Inexorable Flow

L. Fantasy: Why do you think you’re not ready for the epilogue?
I am not very certain how I feel about writing about two underage boys having sex. I don’t particularly like it, but I also understand that it’s stupid to try and avoid it just because I don’t particularly like it. I mean, it’s a part of life (someone’s life, at least). Damn, I sound like a primary school teacher with a tight bun on her head. I’m fighting it, I’m fighting it!
Amae being related to Kyota…have no idea why you’d think that. The way they were looking at each other was probably strange because they were lusting after each other, don’t you think so? ^_~ I think you might have gotten that impression because their fiery characters are awfully similar. And two fiery characters is not a very good thing in a marriage. Somebody has to step down.
The next story. I will warn you that, if you spit at the very sight of Kyota, you won’t enjoy that fic, at least not its first half. I don’t know about the second half; haven’t written it yet :D

Ruthaer: I don’t think this will be followed by a sequel. Err…I can’t say for certain. At the time I was done with IF I was certain it wouldn’t be. About a year later I realized that there are still things I would like to write about: Wolfram and Yuuri’s further life, Kyota and Amae, Lakarde and so on. I feel comfortable with these characters, the backgrounds I’ve created for them. But I probably will never write another continuation. I mean…so many sequels? Enough should be enough. One should know where to stop.


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), Dimera x Lakarde.
A/N 1: The epilogue will concern only Lakarde and Dimera.
A/N 2: Lakarde – 15. Dimera – 17+.
A/N 3: Yuuri – 47. Wolfram…let’s say he is about the same age as Yuuri just a little older.

Inexorable Flow

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

Epilogue

oOoOoOo_Three Years Later_oOoOoOo

Dimera was slinking carefully towards the door at the very end of the half-lit corridor. It was deserted, only an occasional squeak from the old wooden walls filling the air or the sounds of snoring heard here and there. He knew that if he was to be caught roaming so late after curfew, he would get into very serious trouble. Keeping in mind that there was only a few months left until he graduated from the Academy, the last thing he wanted was trouble. But then, there was also the matter of what he wanted the most before graduating.

The door Dimera had been looking for and finally found was marked with the number “17” and also by a muddy footprint right in the middle. After opening the door, he snuck into the darkness. Lakarde and his roommate were sleeping. It was cold in the room. The wind must be blowing right through the windows even while closed; they were so poorly insulated. It was no wonder Lakarde got ill quite frequently.

Now, when Dimera was finally in the room, he suddenly realized that he had no idea what he wanted to do. He had no plan actually – it had never occurred to him that he might need one. He had just decided he had to see Lakarde and here he was, standing at Lakarde’s bed while the boy was sound asleep. He felt like a complete idiot. He did not even know if this was really Lakarde’s bed he was standing at. He had never been in Lakarde’s room.

“Who’s hr-?”

Dimera did not even think before shooting to the bed and covering what he thought was Lakarde’s mouth.

“Wh…mhmhph!”

“It’s me.”

While keeping his palm on Lakarde’s mouth, Dimera realized that there was no reason why Lakarde shouldn’t punch him right now. He had felt like an idiot earlier, but the feeling he had had previously was nothing to compare with the current one. Nonetheless, after a few chaotic and mindless seconds he realized that Lakarde was not resisting.

A minute flame flared to life next to the bed. When Dimera was at last able to see Lakarde’s face, he pulled his hand away as if it were burning. Lakarde’s eyes were reddish with sleep and were promising murder. Today, all of the sixth years had had a harsh day of training and all Lakarde wanted was to sleep.

The blond sat up. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. “In the middle of the night?” he added for a good measure.

Nervously, Dimera suddenly took interest in the fire floating next to him. “I’m not that sure.” He fidgeted with the upper buttons on his uniform while Lakarde was staring at him. An idiot, he was a complete idiot.

“Well aren’t you just an idiot?” Lakarde asked rhetorically. He lay down then flicked his wrist to extinguish the fire. “You will cause trouble if caught while returning to your room. Take off your clothes and get into the bed,” he said while turning on his side. “Don’t try anything funny and don’t wake up Rial.”

“Too late already,” the voice wafted from the other side of the room. “Don’t mind me – have lots of that “funny”,” he added.

