Hey guys! Thank you so much for all of the support of the fic (after I went MIA for a few months) and I'm really excited to be getting into the meat of the story. If anyone's wondering what I listen to while I'm writing this (which I'm sure no one is) I switch between OneRepublic's Native album and Niall Horan's Flicker album. Both are pretty nice background writing music so if you're needing something a little lowkey to help get your writing wheels turning, I'd suggest those! Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Happy reading!

-Cass

Yuuri watched apprehensively in the mirror as Sara used her fingers to smear gel into his hair. He'd never so much as brushed his hair before, there wasn't much point to hair care when it was perpetually wet. But tonight was something of a formal dinner for the species, one of the last organized events they had before they all headed back to their clans. The merman knew he would be expected to give a report of this meeting when the provinces met in Syreni for their biannual gathering. Since it was rare for officials from the provinces to attend species meetings, they relied on the representatives from Syreni to update them on the happenings of the other species. It wasn't usually much more than gossip, seeing as there hadn't been any major happenings in decades. The last one Yuuri could think about was around the time of the human Cold War, which was similar to what had happened between the angels and the rest of the species. The angels had gotten offended about something that had occurred and refused to meet or even converse with the other species for years. If Yuuri was being honest, he didn't really see what the big deal was. Only land species really faced any consequences if these meetings didn't go well, it wasn't like someone could attack the sky or ocean kingdoms. At this point, the meetings were simply a tradition, though Yuuri knew some creatures were wanting to create more inter-species spaces. A few years ago a wolf had suggested an all species school, where anyone could go and get a better understanding about the creatures as a whole. The idea had been shot down by the angels immediately, though of course they believed that the species should always remain separate so that wasn't a surprise, though the other species had continued a dialogue about it. Eventually the idea had died off, as no one could agree on a location or set up for the school. The mermaids would need it close enough to the ocean that their students would be able to transform every once in a while, but the wolves and vampires all wanted it to be closer to their main homes. Of course, the other species thought the mermaids should have less say in the matter seeing as they possessed the least human money out of any of the species. It just didn't serve much as a purpose to them as it did to the others. The vampires and werewolves both had amassed a large fortune, while some of the smaller clans of species lived quite nicely as well. Yuuri had thought it was a great idea but he knew that none of the species were likely to compromise. The closer the school was to their homeland, the more control they had over it.

"Your hair is done. Go have one of the boys help you get dressed." Sara poked him in the side, making Yuuri jump as he was spurred from his thoughts.

He looked in the mirror and his mouth popped open. His hair was slicked back with a few strands purposefully pulled free. It wasn't anything special but it somehow made the idea that Yuuri was attractive a little easier for him to believe.

He slid out of the chair he was sitting in and made his way out of the bathroom. All three male guards were lounging about the room where Emil and Mickey were in the midst of teasing Otabek.

"Where were you last night Otabek?" Emil snickered and arched an eyebrow at the stoic merman.

"Out." Otabek shrugged, flipping through a magazine he had found in the nightstand. Emil and Mickey shared a glance.

"I heard you've been following around that little coven leader since the campfire."

"That's interesting." Otabek was clearly not going to give them what they wanted.

"Well I heard that you two were at that underground club last night." Mickey prodded. Yuuri was more surprised that a town like this had an underground club.

Otabek just shrugged and continued to feign interest in the magazine. Yuuri cleared his throat, drawing the attention away from the quiet merman.

"Sara said I needed help getting dressed."

Otabek sighed and placed the magazine on the bed next to him while Emil retrieved the bag of things Sara had picked up earlier that day. He laid the clothes out on the bed and Yuuri once again wondered why humans had so many different types of clothes. Certain ones were for sleeping, some were for swimming, some were for everyday where while others were specifically for doing nice things. These clothes were supposedly from the latter category and consisted of a pair of stiff looking navy blue pants, a matching jacket, a crisp white shirt and an emerald strip of cloth that Mickey said was called a 'tie'. Yuuri got dressed and then Mickey helped him tie the 'tie'. They all stepped back and looked Yuuri up and down.

"Damn Katsuki." Emil whistled appreciatively. Mickey gave a thumbs up and even Otabek nodded once.

"That angel isn't gonna know what hit him." Sara crowed gleefully as she emerged from the bathroom to admire her work. She had changed as well, now clothed in a clingy red dress that showed off her figure. Her dark hair was curled and pinned to the side, accentuating her elegant neck. "And I think I may even be able to catch the eye of that cute little vampire Mila."

