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Yuuri felt his heart skipping in his chest as he swam, excitement and anxiety swirling in his stomach like a stormy sea. He had been looking forward to the day for months, and had spent every day since the equinox looking for the perfect gift.
Yuuri had scoured the shallow waters, where humans tended to leave their things behind. He searched through countless wrecked ships and their sunken treasures now claimed by the water, buried by time and sand. They belonged to the ocean now, but nothing caught Yuuri’s eye for the longest time.
He had found it, finally, the perfect courting gift. And he'd be giving it to Viktor, sharing a sunny afternoon in one of their secret places— a cliffside above the surface.
Viktor’s fins were always beautiful, the iridescence of his scales so striking that Yuuri wondered if it would blind him one day. A blue as bright as summer skies and magenta like oceanic flora entranced him, and the way his translucent fins sprayed rainbows through the water always made Yuuri’s heart stop.
Waves lapped at the frills of his tail fin, and Yuuri could watch for hours.
“It’s so hot,” Viktor complained with no intention of climbing back into the water. “I think you’re the smarter one of us.” Yuuri kept himself half submerged, knowing the dark purple along the underside of his tentacles would grow far too hot in the sun.
“I think we’re both smart.” Yuuri hummed, watching Viktor’s scales bend light into a spectrum as a wave sprayed mist over them both. Their friendship had grown slowly, a gentle push and pull. They had shared time learning with the elders, but despite the closeness had never truly come as close as Yuuri had to others like Viktor had.
Other cecaelia, like Yuuko, like Takeshi.
Yuuri’s friendship with the king’s son had never been anything but that: friendly. Viktor pulled him along on his escapes to the shore, shirking the responsibilities that were expected of a prince. The difference in their statuses was most clear in the moments between those secret outings, when Yuuri spotted him from across the reef.
Accompanied by his father, Viktor looked even more impossibly separate from Yuuri. He could see it in the ornate braiding of Viktor’s hair and the decorations littering his arms and throat. Pearls and gold draped artfully across his shoulders and over his chest. They grew up together but apart, in the same water but worlds away.
“Not sure about that.” Viktor mumbled, arching his back in a sinuous curve that had Yuuri’s eyes wandering in wholly inappropriate ways. “We should probably go back. Mother is waiting for me, I’m sure they’ll send the babysitting brigade after me again.”
Yuuri wasn’t ready, he hadn’t even worked up the courage to offer Viktor the little trinket he had finally found at the bottom of a ravine— a pretty box made of wheels and keys, a little dancing human popped up on a spring when he opened it. Time had worn away the paint on the woman, leaving just a colorless figure, but her hair looked silvery, like Viktor’s.
Viktor heaved a great sigh and slid back into the water, splashing salty spray into Yuuri’s eyes. His tail caught in the sunlight, washing the sky in pearlescent rainbow light. Viktor’s siren magic tended to only work on humans, but god, Yuuri felt as enchanted as every poor hapless sailor who got too close.
Viktor had flung himself dramatically over a rocky shelf, watching bubbles float back up to the surface. His fins rippled gently with the flow of the water, skirting along the sandy ocean floor. Viktor played the role of layabout prince well, but Yuuri had seen his eyes light up every time Yuuri mentioned his exploration beyond the reef, far past where Viktor— Yuuri assumed, at least— was allowed to go.
The intricate twisted braids flowed around him differently underwater. The color shone brighter with the light filtering in from above, the brilliant silver of it Yuuri’s heart always likened to moonlight.
Yuuri felt a flush crawling up his throat and spilling into his cheeks. His tentacles wound nervously around each other behind his back, where Viktor couldn’t see. In the shallow water, the gold felt even brighter, dragging eyes to Yuuri when he would much rather hide behind a neutral gray or a simple black.
He could feel the weight of his gift in his bag, but heavier was the implication of it— it was a request, a plea for closeness that Yuuri doubted was reciprocated. But a foolish part of him still had hope.
“I, Viktor, before we go—”
“Yuuri,” Viktor said at the same time as Yuuri, his lips curled downward trembling, a frown clinging to his features in the worst way. Yuuri bit his tongue, fear curling in his stomach. "I won't be... around as often as I used to be."