Lakarde yawned loudly “Shut it. On second thought, you can leave the clothes on – it’s cold anyway,” he addressed Dimera again.

Dimera stared in the darkness at where he thought the blond’s back was. Lakarde had never shown much interest in him, but neither had the blond ever indicated that his attention was unpleasant. Dimera could hardly believe this. Maybe it was just what it took to… Cutting the thought short, Dimera took his jacket off, pulled the belt out of his trousers, took his boots off, groped around for the cover on Lakarde then snuck into the warmth. The bed was small and there was hardly enough space for both of them, besides it was not so easy to think about sleep with Lakarde right in front of him.

Lakarde smelled of something nice, Dimera noticed a few seconds later. It was probably the blond’s shampoo. Dimera turned on his back, and the bed creaked. He couldn’t fall asleep for quite some time but restrained himself from tossing and turning so as not to disturb Lakarde.

XXXXX

Lakarde shifted to turn over on his back. Something was restricting him and he roused slowly. Hardly conscious, his sleepy mind wondered what the problem was. Shifting to test the boundaries once again, he gave up and opened his eyes.

Why was Dimera wrapped around him?

Lakarde closed his eyes as he remembered. Dimera was sleeping on his side, his arm thrown over Lakarde. The older boy had somehow rolled up to him in his sleep and now his face was buried in his chest and he could feel Dimera’s soft breathing.

Lakarde yawned loudly. He wasn’t sure what to think of all this. Then he felt the older boy stirring too. Dimera’s arm slid away off his waist. He hummed something while rubbing at his eyes. Then Lakarde felt Dimera’s entire body start. He raised his tousled head to look at the blond.

“You’d better go before the siren goes off.”

“Right,” Dimera said after a long pause.

The bed shifted and creaked and he was out of the bed. For a while, Lakarde watched him pulling his boots on and searching for the belt on the floor, then he decided to catch some sleep and turned away to face the wall. Lakarde tensed as he felt Dimera’s lips press to the back of his neck.

“Thank you. We’ll talk later, alright?”

“Yeah,” Lakarde muttered.

XXXXX

As usual, Lakarde was late for his evening bath. There were hardly any boys in the baths besides him. Two first-years and a second-year soon had finished with washing and had gone long before Lakarde was done, leaving him all alone in the baths.

Lakarde took his time while washing to relax. He hardly finished before curfew, even knowing that if caught so late he would get punished for disobeying the rules. He was drying his hair with a towel when he heard the bathroom door open and saw it let in another visitor. He couldn’t discern who it was through the steam but knew that if he had not been shouted at yet, then it meant it was someone also late for his bath.

“Lakarde.”

Arms snuck around Lakarde’s waist. Startled, Lakarde pulled the towel off his head and twirled around to face a blue-haired youth. He would have probably hit the older boy had he not recognized Dimera’s voice. Standing in Dimera’s embrace, the blue-haired youth’s hands resting on his waist, Lakarde stared at him.

“I think we need to discuss something,” Dimera said carefully. He was aware of Lakarde’s surprise. The other boy’s body was all tenseness. “We are going to graduate from the Academy in a few months. There won’t be many chances for us to meet anymore. I don’t want to think that this thing between us will be over just like that.”

“This thing?” Lakarde repeated carefully. He wasn’t sure what exactly Dimera meant. Yes, there had been some kind of weird understanding and acceptance of each other between both of them all through these last few years, but… They had not been meeting to hang out together; they had not gone to each other rooms except for today. One could hardly even call them friends. On the other hand, Lakarde had never doubted Dimera’s promise from four years ago. There were things like Dimera’s glances and smiles at him, sometimes teasing, sometimes just warm, which had kept his memory fresh. But Lakarde had kept his distance. He neither had encouraged nor discouraged Dimera’s interest. And Dimera had never demanded more. Was there really “this thing” between them?

Lakarde noticed that Dimera tried to keep his eyes from wandering, but they still went to the towel covering Lakarde’s hips which was poorly fastened and was close to sliding off. Lakarde pushed at Dimera’s chest to get himself free, but he did not let go.

“Lakarde, do you like me?” Dimera asked seriously.

“Let go!” Lakarde demanded. He grabbed at his towel which had started sliding down after squirming too much.

