Inexorable Flow

SP777: No, I don’t really do emails. Unless there’s a need for that.
1. No, I’m not Indian. I’m Lithuanian. We don’t really do much dancing. Hmm…well, at least I don’t. Can’t really speak for everyone.
2. You know, I also think that Leahir would be a better match for Amae than Kyota. The thing is that while coming across as the “gentleman” he is rather…a too big lady. He has his moments and when he has those moments, he needs a man to handle him. While Amae could be that man, Amae would probably prefer knowing that he has a “fulltime man” to rely on as Amae also has his own “weak moments”. Uh, well this sounds a bit freaky, but I don’t know how I should explain it better.
3. About Kyota not really wanting Amae. He does want Amae. Whether he loves Amae is another question. He probably doesn’t. Even if they get together, the fiery desire would dissipate pretty fast. Actually, I do have a vision of what would happen to them in the future as I toyed with the thought about writing one more sequel. As I don’t think I’d ever write it, I could share that thought.
4. Leahir has his own motives in buying Amae. It will be all clear in this chapter. Well, he does want Amae, but not only that.
5. Yeah, I understand what you are saying, but I can’t really expand on Leahir’s character any more than I did. I would probably write some two or three chapters, and the story was done a year ago. And at the time I felt I had nothing left to write about anymore: I discussed and revealed everything I wanted to. And then I just wrapped it all up. And thank gods; trilogies can become really tiring.
Well, there’s one more chapter left, but you can just ignore that one if you are not interested in Lakarde. My beta said, she’d send me the ready chapter this weekend.

Linkin Fantasy: I talked a bit about Leahir’s intentions in the reply to SP777 above.
Well, I don’t really read KKM fandom anymore. As said, I didn’t like the anime that much to begin with. And my new fic…well, seven short chapters of it… I don’t know what the hell it’s going to be. It’s not really what the KKM fans like reading ^_^ Well, I suppose neither is IF, for that matter, haha

alice barber: Thank you very much for offering your help, but I found another person to do the job.


Disclaimer: I don’t own Kyou Kara Maou! – It belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I’m not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: Yaoi (male x male), Yuuri x Wolfram. Some other pairings. Angst. Adult topics.
A/N 1: Age: Yuuri – 45. Wolfram…let’s say he is about the same age as Yuuri just a little older. Lakarde – 12.

Inexorable Flow

by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by Melisenda and HARPG0

Part 26

Amae raised his eyes to look at the door. Confused and somewhat annoyed, he stared at Leahir who had just taken the liberty to stroll into his room without knocking.

“Who let you in?” Amae asked, concentrating back on the tiny pair of scales in front of him. Five more milligrams of dried yarrow to add.

“The guards,” Leahir said, approaching Amae.

Amae’s desk was strewn with varicolored bottles of different sizes and shapes. Some of them were filled with something only Amae could identify, others were empty. Bundles of wrapped and unwrapped herbs were piled all around the desk.

Amae rolled his eyes while taking the tiny scale disk off and pouring its contents into one of the varicolored bottles. Leahir briefly wondered how Amae was even able to find the right bottle in this mess.

“I have the Prince Consort’s permission.”

“Hmm… Coming to visit me privately…” Amae grinned while capping the bottle. “Do you need treatment for gonorrhea or maybe it’s a thriving wart?”

The tone was light, conversational but with a hint of a warning. Leahir watched the man putting the bottle into a huge bag next to the table. He heard the bottle rattle among the contents. The concubine was really something – performing a dance like that just a two days ago, driving Kyota mad with lust and jealousy and now…just sitting calmly and mixing herbs like an old woman, but at the same time managing to keep him on edge. Amae was one huge paradox. It was no wonder Kyota wanted him so much.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but no.”

Amae shrugged indifferently. He took one of the small bundles on the table and started to unwrap it. A strong tart smell pervaded the room as the cloth revealed a bunch of brownish herbs.

“I bought you, Amae,” Leahir said as it was obvious that Amae’s silence indicated that it was just common sense to state one’s business after entering his territory.

The man’s hands stopped moving for a second, then he continued working.

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems that the Prince Consort is not that happy with your presence near him. Here,” Leahir untied a bag from his belt and tossed it onto the bed next to Amae’s desk where it jingled. “Fifty thousand and the exclusive right to sell Fanrir’s agricultural produce - that’s your price, Amae.”

Amae looked at the bag of money then his eyes traveled back to the herbs he had on the desk. “What’s with the bag? Are you giving the money to me?”

“That was the part of the deal - the money is yours. Our Prince Consort seems to have a soft spot for you after all. It’s…well, probably your dowry.”

Laughing, Amae clapped his hands to clean off the tiny bits and pieces of herbs and then, for the first time during this conversation he finally turned around to look at Leahir.

Quite startled, Leahir stared at the laughing man. What was with that reaction?

“Why?” Amae asked softly, his laughter quieting. He suddenly felt tired from these games. Wolfram was an idiot. Amae’s body slumped deeper into the chair.

“Why what? Why he sold you or why I bought you?”

“Why did you buy me?”

Leahir chuckled. “You are a concubine, right? I want you, so I bought you.”

Amae gave him a thoughtful look. He opened his mouth then closed it, changing his mind. Deciding to just go along, he chuckled. “You could have had me for free.”

“No, I don’t want to have you, I want to own you.” Leahir’s gaze became sterner. “Start packing. We are leaving in three hours.”

Amae watched him silently for a few seconds then nodded. He turned back to the table where he wrapped the sharply smelling herbs back. Then he started gathering the bottles off the table and putting them into a separate bag. The packing finished, he stood up.

The concubine was tall, nearly as tall as Leahir. Amae’s lean and elegant presence was enticing. If the man acquired more muscle, trained his body, he would be a fearful opponent. However, Amae did not seem interested in that.

“I need to change my clothes.”

Blinking, Leahir’s eyes rose back to Amae’s face. “So?”

“So you will leave the room.”

“You forget that you belong to me now.”

Amae smiled at him brightly. “I indeed do, don’t I?”

Unconsciously, Leahir found himself wanting to back away from that stormy blue gaze. “Fine,” he said, frowning. “I don’t see why you are playing coy anyway,” he muttered. “You have been a concubine for a quite long time after all. Faraya’s concubine.”

Amae chuckled at the other man’s retreating back. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, that’s right. And he would have just taken what he wanted right now and right here. You though, sweetheart, you have no balls. I’ll walk all over you…” he tsked, amused.

Leahir’s head snapped around to glare at Amae. He pivoted on his heel and took two quick strides to bring him up to the younger male. Amae watched him, smiling, still with his arms crossed.

“You piss me off,” Leahir grunted. He lifted Amae’s chin, so that their lips now were at the same level.

“I know,” Amae grinned. “That’s why you want me.”

