Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Truth be told, the line was too long, the crowd too big, and Yuuri was beginning to feel the panic rise bit by bit. Knowing that his salvation was in the form of a door only a few meters away had him honestly toying with the idea of escape; but he had been waiting for far too long for this game to come out. He counted down the days on a calendar in his room as well as an app on his phone. The adrenaline from his excitement helped to temper the panic a little, but he would have been lost if it wasn’t for Phichit.

“Smile!” Phichit grinned as he threw his arm around Yuuri and smooshed their faces together so he could fit both them and the You Only Live Once banner in the frame. Yuuri gave a weak smile as he looked at the camera knowing there was no way he was escaping without at least one picture making it to Instagram.

He loved his friend, he really did, and Phichit was here specifically to give him moral support today, which was saying something. It wasn’t everyday someone traveled across oceans to stand in line with a friend for a video game. But then again it wasn’t every day a game like You Only Live Once came out either. If the only thing Phichit asked for during his stay in Japan was a few pictures to post on Instagram, who was Yuuri to deny him that?

“Excuse me?” A loud, vibrant voice called out and Yuuri turned towards the sound. He could see a blonde and red blob ducking around other people waiting in line and muttering apologies as he pushed his way forward. Yuuri was about to step out of the way when the teen stopped right in front of him and smiled maniacally.

“Um, I am sorry and I know this is random, but you are him right? I mean you have to be him.” Yuuri, to his credit, smiled at the enthusiastic man in front of him. “You’re Agape!” The young man’s voice screeched. Phichit hid a giggle behind his hand knowing how awkward it was for Yuuri to be noticed when he was in public.

The boy’s eyes grew ten times larger, if that was even possible, as Yuuri nodded his head in confirmation. “I am such a huge fan!” He went on waving his hands sporadically. “I watch your Twitch stream every other night. The way you play the Paladin in King’s Quest III…. I didn’t even know some of those combos were possible!”

“Th-thanks.” Yuuri said more as a question than a statement. The teen was bouncing up and down, his excitement apparently too much to be contained. Yuuri gave Phichit a glance that let his friend know he was trying to remain polite, but the fear that continued to bubble in his gut was threatening to burst out. He smiled fondly as Phichit placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and took his attention away from Yuuri, if only for a moment.

Yuuri was not an average player; he never thought he was. He knew that there was a risk of people noticing him in public. He was after all living part of his dream. Yuuri was one of the players in the Grand Prix Circuit, and while he would never admit it out of fear of bragging, he was one of the top 10 ranked MMO players in the world. When King’s Quest III had been the biggest game around, Yuuri place 8th on the international circuit, just missing the cut off for the Grand Prix Circuit finals by two places. Out of thousands of players, he was 8th in the world. However, Yuuri liked to keep some measure of modesty, if he didn’t do it himself, his anxiety would be sure to do it for him.

“You know that if it wasn’t for me, Yuuri here wouldn’t be gaming at all?” Phichit said with a proud little pat to his chest. The boy looked at him in awe.

“YOU CREATED AGAPE?!” the boy yelled out and Phichit could only laugh.

“I don’t know if I would go that far.” Phichit waved a hand in front of his face, “I gave him a nudge. Yuuri here is the one that did all of the work!” Yuuri felt his cheeks go warm.

“Please? Can I have a picture?” he asked, pulling out his cellphone and opening the camera app without even waiting for confirmation. He pushed himself up to his tiptoes to make up for the height difference between them and clicked the picture before Yuuri even knew what was really happening. “Thank you so much! My name is Minami by the way. I really hope that I can play against you at some point! I am currently in the Junior Grand Prix Circuit but I am hoping to move up next year!” Minami’s words began to run together losing all semblance of the words that they were meant to be and forming a single long sound that Yuuri had to work hard at deciphering.

“Oh, that is a really big jump. What is your online name? Maybe we can do a raid or two together?” Yuuri asked politely. Despite the anxiety he knew that it was most important to cultivate relations with the younger generation of gamers. There were two reasons for this: first, the younger generation would be their legacy, so he always tried to take the time to help anyone who asked him, and second…. It would only be a matter of time before the next generation moved up and started to kick the current top players off of the podium. If Yuuri was being honest with himself he was looking forward to the challenge.

In years past, no one that Yuuri personally knew believed that video games would take off the way they had. No one expected they would become so wildly popular that they would spawn a whole new kind of sport - electronic sports. There were more leagues popping up every day for almost any kind of e-sport out there. While Yuuri did play a few first person shooters, massively multiplayer online games were his real passion. It was for that reason this game’s release was so exciting.

“I am lil’ Spitfire,” he proudly declared, body bouncing with the nervous energy that came with meeting an idol. “Are you serious? You would really raid with me?” Yuuri nodded with a smile. He had to give it to the kid, his enthusiasm was contagious and it was that kind of attitude that made e-sports fun. “Ohmygodohmygod! I mean….! You really inspired me to keep going when things got hard. It feels like the first person shooter circuits aren’t the only ones with really stiff competition! MMOs are getting harder and harder every year. You evolved your play style so much each year just to keep up with the rapid changes. While others are failing miserably at it you seem to be doing something amazingly right. It is really pretty incredible!”

Yuuri could feel his cheeks getting a little more red as the compliment passed easily from Minami’s lips. It was true, as technology developed the way MMOs were played became more and more complicated. At this point the circuit really was an adapt or die environment. He had been lucky that he had several play styles that seemed to work for him. Honestly, it was the only thing he credited to keeping him relevant in the sport.

“I don’t know if I would say all that.” He opened his mouth to say something else but a man at the front of the line bellowed out for the crowd to hush so he could give them directions on proceeding with pick ups. “Ah - well it seems like this is it.” Yuuri whispered, feeling excitement start to push away the anxiety, “I’ll be sure to look you up tonight and send you a friends request.”

Minami looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Phichit could swear he saw the moment the poor boy’s brain ceased to work at all. “Y-y-y-you want to play with ME?!” he screeched loudly causing a few people to turn and look at their group in annoyance. “I-I-I would be so honored!”

“Good, I am glad to hear that.” Yuuri whispered with a slight laugh. “Then how about we get these games and learn how to play them?” Minami nodded his head enthusiastically and Yuuri wasn’t sure if it was the idea of playing a new and groundbreaking game or the idea of playing the new game with someone he looked up to, but either way Minami looked like he could pass out with happiness and Yuuri felt warm with the satisfaction of having done his job. A fan was happy, he was helping the next generation of gamers, and he managed not to have a total meltdown in the process. So far it was shaping up to be a pretty awesome day. Phichit threw Yuuri an all knowing smile and he couldn’t help but grin back.

Yuuri carefully unboxed his treasure when he got home. While VR gaming wasn’t anything new, the way this particular game was presented required a few extra components and boasted a whole new playing experience. In the past VR was more of a visual experience only. Games were presented in a way that allowed the user to have a 260 degree view of the field with the turn of a head rather than having to scroll with a mouse or a controller. Movement, attacks, spell casting, it all required the use of a controller. You Only Live Once was revolutionary in its design which allowed the user to BE the controller. The thought of it made Yuuri feel like a little kid on Christmas morning.

Gone were the stick controllers of the past, replaced with adjustable gloves that allowed the user complete control of their movement. Yuuri carefully placed them on giving a slight hum of approval at the feel. He was half expecting them to be stiff, maybe a little plastic feeling, but they fit nicely. It was almost like wearing a pair of gloves you would wear for winter except they breathed better.

“They are nice, I take it?” Phichit laughed from where he was lounging on Yuuri’s bed watching his friend with an amused smile.

“They are surprisingly comfortable!” Yuuri nodded as he took his VR set in hand and gingerly placed it on his head. He couldn’t keep the smile from his lips as the screen lit up and he saw the banner flutter across. You Only Live Once was proudly displayed in a beautiful flowing script. The music was low but heroic, an orchestra piece that brought to mind large battles and fights for glory. His heart started to beat a little faster in his chest as he waved his hand and the screen disappeared, leaving him to look at an old man dressed in simple brown rags. If Yuuri didn’t know better he would have sworn the man was right in front of him.

“‘Ello adventurer, I am Egered, what might your name be?” Yuuri knew instantly that this was everything that he was missing from every other MMO he had ever played as he progressed through the character builder choosing a tried and true Paladin.

After the release of You Only Live Once, VR sales skyrocketed as everyone who was anyone wanted to play. It was being hailed as the next Elder Scrolls and there were plenty of critics who called it an instant classic. VR gaming was nothing new, but this game… this game was bringing forward technology that everyone thought was impossible until now.

With the increase of gamers playing, there was more competition for the circuits as well. There were several new leagues that were forming and a few tried to recruit Yuuri because of is national standing in the GPC. But the Grand Prix Circuit was the most prestigious of the MMO league circuits boasting larger prizes and stiffer competition. Yuuri wasn’t about to move down, especially not when his personal Idol played at the top of the GPC

Three weeks into the game, Yuuri was getting more comfortable with the commands. It took a little more getting used to when you had to cast spells with your voice and physically swing your arm to defend and attack with a sword. Although he was already a well known Twitch streamer, since picking up You Only Live Once his viewership went through the roof. A few tried to tell him that he was a natural at the game, but he would brush off the compliments as just ‘nice words they would tell any other player.’

They weren’t just nice words however. Yuuri was a natural. More than that, his kindness towards his fellow players coupled with his amazing ability to read the battlefield made him not only a perfect raiding partner, but more often than not placed in the leadership role. He did everything in his power to ensure that even the lowest level player in the raid not only had a good time, but got a good deal of experience too.

The more he played the more people began to subscribe to his channel. It wasn’t until he was in the middle of a stream one night and received an invite from LivingLegend that he began to understand just how many people were watching him now. LivingLegend was just that… a legend! He was the top ranked player of the GPC and Yuuri’s idol. His play style was meant to emulate LivingLegend’s to an extent.

It had always been Yuuri’s dream to reach the level that LivingLegend had. He was paid to play games in a way that allowed him to make it his sole job. He worked with gaming companies testing new games because he was considered an expert on the style of game. He was the kind of player that mastered every class and with each new year he chose a different class with a different layout to use. It was hard enough learning how to play a single class, but to master them all….????

The people in his channel started going crazy as soon as the invite was seen. It was all background noise to Yuuri though. LivingLegend invited him. What if he hated him? What if he wasn’t good enough to keep up with him? What if he just wanted to trash talk him? With shaking hands Yuuri accepted the invite and waited with bated breath as the connection between the two parties was made.

“Hi! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Agape!” the voice that came through his headset was smooth, words wrapped in a Russian accent and Yuuri felt his heart start to pound harder. His mind shut off and he couldn’t think of a single intelligent thing to say.

“Uuum, yeah, hi.” He said meekly. ‘Really eloquent Yuuri!’ he berated himself internally hoping that his initial awkwardness wouldn’t scare the player off.

LivingLegend, much to Yuuri’s relief, just gave a good natured laugh and barreled on. “I have been watching your Twitch account on and off after SexySwiss showed it to me. I’m impressed! Why have I never seen you in competition?”

“You really have to ask?” Yuuri deadpanned. “You are the top player in the world, we aren’t on the same level. I am just a dime-a-dozen player.” Yuuri sighed and placed a hand to his forehead in frustration. ‘Why can’t I just talk like a normal person.’ he sighed at himself.

“You really are too hard on yourself!” he laughed. “We should raid together. I see you are outside Castle Blackstone. I am not far, let’s join up.”

“O-okay, I mean, if you don’t think I will hold you back or anything.” Yuuri could feel the redness in his cheeks and was thankful things like that didn’t transfer to his character on screen. It was almost too good to be true, being able to play alongside his idol. He had to pinch himself to make sure that it was real.

“Really, Agape? I am more worried about being the person that holds you back.”

“Meeee?” Yuuri squeaked in surprise, “How could you possibly be holding me back?” As soon as the words left his mouth he heard the pings of every comment from the people watching his stream telling him that he was anything but ordinary. LivingLegend just laughed.

“You should listen to your followers, they are right, you know?!” Yuuri was pretty sure he was about to prove spontaneous human combustion was a possibility.

Three days after his initial meeting with LivingLegend, Yuuri was surprised to receive a phone call from the home office of Otak Inc., a popular gaming company in Japan. They wanted to meet up with him at their offices in Tokyo the following week. As well known as the company was, Yuuri didn’t dare hope that they wanted to talk about sponsorship. With a company that big backing him he would not only have all his entry fees covered, but he would even have travel and a little left over. Okay, he hoped it was about sponsorship… just a little.

The morning of the meeting Yuuri was exhausted. He had hardly gotten any sleep the night before and it made him feel like he got ran over by a cargo truck. His mind wouldn’t wind down and worst of all, it wouldn’t let him be happy about the meeting. Yuuri had somehow managed to convince himself that he was walking into his own doom.

The funny thing about anxiety was that it was completely irrational. Yuuri knew that he was there to talk sponsorship, what else could they possibly want from him, but in the back of his mind he was certain that they were about to devastate him. ‘There is no way they want you to play for them,’ his brain taunted as he opened one of the large glass doors and walked into the office space, ‘They are more than likely going to tell you to stop playing all together.’ He tried so hard to school his face into an expression that showed his appreciation for being invited to meet with them. ‘Can’t even do that right, can you?’

“There is no need to be worried.” the receptionist smiled warmly at him, “Nakamura-san is really nice, I promise.” Yuuri gave her a weak smile in appreciation before he allowed himself to be sucked back into his own mind.

‘You are such a mess, you can’t even fool the receptionist into believing that you want to be here. If they were going to offer you some kind of a deal you’ll ruin it before things even get started anyway.’ Yuuri sighed and tried to remind himself that the thoughts weren't rational. That didn’t make it any easier to deal with though.

“Katsuki-san?” A man’s voice helped break Yuuri out of his thoughts. He was tall, black hair slicked back, a pair of wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose. Honestly, he looked more like a banker than a gamer.

“Yes, that is me.” Yuuri said, his voice wavering, betraying the confidence he wanted to portray.

“We are so excited to have you here with us.” The man bowed and Yuuri followed suit. “I am Nakamura Hinamoto the head of a newly formed department here at Otak. With the recent boom in people playing online games we are branching out into e-sports.” Yuuri listened intently waiting for the other shoe to drop as he took a seat across from Nakamura.

“Ah, yes, it seems like it is a very popular pastime.” He placed his hands in his lap and began to wring them together.

“It is.” Nakamura agreed. “A friend of mine recently showed me your Twitch account and I have to say, I am really impressed with the way that you play You Only Live Once. I have been keeping an eye on several players, but you are the only one that I have seen actively cast a spell while still wielding a weapon at the same time.” Yuuri blushed.

“It’s nothing, really.” he mumbled.

“Well, I would disagree. Like I said, this e-sports division is new, but you are the first person I want to recruit to our team.” Yuuri felt his mouth drop open. So this is what a fish out of water feels like!

“F-f-f-first person?”

“Yes, Otak has never sponsored a player before but given the popularity of these gaming leagues and the nature of our company it seemed only appropriate to give rising stars like yourself an opportunity to compete on the world stage.” There was a long silence that stretched between them as Yuuri tried desperately to compute the information.

“I-I am already ranked in the GPC.” As soon as the words left his mouth Yuuri wanted to kick himself. Of course they would already know that, and here he was sounding like a stuck up brat who didn’t need their help. “What I mean is… well… I have ranking, it wasn’t good enough to get me to the finals last year or anything, but… but I am working on improving.” Yuuri sighed. ‘Open mouth, insert foot,’ he thought to himself. Nakamura just laughed at him.

“We know that Yuuri, and we aren’t asking that you give up any sponsorships that you already have. Gaming is expensive, entry fees into GPC competitions is expensive, not to mention the world travel. It is a lot and all we want to do is help. In exchange you shoot a few commercials for us and let us get you a new uniform or two that have our logo on it.”

“Y-you want to pay my way?” Yuuri whispered, all of it suddenly hitting him. This was what he wanted, this was his dream, and Nakamura was offering it on a golden plate. “This sounds too good to be true.”

Nakamura opened up a folder and slid it towards Yuuri. On the first page was a contract. Otak would pay him… … … “I-is this number right?” Yuuri’s voice shook a little.

“Yep, at least for the first year. If you renew with us next year I am sure we can negotiate it.”

7,500,000 Yen…. That was about 69,000 Dollars, 2,200,000 Baht, 68,000 Franc, 58,500 Euro.... that was a ton of money. More than what he needed to pay for everything. The next line guaranteed this amount regardless of placement with ‘bonus for placing in top three’, new uniforms, and new gaming equipment. Yuuri’s hand started to shake to the point he couldn’t read the paper any more.

All this and all they wanted from him was their name on his clothing and a few commercials? The rest of the meeting went by in a blur that included Yuuri signing several copies of the contract in front of a lawyer after going line by line through every page to ensure Yuuri understood everything. This was it, this was his big break! He didn’t even remember how he got home, the only thing he remembered was sending a message.

Chapter Text

“No, LivingLegend flanks the left side, but keep an eye out for the death dealer. I’ll take the center with Lil’ Spitfire, and SexySwiss you take the right side. Once we get past the bridges we can group up again.” Yuuri sighed as he explained the plan to SexySwiss for what felt like the ten thousandth time that night. The Caverns of Morak were dangerous and infamous for giving people problems. Three bridges each with their own monsters on them that were capable of both short and long range attack. It was tricky, but far from impossible… If SexySwiss would just listen.

“This will spread out the fire from the ghouls in all three directions. Since LivingLegend can use a shield barrier that is strong enough to withstand the death dealer’s attack he should be fine on the left. Not to mention that my healing spell still reaches the left and center bridges.”

“Right, so that means that I am on my own.” SexySwiss said dryly. “You know as the healer of our little band of misfits you are supposed to keep the tank alive here, Agape.”

“Yes, however, as the tank of our little band of misfits, as you so eloquently called us, you have more HP and strength than the three of us combined. Then again if you think a few extra ghouls on the bridge is too much for you to handle…”

LivingLegend started laughing as Chris sputtered around Yuuri’s unintentional but scathing insult. He had been playing online with the Swiss man for just about as long as online gaming had been around. Most people didn’t know how to take him so they never really got to the point that they would joke around with him. Yuuri, however, had delivered his first blow as skillfully as a trained assassin.

“Sassy!” Chris exclaimed while Yuuri tried to sputter an apology for his insinuation. “I like him, Legend, can we keep him?”

Yuuri spent every spare moment he had on his ‘training’, leading up to the GPC finals. He was secretly thrilled that he could justify spending hours a day on the game. Not only was it bringing money into the house which helped his parents, but he got to do something that he enjoyed all while avoiding actual human interaction. It wasn’t that Yuuri didn’t like people so much as it was that Yuuri got nervous when he had to interact with people face to face. Online, however, things were different. He didn’t have the same issues interacting with people in the game so if the increased hours meant that he got to spend a little extra time with a certain Russian player, well, he wasn’t going to complain.

Competitive season was in full swing and he was actually feeling confident with his paladin. He knew all of the spells by heart and had even developed a rather unique set of combinations with his blade. Above all, he was having fun. This was everything that he had dreamed of; having a job that was doing something he absolutely loved.

Above all, he was good at it. Before qualifying for the international GPC, Yuuri had needed to fight his way through All Japan. Scoring within the top two there meant he would be chosen as the Japanese representative to go to the Asian VR championships. Placing in the top two there would be his ticket into the GPC finals and the chance to play against LivingLegend for real.

All Japan was a cake walk; he was the crowned champion with the next closest competitor missing the mark by over five minutes. After the competition he became an instant hit on twitch, quickly becoming one of the top 5 watched accounts for You Only Live Once. This was a phenomenon that he attributed more towards the increased playtime with LivingLegend than his own skill. It didn’t matter how many times his followers swore up and down that they were there for him and him alone, Yuuri refused to believe it.

