Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuuri laid on his side, body turned towards the door with the covers just passed his hips. Long eyelashes casted shadows on soft cheeks that were no longer quite as rounded as Viktor remembered. The moonlight illuminated the younger man’s face –beautiful, so beautiful- and Viktor would never mistake that face for anyone else’s, could never mistake those cheekbones, those lips for another’s.

Viktor couldn’t breathe.

Yuuri was alive. Yuuri was alive. Yuuri was alive and yet… he was here. Why was he here? Here and and not in the palace? Why in this small bed, in another's territory, and not laying in Viktor’s sheets? How can he be alive and not return to Viktor’s arms? The thoughts tormented the silverette as he stood there, unmoving, his eyes locked on the oblivious figure of his mate – because that’s what Yuuri was, is and will always be, his hishis-

Viktor’s grip on the door handle tightened and all at once, he could feel everything else around him become muted as his vision tunnelled on the way Yuuri’s chest rose and fell in a gentle, steady rhythm. Sudden anguish and sorrow struck him, his knees nearly giving out as the memories of the last time he held the omega flashed in his mind.

“No, no! Don’t close your eyes! Look at me, Yuuri, look at me!”

Yuuri had always been so warm, always the one constant in his life that he knew he could run to when everything became too much to carry alone. Yuuri had always been the one to hold him, his arms always open for Viktor. His smile, his voice and his eyes were always so warm, just like his embrace. Viktor remembered, with a stuttering breath, how that embrace had been so much tighter, that much warmer, the night Viktor’s parents died.

When Viktor lost Yuuri, everything had been so cold.

“Please… please don’t go. Yuuri, I can’t-without you I can’t-”

Viktor could never forget the blood that seeped onto his clothes, staining the cold ground and his hands. He would never forget the cries of the others around him as they watched the scene unfold, just as powerless as he was in helping the younger boy dying in his arms. Viktor had always loved Yuuri’s eyes, so brown and bright, filled with such warmth. He could never forget the love in those eyes, just as he could never forget the way they dimmed that night Yuuri was torn from him.

“No, no…please, please… you promised to stay by my side, you promised! Don’t go, Yuuri, please… please don’t leave me-”

Slow, burning rage crept up on him as the omega continued to sleep. Why did Yuuri not return to him? How could he not come back to Viktor, after everything they've been through? Was this how insignificant he was to the younger man? Viktor’s hands shook as he continued to grip the handle. Taking a deep breath, he stepped fully into the small room, quietly closing the door behind him and locking it.

He walked to the bed, feeling numb as he stared at Yuuri’s face, the boy still so oblivious to the presence of the looming alpha. The anger seeped into him, almost suffocating as he remembered the pangs of his grief. Yet here was the one responsible for his turmoil, sleeping so peacefully as if Viktor didn’t matter.

The alpha reached out a trembling hand, wanting to grip the dark locks of the omega and wake him to demand answers. Instead, the back of his fingers stroked the soft cheeks, brushing away the black hair on his forehead. Viktor, unsurprisingly, could not smell Yuuri’s scent, the omega always being so steadfast about using scent-blockers since he became of age. But Viktor had known the scent to be like everything else about Yuuri: warm and home and his.

He knelt down, blue eyes absorbing everything he missed in the past four years. Yuuri had let his hair grow a little longer, his cheekbones a little more prominent to reveal a face Viktor knew will become even more devastatingly beautiful in the years to come. Taller and a little more toned, Viktor noted, but still far smaller than him. The alpha let his fingers trail down the cheeks once more before softly caressing the pink lips with his thumb.

They should have been wed by now.

A growl ripped through him and Viktor immediately realised his mistake at Yuuri’s sudden intake of breath. Viktor held his own breath as the omega’s face scrunched up and his eyelids fluttered. Slowly, brown orbs opened, hazy from sleep. Viktor watched Yuuri blink, eyes finally locking on to his own and focusing. The omega let out a choked gasp as he shot up, scrambling away from Viktor and gripping the sheets as his back hit the wall.

Several heartbeats passed as the two stared at each other before Viktor slowly stood up, eyes never leaving the other man’s. The alpha bowed his head, silver strands casting a shadow across his face.

“…why?” He whispered. He watched Yuuri visibly swallow, brown eyes wide. The omega sank closer to the wall, still on the bed and still wrapped in the sheets.

“I-… How d-did you-,” Yuuri took a shaky breath, “How did you find me?”

Viktor snarled as he darted forward, grabbing the omega by the shoulders and slamming him onto his back on the small bed.

“V-Viktor!”

“Why?!”

“I- Viktor let-let go!” Yuuri began to struggle, holding onto Viktor’s wrist and trying to push him away. The alpha let out a low growl, blue eyes glinting dangerously and Yuuri froze.

“Tell me. I deserve at least that much from you. “

The younger male’s eyes became glassy as he looked away, unintentionally baring his neck to man above him. Another growl erupted from Viktor and Yuuri bit his lip, looking at the wall.

“It… it was for the best. After everything that happened… it was for the best.”

“Pretending to die in my arms was for the best? Leaving me alone soaked in your blood while I cried for you was for the be-“

“I didn’t pretend to die!” The omega snapped back, now looking at him, face suddenly scrunching up as if he was trying not to cry. Yuuri had no right to be the one hurt in this. “I didn’t… I don’t remember much of what happened that night. Just-that it hurt a-and it was cold. ”

‘Cold. Just like how you felt in my arms. You died for me,’ Viktor thought. He waited for the omega to continue, his grip on the boy’s shoulders slightly weakening.

“When I woke up, you weren’t there and I… I was given a choice.”

“…a choice.” Yuuri’s eyes became distant. 

“We were children when we made those promises Viktor, what did we know? You don’t-you don’t owe me anything. Going back… going back meant you chaining yourself to me. What could I possibly offer you Viktor?”

Viktor stared at Yuuri, unmoving, his lips slightly parted. Silence filled the room as the alpha processed the words.

“You think I didn’t want to be with you?” Viktor finally whispered. “How could you think...” he breathed in, leaning down until their foreheads touched, the anger once again coiling inside him. “…I could never want anyone else. Never. I promised you just as much didn’t I?”

Yuuri's lower lip trembled as he shook his head. “We were children, just children. You’re not obligated to a promise you made as a child. They were right, marrying someone else would –”

Viktor silenced the omega with his lips. How dare he? How dare he think that Viktor would want to be with someone else? Had he not showered Yuuri with his affection, given him gifts, held and kissed his hand? Since they had met as children 15 years ago, when Viktor was seven and Yuuri only four, the omega had been the centre of his world. Viktor made sure everyone, especially Yuuri, knew this. How could Yuuri ever think otherwise?

Yuuri mewled underneath him, shoving at his shoulders to push him off while he turned his head, tearing his lips away from the older man’s. He and Yuuri had not even had their first kiss before they were separated.

“Viktor! Let go!” The silver-head gripped the omega’s wrist with one hand, shoving them above his head as he gripped the younger male’s jaw, forcibly kissing him again, harder this time, and not relenting as his other hand trailed under the blue shirt Yuuri wore. Yuuri let out a hitched gasp as the shirt was lifted up, Viktor’s tongue slipping into his mouth, the kiss bruising and dominant.

The alpha eventually pulled away, staring at the boy underneath him with clouded eyes as arousal crept in. Yuuri stared back, wide eyes showing just a hint of fear. Good. He took off Yuuri’s shirt, the boy remaining paralysed at what just transpired, followed by his own clothes. He began a slow trail of wet kisses down the omega’s neck.

‘You think I could ever want to do this with anyone else? It’s always been you I see under me, just like this, wearing my mark, writhing, moaning, begging me. How could you leave me like that, how could you-’ 

Yuuri attempted to bolt up once more, arms shoving at Viktor’s chest and the alpha had enough. Viktor snarled, pheromones permeating the air and forcing the boy to submit. Yuuri whimpered, understanding where this was headed.

“V-Viktor don’t. Please, no. N-not like this.”

“Hush Любимый,” Viktor whispered, “you won't deny me anymore. But I agree, not here. Back at home then, just as it’s supposed to be. Though for now…”

Viktor kissed him once again before flipping him over to his front, kissing, licking and marking at his shoulders before setting his teeth at the back of the omega’s neck. Yuuri began to tremble at the clear warning, his body betraying him and beginning to submit fully to the alpha above.

‘Not like this, not like this, I love you, please don’t do this to me-‘ Yuuri gasped as a hand trailed down the loose shorts he wore to bed, the other hand brushing his nipples. The scent of the aroused alpha was heavy now, making his head hazy.

“Sto-!” The raven-head let out a cry as strong hands gripped his cock, sliding up to tease the tip before slowly gliding back down, repeating the motion several times. Viktor let out a pleased rumble as Yuuri began to harden. He licked a strip down the omega’s neck, the soft cries of the younger male filling the room.

The shorts were discarded and the alpha could feel his own arousal throb as the younger man was fully bared before him. ‘Beautiful, always so beautiful.’ 

His free hand gripped the back of the omega’s neck, squeezing slightly in warning when he felt Yuuri tense once more. His other hand continued to stroke Yuuri’s cock until it was fully hard and leaking pre-come, the younger man biting at his own hand to contain any noise.

The alpha’s lips and tongue travelled down further, leaving wet kisses and red marks before stopping just at the base of the omega's spine. Viktor pulled back, drinking in the sight of Yuuri as his inner beast purred. He gripped one of the rounded cheeks, squeezing and nipping at it before kneading it aside.

“V-Viktor!” Yuuri cried, scrambling forward. Viktor’s hand left his cock, moving immediately to tightly grip his hips with a low growl. Yuuri will not deny him.

One hand travelled across Yuuri’s chest, pausing briefly at the faint scar he traced before moving back up and settling onto dark locks. He leaned down, letting his growls of warning vibrate against the omega’s back.

“Please, please d-don’t.”

“Sshh…”

Viktor trailed kisses down his back once more as Yuuri continued to cry, the fear and the instincts to submit too strong to resist. The alpha spread the plump cheeks, a thumb tracing the puckered hole as he leaned down, slowly running his tongue across the twitching entrance. His hand began to pump the younger male’s cock again as Yuuri let out a stifled sob, trying to fight the way his body responded.

Viktor continued to lick at his hole, wet and obscene noises filling the room as Viktor drowned himself in Yuuri’s scent, lapping at the place where Yuuri can’t ever cover it. He pushed the tip of his tongue inside, pleasure and bliss coursing through him at the pure taste of Yuuri. Viktor pulled back, saliva and slick dripping from his lips, a finger tracing the now slightly swollen entrance.

“Relax now, open for me,” he whispered to the trembling form under him.

He eased a finger in to the first knuckle, his other hand still stroking the younger male who gave a muffled cry. Tight, so tight. Fuck, just imagining this velvet heat around his cock made him feel ready to come. Viktor panted, slowly pushing the rest of his finger in and watching Yuuri’s body give way for him. He slid it out slowly, pausing as the velvet walls twitched invitingly, before pushing back in.

He continued to finger the omega, his grip on Yuuri’s cock tightening as he picked up his pace. Another finger began to press in.

“N-no! Stop! Viktor I can’t!” Yuuri’s voice hitched, ending in a hiccup as the older male’s hands sped up, the forced pleasure laced with the slightest of pain racing through Yuuri and sparking something deep inside. He tightened around Viktor’s fingers, heat coiling in his belly. In, out, in out, again and again.

“Let go Любимый, let go. Come for me.”

Viktor’s fingers curled slightly inside him and with a strangled cry, Yuuri came, come shooting from his cock and onto Viktor’s still pumping hand. The omega whimpered as he became overstimulated and eventually, the alpha relented, releasing Yuuri and sliding his fingers out.

Yuuri panted, trembling and dazed. Viktor drank in the sight, breathing heavily as he leaned forward to nip at the back of the younger male’s neck. He gripped his own length, so hard and swollen, slicking it with Yuuri’s release. He hissed at the scorching pleasure as he began to stroke himself. He rubbed the engorged head against Yuuri’s entrance, teasing it before settling the head against the slightly loosened hole. He grunted, immediately pumping himself faster, already so close having not touched himself at all since they began.

Viktor panted heavily, unable to hold himself back any longer. With a guttural groan, he was coming, pushing forward slightly just so that the tip of his cock slid inside Yuuri’s heat, painting the tight walls with his release. Yuuri whimpered under him, still shaking.

The shock of their orgasms eventually faded and Viktor pulled away, wiping his hands onto a discarded shirt before turning Yuuri on his back. He kissed the omega’s forehead softly as Yuuri stared at the ceiling with tears running down his cheeks, eyes unfocused and distant. Viktor brushed the tears away, kissing Yuuri’s lips gently.

He manoeuvred the both of them so that Yuuri laid on his chest, settling them on the small bed before throwing the thin covers over their bodies. He stroked the dark locks, blue eyes closing in content.

“Rest, Yuuri. Tomorrow, we’re going home.”

Chapter Text

“Don’t let go Vitya!”

“I won’t! You’re doing great, see! You’ll be doing spins in no time!” Viktor grinned as he held the five year-old, the younger boy’s legs wobbling as he struggled to balance on the ice. “Bend your knees a little Yuuri. There you go!”  

The young prince laughed at the utter joy lighting Yuuri’s face as his legs steadied, nose and cheeks a rosy red.

“Viktor look, look! I’m standing up!” Yuuri beamed as he looked up at Viktor.

“Yes you are, well done Yuuri!” The two giggled, their laughter being carried by the winter breeze. 

“How long do you think it’ll be before I’m as good as you?” Viktor smiled as he reached out a hand to pinch Yuuri’s cheek.

“Very soon, I’m sure! You have to practice when you return to Hasetsu okay? So when you visit the palace again, we can skate together!” The younger boy nodded eagerly. “Now, how do you feel about standing on your own?”

“What? No!” The omega’s grip on him tightened immediately, suddenly looking terrified. Viktor laughed as he patted the boy’s head.

“But you’re almost doing it anyway, Yuuri! See, you’re only holding onto me with one hand.” Yuuri shook his head, pouting in response and tightening his grip even more. Viktor grinned.

“Okay, how do you feel about gliding with me then?” Yuuri tilted his head to the side and blinked at the older boy in confusion. Viktor’s grin widened. “Make sure you keep your knees bent and keep looking ahead. Yakov will probably shout at me so don’t tell him! Here, it’ll be fun!”

The young alpha took hold of both his hands again, beaming all the while. Ever so slowly, Yuuri began to slide forward. The omega gasped, legs beginning to shake once more. He huffed, concentrating on keeping his weight forward while Viktor gently pulled him along the ice as the silver-head slowly skated backwards.  

They continued to move that way, unhurried and without direction until Yuuri looked up, a joyful grin adorning his cherub face. Viktor’s eyes softened, smiling back tenderly.

The scent of fresh ice and mint lingered from his dreams as Yuuri burrowed himself further onto the warmth. The sounds of laughter were still echoing in his ears, a melancholic memory of the days of his childhood. He nuzzled his face further onto the pillow, eyebrows furrowing at the sudden uneasiness the familiar scent brought. As his consciousness began to clear, memories of strong hands, soft lips and heated touches flashed in his mind, sending a shock of panic through him.

Yuuri snapped awake, jolting up and breathing heavily. His eyes darted around the room frantically only to find himself alone. He raised a hand to his forehead and looked down at himself, realising that he was fully clothed. A nightmare? It couldn’t be, the fear had been too strong, too paralysing to be a figment of his mind and that scent… 

That familiar scent was still there, heavily saturating the sheets and far too real to be a remnant of a dream.

Yuuri raised a shaky hand to the back of his neck, flinching as his fingertips brushed against sensitive skin.  He let out an unsteady breath, bringing his hands down and pausing to stare at the fading bite marks. It was real. Viktor had been here. Viktor had been here and he had-

 Knock! Knock!

 Yuuri jumped, head whipping towards the door.

“Yuuri, are you awake? The maids said they haven’t seen you this morning. It’s not like you to be up late!” Phichit’s voice was muffled as he spoke from the other side. Yuuri glanced at the small window. What time was it?

“Yuuri? Uncle Ciao Ciao asked me to get you.”

Yuuri snapped out of his reverie and stretched his arm to reach for his glasses. “I’ll- ” Yuuri cleared his throat, “I just woke up, I’m so sorry! I’ll be ready in a second!”

The omega got off the bed, taking a step towards the door. He froze almost instantly, letting out a staggered breath as warmth slowly trickled down his thighs.

“Yuuri?” The door handle began to turn. 

“No! Don’t come in!” Yuuri cried out, his hands immediately flying to cover his mouth. The handle stopped turning and the door remained closed. “I-I’m sorry Phichit, I’m getting changed. I didn’t mean to raise my voice like that.”

“Are you okay…?” Phichit began to sound concerned.

“I’m fine!” Silence. “Did… did Lord Cialdini say why he was summoning me?” Yuuri asked, feeling the panic bubbling in his chest. He searched the room hastily for something to clean himself with. 'Don’t come in, please don’t come in.' 

“No, not really though he did stress that it was urgent,” Phichit paused, “Oh! Guess who I saw?! Apparently, he arrived here last night! Way in advance, come to think of it. The letter did say it should be next week. But Yuuri! The king is here! I saw king Nikiforov! He really does have silver hair!” 

Yuuri’s movements faltered as he became lightheaded. He didn’t respond, trying hard to control his breathing. He had ensured he would be running errands for Lord Cialdini next week, miles away from the mansion.

More silence. 

“…Yuuri?”

Yuuri breathed in.

“I’m sorry Phichit, I don’t-I’m not feeling too well. I think I need to go to the bathroom, m-maybe have a quick shower first.”

Several seconds ticked by.

“…Is it an O-thing?” An O-thing. An omega-thing. Phichit was the only one here who knew he was an omega. Yuuri closed his eyes.

“Yes. It’s an O-thing.”

“…I think the bathroom at the end of the hallway is empty right now. I’ll tell Uncle Ciao Ciao the desserts in the kitchen distracted me again. Would 15 minutes be enough?”  

“Yes,” Yuuri’s eyes watered. “Thank you, Phichit.” 

“It’s no problem, Yuuri. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“…I’ll be fine.”

“…Alright,” the other boy didn’t sound convinced but didn’t push any further. 

The omega bit his lip at the sounds of the beta’s fading footsteps. He gathered his scent-blockers, a towel and some clean clothes, sprinting down the empty hallway and only pausing once he was inside the tiled room. He slammed the door shut, locking it before leaning his back against the wooden frame. Yuuri slid down, bringing his head to his knees. He shuddered at the wetness still leaking from him.

“Apologies for the lack of preparation your Majesty, we didn’t anticipate your arrival until next week,” Celestino said. Viktor shook his head.

“I’m at fault for arriving unannounced, especially at such a late hour. Do pardon my rudeness Lord Cialdini.”  

“It’s no trouble at all your Majesty. And Celestino will do. Is there anything we can offer you? Dinner perhaps? You must have had a long journey.”  

“Actually, I’d like to retire to my quarters if you don’t mind. As you said, the journey was quite tiresome and I’d like to get some rest. Perhaps we can talk tomorrow instead,” Viktor gave a polite smile.

"Ah yes, of course.” Celestino stopped walking, beckoning at one of the maids nearby. “Rocha, please show his Majesty to the guestroom, you know which one.” An elderly lady stepped forward and bowed. “Rest well, your Majesty.”

The younger alpha nodded at him in return, following the old maid down the hall.

“Rocha, was it?”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“I apologise for the disturbance, Rocha. Everyone must have been asleep when I arrived.”

“It’s not an inconvenience at all, your Majesty. We’re honoured to have you here,” the elderly beta offered a kind smile.

“…By any chance, Rocha, you wouldn’t happen to know if there’s someo -” Celestino watched the figures disappear, the voices fading as they rounded a corner.

Celestino leaned back on his seat, crossing his arms as his gaze shifted to the other alpha in the room. The man was standing by the large windows overlooking the gardens, pensive eyes absorbing the view outside. He seemed completely unfazed by their previous conversation, more interested in watching the blue skies than in engaging with Celestino again as they waited for Yuuri to arrive.

Celestino sighed.

‘Yuuri. Only Yuuri,’ was how the black-haired teenager introduced himself almost four years ago. The boy had been timid at first, head downcast as he anxiously waited for the questions about his lack of a last-name. But Celestino had only nodded and Phichit had only grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief as he responded with ‘Okay, Only Yuuri, I’m Phichit!’ 

Everyone had assumed Yuuri was a beta who lost his family, someone who was looking for a new start. He hadn’t probed, deeming it unnecessary to intrude on the boy’s privacy. Thinking back now, Yuuri turning out to be an omega should not have been much of a surprise.

Omegas were highly cherished, male omegas more so. Revealing he was one would have called for unwarranted attention, something Yuuri had always been uncomfortable with. Perhaps Yuuri simply didn’t want to be treated differently, only wanting to sought some semblance of a quiet life. 

That, Celestino could understand. Hiding the fact that he was a Katsuki on the other hand, was another story.

A knock interrupted his thoughts. Both alphas turned to the door.

“Come in.”

The mahogany doors opened and Yuuri stepped in, immediately halting at the sight of the silver-haired man. The seconds ticked by, the sudden tension in the room almost suffocating. Yuuri shifted his attention to Celestino sitting by the large table.

“Lord Cialdini. Your… Majesty,” he bowed. 

Celestino nodded, motioning for him to sit down. Azure eyes followed the boy, glinting in a way that Celestino couldn’t quite understand.

Yuuri sat stiffly though he didn’t fidget or slouch the way most would have in a situation like this. His shoulders were squared, his head up and it was these little things, Celestino supposed, that should have hinted at Yuuri’s upbringing.

“Yuuri,” Celestino cleared his throat, “Lord Katsuki.”

The boy in front of him bristled at the title, wildly shaking his head.

“T-that’s not- I’m-” Celestino held up a hand.

“That is who you are, is it not?” Yuuri stared at his lap. Celestino sighed. “Yuuri. I’m sorry you felt the need to keep this from me. I would have welcomed you in my home regardless, please know that.” The boy nodded reluctantly.

“You’ve been nothing but kind to me, Lord Cialdini,” the omega said, sounding small.

“And you were happy here?” 

“Of course. Everyone was so welcoming.” Celestino nodded, giving the younger male a reassuring smile. The older alpha briefly regarded the figure still stood by the window, frowning at the daunting stare that was still directed at the boy. Celestino turned back to Yuuri. 

“You’ll always be welcome here. Everyone has always been fond of you and you can visit any time you please. I’m sure Phichit would have my head if I said otherwise.”

Yuuri looked up, brown eyes swarming as he processed the implications, “…Sir?”

Celestino’s expression shifted to something akin to sadness. He sighed again.

“I’m sorry Yuuri, I’m afraid you won’t be staying with us anymore. The king has requested that you return with him to the palace.”  

Requested. As if there was even a choice in the matter. Celestino watched Yuuri falter, the boy not looking nearly as shocked as he would have expected. There was no outburst, no questions or protests. The boy seemed more distressed if anything and that, Celestino thought, only cemented that this was something far deeper than what he would ever be told. 

Yuuri opened his mouth to respond but the words never formed as Viktor finally moved, footsteps loud in the silence that had engulfed the room.   

“Did they treat you well?” The voice was soft, almost comforting.

The omega was perched on soft sheets, his legs hanging by the side of the bed. The room was spacious, being the largest guestroom in the mansion. The ceilings were high, the walls pale and the décor intricate. The framed glass doors to the side led to a balcony that oversaw the garden though the red curtains were almost completely drawn, the slight gap only letting in a ray of light. 

“Yuuri.”

Fingers gripped the omega’s chin, gently tilting his face upwards.

“…I was treated well,” Yuuri murmured, unable to look at the alpha leaning above him.

A palm cradled the side of his face as a thumb began to caress his cheek. 

“Who's this Phichit he spoke of?” The question was asked carefully, the tone lowering ever so slightly.

Yuuri swallowed. “H-he’s Lord Cialdini's nephew.”

Viktor seemed unsatisfied with the answer, his motions stilling as he studied the other male before him. There was silence again.

“…He’s like a brother to me,” Yuuri eventually added, biting his lip. 

Viktor responded with a short hum, appearing content with his words. Lips brushed Yuuri’s temple, lingering to kiss it softly before pressing to his cheek and descending further down until it reached the juncture of the omega’s neck. Viktor placed a tender kiss there, opening his mouth to lightly scrape his teeth against the flesh. Yuuri flinched, hands flying to the alpha’s broad shoulders. 

Viktor paid the protest no mind, leaning down further until Yuuri was lying on his back. The alpha’s lips continued to dance up the younger male’s neck, stopping just under his jaw before pulling away. Viktor reached for the glasses perched on Yuuri’s face, carefully pulling them off to place on the nightstand.

‘We weren’t supposed to happen like this.’ 

Larger hands covered Yuuri’s own, forcing him to release his hold. The alpha intertwined their fingers together, pinning them over the omega’s head as he leaned down once more, capturing Yuuri’s lips.

‘No,’ Yuuri thought, squeezing his eyes shut at the tongue forcing itself in his mouth, ‘never like this.’

The kiss was slow and deliberate, the tongue thorough in its exploration, lips sucking and teeth nipping until Yuuri whimpered. Viktor unclasped their hands, moving to tug at their clothes instead. He stopped as he removed the omega’s shirt and Yuuri didn’t have to look to know that the cerulean eyes were fixed on the smooth scar, pale and almost unnoticeable, placed just above his heart.

Yuuri shivered as fingers traced the marred skin, eyes stinging when he hears the hitch in Viktor’s breath. The fingers disappeared and the alpha buried his face onto his neck, hands moving to grip tightly at Yuuri’s hips. Yuuri clutched the sheets below him as he listened to Viktor breathe.

“No, no! Don’t close your eyes! Look at me, Yuuri, look at me!”

Blood. So much blood.  

“Vitya….”

The silver-haired man kissed him again, more insistent now. A hand trailed downwards, leaving a burning path as it travelled between his thighs. Yuuri tensed as Viktor began a trail of wet kisses from his chest to his abdomen, mouth stopping just below his navel.

He jerked when the alpha palmed at his groin, the heat of their naked bodies making the touch burn. Yuuri attempted to rise up, his pulse jumping as a warm breath hovered over his lap. His hands flew to grasp at Viktor’s wrist stopIdon’twant-

Words of objection became a choked gasp as a wet tongue dragged up the omega’s length, pausing to lap at the tip before slowly licking back to the base.

“St-stop…”

Yuuri panted, falling back on the bed. His back arched when the alpha’s lips enveloped the head, hot and moist. Viktor pulled back slowly, tongue circling the slit before sinking forward to fully swallow him in his mouth. 

“N-ngh…”  

Lithe fingers grasped at silver hair, wanting to tug at them and pull the other man away but the alpha’s hand gripped the omega’s thigh, squeezing in warning. Yuuri whined, turning his head to bury his face in the pillows while Viktor continued to suck his hardening cock, silver strands bobbing up and down in the dimly-lit room.

Muffled gasps escaped the black-haired male, his attempts to prevent his hips from pushing forward becoming futile as the pleasure intensified. He could feel his slick beginning to run, dripping on the sheets.

“V-Viktor…”

Yuuri’s legs are pushed further apart as Viktor settled between them, his mouth and tongue never leaving the younger male. A finger brushed against the omega’s entrance and Viktor moaned, pleased at the wetness he found there. He circled the digit around the rim, Yuuri buckling beneath him.

Too much.

Yuuri opened his eyes, looking down to voice his protest only to find half-lidded eyes locked on him, the pupils heavily dilated as Viktor absorbed every expression on his face. The alpha’s tongue teased the slit of his cock, taking him in his mouth once more just as his finger slides inside.

It was too much.

Yuuri arched up with a small cry, coming in Viktor’s mouth, the other male not pulling back as he swallowed the squirts of come from the omega. He pressed his finger deeper, tongue giving one last lick before finally pulling away, moving to lean over the body under him as the omega trembled in the aftermaths of his release.

The alpha reached for the younger male’s wrist, guiding the smaller hand to his own throbbing arousal. The swollen head was dribbling pre-come as it rubbed against Yuuri’s hips. Larger hands covered his own, forcing the omega’s fingers around the thick flesh. Yuuri shivered at the sheer girth, feeling the large cock throb as Viktor began to stroke.

The older man grunted above him, grip tightening and immediately setting a rough pace. Viktor’s mouth latched on the side of Yuuri’s neck, sucking marks while their joined hands continued to pump the alpha’s leaking length. The wet sound of their strokes became louder and the omega whimpered as their wrists moved faster and faster.

Viktor’s breathing began to quicken as he tightened their grip, his cock beginning to pulse. A few more strokes and the alpha came with a low growl, the thick white streaks spilling on Yuuri’s belly. The omega bit his lip as the alpha above him panted, squeezing one last spurt of come from the throbbing member before releasing his hold.

Viktor nuzzled at Yuuri’s neck as his breathing evened before pulling away. The older male stood up, shortly disappearing through the door leading to the private bathroom and returning with a damp cloth. The alpha cleaned Yuuri’s body, kissing away the tears trickling down the omega’s face.

Yuuri didn’t know how much time had passed since Viktor had laid on top of him, head on his chest and sheets drawn to their hips, but the omega knew that Viktor wasn’t asleep. The rhythm of his breaths wasn’t as steady, his body not as relaxed as Yuuri had known it would be had the alpha really been slumbering.

Yuuri’s eyes drifted to the silver hair splayed across his chest, far shorter than they were years ago, and resisted the urge to run his hands through the strands.

A quiet knock resounded from the door. Viktor shifted, slowly rising. He leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Yuuri’s forehead before getting off the bed and dressing himself. The omega wrapped the sheets around him, enclosing himself under the covers as the other man opened the door.

“Y-your Majesty.” Yuuri curled into a ball at the sound of Rocha’s voice, feeling shame prickling at his neck. “I’ve b-brought the food you requested.”

There was a pause and if Yuuri had been brave enough to look, he would have seen the absolute devastation on the old beta’s face as her eyes landed on his figure beneath the cocoon of bed-sheets. Rocha had always been kind, the elderly woman always happy to assist him when he had difficulties with his chores in the mansion.

“Will that be all?” Viktor asked, taking the tray of food from her hands as though nothing was amiss.

The old maid stepped back, gaze shifting to the floor. “Lord Cialdini w-wanted to inform you that everything will be ready for your d-departure before sunset.”

“I see,” Viktor nodded, “thank you.”

The alpha closed the door and walked back to the side of the bed, settling the tray down on the nightstand.

“Yuuri,” Viktor said as he gently pulled at the sheets, “eat, love. We have a long journey ahead.” 

Yuuri’s heart ached at the smell of warm katsudon wafting in the room.

Chapter Text

Yuri picked at the red threads of the cushion, glancing at the large window by the far wall. The sun had long set and the sky was now an inky black. Definitely midnight at least.  He huffed, blowing at the hair blocking his eyes.

Sitting opposite him with a mug in his hands, Yakov shook his head. “How long do you plan to wait tonight, Yuri? This is the third night now.”

The blonde crossed his arms. “The old man should be back any day, Yakov. I’m just keeping watch.”

“… I suppose the hundreds of guards in the palace doing just that aren’t enough?” Yakov asked, taking a sip of his tea as the fourteen year-old responded with a scowl. The older alpha sighed. “Yuri, I know these last two weeks have been chaotic but… it’s no use getting your hopes up.”

Yuri gritted his teeth, “Who’s getting their hopes up?! I just want to be here when Viktor comes back alone so I can shout ‘I told you so!’ at his face!”

“It’s passed midnight already. Even if Viktor is on his way as we speak, he’s probably resting and continuing his journey in the morning,” Yakov said, setting the mug on the table.

“No one told you to stay up with me anyway, Yakov.”

“Someone has to make sure you actually go to bed at some point in the night.”

The blonde didn’t respond, instead choosing to study the newly painted walls of the large hall they were sitting at. The cracked dents and holes that had littered them nearly two weeks ago had been repaired, the walls pristine as though they were never damaged in the first place.

Yuri leaned his chin on his hand as he recalled the shattered glass and the broken table. Objects had been thrown everywhere, the broken pieces that had scattered the floor only a portion of the carnage left behind by Viktor’s rage.

“Viktor doesn’t get angry often, I’m sure you know that,” Yakov said, looking at the same wall as if reading his thoughts, “but even his self-control, admirable as it may be, is bound to slip sometimes.”

Slip was an understatement. To witness the utter fury Viktor had displayed, with teeth bared and pupils reduced to a pinprick, was a shock the teenager still couldn’t quite get over, especially with how much more detached and colder his cousin had been since-

“That goddamn nugget-head messenger should have never come here. He’s the one that set this all off,” the blonde said.

“… It’s Viktor's conversation with the Healer afterwards which set him off. Clearly, your cousin wasn’t very pleased with whatever the Healer ended up telling him. Minami, on the other hand, was only doing his job.”

“His job. Delivering messages. Right,” Yuri scoffed, clenching his fists, “I don’t think his job involves making up bullshit about a random man who happened to look like Katsudon.”

Because the omega was gone. He was gone and to be told otherwise, to imply that Yuuri was alive and choosing to stay away, was cruel. Goddamn nugget-head.

“The boy himself didn’t believe it after Georgi explained the… situation. Viktor still chose to,” Yakov said, taking another sip of his tea and letting the cursing slide. The young messenger had nearly been in tears at the almost-interrogation he was subjected to, not understanding why the things he had said provoked such a commotion.

The blonde eyed the elderly alpha. “Do you believe it?”

Yakov didn’t answer immediately, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the teenager.

“The coincidences are…peculiar,” the old man finally responded, mouth drawn to a stern line, “but anyone could have told Minami most of the things he said about Yuuri.”

“Most...” Yuri stared at Yakov.  There was silence. “…Has Viktor told you anything about what that Healer said?”

The old alpha pursed his lips, sighing before slowly shaking his head. “No. But until Viktor returns, hoping isn’t going to do anyone any good.”

Yuri’s mind raced back to that night four years ago - to the memory of Viktor on the floor, drenched in red and clutching a limp form, to Mila’s arms instantly sweeping him away, crying as she dragged him from the scene with shaking hands covering his green eyes.

“…Katsudon’s gone,” the teenager eventually replied, gaze drifting to the floor, “I’m not hoping for anything.”

Neither of them spoke after that, the sombre atmosphere enough to end the conversation.

Interacting with Viktor months after Yuuri’s passing had been like tip-toeing on a blade. Everyone had been so cautious and so careful with everything they did around his older cousin who only stared at the world with empty eyes. ‘Even now,’ the blonde thought with a grimace, ‘it’s still like that sometimes.’

Yuri himself had only been ten years-old then, but he understood the loss and had felt the ache all the same. Viktor never resurfaced from the void he fell to, the older alpha only learning to float in the emptiness the black-haired omega left behind as he was forced to rise every morning and be the king.

“King Nikiforov? I think he’d laugh at you if you start calling him that!”

His throat tightened at the faint echo of Yuuri’s voice. It had been before Viktor’s coronation, all those years ago, when the blonde had cornered the older boy with a scowl on his face and a slight pink dusting his cheeks. Yuri had almost bitten the omega’s hand off for trying to ruffle his hair.

“No Yurio, you don’t have to call him king Nikiforov and bow every time you see him after today. You can if you want though, I’m sure he’d love it!”

Green eyes shifted back to the window, stomach twisting at the distant memory of Yuuri’s laugh.

Viktor had left nearly a week ago, sure to arrive far sooner than what was said on the letter to the Cialdini manor. The silver-haired alpha had been restless since that nugget-head messenger had spouted his nonsense, sending one of the palace’s own messenger in place of the knuckle-head who had other shenanigans to attend to before he returned to the Cialdini mansion.

“Oh Yurio, he’ll always be Viktor to me. Just Vitya is enough, don’t you think?”

Yuri glared at the dark clouds obscuring the moon, ignoring the tightening inside his chest.

Of course Viktor will come back alone.

Yakov glanced at the teenager, opening his mouth to speak just as Georgi burst through the door with wild eyes, breathless as though he had run a lap through the palace.

“Lord Feltsman, Lord Plisetsky,” the beta gasped, leaning on his bent knees and trying to catch his breath, “they’re here.”

They. They.

The blonde’s pulse jumped, eyes widening at what the word implied. He shot up from his seat, barely missing colliding with Georgi as he sprinted out the room. He ignored Yakov’s shouts of his name while he raced through the hallways, the walls and the corridors becoming a blur.

‘No way. There’s no way.’

Yuri skidded to a halt at the base of the large staircase, breathing heavily as he reached the lobby of the palace. Green eyes darted around, searching the small crowd of guards and servants. He paused, panting as he scanned the faces.

There was no Viktor in sight and certainly no black-haired omega by his side.

And despite what he had told Yakov earlier, the blonde couldn’t deny the sinking disappointment, frustrated at himself for even thinking it could be a possibility. What did Georgi mean by ‘they’ then?

Viktor’s scent was strong, fresh in a way that signified the other alpha had indeed arrived. ‘Where is that old man?’

Yuri stared at the gathered palace staff, confused at the silence of the servants and guards. They’d usually be buzzing around and eager to get to work after Viktor’s return. This time, however, they remained unmoving, gawking as they stared behind hi-

The blonde whipped around.

Yuri’s chest lurched at the sight, throat constricting as his eyes zeroed in on the startling contrast of silver and black.

There was Viktor, slowly walking up the white stairwell above him, a smaller figure clutched closely by his side. The two continued up the steps without turning back, the movements of the stranger next to the silverette–no way, there's no way- appearing almost lethargic.

Yuri remained motionless long after they disappeared above the staircase, his heart still thumping as Yakov caught up to him. He hadn’t seen their faces. But if the black hair wasn’t an indication of exactly who returned with Viktor -it’s him, it’s really him- the alpha’s arm that had been firmly wrapped around the smaller waist certainly was.

After all, Viktor had only ever held one person like that.

“Katsudon…”

Yuuri watched his reflection ripple, the already lukewarm water a tell-tale sign that he had been submerged for too long. He blinked, eyes feeling heavy as he finally rose to step out of the porcelain tub. He began to pat his body with the cotton towel, pausing to stare at the blue robes hanging by the door. Shaking his head to clear away the fatigue, Yuuri reached for the garment, fingers lightly tracing the soft fabric before slipping it on.

He turned to the door, hesitating before unlocking it with a ‘click’ and stepping out. Keeping his gaze on the carpeted floor, the omega dragged his feet towards the end of the large canopy bed and reached for the neatly folded clothes that had been placed there.

Yuuri dressed himself, weary of the blue eyes by the window that followed his every move.

The looming figure shifted, approaching closer and stopping in front him just as he finished slipping on the nightwear that had been set out for him. Large hands grasped the side of the omega’s face, tilting it up as the alpha leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together.

They stood that way for several seconds, breathing quietly before Viktor tugged at him, guiding him towards the bed.

Yuuri followed, arms and legs too heavy with fatigue to resist as he was pulled on top of the other man, his head resting on the firm chest. A thumb began rubbing soothing circles on the nape of the omega’s neck, seemingly unbothered by the damp hair.

“Are you hungry?” Yuuri’s eyes flickered up, shifting slightly to steal a glimpse of the alpha’s face. “I can have the cooks prepare a meal for you.” Viktor’s eyes were closed, his expression completely serene.

Yuuri’s gaze drifted back to the wall, blinking slowly before weakly shaking his head, “… I want to sleep.”

Blue eyes slowly opened, glancing down beneath silver bangs. The alpha’s hand ran down his shoulder blades lazily, stopping at his lower back.

“Of course, love,” The silver-head rolled them over until Yuuri was laying on the sheets, surrounded by the alpha’s scent, “I need to have a word with Yakov. Rest,” Soft lips pressed firmly against his own, lingering for several heartbeats before pulling away, “I won’t be long.”

Viktor’s weight disappeared and Yuuri turned to his side at the sound of the closing door, staring vacantly at the window. Cushions were placed on the wide window-seat, just as he remembered, the space beneath the protruding frames big enough to lie on.

Yuuri closed his eyes, recalling how he had spent many hours seated in that same place, a book in his hand while he basked in the summer light, at times wrapped in a thick blanket during the winter snow while he waited. He took a deep breath, slowly rising and making his way towards the window. The omega paused to gaze at the night-sky, vision unfocused and distant, his body feeling heavy as he stood under the moonlight.

Tired. He was tired. Too tired to fight the coldness in the air and too tired to think about the way Viktor’s scent completely covered everything in the room, including himself.

He began adjusting the cushions around him as he leaned down, ignoring the slight chill of the glass against his back. With knees drawn to his chest and head tucked in his arms, Yuuri sat there, letting the tears he had been holding back since he departed the Cialdini manor finally fall.

He cried silently, allowing the exhaustion to pull him to sleep.

 
Yakov observed the silver-haired alpha sat in front of him, knowing their conversation wouldn’t last long. It was now well-passed midnight, Yuri having been dragged to his bedroom by Yakov and the palace already settled down after the commotion Viktor’s arrival had caused.

They sat facing each other with the large table between them, the lights dim enough to cast shadows on their faces. Viktor’s chin was propped in his entwined hands, staring back at Yakov with unfathomable eyes.

The older man studied him for several more moments before finally speaking.

“…How is he?”

There was a beat of silence.

“He’s resting,” Viktor answered, voice low even in the quietness that surrounded them.

“Were the Cialdinis hiding him?”

The younger male shook his head. “None of them knew he’s a Katsuki. Or even an omega. They took care of him, nonetheless.”

Yakov nodded, pausing as his mouth tightened to a frown. “Am I correct in assuming the Healer was involved in his… departure?”

Viktor’s eyes hardened.

Yakov watched as the other alpha’s jaw clenched, the simple reminder of the Healer seemingly enough to stir back some of the seething rage that had erupted from him almost two weeks ago. No one else had been present inside the room during Viktor’s conversation with the Healer, not even Yakov who had been stood outside, leaning on the wall with arms crossed as he waited.

There had been a loud growl, feral and deadly, which had broken the calmness in the palace moments before the Healer had stumbled out, shaking and looking petrified as he tripped over his own feet. Yakov had immediately called for guards to escort the old beta away, wincing at the ensuing crashes that had resounded from the room. Everyone else nearby had recoiled back, retreating at the scent of the snarling alpha inside.

“… That’s a discussion for another day. Perhaps after we’ve both had some rest.”

“Of course,” Yakov nodded again, “What do you plan to do now, Viktor?”

Blue eyes flickered as Viktor leaned back in his seat. “I want a meeting with all the Council members as soon as possible.”

“I’ll have the date arranged by tomorrow,” the old man paused, “and Yuuri?”

“How long would preparations for a wedding ceremony take?”

Yakov blinked, startled at the sudden turn of the conversation.

“Wedding ceremony?” The older alpha raised an eyebrow as Viktor nodded once, the younger male’s expression becoming impassive. “For the royal wedding ceremony, I believe thorough arrangements would take several months at the least. Though… a month or two might be enough if the preparations were to be rushed.”

“I see.”

Yakov studied the other man, searching for something that will hint at his thoughts. “You plan to marry him this soon?”

Viktor didn’t respond immediately, looking contemplative as he crossed his arms. “No. A month would be too long.”

Yakov's brows furrowed. ‘Too long?’

“Too long? For what?”

The silverette didn’t answer. “My parents’ rings are still in the vault, aren’t they?”

“… Yes, of course.”

Viktor nodded. Yakov’s forehead creased in confusion. ‘…What are you thinking?’

The gold bands were an heirloom of the royal family, only worn by the reigning monarch and their consort. The rings were a symbol of the pair’s intention to consummate the mating bond and that, as far as tradition goes, only happened after a wedding ceremony.

“Viktor,” Yakov’s tone became uneasy, “what are you planning?”  

Viktor didn’t reply, pushing his chair back and slowly standing up.

It was an age-long tradition to instigate the mating bond, to truly become mates, only after a couple has been wed. It was something that detached today’s society from the more barbaric times in the past when many omegas had been forced to bare their necks, claimed against their will.

Nowadays, it wasn’t too uncommon for married couples -alpha, beta or omega- to seal their mating bond only after years into their marriage, the claiming of a mate far too permanent to be taken lightly. Relationships and marriages, while something to be celebrated and cherished, can be temporary – at times easily broken.

A mating bond, however, was life-binding - sacred even.

“Viktor,” the older alpha repeated, dread creeping down his back. 

The silver-head turned to him, face carefully blank.

“I don’t need to stand by an altar and parade in front of crowds to be given permission to claim my mate, Yakov.” The word ‘permission’ dripped like poison from his tongue.

Yakov blanched, chair toppling backwards with a ‘thump’ as he stood up in shock.

“The claiming of a mate can only happen after the two are wed, Viktor!” The older alpha’s tone was reprimanding, his voice raised as he gawked at the silverette in stunned disbelief.

Viktor only stared back, the dim light in the room casting an eerie glow to the unblinking blue orbs.

