Disclaimer: I do not own KKM and it's characters. Nor do I make money from my stories.
Many thanks to my beta kagomegirl2004 for the extra hard work, it wasn't easy on either of us this time.
Many thanks to everyone who left a comment, added story to favorites or story alerts. It means a lot to me. Thank you!
Chapter 5 – Our Bonds
"I can't believe we're finally here," sighed the 27th demon king of Shin Makoku, his pitch black orbs looking out at a large white building through the carriage window. Yuuri now understood the name the enormous castle went by. The White Manor wasn't larger than Blood Pledge Castle, but wasn't much smaller either. But what really made his jaw drop was the big tower to the left of the castle. He had never seen anything like it. It was slightly taller then the rest of the castle, and far more massive. It didn't blend with the beautiful main building very well.
"More like I can't believe you actually persuaded my brother to let us leave." Wolfram shook his head incredulously. "How did you manage that?"
"Well Wolfram, just as you have your ways with your brother, I too have my own ways," Yuuri said mysteriously.
"Hmm, Shibuya, and I thought you only promised him a few weeks without Anissina, since she's accompanying us," the not-so-innocent Great Sage said devilishly.
"Thanks, Murata," sighed Yuuri.
"What?" The blond soldier looked from his king to the Sage, who was sitting with them in the carriage. "Are you serious? I thought you said she's coming because someone has to look after Greta," fumed Wolfram. "But now this really makes sense. I was wondering why suddenly her nanny isn't enough." Wolfram looked over at Yuuri, disappointed. "Well, that was low of you."
"Really?" questioned Yuuri disbelievingly. "You're one to talk!" he accused. "You think batting your long eyelashes and your big watery puppy eyes are any better? And you are aware you're too cute for him to resist when you do that."
Wolfram looked at him with wide eyes, stunned. Not knowing what to say to that, he simply crossed his arms in front of his chest, turned his head to look out of the window, and huffed. Yuuri let him be, but couldn't help the smile when he caught the glimpse of Wolfram's cheeks turning slightly pink in embarrassment.
When the carriage finally stopped, Wolfram was the first to stand. Looking for any kind of danger as he exited the carriage, he motioned for Yuuri to follow once he was sure it was safe to follow him.
Three people came down the staircase leading to the front door of the manor as the carriages arrived, and bowed deeply in greetings to their king and his companions.
"Welcome to White Manor, Your Majesty, Your Highness, Your Excellency. My name is Enrard von Christ, and I'm in charge of this place and the people working here; so please do not hesitate to call for me, if you need anything," one of them, an older man with dark green hair, offered as he bowed a second time.
"It's nice to meet you, Lord von Christ. I have to tell you greetings from your cousin, Gunter. I have heard a lot about you from him."
"That Gunter, making his Majesty a messenger for his greetings." The older men shook his head indignantly.
"Oh! No, it's nothing. I don't mind." Yuuri raised his hands in a soothing gesture.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," he assured Yuuri, bowing his head acknowledgment. "Now let me introduce Lord von Herford, the captain of the guard here at the White Mansion." He paused and let them exchange a few courtesies. "And this," he mentioned to the only girl among them, "is Lady Helena, she is in charge of the Royal stables."
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty." She bowed. "I'm glad to see, Ao, as I heard you named him, is happy and doing well. I had hoped I would see him again one day."
"Oh, so Ao comes from here?"
"Yes, Majesty; all of the horses for Blood Pledge Castle come from here, if they are not personal horses such as the one belonging to His Excellency Lord von Bielefeld." She bowed to Wolfram. "I heard much about your Flawless, but the things they say can't compare to seeing him in the flesh. He's really something." She watched Florian and one of Yuuri's guards lead the two horses, along with their own, to the stables.
"Thank you. It is a great honor to hear that from you, Lady Helena," Wolfram said politely. That left everyone speechless; they didn't often see him acting so polite; but then again, she had complimented his beloved horse.
