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They look at the cake in the middle of the table. In the end they'd just kept it as neutral as possible, after all it's tripling as a celebration cake for two birthday's and one union. Victor and Yuuri are sitting together in the corner of one of the couches, still getting their heads trapped together that it has been a whole month since they joined into a permanent bond together. The after shock of the spells setting in, and breaking the last ones Natalya had spun, had caused such a burst of energy the house was close to uninhabitable. They were still trying to decide if they would be moving back in or not, for now though they resided in Victor's house in Magi.
Yuuri looked at Phichit who was yet to reveal what he was, as he had resumed his magi form before any guards had come to investigate what had happened. His friend looked up and gave him that patented free spirited smile he always had, making Yuuri feel relieved to know that no matter what he was still the exact same Phichit he'd always been. The sour looking young man next to him though, well, Yuuri was surprised to have found out Phichit had had a boyfriend all this time. Or he would have if Seung-Gil had not been brainwashed by Natalya to join the guards. He was glad the boy apologized for any roughness that happened on Yuuri's birthday. Yuuri doesn't blame him though, as it soon became clear that most people had no to very little memory of what they had done under the influence. Although some, like Natalya's parents, had still not regained conscious.
Victor feels where Yuuri's mind is going, a strange side-effect of their union that caused quite a stir when they revealed it, and looks at Milla and Georgi. They had regained within the hour but that had simply been because they had only been controlled for a few months. Shockingly Victor found out that they had been taken over the moment his cousin had first stepped foot in his shop. Keeping her posted on everything he didn't tell her through the mirror in the shop. It was clear to all that the only reason she had not exploded sooner was for her simple lack of interest into Victor's love life. If she had only asked she would have known about him and Yuuri even before summer ended.
Makka trots in with a basket in their mouth. That had been another shock. Apparently the guardian pet had been assigned to Victor by the Empress, and Destiny, herself, but instead of going back to where they had come from they had declared they liked living with Victor and Yuuri so they were going to stay. And as one does not turn down a guardian they gladly accepted. Makka is followed by Laiha, Victor's original betrothed, Yuuri's friend, and apparently Christophe's cousin, who is currently visiting Magi to set her declaration of events for the counsel tasked to see what had all happened. Turned out Natalya had been involved in a lot of things, making quit a mess when people stopped doing what she wanted, or finally realized they had done something they had not wanted at all.
Laiha sits down and takes some small cupcakes from the basket. She leans into Christophe, who is clearly happy to be reunited with his cousin. Although it could also be to make room for the other three people on the large sofa Victor got for the house by Yuuri's request. Yuri is sitting there looking his normal agitated self, which is only logical seeing as he is boxed in by his grandfather Nikolai Plisetski and Victor and Georgi's old instructor Yakov Feltsman. Neither Victor not Yuuri had spoken with Yura in the past month as he had been whisked away from the scene by his other grandfather, who is sitting in the ornate chair they had salvaged from Victor's non-magi house, The Actual Cait Sidhe king of all the cats. The man looks human enough right now but every one knows it's just fairy glamour. But it is now very clear where Yura got his green eyes from.
Phichit leans forward and starts to cut the cake, handing everyone a piece, hoping to settle the tension in the room. Both Yakov as the Cat king refuse a slice, but everyone else digs in. Phichit insists on sharing his slice with Seung-Gil. Who just looks resigned. Yuuri is afraid that the reveal of Phichit's less than pure magi heritage will cause a problem and as Phichit's friend he feels the need to say something.
"Seung-Gil? It must have been weird to wake up missing nearly a complete year of memories. I can only imagine the shock. Luckily Phichit was there when you woke up, right."
The young man looks up. "I was more surprised to see him in his magi form. Normally when we were together he would drop it, so I knew something bad had happened." At this Georgi looks up, as does Chris. Both exclamate at the same time.
"So you already knew that he wasn't a magi. Then how could she not have known?" Seung-Gil just shrugs.