“The preparations for the wedding ceremony can take as long as they need to, Yakov,” Viktor finally said, slowly walking around the table, “it will be nothing but a formality. Something for everyone else to celebrate,” he paused, “but I refuse to wait.”

The silver-head stopped just in front of the closed doors.

“He’ll wear my mark on his neck, with or without a ceremony.”

And with that, Viktor exited the room, leaving a speechless Yakov behind.
 

“Why is he taking you away? Yuuri, what’s happening? Uncle Ciao Ciao won’t tell me anything!” 

Yuuri’s lips wobbled at the distress in Phichit’s words, chest hurting at the ache of Minami’s cries as the smaller boy clung to his torso, sobbing on to his chest.

“Y-Yuuri! I swear, I didn’t know! Don’t hate m-me! I d-didn’t know!” The blonde pleaded, his tears soaking Yuuri’s shirt. Yuuri hugged the younger boy tightly, his hands rubbing circles on Minami’s back.

“Yuuri! What’s he talking about?!” Phichit’s voice was frantic, the underlying panic making Yuuri’s tears fall faster. “Say something!”

“I can never hate you, Minami. You didn’t do anything wrong,” the omega murmured to the blonde, squeezing the boy tighter, “you should be resting now, you only came back this afternoon. It’ll…it’ll be fine-” his voice broke in an unsteady exhale, throat clogged with everything he should have told them, “I’ll visit, okay? S-so, don’t cry.”

“I tried to come back here as s-soon as I can! I swear! B-but I was too slow and now they’re taking you awa-” Minami continued to wail and Yuuri tightened his arms, feeling his chest clench even more as he cried with the boy.

“Yuuri, please tell me what’s happening, please! Why are you leaving? D-did you do something wrong?”

The omega glanced at Phichit, unable to stop the muffled sob from escaping at the sight of his best friend’s tear-stained face.

“I’m so sorry, Phichit. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you a-about me.” Minami loosened his hold, shoulders shaking as he stepped back from the omega. Yuuri moved forward, gripping Phichit’s arms and squeezing tightly before engulfing the beta in an embrace. “I don’t h-have much time. Vi- the king’s waiting. Thank you. For everything. T-thank you so much.” 

“Y-Yuuri, I don’t understand-” the black-haired male grabbed Phichit’s wrists, steering his best friend’s hands onto Minami’s shoulders.

The blonde hugged the other beta as he continued to cry, Phichit’s arms immediately encircling the younger boy and rubbing calming circles on his back, just as Yuuri had done.

“T-take care of each other for me, okay?”

Yuuri stirred at the phantom touch of a hand running through his hair, body feeling weightless as he was lifted by strong arms and carefully lowered onto soft sheets. A thick blanket was laid on top of the omega and Yuuri sighed in content, still in the hazy clouds of sleep as he curled into the mattress and pillows, breathing in the familiar scent that reminded him of home.

He drifted back to unconsciousness at the faint sound of running water, only to be roused once more when the mattress gently dipped, another weight settling on the space beside him. Arms slowly wrapped around his waist, pulling his body closer to solid warmth.

A soft kiss was pressed on the omega’s head and Yuuri burrowed further into the comforting heat. Nestling deeper into the familiar scent, he let the rhythm of the equally familiar heartbeat lull him back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Blue eyes scanned the scripted writing, reading over the words twice before glancing back up. The silver-head eyed the red patch in front of the blonde hair before nodding at the messenger, handing the letter to Yakov seated beside him.

Yuri huffed, watching the exchange with boredom as he lounged on the cushioned seats. “Seriously, how long is this going to take?”

Yakov looked up from the paper, glaring at the blonde sprawled on the red sofa. “You insisted on staying here to wait. Now be patient, Yuri.”

The messenger twisted around, eyes wide and mouth set in an ‘o’. Yuri blinked, confused at the sudden attention before glowering at the near-giddy expression being directed at him.

“The hell are you looking at?” He growled. Yakov sighed.

“Your name’s Yuuri too?!”

“…Yeah. So wha- wait, ‘too’?  Don’t tell me that’s your name.”

The messenger shook his head as he grinned. “Nope! My name’s Minami! I know someone called Yuuri though!”

“Okay… Good for you. Am I supposed to care?”

The messenger tilted his head to the side. “No, I guess not,” the beta replied, tapping his finger to his lips in thought and not appearing offended by the other teenager’s aggressive tone. Yuri wasn’t exactly an uncommon name after all.

Quietness settled in the room as Viktor began to write.

Yuri prodded the cushions, sighing as he watched Viktor’s hands move across the paper. It hadn’t been a particularly eventful day. Even with the sun out and the skies clear, there hadn’t been much to do and the blonde had spent most of his afternoon wandering around the palace in search of entertainment.

He glanced back at the messenger.

“…is this other Yuuri as weird looking as you then? Chicken hair and googly eyes too?”

Yakov’s teeth grinded together, paper crumpling in his hand, “Yu-”

The beta whipped around.

“What?! How dare you! Of course not!” Yuri snickered, amused at the messenger’s lack of objection against the insult to his own looks. “He’s really pretty actually! Black hair and brown eyes for your information!”

Yuri’s smirk fell, silence abruptly filling the large hall.

“… Right.”

Minami huffed before freezing. He looked around, straightening his back immediately. He bowed and apologised profusely. Viktor nodded as he continued to write.

“How long will it take you to return to Lord Cialdini?” Yakov asked, setting the paper down.

Minami scratched his head. “Ah, I have to travel further north for a few more days, m’lord, but it shouldn’t take more than two weeks to get back. I could make this priority though, I’m sure Lord Cialdini would understand.”

Viktor shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t be necessary. This isn’t that important. Take as much time as you need.”

“Haah? Two weeks? That’s quite slow for a messenger.”

“Hey! Yuuri’s still teaching me, okay! And I’m doing just fine according to him.”

“What do I care about your old-man teacher nugget-head, I’m talking about you.”

“Yuri,” Yakov growled, rubbing his temple at the inevitable headache, “please stop agitating our guest. You being here is enough trouble as it is.”

The blonde alpha scowled in response.

“Yuuri’s not an old man! He’s only nineteen!” Minami retorted, crossing his arms with a pout.

Silence descended in the room once more.

Yakov’s forehead creased, studying the messenger with quizzical eyes as Yuri stared at the other boy with his mouth slightly parted. Minami blinked, glancing at the guard stood by the large doors. Georgie shifted at the messenger’s confused expression.

“…and this Yuuri is your mentor?” Viktor’s voice cut through the rising tension in the room, tone sounding unaffected by the current conversation as his hands continued to move across the paper.

Minami turned to the seated king, grinning as he nodded.

“Yes, your Majesty!” The teenager beamed. “He’s great – has been since he first arrived in the manor!”

Blue eyes flickered up momentarily before lowering back to the letter.

“First arrived? You’ve been working for Lord Cialdini longer than your own mentor?”

Minami rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Well…he’s not officially my mentor but I call him that anyway. But yeah, he came to work for Lord Cialdini only four years ago-” Viktor’s hand paused, “-but he’s been one of the best people I’ve known since! A little shy at first though…”

Yuri gawked at the messenger. “Stop spewing garbage!”

“Eh?! It’s not garbage! And stop insulting him!”

“Shut u-” 

"YURI! Enough!” Yakov growled, glaring at the blonde on the sofa.

Minami flinched, ears turning red in embarrassment. The messenger bowed deeply, cheeks a slight pink as he apologised once more.

Viktor nodded slowly, the pen unmoving between his fingers. “You’re awfully protective of this Yuuri, Minami. Any particular reason why?” the silver-haired alpha asked, eyebrows drawing together as he watched the beta.

Minami blinked twice, tilting his head to the side as he contemplated the question.

“Well… I guess everyone in the manor kind of is. Yuuri tends to work too hard...” the beta paused as he rocked back on his heels, lost in his own thoughts, “I mean, when he first came to the manor, he wasn’t in the best shape. We all had to keep telling him to take it easy for the first few months. He wouldn’t really listen though. He had bandages all over his chest bu -”

The pen dropped on the table with a ‘clang’, the sound resonating in the icy stillness of the room as it rolled across the desk.

Minami swallowed. “A-apologies, your Majesty, I didn’t mean to babble.”

“Viktor…” Yakov started.

“Tell me more.”

“S-sir?”

“About your mentor.”

Yuri jumped up from his seat. “What?! You can’t be serious, Viktor! He’s probably some sp-”

“Quiet, Yura.” Yuri’s mouth snapped shut. The silverette stared at the messenger with burning eyes. “Tell me more, Minami.”

Minami gulped, looking nervously around the room before glancing back to Viktor. “W-well… his name is Yuuri-”

“You already said that knuckle-head,” Yuri ground out through clenched teeth, squeezing his lips together at Yakov’s glare.  

The beta’s eyes darted between Yakov and Viktor, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

“He… doesn’t have a last name, that’s w-what he says anyway,” Minami continued, throat feeling dry as he paused to swallow. “U-um, he likes the colour blue and h-he wears glasses-” The messenger squeaked as Viktor’s fingers twitched, nails digging into the wooden desk. “P-pardon me your Majesty, I’m not quite sure what you want me to say! D-does he sound like some fugitive? ‘Cause he’s not!”

Yakov gripped Viktor’s shoulder. The silver-head turned to the older alpha, the two briefly sharing a look before turning their attention back to Minami.

“Where is this man from?” Yakov asked carefully.

Minami fiddled with the end of his sleeves, the boy’s anxious scent becoming stronger. “He never said. Just- well… he mentioned once it was near the sea-” Yakov tensed, feeling the tremor that ran through the silverette’s arm “-but that he spent a lot of time s-somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else?”

The boy nodded hesitantly. “Somewhere cold…”

Yakov frowned at the messenger’s words. “Go on...”

“U-um…he loves the s-snow. He said the ice reminded him of home-”

Viktor stood up sharply, the letter laying forgotten on the table.

 
Yuuri stared at the small, orange bottle in his hand, examining the unlabelled plastic before opening the lid and glancing inside. ‘One week at most…’ the omega thought, biting his lip as he twisted the top back on.

He glanced towards the door, eyeing the shadow still hovering from underneath as he placed the bottle on the nightstand.

It had been three days since his return to the palace - three days which he spent locked in Viktor’s room, burrowed beneath the covers. The omega had refused to leave, only ever going as far as sitting by the window. Viktor had allowed him to mope for the most part, often curling with him on the bed and seeming content just holding him, at times speaking softly as his fingers traced shapes on Yuuri’s back.

Faint conversations had drifted across the hallway every time Viktor left the room, the voices immediately starting as soon as the silver-head closed the door. ‘Palace guards,’ Yuuri had assumed because, of course, Viktor would have guards stationed outside.

This shadow, however, was something new.

Yuuri hesitated before slowly padding closer to the silhouette, studying the dark shape in confusion. The shadow had been lingering for hours. He placed his ear against the door, blinking at the muffled curse from the other side.

‘That’s… an angry guard,’ he thought as he pulled away.

The omega glanced around the empty room.

‘You can spend some time by the lake if you want to,’ Viktor had told him this morning, watching Yuuri stare at the blue water at the side of the palace, ‘though I’d prefer if you don’t go alone.’ The alpha had pressed a kiss to his temple before leaving. ‘I’ll be back by sunset.’

Brown eyes shifted to the ground, turning his attention back to the person on the other side of the door. The guard outside had probably been instructed to follow him around should he decide to finally leave the room.

‘Some… fresh air would be nice,’ Yuuri thought as he chewed on his lip, imagining the breeze on his skin and the grass beneath his feet. It had been a long three days, the hours dragging on without anything to do but watch the sky.

He glanced out the window once more and sighed, ‘…I want to go to the lake.’

The shadow shifted and the omega hesitated before reaching for the handle. He held his breathe as he slowly opened the door.

He leaped back immediately, heart jumping to his throat at the pair of startled green eyes blinking back at him.

Yuuri stared at the blonde in shock, the boy looking as equally stunned while they stood frozen in the hallway, gawking at each other in silence. The teenager lurched backwards, almost hitting the wall as he sputtered, pointing an accusing finger at the omega’s face.

“I w-wasn’t waiting!”

Warmth bloomed in Yuuri’s chest. “Yurio…”

“Don’t call me that!” Yuri growled. The alpha paused, blinked and growled again. “Stop smiling!”

The omega let out a quiet, breathy chuckle, the sudden overwhelming fondness making his eyes water. He nodded, forcing the tilt of his lips to drop - the first smile he’s had since leaving the Cialdini manor.  

Yuuri watched the boy for a second longer, letting the green eyes dart around his face before looking around the empty hallway. “No guards…?”

Yuri blinked, straightening his back and crossing his arms.

“…No.” The blonde pursed his lip, turning his head away. “Why? You planning to run off?”

“It’s just that… well, there’s always voices outside so I thought…”

Yuri stiffened.

“… You’re hearing things,” the boy said with a scowl. Green eyes glanced up when the omega didn’t reply, bristling at the expression on Yuuri’s face. “I told you to stop smiling, pig!”

“Ah,” Yuuri forced the edges of his lips down once more.

He kept his eyes on the teenager as they stood facing each other. Near-awkward silence began to stretch for several long seconds.

The young alpha let out a frustrated sigh, shoving his hands into his pockets as he glared at the floor. “Viktor said you wanted to go to the lake.”

The omega paused, thinking back to those muffled conversations outside the door, to the voices mingling with Viktor’s –  no. Voice. It was always just one voice outside talking to Viktor.

Brown eyes softened.

Yuuri bit his tongue to fight the oncoming tilt of his lips, nodding as he took a step forward. “Fresh air would be nice.”

The blonde stared at him again, green eyes almost searching before the boy inclined his head towards the end of the hallway.

“Well then, what are you waiting for? Walk, Katsudon.”

The walk to the lake had been in silence. Yuri had kept his distance, trailing behind the older man with cautious, measured steps. Yuuri hadn’t attempted to start a conversation, knowing the awkward tension between them was not something words could easily fix.

The omega focused on ignoring the stares of those they passed by instead, his feet unconsciously leading him to their destination without thought, the familiar route to the side of the palace etched in his memory like his own reflection.

“Wow! I love it!”

He staggered slightly as they approached the lake, lost voices and buried memories resurfacing with every familiar step he took. Yuri glanced at the omega but did not speak.

"Who taught you how to braid hair, Yuuri?”

Brown eyes lightened at the sight of the calm waters. He stopped walking as he reached the edge of the lake, absorbing the melancholic view in wonder before slowly settling on the grass, his legs folded neatly beneath him.

“Really?! I have to visit Hasetsu soon, I really want to meet them!”

Yuri sat some distance away to the omega’s side, arms perched on his knees and gaze pointedly turned forward and away from Yuuri’s direction. The two sat in silence as the black-haired male admired the scenery in front of him.

Long, soft locks between his fingers.

Yuuri breathed in deeply. The lake was just as he remembered-

That melodic voice. Those sparkling blue eyes.

-the water as calm and clear as it’s always been. Unchanging, even in his absence. Tranquil-

That heart-shaped smile.

-and beautiful.

“He spread your ashes here, you know.”

Yuuri froze.

“Then he cut his own hair as soon as he got back to the palace,” the blonde continued, “...I was the one who found him.”

Yuuri’s lip trembled, stomach dropping as his throat constricted. His breath hitched, unable to stop his mind from conjuring the too vivid images of the teenager’s words - the blades of the scissors glinting in the air, the trembling hand gripping the ends of long, silver hair, the strands falling to the floor with every snip.

It made his heart ache.

Yuri slowly turned, eyes narrowing at the lack of response from the black-haired male.

“Well?” The teenager stared at him. “Aren’t you going to say something?” The omega didn’t reply, tongue feeling like lead in his mouth. “What, you’re just going to sit there and pretend this is okay?”

And there it was, the anger Yuuri had been anticipating - a reminder that Viktor wasn’t the only one he left behind. Yuuri remained silent, chest heavy as he waited for the incoming onslaught.

The blonde growled, hands clenching into fists as he snapped at the omega beside him.

“Screw you, Katsudon! We deserve some fucking explanation!” Still no response. “Speak, dammit! Explain yourself! Do you even know what you put Viktor through?!” 

Nothing.

Yuri ground his teeth.

The teenager turned away, tugging at the grass on the ground in his frustration. Yuuri remained motionless, barely breathing. The omega blinked slowly, letting every word sink into his heart, twisting like daggers as it echoed in his ears. Seconds ticked by, the sound of the gentle breeze the only one breaking the cold silence between them.

“I never wanted to leave…”

Yuri stopped.

Green eyes glanced up, slowly focusing on the fingers brushing absent-mindedly against the omega’s chest. The teenager’s hand dug on the ground, biting back the ‘then why didn't you come back?’ at the tip of his tongue as he watched the glassy brown orbs stare at the distance.

With a sigh, the blonde closed his eyes, laying on his back on the grass with his arms behind his head.

“Yurio…”

Yuri didn’t move, breathing steadily as he let the sun’s warmth soak into his skin.

He waited.

“…I never wanted to leave,” Yuuri whispered once more, voice heartbreakingly small.

The blonde opened his eyes slowly, staring at the scattered clouds above him. He glanced at the omega from the corner of his vision, staring at the still form for several moments before glancing towards the sky once again.

“Then…” Yuri took a deep breath, “… screw those people. Fuck all of them, whoever they are.” Green eyes hardened, watching the flock of birds flying across the sky. “Damn them for sending you away.”

They spent the rest of the day together, only returning to the palace to have a quick meal, roaming the hallways before venturing out to the garden to sit by the large fountain. Yuri had glared at anyone whose eyes lingered for too long, muttering under his breath about ‘annoying, nosy shits’.

There had been small conversations between the two, quiet and brief but conversations nonetheless and Yuuri felt lighter as the distance between their steps became smaller and smaller.

They returned to Viktor’s room just as the sun had started to set, pausing in front of the closed door. Yuri stared at the omega with calculating eyes before nodding and turning around.

“Yurio…” the blonde stopped. “Thank you.”

There was a pause.

Yuri ‘tched’ in response as he continued his steps. Yuuri hid his smile at the barely audible ‘yeah’ that followed as the younger boy walked way, the small form disappearing around the corner. The omega turned back to the door, hesitating before turning the handle and stepping inside.

He stilled at the sight of Viktor sat at the edge of the bed, studying the small, orange bottle in his hand.

Blue eyes shifted up, the alpha’s expression unreadable as it locked onto Yuuri’s form. The silverette continued to observe him silently as he closed the door.

“How was your day with Yura?”

The omega folded his hands in front of him.

“…It was fine,” he mumbled, shifting on his feet as he glanced at Viktor’s hand, “…he’s grown a lot.”

The alpha followed his gaze, looking back down at the orange bottle.  “Are these suppressants like your old ones?”

Yuuri swallowed nervously, eyes falling to the floor.

His suppressants have always been the sort with the birth-control, even if he never needed that particular aspect of it. Even in the Cialdini mansion, it was that type which Phichit had always smuggled for him. While pregnancy outside of heats were uncommon, most suppressants were still combined with contraceptives for practicality. It was just what he had always used.

Yuuri slowly nodded, uneasiness rising at the possibilities of where the conversation could be headed. ‘Don’t take them away, please don’t take them away...’

“Who got these for you?”

The omega bit his lip. “… Phichit did.”

Viktor regarded the omega for another moment before carefully placing the bottle on the nightstand and rising from the bed. Yuuri watched Viktor’s shadow approach, feeling the uneasiness grow with every step.

“I put your new suppressants on the top drawer by the bed for whenever that bottle finishes.”

The omega’s eyes snapped up.

Viktor reached for his hands, thumbs lightly rubbing his knuckles as he pressed his lips on the younger man’s forehead. The alpha’s hand cupped his jaw, kissing him softly before pulling back.

“They're the same ones you used to take.”

Yuuri blinked, uncertain of how to process the words. 

Fingers brushed across the omega’s stomach and Yuuri glanced down, watching Viktor’s hand slowly spread on his abdomen, palm emitting warmth as it pressed against his lower belly. Brown eyes shifted up, heartbeat accelerating at the azure orbs staring back at him, the alpha’s gaze heavy with the promise of a someday -not now, you’re not ready, not yet- but someday, someday you will-

Viktor’s eyes darkened.

Yuuri mewled when Viktor kissed him roughly, the implications of their conversation stirring something inside the alpha. The omega fell on the bed with a gasp, staring at Viktor with wide eyes as the alpha loomed above him, the intense gaze causing chills to prickle at Yuuri’s back.

Blue eyes darted down to the exposed neck when Yuuri turned away.

Yuuri flinched at the open-mouthed kisses trailing up his jaw, the silver-head not wasting any time in removing their clothes. He twisted to his side, wanting to curl and hide away from the heated expression on Viktor’s face. Large hands guided the smaller body, laying Yuuri on his front while the younger male gripped the sheets, shoving his face into the pillows as the alpha’s hand trailed across his shoulder blades, admiring the lean form beneath him.

Yuuri’s eyes clenched shut when Viktor’s lips and tongue began to descend down his spine, only pausing when he reached the rounded flesh, squeezing once before spreading the cheeks apart.

The omega bit the pillow as the alpha’s tongue dragged over his hole, toes curling as Viktor continued to lap at him, wetting his entrance and teasing until Yuuri was shaking, fighting against his own body to stop himself from pushing back against Viktor’s mouth.

“N-nh…”

The younger male panted when the other man finally pulled away, a string of saliva connecting the alpha's lips and the puckered entrance. His hold on the sheets tightened as Viktor shifted above him, turning his head when a large hand covered his own.

Yuuri stared at their intertwined fingers.

The silverette gripped the base of his hardening cock with his free hand, setting his arousal between the slickened cheeks. He began to move his hips, slowly sliding against the omega’s hole, the underside of his length rubbing against the twitching entrance.

Up and down, sliding in the space between the rounded flesh but not pushing in.

Yuuri sank further into the pillow as Viktor continued to move, heart thudding with every glide as the throbbing member fully hardened, pre-come dripping between his legs, some smearing on his lower back.

Yuuri jerked when the alpha’s hips suddenly faltered, the swollen head catching against the rim.

Panic raced down his spine when Viktor didn’t pull away. The burning length stayed pressed against his entrance and Yuuri twisted his head to look at the man above him, hand shooting out immediately to push against the chiselled stomach. His chest jumped, eyes widening in alarm at the daunting gleam in Viktor’s eyes. The alpha’s stare was fixated on where their bodies touched, the expression on his face looking starved.

“D-don’t… Viktor, don’t.”

Viktor snapped out of his trance, glancing at the omega beneath him.

He clenched his teeth at the sight of the swarming brown orbs, fighting away the clawing urge to push forward. He gritted his teeth at the instincts roaring at him to take, knowing that if he did this now, if he were to press any further, there would be no chance of stopping his teeth from sinking into Yuuri’s neck before this night ended.

Blue eyes shifted to the right, staring at the bare fingers of their intertwined hands.

‘Not yet, not yet-’

Viktor pulled back.

The silverette leaned his forehead between Yuuri’s shoulder blades, gripping his pulsing cock with his free hand. He pumped himself erratically, swiping his thumb at the tip and squeezing as he grunted.

Viktor’s jaw clenched, fist moving faster with every stroke but that same burning urge continued to intensify, instincts taunting him to claim what he deemed as already his minehe’salwaysbeenmine-

He growled, tightening his grip.

Not enough. It wasn’t enough.

'Fuck. Fuckfuck-’

Hands grabbed at Yuuri’s waist, turning the rigid body around until Yuuri was on his back, his head leaning against the headboards. The omega watched the alpha surge forward, frozen while Viktor towered over him, one knee placed on the bed as he trapped the younger male between his thighs.

Viktor gripped the headboards, setting the enflamed tip of his cock against Yuuri’s lips.

The alpha grasped at the omega’s jaw when Yuuri immediately twisted to the side, hands flying to Viktor’s hips and pushing away. The silverette growled and Yuuri stiffened, squeezing his lips together tightly in protest as Viktor rubbed the leaking tip against the clamped mouth. 

The alpha didn't push any further, grunting as he began to stroke again.

Yuuri couldn’t stop the closed-mouth whimper at the salty drops slowly leaking into his tongue. His nails dug into Viktor’s hips as the alpha stroked faster, the pre-come seeping out of the throbbing length smearing onto the omega's cheeks.

Yuuri whined when the grip on his jaw unconsciously tightened, becoming almost bruising as the alpha neared his release. Viktor’s cock began to pulse and Yuuri was unable to stop the pained gasp from escaping, his lips parting.

“Блядь!”

Viktor swore, throwing his head back as the head of his cock slipped into the wet heat. He groaned, molten pleasure sparking up his spine as his hips stuttered forward.

Liquid warmth exploded into the omega’s mouth, hitting the back of his throat. Yuuri choked at the come flooding his mouth, wrenching his head away the moment Viktor’s hold loosened. He coughed violently, gagging as he spat, tears springing into his eyes when the salty bitterness remained on his tongue. Come and saliva dripped down the omega’s chin, his shoulders heaving as he tried to control his breathing.

Yuuri flinched when the body above him slowly shifted, the alpha's face pressing into his hair as he panted.

The silverette's thumb wiped his chin as the older male leaned down to kiss the glistening lips that remained slack even as Viktor’s hand drifted downwards, enclosing around the omega’s half-hard member.

Their lips stayed pressed against each other’s as Viktor began to stroke, never separating as the alpha’s fist continued to pump. The silverette's tongue licked into Yuuri’s mouth, muffling every sound from the younger man.

Blinding dots danced behind Yuuri's eyelids as his back arched, Viktor silencing his stifled cry as come painted their stomachs white.

Chapter Text

Yuuri watched the droplets falling on his hand trickling down as he sat crossed-legged on the floor. He stared at his lap, head bowed and silent, feeling the imaginary warmth of the fireplace where he and Phichit had spent many nights sat in front of, talking and laughing while his best friend’s beloved hamsters ran around the hardwood floor.

He could almost see them if he concentrated hard enough - Phichit’s playful grin and Minami’s star-struck eyes, Rocha’s kind smile and Lord Cialdini’s approving nod. He could almost hear them too - the other maids’ morning greetings and the kitchen staff’s boisterous laughter.

They’d all be starting preparations for winter by this time, even if the leaves have barely fallen off the trees. Soon, winter coats would hang on the racks and winter boots would be placed by the doors, waiting for the icy breeze and frozen drops to finally arrive.

Yuuri would always smile, small and sad, when the first snowflake falls on his fingertips.

“Summer’s going to end soon.”

The omega's eyes followed the beads of water dripping on his knuckles, remaining quiet as the hands continued to dry his hair with the towel.

“It’s going to be cold enough for the lake to freeze again. If you want to, you can go skate there when it does.”

Brown eyes blinked absent-mindedly, letting the words pull him back to the reality of the cold floor beneath him, to the sheets pressed against his back and to Viktor sat on the bed behind him.

Yuuri stared at his lap, watching the droplets falling on his palm before slowly nodding.

“…If it pleases you.”

Viktor paused.

Yuuri didn’t move as the weight of the towel on his head disappeared, closing his eyes when it was replaced by gentle fingers instead.

“There’s many things that would please me, Yuuri.”

The sun had long set, the sky now pitch-black with nothing but the glow of the crescent moon to illuminate the darkening clouds. It would be time to lay on the bed soon and Yuuri knew it would be another night spent watching shadows dancing on the walls as he waited for dawn.

“Like if you’d finish eating all the food I bring you.” Long fingers ran through Yuuri’s hair, untangling the wet strands. “Or if you would sleep properly at night.” Viktor’s nails lightly grazed his head, pausing to briefly massage his scalp. “…Or if the Healer that attended to you-” Yuuri stiffened, instantly snapping to attention “-could tell me just a little bit more.”

Fingertips trailed down the nape of the omega’s neck, stopping just at the collar of his nightwear before pulling away.

“You…you talked to Sir Fedunov?”

Viktor shifted behind him, reaching for something placed on the nightstand. “I did.”

Dread sank to the pit of Yuuri’s stomach. “What-” he swallowed, “what did he say?”

He began to turn when there was no immediate reply from Viktor, stopping when the alpha’s fingers brushed against his head once more.

“Not enough,” Viktor finally answered, tone far too low and ominous. Yuuri remained seated, trying to form words as a comb replaced the fingers, slowly running through the black strands.

“Did you… is he-” Yuuri let out a wobbly breath as he pulled away, feeling lightheaded as he turned on his knees to face the older man. “… Is he still a-alive?”

Because this Viktor in the room with him had already done things he shouldn’t have, things the Viktor he had known, had grown with and had loved would have never even thought of doing. Perhaps ending a life so casually was not something too far-fetched from the man -stranger- sat on the bed in front of him.  

The omega shut his eyes in disbelief when there was no response.

“He did everything he could for me. I’m still…I’m still alive because of him. It was out of his hands what h-happened after,” Yuuri whispered as he remained kneeled on the floor, stomach twisting when the silverette only continued to watch him silently from the bed. “If y-you have him locked up somewhere, please let him go, Viktor.”

“You’d beg me on your knees for the Healer’s life?”

Yuuri’s eyes watered, the sight of his clenched fists becoming a blur.

“He was good to me,” he breathed, “there was nothing else he could do. So, please,” his shoulders hunched, “please… king Nikifor-”

Viktor abruptly rose from the bed.

“Don’t.” Brown orbs slowly glanced up, finding the icy blue eyes narrowed at him in warning. “Don’t ever call me that.”

Yuuri stared at the other man, feeling cold in a way that had nothing to do with the chill in the air. “…That’s who you ar-”

“Never to you.” The omega’s gaze fell back to his lap, unable to face the rising anger -and hurt. Because Viktor was always just Viktor. Just Vitya, myVitya- he knew would be swirling in the azure orbs. “That’s never who I was to you.”

Yuuri stared at the floor, watching his own shadow flickering under the moonlight. His shoulders dropped as he recalled the Healer’s remorseful eyes looking back at him, the wrinkled face drowning in the old man’s apologies when he was unable to do anything else but keep the omega’s heart beating.

Yuuri slowly rose from his position, making his way to the other side of the bed. He stared at the sheets and the pillows, feeling numb as he imagined the numerous scenarios that could have befallen the old Healer.

“My Viktor… wouldn’t do the things you do."

The omega tugged at the blanket, laying on his side at the edge of the mattress, pulling the covers to his chin. Several moments of silence ticked by as Viktor remained immobile, still as a statue by the end of the bed.

The alpha took a deep breath.

“No, I guess he wouldn’t,” Viktor responded, slowly walking to the other side of the bed, an arm reaching for the covers. “Your Viktor wouldn’t have done those things I did to you.”

Yuuri closed his eyes at the weight of Viktor’s palm on his hip, warm breath ghosting over his shoulder as the larger body settled beside him.

“Held you down like I did.”

The silverette pulled him closer, their legs tangling together underneath the sheets.

“Make you cry like I did.”

The arms tightened around him.

“Just like how my Yuuri wouldn’t have left me alone,” Viktor placed a tender kiss on the nape of Yuuri’s neck, “exactly the way you did.”

Green eyes squinted at Yuuri from the ground.

“Fedunov? The one with a balding head and the moustache?” Yuuri nodded hesitantly at the blonde. “… that Healer that pissed Viktor off so much he started punching holes in the walls?”

The omega’s hand hovered over the water of the large fountain they were sat by, glancing at Yuri lying on the grass.

“Yeah… that one. Sir Fedunov.”

“… Nothing. He just left the palace almost shitting himself.”

The omega turned back to the fountain. “He’s okay?”

“…I guess.” Yuri stared at the older male. He shifted, rising slightly from his position to rest his weight on his elbows. “I saw Yakov speaking to him yesterday.” The blonde regarded the raven with questioning eyes.

Yuuri’s fingertips fluttered over the surface of the water, watching as the reflection of the sky and the clouds rippled.

“He’s not hurt then?”

“No?”

Yuuri bit his cheek, remembering his previous conversation with the silver-head.

Realisation dawned on the teenager. “…That Healer was the one that fixed you up, wasn’t he?”

The omega slowly nodded.

“Then don’t get me wrong, Katsudon. He’s only alive because he kept you breathing.” Yuuri didn’t respond, eyes shifting around the empty garden. “…But the fuckers that made you leave, on the other hand, are going to be a different story. Those people aren’t going to be breathing for very long.”

Yuuri’s head twisted to the teenager. “That’s – you shouldn’t say things like tha-”

The young alpha shook his head, leaning his cheek on his hand. “Someone’s going to have to talk some time soon. Either you do or Viktor will find someone who will. Whichever way it is, Viktor’s going to find those fuckers. Of course he will.” The blonde laid back on the grass. “When he does… they’re going to die. Simple as that, Katsudon.” Yuuri stared at the teenager, nausea beginning to stir at the words coming out of his mouth. “And they’re going to die slowly. In agony-”

“I get it, Yurio.”

“Good,” the blonde replied.

Yuuri sighed, finding the familiar bluntness of the young alpha oddly comforting despite the grim images the boy’s words elicited. “You said Viktor punched holes in the walls?”

Yuri gave an affirmative hum. “The whole hall had to be renovated after his little meeting with the Healer. I think Yakov was close to having him sedated actually. Hah, imagine that.”

Green eyes cracked opened.

“No one could have gone inside that room though, let alone get close enough to touch Viktor. Not if they wanted to leave with their throats intact.” Yuri paused, shifting his gaze to the omega’s direction. “Well… except you, of course. You’d survive.”

Yuri had never been one to refrain from voicing his thoughts, no matter how brash and cutting they may be. The boy never held back from lashing and jabbing where he knew it hurt and to see that this part of him hadn’t change, that something in someone was still the same, was strangely consoling.

“So… no one knows what they actually talked about?”

“About you, obviously.” Yuri blew at the hair on his face. “But exactly what they said and why Viktor was so angry, no. Maybe Yakov does. Ugh Katsudon, you already know they never tell me anything.”

“Sorry.” Yuuri stood up, taking a step towards where the younger boy was lying. “Viktor was… never the one to get angry like that.”

Yuri didn’t reply.

Yuuri paused, blinking in confusion at the unexpected silence. He watched as the teenager began to rise, lips pressed together in a tight line. The blonde avoided Yuuri’s eyes, staring at the grass with furrowed eyebrows as he sat with his legs crossed on the ground.

“No, he isn’t.”

Yuuri stared at the younger boy, concern arising at the sudden uncertainty in the teenager’s tone.

“Yurio?”

Yuri sighed. “I’d never seen Viktor like that – so angry. He’s never angry.” He turned to the omega. “But… he’s never really much of anything. Not these days. Not for these past few years.”

Yuuri sat on the grass, pulling his knees to his chest as the tense atmosphere grew between them once again. The omega bit his lips, knowing he will have to accept the answer to the question he was about to ask with a heavy heart.

“How much?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper. “How much of my Vitya is still there?”

Yuri looked at the sky.

‘You knew he would be in pieces,’ Yuuri reminded himself as he waited for the boy’s response, ‘you knew he would be lost. At least for a while.’

“Most of Viktor died with you that night.”

Yuuri had hoped and hoped, no matter how much it had hurt to even think of it, that Viktor would learn to live without him – that the alpha’s mourning would pass with time and that he would someday accept the loss, eventually finding something else, maybe even someone else, to live for. ‘You would have never been able to. Never. How could you think he would?’

The omega followed Yuri’s eyes, watching the thick clouds slowly rolling by as the words repeated over and over in his head.

Heavy, thudding footsteps interrupted the faint splashes of the water fountain.

Yuuri glanced at the boy beside him, the green eyes blinking back in confusion. They both turned, just as Yuuri fell on his back with an ‘oomf’, pushed down by a heavy weight.

“Wha-” A wet tongue dragged across his face and his eyes widened, catching sight of the fluffy, brown fur above him. “M-Makkachin!”

Yuuri sputtered in surprise as the poodle barked, tongue lolling out as she wagged her tail. He grinned as he patted the dog’s head, ruffling the soft brown fur and laughing when Makkachin continued to lick his face.

“Sorry, sorry! Bad Makkachin!”

Yuuri glanced to the side at the voice, hand stilling as he spotted Georgi running towards their direction. The beta halted, panting as he reached them.

“I’m so sorry! I was just taking her out for her walk but she got so excited when she saw you two."

Makkachin’s weight disappeared. Yuuri slowly got up, reaching to the poodle now sitting by his side.

“That’s okay.” He patted the dog’s head once more, a tight smile on his lips as he evaded Georgi’s eyes. “She’s so big now.”  

“Ah, yes,” Georgi replied, “she’s… had a little accident with some steamed buns recently, actually.” The guard paused, shifting awkwardly on his feet. “So um, she’s been a little unwell these past couple of weeks.”

“Oh…”

“But she’s doing a lot better now!”

“Ah, that’s good to hear,” the omega nodded.

Yuri sighed in exasperation. Yuuri glanced at him, finding the teenager sitting next to him with his arms crossed, glaring at Georgi’s direction.

“Just fucking hug him already. I can practically see you vibrating, Georgi.”

Yuuri turned to the guard, momentarily tensing in surprise and relaxing immediately when the beta engulfed him in an embrace.

“…I’m so, so glad to see you well, Yuur- I m-mean Lord Katsuki.”

The omega returned the hug, feeling equally moved and relieved by the guard’s sentiment, unwavering even after all these years. Georgi had always been a good friend.

“Thank you, Georgi.”

Georgi pulled back, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he smiled warmly at the omega.

“Are you two done?” Yuri asked, staring at them in boredom.

They all stopped when a breeze passed by, carrying with it the familiar scent of fresh ice and mint -and how sunlight feels on your skin in the summer, how it felt to curl underneath a warm blanket during the winter and how safety and comfort and home would smell like if all of those had a scent-

Yuuri’s back straightened as Yuri and Georgi both stood up from the ground, glancing at the direction the scent was coming from. The omega remained seated on the grass, staying silent as they all waited.

Makkachin barked when the silver hair appeared from the near-distance.

Three pairs of eyes followed Viktor’s approaching form, the alpha’s steps even and unhurried, only stopping once he was by Yuuri’s legs.

Georgi bowed. “Your Majesty.”

“Georgi.” Viktor nodded in return, turning his attention to Makkachin padding towards him. The large poodle wagged her tail, front paws rising to lean on the alpha’s thighs. Viktor’s hands rubbed the dog’s fuzzy head.

“Hello Makkachin.” Yuuri's eyes shifted up slightly, breath catching on his throat at the sight of the smile, so small and warm, on Viktor’s face. “Are you feeling better, girl?”

Georgi stepped forward. “Apologies your Majesty. She got a little excited when she saw Lord Plisetsky and Lord Katsuki.”

“It’s fine, I was just coming to get Yuuri.” Blue eyes glanced at Yuri. “Yakov’s looking for you, Yura. Something about skipping tutoring classes again yesterday?”

The blonde sighed. “…they’re boring and pointless anyway.”

“Ah,” Georgi began readjusting the leash around the poodle’s neck, “I should probably take Makkachin for her walk then.” The guard bowed once more, giving Yuuri a last smile before leading Makkachin away at Viktor’s nod.

“Where’d Yakov say he was going to be?” Yuri asked.

“Your study room.”

“Right,” Yuri sighed once more.

The teenager turned to the omega on the grass who smiled at him in response.

“Bye, Yurio... thanks for today.”

Yuri nodded as he began to walk away. Yuuri watched his back until the boy disappeared through the doors leading back to the palace. He looked around the empty garden once more before slowly glancing up at Viktor.

“Come, Yuuri. Let’s go to the lake.” 

Yuuri stared at the alpha’s outstretched palm, hesitating slightly before reaching for the offered hand.

Being in the lake was different this time. The clouds were thicker and a little greyer, the wind just a little colder. The water wasn’t as blue either, not when the sky wasn’t as clear but Yuuri could almost pretend he was fifteen again, watching the same sunset with long platinum strands splayed across his lap.

“Do you remember the first time you stood on the ice? When you refused to let go of my hand?”

Almost pretend, because it was different now.

Every memory of Viktor’s smile was tainted with the scrape of teeth against his skin, the sound of the alpha’s laugh overridden by the low growls resonating in the dark. Yuuri hated it - how the warmth of the silverette’s embrace was now drowned in the uneasiness brought by the forceful hands.

The omega stared at the water, nodding slowly. “Of course,” he whispered. ‘How could I forget?’

“And that time I found you crying? Convinced I only wanted to spend time with you because you were an omega?”

He nodded again, a little hesitant this time.

“Do you remember the night my parents died?”

Yuuri turned to Viktor standing beside him, confused at the alpha’s questions. “Of course I do...”

“Then you remember what I said to you after all those times? What I promised you and what you promised me?”

The omega glanced back at the lake. “I… can never forget.”

“Remind me, Yuuri. Remind me what we promised each other.”

Yuuri fidgeted with his fingers, pausing when Viktor took hold of both his hands. The younger male bit his lip, glancing up to meet the alpha’s eyes. “You told me… it’ll always be me you want with you, no matter what.”

Viktor interlocked their fingers together. “That’s right. Only you. And what did you tell me each time?”

“I…” Yuuri paused, brown orbs flickering down to glimpse at their hands before looking back up. “I promised you I wouldn’t let go…” Viktor nodded, waiting for him to continue. “…that I’d always stay by your si -”

The omega froze.

He continued to stare at Viktor’s face, mind instantly rewinding back to the sight of the alpha’s hand. Yuuri’s eyes widened, throat suddenly feeling dry as he watched Viktor’s expression slowly shift, becoming far too calm as he watched the younger male.

“Yes. That you’d always stay by my side.”

Yuuri’s eyes snapped back down, heart plummeting at the glinting band on Viktor’s finger.

The omega stared at their clasped hands, head beginning to spin as the alpha’s fingers slowly unfurled his own. The silverette brought the rigid right hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on the stiff digits.

“I’ll be holding a meeting with the Council soon.”

Yuuri slowly looked up, heart racing at the tempest of a storm hiding behind the blue eyes staring back at him.

“Viktor’s going to find those fuckers. Of course he will.”

A tremor ran down his back, legs suddenly feeling weak at the echo of Yuri’s voice.

“I never did like most of the Council members. I’m sure I’ve told you that many times before.” Yuuri could barely decipher the words over the pounding of his blood against his ears. “Some of them are a nuisance, really - always pestering me about an alliance with some place or another. ‘Maybe through marriage’, they always say.”

“Those people aren’t going to be breathing for very long.”

Yuuri shivered.

“As if I’d even entertain that idea. Like I’d let any one else wear the ring my mother wore.” Viktor scoffed.

Brown eyes shifted downwards at the fleeting touch of cold metal on his fingertips.

Yuuri watched every movement as though it was all in slow motion, feeling so far away as his eyes followed the identical gold band that was slowly being slipped on his finger.

The ring was beautiful. Simple and perfectly fitted. Polished and immaculate as though it was forged just for him. Befitting for a king and his consort and definitely something worthy to exchange in front of a sea of strangers in the middle of an extravagant ceremony.

But there was no ceremony here, not for them. Not yet.

Someday, he and Viktor will stand in front of one another, exchanging their vows to the cheers of the unknowing crowd. And when that time arrives, Yuuri knew –he knew, heknew- that the alpha’s mark will already be on his neck, his scent already embedded in his core.

Viktor had always been one to defy the rules like that.

“The Council isn’t going to exist for very long anymore, Yuuri. Not this one.”

“-they’re going to die. Simple as that, Katsudon.”

The omega’s head spun, Viktor and Yuri’s words a distorted mess in his ears.

“I need to know exactly which of them threatened you with what, Yuuri.” The silverette leaned forward, nosing at his hair as his thumb caressed his cheek. “Otherwise, they’d all have to disappear. And I can’t guarantee you their entire household-” –family, Viktor meant their families. Oh God- “-won’t disappear too. I’ll have all of them wiped out if it has to come down to that.”

Yuuri gripped the alpha’s shoulders with his free hand, the future repercussions of his silence and refusal to talk ringing clear in the almost non-existent space between them.

“And they’re going to die slowly. In agony-”

Yuuri shook his head furiously, feeling nauseous as he envisioned the carnage and bloodbath Viktor was undoubtedly more than willing to unleash. “That’s not- Viktor, y-you can’t do-”

“Which of them took you away from me?” The alpha tightened his grip on their intertwined hands, leaning forward until their lips brushed against one another’s. “What did they say that made it so easy for you to leave?”

‘Easy? It wasn’t easy. Not even close.’ Yuuri stared at their hands, eyes locked on the glinting gold on their fingers, so heavy and real. It was dizzying, the sight of the rings. It made him tremble, knowing what they signified and what will follow now that the twin bands have been placed on their hands. Chains, it felt like chains-

“The Healer couldn’t tell me enough.”

The omega’s gaze drifted up, heart thudding as Viktor stared back at him, eyes so dark and cold. ‘This…wasn’t how we were supposed to happen. No…no, no-’  

“But you’ll tell me the rest, won’t you, Yuuri?”

"Most of Viktor died with you that night.”