“Why?” The blow felt like a tidal wave crashing over him, dashing Yuuri’s heart on the rocks. “Viktor, I… was it something I said? I swear, I didn’t mean anything disrespectful-"
Viktor didn’t meet his eye, still lying on his back on the rocks. It hurt, but he was used to the dismissal. His relationship with the prince was nontraditional enough as it was, how could he expect special treatment now?
"Yuuri, you wouldn't make me cut my hair, would you?"
The question knocked the breath from Yuuri’s body.
"Viktor." Yuuri said simply, unable to summon anything more than his name. The ocean around them felt vast and empty, too broad and wide, like the feelings swirling in Yuuri’s stomach would take up every single drop of water around them.
"Would you?" Pointed, sharp fangs glimmered in the light, the expression not one of threat but fear, and it burned Yuuri to the core.
“No,” Yuuri immediately supplied, and truthfully. "Of course not." He would never dream of it. Viktor’s hair was beautiful, long and always so perfectly, intricately crafted that it was difficult to imagine Viktor with any other style. Nothing would suit him better. It was with that statement that Viktor relaxed, the tension between them fading, ever so slightly.
"Thank you.” Viktor said, turning those brilliant blue eyes on Yuuri with a similar shade of pained gratitude. It ached, so desperately, so deep in Yuuri’s chest to see Viktor’s pain so clearly in his eyes.
"Viktor, I still don't understand." Yuuri said, his words barely a whisper through the water. He clung to the shoulder strap of his bag, wishing all of it was somehow a dream instead.
"You will soon.” Viktor answered in kind, sitting up and tracing the long threaded braids in his hair, spinning a pearl ornament around where it was fastened into the braid. “I'm so sorry."
“Then… before you go, can I—” Yuuri began, his voice catching in his throat. “I have a gift for you.” There was a shout of Viktor’s name then, a not-unfamiliar end to their time together. This one felt final, though, the voice like a solemn warning, the groan of a heavy ship through the water.
Yuuri didn’t take the music box out of his bag, but simply looped the bag over Viktor’s shoulder instead. “Open it when you’re alone.” Yuuri said, his heart aching as Viktor furrowed his brow. “Please.”
“Alright, I will.” Viktor’s voice was too quiet, too soft. “Yuuri?” Yuuri felt the tears welling up and the ocean pulling them away sooner than he could wipe them. “Keep this for me.” Viktor unfastened a small shell from his hair and tied it around the end of Yuuri’s long braid. His hands lingered there, so near to Yuuri’s heart.
Yuuri could barely stand to look up through his inky lashes, as if looking would make it worse.
“I will.” Yuuri promised, before pulling away as Viktor did the same, parting for what might have been the last time.
Viktor held in the tears until his bedroom door was closed behind him, the disapproving look on his father’s face still burned into his memory. He had begged his father not to take the bag, promising to turn it over if it was dangerous or something inappropriate.
He knew Yuuri would never give him something dangerous.
His bed felt too big now, even though he had only ever slept in it alone. Maybe the thought of never being able to share it with the one he wanted to…
He tried to swallow down the hurt before it burned him further. He had to.
The contents of the bag felt precious, like Viktor was uncovering a secret that Yuuri had given him. Something from his far-flung adventures, sunken ships and deep trenches, kelp forests and hidden caves. Even the bag itself was special. Yuuri had made it for keeping his treasures, woven from the fishing nets that humans left behind.
His fingers brushed against metal and he recoiled instinctively, remembering every interaction he’d had with metal spears and hooks.
But what Viktor pulled from the bag wasn’t sharp, it wasn’t hooked, it was… a box. A very pretty, shiny box. Every side of it was carved with what looked like coral, or whatever the humans had on land. It was rusted and orange, but when Viktor scratched at it gently, bright silver shone through. The box opened and Viktor saw mechanisms that were rusting, nearly ruined— a pretty woman with long hair.
He had to fix it, he needed to charm it. Yuuri had given him such a beautiful gift, he had to make it work again. His siren blood would do some good, for once.
Viktor curled himself around the box, cradling it in his hands as close to his lips as he could. Maybe, just maybe, Yuuri would hear it if he sang. He had ached for the day that he could, only for powers higher than himself to demand he mate another, to strengthen alliances and bloodlines.
Viktor banished the thought with a sigh, tugging Yuuri’s smile back into his memory. Sweet, kind, stubborn Yuuri. He sang as quietly as he could, his lips nearly touching the metal. The rush of magic poured over his lips as he sang, binding metal to metal and healing what had been broken. It was a short song, a simple healing spell, but when Viktor opened his eyes again, he felt his heart flutter with pride.
