A/N: I really struggled with this one, mostly because I never seemed to have much time to write. Certain parts were written in a rush because I really didn't want to make you guys wait any longer for this, so if you notice anything that seems wrong, please tell me.
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After the contract was signed, things went very fast. Yuuri was emailed a short script for an advertisement he would take part in which, unsurprisingly, featured Viktor.
The advertisement would be filmed in Sweden, up North where it was still cold enough for there to be natural ice to skate on. According to the script, Viktor and Yuuri would be skating together across a frozen landscape. Then, after much hard work they would sit down to change their shoes, and Yuuri would reveal bruised feet. At that moment, Viktor would recommend Pios shoes to help Yuuri skate without hurting himself, showing off his Pios skates with a flourish.
The script was simple, but then again, advertisement was not meant to be overly complicated.
Yuuri read the details of the advertisement several times during his long flight to Stockholm. The advertisement was important, considering how much money Pios had paid to have Viktor and Yuuri in it, and to have it all filmed in such a far-away country. Yuuri had been told the advertisement would appear all over the world, not only the video clip but also in promotional posters. A lot of money had been invested in the venture.
Figure skating had not always been this popular. But with the arrival of Viktor, who'd won again and again, his victories shining brightly in sports news, and had managed his image so well that his face seemed to appear on every screen available, figure skating had been gaining in popularity for a decade now. And Pios wanted to cash in on that popularity.
It wasn't surprising that they'd set their sights on Viktor Nikiforov, the man whose face and talent had made figure skating so popular. But Yuuri felt uneasy about being added to the equation.
He could understand that beating Viktor at the Grand Prix Final would have lowered Viktor's worth to Pios. The crack in Viktor's armour of perfection hadn't been pretty, and Pios couldn't afford to have a new skater outshine the athlete they'd invested time and money in. So instead, they'd decided to make a grab for Yuuri too, before another company could.
The idea of being filmed skating with Viktor was thrilling. Yuuri had always dreamed of skating on the same ice as Viktor, but he'd meant that in the sense of competing against the man. However, Yuuri couldn't deny that the thought of skating with the man and spending time with him felt just as sweet.
-x-x-x-
When Yuuri arrived in Luleå, he was tired. He'd taken a plane to Stockholm and then another to Luleå, and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and the opportunity to change out of his clothes.
The weather in Luleå was dark and stormy. It was cold, and he was glad he'd dressed in warm clothes.
An old man was there to welcome him, holding up a sign with Yuri Katsuki written on it.
"Welcome to Sweden!" said the man in English. "My name is William. I will be your guide, and tomorrow I will accompany you to where we are filming." His accent was thick, but understandable.
William took hold of Yuuri's bag, which contained enough clothes and other necessities for the week Yuuri would be spending in Sweden, and they both headed towards the parking lot.
When they left the airport and arrived outside, a sudden gust of air made Yuuri shiver.
William laughed. "Ah, not used to Northern temperatures, are you? Count yourself lucky. Thirty years ago the cold was much worse. The one good thing Global Warming has done is make my country more tolerable for tourists!"
They stopped to pay the parking fee and then made their way towards the entrance of the parking lot.
"Where are we heading?" asked Yuuri, looking around curiously as they walked past rows of parked cars.
William brought out a car key and pressed on one of its two buttons. A nearby car beeped.
"The hotel where you'll be staying at. Filming only starts tomorrow, so tonight you can relax and unpack. Maybe even visit the bars of Luleå."
"Lewlee-ah?" asked Yuuri hesitantly, trying to pronounce the foreign word right.
"Luleå," corrected William.
He opened the trunk and set Yuuri's bag in it. Then he went for the driver's seat while Yuuri settled down next to him.
"What is Luleå like?" asked Yuuri, looking around.
William didn't answer straight away — he was busy moving his car out of its parking place. Considering how close his car was to the two cars on either side, it wasn't too surprising that he needed to fully concentrate on the task at hand.
