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In the many years Yuuri had been working in the diner, he’d never felt this embarrassed, and boy, had Yuuri exposed himself to embarrassing situations a lot. Hell, the time he’d first been allowed to work in his parents’ diner after learning how to properly roller-skate ended in disaster when he managed to bump into his co-worker and best friend, Phichit, and spilt an entire milkshake down his surprised friend’s apron. He was even far more embarrassed now than the time he walked into the changing room after a long day’s work and saw Yuuko and Takeshi doing some things he’d rather forget.
Now, however, Yuuri was splayed out on the floor like a starfish, his tray now lying to the side of him and a puddle of hot soup spreading over the expanse of the vinyl. It wasn’t the sheer fact of falling that made this the most embarrassing, oh no, but the fact he’d been busy gawking at the customer that had just entered the diner to even look where he was going. What made things even worse was that the man had completely noticed after Yuuri fell all but five feet from him.
“Are you alright there?” The man chuckled a little and crouched down in front of Yuuri, who was desperately trying to hide his blushing cheeks and utter shame.
“F-Fine.”
The man held a hand out to help him up, which Yuuri took reluctantly, not looking at the man’s eyes. He swayed on his feet a bit once he was up; he was still a bit clumsy on his skates even now, and well, him falling just then reinforced that to himself.
Still refusing to meet the man’s eyes, Yuuri brushed the back of his neck with his fingers. “I should get this mopped up before someone slips on it.”
“Of course, be careful.” The man’s voice was so sincere that Yuuri couldn’t help but sneak a peek back at him, relishing in the way his blue eyes were gazing at him accompanied by a soft smile.
He blushed at his thoughts, before skating over to the bar, and asking Phichit to clean the mess up for him and Yuuko to make some more soup, and he went to change his apron (and to avoid the utter embarrassment of showing his face around the blue eyed man again).
When he got to the changing room, he sat on one of the benches and stuffed his face in his hands, hoping that when he went back out the man would be gone. He was.
--
Over the next week, Yuuri spent his time behind the bar. After his accident, he felt a bit worried about skating around the diner with trays full of food and drink, so he served people from the safety of the bar where he didn’t need to move too far.
Unfortunately, his paradise didn’t last long when Takeshi called in sick, meaning they were short on waiters that day and therefore needed another person on that task. One of the diner’s younger workers, Minami, was fairly excited to do it, but he was like a baby duckling on his skates, so Yuuri had to take up the mantle and join Phichit and their head waiter, Minako, in serving.
“Yuuri~, you’ve been on bar work for so long it feels like I’ve barely seen you!” Phichit was as excitable as ever when Yuuri was standing with him waiting for the plates to serve.
“We had a movie marathon together last night, Phichit-kun.”
“Aha yes, but at work!” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Work selfie to commemorate this grand occasion?”
Yuuri laughed and obliged him, posing with a goofy face. He appreciated slow work days like this, when only a few people were in the diner and they didn’t need to rush. Yuuri felt more confident on his skates then, less like he’d do something embarrassing.
Minako came skating over at this point, her arms stacked with various plates. “Are you two slacking off? I’m not here to do all the work.”
Phichit put his hands together and bowed a little. “Sorry, Minako-sensei.”
As that exchange happened, Chris, one of the chefs, rang the bell and put the orders out. He stopped when he noticed Yuuri and winked. “Yuuri, I didn’t know you were back to serving.”
Yuuri blushed, as he did every time Chris decided to tease him. “O-Only while Takeshi is off.”
“That’s a shame. We should get a drink after work to make up for lost time.”
Minako huffed beside Yuuri, shoving her empty chinaware towards Chris. “Chris, stop flirting with one of my waiters, and give these dishes to JJ would you. He needs something to do.”
Taking this as a good time to leave, Yuuri grabbed one tray and located the booth of the customer who ordered it, skating over slowly. He picked up the bowls one at a time and placed them down. “One katsudon, and miso soup.” He then turned to the customer to smile and wish them a good meal, when he realised that the customer was the attractive man from the other week.
He stepped back in shock, almost slipping into the table behind him, but the man reached out and pulled him back, smiling at him. “You sure are a clumsy one.” The man said it with no malice, but Yuuri blushed in embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry.” He put chopsticks down on the table for the man to eat with, the last thing he needed to deliver. “E-Enjoy your meal!” He said it hastily, ready to make a quick get away, but the man kept a hold on his forearm for the moment.
