Chapter Text
It began when Yuuri was 8. His family had gone on a summer trip to the beach a ways away from their home for a few days. For fresh air and new views, they told him. Yuuri had been playing in the small tide pools a ways away from his parents when a large wave crashed over him, leaving him soaking wet and frightened.
Unfortunately, none of his family members noticed, and Yuuri being too scared to move, resorted to crying quietly where he was. After a while the waves calmed down, and a gentle clack on the rock behind the young boy brought him out of his trance.
Glancing behind him, a beautiful pink conch shell was delicately placed behind him. Yuuri wiped his eyes and gently picked up the shell, marveling in how the light made the colors turn from pink to a orange hue. Glancing around, he saw no one. He knew the shell hadn't been there before or after the wave crashed over him, so how did it get there?
His only clue was a flash of bright aqua splashing back into the water from a rock near him. Yuuri jumped, and hobbled over to see what it could have been, but the color was long gone.
"Yuuri! It's time to go back!" His mother called, waving him over to his father and elder sister.
"Coming Kaa-San!" Yuuri called back, carefully getting down from his perch on the rocks and making his way back over to his parents. Had he chosen to look back, he would have see a head of silver hair peeking out from behind a rock near his play area, but he didn't, and went home with his family without the slightest idea what he could have witnessed.
When he was 13, Yuuri decided to take his puppy, Vicchan out for a walk on the beach. The summertime heat was less intense that day, and Yuuri didn't have to worry so much about his precious toy poodle getting a heat stroke.
Walking in the sand, Yuuri breathed in the salty sea air with a content sigh. The beach was slowly becoming a place he would escape to when he felt uncomfortable around others. There was no one to bother him, and he didn't have to pretend to be okay in order to not worry others.
The sea was his friend. It didn't care if he was angry, or sad. It accepted his enraged screams, and took his salty tears within itself and soothed Yuuri with a calming lullaby of gentle waves and blowing breezes. The sea didn't judge, it didn't tell others his secrets. The sea was safe.
Today Yuuri felt contemplative. He wasn't upset or angry. Just lost in his own world. He slowly climbed the rocks and walked his way out to the water. Sitting down, he called Vicchan over to sit by him. The dog readily came to his master, curling up beside him and directing his own gaze to the ocean.
Yuuri, being lost in his thoughts, didn't notice the water being disturbed, ripples appearing as a figure emerged from its blue depths. A slender pale arm grasped at the rocks behind Yuuri, before a boy's face popped up along with it. His delicate silver hair was adorned with all kinds of beads and shells. A few pearls could be seen littering his hair as well.
Quietly, the boy reached into his tresses and pulled a shell from his hair. A single red abalone shell was placed behind Yuuri in an obvious position. He gazed at the boy in front of him, before the dog next to him smelled his sent in the air, and turned to look at the stranger.
With a happy bark, Vicchan bounded over to the boy, startling him. In a panic, he quickly moved to hide under the water again, but found it was too late. Chocolate eyes kept him rooted in his space as a startled Yuuri quickly turned his head around to see what had riled Vicchan up.
"Uh, hello." Yuuri barely was able to stammer out, a light flush crawling up his cheeks at the sudden company.
The silver haired boy gazed back at him, seemingly at a loss for words before slowly lifting his hand back out of the water and pushing the shell towards Yuuri.
"Подарок."
"W-what?" Yuuri tilted his head to the side, "I don't understand."
The boy bit his lip with a frustrated huff. He seemed to be thinking about what to say before giving up and pointing at the shell, then to Yuuri, before pushing it towards him again.
"Gift." The boy repeated, his icy blue eyes imploring him to accept.
Yuuri carefully picked up the shell, looking it over in his growing hands.
"It's beautiful, thank you." Yuuri pressed the shell close to his heart and beamed at the boy.
A red flush quickly spread cross the boy's face. He made to get up on the rock, but paused and turned his head towards the ocean in panic. Quickly, he sunk back into the water before giving Yuuri a longing look. He turned slowly back into the sea, but not before bidding Yuuri farewell.
"Do svidaniya."
With a splash, he dove. For the second time in Yuuri's life, he saw a flash of aqua. Then boy was gone.
Yuuri was 23 when he met the mysterious person again. This time, he had been taking a walk at night time, having just gotten home from studying abroad. His plans hadn't worked out the way he had wanted, and on top of that his poodle Vicchan had passed away.
Yuuri was at the lowest of lows, and the only place he knew to go was his spot at the end of the rocks by the ocean.
Except this time, someone was already there.
Silver hair and aqua.
Yuuri carefully made his way across the rocks, making sure he didn't slip or fall. He stopped a yard away from the man sitting in his spot.
"Um..." Yuuri wasn't sure what to say. He never was good at socializing.
The figure turned quickly, and Yuuri was once again gazing into icy blue eyes. The boy, well, man now, had cut his hair. Short, with a fringe across his left eye. He looked Yuuri up and down a few times, before splitting the most jovial grin Yuuri had ever seen.
"Hello."
The slightly accented English threw Yuuri off for a moment. The last time he had seen him, they hadn't been able to talk due to language differences.
"Hello." Yuuri parroted back, looking at the man expectantly.
"I'm Viktor." He introduced himself.
"Yuuri."
"Lovely." Viktor nearly purred. "I have a gift for you."
"Again?" Yuuri had no idea why he would continuously give him gifts. Especially after not seeing each other for long periods of time.
A alabaster murex was offered to him on a delicate webbed hand.
The webbed hand caught Yuuri's attention before the shell did. Giving Viktor a once over, Yuuri quickly realized that the flash of aqua he had always seen had been a tail all along.
"You're a merperson." A rhetorical question.
