Chapter Text
Yuuri has had his fair share of bad dates before but this one has by far been the absolute worst.
He had trouble meeting people in real life, so he'd taken to online dating to see if that would help. He'd hoped that his anxiety would settle as a result of the lack of face to face communication, and it did. A lot. He'd gotten to know the man over messages for past few weeks and it had made him extremely less anxious and terrified to meet him in real life.
His name was Adam and he seemed perfect. He had been interested in Yuuri in a way he'd found new and refreshing. He'd asked about his day and told about his in return, he had an amazing sense of humor, and, most importantly, was a dog person. Not to mention he was incredibly attractive. So, obviously, Yuuri had been very interested.
Adam had messaged him first, simply saying that they had some common interests and was hoping to have the chance to get to know Yuuri better. After that they'd been talking everyday for weeks, and it had been the highlight of his days.
He had finally felt like he had someone that cared about him that wasn't Phichit or his family. He didn't feel as lonely as he had before. He could feel that they had great potential to be something amazing.
The more and more they talked, the more Yuuri wanted to meet him. So, they set a date and he couldn't have been more excited.
The beginning of the date had gone well, brilliant really. It didn't last long though, at some point Adam had picked up his phone to check a notification and had hardly looked away since. He was still talking to Yuuri, but he wasn't looking at him, and by the sight of him, he wasn't only talking to Yuuri either.
He'd tries to push it back in his mind and keep the conversation going, but Adam's replies were getting less and less interested and more distant. His anxiety had ended up getting the best of him and he dismissed himself to hide in the bathroom for a while.
He stood up, trying to ignore the fact that Adam hadn't even seemed to notice he'd spoken or gotten up, and made his way towards the bathroom.
He didn't understand what happened. They had gotten along so well the past few weeks and the date itself had gone brilliantly in the beginning. He couldn't think of a reason why it had suddenly turned around no matter how hard he tried.
By the time he'd reached the bathroom his eyes were full of tears that were seconds away from spilling. He knew he was overreacting and didn't want to be crying over something so small, but he couldn't seem to help it. The better decision would have been to confront Adam, ask what went wrong, but he didn't know if he wanted to hear the answer.
Upon reaching the bathroom, he walked over to a sink, placing his hands on the edges and looked at himself in the mirror. Were looks the reason Adam and lost interest? Yuuri knew he wasn't the most attractive person ever, but he wasn't ugly either. He was average. Which was fine, he liked being average. Was he not what Adam was expecting? Did he look different in person than he did in pictures?
Or maybe it was his personality. He knew it lacked a bit in person. In messages he had time to think of replies, time to think of the perfect things to say. In person he could barely hold a conversation. It had helped, of course, having had the chance to get to know Adam in messages rather than in person. He didnt have to worry about making a complete fool of himself, because now he was at least comfortable enough to speak. But apparently not confident enough to keep his attention.
He got pulled from his thoughts as he heard the door open and he wiped violently at his eyes, hoping he didnt look like he'd been crying. In walked maybe the most attractive person Yuuri had ever seen. He had long, silver hair that was pulled up into a messy bun and the brightest blue eyes.
The other man looked at him for a moment before tilting his head slightly to the side with a warm, comforting smile.
"Bad date?" he asked softly, closing the door and walking slightly towards Yuuri.
Apparently it was obvious he had been crying.
"That obvious?" Yuuri replied with a quiet chuckle, smiling weakly back at the stranger.
"Only a Little, but that might just be because I'm in the same boat," he laughed, shrugging slightly.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Not your fault," the stranger smiled, walking closer and leaning against the wall beside Yuuri. "He doesn't understand brilliance, is all."
"Brilliance?" Yuuri asked, getting a little too correct on the use of pronouns.
"Figure skating. He said it was a little too gay for him."
Yuuri could see the sadness and frustration the man was feeling at the admission, the emotions flowing freely over his face.