"It's a nice place," was what William finally said, once they were driving away. "From November to April, the Gulf of Bothnia freezes over. It's quite the sight. The entire Luleå archipelago becomes perfect for ice skaters. Pios has used this area for advertising before, but I think this is the biggest project they've attempted here."
"How big is the… ar-chi-pe-la-go?" asks Yuuri, stumbling over the new word. His English wasn't good enough for him to have heard the word before.
"Over one thousand and seven hundred islands," said William proudly, delighting in Yuuri's wide-eyed expression. "Big, right?"
Yuuri nodded. "Japan has a lot of islands too, but Sweden is a much bigger country."
"Sweden has a lot to offer. If you can, you should try doing some tourism. It's really worth it. Luleå is really the perfect place for an ice-skater. There are some great ice roads you can take to the islands of Hindersön, Stor-Brändön and Långön. There's also a lot of traditional food, and amazing views…"
William continued talking lovingly about his country during the whole trip, telling Yuuri about local tales, great places to visit and the history of various parts of the country.
-x-x-x-
Luleå was beautiful. It was about the same size as Hasetsu, surrounded by water and evergreen forests. The architecture was stereotypically European, and had a nice church and several old buildings. A lot of the houses were made out of red bricks, which was something that seemed prevalent in Sweden, from what Yuuri had seen of the country so far.
It was also so cold Yuuri might be losing his toes to frostbite.
"Don't tell me a little cold is enough to frighten you!" exclaimed William, his loud laughter making passing people look over curiously.
Yuuri sighed, hiding inside the folds of his coat. "Then I won't say anything," he mutters.
"Don't worry, we're nearly there," William assured.
They had parked a few streets away and now William was guiding Yuuri towards the hotel, which felt much further away than William had assured him it was.
Finally, the hotel came into view. William pointed at the nearby building with a satisfied grunt.
The ground floor had outer walls made of white stone, and the upper floors had red brick. It looked elegant, and judging by the architectural style, the building was well over sixty years old.
"Best hotel available," said the man. "The others should already be there."
Yuuri squinted at the building. "Stadshottelet?" he read.
William nodded. "Yep. Good pronounciation."
Yuuri opened his mouth to thank the man, but was distracted when the entrance of the hotel came in sight. Or rather, who was waiting there.
Viktor was standing outside, bundled up in a thick pea coat and a scarf that hid half his face. He'd been staring at his phone, but right as Yuuri noticed him, some instinct made Viktor look up.
Their gazes met.
Face lighting up, Viktor raised his hand to wave enthusiastically.
"Yuuuuriiii~~!" the man called, hurrying over to them.
He opened his arms to catch Yuuri in a hug but at the last moment Yuuri moved out of the way, too flustered by the show of affection. Did all Europeans behave this way? Or was it only a Russian habit?
"V-Viktor!" exclaimed Yuuri, trying to ignore the way Viktor was pouting at having his hug rejected. "Were you waiting for us?"
Viktor looked at William blankly, then turned his gaze to Yuuri. "Well, I was waiting for you, Yuuri. I have no idea who this other guy is."
William didn't seem to be offended in the least. He was smiling at both Viktor and Yuuri, expression welcoming. "I'm William, one of the guides."
"Oh," said Viktor, nodding along. "I already met the other guide, Tilde. She'll be taking us out on the ice for the filming.
Yuuri, however, was still stuck on Viktor's earlier words.
"You were waiting outside for us?" he asked, incredulous. "Viktor, do you have any idea how cold it is? You could get sick!"
Viktor leaned closer to Yuuri, grabbing Yuuri's arm. "Well then you'll have to warm me up. If you don't then I might be too sick for our work together tomorrow~"
"Or we could just go inside," grumbled Yuuri into his scarf, trying to hide his heated cheeks. He really didn't want Viktor to realize the effect he was having on him. "It's already cold enough out here."
