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Yuuri leans back in his creaky lecture hall chair, and part of him wonders if he’d just had the bad luck of choosing the loudest seat in the hall, or if all of them were literally just like that. Maybe he was just too fidgety? It didn’t sound like anyone else’s chairs were making that much noise—so yes, he was probably moving the seat around more than it could probably handle. Who knew how old these seats were?

But he couldn’t help it—the person in front of him sighs and shifts to their left, rearranging their notebook on their knee, and Yuuri covers his scowl with the screen of his laptop. Seriously. If they could just stop moving—then he could see—

There. Yuuri has gotten himself uncomfortably squeezed over to the right of his seat so that the arm of the chair next to him digs into his arm, but he could hardly care less. Because right there, off to the side… he could just make out the profile of the white haired student sitting a couple rows down.

Yuuri sighs inaudibly, resting his chin on his palm and receiving a loud protest from the wood of the desk in return for his troubles. Honestly, with as much as they paid for tuition, shouldn’t they be given better and less-squeaky lecture hall seats? Yuuri crosses his legs, and sighs when the metal backing of the chair groans once more.

Ever since he’d enrolled in Media Communication in order to fulfill an upper division requirement, the three hour class had been the bane of his existence every single Wednesday afternoon. But three weeks into the class, Yuuri had been mid-yawn when his eyes had caught sight of something that made his jaw drop for an entirely different reason.

White hair. White hair?

At first Yuuri had to double take, startled at the idea that such an old man was enrolled in a college class. Nothing wrong with that, Yuuri had amended seconds later. It was never too late for a college education. Props to the old guy, for sure. However, another long glance proved him wrong, especially when the student turned, presenting a well structured profile of a young, and very handsome young man. Yuuri had had to take a moment to gather his wits, especially when the guy had laughed at whatever his friend had whispered to him, and Yuuri had been struck with a surge of inane jealousy. Man, he’d die to have a friend like the gray haired guy. A friend? Ah, yeah, sure, a friend… Yuuri hadn’t been able to stop staring—the man was just so beautiful.

And as such, the Wednesday lectures had turned into some of Yuuri’s most favorite hours. He knew it was pretty creepy—after all, what if the guy turned around by chance to find Yuuri staring at him with his patented deer-in-headlights-look? For that exact reason, Yuuri worked to strain his eyes by only looking at him out of the corners of his eyes.

And it’s not like anyone would have caught Yuuri. He’d garnered himself a seat at the very back of the lecture hall, still able to hear the professor while having the entirety of the screen projector displayed in front of him. And Yuuri had to admit that the thought of people being able to see him was slightly nerve-wracking. He wasn’t sure why… after all, he was fine in regular classrooms. But the thought of a hundred eyes staring at him for any reason had him flushing nervously and sending him packing to the back of the large room.

However, that was exactly what he was doing to the white-haired man, so… Yuuri blushes, feeling slightly guilty, and attempts to turn his attention back to the word document on his screen. The cursor blinks up at him almost accusingly, the page white and bare of any notes. Yuuri sighs again, running a hand through his hair. He definitely was lucky that the professor provided the lecture slides on the course website, but it still meant extra hours of studying.

But even the prospect of more study time was no deterrent for his staring, and Yuuri feels his eyes being pulled towards the white haired man almost by reflex. He can’t help but swoon a little at the sight of a pen pressed against plush lips as the man stares thoughtfully at the professor in front of them. An instant later, it makes its way back down to the notebook resting on his knee as the white—gray? silver?—haired man begins to write again, jotting down no doubt what must be immaculately written notes.

Which is what Yuuri should be doing… he drags his eyes back up to the presentation in an attempt to focus, but soon enough, Yuuri glances back to take in the white haired man’s profile. It’s cut a little short in the back, but the man’s bangs are long enough to cover the left half side of his face. When he lifts his head again, Yuuri can make out a brightly colored iris focused intently on the projector screen, a color so vibrant that it stands out even from a distance. So pretty, Yuuri thinks reflexively (and for what must be the thousandth time). If I wanted to start a conversation with him, what would I say? Yuuri purses his lips and squirms against the uncomfortable material of his chair, grimacing apologetically at the quizzical look the person sitting one seat away gives him. Maybe I’ll be like… ‘Hello! I think you’re perfect in absolutely every way, and I just wanted to know—what is your name?’

— — —

“How about catching him outside of class one day and going, ‘hello, my name is Yuuri! Aren’t you in my Media Communication class? It’s pretty interesting. Hey, have you gotten started on that paper due soon? Do you want to work on it together?’ And then the friendship blossoms naturally and beautifully! And then more!” Phichit finishes this with an enthusiastic flourish of his own essay, which breaks out of its paper clip and scatters everywhere in a five thousand word burst of confetti. “Ah, oops.”

“Phichit!” Yuuri scolds half-heartedly even as he rushes to help his friend pick up the precious papers before they can get trampled on by an apathetic college student. “Here, hold on, there’s one under your bag.”

“Phew,” Phichit says, carefully reorganizing it into its former pristine condition. “Thanks. I was up all night on this, I wouldn’t want to have to re-print the entire thing! It’s not due until tomorrow morning, but I have another test the same day, and I’d rather spend today studying for it…”

“It never ends,” Yuuri says sympathetically, and Phichit laughs.

“Seriously! I miss being able to go on food adventures with you. There’s a new ramen shop that I was thinking you’d like, it just opened up. My friend posted pictures of it last weekend on Instagram!” Phichit leans against Yuuri eagerly. “We have to go! I’ll drive!”

“Okay,” Yuuri agrees, smiling. “That sounds like a good post-fall semester celebration.”

“Yup,” Phichit says, leaning back on one leg and carefully tapping his left hand with his essay. “Let’s just get through this, then we can treat ourselves to anything we’d like.”

Phichit’s phone chimes, and he tugs out his phone, the hamster on his phone case beaming merrily at Yuuri. “Ah, my classmate just texted me. They want to trade essays so we can read them over… What time’s your next class? Would you be alright if I left?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Yuuri says good-naturedly. “Go ahead. My last class got cancelled, so I’m free to head home.”

“Lucky!” Phichit whines, already starting to back away. “Text me, okay? I’ll see you later, Yuuri!”

“See you!” Yuuri calls, watching the darker boy beginning to weave between the crowded clumps of students. There’s a crunch of paper behind him, and Yuuri wheels around to see the unmistakeable black text of Phichit’s references page being crushed under a shoe. “Ah—excuse me, sorry!”

Yuuri bends down just as the person lifts their foot up, and Yuuri leaps back up to wave the crumpled page at his friend’s retreating back. “Phichit! Phichit! You forgot your references page!”

“I’ll reprint another one!” his friend calls back behind him. “Could you trash that for me? Sorry, Yuuri!”

Yuuri sighs and begins to crush the paper in his hand, already glancing around for a trash can. Suddenly, there’s a warm hand on his shoulder, and Yuuri’s heart nearly falls out of his mouth when he looks up and finds himself eye to eye with his Media Communication idol.

“I can throw it out, if you’d like.” Yuuri’s crush smiles, lifting his hand from Yuuri’s shoulder to hold it out. “Consider it an apology for stepping on it in the first place. I’m sorry about that, by the way.”

“It’s—okay—“ Yuuri manages to squeak out, eyes wide behind his glasses. He can only watch, stunned, as the man takes the ball of paper out of Yuuri’s hand to hold it at his side.

“You came from that lecture hall just now, right?” he continues, and Yuuri can only blink, dumbfounded. He’s still talking to me?

“Ah, yes. You?”

“Mhm.” The white haired man opens his mouth again as if to say something else before he’s cut off by an impatient shout. “Looks like we’re in the same class.”

“Victor!”

Both the white haired man—Victor—and Yuuri turn to see Victor’s friend waving in the near distance. It’s the blonde man with the long eyelashes from the same Media Communication class, and Yuuri stares at him jealously again. To be able to be so naturally close to Victor…

“Sorry, my friend is calling me. He’s got to catch the professor before her office hours end.” Victor smiles, waving the crushed reference page in his hand as he begins to walk away. “Sorry again!”

“Bye,” Yuuri says in a voice so soft that his idol definitely would not be able to hear him over the bustle of the other students around them. “See you in class…”

“That,” says a low voice into Yuuri’s ear, “was a failure.”

Yuuri shrieks and jumps nearly a foot into the air, quickly turning angry at the sight of a grinning Phichit. “I thought you were going to go help a classmate!”

“Well. They cancelled because they asked to do it later this evening instead, and I’m glad they did or I wouldn’t have been able to see that gorgeous train wreck that my own essay caused.” Phichit’s smile grows even wider. “Who knew the same paper that kept me up all night could result in a chance meeting for my best friend?”

