A Petal For A Star

by thepiedownthehall

"Day by day and night by night we were together – all else has long been forgotten by me." — Walt Whitman Based off of beanpots day and night au on tumblr.

1. Chapter 1

In the beginning there was nothing

There was no light, no dark, no life and no death.

There was no is, no will be, or no has been.

Then from the nothingness grew Light.

The primordial being grew and made itself into something that would be worshiped for eons to come, earning the praise of future things for filling their eyes and giving them sight, for illuminating the surface of the world.

But with Light comes Darkness.

Darkness evolved into something beautiful, flowing and curling into the vast expanses of the universe where Light had yet to reach, earning a name and branding its place in the history of creation.

So began the Era of Birth.

Light and Dark soon fell deeply in love but kept it hidden, because both knew they were doomed to be separated for eternity, for Light and Dark cannot exist without each other, but they do not thrive under the other's realm. To distract from their despair Light and Dark began to create. First came the stars, made by Light and scattered throughout creation. Then came the sun, a brilliant orb that weakened Darkness' power. Darkness saw the beauty of Light's creation and attempted to create her own light, if to be closer to her love in whatever way possible. So Darkness created the moon, but due to Darkness' power it was rendered useless in making light.

Darkness wept at her failure, and from her tears was born the first ocean. Light saw Darkness and was horrified at her love's sadness, so she gave a sliver of silvery light to the moon and was able to see the beauty of Darkness' creation.

Light smiled at her love, and from her smile and her thoughts was formed the earth. Darkness jubilant at her creation used it to pull and push at the ocean, creating waves and tides. Light began to create plants and from their combined breaths the wind blew for the first time.

As Light and Darkness made more creations, they danced around each other, and began a cycle on the earth known as night and day.

Finally complete, Light and Dark attempted to be together, through the shadows of day and the stars and moonlight of night. But the lovers could not be joined. Succumbing to despair, both breathed life into the moon and sun, unknowingly giving them the longing for each other that couldn't be satiated. Darkness and Light held hands for the first and last time, and laid their heads down to sleep, tears spilling from their eyes. They were made into earth and stone, and from their eyes began to flow the water filled with their thoughts that created the Ocean of Dreams.

And so Dark and Light slept and the Sun and Moon awoke.

So began the Era of Skies

From the spirit of Darkness and Light grew the spirits of the Moon and Sun, now rulers of the skies in an age of the first humans and animals. The Sun and Moon began the cycle of day and night anew, circling each other as their creators did before them, and as their creators loved each other, so did they, but in their dance around the world, they could not reach each other.

So the Sun began to shine its light on the Moon, giving their love in whatever way they could. The Moon spread the darkness of its realm into the deepest oceans and forests of the realm of the Sun, giving their own gift in exchange. But the humans grew afraid of the dark, of the ideas now in their head of how unnatural it would be to have the Moon and Sun together. So the humans and animals kept them separated by fearing the darkness that the Moon brought and embracing the light of the Sun. But the Sun could not bear to see the Moon so saddened by the fear of the humans and began to shine brighter on the Moon. The humans grew even more wary of the love between the Moon and Sun as their days began to grow darker from the lack of attention from the Sun.

The Moon saw how the humans that loved the Sun were growing to hate it because of the Sun's love for the Moon and not the humans, and saw that they could not be happy together, and the Sun saw how the humans that they cared about were growing fearful and angry towards the Moon. So together they breathed their essence into the Night and Day and faded into little more than two spheres in the sky, hoping that maybe the love of two eras would finally be more than just a grasp at hope.

So awoke Night and Day and began the Era of Stars.

When Victor was born, he thought he was the only one.

He woke up staring at the Night Sky on a cold wooden floor, with the salty sweet smell of the Ocean of Dreams drifting through the air. He clambered to his feet, unsteady, dizzy, and disoriented on the undulating floor of the barge, and his heart grew heavy as he looked out at the ocean that reflected the stars up above. He felt almost... lonely and nostalgic? For what, he had no idea. Victor hadn't met anyone in the minute he'd been awake, and tried to shake off the feeling as the boat drifted through the water, but it wouldn't go away.

Victor shook his head and looked around, and there was no one to be seen. So he walked around the deck, maneuvering around the small open air cabin in the middle, and his feeling of loneliness grew. It was just him, the Ocean, and the Night Sky. Victor sighed, and laid down on the wooden floor again, his long silvery hair spreading behind him, and drifted off to sleep.

