Blue Echo (Yuri On Ice / Victuuri Mermaid AU)

Victor, wondering

Yuri sat next to Victor as the human held one of the dead fish over the fire. The smell of it burning, permeating around the cave. The natare was sure he would never enjoy the scent of the cooked fish, but if Victor liked it then he didn't mind it.

The fire was the only thing bringing light inside the cave now that the sun had sunken. Its red dance creating shadows that Yuri rarely saw and giving the space an uncomfortable feeling, not really acceptable for his human.

This cave needs to be cozier. Yuri thought as Victor pulled the fish from the fire and bit a chunk out of it. He chewed slowly, the corners of his mouth lifting, his face displaying little signs that he was enjoying the meal.

The natare felt a deep sense of pride watching Victor eat the food he'd hunted, because of him there was food in the human's belly, because of him Victor was alive.

"This is the first time I cook something for myself." Victor pulled a tiny bone from his mouth. "I tried catching some fish after you left, but it turns out I suck at it, maybe if I had a net or something. There isn't much else to eat on this island—" Yuri opened his mouth to remind Victor of the bugs, but the human placed a finger over his lips before he could. "I'm not eating the bugs. I'm not desperate yet."

Yuri waited until Victor slowly brushed the finger down his lips. "The bugs have the necessary nutrients if you are unable to hunt," he offered eagerly.

"Yuuuri," Victor complained. "I don't want to eat bugs." His forehead bumped against the natare's. "You'll catch some fish for me, no?"

Yuri's shoulders slumped at the words. "I have to leave tomorrow."

"You do?" The human sounded genuinely surprised. Yuri felt a tinge of guilt for not telling him sooner. That he only had two days. It took half a day to travel to his nest, so it was really one day they had with each other. If he wanted to make it back in time, he'd have to leave before the sun was at its highest point in the sky.

Victor released a heavy sigh. He sat back, creating distance between them and continued eating his fish as he stared at the fire with renewed interest.

Yuri missed the contact instantly. He didn't want Victor pulling away. It filled his heart with little bits of turmoil that the natare couldn't comprehend, he just knew he didn't like them.

"Do you really have to leave again?" Victor asked as he placed what was left of the fish on the floor.

Yuri looked down. "Yes. Tomorrow. I have to..."

"Why?"

Victor grabbed Yuri's hand and the secrets the natare been trained to keep all his life suddenly itched his tongue. He wanted to tell those secrets. He wanted to tell Victor everything, but something still stopped him.

The reason why his nest had these rules and these secrets. So they could survive to see future generations. So they wouldn't disappear from the world. The secrets weren't just to protect Yuri alone, they were to protect everyone in the nest. To protect Leo, Guang-Hong, Takeshi, Yuko, their girls, and even that feisty fingerling that shared his name.

When Yuri didn't answer, Victor went back to work on cooking more fish, moving further so there was even more space between them.

Yuri whimpered at the growing distance.

He wanted to tell. He wanted to tell so there would be no secrets between them. So they could close that last gap that remained. So they could—

Yuri inched closer until their bodies touched again. The natare waited to see if Victor broke the contact, but he didn't. He just kept feeding on his fish, enjoying every bite he took. Since he didn't pull away Yuri slowly rested his head on the human's shoulder, waiting for him to finish.