#yoimythweek

[littorella]

Yuri P. as phoenix. 

@yoimythologyweek | Day 6

Prompt: Mythical creatures

[libra-san-scribbles]

Icarus/Sun God

[ayushkii]

Vik: I wish I could have at least caught a glimpse of him Snek: Yeah, and turned him into stone so he could’ve joined you at the bottom of the ocean forever

Medusa Viktor and his savage sneaks + some doodles for @yoimythologyweek, day 9 | Mythological Creatures

[adelmortescryche]

YOI Mythology Week - Day 1

AN: Dear God, getting this promptfill done was insane. I’ve been juggling being present at a destination wedding and writing simultaneously this time around, meaning writing between pre-wedding parties, in lobbies, in moving buses... *laughs helplessly* What an experience, @yoimythologyweek​ !! Either way, here’s my promptfill for Day 1, for the prompt Icarus Myth.

Here’s hoping this isn’t too on the nose! Also, @voxofthevoid, this one’s for you because you had a bad day. May the fluff help!

Premise: Victor is Icarus, Yakov is Daedalus, while Yuuri, Yuri and JJ are, well... that would be telling, wouldn’t it. *wry grin*

YOI Mythology Week Fills: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

He’s spiralling down-down-down, like a feather falling to the ground. Except faster, and with a much grimmer end. It would have been messier too, if they weren’t over the water. His wings are unravelling, as Yakov warned him they would, but Victor hadn’t cared when they��d started out. For all that they were supposed to be a means of escape, they were also freedom, and helped Victor get further up and higher than climbing the tallest tree or standing at the edge of a cliff high up in the air ever had. So close to the sun, and not enough, that vision of light and heat blazing down mercilessly on them both. The tar had melted, as Yakov said it would, his feathers were falling away leaving him with nothing to keep him aloft.

Victor could hear Yakov screaming, but it doesn’t feel as important as the fact that he’s falling further and further away from the sun, still shining bright and lonesome in the sky.

*

Yuuri, he whispered, soundlessly, bound in mind and breath and bone to the vision he’d seen all those months ago, in the shadows of the Temple of the Sun.

*

They had been invited, back then, Victor vaguely remembers. The memories felt more like they belonged to another life, not just a life a few months past. Yakov had received his invite because he’d offered the worshippers some novel ideas on how to illuminate the inner sanctum of the temple without need for tapers or candelabras, while Victor had received his by virtue of being Yakov’s top apprentice.  

Victor had tired of the celebrations taking place at the temple, before long, seeking some solace in the gardens, and had found Yuuri instead, dark of hair and eyes, skin as pale as milk, and radiating a quiet dignity that was wholly different from the festival he’d fled. Quiet, where everyone else had been gregarious and intent on making merry, singing and dancing, their music more cacophonous than anything else. His surprise must have been obvious, rudely so, because Yuuri had burst into soft chuckles that felt like they had hooks to dig into Victor’s heart.

He spent just a scant few hours in Yuuri’s presence, but they were enough to make him want to spend                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      many more hours with Yuuri. And days. And months. And years. His whole life, if Yuuri will allow it, but that’s probably a bit too much to lay on someone when he’s just met them for the first time, right?

Victor had been lonely for long enough, his life filled with nothing but the minutiae of being apprenticed to Yakov and building fantastic, terrible things that Yuuri felt like a pitcher of cold water in the midst of a desert.

*

He knew that he shouldn’t simply give himself up to Yuuri and whatever the quiet man had to offer, but somehow, Victor found it increasingly difficult to care. Especially since, after that very first meeting at the temple, Victor somehow seemed to keep running into him. While stopping by the early morning market to pick up fish for lunch, while hiding out at a bar with Chris to avoid Yakov or the prince on a bad day, one afternoon while wandering the King’s private gardens for a break - and if anything should have told him that there was something strange about Yuuri that should have been it.

Victor had been too busy getting seduced by how understanding Yuuri seemed to be, at the time. So self-possessed. So willing to let Victor talk, and only responding when Victor paused for breath, looking to Yuuri for a response.

It wasn’t his passiveness that had drawn Victor in, no matter what Chris had claimed with a salacious smirk and a toast of his pitcher a piece. No, it was the fact that Yuuri always seemed to have time for him; time to listen, time to spend simply sitting in one place and enjoying the scenery… time to breathe steady, and enjoy Victor’s company, unlike nearly anyone else Victor knew. And even if Victor only ever got to spent a scant few hours a day in Yuuri’s company, and only while the sun was still burning bright in the sky… Victor had no complaints to make about his good fortune. Not when something about Yuuri’s soft smiles, the quiet laughter glittering in his eyes, left Victor breathless every time they ran into each other.

His preoccupation with this unexpected source of life and love had Yakov chafing at the bit a lot of the time, especially since Victor was driven to distraction on some days. On others, the busy work of using his hands and his mind to aid Yakov in the workshop gave him enough to concentrate on - thoughts of Yuuri’s smiles, his eyes, his hair, his hands, his thighs, not enough to cause him to make mistakes – but those days were few and far between, enough so that Yakov threatened to cut Victor off, and send him away to apprentice with one of the artists that the king patronized.

Victor knew he’d never do it, though. Not only were Victor’s ideas inspired enough to be useful, especially when the King was in the mood for something… strange, Yakov simply loved Victor too much to send him away. It showed in the variety of threat – Victor loved art almost as much as he loved to build things. And it was mutual; Yakov was the father he’d never had as a child.

*

He’s still in the process of figuring out how to convince Yuuri to stay long enough to stay long enough to share an actual meal for once, and possibly stay long enough to help him shut Chris up, when Yakov abruptly hurtled into the little apartment they had connected to their workshop, face ruddy and covered in sweat. For all that Yakov lost his temper often enough for the sight to be familiar, it was still alarming to see. Especially when he knew that Yakov had been expected to meet with the King earlier in the day.

“We need to leave. Quick, we must head for the docks- no, Alain would have set up blockades by now, we wouldn’t be able to reach the ships in time, or leave after-”

“Yakov, what-”

“Vitya, we need to leave!”

His voice was raised, and just hysterical enough that Victor stood up immediately and followed Yakov back out into the workshop. Yakov seemed agitated enough that Victor knew they didn’t have time to pack and leave. When Yakov made his way towards where they had their inventions for flight stashed away, he knew that something had gone very wrong.

“Yakov?” he asked carefully, though he didn’t pause in helping the old man check the two man flying machine that he’d helped build. Yakov snarled, and shoved himself away from it, quickly disabused of being able to use it.

Victor silently followed him to the canvas wings next, but he didn’t need to express his unease about those out loud. Yakov took a single look at them before running a hand down his face, visibly pained. Those had been the ones that had been scrapped early on, because they didn’t work without a good updraft. Useful for a lark, not to actual travel anywhere with any real confidence.

It was only when he stopped in front of the wings built of leather, feathers and tar that Yakov actually offered up an explanation.

“The King heard that Jean-Jacques came to us for a method to get through the Labyrinth. He threatened me in court, and when I denied the accusation, he ordered the guards to come arrest you instead. I fled.”

It took Victor a moment’s thought to actually remember whom Yakov was talking about. And then he remembered the Prince appearing at their doorstep in the dead of night, looking desperate. He spent another moment wondering why the heck they’d wasted their time actually helping the narcissistic brat. Probably because that night had been the first time he hadn’t looked like a narcissistic brat. Victor’s fixation on Yuuri had given Victor a sense of companionship with the prince, moreso than he thought anything ever could.

“Did he tell the King, then?”

“No. The fool boy’s already fled the island with his bull-headed lady love. Alain was simply sharp enough to be able to tell that his son wouldn’t have solved the puzzle of the Labyrinth as swiftly as he did without help from us.”

Well. No one had ever accused King Alain of being slow.

Two sets of working artificial wings in hand, Victor and Yakov left their workshop behind, heading for the cliffs and moving as quickly as they could without drawing attention to themselves. Or to what they carried with them – sadly large piles of feathers were eye-catching even if they succeeded in disguising what the feathers actually were. They could hear the alarms sounding off even as they drew closer to their destination.

“Remember, not too close to the sun, or to the water beneath!” Yakov snapped, even as he helped Victor strap the wings onto his arms.

“Yes, yes, I know Yakov,” Victor sighed, helping Yakov strap the second harness on once his own wings were in place.

The running leap he made from the edge of the cliff felt like taking a breath for the first time.

*

(Ironically enough, it also felt like that moment in which he’d been looking for a quiet place to breathe, in the midst of chaos, and had found Yuuri instead, leaning against a pillar, dressed in simple white robes, standing lost in thought, his hair attractively mussed and with a crown of laurel grasped carelessly in his fingers.)

*

Their invention worked! They left land behind faster than expected, Victor outpacing his mentor fast enough that the older man called out after him in alarm. He couldn’t help himself, though – he had the sun in his eyes and the smell of salt water running through his lungs. The burn of light and heat against his skin, reflecting off of the sea beneath them, was enough give his skin a soft pink flush, and the exertion needed to keep his body aloft only added to it.

Even so, it felt as though the sun gleamed particularly brightly down on him. The longer they spent in the air, the more it felt like its light was enveloping Victor, and energizing him. He lifted himself further up in the air with a whoop, laughing in delight even while Yakov yelled for him to slow down, and not go as high.

It was easy enough to convince himself to stay away from the waves, especially when the one time he dropped down low enough to dip his toes in the water, the damp setting into his wings almost made it too hard to drag himself up high into the air again. But the sun was harder to ignore. Ignore it he did, though, after spending a while high up in the air. Maybe it was some lingering concern for poor Yakov’s heart too, because his mentor almost screamed himself hoarse whenever Victor got either too high or too low.

…the first feather that slipped out of the wings strapped to his arms was a coincidence. Maybe they hadn’t stuck that one firmly enough in place. Maybe the tar hadn’t held it as strongly. Maybe it had just gotten stuck between the straps of the harness somehow and had chosen that specific moment to come loose. Maybe maybe maybe. Victor told himself to ignore it, and the next one that fell as well. And the third.

By the fourth, Yakov seemed to notice that something was wrong. By the fifth, he tried to draw up closer, looking about as terrified as his great big face could allow, too rigid in age. Victor waved him away, though, in words and action, worried that his drawing closer would put Yakov in as much danger as him. It didn’t seem to deter Yakov, though, his mentor hurling accusations of being ‘too proud’ and ‘a fool boy as bad as JJ’ – the first of which Victor accepted, gladly, but the second only made him frown in distaste, even as he beat his arms harder to keep himself aloft.

It didn’t help him. Not one bit. The longer they flew, the more feathers fell out of Victor’s wings – and now he could actually feel the stickiness of the tar, melting in the heat of the sun. Even when Victor tried to stay lower down, where the heat wasn’t as strong, feathers still continued to come loose, the tar having softened enough it wouldn’t harden unless Victor could set the wings aside to dry for a while first before attempting to use them again. If only they could pause a while.

There was no land to be seen anywhere, except in the distance behind them.

*

It wasn’t a sudden thing, when Victor began to lose height. He felt himself sinking lower, and no matter how much he beat his arms he found that he couldn’t lift himself as high as he had been before. A glance was enough to tell him that the sun was as merciless as ever, watching him as he sunk lower down, in spite of his earlier flirtations.  

“I’ll hold you,” Yakov offered at one point, flying lower so they could move side by side.

Victor laughed, the sound ugly in his throat.

“It’s safer for you if you keep flying onward, Yakov. Leave me,” he replied. The words earned him a disgruntled, pained look, the expression telling him that Yakov dearly wanted to slap him upside the head. Apparently there were unforeseen benefits to the wings, if they stopped Yakov from being mean to him.

The agonized cry that fell from Yakov’s lips when Victor’s wings finally lost all aerodynamic ability made his heart hurt.

*

Thoughts of Yuuri filled his head, even as his body crashed into the water, from enough of a height that it hurt, enough so that it felt like a full body bruise. Thoughts tinged with regret, and longing, and the ridiculous thought that he would have liked to see Yuuri again, just once, before the King had called for his and Yakov’s heads.

He hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye. They hadn’t even shared a meal together. He didn’t know Yuuri’s favorite foods, his favorite time of day, whether his smiles tasted as sweet as they looked, and whether he enjoyed spending time with Victor as much as Victor enjoyed spending time with him. The potential of their unfulfilled meetings unspooled in his mind’s eye like precious gold thread coming loose, too fine to spin back in place.

The water dragged him under, enough so that he couldn’t hear Yakov’s cries from above. Enough so that the last of his breath escaped him in little bubbles, the water that he’d been delighted by earlier on overtaking him in seconds, even while he tried to keep his head above the surface of it.

Time slowed down. Almost to a standstill. All Victor could hear was the sound buzzing between his ears, his thoughts slipping away as easily as sand, the water all consuming.

This was his end.

This would be his end.

*

And then, suddenly, it wasn’t.

*

“Oh Vitya. What am I to do with you?”

Quiet, fond, and with just a hint of irony. The voice as familiar to Victor as his own, now, as precious to him as his need to breathe. He didn’t know how, but when he opened his eyes, Yuuri was there, face right above his own. Victor choked, fearing the water in his lungs, but miraculously, had no trouble at all, the great big gulp of air he unduly ended up taking making his chest ache.

Yuuri continued to smile softly above him, and it took another long moment, spent gasping for breath because it still felt like a novelty after thinking he would find his end in strange waters, before Victor actually registered that Yuuri was holding up his bedraggled form, one arm beneath his knees, the other around his shoulders.

He still looked like himself, but now, in the light of the noon day sun and out in the open with nothing to shadow him, Victor could see the way Yuuri’s very skin seemed to hum with energy, all but radiating heat. The mere sight of him was arresting enough, but it was the crown of leaves sitting atop his head that Victor couldn’t seem to draw his gaze away from.

“Is it true you chased a disinterested girl until she begged her father to turn her into a tree?” he blurted out, and Yuuri stared down at him, visibly bemused.

“There was no disinterested girl,” his voice was still soft to the ear, but it was filled with enough humor to make up for the pitch, “only a friend who endeavored to free me from a spell that I wanted no part of.”

“But the leaves!”

“Yes, she does tend some lovely laurel bushes, doesn’t she.”

Victor felt like his heart was going to burst right out of his ribcage, too full with adoration to bear staying in place.

“You rescued me,” he murmured, voice awed.

Yuuri’s face went red, flushing across his nose, the color spreading enough to touch the apples of both cheeks. Victor cooed, throwing his arms around Yuuri’s neck, and laughing when that made him flush brighter. The sight was adorable enough that he could almost ignore the fact that Yuuri’s bare skin across his nape was unnaturally hot. Hot enough to compare to a freshly brewed pot of tea. Enough to burn his skin, and possibly would have – if the temperature of it hadn’t dropped the moment Victor’s arms went around Yuuri’s neck.

It was almost adorable enough to ignore the fact that they were both floating in midair, and that Yakov was nowhere to be found.

“I bade him go forward,” Yuuri explained, not needing Victor to actually ask his question out loud.

“Oh? And how did he react to being told to keep flying by a God?” Victor responded, curious.

The mild smile tugging at Yuuri’s lips spread into a full-fledged grin, toothy and indulgent.

“His only reaction was to demand that I rescue you quickly, so he could yell at you for romancing the one God who could end your escape in tears.”

It was Victor’s turn to blush at that, the tips of his ears and his nose going hot in a way that was uncomfortably familiar. Yuuri just laughed, though, quietly, but it sounded just as overjoyed as anything else.

“But you saved me, didn’t you Yuuri,” Victor whispered, and Yuuri nodded, eyes glinting with delayed amusement.

“Yes, yes I did. Though you didn’t make it easy on me, with how badly you exposed yourself to danger. The next time you decide you want to fly, try not to get hurt again? I might be the God of the Sun, and Healing, but I’d be just as happy if I didn’t actually have to heal you, my dear.”

Victor yelped in protest at that, scrunching up his face in a moue of displeasure. It just made Yuuri smile, though, and lean in to nuzzle their noses together. And Victor couldn’t just let that go, now could he.

It turned out that Yuuri’s smiles were just as sweet to taste as they looked.

OMAKE

On the mainland, in a certain youth’s home

Yakov: *sitting sullenly by the window, scowling over his tea*

Yuri: So you leave, because you don’t want the two of us to keep inventing in the same city, and you’re telling me you found yourself an apprentice who gives you more headaches than I ever did? Even when he’s older than me? Really, Uncle.

Yakov: *shoots Yuri a dirty look* My apprentice was fine. Any headaches he gave me were manageable.

Yuri: …I sense a but. Why do I sense a ‘but’ in that statement, Yakov. Or a past tense.

Yakov: *remembers Yuuri blasting out of the sky, covered head to toe in golden armor, looking like he might have dived straight into the water after Vitya if he hadn’t noticed Yakov trying pathetically to stay in place, screaming himself hoarse*

Yakov: *remembers what it felt like to find out that his apprentice had a God terrified for his life*

Yakov: *remembers that his apprentice had been going around with a besotted, lovesick expression on his face for entire weeks together before they had to escape the island*

Yakov: …I did say were manageable. I am not sure if he’s manageable any longer. Not when the fool boy somehow managed to seduce the God of the Sun when I wasn’t looking.

Yuri: *cleaning out his ears* Say what now?

[katzuyas]

to get back to you (I’ll live a thousand lives)

for day 8 of @victuuri-week, prompt au: soulmates and day 4 of @yoimythologyweek, prompt: free rating: teen and up

read previous chapters here 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 or go to ao3 from the link in the title!

"The appearance of Marks is a slow process that takes place over many years," the teacher explains to them, standing at the small dais at the front of the class. "One day, you will notice a smudge somewhere on your skin that won't be possible to remove – that's how the Marks begin to show. Over time the smudge clears and forms letters that are the name of your soulmate."

Victor sits in the third row, next to a freckled girl and a ginger-haired boy, aged seven in body, but his soul is old – much older than anyone seems to think. It takes him months to realize what must have happened and it takes him even longer to stop mourning for the past that was his only present. It takes him even longer, still, to move on and focus on the future.

They must have found the universe tree, Yggdrasil, Victor reasons, and unknowingly moved to another realm: another of its branches. In the process, they seem to have lost their bodies, the mortal shells that contained their souls and thus... have died. Only to be reborn as infants again, holding their memories and minds intact. That was what happened to Victor, so he ventured a guess that it was also what must have happened to Yuuri.

Desperately, longingly, he still prays to be so.

Maybe, Victor thinks, maybe there is a way for them to get back. Yet, for it to be possible, he needs to find Yuuri in this new world and lead him to the tree once more. With his age reversed it seems like it will take him years to accomplish the first, but his parents seem to have found his fascination with the myth of the universe tree 'quite adorable' and indulge his, in their eyes, innocent quest. Their lenience if fruitful, and so, seven years after the rebirth, Victor makes the discovery once more.

The knowledge of where to find Yggdrasil, however, is useless to him without Yuuri. And for that he must wait, since there is no acceptable way for him to come up to the people who brought him into this world, loving, caring people who never deny him anything, and ask them to leave home at the tender age of seven to find his lost lover from a past life.

Instead, he plays the role of a small child in a performance that no actor would find shame in and sits through his life's journey impatient, but also curious – for this world is far different from the one he once knew. The times have progressed far, it seems, but that isn't all. The major difference between this world and the one Victor still remembers is in the general principle of two people joining together for life on the basis of the marks that show upon their bodies: the Marks of soulmates, two pieces of the same soul that have been parted upon birth and thus must join later on in life.

"Ms. Kotsky?" A girl behind Victor lifts a hand. "Is there a surname, too?"

The teacher shakes her head. "There isn't. Only their given name."

"How do we find them then?" The girl frowns. "Is it the first person we meet who has that name?"

The teacher shakes her head no once more.

"It isn't as simple, Lena. You might meet five people who share that name during your lifetime and neither of them could be your soulmate. The key to finding them is in your Mark. You see, when soulmates touch, their Mark glows red."

"Oh, like the colour of love," another girl says, and the teacher smiles.

"Exactly," she agrees, and turns her eyes back to the girl behind Victor. "That's how you know which person is your soulmate."

The children ahh and ohh, but Victor's mind is focused on a different thing. Is Yuuri his soulmate? He wants it to be true, he wants it to be real. Victor's body is baren of a Mark as of yet, and he prays it is Yuuri's when he gets one, but even if it isn't, his heart is already set on having no one else but Yuuri. And so is Victor's soul, as it has been even in the world before this.

It isn't until Victor is ten that the first signs of a Mark show on his hip. He is twelve when it fully sinks into his skin and the joy he feels is overbearing. The Mark is small, but to Victor it's everything, because in a tiny scrawl it says Yuuri. It gives him hope that one day they will meet and match their Marks, souls, and bodies once more.

With that hope locked safely in his heart, he tries to live his life like a normal person and lets the fates guide him. He tries painting again, but the craft he'd once loved feels alien to his new hands. They don't seem to move how they used to and after a few years of frustration, Victor hangs up his brushes to never return.

What catches his eye instead of that is a book of poems, which he reads from cover to cover in a single afternoon. It stirs something deep in his soul, something that he only remembers stirring when Yuuri was around, and it is the very next day that Victor begs his parents for another. They comply, as they always do, and that is how Victor's journey into poetry begins.

He writes his first poem that same week, publishes a book within a year, and in five – he's one of the best read artists of the craft at only eighteen years old. All his longing, all his love, every little thing he can recall about Yuuri; he puts it all into his writing.

The smiles that Yuuri used to give him when they awakened in the middle of the night Victor likened to the beauty of aurora borealis spreading across the sky with wondrous that lit up the darkness of his aimless existence. The warmth of love entrapped within Yuuri's eyes he matched against the chilling winter winds that ripped apart his clothing and dried out his skin, but the feeling shining through Yuuri's eyes kept him safe and sheltered from it all. The touch of Yuuri's hands, his lips, his skin over Victor's he compares to sunshine that kisses him softly, but can burn as easily if he isn't careful, yet he doesn't want to be – because love like theirs is not meant for cautious people; it is all engulfing and reckless, and it sets every fibre of his being atremble with how much he'd do if only Yuuri asked.

As he writes, Victor lives through his memories and remembers it all. Secretly, he fills more journals with the prose of his life: begins a diary of sorts. The writing passes him time, but even then he cannot deny that he misses his painting, misses his inventions, misses Yuuri most of anything...

It is when Victor is twenty that a traveller visits him in his rented flat above a hat maker's. The knocking on the door is eager and insistent as it draws Victor away from another poem that speaks of his loneliness that swallows him like a void of the unknown new world that he now has to live in without his beloved. Annoyed that he has to stop midverse, Victor stomps to the door and throws it open–

–only to be met with the same wide-eyed love that he now feels overtake him completely.

"Yuuri," he whispers and his voice finally, finally sounds like his own.

Tears fall from Yuuri's eyes as he stands before him in the flesh, and he smiles.

"Hello, Victor," he says. He lifts the small book he's clutching in both of his hands and Victor recognizes it as the first one he's written to print. "Am I interrupting? I just wanted to ask you to sign your name for me."

Victor laughs, stepping forward to envelop Yuuri in his arms, and as he does – he vows to never again let him go. Yuuri's body is different, it feels different, but there is something achingly familiar about him that helps Victor settle into him with no trouble.

"I will sign whatever you want me to," Victor tells him, aware of the dampness of his eyes. "But the most important sign you should already have on your skin, right?"

Yuuri's lips press against Victor's neck where he's buried his face, hot, cordial, grounding. He says nothing, but Victor feels his answer in his own burning heart, which flutters in his chest and repeats what Yuuri wants to say: I'm yours, always and forever.

[miitzwrites]

YOIMYTHWEEK/Day 3 & 5

Hello eveyone! Welcome to the 5th day of the YOIMYTHWEEK ( @yoimythologyweek ) !!!

I decided to combine both prompts because I believe they worked better together. Small story time, this is the first time that I actually cry while writing, so, with mistakes and all, I do hope you guys can feel why I tried to express here.

Without futher ado, enjoy!

[Also on AO3 and FF.net]  

Day 3: Reincarnation and Immortality

Day 5: Star-crossed lovers.