The metal shone bright as the stars, brilliant and beautiful. He opened the lid and listened to the quiet tune it played, the gears turning a small knobbed wheel that struck musical tines as it spun. The sound was Viktor’s melody, the same one he had sung to knit it back together. He had to show Yuuri. Nothing was going to stop him.
A gentle knock on his door nearly startled him out of his scales and he shoved the box under a cushion. His mother entered, a soft smile on her lips. The queen was graceful, elegant, everything that Viktor had always wanted to be.
“Papa tells me you were too close to the edge of the reef again, Vitya.” His mother chided him softly, taking a seat at the foot of his bed and motioning for him to rest below her. She unraveled the intricate braiding she had designed that morning, dropping pearls, shells and little golden trinkets into a dish in her lap.
“I wasn’t that far from home.” Viktor said, muffled in his arms crossed over his chest. His mother’s hands were soothing, the sensation of his hair coming loose always felt like a relief.
“You and I both know you weren’t alone, Vitya.” Viktor’s mouth pressed tightly closed, fear sinking into his bones. “I know it’s hard to say goodbye to friends, but it’ll be for the best.” Viktor curled himself into a tighter ball, burying his face in his arms. “There, all done.”
“Thank you, mother.” Viktor replied automatically, pushing himself off the floor. A firm hand pressed him down again, and Viktor’s skin began to crawl. He could sense something was wrong. The sharp glide of shears was the warning and he tore himself away from his mother’s grasp.
“No, please, can’t it wait until the wedding?” Viktor pleaded, knowing how terrified he looked. Yuuri said he wouldn’t, Viktor couldn’t let it happen. Not yet, at least.
“Darling, our future depends on first impressions.” His mother countered, "Your future husband will be arriving in the morning." Plans swirled in Viktor’s head faster than he could think to make them. His mother set the shears down on his bed, and Viktor had never hated an inanimate object more.
“Please, until morning, at least?” Viktor begged, pleading beyond hope. His room was silent, heavy with it as his mother considered it. Viktor could feel his fins flicking anxiously, and he hoped she wouldn’t notice.
“I’ll return in the morning.” She said at last, picking up the tool and moving to the door. “Your father and I married under similar circumstances. You can be happy, if you try.”
Viktor didn’t sleep a moment that night, but waited until the dark was at its deepest. Between the rotations of guards that he had come to know well by now, Viktor pushed himself through one of the narrow windows and out into the ocean, moving by muscle memory alone.
The music box twinkled softly as he swam, and he prayed he could find Yuuri by morning.
Yuuri had never seen Viktor with his hair down. It was as wild and striking as he had expected it to be, but equally as alarming. His undereyes were dark, swollen.
"Yuuri!" Viktor threw himself into Yuuri's arms when he was close enough, and the shock of the contact made Yuuri shiver. "Found you!" His voice sounded ragged and worn, strained like he had been crying. He had gone back to the edge of the reef that morning, still unwilling to believe that it had been true. Something had been driven between them, but… here Viktor was, pushing Yuuri down into warm sand.
"Viktor, I thought—"
Viktor shook his head, his bright silver hair rippling around him. "Forget everything I said yesterday, it doesn't matter anymore." Yuuri looked at him sideways, confused. As if Yuuri hadn't spent the night curled around himself, aching and cold.
"I… okay. Forgotten." Yuuri said, eyeing his bag tied around Viktor’s waist.
"Is it okay if I stay with you for a while?" Viktor asked, the smile on his face looked too cheery to be a facade, but something felt unsteady about it. “A few days, if you have the space. Oh, it's okay if you don't, I can figure something out—"
“No, no, of course you can stay,” His words flew out of his mouth so fast it was a miracle he didn’t create a whirlpool around them. “I just… are you sure it’ll be alright? Don’t you usually need to go home before dark?” Yuuri didn’t realize it until he saw the tension in Viktor’s shoulders return, the clench of his jaw tighten for only a moment.
"Usually, yes. Not this time. You don't mind, do you?" Viktor asked, that tension bleeding from his frame quicker than it had appeared.
"No, of course not. I'm just…” Yuuri breathed, fighting the urge to tangle Viktor up in his tentacles and never let him return to whatever had made him flee. “Just surprised."
