For you, Falling

There had been a quite annoying little noise for a while. Like repeated but uncoordinated tapping on glass and it was driving Yuuri crazy, making it hard to focus on his math homework. The strangest part of it was that it seemed to grow more and more insistent by the minute, as if whatever was causing it desperately wanted his attention.

He reached his breaking point when, in addition to the tapping, Vicchan started yipping loudly and trying to scratch the window energetically, jumping and wagging his tail. After botching the equation he'd been working on, Yuuri decided to take a look out the window and make sure there weren't any prankster children outside. He opened the window and peered outside, finding what looked like a couple dozens of pebbles piled under the windowframe. He wasn't able to really examine them before something suddenly jumped right in front of him.

"Surprise!"

He shrieked.

"Sorry, sorry Yuuri, I didn't mean to scare you." The voice was mixed with melodic laughter. "But you should've seen your face, it was amazing!"

When he looked up, he almost shrieked again, but for an entirely different reason.

"V-Victor!" he squeaked, feeling heat rush to his cheeks when he met those deep blue eyes. "What are you doing here?" he inquired, then looked down at the puddle of pebbles and rephrased the question. "Did you spend half an hour throwing stones at my window?"

Victor grinned cheekily. "I was trying to get your attention, Yuuri! I can't believe it took so long!"

The phrasing sent a twinge to his heart, but he told himself not to think of it. "You could've just called. Or knocked the door. My parents would've let you in."

"But I wanted to do it like in the movies, it's more exciting! I was getting worried, I was running out of rocks."

Yuuri couldn't help the laughter. It was hard to even attempt to remain exasperated with Victor for a long time. "Victor, my room's on ground level, you could've just knocked on the window anyway." He said, pointing at the grass Victor was standing on.

"Well, then you should move your room to the top floor so I can put to practice all these movie clichés more faithfully."

It was impossible to argue, he decided. It always kind of was with Victor. "So what brings you throwing stones at my window at this time of night?"

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" Victor yelped, an adorable rosey blush appearing on the tip of his nose. "I was just wondering at what time you think you could come out? We've finally lost all daylight."

Yuuri cocked his head, not sure of where this was going "Victor, I'm doing homework."

Victor pouted. "Aww please, Yuuri. It won't take too long and it'll be totally worth it, I promise!" he whined, grabbing Yuuri's hands in his. Yuuri's face burned.

"I-ah… I-it's really late, I don't think my p-parents—"

"Nonsense, they love me! I promise I'll bring you back before midnight, just like Cinderella. Please? I'll even help you with your homework when we get back, please." He begged, his hands squeezing Yuuri's as if in prayer.

"Uh-uhm… wh-what is-what exactly are we…"

Victor's eyes were suddenly very close and sparkling, like they did whenever Victor was excited.

"It's a surprise!"

That helped Yuuri ground himself, and he felt a fond smile curl the corners of his lips. "It's always surprises with you."

"It's what I live for."

It had been love at first sight.

It was the last weekend before his first day in high school and he'd been awfully nervous. So he'd decided to go to the only place that could calm his nerves: the ice rink that was close to his home. The receptionist had smiled at him and told him he was lucky since there weren't many people skating today.

He'd started tracing compulsory figures, his mind wandering, trying to ease off the worry of the new school, the teachers, how none of his friends from middle school would be there –except Yu-chan, but she would be a third year now-, whether his new classmates would tease him about his glasses. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the other person until he felt his glasses fly off his face and his butt hit the hard ice.

"Oh my, I'm sorry, are you alright?"

When he finally put his glasses back on and refocused his vision, he was met with the clearest, most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. They sparkled with wonder as the beautiful boy they belonged to stared at him, then leaned forward to offer a helping hand.

"Th-thank you, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He stammered, unable to take his eyes off the boy's handsome face, and the adorable little blush on the tip of his nose.