“It wasn’t a meeting,” Yuuri protests hotly. “He didn’t even get my name. I got his though… Sort of.”

“Yuuri!” Phichit says admonishingly. “You should have said something else!”

Phichit pauses when he sees Yuuri’s shoulder’s slump, and his mouth turns up in a small half-smile.

“Well, even though I say that, the entire conversation wasn’t so bad,” Phichit amends, throwing an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders comfortingly. “I’m proud you were able to get a couple of words out.”

“Thanks?”

“You are welcome!” Phichit replies jokingly, jostling Yuuri playfully. “Come on, lighten up. It’s Wednesday, which is hump day, but it also means that it’s only a few more days till Friday. Phichit tugs Yuuri forward, and both of them stumble forward like conjoined twins. “Now, I’m skipping class because I want my best friend to take me to his house and make me dinner. I’m hungry!”

“What about your classmate?” Yuuri says, furrowing his eyebrows. “Don’t they need help?”

“Yuuri, we can always do that over video chat!” Phichit says, waving his phone around as if to dispel Yuuri’s worries. “And haven’t you heard of Google Docs? Technology is amazing. Let’s go, let’s go! You can tell me all about ‘Victor’s’ gorgeous profile over food. I’m sure it will be extra riveting now that we have a name to the face.”

“Phichit!”

— — —

In fact, now that Yuuri does have a name attached to his mysterious Media Communication crush, it feels like he’s suddenly seeing the man everywhere.

But only ever in glimpses—his shock of white hair is definitely hard to miss, and sometimes Yuuri catches Victor walking across the quad, or entering another building. One time, he gets lucky and catches the sight of Victor’s back as the man exits the restroom next to Yuuri’s classroom, and he’d walked behind Victor almost dazedly, admiring the bounce of the man’s hair in the sunlight as he moved. Yuuri had almost thought about saying something, anything—if Phichit were there, no doubt he would have propelled Yuuri forward without a second thought—but as per usual, Yuuri holds back out of pure shyness. Yuuri could only watch, crestfallen, as Victor strode towards a different building before disappearing behind another set of double doors.

Yuuri sighs now, garnering a few worried looks from passerby as he flops down on a nearby bench, weak-limbed from a combination of stress from school and training in his city’s ice skating rink, as well as pining for someone he barely knows. Honestly, Yuuri thinks frustratedly, why did he always have to develop crushes on people who he felt like were out of his league? Maybe they weren’t, they were just people after all. But just the thought of it all left Yuuri tongue tied and no closer to his crush than before.

And it looked like history was about to repeat itself. Yuuri glances down at his watch blearily, waiting on the class before him to vacate the lecture hall. It had been a week since his first (and only) encounter with Victor, and his only consolation was that he was going to get another two and a half hours staring at the back of his head.

The metal doors swing open, and Yuuri stands and shoulders his backpack as students begin to shuffle out in various states of exhaustion and boredom. Finals were coming up, after all. Yuuri winces as a girl stumbles out of the lecture hall with a frazzled look on her face, and watches her sympathetically as she wobbles her way towards the staircase. I don’t blame her, Yuuri thinks, rolling his shoulders at the thought of sitting through another three hour class and already dreading the study marathon that was no doubt awaiting him in the library.

The sight of a bright yellow paper taped to the doorway stops him in his tracks though, and Yuuri blinks confusedly at the block of black lettering. Cancelled, he reads, rubbing the back of his neck. As happy as that would have normally made him, Yuuri would still have to wait for his last class of the day, and with this lecture cancelled, that one was still hours away.

Well… I guess I could grab some food then head to the library? Get some studying done early… After all, it’s a little too hot for a nap in my car right now.

Yuuri sighs frustratedly, wishing he’d thought to check his e-mail before driving all the way to campus.

“It’s cancelled?”

Yuuri startles, wheeling around to face a perplexed looking Victor leaning just past Yuuri to take a closer look at the paper. The man looks adorably disheveled, a scarf wound loosely around his neck. In fact, he’d looked like he had just woken up from a nap, and Yuuri stares at the other man’s hair, silently resisting the urge to reach up and comb out his bangs. “Damn,” Victor mutters, and Yuuri thinks he really shouldn’t be focusing on how nice Victor’s voice sounds.

“Did you get an e-mail from the professor?” Victor asks, straightening back up and finally turning his eyes towards a frozen Yuuri. “I didn’t even check!”

“N-neither did I,” Yuuri manages to squeak, and a corner of Victor’s mouth tweaks up in a confused half smile. “Did… did you just wake up? You look a little sleepy.”

“Ah, is it that obvious?” Victor replies, looking suddenly stricken. “I fell asleep without meaning too, and I woke up just in time to leave for this class. Which—“ he breaks off, looking bemusedly at the offending piece of yellow paper, “—I didn’t even need to go to, apparently.”

Victor shrugs, seemingly not noticing Yuuri’s revival of his tongue-tied state. “Ah, well,” he continues airily, “it’s my only class of the day! It’s a shame about the wasted gas though. It’s kind of annoying, going to school in a different city.”

“You live in a different city?” Yuuri hears himself asking, and silently applauds his own tongue for not tripping over itself. “That… must be pretty difficult.”

“Well, it’s really only a twenty minute drive,” Victor replies cheerfully, passing a hand through his hair. “But sometimes traffic is just too much!”

“Oh, really? I live a little nearer to campus, but it isn’t worth leaving if I’m only going to have to drive back later,” Yuuri says, feeling himself beginning to grow more comfortable. “I have another class right after this lecture, so I guess I’m just going to stay on campus till then.”

“Really? I’m sorry to hear that!” Victor crosses his arms. “By the way, I remember I never introduced myself. My name is—“

“Victor,” Yuuri finishes, and flushes bright red when Victor looks at him in surprise. “I heard your friend call your name the other day.”

“Oh, right. The time I stepped on your paper.” Victor grimaces, looking slightly chastened. “Sorry again!”

“It’s okay!” Yuuri says hastily, waving his hands in front of his face. “It wasn’t mine anyway, it was Phichit’s—my friend’s. He was able to print out another one, so it was alright.”

“Good,” Victor replies, the smile that Yuuri had already begun to associate with him back on his face. “And you? Your name?”

“Oh.” Yuuri blinks, suddenly feeling almost cripplingly shy. “Yu—“ He clears his throat. “Yuuri.”

“Yuuri,” Victor repeats, sounding contemplative. “Nice to meet you!”

Yuuri stammers back something similar, blinking when Victor turns back to regard the sign taped to the double doors of the lecture hall.

“You know, this professor seems a little unorganized, even if her lectures really are very good! I mean, do you remember the very beginning of the semester where she e-mailed us about the textbook two days before classes started?” Victor sighs. “I’d wanted to buy a new dog bed for my poodle, but my budget ended up going to express shipping and a new textbook! But, well, it couldn’t be helped…”

Yuuri’s stare quickly melts into lovelorn gazing the longer he takes in Victor’s side profile, and Victor’s voice fades into background noise as Yuuri focuses fully on memorizing his crush’s face.

Victor’s eyelashes are longer than I thought, Yuuri thinks. And his hair looks so soft… Ah, he has dark circles under his eyes, he must be pretty stressed too. Or his nap earlier didn’t help.

Yuuri blinks dazedly as he locks eyes with Victor’s bright stare again, and part of Yuuri registers that Victor is still talking.

I never thought I’d get to be this close to him. I really wish I had the courage to ask him out… Or at least tell him what I think? Like, “Victor, I’ve always admired you!” Or at least, “do you want to study together sometime?” Or maybe even like, “you’re… you’re…”

“You’re gorgeous,” Yuuri blurts out, and Victor stops mid-sentence, looking surprised. A girl passing by them both wheels around to gawk at them, too, and Yuuri only fully registers what he’s said when she presses a hand against her mouth to stifle a small giggle before darting away.

Oh, shit. “I mean—!”

Yuuri breaks off, feeling hysterical as he looks anywhere but Victor’s face. Ha ha, sorry, Yuuri imagines himself saying, that was totally a mistake. I meant to say that you’re… good-looking. No—I meant beautiful! Wait, shit—Yuuri, you idiot! Those are basically the same thing!

Yuuri chances a glance up at Victor’s face and blanches at the sight of Victor blinking wide eyes at him. His cheeks were a little red—because, of course, Yuuri had completely embarrassed him. That had to be it.

“Does that mean you want to go out with me?” Victor asks, beginning to look faintly amused, and Yuuri resists the urge to slam his face into the lecture hall doors to put himself out of his misery.

I’m so embarassed! “No, no,” Yuuri says hastily, waving his hands in front of him almost maniacally. “I didn’t mean to say that—I’m sorry!”

