Work Text:
"Oh my god, they're so cute,"
Yuri wasn't about to disagree- they were cute
"You think I should go for it?" he asked, glancing at his best freind over his shoulder
"Duh, ofcourse I do!!" Phichit encouraged excitedly, wrapping his arms affectionately around Yuri's shoulders as they stared through the watery reflection
The bowl of water acted as something of a two-way mirror, giving them plenty of access to watch the human realm without the humans being able to see them in return
"I don't know, things will be hard on them, humans have become so..... judgemental...." Yuri said with a sigh, resting his cheek on his palm
"I think they're strong enough to handle it," Phichit encouraged with a smile, giving his freind's shoulder a playfull shove, earning a soft chuckle in return
"C'mon Eros, they already like eachother, they just need a little nudge!"
"Right... a nudge..." Yuri mumbled, nodding as he rose to his feet
"Ok then, one nudge coming up,"
Phichit cheered, clapping as though he were watching some sort of show as Yuri smoothed out his robes and grabbed his bow and arrow from their display by his desk
"Hey, wile you're down there, bring me some of those New Orleans beignets I keep hearing about,"
Yuri rolled his eyes, but gave his freind the "OK" symbol anyway
"Shouldn't you be getting back to your own realm here soon?" he couldn't help but tease
"Nah, who would keep you company if not me?" Phichit beamed in return
Yuri faked another eyeroll, but finally gave his freind a wave and headed off to the human world, very much intending to make this a quick trip, he had some.... non-work related activities he wanted to attend to later, and the faster he did this, the faster he'd be able to get to those activities
~+~
Almost..... almost..... and.....
"Gottcha..." Yuri wispered to himself as his arrow landed with ease into it's target, a young pale woman with long, fluffy brown hair and big brown eyes
She flinched, just slightly, and turned around, immediately locking eyes with the first recipient of Yuri's arrows, and starting to smile shyly at the freckled red-headed girl she was now staring at
The red-head started moving closer, weaving through the crowd as the brunette spun her parasol in timid excitement, the red-head adjusting her hat as she walked and finally arriving in front of the brunette
"Hi there,"
"Hi..." the brunette nearly swooned
Aaaaand his work here was done
Now for the beignets and then back home
Settling his bow comfortably over his shoulder, Yuri started towards the nearest bakery, not really sure if nearest necessarily meant best, but he'd had beignets a few times now and he had never had a bad one so he deemed that it didn't really matter
On his way there, however, he happened to catch sight of something else to spark his interest- a young man with dark hair and big round glasses carrying a giant bouquet of roses
Funny, Yuri didn't remember seeing him in any of his observances lately, how had such a passionate fellow gotten past him?
Unable to push away his curiosity, Yuri followed the stranger through the streets of New Orleans, down several back roads and into a small apartment building, all the way up onto the third floor and into one of the little spaces, where the stranger was quick to get a vase and fill it with water, placing the flowers neatly inside and giving them a nice fluff before taking his jacket off and returning it to it's hook
Whoever was receiving those flowers was certainly well loved...
The sound of footsteps immediately had Yuri's attention, and he watched curiously as an older woman with long, springy curls, dark brown skin, and an incredibly warm, soft expression stepped out of one of the rooms in the back, her gaze immediately falling to the young man, and then to the flowers
"Oh Alastor, did you bring those home for me?"
"Ofcourse Mama," Alastor beamed with affection
"Who else would they be for?"
His mother chuckled, shaking her head and crossing over to the table where the flowers sat
"You're just too much.... when're you gonna get yourself a girlfreind so you can start spoilin' somebody else, hm?"
"It's just not on my mind right now," Alastor shrugged back
"I'm happy with the radio show, and I'm still young you know, it's not as though the girls are going anywhere,"
"Mmm-hmmm..." his mother chuckled, pulling Alastor into a tight, loving hug
"Besides, even if I did have a girl, it wouldn't stop me from spoiling you,"
"Child, aren't I supposed to be the one saying that to you?" his mother teased, ruffling her son's hair teasingly, much to Alastor's groan of displeasure as he immediately went to straighten and smooth it out
"That, however, I could do without, you know,"
"Too bad," his mother laughed joyfully, picking up the vase of flowers
"Let's see now, where would these pretty things look best..."
Yuri, who suddenly felt like he was intruding on them, shook his head and hurried out of the apartment
They reminded him of a less subdued version of himself and his own mother, hell, Hiroko must have had the "Find yourself a partner" conversation with Yuri a dozen times in the last year....