Chapter Text

“Almost done! Aand… there! Just a ponytail, nice and simple!” Yuuri’s smile dropped. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

Viktor blinked. He turned to Yuuri, looking over his shoulder with a strained grin.  “Ah, of course I do!”

“Then why that face, Viktor? Aren’t you excited?”

“I am,” Viktor replied, absently touching his hair. He paused. “…I think,” he added as an after thought.

Yuuri’s lips dipped, brows drawing in concern as Viktor continued to twirl the silver strands between his fingers, gaze remaining purposefully forward.

This had been happening for a while now - Viktor always staring into nothing, looking so pensive as though his thoughts were wandering elsewhere. Yuuri had initially chalked it up to the nerves of today’s upcoming events, assuming that perhaps Viktor wanted some time alone to think, maybe even a little bit of space to breathe. He had done his best to act normal, letting the little pangs of hurt pass every time Viktor pulled away, his eyes on anything but Yuuri’s face.

“…Vitya, what’s wrong?”

It didn’t take long, however, for the omega to realise that Viktor’s sudden withdrawal had only been directed at him. Blue eyes seemed to avert only when it clashed with his own, the larger hands only pulling back when it was the touch of their fingertips which had lingered for too long.

The alpha sighed, turning from his seated position on the floor to face the younger boy.

“There’s… been something I’ve been meaning to tell you. For a while now, actually.”

The fifteen year-old slowly nodded, the worry still stirring in his chest. “What is it?”

“I… don’t really know how to say it.”

“Is it something bad?”

Viktor hesitated. “I… don’t know?” The alpha looked uncertain, chewing on his lip as he continued to stare at his lap.

“…Viktor?”

The silver-head sighed again, finally glancing up to meet Yuuri’s eyes.

“Yuuri, I-”

“Viktor.” Their heads turned to the open doorway at the sound of Yakov’s voice. The old man nodded at Yuuri in greeting before addressing Viktor once more. “It’s almost time.”

The two rose from their position on the ground. Yuuri reached up, wrapping his arms around Viktor’s neck and ignoring the way the older male stiffened.

“We’ll talk later, okay?” Yuuri mumbled into the alpha’s neck, breathing in his scent.

Viktor nodded slowly, draping his arms loosely around the smaller waist. Yuuri pulled back and the two stared at each other for several seconds before breaking out into simultaneous smiles. The silverette made his way to Yakov, the older alpha nodding in approval at the embroidered attire the younger male wore.

Yuuri silently agreed.

Viktor was mesmerizing in his ceremonial garment. The shades of white and silver speckled with dusts of gold made Viktor look almost unearthly. Beautiful and captivating, more so than usual, but also untouchable in the way that always made butterflies flutter in Yuuri’s belly when he dwelled on it too hard.

“Ready?” Yakov asked.

The silverette took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He glanced at Yuuri behind him. “After…?

“After,” Yuuri nodded, smiling encouragingly. “It’ll be okay. You can do this.”

Viktor returned the smile, blue eyes remaining on the omega for a moment longer before turning to Yakov. Yuuri watched Yakov and Viktor’s backs as the two walked towards the end of the hallway, stare lingering on the flick of silver hair as it disappeared around the corner. The upturn of Yuuri’s lips slowly faded as he began walking to the opposite direction, the worry only growing as he contemplated Viktor’s words.

‘Did I do something wrong?’ the omega thought to himself as he passed the empty corridors, ‘why’s he being so… distant?’

He stopped as he reached the entrance to the grand hall, listening briefly to the loud chattering of the endless mass of guests inside before entering. Yuuri glanced around, admiring the lavish decoration that adorned every corner. He searched for the familiar faces of his parents and older sister amongst the never-ending ocean of strangers, eyes squinting without his glasses.

Yuuri paused.

‘Lord Ledovskoy… he looks happy as ever,’ he thought with a grimace, spotting the Head of Council.  The expression on the aging face was as disdainful as it’s always been, the grey eyes narrowed and the mouth twisted in a sneer. Yuuri had rarely encountered the man himself but Viktor had been thoroughly vocal in his complaints regarding the Council Head. 

“Oi…”

Yuuri blinked, twisting his head around at the small voice behind him. He beamed, finding a familiar tuft of blonde hair.

“Oh! Yurio, don’t you look smart!” The omega commented, grinning at the boy’s neatly combed hair and high-collared outfit. His grin instantly vanished when the ten year-old didn’t respond with his usual glower and scolding about the nickname. “Are you okay...?”

Yuri pouted as he stared at the floor. He began to mutter under his breath and the omega leaned closer in an attempt to hear the uncharacteristically incoherent mumbles.

“What…?”

The blonde puffed his reddening cheeks, looking up to glare at the older boy.

“I said-” Yuri took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Yuuri stepped back, eyes widening at the sudden rush of words being hurled at him. “I don’t want to start calling the stupid old man ‘king Nikiforov’, okay! Or bow every time I see him! Why do I have to?! He already has a big head! He doesn’t need that stupid forehead of his to get any larger!”

The omega whipped his head around, finding the near-by strangers too distracted with their own chatter to pay any attention to Yuri’s sudden outburst. He glanced back at the young alpha, biting his bottom lip while his mouth involuntarily tilted upwards.

“Why the hell are you laughing, pig?!”

“Ah, sorry Yurio. But...” Brown eyes sparkled. “King Nikiforov? I think he’d laugh at you if you start calling him that!”

Yuri growled, shaking a small fist at the black-haired teenager. “I know he will! That’s exactly why I don’t want to!”

Yuuri let out a chuckle. “Who told you that you had to?”

The ten-year old pouted once more, crossing his arms as he glared at the floor. “…Chris did. He said I’d get locked up if I don’t.” Yuri’s face scrunched into a frown when there was no response. Green eyes shifted up, bristling when he found Yuuri’s shoulder shaking in quiet laughter once again. “This isn’t funny, Katsudon! Stop it!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Yuuri bit his cheek, resisting the urge to reach out and pat the boy’s head. “Don’t listen to Chris. Never listen to Chris. Viktor’s your cousin, Yurio, I’m sure it’ll be okay if you keep calling him what you want. Though…” he glanced around at the people around them, “maybe not ‘stupid old man’ in front of other people, okay?”

Yuri blinked, slowly processing the omega’s words. “So… I don’t have to...?

Yuuri shook his head. “No Yurio, you don’t have to call him king Nikiforov and bow every time you see him.” He leaned forward with a grin. “I’m sure he’d love it though!”

“I… won’t get locked up?”

“Of course not.”

“Oh.”

The utter relief on Yuri’s face, adorably innocent and so unlike the feisty scowl normally in place made Yuuri want to coo. The omega lifted a hand, intending to ruffle the boy’s hair, only to recoil back immediately when Yuri’s teeth snapped towards his wrist with a growl.

“Don’t even think about it, pig.”

“Ah,” Yuuri laughed, “I couldn’t help it!”

Yuri huffed, the pink still dusting his cheeks. The young alpha paused, green eyes blinking in thought before slowly looking up at the omega.

“What about you?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“You said I don’t have to ‘cause I’m Viktor’s cousin. Does that mean you have to start calling him king Nikiforov after today then?”

Yuri watched in puzzlement as Yuuri’s face softened, tilting his head to the side in confusion at the sudden tender expression on the older boy’s face.

“Oh Yurio, he’ll always be Viktor me.” Yuuri’s lips slowly lifted up, the small smile so warm just like his eyes. “Just Vitya is enough, don’t you think?”

Yuri’s brows creased as he tried to grasp the meaning of the omega’s words.

The two almost jumped out of their skin at the near-deafening tolls of the bells.  The blonde glanced up at the omega in question and Yuuri nodded at him in response.

It was time.

Viktor breathed in a sigh of relief. It was over. It was finally over.

“So… king Nikiforov now, huh?”

The alpha’s nose wrinkled, tongue sticking out in distaste. Yuuri laughed, so carefree and light. Viktor swallowed, heart skipping a beat.

“How do you feel?” The fifteen-year old asked.

“Just glad it’s over.”

The omega patted his arm and Viktor fought the impulse to tug the boy in a tight embrace. The itching urge to bury his face in the black locks while he held Yuuri in his arms wasn't  a particularly recent development. Viktor had never refrained from doing so before, always jumping on the younger boy without a care when the want arose.

But things had been a little different these days.

These days, everything the omega did was accompanied by a peculiar twisting in Viktor’s chest, a flutter in his abdomen that made the silver-head jittery and skittish every time his eyes locked with brown orbs.

Viktor couldn’t pinpoint exactly when this new phenomenon started but the alpha knew what it was, of course he did. It had only been a matter of time, after all, before the warmth and the innocent affection he felt for the younger boy finally morphed into something a little different – to something a little more. Not once did Viktor doubt it would be Yuuri who would stir something so unfathomable in his chest.

“Do you think Yakov would notice if I snea-” Viktor stopped when Yuuri’s eyes suddenly darted behind him.

The alpha glanced over his shoulder, lips tightening while he fought to keep his expression neutral at the sight of the approaching Council Head, a young girl with curly blonde hair at his side.

“Your Majesty.” Beady grey eyes slowly shifted to Yuuri. “…Lord Katsuki.”

Viktor pursed his lips. “Lord Ledovskoy.”

The Council head gestured to the girl –woman?- by his side. “This is my niece, Evia.”

The silverette nodded. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

Viktor glanced at Yuuri when the omega patted his arms once again. “Ah, looks like people are waiting to greet you. I’m going to go look for Nee-chan. I’ll find you later, okay?”

Viktor hid his grimace, internally sighing in defeat as the younger boy flashed him a tight-lipped smile before excusing himself. He watched as the dark hair, black strands slicked back for this occasion, disappeared in the never-ending ocean of a crowd.  He turned back to the Council Head. Viktor listened wordlessly as the old man offered him half-hearted congratulations regarding the coronation and the ceremony, nodding absently every now and then while the Council Head continued to talk.

He offered nothing else but a polite smile at the awed, wide-eyed stare of the blonde girl whose name had already slipped his mind.

The conversation drew to a close and Viktor began to greet the endless number of guests, going through the same monotonous routine of ‘smile, shake their hands, listen and nod, give your thanks and bid your farewell’. On and on it went until Viktor’s cheeks were almost aching from the strain of his smiles, palms sweating from the countless hands he’s shaken.

The silver-head couldn’t be more relieved when the grand hall began to clear out, the crowd slowly diminishing as the majority of the guests departed in an attempt to get a head-start on their long journeys back home. The area became more and more empty as the final minutes of the celebration ticked away.

Viktor squinted in concentration as he searched for the familiar head of raven hair in the thinning crowd. He jumped as hands clasped his shoulders, sighing in relief when Chris’ grinning face greeted him.

“Your Royal Highness. Oh so mighty Royal Highness.”

Viktor shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “I was wondering where you ran off to.”

“Oh you know me, terrorising little green-eyed blonde kitties like always.” Chris snickered. “How are you feeling, Viktor?”

“A little tired. I think I’m getting a headache too, actually.”

“Oh? You haven’t run into another door while mooning about your favourite cinnamon roll again, have you?” Chris wagged his eyebrows. “How’s that going by the way, Romeo?”

“Chris,” the silverette hissed, eyes darting around. The other alpha laughed.

“I’m teasing! There’s barely anyone around left, anyway! Honestly though, any progress?”

Viktor sighed, shoulders sagging. “He’s fifteen…” he replied like it explained everything.

Yuuri Katsuki was an enigma, so unpredictable at times and while this was one of the countless qualities that Viktor had always adored, it was something that made approaching this particular matter a little too daunting. A three-year gap in age wasn't large at all by any means but the difference couldn’t feel any bigger to Viktor, especially at eighteen and fifteen. They were no longer little children but Yuuri was still young, still growing with every passing day.

For now, all Viktor could do was wait.

“Hm…” Chris tapped his chin in thought, “but a little smooching here and there couldn’t hurt, ri-”

Chris almost choked on his tongue at the blood-curling screams erupting from behind them.

Chills raced down their spines, the hair at the back of their necks instantly standing on end. The two alphas whipped around, snapping their heads to the direction the screams had rang from.

‘Why-?’

Blue eyes zeroed in on the motionless form stood at the opposite end of the hall, surrounded by numerous bystanders. The head of black hair was bowed low, the familiar brown eyes set on the ground.

‘…Yuuri?’

The alpha’s vision tunnelled on the trickle of something dripping on the floor, red drops left behind by the glinting blade of a faceless stranger fleeing through the open doorway.

Viktor’s heart dropped.

The alpha staggered forward on unsteady legs, ignoring the horrified faces of those he passed by as his strides widened, steps gaining speed until he was almost sprinting to the black-haired teenager. The silverette lurched forward when the younger boy suddenly swayed, immediately catching the falling body before it hit the floor. Their chests pressed against one another’s as they kneeled on the ground, Yuuri’s cheek nestled on his neck.

Warmth began to spread on Viktor’s front.

‘What…?’

Viktor slowly glanced around the hall, heart thudding at the astonished faces of the people around them –Chris, Yakov, Mila, Georgi, Yuri, Mari, guards, the Council, strangers–

The surroundings became a blur, every other sound becoming muted as the omega -Yuuri. YuuriYuuri- pulled away. They stared at each other wordlessly, brown and blue eyes momentarily clashing –confused, afraid. So afraid- before their gazes slowly drifted downwards.

Blood.

There was blood.

Why was there blood?

“Viktor… Viktor what-” Yuuri looked just as stunned as Viktor did as they watched the growing patch of red.  

The silver-head slowly raised a shaking hand, the other gripping tightly at Yuuri’s waist. His breath hitched, fingers fluttering over the omega’s chest where the red liquid was seeping from. Viktor snapped his attention to Yakov on the side, the elder man’s eyes wide as he watched the scene unfolding. 

“Yakov… Yakov, what do I do? I don’t kno-” Yuuri began to slip, the smaller body becoming limp and Viktor instantly tightened his grip around the lithe waist. “I don’t know what to do!”

The blood wasn't stopping.

Why wasn’t it stopping?

Viktor’s trembling hand cradled the omega’s cheek. “Yuuri, Y-Yuuri. You’re okay. Breathe with me, love, breathe.”

The silverette’s fingers drifted to Yuuri’s chest once more, palm pressing against the place where Yuuri continued to bleed. The younger boy’s hand covered his own, blue eyes locking onto brown once again. 

Panic struck Viktor, knocking him breathless as Yuuri’s face contorted in pain.

“Help me!” Viktor yelled to the others around them, turning to Chris and Yakov, pleading as terror engulfed him to the bones. “What do I do?! Tell me what to do!”

Everyone scrambled into motion.

The panicked cries for a Healer were lost in Viktor’s ears, overridden by the short gasps of breaths now coming from Yuuri's lips. It was lost to him – the sudden commotion, Georgi sprinting out of the hall and Mila hauling Yuri away. Every fibre of his being was tuned on the boy in his arms and on the crimson staining their clothes.

Chris crouched beside them, hands hovering over their kneeled forms.

“Lay him down – slowly, Viktor, slowly! Yuuri? Yuuri, Georgi’s getting the Healer. They’ll be here soon, okay? Viktor, we need to put pressure on the wound-”

Chris’ hands pressed firmly down on Yuuri’s chest.

Brown eyes remained on the silver-head. “Viktor…?”

Tears sprung into Viktor’s eyes as he cushioned the younger boy’s head securely in his arms, cradling the small face with his palm. “Hey, h-hey you’re okay. I’m here, Yuuri. See?”  The silverette enclosed the smaller hand in his own, his grip almost bone-crushing.

Yuuri’s other hand clutched at the collar of Viktor’s white vest, expression crumpling in pain once more.

“Yuuri, I’m here. I won’t let go, okay? I w-won’t. So you have to hold on too. Don’t let g-” the alpha cut off in a cry when the brown orb began to lose focus. “No, no! Don’t close your eyes! Look at me, Yuuri, look at me!”

Yuuri blinked tiredly.

“ ...‘m here,” the omega mumbled, gaze never leaving Viktor’s face even as his eyelids threatened to close. “Not… letting g-” Yuuri’s inhale was cut short, breathing becoming ragged.

The blood began to pool on the floor, painting the white of Viktor’s clothes in scarlet. Teardrops fell on the omega’s cheeks, lost in the liquid red as it dripped to the ground. Yuuri’s grip on his shirt loosened, fingertips quivering as he tried to reach for Viktor’s face.

“It’ll be...okay,” the omega whispered, his own tears trickling from the corners of his eyes. 

“Please… please don’t go. Yuuri, I can’t-without you I can’t-”

“Don’t cry, V-Viktor…don't cry.”

Chris’s hands remained firmly pressed on the younger male’s chest but Yuuri continued to bleed and Viktor can only cry as coldness began creep on Yuuri’s skin.  The omega’s breath hitched, his inhale followed by a gurgled cough.

Blood stained Yuuri’s lips.

Chris released a shaky curse. Viktor tightened his hold, sobbing as he leaned down until their foreheads touched, thumb hastily wiping Yuuri’s jaw.

Red. Everything was red, red, red- 

“W-we still need to go to Hasetsu together, remember?” Viktor said, voice cracking at the paleness of the younger male’s lips. “I s-still need to meet Yuuko and Takeshi, don’t I? And your dance teacher, Minako. Where was it you said you w-wanted to take me? T-That old castle?”

Chris turned his head away, hazel eyes closing tightly as he listened to Viktor’s words.  Yuuri nodded weakly, lips twisting into an agonisingly small smile.

He was beautiful.

Even as he laid in Viktor’s arms in this macabre scene of red, he was beautiful. Hauntingly ethereal even so close to the end and the sight will plague Viktor’s nightmares in the years to come, tormenting his dreams until he was screaming awake to the phantom warmth of blood soaking his skin.

“H-Hasetsu castle,” Yuuri’s voice was barely audible now, “to s-see… the ninj-” the omega trailed off, releasing a slow, shallow breath. The miniscule tilt of his lips slowly dropped.

Viktor’s tears fell harder as he rocked the boy back and forth.

“Y-yes, the ninjas. We’re going to do that right, like you always wanted? S-so stay awake Yuuri, stay awake. Please, please for me-” The alpha shook his head violently, refusing to accept the fading light in the brown orbs. “Yuuri, I still h-had something to tell you, remember?”

‘Just once.' 

Yuuri’s skin was almost ashen now, his chest barely rising. Viktor grabbed the omega’s wrist, clasping the smaller hand –cold, cold, too cold- in his own once more.

'Listen to me say it once.'

He had practiced countless times in his head, repeating the words again and again like a prayer, waiting for the time when Yuuri would finally be ready to hear them.

“No, no…please, please… you promised to stay by my side, you promised! Don’t go, Yuuri, please… please don’t leave me-” he trailed off in a cry when the dark eyelashes began to drop.

“ ’m not…letting go,” Yuuri murmured, voice too low and breathless. “W-won’t let go… p-promise.”

Viktor pressed a trembling kiss on the omega’s forehead.

“Viktor…” The younger boy whispered, brows crumpling as his hand began to fall limp, “ …’s cold.”

Their surroundings dissolved into nothing. Viktor sat paralysed on the floor, the sight of the Healer finally arriving and Chris pulling away lost to unseeing eyes, Yakov’s pleas for him to let Yuuri go falling on unhearing ears. Viktor’s entire being was centred on the boy in his arms drenched in red.

The unspoken words echoed in the silverette’s mind, drowned by the suffocating emptiness that was sweeping everything away.

‘I needed to tell you-’

Saying them once wouldn’t have been enough. Not twice, thrice or a thousand times. 

What a fool he was for waiting.

‘-I love you.’

Yuuri’s eyes fluttered shut, the light on the brown orbs completely dimming, becoming so empty as he took one final breath. “Vitya…”

‘Yuuri, I love you.’

The deafening silence rang loud in Viktor’s ears. 

Cold. It was so cold.

He was drifting.

“-thinks he’s dead. Look at him. He’s in pain and you’re only prolonging it.”

“His heart is still beating and that’s all that matters. You’ve already made your move Lord Ledovskoy but I won’t let you touch the boy, not when he’s under my care.”

He floated aimlessly in the coldness that surrounded him, thoughts clouded and murky as he descended further into the emptiness awaiting him.

“…you’re a stubborn old Healer, aren’t you? Fine. Attend to him all you want, he doesn’t have long anyway. But you’ll keep this to yourself, Fedunov. No one will know he’s still alive. No one.”

“You... I can’t let you do tha-”

“As far as everyone knows, Yuuri Katsuki is dead. It’s going to remain that way. Keep your mouth shut, Fedunov or else your poor little granddaughter will find herself without her beloved grandfather by tomorrow.”

“You… are a cruel man.”

“I do what I have to. The rest of the Council is on my side in this.”

“All of them?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

“…The king will find him. No matter what corner you whisk the boy to, the king will find him. And then he’ll find you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The boy’s breaths are numbered. He’ll never open his eyes again.”

The never-ending darkness continued to engulf Yuuri, slowly coaxing the omega to fall into the hollow abyss of cold, lonely numbness. But something tugged him back, refusing to let him go.

“And if he does? What will you do then?”

Something was pulling at him, willing and pleading for him to stay.

“…Yuuri Katsuki is nothing but a memory. And, dead or otherwise, he will stay as nothing but a memory.”  

Yuuri reached for the warmth, clinging to it with all his might as soon as it was within his grasp. His steady mantra of ‘-can’t let go, can’t let go. I won't-' resonated loudly in defiance against the black void threatening to drown him.

“…I truly hope for your sake, Lord Ledovskoy, that the king is as merciful as his parents raised him to be.”

‘I won’t let go. I won’tIwon’t-’

Chapter Text

Viktor held him from behind, breath warm on his neck as the alpha pressed his face onto the juncture of his shoulder. They sat on the carpeted floor at the end of the canopy bed, his back against the silverette’s chest. Yuuri gripped at the arms wound tightly around his abdomen, staring at the gold on his finger.

“-here you are, still alive. Awake and breathing.”

His lips parted as he began to speak, telling Viktor of the first time his consciousness had returned in fractures of pain and disorientation, waking on the small bed surrounded by nothing but white walls. He spoke of his days in a confined room and of the endless time he spent staring at the white sheets on his lap as he breathed in the smell of sterile air.

He told Viktor of that one time he woke to the unnerving prickles of menacing gazes, to the unsettling unfamiliarity of unknown scents.

“- like a weed that just won’t die.”

Viktor remained silent, pulling the omega closer as Yuuri continued to tell him of Lord Ledovskoy and the five unfamiliar faces that had sneered back at him that one time the Council had visited him.

“-where you’ll never be found.”

Those five other Council members had all been strangers to Yuuri and the omega couldn’t tell Viktor the names he didn’t know.

“Hasetsu is a beautiful place. So quiet and peaceful.”

But they all had mouths just as vicious as the Council Head’s and Yuuri will never forget those people or the conversation that sealed what became of him. It will always be carved in his memory - their faces and their words.

“- such a shame if your parents and sister were to suddenly meet their end like you did.”

Yuuri’s eyes stung when he spoke of the threats that had been directed to the family he had left behind, remembering how the knowledge that they were safe had been one of the few things that kept him going.

“His childish devotion to you is nothing but a delusion. Wake up, boy.”

He unburied all the lies the Council fed him, voice cracking as he recalled the way he had shrunk away from their poisonous words that struck at his every insecurity, feeding at his every uncertainty.

“-had numerous partners for his ruts, after all. How special could you possibly be?”

Viktor’s scent had slowly been turning acrid from the time the omega began speaking, a quiet indication of his anger, but the sudden spike in the bitter scent, sharp and overpowering, made Yuuri pause.

“Think it through, Yuuri Katsuki and think it through well. There’s nothing left for you here.” 

Yuuri squeezed the alpha’s forearm, waiting until the silver-head took a slow, deep breath before continuing.

“My granddaughter. She’s only six. My daughter and her mate passed away a couple of years ago-”

He told Viktor of the Healer’s struggles to mend whatever he could, of how the things the old beta could have done and wanted to do was constricted by his devotion to the person that needed him the most. His voice became quieter and quieter as he spoke of his final choice to be hidden away, far from the clutches of the Council and what they had intended for him.

“Would it make it easier for you, Lord Katsuki, if I told you that he’s well without you? Even if it wasn’t the truth?”

Yuuri’s tone wavered, words sounding like a confession as he spoke of his despair at turning his back on his family, of his guilt at leaving behind the arms that had held him when he had bled empty and cold.

“Then… he’s well without you, Lord Katsuki.”

Viktor pushed his face further onto Yuuri’s neck as the omega finally finished speaking, inhaling deeply the faint scent of cinnamon and honey–of warmth and of home - that was slowly becoming apparent without the aid of scent-blockers to hide it away.

“…Learn to live without you.” The alpha released a shaky exhale. “Have somebody beside me that… isn’t you.” Lips skimmed against the soft skin of Yuuri’s neck. “You really believed I could… learn to want someone else?”

Yuuri lowered his head.

“It’s always been you I want. Always. What more did I have to do for you to believe that?”

The omega leaned his head to the side, nudging his temple against the side of Viktor’s head. “I believed you, I did. You did everything,” his voice cracked as he spoke. “But they were right. You’re… you” –perfect, beautiful and intangible- “and I’m… me.”-too common and too plain. Being an omega as the only redeeming quality- “There’s nothing I can possibly offer you. You can have anyone, Viktor. Anyone you wanted.”

“…I wanted you,” the alpha murmured on Yuuri's shoulder, storing away the simmering rage at the ones –I’ll kill them. I’ll fucking kill them- who lodged the damning, toxic deceits. “Just you. Nothing more. You didn’t need to give me anything else.”

Yuuri’s face crumpled. “My family. Sir Fedunov’s granddaughter…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t take that risk, Viktor.”

Viktor didn’t say anything for a while, head tilting slightly to lean his cheek between Yuuri’s shoulder blades.

“…Were you happy in the Cialdini manor?” The silver-head eventually asked. “…Did you sleep well at night?” Brown eyes slowly shifted down, gaze locking once more to the gleam of the gold on their fingers. Viktor’s hold tightened at the silence, fingers twitching around the omega’s hips. “Did you dream in peace?”

Yuuri bit his lips.

‘No,’ he wanted to say, recalling the sleepless nights he had spent curled in the small bed in the Cialdini mansion, crying for his family and for his home, for familiar strong arms to sweep him away in an embrace. ‘Not for a long time. The few times I did, it was always to the memory of you… your voice and your scent.’

But Yuuri didn’t tell him of this the same way Viktor didn’t speak of the countless nights he spent staring blankly at the distant water at the side of the palace after waking from another blood-drenched nightmare.

“Did you find others to share your smile with?” The alpha continued. “Other reasons to make you laugh?"

Flashes of Phichit and Minami, of the Cialdini manor and the small town where he had started his life over flitted across his mind.

“I-” Yuuri swallowed, hesitating at the underlying accusation in Viktor’s questions, “I was… learning.”

Somewhere in those four years, he had come to accept that his quiet life in the Cialdini mansion was his reality, his future, and who he had been in the past was something meant to be locked away in his heart. Yes, with time he had learned how to smile and laugh once again but the sincerity behind every tilt of his lips had always been dimmed by the ghosts of those he left behind.

“I was learning… to pick everything back up again,” Yuuri continued.

Learning, difficult as it had been in the beginning, to be satisfied with the knowledge that his family was safe, forcing himself to be content with the few whispers in the streets about Viktor’s well-being.

Those had all been enough, it had to be. He wouldn’t have been able to get anything more. 

The rhythmic beat of his heart had stayed strong and his chest continued to rise and fall steadily with every breath he took in the Cialdini mansion. And yet there had been endless times he found himself in tears. The façade he wore during the day had always been temporary, always swallowed away by the underlying sorrow lingering beneath the surface.

He had been content at best.

“I thought I could do it,” Yuuri whispered.  “Just endure it all and begin again. I thought someday, I’d… be able to just… just-”

But he was never really happy. Never truly alive.

“-live a new life.”

-without you.

Tense silence stretched between the two of them.

The arms around the omega slowly loosened, dropping completely as Viktor shifted, rising from the floor to stand in front of him. Yuuri watched the alpha looming above, the blue eyes hidden behind silver hair.

“…Right here,” Viktor’s voice was low, words coming out through clenched teeth and Yuuri felt the fear beginning to stir at the near-growl in the voice, “is where you were always supposed to be.”

Large hands hauled the omega from the floor, shoving the smaller body on the bed.

“Not in the Cialdini manor.” Viktor straddled his waist, hands fisting on the sheets by Yuuri’s head as he caged the younger man beneath him. “Not back in Hasetsu.” Trembling fingers removed the glasses perched on Yuuri’s face, the barely concealed anger and hurt making every muscle on Viktor’s body taut. “Not anywhere else but with me.”

The silverette grabbed the omega’s wrist, the vice-like grip making Yuuri wince as their hands were steered in-front of his face.

He stared at the gold rings on their fingers, breath catching in his throat.

“You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. No one can tell me otherwise. No one.” The alpha leaned down, blue orbs revealing a whirlwind of emotions. “Not even you.”

Yuuri wrenched his hand away, shaking his head as he pushed against Viktor’s chest. Cerulean eyes narrowed in response, the expression on Viktor’s face darkening.

The omega pushed harder, panic engulfing him when his clothes were torn away, shivering as his naked body was bared by force once more.

The older male grabbed his wrists tightly, pinning them above his head when Yuuri attempted to bolt from the bed, twisting and thrashing all the while. Viktor’s upper lip curled into a silent snarl, the beginning of a growl reverberating from his chest but Yuuri continued to pull away, desperation overriding the instincts telling him to stay still at the scent of the irate alpha.

Teeth pressed firmly against the side of his neck, threatening to break skin and the raven-head immediately halted, rigid as he was pushed back down on the sheets. The teeth disappeared with a lick, replaced by heated kisses that danced up the younger male’s jaw. The hold on his wrists disappeared and Yuuri gripped Viktor’s shoulders as Viktor’s mouth descended down his collar bone.

There was abrupt stillness when the alpha’s lips brushed against Yuuri’s chest, the kiss lingering on the pale scar placed right above his heart.

Brown eyes dampened with tears when the silverette slowly pulled back, the tension in the larger body seeming to dissipate as Viktor stared at the omega beneath him, eyes flickering with something Yuuri couldn’t identify.

Viktor slowly bowed his head, strands of silver hair casting a shadow across his face.

“Never again,” he whispered, voice strained as he leaned down. “No one will take you from me ever again.”

Yuuri pushed against his shoulders forcefully, tearing his lips away from the kiss dominated by tongue and teeth. He let out a thin cry, arching away from the heat between his legs as Viktor grinded his hips forward. Yuuri scratched at the older male’s biceps as the silver-head’s mouth, hot and moist, enclosed around one of his nipple, teasing with slow licks and light sucks until the nub was hardened before moving to the other.

Yuuri bit at the knuckles of his hand to bite back the muffled sounds trying to escape from his throat, brown eyes clenching shut when the alpha’s weight shifted lower. Viktor pressed a chaste kiss on the soft skin of the omega’s thigh, spreading the nimble legs further apart and hoisting them over his shoulders.

“Stop… Viktor, sto-” Yuuri trailed off with a hitch when fingertips grazed beneath his navel, trailing down and down until it reached the base of his member.

He burrowed his face in the pillows, hiding his face as Viktor’s hand enclosed around him, -Again. Viktor was forcing him again. How far would it be tonight?- slowly stroking upwards with a twist of his wrist.

The silverette continued to pump the hardening cock, strokes unhurried but measured as he swiped at the drops of pre-come gathering at the slit. The finger of his other hand began to trace the omega’s puckered rim, teasing with the pad of his fingertip until slick began to trickle out. Viktor growled at the intoxicating scent, quickening his strokes until enough slick had pooled to ease the entry of his finger as he slowly pressed inside the burning warmth.

Viktor nipped at the omega’s thigh, pouring out a thick wave of his scent when smaller hands grasped at his wrists. Yuuri fell back on the bed with a whine.

The silver-head released the omega’s erect member, moving to spread his palm across Yuuri’s belly and fixating his attention on the tight heat of Yuuri’s flesh. He began to move his finger, sliding the digit out carefully, pausing to rub the clenching entrance before slowly pressing back in.

Viktor kept his movements languid, waiting until the tension in the younger man’s abdomen began to fade, body quickly getting accustomed to the stretch. Yuuri stifled a whimper when a second finger began to enter, biting back a cry as both digits continued to press in, only stopping once they were fully inside of him. Wet kisses peppered the raven-head’s stomach, coaxing his body to relax as Viktor began to move his wrist once again.

Every slide of the fingers was careful, every thrust deep as it stretched him - thorough as it prepared him. Viktor was preparing him. No, nono-

“No! No, I can’t! Viktor, I can’t-”

A pained gasp escaped Yuuri’s mouth when three fingers began to fill him, pushing in steadily until they were knuckles-deep inside. He clenched around the intrusive digits, panting while he willed his body and mind to calm.

Viktor didn’t move, letting Yuuri adjust at his own time. The older man began to massage the omega’s waist, rubbing small, comforting circles on the lithe hips and Yuuri could only shake his head weakly.

It made everything hurt more – this tenderness in Viktor’s touch. It blurred away the painful distinction that Yuuri had drawn between who Viktor had been –Vitya. VityaVitya- and who he had become, making everything that was happening between them so much harder to accept.

“Viktor,” Yuuri pleaded, “no more...” 

He covered his face with his hands as the fingers pulled back –too much, toomuch- thighs shaking when they slowly sank back in. Not like this, notlikethis-

The silver-head leaned forward, quieting the omega with his lips as he continued to finger him, forcing his body to open and yield. Slick continued to pool out, coating Viktor’s hand and trickling on the sheets. The burn of the stretch began to ebb away and Yuuri’s breaths came out in quiet, strangled gasps, unable to form the words he wanted to beg for it all to stop, for Viktor to release him.

“I’m not letting you go,” Viktor murmured. Lips and teeth sucked along the column of the omega’s neck, leaving lasting marks that Yuuri will stare at in the following days to come as he watches his reflection in the mirror.

“Not tonight.”

Yuuri thrashed his head against the pillows as the alpha’s hand moved faster.

“Not tomorrow.”

A high-pitched noise escaped the omega’s throat when the fingers hit something inside him that ignited hot, white pleasure, body buckling while the fingers continued to hit that same bundle of nerves.

“Not ever.”

“Yuuri, I’m here. I won’t let go, okay? I w-won’t. So you have to hold on too. Don’t let g-”

It had been like being submerged in ice the very first time his eyes locked with the familiar blue orbs once more back in that small, dark room of the Cialdini mansion.

“ ...‘m here. Not… letting g-”

The hands that had pinned him down so roughly had been alarming, the alpha’s growls of warning so paralysing.

“You made me promises, Yuuri.”

“No, no…please, please… you promised to stay by my side, you promised!” 

But it had all paled in comparison to the devastating realisation that Viktor hadn’t been able to stitch himself back together in his absence, not even close.

“Promises that I won’t let you break.”

And it made Yuuri almost wish that he did die that night all those years ago - almost yearn for the coldness to return and consume him completely if it meant never having to witness the pieces he had broken Viktor into nor see the fragments Viktor had further shattered himself to.

“ ’m not…letting go.”

Yuuri panted as the fingers finally pulled away, shutting his eyes tightly at the heat he couldn’t control flaring down his spine when Viktor brought the glistening fingers to his lips, tongue lapping at the digits that had been inside him.

He attempted to close his legs as Viktor rose, stripping away his own clothes to reveal his sculpted figure. Yuuri began to turn his body away, flinching from the heat of the hard length brushing against his thighs. The alpha didn’t allow him, pinning his shoulders back down on the bed. A low rumble emitted from the silverette’s throat, overpowering pheromones suddenly dominating the air, thick and heavy, and Yuuri’s head spun, battling with the instincts hissing at him to submit.

Wet sounds accompanied by low grunts reached the omega’s ears as Viktor began to stroke his own cock, spreading the pre-come leaking from the swollen tip. Viktor continued to pump his cock slowly, waiting for Yuuri to look at him.

Brown eyes cracked open, clashing with blue orbs that reflected the finality of how tonight will end.

“Don’t. Please, don’t-”

Viktor held the base of his engorged length, setting the blunt head against the slickened entrance.

“N-no… Vikto-”

He pressed his lips against Yuuri’s, slowly pushing forward.

Yuuri jolted, immediately tensing with a sharp inhale and Viktor pulled back, the heat from his throbbing member momentarily disappearing. The alpha rubbed calming circles on the omega’s hip with his thumb, waiting for the younger man’s breathing to even.

Viktor pressed forward once more, applying a steady pressure this time while his fingers dug on Yuuri’s hip, keeping the omega still.

The silverette groaned when his cock breached the tight ring of muscle, stopping his movement just as the head was completely swallowed by the slick, burning heat. He gripped the base of his pulsing member -so fucking tight- gritting his teeth to keep himself from coming at the wet, constricting warmth. The alpha breathed heavily as he pulled out, pausing to nose at Yuuri’s neck before slowly pressing back in, a little deeper this time.

Mine.

Viktor repeated the motion again, slow and steady, sinking just an inch deeper every time he entered. He leaned back, dilated eyes fixated on where their bodies joined, hypnotised at the way the puckered entrance clung to him every time he pulled out, only to give way when he pressed back inside.

He’s mine.

Viktor’s chest rumbled at the sight of Yuuri sweating and panting beneath him, almost half impaled on his cock.

The primal part of him clawed and howled, growling to embed his mark on Yuuri’s neck, demanding to cover the omega in his scent and fill him with his seed until there was no question as to who Yuuri belonged to.

My omega. My Yuuri. So, so beautiful.

Yuuri scrabbled at the sheets, gasping as he tried to breathe through the overwhelming pressure slowly forcing itself inside him. He took deep, strangled breaths, almost choking at the scent of pheromones and sweat and them. The urge to submit and bare his neck was suffocating, clashing with the panic and want to escape.

Everything was too hot, too intense and he felt trapped beneath the larger form. It was too much and Yuuri couldn’t stop thrashing, desperate to pull away from the intrusion.

Viktor reached forward, hips stilling just as his cock was half-way inside. He brushed back the sweaty hair on the omega’s forehead, stroking the flushed cheeks with the back of his fingers.

“Shhh... you’re okay. Relax, Любимый. You’re doing well.”

Yuuri bit his lips hard enough to taste the metallic tang of blood.

There it was again - the gentle hands and the gentle words, messing with his mind and making everything blur. Yuuri detested it, the way it revealed glimpses of the Viktor he left behind –Vitya. VityaVitya- drowning beneath all the anger and hurt boiling in the alpha’s blood.

It was harrowing to have his very being marked and claimed without his consent, unbearably agonising when it was being done by the one he trusted the most.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

Yuuri opened his eyes, pleading at the alpha with watery, brown orbs.

‘It hurts, it hurts, Iloveyoupleasestop-’

“Vitya,” he whimpered. 

Viktor froze. 

Yuuri continued to cry softly as his hands clutched the bed-sheets. Viktor slowly shifted, movements stiff as he wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist, lowering his head. Silver strands brushed against Yuuri’s shoulders.

“Say it again,” Viktor whispered.

The omega fisted at the covers, needing to hold onto something –anything solid that will ground him. Wrapping his arms around Viktor’s neck, he wept quietly as they held each other in a mockery of an embrace.

“No more. Please, I c-can’t… V-Vitya-” 

Viktor snarled, hips surging forward as he buried himself to the hilt in the scorching heat. Yuuri’s cry echoed in the darkness as the alpha’s teeth sank into his neck.

Mine. Mine.

The mating bond snapped into place.

Blood blossomed from the wound, staining the alpha’s lips as red trickled down Yuuri’s neck. Neither moved a muscle, barely breathing in the sudden stillness in the room.

Warmth began to spread from Yuuri’s core, different from the burning heat of their naked bodies and different from the throbbing length splitting him apart. It intensified as it coursed through his veins, making him hyperaware of the stinging mark at the juncture of his neck and of Viktor above him, surrounding him - inside him.

The omega shuddered as the teeth pulled back, a wet tongue licking at the fresh mark.

Yuuri’s breath hitched when Viktor began to pull out, more slick pooling at the slow drag of the large cock inside him. The alpha paused, rubbing the swollen head against the twitching hole before slowly sinking back in.

The pace of the thrusts started slow. In and out, in and out, again and again. So slow and deep, opening him in a way that no one ever has – baring him in a way that no one else ever will.

Yuuri groaned, trying to fight the thick fog beginning to cloud his senses. He trembled at the rush of fleeting emotions and murky thoughts that didn’t belong to him -always mine. My mate. Never leaving me again- washing over his mind.

His arms around Viktor’s neck began to loosen. 

“W-won’t let go… p-promise.”

Viktor’s hips dove forward and Yuuri arched his back, mewling when the rhythm of the thrusts became a little faster, the throbbing member impaling him a little harder.

Submit.

The pull of the mating bond called to him, willing the omega to yield. Yuuri shivered, gasping as he pressed his face onto Viktor’s neck. Wet squelches resounded around the room, the sound of slapping skin becoming louder and louder.

‘-can’t let go, can’t let go. I won't-'

Yuuri tightened his hold around the broad shoulders, body rocking with every thrust of the alpha’s hips. Viktor grunted, nudging his nose against Yuuri’s jaw before claiming the raven-head’s lips in a heated kiss.

The thrusts suddenly halted as Viktor canted his hips back, pulling out completely and leaving the omega clenching at the sudden emptiness. Their lips separated with a wet smack as Viktor tilted back, watching the mist in Yuuri’s eyes and feeling the internal battle that the omega was trying so hard to overcome. 

Submit.  

The alpha plunged back in, pounding into the moist depths as he clutched Yuuri’s body closer. 

Brown eyes clamped shut, caving in to the call of the mating bond. Yuuri’s body jerked with every thrust, the smaller frame trembling as the head of Viktor’s cock hit something that sent white sparks behind his eyelids.

The alpha’s pace was relentless now, growling lowly as he continued to ram his throbbing cock inside the pulsating heat. Yuuri pushed his face harder against the crux of the silverette's neck, never releasing his grip even when the base of Viktor’s shaft began to swell. The alpha’s movements became staggered as his knot began to form, tugging at the omega’s already stretched rim.

‘I won’t let go-’

Viktor’s mouth pressed against the underside of Yuuri’s jaw, lips descending down until it reached his neck, tongue lapping at the fresh mating mark.

Yuuri muffled his scream against Viktor’s shoulder as he became undone. His release splattered on their abdomen, the tight, burning heat in his core uncoiling while their surroundings dissolved away, his senses shattering into blazing, white pleasure.

Large hands grasped at Yuuri’s waist, the rhythm of the thrusts becoming erratic as the alpha’s knot continued to swell. The omega could only whimper at the overstimulation as he writhed beneath the silverette.

‘-I won’tIwon’t-’

Viktor pushed forward roughly, forcibly tugging Yuuri's body towards him with a low growl, his knot popping through the tight entrance as he buried his length fully in the velvet walls. Yuuri’s arms tightened around the silverette’s neck, nails digging into his shoulder blades and leaving crescent marks. 

‘So come back to me.’

Molten heat filled Yuuri to the brim, shooting into him in thick spurts as Viktor reached his peak with a guttural snarl. Viktor’s cock continued to pulse, knot swelling fully and locking the two together, their bodies joined so deeply, so intimately, that the raven-head couldn’t tell where he ended and Viktor began.

Yuuri turned his face, pressing his trembling lips to Viktor’s temple at the hint of pain lacing the abrupt stretch. He cried silently as the silverette panted harshly against his ears, feeling the tremors racing across the alpha’s frame as Viktor continued to pump his seed in bursts of wet warmth.

Yuuri closed his eyes, tightening his hold as tears trickled down his cheeks.

‘Please come back to me-’

Chapter Text

Mari stared at the scripted writing on the paper, reading each sentence thoroughly once more before looking at her parents in confusion.

“Did… something happen?” She asked.

Her parents shook their heads.

“Not that we’re aware of,” her father said, brows scrunched in equal puzzlement.

“Why’s he requesting us to visit the palace now? After all this time…” Mari’s mouth dipped into a tight-lipped frown. “There hasn’t been a reason to go there since…” she trailed off. The female alpha paused, biting her lip upon seeing the pang of ache in her mother’s eyes, gaze shifting to the floor at the twinge of hurt on her father’s face. “...I’m sorry,” she apologised quietly, guilt arising at causing the solemn mood.

Four years.

Four years since they lost Yuuri and the mere mention of her little brother still brought that same stab of pain, still so deep as though it all happened just the day before.

Her mother shook her head. “Don’t be, dear,” Hiroko offered her daughter a small, sad smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes.

‘Mother’s smiles haven’t reached her eyes since the night you were taken from us, Yuuri,’ Mari thought, feeling her own chest ache. It was something that had always helped in coping with the loss – speaking to Yuuri in her mind as if the omega was standing right beside her. ‘Ah… I miss her smiles almost as much as I miss yours, Yuuri.’