"No, no, it was my bad." He insisted, pulling Yuuri back to his feet. His hand felt warm even through his thick gloves. Yuuri's heart had never beat faster. "I'm Victor, by the way. You were skating very beautifully, I'm sorry I interrupted you." His smile was so bright it might put the sun to shame, Yuuri thought.

"Oh no! No that's… it's alright I was just… It wasn't a big deal." He mumbled, ashamed. Victor must have been a complete amateur if he was impressed by his sloppy skating, Yuuri thought. "Ah! I'm Yuuri. Katsuki Yuuri. I-I'm really sorry for my carelessness." He then realized he was still holding Victor's hand and he yanked it free, almost falling back on the ice from the abruptness.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Yuuri. If it's not too forward, would you mind skating with me for a little while?"

It took Yuuri a moment to process the request and then a longer one to try to understand why this beautiful foreigner wanted to skate with him, silly, clumsy Yuuri, and he felt the claws of anxiety briefly picking at the back of his mind because what if this boy that had praised his sloppy figures was disappointed when he realized how mediocre he truly was, and how he'd tell his foreigner friends about the dumb and clumsy Japanese boy he met on a random ice rink and how he'd be laughing at him for the next—

"If you're practicing or something that's okay, I don't want to impose."

Yuuri wasn't sure what took over him next. Maybe it was the sparkle in Victor's blue eyes. Maybe it was his gentle and curious smile. Maybe the lingering warmth of his hand on Yuuri's.

"No, I'm… it's okay I-I wouldn't mind- I'd like to."

Victor had beamed.

It had turned out Victor was not remotely an amateur and he had, in fact, one of the most impressive and cleaner techniques Yuuri had ever seen. They skated, at times side by side, at times with Victor going backwards while facing Yuuri, and sometime between Victor saying Yuuri's triple axel was beautiful, Yuuri feeling himself falling, falling in love with every smile and every playful wink, and talking about their shared love of poodles, Yuuri realized he'd completely forgotten about his nervousness.

He'd lost track of time when an old man came in yelling in a foreign language and Victor flinched nervously. "Whoops, found me sooner than I expected. Sorry, Yuuri, gotta go now. I had a great time today, thank you!"

Yuuri shook his head. "I-I had a lot of fun too. Thanks for… for skating with me."

Victor beamed one last time, so bright Yuuri thought he would go blind. "See you soon, Yuuri!"

It wasn't until after he was back home, lying on his bed and trying to appease the fluttering in his belly, that Yuuri realized he didn't have any means to contact Victor. And it occurred to him that it had been probably on purpose and Victor had only tried to be nice before running as far as he could from dumb, awkward, clumsy Yuuri, never looking back.

That quelled the fluttering alright.

At least until three days later, when he arrived at his new school to see a large crowd gathered outside the main gate, and he caught whispers about a new mysterious transfer student that looked like an ice prince. He wouldn't have paid it too much mind, and in fact tried to surf through the crowd to get to the school building, but the curious mob shuffled and he was somehow pushed to the center of it, where there was a spacious circle of people drawn around the person in question. Yuuri's eyes widened and the fluttering came back as a swarm of overly-excited butterflies that could not possibly actually fit in his belly.

"Yuuri! You're finally here! I was afraid I wouldn't catch you!"

It turned out Victor was a second year, so they didn't share any classes, but every day at lunchtime, Victor would come pick him up from his classroom, or they'd meet at the cafeteria and have lunch together. After school, they often went to the ice rink and practiced together, or fooled around until Victor's guardian –Yakov, who Victor claimed was way kinder than his scary hollering would make you think- came to drag Victor away. Other days, Victor walked Yuuri back home and they'd work on their homework together; Victor would help Yuuri with maths and Yuuri helped Victor with language and most times they'd just keep talking about everything and anything long after the homework was finished.

Some weekends they'd walk their dogs together, who'd become good friends upon first meeting, and Yuuri fell in love with Makkachin almost as fast as he did for Victor. Then they'd go back to Yuuri's home and his mother would invite Victor for dinner. The way Victor's eyes lit up in absolute delight when he first tasted his mother's katsudon had Yuuri's heart perform a full backflip.

