"One, two, three and a kick!"
"Yuuri! Faster tempo! Keep up with the group!"
"Yes ma'am!" Yuuri let out a soft sigh and started from the top again, repeating his routine for the show tonight. He had to get this right! He needed to be perfect! From the top!
From the rafters, blue eyes watched from behind a white and plain masquerade mask, he ran a hand through short silver hair in frustration. He would need to fix that with Yuuri later.
"Damn it!" The man thought. "He is thinking too much again. If he doesn't calm down his talent will be a waste!" The man began to think and wonder. What could he do to help young Yuuri?
The man admired the boy; he holds so much talent and potential! Behind the scenes he would watch the boy from the shadows. Yuuri would do wonderfully when he was alone! He would stay long after hours and do nothing but practice. He held such determination in his eyes, even though the man watching would be some distance away, he could see that emotion shine bright as the sun that beams above the town everyday. When no one was watching, it seemed like the music from the current number resonated through his body! Every step was on time, every sway of the hips were slow and oh so sensual! He rose as the music came to a crescendo and dipped as the music came down to a mild forte and eventually to a soft piano. His hands would fly above his head majestically and his facial expressions- oh how the man loved that slightly chubby face. How much emotion Yuuri portrayed, he was enveloped by the music! He was a wonder, his dancing was that of absolute and pure beauty!
But with all this in mind, he had to wonder. Why was he so fascinated with just one boy? Why was he on such a brink of pure obsession because of a 24-year-old man? The silver-haired man was well aware that his fascination turned to something more. He felt like he needed to help Yuuri! His talent alone was amazing but he was also making small improvements on his own. So why was the man so intent on this one dancer? A dancer who came from a small town? A dancer who never tasted the sweet flavor the spotlight provided until merely three years ago? It didn't make sense to him!
"Yuuri! You need to stop fucking up!" His thoughts were interrupted and he looked over the railing.
"I am well aware of this Yurio. You don't need to tell me twice." Yurio was yelling at his Yuuri again.
"Did I really just think 'my Yuuri?'"
"You need to do something about always falling behind! The extra practice because of you is killing us!" The man on the railing did not take kindly to the constant berating.
Yurio always had something against Yuuri! He was never kind to the older dancer and he was always just a grump. Perhaps he should do a bit of correcting. He reached for the rope that held the sandbag in the air that was just behind Yurio, he would never hurt the boy of course. Yurio had his own talent and despite being only 16, he was needed in the performance! The man only wanted to scare him a bit.
"What do you need help with Yuuri?" The man froze and his eyes widened.
"Did Yurio just lend Yuuri a hand?"
"Eh?" Yuuri seemed just as shocked.
"I said, what do you need help with? I can't have you dragging the rest of us down!" Yuuri gave a soft smile and began telling Yurio what he needed assisting with. Yurio pulled the elder man off to the side and began practice with him.
A benign smile came across the mysterious man's face and he slowly let the rope go, tucking the knife back into the inner pocket of his fancy vest that he wore. He could probably let today slide without an incident.
The dancers were all on the stage, getting extra practice while Yuuri was in the dressing room. He needed a breather and practice was technically over. Plus he needed to see that man again. He needed his help, his encouragement that he will do well tonight! He heard soft tapping on the large mirror behind him and gave a smile, rushing over to it.
"Victor?" He called out softly, soon the mirror opened like a door to show the man with the mask.
"Yuuri, you worked hard today! I'm proud of how far you come!" Victor smiled widely and stepped aside to let Yuuri through.
He gave a quick sign of gratitude and passed the threshold to the rather dusty inner workings of the theater. He was so shocked the first time he came through, terrified when he first met Victor. Seeing how gentle the man was now, it almost brought an embarrassed blush to his cheeks.
Yuuri had been practicing late again, it was his first show and he needed to be perfect! He worked and twirled and swayed until he brought himself to exhaustion and needed a break. Finally, his last attempt of the night, he nailed it! His routine was perfect! He could feel it in how he danced! He heard the clapping, the roar of the crowd in his head. Strangely, it only sounded like one pair of hands clapping.