Yuuri expected the Asian VR competition to provide a little more challenge, however it didn’t add up to what he was hoping for either. Yuuri made quick work of the competition and not only became the number one player for Japan, but was also named the man to beat for all of Asia. All along the way Otak was there providing him with everything that they could to support him. The only thing that they asked in return… he keep winning. Honestly, Yuuri didn’t have plans to do anything else.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the GPC finals in Sochi, Russia. The excitement of being at such a prestigious event was only slightly outdone by the fact that Yuuri knew he was finally going to get his chance to meet his idol in the flesh. He was on cloud nine. While they hadn’t made any particular arrangements to meet up, Yuuri knew that it was highly unlikely for them to not at least run into one another while they were there. LivingLegend knew that he was there and had even told Yuuri that he would be more than happy to meet up at some point. The only thing they had to figure out was when this ‘some point’ was going to be.

Yuuri pushed himself hard during the first day of competition, almost mismanaging his time in the process. But as luck would have it he managed to make it to the Sun Temple, the halfway point of the game, in fifth place. It wasn’t the start that he was hoping he would have. LivingLegend came in first and had a twenty minute head start on the rest of the field the following day. Yuuri needed some kind of miracle to make up the lost time.

The morning of the second day dawned and Yuuri was surrounded by his own nervous energy coursing through his body. He hadn’t felt like this since the final competition last year, and that had not gone over as well as he would have liked it to. He looked at his phone as it lay on the bed side table. He knew that it was early, too early in Japan to actually call home… but if he didn’t he was in danger of letting his own thoughts swallow him whole. He needed his sister, he needed her reassurance, he needed her to talk him off of the mental ledge that he was sitting on. The pressure was mounting and at this rate it wouldn’t be long before it overtook him. With a sigh Yuuri dialed his sister’s cell number and placed the phone to his ear.

“Y-Y-Yuuri?” Mari’s voice questioned softly as she answered after the first ring. Immediately Yuuri could tell that something was off. It was far too early for her to be up, at least too early for her to be up and coherent enough to answer the phone immediately.

“Good morning.” Yuuri said filling his voice with false cheer rather than let his own nervous energy dictate the conversation. While Yuuri knew the way he felt was important it was more important at the time to find out what was wrong with Mari.

“Oh, Yuuri.” she almost wept into the phone, her distress startling Yuuri. He could hear the strain in her voice that spoke of hours being awake in worry rather than sleeping like he had assumed she would have been.

“W-What happened?” He whispered. There was a long pause as if Mari was trying to find her own words, his confident sister who was never at a loss for what to say or some witty comeback had been reduced to just unsteady breathing on the other end of the line. It made Yuuri feel off kilter. “Mom and dad are ok?”

“What? No… I mean yeah, mom and dad are fine, but, Yuuri…” there was another pause, “Vicchan,” her voice was quivering as she spoke the name, “Vicchan got out last night.” Yuuri sighed and sat down in one of the high back chairs in the room.

“Is that all?” Yuuri laughed, “You know he is always doing that. One of these...days…” The realization of what Mari was telling him suddenly slapped him across the face. It wasn’t ‘one of these day’ anymore, that day had come. “Vicchan.” his voice said in a broken whisper as the world around him began to narrow. No, no, no, no, no that couldn’t be the case. His family would have called him right away had anything happened to his beloved dog… right?

“Yuuri?” Mari whispered, her voice almost unheard, “I-I am so sorry.” It was all the confirmation that he needed. The phone fell from his hand just as quickly as the tears fell from his eyes. Vicchan had been his companion for several years now. He was with Yuuri through thick and thin. Vicchan was there when the panic got to be too much. He was there when his grandfather died, when Yuuri broke his leg and had to stop dancing, he was there when Yuuri needed him the most. The time when Vicchan needed him the most… he wasn’t there… and now...

Yuuri couldn’t remember how he got from the hotel to the stadium. He didn’t remember walking in, he didn’t remember the way the crowds were cheering for him or chanting his name. Yuuri knew he needed to focus, he needed to pull himself out of his head. But the the only thing that he could focus on was how he wasn’t there when Vicchan needed him. How he should have been there and not here.

“Welcome to the GPC finals! This is day two of the competition for the game You Only Live Once , which is only the hottest MMO to hit shelves in recent memory! Our 16 player field has been narrowed down to 6 after the first day of competition which consisted of the first 50 levels of the game. Today a winner will be crowned! The first player to reach level 100 and beat the final boss will be crowned the victor.” The announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeakers and reverberated off the walls distorting it to an almost unintelligible level.

Yuuri barely registered the signal to put on his equipment. He was so lost in his thoughts… trapped with no way out. ‘Focus, focus, focus!’ he kept screaming at himself in his mind. But Yuuri was focused on everything but the game.

“At the sound of the bell our leader will take off. With each subsequent bell the next competitor will begin their run. This is determined by the time they made it to the end of level 49 yesterday.” A moment later a bell rang Yuuri knew that LivingLegend was starting his journey. He listened half heartedly to the bells as they chimed off every so often until finally he was able to start.

But he didn’t, he stood there looking at the screen while everyone else was making their runs. His mind just refused to work. It wasn’t until one of the judges lightly tapped him on the shoulder to let him know that his bell had rung that he began to move.

While things had started off well enough, by the time Yuuri had reached level 60 he was making mistakes that he knew were going to cost him in the long run. It forced him to use items much sooner than previously planned leaving him almost dry by the end of the level.

“I am not sure what has gotten into Agape today.” One of the announcers said, his voice filled with fake surprise. He didn’t care what happened and Yuuri knew it.

“I am not sure, Henry. This year we have witnessed Agape take off and dominate all of his competition without breaking a sweat, however, it seems that for some reason today just isn’t his day.” The announcer’s female companion replied.

“Let’s hope whatever it is, that he can just shake it off. He is one of the top contenders for this match up and expected to finish on the podium.” Yuuri had to stop listening to the announcers, it was causing him to mess up even more. The pressure that they were adding wasn’t what he needed right now.

‘I have to focus,’ he repeated in his head over and over after almost getting himself decapitated by a dark knight. He hoped that repeating his mantra enough times would make it come true, but of course things never worked out the way he wanted.

Yuuri started shaking slightly as he crossed into level 72. He had forgotten all about this part of the game. The whole level was like some cruel joke that was designed with the sole purpose of poking at the gaping wound in Yuuri’s heart. The fog swirled around him obscuring his ability to see anything other than the dogs running in circles around him, the sound of wolves howling was all he could hear.

Mentally Yuuri was crumbling. Tears blurred his vision and ran in hot rivers down his face. “God damn it all!” He cussed as he barely managed to swing his sword upward to catch a wolf that jumped out at him. He started to cry as he listened to the painful howl of the wolf as he killed it; a horrible screeching sound that buried itself deeper into Yuuri’s mind. With every wolf he killed he felt more guilt and grief. Finally with no supplies to help boost his health, eyes that were not seeing clearly, and slowed movements from his grief, Yuuri fell prey to a hellhound at the end of the level.

For several long moments everyone was silent. Yuuri stood there looking at the red and black screen in utter disbelief. He had made it, the end of the level was right there. It was torturous and he made it through just to die in the end. Maybe he deserved that; a little justice for Vicchan.

Yuuri, the typically mild mannered man who was considered Japan’s Ace, in a fit of rage ripped off his headset and ran from the competition. He pushed his way through reporters who lingered by the doors and ducked into the nearest bathroom, locking the door behind him before he slid to the floor and began to cry. He had failed, he had failed them all. His sponsors, his family, his fellow competitors, his fans, LivingLegend, himself… Vicchan.

The last thing that Yuuri wanted to do was be seen at the banquet for all the players after the event. It was, however, a mandatory event for all players that made it to the GPC finals. It was supposed to give the players time to mingle with one another and their sponsors. What it ended up being everytime was just a glorified dog and pony show where the winners were told to show off their medals for new sponsors and the losers were often times threatened to do better next time.

What had started off as a quiet evening that included Yuuri sticking to himself in the corner of the room, munching on hors d'oeuvres had somehow turned into a witch hunt where Yuuri was placed on trial for his poor performance. The real punch to the gut came when a representative from Otak asked to speak to him privately. He didn’t need to be told what that meant. He already knew.

“I understand that having lost today’s match must have been a bit rough,” the representative, who’s name Yuuri didn’t even bother to catch began, “However, we feel like it may be for the best if we parted ways in light of this competition’s events. More than just losing, your refusal to speak with the press about the matter reflects poorly not only on yourself but our company as well. We feel that it is for the best that we end our partnership here.” The speech was so well rehearsed that it sounded as if it was delivered by a robot.

Yuuri nodded his head and shook the representative's hand before resuming his stay in the corner of shame. Guilt eating the hors d'oeuvres was not going to be enough of a bandaid to cover the array of wounds Yuuri had received that day. As a waiter walked by with glasses of champagne, Yuuri quickly reached out and grabbed two, tossing them both back in record time. He placed them back on the tray and grabbed two more before nodding at the astonished look on the waiter’s face.

Throwing back one of the glasses, Yuuri sighed and waited for the bubbly magic drink to do its thing. He just didn’t want to feel any more. Feeling was too hard, especially for someone who was stuck in this hell for at least another hour. As he scanned the room his eyes were drawn to a flash of silver hair and he felt his heart start to pound a little in his chest. Everything got just a little lighter and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the alcohol or because LivingLegend was standing there looking better than any gamer he knew had the right to look.

Before he knew what he was happening, his feet started moving on their own accord taking him closer and closer to the 2017 GPC champion. He didn’t give himself enough time to properly flip out or back out before his hand reached up and gently tapped the man on his shoulder. Yuuri’s world stopped as LivingLegend turned around, the blue eyed gazed fixed Yuuri to the spot. Anything that he had planned to say automatically left his mind.

“HI! You are Agape, right?! We finally meet!” he said as he held out a hand to Yuuri. Oh, his voice was so much better in person than it was online. Yuuri drank the last glass of champagne in a single gulp and shook the offered hand giving the man a smile.

“No, the pleasure is all mine, really!” He said smoothly. “Congrats on your win today.”

“I am really sorry we didn’t get a proper face off.” LivingLegend sighed as he motioned towards a table. Yuuri nodded as they both sat down, “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Yuuri shrugged trying not to be annoyed with the question, but it was what everyone was wondering.

“Stress, the pressure, I guess, just got to me.” Yuuri sighed, “You on the other hand, it looks like you thrive off that pressure. You will have to tell me what your secret is.” Yuuri gave a weak laugh at his companions gentle smile.

The older player leaned over so that his mouth was directly next to Yuuri’s ear and the younger man swallowed hard at the sudden closeness. “I think you and I both know that you aren’t telling the truth, but it’s ok.” He whispered, “If you do decide you want to talk about it, call me.” with that he sat back and winked at Yuuri who was flushed.

“Yuuri.” Yuuri said softly as he held his hand out, a formal introduction, “I would like for you to call me Yuuri.”

“Y-u-u-r-i,” he said the name slowly allowing his tongue to lazely twist over each letter. “Well it is nice to put a name to the gamertag. I am Viktor.” Yuuri was sure he felt his heart stop beating. It was so unfair for one person to be so disarmingly charming, not to mention good looking. He loved the way Viktor pronounced his name. He flushed as he wondered what it would take to get Viktor to say his name again.

They sat together for what felt like hours just talking to one another about everything. Every so often Yuuri would grab another glass of liquid courage from a passing waiter and down it quickly. Viktor talked adamantly about his dog Makkachin even showing Yuuri some pictures. To his credit, Yuuri didn’t break down as he looked at the larger version of his toy poodle.

“D-Do you dance?” Yuuri blurted out during a slight lull in their conversation. Viktor looked at him slightly astonished at the question. “I-I-I mean you have a dancer’s figure and I just thought that it was possible… and… kill me.” Yuuri muttered as he buried his head in his hands.

“Umm, yeah, actually I do.” Viktor laughed at his companion’s antics. “Why? Did you want to dance with me?” Viktor winked at Yuuri who peeked out from between two fingers. No one ever danced at these events, even if there was a DJ provided. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Do you know how to dance? If not, don’t worry—I can lead you through the steps.” He grabbed Yuuri up from the table to his yelp of protest and lead him to the middle of the dance floor.

A few people stopped their conversations to look at them as they settled into position. Viktor laughed when SexySwiss cat whistled at them as Viktor twirled Yuuri around so that they were chest to chest as a moderate paced waltz started.

Yuuri didn't even bother trying to hide the surprise from his face. Viktor could dance, he could dance really well. Having taken years of dance himself, Yuuri was expecting that he would have to lead them through a stumbling two step or something similar. However, Viktor was a good, no, a pretty amazing, dancer. Yuuri felt light as air as they moved around the dance floor. It was dizzying.

In a split second decision Yuuri took control of the next dance and Viktor couldn’t contain the laugh that fell from his lips. It made Yuuri’s heart soar that he was able to make Viktor of all people laugh like that. He wanted to hear it again. As the song drew to a close he dipped Viktor low, holding all his partner’s weight against one leg and arm as he stretched the other outwards.

The crowd around them erupted into applause which startled Yuuri out of his trance. He had forgotten that there were other people around. Blushing, he helped Viktor to stand up right. They looked at one another for a long moment before falling into a fit of giggles.

“Where in the world did you learn to dance like that?” Viktor laughed as the pair reached the refreshment table for drinks. Yuuri just shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

“I studied dance as a child. It kept me active and gave me something to do.” Yuuri sighed as he leaned against the wall taking a swill of his drink, “I was an awkward child growing up. I liked dance because it allowed me to escape from my life. But when I was around ten I broke my leg pretty bad, had to give up most dance. It was around the same time that I found video games. Where dance let me be someplace else, video games let me be someone else. I fell in love.” Yuuri smiled and looked down into his drink.

“I really do understand that feeling.” Viktor sympathized, “My parents were gone a lot while I was growing up and I was oftentimes left to my own devices. My mother was a ballerina with the Russian Ballet. My father was a stage hand. I started playing games because I was lonely and even though the characters weren’t real they still felt like they were my friends.” Viktor laughed a little and leaned against the wall next to Yuuri.

“Dancing though, dancing I picked up because my mother made me. Had I known it would have come in so handy I would have paid closer attention.” Viktor winked at Yuuri causing the younger man to flush for what had to be the hundredth time that night. Yuuri could no longer try to convince himself that it was the alcohol, he was hopelessly attracted to Viktor.

“I think I may have had too much to drink because I could have sworn that you just winked at me, sir.” Yuuri laughed. Viktor shrugged, feigning innocence.

“You aren’t fooling me.” Yuuri giggled. Viktor quickly grabbed two drinks off a passing waiter’s tray and handed one to Yuuri.

“Oh? Well if you saw it than you haven’t had enough to drink!” Viktor laughed, “To our future success!” Viktor raised his glass. Yuuri looked at his glass for a moment before smiling and raising it to clink against Viktor’s.

“To your future success.” His voice came out a little more flat than he had intended it to. Viktor looked at him questioning. “I don’t think I will be coming back next year.” he muttered miserably.

“Don’t say that, Yuuri!” the alarm filling Viktors words was evident and it startled Yuuri.

“W-Well, it isn’t like I have much of a choice. I lost my sponsorship tonight.” Yuuri sighed, “I am not you, your play style is beyond amazing, Viktor. If I only had a small ounce of your skill then maybe I would have a chance.” Yuuri looked across the room wistfully, refusing to meet Viktor’s eyes.

“First of all, I don’t think it is all about the skill, Yuuri. You have a lot of heart and that really does count for something. But if you really want to talk about skill here, you far surpass me. Some of the things that you have pulled off while we were raiding together was just beyond anything I would have ever thought of doing.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” Yuuri said mechanically as he stood up, “I do wish you the best of luck. I suppose we'll just have to see what happens next season, right?” Yuuri gave Viktor a weak smile that he could see through in a heartbeat. “Now, if you will excuse me, I think I am going to head back to my room. I am tired. “

Viktor reached out quickly to grab Yuuri before he stepped too far away. “Promise me one thing though, you won’t make any decision right now. Give it some time. I promise this isn’t the end of the world.” Viktor placed an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders and pulled him into a side hug. “Now, how about you let me walk you to your room so I know you got there alright, sleep on it, and maybe we can have breakfast in the morning?”

The trip to Yuuri’s room was mostly filled with small talk about anything that wasn’t the competition. Viktor told Yuuri more about his dog Makka, whom he loved dearly, and Yuuri told Viktor an amusing story or two about Vicchan. To his credit he managed to not burst into tears at the thought of his beloved dog.

“Yuuri, text me in the morning. I am serious, lets get breakfast before we part ways.” Viktor said as Yuuri opened his door and took a step in. Before Yuuri knew what was happening Viktor grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. “I promise things will be better in the light of day.”

“I’ll think about it. Good night Viktor.” Yuuri whispered hugging the man back before stepping back into his room and closing the door.

LivingLegend

YUUUUUURI!!! Good morning

Yuuri?

Are you awake?

Yuuri, it’s almost noon!

I am sorry we didn’t get a chance to

see each other before I left but I am

about to get on the plane now :(

Get home safe!

<3

Chapter Text

2018 was shaping up to be a good year for Viktor. In addition to the increased publicity from winning last year’s Grand Prix Finals, he became the number one streamer for twitch. This came, of course, with a sponsorship by the company so long as he continued to stream at least 20 hours a week. That deal worked out well and added a nice little lining to his pockets so he didn’t complain.

In addition to being interesting to watch when he played solo, Viktor was constantly inviting other players, both well known and random fans, to join him. This gave him the chance to start gathering a larger following as well. One thing that Yuuri and he had in common was the desire to help upcoming generations of gamers. In general it was hard to become a professional gamer. Games were saturated with people who all shared the same dream of making it, unlike when he had started working his way through the ranks, back when the idea of tournaments was still new. The pool was full and Viktor wanted to nurture the talent that he found. If he were just trying to make himself known now even he would be lost in the sheer number of people attempting to make their dreams a reality.

It didn’t take him long to learn that being a popular streamer allowed him a unique personal opportunity. After his win last year there were plenty of people who claimed that he was a pay to win kind of player. While it was true that he had some equipment that couldn't be bought, Viktor never wanted to win that way. He didn’t feel any satisfaction in it. He worked hard for everything he earned, and now he could show those who didn’t believe the he was telling the truth. It was a guarantee that if he was streaming someone would be on watching him in the first few minutes.

The other thing that he noticed since he became a consistent streamer was that in the game he was a celebrity. It wasn’t that people went out of their way to give him things, but he was always noticed whenever he was in safe zones, and sometimes when he was not. Being approached in a safe zone never bothered him, it was just inconvenient when he was trying to get things together for his party to go on a raid.

More often than not he was okay with being noticed. The only time that it became an issue was if he was in the Player Versus Player areas. On more than one occasion he had been approached while in the middle of a battle. Moreover, the number of players that would randomly try to fight him in the PVP areas increased dramatically the more popular he became. It wasn’t that he lacked the skill to hold a conversation and battle at the same time, it was just annoying when he was forced into something like that when he didn’t want to be. Worse than that, there were time where he rushed out of safe zones because people wouldn’t leave him alone and he ended up forgetting to buy items that he needed for his inventory.

Today was one of those kind of days. He had just left the Temple of the River God, a larger safe zone where he could stock up on healing items and repair his weapons. It’d been a madhouse. He had forgotten that a special event had started the day before that meant that everyone and their sister was online today trying to complete the quests in hopes of winning one of the Holy Grail items. Viktor of course was amongst them, however he normally stayed away from the busier safe zones when the events were going on due to the increase in player participation.

For over an hour Viktor tried to politely excuse himself from conversations and graciously turned down party invites. He wanted to meet up with SexySwiss and Otabear, but he couldn’t find them in the throngs of people. Eventually he settled on sending a message to both letting them know that he was under pressure in the safe zone and he didn’t think that he would be able to get free to join them.

