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Viktor's eighteenth birthday had passed by in an uneventful blur as it usually did. Having his birthday on the 25th of December meant that it was typically spent on his own as school was in the middle of winter break, and most of his friends spent the day with their families. Usually, this wasn't something that bothered him, however, this year hit especially hard. This year he felt the loneliness more pronounced, given that he actually had someone he wanted to spend it with.
It had only been about a month since he and Yuuri had officially started dating at the winter formal. After years of pining over his crush, Viktor finally decided to take a leap of faith and ask Yuuri to the dance. Those few seconds of silence where Yuuri had stood still in absolute shock had been one of the most terrifying moments in Viktor's life. But nothing could compare to the pretty blush and blinding smile Yuuri had given him a few moments later.
He would often catch himself reminiscing on that night and how Yuuri had looked so handsome in his suit, even if it was slightly oversized on him and his tie didn't match. Viktor had been so nervous as he had gotten ready that day, making sure every stray hair was laid perfectly in the intricate braid he had done and that the blue rose on the lapel was placed just right. It had been so worth it when Yuuri responded by saying that the rose matched his pretty eyes after Viktor had explained how it was his favorite color. Even better was the shy kiss Yuuri gave him after the dance when he dropped him off at his house.
They had been boyfriends since then, something that still made him feel butterflies in his stomach and had him smiling to himself whenever he thought about it. More than anything, he had wanted to spend his birthday with his boyfriend but had been unable to since Yuuri and his family had taken winter break to fly to Japan and visit their family. Viktor was happy for Yuuri; he really was. He knew how much Yuuri missed Hasetsu and his childhood friends from back home and was genuinely so happy that he was going to be able to visit them. While Yuuri had been so sweet and stayed up to make sure he was the first person to wish him a happy birthday, it did nothing to stop the ache he felt from being apart from the one person he wanted to spend the day with the most.
It was why he was so excited to return to school today and finally be reunited with his friends and Yuuri.
He picked up his pace as he headed towards his first class of the day, one he shared with Yuuri, excited to finally be able to see him after weeks. He took his usual seat and bounced his leg in anticipation, barely able to contain his giddy smile from taking up most of his face.
A few minutes went by, and still no sign of Yuuri.
No big deal; he had gotten there early anyways.To pass the time, he conversed politely with a few of his classmates, asking them about their holiday break until class started.
The bell rang.
Still no Yuuri.
This wasn't exactly uncommon, as Yuuri was notorious for accidentally sleeping in and being late to class. Viktor swore that if it weren't for Hiroko, Yuuri might accidentally end up sleeping the entire day away and miss school altogether. So he waited a few more minutes, feeling sure that Yuuri would come rushing in disheveled and apologizing in a few moments.
Twenty minutes passed, and still no sign of Yuuri. Huh.
Confused and slightly worried, Viktor sent him a text just to make sure everything was okay.
A few seconds later, his phone lit up from under his desk, where he was trying to hold it out of Mr. Cialdini's sight.
Yeah everything's fine just running a bit late!
I'll be there soon ♡(>ᴗ•)
Viktor bit his lip to try to contain a giggle at the thought of his boyfriend's cute messy bedhead and mismatched socks as he frantically tried to make it to class.
With his worries soothed, he settled back in to attempt to take notes for the rest of class.
By the time first period ended, Yuuri had still not shown up to school.
Now Viktor was getting a little more concerned but tried not to worry too much about it since Yuuri had said he was alright. He went on to his next class, sure that Yuuri would show up soon.
His following classes dragged on. All he was really thinking about was where Yuuri could be and whether he had shown up to school already. He had missed him so much over break and just really wanted to get to see his favorite person again.
The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. Making his way to the lunch tables outside, he caught sight of his group of friends. From the distance, he could make out the familiar face of Chris sitting next to Mila, who was trying to steal food from a scowling Yuri. They greeted him with smiles as he approached and settled into their table.
A few minutes later, he saw Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong making their way to their table, exchanging greetings with everyone else. Yuuri was noticeably missing from their group, making Viktor more alert. Yuuri always made his way to lunch with them since they all had physics together.
