Work Text:
The first week at a new job always comes with challenges, Yuuri knew this.
He hadn’t anticipated his first week being this difficult , however .
The first day wasn’t too bad, a chilled out Friday meeting new people and signing paperwork. Victor was waiting for him outside the main doors when he arrived, wrapped up in a long grey coat, hands in his pockets, scarf secured around his neck. The tips of his ears and nose were tinted pink from the cool September breeze, the beautiful flush screamingly apparent against his pale skin. Yuuri refused to acknowledge how cute it made him look.
His eyes lit up when he saw Yuuri approach, the blue shining so brightly it would make diamonds envious, walking speedily down the pavement to meet him halfway.
“Yuuri! It’s so good to see you again!”
Yuuri couldn’t help but beam back, despite his nerves. He’s so friendly…I’d expect a CEO to act a little more distant…
“Hi Mr Nikiforov, it’s nice to see you too”
Victor hummed happily, tucking his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “First day on the job! Are you excited?” Victor’s voice was light and kind, seeming genuinely curious as to how Yuuri was feeling. The thought alone made Yuuri’s heart race in a way he couldn’t explain.
Shyly, he nodded, hoping against hope that he didn’t appear too nervous. If he did, Victor didn’t mention it.
The CEO effortlessly filled the silence as they made their way to the elevators, the sleek glass doors sending a wave of nostalgia Yuuri’s way. “I should’ve mentioned the other day, but you’ll be reporting to Mr Cialdini, he’s the head of your department. My office is on your floor however, so I overlook and organise a lot of the workloads for the Accounting team, especially when Celestino is at the Italy office”
Yuuri nodded, fiddling with the strap on his bag. Was it normal for the company CEO to greet new employees when they arrived at work?
“So…uh, you’re technically my manager then. So I’m under you?”
An awkward pause lingered in the air as Yuuri replayed his own words in his mind, heat swiftly rising on his cheeks at the double entendre.
“Not under you! I mean I know I’m not under you, more like beneath you- ah! I mean I service you…? I-“
What on earth are you saying?! Why would you say something like that whilst in an elevator!? There’s no escape!!
Burying his face in his hands, fighting the overwhelming urge to smash the emergency help button, he mumbled repeated apologies, trying his best to ignore Victor melodic laughter.
“Don’t be so nervous, everything’s okay! You’ll be reporting to me, yes, however I prefer to think that we’re working together! You’ll communicate with Celestino, ah, I mean Mr Cialdini over the phone, however he normally comes to visit for a week every two months, so you’ll meet him in person eventually”
Yuuri hummed in acknowledgment, a desperate attempt to appear nonchalant, grateful to Victor for giving him an out.
“So I’m under you?” God I loathe myself…
Now in a semi-comfortable, semi-awkward silence, Victor wordlessly lead Yuuri out of the elevator, down the busy hallway, expensive leather shoes sounding on the pristine grey marble.
Their floor was nicer than Yuuri was used to, but not exactly a surprise given the net value of the company itself. The sleek, modern design appeared to continue throughout the building; grey marble floors and immaculate white walls, plants and greenery dotted around. The desks were adorned with shiny new technology, silver computers and telephones glistening as sunlight poured in through the crystal clear, oversized, commercial windows.
Victor led him closer to the bank of desks, and Yuuri couldn’t hide his widening grin.
“I’ve learnt that you are already familiar with Phichit, so I thought you two would like to sit together!”
The roommates beamed at each other, like two schoolboys paired together at the back of the classroom. Of course, they’d be professional in the workplace, however it was always fun to work with friends.
The rest of the introductions went relatively well. Mila and Sara were quick to introduce themselves, Mila even quicker to compliment his suit. A few of the other staff were quieter, but still polite, Otabek, Guang Hong and Leo for example. And then there was JJ. JJ wasn’t rude, per-say, Yuuri just thought that their personalities clashed. He wasn’t used to being around someone with such a big head. But still, he was polite enough.
“Ah, I almost forgot! We have two Yuuri’s now!” Victor turned to a short blonde, who had stayed rooted in his desk chair, refusing to greet Yuuri. “We’ll call you Yurio to avoid confusion, da?”
Yuri scowled at this, his glare burning into the back of Yuuri’s head as the latter sweated nervously. He really didn’t like confrontation.
Throughout the course of the day, Yuuri tried to make peace with Yuri, attempting conversation about Russia, his internship, even tigers with some helpful prompting from Otabek, but nothing worked.
Yurio was an interesting one. And by interesting, Yuuri meant fucking horrible. But Yuuri couldn’t blame him, not in the slightest. He was a teenager, under immense pressure working for such a large company at such a young age. Yuuri vows he would eventually befriend him.
He was quite lucky in a way, the familiarity of his boss and roommate proving much comfort.