"She obviously did not care about my personal life." With that it is clear he considers the topic closed. And no matter how they ask it neither he nor Phichit reveal what kind of demon Phichit really is. All they did find out was that Phichit is actually only one-eight magi, which makes Yuuri understand why spells could go so wrong sometimes.
Victor looks at Yura. "Are you going to tell us everything you did while you were gone. Because it seems our lack of worry had more to do with that spell that broke that night then all of us caring about your safety so very little. I'm still amazed you managed a spell like that without anyone sensing it." Yura blushes at that.
"I'm not sorry I cast it. I could not have you lot being too worried about me, especially after I started to suspect something was off with the situation." he looks at the two men on either side of him "After all, I was going to do things I rather not get anyone else involved in." Yuuri smiles at him softly.
"I am glad you did. Even if i know I'll die the moment I find out exactly what you did to get all those papers." he sighs "You found proof everything was a set-up. From the moment she made her parents sent that letter to invite me to the roster. She had planned to have me broken in such a way none would ever think twice about her taking me. I don't know what I did to even get on her radar, or why she hated me so much, but in the end it did make me meet Victor and all of you. So I've decided to just accept it." He looks at Victor with such a soft smile the man can't help but smile back and softly kiss his beloved.
"I'm just glad you also proved that it was her who made them believe that me and Victor were a good match, for years I felt bad for not having felt any bond made that day. Now I know it was because we weren't meant to." Laiha misses the odd look Victor gives her. "Plus her actions made me meet Yuuri, who convinced me to do humanitarian work, which let me to meet Benson. So... I guess it did work out quite well for me."
Yuuri shakes his head. "I'm certain you two would have met each other anyway, you guys felt and still feel like destiny herself made you come together." both of them smile at each other. "Then again if that was true, maybe me and Victor still would have met if not for her interventions."
Yakov smiles. "Oh I'm certain about that. With the levels of magic you seem to possess I am certain you would have piqued either mine or Lilia's interest at some point." The man gives Yuuri a solemn nod. Leaving him staring. To have been trained under Yakov is like something of a dream among magi, as he is known to not bother with anything but the absolute best of the best. And his (ex-)wife Lilia is known for nothing less either. Victor grabs his hand and squeezes it softly, having finally heard everything Yuuri had been put through he understands that the tears softly running down his cheeks are from both joy of the compliment and knowledge of everything he could have had.
"I was unable to piece together why she hated you. The oldest papers we found of her she had already been talking about cutting you down, and those were a full year before your assessment even took place. And it was only because she used the same nickname for you in one of the entries from when you disappeared of the radar after Laiha got married that we even realized it was you she had been talking about." Yuri pulls a sour face. "She used nicknames for everyone, which is why they still haven't figured out one tenth I assume of all she did." This makes all look a bit demure.
Victor just laughs. "Seeing she was such a jealous envious person, maybe we will never know. But I'm glad she had that tendency for nicknames or Yuuri would not have figured out who it had been that had played those mean games with him in time. Although I don't really like being called over pompous," he eyes Yakov "the idiot part though. I'm used to that." Then he turns to Yura. So what did she call my Yuuri?" Yura looks at them a bit apprehensively then resides.
"For the most part she addressed him as her little energy source, but when he disappeared at Laiha's wedding, well she mentioned 'that it looked like he was pretending to be a Butterfly again'. Right after that she went on about tracking him down and personally rip his wings."
Everybody looked at Yura. From all the nicknames that had been revealed to them, butterfly actually sounded like a nice one. So maybe till the assessment she hadn't hated Yuuri. At this Yura shakes his head vigorously, the earlier mentions of the butterfly made clear she utterly hated the person. Stating as much that they had made their misfortune on themselves if only they had done the right thing. Yuuri just looks at his hands, completely lost in thoughts.
