Guess who spent their entire weekend picking up two 12 hours shifts for a coworker that just quit. This girl right here. I am so tired, so please forgive me for any grammar mistakes I missed.

Chapter 25:

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Yuuri's POV [Blood Pledge Castle]

"The vote is unanimous. If you will have it, welcome to your kingdom, King Yuuri Shibuya."

Just like that, I was openly offered the throne to a country. It felt different this time. It was different. Shinou had offered me a candidacy. Gwendal and the other eight nobles offered me everything. All I had to do was accept it or decline it. If I accepted, Gwendal explained that I would have my coronation as soon as possible. If I declined, the council would hold another meeting to discuss a different heir. I was told that my decision didn't have to be immediate, but the nobles would stay at Blood Pledge Castle in case I would make my decision soon. It was so if I declined, they could easily have another meeting immediately. I nodded to show my understanding and everyone was excused. I learned that Gwendal was acting as an interim king. It should've been obvious from the authority he showed off the past couple of days. Everyone listened to him and followed his orders without thought. I briefly wondered why no one nominated him. He seemed so regal.

I cleared my throat and called out to him before he left. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

A few pairs of eyes glanced back at us in curiosity, but none of them lingered. Gwendal stared at me and waited patiently for me to continue speaking. "This is going to sound completely stupid and I know it's dangerous, but it's been on my mind since I spoke to Wolfram about it."

"The things my brother and you discuss are your own business and I would prefer you keep it that way," he said curtly.

"What?! No! This is nothing like that," I winced at how dry my throat suddenly felt. "This is about my decision. Well, it's not an answer, but it's something I feel like I should do that'll help me make my decision."

"But it's dangerous?" Gwendal questioned with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Yes."

"No."

"But..."

"If you know it's dangerous, you shouldn't have said anything in the first place," he said in irritation.

"Then call everyone back and tell them I declined the throne," I replied boldly.

His eyes narrowed. "Do you believe that whatever you're going to ask me will influence your decision that much?"

I nodded.

"What is it?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. "I want to visit the country outside of the capital and the castle. I want to see everything. Visit the surrounding lands that the nobles govern. I need to experience Shin Makoku for myself rather than rely on history textbooks."

Gwendal's expression didn't waver, but I could tell he was uncertain. "If I don't allow it, you're going to find another way, aren't you?"

I nodded again.

He sighed softly. "You spend way too much time with Wolfram and Meiline."

I didn't say anything and waited for an answer. He closed his eyes and sighed again. "I don't like it, but it you're going to be stubborn, I'm sure something can be arranged. Rumors of you have already spread throughout the kingdom. You will need a disguise and you must not do anything to draw attention to yourself, do you understand? You must not draw attention to yourself! We don't know who can be trusted anymore. You also need a guard. No arguments. It's for your safety. We can't have our new king die before he takes the throne."

I smiled. "Thank you, Gwendal."

He shook his head and mumbled something about preparations, walking out of the room and leaving me by myself. I stared at the vacant table. The meeting was very short. I expected to be sitting at that table for a few hours, but it maybe lasted thirty minutes. The rest was all up to me now. Would I become king or forget about everything and go home? I walked back to the chair I had occupied previously and slumped down in it. I laid my head on the table as the voices of the nobles echoed in my mind. It was only then that I realized I never got to hear from Shinou his exact reasons for picking me. Weren't we supposed to discuss that? I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift. Sleep almost claimed me when I was startled by the doors to the room clicking open. A pair of maids entered the room, chattering loudly about a bet. They froze when they saw me and glanced at each other with worried expressions.

"Sorry. I was just about to leave," I said, standing from my chair and moving towards the door.

They bowed to be as I left. I planned to spend the rest of the afternoon in the garden, but one glance out the window revealed that the rain had started once again. Part of me was compelled to go outside anyway, but it would make a mess and the maids would have to clean it up. I didn't want to trouble anyone.

