Chapter Text
It’s 3am and Yuri is certain there’s a ghost behind the bookshelf. There are rumors about this library being haunted because it dates back to the Victorian era but almost everything that goes that far back is rumored to be “haunted” for publicity sake. At least, it’s the best excuse Yuri can come up with to calm his nerves because he has a midterm in two days and he should be more scared of that, not ghosts.
“Ghost don’t exist, ghosts don’t exist, ghosts don’t exist,” Yuri mumbles under his breath like a mantra to get a better grip on his sanity while cramming philosophy notes into his tired mind.
There’s a cold grip on his shoulder and Yuri bites back a scream because this is the library after all. So he settles on throwing a death glare to the one who has a death wish.
“Can I help you?” Yuri says through gritted teeth, a frown prominent on his lips. He’s staring at a guy with headphones hanging around his neck. He looks older but Yuri knows better than to judge from appearance, especially after knowing Yuuri who looks like some lost high school sophomore.
“Sorry,” the older guy mutters in a low voice, “I ordered pizza but I can’t finish the whole box and you’re the only one here so…Do you want to share?”
Yuri gives him a dumb-founded look because he didn’t even know he can have pizza delivered to the library—it would have saved him so much time. The guy’s still staring, waiting for an answer and Yuri eventually nods because it’s free food.
“By the way, I’m Otabek.” Otabek extends his hand and Yuri is confused and almost forgets that people still do handshakes these days.
Yuri shakes his hand and notices that they’re considerably bigger and firm, a contrast from his smaller one.
“Yuri.”
***
Yuri isn’t sure if Otabek and him frequent the same area but now that he can put a name to his face, he sees Otabek everywhere. It starts with him catching Otabek leaving a classroom just as Yuri’s entering it then realizing that Otabek’s a regular at the coffee shop that Yuri’s also a regular at and now they’re in the same wing of the library—again.
If Otabek wasn’t in the coffee shop or the library first then Yuri would assume Otabek’s a stalker. But since Otabek’s here first then does that make Yuri look like a stalker? He’s not, it’s a coincidence but he has to admit that it sure is a lot of coincidences.
Otabek looks up from his laptop and Yuri and him exchange nods of acknowledgement. He walks over to his table with a coffee in hand. It’ll be weird if Yuri sits at another table, alone, because he’s sending a message that he’d rather be by himself than sit with Otabek which is a crude message to send. It’s not like Yuri minds sitting with Otabek, he knows to give him peace and quiet when he has to study, unlike Victor and his motor mouth.
“Hey,” Yuri greets.
“Good timing,” Otabek says and shuts off his laptop. “Can you watch my stuff while I nap?”
Yuri chuckles. He’s been promoted from random stranger who he shares pizza with to trusted guardian of his laptop.
Otabek can be cute with his spontaneity. It’s almost like he was waiting for someone to come so he can nap with a peace of mind. He makes it easy to warm up to him so Yuri is comfortable talking with him. He’s free to be himself and Otabek doesn’t judge, he just nods and gives him thumbs-up.
“Sure but you have to show me how to use the library search engine first. Essay due in two weeks and I don’t know how to use the library website.”
There should be a workshop on how to use the school database because he’s paying thousands of dollars for it but he can’t even find a decent journal article for his essay. It’s ridiculous.
Luckily Otabek’s a knowledgeable third year student so he can help Yuri and his first-year naivety.
“Alright.” Otabek turns on his laptop and teaches Yuri the wonders of quotations and asterisks and keywords. Yuri sits with dreamy eyes, in total awe at Otabek.
***
“I think you need an intervention,” Otabek remarks, taking the seat across from Yuri at the coffee shop. They’re cozy enough for him to just waltz in and invite himself to the table. Yuri pretends not to notice Otabek eyeing the cup of coffee in his hand.
“What?”
“Every time I see you, you’re holding a cup of coffee,” Otabek deadpans.
“Well, we are in a coffee shop. Plus, you don’t even see me that often,” Yuri argues, taking a sip from the said coffee cup.