"Perfect!" Viktor chirped, a flurry of bubbles escaping his mouth and he tugged Yuuri in a direction he had never gone with Viktor before— toward home.
The inn was tucked far away from the busiest areas of the reef, its walls warmed by thermal vents deep below. Yuuri’s family had cared for the place for generations— it had always been a place of respite for migrating families and visitors to the reef.
Viktor was hardly their usual clientele. He looked out of place, both physically and otherwise. The inn was meant for cecaelia, for sprawling limbs and large bodies. Viktor looked like a child among the few guests, but it didn’t quell his curiosity or quiet his tongue.
“It’s so big!” Viktor chirped when Yuuri led him to his own room— the guest rooms were occupied— but Yuuri would be the last one to complain about the arrangement. “It’s almost as big as my room at home! I would have thought I’d feel confined. I didn’t realize commoners had such spacious rooms too!”
Yuuri wasn’t sure whether to be offended or laugh. “Well, we do need a bit more space than mer,” he began to explain as Viktor flopped into Yuuri’s bed. “More limbs and all. Do you need to rest? You look…”
“Please don’t say I look tired, my ego is very frail.” Viktor pleaded theatrically, clutching at his chest with both hands. “But I think some beauty sleep would be good.”
“You’re already plenty beautiful,” Yuuri didn’t say, but he nodded and began to close the door behind him.
“Oh, Yuuri?” Viktor called after him softly and the shift in his tone demanded Yuuri’s attention. “If someone asks… about me-”
“You’re not here?” Yuuri finished the statement, having recognized something in the rush, something in the tension, the unease of their morning. Viktor would explain it all when he was able to, Yuuri was certain. Until then, he was content to stay close, to do chores around the inn and not ask Viktor why.
Yuuri first heard Viktor sing that night.
It was nearly nightfall when he returned to the room, having spent most of his day pleading with his sister to help him keep Viktor’s secret (and doing her chores as payment). He was more than ready to flop into bed himself when he heard the whisper of Viktor’s siren song floating through the water.
It was sweet, light like the fruit that Viktor sometimes brought him from the palace— gentle like summer rain above the surface. But more than anything, Yuuri couldn’t stop thinking about the lack of a magical spell demanding that he fall in love with the voice singing to him.
Maybe it wasn’t meant to be a love spell, maybe Viktor was simply singing while he combed his hair, or while he counted anemones on the windowsill. But it stopped so abruptly when he knocked on the door that it must have been private. When he pushed the door open, Viktor was flushed, his freckles in stark comparison to rosy cheeks.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Yuuri began, but Viktor shook his head vigorously, scattering silver hair around him in a halo. The setting sun dipped everything in gold underwater, and Yuuri ached. “I… you kept the music box.”
Yuuri’s eyes fell to the little treasure in Viktor’s hands, now almost unrecognizably clean. All the rust was gone, Yuuri swore he could hear Viktor’s fingers moving across the metal for how clean it was. Magic. Viktor had fixed it with magic. It had a soft luster to it, like the metal glowed.
“And you fixed it?” Yuuri’s words escaped from his lungs in a rush of breath. Viktor nodded, flushed to the tips of his ears. He handed Yuuri the music box reverently, his bright blue eyes soft but wide.
Yuuri hoped that it meant to Viktor what it meant to him— that he wasn’t overthinking again, that he wasn’t letting his hopes swim away from him again. The music box hummed in his hands, a warm melody flooded Yuuri’s mind as the box touched his skin.
“I… it was so pretty, I wanted to—” Viktor began, his tail twitched and fine silky fins fluttered. “You gave me such a pretty gift, I wanted to keep it safe.” Yuuri shivered, his fingers fiddling with the latch on the front. Something deeply carved into him could sense the gravity of it, of the exchange of gifts like this. “Open it? Please?”
Yuuri’s fingers moved carefully, flicking open the box and that thrum of magic grew stronger. It washed over him in warm, relentless waves, and the song he had heard before played from the tiny box in his hands.
“Viktor, this is—” Yuuri attempted to say, his voice choked and tight. “Beautiful.” Viktor preened, moving closer. Yuuri could feel the warmth of Viktor’s skin against his, smooth scale against Yuuri’s tentacles. “It’s your song, isn’t it?” Yuuri asked, looking up to find Viktor’s face much closer than it had been before.