Yuuri looked at him with his eyes wide and a blush still on his cheeks, wishing that Phichit or Minako would come over right now and save him from the embarrassment. He almost had a repeat of the week before and curse that man for being so attractive that Yuuri’s attention kept wavering in his presence.
“Is it hard to roller-skate?” The man was looking at him curiously.
“Uh, I’m just not that good, but it’s not really hard, I guess.”
The man smiled a little. “It looks like fun. You must be very talented to be able to skate and serve customers with ease, even if you are a little clumsy.”
“T-Thank you. It’s been a few years since I learnt how to, s-so I’m used to it now.” He was blushing so badly, avoiding looking at the man now.
The man’s hand trailed down his forearm until it was gone completely. Yuuri managed to suppress shivering at that. “Well, thank you for the food and service, Yuuri. I’ll let you get back to your duties now.”
Yuuri looked up at him, shocked at how he knew his name, until he remembered the name tags his parents made all the staff wear to “add some informality.” He bowed shakily, before skating away with the tray pressed up against his chest, managing to make it to serving area to grab another order, only to find Chris looking at him curiously.
“Hmm, what was that about, Yuuri?” Chris’ lips were curled up into a smirk, and he had a knowing look on his face, like he’d discovered all of Yuuri’s secrets.
“N-Nothing!” He grabbed the next order, and quickly skated off to avoid anymore confrontation.
For the rest of his shift, he tried not to look over at where the man was sitting.
--
Phichit Chulanont was the most demanding person Yuuri knew when it came to movie nights. Some people would just settle with some popcorn to eat while they watch a random movie, but Phichit needed a buffet of food before he’d even consider the movie. So, Yuuri let himself be dragged to the local supermarket after their shifts at work to gather all the food that they would need.
Yuuri had his arms full of various snacks that Phichit kept picking up and passing to him, barely asking Yuuri for input. The amount of food was getting kind of ridiculous now, but Yuuri knew Phichit would continue even if he tried to stop him.
Phichit suddenly squealed, before pointing to the other end of the aisle they were in. “Yuuri! They have that new snack that was advertised on TV!” His best friend then ran down there, before Yuuri could even process what had happened, leaving him to slowly try to catch up without dropping all the food in his arms.
That idea all went to shit though, when a voice spoke behind him. “It’s weird seeing you without your skates on, Yuuri.”
Yuuri cursed and pretty much jumped a foot into the air, dropping the entirety of the snacks on the floor. He muttered to himself when that happened, blushing, before dropping to the floor to stuff it all in his arms again.
The causal factor of it all, the attractive man from the diner, came around and picked up quite a bit of the food, before they both stood up, Yuuri awkwardly avoiding the man’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” His voice was soft and tender.
Yuuri didn’t respond verbally, just nodded and tried to will his blushing cheeks to stop with their redness.
The man spoke again when he didn’t respond. “You have a lot of snacks here. Any specific occasion?”
Managing to look at the man, Yuuri smiled timidly. “Just a movie night with my best friend. He, uh, likes to have a good variety of snacks.”
The man let out that soft, hearty chuckle that Yuuri had learned to love in the few times he’d heard it. “Wow, that’s quite something.”
Phichit decided to show up at that moment; Yuuri could hear his footsteps rushing back down the aisle. “I got some!” He came to a halt beside Yuuri, looking at the man curiously. “Who’s your friend, Yuuri?”
Yuuri blushed, and turned to the man. “This is, uh...” He realised he didn’t actually know his name, so introducing him would be pointless.
Luckily, the man jumped in and held his hand out towards Phichit, trying to keep the rest of their food in his arms. “I’m Victor.”
Victor… Yuuri looked at him then like he’d discovered the secrets of the universe. He felt like this was all much more real now he knew his name.
Phichit shook Victor’s hand and introduced himself too, already seeming to warm up to the man as he started telling him about the snack he’d just picked up. Yuuri stood there watching it happen, smiling a little bashfully.
“I’ll help you guys take this stuff to the checkout; they didn’t have what I came for anyway.” Victor motioned to a good amount of the food he was still holding.
Yuuri couldn’t bring himself to decline Victor’s kindness, instead nodding, and following Phichit in the direction of the tills, Victor by his side.
