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~ One ~
There’s a new boy in Victor’s class this year.
He’s the youngest in the whole class, Miss Okukawa had said, and he’s one of the smallest amongst their classmates too. His name is Yuuri and Victor thinks he’s absolutely adorable, soft and pudgy with round cheeks and gentle eyes, and Victor has a feeling that Yuuri would give amazing hugs.
Victor is desperate to befriend him and find out if Yuuri’s hugs really are as good as he imagines, but Victor hasn’t managed to make much progress with him yet. He doesn’t talk to Victor much, or really anyone apart from Phichit but everyone talks to Phichit so Victor tries not to take it too personally. Miss Okukawa told Victor that Yuuri is very shy and when Victor had gone home and asked Yakov what shy meant, Yakov had replied, “It means the opposite of you, Vitya.”
But Victor is determined not to let their differences get in the way of their friendship. He’s sure there must be a way to get Yuuri to be his friend, pondering this outloud as Lilia drives him home from school.
“You just need to be patient, Vitya,” Lilia says. “It’s coming up to Christmas, maybe you could give him a present? He’d probably like that.”
“A present, yeah!” Victor exclaims, perking up in his seat. “What kind of present?”
“Oh, I don’t know. What sorts of things does he like?”
Victor thinks hard, remembering just last week when Miss Okukawa had told them to write a short story about their favourite animal. Yuuri’s hand had flown across the page faster than Victor had ever seen before, and then at the end of the lesson he had mumbled out a quiet but enthusiastic story to the class about a poodle who flew to the moon.
“He likes dogs!” Victor tells Lilia. “Can I get him a dog?”
“No, you can’t get him a dog,” Lilia says, amused. “Why don’t you draw him a picture of a dog instead?”
Hmm. Victor isn’t the best drawer but Lilia says that a picture is worth a thousand words and Victor definitely doesn’t know a thousand words yet so he decides he can give the picture a try. When he gets home, he busies himself straight away by gathering every pencil crayon in the house and taking them over to his little desk table, getting to work with more vigour and concentration than he’s ever shown his homework before.
It takes approximately twenty-four attempts but Victor finally manages to produce something he’s happy with, taking the paper and dashing over to Yakov and Lilia in the living room to show them.
“Yakov, Yakov, look!” Victor exclaims, shaking his sleeve and holding up his paper.
Yakov turns his head and immediately jumps like he’s been spooked. “Good God in… what’s this, Vitya?”
“A poodle! It’s my present for Yuuri!”
“Oh.” Yakov adjusts his glasses, reaching out to take the picture. “Yes, it’s… very nice.”
“I know!” Victor says, bursting with pride and confidence as he takes his picture back. “I can’t wait to give it to him tomorrow!”
The next day, Victor carefully tucks his picture for Yuuri into his bookbag, placing it between two books so it doesn’t get creased. He can hardly wait to give it to his hopefully soon-to-be friend, heading straight into the classroom when he arrives at school and placing the picture on his desk, eyeing the door eagerly for when Yuuri comes in.
“Victor?”
Victor’s gaze snaps away from the door and he turns to look at Chris, who has popped up beside him and is staring down at the poodle picture with a frown. Chris asks, “What’s that on your desk?”
“It’s my picture for Yuuri,” Victor says, picking up the paper protectively. “You’re not allowed to touch it.”
Chris is still frowning. “It looks like a camel demon with wings.”
Miss Okukawa has entered the room and hears Chris’ comment, coming over to mildly scold him. “Now, Chris, Victor has obviously put a lot of work into this, you need to be kind about other people’s work.”
“See?” Victor says smugly, sticking his tongue out at Chris. “What do you think of it, Miss Okukawa?”
“It’s…” Miss Okukawa’s eyes widen briefly when she looks at the paper but she plasters a pleasant smile over her face. “It’s wonderful. I’m sure Yuuri will love it. It’s a giraffe, isn’t it?”
“No,” Victor frowns, frustrated that nobody seems to see his picture for the piece of amazing artwork it is. “It’s a poodle, Yuuri’s favourite!”
“Oh, of course!” Miss Okukawa corrects herself. “Silly me. Yes, it’s a lovely poodle.”
Victor smiles and turns his attention back to the classroom door, hoping that the next person to walk through it will be Yuuri. Yuuri ends up being one of the last to arrive, and Victor lights up when he finally shuffles into the room.
