Halfway through this fic, and going strong XD I had fun with this one; the radio aspect of this AU is a blast to write hahha This is a shorter chapter, but some of the last ones have been longer so I think it'll balance out. Off to the station!


Once in a while, I'll have a guest on my show for varying lengths of time. Sometimes it's just for a couple callers, other times for the intro or an anecdote. There are other occasions where I have a cohost for the entire show, too, which can be a lot of fun. The last guest I had was Minami; we started discussing music and culture in detail from origins of genres to instrumentations and why our favorite songs top our lists. It was a delight, but the topic had been fighting boredom and we may have gotten sort of derailed. Okay, we completely derailed, but it was a good time. It's better than when I had Yuri sit in on a show, back before he got paired with Mila in the mornings. When my callers had a problem he deemed 'stupid,' he'd scoff on the air and constantly roll his eyes. What's worse is that he chimed in when I'd give advice and minimized their issues like they meant nothing. That night was filled with damage control, and I've never had him back on for an entire show again.

Tonight, I decided that I'd like to talk about the importance of friendship. Who better to help me with the topic than my best friend in the whole world? Well, he doesn't know that he's going to be a guest yet, but his show is almost over and I have a feeling he'll want to join me. While in the hall, I shift my weight from one foot to the other, watching Eros close out his show. The light switches off and he gathers his things to leave, so I hold the door open for him. When I shut it behind him instead of walking inside, he gives me a skeptical look. "Aren't you going in? You're on soon." He slips his glasses further up his nose, scrunched in confusion in a very Yuuri way.

"Yeah, I know, but not yet." I shrug. "I have a special show tonight."

"Oh, really?"

"Yup." I grin. "It's a show about friendship, and why it's important and can often be equal to, if not more than, the value of family." I know that friendship has been detrimental to my life; it's a topic I feel quite strongly about.

"I can see how that's true." He smiles at me, not suspecting a request around the corner.

If we're gonna start this show on time, I have to ask sooner than later. "Right? So, I was thinking…if you haven't planned anything with Victor and aren't opposed to staying up just a tiny bit later than usual, perhaps you'd like to grace my listeners with your presence?" Now that I've asked, Yuuri just stares at me like he saw this coming a dozen kilometers away. "You don't have to stay the full time, either! I just figured that since I'll be talking about friendships, it'd be great to have my best friend with me to provide some extra insight."

Yuuri sighs, mouth turning up on one side in something of a smirk. "You couldn't have asked earlier?"

"I didn't want to interrupt." I admit, checking the time on my phone. "I'm gonna be late! Are you in or out?" I ask, holding my breath for no real reason. Instead of a response, Yuuri slowly steps back to the door, walking through and holding it open for me. "Yes! Thank you so much!" I race after him to get settled in, side by side in the booth. I give his hand a squeeze, brimming with excitement. "Seriously, where would I be without you?"

"I don't want to know." Yuuri laughs as he takes his glasses back off.

In truth, I'd probably be bored and unhappy without Yuuri in my life. Sometimes, I don't think he realizes how important he is to me. He takes his phone out while I start the show, texting his husband about his change in plans, I'm sure. "Good evening to all! Are you staying out of the cold? Spring isn't here yet, so don't put your jumpers away." After pestering and shouting at Celestino, Yuri and I finally convinced our boss to get a new heater months ago, and I have no regrets. "Stay warm, okay? And I'm glad you've tuned in to listen to P. Chu talk you through your issues on this wonderful winter evening. Tonight is a special show because, drumroll not required: we have a guest with us!" Nobody can see us, but we exchange smiles anyway; Yuuri even blushes a little, having never gotten used to being in a spotlight. "Any guesses as to who it is before I spoil it? I'll give you some hints." If Yuuri was embarrassed before, he has another thing coming! "This person was the only one brave enough to tell me my hair should always be short when I started growing it out." Mistakes were made, okay? "This person also made sure we kept our apartment clean when we were roommates, even if that meant reminding me my hamsters don't always smell pleasant." Yuuri takes this moment to cover a laugh; he knows exactly what smell I'm talking about. "They also reply to every message I send in our groupchat, even if it's an emoji or a completely stupid comment." I'm aware I use the groupchat more than everyone else in it, but they ignore most of my dumb memes and stuff anyway. "And let's not forget that this person brings me tea when I'm sick, sings along to my favorite musicals with me and would drop his plans after work so I can spend time with him for an hour or so, just hanging out." I watch Yuuri cover half of his face, smiling behind his hand; he definitely forgets how much he means to me. "Give up? Drumroll." I gesture at him and he indulges me by tapping his hands on the desk. "It's my best friend, Eros!"

