Chapter Text
It was cold. Winter. Always winter. The sun would rise for a few hours and disappear behind the desolate clouds the rest of the day. An ice age had settled onto the land long ago and cities were frozen over along with their people. Though, saying there was no warmth was a lie. There were heaters, there were people, there were homes, there were gloves. Then there was the warmth in their hearts, the citizens of the frozen land.
The only person they could thank for the warmth inside them was the Flowerness. She had pulled them out of the cold dark world the planet had become with her love, spreading warmth to radiate within everyone while flowers bloomed within her. People learned to love each other because of her and they had become her followers in return. She graced the land and allowed spring to bloom in her wake until the day she died. Not long after, a new person had contracted the disease that made flowers bloom in her heart and she tried her best to fill the position she was needed for, an idol to the world, the 2nd Flowerness. Who she loved, many knew, and many found unfair. But the greatest lady in all the land could not oppose her lover and to fight for her love was in vain.
“Scientists have finally discovered the reason for the disease that causes flowers to bloom in the heart!” The news anchor’s voice fizzled over the hologram.
“The virus is contracted during the time a person is experiencing extreme love with another and the flowers start blooming in the host’s heart, where a seed is planted by the virus that continuously creates spores in the pulmonary vein and grow in the tissue of the left atrium. Strangely enough, the compounds that a regular flower would need to flourish are not needed by the flowers that bloom in the heart, these flowers only need oxygen, iron, carbon dioxide, and oxytocin and vasopressin- the key hormones active when a person feels the emotion of love. The probability of contracting this disease is very low at a 0.2% contraction rate-”
“Sounds romantic, doesn’t it?” A young woman spoke. The voice on the hologram was drowned out by her speaking. The boy in her lap looked up and gazed at her with confusion.
“The idea of spreading love, because you love someone. That has to be a great thing knowing others can understand what you feel. They can feel it too.” Her voice was soft, calm. She gingerly put a hand into her son’s hair and thread her fingers through his silver locks. “The 1st Flowerness really was someone special.”
“Mama, do you have flowers in your heart too?” The boy asked. His mother quickly embraced him in a tight hug.
“Only when I’m with you, любовь моя!” She cried cheerfully.
“And Papa?”
“Mhmmm, him too!” Her hold tightened around his small body and she buried her face in the toddler’s shoulder. “I love you two more than anything in the world!” She muffled into his shirt. “I’d do anything to spend every moment I have with you guys. I really would.”
“...Then why you are in the hospital all the time?” Her arms froze around him at the question. She loosened her hold but did not let go even as the bandages on her arm seemed to tighten.
“No sweetie...It’s not that kind of disease.” Her lips grazed his hair and she pressed a kiss on the growing mess. “But don’t you worry, I’ll be out of here before you know it! Good as new!” She released her son and put her hands on her hips. “Besides! It’s not like I’ve been here that long! Only two weeks!” She pouted at her son causing him to giggle.
His laugh faded away and a calm yet comfortable silence settled over the two.
“But it would be pretty to have flowers in your heart.” The boy shifted in her lap.”The Flowerness must be an amazing person!”
His mother giggled.
“That’s what makes her amazing to you?”
“Of course! She brings spring!” His eyes shone with wonder when he faced his mother. “I want to have flowers in my heart too!”
“Now now, a disease is still a disease. It’s probably not what you think it is like.”
“Not only is she pretty on the outside, she’s pretty inside too!” His tiny hands clenched in to excited fists, “It’s what’s on the inside that matters most, like you said!”
“Hmmm…” The mother pulled her son closer to her. “I mean I guess you’re not wrong. That wasn’t exactly what I meant by that though.” A laugh slipped from her lips.
“My dear Vitya, you’ll understand it some day…” She hummed contently. Her eyes fell shut as she let her thumb trace circles over her little boy’s hand. How small it really was, huh.
“Oh!” the little boy jumped a little at a thought. “You can come to my skating recital, right? It’s supposed to be lots of fun, that’s what my coach says!”
“I’d love to! That is coming up soon, isn’t it. I’ll make sure I get out of this stinky old place to come watch my little mouse!” That’s right, it was her son’s first recital. She couldn’t miss that!
