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“Why are we going to the holodeck?” Yuuri asks, with that faint frown that lingers at the corners of his lips, the one that Victor knows means Victor, you aren’t making sense, because the one for when other people don’t make sense is different. “I’ve completed all my training hours for the week.”Victor smiles, but tries to hide it in his shoulder. Of course Yuuri only uses the holo for training. That makes sense. It’s also what’s going to make the surprise Victor set up for him so grand.The door opens with a whoosh, and Victor waits for Yuuri to step into the dim, gridlined room before following. He takes a moment to appreciate the flat silence of the empty holodeck, then clears his throat.“Computer,” he states. “Please run program ‘Piter’.”Victor turns, watching Yuuri’s eyes as the program gradually fills the space around them - the cold air; the ancient, towering architecture of the city; and then the people, the street noise, the bustle and chatter of staccato Russian intermingling with the tongues of tourists and immigrants. Yuuri’s mastery of his emotions and expressions is almost complete, but Victor knows where to look - the slight widening of the eyes, the little hitch in his breathing that betrays Yuuri’s awe in the scene unfolding around them. His head swivels, following the movements of the illusory humans walking by, and then he turns back to Victor.“Where is this?”“St. Petersburg, Russia,” Victor says. “On Earth.” He must be beaming right now, proud of both his homeland and the program he’s created, but Yuuri likely thinks all of Victor’s emotions are over the top. Yuuri looks around again, deep brown eyes combing the area around them as if searching for a bug in a piece of code. Finally, he gives up and asks, “Why?”“I grew up here,” Victor explains. “Before Starfleet Academy. I wanted to show it to you.”He can see Yuuri hesitate, the unspoken Why rolling around in the soft part of his lips, but then Yuuri’s mouth closes, and he nods. Victor thrills. Rarely are his impulses deemed logical.Resisting the urge to grab Yuuri’s hand already - bad manners, unless Yuuri offers first - Victor leads the way to a little bench, removing his boots. Again, he sees questions in the pauses and the careful way that Yuuri mimics Victor’s actions, but Yuuri doesn’t ask. Yuuri is always full of stops and starts like this, second-guessing himself at every turn. Today, Victor hopes to give him a brief rest from that uncertainty.“Have you ever been ice skating before, Yuuri?” he asks, knowing the answer will likely be no. As expected, Yuuri shakes his head, methodical fingers tightening each lace as he works his way up the simple black boots the holodeck supplied. “You studied Vulcan,” Yuuri points out. “You know what the climate of the planet is like.”True, but Yuuri had been at Starfleet Academy for years too. California wasn’t exactly the North Pole, but there were rinks in the area, particularly around Christmastime. Of course, Yuuri never would have celebrated Christmas.“When I was a boy, my parents used to take me skating often.” Victor finishes lacing his skates and stands, then bends down to help Yuuri to his feet - from the bend of Yuuri’s elbows instead of his hands. “I loved it. I wanted to be a professional skater, assuming my first career choice of Secret Agent Ballet Dancer fell through.” “That’s not a real job,” Yuuri says. Victor only smiles at him brightly in response, guiding him over to the entrance of the little rink.If they were actually in St. Petersburg, the rink would be crowded with screaming children and shuffling couples, but this is Victor’s dream date, and he programmed it especially for them. Instead, the rink is empty and free, the ice pristine, waiting for them. Victor wobbles as he pushes himself out onto the rink - it’s been awhile - but quickly regains his footing.Yuuri steps out after him, both his hands still white-knuckled on either side of the gate. Again, Victor resists the urge to reach out and instead steps closer, waiting. He watches as Yuuri’s hands slowly uncurl, and he slides a tentative foot forward, coming out to meet Victor on the ice at his own pace.Once they’re both in the rink, it’s easy enough from there. Victor takes his time circling, letting Yuuri adjust, and he takes to it quickly. They’re both fit, well-trained by Starfleet for any new situation the universe might toss their way, and of course a holo isn’t quite real life. Although Victor can feel the blades on his feet slicing along the ice, although he can hear the whoosh when his stops short and turns to face Yuuri, he knows it’s not real. It’s only a simulation.And that means it’s so very tempting to show off.With Yuuri moving along smoothly across the ice, Victor improvises, throwing in little hops and twirls, and turning to skate backwards, watching as Yuuri tentatively mimics some of his motions. “What do you think?” He calls back to Yuuri, who is staring at his own feet now, mesmerized by the ice passing beneath them.“I like this,” Yuuri says. When he looks up, there’s a hint of a smile pulling at his mouth, and Victor’s heart pounds from more than the exercise. “It’s easier than I imagined.”“It’s not quite as easy on real ice,” Victor admits. “It’s much colder when you’re outside like this on Earth, and you fall down a lot when you’re starting.”“Doesn’t that hurt?”“Sometimes,” Victor saying, smiling fondly at the memory of skinned knees and sore butts - and the subsequent fussing his mother would do over his little injuries. “Usually it does more damage to your dignity than your body.”Yuuri’s nose wrinkles in response, and Victor would be more upset about the disappearance of his smile if this expression weren’t so damn cute. “I don’t know if I like this after all,” Yuuri says. “But I would try the real version.”“Someday,” Victor promises. It comes out more serious than he meant. To turn the tide, Victor reaches out and seizes Yuuri by the arms, spinning them around. He likes serious Yuuri, likes seeing the Vulcan-raised side of him and the little furrow to his brow when he’s pondering the logic of a problem, but it’s more of a rare treat to bring out Yuuri’s human side - soft and sensitive and so very tangible in his pink-tinged cheeks. Victor spins Yuuri until they’re both breathless, and Yuuri’s mouth is split open in a little O of joy, his glasses askew and hair tousled, breaking free of the gel he normally sets in it. He looks perfect. Only one thing could make this date better, and luckily, Victor planned ahead.“Computer,” he says. “Switch to secondary mode.”Around them, the sounds of the city and its residents begin to fade away. The soft grey light dims to darkness, and even the buildings and walls around the rink fall into black. High above, pinpricks of blueish-white flash to life, scattering stars throughout the air like a child shaking out a sheet of glitter.Yuuri’s breath catches as Victor’s fingers glide down his arms, hovering at the thin skin of his wrists until Yuuri turns his hands, palms up in welcome. Victor lets his hands linger, fingertips grazing that sensitive flesh in a Vulcan kiss before their fingers intertwine. He pulls Yuuri close.The ice beneath them sparkles with the light of a million swirling stars overhead. Leaning in, Yuuri lays his head on Victor’s shoulder, his quiet breaths tickling the hairs on Victor’s neck. Taking the lead with his other hand at Yuuri’s waist, Victor guides them into the first gliding steps of their waltz across the galaxy.