"Come, follow me," said Viktor, pulling Yuuri along. He seemed to have forgotten all about William, who was following behind and smiling at Viktor's antics.
Unlike the outer part of the hotel, the inside was much more modern. The lobby was full of sleek furniture in tones of black and white, with very little colour apart from a few plants and chestnut-coloured shapes set in the white floor.
William went over to the front desk while Yuuri sat with Viktor on armchairs set against the wall.
"When did you arrive?" Yuuri asked Viktor, keeping an eye on William and the receptionist.
"Around the end of the afternoon," said Viktor, playing with his cuffs absent-mindedly. "I took a plane to Luleå Airport from Stockholm and had the time to unpack before you arrived. It was very lonely without someone to talk to." Viktor was looking at Yuuri as he said those last words.
What was Yuuri meant to say to that? Viktor's face, and the way he'd hinted at being impatient to see Yuuri again… How was Yuuri meant to react?
Viktor was acting so friendly, so genial, so nice, and Yuuri couldn't understand where it was all coming from. Viktor might just have a friendly personality but it didn't change the fact that he barely knew Yuuri and had no reason to behave in such a way.
Yuuri felt both pleased and uncomfortable with the attention. It was a mix of emotions that had him shifting in place, incapable of finding anything to say that wouldn't sound foolish.
Thankfully, William arrived at that moment, holding up a keycard and a piece of paper.
"This is for you, Yuuri. Key to your room, and on this paper there's your room number and the wifi password, as well as my number and email in case you have any problems. We're meeting tomorrow at half past nine at the entrance to head out to the filming area. Breakfast area is open from seven to half past nine. Any questions?"
"No," answered Yuuri with a shake of his head, taking the keycard and the paper. "Thank you."
William clapped a hand on Yuuri's shoulder. "Try to get some sleep. That'll help you with jet lag during filming tomorrow." With one last smile, the man left.
Before Yuuri could react, Viktor had grabbed his keycard and was walking off towards the stairs.
"Come on, let's take a look at your room and explore it a little, hmm?" A wink.
"W-w-what?!" Yuuri spluttered, hurrying after the man. "Wait, no! I'd like to take a shower and relax a little! Not…" He waved up and down, gesturing at Viktor's person. "And I need to go to bed early so jetlag won't bother me as much tomorrow!"
Viktor's expression nearly made Yuuri falter. The man was pouting, looking at Yuuri as though he'd crushed all of Viktor's hopes in one fell swoop.
"Come on, Yuuri! Have a little fun with me!"
Did he have to say it with such suggestive undertones?
"I…" A moment of hesitation, before William's words came back to mind. "I need to be ready for tomorrow. Sorry. Maybe another time?"
Viktor's eye twitched; a crack in his facade.
"Sorry," repeated Yuuri with a wince, feeling as though he'd committed murder instead of just saying 'no'. "I really need to take that shower."
Yuuri turned to walk up the stairs towards the first floor. He told himself he didn't mind when Viktor didn't try to stop him.
-x-x-x-
The next morning, quite a gathering of people assembled to head out. Yuuri and Viktor were there, of course, but also the two guides, William and a woman named Tilde, as well as a cameraman, a technician and the man in charge of filming.
"Before we head out," said the manager once he was sure everyone was present. "How about some introductions?"
They were all sitting in the lobby except for the manager, who was standing. His incredible height made him tower intimidatingly, though the beaming smile barely hidden by his bushy mustache made him seem much more friendly.
"I'm Lars Thorsten. I'm from the Swedish branch of Pios, as you could guess from my name, and I've been in marketing for over nine years now. I'll be in charge of things around here, so if you have any problems or questions, feel free to ask me." He paused, and then nodded at the cameraman. "Your turn."
The cameraman introduced himself as Michael and gave a standard introduction with a: "Hi, nice to meet you. I'll be doing the filming and makeup. It's an honour to meet such talented people. I really admire your hard work."