***Yuuram***
After they had changed out of their travel clothes, the group was given a tour of White Manor. It took them the rest of the afternoon to see the areas of importance in the estate. Lord von Christ had been left in charge of showing them around. Yuuri couldn't help but be reminded of Gunter as he spent more time with the man. Finally, dinner time came; afterwards, they talked about the latest news in Shin Makoku over tea.
It was a late evening when Yuuri finally opened the doors to the royal bedchambers. After taking a nice hot bath, he was feeling fuzzy and just ready for bed. At the sound of the bathroom door opening, Wolfram stuck his head out of the closet, where he was looking for his bed attire. "Oh, Yuuri, it's you."
"Ah, Wolfram, you're back! Where were you? You disappeared so fast on our way to the room that I didn't even get to ask you."
"I was just checking on our horses; nothing special." Wolfram went back to the search for his pajamas. Meanwhile, Yuuri had collapsed into the soft sheets of the bed with his arms spread wide. He was enjoying the feeling, when Wolfram's outraged growl made him lift his head to see what was wrong.
"I can't believe the nerve of those maids!"
"Wolfram?" Yuuri rose to a sitting position to see his friend better. He caught the glimpse of something pink in his fiance's hand and chuckled in realization.
"They packed my nightgown!" Wolfram turned to him fuming, waving the piece of pink clothing so Yuuri could see.
"And you're sure they didn't pack your pajama too?" Asked Yuuri, ready to offer one of his sets to save the day.
"They did." Wolfram lifted his other hand to show the dark blue pajama this time.
Yuuri looked at him disbelievingly. "So what's the problem? Just pick up the pajama and go to bath so we can go to sleep already."
"What's the problem? They know I don't dress in a nightgown outside Blood Pledge Castle. They haven't packed it for me in years, since I told them not to."
"More like you screamed at them not to," mumbled Yuuri. Wolfram shot him look that said: 'Try me!' Yuuri just gulped, determined to leave his comments to himself the next time. "Wolfram, maybe they just thought you will need it on this trip," Yuuri attempted to reason, trying to improve the blond's bad mood.
"As if."
"Well, it's no wonder they packed it; it's just two months until our wedding, so..." Yuuri let the sentence hang between them.
Without another word the blond threw the pink nightdress back to the closet, the blue pajamas in hand and eyes stubbornly pinned to the floor as he dashed out of the room. His face was red in embarrassment; he didn't quite believe what his ever-shy fiance was implying.
Wolfram didn't register the shocked look on Yuuri's face as he ran past him, the double black's hands covering his too-big mouth. Yuuri couldn't quite believe what he had said, either.
***Yuuram***
It had been a week since they arrived at White Manor, and that particular night didn't seem any different from the previous ones until Yuuri was woken up in the middle of the night by something. When he opened his eyes trying to focus on the low sound, he registered Wolfram was sleeping quite fitfully. Of course, he had the tendency to toss and turn on a normal basis, but this seemed different. He turned to the blond and was about to shake him, to wake him up from the dream he was obviously having, when Wolfram shot up, eyes wide open and panting heavily.
"Wolfram, it's ok. It was just a dream." Yuuri touched the other boy's forearm, trying to sooth the obviously distressed blond.
"Yu...Yuuri," Wolfram panted. His eyes started to focus and found the black orbs of his king.
"Yeah, Wolf. Everything is ok now." Yuuri had moved from touching to rubbing Wolfram's arm soothingly.
"Flawless." Wolfram shuddered.
"What?" Yuuri looked Wolfram into wide green eyes.
"Flawless." Wolfram repeated as he started to hurriedly leave the bed. "I need to get to him. There is something wrong." At that Yuuri started to get out of the bed as well. Wolfram found his boots, took his sword, and as he was—clad only in his dark blue pajamas—he ran out of the room. He was closely followed by Yuuri, who in the same attire, with Morgif in hand humming excitedly.