Dimera frowned at him. He seemed to have only waited for the pressure on his chest to disappear as he wrapped his arms around the blond and tugged him towards himself to firmly press the younger boy to his body.

His arms pressed to his sides and rendered helpless, Lakarde stared up at the blue-haired boy from up close. Dimera was older and stronger than him physically and Lakarde would have felt threatened, but along with a hint of visible irritation there was also a quite playful smile on Dimera’s face.

“Not scared, are you, Lakarde?” Dimera teased before lowering his head to cross the distance between their lips.

Lakarde did not have much time to think about the question and never voiced anything as Dimera’s lips descended on his and a dozen of different thoughts were born in his mind at once. For once, he had no idea what to do. It felt strange but exciting. Was he supposed to keep his eyes open? Then he could only think about the towel that started sliding down again.

Lakarde gasped as a pang of pain flared through his lower lip. He startled as Dimera’s tongue slipped into his mouth. “Mphgh!” Lakarde protested, squirming to loosen the other’s hold on him.

Dimera lifted his head and let himself be pushed away. He did not want to spite Lakarde in case the younger boy appeared not to have much interest in him. And it seemed that Lakarde did not like kissing that much. The blond stood naked in front of him, his towel pooling at his feet. He was slightly out of breath. He was also sprouting a light erection.

“You do like me, Lakarde, don’t you?”

Lakarde blinked at him then squatted down to pick his towel up. His ears blazed red. “Don’t go around asking stupid things,” he muttered while wrapping it clumsily around his hips again. “You’d have had your teeth kicked out through the back of your skull if I didn’t.”

The relief that flooded Dimera, almost made his knees buckle. He was certain that the bravado he had put on had cost him at least a few years of his life. He had been around, had had quite a few relationships here and there but when it came to Lakarde, he felt like a complete novice, blushing and stammering, his stomach tying itself into knots.

Lakarde’s eyes widened as the other stepped closer to him. Dimera seemed to have decided something since his eyes were looking at his face intently. Lakarde held his towel tightly in front of him and stepped back. He suddenly became painfully aware that Dimera was still wearing his uniform while he, except for this towel, was naked.

“Lakarde…”

The blond found himself reacting to the soft voice. He took another step backwards and inhaled sharply in surprise as a cold wall pressed to his back. Dimera closed the distance between them. He could not take the chance of Lakarde escaping again and fenced him in by putting his hands on the wall at Lakarde’s sides. They stared at each other from up close, face to face.

During past four years Lakarde had grown quite a lot. He had not become lanky like many of the Human and some of Mazoku teenagers in the Academy, he grew proportionally, his body filling out. Despite Dimera being a few years older, Lakarde and he were nearly of the same height. Very likely, Lakarde was going to be even taller than him. Who would have thought?

Dimera noticed that Lakarde somewhat looked like a trapped animal, the boy’s eyes wide, his hands ready to shove at him if he made the least offensive move. Dimera pushed his body to Lakarde’s and pressed his mouth over the younger boy’s.

It was obvious that Lakarde had never kissed before. The blond was not sure what to do with his lips and, after he had pushed his tongue in between his lips, started to squirm. He did not like kissing. The towel started sliding again and Lakarde grabbed at it to hold it in front of him.

After raising his head, Dimera watched the blond’s face. Lakarde blushed lightly and turned his head away. Then Dimera realized that it was not surprising that Lakarde was this inexperienced yet. Being von Bielefeld’s son he was quite sheltered in sexual matters. There was also the factor of people being afraid to meddle with the king’s husband’s son. He himself had waited for four years even though he felt that Lakarde’s father approved of him.

“You okay?”

Dimera laughed mentally at the way Lakarde’s eyes snapped up to glare at him. The anger in them wavered then turned into uncertainty as Dimera’s hand slid off the wall and then down Lakarde’s waist. Then it squeezed his left buttock. Lakarde tensed instantly, his hand going down to cover Dimera’s impulsively, wanting to push it away. But a second later it was obvious that Lakarde was not that sure about that anymore. Dimera entwined his fingers with Lakarde’s then raised their hands nearly to the height of Lakarde’s shoulder to keep it bay.

