December 14th, 2020
Word Count: 5008
A/N: Alright time to start busting out the AUs lol
For clarification, the opening number is performed to "History Maker", Phichit's is to "Terra Incognita" (his free skate) and obviously Yuuri's is to "On Love: Eros".

Victor wasn't expecting his life to change in a single night, but he supposed he should've thought of that before agreeing to go out with Christophe Giacometti. The Swiss man had a knack for dragging him into situations that were scandalous or astonishing; most of the time, it was both.

He adjusted his coat as he walked beside his friend, feeling the cold air of fall nipping at him even under all the layers. Though he was Russian, he liked to spend chilly days indoors with a warm drink and a fluffy blanket. He was already used to feeling cold and numb from skating for hours on end. Victor wished he was back at home with Makkachin watching a movie, but here he was.

"Why did I agree to come with you again?" he asked Chris, shooting him a glare as another gust of cold air hit them.

He let out a laugh. His voice was deep and sultry as he swung his head toward Victor. "Because you know I'll show you a good time," he said, giving him a wink. "Besides, this will be more interesting than just laying around at home moping about how you're single."

"Excuse you, I do not mope," Victor retorted indignantly.

"What would you call watching rom-coms with a tub of ice cream, alcohol, and a dog, my friend?" Chris replied, grinning even broader.

The Russian huffed and crossed his arms, a small blush warming in his cheeks and nose. Fortunately, it could be passed off for the cold weather. "I'd call it a nice quiet night in," he said. "I don't always watch romantic-comedies, I'm not that much of a cliché, Chris."

"You," he began, pointing a finger at him, "are as cliché as it gets, Victor Nikiforov."

The conversation died down as they continued to walk. As they approached their destination, Victor's eyes widened. He knew they were attending a circus, but Chris had made it sound like a small event. The size of the crowd gathering around the building said otherwise. The area was swarmed with people wearing merchandise or buying it from one of the stands set up. Tons of people were gathering around the ticket office in an attempt to get seats.

"Chris, I thought you said this was a small circus," he said in confusion, looking at the lit-up sign that read The Flowers of Asia.

Chris shrugged. "Maybe I lied a little bit, but what does it matter? It's a really cool group of performers from different parts of Asia," he explained, gesturing to the sign. "From what I know, the performers are from the major countries of Asia and their stage names are their national flowers. How cool is that?"

"How do you even know about this?" Victor questioned.

"How do you think I got us tickets?" he countered with a flirtatious wiggle of his eyebrows. The Russian made an exaggerated gagging noise, causing his friend to laugh. "I'm joking, I'm joking... a little. I didn't sleep with anyone, but I know Thailand. He got us tickets."

They strolled passed the crowded merchandise booth. Victor paused and gazed at the different articles of clothing with the different performers on them. "Which one's Thailand?"

Chris pointed to a shirt that had a young man in a gold and red outfit doing a graceful pose and surrounded by bright yellow petals. There were Thai symbols that he assumed spelled the name of the performer's flower, his stage name. Victor's eyes drifted over the other shirts. Chris had been telling the truth about the performers being from major parts of Asia. He could recognize China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea with a glance at some of the other merchandise. He presumed there were even more nations present.

His eyes shifted again and landed on the Japanese performer's merchandise. A breath caught in his throat as he took in the beautiful black-haired man dressed a black and pink costume. There were pink flowers around him that he assumed were cherry blossoms. Even in the shirt's image, Victor could tell the man was gorgeous.

The Swiss man beside him seemed to catch his gaze lingering. He nudged him in the ribcage with a laugh. "Japan's easy on the eyes," he said with a wink. "Don't worry, these seats will be perfect for his act."

"What do you mean?" Victor asked. He seemed to be asking a lot of questions tonight. He felt as lost and as excited as a small child who'd been told he was getting a surprise. "What kind of performers even are these people? They better not be strippers, Chris, or I'll seriously punch you in the face."