Emil gave another whistle, this one a little longer than the one he gave Yuuri. Mickey whacked him in the back of the head and growled something about backing off his sister.

"You guys need to get ready so we can go. I want us to be the last ones there but I don't want us to be late!" Sara instructed. She turned to Yuuri and winked. "We'll make a grand entrance."

Yuuri wasn't so sure he wanted everyone looking at him, especially if he arrived late. But if he was being honest, the idea of having Victor's eyes only on him sent a thrill through him. The others got dressed and, as he saw how good the clothes made them all look, he began to understand some of the reasons humans had so many styles of clothing.

Once the group was ready, they headed down the stairs. The dinner was being held in the small ballroom that the hotel had. It was one of the few nice places in the tiny town, and from what Yuuri had heard when he asked the man in the lobby about it that morning, every big event in the town was held there. The room was located on the main floor of the hotel and the group must have been running a little late because they didn't pass any of the other species as they made their way towards the plain black doors that separated it from the rest of the building. Sara pulled them open and Yuuri sucked in a breath as he watched everyone inside turn to look at them. They were definitely making an entrance.

He could see people looking appreciatively at the group as then entered the room but he searched for someone in particular. He finally spotted Victor, seated near the back of the room but when their eyes met, Victor looked away. When he looked back up at Yuuri, his face was blank, disinterested. Whatever mote of confidence Yuuri had felt after seeing himself in the mirror, flew out of him and Yuuri felt almost deflated.

Sara noticed the occurrence, as she too had been waiting to see the angel's reaction. She leaned over and hissed quietly through her teeth.

"Yuuri Katsuki, you are a prince and tonight you look like a king. Do not let some stupid angel make you think you don't look absolutely gorgeous." She reached down and squeezed his hand.

Sara was almost immediately grabbed away by the little redheaded vampire that Yuuri had met at the campfire. The Night Walker's eyes were wide as she very obviously checked Sara out. The mermaid wore a smirk of satisfaction and Yuuri felt a twinge of jealousy. He pushed it down though, knowing that if he wasn't going to get that reaction someone should.

Otabek had peeled away from their group upon entry and was now leaning against the wall talking to the one he had been rumored to have been hanging around during the week. Yurio was raptly listening to whatever the merman was saying, looking as happy as Yuuri could imagine him ever looking.

Emil patted Yuuri on the shoulder and tossed his head sideways, indicating he was going to head over to chat up a group of female werewolves. Yuuri gave a small smile, letting him know that it was fine.

Mickey stayed by his side, though Yuuri knew he was wanting to go back and make sure Sara was behaving. Yuuri told him to go, and after a small protest, he left the prince alone. He started to make his way towards Victor, hoping maybe the look had been a misinterpretation. However, at the first step he took towards the angel, the boy turned and walked away.

Yuuri stood still in the middle of the room, the heat draining from his face. He didn't know what to do and at the moment he was really wishing that he could go back upstairs and bury himself in his bed. Thankfully, he wasn't alone long.

"Prince Yuuri!" a loud voice called to him and he turned to see the small vampire he had met at the fire making his way towards him. The vampire stopped in front of him and smiled widely.

"Hi." Yuuri said, smiling back.

"You probably don't remember me, but that's ok." Yuuri racked his brain, trying to remember the boy's name. So much had happened between meetings.

"Minami!" He exclaimed, perhaps showing a bit too much excitement that he had remember the name. Minami, however, was obviously more excited that his name was remembered.

"Wow! Most people here don't remember me since I'm not anyone important." He beamed up at Yuuri and the prince was very glad that he was one of the ones who did.

"Well, I really enjoyed talking to you the other night so of course I would remember." This made the younger boy smile impossibly wider. Yuuri vaguely wondered if his cheeks hurt at all.

"I was hoping you would tell me more about what it's like being a mermaid."

Yuuri glanced over at Victor who was talking to another angel, a boy who was probably a little older than Yuuri. The angel prince was very pointedly not looking in his direction and Yuuri's heart dropped a little in his chest.

"You don't have to." Minami sounded a little crestfallen and Yuuri immediately turned back to him.

"No! Sorry! I was just a little distracted." He quickly said, waving his hands in front of him in desperation. He began telling the boy about his life, trying to answer as many of the multitude of questions Minami had as possible.