It didn’t take them long to pay for the food, Yuuri giving Phichit some money towards it all, while packing the never-ending amount of food into some bags, before they made their way out of the store. Yuuri was stopped then by a hand on his arm, while Phichit went ahead to his car. Yuuri blushed when he turned around to look at Victor, who was smiling at him softly. The man had a piece of paper in his hand.
“I’m not sure if this is too forward, but if you’d like to talk sometime or hang out, this is my number.” He handed it over to Yuuri, now seeming a bit more reserved. “If not, that’s cool. It’s up to you.”
“N-No!” He said that a little quickly and Victor looked startled. “I mean, I’d like that. I’ll send you a text so you have my number.” He added a shy smile at the end.
Victor’s smile returned to his lips and he gave Yuuri a wave. “Speak to you soon then, Yuuri. Goodbye.” He then walked off.
Yuuri didn’t move for a minute, just looked at the paper in his hand and wonder how on Earth he’d gotten Victor’s number without even trying. He smiled widely then, before walking over to the car with the rest of their shopping. Phichit was looking at him curiously, waiting for him to give him the details, because clearly he’d sensed something going on there.
Yuuri blushed and didn’t look at him. “I’ll explain when we get back, okay?”
Phichit seemed to accept that answer and got in the driver’s seat. “Come on then, Yuuri, because I’m dying to hear all about this.”
God, he just hoped Phichit could keep this off social media.
--
Over the next few weeks, Yuuri got to know Victor quite well. The two began to text daily, just about whatever was happening to them that day, which mostly consisted of Yuuri complaining about work, and Victor showing off his poodle, Makkachin. On top of this, Victor came into the diner a few times a week, sitting at the bar where Yuuri was more often behind on his shifts after Takeshi came back. Yuuri’s co-workers took a shining to Victor as well, especially Chris, who sat with Victor when he was on his breaks and Yuuri was busy serving.
Today, Yuuri was working at the bar and Victor was sitting there drinking a chocolate milkshake that Yuuko always made amazingly. There weren’t many customers in, which was a blessing because it meant Yuuri could just pretend to wipe the bar down while talking to Victor about dumb stuff.
Victor was telling him an interesting story about a play he once acted in (Oh, yeah, Victor was an actor.), when the sound of china breaking in the kitchen was heard, followed by yelling. Yuuri sighed, immediately knowing what was going on.
Yuuko skated over to him from the other side of the bar. “Yuuri, you’re gunna have to deal with that. Otabek isn’t in today, and I don’t think I’m going to make any difference.”
Yuuri shook his head. “No, come on, can’t Phichit do it, or Chris?! Yes, Chris is a good idea.”
His friend rolled her eyes. “You know Chris will just let them fight and Phichit is busy serving, so off you go, buddy.” She gently nudged him, before skating off back to where she had been.
Sighing, Yuuri turned back to Victor, who was looking at him with confusion. “Two of my co-workers don’t get along very well. One of the chefs, Otabek, can usually sort it out pretty fast, but he’s not here today, so Yuuko has shoved the responsibility on me.”
Victor looked at him sympathetically, squeezing Yuuri’s hand that he had placed on the bar. “I’m sure you can do it. I’ll still be here when you come back even if it takes all day.”
Once again, Victor’s words made Yuuri blush, but he felt confident now that he could solve the issue. He also felt a little bit more confident about his ever growing crush for Victor, so he took a risk and leant in to gently kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Victor.”
He didn’t stay to gauge his response, just in case he’d overstepped any boundaries, and instead skated to the door to the kitchen, entering it cautiously. He first noticed one of the chefs, Seung-Gil, who was still going about his work, seemingly as though he didn’t even notice the utter racket coming from ten feet away from him. Chris, however, was standing nearby just watching the argument happen with a smirk on his face.
Yuuri skated over to Chris. “What’s happening?”
“Well, JJ wouldn’t stop talking about his fiancée as per usual, and well, Yuri got a bit mad that he wouldn’t shut up and dropped a plate on the floor and yelled at him. Now, they’re just insulting each other. It’s pretty entertaining, did you come to watch?”
Shaking his head, Yuuri sighed. “No, Yuuko sent me in since Otabek isn’t here and he usually gets Yuri to calm down. Guess I’m going in. Wish me luck.”
Chris blew him a kiss, and then Yuuri skated over, waving his hands shakily in front of the two arguing men. “H-Hey, guys, time to stop arguing now. You’re supposed to be washing dishes.”