Viktor nodded, his eyes darting down to Yuuri’s mouth unsubtly. Yuuri raked his teeth over his lower lip without thinking.
“I wanted to give you a song without it— in a way that it didn’t affect you.” Viktor said, his voice so quiet the lull of the ocean around them almost drowned it out.
“Everything you do affects me.” Yuuri said simply, his heart twisting in his throat. “It’s never been because of… what you are. It’s who you are.”
“You’re sure?” Viktor asked, and Yuuri let Viktor move in closer, a traitorous arm wrapping around Viktor’s tail.
“Yes,” Yuuri said, more sure of the statement than anything he had ever said. “I’m sure.” Yuuri could feel the water around them growing warmer, the tides tugging them together finally too strong to fight. If the riptide was taking him, Yuuri would let it take him.
Viktor's eyes blinked closed slowly once, twice, three times. Full, beautiful lashes that looked like glittery moonlight fanned over his cheeks and Yuuri's hand twitched at his side.
"I want to kiss you." Viktor breathed, the ripple of his words brushing over Yuuri's cheeks. "Please, may I?"
Yuuri swallowed thickly and nodded, cupping Viktor's cheeks and pulling him in, tangling him in tentacles and touch as their lips finally met. He had dreamed about this, imagined it countless times. But Viktor was real, in his arms, sighing the most beautiful song Yuuri had ever heard against his lips.
Viktor's arms wound around his back, clinging tightly. "I couldn't stay, I couldn't do it," Viktor said between kisses, and Yuuri kissed him back without interrupting. The frantic heat of a first still buzzed under his skin, the confirmation of what Yuuri had been aching to know all this time finally given.
"They were going to make me marry someone else." Viktor's voice was pained then, and Yuuri had to pull himself away. There were tears beading in Viktor's lashes then quickly wicked away into the water. "I couldn't do it. I… I don't want to be king if I can't— if I can't choose."
"Viktor…" Yuuri felt his heart shattering with Viktor's, and god, he'd do anything to stop that hurt. "What do you want?"
"You." Viktor answered without hesitation. "I…" he trailed off, more tears bursting from between his eyelids squeezed shut. "I don't know. Anything but that."
"You don't need to be anything. Just Viktor is enough." Viktor clung, sharp claws nearly digging into Yuuri's back. Viktor had carved himself a place in Yuuri’s heart long ago, but only now had he found a place in his arms, sinking into the shared warmth that they had both been longing for. Viktor’s tears slowed, his breathing found an even pace, and he melted against Yuuri’s chest with a long sigh.
Yuuri closed his eyes and let himself sink into the sensation— the man he had fallen for so many years ago fit so perfectly against him, and every part of him was perfect. Yuuri’s fingers traced the smooth glide from skin to scale at his waist, his hairline along the nape of his neck; every texture was something to explore, and every last bit of Viktor was worth the worship.
“Yuuri?” Viktor’s voice came after a while, and just the sound of his name in Viktor’s mouth sounded like a song.
“Mm?” Yuuri answered, feeling warm and full and utterly content.
“I’d like to sing for you.”
Every thread of Yuuri’s being came to life. Yuuri knew what this meant, he had barely imagined what it would be like to be asked. A siren’s song was either an omen or an oath, and one was much more common to hear than the other.
Viktor wasn’t simply asking Yuuri to listen. He was asking to be heard.
“I know a place.” Yuuri whispered, rumbling thunder rolling in his stomach. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest, but he pulled Viktor though the halls of the inn until they were in the open ocean again, a path illuminated with bioluminescent plants leading where Yuuri had always dreamt of taking Viktor.
Yuuri knew the cave system like the color of his own scales, and he led Viktor to the place he had kept just for himself all these years. A small cove kept warm by the steam vents underground, an isolated cavern of found treasures set on rocky ledges, but Yuuri didn't wait to show Viktor every gift he had considered but not chosen.
He pulled Viktor upward until they surfaced, the cavern opening into a tiny beach, moonlight spilling in from a wide gap in the ceiling of the cave.
"Yuuri, this is perfect," Viktor whispered, awed. The water was warm and shallow and Yuuri wrapped himself around Viktor again— he'd be addicted to the touch soon enough, he thought.
