To Forsake Tradition

The Acceptance

"Okay?" Victor repeats, confused.

"We can go down to the beach," Yuuri responds, cautiously shuffling out of the curtains, "and get to know each other."

Immediately, Victor's face lights up like sunshine.

Even without seeing Victor's whole face, Yuuri can tell that it's lighting up like the sun. His joy is so bright, it's almost blinding. And infectious, it seems, as Yuuri's heart flutters at the sight.

"You mean it? We can really go?" Victor asks, hope aching in his voice. Flushing, Yuuri nods. Immediately, Victor goes right back to tugging on the curtain, singing, "Alright then, let's go!"

Yuuri's heart leaps into his throat and he sputters, "Victor, wait—!"

He has no idea what he was asking Victor to wait for (or why he even thought it would work), but the realization that he'd soon be face-to-face with his idol/fiancé/childhood crush dawned on him the moment Victor stripped the curtain away. Now that he's standing in the middle of Victor's room with nothing to hide behind, he feels impossible bare—even though he's wearing his full wedding attire.

Victor is wearing his wedding clothes, too. And he looks...

Well. Ahem. He looks...

Amazing.

Victor wears a glittering white and gold tunic, the gold embroidered into intricate decorations along his chest. His pants are matching, with gold decorating the outside seams and the hem. The outfit is perfectly tailored to fit the mold of his body, showing off his lean and sculpted figure. There isn't a single wrinkle or crease in the fabric, as if imperfection simply can't exist on The Victor Nikiforov's body. A golden crown shines on top of his head. It makes him look effortlessly graceful.

Meanwhile, Victor is staring at him with wide blue eyes. "You look incredible," he utters, almost breathlessly.

Yuuri hastily looks away before the red hot blush takes over his entire face. He has yet to feel entirely comfortable in his own wedding attire, but when Victor looks at him like that, he can't help the flutter in his chest. He knows he doesn't look bad, not at all, but he's note sure he looks good enough to warrant such astonishment from Victor. He at least knows that his dark black and gray robes match his hair and make his eyes pop—at least, according to his mom, they do.

...On second thought, she's probably more than a little biased.

Still, Victor just paid him a compliment. A very kind one, too.

"Thank you," he responds, his cheeks still warm. "You look incredible as well."

Victor seems to recover himself from whatever trance he'd fallen into, winking and offering Yuuri his arm. "So charming! To the beach?"

Swallowing, Yuuri nods and takes Victor's arm. The feeling of Victor's arm in his sends a jolt through his heart. This might be the first time they've ever touched one and other. Victor feels firm yet soft all at once. Yuuri doesn't know why that contradiction excites him so much.

They slip out of the bedroom just as a guard passes by. Before they can be spotted, they press themselves flat behind a statue, holding their breath until the footsteps grow distant in another corridor. When the coast is clear, Victor smiles down at him. It's a blinding, breathtaking kind of smile. Yuuri's heart flutters as Victor takes him by the hand and hurries them out of the hallway.

As they sneak their way through the palace, Yuuri can't help but steal glances at Victor from time to time. Each glimpse makes his already racing heart speed up. As they pass through a hall of stained glass windows, a flood of colors cascade over Victor, glimmering in the gold of his wedding clothes. It reminds Yuuri of a mystical kaleidoscope, making Victor look like an ethereal seraph of light. Yet, despite the dazzling colors reflecting over his body, it's his eyes that really draw Yuuri in. No matter what color washes over them, the endless blue always prevails. Sometimes it's tinted in orange or purple or pink, but just like the ocean at sunset, the deep blue remains. Looking into those eyes makes Yuuri want to do very, very stupid things.