Things went to shit from there when Yuri pretty much threw a bag of rice at his face and JJ ran around saying he hated everyone. Chris was sniggering, and Seung-Gil was still ignoring it all. It wasn’t until Minako came to get an order and ended up yelling at them (she was in charge when Yuuri’s parents weren’t around), which seemed to work. She then dragged Yuuri out of the kitchen with rice all over him.
“Thanks, Minako-sensei. They weren’t going to listen to me.” He shook his head around, trying to get the rice out of his hair.
“That’s because you’re a little softie. Now, go back to your work and your boyfriend.”
Yuuri squealed at that. “B-Boyfriend? Victor’s not my boyfriend!”
“But he will be. I’m sure.” She winked, before skating off with her next order, leaving Yuuri to head back to his spot behind the bar, still trying to get the rice out of his hair.
“Don’t laugh.” Yuuri said that the moment he returned to Victor, knowing there was rice still all over him and his cheeks were red from the encounter and Minako’s words a minute before.
Yuuri watched as Victor’s eyes went wide as he took in Yuuri’s appearance, before a smile appeared and he looked like he was trying to avoid laughing. He failed at that and ended up laughing a lot, which Yuuri couldn’t even be offended by, because it was so cute; he even ended up laughing hysterically right along with Victor.
They both became pretty close at that point, as Yuuri had leant over the bar to try and stifle his giggles and to avoid falling flat on his face again in front of Victor. Yuuri’s laughter slowed down until it stopped as he looked at Victor with wide eyes. He thought about how pretty the man was from this close with his eyes all scrunched up while he laughed, and had to make himself avoid reaching out to touch his cheek. The blue eyed man stopped laughing when he realised Yuuri had and seemed to become painfully aware of the lack of space between them too.
It continued to last even when Victor next spoke. “Yuuri, could you teach me how to roller-skate, please?” The request was softly spoken, as they gazed at each other with the same intensity.
Yuuri didn’t know why Victor asked and would want to roller-skate anyway, but he obliged, nodding his head a little. He’d do that if that’s what Victor wanted; Yuuri would do anything he asked just to spend time with him.
Victor responded with a smile as soft as his words had been. “I look forward to it then.” He then picked up Yuuri’s hand from where it was and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, before he grabbed his things. “I’ll speak to you soon.” And then he was gone.
Yuuri’s eyes were wide and he tentatively brought his hand up so it was in his sight and that did just happen, right? He wasn’t imagining it. Victor just… He knew his cheeks must have reached full intensity with their blushing. God, when wasn’t he blushing? This was all Victor’s fault, coming into Yuuri’s life and just making him so happy, but so shy at every little thing he did.
Too contained in his thoughts, he had a big shock when Yuuko skated over and slapped his back causing him to let out a small squeal, before standing back up right and looking at her. “Y-Yuuko, you scared me.”
“Well, I called out to you, but you were too busy just staring at your hand. Wow, you’re in so deep with Victor. I saw all that, and it was so cute! He totally likes you too.” She bundled him up into her arms and squeezed him into a tight hug.
Yuuri’s eyes softened then and he smiled. Maybe he did have a chance with Victor.
--
Over several texts, Yuuri had agreed to meet Victor a few days later at a local skate park where there were flat surfaces to make things easier. When the day came, Yuuri was honestly a bit nervous, but he knew that today was the day he could at least attempt to drop hints that he liked Victor, maybe flirt a little if that went well and… Who was he kidding? How the hell could he flirt with Victor?
They had arranged to meet at seven in the evening, so the place would be quiet. At six, Yuuri went to the diner to get his skates and borrow a pair for Victor. Phichit and Chris cornered him while he was in the back room doing that.
“I can’t believe you and Victor are finally dating! I’ve supported this from the beginning I just want you to know that, and when you get married, I’m gunna be your best man, right?” Phichit was rambling.
Yuuri spluttered at that. “It’s not... We’re not…”
Chris was at his side then, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Yuuri, just embrace your inner sex appeal and go out there and get your man. Hell, just straight up strip in front of him and put your best seductive expression on. Victor will definitely go for that.”
“C-Chris!” Yuuri shrugged his arm off. “You guys aren’t helping. It’s not even a date, stop making me nervous.”
Before he knew it, Phichit had pulled him and Chris into a picture. “Damn, that’s a good one. What should I caption it? ‘Future best men at Yuuri’s wedding #victuuri #goals?’”
“You better not upload anything with that caption!” Yuuri tried to get Phichit’s phone out of his hands.
