A'N: HUNYAA! GOMEN ASDFGHJKL I'M REALLY SORRY! COLLEGE CAUGHT UP WITH ME TT_TT
Anyway, huhu I'm still actually not very content with this, but Ialready reached 6k words lol, and I'm obly about halfway through the ideal chapter ending I had for this one, so I'm gonna cut this here. xD

I hope you enjoy this till tho ;;

Disclaimer: Must I really point out the obvious?

notes:

Songs heard in the mind

"Songs heard through the ears"

Internal thoughts

CHAPTER 3: But don't stop Burning

Victor gave a last smile at the last fan for the meet greet before exiting to the back where it was a restricted area for anyone who wasn't a staff. His younger cousin's scowling face was the first thing that greeted him, the chin length blonde hair giving his emerald green eyes a darker look as the frown on his lips became deeper and deeper. Deciding to mess with the younger teen some more he gave heart shaped smile as he cheerfully exclaimed

"Oh Yuri~! I forgot you were here." He said, making the blonde more irritated as he snarled at the silver head

"FORGOT I WAS HERE MY ASS! I BET WHAT YOU REALLY FORGOT WAS THE FACT THAT WE'RE TRANSFERRING SCHOOLS TOMORROW YOU IDIOT!" He shouted furiously. The staff merely continued with their work as they were used to the two cousins' quarrels, or rather, one-sided quarrel where the younger will hiss like an angry cat while the older will just laugh like he wasn't at the receiving end of a rather colorful vocabulary.

"Oh~ that's right! to look for your-Mpff." Yuri growled as he took a stuffed a poodle plushie from the pile of gifts and chucked it to Victor's face, muffling the last part of his sentence.

"YURIIIII! VICTOOOOR! QUIT PLAYING AROUND AND GET CHANGED ALREADY!" Their manager, Yakov, growled as he felt his blood pressure rise at his charges' antics. Yuri merely kicked his cousin before stomping off while muttering under his breath. Yakov could've sworn he heard the words "slaughter", "idiot", "in his sleep" and a few more colorful words that could make even a pirate blush. Victor merely laughed at his cousin before turning to look at their manager

"He seems excited" He said cheerfully, making a few staff turn to look at him weirdly while Yakov's eye brow twitched in irritation.

"These two will be the death of me… and when that day happens I will haunt the both of them until the day they join me in the underworld." He thought furiously as he stared at the teen.

"I still don't know why the both of you suddenly want to study at Hasetsu Academy of all places. " Yakov grunted as they walk towards the dressing rooms, Yuri was probably already in the van, sulking. The thought made Victor grin as he answered Yakov.

"Apparently a few weeks ago, Yuri heard his soulmate sing Hasetsu academy's school anthem. It took him two weeks to man up and tell our grandfather that he wanted to go there to search for his soulmate, and another week for the papers to get processed." Victor explained, Yakov did not miss the longing and envy that flashed behind Victor's eyes so quickly he would have thought it was merely his imagination, had he not been paying attention. He felt a small amount of pity, until the teen smiled 'innocently' as he continued,

"Of course, being the caring and supportive cousin I was, I decided to join in on the transfer." Victor smiled deviously as Yakov snorted. He knew how fond the teen was of his younger cousin despite his jokes.

"Even if the idiot does have an irritating way of showing it. Famous singer or not, he's still an idiot. " Yakov thought gruffly as he watched Victor pick up his bag before heading off to the van. He observed silently as Victor greeted a passing staff that was a couple, one of the many pairs that discovered their other half during work. He watched as Victor smiled cheerfully at them, watched as the smile melted of his face the moment they couldn't see his expression anymore, his eyes casted in the ground as his shoulders slumped the slightest bit.