“It’s alright,” he leaned in to whisper softly into Lakarde’s ear. “I will stop as soon as you say you don’t like it.” He nipped on an earlobe and was rewarded with the blond’s gasp. He sucked and nipped again and felt Lakarde’s hips buck against him. The boy had done that unconsciously, but he could tell Lakarde himself had felt it too and now Dimera could feel the heat wafting off Lakarde’s face right where their cheeks were touching.

Dimera slid his other hand over the blond’s side. It stroked Lakarde’s hip then slid further until his fingers enclosed Lakarde’s hand which was holding the towel between them. He tugged at the towel. It held on for a few seconds then fell down onto their feet. Dimera had to restrain himself from looking down. Instead, he pressed a few light kisses on the blond’s neck. He was still somewhat afraid that the younger boy would bolt.

Most of Demera’s nervousness was wiped away after he raised his head and saw Lakarde’s face. The boy’s eyes were closed, his face flushed. As the contact stopped, Lakarde’s eyelids fluttered open and confused green swam up.

He had Lakarde now.

Dimera pressed one kiss after another to Lakarde’s mouth and soon he coaxed Lakarde into answering. He could tell that it was awkward for Lakarde. The blond became even clumsier when he felt Dimera’s hand trying to get past his own covering his crotch. He tensed then blushed scarlet red as Dimera’s fingertips slid over his erect member. He grunted and turned his head aside as those fingers wrapped around him. They moved up and down gently. Staring over Dimera’s shoulder at the pool, his vision shuddery, suddenly Lakarde had no idea what to do with his left hand. His right one was still rendered inactive but he could vaguely feel that he was squeezing Dimera’s hand.

“Should…” Lakarde swallowed loudly. “Shouldn’t you take off your clothes too?” He bit back a moan that threatened to erupt from his throat as Dimera’s fingers rubbed over the head of his member. “You have me at disadvantage…”

“You think so?” Dimera asked, pressing his mouth to Lakarde’s collarbone. “I was sure,” he started strewing a trail of kisses along it, “that everything’s to your advantage.” He cupped Lakarde’s balls to prove his point. “Do you want me to take my uniform off?” he grazed at the skin under his mouth.

“I said I did,” Lakarde grunted out between the other’s ministrations.

Dimera’s low chuckle ghosted across Lakarde’s neck. As he did not know Lakarde’s preferences, he had presumed that it was safer to wear his uniform in case Lakarde realized he did not like seeing erect cocks. He moved away from Lakarde and started taking his clothes off. Lakarde, hard and uncomfortable, stood at the wall, then leaned down to pick up his towel. He did not have a chance as Dimera kicked it further from them.

“That towel is starting to get on my nerves,” he explained.

Lakarde straightened. Without saying a word, he watched Dimera pulling his trousers off. In a few seconds he stood naked. Dimera felt himself twitch as Lakarde’s gaze slid down his chest then down his stomach and concentrated there. He had to give it to Lakarde – the boy was bold.

“I’m bigger than you.”

Dimera stared. Lakarde grinned at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I think we are about the same,” Dimera managed finally. He started laughing. Even if used to cover up his awkwardness, Lakarde did have a sense of humor, it seemed.

Still chuckling, Dimera approached Lakarde. He did not feel that tremendous tension from the blond anymore. Lakarde did not shy away. It seemed that his clothed position had really been intimidating the other boy. It felt more natural now. Dimera leaned in press their lips together. He was delighted when Lakarde appeared to be much more responsive than earlier. He was still as clumsy as before but more eager and this just needed some practice.

A few minutes later they parted, saliva glistening on their mouths, their lips swollen.

“I think I’m starting to get the hang of this,” Lakarde said.

Dimera nodded. He moved in even closer to press their bodies together, skin to skin. Their erections brushed against each other and he heard Lakarde’s sharp intake of air. He reached between them to grasp the blond. Lakarde’s body tensed at first then relaxed somewhat.

It felt good, it felt really good. Lakarde closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He had never masturbated and even though it had never caused much discomfort, he knew it was not normal for a Mazoku of his age. It was not that he had not wanted to, he was plagued by the same sexual urges all the boys in the Academy were, it was that when he tried, he was always brought ten years back to the royal chambers where he was holding his privates and his father was staring at him with his eyes wide. He knew perfectly well that it had just been a surprise because he had been merely a child, besides, Wolfram had never said anything to him, but still those eyes…

Lakarde moaned softly and his hips thrust forward. It felt so good. The thoughts scattered around in incomprehensible patterns and Lakarde gave up on them. He could feel Dimera’s naked body pressed against him. The scents of arousal and lust were already hanging in the air around the other boy. Lakarde glanced between them. Was he supposed to…?