"It is a pity. The weather, I mean," a man's voice said behind me.

Stoffel von Spitzweg stood beside me. This wasn't good. I shouldn't talk to him alone. I hummed in agreement, but made certain I wasn't planning to have a conversation with him. I turned away from him, focusing on the hallway closet to my current position. A hand grabbed my arm and its grip was tight, causing pain to shoot up my arm. My first instinct was to shake him off, but his hold was firm.

"Leaving so soon? I have so much to discuss with you, Yuuri Shibuya," Stoffel growled, pulling at my arm.

"Unfortunately, Lord von Spitzweg, I have made plans previously with Wolfram von Bielefelt. I shouldn't keep him waiting. He gets a bit of a temper if our plans get ruined." I tried to remain calm. I wasn't strong enough to pull my arm away from him. I should have taken those self-defense classes with my mom when she offered.

"You seem to have a close relationship with my nephew. The whole time I've been here, he's been by your side. Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with him?" he pressed.

"Whatever relationship Yuuri Shibuya and Wolfram has is none of your concern, Stoffel. Now, I highly suggest you release Mr. Shibuya before I personally see to it that you are banned from any further meetings," a new voice joined in.

Waltrona firmly gripped the arm Stoffel was holding me with. A fierce glare similar to Wolfram's fixed itself on Stoffel. The man released me and stalked away, cloak flowing behind him. Waltrona held his hand away from himself, staring at it as if it held a disease. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and began to vigorously scrub his hand until it was pink and raw. I wanted to inform him that doing that would be useless, but felt it was best to keep my mouth shut. Wolfram's warnings from the day before were still fresh in my mind. Impatience almost broke my will to keep silent as Waltrona continued his administrations from a few more minutes. His attention turned to me when he finally put his handkerchief back in his pocket.

"I thought that rat was up to something when I saw him lingering behind," he said.

"Thank you for stepping in, Lord von Bielefelt. I wasn't sure how to cope with him. I've only been told to avoid him," I replied.

He waved away my gratitude as if it wasn't a big deal. "They told you that with good reason. I'm sure you understand that much. I just can't comprehend why we allow that man to remain in the council. Even with Lady Cecilie's refusal, there should be someone who could take over. In fact, Shinou could very well take his place. It's ridiculous! Absurd!"

Afraid to say anything without full comprehension of the situation, I withheld any comments, but nodded anyway.

Waltrona paused to compose himself. "You said you had prior arrangements with my nephew."

"Ah. Yes. I should go find him," I replied.

"Could you tell him I wish to speak with him after dinner? I don't mean to treat you as a messenger boy. It only makes sense to ask you to relay my message since you are going to him." It was strange. He seemed adamant to show me he hasn't belittling me.

"It's no problem," I reassured him. "Thanks again."

He studied me with uncertainty. "You... and Wolfram. Are you... You're relationship is..." He trailed off shifting uncomfortably at his inference.

Lying did enter my mind as I hesitated to give an answer, but this man was Wolfram's uncle. Stoffel was a different case, but I didn't want to lie to Waltrona's face and lose his trust. I slowly started to nod. A muffled, throaty sound entered the silence. It took me a moment to understand Waltrona was laughing. After the airy sounds stopped, he spoke again.

"I guess it wouldn't matter who we declared king first. The other would rule anyway."

I smiled softly. "True."

"I wouldn't say that if you were in a relationship with anyone, but my nephew. Wolfram knows how to get what he wants and if he wants you, I'm sure you'll marry someday," he continued.

I nodded.

"I won't keep you any longer, but make sure to be more wary of your surroundings in the future," he said, ending with an almost condescending tone.

With those parting words, he left. I momentarily stared after him before deciding to go back to my bedroom. It was technically a lie that I had planned to spend time with him, but I knew he was waiting to hear what happened. He could've been elsewhere, but I felt that he was in the bedroom. I was tempted to glance in the library, but passed it when I heard Mei speaking with Gwendal in fast harsh whispered tones. If they were trying to be quiet, they were failing at it. I reached my room a little over five minutes later and entered it to find an unexpected sight.

