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If Yuuri really thinks about it, it started on Valentine’s day.
He and Viktor had been together for a few months at that point, and he wanted the day to be perfect for them. He’d bought him a stereotypical heart of chocolates, a bouquet of flowers, and a bottle of wine. It was going to be perfect.
He made dinner at his apartment, a cheesy pasta recipe that he’d found in a cookbook that he and Phichit had bought at the beginning of the year. It smelled delicious and he set the plates up on the table, lighting a couple of candles.
And then he got the text, sitting at the table waiting for Viktor to show up.
from vitya <3: Yuuri I’m so so so sorry I can’t come for valentine’s day I came down with something I’ll make it up to you I swear this is the worst I wanted to spend the day with you </3
from vitya <3: can we have a redo tomorrow? I’ll make steak or something I promise I’ll make this up to you
to vitya <3: that’s fine. I’ll see you then :)
It was fine. Viktor still wanted to have Valentine’s dinner with him. There was a cold going around campus. Maybe Viktor had caught that, and just didn’t want to get Yuuri sick. That was sweet, wasn’t it? They could have a fine meal tomorrow, and nothing would be wrong at all.
Or maybe he was going to break up with Yuuri tomorrow. He was nowhere near in Viktor’s league, anyway. It was only a matter of time until Viktor realized that and left him behind. Maybe he’d found someone else. It was cruel to break up with someone on Valentine’s day, maybe Viktor was trying to soften the blow.
Yuuri stared out the window at the full moon, trying not to let his doubts get the best of him.
Viktor showed up to Yuuri’s apartment, looking like he hadn’t slept in months. His eyes were bloodshot and the bags under them dark. He’d not even tried with makeup. His silver hair hung loose around his head, dirty, like he hadn’t showered in days.
He looked awful, and Yuuri felt terrible for all of his doubts yesterday. “If you still didn’t feel well, you could have stayed home, Vitya,” Yuuri said, even though he didn’t want to. He wanted the best for Viktor, but it made him so nervous that he might not have been around again. He wanted to spend this day with Viktor.
“I feel fine!” Viktor answered. “Here, let me cook for you.” Viktor squeezed his arm softly.
“I bought some wine, if you want any?” Yuuri offered as Viktor grabbed an apron and the meat, throwing them into the pan to cook.
“I can’t eat grapes,” Viktor answered immediately before turning red. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, pulling his hair back into a tight ponytail. “Something about them upsets my stomach, so I tend to stay away from wine. Feel free to have some if you want it, though!”
Yuuri put the wine to the side, fixing them glasses of water again. Now that he’d mentioned it, he supposed that he’d never seen Viktor drink wine. It was still odd, though.
Viktor cooked the steaks quickly and set them out on the table, which Yuuri had lit with candles again. Viktor scooted his chair to Yuuri’s side, smiling softly as he took his hand, leaning in to kiss him softly. “I’m glad we could do this today,” he murmured before pulling away, lifting his fork and knife to dig into their food.
Yuuri started to cut his steak before he looked over at Viktor’s plate and hesitated, confused. Viktor’s steak was rare. Yuuri’s was cooked to perfection, a medium well that Viktor knew he liked from the few times that they’d gone to nice restaurants together. Viktor usually got the same, or even got it even more well done than Yuuri did. Today, though, his steak barely looked like it was even cooked, and Viktor looked like he was salivating looking at it.
“Is your steak cooked enough?” Yuuri asked, unable to help himself. He cut a piece off of his own, chewing it slowly as he watched Viktor cut in.
Viktor licked his lips before looking up at Yuuri. His eyes looked dark for a second before he blinked, nodding his head. “I don’t know, it sounded good to cook it less today. If it’s not, I’ll just cook it some more.”
Viktor ate his steak in record time, barely cutting it into small enough pieces.
After they ate their food, they went out to the couch and turned on a movie. It was… actually kind of terrible, but neither of them really wanted to watch it anyway. Yuuri climbed into Viktor’s lap, kissing him softly and holding onto him throughout the movie. They made out for the entire movie, holding onto each other and getting used to being around each other again.
As the movie started to draw to a close, Yuuri drew himself away from Viktor’s lips, burying his face against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. They watched a few moments of the credits in silence, just holding each other and listening to their breathing.