(Or 5 times where their love wasn’t strong enough, and 1 time where it was)

Japan, 1850.

It wasn’t a secret for the courts of both countries that Prince Katsuki and Prince Nikiforov were more than just friends. They visited the homeland of the other often. They spent hours in each other’s company, and at night, they shared a room

Even their families knew they were lovers, and they allowed them, as long as they didn’t forget their obligations with their respective crowns

Therefore, when the Emperor announced that his youngest son would get married to a European princess, Yuuri bowed his head, hiding the evident sadness in his eyes

A few weeks later, when Yuuri broke the news to Victor, the Russian prince paled. “Yuuri, your father has no right…

“He is the Emperor, Victor. He can do what he pleases, as long as the country is safe.

“But Yuuri…

“War hasn’t been kind, and he needs allies.

“Then marry me,” Victor offered without a second thought, “ Yes, marry me. Russia is his best option. We have the weapons, an army, and we’re expanding our trades with other countries of Europe.

Yuuri shook his head, sniffing, “I already suggested it. He thought I was going mad, and then he said if he ever wanted to form an alliance with your country, he would send Mari to you.” Yuuri felt powerless, and Victor did the only thing he could think of at that moment, he brought him closer, kissing his lips softly. “I promise you now, whatever happens in the future, you won’t go through it alone.

Yuuri believed him

Xxx

The wedding date arrived, and the princess, Anna, looked flawless in her white dress, with the big diamond ring on her finger, and her bright smile. Yuuri did his best to look somewhat happy, but his solemn expression only changed for an instant, when Victor approached them to congratulate the happy couple

He couldn’t stand the hypocrisy of the people who surrounded him, so in an impulse, he ran away and hid in the Imperial Gardens. His shoulders shook, and he sobbed quietly when two strong pair of arms embraced him. Yuuri didn’t need to turn around to know who was there with him, and immediately, relaxed against his lover’s chest

“Let’s run away,” Victor whispered, “this country doesn’t need you. My family wouldn’t care if I vanish one day, please Yuuri, I’m begging you.” The urgency of his voice broke Yuuri’s heart, and he knew, if he turned around to face him, he would accept on the spot

Victor understood, so he let Yuuri go, regarding him with a kind smile. “If you change your mind, I’ll be waiting for you at the deck before midnight. If you don’t come, then I  will return to my country, so you won’t have to worry about me anymore.

Victor walked back to the palace, leaving Yuuri behind

“My Prince, you’re here!” the high-pitched voice of Anna, startled Yuuri, who quickly wiped his eyes off. “Let’s go inside, your father wants to speak with you.” Feeling numb, Yuuri let his wife drag him inside

Xx

He didn’t have to give it much of a thought, and without looking back, he abandoned the banquet and ran to the deck. He waited for Victor, and when he showed up, the Russian prince gave him one of his famous heart-shaped smile, the kind of gesture that was reserved only for Yuuri’s eyes

“I can’t live without you, Victor,” he shyly said, and Victor took his hand, “I promise you, zolotse, I will work every day to make you the happiest man alive.

“This is an atrocity!” Anna’s voice broke their bubble as she approached them with fire in her eyes. “How can you betray me with him?

“Anna, you don’t understand,” Victor tried to reason with her, but Yuuri placed a hand on his arm, a signal to let him deal with her

“I am so terribly sorry that you had to find it out like this. But I can’t stay here, Anna. It won’t be fair for either of us.

“I don’t care about fairness! You betrayed my country and my crown. And you mocked me. Prince Katsuki, you deserve a worse fate than death itself.

The princess pulled from behind her back a knife, but the attack wasn’t directed to Yuuri. She aimed at Victor. Yuuri, upon realizing this, with quick reflexes, pushed his lover away, receiving Anna’s anger. The sharp blade cut through his chest, causing, on the young prince, a fatal wound. Terrified, Victor moved to Yuuri’s side, cutting his hand in the process of extracting the knife

“I damn you! But you, the man who wanted to take him from me, you will get the worst punishment. You will live for an eternity, and you will find Yuuri again, when he reincarnates, only to see him die again. Remember my words, and never forget what you did to me!

Victor ignored the princess, his sole attention was focused on his beloved Prince, who was struggling to breathe. “Please don’t go. I love you, Yuuri, please!” Yuuri coughed, a trail of blood slipped through his lips, and with his last breath, he softly whispered, “I will always love you, Victor.”

The guards found the Russian prince, cradling the lifeless body of the Japanese prince against his chest.

Two weeks later, Anna was executed, and no one heard from Victor ever again

Ooooo

United Kingdom, 1870.

Being an immortal was… Weird. But Victor managed. He traveled often to avoid people’s questions regarding his beauty and age. He didn’t grow older, so he would look forever like a young man in his mid-twenties.

Almost twenty years had passed since that fateful night, and he wasn’t entirely sure if the words of that woman carried any true, at least, about her curse on Yuuri. Although he would never forget his biggest love, Victor was content that he had found eternal rest.

Or so he thought.

Xxx

Victor loved books, and he spent his evenings in the local library. Absorbed in his reading, he didn’t notice a man who took a seat next to him.

“Would you mind if I take this book for a moment?” A foreign voice said, and Victor made a gesture with his hand to go ahead. Then he looked up, and the words didn’t leave his mouth. He looked at him, his fair skin and auburn hair were a nice feat, but his eyes, the warm chocolate that he had only see once, was there. Victor could only stare.

Yuuri was alive. Not like the soft boy that he had met back in Japan, but his soul was there. Victor’s own soul was calling for him.

He raised a pray to the skies and thanked the mighty force that made this possible.

“Thank you,” the man said, and Victor barely nodded. The other man, with auburn hair, took his material reading and walked to another bookshelf.

Victor returned the next day, at the same hour, and the same young man walked in front of him, but he didn’t stop to look at him or to talk to him, like the day before. Did Yuuri forget about him? About their promises of eternal love? Victor shook his head at that thought. No, his Yuuri couldn’t forget him.

One evening, tired of waiting, he finally decided to talk to him. He got up from his spot where he frequently sat, and approached the desk where the young man was working, and waved his hand. The young man looked at Victor with a frown, but then ignored him.

“Yuuri,” Victor said in a quiet voice and, miraculously, the man immediately raised his eyes. “Oh my God, Yuuri! You remember me!” He extended his arms to hug him, but he stepped back. “You’re mistaken, Sir. I am Ben, and I have never heard of a Yuuri.”

Ben gathered his book, and turned away, abandoning the library. Victor followed promptly, determined to talk with Ben, no, with Yuuri. In a hurry, Ben crossed the street, and his keys slipped from his pocket. He crouched down to pick them out, ignoring the car that was oblivious to the presence of a man in the middle of the street. “Yuuri, look out!” Victor yelled, but it was too late. The car hit Ben, causing him an instant death.

It was funny. Yuuri couldn’t remember him, but Victor did. And he would also remember the second time that he lost him.

Ooooo

Rusia, 1917

Being an immortal meant that he could see with a fresh perspective the places where he lived once. So, the obvious choice was to return to his homeland for a time. He settled in St. Petersburg this time, near the train station.

Also, he had the chance to fall in love with different incarnations of his Yuuri. This time, his soul cried for a woman, and even if his preferences were clear since he was just a teen, Victor couldn’t ignore the way she moved in the store, her red lips and bouncing curls, and her shy smile directed at him every time he entered the small business. She was a seamstress and Victor always had a new excuse to bring her one of his suits.

“Mr. Victor, the buttons are fine. You’re not a careless man, are you?”

“Not at all, Miss Lena.”

“Good, because the tear on this pants wasn’t an accident.”

“I have a very valid reason, you will not believe it.”

“And what is it, Mr. Victor?”

“I’d like to ask you and your father permission to court you.”

Her cheeks turned into an adorable shade of pink, and her chocolate eyes looked at him almost as if her soul could recognize him. “My father and I have a trip planned for a month, and our ship sails tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, I see,” Victor frowned, clearly disappointed. Lena quickly placed her hand on his arm, and Victor felt as if his soul was singing with happiness. “I will talk to him, and in a month, you can discuss it with him properly.”

Victor nodded, eager to wait. He had waited for Yuuri for half a century and more, a month was nothing in comparison.

Xxx

Just as promised, Victor returned to Lena’s small store, and her mother delivered the bad news. The ship sank on the gelid waters, and the bodies were yet to be found.

Victor cried that night. His Yuuri never learned to swim.

Ooooo

Spain, 1936

Being an immortal has its pros. For example, Victor had the chance to experience new careers. This time, he dedicated his time to painting portraits. He would ask random people on the streets to model for him, and he would pay them. Some of them thought he was a pervert, others accepted, interested in what the strange man had to offer.

Victor, on his part, believed that he was closer to Yuuri.

He painted women and men. Some smiled at him, and others remained serious throughout the whole process. Then, one evening, a man, not much older than Victor himself, showed at his door. “Señor Nikiforov, I am Marcos, and I need this job.” Victor smiled at the young boy but avoided looking at him. Since the incident with Yuuri’s first incarnation, Victor promised not to be so reckless. He couldn’t carry the guilt again.

“Alright, please take a seat there,” Victor pointed at the couch near the window and prepared his materials. “I hope you’re aware that this is not a formal job, it’s a one time job only.”

“Oh, yes, yes, that’s fine. I need the money for my younger brothers.” Marcos told him, fidgeting with his sleeve. “That’s generous of you, Marcos,” Victor absently said, sitting on his preferred chair, grabbing his pencils, and started to draw the lines of the young man upper body on the paper. He did a fairly quick job, but when he reached his face, he had to stop for a moment. Those bright, brown eyes stared at him, and his lips were adorned with a serene smile.

Victor had to leave the room to compose himself. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, he wouldn’t pressure him. If the soul of this body could feel how Victor’s cried for him, then, eventually, he would remember him.

Yes, that was a far more decent plan.

“Tell me more about yourself, Marcos,” Victor asked when he returned with a glass of water for him and the model. He learned that, in this life, Marcos had three brothers and two sisters. His father worked in the mines and her mother stayed at home. He had worked since he was a child, but the money wasn’t enough for the eight members of his family, so this was an opportunity that he couldn’t miss 

Then, Marcos agreed to return for another session, after Victor offered to pay him the double. With the money in his pocket, Marcos shook Victor’s hand, and something flashed in his eyes, something that Victor couldn’t decipher right then. But whatever it was, Victor considered a small progress.

A week later, the civil war within the country started, and Marcos never returned to Victor’s studio.

Ooooo

America, 1979

Being an immortal was lonely, but it gave Victor a chance to do something useful with his time. For example, he did social service in the local hospital, a couple of blocks down his apartment. He usually visited children, they were innocent, and Victor, despite the situation, found himself energized, he smiled more, and the small girls loved his heart-shaped smile.

“Victor, I’m glad you came! We need a big favor.” The nurse Marla greeted him, but her face was somber. That could only mean one thing.

“Sure thing, lead the way.”

“His name is Jose. He arrived here a couple of weeks ago, but the person who brought him here abandoned him. The doctors have given up any hope for him. He’s high on morphine, so it’s very unlikely he would wake up until…”

“I understand, Marla. I will call you when it happens.”

After all this time, Victor was used to the smell of death and disinfectant, proper of a hospital, but he could never get used to seeing someone die. In fact, he envied them. They could rest and wait for their next life, not like Victor, who was stuck in this world.

He approached the only occupied bed in the room, dragged a chair to sit close to the bed, and started reading out loud. He chose one of his favorite books, The Little Prince.

The hours passed, and the night fell on the streets. The room was dimly illuminated, and, though Victor never stayed this late, he couldn’t leave Jose alone. Whoever he was, he deserved to have someone by his side when the inevitable happened.

Victor leaned back against the plastic chair, rubbing his eyes, tired. And then, he heard him.

“I have missed your voice, Victor,” Jose struggled to talk, but his words wear clear. Victor, in shook, dropped his book and jumped from his chair to kneel by Jose’s bed. “My Victor, it’s been too long…”

“No, Yuuri, not now…” Victor, shakily, took Jose, no, Yuuri’s hand, kissing the bruised knuckles, “Why do you have to remember me now?”

