Chapter Text
Yuuri was never the type of person to be satisfied. Not that he was selfish or anything. In fact, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather, it was like he had a more-than-grim view of the world. Nothing seemed to work, nothing seemed to be alright. Yet, he was okay. Yuuri had never had something terrible happen to him - but, nothing spectacular or beautiful happened either. He was unhappy, to say the least. These thoughts and similar ones would barrage him almost on a daily basis. So that’s why he made the flowers.
Somebody had taught Yuuri how to do it at some point. Maybe it was his grade school teacher, maybe it was his mom, or maybe it was his friend. He didn’t really remember, and he didn’t care to. But, folding these small paper flowers was the only thing that could make the thoughts disappear, even if only for a little bit.
Yuuri’s hands had become accustomed to the motions. He didn’t even need to think about it anymore. Just fold there, then make a crease there, and ta-da; a beautiful little paper flower. It was a habit at this point. In fact, a good portion of Yuuri’s budget went towards buying tissue paper for the craft. Sometimes he’d splurge and get something pretty, but he usually stuck to the color blue. It calmed him, and that was exactly what he needed. It was kind of funny how a pretty little thing could come from such ugly thoughts.
Heaving a sigh, Yuuri picked up another piece of tissue paper. Tears splattered against the blue paper as he tried to quiet his sobs. He’d just been fired from his job today. Needless to say, his coffee table was covered with little paper flowers. He’d been folding them all afternoon. But, the tears just didn’t seem to stop. Maybe the paper flowers had lost their magic touch. Or maybe Yuuri had just hit rock bottom. He didn’t know. Both seemed rather likely.
Yuuri finished the flower, then held it up so he could get a better look at it. The paper was crinkled and wet, and the folds didn’t seem to be in the right places. Plus, it was lopsided.
Crying out in frustration, Yuuri chucked the flower across the room. Or, at least he tried to. Due to it being paper, it just sort of stopped in midair, then fluttered onto the floor a few feet away. Yuuri stared at it for a moment before groaning and falling backwards. He barely registered the pain of his head hitting the carpeted floor of his apartment’s living room. It didn’t matter, anyways. Nothing was working out. Yuuri couldn’t do anything right. He couldn’t even do something as simple as make a paper flower. Yuuri was nothing. Nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing noth-
THUD .
Yuuri stopped his mental monologue for a moment so he could focus his senses. Did he just hear something fall in the kitchen? No, that was impossible. His mind was making things up. Yuuri relaxed again, only to hear more commotion from that side of the apartment. Propping himself up on his elbows, Yuuri narrowed his eyes. The tears made it hard to concentrate.
Sighing, Yuuri forced himself to stand. Rubbing his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his sweater, Yuuri decided it’d be safer to just check. That way he could suffer without the added fear. After gathering up some courage, Yuuri wandered into his kitchen. Despite his thoughts, he’d been expecting to find nothing. So, when he laid eyes on the kitchen floor, Yuuri couldn’t help but let out a gasp.
Somebody was collapsed on his floor. Long, silver hair was draped over the person’s shoulders and the white tile floor. They were wearing some shiny outfit, along with grey, knee-high boots. A blue flower crown was discarded on the floor next to the person’s head, and they were lying in a small puddle of water. Yuuri could only stare. Were they breathing? Were they dead? Wow, what a wonderful way to continue the day.
Yuuri was about to go and call the cops when the person started to fidget. Squeaking, Yuuri jumped back and grabbed the closest thing that he could use as a weapon, which happened to be a spoon. Taking deep, fearful breaths, Yuuri stared at the person. They groaned a little bit, like somebody was waking up from a nap. Then, they started to sit up. The person, which Yuuri had finally decided was a man, looked around. His eyebrows were knitted in confusion, and he was obviously disoriented. Then, when his blue eyes found Yuuri, who was still grasping onto the spoon for dear life, his features lit up with a smile.
“Ah, congratulations!” The man grinned and held out his arms. Yuuri lowered the spoon a few inches so he could see the man sitting in his kitchen. How’d he even get in here?
“Congratulations?”
“Yes, yes. Congratulations on summoning me. Due to your dedication in creating your offering for me, I will grant you one wish in return. So, what’ll it be? Money? Happiness? Maybe even... true love?”
While money, happiness, and true love all sounded quite appealing, Yuuri couldn’t really appreciate the offer. He was much more preoccupied with the fact that there was a stranger sitting in his kitchen claiming to be able to grant wishes. And said stranger was getting water all over the already-damaged tile.
“As much as I appreciate the offer, you need to go.” Yuuri didn’t mean to sound so poisonous. In all honesty, he thought that he sounded pretty balanced. But, the disappointed look on the man’s face made Yuuri’s heart sting.
