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‘Shit,’ he exclaimed in the quiet room as he saw the red heart appear underneath the picture of Otabek, shirtless at a pool, that he had been trying to save a second ago.
He let the phone fall on top of the covers as he put his right arm over his eyes. He could feel a heavy blush and a minor panic attack forming but, he pushed his worries and anxiety away as he tried to come up with a plan. Besides, he was Yuri Plisetsky and he would not panic over such trivial a thing as an accidental like on Instagram.
Or, you know, he would.
He put his phone on the nightstand next to his bed, still displaying his horrendous mistake for the entire world to see, and hid himself under the covers.
‘Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,’ came the endless string of curses.
Why was the universe so cruel to him? It was enough that Otabek, the subject of his year-long crush, was in freaking Detroit training for the summer, but now both him and Phichit would know that he was very much checking his damn phone every morning to see what they had done in those eight hours that he had been wasting away by sleeping.
It was 10 am in St Petersburg, which meant that it was 2 am in Detroit. Remembering the time difference between the two cities helped him relax enough to at least get up and go through his morning routine without wanting to crawl back into bed and hide for all eternity.
In retrospect, he might have been overreacting a little, but this was a shirtless Otabek on Phichit’s Instagram. Of all the people in their circle of friends, Phichit was the biggest gossip of them all. Sure, he meant well and all, but that didn’t erase the fact that Yuri knew the Thai would start plotting something the moment he saw that damn notification.
Of course Yuri toyed with the possibility of backing out, but that would make it even more obvious because Phichit would still get the notification and would see which picture Yuri had liked and disliked in the 3.2 seconds it took him to realise the gravity of his mistake.
Especially considering the fact that Otabek was going to fly to Almaty in just a few days and that afterwards Yuri would not be able to escape seeing Otabek when he inevitably called him over on Skype for their regular chats. He sighed as he put on his trainers and went out for a run. He would have to face the consequences at some point, but for now, music and exercise would be his outlet until the two on the other side of the world woke up.
Surprisingly, the calm remained. No one said anything about his like, not even after Otabek flew back to Almaty. Nothing.
This apparent peace was even more nerve-racking than being on the receiving end of Phichit’s onslaught of messages when he got excited about something. And Yuri had seen the speed at which Phichit was able to message Katsudon one too many times when he went over for dinner to Viktor’s apartment. It was a truly well-developed skill that only those two shared, and they were the only ones able to keep up with each other.
But the calmness didn’t last long.
A few weeks later, and after getting comfortable with the idea that maybe his mistake went unnoticed by Phichit, Yuri was searching for new music for his first gala exhibit of the season when Otabek called him over on Skype. Yuri accepted it immediately but didn’t leave the tab he was currently on and so he only saw the small square at the bottom of the screen for a second before his eyes went back to the page in front of him.
‘Hey,’ Yuri greeted him first, his head resting on his left hand as he scrolled through an endless playlist on YouTube but not really paying that much attention to it anymore.
‘Hey, Yuri,’ Otabek said, plopping himself down on his bed, back against the headboard and laptop balanced precariously on his lap.
‘This is pointless,’ he mumbled as he closed the tab and went over to Skype.
He checked his own reflection first, making sure his half-bun was still in place and raised his eyes to look over at his friend. He almost gasped when he saw Otabek, almost.
Otabek was shirtless once again, his strong chest and incredible abs in perfect display, and his hair, which he had apparently not brushed, was still kind of wet from his shower.
By the time Yuri’s eyes settled on his friend’s face, the blush that had appeared on his cheeks was very much noticeable. He cleared his throat and avoided mentioning his friend’s clear state of undress, sticking to skating and his previously fruitless search of music instead.
Otabek, having seen Yuri’s blush, played along, recommending songs Yuri should check out and trying his damn hardest not to smirk at Yuri’s expression as his friend took his appearance in.
The Kazakh had had his doubts, waiting a few weeks before testing his theory, not quite sure if he could believe Phichit, even though he had seen the notification that clearly showed Yuri had indeed liked his shirtless, dripping wet body.
And Otabek would be lying if he said he didn’t feel kind of proud of it, too. He knew his body was... easy on the eyes; years of strict training helped him with that. But seeing his incredibly attractive Russian friend actively liking it on social media released a new bunch of crazy butterflies in his stomach.
Truth be told, he had liked Yuri even before he approached him in Barcelona, but he had been too much of a chicken then to do anything about his crush on the boy. So, he had settled for having Yuri in his life rather than just being rivals who met up occasionally at competitions. And, lately, he had been afraid he would be stuck in the friendzone forever.
Yet, that simple virtual heart underneath the picture had given him enough courage to, maybe, test the waters. Now, the blush and almost gaping from Yuri was all the confirmation he needed.
