Chapter 5: With This Ring…
The early days of spring were here, but the cold winter air still lingered. After Yuri met Victor's parents, Victor hadn't really heard from them, and aside from sending them a wedding invitation, Victor didn't really reach out to them either. Some days he would wonder if he would get an RSVP from them, but he tried not to get his hoped up like that. Quite frankly, he wasn't entirely sure what it would be like if his parents were at the wedding and how that would work out. Victor's parents were the least of his problems now, though. He would rather not stress about them when there was so much more that still needed to be done.
The wedding day was even closer now, only a few months away, and final decisions were being made. Yuri and Victor had been making more frequent trips to Japan for a lot of their wedding planning, like for cake tasting and ordering the actual cake, and choosing a caterer for the event. However, at the moment, they were spending most of their time in Russia now until the day got closer. Today they were out at a shopping mall looking for the suits they would wear for the big day. After making last minute decisions the night before on what colors they would go with, they finally made their choices for what they would be looking for today.
They entered the shopping center and headed to the men's formal wear store where they had an appointment. Victor went to the counter to let the woman at the store front know that they had arrived for their fittings, while Yuri looked around at the different styles of suits and tuxedos that were on display. Not long after checking in, the woman led them to the back, where they were greeted by the tailors who would be helping them today. An older woman and gentleman, began asking them questions on what they were looking for and other questions to get to know their clients before taking out measuring tapes to begin carefully taking down precise measurement for each male.
"We decided to go with a gold theme for the wedding, but we also want something that would accent the cherry blossoms nicely" Victor told the tailors.
"A classic black tux goes with just about everything" the older woman suggested as she took various arm measurements from Victor.
"There's also the options to add color with different pieces to the suit and accessories" the gentleman working on Yuri also suggested.
"We were thinking maybe some shade of blue, but couldn't exactly pick one…" Yuri said.
"Or even a nice purple-ish color" Victor chimed in.
"You've at least chosen suit color and style, right?" the female tailor asked finishing up with her measurements.
"That much we did decide on" Victor replied.
The tailor finished up then took Victor to the dressing room, and brought an array of different color suits in the styles he was considering with some basic tie and bowtie options to try on. The other tailor finished up on Yuri and began the same process with him also. First, they had a little fun and tried on different suits of color various colors and patterns. Victor first came out with a deep purple suit and a lime green tie, while Yuri was wearing a red plaid suit with a matching tie. They both looked at each other in these outrageous outfits and had a good laugh. Then they tried on a few other suits for fun along with others they were actually considering before finding the ones they would ultimately choose.
Yuri finally stepped out in an ivory color tuxedo with a light blue waistcoat and matching tie. Victor was already out of the dressing room wearing a more classic black tuxedo with a black bowtie deciding whether or not he liked this look for the wedding. He looked over at Yuri when he came out and immediately liked what he saw.
"What do you think?" Yuri inquired as he walked towards the pedestal in front of the mirror wearing his final pick.
Victor was nearly speechless and completely wowed as he gazed upon his fiancé. He simply walked over to Yuri to remove his glasses and slick his hair back to mimic how he would look on the wedding day.
"Perfect," Victor said stepping back to get a good look, "Reminds me of the first time you stepped out in your Eros costume."
"That feels like so long ago…" Yuri said.
"You look as delectable now as you did then" Victor whispered in his ear.
Yuri blushed in response to Victor's words as the tailor came by and added a faux, light blue flower to the lapel of the suit jacket and gold pocket square to the suit. Yuri took back his glasses from Victor so he could get a better look in the three angle mirror. He was quite shocked himself with how nice he looked.
"Wow, I do look pretty good" Yuri said checking himself out in the mirror.
"So, is this the one you're going with then?" Yuri's tailor asked.
"Yes, definitely" He responded confidently.
Victor was still staring at Yuri, admiring how he looked in the moment while imagining him on their wedding day. Yuri glanced over to noticed Victor staring at him and could see it in his eyes that this was a good choice.
"So, what did you choose?" Yuri asked his fiancé.
"I'm thinking of the previous tux I just had on. Maybe a different color vest though" Victor pondered.
"We should get you changed into that one so you two can see each other in your outfits!" Victor's tailor said excitedly.
Victor agreed with equal excitement and rushed back to the dressing room to get changed once more in the black modern tuxedo he had just been wearing prior to the one he already had on. He then walked out again in his outfit of choice and stood next Yuri who was getting final measurements taken down on a clipboard. Victor's tailor came by and handed him a peach color tie, to match the waistcoat and a gold pocket square just like Yuri's. After those finishing touches were added, the two tailors stepped back to let the couple enjoy this moment as Victor and Yuri gazed at their reflections in the mirror. Victor turned to Yuri and looked into his eyes as they held hands almost as if they were at the altar, while Yuri stared back looking him up and down loving each bit.
"I think you should go with this one" Yuri told Victor.
"I think so too" He agreed.
"Is that your final decision?" The older woman asked.
"Yes! This is the one for me" He replied.
The tailors celebrated excitedly at the success of helping their clients finding what they wanted. Victor turned to get one last good look in the mirror at himself next to Yuri, before he wouldn't be able to see this image again until the wedding day. They headed back to their dressing rooms to change back into regular clothes to finish the rest of their appointment. They left the store, hand in hand, satisfied and excited for what was to come next for them. It was all beginning to feel so real and so close. Victor and Yuri stopped at a coffee shop to take a break from shopping and to check in with their wedding party to make sure everyone else had their suits ordered and taken care of.
As they were resting in the coffee shop, Victor noticed a jewelry store across the way from where they were sitting. He took a look at the ring on his right hand and started thinking. He knew what the rings were for back then when they first exchanged them, despite the fact that he was the one who jokingly called them engagement rings the first time. Even though he was joking about the rings, he truly meant what he said back then about marrying Yuri once he won a gold medal. The fact that this was all happening felt incredible to Victor, but he felt like something was maybe missing.
