Chapter 10 after a long break.

I don't plan to end this fic yet. Yeah, they still got more things to go through and Yuuri haven't come yet. Well, now I'm sure that they still need more time before Yuuri finally enters the scene.

Okay then, let's start this chapter!

Anissina wiped her sweat. That summer was the hottest summer she had ever felt. The sun shone all the day, even when it was 10 p.m., the sky was still blue. But, she still thanked the sun for shining all day long, because from that, she got an idea to make several machines using the solar energy and she could test them right away after she finished making them.

"Time to call Gwendal", she muttered to herself and smiled.

Anissina went out of her laboratory, she went to the castle's office immediately, knowing that Gwendal usually sat there all day long. She quickened her pace because she was too impatient to test her new machines and giggles escaped her mouth all the way to the office. She entered the office and slammed the door behind her.

"Hey, Gwendal. I want you to try my new inventions", she said cheerfully and walked closer towards his desk.

'Inventions? That 's' means there's more than one to try', he thought. Gwenal looked at her eyes and after a second of silence, he replied, "No".

"Oh, please. It's going to be the greatest things that the people of Shin Makoku ever know of!" she told him with a higher tone.

"You want me to try those things? What if I run out of maryoku because of them? Because you never success, you always fail!" he argued.

"That's not true!" she shouted and pounded the table with her palms. "I'm the one who made the coffee-maker-kun! You like it so much that everyday you drink coffee that the thing made!"

"Yes, I admit that you are successful in making that thing and a few others. But mostly, you fail and you often drag me closer to death!" he shouted back at her.

"I don't want to know about that! I'm not asking you again!" she shouted at him very loudly and turned away from him. She quickly went out of the office and for the second time, slammed the door behind her, but this time the sound was much more louder than the first.

Gwendal sighed deeply after she left the room.

He tried not to mind her because she was always like that, but nonetheless, he still did. She was his friend, and once his lover, of course he wouldn't be able to think of her as a complete stranger . She was never a stranger to him and he learned the hard way that he was still in love with her. Anyway, he thought that he was too hard on her earlier. A part of him wanted him to apologize to her and helped her with her research, and the other wanted him to stay away from her.

Gwendal tried to diverted his thought, he tried to carefully read the paper he wanted to sign, but he couldn't do that. He was still thinking of her. He sighed again and took his knitting tools from the drawer and started to continue his half finished teddy bear. The knitting yarn became twisted and the more he tried to fix it up the more twisted it became. He put away his knitting tools, knowing that knitting wouldn't help him. He stood up from his seat and went out his office to look for Anissina.

Gwendal was going to knock at her laboratory when she heard her speaking. He decided to listen at what she was saying.

"Now, I have to do this alone", she said. "Gwendal doesn't want to help me. Well, he was right when he said that. I always fail. Maybe, those which I have successfully invented, they are just coincidence".

Gwendal cleared his throat. He wanted to know to whom she was talking to. So he stayed there and listened again.

"Maybe, I should stop. I should become a normal noble lady. Going to balls everyday, buying some silk dresses, getting married...", she said. Gwendal's heart stopped when he heard 'Getting married'. Then, she continued, "Yeah, that won't be so bad. Maybe, I'll get a son or a daughter... No, maybe not. I'll get several sons and several daughters. My house will be full of children. That's nice, right?"

No one answered her.

"Why are there no marriage proposals when I want them so badly!" she grumbled.

Gwendal decided that it was the time to knock at the door.

"Who's that?" she asked from the inside of the room.

"It's me", he said with his usual cold voice.

"Ah, Gwendal", she said as she walked towards the door to unlock it. She looked at him and said, "Have you changed your mind?"

"No, not yet", he replied.

"So, what do you want now?" she asked, from her voice he knew that she was still angry about the thing earlier. "You still want mock my failures?"

"I'm here to apologized", he said. "I'm being rude to you earlier. You're not that bad. You just lack of experience".

She looked at him, her face looked surprised and it was very obvious that she questioned his sincerity when he said that.

"I really mean it. I really think that you're great. You are the number one scientist in the whole world. I think no one rivals you. You're obviously a real genius", Gwendal said. When he realized what he had just said, he blushed. "That's all I want to tell you".

She let her lips curved into a beautiful smile. It had been such a long time since he saw that smile. The smiles she was giving him after the break up were not like this one smile. Then, a surge of happiness came inside him, but he tried to hide it and covered it with wrinkles on his forehead. Gwendal looked at her for a while. Suddenly, Anissina gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"What did you just do!" he asked her. His face turned to red.

"Bye!" she said and closed her door. Gwendal was surprised with her response, but after that he went back to his office.

Anissina couldn't believe what she had just done to him. She was happy that finally she was able to be close to him. A kiss on his cheek was not bad at all, though it wasn't as romantic as a kiss on his lips. But, it was better than nothing at all. After all, she was just playing with him. It was nothing serious to her. She was just teasing him because he was so serious. Yeah, that was because he was so serious. Anissina smiled weakly. Uncertain of the reasons she gave to herself for kissing him.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, trying to forget the kiss. She went back to finish her job as she tried to divert her own thoughts and then the sound of hammer pounding was heard all over the castle.

'To who was she talking when she was inside?' Gwendal thought as he remembered what Anissina said inside her laboratory. The thought of Anissina forgetting her inventions seemed unimaginable for him. She was always so proud of her job as an inventor, what would be left in her if she wasn't an inventor anymore?

He hated that she used his life as a game when she tried to invent something, but he liked the passion she had for her job. He always loved to see her happy face when she finally finished making her machines, though she failed many times. But, wasn't that the way of inventing things? An inventor had to be faced with unsolved problems so that they would found things that would solve the problems. Wasn't that the way it worked?

Gwendal was tired. He put his head on the table and closed his eyes for a while. He fell asleep not long after that.

Gwendal yawned. He opened his eyes lazily, wondering how long he had been asleep and then decided to go back to his room. When he was closing the door behind him, Anissina passed him by. She looked at him for a while and decided to have a chat with him.

"Have you finished your work?" she asked and both of them walked together along the alley.

"Not yet", he said.

"But, you've been working all day", she said. Gwendal realized that she was concern about him and she had really forgotten about their fight in the afternoon.

"That's not true", he told her. "I fell asleep. I didn't sign any paper at all".

"Well, that's unusual for you", she said with her index finger under her chin.

"Unusual, huh?" he repeated.

"But, that definitely means you need to rest", she said and smiled gently at him. He didn't answer and she continued, "Um, by the way, thanks for saying that I'm the best inventor in the whole world. It kinda made me happy".

"Well, you should not thank me. That's the truth anyway. And I just want you to realize that", he said.

"Anyway, thanks", she said. Before the both of them realized, they were in front of Anissina's room. So she said good night to him and entered her room. After Anissina left him, Gwendal walked alone to his own room, still wondering to who Anissina was talking when she was inside her laboratory, but he never got a chance to ask her the question.

TBC

Well, this chapter is for the transition of the status(from lovers to friends).

Since they are not lovers anymore, they start to keep more secrets, but still want to know about each other. Yet, those curiosities won't be directly said because they're just friends.

I change my mind... next chapter is about Yuuri's coming to the Shin Makoku! :D

Thanks for reading!

I appreciate reviews greatly, give me some if you feel like you want to! :D

See you on the next chapter!

~Pheria~