Work Text:
"That wasn't your first kiss, was it, Yuuri?" Victor asked as they headed back towards their hotel room.
Yuuri's cheeks grew warm, and he turned his head away from Victor. It wasn't necessarily his first kiss, but – he wasn't sure if he should count the chaste kiss shared between him and Phichit, back when they were roommates, or the disastrous attempts he'd made with the girls he'd known throughout the years. "Kinda?" he answered finally, bowing his head. He rubbed the back of his neck and licked his lips – he could see Victor's eyes widen a little in surprise, even in the dim lighting of the car.
"Kinda? So that means no, then, right?" Victor chided, nudging Yuuri with his knee. He slid an arm around Yuuri's shoulders, nuzzling him. "Tell me who the other people were…"
"Phichit," Yuuri murmured, still not quiet meeting Victor's eyes.
"Phichit?" Victor repeated, tensing beside Yuuri. "I thought the two of you were just friends!"
"We are just friends!" Yuuri said, folding his arms over his chest and pouting a little. "He kissed me and I told him I wasn't interested in guys that way, but I appreciated the sentiment?"
Victor blinked, then chuckled, gently taking hold of Yuuri's chin and directing him to meet his eyes. "Not interested in guys that way, hmm?" he hummed, which just made Yuuri's face burn even hotter.
"Th-There were a couple of girls, too," Yuuri stammered.
"Yuuuuuriii, you told me you didn't have any girlfriends," Victor muttered, his voice low as his lips brushed against Yuuri's ear. "Were you lying to me?"
Yuuri shook his head, trying to ignore the way his heart began to pound against his ribs. He hadn't gotten nervous over Victor getting this close in months – why was he getting that way now? "N-No, I just – I didn't date either one of them. Just – tried to make a move and it didn't – it didn't work…"
He must have been more tired than he thought, if he was going to keep stammering like this. Sighing, Yuuri rested his head against Victor's and closed his eyes. "I don't think I really liked them that way, either," he admitted quietly. "I just knew I was supposed to be interested in girls."
"Does that mean I'm special, then?" Victor asked with a quiet laugh. He nuzzled Yuuri's cheek, then kissed him there softly. "I like the idea of being special…"
Yuuri smiled at that, shivering a little at the kiss, as it had landed just along the edge of Yuuri's jaw. He scrabbled for Victor's hand with his eyes closed, tangling their fingers together. "You are special, Victor," he said, the words leaving him in a jumble of Japanese. Exhaustion was winning, and the cab ride back to the hotel was taking too long.
Victor's fingers were soft against his own, warm and inviting. Yuuri could feel himself lose the battle over sleep, his adrenaline finally wearing off. Victor seemed to sense this, the arm he had slung around Yuuri tightening, his hand hooking around the outer edge of Yuuri's arm. Fingers drifted slowly up and down Yuuri's arm, further luring him into sleep.
When he woke, it was to Victor's soft murmuring of his name. Yuuri jolted awake, flushing as he realized they'd made it back to their hotel -- and that he'd fallen asleep only moments into the car ride. Victor's face showed no annoyance, though – only a fond softness that made Yuuri's heart skip a beat in his chest, much like it had as Victor rested on top of him while they were splayed on the ice, after Victor had kissed him.
They stumbled into the hotel arm and arm, Victor taking care of the hard part like opening doors and pushing buttons to the elevator. Something had changed because of Victor's surprise kiss – he just wasn't sure what, yet – not even as Victor began to strip him out of his clothes, much like he'd done earlier that day.
"You should get some rest, Yuuri," Victor said, stroking Yuuri's cheek. "You did very well, today. Should I see if I can find us some katsudan?"
Yuuri blinked, his stomach rumbling and reminding him he hadn't eaten much at all day, despite the exertion he'd put himself through just to perform his free skate. He also realized he was now down to his t-shirt and his boxer-briefs. "We'd have to go out and get it," he said, furrowing his brow as he tried to remember the area. "I don't think anywhere around the hotel delivers – and I didn't win, anyway, so…" He trailed off and licked his lips, shuffling a little on his feet.
"I can find a place and go get it while you stay here and rest," Victor said, giving Yuuri a slight shrug. He let his hand fall away from Yuuri's face, it coming to rest on Yuuri's shoulder. "I say you deserve katsudan, Yuuri. You've pushed yourself hard, today."
Yuri's eyes filled with tears, and he looked up at Victor with all the admiration he could muster. He wanted to argue and say he didn't deserve it, but he wanted to share katsudan with Victor, more than anything, right now. Slowly, he nodded and swallowed his nerves, offering Victor a shaky smile. "Okay," he said, half-collapsing onto the bed behind him. "I'll wait here, then."
"Good Yuuri," Victor said, grinning as he patted the top of Yuuri's head. "I'll be back soon."
And like that, Victor had slipped back out of the hotel room, quietly ordering Yuuri to sleep until he came back -- and that he would wake him up once he had acquired food for them. Yuuri fumbled with the covers before slipping under them, curling up on his side.
