OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
futari ga hajimeru Chapter ni
Together, we start this chapter
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO

That should have fixed everything.

But it didn't.

The next morning, Yuuri woke up with an armful of Wolfram and a pleasant, easily ignorable, arousal. He'd contented himself with pressing closer to his fiancé and burying his nose in his hair, breathing in his unique scent.

And then the panic set in.

He'd had sex. With Wolfram. Who was, incidentally, a boy.

He'd stuck his penis in Wolfram's bum. That… that wasn't normal!

And he'd enjoyed it! And Wolfram had enjoyed it, which was even crazier when you realized that he was the one with Yuuri's cock up his ass, and since when did Yuuri even think words like that and… and…

Did this mean he wasn't a virgin, or was there some sort of middle ground when you hadn't had proper sex. The kind that makes babies.

Yuuri realized he was hyperventilating. He tried to calm his breathing, then his thoughts, trying to remember everything he knew about gay sex.

There wasn't much. Yuuri had the vague idea that they should have used a condom. He should have used a condom. And that Wolfram would be sore today.

In fact, now that he was thinking about it, he'd been the lucky one. All he'd felt was good, throughout the whole thing. Wolfram, on the other hand…

Yuuri looked down at his sleeping companion. Lover? Wolfram looked comfortable enough, occasionally mumbling something indistinct and twitching as if looking for the warmth that had gone missing when Yuuri pulled away to gather his thoughts. He certainly didn't look like he was in pain. Yuuri reached out to touch the golden head of hair, feeling the panic receding, replaced by warm affection.

He'd had sex. With Wolfram. It had been good. And after had been… nice. Yuuri ran his fingers through Wolfram's hair, watching him slowly wake up with a small smile on his face.

Wolfram blinked his eyes a few times, then focused on Yuuri's face, returning the smile with one of his own. Yuuri couldn't remember why he'd been so worried. This was perfect.

"Hey."

Wolfram propped himself up on an elbow, his face level with Yuuri's. "Hey."

Yuuri leaned forward. Wolfram leaned back. "…morning breath."

"Oh, right." Yuuri frowned. "Is there…"

Wolfram leaned forward and kissed Yuuri's neck, right where his jaw met his ear. "Good morning."

"Mmm." Yuuri turned his face to the side, kissing the side of Wolfram's hair. "Morning."

Wolfram pulled away, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he got up. Yuuri watched him for a moment, looking for any sign that Wolfram was in pain. He didn't seem to be.

"Yuuri, stop lying around and get up," Wolfram called, rummaging through the closet for his clothes. He looked weird. It took Yuuri a moment to realize he was completely naked, no pink nightgown in sight. Yuuri suddenly flushed. He was naked too! He'd get up and Wolfram would see…

Nothing more than he'd seen the night before. Yuuri took a deep breath and got out of bed, trying to convince himself that it was normal to be a little erect first thing in the morning. Surely Wolfram wouldn't misinterpret anything from that. Of course thinking about it, or about naked Wolfram, didn't help.

Yuuri moved to Wolfram's side, intending nothing more than to start getting dressed. His body, on the other hand, had different ideas, making one of his arms wind around Wolfram's waist and his lips press firmly just behind Wolfram's ear. Wolfram made a small, pleased sound and tilted his head to give Yuuri more access. Yuuri took the implied invitation, and ran light kisses over Wolfram's neck, letting his other hand rest on Wolfram's thigh.

Wolfram sighed in contentment. "I always loved lazy mornings after. Didn't get many."

Yuuri kissed harder, sliding his hand over Wolfram's hip to rest on his stomach. He didn't want Wolfram thinking about anything or anyone other than him. Wolfram's breath hitched and Yuuri risked a quick glance down to see if Wolfram was interested. Just below where Wolfram's hand rested on his, he could see that Wolfram was no longer completely flaccid. A definitely encouraging sign. Yuuri pressed closer and tried to slide his hand lower, but Wolfram held it in place. "Yuuri… we shouldn't."

That was almost a 'no', but he sounded convincible. Yuuri took a risk and nipped at his neck, something Wolfram had shown him less than a week ago. Apparently he did it right, if Wolfram's soft cry and tightening grip were any indication. "Why not? We still have time." Probably. Unless… a horrible thought occurred to Yuuri. "You… you're not still hurt from last night, are you?"

