"I don't want to do this with you in a place like this," Victor said suddenly, gently pushing Yuuri back so he could look at him. "I-I swear..I do want this. I mean, really I do, but I'd like somewhere more meaningful, intimate, and personal, you know? I know you don't want a lecture, but I really don't think you should do this 'private' business. I know you say the furthest you ever go is oral, but isn't just the money you make from working the pole enough? I mean, if it was found out that you were doing this back door, private sort of business, you could get in trouble."
Yuuri gave him a confused look, not expecting this at all. Did Victor really care about him that much? He never thought of this stuff as a big deal, but it seemed entirely different to Victor.
"You don't..want to do this? I thought this was what you wanted. You're always eying my body."
"It's true that you do have a nice body..very nice, but that's not all I want you for. I have..feelings for you, you know? I care about you, and I don't want you to end up getting hurt or in trouble from this. I already bought the whole slot for your shift, so why don't we head back to the resort and eat some katsudon if your mom will be so gracious as to make some for us. We have been working hard today. I say we've earned it."
The confused expression on Yuuri's face didn't seem to change, but he finally nodded slowly and slid off Victor. He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the slight bulge in his pants.
"Hmm, looks like I really did excite you, didn't I? I'll see how many tips I make tomorrow night, and maybe..just maybe I'll go without any 'servicing.'"
He didn't want to worry Victor. After all, he felt..a lot of things for him. He'd been idolizing the guy since he was a kid, but like hell he was just going to outright say that. Yuuri tried not to show it, but hearing that his dream guy basically said he had feelings for him, which no doubt meant romantic ones, made Yuuri feel indescribably happy.
He rode the bus back with Victor once he had changed back into his street clothes. He kept peering over at him with a little smile, feeling oddly joyful, which was odd since he was usually dead tired and done with everything.
"Ah, Yuuri! You're back earlier than usual. And Vicchan! Welcome back," Hiroko greeted them when they walked in.
Yuuri waved with a small hi and ducked over to his room to quickly put away the duffel with his outfit in it. He still wasn't sure how to bring up the whole pole dancing thing to his mom, but he knew he'd have to before the competition. It was no doubt televised or streamed on the Internet, and she'd come across it somehow, probably from Minako. Yuuri would rather let them know himself instead of having them find out about it. Who knows how that would go. When he came back out, Yuuri smelled the familiar scent of a katsudon and followed where he heard voices into the lounge area.
"Yuuri! Over here!" Victor was sitting at a table with Minako.
While waiting, the three of them discussed strategies for training until the first competition. It mainly involved strength training for Yuuri since he already had a good grasp of moves on the pole. It was mostly about keeping himself up on it longer. Victor also had to study pole dancing so he was more familiar with the different kinds of moves and techniques. Yuuri's working at the club also helped in getting him better at performing in front of an audience.
Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief once the katsudons arrived, thanking his mom before digging in. He was always hungry after his shifts and was thankful to have a break from all the lectures and planning. Right now, he didn't really want to think much about training and such until tomorrow. All he wanted to do was eat and go right to sleep, always quite exhausted when he came home, even at an earlier time like this. Plus, Victor's confession to him left him with things to think about and consider. It was best to be alone in bed where he could think clearly without distractions.
He politely excused himself once he was finished, giving Victor a pat on the shoulder before getting up with a groan as he stretched out his stiff limbs. Lastly, he hugged his mom, saying goodnight and headed off to his room. He stripped down to just his boxers and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
What does Victor mean to me?
That was one of the many questions on his mind at the moment. He certainly admired Victor as a skater and may have possibly fantasized about him many, many times. But now that Victor was here and would be helping with coaching him in pole dancing of all things, Yuuri wasn't sure what to do. This should be simpler, shouldn't it? Victor had basically confessed his feelings for him..in a way. But Yuuri couldn't help but think about what others would think. If he agreed to be with Victor, Victor's reputation could be at stake. Rumors would spread around of Victor dating another figure skater oh and he happens to also be a pole dancer. He knew it shouldn't matter, but he couldn't help but think about that as he always seemed to overthink things. Finally, he decided that he'd ultimately leave it up to Victor. For now, he had to focus on his training and getting ready for the competition that was coming up in roughly a month and a half. After a few hours, he was finally able to fall asleep, slipping into his dreams and pushing the doubt away for the moment.
For the next month and a half, Yuuri focused solely on training and going to his shifts at the club. As he promised Victor, he only performed on the pole and did lap dances out on the floor to anyone who paid but quit the back room business for now. He still managed to make an ample amount of money in tips, especially since he was really stepping up his routine with the added training. Earlier, they had to decide on a specific routine for the competition and what music should be used. It was Victor who suggested they use a theme he was going to use for a future skating routine. It was called On Love: Eros, a theme about sexual love.