"Oh... I think I know." Victor pulls him closer when he looks startled at everyone's attention to be on him suddenly.
"Well boy. Speak up." Nikolai leans over and gives him a pat on his knee. "If you think you really know tell us."
Yuuri turns to Victor and pecks his lips. "It is clear she could have manipulated you easily, she didn't because she reveled in your suffering. With me though. I don't think she could, after all her plan would have been a walk in the park if she could have made me do what she wanted." he lets his words hang in the air for a second. "I've been wondering why when she slipped from Nadia into Tasha I had felt so disturbed. And now I know." He grins. "It's because I had already seen her in her none shape-changed way once. And hearing the word butterfly did the trick."
He looks at Yakov. "You'll have to find the journals she kept eighteen years ago." Yakov looks surprised before he can say anything though Yuuri continues. "You see when I was five my mother had gotten a notice she was needed at the palace as a scribe. The Nishigori's had been a bit busy fixing the roof an outburst of mine had damaged at their icerink, and Mari and dad were away to scope out Mari's new school. Basically she had had no other option than to either decline, even though we needed the money, or take me along." He smiles. "She took me along. But not before she had made me wear one of the prettiest Yukata's I owned." He leans into Victor because he loves the memory. Victor feels the ease coming off of him and cuddles closer.
"When we arrived it was already early summer, and the whole place was looking like one massive sea of flowers. Butterflies everywhere. I was so happy I made mom allow me to stay outside in the gardens instead of going inside with her. During that time I bumped into her. The real her. Point is, she told me she like my Yukata and wanted me to give it to her, I could tell my mother I lost it while playing." The shock Yuuri can see on peoples faces for the situation. "I told her no. That my grandmother had made it for me, and as it would be lying to tell my mother something like that I wasn't going to do it. After that I ran off, never told anyone and till today I'd even forgot about it."
"Yeah, being told no would be enough to make her hate you." Victor leans into him and kisses him. "For her to tell you that so casually makes it clear she had already been used to getting her way then. Still for you to be able to not fall under her mind trick, she should have been impressed with it. I don't think I'll ever understand." He sighs. "The thought though that I had been so easily manipulated, is a bit depressing to say the least. To know that she had fed my emotions about my betrothed, with the full intent to make me suffer a broken heart. Knowing that the bond I felt was not real." Victor sighs. Yakov looks up at Yura, nudging him to say something.
"Actually, she was not behind you feeling a bond. Till Laiha mentioned that she had not experienced it, I thought her entries about you being in a bond with yourself were just in her head. Seems you did feel a bond. Can't tell you how that happened though." Victor looks up startled. Yura just sits there. "Yeah, you mention the bond being made the moment the bonding gem in the room exploded. So maybe you did form a bond with your own core. What I gathered the surge had been massive." Yura's eyes flicker to Chris when he makes a noise, also Georgi and Milla are looking odd. But it is Phichit who makes a comment.
"Yuuri? Are you okay. There was nothing he said that could make you look like you did something wrong." Phichit almost stands up but is startled back into his seat when Yuuri suddenly bolts up, nearly bumping heads with Victor, and runs from the room.
When he comes back into the room a short time later he's blushing dearly. "I had been intended to do this for a few weeks now. I just couldn't find the right moment for it." Yuuri sits down next to Victor, taking his right hand into his own, slipping a ring on his hand. "The moment we made our bond and our powers did what they did I've known I wanted to show to the world that we were together. After all, our bond is so strong it feels like we had it for ages." At that he looks up smiling. "Now I know we did. You see, the moment you were in the bonding room I was being assessed in the room next door. The gem broke because it could not handle the energy outburst I gave when they asked me to show all of it." Yuuri kisses Victor's ring. "The energy it send out, the one you experienced, the one you made a bond with. That was mine."
Victor takes the second ring from the box and slips it on Yuuri's right hand finger. "So it was our Fate to be Destined together after all. We just took the roundabout way."
The end.