On a good week, Yuri sees him thrice a week—one of them is guaranteed to be another one of their wacky coincidences, which is happening right now. So Yuri reasons that having coffee three times a week isn’t a bad thing.
“Is it something gross like last time? What was it? Caramelized honey latte?” Otabek teases and Yuri almost chokes on his coffee. Caramelized honey lattes don’t deserve this kind of treatment, least not from Otabek who considered mixing his coffee with red bull which, in his opinion, is absolutely vile.
“No, it’s a vanilla latte,” Yuri replies matter-of-factly.
Otabek rolls his eyes and smirks. “I’m surprised you didn’t add raspberry or strawberry syrup to it.”
“Shut up.”
***
Yuri’s phone vibrates at 4am and he ignores it. But it vibrates again and again and again. The annoying, blinking light irritates him and he swears if it’s Victor crying about how snakes don’t have arms again then he’s moving out of the house. He stops his mental rant mid-way, seeing Otabek’s name on the screen with a simple but absurd message.
“Do you have flour?”
Yuri rolls his eyes and texts back: Otabek, it’s 4am. Wtf.
There’s an instant buzz and Yuri wants to pretend this conversation isn’t happening, least not in the middle of the night.
I’m hungry.
So Yuri is bussing his arse across campus at 4am to deliver flour to Otabek so he can bake cookies in the commoner’s kitchen in his ridiculous blue bear pajamas.
***
“Do you know where Alpha Chi is?” Otabek randomly asks during lunch and Yuri is surprised he knows the fraternity, “The fraternity house.”
“Yeah, it’s north of the subway station,” Yuri replies, taking a bite from his sandwich. “Why?”
“I agreed with my friends to go to their party this weekend.” Otabek doesn’t look like it but Yuri can tell he’s troubled.
Yuri arches an eyebrow in surprise. “I didn’t take you as someone who parties.”
“I’m not. I have horror stories from first year,” Otabek clarifies with a grimace. “Sara is just very persistent.”
“Don’t worry, Alpha Chi isn’t the stereotypical frat house you see on tv. There’s no one peeing on the sidewalk and it doesn’t smell like marijuana.” Yuri remarks with a grin.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’m a part of that fraternity.”
Yuri loves dropping the fraternity bomb on people because of their reactions. Yuri never dreamed of belonging to some fraternity, especially not with the bad reputation they get but it’s honestly not that bad. Especially if he can get good responses like Otabek’s with the gawking look and eyes looking like they’re going to fall out of his sockets.
***
Yuri is helping Yuuri set up fake palm trees for the party tonight. Victor gets so extra when it comes to them but Yuri can’t deny that Victor throws a good party. Everyone is always surprised to hear that Yuri is a part of a fraternity but to him, he knew he was going to pledge Alpha Chi. He never felt quite as comfortable in his dorms in the first semester as he did in the frat house. It helps that he knows almost everyone here from hopeless Georgi to dramatic Victor to clumsy Yuuri.
“So you have friends coming tonight?” Yuuri asks while pouring sand on the floor to live up to the dumb tropical theme. Georgi thought it would be funny to assign Yuuri as Yuri’s Big because then they would have a Big Yuuri and a Little Yuri. For that, Yuri rubbed salt onto Georgi’s wound from his last break-up. Though, Yuri can’t think of Yuuri as a mentor, not after seeing how wasted he got at a party last year. Victor brought Yuri out to celebrate his final year of high school and that was when they first met Yuuri. Yuri was surprised to see Yuuri stripping and challenging him to a dance-off but the pole dance with Chris got him doing a double take on this weirdo—it immediately gave Yuri an imminent fear for the quiet ones. It was quite a first impression for both Yuri and Victor but Victor’s all over that so go figure.
“Yeah. They know Mila too,” Yuri replies. Mila belongs to the sister sorority and she invited her best friend, Sara, who’s friends with Otabek. Everyone at the house already knows Sara because she’s frequently at their parties but Yuri didn’t expect her to know Otabek. It’s a small world in such a big campus.
