Conrad was shaving his face. He was careful not to let the blade nick his skin and was in the middle of using the years and years of practice he had to carefully shave his Adam's apple.
Yuuri was watching him, sitting at a stool but a few feet away, hands awkwardly on the stool's seat and fidgeting from watching such a silent, cool act.
"On Earth we use things called shavers."
Conrad paused, one hand on his neck to stretch the skin that was proving difficult to shave, and glanced at Yuuri through the mirror he was using. He smiled a bit.
"Do you have any at home?" He was only curious, not teasing, so he was surprised to see Yuuri's face blossom.
"Yuuri?"
"Well, my Dad and Shori do, but..."
Admitting to a man that was at least two feet taller than you- with near to no body fat- striking features- and you happened to extremely extremely like- that you didn't shave- was downright embarrassing. Forget the fact that having Conrad in front of a mirror gave you two lovely Lord Wellers – Yuuri already felt like he was batting with a splinter against a ninety-five mile per hour curve ball when he was aiming in Conrad's league (and that was when he could only see one of them.)
"Come here."
Conrad noticed Yuuri's apprehension, his surprised face- but he beckoned him over with the blade in his right hand anyway.
Yuuri figured Conrad's voice was just too alluring- he had no problem coming to him, not falling off his seat, and waltzing over. The man was just too damn comforting for his own good.
Yuuri met with him at the sink as Conrad moved over to make room.
There were odd things sitting about, stuff you'd only see in old western movies, and Yuuri had no clue what they were. He noticed the after shave brush and powder, (no after shave gel?) and the blade sharpener... but that was about it. Other strange commodities looked at him, and they all seemed to have Conrad's low key presence all over them.
"Shin Makoku doesn't have the shaving cream you have at home. But it's pretty similar."
Yuuri felt stupid for assuming Conrad didn't know about the shaving materials back on Earth.
Suddenly the man was dipping the brush in a strange tin, and swabbing it over Yuuri's cheek.
"Wha-?!"
It smelled something like lemons and sandalwood.
Conrad chuckled and continued like nothing had happened.
Yuuri was processing the smooth feeling over his cheeks, wondering if it was supposed to feel tingly and good, when Conrad finished at his chin.
He presented him with a very, very dangerous blade.
"Don't go too fast, you'll hurt yourself. And rinse it once in awhile, or it won't run a clean cut."
Yuuri tentatively took the blade because it seemed like Conrad was offering it to him like a gift or something.
It looked like it could gut a fish. Yuuri wondered if Conrad, out on his luck, had ever had to resort to killing animals with it on those horrible scouting trips of his that took weeks. It certainly looked like it had been worn down, but the edge was breathtakingly sharp, and he could tell just by looking at it.
Conrad watched him, absentmindedly wiping off the rest of the soap from his face with a towel.
"Sorry, it's rather old, I don't really go out and by new ones, I just sharpen it. I can go get one from one of my brother's-"
"No, no."
Yuuri thought Wolfram might not approve of finding out he had been in Conrad's room, during such a … what would you even call it? Intimate act? He figured if he walked in on Wolfram shaving with another girl in the bathroom, he'd feel awkward. Wasn't this the same thing?
Guilt was almost as sharp the the tool he was about to put to his delicate flesh, but he folded it away.
"Should I sharpen it first?"
There was a smile in Conrad's voice even as he looked apologetic.
"These blades take a little skill and effort to sharpen, Your Majesty. But if you feel like learning-"
"Oh no, no, no. I was just scared I'd mess up your things...... It's Yuuri." Conrad smiled.
Yuuri couldn't help but think about all the experiences this single blade had gone through. It was strange, to hold something Conrad had probably been using for a good amount of years. It popped a few questions into his head.
"When did you buy this anyway?"
Conrad looked a bit surprised by the question, unable to think of the answer himself.
"I suppose about a year before you were born, in Earth years."
Yuuri looked anxiously at the blade that was older then him, had got to touch Conrad's face multiple times, and gulped.
"Is it... worth a lot?"
Conrad chuckled again, still smelling like that tantalizing scent of sandalwood.
"You won't break it, Yuuri. That'd be pretty difficult."
"So it is worth a lot."
"Well... let's say it was a gift."
Considering the fact that Conrad socialized with extremely rich nobles and regents, Yuuri took a wild guess and assumed that a "gift" from someone that Conrad knew would be considerably more expensive then the pocky he bought from those gas stations.
He felt bad that he probably couldn't afford something this nice to give him.
