"I did," Yuuri finally spoke up. "I played you."
Victor knew. And it hurt.
"It was all just a game, ever since we met in Boston," Yuuri kept talking and Victor knew it was Eros now, not Yuuri.
He'd always known that Eros was a player, that he was a seducer. But still, he so foolishly believed that maybe this time was different, that there was something special between them. And there was, he couldn't relinquish that thought – there had to be. After all, he met Yuuri: a weakness that Eros wouldn't have allowed him to see and live to tell the tale if Victor wasn't someone he thought different from all others.
Wasn't it true? Was that all just another scheme? Was... Was Yuuri even real?
He forced himself not to think of Yuuri at all. Fabrication or not, it only hurt more to remember Yuuri's sweet smiles, kind words, gentle touch...
"I wasn't expecting you to find me first, that came as a surprise," Yuuri admitted. "I wasn't quite ready then." Victor's hands clenched into fists in his lap. "I don't think I was ever ready to begin with. I don't think even now I'm ready. You... Victor, you're so much more than I imagined."
It made him flinch, like a punch to a bruise. Victor bit his lip to hold back a whimper. He didn't want to be weak in front of Eros, even if his heart was bleeding. If he showed weakness now, Eros was the kind of person who would use it to his own advantage. Since all of this was only a game to him, Victor couldn't doubt that Eros was capable of killing him all along – now more than ever.
But... but if he had even a shred of Yuuri in him, could Victor maybe use this chance to see if any of the times they shared meant anything to him, to them? Maybe, just maybe, this tiniest possibility was Victor's way in.
"It was supposed to be a quick kill," Yuuri said. "But look at us. How many times did I have a clean shot and just... didn't take it?"
Many. Too many for it to be a coincidence.
Victor lifted his head and finally looked at Yuuri again. He couldn't see Yuuri's eyes, because the swelling on the side of his face was in the way, but there was a wistful smile on those lips that Victor still remembered the taste of with vivid clarity.
"Why didn't you?" Victor asked in a raspy voice.
"My heart wasn't in it," Eros replied quietly.
It sounded like a confession. It sounded like something the coolheaded killer with no scruples would never admit to, and yet... Eros had done so.
Victor's mouth parted in surprise.
Eros' heart wasn't set on killing him... his heart... did he mean Yuuri? Was Yuuri the holder of his conscience, the bearer of his guilt and the keeper of his sanity? Was Yuuri the one Victor owed his life to? Or was Eros' harsh nature mellowing out simply because Yuuri loved Victor? Did... could it be that those feelings transferred back to Eros as well...?
Eros and Yuuri: they were two sides of the same coin. What one felt must have reflected on the other as well, there couldn't be mistaking it. Yuuri, who loved Victor, and Eros, who wanted to kill him – they couldn't be separated, and thus Eros' wish couldn't be fulfilled. He wouldn't be able to kill Victor, because Yuuri would do everything to stop him. But would Eros interfere with Yuuri just to spite him? Was killing Victor important enough for that?
"Do you still want to kill me?" Victor forced the words out, watching the face he loved with his whole soul.
He loved Yuuri, that much was true. But Eros was... he was a part of Yuuri, too, even if he was a dark part that Yuuri feared. They were one. And Victor knew that he could love him just as much as he loved Yuuri, if only Eros let him.
Please, he thought, please let me love you.
Eros turned his face to him, a small, sour smile on his face.
"I never wanted to kill you to begin with, Victor," he said, and all Victor heard was yes.