When Wolfram got out of the castle, he ran straight to the stables and fields. Flawless and Ao had been placed in one of the open paddocks behind the stables with five other horses.
At White Manor, the horses were housed more naturally. They liked open places more then the small stables, so the paddocks were made for each of them with small shelter so they could hide from rain and sun. They would rather stay in the large pastures, but the horses needed to be watched day and night, and during the dark nights, it was easier to watch them in smaller spaces. They were too precious to let something happen to them.
Wolfram passed the stables, and he was sure there was something wrong since he didn't meet any guards on his way. He knew the horses should be heavily guarded. When he got to the paddock where Ao and his Flawless should be, the place was empty. The doors were open, and the horses nowhere to be seen. He quickly looked over the other paddock with the other five horses. They seemed a little dazed, but otherwise unharmed.
He was about to run the way his instincts were telling him to when Yuuri shouted his name. "Wolfram!" The blond quickly turned and saw not only Yuuri, but Wilfried (who he now remembered had been guarding their bedchambers tonight), Conrad, Yozak and others.
"How..." Wolfram started when they caught up with him, but then he felt the pang in his chest reminding him he was about to go somewhere. "Never mind," he said quickly, dismissing his previous question completely and started running again. Everyone followed along close behind him.
He was glad the moon was shining brightly tonight, because from this distance, he could see the white horse in front of the Manor's main gates. Thankfully, the thieves hadn't been able to get too far. When the men saw the soldiers running their way, they ceased struggling with the two horses, instead taking their chance to hightail it and run away. Wolfram could hear Conrad shouting orders to follow the men, and in a moment, galloping horses blew past them at breakneck speed.
In a matter of moments Wolfram was beside his Flawless. The horse was trying to stand, but wasn't able to. Wolfram quickly looked him over. There were two arrows in the horse's neck and one in his side, as well as some knife wounds; one of his front legs was bleeding heavily. Wolfram could tell the horse was heavily dazed and, in all likelihood, frightened. He almost looked half asleep, but not scared. "Shh, Flawless. It's me. Stay still." The horse immediately stopped all movement and let Wolfram kneel beside him. Wolfram knew his horse wouldn't die, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt him to see the injuries Flawless took.
"Ao, ssshh, it's safe now. You can leave them be," Wolfram heard Yuuri say to the other horse who, by the look of it, was still stomping angrily at the bodies of a few of the thieves, who were probably dead. Ao calmed down after he recognized Yuuri's voice and let himself be led to Wolfram and Flawless. Wolfram could see the same half asleep look in Ao's eyes as his Flawless had. The thieves probably used something to make them more docile, so they wouldn't fight as they took them.
"Lord Wolfram. I'm going to look at him now, is that ok?" Wolfram just now noticed Helena, who was slowly kneeling down beside him. "You can stop healing him now, your Excellency, I will take care of him from here." She said and he looked down at his hands puzzled. He hadn't even realized he was healing his horse. He put his hand down and let Helena take care of the now almost entirely healed wound. In a few minutes his leg was as good as new, and Flawless was able to stand; but before that, Wolfram had to remove the three arrows still embedded in his body. Every time he got the arrow free, the horse froze in painful convulsions even though Wolfram pushed a bit of his healing Maryoku into the wound while removing each arrow. It hurt them both, but they would get trough it.
Yuuri was amazed. He knew his fiancé was strong, but to be able to do this? He didn't believe he would be strong enough to do this for Ao, even if he was, as Wolfram was for Flawless, the only one who the horse would allow to remove the arrows. Flawless wouldn't let anyone else do something so painful to him without trying to hurt them back. And Wolfram didn't hesitate one moment to help the suffering animal. As his fiancé removed one arrow after another, it got harder to watch the bloody scene. And still, Yuuri was forced to watch, staying beside Flawless's side, gently talking to him while patting his head and nose reassuringly as Ao watched over them.
