Past
Yuuri was startled awake to the annoying shrilling of the alarm clock on the bedside table. He grumbled as he turned it off and fell back down against his pillow with a sigh. He never was an easy early riser but throw jet leg on top of this and he was seriously considering just rolling over and going back to sleep. He groans and sits up and reaches for his glasses putting them on. No, he can't sleep because he has to get to the skating rink in an hour to begin training with his new student. He gets out of bed and goes to his still packed suitcase to take out some grey sweats, trainers and an old white t-shirt, doubting he would need his proper ballet training clothes, today is only about finding Mila's weaknesses and starting basics.
He takes his clothes to the bathroom and strips out of his sleepwear before hopping in the shower and turning the water slightly cold to help wake him up a bit more. After his shower he gets dressed, throws on his coat, hat and scarf and heads out of his hotel room, down and outside to the shops to buy a quick breakfast to eat while in the cab.
His mind wanders back to yesterday while he sits in the cab, hardly believing that he actually talked to Viktor Nikiforov. Of course, he knew he would eventually have seen him, it was his home rink after all but Yuuri wasn't prepared for meeting him straight away, especially with his flirtatious? banter. Yuuri nearly blushed again thinking about it, not that he was complaining.
He enters the building and sees the same receptionist from yesterday look up at his entrance and waves at him "Good morning Mr Katsuki. You remember the way to the rink and changing rooms yes?"
"Yeah, thanks urm…" He enquires.
"Oh, it's Anna." She responds with a smile. Yuuri nods.
"Thank you Anna." He says, and proceeds to walk to the changing rooms, just before the entrance to the rink.
He heads to an empty locker and stuffs his outdoor wear in. He looks into his backpack to make sure he has his skates he brought with him from Detroit, should he need to go on the ice. He sees he did pack them thankfully, takes them out and stuffs his backpack containing his alter egos costume in the locker before closing it. He doesn't put his skates on; he just carries them into the rink arena, uncertain if he needs them today. The rink is quieter compared to yesterday with only Mila and Yakov around. It was only 7:30am and the other skaters didn't begin training until 8:30am, giving Yuuri time to observe Mila without it distracting the others or themselves.
As he is approaching the two, Mila looks up after finishing tying her skates and spots him. She stands up with a large smile on her face and waves.
"Morning, Mr Katsuki!" she said as Yakov turns around and nods to Yuuri in greeting.
"You can just call me Yuuri, Mila its fine." He said, giving a warm smile and he sees her cheeks go red as she nods okay. Yakov comes forward and places a strong hand on Yuuri's shoulder.
"Thank you again for this Mr Katsuki, and be sure to pass on my regards to Lilia too, I owe her." He says with the slightest bit of begrudging affection at the mention of Yuuri's coach. Yuuri tried not to smirk; he had his suspicions that there was something between his ballet coach and the Russian skating coach.
"Honestly it's no problem." Yuuri replies and Yakov gives a curt nod and removes his hand and tells Mila to get on the ice and show Yuuri her short programme. She nods eagerly but Yuuri could tell she was a little bit nervous as she went to the middle of the ice and enters her beginning pose. Yuuri leans his arms against the barrier as Yakov starts the music and they both watch Mila skate her programme. As Yuuri watches he makes notes and sees that she is strongest in her technical aspects especially her jumps but her presentation, though not terrible, was a little stiff and robotic at times. Yuuri understands why Yakov thought ballet would help her, she had the flexibility she just didn't know how to correctly use it. As she came to her finishing pose and the music stops she was breathing heavily and looks to Yuuri with apprehension. Yuuri gave her a warm smile as she skates over to him.
"That was good Mila, you obviously have your jumps and spins down but your presentation does need work but don't worry you have the potential we just need to get to it." He said and she nods with a small smile.
"I made some quick notes on what we need to do to improve your flow and we can start it on Monday in the ballet studio, it's just on to the right after reception right? That's good; it means we can train just before or after you've done your normal training on the ice. It's not going to be easy, it's a lot of training you will undergo but if you are serious about making it in the senior division, I'm afraid it's the only way" Yuuri tells her and she nods and her eyes shine with determination.