“I bought some chocolate, if you want them,” Yuuri murmured, leaning up to kiss Viktor’s throat. Viktor whined softly, tilting his head so that Yuuri had better access to his neck. Yuuri kissed softly, nipping against his skin as he pulled away. “We can eat them for dessert, and maybe watch another movie?”
Viktor took a second to regain his composure before he frowned, a deep blush filling his cheeks. It was an odd reaction to the offer of chocolate, unless he was thinking of things other than chocolate. “Oh, I’m actually allergic to chocolate, too,” Viktor said, smiling weakly at Yuuri. “I’m sorry.”
Yuuri took the heart back from him, shrugging.
“I… I didn’t know.” How did he know so little about Viktor? They had been dating for months, he should at least have the basic knowledge that his boyfriend was allergic to chocolate and wine.
“I don’t talk about it much! You’re fine,” Viktor said immediately, jumping up and wrapping his arms around Yuuri. “I’m just glad to be here today.”
“You look exhausted,” Yuuri said softly, kissing Viktor gently. “Do you want to go lie down for a little bit? We can order dessert and nap while we wait.”
“That would be perfect,” Viktor answered, kissing Yuuri back. “I didn’t sleep well yesterday. Whatever I caught was bad.”
“I’ll order desserts from a pizza place so they deliver. Go lie down, I’ll join you in a few minutes.” Yuuri let him go and Viktor nodded.
Yuuri ordered dessert.
When he walked into his bedroom, Viktor was fast asleep on his bed, curled around one of Yuuri’s pillow with his face pressed into another one of them. Yuuri smiled, sitting down and brushing his fingers through his boyfriend’s long hair gently, watching his chest rise and fall softly.
“I love you,” he murmured, curling up next to Viktor. The ring of his phone would wake him up when the dessert got here.
It started happening every month.
There would be a day every month that Viktor would get so sick that he couldn’t see Yuuri, sometimes for a day, sometimes a couple. It didn’t seem to have any sort of routine, he just… got sick. He’d get sick, and then he’d vanish off of the face of the Earth, not even answering Yuuri’s texts to see if he needed anything or if he was okay. It was frustrating, but he was trying to be patient with him.
It felt like clockwork, like the cycles of the moon. It was almost exactly the same amount of time between each time that Viktor got sick. He’d start acting tired days before it happened and then vanish for an entire day, texting Yuuri the next day. If Yuuri called or if they spent time together, Viktor would be so tired that he could barely move.
It didn’t make any sense.
Viktor would tell him if there was something terribly wrong, right?
“I probably won’t be around Friday,” Viktor murmured, kissing Yuuri softly. “I’m going to have a late night Thursday and I probably will be asleep most of Friday. I’ll just stay in my apartment so I don’t bore you.”
“Are you sure? I don’t have work on Friday, I don’t mind taking a slow day,” Yuuri offered. He probably should be studying on Friday, but he could do that while he was laying in bed with Viktor, especially if Viktor was asleep for most of it.
“No, that’s fine! You’ve got a big test on Monday, don’t you? I don’t want to distract you. Take time to study with Phichit, I’ll see you after your test on Monday. We can go out for dinner?” Viktor sat up, smiling at him.
“As long as you’re sure.” Yuuri shrugged, packing the last of his books into his backpack.
“I am,” Viktor smiled, wrapping his arms around Yuuri’s neck. “Are you going to stay here tonight?”
“If I can,” Yuuri murmured, looking up at him. He stared at the lunar calendar behind Viktor. It was one of the few decorations in his room, a large poster of the cycles of the moon and their dates.
It was cute, really, how much Viktor loved the moon. Maybe Yuuri should take him to an observatory sometime. They could look through the telescopes together, see all the moon and stars in much more detail than you could by clearly staring into the sky.
“Please do,” Viktor responded. “I’ll miss you.”
“It’s only a few days, Vitya,” Yuuri laughed softly, kissing him. “If it’s so long, I’ll just come study here on Friday.”
“No, you should stay home. I know I’m a distraction,” Viktor answered, wrapping his arms around Yuuri’s neck. He pulled Yuuri close to himself, burying his face against his neck and breathing in softly.
“Okay. Just call me if you want me to come over.” Yuuri kissed his forehead softly before closing his eyes.