Unlike the ride back in the car, Yuuri found himself unable to drift off into sleep. He kept thinking of Victor -- that little smile he had before he launched himself at Yuuri; the look on his face as he kissed Yuuri as if he’d always wanted to do that. And maybe he had -- he’d seen the way Victor had looked at him from time to time; not to mention Victor had always been particularly handsy, but -- that had always just been Victor’s way. An insufferable flirt; someone who knew he was painfully hot and used it to his advantage.
But that wasn’t the way Victor had looked at him, when Yuuri was under him on the ice. That was different. It was private; a look only Yuuri had been meant to see, even if the cameras has been rolling, and --
His stomach plummeted towards his feet. His family had probably seen the whole thing. They’d seen Victor throw himself into Yuuri’s arms -- had seen Victor kiss him. On live, international television. In front of the whole skating world. And while Yuuri really hadn’t minded the kiss at all -- and in fact had loved it, he wasn’t sure how everyone back home would feel. Would they be okay with it? Would his parents disown him? Would Mari make fun of him? And what about Yuko-chan and the girls and --
Yuuri covered his face with his hands and half-sighed, half-growled into them, forcing himself to keep breathing. They loved him. They supported him. They probably all saw this coming a mile away and were happy for him and Victor -- that they had grown so close and comfortable with another that Yuuri didn’t want anyone else at his side.
Slowly, Yuuri curled up on his side, facing the door to their hotel room as he eyed it, waiting for Victor to reappear from behind it. His stomach growled again, and his eyes drifted to the alarm clock sitting beside the bed. Victor seemed to have been gone forever, though he knew it couldn’t have been all that long. Maybe fifteen minutes at the most -- probably closer to ten.
“Yuuuuri.” Yuuri jumped, his eyes snapping open as he felt something soft brush against his cheek. “I see you fell asleep again, after all…”
Yuuri’s face burned as his eyes focused on the endless blue of Victor’s own. He had settled on the bed beside Yuuri, propping his head up with one hand while his other --
Well, he was stroking Yuuri’s cheek. “You’re so cute when you’re asleep,” Victor said, his thumb coming to rest just below the edge of Yuuri’s lip.
The touch sent a shiver down Yuuri’s spine, and in the past, he would have moved away from Victor’s hand. But this time, he found himself nuzzling Victor’s hand, a small, shy smile teasing at his lips. “Stop it,” he said. “You really are too free with your touches, you know. I can never tell if you’re being serious or not.”
“I suppose I can be a little much,” Victor said, his eyes never once leaving Yuuri’s. He smiled at him, his expression similar to the one he’d given Yuuri while they were still on the ice. “But rest assured, Yuuri, I am always being serious with you…”
Victor’s hand drifted to cup Yuuri’s face, and he leaned in, kissing Yuuri softly. Yuuri made a quiet little noise of surprise, but melted against Victor’s lips and closed his eyes. The first time, he could have just written it off as Victor being excited and proud of him -- but this time, it was different. It was just them. No need to surprise Yuuri at all.
The kiss didn’t last very long; was hardly longer than a moment. When Victor pulled away, he left his hand half-buried in the hair at the nape of Yuuri’s neck. “Do you really want me to stop, Yuuri?” he asked, nudging Yuuri with his nose. “You seem to quite enjoy it when I kiss you…”
Yuuri shook his head, his face burning hotter than it had all evening. He did enjoy it. His heart pounded against his ribs as he met Victor’s eyes; as he reached up to cup the side of Victor’s face. “I don’t want you to stop kissing me,” he said, the words leaving him before he could stop them. “I don’t want you to kiss anyone else but me.”
Victor’s eyes widened a little bit, and then he grinned, chuckling as he leaned in and brushed his lips against Yuuri’s once more. “Okay,” he said. Yuuri held his breath as Victor pulled him closer, as one kiss turned to two, then to three. All the while, Yuuri found himself following Victor’s lead, parting his lips more on instinct than anything else as his hand moved down to Victor’s neck.
“Mm, eager, aren’t you?” Victor hummed as he pulled away. His face was flushed, and Yuuri couldn’t get enough of the wide grin now sweeping across Victor’s face. “That’s enough for now, Yuuri. We need to get some food in you -- you’ve had a long day.”
Yuuri nodded, watching as Victor slipped out of the bed and walked over to the desk, where their food sat waiting. Yuuri rubbed at his face and sat up on the bed, stretching a little before walking over to Victor. “That smells good,” he murmured as he stood next to Victor.
“Doesn’t it?” Victor said, beaming. He handed Yuuri a to-go box and a couple of chopsticks. “I hope it’s as good as it smells…”
Yuuri nodded, glancing around the hotel room. It wasn’t a very big room -- there wasn’t much seating, either, aside from their beds.
“We can sit and eat on mine,” Victor said, as if he were reading Yuuri’s mind. He then smiled at Yuuri. “I would prefer to sleep in yours with you, tonight…”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to sleep separately?” Yuuri asked. He didn’t know why he was even asking -- he recalled all too well how Victor had decided to take a nap while laying on top of him, earlier that same day. And Yuuri had been so nervous then, his anxiety at an all time high. Victor’s presence had only been vaguely comforting, if not nerve-wracking in its own way.
