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The trip up to the old church was long, too long. It gave Yuuri too much time to think about what he was doing. He was going to die… to be with Victor. He was surprised to find that he wasn’t nearly as scared as he thought he’d be.
Victor was something new to Yuuri. He was nice and genuine in all of his emotions. If he was happy, it showed. If he was sad, he wouldn’t hide it. If he was angry, he’d yell and tell you why. It was refreshing in a way.
Then there was the fact that Victor wanted Yuuri to be his husband. At first, it might have been the idea of being married, but he saw the way Victor looked at him. He knew that the man had developed an actual emotional connection toward Yuuri.
And Yuuri wasn’t sure he could say he hadn’t developed one, too. He didn’t want to leave Victor, at least not now that he knew Yuuko had happily moved on. Victor… well, Victor was the only one that Yuuri saw any sort of happiness with.
He wasn’t sure if he loved the man. It was too soon to tell, but the possibility was there. It was in the way Yuuri’s cheeks warmed when Victor smiled or the surge of something he got when Victor stared up at the moon, surrounded by the soft, silvery light.
“Yuuri?” Victor asked and put his hand against his warm cheek. “Are you okay?”
Yuuri’s eyes snapped up at Victor’s and smiled softly. “Yeah, let’s go do this.”
After all the dead were seated in the pews, Victor and Yuuri walked toward the front and stood in front of the table that held the goblet and poison. Yuuri eyed the bottle before he turned back to Victor. “Are you-
“I’m positive.” Yuuri whispered.
Yakov cleared his throat and the couple turned to face him. “Dearly beloved and departed, we are gathered here today to join this man and this corpse in marriage. Living first.”
Yuuri turned to Victor and raised his hand. “With this hand, I will lift your sorrows.” He grabbed the goblet off the table. “Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine.”
“Victor, your turn.”
He lifted his hand. “With this hand, I will lift your sorrows.” Victor picked up the bottle and poured the liquid into Yuuri’s goblet. “Your cup will never empty, for I will be-” Victor gasped. Yuuri looked at him with worried eyes. “I will be…”
“Vitya, go on.” Yakov prompted.
Victor looked at him panicked, then back at Yuuri. “Your cup… will never empty…” He looked away, right behind Yuuri. “For I…”
Yuuri understood the panic. He looked Victor directly in the eyes as he spoke, “I will be your wine.”
He lifted the goblet to his lips, but before he could drink, Victor’s hand was on the rim, softly pushing it down. “I can’t.”
Yuuri could vaguely hear Mila and Yuri mutter about second thoughts. He focused on Victor. “What’s wrong?”
“This is wrong… I wanted marriage, but I gave those dreams away. I… I wanted a happy life, so how can I ask you to give yours away? I love you, Yuuri.” Victor closed his eyes, a lone tear slipped down his cheek. “But you aren’t mine.”
He placed a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder and turned him slightly. Behind him, Yuuko, his parents and his sister stood, a mix of shock and pain written on their faces. “Mom?”
They all walked over to him, he practically crumpled into his mother’s hug. She squeezed him tight. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
He cried. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. We have you back now.” Mari, his sister, said.
Yuuri pulled away and looked at Yuuko. “I’m sorry.”
She smiled softly. “I know. I had time to think about it, but Yuuri… I just want you to be happy. We want you to be happy… no matter what.”
“Are you?” He asked.
“Takeshi and I are happy together. We’re going to have children!” She whispered the last part with a smile. He smiled back.
“I’m glad.”
“Now we should go.” His father said.
“Wait.” Yuuri said and turned around. Victor had already started to walk away. He followed him. “I made a promise.”
Victor turned to him and smiled softly. “You’ve kept your promise. You set me free. Now I can do the same for you.”
He leaned in to place a kiss against Yuuri’s cheek, but the man turned. Their lips met in a kiss that made Yuuri’s stomach flutter. “You have set me free.”
Victor pulled away and wiped at the tears that were freely flowing down his cheeks. “Goodbye, Yuuri.”
Yuuri watched desperately as Victor walked away from him. He paused at the door and turned around. “Be happy!”
And in the blink of an eye, Victor was gone. He was replaced by thousands of silvery-blue butterflies that glowed in the moonlight. Yuuri let out a sob and fell to his knees.
His family rushed to his side, his mother hugged him tight against her. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Yuuri. We’ll get you home and things will be okay.”
Yuuri didn’t stop crying. He cried even when the guests in the pew gasped and whispered amongst each other. He cried even when a man walked up to the altar with long, silver hair, blue eyes and flesh that was intact and nowhere near rotted. He cried as the man bent down and whispered to his family. He cried as they parted.
“Yuuri.” The man whispered.
Yuuri’s head shot up. He knew that voice. “Victor!”
He laughed and it sounded like bells. Victor pulled him up and hugged him tight. “I’m here, solnyshko.”
“How?”
“I don’t care.”
Yuuri laughed and kissed him. When they pulled away, Yuuri looked down at the candle. “Should we?”
“We can wait.” Victor said as he placed a kiss against Yuuri’s forehead. “We have all of our lives to get married. Let’s just be happy.”
“Okay.” He agreed. Victor moved to pull off the ring from his finger, but Yuuri stopped him. “Keep it on.”
“What?”
“As an engagement ring… or a good luck charm.” He said, his cheeks flushed. “To let you know that I will want this soon.”
Victor looked at him and smiled wide, the heart shaped smile that Yuuri had grown fond of. “Then I have something for you.”
He pulled out a simple gold ring, much like his own, and slid it on Yuuri’s finger. “As an engagement, a good luck charm and a reminder.”
Yuuri sighed and for the first time, he found himself completely happy at the thought of getting married. He looked back at his parents, who were smiling and his sister, who was crying. He looked at Yuuko, who gave him a reassuring nod. “I…”
“I would love for you to show me where you live.” Victor offered.
“Where we live.” Yuuri corrected. “And sure, let’s go home.”