Series: Beat of Wings||Title: Where I Tell You
Characters: Yuuri, Dennis||Ship: N/A
Chapters: 7-8||Words: 1,353||Total: 8,153
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]]

Dennis is mine. Yuuri examined that thought, more because he hadn't ever had one like it before. He'd daydreamed for quite some time over having a possession, something or someone that he could toy with in any way that he desired. That was a satisfying concept and one that he saw no reason to turn away from.

But the idea of Dennis also being his in a different way from that sort of possession now prowled its way across his mind and he wasn't at all certain of what to do with it.

It wasn't the sort of possessing that came along with chains and bondage and collars. It was the kind of thing that Yuuri suspected he'd seen from other people in Academia. Not very often; it wasn't really done and those few who forged bonds like that tended to either conceal it from most or brag about it to the heavens. He presumed the latter formed the mindset of 'this is mine, no one touch it or I will end you'.

That wasn't such a bad idea when it came to him and Dennis. He wanted to keep Dennis for his wing-tending capabilities, and since there were so few without wings who were as good at it as Dennis was and who were allergic to feathers, he didn't think anyone else would try to take him. That made Dennis a rare possession and Yuuri enjoyed the idea of owning such a rare possession.

He coasted over the island again, every sort of thought dancing about in his mind. Dennis was his. Dennis was going into enemy territory.

That part he didn't like too much. He knew Dennis could take care of himself. He'd watched him dueling a few times and Dennis really was good. Not quite as good as he was, of course, but there were so few who were that good, and those who were had very special assignments in this war to be.

He still hadn't yet seen Dennis doing an XYZ summon, nor had he yet met Dennis' teacher. He was supposed to do that soon. Having a teacher who'd defected from XYZ made Yuuri a little wary. No, more than a little. There were few people that he'd ever considered trusting and an XYZ traitor wasn't even close to being on the list. He wanted to meet this 'Vector' just to see if there was the slightest chance that he could be deceiving them.

If he is, and I find out about it, I'm going to take him as high as I can go and drop him over open water. And if Vector somehow survived that, Yuuri had several plants that would be happy to devour anything that Yuuri asked them to.

Maybe I should try that first.

That sparked another idea and he circled downward to where Dennis waited for him, seated on one of the benches on top of the building. As soon as he touched down, Dennis got to his feet and came over to check Yuuri's wings. Yuuri allowed that, but there was something else on his mind.

"Definite much better," Dennis proclaimed. "Would you like a wing massage tonight?"

Yuuri let the tips of his wings twitch in pleasure. Dennis knew exactly what to say. Or at least what to offer him. But his own idea hadn't slipped away.

"Yes. But first I'm going to show you something else." He could not help the smile that flicked across his lips. He'd never shown anyone living what he wanted to show Dennis. "Meet me at my quarters."

Dennis looked a little surprised, but he said nothing against the order as he headed for the stairs leading down. Yuuri leaped over the side, wings flapping idly to guide him through the air until he reached the greenhouse on the far side of the building.

Dennis hadn't ever asked about the greenhouse. Most people didn't. The few who knew it belonged to him didn't want to know exactly what he grew in there. Those few that Yuuri had shown his treasured garden were the ones who'd never come back out of it.

Yuuri opened all the correct doors and gestured Dennis down the corridor that led to the greenhouse. Dennis stared at the first few plants as he entered, eyes wide and head turning in every direction.

"These are yours?" Dennis murmured, and Yuuri smiled in pride.

"I've grown every one of these myself. A few of them I created myself." Yuuri brushed one hand across a particular treasure of his. To the naked eye it was very simple, something like a slightly larger Venus flytrap. Yuuri looked forward to the day when it would achieve its full size and hoped that it would be as intelligent as he longed for it to be.

At his touch, the flytrap waved long vines, one of them wrapping around his wrist and tugging gently. Yuuri stroked it with the fingers of his other hand.

"I know, you're hungry," he cooed. "Don't worry, I didn't forget." He glanced up towards Dennis. "See that refrigerator there?" He indicated it with a tilt of his head. "There's a roll of meat in there. Get it for me."

Dennis didn't quite look as if he were sure about this, but he didn't argue, going to get the meat. Yuuri petted the flytrap around the head and vines, cooking as the little beauty strained for a passing bug. He would have made certain his lovely creation got the bug, if he didn't already have dinner waiting for it.

When Dennis brought over the roll of meat, Yuuri carefully started to break off pieces and feed them to his plant. It snapped each piece up quickly, making grateful noises, and Yuuri turned in time to see Dennis staring.

"I didn't know plants talked," Dennis said. He looked a mixture of awestruck and terrified. Yuuri thought that the best reaction to his treasure.

"Most plants don't, at least not in a way humans can hear." Yuuri stroked the flytrap again, dropping another piece into the eagerly open maw. He wondered if he should tell Dennis exactly where the meat came from.

Maybe not right now. Later, once they knew each other better.

"But this one can." Dennis didn't take his eyes off of it. Probably the best idea, even given how small it was now.

"This is one of the ones I designed and grew myself. It doesn't really talk like you or I do, but it can let me know what it wants. I look forward to it knowing what to call me one day." Yuuri petted again, unwinding the tendril from him. The flytrap pouted – at least Yuuri thought the way that it curled up its leaves and crossed vines together looked like pouting – and tucked itself down for sleep. "I'll come visit you later," he promised. "Here."

He pulled out the control system for the greenhouse and programmed up one of his favorite soundtracks for his plants to grow to. Each one of them had a sound system set up so they could listen to individualized music and each plant had different preferences. This one rather enjoyed classical music, of all things.

"Now, come on. I'll show you the rest."

Yuuri still had over half of the roll of meat left. Almost all of his plants were meat-eaters to one extent or another and he always made sure to have enough to feed them with.

He glanced over his shoulder towards Dennis, frowned, and pushed past him to bring one hand firmly down on the leaf of one large plant trying to get to Dennis. "No!" Yuuri ordered sharply, and the leaf pulled back at his command. His plants learned fast that Yuuri was their lord and master. "Dennis is mine, just like all of you are. You won't eat him."

Dennis's mouth worked for a few seconds, staring from the plant that had somehow crept up on him to Yuuri himself. He swallowed. "Yours?"

That got a grin from Yuuri as he looked back around. "Did you ever think otherwise?"

To Be Continued

Notes: I just had to get Yuuri's plants and mad scientist botany in there. Ad his possessiveness. And the fact his plants are meat-eaters. Don't ask what kind of meat. You don't want to know. Though I'm pretty sure it's obvious.

Tomorrow is the final chapter.