It was too perfect, of course.

Yuuri's little dream shattered one day at lunch. Yu-chan had started to join them, as had Phichit, Yuuri's new best friend from his class.

"So, Victor." Yu-chan began, and by the look in her eyes, Yuuri knew she was up to no good. "You've been here for a very short time and you already have a massive fanclub, but has anyone actually caught your eye at all?" she asked, smirking.

Victor's reply was unexpectedly casual. "There is a person I love, if that's what you're asking." He said, smiling at her briefly before turning to Yuuri. "They're beautiful and inspiring and so mesmerizing I could never take my eyes off them."

Yuuri could barely register the intensity of Victor's gaze, the sound of his own heart cracking was almost deafening.

What did you even think, you silly?

There's nothing beautiful or mesmerizing about dumb, clumsy Katsuki Yuuri.

It's honestly a miracle he even notices you exist.

He swallowed a rush of tears that he couldn't dare show Victor. "That's… that sounds great, Victor." He forced himself to say. "I'm sure that person also thinks you're wonderful." Because who wouldn't.

To his surprise, Victor's eyes widened, beautiful roses blossoming on his pale cheeks and he smiled as brightly as the day they first skated together. "You really think so, Yuuri? I'm so happy to hear that!"

Yuuri managed to pull out a small smile.

It was okay. Even being able to be Victor's friend was more than he would've ever dreamed of. And if a beautiful person could make Victor happy, then Yuuri would be happy for him.

He'd held on to that conviction for two years now, but knew there was little helping the twinge of heartache every time he thought about it.

True to Victor's prediction, Yuuri's parents didn't put up even the smallest objection when Victor finally came to knock on their front door and ask for permission to take Yuuri out.

"Told you." Victor said, grinning, as they walked down Yuuri's entryway, and Yuuri was only mildly annoyed by his playful cockiness. "They totally love me."

They're not the only ones, Yuuri thought, and was glad for the darkness that hid his fierce blush.

Victor halted when they reached the outside of the fence, then moved out of the way so Yuuri could stand beside him "Ta-da!" he cheered, his hands pointing at his yellow bicycle that was lying against the fence. But it was a little different now. Yuuri gasped in surprise and reached to touch the newly added rack that sat on top of the back wheel. He looked up at Victor with wide eyes. "B-but why?" he asked. Had Victor really ruined his beautiful and extremely expensive bicycle with such a contraption?

"It's obvious isn't it? I can take Yuuri with me like this." Victor explained, grinning. "It's not the most sophisticated carriage, but we won't need anything else for tonight." he added, putting on his helmet and passing one to Yuuri. "Ah, wear this, safety first, right?"

Yuuri looked at the helmet. It was hard to make out in the dark of night, but upon closer inspection he saw it was blue with a print of poodles. His heart skipped a beat. "I-it's really cute."

"I'm glad, I was really worried about choosing a design you liked."

It was things like this, Victor's understated kindness and how thoughtful he was, that made it impossible for Yuuri to give up on that tug of hope in his heart, however nonsensical it was. Sometimes he wished Victor weren't so kind to him, if only so Yuuri could move on from his fruitless adoration and be the supportive friend Victor deserved.

Yuuri fumbled a little to strap the helmet on and adjust it, and by the time he was done with it, Victor was hopping on the bike before turning to look at him. "Come on, Yuuri, we've got a—" he cut himself off suddenly and started coughing, like he'd choked on his own spit, and looked away.

"Victor?"

"N-nothing, I'm fine, just- I'm fine." He garbled, hiding his face in his palms.

Yuuri quirked an eyebrow, but asked no more and climbed on the rack tentatively. "Is this really okay? I'm not too heavy?" He asked, trying to balance his weight as Victor started pedaling.

