15 May 1897, Evening.
Yu watched as Mika's expression shifted. At first, Yu thought he saw Mika flinch when he tasted the tea. For a moment, Yu was worried he'd done something wrong while making the tea, but, since Mika said it could be worse, he figured it was alright. Yu's words immediately released the tension from Yu's shoulders. Mika was so uptight, if he said anything nice, it had to be true.
Once Mika downed his cup, Yu eagerly refilled it. Mika immediately began gulping it down.
Yu tilted his head as he watched Mika swallow the tea so breathlessly.
Curious about just how good this tea was for Mika to drink so much of it, Yu poured himself a cup. He tipped the cup to his lips, taking in a large mouthful and swishing it around. A flood of bitterness overwhelmed his taste buds, making him gag and nearly spit it out.
This tea is burnt, he deduced, cringing and trembling as he forced himself to swallow. Tears welled at the corners of his eyes. Very seriously burnt.
Who could ingest anything this bitter?!
This stuff, he thought decisively, is absolutely not fit for human consumption.
Yu turned his attention back to Mika. His eyes widened in horror as Mika tipped the rest of that vile beverage into his mouth, finishing his second cup gracefully and with more willpower than Yu could imagine.
Yu's mouth fell open in shock as he leaned away from the beast who could drank such bitter tea so easily. Mika's manliness was at a much higher level than Yu ever anticipated! And since when was Mika nice enough to pretend something so awful tasted so good?
Mika's mouth didn't smile, but his eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement.
"You… You," stuttered Yu, struggling to comprehend the situation before him. "Quit drinking that! Why are you drinking that?! That tea is revolting! Seriously revolting! It's tea that will be remembered in infamy! This stuff should only be used as part of a punishment game!"
"Thirsty," said Mika softly, his voice no longer as hoarse as before.
"I don't know who brought it in, but I think I saw some milk in the kitchen. I'll be right back," said Yu urgently. He snatched the empty teacup from Mika's hand and placed both of them on the platter with the teapot. He started to walk out of the room but, after a thought, he abruptly returned and grabbed the platter with the tea set. He decided to take it with him to the kitchen to keep Mika from drinking more. After all, Mika's condition was clearly not normal.
The thought of Mika ingesting any more of that repulsive fluid made Yu tremble with disgust. The tea was so bad, even Yu felt shame. Even though Guren only said to be friendly with Mika for the sake of business, he couldn't let anyone he didn't hate drink something like that!
…Well, except for maybe Guren.
And Yu somehow had the horrifying feeling that Mika really would drink more of it if he left it in the room unguarded.
Minutes later, Yu raced back from the kitchen, a pair of cool milk bottles in either hand. When he passed through the octagonal room, he quickly jumped up as he spotted a pair of legs out of the corner of his eye and stumbled.
Yu spun on his feet before regaining his balance, feeling grateful for the lids on the milk.
He shot an accusatory glare at Mika, who was sitting on the floor and leaning against a wall. He looked awfully disheveled, sitting there in yesterday's clothes. Yu was late to notice it, but he wasn't surprised that Mika hadn't changed, given how awful he looked.
"What are you doing up? I said I'd be right back!" said Yu with a scowl, feeling out of place as the one doing the scolding rather than the one being scolded.
Mika's weary blue eyes gazed up at him with a bemused but tired expression.
"Had to," he panted, obviously having overexerted himself before Yu arrived, "use the toilet."
Yu looked at Mika with an accusatory expression, but his anger melted the more he saw.
Mika's messy bed hair reminded Yu of a fluffy, yellow chick. Yu suddenly felt an urge to ruffle Mika's unkept hair. Instead, he grasped the milk bottles more tightly. Mika's clothes were wrinkled and unbuttoned, in a complete disarray after sleeping in them. Yu thought this sloppy appearance was surprisingly refreshing. Mika looked nice with his wavy hair always brushed smooth and cleanly-pressed clothes, but this roughed-up bedhead look wasn't bad either. Yu recalled Mika's appearance after they fled through the woods. Even though Mika's hair had been plastered to his face and neck with sweat and he had been covered with leaves, twigs, and dirt, his appearance still made Yu's heart race. He wondered how Mika would look dressed other ways.