“Yuuri!” Victor exclaims, getting up and rushing over to him. “Look, I made something for you, it’s a Christmas present, see!”
He all but shoves the paper into Yuuri’s small hands, biting his lip and holding his breath as Yuuri looks at the picture.
“Chris said it looked like an evil camel or something,” Victor explains, tummy suddenly turning into a knot as he desperately wants Yuuri to like the gift. “But it’s actually a -”
“A poodle,” Yuuri interrupts quietly, finally looking up at Victor with bright eyes. “It’s my favourite animal in the whole world. Th-thank you, Victor.”
Victor feels like his heart might burst as Yuuri gives him a shy smile, asking, “You really like it?”
“Yes,” Yuuri responds, holding the paper close to his chest and beaming. “I’ll keep it forever.”
~ Two ~
The poodle drawing that Victor had given to Yuuri seems to have gone down very well, and Victor is thrilled at the progress he’s made with him. Yuuri is still too shy to really speak to him but he gives Victor a little smile every time he sees him, and seeing Yuuri’s cute, round face light up has quickly become Victor’s favourite part of the day.
Victor is very pleased that Yuuri is smiling at him now but he is eager to move further, wanting to chat and tell jokes with Yuuri and play with him during break time. He’s hoping that another present will help Yuuri warm up to him a bit more, but Victor is unsure what to get him this time.
“Yakov?” Victor asks on the way home from school. “If you were getting a present from someone, what would you like to have?”
Yakov shoots him a suspicious look. “Vitya, if you’re trying to get money for something then-”
“No, I don’t need any money,” Victor says, never understanding grown-ups’ obsession with money. “It’s just a question.”
“Hm.” Yakov’s eyes are trained on the road as he drives, thinking for a moment before grunting, “Whiskey.”
“Whiskey,” Victor repeats thoughtfully. He’s not entirely sure what that is but it sounds fancy and he thinks Yuuri deserves to have fancy things. “What’s that? Do you think Yuuri would like it?”
Yakov splutters quietly. “Yuuri? What on Earth are you talking about?”
Victor huffs, folding his arms. “I’m trying to think of another present to give to Yuuri but I don’t know what to get him. Where can I buy the whiskey from?”
“You cannot give Yuuri whiskey, it’s a grown-up drink. And for God’s sake, don’t tell Lilia that I brought it up. Why don’t you get Yuuri some chocolates or candy? Everyone likes food as a present.”
“That’s a good idea,” Victor says, lighting up again. “I don’t know what his favourite food is yet but Miss Okukawa gave everyone a chocolate last week and he looked like he liked it.”
“Well, there you go,” Yakov says. “We can stop at the store and buy him some chocolates then.”
After spending a good twenty minutes in the confectionary aisle with Yakov getting increasingly huffy, Victor settles on a chocolate bunny rabbit to give to Yuuri. He’s thrilled with his purchase, hoping Yuuri likes it just as much as he’d liked the poodle drawing.
Victor barely gives Yuuri a chance to walk through the classroom door the following morning before he’s rushing up to him and thrusting the gift under Yuuri’s nose, positively bursting with excitement.
“This is for you!” Victor exclaims, beaming from ear to ear. “It’s a chocolate bunny, look, because I saw that you like chocolate!”
Little Yuuri’s cheeks are tinged bright pink, taking the bunny with both hands and looking at it in awe. “Wow, Victor. This looks so yummy.”
“Yeah!” Victor agrees, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Do you like it?”
“Yes!” Yuuri chirps, looking up and giving Victor one of his adorable smiles. “Thank you. Do you want to share it with me at lunchtime?”
Victor melts a bit inside, nodding rapidly. “Yes, please! Can we sit next to each other and everything? I know you always sit next to Phichit, would he be upset?”
“No, he wouldn’t. You can sit on my other side,” Yuuri smiles.
“Okay!” Victor is glowing, cheeks aching a bit from all the smiling he’s done this morning. He decides to be a gentleman and walk Yuuri over to his desk, asking him, “Hey, what’s your favourite food in the world?”
Yuuri’s eyebrows pinch together as he thinks hard for a few seconds. Then he brightens up, eyes sparkling. “My mama makes this thing called katsudon, it’s the best thing ever.”
“I’ve never had that before,” Victor responds, a bit confused by the word. “What does it taste like?”
“It tastes like unicorns and rainbows,” Yuuri answers matter-o-factly. “And also pork and eggs and some other things. Maybe one day after school you could come to my house and my mom could make you one too?”
