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Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov was not pleased. They had been invited to a royal celebration where they would, finally, officially be considered rulers of a legitimate kingdom.
Well, Viktor would be, it seemed like.
The invitation had been addressed to Viktor and his spouse. Did people forget that he was royalty before he married Viktor? So he did not particularly enjoy the limelight; did that make him somehow subordinate to Viktor? Now normally, this wouldn't have have frustrated him so. But of course his spouse had thought it was oh so damn funny. He had joked that he should not worry, that obviously he would be the most beautiful companion there.
Companion. Like a common wench. There was absolutely nothing funny about this.
He had made this quite clear to his husband by shutting him out. Every attempt to converse, touch, or make contact with him was met with a solid wall of indifferent annoyance. In one spectacularly extreme instance, Viktor had been following behind Yuuri, trying to plead his case. This led to that, and soon Viktor was left hanging upside-down from a tree. A rowdy ivy vine was obviously not pleased that he was pestering its king, so it took it upon itself to rectify the situation. Yuuri's face had remained impassive, but at least he had told it to put him down. It released him, none too gently, onto the hard ground below.
(A garden full of plants devoted to your angry husband was not the best place to try to make amends, Viktor noted.)
So here they were, on the night of the party. Yuuri had blatantly told him that he would need no escort to it, and that he was free to leave without him. He'd be there later in the night. Viktor's heart had broken a little, but he figured he deserved it. Hopefully Yuuri would forgive him after the party. Yuuri waited until his husband had taken his leave before he started getting ready himself.
Viktor wanted a beautiful companion? He'd give him one. He'd just need a few flowers, and maybe a few gems as well...
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Christophe watched in sympathy as his dear friend downed another drink.
"So he's still angry at you?"
"He really is, Chris. But I shouldn't have joked about that. He is my equal, and he deserves to be treated as such."
"I didn't think that he had it in him to maintain such a grudge, to be completely honest. He seems so soft; you'd think he would have forgiven you by now."
Viktor made eye-contact with Chris. Christophe Giacometti was the newest ruler of the Wind Territories. He was two years his junior, and yet...
"I thought so as well. I suppose Yuuri has just grown tired of being under-estimated. It's understandable."
Out of nowhere, Michele, the newest king of the Fire Lands, grabbed him by the arm. The look in his eyes was murderous, but there was a tell-tale flush on his cheeks. His words were a hiss.
"If your husband seduces my little sister, I'm killing him, king or not. Will it start a war? Probably. But I swear I will do it anyway."
Viktor slapped his hand off, torn between confusion and anger.
"Why are you making such accusations? He would never do anything of the sort! And if you touch him, with any sort of intent, I will be arranging a bouquet of tansy (open hostility) on your-"
Chris coughed into his fist with wide eyes before he could finish his threat. His eyes were glued to the front entrance, which was attached to a grand staircase.
"Um, Viktor? I think I can see why Michele is having a fit..."
"What? Chris, there is absolutely no reason for-"
His next words were choked. He couldn't seem to gather the air necessary for speech.
His husband stood at the top of the staircase, looking every bit like the king that he was. His suit was cut almost sinfully slim, and was jet black. He wore fingerless gloves; one sheer and one not. The suit was adorned with crystals that glittered under the lights of the party, as well as a fine ruby resting on the loop of his black tie. Resting on his head was a finely woven flower crown bursting with white tulips (regality) and red roses (love and passion). He looked over the entirety of the ballroom, looking quite unimpressed. His eyes met Viktor's, and he smirked.
Who was this man, and what had he done with his husband.
He made to move forward, but immediately his pathway was blocked. Yuuri descended the stairway, hips swaying, smirk still settled on his face. He reached the floor, where he was swarmed with requests to dance. He maintained eye-contact as he took one man's hand, and allowed himself to be led to the dancefloor. Viktor shook with suppressed rage as his husband swayed his hips alongside another. It was obvious what this man's intentions were. But as the song ended, before the man could pull Yuuri closer, he plucked his hands off of him. He thanked him for the dance, and sauntered away.
Viktor had never seen someone look so angry yet so tempted at the same time. The glass in his hand cracked from the sudden decrease in temperature.
"Wow..."
"Don't you dare, Chris. I will end you."
"Ohoho, where did this Viktor come from? I'd almost think you were jealous."
Damn it, he was. He had grown secure in the fact that Yuuri was his. But he was getting the message loud and clear: he was Yuuri's. Yuuri could have another if he wanted to, but he'd chosen Viktor. And he did have his pick; male, female, older, younger, they all wanted his attention. It didn't even seem like they recognized him at all.
But he did.
He watched as he made his way around the room, always just out of reach. Whenever he tried to grab his hand, he took someone else's. He was doing this on purpose, he had to be. He was seducing him, and he hadn't even come within a two-foot radius of him. He felt like dying. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore. He escaped onto a balcony, letting the clean air of the Wind Territories hit his face. It wasn't long before a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, and a sensual, sultry voice whispered to him.
"Why are you out here? I was hoping you would watch me. And after all this effort to put on a good show, too..."
Viktor clutched the balcony, and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Really? A show? Is that what that was, Yuuri? Because it looked like my husband was playing with the hearts of an entire room of people-"
A laugh assaulted his eardrums, and he grabbed Yuuri and twisted him until his back was firmly against the balcony's rail. Yuuri looked up at him in seductive defiance. It was then that Viktor realized his mistake. He'd let him know how much this affected him. He'd lost.
Epically.
"I don't see why you're upset, Vitya. You wanted a beautiful companion, did you not? Do you like my outfit? It took me a while to get the stones just right. Do you know what they mean, Vitya? These are moonstones. They're said to be bathed in the light of the moon, and are very rare. And you recognize, this one, right? It's a ruby. Strong and seductive; the king of the gemstones. Do you understand where I'm going with this, Vitya?"
He slipped out from his grasp, which had gone slack. He cocked his hips, and rested one hand on his right one.
"I'm not some common wench you call when you need someone to adorn your arm. I'm royalty. No one else in this realm can do what I can do. You've seen proof of that. And if you can't see me as an equal, then you won't see me at all. I hope you've learned your lesson, because I am going back inside to dance some more. Have fun; enjoy the rest of the party. I will see you at home."
And with that, he left his husband wondering what had just happened.
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People still had trouble believing that it had been Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov who had seduced an entire party. But he had the stones and the suit to prove it; it had been him. He didn't all of a sudden change his demeanor. He was still a gentle, loving flower. He was now just a gentle, loving flower with glittering rock underneath.
(All invitations from then on were addressed to both rulers of the newly christened Flora Country.)