"A lonely idiot. " He thought sighing

Yuri Growled as he stomped his way out through the back door while grumbling, before stopping as he felt a strong breeze blow through him. He halted as he took a deep breath before exhaling, letting the wind calm his agitated nerves. He gazed at the weakly blinking stars as the stadium lights dulled them, muffling what was supposed to be a shining ball of brilliance. As if on cue, a voice resounded from deep within his mind,

The stars fade, the earth shakes
The poison's on your tongue

He gritted his teeth as he felt the pinprick of tears in his eyes. Once upon a time, he was an immature kid who rebelled against the idea of having his future planned for him. Abhoring the idea that his freedom to choose who was perfect for him, who he was supposed to fall in love with was taken away from him. He stupidly announced that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with whoever he was hearing in his head.

"THE ONLY FCKING THING I WANT THEM HEAR IS MY ABSOLUTE HATE FOR THEM! I HOPE I NEVER MEET THEM!" He remembered announcing harshly on national TV when he finally snapped. He remembered Victor, and even their grandfather, scold him for saying such things to his soulmate, but he only ignored them and locked himself in his room. Almost instantly, the songs he heard in his head stopped. At first he thought that it was just plain good riddance. Then as time passed by, days, months flew by, and he started to feel empty. He felt incomplete, he felt so unsatisfied. He knew Victor could see it, he had lost the fire in his eyes. He realized then that he somehow fell in love with the voice, no matter how much he wanted to go against fate, no matter how much he denied, the voice in his head had already captured his heart and attention. He couldn't stop the relief and happiness that he felt when he heard his soulmate again after 6 months. But those happy emotions were quickly extinguished the moment he realized how broken his soulmate felt, how betrayed they sounded as they sang a song of anguish and heartbreak. Every single time his soulmate sang, it was always about loss, pain, about loving someone yet accepting that they are not loved back.

The lost plans, the last dance
oh God what have you done

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He uncharacteristically thought was the tears formed at the corner of his eyes, his fists clenched and shaking at his sides,

I can see the fever spreading, I can feel the faith is gone
Even though it's all you've wanted

"No it's not. I was wrong, but I'm gonna fix it..." Determination slowly burned in his eyes as he wiped the tears from his eyes as he started for their van.

Stone walls will fall, young hearts will break
for so long we're so strong, we shine until we fade
but don't stop burning

"Just wait for me... I'm coming for you." He thought as he stared at the stars one last time before entering the van.

Victor sighed as he entered the car and saw his cousin asleep, possibly from being too tired. He felt a little guilty as he shrugged off his coat and put it on Yuri's form. He sighed as he slumped against the backseat and ran his fingers through his silver hair. He knew it was wrong of him to be envious of his cousin for having a lead on who or where his soulmate is, but he couldn't help it. He's been trying to find his soulmate ever since he heard about them, as well as the fact that his soulmate's voice used to be a constants presence in his mind. He always loved to hear his soulmate sing, not just because the boy was his soulmate (he knew his soulmate was a boy, and he didn't care about their gender, he'd still love him) but also because his soulmate had a great voice and was a wonderful songwriter. The first time he heard his soulmate's voice was a week after they had migrated to Japan due to his late parents' jobs, along with the fact that his grandfather and cousin was there. He was worried at first that he might leave his soulmate in Russia. Only to be surprised as he heard Japanese nursery rimes play in his head, making him forget all his original doubts about moving to Japan.

He was already aware of the concepts of soulmates ever since he could remember, for his mother used to fondly tell him the story of how she and his father had discovered they were soulmates. They were kids then, only in elementary, when his parents were chosen as the lead characters of a stage play. She fondly told him how at first she and his father couldn't even stand each other the first time they met and often had quarrels, until the day they were asked to sing the duet piece, only stop in shock as they heard the other's voice physically and mentally. The two were so surprised upon realizing they were soulmates, before blushing shyly as they asked at the same time if the other wanted to have dinner together, slowly getting to know each other as time passed by before finally confessing. He wanted a person who would look at him the same way his parents had looked at each other. Their death had only strengthened his resolve to find his other half. He had been broken when his grandfather told him that his parents got caught in a car crash when he was only in 2nd grade, but his grandfather and cousin had brought him out of the miserable hole he had dug himself into. Yet the one who brought lightness into the dark abyss that he was sinking into the most back then was his soulmate, who seemed to have started writing his own songs back then when he realized that the songs he was hearing was unfamiliar and had no other matches no matter how hard he looked. It had started small, with childish songs of the most random things, before the lyrics started getting deeper and more meaningful as the years passed by. Knowing this, he strived hard to produce songs of his own as well, answering his soulmate with lyrics of his own. He grew to love music as he started joining competitions and posting his videos online. His efforts led him to be discovered by Yakov, who introduced him to a group of producers and landed himself a record deal at the early age of 12. He later on dragged his cousin Yuri to meet them as well, also landing the younger a record deal. He had become famous, his voice reaching millions of people. It should have been easy for his soulmate to know who he was…