The most attractive person ever liked men and was interested in figure skating. Yuuri couldn't help but feel giddy at the thought. If he ended up being a dog person, he'd officially be Yuuri's dream man.
"You figure skate? That's brilliant," Yuuri smiled widely, hoping his own enthusiasm on the subject would cheer the man up.
"Yes! I compete too! I'm hoping to finally make to to the Grand Prix this year," he smiled, bouncing lightly on his feet.
"That's great! I hope you do. I don't follow the competitions much anymore, but I guess I should start again."
"I'm Viktor, by the way," Viktor smiled, holding out his hand.
Yuuri took it in his own, returning the smile easily. "I'm Yuuri."
"Do you figure skate? You don't look familiar," Viktor asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Yuuri.
"No. I'm a skating instructor at the local rink. I teach litter kids and sometimes older ones."
He loved his job. He'd entertained the idea of figure skating as a career but felt he wasn't good enough, or would let his anxiety get the best of him and fail. So, not wanting to let go of the sport entirely, he'd found a job as a skating instructor. He taught a group of little kids , and occasional teen, the basics of skating. Every so often a student would request he kept teaching them at an intermediate level, rather than go to a different instructor, and he easily and happily agreed.
It gave him a sense of purpose and belonging. He was a teacher and a mentor to kids who wanted to and enjoyed learning. He got such a feeling of happiness and satisfaction when he went to work everyday.
"That's amazing, Yuuri," Viktor smiled softly. He looked like he truly meant it too, and Yuuri felt his chest tighten. "So. I told you my story, what's yours?"
Yuuri hesitated, unsure if he wanted to share something that seemed so insignificant and simple compared to what Viktor had to deal with.
"He started to ignore me. Got interested on something on his phone. It looked kind of like tinder in the reflection of his glasses," Yuuri answered after a moment, deciding to just be honest.
"That's so rude. He was talking to other people while he was on a date with you? What an ass," Viktor said, looking offended for Yuuri.
"Yeah. So I decided to just come and hide out in here and hope just leaves," Yuuri chuckled.
"Same."
They stood in silence for a while, having run out of things to talk to about. It was a comfortable silence though, so Yuuri didn't have much of a problem with just sliding to floor and twiddling his thumbs.
"As much as I'm enjoying this, we don't have to stay in here," Viktor said after few minutes.
Yuuri looked up at him with a confused expression when he had heard the words. "What do you mean?"
"We could escape?"
"How? It's not like we could just walk out of the door."
"There's a window up there," Viktor suggested, pointing at a window above the sinks.
"Viktor, we can't climb out a window. It's at the the top of the wall!" Yuuri exclaimed, looking both surprised and disbelieving.
"Climb on the sinks."
Yuuri stayed quiet for a moment to truly think about the idea. It wasn't terrible, really. It might even work if they actually tried.
"Fine," Yuuri mumbled, standing up and facing the window. "You're going first though."
Viktor shot him an excited smile and started to climb up on the sink. He resting his knees on the edges and unlocked and pushed the window open. He moved so that he was no crouching on the sink before easing himself up to his full height. He slipped one leg out, followed by the other and slipped on of the window, landing with a soft thud.
Yuuri moved to copy Viktor, the motions a lot more cautious and calculated with him than the other man. His feet stung a little for a moment as he landed, his feet hitting the ground uncomfortably. Viktor reached a hand out to grab his arm when he stumbled.
"See? Isn't this so much better than sitting in a gross, depressing bathroom?" Viktor asked with a wide smile.
Yuuri chuckled and shoot his head slightly, but did nothing to deny it. It had been a good plan in theory, but it really was much better to be out here. He took a deep breath and smiled over at Viktor.
"Do you, um, would you like to go do something?" Viktor asked, cheeks flushing slightly as he looked anywhere but at Yuuri.
"I'd love to," Yuuri smiled, reaching over to take Victor's hand.