Chapter Text
Yuuri knows he’s doomed from the moment the apartment door swings open. Phichit is wearing an ecstatic smile, looking like he just won the lottery. Yuuri briefly wonders how his friend can get them in so much trouble when he literally only left to buy food for his hamsters. An everyday activity like that shouldn’t be able to get them into sticky situations. A million thoughts rush through Yuuri’s mind. Each appearing right after the previous one, not giving him a chance to focus on any of them, only making him feel more fidgety as the seconds go by excruciatingly slow.
“Yuuri!” Phichit finally speaks. “Guess what?” Yuuri winces at the question. This is definitely not good for him. He stays silent, letting his friend continue. “I got us into a demo yoga class,” he says, finally ending Yuuri’s torture. Except it only makes it worse.
“Yoga?” he asks
“Yoga,” his friend confirms, quickly adding, “You know I’ve been meaning to try it for months. You only need to come with me for the demo, I promise. It’s tomorrow at nine, by the way.” Yuuri sighs, accepting his faith. It could be worse, he thinks.
It’s 8:40 when they leave their apartment the next morning, clad in sports clothes. Phichit is even more excited than Yuuri thought he would be, there’s a bit of a skip in his step. How someone can feel so energetic on a Saturday morning is beyond Yuuri, but he doesn’t complain. It takes them ten minutes to walk to the studio, just a few blocks away from home. When they get there it’s still closed, so they stay out talking lightly about nothing in particular.
Not much later they see a redheaded woman walking towards them, wearing yoga pants and a tank top. She makes her way to the door and unlocks it, giving them a big smile and a cheerful greeting.
“You must be Phichit,” she says, still smiling “Sara told me you’d stop by. And you are…?” she’s looking at Yuuri.
“Yuuri, nice to meet you” he answers with a soft smile, still sounding half-asleep. “Are you our teacher?” he asks.
“Oh no, not today. You’ll be in Victor’s class. He’ll be here in a few minutes, but you can come in and get ready.” She gave them both a quick look “You don’t have mats, do you?”
“No,” said the boys in unison, making the girl laugh.
“That’s okay.” She assured them, “You can borrow ours.” She stepped into the studio, holding the door open for the two boys, who looked around the small waiting room.
“Thank you! I was too excited to think about it,” says Phichit, already swaying excitedly on his feet. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m glad you’re excited! Victor is a great teacher, you’ll see. I’m Mila, by the way, I’m in charge of the Hot Yoga sessions” Upon the confused looks on both their faces, she goes on to explain the difference between “normal” and “hot” yoga (hot yoga is practiced in a room at around 40 degrees Celsius, or 105 Fahrenheit. Mila explains it is easier to sweat, and very cleansing but that much more demanding to the body). Phichit looks excited and promises they will both come back next week for a session with Mila, and then decide which one they like better.
The waiting room has welcomed a few more students while they were talking, a few of them proceeding into one of the rooms, where the class is about to start. Mila suggests Yuuri and Phichit head in and get settled so they can choose their places.
The floor in the room is softer than the one outside, one could probably do yoga without the mat. There’s a mirror wall at the end, everyone is turned to look in that direction so Yuuri and Phichit set their mats in the same direction. They begin to stretch, Phichit talking about how excited he is and how much he could use the strength and flexibility yoga is sure to help him get. The other boy agrees that it might help with skating, but he also thinks he can’t get much more than what he already got from ballet.
He is wrong.
Victor walks in smiling, greeting the class. He’s tall, slim, but clearly strong and has gorgeous silver hair that falls softly on the side of his face. He’s wearing a tight, black, long-sleeved crop top that perfectly accentuates the muscles on his arms and shows off the man’s toned abs. His pants are also tight around legs that seem to have been carved on marble. Yuuri can see each and every muscle from his ass to his thighs to his calves clearly through the dark fabric. He is sure it should be illegal to go out looking like that, someone might have a stroke. Phichit is also staring. They exchange looks and he mouths a ‘damn’.
Victor walks to the front of the classroom, extends his mat and sits down, looking around at the familiar faces. He spots two unfamiliar ones, and assumes they’re the ones Mila mentioned. He makes a mental note to keep an eye on them. Because they are new, not because of a pair of hypnotizing brown eyes that are looking at him like he’s a miracle. He guides the class through a few deep breaths and a sun salutation, to get everyone warmed-up and present. Then he begins the session.