“I’m not a mouse, Mama!” He laughed.
“Really?!” She made an audible gasp of surprise. “Now that you mention it, you are a bit big to be a mouse… Are you actually a cat?!”
“Noooo! I’m human!”
“Ohhh, that makes more sense!”
“Mama, you’re silly. You always knew that!”
The hospital room was warm and filled with laughter, a different change of pace from the time weeks earlier. Outside the window a blizzard blew mercilessly as the sun shone brightly in the sky during its few measly hours of day. A sad thought came to her mind thinking of how she may not be able to enjoy that light much longer with her family- her love and her life.
“...---the 3rd Flowerness has been missing for over three weeks now-” the hologram hummed.
“Mama.” Viktor knocked on the bathroom door loudly, “I’m leaving before you. Just wanted to make sure you were okay?” It came out as more of a question than a statement. He didn’t receive a reply.
“Listen, I’m sure Papa didn’t mean what he said earlier. He was just... Anyways I know he regrets it a lot. Please come out, he’s worried- I’m worried.”
Again, there was only silence.
Viktor could feel as his heart began to race. She did run into this bathroom earlier, no? This house was unfamiliar to him but it certainly sounded like this door. He reached for the knob with a shaky hand. It was unlocked. It was then that he hesitated. He knew it was wrong to not trust that she was okay. But at the same time he could only sedate his worries temporarily. Is she… No. There wasn’t anything he should have been scared of, he wasn’t a child anymore!
He willed himself to open the door and keep his head looking forward. Looking around he could see a wilted figure in the corner. That was his mother, trembling and curled in on herself. His worries weren’t for naught however. Viktor approached his mom with caution. Kneeling in front of her he held out his hand.
“Please let me see it.” It was a demand, but he tried his best to make it sound like a request.
She shook her head and he noted her puffy eyes that let tears fall from her silver lashes. Her face had sunken over the years and her age was beginning to show through. Her eyes had laugh lines underneath them as well as on her soft cheeks and a crease was noticeable on her forehead now along with the age spots just barely revealing themselves on her pale skin. How long had she looked like the ageless model she had once been was anyone’s question to answer.
“Mama… I can’t help you if you don’t let me.” When he reached for her hand she made no effort to pull away. Instead she used her other hand to thread some of his long strands between her fingers.
“I’m sorry…” she all but whispered.
It wasn’t long until they were at the hospital once more.
“I’ll be rooting for you!” She tried to sound cheery but there was a hiccup in her voice still. She waved from the hospital bed she sat on and he raised a hand to wave back.
“I’d be worried otherwise, Mama.” He smiled at her and passed his father on his way through the doorway. His father nodded at him knowingly before he was sprinting down the hall and hailing a taxi. The Flowerness herself was going to be there! Yakov would have to pardon his tardiness for this, there really was nothing else he could do. He was 17 years old and later that night, he would already be at the top of the figure skating world.
“Did you hear about the 3rd Flowerness…”
“It’s terrible, isn’t it.”
“They don’t seem to live very long at all.”
It was no secret that the 3rd Flowerness had recently passed. The murmurs of this event were the talk of the rink as the Grand Prix Final had finally rolled around once again. The cause of her death was a mystery to everyone as well as it was sudden. All that was known was that her spouse had passed away along with her, and there has gone the spring.
The news was heartbreaking to everyone and many of the programs that day had turned terribly in sorrow. The skaters, the audience, the judges, the citizens of the land had all been thrown off by this turn of events.
“If anyone has the Flower Sickness, we highly advise you to contact your doctor immediately-” an alert had been sounding throughout the land the entirety of it all. It was no secret why it was being aired, a Flowerness was needed, else the frozen land would be difficult to live in once again. The position may as well be equivalent to that of a queen, however it was disguised as the position of a celebrity. Many would jump at the chance to become the Flowerness, so much was promised with it. You would be moved to a fine home and given only the best of luxuries, you could eat real food as compared to the citizens nutrition pills, and, if not had already, the best suitors would be lined up at your door. It was a golden ticket to an early retirement with a divine life that many desired. You were guaranteed and easy life without worry for the rest of your days.