“Go? Go where? You’re the one that summoned me.” The man stood up, letting the water drip off his peculiar clothes and back onto the ground. He grabbed the flower crown, placed it atop his head, then stepped up to Yuuri. The latter took a step back, bringing the spoon back in front of his face. Smiling, the man just pressed down on Yuuri’s spoon. Eventually, Yuuri just dropped it and took to crossing his arms.
“What are you even talking about? I can’t summon anything. That sort of thing doesn’t exist.” Yuuri paused so he could sigh, but then a thought occurred to him. His apartment had been empty when he returned from his ex-job. And he’d made sure to lock the door before sitting down to make the flowers. There was no way this guy could get in here. “And even if that sort of thing did exist, I’m just a regular human. I can’t do anything special.”
“Oh? So you don’t trust me.” The man scrunched up his eyebrows and sighed, a look of concentration passing over his face. Yuuri just watched him, unable to do much of anything else, regardless of whether he wanted to or not.
“Please. Now’s just not a good time, and I’m going to have to ask-” Yuuri was interrupted by the man snapping his fingers.
“I know just the way to prove it to you.” The man smiled and took another step towards Yuuri, who backed up further. “You summoned me by folding ten thousand of those nice little paper flowers, correct?”
“I thought the legend was to fold a thousand paper cranes and get generally good fortune.”
“Yes, yes, but that’s not important right now.” The man shook his head, then returned to smiling. “Anyways, ten thousand paper flowers. They represent me because of the natural flowers that grow due to me and my friend’s work. Do you know what real flowers need to grow and flourish?”
“Um, sunlight?” Yuuri narrowed his eyes. Ten thousand flowers? That sounded extreme, even for Yuuri. Where was this conversation even headed anyways?
“No. Well, yes, but that’s not the answer I was looking for,” the man huffed. “What else does a flower need? Think hard, now.”
“Water?”
“Correct.” The man smiled, then extended one of his arms for a handshake. “My name’s Viktor, the God of Rain. You summoned me to your household by folding ten thousand paper roses, and now I am offering one true wish to you.” To accentuate his words, Viktor raised his other hand and snapped once again. This time, however, a cascade of water fell from seemingly nowhere. It spun around Viktor until he moved his arms, directing his water to the sink. Then, he turned to Yuuri, an expectant look on his face. “See? God.”
Yuuri ended up screaming and jumping backwards. He rammed right into his sorry excuse of a dinner table, and both Yuuri and the wooden table crashed onto the ground. His glasses had fallen off somewhere in the scuffle, so Yuuri was left staring up at a blurry Viktor. The so-called god was trying to contain his laughter, but Yuuri didn’t need his vision to know that he was doing a terrible job. Viktor kept snickering until somebody banged on the wall from another apartment. He quieted down, then just leaned over to help Yuuri.
“Do you believe me now?” Yuuri nodded with fervor. Viktor grinned, then picked up the glasses and handed them to the other man. “Good. Now why don’t you stand up, and once we clean up a bit, we can get to talking about your wish.”
Yuuri nodded, and Viktor pulled him to his feet. Excusing himself, Yuuri went to grab some paper towels to clean up the water that had arrived with Viktor. While he was cleaning, Viktor took to setting the table back up. With the two of them, it took much less time to clean everything. Even if it was all Viktor’s mess, and he spent most of the time fawning over the random objects in Yuuri’s kitchen. Yet, even with all of his chattering, Viktor hardly mentioned the elephant in the room.
“So…” Yuuri tossed the paper towels in the trash can, then turned to face Viktor. The silver-haired man put down the wooden spoon he was marveling at, then smiled at Yuuri. “You’re seriously a god? Or, um, a whatever you are?”
“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but these looks don’t come to mortals.” Viktor flipped his long hair in an exaggerated fashion, and Yuuri had to fight a grin. But, once he forced the momentary happiness back down, Yuuri was solemn once again. He sighed and leaned against the wall, staring at Viktor, who was once again studying the spoon. Yuuri rolled his eyes, then moved to speak again.
“And since I accidentally summoned you, you’re going to try and grant one of my wishes?”
“No, I’m not going to try. I’m actually going to do it.” Viktor smiled, then slid the spoon back into the drawer. “So, did you decide what you want? As much as I like the mortal world, I can’t stay here forever. If you need time to think, I can come back later.”
Yuuri waved off his concerns, then narrowed his eyes as be began to think. There were so many things in the world that he could ask for. Untold riches, popularity, or even plain happiness. But, that’s not where Yuuri’s mind went. Instead, he thought about his family back in Japan. He thought about his old ballet instructor and the few other friends he’d made in his youth. He thought about how his one and only friend here in Detroit was busy with exams, meaning that Yuuri hadn’t been able to see him in months. He thought about his dog that was killed in a car accident just weeks before, and he thought about the jobs and friends that he never seemed to be able to keep. Yuuri thought about how, despite the fact that he kind of liked being alone, he didn’t fancy being lonely.
“Do you, um, think that maybe you could just, you know, hang around for a while? Uh, to keep me company?”
