The afternoon bustle of Detroit filled Victor's ears, as people streamed around him in waves, some giving a glance back at the neon pink sign on his chest that read, "Free Hugs!"

Victor had been on the streets the entire day, and so far had gotten exactly zero hugs. Not quite the reception he had hoped for when Chris had suggested it. Being the attractive and touch-starved person he is, he had complained to Chris one day that even those weird "Free Hugs" guys you see on streets got more hugs than him.

Chris, who had been in the middle of a very important project for school had finally gotten fed up with Victor not working, and had snapped at him, "Maybe you should become one, then."

Victor, being the extra person he was (something he took great pride in), took his words as a challenge, and decided he would. So the next day he painted a sign with the words, "Free Hugs" and stepped out onto the street, only to find that no one wanted to hug him.

Is everyone blind? He wondered. Why the passersby refused to pay attention to him he had no idea. He was certainly attractive enough! Victor had spent hours practicing his most charming smile and sweetest head tilt in the mirror, and knew without a doubt that he was beautiful.

Maybe it's the hair? Or maybe people just think all guys with these signs are creeps. He huffed, which caused a woman walking by to give him an unimpressed look as she hurried past. Why is it so hard to get affection? I just want a hug. To be honest, he couldn't blame them. He'd seen a fair few of them and they seemed to be mostly creepy old guys. No wonder no one wanted to talk to him.

Just as he was about to take off his stupid sign and call it quits, a blur of black and blue knocks into his chest, and Victor is suddenly winded by the crush of his chest to someone else's.

When he looks down, he is met with a tangle of black hair, seemingly uncombed, and a young man with his face buried into his chest. Huge sobs wrack the man's body, tears wetting and probably staining Victor's favorite shirt but it doesn't matter because there is someone crying on him.

Slowly, Victor raises his arms and wraps them around him. He isn't quite sure what to do with the rest of his body, so he squeezes the boy gently and strokes up his spine slowly. Victor rests his head on the boys hair and sways with him. His body is warm, pressed against him.

It takes a few minutes but the boy eventually stops crying, instead leaning heavily on Victor and sniffling. When the boy finally raises his head, Victor's breath catches in his chest. He has big brown eyes, bloodshot from a lack of sleep and with patches of red and dried skin around his eyes from crying. Soft black hair falls in front of his eyes and the boy's fingers and clenched tight in Victor's shirt. He is the cutest thing he's ever seen.

The boy seems to realize that he's still holding onto Victor and quickly lets go, taking a step back and breaking the tight circle of Victor's arms. He swipes at his eyes, then his nose, and rocks on his heels, "Umm, thanks. Sorry for crying on you. I'll leave you now."

The boy almost seems about to bow, before stopping himself, and scuttling away. Before Victor can stop himself, he calls out after the boy, "Hey! Wait!"

The boy stops in his escape, turning around slowly as if expecting to be ambushed by an angry horde.

Victor tries not to seem too nosy when he asks, "Are you alright?"

The boy gives a shaky nod from where he stands, and mumbles something into his chest.

Victor frowns, "I… I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

The boy comes closer hesitantly and wrings his fingers.

"It's nothing, I just… My dog is all the way back home, and he just came back from the hospital but I wasn't there for him and… I guess I just… Needed a hug?" He stops abruptly.

"I'm glad he's ok." Victor isn't lying. He can't imagine what would happen if his own dog had gotten hurt and he wasn't there to comfort her.

The boy looks interested suddenly, "You have a dog?"

Victor grins, "Yep, a poodle. Standard. Her name is Makkachin and she's the best dog."

The boy smiles. It crinkles his eyes and brings out a dimple in one of his plush cheeks. Victor can't get enough of it.

The boy takes a deep breath, then releases it and says, "My name is Yuuri, by the way." The name makes him smile. A beautiful name for a beautiful boy.

He realizes that they both have been blocking the sidewalk for about ten minutes now and decides to take a chance.

Victor takes a deep breath, and opens his mouth, "Can I have your number? I can… send you pictures of my dog! To help when you're homesick!"

Yuuri flushes red. Trembling hands take his phone, and shaky fingers type in his contact info. As he types, he sneaks glances up at Victor who tries his best to look passive, instead of jumping up and down like his heart is at the moment.

Finally, Yuuri hands it back, "I don't think I got your name?"

He slaps his forehead, "I'm Victor! Sorry for forgetting."

Yuuri smiles back. "It's alright. I'll… see you later?"

Victor smiles dreamily, "Yeah. I'll see you."

It's only later, while lying in bed with Makkachin does he realize that Yuuri had said 'see', and the realization makes him feel giddy.

Finally, someone to love.

ughhhh

I guess I'm posting my Day 4 and 5 works later this week then. I came up with this idea a while ago and couldn't stop thinking about it!

Tumblr: kingfishling

AO3: kingfishling

Hit me up!