Viktor was the final performance of the day. Headphones on and a clear area allowed him to practice with a somewhat peace at mind. He could vaguely hear the voice booming over the stadium that announced the scores of the competitor before him. That was his call to get to the rink entrance.
Yakov followed him with an intense gaze and held out an arm to hold his warm-up jacket. He took one final deep breath before Yakov started speaking.
“As cruel as it is to say this, do not lose your focus. Don’t think about anything else except your routine. I have faith that you can execute this performance well.”
Viktor simply nodded in response. His head felt light after finally getting his hair trimmed. Golden blades took the ice with sharp carving as he made his laps.
As soon as the music started, he could feel himself lose himself in his routine and everything began to flow. From the beginning to the end he could only smile at the thought of his routine. His mother was watching somewhere in the audience, he didn’t want to let her down. This dance was for her after all.
The routine came to a close and the audience cheered loudly, throwing plush gifts and flowers into the ice arena. He was about to exit the rink when a small, brown, plush dog was thrown in front of him. He decided to take it with him to the kiss and cry.
It was a surprise to no one when his name immediately shot to the top of the board. The day had been ratchet to all but him regarding their routines. But nobody could blame them. It was not a happy day to many.
That night the young skater went out to dinner with some of his competitors. His long time friend and rival Christophe had qualified and invited him out with several other skaters. No drinking of course. They were at a competition!
He retired early claiming he needed his much earned beauty sleep and left. His thermal coat heated him to the core as he walked along the streets back to the hotel. As always, it was freezing outside but he couldn’t be bothered by the winds. So warm! He loved these jackets, self-heating and really cozy. The mittens couldn’t really hold anything glass without it slipping out of your hands, but the earmuffs were pretty nice too! He bought a pair for every jacket he owned and brought several of them with him for the trip to Tokyo. He could have easily moved south like most people had but it was just so busy down there now! Plus he was practically raised on the ice, so he didn’t mind the temperature one bit.
His phone buzzed a few times alerting him with a message. It was from his mother. Scrolling through his messages he opened up her contact and hit the call button. The phone rang a couple times before anyone picked up.
“Hello?”
“Call me like a regular person!” Viktor laughed into the phone.
“You know I hate phone calls!”
“I’d much rather hear you congratulate me than read it!”
“Hnnn and I sat for so long writing that text…” Viktor could hear her pouting on the other line and chuckled again.
“It’s much appreciated, Mama.”
“...” She held a pregnant pause for a moment. “I’m very proud of you, you know. Very proud.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you see me in the audience?”
“Unfortunately, no. The are-”
“WHAT?! I was in the front row!”
“Haha, now that you mention it I do recall seeing a bright pink blur!”
“That was me, любовь моя. Papa was right next to me too.”
“Wait, Papa came too?”
“We wanted to surprise you after your routine but we couldn’t find you after.”
“Ah, that’s my fault. There are just so many fans and the press is a hassle, Yakov got me out of there as soon as possible.”
“My little mouse is so famous!”
“Yeah, you can say that again. Soon I won’t be able to walk outside without a mask without someone recognizing me. Not that I don’t love my fans. A lot of them are very nice!”
“That’s good to hear. Wouldn’t want my little mouse getting harassed. By the way isn’t it late? I wasn’t expected you to see my message until the morning!”
“I was out with Chris and some other skaters at a restaurant down the road from the hotel.”
“You were drinking?!”
“No Mama, of course not!... okay maybe a little.”
“Vitya…”
“Not a lot, don’t worry I’m completely sober.”
“Hmmm,” She hummed over the line, she sounded upset.
“Mama, I wouldn’t do anything stupid like get drunk when I have to skate tomorrow you know that.”
“...Are you almost at your hotel? I’m glad you called now so I can at least see you made it back safe.”
“Have more faith in me!” He could have faked the hurt in his tone but part of it was actually genuine. “My hotel is just ahead.”
“Okay, good night, Vitya. I’ll be there again tomorrow to watch so be sure to look for me during AND after!”