Wolfram was wearing a paint-stained grey T-shirt dotted with small holes from years of wear. A pair of paint-stained, ripped jeans hung loosely on his hips with the rim of his boxer briefs poking out playfully. His feet were bare and tiny specks of paint had dried on them. His blond locks were pushed back with a thin burgundy headband. A spare paintbrush was stuck behind his ear. An easel stood in front of him and an old bed sheet was spread on the ground below it. Wolfram's eyes were trained on a table with a small vase of white daisies and a stack of three leather bound books embossed with golden letters.

I kept quiet as I closed the door and walked over to the bed. I sat on the edge and watched him. His tongue was sticking out slightly and was pressed against his top lip. As his eyes shifted to his canvas, his tongue shifted to the left corner of his mouth. He dropped his pallet on a small table and picked up a small container of a yellow paint. His eyes remained on his canvas as he stuck two of his fingers into the jar. He brought his paint-covered fingers to the canvas and brushed them softly against the canvas.

I had never seen Wolfram paint. The corner of his room in Japan explained for itself how messy Wolfram was when he painted. He looked like a completely different person. The way his eyes sparkled with inspiration sent shivers down my spine. He dropped his hand to his side a few minutes later. A smile tugged on my lips as I noticed a few drops of yellow paint drip from the tips of his fingers. He admired his work for a few seconds before using his shirt as a towel and wiping his fingers clean of the yellow paint. His eyes darted away from his canvas only to pick up one of the two jars of white paint. Just as he had done with the yellow paint, he dipped his fingers into the paint and scooped some up. This time, instead of brushing the canvas, his fingers dabbed at it. The process continued for another ten minutes before he let out a satisfied sigh. After wiping his fingers off again, he grabbed for the paintbrush and picked up his pallet again. I watched him paint for another twenty minutes before he set everything down. His eyes twinkled as a smile graced his lips, exposing his pearly white teeth. He slowly turned away from it and gasped when his eyes connected with mine.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

"A little over a half hour," I replied.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to disturb you. You were concentrating so hard and I'd feel like a bother if I distracted you," I said.

"You never bother me," he said quietly.

"Have you finished it?" I asked, joining him while carefully avoiding stepping on any wet paint on the sheet.

I gasped when I saw it. I expected to find another abstract painting that didn't make sense, but found an almost exact depiction of the table of books. "It's beautiful."

Wolfram frowned. "I've made a few mistakes I need to fix. I'll do it later."

I frowned back at him. "What mistakes? It's perfect."

A blush crept up his cheeks. "You're just saying that. I don't need reassurances from a wimp like you."

"I'd hardly call that a reassurance. It's a compliment, so take my compliment," I replied.

His bottom lip jutted out in a pout, but he said nothing more about the painting. Instead, he looked down at himself. He wiped some more paint on his shirt. The bottom of which looked tie-dyed with the amount of paint on it. The top half of the shirt still kept its original grey color, but was speckled lightly with paint. He itched his nose, accidentally wiping some remaining paint from his fingers that hadn't been wiped off.

"Want me to start a bath for you?" I asked.

He nodded, removing his paint-stained clothes. As I plugged the drain in the bath, Wolfram came in only clad in his boxer briefs. I couldn't stop myself from looking at the waistband where the v cut disappeared into his boxers. His hips slightly swayed in a sensual way as he neared me. I waited for him to say something, but was only rewarded with silence. Stopping myself from acting on impulse, I reached out to wipe the paint off of his nose. A confused look crossed his face until I showed him the paint on my thumb. A slight pink color darkened his cheeks as he raised a hand to his nose and he briskly marched across the bathroom to look in the mirror above the sink. Seeing a small streak of paint remaining on his nose, he turned on the faucet and scrubbed vigorously at the spot with hot water.