"And yet years later, he never once contacted me…" He couldn't help but whisper to himself as he watched the passing scenery outside the car. They were headed to a hotel for the night, he heard that his grandfather had already arranged for them to live in an inn in Hasetsu. The owner apparently being an old friend of his Grandfather's and was kind enough to take the cousins in for the time being. They were to move in tomorrow after their first day of school. He was honestly taken in by surprise upon his cousin's announcement of his intention to look for his soulmate. Yuri used to hate the idea of being destined for someone as a kid, so to hear his cousin's interest for his other half had piqued his own on what kind of person the other was to lead to his cousin to take a rather drastic action and make him act so out of character. He also could not help the small spite that shot through at the thought that his Yuri had found his other half (well, sort of. Close enough) while the only clues he has on his own half are the songs his soulmate used to sing. The day his soulmate stopped singing three years ago was the day a part of himself died inside. He missed waking to small lyrics being pieced together, he missed the days when he would eagerly wait for the song to be completed, he missed the days that he could hear his soulmate's lovely voice. He fell in love with the voice even before he met the owner, he always believed that songs were the voices of one's heart, and liked to believe that the love songs his soulmate wrote were meant for him, just like how his were for his soulmate…

"Where are you… звезда моя (my star)" He thought before closing his eyes as he gave into the darkness, the exhaustion from the concert finally taking over.

Victor gasped as he woke up sweating, before feeling himself get kicked off the hotel bed.

"Get UP old man!" Yuri screamed at the groaning teen. Victor's response being half asleep was automatic,

"I'm not old, I'm only 17 and one year older than you… " he mumbled as he was about to fall asleep again, only to grunt as he felt his cousin step on his chest. "Yuri it's too early ~" he whined.

"THE HELL IT'S TOO EARLY! YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS READY BEFORE WE GET LATE! " Yuri all but growled, causing Victor to blink at him in confusion. Yuri's eye twitched as he felt a vein inside him pop as he snapped at his cousin

"YOU SHTTY OLD MAN! IT'S OUR FIRST DAY TO OUR NEW SCHOOL, NOW GET YOUR ASS OFF THE FLOOR AND IN YOUR UNIFORM OR I'M LEAVING WITHOUT YOU."

Victor's eyes widened as he pushed off his cousin's foot and ran off to the bathroom, leaving behind Yuri who just rolled his eyes as he wore his leopard and packed his coat in his bag. He wondered silently what his cousin could have dreamt about to have that anguished look in his eyes. He shook his head before scrolling through his phone to make use of the time, if he knew his cousin, Victor would take about an hour to get ready.

He ended up correct when 1 hour later they were finally sitting at the car as they stared out the window. It was quiet at first, until Victor started singing softly while looking outside. His thoughts once again straying to his other half.

"I've been,
Out on the ocean.
Sailing alone,
Traveling nowhere."

"My little star…You've left me alone for so long. I miss hearing your voice, hearing the songs you write, feeling your emotions run through our bond…"

"You've been,
Running on hard ground.
With just you around,
Your heart beats the only sound."

"Where are you? I feel so lost without you…" He felt the telltale sign of tears as the world started to blur before he blinked them away.

"But I know,
Once in a while we will find,
The sound of your heart beats with mine.
And when it's time.
I'll leave the ocean behind."