"That was a beautiful show!" He heard someone shout and it startled him. The theater was closed! Why was there a silhouette of another person in the crowd?!
The man was standing near the front row, he stopped clapping and Yuuri shielded his eyes from the spotlights to get a view of the intruder. He was tall and pale, silver hair that covered his right eye, wearing a three-piece black suit and he was also wearing a white masquerade mask, simple and no design whatsoever on it.
"Wh-why are you here?! The theatre is closed! I-I'll call the cops!" He cursed himself for stuttering.
"Ah, I forgot you are new here! Yuuri, is it? I bet you overheard some rumors about this place. About this theater." The mysterious man began pacing back and forth in the small row, his bright blue eyes never straying from the man on the stage. He soon left the row and jumped onto the stage with ease, standing himself before the dark-haired male and giving a slight bow. "I am the phantom that haunts this theatre, or as they titled me, 'The Phantom of the Opera!'"
Yuuri froze as he stared at the man. From what he could see, the man was gorgeous, his voice was like silk and he was incredibly masculine. The rumors said the phantom was tall and hunched over, his face so hideously burned that he looked like a monster. His eyes behind the mask were supposed to be crimson red or a deathly white, burning with the fire of a passionate hatred! This had to be a joke!
"I-I'm calling the police!"
"They'll never find me." Yuuri choked on his words. "I know this theatre from top to bottom. I know all the secrets that hide behind the walls. They won't find me, dear Yuuri. Oh! I never gave my proper name did I? You may call me Victor."
Yuuri didn't understand. So the phantom was but a simple man? Why was he here? Why did he constantly cause incidents at the theatre?! He nearly hurt so many people!
"I am sure you are quite confused, I would be too! But trust me, you'll learn to like me. I see a lot of potential in you Yuuri. Your dancing is simply exquisite! I haven't seen someone dance like that since-"
"Wait!" Victor stopped talking, staring at the shorter man before him with an interested gaze. "Why are you showing yourself to me? What purpose does me liking you have?"
Victor was silent for but a moment before he let out a soft chuckle with a slight tilt of his head. Yuuri couldn't help but be charmed.
"I thought I made it obvious? I am fascinated by you! The way you dance around the stage-" Victor spread out his arms and twirled around Yuuri with such an elegance that it astonished the younger man, "the emotions you show when you dance, how it seems the music reverberates through your body! Such amazing dancing! I am astonished you are not the lead dancer! Or that you have such a grand part! You always seem to be an extra!"
"Because- well it's because I don't have any confidence." Yuuri confessed and this made the mysterious man pause in his dancing, returning to stand in front of Yuuri.
"Well we have to change that, don't we?"
After that, the two became closer and closer, Yuuri responded well to all of Victor's preachings and he worked probably a little harder than Victor.
"Yes! Just like that Yuuri! The audience will have their ears on the singer, but without a doubt the eyes will be all on you! Let your body carry the singer's voice! Just like that!" Victor had been praising Yuuri more and more, of course he also had his share of ridiculing and scolding, he came to love it. It was giving his such a surge of confidence!
"Yuuri, that's enough. You did really well! Go rest for the performance tonight." Yuuri turned to look at Victor, he saw something sparkle behind those blue eyes he come to admire.
"Right! You'll be watching, right?"
"Box 5 as usual. I would never miss a chance to see my Yuuri perform." Victor smiled at the blush that came to Yuuri's face. He made a mental note to keep trying to make Yuuri more flustered in the future.
"R-right! I-I'll see you then Victor!"
What happened next was a surprise to them both. Yuuri stepped over to the taller man and pressed a chaste kiss to the pale cheek. Victor was frozen and he felt something rummaging in the pocket on his chest, when Yuuri pulled away and ran off he looked down, spotting a rose that was not there previously and his own face flushed red.
"Yuuri. You really are going to be the death of me!" He couldn't stop the smile that formed across his face. It was then he realized what his true feelings were.
He was in love.