“Yes!” Victor practically shouts, getting shushed by Miss Okukawa. He does his best to lower his voice. “That sounds really good. I’ll ask Yakov and Lilia which day I can come!”
Yuuri nods, gazing down again at his chocolate bunny with a smile. “Okay. Y-You’re a really nice person, Victor.”
“Thank you,” Victor beams, positively bursting with joy. “You are too, Yuuri!”
~ Three ~
Over the next week or so Victor and Yuuri grow closer, with Victor even going to Yuuri’s house one evening after school and sharing katsudon with him. Victor is over the moon that he and Yuuri are friends now, and he wants to celebrate that by making their friendship official. And he knows just the way to do that.
He’s taken some thread from Lilia’s sewing supplies and has been busily making Yuuri and him matching friendship bracelets for the past two days, holing himself up in his room and concentrating hard as he chooses the most perfect colours and braids them together. He’s a bit more confident in his bracelet making abilities compared to his drawing ones since Mila at school had shown him how to make a daisy chain, and Victor is confident that Yuuri will like it.
The colours Victor has chosen for Yuuri are blue to match Yuuri’s favourite blue shirt, pink to match the colour of his blushing, chubby cheeks and white because, well, that was the only colour that Lilia had left. Victor has even found some little beads and he’s beyond excited to add them to the bracelet at the end.
He’s quiet throughout the whole morning of school, spending his break time and half of lunch privately braiding away with his tongue poking out in concentration. He’s so engrossed in his task that he doesn’t even notice the gentle sound of delicate footsteps behind him, and he jumps a mile out of his skin when someone taps his shoulder.
“Victor?” It’s Yuuri’s shy, curious voice, and Victor immediately panics that Yuuri is going to spot his next present prematurely.
“No!” Victor exclaims, leaping to hunch over his bracelet like a goalkeeper diving for a ball, protecting it from Yuuri’s unknowing eyes. “Not yet, Yuuri!”
Yuuri jumps at Victor’s loud voice, looking confused and a bit frightened. “S-Sorry.”
Then he dashes off before Victor can say another word, and Victor is worried that he’s upset his new friend but he can hardly worry about that yet when his masterpiece is so close to being finished. He’s sure Yuuri will forgive him for being loud when he gives him the gift later on.
During their afternoon classes, Victor is very sneaky and continues to work on Yuuri’s bracelet under the table instead of doing his work. He feels a bit guilty for not doing as Miss Okukawa has asked but his friendship with Yuuri is more important than his schoolwork right now, and Victor wants to have it finished by the end of the afternoon.
He’s just securing the bracelet with a little knot when the bell rings, and he immediately flies out of his desk and hurries over to Yuuri. Yuuri hasn’t spoken to him all afternoon and he looks up at Victor now with wide, hesitant eyes, almost like he’s waiting for Victor to raise his voice again. Victor feels awful for making his friend look nervous, and he hopes he can make it up to him now.
“Yuuri?” Victor says, being sure to use a gentle voice this time. “I’m sorry I was shouting at lunchtime, you just surprised me and I couldn’t talk to you then because I was making something for you and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise before it was done. But it’s finished now, do you want to see it?”
Yuuri still appears unsure but he nods, fidgeting with his fingers. Victor brings forward the hand he’d been hiding behind his back, outstretching his fingers and showing Yuuri the colourful, beaded bracelet he’s been working on for days.
“Ooh,” Yuuri says softly, reaching out to pick up the bracelet. “It’s so pretty, Victor.”
“It’s a friendship bracelet,” Victor tells him, chest puffed up with pride. “You put it on and that means we’re friends, and I’ve got one as well, look, so we can match.”
He pulls his own out of his pocket; he hadn’t put as much work into his own because he wanted Yuuri to have the nicer one, but he’s still pleased that both bracelets clearly look a matching pair.
Yuuri gasps softly, sliding on his own bracelet and admiring it for a moment. “I’ve never had a friendship bracelet before. It’s really, really nice.”
“Thanks,” Victor beams, cheeks flushed. “Do you like the colours I picked?”
“Yes,” Yuuri answers, smiling. “Blue is my favourite colour. And it matches the colour of your eyes!”
He holds up his wrist to compare the colour of the bracelet to Victor’s eyes, letting out a little giggle. Victor giggles too, sliding on his own bracelet and putting his and Yuuri’s wrists together.