"Not at all, light as a feather." Victor replied back, his voice still coming out a little hoarse

His eyes found Victor's broad back and his heart clenched. Surely it'd be okay if he held on to—No, no, he couldn't allow himself to think like that. It'd probably be uncomfortable for Victor who was in love with someone else, to have awkward, silly Yuuri hugging him like that ('Victor hugs you all the time' a part of his mind said, but Yuuri was feeling too insecure tonight to listen to it.) And what if his hands went crazy and started wandering, what if he was drawn into the heat of Victor's body and ended doing something creepy like breathing in his sweet floral cologne. It's not right, he told himself as he fumbled to hold on to the rack so he wouldn't fall off, it's not right and you can't be so greedy. Victor already gave him too much and it wouldn't be right of him to want for more.

Victor stopped before they reached the end of the street and Yuuri was sure he'd say he was too heavy after all and maybe let's just give up this whole thing, whatever it is, see you tomorrow at school.

"Yuuri? Hold on to me? I'm worried you'll fall like that." He said instead, pointing with his eyes at the tight grip Yuuri had on the metallic rack.

Yuuri inhaled sharply and looked down at his fingers. He's too kind.

"Okay…" he said simply, his heart lodged at the base of his throat. He let go of the rack, shut his eyes, and clutched the back of Victor's jacket. Victor didn't move.

Then Victor's hands were on Yuuri's wrists, pulling him forward until his arms were wrapped around Victor's waist, his nose almost touching the loose strands of silver hair on his nape. Yuuri said nothing, his heart beating loudly against his ribcage, using all his willpower not to take a deep inhale that would make him seem like a creep.

It was only when Victor finally spoke, breaking the tension, that Yuuri realized they'd both been breathing quietly for at least two minutes. "I-it's safer like this." He said softly, squeezing Yuuri's hands where they lay on his stomach (and until then, Yuuri hadn't noticed that Victor's hands were on top of his) before taking the handle and pedaling again.

They rode in silence, the chilly night wind freezing the tip of Yuuri's nose. Searching for warmth, he buried his nose in the crook of Victor's neck and held him just a little bit tighter, so his chest was almost flush against Victor's back. The closeness gave him so much comfort he thought he might even fall asleep—

-for all three seconds before they caught a sharp bump which almost startled Yuuri bad enough to let go.

"Shit! I'm sorry, Yuuri, are you okay?" Victor's voice sounded frantic as the bike started to slow down.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I was just… surprised." He managed to squeak, suddenly self-conscious of how close he was to Victor, so he pulled back.

"W-well, surprising you is my thing, right?" Victor laughed nervously, still pedaling slowly.

Yuuri thought there was something peculiar about that statement that he should be picking up on, but he didn't know what it was. "If this other surprise of yours also includes a near-death experience, I'm afraid I'll have to pass." He said instead, letting himself grin cheekily.

"Yuuri's so cruel I could believe you'd dump me alone in the dark just for a little bump that caught me distracted." Victor sighed melodramatically and Yuuri giggled.

"Well, you're not supposed to be distracted while driving."

Victor chuckled. "I was just thinking how your birthday's coming soon, so I'll get to eat your Mom's delicious katsudon."

Yuuri's giggles turned to full laughter. "Oh? So you only care about my birthday because you get to eat katsudon? When we get back I'll have to rethink my list of guests, I believe."

"Yuuri!" Victor's screech was so loud it almost sounded sincere. "Don't say that, I'd be devastated!"

"For the katsudon?" Yuuri pressed, playfully.

Unexpectedly, the bike came to a complete halt and Victor tilted his face to look at him in the eye. "I'd hate it if I couldn't see you on your birthday, Yuuri."

Yuuri's laughter stopped just as suddenly, and his breathing hitched.

Victor didn't seem to notice though. "Oh, we're here." He said wistfully and Yuuri hurried to pull his hands away from Victor's waist and step down from the bike.

Not only did it not go quite as planned, but the next he knew there was a metallic crash and his body hit the ground with a dull thud.

Except what he hit was softer than the ground and produced a breathy 'oof' upon impact.

"V-Victor!"

When Yuuri tried to scramble off and help Victor get up again, he realized what had caused the problem to begin with.