"I'll do whatever it takes, I won't disappoint you!" She replies strongly and Yakov gives a gruff of approval and has a proud look in his eyes. Yuuri smiles at her passion and respects her dedication to it, much like him at her age.
"Great! Well if Mr Feltsman agrees, I think for the rest of the morning you should try and just work on loosening up at these stages of your routine and see how that goes" He says as he points and shows his notes to Mila as Yakov agrees.
The next 3 hours Mila goes over her routine with Yuuri telling her when to loosen so her movements aren't so stiff at certain points and he starts to see the tiniest of improvements but he knows it won't be perfect until she has learnt the movements of a prima ballerina. The rink had started to fill with other skaters throughout the hours but as he gives her his full attention as she tries again, he doesn't notice the figure that approaches him from behind.
"Good morning Yuuri!" A loud cheerful voice startles him from behind and as he spins around he comes face to face with Viktor who is giving Yuuri his dazzling smile unaware that something very bad could have just happened to him for sneaking up on Yuuri like that. Yuuri had to calm his instincts down as soon as he seen who it was, clenching his fists in the effort to contain his powers that had come to the surface at the potential of an attack. Yuuri let out a deep breath as he felt the ice within him reside.
"Viktor, Hi, how are you?" Yuuri says as Viktor sits down on the bench a few steps away from him and starts putting on his skates with his trademark gold blades.
"Great! Although I wouldn't say the same about you, you look exhausted." He commented with a tilt of his head with what Yuuri thought looked like the slightest concern in his eyes.
"Yeah I had to get up earlier than I usually do today plus I'm still getting over the jet leg" he says while trying to cover a small yawn that escaped. Viktor smiled softly with a look of understanding.
"Ah, jet lag, it gets even the best of us" He said as he stands up and come over to lean his hip against the barrier that Yuuri was leaning against, the skates he wore making him even taller than he already was. "So, what do you think of our dear Mila's skating then?" He asks Yuuri.
"Yakov was right, she only needs to work on her flow, and hopefully I can help her with that." Yuuri said.
"I'm sure a 3-time world prima ballerina gold medallist will handle it just fine." Viktor smirks. Yuuri eyes widen slightly.
"Y-you know who I am?" Yuuri asked. Viktor raises an eyebrow and leans his arm against the barrier.
"Of course, though to be fair I don't really watch the ballet championships, but Mila does when you're competing and I saw you. The way you move, it's like you're making music with your body, it's quite beautiful." Viktor confesses while giving Yuuri an appraising look with a small smile playing on his lips. Yuuri can feel his heartbeat faster at his words and heat rise to his cheeks causing him to bow his head in an effort to hide it. Viktor had seen him dance and thought it was beautiful? He felt his stomach flutter.
"Have you ever seen my performances?" Viktor inquired after a second and when Yuuri lifted his head he saw his eyes were filled with mirth at Yuuri's reaction to his compliment. Yuuri wanted to laugh, had he ever seen Viktor's performances? He thinks of all the times him and Yuko would spend in front of the TV watching Viktor performance since his junior years. Not to mention he actually has a poster of him in his dorm room back in Detroit that he had since he was 11 and still hasn't taken down.
"Oh, urm yeah, I really enjoy figure skating so I've seen a few" He thinks of these routines, how Viktor makes it look so effortless but also showing such passion, every move perfect that you can't look away "It's mesmerising.." Yuuri said breathlessly until he realised with horror that he actually just said that. Viktor beamed at Yuuri's response and was about to say something when Yakov came over.
"Viktor, what are you doing, get on the ice now and practice!" He growled. Viktor chuckled and pushed of the barrier, took off his safeguards and was about to go on the ice when he saw Yuuri's pair of skates beside his feet. He looked up at Yuuri with a surprised look on his face.
"Yuuri, are those yours?" He asked.
"Oh, y-yeah but-"He stuttered out before Viktor interrupted him.
"You can skate?" He asked with an excited expression.
"Well yes but- I can only really just move around." Yuuri said. He knew this wasn't true, he could do a bit more than that but there was no way he was going to skate in front of Viktor, he would end up panicking and fall flat on his face. Viktor regarded him for a second before a large smile crossed his face.