“Friends forever!” Victor says. “That’s what we should say when we put our bracelets together like this.”
“Okay,” Yuuri nods. “Friends forever!”
~ Four ~
Victor and Yuuri are officially friends now, both of them wearing their friendship bracelets to school every day with pride. They sit next to each other at lunchtime, play together on the playground and even go to each other’s houses after school, and Victor loves every minute of it.
He’s already bursting with affection for Yuuri, and one evening he decides to spill out all of his feelings into a letter. He scribbles down all of his favourite things to do with Yuuri and that he hopes that next year they will even be able to have desks beside each other so they can do class projects together.
When Victor has finished writing, he seals his letter in a little envelope and decorates it with his most special animal stickers that he only saves for important things. Thrilled with the finished result, Victor plans to slip the envelope onto Yuuri’s desk chair tomorrow at school.
Victor pesters Yakov to take him to school extra early the following morning to ensure top secrecy when he hides Yuuri’s present. There’s hardly anyone around at school when they arrive; just a few of the older kids from the year above. They make Victor a bit nervous but he’s determined not to show it as he walks purposely through the school doors and into the cloakroom to take off his coat. He collects his bookbag and fishes out the letter before trotting over to his classroom.
But before he can make it to the door, one of the big kids, a boy with a face that’s perpetually grumpy, calls out, “Hey! What have you got there?”
Victor clams up but stands his ground. “None of your business.”
“That’s rude,” the boy frowns, coming closer. “C’mon, show us.”
“No, it’s not yours!” Victor says as firmly as he can, but he’s a bit nervous so his voice shakes.
“Didn’t your mom ever teach you to share?” the boy demands, reaching out to try and grab the letter. “Come on, give it!”
Victor’s stomach lurches and he moves the letter out of the way, clutching it tightly. “Shut up, get your own!”
One of the other boys moves around Victor while he speaks and before Victor realises, the letter is being grabbed from him. His face fills with colour, furious and embarrassed that his private letter for Yuuri has been taken. He tries to grab the letter but the boy holds it above his head so Victor can’t reach, and Victor huffs as he tries to blink back the angry tears that sting his eyes.
“You’re really mean!” he snaps, voice wobbling.
The boys just laugh, and suddenly they’re all running away with the letter. Victor huffs again, rubbing his eyes with his fist and furiously trying to hold back his tears. After a moment, he trudges into the classroom and sits at his desk by himself, upset and frustrated that Yuuri won’t be able to get his present today.
He sulks by himself until he hears the classroom door open, glancing up to see Miss Okukawa entering with a big pile of books in her hands.
“Victor!” she says in surprise, heading over to her desk. “You’re in early.”
“Hmph,” Victor grumbles, glaring down at his desk again.
“What’s the matter, Victor?” Miss Okukawa asks, sounding concerned as she places her things down and approaches Victor’s desk. “You look a bit upset.”
“Some stupid boys from the year above stole my letter for Yuuri,” Victor mumbles, chin wobbling again as he remembers all the time and effort he’d put into writing Yuuri’s special letter last night.
“Oh, no!” Miss Okukawa says, perching on Victor’s desk and giving his shoulder a quick squeeze. “That was very mean of them, I’m sorry. I’ll speak to their teacher as soon as I can and we’ll get the letter back for you. Those boys will owe you an apology as well.”
Victor sniffles, pleased that he’ll get the letter back but still sulking. “It had all of my special stickers on, and they took it.”
“That’s awful,” Miss Okukawa says with a sympathetic frown. “Don’t worry, we’ll get it back and you’ll be able to give it to Yuuri in no time. Is this another one of your presents for him?”
Victor nods. “Yes.”
“Well, I think Yuuri is very lucky to have you for a friend, Victor,” Miss Okukawa smiles.
Victor perks up a little at that, proud that Miss Okukawa thinks he’s doing a good job of being Yuuri’s friend despite not being able to stop his letter getting stolen.
He feels a bit better as his classmates slowly begin to arrive for the day, though he still can’t manage to do anything more than give his friends a half-hearted ‘hello’. Everyone leaves him to it, that is until Yuuri himself comes into the classroom.
Victor feels his stomach twist into a knot when he sees Yuuri, feeling shameful that Yuuri won’t be able to get his gift yet. Yuuri goes over to Phichit first to say hello, and out of the corner of his eye Victor sees Yuuri making his way over to his desk.
