Chapter Text
Snow fell on the slopes of the Detroit ski lodge. Yuuri Katsuki was tucked in the window seat of his lodge room, blanket wrapped around him and book in hand. His eyes drifted from the pages to across the darkening sky, watching as the sun fell below the trees and out of sight. Yuuri's mom knocked softly on the door, and entered the room without waiting for a response. "Hey, kiddo, you’ve been hiding up here all vacation! Why don’t you go down to the teen party tonight?”
Yuuri closed his book and huddled further into the blanket. "I rather just read...."
"Yuuri, you’ll have all of 2017 to read. It’s almost the new year! Go get ready,” his mom wasn't taking no for an answer. Yuuri reluctantly shuffled off the seat, still wrapped in his blanket.
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Victor Nikiforov skated around the lodge's rink, working on his triple axel for an upcoming competition. Yakov - his part time coach, part time father figure - rested his elbows on the rink's barrier. "That's enough, Vitya. We didn't fly all the way here just to skate, anyway. Why don't you go to the New Year's Eve party downstairs?"
Victor skated over to Yakov. "Isn't it for kids?" he wrinkled his nose.
"Young adults," Yakov corrected him, "why don't you go shower." There was no hint of suggestion in his voice.
Victor skated backwards away from his coach. "...One more time?" he pleaded.
"Fine! But you better land it," Yakov huffed and walked away from the rink. Victor smiled and skated forward, building up speed before kicking off the ice and landing the jump.
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Yuuri loosened his tie, tugging the knot down to the top of his chest. He wished he'd remembered his book as he made his way through the crowd of partygoers. After all, his mom said he had to go, not that he had to socialize. Karaoke was on the main stage, and two people were singing at each other with passion to a song Yuuri relatively recognized. I'll get a drink, he decided and started making his way to the punch bowl.
On the other side of the room Victor had just entered the party scene. His long hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. He got a few looks from the other teens there, especially the girls. Victor was popular with American girls for some reason. Maybe it was his baby blues. He didn't pay attention to them, though; they weren’t of interest to him. A sudden noise caught his attention, and he looked up at the stage. The microphone screeched as the participant tried to put it back on the stand, failing miserably.
The host coughed into his own mic, and rushed the previous singers off the stage. "Alright, who's next? Let's get another duo up here!" No one seemed to be volunteering, however. Victor scanned the crowd, looking amongst the HAPPY 2017! overdone party glasses, balloons, and neon glow in the dark paint. "You!" The host declared, pointing towards Victor. He didn't notice what was going on until a spotlight flashed on him and obscured his vision. "What, me?" Victor sounded caught off guard, but also flattered, "thanks, but I don't sing." The partygoers pushed Victor towards the stage and he laughed nervously, but made his way up on his own.
Meanwhile the host made his way over to where Yuuri had finally gotten to the punch bowl. “And… you!” Another spotlight fell on the unsuspecting Yuuri.
“Me?" Yuuri squeaked and looked down to find his tie had fallen into the punch bowl. Shit, He stripped off the tie as the host grabbed his hand, and led him up to the stage regardless of Yuuri's "No, I really can't sing!" protests.
"Alright, we have our next participants!" the host said into his mic and the crowd cheered. Yuuri shook nervously, looking at his feet. Victor waved at the crowd, other hand gripping the mic. You'd have to look very close to see he was just as nervous as Yuuri. "Who knows, maybe one day you'll thank me," the host said and turned on the next song, "or maybe not."
The beat was one that Yuuri thankfully recognized, but thank god for the lyrics being played on the screen behind him. He looked shyly over to Victor, who returned his gaze with a warm smile. Oh no he's hot, Yuuri audibly gulped, accidentally into the mic.
Victor was doing his best to send confident vibes towards the other boy. He slowly scanned his eyes over Yuuri - his hair was a tussled mess, and the faded punch stain on his collar really accompanied the look. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the other person in front of him, in fact he wouldn’t stand out at all if he wasn’t so… awkward? Victor wasn’t sure if that was the right word. But despite the awkwardness Yuuri conveyed there was something about him that made Victor want to see more; get to know the shaking, nervous boy in front of him on stage.
His hand moved before his mind realized his own actions. Victor’s fingers slipped around the button of Yuuri’s shirt, and unhooked it. And then another button. He looked up to see Yuuri’s face was bright red, and why shouldn’t it have been? This kid was completely nerve wracked and Victor just unbuttoned his shirt without warning. “Oh, there was a stain showing,” He said in a low voice, but just loud enough and away from the mic so Yuuri could hear.
“O-oh,” Yuuri stammered in response and reached up for the microphone while keeping his eyes back on his shoes.
Victor took his mic out of the stand. Yeah, I just made this situation worse, he realized. The opening to the song finally ended and lyrics popped on screen behind them.
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“Wait, so you’ve never sung on stage before? In front of… anyone?” Victor leaned his back against the balcony and blew on his hot chocolate.
“No, that was the first time I’ve ever done anything like that,” Yuuri looked into his mug. By the end of the song, he’d been into it. Like, really into it. It was a little embarrassing in fact. “I sung in a choir back in Japan, but that’s it. Solos aren’t really my thing,” he nervously laughed.
“Why’s that? You nailed it back there, after all,” Victor took a sip of his drink and marshmallow residue stuck to his upper lip.
“One time I got a solo for a choir performance, and uh, it didn’t end great. Like, I fainted in front of a gym full of people great.” Yuuri mirrored Victor and took a sip of his hot chocolate.
“After seeing you sing like that, that’s hard to believe,” Victor’s comment made Yuuri blush and fidget a little with his collar. There was an awkward moment of silence before Victor broke it saying, “Could I get your number? I know we just met, but singing with you is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
The flush on Yuuri’s cheeks darkened. “Uh, um, yeah! I-uh… here! You can put your number in,” he fumbled with his phone and pulled up a New Contact page. They exchanged numbers, and Victor held up his phone in front of Yuuri’s face.
“For a contact picture,” he said as he snapped the photo. Yuuri already knew he looked caught off guard and flustered, but he was too nervous to ask him to retake it. “And I’ll take one on your phone too!” The party inside started to get louder, and even with the sliding glass door shut voices began to escalate to a distinguishable volume. 10… 9… 8….
Victor handed back Yuuri’s phone. “I’ll call you sometime, is that okay?” He leaned closer to Yuuri. 7… 6… 5…
“Uh, yeah, that’s no problem!” Yuuri looked up and met Victor’s eyes. 4… 3… 2…
It was in the span of a second that Yuuri closed his eyes to blink, felt a cold hand brush his cheek, and then the sensation of lips on his own. …1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! His eyes flashed open and he saw Victor pull away, lips curving into a soft smile. “Happy New Year, Yuuri.”