"Never thought you'd let yourself get so messy," I commented.

"You don't really think too much when you immerse yourself in your work. Sometimes I forget to eat and don't realize how hungry I am until I finish," he said.

"Yeah. I got that way with baseball sometimes," I agreed.

"It's almost scary how much you can get immersed."

"How long have you been working on that painting?" I asked.

He hummed. "Well, I had started it months ago before I started at Julia Academy. I transferred in soon after New Years, but I had moved to Japan the day after Christmas. Sometime before Christmas. I forgot this painting was here. I thought I had finished it. That's why the background is different. I had started this in a different room."

Oh! I knew I saw it somewhere. "It was in your room, wasn't it? I think I saw it when I was in there."

He nodded. "I saw you looking at it."

"What do you plan to do with it?" I asked.

Patting his nose dry, he turned to me with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Are you going to hang it somewhere?" I continued.

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's not good enough. I've painted better pieces."

"If you're not doing anything with it, I'm going to hand it up in our room," I declared.

Wolf turned a dark shade of red. "Idiot! I told you it's not that good! I could paint something much better for the room."

"I already told you it's beautiful." I turned off the bath faucet. "Besides, it's the first picture I've seen you paint. It wouldn't feel the same if you painted another one," I continued, staring at the clear bath water.

I was nearly knocked into the water a moment later when Wolf practically tackled me. Before I could do anything more than keep my balance, Wolf's lips latched onto mine with such intensity that I almost cut my lip with my own teeth. As quickly as the kiss started, it stopped as Wolf pulled away from me.

"I don't get you sometimes," he said in frustration, starting to run his fingers through his hair. He frowned slightly when his fingers snagged on the headband that was still in his hair. He tore it from his head and threw it across the room. His hair sprang back, making a few locks fall in front of his eyes. He puffed air at them until they were sufficiently out of the way.

Momentarily mesmerized by his actions, his words finally sunk in. I frowned. "What do you mean?"

An exasperated sigh came from him. "You say some of the most idiotic and wimpiest things, but then you easily say stuff like that. I feel like I have to physically push myself onto you for you to understand my feelings, then you just... you always just let me have my way. I have... I honestly have thoughts that you don't care that much for me. I feel like I annoy you sometimes, but I keep doing it because I think my feelings are getting through to you and maybe one day you will return them completely. Just when I start to think you're humoring me again, you kiss me first or come into my bed or say stuff that makes me feel the happiest I've felt inn years. Just like yesterday and just like right now. How do you do that? How do you so effortlessly say or do the right things just when I want them? I don't get it. I don't understand. What's going on in your head?"

"My head?" I asked.

"Yes, wimp! What are you thinking? What do you think when I kiss you? What do you think of me? What do you feel when you're with me?"

He wanted my thoughts. Alright. I could do that. "I don't know, Wolf. I'm frustrated because I only remember one thing about our past. You must've been special to me. You had to have been and I was obviously special to you. It frustrates me so much that I can't remember. What happened between us that despite being separated for years makes you still want me? Why do you like me? You could probably have anyone and you still choose me. What do I feel? I don't know. You can't be a friend. Murata and Mei are my friends, but I would never kiss them or let them kiss me. I like it when you kiss me. I like waking up in the morning and finding you there. I like having you around. You can be a brat sometimes, but I can't stop thinking how endearing it is. When I opened that door and found you painting, I felt so giddy, seeing a side of you that I've never seen before. You're so gorgeous, even when you're spattered in paint. What do I feel?"

I paused, knowing I had already resolved to myself that I would see if I could fall in love with him. "All I know is I want to keep being around you. I want to keep waking up beside you. I want to kiss you. I want... I want you."

After a short silence, I finally looked up at Wolf. "It would've been easier if you just told me you liked me," he said, blushing a furious shade of red.