But when he woke up, his hand was in another's, and his eyes met those of someone with stars shimmering in their brown gaze.

And so the Day met the Night.

Yuuri had awoken alone. He saw wooden boards, pale blue skin, and shimmering robes. Loneliness gripped his heart in a fist. For some reason he felt disappointed that there wasn't anyone next to him, that there wasn't anyone holding his hand, waiting for him to wake up. He felt empty.

Then he looked up at the sky.

Shimmering stars and large swaths of blue, blacks, and purples streaked across the sky. The moon smiled onto him, beckoning him to join them up above, to take his place in the night. The feeling of loneliness vanished, leaving behind only a sting in the pit of his stomach, but the night sky commanded his attention too much to barely even acknowledge it. Yuuri was breathless. It seemed like it was made for him and only him, encompassing all that he was, completing him in the first few minutes of his awakening. If there was one place that he wanted to be, it was above, watching over the slumbering humans on the earth below. But there was more to be done before he could take his place, he could feel it.

He stood up on wobbly legs, quickly adjusting to the undulating floor, taking in the sight of the sea around him, peaceful and beautiful, reflecting the sky above. Shimmering shapes under the water darted past and under the boat, going in different directions without order or control. He dared to reach under the water and brush his hand against one of the shapes, and his mind was filled with images, a story, a thrilling flash of bright colors and ideas. Yelping he jerked back, and the remaining glow began to fade on his hand and his mind. The glowing dream began its frantic swim underwater again.

Yuuri backed away from the edge of the boat, fidgeting with the sleeve of his robe. That's when he noticed a shape on the other side of the barge, silvery hair and pale robes flowing in the breeze he hadn't noticed as they stood up on shaky legs, not seeming to have such quick sea legs as Yuuri. He watched from afar, wanting to get closer but without the faintest idea of what to do or say. When the person began to scan their surroundings, he ducked behind the small open-air cabin, hoping he wasn't seen, disappearing in the darkness when they began to look behind his hiding place. He waited a few minutes, then looked again. The person was curled up on the floor of the boat, and the easy up and down of their chest showed they was asleep. Yuuri crept closer, and remembering the deep feeling of loneliness in his heart when he woke up, he sat next to them.

Finally, he saw their face. It was a man, peaceful in sleep, with a pale, pinkish complexion, his mouth in a slight frown. His long silver hair was spread around him, giving him the illusion of a sort of halo. Confused, Yuuri noted that he seemed to be glowing with an unnatural pale-gold light, and that's when Night noticed that he himself gave off a silvery light in the darkness. His robes were gold and white, in contrast to the silver and black of Yuuri's simple robes. Instead of shimmering like Yuuri's robes did, they seemed to glow with more golden light. Everything about him seemed too light, too flashy for the simplistic beauty of nighttime. But Yuuri stayed, and the sting in his stomach faded completely. Grabbing the glowing man's hand hesitantly, he stayed, feeling happy, and hoping that the glowing man would be happy knowing someone was there.

The man stirred, his hand wrapping tightly around Yuuri's, and Yuuri could feel himself get a deeper shade of blue as the man looked up.

Finally blue eyes met brown.

And so the Night met the Day.

Day was disappointed when the chariot arrived.

Waking up again and feeling a hand in his own was much better than waking up alone. Night had stuttered once he tried to speak to Day, and Day found it incredibly adorable. They had introduced themselves, and Day had immediately felt comfortable with the blue-skinned man, the silver glow and dark scheme intriguing. Unfortunately, Night had seemed a bit uneasy around the brighter light of Day, and Day's heart sank.

Then the chariot arrived.

Hues of gold, orange, red, and yellow swirled and blended to create a beautiful painting of the sun. Golden decals, delicately crafted, shimmered in the light, little designs of clouds, suns, birds, and flowers looking lifelike, decorated the chariot. The wheels looked as if they were crafted from the sun itself, the spokes giving the illusion of being rays of light. Fiery horses huffed at the reins, their bridles glowing red. The chariot gave off its own bright light, illuminating the entire boat and the sea around it. Night felt suffocated in the heat, preferring the cool air of the sea breeze. Day seemed to revel in it, his hair shimmering with new light.