"I know, I will teach you!" He exclaimed. Before Yuuri could even formulate a response Yakov came forward and pushed Viktor onto the ice.
"No Viktor you will not be teaching Mr Katsuki, You will be training like I've been telling you for the past 10 minutes!" Yakov shouted and Viktor gave a mock salute to his coach as Yuuri tried not to laugh at Yakov's annoyance. He watched Viktor skate off to the middle of the ice rink and start warming up with some simple spins and jumps but still as amazing that Yuuri found it very difficult to turn his attention to Yakov who had just asked him to come to his office to discuss the days and times for Mila's ballet lessons. Yuuri nods and follows Yakov but not before turning back to look at Viktor who turned to see Yuuri leaving and gave him a smile. Yuuri returned it before turning back around and entering Yakov's office.
It took longer than expected to sort out everything but finally it was all set. He would be training Mila on Monday and Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons. Yuuri's payment was also sorted, even if this was a favour, he was a prima ballerina champion, he literally had to get paid for his services but that seemed like no problem for coach Feltsman. His accommodation was also fully paid for and he would be staying at the hotel he was already in for the next 6 weeks, but food and other necessities Yuuri insisted he paid for himself. When he left Yakov's office it was 2pm. He had nothing else to do today so he decided he might as well get back to the hotel or maybe go for a run. He went to the locker room to collect his stuff when he remembered he had left his skates in the rink arena.
He entered the rink and headed straight for where he last left his skates but found they were not there. He frowned and looked around and got down on his hands and knees to look under the bench but they were nowhere to be found.
"Looking for these?" A familiar voice came from above him and in surprise he lifted his head, forgetting he was under the bench, whacking his head against it.
"Ow!" He mumbled while getting to his feet, rubbing where he hit his head with his hand and seeing Viktor leaning against a wall, holding Yuuri's skates by their laces while smirking. Yuuri glared at his obvious mirth at his clumsiness and took his skates from him.
"Where are you headed?" Viktor asks him.
"I don't know, back the hotel probably, I'm finished for the day." Yuuri said.
"Oh perfect! I've finished too. I know, let's go and get a coffee, you look like you're about to fall asleep right here. I know a really great café not 5 minutes from here." Viktor suggested. He arched an eyebrow when Yuuri was about to argue he wasn't tired. Yuuri sighs, accepting defeated.
"Okay sure."
"Good! I'm just going to get a shower in the changing rooms and get dressed I'll be 5 minutes." Viktor said as he headed to the changing rooms and Yuuri sat down on the bench, pulling out his phone. He saw he had messages from Phichit. He checked the time and compared it to Detroit's time. Realising Phichit would be awake he decided to video call him. After a few rings his best friend answered and his smiling face appeared on Yuuri's screen.
"Phichit-Kun!"
"Yuuri! Hey! How is St Petersburg?"
"I've only been here a day and a half" Yuuri laughed. "I haven't really seen much of it but from what I have its awesome!"
"That's great! When you go to the sites send me photos!" Phichit demands. "So how's the skater that needs your help?"
"Just worked out her schedule, she's really good she just needs a bit of help on her flow"
"yeah I didn't think she would be bad, she is on Yakov Feltsman's Russian Figure Skating Team" Phichit laughs "Speaking of Russian figure skaters… have you met your heart throb yet?"
"PHICHIT!" Yuuri exclaimed and Phichit just laughed. "But yes I met Viktor"
"and?!"
"And he's even more attractive in person" Yuuri sighs. "He's actually a really nice person as well; he's taking me for coffee in a minute actually."
"I'm sorry WHAT?" Phichit shouted. "YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH VIKTOR NIKIFOROV?!"
"What?! No, it's just to get a coffee!" Yuuri exclaimed. "It's not a date… right?"
"I don't know Yuuri it sounds pretty date-ish to me, is it just you and him going?"
"Urm yes.."
"Hmm"
"Phichit it's not a –"
"Yuuri!" Viktor shouted as he was approaching him. He leaned over his shoulder to see who was on the phone. "Who is this?" he asks politely. Yuuri sees Phichit is gobsmacked at seeing the famous skater so answers for him.
