After telling Yuko about my heart's true desires, a giant weight felt like it was lifted off my shoulders. I've never been so at peace. And in a few more minutes, I'd have the boy that was borderline hyperventilating outside my balcony and blushing on my bed in my arms. Just the two of us. I had our usual bottle of Moscato waiting. All I needed now was someone to share it with.

"Victor..." I didn't expect it to be with my sister, though, "Do you have any wine in here? Sara forgot to bring some."

"I got Moscato," I cracked the bottle open, "But I only have two glasses."

"One for me, one for Sara," Mila took my glasses and my wine, "Thank you, brother. You've done a great service for us. We really appreciate it."

"Hey!" I squealed, "What the hell, Mila? You're not the only one with company tonight."

"But my company is already here," she pointed out, "I have Sara on my bed as we speak and I hate to keep her waiting. Thank you, Victor!"

Before I had the chance to get my wine back. Mila had already shut her bedroom door. Well, so much for that idea. I liked to unwind at the end of the day with a glass of wine while I lay in bed with my Yuri. Oh well. At least I still had the Yuri part to look forward to. Even though he's taking his sweet time...Where the hell are you, my beloved white knight? For there is a prince locked in his tower, waiting for you to come rescue him. Not necessarily from a dragon or a witch or anything ridiculous like that. But from himself. From his monotony. From life itself. Come save me, my love...

"Sorry I'm a little late, Victor." Ask and ye shall receive, "I got caught up in some business at the palace and getting away wasn't easy."

"You're here now, aren't you?" I pulled him to my chest, feeling his heartbeat sync against my own, enjoying the mere feeling of his presence, "That's all that matters."

"You're awfully affectionate today," Yuri noticed, "Have you started without me?"

"Actually," I brought him down to my bed, "We were going to have wine, but Mila took it from me. Her company came ill-prepared."

"Then, it's a good thing I'm always prepared, isn't it?" he opened up his jacket, pulling a small bottle out of his pocket, "A little liquid hospitality from my kingdom. Right from the royal reserves, too."

"Royal reserves?" I gasped, "Is it my birthday?"

"It's actually a gift from Yuko," Yuri explained, "She gave this to me when she got home earlier today. No explanation. All she said was to share it with someone special."

"Yuri," I bit my lip, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," he opened up the bottle, offering me the first drink, "What is it?"

"Do you know where Yuko went today?" I asked.

"No," Yuri thought, "I was too busy thinking about why she told me to stay behind. Yuko never tells me to stay at the palace. We're always together. Except for when I come here, of course, but that's here nor there."

"She was here, Yuri," I confessed, "Yuko told me she was cheating on me with one of my knights."

"Oh my god," he worried, "Are you ok?"

"Yuri," I hid a smile from him, "Think about it. It's the first thing that Yuko and I have had in common since the day we met aside from us both being royalty. When she told me about her and Takeshi, I told her that I was cheating on her with one of her knights."

"You told Yuko about us?" I thought Yuri was going to have a heart attack.

"Yes," I nodded, holding him a bit closer, "And this is why. She had every right to know that it wasn't going to work out with us. I didn't have any feelings for her that evolved past friendship, which is what we agreed on. She was very understanding, but she wasn't heartbroken. Because of the relationship Yuko and I had, as much of a sham as it was from the beginning, we both found the ones we were meant to be with."

"So," he started to relax a little more, "She's ok?"

"She's ok," I promised, "I had a talk with Nishigori earlier today about Yuko. She still has a hell of a knight to take care of her."

"I understand that," Yuri curled into my ribs, "But you don't get it. I've been the one to take care of Yuko for so long...What if she still needs me?"

"You make it sound like you're breaking up with her," I giggled, "It'll be an adjustment, but you can do it. You'll have someone else to love and take care of."

"Who?"

"You're joking, right?" I took the small bottle from Yuri, taking a heavy drink from it. Damn. That's not bad.

"Of course I am," Yuri took the bottle back, kissing my cheek, "I love you, Victor."

"I love you, too," I pulled the blankets over us, "We should get some sleep. As much as I'd love for us to be up all night, I'm very tired and God only knows what I have for tomorrow."

"Fine," he put our bottle on the nightstand, "Good night, your highness."

"Good night," I gave my knight a deep, tender kiss and watched as he dosed off in my arms. My beautiful knight in shaking armor...Sleeping so soundly. Yes. Good night, my love.

The next morning, I woke up with the cutest little thing to ever come into this castle still laying with me. As I kissed the top of his head, those big, heartbreaking eyes of his looked up at me, "Good morning to you, too."

"How long have you been awake, Yuri?" I wondered.

"Ten, fifteen minutes, maybe," he thought, "I didn't want to wake you."

"You didn't." God, help me. I love this boy, "Will I be seeing you later today?"

"I hope so," Yuri climbed up for a kiss, "At least we have midnight."

"We'll always have our midnights," I snuggled him a bit more, "But do you have to leave now?"

"I need to get home," he sighed out, "Who knows? I might have to get Yuko out of your knights' quarters anyway."

