Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Yuri on Ice.
A/N: I intend for Yuri to be about 19 and Otabek to be about 22 for most of this fic. So, they started rooming together at competitions when Yuri was 18 and Otabek was 21 and the friendship had plenty of time to develop before that.
Also, this story is written for the Otayuri Happy New Year Fic Week being run on Tumblr by otayuri-ficrec. This chapter doesn't respond to a particular prompt, but the others will.
Yuri likes the term "best friend." It means something, so much more than "friend" does, and he's really happy about the fact that Otabek uses it first. Not only does Otabek mean something (so much more than something—the world) to him, but he means something (more than something?) to Otabek. Since Otabek isn't dating someone, Yuri being his best friend means Yuri is the most important person in his life outside his family. And Yuri likes that.
Besides, "best friend" is pretty accurate. It explains why Yuri and Otabek Skype several times a week, and why they've roomed together during competitions for the past two years. It clarifies why Otabek picks all the music Yuri skates to and why they always shout, "Davai!" at each other before they compete.
But it doesn't explain everything. Like, for instance, the reason Yuri is the only person outside Otabek's family who's featured in any of Otabek's Instagram posts. Or the reason Yuri asks Otabek to braid his hair every time they see each other, regardless of whether Yuri is competing. Or the reason both of them spend more than they can afford on flights to Almaty from St. Petersburg and vice versa, every time they get so much as a long weekend.
No, the accurate term for some of that behavior might be crush.
Katsudon figures it out earlier than anyone—earlier than Yuri, at least, and he's pretty sure earlier than Victor as well. He bring it up at World's, during the first season that Otabek and Yuri are rooming together and Otabek is picking Yuri's music. "You at Otabek remind me of how Victor and I were at the beginning of our relationship," he says while Victor's in the bathroom when the three of them are out to dinner.
Yuri's eyes go wide, and he's too shocked to be mean immediately. He just says, "What? No! How?"
"Well, he's picking your music, and you're rooming together, and you're the only person he really talks to, and you both look at each other like you're seeing something extraordinary . . ."
"Just because you and the geezer are fucking gay doesn't mean we all are," Yuri snaps.
Yuuri flinches, but all he says is, "I never said you were gay. I just said you like Otabek—and he likes you back."
"You're out of your fucking mind, pig," says Yuri, just as Victor returns from the bathroom.
"Come on, Yurio, can't you play nice for once?" Victor says, taking his seat.
"No," Yuri says petulantly. "And that's not my fucking name." He folds his arms but then quickly unfolds them so he can keep eating.
He thinks about mentioning the conversation to Otabek so they can laugh about how crazy Katsudon is, but, on the way back to the hotel, it occurs to him that the pig might be right. It would hardly be nice to try to get Otabek to laugh about a crush the poor guy has been trying to keep secret. Though, who is he kidding—why would Otabek like him? Then again, he is Otabek's best friend . . . it's not so far-fetched . . .
The idea of Otabek liking him makes him go warm, and his heart rate speeds up. Fuck. He has a crush on his best friend.