He did slightly regret informing him about his tiny crush on their CEO.
Now, whenever Victor would be within close proximity, Phichit would grin knowingly, wiggling his eyebrows, resulting in Yuuri bashfully batting at his arm.
Sadly for Yuuri, the introductions were the highlight of his week. A series of misfortune and embarrassment followed, slowly breaking him down until he was a mere shell of a human being.
Monday morning, his second day of work, he accidentally forgot his key card, resulting in him having to shamefully ask the receptionist to grant him access to his floor. Not remembering him from the day before, said receptionist thought that he was a security risk, leading to Victor having to go down and collect him himself.
Tuesday he spilt coffee on himself first thing in the morning, unable to go home and change, having to suffer in his soiled shirt.
Wednesday, on call with his manager for the first time, he mispronounced his name twice and mistakenly hung up on him once.
Thursday was the worst though, accidentally burning his finger on the hot kettle when making his morning cup of tea, having to blink back his tears before his new co-workers could notice. The injured digit reddened quickly, the skin feeling hot and sore. Sighing in dismay, Yuuri went on the hunt for a first aid kit, accidentally walking into Victor’s private office whilst he was in the middle of a very important business call.
Victor jolted as the door opened, phone held to his ear, his other hand raking through his perfect hair in frustration. He turned to the noise, not registering Yuuri’s presence right away, yelling at the intruder to get out. Yuuri gasped, face heating up as he realised his mistake, rapidly backing up into the door, wincing when the handle jarred into his back. He scrambled for the knob, swinging it open and quickly escaping, ushered tears of embarrassment and anxiety dripping down his face.
Victor blinked, struggling to take it what just happened, the muffled voice on the other end of the phone still droning away. He placed the phone down, choosing to worry about the consequences later, now frantically making his way out the office
-
Yuuri was sitting in his car Thursday afternoon, burnt finger still throbbing, forehead resting on the steering wheel in defeat, too scared to return inside the building after his lunch break.
You’re such a fuck up, I bet Victor is regretting hiring you already…
His hands shook, eyes watering as he contemplated driving away, never to return again.
Victor would love that, he’s so disappointed in you…
He sobbed, cheeks burning with embarrassment as he remembered Victor’s furious expression, his voice harsh and stern, beautiful blue eyes burning with irritation and outrage. It had really been a terrible week.
Exhaling shakily, he peeled himself off of the wheel, leaning back in the car seat, squeezing his eyes shut as his head thudded against the headrest.
A knock on his passenger side window made his eyes shoot open, head whipping around quickly to locate the source.
Oh no…
There Victor stood, peering through the window, a nervous smile on his face. Yuuri furiously wiped at his eyes, praying they didn’t look too red and puffy, stretching to open the passenger door.
“Mr Nikiforov! I’m so sorry about before! I didn’t mean to interrupt your call! I was just looking for-“
“-This?”
Victor let himself in, sliding gracefully into the passenger seat, closing the door behind him. In his hands was a small first aid kit. Yuuri blinked in surprise, thinking back to earlier that day, cringing at the memory. I hadn’t told him that I needed first aid…
As if a mind reader, Victor opens the lid of the box, peering over at where Yuuri was currently shielding his injured finger . “ After you ran out I knew it was something serious. I asked around and was told that you burned yourself?” He was actively leaning over now, eyes dripping in concern. Yuuri flushed, feeling unusually embarrassed, nodding shyly.
“I wouldn’t say it’s anything serious, I’m fine! I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting, I know it was important…”
Yuuri felt his eyes begin to water, his heart pounding as panic began to set in.
“A-And I’m sorry about forgetting my key card and making you go all the way down to reception to get me. And for spilling coffee on m-myself and the kitchen floor. And for f-forgetting people’s names…”
He sobbed, wracking in a jagged breath as he felt Victor stiffen beside him.
“I’m sorry for w-wasting your time because I couldn’t even make a cup of tea without b-burning myself and I’m so stupid and such a fuck up and you must regret hiring me-“
“Yuuri stop! You need to take a deep breath and calm down. Shhh, yeah that’s it…just take a deep breath for me”
Yuuri gasped, face now red and blotchy, squeezing his eyes shut and heaving in a breath.
I can’t believe Victor is seeing me like this…I’m never going to live this down…
He forced himself to relax his breathing, wanting the experience to be over as quickly as possible.
Victor’s hand reached out to Yuuri’s shaky frame, hovering over his arm. Victor looked him in the eye, silently asking for consent. Yuuri shakily nodded, an embarrassing gasp escaping him as Victor gently rested his hand on his arm, thumb rubbing in soothing circles.
“Yuuri. It’s the first week of your first ever job, that’s a big deal. You are going so well, give yourself more credit!” His voice was gentle but firm, his soft hand continuing to rub Yuuri’s arm in comfort. When Yuuri stayed silent, he continued.