Having had enough of all the fawning, Viktor made a run for it. He shuffled his way out of the crowd and headed straight for the PVP area knowing that most of the time, ironically, he was safer there. No one could attack anyone in a safe zone, however in the PVP anything went. It wasn’t uncommon for people to try to stand just outside the safe zone and wait for unsuspecting people to walk into their trap. Ambushed and unable to escape, players would kill one another for their goods.

Viktor hated that kind of game play, and luckily he never really got caught up in those groups. He was well enough known that the players didn’t even attempt to touch him on his way out of a safe zone. That didn’t mean that he was entirely safe though. He worked his way through the wooded area until he was a decent distance away. Stopping so he could send a message to SexySwiss and Otabear again, Viktor was approached by three high level players.

This did happen to him more than he would like to mention. There were some players that would come across him randomly. The fact that he was the top player of the game meant that some people liked to test their worth against him. He didn’t have an issue with except for times like this, when he was outnumbered, lacking supplies, too far away to make it back to the safe zone if his health started to deplete too much, and frazzled from his latest safe zone trip.

He smiled kindly and tilted his head at the players attempting to walk past them. Predictably one of them took a swing at him with his sword. The warrior was fast… faster than Viktor was expecting. He barely got his sword up in time to deflect the blade before it bit into his shoulder. Cursing under his breath Viktor spun around and punched at his friend who was attempting sneak up behind him. Viktor jumped back until he could see all three players on the play field at the same time. They began to circle him, each sporting a grim smile that honestly didn’t bode well for Viktor and he knew it.

“I don’t suppose that you would mind just letting me pass, guys?” Viktor gave a hollow laugh as he parried another blow from the warrior. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that their black mage was starting to cast a spell but he wasn’t close enough to hear the words he spoke. The only thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t have too long to dispatch the warrior before whatever hellfire the mage had planned was unleashed.

“That’s cute? I thought yah were the LivingLegend. Rumor has it you’re some kinda badass.” The warrior laughed and dove in again with another blow that Viktor easily parried. Looking at the stats he saw that he was pretty evenly matched with his opponent, and that would have been fine if it had been a one on one battle. All it took was that one moment of distraction for the third member of their party to sneak up behind him and stab him twice with a small knife. Viktor’s screen turned purple and he let out a string of curses that would make a Russian grandmother blush.

“I have no clue whatcha sayin’ but I can tell yah ain’t all that happy right now, is yah?” Viktor just glared at the warrior for a moment before he spun around and used his broadsword to let loose a flurry of blows that pushed the assassin to the ground.

“Poison, are you kidding me? Who fights with poison any more?” Viktor sighed and held the point of his sword against the assassin’s neck. A quick check of his inventory made him want to just throw his hands in the air and quit the game. Of course he didn’t remember to pick up any antidote!

“Well, it is effective and it doesn’t look like you got anything to counteract it.” The assassin laughed, “Beside what are you going to do, take on the three of us by yourself, poisoned, and then what? You aren’t going to make it back to the safe zone before your HP runs out. So I guess it is up to you. Death by sword or death by poison. Either way, you die and we win.”

“Give me the antidote and let’s do this fair then.” Viktor suggested. He knew it was a long shot; people who attacked like that weren’t the kind to play fair or want an even playing field. However the assassin was right. More than likely he was going to be a goner before he reached the safe zone again. He heard the warrior behind him shift and managed to dodge out of the way as the warrior’s sword came down.  It missed Viktor, lodging itself into his friend’s leg instead.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Same team, dumbass.” Viktor couldn’t hold back his laughter at the outburst. He was just proud of himself for managing to dodge that so perfectly.

“Alright then boys, it would seem I am on some borrowed time here so let’s dance, da?” Viktor jumped up to the balls of his feet and carefully looked around while he listened for a tell that would let him know who would be the first to attack and from where.

‘There!’ Viktor thought as he moved to his left bringing his sword down with one hand. With his spare hand he reached into his inventory and pulled out a fire crystal. Smashing the crystal onto the blade gave it the added ability to burn for a limited time in addition to causing higher damage. He was counting on the crystal to help deal the damage quick enough that he could take the three of them out before his HP was depleted. There was still a chance that one of them was carrying an antidote and it was possible it would drop when they died. It was his only hope. Worst case scenario he was going to make sure to take down the three of them with him.

Suddenly he was forced to the ground by a boot to the back. The black mage hovered over him with a crooked smile and released the spell he had been holding onto the whole time. “ Kavasya!” Viktor cussed as his body seized up and refused to move regardless of how much he tried. His character was paralysed. How could he have forgotten about the mage? It was such a rookie mistake!

The spell was used often enough that he should have expected it to come at some point, but he overlooked it since the mage had stopped talking. Hell, Viktor didn’t even know it was possible to hold a spell for that long. He would have to add that to the list of things to learn to do soon.

“Awww, that was far too easy.” The mage sighed as he sat down next to Viktor and pulled out a dagger. He started to drag it lazily along Viktors arm. Viktor had no option but to watch as the numbers flashed on his screen slowly taking a hit point here and a hit point there. It wasn’t enough to kill him, just enough to speed the process along.

“Yeah, but whatever, I am just happy we got this done. Now we can collect that reward.” The assassin said as he chewed on a piece of flatbread to raise his hit points.

“I still can’t believe we lucked out like that and just found ‘im walkin’ alone.” The warrior laughed.

“Okay, okay, you guys have had your fun. Why don’t you just let the man go?” another player said as he walked towards the group and leaned against a tree a few feet away. “You know the way you ‘won’, if you can call it that, was underhanded. Why don’t you pick on someone else for a while?”

The mage laughed at the newcomer. “Are you volunteering?”

“Maybe.” The player winked. Viktor had never felt so helpless before. He couldn’t tell the player to not worry about it, that it would be fine and he should turn tail and run before the same thing happened to him. To make matters worse the character was a shadow dancer, a notoriously difficult class that no one played because it was pretty much impossible to control.

“Why, would you like to dance with me?” The shadow dancer chuckled, “I mean you aren’t my usual kind of dance partner, but I guess we can.” The player laughed as he started to chant, causing the shadows of the trees to stretch until they circled the group plunging them into darkness.

“Now if I did my math right, that spell you cast lasts all of what… a minute and thirty seconds, right?” The player’s voice came from behind the black mage, startling them all. “Looks like you needed to use a mana booster just to have the power to cast it, which means you can’t cast it again until you’re replenished.” The voice was suddenly to Viktor’s right side.

“Don’t worry there, hun,” Viktor heard the player whisper in his ear, “about thirty seconds left. I am going to assume you can handle the assassin.” Just as quickly as it came it was gone again.

It was so disorienting trying to keep track of what was happening, the voice was coming from everywhere. While Viktor would have assumed that it belonged to more than one player, he knew better. The voice was the exact same every time it spoke.

Shadow dancers combined a dark mage with the qualities of an assassin. On paper it sounded like an amazing class; magic, speed, immunity to poisons, and a natural stealth boost. In reality, the speed was only a hair faster than the average assassin, the magic was weak and even the immunity and stealth boost wasn’t enough to make up for the downfalls of the class. Viktor could count on one hand the number of times that he had actually seen someone with a shadow dancer make it to a level above ten, and yet here was a player who was sitting comfortably at level seventy five, moving in a way he had never seen a shadow dancer move before. Viktor wasn’t sure if he should be worried or amazed.

Suddenly the warrior yelled out in frustration as Viktor watched half of his life bar disappear. “Mother fucker!” the warrior yelled as he spun around swinging his sword blindly, but it was no use. Moment’s later Viktor watched in awe as the pixilated haze that players left behind when they died floated through the air.

“H-How the hell did you do that?” The mage cried out. Viktor’s ‘saviour’ only laughed. The sound coming from all around them and Viktor couldn’t tell where the player actually was.

“Legend, sweetheart, are you going to make little ol’ me do all the work?” Viktor finally snapped out of his thoughts enough to notice that he could indeed move. He let his eyes fall on the assassin who started to back away slowly with his hands raised.

“Of course.” Viktor said with a smile as he raised his sword to unleash a flurry of blows on the assassin, knocking the player to the ground. “Now then,” he said as he pressed the point of the blade into the assassin’s face, “What are you talking about some kind of bounty for me?”

“Che.” the player spit, “I don’t know the specifics. All I know is that you are one of the top players of the game and that means that there are other players who will pay good money for you to be killed. Don’t ask me why, I just wanted the money.”

“Yeah, sure, I won’t ask.” Viktor said before he pressed down with the blade and watched in satisfaction as the player was replaced by the haze of death.

“Mercy!” the mage said, “Please show mercy.”

“Mercy? Like you were going to show LivingLegend over there? That kind of mercy?” The shadow dancer stepped out towards the two men, showing himself again. He was of average height with black hair. His standard black and blue cloak, which covered him head to toe, was adorned with silver filigree that matched the pauldron jutting off his left shoulder. His skin was pale turning a pale pink towards his eyes, and the smirk on his face told everyone he was more than confident with being in this situation.

“So is that a no then?” The mage laughed. “I don’t know what I was expecting from a fucking hacker like you!” The next thing Viktor saw was the fine haze as it rose, the shadow dancer not moving once.

“Well, that was unexpected.” The player laughed as he walked over to Viktor who was pretty sure if it was possible to fall in love with a video game avatar, he was falling in love with his savior. “That will just leave…” he trailed off rummaging around his inventory bag and pulled out a green vial. Viktor accepted the antidote with a grateful smile.

“You really didn’t have to get involved.” Viktor said quietly as he tilted the vial down his throat, pleased when the screen faded from purple and returned to normal.

“Yeah, it looked like you had that handled.” The player laughed.

“You—you’re a hacker?” Viktor said quietly. He didn’t want to offend his saviour; that could be hazardous to his health. Viktor just wanted facts.

“What makes you think that? Because of what one player says?” The player said smoothly, a sly smile playing at his lips.

“I have never seen a shadow dancer move like that before. The speed was way too fast!” Viktor exclaimed as he replayed what he saw in his mind.

“It’s a simple acceleration spell coupled with a dark illusion spell. The acceleration spell allows me to move faster, the dark illusion spell allows me to make my movements look even faster when used in a sequential order rather than the hard to control random movements every other player tries.” The shadow dancer winked at him and leaned against a tree. “I am Eros, by the way.”

“W-wait. You can use a dark illusion spell? No one uses that thing, it’s impossible to control!” Viktor was flabbergasted. According to the manual the dark illusion was supposed to get your player out of tight situations by teleporting them to another location. You have a total of 9 teleportations that you could use in a one minute time frame. More often than not, however, people ended up teleporting themselves off the map or directly into the path of an enemy. Shadow dancers were supposed to have more control over the dark magics, but even when he tried it himself, he couldn’t properly use the spell.

“Yes?” Eros said more like a question than a statement. “Any level three dark mage can use the dark illusion spell.” He giggled. “Here I was thinking that you knew how the game works… turns out you’re just good looking but not all that smart.”

Viktor was about to say something else when he just stopped and stared, his mouth hung open and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or yell at the infuriating player known as Eros. Of course he knew how that game worked, he was LivingLegend, the 2017 GPC champion. He had just never seen anyone actually use it intentionally with a whole lot of success before. Was that really so surprising?

“I’m kidding.” Eros doubled over in laughter. “I promise you, I am not a hacker, I just learned a thing or two about this character that has apparently gone unnoticed.” He stood up and walked until he was directly in front of Viktor and held out his hand. “Let’s go on a raid together and I will show you what I mean.”

“O-Okay.”

Viktor was impressed. Eros and he had spent several hours together working their way through one raid after another. The way Eros used his shadow dancer was beyond anything that Viktor had ever seen before. He had a very unique way of combining spells and offensive movements in a way he wouldn’t have thought to try. When he was on the defensive he was fast, faster than Viktor had ever seen any other class. His movements were precise, and never televised before he made them. To watch Eros’ shadow dancer was an experience unlike anything Viktor had been privy to before.

Viktor finally understood why the class had earned the name. It took a certain kind of grace to be able to perform the movements the right way. As Eros weaved between enemies, Viktor could clearly see the dance unfolding. Beautiful and meticulous. It was… he couldn’t even think of the proper words to describe it.

Yet there was something about the way he moved his character that felt familiar to Viktor. The way that he linked together combinations that seemed reminiscent of something else. It wasn’t until after they parted ways that day that Viktor was able to place his finger on why it felt like something he had seen before. Agape! The only other player that he had ever seen move in unprecedented and unpredictable ways like that was Agape. But thinking about it now, Viktor realized that he had not heard about the player since the finals last year. Sure he tried to reach out a few times, but Agape never responded.

Taking off his equipment and putting it up, he grabbed his laptop and flopped on his oversized bed to look up the standings for the year. He had been so busy with everything going on in his own life that he didn’t even remember to take a look at them. It didn’t matter in the end through. He scoured through the list several times, lead growing hot a heavy in his stomach with each gamertag he passed, he wasn’t there. Agape didn’t come back.

He remembered that Agape was upset after his showing last year. Heck, he knew that Agape had lost his largest sponsor over the failure, which in his mind was completely unfair. What did it matter if a player has a single bad game? That wasn’t the sum of their whole career. Then again sponsors wanted to be where the money was and Agape… well Agape failed pretty spectacularly.

Failing or not, it didn’t really matter to Viktor. He just wanted to see Agape play again. He was good, no, he was great . He was the kind of player that the game needed. Fresh, different, able to approach situations in unique ways; and the man could lead a team into the battlefield unlike anyone Viktor had ever seen before. All the years that he had been playing MMOs, Viktor had never run into a player that was quite like Agape.

LivingLegend

Chrissssssssss!!! He isn’t playing this year!

What if he gave up?!?!

He was an amazing player!!!!!

Chrissssssssss!!!!!

SexySwiss

What are you talking about?

LivingLegend

AGAPE!!!!

He isn’t playing

O_o

SexySwiss

You know he lost his sponsors… all of them.

He may just be taking this year off.

Text him and ask

LivingLegend

Text him? Are you crazy?!

I am such a jerk I haven’t spoken with

him since the end of the finals! He must

hate me!

SexySwiss

I doubt that

But you won’t know until you talk to him.

Viktor threw his phone onto his pillow and sighed. ‘Way to fuck things up, Nikiforov.’

Chapter Text

“Hey everyone, thanks for joining me tonight. For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Eros. Today I don’t have much planned so we are just going to be running around to see what kind of trouble finds us. Hopefully it will be something fun.”

Three weeks ago, Yuuri had decided to start a new twitch account. Phichit suggested that he give his online persona a makeover and that was just what he had done. Gone was the innocent, sweet, and shy character known as Agape; in his place stood Eros, a confident, sassy, and sometimes flirty character who was everything Agape was not.

The night that he came across LivingLegend in the Sweath Water Woods he just happened to be streaming. All it took was that kick in the butt to get him back into the game and start building a fan base again. Yes, Yuuri was pleased. Gone was Agape. He was weak, timid, and apparently caved under pressure. Eros though, Eros was everything Yuuri wished that he could have been and then some, and his new fans loved it.

One of the things that Eros got noticed for was the shameless way that he flirted with other players. Of course it was all in jest and he made sure that people knew that, but he had started to add words into his vernacular that he never really thought about using before; love, sweetheart, baby. It was outside his comfort zone and yet he seemed to flourish under the additional attention and the fake confidence that Eros loaned him.

It took a little time, however, and Yuuri found he was actually starting to have fun playing You Only Live Once . After the fallout at the GPC finals last year he had a really hard time even picking the game up again. Phichit had noticed how miserable his best friend was and told him that he could find that spark again, even if it meant that he had to create it himself. As he started to play Eros, Yuuri remembered what it was that he loved about the game. He found his way back.

This game was different than other MMOs that he had played in the past. The higher he made it in the levels the fewer people there were to fight against. However, unlike most other MMOs where leveling up meant that you just kept fighting your way through the same hordes of monsters over and over again, You Only Live Once made sure that there was some kind of variety. Each level had its own unique monsters living in their own environments. Some levels had as many as seven different environments which made it more intriguing as you worked your way through.

He had gotten his passion for the game back and with it came the desire to compete again. Without a second thought he entered into All Japan, one of the top matches in the country. All Japan was set up differently than other feeler tournaments. Most of the time you needed show that you had what it took to make it into a country wide competition by winning at divisional levels. However, All Japan gave everyone a chance to play on an even playing field regardless of previous track record. The result… the best of the best played against one another and Japan was able to choose their top representatives for the Asian VR tournament.

All Japan was a three day competition that broke up the game into three sections. It started with 350 players from all over the country but by the end of day one there would be only 50 left. Yuuri was determined to be one of them. He had a goal, although he wouldn’t admit it to anyone. He was going to meet LivingLegend at the GPC finals and introduce himself properly; this time without the self imploding on the day of finals.

He had been in the game for three hours and the judges were already starting to cut people. Yuuri didn’t feel pressured; he knew that he had set a good pace and he was doing exceptionally well with his item management. The people behind him were placing too much emphasis on leveling and not enough on game progression while the people in front of him had the opposite issue. It wouldn’t be long before they stepped into a match that they couldn’t win because they were too low a level or had misallocated their resources.

No, Yuuri had set the right pace. A balance of leveling up and game progression that almost assured him a spot in the top 50 for day two.

Yuuri had almost completely forgotten what the thrill of competition was like. His heartbeat was a little higher than usual and there was an electricity humming through his body. It was the best kind of high and Yuuri was thriving off of it. It was this feeling that allowed him to stay hyper focused on everything going on in game. For many players the inability to properly plan proved to be their downfall, however Yuuri had always been great at strategy and it showed. By the end of the day Yuuri was ranked 2nd in the country.

The appearance of a seemingly unknown player who was blowing nationally ranked players out of the water had caused something of a buzz amongst the sponsors that attended the competition in hopes of finding new recruits for their companies. His success had been so great that he had a hard time walking out of the convention center without being stopped every ten steps or so and handed a business card.

“Please consider us when you start looking for sponsors.”

“We would love to have you on our team.”

“I think, you would make a welcome addition to our program.”

At the end of it all there was one player recruiter standing between Yuuri and the exit and it was none other than Otak. The man smiled at him and handed Yuuri a business card before jumping into a well rehearsed speech about all the things that Otak could offer that these other mom and pop companies that had approached him couldn’t. Yuuri had to suppress a laugh as the man asked him if he had time to talk and invited him out to dinner.

“Honestly, Otak was my sponsor last year. Unfortunately, you could never pay me enough money to go back. Players deserve to work with sponsors that value the players’ time. You thought I wasn’t worth yours and threw me away because I had one bad game. Thanks for the offer, love, but I really need to be going, I have other sponsorship offers to consider.” He waved over his shoulder as he walked away feeling rather content with how he handled that. Of course what he failed to notice was the number of bewildered reporters and sponsors in his wake.

Last year? Eros wasn’t playing last year… was he?

The second day of competition dawned and Yuuri was feeling good about his chances. For once his anxiety was at a manageable level and it wasn’t threatening to overtake him. He knew that he was in a great spot and it was only a matter of time before he overtook the person who was ahead of him. As he walked from his hotel to the arena he kept thinking about the things he needed to focus on today. He just needed to play it cool, work through the levels at the right pace, and manage his items. It sounded like an easy task on paper, but Yuuri knew better that to expect a cake walk.

However, if he could manage to do that he would be in the top ten and make it to the final day for sure. Today wasn’t about coming in first, today was just about making sure that he made it to the final day. He didn’t need to set any records or draw any attention to himself. He just needed to make sure that he played smart, paced himself, and didn't cave under the pressure. Although for once it didn’t feel like the pressure was pushing him down like it normally would be. He was confident… Eros had been a good change for him.

Of course he also had a new kind of motivation burning in the pit of his stomach: revenge. It was a different sensation than what he was used to. Yuuri was never the kind of person who would try to seek revenge, but the fact that Otak was here and they didn’t even remember that he was one of their players last year actually made the normally mild mannered man angry. Yuuri smiled as he looked at the sponsor cards in his hand. It was about time to call one or two or all of them!