With the little strength that this body still carried, Yuuri smiled, using his other hand to run his fingers through Victor’s hair. “It is a blessing and a curse. I finally find you when I’m about to leave,” he whispered, with a calm proper of someone who knew that his time was running out.

“I will find you again, my Yuuri, and will do this right,’ Victor promised with an edge of desperation on his words, but Yuuri shook his head, “No. Victor, I don’t want your soul to be tied to mine anymore. Forget about me, please,”

“But Yuuri. –“

“Please, Victor, for me. If the gods allow us to be happy, then be it. But until then, I don’t want to be the source of your pain.”

“My Yuuri…”

“I know, Victor. I love you, too.” With his last breath, Yuuri smiled at Victor.

He couldn’t do anything but gaze into Yuuri’s eyes for the last time until the life was gone for his body.

Minutes later, the nurses found Victor in the same position, kneeling by Jose’s bed, grasping his hand against his chest, and crying uncontrollably.

Xxx

When he left the hospital, Victor walked numbly to his apartment. The rain was pouring outside, and he was soaked, but he didn’t care. At least, he was feeling something. He looked up at the skies, feeling, for the first time in decades, angry at whoever was doing this to them.

“Why?” He demanded as if someone could give him an answer, “Why do you take him from me every time? My only mistake was to love him!” Victor stubbornly stood under the rain for hours, earning confused looks for the people that passed by.

The rain stopped, and he made up his mind. It was time to find another place to live.

Ooooo

Sochi, 2015

Being an immortal was worse than death itself.

Victor had opted for loneliness, and, once again, returned to Russia, where he started practicing one of his favorite sports, ice skating. It wasn’t hard to get back in shape, and he quickly won the attention of one of the best coaches in St. Petersburg, Yakov Feltsman. Soon enough, he was notorious on the ice skating community, and five consecutive gold medals later, he became Russia’s living legend.

Even in his solitude, Victor found a little bit of his heart on the ice.

And when he dared to perform “Stay Close to me,” people applauded his excellent choreography and skills, but no one stopped to ask why he longed to find the part of his soul that was missing. No one really cared.

And then, reality came crashing into him, hard.

People loved this Victor, loved his ability on the ice, loved his charm and his seductive smile, but no one knew about the man behind the mask, the man who had lost his beloved in multiple times, no one knew how badly he struggled to keep living a life that wasn’t his.

But he kept skating, winning, and crying.

Xxx

His world turned upside down the night of the banquet at Sochi.

There was this man, a Japanese skater, very drunk and very fun to look at. He pole-danced like a pro, and was bold enough to defy Yuri. Who was this man that, with just a gesture of his hand, had Victor on the dance floor dancing with him? Of course, he knew him. He needed to know his competitors. But he never paid attention to his eyes. It was only then, when the Japanese man wrapped his arms around his neck and asked to be his coach, that he really saw him. The warmth in his chocolate eyes was unmistakable. And Victor awkwardly stood there, letting him grind against him until Celestino came to collect his drunk student.

Yakov mumbled something, and for the sake of appearances, Victor agreed with him. A moment later, he ran from the banquet, from the press and the sponsors, and in the safety of his room, he allowed himself to break down.

“Please, no,” he begged to no one, to the gods, to whoever might be listening to him, “He deserves to live. Please, this is my burden to carry, not his. Let him enjoy this life. Let him live.”

Outside the window, in the dark sky, a flaming white trail lit up the night sky. In his sorrow, Victor didn’t realize that, finally, someone had listened to his pleas.

Xxx

Months later, fate seemed to enjoy his twisted little game, or so Victor thought when he received the link of a video of a man who was reprising his program “Stay Close to Me”. His eyes widened, observing how his legs moved through the ice, and how his eyes, the same beautiful chocolate eyes that used to look at him lovingly, told a story. The story of an incomplete soul and a broken heart.

Two days later, he booked a flight to Japan, and his new journey began.

Xxx

Being Yuuri’s coach was a challenge. With his anxiety, his sudden changes of emotions, insecurities and a wonderful talent that overflows, there were days when Victor wondered what he could do for him as a coach.

“I just want you to be Victor!” Yuuri demanded one day when Victor inquired what he wanted from him. People always liked Victor for who his appearance, not for who he truly was deep inside. And if that was what Yuuri wanted, Victor would gladly give that to him. His Yuuri didn’t remember him, but for once, Victor was content to spend his time with this reincarnation.

And, even if he wasn’t counting on it, he fell in love again, with this Yuuri, his Yuuri, and his ability to create music through his body, and the surprises that he had under his sleeve. Just like the day when he performed his free program in the Cup of China, when Victor felt that his heart was about to burst, and he did the only logical next thing: he kissed him, a weird push of lips, but a kiss nonetheless.

Then, Yuuri graced him with a ring. Maybe for Yuuri, it was just a lucky charm, something to look at and remember his coach and friend, but for Victor, it meant so much more. A ring that was full of promises, of ‘what if’s’. Victor hoped that he could spend a little bit more with this man, this Yuuri. But for now, he would cherish the time they had left.

Xxx

Katsuki Yuuri, proud GPF finalist, and silver medal winner, laid his head on Victor’s chest, tired after performing Stay Close to Me with Victor. That was their song now, their promise to meet each other in the middle, and Victor wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Victor?”

“Yes, Yuuri?”

“Can you tell me more about your life?”

“There’s nothing interesting, Yuuri. I’ve spent most of the time on an ice rink. My parents are out of the picture. Makka is my only family. What else would you like to know?”

“I meant your whole life, Victor. Could you tell me about Spain or Russia? I don’t remember much about the UK, either.”

Victor felt his blood freeze. He remembered him, but how? Harshly, he detangled his arm from Yuuri's form, and shot out of the bed, staring at Yuuri with a mix of horror and surprise. “Yuuri… You… How?”

“Does it matter, Vitya?” Yuuri got up from the bed and tried to reach out for Victor’s hand, but he roughly pulled away. “Vitya, please.”

“No, I can’t, we can’t do this, Yuuri. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me, Vitya, no this time, I prom. –“

“No! Don’t say it. You deserve this life, Yuuri. And if to keep you well and alive, it means for me to stay away from you, then that must be done.”

Victor dressed quickly, ignoring the burning in his eyes and the evident hurt in Yuuri’s. He didn’t want to be the cause of his death, he wanted Yuuri to enjoy this moment. And if that meant he should sacrifice his own happiness and wander around the world in loneliness for another century, then Victor would do so.

“Victor,” Yuuri spoke, with severity in his voice, “Minako agreed to be my coach while you train for your nationals. You should talk to Yakov. I don’t think he would enjoy coaching you via Skype.”

“Tomorrow morning, Yuuri.”

Victor closed the door behind him, and a muffled sob coming from inside Yuuri's room reached his ears.

Xxx

Yuuri’s family noticed the slight shift in their relationship. No, not the rings, but the way the talked to each other. How coldly Yuuri acted around Victor and the way his coach seemed to avoid him.

No one asked, though. They would figure it out. And as Hiroko told Mari one night, if their love was strong enough, even the gods would bless them with a second chance.

Ooooo

+1

Japan, 2016.

After they won their respective nationals, Yuuri with gold, and Victor with silver, the Russian returned to Japan to celebrate his belated birthday. Yuuko met him in the airport, Hiroko cooked his special katsudon, and Toshiya told him excitedly, what he planned to do with the onsen, now that more tourists visited their town. Minako shared her notes with Yuuri, and the Nishigori triplets showed him the videos that they recorded of Yuuri during his training.

Everyone was there, except for one person.

Victor excused himself, and went to the beach, knowing that he would find Yuuri there.

He saw Yuuri sitting on the sand, with his knees drawn up to his chest, and his arms circling his legs. His eyes were fixed on the ocean, mindless of what was going on around him. Victor sat by his side, stretching his legs.

“I remembered everything when you kissed me in China,” Yuuri said, without turning to look at him, “When you kissed me, something just clicked. I felt like my soul was complete again. I knew I missed something, but I didn’t know what it was. But then you were there, and your lips were so familiar, and… Victor, I wasn’t shocked because you kissed me in front of millions in international t.v., I was shocked because my previous lives passed in front of my eyes. I saw you during my wedding, when you console me, and then, in the UK, when you came to talk to me. I remembered your dumb excuses to come to my shop with one or two buttons missing from your jackets, and I remember the crinkle in your forehead when you were focused drawing my portrait. Hell, the worst was the last time. I was ready to go, but then you came to me and didn’t leave my side until I abandoned that body.

“Victor, you found me again, and this time, I’m not running away. I am sure that this time, the gods will allow us to be together.”

Victor swallowed down the knot on his throat, trying to find the right words. “And how are you so certain that this is not another trick?”

“I’m not certain of anything, Victor. But I have faith in you, in our love. Have a little more faith in us Victor.” Timidly, Yuuri grabbed Victor’s hand, and lifted it to his lips, kissing the golden band that Victor hadn’t taken off, not even once.

Impulsively, Victor leaned closer, kissing Yuuri, his Yuuri, softly, and sweet, and with an air of uncertainty. Yuuri smiled into the kiss, threading his fingers in Victor’s silver hair.

It felt good to be back home.

Ooooo

Bonus

Paris, 2036

The notes of their song filled the silence of their room. They waltzed at the rhythm of a duet that the came to know by heart. Their song, Stay Close to Me.

Yuuri rested his head on Victor’s chest, and Victor had an arm secured around his back, as the other held Yuuri’s right hand. Even in the darkish room, the golden bands shinned together.

They were celebrating their 20th anniversary. They got married in spring when the cherry trees blossomed. Their wedding was a small affair. Their friends, family, and fellow athletes accompanied them. When they said their vows, even Yurio shed a tear:

‘My Yuuri, I’ve been waiting for you for ages, and even today, I’m scared that you will slip through my fingers. But I trust you, and I know the gods had forgiven us for what we did. And in this day, I promise you to work hard for us, to give you the happiness that you were denied before. I promise you to love you and cherish you until the gods decide otherwise. And even then, I will continue searching for you, until we’re given another chance.’

‘My Vitya. You’ve been patient with me all this time. Even when I couldn’t see you, you were there, ready for me, waiting for me. And I can't imagine what you've been through all this time, the sadness and the heartbreak. So, today I promise you, my Vitya, that you won’t feel alone ever again. I will love you, in this life, and the next one, and if we ever had to be apart, my soul will wait for you, until you come back for me again.’

Their guests were too moved to even try to comprehend the meaning behind their promises. It was better that way.

“Vitya?”

“Yes, my Yuuri?”

“Are you still afraid?”

Even after all these years together, Victor would wake up in the morning, and his first thought was Yuuri. He would lean down and kiss his forehead. And at nights, Victor would stay awake for a little longer, just to make sure that his Yuuri was still there, with him.

But those little actions weren't out of fear. They were caused by wonder. It was hard to believe that after a century and a half, they were finally together.

And some of his fears disappeared one evening when he was looking at his reflection in the mirror and saw wrinkles on the corners of his eyes. He tackled Yuuri to the ground and didn't care that he soaking his shirt with his tears. When he calmed down, he explained Yuuri the reason of his cries. He was aging. The curse was finally broken.

They laughed and cried for the rest of the evening.

Over the past twenty years, Victor finally saw wrinkles on his forehead. His hair was thinner, and there were permanent dark circles under his eyes.

He had never felt more full of life.

“Some days,” Victor answered after a long moment. Then he took a moment to appreciate his Yuuri. His face was rounded, his black hair had greys now, and his body, softer without the figure of an athlete, but it never lost its grace. He was just as beautiful as the first time they met.

“But remember what I promised. I trust you and I have faith in us and our love.” Pleased with his answer, Yuuri nodded, trailing kisses down his cheeks and jaw and back up to his lips.

Lost in each other's arms, they ignored the dazzling light of a comet that crossed the skies, blessing them with another lifetime together.

[onceabluemoonwrites]

(Outshine) The Sun

Fandom: Yuri on Ice

Summary: Minami was never ever coming out of the cave. Out of the question. Not to pet the roosters. Not for chocolate. Not for Guang Hong. Not even for Yuuri. 