Their lips touched, and Amae closed his eyes. He felt Leahir’s tongue sneak out to demand entrance. Amae opened his mouth to let him in. Their tongues met, sliding against each other. Leahir’s arm wrapped around Amae’s waist, drawing him close. Then it slid down over the younger male’s hip to squeeze the round buttock underneath the tunic.

A few seconds later, Leahir’s right hand glided through the former concubine’s long hair to settle on his nape to deepen the kiss. Amae felt himself pulled into it. He moaned softly as both of Leahir’s hands settled on his buttocks and pulled him to press their groins together. Leahir pushed him backwards, where Amae knew that the bed was.

Amae broke the kiss to get his bearings back. His legs felt shaky. Leahir raised his head to look at the flushed man. He thought about dishing out a witty comment but the sight turned his brain to useless mush. Amae’s half open mouth, chaotic hair, and dilated pupils…

“Hmnmhh…” Amae moaned with pleasure when Leahir’s mouth engulfed his with a sudden burst of lust. Leahir’s hand moved over his waist and in between his legs. “Mmm… Yes!” Amae gasped as it outlined him and rubbed over his tunic.

Leahir swallowed Amae’s moans. He pushed the younger male towards the bed, where they fell into it, bouncing on the mattress, the money bag rolling out onto the floor. Amae grunted as Leahir’s weight pressed him down. Leahir lifted himself then his hand brushed Amae’s tunic out of his way.

“Oh, I see,” Leahir said. “This is why you like wearing them; they are so easy to deal with.”

Amae grinned up at him. His arms wrapped around Leahir’s nape and shoulders to draw the other man down for another passionate kiss. Leahir’s hands slid under the tunic and over the younger man’s bare stomach and over his sides, caressing the smooth skin. Amae hummed encouragingly, his attention momentarily distracted from Leahir’s back and shoulders.

“I see we’ll get along,” Leahir purred, leaning in to issue another kiss.

Amae deepened the kiss, sucking on Leahir’s tongue, making the other man shiver in anticipation. Amae’s fingers slid into Leahir’s hair to massage his scalp. His other hand stroked Leahir’s back, then slid over his waist and fondled his front.

Leahir gasped at the friction. He raised himself on his hands to give the younger male more access. Amae’s lips attacked his throat, here and there applying a soft kissed or more aggressive nibbles on his skin. His hand slid off Leahir’s crotch and started fumbling with the belt of his trousers. Leahir came to help him as Amae could not manage to undo it with one hand.

Amae seized the erect flesh that had sprung out from the open trousers. He started stroking it leisurely.

“Oh yes,” Leahir hummed, his hips following the lead.

While holding himself up with his left hand, Leahir wanted to return the favor but Amae’s hand intercepted him half-way. He brought the older male’s hand up.

“Oh shit,” Leahir groaned as he watched Amae’s tongue circle his fingers. His eyes screwed shut as Amae sucked on them in time with his strokes Leahir’s shaft. He couldn’t contain himself anymore and attacked Amae’s mouth like a starved animal.

The kisses were wet and messy, their mouths slurping and sucking, tongues meshing.

“Your trousers…” Amae panted out between the kisses. He tugged at Leahir’s trousers.

The two of them grappled with the trousers then finally Leahir kicked them to the floor. He started working on Amae’s underwear which soon joined the trousers on the carpet. Meanwhile Amae’s free arm wrapped around Leahir’s waist to hold onto it firmly, and he turned them so they now were on their sides. Leahir approved the development in the position with a content groan.

Amae continued working on Leahir’s pulsing length in his palm. His other hand left the older man’s waist to settle on his buttock and squeeze it. Amae’s mouth attached itself to Leahir’s mouth then slid down to his Adam’s apple, where his teeth scrapped against the sensitive flesh.

Leahir caressed Amae’s back. His breath was coming out in short quick gasps. He tensed in surprise as one of Amae’s fingers slid through his crease wetly and slipped inside him. Leahir’s eyes rolled up in his head as he came with a few shuddery huffs.

“So good,” Leahir purred after he had come to his senses. He leaned in to kiss Amae. “Hmmn,” he hummed while nipping and nibbling on Amae’s lips and pumping his tongue in and out. He looked down at the obvious bulge under Amae’s tunic. “Now let’s deal with this.”

“I don’t matter. My duty is to see that the master is pleased,” Amae purred. “Dress and don’t worry,” he husked sucking on Leahir’s lower lip. “I’ll deal with it by myself.”

Leahir jerked as Amae bit his lip quite painfully. Leahir soothed his lips with his tongue. “I’d be pleased if you let me…” he reached down to Amae’s crotch.

“I don’t want you touching me,” Amae said strictly, smacking his hand away. “Besides, you haven’t shown me anything that I haven’t seen before,” he said, suddenly leering at Leahir, his attitude changing completely.

Leahir stared at him, confused, his mind still in a pleasurable daze. Then his eyes started to darken.

“You are an annoying pompous bastard trying to take an advantage of the situation,” Amae muttered. “Now get out.”

Leahir stared at him in disbelief. “You belong to me. I could just fuck you however I…”

“Don’t,” Amae warned as Leahir’s hand shot forward to make a grab at him. “I don’t want you touching me. Simply leave the room.”

Leahir found himself unable to defy Amae’s pronouncement. He also understood that Amae knew perfectly well that he would not stoop as low as to pleasure or take Amae against his will. He wasn’t sure how the former concubine knew, but it was obvious he knew people pretty well.

Leahir cursed. He got up from the bed and started looking for his trousers that he had kicked to the floor earlier. “Aren’t you just being fussy?”

“Call it whatever you wish but don’t even try dragging me down the same path again,” Amae said, also standing up. He scanned the floor for his underwear. “I had enough of you and Faraya and everyone else.”

Leahir pulled his trousers up. He belted them then turned around to grin at Amae. “I have lots of time, love. If you managed to fall in love with a man like Faraya, then it’s obvious that I have many chances.” He chuckled and whirred through the door just a fraction before a pillow hit it.

“Get ready!” Leahir shouted before going away, still laughing.

XXXXX

“Yuuri?”

The king raised his head to look at his husband leaning on the wall in the doorway. Yuuri was able to tell right away that this would take more than a few words of exchange.

“Yes?”

“Want to see something interesting?” Wolfram asked.

Yuuri was intrigued by his husband’s cunning smile. “Hmm? Sure?” he drawled carefully.

“I think the view from my study will be first class.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, just a small play.”

“Eh? What play? Do we have a visiting theater group? Nobody told me.”

Wolfram laughed softly. “I suppose one could call it a leaving theater group. I think it should start in two minutes. I’ll be heading back, then,” he turned to go. “Wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“Huh?”