His friends had mocked him because he had never shown such an interest on someone before, but they shut up when he showed them videos of Yuri’s skating. He knew he had it bad when he pretty much barked at one of his friends when he whistled appreciatively at something Yuri had done as part of his routine.
So, over the months, Otabek started following Phichit’s piece of advice and used his social media more and more, taking pictures while he trained, both on and off the ice. His coach was happy because that meant he was finally engaging with his fans, but that wasn’t Otabek’s primary goal. His main concern was teasing Yuri, first and foremost.
However, what he didn’t account for was Yuri’s retaliation. To anyone else, it would’ve gone unnoticed since Yuri had been into sharing his life through social media from a very young age. But, to him? Nope. He knew what the teen was up to the second he saw the picture pop up on his feed.
He was staring at the screen, he knew, but there was no one on the rink but him that day. His coach, who was outside speaking on the phone, had booked it for their final pre-competition practice. But all thoughts regarding his first event of the season quickly vanished when he saw the picture.
It was of Yuri, landing what looked like a perfect jump. Someone had obviously taken it while he was practising and had captured the perfect roundness of Yuri’s derrière. The taunting caption read: “Practice makes perfect.” Otabek could feel himself growing warmer all over, quite a fit for someone standing in a freaking ice rink. He saved the picture, because he was only human, and abandoned his phone in favour of a much needed distraction.
But it didn’t end there.
Yuri’s posts escalated from subtle to downright illegal, in Otabek’s opinion that was: from his beautifully sculpted body working out in the gym to mirror selfies after a shower. Otabek was losing his mind but, he fought back. He was nothing if not a warrior, if that concept could even be applied to this... whatever it was that they were trying to accomplish here.
So, they continued with their “hints,” until they met up in France for their third Grand Prix Final as rivals. The build-up had left both of them anxious, yet excited for the upcoming event. Not much had really changed between them other than the added electricity that came from wishing they could actually meet and finally do something about it.
They hugged when they saw each other for the first time at the hotel lobby but didn’t do anything else since there were fans, reporters and plenty of other skaters around. The one that was keeping an eye on their little social media competition, however, was the Thai who had helped make it all happen. Phichit smirked when the hug lingered a bit longer than usual and their hands didn’t seem to want to leave the other’s body after they broke it off.
Since he knew the two men wanted to be left alone so they could talk, Phichit declined Viktor and Yuuri’s offer to go for a group dinner as a distraction. Otabek shot him a look and mouthed a quick “thank you” before he slipped out of the hotel with Yuri, walking briskly behind him, and they went straight to the motorcycle Otabek had rented that morning.
They rode in silence for a while, with no clear destination in mind until they rounded the Eiffel Tower and found themselves near one of the many bridges that went over the Seine: Pont Alexandre III. Yuri was in awe as they started walking around the place, his mouth perpetually open as he gaped at the beautifully ornamented bridge and the golden sculptures around it.
The sun setting in the background gave everything a certain glow, and Otabek was also in awe but because of how gorgeous the person walking next to him was. His heart started beating ridiculously fast, and he stopped while Yuri walked a few paces away from him, unaware that Otabek was no longer with him.
‘Beka?’ Yuri’s voice called before he turned around.
The moment his eyes settled on Otabek, Yuri gave him this blinding smile and Otabek knew that he couldn’t wait anymore. He walked towards Yuri and stood in front of him, only a few inches separating them now.
‘Beka?’ Yuri repeated, his own heart picking up pace as Otabek looked at him with a new-found determination that Yuri had only seen from him when he was on the ice.
‘Yuri, I like you, as more than just a friend. I have felt this way since we crossed paths again in Barcelona,’ Otabek said in one go, feeling like he needed to get everything out before he could regret it.
Yuri remained silent as he processed the information. Otabek was about to backtrack and tell him that it didn’t need to make their friendship weird or anything, when the blond crashed his lips against Otabek’s.
Taken aback, it took the Kazakh a second to understand what was going on, but then he responded eagerly, bringing his hands around Yuri’s head to deepen the kiss. They separated after a while, both panting from lack of air, but smiling at each other.
‘So, does that mean you like me, too?’ Otabek asked, still breathless. He needed to make sure.
‘Of course I like you too, you dumbass. What did you think all of those pictures were?’ Yuri told him, but there was no anger behind his words. ‘Remind me to thank Mila for that first picture of my ass as I landed a jump all those months ago.’
Otabek laughed and kissed him again before remembering that they had one more person to thank.
‘I will, but we both need to buy Phichit something for putting this whole thing in motion in the first place.’
And they did. They bought Phichit the biggest hamster plushie they could find as a token of their gratitude.