“Mmn, Good night.” With that the call ended.
The hotel was finally in sight so he made a break for the front door. Just as he was about to enter he heard someone behind him sneeze. He couldn’t really understand why it drew his attention but he turned around anyways. A young man, probably around 18 or 19, was sitting on the hotel bench under the walkway in front of the parking circle. He didn’t seem to be focused on any single one thing and his knees were wrapped in his arms close to his chest. Viktor figured he still had time before he absolutely needed to turn in so he approached the bench. Snowflakes peppered his coat on the journey between the two canopies but quickly melted away from the thermal radiance. He wasn’t exactly sure if it was how lonely the young man seemed or how familiar the way he came off looked but some kind of fire lit inside him telling him to talk to him.
“It’s a bit cold to sitting out here, no?” Viktor could feel his insides cringe at the sound of his own rough English. He technically knew the language but... it was still a work in progress to say the least.
The man had tousled black hair and when he looked up Viktor was able to see dark chocolate brown eyes peering at him through his glasses. The man gasped.
“V-Viktor?”
Ah, he recognizes me. “Hm? Yes, and you are?” Viktor asked curiously. He could see a flash of hurt in the other man’s eyes before he stood.
“...No one.” The dark haired man said with a low voice.
Without another word, he took off to the hotel, leaving Viktor gaping and confused in the snow.
...What?
The next morning Viktor forgot (or rather forced himself to forget) the man that ignored him and continued with his prep schedule for that night’s free skate program. He entered the ice arena happily with Yakov in tow for the morning practice. That is until he saw the very man he was trying to forget on the ice. Ohh, that’s why he didn’t seem too happy. Viktor might not have recognized him the night before since his appearance was very different but he could vaguely remember seeing him on the ice the day earlier. He was ranked just a bit below Viktor by the end of the day, Yuuri Katsuki from Japan. He was… an interesting skater. To be quite honest, Viktor did not know much about the other man at all, as he did not know quite a few of the newer competitors very well.
Viktor stepped onto the rink, ignoring Yakov trying to instruct him before he took off towards the Japanese skater. He wanted to make his approach gradual. It didn’t take long for his own deep blue eyes to meet yet again with those curiously lost brown ones. As quickly as his eyes had met them, they had looked away. The black-haired man, Yuuri, moved to the exit and left. It kind of stung, not a lot, but yeah okay it did kind of hurt a lot. Again, the silver-haired man tried to forget.
That night the free skate approached quickly as though it were a threat. The outdoors may have been much harsher but the rink was cold and the adrenaline was pulsing in his veins. Viktor was 22 and he won his 3rd GPF gold.
Four years had passed and there was still no 4th Flowerness. The spring had long since withered away except for the forever flowering graves of the past Flowernesses and the cold had settled upon the land once more.
Many had tried to feign the illness in order to receive extravagant commodities that came with becoming Flowerness but none have succeeded. There was no doubt that a few people in the world had the Flower Sickness, however none of them stepped forward to the position in the past time since the death of the 3rd Flowerness. The world was becoming desperate. It was only getting colder and even though technology is increasing at an alarming rate there is always the worry it may not be able to keep up one day and the world will freeze over completely once again.
There were places in the world blessed with warmer climates. Mainly towards the equator. Then there were more rare places that had a thaw that many cities did not. These places had been touched by the 3rd Flowerness soon before her passing. The city Viktor had competed in all those years ago was one of those warmer places. He had returned there once more this for this seasons Final. Achieving yet another gold medal, added up to his 6th Grand Prix Final win.
When Viktor was reminded of the banquet, he wasn’t exactly excited so to say. He had gone to this every year and every year it was the same thing. Talking to sponsors and chatting up strangers can only be so entertaining annually. Sometimes if Viktor was lucky, Chris would sweep him to the dance floor and distract him from the droning coaches talking business. But Chris wasn’t always there. It forced Viktor to socialize more than he minded and that was a lot for him. He loved talking to other people, not when they’re putting him to sleep though!
His blue gaze met himself in the mirror as he straightened his tie. Chris was to meet him in the hotel lobby in mere minutes and Viktor could only savor these last moments of freedom the best he could, adjusting his tie as many times as he so pleased. Throwing a glance at the jacket he left on his bed he let himself think.