“I was thinking, maybe during the full moon, we can go to the observatory?” Yuuri murmured when he was in bed with Viktor the next Monday.
“I’ll be busy!” Viktor immediately exclaimed, his eyes widening at Yuuri’s suggestion. Yuuri blinked before nodding his head. It was the most awake that Viktor had looked since he came over, so it was sort of surprising that he had reacted so fully. It was one of his exhausted days, apparently his illness had hit at some point over the weekend when Yuuri had been unable to see him.
“That’s fine! I’d just noticed how interested you were in the moon, and I heard it’s really cool to see it through the telescopes when it’s full.” Yuuri had done a lot of research on the observatory when he had left Viktor’s house, when he was taking breaks from studying for his test. It was something that he thought that Viktor would really enjoy, especially since the moon seemed to be his main focus.
A lot of the events circled around when planets and comets were most visible, but Yuuri just wanted to take his boyfriend to see the moon. It seemed like the perfect plan. Viktor had his lunar calendar, he had a couple pendants of the moon as well. It seemed like it was a big interest of him, and Yuuri desperately wanted to do something that he thought Viktor would enjoy so much.
“That does sound cool,” Viktor answered, kissing Yuuri. “Maybe we can go to the observatory some other time.”
Viktor called one of his sick days before their observatory trip on the full moon.
And the next full moon.
And the next full moon.
It all came to a head when he surprised Viktor one weekend.
They hadn’t had plans, but Viktor had been stressed out trying to write his final papers for the semester. They hadn’t been seeing each other much, and Yuuri wanted to spend a little bit of time with him, even if it was just sitting together and studying.
As Viktor opened the door, revealing himself to the full moon, there was a noticeable difference in his actions. He shrank back from the light, his eyes growing wide as he saw Yuuri in front of him.
And he grew a long tail and elegant silver ears, his whole body growing slightly larger, something not quite human. His long hair morphed into his body, growing longer and longer as it blended in to a fur that overwhelmed his whole form. He howled at the moon and Yuuri took a step back.
Viktor disappeared into the distance, into the woods behind his apartment. Yuuri stood frozen in the doorway of the apartment, wondering if he should run. Maybe he should chase after Viktor, try to figure out what was going on. But Viktor hadn’t looked… like himself. There was something dangerous about how he had looked when he fled, and Yuuri felt like he shouldn’t go running into the woods after that.
He turned around, looking into Viktor’s apartment. Things were torn apart a little, less organized than Yuuri had ever seen it. Yuuri walked in, closing and locking the door behind him. Makkachin came over and scratched as his leg, begging for food. Yuuri helped her fix a bowl, walking over to sit on Viktor’s bed. He sat there in shock.
Makkachin walked over after a few minutes and Yuuri absently scratched her head.
Holy shit, Yuuri’s boyfriend was a werewolf.
He stayed at Viktor’s apartment for the weekend, trying to sort through his thoughts. Viktor would have to come back at some point, and Yuuri could confront him and… and… ask if he was a werewolf?
No, he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that one. Viktor was definitely a werewolf. It made so many things up until this point make sense, things that he hadn’t even thought to explain.
Most importantly, it explained Viktor’s sickness every month. It was every full moon. He’d disappear for days, and he was a werewolf. Yuuri didn’t know what he did when he disappeared, he didn’t know if he wanted to.
He walked into the kitchen, making a little bit of breakfast for himself and sitting on the couch, flipping channels.
After a few hours of sitting on the couch, the front door opened and Viktor stumbled in, torn clothes hanging off of him. His shoulders were low and he looked upset about something.
“You’re still here.” His eyes immediately snapped to Yuuri, going wide.
Oh.
Had he expected Yuuri to leave? Should Yuuri have left? Sure, it was a little strange to find out that his boyfriend was a werewolf, but… well, he hadn’t even thought to leave. He’d just been trying to figure out what to say to Viktor.
After a second of staring at each other, Viktor walked over, reaching out his arms hesitantly. When Yuuri immediately stepped into them, Viktor burst into tears. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I meant to tell you, I was afraid you would be afraid of me or you’d break up with me or –“ Viktor broke off with a sob, clinging to Yuuri.
“I,” Yuuri hesitated after he began to speak before wrapping his arms around Viktor. “Why would I be afraid of you?”
