Yuuri was twisting the gold band about his finger with impatience and staring through the crowds. Being at the airport bothered him, but it bothered him that it bothered him at all. He traveled for his career and was not a nervous flyer. He wished he was at the rink right now, training instead. A warm hand settled on his shoulder and he flinched.
"You look like you're waiting for your date." Playful and teasing. Viktor smiled, but Yuuri did not find the joke funny. You're the only one I go on dates with, Yuuri thought. "Too scared?"
"There's nothing to be scared of." He immediately replied. This wasn't fear.
"Exactly!" Viktor gave him a hard pat on the back, almost knocking his fiancé over. "You're so shy around people, but you've talked to them before."
"You did all of the talking with them, Viktor."
"Nonsense!" He wagged a finger at Yuuri. "I remember you being there during the video calls."
"But you did all the talking. You were so excited to plan out your new season outfits and mine." Viktor hesitated for a moment, his mind playing back his memories behind blue eyes.
"I did do a lot of talking." Yuuri sighed. Viktor took the opportunity to wrap his arm around Yuuri's shoulders and pulled him close. "But it's alright. I don't think we have a pushy designer." The younger man did not look any more convinced and Viktor wondered if he misread his mood. Yuuri still twisted the ring about his finger.
"Mr. Nikiforov! Mr. Katsuki!" A voice called from behind. The pair turned around and almost jumped back. A young woman had crept up behind them without their notice, smiling wide with suitcases in tow, twirling a long strand of wavy golden brown hair between her fingers. Yuuri noted how small she was, having to actually look down at her. She chuckled at them. "I'm sorry! I thought calling your name across the airport would cause too much attention, but you didn't notice me." Viktor's charm returned without hesitation and came with a smile.
"Es tu Eva?"
"Bien sur!" She exclaimed. "Enchenté, monsieur! Comment allez vous?" She leaned forward on her tiptoes and kissed Viktor's cheeks, who copied the greeting in turn and gave his answer. The hair on the back of Yuuri's neck stood on edge; the muscles in his back and shoulders tensed. Smiling, she turned to Yuuri, who had frozen at what he witnessed.
"Et vous? Comment allez vous, Monsiuer Katsuki?" It was almost like it was happening in slow motion. She leaned in and kissed his cheek ever so softly. All Yuuri could focus on was how hot his face was getting and how quickly his blood pressure jumped. Somewhere in reality, he heard Viktor laughing. "Quel est le problème?"
"Yuuri ne parle pas français ou sait douane de français."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Katsuki!" Her joyful demeanor fell and she took to twirling her hair again. "I got so excited when Mr. Nikiforov spoke French, I jumped into my usual habit! I was just saying hello!" She could not stop herself as she went on with her apology. Yuuri's guard melted as he listened and was gradually replaced with a guilt for causing her so much anxiety because of something he did not know. Worsened by knowing he was practically enraged when he saw her greet Viktor, when it was just his cultural ignorance that caused his reaction.
"It's totally fine!" He interrupted, waving his hands to disperse the misunderstanding. "Really! I was just surprised! Wasn't prepared for it."
"Then let me start again!" The woman took a step back and thrust out her hand. "I am Eva Dupont, seamstress for The Paris Opera Ballet. It's nice to meet you!" Feeling only a little embarrassed, Yuuri gingerly took the woman's hand and shook it.
"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Eva Dupont." From the sidelines, he heard Viktor chuckle.
"Is this my Yuuri's first kiss from a girl?" An intense, acute pain hit Yuuri in the chest, like he had been stabbed. "I feel so blessed to be able to witness it!"
"Viktor!" Yuuri warned with a harsh whisper, leaning in dangerously close for his threat. But if Viktor ever felt fear, he did not know how to show it. On the contrary, he looked to be having a hard time keeping the grin off of his face. Feeling the erratic emotions in the air, Eva tapped the toe of her boot before figuring out what to do next.
"Oh!" She tried to get their attention. "I'm sure there's a lot to do and I don't want to take up your whole day. I already grabbed my bags so let's head off!" She smiled, hoping that the change of subject would help. With both sets of eyes on her, it seemed to.