Bewildered, Yuuri stood up and followed Wolfram. He had not understood a word of what Wolfram had said, but decided that, knowing his husband, it would be a very good idea just to follow Wolfram whenever Wolfram wanted Yuuri to follow him.

Once in Wolfram’s study, Yuuri gave his husband’s back a questioning gaze.

“Come here,” Wolfram motioned for Yuuri to join him at the window. “We are just in time. Look,” he motioned at a lone rider who could be seen from the window, “that is Kyota tearing after that carriage,” he pointed further.

“And what’s in the carriage?” Yuuri wondered.

“Amae.”

“Oooh,” Yuuri nodded his head, starting to get the picture. With interest, he leaned on the windowsill then wrapped his other arm around the blond’s waist. “First-rate show. Actually, how did you manage to arrange this? I suppose I am not too forward in presuming that this is your doing, am I?”

Wolfram leaned against Yuuri. “Oh, it was nothing much. I just sold Amae to Leahir.” He grinned at his husband’s wide eyes. “And then told Kyota about it.”

XXXXX

“Stop the carriage!”

From Amae’s frowning face, Leahir’s eyes went to the window. They just recently passed the castle gate and now were riding down the slope leading towards the city. He stuck his head out to see what the commotion was about. One of his guards rode up to him.

“Sir, Kyota Docharo wants to talk to you.”

Leahir rubbed his hands together in excitement. “Great.” With a light flick of his wrist he dismissed the guard. Grinning, he looked at Amae. “Well, it’s going to get interesting now.”

The former concubine scowled at him.

Leahir opened the door and climbed out of the carriage. Kyota was only a few meters away. He jumped off his horse. Leahir’s guards were horseback but it was obvious they were not sure how they were supposed to react to this situation. There was a lot of tension in the air, which had never been present before. All of them knew the relationship Leahir and Kyota had, but there was something different with the atmosphere right now.

Seeing the confusion, Leahir motioned for his guards to stay back. “Kyota,” he nodded formally to acknowledge the other man.

Kyota, annoyed by this wintery act, frowned. Instead of answering, his jaw set firmer. “Why the hell are you doing this?” he demanded.

Leahir gave the blue-haired man a nonchalant look. “Because I want him, of course. And I’m more capable than you of getting what I want, it seems.”

Kyota startled in surprise. “You damn bastard!” he hissed out in disbelief.

Amused, Leahir chuckled at his incredulity and anger. “C’mon,” he threw his hands dramatically, “no hard feelings. He has agreed to go with me of his free will, after all.”

Kyota spat in distaste. “You call buying someone ‘free will’?!” Over Leahir’s shoulder, he glanced at the window of the carriage where he knew Amae was. “Fine!” he looked back at Leahir. “You and me, then. The one who wins can have him.” His blue eyes locked on the carriage as the door opened and Amae appeared. The concubine climbed down and stood staring at the two of them with a neutral face.

Leahir shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “Why should I fight you? He’s already mine.”

“I can’t believe this!” Kyota growled. “I can’t fucking believe I once called you a friend!”

Leahir rolled his eyes. “Well, you should agree, Kyota, that what we had was more...based on pleasure than friendship. But even so, I would not want to damage our relationship.” He motioned at Amae. “Look at him. He’s only a concubine, Kyota. We aren’t going to fall out because of him, are we?”

Kyota gritted his teeth. He understood perfectly well that Leahir was laughing at him. Leahir knew that having chased after Amae like a damn idiot, it meant he was serious about this. Nonetheless, it had been him who had told Leahir he hated Amae and now Leahir was having fun at his expense.

“Yes, we are, Leahir,” Kyota raised his hand. “You knew that before doing this.” A flash of fire appeared in it.

“Ooo, what drama,” Leahir drawled, chuckling. Then his face got more serious. “Alright,” he nodded, “if you win, you can have him,” with the back of his hand he motioned at Amae behind them. “However, I am sure that you’ll agree that as I’m the one attacked, I have the right to choose the weapons we’ll be dueling with,” he said matter-of-factly then offered Kyota a sharp smile. “I like swords, Kyota. You know that.”

Amae crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the carriage. It did not seem that anyone would be interested in what he had to say about all of this. He noticed that after mentioning swords, Kyota’s face fell a little. He remembered Wolfram or someone else saying that Kyota was not that good with a sword.

Kyota hesitated for a few moments. He knew from experience that Leahir was a formidable opponent. He realized that he didn’t have much chance of winning against the man. Nonetheless, now there was no way of turning back – he had suggested a duel and Leahir accepted. He could not go back on his word. And maybe…maybe luck would be on his side.

Kyota lowered his hand and dispersed his fire element. His fingers encircled the hilt of his sword at his side. “Fine,” he conceded.

Leahir motioned to one of his servants to get his sword from the carriage. Both Kyota and Leahir moved away from the road and the carriage to the meadow beside the road.

Kyota badly wanted to look at Amae to see his reaction or thoughts on what was happening, yet, afraid of what he might see, somehow managed to stop himself. Then, while waiting for one of the guards to bring Leahir his sword, he forced himself to stop thinking about anything else except the upcoming duel.

“Kyota,” Leahir said, weighing the sword his guard has brought him, “you have never won against me in a duel, what makes you think it might be any different today?”

Kyota’s eyes slid over Leahir’s blade. The man was serious. Instead of that huge badassed blade that he usually carried around, Leahir was holding a different one, one that was much more efficient in a duel. As two-handed swords were Leahir’s specialty, this one also was two-handed only much more compact. Kyota knew that Leahir was hard to fight because he could just as easily hold it with one hand. During the fight, Leahir’s next step was very hard to predict.

Leahir would usually carry that insanely huge sword of his around, but it wasn’t his favorite. Yes, it helped Leahir to develop the musculature he needed to be this good at wielding smaller two-handed swords as he did, it was also a perfect weapon during a raid against cavalry, that enormous blade just sweeping horses and the raiders together at once, but it was more for show and practice than anything else.

Kyota left the question-taunt unanswered. There was nothing much he could say anyway. His fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword more firmly and he charged at Leahir. The brown-haired man parried his attack easily. Their blades screeching, they parted. Leahir took the offensive, and Kyota grunted at the numbing force with which Leahir’s sword clashed against his. Leahir pushed forward, and, not planning on giving the blue-haired male a breather, charged at his right side. Kyota hardly managed to defend himself, and Leahir’s sword was rising again.

All the time while fighting Kyota, Leahir was holding his blade with both hands, knowing well that in this fight he would not need mobility and speed; he was more concentrated on strength. He was pushing Kyota, making him walk backwards. It was just a question of time.

Kyota cursed when his foot caught on a molehill and he nearly lost his balance. Leahir gladly used this opportunity and nearly took his head off. Only at the last second did Kyota manage to duck.