The ending point for the second day was level 75, leaving only 25 levels to go to make it to the final boss. In all honesty most people never got the chance to see these levels of the game for themselves. It was only at tournaments like this one or exhibition matches that turned down the overall difficulty of the game that people really got a chance to witness them. Because of this the judges had a relatively easy day as most people ended up dying in the process of climbing the ladder rather than timing out in the end.

Yuuri made good time and maintained his second place standing until the last hour of the game. He made a push forward and overtook the player in first. His competitor was so caught off guard by the sudden change in standing, apparently believing that he had a large enough lead that he wouldn’t have to worry about Yuuri catching up, that he made a fatal error. He misstepped a dodge, rolled too far to the side and launched himself off of the Highborn Cliffs of Dunbart. The cliffs themselves weren’t all that tricky, however when you were forced to battle on the narrow edges it was easy to send yourself over them.

Yuuri was only aware that something had happened when people started to cheer and chant his name behind him. The text box that held the leader standings on the right side of his screen moved him from the second place slot to the first and erased the competition’s name. He couldn’t help but smile as he pressed forward with a renewed sense of confidence. This burst of energy that filled him made him take a few more risks than usual, showing off mostly, and catapulted him through the remaining levels allowing him to reach the stopping point for the day in record time.

It wasn’t that he was planning on setting a new world record, but it did help boost his morale a little. With a new record under his belt and a new national ranking of first, Yuuri ensured his name was on the docket for the final day of competition.

Yuuri wouldn’t say that he was overly concerned about the other people in the competition, but he also wasn’t the kind of person to rest on his laurels. He knew if he wanted his best shot of winning the overall competition, meeting his idol on his own terms, and giving a big eff you to Otak, he needed to make sure that he knew what he was up against.

He had to admit that there were some players he was pretty impressed with. Yuuri was drawn towards a crowd of players who focused on one player’s booth. Curiosity made him push his way towards the front of the line just in time to hear a bell ring and the head set get ripped off the player’s head. A triumphant cheer erupted from the crowd and a blur of blonde and red hair jumped into the air yelling out in victory.  

Yuuri let him have his moment in the sun as reporters snapped pictures of him and people individually congratulated him on his accomplishment. Eventually he just held a hand up and waved with a smile on his face.

“Well, well, well, why am I not surprised to see you here?” Yuuri giggled as Minami’s eyes grew twice as wide and his mouth fell open with shock.

“A-A-Aga-” he tried to get his mouth to form words but failed. Yuuri placed a finger to his own lips, the universal sign for secret and the younger player nodded slowly in understanding before launching himself at Yuuri and wrapping him in an unexpected hug.

“Congrats on making the top ten.” Yuuri laughed, returning the hug, only vaguely aware of the sound of cameras snapping around them. “And in your first year on the scene too! I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you!” Minami said, his eyes glistened with the compliment. Yuuri wondered, if LivingLegend had said something similar to him last year, would he would have acted the same way as Minami? The thought had him giggling. “But what are you doing here? I didn’t see your name on the list.”

“I am on there… but I will explain that later.” Yuuri winked. “I heard that you had a few sponsors taking a look at you.” Yuuri mentioned as he led the younger player through the crowds of people towards a roped off area for officials and players only.

“Yep, I even had one of the larger companies looking to sponsor me.” The younger man beamed at his idol rightfully proud of his accomplishments.

“Otak?”

“Yeah, how did you know?” They turned a corner into an empty lounge room and took seats next to one another. Yuuri sat back and was quiet for a long moment wondering how he should go about telling Minami about the company. He knew that it wouldn’t be right of him to tell him that he shouldn’t take the offer. Otak offered a lot that others weren’t in the position to offer. But he wouldn’t feel right without warning him either. In the end he knew all he could do was tell Minami the truth and let the player decide for himself if he was going to trust the company or not.

Having played as Eros for the past few months had really helped Yuuri’s self confidence. He now accepted that he wasn’t a bad player, that Otak made him feel like he was all because of one lost match. It took some real convincing from his sister and Phichit and even himself. He eventually realized that being ranked sixth in the world was actually kind of a big deal. If Otak couldn’t see that… well, that was on them.

“Otak approached me too.” he said finally. “The thing is, I am not signing with them. Let’s get dinner and I’ll tell you all about it.”

The morning of the finals the top ten players found themselves in a press conference. Here it was announced that the first and second place victors were guaranteed spots in the Asian VR championships. While there had been rumors about it, the official announcement brought with it an exciting energy that flowed freely through the room. Players began to imagine themselves not only on the All Japan podium or the Asian VR podium, but standing in first at the GPC finals.

Yuuri was the kind of player that allowed the energy to wash over him and amp him up for the battle that day. He refused to let himself get lost in the possibility of making it back to the GPC finals. He knew that if he wanted to play on the same stage as his idol again, he would have to place here first.

Prior to the press conference Yuuri had pulled Minami aside and told him that no matter what happened this morning, he needed to remain focused on today and today only. They had talked strategy, Yuuri helping his younger competitor fine tune his plan for the day, less focused on level, more focused on time. He was confident that Minami had what it took to make it to second place. He wanted someone he knew by his side at the Asian VR and he found he was more than happy to take on the role of big brother to the overly energetic teen.

Yuuri winked at Minami as his name was called and he walked out to take a seat at the table. Each player was being introduced, a little information read about them, and their goals for the season were stated. Standard stuff really. Yuuri only listened to about a quarter of it while he waited to hear his named call.

“Eros, the player in first place, hails from Kyushu, Japan. He has been playing the game since it first released while finishing a college degree in IT and helping out at his parent’s onsen. Eros hopes to make it to the top of the GPC ladder this year.” The announcer spoke clearly as Yuuri stepped out to the sound camera shutters going crazy. Normally he would find this overwhelming in a way that would make his mind want to spiral downwards. He was never a fan of crowds, nor did he really like being the center of attention. But he just smiled and gave a small wave to the reporters as he sat down feeling… content. He let himself easily slip into his Eros persona as the reporters were granted permission to ask questions.

Most of the questions were simple to answer and the standard questions that Yuuri had expected. Why did you get into gaming? What is is about You Only Live Once that you find exciting? Do you feel good about your chances today? It wasn’t until a nervous looking reporter approached the microphone that Yuuri started to have those first flutter of butterflies in his stomach. The reporter cleared his throat and looked directly at Yuuri causing him to give a small gulp.

“Yes, good morning. My name is Morooka and I am from Video Game Daily. My question is directed towards the player Eros.” Yuuri smiled, albeit fake, at the reporter and nodded his head. “The other day you were approached by a player recruiter from the company Otak. A few words were exchanged and you seemed to have left under less than amicable terms. My question is, what was the disagreement about, or more specifically, why did you say you wouldn’t be interested in signing with them since you were a player with them last year and they dropped you?” The reporter smiled kindly and took a step back from the microphone while he waited for the response. Yuuri knew that there was no real malice behind his question, but that didn’t mean that he felt any less attacked by it.

“Ah, yes, I am sorry about the outburst.” Yuuri laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “You see, I think there was a little misunderstanding. What I had spoken with the representative about was indeed a player that they sponsored last year. I had followed that player very closely all through the season. Unfortunately, at the GPC finals he had a rough match and was eliminated. In the end he placed sixth, and while I personally think that is a great standing, Otak didn’t share that view.” Yuuri leaned forward and smiled as he scanned the room and his eyes fell on the Otak representative.

“It was the first poor performance that the player had showed all year and yet the company decided that he wasn’t worth their time or money any longer. When I spoke with the representative I was letting him know my personal views about what the company did. I don’t believe that players should be used and then thrown away like trash because they had one bad game.” Yuuri shrugged, “Honestly, the way that situation was handled left a bad taste in my mouth and I wanted him to know that I didn’t want to associate myself with them for that reason.” Yuuri leaned forward and steepled his finger together as he looked at the representative intently. The man sneered at him before turning around and storming out the door. Yuuri smiled because somehow it had felt like a win.

“I didn’t handle my anger about that situation in the best of ways at the time and I do wish to apologize to anyone who had to see that as well as the representative himself. I know he was just doing his job. However, players are under enough pressure as it is and I do not condone dangling sponsorship in front of them and leaving them feeling threatened that if they do fail, even once, that the sponsorship would be ripped from them. As a player I can attest that we do our best work when we work with companies that allow us to know it will be okay to have a bad game. Honestly the pressure is bad enough as it is, why add to it?”

“Thank you, a quick follow up question.” Morooka said as he pulled his phone out and looked at it quickly. “I just want to confirm that the player you are talking about is Agape, right?” Yuuri took a deep breath and smiled.

“Yes, Agape what the player.” He said and sent up a silent prayer that no one would connect Agape and Eros to one another. There was a flurry of questions being thrown at the panel left and right moments later. The announcer cut in gracefully and asked the reporters to hold all questions until after the match, the players were now needed to head to the arena for pre-checks.

Yuuri let out a breath that he wasn’t aware he was holding as he stood up and followed the gaggle of players towards the arena. With that out of the way it was time to focus on the important part… winning.

Chapter Text

After the morning press conference came to a close, Yuuri and Minami walked toward the arena together talking about their strategies for the day. Yuuri’s plan was pretty straightforward, don’t die and continue to use good item management. He knew with the lead he had it would take a small miracle for someone to overtake him. Minami had a little more work ahead of him, however there was only a two minute difference in time between him and the second place competitor, a time gap that he was more than capable of making up.

In addition to the game today, Yuuri had planned his own eff you to Otak by setting up a sponsorship meeting for every small mom and pop sponsor that had approached him since the start of the competition. The best part was Minami was interested in joining them too rather than letting his name be put on Otak’s payroll.

“After the match today, the meeting is all set up. About ninety percent of the people I spoke to were excited to talk to us.” Yuuri said quietly enough that only Minami would be able to hear him. He knew that with all the reporters milling around the floor he needed to be careful about what he said. They didn’t want any rumors to start flying around.

“Fantastic! In that case, let’s do this!” Minami said a bit louder than was necessary, his hand flew up for a high five. Yuuri shook his head with a laugh before meeting Minami’s hand with his own.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have too much energy?” They both laughed as they rounded the equipment and stopped outside of Minami’s booth.

“They tell me that all the time,” he winked, “Where do you think I got the name ‘Lil Spitfire?”

“Point taken.” Yuuri conceded with a wave and a final good luck before making his way to his own booth to double check his equipment. It was a habit that he had gotten into as a child. Sometimes Mari would sneak into his room and play his games without him knowing. She would roll the computer chair over the cord one too many times and snap the wires. Because of that, Yuuri made sure that he always looked over his equipment before play.

It was during this pregame check that he noticed the fray in one of the sensor wires that connected his right glove into the console. No, fray wasn’t exactly the right word… it looked more like an intentional disconnection of his wire, like someone had done it purposely.

The damage was small, hardly noticeable, but it was there if you knew what you were looking for. Yuuri held up his hand, the universal sign for something wrong at his station, and waited for an official to come. Together they looked over the equipment.

“It doesn't look like it will interfere with your ability to play.” the official said after a while. “Replacing it can take up to an hour because it isn’t as simple as switching out the wire with a new one. That wire is connected into the system itself. You would need to reload all your progress onto a new system.” Yuuri watched in disbelief as the judge checked his watch.

“So what if it gets worse as the game progresses?” he cried out in frustration.

“I think you will be just fine, Eros. You do have options. You can start on time or you can take your own time to change out the lead.” he looked Yuuri in the eye, “You have three minutes to make your choice.” With that he walked out of the booth leaving a flustered and very annoyed Yuuri in his wake.

Yuuri thought over the pros and cons of changing the wire or leaving it. If it was in an area of the equipment that didn’t move he wouldn’t be as worried about it. Things as they were, however, the wire that was broken was on one of the main leads from his right hand to the console. If something went wrong there that would mean that he would lose the ability to use his right hand. That was a death sentence for sure.

If he took the time to get the console setup and downloaded the saved data to the new console he would not only lose his lead but his competition would be starting before him. Normally he wouldn’t be overly concerned about the time difference, he was supposed to be starting thirty minutes before the rest of the field. But thirty minutes in a competition like this could be the difference between placing high enough to move on to Asian VR or ending the season here.

Yuuri chewed on the pad of his thumb in thought as the judge outside the booth called out the one minute warning. Cursing under his breath he stepped out of the booth and told the judge that he was going to switch out the equipment. In the end he knew that there was too much going on for him to gamble his mobility. As he walked down the aisle towards one of the techs that would help him fix the issue he passed Minami and motioned for him to follow him.

“Check your equipment,” Yuuri said quietly, “I am not saying that what happened to me was done on purpose but it does look like my equipment was intentionally tampered with.” Minami stopped walking and just looked at Yuuri dumbfounded.

“Se-seriously?!”

“Yeah, I have to eat my thirty minute lead in order to replace the piece that is broken.” he sighed as they reached the techs booth. “If it comes down to it, I need you to do what you can to place first. One of us needs to make it to the finals.”

“Got it!” Minami said with a mock salute. “Oh, and Yuuri… good luck.”

“Thanks, I think I may need all the luck I can get.”

Yuuri nervously kept an eye on the clock as they waited for the new equipment to download Yuuri’s progression. He knew that there was nothing that could be done to speed up the process but every tick of the second hand on the tech’s watch sounded like a hammer hitting the nail in the coffin of Yuuri’s season. The timer said that there was still another ten minutes left, but the damage had already been done. Yuuri not only lost his thirty minute lead, but another fifteen minutes on top of that. He would essentially be starting in fifth place.

Looking at the standing was the only thing that helped loosen the knots in his chest. Minami was doing great. He had not only caught up to the second place player but they were currently in a game of tag trading first place back and forth. Yuuri was confident that if he didn’t make it, then at least Minami would.

“Okay, it looks like you are all set.” The tech said stepping away from the equipment. Hurriedly, Yuuri ran his hand over the cords and checked the monitor, everything seemed like it was working just as it should. He thanked the tech for his time and quickly went to work, alerting the judge that he was starting and throwing on the equipment as fast as he could. He had a lot more to make up that he was honestly comfortable with.

Luck seemed to be with him though as he quickly pressed through the levels focusing a little less on leveling up and more on speed. In the end he knew there was a chance that this could cause him to fail, but if he spent too much time working on levels it would be impossible for him to make up the lost time.

It took him most of the day to catch up, but he eventually found himself in third place only a minute and a half between the second place player and himself. However ninety seconds was too much. He heard the bell ring out twice in quick succession moments before he delivered the kill blow to the final boss. Shaking his head in annoyance he watched the cut scene and the end of his run in All Japan.

Carefully he removed his equipment and set it down on the table in front of him before schooling his expression and stepping out of the booth. Internally he all he could think about was the fact that he took that extra time to repair the equipment, equipment he didn’t know would fail if he had just left it alone. If he hadn’t… no, this was not the time for what if’s.

He smiled as he looked at Minami who took Yuuri’s words to heart and placed first in his stead. While he didn’t manage to make it to Asian VR he was more than pleased to see that his friend had done so well. At least one of them was going, an outcome that Yuuri knew he could live with.

Yuuri wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go to the sponsorship meeting that he had set up. It all seemed kind of embarrassing now, showing up for a sponsorship meeting when you failed to place for the next level of competition. In the end though he knew that he owed it to Minami for nothing more than the support the younger man had shown him lately.

The meeting was held in one of the conference rooms in the arena. In total there were thirteen companies that were interested in talking to them and surprisingly not a single one dropped out when Yuuri didn’t place. He sat at the head of the table with Minami slightly off to his left hand side. The rest of the representatives sat around the rectangular table all looking at paperwork they had brought with them.

Everyone looked a little uncomfortable as they watched Yuuri. It was evident that they had all expected him to at the very least place. With the sudden turn of events Yuuri was pretty sure that no one wanted to recruit him now and that was okay with him. He was here to support Minami and he would make sure that everyone understood that. Minami was a fantastic player and deserved all the attention that he could get.

“First, I just want to take a second and thank everyone for coming in today.” Yuuri started with a warm smile as he looked around the table making sure that he made eye contact with each representative. “I know that things didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped for myself, but unfortunately that is the nature of the game. It means a lot to me that you all decided to still come and listen to what I have to say about my friend Minami here who placed first when I couldn’t.” He placed a hand on the younger mans back and smiled warmly at him.

“There is a precedence in sponsorship in e-sports where players are punished for losing a single game. This way of providing support is not healthy for anyone. I asked you all here today because I feel like you understand that business shouldn’t be run like that.” Yuuri stood up and placed his hands on the table as he leaned forward to make his point.

“Players do their best work when they don’t have to worry about losing their income if someone outplays them one day. You all seem like you understand the value in that, and if you don’t then I am going to politely ask you to leave now.” He gave them a moment to let what he said sink in, but not one person made a move towards the door. A few of them nodded their head in agreement, a positive sign in Yuuri’s opinion.

“Minami here is going to be the next great from Japan and I think that he need support from people like you to play his best.” Yuuri smiled brightly. This was easier than he thought it was going to be. He didn’t even feel bad for himself. He had always placed an emphasis on helping the next generation of gamers and here he was doing it the best way he knew how. If anything he was proud.

“You do know that we aren’t just here for Minami, right?” an older gentleman spoke up. “You bring a lot to the table yourself. Not to say that Minami doesn’t or that we aren’t interested in asking him to sign with us as well. But it seems to me that you believe the only reason we are here is for him when in fact the only reason any of us are here is because it was you that made the call.”

“My thoughts exactly.” A woman in the back of the room spoke up, “You should, no you need to contest the results of the match.”

Contest the results of the match. The thought had never crossed his mind. Yuuri figured that what happened was pretty black and white. There was an equipment malfunction, he was given options and chose wrong which resulted in him placing third. He didn’t have ground to contest anything in his opinion.

“Why would I contest the results? I had an equipment malfunction and chose to start late in order to repair it.” Yuuri sat back in his chair still a little lost.

“The rule book states that all equipment is supposed to be checked over by officials prior to the start of a match. Evidently your equipment was not properly checked over or was damaged after the fact.” She picked a piece of nonexistent lint off her skirt. “The fact that you placed third today has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with the way the event management handled your situation.”

“Ahh, well, I mean…” Yuuri stuttered unsure of what to say. He really wanted to be here to help Minami but the information that the representative just dropped in his lap had made his brain stop functioning properly.

“Well, that is to say, let’s handle one thing at a time.” He said finally looking over at his friend. “We are all here at the moment for my friend who is going to be one of Japan’s representatives to the Asian VR championships!” He smiled but even he knew it was fake. It felt plastic, wrong. The only thing that he wanted to do was think about what had happened and how to fix it. There was a ray of hope and he really didn’t want to reach out and grab it, but he knew he was going to any way.

“And what about you?” The woman spoke up again, “Just because of your placement do you think that means that we aren’t going to be interested in signing you as well?” Yuuri looked at her with confusion.

“Well, my season is basically over, I wouldn’t be good to any of you this year.” Yuuri laughed nervously. “Minami on the other hand…”

“Yes, we all know Minami is a fantastic player, we are more than happy to sign him. Please don’t take this the wrong way, Minami, but we are also here to sign you, today, right now.” A young man interjected. Several heads around the table nodded in agreement.

“Oh, no offense taken at all!” Minami beamed. “Personally I love seeing him flustered like this. He always doubts his talent, it’s good for it to be thrown in his face from time to time.” This statement cause most of the room to laugh and Yuuri could feel the blood rush to his face.

“Y-you really want to sponsor me?” Yuuri whispered, bewildered.

“Yakami Games is more that interested in sponsoring you, under one condition of course. You need to contest the results of today’s standings.”

“Of course we want to sponsor you, Eros… or should we say Agape?” Yuuri blanched a little unsure of how to react to his old name. “Don’t worry,” the woman laughed, “we aren’t going to out you or anything. It’s evident that for whatever reason you don’t want people to know that you played as Agape last year.” Yuuri gave an audible sound of relief and smiled back at her.