“I shouldn’t have ever yelled at you like that. When you came in I didn’t know it was you, but that’s still no excuse to talk to my employees like that. I’m so sorry, Yuuri, can you forgive me?”
Mouth hanging open, Yuuri couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Victor…is apologising to me!?
“Forgive y-you!? But I’m the one who messed up! I went into your office-“
“-because you were in pain and not thinking clearly. Speaking of which…”
He trailed off, eyes casting downwards to where Yuuri was still hiding his injuring, holding his hand out and looking at Yuuri expectedly. Yuuri turned red.
“O-Oh no, please don’t worry, I can do it. I know you’re busy-“
“ Yuuri… ”
He continued to hold his hand out, waiting patiently until Yuuri sighed in defeat, reluctantly sliding his hand into Victor’s. The Russian leaned closer, observing the digit, before letting out a hiss of sympathy.
“Oh Yuuri, you poor thing. Why didn’t you mention anything sooner?”
He hastily tore open a packet of burn ointment, generously slavering it onto the injury. Yuuri bit his lip, watching as Victor slowly unraveled a role of bandage, carefully sliding it over his finger and securing it loosely. “Thank you, Victor…”
He looked down at his now wrapped finger, a small smile tugging at his lips, before he replayed his words back in his mind.
“Ah, I mean Mr Nikiforov! Sorry, I didn’t, I wasn’t-“
He was cut off by Victor’s infectious laughter, the CEO shaking his head and squeezing his arm.
“It’s okay, you can call me Victor! It’s not like I call you Mr Katsuki!”
Yuuri’s heartbeat quickened in a way he couldn’t explain, his stomach doing somersaults at A. The fact he has permission to call Victor by his name, and B. The fact he got to hear the words ‘Mr Katsuki’ fall from his beautiful lips.
Oh this is definitely more than just professional admiration…
“Okay…thank you, Victor. And I’m sorry again for interrupting your call. I didn’t mess anything up in the business, did I?”
Victor’s gaze softened at Yuuri’s concerned expression, his voice dripping with fear and guilt.
“Yuuri of course you didn’t. It was only the Chairman of the company and a few clients. And Yakov loves me! It’s not the first time I’ve hung up on him, and it definitely won’t be the last!”
Yuuri paled instantly.
“Y-You hung up on him…?”
Victor simply blinked back, unfazed.
“Well, yes. I was worried about you, you were clearly in trouble, and me yelling at you definitely didn’t help, so I had to make things right!”
Yuuri could only nod as he processed the words.
Victor cares about you… you can be honest with him…
“Victor…is there any part of you that regrets hiring me after seeing how I’ve acted this week?”
Blue eyes were on him in seconds, filled with horror and outrage.
“What!? Oh Yuuri, how could you ask something like that? Of course I don’t! It’s your first week of your first ever job, I’m expecting you to make mistakes, anyone would!”
Silence filled the car as Yuuri stiffly nodded, still a little unsure. His eye casted downwards to fiddle with his seatbelt as he thought back to the sheer number of mistakes he had made that week.
He heard Victor sigh, before feeling two cold fingertips on his chin, gently tilting his face up to meet his gaze.
“As a matter of fact, I was actually talking to Chairman Feltsman about you” Yuuri’s heart rate quickened rapidly. “We were discussing your first batch of reports, and he was telling me just how impressed he was with your work”
Yuuri fiddled with the bandage as he felt his face heat up, his gaze still locked with Victor’s.
“R-Really? Mine?”
Victor beamed, dropping his chin to hold his busy fingers, preventing him from accidentally undoing the ties.
“Yes! You write with such knowledge and elegance, you really know your stuff! All your figures and statistics were accurate, and you used a lot! Your qualitative data was on point too, he particularly liked that one paragraph you wrote comparing the different mandates to the risk-adjusted returns!”
Yuuri let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. So he wasn’t doing as badly as he thought! Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, and sadly, couldn’t hide the shyness in his quiet voice. “And you? What did you think?”
Victor’s grin melted into a soft smile. “ I think you’re amazing , Yuuri. I can tell already that I’m never, ever going to regret hiring you…”
Yuuri was speechless, any words he had planned to say now gone, instead spluttering out a string of nonsense and blushing madly. Had it always been this hot inside his car? God, his face felt on fire.
“Thank you, Victor. That’s really good to hear…”
Victor squeezed his hand under his own.
“You’re very welcome Yuuri. If you ever doubt your place in this company, just let me know, and I’ll put your mind at ease. Now, ready to head back inside?”
Yuuri tore his eyes away from Victor’s which, given their beauty, was a lot harder than he anticipated. Taking a steely breath, he realised that their corporate building looked a lot less intimidating than it did 20 minutes ago. Yuuri had a very strong feeling as to why.