After the arrows were removed, Helena healed the wounds and the horses were taken to their paddock. Others, including Yuuri and a bloodied Wolfram, left for the castle.
***Yuuram***
Later, after the horses were taken care of and back in their paddock, most of their wounds were healed and the guards at the paddocks and by the gates doubled. They were all sitting in evening lounge. Yuuri and Wolfram were sitting beside each other, both changed into their uniforms and only half listening to what others were discussing.
"Your Majesty, Wolfram." Both boys looked tiredly to Conrad, who smiled at their expressions. "You should go to bed and get some sleep. It is quite late and Wolfram spent a lot of Maryoku while healing Flawless." Both boys nodded at that. "I will inform you about any important things tomorrow."
"Thanks Conrad. We're leaving then." Yuuri stood and looked down at Wolfram still sitting next to him. "Wolf?" he questioned, then bended and took Wolfram's hand.
"Huh?" Wolfram focused on Yuuri's face, and Yuuri noticed he was exceedingly pale in the face. The hand that he held was cold now, as well, almost worryingly so.
"Come on, Wolf. You should get some sleep." Yuuri smiled at him with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, but he was tired too, so it could come out as something different altogether.
At that Wolfram smirked, though the tiredness didn't leave his eyes. "You're the one to talk. I'm not a wimp. I can go days without sleep." Wolfram let go of Yuuri's hand and stood to make a point.
"Right, right," smiled Yuuri, happy that Wolfram's mood improved a bit. Yuuri took the blonde's hand again and together they left the room. Wilfried, Ernst, Gerarth and one of Yuuri's half demon guards were right on their heels.
As they were passing trough the darkened castle corridors, with only torches lighting their way, Wolfram suddenly stopped. The sudden change in pace made Yuuri stop as well due to their still joined hands. As the patting of feet in the passageway disappeared, their guards stopped as well. Yuuri looked questioningly at his fiance.
"I...I want to check on my horse before I go to sleep. Don't worry, just go to sleep yourself, I will be right back," Wolfram assured the double black king.
Yuuri seemed deep in thought for a moment. "I'm going with you," he stated at last, looking Wolfram in the eyes.
"You don't have to. I will be back before you know it."
"I want to see Ao, too. He was scared back then and I want to know everything is all right, too." Yuuri wasn't in mood to argue with Wolfram now. He was tired, but he knew Wolfram must be exhausted. He had spent a lot of Maryoku that day, and the situation had been emotionally draining, as well. Yuuri just didn't feel comfortable leaving Wolfram like that. And he could understand his fiancé's need to see his horse, if he wanted to get some peaceful sleep at all.
He tugged at the blonde's hand. "Come on, the sooner we go, the sooner we will be back."
Wolfram just nodded and followed Yuuri out of the castle and to the paddocks. On their journey they randomly passed many soldiers watching the corridors, castle grounds, stables and paddocks. At least it felt exceptionally safe now. When they got in sight of the paddock their horses were in, they could see a figure standing beside the corral for the horses apart from the six guards that were now watching the two animals. As they got closer, they recognized the figure as Lady Helena. Wolfram noticed Florian and Gabriel between the guards for the horses too.
"Lady Helena, is everything all right?" asked Yuuri as they stood beside her.
She wasn't startled and answered without taking her eyes off the two horses. "Everything's all right, Your Majesty, Your Excellency. The two are just tired. Flawless finally fell asleep, but Ao refused to leave him unguarded and is watching over him."
They stood there for a few moments, just watching the horses, before Lady Helena turned to the Royal Couple. She refused the sudden need to cringe, when she saw the state the blond was in. "You should be in bed too. His Excellency looks tired," she stated.
"We just wanted to make sure Flawless and Ao are okay," Yuuri replied with a tired smile. "I'm glad Flawless survived. You and Wolfram did an exceptional job tonight."
"Survived?" asked Lady Helena, but Wolfram cut her out before she got to ask another question.