"What? No." Wolfram turned in Yuuri's arms, looking him in the face. "Why do you keep dwelling on that? You didn't hurt me, Yuuri. I was just thinking about how often Conrad or Gunter come in to make sure you're up in time."

"Oh. Yeah." Yuuri felt a little foolish. He needed to check, though. "So you're fine. Not even a little sore?"

Wolfram averted his eyes. "…maybe a little. Mostly my lower back. But it'll go away."

Yuuri pressed closer and ran his hands over Wolfram's back, soothingly. Wolfram braced his hands on Yuuri's chest, seeming about to push away, then sighed and relaxed, resting his head on Yuuri's shoulder. "Feels good."

Yuuri risked a bit of healing maryoku, pleased when it came easily and made Wolfram sigh contentedly, warm air puffing over Yuuri's chest. Yuuri felt overcome with the peaceful feeling, the desire to stay like this forever. After a few moments, it was Wolfram who had to pull away.

"Seriously, if Conrad or Gunter come in to see this, it's almost as bad as if we were in the middle of having sex." Yuuri blushed at Wolfram's bluntness. "We need to get dressed and start the day."

Yuuri obediently turned his attention to the closet, but wasn't particularly happy about it. "Can't we just lock the door and stay here all day?"

"No."

"Meanie."

Even distracted by Wolfram, Yuuri was dressed first and ready to go when a thought hit him. "Ah! We forgot to bathe last night! And then we… with the sticky…"

Wolfram shrugged. "I wiped us clean while you were asleep." Yuuri shot him an accusing glance. He'd wanted to clean up before sleeping. "It was uncomfortable and woke me up." Wolfram defended himself. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks, but we still haven't properly bathed in…"

"Just over a day. It won't kill you," Wolfram retorted. "Particularly since you aren't doing anything more active than signing documents with Gunter and aniki and The Great Sage today."

Oh, right. The budget review. Yuuri had specifically asked Murata to look into some things for him and they'd dedicated the whole day to fitting them in and making them work. Gunter had been enthusiastic about the idea in theory and Gwendal had been willing to consider it, but it still had to be approved by the financial planners and advisors.

Well, it didn't have to be. Technically, Yuuri could do whatever he wanted. But Murata had suggested that that might be less than a good idea in this case.

He sighed. He just had to think of it as working towards having Wolfram stay with him forever. And then, one day, they could take a morning off, just the two of them, and…

"-uri? Yuuri!" Wolfram sounded irritated. "Stop daydreaming and get a move on." He tossed his hair in a way that normally annoyed Yuuri and now just made him want to pin Wolfram against the nearest available surface and kiss him silly.

He settled for hooking an arm around Wolfram's waist and stealing a quick kiss before sauntering past him down to breakfast. The hesitation before he heard Wolfram's quick, military foot-falls was quite gratifying.

OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO

"Heika, did you want the fair-trade deal to extend to our allies?" one of the financial advisors asked. "Or just within Shin Makoku itself?"

"Um…" Yuuri looked to Murata who smiled encouragingly. "Just in Shin Makoku, I think."

"Oh, good," another said, sighing in relief. "That makes the laws much easier to draft."

Gwendal frowned. "It's not like we could draft an international trade document without input from all parties involved." He sighed. "Doing this without the ten noble families will be difficult enough."

Yuuri kicked his feet, sick of sitting and talking. "I don't see why. This just makes sure that demand follows resources. I don't see why that should be a problem."

"That's because you've never waged financial war against a competitive interest," Murata murmured.

"That's stupid," Yuuri said. "We're all part of Shin Makoku, there shouldn't be any financial wars or competitive interests."

"Oh, Heika!" Gunter looked close to tears. "Well said! And, even though the land of Christ stands to lose somewhat with your new measures, I will support your decisions fully!"

Gwendal snorted, looking faintly amused. "You can afford to, sitting on some of the most fertile land in Shin Makoku."

"Yes, but that's why the equalization will hurt von Christ-kaka's land. His taxes will now be increased, in part to be paid in dividends to the less fortunate," another advisor put in, frantically calculating. "The trick is making sure to adjust every year for variations in income and population…" He trailed off, muttering about censuses.

Yuuri looked around the room, restless and easily distracted. It was somewhat unfair that, even the nerdiest mazoku (and if royal accountants didn't rate 'nerdiest mazoku', Yuuri had no idea who would) were otherworldly and beautiful. He focused on the nearest accountant's long, cascade of ruby-red hair, tied up in an elegant bun, swept out of the way as long, elegant fingers worked out calculations that Yuuri didn't even know the names of and sighed. Maybe, somewhere in this kingdom, there was someone who looked plain and ordinary, but he hadn't met them yet. Even Greta was exotic.