"I-I'm so sorry, I-I… got caught on your…" he stammered as he struggled to unhook the loose thread of his sleeve from the button on Victor's coat.

"Oh no, don't worry, it's fine." Victor said, trying to appease him. "Here, just let me—" his fingers found the thread and pulled it loose. "There, done."

Yuuri could almost taste his own heart at the base of his throat. Victor's fingertips were softly touching his. Even such a minimal point of contact burned. He was still lying on top of Victor's, whose cheeks looked a little bit pink, as did the tip of his nose. His eyes were wide, staring right into Yuuri's, and so clear they reflected the stars above them. His hair was disheveled and fanning around his face. And his lips looked soft and wet and beautiful.

It was inviting, drawing him in.

"Am I…"

Misunderstanding?

The question remain unasked.

Is it even possible…?

His hand trailed over denim, warm from pedaling.

I do have someone I love

"Can't it be me?"

He could almost taste Victor's minty breath. Feel his fluttering lashes tickle his cheeks.

They're beautiful and inspiring, and so mesmerizing I could never look away.

It can't.

Victor's breath hitched

Yuuri jolted.

It's not me.

He bolted up gasping, covering his mouth with his hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Victor."

He felt tears prickle the corners of his eyes.

"Yuuri?!"

He ruined it. He ruined everything.

"I-I'm going home." He turned away and rushed in a random direction because he didn't know where he was or how to go back but it didn't matter because he couldn't possibly look at Victor's face right now. Or ever again. What would it look like? Disappointment? Anger? Betrayal? He didn't want to know, never wanted to imagine it. Never thought there'd be a day in which Victor wouldn't smile at him anymore. And he'd brought it all on himself.

Somewhere in the depth of his mind, there was a small voice telling him if you were going to blow it all up you should've gone through with it. At least we would've known how it felt.

Maybe this had been inevitable from the start.

He felt a harsh tug on his sleeve.

"Yuuri, wait!"

He tried to pull away, but his knees were trembling, so he stood there instead, trying his best to hold back the tears and refusing to meet Victor's gaze.

"I-I'm so so-sorry, Victor y-you don't have to b-be kind to me. I-I know I crossed a line I…" he felt the first couple of tears run down his cheeks "I'm just… I'm just going to head back home, I'm sorry."

Victor only tugged on his sleeve more insistently. "Hold on, please, I'm not sure I'm—oh god, Yuuri you're crying! Yuuri, what's wrong?"

Yuuri wasn't sure if Victor was acting like he didn't know because he was trying to show Yuuri some kindness and pretend nothing happened or if he was actually being cruel and trying to make Yuuri admit what he had done. But he sounded so panicked as he reached for Yuuri's face with a handkerchief, it made Yuuri's heart ache because even now, even after Yuuri had done the unforgiveable and breached the trust of their friendship, Victor was still unbelievably kind.

"I'm sorry I tried to kiss you." He muttered, almost choked on the last word, doing his best to swallow a sob.

"What?"

Maybe Victor wasn't being kind after all. Maybe he was trying to humiliate Yuuri.

"I'm sorry I tried to kiss you!" he repeated, angry at himself or Victor, he wasn't sure.

Victor finally let go of his sleeve. But instead of letting Yuuri run away so he could get lost in the night and never show his face again, he stepped around Yuuri so they were standing face to face, except for Yuuri's eyes, that were still stubbornly fixated on the grass beneath them.

The next words he said were so absurd they made Yuuri question whether he was truly awake.

"The only thing I'm sorry for is not reacting fast enough to meet you halfway."

Too shocked to stop himself, he looked up at Victor, whose face looked partly saddened, and partly determined.

"Eh?"

Victor sighed, a sad smile appearing on his lips. "Yuuri, have I not been clear enough?" he asked, wiping the tears from Yuuri's cheeks with his thumb and letting his hands cup his face afterwards. "I thought I was being extremely obvious."