Victor pouted, an expression of exaggerated hurt making its way across his face. “You don’t want to sleep with meee?” he half-whined as he settled onto his bed. He even picked at his food dramatically.
Yuuri laughed, sitting on the bed beside Victor. He rubbed at his face again, pulling his knee up to his chest and resting his head on it, studying Victor. “Stop pouting, Victor,” he teased, bringing a bite of food to his lips. “There’s just not a lot of room on these beds, you know?” He moved closer to Victor, leaning up to kiss Victor on the cheek. “We can share a bed when we go to Russia…”
Victor’s face flushed again, and he lifted a hand to where Yuuri had kissed him, blinking a little as he managed to meet Yuuri’s eyes. “You want to share a bed in our next hotel?” he asked. He then grinned, putting his food down on the night stand between their beds, glomping Yuuri to the best of his ability with how close they were together. “Yuuri! Of course we can! I would love to!”
Yuuri did his best to prevent his food from spilling everywhere, tensing a little in Victor’s arms initially at the hug. He then relaxed, even scooting a little closer to Victor in the process. His face heated up again as he considered just how much Victor loved touching him and hanging off of him. Was that really just how Victor was? Or was that just how Victor was with Yuuri, after all the time they’d spent together as skater and coach?
When Victor let go of him, they both returned to the meal at hand -- it wasn’t as good as the katsudan from home, but it would do. Even Victor agreed, chatting away merrily as Yuuri mostly listened in silence. He smiled a little to himself as he watched Victor talk; he loved the way he stumbled over his English at times -- how his accent blended words together.
“Daisuki dayo,” Yuuri murmured without meaning to, lapsing into his native Japanese as Victor fell into an uncharacteristic silence.
Victor tilted his head to one side, his expression curious. “I’m sorry?” he said, blinking at Yuuri. “You know I’m terrible at Japanese…”
Yuuri chuckled and shook his head. “I’m not telling you,” he said, tossing another piece of pork past his lips. When Victor just glowered at him in response, he laughed, doing his best not to choke on his food.
“Yuuuriiiii,” Victor whined, plucking the to-go box from Yuuri’s hand. “That’s not faaaaair! What if I said something to you in Russian?”
“It’d be fun to try and guess,” Yuuri said, flashing Victor with a grin before trying to swipe his box of food back out from Victor’s hand. “Give that back!”
Victor laughed, pushing himself out of the bed and holding the box just out of Yuuri’s reach. “Not until you tell me!”
Yuuri shook his head, eyeing the height of the box as Victor held it overhead. It wouldn’t be hard to jump for it -- though he was tired, and his legs ached from performing his routine on no sleep. “What do you think I said?” he asked, gearing up to jump.
“I don’t know -- sometimes you call me an idiot under your breath,” Victor said, pretending to pout. “I might not know a lot of Japanese but I do know what ‘Victor no baka’ means…”
Yuuri laughed, still eyeing his food and wondering if it’d even be worth it to grab for it, or if it would just end up everywhere. “But you are an idiot, sometimes. Like earlier,” he said, moving in closer. He gave Victor a tired smile, now standing less than a foot away. Maybe jumping wouldn’t be the best idea -- but if he could get Victor to let his guard down…
Victor flinched, the box lowering a little as the meaning of Yuuri’s words hit him. “I’m so sorry for that,” he said, his expression softening. “I only thought -- it doesn’t matter what I thought. I hurt you and you were right to yell at me.”
Yuuri jumped, grinning as he managed to snatch his food back without any real fight from Victor. “You’re damn right I was,” he said, still grinning as he then pulled Victor to him and kissed him. “It’s alright, I forgive you. I get what you were trying to do, but -- next time you want to motivate me, maybe keep your mouth shut?” he asked, settling back onto Victor’s bed.
Victor blinked, his cheeks dusted in pink for a moment, then smiled at Yuuri. “I’ll try to remember that, next time,” he said. He sat down next to Yuuri, resting his head on his shoulder. “Ya tebya lyublyu,” Victor said, lifting his head just so he could meet Yuuri’s eyes.
Yuuri just blinked at him, tilting his own head to one side as he tried to make sense of sounded like gibberish. “What does that mean?” he asked, his voice raising in pitch a little.
“It means now we’re even,” Victor said with a snort, kissing Yuuri’s cheek. “Finish that and get some sleep, will you? You look exhausted and we have a lot of traveling to do, the next few days…”
Yuuri nodded. It wasn’t long before he finished eating, and when he moved back to his bed, he pulled Victor along with him. “Stay close to me,” Yuuri said, blushing a little as Victor gave him a questioning look.
“With pleasure,” Victor said, giving Yuuri a fond smile before curling up against him, resting his head on Yuuri’s chest. The bed was a little too small for this, but -- it would do.
Yuuri honestly couldn’t be happier.