Series: Beat of Wings||Title: Where I Tell You
Characters: Yuuri, Dennis||Ship: N/A
Chapters: 4-8||Words: 1,083||Total: 4,311
Genre: Friendship||Rated: G
Note: This is the AU where people have wings. Among them is Yuuri, who has demonic/dragon wings. This is how he & Dennis met one another in this world. This takes place about a year or so prior to the interdimensional war. Beware headcanons.
Summary: Certain events require help, like it or not. No one does everything alone. And so Yuuri searches for someone to scratch his wings and does something he didn't expect: makes a friend. Meanwhile, Dennis would just rather not be carded by the notorious sadist.[[MORE]]
I'm taking care of Yuuri's wings. Dennis turned that thought over and over in his head, even as he carefully worked his way through each scale. He wouldn't have expected Yuuri's wings to be as warm as they were, but each one he touched didn't just shimmer in whatever shade of purple or pink it carried, but pulsed with a deep vibrant sense of life.
For someone who held the record of most duels won at Academia, as well as the one who most people thought would card the most people once the war began, Yuuri carried so much life in his flesh and scales. Dennis certainly wouldn't have thought that about him if anyone had asked before this.
If anyone had asked before today, Dennis wouldn't have even believed that he was taking care of Yuuri's wings at all.
He paused once, rubbing his nose more out of habit than anything else, before he picked up the cloth and carefully bent back to the work. He didn't expect Yuuri to try to say anything, not when he'd started to purr again. So when Yuuri spoke, it took a few seconds for him to realize it.
"I don't have to repeat myself, do I?" Yuuri's words almost always held an edge to them, but right now there there was definite threat. Dennis held back jumping. Yuuri wouldn't like it if Dennis hurt his wings and Dennis much preferred being three dimensional.
"No." He backtracked quickly through the last few moments to recall what Yuuri said. Oh, that was right. "No one's ever asked me to take care of their wings before."
He couldn't see the frown, but he could hear it in Yuuri's words. "Is that so..." He wasn't exactly asking a question. And then that frown vanished, replaced by an extremely satisfied smirk. "Good. Then you're all mine."
Dennis wasn't at all afraid to admit that he mentally jumped at that, and if he hadn't had Yuuri's wings in his hands, he would have probably leaped enough to be mistaken for having wings himself. He swallowed, forcing his attention down on those wings.
"Are you serious?" He had to keep himself under control. If Yuuri lost his temper – well, Dennis really didn't want to think about it.
"Of course. You're very good at this and I need -" Yuuri didn't stumble over his words but Dennis knew he chose them with care. "I need someone who can do this. I can't get to all the itchy places by myself."
Help. Yuuri needs help. That surprised him more than he could have ever dreamed. To think that he could be of use to Yuuri! He'd certainly never dreamed anything on that scale before.
Yuuri's fingers tapped on the bench for a few seconds. "And why hasn't anyone else snapped you up before now?" Dennis couldn't see Yuuri's face but he imagined a sharp look of curiosity, digging to find out all of Dennis' secrets.
He probably wouldn't learn all of them. Dennis didn't want to tell everyone all the deepest thoughts that he imagined, even someone like Yuuri.
But this wasn't something he really minded telling. He carefully wiped a bit more of the oil on an especially dry scale and watched as it sank in. It would take multiple sessions to really get that one to be in tiptop shape.
"It's because of a little problem I have," Dennis confessed. He could feel his cheeks heating up. Confessing this wasn't easy given that they were in Academia. But Yuuri waited, head tilted, wings cocked to the side so Dennis could get to them.
Dennis didn't dare think that Yuuri trusted him. But Yuuri also wasn't killing him and that was good enough for the moment.
"I'm allergic to feathers. I start sneezing whenever they get too close." He paused for a second to rub his nose again. "But you don't have feathers and that doesn't trigger the allergy."
If he'd been in the right position, Dennis wouldn't have been remotely surprised to see Yuuri's smug little smile. He twitched his dragon-scale wings and stretched for a few moments.
"Take a break," Yuuri ordered, spreading his wings. "You don't need to break your fingers."
Dennis wasn't going to argue about that. He stretched his fingers a little, rubbing them. If he were going to do this on a regular basis, then he would have to pick up some hot water and a towel for himself, to get the oil off, and probably one of those little tools used to work knots out. Most people used it when they'd done too much dueling, but he'd seen other people, that he knew hadn't been dueling, use it. Always those who didn't have wings. Now he wondered if they took care of someone else's wings.
I wonder if I should ask Tenjoin. He'd seen her with one of those and he knew that she associated with a few of those with wings. It would be something to take care of, later.
For now, though, he tilted his head back and stared up at the deep blue sky overhead. Classes at Academia went on throughout most of the year, with a few weeks off in the height of summer. He'd spent four years here already and he hadn't bothered going anywhere during any of them. The next summer break was about two weeks away and he hadn't made any plans to go anywhere then either.
He glanced at Yuuri, who had his wings bent around and one hand going down as far as he could on them. Dennis shifted over to where he could see Yuuri's face. A sense of pride swelled through him when he saw how pleased Yuuri looked.
If it had been anyone else, he would have at least tried for some sort of casual conversation. But Yuuri wasn't someone who did casual conversation, and as it was, Dennis wasn't at all sure what they had in common, other than both attending Academia and being duelists. He hadn't seen Yuuri duel, and a tiny part of him did want to, just to see if all of the stories he'd heard were true.
I'd rather watch him duel someone else instead of dueling him myself. Going up against Yuuri might well mean he'd lose, but he wouldn't necessarily be carded. Especially not if Yuuri wanted his continued services as a wing-tender.
Maybe later, he decided. When his fingers didn't hurt as much as they did.
To Be Continued
Notes: First day of a lovely friendship to be. If 'lovely' is the right word to use. This is Yuuri – a sadist – and Dennis – a spy – after all.