Title: So This Is Normal
Author: Innocentwater
Genre: Fluff? Sort of romance? Hints of comedy?
Rating: PG-13 max.
Pairing: Wolfram+Yuuri

Summary: This picks up and overlaps slightly with Wolfram's "Wait", but continues just a little further. This is more from Yuuri's viewpoint, but he isn't the narrator. You may want to read "Wait" before reading this story, but it isn't absolutely necessary.

Initial comments: I felt like writing something fluffy, so this isn't on the same level as before, but I thought maybe if you liked Yuuram and fluff, and Yuuri not being in love with Wolfram automatically, you might like this. It's short and simple. It's not half as dark at first, because it's from Yuuri's viewpoint, and he's not feeling, I feel, the same things Wolfram is, or even half of the intensity.

Second finished fic ahoy.

This fic contains some spoilers for the last episode.

So This Is Normal

Yuuri liked to believe Wolfram was his friend. Granted, Wolfram yelled at him a lot, slept in his bed every night, and sometimes Wolfram would look at him and Yuuri would get this strange feeling in his stomach when the blonde was looking a wee bit too friendly.

Everything seemed to wind down when the whole Shinou possessed by Soushi thing was resolved. Yuuri went back home, lived a normal life for a while, and then, after Murata shoved him back into the lake... he continued living a normal life, relatively speaking, for a demon king.

But then strange things started happening. Particularly with Wolfram, who Yuuri had felt perhaps most guilty about saying goodbye to, aside from leaving Greta behind. When Yuuri had returned, Wolfram came slowly out to him and if it wasn't shock enough for Yuuri to be hurled into another world without believing he could, the blonde was looking rather weepy and sort of angry. Wolfram, Yuuri thought, always looked at least a little angry, unless he was under the influence of someone or something. That thought was a little disconcerting...

So when Yuuri returned, he greeted everyone sheepishly.

"Hey, everyone, I'm back."

And this seemed enough for Conrad, Gunter, Gwendal, and most of Shin Makoku. It must not have been enough for Wolfram, however, Yuuri thought, because the pretty noble was speaking in small bursts. First, it was, 'Why didn't you come back if you had the power? What have you been doing?' But then Wolfram seemed to retreat a bit and it was suddenly very awkward for Yuuri, who wasn't used to Wolfram being that quiet at all. During dinner, Wolfram seemed focused entirely on his silverware, looking up maybe twice at Yuuri, once because Yuuri said something.

"Wolfram?" he simply asked. And the blonde noble looked up for a moment and cleared his throat.

"What?" he responded, not with particular anger or care, but a sort of awkward, forced detachedness.

"Nothing," Yuuri decided after a moment. If Wolfram was guarding himself a bit, it for one must mean he was relatively okay, Yuuri thought, though not as okay as usual, because, for one, Wolfram wasn't calling him wimpy yet.

"Wimp," Wolfram said, very quickly and quietly, before taking a bite of his dinner. Yuuri felt a little releaved, but something still seemed strange about it. But perhaps it was all just in his head. Eh, he thought, Wolfram's fine, just surprised, that's all.

So Yuuri spent the rest of the meal talking mostly with Conrad about baseball, something wonderfully refreshing. Conrad was always great to talk to, and Yuuri felt like he could jabber on all day and Conrad would get what he was saying. It was hard to talk to Gwendal, or Gunter, or other people in general the way he talked to Conrad. He guessed maybe some people were always on different wavelengths, and that he and Conrad were simply on the same channel.

Seeing Wolfram look up at him and immediately look back down again, Yuuri thought, Wolfram was not on his channel so much. He wasn't getting static on Channel Z or anything, but still. Yuuri thought he wasn't as far off as Gunter could be, but then again, Gunter was very, very different from Wolfram. Yuuri was thankful for that.

So Yuuri finished up his meal, and suggested that tomorrow maybe he and Conrad should play some baseball with the children, and relax a bit. On hearing this, Wolfram pushed his plate back and all too politely and civilly excused himself from the table. What was with Wolfram?

After the blonde left, Yuuri grinned sheepishly at Conrad. "He's acting a little weird."

"He's just missed you," Conrad told him, with a small smile, "We all have. It's still too quiet with you gone." And Yuuri gave him a broad smile and they continued talking for another hour or so, with other people giving their input and opinions, and it seemed to Yuuri that this was home as much as his home on Earth. Something seemed slightly askew about it, but Yuuri thought it must be that his mom wasn't here. Maybe.

