Yuuri's pov

"I'll cover the interview, you need to go home," I say firmly, looking at my roommate and best friend Phichit, making him pack his bag. He had gotten a call about a family emergency and I was making him go. We didn't have much for money but it was enough for a ticket home on such short notice.

"You shouldn't be doing this alone," he says stopping and looking at me. There was worry written across his face.

"I'll be fine," I reassure, throwing another shirt at him to pack. I was hoping it was enough for him to believe me. Phichit sighs, staring at me for a moment before packing it in the bag. Shortly after I'm pushing him out the door and into a taxi to the airport, knowing all too well that if I didn't, he'd decide to stay behind. Phichit was from Thailand and his grandmother was passing. I was not going to allow him to miss saying goodbye to her because of an interview with a company owner from Russia that was expanding into the US. Yes it was our final project but he let me go home to Japan to say goodbye to my family dog last year. It was the least I could do. I could handle it . . .

Since I had a little more time I carefully packed up our camera, tripod, notebook of questions, microphones, and lights all into "our" car. The guy from Russia that I would be interviewing was kind enough to get us a room at the hotel he was staying in to do the interview. Since they didn't yet have an official headquarters in the states, renting a room was our only option for the limited window they'd be in the country. Once my stuff was packed finding the popular hotel downtown wasn't too hard. Ten minutes later I was pushing the door open to the room we were supposed to use. I took advantage of the few minutes I had to check myself over in the bathroom mirror.

I was wearing a black button up shirt with black dress pants. I pray that it isn't too obvious that the pants were from the woman's aisle as I glance at the way they tightly hugged my hips. In my defense, I was in a pinch and they were the only thing that Phichit found that would fit. The button down shirt was more on the sheer side, something that was typically only worn during events related to my competitions . . . not business interviews. I look ridiculous. Good, but not for the impression I wanted to make. See, I wasn't supposed to be the one making an impression, I was supposed to be behind the camera, not in front of it. Phichit was going to do the actual interview.

I force myself away from my reflection to finish setting up, locking tripods into place and checking devices to make sure they were on and connected to the laptop that would take the audio recording. The camera audio was a back up option in case I fail to make the mics work, but I'm sure that it was all going to be fine. Maybe. God, I hope so. I can't afford to fail this, my family will be so disappointed in me.

The sudden loud knock at the door nearly gave me a heart attack. I stop fiddling with the instruments and hurried to answer the door. I felt my heart racing, my fear crawling up my throat. This is why I wasn't supposed to do the interview, damn it.

But I have to. I can do this.

I look up at the two discreetly dressed men that were at the door, each wearing finely in black tailored outfits.
"Are you Yuuri Katsuki?" One asks. I nod slowly.

"We're here to check the room over before Mr. Nikiforov comes down." The second explains, casting a glance at his partner.
"Yes ah, come on in. I guess," I stutter while stepping aside.

I remain quiet as they search the room. I didn't know that the man I was meeting with was so famous that he had special bodyguards. I found it a little odd. It could easily cause some problems if they started to mess with the content I could or couldn't use. "Mr. Nikiforov will be down in 15 minutes." One says before they both leave without sending me a second glance.
I was able to get my last-minute adjustments done before there was another knock at the door. Trying to get everything perfect was hard with only one person. I didn't want to mess anything up. I knew that everything was fine, but that didn't stop something in the back of my mind from prodding me with all sorts of worries.

Again, when I opened the door I was greeted by another pair of strangers. They looked friendlier than the last two did, and they were dressed finer as well. They look more welcoming. As welcoming as someone can look when you feel sort of terrified of them.

"Well aren't you cute," the one with blonde hair and brown hair says in an accent I couldn't quite place. I just knew that it certainly wasn't Russian like what I was expecting which threw me off. I brush it aside with a professional, hopefully convincing smile and gesture them towards the interview set up. I'd pushed the furniture around, bringing a table and two chairs to the center of the room.