Yuuri regretted the wish as soon as it came out of his mouth. He covered his face, hoping that the action would somehow erase those words from existence. Instead, they hung in the air like cigarette smoke. Viktor stared at Yuuri, and the look of surprise on his face made Yuuri’s chest hurt. That was stupid. So, so stupid. Yuuri had the powers of a god at his fingertips, and he wished for a friend. How pathetic could you get?
“Sorry, that was dumb. Just give me a second and I’ll think of something better.” Yuuri’s eyes stung as he looked down at his feet. Was he going to cry? How weak. Yuuri narrowed his eyes before Viktor spoke up again.
“No, I don’t mind the first idea.” Yuuri looked up out of shock. Viktor was smiling a heartfelt smile, and the cheer seemed to radiate from his entire body. “I was just surprised. Most mortals wouldn’t wish for something so wholesome and pure.”
“Oh, um, sorry,” Yuuri muttered, glancing to the side.
“No, no. It’s quite alright. I think it’s endearing, actually.” Viktor stepped forwards, then brushed some of Yuuri’s bangs out of his face. “And don’t worry. That’s a wish that I can make a reality.” With that, Viktor patted the top of Yuuri’s head.
“Really? You’ll stay?” Yuuri couldn’t help from sounding excited. Whether or not this was the smartest idea, Yuuri didn’t care. Maybe now he’d actually be able to talk to somebody.
“Of course. If I didn’t follow through with your request, what kind of god would I be anyways?” Viktor smiled, then hugged Yuuri. Despite not liking much physical contact, Yuuri let himself be embraced. Something about Viktor managed to make Yuuri comfortable, even if he was a weird stranger that had seemed to just poof into existence.
“Thank you, Viktor.”
“It’s quite alright. And I have a quick question for you,” Viktor asked once he’d pulled away. Yuuri nodded, showing that he was listening. “What is your name? So I can make the deal go through.”
“Um, it’s Katsuki. Er, Katsuki Yuuri.” Yuuri’s face heat up, and he glanced away. “You can just call me Yuuri, if you want. Or you can call me by whatever. I mean, it’s your choice, really.”
“What would you prefer?” Viktor pressed his fingers against the bottom of Yuuri’s chin, making him look up into Viktor’s eyes. It was a bit uncomfortable, and Yuuri tried his best to keep his gaze to the side.
“Yuuri, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Alright then. Yuuri it is. Nice to meet you, Yuuri.” Viktor grinned again, patting Yuuri on the shoulder. Then, his delighted disposition seemed to vanish right into thin air. “Oh.”
“Oh?” Yuuri’s heart seemed to jump into his throat. “That doesn’t sound like a good oh. I... did something wrong, didn’t I?”
“No, of course not. I just know somebody else by that name. Speaking of that, he’s yelling at me now.” Viktor winced, as if to prove his statement. But, when he was met with a confused stare from Yuuri, he decided to elaborate. “Our little division of gods has a mental communication thing going on. It’s a sort of telepathy, I guess. But sometimes they can get a little rowdy. Yuri’s yelling can really hurt my head.”
“Oh, um, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for something that’s not your fault, silly.” Viktor patted Yuuri on the head again, then sighed. “Though, I probably should get going. Believe it or not, even gods have a schedule. But, I can come by and visit you tomorrow, if you’d like that.”
“Yeah. That sounds nice.” Yuuri’s lips turned upwards into a grin, and his unsettledness from earlier started to ebb away. He wondered what made the nasty thoughts disappear. Maybe it was Viktor’s smile. Now that he thought about it, it had to be Viktor’s smile.
“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Viktor stepped back from Yuuri, then waved. “ Dasvidaniya , Yuuri.”
With that, there was a loud rumbling noise and a small torrent of water swirled around Viktor. Yuuri blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Viktor was gone, leaving nothing but a few blue flower petals and petrichor to show that he was ever there. Yuuri stared at the spot where the supposed god once stood. Then, with a content smile, he leaned over to pick up the flower petals. They were a deep midnight blue, similar to the color of paper that Yuuri chose to fold into his own flowers. But, this time, they weren’t paper.
The smile wouldn't leave Yuuri’s face as he walked back into his living room. Paper flowers still covered the coffee table, and a few had fallen onto the floor. Yuuri usually cursed his strange habit, but now it didn’t seem so bad.
He set the real flower petals next to the fake ones that he’d made, then sighed. The meeting with Viktor didn’t seem real, like this was some sort of alternate reality. But, Yuuri wasn’t upset with that. At this point, he’d take any sort of semblance of hope for a reason to continue on. Even if it was some weird guy appearing in his kitchen and claiming to be a god that could grant wishes. It might have been be strange, or even dangerous to accept his offer, but Yuuri found himself excited. Maybe he really was a little selfish. But, if this is what it’d take to turn his life around, Yuuri would gladly stop and smell the roses, whether they were rained on or not.