Chris laughed again. "No, no, they're not strippers. Do you really think strippers would book an arena like this and draw this big of a crowd?"

"What would I know about strippers? That's your area of expertise," he said.

"This is true, but don't worry my friend," he replied, patting him on the back as they headed inside the arena. "It's a circus, so I presume they will be acrobats, dancers, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, and such. Thailand told me that he's a dancer of some kind and Japan is an aerial silks performer."

Victor couldn't help the impatience that was buzzing under his skin as they headed for their seats. Their seats were high up, which confused him. The performers on the stage would look like ants from this height. "Wouldn't it be better to be closer to the floor?"

"There's no bad seat for this show, to be honest," Chris reassured him. "But the acrobats and stuff take place higher up."

The Russian shrugged and settled into his chair. He could tell by the cushioning and the space between the seats beside him that these were pricier seats. He wondered how Chris was close enough friends with Thailand to get them such seats without Victor having heard about him before.

After a few minutes, the arena's seats were filled with fans. There was a timer on the screens that displayed the countdown for the show. As it reached zero, the crowd went wild.

The lights dimmed to darkness. A lighthearted song began to play through the speakers. As the song's lyrics began, the stage was illuminated. It revealed dancers clothed in their nation's colors. Screams from the crowd indicated that the soloists they'd seen merchandise for were among them. They were too high up for Victor to make out who was who from the stage, but the screens helped him see a little better.

Victor watched in awe as the dancers twirled, jumped, and threw each other with grace and precision that reminded him on figure skating. Ribbons spiraled around some of them. Others were tumbling. Some of them were even wielding fire. He found himself unable to look away as they performed to a song about making history.

When the song ended, someone spoke over the speakers. "Welcome to the Flowers of Asia!"

"They're good, right?!" Chris called to him over the noise as they clapped.

He nodded in agreement, feeling anxious to see what was to come next. The electricity he felt from their opening performance rivaled that of when he watched a truly inspiring routine on the ice.

The show continued on with smaller group numbers based on the countries and then the soloist representing them. Victor smiled at the young Chinese boy who's ribbon dancing solo was flowing and beautiful. He hummed with interest at the stoic-faced Korean who's footwork was remarkable despite his lack of expression. He couldn't say he wasn't enjoying himself by the time Thailand's performance had come.

Chris whistled and cheered when he was announced. Victor's eyes were on the stage, but the spotlight appear in the center of the area somewhere above them.

"Huh?" he mumbled, following the light to reveal the Thai performer waving at the crowd. His eyes widened as he realized what he was standing on. "Wait, he's a tightrope dancer? Like, for real?"

"Oh yes," the Swiss man confirmed with a grin.

A distinctly Thai sounding song began to play. Victor thought that he might've heard it in a film before. Thailand began to move in the rope, jumping and dancing with ease despite the height or rope beneath his feet. Rather he used to the right string to his advantage, using it to propel himself into the air to perform spins and jumps. His movements were graceful and unique. He stood out in a way that Victor had never seen before.

Eventually the music came to an end and Thailand bowed. Chris stood up to clap and Victor felt obligated to do the same. He'd been the best soloist so far.

The lights shifted back to the stage, where Japan's group performance began. It was a beautiful number, but his thoughts didn't linger on it. The arena went dark and the crowd began to scream. Victor's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before realization dawned on him. This had to mean that Japan's solo was next.

Sure enough, a guitar began to play and movement drew his gaze. Deep pink silks fell from the ceiling. A figure on the stage with his head down began to move, wrapping the silks around his feet while still moving in an enticing way. The silks had to be attached to some sort of motor in the catwalk, because the silks raised high into the air as the music kicked off.

Japan began to spin and twist in the silks, his black and pink costume hugging his limbs. Victor let out an involuntary whistle as he caught a glimpse of his face and his slicked black hair.

He was clearly a fan favorite. Every movement he did earned screams and applause. Victor could understand why.