“You’re right. It’s quite sudden for Vicchan to ask us to visit the palace,” Hiroko continued.

They hadn’t returned to the palace since Yuuri’s ashes had been spread. There had been no reason to. Her father’s immediate request to retire from his position as General had been approved with no question, the elder Katsuki’s choice to stay permanently in Hasetsu to grieve and heal with the rest of his family requiring no further elaboration. 

Viktor hadn’t objected. Viktor hadn’t really reacted much at all. The silverette had only blinked at them slowly, blue eyes blank as he nodded mutely at their departing words.

“If it was anything urgent, he would have said so, wouldn’t he?” Mari asked as she glanced back at the paper. The letter was brief, simply requesting the Katsukis to come to the palace in light of a private matter arising. Short and formal. Almost cryptic.

‘How odd,’ the female alpha frowned.

“Yes, of course,” Toshiya nodded.

“… Do you-” Mari hesitated. “Do you think he’s… found who-” she swallowed, unable to finish her sentence. 

Her hands clenched unconsciously, remembering the last memory she had of Yuuri, bathed in red as he laid lifeless in Viktor’s arms. The letter crumpled between her fingers at the lost echoes of Viktor’s heart-wrenching cries, the pangs of her terror and disbelief resurfacing along with the nightmare of a memory.

Toshiya and Hiroko shared a look of concern before glancing back at their daughter. 

Mari remained quiet, lost in her own thoughts as she stared at the floor, momentarily re-living that moment when Yuuri had slipped away. She had been in that hall, watching it all happen as though she had been outside of her own body, clutching her chest in horror as she fell to her knees, unable to take even one step closer to Yuuri.

‘I wanted it to be a nightmare. Just a nightmare.’

Mari blinked, returning from her wandering thoughts when her father’s hand gently grasped at her shoulder, squeezing lightly in comfort. She looked up, sad eyes meeting her father’s own wistful ones.

“Maybe, Mari-chan. I don’t know,” Toshiya shook his head. “But he’s asking us to come as soon as possible.” He glanced at his wife by his side. “It’s best not to keep the king waiting.” Hiroko nodded in response.

Mari glanced back down at her hands, smoothing the creases of the paper before skimming through the letter once more. ‘After all these years… can Viktor finally put what happened to you to rest, Yuuri?’

Even after all this time, the emptiness was as desolate as it had always been. The hollowness was still able to engulf the distant sounds of Yuuko’s sobs and Takeshi’s disbelief, still able to shroud the memory of Minako’s wordless tears and Hasetsu’s quiet mourning.

The sadness that came with being a witness to the sorrow of others could never compare to the void Yuuri left behind. No, the tears of others could never compare - not to the sheer agony brought by the emptiness that Mari knew will never disappear.

Her mother’s cries had been ones of pure anguish, her father’s attempts in consolation only proving fruitless when he himself had been in tears and Mari had spent many nights alone, chin resting on her knees as she sat under the stars that hadn’t shone quite so brightly anymore. The days after Yuuri’s passing had all been a foggy memory, the reality of it all not quite sinking in even while she had watched Viktor’s shaking hands spread the ashes across that lake Yuuri had loved so much. Mari couldn’t really remember the long journey back home or the uncomfortable silence of the days following their return to Hasetsu.

But she remembered it well – that quiet night when her own grief finally caught up to her, when the jarring reality of Yuuri’s death finally came crashing down.

The evening skies had been clear, the moon high and bright and she had been by herself, finding solace in the gentle waves that had touched her feet as she walked along the beach. The sands beneath her heels had been as soft as it ever was, the winds of the seaside as calming as it had always been.

‘It was the silence,’ Mari mused to herself, the corner of her lips trembling as her eyes began to sting with unshed tears. ‘I couldn’t take the silence.’

Without the quiet pit pat of Yuuri’s footsteps behind her, the silence had been unbearable and having to face the fact that Yuuri was truly gone, that he would truly never return, was akin to being doused in gasoline while bathing in a sea of flames. Mari hadn’t been able to accept it, not until that night and when it had finally hit her, there had been nothing to stop the flood of tears while she kneeled on the sand, sight spinning at the sudden agony as she clutched her stomach, the ache of her own cries being her only company.

When she had returned home, eyes red-rimmed and tears still pouring down her cheeks, her parents had immediately scooped her in their arms. They had spent the remainder of that night huddled together, grieving as a family on the floor of their home that had become just a touch colder since their return.

‘Mother and Father still look for you sometimes, you know,’ Mari thought, stealing a glance towards her parents. ‘They can’t help it, really. I do it sometimes too – just stare in open space and just… wish for you to be there again.’

Even now she would still find her mother staring at Yuuri’s old bedroom door, could still catch her father glancing at open doorways in the house as though expecting the omega to suddenly appear, peeking back at them with his closed-eyed smile.

Mari shook her head to clear it, setting the letter aside before looking at her parents once more. “We should get ready then?"

They nodded in response and Mari took a deep breath, glancing outside at the sky through the glass windows.

‘Yuuri…’

It had always been comforting to think -to make herself believe- that perhaps somewhere, in a place of tranquillity and beauty and happiness – tranquil and beautiful and happy just like you, Yuuri- Yuuri was listening to her, watching over them in his own utopia of a paradise, patiently waiting for the day they would finally all be reunited.

‘I hope you’re well, little brother… wherever you are.’

Glazed brown eyes blinked owlishly at the wall, back turned from the warmth of the body beside him as his thoughts continued to drift away. Yuuri burrowed his head further into the pillows as fingers resumed in tracing lazy patterns on his arms, closing his eyes at the slow, chaste kisses being placed by soft lips along his neck. Yuuri shied away from the touches dancing on his skin. He shook his head at the gnawing urge to turn and curl into Viktor’s chest, shrinking away from the yearning pulling at him to nuzzle his face on the alpha’s neck.

The healing mark on his neck throbbed, the bond still far too new to be denied.

A quiet whimper escaped from the omega’s throat when the longing tugging at him became almost unbearable, imploring at him to close the distance.

Viktor shifted at the sound, the warmth radiating from his body sinking deeper into Yuuri’s skin as the alpha pressed closer, nudging his face onto the back of Yuuri’s neck and inhaling their intermingling scent. The itching ache dampened, slowly diminishing until it was nothing but a prickle at the back of his mind and Yuuri released a slight breath of relief.

The omega opened his eyes wearily, glancing at the arms loosely draped over his body. He watched Viktor’s hand as it drifted to his hips, palm giving his waist a light squeeze before slowly pulling away.

“You need to get up, love.”

Yuuri sank further into the bed.

“You can’t stay locked in here lying in bed all day again, Yuuri.”

The omega shook his head, black hair falling across his face. Fingers combed through the dark strands that had been steadily getting longer with every passing day. The alpha leaned down, placing a soft kiss on Yuuri’s cheek.

“You have to get up at some point,” Viktor murmured.

Yuuri remained silent as he stared at the grey morning sky peeking through the half-opened curtains of the large window. He hadn’t left the room for days, spending most of his time laying at the edge of the bed and blinking at nothing. He had refused to step even one foot passed the door, choosing to bury himself beneath the pillows and the sheets of the canopy bed. He didn’t want to go out. He couldn’t stand the thought of other people seeing him the way he was now.

The mere suggestion of leaving the room with Viktor’s undeniable claim being displayed so evidently on his neck was too distressing.

“Yuuri.” Fingers caressed the omega’s cheek. “There’s going to be people waiting for you soon, love. You need to get ready.”

Yuuri's eyelashes flickered as he glanced at Viktor from the corner of his vision.

“… Who?” The raven-head asked, voice hoarse from the near-muted state he had enforced on himself for the past few days.

Viktor’s gaze lingered on him for numerous heartbeats before answering.

“Your parents and your sister.”

Yuuri shot up from the bed, immediately twisting around to stare at the alpha with wide eyes.

“M-my family’s… my family’s coming here?” he swallowed, heart thudding at the news. “They’re really coming here?”

Viktor nodded. “They should be arriving this afternoon.”

‘Mama and Papa?’ His family was coming here. ‘And Nee-chan?’

Yuuri blinked back his tears. The desire to hold his family close suddenly bubbling in his chest became overwhelming, knocking his breath away.

His family was coming here.

He’ll be able to see his family again. He can smile and laugh and cry with his family again - will finally be allowed to curl in his mother’s arms once more, lean his head on his sister’s shoulders and feel his father’s hands ruffling his hair. He’ll be able to hold them once again, surrounded himself in the comforts of their scents. Yuuri’s chest soared as he imagined the burst of complete, utter joy as they finally-

The elation came to a crashing halt when Viktor pressed a soft kiss to his temple.

His family was coming here.

Yuuri’s shoulders sagged, the previous exhilaration immediately decimated by the sudden dawn of fear and dread.

His family will see him again. Only now, they will see him like this – mated and marked. Claimed against his will I'm tainted- 

What would his family think?

‘Wrong. It’s all so wrong.’ Brown eyes fell on the sheets surrounding him. ‘Why does it all have to be so wrong?’

The younger man shook his head slowly when Viktor’s thumb caressed his cheek, certain that the alpha could feel his bouts of emotions and mounting anxiety. Yuuri’s heart sank, knowing deep down that he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing his family the way he was now, couldn’t bear hearing or let alone answer the questions they would inevitably have.

“How much do they know?” Yuuri asked in a whisper of a voice, hair cascading across his face as he slowly bowed his head. ‘…How could I possibly face them like this?’

Viktor tucked the black stands behind his ears, fully aware of the internal conflict raging on in Yuuri’s mind. “Not much, really. They don’t know you’re here.”

The stiffness in the omega’s shoulders alleviated slightly, the answer placating some of the distress. His family not being aware of his return to the palace, of him even being alive, meant that they didn’t know of what had transpired between him and Viktor - didn't know of this mark on his neck. They didn’t know of what Viktor had done. Yuuri didn’t want them to know.

He didn’t want anyone to know.

‘What now?’ The omega stared at his hands folded in his lap. His throat tightened at the glint of the gold band on his finger and at the itch of the mark on his neck, eyes watering at the prickling sensation of constantly being watched, of never truly being alone in his own mind. ‘My own mind... but I’m not mine. I don’t belong to myself. Not anymore.’

He was Viktor’s now.

He was Viktor’s and there wasn’t anything Yuuri could ever do to take back the parts of himself –my body and my thoughts. Each and every part of me. Everything. Even my heart. How could you still have my heart- that Viktor took from him. Viktor will always be there – will always be part of him in every essence and this ring, this mark and their scents will always be a constant reminder of everything Yuuri didn’t have a choice on.

“You ought to get ready soon, love.”

Going outside was inevitable, no matter how much longer he could stand to stay in this room and he knew this. ‘But I don’t want to…’

Yuuri chewed on his lips. 

He didn’t want to face other people with Viktor’s scent ingrained in him deeper than his skin. He didn’t want to listen to the questions he wouldn’t have answers for. He didn’t want other people’s disbelief, their shock or their pity.

Yuuri hadn’t wanted to do many things he had done.

‘–didn’t choose to leave you or my family behind-’

But nothing was ever his choice anymore.

‘-didn’t want to lie beneath you or kiss you or have you inside me the way you forced me to. I don’t want your mark on my neck or your scent on my skin. Not like this. Why? Why did it have to happen like this-’

Viktor observed the omega in silence before taking a deep breath, moving to turn and rise from the bed. Yuuri glanced at the alpha, watching the long line of Viktor’s back. The silverette stood by the side of the bed, stretching his arms over his head with a click before looking at Yuuri over his shoulder.

“There’s scent-blockers in the bathroom if that’s what’s troubling you,” Viktor said, nodding towards the direction of the bathroom door. Yuuri’s thoughts came to a screeching halt. “I’ll bring you a high-collared shirt to wear for when your parents and sister arrive.”

He stared at the alpha blankly.

He hated it when Viktor did this - unbend the twisted image and sweeten the bitter thoughts Yuuri had already constructed of this paradox of a person standing in the room with him.

‘How…? How are you doing this to me?’ Yuuri couldn’t stand it. 'Why do you do this to me?’ 

It was disorienting. Perplexing and confusing. 

“Would that be enough, Yuuri?”

Viktor was confusing.

Yuuri tilted his head forward once in a hesitant nod. Blue eyes regarded the omega’s face for a second longer before flickering down to the hands folded neatly on his lap.

“And for the ring…” The alpha turned, beginning to dress himself. “The ring stays on, Yuuri. Don’t take it off.”

So, so confusing.

Yuuri stared at the clothes set out on the canopy bed, more troubled by the intricate weavings of the soft fabric than the low collar of the vest neatly placed in front of him. His gaze shifted to the equally formal black shoes placed neatly at the side of the nightstand, brows scrunching at the careful polished finish.

“These clothes…” the omega started hesitantly, turning to look at Viktor in uncertainty. “They’re…formal.”

Viktor sat by the window-seat, elbows resting on his knees as he absorbed the contemplative look on Yuuri’s face, studying every expression crossing the younger man’s features. He hummed in acknowledgment, resting his cheek on his palm.

“They are.”

Brown eyes shifted back to the bed, examining the clothes critically once more. “…Why are they formal?”

Viktor didn’t respond and something prickled beneath Yuuri’s skin, a deep inkling that he was overlooking something significant. The silverette’s silent expectation was rippling through the bond, the alpha patiently waiting for him to read between the lines Yuuri didn’t know had been there until now.

‘What is it…?’ Yuuri pursed his lips, trying to decipher the underlying implications of Viktor’s words and actions. There had been scent-blockers in the bathroom, just as the alpha had said there would be and Yuuri knew that despite it all, Viktor was not one to lie.

These clothes had been set out for a reason, the formal design and low collar chosen for something other than a deliberate lie to steer him out of the room. 

The omega glanced at the other man once more.

The clothes were far too formal. Not exactly ones to wear for a quiet reunion with his family and definitely not ones to be worn for a casual stroll in the streets. ‘What am I missing?’

“When are my parents and sister arriving?”

Viktor’s expression remained unchanging. “Some time in the afternoon. Likely closer to early evening.”

Yuuri’s eyes shifted to the window, noting the peeking light of the sun seeping through the grey clouds. It wasn’t even midday yet. He turned back to Viktor. “Then… why are we getting ready now?”

Azure eyes glinted.

Yuuri’s back straightened in realisation. “These clothes aren’t for my family.”

Mind-games.

“No, they’re not.”

Viktor was playing mind-games.

The omega swallowed. “There’s something else happening this afternoon, isn’t there?”

Viktor’s lips twitched as he propped his chin on his entwined hands, pleased at the question. “There is.”

The alpha’s pride flowed through the bond, brimming with satisfaction at Yuuri’s rapid deduction and Yuuri bit his cheek, trying to block the glee he couldn’t repress as he shoved away the part of him that preened at having pleased his mat-

‘It’s the bond,’ the raven-head reminded himself. ‘It’s the bond.’

Minutes ticked by as he continued to stare at the neatly laid garments, frustration bleeding through when he was unable to find a plausible reason solid enough to explain the formal clothes.

Yuuri sighed, turning to Viktor in defeat. “Viktor… where are you taking me?”

There was a brief pause while the alpha continued to watch the younger male in silence. 

“You told me you didn’t know their names,” Viktor began, rising from his position and approaching Yuuri who stood by the end of the bed. “Only their faces. So… you need to be there this afternoon.”

The omega followed every move, restlessness rising at each step taken towards him. He craned his head back to stare at Viktor, feeling his heartbeat accelerating as the silverette came to a stop only a hairbreadth away.

 “…Be where?” The omega asked over the rush of blood beating through his eardrums.

He tensed when Viktor leaned down, nudging the omega’s head to the side to press his face against his neck. The alpha's breath hovered over the healing indents of his teeth and Yuuri flinched as his lips brushed against the mating mark. The raven-head swayed, locking his feet on the ground in an attempt to prevent himself from leaning into the warmth of Viktor’s body.

“Be where, Viktor?” Yuuri repeated, growing dread stirring at the pit of his stomach.

The alpha gripped the omega’s chin lightly, kissing the unresponsive lips before slowly pulling back, seemingly unaffected by Yuuri’s ever-persistent refusal to give in. The alpha’s lips twisted into a small, humourless smile, foretelling something eerie, something foreboding and ominous.

“Tell me, Viktor…” the omega whispered. ‘Where are you taking me…?’

Viktor stared at Yuuri through half-lidded eyes, blue orbs gleaming dangerously with the chills of a dark promise that made Yuuri want to shrink away –they’ll go through hell and back. For you, love. For what they did and what they tried to do. They’ll go through hell. And I’ll make sure they’ll beg to stay there too, far away from me once I’m fucking through with them-

Yuuri’s heart dropped when Viktor finally answered.

“The Council meeting.”

Chapter Text

Yuuri winced as the white cotton was dabbed at the stitches on his chest, doing his best to sit still as he wearily watched the Healer clean the healing wound.

“No one else was hurt?”

Fedunov paused, glancing up at the boy. He shook his head, eyes softening at the relief on the omega’s face. ‘…What a cruel, cruel world.’ Yuuri’s forehead creased in confusion at the mixture of sadness and guilt on the old beta’s face. Fedunov sighed, setting the forceps and cotton wool aside.

“No one else was hurt, Lord Katsuki. But everyone believes you’re dead.”

Yuuri stared at the white sheets on his lap. “But… I’m not.”

The Healer nodded. “No, you’re not. You’re strong, Lord Katsuki.” Yuuri began to fiddle with the sheets and Fedunov watched as uncertainty flashed across the teenager’s face.

“I…don’t understand.”

A boy. This was just a boy. “You’re alive, Lord Katsuki but no one knows that.” Fedunov’s own chest twinged. “There’s people that... wanted you dead.”

Yuuri swallowed. “Who…?”

There was no point in keeping him in the dark. “The Council, Lord Katsuki.”

The omega’s head snapped up. “The Council…tried to kill me?” Fedunov slowly nodded. Yuuri's fingers tightened around the covers. “…I don’t understand,” he repeated. The Healer rose from his seated position by the bed, mouth set in a tight line.

“Sleep, Lord Katsuki. I’ll clean your stitches again when I return,” he told the teenager, placing a white pill on the boy’s palm and pretending not see the slight shaking of the nimble hands. He held a glass of water towards Yuuri's mouth. “Swallow that with some water. It will help with the pain.” Yuuri obliged, swallowing with some difficulty. “Rest now, Lord Katsuki.”

Yuuri shook his head.

“But why would the Council want me dead? What did I-” he stopped, suddenly feeling light-headed and Fedunov watched in concern as the boy pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. “…I don’t understand,” the omega whispered once more, feeling the throbbing pain in his chest.

Yuuri allowed the Healer to push him gently on the bed, opening his eyes to stare at the white ceiling of the small room. “Lie down and sleep, Lord Katsuki. We’ll talk again once you’ve regained more of your strength. It’ll do you no good to strain yourself.”

The omega watched as the elder beta quietly walked out of the room, giving him one last nod before closing the door.

Brown eyes clenched shut.

‘I... can’t remember anything. Why can’t I remember anything? It was dark. And cold. But I wasn’t alone... Viktor was there, wasn’t he? And then… and then what? What happened?’ Yuuri slowly opened his eyes, trying to remember everything before that blackness had crept in, breathing through the impending panic when he couldn’t recall anything but blurred faces and muffled voices.

He blinked tiredly when drowsiness began to settle in, vision distorting once more as he drifted back into unconsciousness.

The next time he woke, it was to flashes of silver and red, to white clothes and pale hands stained crimson.

Yuuri shot up from the bed with a gasp, pain racing across his chest. The imaginary warmth of being held in strong arms slowly faded, leaving in its wake the distant sounds of a voice pleading for him to stay and the phantom drops of tears that weren’t his falling on his cheek. Yuuri clutched his head, wincing at the throbbing ache at the back of his skull.

Shadows of dark silhouettes flickered on the bed-sheets.

Yuuri stiffened, freezing at the smell of unknown scents suddenly bombarding his nose.

His gaze snapped to the wall, instantly alert at the sight of the six figures stood by the locked door. Each faces regarded him with expression ranging from unreadable to blatant disdain and Yuuri unconsciously fisted at the sheets at the sight of the only familiar face he knew.

Lord Ledovskoy stood before him, arms crossed and face twisted in a sneer as he regarded the omega with contempt.

Yuuri stared back, eyes darting between the Council Head and the five strangers behind him. 

“What luck you have, Yuuri Katsuki.”

The teenager’s hands clenched on the white sheets, carving all their faces in his memory like the blade of a chisel sculpting marble. Grey grey eyes narrowed at his silence and Yuuri glared back, grip on the thin covers tightening.

“What do you want from me?”

Lord Ledovskoy’s lips titled downwards. “Absolutely nothing. We don’t want anything from you."

“Then why would you-”

“Because you’re a liability,” the Council Head interrupted. “A weakness.” The omega’s mouth snapped shut. “Viktor Nikiforov is young,” the Council Head continued after a moment of tense silence, “and there will be many who will take advantage of his inexperience.”

‘Like you,’ Yuuri thought resentfully.

“The treaties are weak. The death of his parents are proof of that,” another Council member started, tone icy and harsh. “The king’s going to need all the help he can get, Lord Katsuki, if he’s going to stay alive long enough to even have his own family.” Yuuri’s eyes shifted to his lap. “Any proposition of an alliance through marriage is always dismissed, quite obviously because of his ridiculous infatuation with you. The Council has plans, Lord Katsuki, and you’re in the way.”

“Clearly, something had to be done about that.” Lord Ledovskoy stepped forward to stand by the side of the bed, shaking his head. “And yet here you are, still alive. Awake and breathing.” He sighed. “What is it about you that the king just can’t let go? You’re not anyone special boy. Far too common and too plain for someone like him.” -Someone who was perfect, beautiful, intangible. Too immaculate and too sublime for you. Unreachable- Yuuri shook his head.

“…you’re here to finish what you started then?” The omega asked, keeping his voice levelled and refusing to show any indication of being affected by their words.  

“Fedunov is a stubborn old fool - completely devoted to his duties in keeping his patients alive. Even you.” The Council Head scoffed. “You’re like a weed that just won’t die.”

“You’re not dying by our hands, Lord Katsuki.” The omega stared at the other Council member who spoke. “You’ll be sent away –far, far away- as soon as you’re able to move on your own.”

“Where wou-”

“Someplace where you’ll never be found, boy.”

The omega’s eyes flickered around the room, throat feeling dry. 'They're going to kill me…’ the ravenette thought to himself, maintaining eye-contact with each person stood before him in defiance to the fear beginning to rise. ‘Wherever they’re planning to send me is… a place I’m not meant to survive. Mama, Papa, what do I do? Viktor…'

“What makes you think the first thing I wouldn’t do when I leave this room is find my father and Viktor?”

Lord Ledovskoy paced to the end of the small bed, hands folded neatly behind his back. He glanced at the teenager from the corner of his eyes.

“Hasetsu is a beautiful place.” Yuuri stiffened, heart plummeting to his stomach. “So quiet and peaceful. I’ve visited once, actually. Your people were very welcoming.” Lord Levdoskoy slowly strode back to the wall, re-joining the remaining Council members. “But it won’t stay calm for long – not without guidance from your mother and father. It’d be such a shame if your parents and sister were to suddenly meet their end like you did.” Mocking sympathy played across the aging face.

Dread sank low in Yuuri’s belly, heartbeat quickening at the heavy weight of the Council’s threat. He winced, bringing his palm to his chest at the pain radiating beneath the bandages. ‘Breathe,’ he told himself, shutting his eyes tightly when his vision began to blur. ‘Breathe. They’re okay. They’re safe and I’m still… I’m still alive. I didn’t-’

“...I didn’t die,” the raven-head whispered. “I’m here.” He breathed in through his nose, shakily exhaling through his mouth. “I’m still…here.”

Lord Ledosvkoy scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re already dead. Your body’s been burnt and your ashes already scattered. You’re nothing but a memory now, Yuuri Katsuki.”

‘I’m not dead. I’m not. I’m here. I didn’t let go Vitya, I swear… I didn’t-’

“…Vikto-”

“The king’s no longer your concern,” the Council member stood closest to the door interrupted. “Now that you’re gone, his fixation on you will fade soon enough. That’s always been a temporary thing, Lord Katsuki, surely you know that.”

Yuuri chewed on his lower lip. ‘Lies…’

"His childish devotion to you is nothing but a delusion,” the Council Head added. “Wake up, boy.”

‘All lies.’

But the omega couldn’t hide the flicker of hesitation in his eyes, couldn’t push down the uncertainties he’s always had about himself from surfacing and the Council Head immediately latched on to the seed of doubt that had been planted.

“He’s already had numerous partners for his ruts, after all. How special could you possibly be?”

Yuuri recoiled back, the sudden devastating hurt punching the air from his lungs. “You’re lying. Th-that’s a lie.”

“Oh?” Lord Ledovskoy raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t know? Though I suppose that shouldn’t be too surprising. You’re not in the palace for most of the year. But yes, Yuuri Katsuki. The king’s not as committed to you as you'd like to think. Did you expect anything else?”

“Viktor wouldn’t-” the omega shook his head. “He wouldn’t…”

“I suppose you wouldn’t know about the proposition between the king and my niece then? You remember her, don’t you?” The teenager remained silent at the fleeting memory of a pretty face and curly blonde hair. “Of course, His Majesty didn’t exactly say yes during the last meeting the Council held before the coronation. But he didn’t say no either. In fact, he seemed to be giving it much thought. Quite promising considering how that particular conversation usually goes.”

Yuuri’s lips parted to protest, words to rebuff the lies just on the tip of his tongue before immediately faltering. His shoulders fell, the resolve to reject the lies wavering as he recalled Viktor’s recent detachment, throat clogging upon remembering the distance the silver-head had suddenly put between them.

Lord Ledovskoy released a pleased hum. “It shouldn’t take too long before everything is finalised between the two of them.”

‘Was this… what Viktor wanted to tell me?’ The omega thought to himself, recalling the last coherent conversation he and Viktor had and of their agreement to talk after the coronation ceremony. Yuuri pressed his lips together, blinking away the tears threatening to spill from the corner of his eyes, refusing to let them fall in front of these people waiting for him to break like vultures watching a dying man.

The Council Head watched the boy’s still form on the bed, relishing on the doubt and the hurt swimming in his expression as the deceptive words slowly pierced through. He nodded to the other Council members in content before addressing Yuuri once more.

"Think it through, Yuuri Katsuki and think it through well. There’s nothing left for you here.”   

And with the quiet creak of the closing door, Yuuri was alone once more.

Brown eyes stared blankly at the white wall, letting the silence ring in the solitude he had been left in.

 
Yuuri followed every move of Viktor’s hands, eyes lingering on the flick of Viktor’s wrist. The alpha’s movements, like every other thing he did, were graceful, appearing almost delicate as he carefully tied the omega’s bootlaces.

“Viktor...”

The silverette made no acknowledgement of hearing his name, tightening the knot of the bow before starting on the other shoe.

“Viktor,” Yuuri repeated, setting his palm on the other man’s shoulder. Blue eyes glanced up from beneath silver bangs. Yuuri stared back, his own eyes pleading. “…I don’t want to go.” Viktor resumed tying the shoelace, calmly listening to Yuuri's words. He laid his hand on top of the omega’s thigh upon finishing, slowly rising from his kneeled position. He stopped when Yuuri grabbed his sleeve. “Please… don’t make me go,” the omega implored. 

Viktor stared at Yuuri briefly, the expression on his face incomprehensible, before kneeling down once again. He reached out with his free hand, lightly gripping the underside of Yuuri’s jaw.

“The longer we postpone the Council meeting, the longer you and your family will have to wait, Yuuri.” The ravenette turned his head away. “They can’t touch you. They can’t do anything to you – not anymore.”

“…I know,” the omega whispered.

Viktor’s palms cradled his face, forcing him to look into the blue eyes. “They threatened your family. And you-” The alpha’s fingers twitched. “They took you from me by almost… almost-” Viktor’s jaw clenched. He took a deep breath, leaning forward to press his lips on Yuuri’s forehead. “I need to know who they are.”

“I know…” Yuuri repeated.

“Those responsible will suffer the consequences for what they did, Yuuri. I’ll make sure of it. Don’t you want that?”

Yuuri’s shoulders dropped. He did, of course he did.

He detested those Council members with every fibre of his being as much as Viktor did but there was no stopping the churning in his stomach at the grim possibilities of the things the alpha had in mind, knowing there was no other fate but death for the ones Viktor will direct his wrath to.

The raven-head bit his cheek. ‘Suffer…’  

Viktor would stay true to his words - he always did.

Yuuri nodded reluctantly. ‘Suffer how much…?’

“Then what is it you’re so afraid of, love?”

Brown eyes shifted to the floor.

‘…Many things,’ Yuuri wanted to say.

He was afraid of being alone in this world and of never seeing his family again - afraid of that cold, desolate darkness that had accompanied the afterlife when death itself had almost taken him away.

“You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. No one can tell me otherwise. No one.”

The hands on his body, the fingers gripping his waist-

He was scared of the mere walk to the Meeting Hall, of the others he’d have to face and of sitting in a room surrounded by the very people who had destroyed both his and Viktor's lives.

“I’m not letting you go.”

The sharp, throbbing pain of teeth piercing his neck. The anguish that grew with every thrust of Viktor’s hips-

He was petrified of confronting the Council and of reuniting with his family - terrified of the future and what it could entail.

“You made me promises, Yuuri.”

Yuuri was afraid of many, many things. But most of all-

The grief and the sorrow when their mating bond was cemented in place - forged in anger and in pain, woven in betrayal and in fear instead of the love and devotion and trust they were always meant to have for one another-

“Promises that I won’t let you break.”

Most of all-

Yuuri wrapped his fingers around Viktor’s wrists, slowly pulling away.

‘...You.' His gaze remained fixed on the ground. 'I’m afraid of you.’

There was no hoard of guards awaiting to escort them from bottom of the staircase like Yuuri was expecting - only Georgi and Yakov standing patiently by the side. Yuuri kept his eyes firmly on the floor upon spotting the two as he and Viktor slowly descended the steps, averting his gaze away from the beta and elderly alpha and forcing his legs to keep moving as he and Viktor reached the last step.

He pretended not to hear the sharp inhales of shock from Georgi and Yakov, resisting the urge to squirm at the sudden frantic search of their stunned stares. He pretended not to see Yakov’s mouth parting in disbelief at the glimmer of the gold ring on his finger, choosing to stare forward instead of at the crumbling devastation on Georgi’s face when the beta’s eyes landed on the healing mark on his neck.

Viktor didn’t acknowledge either of their reactions, simply nodding in greeting at the frozen form of the two before continuing to walk ahead, leading the way to the Meeting Hall.

Yuuri walked beside him wordlessly, the silverette slowing his pace when the omega fell behind, ensuring they walked side by side as they made their way to the Meeting Hall. Georgi and Yakov trailed behind them and Yuuri didn’t have to look to know that their wide eyes were glued solely on his back.

No one spoke a word as they passed through the hallways – not even Georgi or Yakov. None were needed - not when the shadow of sadness dancing on Yuuri’s face already said it all.

The garden came into view and Yuuri suddenly halted when he spotted a small form stood by the fountain.

He squinted, confused at the lone figure of a little girl clutching a small clusters of flowers in her hand. The others continued to walk, unaware of the child until she squealed upon making eye-contact with Yuuri.

“Mister!”

The others stopped, staring at the blonde-haired child in puzzlement as she sprinted forward, crashing onto Yuuri’s legs with a giggle.

The omega blinked at the big, grey eyes sparkling back at him.

“…Hi?” Yuuri replied. The girl grinned in response, completely oblivious to exactly who the people she had ran into were. Viktor’s eyebrows furrowed at the small, unexpected disruption.

“Here!” She beamed, presenting the black-haired male the tiny bouquet of blue flowers in her hand.

‘Hydrangeas…' Yuuri tilted his head to the side, hesitantly taking the flowers. He stared at them, quietly examining the varying hues of blue and indigo of the petals. 'They’re still blooming?’

“Ah… thank you?”

“You’re welcome! It’s blue like your glasses! It matches your glasses, Mister!”

Yuuri’s expression softened, nodding as he offered the girl a tentative smile. For the first time, something softer -something light and radiant - began to simmer through the bond he and Viktor shared. 

Blue eyes zeroed in on the slight tilt of his lips.

“Yes, it does.” The omega glanced at the flowers between his fingers once more before looking back at the little girl. “What’s your name, little one?”

“Inessa!”

Yuuri patted her head. “You have a very pretty name, Inessa. My name is Yuuri.” Inessa smiled back at him, dark blond hair framing the cherub face as she nodded enthusiastically. “How old are you, Inessa?”

“Six! I’m six years old, Sir Yuuri!” The child replied.

“Ah, six years old? You shouldn’t be alone here. I bet your parents are really worried about you, Inessa,” the omega said softly. “Do you know where your mother and father are?”

Inessa tapped her lip in thought, attention fixed wholly on Yuuri and completely unmindful of the others around them. “Papa stayed at home today but Mama and I are here to wait for Grandpa. Grandpa has this really important thing he has to do in the palace today but he’s supposed to come with me and Mama after to visit Grandma in the infar… infima- infra-”

“Infirmary?” Yuuri offered kindly. ‘Her Grandfather must be a palace worker.’

The little girl nodded with a grateful grin. “Uhuh, that!” Her expression fell. “Grandma hasn’t been feeling very well lately…”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Inessa. I’m sure your Mama’s very worried about you though. Do you know where she is?”

The child bit her lip, twiddling her thumbs as her eyes shifted to the ground. Georgi and Yakov watched in silence, the old alpha’s forehead creasing as he continued to study the girl.

“ …‘m not sure,” Inessa mumbled.

Yuuri bent down, resting one knee on the floor as he knelt to eye-level with the small child. “Did you get lost in the palace?”

She nodded slowly, her lower lip jutting out. “I saw the garden with all the pretty flowers when we were walking by but Mama was busy talking to the other grown-ups so…”

Yuuri patter her head again. “That’s okay, Inessa, we’ll find your Mama for you.”

Grey eyes widened. “You will?!” 

Brown eyes glanced up behind the girl, meeting with blue orbs that had been steadily observing the exchange in silence. The silverette slowly tilted his head forward in a nod, still watching every expression crossing the omega’s face.   

Yuuri turned back to the little girl with another smile – this time just a tad wider and a little more genuine than the first, his previous anxiety temporarily overshadowed by the unforeseen but heart-warming innocence presented in the form of the small child in front of him.

Viktor blinked rapidly. ‘What… is this?’

“Yes, of course. Ah…” Yuuri’s gaze flitted to Georgi for a split second. “This kind guard here is called Georgi. He’ll help you look for your Mama, okay?”

“…Mama and Papa said I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”

Yuuri chuckled, eyes crinkling with his quiet laughter. Viktor’s brows creased at the sound, staring at the crouched form of his mate, uncertain of what to make of the small flutters now dancing in his stomach.

‘You’re happy…’

“But you talked to me, didn’t you? And I’m a stranger.”

“That’s cause you’re a nice stranger, Sir Yuuri!”

“Oh?” The omega humoured the child with a grin, still unaware of Viktor’s gaze locked on nothing else but his face. “How do you know that?” 

‘Your happiness...’

 “ ‘Cause I feel it!” Inessa pointed at her chest. “In here!”

‘This is what your happiness feels like?’ The silverette took a slow, deep breath, hands unconsciously clenching into fists as he veered away from the slight warmth that had risen from watching the interaction in front of him.

“Yuuri." The younger man paused, glancing up at Viktor. “We need to go.” Viktor nodded at Georgi stood beside Yakov. “Georgi, take her to her mother.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” the beta bowed.

Yuuri offered the child a reassuring pat on the arm.

“Don’t worry, Inessa, Georgi here is a nice stranger too. He’s going to help you, okay?” The child nodded uncertainly, peeking at Georgi standing behind Yuuri. The beta held out a hand with a small smile and the little girl eyed it briefly before reaching out to place her own on top, gripping at the guard’s outstretched palm.

Yuuri smiled at Inessa once more. “Well... take care then, Inessa. Thank you again for the flowers.”

“Bye, Sir Yuuri!” She replied with a wave.

“Miss Inessa was it?” Georgi asked softly.

The child nodded. “Uhuh.”

“Don’t worry, miss Inessa, we’ll find your mother. Now, where did you last se-”

Yakov and Yuuri watched as Georgi guided the small child away, their voices becoming fainter the further they walked back into the palace. The omega glanced down, absently turning the small array of flowers in his hand.

Blue eyes followed the fading smile on Yuuri’s lips.

‘How long…?’ Viktor watched as the spark in the brown eyes slowly dimmed, taking with it the lightness that had momentarily flowed through the bond. ‘How long has it been since I’ve seen you smile? Since I’ve heard you laugh?’

“Viktor,” Yakov called out, his mouth drawn to a solemn, tight line.

The silver-head’s gaze flickered to the older male. Yuuri listened quietly as the two spoke in their mother-tongue, not quite understanding enough to know what it was that Yakov had said which made Viktor’s eyes widen ever so slightly. Yuuri frowned when the silverette shook his head, responding to the other alpha with clenched jaws.

“There’s nothing to be done about that, Yakov,” Viktor said. “We need to go.” He gripped Yuuri’s wrist in his hand, tugging the omega along as they continued their journey to the Meeting Hall, Yakov following soundlessly behind them.

Yuuri walked monotonously, staring at the flowers Inessa had given him.

“What luck you have, Yuuri Katsuki.”

Every step became heavier, the walls of the corridors they passed by becoming narrower and narrower until the large, wooden doors of the Meeting Hall finally came into view, numerous guards stationed by the sides. Yuuri stopped in his tracks at the sight.

“-shame if your parents and sister were to suddenly meet their end-”

Viktor halted his stride, waiting for the younger man as they stood in the middle of the hallway.

“-devotion to you is nothing but a delusion. Wake up-”

The omega’s grip on the stems of the flowers tightened. He stared at the different shades of azure and cerulean, fleetingly lost in the beautiful blue of the petals -  the colour a reminiscent of the gentle eyes that had once shone with all the warmth Yuuri could have needed.

“Yuuri.”

Yuuri bowed his head. ‘Suffer…’

He allowed Viktor to tug him forward, taking one final step towards the old, wooden doors that seemed to tower endlessly over their heads. ‘…What about you and I, Viktor?’ Yuuri held his breath when the low, creaking sound of the opening doors slowly began to resonate across the hallway.

‘How much more do we have to suffer?’

Chapter Text

Viktor tapped his finger lightly on the table, the glint of gold mesmerising under the light of the Meeting Hall. He stared at the opposite end of the long mahogany table, gaze boring into grey eyes that darted back and forth between the black-haired omega seated quietly by his side. Yakov watched the Head of Council from the silverette’s left, face grim.

Viktor’s finger continued to rap at the wood, the sound of the rhythmic tap tap tap the only one reverberating in the room.

Several of the Council members were glancing at one another in confusion whereas others who recognised Yuuri’s face were staring at the omega in open shock, their mouths agape. Lord Ledovskoy swallowed, slowly leaning back on his chair as he avoided the silver-head’s gaze.

Viktor’s hand stilled.

Everyone’s attention shifted to the far end of the long table, quietly waiting for the silver-haired alpha to speak.

“Good afternoon,” Viktor finally started. A slight murmur of greetings resounded around the Hall. “Apologies for the inconvenience.” Blue eyes roamed around the table.

The silver-head didn’t continue, taking his time to slowly examine the faces in the room, soaking in each expression of confusion, alarm and terror. The prolonged silence stretched on and several began to shift uncomfortably in their seats.

“…Your Majesty,” the elderly lady beside Yakov finally spoke, her charcoal eyes and greying hair unfamiliar to Yuuri. “If I may be so forward… why exactly have you called for a meeting so soon?”

Viktor leaned his cheek on his palm, the band on his finger gleaming. “I’ve been in a little bit of a predicament, actually. I’m in need of some advice on what I should do.” 

“…regarding what, your Majesty?”

The silverette’s eyes flickered to the opposite end of the table. “Some traitors I’ve discovered.”

Yuuri stared at the blue flowers on his lap, listening to the quiet wave of murmurs in the room.

“Treason is often punished with imprisonment,” another Council member said, stroking his beard in thought. “Sometimes death. What exactly have these traitors done, Sire?”

Viktor responded without a pause. “Threatened my mate’s life.”

Silenced engulfed the Hall. Yuuri bit his lip, feeling the eyes shooting aimlessly around the room in perplexity, aware of the blatant, wide-eyed stares that some were still directing at him.

“Your…mate, your Majesty?”

“Yes.” Viktor's gaze shifted to the side, staring at Yuuri from the corner of his vision. “Yuuri Katsuki.” The mark on the omega’s neck prickled. “My mate.”

Startled intakes of breath echoed around the Hall as eyes honed in on Yuuri’s face, jaws dropping in recognition of his name. Yuuri glanced at Viktor hesitantly and those who hadn’t already seen the mating mark reeled back in shock upon spotting the indents of teeth on his neck.

“But that’s-”

“- Katsuki? The previous General’s so-”

“How could he-”

“Wasn’t he-”

“- after your coronation?”

“Mate? Impossible! There was no ceremo-”

Blue eyes narrowed.

“Enough,” Viktor’s voice sliced through the unrest beginning to stir, tone sharp and absolute.

Immediate silence descended in the room.

“I have criminals waiting to hear their sentence, not your questions.” The Council members glanced at each other uncertainly. Some nodded slowly at Viktor’s direction, settling tentatively back in their seats. The silverette placed both his hands on the table, palms spread in front of him as he addressed the people in the room once more. “Now, tell me what punishment would befit these traitors who threatened my mate’s life.”

 “…Death certainly, your Majesty,” one answered after a moment of hesitation, “there’s no other option.”

Mumbles of agreement arose from several of the Council Members. A few shifted uneasily, peering at the Head of Council anxiously.

Viktor hummed. “And how do you suggest these traitors die?”

“Hanging has always been the mandatory form of execution, Sire,” someone offered with a nod.

“So is beheading,” another one piped in.

“These traitors should be hung, drawn and quartered, surely?”

“That would be completely barbaric,” the elderly lady by Yakov’s side rebuffed with a slight shake of her head. “No one has been executed by being cut into pieces for decades and rightfully so. We’re passed those times.”

“But for committing such high treason, surely a sentence as brutal as that is only befitting?”

“I agree. Their actions would be considered a direct attack to the royal family. Hanging and beheading would be far too merciful as a sentence.”

“I suppose..." 

Viktor listened wordlessly as the people in the room immersed themselves in the conversation, fully aware of the ones who sat static in their seats, their mouths closed and unable to partake in the discussion.

Azure orbs slowly shifted to the end of the long table, unblinking as he stared at the man seated the furthest from him.

“…And what about you, Lord Ledovskoy?”

The voices of the others died down. Eyes shifted to the direction of the Council Head. Yuuri watched as grey eyes shot around the table, meeting with five other wide-eyed stares.

“What do you think I should do about these traitors?”

Lord Ledvoskoy swallowed, glancing back at Viktor. 

“…Perhaps-” The Council Head cleared his throat, “i-it would be best if you were to hold trial and listen to what these… a-accused have to say first, your Majesty."

Vaguely familiar voices – voices that had been so harsh, voices that had spat such jarring words- stutteringly agreed with the Head of Council.

Yuuri turned his gaze to his hands, running his thumb along the smooth metal of his ring. He inhaled deeply as Viktor’s anger, hot and fierce, began to simmer through the bond, knowing there was no turning back now that Viktor’s ire had been sparked, the Council Head’s words akin to that of matches lighting the wick of a candle.

He waited.

“I’ve spent… many sleepless nights in the past four years staring into nothing,” Viktor finally started, voice eerily calm and face carefully blank despite the slight quiver of his hands. “Thinking about what I lost - about who was taken from me.”

Every single person in the room listened to the silver-head’s words with rapt attention.

“And now…” Brown eyes flickered to the side, catching a glimpse of the impassive expression on Viktor’s face just before the alpha’s voice lowered, tone becoming icy as the mask of composure began to melt. “I’m staring into each of your faces after spending countless hours thinking about what I could possibly do to all of you who were stupid enough to even think this would all play out the way you wanted it to.”

Ear-splitting silence engulfed the Hall.

Yuuri continued to watch Viktor, neck prickling at the deadly storm slowly brewing in the cerulean orbs. Mouths hanged open as several of the Council members gaped at the silver-haired alpha in shock, stunned by the accusation. Some jerked up in realisation, snapping their heads in disbelief to Lord Ledovskoy. Others turned to gawk at the ones seated next to them, immediately grasping the reason for the previous lack of participation from some of their co-members.

Viktor pursed his lips. ‘It’s obvious... so obvious which of them would even think of-’ He lowered his head, strands of silver falling across his face. ‘…I should have known.’ 

His hands twitched as he began to speak once more.

“…I’m thinking about having your throats slit and listening to all of you beg for your worthless lives whilst you drown in your own blood.”