Yuuri swallowed thickly around the knot at the base of his throat. "I-I don't… I don't understand." He was doing his best effort to think straight instead of melting into Victor's warm touch.

"Yuuri, I've been trying to romance you for the better part of the last two years."

Suddenly, he started to think this might be an actual dream after all.

"I thought for sure you knew and were just playing hard to get. To be honest I was starting to get worried that you were just stalling until my graduation so you could be free of me at last."

This just… "Victor that… that doesn't make any sense, we'd barely met two years ago."

Victor's eyelashes fluttered, his eyes sparkling as he grabbed both of Yuuri's hands in his, smiling brightly. "It was love at first sight!" And it was so clear, so pure, so transparently sincere Yuuri felt the whole world come to a halt.

"But Victor…" he choked, his eyes were stinging again and his heart pounded violently inside his chest and he was terrified to ask more, to make sure, because if he was misunderstanding, if this was a dream he wasn't sure he'd ever recover. "You said… Yu-chan asked and you said there was someone you… you l-loved. And you said that person was—"

"Beautiful and inspiring and so mesmerizing that I could never take my eyes off them."

More tears streamed down his face. "I'm nothing like that!"

Victor squeezed his hands tighter, rubbing the back of his palm with his thumb, warm and soothing.

"Oh, Yuuri, you're all that and so much more I don't think there are words that would suffice to describe." A light rosey blush took on Victor's cheeks and his smile turned sheepish. "To tell you the truth, that day we crashed at the rink I was too distracted watching you I didn't even think to move away when I saw you approaching." He scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly

Yuuri's eyes widened in confusion and disbelief.

"Wait, what? No but—" This just wasn't… how could Victor have seen anything remotely interesting in Yuuri that day? "I was just doing compulsory figures…"

"Compulsory figures are the origin of the sport for a reason. And the way you skate Yuuri, no matter what you're doing, there's a musicality to it that I'd never seen before. I was immediately charmed. Still am, more and more every day." He was suddenly very close. "No one has ever surprised me like you do, Yuuri. And I want a chance to surprise you just as much."

Yuuri had long stopped minding the intense beating of his heart, or the tears that were not quite heartbreak anymore but he wasn't really sure of what they were either or the wild swarm of butterflies in his belly because all he knew was he was falling, falling again and again like he had on that ice rink two years ago with Victor's beautiful smiles and his raw sincerity and the kindness on his voice. And he kept falling and falling and falling in love.

Until he was kissing Victor.

It was quick, so quick he didn't even have time to fully close his eyes, and he barely even felt it, but awkward, and he pulled away immediately, burning with self-consciousness.

"S-Sorry, I just… felt I had to finish what I started." he blurted, then wished to bury himself in shame.

Victor grinned, the flush on the tip of his nose turning the brightest crimson. "Never apologize for that, my Yuuri." He said, barely above a whisper, leaning in closer, and this time Yuuri did close his eyes and did feel the softness of Victor's lips, the warmth of his breath, the flutter of his eyelashes, the tenderness of his fingers cupping Yuuri's chin. It was so good, so right he kept his eyes closed even after Victor pulled away, trying to carve this moment into his memory, his mind not fully convinced this was actually really happening.

"Oh! It started!"

Yuuri opened his eyes, and saw Victor wasn't looking at him anymore, but at the sky.

"What started?" He asked, oddly miffed.

It all felt right again when Victor looked back at him, smiling, the tip of his nose still that lovely crimson Yuuri so adored. "The meteor shower." He said simply, pointing at the night sky just as a streak of light crossed through it. And then another, and another one. Falling, and falling and brightening the night.

"Is this…?"

"Your surprise, yes. I wanted to bring you far from the city so we could see it properly. Do you like it?"

Yuuri's heart fluttered, his eyes following the dancing stars, the shapes they painted on the black canvas. "It's beautiful…" he breathed.