"Sing for me?" Yuuri asked, kissing the cap of Viktor's shoulder. The song that spilled from Viktor's mouth was as impossibly beautiful as the night sky above them. Through the gap Yuuri could see thousands of stars, all floating through velvety, endless seas above them, but all of it paled in comparison to the beauty of Viktor’s skin in the moonlight.
His voice ricocheted off cave walls, hypnotizing and enchanting— Yuuri knew then why Viktor wanted to wait. The pull of Viktor’s voice, the gravity capturing him so completely, was impossible to fight. Yuuri never wanted to fight it again.
The language was ancient and unknown to Yuuri’s ears, but the emotion in Viktor’s eyes was easy to decode. Love me, Viktor pleaded, I want you to love me. Siren songs carried the same demands, a glimmering lure to drag dead men to the depths. This song, from Viktor’s throat, carried a truth so overwhelming it felt like a physical weight, drowning Yuuri in so much more than murky waters.
He was drowning in Viktor, and he never wanted to resurface.
The sky grew purple and pink above them, washing the beach in warmer tones as Viktor’s song ended. There were tears rolling down Yuuri’s cheeks, clinging to his skin. Viktor’s breaths came sharp and quick, exhaustion finally overtaking him. Neither of them knew how long he had been singing— though the sun’s steady climb toward the horizon suggested it had been all night.
Viktor collapsed into Yuuri’s arms, kissing away the salty tears on Yuuri’s cheeks. Those kisses moved to his lips, and soon they were lost in touch all over again. Yuuri tangled himself around Viktor, clinging tightly to him. When the kisses slowed, Viktor buried his face in Yuuri’s neck, and Yuuri indulged the want that he’d had for years, to run his fingers through Viktor’s dry hair.
It was silky between his fingers, and the purr that rumbled from Viktor’s throat was tired but content.
“I don’t know how to braid it on my own.” Viktor whispered, his cheeks flaring hot against Yuuri’s skin. “I… I don’t want to go back.”
“I can learn how to do it,” Yuuri answered, twisting his hair into a messy braid. He was much better at fashioning his own that it was strange to do for someone else. “As long as you don’t mind being… patient with me.”
Viktor laughed, a tired, worn-out thing. “Endless patience for you.” That made Yuuri laugh— Viktor was the least patient man he had ever met. “I can’t avoid them forever.” It felt like a resignation, Viktor’s two days of freedom coming to an unwanted end. Yuuri hummed quietly, but didn’t reply. Viktor had been begging to be heard, and Yuuri wanted to listen.
“I don’t want that to be home. I… I can’t do it.” Viktor was crying then too, tears pooling in the dip of Yuuri’s collarbone and spilling down his chest. “I want home to be with you. At the inn. I want— if I can?”
Yuuri nodded, kissing the crown of Viktor’s head. “I couldn’t keep you a secret for much longer,” he said softly, mentally counting the freckles littering Viktor’s shoulders and cheeks. “Mama will want to meet you, and Dad too. Yuuko, Takeshi, the triplets, all of them. They’ve been asking about you.”
“Really?” Viktor’s eyes were red and swollen, but when he looked into Yuuri’s eyes, all Yuuri could see was the vastness of the ocean, the hope of a new life, a future he had never been able to imagine before now.
“My home is yours,” Yuuri promised, wiping away the tears in the corners of his eyes. “Whatever the future holds.” His fingers laced with Viktor’s, the iridescent shine of his skin catching in the early morning light. “You’ll always be able to come home, here. With me.” His voice faltered around the last two words, feeling overwhelmed with the thought.
“And if I abdicate?” Viktor whispered, “You’ll stay?”
“I’d wait for the rest of my life to be yours.” Yuuri answered, simply, truthfully. “I’ve waited this long, I can’t give up now.” He tucked a stray hair behind Viktor’s ear and kissed him again, knowing he’d never have enough of Viktor’s kisses. He made a small voice against Yuuri’s mouth and he shivered.
“I meant it, that ‘just Viktor’ is enough.” Yuuri breathed against his lips, watching as their secluded little beach began to fill with golden sunlight. “I’ll wait, and you’ll know what it’s like to be loved as… just Viktor.”
More tears spilled free and Viktor clung to Yuuri’s shoulders, and it still felt unreal— but Viktor was a physical weight in his arms. He had promised Viktor forever, and he’d give him forever.