Except if Yuuri was about to get married, of course, because it would be an eternal embarrassment as big brother not to have Yuuri’s marriage portrait right next to Guang Hong and Leo’s in the sky. Minami had to look at something while sniffling about how fast they’d grown up during the honeymoon! 

 But Yuuri had shown no interest in anybody, so Minami was here to act out his revenge!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Yuri on Ice

AO3 | Tumblr; my other entries: White Locks (The Clock Tick Tocks)

You can find my writing progress here.  If you can’t keep straight who’s based on which god anymore, here’s a list.

My fic master list here.

This was written for @yoimythologyweek  Day One, Feb. 4th: Japanese Mythology and Icarus/Sun God

This is part of the I Move the Stars for No One ‘ verse but can be read as a standalone fic.  

Being booger-born excused a lot, but certainly not everything.

Let us begin at the beginning.

In the ancient times, when the Gods roamed the earth, Izanagi, first of the Gods, washed his face. From his left eye came Minami, God of the Sun and ruler of heaven; From his right eye came Guang Hong, God of the Moon and ruler of the night. Lastly; from his nose came Yuuri, god of storms and ruler of the seas.

For all that Minami had been birthed of eye grit, there was no lethargy to be found in him. He was the incarnation of energy- so great that his very being illuminated the world. Moving across the sky, running around all day, they called him the sun.

The second child, Guang Hong, liked to glide across the night sky once his rambunctious brother had been tucked in- gently shining down on the earth, careful not to wake its citizens, as to give them some respite from Minami’s bountiful energy.

And then there was the youngest (but only by 1,5 seconds, as the Sun God liked to remind everyone while bouncing around in all his godly grace). Now, as you can imagine, Yuuri’s start in life was not the greatest. When your siblings were created from your father’s gritty eyes, but you were created from his boogers… We can’t blame him for being slightly depressed.

In fact, one might argue, that there was only one who came from a worse place than Yuuri- but this was Chris, who had been born of Izanagi’s underwear once the God had disrobed. Chris, as the scrolls tell us, was quite happy with his permanent state of undress, and was known as the first nudist.

Except for Izanagi, that is, but that’s a story for another day.

Back to Yuuri. As mentioned before, he was quite depressed, and the ocean, his realm, was ever covered by the darkest clouds his mind could summon. The waves ever-shifting as his moods, the current taking the newest anxiety to every corner of his body.

The sun god, Minami, however, had been enamoured with his younger brothers since birth. While there were only 1,5 seconds between them, Yuuri was his younger brother, and though Minami might not even reach his shoulder, he had a duty as the eldest brother to protect him (…And spoil him, but that was a whole other story).

While Guang Hong underwent Minami’s adoration with grace- only becoming uncomfortable when the smaller boy began to pinch his cheeks- Yuuri ran for the hills, erm, ocean bottom, as soon as Minami entered his sight. This, however, only made Minami adore him more, because ‘’Yuuri runs like the wind! My little brother is the quickest God of them all!!’’ And beamed so brilliantly that it was impossible to look at him without losing one’s vision.

Still, Yuuri avoiding Minami made him more determined to reach his brother. Every day he shone a little brighter in order to talk to him. Yuuri, however, made darker clouds every day, until even Minami, forever optimist, had to admit his plan wasn’t working. His sunshine couldn’t pierce the clouds that rolled over his brother’s realm anymore.

Time for plan B. Plan B involved dancing in the sky to mimic his brother’s dancing waves, but it did not catch Yuuri’s attention, for he never looked up. So Minami’s second plan failed.

His third plan, Minami was sure, would have success. Last year, Yuuri had had the greatest fun riding the waves. While his previous plans had not worked, Minami was sure that the way to approach his brother lay in emulating him.

So he rode the clouds like his brother rode the waves. Sticking his legs up in the air, doing a couple of handstands, somersaulting over the water mass in the sky, Minami had the greatest fun with this plan.

It was, however, the Ariel on the rocks pose that his brother caught him in.

‘’Stop that!’’

Minami frowned, sticking his head over the edge of the clouds to peer down at Yuuri. ‘’But you do it too!’’

‘’I do not!’’ Yuuri craned his neck to be able to look him straight in the eye, huffing all the way.

‘’Do too! Last year, in fact!’’ And he had looked so cute as well! Minami still had the paintings Guang Hong made of Yuuri up in the sky next to their baby portraits!

Yuuri paled. ‘’I thought we’d agreed not to mention the emo phase!’’ Then he crossed his arms, waves rising up behind him, lifting him higher, as if he was Venus in her shell. ‘’Besides, don’t you think it’s time you abandon these childish past times? Piercing my clouds? Running the heavens amock? Imitating Disney princesses while on the clouds? What even made you think that was a good idea? Just leave me alone!’’

Minami’s smile wavered, fist clenching. He was just there to adore his brother, what was wrong with that? ‘’Well, sorry for wanting to cheer you up! You always made me happy by mimicking me, so I thought I’d cheer you up with it!’’

Yuuri frowned. ‘’Mimicking you?’’

Minami’s smile fell away entirely. ‘’…When you paint the sun upon the surface of the sea, brother.’’

Yuuri’s mouth fell open. ‘’Minami, the ocean’s made of water. It reflects everything above it automatically. Don’t be obtuse.’’

…Yuuri hadn’t done that for Minami? The sun god’s shoulders slumped. His little brother didn’t love him?

His brother waved him away. ‘’Anyway, it’s time you start thinking of the poor humans here below. When you bounce all over the sky like that, their sleeping schedules are messed up completely! You need to grow up, Minami! You’ve got duties!’’

…Grow up? Minami’s heart dropped to the rock bottom. Yuuri didn’t even see him as a proper big brother! ‘’…Okay. I can see where I’m not wanted. I’ll go grow up- all on my own!’’ And with that, he stormed off, cloud and all.

You know what? He’d follow his heart to the rock bottom- he knew a nice big cave, he’d hide out in there until Yuuri was sorry like no tomorrow! Minami was the best big brother in the whole wide world- and soon, Yuuri would remember that as well!

The thing was, though, that Minami hiding in the cave meant that there wouldn’t be a tomorrow at all. Dawn, after all, was what heralded the new day, and when the sun locked himself into a cave…

Let’s just say an eternal night was the nicest way to talk about it.

The crops began to die, the trees began to wither, and something in the heart of man had disappeared as if they could not see their own strength when there was no daylight to show it.

Humanity despaired, falling to their knees to pray to the gods above. But no prayer would help, nor bowing to the heavens, no dance nor ritual came to aid. The heavens remained empty, and dawn did not break.

The sun had gone down, seemingly forever.

Far above humanity, the Moon and his Muse peered down, past the edges of the clouds.

‘’What a dark day in history,’’ Guang Hong fidgeted with his hands, leaving them clasped in his lap as he looked at the human race. He had always had a gentle heart, and this situation was taking its toll on him.

Leo leaned in, lifting the moon god’s chin and gently turning his face away from the blue planet cradled by darkness in the absence of the sun. ‘’You spend all day and all night trying to light their way for them at least a little. You’ve done all you can.’’

Large, brown eyes filled with tears. ‘’But it’s not enough.’’

Opening his arms, Leo lifted his lover up. On nights like these, when Guang Hong folded into himself like a flower about to wilt, there was only one thing to be done. Softly humming, his voice the melody of the universe, he began to dance, Guang Hong’s feet on his, arms around him.

As they danced in the night sky, the stars quietly parted, rearranging themselves to help. Leo couldn’t help but smile when he saw the freckles on his lover’s skin move- freckles constellations indeed. Guang Hong’s body was a perfect representation of his realm, every star a single spot of light upon it. With a quiet sigh, Guang Hong leaned against Leo’s chest, listening to the vibration of his humming.

There was something familiar about it, that echoed in the ears of everyone who heard it. It reverberated through their bones, into the cavity of their chests until it reached their hearts. When Leo sang, it was familiar to all- as if they’d heard it before in a dream. A cradle song, a nursery rhyme, the melody heard when they danced for the first time, the soft breath in the moment before a kiss. Leo was the god of music, and this was his serenade- his very love woven into the fabric of the universe everywhere.

Most of it, naturally, was dedicated to the creature swaying through the sky with him, softly glowing, leaning into his chest until his eyelids fluttered down and his lashes rested upon his cheeks. Guang Hong was asleep- and Leo had a few hours to come up with a plan that would stop him from running himself into the ground.

‘’What do you mean, the sun didn’t get up?’’ The water gently caressed Yuuri’s skin as it whirled around him- the lamp in Chris’ hand the only thing that lit up the darkness of the deep sea.

‘’Minami just… didn’t get out of bed.’’

Yuuri sighed. ‘’Okay, who hid the roosters this time?’’

Draping himself over a rock, Chris licked his lips. ‘’Nobody. I checked- was quite a nice visit too, it being night and all.’’

‘’I don’t even want to know.’’

Roosters were the alarm clock Yuuri had built for Minami once, so they would crow when it was time for Minami to wake and dawn to commence. Nobody could quite remember whether it was Minami who first had a red fringe or the roosters. You know what they say, like owner, like pet. …Or was it like pet, like owner?

See, exactly that!

‘’But why ever isn’t he getting up then?’’ Yuuri raked a hand through his hair.

Chris inspected his nails. ‘’I heard some rumours he shut himself into a cave.’’

Yuuri blinked. ‘’Okay,’’ he raised a finger, ‘’I had a fight with him the other day, we both said ugly things we shouldn’t have, he meant well, but isn’t locking himself up a bit of an over-reaction?’’

Chris shrugged. ‘’I’d say that your own behaviour says otherwise- I mean, going down to the bottom of the ocean again? For what, the three hundred-forty-fifth time this century? We’re not even a decade in.’’

‘’…I am a horrible example and this is all my fault.’’ Yuuri let his head fall into his hands.

‘’There, there, darling. At least all that swimming gave you a sizzling hot bod!’’

Swimming past in long, smooth strokes, kimono whirling around him- if you could call the loosely tied thing that, that was- Chris squeezed Yuuri’s behind. Yuuri squeaked.

‘’Is that- Oh my god, Chris, you were born from my father’s underwear! You can’t squeeze my butt- that’s incest!’’

Chris winked as he swam away. ‘’You sure? Hugging the nether region is the function of underwear, Yuuri-dear!’’

…Yuuri should go above the waves to find Minami and get him out of that cave because he might be anxious, but Minami was his family. He couldn’t let him stay in that cave- not on his own, at least. Sighing, he resigned himself to more harassment at Chris’ hands above the waves.

The sacrifices one made for family!

Minami was never ever coming out of the cave. Out of the question. Not to pet the roosters. Not for chocolate. Not for Guang Hong. Not even for Yuuri.

Except if Yuuri was about to get married, of course, because it would be an eternal embarrassment as big brother not to have Yuuri’s marriage portrait right next to Guang Hong and Leo’s in the sky. Minami had to look at something while sniffling about how fast they’d grown up during the honeymoon!

But Yuuri had shown no interest in anybody, so Minami was here to act out his revenge! He’d stay in here, in this cold cave, and keep all his light to himself. Ha! That’d teach them! They should all just come after him, and beg and beg and beg him to come back, but Minami? He wouldn’t!

Take THAT, and see how sorry they suddenly all were!

…If anyone was ever going to arrive at the entrance of the sealed cave, that was. Minami pouted.

If they could all just hurry up with the begging, then he’d at least have something to do, because caves were, surprisingly, awfully quiet and not exactly great company. Not nearly as cute as two little brothers either.

He’d already yelled into it a lot, to amuse himself with the echo, but his voice got hoarse after some time, especially because he’d forgotten to take his pouch with him, so he had no sugary goodness to drink.

He flopped over. What was life as a God even worth without the golden Liquid of Immortality, the Ambrosia called Capri-Sun?

Still. He refused to just skip out of this cave like nothing happened. Let them suffer!

He was going to sulk all day long!

When Yuuri came stomping up the heavens to shake some sense into his brother- well, tip-toeing, actually, he didn’t like loud noises, but the bridge to heaven creaked when he walked over it, so it was basically the same- he had not expected to be greeted by this sight.

Hundreds, no, thousands of gods, major and minor both, had gathered in front of the cave, watching it silently in total darkness.

‘’…What are you guys doing?’’