The class goes well, the routine isn’t too demanding, and the new guys seem to be getting a good grip on everything. Victor takes a stroll through the classroom several times, to correct difficult postures and help students find their limits, talking them into easier alternatives.
At one point he tells everyone to do a few cycles of downward dog into plank, and goes around correcting tiny details. He congratulates Phichit on his plank, and corrects his downward dog just a bit. He then moves onto Yuuri, just as he’s shifting out of the plank. The posture is perfect, his feet are flat on the ground and his legs are straight, giving Victor a great view of the man’s behind. He tries to keep the thoughts at bay. He walks to Yuuri’s front and crouches to ask if he’s done yoga before. Ballet, the man says, looking at him through strands of black hair. That explains a lot. He gives him an approving smile, and moves on, not seeing the light blush spread on his new student’s cheeks.
When the class is over, Victor says goodbye to his students and follows them out to the waiting room. He waves over the two boys he’d spotted at the beginning of the class from behind the counter. The two men look confused, talking hurriedly to one another. Phichit is sure Victor is calling Yuuri, and Yuuri is sure there is nothing he could talk about with the impossibly attractive teacher. They walk over together, Phichit lightly shoving his friend.
“Hi! My name is Victor, it’s nice to meet you two. How was the class?” Victor says as soon as they’re within earshot. Yuuri lets out the breath he had been holding. Of course, he wanted to ask if they wanted to take regular classes.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Phichit, and this is my friend Yuuri.” Victor smiles kindly at them, eyes lingering on Yuuri just a little more than necessary. A voice in his head whispers that he’s glad they’re just friends. “The class was great,” he turns to look at Yuuri who hums in agreement, taking a sip of water. When he lowers the bottle he is still looking at Victor like he made the sun come up that morning. Victor is sure his heart stops.
“I’m glad. First-timers don’t tend to have a hard time until they can’t move the next day,” Victor says with a wink. “But you don’t look like first-timers, to be honest.”
“We’re figure skaters,” Yuuri says, making Victor’s eyes light up and his lips form a small smile. He’s looking at Yuuri the way children look at their Christmas gifts. It doesn’t last long because Phichit clears his throat to add that he’s looking for extra practice outside the rink and hopes yoga can help him. Victor turns to him, with a now-bright smile.
“Of course it can help,” He exclaims, “you’ll grow stronger and more flexible” there’s a small pause where he hesitates. “Or… I guess, in your case, you’ll stay as strong and flexible. Yoga can also help tone your muscles if you want a more defined look.” He finally adds.
“What about hot yoga?” Phichit inquires, and Yuuri almost chokes on his drink. He was definitely not thinking that was the appropriate term to describe the man in front of him.
“I don’t think there’s a big difference. To me, it’s more about personal preference. You can come to Mila’s class some time and then decide for yourselves.”
“Oh, thank you but I don’t think I’m staying” Yuuri says, and Victor’s heart breaks. His smile falters for just a second, but the other two can tell. “I already have pole-dancing, I just came here so Phichit had some company on his first day” Victor didn’t hear a word after pole-dancing.
“So you do ballet, figure skating, and pole dancing?” he blurts out before he can stop himself. His eyes are trained on the black-haired boy but he can see and hear Phichit giggling out of the corner of his eye. Brown eyes go wide.
“N-No, I mean yes. Well, not exactly” Yuuri is stumbling over his own words and Victor thinks it’s the cutest thing he has ever witnessed. “I don’t practice ballet anymore, is what I mean. Pole-dancing is just to… keep me fit, I guess?” Victor does not imagine how those thighs would look on a pole.
“I see,” he says, trying to keep his cool. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us.” He winks at Yuuri for the second time today. He’s thinking fast, trying to find a way to make him stay. “It’s a shame, though. We have a special offer this month. Two for one.” Phichit perks up at that, and Victor smiles thinking he’s got it. Yuuri turns to look at his friend, who looks like he’s about to kneel down and beg. He promises to think about it.
Phichit promises he’ll be back later that week for one of Mila’s classes. Then they both turn to leave the studio. However as soon as Yuuri is out the door, Phichit turns back to Victor and promises to bring him back. Yuuri blushes with his back to the studio. Victor looks up at them with a smile that makes his cheeks hurt, waving goodbye.