The horses whinnied impatiently, and seemed to beckon Day. Day was happy spending time with the shy Night, but didn't feel completely comfortable in the darkness of the nighttime. So he bid Night farewell with a kiss to the knuckles, turning the other's face an impressive shade of indigo.

As the chariot rose into the sky, Day turned and saw Night's boat turn the opposite way. Day's chariot finally stopped at a desolate field, the sun above illuminating the green grass, its glow seeming to beckon Day. So he stepped forward, and as he laid a hand on it, he understood what he had to do, how to continue the cycle of darkness and light, moon and sun, day and night, around the earth. Little did he know that Night was at an empty beach, holding the moon in his arms, seeing the same cycle, and understanding his job as the ruler of night.

And as Day began to raise the sun into the sky, from the delicate colors and diminishing shadows of the sunrise grew a new being. Dawn with his golden hair, green eyes, and fiery temper was the first to join Day in his court.

Then Day noticed how bland the sky looked, left with only a dull blue and sun to look down on the humans below, and when he noticed the discontentment from the mortals below, he was desperate to have them happy. As the want of beauty grew, the mortals thoughts swirled into the beginning of a being that was only completed when Day breathed life into it. Out came a young man, full of life and beauty, his blond hair, olive eyes, and sensual personality, who painted the sky with colors and shapes, appeasing the humans below. As the sun's revolution around the earth progressed, more and more beings began popping up, an old man with gray hair and a stern face, an older woman with sharp features and brown hair who always moved with grace, a boy with an unusual red tuft of hair and a cheery personality that commanded Spring, and a young dark haired man with gray-blue eyes and a brash, loud voice and over the top character who led Summer. Guards sprouted from the trees, two nymphs, one of them a young woman with red hair who called herself Mila, the other a young man with black hair who called himself Georgi.

The Painter began to create a court in the fields where the chariot was left, a court full of sun, warmth, surrounding the flowing river in between. Day found a court in the sky, empty, with 24 pillars, signifying each hour of each day. A throne of marble and gold, laid in one half, and a more graceful throne of obsidian and silver stood opposite. Next to each throne were smaller seats, a pink and copper colored one next to Day, and a blue and steel seat next to Night.

Day fashioned his robes from simple gold, yellow and white into an orange and blue cape, with clouds around his neck, a pale yellow tunic brushing against the floor, dark gloves covering his hands, and a crown fashioned of sunlight.

Once the daytime began to end and darkness began to take hold, Night readied himself, fashioning robes of the deepest blues, a necklace of darkness and moonlight, and a skirt and cape that seemed to be cut from the night sky itself. After pushing his hair back, he gently laid a crown made from the stars on his head. Then as the sun began to set, from the growing shadows and darkening blues and purples grew Dusk, a cheery man with dark skin and even darker hair. Dusk joined Night as his right hand man and Night began to take the moon on its dance around the earth.

Night's court grew as the darkness progressed, earning its own Painter, a stoic man with dark hair and pale skin. A graceful woman with long brown hair, a woman with a mix of blonde and dark hair who soon grew close to Night, two young men, one with shoulder length brown hair and tan skin who controlled Autumn, and the other with caramel hair and pink skin who controlled Winter. A young man with black hair and unsaturated blue skin emerged from his place in the moon, taking his place as the head guard of Night, called by mortals as the Man on the Moon, dubbed by his peers as Otabek. He was soon joined by a bulky man in simpler armor who went by the name of Takeshi.

Then from the merging of the Ocean of Dreams in the Night Kingdom and the River of Thought from the Day Kingdom sprouted twins with violet eyes, one who controlled sleep and dreams as she led the shimmering shapes in the Ocean to slumbering people around the world, the other who controlled consciousness and thought and led the flitting shapes in the River as he raced around the earth, neither under the jurisdiction of Day or Night.

As Day was leaving the Sky Court and Dusk led Night to the throne, Day craned to see the other king, but was ushered off by Dawn with just brief glance at starry robes and dark hair. And so, Night remained a mystery to the King of Day.

At least, until the Autumn Equinox that is.

"Tell me you're not wearing that to the Equinox."

Victor glanced down at his usual robes in surprise. "Why not? I think they are perfectly fine to wear to the celebration."

Christophe snorted. "You wear that practically every day. It would seem like you don't care and you don't want to give Yuuri a bad impression, right?"

Victor turned back to the mirror. "I don't foresee the King of Night paying any attention to me tonight."