Yuuri swallowed as the silverette’s nails began to slowly dig into the table.

“I’m considering having your tongues ripped out so I can watch you all choke to death, suffocating on all the lies you’ve ever said.”

The omega’s stomach twisted at the words, heart thumping at the heated anger smouldering through the bond. 

“I’m imagining smashing your skulls open - of ripping you all apart limb from limb with my bare hands for the things you’ve done.”

Viktor’s nails raked across the table, hard enough to leave ragged scratches on the polished wood.

“I’m contemplating having your families’ heads skewered on a spike for all of you to see – to have your mothers’ and your fathers’, your mates’, your children’s and your grandchildren’s dead corpses staring back at you while you rot alone in the dark.”

The alpha’s hands suddenly clenched into fists, nails carving red marks on his palms. Yuuri shivered, feeling nauseous as the boiling rage intensified, hot and molten - an antithesis to the icy blizzard of a storm he knew would be whirling in the alpha’s arctic eyes.

“I want you all to beg for their pain to end while you watch their bodies bleed dry,” Viktor ground out, low and rough.  “I want you to watch that light in their eyes fade while you kneel in front of them, confessing to their faces that the reason they’re suffering–the reason they’re dying- is because of. All. Your. Fucking. Lies.” 

Viktor’s fist slammed onto the table. 

Yuuri’s chest jumped as Viktor’s head finally snapped up, his lips curled in a terrifying snarl. Azure orbs flashed, glinting dangerously under the light of the Meeting Hall.

“Four years…” The omega’s breath hitched at the rawness in Viktor’s voice. “Four years I’ve spent detesting myself, hating every fucking fibre of my own being thinking the reason he died was because of me – because of who I am and what he is to me. You convinced me he was killed in my place - that he sacrificed his life to save mine that night and the blade that went through his chest had always been meant for me - no one else.”

Yuuri slowly glanced back at his hands, vision blurring with unshed tears as his own hurt laced the aching pain that had been hiding beneath Viktor’s anger.

“‘A mistake. A tragedy. Proof of a rising rebellion.’ I believed. Every. Goddamn. Word.” He grated out. “And now here we are, sitting in this room all over again and you’re suggesting I sit back? And what?” A low growl reverberated from the silverette’s throat.  “Listen to you spew more lies to my face?”

Viktor leaned forward, muscles quivering as though ready to pounce.

“Don’t be fucking stupid.” 

Everyone sat frozen in their seats, barely breathing as the silverette’s enraged scent poured out in suffocating waves, acrid and sharp and dizzying in its potency.

“No one’s leaving this room until I know exactly which of you worthless vermin were behind this,” Viktor snapped, teeth exposed. He turned to the omega beside him with burning eyes and Yuuri slowly lifted his head up, peering back cautiously. “Yuuri. Tell me.”

Yuuri maintained their eye contact for several long seconds, not daring to look away. Viktor’s words reverberated again and again in his mind, that twinge of hurt –whose hurt? Mine? Or yours? Ours? I don’t know anymore- still sharp and cutting as he searched those blazing blue orbs – to find exactly what, he didn’t quite know.

‘Something…’

Yuuri’s gaze flickered around the room, wordlessly observing the dread and the fear spiralling in the Head of Council’s aging face.

He thought of his parents and his sister, of himself and of Viktor – thought of his tears and of those sleepless nights, of the scar on his chest and of the ruins of his and Viktor’s lives. He clung to his own anger and sadness, seizing at Viktor’s pain with all he had while he stared into the eyes of the ones who had burned everything he had into ashes.  

Yuuri’s lips slowly parted, voice sounding distant even to his ears as he began to speak.

“…I talked to Healer Fedunov several days after Viktor brought you back,” Yakov told the omega walking monotonously beside him, finally breaking the tense silence that had been hanging between them.

Yuuri glanced at the elder man, veering his thoughts away from the memory of the growl in Viktor’s voice when the silverette had abruptly dismissed the rest of the Council, ordering Yakov to escort Yuuri back to his room.

“He’s a good man,” Yuuri said quietly as the two continued their journey back to Viktor’s room.

Yuuri and Yakov had been the last to leave the Meeting Hall and the black-haired omega couldn’t get himself to turn back one last time to look at Lord Ledovoskoy and those five other Council members who remained frozen in their seats, trapped under Viktor’s glacial eyes.

“He is,” Yakov replied with an affirmative nod. “You were in good hands." 

Yuuri chewed on his lip, unsure of how to respond. The two eventually came to a stop in front of Viktor’s bedroom door. The omega stared at the door handle, battling against the urge to fidget under Yakov’s watchful gaze as the elder man studied him. 

Yuuri’s fingertips absently grazed the ring on his hand and Yakov followed the glint of the gold band, briefly eyeing it before quietly sighing.   

“…Two days before Kenjirou Minami arrived,” the old alpha started, “Fedunov’s granddaughter passed away from an illness.” Yuuri froze, heart sinking. “Before he was summoned to the palace, Fedunov spent his time agonising on how to tell Viktor of what happened to you – of where to even start.” Yuuri’s gaze drifted to the floor, still unable to look Yakov in the eyes. His hold on the flowers clutched protectively in his fist tightened. “But Fedunov would have talked. No matter how he would have gone about it – even if Minami hadn’t come here in the end - Fedunov would have talked. There was nothing left to hold him back. Viktor would have eventually learned about the Council - about you.”

‘Viktor would have found you, no matter what. This would all still be happening,’ is what Yakov was trying to say.

Yuuri gripped the door handle with unsteady fingers.

“Fedunov’s glad you’re well – that you’re healthy despite… everything that’s happened.”

The omega slowly nodded, blindly turning the handle. “…Thank you,” he told Yakov quietly.

He stepped inside the room, swaying slightly on his feet at the smell of Viktor’s scent unmistakably intertwined with his own.

“Yuuri,” Yakov called out one last time from the doorway. Yuuri paused, his back turned to the elder alpha. “…Nothing will justify what he did to you – what he forced on you.” The omega stared at the floor, not needing to ask exactly who Yakov was referring to. “And nothing will ever validate the way he’s hurting you.”

Yuuri remained silent, unsure if Yakov was speaking of the bruises on his hips and the indents of teeth on his neck or of the constant heaviness in his chest and the sea of tears he’s cried. Both, perhaps? It didn’t matter, Yuuri supposed. Everything hurt all the same.

He nodded once more. 

“But he’s…lost. So lost,” Yakov continued and Yuuri listened as his voice became softer, much quieter than its usual gruff tone. "No one could give him a reason as to why it had been you that night. He couldn’t find the ones to hold responsible for what happened to you – didn’t know how to bring you to justice and in the end… he couldn’t blame anyone else but himself. He tore himself apart. There wasn’t anything anyone could do. Not Christophe, not Yuri, not me, not Mila or Georgi.”

Yuuri remained unmoving, not uttering a word.

“There were nights when he just…didn’t sleep. He couldn’t, not with those nightmares about-” Yakov stopped, shaking his head. “…He’s lost,” he repeated, the words almost like a silent plea. “And broken. But he’s still there. Despite it all, he’s still there - afraid, confused and angry and hurt but... he's in there somewhere.” Yakov released another sigh, sounding tired and forlorn. “You don’t owe him anything after what he’s done to you, of course you don’t.” 

The elder alpha sent an imploring look towards the omega. 

“But you’re the only one who can put him back together.” 

Yakov stared solemnly at Yuuri’s immobile form, the omega’s silence between them ringing loud and clear. The old alpha took a slow, deep breath, taking a small step back. “…Your family will arrive here by sunset.” 

Yuuri nodded slowly, thanking the elder man one last time as he set the flowers on the nightstand at the quiet sound of the closing door.

‘Put him back together…’ Yuuri squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head furiously. 

“…I don’t-” He released a shaky breath. “I don’t know how,” he whispered to himself, falling on the bed.

Yuuri opened his eyes, blearily staring at the ceiling as Viktor’s and Yakov’s word began to echo endlessly in his mind. 

‘Put him back together…’

The omega scrubbed at his eyes. ‘How?’ he thought wearily. ‘How can I…? When I’m the reason he’s-’ Yuuri turned his head, absently staring out the window.

“-detesting myself, hating every fucking fibre of my own being-”

He curled on his side, wrapping his arms around himself. He remained in that position, barely moving for what felt like hours until the quiet creak of the opening door finally resounded in the room. Yuuri shifted his gaze jadedly to the sound of approaching footsteps, watching as Viktor slowly walked towards him. 

Yuuri stared into the depths of the azure orbs, breathing in the other man’s scent. 

Viktor’s lips parted, voice barely above a whisper. “…Did you believe them?” Yuuri continued to stare at the alpha, uncertain of what it was he was asking about.

“What they said to you,” Viktor elaborated. “About my… me and Ledovskoy’s-”

Viktor stopped, shaking his head at the dawn of understanding in Yuuri’s eyes. 

“You really thought I… with others-” Viktor’s fists shook by his side, jaw clenching. “You believed them.” It wasn’t a question this time and the omega didn’t say anything to negate the silver-head’s words.

Yuuri observed every bouts of emotion on Viktor’s face, following the flashes of hurt and flickers of frustration. ‘Put you back together…’ He watched carefully as Viktor morphed all he felt into that same simmering anger that always seemed to consume everything else. ‘It’s more bearable isn’t it? Being angry than being hurt.’

The younger male stayed silent as Viktor leaned forward, remaining pliant when large hands grasped at the side of his face as the alpha crushed their lips together.

‘Is this what you need to do?’

Yuuri took slow, deep breaths, blurring his surroundings away as he closed in on himself, distancing his mind from the feel of Viktor’s hands and Viktor’s mouth. He drifted away from the press of the alpha’s teeth and the licks of his tongue, focusing all his thoughts on the loop of voices and questions sounding continuously in his ears instead of at the tear of clothes and the weight of the body above him.

‘Is this what it’s going to take?’

He released nothing but short, hitched gasps when Viktor’s fingers eventually began to stretch him, only faintly aware when one finger became two and two became three as his body opened once more for the silverette.

Viktor bared his teeth at the muted response from the younger male, pulling back his slick-covered hand before pressing his pulsing arousal against Yuuri’s loosened entrance.

He gripped the omega’s chin, growling lowly at the unfocused gaze in the whiskey orbs.

“Look at me.”

Yuuri did not, eyes remaining on the ceiling. 

‘Would doing this to me be enough…?’

Yuuri hissed at the slight burn as the alpha pushed forward roughly with a snarl, unprepared for the sudden stretch of the large cock splitting him apart once more. Viktor didn’t pause, drawing his hips back the moment he was fully buried inside before driving forward into the slick heat once again. He immediately began to thrust, the rhythm unforgivable from the start as he hauled Yuuri back from the haze he had retreated into.

“Look. At. Me.”

Every word was emphasized with a brutal thrust, wasting no time in hitting that bundle of nerves with every growl and Yuuri jostled, body rocking with every shove of Viktor’s hips. The near-violent intrusion forced slick to pool, his body trying to ease the entry and Yuuri bit back choked gasps as he crashed back into the reality of being caged beneath Viktor once more.

His eyes finally shifted to meet with the alpha’s and Yuuri couldn’t stop the shiver that raced across his frame at the sight that greeted him.

The silver locks were dishevelled, sweaty strands sticking to Viktor’s face as his muscles rippled with every thrust. Blue eyes were narrowed, anger and arousal whirling dangerously in the cerulean orbs.

“This-” thrust “-is-” thrust “-what-” thrust “-you do to me.” Viktor surged forward, harshly grinding his hips. Yuuri let out a cry, his nails digging into the alpha’s arms. “No one else. Only you.”

Yuuri clenched his eyes shut, inhaling in gulps of air when the silverette suddenly stopped, their hips still pressed against one another’s.

‘This is… what I do to you...' 

He tugged at the omega until the younger man was seated on his lap, legs wrapped around his waist. Yuuri gasped against Viktor’s shoulder, shuddering at the new angle of the position.

“Do you understand?" 

Yuuri panted as Viktor pulled back, the thick shaft slowly sliding out of him. He leaned his forehead against the other male’s shoulder, unable to reply as he tried to breathe through the intensity of it all. He jerked at the teeth grazing his neck, squirming away from the lips hovering over the mating mark. 

‘Only me...’

Viktor’s fingers dug into the lithe waist, hips pushing up at the same time he pulled Yuuri down. The omega threw his head back with a cry, grasping at the broad shoulders as the alpha began to pound into him once more, the pace just as erratic as before.

“Do. You. Understand?” Viktor growled against his lips.

The sound of their thighs slapping against one another’s echoed amongst their grunts and choked gasps as Viktor continued to bounce Yuuri on his cock. 

‘I did this to you...’

The omega reached forward, shoving his face against Viktor’s neck with a whimper, arms falling to wrap tightly around the alpha’s waist. He nodded shakily against the silverette’s neck, breathing in the alpha's scent. Yuuri bit his trembling lip, tears springing into his eyes.

When?

When had the comfort and warmth that Viktor’s scent always used to bring started to fade?

‘This is who I turned you into.’

Viktor is seven, standing tall and proud beside his father who continued to converse with the stranger the young prince had never seen before. ‘He’s the new General so you need to be polite, Vitenka,’ his father had said while they walked through the long corridors of the palace. ‘Pay attention to what he says, son. It’s always good practice to meet your future advisors and counsellors at a young age.’ Viktor had nodded firmly in response, determined to follow his father’s instructions and take in every word of the conversation between his father and the newly appointed General.

This new General spoke softly, his words kind and welcoming like his smile but Viktor couldn’t concentrate on what was being said, his attention momentarily enraptured by the doe-like eyes peering down at him.

The silverette stared back, not quite sure what to make of the small boy gazing at him from the General’s arms.

“Yuuri, say hi,” Toshiya encouraged his son.  

Viktor watched the big brown eyes squint in thought. The black-haired child leaned down towards him, taking a quiet sniff. The boy glanced back at his father, shaking his head. Toshiya blinked in confusion.

“Yuuri, this is Prince Nikiforov. Don’t you want to say hi?”

The omega shook his head once again, encircling his small arms around his father’s shoulders and burying his face on Toshiya’s neck. Viktor tilted his head to the side.  

“…why not, son?”

Yuuri’s grip tightened. “... he smells funny, Papa,” he mumbled into Toshiya’s neck.

Viktor’s jaw dropped. “I do not!” He exclaimed. He paused, glancing at his father beside him. “…do I?”

“Oh, Vitenka,” his father chuckled, patting his head. The silverette frowned, sniffing his sleeves. “Your son is adorable, Toshiya.”  

Toshiya laughed nervously. “Apologies your Majesty, your Highness. He’s not usually like this. He’s probably still tired from the travel.” He rubbed Yuuri’s back. “Now Yuuri, we don’t say things like that, okay? It’s not nice.” Yuuri pulled away, his cherub face scrunched in a frown. He turned his head in time to catch sight of Viktor tugging at the collar of his vest, taking a big whiff of his own scent.

The young alpha glanced up, brows creasing and lower lip jutting out as he spoke to the other child. “I don’t stink!”

Yuuri huffed. “ ‘didn’t say you stink, I said you smell funny.”

“It means the same thing!”

“Does not!”

“Does too!”

“Doe-” Toshiya covered his son’s mouth, laughing nervously once again.

“Well…” Viktor’s father commented with another chuckle. “I think they’ll get along just fine.” He bent forward, kneeling down to lightly grip his son’s shoulders. “Viktor, General Katsuki and I have very important matters to discuss. Won’t you take care of Yuuri while he and I talk?”

“…don’t wanna.”

“Viktor…”

Viktor pouted, crossing his arms. “He said I stink, Father!”

“Please, Vitenka?”

The young alpha stared at his father for several seconds before sighing. He nodded reluctantly. His father’s eyes softened, a grateful smile on his lips.

“That’s my boy. Now run along, son, but stay inside the palace. Maybe you can show Yuuri around?” Viktor glanced at the other boy, watching as Toshiya set the black-haired child down on the ground carefully. He turned back to his father, giving a small nod once more. The elder man smiled, patting his shoulder. “Thank you, son.”

Toshiya held Yuuri’s face lightly between his hands. “No more mean comments, Yuuri, okay? Be nice, son. For Mama and me?”

Yuuri nodded, giggling quietly when his father ruffled his hair. “Bye, Papa.”  

“I’ll see you later, Yuuri.”

The two children watched quietly as their fathers left the room, the adults talking idly amongst themselves. Brown and blue orbs slowly glanced at one another as the two children eyed each other in silence. Viktor took a deep breath, puffing his chest out. He could do this. He could show the younger boy – Yuuri. His name was Yuuri – around the palace and be the big boy, of course he can.

He was the prince and princes don’t get worked up over small comments made by doe-eyed little boys.

Yuuri took a big inhale before slowly tilting his head to the side, staring up at Viktor once more.

“…you smell funny.”

Viktor reeled back in shock, mouth hanging open once again. “Stop saying that!” He cried out.

Yuuri blinked. “Why? You do.” The smaller boy squinted at him. “Also, stop making that face.” Viktor snapped his mouth shut immediately, teeth clanking together. “Nee-chan said if you keep making ugly faces, it’ll get stuck that way. Then you’ll be ugly forever.”  

“Ugl-” The silverette’s head spun in shock, the bold audacity of the other child rendering him almost speechless. “Wha- you…” No one talked to him this way. He was the prince! The prince! Who did this little boy think he was?! Viktor gnashed his teeth, glaring at Yuuri with a pout as all his previous self-established etiquette flew out the window.

“I’m the prince! And princes don’t stink! Or look ugly!” He exclaimed, hands on his waist.

“ ‘s not a stinky smell,” Yuuri explained with a shake of his head. “Just weird. You smell like how the sun feels,” he continued, glancing around the big room they had been left in. “Or like how my warm blankie feels when it’s really really cold.” He waddled towards the window. “I like it.”

“Eh?” The silverette blinked, the aggravation quickly turning into confusion as he watched Yuuri place his palms against the window, peering down at the view at the side of the palace. Viktor's scent had always been described as something akin to winter – icy and fresh, never like the sun. Or a blanket. “What do you m-”

Yuuri interrupted the older boy with a gasp.

The omega whipped around with wide, sparkling eyes and Viktor stopped, taken back by the sudden excitement dancing in the brown orbs. “I wanna go there!”  

“Huh? Where?”

“There!” Yuuri pointed eagerly through the window, bouncing on his toes. “Please, can we go?!”

The older boy peered behind the black-haired child, spotting the lake by the side of the palace. “You wanna go to the lake?”

Yuuri nodded enthusiastically. “Uhuh! Pleeaaase?”

“But Father said we have to stay inside the palace…”

Yuuri’s shoulders immediately sagged, his previous exhilaration erased by a tidal of disappointment. “Oh…”   

The silverette watched with a sinking feeling as the brown eyes suddenly dulled, belly twisting at the contrast in the whiskey orbs. Viktor bit his lip, deciding he didn’t like the sudden uncomfortable sensation in his stomach that the younger boy’s downcast mood had brought. He glanced back at the lake before slowly looking back at Yuuri.

“…But Father doesn’t have to know,” he blurted out without thinking.

Viktor watched in fascination as Yuuri’s face lit up once again, the cherub cheeks puffing up with the wideness of his smile. The omega launched himself towards the older boy and Viktor nearly fell back with an ‘oomph’ as Yuuri clung to his torso. He stood stiffly while Yuuri beamed up at him, unsure if he wanted to squirm away or latch back to the warmth of the chubby arms encircling his waist.

“I’ll stop calling your scent funny,” Yuuri said, regarding Viktor with a blinding, closed-eye grin.

Latch back – he definitely wanted to latch back.  

Viktor’s ears reddened, heart accelerating at the warmth radiating from the other child. He shook his head in attempt to clear it, trying to think of the endless servants and guards they would have to sneak passed through instead. ‘Father’s not gonna be happy if we get caught…’ Viktor frowned. He’s the prince. And an alpha. They won’t get caught. He nodded to himself, looking down at the younger boy still hugging him. He’ll make sure they get to the lake without being seen.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one see us, okay?”  

Yuuri’s head bobbed back and forth. “ ‘kay!”

“But you have to be reeallyy careful, especially when we’re at the lake. The grown-ups might catch us if we’re not sneaky enough. It’s really deep so you have to stay close to me, no matter what!”

“Stay close…?”  

“Uhuh, no matter what,” Viktor repeated with a firm nod. “Always stay by my side, okay?”

The big brown eyes twinkled up at him and Viktor swallowed at the butterflies fluttering in his belly, cheeks beginning to heat up. Yuuri giggled, nodding excitedly once more as his face continued to glow.

“I promise!”

Chapter Text

Yuuri blew on his palms in a feeble attempt to warm them, watching with mild interest as his breath fogged in the frosty air of winter. The five-year old giggled at Viktor’s quiet whines of complaint as silver locks became dishevelled with the gust of the wind whooshing around them.

Viktor pouted, patting his hair down before gliding closer to Yuuri. The omega watched in curiosity as the older boy slowly extended his arms out, eyeing the hands suspiciously as they came closer and closer to his head. He yelped, eyes widening when Viktor’s hands suddenly rubbed against his scalp, ruffling his hair into a messy mop.

Yuuri jumped back, momentarily forgetting he had been standing on twin blades and the omega pin-wheeled his arms with a squeal in an attempt to regain his balance.

“Oh!” Viktor darted forward in time to cushion the fall and the two children fell on a heap atop the frozen lake.

They stared at each other, blinking several times before bursting into laughter.

“Sooo…” Viktor began with sparkling eyes when the giggles died down, “what do you think?”

Yuuri giggled. “Again, Vitya!”

“Glide again?”

“Uhuh!”

Viktor laughed, helping the omega to his feet. 

“We can skate as much as you want, whenever you want,” the silverette grinned, clutching at the younger boy’s hands as Yuuri attempted to balance on his skates once more. “Again and again and ag-”

Viktor stopped, face suddenly falling. Yuuri glanced up, blinking through the cold wind blowing around them at the silver-head’s sudden crestfallen expression.  

“Eh? What is it?”

Viktor’s bottom lip stuck out, blue eyes looking downcast. “…Do you have to go again so soon?”

Yuuri’s own face fell. He tightened his hands around the larger palms, equally disheartened by the reminder of their inevitable separation.  

“…I don’t wanna go too,” he confessed quietly.

It had been a little over a year now since they first met.

And while the first few hours they had spent together had only been filled with Yuuri’s sheer delight at seeing the lake up-close and Viktor’s quiet wonder, it didn’t take long before they warmed up to each other to the point that the Katsuki family’s irregular visits became ones where the two had been practically joined at the hips. The Katsukis’ visits usually ended in prolonged stays, extending to a couple of months at best but even then, the period they had together had always felt far too short, their goodbyes always one where their parents had to physically tug them apart.

Short visits. But all the more reason to make the most of them.

“Ah,” Viktor poked Yuuri’s cheek, trying to alleviate the sudden drop of their mood, “maybe when you come back you’ll be teaching me how to do jumps, eh?” He gave the omega a weak smile.

Yuuri’s chin began to tremble.  “…I don’t wanna go, Vitya. Nee-chan’s always busy now. Mama and Papa too,” the omega sniffed. “I like being with you.”

“I like being with you too,” the silverette replied. He squeezed Yuuri’s nose to stop the omega’s eyes from tearing up, giggling when the younger boy batted his hand away with a pout.

“Someday, when I’m all big, I’ll stay with Vitya forever and ever and ever,” Yuuri said firmly.

Viktor raised his eyebrows. “Forever and ever?”  Yuuri nodded, face creased in adorable determination. “You would? By my side?”

“Uhuh!”  

Viktor grinned, the icy breeze making the skin of his cheeks sting. “You promise?”

“Yes, Vitya, I promise!”  

“Even when…” the alpha tapped his lip in thought. “Even… even when we’re all grown-up and...and I’m king Nikiforov?”  

The omega paused at that, looking thoughtful for a brief moment before he shook his head. “…Viktor’s always gonna be Viktor to me,” he said quietly, “Just Vitya.” Yuuri huffed. “Not prince or king Nikiforov, no way!”

Viktor stared at the other child, heart going thump-thump-thump at the utter look of devotion on the pink-cheeked face. He tightened his grip on the smaller hands, smiling tenderly as he watched a snowdrop land on Yuuri’s nose. 

“I wish you could stay forever and ever,” Viktor said softly.

“Mhm,” the omega nodded, “me too…”

Yuuri suddenly blinked, craning his head up to look at the older boy with big, curious eyes.

“Ah! But you’re gonna be going to that party with your Mama and Papa soon, right? Maybe you’ll find new friends to play with until I come back again, Viktor!”  

Viktor shook his head. “Nuh uh! They’ll only wanna be my friend cause I’m the prince. I don’t want to play with anyone else but Yuuri.”  

“That’s not true!” Yuuri leaned forward, wobbling slightly on his skates. “Vitya’s nice. And funny! They’re silly if they only wanna play with you cause you’re the prince!”

“If you say so,” the silverette chuckled.

“It’s true!”

Viktor's head bobbed back and forth with a grin, lips morphing into a heart-shaped smile. “Ah, but even if I have hundreds and hundreds of friends, my bestest one will always be Yuuri.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah! It’ll always be Yuuri I want to stay by my side!”

Yuuri peered at the older boy beneath long, dark lashes.

“…you promise?” He asked, mimicking the alpha’s previous question. “Just me?”

“Of course,” Viktor laughed, “only you!”

“-reprimanded as we speak,” Yakov finished.

Mari swallowed, a mixture of emotions swarming across her face. She hugged herself, taking a step back as she let the weight of Yakov’s explanation, vague as it had been, sink in.

“The Council…killed my son,” Toshiya said dully, sounding as though he didn’t believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. “The council killed my son,” he repeated.

Hiroko buried her face in her hands.

Yakov pressed his lips together, watching each of the Katsukis standing in front of him before shaking his head.

“You misunderstood me, General Katsuki.” Toshiya frowned, not correcting Yakov’s slip-up of his old title amidst the seriousness of the conversation. “Yes, the Head of Council, amongst several of the Council members, had been the ones responsible for attempting to kill your son,” Yakov explained. “Of course, the king will ensure appropriate measures are taken for their actions. But that’s not exactly why you’ve been asked to come here.”

Toshiyo wrapped his arms around Hiroko and Mari followed the dip on the corner of her father’s lips, her own eyebrows drawing in confusion. “What more is there?”  

Yakov folded his hands behind him. “Perhaps it would be best if you see for yourselves. They should be ready soon.” 

“They?” Mari piped in, her curiosity getting the best of her. “Who’s ‘they'?”

But Yakov did not clarify, only shaking his head as he replied. “You’ll see in due time, Lady Katsuki. For now, the king has asked you to wait here.”

Toshiya nodded in uncertainty and Mari glanced around the room uncomfortably, studying the too-familiar ceilings of the Grand Hall as her father and Yakov continued to converse. ‘This place again…’ She paused at the sight of the large crystal chandelier, eyes falling to the space on the floor right beneath it, vision dimming at the vivid memory of red.

Red dripping on the polished floor.

“Actually,” she looked at her parents, stomach feeling heavy. “would it be okay if… I go to the lake?”

Toshiya and Hiroko stared at their daughter.

Red seeping into white clothes.

“I just need some fresh air,” Mari elaborated after several seconds of silence. “I…don’t think I can be here right now,” she gestured to their surroundings.

Red staining a pair of trembling, clasped hands.

Hiroko’s eyes immediately softened, reaching for her daughter with gentle hands. “Perhaps it would do us all good to get some fresh air outside, Mari-chan.” She turned to Yakov with questioning eyes. “Would it be okay with Vicchan if we were to wait by the lake instead?”

Viktor’s heart-aching cries because…because-

Yakov nodded. “I’m sure that would be fine.”

Because Yuuri was gone. He was gone.

Mari looked around the empty Hall one last time, gaze stopping once more at the spot where it had all ended that cold, bleak night.

Yuuri was gone gone gonedon’tgo -

She turned around, quietly retreating from the Grand Hall before anyone could see the dampness in her eyelashes.

Yuuri rubbed absently at his wrist, skin still tingling from the ferocity of the way he had scrubbed the scent-blockers on his body. He adjusted the neckline of the high-collared dress-shirt he was now wearing, stopping when Viktor’s arms tightened around his shoulder.

“Yakov’s informed them about the Council,” the silverette started, eyes trained on the direction of their destination, “briefly, anyway.”

Yuuri eyed the grass swaying with the wind. “…But not about me?”

“No.”

They continued to walk, the repetitive crunch of the fallen autumn leaves beneath their heels filling the silence between them. ‘…And what about us?’ Yuuri stared at the altering hues of green and orange leaves fluttering around their feet. ‘What do I tell them about us? About you? Are they suppose to know we’re…that you-’ 

“Why the lake?” The omega asked, unable to take the silence where his thoughts and his questions seemed to be at their loudest, always grappling at him from the back of his mind.

“Your sister wanted to,” Viktor answered, pulling the younger man closer as though in reassurance. “I suppose it’s only fitting. It’s where they bade their final goodbyes to you after all, love.”

Yuuri’s eyes flickered to the darkening clouds, choosing not to reply as he watched the dimming lights of the twilight sky.

He breathed in deeply, inhaling the crisp air of the early evening as he tried not to imagine the way his ashes would have been carried by the wind across the lake or the way his mother’s shoulders would have shaken with her sobs while she watched the scattering of the grey dusts on the surface of the water.

The omega fiddled with the top button of his collar, dimly recalling the way Viktor had taken one good look him after he had stepped out of the bathroom only a couple of hours ago. For a moment, Yuuri had been afraid that the older male would not keep to his words prior to the Council meeting but Viktor had only kissed his temple, wordlessly entering the bathroom himself as he left Yuuri to stare at the neatly folded clothes -the high-collared dress shirt included- set by the end of the bed.

And now here they were, walking alongside one another under the red and pink hues of the sunset.

‘Have to keep walking-’ 

The sight of the edge of the lake came into view and Yuuri’s pace sped slightly, forgetting the stinging in his skin from where he’d rub himself raw with the scent-blockers in adamant desperation to conceal Viktor’s scent.

‘They’re here. I’ll see them soon-’ 

He paid no mind to the cramping in his muscles -It’ll be okay. Please, let it be okay-, back straightening as a sudden spark of elation racked up his spine when the passing breeze brought about the familiar scent of earth and pinecones. ‘Papa...’ 

His heart skipped when the soft fragrance of cotton and cherry blossoms reached his nose - Mama -, ignoring the twinge at the base of his spine as he willed his body to continue moving despite the bone-deep ache in his limbs. ‘Almost there, almost there-’

Yuuri’s eyes widened, breath leaving his lungs as three blurred figures, barely visible in the distance, appeared in his line of sight. ‘They’re…here?’

He continued to walk forward on numb legs, certain he would have tumbled if not for Viktor’s arms around his shoulders. ‘They’re here…’

The three forms came closer and closer, their frozen, dazed stares becoming clearer and clearer and Yuuri couldn’t contain the sound of longing from escaping his mouth when his vision finally focused, tunnelling on the thunderstruck faces of his mother and father and of his sister. ‘They’re here! They’re really here!’

There was a muted moment of stillness as Yuuri suddenly halted, Viktor stopping right along with him before the omega was bolting forward, tearing away from the silver-head as he sprinted towards the scent of coconuts and the ocean.

‘Nee-chan!-’

Hiroko and Toshiya stood side by side several steps behind their daughter, admiring the same melancholic scenery as they reminisced about the last time they had all stood in this very same place. The orange rays of the setting sun glared down at her face and Mari squinted, following the flock of birds flying by. She brought her knees closer to her chest, quietly sighing as they waited. ‘It’s getting cold…’ Mari rubbed her arms, hiding her face in the crook of her elbows.

A small gust of wind blew passed, distorting the reflection of the darkening skies.

The female alpha paused, perking up as she twisted her head to the direction of the breeze, shallowly inhaling the faint but familiar scent of fresh ice and mint. She leaned back, following the just noticeable speck –specks? - in the distance. The flecks strolled closer and closer, outlines steadily getting sharper and more distinct with every step until it was clear that Viktor was not alone.

Mari stiffened as a tuft of black hair became evident, barely brushing against Viktor’s nose.

Toshiya released a startled intake of breath as ever so slowly, unmistakable wide brown eyes - heartbreakingly familiar brown eyes – were revealed, peering back at them. ‘It can’t be…’ 

Mari rose from the ground on unsteady legs, mouth quietly parting in disbelief. ‘Those eyes…’ Her breath caught in her throat as her gaze locked with watery, brandy orbs staring back at her from behind blue frames. ‘It’s…you?’

Hiroko staggered forward with a cry of disbelief, opening her arms when Yuuri –because there was no one else it could be, not with that nose, that mouth or that face- raced towards them.

Mari's heart leapt to her throat.

‘It’s you! It's you!' 

He crashed into his mother’s arms with a cry, instantly moulding himself into the soft curves of her body.

Yuuri buried his face at the side of Hiroko’s neck, taking big gulps of her scent. Their surroundings fell away as the omega continued to cling to the bone-depth warmth of his mother’s embrace, only distantly aware of hands on his head and of tears dampening his hair. Babbled mess of words reached his ears - his own or someone else, he didn’t quite know but Yuuri did not care to understand, latching on desperately to this moment of completion he never wanted to part away from again.

The omega willed everything to last longer, if only for a little while, but his senses eventually came back in fractures, pulled back to reality by the newfound sweetness intertwined with the faint scent of mint and ice - a reminder of the veiled truths his family had yet to know.

His hearing returned first, coming back to him at the soft sobs of his mother. Yuuri sniffed, cheeks feeling hot from where his father was holding his face, shaking hand wiping away the tears Yuuri didn’t know had been pouring out. The Katsukis crowded around their youngest, disbelieving hands gripping whatever they could of the ravenette, afraid he’d disappear from their grasp once again.

“-uuri…Yuuri, Yuuri-” His name escaped his sister’s lips like a prayer and Yuuri cried harder at the sound of her voice, flinging his arms around the elder Katsuki.

Mari clutched back just as frantically, hands scrabbling at the omega’s back as she buried her face in the black locks, inhaling his scent that was not there. Toshiyo wrapped his children in his arms, the strong hold a reminiscent of the way he had easily carried them on his shoulders when they were nothing but little kids.

“V-Vicchan,” Hiroko sobbed, pulling away from Yuuri. “Thank you, thank you-” She tugged at Viktor’s upper arm, pulling the silverette from where he had been silently watching several footsteps away, hands folded neatly behind his back.

The silver-head stiffened when Hiroko moved to hug him, looking slightly startled as the elder Katsuki cried on his chest.

He blinked, shoulders relaxing before slowly raising his arms to return the embrace.

And perhaps that glint around his finger would have been something that can be attributed to the trick of the sunset, or even something that could have simply been a piece of casual jewellery, entirely suitable for a royalty of his calibre.

But Mari was never the one to overlook the details, miniscule as they may be – had always been the one to stand at the side-line, guarding and watching over her little brother under a façade of nonchalance.

The female alpha slowly pulled away, something unexplainable churning in her stomach as their father joined their mother, the Katsuki patriarch grasping at Viktor’s shoulders and bowing in overflowing gratitude. Mari stared at her brother’s puffy face carefully, enclosing her hands around his and squeezing before slowly glancing down.

Any other day, it would have been easy to miss - this small, trivial thing - especially now in light of the brimming elation currently swarming around them. But Mari did not miss the way the identical band on Yuuri’s finger seemed to almost gleam at her, willing her to notice its presence. Yuuri began to pull away and Mari instinctively tightened her hold, eyes flitting over to where her mother and father stood. 

She stared at Viktor in uncertainty, not quite processing the reason for the presence of the rings. She shook her head, offering her brother a small, watery smile when he gazed at her with wide, anxious eyes. Pulling Yuuri back in her arms, Mari released a quiet, content sigh of happiness, deciding in the nature of the moment that it couldn’t be so important - not right now.

She can ask later. She and Yuuri can have all the time they want. Later.

Hiroko re-joined her children moments later, still sniffing as she stared at her beloved son. The Katsuki matriarch cradled her children’s face in her hands, wiping away their tears the same way she had always done when they had been so small, the top of their heads barely passing her hips as they crashed on the floor, bashing heads after chasing each other around the dining table.

Mari draped one hand over her mother’s waist, the other coming up to grip the juncture of Yuuri’s neck to pull the omega closer.

She frowned at the gnawing feeling in her gut when Yuuri suddenly jerked at the contact, feeling uneasiness crawling down her spine when Yuuri didn’t move, remaining tense as though her hand was resting somewhere he didn’t want to be touched.

The walk back to the palace was slow, one filled with the exchange of quiet murmurs between Viktor and Toshiya. Mari and Hiroko trailed behind the two men, keeping Yuuri firmly penned between them. 

Hiroko’s arms stayed enclosed securely around her son, her head resting lightly on his shoulder and Yuuri could offer nothing else but a small, gentle smile at the wide-eyed glances of heart-felt wonder from his parents. His chest continued to flutter, the combined scents and the calming presence of his family making the heaviness he had been carrying on his shoulders feel a little lighter.

Mari walked steadily by Yuuri’s right, gripping her little brother’s hand firmly within her own. She stared at the polished floor of the corridor, pursing her lips in disdain at the mention of the Council, anger flaring as she listened to Viktor’s explanation of what they had tried to do. Yuuri lightly squeezed her hand in comfort and Mari glanced at her brother, a small, grateful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“-once you’ve all rested?”

Toshiya shook his head, mouth screwed tightly shut, the spark of anger in his usual gentle eyes burning strong. “I need to know precisely which of them it was. What their motives were and why it was my son. Rest can wait.”

Viktor nodded at the Katsuki patriarch, pausing before turning behind him to stare at Yuuri.

The omega stared back and Mari glanced between the two, feeling that same restlessness pulling at her at the uneasy atmosphere. She bit her tongue in an attempt to stay silent as their parents remained blissfully unaware of the press of the cold metal band on her palm.

“…I’m a little tired,” Yuuri said quietly, looking away. “It’s… been a long day. I think I’d prefer to rest for tonight. I’m sorry, Mama, Papa,” he apologised softly, “maybe we can talk about it tomorrow instead?”

Hiroko brushed his hair back tenderly, nodding in understanding as they all came to a halt in the middle of the hallway. 

“Of course, son,” Toshiya said warmly, eyes soft as he patted the ravenette’s arms. “You go ahead and rest. We can talk with his Majesty for tonight.”

“Actually,” Mari interrupted with a shake of her head, “I’m pretty tired too. Would it be okay if-” she tightened her hand around Yuuri’s, “if Yuuri and I can go ahead to rest?”

Hiroko stared at her daughter in concern. “Are you sure, Mari-chan?”

“Yes, Kaa-san,” Mari nodded. “The travel just got to me. Besides, I don’t want to leave Yuuri after we’ve all just…well…” she trailed off, glancing between her parents.

“Ah,” Toshiya squeezed his daughter’s shoulder lightly, “that’s fine Mari-chan. Of course you two can go ahead and rest. We’ll find you after.”

“Yes, Father,” Mari responded.

Yuuri’s hold on his sister's hand loosened as the omega reach forward, embracing his parents tightly once more. Toshiya and Hiroko rubbed between his shoulder blades before pulling back, smiling at their youngest.

“Rest well, son,” Toshiya said softly as Hiroko held Yuuri’s face fondly between her hands.

Yuuri nodded, nuzzling his face against his mother’s palm. “Thank you Mama, Papa.”

Mari reached out as soon as her brother separated from their parents, gripping Yuuri’s hand tightly in hers. “We’ll see you later Mother, Father.”

Viktor’s eyes lingered on the omega’s face before slowly turning to the elder Katsukis with a nod.

“Shall we go, then?” The silverette asked, gesturing forward.

“Yes, Vicchan,” Hiroko responded, grasping at Viktor’s forearm. “Lead the way.”

The female alpha waited until the three disappeared around the corner before dragging her younger brother away, directing him towards the guestroom that had always been designated as hers during their extended visits in the past, pointedly ignoring the blatant stares of those they had passed by.

She ushered Yuuri inside the room as soon as they reached it, flicking the lights on before quietly closing the door. 

The Katsuki siblings stared at one another in silence and Mari took her time to absorb all the little changes she had missed in the years they had spent apart. Yuuri was taller than her now, his build leaner and his face slimmer.

Mari’s eyes watered.

“You’re here…” she whispered, voice strained. “You’re really here. I can’t believe it…”

Yuuri hugged his sister tightly, nodding against her shoulder. “Nee-chan,” he mumbled, words muffled in the fabric of her shirt.

Mari leaned back, eyes swarming as she rested her palms on Yuuri’s shoulders. “…The Council?” Yuuri nodded, gaze shifting to the floor. “You’ll… tell me everything, won’t you?” She asked hesitantly. Yuuri nodded once more.

“Of course,” the omega responded softly. “I just… don’t know where to start, that’s all, Nee-chan.”

“That’s okay, Yuuri,” Mari said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Yuuri’s hands enclosed around her wrists, squeezing in gratitude.

Mari’s smile faded as her eyes slowly centred on his hand. She stared at it, studying the plain, metallic band in silence, following its glimmer under the light as Yuuri’s hands slowly fell back to his side. The omega stepped back and Mari’s brows furrowed, watching the flicker of sadness in the younger Katsuki’s face.

“Yuuri,” she started, keeping her tone even and light despite the confusion, “why are you wearing that?”

Yuuri shook his head, eyes remaining averted.

“Yuuri,” she tried once again, “look at me.”

Mari watched in slight alarm as the omega recoiled back. She swallowed nervously, the uneasiness returning ten-fold when Yuuri shook his head rapidly, blinking several times as though he was trying to come back to himself, breaking away from something only he could hear – something only he could remember.

“…Yuuri?”

Yuuri wrapped his arms around himself, the vulnerability radiating from him making her skin crawl. “I...” the ravenette whispered, lowering his head. “I didn’t want to. Nee-chan… Nee-chan I didn’t want to.” Something heavy sank low in Mari’s stomach as she waited for Yuuri to continue. “I didn’t. But Viktor wouldn’t… he wouldn’t-” Yuuri’s lower lip quivered.

Mari sucked in a breath of air, slowly taking a small step forward while she grasped at Yuuri’s upper arms. “Wouldn’t what?” She pressed on, the mixture of sudden dread and panic making it difficult to keep her voice calm. “Viktor wouldn’t what, Yuuri?”

The omega wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.

“What did he do to you…?” The older Katsuki whispered, feeling the air being swept out from her lungs. There was no response and bone-chilling terror engulfed the female alpha, enclosing around her like claws when her mind began to invoke images she couldn’t handle.

Yuuri pinned to the bed.

She shook the omega in near-panic. “Yuuri, what did he do to you?!”

But Yuuri only shook his head again, gently pushing her arms away.

“…I don’t want Mama and Papa to know.”

Her vision tunnelled, bile beginning to rise to her throat. “You…” The female alpha swallowed several times, attempting to regain her composure through the tremors racking across her body. “How the fucking hell-” she took several breaths, trying to clear her hearing of the high-pitched ringing that the implications of Yuuri’s silence had brought. 'No way… there’s no goddamn way Viktor would- not you, not Viktor...’

Mari bit her knuckles, wanting to shove away what she couldn’t accept.

Yuuri's tears on the sheets.

Her mind raced back to all those years she had spent standing at the sideline, watching as the two grew alongside one another, witnessing the unbreakable bond that had bloomed between them, had followed it as it flourished and thrived. She had seen Viktor’s affections for her brother, had practically tasted the saccharine scent of utter adoration the silver-haired alpha had always emitted when Yuuri had been anywhere near his vicinity.

“They can’t know, Nee-chan.”

‘Know what?!’ Mari wanted to scream. She gripped her head, staggering backwards until the back of her legs hit the edge of the bed. ‘They can’t know what?!’

‘… But you already know,’ another part of her mind hissed at her because what else was there to explain Yuuri’s sad, sad eyes?

Yuuri's voice, so small -so scared- falling to unhearing ears.

Mari growled, white, hot rage coursing through her blood.

“You’re coming home, do you hear me?!” She snapped. “I’m calling Mother and Father right now and we’re…we’re-” She stood up abruptly, feeling light-headed. “We’re leaving. We’re leaving and we’re going back to Hasetsu,” she gritted out, hands shaking as she pointed at Yuuri. “You’re leaving this place and you’re getting the fuck away from that fucking -”

Her outburst came to halt when Yuuri slowly shook his head, drained eyes fixated on the floor.

“No? What do you mean no?”

“…I can’t leave.”

The elder Katsuki glared at her brother. “Of course you can. You will. You’re leaving with me and Mother and Father.” She grasped at Yuuri’s arm in near hysterics when he continued to shake his head. “We’re all leaving goddammit, Yuuri! Do you understand?! We-” 

The omega jerked back, hearing another voice in her words entirely and Mari immediately faltered, heart shattering at the damning evidence of the undeniable damage Viktor had caused in his wake. Yuuri blinked rapidly, releasing an unsteady exhale. 