"No," I rolled my eyes, "From what I understand, you'd be more likely to find her in the stables than the knights' quarters."

"Classy," Yuri shook his head, "Hard to believe this is the same girl I taught to skate all those years ago. We took naps together. We took baths together. We've been inseparable, Victor."

"She's not going anywhere, Yuri," I assured, doing my best to keep him from hyperventilating, "You've been going back and forth between the kingdoms for how long now? Nothing is going to change. It's going to be ok."

"Ok," he rested his head on my chest, "You know…I could stay like this for just a little while longer."

"How much longer?" I wondered, never wanting to ever move from this spot.

"Just a little while," Yuri was ready to fall back asleep already.

"Fine by me…"

Oh, Yuri...My sweet, little Yuri. Maybe you are more of a prince than you let on. You carry yourself like a noble. A shy, little noble, but a noble, nonetheless. I could make you royal, Yuri. All you'd have to do is answer one little question for me. That's all it would take.

"Victor," Mila dragged herself through my door with Sara following behind her. They both fell onto my bed. It's a good thing my bed is huge, "Do you have any more of that Moscato?"

"Mila," I worried, "You had that last night. That was my only bottle."

"I'll bring you some merlot from our vineyard next time," Sara promised her, "It pairs very nicely with some chocolate covered strawberries."

"Sara," Mila smirked, "You know what chocolate covered strawberries do to me."

"Maybe that's the point…"

"Not in my bed," I protested, "Please."

"And not while we're still in it," Yuri added, "That'd be indecent."

"Hello, Prince Victor," Sara turned shy. Two seconds ago, she didn't think twice about openly hitting on my sister and now, she's as quiet as a church mouse?

"Princess," I gave her a nodded, "But please. We're in the same bed together. I think we're past formalities."

"Victor," Mila scolded, "I called dibs, remember? You got Yuri and I'd get Sara."

"And he won't have Yuri for much longer," Yuri got out of bed, grabbing his pants off the floor, "Yuri has to go back to his own kingdom."

"And needs to stop speaking in third person," I cringed.

"Sorry," he gave me a little kiss, "I'm sure I'll be back later."

"You better be," I followed him out to the balcony, "I love you, Yuri."

"I love you, too," Yuri stuck his foot in the lattice and made his climb down the castle wall. I missed him already.

"Now it makes sense," Sara thought out loud, getting a little bolder, "Why you weren't interested in me."

"Princesses aren't my thing," I confirmed, "Yet here I am with two of them in my bed."

"And one of them is your sister, you pervert," Mila threw a pillow at me, "The other is her girlfriend. I don't think so."

"I already told you," I jumped back onto my bed, "Princesses aren't my thing. And neither is incest."

"Tell that to my brother," Sara grumbled.

"Well, ladies," I sighed out, "As much as it is a delight to have you in here, I think a long bath and an easy day of merely seeing my princess and my knight is an order and I can't exactly do that with you two in my bed."

"That does sound nice," Mila agreed, wrapping her arms around her princess, "Maybe we should go do that, too."

"Mickey's probably got our entire guard scouring the kingdom for me," Sara shot her down, "I should be getting home before he wakes up."

"Fine," Mila gave her biggest fake pout she could muster in hopes of guilting her into staying a little longer. I've seen it work before when she wanted to braid Yurio's hair once. It turned him into a puddle. Why not try it on Sara, too?

"I'm glad you understand." Nope. Fail.

"It was nice seeing you again, Sara," I bowed to her, "Now, do you two mind?"

Mila and Sara left my room and I started running my bathtub. I didn't even want to give anything else a thought yet. All I wanted was to sink in the delightfully hot water and forget the world for a while. Was that too much to ask? Although, the bathtub felt too big. I bet Yuri would like it in here, too. I know I would. Just to have my arms around him in the water sounded practically divine. Like magic.

"Prince Victor," Phichit broke up my inner monologuing, "Prince Victor?"

"In the bathroom, Phichit," I called out, "What is it?"

"His Majesty would like to speak with you," he covered his eyes as he stood in the doorway, "He said at your earliest convenience, but we all know what that means."

"As soon as humanly possible," I groaned, "And then some. Alright. I'll be down in a minute."

"Yes, sir," Phichit bowed out and ran the opposite direction.

So much for my time to myself. I got out of the bathtub, got dressed, and made my way to the throne room. I'm sure my father was waiting for me. I love him dearly, but the last time he and I talked, I got miserably depressed to the point where I needed to lay in Mila's bed with ideally a pint of ice cream, but we didn't have any. I almost cried in front of Yuri because of that. I'll be alright.

"Hello, Father," I bowed, taking my mother's usual seat on her throne, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did," Father confirmed, "It's about you and Princess Yuko."

"What about her?" I wondered, a knot starting to form in my stomach.

"You're taking too long with your courting of her," he growled, "There is going to be an engagement party tonight."

"Who's getting married?" I awed.

"You are, Victor," Father glared, "You're proposing tonight."