"You don't really know anything, do you Yuuri? Gunter is so irresponsible not teaching you about the horses of the Mazoku." Wolfram sighed and looked at the double black. "Mazoku horses are different from normal horses. They are special, and very rare. They are bound to one master for their whole life. As long as their master is alive they will survive anything. They share their lives with the Mazoku they're bound to. The day the demon dies, the demon horse will die too."
"So they are immortal?"
"Yes and no. As long as the demon, they are bound to, lives, they will survive anything. They are similar to Kohi's without the burial thing. And Kohi don't bind with Mazoku like that," explained Wolfram.
"Yes, as long as you are alive, Your Majesty, Ao will live as well; no matter what happens to him," smiled Lady Helena at the both of them. "That's why they are so precious to Mazoku, and feared by our enemies. But it comes with a price. If you want to weaken a Mazoku enemy, steal him his horse." She hide her eyes behind her brown locks.
"So that's why they wanted to steal Ao and Flawless. It wasn't to sell them?" asked Yuuri as some things began to click together in his mind.
Wolfram snorted. "They wanted your horse, Yuuri. My horse doesn't have any value for them. We need to find out what are they're actually after. Every horse thief knows that stealing a Mazoku horse leads to nothing. It's more trouble than anything else. They wouldn't be able to sell them because they won't accept anyone else as their masters."
After Wolfram's statement they all just stood beside the paddock and watched the two horses rest.
"I'm so sorry we weren't able to protect them tonight. I'm so sorry," Lady Helena whispered after some time of silence.
There was another long pause after her apology Yuuri didn't know if he should say anything; it wasn't his place to accept the apology. It was Flawless, who was hurt, and through him, Wolfram.
"It wasn't your fault," Wolfram said at last. "This could have happen anywhere. We all should be more careful from now on." Lady Helena just nodded respectfully, thankful that they were not angry with her.
After a while she spoke again. "I'm glad that Ao won't stay alone. I think he and Flawless are becoming closer, since Ao was protecting him when he was shot. That really warms my heart."
"Why would he stay alone? There are many horses around," asked Yuuri, curious to know more about his horse.
"You wimp. They can't mate with just any horse," Wolfram retorted and Lady Helena smiled.
"A Mazoku horse will mate only with another one like it. But there is a bit more to it... Because they are tied to the lives of their masters, they will only mate if their master 'mate' and that is only if the partner of their master has the demon horse," Lady Helena explained.
Yuuri simply looked lost.
"Let me give you an example, Your Majesty: yourself and Lord Wolfram. You both have the demon horses. If Lord Wolfram didn't have his Flawless, Ao would stay alone for the rest of his life. Sadly, it happens often, since the demon horses are so rare."
"Why does it depends on me if Ao will stay alone? Why can't he choose his own partner?"
"Because he's bound to you, which means he shares your emotions. You probably can't feel it yet, since you have not been bound to him for long, but Ao is far more sensitive, and he takes your feelings into account from the beginning. Lord Wolfram knows what I'm talking about." She looked at the blonde, who replied with a slight nod. That was what woke him up two hours ago, when Flawless was hurt.
"You could say that, like you, Ao won't be able to mate with anyone, since you were bound to Lord Wolfram. This changes with the presence of Lord Wolfram's Flawless. The demon horse that is bound to Lord Wolfram and shares his emotions. You can say, they are like the copies of the two of you only with a horse body."
"Why would someone want a horse, if they knew the poor animal would probably stay alone for the rest of his long live? That's cruel."
"You can't get a Mazoku horse because you want one. They choose their masters themselves. Each demon horse is born for someone. We don't know why that is, but every horse finds his master in the end. Sometimes it's within first months of their lives, like in Lord Wolfram's case and sometimes they will wait for years for the meeting, but they always find them."
"But Ao was given to me. He didn't choose me."