"Ah, yes. Does that bother you?" Viktor seemed nonchalant about it, as if he had prepared and practiced for this very moment.
"Not really." It wasn't a lie. Yuuri was intrigued, but he didn't really care all too much. With that confrontation over, Yuuri finally moved to accept the gift he was offered.
The alabaster murex was mostly white, a light pink dusting the opening of the shell. Another beautiful gift.
"It's lovely. Thank you." Yuuri murmured, gazing with fondness at the shell in his hands.
"I'm glad you like it." Viktor laughed, the sound was almost like a song in itself.
"Why do you keep giving me these?" Yuuri asked. It was a question that followed him all the time as he grew.
"When I first saw you all those years ago, I had fallen in love with your eyes." Viktor stated it proudly, unashamed.
"M-My eyes?!" Yuuri sputtered.
"They were so lovely and warm. I felt comfort in them. At the time I had no idea what I was feeling, I was only 12 summers old, but I now recognize it as love."
"D-do the shells have a special meaning then?"
"Hmmm... I suppose you could say it’s a courting tradition." Viktor hummed innocently.
"Courting... You're trying to date me?" Yuuri asked incredulously.
"Is that what humans call it?" Viktor asked, "Then yes, that’s what I'm trying to do. If you'll allow me?"
"Why would a merperson want to date a human?" Yuuri was still disbelieving.
"I mean, I already told you why I'm interested, does there need to be some deep meaning behind it?"
"Well... I don't know?" Yuuri blanched. "Wouldn't there be issues with the ones in charge about it?"
"Not really. They don't recommend it, by any means, but it isn't taboo." Viktor seemed like he was telling the truth. Not that Yuuri had any reason to doubt him.
"I appreciate it." Yuuri began, "But I can't say yes right away. I want to get to know you first." He hoped that didn't deter the merman. He was already having a hard time believing that someone so beautiful could like plain old Yuuri.
"That’s fine." Viktor chirped. "You can tell me about yourself, and about human ways, and I can do the same!"
How optimistic. Yuuri smiled fondly, sitting down next to Viktor. He wasn't sure where to start.
"What do you want to know?"
The grin that split across Viktor's face was dazzling.
"So what are those big moving things that I see humans pass by on?"
"Oh, those are cars."
"Are they alive?"
"No, they're machines that humans made to make traveling easier."
"Ooooh."
Viktor had spent the next hour asking random questions about human life, always eager to hear the answers, even if they seemed to be disappointing to Yuuri.
"What about merpeople?" Yuuri asked. "Human's don't really have any knowledge about them, so I don’t know what to ask."
"Hmmm. It's a bit difficult to explain." Viktor paused. "We're typically nomadic, although there are a few clans that have staid in one area for an extended amount of time."
"Is there a hierarchy for all merpeople?"
"Not really. Each group has their own rules and traditions, although some things are universal due to instinct." Viktor told him.
"Like what?"
"We always answer distress calls of nearby merpeople, even if they don't belong in the same clan."
"I suppose that's a comforting thought."
"It is helpful to know when you have an hungry predator on your tail." Viktor laughed.
"What about families and such?" Yuuri was curious how love worked with an entire new species.
"We don't reproduce much. Merpeople live quite a long time, so there isn't really much rush to fall in love or have kids." Viktor said, "Although once a Merperson has found the one they consider their mate, they are attached to them for life.
Even when their partner dies, they don't get a new mate."
"I see." Yuuri replied, quietly. There was still so much to learn about each other, and he was happy to be able to learn about something that few people in the world knew about.
A year had since passed since Yuuri first spoke to Viktor. All the while, they would get to know each other, and Viktor would still present Yuuri shells that he wished to give him.
At some point, Yuuri accepted Viktor's feelings, and they had entered a courtship. The only problem now was how to break it to Yuuri's family.
"I want them to know that I found someone, but..." Yuuri trailed off for a moment. "Do you want them knowing about your existence?"
"I wouldn't mind, Yuuri." Viktor assured him. "From what you've told me, they don't seem like the type of people to discriminate or freak out over something like this. It should be fine."
"You're sure it won't cause problems with your people?"
"It's not as if I really socialize with them much anyway. That, and they aren't going to be too directly affected over a few more people knowing, so I don't see a problem."
"If you're sure." Yuuri still seemed uncertain, but chose to trust Viktor's judgment. "There was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it?" Viktor tilted his head to the side.
"Humans don't live as long as merpeople, Viktor." Yuuri began shakily. "Are you absolutely sure you want a mate that will only live half your lifetime?"
Viktor gazed at Yuuri, his expression unreadable. Yuuri wondered if this was the one thing that was finally going to scare the beautiful Merman before him, since his plain personality hadn't.
"Half my lifetime is better than none of my lifetime, Yuuri." Viktor's voice was thick with emotion. "Even if you lived only a day of my life, I would be grateful. I'm so happy that I got to meet and fall in love with you, Yuuri. I could never regret that decision."
Tears welled up in Yuuri's chocolate eyes, spilling over slowly as he rushed to embrace Viktor. How in the world had he gotten so damn lucky? He had asked himself that very question so many times. It seemed like he would never know the answer, but it didn't matter to Yuuri now.
Yuuri placed a delicate kiss onto Viktor's pink lips, making sure to put all of the affection, love, and gratefulness he felt for him behind it.
"I love you so much, Vitya." Yuuri managed to choke out.
"I love you too Yurachka." Viktor's voice was just as emotional. "Somehow, I'll figure out a way we can be together for all our lives. Even if I have to become human."
"That's a thing?" Yuuri asked, shock evident on his features.
"Magic exists, I don't see why not."
"That would be wonderful, Viktor." Yuuri beamed, placing another kiss onto Viktor's lips.
"Anything for you, Моя любовь. Anything in the whole world for you."