“…So you don’t want to go out with me?” Victor replies, frowning. “And you don’t think I’m gorgeous?”

“No! I do want to! And you’re very beautiful—oh my god.” Yuuri can’t seem to stop himself from babbling on, hoping for something, anything, to stop the mess of words tumbling from his mouth.

“Alright!” Victor interjects, tapping his chin with a finger. “I don’t mind! Let’s give it a try!”

“What?” Yuuri says blankly, finally stunned into silence.

“Boyfriends,” Victor clarifies cheerfully. “As in, I’m boyfriend number one, and you’re boyfriend number two!”

“I… what? Why am I number two?” Why is that the first thing I focus on?

“I think that the more important question is ‘what is your number?’,” Victor replies, smiling sunnily at Yuuri even as he imperiously holds his hand out. Yuuri watches his hand move of its own accord, the bright blue of his case disappearing behind the large expanse of Victor’s own hand. “Puppies! How cute.”

“Thank you,” Yuuri replies robotically, eyes wide as Victor presses the home button. Victor frowns and Yuuri frantically tries to remember if his wallpaper is something particularly embarrassing—but it was just a picture of his dog, wasn’t it? His worries are assuaged when Victor smiles and holds out his phone once more.

“Unlock, please!” the man says cheerfully, and Yuuri blushes embarrassedly, lifting a thumb to press it against the home button. It makes a sharp click as it unlocks, and Victor hums as he lifts it back towards himself. “Thank you. Also, that puppy was cute. What’s his name? I have a poodle too, you know!”

“Really?” Yuuri blinks dazedly at him, watching long fingers poke at his iPhone’s screen. “M-mine is called Vicchan. What… what’s your dog’s name?”

“Vicchan? How cute. And it’s close to mine!” Yuuri blushes furiously, and has to stop himself from explaining to Victor that it really was just coincidence, he hadn’t even known Victor’s name until recently! “Makkachin,” Victor continues, wholly unaware of Yuuri’s mental struggle, absently smiling at the mention of his dog. “He’s just the absolute sweetest thing you could ever meet. Hopefully you will too, soon.”

Victor’s thumb pauses above the screen of Yuuri’s phone, and he presses the top of the device to his lips thoughtfully. “So now, I know your name and I know that you have a dog. What year are you in?”

“I just started my sophomore year,” Yuuri squeaks. Crap. Yuuri clears his throat nervously. “What about you?” Good, less squeak and more conviction that time around. Victor hardly seems to have noticed, though, and Yuuri blushes lightly as Victor continues to press his phone thoughtfully against his lips.

“I’m what you would probably call a ‘super senior’,” Victor says wryly, one corner of his mouth turning up into a half smile. “I transferred around, and I took some time away from school as well… So that’s why I look so old,” he finishes, jokingly injecting a self-deprecating tone into his voice.

“You don’t look old,” Yuuri says, affronted on Victor’s behalf, and the latter lets out a laugh.

“Oh, I forgot! According to you, I’m ‘gorgeous’, right?” Victor chuckles, finally moving the phone away from his face. Yuuri’s mind goes blank at the sight.

“Yes,” Yuuri says mechanically, eyes beginning to widen. He was dreaming. He was dreaming and had to pinch himself awake soon, or the disappointment would just be twice as great when he finally did get around to waking up—

The chime of Victor’s own phone startles Yuuri out of his reverie, and he watches with wide eyes as Victor fishes it out of his pocket.

“I texted myself,” Victor says by way of explanation, “so now I have your number too.” The plastic of his phone case is warm from Victor’s hands, and Yuuri blushes when their fingers brush together.

“I… okay,” Yuuri replies, staring at Victor again with what he’s sure is that trademark deer-in-headlights look he’d been talking about earlier. “Cool.”

“Cool,” Victor echoes, looking almost amusedly down at Yuuri. His boyfriend.

And if Yuuri was Victor’s boyfriend, that meant that Victor was now Yuuri’s boyfriend.

“Boyfriends?” Yuuri squeaks, and Victor cocks his head to the side.

“Yes,” Victor affirms. Yuuri’s breath catches in his throat when Victor leans down suddenly, bringing their faces close enough that Victor’s bangs nearly brush against Yuuri’s face. “It’s a little fast, but… for you, I’m willing to try anything.”

“I… me too,” Yuuri whispers, and watches transfixed as his breath ruffles Victor’s hair.

Victor’s eyes fall to half mast, and Yuuri thinks for half a second that the other man looks almost sly. It’s only for a moment, though. Yuuri blinks only once, and Victor’s bright smile has returned.

“Good,” Victor says as he straightens himself back up. “I’m looking forward to learning more about you, Yuuri.”

— — —

”Boyfriends?!” Phichit’s voice rings violently against Yuuri’s ears, and Yuuri winces as he leans away from his phone. ”Yuuri. You had better tell me right now whether or not you’re trying to play a trick on me! It’s not even April, and even then I should be the last person you play a joke like this on! I’ve only ever rooted for you and Mr. Mysterious over there, so you had better tell me—“

“Phichit,” Yuuri interjects exasperatedly. “It happened. He was talking, and then I guess I just got so caught up, and I… I told him that he was gorgeous. And now we’re dating. I guess.”

Phichit’s line goes quiet, and Yuuri self-consciously fidgets on his bed.

”No way,” Phichit finally breathes. ”That’s amazing. You had to have put the moves on him somehow! Maybe you have a secret skill? You’ve got to teach me. Try it on someone else next time while I’m there so that I can observe!”

“You’re kidding, right?”

”Of course I am,” Phichit laughs. ”We should have FaceTimed so that I can see the look on your face. But all jokes aside, you’re an angel, Yuuri, so against everything, I seriously have to say that I believe you. It’s just all so fast. You sure he’s not a serial killer?”

“Phichit.”

”I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Phichit’s sigh crackles over the line. ”Well, I guess I’ll truly believe it once I see it. When are you guys seeing each other again?”

“I don’t know,” Yuuri admits. “I mean, I haven’t even spoken to him since then, but it was only just today. He said he needed to go home and use the extra time to finish up an essay for another class, so we didn’t get to talk for much longer…”

”Mm, I see,” Phichit says. Maybe text him first? He did call you his ‘boyfriend’, after all. The whole ‘wait three days’ thing shouldn’t apply to you both, then. I mean, if that still even is a thing. So—“

Phichit pauses at the sound of Yuuri’s message tone resounding across the line, and Yuuri pulls away to look at his screen. His resulting yelp is all Phichit needs to hear, and Yuuri’s fumbling to unlock his phone even as Phichit begins to speak again.

”Looks like he beat you to it,” Yuuri hears Phichit’s voice say wryly through the line. ”I’ll leave you to it, but don’t forget to update me, Yuuri! I’ll talk to you later!”

“Y-yeah, I’ll talk to you later!” Yuuri echoes, his voice beginning to waver out of nerves and anticipation.

Yuuri’s heart thunders in his ears, and he gives himself a second to realize that the only time he’s ever felt like this was out on the ice.

The harsh white light of the message screen pierces his eyes for a moment in the dimness of his room, and Yuuri blinks blearily at the small block of letters until they come into focus.

Hey, the text reads, how are you?

Normal, Yuuri thinks, nervously tugging on his sweatpants. A normal first text, and I will reply normally too, and then we’ll have a normal conversation.

Yuuri clicks to reply, and his fingers move over the keyboard with the full intent of writing hey I’m good! you?

Only, Yuuri misjudges his nerves and the capability of his fingers keeping up with his brain. In half a second, ‘good’ suddenly turns into ‘goro’ with some expert button mashing, and his phone helpfully translates that into ‘gorgeous’. To top it off, his brain completely bypasses the ‘I’m’ part.

His thumb seems to have a mind of its own when it flies up to tap against the send button, and Yuuri all but shrieks when he sees hey gorgeous pop into existence in a tiny green text bubble.

The phone falls from his limp hands, and Yuuri flops onto the bed. I… need to move back to Japan now, goodbye.

His message tone rings out clearly in the stillness of his bedroom, and Yuuri flies up into a sitting position, eyes wide behind the glare of the phone’s light of his glasses.

Oh, Yuuri! reads the message, accompanied by a blushing emoticon and several tiny pink hearts. You waste no time at all, do you?

Yuuri blushes profusely. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to send it, it was autocorrect!

It’s too late, you already told me what you really think in person! Also, if you try to take it back again, I’m really going to get sad!

Okay, Yuuri types, and his fingers tremble. Then I’m not taking it back.

There we go! We’re dating now, so we should be able to shower each other in compliments. For one thing, I think you’re absolutely adorable! says Victor.