And when pressed about that last part, the man smiled uncomfortably. "Ahh… I don't actually watch much skating… I'm more of a football fan."
Disappointed, Yuuri settled back into his chair while the others continued introducing themselves.
While the technician, Thomas, was explaining his role for the venture, Yuuri took a quick peek at Viktor.
The man was uncharacteristically quiet. He didn't seem unhappy, just… serious, while focusing intently on the people he would be working with.
Was Viktor still disappointed about being denied access to Yuuri's room yesterday? Or did he just have such a good work ethic that in the presence of his coworkers for the week, he was willing to put away his usual exuberance in favour of perfect professionality?
After the technician was done, the only woman of the group stood up to introduce herself as Tilde. Unlike William, who was a guide that served more as a chauffeur to drive people to and from the airport or the train station and also helped carry bags, Tilde was a guide who knew the region like the back of her hand and would help the group avoid patches of thin ice. She was there in case there was an accident, as she knew how to get someone out of the water safely if they fell through the ice and was very qualified when it came to medical care and first aid in general.
All of them seemed very nice, though only William and Mr Thorsten seemed to have any personality. the others were bland and polite, smiling blankly at Yuuri and Viktor.
Yuuri tried to ignore the rising self-doubt and desire to return home. He'd signed the contract and was committed — he couldn't just leave.
Mr Thorsten clapped his hands together. "Very well, let's get going then."
They headed outside and towards the nearby parking, where two cars were ready. William was to drive one, while Tilde would drive the other.
Mr Thorsten gestured towards the two cars. "Michael, Thomas, you two are with Tilde. Nikiforov and Katsuki will be with me and William in the second car."
Viktor cleared his throat. "You can just call me Viktor. We don't need to focus on formalities."
Mr Thorsten smiled widely and clapped a hand on Viktor's back with such enthusiasm that Viktor stumbled forward, eyes wide.
"Too strong…" whispered Viktor with a pained hiss, while Mr Thorsten was smiling cluelessly.
"Then you can call me Lars! You too, Katsuki!"
Yuuri nodded. "You can call me by my first name too," he said, a bit overwhelmed. Lars reminded him of Viktor, though at the moment Viktor seemed much more subdued than usual. And Yuuri was most likely the reason why.
Swallowing back his nervousness, Yuuri decided he'd be saying sorry as soon as he could get Viktor alone. He didn't really feel sorry for wanting to be alone in his room, but he was sorry that he'd hurt Viktor's feelings.
Everyone went to sit in the cars. They had to wait a bit while the technician was checking to see if he'd packed everything, but it only took five to ten minutes before they were driving away.
Lars and William were at the front of the car, while Viktor and Yuuri were in the back seats. Viktor's customary smile had yet to appear, and with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Yuuri realized he'd have to man up and do something to repair his relationship to his idol. The idea that he might've hurt Viktor Nikiforov's feelings was terrifying, and the last thing Yuuri wanted.
"Viktor…?" Yuuri asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Lars and William were talking quite loudly and not paying attention to anything else, but Yuuri really didn't want anyone else to hear.
For a second Yuuri thought Viktor wouldn't respond, but then the man turned his head to look at Yuuri.
"Yes?"
That blank expression crushed any doubt Yuuri had as to why Viktor's usual exuberance was gone.
He hates you…
You hurt his feelings.
You ruined everything.
He probably regrets talking Pios into offering you an endorsement deal…
Yuuri pushed the toxic thoughts to the back of his head to the best of his ability, but the ball of fear in his stomach was still there, knotting his insides together. He had to say something to make this right, but a simple 'sorry' would not be enough. He'd say that yesterday after denying Viktor, and it obviously had not done much good.