His attention was directed to the wall on his right. "As for why I like you... it has little to do with the past. I thought you were hot when I first saw you. I'd seen you around the neighborhood before you transferred in. You always stopped at the convenience store by Julia Academy after baseball practice with your friends. I saw you once and happened to see you again there a week later. I found out about your routine and made it a habit to go there whenever you were there just to catch a glimpse of you. You seemed so nice and you were always laughing with your friends. I saw you help an old woman reach something off the top shelf once. I got so annoyed because none of your friends had ever said your name, but you looked so familiar somehow. I started to hate myself after that. I became a lowly person. A stalker!"

"One day, it just occurred to me that you kind of looked like the Yuuri I knew when I was a kid. I asked my mom if she had any pictures of us as kids. You had changed so much, so I wasn't sure, but you looked the same. You were always so nice to everyone around you, so I guessed it triggered some memories of you when we were younger. When I found out your name, I thought it was merely a coincidence it was the same name. Remember when I told you that you reminded me of someone who stole something important from me? I wasn't lying. You reminded me of childhood Yuuri, who by losing his memories, stole himself from me."

"I got suspicious when Meiline hung around you, so I asked my mom once again about your family. She showed me a recent picture of you all. You were Yuuri! You were the same Yuuri. My Yuuri. I fell in love with the same person twice. I couldn't believe it and I needed more proof. The ring. Did you still have the ring? I asked Murata if you had one and he told me you did wear one, but he didn't know where you got it. He said you've had it since you two first met. You kept that precious ring even though you don't remember where you got it. You even wear it everyday. How could I not like you?"

I let everything he said sink in for a moment before standing up and walking over to him. I pressed my lips against his forehead. "Thank you for loving me twice." I paused, glancing down at his face. His eyes were looking directly into mine.

"I do like you, Wolf." My hand traced the contour of his jaw. I tilted his chin up and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "You should take your bath before the water gets cold."

He nodded. "Yeah."

I left the bathroom, closing the doors behind me. I ambled over to his painting. While I didn't understand abstract paintings, I believed Wolf's paintings to be very good. He could probably be a professional artist if he wanted to, but that might just be my own bias. Looking at the canvas, I can imagine him wiping the paint onto it. The painting itself wasn't solely beautiful, but everything about it and how it was painted was beautiful. The way Wolf painted without a care to anything else going on around him was beautiful. The light from the chandelier in our room colliding with the stormy clouds outside contrasted nicely with the beautiful golden shade of yellow Wolf had painted with. I remembered the paint dripping from his fingers and spattering on the old bed sheet below. It was the yellow of a sunrise or perhaps the sunset.

I pulled a chair across the room and placed it directly in front of the canvas, careful to avoid the wet paint on the sheet. I sat in it and studied the painting a little longer. I could now see where he had painted previously. The background was a maroon color or perhaps burgundy rather than the sapphire blue of this room. The table that the daisies and books sat on was slightly different as well. The table in the painting was a walnut color with gold banding around the base. This table was rosewood and was engraved with a vine pattern around the edges.

I tore myself away from the painting to look around the bedroom. The walls were bare except for the curtains hung around the windows, so I could hang this canvas wherever I wanted. I was imagining the painting hanging to the right of the bathroom doors - where it would be the easiest to see and hard to miss every morning - when someone knocked on the bedroom door. I hesitated to go answer or call out to ask who it was. What if it was Stoffel? I stared at the double doors and contemplated pretending I wasn't here. If no one answers, the person might leave.

"Yuuri? It's Conrart. Are you in there?" Conrad's voice called out from behind the door.

"Yeah. Come in," I replied, relaxing.

Upon opening the door and seeing me sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, Conrad gave me a puzzled smile. "If you don't mind me asking, Yuuri, what are you doing?"

"Admiring Wolf's painting. He just finished it," I replied, looking over at the painting again.

