important to him but he had never really had more of a family than that, and his other family members only had negative influences on Yuri. And Otabek decided that he wanted to show Yuri what it's like to be in a family, and show him why it's so important.

Somehow, Madina did end up making a comeback, and to Damir's dismay, the game ended up continuing for another hour and a half. "Seriously, this game goes on forever," Damir said with a sigh.

"You know, you could've just been super wasteful with your money until you were bankrupt, and then you could've stopped playing," Yuri pointed out.

"Well, it's an interesting game at least," Damir said, refusing to acknowledge what Yuri had said. "But, since I persevered and got all the way through it, I get to decide what we watch next."

"Oh no," Otabek, Madina, and Alina groaned simultaneously.

"Why 'oh no'?" Yuri questioned.

"Every year Dad inevitably forces us to have a Christmas movie marathon. We had all been hoping that with your arrival, he would be too distracted to remember to force us into it, but it appears that we were wrong," Otabek explained, and so they all went over to the couch and watched whatever odd Christmas movie Damir chose until none of them could stay awake for another second.