Yuuri lets out a small noise of distress, pressing a hand against his eyes and trying not to think about Victor’s smile. This was a dream, right? It had to be a dream. No one spent almost an entire semester crushing on a nameless classmate, only to suddenly be dating them after only two full conversations.

His phone rings with another notification, and Yuuri looks down and sucks in a breath. Onscreen is a picture of one of the fluffiest poodles he’d ever seen, and he coos internally as he enlarges the photo.

This is Makkachin! the text reads cheerfully, accompanied by a dog emoticon and another few hearts. Isn’t he adorable? Show me your poodle, his name is Vee-chan, right?

Vicchan, Yuuri corrects in the caption underneath a picture of his own pride and joy. I can’t remember why I named him that—it was short for something, but then it just got stuck at ‘Vicchan’. But he’s in Japan right now, so I miss him a lot.

Oh, Victor replies, I’d be so lonely! Well… that’s okay, cause you’ll be able to meet Makkachin soon. I won’t be able to meet up the rest of this week, so the next time I’ll see you is Wednesday, but… do you want to have dinner together?

Yes. Yuuri’s fingers all but leave skid marks on the screen in his excitement. That would be great.

I’m glad! If we have time, I’ll introduce you to Makkachin! Send me your schedule so we can keep on coordinating, maybe we have a break in between classes that we can spend together too. Another smiley emoticon.

Yuuri presses his phone to his face, feeling incredibly elated. Dream or not, Yuuri wouldn’t even think of missing out on a chance like this. His phone vibrates against his cheek, too prolonged to be a text message notification, and Yuuri brings it back away from his face.

Yuuri’s phone screen presents an incoming call from Victor Nikiforov, and Yuuri fumbles his phone in shock. His finger finds the answer button a heartbeat later.

“H-hello?”

“Yuuri!” comes Victor’s cheerful voice over the line. “I’m sorry, were you about to sleep? I just figured I’d call—it’s faster than texting!”

“N-nyeah,” Yuuri stammers.

“Ah, what?”

“Nothing!” Yuuri says hastily. “I meant to say that I wasn’t about to sleep!”

“Oh, good,” Victor says lowly, and Yuuri’s ear feels like it’s burning. “I just thought it’d be nice to hear your voice while we get to know more about each other. Speaking of which, your dog is so cute!”

“So is yours,” Yuuri says earnestly, smiling. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Oh, he’ll like you,” Victor replies. “And I’m sure he’d like Vicchan too! You said he was in Japan? Is that where you were born?”

“Yup, I’m from Hasetsu,” Yuuri replies.

“I’ll tell you about my hometown if you tell me about yours.”

“Alright,” Yuuri agrees, settling back against his pillows. “Well, what do you think about ninjas? And spas?”

“Ninjas.” Victor sounds highly amused. “That’s the last thing I would have expected you to say, honestly. Are you about to tell me you are one? A ninja who like baths?”

“I was going to say that my family runs a hot spring, and we live nearby a castle that has a ninja house,” Yuuri laughs, turning on his stomach to press his cheek against his pillow.

“Ninjas!” Victor says again, sounding enthused. “And you have a hot spring? I want to visit!”

“You should!” Yuuri replies, violently shoving the image of Victor in the hot spring from his mind. “It’s really relaxing. We have an ice rink nearby too,” he continues tentatively. “I kind of… really like to skate. Maybe we can go sometime?”

The sudden silence over the line has Yuuri beginning to worry, and he picks nervously at the fabric of his pillow. “I mean… if you want.”

“I’d love to,” Victor replies, and his voice still sounds warm. Yuuri relaxes. “I’d like to see you skate. Do you do it competitively?”

“Yes! I mean, that’s actually why I moved from Japan in the first place. I started training with a coach earlier before I started college here, so I’ve been training for two years. I-if you want, I can show you the program I’ve been working on.”

“I can’t wait,” Victor says sincerely. “I want to see it! So now I’ll have to watch your skating and visit your hot spring. It’s a family run business? Your parents must work really hard to manage everything.”

“Oh yeah, they’re great,” Yuuri says enthusiastically. “I have a sister who works there too. And aside from the hot springs, my mom’s cooking is really what draws people in! Her pork cutlet bowls are my favorite. I really wish you could try it.”

“I want to!” Victor sounds delighted at the idea, and Yuuri beams. His laugh is rich and warm over the tinny speakers of Yuuri’s phone. “Careful, it’s so late but you’re making me hungry just thinking about food!”

“Me too!” Yuuri rolls onto his back, feeling a new kind of happiness from the thought of Victor’s smile and fond memories of home. “Well, later on we can go to this one restaurant I know that has a pork cutlet bowl on the menu. Not as good as my mom’s, but… close enough.”

“Okay!” There’s a pause, and Victor yawns suddenly.

“If you’re feeling sleepy, I can hang up,” Yuuri offers, feeling a little concerned.

“But we just started talking! I’m not tired yet. Besides, I haven’t even gotten to tell you about my hometown! But first I want to ask more about your hot spring.” Victor hesitates. “You can just let me know when you want to sleep, though. Is that okay?”

“Alright,” Yuuri agrees, silently deciding that there was no way he was going to want to sleep any time soon. “What did you want to know?”

“We-ell, how big are the baths? Do you have to share? Do you have little hot springs for dogs too?”

Yuuri laughs. “Ah, let me see… yes, you do have to share, but we have some private ones as well. As for the dogs…”

Yuuri’s voice falls to a soft murmur, and his words are occasionally interjected with sleepy but enthusiastic words on Victor’s part. Their back and forth continues on late into the night, and even as Yuuri fights against the heaviness of his eyelids, his attentions remain wholly on the low rumble of Victor’s voice against his ear.

— — —

Yuuri fidgets nervously as he watches people begin to enter the lecture hall the following Wednesday.

The week following their initial phone conversation had been peppered with even more phone calls, and even some video calls. Not to mention the text messages—Yuuri’s phone buzzed now, flashing a text notification from Victor. Are you in class yet?

A hand lands on Yuuri’s shoulder, and he startles before quickly wheeling around.

“Phichit!” Yuuri says accusingly as his friend waves jovially in greeting. “You scared me!”

“Were you expecting someone else?” Phichit says slyly, even as he casts his eyes about the area.

“No.” Yes. “You’re here to take a look, aren’t you?”

“Ye-es!” Phichit sings, slinging an arm around Yuuri. “I mean, your phone was ringing all weekend—I thought Celestino was going to have a fit! I have no doubt that you’re dating the guy. I just want to see it for myself!”

“Nosy,” Yuuri says affectionately, pinching Phichit’s cheek.

“Owie.”

“Yuuri?”

Yuuri looks up and goes red. Victor looks even better in person than beyond the screen of a phone—but Yuuri knew that already. He stares dazedly at Victor’s face until Phichit prods him in the neck, bringing him back down to reality.

“Hey,” Yuuri says, ducking down shyly. Out of the corner of his eye, Victor’s expression moves from curious to knowing, and Phichit chuckles in Yuuri’s ear. “Good to see—h-how are you?”

“I’m good!” Victor says cheerfully, stretching a hand forward. And to Phichit, “nice to meet you! I’m Victor, Yuuri’s—“

“Boyfriend,” Phichit finishes, unwinding his arm from around Yuuri’s neck to cheerfully grasp Victor’s hand. “It’s so great to finally meet you! I’m Phichit!”

“I could say the same to you!” Victor says, recognition filling his eyes. “I feel like I know you already—Yuuri’s already told me so much about you.”

They both beam at each other, and Yuuri resists the urge to cover his eyes from the sudden onslaught of sunshine brought upon by their smiles. Too… cheerful…

“Should we head in, Yuuri?” Victor asks, and Yuuri startles when he feels a cool palm against his own. “It looks like class is starting soon.”

They exchange cheerful goodbyes with Phichit, and Yuuri keeps one eye suspiciously on his friend, noting the hand slowly inching towards his jacket pocket. No pictures, Yuuri mouths adamantly, and Phichit pouts.

Then, it’s a matter of keeping his eyes anywhere but on their entwined hands and the curious glances of passerby. He swallows a protest when Victor leads him past his usual seat in the back row. A new seat in a giant lecture hall is disorienting at any point in the semester, and a girl to Yuuri’s right looks tremendously crestfallen at having her view of Victor’s side profile blocked. Trust me, I know how you feel.

“Oh? Is this Yuuri?”

Yuuri looks up and sits back in his seat at the sight of bright eyes framed by long eyelashes. They blink down at him coyly as the owner of the pretty eyes extends his hand.

“Yuuri, this is Christophe,” Victor says, gently squeezing Yuuri’s hand. “I told him all about you, too.”

