After a question from a curious fan, Rei sets the record straight. The (im)possible story of how Rei Kon and Boris Kuznetsov became friends. [yaoi-ish hints, slightly crackfic, oneshot]

25 years ago, they celebrated freedom from the Abbey together. 16 years ago, their days unexpectedly became numbered. 15 years ago, fate cruelly drove a knife between them, stole one away and resigned another to solitude. Boris, Ivan, and a fragment of what they were left with. [oneshot, character death]

Nine years had been long enough for Yuri to get used to the Abbey, to learn how to ignore the pain around him, to recognise when to keep his head down and stay quiet. Long enough to know that his loss at the Championships had thrown more than just his own life into limbo. But when an offer of help comes from the most unexpected source, Yuri decides to take a risk. [chp 29 up]