" [You] took down my life as from a shelf,
And blew the dust away." - Boris Pasternak, Out of Superstition
A hometown hero. Minako says to Yuuri as he packs a suitcase for the upcoming business trip. Hasetsu needed to establish some lifelines and it was up to Yuuri Katsuki to make it happen.
Hasetsu was a tourist town, small and cozy with valuable land but the past couple of years have been a battle for small time businesses to stay out of bankruptcy. Yu-topia, one of the final hot springs in Hasetsu left was sinking and his parents have been under scrutiny to keep the books in the black. Even in the face of increasingly aggressive contractors offering to take it off their hands, the land Yu-topia stood on was their version of the family heirloom, it was not up for sale.
We're counting on you, Yuuri! He knows they're supposed to be words of encouragement and yet all he feels are the burden of roles he needed to fill. Carrying on the hopes of his entire family and the residents of Hasetsu by proxy did not make Yuuri feel like the valiant hometown hero everyone else expected him to be.
Yuuri spent the last 5 years abroad in America, studying as an undergrad at Berkeley for a degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship with the intent of returning to revive the family business. He graduated with honours, so Yuuri knows how to crunch out numbers and graphs on projected growth, on efficiency, on trend line predictions with the best of them, that was never the real hurdle. Networking presented a challenge, surrounded by charisma and innate charm, Yuuris' anxiety weighed down on him. Still, Yuuri could manage to get by with his hard knowledge and a few close friends.
Problems arose when it came to presentations, where his charts and figures failed, regardless of how accurate they may be. Yuuri realizes that a large part of being successful with clients was about selling yourself rather than the product. Selling yourself as someone competent, self assured and thrives under the pressure of great responsibility. Someone clients can trust with their assets, someone who won't buckle. Unfortunately, professors never covered much of that in lecture.
This upcoming banquet would serve as a major opportunity to make connections with powerful investors that Hasetsu would otherwise never even hear of. No more quietly standing in the shadows, Yuuri needed to be on top of his game and stand out.
Yuuri loses track after drink number 6. The world got soft around the edges and he feels as if the entire room is filled with old friends he just happened to forget. Except, Yuuri can feel someone watching him in his periphery, could it be an actual old friend? Yuuri turns to look and... Definitely not someone you could forget easily, if at all. If Yuuri wasn't drunk he'd swear that man was glowing.
No to old friend, Yes to whatever that man wants to be.
Who is he? Yuuri doesn't know if he said that out loud but someone answers anyways.
"Victor! I didn't expect to see you here." A cheery woman in an evening gown approaches the glowing man and embraces him in a hug. When Victor turns to greet her, Yuuri zeros in trying catch Victor's eyes, do you see me? He succeeds for a split second and is sure the moment deserves a slow motion replay, not enough time has never been such a big problem.
That's it. Yuuri has just had four more glasses of something that turns everything around him into a fairytale and the prince just spotted his beau of the ball. He's certain the fantasy ends when the clock strikes midnight and every glass he knocks back just delays that hour a little longer. Yuuri never knew beer goggles, he just has champagne tinted glasses and it comes with a certain brand of confidence.
The DJ puts on a new track and a seductive rhythm kicks his fairytale off to an intoxicating start. Yuuri is pulling at his tie and swaying across the lounge to introduce himself to Victor. The beautiful glowing man raises his eyebrows in surprise when he catches sight of Yuuri just short of charging at him. Its debatable if Yuuris hips are rolling with the music or he is just...enthusiastic. Yuuri stops a few steps short, extends a hand out to Victor with half hooded eyes and his shirt more than half unbuttoned.
Dance with me. Not a question.
It's a bit obscene.
When Victor tentatively slips his fingers into Yuuris' open palm, Yuuri sees the devils mischief in a smile. His hand closes around Victors and Yuuri pulls him forward hard enough Victor almost stumbles. Yuuris body is there to catch him, they're pressed flush from knee to chest when Victor swings his right leg back for support and caresses his left thigh up against Yuuris' leg. The mischief in Victor smile transforms into...
"It is a tango, after all." He says to Yuuri, voice reverberating through them both. Yuuri didn't expect the accent but certainly appreciates it.