Murata placed a hand on Yuuri's shoulder. "Maybe you should get some air before you explode," he suggested quietly. "I'm pretty sure I can answer most of their questions."

Of course he could. He was the one who'd found the fair-trade and equalization laws from various countries on earth and figured out how to apply them to Shin Makoku. Yuuri was just here to make sure everything was okay for Lieven to go home and Wolfram to stay.

Still, everything seemed to be moving smoothly. Yuuri could afford to take a break. "Thanks Murata. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Take your time," Murata said easily.

Yuuri didn't start out planning to find Wolfram, he just walked around the castle until he happened to run into him. With Lieven. Laughing.

He hid out of sight behind a wall, occasionally peaking to see the back of their head as they sat together on a bench, talking easily. He tried not to feel angry or jealous, tried to keep last night and this morning in mind. But it was hard.

"He seriously said that?" Lieven sounded like he was still swallowing laughter.

Wolfram shrugged. "It's hardly my fault. Conrad's been working with me since I got back and I guess that was enough to bring me back up to fighting strength. Just because he didn't expect that and I managed to disarm him twice doesn't mean he should kick me out of my own extra training!"

"Mmm…" Lieven agreed. "It's not just that though. You look a lot better than you did yesterday." A pause. "Why, Wolfram. Are you blushing?"

"No!"

"You are, you are!" Yuuri checked around the wall to see Lieven leaning closer. "What happened? You've got to tell me!"

"No, I don't." Even from Yuuri's angle, he could see the tips of Wolfram's ears turning red.

"Okay, then let me guess… it has something to do with Yuuri."

Yuuri was oddly happy to hear Lieven call him by his name again, even if he hadn't done so to his face.

"Th-that's none of your business!"

"It's gotta be good then." Lieven's voice dropped. "Wolf, did he… did you…"

Wolfram planted both hands firmly on Lieven's face. "Shut up, shut up right now."

Lieven sputtered with laughter around Wolfram's palm. "Seriously? You actually… how was he?"

Wolfram slumped. "I am not talking about this."

"Then let me guess," Lieven said. "You had to do most of the work and he finished before you did? Am I right?"

"No." Wolfram glared at Lieven. "He did more than enough and I actually… you know what? Still not talking about this."

"Wow. Our Maou's a stud," Lieven said with an odd note in his voice. "I don't suppose I could request a leveling of the playing field?"

Wait, was he asking Wolfram to… to do the same thing he'd done with Yuuri? Yuuri almost revealed himself, determined to put a stop to that.

"No, you may not," Wolfram answered with something like humour. "You had your chance."

Wait, what?

Lieven laughed. "That was forever ago and I was drunk and you were…"

"…scared," Wolfram finished for him. "What do you expect? It was my first command and we were at war. I had no idea it was all for appearances."

"I expected you to take your friend's offer of a nice relaxing distraction," Lieven shot back. "But you were never a one-night-stand kinda guy." He shot Wolfram a look. "Speaking of, this time, with Yuuri… was that your first time with a man?"

Wolfram looked away. "Who else would I have been with?"

"Fair enough." Lieven accepted that. "Although from what Sasha said…"

"Sasha's lucky his family was too rich and powerful for me to have properly fried him before sending him on his way," Wolfram grumbled.

"Yeah, he was kind of a douche. Pretty though, and he's got a sliver tongue. Good for things besides flattery too, if you know what I mean."

Wolfram stared at Lieven. "You didn't."

"I did, just after you kicked his ass out of the castle. Which is how I know that he didn't touch you because when I got to him, he was desperate."

Wolfram snickered. "Worth your while?"

"Worth a week's fun. Then he started smearing your name and I started a rumour that he cried out his mother's name when he came and we… parted ways."

Wolfram leaned on Lieven's shoulder. "My hero."

Lieven wrapped his arm over Wolfram. "My pleasure. Hey, does this give me more points?"

"Yuuri got my literal heart back from the enemy of all living things. It's still skewed in his favour."

Nice that Wolfram remembered.

"Maybe, but… Wolfram… what happened with you and Yuuri… I mean, I know that this is gonna sound biased coming from me, but… it really shouldn't change anything."

"I know," Wolfram said. "I'm not… it was nice, but I'm not letting it affect my decision."