"It's the Equinox Victor! He's going to have to talk to you, even if it's just to ask how you manage to take care of the skies for so long. Remember that he'll be ruling the skies for the majority of the 24 hours. Or you make the first move, start up a conversation."

Victor raised an eyebrow at his Painter. "He seems to be fairly capable of taking care of the skies no matter how many hours are in darkness. If we wants to be reserved and remain among the subjects of the Night Kingdom then I won't force him into a conversation."

Chris pouted. "But he's the Kingof Night.You're the Kingof Day.You're going to have to talk to him eventually. Might as well be now."

Victor pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to say something before Dawn spoke up from the sofa. "Shut up, for Gaia's sake. The celebration begins in an hour and there are more important things to do than argue about the relationship between Victor and the King of Night. Chris if you're going to the party then I suggest you get changed, and don't wear that disgusting outfit from the Summer Solstice. Victor put on something else, otherwise Lilia and Yakov will murder you, slowly and painfully."

"Oh, you think my outfit from the Solstice is disgusting? I'll wear something better then. There's no better night to show off more of my assets to the Night Kingdom, is there?" Chris teased, winking at Yuri, who gagged.

Victor laughed at the memory of Lilia and Yakov turning purple in the face at the barely-considered-decent robes from the Summer Solstice. Chris had practically stolen the show from JJ, who was literally Summer, and turned many heads, especially from the Night Kingdom. The vast majority had squawked and quickly turned back to whatever they were doing but a few stared after Chris, not knowing what to do in the situation. For a split second Victor wished he had seen Yuuri's face, but then he remembered Yuuri hadn't attended.

The King of Night really was a mystery to Victor.

As Chris walked to door, he shot one last look at Victor, a wear-something-that-the-night-kingdom-will-consider-impressive-or-I-will-be-the-one-doing-the-slow-and-painful-murdering-tonightlook, blew a kiss at Yuri, who turned scowled, and then sauntered down the hallway to his own chambers.

Victor sighed, and opened his closet. He had no clue what could possibly be impressive to the Night Kingdom, and told the herald of Dawn as much. Yuri just raised an eyebrow. "Of course you don't. You're Nightand Day.Ever heard of 'they were as different as night and day'? There's a reason behind that saying."

"Then how am I supposed to impress the Yuuri?"

"How should I know?"

"Because,you're the bridge between Night and Day, just like Dusk."

Yuri scowled at the mention at Dusk. He had never really liked how people always compared Dawn and Dusk, the bridges between the two kingdoms, one who brought light the other dark. Victor had seen how much he avoided the dark skinned Dusk at celebrations, and multiple times Lilia had scolded Yuri about his behavior towards Dusk.

"Maybe you should ask Dusk about what he would deem impressive then."

Victor sighed, then turned back to his closet. "You are of no help."

"You're welcome."

He didn't even know why he was looking for something that would make Yuuri impressed. Victor remembered clearly how uncomfortable Yuuri was at the golds, yellows, oranges, and whites when they met, and Victor had literally nothing butgolds, yellows, oranges, and whites in his closet, with a smattering of bright blues every once in a while. He was freaking Day. What else was he supposed to have?

Frustrated he pulled out a robe, white with gold embroidery on the torso that spread down like the sun's rays on the pale, pale blue that slowly blended on the skirt. The shoulders were a gradient, becoming sheerer as it reached the wrists, where from a golden cuff sprouted more delicate gold designs. Shrugging, he tugged out the matching cape, made of golden feathers where it attached to the shoulders, and turning white as it reached the floor, making it almost look like he had wings. Victor shooed Yuri out of the room and summoned some of the nymphs that worked around the palace to help with the buttoning up of the robe and attaching the cape with small, delicate pins shaped like the sun.

Yakov came barging into his room as Victor was getting his crown, wearing his own party robes, pristine as he always had to be, being one of the royal ambassadors of Day.

"Hurry up Vitya, the celebration is going to commence in half an hour."

Victor put on his crown, and turned to Yakov. "How do I look?"

"Royal, like you should look. Thank Gaia that you didn't wear your usual robes."

Victor sent Yuri and Chris a quick mental thank you. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Yakov and Victor went down the grand staircase, and met the rest of his court in the foyer of the palace. Yuri was wearing modest but fancy clothes, his skirts and tunic more vibrant than usual, with more embroidery along the edges, and an intricate design that began on his heart and spread in tendrils around the clothes, bringing out the soft colors of sunrise.