"Yes, you're right!" Viktor agreed. "But we'll take it slow and easy, so as to not overwhelm you. St. Petersburg is a big city and you can get lost if you're not careful."
"This way to the street." Yuuri pointed out. He asked if Eva needed help with her luggage but she firmly denied the assistance, saying she only had the two bags. As they exited the airport, Viktor asked Eva if she needed to call her boss since she landed. Like remembering a forgotten chore, she began to dig out her phone and said she would call him during the drive. Viktor waved down a small van for them.
Loading up the bags and climbing into the cab, Eva gave Viktor the address of their destination to relay it to the driver. Once on the road, Eva called her boss.
"Can I talk to Monsieur Vionnet?" Viktor asked while the call was still connecting. Eva agreed to hand him her phone when she was finished. Yuuri thought that Eva's boss must have cared for her, if he wanted his seamstress to call him right after arriving in a foreign country. They spoke in French, but from the tone of the conversation, it seemed light and caring, with Eva waiting patiently and answering questions with a smile. With a little prompting, Eva then turned her phone over for Viktor to use, having to stretch over Yuuri to give it to him. Of course, Viktor spoke to Vionnet in French too.
"Eva?" Yuuri asked in a lowered voice. He thought he could sit quietly, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Hmm?"
"What is Viktor saying?" Eva took a few seconds to listen and replied.
"He's just saying thank you for the attention Mr. Vionnet is giving you two. And saying how excited he is." Yuuri was hit with a rude realization.
"Oh, yes! Thank you for coming so far to work on our costumes!" He bowed his head in appreciation. He should have said this sooner. Eva giggled nervously and waved her hands; she seemed just as much out of her element as when Yuuri experienced her French greeting.
"It's a wonderful opportunity! I'm so excited to be here! Besides," She relaxed. "This is a great challenge to show Mr. Vionnet that I can take the next step in my career." Yuuri let out an 'oh'; he did not realize that such stakes were made with this arrangement. In her own way, she was competing.
"I'm certain you'll make impressive outfits for Viktor and I and show your worth as a designer."
"Thank you! I will certainly do my best." Yuuri turned to Viktor and was surprised to see him still carrying on the call with Mr. Vionnet. He turned back to Eva.
"Is this sort of arrangement common? Designing outside of the ballet?"
"Very much so!" Eva perked up. "Collaboration between fashion worlds is very common for designers. Mr. Vionnet is notorious for it actually. He sticks with the Paris Opera Ballet because it's steady work and his favorite is ballet, but he enjoys designing for other sports and even fashion shows. It's why he has such a large staff under him; so much work to do."
"That's amazing. I didn't know he did all of that."
"Viktor is the one who asked to collaborate with Mr. Vionnet, huh?" Eva giggled. "Makes sense now why he did all of the talking before."
"That's right." Viktor answered, stretching past Yuuri and handing Eva her phone back. "Jacques designed one of my outfits and I thought it would be nice to work with him again."
"Really?" Yuuri asked with eyes lit up. Having a costume designed for him by the same man who did work for Viktor before had his little fanboy heart all aglow. "Which one?"
"Umm," Viktor thoughtfully tapped his lips, "That black one you liked so much." A little piece of Yuuri seized up as he processed the answer.
That black one.
"You mean your outfit from the Junior World Championship that I used for my Eros program?"
"Yes! That one!" Eva answered, flicking past photos on her phone. She presented to them a photo of Yuuri in the middle of his program from the Grand Prix, dressed in the black and silver ensemble. "One of the seamstresses in the workshop is really into ice skating. When you started to take over the charts Mr. Katsuki, she was so excited for every event and had us watch the competitions together. She got a lot of us into it! Mr. Vionnet pointed out that he designed this outfit, but said he made it for a young Viktor Nikiforov years ago."
A short, awkward silence took over the cab.
"Young?"
Oh no.
From the look on Eva's face, Yuuri knew that there was no salvaging what had been said. He turned and sure enough, Viktor had hid his face from them, listlessly looking out the window of the cab. "Have so many years passed already?"