Kyota was sure he felt hesitation and deliberate slowness when that blade swept above his head. Leahir had seen the opportunity and used it, but it was more to demonstrate what he could do. Now it was obvious that Leahir did not intend to end this with someone’s death. Kyota was glad about it, because now he was sure that it would have been his death. His ex-lover was too much of a formidable opponent for him to handle.

Leahir grinned after noticing that Kyota understood he was just toying with him. “How about simply giving up?” he asked. “I would even agree to call it a draw. In no way do I want to be responsible for crippling my ex-lover or causing his death; my reputation would really suffer.”

Kyota said nothing. His sword aimed at Leahir’s chest, but was blocked and diverted aside. Kyota had no time to recover his balance as Leahir lashed out, his blade trying for his right shoulder. Kyota yelped in pain as the sword connected with his arm, the tip of the blade barely missing his neck.

Because of the adrenaline Kyota did not feel much of anything, but the cut ran through the muscles and he had trouble holding his sword. It was a severe hindrance and he changed his hands. Leahir gave him a skeptical look. He knew Kyota was more or less the same fighting with his right or left hand, but right now there was no point in this.

“Take this seriously!” Kyota growled.

With his eyes, Leahir indicated Kyota’s arm. “I am taking this seriously.”

Kyota advanced and Leahir blocked his thrust for his side. It always was a little tricky for both fighters when one of them was left-handed. Leahir found it to be true about beating off Kyota’s attacks. The blue-haired Mazoku though, seemed to be more used to fighting this way.

Kyota’s blade swished through the air where just a moment ago Leahir’s side was. Leahir had jumped away. In a second he clashed his sword against Kyota’s while he still had it pointed aside. Of course, he was not able to beat it out Kyota’s hand this easily, but he had not intended that. With a quick push, he diverted the blue-haired male’s sword towards the ground, then lashed out with his foot. The kick caught Kyota in the middle of his stomach, the sheer force of it lifting him off his feet and throwing him away about a meter.

Leahir’s blade met only grass and the ground as Kyota rolled over. Despite tears streaming from his eyes, and lack of air in his lungs, Kyota managed to get to all fours in a second and his foot shot out. Leahir’s feet were swept from under him and he hit the grass with a thud. The thud was followed by a loud painful grunt and a curse as his left shoulder was dislocated while he had been trying to soften his fall with his left arm.

Spitting out a few blades of grass, Leahir turned to his right side. He could see Kyota gasping for air just out of his sword reach. But if he chucked it… Leahir yelped in pain as someone’s heavy boot crushed his wrist. His head snapped up to see Amae’s tall stature.

“That’s enough,” Amae said.

Leahir’s fingers tried to close around the hilt of his sword again, but then unclasped immediately as the pressure on the wrist increased and, despite the quite soft soil underneath, became unbearable.

“Quit it,” Amae warned. “Your play has already gone too far.”

“Get your damn foot off my wrist!” Leahir growled out. He wondered what the hell his guards were doing, but then realized that since Amae was unarmed, they had not considered the concubine dangerous. Leahir tried to kick Amae off, but the former concubine jumped aside to avoid his legs. Leahir howled in pain as he received a kick to his dislocated shoulder. Tsking, Amae kicked the sword aside, out of Leahir’s reach.

“You belong to me and you’ll obey!” Leahir spat out angrily after he had recovered from the pain. He blinked his blurry eyes at the former concubine. He wanted to get up, but froze as Amae’s boot suddenly hung suspended in the air just above his dislocated shoulder.

“Calm the fuck down!” Amae hissed at him.

His eyes shot warningly to Leahir’s guards as they made a move to approach him. The concubine was still unarmed so he could not cause much trouble, except that his boot was just at the right angle to bring Leahir a considerable amount of pain. The guards stopped.

“Don’t put me on the same level as him,” Amae motioned at Kyota with his head. “Do you really think I believed that Wolfram sold me?” He snickered, rolling his eyes. “But you’re getting too intense now. He came for me, didn’t he? You can finish your game now,” he said, lowering his foot. “I’ll get to you in a minute, but first I want to see how my knight in shining armor is doing.”

Feeling the fervor of the fight draining out of his body, Leahir sat up. He chuckled at Amae’s receding back. “He’s not worthy of you, really.”

Amae shrugged. “Probably. Or maybe it’s me who is not worthy of him.”

From the ground, where he was kneeling and supporting himself with his left hand, Kyota watched the approaching Amae. Then his eyes flickered to Leahir who now was surrounded by his guards.

Kyota groaned softly. “Shit.” He raised his head to look at Amae who had kneeled next to him to take a look at his arm. “Why didn’t you stop us if you knew this was only a scam?” he spat reproachfully. He yelped in pain as, instead of unbuttoning his uniform, Amae just tore it open at the shoulder. The concubine must have decided that the tattered uniform was not worth saving and that sharp but short pain was better than mild but long.

“Kyota,” Amae said in a serious voice, “a real man, at least once in his life, should have someone duel for him.”

Kyota couldn’t help chuckling then grimaced in pain as Amae tore the rest of the sleeve off. He tied it just above the wound, then the buttons flew in all directions when he tore at the rest of the uniform.

“No ribs broken,” he said after inspecting Kyota’s stomach and chest. “You’ll be in for quite a lot of pain for quite a while, though. The wound on the arm,” he continued, tearing off another piece of Kyota’s uniform, “is quite deep and you have a few muscles cut, but it’s nice and clean and should heal in a few weeks’ time.”

“Amae?” Leahir called from amidst of his guards. “If you ever get bored with him, you know where to find me,” he said after the concubine looked at him.

“No one is going to look for you,” Amae shot back. “How is your shoulder?” he asked.

“Hurts.”

“Good. The more, the better.”

Leahir chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose this is what you get for matchmaking.”

“You really took this too far,” Amae said. He pointed at Kyota’s arm. “And this is what you get for being an idiot. Sure, it’s romantic and stuff but still an idiocy, mind you.”

Their eyes met and Kyota blushed wildly. He lowered his head. Meanwhile Amae finished wrapping a new piece of cloth around his arm. A few seconds later Leahir shook off the amazement. And this was Kyota, the man who never held his tongue in cheek, who never blushed... Really, Kyota had fallen hard.

XXXXX

“Hey,” Yuuri greeted after having entered his husband’s study.

Wolfram raised his head to give him a short smile then concentrated back on the document he had before him. Yuuri walked to the desk his husband was sitting at. He circled it to stand behind the blond.

“Here,” he said, putting an elaborate envelope on a pile of documents Wolfram had been reading.

Wolfram looked at the envelope in front of him. “Looks like an invitation to a wedding,” he said before taking it.

“But you don’t know whose yet,” Yuuri said, watching him gingerly take out the card. “And what do you think of that?” he asked after his husband had finished reading it. He leaned on the desk next to Wolfram.