“That’s a first,” Yuuri comments, a bit too happy for Yuri’s liking. It’s not that Yuri doesn’t have friends, he does hang out with them from time to time but they weren’t exactly the party time. Well, Otabek isn’t either but Yuri is still trying to figure him out. His first question being how he managed to get along with Sara because she’s a bit too preppy for Yuri’s liking.
Their conversation is cut short because of the sound of an obnoxious car honk—of course it’s Victor and he’s telling them to get outside to help him carry more props inside.
“Are those potted palm trees?” Yuuri asks in disbelief and Yuri gives him an unamused look, wondering if he should really answer the question.
Victor drives a hot pink convertible for heaven’s sake.
***
Surprisingly—or more accurately, to Yuri’s surprise, Otabek makes a flashy arrival. In comes Emil greeting everyone with a holler, Otabek giving out nods and high-fives, Sara and Mickey giving slaps on the back to the people who come up to greet them. Yuri is impressed to see Otabek fitting in so well with the raucous, flamboyant atmosphere. In under five minutes, they all have a lei around their neck.
Otabek catches Yuri’s gaze and makes his way over with a beer in hand, much to Yuri’s relief. He needs to escape from the group that’s surrounding him. He doesn’t know how the crowd appeared but he makes use of it to mingle with the guests, network and advertise their next philanthropic event, a figure skating competition, the idea courtesy of Phichit.
Yuri slips away when Otabek is closer. Otabek gestures at the crowd and remarks in a blithe voice, “I didn’t think you’d be the center of attention.”
“I am a part of the frat throwing the party so that’s expected,” Yuri replies with a shrug. He isn’t good at talking yet but it’s something Yuuri wants him to develop so he’s been subtly giving him opportunities.
“I was asking for you but got led to Victor and the other Yuuri instead. They called you Yurio?” Otabek has a grin on his face and Yuri scowls.
“It’s a dumb nickname to differentiate between Yuuri and I,” Yuri explains with a darker glower. He’s not fond of the name himself but it’s tattooed in everyone’s mind now so he can’t do anything.
“It’s okay, I’ll call you Yuri so lighten up,” Otabek says, flicking his forehead. Yuri unexpectedly grins, at least someone will call him by his name.
Suddenly there’s a strong arm around Yuri and he stumbles from the weight. Yuri turns to see annoying JJ. He’s from the other fraternity house two streets over so Yuri sees him too often at their respective house’s social events. Yuri sees JJ’s other arm around Otabek and ponders over it a bit. He didn’t know they know each other.
“Hey Yura, Otabek. I didn’t know you two are friends?” JJ questions with his posh, conceited voice. Yuri gets out of his hold and crinkles his nose at the overwhelming smell of alcohol coming from JJ.
“We haven’t known each other for long but he’s a good friend,” Otabek answers, smiling at Yuri.
“Awesome show last weekend, Otabek. I didn’t know you work at the club either,” JJ pats him on the back and this catches Yuri’s attention because Otabek works at a club? He has a show? This is new information and most definitely a revelation.
“I perform once in a while, it’s nothing serious,” Otabek remarks modestly but if JJ is acknowledging it then it is something.
JJ’s eyes wander behind them and Yuri hopes it’s his girlfriend. “I gotta go, I see Bella.”
Yuri nods. “Tell her I said hi.”
“Will do.” JJ gives him a chummy slap on the back before leaving.
Otabek has another smirk on his face and Yuri is confused again. “What?”
“So Yura?”
Yuri rolls his eyes. “It seems everyone calls me by everything but my name.”
Even Yurio was better than Yura. JJ likes to tease Yuri because of his dainty physique but he’s not a bad guy, just super irritating so Yuri can’t get away for cussing him out.
“But Otabek, you per—”
“Yurio, this is your friend?”
Yuri curses under his breath. Why is it so hard to talk to Otabek without someone interrupting them.