Eva was a confused, apologizing a mess of words while Yuuri tried to help. Eva had clearly misremembered the event, Yuuri explained. Indeed, she was known for her poor memory and was teased in the workroom, Eva supported. They went back and forth for a bit, but clearly they were talking to an immutable wall of Viktor's insecurities. The cab stopped and the driver said something in Russian, turning back to the trio and jabbing his thumb outside. And that was all it took for Viktor's mood to change.
"We're here!" He exclaimed as he slid out of the van. Eva sputtered something in Russian with a thick accent to the driver and dug out some bills from her purse. She smiled and handed over the fare. Yuuri and Viktor took the time to unload her bags.
"Where is here?" Yuuri asked, realizing that they were standing in front of an apartment complex he was not familiar with.
"Just where I'll be staying while I work for you two." She thanked the men as she took her luggage from them.
"Where would you like to go now?" Viktor asked the young woman as she returned from settling her things in her room. The process of getting into the little flat was a bit of a process between the landlady and the language barrier, but it was furnished with the bare necessities and ready for Eva. Yuuri wondered if that was something this particular apartment building could do for tenants for an extra fee, or if all of this was bought and set up specifically for Eva.
"I'm here for work. I don't want to hold you two back from your training." Eva explained. "I have an address to the rink you practice at. Anything else I can get directions for on my own or ask for help." She held up her phone for emphasis.
"Oh? But you're Russian is so poor." Yuuri sympathized with the little pain Eva felt at that moment. Viktor was honest but not known for his patience. He had to help walk Eva through her interaction with the landlady and even read through her contract, pointing out and translating the important elements in the agreement. And hearing her Russian to the cab driver? Yuuri knew he had a few pointers on her pronunciation.
"Maybe Eva is tired and is trying to be polite."
"I'm fine." The woman straightened her shoulders and gave a smile. "If you'd like to help me, Mr. Nikiforov, then I won't refuse your kindness." Viktor smiled.
"Bien! And call Yuuri and I by our first names." He wrapped his arm around Yuuri's shoulders and pulled him close. "You're going to be making our competition costumes, after all. We should be on friendly terms!"
It was in a quiet, fleeting moment when Yuuri saw something switch in Eva. If he wasn't looking at her right then, he might not have ever noticed it. Her eyes became a little softer and her posture relaxed a little. She had realized something and it had made her completely readable to Yuuri. Here she was, a foreign seamstress in a country she didn't know the language of, without a familiar face to find comfort in, for a project that could possibly change her designing career. Yuuri wanted to reach out, finding something familiar in that look of hers, but it was dismissed almost as quickly as it had slipped out. Eva replied with a genuine smile.
"I would like that a lot!"
They showed Eva the Yubileyny Sport Club where they train and the closest supermarket to her apartment. That quickly devolved into the best cafes in the area and some quiet little parks if she ever needed to refresh her mind from all of her work. They, of course, had to try a cup of coffee and some sweets for comparison. Then when Eva asked if she should plan a day to see anything special, Viktor ran through a list of his favorite places and events in St. Petersburg, showing her some of his favorite places to eat and drink. By this point, Eva was completely enthralled with the city and seduced by the colorful lights of a popular street known for its bars and wanted to try local, Russian vodka. Yuuri, usually known for his stamina, stood on the sidelines and wondered where this small woman got her energy from. He asked her how she was feeling after all the excitement from the day.
Eva said she felt great and led them into a bar.
In this little establishment with few patrons visiting on this weeknight and easy music playing in the background, Yuuri found some solace. At least it wasn't packed to the walls with loud men talking over blaring music. Viktor sat them at the bar for easy ordering.
Eva was surprisingly comfortable drinking an array of beverages, from shots to mixed drinks to local beer. Yuuri had a favorite and he was not inclined to be experimental tonight. Eva had become very talkative and loved asking questions almost as much as she loved answering them.
How did you learn English?
My mother is American. Learned it growing up.
Where did you grow up?
Marseille. I'm still not used to Paris winters!
How did you become a seamstress for the Paris Opera Ballet?
I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little, but I wasn't very good! I learned I liked making costumes more and ran with it!
Where do you live in Paris?
In a little flat with two other Ballet seamstresses.
Do you have a boyfriend?
Yes, I do!