"And you thought your evening with me was over." Eros smirks, blush subsiding.

"For those of you who don't know, Eros and I have been best friends in real life for years. We roomed together in school, got our jobs here together."

I could go on, but Eros sums it up nicely: "We're practically brothers."

My listeners don't know this, but the man sitting next to me has seen me through both my best and worst times. When I would get overwhelmed with my classes and struggle with studying, he stayed up with me to listen to every complaint; he'd help me break my work up into segments to complete in a timely manner, leaving room for relaxing time. Each time I got my foolish heart broken, he'd keep me fed and looked after; he treated me to all my favorite foods, telling me how I could and would do better than those guys. He listened to all of my presentations so I could practice; he went with me to print our assignments in the sketchy library across campus; he shared his laundry soap with me while we took turns keeping watch over the machines so nobody would steal our shit; he gave me the other cell phone when it was buy one, get one free and his needed to be replaced. Every time I've gotten too caught up in a client, he was a shoulder to lean on and an ear to talk to. Without Yuuri, I wouldn't even be in this field: I would've given up long ago. He's also seen me excel in my psych classes, impressing professors and colleagues alike. During the creation of my book, he let me bounce ideas off him and gave some critiques that I desperately needed. He was the first to read that thing, and is the only one to own a signed copy. When I got my counseling job, he went out with me to celebrate and we stayed out all night acting goofy and starting inside jokes we no longer remember. "Everyone needs a friend like Eros. He's stuck with me through all my highs and lows and is still around."

"Well, P, the same could be said for you." Yuuri elbows me without force. "I used to get homesick so much in college, missing my family and the friends I grew up with as a kid. My roommate decided it would be a good idea to share pictures of our families and talk about memories with them." That was some time ago! Hearing about it is like finding a lost item I'd forgotten about. "It made us both sad, but we were sad together, and then we weren't so lonely anymore."

What Yuuri doesn't mention is that we both cried and ate all the frozen yogurt I'd just bought and ordered two pizzas to split between us; it was a good day. "Yeah, and from then on, we just clicked." It's nice to have the freedom to say and do what I want around someone without worrying about being judged.

"That's not to say we haven't fought or disagreed before."

I laugh, nodding at Eros' sentiment. "Yeah, don't get it twisted: we don't agree on a lot of things, and get on each other's nerves like all friends do." I used to get frustrated at Yuuri's lack of confidence; how does such a smart, cool person like him not believe in himself? It took a lot of cajoling to get him to clubs and bars, too; and he wouldn't believe me when I said that damn saxophone player was staring at him all night. "It's healthy to have some conflicts, and even healthier to learn from those experiences." There have been many times that Yuuri reached the end of his rope with me, too: my music is too loud, I should stop procrastinating so much, not everyone wants to see my ass hanging out of my shorts, there's no need to analyze everyone's past and habits with a clinical eye. "Our communication skills have improved so much."

Eros laughs, resting his face in one hand. "I'll admit that I've improved more. I used to struggle just telling P it was his turn to take care of dinner."

"Now he's perfectly fine telling me I need to add more salt when I cook."

"It couldn't hurt."

I roll my eyes at this sass, waving him off. "Yeah, whatever. You didn't even know how to use lemongrass when I met you." He sees my point, stifling his laughter in his hand. "We're going to take our first caller here." I gesture for Eros to hit the button.

"I don't get callers on my show, so this is always fun!"

I smile at his enthusiasm, greeting our listener. "Welcome to our friendship show, dear caller! Who are you tonight and what brings you here?"

"Um, hi." The lightly accented male voice responds. "I'm conflicted because I'm not sure how to spend time with my fiancée while also making time to be with my friends." He sort of laughs, possibly embarrassed or incredulous. "I mean, I know I have good relationships, but there are only so many hours in a day, you know?"

Unlike Conflicted, I've never been engaged before; I do, however, have multiple married friends, so I doubt I'll need Yuuri to take the reigns too much. "Have you heard from your friends that you're always MIA or hard to get a hold of?" I ask.

