Yuri has trouble getting the word out even though he wants to shout it. He can feel it expand in his chest, gather behind his eyes with euphoric tears, and crackle past his stuttering tongue.
He can barely say it, yet the word explodes from every inch of his being.
Otabek is smiling up at him from where he kneels in the wet dirt. It breaks his face like a gleaming seam, as bright as the whitest lily, and just as rare.
It's Yuri's favorite smile, and he's never seen it so charged.
The rain around them is starting to pick up, sluicing off Yuri's shaking hand and Otabek's shaking fingers, and the little band of pearl coated silver now fitting snug behind Yuri's knuckle. They ignore it in favor of the moment.
"Yes." He says again. A bit louder this time, and for his own benefit. He wants to say it over and over for the rest of his life. Yes, yes, yes.
And when Otabek pulls him down and slots their mouths together, Yuri whispers it again against his lips.
"Yes, forever."