He went to his room about three hours after the dinner, and something struck him as being odd about the room. He couldn't quite figure out what it was, so he opened the curtains and stared at the stars for a while. That became boring probably earlier for him than most, and Yuuri supposed it was because the stars didn't move quickly or do much. Yuuri would have preferred it if they blinked or moved around in crazy directions for a while.

So he came back inside and figured he'd get undressed and head off to bed. He had his pajamas picked out and was in the middle of taking his shirt off when there was a knock on the door. He pulled his shirt back down and answered it.

There at the door was Wolfram, wearing his frilly pink nightgown. Yuuri never understood Wolfram's choice of nightwear. It only occurred to him after he had let Wolfram in that Wolfram had actually knocked in the first place. Since when did Wolfram knock? Maybe something was up. Yuuri thought, Yes, something isn't right here.

Wolfram hadn't really said anything, so Yuuri watched him for a moment before sitting on the bed, where Wolfram followed. He kept his legs firmly together and his hands clasped tightly in his lap. Something about this posture made Yuuri nervous.

Then Wolfram turned to him, with that expression that always made Yuuri think there was something there that he wasn't quite comfortable with. It was worse, because Wolfram seemed rather shaky. He talked very quietly.

"Yuuri," he said, "You're..."

What is it, Wolfram? Yuuri wondered. Something was obviously on the blonde's mind. Maybe he was worried or something.

"Wolfram?" Yuuri asked. The blonde cleared his throat and closed his eyes, and Yuuri suddenly knew, Uh oh. He's upset. He's very, very upset.

"You're a rotten wimp," Wolfram told him. Yuuri winced. Wolfram was upset AND angry. And about to cry. Yuuri didn't know if he could handle this... What should he do? "Everyone missed you." Okay, Yuuri thought, he's not going to attack me yet. What should I say?

"I missed everyone here a lot," Yuuri said, thinking. And it was true. He even had begun, very slightly, to miss Gunter's antics. Shin Makoku had become a part of him, and Yuuri never wanted to give that up, even when Wolfram had told him to leave. And Yuuri realized, thinking this, that maybe the reason Wolfram was upset was because he did leave. Even if Wolfram had told him to go, Yuuri wondered if Wolfram secretly wanted him to stay no matter what. But it was a tough choice...

Wolfram wiggled his nose slightly. Yuuri thought to him, Please don't cry. I didn't want to hurt your feelings, and I really don't know what to do with you if you start crying.

"Oh," Wolfram said, his voice cracking a little. He was crying, Yuuri thought. What do you do with a crying Wolfram? In Yuuri's mind, he certainly wasn't a woman to be coddled, but he really wasn't the spitting image of mister masculine, either. Should he punch Wolfram's shoulder? Hug him? No, that might make Wolfram angry. Yuuri admitted that when Wolfram was angry, he himself was quite frightened.

"What have you been doing?" Yuuri asked. There, that was kind of neutral. Maybe Wolfram needed to be distracted, and start talking, and then he'd be normal again. Normal usually meant calling Yuuri a wimp and a cheater, but it was preferable to the weepy, unstable ball of potential hellfire of Wolfram crying.

"Things," Wolfram answered, "Painting." Things are good, Yuuri thought. Painting. Something about painting. Maybe he should ask Wolfram about the bear bees. Hmm. But as he looked at Wolfram, the noble seemed to be further and further going into something Yuuri wasn't sure he would live through. The pause was becoming too long, so Yuuri said something to simply respond.

"Oh. Good."

And Yuuri watched with twin pandas doing acrobatics in his stomach as Wolfram's eyebrows made that "I HATE YOU" shape and his frown increased. They weren't cute tare pandas, either. They were the Shin Makoku kind of pandas. Yuuri contemplated backing away, but Wolfram would probably get even angrier at him for that. It was better to just stay and maybe wait it out. And besides, with the way Wolfram was acting, Yuuri had to feel for him a bit. He seemed like such a wreck, and it was unlike him.

"What?" Wolfram asked, with a bark.

Yuuri, with lack of all other things to say, realized he was sealing his doom. He couldn't say, "Nothing", so he said the only other thing he could thing of.