“Ok,” he said after a moment, “I will contest the results of today’s standings.” Yuuri smiled brightly.

“I was hoping you were going to say that.” Someone in the back of the room said as he stood up. Yuuri noticed that he was wearing one of the official staff shirts. “If you are sure this is what you want to do then I will pass the information along to the board immediately.”

“Yes, this is what I want to do.”

“Great! The board is ready to convene, and you should know the results by the end of the night, so I ask that you please don’t go to far.” The man bowed a little and hurried out of the room. It was in that moment that he understood that the sponsors had set him up, they had known something went wrong and they were ready to fight against it. He gave a little laugh. These were the kind of sponsors that he wanted to surround himself with.

Chapter Text

The events of the day happened so much faster than Yuuri was expecting them to. Not only did he manage to sign with several new sponsors much to his surprise, but there was a press conference being held in an hour. It was here that they would find out the results of Yuuri having contested the standings of the tournament. He hadn’t expected it to happen so fast, but apparently he was the only one that felt that way. There were plenty of people that agreed with Yuuri contesting the results after they heard what transpired. The support was overwhelming.

What really surprised him, and if he was being completely honest also terrified him, was the fact that security had been brought in for the press conference. If so many people agreed that Yuuri was supposed to place within the top two, why did they need security? Who was it that they were really trying to protect? There was a nervous energy running through Yuuri that wouldn’t dissipate regardless of what he tried.

Currently he and Minami were sitting in the back corner of a cafe that was a short walk from the arena. It was well known for their sandwiches and Yuuri hoped that fact alone would be enough to make him eat, but of course it wasn’t. He sat looking out the window letting his mind wander. For some reason he felt like a man on death row that was about to make the long walk.

“You okay?” Minami asked quietly. He knew it was kind of a stupid question because anyone who looked at Yuuri could tell the man was a moment away from a panic attack. Yuuri was silent for several minutes just thinking about what he was going to do.

“Yeah,” he said finally, “I think… I think I will be. I just want to get this over with.” He wasn’t expecting anything to come from his contesting. Or at least that’s what he told himself. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but all around him people were saying that he had every right to demand they look at his case. They told him he needed to contest the results. They implored him not to worry because there was no way the board wouldn’t side with him.

He told himself he didn’t want to have hope, but in the end he had let himself dream and dreaming was dangerous.

“It will be fine, either way.” Minami reminded him softly as they prepared to leave. He packaged up Yuuri’s sandwich and paid the bill before ushering Yuuri out of the booth. Yuuri felt disconnected from himself, like he was someone watching a movie about his life. Dinner had been a quiet affair because he didn’t have much to say, in the end the walk back to the arena passed in much the same way: silent.

“You know,” Yuuri said as they turned towards the arena, “I think you are the only person who isn’t telling me things will be okay because the review board will side with me.” He sighed and looked up into the sky. The sun was quickly disappearing and the sky was thrown into a beautiful pallet of pink, orange, purple, and red. “I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I fully believe that they will side with you, but even if they don’t, you have great sponsors lined up for a full come back next year.” Minami sighed and looked up at the sky as well. Yuuri just laughed. His younger friend was right. The recruiters that they spent the afternoon signing with really did seem like a great group who wouldn’t throw him away like Otak did.

“Either way, I am glad you are here with me.” Yuuri said patting Minami’s shoulder. “It means more that you know.”

“Oh, I know!” Minami laughed trying to lighten the mood. The pair stopped looking up the path that lead to the door they had planned on going through. There was already a small group of reporters waiting to get into the conference. Yuuri gulped a little and fought down a wave of panic. He could do this, he knew he could. He also knew that he wasn’t alone and that meant the world to him.

Slowly the two of them began their march towards the door smiling. “Eros, Eros, can we get a statement before you go in?” A woman yelled as she pushed a recorder in front of his face. Yuuri stopped walking and faced the press. Taking a deep breath he smiled at them.

“The only thing that I have to say is; I feel like the rules that were in place for issues such as mine were overlooked. Because of that I am contesting the results. I am sure that there will be more at the press conference and I am sorry but you will have to wait until then.” Yuuri excused himself as gracefully as he could manage as reporters attempted to get him to say more. Minami merely smiled and waved at the cameras that were there and followed closely behind Yuuri.

“Well, I think, you handled that really well.” Minami said comfortingly as Yuuri leaned against the wall and tried to get his thoughts in order once again.

“You think? Good, I am glad. I was petrified. I am still scared. Why the hell am I scared? It isn’t like the outcome really matters all that much. I already accepted the fact that I wasn’t going to the Asian VR so why is it such a big deal now? Oh my goodness, did I let myself have hope when I really shouldn’t have? I have been trying so hard not to hope! What the hell was I thinking?” Yuuri slid down the wall and buried his face in his knees.

“Yuuri, you need to calm down. I am sure everything will work out one way or the other.” Minami sat down next to him. “There is nothing wrong with having a little hope about things. Worst case scenario, nothing changes. If that happens, you just come back stronger next year.” Yuuri in that exact moment both loved and hated his younger friend. The sunny disposition was great for trying to stay positive, but Yuuri’s mind wanted nothing more than to spiral into the darkness. He appreciated Minami’s attempts to keep that from happening, but if it was going to happen he just wanted it to take over him now.

“Excuse me?” A woman said softly from in front of them. “Are you the player Eros?” Yuuri bit back a sarcastic remark before smiling weakly at the woman. He was so sick of everyone looking for him. He just wanted a dark corner so that he could hide from it all.

“Yes, he is.” Minami smiled with his goddamn permanent sunny smile. Yuuri sighed and tried to bury his head back into his knees when the woman’s words snapped him into reality.

“Would you mind following me, please? The board would like to have a word with you prior to the start of the press conference.” Yuuri nodded numbly and rose to his feet. Minami gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“I’ll see you in there.” He smiled and gave a mock salute. Yuuri nodded feeling nothing but dread. He numbly followed the woman through the halls only slightly aware of what was happening. He was trapped in his mind, he just knew that he was about to find out his fate and he had a feeling that it wasn’t going to lead him to the Asian VR competition like he hoped.

There was that word again… hope. Such a dangerous word!

Yuuri was led to a seat at the head of a large rectangular table. The room, slightly too warm, made him start to sweat. He wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that he had expected everyone’s attention to be on him when he walked in, or the fact that they treated him like he wasn’t even there. Finally after several minutes a man on the opposite side of the table stood up and smiled at Yuuri.

“Player Eros? Actual name is Katsuki Yuuri, correct?” His voice was no nonsense looking just for a simple yes or no and if he was being honest, Yuuri was feeling a little more intimidated because of it.

“Ah, yes, that is correct.” Yuuri said, his tongue feeling foreign as they formed the words.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us. My name is Karitsu Rikita. I am the director of the board here. It was brought to my attention that you wish to contest the results of your placement of third in today's tournament, is this correct?” Yuuri tried, but he couldn’t find his words so he just nodded. “Why do you believe that you have been wronged?”

Wronged didn’t really feel like the right word to use in Yuuri’s opinion, however, everyone else seemed to be using the word. He took a moment to get his thoughts together before giving an answer. If there was ever a time where he felt the need to draw upon his new Eros persona, now was it.

“According to the rule book for the tournament, because this is a multi day event, the same equipment is used by the player through the competition. The equipment is required to go through an equipment check each day to ensure that nothing is broken. There was a fray in my right glove wire which I thought would impair my ability to play the game.” He paused and took a deep breath, he knew he was down the rabbit hole, now it was just a matter of seeing how deep it ran.

“The rules state that if a malfunction like that happen prior to the start of play that the player is allowed to request time to correct the issue. I was told by an official that I had to use my game time to correct the malfunction, however, doing so set me back by forty five minutes allowing those that I had beat the day before a chance to start before I did.”

“Did you specifically request the additional time to repair the equipment?” A woman sitting to the right of Karistu asked.

“No.” Yuuri replied softly, “Not in so many words. However, I did raise my hand and bring the issue to the attention of the officials. The judge told me that he didn’t believe the malfunction would interfere with my ability to play.”

“So in other words you were told that you could chose if you wanted to replace the equipment or not and you chose to use your time to replace the malfunctioning part.” Yuuri bristled a little under her unstated accusation. She made it sound like as if Yuuri was just a petulant child who was mad about having not made it into the Asian VR.

“Yes, ma’am,” he confirmed.

“Did the official ask for a tech to take a look at the equipment at any point?” Karitsu asked, his voice a little softer as if he could tell Yuuri was getting stressed out.

“No, sir.”

Karitsu then held up a piece of equipment that Yuuri identified immediately as the broken wire. “Is this the damage that you are talking about?” He pointed out the cut wire. Yuuri confirmed that it was before Karitsu handed it off to another man that was sitting at the table.

“The cut hardly looks deep enough to have done anything.” The woman spoke up again.

“The cut doesn’t look deep,” the man inspecting the equipment said softly, “However, when you actually get into the casing you can see that the main cord has been nicked and several of the wires internally are fraying. It is more probable than possible that excessive movements like the ones used in the tournament would have resulted in the equipment failing.” The man held the equipment to the woman and pointed out what he was talking about.

“Had a tech been called to look at the equipment, Matsumura-san, do you think they would have called a halt to the game?” Karitsu asked.

“I think, they would have.”

“When did you first notice the fray?” the woman asked as she inspected the equipment for herself.

“During the five minute precheck. It isn’t that I don’t trust the job to be done by the people assigned to do it, I just like to look over my own equipment as well. A habit I picked up from having a sister who broke more than one of my controllers in the past.” Yuuri joked and was somewhat relieved when several people around the table laughed at him.

“You will need to excuse Monoka-san, she is taking this a little personally since she is the head of the security team.” Karitsu said as he pointed over to a television set behind him. “We just needed to have all of the facts before the press conference.”

“That is understandable.” Yuuri nodded. Karitsu hit play on the TV and Yuuri watched what appeared to be one of the security cameras overlooking the booth that he was playing in. “This was filmed earlier this morning.”

A man with dark hair could be seen approaching Yuuri’s booth. He looked around as if making sure that he wasn’t being watched before he slipped into the booth. The camera angle then changed to what he could see the inside of his play area. The man had pulled out something from his pocket and began to play with a wire, the one Yuuri assumed was damaged, before backing out of the booth. When the video was paused Yuuri felt a little dumbfounded. Someone had seen him as enough of a threat that they decided to tamper with his equipment?

“Th-That’s the representative from Otak!” Yuuri said suddenly. “When was this video taken?”

“This morning, during the press conferences right before the players went to the arena.” Karitsu said knowingly. “Apparently he didn’t like your comments.”

“No kidding.” Yuuri muttered as he leaned back in his chair. “So what does all this mean?”

“Yuuri, I would like to be the first to officially congratulate you on your first place finish here at All Japan. We will be adding on your thirty minute lead to your end time. This means you and ‘Lil Spitfire will be the representatives for Japan at the Asian VR championships.” Yuuri let the words wash over him. This was the outcome that he had hoped for, but for some reason it didn’t feel as good as he thought it would.

“And him?” Yuuri asked pointing to the screen.

“He is being dealt with right now. Otak is banned from having their competitors in this competition and he is being arrested for tampering with and destruction of private property.” Karitsu said simply as he stood up and motioned for Yuuri to do the same. “However, I don’t think you need to worry about that right now. We have a press conference we need to get to.”

Karitsu lead Yuuri down the hall towards a meeting room. There was a loud ruckus off to the left hand side of them and Yuuri turned his attention just in time to see the Otak representative being lead down the hall in cuffs.

“You are fucking kidding me, right?” he yelled as he struggled against his bonds. “You don’t have any proof that it was me.” Yuuri stopped to watch and shook his head. He was still flabbergasted that someone would tamper with his equipment, apparently over a few comments.

“We do have the proof.” Karitsu said evenly, “So you may wish to do yourself a favor and go quietly.”

“This is all your fault!” he yelled out at Yuuri. “If you hadn’t failed last year you would still be signed with us.” Yuuri blanched, he didn’t want everyone knowing that. It was part of his dark past. “Yeah, that’s right I figured out who you are… Agape!” He screamed as he was forced past the group of reporters. “I hope you fail just as miserably this year as you did last year.”

“Unlikely.” Minami said as he appeared from behind Yuuri.

“I’m going to win, just to spite you.” Yuuri muttered much to Minami’s amusement.

The press conference was much quicker than Yuuri had anticipated. He was ushered to a table where he sat with Minami and listened to Karitsu officially announce Yuuri and Minami as the representatives for the Asian VR competition.

“It is unfortunate that someone felt the need to try to sabotage Eros’ chance of going to Asian VR, however, it was brought to our attention and we have dealt with the situation.”

Reporters fought over one another as they tried to get statements from Yuuri about not only his sudden announcement as a representative but also the allegations that Yuuri was Agape.

“Umm, I… that is…” Yuuri stuttered. He felt Minami grab his hand under the table and squeeze it tightly in a show of solidarity. That’s right, he wasn’t alone.

“Yes, it is true. Last year I played as Agape.” He took a deep breath. “After some thinking and some pushing from a friend of mine I decided to reinvent myself for this season. That is where Eros came from. That is all I have to say about the matter.” Yuuri gave a slight bow in his chair and was grateful when Karitsu put an end to all questions and ushered the group out off the room. Today had been the most extreme roller coaster of emotions Yuuri had been on in a very long time. He wanted nothing more than to make it back to his hotel room and fall asleep for six months.

Two months later

Yuuri and Minami were stationed next to one another in the arena on day two of the Asian VR championships. The competition was nowhere near as stiff as they had expected it to be and both were dominating. Minami currently had a lead over Yuuri of two minutes and the next closest competitor was Seung-Gil Lee from South Korea who was only 30 seconds behind him. The rest of the field was a good ten minutes or more off the mark.

Everyone knew that it was going to come down to the current leaders. Assuming there were no mishaps, two of them would be moving on to the GPC finals in Barcelona in six months. The only thing that was left to question was which of the three would make it as Asia's representatives and who was going to be the reserve.

Yuuri could hear Minami cuss from the booth next to him. It sounded like the final boss was giving him a run for his money. A moment later Yuuri busted through Blackwall Castle’s door and came face to face with the five headed dragons for himself.

Chancing a glance at the text on the side of the screen let him know that Minami had a decent lead on him as far as taking out the boss. Strength was a benefit of having a warrior class over his much weaker shadow assassin, however, Yuuri had one thing on his side… speed.

Yuuri immediately started launching an attack from all angles. He used his dark illusion spell to attack the dragon’s back side, a known weak spot. It took him about ten minutes to defeat the monster. He held his breath as he waited for the loud bell to ring out announcing his completion. Three bells rang in quick succession though and Yuuri ripped off his headgear and gloves before diving out of the booth to look at the official standings on the overhead monitor.

Eros - 3 hours 23 minutes 2.7 seconds

Seung-gillee - 3 hours 23 minutes. 2.9 seconds

‘Lil Spitfire - 3 hours 23 minutes 3.0 seconds

“There is always next year.” Minami shrugged as he joined Yuuri.

“One tenth… you were only off by one tenth of a second. That’s amazing!” Yuuri gasped.

“Maybe, but I will have to be faster next year.” Minami turned to Yuuri with a big smile before bowing. “Thank you for all your support this year. I hope that we can continue to raid together as you prepare for the GPC finals.”

“O-Of course!”

“Well it looks like your fans await you.” Minami gestured to the reporters who were circling like hungry vultures. Yuuri was a hot commodity for the remainder of his time at the arena. All he wanted to do was go back to the hotel and relax, but he was forced from one interview into another. When he did finally have a chance to sit down it was with Seung-Gil and he couldn’t help but feel cold. Minami was bubbly and excited about everything where Seung-Gil was cool and quiet. Too serious in Yuuri’s opinion.

“Good game today.” Yuuri said politely as he held out his hand once they had finished, what he had hoped, was their last interview for the day.

“Yes, same to you.” Seung-Gil said quietly and Yuuri couldn’t help but wonder if the man ever smiled. He watched as the Korean left and was reminded of the story of Moses parting the Red Sea. Seung-Gil’s reputation followed him and people didn’t even attempt to break through the icy barrier that he erected. Unfortunately for Yuuri, that meant that he was free game. He smiled and nodded as he tried to excuse himself. It has been an exhausting weekend… an exhausting couple of months if he was being totally honest with himself. He deserved a break and was determined to get it.

Chapter Text

Part of the requirements for the GPC finals that year was that Yuuri had to start a character from scratch. He could put as much or a little time into its creation as he wanted. However he could only work on it while he streamed online. It wasn’t because of Yuuri that the rule was put in place, well not directly at least. After his win at the Asian VR championships there were several rumors that began to float around about how unfairly skilled Yuuri was with his shadow dancer. In order to prove that the players were not being paid to win they had to have proof. The tournament committee decided that this could best be achieved by making the players play online.

Grinding through levels on your own can get relatively boring as Yuuri soon found out, so he was pleasantly surprised when he received a random invite one night from none other than LivingLegend. Yuuri had kept an eye on LivingLegend through the season and was happy when he saw that his idol had placed first in the European VR Championships. While it meant that in all reality they were actually competitors in the circuit, they were actually pretty good friends in game too, or at least they had been.

The first time that Yuuri met up with Viktor in game after the fall out from the All Japan he was worried that Viktor wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn’t that he had lied, per se, but he had neglected to tell the whole truth and that was the same thing, wasn’t it?

“So,” Viktor started one night before they started streaming, “Agape, eh?”

“Y-yeah.” Yuuri said softly not really sure what to say that could make the situation better. They had been avoiding the conversation so well that Yuuri wasn’t even sure if Viktor had heard the news or not. If he hadn’t, Yuuri was more than happy to continue pretending he wasn’t Agape. But of course Viktor had heard, everyone had heard.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” He sounded hurt and it pulled at Yuuri’s heart strings. He never meant to hurt anyone, he was just… embarrassed.

“There are a few reasons, but mostly it was because I was embarrassed about how things had ended for me last year. I know I am better than that. I just… a lot happened.” Yuuri sighed as he sat down for a few minutes.

Viktor watched him carefully, unsure of what to say. On the one hand he was hurt that Yuuri didn’t trust him enough to actually let him know who he really was. On the other hand he knew that Yuuri didn’t owe him anything, least of all that.

“Why the change in name?” Yuuri looked at him for a moment before he laughed.

“I thought it was obvious. I was reinventing myself. I didn’t want people to know that I was the same weak player that failed so spectacularly last year.” They sat there in amicable silence for a few moments, neither knowing what to say but knowing that there was no pressure to speak either.

“You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but what happened to you, Yuuri? The way you played last year wasn’t you and we both know it.”

“Maybe someday we can have that conversation, but right now isn’t really the time.” Yuuri said quietly. He knew he was deflecting, just not wanting to talk about Vicchan or anxiety or panic attacks. He didn’t want to embarass himself any more than he already had. Luckily, Viktor understood, or at least did a good enough job at pretending to understand.

“Well then, let’s get this show on the road, da?”

For the next three months Viktor was hardly ever seen online without Yuuri and Yuuri without Viktor. It became a given that if you watched Eros’ live stream you would see LivingLegend and if you watched LivingLegend you would see Eros. No one questioned it. The two had developed a close relationship and everyone loved how Viktor got flustered when Yuuri flirted with him.

Despite the fact that everyone seemed to love them, they still had their fair share of trolls to deal with. Normally it was your run of the mill “Ewww quit being gross” or “noob” trolls. After a few weeks things started getting a little out of hand. Viktor took it all in stride, Yuuri on the other hand… Yuuri didn’t know how to take it.

It came to a head one night when the two were raiding through the Grimwell Plains. Things were going well. The two of them always seemed to do exceptionally well backing one another up. With Yuuri barking out orders like a general in battle they were almost always guaranteed to win. Viktor didn’t know how he did it, but Yuuri seemed to not only have an eye for what the enemy was doing, but was able to keep track of each members stats, heal as needed, and manage to deal with his share of the enemy all at the same time. There were people out there, however, that believed they knew exactly how Yuuri managed to keep track of everything.