“Yeah Katsudon, it is.” There’s a hiccup and Yuri turns to them. It’s an unpleasant sight with Victor’s arms around Yuuri. He’s half-naked, smiling like an idiot and obviously drunk. Victor is so embarrassing and Yuri questions Yuuri’s choice.
“Hi hi!” Victor greets, nuzzling the side of Yuuri’s face.
Otabek chuckles. “What happened here?”
“Chris and him were entertaining the guest with strip beer pong,” Yuuri says while shaking his head. The explanation is enough for Yuri to groan. Victor is already hasty but add in Chris, his awful enabler of a friend, and they spiral into utter madness—this being a perfect example of their stupidity.
“He’s supposed to make a speech about the figure skating competition tonight,” Yuri points out and Yuuri rolls his eyes.
“Looks like we have to go with the flow,” Yuuri says.
“Hey, you’re the DJ at the club,” Victor exclaims, pointing at Otabek and grinning.
Yuuri slaps his hand down and reprimands, “Victor, keep your voice down and don’t point. He’s standing in front of you.”
“It’s fine.” Otabek chuckles again. Yuri’s the only one with the gaping face because Otabek DJs? Aren’t they supposed to be well-versed and social? Yuri can’t imagine Otabek breathing life into a party like Victor can. Sure, Otabek can get animate when talking but Yuri doesn’t think he has that much charisma to move a crowd.
And how come Victor knows him?
Before Yuri can grill Otabek about his DJ persona, the unspeakable happens. Victor’s stupidity takes the wheel and there’s vomit on the floor and more importantly, on Otabek’s shoes. Time stops as Yuri and Yuuri stare at each other, wide-eyed in bewilderment.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Yuuri stammers, panicking. He’s helping Victor stand up while invisible hands give him tissues. There’s a boisterous “clean up in aisle five” from JJ and Yuri’s jaw is still hanging because Victor did not just puke on Otabek’s shoes.
Oh my god, Victor.
In a matter of time, Otabek’s in Victor’s private washroom rinsing his feet. Yuri walks into Victor’s room, throwing the plastic bag with Otabek’s shoes on Victor’s bed because it’s his mess to clean up when he wakes up.
“How is he?” Yuuri asks, entering the room with a warm cloth for Victor. He’s sleeping soundly now after causing a ruckus and Yuri is too busy being grateful for him sleeping than to actually be angry.
“Who? The dead or the tortured?”
“Otabek.” Yuuri laughs.
“He’s fine, of course but his shoes…” Yuri gestures at the bag and Yuuri’s face morphs into a look of disgust.
“I’ll go clean it after.”
“Good luck.”
Otabek steps out in Victor’s shoes. “Thanks for the towel. I left it on the laundry basket.”
“Don’t be thanking us,” Yuri rejoinders.
There’s a loud bang echoing from downstairs and Yuri wonders if something broke. He hope some drunkard just tripped on a chair but judging from how knocked out Victor is, they have a rowdy crew tonight.
“Yuri, you should head downstairs to control the crowd.”
“Remember to come back down though,” Yuri teases as Yuuri’s face flush scarlet. He can’t have them both disappear for the night or else the house will be trashed. Then they’re stuck taking out the trash.
“I’m going to stay with Victor for a bit so I don’t know when I’ll be down there.” Yuuri gives Victor a soft, gentle look while moving hair from his big forehead and Yuri looks away from the private moment.
Yuri’s stomach sinks because he’s helped plan parties before but being responsible for one is another story. Most of the guests don’t even know him, let alone respect him.
How can he control a crowd this big?
“What if there’s trouble?” Yuri asks. If Victor is like this then Chris must be out too. Yuuri’s with Victor. Georgi is probably busy chatting someone up in the backyard to notice the chaos inside.
“You’ll be able to handle it,” Yuuri encourages. The look Yuri gives him says no. “There’s Phichit and Minami downstairs but I can’t say if they’re sober.”
