AN : Zhora is nickname ( I know I know but I am not going into a cultural lesson in an AN of all things ) for Georgi btw
Also anyone wanna beta read? Getting some comments about mistakes and I honestly just wash my hands of a chapter after it's done sooo ( apparently 'We die like men' is not working for me kek )
Like everyday, Viktor woke up to his alarm beeping at the frankly ungodly hour of five and Makkachin licking his face, hungry for breakfast.
He groaned and got up. "Yes yes Makka, papa is coming."
The only difference of the day was that when he turned off his alarm and checked him phone, there were several messages wishing him a happy birthday. Hmm there's his family ( who'd surely call him later that day ), Christophe ( who maybe would call ), fans tagging him in social media, and Yuuri.
It took a while for his sleep addled brain to catch up.
Yuuri! He remembered his birthday! And even took care of the timezones! Oh this boy was so sweet! He hadn't expected Yuuri to remember his birthday, it was surprising enough knowing that he was his fan.
He eagerly opened the messages, already happy even without reading a single one of them.
Cinnamon Roll ❤❤❤❤
Happy birthday Viktor!
～(^▽^)-
Hope you have a great
day!
I mean I hope you always
have a great day
But may this one be even
better ＼(^◇^＼)
Sending you virtual cookies
!
Also
You *might* get a surprise
package
You might get a surprise package.
Might get a surprise package.
Get a surprise package.
Surprise package.
He, Viktor Nikiforov, peasant scum when compared to his holiness Yuuri Katsuki, was getting a gift from said person?
He wondered what it would be. It couldn't be something elaborate, since he knew it was not Yuuri's style, and it was probably not something handmade, since they didn't know each other for even that long to warrant a gift as affectionate at that ( social rules were such a PAIN ), and anyways, Yuuri was busy.
He was pleasantly surprised that Yuuri even decided to get him a gift. It's not like he was obliged to give anything, so it must be his decision! Ah, what did he do to deserve this angel?
Hold on.
Hold on a fucking second.
Did Yuuri think that he was obliged!?
It was a very possible option, considering how polite the man was, and adding his anxiety to that...and weren't giving gifts and social obligations and politeness big in Asia or something? Viktor couldn't claim to know much about the countries, but he had heard that was a thing.
...
Doesn't matters! Anything from Yuuri for whatever reason was a good thing!
( He honestly could kick Viktor in the face and Viktor would praise the lord. )
"Oi old man!", Yuri hollered at at Viktor when he finally deigned to arrive at the rink. He was already six minutes late! Really, did he expect Yuri to wait for his old slow ass? He had things to do! Competitions to train for!
He was guaranteed gold, what with the other pathetic juniors, but it didn't mean he didn't like skating. Every minute he spent waiting for Viktor to appear was a minute he was losing on skating time, damn it.
When the greyhead finally turned around ( Even his responses were slow today. What the hell. ) Yuri threw the crudely wrapped package at him. "Catch!"
The idiot caught it clumsily ( Apparently gracefulness can disappear overnight. Yuri made note. ) and smiled his classic stupid heart smile when he saw what it was.
"Aww Yura! You shouldn't have!" He squealed. Loudly. Yuri found himself scowling, embarrassed.
"Shut up asshole! You don't need to say that every fucking year!"
If anything, he smiled even wider. "But it's still so sweet! Come here, let me hug you!"
"No fucking way!"
"Rude~"
Oh hell no. The she devil was here. Behind him. No escape. There was no escape.
He made a dash for the other side of the rink, but Mila caught him and held on tight with arms of steel. Seriously, where did she even get her strength from? He had asked once, but the hag had only grinned like it was some private joke and had replied "100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run, every single day."
Worth a try. Viktor had reached him by then, smiling widely. He was not going to go down without a fight! Let the old man try to hug him and see how his face would look like after a kick!
Fortunately – for Viktor of course, he was the ice tiger of Russia after all! – the geezer just ruffled his hair and went over to tie his skates.
Humph! At least his brain retained enough memory to remember that opening gifts in front of everyone was forbidden ( Viktor's 18th birthday. Christophe's mail. Scarred forever for life. Don't ask. ).
"Mila."
"Awww Yura, you came to me yourself? Wow!"
"Shut up you ha- LET ME GO!"
"You're no fun, you know that? So what is it?"
"Is it just me or is the old geezer ridiculously happy today? It's nearly the end of the practice and he had that silly grin for HOURS IT'S SO FUCKING ANNOYING!"
"...Is that Yuri speech for 'I haven't seen him this happy in years and I am curious and it's also kinda freaking me out?'"
"No it's Yuri speech for 'I really do hope the idiot won't do something stupid as fuck and enrage Yakov enough so that he would punish all of us'. Get your facts right woman!"
"You know what? That's actually a valid concern. I don't want a repeat of that time in the Skate Amer-"
"TRUE LOOOVE! SO TOUCHING!"
"GAAAAH!"
"Zhora! You scared me!"
"Sorry Mila. And Yura. I just got excited ABOUT THEIR BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP! EVERYONE SHOULD GET SOMEONE LIK-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP DO YOU WANT ME TO GO DEAF!?"
"Technically you're contributing to the noise too Yura."
"ALL THREE OF YOU SHUT UP AND GET TO WORK!"
"Ahhh! I am sorry Yakov!"
"Ay ay captain!"
"Tch. Fine!"
"...Do any of you...know why Vitya is smiling so wide?"
"Honestly coach, we have no clue."
Viktor wondered if it was too early to ask Yuuri to marry him.
He guessed he should rewind and start from the beginning. After he had come back home from practice, he saw a package in his mail. More specifically, a package shipped from Detroit .
He had rushed upstairs, nearly threw his bag on the floor ( nearly, but his skates were precious ), sat down and ripped open the packaging, Makkachin standing curiously beside him.