Do I really need to go to this? I have plenty of sponsors as it is. This kind of thing is more for the coaches than the skaters, why do I have to go. Though, he knew exactly why he had to be there. He was the one being sponsored after all. It was bad publicity to not show up but still ask for money. It was also downright rude in Viktor’s mind. So of course he was going.
A ding chimed from his phone. Thinking it was probably Chris he slung his jacket over his shoulder and made his way to the door. Looking at his phone, he realized it wasn’t Chris, it was his mother.
‘Have fun tonight! NO DRINKING! Love you tons, you did amazing as usual!’ He could feel a smile spread on his face for the first time that night. He quickly typed back a thank you in reply along with a ‘Can’t promise anything’ and his phone chimed with another text. This time from Chris. Now it really was time to leave. No problem for him, he was already out the door. It was a good thing the banquet hall was part of the hotel. His phone chimed again, his mother sent an angry face.
Chris was leaning against one of the marble pillars in the front entrance of the hotel when he met him.
“You kept me waiting shorter than I thought you would.”
“Yeah yeah, let’s just get this over with. Maybe we can try to enjoy ourselves a little?”
“Hmm, whatever could you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, knock back a few and take it outside?”
“I didn’t realize you were a lightweight.”
“I’m not and I’m kidding. As if Yakov would let me leave…”
“I was going to say I couldn’t leave anyways. Well, we can make the most of it until the next time we meet!”
“I wasn’t kidding about the drinks though.”
“Of course. They have some nice champaign every year.”
“And that is all I really have to look forward to tonight, dear friend.”
Before long after entering the hall Yakov had found him and dragged him immediately to the sponsors much to Viktor’s immediate discontent. Even though he could feel himself dying inside with every person he spoke with, he still managed his signature smile and held vivid conversations with him that could bore him to death.
When the music finally started to pick up Viktor found an excuse to finally leave Yakov.
“I’m going to get a drink,” He told his coach as he tried his best not to sprint away and never look back. He loved skating with all his heart but he was never going to love socializing with sponsors.
Scanning the room in search of Chris or someone, he found Yuri’s blond mess in the middle of a crowd. How odd and very unlike him to not be sitting in a corner avoiding people just as Viktor was planning on doing. The champaign in his hand suddenly entertained him no longer but he still held onto it just in case. It was when the crowd started cheering that Viktor got very curious and chugged the rest of his glass before heading to see what was up. He may or may not have pushed his way through the crowd a bit in the process of getting to the center but it was worth it when he got there. Yuri was dancing. And not ballet or any traditional dance Viktor knew he was capable of, he was break-dancing, something he didn’t know Yuri could do. Not only that either! He was dancing with (against?) someone.
“Yuri! What are you doing?” Viktor shouted nonchalantly.
“Shut up! I’m winning that’s what!” The teen responded angrily before literally throwing himself to the ground.
Taking another look at his competitor, Viktor took notice of two things, one: he looked pretty familiar? two: he was really good at hip hop. Like, damn.
Yuri was trying his best for a 15 year old teen because he really very much wanted to destroy the guy with black hair. However, he seemed to falter the moment his competitor started doing windmills and just kinda stepped off into another dance so he wouldn’t collide with him. But then Yuri joined him doing windmills and Viktor was becoming very impressed by his teammate. He took out his phone excitedly to snap some pictures to save the moment. This was too great. A very large crowd had formed and next to nobody in the hall hadn’t at least heard the commotion going on. Some coaches even threw them a glance or two just out of curiosity.
The two were leaping around in somewhat of a sinc with the music, which was rapid beat dance music. They started doing their own thing separate from each other after about 2 songs but they were still in the same circle that surrounded them with excitement. Yuri had finally exhausted himself at some point and was backing off to get a drink. The crowd seemed to groan a little with disappointment but the other man kept going (somehow), which kept them entertained enough for Yuri to sneak out of the area.