Seeing Lakarde’s object of interest, Dimera reached out for the blond’s right hand. “Here, stroke mine too,” he said, placing Lakarde’s palm over him. The blond tensed against him, his eyelids sliding shut halfway. For a few seconds Lakarde did nothing then he felt the blond’s fingers wrapping around his length. “Smear the precum over it, it will slide easier.”

Was it supposed to…feel this good to hold a dick in his palm? Lakarde stroked the hardness up and down, his hand having adapted to Dimera’s pace on him. But Dimera too wanted to… He suddenly realized that he had been moaning and stilled the sound.

“Oh, c’mon,” Dimera panted, pressing a sloppy kiss to Lakarde’s mouth, “nobody will hear us anyway.”

“If they catch us…” Lakarde grunted out, finding it difficult to concentrate on the consequences. “Oh gods…” he shivered at a sudden pleasurable wave that passed through his body when Dimera’s fingers rubbed over the tip of his member. The pressure in his lower stomach started increasing.

The world around him shrunk into the size of that fist that was stroking him and the pulsing heat between his legs and his right hand. With every stroke his body seemed to get heavier, pleasure spreading onwards, through every limb. The urge to come overtook his senses.

The blond’s hips pressed into him but his back leaned against the cold wall behind him and Dimera understood that he could not support his own weight anymore. Lakarde was close.

“Hold onto me.”

Nodding, Lakarde wrapped his left arm around the blue-haired boy’s neck and shoulders and leaned forward. Dimera realized that it had not been that good of an idea – now he could feel every puff of hot air against his neck, the vibrations of Lakarde’s soft suppressed moans going straight to his groin. He hoped he would not come before Lakarde.

Lakarde had vaguely known what an orgasm was and how it felt but what happened now was hardly comparable to those times when he would wake up in early mornings with his underwear damp.

Lakarde’s mouth hung open, his hips thrusting wildly then stopping temporally. His head was blank for a few moments, his vague presence of mind overwhelmed by numbing pleasure. Through the white mist his senses had become he could feel something warm and wet running over his fist. Was it his or Dimera’s…? Then the thought was cut off again.

“That was some orgasm you had,” Dimera grinned a minute later, trying to steady Lakarde so that the other boy would not fall. It wasn’t easy as his legs were also shaky. He tried to issue a kiss and Lakarde answered sloppily but his bleary half-lidded eyes showed that he had not come back to his senses yet. He seated them both down on the tiles. “You alright?”

Lakarde nodded dizzily. His head was still swimming in a pleasurable daze.

“Let’s get into the water,” Dimera said a minute later when the cold from the tiles started seeping through his skin. “You can heat it up, right?”

Lakarde opened his eyes to look at Dimera. The blue-hair boy’s arm wrapped around his waist to help him off the floor.

“We’ll get cold and we need to wash all of this off,” Dimera raised his right hand for Lakarde to see. “I would not want to find myself torn in half by any of your elements.”

The blond blushed heavily, realizing that Dimera’s strong wind element was dangerous to him as well. Leaning most of his weight on Dimera, he followed the other boy to the pool. Dimera stopped at the edge and turned to him. Lakarde squatted down to check the water with his hand. It was cool already. He found it wasn’t that easy to concentrate and summon his fire element.

Watching Lakarde summoning his element, Dimera was somewhat worried as it seemed that Lakarde was shocked and dazed by the entire thing. He was starting to get afraid that the blond might reconsider.

A second later, Lakarde pulled his hand out of the water and, using it to balance his body, slid down into the bath. Once inside, he leaned on the edge and waited for the other to follow his lead.

Dimera watched Lakarde with silent admiration. Lakarde’s head was lowered, the boy feeling awkward. The still damp mass of blond hair was covering his eyes. Lakarde’s nipples had gotten hard and now stood out pointedly. Dimera lowered his eyes; he had not had the chance yet to find out whether Lakarde was sensitive there.