"Are you mad at me?" Wolfram's expression went psychotic and suddenly Yuuri thought, who else gets psychotic? What do I do with them? Psychotic, psychotic, Yuuri thought, Women. Okay, Wolfram, I'm glad you can't hear these thoughts. And so Yuuri did what he would do for any angry girl crying, because it was the closest thing he could compare Wolfram to.

With apprehension, he leaned forward, carefully, slowly, and pulled Wolfram into a hug.

Please be the right thing to have done, he thought.

"Yuuri," Wolfram whispered, his voice pained. As he lay his on Yuuri's shoulder, the demon king new suddenly, Yes, this was it. Wolfram wanted to be comforted.

If you had just asked in the beginning...

But it wasn't like Wolfram, Yuuri thought, to ask for what he wanted. He would take it, or hint about it until it was given to him. And it would be strange for Wolfram to ask for a hug. But the simplest of actions, Yuuri thought, can cure even a complex problem.

So he held Wolfram, and pulled him closer, and began to empathize a little. He didn't fully understand the whys of it, but Wolfram was hurting, and he could understand what it was to hurt. So with this in mind, that pain was universal and that sometimes a simple gesture could help, he held the blonde and didn't care if Wolfram sometimes looked at him like he really cared, in that way that was different from friendliness.

Wolfram's body was hot, and his hands were cold, Yuuri noticed. He seemed sick, somehow, feverish from his unhappiness. Unhappiness, Yuuri realized. And he thought about it. Wolfram, it occurred to him, must have been absolutely miserable, more than I thought. He knew the blonde would be upset, but he didn't expect Wolfram to be this upset. And it pained Yuuri to think he was responsible for Wolfram's apparent suffering, and if it weren't for already being in a hug, Yuuri thought he might cry.

They remained in that embrace for a few moments, until Wolfram shifted slightly and Yuuri thought, Maybe Wolfram's better now. He was lightly teary, and Yuuri thought, I should say something. Because Wolfram, he knew, would not.

"Mom asked me what happened," he began, "and when I told her what you said, she told me, 'Wolf-chan has a kind heart'." She had also said wondered why he didn't bring Wolfram with him, and if this meant the engagement was off. Yuuri said he guessed so, but when he thought about it, it still felt like they were engaged, even if he never expected to see Wolfram again. He often thought about Wolfram, and the others. He missed them all. He said to Wolfram quietly, "And I wondered what you were doing. I wondered if you were okay."

Apparently Wolfram was not okay, but as Yuuri watched his expression, he understood that Wolfram was relieved to hear what he had said. Was it just that Wolfram wanted reassurance somehow? Sometimes it slipped Yuuri's mind that Wolfram could, at times, be a bit insecure inside.

When it was apparent that Wolfram wasn't going to answer, though he half seemed like he was going to, Yuuri asked, "How is Greta?"

Wolfram looked at him then, locking eyes with him, and Yuuri knew something was about to happen. The blonde leaned forward quickly and Yuuri's eyes went wide as Wolfram kissed him. It was short, but it caught Yuuri off-guard. Then, as if it wasn't enough of a surprise for Wolfram to behave like that, the noble slapped him.

What the...?

Wait a minute, Yuuri thought. What? Wait, first, Wolfram had kissed him. Maybe the hug had put ideas in his head. Second, Wolfram had slapped him. Wait, what did it mean? Proposal? No, wait. What? Huh? Wolfram?

And Yuuri stared at him like he'd grown a second head. But Wolfram seemed different now, more in control, more like, Yuuri thought, he was when he was normal. But this, all the same, was not normal. Wolfram had kissed him. Wolfram had slapped him. What?

"We're getting married," Wolfram told him. That must have been the what. Was it? "So we can officially both be family to Greta."

Oh.

Yuuri couldn't look away from the storm in Wolfram's eyes, and the intensity of his speech.

"And you're going to take us with you when you go away, because we're a family and we deserve to see the rest of our family. And... I want you to think of me as the person who is always there at your side, and who wants to be."

Wolfram, is this what you want? Wait, Wolfram...

Family. Wolfram wanted... Family and...

"And I don't want you to think of me as someone who will be left behind, any place else. I'm not Weller!" he yelled. He was breathing heavily. Conrad? Yuuri thought. I didn't want to leave him either, but...

"I'm your fiance and don't you forget it, wimp!"

That was what this was about. Wolfram really was intent on marrying him. What? Really? Wait.

Wolfram wanted to marry him?

Wolfram wanted to marry him.

Wolfram really...