Conrad moved to stand beside me. A low chuckled bubbled from his lips as he looked at the painting. "He finally finished this then. I remembered when he mixed the background color. A maid happened to walk into his room when he didn't answer the door to change his sheets. She found him covered in copious amounts of red. She screamed and nearly fainted. Wolfram was so focused he didn't even notice her. He was so confused when she apologized for screaming later that evening. I overheard her talking about it to the others. She said it was like being in a horror movie. It apparently looked like he went and murdered something or someone. She thought he was covered in blood rather than red paint. She vowed to stop watching horror movies after that."

"It must've been traumatizing," I said, feeling bad for the maid.

Conrad nodded. "She still refuses to go into Wolfram's room."

I shook my head and laughed lightly.

A short silence carried between us, but was soon interrupted by Conrad. "How are you feeling, Yuuri?"

I turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"It must be overwhelming. Gwendal told me the vote," he clarified.

I nodded in agreement. "A couple of months ago, I was only a high school student with no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life after graduation. I'm still trying to figure out if this is reality sometimes. I'm seriously considering it though. These people are counting on me, someone they barely know. They must have a lot of trust towards Shinou."

"Shinou is very trusted. He hasn't yet made a decision that created a bad outcome or an outcome that is worse than its original state. I think the only person that was trusted more than Shinou was Julia," Conrad said.

"Julia?"

"Lady Susana Julia von Wincott. Your headmaster's sister and your father's cousin if I'm not mistaken," Conrad said.

I felt like an idiot. "Oh. Right."

"You remind me of her."

"I do?"

"Yes. Your personalities are very similiar. Though, I'm not surprised. The von Wincott personality shines through all of the family's descendents. You are a von Wincott through and through," Conrad said, smiling softly.

"Were you close to Julia?" I asked.

He tensed. "Very. She was my best friend. Unfortunately, others did not think so. She was to be wedded to Lord von Grantz's son, Adelbert. She loved him very much, despite his brusque personality. She could always see the good in the most repulsive people. She claimed being blind gave her a perspective others didn't have. She could not judge anyone based on appearances, but only how others treated her. Despite Alderbert loving her back and trusting her completely, he didn't trust me and forbade me from seeing her. His father even threatened me. When Julia found out, she yelled at Adelbert with such a fierce voice that if no one saw it was her, they wouldn't have believed it. At that point, her illness was starting to get worse. Her doctor even scolded Adelbert for getting her upset in her weak state. She, of course, denied being weak. After all that, Gisela went after Adelbert. He still can't look at her."

"Julia sounds amazing. It's too bad I never got to meet her," I replied.

"Oh, but you had a long time ago. You don't remember it, but maybe one day you will. She absolutely adored you. I'm sure mother's got some pictures around here somewhere. I'll ask for them to be found if you'd like to look at them," Conrad said.

I nodded. "I 'd like that very much."

Conrad glanced towards the bathroom doors. "How're things between Wolfram and you?"

"Good. We've been clearing up some things between us," I replied.

"Should we start planning the wedding?" Conrad said, smiling.

I sighed. "Really? What is wrong with this family? You all want to rush into marriage. Can't we just take this slow like a normal relationship?"

"Ah. So Wolfram and you are involved romantically."

I blushed. "And?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just let me know if you need anything. Condoms. Lubrication. Anything you need to be safe," Conrad said as if we weren't talking about his little brother and me doing sexual things. We may as well have been talking about the weather.

"Condoms? Why would we need condoms?" I asked.

Conrad's eyes widened slightly. "Yuuri, do you not know about having sex?"

"With a woman, yes, but gay sex isn't talked about. The rest of the world isn't as open to gay relationships as Shin Makoku yet," I replied. "How do men have sex?"

Conrad cleared his throat, his face tinting pink. "This conversation should be held with someone else. I'm not exactly sure I should be the one to explain this."

"Explain what?" Wolf asked, standing in the bathroom doorway.

"Nothing, nothing important," I quickly replied.

"I should be going. I promised to meet with Yozak before dinner." Conrad walked towards the door. "Yuuri, you might want to ask Günter about what we were discussing. He is your teacher. I'll see you both at dinner."