Or undressed.
Feeling a brush rising up his cheeks, Yu placed the cool milk bottles against them.
Mika raised an eyebrow at him and turned his head as he looked up at Yu, his breathing rapidly improving from a moment before. From this angle, Yu was able to see down Mika's collar to the curve of one of his collarbones.
Yu pushed the cool milk bottles more firmly against his cheeks.
Head out of the gutter, he commanded himself. How could he be thinking like that toward a sick guy?
"Have you rested up, Mika? Let's go back to your room," he said. He reached one hand out to Mika before realizing both his hands were full. "Wait," he mumbled and awkwardly glanced at his hands before lighting up like a brilliant idea hit him. "I'll go put these in your room and then come back to get you, so stay put!"
Yu ran to Mika's room, hoping the exercise would clear his head a bit. He placed the bottles on the nightstand as he sighed to himself. No matter how cute Mika was, wasn't it rude to stare at him like that when he looked half-dead?
Yu took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on regaining his self-control. After a moment, he exhaled and stepped into the hall.
Where was the sick patient who Yu had repeatedly told to stay put? Wobbling down the hall toward Yu, awkwardly dodging deer heads and other decorations as he leaned unsteadily against the wall.
"Mika!" growled Yu as he stormed over to the noble brat. "Why are you up again?"
"I don't… need your help," said Mika simply as he panted for breath, as if that explained anything.
Flabbergasted, Yu put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. Yu wasn't sure just what kind of mental defect this wastrel had, but could pride really carry someone to push his health so much? Somehow, it felt more like Mika was driven by fear rather than hubris.
After spending so much time with Mika yesterday, Yu still didn't understand it but believed Mika was not as obscenely proud as he first appeared. Mika had agreed to a bet with him and didn't stay outside in danger just to win. He didn't even argue about it after they got back, despite the fact that Yu took advantage of Mika's poor condition to win.
As Yu pondered, he walked patiently by Mika's side. Although Mika was tottering, Yu didn't touch him and only stood within catching distance.
There was something odd about Mika. Although he acted so defensively all the time that he was practically as prickly as a porcupine, it didn't make sense for him to be so on guard against his father's guests. It was almost like he was raised having to rely on himself and only on himself or else the consequences would be dire. Yu recognized the sentiment since he himself grew up with no one to rely on, but why would Count Bathory's child be raised like that?
Yu recalled Guren's words about the count being from an old family, and his gut churned with unease. Just what exactly was Ferid and Mika's relationship?
Suddenly, Mika lost his balance, distracting Yu from his thoughts. Yu shuffled up to him, but Mika righted himself before Yu could grab him. Yu unhappily pulled his hands back, still longing to touch Mika even briefly.
He wasn't sure why Mika was so wary, but he was determined to find out before he and Guren left. So what if Mika might not like men? How could Yu leave a friend alone when something was clearly wrong?
They finally reached Mika's room, and Mika just barely reached his bed before dropping on it, completely out of breath.
Somehow, Yu had the feeling Mika had done this before.
Yu sat across from Mika, sitting in the chair he pulled out earlier.
"You really don't look so good, Mika," he said, trying to enlighten his stubborn companion about his condition.
Mika rewarded him with another glare.
Yu felt like Mika was almost as obstinate as him. Almost.
Yu lowered his gaze with a sigh and noticed a couple of bruise marks on Mika's neck. His eyes locked onto them as his fingernails dug into his knees. He remembered Guren's words about Mika snogging one of the maids last night.
"Mika," said Yu, his tone more irritable than he intended, "what's that on your neck?"
Mika's expression suddenly turned serious, and he quickly covered his neck with a hand, making him look even more suspicious. Yu's gut clenched, but he breathed deeply.
"Is that from your girlfriend?"
Mika appeared confused.
"You know, your… lover. The person you want to marry and have children with… You were with Chess late last night," prodded Yu, trying to remain calm.
"Oh," said Mika with a relieved tone as he suddenly realized what Yu meant. "I don't have that kind of relationship with her."