The music was swelling up dramatically and the mechanism that was controlling the silks began to move so that Japan spun in a wide circle around the arena. He hovered only feet away from the seats, giving the fans at that height a clear view of his face.

As he swung passed Victor, he gazed at him. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes widened. His eyes were half lidded and his skin glistened with sweat. Everything about him screamed lust.

Japan then swung away, leaving the Russian leaning in his seat. Chris chuckled knowingly, but Victor ignored him.

The aerial silks pulled back to the middle as the music entered its final swell. Japan began climbing up the silks, twisting and wrapping them around him as he rose higher and higher. As the music peaked, he stopped.

Victor let out an involuntary gasp as Japan let go and leaned backwards. He began spiraling and twisting down with the frantic strings. He kept falling as his heart raced, but eventually came to a stop on the final note of the song, the silks holding him up from under his arms as he tilted his head back.

The arena exploded with applause and screams. Victor leapt to his feet and clapped, his heart still racing and his mind filled with longing.

He couldn't focus on the rest of the show. He was far too concerned with meeting this man. The need to meet him was practically primal.

Once the show was over, Victor leapt to his feet again. "I need to meet him, Chris."

"I knew that would happen," his friend said with a laugh, not in a rush as he stood from his own seat. He took out his phone to check his messages. "Thailand said we could go backstage if you want-"

"No, you don't understand Chris, I need to meet him," he rushed out. He gripped his friend's shoulders. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone more beautiful or talented in my life."

Chris pouted. "You're looking right at me though," he whined.

Victor gave him a look. The Swiss man broke and began to laugh, brushing off his hands. "Alright, alright, let's go. We'll have to wait for them to get changed and everything before Thailand can get us backstage, so you'll have to be patient."

The two men fought their way through the crowded arena as the audience tried to buy merchandise and leave the arena. Before exiting, they purchased some merchandise; a shirt with Thailand for Chris, and every single poster the store had of Japan for Victor. Outside was just as packed. As they rounded the corner to approach the backstage entrance, they saw a large crowd gathered. The Russian looked to his friend for a solution, to which Chris winked.

They approached the crowd and Chris cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said loudly.

With a crowd composed of mostly teenaged girls, their sudden arrival made them turn. At first they seemed ready to bite his head off, but they soon lost whatever words they had prepared when they saw his face. The crowd began gossiping and cheering as he and Victor made their way through. He could hear both of their names being said loudly and in awed tones. He smiled and waved like he typically did with fans, but his mind was somewhere else.

"Merci," Chris said, winking at them as they reached the front.

A couple security guards were stationed there. They held their hands up in a stopping motion as they approached. "Excuse me, but do you have proper authorization to go backstage?"

"Even if I didn't, I'm pretty sure Victor Nikiforov here could just wink and you'd let us through," he joked. The fans all laughed in agreement. He pulled out their tickets from his pocket, handing them to the guard. "There's a message from Thailand on them for backstage access."

The guards inspected the tickets to make sure they weren't forged. They nodded in approval and stepped aside. "Wait in seating area please, the performer will come give you security passes and take you backstage."

Chris and Victor thanked them as they walked inside. They entered a pleasant looking room with a TV and plush couches. The Swiss man took a seat and relaxed comfortably, but Victor felt like he couldn't sit down if he tried.

He felt too much adrenaline coursing through his veins. All he could think about was the Japanese soloist. His tight black and dark pink costume that seemed transparent in some places. The way it hugged his muscles that were so clearly defined. The way he twisted and spun in the silks. His dark lust-filled eyes. That man was a creature of pure beauty.

It felt like eternity had passed by the time the soloist from Thailand made an appearance. The tanned young man bounced into the room, his face lighting up upon seeing the two of them. Victor almost didn't recognize him out of costume. His hair fell in a bowl cut around his head and there were still traces of sweat glistening on his skin. "Chris! You came!" he cheered, clapping happily as he approached him. The Swiss skater wrapped the smaller man in a firm hug. He pulled away and looked toward Victor. "Oh my god, you actually brought him too, wow, um- hi! My name's Phichit!"