"Why does it feel like you sacrificed something for me? I'm willing to do anything, just let me hear you, give me a chance to love you…"

He fell silent as he became lost in his thoughts, his mind swirling with different thoughts as he once again tried to think of a reason why he stopped hearing his soulmate's voice. Did they lose their ability to speak? Did they realize who he was and got disappointed? Did they get into an accident? Was his soulmate still even alive?

The last thought almost brought tears to his eyes again when Yuri cleared his throat and asked,

"That sounds nice… is that a new song?" He asked quietly, knowing his cousin was vulnerable at the moment. He watched as Victor composed himself before he nodded slowly as he spoke,

"I… had a strange dream." He said softly, Yuri stayed silent as he waited for Victor to continue.

"I dreamt about a young boy with dark hair. I couldn't see their face, I think his eyes were brown or maybe gray, it was very blurry. He was sitting in front of a piano, and-" He stopped as he felt himself choke slightly with emotion, clearing his throat as he spoke again "He…He was singing a song. A song that I used to hear in my head when I was younger…" He said as Yuri's eyes widened.

"You can hear it in the silence… You are in love"

"Are you sure?" Yuri asked. It wasn't unheard of that some soulmates have dreamt of their other half, usually when the bond between the two are strong. It could be about the other's past, or present. Soul dreams are extremely rare, but still possible. He stared at Victor before asking hesitantly, "Then why do you seem… upset? Shouldn't you be happy that you had a soul dream?"

Victor seemed to slump as his eyes shone with unshed tears, "I-I dreamt that he fell off a flight of stairs, th-that he was pushed off or something. I don't know, it was all so blurry and chaotic. He seemed so young, around 13 or 14. The dream stopped just as he was airborne." He said as his voice cracked, his cousin's gasp barely reaching his ears as he continued in a broken voice "I-I don't know if he ended up alright or…" He trailed off as he stared at Yuri in despair. The younger felt his breath catch at the pure sadness and despair that the other's gaze had. Victor was always so cheery, so strong. He didn't know what to do in situations like these. So he just did what he always did. He kicked Victor. Hard. He forced himself to be strong as Victor yelped before giving him a glare.

"So? You're gonna wallow in some shtty hole of self-pity? Just because of a fckin dream?! Where's the idiot that always sees the positive side of everything?! Because I swear if I have to deal with your stupid drama queen tendencies like fckin Georgi then I will kick you out of this car and into the fckin highway so I don't have to see your ugly snotty face!" He growled as he gave Victor another hard kick before facing the window sulkily. Victor blinked, before smiling fondly as he realized it was the other's way of comforting him, albeit painfully as he guessed that he'd probably have a bruise later. He felt his worries fade away as he smiled at his cousin before glomping him, resulting in a lot of shouting on Yuri's part and a lot of laughing and teasing on Victor's part.

"Awww Yuriiii~ You do care~" He teased as he nuzzled his face against the other. Yuri blushed as he screamed and tried to kick his clingy cousin off him.

"GET OFF ME YOU SHTTY IDIOT!"

"Hahaha! I love you too!"

"THE FCK ARE YOU SAYING!? GET OFF!"

The first thing that caught Victor's attention upon entering the school grounds was the fact that the area was large, but not in an extravagant way. The garden was beautiful and offered the feeling of peace and serenity, a large fountain stood in the middle of the walkway where he spotted koi fishes swimming around as he passed by it, the school building was large but not overly so. The second was when he entered the Principal's office, where he blinked as he tried to remember where he had seen the man standing behind the desk before.

"Why does he seem so familiar…?" He thought, before hearing his cousin gasp as he unknowingly answered his thoughts

"Y-you're Celestino Cialdini!" Yuri said in surprise as Victor gaped and realized that it was in fact, the formerly famous singer. The man chuckled as he took in both teens' surprised expressions before scratching his head almost shyly as he replied

"Yes, I'm rather surprised that you know of me since it been a long time since I stepped out of the lime light." He said as he smiled at them, Victor smiled as he explained

"You're songs are now considered classic within the music industry. You used battle against Yakov for the top spot in the hit list." He stated as the other laughed

"Ah yes, those were the good old days. If I remember correctly Yakov is now your manager, am I correct?" He asked as both teens nodded. He smiled before calling his secretary,

"Can you please Mila, Otabek, Pichit and Yuri then tell them to come here?" He said as his secretary nodded before leaving,

"Yuri?" Victor asked, looking amused while his cousin looked slightly irate at knowing that someone shared the same name as him, Celestino laughed once again as he realized it as well.