Wolfram lowered the card. “I am not sure,” he muttered. He gave Yuuri a look. “But it’s not really surprising, is it?”

Yuuri regarded him with quite a sardonic look. “Well, you can be proud of yourself. Recently you’ve been playing matchmaking quite a lot. Them, and Lakarde with that whatshisname.”

“It’s Dimera von Rikota,” Wolfram said matter-of-factly. He gave his husband an inquiring look. He was not certain whether Yuuri was just stating a fact, or for some reason was annoyed or was merely teasing him. He decided it did not really matter, as two months ago Yuuri had happily accepted the invitation to watch the “theater” called Kyota and Leahir’s duel for Amae from the windows of Wolfram’s very study. The two of them had been grinning like idiots the entire time.

“I don’t understand what you’re so unhappy about,” Wolfram said, his voice sounding too low and carrying a few notes of irritation and jeer in it. “It’s two birds with one stone: you can finally stop worrying about Kyota’s cunning plans to marry me one day; and you can stop going nuts about Amae declaring his undying love for me and dragging me into his bed.”

Yuuri fought a twinge of shame down and scowled at his husband. “Oh, a part of me really wants to just drop everything and celebrate this good riddance with two bottles of Vodka till tomorrow’s morning. There’s this “but”, though,” he said wryly. “I’ve received three written objections to their marriage. One is from Kyota’s mother. Now tell me, dear, what the fuck should I do?”

“First, you should stop cursing,” Wolfram shot back. “It doesn’t suit you. Secondly, you should give them your blessing. I don’t remember you ever being prejudiced against social standing or race.”

“The Duchess threatens to challenge Kyota’s rights as Docharo successor and exclude Kyota from her will.”

Wolfram felt a grin appear on his lips. “I see Kyota is in for some domestic fun. And what about the other two?”

“One is Kyota’s brother, Arisu Mordana.”

Now Wolfram grinned from ear to ear. “I am sure in a month or so Arisu will want to marry Amae himself. Even if they are half-brothers, their tastes run quite similarly, don’t you think? Maybe he wrote the letter because he’s already jealous and wants Amae for himself?” he joked.

Yuuri grunted out something. “The Countess of Archwalz has also expressed her displeasure,” he added.

“Ah, the one who was desperately trying to get Kyota to marry her? Well, sure she would, sure she would,” Wolfram sniggered.

“Eh? Never heard of that,” Yuuri wondered. “For gods’ sake, Wolfram, this is not a laughing matter!” he glared at his husband who now was laughing loudly.

Wolfram tried to stifle his laughter. He was not even sure why he was laughing. Kyota was in for a hell of a lot of trouble. But at the same time Wolfram knew that it was pointless, those letters, those protests. It had already been decided. Not by them, not by anyone, very likely not even by Amae or Kyota. It just felt as if it had been decided a long, long time ago.

“You know,” Wolfram said after he calmed down a little, “I think there’s really someone up there,” he pointed at the ceiling. “Someone who likes a good joke.”

Yuuri felt an involuntary smile tug at the corner of his lips. There was no lack of people Kyota had slept with, there was no lack of hearts he had broken, there was no lack of those wishing to marry him, and he just had to go and fall head over heels in love with a nameless concubine.

“Damnit,” Yuuri cursed, “it seems I’ll have to give my blessing. He will go and marry him anyway, won’t he?”

Wolfram nodded. “No doubt about it, especially now when they have gone so far as to send their objections to you. But I’m more worried about how long their marriage will last.”

“They’d better stay married for at least a month so as not to make me look like a total fool,” Yuuri muttered. He rummaged about in the inner pocket of his jacket. “Here,” he threw the letters onto Wolfram’s desk, “write back whatever you want to them, I’ll sign.”

“It seems to me you’re just dumping your work on me,” Wolfram chuckled, scooping up the letters.

“Well, he’s YOUR friend.”

“I’d assume that after so many years he has also become one of yours?”

Yuuri shrugged his shoulders. He sighed. “But a very annoying one.”

XXXXX

Yuuri’s eyes opened and he shifted from his comfortable position in the pool when he heard someone enter the baths. He had been nearly drowsing already. A moment later the sounds of a bench being pushed and toiletries rattling followed. Yuuri turned to the direction they came from. Vaguely, he could make out a figure amidst the steam.

“Done with the letters?” Yuuri asked.

“Yes.”

A soft tap of feet was heard. Wolfram lowered the toiletries he had been carrying to the floor and slid into the water next to Yuuri. “Ahh,” he exhaled blissfully. He sat down, reclined his head on the edge of the pool and closed his eyes. This was just what he needed – a hot bath after a day of hard work.

“So what did you say?” Yuuri asked.

Wolfram frowned at the reminder of his work. “I told them to shove it. In a very polite manner, of course.”

“You do realize that Katarina and Arisu sent those letters to me knowing I’d show them to you? They expected you’d try and talk Kyota out of marrying that unworthy low-class.”

Irritated, Wolfram opened his eyes. He turned his head to look at his husband. “I know that they’re worried, Yuuri. But it’s Kyota’s choice no matter how it ends. You knew beforehand that he’d have my support. For gods’ sakes, Kyota was in love with me and even then he supported me when I married you! You can’t expect me to go against him wanting to marry Amae!”

Yuuri nodded. “Well, yeah. But I just had not expected you to support him so openly.”

Wolfram shrugged. “It’s two people I care about.” He looked at Yuuri’s head. “Want me to wash your hair?” he offered, forcefully indicating the conversation about Kyota and Amae should be dropped.

“Sure,” Yuuri agreed. Enough was enough. It was obvious that Wolfram had mixed feelings about Kyota and Amae’s oncoming marriage. Yuuri figured that among other things it had also to do with Wolfram’s anxiety about Kyota finally getting a life of his own. He guessed that, during the years, Wolfram had developed some kind of possessiveness towards his friend. It had been convenient when Kyota came and went at his beckon. And then probably part of the reason for Wolfram’s anxiety was that he himself understood where all of it was coming from and he was angry with himself.

Yuuri watched his husband turning to the edge of the pool where he had put the toiletries. In the glittering light of oil lamps, he picked out a pear-shaped bottle of shampoo. Yuuri nodded contentedly to himself. Wolfram might be a little uneasy, but Yuuri was pleased that Kyota had finally decided to marry. Of course, Wolfram knew this too.

Yuuri moved closer to Wolfram. He ducked into the water to wet his hair, wiped the water off his face then sat down. The water came just a little above his shoulders. Wolfram moved in to straddle him from behind and soon Yuuri felt his fingers thread through his hair.

“Recline your head.”

Warm fingers slid over his forehead and Yuuri exhaled with satisfaction. He loved Wolfram washing his hair. In addition to being simply pleasant, it felt like a little bonding ritual of theirs.