And this made Yuuri smile. Wolfram was intent on their engagement, and Yuuri thought it was very silly. In a strange way. Wolfram was always reminding him, "I'm your fiance!" And Yuuri guessed now that he literally, truly, utterly meant it. That was a strange feeling. Strange in so many ways. But Yuuri had to smile.

"It's hard to forget," Yuuri told him, "because you're always reminding me, even when you're not there. I hear 'wimp' in my dreams." It was true, he wasn't safe at night. He'd be dancing with pandas and there would be Wolfram, calling him a cheater. When he was in his underwear at school, there was Wolfram, calling him a half-naked wimp. If he actually started to have a dream about a girl he thought was cute, Wolfram suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and screamed at him, "I'm your fiance! I'm going to kill you! CHEATER!"

In fact, it was simply too hard to escape Wolfram. Yuuri sometimes wondered whether escaping was necessary or even that good a thing, anyway. It had become a part of normal, he realized. Wolfram was normal. A part of...

Yuuri's smile became half a grimace. Oh man. This is normal, he thought.

"Yuuri," Wolfram said, his voice suddenly sweet. There was that look again, that look that said, "I really like you. Let's be friendly. Let's be more than friendly. Let's get married."

And Yuuri thought suddenly it was strangely appropriate, in a weird sort of gay Wolfram way. And that made him laugh, and Wolfram seemed only happier. And in that frilly nightgown, Yuuri thought, this is one of the strangest moments in the history of his universe. Along with being flushed down a toilet, crowned king, and saving the world, Wolfram smiling at him like that was just as strange, foreign, and ultimately a good thing.

Maybe this could work somehow.

Yuuri didn't think he was gay or anything, but Wolfram, he reasoned, was different from most men. Maybe that counted for something.

But either way, Yuuri thought, from now on, I'll try to keep it in mind that Wolfram's weird like that. And maybe this will be a good thing.

Three weeks later, when Yuuri decided he should check in with his parents and brother, he brought Wolfram and Greta with him, just as the blonde had asked... ordered. Demandingly requested. And it was strange to go to his other home with the both of them, strange because it started to feel like they were actually married somehow. It was strange that when he woke up, Wolfram was with his mother in the kitchen, in a pink apron, and saying that he made breakfast. He was still there, though, the Wolfram who bit his head off in the past. Yuuri saw him every time Wolfram asked, "Do you like it?"

Because Yuuri somehow knew that "Do you like it?" meant, "You had better like it, wimp, and you had better like me, or you'll regret it!"

So Yuuri would answer, "Yeah... It's good." And Wolfram would seem a little too happy with that and run back off to the kitchen before sitting down. And it was weird to think this was the same person who enjoyed swordfighting and adventuring and yelling. It was always an extreme with him. Eventually, Yuuri thought, maybe it'll make sense. After all, if you looked at it that Wolfram was all extremes, he did seem like he was always the same person. Just perhaps with two main moods: I'm happy, I like you; and You've angered me, I will destroy you.

And Wolfram was getting slightly more clingy. It was disconcerting at first, until he realized that Wolfram wasn't out to molest him per se. He was never really sure, because Wolfram seemed to like him a lot when he didn't want to attack him. So, when he started to wake up with Wolfram's arm around him instead of on the floor, dislodged from the bed at some point by Wolfram's kicking, he let it go. If Wolfram wanted to cuddle... Well, it was weird, but it wasn't fatal. It was better than seeing Wolfram unhappy or angry, which seemed to occur less and less as he just let Wolfram do what he wanted.

He didn't cross lines, Yuuri realized soon enough. Wolfram was busy waiting for the lines to remove themselves for him, and only got angry when they moved back on him. He was content to sometimes just hug Yuuri, or make Yuuri sit in an awkward position for three hours while he painted with that disgusting-smelling bear poop. Shin Makoku was so weird sometimes...

Greta seemed more lively than ever, Yuuri thought, and Wolfram made a great parent figure to her. Yuuri wasn't sure whether Wolfram was more motherly or fatherlike, but in any case, Greta loved him, and she loved seeing him with Yuuri.

And in this way, things began to slide and evolve. Yuuri began to worry if Wolfram wasn't there when he woke up. Wolfram was normal, Wolfram was always around, and if Wolfram wasn't around, the normalcy was gone. If Wolfram left the room, sometimes Yuuri would follow, not for any particular reason, Yuuri said to himself, but because it was weird to be alone. He used to crave those moments of not being bothered, but now that Wolfram was being so accomodating, it was just weird without him.