“Oh, he’s talked about you a lot,” Christophe adds, gripping Yuuri’s hand in a warm and friendly handshake. “Quite a lot.”

Victor clears his throat and tugs Yuuri’s hand to rest against his knee, effectively distracting Yuuri from Christophe’s words.

“Anyway, it’s really nice to meet you,” Christophe continues, glancing amusedly at Victor. Yuuri chances a look at Victor’s expression too, but it’s serene, and Victor’s smile only widens when he catches Yuuri looking at him.

“N-nice to meet you.”

“We’re going on a date later,” Victor says, sounding slightly boastful, and Christophe laughs good-naturedly. “And he’s going to meet Makkachin,” he continues in a lower voice as the Professor calls for attention. Christophe smiles at Yuuri one last time before turning his attention to the wide expanse of the screen projector, and Yuuri does his best to do the same.

However, Victor’s presence alone was enough of a major distraction in the first place, and now, to be sitting right next to his crush and holding his hand?

Not just a crush anymore, Yuuri thinks blankly. Boyfriend.

Victor squeezes Yuuri’s hand once more as if reading his mind, and the former sighs and crosses his legs, settling back into his seat to ready himself for a long lecture. Yuuri hesitates, then squeezes right back, pressing his shoulder lightly against Victor’s. Victor doesn’t react, but when Yuuri glances up, his boyfriend’s mouth is quirked up into a tiny contented half smile.

None of the lecture even registers in Yuuri’s mind of course, and Yuuri wonders if the same is true for Victor. He hadn’t even released Yuuri’s hand to write any of his usual notes after all. By the end of the three hour class, Yuuri just feels even more dazed, following Victor and Christophe out of the lecture hall as if on autopilot.

“I’ll send you the notes,” Christophe says wryly to the both of them as he leaves, looking far too amused. “Or, I’ll send them to Victor, and he’ll send them to you. It was really nice finally meeting you, Yuuri.”

“I’ll head out with you,” Victor tells him, holding up a hand for Christophe to wait a moment. “Yuuri, you still have another class after this, right? I’ll pick you up at the front of campus afterwards. You don’t have to change,” Victor continues, already anticipating Yuuri’s question. “It’ll just be a relaxed kind of thing. Is… is that okay?”

Christophe hides his smile behind his hand, and Yuuri blushes. “Of course. Yeah. I… I can’t wait,” he replies, ducking his head. Yuuri’s cheeks begin to grow even warmer when he feels long arms wrap around him as Victor leans down to give him a hug.

“Good!” Victor says, pressing his cheek against Yuuri’s hair. “I’ll see you later, then!”

Victor’s lips press against Yuuri’s cheek for only a second, and Yuuri nearly keels over on the spot.

“Bye!” Victor says cheerfully, beginning to walk backwards towards where Christophe waited by the staircase. “See you, Yuuri! Bye!”

“L-look where you’re going!” Yuuri calls out worriedly. Victor merely beams back at him and lightly steps backwards down the stairs with one hand on the rail, accompanied by a bemused looking Christophe. “Ah… bye!”

As if Yuuri would be able to concentrate on his next class. “I should have just skipped,” Yuuri mumbles dejectedly, watching Victor and Christophe move out of sight. His eyes grow wide when Victor pops back into Yuuri’s line of vision to wave one last time before darting away again, and Yuuri laughs.

— — —

“How was it?” Victor asks as he parks, keeping one eye on Yuuri. “Did you like their burgers?”

“Yes!” Yuuri says, enthused. “It was so good. I didn’t even realize that a place like that existed!”

“It isn’t very well known,” Victor admits, “but I suppose that’s a good thing! It’s only a matter of time before people start finding out, and then the wait will be twice as long.”

“Oh, that’s true,” Yuuri agrees, patting his stomach delightedly. Victor beams as he twists his car keys, and the purr of the engine goes quiet. Yuuri blinks at the sudden silence, feeling an immediate onslaught of shyness. Victor only stares at him with a small smile on his face, before he leans forward. Yuuri’s breath catches, only able to watch Victor as he comes closer and closer, and Yuuri isn’t sure what to do—close his eyes? Should he lean the rest of the way? However, the click of the car door being opened breaks Yuuri out of his reverie, and he glances to his right to see that Victor had reached across him to open the passenger side door.

“Ready to meet Makkachin?” Victor asks, and his nose brushes against Yuuri’s.

“Yes,” Yuuri squeaks, eyes wide. Victor leans back then, looking amused before he exits the car out of his own side. Yuuri presses a hand against warm cheeks. Woah.

A dog’s bark can be heard even before they approach the door to Victor’s apartment, and Victor grabs Yuuri’s hand, looking excited. “He’s a sweetheart, really, and you’ll love him! Here, let me just…”

The second that Victor opens the door, a massive blur of brown fluff comes shooting out at Yuuri, and its the last thing he sees before he’s tackled to the floor.

“Makkachin!” Victor says admonishingly, but Yuuri cuts him off with his elated laughter.

Yuuri buries fingers in soft fur, fully welcoming the barrage of kisses that the poodle gives him and laughing all the while. “Victor, he’s amazing! He’s so cute!”

ka-chik.

Yuuri pauses and looks up, as does Makkachin, momentarily distracted by the noise.

“Ah.” Victor looks simultaneously embarrassed and put off at being caught taking a picture, and attempts to hide his phone behind his back. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist! Makkachin, come!”

Makkachin leaves Yuuri with one last lick before bounding off him and into the apartment with Victor.

“I hope I don’t look funny or I’ll make you delete it!” Yuuri says jokingly as he wipes at his face with the edge of his t-shirt. Victor laughs.

“There is absolutely no way I’m deleting this!”

Yuuri looks up when Victor doesn’t continue, and blushes profusely when he sees Victor silently watch him wipe his face. He hastily drops the hem of his shirt away from his face, and Victor laughs.

“Thank you for having me over,” Yuuri says, doing his best to try and not sound so embarrassed. “I’ve been missing Vicchan a lot too, so seeing Makkachin has really made me happy.”

“If you want, you can stay a while, and we can put on a movie,” Victor offers, moving into the kitchen that had been connected to the living room. It’s spacious—the entire apartment is spacious, and Yuuri glances around feeling something akin to awe. It doesn’t seem like a normal college student’s apartment, and unless Yuuri was mistaken, Victor didn’t seem to be sharing his quarters with any roommates.

Makkachin huffs against Yuuri’s hand, impatiently nudging him, and Yuuri eagerly rewards the poodle with a few gentle pats on his head. “You can have a seat on the couch if you want,” Victor says. “And by the way… you can relax. We’re still getting to know each other, so I promise I’m not going to try anything,” Victor continues, looking knowingly at Yuuri, and the latter blushes once again. Only, Yuuri doesn’t feel too embarrassed at Victor’s words once he sees that Victor’s ears have reddened slightly too.

Rather than reply, Yuuri turns away to flop against the couch and gather an eager Makkachin into his arms. I hadn’t even thought of that, Yuuri thinks, feeling an impromptu bout of nerves settle somewhere in his stomach. And I’m glad he’s taking it slow, but… Yuuri sneaks a glance over his shoulder at Victor, catching the other man as he steps out of the kitchen holding two steaming mugs.

“Here,” Victor says, setting both of them down on the coffee table in front of them. “It’s hot chocolate—it was a little chilly tonight.”

“Thank you,” Yuuri says, looking at the steaming mug gratefully. Victor settles himself down next to Yuuri, close enough that their legs touch.

“We could watch a movie, or we could continue talking,” Victor offers, reaching a little past Yuuri to scratch Makkachin behind his ear. “I know we spoke over the phone a lot, but…”

“This is better,” Yuuri finishes, and blinks when Victor turns to look at him. “Face to face, I mean. It’s better.”

“It is,” Victor agrees, leaning in a little closer. Yuuri nervously runs a hand lightly through Makkachin’s fur before meeting Victor the rest of the way and falling against his chest.

He’s rewarded with a contented hum from Victor, who lifts a hand to run it through Yuuri’s hair.

“Last week…” Yuuri begins, then nervously clears his throat. “Last week, I didn’t even know your name, and I’d had the biggest crush on you all semester, but now…”

“You’ve liked me all semester?” Victor asks, perking up suddenly. “Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Yuuri admits. “So it feels a little surreal to have this chance with you. And I’ve learned so much about you these past few days when we were talking over the phone, but I don’t know how I’ll ever get used to seeing you so up close.”

Yuuri pauses, nervously waiting for Victor to say something, and feels crestfallen when nothing happens. “Victor?” He turns to the other man, and his eyes widen.