Lieven snorted.

"No, really," Wolfram protested. "I'm glad, I really am, that Yuuri wants me. It makes the past few years… bearable. But it's no more a commitment than anything else."

What? Didn't Wolfram know how hard that had been for Yuuri to accept? Didn't he care?

"It doesn't really have to be," Lieven mentioned casually. "At the end of the day, if Yuuri wants you all he has to do is take you. You're already engaged and his decree as Maou… it's not impossible to circumvent, but it's not easy. And I… Wolfram, Grantz needs the Maou's support."

Now it was Wolfram's turn to snort. "Maybe you should have thought of that before accepting his challenge to duel." He shook his head. "Yuuri wouldn't… he wouldn't force either of us to do anything. He's too… too good." Wolfram's voice was full of confidence. "And even if we go against his wishes, he would never take it out on innocent people."

"Yeah, that's my impression too," Lieven agreed. "But I don't know him like you do."

Yuuri snuck away before he was caught. So, Wolfram thought that their time together wasn't any sort of commitment. Like Yuuri would be able to do something like that with just anyone… hadn't he even said that he was only doing it because he was in love with Wolfram? Didn't that mean something? Like, a big something?

It was unfair. That's what it was.

And Wolfram was still planning of leaving with Lieven. At least, that's what it sounded like. For a moment, Yuuri considered just letting him go, letting him throw everything he'd ever wanted away and settling for second best. And Yuuri would find someone else. A girl, like he'd always wanted. And then Wolfram would be sorry, trapped with Lieven while Yuuri and his wife, which is what a husband should have, made a beautiful life for themselves. With Greta and Conrad and… and…

Yuuri realized that he was hyperventilating and his chest felt tight. He leaned against a wall and bent over, trying to control his breathing. He felt… not angry, exactly, but…

Betrayed. It was like when Conrad left, only worse because there was no one to share the feeling of betrayal with. And without the distraction of nearly being killed.

But Yuuri remembered, after Conrad's betrayal, deciding not to mistrust anyone. Because it was too hard. It was easier to just trust people.

And because, somehow, everything turns out okay.

Anyways, no matter what Wolfram decided, he wouldn't string Yuuri along. That wasn't his style. Probably. He was too… straightforward. Yuuri took a few deep, cleansing breaths and shook himself mentally. He was getting worked up over nothing.

"Yuuri?"

That was Wolfram's voice. Yuuri turned. And that was Wolfram, walking with Lieven. In a better frame of mind, Yuuri might have appreciated the subtlety with which Lieven removed his hand from around Wolfram's waist, but right now, all it did was make him fume.

"Yuuri, what's wrong?" Wolfram moved away from Lieven and towards Yuuri, looking concerned. "Are the talks not going well, is there a problem? I can help if it's aniki, or offer a hiding place if it's Gunter. If it's The Great Sage…" Wolfram smirked. "You're on your own."

Yuuri tried to give a smile back, but it was like he was back at the cliff, holding Conrad's arm with Wolfram trying to tease him out of his misery.

It hadn't worked then, either.

Lieven cleared his throat. "Should I leave?"

Yuuri was just about to answer 'yes', but Wolfram beat him to it. "No, we'll go." He placed a hand on Yuuri's arm. "Gunter's office should be free."

Yuuri nodded and followed Wolfram into the office. Wolfram closed the door behind them and walked Yuuri towards the desk near the window. Probably to make it harder for anyone to eavesdrop. Yuuri kinda wished he'd taken similar precautions with Lieven.

Wolfram looked pointedly at Yuuri. "What is it? You seemed fine this morning."

You seemed mine this morning. "I…" Yuuri found that he didn't want to talk about it. "Shouldn't you be training or something?"

"I was exempt," Wolfram answered curtly. No cute stories about being kicked out for Yuuri. "Stop trying to change the subject. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Yuuri lied. "Everything's fine." Wolfram didn't even bother with a disbelieving expression. He just folded his arms over his chest and waited. Yuuri broke. "It's just that… I need to know… are you choosing Lieven?"

Wolfram looked surprised. Before he could answer, Yuuri continued. "Because if you are, you should just say something so I can stop making a fool of myself. It's… it's not fair, and I… I…"

Yuuri stuttered off as Wolfram stepped closer to him, running his fingers over Yuuri's face, brushing away tears that Yuuri was sure hadn't been there before. Wolfram's voice was as soft as his touch. "It's hard isn't it?"