“I can’t leave, Nee-chan…" 

“…What are you saying, Yuuri?”

He gripped his elder sister’s wrists, squeezing once before guiding her hands to his collar. Mari frowned, staring at the high collar of the dress shirt in confusion. ‘What…?’ Nimble fingers slowly wrapped around hers and the female alpha froze, blood turning to ice as the collar was slowly tugged down. 

“What… is that?” Mari whispered, staring in horror at the unmistakable bite mark surrounded by a rainbow of littered bruises marring the skin of his bare neck. “That… that can’t be a-” Her frantic eyes darted up to Yuuri’s face. “Tell me it’s not that…”

Because forced matings didn’t happen anywhere else but in those dark, hidden pages of history books.

“Nee-chan…”

To be mates meant being irrevocably tied to one another in nearly all aspects of life. And to tear them apart at this point, when the mating bond was still so, so new, would be like suffocating Yuuri with what he never had a choice in the first place. ‘Like having the very core of your being ripped away. A constant longing - an emptiness in your existence that no one else could ever fill,’ she had once read. 

“No,” Mari buried her face in her palms. “No…” She glanced up at the younger Katsuki standing before her, looking absolutely crushed. “Why?" she whispered shakily. "Why is this happening to you…?”

Yuuri stared back, the resignation in his tired eyes a striking contradiction to the bold courage that had once been in those brown orbs. She watched helplessly as the omega’s lips slowly tilted up - the tiny, bitter smile saying everything he couldn’t put into words.

“Nee-chan…Who am I to refuse the king?”

Chapter Text

Green eyes peered up at Yakov.

“So… Katsudon’s with his family right now?”

Yakov nodded.

Yuri crossed his arms in thought, resting his back on the cushioned chair. He glanced around his surroundings, examining the bookshelves and the plain walls of his study room before turning his gaze to the the stack of books neatly piled at the side of the table he was sat in front of. 

“Are they…” he hesitated. He hadn’t seen Yuuri for a few days now. Almost a week if his memory served him right. “Are they going to take him back to Hasetsu?”

‘…Ah,’ the blonde thought to himself when Yakov didn’t respond, picking his pen up once more and rolling it between his fingers, ‘stupid question.’

Of course the Katsukis were going to take Yuuri back home.

“Never mind. Of course Katsudon’s going back w-” The teenager stopped, confused at the small shake of Yakov’s head.

“Yuuri won’t be returning to Hasetsu with his family,” Yakov told the boy quietly, a grave expression fixed on his face.

Yuri blinked twice. He leaned forward, tentatively setting the pen back down on the table.

“… Why?” Green eyes stared at Yakov in confusion.

Yakov kept his gaze pointedly on the table, refusing to make eye contact. There was a moment of silence as the elder alpha carefully picked his words, running them over his head numerous times before finally responding.

“Certain circumstances have come up. It would be best if Yuuri was…to stay here with Viktor.”

Yuri blinked again. “What do you mean? What circums-”

Knock! Knock!

The question was interrupted by a persistent knocking on the door. Both alphas glanced at the direction of the door, watching as it quietly opened to reveal Georgi.

“Apologies for the interruption,” the beta said softly with a small bow, wearing an apologetic expression on his face. “But there’s a bit of a commotion, Lord Feltsman. Someone is requesting to speak with the king, Sir, and-”

“Lord Feltsman. Please.”

Yuri’s eyebrows shot up at the unfamiliar voice that had interrupted Georgi, forehead wrinkling in confusion when a middle-aged woman appeared from behind the guard, stepping forward into the room unprovoked. Almost discourteously, if Yuri was being honest. 'Rude…’ he thought with a frown. It was his study room after all and guests shouldn’t enter without permission

But the woman appeared well-educated, judging from her lavish-looking dress and hair. And judging from the tone of her voice, she sounded to be in dire need of something from Yakov too, enough that she’d apparently forgotten standard etiquettes.

“Please,” the woman repeated, words breathless as she stared at Yakov with wide, haunted eyes.

Yuri’s gaze slowly shifted down, staring at the small girl huddled in the woman’s arms, noting their identical blonde hair and grey eyes. He glanced at Yakov, finding the elder alpha’s lips pressed tightly together, a slight flicker of understanding and recognition in his face.

“This isn’t the place for thi-”

“Please!”

The teenager cringed at the woman’s pleading shriek, flinching away from the uncontrollable tears now filling her grey eyes in what could only be described as the beginning of a breakdown.

“I beg of you!” She continued. “Whatever my father’s done, have mercy! Please!”

The child buried her face on her mother’s neck, lips trembling at the panic and fear in her mother’s voice and scent despite the fact that she couldn’t have been old enough to completely grasp the weight of what was happening around her.

“My family will do anything, Lord Feltsman! Anything!”

Yakov stood up with a shake of his head, the legs of his chair scraping against the floor. “There’s nothing to be done,” he replied, “your father’s crimes are unforgivable and will be punished as such.”

Yuri jerked back in his seat in shock when the woman suddenly surged forward, jostling the little girl in her arms as she fell to her knees.

“No, no, please,” the woman pleaded, the desperation in her voice making the teenager cringe. “Please, let me speak to the king! My father is…he’s not-” she swallowed, lower lip trembling as she shook her head, eyes dropping to the floor.

“Without him we c-can’t…” she shifted the child in her arms, lifting her head up to stare helplessly at her daughter. She brushed back the curly blonde hair framing the girl’s face, fingers shaking.

“My daughter loves him so much. A-and my mother, she’s ill too a-and…and-” the woman faltered. She took numerous breaths in an attempt to calm her self before peering back at Yakov with wide, beseeching eyes. “Let me speak to my father one last time,” she pleaded, “please. I beg you, Lord Feltsman, just one last time!”

Yakov stared at them for a second longer, pity flickering across his face. “…I can’t do anything for you or for your family,” he told her with a small sigh. “The king’s words are absolute. Not even Yuuri Katsuki can save your father. Lord Ledovskoy will not see the light of day again.”

Green eyes darted frantically between Yakov and the unnamed woman, swallowing uncomfortably when the small child began to cry.

“Inessa… Inessa s-sweetheart, don’t cry. It’s okay, it’s okay,” the woman kissed the top of the child’s head in comfort despite the tears leaking from the corner of her own lashes. “Grandpa’s coming back, darling. W-we just … we just h-have to-” Inessa’s mother’s words cut off in a stifled sob.

She closed her eyes tightly, slammed with realisation that there was truly nothing she could do.

Yakov released a heavy exhale, glancing at Georgi and the small number of guards now gathered by the door. He gestured towards the blonde female and the little girl.

“Escort them out, please.”

Georgi nodded solemnly, approaching with cautious steps. He helped the shaking woman to her feet, shooting Yuri one quick look before gently but firmly leading their unforeseen guests out of the study room.

Yuri sat motionless in his seat, listening to the quiet sniffles and stifled sobs, waiting for the quiet ‘click’ of the closing door before slowly glancing at Yakov.

Yakov, just as he had been doing all this time, purposely avoided his eyes. Uncomfortable silence stretched on in the room and the blonde continued to stare at the older male, eyes following Yakov’s form as the elder alpha sat down wordlessly once more. Yakov’s arms carefully extended out and Yuri watched in mild interest as he reached for a thin book atop the small pile of literature on the table. The old alpha brushed his fingers lightly against the coffee-coloured cover, opening the book and skimming the first page with purposeful eyes. He nodded to himself once, setting the book in front of Yuri, gesturing for the teenager to begin reading.

Yuri stared at the old, worn out pages, not the least bit interested in even attempting to decipher the words. He scanned from left to right, feigning following Yakov’s silent order long enough until the tension in the older man’s shoulders dissipated.

The letters became a jumbled mess soon enough and Yuri slowly pushed the book away, peering up at Yakov with blank eyes.

“…What was that?” The teenager asked with a small tilt of his head.

“Read, Yuri,” Yakov replied.

Yuri shook his head.

“Yuri…” The older alpha glared at him.

“I’ll finish it later,” the blonde brushed off with a wave of his hand. “Who was that woman?”

Yakov did not reply and Yuri pestered on, determined not to let this one go.

“Why was she begging speak to Viktor?” the teenager asked, leaning forward slightly. “Who’s her father? Why’d Viktor lock him up?” he continued, bombarding Yakov with questions and carefully watching for the old man’s reaction. “Is her father gonna die?”

Still no reply. Yuri pursed his lips.

“You mentioned Katsudon…what does it have to do with Katsudon?”

Yakov twitched in his seat and Yuri paused, interest piping up even more.

Yakov stared at the table in quiet thought, silently contemplating about what he could and should say. Clearly, this was something that couldn’t be hidden for too long, especially not with the hushed whispers already circulating around the palace. The boy had his ways of finding things out on his own, anyway, so what would be the point in keeping Yuri in the dark at this point?

‘Absolutely nothing,’ he thought with an internal sigh.

With a small nod to himself, Yakov decided that the boy, at the least, deserved to know about the Council and Lord Ledovskoy.

“Yakov…?”

The other things, however–those unspeakable, wrong, wrong things- don’t have to be mentioned. Not right now. Those things, Yuri didn’t have to hear. Not yet.

Yakov cleared his throat. He opened his mouth, voice low and tone grim as he began to speak, explaining exactly what had transpired in the early afternoon before the Katsuki family’s arrival, telling Yuri of precisely what had led to Yuuri’s inevitable disappearance and of why the omega had chosen to leave and let everyone believe him to be dead.

The blonde listened in silence, nodding absently every now and then, eyes narrowing and fist clenching.

‘The Council…’ He shifted uneasily at the unexplainable churning now stirring in his stomach the longer Yakov talked, a growing inkling that there was something –something wrong? Something bad?- Yakov was choosing not to tell him.

Yuri breathed deeply through his nose, gaze slowly moving to the neglected book laid out in front of him.

Green orbs flitted over the scripted title, focusing sharply on the pages as Yakov continued to speak, reading the ‘Mates and the Mating Bond: Chapter 1’ printed neatly on top of the page over and over again.

“Heh, ‘course you’d be here.”

Brown eyes glanced up at the rough greeting, blinking once. The omega offered Yuri a small smile. “Good morning to you too, Yurio.”

“A bit too early to be in the library isn’t it, Katsudon?”

“Mhm, I suppose so,” Yuuri agreed, closing the book in his hands. “You’re up early.”

“I could say the same to you.” Yuri strolled to the seat next to the ravenette, pulling the chair back before plopping himself down. “Yakov said your family’s here now.”

A blinding smile bloomed on Yuuri’s face, eyes twinkling as he grinned. “Yes, they are.”

Yuri leaned his cheek on his palm, regarding the omega with raised eyebrows. “How’ve they been?”

“They’ve been… well for the most part. They’re still asleep, actually,” Yuuri answered after some thought. “I don’t want to interrupt their rest. The travel’s always been so exhausting.”

The teenager nodded with a small hum. “And what about you? I haven’t seen you all week. What’ve you been up to huh, Katsudon?”

Yuuri paused at that, eyes slowly falling to the table. “…this and that,” he replied softly, his smile becoming a tad bit strained. “Nothing much really.”

Yuri eyed the other male. ‘… Nothing much, huh.’ He scrunched his nose, debating with himself whether to push the topic of the Council forward.

“How are your studies going, Yurio?”

Yakov, like always, hadn’t exactly been cooperative with giving any details, only telling him enough to pacify some of the burning questions he had. Yuri had stayed up a good chunk of the night, just thinking and thinking as he stared at the ceiling with his ever-present frown. He had become a little irritated when he hadn’t been able to piece anything else together, eventually giving up with a sigh as he forced himself into the abyss of sleep.

“Yurio?”

“Huh?” If it was something exceedingly important, whatever it was Yakov refused to say, Yuuri would tell him, wouldn’t he? “Oh… uh, boring as always. Yakov’s making me catch up on the shit I missed.”

Though…  the omega certainly didn’t seem comfortable with where the conversation was headed towards.

“Ah, of course.”

There was several moments of silence.

Yuuri began to fiddle absently with the corner of the book in front of him, chewing on his lips. With no more mandatory questions left to ask, Yuri decided he would get straight to the point. If there was something he was good at, it was pestering someone endlessly until he got what he wanted. So if there really was more to be said -and he had nagging suspicion there was a lot he hadn’t been told- he’d get it out from Yuuri. Eventually.

The blonde nodded to himself.

“Yakov told me about the Council,” he blurted out.

Yuuri stiffened. “…Oh.”

“Buuut,” the alpha continued, feigning nonchalance despite his curiosity spiking up at the omega’s reaction, “Yakov’s Yakov and Yakov never likes telling me anything soooo,” he blew away the blonde strands tickling his forehead, “I never got to hear the full story. Mind filling me in, Katsudon?”

Yuuri bit his lip. “What exactly did Yakov tell you?”

“Well,” Yuri gave the other male a sideway glance, “just the gist of it, really. He told me about Ledv… Ledos…Levosk- ugh whatever that stupid fucker’s name is – and his circle of goons. He mentioned some stuff about that Council meeting too and Viktor being…well, pissed off. Again.”

The omega slowly nodded, a strange look on his face.

“Did Yakov mention anything else?” Yuuri asked quietly.

Aha.

So he was right then - there was more to it.

“…Are there more things to be said?” Yuri asked in return, green orbs boring straight into brown.

The ravenette didn’t respond, his expression slowly morphing into something the teenager couldn’t quite decipher. Their eye contact remained for several, long seconds before Yuuri finally looked away, slowly diverting his eyes to the side.

“…what else have you been up to?” the omega asked softly, deflecting away from the direction the conversation was steering towards.

Yuri’s eyes narrowed.

He leaned forward, unwilling to let it slide. “Well,” he began, keeping his tone casual, “this and that,” he mimicked the omega.

Yuuri shook his head slightly, a small, fond smile playing on his lips at Yuri’s familiar shenanigans. “Is that so?”

“Actually,” Yuri tapped on his chin, “there was this rather weird incident last night in my study room.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Yakov was there too.” Yuri crossed his arms. “This woman and her kid came barging in while I was in the middle of reading.” Perhaps ‘barging in’ was a bit of a stretch but hey, the young alpha thought with an internal shrug, anything to keep help this conversation along the correct direction. “Rude, right?”

Yuuri blinked, forehead scrunching. “What?”

“Yep. The woman was begging Yakov for permission to speak to Viktor.” Yuuri sat up, back straightening. “It was quite awkward, actually. Yakov didn’t really want to hear any of it.”

He watched with growing interest as something flickered across Yuuri’s face, brown eyes becoming unfocused in a brief moment of thought as though the omega was slowly piecing something together in his mind.

“- Mama and I are here to wait for Grandpa. Grandpa has this really important thing he has to do in the palace today-”

Yuuri swallowed, recalling the events prior to the Council meeting, belly flipping at the possible implications of what Yuri was telling him. “…What did the child look like?”

Green eyes blinked at him. “Eh?”

“The little girl. What did she look like?” He asked patiently, forcing down the distress that had began to rise.

Yuri tilted his head. “How’d you know it was a little girl?”

Yuuri shook his head, pressing his lips tightly together.

The teenager’s brows furrowed. “… she had blonde hair,” he eventually answered when it was clear Yuuri was not willing to elaborate. “Curly and darker than mine, I think. She had grey eyes,” he shrugged in indifference. “She looked like her mother.” He eyed the omega suspiciously. “…Why does it matter, Kats-”

“What was her mother saying to Yakov?” Yuuri interrupted, heartbeat beginning to accelerate.

Yuri paused, confused at the peculiarity of the other male’s reactions.

“Yurio, please,” Yuuri breathed, “I need to know.”

Yuri bit his cheek before answering. “Well... she just kept asking Yakov if she could speak to Viktor. I’m surprised she was still able to talk with how much she was blubbering actually but… she kept mentioning ‘my father’,” he huffed, mood immediately souring at the mention of the Council. He shook his head with a grimace. “From what I understood… that fucking Council Head was the kid’s grandfather.”

“-he’s supposed to come with me and Mama after to visit Grandma-”

Yuuri began to breathe heavily as he listened in silence, nausea starting to rise from the pits of his stomach. A high-pitched ringing began to fill his ears, making it difficult to fully comprehend the other boy’s words.

“I don’t even know why that woman tried,” Yuri continued. “Of course Viktor isn’t going to listen to any jackshit from that fucker’s family. Hell, even Yakov didn’t want to listen. No matter how much she begged on her knees – literally on her knees Katsudon- there wa-”

“-having your throats slits and listening to all of you beg-”

The omega pressed his fingers against his lips, brown eyes widening in mounting alarm when his imagination began to evoke images of crimson chaos.

Yuri’s words slowly died in his mouth, green eyes zeroing in on the flash of gold.

“W-what,” Yuuri cleared his throat, swallowing heavily as visions of red, red carnage played behind his eyelids. “What happened to them?”

Yuri didn’t reply, gaze still trained on the ring. ‘… What the hell?’

“-having your tongues ripped out so I can watch you all choke to death-”

“Yurio! What happened to them?” Yuuri repeated frantically.

The young alpha’s eyes lifted up, looking thoroughly confused as he stared owlishly at the omega’s panicked face. The teenager blinked several times, shaking his head to clear it as he forced himself to focus on the conversation once more.

“…Who? The kid and her mother?” Yuri asked, keeping his expression blank when Yuuri nodded. ‘What the fuck is happening…?’  He leaned back in his seat, tilting back just enough to balance on the back legs of the chair. “Who knows? The guards dragged them away.” He stared at the surface of the table absent-mindedly. “…Maybe Viktor’s gonna let them rot in the dungeon with the Council Head.”

The omega paled, stone-cold fear racing down his spine despite the obvious jest of the younger boy’s comment. His vision dimmed as he became lightheaded, unable to stop the dark, macabre scenarios that tore through his mind.

“Where’s Viktor…?” Yuuri whispered, the remnant of the angry, angry growl that had resonated so deafeningly in the Meeting Hall reverberating in his ears.

“-smashing your skulls open-”

“…what?”

“-of ripping you all apart limb from limb-”

Yuri nearly toppled back in his seat when Yuuri stood up abruptly, his chair falling behind him with a ‘clang’. The omega surged forward, clasping at the teenager’s shoulders frantically.

“Yurio, where’s Viktor?!” He shook the young alpha in increasing alarm.

Yuri gawked at him, mouth hanging open at the sudden frenzied look in the brown eyes staring back at him in pure panic.

“H-how the hell should I know? You’re the one always with him!” Yuri replied, shrugging off the omega’s hands, feeling jittery himself at their tense exchange. “Why are you suddenly being so weird, Katsudon?”

Yuuri’s arms fell to his side.

The blonde frowned, watching as the omega took a step back, backing away from the table. “…Is it cause of the dungeon thing? ‘Cause I wasn’t actually serious ab-”

Yuri immediately wavered when the colour drained further from Yuuri’s face, leaving the ravenette’s skin pale and ashen.

“-your families’ heads skewered on a spike–” 

Yuuri swayed on his heels and for a second, Yuri was afraid he’d have to catch the omega but Yuuri seemed to regain his balance at the last second, leaning on the table for support. Terrified, brown eyes flashed Yuri another wide-eyed stare before the omega was bolting out of the library without a word.

“O-oi! Katsudon, wait! I wasn’t serious about the dunge-”

But Yuuri was already out of hearing range, tearing out of the room as if his life depended on it.

Yuuri raced down the hallways, large, frightened eyes darting through every doorway he passed by as he frantically searched for a flash of silver.

‘Where are you?’

Panic continued to bubble in Yuuri’s chest, his heart thudding endlessly while he continued to sprint with no direction, ignoring the burning in his thighs as his eyes began to sting with tears. He shook his head furiously in an attempt to clear his mind of the sickening images –blood on the floor, blood on the walls. Red, red, blood on his hands, under his nails, between his fingertips- and of the imaginary screams –shrieks, sobs, wails. Loud. So, so loud- that followed his every stride.

Yuuri bit his lip hard, chin trembling at the phantom cry of a small child, of grey, grey eyes staring at him in utter terror.

Viktor wouldn’t. Viktor couldn’t. Not a child… right?

“-your grandchildren’s dead corpses staring back at you-”

Yuuri began to sob.

‘Where are you, whereareyou-’

He skidded to a sudden halt by a large, glass window overlooking the garden, heart jumping at the sight of silver locks drifting with the cold morning breeze from below. Yuuri let out a cry, immediately dashing to the direction of the staircase, not even pausing to take a breath as he raced down the steps.

Viktor craned his head back, blue eyes skimming the morning sky as he watched the thick, grey clouds rolling in.

‘…It’s going to rain soon,’ the silverette thought with a small frown. He never did like the rain.

He continued to walk across the garden, mindful of the distant sound of thunder that had begun to echo around him. His hair blew with the small gust of wind, strands of silver tickling his forehead and cheeks – an early sign of an oncoming thunderstorm.

Viktor’s eyes narrowed.

Something unexplainable continued to sink low in his stomach, making the alpha feel on edge. It was far too early to be this agitated but there was nothing he could do about the sense of foreboding stirring in the pit of his belly. He had walked around the palace twice already, looking for something to help douse the indescribable dread that had been crawling down his back, strong enough to make his knees feel ready to collapse. Viktor clenched his teeth, disliking the uncomfortable twisting in his chest, slightly frustrated he couldn’t decipher the reason for the coiling tension that seemed to extend even to his fingertips.

Tiny flecks of water flicked at the side of his face and the alpha paused his steps, glancing at the fountain beside him.

“-or!”

Viktor turned his head to the side, scanning his surroundings at the muffled sound of a voice distantly shouting his name. His brows furrowed when he couldn’t locate anyone nearby.

“-iktor!”

The voice was louder now, more familiar, and Viktor blinked, taking a small step back as he turned to look behind him. ‘Yuuri…?’

“Viktor!”

The silverette’s chest plummeted in a split second of panic at the complete, utter terror in Yuuri’s voice.

Viktor immediately whipped around in alarm, twisting his whole body just in time to catch a flash of black before Yuuri’s body was colliding with his own. Viktor staggered back, catching the omega as Yuuri hurled himself towards him. The younger man fell to his knees, clinging to the alpha’s torso with all his might. Viktor stood by the fountain, immobile as he listened, dazed by the hiccups and high-pitched noises interspersing every other word pouring out of Yuuri’s mouth.

“-can’t, Viktor! Y-you can’t! Don’t-”

Viktor remained motionless, stunned blue eyes boring onto the black hair on the top of Yuuri’s head as the omega practically wailed onto his shirt. Yuuri cried harder at the other man’s silence, pressing his face even further onto the silverette’s stomach as he continued to beg in broken, jumbled sentences, his words and sentences almost incoherent.

“-only a ch-child, you c-can’t…please, please y-you can’t-”

Viktor released numerous unsteady breaths, slowly understanding what had set Yuuri off. He willed his heartbeat to calm as he fought away the bloodcurdling terror that had momentarily seized at him.

The alpha placed his palms at the arms wound tightly around his waist, feeling disoriented -nauseated even- at the sight of the shaking mess kneeling in front of him. He swallowed several times but the lump in his throat did not dissipate, making his voice sound raspy and rough as he began to speak.

“Yuuri.”

‘I can’t breathe…’

Yuuri continued to beg through his tears, Viktor’s voice nothing but a distant buzzing in his ears.

“-anything wrong…Viktor, V-Viktor, they didn’t! Don’t-”

“Yuuri, enough,” Viktor interrupted, refusing to let the heart-wrenching desperation in Yuuri’s pleas rattle him even more than it already had.

Yuuri’s arms tightened around his waist, his tears soaking into Viktor’s shirt as he sobbed, the chilling terror smouldering through the mating bond making the silverette’s spine prickle. He tugged at the omega’s wrists cautiously, pulling until the hold had loosened enough for him to step to the side as Yuuri’s arms fell away. The omega’s fingers scrabbled at the ground, nails digging into the soil and grass while his shoulders continued to shake uncontrollably. Viktor knelt down carefully, resting his knees on the ground beneath them.

He reached forward, grasping lightly at the side of Yuuri’s face.

“Breathe,” he instructed softly. Brown eyes stared back at him, pleading through soaked, dark lashes. “Yuuri, breathe," Viktor repeated.

‘These tears…’

Yuuri’s chin trembled, shaking his head violently at Viktor when the alpha attempted to calm him with a wave of his scent – something that, in another time of their lives, would have been more than enough to soothe this smothering fear choking him so much that he could barely breathe.

“Don’t h-hurt-” the omega hiccupped. “P-please Viktor, they haven’t done anything… she’s only-” the omega cut off in a choked cry, bowing his head. “Viktor…”

Viktor pulled at the omega until Yuuri’s forehead was leaning on his shoulder, biting his tongue at the dizzying nausea pulsing through his head, grimacing when an unbearable ache- too real and there- squeezed his chest from inside out -no wall of anger to block it all out, huh-

He rubbed soothingly at the omega’s back, hand coming up to lightly grip the back of Yuuri’s neck.

“Shh…”

But Yuuri only continued to cry, grappling hands reaching to grip at the collar of the alpha’s shirt with quivering digits. The silverette pressed his lips to the side of the younger male’s head, fighting the rising bile as his own throat began to clog at the sound of Yuuri’s cries.

“Please, please. Don’t hurt- you’re not a… y-you wouldn’t-” Yuuri sobbed. “Please… please don’t. Vitya, d-don’t-”

A sharp twinge that couldn’t be ignored struck at Viktor’s chest, striking far too deep without that thick, foggy haze –no suffocating anger, no resentment. Nothing. Nothing to hide behind right now is there? - to obscure his senses, an ugly, ugly voice at the back of his mind mocking him.

The alpha pressed Yuuri’s face further into the crook of his neck.

‘Stop it. Stop crying.’

Viktor moulded himself into the warmth of Yuuri’s body - no dark veil of self-righteousness to fall back to right now, do you? Look! Look what you did-  internally gnashing his teeth at the taunting voice in his head that sounded suspiciously too much like his own.

He tugged at Yuuri carefully, leaning back until he could feel the cold press of the marble fountain between his shoulder blades. The omega allowed him, splaying across his lap haphazardly.

“…Hush,” Viktor murmured into the black locks, brushing his fingers through Yuuri’s hair. “Hush, love,” he repeated when the tremors rocking through the smaller frame continued. 

Yuuri shook his head once again, his tears drenching Viktor’s neck.

“…not part of this,” he whimpered onto the alpha’s shoulder, words muffled, “they’re n-not… they’re not-”

The silverette continued to listen to the agonising cries. He waited, breathing deeply through the near hysteria he had no choice but to endure –can’t stand to feel this from him, can you? It hurts too, doesn’t it?-

Azure orbs slowly rose to the sky, eyeing the bright flares of lightning behind the grey clouds, listening to the distant rumbles of thunder that accompanied every white flash. The frenzied pleas eventually died down, morphing into quiet sobs as Yuuri began to exhaust himself and Viktor tightened his arms around the omega.

“…I didn’t know who that child was – what Lord Ledovskoy was to her. Not until Yakov told me,” Viktor finally started when the ravenette’s breathing began to even. “She and her mother… they weren’t suppose to be here waiting for the Council Head.”

Yuuri whimpered, clenching his eyes tightly. He burrowed his face onto Viktor’s neck, seeking for the unconditional bone-depth warmth and mind-clearing tranquillity Viktor’s scent had always, always brought.

He cried harder, fisting at Viktor’s shirt when he could feel neither.

‘This fear…’

“Yakov instructed the guards to escort them back home, that’s all, love,” the silverette continued softly, eyes still trained on the sky -Oh, look at that. He’s crying even more because of your scent. How fucking scared must he be to bawl at just the smell of you-

“They’re unharmed.”

The omega took several rattling breaths. He shook his head once again, not knowing what to believe in anymore. Brown orbs brimming with tears cracked open, peering up at Viktor as Yuuri gazed at the alpha, eyelids swollen and cheeks red and puffy.

“You won’t-” Yuuri hiccupped, “you won’t h-hurt them?”

Viktor stared at the omega’s face, wanting to turn his back on those sharp, ragged jabs piercing at his chest at the wreck of emotions that were screaming back at him –What now? Are you going to make him cry some more? Going to make all his fears come to life? -

Viktor began to wipe the omega’s tears away with his thumbs- Go on, stain your hands red again. Prove to him what animal you really are. Show him there’s really no return from this nightmare you’re both stuck in- but to no avail.

“No, love,” he answered softly, the uncomfortable coiling in his belly twisting tighter and tighter when the tears continued to cascade down Yuuri’s cheeks –None of your own hurt to overpower it now, huh? No anger and bitterness coursing through your blood to wash his cries away. How are you going turn your head away without any of those, you fucking-

Small pit pats of raindrops began to hit his face.

“You m-mean it?”

Viktor slowly closed his eyes, gently pressing his lips against Yuuri’s forehead –whatever would make him stop crying, right? Anything to calm him so you won’t be able to feel this anymore, right? Cause this has always been about you since it began hasn’t it, you fucking selfish, selfish-

“... I promise,” the alpha murmured into the black locks.

Yuuri’s tremors immediately diminished, taking with it the choking terror that had threatened to drown them both only moments beforehand. There was an ominous stillness resounding in the silverette’s ears now that the cold, taunting voice was suddenly absent – the jeering words spat by the timbre of his own voice silenced by the pacifying relief threading through the bond.

Viktor pressed his face further onto Yuuri’s hair.

‘…Your tears and your fear.’ He bit his lip. ‘This ache and these goddamn thoughts. That fucking voice-’

Viktor tightened his arms around Yuuri, breathing deeply through his nose.

‘-I hate it. I hate it all.’ 

Chapter Text

Viktor stood in the middle of the garden, immobile as he stared passed the fountain with wide, stunned eyes. Dread churned at the pit of his stomach, throat feeling clogged. He swayed, attempting to take a step forward but unable to when his heels remained firmly planted on the ground, legs feeling too weak to even lift.

Several feet away, almost hidden behind the marble fountain, a huddled form sat, knees tucked into his chest and head buried in his arms. A tuft of black hair peaked out, what was visible of the small form’s shoulders evidently shaking with every sniffle he was letting out. The fifteen year-old swallowed hard, heartbeat pounding like drums in his ears as he remained frozen, lost as to what he should do.

Viktor opened his mouth to speak, immediately snapping it shut with a wince at the sound of a quiet whimper.

Yuuri didn’t know he was there yet, otherwise the twelve year-old would have no doubt already ran away. Or pushed Viktor in the fountain. Yuuri had done that out of sheer panic before. Viktor didn’t really know who had been more gobsmacked by that particular incident.

The silverette shook his head internally at himself. This wasn’t the time to dwell on those things.

He inhaled deeply, squaring his shoulders as he forced his legs to move forward, approaching the fountain and walking around it with careful, quiet steps. He paused, chest twisting uncomfortably at the sight of Yuuri’s huddled form perched on the grass, back resting against the marble fountain and head nestled between his knees. Viktor swallowed again, taking one more step forward to stand in front of the omega.

He knew exactly when Yuuri realised he wasn’t alone anymore, judging from the slight jolt and the immediate halting of his quiet sniffs. The alpha watched anxiously as the younger boy slowly lifted his head.  

Red-rimmed eyes peeked up at Viktor, brown orbs drowning in a flood of tears.

The silverette willed his breathing to even, trying to push down his own panic while kneeling in front of Yuuri, silver hair brushing against his elbows as he reached forward, resting his palms on Yuuri’s shoulders before the omega had the chance to bolt up and run away.

“Yu-” Viktor cleared his throat, “Yuuri,” he tried, wincing at the strain in his own voice. Yuuri sniffed. “Yuuri,” he repeated, a little clearer this time, “what is it?” The omega burrowed his face further into his knees, sniffing a few more times before mumbling something the silver-head couldn’t quite grasp. “…I can’t understand what you’re saying, Yuuri.”

Seconds ticked by until the younger boy finally looked up. Viktor’s chest plummeted at the sight of the tear-stained face, cheeks pink and chin trembling. A spark of ire at whatever had caused this immediately flared with the distressing sight as Yuuri wiped his cheeks, leaning his chin on his knees.

“W-would you-,” the twelve-year old bit his lip, his voice sounding hoarse. Brown eyes drifted to the ground as Yuuri hugged his legs closer to his chest. “Would you still w-want to s-spend so much time with me if I w-wasn’t an omega?”

Viktor stared at the other boy blankly. “…what?”

The omega’s bottom lip wobbled. He didn’t repeat his question but Viktor didn’t need him to. The alpha studied the forlorn expression on the smaller boy’s face, not understanding where the question had come from. He frowned. He’ll find out why Yuuri was suddenly questioning this but for now, stomping away the omega’s uncertainties was more important.

Viktor took a deep breath, determined to erase these dark doubts from the younger boy’s mind immediately.

“I’d spend my everyday with you if I could,” he said firmly, promptly freezing as soon as the words left his mouth. Heat rose to his cheeks. “I-I mean,” he stammered, blue eyes darting away, “um…”

Why were these things so much more difficult to say now than when they were younger?

“...It doesn’t matter what you are,” The silverette finally said after a moment of gathering himself. “Alpha, beta, omega…it doesn’t mean anything. Being Yuuri is always…more than enough.” The alpha glanced at Yuuri from the corner of his eyes, finding large brown orbs staring intensely back at him with that piercing look he never could fully decipher. “…What made you ask that?” Viktor asked, shifting slightly on his knees because, well… he never did know what else to do but squirm under that gaze.  

Yuuri’s chin began to tremble once more, eyes filling up with tears once again as he buried his face between his knees with a small whine.

Viktor winced.

“Y-Yuuri, come on,” he shook the omega helplessly, “you know I’m not good with people crying in front of me. I never know what to do!”

“Y-you don’t think I’m too p-plain?” Yuuri asked with a sniff, peeking back up at the older boy. “Or too common-looking?”

The silverette’s brows furrowed. “What?”

More tears leaked out from the corner of Yuuri’s eyes. “Th-that I wouldn’t be much if I w-wasn’t an omega?”  

The alpha paused.

“…where did you hear that?” Viktor asked, face carefully blank even as something inside him began to stir, something hot beginning to pump through his veins. The fingertips on Yuuri’s shoulders twitched.

Who dared to spit these words?

“I passed by some… people when I was looking for Nee-chan. I think they’re the ones Papa and your father are suppose to have that meeting with but our dads weren’t there yet. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop…” Yuuri admitted quietly, pulling his knees closer to his chest. “They didn’t know I was there but I kept hearing ‘Katsuki’ so…”

“…I see,” Viktor nodded, expression remaining calm as he offered Yuuri a wide smile that looked a tad bit too bright. “Well, you shouldn’t listen to those people. Those people are stupid. They don’t know what they’re talking about,” he assured the other boy, the corner of his lips twitching with the effort to keep the smile fixed on his face.

‘Breathe,’ Viktor reminded himself, trying to push down the brewing anger threatening to lash out of him. ‘Remember what father said. Control.’ He took a deep breath, attempting to smother away the molten anger now coursing through his blood – this hot, hot rage feeling almost foreign because he was never really one to get angry.

Then again, Viktor had recently turned fifteen and had arrived at that stage in life where just his age was enough of a reason to justify bouts of anger and loss of temper.  Still, the silverette took pride in his steel rein in control, knowing that gnashing his teeth now while in search of those people who dared to insult Yuuri would do neither him or Yuuri any good at this point. Hormones and instincts aside, the itching need to comfort the younger boy right now was far more important than the irritating desire to bite people’s heads off.

“Hey, Yuuri,” Viktor said softly, tucking a stray strand of silver behind his ears. “No matter what anyone says, it’s always you I’m going to want by my side. Always, okay? And that’s not because you’re an omega, Yuuri.”

Yuuri wiped his eyes. “You promise?”

“I promise,” Viktor responded without a beat, helping the other boy to his feet. He wiped Yuuri’s cheeks with his sleeve, adjusting the blue glasses perched on the omega’s face.

“...Papa won’t let me get sent away, would he?”

Viktor stopped. “…What?” he asked blankly for what felt like umpteenth time, that too-bright smile freezing on his face.  

Big brandy eyes peered up at the older boy and Yuuri bit his lip, fiddling with the front of his shirt upon finding the stiff up-tilt still etched on Viktor’s lips.

“… One of them said sending me away when I’m old enough to get married would be good for strengthening alliances…whatever that means,” Yuuri’s face scrunched once more at the reminder, trying to stop himself from crying again. “I don’t want to get sent away, Vitya!”

The fifteen-year old stared at the ravenette, letting the words sink in. ‘…Married?’  

The tilt of Viktor’s lips began to fall.  

“…Vitya?”

He tried to imagine it - an older Yuuri with that same big, brown eyes and that same warm smile. An older Yuuri standing before him, brandy orbs suddenly swimming in tears and lower lip wobbling as he holds Viktor’s hands for one last time, tearfully bidding Viktor their final goodbye.

‘Send you away to…leave? ...forever?’

Azure eyes narrowed.

‘No goddam way.’  

“No one’s sending you away, Yuuri,” Viktor said lowly, barely able to conceal the deep growl threatening to rumble out from his chest. “Your father definitely won’t agree. And neither would mine so don’t worry about that.”

The omega blinked at the quietness in Viktor’s voice, craning his head back to look the alpha in the eyes. Viktor was getting so tall now.  

“No one’s sending you away,” The silverette repeated after a moment of silence, softer this time. He paused.

Easy as it was to say that no one would be taking Yuuri away, there’s no negating the possibility that a time might come when Yuuri might- he might-

Viktor’s brows furrowed.

What if… what if a time came when it was Yuuri who decided he wanted to leave?

They were painfully young after all and there was no way to know who they’d meet and what relationships they will form with who in the future. But Viktor couldn’t see himself spending his time with another like this, saying these things to someone else like this -it’s not a crush! Shut up, Chris!- any time soon despite how approachable and ‘charming’, as his mother so eloquently put it, he appeared to be. Viktor could meet an infinite amount of strangers and he still didn’t think he’d find anyone remotely close to being like the phenomena that was Yuuri Katsuki.

And Yuuri…? Yuuri - to the dismay of that selfish part of Viktor that wanted to cover the omega in a cocoon of blankets and feed him all the katsudon in the world- was so, so easy to gravitate towards.

How the omega couldn’t see that, Viktor didn’t know, but the silverette knew it was only a matter of time before others will begin to notice those warm brown eyes and that kind, pretty smile on that equally pretty face. It wouldn’t just be Viktor anymore.

Viktor hesitated.

“Unless someday… you decide you want to go?” he added quietly, sounding more of a question than anything else. If the time ever came, it’d be easy for Yuuri to find someone he could very well be willing to leave him for, wouldn’t it?

Yuuri gazed up at Viktor, blinking in confusion at the sudden uncertainty. He frowned, traces of his previous tears washing away with every passing second.

“…Don’t be silly, Vitya,” the omega finally said, grabbing hold of Viktor’s sleeve. “I’m going to stay with you.”

Viktor stared at the other boy, the tautness in his shoulders ebbing away and blue eyes brightening once again as Yuuri tugged at him. His own doubts slowly drained away, the tinge of dread that came with his trail of thoughts immediately diminishing as brown eyes gazed back at him in piercing determination.

“By your side. Like I promised, remember?”

“I’m okay, Mama,” Yuuri said quietly, closing his eyes as he leaned into his mother’s palm.

“Your eyes are red, dear,” Hiroko said in concern, cradling her son’s cheek.

“It’s nothing, Mama,” Yuuri replied, giving his mother a weak smile. “You’ve all rested well?”

Beside him, Mari gritted her teeth, stiffly looking away.

Hiroko frowned. “Yes, of course.” She studied Yuuri momentarily, worry increasing at the red-rimmed eyes and the pink dusting her son’s cheeks.

Yuuri fidgeted under her watchful gaze, shifting slightly in his seat. “You said you and Papa have to go somewhere soon…?”

“Yes, son,” Toshiya said, the concern equally etched on his face as he leaned forward, studying the youngest Katsuki.

“Where are you going?”

“With Sir Feltsman,” Mari answered monotonously.

The omega turned to his sister. “You’re not going with them?”

“Like hell I’m leaving you,” the elder Katsuki scoffed, crossing her arms. She paused, glancing at her parents. “Sorry,” Mari apologised, knowing her parents never did approve of such language.

Toshiya blinked, shooting his daughter a look of worry. “Mari-chan, you’ve been temperamental since we got here.” Mari stared at her lap. “What is it?”

‘…Not since we got here,’ she wanted to tell her parents, ‘only after last night.’ But she did not, choosing to press her lips tightly together and shaking her head instead. The female alpha reached forward, pouring herself another cup of Gyokuro tea.

“…I didn’t sleep very well,” she murmured on the rim of the mug, blowing lightly before taking a small sip. “It’s too cold here.”

“We can ask for more blankets later, Mari-chan,” Hiroko said. “Now, are you two sure you don’t want to come with your father and I? It wouldn’t take long. Just a quick discussion about the... possible future repercussions for the Council, that’s all.”

Yuuri stared at his folded hands. “I… think I’d prefer not to,” he said. Mari pursed her lips, eyes narrowing as she continued to emit that same jittery energy that had been buzzing around her since she woke up.                  

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, Mama,” the omega replied, “I’d…prefer to stay here.”

Mari bristled at that.

“Okay, son,” Toshiya said, rubbing Yuuri’s back in reassurance. “That’s fine.”

“Take that back,” Mari suddenly gritted out. The three remaining Katsukis turned to her.

“…What?” Yuuri asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Take it back,” the female alpha glared, voice coming out a near-growl as her grip on the mug tightened.

"What do you me-"

“You’re not staying here.”

Yuuri faltered, brown eyes softening in understanding. “Nee-chan…” 

Hiroko frowned at the hostility in her daughter’s tone. “Mari-chan, will you calm down.”

“He’s not staying here, Kaa-san!”

The omega reached forward, looking pained as he reached for his sister’s hands. “You know I ca-”

Mari bared her teeth, jerking away from her brother immediately. Frustration bled through as the female alpha leaned back, wanting to coil away from Yuuri if it meant that his touch could very well just become another burned out memory. The cup wobbled in her hand when Yuuri gripped her wrists harder, staring at her with a silent plea. Mari shook her head vehemently. Toshiya stood up sharply, intending to diffuse the tense atmosphere and separating the two.

“Enough, both of you. Stop that no-”

Mari pulled back harder. 

The Katsukis all froze, watching as though in slow motion as the cup slipped from Mari’s grasp, tilting forward and spilling the contents on Yuuri’s front. The omega immediately reeled back with a sharp inhale, wincing as the hot liquid splashed on his shirt. The cup fell, violently colliding with the ground as broken porcelain pieces scattered on the floor with a smash.

Abrupt silence filled the room.

Mari stared at the white shards before glancing back at her little brother, guilt instantly rising.

Toshiya sighed, massaging his temple.  “…I don’t know what’s happening between you two,” he began, “and I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Mari-chan, but enough is enough. After everything that’s already happened here…” Toshiya regarded his daughter with a disapproving shake of his head. Mari stared at the floor in shame. “If your brother doesn’t want to hear any more of this then that’s his choice,” the Katsuki patriarch said firmly, staring at his daughter with hard eyes. “You, on the other hand, will be going with your mother and I. I don’t want any more of this nonsense from you. Control yourself, Mari-chan. Am I clear?”

Mari bit her lip, nodding without another word.

Toshiya turned to Yuuri, sighing once again as he watched his son peel back the soaked fabric of his dress-shirt away from his chest with a grimace, Hiroko patting at it with a cloth in vain.

“Son.” Yuuri glanced up at him. “Go get changed. We won’t be long.” 

Yuuri sighed at the uncomfortable dampness of his shirt as it clung to his chest, racking through the clothes in the walk-in closet of Viktor’s room. He took off the dirty dress-shirt he was wearing, wiping his chest clean of the tea that had soaked through the fabric before putting on the plain black shirt he had picked out. It was a little big, hanging off from his shoulder but Yuuri couldn’t find the energy to search for another one, deciding he’d rather be comfortable for now and change later when his family was done with their errands. The omega paced back into the room, quietly closing the door of the walk-in closet after discarding the soiled shirt.

He paused upon passing by the chest of drawers by the wall, staring at the blue flowers neatly placed in a small, intricate vase sitting on top. He approached it tentatively, fingers brushing gently across the blue petals, briefly wondering if Viktor had been the one to put them in the vase.

Yuuri studied the flowers for a minute longer before his gaze fell on the actual drawers themselves.

‘Huh,’ he thought with a blink, peering back behind him to the closed door of the walk-in closet. It didn’t seem all that important, not at all actually, and he hadn’t given it much thought since his arrival in the palace but as far as he knew, all of Viktor’s clothes were kept in that walk-in closet alongside his. ‘What’s the need for this then?’ He pulled at the top drawer, pausing to stare at the neatly folded clothes inside, not really sure what he had been expecting instead. ‘Oh… just more clothes.’