“Good morning, Victor,” Yuuri chirps, sounding pleased to see him.
Victor can barely bring himself to look up. “Hello.”
“Are you okay?” Yuuri asks, always so caring and kind. “You look sad.”
“I am,” Victor answers, unable to be anything but honest with his new friend. “I had another gift to give you but some stupid boys from the year above just took it and I was too small to get it back. I’m sorry, Yuuri, I ruined your day because now you don’t get a present!”
He’s nearly in tears again by the end of it, rubbing his eyes again. He feels Yuuri’s little hand reach out to rub his arm, and he feels marginally better as his friend soothes him.
“It’s okay, Victor, it’s not your fault,” Yuuri says. “Those boys sound really mean.”
Victor sniffs, glad that Yuuri agrees. “They were! I’m sorry I don’t have anything to give you now, I’m the worst friend ever!”
“No, you’re not,” Yuuri says, almost offended that Victor is speaking so little of himself. Then Yuuri goes quiet for a moment, eyes turning to the side as he thinks. “Maybe… as a different present… you could…”
Victor perks up curiously. “I could what?”
Yuuri fidgets with his fingers as he always seems to do when he feels shy, mumbling down at the floor, “Maybe… a-a hug instead?”
Victor gasps a little, feeling foolish that he didn’t think of the idea himself. He immediately throws his arms around Yuuri, exclaiming, “Yeah, a hug!”
Yuuri tenses up a bit at the sudden hug but he laughs softly, hugging Victor back. He says, “See, this is just as good of a present!”
Victor feels like his heart might burst out his chest, hugging Yuuri for a few seconds before Miss Okukawa tells everyone to sit down at their desks. Victor pouts; Yuuri is as soft and warm as he looks and Victor doesn’t want to let go yet. But Yuuri starts to wriggle away so Victor lets go, both of them smiling at each other.
“Hopefully Miss Okukawa can get the letter back from those boys soon,” Victor says.
“Yes,” Yuuri agrees. “Thank you for the really nice hug!”
At that, Yuuri scampers away to his desk, and Victor sits back down with a much more cheerful look on his face. He feels much better after his earlier upset, pacified now that Yuuri has two presents today instead of one.
~ Five ~
Victor has had a relatively boring weekend. Lilia had insisted on tidying out Victor’s bedroom, saying it looked like a ‘pigsty’, whatever that means, and that Victor had far too much stuff lying around that he never even uses. She tells him that since the holidays are coming up, there will be a lot of other children out there who would love to have some of the clothes and toys that he doesn’t use anymore, so Victor had conceded and the two of them spent a long while sorting through everything in the cupboards.
During Monday lunchtime, Victor and Yuuri are sat together and chattering away about what they did over the weekend. Well, Victor chatters, Yuuri generally just listens and smiles.
“It was a bit boring,” Victor tells Yuuri, sipping from his juice carton. “We didn’t get time to go skating so I have to wait until next weekend, which sucks.”
Yuuri’s eyes widen, and he stops chewing for a moment. “You go skating at the weekends? I love to go skating!”
Victor gasps, horrified that he didn't know this about Yuuri yet. “Skating is my favourite thing to do, I didn't know you liked it to! I can do jumps and spins and loads of cool tricks, you should come with me and Yakov this weekend and I'll show you!”
Yuuri’s cheeks are flushed with excitement, nodding eagerly. “Okay! I love to skate but I don't get to go every week. My mama and papa have to work lots, and the rental skates don't always fit me anyways.”
“The rental skates?” Victor asks, brow creased. “But if you like to skate so much then you should have your own! They're much better for you to learn in, that's what Yakov and Lilia say.”
Yuuri's head ducks, mumbling, “I don't think my mama has enough money for new skates.”
Victor decides it's a crime against nature that his Yuuri loves to skate but is being denied his own pair of skates. Victor knows that he has a couple of pairs at home which no longer fit him; Lilia had pulled them out of the cupboard just last evening during their clear out.
Suddenly the weekend doesn't feel so much of a waste - the tidy up was obviously fate! Victor knows he'll have a pair of skates that'd fit Yuuri at home, and he wonders if Lilia would let him give them to Yuuri.
“Leave it to me!” Victor says to Yuuri, dying to get home and talk to Yakov and Lilia. “I'll make sure we can skate together, Yuuri!”