His guards were wearing nice but comfortable tunics and pants, a sword strapped to their belts, allowing them enough movement without getting stuck on long skirts. Lilia was wearing an elegant dress that flowed like water, matching her gracefulness. And Chris... decided to be a bit more decent than last time, scrapping the previous idea of being lessdecent (probably with Yakov's intervention), but was still receiving murderous looks from Lilia, and a few snickers from Mila. JJ had already gone ahead to the Sky Court per the norm, along with Minami who was probably obsessing over Night at that very moment.

Together the group began to make its way to the Sky Court, the fiery horses of Victor's chariot lugging along a carriage instead, traveling through the ever growing darkness of nighttime.

When they finally touched down on the smooth crystal floors of the Sky Court, Victor was the last to get out. The courtyard trees were slowly turning from the bright green of summer into the reds, oranges, yellows, and browns of autumn, and from their branches hung ribbons and streamers. The grasses were yellowing and the crinkling of crops growing was filling the air, the smell so vastly different to the fresh scent of spring or the heat of summer. Yuri actually seemed to be smiling, probably enthralled by the colors and the smell of cinnamon, apples, and warm fires. A few tables were scattered here and there, decorated with overflowing cornucopias and leaves frozen in bronze, probably there for party-goers that wanted to escape the frenzy of the celebration.

Then Victor and his court walked into the main hall, the two thrones on opposite sides, and he forgot how to breathe.

So far there had only been celebrations for Day since Night began to command the skies for longer only as Autumn came, so the court was always sunny, decorated with golden streamers, bright colors, and cheery decorations, almost blunt and in your face. Victor had never actually beenin the Sky Court during the night so seeing the hall in a new light (or lack thereof) was a bit disconcerting.

It was clear the Night Kingdom wasn't as flashy as the Day Kingdom, but they seemed very experienced in using subtle and more elegant decorations than Victor's court did. There were ribbons hanging from the pillars, starting at midnight with a dark blue of total darkness, and reaching the lightest blue at the twelfth pillar, marking noon, until it grew darker again to match the same shade at midnight.

Soft orbs of starlight hovered here and there, lighting the room enough to see and make out details, but still maintaining the image of slumbering, peaceful night. The moon shone overhead, and the tables had small candelabras that shone on the guests faces. The seats seemed to be made of white birch, with silver cushions. The buffet tables had food that looked and smelled so delectable that Victor's mouth watered, and the bubbling champagne on the drink table was enticing. Many guests had actually already arrived, nymphs laughing and dancing, some other Night Kingdom guests chatting among themselves. A few went silent when they noticed Victor and his yellow glow, but quickly bowed as he passed.

Victor went around greeting people like a proper king, but soon grew tired, as most were Night Kingdom guests that seemed intimidated by the Day Court. He walked to the champagne, and was sipping from a glass when Dusk walked in, wearing elegant clothes in dark hues that complemented his skin nicely. With a bright voice, he announced the entrance of the King of Night.

"His royal highness, King Katsuki Yuuri of Night."

Then Yuuri himself walked in, and Victor nearly choked on his drink.

Flanked by two men in elegant tunics and pants, Yuuri was a sight to behold. A dark blue coat buttoned to the neck that opened at the waist and flowed to the floor was speckled with starlight. Underneath all that peeked out was a flowing black skirt that split open at the knees and let through legs clad in a dulled silver and blue slippers. The movement of his long sleeves gave him an appearance of ultimate grace, and the blue of his skin was a bit flushed. Yuuri's hair was slicked back, and on top perched a delicately crafted crown of starlight. He stopped at the dais of his throne, and began to speak in a delicate but loud voice. Even his voice seemed to make him more attractive.

Victor could feel his own face flush a bit. Chris was instantly at his side, whistling under his breath. "If you don't end up taking him to bed tonight, I will."

He glared at his friend and kicked him in the shin. "Don't say that so loud. Besides, even if I felt about him in that way, he clearly doesn't care about me," he hissed under his breath.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You don't think he's attractive?"

"I didn't say that."

"Good. Otherwise I would've thought you were already drunk on champagne. Or blind."

The music had started up again by then, Yuuri finished with thanking his guests, but the two friends hadn't noticed.

Victor smiled. "I've been trying to figure out the King of Night for some time now. I would've noticed when he walked into a room before. Now I'm paying double the attention."