“Lakarde is coming home in two weeks,” Wolfram said a few minutes later, massaging Yuuri’s scalp.

Yuuri could hear fondness in Wolfram’s voice. He grinned. “I hope that when I am away, you miss me as much as you miss him.”

Wolfram pulled at his hair warningly. Yuuri winced.

“It will be nice to have him back,” Yuuri conceded. “Recently his character has improved too.”

“He grew up,” Wolfram said simply.

Yuuri hummed in answer. He wondered whether the “growing-up” had anything to do with a certain blue-haired youth. According to Mazoku laws, Lakarde still had three years to go before becoming an adult and therefore a rightful member of society.

“Lean forward.”

Yuuri did as told and Wolfram emptied a few pots of water over his head to wash the shampoo off. Blinking water out of his eyes, Yuuri felt his husband move even closer to him, then the blond’s hands pressed against his back. They smoothed over his muscles then slid upwards to his shoulders.

Yuuri had a broad and strong back. Wolfram’s palms slid back over the smooth skin, measuring every rise and sink of muscles.

“Yuuri?” Wolfram hummed, starting to kiss his nape.

“Hmm?” Yuuri answered, his head falling forward to give better access to the pleasurable treatment.

“I hope both of us will live a good long life.”

“You forgot to add ‘together’.”

“Hmm… Who knows? Not necessarily. Just a good long life.”

“Don’t start brooding too much,” Yuuri muttered softly, reaching out with his arm behind him. He stroked the blond’s still dry hair awkwardly. “I’m sure he’ll come and visit you from time to time. Or you can visit him. Well, them.”

There was silence behind Yuuri and he knew that his husband was not sure whether to take his words as a real sympathy or a mock.

“I wasn’t really thinking about them,” the prince said finally.

“I know,” Yuuri agreed. “But sometimes you just tend to get too deep into it. Why think about it? Now we feel good together, don’t we? Have felt so for a very long time. Don’t concentrate on something far away instead of forgetting to treasure ‘here and now’.”

Wolfram sighed and slid closer to Yuuri, his half-bent legs pressing to his husband’s sides. He leaned his head against Yuuri’s back and his arms wrapped around Yuuri’s waist under the water.

His hand now was in uncomfortable position and Yuuri retracted his hand from the blond hair. He could feel Wolfram’s chin and regular puffs of breath against his bare skin. It felt good to have the blond’s solid weight against his back. It was familiar, warm and secure.

A few minutes later the prince shifted and Yuuri felt moist lips caress his right shoulder blade. The prince’s mouth soon moved to Yuuri’s shoulder.

“This feels nice,” Yuuri hummed approvingly.

One of Wolfram’s hands unclasped from Yuuri’s waist and slid downwards toward his crotch. “It doesn’t seem that you’re lying,” Wolfram agreed, his fingers brushing over Yuuri’s hardening member. His other hand swept Yuuri’s hair off his nape to press a gentle kiss to it.

After a few more tender strokes, Yuuri spread his legs a little more and closed his eyes. He let his body rest against Wolfram’s and enjoyed the leisurely pace in the churning water. At first the rhythm made him numb and relaxed while pleasure was slowly building up in his lower stomach and spreading all over his body. Wolfram’s other hand was drawing soothing circles on his stomach. Then his hips began rocking in tune with the blond’s fist. He soon found himself chasing after every bit of contact and it was still not enough as the pleasure started concentrating only in his lower belly, pulsing.

“Hmm… Wolfram,” Yuuri moaned, trying to make Wolfram do whatever he was intending to do. Whether it was to bring him to an orgasm like this or to take him or let himself be taken, whatever it was, Yuuri wanted it to happen sooner.

“Faster…” he sighed with a roll of his hips with more force than the blond’s hand was offering.

Wolfram chuckled behind his back. His lips flittered over Yuuri’s nape. His pace on Yuuri’s length, instead of becoming faster, slowed down. Yuuri expressed his dissatisfaction with a low rumble.

That made Wolfram chuckle again. “What,” he purred in a husky voice against Yuuri’s neck, “not in the mood for games?”

“In the mood for fucking, though,” Yuuri grunted out.

He suddenly grasped Wolfram by his busy hand. The king slid aside as far as his confinement between the blond’s legs would allow and tugged his husband forward from behind him. As soon as the blond slid free from him, he turned and grabbed him around the waist. The water sloshed about in the bath and in a heartbeat a startled Wolfram found himself in Yuuri’s lap, staring at his husband’s dark eyes. He was quite impressed that Yuuri managed to do this without dislodging his arm and/or dunking him face-first into the water.

Yuuri smiled at Wolfram’s startled look. He pulled Wolfram higher in his arms, seating him on his lap then leaned in to issue a kiss. Wolfram’s mouth opened slightly and he answered eagerly. In a few seconds his arms wove themselves around the black-haired man’s neck and shoulders, his hands and fingers sliding into Yuuri’s wet hair to deepen the kiss.

They broke away panting lightly. Wolfram rubbed himself against Yuuri’s hard-on he could feel poking his thigh.

“Mm…” Yuuri grunted, his breath catching in his throat.

Wolfram’s arms slid off his husband’s shoulders down over Yuuri’s sides, stroking patches of his skin on their way. At first they stopped to rest on Yuuri’s hips, but then glided downwards and backwards to grab his ass, their final destination. It was not that it was unexpected but Yuuri started anyway.

“Yuuri…” Wolfram purred, nibbling on his husband’s lips.

Yuuri could discern soft undertones of insistence in the way the blond said his name. He tried to coax Wolfram’s lips into a full kiss but the blond retreated again, only to continue with his assertive nibbling and grazing on his lips and neck. A short while later he raised his head to give Yuuri a lusty look then lowered it again to claim the dark-haired man’s lips. He leaned forward, now straddling and nearly overlying Yuuri.

Yuuri tried to keep himself upright but soon his upper half was nearly submerged, the ends of his hair floating in the water. Even if it was him who was between the blond’s legs, he was not deceived by that – the predatory look Wolfram was giving him was telling him that it was him tonight who would end up with his legs spread.

“W-Wolfram,” Yuuri panted out, breathless, “you’ll drown me.”

“Unless you resist,” Wolfram chuckled thickly against Yuuri’s mouth.

Yuuri’s eyebrows rose. “When did I?”

“Oh, c’mon,” Wolfram said sardonically. “When didn’t you?” He bit Yuuri lightly on his collarbone. Yuuri grunted and his cock twitched in between of their stomachs. Wolfram knew that no matter what Yuuri thought of this or what excuse he always used to justify his liking to be taken by a man, he greatly enjoyed this. “You’re twisted in the head,” Wolfram muttered. “Have always been.”