"I have to share my name with some idiot?" Yuri mumbled under his breath, Victor sent his cousin a teasing smile while Celestino spoke, failing to hear what the youngest in the room had said.

"Ah, Yuri Katsuki, he's one of the student officers in this school, a bright and gentle kid." He said as he smiled fondly, which did not escape the singers' eyes

"You seem rather fond of him." Victor commented lightly, curiosity showing in his eyes as Celestino merely smiled at him. Meanwhile Yuri occupied himself by roaming his eyes around the room, taking note of a few pictures framed on one of the walls. Some of the frames that caught his interest was a picture of Celestino holding his wife who was announced as his soulmate a few years before he retired as a singer, another was a formal group picture where the principal stood in the middle of a couple students, lastly was a picture of him together with two of the males from the group picture, one looked to be a foreigner with tanned skin, large eyes and flat hair smiling widely at the camera while the other a stark contrast with his fair skin, slicked back hair and slightly narrow eyes smiling calmly as Celestino had his arms resting on both teens' shoulders. He was about to take a closer look when someone knocked on the door.

"Ah, that was quick. Come in!" The principal said as the door opened. Yuri scowled as four students entered the room, the first one was a girl with short auburn hair and deep blue eyes, followed by the tanned teen from the photo. He almost rolled his eyes when they gasped, but his attention was drawn to the tall teen that came in after the tanned one. He had a stoic expression on his face, but he noticed his momentary stiffening as he seemed to stare at him in disbelief before quickly recovering and looking away as he stood beside the girl. His eye brows rose as he continued to scowl.

"The hell is his problem?" He thought as he turned to look at his cousin who had an idiotic smile on his face.

Victor smiled brightly as he observed the newcomers in the office. The girl and the tanned teen gaped at the two singers while the third one remained stoic, but he could see there was a slight hint of emotion shining in his eyes despite his neutral emotion. The girl carried herself with grace, here short hair framing her delicate and beautiful face as she stared at them with awe. The tall teen had strong facial features and a masculine aura. The tanned teen seemed to radiate charisma even as he stared at them with shock and another emotion he couldn't identify.

"Was that worry…?" He thought confusedly as he almost missed the teen's glance towards the fourth person, a teen that looked younger than the others despite the slightly above average height with large blue-framed and short hair. He could not help but think that he looked rather… plain compared to the other three, who could honestly pass as models. He stared as ravenette noticed his cousin before slowly turning his eyes towards him, warm brown met ice blue. His cheerful persona almost slipping as he felt his breathe catch from the emotions he saw flash within the teens expressive eyes. Shock, disbelief, awe, sadness, hurt, longing.

"what…?"

Yuri felt his heart stop beating as he stared at the teen in front of him, his throat closed up as he found it harder to breathe. Pichit subtly sent his friend a worried glance before he cleared his throat as he covered his worry with fake cheer and announced a little loudly,

"Woah! You're Yuri Plisetsky and Victor Nikiforov! I'm such a fan, I really like your music." He said, snapping Yuri out of his mild panic as he stopped staring and gave a small cough, sending Pichit a grateful smile as he tried to calm himself while he started clearing his emotions,

"You look smaller in real life." Mila couldn't help herself as she stared at Yuri, Otabek seemed to have a very light blush as he avoided the blonde's eyes after staring at him. This action almost escaped everyone;s notice except a certain Thai.

"oho~, what do we have here?" Pichit thought deviously as he stared at Otabek, an eye brow quirking as he caught the dark haired teen's eyes before smiling teasingly. Otabek seemed to choke on thin air as he quickly looked forward stoically, but still with a very light dusting of pink that would be easy to miss if one didn't know the tall dark haired teen that much, or in Pichit's case, someone who was thirsty for gossip and matchmaking.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU-" The younger Russian hissed as Victor quickly placed a hand over his mouth while still smiling cheerfully.