Yuri nods, feeling a little overwhelmed at the sudden weight that comes with being in charge. He knows Phichit is somewhere with good lighting and Minami can be heard from anywhere if Yuri concentrates so there’s some comfort in that but still, Yuri worries.
Otabek gives him a pat on the shoulder and nods towards the door. Yuri flinches, forgetting that someone else is in the room. The look of comfort on Otabek’s face is enough to instill some confidence in him. Yuri looks back at Yuuri who gives him a nod.
They both walk out in silence and when the door shuts, Otabek speaks up, “Nothing will happen. Everyone respects Victor so they won’t break anything, least not intentionally.”
“I hope so.”
“You’ll do fine, I know you will.”
It doesn’t sound like much but it does loads in lifting the heavy feeling off of Yuri’s shoulders. Otabek is the small motivational voice in Yuri’s head, encouraging him and Yuri is so glad he’s here tonight.
***
Yuri wakes up grumpy because it’s 2am and he shouldn’t be up at 2am. He’s awake because of a phone call and he should really consider silencing his phone before going to bed because this can’t keep happening. It takes a few slaps to find his phone on the bedside table and it’s from Otabek. If it’s another one of his baking ambitions then Yuri’s going to block his number every night.
“Hello?”
“Hi, your friend is drunk and called a taxi but I can’t get an address off him. You’re the last person he called,” the man states and Yuri sits up abruptly, not sure what to do in this situation.
“Alright, umm…you can send him here,” Yuri replies. It sounds more like a question than a statement because he doesn’t function well at 2am.
Yuri’s out waiting on the porch, hugging himself to stay warm with a wad of scrunched-up bills in his hand. He rolls his eyes because now Otabek’s the dead one.
At least he doesn’t have to maneuver across campus to deliver flour or almond powder again.
A taxi pulls up and Yuri exchanges the bills for Otabek. Yuri tips the taxi driver heavily because he doesn’t deserve this torment at 2am. Yuri doesn’t either but he’s Otabek’s friend so he has to deal with it.
“Otabek, you alive?” Yuri asks, slapping his face in hopes that it’ll bring him to consciousness. Otabek grumbles something inaudible and Yuri takes that as a no.
Otabek is heavier than he looks and he’s surprisingly toned—something he doesn’t expect because Otabek’s always wearing a jacket. So getting him up the stairs and into Yuri’s room is already difficult but he has to be quiet about it to avoid the relentless interrogation.
Yuri sets him on the bed and rolls out the yoga mat and a blanket for him on the floor. Sitting on the yoga mat, he turns to Otabek to stare and ponder. It’s dark but Yuri can see that he looks completely different today. He always dresses casual but it’s always a relax kind of casual like he just threw on a t-shirt and jeans and hoped that they coordinated well together.
Today, his casual looks planned, his outfit carefully put together through much thought. Yuri is envious of his black leather pants with the multiple zippers but he can pass on the gray sweater with a lightning bolt and jean vest.
Otabek’s practically an enigma to Yuri and he wants to ask him some questions to learn more about him because who the fuck is Otabek? The guy who orders a pizza spontaneously and ropes strangers into sharing it with him? The guy who has deep proses at night and Yuri stays up listening to him as if he’s high on some kind of drug. The guy who’s attentive but stops Yuri mid-sentence to question if tiger urine really smells like buttered popcorn—yes, it does. He’s a cool guy and they talk a lot but he’s also a big mystery that Yuri has yet to uncover. For instance, DJ Otabek? He still doesn’t have an answer to that but Yuri can’t do anything at 2am so he tucks Otabek into the makeshift bed on the floor.
Yuri wakes up and has the living daylight scared out of him. There’s Otabek sitting on his desk with his earphones on, drumming his fingers along the surface.
Yuri sits up and the rustling sound causes Otabek to turn around, taking his earphones out and greet, “Morning.”
“What are you doing?” Yuri asks.
“I didn’t want to leave your room in case your housemates saw me but I didn’t want to snoop around, so I’m just…” Otabek trails off, his eyes darting around the room and laughs, “Doing nothing really.”