"Only a few times." Conflicted chuckles again. I'm starting to think it's a nervous habit of his.

"Has your fiancée insisted that you hang out with them to wedding plan, and you've missed out on friend time?"

This time, he doesn't laugh. "Maye once, or twice."

Back when Yuuri was engaged, it only took a week of planning on his own to figure out that, well, he couldn't do it all on his own. Victor had actually wanted to help, but Yuuri insisted that he take care of some things by himself. I didn't see him for a few days and then got a call from Victor, needing backup. When I got to their apartment, this being before they bought their house, Yuuri was irritated and frankly over the whole wedding thing. After some tea and cake, Victor and I got him to understand that planning could be fun and we'd both be willing to pitch in like we'd mentioned before. I mean, what else is a best man for, if not helping the groom? The following months were spent not taking things too seriously and reminding Yuuri that this was a party celebrating a marriage; it was all in good fun. Not to say that I was a critical part of their wedding planning, but I'm not sure how things would've gone down without me. "In my experience, Conflicted, you need to have your friends around you during this part of your life."

"Yeah, that's really true." Eros nods. "In my experience, I would've lost my mind if I hadn't had my friends supporting me."

"But isn't this time for me and my fiancée to spend together? I thought this was for me and her."

"Believe me, you'll have all the time in the world to hang out with your wife after the wedding." Eros smirks. "That's also what the honeymoon is for."

For Yuuri, marriage didn't change much; he and Victor already lived together, and the time they spend together now is the same as when they got engaged. For other couples, though, marriage means more time with their significant other and that can sometimes be hard to adjust to. "Planning a wedding can be stressful, even if you aren't actively doing that much. Sometimes the only way to help relieve some of that stress is to spend time away from your fiancée and go out with your friends. Does that make sense, Conflicted?"

"I guess so." He sighs. "So how do I balance friend time and fiancée time?"

"Well, that's up to you." I shrug. Eros taps my arm, giving me a questioning look. I nod, taking the moment to drink some water.

Eros leans forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "What could work is including your fiancée in friend activities once in a while, aside from alone time with her and alone time with them. It helps to reinforce that you're not picking anyone over someone else. Oh, and don't forget to talk to your fiancée when you need to get out."

"Yes, it's not that you don't want to be with her, Conflicted; it's just that everyone needs to be with their friends sometimes." I add.

Conflicted says nothing for a moment, and I wonder if I've been helpful at all. He wasn't all that specific about his problem, so I can't be detailed about his advice. Well, unless he elaborates, which I'd be okay with. "She likes when I have fun with friends, but I don't want her to feel abandoned. I also want my friends to stop saying I'm never available."

"Just have a chat with them. Coming from a good place is never a bad idea." I suggest.

"That definitely makes sense! Thank you." Conflicted replies. It's always more enjoyable to have open, cooperative callers rather than stubborn ones. I once had a caller who wouldn't divulge, like, any information and I was at a loss at what to say to them. How can I help when I don't know what's wrong? Another caller, years ago, didn't want to agree with or acknowledge much of what I was saying. Why call and ask for advice if you're not going to even think it over? I let Eros close out the call with Conflicted, drinking more water to ease my throat.

"Welcome to our friendship show! This is Eros, right beside P Chu. Who are you tonight?"

A short pause is interrupted by the caller clearing their throat. "Yeah, good evening." Holy shit, I know that voice. "I'm actually a big fan of yours, Eros."

Eros flashes a satisfied smirk, not realizing he's being complimented by someone he doesn't actually trust. "Oh my, you're a fan? I'm flattered! I hope you didn't call in on my account." He chuckles, glancing at me. I'm not sure what he reads from my expression, but he raises an eyebrow, smile slightly shrinking. I press my lips in a line, waiting for a good time to tell him who's on the line.

"Ah, unfortunately, not this evening."

"Maybe next time." Eros shrugs. "So who are you tonight?"

"Wary."

I don't want Yuuri to think I'm keeping information from him, so I make a note on my tablet and show him what I've typed: 'It's Seung Gil Lee'

He blinks up at me, jaw dropped, before taking the tablet from me. "What's making you wary?" Yuuri shows me what he's written: 'Are you serious? Your boyfriend is calling your show?' He's gotten surprisingly good at multitasking, I've noticed. That'll come in handy when he and Victor decide on adoption or a surrogate.