"I think he is too."

"What?"

"Turn around." Chris hissed, a teasing undertone to his voice.

Victor blanched and turned around, and was met with a warm brown gaze. Thankfully, Yuuri was too far away to overhear, but nonetheless started at being caught staring, and quickly turned. Victor chuckled a bit, as he noticed how Yuuri turned a deeper shade of blue. Dusk was at Yuuri's side, and he seemed to be teasing Yuuri. Yuuri quickly sent a glare at his friend, and then seemed to grow a bit pale at what Dusk was saying. They kept on having a small argument, Yuuri shaking his head and Dusk snickering, before calling over a woman with brown hair that moved with the same grace as Lilia and wore the special patch that marked her as an ambassador for Night. The woman seemed to agree with Dusk, just more serious than Dusk was. Yuuri's shoulders dropped, defeated, and then Dusk was pulling him along quickly, ignoring Yuuri's yelp and protests.

Chris and Victor both chuckled a bit, until they realized that the King of Night was being pulled towards them. "I'm leaving. This conversation between two Kings will not be involving me," Chris snickered, then whispered, "Good luck!" Before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd. Victor cursed him under his breath, before turning and meeting Dusk face to face. He jumped back a bit, surprised, and then smiled at the dark skinned man.

"Hello Dusk. It's a pleasure finally meeting you."

Dusk smiled broadly. "Call me Phitchit, your highness. It's a pleasure finally meeting you as well; I hope you've had a good day?"

Victor nodded, and began to open his mouth to speak before Phitchit shoved Yuuri in front of Victor, practically nose to nose. Both of them blushed, Yuuri making a small squeak before stepping back.

"Your Highness, meet the King of the Night. Yuuri was been waiting to speak to you for a while."

Victor was taken aback.

"Really?"

"What!"

Both of them had spoken at the same time, and Phitchit's grin grew even wider. Victor glanced at Yuuri, who looked like he wanted to disappear and was sending his herald a look of why-are-you-doing-this-to-me. Victor almost laughed, before he spoke. "I've been trying to approach Yuuri for a while, but Dawn and my ambassadors always usher me off before I can speak to him."

"Well you can speak to him now! I'll leave you two alone for a while then." Phitchit smiled, sending a quick look to his friend before walking off.

Yuuri seemed to be wanting to become one with the floor.

"How come you never come to parties?"

Yuuri seemed taken aback. "What?"

"Why don't you come to the celebrations held here? I'm assuming you would've rather been at your home if you weren't required to be here."

The other king nodded slowly, wringing his hands, which Victor noticed, had a sparkling skintight cloth on them. "I just like the comfort of being in a quiet, peaceful, place instead. Parties seem to be very... loud. There's a lot of people watching your every move, especially when you're a king."

Victor knew the feeling. As much as he enjoyed the celebrations, the expectations of being king weighed heavily. "Yakov and Lilia can be such a pain in the neck sometimes about my appearance and manners. I assume your ambassadors are the same?"

He laughed. "No, not at all. Minako can be a bit strict every once in a while, but Mari is very lenient about it. If anyone is constantly hovering over me it's my head of the guard, Otabek," he said motioning to a serious young man who was ignoring the flirts of a few tree nymphs. Yuuri smiled. "He almost came in his armor."

Victor clicked his tongue. He could never imagine Georgi and Mila doing that and told Yuuri as such. They continued conversation for a few more minutes, Yuuri finally opening up a bit. Then Victor made the mistake of asking how Yuuri felt about taking over for most of the day now, and Yuuri clammed up in a heartbeat, excusing himself with a shaky voice and walking away with a glass of champagne in hand. Victor almost called after him until Chris and Yuri came over.

"What happened?! You two were getting along perfectly! I was already planning the wedding!" Chris whined. Yuri elbowed him in the stomach, before turning back to Victor. "What stupid thing did you say this time?"

"I just asked him how he felt about ruling for the majority of the day."

"That's a bit of a touchy subject for King Yuuri, your highness," said a voice from behind them.

Victor turned. Behind him was Yuuri's guard, Otabek, looking a bit amused. Victor nodded his head once in greeting. "Why is that?"

Otabek slowly walked to the buffet table, Victor, Yuri, and Chris walking next to him, Victor quickly snatching a glass of champagne from off the table. Otabek stood in front of the buffet table, letting someone get around him every once in a while if need be. Then he sighed.