But unlike himself, Alastor deserved someone he could spend his days with, and now, Yuri was determined to find someone for him
~+~
"Oooooh, a demi-ace huh? Been a wile since you tried to set up one of those," Phichit observed as he stared at the scroll neatly defining all of Alastor's information
Yuri hadn't realized when he got so attached that Alastor was on the ace spectrum- though maybe he should have- and now he was feeling kind of... conflicted
As someone who was also on the ace spectrum- bi and demi respectively- he knew that being asexual didn't mean you couldn't want a romantic partner.....
But it also always felt a little awkward for him, he often worried that setting someone up from scratch when they were ace, as opposed to just giving an already blossoming relationship a gentle push in the right direction, was almost like he was overstepping somehow...
But...
"Yeah, I usually wouldn't push too much for something like this, but.... you should've seen him Phichit! He's just.... so full of love, someone like that.... it'd be a shame for them to not have a partner, a family... there are so many people in the world that lack love, especially these days, he's a rare find...."
"Uh-oh, don't tell me you're getting a crush Yuri," Phichit teased, to wich- this time- Yuri gave a genuine roll of his eyes
"Ofcourse not, I just want to see him happy, that's all,"
"Well... does it say if he likes girls or boys? Or uh, something in between?"
Yuri shook his head, adjusting his glasses as he glanced through some of the other "difficult" profiles that had started to gather on his desk lately
It'd be really ideal to pair Alastor up with someone who was in need of the kind of deep, unconditional, overflowing love that Alastor so clearly had...
"No preference listed, I don't think he'd ever even thought about it,"
"Well then how about this one?" Phichit suggested suddenly, grabbing a scroll from the pile
The photo attached was of a blonde- beautifull, but undeniably sad and.... hollow looking....
"Anthony De'Angelo...." Yuri read aloud
"First generation Italian-American, gay, he's a sex-worker... and a drug addict... the son of a mobster? I don't know Phichit, I know opposites often attract but these two might be a little too opposite..."
"I don't think so, I think they'd be good for eachother," Phichit grinned
"Besides, I think Anthony's balancing on the edge here, he could really use a miracle right about now,"
Yeah, but did that miracle need to be Alastor?
They'd have a hard enough time both being men in a relationship right now, add in that Alastor was half-Black and Anthony's mob connections and addiction and-....
It'd be a hellishly hard life, Anthony was already going through it but Alastor seemed to be happy, if Yuri set them up, would it really succeed in improving their lives... or only make them worse...?
"Well, I guess there's no harm seeing how they'd interact with eachother, I can decide after that," Yuri finally relented, clearing some of the other scrolls off of his desk and staring at the two of them side-by-side
"Should I go talk to Minako about arranging a reason for Alastor to go to New York?" Phichit asked excitedly, wiggling his brows
".....Yeah," Yuri finally nodded
"Yeah, let's do it,"
~+~
If the set up was on track, then Yuri still had about four hours before Anthony and Alastor met eachother, wich meant that he had those four hours free
After initiating the set-up a few days prior, Yuri had made sure to clear his schedule for the evening so he could keep a close eye on them, this was either going to be the romance of the century or a complete and utter disaster, and he needed to know every last detail of their first encounter to get an idea for wich was the more likely outcome and then plan accordingly
Sometimes being Eros was an exhausting job....
"Well you look tense,"
Yuri screamed, jumping up from his chair, wings fanned out in alarm as he grasped at his chest, heart hammering against his ribs like a damn drum
The reaction served to do nothing but give the man behind him a laugh, however, ice blue eyes sparkling with delight as the faery moved to perch on the edge of Yuri's desk, his own wings- soft and iridescent- flickering behind him like a dragonfly's
"Did I spook you?" he teased, resting his head against his fist with obvious mischievous delight
"J-Just a bit..." Yuri muttered back, his heart practically in his throat at this point as he slowly pulled his chair close and sat down again
Why did Viktor always have to startle him out of any concentration...?
"I'm sorry," the faery said with a fake pout- although it was clear that he didn't mean it, he was obviously delighted with himself
"What has you so lost in thought anyway?"
"Just a work thing," Yuri shrugged back, fidgeting with his glasses as Viktor sighed and leaned closer
"Eros.... so secretive...."
"I'm not secretive," Yuri protested with a slight pout
"I just... don't see any reason to bore you with all the details, that's all..."
"Bore me?" Viktor snorted, jerking backwards, a hand pressed to his chest
"That's such a rediculous claim! I find matters of love FASCINATING, I'd love to hear about all of your exploits! I'd... love to hear more about you in general, Yuri,"
Yuri's face pinched, a bit confused
Viktor said things like that all the time but he didn't really believe him, he couldn't understand why on earth the Guardian Of Winter would be interested in him....
