Chapter Text
“Holy shit Yuuri. Victor Nikiforov is totally standing three feet from us.” Phichit whispered into this friend’s ear as the subway jerked causing him to fall onto his friend.
“Phichit,” Yuuri said, helping Phichit right himself, “why would the Victor Nikiforov be on the subway?”
“Bro, I’m telling you it’s him.” Phichit insisted, glancing toward the left again. “I mean celebrities take the subway all the time… Like Neil Patrick Harris.”
“Yes, but I mean this is Victor Nikiforov we’re talking about.”
“Okay, okay,” Phichit said looking over Yuuri’s shoulder again, “Let’s just say it isn’t Victor Nikiforov, although I still say it is, it’s a guy that looks just like Victor Nikiforov. You should at least smile and say hi.”
“Phichit, I’m not talking to some random dude on the subway.”
“Why not? He looks just like Victor Nikiforov.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Yuuri finally conceded and glanced over to where Phichit kept looking. Yuuri gasped as the man happened to look up at that exact moment and for a split second their eyes met. For a moment Yuuri forgot how to breathe, because Phichit was right, there was a guy on the subway, standing not three feet away from them who looked exactly like Victor Nikiforov. When the man flashed Yuuri a smile he could feel his whole face flush as he tried to calm his heartbeat down and not pass out on the spot.
“Told you.” Phichit whispered in Yuuri’s ear as he nudged him with his arm. “Smile back.”
Nodding weakly, Yuuri manage a smile before quickly turning to bury his face into Phichit’s shoulder. “Oh my god Phichit he totally does look like Victor Nikiforov. I’m dead.”
“RIP Yuuri Katsuki.” Phichit said gravely patting his friend on the head.
Victor was running late. It was his fault really, but he couldn’t help but be annoyed as he shuffled onto the crowded subway because it was quicker than taking an Uber considering the traffic at this hour. It was only three stops, he could do this.
As the subway lurched with a start he found himself being shoved deeper into the car and reluctantly grabbed the pole to stop himself from falling onto the people seated in the chairs in front of him. He hated the subway, but it was a necessary evil.
Trying his hardest to remain incognito he tried to ignore the people around him, but couldn’t help but catch his name being whispered in the car. When the train stopped again, Victor found the crowd thinning a little and chanced a look around to see if anyone would be pressing him for pictures and autographs. Not that he didn’t enjoy interacting with his fans, he was just in a hurry and would rather not today.
The moment his eyes feel upon the beautiful Asian man in blue rimmed glasses he thanked every god in existence for putting him in that subway car at that exact point in time. He felt his heart clench within his chest as the man next to him leaned over and started whispering in his ear. Of course the man of his dreams, this angel amongst men, was taken, but he would not lose sleep over something as insignificant as that.
Glancing down at the man’s hands, he found that both hands were bare, there was no ring in sight, which meant he still had a chance. But first, he needed him to notice him.
How hard could it be?
He was Victor Nikiforov. People’s most beautiful man in the world five years running, he was honestly surprised no one had said anything to him yet. The subway lurched again and he shifted himself a little close to the pair, hoping that he could catch that beautiful man’s eye, because People magazine was wrong. Victor Nikiforov was not the most beautiful man in the world, the most beautiful man in the world was sitting two and a half feet away from him, talking in whispers with whom he could only assume was his boyfriend.
The subway started again, and Victor cursed the fact that he only had one more stop to go, he had to do something. Looking up, he decided to steal another glance, only to be caught in the most beautiful amber eyes he had ever seen in his life. It took every fiber within his being to not rush over there and sweep the man off his feet, so instead he allowed his face to breakout into the warmest smile he had ever known.
Victor didn't know what to make of the blush which encompassed the man's face except ascend to heaven, because Victor Nikiforov was dead. Slain by a smile from a beautiful stranger.
As the train eased into the station, Victor scrambled to pull himself together and made his way toward the exit, positioning himself in front of the angel clad in a nondescript blue sweatshirt and well loved jeans. The train jerked to a stop, propelling Victor forward, and before he could reach out to brace himself, the man grabbed his arm and held him steady. Victor's eyes shot down to meet his angel’s and a moment of serendipity passed between them.
The doors chimed and Victor found himself being pulled away by the crowd, but he knew, that he had found his other half.
.
“Chris!~” Victor wailed as he entered the studio and flung himself onto the nearest couch.
“Victor, get up you're already late.”
Sitting up Victor regarded Christophe in all seriousness. “Because of serendipity, Chris. Serendipity. I met an angel on the subway.”
Christophe pulled a face as Victor finally stood up and made his way over to where the make-up artist was patiently waiting for him. “ And when do you ride the subway?”
“When fate deems it time for me to find my other half Chris.” Victor sighed. “He was beautiful.”
“What's his name?”
“Oh my God Chris!” Victor exclaimed, eyes blown wide as Christophe fought back a laugh. “I didn't catch his name! He was with someone… I didn't get a chance to talk to him.”
“Wait… let me get this straight?” Christophe managed to choke out between laughs. “You met the man of your dreams, your other half, your soulmate and he was with another man?”