"She was kissing you," interjected Yu more snappily than he intended as he prayed Guren was wrong.
"She was drunk," said Mika, stating his words carefully. "She came after me. She would have gotten you, too, if she could. In the end, she caused so much trouble, Horn slapped her, and Crowley had to lift her up by her arms to restrain her."
Yu's tension left his body, making him feel limp.
"Oh, so you're not," started Yu, "not uh…"
"She's not my lover. Neither Chess nor Horn is. You better not pursue them either since they—"
"Okay!" agreed Yu happily before Mika could finish. Yu wasn't attracted to them. Even though Guren occasionally "admired the scenery," he avoided romantic entanglements. It was for completely different reasons than Yu, but Yu had no doubts Guren wouldn't be dating anyone anytime soon.
"Does this mean you aren't dating anyone, Mika? Me neither!" said Yu with a clumsy-looking grin as he tried to avoid smiling too hard. His heart rapidly pitter-pattered in his chest.
Mika gazed at him with a perplexed expression before he redirected their conversation.
"Anyway, Chess caused so much trouble, she was punished with toilet duty for the rest of the month."
"Toilet duty?" asked Yu, trying to bring his excitement back down to earth.
"Yes. She has to clean the bathroom for the rest of the month," repeated Mika, explaining it slowly like he was speaking to a child.
"Wait," said Yu, the gears in his head turning slowly. "If she has to clean the restroom now, then who has been cleaning it all this time? I mean, it's been well-kept. Was the other maid cleaning it?"
"No," said Mika with a deadpan expression. "I was."
So, every time Yu or Guren missed the target or had some wild drops, the one who cleaned all of that up over the past ten days was…
Yu's face turned red again, and he put his face in his hands. This time, it wasn't because of Mika's enticing figure but of genuine embarrassment. His crush had been mopping up his leaks all this time. No, wait, what kind of noble made his son clean the toilets in the first place?!
Too disconcerted to think clearly, he forgot to ask why Mika had personally been cleaning the toilets, especially when he had servants around.
After a while, Mika got himself dressed, and Yu walked with him down to the kitchen. Yu was horrified to learn Mika hadn't eaten anything since their mid-afternoon breakfast the previous day. No wonder he was so weak and pale! Just what had Chess done to keep Mika and the other staff members so busy all night? Since Mika said he and Chess weren't lovers, Yu began to privately blame the maid for Mika's current state.
"Mika," said Yu, watching Mika carefully since Mika still insisted on walking on his own, "why don't you have a seat here at the dining table while I get some food?"
"I remember… what happened to the tea," retorted Mika breathlessly, stubbornly walking into the kitchen.
"You still drank that tea," mumbled Yu, diligently following him. "Two cups, even. Do you have an iron stomach? Or just no taste buds? Or does everyone around here have no sense of taste, which is why no one else can cook decent food?"
He hoped his teasing might make Mika perk up, but, unfortunately, Mika didn't react.
When Yu entered the kitchen, he saw a maid with shoulder-length dark hair and a guilty expression on her face sitting on a stool. Standing next to her stood a tall, muscular man with a mahogany braid trailing down his back.
"Ah," gasped Yu in surprise. "C-Crowley!"
It was the strong coachman, the one who lifted Guren's and Yu's luggage like it was nothing! Yu hadn't seen him after reaching the castle, and this was the first time he got to see Crowley clearly. He had smooth, pale skin and pointed ears like everyone else here and appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had a squared-off jaw and russet bangs, which brought attention to his relaxed, wine-colored eyes and broad, lazy grin. If Ferid had a creepy, effeminate kind of beauty, then Crowley had a comfortable, distinctly masculine bearing.
If Yu hadn't been so enamored with Mika, he wouldn't mind becoming closer to this man.
Yu's eyes moved to the young woman next to him, and his expression automatically shifted to an accusatory glare. If Chess was the one responsible for Mika's condition getting so bad, then the least she could do was—
"I'm so sorry!" said Chess in German, abruptly standing up and bowing her head with her hands folded in front of her. "I really overdid it last night!"