Things weren't always peaceful, though they usually were. Sometimes Yuuri would say or do something and Wolfram would look at him angrily and Yuuri would remember what things were like earlier, and Wolfram would remind him just how volatile he really was. And when there was any form of political strife, Wolfram would tell him immediately and have Yuuri's things already packed. He would say to Yuuri, "I knew you would want to go." And it would be maybe a total of fifteen minutes before Yuuri would leave the castle, all things prepared, with Wolfram riding beside him, telling him every last thing he knew about the situation. Sometimes Wolfram would get sidetracked and go off on what his opinion was, but even when Conrad would suggest something might be a bit dangerous, Wolfram would not bar him from going, but instead would tell him what was likely and say, "I'll be there with you. No one touches my fiance!"

And it seemed strange that Wolfram never really pushed the wedding after that time he told Yuuri it was going to happen. Maybe the when mattered less? Maybe the ceremony wasn't that necessary, though Wolfram hinted about it now and then. Yuuri supposed it had to happen eventually, but he wasn't dreading it like before as much, if he was at all.

What was perhaps stranger was realizing that Wolfram knew him very, very well. And it was a little disconcerting. Yuuri knew Wolfram was no mind-reader, but sometimes the blonde was just three steps and a leap ahead of him. Yuuri would think to say something, maybe, in argument to someone, and Wolfram would say something for him, louder and grumpier. People listened to Wolfram now, more than before. And sometimes Yuuri would think, "I want to play baseball", or "I could go for a snack", and Wolfram would show up with a bat or food, and Yuuri would seriously wonder. And still, Wolfram seemed to know just how much soy sauce to put on something, what his favorite things were, what he wouldn't like, who he wouldn't like, and even his shoe size. Sometimes he wondered if Wolfram knew more about him than he knew about himself. Maybe he did.

It got to the point where Yuuri would sit down as a guest at dinner in another country, and Wolfram would first take a bite of something and immediately pass Yuuri the salt, or say, "This is too bitter for my fiance." And it was annoying in a way, but often true. Yuuri would politely try the food anyway to find, yes, actually, it was too bitter for him. And at first Wolfram would get mad. "Don't you trust my judgment?" And then Wolfram would be pleased to find out he was right. "I told you so. I know you," he insisted, "I know my Yuuri."

Yuuri wasn't sure when Wolfram started calling him "my Yuuri" instead of "my fiance", but it must have been gradual, or he would've said something. It seemed somehow more odd to be someone's Yuuri than someone's fiance. It was strange to be a Yuuri rather than a fiance. Though technically, he thought, he was both.

It happened that there was one night in particular that Wolfram was feeling needy in bed. He slid closer and stared at Yuuri, who stared at him back.

"Wolfram?" Yuuri asked. And Wolfram hugged him then, and touched his cheek.

"You're a wonderful wimp," he said, as if it were the highest honor he could give to Yuuri.

"Uh, thanks," Yuuri said. Wolfram frowned.

"You don't like being wonderful?" Wolfram asked. Yuuri saw his teeth gleam, thought of fangs, thought of Wolfram biting his head off, and answered with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, I like being wonderful," he said, clearing his throat.

"Good. Because you are," Wolfram told him. "Do you know why?"

What to say? Probably not "Yes?".

"No?" Yuuri said, though it was mostly a question.

"Because you're my Yuuri," Wolfram said, matter-of-factly. And he grinned and it still seemed odd to Yuuri.

"Okay," Yuuri said. Was this going somewhere? Uh oh. Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

"And I really like you," Wolfram told him.

It was definitely going somewhere. What did Wolfram want?

"Oh," Yuuri said. Wolfram frowned at him again. He wanted a response. "I, uh-- I like you."

And sure enough, Wolfram grinned, turned around, and promptly went to sleep. Yuuri was awake after that, feeling out of place somehow. He... He didn't like-like Wolfram. He liked him... Like a friend, like... Like Wolfram had said, someone who was always there, never leaving his side, who cared. Wolfram was pretty, and attractive, but there was something strange about it, and Yuuri didn't know how to deal with that.

However, every now and then, at night, as the months went by, Wolfram would say to him, "I really, really like you." And he'd wait for a response, and Yuuri would find it easier to say, "I like you" back. Eventually it didn't feel strange at all. So when Wolfram kissed his cheek and said, "I love you," it didn't seem odd for Yuuri to agree on the matter of liking and loving, though the kissing was unusual. But even that began to fade.