Inside it was a medium sized box, beautiful decorated in shades of silver and blue. Did Yuuri choose the coloring to match his hair and eyes? That's so sweet! The box looked hand decorated too, simple but pretty. It must have taken quite some time.
But he couldn't be given just a box, right? He had no problems with it, but a box seemed a little...odd, even a box with wonderful designs on it. He slowly slid the lid open, and saw pieces of folded paper inside.
He opened the biggest one out of the bunch.
"Happy birthday Viktor!", it said in a neat handwriting. Viktor read on. "You once mentioned how you would like to talk to me everyday, and that isn't always possible, so I made this. I don't know if you were serious or not, but I really hope you like this gift."
Eyes widening in surprise, Viktor laid it down and opened one of the smaller ones.
"Do your best!"
He opened another.
"Good luck!"
Another.
"Have a good day!"
Another.
"I am cheering for you!"
Oh. Viktor hadn't realized he was crying until the first droplet rolled down his cheek and Makkachin jumped on his lap to lick his face. He held her tightly and buried half his face in her fur, eyes still fixated on the open slips on the table and the closed ones in the box.
He wondered if Yuuri knew just how much this simple gesture meant to him. Probably not. To him, this was just a birthday gift, born from a silly ( to Yuuri, maybe ) comment Viktor had made.
To Viktor, this was more than that. This was so much more.
His brain supplied that it was like he was a lost ship in a surprisingly easy adventure, lonely and astray, when he suddenly finds a lighthouse that guides him with his warm and brilliant light.
He squashed the thought. No more weird analogies, even if it was extremely accurate. He had already spouted one in front of Yuuri, he didn't want to seem uncool in front of him again! )
Yuuri.
Viktor picked up his phone and sent a quick text. He needed to tell him how much he loved the gift. It was of utmost importance! Otherwise, how would Yuuri know how amazing he was and how much Viktor appreciated his thoughtful present?
Viktor ❤
can I Skype you?
"Phichit please kill me."
Phichit curiously turned his head to look at Yuuri, who was gripping his phone tight enough to give the poor phone asphyxiation. If it could breath in the first place, that is.
"What's the matter this time?"
"Procrastination."
"Ladies and gentlemen, behold yet another talent of Katsuki Yuuri! Being as vague as possible!"
Yuuri sighed. "Goddamnit Phichit it's serious."
At that Phichit paused their 9th rewatch of The King and The Skater ( well, the 9th for Yuuri at least ) and turned to face his bro fully.
"Okay, go on. Knowing you either you remembered that one embarrassing thing you did two years ago or you are dying of some great disease. You're not really dying are you?"
Yuuri sighed more heavily this time. "No Phichit. It's just that I have a crush on this one person-"
"Viktor."
Yuuri glared at him. "You could have let me be generic and saved me some embarrassment, but noooo."
"Come on now Yuuri, it's obvious! Now spill!"
"So you know how his birthday is today-"
"Yeah not like I heard you worrying about it a hundred times at least or anything."
"Stop interrupting!" Phichit raised his hands in surrender and Yuuri huffed. "I think he got my gift just now and well...he wants to Skype."
He cocked his head to the side. "What's the problem then? You have talked to Viktor in real many times, video call is the same."
Yuuri his face in his hands. "That's the thing, it's not!" He looked back up. "That was before I realized I had a crush on Viktor! What do I do now!?"
Phichit breathed out slowly. Sometimes he was amazed at his own awesomeness that he managed to get things into Yuuri's head, considering how thick it was.
To put it simply, HOW HAS THIS BOI NOT REALISED HIS CRUSH TILL YET!?
No, wait. He shouldn't be surprised, what with Yuuri's frankly stupid thoughts half the time. He didn't even believe that he was sweet and charming? That so many people liked him? Jesus christ Yuuri really was dense. And it was Phichit's solemn duty as his platonic soulmate to drum all those good things into his head.
So anyway, where were they? Ah yes. The video call. "I don't suppose telling you to act natural will do any good?"
"Unless you mean stutter and be a mess, no."
"Ah damn. There's always the option of refusing but I don't suppose you would want to miss an opportunity to see Viktor's glorious visage, shiny platinum hair, even shinier forehead that could be used as a weapon in case of emergencies-OOF! Jesus Christ Yuuri that pillow probably messed up my organs, such force."
Yuuri gave him an utterly unrepentant look. "You deserved it."
Phichit pouted. "Oh don't look at me like that. Have you even seen that time he swept away his hair - rhetorical question by the way, I know you won't miss anything Viktor related - so you remember that time after practice in Trophee De France?"
"His forehead wasn't that shiny!"
"Rose tinted lenses Yuuri, rose tinted lenses."
"Are you just gonna keep joking around? Because I have to reply soon he might have seen that I have seen the text and-"
Phichit was not ashamed to admit he screamed like someone canceled his favourite soap opera. "YOU HAVE THE READ RECEIPTS ON!? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS BEFORE!?"
"Phichit calm dow-"
He got up and shook Yuuri by the shoulders. "THIS IS TIME SENSITIVE YUURI!"
"Yes that's what I was trying to tell you."
Falling back into the sofa with a loud thump, Phichit closed his eyes and motioned exasperatedly with his hand. "Better say yes and start the chat soon Yuuri, I don't think there's time to discuss. Anyway, not like we were going to reach on a solution."
After a few moments of silence, he cracked open an eye and saw that Yuuri was typing - hesitantly, but he was typing - back a message to Viktor.
AN : GUYS IMPORTANT QUESTION-
Confession next chapter? Yay or nay?
On one hand it would be too early, but on the other I don't know what to fill the next one with.
( Yuri's gift was a mug saying 'you have aged' bless this salty child )