It's the first thing he asks Lilia when he leaves school that day, bouncing up and down as he begs her not to give away the skates.
“You want to give them to Yuuri?” Lilia asks as she takes Victor’s bookbag and leads him out of the school gates. “Yes, I suppose he could, he'd have to try them on first and make sure they're properly fitted. It can be dangerous to wear skates that don't fit properly.”
“Oh,” Victor says with a frown, not liking the sound of that. “I don't want Yuuri to get hurt.”
“We can invite him over and I'll put them on for him,” Lilia reassures. “Of course we won't let Yuuri get hurt.”
So a couple of nights later when Yuuri next comes over to have dinner and play, Victor brings down the skates he'd saved and politely demands that Yuuri sits down so he can try them on.
So Yuuri sits down on one of the big dining chairs, little legs dangling as Lilia puts the skate on and ties it up properly. Victor chatters away excitedly beside Yuuri, going on and on about the endless fun they'll be able to have together at the rink.
“We can hold hands and skate around together, and I can show you some of the tricks that Yakov taught me, and then we can have hot chocolate afterwards, it'll be so amazing!”
Yuuri just smiles, biting his lip as he watches Lilia. Yuuri always gets very quiet around Yakov and Lilia, but Victor hopes that over time he won't feel so nervous around them. Victor has told Yuuri that Yakov and Lilia are both very nice despite their sometimes scary faces, but Yuuri still seems unsure.
Lilia finishes putting on Yuuri’s skates, saying, “How do those feel, Yuuri? Can you stand up in them for us?”
Yuuri slides off the chair, staring intently down at his skates as he shuffles a bit on the spot and tests his balance.
“What do you think?” Victor asks, dying to hear Yuuri’s response.
“They're… perfect,” Yuuri says quietly, looking up at Victor with big eyes. “Better than the ones I've rented before.”
“Do they feel like they're going to fall off, or are they tight enough?” Lilia asks.
“They feel tight enough,” Yuuri says, his pudgy little cheeks staining with colour. “I love them.”
Victor is beyond thrilled, throwing his arms around Yuuri. “Then they’re yours! We can both take our skates to the rink on Saturday and we’ll have the most amazing time!”
“Yes,” Yuuri agrees, so happy and earnest. “Thank you, Victor. This is the best present I’ve ever had."
~ Yuuri’s surprise ~
It’s the end of the school day, the last of the year before the holidays. Everyone is chatty and excited as they collect their coats and bags for the last time that semester and say their goodbyes to each other. A few last minute gifts are still being handed out between friends, and Miss Okukawa had given everyone a chocolate lollipop on the way out of the classroom as well.
Victor has already ripped the wrapper off of his and is munching away as he picks up his bag. Everyone’s parents are waiting outside to collect them so people begin to wrap up their conversations, clearing out of the cloakroom.
“Bye, Victor!” Mila calls.
Chris is also on his way out, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Yeah, see you on Sunday for XBox, Victor!”
“Bye, guys!” Victor replies cheerfully, holding his lollipop between his teeth for a moment as he puts his coat on.
Half of the class seem to have left now but Victor hasn’t caught sight of Yuuri yet, hoping he gets to wish him a happy holidays before he goes home.
Snapping Victor back to reality, Yuuri appears out of nowhere, all dressed in his oversized coat and wooly hat with cheeks as red as a rose.
“Yuuri!” Victor says happily around his lollipop. “Happy holidays!”
Yuuri has a little crease between his eyebrows like he’s thinking very hard about something, and instead of giving a verbal reply, he appears to take in a deep breath before leaning in and planting a swift kiss right on Victor’s cheek.
Victor’s eyes widen to the size of golfballs and his cheeks feel all hot and funny, his chocolate lollipop nearly dropping to the ground as his mouth falls open a bit with no actual words escaping.
Yuuri kissed his cheek! All of Victor’s gifts must have worked! He would be jumping for joy if he wasn’t so surprised, struggling to find words for maybe the first time in his life.
Just as quickly as Yuuri had appeared he shoots off again, turning on his heel and dashing off towards the front doors. Victor just stares after him, hand coming up and touching his flushed cheek. Then he breaks into a smile, grabbing his bag and skipping out to the playground to meet Yakov.
“Hello, Vitya,” Yakov says in his usual gruff tone as he takes Victor’s bag for him. “Did you have a good last day?”
“The best!” Victor chirps, glowing from the inside out. “This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”