Phichit put his phone away. “Don’t worry, I didn’t post it. Just one for the memories. Now go. Please don’t listen to Chris and strip though.”
Yuuri left then with Phichit and Chris walking him to the door, Chris sending him off with a wink, while Phichit waved and pretended to cry like a parent sending their child off to their prom.
Somehow, by the time Yuuri reached the park, he felt more confident. In a weird, twisted way, Chris and Phichit managed to psych him up a bit. He made a note to thank them just for boosting his morale.
He was a fair bit early so he sat on a bench by the park and played around with his fingers nervously. The atmosphere felt good to him though. The sun was beginning to set, making the sky a pretty colour that reminded Yuuri of Victor’s lips. It was also still fairly warm.
At pretty much exactly seven, Victor turned up, smiling excitedly at Yuuri, greeting him with a hug when he got there since Yuuri had stood up.
“H-Hi, Victor. I hope I got the right size skates.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to learning.”
They both sat down on the bench before putting their skates on; they didn’t have any protective gear, but Yuuri was going to be extra safe and they weren’t doing much. Yuuri helped Victor to tie his skates up so that they were on tight enough; he did get the right size. When they had done that, he helped Victor on to his feet, and explained the basics of how to move and the presence of the stopper at the front.
Once he had explained it and showed Victor the basics, he decided to take some initiative, and because it was probably needed there, and took Victor’s hands in his own. “I got you, just give it a shot. I’m okay with skating backwards.”
Victor gave him a smile that seemed nervous, like it was ripped right off Yuuri’s face and placed on Victor’s; it was a foreign expression. He then started to skate tentatively towards Yuuri with Yuuri lightly skating backwards, pulling him a little to get him going.
They managed to get to the other end of the flat area without them tumbling at all. Victor stumbled once, but that was it. Yuuri thought he was really natural at it and was in awe of how good he was as a beginner. When Yuuri first started to skate, he was awful, always covered in bruises and cuts from falling and going on and practicing every moment he got alone.
“Wow, you’re really good!” Yuuri looked at him with a big smile.
Victor blushed, which took Yuuri back a bit, and squeezed his hands. “Probably just got lucky…”
“No, no, I’m sure you didn’t. Let’s go back again.”
Yuuri led Victor back and forth a few times, before letting Victor have a go on his own (it was sickening how sad he felt just to let go of Victor’s hands). The man seemed to be okay at that; it was a little iffy, but perfectly good for someone’s first time skating.
Now, as they were sitting back at the bench at the end of the park, Yuuri suddenly was filled with an urge to impress Victor. The first time he’d met the man he’d painfully fallen right on his face in a puddle of soup, but now he felt more confident and he was in an area where he couldn’t trip over furniture.
Abruptly standing up, Yuuri turned to look at Victor, who was looking at him confused. Yuuri leant forward and squeezed Victor’s hand. “Don’t take your eyes off me, Victor.”
He didn’t stay to see Victor’s response skating off onto the flat area wondering what he could do. God, why didn’t he think this through before saying something so bold?
Deciding to just skate around in random patterns and trying to move his arms around in the graceful way that Minako-sensei always did around the diner, Yuuri honestly felt out of his element. Just because he could skate didn’t mean he knew how to do any pretty moves or tricks. That wasn’t going to impress Victor. That wouldn’t show Victor how he felt…
An idea appeared in his mind as he was aimlessly spinning around in a circle. He’d practiced this once with Yuuko in their time off, but hadn’t been able to do it. It would work so well if he could do it now though.
Fuelled with the adrenaline that was already pumping through his veins, Yuuri built up some speed and then lifted a leg high off the ground, holding it behind his head. He almost cheered when he hadn’t fallen over, but his legs began to get shaky and he lost his balance, falling straight forward onto the ground.
He could feel blood start to rush from his nose as he now lay pathetically on the ground. He didn’t want to look up, see the disappointment in Victor’s face. He felt his eyes well up with tears, whether out of embarrassment, frustration at it all, or the sheer pain in his nose.
Victor was beside him surprisingly fast, even though Yuuri was at the other side of area they had been skating on. “Yuuri! Are you alright?”
Yuuri sniffled, utterly defeated. He didn’t reply, instead trying to will his tears away, before sitting up slowly, not looking at Victor.
