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Yuri had learned about the Fae Folk from his grandmother who had been born in America
The child of a long line of Irish citizens, she'd had a wildly different world-veiw than the rest of Yuri's relatives, and had plenty of stories of creatures from other worlds
Yuri had always been fascinated by them, and he had always kind of... believed in them, even if only a little bit
He was the closest to his grandmother out of the family, and he wanted so much to believe in her stories about the Fae and all of their kin
She had always told him that if he talked to them, left them gifts and offerings even just occasionally, that they would bring him good fortune and prosperity
Well, he was in his early twenties and barely scraping by as an artist, so he wasn't really sure if that was the case or not, but it didn't stop him from trying
The thing is, artists don't make much, especially small time newbie artists who no one has ever heard of
Yuri has bled himself dry into his work for years, has nearly killed himself just to skate by, and a bad month coupled with needing to buy more supplies had taken him from bad to worse, stretching him so thin that he could barely function
Usually he liked to leave little baked goods out for the Fae- cookies, brownies, cake pops, whatever Yuri could find and afford decently enough, but this time he had next to nothing
He knew it was probably kind of silly, the bitemarks and missing peices of the treats probably came from animals, but... still, every night, he put out an offering
He told himself that even if it wasn't real, it made him feel closer to his grandmother, and that was enough
So, with his cabinets nearly bare, he did all that he could, and took a sugar cube from the dish on the counter, setting it on a little saucer and putting it on the windowsill like he did every night
"I'm sorry I can't give you more," he said quietly to the empty night
"Believe me, I wish I had more to give,"
With a quiet sigh, he stepped out of the kitchen and headed up to bed, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion and his mind fuzzy with sullenness as he crashed into the mattress
In the morning the sugar cube would still be there, most likely
Maybe a bird would carry it off or something, but... that was all
Just like always
~+~
Fae should never starve
Fae can live off of a pretty wide variety of foods and in somewhat small quantities at that, so it was absolutely wild to Viktor that here he was, absolutely starving as he wandered through the human realm
He really should have thought it through more to bring some food with him when he left home, but he had been in such a hurry....
Sighing as he looked at the streets full of houses and cars and other human settlement things- devoid of plant life for the most part, save for some grass and the occasional tree or rose bush- he found himself in utter disbeleif at the lack of food
Where had the days gone when humans left offerings out for his kind on a regular basis?
Sure he knew it had been a wile, since his grandfather's prime really, but he was no less displeased by it
He sighed again, his stomach growling as he trekked through the streets, nose wrinkling... before he caught the scent of something delicious....
Eyes widening with excitement and hunger, Viktor raced towards the all too familiar and delicious scent of sugar, his wings flaring out as he rushed to the window sill and picked up the little sugar cube that someone had left out- presumably for him
So there were still people who believed....
Absolutely thrilled, he plopped the sugar cube onto his tongue, practically feeling the magic reverberate through his veins
After all, it didn't take much for Fae to sustain themselves, and that little sugar cube was all he needed to settle his stomach for atleast a little wile, long enough to complete the next leg of his journey
But Fae never took without giving something in return
So Viktor took a strand of his hair and carefully laid it on the windowsill in place of the sugarcube, the magic attached to the strand would flow into the home and bring prosperity
That was a good enough trade for the sugar cube he felt
With a smile, he skipped back off to his journey, hoping the human would appreciate his gift
~+~
"A-Are..... you serious?"
The woman before him chuckled, smiling slightly in amusement
"Yes, completely serious, I'd love for you to illustrate my new book, and your pricing is completely fine, fifty percent upfront right?"
Yuri had never actually gotten paid for anything up front before, but if she was offering he certainly wasn't going to say "no", especially in these circumstances
"Y-Yes, yes that's right,"
The woman in question wasted no time in pulling out her checkbook, and Yuri remained half-stunned the entire time, from the moment he watched her scribble her name onto the check to the moment she stepped out of the house
He had never necessarily had what he would call bad luck... but he wouldn't really say he'd ever had much good luck either
So what had changed?
Heading into the kitchen to get his grocery list, he passed by the half-open window and glanced down, an eyebrow raising
The sugar cube was gone, and in it's place was a long strand of silver hair
.....Huh
~+~
Viktor decided to return to the Sugar Cube House that night, hoping that another sugary treat would be waiting on him
And to his delighted surprise, there was a cookie on the windowsill
Eyes lighting up, he took the treat and bit into it, feeling as pleasantly renewed and rejuvinated as he had the night before
This time, instead of a strand of hair, Viktor had had the forethought to bring a sliver of citrine with him, and eagerly set the orange crystal on the saucer where the cookie had been
~+~
"Pretty...." Yuri said quietly, eyes nearly sparkling as he stared at the beautifull orange crystal
It reminded him of a little sliver of sunlight....
