16

Chapter 16

As soon as Victor sat down next to Victor, Yuuri grabbed Viktor's arm and dragged him along with him to sit on the sofa that faced the television and he began typing furiously, as usual. Victor looked curiously at him but said nothing and continued to follow him silently, making sure not to interrupt his work, and only speaking up when he noticed that he was hungry.

After a couple hours had passed and neither Victor nor Yuuri noticed how late it had gotten, they eventually got tired and went to bed. Victor had offered to stay awake and watch tv with Yuuri but he declined, claiming that he was too exhausted to keep his eyes open anymore. And since he had insisted on staying up with him, Victor ended up falling asleep curled up next to Yuuri on the sofa, waking up at around two am with a jolt. After checking to make sure Yuuri was alright, he got up and quietly padded his way back to his own room to change into pajamas before crawling underneath the covers.

It took awhile for Victor to fall asleep again, but when he did, he dreamt of the night he met Yuuko. He didn't realize at the time that Yuuko would become such a big part of his life and what he would mean to him over the course of their friendship.

***

He hadn't expected a lot of things when he first laid eyes on her – maybe some kind of reaction, maybe a small hint that she had a crush on him, or even a little bit of flirtatiousness and flirting back. But when he saw her smile in the hospital cafeteria, he knew that this could turn into something else – anything could happen and he wouldn't be able to resist her. In fact, he would probably try harder than ever to try to impress and woo her.

That wasn't exactly the case, however, which was why he was now regretting agreeing to go out drinking and partying. It was obvious that his efforts weren't going to be accepted by anyone other than Yuuko, but even if that was the case, he wouldn't hesitate to find out if she would like to join them as well, or at least tolerate their presence. He didn't even care that the party was for Yuuko, or that she would have to put up with his drunken antics, as he had already started to enjoy himself.

They were seated next to each other with their backs pressed against the walls in an attempt to remain quiet while they talked amongst themselves. At first, he had attempted conversation, but every time his words came out sounding slurred and slow, which prompted Yuuko to roll her eyes at him and give him looks filled with exasperation. Then he had taken a different approach and had begun humming under his breath, one of the songs that he had learned at Yuuri's skating recital, when the song 'My Fair Lady' had started playing. That seemed to cause Yuuko to perk up somewhat, and after taking a sip of the drink in his hand he realized that this might have worked better, because it seemed to have caused Yuuko to relax and loosen up considerably, and he felt comfortable doing whatever he wanted to do now. And, in the end, he didn't feel the need to keep a safe distance between them, not with so many people surrounding them anyway. So when Yuuko leaned in and kissed him, she was surprised when he reached up and grabbed hold of her waist, pressing closer against her. This close, he could smell the perfume that Yuuko wore, the scent of her hair and the scent of the shampoo that she had used before they left, and he couldn't stop himself from nuzzling her gently, wanting more of her.

He pulled away, breathing hard and grinning broadly in triumph. When Yuuko leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly against his cheek, he laughed softly and pressed his forehead against hers. He couldn'