"This may not be the best interview you have been in, sir," I warn before biting the inside of my cheek before quickly forcing myself to stop the nervous habit. "My partner who was supposed to be asking the questions had to fly home earlier because of a family emergency. I'm only good at the camera really."

"That's alright," The silver-haired one speaks up with more of the Russian accent I was expecting. "We have plenty of time today."

"You have a basic camera," The blonde one says walking over to my setup. "I can adjust it and your lights for you when you two sit down"

I nod slowly before stiffening when a thought occurred to me. The silver-haired one that had been nearly silent during this whole interaction was Viktor. "Umm you don't have to if you don't want to," I say quickly looking at him.

"Chris loves cameras," Viktor says as he approaches me. "Being behind them or in front of them, it doesn't matter. The camera will be in good hands," Viktor offered a polite smile. "You have mics for recording, yes?"

"Um yes, I do," I say scrambling for the mics on one of the side tables. "Would you like to put it on? On yourself I mean. I can do my own. I just don't know if you need or want um . . . help." please say no.

I feel my cheeks flush when he laughs. "Help would be appreciated," he smiles.

He's doing it on purpose I conclude when I catch the minuscule look Chris sends towards Viktor, a small raised brow.

I ignore it and nod as I unravel the cord before clipping the little mic below his collar while trying to keep my distance. All the while I feel his eyes burning into me, studying my every move as I try to avoid his gaze, hoping he doesn't notice the way my hands tremble as I hand him the battery pack so he can clip it to his belt.

"You're okay," he says softly. Even though his words are spoken delicately, the feeling of his analytical gaze doesn't dissipate.

I was too scared to look up. "You'll be seated in the white chair there," I say, casting him a small glance as I clip my own mic on. My heart just about drops when I feel the mic box slip out of my hands when I struggle a little bit with the stiff clip.

Viktor's hand darts to catch the device that I couldn't afford to replace if it broke. He looks down at me when he stands up fully after having to duck to grab the box. He ignores my hands when I offer to take the thing back from him, much to my dismay.

"Let me help," he says, his voice smooth and calm as he easily clips the box to my waistband. I expect there to be humor or disdain in his eyes, but there's nothing of the sort as he watches what he's doing. He doesn't appear bothered or annoyed by my pathetic actions. He also doesn't look indifferent, I can't tell what's going through his mind as he gently tilts my head up to adjust my mic before taking a second to look me over. I avoid his gaze when he does this, trying with all my power to refrain from blushing like an idiot.

"Where are you from?" he asks, leaning into my line of sight so I'll meet his eyes.

"J-Japan." I stutter. "I'm here on scholarship." I manage to hold his gaze this time and find myself distracted by his blue eyes.

"Viktor, you're here for an interview to help him finish his classes, not to flirt," Chris says, stepping in before Viktor can say anymore. The blonde earns himself a look from Viktor, one that would make Yuuri's skin crawl if he was on the other end of. He's too distracted from the silent look to worry about that Chris had just said.

Chris, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by Viktor's glower as he waved him off with a roll of his eyes. He mutters something that I can't understand. Whatever it was, it made Viktor scoff before he went and sat down, ordering me to do the same with a simple nod towards the seat across from him.

I look over at Chris as he moves to fix a light, shifting it slightly before sending me a wink and moving back behind the camera. "We're ready,"

I plaster on the smile I'd learned to perfect over the years, allowing my tension to completely dissipate as I turn to look at the man sitting across from me. This is all I have to do, just put on a smile, go to that calm and collected place and ask the simple questions from the book. That was all, it wasn't hard. I'd done far harder things in the past. This was nothing "Um Mr. Nikiforov, why don't you start out with telling us about what your company is and what it does?" My voice sounds far more collected than I feel.

"I fund and maintain the Russian Medical Research University in Moscow, the organization also has a number of scholarships and grants for students in order to extend schooling and research with the intention of helping young scientists and doctors alike to discover cures and safer medications for those who are sick," Viktor explains. "And please, call me Viktor."