“Jesus, hang on.” Victor got up then and skated over to his stuff. Yuuri didn’t know what he was getting, all he noticed was how fine and fast Victor was skating over and back; that wasn’t simply beginner’s luck.
Victor had a packet of tissues in his hand and began to wipe the blood from Yuuri’s face, before passing the tissue to Yuuri so he could hold his nose. Victor then inspected his elbows and knees, wiping the blood from one of his knees that he’d scuffed up.
“V-Victor, you already know how to skate…” He said it slowly, still a little unsure if that statement was right.
Blue eyes were now looking at him, before they flitted away. Victor held his hands up in surrender; Yuuri was right. “I’m sorry. I-I don’t know why I asked. I just wanted to do something like this… something…” He trailed off at the end.
“What, Victor?”
The man in front of him now had a shy look on his face. “I thought it would be romantic, okay? You teaching me how to skate… Yes, I can already skate, really well actually, I used to participate in some competitions when I was younger. The skating part was what drew me to the diner in the first place.”
Yuuri’s eyes widened and he felt the blush coming to his cheeks. “Y-You thought it would be romantic…”
Victor looked at him softly then, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Yeah, I guess I wanted this to be like a date, but I was too shy to ask that flat out.”
“A date…” Yuuri tested those words on his lips. “I-It can still be a date.”
There was a slight pressure on his knuckles then; Victor was kissing them much like he had at the diner. “A date it is then.”
Yuuri smiled so wide then, looking at Victor with glistening eyes and blushing cheeks. Maybe his routine hadn’t failed.
--
The rest of the night panned out perfectly. The pair went back to Victor’s in order to clean out his wounds properly, which led to Victor fussing over him avidly; Yuuri didn’t mind. After that, they settled down to watch a film, cuddling up to one another like they’d been doing it all of their lives, Victor’s poodle, Makkachin, sleeping at their feet. When it became late, Victor offered Yuuri to stay the night, a request the man accepted. The slept side by side, perfectly content.
Soon, it was the next morning and Yuuri was walking hand-in-hand with Victor as they made their way to the diner, roller-skates carried in their other hands. Yuuri’s shift started at the diner’s opening, so Victor decided to come too to eat his breakfast there, much to Yuuri’s surprise since it was early.
Yuuri was still feeling a little nervous in Victor’s presence, especially now their fingers were intertwined so casually in public. He couldn’t believe that Victor reciprocated his feelings and better yet, that they were now dating. He blushed a little at his own thoughts there and sneaked a glance to the side to look at Victor; he looked beautiful, ethereal.
He ended up being caught in the act when Victor turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow teasingly. “Something on my face?”
Yuuri blushed even harder, swallowing. “Just pure beauty.”
He watched as Victor chuckled at that and felt rather proud when he had a slight blush on his cheeks. Yuuri looked away then to face forward. “Are we… Are we going to go straight into the diner like this?” He motioned to their hands.
“I don’t see any issue with that, unless you don’t want to share this yet?”
“No, I’m okay with it. It’s just… my co-workers may go a little wild and bother us a lot.”
Yuuri could picture it now. They’d walk through the door and as soon as one person had noticed their hands intertwined, they’d be yelling for everyone else to come and look. Phichit would be taking thousands of pictures, Chris would definitely start giving sexy advice, Yuri would probably yell about how he was gross, and oh god, Minami, he’d probably cry or something.
Victor chuckled. “I’m sure their scrutiny won’t last long. I’ll entertain it.”
Yuuri shook his head frantically. “You don’t understand! Before I came to meet you yesterday, Phichit and Chris were pestering me about you. Phichit was practically ready to plan our wedding!”
Those words seemed to make Victor laugh even harder. “Stop worrying, Yuuri. I’ll get them to stop if they’re that bad.”
A minute or so after that conversation, they arrived at the front entrance to the diner, the sign on the door still flipped to closed since there were still twenty minutes until opening. They paused and Yuuri looked to Victor, putting a determined look on his face. “Ready?”
He received a smile in response, so he took a deep breath, before opening the door. He noticed two people in the main café area setting up when he and Victor came in: Yuuko and Minako. Yuuko stopped straightening a table to look up and greet him, and Victor when she noticed him, before her eyes fell on their hands. The woman let out a squeal, making Yuuri cringe at the noise. “Phichit, Chris, and whoever the fuck else is in this morning – I forgot – get out here now!”
“I told you…” Yuuri whispered it to Victor, who looked mildly amused at the situation.