As one they looked up. ‘’We have lost hope, for the Sun showed us the way. We cannot see our own strength anymore, Yuuri-no-mikoto.’’

Yuuri, not expecting their full attention, shrunk away. He could not deal with this- too many people, too much to see, too- Except it was dark, and Yuuri had lived in the depth of the ocean and the darkness of his own mind since birth.

He knew how they felt. This endless night was the reality he fought every day- they reality he saw every time he flinched away from something he wanted.

But living in darkness had taught him one thing- you may doubt your strength when you cannot see it, but when it comes down to it, it’s there. Hidden in your bones, encroached in the last bastion of your heart- the treasure hidden within the cave.

So he straightened his back and strode forward. An impressive sight he was, his garments like a waterfall- endlessly dripping down, but never running out. Salt crystals clung to his skin and his hair was wet, slicked back, as inky as the parts of the ocean the light could not reach. Pearls peeked out from beneath, the conch shells that acted as his ears gleaming softly in the moonlight.

‘’This is no time to be sitting around. We’re getting my brother out of that cave- even if it is the last thing we do.’’

And with that, his voice ringing steadfast over the crowd, determined, sure. It rose like a wave, it was carried by the wind, over the enormous plain surrounding the cave. Crashing down, it came. The masses burst out in cheering as the message hit home.

They could do this! If the sun would not rise, then they would just have to convince the dawn to break!

Life had given them two legs, and walk they would. Yuuri would make them, if no one else would.

Minami knew he’d said he wouldn’t be swayed by chocolate, but nobody had said anything about Nutella. Or about Yuuri, Nutella and the roosters teaming up. It was plain unfair!

‘’They miss you, Minami! There’s Nutella and I even took some Capri-Sun!’’ Yuuri’s voice was muffled through the cave wall, but Minami could hear him just fine. Yuuri’s adorable voice would always reach him, wherever he was, because Minami was his big brother and big brothers just possessed superpowers like that.

‘’I SAID I WON’T BE SWAYED! AT ALL! Okay, maybe a little...’’ He pushed his fingers against each other. No, Minami, stay strong! Do not succumb to the coo-over-little-brother instincts!

He huffed, crossing his arms. ‘’But I’m not coming out, Yuuri, not until you apologize!’’

‘’Okay! I’m sorry!’’

No, no, no! That was all wrong! Minami threw his hands up in the air. ‘’’That’s not enough!’’ Did Yuuri not even know how to beg properly? Minami had failed in raising him!

…Okay, maybe Minami was being a bit unreasonable, but everybody had the right to be that from time to time! And Yuuri had been really mean to him! Granted, even when Yuuri was mean he was the most darling thing, but that was beside the point.

‘’…Can I offer you some takoyaki too, then?’’

By Izanagi, Yuuri was playing dirty! ‘’No! Now go away, I want to sulk in peace!’’

The second one who tried to get Minami out of the cave was Guang Hong. Minami knew it before he even spoke up- his big brother senses went off like a bomb.

‘’Minami, I’ve got some paintings here!’’

Minami narrowed his eyes. Granted, Guang Hong’s works were masterworks (his little brothers were extremely talented, worship them), but why ever did he think it would tempt Minami out of the cave?

‘’They’re Yuuri paintings.’’

Minami gasped. ‘’You had more Yuuri paintings, all this time and didn’t give them to me?! Guang Hong, I trusted you!’’

The horror! This betrayal- Minami might never recover from it! Decidedly, he stood up and put his hand on the cave seal. It was high time he retrieved those paintings! He did not have a business card with ‘’Minami, biggest bro-con on earth and above it!’’ for nothing!

He had fourteen hundred thirty-three paintings of Yuuri, he would add these to his collection, in their rightful spot next to the Guang Hong cheeks-adoration gallery!

He froze. Then began to chuckle. ‘’Guang Hong, your sweet cheeks do not deceive me! I have uncovered your adorable evil scheme! There are no Yuuri paintings- I would have found them by sniffing out the scent of Yuuri-in-paint like I do every Monday! You are not getting me out of this cave!’’

Guang Hong began to sniffle at the other end of the wall. ‘’But… But… I just wanted to have you back!’’

It took all Minami had not to break. ‘’You’re not really crying! You’re trying to fool me! Stop pretending to cry, Guang Hong!’’

‘’You just have fun in your stupid cave while we worry about you, Minami!’’ and with that, one of the two cutest little brothers on earth and above it stormed off.

‘’Welcome to the Get Minami Out of The Cave because We Need His Shining Presence committee's twenty-third meeting, we’d like it if someone had suggestions that actually worked,’’ Chris said, sagging down onto the floor.

‘’If Chris is running out of stamina, we have a problem.’’ Yuuri sighed.

Leo laughed. ‘’Don’t worry! I’ve got a perfect plan! Just get me a few instruments, and act along, and this will be done in a jiffy!’’

There was music coming through the cave wall. In fact, the buzz of many people talking too. Now he noticed- hmmm… that smelled good!

Wait- were they holding a festival? Minami loved festivals!

…A shame this was just another scheme to lure him out.

But what if it wasn’t? His sulking could wait for a minute, right?

Inching towards the cave wall, he pressed his ear against it. He couldn’t hear much more, but he was pretty sure he heard Chris nearby.

‘’Psssst- Chris! What’s going on?’’

Chris' voice was muffled, but still audible through the music and the rock. ‘’Minami, is that you? I’m sorry, but we have a new sun god!’’

‘’WHAT?!”’ …Wait a minute. ‘’Not going to fall for that!’’

‘’Whatever you say,’’ He could hear the shrug in Chris' voice, ‘’Just so you know, Guang Hong and Yuuri also gave him the title of their new big brother.’’

With one mighty shove, Minami utterly destroyed the seal before him, opening up the cave. ‘’ALL RIGHT, WHERE IS THAT POOPHEAD BABY-BROTHER STEALING DUNG-LOVER?! FIGHT ME!’’

Storming out of the cave, he saw his competitor for his siblings’ love ahead- sunrays crowning his head, blinding him for a moment. ‘’Who do you think you are, huh? Coming into my town, buddy?! You don’t steal the cutest little brothers in MY town, pal!’’ He jumped back and forwards continuously, shadow boxing. He had no idea where the other currently was but, he was pretty sure that was the black smudge over there-

Minami gasped. That brightness was a TOTAL ‘’Come at me, bro!’’

Challenge ACCEPTED!

He shone a little brighter, but the rival matched him step for step. He couldn’t see a thing, but he’ll just up the brightness- he couldn’t go further, but he HAD TO SHOW THAT GRAPE-STEALING BUM WHO’S BOSS!

His love for his brothers would have had him shine on forever, but it was a fact that he hadn’t eaten since yesterday, so he lost power quickly. Toppling over, his luminescence went down. His competitor also lowered his brightness, which was quite considerate for such a meanie.

Looking up, Minami was ready to flay the man with words (he had kept ‘’DUMBASS’’ in reservation for the killing blow!) when he was faced with- a mirror?

Dumbfounded, he blinked.

Had he been trying to outshine himself the entire time?

Okay- that’s kind of funny. He burst out in laughter. A mass of people cheered. Looking up, startled, Minami came face to face with thousands of people, spread over the sprawling grasslands surrounding the cave. But, most importantly, his brothers, Leo and Chris and the rest of his friends in front.

‘’You guys… You did all of this for me?’’

Everybody nodded. ‘’Uhuh!’’

’The mirror was Yuuri’s idea, but the rest was all Leo!’’ Chris winked.

Minami had the sweetest family and friends in existence. He burst out crying.

‘’Are you okay?’’ Yuuri’s question was tentative, but Minami latched onto him like a barnacle, bawling into his shoulder. ‘’You guys are the best! I love you!’’

He hugged everyone that day.

(It was only when it was almost time for sleep, that he realized this is the first time he’s ever seen Yuuri in a big company like this, and he could not let this chance pass.

He found the highest hill, family hurrying after him with confused expressions. Putting his hands next to his mouth, he screamed: ‘’I was BORN to be bro-con! Just LOOK AT MY BROTHERS!’’ and presents Yuuri- who has reached the top of the hill first.

‘’Let me out of here!’ Yuuri scrambled backwards but was stopped by Guang Hong and Leo clambering up after him.

Guang Hong shook his head. ‘’Just let him have his way and take some family pictures!’’

Minami’s eyes gleamed. ‘’Yes!’’’

Yuuri paled. ‘’NO!’’

The shutter went off.

‘’By Izanagi,’’ Leo mumbled, putting an arm around Guang Hong to pose for the next picture ‘’Am I glad I’m just the in-law.’’

Guang Hong shrugged. ‘’Depends on how you look at it.’’

Leo frowned. ‘’What are you talking about?’’

His husband beamed, the stars on his skin shining brighter, dancing mischievously. ‘’You’re stuck with me forever!’’

Throwing his head back, Leo laughed. ‘’Somehow, I think I’m just fine with that, darling!’’

With Yuuri’s screams of embarrassment as their lovely background choir, he kissed Guang Hong’s nose before the curtains of the tale went down.

Author’s Note

I want to thank @i-w-p-chan and @adelmortescryche for managing to get me through my blocks with this fic! And to @yuuris-piano whose awesome music inspired me! 

In particular: Day by the Sea!

I was very excited to do this after I had tons of fun with the deity au series (the Land of Gods and Monsters ‘verse) I did for yoifantasyweek! 

This tale was based on the story of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, in the cave!

[kevystel]

right so!!! february 10 is eros/psyche day of yoi mythology week and i sure hope i have time to do this cos i’m gonna write that au for real

[paintingwithwords]

Another Chance (#yoimythweek, Day Three: Reincarnation)

Title: Another Chance 

Author: Painting With Words

Rating: Explicit

Summary:  Talk of the possibility of reincarnation goes around the rink. Viktor is intrigued, but Yuuri doesn't want anything to do with it.  Be warned: this isn’t your typical reincarnation story.

[onceabluemoonwrites]

So beautiful!

Only in the darkness can you see stars

“As Viktor’s eyes adjust to the gloom, he peeks round, slow and careful. It takes him a moment to process the sight before him, and another to realize that he has somehow chanced upon something unreal and magical.“

A Collab with the wonderful @dreaming-fireflies for day 5 of @yoimythologyweek! 

Read a teaser for it here. <3<3<3

[ao3feed-victuuri]

Another Chance

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2C9L4X3

by paint_with_words

Talk of reincarnation goes around the rink. Viktor is intrigued, but Yuuri doesn't want anything to do with it.

Words: 5861, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, M/M

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Victor Nikiforov, Yuri Plisetsky, Mila Babicheva, Yakov Feltsman

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov

Additional Tags: yoimythweek, Reincarnation, Angst, Crying, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2C9L4X3

[ao3feed-yurionice]

Another Chance

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2C9L4X3

by paint_with_words

Talk of reincarnation goes around the rink. Viktor is intrigued, but Yuuri doesn't want anything to do with it.

Words: 5861, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, M/M

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Victor Nikiforov, Yuri Plisetsky, Mila Babicheva, Yakov Feltsman

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov

Additional Tags: yoimythweek, Reincarnation, Angst, Crying, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2C9L4X3

[katzuyas]

to get back to you (I’ll live a thousand lives)

for day 6 of @victuuri-week, prompt au: sci-fi and day 2 of @yoimythologyweek, prompt: norse mythology rating: teen and up

Yuuri's arm is a comforting weight where it's slung over Victor's naked back, while Yuuri's warm cheek is pressed against Victor's arm like he needs the comfort of his touch even in his sleep. Victor is trying to sketch with his other hand, but it's difficult when Yuuri's sweet face is so distracting. Every now and then, Victor looks up from his paper and sees Yuuri breathe softly, deep in his sleep, and his heart swells in his chest with love. It's only been a few months since they met, but even in the very beginnings of their friendship Victor knew that this person would be someone special to him, he just didn't know how much he'd come to care about him.

And he cares a frightening lot.

With a little smile, Victor turns back to his sketch. The tree Victor is drawing is a messy scrawl of lines, branches and leaves, each different from one another. He found it in one of the ancient tomes in Yakov's library, bound in worn leather and metal that has rusted over the many years. It was a simple schematic draft, but ever since Victor saw it he couldn't help the feeling that settled deep in his heart: like he was supposed to find it.