“Legend, behind you.” Yuuri called out as he dispatched his own hellhound. “ Threva gathosa regras hontintho.” Yuuri said casting a general healing spell as Viktor took care of the last of the enemy. They stood next to one another letting the spell wash over them and waiting for their HP to max out again.

The two of them had taken to spending time in one another’s twitch rooms when streaming. Every other day they would stream on the other person’s channel. Today they were in Viktor’s and the chat was more active than usual. Yuuri chalked it up to the fact that they were supposed to meet up with SexySwiss later on. While they regenerated health both of them jumped into the chat box and started to talk with their followers.

“Well, that was fun.” Viktor laughed.

“I wouldn’t mind moving on soon though. Get some monster variance.”

“I don’t think that sounds like a bad idea, where do you guys think we should head next?”

LeerCat39: the swamps

M0ist: does it really matter

Greenbean3728: Mortiat Cave

M0ist: it isn’t like this is all that hard for you anyway.

“Why would you say that, moist?” Yuuri laughed, “We play every day so maybe it looks easy, but this is some quality work we are putting in.”

Timecop91: quality work? Really?

“What do you mean by that?” Viktor was kind of stunned at the accusation, like he and Yuuri didn’t have to try.

M0ist: no really when you hack it isn’t an issue right?

Yuuri felt his heart rate speed up. This wouldn’t be the first time that he was accused of hacking. It wasn’t anything new actually. But it was happening more and more often.

“I don’t like what you are implying.” Viktor’s voice was ice cold. He wasn’t about to sit there and let someone talk negatively about either of them.

Hurtfeelings: How do you explain it then? You play with him every day. You have seen the things that he can do. I have never seen anyone do any of them.

M0ist: exactly!!!!!! Who the hell can move that fast? NO ONE! Unless you are hacking of course. Which we all know he is so why not just admit it.

“I have never hacked.” Yuuri’s voice was flat, he just felt attacked. Which he supposed was the point of all this. But how could he prove he wasn’t hacking?

“If Yuuri is hacking I will eat my console.” Viktor’s sarcasm was evident. “I am not going to have this kind of negative talk on my page.”

“Really, Legend, it’s fine. I am used to it.” Came Yuuri’s soft voice. Viktor could hear the hurt in it and his heart broke a little.

M0ist: of course you are use to it, because it is true!

Timecop91: How to you explain it then Eros?

“I have been over this a million and three times, you guys. Shadow spell, acceleration spell, there is a handful of items that get used over time, practice, time, what else do you want to know?”

Timecop91: None of that is specific enough.

M0ist: Prove it!

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

Hurtfeelings: I don’t know, that is up to you to figure out isn’t it?

M0ist: Well if he is left to figure it out then he’ll just figure out a way to make it look like he is not cheating right?

Hurtfeelings: good point

“Ok, that is more than enough out of you.” Viktor snipped. He worked quickly to ban the two from his room.

Timecop91: So you don’t like what they are saying so you ban them?

Timecop 91: It don’t look good when you do that.

Viktor quickly banned the other viewer before grabbing his phone and sending a text out to Yuuri

LivingLegend

Are you ok?

Yuuri?

“I think i need… I can’t… just…”

• Eros has logged out   -

Over the next couple of days Viktor sent Yuuri a slew of messages hoping to drag Yuuri out eventually. Every one of them was looked at, Viktor could see that, but none of them earned a response. He couldn’t help but start to get worried. The last time Yuuri ghosted him like that was right after the GPC finals and it took a scandal where Yuuri got outed as Agape to get him back. He couldn’t stand the thought of something like that happening again.

Viktor thought long and hard about what he could do to fix the situation. Unfortunately everything that he came up with required Yuuri to answer him, something that the man was obviously unwilling to do. More troubling than Yuuri’s lack of communication was the fact that he was not online anymore. Eros had not logged in once since that day. Viktor didn’t want to jump to the worst case scenario, but given Yuuri’s track record of ghosting he couldn’t help but wonder what was really going on.

He looked down at his dog with a sigh. The brown poodle who had been with him through thick and thin and helped him out with his own issues was looking at him expectantly. Pets, walks, treats, those were all more than likely the kind of things that Makka was waiting for. What he got instead was something far more surprising.

“Makka, I think, I am about to do something rash.” The dog’s boof in response was all the encouragement that he needed.

Yuuri sighed as he helped his mom with the dishes. The dinner rush was over but that didn’t mean that the work at the inn had slowed down any. If anything it meant that there was more to do now than any other time of the day. That was why Yuuri had been dragged down here. Not because his family needed the help, they were more than capable of taking care of dishes and food prep, but because Yuuri had started to isolate himself and they knew how dangerous that could be.

“Yuuri, can you please stir the rice and put it in the bowl with some plastic wrap for tomorrow afternoon?” His mother called out from her station in front of the stove. Yuuri looked begrudgingly at the soapy water in front of him before sighing and drying his hands on a towel. Multitasking was an important part of this business, something that he had learned at a young age. It didn’t mean that he had to like being interrupted in the middle of one task to start another.

“Yes, mom.” He called out throwing the towel on the table and doing as he was told. Mari smiled at her brother.

“You know it is nice to have you helping out around here for a change.” Yuuri looked up at her in surprise. “Not to say that you haven’t always helped out, just lately you are always on that game.”

“That game, as you called it, was what was helping me bring in money to the house.” He shot back. Although there was no malice in Mari’s statement, Yuuri’s brain only let him process it as a jab at him being lazy, something he was far from. If he had to call himself anything, Yuuri would say that he was one of the more dedicated people that he knew.

“I know that. That isn’t at all what I was saying, Yuuri.” She sighed and pulled out a cigarette lighting it in one quick motion. “I was trying to just talk to you, Yuuri, you haven’t talked to anyone in almost two weeks.”

Yuuri sighed and leaned against the counter. He felt a bit like a scolded child. He knew how he could get when his brain started to lie to him. It was easy to believe those things. So much easier to believe than fight back and tell himself that it wasn’t true. Viktor didn’t hate him. He wasn’t a hacker. He still had fans. He was damn good at the game. He deserved his slot in the GPC finals. While he could try to tell himself that his mind fought him every step of the way.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “It is just… a lot of stuff is happening, I don’t know what to do.” He played with the hem of his shirt to keep himself occupied, but it didn’t help. He didn’t want to talk about it. “People are hard to deal with, I am not good at being put on the spot. I just… fail. I fail at everything.” He sighed.

“You know that isn’t true.” Mari scolded gently.

“Isn’t it though? I mean, I failed at the GPC finals last year, I basically failed at All Japan this year, and now people think that I am a hacker and that is the only way I can win. Worst of all? I don’t know how to prove them wrong!”

Mari took a long drag of her cigarette. Dealing with Yuuri had always been a delicate balance between tough love and soft hands. Push too hard and his anxiety would wreak havoc, fail to push hard enough and his self-deprecating attitude will convince him otherwise.

“Yuuri, you are good at the game, we all know it,” she started slowly. “Unfortunately, when you are good at something others want to justify why they aren’t as good. This isn’t anything new and you know it.” She stubbed out the cigarette and threw a towel at Yuuri’s face before she dove in to wash the dishes that were left. “You dry.”

The two of them stood next to one another in amicable silence finishing the chores in the kitchen. Soon after Yuuri retreated to his room and closed the door. Sitting on his bed he looked longingly at his console wishing that he just had the courage to face the people who tried to make him look bad. But confrontation had never been his strong suit. He knew if he tried he was going to make more of a fool of himself.

His phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts… Viktor? Viktor never called. Their only communication had been through text or online. He toyed with the idea of answering it but eventually just shut off the ringer and laid down on his bed. How could he possibly face Viktor after the way that he had just left him without warning? He hadn’t been back either. Yuuri was convinced that Viktor hated him.

The phone went off once more and he ignored the call again, this time shutting the phone off completely. Maybe then Viktor would get the hint and understand that Yuuri wasn’t someone worth his time.

“Katsuki Yuuri!” Mari screeched as she slammed his door open unceremoniously. “Get down those stairs and help with the guest’s bags now.” She slammed the door shut behind her leaving a stunned and very confused Yuuri in her wake. After taking a moment to process what his sister said, Yuuri grudgingly got up and headed down the stairs. There was a chorus of laughs and the barking of a dog. The thought of a dog in the inn made him smile. They hadn’t had a dog visit since Vicchan passed away.

“Yuuuuuri!” A man’s voice called out as he stepped off the landing and into the entryway. Yuuri’s head snapped up so fast that his neck cracked in the process. There was… no… not happening… he was dreaming… right? Suddenly a bolt of light brown jumped up on top of him and knocked him to the ground, covering him in slobber filled kisses. Yuuri couldn’t keep the laughter from bubbling from his lips as he tried to push the dog back just far enough to sit up.

“Makka!” the man admonished and the dog promptly jumped off of Yuuri and trotted over to his side, sitting down with a thump of his tail back and forth on the floor. “Yuuri, I am so sorry!” He reached a hand out to help Yuuri up but Yuuri just sat there looking at him like he had three heads.

“V-Viktor, what are you… why are you… you are here?” Viktor laughed good naturedly before bending over a little more adamant to help Yuuri to his feet.

“I am.”

“How?”

“Airplane.” Yuuri rolled his eyes. Obviously he didn’t swim to Japan.

“I mean why?”

“For you of course.” and with those four words Yuuri felt his face flare. He knew he was dreaming. Viktor was there, in his doorway, with his poodle, and that heart shaped smile on his face, looking at Yuuri expectantly.

“M-m-m-me? Why would you do that?”

“Yuuri, would you please get up?” Viktor said softly grabbing his hand and pulling the younger man to his feet. “You make me nervous down there. Are you mad that I came?” Yuuri could hear the slight hesitation in his voice, the way that he sounded so unsure of himself even though he had already traveled so far.

“N...no nothing like that.” Yuuri said softly trying to collect his thoughts. “But I don’t understand why you did. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Better yet how did you find me?”

“Well, Yuuri, why don’t you help your gest upstairs and I am sure you can talk there without blocking the entrance to the restaurant.” Toshiya laughed from behind them. Yuuri quickly looked around and noted that the small crowd was indeed in the way. He had completely forgotten where there were for a moment.

“Y-you’re staying here?” He wanted to kick himself as soon as the words left his mouth. Of course Viktor was staying here. He said he had come for Yuuri and well… Yuuri lived in an inn, an inn for guests, for guests like Viktor.

“If it isn’t too much trouble. I can stay someplace else if you would rather me-”

“No!” He said loudly cutting Viktor off. “Here, here is fine, of course you can stay here.” They both reached down to grab the bag that was on the floor by Viktor’s feet, hands brushing against one another in the process. Yuuri pulled back like he had been touched with a hot iron much to Viktor’s amusement. “Umm, this way.”

Yuuri led him up the stairs but rather than take him down the corridor that housed all of the guests they went up a second flight of stairs to the right. He led them to a guest room that was hardly ever used.

“I am sorry about all of the dust.” Yuuri said softly, suddenly aware of the fact that it was just the two of them. He looked up at Viktor and was surprised to see the silver haired man studying him carefully. For a long moment neither man said anything.

“I-I’m not worried about the dust, Yuuri.” Viktor said softly taking a careful step towards him. He made sure that every move he made was readable to Yuuri so that he could stop it at any time, but Yuuri didn’t, he stood there just watching. He reached a hand out and placed it on Yuuri’s shoulder, softly pulling so Yuuri fell into his chest.

Yuuri stiffened for a moment, not one for physical contact, but eventually he felt himself relax a little as Viktor’s arms tightened their hold on him. Something in Yuuri broke, everything that he had been holding back since he left that night suddenly washed over him at once and he felt the panic start to bubble in his chest as his eyes burned with tears. He had no right to break down, not here, not in front of Viktor, and not over something so stupid. But he couldn’t hold it back. Viktor’s grip was tight but not suffocating, like a heavy blanket of security and Yuuri wanted to drown in it.

“It’s okay.” Viktor whispered sensing the tension in Yuuri, “It’s going to be okay.” Yuuri could only nod, not trusting himself to say anything. He took deep shaky breaths trying to steady himself as he wrapped his arms just as tightly around Viktor. Makka nugged at Yuuri’s legs, trying to comfort him as well, and that was all it took for Yuuri to break completely. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, no one witness to the moment apart from Makka and the dust.

Chapter Text

Dinner that night was a rowdy affair with Yuuri’s family, Minako, and the Nishigoris stopping by to meet Viktor, the gamer that Yuuri had been infatuated with for a long time. Viktor was beyond flattered really, and some of Yuuri’s shyness around him suddenly made sense. However that didn’t keep them all from poking fun at Yuuri every chance that they got, using Viktor as ammunition. More than once Viktor wished he understood Japanese when a particularly red faced Yuuri would stutter, looking at Viktor in shock.

The food was unlike anything Viktor had ever tasted before. Breaded pork with egg, veggies, and rice. He considered himself a foodie in every sense of the word. There was nothing that he wouldn’t try, and given the fact that he was well traveled he had plenty opportunities to eat exotic dishes. There was something about this particular dish though that was beyond anything Viktor had ever experienced.

“It’s called katsudon.” Yuuri said quietly while his family chatted amongst one another, apparently leaving Yuuri alone for a little while. “It is my favorite, although I don’t get to eat it all that often.” He blushed a little, “I have always gained weight a little too easily.” Viktor smiled softly at him. This was nice, Yuuri actually letting him into his personal life, even if it was just a little.

“So, Viktor, have you gotten a chance to see our Yuuri’s shrine yet?” Mari laughed as Yuuri coughed up a piece of his food. He had no clue what she was talking about, but he was more than willing to find out.

“What shrine is this?” he said, genuinely curious as he turned to Yuuri who had been reduced to nothing more than a sputtering, tomato red mess.

“His shrine to you of course.” Her voice was so innocent and in such sharp contrast with the way Yuuri was acting that Viktor was beyond intrigued.

“Yuuuuuriiiii?” Viktor drawled, “what is this I hear about you having a shrine to me?” He placed his elbow on the table and rested his cheek against the palm of his hand. Yuuri just looked at him like he had asked Yuuri to solve the world’s most complex mathematical equation before jumping up and excusing himself. Mari fell into a fit of laughter that brought tears to her eyes.

“If you want to go see it, you may want to go now. I think, he is going to tear it down.” She said between laughs and wiping her eyes clear of tears. Viktor had never acted on anything so fast. He stood up so quickly that he just about fell over and almost took off without thanking his hosts.

“Katsuki-san, thank you for the meal it was delicious,” he said so quickly that it sounded like it came out in a single breath before he turned around and took off.

“He is in his room!” Mari yelled after him. It was only then that Viktor realized he didn’t even know where this so called ‘shrine’ was. He ran up the stairs as quickly as his legs would carry him and skidded to a halt in front of a door he remembered Yuuri pointing out as his. He stood there for a moment, knowing that all he wanted to do was throw open the door and catch Yuuri in the act of taking down… whatever it was that he would keep in this shrine. But Viktor also knew that Yuuri was a lot more private in real life than he was online. He had to be careful about how he stepped around Yuuri, because there was a good chance that he would act like a wild animal and run away if Viktor overstepped. He had already crossed an ocean for Yuuri. If the man ran from him while they were staying under the same roof, he wouldn’t know what to do.

He gently knocked on the door and didn’t even bother suppressing the smile as he heard Yuuri squeak in surprise and a bunch of rustling on the other side of the door. A few minutes later the door finally slid open to reveal a rather disheveled looking Yuuri who was breathing a little bit heavier than he should have been.

“Viktor.” He said casually, “I didn’t expect to see you up here already. Are you done eating?” Viktor was beyond surprised with Yuuri’s ability to get through his statement with a straight face. Then again two could play this game.

“Oh, yes, I am done.” He smiled. “I thought we could chat, just the two of us. Mind if I come in for a bit?” He watched as Yuuri wrestled with the idea in his head for a moment before finally sighing and stepping to the side allowing Viktor in.

The room was smaller than Viktor had expected it to be. The rooms that he had always lived in were easily two or three times the size of what looked to be a storage closet that had been renovated some time ago. Viktor could feel Yuuri’s eyes on him.

“Sorry it is so cramped.” he coughed, breaking the silence. “I find that when the world feels like it’s a little too big, having a small place to retreat to is nice.” He shrugged as he closed the door and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. After a moment of hesitation Viktor did the same.

“Does that happen a lot, the world feeling too big?” Viktor couldn’t say that he completely understood what Yuuri was talking about. But the differences between the two of them were evident. Viktor thrived off of attention, Yuuri was more subdued and seemed to enjoy his solitude. He could see how, for a person like Yuuri, having a small space would be beneficial.

“Often enough.” He paused and looked at Viktor with a look that made Viktor’s heart beat a little faster. He could see the inner turmoil, the tug of war between letting Viktor in or keeping him at a distance play out in Yuuri’s eyes. “Viktor,” Yuuri finally whispered and looked everywhere but where Viktor was sitting.

“I… I am not… mentally I… the thing is…” He sighed in frustration. Viktor shifted on the bed so that he was sitting right next to Yuuri. Reaching out he wrapped an arm around the younger man’s shoulders and pulled him into his embrace for the second time that day.

“Yuuri, take a breath.” He whispered into Yuuri’s ear, he could feel the tension start to fall away as Yuuri took a deep slightly shaky breath and release it. “Nothing, and I mean nothing, that you could tell me would ever make me think any less of you.” He made sure that his tone told Yuuri that he was adamant in that belief . He didn’t want to leave an ounce of doubt in Yuuri’s mind.

“I, I don’t talk to many people about it.” Yuuri whispered after a moment. “Most people outside of my family and close friends don’t know.” Viktor tightened his grip on Yuuri and smiled as he felt the man readjust to make himself more comfortable. His head resting on Viktor’s chest, one hand over his eyes so he didn’t have to look at the world, the other loosely wrapped around Viktor’s waist.

“Am I not a friend, Yuuri?” He asked softly. Yuuri shook his head and pushed away from Viktor suddenly to sit up and look him in the eye.

“Why would you think that? No, we are… we are.” He took a deep breath and started to twist his hands in his lap. “I have a disorder, an anxiety disorder. It makes it hard for me to think sometimes. My mind will start to lie to me. It tells me things that I know aren’t true but it forces me to believe that they are.” He paused, taking some time to compile his thoughts.

“Yuuri?” Viktor called out after a few moments, “Will you, I mean, it may help me understand a little better, will you tell me what happened at the GPC finals?” Yuuri slowly pulled out his phone, and for the first time Viktor noticed the poodle case and smiled. Of course Yuuri liked poodles, he was perfect in every other way.

“T-This, this is Vicchan.” he said turning the screen towards Viktor. A much younger, much chubbier version of the man before him was kneeling on the ground with a toy poodle that looked like a small version of Makka. Viktor smiled at the sight, it was pure and happy, and… why did Yuuri look so sad?

“Vicchan is… was my best friend growing up. I was painfully shy and had a really hard time making friends. But dogs, they just don’t care.” Yuuri smiled at the picture. “He loved me for me, anxiety, panic attacks, the good times, the bad, he was there through it all. The morning of the second day of competition, right before I left the hotel I received a phone call from my sister that Vicchan snuck past her that morning while she was getting deliveries. She called him but he was always adventurous and he ran out to the end of the drive. The car… the car didn’t have enough time to stop.” Yuuri’s voice began to get raspy as he held back the tears.

“Oh Yuuri!” was all Viktor said before he threw himself at the man and wrapped him up tight. Makka was everything to Viktor, the companion that he never really got to have before because of who he was. The dog went almost everywhere with him and he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose Makka in such a violent way. “And you still tried to play.” He whispered as his hand ran soothing circles around Yuuri’s back. “I don’t think I could have.”