“So you don’t party, eh?” Yuri teases and Otabek smiles.
“I really don’t, I DJ,” Otabek states, as if it’s any different. To Yuri, it really isn’t. He’s still in a dark, noisy place with too many intoxicated people. It’s still a party and Otabek is hyping it up even more.
“But,” Otabek emphasizes, “I wasn’t working yesterday. I was celebrating a friend’s birthday and they brought out the tray of shots.”
“Oh God,” Yuri retorts. He can imagine the idiocy that ensued.
“Yeah, right? I even DJ-ed for a bit while half-drunk.” Otabek shakes his head in ridicule. “But I like DJing so that’s not too bad.”
“Do you need medicine for the hang-over? Do you even have one?” Yuri questions, narrowing his eyes. Otabek looks too calm to be hung-over which really says something about Mr. I Don’t Like to Party.
“I’m fine. Thanks for last night. I don’t know how I got here but I can imagine the trouble.” Otabek takes out his wallet and gives him a few bills.
Yuri stuffs the money in his own wallet and shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. You helped me man the party last time so it’s no big deal.”
“You think taking care of a drunk friend is no big deal? I should list you as my emergency contact then,” Otabek jokes and Yuri glares at him. Otabek is starting to get too cocky.
“I take that back,” Yuri says through gritted teeth and Otabek laughs. “If you feel guilty then take me to one of your shows.” Yuri wants to know more about Otabek, specifically DJ Otabek.
“Are you free a week from today?”
Yuri blushes and nods. It sounds like a date but it’s not, especially since Otabek sounds so indifferent asking him so it’s definitely not a date. He’s just hanging out with Otabek.
***
Yuri goes to the club a week from that day. He initially planned to go alone but somehow Victor found out through a word of mouth from someone else. He swears not to reveal their identity for the sake of their wellbeing so Yuri gives up trying to figure out who it is. So Victor’s automatically tagging along and Yuuri joins because it’s his job as a Big to look out for his Little. Yuri thinks they’re being busybodies but it’s not like he can stop them from coming.
Yuri’s eyes flicker around the table and he’s amazed at how one small invite from Otabek ends up turning into a big group hang-out. Phichit heard that Yuuri was going so he invited himself and managed to drag Seunggil, Leo and Guanghong along. Though the real question is how Phitchit got Seunggil to come because he’s always a no-show no matter how persistent Victor is.
The sound of a loud record scratching catches their attention and all eyes are on the DJ booth. Yuri hears the crowd cheering before he actually spots Otabek through the sea of people. With a pair of heavy headphones around his neck and the crowd getting rowdier and rowdier, Otabek looks completely comfortable, as if he belongs here and nowhere else. This suave, DJ side of Otabek is something new and Yuri takes delight in it.
“He’s got the entire room wrapped around his fingers,” Seunggil remarks in a bit of awe, in only a small bit though.
Otabek’s eyes are surveying the audience and he plays around with the tracks until he gets a better feel of what they want. Yuri watches him bob his head to the music, completely immersed in it and Yuri almost wants to rush onto the floor as well. He wants the surge of colossal energy to take over, to control him as he loses himself to the music, to the atmosphere that Otabek creates.
A waiter comes with two buckets of beer and drops it on their table. Everyone stares at Victor because they didn’t order anything yet so he’s the prime suspect but he raises his hands in defense.
“It wasn’t me!” Victor exclaims but everyone still has their eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“I said no puking on shoes today,” Yuri teases and Victor’s face darkens—a sight Yuri takes great pleasure in.
“It’s courtesy of DJ O-beks,” the waiter grins and stalks off to the next order.
Yuri smiles at the ridiculous name. O-beks. He could have went with DJ Altin if he wanted to be discreet about his name, though O-beks has a nice ring to it.