Viktor was like a god to Holiday Spirits, and what was Yuri? Just some little siren watching over a holiday that had only been popular for less than a hundred years, the spirit who had been supervising it before him had lived a quiet life in a small realm, her duties had been the same as his ofcourse- to help people find love- but she didn't get credit for it the way Yuri did this past century....
The point was, he was much too small a player in this "game" the universe was playing for someone like Viktor to even notice, much less care about
"I'd rather hear about your's," Yuri finally said, voice quiet, face pink
Because Viktor? Now Viktor had an interesting job
He was the Guardian of winter, he created snow, brought the cold into the world, drove people into their fondest memories, happy Christmas mornings and cozy November evenings and....
Without Viktor, Valentine's Day just lost some of it's zest, with the sweaters and snow and hot chocolate.....
"Oh there's nothing interesting going on there," Viktor shrugged back with a sigh
"It's spring and autumn right now anyway, there's nothing for me to do except prepare for next season, wich is boring.... oh!! I know! Why don't you and I go ice skating!? It'll be fun!!"
"Oh I-... I don't know...."
"Come on, it'll be fun!! Your work isn't going to miss you for an hour is it?"
An hour...?
Well.... he still had four to go before the clandestine meeting took place.....
And he had wanted to spend more time like this- quality time- with Viktor for ages.....
Smile appearing on his face, shy and timid, he rose up and reached out to take Viktor's hand
"I guess an hour couldn't hurt,"
~+~
"You're a natural at this Yuri!"
"I really don't think I'm all that good..."
"Don't be silly! Do you know how long it took me to teach the other Yuri?" Viktor laughed, wich... was definitely a little confusing for Eros
"What do you mean 'other Yuri'...?"
"Oh, didn't you know?" Viktor asked, skating in a clean, perfect circle around the siren
"There's another Yuri I work closely with, he's one of Santa's elves! He hates it though, he really wants to take over Halloween Town, but the Pumpkin King isn't giving that job up too easily,"
Yuri tilted his head, taking a few smooth glides closer to the faery
"Ofcourse all that might become a moot point, there's a rumor going around that Yura is crushing on one of the Halloween spirits... hm, do you know what they call themselves?"
"Sorry, I don't," Yuri confirmed, face turning bright red as Viktor reached out, gently taking his hands and tugging him closer, Yuri's wings almost instinctively folding in around them, like a protective sheild
Whatever Viktor had been wanting to discuss before, it seemed to fade into the background now, his expression softening, warming, as he reached out to gently drag his fingertips along a few of Yuri's silky black feathers
"Your wings are amazing..... I'm kind of jealous,"
"You-... of...? Me?? Why? No, your's are definitely better," Yuri promised quickly, glancing away as Viktor's head shifted to the side
"Why do you always do that Yuri?"
"Do.... what?"
"Put yourself down, you are Eros, the god of love- well.... maybe not a god exactly but close enough, I've heard.... that you became Eros because you're the most enchanting siren in the entire realm, that when Aphrodite heard your song, she was so moved, she decided to give her position to you, is that true?"
Yes
Atleast..... something like that....
"That's an exaggeration..." Yuri mumbled instead, red face beginning to darken to maroon as Viktor cupped his cheek, dragging his thumb over Yuri's soft, pale skin and shifting just a bit closer, until Yuri could feel the fairy's warm breath trickling across his face
"Is it? Hm.... why don't you sing for me then and let me decide?"
"I-... no! A siren's song is nothing to make light of, you could-...... it's dangerous," Yuri insisted firmly, although honestly... Viktor was tempting him....
"Who said that I minded a little danger?" Viktor grinned back, closing his eyes, leaning in-....
"YURI!!!"
Yuri jerked away immediately, skating back a few steps and snapping his attention towards the voice behind him
"Phichit? What-?"
"Come quick! You have to see this!"
As much as Yuri wanted Viktor- had wanted him for the longest time- it was obvious that Phichit's concern was no joke, and any thoughts of love or romance instantly left his mind
With a quick apology to Viktor, he immediately rose into the air, massive black wings beating against the cool sky as he soared towards the bank of the lake where Phichit was waiting
"Show me,"
~+~
"How could something like this happen...?"
Everything had been fine that afternoon
Everything had been good, but now....?
Now Yuri was looking at a blood bath
"I don't know what happened! I decided to check in on your uh... pet project for you and.... I'm so sorry Yuri, she was already dead...."
Yuri and Phichit may not have known what happened, but Alastor clearly did
His mother- who had accompanied him on his trip to New York- had been murdered seemingly an hour before, wich would have put the timing of the tragedy at nearly the exact time that Yuri had left to go ice skating with Viktor
Now, Alastor had gone on something of a rampage
Yuri had never seen so much blood
For as feircely as Alastor loved, it seemed he could hate with just as much vigor
Three men were laid out on the ground, gutted like fish, Yuri could see bones and organs that had been carved out and tossed away, Alastor, covered and dripping in blood, was in the process of carving up a fourth man, and Yuri....