“Why?” Viktor repeated, pulling away from him and staring at him with bloodshot eyes. The exhaustion didn’t look like it had set in yet, maybe it took a little bit for the adrenaline rush to die down. “Yuuri, I’m a werewolf.”
It felt weird, to hear the word out loud. Yuuri had been wrestling with the fact all weekend, but hearing Viktor saying it so directly was… odd. It was maybe stranger still that he didn’t feel like it was a bad thing. “I’m… not afraid of you,” Yuuri said, shrugging. “I… should be, but I’m not. You’re still Viktor.”
“I’m…” Viktor stared for a moment before his terrified upset expression changed, breaking into a brighter smile, rubbing the tears from his eyes. “I am.”
“I do have some questions, though,” Yuuri murmured.
“I’ll answer anything,” Viktor immediately answered, taking Yuuri’s hands.
Facts about werewolves:
They’re allergic to everything that would make a dog or a wolf sick. It’s not a deadly allergy, but it’s something that would make their stomachs hurt for a while with even a small amount. Viktor avoided all of it completely, and refused to take chances.
The moon effected all of them differently. Some moons, Viktor would have a full transformation like he did this time. Sometimes, he only grew ears and a tail, and became more excited. Those were the transformations that took less time.
He couldn’t speak when he was a wolf, he could barely control himself. But he didn’t do anything dangerous, the worst thing he had done when he was a wolf was kill a rabbit for food. He usually barely ate at all, running entirely on adrenaline. He was fully aware of everything that he did as a wolf.
After he shifts, it’s comforting to have Yuuri’s scent around himself, because his senses are still more sensitive than they are the rest of the month. Yuuri is something he finds incredibly comforting and he wants him around himself as much as he can.
Maybe more important was a fact about VIktor.
He was still unconditionally in love with Yuuri – maybe even more so. He spent the rest of the night peppering Yuuri with kisses while he answered his questions. As the adrenaline wore off, he started to get more tired, but still leaned on Yuuri and answered as much as he could. Yuuri let him go to bed after a little while, knowing just how exhausted he must be.
There was nothing for Yuuri to be afraid of – neither for their relationship or for Viktor as a wolf. He was harmless, and he wanted Yuuri to know that. He whispered how much he loved him as he started to drift to sleep and Yuuri picked him up, carrying him to bed and tucking him in. He immediately curled up in bed next to Viktor, falling asleep in each other’s arms.
Viktor asked Yuuri to move in the next morning.
Yuuri said yes.
“The full moon’s this weekend,” Yuuri murmured, wrapping his arms around Viktor’s neck.
“Stay here this weekend?” Viktor requested, kissing Yuuri sweetly. He was starting to get tired, a feeling Yuuri had started to associate with Viktor on the full moon.
“I do live here, you know. And I’d never dream of leaving,” Yuuri answered, leaning his forehead against Viktor’s. “I’ll be here when you get back, so you can sleep right away. I can take care of Makkachin.”
“You’re so good to me,” Viktor murmured. “My boyfriend likes to take care of me after I uncontrollably become a wolf every full moon,” Viktor teased and Yuuri laughed, kissing him again.
“I like to take care of you. I’m glad I can now.” Yuuri rested his head against Viktor’s shoulder. They were swaying softly with light music playing, his eyes fluttering shut. “You’re beautiful when you change, you know? It’s fitting for you.”
“I can’t believe you think so, but I’m glad you do,” Viktor murmured against his lips. “I thought you’d be terrified of me. It’s not every day that you find out that your boyfriend’s a werewolf.”
“It’s not,” Yuuri agreed, shrugging his shoulders. “But I’m glad you’re still my boyfriend. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Viktor whispered, kissing Yuuri gently, swaying along with the music. They swayed in silence for a little while, letting the light music guide them through their steps. After a while, Viktor started to slow down, just holding onto Yuuri, until he was almost letting go. He reached out to pull the remote from his pocket, turning the music off and staring at Yuuri.
“Yuuri,” Viktor broke the silence, stopping their sway and looking at Yuuri with a soft look in his eyes. “Stay here every full moon?” Viktor whispered after a second, pulling away from Yuuri. Yuuri started to answer before his mouth fell open, eyes widening. Viktor fell to one knee, pulling out a ring. “Marry me?”