“Can’t say no to that,” Yuuri agreed. He tried to lift himself but Wolfram used his weight to push him down again.

“Tsk-tsk.” Wolfram’s hand slid upwards to grab Yuuri’s hair and lift his head. He smashed their lips together. Yuuri groaned into his mouth at the rough handling.

In a minute, aware that he was holding his husband’s back in an awkward angle, Wolfram let go. He slid off Yuuri and stood up. He offered his hand for his husband to help him to get to his feet.

As soon as he was upright, Yuuri found himself pressed to Wolfram, the blond attacking his mouth, ravishing him, his hands stroking and squeezing him in all the right places. Yuuri started to feel overwhelmed by the prince’s attention.

Between their kisses and caresses, Yuuri found himself being maneuvered backwards to the stone edge of the bath. He shivered once his legs propped against the cool surface. He wanted to step back but Wolfram bodily pushed him forward even further until he was nearly sitting down on it.

“Wolfram…”

Wolfram gave one last squeeze for his husband’s left buttock and stepped back. Yuuri leaned forward but then found himself being grabbed and turned around. The prince pushed him forward, bending him over.

Yuuri stared at the stone edge of the bath before his eyes while his ass was high in the air. He licked his swollen lips then braced himself with his palms on the stony surface. Wolfram’s hands were caressing his back in slow smoothing circles, then sliding around to stroke his sides. Yuuri closed his eyes, surrendering to the pleasurable attention. He felt Wolfram bend over him, the blond’s mouth pressing to his feverish skin. His lips traveled southwards, leaving a trail of wet kisses over his shoulder blades and going further down his back.

Wolfram’s palms massaged his globes, kneading and stroking, then his thumbs slid forward to spread them. In a moment something slick and warm glided over Yuuri’s crease. A moan escaped Yuuri’s lips when he realized what it was. As it reached his anus, he bucked unconsciously, his body suddenly feeling heavy with want. Despite this, the tongue slid further down without showing interest in his opening. It reached his perineum where it stroked with vigor. Yuuri spread his legs further apart.

The tongue stayed there for a minute then swept upwards again until it flicked over his opening. Yuuri groaned, his head dropping forward on its own accord to press against the cool edge of the bath. Wolfram’s tongue did not stay there, though. His mouth pressed to Yuuri’s lower back, his teeth lightly grazing the flushed skin there. His palms seized Yuuri’s ass to squeeze and knead again. Yuuri would have spread his legs even wider if there was any chance in Wolfram returning quickly to what he had been doing previously. Only he knew that that would make Wolfram slow down deliberately. Besides, he was pretty certain that he was already blatantly open and inviting.

Wolfram’s mouth had reached Yuuri’s right buttock and his teeth offered slight pressure. It did not hurt any, the teeth against his skin felt erotic and Yuuri bucked unconsciously. He was breathing heavily against the stony edge. The teeth soon were gone, replaced with the slick tongue that brushed over his entrance again, which made Yuuri groan. After another sweep of Wolfram’s tongue over his opening, Yuuri’s legs quivered, losing their strength and he transferred almost all of his weight to his upper body, now half-lying on the stone wall, his right side of the face pressed to it. He found its surface pleasantly cool.

The tongue circled the quivering ring of muscles, slowly, teasingly. Yuuri moaned and bucked backwards but Wolfram’s hands kept him in place. Relishing the desperate sounds his husband was making, he lapped at the twitching opening again. Yuuri shivered and bucked under him.

He teased Yuuri for a few minutes with his tongue, hands and mouth, leaving Yuuri’s body taut and strung for much more contact than it was getting. Yuuri could tell his cock was leaking profusely, his balls hard, the pressure making him tremble.

“Wolfram…” Yuuri moaned, trying to rub his backside against the blond’s front. But Wolfram was too far for him to reach. Then he tried to press himself tighter to the edge of the bath and rub his hard-on there. Denying him any relief, the blond tugged at his hips to pull him backwards.

“Wolfram, please,” Yuuri groaned, “I can’t take it anymore. Let me come.”

Wolfram watched his husband’s arching back, his ass rising higher and simply wanted to ram himself home. But instead he convinced himself that following his original plan and prolonging this would give much more pleasure.

The tongue was suddenly back, wetting and rubbing over Yuuri’s opening. He moaned as it finally breached the ring of his muscles and slid inside.

“Damn. Ohh… Yessss,” Yuuri breathed out heavily as it licked and stroked inside him. It thrust forwards and backwards. Yuuri felt himself getting looser and slicker. Yuuri’s own tongue snuck out of his mouth to wet his dry lips. “C’mon, Wolfram,” he panted, “quit teasing and just...” Yuuri could not finish the sentence. With a soft thud his head came back to rest on the edge again.

He knew that if Wolfram was the one to dirty-talk, now he would have had a perfect opportunity to throw at least ten banalities at him. He still could not figure out whether Wolfram just found dirty-talking redundant or it was that Wolfram avoided it because of Yuuri.

Wolfram was suddenly overlying Yuuri. “Yeah, I think I will do that ‘just’…” he groaned, his voice low and strained, showing he wanted this as much as Yuuri, if not more. His chest pressed to Yuuri’s back, his cock rubbed against the dark-haired male’s backside. He planted a few wet kisses to Yuuri’s shoulder blades. “C’mon,” he husked against the flushed skin, “get that bottle for me.”

Yuuri swallowed hard and tried to think about which bottle his husband was talking about, but it was a nearly impossible task with the blond rubbing at his ass so insistently. “Wha-what bottle?” he asked weakly.

“On your left,” Wolfram prompted, letting out a chuckle soaked with lust.

Yuuri’s eyes swept to the opposite direction from the one he had been looking at. True, a few meters away from the edge there was a familiar bottle. He swallowed again and tried to concentrate. “How do you imagine I’ll get it?” he grunted, after having reached out but flailing about with his hand uselessly.

“Climb?” Wolfram suggested. “The view of your naked ass flouncing about will really be nice,” he purred, his hips pushing forward at Yuuri to emphasize his words. “Hurry.”

Yuuri’s mouth opened to let out a soft moan at the blond’s length slipping right past his crease. He opened his eyes which he did not even realize were closed. “Right,” he muttered, trying to set the far off bottle as his target. He shuddered again as his husband rubbed himself on his ass. “Listen,” Yuuri licked his dry lips, his hips trying to push back unconsciously, “I’ll never work up enough mo- ooohhh,” he groaned as Wolfram’s palms slid over his sides to his stomach and cupped his testicles. He suddenly found himself standing on his tiptoes, pressing himself into the blond’s hand. “…mo-motivation to move if you keep doing thissss,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

Yuuri felt Wolfram retreat from him and with shaky hands he pushed himself off the edge. He did not risk turning around, instead, after waiting a few seconds to get his bearings back, he heaved himself up and over the edge. He crawled to the bottle to grab it, then started inching backwards into the pool again. He yelped loudly at the sharp smack on his ass. He turned around to stare at the blond in surprise. Wolfram just chuckled at him, looking back at him with an expression which told Yuuri that he had just felt like it.