"This is Phichit." Yuuri said. Viktor gives a wave and hello to Phichit who gives a giant smile. Then all of a sudden Viktor moves in close to the phone and points at Phichit's background. "Is that me?" He asks lightly and Yuuri and Phichit both freeze. Phichit was back home in Detroit sitting at the computer desk, which is opposite Yuuri's side of the room, which happened to have a poster on the wall of a certain Viktor Nikiforov. Yuuri started getting heart palpitations, oh god this is awkward. He did the only thing he could and he knew his best friend would play it too no matter how embarrassing.
"Oh yeah, that's Phichit's." Yuuri squeaked and Phichit eyes widened in shock before answering.
"Sorry yeah that's mine" he laughs awkwardly "I'm a big fan of figure skating and well you're one of my favourites" Phichit said. It wasn't a complete lie, Phichit enjoyed figure skating as much as Yuuri, he just didn't have posters of his favourites who he happened to have a bit of a crush on. Viktor smiled a bright smile and laughed.
"Well thank you! Hey I'll send you a signed poster back with Yuuri when he returns home for you!" Viktor said happily.
"Yeah thanks that would be great." Phichit said. Viktor waved goodbye and told Yuuri he would wait in the reception area while he finished his call. As soon as he left the rink, Yuuri turned back to video call.
Phichit was staring at him, his face un-amused and arms folded across his chest. "You owe me. Big time."
Yuuri sighs "I know I'm sorry I panicked, but thank you Phichit! You're the bestest friend a guy could have!" he said sweetly trying to worm his way out of Phichit's glare.
"You bet your ass I am" Phichit let a small smile slip through before it became a full blown grin. "Go on and enjoy your date, I'll speak to you soon."
Yuuri rolled his eyes at the date comment and said goodbye before hanging up. It wasn't a date. As if Viktor would ever ask someone like Yuuri on a date. He grabbed his skates and stuffed them in his bag. Throwing the bag over his shoulder he headed out the rink to the reception area to find Viktor waiting for him. Viktor looked up from his phone when he heard Yuuri approach and put it away while giving him a smile.
"Right then, already to go?" He asked. Yuuri nodded and they headed out together. It was especially cold today, even for Yuuri which was saying something, causing him to shiver and hide his face in his scarf. Viktor, wearing his own hat and scarf looked down and Yuuri and smirked,
"Not use to the cold Yuuri?" He asked.
"I'm normally not bad, but even you have to admit its freezing cold today. Even your Russian skin can't handle this." Yuuri said. Viktor laughed loudly and it was such a beautiful thing to see that Yuuri couldn't help but stare for a second.
"Yes, even me and my 'Russian skin' as you put it, must admit it is quite cold today." Viktor chuckles lightly and then points to a little building a few metres in front of him. "There's the café! It's not often busy and it's small but has the best lattes in the region." He explained.
"Sounds perfect" Yuuri said. He prefers quiet places with no hassle, it keeps him calm. Viktor smiles in response and all of a sudden grabs Yuuri's hand and guides him faster to the café. Why on earth he was holding Yuuri's hand was beyond him but he didn't really care because it felt warm and it felt right. As they entered the café, Viktor let go off his hand and Yuuri couldn't help but feel a little disappointed but shook it off mentally, he was European, they were just more casual with their touches right? Viktor got them a table in the middle of the café and Yuuri saw that Viktor was right before about it being so quiet. It was just after 3pm and there were only 2 other people in the place. Yuuri and Viktor sat down on chairs that were opposite each other and Viktor handed one of the drinks menus to him, causing their fingers to accidentally brush. Yuuri coughed and focused his attention on the menu and realised it was all in Russian. He looked up at Viktor and noticed his nose had gone slightly red but Yuuri didn't recall it being there before out in the cold.
"Viktor, I don't know what any of this says." Yuuri said and Viktor looks up from his own menu and blinks.
"Oh right of course, I can translate them for you" He said. Yuuri laughs and looks at the long list on the menu.
"We would be here all afternoon. Can you recommend me any of your favourites?" Yuuri asks him. Viktor nods and looks at the menu again, contemplating what Yuuri would enjoy.
"The salted caramel latte is good, I get that a lot but I also love the chocolate with cinnamon latte. Hmmm." Viktor contemplates and Yuuri is just about to tell him whichever he doesn't mind when Viktor gets an idea.
