"Yuri Plisetsky, right? Welcome!" The man grabbed Yuri's hand and enthusiastically shook it. "Celestino Cialdini, co-owner of Hasetsu Animal Hospital. I'm so glad they found someone to take over for Leo. Big plans, that kid. I'm sure you'll be able to fill his shoes, though."

Yuri nodded silently, not entirely sure how to respond to the man. He was tall, loud, and happy. It was intimidating. Yuri had only officially been hired two days ago and had so had still not met the owners of the clinic - until now, that is. The man had spotted him coming in through the front door as he didn't have a key for the staff entrance yet, and had clearly recognized him as the "new kid" (probably for his hesitance to walk through the gate that separated the waiting room from the rest of the hospital).

Yuri knew he was just here to take over for the last kid who had had a part-time job as a veterinary assistant here; Leo de la Iglesia had been the previous, and it was clear by the way everyone stared at Yuri that they expected a lot from him to meet the standard of the teenager before.

"Well, Yuri, it's great to meet you. Have you finished your health and safety training yet? Let me guess, Viktor hasn't given you a break from it since you walked in."

Again, Yuri noted mutely, eyes wide. It was true, Viktor Nikiforov was a bit overwhelming at first. However, Yuri felt that the young man was actually not so bad, if a little too flamboyant.

"I'm sure you'll have a great time here. Nice meeting you!" Celestino took off at a brisk pace, obviously on a new mission to talk to someone else now. Yuri let out a sigh of relief at getting through that conversation without having to utter a single word. Although he was usually quite a strong character himself, Yuri knew that there was too much riding on this job not to be nervous about his first official day.

His mother had told him that he could study to become a veterinary technician in Hasetsu if he truly thought that the program would be useful to him, but in reality he was more interested in getting a part-time job at the best veterinary hospital in the continent. What he hadn't expected was the first name basis, easy-going atmosphere. It felt like he had been thrown in a shark tank.

Yuri wandered down the hall, looking though the tiny windows into the exam room, trying to find the staff room where he had been told he would meet the team. Most of them were empty, but his heart kept with excitement as he peered into one in which a small kitten was sitting on the exam table, clearly there for its first check-up. Cool.

On the other side of the hallway he found the staff room. It had a long table down the centre and a huge whiteboard covered in scrawled notes, some in neat, curly cursive and others in utter chicken scratch. He made out one note: "If anybody wants FREE Adaptil I ordered 20 boxes instead of 2!" He wondered what Adaptil was and if it was worth finding out who was offering it.

"Yuri! You made it!"

Yuri spun around to see a grinning Viktor holding a mug of tea - coffee? - sitting on top of 4 or 5 stacked chairs rather than opting for one of the ones already set up around the table.

"Hi Viktor," Yuri said, feeling a bit more confident now that he was seeing a familiar face. Viktor had been the one to hire him for the job, overjoyed at discovering that Yuri had come to Hasetsu specifically for it. He had also worried endlessly over the fact that a mere 16-year-old was living alone out in the big wide world, but he had significantly calmed down when Yuri assured him that he was at a boarding school where he would be very safe.

Now, Viktor was in charge of briefing him on all of the safety concerns of working in a big scary veterinary clinic. Yuri didn't pay attention to most of it, just nodding absently and blowing his hair out of his eyes every once in a while. Viktor didn't seem to be bothered by Yuri's periodic eye rolls at information that was "clearly obvious, old man", or his clear disinterest as he rested his cheek on his hand and huffed.

"Okay, Yuri, let's go over what we've learned! Then I'll call everyone in to meet you. First: what do you do if someone drops anesthetic?"

"Leave."

"Good! And…?"

"Get everyone else to leave."

"Perfect! Amazing!"

Eye-roll.

"Second: if someone breaks in -"

"Lead them to the drugs and tell them I don't have a key but they're welcome to try to eff up the cabinet door to get them if they want to."

"Well, maybe not in so many words, Yuri."

"Yeah, but I'm right, aren't I?"

It was nice to be able to relax like this around Viktor. The man didn't care if he swore (although, in most cases he still tried to replace curse words with gentler replacements such as "eff" in case anyone was listening).

This exchange continued for a few more minutes before Viktor finally gave a satisfied nod. "Okay! Ready to meet everybody?"

Yuri nodded. Finally! He wasn't really all that excited for the meet-and-greet, but at least health and safety was over.

Viktor poked his head out the door. "Tell everyone Yuri is ready to meet you!"

Within minutes, the room was bustling with a variety of vets, technicians, assistants and front desk workers. Most were ignoring him in favour of chatting with each other, leading Viktor to clap his hands to regain their attention.

"Yuri! I want you to meet everybody!"

He gestured over to the man that Yuri had spoken to - or, rather, the man who had spoken at Yuri - upon his arrival. "Celestino Cialdini, veterinarian and co-owner." He moved his hand to point at a harsher, older man next to Celestino. "And Yakov, also veterinarian and co-owner!" The man gave a gruff nod of introduction.

The different people started to speak one by one, introducing themselves.

"Phichit Chulanont, vet tech and rodent specialist!"

"Christophe Giacometti. I work at the front desk since I'm great with people."

"Sara Crispino. Nice to meet you! Oh. Veterinary assistant."

"My name is Jean-Jaques Leroy, but you can call my JJ. King JJ, if it suits ya!" Yuck.

Yuuri Katsuki! Sorry, I know we have the same name," he added, seeing Yuri's nose scrunch distainfully. "I'm one of the vets here."

"The cutest vet," Viktor added, followed by a chorus of groans from the rest of the group.

JJ turned to Yuri and chuckled. "Don't worry kid, they keep it in their pants. Most of the time."

Yuri shuddered, more at JJ than at the sappy couple's exchange.

The introductions continued, with Yuri (pardon my French) not really giving a shit about half of the people talking.

"Otabek Altin."

Yuri found his gaze staying on this man for a moment. He seemed young - almost as young a Yuri himself - and much more laid-back than the rest of the staff. He was handsome, even in the ridiculous sky blue and black scrubs everyone had to wear.

"Otabek, you've gotta say more than that," Phichit encouraged.

"I'm a veterinary technician. I like cats." Sold.