He asked Yakov about it, later.

"It talks about a mythical tree, Yggrasil," Yakov told him after he finished reproving him for lurking around the library without permission. "It is believed by the people of the north that our world is not the only one out there in the vastness of space. They call it the universe tree – the one that unites the worlds, for its branches each hold a different one."

Victor's eyes lit up at that and Yakov must have noticed it, because he followed his explanation with a scowl: "It isn't real, boy. Forget it and get back to work."

But Victor couldn't do that. Forget a concept so outstanding his mind could hardly wrap itself around it? Yakov was asking for impossible.

Since then, the tree Yggdrasil has been on Victor's breath almost as much as Yuuri. He talks to everyone about it, whoever wants to hear it: Chris, who only rolls his eyes at him; Phichit, who indulges him only out of politeness; Yakov's little grandson, who scoffs at him and calls him a dimwit for believing in myths; even the child's tutor, Georgi, who is the only one to see the true romance of the adventure; but because most of his days Victor spends at Yuuri's side... it means that the one who suffers the most from Victor's deliberations is Yuuri himself.

Victor would feel bad, except everything is fascinating, engaging, new. The ideas pop into his mind like buds do on the trees in spring. How can Victor stop it when the well of unknown potential is hidden right there, ready for him to draw from endlessly? He wants to tap into it and share all of it with the one person who seems to care about anything that Victor tells him, no matter how trivial.

It's one of the many, many things that Victor has come to love about Yuuri so deeply.

He finishes pencilling in the leaves on the final of the nine branches and looks at Yuuri again. The sun is slowly rising, chasing away the greyness of dawn and basking the room in soft light. It sneaks through the small window and rests on Yuuri's face like a golden veil, painting him in otherworldly grace. Victor drops the paper and pencil off the bed and slides closer, so he can press his lips over the places where the warmth lingers on Yuuri's skin.

Yuuri stirs just when Victor reaches the top of his shoulder and his eyes blink open, hazy with sleep. He smiles, lovely and drowsy, and Victor smiles back when he feels Yuuri's arm move around him. A palm slides up his back to push him closer and into a real kiss, which he gives into happily and answers with one of his own.

"Did you wake at the break of dawn again?" Yuuri asks once they part.

Victor's smile turns sheepish.

"My mind was otherwise occupied," he replies and it is only partially a lie.

"The tree again," Yuuri says with fond certainty like he knows the answer without having to ask. "Say, do you think it actually exists? In this world? A gateway to other worlds?"

"I don't know," Victor admits, resting at Yuuri's side and looking in his warm eyes. "But wouldn't it be a spectacular thing to see, if it does?"

"Are you going to find it?" Yuuri asks again, smiling. "If it's you, I know you can do it."

Heat travels up his face and Victor feels his cheeks flush. "Your faith in me is touching, my Yuuri, but I do not think I'm capable. It's only a myth, after all."

Except the thought doesn't leaves his mind for months and the aimless sketches turn into maps, charts, calculations and calibrations, coordinates, names of places and lands... He spends more time in Yakov's library than he does painting, but Yakov only raises an eyebrow at him when Victor says he's searching for inspiration and says nothing more of the fact. Yuuri doesn't mind it either – he simply sits behind Victor as he works, wraps his arms around him and dozes while Victor tries to find the impossible.

It's during one of those times when Victor comes across it: a note of a cave that leads deep into the ground where the tree Yggdrasil is said to grow not outwards to the skies but down, into the very crust of the earth. So startled is he by his discovery, that Victor sits up straight. It jostles Yuuri off his back and, with a yelp, Yuuri falls onto the scattering of the papers around them.

"What? What's 'appened?" he asks, only partially awake.

"I think I found it," Victor says, awestruck. He lifts his gaze and looks at Yuuri. "I think I found the universe tree."

The change is instant: Yuuri's face brightens with a grin. "When are we going?"

"We probably shouldn't," Victor tells him, even if he feels the excitement of the adventure settle his bones atremble. "We know nothing about it. It could be dangerous. I would hardly want to bring you to any place where you could be harmed."

"Don't treat me like some damsel, Victor," Yuuri chides him with a frown. "It is I, between us, who can wield a sword, is it not? If any harm could meet us, I promise I'll keep both of us safe, so let's go. Let's do this!"

He's radiant and young, so eager for the taste of the unknown that Victor's heart answers the call of his smile without even asking for Victor's permission. It gives itself away freely and Victor is only helpless to look into Yuuri's brown eyes that gaze into his pleadingly, soft with affection and adoration at the edges.

How could Victor ever deny such a gaze anything?

"Let's see where the journey your brilliant mind devised takes us, shall we?" Yuuri says, and smiles, and kisses Victor once before he lifts up to kiss his forehead almost as if he wants to press a tender kiss right to the very body of his mind in thanks.

Helpless, Victor smiles and gives into his beloved's whim.

[onceabluemoonwrites]

Guys, you gotta read this! The cute has slain me!

Day 1, 4th February @yoimythologyweek—Japanese Mythology

Title: 月影 Tsukikage

Chapters:1/3

Ship: Viktor Nikiforov/ Katsuki Yuuri

Words: 2,199

Summary: Tsukikage; Moonchild: A person affected by or born under the influence of the moon. Dreams in a cradle, With the yellow moon shining down Sleep, sleep, Sleep, child!

[miitzwrites]

YOIMYTHWEEK/Day 2

Welcome to the second day of the YOI Mythology Week ( @yoimythologyweek) !!! (I’m late, but shh) Today, I present you a legend from the Scandinavian folklore (which I must admit, it is not my fort, but here it is!)

As always, English isn’t my first language, and this piece was unbeta'ed.

without further ado, enjoy!

 [also on AO3 and FF.net]

Day 2: The Myth of the Hulder Scandinavian Folklore 

The night sky was filled with heavy clouds as fat drops of water fell to the ground. The moon didn’t shine, making it difficult for Yuuri to continue his journey. He should’ve listened to his sister and stay with their parents, instead of trying to reach his house in the middle of the storm. He cursed himself and his bad luck, but there was nothing he could do now.

He sat under a big tree and waited for the storm to break. He took off his glasses, and wiped them off with the sleeve of his shirt.

“My, you’re soaked to the bones. Why don’t you come with me and I help you get out of those clothes?” A seductive voice that came out of nowhere, startled him, causing his glasses to slip from his fingers. A pale and delicate hand picked them up for him, and Yuuri could only stare at the source of the voice. Something within him obliged him to accept, and he nodded, following the figure.

Even with the water fogging his vision, in the distance, Yuuri spotted a small cabin, dimly illuminated, and he was thankful he had found a place to spend the night. The mysterious figure opened the door and led him inside. The place looked cozy. A small bed, a table, a couple of cabinets and a stove.

“Please, make yourself at home,” Yuuri turned around and found a beautiful man standing there. Probably the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. With his long hair that reached his waist, and blue eyes that captivated him. Unprompted, Yuuri walked to the man and reached out his face, to caress his lips and chin with the pad of his fingers. Realizing his disrespect, Yuuri stepped back, blushing furiously. “I-I’m sorry, Mister.-“

“Victor. Call me Victor. And do not worry, you didn’t do anything I didn’t like.” Yuuri nodded, still ashamed of his previous actions. “I am Yuuri. Please, do not think badly of me.”

“Don’t try to justify yourself, Yuuri. I told you, it’s fine. Now take off your clothes, you could catch a cold.” Victor didn’t seem exasperated by Yuuri, on the contrary, his lips turned into a grin, which did little to calm Yuuri’s nerves. Still, he did as he was told, and took off his jacket, his boots, shirt and undershirt, standing clad just on his pants. The blush from earlier now descended to his chest, and he covered himself as much as he could. Victor laughed and shook his head, but he handed the young man a blanket to cover himself, and he muttered a small thank you in return.

“Now, Yuuri, what were you doing in the woods this late? You know, it’s dangerous. The creatures that wander around aren’t always friendly.” Victor put a bowl of steamy soup in front of Yuuri, and he ate it with gusto.

“I was at my family’s hostel. Tourists don’t show up as they used to, so I’m trying to help them in any way I can,” Yuuri told Victor. And it was strange, he didn’t open up so easily, much less in front of a stranger, but there was something in Victor’s eyes and the piercing blue of his gaze that he couldn’t ignore. Victor listened intently, the smile never leaving his lips, and the proximity of his body made him pause. Yuuri observed Victor’s hair, and he moved his fingers to play with a lost lock of silver hair. “It’s soft like silk,” he heard himself saying, twirling the curl around his finger. “Do you live alone, Victor?” He asked, but his attention didn’t drift from Victor’s hair.

“Yeah, I do,” Victor answered, leaning closer to Yuuri, resting his hand on his thigh.

“It’s dangerous to live alone in the woods, Victor.”

Victor shrugged off, “There’s nothing I can do, Yuuri. I don’t have a family to look after me, and my friends rarely visit me.”

Yuuri winced and moved his focus from Victor’s hair to his eyes.  Victor did the same, retracting his hand from Yuuri’s thigh. “Then, if you allow me, I can come here again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and so on. I won’t intrude in your routine, but in that way, I can make sure that you’re okay.”

Perplexed, Victor stared at him. “Why do you care, Yuuri? We just met.”

“Because I see something in your eyes, and I want to know what it is. You didn’t have any obligation to help me find a shelter for the rain, and yet, you did. Good people should be helped, and maybe, I can help you to feel less alone.”

For the first time in his life, Victor was speechless.

Victor was a creature of the woods, and he only lured people to his domains, so he could have sex with them, and feed on his essence, and if they wanted to return for more, Victor would be more adamant, until they die from extenuation. That’s what he had always done as a Hulder. But this simple mortal was showing him kindness, and something else, a strange feeling that was blooming in his chest. Victor nodded and offered Yuuri an honest smile. “In that case, Yuuri, tell me more about yourself.”

Victor didn’t complete his usual ritual with his guest, but he felt, for the first time, alive.

Ooooo

Yuuri, true to his word, visited Victor almost every evening. Most of the days, they would talk, tell the other about their days, their hobbies, their families (that was a sensitive topic for Victor, but he trusted Yuuri enough to tell him snippets from his past). But there were days when the silence was enough for them, and they sat together, watching the sunset, as Victor leaned his head on Yuuri’s shoulder, and Yuuri played with Victor’s delicate fingers.

And after a while, when they parted, Yuuri stood on his toes, kissing softly Victor’s mouth. Victor cradled his face, and caressed Yuuri’s cheeks, feeling the warmth spreading through his body.

A Hulder wasn’t supposed to act like this, to feel this way, and yet…

Ooooo

“Chris, it’s so good to see you!” Victor rushed to the blonde’s side, enveloping him in an embrace. Chris, who was also a Hulder, returned the gesture, moving his hands to Victor’s slim waist.

“Darling, you’re losing weight. Do I need to help you?” He asked, genuinely concerned about his friend’s well-being.

“No, Chris, is not that, I…” Victor trailed off, unsure of revealing what he had been doing over the past eight months. “I think I found him.”

Chris gaped at him, but he composed himself quickly, with a stern look, he said, “Victor, this is serious, last time you thought you had found him, he…”

“I know, Chris! I know, okay, you don’t have to remind me.”

Victor had a heartbreaking experience with a human in the past. He knew that, as a Hulder, the only way to break his wicked spell, was to make a human fall in love with him, and marry him. Only then, the marks that were carved on his black, resembling an old, rotten tree, and the fox-alike tail that hung from his lower back, would disappear, and he would be a simple human again. He knew it, so, when a man named Jean appeared on his door, he didn’t think it twice and seduced him. The man returned the next night, and the next, and he sated Victor. But one night, when the sheet fell from his body, revealing Victor’s form, the man accused him of witchcraft and ran away.

Victor never saw him again.

“But he’s different, Chris. I see  him practically every day.”

“That’s part of the charm, my love.”

“No, Chris, is not that. We haven’t had sex.”

“Wait… Then how did you enamor him?”

“Maybe he likes me for me, not for what I can do for him.”