Yuri had caused this
If Yuri hadn't sent him there, his mother would still be alive, and none of this would be happening
The gleam of metal suddenly caught Yuri's eyes and panic filled his veins, his wings standing on end as the sudden realization of what was happening clicked in his mind
"NO!!"
"Yuri wait-!"
Nothing was going to stop him though, Yuri took off towards the nearest exit into the human world, he soared through it, making his way towards Alastor's location, but he was still too late
The cop who had shot Alastor was calling in for backup, distracted enough that Yuri could easily wrap the human in his arms and carry him elsewhere
He flew to the nearest rooftop, where he knew they wouldn't be found, and settled atop it, gently laying Alastor down and laying a hand against his chest
There was no heartbeat....
Dread pumped through his veins, tears started to prick at the corners of his eyes, the thought that he had inadvertently caused this man's death, the death of someone so beautifull and full of love, of someone who he had been watching over, that he had cost not one but two human lives just by putting them here....
He couldn't live with that
He couldn't heal Alastor, but.... there was one thing he could do....
Sniffling quietly, he took a moment- just the shortest moment- to mourn for himself, to mourn the life he had lived until now, to mourn the joy that being Eros had brought him- before leaning down, his lips hovering above Alastor's but taking care not to touch, as he inhaled, and then exhaled, breathing his power, his Breath Of Life, into the human beneath him
He shuddered, the tears flowing freely now as he felt his power drain out of his body, a soft pink glow wrapping around Alastor as it began to sink into his veins, the glow growing more and more intense, until-
The human- who was no longer human- gasped to life, sitting up and putting his hands around his throat, the bullet wound in his chest beginning to heal over as he looked around in desperation to figure out what was going on
"What..... M-Mama.....?"
"It's ok," Yuri promised, gently placing a hand on the human's shoulder
"It's ok, you're alive, you..... you're going to live a new life... you're-"
"I was dead..." Alastor breathed suddenly, taking Yuri by surprise
"Well..... only-"
"You brought me back to life...?"
Yuri swallowed hard
Why.... did he not sound happy about that....?
"I-... yes.... I-I didn't-.... I saved you, I-"
"You didn't save me," Alastor hissed, tears filling his eyes
"You STOLE me! You took me away from my mother, from my ancestors! I was going to see them and then you took me away! To live a life of what?! The one person I loved is GONE now! Unless you can bring her back too!?"
Yuri.....
Yuri had no idea....
He hadn't thought of it that way
"No I-.... I didn't... I didn't mean to-"
"Then send me back," Alastor insisted, moving closer, his expression tense
"Let me die!"
"I can't! It's... it isn't that simple!"
"Why not?!"
"Because you're not human anymore!"
Alastor's eyes widened, a few tears sliding down his cheeks as he slowly fell back, hanging his head
They were both silent for a moment, before Yuri- wings wrapping tightly around himself in shame and guilt and anxiety- hung his head, and started to explain
"I... used to be Eros... what people have started to call 'Cupid'..... that job is your's now, and I can't-... I'm not..... like you.... anymore so I-.... I need to explain everything now.... because after this I-... I won't be able to... to go back home anymore...."
Alastor gritted his teeth, wrapping his arms around his legs
"...To start with, your job is to help people find love....."
~+~
"You couldn't have known, Yuri,"
"It doesn't matter," Yuri muttered, eyes dark lost as he stared out over the frozen lake
"I should have known better, I shouldn't have meddled in human lives..."
"Your entire job is meddling in human lives," Viktor insisted, settling down next to Yuri and gently placing a hand on his thigh
"It was," Yuri corrected
Viktor sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing down at the ground, his own wings laying flat against his back
"I'm sorry.... I don't really know what to do when people are sad, I'm not good at it,"
"It's ok, it isn't your job to make me feel better.... to be honest, I don't think I should feel better, I screwed up this guy's entire life- I may have screwed up the process of matchmaking all together, and just because I let my ego get ahead of me,"
"I don't think it was your ego," Viktor frowned, wrapping his arm gently around Yuri's shoulders
"And I don't think you screwed up Valentine Town, I think.... I think for whatever it's worth, you chose a good apprentice, and if he needs help with anything, he knows where to find you, it isn't as though he's been completely abandoned,"
Yuri nodded, letting his head rest on Viktor's shoulder
It didn't make him feel any better, but it was out of Yuri's hands now
He just hoped that Viktor was right
He hoped that Alastor would be a good Cupid, but even more than that, he just hoped that he would be ok, and that maybe, someday, he would find someone to love