"Chess drank too much and caused us quite a bit of trouble," explained Crowley to Yu in English.
"Oh," said Yu, a bit surprised by the sudden apology. Seeing Chess's pitiful expression caused his anger to deflate. Apparently, Mika had really told the truth about Chess going wild. Yu made a mental note to avoid her if he saw her drinking, or maybe he would just redirect her toward Guren.
He turned his head to watch Mika's reaction.
"I'll be… fine," said Mika, still so pale and shaky-looking that it made Yu's gut twist. Mika's expression was difficult to read, so Yu didn't know whether Mika truly forgave Chess or not. It looked like everything was resolved, but Yu had to wonder if he wouldn't see a repeat of this scenario before he and Guren left.
"Have a seat," said Crowley, gently pulling Mika to the stool Chess had been sitting on. He looked closely at Mika's face and lightly held Mika's wrist for several seconds. The corner of Yu's mouth twitched with irritation, and he had to stop himself from getting between them. Obviously, Mika was more relaxed with Crowley's touch than with Yu's.
The realization made Yu grimace for a moment, but he quickly smoothed out his expression. Mika's known Crowley longer, he convinced himself, so it's natural for him to be less standoffish.
"Mika's condition is acting up again," announced Crowley somberly, releasing Mika's wrist.
"His condition?" asked Yu, forcing his eyes away from Mika and up to Crowley's face instead.
"Mika has always had a fragile constitution. He becomes sick and worn-out easily, so we must be conscientious about his health. As long as he gets plenty of rests and fluids and eats enough meat, he's should recover just fine," said Crowley, stepping away from Mika sending Yu a reassuring glance.
"Oh," said Yu, feeling relieved. He tried to pretend all his relief was about Mika recovering and not from Crowley stepping away from Mika. He tried to quell the jealous ache in his heart.
"He just needs to be careful to not push himself too hard, or he might not be able to get out of bed the next day."
Cold sweat dripped down Yu's back as he recalled goading Mika to a hunting competition the day before because he wanted to take advantage of Mika's illness. If Chess were guilty, then wasn't Yu just as bad?
He glanced at Mika with an ashamed expression, but Mika didn't seem to notice.
"Anyway," said Chess in German, snapping Yu out of his thoughts, "I brought some fresh meat, so please enjoy it!"
"Chess, you still need to try speaking in English," chastised Crowley softly in German.
"Tomorrow! I'll speak in English tomorrow," replied Chess. Her attitude about speaking English reminded Yu of his own attitude about homework.
Mika nodded slowly. "I see. Thank you," he told them somewhat stiffly.
Chess glanced back at Mika with a worried expression as Crowley ushered her out of the kitchen, and they left.
"Urk," muttered Yu as the servants left. "I need to apologize, too. It looks like I also… made you over-exert yourself yesterday…"
"It's fine. It doesn't matter," said Mika, forgiving him as if he never held him accountable in the first place.
Yu frowned. "It matters," he said quietly.
"It looks like Chess brought us some rabbit," continued Mika, ignoring him. He gestured to a hunk of meat on the counter. It had already been skinned.
The way Mika disregarded his health so carelessly made Yu uncomfortable, but he kept his worries to himself.
Mika insisted on cutting the vegetables, but he let Yu help him as they prepared a rabbit stew. Since it would be a few hours before it was ready to eat, Mika quickly made some over-easy eggs and toast, preparing it easily.
Mika sat on the stool in the kitchen and dipped his toast in egg yolk before bringing it to his mouth, acting more like an experienced servant than a fancy noble who always sat at the dining table with attendants waiting on him hand and foot.
Yu thought his lips looked divine.
"So, um, um," stuttered Yu, trying to get his mind off Mika's mouth, "do you guys hunt for all of your meat?"
Mika swallowed the bite of toast and drank some milk to wash it down.
"Yes," he answered listlessly. "Most of the time, anyway. The people here are quite good at hunting."
"Oh?" said Yu, attempting to get Mika to elaborate and failing. Mika appeared to be in deep thought about something. That, or he was too tired to chatter much longer with Yu.
Yu stifled a weary sigh as he gazed Mika and wondered what it would take to make Mika open up to him.