“Yes, let’s go”
-
Friday went, without a doubt, a lot smoother than the rest of the week. He had remembered everything he needed, arrived to work with a few minutes to prepare for the day, and had finished his training exercises earlier than he was expecting. Humming happily to himself, he leaned forward to check the time displayed on his monitor. 4:02pm. His smiled widened. The day was just flying by.
“I think I’m going to make a cup of tea, did anyone want anything?”
Phichit leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head as he sighed dramatically. “I’m good thanks! I could so go for a milkshake right now though…”
Yuuri laughed fondly, rolling his eyes. Typical Phichit. “Sorry Peach, I’m only offering tea or coffee” Phichit scowled playfully, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing in mock annoyance.
“Sometimes I wonder why we’re friends, do you even love me!?”
Yuuri squeezed his shoulder as he passed him, “Not a milkshake making amount, no. Anyone else?”
Yurio scoffed from behind his screen. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to make the tea, klutz?”
Glancing down at his wrapped finger before he could stop himself, Yuuri chuckled lightly.
“I’ll be fine, I’ll just be more careful”
Otabek peered past his monitor, leaning over to Yurio’s side, the latter jumping at the sudden intrusion of space. “I’m okay, thank you for offering though”
Yuuri smiled and nodded, quickly checking that his screen was locked before making his way to the kitchen. “Why don’t you ask Victor, Yuuri? I’m sure he wouldn’t turn you down~”
Yuuri stilled instantly, whipping around to give his roommate a flustered look. Phichit simply smirked knowingly in response, leaving him at a loss for words. Taking a determined breath, Yuuri made his way down the hall, around the corner to Victor’s private office, the large grey doors both shut. Inhaling deeply, he swiftly knocked at the door before he could stop himself.
“Come in~”
The doors revealed Victor sat in his office chair, focused eyes stuck to his screen as he scribbled into a notebook. His eyes darted to the door and the pen stopped immediately, a smile taking over his concentrated expression.
“Yuuri~! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
He couldn’t help but smile inwardly. Why was I nervous to speak to him again?
“Hi Mr Ni- ah! I mean Victor!”
Victor smirked teasingly from behind his desk as Yuuri flushed pink, cursing internally. He winked and Yuuri felt his soul leave his body.
“ Hi Yuuri~ ”
He was screwed. If he had any doubt about his bisexuality beforehand, he definitely didn’t now. This wasn’t admiration or idolisation. This was a crush.
“Hi…I um, well I-“
Why am I here again?
He paused for a moment, closing his eyes to block out Victor’s beautifully teasing features, allowing him to collect his thoughts.
“I’m making tea. Did you want a mug?”
Victor blinked in surprise, slowly standing from behind his desk. “That’s very sweet of you to offer, Yuuri, I would love one!” Yuuri smiled happily and nodded, turning to leave the office, his pace faltering when he realised that Victor was following him.
“Oh, it’s okay, I can bring the mug to your office for you”
Victor glanced to the side sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes distant in thought.
“…I wanted to stretch my legs, and I can help!”
Not entirely convinced, Yuuri hummed noncommittally, opening the cupboard to pull down two mugs; a simple blue one for him, and Victor’s famous poodle mug. He smiled gratefully over his shoulder as he heard Victor flick the switch for the kettle, grabbing two tea bags whilst Victor took the sugar off of the top shelf with ease.
He’s so tall…I have to stand on my tip toes and climb on the counter if I want to reach the top shelf…
The ding from the kettle distracted him from starting at Victor’s muscular legs, blushing as he quickly brought the mugs over to the kettle, praying Victor hadn’t caught him. Just when he was about to reach for the kettle, Victor gently nudged him to the side with him hip, grasping the kettle himself and carefully pouring the boiling water into the two mugs.
Victor’s cheekbones were tinted pink and a small teasing smile was present on his lips. Yuuri crossed his arms in defiance.
“Victor…do you not trust me to make a cup of tea?”
The Russian couldn’t help but laugh at his offended tone. “Nooo…that’s not it! I uh…I mean…these kettles are dangerous, and I can’t risk my dear employee getting hurt! Much safer if I pour for you, da? Would you please get me the milk?” His voice trailed off quickly at the end, melting into a giggle as Yuuri shook his head in mock disbelief, handing him the carton.
“Unbelievable. I thought you said you had faith me~”
“ Oh I do~ Certainly when it comes to preparing reports. But maybe not so much when it comes to making tea”
He handed him his mug with a wink, a weak smile creeping onto Yuuri’s red face as he whispered his thanks before stumbling back to his desk, his mind a million miles away.
From that point on, whenever Yuuri wanted tea, Victor was there. Magically appearing with a smile and a steaming mug in his hands. Not that Yuuri minded of course.
It was nice to have someone looking out for him.