"I know! I'll order both and you can try each one. Whichever one you prefer I'll have the other." He smiles proudly at his plan.
The waitress comes over with a pen and notepad in her hand as she smiles at Viktor with familiarity. He must come here often Yuuri thought. He smiles back and asks her how someone called 'Dean' was and she filled him in with the news. She then takes the orders and gives Yuuri a friendly smile before heading to the kitchen bar.
"Oh I didn't ask if you wanted anything to eat!" Viktor exclaimed suddenly. Yuuri shook his head with a small smile on his face.
"It's okay, I'm trying to eat healthy otherwise I put on weight quite fast, especially during off-season." Yuuri says causing Viktor to raise an eyebrow. "Although a part of me is craving a katsudon" Yuuri carries on with a sigh.
"Why don't you have one then? I'm sure you can find a place around here that does them?" Viktor asks, smiling at Yuuri's far off look. Yuuri shakes his head.
"No, it's not the same as my mother's, it doesn't taste quite right." Yuuri responds, a wave of sadness hits him as he thinks of his mother's cooking. He misses home sometimes.
"I can tell you miss her" Viktor states, a look of understanding and something else that almost resembles regret on his face but Yuuri can't quite work it out. He just nods. "I'm guessing she doesn't live in Detroit then?" Viktor carries on.
"No, she lives back home in Japan. In a small place called Hasetsu. It's beautiful" Yuuri says wistfully. "My parent's own a hot spring. The waters there are so calming; I remember I use to just unwind after a day of training in there." He chuckles slightly and Viktor smiles brightly.
"That sounds amazing!" Viktor said. "You'll have to take me one time." He jokes with a laugh.
"Yeah I should" Yuuri said without really thinking but then realised. Had he just invited Viktor to go to his family's hot spring resort with him? Yuuri looks up quickly and gets caught into Viktor's gorgeous blue gaze and can't pull away. Just then the waitress comes over with their order and places it down between them and the moment is broken. Viktor thanks her and she goes off back to the kitchen bar. Viktor offers one of the lattes to Yuuri and nods for him to try it. Yuuri brings it to his lips and blows before taking a sip. The flavour hits his tastes buds instantly but not in the good way and he scrunches up his face in disgust and hears Viktor laugh.
"I guess that's a no to the salted caramel one then" Viktor said and takes it away from Yuuri before handing him the chocolate and cinnamon latte. Yuuri takes a hesitant sip and finds this one to be much more satisfactory. He hums in approval and Viktor smiles at him before taking a sip of his own drink, licking his lips afterward causing Yuuri's gaze to follow the movement and gulp slightly.
"So where are you actually from then?" He asks. Viktor meets his eyes and places his drink on the table.
"I was born in Moscow, I grew up there for the first 10 years of my life before Yakov found me and then I've been living in St Petersburg ever since." He responds.
"Oh so do you parents still live here then?" Yuuri asks casually. He sees Viktor's smile drop ever so slightly and his shoulders tense.
"No, not anymore." He said curtly before cheering up instantly "but I have Makka here! Oh Makka is Makkachin, my poodle, look!" He said excitedly, taking his phone out his pocket and opening it up and showing Yuuri a picture of Viktor with crouched with his arm round a curly brown Makkachin.
"He's adorable, I love poodles I actually have one myself." Yuuri tells him and Viktor's eye light up.
"Really? What's its name?" He asks excitedly. Oh god, Yuuri thought he hopes he doesn't understand the meaning behind his poodle's name.
"V-Vicchan." He stutters and looks at Viktor who just smiles sweetly at the name, completely unaware that it was named after him. He had got Vicchan when he was 10 solely because Viktor had a poodle. God, he idolized Viktor back than but it had changed with age and his own winnings as a prima ballerina because in a way, on his good days, he sometimes felt on Viktor's level in professions. He still greatly admired and respected the man and he was his favourite skater, Yuuri just came to understand from his own experiences, he was still human, not some untouchable god-like being that his younger self once believed. Except, he thought, in his looks, because they were indeed god-like. Yuuri couldn't deny it; he had always had a crush on Viktor, hence the poster on his wall since he was a teen. Now though, actually meeting him in person, he was even more attractive it was unfair.