"You want me to pole dance to a theme you were going to use on the ice? Really?" Yuuri had given him an unamused expression.
"Just listen to it and see if you like it."
From the start, Yuuri was completely not on board with the idea, but once he had listened to it, and the three of them began to brainstorm some choreography to go with it. Yuuri found the more he practiced and tried out some new choreography and techniques with it, the more he was really loving the theme.
"Beautiful, Yuuri! Absolutely stunning. You're going to be rocking that competition! And it's a preliminary one, so it should be easy for you," Minako praised as they went through a few run throughs of the final routine.
It was the way Victor was watching him that was making Yuuri blush and almost completely slip off the pole when he executed a spin. It was something about those blue eyes watching him so intently that sometimes made him lose focus as his mind went elsewhere.
"Well, it's almost perfect," Minako sighed but shook it off with a chuckle. "Just stay focused, Yuuri. I don't want you flying off the pole in the middle of your routine."
"Yes, Minako-sensei," Yuuri sighed and got back on his feet.
Victor then walked up to him and reached out to gently swipe a stray bang out of Yuuri's face without any hesitation.
"I hope I'm not too distracting for you."
"Uh, n-not at all! I just lost my focus there for a second."
During the past month things had been going..interesting with Victor. Ever since his little love confession to Yuuri, there had been a strange sort of tension between them like one was waiting for the other to say or do something. Finally, one night when him and Victor were at the studio late by themselves, Victor had walked up to Yuuri after he had practiced the routine a few times. He was having difficulty with a new move and was growing rather frustrated when Victor gently cupped his cheek and kissed him right there.
"Focus, Yuuri. I know you can do this. Don't overthink it. Just let your body move as it wants to."
Ever since then he'd been kissing him more often and going on little outings of what most would call dates. Yuuri had been meaning to ask him outright what this all meant, like if they were together officially or what this was, but for now, it was a mystery. He made it a point to ask him before the competition that was coming up in two days now. He certainly didn't want to be confused or unfocused during that. He needed to know what he meant to Victor, if he was just going to be a random fling or if this really was something bigger. His performance counted on clearing this doubt.
That night, Yuuri invited Victor on a walk by the ocean. The sidewalk along the beach was lit up and was a lovely route to take in the evening. The two remained quiet for a while, Victor admiring the ocean in the distance while Yuuri was thinking hard on what he should say. He needed to say it right to get his point across, no confusion whatsoever.
"So, why'd you want to go our here, Yuuri? Just felt like a walk?" Victor asked suddenly.
Was this guy telepathic or something? Yuuri immediately tensed up, face heating up as he slowly met Victor's gaze. How was he going to ask this?
"Um, well, yeah. I did bring us out here for a reason. I..wanted to ask you something. It's something pertaining to us..our relationship." He hoped Victor would know where he was going and maybe help him out. Yuuri wasn't always the best with communication.
Victor cocked his head at the response, taking in what Yuuri had said.
"About us? What did you want to ask?"
"Well, um, we've kissed a lot, and you've been taking me out on little dates, I mean, at least I think they're dates. You've confessed feelings for me before, so I'm wondering..are we dating or together in that way? I'm just a bit confused on that."
Okay, that was pretty good. He said it nice and clear, so hopefully there wouldn't be any confusion.
Victor blinked a few times and stopped walking. He wore a warm smile and took both of Yuuri's hands in his.
"I've watched you develop your skills and routine with my Eros theme for this past month and a half, and you've worked so hard. If you'd like, I'd like to call you..my boyfriend..perhaps, unless there's another term you'd prefer me to use. I do enjoy our time together. I just didn't want that to be a distraction while you were training so hard. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Yuuri could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did he really just say that? He was just absolutely amazed that someone like Victor would be asking some nobody like Yuuri to be his boyfriend. Just a dime a dozen skater and pole dancer.
"Y-yeah, that's actually exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you. And I'd love for you to be my boyfriend. I've, uh, never had one before, so forgive me if I'm rather inexperienced with that."
To Yuuri, Victor's laugh was something magical, maybe one of the purest things he's ever heard. It was whimsical, like a fairy in a story. Yuuri wore a giddy little smile and laughed along with him. They continued their walk, happily swinging their arms around, and Yuuri pointed out various things in the scenery to Victor. This seemed almost too simple. Asking someone out should be more complicated, right? But to Yuuri, it felt..right, like this was always meant to be. It was an odd feeling to say the least, and hopefully this would make his Eros routine even better in this upcoming competition. They finished up their little walk by sitting on a pier and watching the huge full moon up above them, casting its faint light upon them and the town of Hasetsu.