"How much do you know about the Night Kingdom your highness?"

Victor shrugged. "Not much."

"I assumed so. You see King Victor, the Night Kingdom isn't as blessed as the Day Kingdom is. When you see the world below you, what do you observe?"

Yuri was the one who spoke up this time. "There are people frolicking about, animals everywhere. Usually there's children out unless Chris decides to give the mortals a storm or bad weather."

"Now look down at the night world."

All of them did so, and noticed that even though it was dark and most should've been slumbering, a vast majority of the lights in the houses were lit, candles at the windowsills, or lanterns glowing out in the streets. What few mortals were out and about were hurrying back and forth, even with lanterns. A few even had weapons.

"Why are so many people hurrying? Your Painter did an excellent job at making the sky look beautiful," Chris remarked, raising an eyebrow at the guard.

"Because they're afraid. They don't like what comes out in the dark. Only a small portion of mortals look up at the night sky and see its beauty. The rest only see the threat that it poses, the threat of what's hiding in the shadows. Many sleep with the candles providing a small bit of light and protection against whatever haunts them in the shadows. The streets are vacated quickly, and many are not too far away from their weapons. They're afraid of the thieves, the criminals that come out, of the wild wolves, the bears, and any other threat that could possibly be there. The mortals have even come up with an explanation for their unfounded fears, a so called 'boogeyman' that only comes out in the darkness, at nighttime.

But the Night Kingdom hasn't made anything to harm the humans. The wolves won't bother you unless you bother them, a bear has no need for a human death unless you bother her cubs. We rule the stars and moon to give them light, but they choose their own over what we offer. Threats such as criminals and boogeymen are made from humans, not from us. But they are still terrified of us."

Otabek's expression grew pained.

"Sure, back at the palace we are happy in each other's company, but people are becoming more and more angry. Our Painter, Seung-gil doesn't smile anymore, except in the rarest occasions. You should know how much effort is put into making the sky beautiful, yet the mortals don't pay attention to his work. The moon has whispered secrets into my ear of how mortals grew to hate the moon since it marked the beginning of the night. So King Yuuri has been especially anxious about how the mortals will act when being under his reign longer. He just wants to please them, make them see night as it should be, but the mortals don't seem to be that willing to change. His anxiety gets the best of him every once in a while at he can do rude or strange things, so don't take it badly about how he left."

Victor smiled and was going to say something before he was being dragged along by Yakov and Lilia as they spoke with the Night Ambassadors, Lady Minako and Mari. As they dragged him through the gaping double doors to force him into conversation, he could see a commotion in behind him and loud, angry protests that sounded like Yuri was being dragged into a...

"Get away! I don't want to see who the better dancer is!"

... dancecontest?

After a boring 20 minutes of conversation, the younger one, Mari, noticed Victor and told him to go back to the party, that the matters didn't concern him much and they would tell him the important information later.

Gratefully, he stood and walked through the double doors again and maneuvered through the crowd, looking for Chris and Yuri again, when he noticed something in the middle of the room.

'Oh, there's a pole in the middle of the room, that's strange and Gaia's titsChris why are you hanging from a pole practically naked in front of everyoneoh and someone's on the pole with you and freaking motherofallthatsholy is that the King of Night on that pole with you.'

Victor's heart stopped. Yuuri had shed his long coat, skirt, and, yes, pantsat some point when he was gone, and was left in only tight fitting underwear and a sheer, practically skin tight shirt that made his torso shimmer in the light, his clearly toned body straining as he held himself up with one loose hand and two very muscular thighs.

"His anxiety gets the best of him every once in a while at he can do rude or strange things."

Well then, Yuuri.

Chris seemed to notice Victor standing with his jaw to the floor. He gracefully got off and walked over to his King, slick with sweat. "It seems you have more competition than just me if you want to take Yuuri to bed now."

"I-i-what happened?!" Victor stammered.

Chris laughed and began to speak before-

"The freak got drunk off his ass and challenged me to a dance off before stripping and dancing on a pole!" Yuri snarled, looking disheveled, his usually sleek hair giving him the appearance of angrily letting birds roost on his head. His jacket was falling off on one shoulder and he angrily pushed it back up.