Yuuri looked at him now, sitting in front of the window which held a glittery snowy background which only exemplified his beauty. His crystal blue eyes standing out even more than usual against the contrasting background and his pale skin. Yuuri had it bad.
"Is he with you in Detroit?" Viktor asked, shaking Yuuri from his thoughts of his beauty. Yuuri shakes his head.
"No, I'm always so busy with my schedule and I still live in a dorm so I can't. He's better at home with my family; someone's always there to keep him company." Yuuri replies. He really needs to go visit home soon, it's been too long.
Conversation flows easily between them as they swap their skating and ballet stories, some even embarrassing and just getting to know each other. A part of this was done in the form of 20 Questions per Viktor's suggestion which Yuuri had raised an eyebrow at.
"Really? Are we 16 years old again?"
"Come on Yuuri, it will be fun!" Viktor had laughed and Yuuri complied.
"Fine, you go first." He said.
"Okay, what's your favourite colour?"
"Wow, that's not a generic question at all." Yuuri sarcastically remarked and Viktor gave him a mock glare.
"I'm just warming up."
Yuuri huffs a laugh, "It would probably have to be Blue." Just like the colour of your eyes. "Yours?"
"Gold." He states as if it should have been obvious.
"Of course it is." Yuuri murmur which Viktor smirks at and waits for Yuuri to ask the next question.
"Urmm, favourite type of movie?"
"And you called mine generic..."
"It's hard to think on the spot!" Yuuri said indignantly
"Romantic comedies." Viktor answers with a smile. He brings a finger up to the edge of his mouth as he thinks of his next question.
"Winter or summer?"
"Winter."
"Why?" He inquires.
"I prefer the cold to the heat, I love the snow and plus, you know, Christmas." Yuuri answers with a shrug.
"Ah, we don't really celebrate Christmas in Russia; I would like to one time though, see what it's all about." Viktor says with a tilt of his head as to ask Yuuri if he should which Yuuri furiously nods to.
"Okay" Yuuri clears his throat before putting on his fake serious face. "The answer you give to this will determine if I ever want to speak to you again." Yuuri says firmly and Viktor's eyebrows shoot up.
"Pineapple on a pizza, yes or no?" A small smile tugs at the edge of Viktor's mouth though he tries to keep a serious face.
"Definitely not." He says intensely which breaks Yuuri's act and makes him laugh loudly as a soft look comes across Viktor's face as he watches him. They carry on with their game which most definitely went over 20 questions, before Yuuri noticed that outside the street lamps had come on and it has gotten very dark. He looks down at his watch and sees that it's just a little past 6. Had they really spent over 3 hours here talking? Viktor noticed Yuuri check his watch and turned to look at his own as a small gasp left his lips.
"Wow, I didn't realise the time!"
"Yeah, we should probably head back." Yuuri said just as he felt his stomach rumble as he was due his dinner. Viktor nods and puts down the bill and Yuuri was about to protest and ask to pay for his before Viktor waved him off and guided him outside with a hand touching the small of his back lightly.
As they stepped out of the café, they were greeted to the sight of large snowflakes falling heavily from the dark skies above. Yuuri looked up in fascination and awe, it was a beautiful sight and he smiled as a snowflake dropped straight onto his nose with his face still looking up. He felt Viktor's strong gaze on his face and when he looked over, Viktor also had a look of awe on his face and his eyes were almost glistening. Even he must think the snowfall was beautiful even after all this time. He gives Viktor a smile and Viktor stares at it for a second before shaking his head slightly. He points a thumb behind him.
"I only live a few blocks away, but do you want me to wait with you while you get a taxi or-?"
"Oh, no its okay don't worry, you get home, I'll see you Monday." Yuuri said before giving him a small smile. Viktor seems to contemplate for a few seconds before nodding. Yuuri takes out his phone and unlocks it, preparing to call a taxi when Viktor holds out his hand for it. Yuuri furrows his brows but places his phone gently into Viktor's palm. He types something onto it for a few moments then checks his own phone after receiving a message. He then hands Yuuri's phone back to him.