After two hours of dumb drinking games, Yuuri’s out cold. Victor has problems trying to keep him from stripping but the blush on his face says he’s enjoying it too much. Leo, Guanghong and Seunggil are traumatized after being assaulted with hugs and kisses from Yuuri while Phichit takes way too many commemorative photos. He seems to know about Yuuri’s drunk side as well so he must be another fallen soldier. Yuri is thankful to be sitting across from Yuuri so he’s not within reach of his attacks but this doesn’t stop him from lunging across the table to try anyways. Yuri almost falls out of his chair avoiding him but luckily Victor grabs onto Yuuri to stop this roaming beast.
Yuri’s attention is back to Otabek and they make eye-contact. Yuri gives him a thumbs-up and Otabek replies with a shy grin.
“Sorry Yurio, I should take Yuuri back before he decides to join the crowd,” Victor shouts across the table and Yuri nods, knowing how disastrous that would be.
“Alright, get home safe.”
“You’re not coming?” Victor questions and Yuri shakes his head.
“I don’t want to third-wheel you guys and see a disgusting make-out session in the taxi,” Yuri retorts with a cluck and Victor rolls his eyes. It’s going to happen and Yuri doesn’t want to exchange awkward glances with the driver again.
“I’m going to head out too,” Seunggil says, leaping at the chance to go. Leo and Guanghong follow suit because Guanghong is a delicate light-weight beautifully donning an Asian glow.
Yuri looks at Phichit, the last man standing and sees the exhaustion in his eyes. He’s been relatively quiet tonight so he’s tired and probably wants to go too but he’s staying for Yuri’s sake, which is sweet and very Phichit-like.
“You can go, Phichit.”
“No, I’m—” Phichit yawns and claps his hand over his mouth in embarrassment. Yuri raises his eyebrows to prove his point and Phichit sheepishly grins. “I don’t want to leave you by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine. I’d rather be here than at home with Victor and Yuuri anyways.” A shiver crawls down Yuri’s spine at the thought and he’s more adamant on staying. “Plus, Otabek’s shift ends soon so…”
There’s a suggestive grin on Phichit’s face and Yuri wonders if he said too much. “Oh then I guess I shouldn’t bother you,” he singsongs.
Yuri’s jaw drops and he’s stammering to clear the misunderstanding. “It’s nothing like that! Goddamit Phichit, just stay.”
“No, no it’s fine. I’ll go,” Phichit teases and Yuri hates the look on his face. He has the loosest lips and Yuri swears by tomorrow, everyone will think something’s up with him and Otabek. Phichit’s face softens upon seeing Yuri’s frown. “I’m joking. I had a test in the afternoon so I’m pretty out of it. Be safe, Yuri.”
Phichit ruffles Yuri’s hair before leaving and Yuri pouts, feeling like a kid but Phichit’s doing it out of kindness so Yuri can’t stay mad.
Yuri’s wondering if he should continue hogging a table after finishing the bowl of chips. He should move to one of the stools at the bar or the double table.
He doesn’t get far from the table when he knocks into someone and that someone might as well be a wall because that was a hard jab.
“Excuse me, watch where you’re going,” the person says and if Yuri can hear him then it means the guy’s yelling pretty loud which is incredibly rude because he walked into Yuri first.
“How about—” Yuri stops upon seeing Otabek with a goofy grin. “Very funny.”
Otabek gestures in another direction and starts walking with Yuri following close behind him. He opens a door and they’re outside. The night is cool and quiet with the echoes of chaos on the other side.
“So where’s the rest of them?” Otabek asks.
“The buckets of beer got them drinking way more than they should,” Yuri replies.
“Was Victor okay?”
“Yeah, this time it’s Yuuri.” Yuri chuckles. When the laugher in their eyes die, the atmosphere gets poignant. There’s some weird tension in the air and Yuri can’t pinpoint exactly what it is. It’s as if there’s still the adrenaline from the club pulsing inside Yuri, compelling him to do crazy things, stupid things that he normally wouldn’t entertain. The energy has to go somewhere but Yuri doesn’t know where to channel it.
“So where are you headed?” Otabek asks.
Yuri glances up, a bit bashful for some reason and looks away quickly when they make eye contact.