He flinched when he felt Victor's hands tentatively touch his hips, but he wasted less than a heartbeat pulling him closer, so his arms were around his waist.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Yuuri leaned into the embrace, sighing when he felt Victor's hot breathe close to his ear, and decided not to say anything about how he would've been happy enough just watching the reflection of the stars in Victor's eyes.

The ride back was quiet, but Yuuri barely felt the cold of the wind, so warm with happiness or from being pressed so close to Victor's body, he wasn't sure.

He was almost reluctant to let go when they finally reached his house, but he forced himself to go through with it. He couldn't be so greedy.

"Thank you, Victor…" for tonight, he intended to say, but instead "For everything." And it fit so much better.

"We're only ever getting started, Yuuri." Victor replied softly, grazing Yuuri's cheeks with his knuckles.

Yuuri leaned into the touch and looked up to meet Victor's eyes, his heart suddenly pounding as one single question plagued his mind and he wasn't sure he'd be bold enough to ask if he didn't do it tonight.

"So… are we-uhm… d-dating?"

Victor gasped in mock horror, "Yuuri, I'm wearing expensive cologne and my brand new jeans, I had around ten million breath mints before leaving home to fetch you on my bike which I had modified specifically so I could carry you with me to watch a meteor shower four days from your birthday, how much more date-y must I be to satisfy you?"

Yuuri's eyes widened and his cheeks heated up. His gaze went up and down Victor's body, taking it all in again, remembering the minty smell of his breath and the floral cologne on his neck. He suddenly felt very silly for not picking on it before.

"And I also tried to whisk you away out your window, but you wouldn't play along on that."

Unable to hold it back anymore, Yuuri laughed. "Then why not on my actual birthday?" He heard himself say, his lips curling slightly into a teasing smirk.

Victor frowned, affronted."Katsuki Yuuri, I know I'm amazing but let me tell you I do not control astronomical phenomena." He chided. "But if you asked me to, I would bring the stars down for you, my dear." He added with a playful wink.

Yuuri felt his face burn and he buried it in his hands. "I can't believe you just said that." He whined, not sure if he loved it or hated it.

"Why not? It's a good line." He tugged Yuuri's hands away from his face and leaned down to peck the tip of his nose. "And it's true." Another quick peck to his cheek. "And since we're officially dating, there's one more thing that is an absolute must at the end of every date, don't you agree?"

It took Yuuri a moment to catch on to what Victor was getting at, and he probably would've taken longer if Victor hadn't been leaning just the little bit closer while pointedly staring at his mouth. And Yuuri leaned forward too, meeting Victor halfway, wrapping his arms around Victor's neck as their lips connected once again, gentle and chaste and still so good and right, and Yuuri felt like he was watching the meteor shower again but also feeling it over every inch of his body and in every beat of his heart.

He blinked rapidly as they pulled away. At this point, he wondered if the heat would ever leave his cheeks.

"Good night, Victor." He whispered

Victor's smile had never looked so affectionate. "Good night, Yuuri."

They lingered for what could've been minutes or days. It needed not be said that neither wanted to part ways, too entranced in each other's eyes and the joy of the new adventure they were starting together.

The spell was broken by Vicchan's sharp yipping, followed by his mother's voice calling "Yuuri, is that you?"

Victor sighed in surrender and finally pulled away. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Yuuri nodded and took one step back himself. Tomorrow suddenly sounded like an eternity away.

But he knew tomorrow and the day after, and the day after that, he'd find himself falling and falling and falling.

And maybe Victor would fall with him (for him) too.

The end

This was a commission from ainiyuku who wanted a Highschool AU with Yuuri pining based on the song "Fallingforyou" by The 1975s. For some reason I've always found it harder to write from Yuuri's POV than from Victor's, and I struggled a bit to keep the balance between insecure Yuuri and bold and daring Yuuri, so it was quite a challenge to write. I kind of wanted to do a side B from Victor's POV if only to show him having a minimeltdown when he saw how cute Yuuri looked with the poodle helmet lol, but I'm satisfied with the little hints of how head over heels he is. I do hope you guys like it, I'll be looking forward to hearing your opinions