"I am?" I may or may not have blacked out for a moment or two.

"Yes," he sent me off, "If you want to do your duty to your kingdom, you will propose tonight or the throne will forever be out of your reach."

"Yes, sir," I thought I was going to throw up. I didn't like this. I detested every thought of an arranged marriage and I didn't want this at all. Yuko and I were only friends and we agreed on that. It didn't seem like the time to be telling my father that she's cheating on me with one of our knights and I'm cheating on her with one of her knights. In times like these, I needed a few things. And after a quick stop in the kitchen, I threw myself onto one of the most comfortable beds in the entire castle.

"Vitya, what's wrong?" Mila attempted to comfort me.

"Did you know there's going to be an engagement party tonight?" I asked.

"No," she gave me a look, "Who's engagement party is it?"

"Apparently, mine," I gagged, shoveling more mint chip ice cream down my throat, "I don't want to, Mila. I don't want to propose to Yuko. And to think, I was having such a good day. I went to sleep with my boyfriend, I woke up with my boyfriend. My bedsheets still smell like him. Yet, I have to propose to Yuko."

"Victor," Mila stopped me, "What were Daddy dearest's exact words?"

"That I'm proposing tonight," I mumbled in her pillows.

"Think about it," she put things in perspective, "You have a very golden opportunity here. He told you that you had to propose, right?"

"Right."

"Then, propose," Mila insisted, "Give him exactly what he wants. Man up and do the right thing here."

It took me a minute to realize what my sister was trying to get across here. Her notion made my stomach fill with butterflies and my heart wanted to jump out of my chest. I started pouring sweat. Have I mentioned how much I love my underrated genius of a sister lately? Because I do. I do very, very much.

"Mila," I hugged her tight, "Thank you. I think I understand."

"You have me for a reason, brother," she kissed my cheek, "Now, this party…Can I invite Sara?"

"Of course."

"Wonderful!" Mila chimed, "Now that I've given you my little pep talk, I suggest you go get yourself ready. Go spoil yourself for the afternoon. You have a big night ahead of you."

"Good drink, good company," I sighed out, "It sounds nice, doesn't it?"

"It does," she agreed, "Now, go."

"Ok," I left my sister to her devices and reran the water in my bathtub. When I left the throne room earlier, nothing but dread and misery filled my thoughts. However, when I leave Mila's room, I couldn't wait for tonight. I couldn't believe it. Hopefully, I'll walk out of my own engagement party an engaged man. Mila was right. Life is too short and I might as well man up before someone else does. I could do this. I will do this.

Later on in the evening, I really needed to consider doing more than naps and facials. Chances are, I won't sleep tonight anyway. Although, I'd be well-rested for the evening festivities. I dug through my closet looking for something to wear when I came across a familiar burgundy suit that turned me into a puddle. The very same suit I wore the night I met Yuri. If I wasn't so worried about keeping up appearances, I'd wear it tonight. Sort of a poetic justice type thing.

However, the pitch black one would do nicely, too. With the purple silk shirt under it? Damn, I'd look sexy. Now, I needed something else to go with it. Diamonds? Diamond cufflinks seemed appropriate. I did a slow spin in the mirror, checking every inch of me. My God, Mila was right again. The tighter on the bottom for me, the better. My pants looked like they were painted on, but still. I looked fantastic. In between naps and pampering, I managed to go into town and have a ring made. Pure gold, too. I couldn't wait to see the look in those eyes…

"It's very pretty, Vitya," a woman's voice broke the silence in my closet, "You always did have an eye for that sort of thing."

"Thank you, Mother," I invited her in, "Please. Sit with me."

"Thank you," she made herself comfortable, "Have you spoken with your father?"

"Yes," I nodded, "I know all about my engagement party."

"About your future wife," Mother murmured, "She's so…Uppity. Are you sure you love her?"

"I guess," I adjusted my cufflinks out of nervous habit.

"You know," she joined me at the mirror, looking me over, "You really are a very striking beauty, Vitya. Out of all my children…Well…"

"I won't tell any of the others," I smiled, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"You're the prettiest out of your brothers and sister," Mother assured, "Yurio comes close, but he has nothing on you."

"Thank you," I blushed, "You flatter me."

"Anyone would be lucky to have you," she added, "And I do mean anyone. Whenever you're ready, your engagement party started without you. You should make a slight appearance."

"Yes, Mother," I bowed, "I'll be down in a moment."

She spun on her heel, her deep blue dress billowing out beneath her, and left me to put on finishing touches. Alright, Victor. You know what you need to do. It sounds crazy, but there's no better time than now, right?

A/N: I really do love the glimpse of Victor and Lilia's relationship. And, honestly, out of Team Russia…Does anyone really compare to Victor? Regardless…Alright, kids. Next week's going to be the last chapter. Are you prepared for what's going to happen? Because Victor's engagement party is about to begin. Hang in there. You'll be alright. And I'll be available for your regularly scheduled internet therapy and squee dumpster. Also, Victor's birthday's coming up on Monday! Soooo…I'll see you next chapter! xx