I nod a little and look down at Phichit's notes for a second. "Okay, Mr. um ha- Viktor." I cringe at myself all the while he cracks a small smile at the failed catch. I clear my throat awkwardly, "What inspired you to dedicate your time and fortune to medical research?"

"My mom," he starts out. "She had advanced breast cancer at a younger age. She was supposed to die when I was a child, but she managed to survive to see me graduate high school. In her honor, I've chosen to pursue medical research for others who are victims of a fate like her own."

"I'm sorry for your loss,"

"Thank you. I hope that one day no one has to go through what she did." His answer was a bit automatic, as if he didn't want to say any more than he had to. Not that I could blame him. No one likes to talk about the death of a loved one. Especially a mother.

"What's your favorite thing about what you do?"

"Seeing lives change and giving kids a chance to help change the world."

I glance at my sheet, expecting to find some more questions relating to how the foundation remains afloat and how he affords to support the foundation. I'm rather greeted with questions that make me pale. I'm going to strangle Phichit when he comes back. What do I do?

"Is everything alright?" Viktor asks carefully after a few seconds pass.

"My partner," I start with a nervous laugh, "Wrote the interview himself, and it seems his inquisitive side makes this interview take a turn," possibly for the worst. For me at least.

"Please continue with what you have. I'm here to answer yours or their questions. Humor me if you must," He's intrigued.

"Please don't answer anything you're not comfortable with," I mutter before looking up at him to continue. "Do you have any hobbies?"

Viktor smiles at the question, "I play a little golf and poker with the boys every now and then. I like to travel and see the world. You are from Japan correct?"

"My family owns a Hot spring in Hasetsu," I answer, quick to carry on before he can start asking me too many questions. It was supposed to be about him after all and that's why I manage to read the next questions out loud without any hesitation. "Are you gay?"

I freeze as my brain catches up to my words. I look up at Viktor, less than surprised to be met with a wildly surprised look.

"I'm so sorry, I'm just reading off the paper, you don't need to answer that. I will just edit this out before I turn it in and say it was a camera error." I scramble to undo the damage that I had already done. "I am so sorry I asked that. I can't believe Phichit was going to ask that. I am so sorry."

"It's alright you can keep it in the video," Viktor chuckles. He's relaxed, already acting like the question hasn't bothered him any. He was a great actor, I can't imagine that he wasn't trying to smooth out the situation. He probably will never do another interview again in his career after this. Good work Yuuri. "To answer that question I am not gay. I am Bisexual."

The man's answer had me far more surprised than my initial mortification over the original question. The rest of the interview that followed seemed to happen in seconds as I managed to push myself through the rest of the questions that had eventually turned back to the topic of business.

"Thank you for your time Viktor," I bow to the man respectfully out of gratitude. In the United States, I avoided the action, but after everything that had happened this afternoon, I felt it was only necessary.

"You're welcome Yuuri Katsuki," he smiles, handing me back his mic. "This room is paid for until noon tomorrow. Order anything you would like for supper from room service. I'll have it all taken care of. Enjoy the rest of your night. I recommend going out to some of the bars down the road they are very good and welcoming"

"He looks too young to be going to bars Viktor." Chris says as he stands from his seat behind the camera. I look over at the blonde with a slight frown.

"I'm 23."

"You look 19 darling," Chris smiles at me. "Don't take it the wrong way, love. Looking young is an amazing thing. It can get you free drinks anywhere you go."

"I don't drink much. I tend to drink too much when I do," I mutter, glancing towards the wall momentarily, wondering why I'd ever mention that to a stranger.

Viktor smiles as he heads to the door, "We are in room 664A if you get bored and want to come up or you want to go out but not alone. One of us will gladly join you so you don't drink too much. Please do eat Yuuri. Order anything and everything your heart desires."

I nod silently as Chris joins him at the door. "We will talk later, darling," he smiles as Viktor opens the door and lets Chris lead. When the door closes I just about collapse into one of the chairs.

"Phichit when you land in Thailand and you call to let me know. You are so dead." I say to myself looking up at the textured cream ceiling.