“Home. How about you?”
“Same.”
They start walking with their arms touching and hands stuffed in their pockets. The night isn’t too chilly but unfortunately, it’s too cloudy to see the stars. But it’s not too bad with Otabek’s chatter making up for the empty sky.
Tonight really was an eye-opener. Otabek was so charming in his booth with his headphones on while mixing music. Everyone was so enthralled and mesmerized, it was like Otabek showed them another world, the world he crafted with his sound. It’s a side of Otabek that’s different from the studious Otabek who has to snack every three hours, the Otabek who spontaneously decides to bake crap in the wee hours of the morning and has no shame in calling Yuri for ingredients. Yuri has a haunting suspicion that there’s still more to him that Yuri has yet to discover. Regardless of the different Otabeks he sees, Yuri’s pretty sure they’re all really cool.
The wait for the next subway train comes in five minutes so there’s time to kill.
“You’re a good DJ,” Yuri blurts out and he feels Otabek staring at him, a little surprise at the random praise. Yuri pretends not to notice and continues, “Even Seunggil complimented you.”
“Thanks for coming.” There’s sincerity in Otabek’s voice that sets fire to Yuri’s inside.
“So DJ O-beks,” Yuri mocks, swiftly changing the topic. He sees a faint hue of red dash across Otabek’s cheeks. He has no idea what him and Otabek are doing right now with this strange, flirty exchange but it’s probably the alcohol talking for both of them.
Otabek’s scratching the back of his neck, a sign of awkwardness. “It was the best name I could come up with it.”
“DJ Altin too boring for you?” Otabek makes a funny face and Yuri laughs. “But you were awesome tonight so the name doesn’t matter.”
There’s a minute left before the next train. And the ambiance between them gets heavier with every word. Yuri doesn’t know what it is or how to lighten the mood.
Yuri’s combing through his hair, a nervous habit of his, and stops when there’s a hand brushing the loose strands behind his ear. He looks up to see Otabek with a red face and redder ears. Yuri isn’t sure what’s happening but Otabek leans in and Yuri closes his eyes. His heart’s beating too fast and he stops breathing because what is happening.
He feels a warm breath on his lips and Otabek whispers, “I’ll stop if you don’t want this.”
Yuri opens his eyes and Otabek is so, so close. There’s an earnest look in his eyes, one that Yuri trusts. Otabek has never let him down before so Yuri closes his eyes again and leans in, closing the gap between their lips. Otabek’s catching Yuri off guard too many times and his soft lips is another one of those surprises. Embarrassingly enough, Yuri likes it. He feels Otabek grinning into the kiss and Yuri swears, his stomach does a flip and a flop.
Yuri finally realizes what the weird tension from before is. They’ve both been wanting to do this for a while. To kiss, touch and feel each other. Except Otabek knew what it was but was hesitant to initiate anything while Yuri didn’t know what this curiosity surrounding Otabek was. When did Otabek find out? Yuri doubts Otabek will tell him but he can’t help but wonder.
Yuri’s still plowing through his naivety and needs a guide, someone to help him go through it. Luckily he has Victor, Yuuri, his frat brothers, sorority sisters and now, he has Otabek.
The subway ride home is lulling and Yuri is trying hard to stay focus, to resist nodding off but Otabek catches this.
“You can nap for a while, I’ll tell you when your stop comes,” Otabek comments shyly and Yuri can’t meet his gaze because his face is on fire and he bets Otabek isn’t faring very well either.
Yuri timidly nods and closes his eyes.
“You can also rest your head on my shoulder if it’s awkward leaning forward.”
Yuri smiles softly and nestles into Otabek’s shoulder, a much more comfortable option than tucking his chin in. Otabek’s always been considerate despite looking so stoic. He’s still full of mysteries and surprises but nothing can stop Yuri from looking forward to them.
He’s deep in dreamland when he feels a fly on his face but he’s too snug right now to move and swat at it so he just lets it be.
He’ll let them be.