"Victor Nikiforov," the Russian said, offering his hand to the practically vibrating performer.

"I know," he laughed. "This is seriously a huge honor, to have both of you here. Thank you so much for coming. The whole cast and crew will be thrilled once I tell them. Of course, you don't have to meet the others if you don't-"

Victor cut him off immediately. "I'd like to meet the soloist from Japan if that's possible."

The Thai performer blinked and looked toward Chris. He earned a smirk and a wink in response, which seemed to make Phichit realize something. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Oh, of course, of course! Follow me!"

Phichit led the way out of the waiting room into the hallways that led backstage. Though it was obvious that Victor wanted to meet one performer in particular, the Thai performer introduced them to everyone they passed by. He would've said something about it if he didn't mind coming across as an asshole, but he knew that everyone worked hard to put on the show. He smiled and shook hands with performers from all the different parts of the show, signing things when asked and posing for pictures.

The company for Japan gushed over him and wanted a group picture, but all Victor could think about was how the soloist was missing. Once they were finished, he turned toward Phichit. "If that was Japan's troupe, where's the soloist?"

"Oh, Yuuri's probably practicing. He always does that after shows," Phichit said bashfully. "I thought he'd be finished by the time we got done with the others, but I guess we'll have to wait for him-"

"Will he mind if we visit him while he practices?" Victor asked quickly.

The Thai man paused and thought about it. "I suppose he probably wouldn't mind," he mumbled, rubbing his chin. "Here, come on, there's a practice space this way."

As the three of them made their way toward the room, Victor's skin buzzed. The anticipation was killing him. He'd been trying to be patient. He'd posed for the pictures and smiled for the others, but he really wanted to meet this man.

Yuuri... he thought to himself. His heart was thumping against his ribcage loudly. Phichit said his name is Yuuri.

A small, amused smile crossed his lips as the brief thought of Yuri Plisetsky popped into his head. It was a strange coincidence that the man he was meeting shared a name with the Russian teenager who had been nagging him to choreograph him a routine for his senior debut. However, they grew close enough to the practice room for him to hear music and all thoughts of Yuri Plisetsky left his mind.

Soft notes became louder as they approached. Victor's heart jumped; he recognized it. They paused outside the door and Phichit gestured to be quiet. "Yuuri's easily embarrassed, so he'll probably stop if he knows you're here."

"Me?" Victor managed. He was distracted by the music coming from inside.

"Yeah, hence the music choice?" the Thai performer said as though it was obvious. "It's not like everyone just practices to your free skate music whenever they feel like it. Yuuri's a big fan, so just stay quiet and he probably won't notice."

Before Victor could reply, Phichit opened the door. The music covered up the sound of their entrance. He felt his breath being held without realizing it. The silks were a soft blue instead of luscious pink. When the Russian looked up at the man wrapped in the silks, he realized his eyes were closed.

Time seemed slower than usual as he watched the man twist and spin to his free skate music. His movements were more refined and graceful, lacking the lust and intensity that he'd put on for the stage. His expression was fragile and relaxed as he moved. Victor felt like he was intruding on something private, but couldn't muster up the strength to look away. Yuuri was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Eventually the music faded out and changed to something else. Yuuri let out a sigh as he twisted to sit in the silks. He froze as his gaze landed on the three spectators.

"Hi Yuuri! We have visitors!" Phichit chirped, waving up at his friend.

The Japanese man's face flushed bright red as he looked between his friend and the two skaters. He tried to say something but he just ended up stuttering.

Chris smiled and waved. "A pleasure to meet you Yuuri! Your performance was amazing!"

"Uh- I- thank you?" he managed, looking quickly between him and Victor. The Russian was looking at him with awed eyes and a soft smile. Yuuri flushed even more as he swallowed. "Nice to meet you too..."