From the changing rooms and back area emerged Phichit and Chris, along with JJ, Otabek and Minami. Yuuri was glad Yuri wasn’t in so he’d avoid the verbal abuse. They were all looking at Yuuko confused; Minako had come over from the back of the diner too. Yuuko turned and pointed at him and Victor and that’s when everything happened at once.
Phichit came running over screaming with his phone out, standing in front of them and snapping a selfie Yuuri was definitely not ready for. “Holy shit! What did I say yesterday?! Ahh, I’m so happy!”
Chris was next to him before he knew it too. “Finally. I was so tired of the pining on both sides. Both of you were non-stop on and on about the other, I swear to God.”
That caused Yuuri to look at Victor, who shrugged at him. “What? I needed to talk to someone about how adorable you are and well, Chris did sit with me on his breaks a lot.”
“Yuuri, I’m so happy for you!” Minami. The young boy looked like he was about to sob, making Otabek awkwardly pat his back. “There, there.”
Yuuri moved to look at JJ then, who was scowling at everyone. “Nobody acted this excited when I announced my engagement to Isabella.”
“Consider yourself lucky then.” Yuuri breathed out, not enjoying the heaps of attention. Victor heard and squeezed his hand.
Minako seemed to notice his uncomfortable state too; she was always good with being able to read Yuuri’s mood. “Alright, stop suffocating them and finish getting ready to open.”
Luckily, that got everyone to go back to work, causing Yuuri to sigh with relief. “Thank you, Minako-sensei.”
The woman winked. “Go get ready for work, Yuuri. I think I need a talk with your boyfriend.”
Yuuri blushed again. Don’t say Minako was going to have the overprotective talk with Victor… He gave in though and let go of Victor’s hand to take both pairs of skates. He then shyly pressed a kiss to Victor’s cheek. “See you in a bit.”
He smiled bashfully at Victor, receiving one in return, before he went out back to the changing room to return the spare pair of skates and to get changed into his uniform. Phichit was alone in there, clearly waiting for him.
“Yuuri! Sorry if I overwhelmed you, I’m just so happy for you.” His best friend came and hugged him tightly. “Now you two can disgustingly flirt with each other in public!”
“You’re turning into Chris by suggesting that.” Yuuri teased, nudging him while smiling since he was happy.
Phichit laughed, before leaving the room to do the rest of the things he needed to do. Yuuri sat down on the bench in the changing room, placing a hand on his chest. He smiled widely. Despite the fact his co-workers reaction made him feel cornered, he was honestly so glad they were all accepting.
Once he had changed into his work uniform and put his skates on, Yuuri went out to the bar to set up to find Yuuko making Victor a milkshake already, even though there were still a few minutes to opening.
Victor turned to look at him when he skated over, giving him a blinding smile that made Yuuri’s heart beat faster. He smiled back, feeling utterly content.
--
“Yuuri, you have to let me take tons of pictures, okay?”
Several months had passed since Yuuri had started dating Victor. They were now official in those terms; Victor was his boyfriend. Victor had become more integrated into the diner too, even covering a few shifts now and then (Yuuri nearly fainted the first time he saw Victor in the work uniform and skates). Almost all of the members of staff seemed excited about Yuuri and Victor’s relationship, especially the Katsuki’s who went about calling Victor ‘Vicchan’ moments after meeting him officially.
Now, all of the staff members of the diner and people’s plus ones were at a local indoor skating rink that usually held roller-discos. Yuuri’s parents had rented it for the night for a staff-only disco to celebrate the diner being open for ten years. Many of the staff were already dancing around on their skates with some of them not being very good at it, namely the chefs and dishwashers.
Yuuri however was being hounded by Phichit, as per usual, who began losing his shit over Yuuri saying he was about to go and skate with Victor.
“Take a few if you have too, but now I’m bound to fall flat on my face, because I know you’re going to be snapping away.”
Phichit shrugged. “Well, at least it will be one for the memories.” He nudged him towards where Victor was standing chatting to Yuri and Otabek. “Now go to your boyfriend.”
Yuuri gave him a smile, before he skated over to the group. Victor seemed to be telling a story about Makkachin, which wasn’t unusual. Otabek looked fairly intrigued, while Yuri looked disinterested as always.
“Hey guys.” He decided to be a little bold, and wrapped an arm around Victor’s waist. He got a kiss on the cheek in return.
Yuri pretended to puke at that. “Disgusting.”