"We knew whose horse Ao was the day he was born. He was the only entirely black horse born in centuries. And we knew you would be arriving within the next few years, so there was really no doubt to whom was the demon horse born for." Lady Helena smiled. "However, I think it's time for me to leave. If you'll excuse me, Your Majesties." Lady Helena bowed slightly to the Royal Couple.
"Good night, Lady Helena," was Yuuri's simple dismissal, to which she bowed again and silently disappeared into the night.
When Yuuri turned back to his blond fiancé, he found him a few meters away opening the gate to their horse's paddock. Without a word Yuuri followed him inside and Wolfram silently closed the gate behind them. Ao just acknowledged them with one ear turned their way, knowing they're not a threat. Wolfram come to sleeping Flawless and sat cross legged beside him on the large layer of clean straw. The horse didn't even stir, sensing that it was Wolfram. Yuuri came to Ao and gently patted him on the neck, which earned him an acknowledging push form Ao's muzzle.
"Hey Yuuri."
Yuuri looked to Wolfram. He was sitting beside Flawless with his back to him. Yuuri hummed to acknowledge his fiancé as he absently petted Ao's mane.
"You should reconsider the wedding."
Yuuri looked at him again and sighed. Then he patted Ao one last time and moved to sit behind Wolfram. He leaned his back against the blonde soldier's. "Wolfram...we went through this already. You're tired and emotionally drained now. You'll see it's going to be all right again when you get some sleep."
"I don't want you to do something you don't really want to do," whispered Wolfram as he hugged his knees to his chest. He could feel Yuuri's back moving against his and suddenly disappear. In a moment his fiancé's arms hugged him from behind, and the blonde stiffened.
"And who told you I don't feel like it?" Yuuri whispered into his ear.
"You know I love you, Yuuri. But I don't want to see you in relationship with someone you don't love. Even if that someone is me." Yuuri was stunned at the bold confession. That was the first time Wolfram admitted his feelings. He was probably emotionally drained and thus more open to admitting his feelings.
"I do like you, Wolfram. I care about you."
"But it's not love. It's not right. You shouldn't be doing this because they are pushing you into it, Yuuri." Wolfram's voice was weak. He was fighting with himself to say these words.
"I am not. I had a choice, remember? I chose this," Yuuri said firmly. It never ceased to amaze him how insecure Wolfram could be sometimes.
"And you shouldn't do it because of me, either," Wolfram said immediately, as if he was reading Yuuri's mind.
Yuuri sighed and planted soft kiss into Wolfram's hair. "You are the only one I can't live without. I was thinking about it over and over again, I do feel differently about you than anyone else. When we're like this..." Yuuri squeezed Wolfram in his arms gently, to give a point to his words. "I feel calm. No one else has that effect on me, not ever. You are like family to me and I want to see you happy. Everything can stay the same, just like it is now. Nothing has to change."
"Even if you don't feel it now, Yuuri, one day you will want to have someone. One day your best friend won't be enough. And truthfully, so will I. I love you and I would give anything to stay with you, but not like that. To have you, but be forbidden to touch you, to have you..."
"But we are touching," protested Yuuri.
Wolfram was amazed by Yuuri's innocence sometimes. "But not as lovers, Yuuri. We both have needs."
"Would you stop this foolishness, if I promise we would have normal marriage? With everything that belongs in it?"
But Wolfram continued as if he didn't hear him. "Yuuri, life like this would be hell—being stuck together by duty. You never wanted this. I would threw away everything to make you happy, but don't make me to be the one who will stand in a way of your happiness."
"You deserve to be happy too."
"But I can't be happy, if you are not. We will both suffer."
"No Wolfram, we won't. I won't let that happen. I know I'm selfish when I say I can't let you leave. I just can't. I got used to your presence, and now I don't want to be without it."
Wolfram just stared at him for a while, not ready to believe what his heart was trying to tell him Yuuri was implying. "Yuuri. I'm still a BOY to you. Your way of thinking is still here."
"Wolfram, That's… That's not true." Yuuri swallowed hard.