Victor has his head turned away, a hand covering his face—but it does nothing to hide the redness of his cheeks and ears, and despite his nerves, Yuuri laughs a little breathlessly.

“Oh, I… are you surprised?”

“A little,” comes Victor’s muffled voice. “You’re so cute. I don’t know how I’m going to get used to you.” Victor’s hand moves from Yuuri’s hair to the nape of his neck, gently scratching at the sensitive part of Yuuri’s nape. “I’m glad I got this chance to get to know you better, too.” Victor moves his hand away from his face and grins. “Your straightforwardness was so refreshing!”

“Ah, that was more of an accident than anything,” Yuuri admits, cheeks warming at the memory. ’Gorgeous’, like really… who even has the guts to purposefully say something like that out loud?

“Well it made me happy,” Victor says adamantly, sighing deeply. His chest moves underneath Yuuri, up and down, and Yuuri tentatively drops his head to rest his cheek against the soft fabric of Victor’s shirt. His eyes close as Victor continues playing with his hair.

“Well, there’s that,” Yuuri murmurs, fully relaxing against Victor. Makkachin lets out a tiny whine, and Yuuri automatically lifts a hand to scratch the dog behind his ear.

“He likes you,” Victor says quietly, and it feels like he’s rubbing his cheek against Yuuri’s hair, and continues speaking so low that Yuuri has to strain to hear. “Not as much as I do, though.”

“Huh?” Yuuri says, trying to focus on Victor’s voice. The hand at the back of his neck makes it difficult, though.

“No-thing,” Victor sing songs. “Hey, Yuuri, tell me more about Hasetsu. What is it like around this time of year?”

Yuuri stops petting Makkachin in favor of curling his hand lightly around Victor’s bicep. Casual touches—that was allowed right? After all, they were dating, so…

Makkachin huffs and hops down from the couch, presumably to his water bowl where Yuuri can hear him begin to lap up a drink.

“It’s… nice,” Yuuri says distractedly. “It’ll be a little chilly, but I don’t think the snow has started yet. I hope my parents remembered to put Vicchan in his little sweater…”

“Little sweater!” Victor laughs in delight, and Yuuri’s head bobs against his chest. “You’ve got to show me!”

“I have a ton of pictures,” Yuuri says, beginning to feel awake again. He lifts his head up as he blearily fumbles for his phone. “Some of them are from when I was still living in Japan, but sometimes my sister sends me updated pictures of him…” Yuuri breaks off when he realizes his face is mere inches away from Victor’s, and the other man smiles at him, jokingly crossing his eyes together as he attempts to meet Yuuri’s gaze.

“Oh,” Yuuri says, sidetracked from his initial thought, Victor uncrosses his eyes and lets his head fall a little closer.

“Oh?” Victor echoes, and this time his lips brush against Yuuri’s nose. “Sorry, am I distracting you?”

“A little…” Yuuri’s eyes lock onto Victor’s lips. “But, uh… I can show you Vicchan’s pictures again later.”

“Okay,” Victor mumbles, and now his hand is pressing gently against the back of Yuuri’s head, coaxing him closer. “Sounds good.”

“Um, Victor—“ Yuuri begins, and his heart seizes when he feels his lips brush against Victor’s.

“Slow, like I promised,” Victor assures him, and Yuuri can’t reply because he’s meeting Victor the rest of the way.

Victor’s lips are so soft, and Yuuri’s eyes fall shut almost reflexively. Victor’s kisses are gentle, and it encourages Yuuri to press even closer. He’s still nervous, of course—Yuuri isn’t exactly the most experienced when it comes to kissing, but it doesn’t seem to be throwing Victor off. In fact, Victor takes it slowly, and tilts his head slightly to one side to better slot their lips together. Yuuri leans away a little when he feels like he can no longer hold in his breath without going lightheaded, and Victor waits for him, patiently brushing his lips against the corner of Yuuri’s mouth.

“You’re so cute,” Victor says, sounding dazed, and it doesn’t even even faze Yuuri, with how lightheaded he’s feeling. “Sorry,” Victor continues, and Yuuri only has the chance to inhale quickly before Victor presses their lips together again, gently coaxing Yuuri into mirroring his own movements.

Yuuri startles when Victor’s hands begin to play with the hem of his shirt, but Victor immediately places a reassuring hand against his face. Slow, Yuuri remembers Victor saying, and relaxes once again.

“The hot chocolate is going to get cold,” Victor murmurs at some point, and Yuuri blinks up at him, unfocused.

“Oh, yeah… you’re right.” Victor stares at Yuuri’s messy and bewildered expression and visibly tenses as if to stop himself from leaning back into Yuuri’s space. A moment later, Yuuri’s leaning back into Victor’s chest, a slightly cooled mug of hot chocolate resting in his hands as Victor mouths at the nape of Yuuri’s neck.

“I can’t drink if you keep doing that,” Yuuri says softly, and Victor sighs against his skin.

“Hm.” Finally, he leans away from Yuuri, but keeps his hands at Yuuri’s hips. “I should take you home soon. You have a class at eight tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri says, thinking about tomorrow’s painful wake up. “I’m definitely making sure my classes are all in the afternoon next semester.”

“I kind of like morning classes,” Victor says, and leans over Yuuri’s shoulder to take the cup from Yuuri’s grasp. He sips noisily next to Yuuri’s ear, and Yuuri leans away, smiling.

“Of course you would. You probably get ready in five minutes and go to class looking amazing as always.”

Victor chuckles, and Yuuri silently curses his brain-to-mouth connection. “You’re going to end up spoiling me, Yuuri,” Victor sighs, passing the mug back to his boyfriend. “At this rate, I’m never letting you go home.”

“Creepy,” Yuuri mumbles, and Victor inhales, a mock expression of offense written on his features.

“You can call me gorgeous and good looking, but I won’t accept creepy!”

“You have to accept it all if you’re with me,” Yuuri says jokingly, leaning his head back to press a light kiss against Victor’s cheek.

It’s so weird how Yuuri can just do that. He’d never really dated anyone like this before, so the fact that he can just… freely kiss the guy he’d been crushing on is slightly mind boggling. Yuuri stares contemplatively at Victor, who returns his look with a slightly confused one.

“Yuuri?”

Yuuri presses another kiss to the corner of Victor’s mouth in lieu of a reply, and Victor’s eyes flash. His boyfriend looks so adorably confused that Yuuri does it again. And again.

“Okay,” Victor says slowly, gently tugging the hot chocolate away. “I think it’s time we put this down, or else I might make you spill it.”

“Good idea,” Yuuri says, and no sooner is the mug on the table before Victor’s lips are on his once again.

— — —

“You guys should cool it with the PDA,” comes Christophe’s deep voice from somewhere above them. “People are starting to give you two the evil eye. Honestly, you did this last week, and the week before that, and the week before that…”

Victor shifts from where his head rests on Yuuri’s lap. “They only look like that because finals are coming up,” Victor says serenely, and his eyes slide open to regard Christophe almost smugly.

“Good morning,” Yuuri greets, feeling slightly sheepish. Christophe settles himself onto the grass next to them, giving Yuuri a little reassuring nudge on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Yuuri, I know it’s all Victor’s fault. With how he talks about you, I only expected this. I’m the same with my darling,” Christophe says, batting his eyelashes to the sky.

“Exactly,” Victor says cheerfully, “my and Yuuri’s PDA has nothing on Christophe’s!”

“You need to go to class,” Christophe notes, “and while you’re gone, I can tell Yuuri all about my own love life, since you two keep flaunting yours in front of me.”

“Maybe I should skip,” Victor says contemplatively. Yuuri pokes at the hair whorl on the top of Victor’s head, and he gasps, aghast. “Yuuri, I told you not to do that!”

“I’ll keep doing it unless you go to class,” Yuuri threatens. “I want to spend time with you, too, but finals are coming up, and those are really important.”

Victor gives a low grumble of faux irritation as he sits up and plants a chaste kiss against Yuuri’s lips. “I’m going, I’m going!”

“Don’t worry,” Christophe calls out to Victor as he walks away, “I won’t tell Yuuri how your write ‘Victor Katsuki’ all over your notes!”

“Wrong,” Victor sings back. “I write Yuuri Nikiforov. Get it right, Christophe!” And after blowing a kiss at a blushing Yuuri, he’s gone.

“Nothing ever gets to that man,” Christophe sighs, leaning back on the palms of his hands. “It’s kind of refreshing, to be honest.”

“It really is,” Yuuri mumbles past his fingers, from where they cover his face. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

“Well, you make him very happy,” Christophe says, somehow simultaneously sounding content and amused. “Do you both have any plans after finals? Both your birthdays are during winter break, aren’t they?”

“You know when my birthday is?”

“Victor, remember?”