"I put my number in, and I've got yours now" Viktor said sheepishly, waving his phone slightly. "Will you text me when you get home? So I know you didn't get kidnapped or anything." He said with a light laugh. Yuuri blushes and gives a small nod.
"I will, Goodnight Viktor." He said as he meets Viktor's eyes. Viktor smiles softly.
"Goodnight, Yuuri." He said, before bringing Yuuri into a hug. Yuuri feels his face go hotter as he returns the hugs and can't help but breathe in Viktor's cologne and notices how wonderfully warm Viktor is before he pulls back and waves goodbye as he heads home.
It's about 30 seconds later when Viktor is nearly out of sight and Yuuri is trying but failing to reach a signal for the taxi service and unconsciously moves in the direction Viktor just went in to try and reach more bars on his phone. As he walks he hears two voices arguing in hushed whispers from a small alcove between two shops and his instincts flare up at the possible sense of danger. He hears the end of one of the men's sentences and stiffens.
"-ow Nikiforov has a lot of money, plus he's like a national treasure, we take him and get a ransom and were good."
"That's to high profile Dante; you know the boss won't like that."
"He also doesn't like it when he doesn't get his payments." The man called Dante hissed.
"But-"The other man begins before Dante cuts him off.
"And you know what he does to people that cause him problems. He's unnatural. " Dante voices wavers with fear. "A-as long as we don't leave any links to him, we will be fine, now come on, we need to get the skater before he gets home." He whispers loudly to his companion as they both exit the alcove, not looking back and heading after Viktor. Yuuri clenched his fists and jaw as an icy rage comes over him. He had to stop them; he had to save Viktor from getting hurt. He enters a dark corner of the alcove and opens his backpack and pulls out his alter ego costume. He starts to strip as fast as he could and changes into his black fitted outfit, fitting his hands into the mesh gloves attached and placing his mask on. He pushes his hair backwards off his forehead and stuffed his clothes back and hides his backpack behind a dumpster. He sees ladders leading up the building next to him and he climbs it hastily. When he reaches the top, he runs to the opposite edge and sees the two men walking fast. He notices that the rest of the buildings all seem to connect so he had no problem running across them to keep up.
Suddenly he spots a familiar head of silver hair. Viktor. Yuuri's heart begins to race as he sees him turn in towards a darkened alley way and the two men now catching up, turn too. He sees them start to run towards Viktor who turns with shock and fear on his face. Yuuri harnesses all his energy into calling his powers, feeling the familiar icy buzz in his palms before jumping off the building. One hand blasts ice under Yuuri's feet so he is gliding down into the area while his other hand blasts Dante and his companion who fly backwards unconscious against the wall from the force of the blast. As Yuuri's feet reach solid ground he uses both hands to freeze both man from the waist to their legs.
He hears a startled gasp behind him and touches his face to make sure his mask is still firmly on before turning towards Viktor. Viktor is kneeling on the floor, having thrown himself out of the radius of the ice blasts and Yuuri heart beats harder, what if he had hurt Viktor? He didn't think, he just wanted to make him safe. He seemed not to be injured though, just a little shaken which is understandable. Yuuri slowly swallows as his mouth had gone dry, before slowly approaching Viktor and offering him his mesh clad hand. Viktor stared at it for a few seconds which felt like an eternity to Yuuri, before placing his hand in Yuuri's own. He helps pull him up and let's go of his hand. Viktor dusts off the dirt on his pants before looking up at Yuuri.
"T-thank you." Viktor says breathlessly. "I-I'm Viktor." Yuuri is about to respond before he remembers that Viktor would recognise him if he did. Yuuri never had this problem because in the past the people he saved were strangers who never knew Yuuri. He panics and does the only thing he can think of.
"No problem, it's kind of what I do." Yuuri said in a much deeper voice than his normal one and to top it off it came out in a British accent. Dear god, he wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Viktor smiles and moves slightly closer. Great, now he had to keep this ridiculous cover up.
"Even so, you saved me, so please let me give you something in gratitude." Viktor began before Yuuri held up his hand gently and shook his head.