It was clearly Victor's turn to say something, but now that he was directly in front of the man, he was at a loss for words. He felt his cheeks warming as he searched for something to say.

"You're incredibly talented Yuuri, have you ever considered figure skating?" he asked without thinking.

He immediately cringed in his mind. Leave it to Victor to ask an aerial silks performer if he'd ever tried figure skating because he didn't know how to talk about anything else. Victor forced himself to smile anyway, hoping it wasn't obvious how awkward he was.

"I- yeah, I skated when I was little," Yuuri replied, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I watched it a lot too."

Say something about the music, say something clever, flirt or something, just say SOMETHING intelligent so this beautiful man doesn't disappear from your life as soon as you meet him, his thoughts screamed.

"I'm surprised to see that you're practicing after what I imagine is an exhausting performance," he pointed out.

Yuuri nodded a little as he chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah, I- well-"

"Yuuri is known for his stamina," Phichit chimed in, grinning. "I'm practically falling over after a show, but he's still able to perform a whole routine. It's kind of incredible."

Chris chuckled and looked toward Victor suggestively. "That's quite a useful quality to have as a performer."

The Russian felt his gut twist and he shot his friend a glare. He did not need to be thinking about the other implications of that statement right now. He was already struggling to come up with something to say aside from showering the man in compliments.

"I just like stretching out my muscles after a show, it's easy to get cramps if you don't," Yuuri explained. He looked away from Victor as he shrugged. It was clear that he was embarrassed by his flushed cheeks. "And it's nice to put on some music, you know... It's relaxing and inspiring... your free skate is actually one of my favorite routines."

Victor felt his heart soaring his chest as a grin spread across his lips. "Really? I'm honored!" he said, approaching the performer. "That routine is close to my heart."

"I'm gonna go show Chris some of our costumes up close! I'm sure he'd love to see them," the Thai performer said suddenly. He grabbed Chris by the arm and started to pull him off toward the dressing rooms, but Victor caught the wink he sent to his blushing friend. "You can come join us when you're done!"

They left them alone, closing the door behind them. Victor tried not to think too much about the fact that Phichit seemed to know that he wanted to be alone with Yuuri as he turned back to him. The Japanese man was blushing furiously and avoiding his eyes. "Do you have any pointers for me?" Victor asked, picking the conversation back up.

"Uh, what? Why would you want advice from me of all people?" Yuuri replied incredulously.

His brown eyes were wide and confused. Victor felt his heart swell a little bit at the sight. He smiled a bit and began pacing. Now was his chance. "The way you move is so unique and beautiful," he began, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "It's like you're creating the music with your body. It's mystifying and I think I could use your advice."

"I... I don't think you need help from me for that, the way you move in the ice is unparalleled," the Japanese man said honestly. "I'm flattered you think I'm good though."

"I think you're better than good, Yuuri," Victor said honestly.

He walked toward him, coming to a stop in front of him. Yuuri was seated in the silks and only raised slightly so that Victor's face was level with his chest. He was blushing as he looked down at the Russian man, who was smiling in a lovesick way that made his stomach twist.

Victor cleared his throat a little and offered him his hand. The performer blinked, cheeks turning even redder. He swallowed as he placed his hand in his. He gracefully hopped down from the silks with the guidance of the skater. He didn't really need the help, but it was the least of his worries as he gaze at the Russian who still had a hold of his hand.

You should probably say something Victor, he thought to himself as he realized he had no plan.

His eyes widened as he looked between their hands and Yuuri's face. He flushed as he stammered, looking for something to say. The Japanese man watched as he struggled and a small smile crept onto his lips. Victor looked down and noticed the bag that held his purchases from the merch booth.

"Oh! Do you have a sharpie?" he asked quickly.

"Uh, yes? But please tell me you're not about to ask me to sign posters of me or something," Yuuri whined. He headed over to the side of the practice room where his stuff was to retrieve the sharpie, continuing. "This is already super embarrassing."