But where had it come from?
Yuri had left a cookie out for the Fae the night before, eager to share his newfound wealth- well.... "wealth"... even one good job was hardly enough to bring him anywhere near being wealthy- but once more, the treat was gone, and something new and unexpected was in it's place
Unlike the sugar cube, he had a feeling that a bird hadn't taken off with the cookie and left this in it's place by accident, so how...?
The ringing of his phone drew Yuri's attention, and he pocketed the crystal, resolving to think more on it later as he hurried to answer the ringing device
"Hello?"
"Yuri! Hi!! This is Sara Crispino, I bought a print from you a few weeks ago at that art festival?"
"Oh, hi Sara, what can I help you with?"
"I was wondering if you might have any interest in commercial work?"
Yuri blinked, surprised by the question
It wasn't exactly like people called him up every day to offer a commercial job to him....
"I-I am, yes, what did you have in mind?"
"I was wondering if you would be interested in designing the advertisements for my and my brother's restaurant? I know it's a big project, but we're really open to negotiation! So what do you think you'd price something like that at?"
"U-Um...." he mumbled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the crystal once more, staring down into the lovely orange shade
What was this thing? A good luck charm?
Two big jobs in two days, when before, he had never done more than a few standard commissions....
That couldn't be a coincidence, right...?
~+~
The prosperity kept up, and so too did the gifts
Yuri continued to leave out sugary treats and baked goods, and he continued to find wealth and good fortune flowing into his life
It was kind of extraordinary, how one moment he was barely able to afford to eat and the next he was putting a down payment on a car
His name was getting much more popular and well known too, wich ofcourse helped increase the cash flow and his workload, but the work was never overwelming, it never left him feeling like he was drowning in it, it was a weird but nice type of balance
And for Viktor, things were improving just as much, now having a reliable source of food on his travels, his mission to regain some of his family's royal artifacts that had recently been stolen by humans was going more smoothly than he had first considered, wich meant that soon he would be able to return to his home realm and his regular duties as Crowned Prince
But the nearer that occasion came, the more uncertain he was beginning to feel
He was enjoying the human realm, as strange and polluted as it was, there was something about the mystery of it all, and the constant surprises of it, that always held his interest, even if they didn't necessarily make him happy...
Although, there was one part of the human world that did make him happy
The human who left out his offerings
Viktor had started paying closer and closer attention to him, had started to visit him more and more often, even though the human didn't seem to be aware of it, and he felt disappointed by the fact that he wouldn't get to continue observing his new favorite person much longer
In fact, there was a small possibility that he may have been delaying his duties just a little bit in order to spend more time around the human, drawing things out more....
He knew that as one of the Seelie, he should be above taking offerings and leaving little blessings, that was the type of thing that your garden variety- well... garden Fae and house Fae did, but Seelie were much more important, they didn't even visit the human realm if it could be helped, much less spend significant time there, yet... Viktor couldn't help but develop a love for it over the weeks he spent there, and as much as he loved his home, he didn't want to return just yet
Finally, he made the decision on the last night that he was "supposed" to be there- the night that he had finally recovered the last artifact- that he couldn't go back home without atleast saying a quick greeting to the human who's kindness had allowed him to complete his mission in the first place
So he returned to the quaint little house, his eyes bright with joy when he spotted the plate of crumbs in the window
His offering earlier that night had been an absolutely delicious gourmet cupcake, he had enjoyed it quite immensely
With the sweet memory of the treat on his mind, he reached out and rang the doorbell, his lips spreading into a slightly bigger grin as the sound of barking sounded from the other side of the door
Viktor loved dogs, he had one of his own back home in fact, but he had never seen one here
He supposed the pooch had just always been sleeping when he came to visit
Ringing the bell again, he smiled to himself when he heard the sounds of movement and a human voice inside
Clearly his human freind was awake, and if the nearing sounds of footsteps were any indication, he was on his way to the door
Viktor was nearly bouncing with excitement, hands clasped tightly together, wings fluttering, and when the human finally opened the door, Viktor came to the very quick realization that he was not going to be disappointed
Even half-asleep and clearly having just rolled out of bed, the human was beautifull, and Viktor could feel the creative energy absolutely pouring off of him, setting the magic in Viktor's veins alight
"Hi," he said quietly, a light glow encompassing his fluttering wings
"....I must still be dreaming...." the human said slowly, seemingly blank-faced
"No no, this is real," Viktor promised, reaching out to take the human's hand, wich seemed to be what jolted him out of his sleepy stupor
"I'm the one who's been taking your offerings every night- they're delicious by the way, thank you!"