"Well, since you two seem to know about making and keeping friends, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on…I guess opening up more?"

Um, maybe I shouldn't have told Yuuri who it was; maybe Seung Gil wanted to remain anonymous to him, and maybe I just ruined the illusion of mystery. I lick my lips to soothe the spot I'd been gnawing on and straighten out my headphones. "Hello, Wary." I start. "Do you possibly have trouble trusting new people?"

"Most of the time."

I know Yuuri's watching, but I let myself smile anyway: Seung Gil trusts me. It feels like a privilege not many get with him. "Most people you meet aren't out to hurt you. I'm not gonna lie and say people won't hurt you, but in general, that's not what people are aiming to do."

"I suppose I know that, but…it's hard to trust."

We'll have to talk about this later; he's clearly been hurt in the past and I'd like to help him with that, but there's a time and place for everything. Yuuri has a frown on his face, brow furrowed. "You sound sad. Can I ask if it's a specific person, or would you rather not say?"

"It's in general. Nobody specific."

"Trust isn't something learned overnight." I resist the urge to call him babe. "I'm sure you know that, Wary, but it's something you'll have to practice constantly."

"Don't let him scare you." Eros laughs lightly. "It'll be a work in progress, that's all."

Seung Gil laughs a bit. "I understand, Eros."

"I think a good start is to observe what others share with you, then decide what's comfortable for you to share in return. As long as you don't immediately leap out of your comfort zone, every little effort to open up is a step in the right direction." Does Seung Gil struggle all the time? Not with me, but with his neighbors or coworkers and stuff? "Like I mentioned to our last caller, coming from a good place is never a bad idea."

Eros nods, sitting back in his chair. "Yeah, don't push yourself too much too fast. Baby steps are still steps, Wary."

I want to text Seung Gil during our commercial break, but Yuuri grabs my wrist with a serious expression the second we go off the air. "What's up?" I ask him, setting my phone down. He lets go with a sigh, pout still in full force.

"He sounded really lonely, Phichit."

"I know."

"Is he always like that?"

I can't help but smile, face relaxing. "No, he isn't. I told you before, he's really introverted and doesn't talk to people all that often. It's his nature."

"But he doesn't like that about himself. If he didn't mind it, he wouldn't be asking how to change it."

Yes, this is true; I'm not sure what made Seung Gil decide to seek help for his social anxieties, but I don't think I need to worry about it. "I think he wants to work on himself. He's fine how he is, in my opinion, but if he wants to feel better about who he is, I'm willing to support him in that." I explain with a shrug. "I was actually just about to text him, but I'll make sure we talk about it in person."

Yuuri nods slowly, frown subsiding at the same speed. "Good. Make sure he's okay."

"Aww, you care about my boyfriend!" I jab him with my elbow. He rolls his eyes in turn, but doesn't deny it. I laugh, relenting. "I do appreciate the concern. He just needs to get out more, and he'll get used to people."

"Maybe you should invite him to Yuri's anniversary party." Yuuri settles back in his chair. "Yuri did say we could all bring a date."

I tap my chin, considering this. My friends will be there, so Seung Gil can meet them. I'll be with him, so he should be alright. This could be a great idea, actually; I'm not sure why I hadn't brought it up to Seung Gil yet in the first place! "Hey, yeah, that's a good plan. I'll bring it up later." Yuuri smiles, somehow reassured, I think, by my agreement. He's never met Seung Gil and I know his trust in him is about thirty question marks long, yet he cares; he cares because he wants me happy, and I couldn't ask for more in a friend.

He scoffs, still smiling. "What?"

"You're the best friend in the world, you know that?"

Yuuri sticks his tongue out before glancing back at the screen for our incoming callers. "Only next to you, brat. We're going live in a sec, but he'll come to the party, right?"

I shrug, genuinely unsure. "We'll find out."


Friendship fluff FTW, babes. IRL, I was feeling some type of way cuz of some familial crap. The cure? Yuuri and Phichit's relationship hahha fixed my attitude real good. The next chapter is a little tense, but as I mentioned before, it's not meant to be angsty. It'll all be good in the end, I promise, so stick with me and we'll have a good time. Until then, hug your friends and support your loved ones and be well :3