On the next morning at the breakfast table, Wolfram announced his intention to stay behind from the game once more. Conrart noted, that Yuuri seemed quite distressed by that and tried in vain to change Wolfram's mind.
"But it's the finals, Wolf!" Yuuri exclaimed.
Wolfram raised an eyebrow.
"Then you can tell me who won after it," he replied like a person who has absolutely no clue what the word 'finals' meant.
Conrart watched as Yuuri tried to persuade his adamant fiancé with interest. Clearly something was happening between the two of them; a change was coming. Conrart could only hope that it would be for the better.
Yuuri finally gave up when Murata came, and told his mother to look after Wolfram, but Miko's cheerful affirmative didn't seem to exactly put his mind at ease.
Just before they left, Conrart met his brother's eyes for a brief moment and received the same message as the day before. Take care of Yuuri for me. Conrart nodded his understanding and saw a slight relaxation in Wolfram's posture. Despite his seeming indifference, Conrart knew that Wolfram wasn't really comfortable with Yuuri out of his sight.
Yuuri was unusually quiet and seemed lost in his thoughts on the way to the game. Conrart sensed that his godson probably needed to talk, but he didn't want to pressure the boy. Yuuri would tell him in his own time.
The game started and Yuuri instantly livened up. It was an exciting game, one of the best Conrart had ever seen. During a break, Murata left to buy some beverages. It was then that Yuuri finally started talking.
"It's a shame Wolfram doesn't like baseball," he sighed, causing Conrart to turn and look at him. "I mean, it would be fun to play with him sometimes or take Greta to watch a game together with us. Do you think he feels left out?"
"It was his choice not to come, Yuuri," Conrart reminded him. "And there are plenty of other ways for you to spend time together, with or without Greta."
"I know. It's just… I like it so much and I wish I could make him understand that. Why is it so hard?"
"Do you understand his painting?" Conrart asked with a smile.
Yuuri opened his mouth and then shut it again.
"Good point," he admitted with a wry smile.
"You don't have to understand or like everything about someone in order to care about him," Conrart continued, sensing that Yuuri wished to talk about something else entirely.
"I suppose. But how can you tell the difference between caring and something… more than caring?" Yuuri asked suddenly.
"You mean love?" Conrart asked gently.
Yuuri looked down.
"Yeah," he replied with a small voice. "You see, I care about a lot of people. Like you and Greta and… and Wolfram, but how can I-" Yuuri paused searching for words. "I mean, he knows!"
"Who? Wolfram?" Conrart guessed.
Yuuri nodded.
"He tells me all the time that he loves me, but how can he know that?"
"Yuuri, do you love Greta?" Conrart asked, after a moment.
Yuuri turned to him looking baffled.
"Yes, of course I do, but what has that got to do with-"
"Just bear with me a minute," Conrart said cutting Yuuri off. "You said yes. Why?"
Yuuri stared at Conrart like he'd suddenly grown an extra nose.
"Because she's my daughter! My family. Of course I love her," Yuuri replied a little indignantly.
"So what you feel for her would be similar to the love you feel towards your parents and your brother?" Conrart asked.
"Well, yes, I suppose," Yuuri answered a little more uncertainly. "Although maybe not for Shori," he added as an afterthought.
Conrart nodded with a small smile.
"Good. Do you love Murata?"
"Eww, no, Conrad! He's my friend!" Yuuri exclaimed.
"It is possible to love one's friends, Yuuri," Conrart reminded him. "It's just a different kind of love."
Yuuri pondered that for a moment.
"Well, then I guess maybe I do love him as a friend. But for a tiny bit only! And just as a friend!"
"Okay, we've established that. Do you love me?" Conrart continued seriously.
"Yes," came Yuuri's immediate answer and then he turned bright red. "But not like that! You're my godfather! You gave me my name and watched over me when I was growing up. You-you brought me to this world! You're like a second older brother to me," he explained quickly.
Conrart smiled at the embarrassed boy.
"So you love me the same way you love Shori?" he asked teasingly.
"No! Uh, well… I… guess," Yuuri said finally looking defeated. "I think you're a much better older brother than Shori, though," he added.
"Thank you, Yuuri. Now then, what about Wolfram?"
For the second time Yuuri opened and closed his mouth and looked at his godfather helplessly.
"I-I don't know!" he burst out.
"Do you think of him as family?" Conrart pressed.
"Yes. No… I don't know what I think! He feels like part of my family when we're with Greta and he feels like my friend when we're in public, but when we're alone he feels… different somehow."
"So it's a different feeling than towards your family, Greta, Murata or me?"
"Yes. Well, it's sort of like all of them put together… But not really," Yuuri said and sounded like he'd managed to confuse himself even more. "Argh, it's so hard to explain! I care about him," he said and paused. "And I might be a little jealous of him," he admitted.
"Jealous?" Conrart asked finally feeling like they were getting somewhere.
"Well, it's just something Murata said last night, that kind of stuck with me," Yuuri explained. "About me not wanting Wolfram to go out in that girly dress, because he'd have all the men drooling over him if he did."
"And was that the reason?"
