Break a Butterfly

Collige Virgo Rosas

"What do you think?" Viktor asked, a glint in his eyes and a playful smile on his lips, where he pressed his left index finger mischievously. His lacy white gloves fit his fingers perfectly.

"Ah- um.." Yuuri stammered, flustered. At last, he murmured "Beautiful..." as he stared down at the picnic basket. He felt very warm, and fiddled with his shirt cuffs.

"The basket is beautiful, isn't it?" Viktor teased. Yuuri lifted his eyes. "Well, let's take this beautiful basket and-"
"You're beautiful," he said softly. Viktor froze, smile still in place on his lips. Clearly, he hadn't anticipated that Yuuri would actually repeat himself.
"Thank you," he replied quietly, eyes tender and cheeks pink.

In that moment, Yuuri wanted to say a lot more, do a lot more, than merely call him beautiful. He refrained, and instead picked up the basket. "Mn," was all he managed to reply, and the two of them walked to the entry hall. Yuuri put on a navy blue coat, and Viktor pulled his heavy cloak over his shoulders. They shared a quick glance, each turning away when they realized the other had also looked.

They flagged down several taxi carriages, but it took a considerable amount of convincing to get a driver to finally agree to be a part of their spontaneous adventure. The ride would be a few hours, but Viktor seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the journey. To either side of them, the snow had been pushed into banks tinted with mud. The carriage bumped along the cleared road, and the pair of them swayed where they sat.

In their time together, Yuuri realized, they had never travelled beyond the city and its surrounding suburban areas. Viktor had one of his delicate hands pressed against the cold glass window, eyes coasting over the features of the passing landscape. His mouth was slightly open; he seemed mesmerized. The rolling hills were blanketed in thick snow. Farms, houses, and trees dotted the vast ocean of white that stretched out in all directions. It seemed so otherwordly, almost imaginary. His hand laid over Viktor's, Yuuri wondered to himself if this was what the surface of the moon looked like, wondered if there was ever lunar spring. Was there still life up there in the distant sky?

The trees, sparsely distributed from being cleared for farmland, gradually began to thicken. Most were coniferous, with a few deciduous twisting their naked branches like arms outstretched. With a pang of sadness, Yuuri could not help but consider when the last time was that Viktor had seen so many trees. He suspected years, if not decades, and leaned closer into Viktor's warm frame, squeezing his hand.

Within the hour, they arrived at their destination. People enjoyed coming here to camp and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. That was more of an activity for warmer seasons, but some individuals still participated in ice-skating on the small lake nearby. The ice was not thick enough for it at the moment, Yuuri suspected. It really was a shame, because although he had not gone and done it in a while, he loved to skate. He was too self-deprecating to ever admit it, but he was rather skilled. He wondered if Viktor would care for it too, if given the chance.

They would have to come back at some point; with spring right around the corner, Yuuri was uncertain that there would be a good opportunity until the end of the year. The image of VIktor elegantly gliding along the reflective, serene lake was an alluring scene to imagine. Even more so was the dangerous thought that followed: Yuuri's arm around Viktor's waist, teaching him patiently and intimately. It was enough to make Yuuri's feeble heart skip a beat.

The carriage rolled up to a cleared area near the lake's edge and came to a halt. Viktor leaned over Yuuri to get a better look at the lake, eyes wide and effulgent. His cloak and hair draped over Yuuri's lap as he did so, but if Viktor noticed than he did not care.

"Wow! It's... so big," he said, staring in amazement. "That's all water?"

Yuuri nodded and smiled. "But it's frozen right now, as you can see." Yuuri moved to open the door, and Viktor hastily retreated to get out of his way. The instant the door cracked, chilly air permeated the space. They stepped down into the powdery snow, squinting in the sudden brightness. The sun wasn't out, but the white, holeless, unending sheet of clouds above their heads was still enough to light up the snow to where it was difficult to look at.