"Can you kiss me, Yuuri?"
At that question Yuuri's breath hitched and his heart skipped a beat. It's wasn't like he never thought about kissing Wolfram. He had thought about it quite often since the official proposal, actually. But to do it right now? He could feel his heart beat madly against his ribs. He was sure Wolfram must be able to hear it.
"It would be easier if I were a girl, hm?" Wolfram smirked sadly.
Yuuri realized suddenly how close they were; Wolfram was sitting between Yuuri's legs and Yuuri was holding his hands. The king's head was blank. He had thought about this many times. And truthfully, he was curious. He was wondering what it would feel like to kiss Wolfram—to kiss a boy. Even though he didn't know if his experience with kissing a girl could count (after all, he had been ten years old at the time).
Yuuri slowly leaned forward until he could feel Wolfram's hot breath on his own lips. Then he lost his nerve and just quickly pecked him on the rosy lips and sat back.
Wolfram sighed. "See, Yuuri?" He looked into Yuuri's confused eyes. "This won't work." Wolfram started to withdraw from Yuuri's closeness. And Yuuri's heart started to beat madly. What is Wolfram's problem? He kissed him, right? He knew this wasn't a kiss Wolfram wanted. But he never kissed anyone for real, why making it harder?
"What?" he asked nervously. Meanwhile Wolfram stood up. Yuuri could feel he was loosing the battle, the battle he didn't want to fight in the first place. He was too tired to fight this battle.
Wolfram turned to him, his eyes sad. "Yuuri, this was a kiss a child would give to their parents, not a kiss a lover would give to lover." Wolfram turned from him again slowly heading for the gate. "Stop pushing yourself into something you don't want. It would give us both nothing but a broken heart." Wolfram almost yelped as he was suddenly interrupted by hands spinning him around, warm body pressing him hardly against the wooden fence and heated lips sealing over his.
Yuuri could feel his body move forward and before he could think more about it, he felt his lips roughly slam against Wolfram's. He couldn't remember when he closed his eyes. This was totally different from what he was imagining his first "real" kiss to be. He knew he was not experienced in kissing like that, but he could tell Wolfram wasn't either, and it (surprisingly) warmed his heart. After they both calmed down a bit, it wasn't hard to tell the kiss was clumsy. They were both too scared to do something wrong. Wolfram's lips were so soft, Yuuri thought. He let go of the blond's hand and softly touched his cheek. In answer to that gesture, Wolfram parted his lips delicately and after giving it a one second thought, Yuuri warily bit his lower lip. That made Wolfram moan softly, and Yuuri smiled against his fiance's lips as the kiss ended and the two slowly separated.
"So, did I pass?" Yuuri asked as he watched Wolfram's expression change from disbelief to 'I'm trying to look unconcerned', crossing his arms and letting out a trademark huff. This made Yuuri laugh.
"You wimp," retorted Wolfram as he passed him returning to his previous spot beside his now awake horse. But the slight blush that dusted his otherwise pale cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Yuuri. He had totally passed!
"Your Majesty. Is everything all right?" Wilfried's voice came from behind the fence, and Yuuri immediately turned towards the brown haired soldier's voice.
"Yeah, everything is fine, Wilfried. We were just about to head back to the castle now," Yuuri informed him and turned to summon his fiancé. But the future consort's name caught on his lips as he saw the blond half sitting half leaning against his horse's back, one arm draped over the animal's chest, both clearly asleep.
Yuuri couldn't help but smile again as he made his way to Wolfram. He knelt to one knee and picked the blond up in his arms. Wolfram must be really exhausted because he didn't even stir as he picked him up.
As Yuuri neared the gate, Wilfried opened it for him. "Should I take him, Your Majesty?" The soldier asked as Yuuri left the paddock.
Yuuri shook his head. "I will take him," he answered. Wilfried gave him an acknowledging nod, and Yuuri headed back to the castle with the sleeping blond in his arms.
-TBC-