“That night at the banquet, Otak, my sponsor, approached me and said that they were no longer interested in sponsoring me. In the end, I just… I couldn’t face anyone.” They sat together letting a silence linger between them. It wasn’t uncomfortable, rather there was a kind of relief in the unspoken understanding. Viktor smiled and rested his head against the crown of Yuuri’s.

“You really are something special.” His voice was so quiet that he wasn’t sure if Yuuri had heard him or not. The slight tightening of Yuuri’s arm around his waist told him that his words were appreciated though.

“Yuuri? What is that?” Viktor said with amusement as he pointed to a framed picture on his desk. The wooden frame contained a picture of none other than Viktor himself right after his GPC finals win last year. Yuuri jumped up so quickly that it almost knocked Viktor backwards as he lunged for the picture.

“That? That is nothing.” he said hastily. “Just a weapon I plan on bludgeoning my sister with in her sleep tonight.” If Viktor wasn’t already completely enamored with Yuuri, the sight of him beet red and guilty at being caught with Viktor’s picture on his desk would have sealed the deal.

Yuuri and Viktor sat side by side in front of a camera two weeks later, relaxed in some chairs. Together they had come up with a plan that they hoped would put the cheating rumors to rest, or at least they hoped that would be the case. Yuuri was still a little hesitant to be seen online at all since his last foray into Twitch didn’t go so well. Viktor, however, was confident that he would be fine. Honestly, with Viktor by Yuuri’s side he felt like maybe, just maybe, things would be okay after all.

“Are you ready?” Viktor asked with a big grin on his face. He could feel the nervous energy rolling off Yuuri in waves, and in all reality he couldn’t blame him for his trepidation. This would be the first time in almost a month that he had gotten on the game. There was no backing out of it though and Yuuri knew that. He had, after all, announced his return on both his social media page and Viktor’s.

“As ready as I am going to be, I guess.” Yuuri muttered as he straightened his glasses. “I think we should just get on with the streaming bit… you know, since we did say that this would take place at three and it is already three ten.” Viktor shook his head, a little put off by Yuuri’s attitude, but he knew deep down it was just the anxiety that was talking.

Viktor had the chance to observe Yuuri in his daily life, to see what made him tick, to see how he reacted to things around him. One of the things that he had noted was that Yuuri wasn’t lying when he said he had anxiety, not that he thought Yuuri would lie to him to begin with. However, when the anxiety hit hard it was almost unbearable to be around Yuuri. He would snap at people for no reason. His scathing remarks had no mercy. Even his own family tried to stay clear for the most part.

It was Mari who finally pulled Viktor aside after dinner one night and explained what it was like living with Yuuri. She wasn’t sure if Viktor was someone to be trusted at first, but now she could tell by the way Yuuri interacted with Viktor that he was more than capable of helping Yuuri. It was possible that he was actually the most likely person in the house to help, a revelation that floored Viktor. He was, after all, just a professional video game player, no one special. And yet, to Yuuri, he was. That warmed Viktors heart like nothing else.

“Yuuri, I know you are nervous, I know you talking like that is just what happens, but once we turn this camera on I need to you be sure you can be all smiles.” Viktor spoke slowly, he knew his words were likely to hurt and judging by the flash in Yuuri’s eyes it did. It needed to be said though. They both knew that they were in a position where the way they interacted with the public would make or break them. Yuuri just rolled his eyes and let out a huff of breath.

“I know, Viktor. I am sorry, I don’t mean to snap. I know, you are just trying to help.” He hung his head and took a few steadying breaths before snapping his attention back to Viktor and nodding his head. “I think, I am good to go, let’s do this.” Viktor gave him an encouraging smile and a loose hug before he turned on the camera and watched the twitch chat to see that their stream was up and running.

“Hey everyone!” Viktor smiled and waved, “As I am sure you are aware, this is not going to be our average twitch session. Sorry I have been missing for so long, but as you can see I have a very special friend I went to visit.”

“Hi!” Yuuri said all smiles. “Thanks for letting me hijack Viktors room in addition to my own today. That’s right, I am streaming this on both channels. In fact if you go and open them both up you may find something interesting. There are two very different camera angles. There is a really good reason for that, actually, and it is part of the reason that I stole LivingLegend’s chat room as well.”

They looked at one another and started to laugh, “You can’t steal what I offered to you.” Viktor rolled his eyes. Yuuri on the other hand blushed a little. “Shall we let people know what we have planned for today then?”

“Y-yeah let’s do that.” Yuuri stuttered slightly as the chat room all lit up.

M0ist: Ok then Eros how are you going to prove this

Jacetheface: OMG you made him blush legend.

Heather29347: Did you see the way he looked at eros!!!!!11

297mywayhwy: I still don’t see why he has to prove this.

M0ist: Then your as dumb as your user name

297mywayhwy: *you’re

M0ist: Whatever gramer nazi

297mywayhwy: *grammar

“Ok, ok, calm down” Yuuri placated.

“But, Eros, I like 297… can we keep him?” Viktor laughed delighted when Yuuri’s face flushed again.

“Legend, they aren’t a homeless animal that we can just take in. Plus custody would be a pain in the ass. You live so far from me, love.” Yuuri purred once he got a hold of his thoughts again. Viktor was weak for Yuuri’s Eros side and Yuuri knew it. “Then again you could always just move to Japan.”

Viktor ducked his head and quickly coughed into his hand trying to hide the blush creeping its way onto his face. There was no dealing with him when Yuuri was like this, Viktor was screwed. But he also understood a little better now why Yuuri acted like this on camera. It was easier for him to pretend to be someone else. That wasn’t to say that Yuuri didn’t have an Eros side to him. Viktor saw it all the time over the last two weeks. The way that he moved when he was doing things, that dancer’s grace that he couldn’t escape if he tried. It was soft, it was sensual, even when he wasn’t trying. How Yuuri was able to play a shadow dancer was beyond evident now. It was that grace, and it made Viktor’s heart flip.

“Yes, well, I mean, you could always just move to Russia.” Viktor countered a slight smile on his lips.

“Too cold.” Yuuri shivered at the thought. If it was one thing Yuuri wasn’t a fan of it was being too cold.

“Better cuddle weather… love.” Viktor whispered and Yuuri fell into a coughing fit. “Well, it seems like that is settled then. You heard it here first, Eros and I will be adopting 297 and we are moving to Russia!”

Knifeshoes: For the love of god will you two just get on with it!

M0ist: Exactly, I didn’t come here to see you two flirt.

Knifeshoes: Shut your pie hole guy, as far as I am concerned you don’t get to speak.

M0ist: What the fuck did I do to you?

Knifeshoes: You’re breathing aren’t you.

“Oh, Legend, can we adopt this one too.” Yuuri batted his eyelashes playfully.

“Trust me when I say that is one angry kitten that doesn’t play well with others. Sorry.” Viktor laughed.

“I am not going to ask how you know that. Instead, let’s just get on with the explanation.” Yuuri looked back at the camera and all joking was put aside. Viktor could see the seriousness in his eyes, that determined look. It gave him a slight chill and he hoped that that look translated well on the camera. That’s right Eros, show every last person, who didn’t believe you, who they are dealing with.

“Okay, that sounds like a plan. First, I will explain what you are going to see on my stream. As you can see the camera is set up at what looks like an odd angle at the moment, but once Eros puts on his equipment it will make a little more sense. That angle will allow you to have a close up view of everything that Eros is doing with his equipment.” Yuuri got up and put on his equipment to demonstrate.

“As you can see,” Yuuri picked up seamlessly, “this angle will allow you to see my hands and my headgear.”

M0ist: Ok and your feet?

“Oh, I am so glad you asked!” Viktor jumped in from where he sat.

“Asked what?”

“Moist wanted to know why we couldn’t see your feet.”

“Ah, I am also glad you asked. Now for anyone tuning into Legend’s channel you will see us in full! That means that when I am geared up you will be able to see my whole body at once.” Viktor nodded eagerly.

“Now just because I know some of you will try to come up with any possible reason as to why Eros is still cheating. I will be sitting here,” Viktor pointed to a chair that could be seen in both cameras. “You will clearly see me in both streams chatting with you all.”

“Well then, shall we get started?”

The end of the third week found Yuuri cuddled up with Viktor in his room watching a movie. Viktor was trying too hard to not think about the lack of distance between them. Yuuri was still so closed off at times that Viktor was never really sure if he should push a little more or not. But it was a conversation that they needed to have, right?

While Viktor had always been a very tactile person, there was something about Yuuri that made living without touching him almost impossible. Even now as he sat with Yuuri nestled into his side, Viktor found his hand unconsciously running through his hair. The younger man sighed a little at the touch and allowed his head to tip back.

“I am actually kind of upset that you are leaving tomorrow.” Yuuri finally whispered. It was so quiet Viktor wasn’t quite sure that he heard the words clearly over the sound of the computer. “It feels like you just got here.”

“I know.” Viktor sighed, “But don’t forget we have Barcelona next month. Have you already made your reservations?”

“Not yet. Up until recently I wasn’t sure if I was going to be there or not.”

“But you are going now, right?”

“Yes, of course. Thanks to you.” Yuuri’s smile made Viktor melt. There was no way anyone was going to make him regret his choice to come to Japan.

“Come with me!” Viktor said so suddenly it caused Yuuri to jump.

“With… go with you?” Yuuri turned so he could look up at Viktor, confusion written on his face. “Go with you where?”

“Russia. Come with me tomorrow.” Viktor never considered himself the begging type, but if it meant that he got just a little longer with Yuuri he would start to consider it.

“I-I, Vikt-, I wish I could.” He stuttered quietly. “But I can’t just leave my family suddenly like that, they depend on me to help out here.” Viktor felt his heart deflate. Of course, Yuuri had responsibilities that kept him here. Viktor should have expected that.

“Viktor,” Yuuri whispered pulling back and shifting on the bed so that he was kneeling while facing Viktor. He grabbed one of Viktor’s hands and gripped it tightly. “Viktor, I want to go with you. I just, I can’t. Not this time.” Viktor nodded his head in understanding. He got it, he really did, but that didn’t make the blow easier to take.

“Barcelona.” Yuuri whispered, “Meet me early in Barcelona.” Before Viktor could register what was happening Yuuri straddled his legs and leaned forward capturing him in a hug. “Meet me in Barcelona.”

“O-Okay.”

Chapter Text

The weeks leading up to the finals passed by much quicker than Viktor had anticipated. The one thing that had kept him going was the promise that he was going to meet up with Yuuri ahead of the competition. He knew that he needed to talk to him, he needed to see him. In the weeks that he had been in Japan, Viktor had grown almost dependent on seeing the handsome Japanese man. Yuuri in real life was far more enchanting than he was in game, and that was saying something.

He eagerly waited near baggage claim for Yuuri to come waltzing back into his life. As the seconds dragged on Viktor grew more agitated. He began to pace, stopping every couple of steps to look at the gateway that Yuuri would be coming from. What felt like an eternity later Viktor caught a glimpse of the younger player and it took all the self control he possessed to keep from rushing forward and pulling him into a hug. Weeks without Yuuri left him feeling touch starved.

“Hey.” Yuuri said quietly, not even bothering to wait for Viktor to respond before throwing his arms around Viktor. Viktor buried his nose in the crook of Yuuri’s neck and inhaled, smelling traces of the onsen, and feeling immediately relaxed.

“Hey, yourself.” He smiled back when Yuuri pulled away. “Let’s grab your bags and get the heck outta here!” Yuuri nodded eagerly as he eyed all the luggage waiting to spot the light blue and brown poodle ribbon he marked his bag with.

“Ah, there it is.” He jumped towards the carousel, snatched up the rolling suitcase, and rejoined Viktor as they made their way out into the city.

“How was your flight?” It was a general question, one that was often thought of as polite and, if nothing else, served as good small talk, Viktor’s mind not really able to focus on much else when his heart was beating erratically in his chest.

“It was okay. I am just glad that it is over. Flying coach for that long always makes me hurt.” Yuuri sighed. They passed a few cafes and restaurants, people on the street parting for them as they made their way to the hotel. They didn’t bother hailing a cab. The hotel was only a few blocks from the airport and even closer to the arena they would be playing in.

“How was your trip?”

“Shorter than yours.” Viktor teased. “But not bad. I flew first class so it wasn’t all that unbearable.” Yuuri shook his head and laughed.

“I wish I had that kind of money from sponsors!”

Viktor threw an arm over Yuuri’s shoulders and pulled him in for a side hug. “After this tournament I am sure you will.” He looked down at his friend with a smile, “But don’t think I am going to take it easy on you! I have a title to defend.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Yuuri said honestly, “Where would the fun be in that?” They continued to talk about the competition and what they expected until they reached the hotel.

Viktor sat in the lounge while Yuuri checked into his room. There was a part of him that didn’t believe that he was here again. Sure, he was the reigning champion, but there was something different about being here this time. Something that made it feel more… real. He had a feeling that it was all because he got to be here with Yuuri.

Viktor watched as Yuuri turned around in apparent frustration and walked over to where Viktor was sitting. “Well, you wouldn’t happen to know the next nearest hotel, would you?” Yuuri sighed as he sat down next to Viktor and without a second thought rested his head on the older man’s shoulder.

“A different hotel? What happened?” Yuuri and Viktor had been planning this for a month now and Viktor wouldn’t be lying if he said that having a wrench thrown in his plan would almost be devastating.

“They apparently overbooked. We aren’t the only people that came in early.” Yuuri sighed. Viktor on the other hand grabbed Yuuri’s hand and pulled him along to the elevator.

“You don’t need a different hotel! You can stay with me!” He declared as they waited for the elevator doors to open.

“Wah, Viktor, really, it is okay. I will just stay at the next closest hotel. I really don’t want to impose!” Yuuri started to panic. Viktor thought that it was one of the most endearing things that he had seen from Yuuri yet. The man was always thinking about others and making sure that he didn’t inconvenience them.

“Really, it will be no trouble! I promise!” Viktor pulled Yuuri into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. Yuuri must have known that Viktor wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Finally he just sighed and agreed to stay with Viktor. Viktor just smiled and wrapped an arm around the shorter man’s shoulders with a laugh.

Viktor held back another laugh as they entered the hotel room. Being the returning champion came with a few perks, chief among them was a nice hotel room that he didn’t have to pay for. The view was spectacular. There was something about the way Barcelona lit up in the night that made it look magical. Viktor grew up in a city with amazing old architecture, and yet there was something about this particular city that took his breath away. Or maybe it was just the man standing in front of the window soaking up the view himself.

“Th-this is amazing Viktor.” Yuuri whispered in awe. Viktor smiled as he watched Yuuri from the doorway. One thing that Viktor loved about Yuuri was his simple enjoyment of everything.

“It really is, isn’t it?” Viktor agreed with a hum. Yuuri placed his bag in the corner of the room and started to look around. It didn’t take long for him to notice the one problem with this whole plan.

“Um, Viktor?” He said quietly.

“Yes, Yuuri.” He tried not to laugh as Yuuri eyed the bed.

“There is only one bed.” He squealed and Viktor fell into a fit of hysterical laughing. It took him a full minute to figure out how to breathe again and he almost lost it when he looked at Yuuri a second time to see his face painted bright red.

“It’s okay, Yuuri, I can sleep on the couch you can take the bed.” Viktor said as he wiped the tears from his eyed.

“I can’t kick you out of your bed, Viktor!” Viktor choked back another laugh, Yuuri really made this too easy sometimes, not that Viktor was going to complain. He loved making Yuuri blush. He stepped over to the smaller man and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to pull him flush against his body.

“Then don’t.” He whispered, barely holding back his laugh as Yuuri pushed away, scarlet.

“F-F-F-Food!” Yuuri stuttered backing up, “We should get some food.”

Yuuri chose a small cafe, nothing too fancy or expensive. But it did allow them to sit in a back corner, quietly, and talk freely. That was the plan. Yuuri knew it, he knew what he wanted to tell Viktor from the moment that he asked him to meet him three days early. He knew what he wanted to say but what he didn’t know was how to say it.

“Are you nervous?” Viktor asked after a while breaking the silence. Yuuri smiled at him, nervous of course he was nervous. The last time that he was here he had failed miserably, he was hoping that history wouldn’t repeat itself.

“Just normal jitters, I guess.” He lied after a moment. Viktor looked at him skeptically. Yuuri shook his head and looked down at the half eaten sandwich on his place. “I don’t know, what do you want me to say, Viktor.”

“The truth.” He said simply as he reached across the table and grabbed Yuuri’s hand with a smile causing the younger man’s heart to beat a little faster. “I think, that is a good place to start.” Yuuri nodded, taking a deep breath, and leveled his gaze with Viktors.

“I am petrified. I failed last year. I failed pretty spectacularly last year. I don’t want to repeat that and let down the people that are depending on me.” It was like the flood gates opened and Yuuri couldn’t make himself stop talking. “My parents, my sister, Phichit, Minami… you.” he whispered at the end. He looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Yuuri, let me tell you this right now. You. Can. Never. Disappoint. Me.” Yuuri’s eyes grew wide as he looked at the slight blush across Viktor’s face. “You will never scare me off. So please, let me in, show me your insecurities, let me help you.”

“Oh.” Was all Yuuri could manage, his head was a tangle of thought. His brain told him to run, that he shouldn’t trust Viktor with something so very messy. It told him that Viktor didn’t know what he was asking for. It told him that Viktor would use him. And yet Viktor sat there looking at him with that soft expression.

“You don’t have to believe everything that your mind tells you, Yuuri.” He whispered “I would be devastated if I caused you pain by betraying your trust.” Yuuri forgot how to breath. He forgot how to talk. He could only nod.

“Great! Now with that out of the way!” Viktor said with a smile. “How about we get out of here?”

“It wasn’t like this last year!” Yuuri complained looking around at all the people and feeling his heartbeat rise. Viktor placed a hand on his arm as the two of them dodged the flood of competitors. The competition started tomorrow. Today was registration check in, booth assignments, initial equipment check, and practice time.

“It wasn’t.” Viktor agreed. “I think that is because it was considered a short season last year because of when the game came out. This is the first full season that has been played.” They stood in line laughing and joking as if they were the only two in the entire building. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached the front of the registration line.

“Name?” a rather portly woman said sounding bored with her job.

“LivingLegend” Viktor said with a wink. While Yuuri had to admit that the flattery would work on most people, let’s be honest Viktor was a very attractive man, the woman just rolled her eyes.

“LivingLegend, rank first. Your booth is section A booth one.” She handed him a card with his picture and gamer tag on it. The official pass that would get them into the competition tomorrow.

“Name?”

“E-Eros.” Yuuri stuttered.

“Eros, rank sixth, your booth is section A booth six.” Yuuri thanked her with a smile and took his pass from here.

“What luck! We are in the same section!” Viktor laughed good naturedly.

“Viktor, we are nationally ranked competitors in the top ten. We are all going to be together in the same section… actually I am kind of surprised that I still have my sixth place rank. How did that happen?”

Viktor shrugged obviously content to just accept the fact that Yuuri maintained his rank rather than question it. They weaved around booths and players until they finally came to their section. Section A was a section that was reserved for the top ten players in the world. It was here that Yuuri would be with people like Viktor, SexySwiss, and Otabear. If he was being honest, he was actually a little excited to see them again.

“Oh look! Our booths are right across from one another!” Viktor squealed. Yuuri didn’t even bother trying to hold back his laughter. Viktor reminded him a lot of a young child or a puppy, easy to distract and even easier to excite.

“Are we going to practice?” Viktor just smiled at Yuuri before ducking into his booth. “I’ll get you in about an hour or two, we can go grab some food?” Yuuri nodded his agreement before entering his own booth and putting the equipment on. This was it, this is what he had been working towards.

The morning of the competition Yuuri woke up and found himself wrapped in Viktor’s arms. He had refused to let Viktor give up his bed and Viktor refused to allow him to sleep on the couch instead, so they agreed to just share the bed. Of course, waking up this close to his idol, his very attractive idol, his very attractive and tempting idol, was difficult.