"Now now Yura, you shouldn't raise your voice against a lady, right?" He winked at Mila, who only smiled cheerfully as well, unaffected by the older teen's charms, the four officers had finally overcome their shock.

Yuri took a deep breath before opening his mouth for the first time, his mask already taking its place as he looked straight at the principal who seemed to be looking at the teens' antics in amusement and asked,

"Principal Celestino, may we know the reason that you called us here?" He asked calmly. He tried to ignore the pair of blue eyes that set on his face as he kept his gaze steady on the oldest person in the room.

"Ah yes. From today onwards, Nikiforov-san and Plisetsky-san here will be studying in our Academy. Nikiforov-san, Plisetsky-san, these are a few of our student council's officers. Mila Babicheva, Otabek Altin, Pichit Chulanont and Yuri Katsuki. These four will be in charge of you two in order to ensure that you will be comfortable within the school." The principal explained as Yuri felt his insides drop at the implications of the elder's sentence. Mila blinked before she stated in a light tone

"Eh~? Now there are two Yuris. Isn't that a bit confusing?" She thought aloud. The others also blinked before Pichit snapped his fingers as if he had a eureka moment,

"I got it! Starting today, you are Yuri-o!" He said as he pointed at Yuri Plisetsky, who sputtered in shock as Victor started laughing, before snapping

"WHY AM I THE ONE WHO HAS TO CHANGE MY DAMN NAME?!" He screamed. Pichit just tsk-ed as if the answer was obvious before tapping Yurio's head like a kid before replying

"Of course, Yuri has been here longer after all. And it would be confusing for the students to suddenly start calling him differently now." He said, while Yuri just sighed at his best friend's antics. Yurio looked like an angry cat before hissing,

"Why do I need three officers with me anyway while this idiot only gets the tanned kid to watch over him? If you ask me, he needs more guards than I do." Yurio asked rudely, resulting in Pichit and Mila snickering while Otabek couldn't hold back his smirk, Yuri merely twitched as he realized he was once again mistaken as a freshman for his soft facial features. He sighed as the principal chuckled despite the lack of respect from the younger one while the two transferees looked on in confusion, with slight irritation from the blonde.

"What's so funny hag?" Yuri Plisetsky said to Mila who ignored his insult and started laughing, Pichit following after as Yuri sent his friends a glare.

"Yuri is also a second year, Plisetsky-san." Celestino explained as the two famous singers' eyes widened.

"Really? You don't look like a second year" Victore exclaimed in amazement as Yuri avoided his gaze and replied,

"My facial features make me look younger than I really am. You aren't the first person who thought that." He said simply, trying to keep a straight face as he answered his freaking soulmate. "Why is he here?!" He thought in wildly while still managing to make himself look calm. Celestino coughed as he spoke again,

"As you may have already guessed, Yuri and Pichit will be in charge of Nikiforov-san. You three are within the same class. Same goes for Mila and Otabek with Plisetsky-san." He said as he handed the two teens their schedules, while the other four nodded. "You may go." He said as he nodded. They were already reaching for the door when Celestino stopped them,

"Oh before I forget, I will allow these two to stay in the club room. Only these two. I do not want a riot to happen in my canteen." Celestino mumbled the last sentence, thinking of the scolding he'll probably get from his wife should something like that ever happen. Yuri heard it anyway and smiled teasingly at their principal, to the surprise of the two transfer students who had only seen his neutral or exasperated expression for the past hour. Victor felt his heart skip a beat as he caught sight of the smirk in the cinnamon-eyed teen, giving him a rather boyish image.

"Scared of Minako-sensei, oh great principal?" Yuri teased, chuckling as the older man gave him a weak glare.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were the target of her wrath. I still remember when you skipped your diet afterall." He said, making the teen and his other officers blanch, much to the confusion of the newcomers.