Victor feigned innocence. "That's not what I want it for, I swear," he said playfully.

The perform looked at him doubtfully as he handed him the sharpie. The Russian took a hold of Yuuri's wrist, eliciting a gasp from the shorter man. He wrote quickly and carefully, making sure none of the numbers could be misinterpreted. When the phone number was finished, he drew a heart.

"There," Victor said, releasing his wrist. Yuuri brought his wrist toward him, staring at the digits in complete awe. "You don't have to sign the posters if you don't want to, I've just become a huge fan of you tonight."

The Japanese man chuckled a tiny bit with a disbelieving grin spreading across his face. "You know, I had posters of you all over my bedroom as a kid," he confessed. He met Victor's gaze properly. "Here, give me one of them."

He blinked in confusion and pulled out his personal favorite; it consisted of Yuuri in his solo outfit hanging in a slightly upside down position and gazing at the camera with a lustful expression. His face turned bright red as he saw which one it was, but he took the sharpie from Victor and wrote quickly. He was flushed as he finished.

"Now we're even," Yuuri said.

The Russian glanced at the poster, seeing numbers and a matching heart. His heart soared in his chest as he beamed.

"Thank you дорогой (dorogoy)," he said, leaning toward him.

Yuuri's eyes widened at the use of Russian. He blushed and stammered a bit. Victor Nikiforov was in his space and speaking Russian with a flirtatious expression; if he was honest, he was surprised he hadn't passed out yet. "Uh- what did you- what was that Russian word you just said?" he asked in confusion.

"I called you 'darling', darling," Victor said.

They were both incredibly close to each other, close enough to feel each other's breath. The temptation to lean in and close the remaining gap between them was strong. Yuuri's deep brown eyes flickered down to the Russian's lips, which were dangerously close to his own. Victor caught the looked and glanced down too. The performer's lips looked soft and pillowy. It became harder to resist leaning in.

The two of them made eye contact again. Yuuri's eyes fell half closed as he looked down once more. Victor's heart raced as he reached up to place his thumb on his chin and finally leaned in, letting his eyes slip closed.

A sudden bang made them both jump away. Phichit and Chris had thrown open the door, causing it to slam against the wall.

"Hey guys! The manager wants to close up shop, we should probably escort them out and get ready to head to the hotel Yuuri!" the Thai performer exclaimed.

The two of them were flushed red and avoiding eye contact, clearing their throats as they tried to pretend that they hadn't been almost caught kissing. Chris had a smirk on his face that said he knew exactly what they had been doing. Victor reached up to fix his hair as he avoided looking at anyone. He knew that his cheeks were bright pink with embarrassment. He couldn't believe what just happened.

Yuuri recovered first, turning toward his friend. "Oh, right, we- uh- we probably should show them out then."

"Come on, we'll escort you out," Phichit said, gesturing for them to follow.

Victor could still feel his heart racing in his chest as he fell in beside Chris. The skaters followed a few steps behind the performers as they led the way. The Russian tried to ignore his best friend's prying gaze but Chris was difficult to distract once he was focused on something.

"What did we walk in on back there?" he asked suggestively.

"Nothing! Nothing, I swear," Victor replied in a hushed tone. He glanced at the back of Yuuri's head, hoping that the Japanese man couldn't hear them. "We got a little... caught up."

Chris let out a deep chuckle. "Well did you at least get his number?"

Victor was about to reply when they reached the exit of the theatre. They all exchanged hugs and handshakes, pleasantly saying goodbye as the skaters stepped out into the cold night air. As Phichit and Yuuri headed back inside, the Russian overheard the Thai man asking his friend a question. "What's that stuff written on your wrist?"

"Oh! Don't worry about it," Yuuri replied with a shy laugh.

A grin spread across his lips as the doors closed. He turned to the Swiss man beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," Chris said.