They had tried spanking, of course, but neither of them was very keen on it. But if Yuuri had any say in this, he would point out that, between them both, Wolfram was the one to have an inclination towards rougher sex. The blond was nowhere near extremes, but he did enjoy when Yuuri would offer more force during their lovemaking. He also was often more forceful than Yuuri when taking.

Yuuri did not notice how it happened, but while he was rubbing the abused part of his body, the bottle had changed hands. Under the blond’s scrutinizing gaze, he slid back into the pool. He felt conscious of the way his cock twitched at Wolfram’s attention. Yuuri suddenly realized that he was sticky with pre-come. His own gaze wandered over the blond’s naked body before him. His husband was equally aroused and hard. Yuuri watched him unscrew the bottle, then pour some of the clear liquid onto his palm.

Yuuri’s breath quickened as the blond’s fist encircled his member to smear the lubricant over it. Wolfram was pumping slowly, watching him with half-lidded eyes, cloudy with pleasure. Yuuri badly wanted either to step forward and join his husband or at least to start touching himself to relieve the pressure in his loins. He did neither, though. Then he saw the blond let go of himself and lift the bottle again.

“Turn around,” he said, his voice thick with desire.

Yuuri’s eyes rose back to the blond’s face. Complying, he turned around to face the stone edge again. He bent over, placing his palms on it to support himself. He shivered as slick and cool fingers brushed over his opening. They circled it then slid inside. As he was quite relaxed already, the digits did not stay inside him for long. They stroked forwards and backwards to lubricate him, then withdrew completely.

Yuuri tensed involuntary at the feel of the blond’s cock slipping in between his cheeks. The blunt head found its target, then pushed against the outer ring of muscles and, after offering more pressure, slipped inside.

“Oh, yesss,” Yuuri let out a low guttural moan, feeling the length sliding in. He rubbed the side of his face against the stone edge while the blond stretched him. His opening contracted around Wolfram’s cock, gripping it tighter. The spasms repeated a few times more then the constriction lessened, letting Wolfram bury himself all the way inside.

Letting Yuuri adjust to him, Wolfram rocked their hips together without thrusting. He leaned over his husband and started softly grazing on his back and shoulders. His endurance was wearing thin and he grunted appreciatively when he felt Yuuri thrust backwards, showing him that he was ready. Then he leaned away and seized Yuuri’s hips. At first he moved backwards and forwards tentatively, then found a rhythm they both were comfortable with.

As the hard length was pumping in and out of him, Yuuri raised his ass higher. With every thrust, the pleasure concentrating in his ass burst through his entire body. He soon found that what Wolfram was giving was not enough.

Yuuri’s body tensed as Wolfram, as if reading his mind, reached around him and wrapped his palm around Yuuri’s erection. He started stroking him in tune with his thrusts into the other man’s body.

“Oh, yes,” Yuuri panted as new sparks of pleasure started coursing through his body. He rubbed his cheek against the cool stone edge. Now his whole body was being rocked by Wolfram’s thrusts. “Fuck, yes,” he groaned. “Hnh, yes!”

Wolfram increased his pace and thrust harder. There was no thought now of prolonging the pleasure. All he wanted now was to come. Yuuri cursing meant that he was on the brink of orgasm. Wolfram blinked sweat out of his eyes. From his eyelashes it ran downwards to gather on the tip of his nose and then dropped on the small of Yuuri’s back.

Yuuri’s nails scrapped against the stone while his hips tried to push back against the blond’s to get as much of that length as was possible into himself. He could feel it coming, the strain overloading, the pleasure and heat not managing to accommodate themselves in his cock and backside. A few more thrusts… And then the wave washed over him, leaving his mind suddenly blank, only his body basking in the overwhelming pleasure.

A few seconds later when Yuuri came round, he found his lower half pressed to the edge. Wolfram was not really holding him, but the blond’s mindless rocking of their hips was preventing Yuuri from sliding into the water. Wolfram was still in the heights of his orgasm.

Yuuri grunted as the blond’s heavy weight sagged onto his back. Wolfram’s fervent panting against Yuuri’s skin made him grin contentedly.

“Can you stand up?” Yuuri asked a minute later when he thought that Wolfram’s euphoria had somewhat dissipated.

Wolfram pushed himself away from him then Yuuri yelped at something sharp gliding across his right thigh. Then there was a loud splash. Yuuri turned around to see his husband nearly submerged in the pool on his hands and knees.

“No,” Wolfram said the obvious, sitting down.

Yuuri looked at his right thigh. As far as he could see in the half-light of the lamps, there was a long reddish trace going along it. There was no blood, just a rosy scratch. Wolfram had tried to keep his balance and caught him with a nail. Yuuri raised his head to look at his husband who, despite being hardly sensible, managed to look guilty.

“Sorry.”

“Never mind,” Yuuri said. He moved forward to sit down next to the blond. Once comfortably sitting, he embraced and leaned Wolfram against his chest. Yuuri felt sleepy and pleasantly drained. “How I wish we were in our bed,” he muttered wistfully. “When I think about the stairs that we-”

Wolfram groaned at the thought.

For a few minutes, they stayed silently like this, leaning against each other, then climbed out of the pool. They toweled off and dressed their robes. Leaving the rest of the clothes for the maids to gather, they left the baths. Guards saluted them as they passed corridors, heading for their chambers.

Yuuri cast a glance at the balcony they were passing. The old lime tree was still there, lit by the bleary moonlight. Its rusty leaves were flapping and tearing around in the harsh autumn wind. How old was it now? A hundred? No, at least two. Years were passing so fast. What was it he had wanted to do here, in Shin Makoku? Was it adventure…? No, it was just at the beginning. Ah, right. He had wanted to bring peace to this world. He had been so young back then, so naive and so idealistic. But he had succeeded. He had power, he had the right people and the needed resources. He had turned his lands into an oasis. Nobody knew how long it would last – a year or two, fifty, a hundred or until he died. He still had a lot of work to do to make sure the peace pacts and accords that he had worked so hard on to sign and maintain would not collapse like a house of cards if anything happened to him.

“What do you think will happen in a fifty years’ time?” Yuuri asked while opening the door to the royal chambers.

Wolfram gave him a sleepy stare. Yuuri seemed to be serious. Wondering about the sudden change in his husband’s mood, Wolfram followed him into the room. “Don’t worry, wimp,” he yawned, patting Yuuri on his shoulder. “Whatever happens, you’re safe with me by your side.”

THE END

P.S. Will be followed by an epilogue