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The branches tore at Yuuri’s sleeves and he internally cursed. This shirt was his finest one, as were his now muddy boots, and he would ruin it all for a mere whim. A stupid, unfulfillable fancy. However, he couldn’t bring himself to grumble about his ‘stupid fancy’, especially when he caught glimpses of blue interspersed between thick barks of brown and green. Anticipation heightened Yuuri’s senses, and his trudge through the forest seemed less taxing both in time and energy as the woods cleared to reveal the rippling waters of the usually serene lake nestled almost cozily within a ring of tall grass and wild flowers. So ethereal was the atmosphere of the clearing that Yuuri found himself thinking once again that he had stumbled upon another world altogether.
He wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.
A quick glance told Yuuri that he was not in luck this afternoon. The sun’s rays tilted slightly, shifting the balance between reality and fantasy in favour of the latter, giving him the sense of an added layer of mystery. For a fleeting second, Yuuri thought he spotted the fairest of hooves, fairer than he had ever seen in his four and twenty years of life, within the cover of the woods opposite to where he stood. He quickly dispelled the notion a few minutes later, when the quiet of the forest was all he could perceive.
Yuuri hovered at the edge of the clearing for a few more minutes, praying and hoping that he was just a little early, that maybe their timing would be aligned after all. When his efforts proved to be futile once again, he marched over to the lip of the lake and ungracefully plonked himself on the grass, careful in removing and setting aside his boots as he let his bare feet break the water’s surface. His mind cast back to the day he had first stumbled across this clearing, only paying attention to that particular part of the forest when he caught an unnatural silver flitting in between the barks at the corner of his eye. The lake was just as surreal then, but Yuuri had his whole attention captured by the man sitting at the edge of the lake opposite to where Yuuri had stood, legs knee deep in the water, causing tiny ripples to spread across the lake. Not unlike the ripples fading in front of him now, Yuuri mused.
Molten blue eyes, reminding Yuuri of both lava and ice all at once, had looked up and caught his own, and he had been unable to look away. Yuuri had been more than ready to believe that he had slipped into a different time altogether than to acknowledge that he shared the same space, time and world with a creature as beautiful as him. Yuuri played with the grass by his side, twirling it between his fingers and thought that he still would rather believe the former theory more. Especially since he had not seen the man after that day.
The world covered itself with a dark blanket, but even the stars twinkling above could not make Yuuri’s mind move beyond memories of silver locks so long their ends were unfathomable while seated, and eyes that seemed to hold Yuuri’s world.
****
Seasons passed, and Yuuri, after months of pining for a man he had seen just once, decided to go to the clearing one final time. The wintry air chilled Yuuri’s bones, and he thought that this was a fitting day to give up on his unrequited infatuation. Bundling himself up, he left the warmth of his family’s inn to brave the biting winds. Not long after he had set out for the clearing did the first flakes of snow land on his nose, and Yuuri paused in his trek to admire the beauty of the year’s first snowfall.
Finding the clearing was now of second nature to Yuuri, and so even with the slight delay in his journey, he reached his destination earlier than he had expected. His reward for such a feat, if one could call it such considering the task he had set out for himself, was finally seeing the man that eluded him. He had not lost any of his charm, in fact, seeing him twirling on the ice in makeshift blades on his shoes tightened the strings in Yuuri’s heart. He envied the way the wind caressed the man’s flowing silver locks, and the way the man looked the same, despite there being almost a year’s gap between the first time and now. The stranger had donned a very strange attire, but the sight of it did nothing to quell Yuuri’s growing attraction for the man, in fact, it even enabled it. Small rhinestones spilling from a shoulder on to black mesh, cutting off around the chest and rejoining at the hip, with a small skirt lined with the crimson of blood, made Yuuri throb with desire. A desire to know more about him, from head to toe, within every nook and cranny, not even sparing the recesses of his mind. As the eyes that had haunted his dreams find his, he feels the want of knowing the person within grow exponentially, for an unintelligent creature would be unable to pin him with the stare the man was giving, like he was calculating how much of a threat Yuuri was, like he was weighing his pros and cons.
When neither moved for a while, the stranger skated up to the edge of the pond and leaned forward slightly. “You found me.” The slight pause in the air makes Yuuri feel like he wants to add a statement similar to ‘at last’, but Yuuri finds himself more taken by the musical lilt of his voice.
“What is your name?”, Yuuri breathes.
The stranger smiles at him. Yuuri almost misses his response, having found his own personal sun in the beam whose shape seems to have the beginnings of a heart.
“Please call me Viktor.”
