{ Royalty AU because I'm an absolute sucker for these }
There one lived a prince named Yuuri.
Delicate as a flower and even more radiant, his curly onyx hair, that fell just below his ears, contrasted with his nearly porcelain skin. Dark chocolate was one way to describe his eyes, or maybe two puddles of mud after a storm, earthy yet dark. Overall, he was simply a stunning prince, however many would agree that his mannerisms and personality were more acquainted with that of a princess. And due to not only his grace and benevolence, but his kind heart and impeccable wits, he was revered throughout the whole kingdom. There was only one other person in the whole kingdom who was as highly thought of as Yuuri.
And that was Viktor.
Viktor was the royal knight, quite possibly the bravest knight in all the land. His sparkling silver armor matches with his long, platinum, flowing locks, which he usually kept in two long braids. He stood a good few inches taller than Yuuri, however at times it seemed his personality made him seem just as small and sweet as the younger boy. Despite being a knight, Viktor often showed a softer personality, that was only in private of course; he was a knight after all, keeping up appearances as a strong-willed and tough fighter was of utmost importance. But Yuuri had brought out the best in him since the day they had met.
It was quite a few years ago, Yuuri was holed up in his room during one of the hottest days of summer, trying to escape the heat by staying in the shade of his room in the castle, reading a book. The smell of flowers drifted through the air with a gentle breeze, rustling the pages of his book and flowing through his hair. And as the grand bell in the center of town stuck 4:00 in the afternoon, he heard shouts and clanking in the courtyard. Setting his book down, he wandered over to the open window to see a flash of long silver hair, dancing across the courtyard in a blaze of swords. However it didn't seem aggressively hostile, as the silver haired man was smiling and laughing as he battled with the other. Yuuri assumed it was the knights training session, so he pulled his chair over to the window to watch the faux-battle. He fell into a trance observing the skilled swordsmen, as he rested his elbow on the window sill and his cheek on his palm. And he didn't even notice when they had finished up and the long haired man's gaze traveled up to meet the prince's. Yuuri gave a shy smile, along with a hesitant wave, and the Knight slightly chuckled and waved back. Later that evening Yuuri ran into him in one of the castle corridors and they began talking, and they ended up walking all through the gardens until deep into the night. After that the garden had become a special place for them.
One late morning they were lounging in the garden on the edge of the pond, surrounded by large patches of daises and tulips. Yuuri sat with his legs crossed and Viktor's head across his lap as he did his hair into and myriad of intricate braids. Although by this point Viktor had fallen into a light slumber, (as this was he day off of training and hadn't gotten much sleep the days before), Yuuri finished by intertwining some buttercups into the main braid. He lent back to admire his work as the Knight in his lap stirred awake, smiling up at him.
"What are you smiling at?" Viktor spoke softly as he squinted up at him, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight.
"Oh nothing, simply that I just made your hair almost as pretty as your face." He giggled as he spoke, smiling fondly at the man as he stroked the few fallen hairs out of his face.
"Oh my!" The silver haired man exclaimed jokingly, "well that must have been an exquisitely difficult task!"
"I need to return to the castle, my mother will soon worry." Yuuri despondently spoke, giving a fleeting kiss to the Knight's lips before returning to the castle. Viktor returned to training the next day still donning the braids, although the flowers had fallen out, he was still adamant at leaving the braids, as every time he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he saw the braids and thought of none other than his beloved.
Years past quickly for the two, as they lived out their days together gleefully, Viktor occasionally had to leave and fight for the kingdom, which made Yuuri incredibly worried for him, however he always returned safe and sound. Occasionally he would return with a few scrapes and bruises, but of course the Prince was always there when he came back, ready to patch him up and kiss each ailment.
However, now the fall was just beginning, and Viktor was recruited on another journey, however this one was far more treacherous and risky than any other before. Viktor was set to leave in the morning, leaving Yuuri to fret endlessly. Despite knowing that Viktor was seemingly the most talented Knight throughout all of the kingdoms, the Prince still couldn't stand the thought of his beloved in peril.
It was nearly midnight as the two lay in bed together, the smaller of the two wrapped in the Knights arms. Neither could sleep however, so Viktor just lay there stroking Yuuri's hair as the cool night breeze blew through the open window.
"Viktor....how long will you be gone?" Yuuri whispered into his chest.
"No longer than two months." The Knight mumbled back as he kept his eyes closed, peppering kisses along Yuuri's forehead.
"But before I leave...I um.....I have something for you." Viktor continued, although he seemed somewhat nervous, which was odd for him, leaving the Prince quite curious as to what he had in mind. But within a second he was face to face with a small, golden, ring.
"Vikto- wh- is that?" The prince couldn't seem to get a sentence out, for if that ring meant what he thought it meant, then he was mere seconds away from bursting into tears of joy.
Viktor nodded fondly, "yeah it is," he whispered as his voice cracked and he slipped the ring onto the smaller boys finger.
"Yuuri these past few years with you have been the greatest of my entire life, now yeah I know this all sounds incredibly cheesey, but Iv'e been waiting for this for a long time I think Iv'e earned the right to be a little cliche. I was going to wait until the first snowfall of winter, you know, to be romantic, but now that I'm going to be gone for a bit I wanted you to have this. And to...to know that I love you, and that I will forever. And I hope you will too."
Tears flowed down Yuuri's face by now, yet his smile was bigger and brighter than it had ever been before. He mumbled a stream of words that were only half comprehensible to Viktor, as Yuuri had buried his face in the crook of Viktor's neck, but it was clear that the Prince was overjoyed at the Knights sudden proposition. And as the day dawned, and the Knight began to ready his horse, the Prince watched him depart. Knowing deep down that his Knight would return to him, and that they would have their happily ever after.
But it had now been over two months, and the Knight had yet to return.....
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{ Heyo author here and no I'm not dead I just procrastinate more than seems humanly possible so here's an update !}