The omega searched each drawer in mild curiosity, finding each one filled with more clothes. Nothing of particular interest. He knelt down absently, idly tugging at the bottom drawer and presuming this one also contained nothing else but clothes. He frowned, finding the last drawer slightly heavier and requiring a little more effort to open.

Yuuri blinked rapidly, staring in wonder at the array of glinting blades that greeted him.

He studied each one carefully, noting their meticulous polish and intricate design. Each one had their own matching sheaths placed to their side, the blades grouped together and placed in respective glass cases. Yuuri didn’t dare touch any, not wanting to dirty the crystal-clear glass with fingerprint smears.

He shouldn’t be too surprised, really. It seemed normal enough for someone of Viktor’s status to keep a collection like this, no matter where said collection was kept. Perhaps these had been given as gifts. ‘Nothing strange…I guess?’ Yuuri thought before squinting.

What was strange, however, was a peculiar bunched-up black cloth shoved at the back. 

It stood out from the rest of the drawer’s contents, almost hidden away behind the assortment of glass cases. The silky black cloth was wrapped tightly around something and Yuuri frowned, tugging at the soft material slowly to unravel what was inside.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as another blade was revealed – this one looking less taken care of than the others. It had no matching sheath and the blade didn’t appear to be as sharp as the rest, the handle not having that same intricate, almost delicate appearance that the others did.

‘Odd…’ Yuuri picked it up curiously, twisting it around and examining it as he mindlessly stood up, eyeing his reflection on the blade that looked too out of place amongst the rest of the collection. His toes collided hard with the open drawer and the omega staggered with a yelp, the blade slipping carelessly from his grasp.

Yuuri hissed, immediately wrenching his arm back at the sharp sting as the blade sliced down his forearm.

It fell to the floor with a light thud and Yuuri stared at it in horror, wide eyes trained on the blood now smeared on the blade and the carpeted floor. He fell backwards in shock, spine colliding with the bed.

Brown eyes followed the trickle of red seeping down from the fresh cut, mouth hanging open at the warmth now dripping down his elbows. He racked his mind for what to do, trying to remember what it was Rocha and his mother always did when it came to cuts and wounds.

‘Stop the bleeding first. Firm pressure with a… cloth?’ Yuuri scrabbled forward. ‘If it’s deep and is in the arms or the legs, raise it above the heart to slow the bleeding.’ The omega blindly reached for the top drawers with his uninjured hand once again, pulling every single one open in search of something to press against the cut. It wasn’t that deep but the slice had been clean – it’d definitely bleed a lot.

He winced as the wound began to throb, trying not to panic when the warm liquid had almost covered the entire underside of his forearm. Yuuri bit back a hiss, patting his bleeding forearm with the clean white sheets he found, feebly watching as the scarlet began to bleed through the fabric. ‘Should I get help?’ He eyed the blade on the floor briefly, reaching forward and plucking it from the ground before sitting back on his heels. ‘Well… at least it’s as sharp as the others looked.’ The blood had almost soaked through the cloth and the omega sighed, feeling a little guilty at the mess. He’ll clean everything later once he’s dealt with stopping the blee- 

Yuuri jerked, freezing like a deer caught in headlights at the quiet creak of the bedroom door opening.

The blood-stained cloth fell soundlessly to the floor, the air suddenly feeling far too cold. He swallowed nervously, slowly turning his head to the side with wide eyes. 

Something inside the ravenette immediately crumbled at the blue eyes staring back at him – stunned and vulnerable in a way he hadn’t seen Viktor in a long, long time.

Yuuri’s gaze fell back to his bloody arm, the wound barely visible in the still growing mess of red before slowly shifting to the blade still clutched in his other hand. He set the blade down cautiously, leaving it to lay momentarily forgotten on the floor.

Brown orbs peered back up at Viktor once more.

The omega knew what this looked like - what it appeared he tried to do. And he wanted to deny it immediately, wanted to swear to Viktor that taking his own life was something he could never, ever do. Not after what he’s survived through and certainly not after witnessing the damages the mere illusion of his death had caused.

Yuuri would never –could never- do that to himself or the people around him.

“Viktor…” Yuuri started, knowing he needed to say something. Now.

There was no response as Viktor continued to stare at him, painfully wide eyes so uncharacteristically unguarded. Yuuri watched helplessly as the cerulean orbs began to lose focus, the alpha beginning to close in on himself when the seemingly unending drops of crimson continued to trickle down Yuuri’s arm.

“Yuuri, I’m here. I won’t let go, okay? I w-won’t. So you have to hold on too. Don’t let g-”

The silverette rigidly approached the kneeled form on the floor before numbly falling to his knees in front of Yuuri, their chests close enough to almost touch. Yuuri watched the other man hesitantly, their synchronised heartbeats thudding loudly in the static silence of their surroundings. Viktor slowly reached for the omega’s hand, carefully grasping at the lithe wrist covered in red.

“No, no! Don’t close your eyes! Look at me, Yuuri, look at me!”

Yuuri stared at the minute quiver on the silverette’s fingertips –shaking. Viktor was shaking- as the alpha brought the blood-stained hand closer to his face. Viktor clasped their hands together, tightly intertwining their fingers.

“Please… please don’t go. Yuuri, I can’t-without you I can’t-”

 Azure orbs shifted to Yuuri’s face once more, the sheer agony being reflected back at him making Yuuri involuntarily shrink away.

“No, no…please, please… you promised to stay by my side, you promised! Don’t go, Yuuri, please… please don’t leave me-”

“I wouldn’t…” Yuuri whispered. “Viktor, I wouldn’t.”

But Viktor wasn’t listening, eyes once again locked on the red smearing their interlocking hands.

Blood.

Blue eyes remained unseeing, the sight of their surroundings becoming distorted with every passing second, warping into tall, white walls and a large, crystal chandelier hanging over their heads.

There was blood.

The sensation of the soft carpet beneath their knees morphed away into cold, marbled ground – back to that distant memory of them in the Grand Hall four years ago, kneeling -just like this- and watching red seep across their chests.

Why was there blood?  

“This wasn’t…I didn’t- it was an accident, Viktor.”

The blood… wasn’t stopping?

The alpha followed the blood slowly trickling down Yuuri’s wrists –too warm and far, far too familiar- gaze fixated on the small drops as they landed on the floor.

Why wasn’t it stopping?

Viktor’s breath hitched, terrified eyes snapping up and clashing with Yuuri’s own. Bone-chilling fear that wasn’t Yuuri’s strangled the breath out of his lungs.

Red. Everything was red, red, red- 

Yuuri stiffened as the alpha’s arms suddenly engulfed him in a bone-crushing embrace, feeling choked and unable to breathe through the smothering panic now clawing at the both of them. He swallowed, feeling every shudder and quake in Viktor’s body, feeling helpless as the silverette shoved his face onto the crook of his neck, inhaling desperately –scent’s too faint. It’s too faint. Then… are you really here? No... You can’t be here. You’re not here anymore. You’re gone. You’re not coming back. Need to wake up now before this gets worse. Can’t take another nightmare, I can’t-

“Viktor,” Yuuri attempted to pull back, burned by the trail of thoughts fleetingly resounding in his ears.

He weakened at the sound of Viktor’s heavy, staggered exhales, unsure if he was imagining the warm dampness now seeping onto the crux of his neck –still alone. You’re gone, of course you are. Why are you gone? -

“Viktor,” The omega tried again, voice now coming out raspy, “this isn’t…it’s not- I wouldn’t-” he blinked back his own tears, feeling as though his chest was on the verge of collapsing. “I wouldn’t do that, Viktor. I wouldn’t.” 

The silverette made no acknowledgement of hearing the younger man, only pressing closer –just another dream. Just another nightmare-

Yuuri’s gaze fell to the slash on his arm. Despite the fresh blood still covering his forearm, the bleeding was now considerably slowed, almost stopping altogether. The omega breathed out unsteadily, slowly leaning his cheek against Viktor’s shoulder –have to wake up now. Wake up wakeup-

He pressed his lips against the side of Viktor’s neck in a not-quite kiss, ignoring the slight throb in his arm as he wrapped it around the shaking form.

“…’m here,” the omega mumbled, letting the warmth of his body sink into Viktor’s skin.

–gone. You’re gone, you’re gone-

“Viktor,” Yuuri murmured, “I’m here.”

Yuuri didn’t know how much time they had spent, kneeling on the floor and holding each other, lost in their own memory of that cold, cold night four years ago when everything they could have been –everything they were supposed to be- had come to an abrupt, bloody end.

It couldn’t have been that long, Yuuri supposed.

The blood drenching his arm hadn’t dried yet by the time he finally came back to himself, startled as his vision finally focused at the familiar touch of his mother’s hands carefully cleaning the blood away from his arm, wrapping his forearm in gauze. Yuuri attempted to gently pull his hand away as soon as she finished, still a little disconcerted at the sudden change of location and the blank gap in his memory.

He stopped, puzzled when his mother didn’t let go.

Brown eyes slowly examined his surroundings, cautiously eyeing the unfamiliar room he was now in. He paused at the sight of his father sat by his mother’s side, folded hands covering the bottom half of his face, troubled eyes avoiding making any contact. Mari stood behind their seated parents, back turned and arms pointedly crossed. Yuuri stared at his sister’s back, not having to see her face to know of that down-tilt of her lips or the forced nothingness in her eyes that accompanied that void expression on her face. The uncomfortable atmosphere was unnervingly clear.

The omega shifted uneasily.

A feathery touch grazed over the back of his fingers and his gaze fell back to where his mother continued to hold his bandaged arm. 

‘Oh…’ Yuuri thought weakly, wilting as he watched her trembling thumb rubbing over his knuckles, flitting over the gold ring glinting so painstakingly obvious on his finger.

He swallowed hard, stomach sinking at the sensation of the air directly touching his uncovered shoulders. 

Yuuri lifted his free arm numbly, throat feeling naked as his fingertips brushed against his exposed neck, flinching when they skimmed over the unmistakable indents of teeth – the mating mark bare and open for anyone to see.

The omega’s hand dropped. 

Numerous beats of silenced passed by before Yuuri finally glanced up, heart breaking all over again at the sight of his mother’s tear-stained face.

‘…Oh.’

Chapter Text

Yuuri sat on the cushioned window-seat, cheeks resting lightly on his knees and glasses set aside at the nightstand. He stared into the darkness engulfing the scenery outside. Everything was deathly still, not even a hint of a breeze. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly, the coldness from the outdoors seeping into his skin when he pressed close enough to the double-glazed glass. He ought to get to bed, to lie down and close his eyes to sleep but he couldn’t, choosing to wait here once again.

Like most days, Yuuri knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep well tonight.

‘It’s not fair,’ he remembered Mari saying roughly, voice strained and angry amidst the quiet sound of their mother’s soft sobs. ‘We just got you back. It’s not fair.’

Yuuri had been resting his cheeks against his mother’s shoulder, his quiet murmurs of ‘it’ll be okay, Mama. We’ll be fine. I’ll be... I’ll be fine’ only causing Hiroko’s tears to fall faster.

'Stop it. Stop lying, Yuuri,’ was Mari’s bitter response to that and Yuri could remember lifting his head, staring at his sister’s form with dejected eyes.

‘… We’ll be okay, Nee-chan,’ he had repeated, even if he didn’t quite know whether he believed those words himself.

‘How could you say that?’ Mari had asked him, her back still turned to all of them. ‘We’re going to lose you again. And there’s not a damn thing we can d-’

‘You won’t. You won’t lose me.’

‘…yeah, you’re right. We won’t. We won’t lose you because we already have, haven’t we?’ She had turned then, eyes burning as it bore into Yuuri’s. ‘Because you can’t fucking leave that fucking brute now, can you? That fucking anim-’

‘Mari-chan, please,’ their father had interrupted quietly, tiredly closing his eyes. ‘Reacting like this isn’t going to fix anything.’

His sister hadn’t understood how their father could stay so calm in the beginning, had even been a little angry at their father’s muted reaction to it all and Yuuri could only listen, sinking further into Hiroko’s arms when his older sister had began to tear up in frustration.

‘How can you be so… calm about this, Tou-san? All of you should be angry. Screaming,’ she had said, fists trembling at her side. ‘Yuuri’s not going anywhere. Not back to Hasetsu. Not with us. He’s not- he’s not coming hom-’

Toshiya had opened his eyes then, the pain that had reflected back at Mari making her words fade altogether.

Their father knew that. He knew all of that and it affected him just as much as it affected all of them. But someone had to keep a straight head in this pandemonium they had found themselves in and that was a burden the Katsuki patriarch had been more than willing to take, if only it meant giving them all a little bit of hope that there was a way out of this.

Mari’s shoulders had slumped at that realisation, taking a step back before bowing her head.

‘Yuuri,’ their father had said quietly, voice soft as he finally addressed his son, ‘is there anything you need? Anything at all?’

Yuuri had shaken his head, staring at his newly bandaged arm in guilt.

‘…I didn’t mean to,’ he had whispered. ‘This… this was an accident. I didn’t mean to do this to myself.’ Brown eyes had peered up, begging his father to believe him. ‘I wouldn’t… do that. Not to any of you.’

‘We know son. We believe you,’ Toshiya had responded with a slight nod.

‘What now?’ Yuuri had eventually croaked out after his father’s eyes had flickered at the glint of the gold ring resting so heavily on his finger.

His mother’s arms had tightened around him then and the omega could dimly recall thinking how her embrace was nowhere near as tight as she would have wanted it to be, not when her arms had probably felt so weak.

‘The Council will be under trial… of sorts. More of a finalisation for their sentence than anything but… Lord Feltsman’s in the process of organising it all. It’s not going to take long.’

Yuuri hadn’t probe about the Council too much, knowing a life-long imprisonment would be the likely verdict for those six Council members due to the nature of their status and familial ties.

Many would say it was much too forgiving, too merciful -his family included- but Yuuri couldn’t bring himself to mind such a lenient sentence.

The knowledge of never having to see any of them ever again was enough.

‘What about …What about Viktor?’ He remembered asking at some point, hesitant and uncertain.

His mother had attempted to stifle another sob at that, failing to contain it when her tearful gaze had landed on his marked neck once again.

'…we’ll work something out, son,’ was his father’s eventual reply. The Katsuki patriarch had slowly turned his head away, sounding a lot more resolute than any of them in that room felt despite the obvious heaviness in his chest. ‘I don’t know what yet. But we’ll work something out. You’ll be okay.’

That was two days ago.

Yuuri had been routinely returning to Viktor’s room for the past couple of days, not quite knowing where else he should go. He had only been able to take so much silence before the lonely solitude the library had offered him became too smothering.

His family had decided they’ll be staying at a nearby manor, opting to move out of the palace as soon as possible. They’d be leaving by the end of the week once they’ve finished packing the last of their things and Yuuri had used that as an excuse, quietly slipping from their watch since the incident with the blade, deciding it was best not to face his parents and sister for now unless he had to.

The hanging question of whether Yuuri will leave with them, even if to just temporarily stay in the nearby manor until they depart for Hasetsu, remained unanswered.

They all needed some time to process everything, some space to think things through and plan their next steps. His family knew him well enough not to crowd him right now – not when he was already feeling so suffocated, so out of place. Yuuri knew they understood that forcing him with their presence, surrounding him with their unsaid questions and the hurt and anger they couldn’t conceal would only serve to make him close in on himself, would only push him further away from them and that was something that neither he or his family wanted.

Yuuri would come to them when he’s ready.

The omega sighed, pressing his face further against his knees. He shifted at the uneasy backflips in his stomach, feeling his gut churn uncomfortably once again like it had been doing periodically since early evening. He frowned, feeling jittery and restless despite the heaviness in his eyelids. Even if he allowed his eyes to close, he knew sleep wouldn’t come to him any time soon.

It’s been two nights now. 

Two nights and there was still no traces of Viktor. Yakov had only sighed, shaking his head at him in response when Yuuri had finally asked about the silver-head’s whereabouts this morning.

‘Deciding. He’s deciding,’ the elderly alpha had said, as cryptic and as vague as he’d always been, watching Yuuri tentatively fiddle with the bandages on his forearm. ‘Choosing.’ 

Yuuri had wavered, not asking for an elaboration, a little too unsettled about the vast amount of possible implications Yakov could have been referring to. 

‘He’s… not hurt, if that’s what’s troubling you,’ Yakov had continued, eyeing the open worry etched on the omega’s face. At the time, that had been placating enough and Yuuri had thanked him quietly before walking away.

The omega brushed his fingers absently on his bandaged arm, waiting just as he had been doing for the past couple of days for Viktor to make his re-appearance, no matter how bleak that may be tonight.

As if on cue, however, the quiet sound of the door handle turning reached his ears.

Yuuri perked up instantly, back straightening and attention snapping to the other side of the room. Brown eyes tracked every creak of the door with rapt attention, anxiously waiting for it to fully open.

It was Viktor. Of course it was Viktor.

No one else would enter without so much as a knock but it was not the fact that it was Viktor that suddenly made chills race down Yuuri’s spine, his heart dropping in a split second of panic. 

He couldn’t see clearly at first, not when Viktor’s room was so dimly lit and not without his glasses but his vision eventually adjusted, aided by the light in the corridor. When his eyes had finally focused, Yuuri stood abruptly with a sharp inhale.

Viktor was covered in blood.

The omega remained stock-still, not even daring to blink, trying to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him and that this wasn’t some figment his fatigued conscious had conceived. When it dawned on him that Viktor was really there, standing in the open doorway with blood drenching his torso, his face and his hands, Yuuri immediately began to walk forward, fighting the nausea down as red droplets trickled on the floor.

Blue orbs followed his every move, their eyes remaining locked on one another as Yuuri stopped only inches away in front of the older man. 

‘He’s… not hurt, if that’s what’s troubling you.’ That’s what Yakov had said wasn’t it? So why was Viktor returning to him like this?

He slowly wrapped his fingers around Viktor’s wrist, smearing his own palm with the warm liquid. The layer of blood was thick, some of it already dark and drying, some still fresh and bright red. He studied Viktor’s skin, the panic dying down when he found it smooth and immaculate, the alpha appearing unscathed and unharmed.

Yuuri’s gaze travelled back up, taking in Viktor’s eyes and Viktor’s face – blank and impassive as he stared back at Yuuri, splatters of red streaked across his forehead and cheeks.

Yuuri carefully tugged the alpha forward, moving him away from the hallway before quietly closing the door. The silverette followed without resistance as he was pulled to the direction of the bathroom, not a single word spoken between them as Yuuri led them to the far end of the large bathroom, passing the porcelain sink and bath. They halted once they reached the secluded shower room at the corner of the bathroom.

The omega turned the shower on, not waiting for the water to warm before guiding Viktor underneath the spray.

Yuuri moved closer, shivering at the initial coldness and relaxing slightly when the temperature finally warmed, their bodies immediately becoming soaked as they stood fully-clothed beneath the shower.

He reached for Viktor’s wrists once more, taking a moment to survey the larger hands while the water continued to fall around them, steadily seeping onto the bandages wrapped around the omega’s forearm.

‘Whose blood is this?’ Yuuri wanted to ask, a dark part of his mind already sneering the answers right back at him before the question had even fully formulated in his head.

His father and Yakov didn’t need to hassle themselves so much about trials or a list of possible retributions anymore.

There would be no need for further discussions regarding the Council’s punishment.

The omega shook his head to clear it, fingers trailing across Viktor's wrists as he slowly began to rub the silverette's arms, hands scouring up and down carefully, beginning to wipe away the blood drenching Viktor's arms with his palms.

Yuuri stared at the red swirling down the drain, watching it dilute to pink as it mixed with the water, not having to look to know that Viktor's eyes were trained on the same sight too.

He wondered distantly if this was what Viktor had to do all those years ago - if Viktor had stood in this very same place all alone, letting the water wash away the remnants of Yuuri’s blood from his skin. 

Yuuri reached for the bottle of soap at the side, squeezing a splotch between his palms before rubbing the lather onto Viktor’s hands, his movements becoming almost vigorous as he scrubbed each of Viktor’s fingers, making sure all traces of red were gone even from beneath his fingernails. 

Had his own blood been dry by the time Viktor cleaned himself after the coronation ceremony?

The omega imagined it would have been – crusted and browned, permanently staining Viktor’s white ceremonial garments by the time the silverette had finally stepped under the water.

Viktor would have waited and waited after they had taken his body away, Yuuri thought faintly. Viktor would have stared blankly at the wall for hours and hours, wishing and willing and praying for someone to tell him ‘-he’s still alive. He’s lost a lot of blood but he’s stable for now’ while he sat alone on the floor, dishevelled strands of silver that had escaped the hair tie falling across his face.

Yakov’s quiet ‘I’m sorry, Viktor. There was nothing they could do’ would have been what Viktor got instead, an excruciating confirmation that Yuuri truly wasn’t coming back to him - something the silverette probably would have already known but had wanted to deny and be proven wrong all the same.

Yes, Yuuri could imagine all of that. 

He could imagine it all the same way he could imagine Viktor’s red-rimmed eyes and the fatigue in the alpha’s steps when he finally moved under Yakov’s anguished gaze, the blood on his clothes long dried, caked uncomfortably on his skin as he slowly headed back to his room, monotonously walking into the bathroom.

Yuuri wondered how long Viktor would have stood under the shower for - if Viktor had already been crying when he stepped under the water or if he had broken down and fallen to his knees at a moment of sudden weakness, his tears mixing with the water cascading around him, crying soundlessly in unbearable despair the very same way Yuuri dimly recalled doing himself that first night he spent in the Cialdini manor.

He tugged at the bottom of Viktor’s shirt, fingers clenching at the hem. The alpha stared at the younger man momentarily before complying, lifting his arms and letting Yuuri remove the blood-drenched shirt. It fell to the tiled floor with a light thump and Yuuri moved it aside before squeezing another glob of liquid soap onto his hands. 

There was enough blood to completely soak through the silver-head’s shirt, enough to coat most of Viktor’s chest in a drying layer of crimson and Yuuri sniffed, eyes stinging even as he began to rub the foamy slather against Viktor’s torso, determined to scrub this all away.

How many people did this blood come from?

“Have you-” He bit back a small cry. “Have you done this before?”

There was a stretched moment of silence, long enough that the omega thought perhaps the older man wouldn’t reply, wouldn’t speak at all. But then Viktor’s throat vibrated lightly, his quiet voice sounding loud in the echoes of the tiled bathroom, blank and void of any emotion as he told Yuuri-

“Once.”

Yuuri’s fingertips trembled at that, moving unsteadily to scrub at Viktor’s shoulders while he rapidly blinked away the drops of water hitting his face.

“…When?” He rasped out after a second of gathering himself.

“Four years ago. After you… left."

Yuuri’s fingers flittered over the silverette’s sternum, the coagulating blood quickly dissipating underneath his hands and the warmth of the water.

“To who…?”

The omega kept his eyes purposefully on his own hands, unable to look up at Viktor’s face.

“That person who owned the blade you found.”

He didn’t think he could take what he’d find in Viktor’s eyes, didn’t think he could take the emptiness in those cold, blue orbs and the nothingness that would be staring back at him.

“…Who was this person?” Yuuri asked, feeling the stable rise and fall of Viktor’s chest. 

“They caught him after he ran from the Grand Hall,” the older man replied after a small pause. “He was the one the Council hired. The one the Council… paid to kill you,” he continued, “He was arrested. Interrogated. Locked away. But he wouldn’t say anything. Nothing at all.”

The omega’s hands travelled up the silverette’s neck as he listened, pausing at the steady pulse thrumming beneath his fingertips. 

“They thought maybe it was because he couldn’t speak - that maybe he didn’t have a voice. Or a tongue.” Viktor shook his head lightly. “They were wrong though.”

Yuuri hated this side of Viktor. This side that he couldn’t read, couldn’t understand and didn’t know how to accept.

 “I found out he had both by the time I finished with him.”

This side that had festered and poisoned his Viktor from the inside.

He loathed it just as much as he loathed the day he had slipped away from Viktor’s arms, detested it with every fibre of being just as much as he loved the Viktor he left behind with every piece of his heart.

“… what made you do it?” Yuuri asked silently.

Viktor’s eyes flickered, his tone remaining bland as he answered.

“He spent weeks and months wasting away in chains and he didn’t utter a single word, no matter what anyone did. What good was he then?” The silverette craned his neck up, letting the water drizzle on his face.  “I thought maybe if he was in enough agony he’d speak. But even then he didn’t. He just… screamed.”

The light force of the water wasn’t quite enough to completely rid the pale skin of the thick layer of red that had been staining it. Viktor slowly closed his eyes, not moving to wipe any of it away.

“So… I decided he wasn’t of any use for anything.”

‘Deciding,’ Yakov had said after all, Yuuri recalled with a slight upturn in his stomach. ‘He’s deciding.’

“He’d have died on his own in his cell eventually and that was too good of a death for him.” Choosing. “I chose to end his life with my own hands because… I wanted to. Because I could. That’s all, really.”

Yuuri’s hands slowly glided up Viktor’s neck, wanting to cry at the fact that no matter how gentle his touch was, Viktor -an alpha- was letting him wrap his fingers around his throat like this, body remaining lax and not even batting an eye when Yuuri’s hands skimmed across his pulse point.

“…Was it worth it?”

“Yes,” Viktor responded without a pause. “And so was this.” 

Yuuri bit his lip, deciding he needed that final confirmation. “Whose blood was it this time…?”

The silverette slowly looked down at the smaller form standing in-front of him, surveying the omega briefly.

“All six of them.” Yuuri’s hands dropped, arms swaying weakly at his side. “One by one - it took longer this time.” Brown eyes stared at the now clear water swirling down the drain, listening to the brutal honesty in Viktor’s not-quite confession.  “The Council Head was the last. He could hear the ones before him. I made sure he listened.”

Yuuri blinked away the water droplets clinging to his eyelashes, his drenched clothes sticking to his skin.

“Did- did this make you feel…better?”

‘Did it give you the finality you’re looking for?’ 

The omega held his breath, preparing himself for Viktor’s answer. 

 “…I don’t know.”

Yuuri slowly glanced up, unsure of how to react to that.

Viktor stared back at him, an unfathomable expression on his still blood-smeared face.

“I thought it would – watching them die and hearing them plead for their lives. It’d make sense for that to make me feel…something,” Viktor continued, not even a hitch in his voice. “I thought I’d feel… satisfied. Formidable. Maybe like I can breathe again.” 

Yuuri slowly reached up.

“But there’s… nothing,” Viktor brows creased slightly as though confused by that, his seeping uncertainty the first real hint of something from him that wasn’t just nothing.

Tentative hands wiped the alpha’s cheeks, moving up to brush back the pale strands from the silverette’s forehead, wiping until all traces of red were gone – until only unmarred porcelain skin remained under Yuuri’s touch. 

There was a brief moment of silence again.

“It doesn’t make me feel anything,” Viktor said. He stared at Yuuri. “Does that make me worse?”

The omega’s hands paused, resting on the older man’s cheeks, cradling Viktor’s face almost delicately between his palms. He gazed back at Viktor, feeling lost.

“I…don’t know,” the omega said quietly. His hands dropped once again. “I don’t know,” Yuuri repeated because…he didn’t know. He really didn’t. 

Yuuri turned the shower off, stepping back and walking out of the shower stall. He trudged to the other side of the bathroom to grab some towels, leaving a trail of water behind him as he returned to the shower stall, finding Viktor in the exact same position he had left him in, not having moved an inch. Yuuri began to pat the alpha’s upper body with one of the white towels, aware of the blue eyes following his every move. 

He stopped when Viktor began to speak once again, the alpha sounding pensive.

“Would you prefer I feel something towards it? Guilt? Some remorse?” the silverette asked. “Would you want that?” 

Yuuri stared at the white cotton towel. “Does it matter?” 

Viktor stared at him for a long moment, unmoving as he regarded the younger man, an unreadable expression crossing his face.

He reached for the towels in Yuuri’s hands.

“Yes,” the silverette said.

Viktor began to dry himself, slowly walking away and leaving Yuuri standing alone in the slightly fogged shower stall. Viktor rid himself of the soaked trousers he had still been wearing, wrapping the towel around his waist as soon as the trousers were discarded. He opened the bathroom door and paused, staring at the dark silhouette of the canopy bed.

“It matters - what you want.”

They lied in bed that night with their backs turned to one another, distance between their bodies and both as sleep deprived as the other.

Yuuri stared into the darkness, the thick blanket not enough to fully shield him from the icy coldness in the air. He remained unmoving beneath the sheets, pretending not to feel that familiar thrumming in his veins beseeching at him to close the distance between himself and his alpha, ignoring the tugging in his chest begging for him to allow himself to sink into the warmth of his mate’s body, to surround himself in Viktor’s scent to make up for the extended amount of time they had spent apart. 

Yuuri tuned it all out, curling on his side as he pressed his face further on to the pillows instead. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose, silently pleading for sleep to come.

Tired. 

They were both so tired.

When brown eyes groggily opened the following morning, it was to the fall of the first snowflake drifting to the ground.

Yuuri sat up slowly, finding himself alone - the space beside him empty and cold.

The lake had began to freeze, the first official day of winter already cold enough to frost the surface of the water. The snowfall was steady now – gentle and calming as it covered the surroundings in a thin sheet of pure white. The falling snowflakes were hypnotising, weaving with the cold, cold wind, looking graceful as they fluttered on the ground like a dancer gliding on ice.

It was a familiar scene, one that arose every year without fail. 

Nonetheless, it was always so captivating – beautiful, for a lack of a better word. The view would always bring about some peace of mind to whoever was lucky enough to witness it.

Every year it did. And this year shouldn’t have been any different.

Today, unfortunately, was the exception.

Today, the sight of the falling snow wasn’t soothing nor was the gentle whispers of the breeze comforting. Not at all. Not this year. Not right now. Because this time-

This time-

“Viktor Nikiforov is dead.”

Chapter Text

“Viktor Nikiforov is dead.”

There was no response, not even so much as a shift or twitch of acknowledgement.

“You fucking hear me, asshole?”

Azure orbs slowly drifted to the sky, gaze shifting from the half-frozen lake to the grey clouds.

“I said,” Yuri growled, “Viktor Nikiforov. Is. Fucking. Dead.”

Viktor continued to stare at the sky, silver strands whipping around his cheeks with the wind.

“Say something you piece of shit…”

The silverette breathed deeply through his nose, not moving a muscle and remaining unmindful of the fuming presence behind him.

“Say something, goddammit! ты, чертовски ублюдок!”

And still there was nothing.

Green eyes glinted dangerously and Yuri tilted his chin, lips twisting scornfully.

“…How loud did he scream?” He asked lowly, almost menacingly, knowing that out of everything he could say, that was bound to evoke some type of reaction. With some dark glee, Yuri watched as Viktor’s back suddenly became rigid. “…Did you have to hold him down? Or was he terrified enough not to fight you back?” Viktor slowly turned, the warning in his eyes as chilling as the wind lashing around them. “How long was he shaking for afterwards, huh?” Yuri stood his ground as the silverette slowly began to walk towards him, steps poised and careful. “Did him crying make you hesitate? Or did you completely ignore him begging you to sto-”

Large hands seized Yuri’s jaws tightly, grip strong and dangerous as Viktor loomed above him, eyes narrowed into slits. Yuri glared back vehemently, pushing away the tinge of fear he couldn’t control -and would never admit to- evoked by the intimidating aura the older alpha was now emitting.

“G’t ‘ff, assh’le,” The blond said, words coming out muffled from the strength of the grip.

Viktor’s hold tightened, fingertips quivering. “Are you done?” the silverette asked lowly, a hint of a low rumble in his voice.

“Who the fuck did you turn into, huh?” Yuri spat right back. “Where the fuck did my idiot of a cousin go?”

Viktor’s hand twitched. “…Dead, apparently. According to you.”

Yuri growled, shoving Viktor’s hand away sharply, ignoring the slight twinge at the hard impact their forearms made. The blonde continued to glower at the older man, planting his feet firmly on the ground and refusing to budge. Viktor stared at him, face still carefully impassive despite the warning still glinting behind his eyes.

The acrid scent of angry pheromones dominated the air.

“Why are you here, Yura?”

Yuri twitched at the nickname. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

Their stares remained fixed on each other’s faces, the mounting tension between them feeling like static electricity only increasing with every passing second until finally, Viktor sighed.

“How long do you plan to stand there and watch me?”

“As long as if takes.”

“To what, exactly?”

Yuri’s fists clenched from within his pockets.  “For you to admit you’re the lowest piece of shit there is – that you’ve fucked up.”

Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose, jaws clenching. “And if I do, will you leave then?”

“The lake isn’t completely frozen yet, old man. I’ll kick you in it right now and watch you drown like the piece of shit you a-”

“Do it.”

The teenager immediately stopped his threat, slightly taken back by the seriousness in Viktor’s tone. He regarded his older cousin with calculating eyes.

“Che,” Yuri said, looking away in disdain, “was that your plan? Walk across that lake till the ice cracks?”

Viktor didn’t reply and it frustrated Yuri more that he couldn’t read him well enough anymore to understand if his lack of a response was a confirmation or just a way of saying without actual words how absurd the idea sounded.

“Fucking coward, aren’t you? What? You’re gonna leave everyone else to clean up your mess, is that it?” Yuri sneered. “I’m next in line after you, asshole, and I’m not interested in handling the shit you’d be leaving behind. You’re not going anywhere.”

“What else do you need to say that I don’t already know, Yura?” Viktor asked. Yuri pursed his lips. Viktor released a small sigh, suddenly looking tired.  “Fine,” the silver-head said. “Speak. And then once you’re done, leave. Go on, I’m listening.”

Green eyes flickered at that, taking it as a challenge. The blonde took a deep breath, intense gaze boring into Viktor.

“…That fairy-tale crap you and Katsudon had going on shouldn’t have ended.”

Yuri watched as the silver-head’s face momentarily crumpled, knowing those words were like sudden, sharp daggers piercing through Viktor’s carefully constructed wall of indifference. A part of him rejoiced at the fact that something can still hurt Viktor enough to make him unconditionally react.

“You were… supposed to stay as a thorn on Yakov’s side, you know,” he continued, watching as the miniscule expression immediately disappeared with a blink, Viktor’s face a careful mask of composure once more. “You shouldn’t be doing your duties the way you’re expected to do. You’re supposed to forget deadlines and skip meetings and tell Yakov it’s cause’ you find certain people too boring to listen to. Heh,” Yuri’s lips twisted bitterly, “Yakov would never admit it but I know he fucking misses that stupid Viktor who gives him five headaches a day - that reckless Viktor with the stupid forehead and the stupid impulse decisions.”

Yuri stared at the other alpha, observing the dark heaviness underneath Viktor’s eyes and the slumping in his shoulders he couldn’t seem to hide.

“At this point…” the blonde continued, the angry roughness in his voice slowly dwindling as the weight of what he was saying began to descend into him too, “you should be annoying the ever-loving shit out of us all with your swooning every time Katsudon even so much as blinks. ‘Supposed to make me puke with the melodramatic praises you’d be making about every little thing he does. I’m supposed to complain to Beka about how you and Katsudon make me want to vomit with all your hand-holding and stupid octopus hugs.”

The blonde wetted his lips, the cold wind making them feel dry and chapped. He inhaled deeply as he squared his shoulders, paying no heed to how the way the things he was saying brought a peculiar twinge, a peculiar ache, somewhere in his chest.

“We’re all supposed to watch you struggling and then shake our heads at your pathetic attempts at wooing Katsudon when it’s fucking obvious he wouldn't need you to do any of the shit you’d be doing to get his attention. We’re supposed to sigh and pull out our hairs at how stupid you two actually are when it comes to each other.”

Viktor’s gaze flickered as he continued to listen, the hostility in their interaction slowly fading with every sentence trailing out of Yuri’s mouth.

“And yes,” Yuri said bitterly, “you two are supposed to finally get your fucking spring wedding. Get married in Hasetsu with those damn cherry blossoms falling around you – tch, yeah I remember, asshole,” he added with a snap upon the flicker of surprise in Viktor’s face. “Katsudon mentioned it once, didn’t he? A spring wedding in Hasetsu? Your face fucking lit up like a firework and you even asked me to be the ring-bearer as soon as he went back to the palace, dickhead. I didn’t even know what the hell that meant at the time.”

Something sad dawned behind the blue orbs staring back at him and Yuri pressed on, the fogged glaze in Viktor’s eyes telling him that he was getting somewhere.

“Giggling, mini Viktors are supposed to start running around the palace soon after that and everyone is supposed to spoil the living shit out of them right under your noses.”

Viktor turned away from him at that, facing the lake once again while the wind continued to blow around them from all directions.

“I’m supposed to laugh in Katsudon’s face and kick you on yours while I watch you pester him for the rest of your goddamn lives.”

And Yuri could see all these things happening, could imagine it all without much effort at all and a sad, sad part of him wished with all his might that it could have happened that way, no matter how disdainful he’d pretend to be if it did – an angry part of him wishing that they weren’t left with these broken people that didn’t know how to mend instead.

It was strange, terrifying really, to see someone like Viktor - someone who has always been so high on the pedestal, so painstakingly and annoyingly superior at everything he decides to put his mind to- fall prey to his own demons.

“It was-” Yuri exhaled, knowing everything he had said was just a simple, painful reminder of exactly what was not. “It was supposed to be a fucking happy ever after for you and him.”

There was ominous silence after that, the hiss of the breeze being the only sound reaching their ears for so long that Yuri was almost sure Viktor wouldn’t speak, that perhaps there really was no point to this -whatever it was- at all.

But then-

“ ‘supposed to be’,” was Viktor’s echoed response and Yuri could almost see the bitter smile, small, sad and accepting, that would be in Viktor’s lips.

Yuri stared at the frosted ground, the fleeting memory of that time he had stood in this very same place watching two figures gliding on the ice making him dig his nails into his palms.

“…Yeah,” he said, the sadness in the silverette’s voice bleeding into him.

The long trail of silver hair behind the taller one as he spun and spun, unstoppable and so dizzyingly fast like a hurricane, was particularly vivid, almost as much as the way the smaller figure had soared into mid-air, fierce and graceful as he twisted mid-flight like gravity was nothing but a farce, black locks a startling contrast to the white that had surrounded him.

Yuri recalled the way their laughter had quieted once they had noticed him at the side, watching them with a pinched expression that most definitely did not say ‘Teach me cause’ that looks really fun and I wanna join you.’

He shook his head, something feeling almost hollow in his chest as he remembered the large brown eyes that had sparkled down at him, gleefully gesturing for Yuri to join them even if the blonde himself hadn’t verbally asked to.

“…But it’s a shitty world and that’s not your reality,” he continued, throat now feeling rough as he recalled how it was Viktor’s beaming smile, bright and annoying but encouraging, which had been the final thing Yuri needed to take his first step on the ice. “It didn’t happen like that. Shitty people got in the way and shitty things made your lives hell, I fucking know.”

Yuri hated the people that wrecked Viktor and Yuuri’s lives – hated Viktor just a little bit deeper for burning it all down even more.

The teenager glared at the silverette’s back, the anger beginning to rise once again as he remembered exactly why he was here right now trying to knock whatever sense he could into Viktor in the first place.

“Katsudon’s looking for you right now.”

Viktor’s head turned slightly at those words, not quite enough to look back but enough to let Yuri know that it got his attention.

“He’s looking for you,” the blonde repeated. “And he was shit-scared asking me and everyone else where you were but he fucking asked anyway,” he said, recalling the scent of distress around the omega this morning when he had approached Yuri, brown eyes darting around in obvious apprehension – the first time he’s seen Yuuri since he had found him days ago kneeling on the floor of Viktor’s room, encased in Viktor’s arms and red staining their clothes.

The scene, far, far too similar to what he had witnessed years ago in the Grand Hall, had shaken the young alpha hard enough that he had sprinted away immediately on unsteady legs, shouting for Yakov, for Georgi, for someone, anyone-

“You fucking hear that, old man? He’s looking for you. After the fuck ton of shit you put him through, he’s still looking for you.”

The Yuuri that had approached him this morning looked exhausted, hair tousled and eyes sunken in. He didn’t look like he had much sleep, didn’t look like he’d been eating well at all and Yuri wanted to curse himself for not realising sooner.

And yet despite his dishevelled appearance and the blatant shame Yuuri must have been feeling about that mark on his neck -because that’s the type of person he was, that stupid Katsudon. Always finding a way to carry it all on his shoulders somehow even though it wasn’t his fucking fault- the first thing the omega had said to him was ‘Something’s wrong. I can’t- I can’t find Viktor and something doesn’t feel right. Have you…have you seen him anywhere, Yurio?’

Yuri had stared at him with a parted mouth, wanting to shake him and scream ‘why the fuck do you still care?!’

“You owe him your life. The rest of this life and whatever comes next – you owe all of that to him,” Yuri said lowly. “Everything he fucking wants …he deserves it all. Especially from you. You’re gonna do every little thing he wants you to do because you owe him that. At the very fucking least, you owe him that.”

Viktor’s head turned towards the lake fully once more. The blonde watched as the older alpha slowly tilted his chin up, staring up into the grey sky.

“And if -fuck knows why he would- but if he wants you alive,” Yuri continued, “if he wants you walking and breathing next to him,” he took a step forward, hands still shoved inside his pockets, “if he wants you to be by his side even after what you’ve done…well,” he regarded his cousin with a thin glare, “you better damn make sure you’re there, Viktor.”

The blonde pursed his lips at the other alpha’s extended silence, aggravated at the unmoving form stood in-front of him. He walked closer.

“Should a miracle happen and the day finally arrives where he comes to his sense- if he finally screams at you to piss off and die- then, by all means, go ahead and wring your own neck.”

Yuri twisted his head, flipping away the hair covering his face.

He took another step forward, now close enough that he could touch Viktor if he extended his arm. The silverette slowly turned to him, sensing the close proximity and the two stared at each other again.

“But until that fucking day comes… until he tells you with his own voice that he doesn’t give two shits whether you’re dead or alive anymore,” green eyes narrowed, hands falling from their confinement in his pockets, “you have no right to abandon him in your mess, Viktor. You have no fucking right to die.”

Cerulean orbs pierced back at Yuri. The two alphas regarded each other for a minute longer until finally, Viktor tilted his head forward, the small, miniscule nod barely there but the acknowledgement that Yuri had gotten somewhere, though not exactly sure where, being evident.

Yuri nodded back once, making a move to step back before pausing, foot stopping mid-step.

 “…By the way,” he added, tone suddenly sounding far too casual as he placed his foot forward instead.

And really, Viktor should have seen it coming. He probably did, considering how his reflex had always been impeccable -something Yuri could only begrudgingly admit internally- but Viktor didn’t even attempt to dodge away from the fist suddenly bulleting towards his face.

Viktor’s head snapped to the side with a thwack, the punch hard enough to make Yuri’s own knuckles throb - but not quite hard enough to even make Viktor stagger, Yuri noted in discontent.

Next time, the young alpha vowed, he’ll make this asshole kneel.

Nonetheless, Yuri hummed in satisfaction at the blood now trickling down Viktor’s split lips, grimacing slightly as he watched the blood trailing down Viktor’s chin when the older man didn’t move to wipe it away.

Viktor’s cheek was red now, already looking tender with a bruise no doubt already in the midst of forming.

Yuri swivelled on his heels.

“Get your fucking shit together, old man,” he said one last time. “Katsudon’s waiting for you.”

And with that, Yuri began walking away.

Viktor followed his cousin’s disappearing form, watching until the smaller figure was nothing but a dot in the distance. Neither the icy wind nor the snow did anything to numb the sting on his lips or the throbbing on his cheek. The corner of his mouth dipped at the metallic taste of blood and he released a small exhale before wiping the blood away from his lips with the back of his hand.

He glanced back at the lake, blue eyes once again studying the thin layer of ice enclosing the cold, murky water beneath.

“He’s looking for you.”

It would be so easy, Viktor thought to himself, to take a few more steps towards the lake, to stride forward until his feet is hovering over the ice.

“After the fuck ton of shit you put him through, he’s still looking for you.”

He thought about it again – walking across the lake far enough to be barely visible at the horizon, of pressing his heels down hard enough that the sheet of ice, delicate as it was now, would crack with ease. He wouldn’t struggle, not at all. He’d be unresisting as the water slowly pulls him down into an endless abyss, would even welcome the ice-cold water that would flood his lungs and suffocate him from the inside with open arms.

It would have been fitting, poetic almost, to end it all where he and Yuuri had begun.

“-You’re gonna do every little thing he wants you to do because you owe him-”

Viktor stared at the lake, the snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes slightly obscuring his vision.

“-you have no right to abandon him in your mess-”

He turned away, footsteps heavy as he began to walk away from the lake.

“-You have no fucking right to die.”

Viktor re-traced his steps back to the palace, letting the thrumming underneath his skin lead him away from the cold – back to the only constant warmth he had known for as long as he cared to remember.

