Michele x Emil Series (Yuri on Ice)

Origin Story: Part Two

"Hey, Mickey," the man greeted. He was dressed in a light-blue t-shirt and grey sweatpants. His voice was still excited as ever, but the volume was lower given that they were in a hotel setting. "Getting a midnight snack too?" Michele only looked at him for a brief moment before averting his gaze back to the vending machine, giving his rival the cold shoulder. "Come on, let's not be so distant. We can still talk, can't we?"

Michele wasn't so sure. It wasn't so easy to talk to someone who made him more emotionally disfigured than he already was, but he supposed Emil just saw it a different way. After all, he was being friendly relatively quickly after being verbally assaulted. Though the Italian was against keeping the conversation alive, he did so against his better judgement. Awkward silence was a difficult demon to deal with, after all.

"I'm going for the cookies," Michele announced as he walked up to the vending machine. That was what he knew he wanted from the beginning. It became a favorite snack of his as a child when his mother baked them a lot. After she died, it simply became a comfort food, as it was one of the few connections he had to his lost family member. Upon inserting the necessary amount and selecting his choice, he grabbed a packet of two chocolate-chip cookies from the bottom of the machine, otherwise known as a sugary escape from his emotions.

Once he turned around, Emil caught a glimpse of the snack. The Czech man sheepishly grinned. "You're going to think I'm weird, but I've never had chocolate chip in my life. Mind if I have some?"

The other almost couldn't believe the situation. Michele's anger and contemptment merely bounced off the positive one, almost as Emil's heart was encased in metal and nothing could penetrate it. What surprised Michele even more was that he too was being friendly despite their falling out, and soon found himself opening the packet of cookies and breaking off half of one to give to Emil with an extending hand.

"Thank you!" the rival expressed gratitude as he accepted the cookie fragment. He stuffed it in his mouth and began to sink his teeth into the goodness of the confectionary. Emil's smile seemed to glow even more as the flavor danced atop his taste buds. "Wow," he closed his eyes to further express his delight, "this is amazing!"

"They're... my favorite," Michele softened his expression as he brought forth some of his past to life. "But they taste better out of the oven."

Emil swallowed the cookie and chuckled. "I'm no stranger to warm cookies just because I never had chocolate chip cookies. I used to eat kolachkes by the dozen during Christmas." The other shot him a confused look as he took a bite from his own cookie. "Oh, they're pretty much cookies filled with jam, cheese, or nuts with powdered sugar on top. The jam ones were always my favorite..." the skater continued to go on about his Christmas memories while his rival focused on his own thoughts rather than listening.

I feel... calm. Michele mentally noted while slowly chewing the dessert. The anxiousness in his chest and stomach decreased with each passing moment. Emil's voice, though usually high and enthusiastic to the point where it was painful to listen to, seemed to be like a soothing breeze in that moment. Even his smile that was usually repulsive for Michele to look at seemed to bring about good feelings.

Is this the part where I am honest, brain? The man started to have new feelings surface, ones that he felt before but weren't being transparent about. He questioned himself as he saw his rival in a different light. While the skater typically brandished annoyance, he set aside his grudges and glanced at Emil without a filter obscuring his perceptions. The more I study those faithful eyes and that wholesome smile, the more I see his beauty. Michele though that other man was sweet, almost sweeter than the cookie that was in his mouth.

His chest started to have a feeling again. This time, though, it wasn't the aching, beating sensation of panic that threw his body into a cyclone of stress. Rather, it was a soft, sturdy notion that defined the feelings that were coursing through him in that very moment. Michele looked down at his chest as he swallowed the cookie. I originally wanted that snack, but now I want him.