"So your family has lived in this castle for generations, right?" asked Yu, leaning against the counter. "That's what Guren said, anyway."
Mika didn't answer.
Yu's expression wilted. Well, he thought, time for my trump card.
"I always thought it would be wonderful to live in a castle," he said.
He watched for a reaction from Mika, but it didn't come.
"I grew up in London's slums. My parents didn't live a very… clean life. My dad dealt in opium and other illicit drugs. He drank a lot and worked odd hours. I don't remember him saying what kind of work he did, but he would say things like he 'got a job' doing something. He would come back covered with bruises and a bloody lip. Mom would patch him up, and he'd go out and spend all his money on booze. Mom liked liquor, too, but she what she really liked was the opium.
"Anyway, we often had trouble paying rent, and dad would lose his temper. He ended up beating my mom and me. Mostly me. Mom would just laugh it off and smoke more opium. If I got hurt too badly, she'd make me smoke some, too. She usually kept it to herself, though.
"If I had the chance, I'd run away from home for a few days at a time to get away from dad until his liquor ran out, and he finally sobered up. When he was out of booze, it meant we hardly had any money left for food, but at least he didn't hit me as hard as when he was drunk."
Yu glanced at Mika, who was eating quietly. Even if Mika tried to keep an apathetic expression, the small wrinkle between his eyebrows betrayed him. When Mika slowly turned to look at him, Yu continued.
"When I was seven, my dad was convicted of robbery and murder. He bludgeoned a man to death in the streets and mugged him for a few farthings. Witnesses said he wanted the guy to buy him another beer, even though he'd already been kicked out of a few bars that night alone. Even though he was my dad, I was happy he was would never come back home and I could just spend time with my mom.
"Mom was different, though," continued Yu with a dark expression as he stared at the kitchen in front of him. "Maybe it was because he didn't beat her as hard as me, or maybe all the opium made her too numb to pain. She kept blaming me for Dad's incarceration. Dad couldn't beat me anymore, so Mom took his place. She screamed at me and called me a demon child. She didn't hit me as hard as Dad did, but it still hurt…
"Even though she never protected me, she never beat me before then. I thought she was a good mom.
"After Dad's court date was decided, Mom flipped out. She stank from the opium. When I got home, she beat me with a rolling pin until I didn't get up anymore. Then, poured kerosene all over the floors and lit a match. When the house began burning, she started laughing and smoking opium again. I crawled out of the house with only a few burns on my arm." Yu casually rubbed his right forearm. "I'm not sure she ever noticed me leave. Eventually, the fire brigade arrived, but the shack was pretty small to begin with. It collapsed, and Mom was only a charred husk under the rubble. All her hair had been burned to nothing, so it was impossible to recognize her… It's just that, no one had been in the house but her.
"I thought I loved my mom," said Yu slowly as he turned toward Mika. A remorseful expression aged his face, making him look much older than he really was. "I thought I loved her, but, when I escaped, I never called for help… I was scared she would pull me back in. People noticed the fire, but I still abandoned her. I left her behind. Does this make me a bad person, Mika?"
Mika had finished his toast, but his eggs remained cold and forgotten on his plate. Yu smiled softly. He had finally gotten Mika's full attention.
"She gave birth to you, but she wasn't your mother. Your 'dad' wasn't your father either. Even if they gave you life, they weren't your parents... Being a parent is more than just making a child," said Mika carefully, his expression serious and somber. It was as if he had thought about this before. Maybe he'd even thought about it often. "They were only villains who bullied you, and you escaped with your life. What's wrong with that?" He put a forkful of egg into his mouth as if they were only talking about normal matter.
Yu's heart thrummed in his chest. Mika's tone was accepting but without pity, which Yu was grateful for. He had no need for pity over something that happened eight years ago, after all. Yu smiled sadly.
"Why are you telling me this anyway?" asked Mika, briefly making eye contact with Yu. "Those people didn't make you who you are."
"I want you to trust me, so I decided to trust you first," said Yu with a grin.
Mika looked away, and Yu let him eat the rest of his meal in silence.