It was like Wolfram was moving so slowly that Yuuri didn't worry. If there was a disturbance of the peace, Wolfram would tell him, and kiss his cheek for good luck. When Yuuri woke up, Wolfram kissed his cheek and said good morning. Wolfram kissed him at night, once even very quickly, on the lips, and Yuuri felt it was just... normal.

It wasn't until a fire broke out in a village one day that something in Yuuri seemed to click on in Yuuri's brain. Wolfram was pulling him from bed, telling him what had happened, what was happening, and made Yuuri ride behind him because the demon king was barely awake. "Hold on to me," Wolfram said, "and you won't fall."

So Yuuri did. And they went out to the village and the next thing Yuuri knew, he was staring up at the ceiling in a makeshift tent, with Wolfram kneeling next to him. He didn't even bother with questions.

"I'm tired," he said to Wolfram. He wondered if everyone was safe.

"There were no casualties," Wolfram told him, "And the injured are recovering. We were just in time." And Wolfram leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Yuuri pulled him down and hugged him. I'm tired, he thought. I'm really tired. And Wolfram's expression softened. "You should sleep some more. I knew you would want me to wake you, but it was early." The blonde's lips caught his eye then. "But we saved lives. I knew it'd be important to you." And then Yuuri leaned maybe three inches from where he was and touched his lips to Wolfram's.

It was light, and contented, and like a dream, Yuuri thought, maybe because he was sleepy. And it was something incredibly comforting, and warm. And when Wolfram came out of his shock at Yuuri's actions, Yuuri decided that kissing Wolfram on the lips was just as normal and satisfying as giving a hug. When the blonde placed a single hand on his side, Yuuri thought...

I'm not gay. But Wolfram is different.

It was different with Wolfram, different than anything or anyone. Different in a good way. Kissing Wolfram was really...

And ten minutes into the kissing was when Yuuri realized, I'm making out. With Wolfram. And it's wonderful.

But then Gunter stuck his head into the tent, let out a shriek, fainted, and Yuuri had to get his tongue out of Wolfram's mouth and help somehow. He was going to go get someone to help Gunter when Wolfram caught his wrist. He said simply, "I love you," and gave Yuuri one more kiss on the lips. "I will take care of Gunter. You need to sleep," he said. And Yuuri, looking at Gunter's collapsed form, decided he would take Wolfram up on that offer and have a good nap.

Things sped up after that. Yuuri supposed he knew from the start that Wolfram was attractive, but it wasn't until right then that he realized Wolfram could be very attractive to him, that kissing Wolfram in that way could also be normal, and exciting, and that while he was definitely a guy, it was as nice, he thought, as kissing a girl. Maybe it was nicer, because he and Wolfram had grown so close.

That night, he was keenly aware of Wolfram's hot breath on his neck. Yuuri looked at his sleeping fiance and made a decision.

Two weeks later, Wolfram was shopping for dresses. "Yuuri, do you like it?"

Yuuri told him, after a quick kiss, to wear whatever he wanted, dress or suit.

"There is nothing you can wear that will change how I see you anymore," Yuuri said. "You're you, and it's you that makes the clothes look good, not the other way around."

Wolfram smiled at him, picking out the worst, most pink, fluffy, frilly, bowed dress he had ever seen.

"Where's that pretty blue one you had?" Yuuri asked.

They were wed two weeks later, on the anniversary of their proposal, once the Maou had recovered from the dress incident. Wolfram wore blue.

The End

Okay, so... I'm not as in love with this one as the other one, but I have a lot of creative energy and I wanted to write it. I think it's important that things are slow, and that Yuuri not wake up and go, "Hey, I love Wolfram. Wow." I hope I got the characterizations okay, although I realize Wolfram acts strange at times. I hope it's apparent why I did this, and that we're seeing a different side to Wolfram that I think was there all along. I also worried about too many implications about Wolfram's femininity. That's some word, huh? Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

Again, thanks to everyone on the LJ communities for assuring me I hadn't botched this. Knowing I've made someone smile is a great achievement. I'll come back to your words when I'm getting burnt out on my original fiction. Someday, you may even read it!

And for those who missed the first note, this story's companion piece is "Wait", also available on the website. I encourage you to experience also what Wolfram was feeling.