"I didn't think so, but then I remembered…" Yuuri trailed away biting his lip. "Something snapped in my head when Shori thought Wolf was a girl and started flirting with him. My mind just went completely blank for a moment. And I was so angry at Wolfram for making me feel like that. But he was just trying to please me, as usual," Yuuri sighed. "It's weird, that I used to think that things would be so much simpler if Wolfram were a girl and then when I saw him as one…I didn't like it at all! I mean, I've seen him in women's clothes before back in the Demon Kingdom, but that was always just for fun and not serious... Not like yesterday... And especially, nothere!"
Conrart thought for a moment.
"So, you think you'll get jealous if people flirt with Wolfram when he looks like a girl," he said slowly. "What about if someone were to flirt with him when he doesn't look like a girl?"
"Oh, that's not a problem," Yuuri said waving his hand dismissively. "In the Demon Kingdom people know that we're engaged and stay away from him and here… well, it's sort of hard to be jealous of girls."
"What if they're not girls?"
Yuuri gave Conrart an amused look.
"That won't happen here," he snorted. "Trust me."
"It still bothers you, doesn't it? The fact that you're engaged to another boy," Conrart continued after a pause.
They were speaking in low voices, but Yuuri still instinctively glanced around them to see if anyone had heard.
"Yes," he replied quietly, "It's so normal in the Demon Kingdom, but here… You don't know what would happen if my friends at school knew."
"Forgive me, Yuuri, but you don't know that either," Conrart replied seriously.
Yuuri was about to answer, when Murata appeared with their friends Tanaka and Matsuri.
"Great game, isn't it?" Matsuri said excitedly. "Oh, isn't your blond friend here?"
"Wolfram doesn't really like baseball," Yuuri explained.
"Oh, that's too bad," Tanaka said. "Still, you'll all come to the party, right?"
"Yes, we'll all come," Yuuri assured them and both boys looked satisfied.
"Great, I'll see you there then!" Matsuri called and left with Tanaka.
Yuuri sighed when they were out of hearing range.
"I'm a bit worried about the party," he confessed as Murata handed him a soda.
"You mean you're worried about how your little wife is going to behave at said party," Murata remarked sitting down next to Yuuri again.
Yuuri shot him a murderous glance.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Conrart said serenely.
"I can't wait to see his outfit of the day," Murata continued cheerfully ignoring Yuuri's dark look. "Don't you think he'd look fetching in lavender?"
"Murata, please shut up before I throw you down on the field," Yuuri growled dangerously.
Murata lifted his hands apologetically.
"Fine, fine. I'll just discuss it with your mother then."
Wolfram had spent the day shopping and dressing up for Mama Shibuya's benefit and infinite joy. She had looked more than a tiny bit disappointed, when Wolfram had asked her to find him something more masculine for the party that evening, but had soon recovered and found him a pair of blueish pants (she had called them 'jeans'), a maroon T-shirt with a collar, a dark green tie and a pair of green 'tennis-shoes'. Wolfram had thought that the clothes looked a bit strange when he tried them on, but Jennifer had assured him that they looked very 'hip' which he assumed was a good thing.
Yuuri's mother had also given him some sort of cream to put in his hair and Wolfram had discovered to his amazement that it allowed him to mould his hair in almost any way he could think of and the hair would stay like that! Jennifer had given him a picture of a very cool-looking guy and suggested that he would 'style' his hair to look the same.
Wolfram had just finished his preparations and was adjusting his translator-earpiece when he heard the door, and soon after heard Yuuri calling for him from downstairs.
"You ready, Wolf? We have to get going."
"In a minute," Wolfram replied and gave himself one last speculative glance in the mirror before leaving the room.
He was coming down the stairs, but stopped when he saw the expression on Yuuri's face. It looked almost identical to the one on the previous day.
"Wolfram..." Yuuri breathed, his eyes transfixed on his fiancé.
"What? Is it not okay?" Wolfram asked, immediately worried. "I'll go and change if—"
"No, no! It's fine! It's... more than fine. You look... great!" Yuuri said hastily.
"Oh, er... thank you," Wolfram replied, his cheeks reddening slightly.
"Come on, we'll be late," Murata called from the doorway and Wolfram came down the stairs.
He told himself not to read too much into Yuuri's reaction. He was good-looking and Yuuri had just complimented him for it. End of story.
Still, it felt rather good that Yuuri seemed unable to take his eyes off of him.
Conrart smiled warmly at Wolfram when they got outside and Murata eyed him appreciatively.
"I think it's safe to bet that we may cause a bit of a commotion, when we get to the party," Murata commented as they all were walking to something called 'a bus stop'.
"What are you talking about?" Yuuri asked him sharply.
Murata rolled his eyes and gestured at Wolfram.
"Oh, please use your eyes, Shibuya. People are going to take one look at von Bielefeld here and start swooning."
Yuuri groaned at that and Wolfram wondered if it was because Yuuri feared that Wolfram would steal the attention of all the girls from him. Wolfram felt the jealousy stir in him again, but told himself to keep it in check. He had made a promise to Yuuri and by Shinou he was going to keep it!