"No need, knowing that you're okay is enough for me." Yuuri said softly before adding with a playful smirk "plus, it's a criminal offence if they had damaged a face as pretty as yours." He's really getting into this British superhero alter ego who was apparently quite flirtatious as well. Viktor didn't know it was Yuuri, so he felt less embarrassed to actually do it. Viktor just looks at him with his mouth slightly open with a blush crossing over his nose and blinks slowly. This was kind of fun Yuuri thought.
"Anyway best get these two to the police station I saw a few streets back. Try to stay out of trouble, Viktor." Yuuri adds with a wink before putting his hands out to the ice surrounding the still unconscious men and moves it so they are being transported mid-air as Yuuri leaves the alley and Viktor behind.
Present
It had been 5 days since his encounter with Viktor and his break down on Phichit and Yuuri felt numb. Before Viktor had shown up in his life again, out of the dark in all his beautiful light, he was doing just fine. Well, not really but he was coping, he managed to actually enjoy small moments before thoughts of blue eyes and silver hair filled his mind. Now after seeing him again, it was like a wound had been reopened in the most painful way imaginable and there was nothing Yuuri could do but bleed out.
He sighed and rolled out of his bed and turned to look at his clock. He was supposed to be at training today, he had already missed the past 2 days and Lilia wasn't happy about it. He just couldn't. Dancing had always been fuelled by Yuuri's emotions and right now they were in turmoil. It also brought back memories. If it wasn't for ballet, Yuuri probably would never have met Viktor and maybe he would have saved himself all this heartache. He knows that if there was ever an opportunity to do things over and never meet Viktor, he knew he would have still chosen the same path. He couldn't even imagine a world in which he never knew Viktor Nikiforov, the memories he had with him he would treasure for the rest of his life but they were sometimes tainted with the knowledge of how it all ended, how all the touches were numbered. Yuuri let out a shuddering breathe as he tried not to cry again, he had done enough of that lately, he was surprised he had anything left to give.
Suddenly Phichit came barging into his room with a look of fierce determination and poorly concealed concern on his face.
"Right, get up right now." He said forcefully. Yuuri just sighed and shook his head.
"I don't feel up to training today Phichit, Lilia will understand." Phichit's jaw tightens and looks annoyed.
"That's fine, but were going for a run and you can't say no because I'm calling in a BFIC."
Yuuri groans and falls back onto his bed. Was he really being that bad that a "Best Friend Intervention Coupon" was needed to be called? The BFIC was something Yuuri and Phichit made up and agreed on during their time staying in the dorms of Lilia's International School. Basically, if one of them was being highly unreasonable and nothing else worked then a BFIC was called. They were limited in number to 2 a year and the fact Phichit used one now doesn't say anything good about this situation.
"Phichit please, I just can't." Yuuri whines and Phichit stands resolute with his arms crossed. Yuuri stares back for a moment before huffing angrily.
"Fine. I'll go for a stupid run with you, will that make you happy?" Yuuri snapped. Phichit just raised an eyebrow and left Yuuri's room for him to get changed. He knew Phichit was just trying to help him, but once he got into an emotional rut, it was incredibly difficult to get him out of it. He got changed into a pair of shorts, trainers and an old t-shirt as the weather was forecast to be hot today. As he left his room he saw Phichit tying up his trainers when the doorbell rang. Yuuri frowned at the door, thinking it quite strange that someone would be making house calls at 6am. The doorbell rang again, and then again and again. Whoever it was very impatient. As Yuuri reached the door he heard someone actually kick it. Yuuri threw it open ready to argue with the noise maker when he stopped it shock as he came face to face with an angry small blonde teenager.
"Y-Yurio?" Yuuri stutters and Yurio 'tsks' and pushes his way through into the apartment.
"Are you so stupid you don't know how to answer your own goddam phone?!" Yurio shouts angrily but with a small hint of concern.
"My battery died. Yurio what are you doing here?" Yuuri asked him as Phichit came round the corner to see what was happening.
"Dammit Katsudon, you don't know do you? Shit." Yurio mumbles under his breath before looking back at Yuuri with barely concealed fear and concern on his young face.
"He's here." Yurio says softly. Yuuri shakes his head and sighs.
"I know he is, I saw him the othe-"Yuuri began.
"I'm not talking about Viktor! I mean him. Nightmare is here." Yurio says unsteadily and every inch of Yuuri's body freezes up in terror.