His friend stared at him, trying to understand Victor. He wasn’t like him, he didn’t care about romanticism and sentimental stuff. But he had never seen his friend so sure of someone. Chris sighed, resigned, and took Victor’s hand, kissing the back of his hand. “Be careful, my darling. If he breaks your heart, I will break him.”

“Trust me, Chris, he won’t.”

Ooooo

“Yuuri, you seem tense today,” Victor mentioned casually, rubbing Yuuri’s shoulders and biceps. The young man let out a heavy sigh, leaning against Victor. “My parents owe money to a man, and he threatened us to kick us out of the hostel if we don’t pay him in a month.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Victor asked, kissing Yuuri’s temple.

“No, just being here with you is enough.”

Victor, however, was planning how to grace Yuuri’s family with a gift, that could help them not only to pay the money to that man, but also, to have a prosperous business. He hadn’t done it in a long time, but Yuuri’s kindness deserved it.

“Victor?” Yuuri’s voice broke his musings, and he returned his attention to the man in his arms. “I need to work harder to get the money, I don’t think I will have time to come here as I usually do.”

“Oh…” inadvertently, Victor tightened his hold on Yuuri's shoulders, but didn’t say more.

“Come with me, Victor.”

“What?”

“Yeah, come with me. In that way, I will be able to see you every night after work.”

“I… I can’t Yuuri. I can’t leave this place.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t, alright? Please, don’t ask me more.”

Yuuri nodded, and stood up from the bed, Victor followed him. “I will be here when you have time, Yuuri,” Victor’s voice was soft, as he sneaked his arms around Yuuri’s middle. “I would love to meet your family. But not yet, okay?”

“Okay. Just be safe, I will try to come here soon.”

“I know, my Yuuri, I know.”

Ooooo

A month passed, and Victor hadn’t heard from Yuuri. He was restless, even Chris mentioned how sharped his cheekbones and jaw looked. He hadn’t feed properly since he met Yuuri. But he ignored his friend, even when he offered his help, Victor refused it.

As he looked out the window, Victor saw a shadow moving towards his cabin. He raised from his seat, ready to launch at the intruder.

“Victor, are you in there?” a female voice called his name, and carefully, he opened the door. He used one of his practiced smiles to greet her.

“Wow, it’s true. You’re beautiful,” the woman said, and Victor locked his gaze with hers, noticing a familiar chocolate color. “I’m Mari, Yuuri’s sister, and you need to come with me.”

“Is Yuuri okay?” The smile faded from his lips, and his voice trembled. Mari shook her head, “No, he’s in the hospital. Sir Dubois came a couple of days ago, and he tried to hit our mother. Yuuri protected her, but the man grabbed his pistol, and he…,” Mari swallowed hard, trying to continue her story, “Doctors say he won’t survive another day.”

“I can’t leave this place,” Victor whispered, feeling the tremors running down his body.

“Please, Victor. Yuuri told us about you and how much he cares. Please, if you love him just a fraction of how he loves you, you will come. He deserves a last goodbye.”

Victor knew that if he left the woods, he could be easily spotted. His magic was strong, but the woods was the place where he took most of his power. But Yuuri, his Yuuri, he couldn’t stand there, knowing that he might never see him again. Without another word, he grabbed his coat, and accompanied Mari to the city.

The hospital was humble. The Katsukis didn’t have the means to have their son in a better hospital, and when he got to Yuuri’s room, it almost broke his heart to see a small woman crying her eyes out.

“Mama, he’s here.” Mari announced their presence, and the woman lifted her head up, and did her best to greet Victor with a smile. “Oh, Vicchan, my Yuuri has told me so much about you. I’m glad you could make it here.” Victor nodded, “He means a lot to me, ma’am. I’m sorry I wasn’t there…”

“Nonsense, my son. You couldn’t have done anything anyway. Do you want to see him?”

“Yes, please.”

Hiroko led Victor to Yuuri’s bed, and then she left the two of them alone. His Yuuri looked so fragile, pale, with dark bruises blooming on his face. He took a seat on the chair next to the bed, and careful not to disturb him, he took his hand, and pressed it to his cheek. “Please, don’t leave me Yuuri, please,” then, using his last resource, he placed his hand on Yuuri’s chest, where the bullet had left a hole that wasn’t closing. He prayed to the same god that turned him into a monster, to let him use his magic on him, to let him save him.

Nothing happened.

He prayed harder, and the tears poured from his eyes, and his sobs grew louder. He felt lost. If he couldn’t cure him, then what was he doing there? The labored breathing suddenly stopped. His chest didn’t move anymore. The nurses came rushing to Yuuri’s side, and a doctor had to drag Victor out of the room, where he found an inconsolable Hiroko. He dried his eyes with his sleeve.

“Where can I find him?” Victor asked, controlling his voice.

“Victor, whatever you’re planning. –“

“Answer my question!” He demanded then, raising his voice.

“In the tavern, but Victor. –“ He turned around, and didn’t listen to Mari’s warnings.

Ooooo

He knew how to move around the city. He was quick and quiet, and he waited for the man to show up. Then, he saw him. Earlier, he made the connection that Sir Dubois was the same man he had found years ago.

Victor made himself visible and dragged Jean to the dark alley. His back hit the wall, and Victor held him by the neck. His pale fingers turned into sharp claws, ready to tear him apart. Luckily, the man wasn’t intoxicated, and he loved the clear fear in the man’s eyes.

“Oh, Jean, long time no see,” he purred, smirking widely.

“You, you fucking witch, let me go!” Jean tried to break his hold, but when he attempted to move, one of the Hulder’s claws pierced his skin, drawing blood. Victor leaned down, licking the blood. “Delectable, as always. Now, do you want to know why I am here?” The man shook his head fervently, and Victor chuckled. “Well, that’s too bad. But I’m going to tell you anyway. You killed the man I loved, you disrespected his family, and overall, you’re a heartless bastard.”

“K-katsuki? Did you and that pig. –“ Victor clenched harder, shutting the man up. “I won’t tolerate more disrespect. You’re going to apologize and forget their debt, and you will do it tonight, or else.”

“I’m not afraid of you. –“ the man dared to say, and Victor grinned like a madman, showing his fangs. “Well, then I suppose, I can always convince you.” With his free hand, Victor took a hold of Jean’s hair, and put his mouth upon the other’s in a forceful kiss. He bit Jean’s lower lip, breaking the skin, so he could taste the coppery taste. When Victor pulled apart, the gaze of Jean was clouded, dazzled and disoriented.

“And when you’re done, I will be waiting for you in my cabin. Don’t be late.”

Victor released the man and started to walk away.

A couple of hours later, Jean showed up on his doorstep, and no one heard from him ever again.

Ooooo

In the early hours of the morning, a couple of knocks woke him up. He used a robe to cover his body and attended the door. “Victor, it is a miracle!” Mari, unexpectedly, hugged him, and he frowned in confusion. “When you left, the doctor thought it was over, but then my little brother opened the eyes He hasn’t stopped asking for you.”

“But I saw him…”

“So did I, but he’s alive, Victor! Please, he wants to see you.” Victor had his reservations, but he accepted to go with Mari again. He dressed quickly behind a curtain, and Mari looked away. He took the same long coat that he used the night before, and followed Mari.

If she saw the strain of blood on the coat’s sleeve, well, she didn’t mention it.

Ooooo

“Oh Vicchan, please, come this way!” Hiroko jumped from her seat when she saw Victor with Mari. He already knew the way, but he allowed her to take his hand and led him into the room. When he set his eyes on the hospital bed, he almost fainted. There was Yuuri, looking expectantly at him, with a bright smile. The bruises and wound were still there, but his face had more color.

“I’ll be outside,” he heard Hiroko said, but was still too shocked to try to move.

“Are you going to stand there?” Yuuri asked, his voice was still hoarse, but he was well, and alive, and Victor dashed to the bed, and brought the young man to his chest. “I thought… I saw you,” he babbled, but he was quickly silenced by Yuuri’s soft lips. The chase kiss didn’t last more than half of a minute, but for Victor was enough. He offered him a watery smile as Yuuri pressed his forehead against his.

“I couldn’t leave you alone, Victor.”

“I know my Yuuri, I know.”

Ooooo

Victor stayed by Yuuri’s side for almost a week, until he was released from the hospital. The doctors were pleased with his progress, so it was of no use to keep him in bed. However, when Toshiya, Yuuri’s father, asked him to stay at the family hostel, he had to refuse. He needed to return to the cabin, to get his energy back. Also, staying in the city was dangerous and tiresome. A bad move, and someone could spot his tail.

Yuuri promised he would visit him soon.

And he did, but he chose the worst timing possible.

Victor, fresh from his bath in the lake, returned to his cabin, naked. With an old drag, he was drying off his long hair, closing his eyes. But a sharp intake of breath broke the calm that he felt. Yuuri was at the door, and there was no way he hadn’t seen him.

The confused look on his rounded face, almost broke his heart. Now that Yuuri knew, he was sure he would abandon him. He could convince him to stay, but Victor loved him way too much to have him against his will. He just stood there, waiting for his reaction. For something, holding back the tears that were welling in his eyes.

“You’re going to catch a cold if you walk naked, Victor,” Yuuri chided him gently, then he pushed open the door, and entered the cabin. Victor, bewildered, walked the rest of the steps to the cabin, and closed the door behind him.

“Why?” He asked, but he didn’t clarify the question. Yuuri, who seemed so incredibly calm, looked at him, “My mama cooked our favorite dish, and since you couldn’t stay with us, she asked me to bring this to you. She’s so grateful for all your help, and thought it was the last she could do.”

“No, Yuuri, why? Why are you here? Why aren’t you running away?” Victor, on the verge of tears, demanded an answer, and Yuuri bit his lips, unsure of how to continue.

“Victor, I’ve known you for months. I’ve spent more time here than on my own house. You think I hadn’t noticed it before?” Victor gasped, and brought his hands to his cover his face. “Hey, look at me, please,” Yuuri stood in front of him, touching his arms with his fingertips. Victor shook his head, and Yuuri sighed. “It’s a shame. If you don’t move, I will have to eat this alone. Not that I complain, but my mama’s katsudon is the best thing you will ever taste.”

“Why aren’t you angry or scared?” Victor lowered his hands slowly, and Yuuri used the chance to wrap his arms around Victor’s neck. “I love you, silly, that’s why.”

“But Yuuri, I am a monster.”

“A monster doesn’t care. A monster doesn’t love. And I know what you are. And you helped me and my family. If you were a monster, I wouldn’t be alive, here, with you.”

“Oh, Yuuri,” Victor cried openly now, the sobs wrecked down his body, and he hid his face on the younger man’s neck. Although the position was weird, due to their height difference, Yuuri didn’t mind, and did his best to try to console the Hulder.

Once Victor had calmed down, he shyly kissed Yuuri’s lips, and he responded instantly. The intensity of the kiss grew, and Yuuri, in a bold move, picked Victor up, carried him to the bed.

They made love, passionately and ardently, and for that evening, Victor felt complete, like a man and not a monster.

Ooooo

Six months later, they organized a small ceremony, with Yuuri’s friends and family. Christophe came, of course, and promised Victor to behave.

After the wedding, when Yuuri and Victor were dancing, Yuuri touched Victor’s lower back, feeling that the tail was gone. Victor had told him that once they were married, he would lose the tail and the magic, and Yuuri accepted him in any way.

“Yuuri?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Are you going to love me even when I’m no longer young and beautiful?”

“Oh, my Victor. I will love you for an eternity and more.”

[adelmortescryche]

your prompt fill for yoimythweek day 1 has a super cute ending and also that omake is great

Aaaaaaah, I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!! They’re cute, fluffy dorks and half the fun in writing them is making sure that they get to be that, no matter what the AU is, or how dark or changed. ♡

The omake was me wanting to have fun and also tell readers that Yuri is Talos - except, of course, Yakov was not a jealous ass like Daedalus in the myth. I’m definitely going to be posting this and the rest of my event week prompts! I’ve been holding off to get some more writing done first, is the thing. If things go according to plan, I’ll be able to finish writing the next chapter of AHoB before I start posting my academic week fill, the fantasy week promptfills and finally myth week. Apparently I. Really enjoy event weeks. They’re a way to lance the writing block, I suppose. ^^;;