"Y-You.... you've been..?"
"But ofcourse I wouldn't take without giving you something in return, so I've been granting you good fortune, I would assume by the increasingly large treats that it's going well?"
For a moment, the human simply... stared, completely and utterly stunned, his mind practically short-circuiting
Viktor was actually getting a bit worried about him
"...Human?" he asked quietly, one hand still grasped around his new freind's, the other moving to carefully wave in front of his face, wich seemed to do the trick as the human quickly blinked out of his daze
"Y-You..... you're a faery?" he wispered, reaching for Viktor's wings, only to quickly stop himself, face turning red
"S-Sorry, it's just... you.... you really...?"
"I know, it must be a little intimidating, meeting a faery for what I assume to be the first time?"
A tiny nod followed, and Viktor took that as an affirmative
"Don't worry, there's no reason to be shy, I owe you my life, so I'd love to get to know you better,"
"You... how do you owe me anything? Much less your life?"
Viktor's smile broadened, a twinkle in his eye
"May I come in? I'd love to explain,"
Slowly, the human nodded, standing aside to give Viktor a pathway in
"By the way, I'm Viktor, what can I call you?"
"Y-Yuri..." the human choked out
And if that wasn't a sign from above.....
"Yuri..." Viktor breathed
"I have a feeling that you and I are going to be very close, Yuri,"
~+~
Viktor's prediction had certainly come true
After three days of the faery staying in his home, Yuri could hardly think about a life without him
He knew that sounded a bit... extreme.... but it was the truth
Viktor was like a long lost part of him that Yuri never knew was missing to begin with, it was a little strange, but he was hardly complaining
Still, he knew that this relationship with Viktor- this... crash course of affection and happiness and inspiration...- was only temporary
He knew that Viktor would have to return home sooner or later, probably sooner if he was being honest
After recovering from the initial shock that faeries were not only real, but that one had apparently been paying him nightly visits and blessing him with wealth, Viktor decided to drop another bombshell on Yuri's head and tell him that he was actually a prince
That had taken a little bit longer to recover from, if Yuri was being honest
Apparently, not long before Viktor's first visit, someone from the enemy court- the Unseelie- had stolen royal artifacts from Viktor's family and hidden them in the human realm to later use against the Seelie Kingdom in a war
Viktor, as Crown Prince, had dedicated himself to finding and retreiving the artifacts before they could fall into dangerous hands again
But it had been far from easy, and with time being against them, Viktor had pushed himself to search night and day until he found the artifacts, even though that meant not stopping to sleep or even eat properly- that was why he was reliant on the offerings left out for Fae in order to stay atleast somewhat nourished, and as Yuri was the only one in the area who left those offerings out....
It had all been alot of information to take in, but just as Yuri was getting used to it- and getting used to Viktor- a change occurred once again
"You're.... going home?"
He hadn't expected for it to hit him so hard, after all, he hadn't known Viktor for more than a few days, even though they'd had a strong connection from the start, there was still no reason for him to be so attached
"Only for a moment, I'll be back before morning," Viktor promised with a soft smile, his hands wrapped gently around Yuri's, thumbs moving in soft little patterns against Yuri's skin
"I'm going back home so I can give the crown to my younger brother, who, as though by fate, is also named Yuri,"
"W-Wait... what? Why... why would you do that?!"
"Because if I were still in line to become king, I wouldn't get to stay here with you," Viktor chuckled back, wich... certainly took Yuri by surprise
"And.... why... would you want to stay here with me...? The faery world sounds so much more interesting,"
"Really?" Viktor asked in surprise, though Yuri couldn't understand why he was surprised, why would Viktor want to be here when the faery realm had magic and peace and wasn't filled with hunger and a collapsing global economy...
"Really," Yuri deadpanned back
"Then perhaps I'll take you there.... after I've had my fill of this world," he suggested, a warm smile decorating his face
"I want to explore it more, to see all the hidden wonders of it, and more importantly, I want to continue getting to know you,"
"Getting to know me...? But... why would you want to...?"
Viktor snorted, eyes rolling as he leaned in closer and gently cupped Yuri's face
"Let me give you a hint,"
With that, he pressed a gentle kiss against Yuri's lips, letting his fingers curl softly through his hair, stirring a warm flush against Yuri's skin as the human leaned into the affectionate touch, a smile touching his lips
"Oh..." he breathed, pulling Viktor closer
"I think I get it now,"