Yuuris' free hand is pressed against the small of his back (pull him closer, no, closer) and with the other sliding slowly down Victors' arm, he cross steps the both of them onto the dance floor. Victors traces a figure 8 and snaps into a back boleo with his leg bent upwards into a v while the other stays extended behind him, toes sliding against the marble floor as Yuuri pulls him forward. He doesn't break eye contact so why should Yuuri, they're both deadlocked in a gaze, barely catching their breath in a sweetheart embrace. Yuuri pivots Victor in a carousel and with forehead to forehead, dips Victors backwards with an arm wrapped around his waist. The song, as if on cue, plays a woman's breathless moan.
Obscene.
All those years of lessons in Minako's studio might as well have been built for this moment. Yuuri makes a mental note of getting Minako a nice present for her next birthday.
At one point, Yuuri mistakes Victors' step back for a move to walk away so he pulls the loosened tie over his head and with impressive accuracy, tosses the loop over Victor, giving a very firm tug once around the Russian man's neck. The gasp he hears is not from the song.
Everyone, dance floor and beyond, is staring. Staring and scandalized and possibly taking photos. Had there been children present, their eyes would be covered by a parents' hand.
Where do you think you're going?
They are close enough for Yuuri to steal a breath from Victor. An arm wraps gently around Victors back and Victors arm is draped across his shoulders. In the figures of Argentine Tango, this particular expression of emotion has a name; you are mine.
Victor whispers in Yuuris' ear about his impressive stamina and Yuuri is determined to prove him right. Either the DJ had an extensive block of fiery tango music planned or Cupid himself, was enjoying the show. By the time the dance floor clears, the pair has danced to fourteen songs back to back. They end in a dramatic final figure, with Victors' leg hooked on top of Yuuris' thigh and their bodies pressed together from the chest down. If Victor was feeling tired before, he's certainly feeling something else now.
When the night comes to a close, Yuuri is responsible for 15 empty flutes though he only drank 14.5. Victor is wearing the last half in his jacket and only then decides it might be a good time for the alcohol to stop flowing. Yuuri is clinging to Victor, his hips rolling on their own accord, slurring out his subconscious. "Victooooor" Yuuris' arms squeeze around his new dance partner. "Come viii-situh me in Haasetsuuu, my family owns a HOT springs, it's reeeeally w-" GASP. "Let's be bussinessssss partners Victooor... I'll give you mmhmyy carrrr-duh, you'll be my partner riiight?"
Victor blushes but Yuuri does not notice.
The next morning, Yuuri doesn't remember much from his alcohol induced fairytale. There are some fuzzy snippets in his memory about dancing with a beautiful, possibly glowing man and asking him to become part of his professional network... or something. All Yuuri knows for sure is that he ended up in the right bed in the morning with his phone and wallet intact, dignity not withstanding. Well, it was his bed, whether or not the right one is up for discussion.
On the night stand there is a glass of water and a business card. It just says Victor with a phone number listed below. If Yuuri was more observant, he would also see the faint outline of a kiss preserved in Chanel lip balm on the back. But he isn't, and the kiss goes undelivered.
After an abnormal amount of social media stalking and a relentless stream of what do I say? Because oh my god this guy is going to think I'm a drunken idiot that hits on strangers and propositions them to be an investor in his family business while partially undressed and Victor probably dumped him off in the hotel room after drunk Yuuri passed out post banquet. Which means he probably took a taxi with drunk Yuuri, had to dig through drunk Yuuris pockets for a room key, took off shoes, socks and glasses for drunk Yuuri, most likely got propositioned to be another kind of partner by drunk Yuuri and declined from the lack of a Victor shaped imprint in the space next to him. Oh god.
Sober Yuuri mentally berates the drunk one for messing up a legitimate chance to network with apparently a powerful and wealthy business mogul.
There is no way on the face of this planet Yuuri is calling Victor. He is flying back to Hasetsu and never drinking again.
Four days and a snow storm later, Victor shows up at Yu-topia. Yuuri finds him soaking in the hot springs. Naked. So very naked.
Victor moves in with Yuuri that very same night. There aren't many hotels in Hasetsu and their banquet hall has been doing little outside of collecting dust so Victor asks to rent it out. Yuuri's mom, Hiroko, would have accepted a smile as payment. Hiroko tells Yuuris' sister how glad she is now that Yuuris' FINALLY brought someone home. So handsome too!
Yuuri insists it's not like that. Mari gives him a pointed look. Victor is lying on the floor, sleeping, but not really.
That night, Yuuri realizes his heart is pounding because he is so happy.