"What are you talking about?" Victor asked, while Pichit just shook his head while shivering slightly.

"Don't ask. It's better if you never know." He said before mumbling, "Actually, maybe Yuri got his sadistic streak from Minako-san afterall…"

"Okay enough. Go back to your classrooms you brats." Celestino said fondly as the officers just chuckled before nodding as they left the room. As soon as they closed the door, Celestino's smiling face dropped into a frown.

"What are you going to do now…Yuri?"

Victor roamed his eyes around the hall as they walked towards their classroom. Yurio, as he now teasingly called him, and his two classmates had already parted from them since their classroom was in another floor. His gaze once again settled on the two teens in front of him. They walked closely together, their steps somehow in perfect sync with one another, and their body language showed how comfortable they were to one another as they all walked in silence. But he could see the small purposeful brushes of their shoulders as they walked, making him stare as his mind was whirling with thoughts and emotions.

"Are they perhaps… soulmates?" Victor thought as a small pang of sadness shot through him, making him falter on his steps as he realized his sudden disdain on the thought of the brown eyed teen already having a soulmate. Thankful that they were in front of him so they couldn't see the sudden stiffness of his body.

"What's wrong with me? I only met him less than an hour ago and yet here I am feeling sad over the fact that he has a soulmate that obviously isn't me. We barely even talked, yet why do I suddenly feel as if I want him to be the one…?" He thought as his eye brows furrowed in confusion and frustration, trying to hold back from making any noise as he dealt with his thoughts. While he was a relatively friendly guy, he always made sure to get to know the people he interacts with. Being a famous singer made him a target for people who didn't even think twice about using him for his fame, money and/or looks. It made him wary of people, and he became guarded, only letting a few people in to see him vulnerable. He strengthened those walls in order to avoid the pain of being abused by anyone. And yet… somehow the moment he saw the other's warm brown eyes earlier, he suddenly felt a strong connection. He couldn't describe it, but he knew that Yuri Katsuki had a heart as warm as his eyes the moment he looked into their depths. He thought that if he were to connect the warmth of his soulmate's voice to anyone's eyes, it would be Yuri's.

He saw Pichit glance at him, before leaning near Yuri as he whispered something that made the other stumble for a bit before righting himself as he hit Pichit in the arm. Victor noticed the reddening of Yuri's ears as he tried to stop the surprising emotion of jealousy and possessiveness that suddenly surged within him at seeing the two in front of him flirt.

"Stop it. What about your soulmate? I thought you loved him and now you're getting jealous over someone who found his?" He chided himself in his mind while plastering a smile on his face as he noticed Yuri glance at him, who frowned when he saw the smile on Victor's face before looking forward once again, making Victor blink as he registered the hurt he felt upon seeing the blatant disappointment he glimpsed in the other's eyes before Yuri turned and proceeded to ignore him.

"Does he… hate me?"

Pichit glanced behind him and noticed Victor staring at Yuri,

"…maybe we can make it work. Yuri still won't accept that he can be happy and make Victor happy as well. I think they just need a little…push." He thought as he smirked and faced forward while leaning on his best friend as he whispered,

"It's a miracle you're not melting yet. Victor's staring at you quite intensely after all~" He teased, internally laughing as he saw Yuri, the ever-so-freaking-graceful-as-a-swan Yuri, stumble as he started flushing red, giving him a glare before glancing at the silver head behind them.

Yuri saw the fake smile plastered on Victor's face making him frown in disappointment, much to Pichit's (and secretly, Victor's) confusion.

"He looks better when he smiles genuinely…" Yuri thought as he felt something inside him feel a pang of hurt at the thought that his soulmate was giving him a smile like he would a common fan who would easily get swayed by it. He didn't like it, if Victor didn't want to smile then he didn't want him to force it. It made him feel empty. "I'm not one of those bumbling idiots who can't see when you you're forcing it… as much as I don't like to admit, I know you too well…." He thought as he looked forward, ignoring his best friend and soulmate.

Both the best friends were unaware that the teen behind them had started weaving a story based from a misunderstanding of their relationship… A large misunderstanding.