Yuuri carefully reached up and brushed the hair out of Viktor’s eyes, giving him an unobstructed view of the man’s face. Viktor when he was awake was almost always full of smiles and a love of life. Seeing him like this, with soft, relaxed features… Yuuri could look at him for days.

There was a rapid beating in his chest and he wished that he could just blame it all on Viktor, but he knew it wasn’t. He knew this feeling, this bone deep fear of what was to come. Anxiety was never nice and it never played fair. Because of this, Yuuri shouldn’t have been surprised that he was suffering from it today of all days.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Yuuri tried to untangle himself from both Viktor and the blankets as gently as possible so that he wouldn’t wake his friend. He glanced back at the bed wishing, not for the first time, that his mind would just let him be free… if only for the day. Heaving a sigh he went to the bathroom to shower.

As he stood with the water cascading over his shoulders he allowed his mind to run free. The fear was starting to grab at his throat and made it harder to breath. He kept trying to remember that this was not the time to believe the things that his mind told him, but it didn’t help. He was worthless, going to fail, Viktor was going to see the real basket case that he was, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. He didn’t know how long he had been in the bathroom before a knock pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah?” He called, his voice strained as he tried to reign in his emotions.

“Are you okay in there?” Yuuri could hear the worry in his voice and it made him feel even worse. Viktor shouldn’t be worried about him. He should be more concerned about the tournament today.

“Yeah!” Yuuri was proud that his voice at least sounded a little more even this time. “I’ll be out in a minute.” He turned off the tap and blindly reached for a fluffy towel. He worked on making sure that he schooled his features so that when he walked out of the bathroom Viktor wouldn’t think anything was wrong. He should have known that it wouldn’t work though.

“Yuuri?” Viktor said softly. “How can I help?” He wrapped Yuuri up in a tight hug. “What do you need?”

“I don’t really know.” Yuuri answered honestly. If he knew what he needed that would have made everything so much easier. But as it was, the only thing that would help him for sure, Yuuri couldn’t use. His medications were prescribed for times like now, when the anxiety was clawing at him and trying to pull him into the abyss. But by their very nature they slowed him down. His thoughts got clouded, his speech slurred, he got sleepy. These were things that he couldn’t afford today.

He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of Viktor’s heart beat. It was steady, an anchor, something to grab onto. When Viktor tried to pull back Yuuri just pulled him closer and pressed his ear a little harder against his friend’s chest. Thump-bump, thump-bump, thump-bump. He timed his breathing with the steady in and out of Viktors; inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. It was the first time all morning that his mind was calmer and quiet.

“Okay.” He whispered. “I am okay.” he pulled away and looked at Viktor in the eyes with a smile, “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

By the end of competition on day one Yuuri was holding onto fourth place out of the six that advanced to the final day. Viktor was sitting comfortably in first, followed by Otabear, SexySwiss, Yuuri, KingJJ, and rounding out the top six… Seung-Gil. Viktor was so proud of Yuuri that he had dragged the man out of the hotel against his will to go sightseeing.

“Come on, Yuuri, how often do you get to come to Spain!” Unable to argue with that logic, Yuuri relented, and that was how he found himself in his current predicament.

It wasn’t that he was unaware of Viktor’s clingy nature, or the fact that the man lived in the moment rather than responsibly thinking about the future.  None of that knowledge prepared him for the horror that was drunk Viktor.

If sober Viktor enjoyed giving hugs and holding people’s hands, drunk Viktor could not live without the contact of another human being… mainly Yuuri himself. Sober Viktor was free with his words, or at least Yuuri thought he was, drunk Viktor had no sieve at all. He was free with his compliments and even seemed to thrive off of making Yuuri blush. It didn’t take much to make Yuuri blush, but there was something about a handsy and charmingly open Viktor that really tested Yuuri’s ability to not combust.

“Hey, Yuuuuuuuuri!” Viktor drawled as they headed back to their hotel room later that night. “I think we should make a bet!” he giggled as he stumbled over his own feet.

“Woah, careful!” Yuuri cried out as he caught Viktor before he could go tumbling to the ground. Yuuri sighed as he helped Viktor stand up, “Come on,” he said as he bent over and offered his back to Viktor, “climb up.” For the first time that night it was Viktor’s turn to blush.

“N-no, I can’t do that!” Viktor waved his arms in front of him. “I am far too heavy for you.”

“Viktor, you can either get on my back now or I will throw you over my shoulder. I am not picking you up off the sidewalk every five steps.” Yuuri drawled. Viktor just looked at his friend in surprise. It wasn’t often that Viktor got to see the assertive side of Yuuri, but from what Mari told him, he only did it with people he was comfortable with. That fact alone was enough to make Viktor break out in a heart shaped smile.

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t want to make you work more,” he joked as he lifted himself, albeit clumsily, onto Yuuri’s back. “But I am serious, we need to make a betttttt!”

“Viktor, you are hardly in any condition to make a bet. I don’t even know if you are going to remember half of the night come tomorrow.” Yuuri sighed as he moved them along. They drew a few glances from other people, but Yuuri chose to ignore them.

“Yuuri!” Viktor sounded hurt, “I am Russian, we are raised on Vodka! Not to mention I don’t ever want to forget any of the time I spend with youuuuuuu!” The last statement had Yuuri coughing in attempts to cover his embarrassment.

“A-Alright then… what ki-kind of bet were you thinking?” Yuuri was pretty sure he would entertain just about any idea that got the way Viktor said ‘you’ out of his head.

“For the end of the competition! I think, if I come in first you should give me something I want!” Viktor laughed obviously pleased with himself. He already knew what he wanted.

“I don’t know if I should ask what it is that you would want.” Yuuri joked. “Knowing you it could be anything!”

“You give me such little credit, Yuuri.” He pouted, “I already know what I want and you are the only person who can give it to me!” Yuuri didn’t respond for a long time. In fact, by the time he spoke again they had reached the front of the hotel. Viktor was starting to worry that he might have pushed too hard.

Yuuri gently placed Viktor back on the ground. “You can walk to the elevator?” Viktor nodded numbly and was about to open his mouth to apologize as they entered the elevator but quickly shut up as Yuuri started talking.

“What thing do you want?” His voice was quiet, almost embarrassed. It was in that moment that Viktor realized he didn’t scare Yuuri off, just gave him more to think about than he was expecting.

“Do you really want to know?” He said cautiously. Stepping a little closer to the smaller man, placing his hands on Yuuri’s shoulders.

“Y-yes.” Yuuri whispered. A pink dusting crossing his cheeks.

Viktor smiled as he bent over and whispered in his ear, “I want a kiss.” Yuuri stiffened a little in Viktor’s hold.

“A-A kiss.” he repeated slowly, “Okay, I mean… sure… Yeah… I-I can do that.” He smiled after a long moment, “But what do I get if I win?”

“Anything you want.”

Yuuri looked Viktor in the eyes with a smile “Ok, I’ll hold you to it.”

Chapter Text

The morning of the second day dawned with Viktor moaning in pain. One thing that he had noticed as he got older was that his body refused to let him get away with overindulging in alcohol. It was a punch to his Russian pride, but more importantly, it was a risk to his game today. A risk that he wasn’t wanting to take because he wanted, no, he needed to come in first.

Sure the additional money that came along with wining was nice, it would be another trophy in his case back home, but the prize that he wanted most would be coming from Yuuri. That kiss was something that he had been waiting for and he would be damned if he let something like a little hangover prevent him from getting it!

Yuuri seemed to be in much better spirits than he was the day prior, a small blessing. If anything Viktor had worried that Yuuri would be more anxious than he was before. But there was a calm about him that affected even the way Viktor felt. He wasn’t sure where this new confidence was coming from, but he wasn’t going to complain about it either.

All through breakfast the two of them kept making jokes about who was going to win. Viktor said he had a lot riding on this particular match. While Yuuri agreed, he believed he had more. Yuuri already knew what Viktor wanted from him, but Viktor didn’t know what Yuuri would ask for. For all he knew Yuuri would ask to be left alone forever. While an unlikely request, given the way they got along, it was still a possibility.

He tried to ask Yuuri several times about what he would ask for if he won. He always worded it that way… if… and when he was called out on it he merely stated that he was confident that Yuuri would take second, but first was a lock for himself.

“If you are so confident in your ability to beat me, what does it matter what I would ask for?” Yuuri pointed out over his cup of tea. Viktor couldn’t really argue with that logic, but it also didn’t make him any less curious about the matter. He knew, however, that there was no point in pressing the matter. He finished his breakfast in relative silence, mind running wild with the kind of things that Yuuri would ask him for.

Yuuri gave Viktor a quick hug for good luck before the start of the competition. If it was Yuuri’s goal to throw Viktor off his game, if even for just a moment, that was one way to do it! Yuuri just chuckled as he walked into his booth and looked over his equipment.

“Legend tells me that you have some kind of a bet going on against him! I hear the stakes are high. Can I join?” SexySwiss asked from outside his booth.

“Sorry, but this is a bet between him and me only.” Yuuri smiled.

“Buuuuuut…. Erooooos!” the older man whined. Yuuri knew that he had an overly dramatic streak that could easily rival Viktor’s.

“Sorry, this is between him and me.” Yuuri laughed, “Maybe next year.”

“Maybe indeed.” he sighed, “Either way, best of luck today.” SexySwiss threw a wave over his shoulder as he left to prepare himself. Unlike the All Japan tournament, where Yuuri had a major lead on everyone, here there was a mere few seconds difference between first and second and only three minutes difference between first and sixth. They would all be starting around the same time. While that was good for people like Yuuri, who were slightly behind, it also meant that it was anyone's game still. There was no clear cut winner, even if the odds did seem to be in Viktor’s favor.

However, Yuuri had one thing going for him that he certainly didn’t have last year… a real reason to win. It was always amazing how something simple as a promise could light a fire under Yuuri and flame his desire to win. It was like he was being sent into overdrive. He wanted his something special from Viktor and come hell or high water he was going to get it.

The game soon started and Yuuri felt his heart rate skyrocket. It wasn’t nervous energy that filled him at this point. It was something more akin to pure excitement and delight. It was a good natural high to be on and he hoped to ride that feeling all the way through the last few levels.

Where Yuuri was suddenly filled with confidence where he had none before, a player that was previously seen as so confident it was almost cocky started to fall behind. KingJJ was struggling. He mismanaged some of his items the day prior and was unable to keep up with the monsters as they came at him. An hour into the game Yuuri saw the name go red and fall to the bottom of the screen… dead. Yuuri felt for him; he had been there, he understood the emotions that KingJJ was going through better than most.

Seung-Gil seem to take one too many wrong turns resulting in a dramatically slowed pace. While he was no longer in sixth place, it was only because of the technicality that KingJJ had died. In fourth place was SexySwiss, but he had gotten lost on his way through the labyrinth on level 95. It was an unfortunate mistake, one that in the end really cost him the game.

Yuuri had moved up into third place and could see the ghost character of Viktor who had fallen to second. They were neck on neck but it wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t catch up to Otabear who had just cleared level 99 and entered Castle Blackwell while Viktor and Yuuri were still about two and a half minutes from the end of the level.

“Hey, Eros,” Viktor called from his booth, “we aren’t just letting Otabear make our bet null and void, are we?”

“I don’t know, what you are planning to do about it!” Yuuri yelled back as he passed Viktor and pushed towards the castle dodging fireballs being flung from the castle walls and jumping over pieces of the bridge as it tried to crumble out from beneath his feet. “I, on the other hand, plan on kicking this dragon’s ass before you!”

“You were saying?” Viktor called back with a laugh as his character sailed over the bridge past him.

“It’s ok, use all your mana trying to beat me to the castle, I am saving mine for the attack and we both know I am faster!”

Suddenly the crowd around them erupted into stunned cries. Yuuri and Viktor didn’t have time to stop and see what happened. “Did you hear a bell?” Viktor yelled out.

“No!” A moment later Otabear’s name was highlighted in red and fell to fifth place. Yuuri felt something spark within him, any doubt about being able to get to the boss in time was washed from his mind. “It’s on!” he teased.

“I am right here with you.” Viktor laughed as they both crossed the threshold at the same time. The crowd was suddenly cheering loudly. In MMO it is not typical for the match to come down to a mere couple of seconds, but this, this was promising to be something the likes of which had never been seen in MMO before.

“Good luck keeping up,” Yuuri said as he phased into the shadows and began using his exceleration spell to spin around the dragon in a dizzying dance. He dodged gleaning claws and gnashing teeth, phased around the back of the monster, and unleash a flurry of blows.

“75%,” Yuuri called out.

“75% also,” Viktor called out.

“H-How?!”

“My dear Eros, I have a prize worth fighting for!” He laughed back. “60%”

Yuuri blushed and faltered for a moment allowing the dragon to swipe at him. “Damn it.” he muttered as he jumped back from the follow up attack. He reached in his bag and pulled out an ice gem before smashing it against his staff. It allowed him to cast a spell which encased the room in ice halting the dragon’s movements for a moment. Unleashing his attack on the weak spot at the dragon’s back Yuuri cried out in victory.

“25%.”

“25%.”

They laughed as their words overlapped. This match had turned from what people were expecting, an all out brawl to the end, to what almost looked like a friendly exhibition with the second and first place players joking around while completing complicated moves.

Soon two bells rang out moments apart from one another. Both Yuuri and Viktor ripped their VR gear off and jumped out of their respective booths. They grabbed one another in a side hug as they looked up at the scoreboard and waited for the official results.

“Compete against me until I retire from e-sports.” Yuuri said looking fondly at Viktor as the names popped up with their respective times for the matches next to it.

“Of course. Although I wish you would never retire from gaming.”

VN LivingLegend : 6:29:27:09

YK Eros 6:29:28:03

This year Yuuri was more than happy to go to the banquet. A lot had happened in the past year; a lot of things that he wished didn’t, but in the end he felt like he had come out stronger because of them. Many, many things went right. Chief among them was sitting to his right as they joked around with Otabear and SexySwiss. KingJJ had decided that he was going to skip the festivities and Yuuri couldn’t fault him for it.  While he wasn’t the only person who died in the finals this time, he was the only one who didn’t make it to the the final boss. There was a certain kind of stigma that came with that that Yuuri knew all too well.

Yuuri had tried to invite Seung-Gil who ended up placing 4th overall to sit with them, but the icy indifference that he had at Asian VR was no fluke and apparently his actual disposition. He chose to sit off in the corner of the room and observe people rather than interact with them. In a way Yuuri could also identify with Seung-Gil. When his anxiety was bad enough that was all he wanted to do to, heck, that was all he had done at the GPC finals the year before.

“I don’t see why he is so antisocial.” SexySwiss sighed. “He would be cute if he wasn’t so… so… “

“So cold?” Viktor supplied.

“So closed off?” Otabear asked.

“So quiet?” Yuuri offered.

“Yes.” SexySwiss laughed, “So… all of that!”

“I don’t know, I was like that last year too. I mean I almost didn’t come.” Yuuri said off handedly. “I was so upset about everything that I just remember hiding.”

Viktor spit out his drink and choked as SexySwiss started laughing so hard almost the entire room looked their way. “You are kidding, right?” Viktor almost yelled. “Please tell me you are kidding.”

“No.” Yuuri said slowly, eyebrows knitting in confusion. “Why would I lie about that?”

“Eros, my dear Eros, I think you just broke Legend!” SexySwiss said between laughing fits.

“No, I wouldn’t say that!” Viktor recovered, “Just things actually make a hell of a lot of sense now!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and started to swipe through albums until he reached one labeled Sochi 2017.

“Oh, are we sharing pictures, because I am pretty sure I have a few too!” SexySwiss sounded far too delighted. So delighted in fact that it could only spell trouble for Yuuri. Carefully Yuuri put down the glass of soda he was sipping, having sworn alcohol off for the night, and carefully took the phone from Viktor.

With each flick of the finger, Yuuri’s face grew increasingly red. Not only was he drunk, but he was drunk dancing with Viktor, all over the ballroom. It wasn’t that the pictures themselves were inherently bad, it was just the fact that Yuuri had zero memory of that night.

SexySwiss’ phone contained more candid shots of the two dancing, a few of them sitting around at one of the tables drinking even more. Yuuri’s face was red with the alcohol and even Viktor’s face had a dusting of pink. And holy cow were they touching, just, in every… single… picture Yuuri had his hand on Viktor’s arm, Viktor’s arm was slung over Yuuri’s shoulders, hugging him, Yuuri’s head resting on the man.

“I-I-I-I….” Yuuri clammed up as he handed the phone back to SexySwiss and buried his head in his hands.

“Look, Legend, you short circuited Eros!” SexySwiss laughed, patting the Japanese man on the back. “Honestly though it wasn’t all that bad. It was better than seeing you mope around like you were at the start of the event.”

“But you don’t remember this?” Viktor asked seriously.

“N-No, none of it.” Yuuri whispered.

“So you don’t remember that you were supposed to meet me the following day, you didn’t blow me off… you were just… well… wasted.” he laughed. “I thought, I had done something to offend you when I hugged you after walking you back to your room that night.” The relief was actually evident in his voice.

“What? Why would I? Why did you? What?” Yuuri sat back and sighed deciding it was better to just resign himself to his fate and own up to the fact that he got blackout drunk. In his defense though, he felt like he had a reason, hell, he couldn’t even remember. For all he knew that could have been the goal of the night.

“Well,” Otabear said after a moment of silence, “After the events of last year I came prepared this year… Think it is time for me to hijack the DJ equipment?” SexySwiss broke out laughing and nodded eagerly.

“God, yes, please do! Do you need help?” SexySwiss offered.

Viktor watched as Otabear and SexySwiss left to commandeer the DJ equipment. It was getting later, most of the older people at the event had left as did the ones with early flights the next day. Both Viktor and Yuuri belonged to the latter group.

“Should we take off before things get to crazy?” Viktor asked holding his hand out to Yuuri.

“Yeah, that actually sounds good.” They left the banquet with a quick wave to their friends. Viktor stopped Yuuri in the hall before they reached the elevator with a gentle pull on his hand. “Viktor? Did you forget something?”

“No, Yuuri, I didn’t forget anything.” Viktor said pointedly as he forced Yuuri to look at him. “I think you forgot something!” Yuuri giggled and shook his head. Stepping closer to Viktor he placed a soft kiss on the older man’s cheek. When he pulled away his face was dusted pink and Viktor forgot how to breath for a second.

“Are you going to tell me what you would have asked for if you placed first?” Viktor whispered, as he grabbed onto both of Yuuri’s hands with his own. It took a moment for Yuuri to collect his thoughts, but Viktor wasn’t disappointed once he did.

“I was, that is, if I had placed first, I was going to ask you to… maybe… go out with me. Like, on a date.” Yuuri looked down at his shoes finding it easier than looking at Viktor and wait for a reaction.

“Well, I would have said yes.” Yuuri snapped his head up. “That is, I would have said yes if you had won, but you didn’t.” Yuuri’s heart sunk. It made sense though, things just weren’t meant to work out, he lived in Russia, and Yuuri lived in Japan, the distance, the stress, it would be too much.

“I guess, there is always next year,” he said softly, trying not to let his disappointment show in his voice.

“Yes, there is always next year.” Viktor mused, a teasing smile on his lips. “But in all honesty, you were less than a second off of my time… I think that deserves a prize, don’t you?” Yuuri looked at him confused for a moment. Viktor took that opportunity to wrap an arm around Yuuri’s waist and pull him flush against his body. Leaning forward he closed the space between their lips, eyes open watching Yuuri for any negative reaction. Yuuri’s eyes fell closed and his hands moved to grip Viktor shoulders.

Yuuri smiled into the kiss after a moment and held back a laugh, “Does this mean I also get my date?” he sighed, words ghosting across Viktors lips making him shiver slightly if only because of their proximity. God he had wanted this for so long.

“That may take a little more convincing.” Viktor whispered. It was a request Yuuri was more than happy to comply with as he wrapped his hands in silver hair and set to work “convincing” his idol, his friend, and his first real crush that the date was something they both wanted.