"I feel like we should get wedding bands" Victor mentioned nonchalantly.
"Huh? But we have…" Yuri began to say as he looked down at the gold ring that adorned his right hand. He then remembered that despite what many people thought, that the rings they wore were not engagement rings, and most definitely weren't wedding rings.
"Do you not want rings?" Victor asked.
"Not it's not that, I've just been so used to wearing this ring all the time that I never really thought about a new one. New rings sound nice."
"Good! Well I think it's my turn to buy us rings now. I feel like we should look for something to complement these ones" Victor suggested, referring to the gold bands they were already wearing.
Yuri still remembered the day he got those rings for himself and Victor, and the feelings he had while buying them. He remembered thinking that maybe if they both held onto something gold that it might help him win gold that year. Despite that not happening, the rings ended up meaning much more. When he bought them in Barcelona, he wanted something that would solidify a connection between them in their newfound relationship at the time as coach and student, and as a new love. His initial thoughts weren't about what people would think about them, but everyone around them soon began to see the gold rings as some sort of promise or engagement rings, and he and Victor began to see them that way too on top of the original meaning. He wanted the rings to double as a symbol of luck and the bond between them at the time, but now that they were getting married, he felt they needed something more as a symbol of their love, and Victor felt this too.
They finished their coffee drinks, then Victor took Yuri by the hand and lead him towards the jewelry store that had caught his attention. They looked around the store at the variety of jewelry on display. They stopped to look at a section of rings with many different gemstone options available. As they were browsing, one of the salespeople who wasn't out on the store front already helping customers came from the back to assist them.
"Hello! What can I help you with today?" the salesperson asked from behind the counter.
"We're looking for wedding bands!" Victor said excitedly.
"Oh wonderful! Was there anything in particular you two had in mind?"
Both Victor and Yuri paused to think, as this was an option chosen just five minutes ago, without much time to think about anything.
"Uh, we were thinking about something that would go nice with these" Yuri said holding out his hand to show the ring on it.
The sales person looked at the rings then stated that the shop had plenty of options that would complement them nicely. She brought them over to the section where they kept the classic wedding collection and showed them a few options to gauge each of their tastes and preferences. They both preferred something simple yet understated, and wanted to stick with a gold band, although this time Victor wanted diamonds for the both of them. Yuri immediately saw something that caught his eye and wanted to get a closer look. It was a basic gold band with a row of medium sized diamonds in the middle. All the other rings Yuri saw were too gaudy and flashy for his liking. This one was perfectly understated for his tastes. Victor didn't mind how it looked either. It had just the right amount of bling for both of them.
The ring was brought out for both men to inspect more closely as the salesperson talked up all the different qualities. Victor listened closely to the description while Yuri wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying as he already loved the ring. Yuri was finally given a chance to try on the band and fell in love with it even more. Victor also tried it on and loved how nicely it went with their gold bands. They looked at and tried a few other rings to make sure that there was nothing else they may have liked more, but ultimately, they ended up with the first pick. The jeweler took down their rings sizes so that the rings can be a perfect fit as Victor took care of the payments. After signing off on different receipts and warranties, they finally had wedding rings to pick up within the following week. Victor and Yuri walked out of the jewelry store happier than ever. Victor could hardly contain his excitement and gave Yuri a quick kiss before they headed home to end their day.
Once back home, they spent the evening together before deciding to split and do separate activities. Yuri went back to the bedroom to go over wedding details on his laptop, while Victor stayed in the living room and looked over the vows he had started writing. He was eventually able to get something down on the paper, but felt like he needed to add something more. After a few months of not looking over his vows, he was finally taking a second glance to see what more he could add and maybe even try to finish them. He ended up starting over and rewriting things a couple of times, he even messaged Chris for some assistance. He worked on the vows on and off for quite some time until he heard Yuri coming down the hallway headed towards the kitchen for a quick drink.
"What's all this?" Yuri asked walking into the kitchen to find Victor still awake.
"These are my vows."
"Geeze, there's like, five pages here! Did you just start this?"
"You could say that…" Victor said not revealing the fact that most of it was scrap paper from his rewrites.
Yuri peered over Victors shoulder as he reached for one of the sheets of paper on the counter.
"Hey! No peeking!" Victor said as he swatted Yuri's hand away.
Yuri persisted and still tried to get a glimpse over his shoulder. Victor turned around and took his glasses so that he wouldn't be able to see anything clearly.
"No fair! Give them back!" Yuri said laughing as he tried to grab for his glasses which Victor was holding above his head just out of reach.
"Only if you promise no peeking."
"Fine, I won't try to peek anymore."
Victor complied and returned the lenses to his future husband who kissed him on the cheek as Yuri placed his glasses back on his face.
"Man, I've barely got a page for now, how'd you come up with this much?" Yuri questioned.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll condense it down eventually. What have you been up to?"
"Mom called and was asking about different things. Then I went over guest registries and seating arrangements. The boring stuff."
Victor let out a quiet sigh and his expression changed as he remembered that he hadn't heard from his own parents. Part of him hoped that he would have, but another part was glad he hadn't, though he tried his best not to dwell on it. Yuri noticed and wondered what might have caused this sudden change before he realized what it could be.
"Have you still not heard from… them…?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah… let's not worry about that though…"
"It's been a long day, come to bed. We can go over honeymoon plans."
Victor smiled then looked back at the papers on the counter and figured he would handle it later. He tidied everything up before he followed Yuri back to the room to go to bed. Each day, they were getting closer and closer to the big day and neither of them could hardly wait much longer.