And it was at this point the conversation took a long tangent on just Eva's boyfriend. It was cute to see her so smitten with him, but Yuuri couldn't decide if her cheeks were pink from affection or from drinking. He is a dancer in the ballet, just admitted a little over a year ago; that's how they met. Their one year anniversary will be next month. Eva had to show them a picture at this point, according to her. Yuuri leaned in to get a good look and had to nod. He was a pretty looking guy.
"Oh! Let's take a photo!" Eva suddenly exclaimed. Yuuri gave some dissenting noises but they were in vain. Viktor squeezed the three of them together to fit in the frame. Yuuri hoped that his smile was coming across as sincere and not awkward, like it felt.
"Eva, take a photo of Yuuri and me now!" He pushed his phone into the woman's hands.
"Really, Viktor."
"I'd love to!" Eva fussed at the two of them to make some sort of cute pose, which Viktor did with enthusiasm. But she wasn't content to take just one photo. She asked them to switch sides, claiming Viktor's hair was too long on his left side and then she asked them to kiss. Yuuri was not sure when she turned into a paparazzo and he wondered how many pictures were on her Instagram account. But her attention was caught by something else mid-session.
"Oh, I just love your rings!" It was too much. Yuuri could feel his face heat up. "May I see them?"
"Of course!" Viktor acquiesced and grabbed a hold of his finacé's wrist, Yuuri's ears burning all the while. He held them up for Eva to see. "Simple yet beautiful."
"Purity needs no adornment." The woman replied with a smile. Yuuri wondered if he was that easy to read in his embarrassment or if Eva was too good at reading people. Or perhaps her philosophy on love was similar to his?
"I can't believe how shiny they are!" Or perhaps Yuuri was giving her too much credit. "I thought there was some editing done with them when I watched your couple's skate, but they really just shine like that!"
"Are they that bright?" Yuuri turned his hand around to examine it himself. He, of course, thought it was bright and beautiful, but he figured that was just him and his special bond with the ring. Was it that obvious to everyone else? Distracted, Viktor took the opportunity to drape himself over Yuri's shoulders in an elegant, melting way. He rubbed their cheeks together and the younger man noticed how warm his finacé's face was. Eva cooed a mignonne, whatever that was.
As the evening rolled on, Yuuri was fearing resistance to leave the bar for the night, but when he spoke up Eva supported his decision. "I've had enough for the night" would have sounded responsible if she wasn't laughing while she said it. She and Viktor did have a little spat over the payment of their tab, but Eva bowed out quickly. She grabbed a hold of Yuuri and asked for his help hailing a cab while Viktor paid, but her true intentions were revealed very quickly when they exited. Eva pulled open Yuuri's jacket as he flailed about, confused and wondering what to do next, and then realized that she was thrusting a small wad a bills into his interior coat pocket. She responded with a wink.
"Our little secret." She placed a finger to her lips as Yuri tried to rub his cold hands against his hot face. Viktor joined them and gave them a playful, disapproving look.
"Where is the cab?"
"Our Russian isn't very good!" With a smile, Viktor hailed a cab. Eva wished the pair a good night and lavish thank yous for the day. She jumped in, gave the address of her apartment very slowly and was off. Thinking he rubbed all the red off of his cheeks, Yuuri waited patiently for Viktor to hail themselves a cab.
"You did a lot for her today." He mentioned as the cab pulled up. Viktor opened the door for him.
"You think so?" A noncommittal response as he joined Yuuri in the cab. He gave their address to the driver.
"I think she's grateful for it." Yuuri tapped a finger against his knee. "Did you feel like you owed it to her? For Mr. Vionnet?"
"I see it like this: she's going to be making something personal for me, something to help me with what I want. If I want her to make the best product for me, I feel like she can do that better if we build a good relationship." Viktor smiled. "Today was like a warm-up. Getting to know each other, to help our professional relationship in the future. Besides," He reached over and caressed Yuuri's fidgety hand, snaking his way over Yuuri's knee and thigh. "She's going to be touching our bodies a lot, so we better be comfortable with each other!"
"Viktor!"
A/N: Thank you for reading! More to come soon! I'm thinking of updating every three weeks, so please look forward to more!