"Hey, where's Yuuri?" Viktor asked as Leo and Guang Hong took the seats in front of him.
"I'm not too sure actually; he wasn't in physics. I assumed he might be sick or something," Guang Hong responded, sounding uncertain.
"Sick?"
Now Viktor was worried.
"Nah he's not sick he's just running late, don't worry about it," Phichit said as he took his seat next to him and patted his shoulder consolingly.
"Yeah that's what he told me earlier but it's lunch now. Half the day has gone by already…"
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, you know how Yuuri is," Phichit said.
Viktor didn't feel convinced.
He shot a few more texts which were all answered with the same variation of "I'm okay! I'll be there soon!"
When lunch ended, Viktor dejectedly made his way to gym class. Not even the thought of knowing Coach Feltsman was going to let them play a soccer scrimmage could cheer him up. As he changed and pulled his hair into a high ponytail, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. The thought of going back to school and being reunited with Yuuri had helped him get through the lonely winter break. It reminded him of those few weeks he had spent mostly on his own. The day had not gone at all as he had expected. He took a deep breath, tried to get his feeling quelled, and put on his best smile as he made his way onto the field.
Viktor ran from one end of the field to the other, making passes and scoring goal after goal in a robotic fashion. He should have been pleased to see that he and his team were well prepared for the rest of the upcoming season, but instead, he lost himself in the game in a blank manner.
"VIKTOR!"
He had been so lost in thought the loud yell startled him, almost causing him to crash into Sara Crispino.
"Sorry, I thought I heard–" Viktor began as he tried to regain his balance before he was cut off.
"Viktor, look!" Sara giggled as she grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around toward the bleachers, and pointed to someone in the stands.
He blinked as he saw an excited Yuuri running down as fast as he could down the stands, holding his arm in a strange angle trying to hide something behind his back.
Viktor had barely registered the way the game had stopped entirely around him. Whispers echoed throughout the field as Phichit and Chris looked at each other with matching smirks. From the sidelines, Coach Feltsman could be heard grumbling about disrespectful students but ultimately let the scene play out. As he got closer, Viktor registered the slightly wild expression on Yuuri's face and the blinding grin.
Yuuri kept running, jumping over the railings instead of taking the last remaining stairs and sprinting across the field in his direction.
When he finally caught up with him, Yuuri took a moment to catch his breath and attempted to somewhat compose himself before he spoke.
"Do you know how hard blue roses are to find in this town?" Yuuri asked, still slightly breathless.
Because he had been distracted watching Yuuri's grand entrance onto the soccer field, he had failed to see the bouquet of blue roses Yuuri was holding out to him.
“Happy birthday, Vitya”
"My birthday already passed, though," Viktor noted, confused.
"I know, but we didn't get to celebrate properly."
"Is this why you've been missing half the day?"
"Yeah," Yuuri laughed self consciously as he began to explain, "I had originally called into this one shop a while back to make sure they had these specifically, but when I got there, they weren't the right shade. They were just all wrong. It turns out not all shops carry these, so I had to go to a few before I found the ones that looked like the one you wore to winter formal."
Viktor stood there in shock as he took in the fact that his boyfriend had basically skipped school, potentially risking getting in trouble and driven all over town just to get him flowers. No–to get him flowers that were the exact shade of blue. His favorite shade of blue, the shade of blue that Yuuri had said, reminded him of his "pretty eyes."
Overcome with emotion, all Viktor could do was tentatively reach out and touch one of the delicate petals.
Yuuri's smile faltered.
"It's okay if you don't like them! I know it's not the best–" Yuuri began before Viktor cut him off by taking the bouquet and throwing his arms around Yuuri's shoulders.
Viktor hugged him as tight as he dared, careful not to damage the flowers he was still holding onto. He smiled into the crook of Yuuri's neck as Yuuri let out a sound of surprise.
"Do you like them?" Yuuri whispered shyly next to his ear.
"I can't believe you," Viktor laughed in disbelief, "I love them, Yuuri."
He could feel Yuuri smile against his cheek. In the middle of a crowded soccer field, with a bouquet of blue roses in his hands and his boyfriend's arms wrapped around him, Viktor thought about how this day had turned out a million times better than he had originally hoped.