In his desperation to mend his relationship with his idol, an uncharacteristic amount of raw honesty came out, taking the form of a confession he'd never dared making:
"I'm scared… all the time," Yuuri admitted, looking down at his knees and fiddling with his clothes. "I'm scared I'll screw up at a competition, I'm scared of disappointing my parents, I'm scared my friends back in Japan will have moved on from me because I never visit them, I'm scared Celestino will finally drop me for a skater that's better at dealing with pressure… I always feel like it's only a question of time before my friends see the nervous wreck I am inside and decide to leave me, so I sometimes avoid their text messages for days, too petrified to even answer a standard 'hello, how have you been?'."
Yuuri inhaled deeply, shuddering as he did so. The car was silent as they drove, and Yuuri's face burned with the realization that William and Lars had heard and were listening in despite his efforts to be subtle. But he pushed past the embarrassment, determined to continue:
"I arrive in Stockholm, and I'm scared I'll miss my flight to Luleå or that I'll get lost in the airport. I'm scared something might happen to my luggage and it gets lost on the way. I'm scared I'll be so bad at acting that the whole week has to be cancelled because I'm not good enough for the advert to look nice. I get to Luleå and I'm tired, sweaty and just as scared as ever. My guide tells me to sleep so I'll be in top form the day after… and I say yes. So when you ask if you can come to my room I think 'I'm scared I'll say something stupid I'll say something stupid in front of my idol' and 'I'm scared because I don't know how to talk with Viktor Nikiforov and be interesting' and 'I'm scared because I've just been through a cross-continental flight and I stink and haven't taken a shower yet, and my smell will surely scare Viktor away'. So I say 'no, sorry, I'd rather you don't go to my room', that way I can be in my room alone while I try to deal with the fear like I deal with it before every competition — push it back and try to ignore it until it goes away. That doesn't always work, but I don't know what else to do."
Yuuri bit his lip, determined to stay truthful until the end. This time he wouldn't skirt around the issue like he had with multiple other people, brushing them off and saying everything was fine. This was Viktor Nikiforov, and Yuuri couldn't bring himself to do anything else than tell him the entire truth. Viktor had defined Yuuri's childhood in a way he would probably never know. He would never know the extent of what he meant to Yuuri, but that didn't mean Yuuri couldn't show his respect in other ways.
"I'm always scared. That's just how I am. And sometimes my fears make me push people away, because I don't want them to see those fears I have, to realize they exist. I'm sorry you had to be one of those people yesterday, Viktor, and I hope you can forgive me. I feel sad when I notice you don't smile as much."
There was a pause. It stretched on for so long that Yuuri's doubts came back full force.
You idiot, why did you have to attack Viktor with such a long monologue?! A simple excuse would have worked better. Viktor doesn't care about your petty little issues — it's not like you have real problems like being extremely poor or having terminal cancer! Your mind just makes up problems where there aren't any and you get scared over stuff that's perfectly fine! Your worthless, made-up issues don't concern Vik—
"I'm your idol?" asked Viktor.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Yuuri looked up and finally dared to glance at Viktor. The man's mouth was half-open, eyes wide.
"Of course," said Yuuri. "You…" You're the best. You're perfect. You give my life meaning. "You inspired me to become a skater, when I was a child. I saw you on TV and… well… I decided to try my hand at figure skating."
"And then years later," whispered Viktor, "there you are, stealing a gold medal from right under my nose."
The words should have triggered Yuuri's anxiety, made him stammer out apologies, if it weren't for the small, hesitant smile on Viktor's face and the fact that he'd just grasped Yuuri's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.
It wasn't exactly but forgiveness Yuuri had been hoping for, but he was beginning to understand that Viktor aid the most important things with his actions, not his words.
And so, Yuuri squeezed Viktor's hand too, leaning just a bit closer.