Just like that, he was gone. Wolf waltzed into the room, fully clothed. Thank the gods. I didn't think my heart could handle another repeat of yesterday. His arms curled around my shoulders as he hugged me from behind. It awkwardly pressed me back against the chair, but I didn't mind it too much. I was too busy reveling in the smell of soap floating off the blond.

"So how did everything go?" Wolf breathed into my ear.

"Unanimous vote. I can have the throne if I choose," I said.

"That's great, Yuuri!" Wolf squeezed me tighter.

"Yeah. The whole thing wasn't too bad. Waltrona and Mei snapped at each other a few times, but it was mostly Waltrona's doing. Mei was trying to be civil. It all turned out okay in the end," I continued.

"I figured something would happen between them," Wolf sighed, letting go of me to walk around the chair.

"No one's ever told me what their problem with each other is," I said.

Wolf glowered. "It's because of what happened between Mei and I a few years ago. It doesn't matter anymore, but I guess Uncle Waltrona won't let his grudge go even if it isn't even his grudge to bare. Idiot man."

"Speaking of Waltrona, he wants to speak with you after we eat," I said, remembering my earlier conversation.

"Really? Great," Wolf replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Also, he knows about us," I said, pointing my finger at Wolf before turning it on myself.

Wolf's eyes widened. "You told him."

"Was I not supposed to? He kind of guessed it on his own and I confirmed," I said, seeing a wide variety of emotions swim across his face.

"No, it's not that. It's just that you told him," Wolf said, a smile adorning his lips.

"Yeah. Well, this thing between us is definitely more than friendship. I mean, I wouldn't do what we did this morning with just anyone. I thought we just established that," I replied, avoiding looking at him.

"This things between us," Wolf repeated.

I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. At least, I think he was going to keep talking. He looked like he was trying to come up with the words. Before he spoke, he lowered himself onto my lap.

"How would you define 'this thing between us?' I know we established feelings towards each other, but what is this?" Wolf finally asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

The blond looked annoyed as he sighed, leaning forward to press his forehead against my chest. "Why do you have to be such an idiot sometimes," he whispered.

"Sorry. I just want to be certain of what you're asking," I mumbled.

He pulled away from me. "What are we? What do you think of us as? You said we aren't friends, so what are we?"

I shrugged. "I've been trying to figure that out. We haven't started dating or anything, but we kiss sometimes."

Wolf nodded to encourage me on.

"Then...well...since we're not really anything, do you... err... do you want to go out with me? Be my b-boyfriend?" I said, staring out the window.

A small giggle drew my attention back to Wolf. He grabbed my head and started peppering me with kisses on my cheeks, nose, forehead, temples, and jawline. "About time. How long were you going to keep me waiting?"

He kissed me on the lips once, twice, three times. "So is that a yes?" I asked.

"I've waited this long. Do you really think I'd say no, idiot?" he said quickly before kissing me a fourth time.

I expected someone to interrupt us, but no one came.

I expected Wolf to push me down, but he didn't.

I expected to feel completely overwhelmed by Wolf, but I wasn't.

Instead, we had a few hours alone together before dinner was served. Rather than something happening like this morning, Wolf stayed seated in my lap, cuddling against me. He occasionally would press a chaste kiss against my lips or nibble lightly at my neck, but we spent most of the time in silence while watching the rain fall against the windows. It was the most relaxed I've fel since coming here.

These kids are doing things completely out of order. Darling Wolf may or may not have stalked Yuuri in the most precious, yet creepy way. Remember everyone, Wolf grew up in a castle surrounded by almost only grown-ups with his mother as a role model. He doesn't know what he's doing either.

So who is going to teach Yuuri about the ways of gay sex? Günter? Shinou? Cecilie? Wolfram? Conrad? Perhaps Gwendal? Maybe someone else? Only time will tell.