"What was it for?"
"My birthday."
It dawned on Yuuri in that one horrible, horrible moment that he did not know when Conrad's birthday was.
He was in love with the man, and he simply couldn't recall ever even asking about his birthday. Wolfram had been excited about his own, and had had a wonderful party- and even for Gwendal's birthday, people had baked him cookies and knitted him equally interesting animals. No one didn't know when Cheri's birthday was, and he made sure himself that Greta was spoiled rotten on hers.
Conrad? The man had never said anything and had just decorated the streams of colored paper like Wolfram had politely asked him to.
Conrad looked at Yuuri's awkward stare, the shaving soap still on the youth's face, and finally understood his predicament.
"Yuuri-"
"When is it?"
"Really, Yuuri-"
"You are in so much trouble."
Yuuri's pout was too adorable to be elusive to.
Conrad sighed with that side smile of his and watched as Yuuri lifted the blade to his blown-up cheek.
"I'll nick myself! I swear it!"
Conrad knew Yuuri wouldn't do it, and he knew he was kidding, but that blade was that close to his skin, and he quickly grabbed Yuuri's wrist and held it away from him.
Yuuri rolled his eyes, already guessing at Conrad's reasons.
"C'mon, I wouldn't really do it. Especially not with you right there."
He didn't know if it was a compliment or not.
For a moment Conrad lingered on his wrist, then let it go, smiling it off. But Yuuri already knew his tactics, unfortunately. Ever since 18, he could read him like a book. Hell, probably even before that. Probably since he first met him.
"You're not getting out of this, Lord Weller."
Conrad's eyes phased a strange color and sensation to that, but Yuuri couldn't really read that emotion, (there he goes, jinxing himself.) so he ignored it.
"How come we've never celebrated your birthday? I can't believe no one brought it up."
"People don't like to, Yuuri."
It was a confusing statement. Birthdays were those times where you realized you were glad someone was born, where you take pictures and then the next year you see how you all have changed, where you blow out candles and make wishes and are just glad to be alive. Conrad was probably a man that counted his blessings and didn't need to be reminded to do so, but this seemed... out of the question.
"Don't like to? Then why has your brother's-"
Yuuri sighed, not really sure how to continue. He didn't want to bring up Wolfram because Conrad was right next to him, at the smallest sink in the castle which happened to be in his room, which was probably one of the smallest rooms in the castle, and he had been dumb enough to think "Well let's see what Conrad is doing at eight in the morning on his day off since Wolfram's kicking self can't let me go back to sleep and-"
Yuuri took a deep breath and Conrad was as stoic as ever. Yuuri swooned a little. But not so much that he lost his manhood.
Conrad looked like he was preparing to give a speech when he leaned against the sink counter and sighed.
"For me, birthdays are a countdown. Wolfram's or Gwendal's are like counting upwards."
Yuuri cocked an eyebrow.
Conrad's voice softened, like he'd frighten Yuuri if he said something wrong.
"I don't have their full demon blood, so I'll probably die before Gwendal. Probably even before Wolfram. So birthdays... are a very unpleasant reminder. Even though the hate to that blood is gone, the science of it isn't."
Yuuri had been dumbstruck from the word die. He had been fighting the prejudice between humans and mazoku for years since he had become king, and he had nearly one hundred percent defeated it- but there would always be something, and Conrad always seemed to straddle between the two. Yuuri was wincing and he hadn't realized it.
The good news was that he would age at the same pace as Conrad would, considering his mother's blood, but picturing a relatively young Gwendal as Conrad was... would Conrad even age? Truthfully? Something in Yuuri's head convinced himself that Conrad would look like one of those expensive American models forever.
Then Conrad was in front of him, wiping the shaving soap from his cheek and smiling with a sad touch behind his lips. He seemed near immortal.
"Sorry I brought it up, but I would never lie to you."
"No... it's okay."
Conrad was apologizing? Hadn't he just messed up a century routine by being a nosy brat?
"Aren't you upset? How does that even make you feel..."
Conrad cocked his head.
"Actually, I think it's flattering to think that my brothers don't want to be reminded of my death. And it's not as bad as it may seem. Normally birthdays aren't so extravagant. Honestly, it only seems that way since Gunter and Wolfram love to just go over the top about things-"
"But-"
"It's really okay, Yuuri."
He was always saying that, and it wasn't working this time.
He set the blade down and it clinked against the counter top.
"Then who...?"
Conrad eyed the blade.
"That? Josak."