Viktor had gotten closer with his phone to get better pictures and watched Yuri leave when he spotted Chris that had come over to the dancefloor finally. He approached him with a large smile and waved. But it wasn’t a wave. The hand immediately went to his back and pushed him out onto the dance floor with the other man. Oh boy.
In the next moment the music changed entirely. It was a song Viktor was very familiar with and knew exactly how to dance to it. A latin dance.
Immediately he stepped forward to begin his dance. He had this song picked out as one of his possible routines, how could he ever have known they’d play it at the banquet. Though conveniently enough, this could be danced by two people. And it seemed the other person was now looking at him trying to follow. He switched it to a more traditional dance so it was easier to dance with the guy than lead him and that was all it took. They were stepping to the same beat, the same pattern dancing with the music. They were gliding around the floor changing and switching spots with one another and eventually meeting in the middle. Meeting face to face made Viktor finally remember him, this was Yuuri Katsuki. He was competing against him earlier that day.
They locked eyes, blue with brown, and Yuuri lusciously guided one hand down to Viktor’s waste and captured his other hand with Viktor’s own, their chests centimeters apart. Viktor only had a moment to be entranced by the action because in the next second he was running across the room with the other man as his lead. It didn’t take long to catch up with the black haired man’s pace at dance so they could sinc once again. They moved around covering as much space as possible between footwork and leaps. He didn’t realize how much he was smiling until Yuuri spun him and he heard himself laughing freely. He was immediately spun back into the other man’s arms. Those dark eyes met his again as Viktor felt him hooking one leg around his own and the silver-haired man took the opportunity to dip him towards the floor causing the other man to release what was one of the best laughs Viktor had ever heard. On hand cupping Yuuri’s face, he quickly pulled the other man up again and immediately his hands went to his chest. Yuuri grabbed one of Viktor’s arms and spun him around so Viktor could feel his chest pressed against his back. Arms entwined themselves around Viktor’s waist yet again and Viktor could have sworn he was on fire because the touch was hot on his hips as they trailed down and placed a firm hold on him. One leg went in the air and they were moving again across the floor. Viktor took this moment to look at the man’s flushed face. The man most definitely had a few, not that he was complaining, his own face was probably flushed red as well. He was upside down looking at Chris before he could realize he had been dipped. He released one hand from Yuuri’s back to wave and Chris simply winked at him before he was swept away once more. Swept away was the right term because Viktor definitely felt like he was soaring.
One song bled into the next and then the next after that until Chris finally stepped towards the two, stopping them.
“May I request something?” He asked in his most charmful voice. Viktor’s hands that had been on Yuuri’s hips were removed and he took a step back, almost disappointed.
“A competition?” Yuuri questioned. Chris nodded and pointed to something across the room. Is that?
“Christophe! Are you serious?!” Viktor shouted surprisedly only to to receive a smirk in return. Well Viktor was most definitely going to die that night because that was a stripper pole and Yuuri- he’s already stripping?!
The black haired drunk made eye contact with Viktor, and suddenly it seemed like a very good idea came to his mind. He launched himself at Viktor, literally threw himself at the silver haired man. He started mumbling something in Japanese that Viktor could barely understand and quite honestly could not even focus on because of what he was doing with his hips.
Chris whistled at him and Viktor could help the blush that rose to his cheeks.
“Yuuri maybe you should give the man a little space.” He offered in barely an attempt. Yuuri seemed to consider it but instead threw his arms around Viktor’s neck and boy if it wasn’t hard to breathe before it definitely was now. Not because of the reasons you’d assume either.
“Coach me!” He finally said in English (slurred but still said). Viktor’s eyes widened when he all but pressed his lips to his ear and repeated again, “Be my coach.” His arms loosened around the other man’s waist, setting him down.
“You have a competition to attend to now, don’t you?” Viktor looked down sweetly at the younger man and offered a soft smile. This made the other man extremely content it seemed and he released Viktor from his grasp (regretfully).
“I’ll win for you!” He shouted as Chris prompted him to the other end of the room.
“I hope you do!” Viktor shouted in response.
Viktor was 26 and he had a crush.
Never did they notice the small bud that had sprouted between the cracks on the floor of the banquet hall that there night.