Chapter Text
Yuuri drops his bag by the door of his small apartment and kicks his shoes off. Slowly, he walks into the kitchen and sets his water bottle by the sink. He sighs while pulling the fridge open and taking out the container of chicken and stir fry vegetables he made earlier this week. He’s always too exhausted after rehearsal to cook for himself, so he cooks on his days off. After placing his food in the microwave, he turns to his bedroom and then changes into pajamas.
“Netflix and chill,” he mutters to himself as he settles on his couch with his dinner. His laptop is open on the table in front of him and while he waits for it to turn on he scrolls through his phone notifications.
Victor posted another picture of Makkachin. Yuuri resists the urge to like the photo but likes his friend Phichit’s photo of his hamsters. Just then his phone vibrates as a new text comes in.
Phichit
Yuuri! Yuuri!! my company’s holding auditions soon!!Yuuri
why are you telling me this??Phichit
cuz u hate abt and love me
pls come here
applyyyyy [link]
Yuuri
i’ll think about it
Phichit
just do it !!
it’ll be fun!
Yuuri opens the audition application link and reads through the information the company is looking for. It’s pretty standard and Yuuri has everything on his computer right now. He could apply…
Yuuri doesn’t apply that night, but after an especially grueling rehearsal the next day, and another bill he can’t pay appears, he decides to send in his headshot and video portfolio. He can’t stay here any longer. It’s not financially or emotionally good for him anymore.
A few weeks later, he receives an invitation to audition in person. He books a flight and makes plans to stay with Phichit. His company is understanding since his contract is ending soon anyway and they’re not on tour currently.
His audition goes well, so all that’s left for Yuuri is to finish his contracts with ABT and his apartment. Glancing around his barely filled apartment, he doesn’t feel sad. His heart races with excitement. Something new will be good.
***
When he steps out of MSP he’s immediately assaulted with frigid air and more snow than he’s seen in awhile. He pulls his coat closer to himself as he looks for his friend. Phichit promised he’d pick up Yuuri, but he doesn’t see his friend in the long line of cars waiting by the curb. He’s about to text Phichit when a car honks. He looks in the direction he heard the horn and Phichit is hanging out the driver’s window.
“Yuuri!!” he calls, waving his arm wildly.
Yuuri waves back and then drags his suitcase behind him as he walks to the car. Phichit is out of the car and opening the trunk by the time Yuuri arrives at the car. He lifts his suitcase into the trunk and then discards his dance bag on top; he wasn’t going to end up stranded without his dance gear. Nevermind pajamas or a change of clothes. Luckily, his suitcase survived and hopefully his other belongings that he shipped over will be fine too.
“How was the flight?” Phichit asks once they’re inside the warm car.
Yuuri turns the heating vents towards him and places his hands in front of them. “Fine. It’s not very long. Like three hours? Four? I didn’t get stuck next to any crying babies so it wasn’t bad.”
“That’s good! Are you excited to be here?” he asks next.
Humming, Yuuri looks out the window at the gray sky and various cars driving around them. They haven’t actually left the airport yet so there’s still a lot of buildings around them blocking Yuuri’s view of the city.
“I think so,” he finally answers. “It’ll be something new.”
Minneapolis is vastly smaller than NYC.
Yuuri noticed it from the plane, but up close it feels different. Downtown feels busy and it feels somewhat large, but Yuuri also feels like he could walk the whole length of it and aimlessly wander if he ever got lost and not worry about actually being lost. He loves the skyways. It’s amazing to him that someone could walk throughout a whole city without ever touching the ground. His company’s theater isn’t directly connected to any of the skyways, but he can access it from a building across the street. Sometimes he likes finding a spot and sitting to observe the traffic below. He especially likes this option during the colder months when he doesn’t want to spend any more time outside than necessary.
Once things warmed up, he watched as the city became more alive. He noticed more people walking or biking and more cars crowding the streets. His train rides became even more full of people and he found himself spending more time outside as well. He likes talking walks down to the river when he can or walking throughout Loring Park and the Sculpture Garden. Phichit’s apartment is really close to the park which is what started Yuuri’s love for it. Even though he loved living with his friend, he decided to move to a different building outside downtown. Phichit’s much more social than Yuuri and it was starting to wear on him. Besides, he never planned to stay with Phichit forever anyway. It was always temporary.
He managed to find a really nice studio apartment outside of downtown and close to the light-rail. As a plus, there’s a gym with a dance studio. Yuuri wasn’t specifically looking for a place with one, but when he found one he couldn’t resist. His apartment is on the third floor and overlooks a neighborhood. From his balcony, he can see downtown. In the morning, when the sun shines just right, US Bank Stadium is absolutely blinding. Yuuri was completely caught off guard the first time he noticed. It was like the sun was inside downtown. It was both jarring and spectacular. He avoids looking at downtown in the mornings now.
At work, he seems to be fitting in with the other dancers. At first it was a little hard to adjust to the new environment and culture. He’s expected to be creative and to constantly reform his dancing. He’s encouraged to incorporate different styles and create his own programs. There’s even an annual showcase for emerging choreographers to display their projects that push the boundaries of dance. Yuuri hopes to join at some point. Ever since he joined this company he’s been itching to prove that he can create something new too. For now though, he loves participating in the youth programs his company sponsors. The dancers are encouraged to do community work and Yuuri loves it. Currently, he’s excited to help run a program this summer for beginner ballet dancers. He’ll be an instructor and he’ll work with the students to refine their skills and then complete a showcase at the end of the summer. He can’t wait.