Yuuri brushed a thumb against the bruise, pausing at the slight wince on Viktor’s expression. He pulled his hand back, studying the split lips and red cheek with quizzical eyes.

“…Yurio?” he asked quietly, already knowing the answer. Who else would have the audacity to hit Viktor? In the face no less. Viktor didn’t respond, eyes still diverted away from Yuuri’s face. “…you should put some ice on your cheek,” the omega said quietly.

Viktor licked at the cut on his lips, nodding slowly. “Yura said you were looking for me?”

Yuuri nodded. “Yeah…”

The silverette took a moment to look around, wondering why, of all the places to go, Yuuri would decide to go to the dungeons. Had he been expecting to find something here? The cells were empty now, each unit pristine and immaculate, looking untouched as though they never held any prisoners in the first place thanks to Yakov’s efforts.

“Why?”

The elder alpha was probably pre-occupied with sorting out what to do with the bodies now, assessing what the best approach would be in telling everyone exactly as to why there will be no trial held anymore.

Yuuri stared at his feet. “…you weren’t there when I woke up.”

Maybe Yakov would decide it’s best to let whatever rumours would be circulating to stay as rumours - let the people decide for themselves what they think happened without confirming or denying any notions.

“Shouldn’t that relieve you?”

Explaining to the ex-Council members’ families would be more problematic, Viktor thought idly.

Yuuri’s brows furrowed. “…Something didn’t feel right,” he said quietly. “Where were you?”

Not that those families would be owed anything.

Still, the possibility of the Council member’s families rebelling was another concern in itself. What would be the chances of that? ‘Unlikely,’ the silverette thought to himself. The disgrace the ex-Council members had bestowed on their family name is more likely to keep their families’ heads bowed under his servitude than anything else.

And if not… if not, then-

“Viktor…?”

Viktor snapped out of his reverie, glancing at the omega.

If not…then what?

Massacring entire households for rebellion would be seen as an acceptable punishment by most, a brutally necessity by others. Viciously cruel by some. What was he supposed to do?

Viktor studied Yuuri under the dim light briefly.

He had promised exactly not to fall into that route, hadn’t he? But what else was to be done if those families did eventually decide to revolt against him?

“…What do you want me to do?”

Yuuri blinked. “What?”

“Tell me what you want me to do,” the silverette said. “I’ll do it. Anything.”

“…I don’t understand.”

Viktor wasn’t sure he understood either.

“Do you…” the silver-head hesitated, shifting slightly on his feet. “Do you want me to stay?” The younger man continued to stare at him in confusion. “I wasn’t going to stay very long anymore. But Yura said you were looking for me so… I stayed. For now, anyway. But I could… go?” Viktor said, knowing he wasn’t really making much sense and was probably confusing Yuuri even more. “I could go if that’s what you want.”

But just like with most things, Yuuri understood him perfectly well anyway.

The omega’s face immediately became blank, wiped clean of any confusion as he stared at Viktor with deadpan eyes.

“… ‘go’,” Yuuri repeated blandly. “Go where, exactly?” There was a muted moment of silence between the two before Yuuri’s face suddenly twisted, brows drawing downwards. “No,” he bit out abruptly, tone sharpening. “No, I don’t want you to ‘go’.”

Viktor’s eyes fell to the granite floor.

“…You could go back to Hasetsu with your family,” the silverette said quietly. “You could go visit the Cialdini manor whenever you want to. Sleep peacefully on your own at night again.”

“Right,” Yuuri’s eyes flickered, his blatant anger steadily mounting. “Sleep peacefully at night again... I’m supposed to go ahead and do that just fine. Carry on, just like that. Forget this happened and live on while you… you what? Rot on the ground? Have your ashes scattered?”

“Yes,” Viktor answered, brows furrowing. “That’s…what you expected from me before, wasn’t it?”

“This isn’t the same. You know it’s not the same.”

“No, it’s not,” he agreed. “But it’s what you should do. You can. There’d be no pretence this time around because I’ll make sure that I’ll be-”

“If I wanted you to ‘go’,” Yuuri suddenly snapped. “I’d have strangled you in your sleep by now. I’d have stabbed you ten times over with those blades I found, Viktor.”

Viktor’s lips twitched humourlessly. “…I’d let you,” he told the omega, tone light and genuine. “I wouldn’t fight against it. If that’s what you wanted to do then I-”

“No, Viktor!” Yuuri cried out, looking aghast.

Viktor’s mouth snapped shut, watching in shock when the brown eyes glaring up at him swiftly became ablaze with a fire -angry and challenging. Absolutely livid and utterly defiant. So, so alive- that he hadn’t witnessed in a long, long time.

“I don’t want you to ‘go’!” Yuuri shook his head in disbelief, expression scrunching as angry tears began to bubble from the corner of his eyes. “Why would you say something like that?! How dare you say something like that?!”

The alpha stared at him, looking slightly startled at the reaction. Of all the response to get –possibly silence. Maybe hesitation. Some contemplation. Even cold, blatant agreement -this…wasn’t how he expected this to go.

He took a careful step back.

‘Because I’m…tired,’ he wanted to say. ‘Yuuri… I’m really, really tired. Let me do it. Let me go.’

“Can’t you see? How easy it would make everything else for you?” The silverette said wearily, pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead. “That’s the only way a mating bond can b-”

“I know!” The omega interrupted, glaring at Viktor through the angry tears now rolling down his cheeks. “I know you dying would break the mating bond! I know you dying is your definition of an easy way out! I know, okay?!” He marched forward, palms colliding with Viktor’s shoulders with enough force that Viktor staggered back, barely able to catch his balance. “But dying was how we got here in the first place. Me ‘dying’ was how we ended up like this. And now you’re telling me- you’re telling me-” Yuuri’s voice cut off mid-sentence, chin beginning to tremble as he looked away. “…If you do that-” Yuuri sniffed quietly, “if you leave me to face this alone-” his fists clenched, shoulders hunching as he turned his head towards Viktor once more, staring at the older man with daring eyes. “I’ll follow you.”

Viktor blanched.

“No,” the alpha immediately refuted with a sharp shake of his head. “No, you wouldn’t.” His hands twitched, fighting the urge to grasp Yuuri’s shoulders and shake him.

This was the bond talking.

“Yes. I would.”

The loss of a mate would be devastating, sometimes shattering enough to drive people to do exactly what Yuuri was insinuating. But their bond had been nothing but heartache and misery, something Yuuri would fare far better without. He’d heal with time, would eventually come to his senses like Yuri said he should.

One day, Yuuri would come to hate Viktor, would eventually thank whatever Gods were up there for separating them permanently. Only at that point, Viktor hoped, he wouldn’t be around anymore to feel the fall-out.

“No, you wouldn’t. Your parents and sister are to-”

“I’ll do it, okay?!”

This was the bond talking. It had to be.

“Yuur-”

“No amount of luck’s going to pull me back this time around, Viktor.” -because you were the one that tugged me back in the first place

Viktor faltered as they stared at each other, willing the other to understand. The alpha slowly looked away, clenching his eyes shut at the heavy weight of Yuuri’s threats, not knowing if Yuuri truly meant it - didn’t even know if Yuuri himself knew if he meant it.

“The moment I feel you fade… I swear, Viktor. I swear I’ll follow you,” Yuuri continued with trembling resolute. “So, don’t you- don’t you dare. Don’t you ever dare.” 

Viktor breathed out deeply, knowing without doubt that this was something he would never, ever risk testing.

Mari leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, staring at her little brother’s seated form on the floor of her soon to be not-bedroom.

“Until the bond simmers down… ‘visit’ is all you can do. And you wouldn’t even be able to stay for very long, at least not in the beginning.”

“I know,” Yuuri responded.

“Would he let you?”

“Yes,” he glanced at his sister, taking a moment to study her face. “You’re quite... calm about this.”

Mari looked away. “Father’s right. It’s better if I am, isn’t it? Otherwise our conversation would end up going nowhere again.” The omega hummed in agreement. The elder Katsuki sighed, turning her head to Yuuri once more. “...Have you decided? If you’re going with us to that manor nearby?”

Yuuri chewed on his lip. “How long would you be staying there before you go back to Hasetsu?”

Mari shrugged. “Who knows? Probably until the snow dies down enough.”

‘Not very long,’ was what she meant. Hasetsu needed them back soon after all.

The younger Katsuki nodded at her in silence and the female alpha eyed him, fully aware that he was still unable to give her an answer to that particular question. She sighed internally, deciding to steer the conversation to another direction instead.

“…They’re dead, aren’t they? Those Council members.”

Yuuri stared at his lap.

“He’s the one who did it, wasn’t he?” Mari continued. “No one’s seen him since Yurio found the two of you. And then suddenly the trial was called off. Just like that. No explanation.” Yuuri began to fiddle with the ring on his finger, a recent habit Mari had learned he tended to do when he was uncomfortable. “I don’t know what explanation Sir Feltsman and father are going to come up with but…well, I figured maybe the trial was cancelled simply because there’s no one to hold a trial for,” she pondered. “Am I right?”

Yuuri didn’t give an answer and Mari nodded to herself, taking her brother’s lack of a response as a confirmation. She gazed down at Yuuri with hardening eyes.

“…I know it’s wrong,” Mari quietly explained. “It’s wrong and it’s bad to think this way but…” she inhaled deeply, “…of all the things he’s done… getting rid of those bastards the way he did was at least something that Chikushou did right.”

Yuuri glanced at his sister who met his stare head on, her piercing gaze boring right through him. He glanced back at his lap, nodding absently at her quiet confession, acknowledging her recognising that it was… immoral to think that way.

Mari glanced out the window behind Yuuri, observing the darkness in the sky through the open curtains, lips dipping at the tinge of sadness that had crept in with the sight.

It was night again.

Another day closer to leaving Yuuri behind.

The female alpha unfolded her arms, moving from her position on the doorframe. She closed the door quietly before approaching her younger brother, joining him on his seated position on the floor. Yuuri watched her with curious eyes and Mari glanced at him from the corner of her vision, deciding that she didn’t want to waste any more of their limited time together dwelling on things that neither of them could control.

“…Yuuko and Takeshi are now proud parents of three little girls.”

Brown eyes widened from behind blue frames, looking startled as Yuuri blinked at her rapidly.

“Huh…?”

Mari’s lips twitched upwards, leaning her elbows on her crossed knees. “Yep. Triplets. Three kids at once. What a surprise that was,” she chuckled lightly. “They’re two years old now - Axel, Lutz and Loop. Wonderful names, huh?”

There was a slight pause before the quiet resonance of Yuuri’s breathy laugh reached her ears.

Mari smiled at the sound, shoulders relaxing as she allowed both of them to bask in this rare moment of peace.

Yuuri crept along the corridors, attempting to keep his footsteps as silent as possible.

It was late into the night now, definitely passed midnight. He had stayed with Mari all evening, the Katsuki siblings spending most of their time just talking to each other about what they had missed in the time they had spent apart. Mari spoke mostly of Hasetsu, reminding Yuuri of the sand in the beach and the blue water of the sea, telling him of how Minako, Yuuko and Takeshi had fared in all these years. Yuuri, in turn, told her of his life in the Cialdini manor and of the things he had learned there, fondly recounting his time with Phichit and Minami, voicing how he’d like to visit them regularly too if given the chance.

Just a little bit of time to forget their upcoming separation was what Yuuri needed from her and it was what Mari had given. Yuuri couldn’t have been more grateful for that.

Their conversation eventually came to an abrupt end, however, when the omega had stopped mid-sentence, face slacking and suddenly looking taken-back.

Mari had stared at him in concern but he had only shaken his head at her, looking apologetic as he said ‘Ah… don’t worry, Nee-chan. I’m just tired. It’s late, after all’, not mentioning the sudden peculiar fluttering in his belly or the abrupt palpation of his heartbeat. His sister had taken that as an indication to let him rest for tonight and Yuuri had risen from the floor, bidding the older Katsuki goodnight with one last hug before finally departing from her bedroom.

The plummeting feeling at the pit of his stomach continued, the dread creeping on his neck steadily mounting and Yuuri couldn’t exactly pinpoint what had caused these but he knew immediately that it was something to do with Viktor.

‘What’s happening…? What are you doing now?’

His pace quickened, not even pausing at Viktor’s bedroom door as he pushed it open, entering in a hurry.

Yuuri paused, staring at the centre of the room in confusion.

Viktor was already in bed, lying on his back with the covers drawn to his hips. Fast asleep by the looks of it.

The omega frowned, studying the sleeping figure for a second longer before slowly slipping into the bathroom and changing into his night-wear. He returned to the bedroom, eyeing Viktor once more before hesitantly climbing on his side of the bed. He observed Viktor’s shirtless form carefully, noting the steady rise and fall of the alpha’s chest.

Yuuri rubbed at his own chest, still feeling the phantom fluttering of the erratic heartbeat that wasn’t his. ‘I don’t get it…’

He shook his head, deciding that maybe some sleep would get rid of the unexplainable uneasiness, not really knowing what else to do about it except to wake Viktor - something he didn’t really want to do.

At least one of them was able to sleep comfortably.

Yuuri laid his head on the pillows slowly, tugging the blanket to his chin. Closing his eyes, the young Katsuki curled into a ball in an attempt to warm himself, toes curling as he listened to the distant sound of the snowstorm hailing down outside.

Yuuri frowned, just teetering on the edges of sleep.

There was that strange feeling again – the rapid thump-thump-thump in his chest and the uncomfortable prickles at the back of his neck.

Beside him, Viktor’s brows furrowed in his sleep, fingertips twitching. A moment of stillness and then-

Yuuri bolted up immediately, yanked back to full consciousness by the asphyxiating mixture of terror and panic suddenly surging through the bond, so strong it made him nauseous and dizzy. He stared at Viktor in alarm, eyes scouring up and down the still-pliant form by his side.

At a quick glance, especially in the darkness, there would be nothing out of the norm – just Viktor lying on his back, eyes closed and fast asleep.

But as Yuuri squinted closer, the alpha’s distress became visibly evident.

What was exposed of Viktor’s body was covered in a thin sheet of sweat, his eyebrows scrunched and lips strained downward. His breathing was staggered, hands clutching tightly at the bed-sheets.

‘A nightmare…?’

Yuuri reached forward, intending to grasp at Viktor’s shoulders and shake him awake. He paused, fingertips flitting over the creases on Viktor’s forehead instead, lightly tracing them as though wanting to smoothen them out.

Viktor shifted, releasing a rattled exhale and Yuuri pulled back, stopping when the silverette’s eyelashes flickered, becoming wetter and wetter with every muted wave of grief twinging through the mating bond.

Yuuri stared in silence, transfixed at the lone tear slowly trickling down Viktor’s cheek.

‘What are you dreaming of…?’

Blue eyes suddenly snapped open and Yuuri jumped back as Viktor shot up with a jolt, an arm shooting forward infront of him, reaching for something that was not there. The alpha’s fingertips trembled, unseeing wide eyes staring into the nothingness of the dark. Yuuri watched as Viktor hastily pulled his arms towards his face, staring at them in open horror while he twisted them around, clawing at his own forearms in a desperate attempt to rid them of something only he could see.

Everything was red, red, red-

Viktor abruptly calmed, the frantic flailing swiftly halting when he realised he was awake - back in the coldness of his bedroom and no longer trapped in the bloody visions of his nightmare.

He panted shallowly, attempting to even out his breathing as he stared at the sheets pooled at his waist.

The silverette immediately froze, feeling movement from beside him as Yuuri shifted from his position, alerting the alpha that he was no longer alone in the room. Blue eyes collided with brown and Yuuri faltered at the lingering remnants of despair staring back at him.

Cold.

Viktor’s gaze dropped, falling to the sheets around him. He rubbed his face tiredly, wiping his eyes with his palm and releasing one last exhale before settling back down on the bed, moving as close to the edge of the mattress as he could without falling off.

Yuuri stared at his back, his own chest feeling tight as he continued to watch the silverette’s pliant form.

It was so cold.

“…Viktor,” Yuuri called out quietly.

There was no acknowledgement, not even a small twitch.

“Viktor,” he tried again.

Still nothing.

The omega’s eyes fell to his own fists clutching tightly at the blankets, thinking about how these had never quite been enough to keep him warm, no matter how thick or soft they were.

“…I’m cold,” Yuuri said quietly.

Viktor remained silent and Yuuri could almost be fooled into thinking the other man had fallen back to sleep. Almost because he knew enough to recognise that the tense line along the alpha’s spine meant otherwise.

Viktor was listening.

“I’m cold and I’m tired,” the omega said.

Viktor slowly shifted, turning his head to stare at the younger man. Yuuri took a second to absorb the weariness on the alpha’s face, the fatigue of their restless nights evident from the tiredness in those blue eyes.

“I don’t-” the alpha shook his head lightly at him, voice sounding hoarse. “I don’t know how to fix that.”

Yuuri’s eyes fell to his hands. “…Will you hold me?”

Viktor didn’t move, staring at the omega in confusion.

“You said anything I wanted, didn’t you?” the omega asked quietly. “Then… I want you to hold me.”

The alpha remained motionless, only continuing to watch him and Yuuri… Yuuri was drained. Drained from these restless nights and these long, long evenings that they both spend more awake than asleep, no matter how exhausted they had been throughout the day.

'I just want us to sleep.'

He mustered what he could of himself, reaching forward and tugging at Viktor’s bicep until the alpha was lying on his back. Viktor tensed immediately when Yuuri straddled him, swallowing heavily as Yuuri sat on his stomach, the coldness in his fingertips seeping into Viktor’s chest.

“I’m cold and I’m tired,” Yuuri repeated, looking down at the older man. “I want to be warm. I want to sleep.” He grabbed Viktor’s wrists, encircling the slack arms around his waist. “So, hold me.”

But Viktor only resumed to peer up at him in silence, not even attempting to hide the uncertainty Yuuri’s behaviour had elicited.

Yuuri’s eyes narrowed and Viktor could only blink in wonder because-

“Hold me, Vitya,” the omega demanded, grip tightening on Viktor’s wrists.

-there it was again. That spark of fire igniting the brown orbs glaring down at him.

Viktor stared and stared, silently pleading for that bright light to stay.

The alpha wavered, feeling helpless as he watched it slowly fading with every second he spent immobile under Yuuri until eventually, the omega released a small, defeated sigh. His hold on Viktor loosened, weight lifting as he began to move away to return to his far-end side of the bed.

The brown eyes were dim now, almost empty as Yuuri averted his disheartened gaze.

Viktor’s hold tightened immediately.

Yuuri paused, glancing down at the arms clinging tightly to his waist. He stared at Viktor.

“…Anything you want,” the silverette said quietly, voice barely audible.

Their eyes remained connected for a long while before Yuuri finally nodded, body becoming lax as he settled on top of Viktor, sprawling on top of him and absorbing all the warmth the other man’s body emitted.

Yuuri paid no mind to the stiffness in the way Viktor laid, tugging the blanket on top of them. He nestled his cheek against Viktor’s shoulders, head tucked into the crook of the alpha’s neck, waiting until the tension in Viktor’s body dissipated completely before closing his eyes.

He breathed out deeply, feeling the biting cold nipping at his toes and fingertips slowly beginning to fade as for the first time in a very long time, the two floated away into a dreamless slumber - their sleep deep and undisturbed.

Outside, the snowstorm intensified, ice continuing to hail down in a furious blizzard of white.

Chapter Text

Yuuri’s fingers flitted on the black shirt spread across the sheets of the bed, fingertips briefly lingering at its high collar before he began to fold the shirt, starting by tucking the sleeves to the centre.

“…I know I can’t stay away for too long,” he said softly, pulling the hem towards the middle, “but they need to go back to Hasetsu soon.” He slipped the folded shirt inside the small travel bag currently sitting on the bed, giving the top a small pat to press it down. “We need a little bit of time together – my family and I. I need to be with them even if it’s just going to be for a short while.”

Viktor continued to watch the omega from the window-seat, eyeing the small pile of unfolded clothes at the side of the bag that Yuuri had picked out to bring with him.

“We’re leaving for that manor later this afternoon. Just after lunch, I think,” Yuuri continued. “They would have left early this morning but I…asked them to wait. I needed some time to pack.”

Blue eyes shifted from where they were watching his hands, meeting his gaze steadily. Viktor slowly nodded, giving Yuuri a quiet “Okay”.

Yuuri continued to fold his clothes, knowing the other man was already too lost in his own thoughts to give any other response. Whether Viktor was thinking about the unavoidable restlessness -uncomfortable and stressful and wrong- that would soon be gnawing at the both of them from the inside or whether Viktor was already envisioning those dark, inevitable nightmares which, without Yuuri’s presence by his side, will soon plague his murky dreams, Yuuri wasn’t really sure.

He wondered distantly what Viktor will end up doing in the short time they’ll be spending apart - if Viktor will try to distract himself with anything he could find. Perhaps the silver-head will be sat down in his office for most of the hours of the day in the next couple of weeks, discussing plans with Yakov on the processes concerning the breakdown of the current Council hierarchy and how to go about establishing a new one. Maybe Viktor will instead end up spending some more time with Makkachin, wrapped in a thick, cosy coat as he watches over her playing in the snow for most parts of the day.

Dimly, Yuuri wondered how Viktor will handle the upcoming long, cold, nights – if Viktor will end up passing his evenings sat on this bed, enveloped in the thick blanket Yuuri had scented while he reads the night away, occupying his mind with endless paragraphs of literature, history and poetry just so he wouldn’t have to listen to his own thoughts in the dark.

Yuuri hoped Viktor will try to sleep.

How he himself would cope in the time they’ll be apart, the omega didn’t know.

Perhaps the upcoming distance wouldn’t be as asphyxiating as both of them are expecting it to be. Perhaps the mating bond will be merciful and let them both have some peace.

Perhaps not.

“Is it true Chris is going to be visiting soon?” Yuuri asked quietly, recalling the letter that Yakov had handed Viktor earlier this morning. The elder alpha had briefly mentioned the letter had been from Christophe who was already on his way to the palace and due to arrive within the next couple of days.

“Yeah,” Viktor said, “he is." 

The whispers about the Council’s detainment didn’t take too long to spread and his reappearance was certainly another thing that couldn’t be contained within the confines of the palace walls any longer. It had only been a matter of time before old friends and acquaintances got hold of the circulating rumours and would want to see the truth for themselves. Of course, Christophe would be one of the first.

“How has he been?” Yuuri asked.

 “…Good,” the silver-head replied after a moment of thought. “He’s been good." 

“Does he visit often?”

Viktor nodded absently. “Somewhat. He visits every now and then,” he paused, hesitating a little before quietly adding, “he stayed here for a while after… the coronation.”

Yuuri glanced at the other man, hands hovering over another shirt on top of the pile of unfolded clothes. “Oh?” Viktor nodded again. “That’s… that’s good.”

There was a prolonged tick of stillness, their eyes boring into each other’s before Viktor’s gaze eventually dropped, drifting to the open bag at the bed that wasn’t even half-filled yet.

“…Chris helped me back then,” he told Yuuri quietly, standing from his position on the window and slowly approaching the bed, stopping by the pile of clothes. “He helped me a lot, actually. He stayed in the palace for a couple of months just making sure I didn’t… let myself waste away.”

Viktor’s hand wandered to the small pile, randomly picking out a black and grey jumper. Yuuri watched as the alpha carefully laid it out on the bed, patting away the creases before taking each sleeve and folding them into the centre of the jumper just as Yuuri had done with the shirts.

“…tell me,” Yuuri said softly, eyes still on Viktor’s hands as he placed the folded jumper into the bag, blinking up at the alpha when there was no answer. “About how Chris helped you,” he elaborated at the questioning look the other man was giving him. “About what happened after the coronation. About everything. About-” Yuuri hesitated, “about you.”

Viktor’s expression immediately smoothened, giving him a slow nod as he reached for another shirt. Yuuri listened to the sound of Viktor’s voice, thinking to himself how he will be engraving every single one of the stories Viktor will be telling him -the stories he will be hearing now and the stories he will be hearing in the future- into his memory just like how they engraved the marks of their feet onto the ice with those sharp, sharp blades beneath their heels.

Christophe stared at the hues of purple, blue and pink illuminating the twilight sky, eyeing the thick clouds and the setting sun at the horizon with a frown. Any other day, it would have been a view Christophe would gladly sit down on the grass for and take some time to admire.

Not today, sadly. Or tomorrow. Or the day after.

“You need to eat.”

Not for a long while.

Viktor shook his head from his seated position on the grass. Christophe resisted the urge to sigh, walking a little closer and stopping by the other alpha’s knees.

“Eat something,” Christophe tried again, knowing Viktor hadn’t touched any food or drank anything since the previous night. And even then, that hadn’t been much at all according to Yakov.

“…I’m not hungry,” Viktor said mutely, unmoving as he continued to stare absentmindedly at the lake.

Christophe stared at the silver-head, taking in the chapped lips and the sunken blue eyes, wanting to shake his head at the cheekbones that now looked a little too sharp.

Christophe pressed the heel of his palms to his eyes. “…Goddammit, Viktor,” he gritted out in helpless frustration. “You’re going to be nothing but skin and bones at this rate. Please, just eat something.”

Viktor shook his head once again.

It’s almost been two weeks since the coronation. A little over a week since the ashes were spread.

Viktor wasn’t even trying.  

“Then… will you at least come back to the palace?” the blonde asked, faintly recalling how he had previously thought sitting here outside was actually an improvement from Viktor locking himself in his room all day, how this was a little better because at least Viktor was getting some fresh air now. What a short-lived relief that had been. “It’s getting cold again and you can’t be staying out here on your own like this for long anymore.”

“I’m fine.”

“Like hell you are.”

“I’m fine, Chris.”

“Viktor.”

Viktor pulled his knees to his chest, distant eyes still set on the lake.  “…I want to stay here.”

Christophe’s gaze softened at that. “I know you do,” he said gently, “but staying outside here isn’t going to do you any good, Viktor. You’re-” -sad. Grieving. Lonely. I know. I know, we all know- “you’re hurting yourself like this.”

Viktor rested his chin lightly on his knees, eyes dimming even more.

“…I don’t know what else to do,” the silver-head whispered, his frail voice carried away by the wind and Christophe could only wonder to himself how Viktor could possibly look so out of place perched on these grass, sitting by the side of the very same lake he had always spent so much time at in the past - sunshine or snow.

“Eat,” Christophe said quietly. “Drink. Sleep. Get some rest - real rest.”

Perhaps it wasn’t that strange after all, the blonde thought with a sinking heaviness in his stomach, for Viktor to appear so alienated out here by the lake - not when he was sitting here alone, the space beside him looking a little too empty and cold.

“I can’t.”

“Try. You have to. This isn’t-” Christophe released a heavy exhale. “This isn’t what he’d want, Viktor.”

Silver strands -so much shorter than what any of them were used to. How strange- fell across Viktor’s face, his body slumping down even more.

“He’s not here to tell me what he wants, Chris.”

A breeze passed by, a little chillier than what Christophe would have liked - a tell-tale sign that winter would be arriving soon. Viktor can’t be staying outside like this for any longer.

“No, he isn’t,” Christophe said, sitting himself down beside Viktor. Hazel eyes observed the reflection of the darkening skies on the surface of the water, not really knowing what else there was he could say.

“…I want to be angry.”

The blonde’s gaze slowly shifted to the side, a lump immediately forming in his throat upon noticing the dampness in the pale lashes.

He turned back to the lake, the wave of grief slowly surfacing from those cerulean orbs seeping into him.

“Then… be angry,” Christophe said calmly, tilting his head up to the sky. “Go on. Be angry. Be sad. You’re allowed to be.” Hazel eyes hardened. “You can scream and you can cry. That’s okay. If that’s what you need do then… do it, Viktor. It’s okay.”

Beside him, Viktor released a clogged exhale.

“…I am. I’m so angry. But I don’t know who to be angry at,” the silver-head rasped out, his unshed tears just on the verge of spilling over. “I want to be angry at- at whoever took him from me b-but I don’t even-” he buried his face on his knees, eyes clenching shut, “-I don’t even know who that is.”

Christophe bit his lip.

“I want to be angry at the Healer for not being able to bring him back. But there’s only so much the Healer could have done in all of this.”

Viktor curled in further on himself, his tears starting to soak into his sleeves as he pulled his knees closer to his chest.

“And I…I want to be a-angry at him, Chris, for letting go after p-promising me he never would. But I can’t- I can’t be mad at him for leaving me behind like this because- because he didn’t choose to die,” he released a choked exhale. “Y-Yuuri didn’t choose to leave me.”

Christophe listened to the quiet sobs beside him in silence, unable to offer Viktor anything else but his presence despite knowing neither that or anything else anyone could give Viktor would ever be enough, not when this anguish couldn’t be erased by anything else but the presence of the person whose absence had caused it in the first place.

He breathed deeply through the ache within his own chest, coming to a final decision.

He will let Viktor’s tears pour out for as long as it needed to, sit here next to him just like this, and he will let Viktor cry as many times as he must. He will let the despair of this loss wash through the both of them, painful and raw just like this, for however long Viktor needed until at least a little bit of this hurt ebbs away.

Christophe placed a hand on Viktor’s shoulder, giving a light, reassuring squeeze, silently swearing to himself that in the duration of that time, he will take care of Viktor as best he can - will not allow Viktor to wither away into nothing.  

Yuuri would have wanted that.

“He mentioned in the letter that he thinks you being back here is just an ‘ugly, cruel rumour’ people are spreading,” Viktor said, placing the last of Yuuri’s folded clothes inside the bag. “He said he was quite angry they’re tarnishing your name like that.”

The omega hummed absently, eyeing the now full bag on the bed.

“But he’s coming here despite that, anyway. I know he’s hoping that you being back here is true, even if… he doesn’t really believe it,” the alpha continued, glancing at the younger man.

“Is he going to stay long enough until I get back from that manor? After my family leaves for Hasetsu?”

Viktor quietly zipped the bag close. “Yeah,” he said, pushing the bag lightly towards Yuuri. “He will.”

Yuuri nodded. “Then…tell Chris I’m sorry that I’ll be making him wait for a little while.”

Viktor gave him a small nod back and Yuuri lifted the bag from the bed, placing it on the floor by the end of the bed-post.

As reassuring as it was to know that Christophe would be here for the duration that he would not be, that Viktor wouldn’t be completely alone, Yuuri couldn’t deny the tinge of apprehension that came with the thought of the unavoidable confrontation he’d be faced with once he returned from his brief departure.

He wasn’t entirely sure how Christophe will react to all of this, doesn’t know how the blonde was going to handle everything Viktor had done, didn’t even know if the silver-head would speak of any of it to his best-friend at all. It wouldn’t be difficult, Yuuri supposed, for Christophe to figure it all out by himself. Why else would Yuuri not return to Hasetsu with the rest of his family?

While Christophe had never been one for violence, him lashing out at Viktor was not exactly an impossibility and Yuuri feared that he’d deem Viktor deserving of a fist or two, knowing Viktor was more likely to let Christophe physically hurt him than fight back if it came down to it.

Yuuri hoped he wouldn’t return to that.

The omega stared at the bag containing the clothes he’d be needing for the next few days, maybe the next week or two depending on what his family will decide.

“After the coronation…” Viktor started, pulling him from his thoughts. “Where did you wake up?” Yuuri blinked up at the question and Viktor shook his head immediately, taking a small step back and folding his hands behind his back. “Never mind. It’s- you don’t have to answ-” 

“No,” Yuuri interrupted, “no, it’s…it’s okay.” He ran his fingers through his hair, releasing a small sigh. “Where did I wake up…?” he repeated the question to himself, forehead creasing in thought as he paced to the window-seat.

“I…don’t really know,” he told Viktor honestly, eyes drifting to the thick snow covering the grounds outside – smooth and white just like those walls that had surrounded him four years ago while he had laid in that small, equally white bed. 

Yuuri inhaled deeply, breathing in the ghost scent of sterile, chemical air.

“It’s not important where I was, I guess. I woke up and I was…I was alive. Healer Fedunov made sure I stayed alive. That’s what really mattered.” Brown eyes shifted to Viktor, softening slightly at the mention of the Healer. “Healer Fedunov was the one who sent me to the Cialdini manor. He made sure I got there safely without the Council knowing. He took care of me as best as he could from the moment I woke up to the time I… left.”

Viktor stared at the omega in silence, studying the melancholic expression in quiet curiosity.

Yuuri smiled faintly to himself. “I still need to thank him for that.”

Brandy orbs studied the white walls blankly as the Healer continued to unwrap the bandages from his chest.

“…What did they threaten you with?”

The elderly beta paused, looking up at the teenager.  

“You’re an honourable man,” Yuuri said with an impassive blink. “You would have told someone about all of this the moment I woke up but you didn’t. The Council threatened you with something, didn’t they?”

Fedunov hesitated, his hands lingering momentarily on the bandages before he sighed, giving Yuuri a small nod and pulling away the last layer of the dressings, discarding it idly to the side.

“My granddaughter,” Fedunov said quietly. “She’s only six. My daughter and her mate passed away a couple of years ago and they left her in my care.”

The taped gauze overlaying the wound was pulled away and Yuuri stared as the neatly stitched wound on his chest was revealed once again.

How could this small, near-insignificant thing have almost taken his life?

“I’m… all she has right now. If it weren’t for that, my life for the sake of yours wouldn’t matter. I would have told the king in a heartbeat, Lord Katsuki.”

Yuuri shook his head, stopping when the motion made his head feel too light. “…I understand,” he told the old beta. “Have you heard anything about my parents and my sister recently? Have they been well?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know,” Fedunov answered, beginning to clean the healing wound, gentle and careful like all the other previous times. “But still grieving, I imagine, Lord Katsuki.”

‘They’ll be okay,’ the omega told himself, slowly craning his head back to stare at the ceiling above him, eyes stinging when the bright, white light started to blur with the white, white tiles. ‘They have to be.’

“What about Viktor…?”

The Healer didn’t answer immediately, dabbing at Yuuri’s chest with a dry cotton wool. “...he’s getting by as best he can,” he eventually said, covering the stitches with fresh gauze.

Yuuri chewed on his lips in uncertainty, not hearing the unspoken ‘not well at all. Not one single bit’ hidden behind those words. He opened his mouth, pausing in hesitation before releasing a small sigh, shoulders sagging when the Council’s words began to play in his mind for the umpteenth time.

“Is it true that he- did Viktor really… spend his ruts with other-” he stopped, unable to finish at the passing thought of Viktor being with someone else. He swallowed heavily, shaking away the sour, acidic taste now lingering on his tongue.

“Was that what Lord Ledovskoy told you?”

Yuuri stared at the white sheets on his lap.

Fedunov shook his head sadly. “I don’t know, Lord Katsuki,” he told the omega softly. “But the Council is full of deceit. That could be another one of their lies.”

Yuuri’s eyes drifted to the walls around him -white and blank and void of anything else just like every little thing in this room- stomach heavy with the recollection of the aching distance Viktor had set between the two of them weeks before their subsequent separation. “…But it could also be the truth?”

The Healer sat by the end of the bed, looking as weak as Yuuri felt. 

“…Would it make it easier for you, Lord Katsuki, if I told you that the king is well without you?” Fedunov asked carefully. “Even if it wasn’t the truth?”

Yuuri didn’t move for a long while, his silence screaming back a soundless plea of ‘anything. Anything to make this just a little bit easier. Anything. Please-’

Fedunov nodded.

“Then… the king is well without you,” he said quietly.

Glazed brown eyes slowly peered up at the older man.

“He is mourning but he is well. He’ll leave this behind with time - will leave the memory of you behind,” the Healer said, not telling Yuuri of those vacant blue eyes or of the discreet requests from Yakov Feltsman -any type of concoction. Some type of pill or drink - maybe something with Valerian roots. I’ll have it forced down his throat if I have to, Healer Fedunov- for anything to help the king sleep at night.

“And he’s going to live his life like he is expected to. He will find someone worthy to be by his side and he will be happy,” Fedunov continued. “And you…you’ll just be another one of his memories soon enough, Lord Katsuki - a cherished, beloved memory but a memory nonetheless.”

‘That’s right,’ the omega told himself, swallowing back the bile he could feel rising up his throat at the images assaulting his mind, the words sinking deep, deep into his bones. ‘He can live without me. He can. He has to. He has to.’

Fedunov stared at the utter defeat on the teenager’s face helplessly.

Yuuri closed his eyes, trying to shut out the way the walls around him had begun to spin. He tilted his head forward in a slow, accepting nod.

“…You mentioned a manor? Somewhere you can send me where the Council won’t care to look…?”

The Healer nodded. “Yes. The Cialdini manor. The man governing it is a respectable man. His name is Celestino Cialdini. Have you heard of him?” Yuuri shook his head. “He’s a good man. He’ll accept you into his home. You… can work for the manor and live there - away from the Council’s hands.”

“The Council’s going to kill me,” Yuuri whispered, blearily opening his eyes. “As soon as I leave this place to wherever they send me to, I’m going to die, aren’t I? They wouldn’t take the risk of keeping me alive.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” the Healer agreed quietly. “Wherever they plan to send you would be a place where you’re not supposed to return from, Lord Katsuki.”

Yuuri’s fingers clenched tightly around the sheets pooled at his waist. “You’re sure the Cialdini manor will accept me?”

Fedunov nodded, waiting wordlessly as bouts of emotions flickered endlessly on Yuuri’s face until finally, the omega took a long, deep inhale.

“…When do I leave?”  

“Whenever you’re ready,” Fedunov responded, averting his eyes and no longer able to take the sadness and the guilt or the grief and the heavy, heavy acceptance that had now fully dawned on the whiskey orbs. “…I’m sorry, Lord Kats-”

“Yuuri,” Yuuri interrupted shakily, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands. “Only Yuuri.”  

“-always been a bit of a trouble-maker but he wouldn’t be Phichit if he wasn’t.” A small smile crept on Yuuri’s lips as he continued to study the sight from the window-seat, gaze lingering on the smooth layer of ice encasing the surface of the lake by the side of the palace just peeking into view. “He didn’t believe your hair was naturally that colour, you know. He thinks you do something to it to make it that shade.”

Viktor’s brows scrunched with a frown and Yuuri turned to the bed where the older man was sat just in time to catch him tugging away some strands of hair from his face, staring at it in slight confusion. The small smile on the omega’s lips slowly dwindled, becoming almost sad with the faded memory of how Viktor had always been a little adamant about defending his hair colour when people used to question its authenticity in the past.

“I want to visit them again - Phichit and the rest of the Cialdini household,” Yuuri continued. “I still need to thank them properly too. I will, definitely. Someday.”

Brown eyes drifted back to the small bag sitting on the floor.

He needed to leave with his family soon. 

“Viktor,” he called out, looking up to find the azure eyes on him once more. Yuuri took a deep breath, exhaling through his mouth as he moved away from the window. “…I want to go to the lake.”

The steady ‘crunch, crunch’ of their footsteps filled the otherwise silent surroundings as the two trudged across the thick snow blanketing the ground. The snowfall had almost stopped completely at this point, the remaining snowflakes falling from the sky slow and gentle in their descent. Viktor adjusted the thick scarf around his neck, breath fogging with the ice, cold breeze as they finally came to a simultaneous halt by the edge of the lake.

The two gazed at the familiar sight of the ice in front of them, momentarily lost in their own memories of a different life in the past - one that they both, in their own separate ways, had no choice but to leave behind.

“…I don’t forgive you.”

Viktor slowly glanced to the side, finding Yuuri’s eyes still fixed forward, locked on the vast expanse of frozen water only inches away.

“I don’t forgive you,” Yuuri repeated, voice even and not quite low enough to be a whisper.  “Not yet, Viktor. I don’t know if I ever will.”

Azure orbs shifted to the lake once more, accepting the words in silence.

“I want to hate you. I know I should,” Yuuri said. 

Viktor nodded faintly at him. He knew that. He knew that very well.

“But I can’t, Viktor. I don’t know how.”  

And that was something Viktor knew very well too.

“Since we were children, all the good memories have always been…with you. You’re all I ever knew,” Yuuri continued, soft and sad like those very same memories he was talking about were something that hurt. “There’s so many other things I dreamt of doing with you.”

Viktor swallowed the forming lump in his throat, blinking away the snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes and letting Yuuri speak uninterrupted.

“I wanted you to visit Kyushu someday,” the omega breathed out. “To stay with me and my family for a while. To watch Makkachin chase the butterflies back in Hasetsu until she gets so tired that she would just fall asleep on our laps back in the Katsuki manor.”

The silver-head nodded slowly, quiet and unbreathing at the fleeting vision of a ball of fluffy, brown fur whizzing across the green grass, feeling the imaginary weight of Yuuri’s head on his lap under the non-existent shade of the Sakura tree pressed against his back near the large koi pond in the Katsuki mansion.

“I wanted to go to Hasetsu castle with you and spend a whole afternoon finally hunting down those ninjas you were always so keen about,” the omega smiled weakly. “And then run down the seashore the next day and just…splash in the water for as long as we wanted to. Bathe in the sunlight and listen to the seagulls. Maybe Yurio would have liked to visit Hasetsu too.”

Brown eyes became glassy and Viktor knew that Yuuri was also seeing that same dream, that same illusion, of the two of them sprinting down the seaside, that he was also hearing the sound of their laughter that wasn’t there and the squawks of the seagulls that weren’t really flying over their heads.

“I wanted to have a bonfire night in the beach at some point, you know? Wave some sparklers about in the dark. I think Yurio would have loved that.”

“…Yeah,” Viktor agreed softly, corners of his lips twitching up as he imagined the non-existent explosion of colours from the blazing sticks that weren’t really clutched between their fingers, feeling the soft press of the sand that wasn’t really digging into their feet. “He would have.”

Yuuri nodded faintly, slowly blinking away the misty look from his eyes.

He turned to the alpha beside him, releasing a slow, heavy exhale before reaching for the other man’s wrists.

Viktor stared at their intertwined hands, feeling the cold chill of winter seeping into their skin through the gloves and the many layers of clothes they wore.

“These rings… they’re supposed to mean something special, don’t they?” the omega asked.

The silver-head nodded and Yuuri’s hands immediately tightened around his own - tight enough that Viktor could feel the slight trembles on his fingertips. The alpha watched closely as the gloves on their right hands were tugged away, the identical gold rings on their fingers immediately glinting into view.

Yuuri’s thumb brushed against the band around his finger and Viktor’s eyes trailed after the rings that were now slowly being slipped free from their hands.

“Then… neither of us deserve to wear these, Viktor. We’re not good enough to have these around our fingers. Not right now. Not yet.”

The omega gently twisted his wrist, guiding his hand around before placing the ring that had been on his own finger onto Viktor’s palm, carefully tucking away the other pair.

“I’ll be leaving soon, Viktor,” Yuuri said. 

Viktor stared at the glimmer of the ring sitting on his open hand.

“But I won’t be gone for long. I’ll come back.” Whiskey eyes flickered. “I’ll always come back to you.”

Nimble digits enclosed around Viktor’s, ensuring his hand was securely wrapped around the ring.

“Every time I’m away -whether I’m going to be in Hasetsu or visiting the Cialdini manor, whether I’m anywhere else- I want you to take care of yourself the way I’d take care of you. I want you to make sure you eat on time three times a day, that you try your best to sleep as much as you can at night. Spend as least time as you can by yourself while you wait for me.”

Viktor remained silent, absorbing every word Yuuri was telling him with rapt attention.

“Every time I leave, I want the time apart we spend away from each other to be harder than the last. And not because the mating bond doesn’t want us to be apart but because me and you just…wouldn’t want to be away from each other at all,” Yuuri continued. “Help me make that happen. No matter how long it would take or how hard it’s going to be, help me make that happen. I want us to wear these rings someday.”

Viktor swallowed, arms falling back to his side.

“So… wait for me, Viktor. Every time I leave, wait for me.”

Blue eyes slowly shifted up, immediately colliding with the penetrating gaze of the brown, brown orbs that bore through him.

“Will you do that, Viktor?” Yuuri asked quietly. “Will you wait for me until the day comes that I wouldn’t want to leave anymore?”

Viktor stared at the omega, his swimming, longing desire evident even in the midst of his many, many uncertainties. He nodded once, slow and tentative.

“…Yes,” Viktor responded, perhaps sounding a little too unconvincing judging from the way Yuuri didn’t move, expression unchanging as he continued to stare, his silent expectation for Viktor to amend the way he had answered resoundingly clear.

Viktor took a deep breath.

“Yes,” he repeated a little louder, steady and unhesitant this time. “Yes. I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait however long I have to.”

Neither of them moved a muscle for a long while, standing face-to-face by the side of the ice.

Brown orbs continued to peer back at him from under long, dark lashes and several more seconds of silence elapsed until Yuuri’s voice finally drifted with the passing breeze, soft and barely audible in the whispers of the wind, quietly asking-

 “…you promise?”

Viktor’s grip tightened around the ring clutched within his palm, blue eyes immediately burning with piercing resolve.

 …

“I promise.”