Yuuri sighed. He thought maybe Cheri had snuck it to him secretly, or maybe his father's dying wish was to give him that blade or-
"Josak, huh? Have you ever gotten anything else?"
"Well, probably a few things, but I don't need much."
He was lying. Conrad's eyebrow that held his scar always went in a little when he lied. That was probably the only present he had ever received. Josak had probably made him drink when he gave it to him anyway.
"Really? What else have you gotten?"
A pause.
"A... watch."
"Funny, I haven't seen those in Shin Makoku."
It wasn't really a lie. Yuuri knew he was saying it because he was afraid of making him feel like he needed to buy him something. Which was what he was feeling, regardless- he deserved something great... something like a new sheath, or boots, or God knows what else.
Conrad let out a breath.
"All right, you're learning stuff from Josak, obviously."
"Nah, I just know from watching you and paying attention to you over the years."
He only felt awkward after Conrad gave him a weird look. It was something Conrad would say on a regular basis, but coming out of his mouth was different entirely.
"I mean... I can't help but notice your... quirks, you know?"
"Quirks?"
"Yah, you've got a lot of them."
Conrad chuckled again, (he was really good at that.) and leaned on a hand to prop his tiring neck. Yuuri followed suit.
"Josak and my mother also know when I lie."
"Yah, but do they know you don't like peas?"
"Excuse me?"
"You don't like peas."
Conrad blinked and Yuuri nodded happily.
"At dinner you get seconds of almost everything. But never peas. And if you have to eat them, you kinda only take a few on your fork. You try to eat it with different stuff so you don't have to taste it."
Conrad looked completely dumbstruck as he stared back at Yuuri. A few moments passed with Yuuri just smiling, and Conrad started laughing.
"Wow, if Mother found out, she'd be horribly upset."
Yuuri soaked in the heat Conrad's laugh gave off and nodded.
"Oh, my Conrad! How will you get your nutrition now?!"
Conrad was laughing and falling over a bit from the impersonation.
"You're something else. I thought my dislike for peas was well hidden."
"You hide it better than your dislike for pickles at least..."
Somewhere in between Conrad laughing and the shaving soap, the birthday "countdowns" and not-too-far-away futures, Yuuri realized that he wanted to kiss him before it was too late. He wanted to kiss him while they were both sitting there talking about serious things and jumping to funny differences Conrad had about him, while they were tucked in the little space that was Conrad's room and the whole castle was sleeping or bustling with morning business. He wanted to kiss him because it was his day off and he worked too much, and he was pretty confident that Conrad wouldn't mind if he went ahead and did it.
The timing was a little off. Conrad's elbow smacked the soap container from his laughter, and fell into the sink with a very distracting clatter-
"Oh, damn-"
Conrad leaned over the sink and grabbed the lid to stop the rude noise it was making against the ceramic sink, and that had put him just in Yuuri's range-
Who's kiss ended up halfway on his bottom lip, mostly on his chin.
The lid to the soap container slid out anyway and continued to make an interesting noise as Conrad stared at Yuuri.
There was a strange burst of confidence coming from behind those black eyes. He was quiet, and serious faced, but he was happy and you could tell. He didn't know if it was the best time to do that, to say how he felt, or if Conrad even knew before he had done anything at all. But he wanted to know the man's birthday eventually, and if he ever decided to tell him, then he didn't want to have to have an excuse to be in his room, alone with him, if the time ever came. He was ready to stop walking to his bedroom at eight in the morning and just wake up in it instead.
"Yuuri?"
"Yah?"
"It's my birthday today."
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Yay oneshot! Don't yell at me since it's not Grip ): I've been working on that one too, it's just I'm at a rut in the road, so I'm going to hopefully be working on that between oneshots I'll be posting up... in order to get my creativity back :)
Surprised it's only like... a g rating? Me too. Normally my ratings... on drabbles and stuff... are much, much higher, haha. But there's always more oneshots.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed this. I figured I'd never heard about Conrad's shaving habits or his birthday so... does anyone actually know when it is? (Notice how I artfully avoided bringing the date up, hahha!) I know Yuuri's is July 29th.... anyway, Thanks for coming by and reading guys :) Reviews are much appreciated as always *___*
OH! And tell me if you guys have any requests for oneshots! You don't have to give me the whole idea, just something you'd like to see done. One thing I won't write is character death, though ): Sorrryyy..... I just don't feel like bawling my eyes out!! Haha!
THANKSYOUGUYS!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!