Twelfth fic for a Pride Month prompt challenge from tumblr. Prompt: fairytale.

This got long and rambly, I'm sorry.

Once upon a time, in a land where the lakes were deep and the hills were high, there lived a king named Viktor. He was handsome, with soft silver hair like moonlight and eyes as bright and blue as the ocean, beloved of his people, and a fair and just ruler, but he was also very lonely. His only companion was his faithful dog Makkachin, who was always by Viktor's side in the palace. While this companionship cheered Viktor, he still felt a gap in his heart – but he did not know what he needed to fill it.

Late one night, Viktor was riding home through the forest. He had never been out in the forest so late before and soon became lost. He rode in circles, all the trees beginning to look the same no matter where he went. Just as he was beginning to tire, Viktor made his way through a dense clump of trees and found himself on the bank of a lake. Despite it being a warm midsummer's night, the lake was frozen and mist rolled off it in waves. Moonlight, soft and silver like Viktor's hair, glinted off the cold surface off the lake, casting the trees into icy brightness. Viktor marvelled at the scene but then found himself struck dumb as he noticed a figure skating on the ice. The man was beautiful, even from a distance, with dark hair and a sweet face, and he skated effortlessly, seeming almost to fly.

Alighting his horse, Viktor called to the man. "Hello!" The shout seemed to startle the man, who stumbled and almost fell as his gaze met Viktor's. The intensity in his eyes was stunning, but Viktor continued, "Please forgive my intrusion but I've become lost in the forest and I can't find my way home!"

The man studied Viktor as he skated over, eventually coming back to a stop in front of him. Up close, he was breathtaking, with long, dark eyelashes framing gentle brown eyes. He looked Viktor up and down before asking, "You got lost?"

Viktor nodded and the man's face fell. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Yuuri," said the man.

"Yuuri..." Viktor tasted the name on his tongue, sweet like sugar and bright like sunlight. "I'm Viktor. Please... will you tell me why you look so sad when you dance so beautifully?"

Yuuri looked around at the lake before replying, "You're not here to free me."

"Free you?" asked Viktor. "What do you need to be freed from?"

Yuuri nodded. "I've been placed under an enchantment. At night I skate here but I cannot leave this place, because in the morning I return to the water and wait for night to come again."

"That's terrible!" Viktor said. "Who would do such a thing?"

Yuuri looked down at his own reflection in the ice. "Fey are tricksy. I crossed one."

"How can I help you?" asked Viktor, taking Yuuri's hands in his own. They were cold to the touch and Viktor almost cried out in surprise.

"If you want to help," explained Yuuri, "you must come back here for three consecutive nights. We must skate together on each of those nights on the same ice before the sunlight touches the lake, and after that the spell can be broken."

Viktor squeezed Yuuri's icy hands in his own. "I promise, I will free you from this enchantment!"

"Can you promise me you will be here?" Yuuri asked, face serious. "If the spell cannot be broken I may melt back into the water and never come back."

"Yes," insisted Viktor. "I swear to you, I will break this spell."

Without his skates, and needing to get home, Viktor bade goodbye to Yuuri soon after, all the while assuring him that he would be back at the next nightfall. When he returned home, it was almost dawn, and he thought sadly about Yuuri, who he knew would be alone at the lake, probably melting into the water right now. Much of his day was spent thinking of Yuuri, of his name, sweet like sugar and bright like sunlight, and those kind brown eyes.

True to his word, Viktor returned to the lake that evening, early enough that he was able to watch the surface of the water solidify and crystallise in the light of the moon and a figure rise from the ice, glinting like starlight and unmistakeably Yuuri. They skated for hours, turning and spinning, never taking their eyes from each other, and by the time Viktor was leaving to return to the palace he could feel something tentatively filling the empty space in his heart. He didn't know what it was but knew it was sweet like sugar and bright like sunlight.

The next night went the same: Viktor arrived at the lake early and met Yuuri before the two of them spent the night together, dancing and skating around and with one another. All the while, they talked, wanting to know more and more about each other. When the night began to grow warmer and the birds a long way away could be heard beginning to wake, Viktor felt a tug on his heartstrings at the thought of leaving Yuuri.

"You will come back, won't you?" asked Yuuri, eyes wide and wet, and Viktor wanted nothing more than to take away those tears forever.

"Of course," said Viktor. "Just think, this time tomorrow you'll be able to leave here forever."

He left soon after, just as the dark sky was beginning to lighten and pink streaks appeared at the horizon. The next day passed in a daze – all he could think of was that night, when he would be able to finally save Yuuri and bring him back to the palace.

But, of course, things never go so smoothly and the best intentions can always come to ruin.

When Viktor woke it was already dark – he must have slept longer than planned! He leapt from his bed, shocked to discover just how late it had become. Even if he rushed, he might not make it. To the sounds of the very first birds starting to rouse from sleep, Viktor rode hard into the forest, heart thundering like the hooves of his horse and a desperate fear in his breath.

By the time he reached the enchanted lake, the light was beginning to caress the tops of the trees, but the ice was still on the lake. Across the ice, head bowed and helpless tears streaming down his face, Yuuri was skating in small circles.

"Yuuri!" Viktor called, practically leaping from his horse and onto the lake. Yuuri looked up, his tear-streaked face contorting in disbelief and joy. He started to skate towards Viktor, tentatively at first but then at speed.

But then – oh then! – the sunrise breached the treeline and landed on the ice.

"No!" Viktor almost growled, still speeding towards Yuuri. "No no no, I won't let you have him!"

He raced forward, not paying any mind to the rapidly-melting ice underneath him, but Yuuri sank to his knees, clutching his chest.

"Viktor!" His voice was strained as Viktor fell to his knees too and skidded to a stop next to him. He embraced Yuuri, his cold drop of sweet sunshine. "Viktor, I can't–"

"Yes you can," said Viktor, although he could see Yuuri's skin turning translucent as the sun began to fall on him. He could feel the ice under them melting, turning to water faster than it should, but all he could think of was Yuuri, so cold but turning liquid in his arms.

"The sun feels nice," said Yuuri, and he was smiling up at Viktor, who knew this was the end. Tears came to his eyes.

"Yuuri," he whispered. "Oh, my Yuuri."

He leaned down to kiss Yuuri, meeting cold wet lips that fell away as the sun rose behind him. He screwed his eyes shut, wanting to hold the image of that one last smile forever in his heart.

But then he felt warm lips on his, a body in his arms, and his eyes flew open. Yuuri was cradled, trembling, in his arms, his brown eyes wide and surprised and a warm flush in his cheeks.

"Viktor?"

Viktor's mouth fell open and a startled laugh came fluttering out. "Yuuri!"

They held one another for a long time, crouched in the shallows of the lake, until finally Viktor got up and they went back to the palace. Viktor's heart felt full to bursting for the first time in years, the empty space inside it filled sugar and sunlight, and they lived happily for ever after.