Flowers Fall (viktuuri AU)

Chapter 33- Miles Apart, I'll Be There

Victor let out a sigh as he leaned against his balcony, taking in the beautiful night city. Neon lights of the seemingly interminable skyscrapers cast distorted blights on almost black roads and alleyways. Autumnal leaves, though now scarcer, twirled around in the cold gusts of night wind. The sky was dark and clouded, hiding away its Lady of the Night behind thick coats of cumuli.

His gaze fell on the pot of long withered lilies, a birthday gift for Katherine that Yuuri had so meticulously and gently crafted. Not even flower stems were left of it, Victor assumed they had long decomposed alongside the petals.

He had considered tossing them out. A lot of times. Much more than he'd care to admit, and yet, he just never got around to do it, perhaps out of sadness or simply guilt. He felt remorseful and pathetic every time he had looked at those lilies: so, many painful memories were tied to this medium-sized pot of plants, and yet, he just couldn't bring himself to get rid of it.

He shivered as a breeze pierced through his thin bathrobe, sending his damp locks of silver hair into a frenzy. He murmured a few words under his breath and decided to come back inside, but not before glancing at the nocturnal skyline one last time.

He carefully closed the balcony door behind him, to not wake up his beloved companion, who laid peacefully asleep on its cushion. Sighing anew, he sank onto the soft couch and tossed his legs over. Hands behind his head, he glanced over at his wall clock. It was just a little after eleven, but he didn't feel sleepy at all, despite all the errands he had been running today.

Well, that's not to say that he felt energetic, either. He was exhausted but didn't want to sleep, that's what it was all about.

For a brief moment, he considered turning on the television, but then quickly realized that the late-night programs would be dark and gloomy, if not downright disturbing, which would definitely not help his already miserable state.

Yawning, he pulled out his phone. His long fingers instinctively trailed over to Instagram, but he caught himself as he was about to press on the little icon. He didn't want to know what the hell his friends were up to, nor did he really care. Growing ever-so-slightly irritated, he instead scrolled over to Whatsapp, clicked a far too familiar face, and hit the call button, not quite knowing why.

He pressed his phone against his ear, his anxiety growing with every beep.

Was he still asleep? It must be around 8 over there, Victor thought, as the beeps came and went, like an incessant mantra.

And right as he was about to give up and toss the phone, the beeping stopped and a voice came crashing through.

"Hey, Vic, what's up?" the voice called out. A little chuckle resonated through the dynamic. "Sorry, I mistook my ringtone for my alarm, kept pretending to hit snooze."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Chris," Victor replied. "I just wanted to see what you were up to, is all."

"Ah, well, as you can clearly tell, I just woke up," Chris replied with another chuckle. "Are you okay though? You seem a bit down..."

"Oh...yeah, I'm fine," Victor blurted out, seemingly convincingly. "I'm just tired, it's pretty late here."

"Vic, you do realize that I can tell the difference between your tired voice and your sad voice, right?"

"You can?" He shot back, genuinely surprised. His reaction was met with an ominous laugh through the speakerphone.

"You'd be surprised how many little things I managed to pick up on," Chris said. Even without seeing his face, Victor could still visualize his sly grin.