“I have a plan.” Victor declared.
“And what’s that?”
““He’s beautiful Chris.”
“That’s not a plan, Victor.”
Letting out a sigh, Victor turned to face Christophe. “I don’t think you understand Chris, he’s so beautiful, it’s true. I saw his face, in a crowded place…”
“Still not a plan, Victor.”
“What do you want me to say, Chris?” Victor asked in a huff. “I don’t actually have a plan. He was a beautiful angel I met on the subway. An angel who was with another man.”
“Fuck, Victor, you don’t even know his name.”
“Ah Chris, what’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would still smell as sweet.”
“Don’t fucking Shakespear me, Victor.”
“Sonnets should be written for this man’s beauty, Chris.”
“Then write them, Victor. Write them all over your social media. Write of his eyes, his hair, his- I don’t fucking know, teeth?”
“You are a genius Chris! That’s exactly what I’ll do.” Before Christophe had a chance to even object, Victor’s fingers were flying over his phone screen.
“Yuuri.” Phichit said throwing an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders as they made their way out of the classroom. “Did you see Victor’s latest tweets.”
“You know, Phichit,” Yuuri said as he pulled out his phone, “some of us actually pay attention in class.”
“Yes, yes, but Yuuri, Victor has been blowing up twitter with proclamations of love for the angel he met on the subway .”
Furrowing his brows Yuuri nodded as he read as quickly as he could, letting out a sad sgih. “Yes, I can see that. Well, I guess that’s that.”
“The fuck, Yuuri!? Why do you sound so sad about this!?”
“Because… I mean Victor obviously found the love of his life…”
“Yeah he did!” Phichit screamed, shaking Yuuri by his shoulders. “And it’s YOU! HE’S LOOKIN FOR YOU!”
“What!?” Yuuri screeched, pulling away from Phichit. “How? What? Where in the world would you get an idea like that!?”
“Oh I don't know,” Phichit said scrolling through Victor's tweets, “maybe because he posted and I quote, 'My life is brilliant. My love is pure. I saw an angel, of this I'm sure. He smiled at me on the subway, he was with another man.’”
“Yes, I read that too.”
“Oh my god Yuuri, how dense can you be!? He was obviously talking about us, because I'm convinced that that guy who 'looks like Victor Nikiforov’ we saw earlier today was actually Victor fucking Nikiforov.”
Yuuri frowned at his friend. Sure, he had a point, the guy they saw on the subway earlier certainly could have been Victor, but it still doesn't mean the person Victor was tweeting about was him. “ Oh come on Phichit, he could have been talking about anyone , not specifically me.”
Slapping his hand over his face, Phichit fought the urge to strangle his friend to death. “Oh course he was talking about you Yuuri! I mean he tweeted, 'his eyes were like golden pools of amber, hidden behind simple blue frames- for if bared naked to the world we would all be lost forever.’”
“I mean… I can't be the only person in New York City with brown eyes and blue glasses. He could literally have been talking about anyone.”
“Really, Yuuri!?” Phichit screamed waving the phone in his face. “'His hair was the color of the darkest night, shining like ocean, calling for my heart.’”
“Once again, Phichit, there has to be half a million people in New York City with black hair. I'm not that special.”
“You are insufferable Yuuri! It's so obviously you! I mean, ‘An angel amongst the ranks of men, with a smile so pure the cherubs weep. You're beautiful, it's true.’”
Yuuri let out a long sigh as they entered the small Thai restaurant tucked away between a florist shop and a dry cleaners. “Now I definitely know he's not talking about me. I'm not beautiful.”
“Oh my God Yuuri. If I didn't love you so much I would have killed you already. You, Yuuri Katsuki is the most beautiful man who have ever walked the face of this Earth.”
“Phichit…” Yuuri said slowly with a hint of warning in his voice, as the waitress sat there down in their usual table in the corner. “I will not stand for such blasphemy. You and I both know that Victor Nikiforov is the most beautiful man in the world… five years running now, and I will not suffer you insulting him to my face.”
Phichit pulled a face at Yuuri and went back to reading Victor's tweets, “Get this Yuuri, 'The blush of his cheeks could shame the red, red rose.’ Who knew Victor Nikiforov was such a poet.”
“Seriously, Phichit, I'm not delusional enough to think he's actually talking about me.”
“But what if he was!? Are you just going to leave him hanging like that?” Phichit exclaimed, pausing to thank the waitress for their food before turning his attention back to Yuuri. “I mean for fuck's sake Yuuri, are you even reading these tweets? ‘There must be an angel with a smile on his face, when he thought up that I should be with you.’”
“Phichit, he's literally just posting the lyrics to James Blunt's, You're Beautiful, with the pronouns changed.”
“Fine, you know what, I give up. You win this round.” Phichit said in mock defeat. “Pre dinner selfie?”
Phichit ignored the rolling of Yuuri's eyes before he leaned in for the selfie, smirking to himself as he posted it onto Instagram with the caption, @v_nikiforov Yes, he caught your eye, as you walked on by, I could see from your face that you were, fuckin’ high.