“I find it disgusting that you can’t stay standing on those skates on your own, Yuri, but you didn’t see me pointing that out.” Victor motioned to where Yuri was clinging to Otabek’s arm. Yuuri assumed neither of them could skate all too well since they were a dishwasher and chef respectively, meaning they didn’t need to wear skates.
Yuuri laughed as Yuri growled at Victor in response. “Let’s go, Otabek, I cannot stand them.”
Otabek gave them a look of apology, even though both Yuuri and Victor knew Yuri meant no harm. They said goodbye and waved as the pair of them stumbled away to a table.
Once they were gone, Yuuri turned to Victor, excitement and a little bit of nervousness flooding his veins. “Come on, let’s go skate now. I’ve been itching to just move around.”
“Okay, darling.” Victor took his hand and led them over to the entrance to the rink and found a space to move around, which almost led to them falling straight into Chris who was skating around with his boyfriend trying to teach him not to fall.
They finally got comfortable in a spot and Yuuri blushed when Victor took a hold of his hands. The tune that was on had a jive feel, so they slowly got into dancing together to the music, and as they got further into it, Yuuri felt himself letting go and feeling less shy.
The music changed and everything felt so natural dancing with Victor like this; they were spinning each other around, skating around together hand-in-hand, and hell, even at one point, they’d done some improvised lift that somehow didn’t end up with Yuuri flat on his face.
When a dramatic song came on, Yuuri started to giggle, making Victor laugh too and they just spun around in circles, holding onto the other tightly. Yuuri was utterly euphoric and with that euphoria, became the sudden confidence to impress Victor again, much like it had on their first date.
They stopped spinning, but kept moving to the music. “Victor, will you keep your eyes on me again?”
Victor gave him a soft smile. “My eyes never leave you anyway.”
Yuuri blushed, but smirked confidently, before skating away from him a little and trying to do a sexy skate around in build up, before he tried to do the same move he did that night at the park, bringing his leg up behind his head. He felt more secure on his feet this time and his eyes lit up when he realised he was doing it comfortably, not feeling wobbly like he had the time before. Victor was giving him a soft, proud smile and Yuuri relished in that.
He was bringing his leg down, when he was sharply knocked from his foot, straight down onto the floor. He swore and moved to sit up slowly to find Yuri next to him, looking at him with wide eyes.
“Aha, shit. I didn’t mean to do that. Lost my footing.” He looked apologetic for a change.
“It’s fine.” Yuuri tried to act like his right side of his body wasn’t aching right now.
“Yuuri!” Victor was next to him then, passing him his glasses that he hadn’t noticed had fallen off. Otabek seemed to appear to help Yuri, who seemed less injured than Yuuri was.
“Hey, Victor. Looks like that failed again.”
Victor was looking at him worriedly. “No, it didn’t. You did it perfectly well.”
Yuuri smiled. “Help me up?”
After Victor helped him up, Yuuri realised almost everyone was looking over at them, so he put his hand behind his head bashfully. “I’m okay, don’t worry.”
That seemed to placate everyone and they turned away. Yuuri turned to Victor. “Mind if we get some fresh air and sit down? I’m a little dizzy now.”
The pair of them skated outside, Victor’s arm around Yuuri’s waist the whole way to steady him. They sat down on the steps outside. Yuuri leant into Victor. “Apart from that fall and the inevitable ache and bruising I’m going to have now, tonight has been really good so far.”
Victor hummed in agreement. “It has been really nice seeing everyone. It was especially nice seeing you so loose and relaxed while we skated.”
Yuuri blushed and smiled at him. “I just feel so comfortable with you, Victor. Skating with you is really good too. I get so lost in it.”
“So precious, my darling.”
Yuuri sighed contently, before he moved so he and Victor were facing each other. They were still very close, only inches away from each other. Yuuri was honestly craving Victor’s attention even though he’d had it for most of the night anyway.
“I want to skate with you forever, Victor.” His voice was strong and unwavering when he said that. He truly meant it. He felt his eyes water a little bit too, reinforcing how strongly he felt about that statement.
Victor’s eyes widened, before he smiled widely, bringing a hand up to touch Yuuri’s cheek. “I want that too.”
Yuuri reflected Victor’s smile and held Victor’s neck gently, as he leant forward to press their lips together; it was soft and gentle, a perfect mirror of their relationship.
Yuuri thought that was an ‘I love you’ in itself.