“Ah…” Yuuri smiles. “Well, Victor said he had a surprise for me, so he’s taking me somewhere new. He won’t tell me what it is, though. Other than that, he said he’d have more time spend with me, which is nice. I feel like I need to make sure I spend time with my friend Phichit, though.” He glances sheepishly at Christophe. “And I need to make sure he spends time with you. I don’t want us to neglect our friends, you know?”

“You’re my friend now, too,” Christophe says airily as he crosses his legs. “But don’t worry—I completely know the feeling.”

Yuuri’s smile grows wider, feeling slightly excited. “Phichit said the same thing! I mean… like, he gets along with Victor really well too, so it makes me happy.”

Christophe hums contemplatively. “Yuuri, I don’t know how Victor hasn’t gotten a huge amount of cavities by now.”

“Huh? But I don’t give him sweets?”

Christophe laughs. “…you know, I’ll tell you a secret. If you want to hear it?”

“Okay…” Yuuri says slowly, feeling like he’d somehow been sidetracked. “What is it? Is it about Victor?”

“Mhm. Would you believe me if I said that he’s liked you for almost a year and a half now?”

Yuuri stares incredulously into pretty green eyes. “No.”

“Well, it’s the truth,” Christophe says, flopping down onto the grass and closing his eyes. “But I’m not saying any more. I just thought you’d like to know.”

“I mean, the thought is really sweet, and as much as I’d like to believe that, I’ve only known him for a semester,” Yuuri says. “And not even a semester—I knew of him, but I only really met him recently, you know? We’re still getting to know each other… at first I’d thought this was some sort of trial period, but…”

“A trial period?” Christophe echoes, and it’s his turn to sound incredulous.

“C-cause I like him a lot, but I honestly can’t see why he agreed to date me so quickly,” Yuuri says hastily, looking down at his hands.

“‘Agreed to date you’?” Christophe says, now sounding amused. “Yuuri, if I remember correctly, Victor told me that he was basically the one to initiate the relationship.”

“Ah, well…” Yuuri quiets, suddenly at a loss for words. “I still can’t see how he could have liked me longer than I have.”

“Mm, well. Just wait till winter break,” Christophe yawns, throwing an arm over his eyes. “And don’t tell him that I told you.”

“Okay…” Yuuri bites back all of his resulting questions, choosing instead to look away from a now-napping Christophe in favor of staring contemplatively at the blades of grass in front of him.

Victor, liking him before Yuuri even knew of his existence? Yuuri scoffs internally.

Not possible, he thinks. Not possible at all.

— — —

The combination of stress, lack of sleep, and a lack of Victor had left Yuuri incredibly irritable over the course of finals week, and only Phichit and the army of hamsters he’d brought over during their study sessions had kept him sane.

Now, though, Yuuri is three days into winter break, and emerges from a nap finally feeling wholly refreshed and clear minded. His mood is greatly boosted when he clicks open his phone and is greeted by a text from Victor.

Love, reads the text, and Yuuri’s cheeks begin to warm, how are you feeling? I finally have some free time and I finished the surprise. I wanted to wait, but I realized I really, really want to show it to you. Can I pick you up later today?

Of course, Yuuri replies, fingers flying over the keyboard. I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner. Let me just take a shower and get ready, and I’ll text you?

We could take a shower together, is the immediate reply.

Victor.

Just kidding!

Yuuri gets ready in record time, all but flying out his front door in his haste to see Victor again. The feeling is mutual—as soon as Victor has thrown the car into park, he meets Yuuri the rest of the way, eagerly gathering up the latter into a tremendous hug that lifts Yuuri off his feet.

“How were your finals?” Yuuri laughs, struggling to get a word in past the barrage of kisses Victor leaves on his face.

“Aced them,” Victor boasts. “You?” He kisses Yuuri soundly before he can reply.

“Me too,” Yuuri says, beaming. “All the hard work paid off.”

“Good,” Victor says affectionately, nosing at Yuuri’s cheek. “I’ll have to try your study methods sometime. I saw Phichit’s Instagram post, and hamsters seem like a great way to take the stress out of studying.”

“You have Makkachin! That’s ten times better. But don’t tell Phichit I said that.”

Victor hums and moves to nibble at Yuuri’s ear. “Hey! We’re outside.”

“Alright, alright,” Victor acquiesces, sounding very put off. “After, then. I want to show you my surprise first, after all.”

“Where are we going?” Yuuri asks as he wraps his arm around Victor’s torso, following him to the car. “I’ve been looking forward to it. I’m sure I’ll like it, whatever it is.”

Victor hums, and this time he sounds slightly nervous.

“Well. I’m taking you ice skating.”

— — —

“Do you know how to ice skate?” Yuuri asks eagerly sometime later as Victor leads him into an unfamiliar ice rink. “I remember I told you about it before, but can you—“

“Shh,” Victor says, affectionately pressing a kiss to Yuuri’s forehead. “Just wait and see. You don’t have to put your skates on yet… I want to skate with you, but I want you to watch me, first.”

Yuuri leans forward, feeling incredibly excited. Victor and ice skating? It was too good to be true. Yuuri avidly watches Victor tug on a pair of skates with shining gold blades, and… Yuuri’s brow furrows slightly. The skates somehow look very familiar, but…

He’s shaken out of his reverie by the sound of Victor gliding onto the ice. “I borrowed the rink for the night,” Victor calls out to Yuuri, and the latter leans against the rink’s barrier, transfixed. “I train here, so…”

“You look like a prince,” Yuuri says suddenly, and winces. Damn his brain to mouth filter. Victor merely laughs.

“Well. You certainly make me feel like one,” Victor replies. “Did you know… I used to skate competitively too? I loved surprising people with my skating. I liked doing things no one would ever expect.”

Victor moves away from the center to come closer and grasp at Yuuri’s hands, lifting one up to his lips. “I don’t think anyone ever expected an injury, though. Not even me.”

Yuuri’s breath catches in his throat, and he stares at Victor, aghast. “A-an injury…? Are you okay to be skating right now? Maybe, you shouldn’t…”

“My ankle,” Victor says, lifting his left leg by way of explanation. “One second I felt like I was flying, and the next…” Victor grimaces. “Skating was painful after that, and it hurt to try—mentally and physically. I was at my lowest.”

“Victor…”

“And then I saw you.” Victor smiles then, and Yuuri stares at him confusedly. “And then I felt like figure skating was something I didn’t want to give up on.”

Victor leans forward to give a startled Yuuri another kiss, before releasing his hands to move back to the center of the rink. When Victor nods somewhere over to Yuuri’s right, Yuuri turns to see a silent staff member watching them both. She gives Victor a smile and a nod, before moving into another room, remote in hand.

The second that the music begins, Yuuri’s jaw drops.

It’s beautiful. Victor melts into an entirely different persona, longing eyes staring right into Yuuri’s before they close, and Victor flies across the ice, every single movement fluid and flowing into the next. Every spin, every jump has Yuuri catching his breath, and he presses his hands against his mouth in awe.

It’s rough, though, and Yuuri feels tears pinprick at his eyes when Victor stumbles slightly on a jump, unsurety and a flicker of pain flashing across Victor’s features. However, they’re swept away in the next of Victor’s spins, and Yuuri exhales shakily. It’s only for a moment, but when Victor lifts into the air, Yuuri sees a flash of long hair as it flows behind him. Yuuri’s eyes go wide, his mind filling with recognition just as the music flows to a stop.

Victor heaves out shaky breaths, bending over to rest his hands against his knees before tentatively looking up at Yuuri.

“Victor!” Yuuri cries, arms spread open for a hug, and Victor’s eyes light up. He flies across the ice again a heartbeat later, and all but tackles Yuuri, nearly sending them both down to the concrete of the rink’s floor. “That was beautiful!”

“I’m glad you think so,” Victor says breathlessly against Yuuri’s cheek, grinning deliriously. “It’s a short program I’ve been trying out… I’m going slow, and I don’t think I’d be able to handle a full free program, but for now…”

“It was amazing,” Yuuri says vehemently, clutching at the back of Victor’s sweaty shirt. “I want to see you skate it in competition.”

“Against you?” Victor says, sounding sly, and Yuuri smiles right back at him.

“That’s right,” he says, feeling a sudden onslaught of inspiration. “Against you. If you were there watching me, I wouldn’t care about the rest of the crowd.”

“I feel the same,” Victor murmurs, pushing his forehead against Yuuri’s. “And now, I want to go home. And I’m taking you with me.”

“Wait! You haven’t even explained how I did anything at all. We only met this year.”

“‘Met’, yes,” Victor says, leaning down to press a kiss to the base of Yuuri’s throat. “But I saw you skate when you first came to America.”