"You should probably watch your tone. He is a king after all," Victor said, a hint of a smile in his voice. Yuuri scowled and glanced back at said king who was currently hanging off a pole with barely any clothes on. "He doesn't make much of a better impression than you did at the Solstice."

"I was just as drunk as Yuuri is now."

"Which still isn't acceptable of a king, dumbass."

Victor shrugged, but he knew Yuri was right. Yakov would've murdered him the next morning if his unholy hangover didn't claim him beforehand. Even if he was a celestial being, he did have some limitations, and his alcohol intake was one of them.

Then the music changed, to a quick jig that the Day Kingdom guest immediately recognized as one of their traditional tunes. Many of them quickly began dancing with a partner, laughing as they flew through the hall. Victor chuckled as the expressions of the Night Kingdom guests grew more perplexed, until he realized that they weren't paying attention to the music, but to what their king was doing.

He was dancing.

It was clear he had no clue how. Not that Yuuri couldn't dance, no not at all. Actually quite the opposite. The music seemed to flow from his body as he moved along the ballroom, his coat (that he at least remembered to put on after he got down from the pole, but forgot to button up) was flowing as he whirled. It was just that Yuuri was a member of the NightKingdom, and this dance was traditionally to the Day Court. So every once in a while, he stumbled from both drunkenness and confusion as he tried to copy the couples dancing around him.

Chris laughed good naturedly. "You know, that would be a lot easier if he had a partner."

Victor smiled. "I don't think it'll take long for someone to become his partner."

"Thank you for volunteering."

"I-what?"

"Go up there Victor," Chris sighed. "Besides, isn't it a tradition or something to have a dance between the two kings?"

"I've never heard of that. And he's drunk. What if he doesn't want me to be his partner?"

Chris raised an eyebrow. "It wouldn't hurt to try."

Yes it could.

But he shrugged, unpinned his cape, and slowly made his way to the front of the crowd, smiling more and more as he observed Yuuri slowly get more used to the song and slowly not begin to care how he danced. Finally, Victor made his move.

He stepped on the dance floor, behind Yuuri and began to dance, his feet following the rhythm of the song by muscle memory alone. A few people gasped, but he didn't care. The King of Night kept on dancing, his back still to Victor. Slowly Victor got closer and when Yuuri spun, Victor gently grabbed his hands. Yuuri seemed shocked, even embarrassed in his drunken state, but he didn't pull away.

Victor smiled at him, and then he began to dance, Yuuri following his lead hesitantly and a bit clumsily. After a minute or so, Yuuri relaxed and followed Victor's lead more enthusiastically, his smile growing wider. They spun, laughed, danced like they were one being, and the music seemed to grow louder until Victor couldn't hear anything else. Or was he just blocking everything else out because nothing else mattered but Yuuri and Victor's dance?

Then Yuuri dipped him, and Victor yelped. Yuuri laughed and oh, his laugh was so contagious. Victor began to laugh as well, and he held Yuuri by the arm, the other hand going up to his back. And when Yuuri's hand went up to caress his face, his nerves tingled, his face turning red as both men smiled at each other, Yuuri's brown eyes twinkling with starlight.

So they danced and danced until Victor thought he could no longer go on, but Yuuri was simply unable to be tired. Finally Victor pulled Yuuri to a stop, panting from the exertion. The song had changed a long time ago, and they hadn't noticed. Yuuri was sweating too, so he slid off his coat, and Victor stiffened.

That's when it happened.

Yuuri leapt onto Victor, pulling him into a droopy hug. And apparently all qualms about decency went out the window, because Yuuri actually -actually-began to dance, his hips rocking and bumping and, Gaia help me,because the bucking of his hips looked very indecent but Victor couldn't find it in himself to care.

"Victoorr, the palace is so dark without you there, you should come visit, or maybe I could visit you, I've heard so many stories of your flowers and daytime."

Victor looked at him confused. No flowers?

"Hey I have an idea! Why don't you come over and help me rule the night sky! You'll do it, right Victor? Come on, rule next to me!" And Gaia help him, because the statement could be read so differently and his reputation was probably on the line, but all he could focus on was Yuuri and how everyone else would probably be seeing him as a drunken king at his lowest with a flushed, sweaty face, even though the only thing Victor could see was the King of Night more beautiful than anything he had ever witnessed, and that he would repeat this night over and over again because he managed to see Yuuri in so many ways and each one was more precious than the last.

And that was the instant that the Day fell in love with the Night.