"Wha… what?"

"Waiting. Being powerless to change anything, completely at the mercy of someone who could walk away at any time." Was Wolfram just rubbing it in? "I remember being so… at first when you kept wanting to end the engagement, it actually wasn't so bad. I could do something about it then. But later, when you just seemed to forget about it most of the time… I kept worrying that you'd just clue in one day and end it. Just like that. Because you could."

Oh. That sounded horrible. Like the last few minutes Yuuri had suffered, Wolfram had been suffering for years. "I wouldn't have." He whispered. "I would have talked to you first." Probably.

Wolfram nodded, accepting that. "I still haven't… I know it's weak and wimpy, but I still haven't chosen anything yet." Wolfram sounded irritated with himself. "And when I do, you'll be the first to know. Okay, Yuuri?"

Well. It wasn't what Yuuri had wanted to hear, exactly, but it was reassuring. "Okay." Yuuri stepped closed to Wolfram, placing his hands lightly on Wolfram's hips. "I… you know, I love you."

Wolfram closed his eyes. "I know, I…"

And suddenly Yuuri didn't want to hear what came next. If it was anything other than 'I love you too', he wouldn't know what to do. He leaned forward and clumsily pressed his lips to Wolfram's, stopping the words before they could get out. Wolfram made a soft surprised sound and his eyes flew open. Bright green, vibrant and expressive, and focused only on him… Yuuri groaned and deepened the kiss, pulling Wolfram closer.

And then Wolfram's hands were winding through his hair and Wolfram was kissing back, and how could it be this wonderful every time? Yuuri backed Wolfram against a convenient wall and ground against him. "More, Wolfram, please…"

Wolfram moved against him, spreading his legs slightly, just enough for Yuuri to slide a leg in between them and now he could feel Wolfram as well, hard and probably wanting this as much as Yuuri did…

"Nngh, Yuuri." Wolfram sounded breathless, desperate. Yuuri felt a thrill of victory. "Yuuri, we should… oh, ahn… Yuuri, stop!"

Yuuri did, the unexpected command cutting through his arousal. Wolfram, still breathing hard, pushed Yuuri away and moved deliberately to the side, out of reach. He adjusted his uniform, as much to calm himself as because Yuuri had rumpled it to an embarrassing degree. Yuuri's eyes followed his every movement hungrily. "Why'd we have to stop?" His voice sounded lower, but still petulant.

"You can't just do something like that in public," Wolfram managed to explain, barely able to think through the lusty haze over his mind. "We're in Gunter's office, for goodness sakes!"

"So?" Now Yuuri just sounded like himself. "He's not gonna come in and you locked the door, didn't you?" Wolfram hadn't, but that wouldn't have changed things. "Why do you always say 'no'?"

Wolfram shook his head. "I didn't say 'no' when I should have. Yuuri, I… last night, I should have stopped you. I know you feel like you're working under a deadline, but I should have known better than to move that fast with you. There's no excuse for what I did. I'm amazed you didn't wake up and run away, regretting what you'd done…" Yuuri looked away, biting his lip, and Wolfram was hit with a sudden certainty. "Yuuri… how long were you awake before I got up?"

"Not… not that long," Yuuri mumbled. He caught Wolfram's eye and knew that the jig was up. "I didn't… it was only for a moment. I… I'm not some kid that needs to be coddled. I made my own choice."

"Oh, Yuuri." Wolfram moved forward, surprising Yuuri with a hug. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Because I didn't want you looking at me like I'd disappointed you again. Because I didn't want you to have an excuse to leave. Because… "Because by the time you woke up, all I could think about was that I was lucky to have you with me. It was wonderful and perfect, and then you smiled…" And, in the interests of honesty. "Also I was worried that you were hurt."

"Yuuri!" Wolfram pulled back to hit his arm, aggravated. "How many times do I have to tell you…"

"I know, I know. You're very manly and tough and all that." Yuuri smiled and reached for Wolfram. Wolfram frowned and stepped back.

Yuuri felt everything – his doubts, his resentment, his fears – come crashing back down. It wasn't as bad as before, but it was still unpleasant. Was this how Wolfram had gotten through it? Each time the pain was a little less sharp, a little more normal? Yuuri hated himself if that's what it had come down to.

Wolfram was turning, leaving again. He had his hand on the door handle, and Yuuri was just standing there, gaping stupidly. Yuuri shook himself. He still had… there were still things he needed to do.