“You were at my rink?”

“You were skating at my rink,” Victor replies, looking highly amused. “This one. You don’t remember?”

“I…” Yuuri’s eyes widen. The first days in America—the jet lag, the homesickness. Meeting Celestino and Phichit for the first time, and being so desperate to prove his worth—

“No… not really,” Yuuri says, suddenly feeling somewhat nervous. “I was thinking about a lot of things those days, and it was kind of a blur. I guess your rink was one of the rinks Celestino took me to when we were first trying to establish a base, I guess.” He hesitates. “You saw me skate? Was I bad?”

“No,” Victor says fondly, tapping Yuuri’s nose with his index finger. “A little unsure, maybe, but your determination was admirable. And I could see how much you loved to skate.”

“So I was horrible then,” Yuuri says flatly, and Victor sighs.

“You don’t get it, Yuuri! That day, you were struggling to pin down a quad salchow, and I could see that you were getting frustrated. But even I could see the great amount of love you put into your skating. The resolve. And the minute you get something down, you incorporate your own music into your movements.” Victor smiles. “It was beautiful to watch.”

Yuuri blushes, astounded. “I…”

“I’d come to America in order to meet with a physical therapist, and those were days where I was frustrated, too,” Victor continues, brushing Yuuri’s fringe away from his face. “But seeing you reminded me, for a second, just how much I loved to skate. And then I thought… if he can do it, I can do it too.” Victor flashes a grin at Yuuri, clearly waiting for a response.

“I…” Yuuri begins, grasping for something, anything, to say. “I… I named my dog after you.”

Victor stares. “Um. Yuuri?”

“I did,” Yuuri continues, eyes wide. “You skated competitively when I was younger. You had longer hair back then. I was so amazed, and I named my dog after you.”

“Oh, my,” Victor says, beginning to smile again.

“What I’m trying to say,” Yuuri says hastily, fumbling for his words, “is that you surprised and inspired me when I was, say, ten. You surprised and inspired me now. You’re capable of a lot of things, Victor Nikiforov, and I have no doubt you’ll continue amaze everyone in the entire world, even up until we’re old and gray!” Yuuri blinks up at Victor’s hair. “Or. Um. Until I’m old and gray too.” They both freeze. “Not that you’re old, I didn’t mean to include ‘old’ in there, you’re not even 23 yet, I don’t know why I said that—”

“Yuuri,” Victor interjects, dissolving into delighted laughter. “Yuuri!”

Yuuri squeaks as Victor crushes him closer in an even tighter hug, only able to endure the torrent of kisses Victor directs at his face. There’s a tiny sniffle, and Yuuri sees two staff members wiping their eyes and darting out of sight the second he looks in their direction.

“Victor!” Yuuri admonishes, squirming. Even so, Yuuri feels a low burn of delight at Victor’s bright and sunny smile. “We need to go home!”

“Oh, right,” Victor says, wiggling his eyebrows, and Yuuri jokingly scoffs.

“Not for that. You need to take a shower and get dressed in warmer clothes. You’re going to get sick if you stay like that.”

“Oh, right. Thank you, honey,” coos Victor, and Yuuri opens his mouth, flustered. “That was like a marriage proposal you know. ‘Oh, Victor, light of my life, stay with me until we’re old and gray—‘“

“I did not say it like that.”

“Mm. Close enough,” Victor says with a heavy sigh.

— — —

Yuuri curls up on Victor’s bed, feeling warm and cozy in his boyfriend’s oversized shirt. He’d brought his own sweatpants, though. Anything of Victor’s wouldn’t have stayed around his waist, and would have probably tripped him up at the ankles anyway.

Victor had kicked up a fuss at that, and about Yuuri’s reluctancy towards showering together. “I’m! Not! Ready!” Yuuri had said adamantly, attempting to close the bathroom door on an overly eager Victor and his dog, who had just wanted in on the fun.

Now, though, the shower squeaks to a halt, and Yuuri idly skims through his Instagram feed as he waits. Victor waltzes in a moment later, smelling fresh and clean and damp, Makkachin hot on his heels.

“Anything new?” Victor asks, flopping down next to Yuuri and pressing his cheek against his shoulder.

“Christophe skating,” Yuuri replies. “I just followed him on Instagram. Is that how you both met?”

“Mhm,” Victor says, peeking over at Yuuri’s phone. “We should post a selfie too.”

Yuuri glances over at the other man. “Um… You should put a shirt on first, and then we can take a picture.”

“No way! It’ll be an obvious couple picture. I want one for my own feed, and for my profile picture on all my social media sites.”

“I’m sure you still have fans from your earlier skating days,” Yuuri huffs. “They’ll rally against me, and my Instagram profile isn’t ready for that. I bet you even have fans on campus.”

“I don’t know,” Victor says innocently, and Yuuri glances at him as he feels Victor’s hand begin to slide up the back of his shirt. “Anyway, me, you? Couple picture?”

“Maybe later,” Yuuri says, locking his phone with one hand and tossing it over the side of the bed.

“Ah! All the little blue Vicchans and Makkachins! That was cruel, Yuuri.”

“Mhm, sure,” Yuuri mumbles tugging Victor towards him with arms wrapped around his neck. Makkachin yawns from across the room before curling up into a tight ball and going to sleep. “Makkachin doesn’t seem too bothered by it.”

“Okay, then it’s fine,” Victor replies, sounding incredibly distracted.

“How’s your ankle?” Yuuri asks, brushing his lips across Victor’s nose. “Are you okay?”

“I hope you’re not going to be constantly worried,” Victor admonishes lightly, pressing a kiss to Yuuri’s temple. “I’m fine. It’s been a long while, and I’m getting stronger day by day. I’ll be competition ready, and you will be, too.” Victor nibbles at Yuuri’s ear again, ignoring Yuuri’s feeble attempts to push him away. “You’re so sensitive here.”

“Victor. Anyway, I guess you’re right.” Yuuri brings a hand up to pinch lightly at Victor’s cheek, and the latter dramatically pouts his lips into a ridiculous looking kissy face. “And you know… You’ve inspired me. There’s only one winner for gold, and I hope you won’t break up with me when you lose.”

“Oh, a challenge!” Victor says, ducking his head to nip at Yuuri’s neck, and Yuuri squirms, laughing. “I’m absolutely not letting you go, Yuuri. I’m taking you captive. That way, you won’t even be able to escape when I win gold. Sorry, my love.”

Yuuri gently tugs Victor’s chin up to level with his own mouth, nipping there before pressing gentle kisses right up to his boyfriend’s mouth.

“I’m excited,” Yuuri murmurs earnestly, “I mean, I was before, but now I’m extra excited.”

“We’ll skate on the same ice,” Victor says, enthused, “and I’ll think about you every single time I skate.”

“Me too,” Yuuri replies shyly. Victor takes the chance to lean forward and nibble on Yuuri’s lower lip, before pressing even closer.

“We should take a vacation when training lightens up,” Victor murmurs during a lull, and Yuuri pants heavily against Victor’s cheek. “You know, before school starts again. I think I’d like to see your hot spring. And your family. And Vicchan.”

“It’s a little expensive,” Yuuri replies. “And I don’t know… wouldn’t we need the time to train?”

“No one should train over the holidays,” Victor says enticingly. “Your Celestino shouldn’t mind a few days off for us to go during the Christmas holidays, would he? And as for your ticket, you could think of it as a birthday and Christmas present from me to you.” Victor looks down at Yuuri eagerly. “Just taking me to spend the holidays with your family would be a gift enough for me.”

“Of course I’d get you something else,” Yuuri says, pressing a hand against his face to hide his oncoming blush. “I’d… I’d really like it, though. If you went to Japan with me, I mean.”

Victor whoops elatedly, bundling Yuuri up into his arms.

“The skating world isn’t ready for either of us, Yuuri,” Victor says, grinning wildly. “And we’re going to take it by storm.”

“New surprises,” Yuuri says, smiling against bare skin, “and new achievements.”

“That’s right,” Victor murmurs, softly brushing his nose against Yuuri’s. “Bring on your best effort, Yuuri. And I will, too.”

— — —

The first time Victor finally lands a quadruple flip in practice might just be the most beautiful thing Yuuri has seen in a long while. It’s perfect—from take off, to its arc, and to the landing, and when Victor first lands on his left foot, Yuuri’s heart leaps up to his throat in one panicked swoop. But then Victor is turning elatedly on that same foot to smile delightedly at Yuuri, and it’s the last thing Yuuri sees before he all but flies towards Victor on the ice. Victor welcomes him with open arms, and Yuuri presses his lips to Victor's, letting the kiss speak for his feelings of triumph and happiness in lieu of spoken words.