****
Another set of seasons pass, and every day Yuuri finds himself more thankful for his luck than the past, for with the flow of the hours, he finds himself dipping more frequently into the abyss that is Viktor, and it doesn’t take him long to realise that his affection had turned to a love deeply rooted in his soul. Getting to know who Viktor was was like a blessing to Yuuri, for he could not understand why a man so perfect and imperfect together was so interested in ordinary Yuuri. After voicing this once to Viktor, and being vehemently denied of being ordinary [You are anything but ordinary, Yuuri, in fact you’re so extraordinary it leaves me in awe, speechless] he lets the thought reside in the depths of the corners of his mind.
It was during the end of the season before the season they had first spoken when Viktor cupped Yuuri’s cheeks in his hands, shifting his body so that he was facing Yuuri, still pressed together to feel each other’s warmth. Yuuri could feel Viktor’s feather soft locks spilling on to his face and his hands as he drew closer, stopping just short of their lips touching. “Yuuri.”, Viktor breathes, and Yuuri involuntarily shivers when his breath rolls over his lips. “Yuuri. May I?”
Yuuri closes the gap in response.
****
The seasons pass by once more, and Yuuri is certain that he has seen less of his own home and more of the clearing that has become both his and Viktor’s. The atmosphere of the clearing was just as ethereal as when he first chanced upon it, and so was Viktor, but he also felt like he belonged in the world their beauty created. He belonged by Viktor’s side, and the conviction grew stronger with each day. So strong are his beliefs that by the time their third winter together arrives, Yuuri had informed his parents of his choices and stands before Viktor, slipping on one of the pair of gold rings he has personally engraved their first snowflake together on.
It is during the same winter that they face their biggest ordeal yet.
Yuuri spends many a night at the clearing, with Viktor curled up on his side. The latter was an early riser, and so always fell asleep before Yuuri did, leaving Yuuri to spend his nights at the clearing to his thoughts and the sight of Viktor in deep slumber. Yuuri’s eyes on that particular night are drawn to the silver necklace that he has never seen Viktor without. He has often wondered about the sentiment behind the necklace, but he feels the curiosity lace through his muscles like never before, and his mind actively thinks back to the equine creature he sometimes plays with whenever Viktor runs late. Feeling an energy he has rarely felt before, his mind parses truth from the reality, and Yuuri is hit with the sudden realization that he and Viktor are truly worlds apart. Trembling fingers ghost over the necklace, and Yuuri never takes his eyes off of his fiancé as he slowly unclasps the trinket.
He had tried his best not to blink, but Yuuri feels a force greater than him tug at his eyes, and when he opens them again, the pale haired horse is standing upright where Viktor was seconds ago, and his blue eyes, all too familiar to Yuuri, regard him with deep sorrow. Yuuri feels his own eyes well up, and tries to wrap his arms around his love, finding himself grasping at air as Viktor takes a light step backward.
The next morning, Yuuri wakes to find his Viktor, still in equine form, nuzzling his neck. Relieved that not everything has broken between them, Yuuri spends three days stroking Viktor’s mane, thinking of what he should do. Unable to come up with a solution, he guides Viktor to his home, where his parents and Mari fawn over Viktor. After explaining the situation to his family over dinner, his mother directs him to the mage’s cave, who was said to have stored the knowledge of all the universes in his mind. Thanking his parents, Yuuri leaves the next day on Viktor’s back, a new resolve pumping through his veins.
****
The mage was nothing like he had expected.
Flowers of all kinds were tastefully scattered across the dwelling, and the mage himself was in clothing that had a meshwork similar to the one Yuuri had seen on Viktor years ago. The only reason why Yuuri was certain that the man before them was the mage they seeked was the deep bottle green of the mage’s eyes, which truly seemed to hold the secrets of the universe.
When Yuuri explains his predicament, the mage’s eyes light up in amusement. The mirth is also notable in his tone when he asks, “My dear child, have you thought of returning the necklace?”
Yuuri had not, and he turns cherry red.
Latching the necklace on its rightful owner, Yuuri opens his eyes to find Viktor, human Viktor, in front of him but this time he refrains to reach out. Instead, the mage clasps Viktor’s shoulder and asks him, “Friend, are you not tired of having to switch back and forth? If you could choose one form, would it be the human or the equine?”
Viktor looks at the mage for a long moment before turning his gaze to Yuuri. “Yuuri. As you can see, I’m not mortal. Nor am I human. But here I am, being given the chance to be. Should I accept the offer to be human, would you still marry me?”
The tears drip down Yuuri’s face, and he rubs at them furiously before he answers, “Yes, Viktor. For you, a thousand times, yes.”
Viktor then beams, and oh, how Yuuri has missed his smile.