-x-x-x-
A/N:
A FEW EXPLANATIONS: Some might say that Viktor is OOC in this chapter because in canon he never seems upset when Yuuri refuses to do things with him such as sleeping together, bathing together, etc. However, in my fic the crazy events of the banquet have not happened. Unlike canon, where Viktor is secure in the knowledge that Yuuri likes him based on the banquet events and all he has to do is flirt until Yuuri responds, ignoring any hurtful denials along the way, in my fic Viktor doesn't have much to base his confidence on. He's interested in Yuuri, the first person to truly challenge him, and he flirts. But when he's refused, he takes it seriously because he hasn't seen Yuuri pole-dancing or grinding against him or dancing with him. Viktor's feelings, in my fic, are based on much less than in canon, which is why he doesn't flirt as hard (he hasn't been showing off his naked body to Yuuri) and takes rejection more seriously.
You know, this chapter was meant to be much shorter because I was being slow at writing and wanted to get this out as fast as possible. When I reached 2.9K yesterday, I realized I wouldn't be able to write my usual 4K and be able to post today. So I told myself 'Okay, I'll just write approximately 3K and post that. 75% of my usual chapter length is still pretty good.' And today I wrote until I reached 3K, and then I decided I had to do a quick ending so that the ending of the chapter doesn't feel overly abrupt. I started writing, and in my effort to write a good chapter ending I somehow managed to add 800 words to my chapter, when before I'd been struggling to write anything at all. I have no idea how it happened, but at least that means the chapter is much longer, right?
I've been keeping count of the *VOTES* for the three story ideas I proposed in the A/N of the last chapter and the votes are extremely close. Nearly at a tie. The 'winning' story idea changes with evry vote, basically. That's how close the votes are. So I decided to try and give you guys more information on the three story ideas. Hopefully that'll help show a clear favourite in the tally.
Here are the longer descriptions:
1) A Viktor/Yuuri fic which is both urban fantasy and mafia AU at the same time. Everything is still like in canon and the characters are still skaters, but there's some urban fantasy and mafia stuff on top of it.
EXTRA INFO: The 'mafia' element does not mean YOI characters will be mafia members instead of skaters. I added mafia to the story to give it more actions. Basically, it's like YOI and everyone skates, but there's crime as an important plot point in the story. The mafia will be one of the main 'antagonists', you could say, though it's not quite the right word for it. They're basically an important plot element.
The mention of 'urban fantasy' is like the mention of 'mafia' - Everyone still skates and the YOI world is exactly the same, except an added urban fantasy element will start a canon divergence. The story will be rated M at a minimum, and not because of sexy stuff. This fic is more serious and action packed than canon is.
2) A Viktor/Yuuri/Chris fic that starts out as a canon divergence and then goes on from there. It features a lot of jealousy before ending up in a three-person relationship.
EXTRA INFO: The idea for this fic is much more simple and thus it's harder for me to give extra information without telling you too much. Basically, Chris is Viktor's rival for Yuuri's affection, and the canon divergence starts in episode 1, when the Sochi GPF happens.
3) An Otabek/Yuri/JJ time travel fic with an unusual take on the time travel trope.
EXTRA INFO: One of the things Yuri will be trying to fix is JJ's relationship with Isabella, because due to some miscommunications their relationship ends in the future and sends JJ into a deep depression. The efforts Yuri makes lead to him and JJ becoming tentative friends, until Yuri's help backfries on him spectacularly when JJ decides he likes Yuri more than Isabella after seeing Yuri's 'sweet and caring nature'. *snort*
This fic is lighthearted and cute, with some serious moments here and there.
Please vote for whatever story you would like next. Only one vote per person. Some people voted for two stories, so I just split their vote in half and gave a 0.5 vote to each story the person voted for. So if you really can't decide, feel free to mention two stories. You'll be able to vote until I post chapter 8. The results will be in chapter 8's AN and I'll post the first chapter of the new story around the same time as I post the final chapter of this fic.
Currently votes are at:
1) Urban Fantasy/Mafia Viktuuri fic:
7 votes
2) Viktor/Yuuri/Chris fic (Viktuuris? Chruutor? What kind of ship name would work?):
5.5
3) Time travel Otabek/Yuri/JJ fic:
5.5