JJ interrupted them later, letting Yuuri know that the leaders would be sitting together at a table so they could get to know each other a little better. Yuuri said goodbye to Minami and began following him to the table in the middle of the hall.

"So how did that little beach work out for you?" JJ whispered conspiratorially. "Who'd you take down there?"

"I guess it didn't work as well as I thought it did." Yuuri fought the urge to look over at Victor again. He deliberately ignored the second part of the alpha's question.

"That's too bad. But there's plenty of others here who I'm sure would be up for a little romp." He laughed loudly and nudged the merman with his elbow. Yuuri forced a quiet laugh and hoped the wolf would drop the subject.

"How are things with Isabella?" He remembered the pretty she-wolf JJ had introduced the other night. It was apparently the right question to distract him, as JJ immediately started rattling off everything he could possibly ever want to know about their relationship. The two were from neighboring packs and had met when JJ was acknowledged as alpha. Apparently when a new alpha takes over, the packs close enough to attend are expected to come and pay their respects to him. The two had gotten engaged soon after and were going to be married later in the year. Yuuri let the werewolf continue talking as they sat at the table, apparently the only two who had decided to take their seats. JJ stopped to wave over Victor and then Yurio who looked quite annoyed to be interrupted from his conversation. Yuuri noted in surprise that he'd never seen Otabek look quite so animated.

The merman held his breath as Victor approached and smiled hopefully at him. However, the white clothed angel didn't even spare him a glance as he sat as far from Yuuri as he possibly could and still be seated at the same table. Yuuri's gaze dropped to the table and he hoped he'd be able to slip out of the gathering early.

Once they were all seated, the others in the room began finding tables of their own. JJ motioned to a man standing near the doors who then disappeared through a side door. A few minutes later, people emerged carrying trays of food to the tables. A plate of some sort of green stuff was placed in front of Yuuri and he poked at it with his fork.

"Is this some sort of seaweed?" He questioned innocently. JJ choked back a laugh while Yurio rolled his eyes.

"It's called a salad you idiot." The vampire growled. A small smile played on Victor's lips but as soon as he saw Yuuri watching him he carefully schooled his features back into a blank canvas.

Yuuri picked at the 'salad', finding that the bland green leaves weren't nearly as appetizing as the food they had made out of seaweed back home. His appetite was dampened by Victor's attitude, but even that didn't stop him from eating every last drop of the soup served. JJ had informed him it was made out of something called a potato, and even though Yuuri had no idea what that was, he found himself wishing for second helpings of the soup. The main course was some sort of meat dish that JJ couldn't pronounce. This prompted Yurio to correct his pronunciation a little more aggressively than was probably necessary.

The meal went on in the same fashion, JJ explaining the food to Yuuri, Yurio being annoyed anytime anyone said anything and Victor very obviously avoiding looking in Yuuri's direction. By the time the dessert arrived (some sort of pancake thing stuffed with fruits that JJ called a blintz) Yuuri was wishing he could sink straight through the floor.

As soon as they'd finished eating, Victor pushed his chair back, the wooden legs scraping gratingly across the floor. The silver haired boy didn't even look at him as he rushed away from the table. Obviously he couldn't wait to be as far from Yuuri as possible. He watched the boy walk away, his fingers tracing the ridges of his gills.

Somehow, he'd completely misread whatever he thought he'd had with Victor.

Victor walked away from the table, having to mentally remind himself not to run.

But he had to get away, he couldn't sit there at that table anymore. He couldn't sit there and see how beautiful Yuuri looked. He couldn't sit there and listen to the beautiful sound of his voice. If he had sat there any longer, he wasn't sure he could have stopped himself from throwing himself across the table and pressing his lips to the prince's. That suit was doing something to him.

So he strode away from the table, knowing that if he stayed there any longer all of the reasons he had thought up that day about why continuing this thing with Yuuri was a bad decision would be out the window. A minute longer sitting there and seeing him with his hair slicked back and he would have given up his kingdom just for one kiss.

So he left the table, feeling like he was leaving every bit of warmth in his body sitting right there in a perfectly tailored suit.

So not much of Victor's POV this chapter but that's because next chapter is going to be mostly about him. I'm extremely excited for next chapter because of what I've got planned! I hope ya'll picked up the few easter eggs from the anime/extra videos/released stories that I included in this chapter.

Thanks for reading!