Lakarde shifted uncomfortably, making the water around him ripple. He waited for Dimera to approach him then raised his head to see the blue-haired boy standing right in front of him.

“So what now?” Lakarde asked softly.

“Funny that, I wanted to ask you the same question,” Dimera said. He smiled tentatively.

“Well, you were the one to seduce me,” Lakarde pointed out. He had no idea where to go from there.

“I wouldn’t have succeeded if you had not wanted to be seduced,” Dimera retorted, not liking how suddenly Lakarde made it all his responsibility.

Lakarde gave him a scrutinizing look and Dimera suddenly found himself waving his hands in front of himself. “No, no, I did not mean that I won’t take the responsibility or will just forg-” He stopped the sentence at the sight of Lakarde doubling over in laughter.

“Yeah, just in case you got me pregnant!” Lakarde snickered at him without much reproach. “And my father demands your head for seducing his virgin son!”

Dimera did not find this as funny as Lakarde did but squeezed out a smile just to keep the blond company. He frowned as Lakarde did not show any intention of stopping the nervous giggle.

“Well, yeah laugh,” Dimera mumbled. “It’s not you who will have to stand before your father half-dead-half-alive and stammer out the desire to marry you.”

Lakarde choked on his laughter. “To marry?” he repeated between coughs. “You serious?” he asked as Dimera just stared at him silently. The blue-haired boy still made no sound and Lakarde blushed brightly. “Haaahh…” he drawled awkwardly, angry at himself for acting like a prissy princess. Really, had he already known that Dimera had been serious about him? In fact, he had somewhat expected this. “Should… Should I take this as a proposal, then?”

“Should I slap you on your left cheek or something for you to finally get it?” Dimera muttered not without annoyance. He couldn’t believe how embarrassed the situation had turned out to be. Why was Lakarde making things difficult?

Dimera was fidgeting and it started to sink in for Lakarde that he had been acting much bolder than he felt. This made Lakarde regain his own balance.

“Oh, c’mon, my father favors you and you know it,” Lakarde said, taking pity on him. “And why did you decide that you would be the one to ask for my hand in marriage?”

Dimera stared at him. “You wouldn’t,” he stammered. “Would you…?”

Lakarde gave him a teasing grin. “Why not?”

“Well… I’m older than you. It would just…be weird?”

“Ah,” Lakarde suddenly realized. “Don’t tell me you had no one to pursue you before? I don’t think that I would be a passive type in a relationship,” he added, knowing this was too important to let it just slide.

Dimera gave him a grim look. “You know, I kind of figured this out about three years ago.”

“You don’t seem to be happy about it?”

“Not particularly,” Dimera admitted. He shrugged.

Lakarde stayed silent for a few seconds then nodded.

“But it’s-” Dimera continued.

“You know,” Lakarde interrupted him, “I think it’s way too early to talk about a marriage. I’ve barely turned fifteen. Let’s just wait and see how it turns out.”

Dimera cursed in his head. This was what you got for being open about your feelings. Lakarde did not even let him finish his thought. He wanted to tell Lakarde that he had already waited a handsome amount of time, which had tested his feelings. But the thing was that maybe Lakarde was right. All this time he had mostly watched Lakarde from afar.

“Alright,” Dimera agreed after a pause of considerable length. He was fearful that Lakarde might pretend that nothing ever happened between them.

“We should get the hell out of here before they catch us,” Lakarde said.

Trying not to stare at each other, they washed themselves quickly then headed for their rooms.

XXXXX

It was only a week later when Dimera managed to convince his roommate to pretend he was sick and spend a night at the med bay. It had cost Dimera some money and a lot of dignity, but this was nothing in comparison to what he anticipated to get from this deal. Lakarde had agreed to spend a night in his room and he was sure Lakarde knew what was to be expected.

Dimera looked around in the room. He had fussed a lot: he had cleaned and scrubbed the floor and windows; he had pushed Yemi’s and his beds together and made sure they had clean sheets; he had also smuggled a bottle of wine and some snacks in. He had thought about a bouquet of flowers as well but then rejected the thought; that might be overdoing things a bit.

The room looked somewhat strange with the oversized bed at one end of it and a table at the other end, but everything seemed in order. Nonetheless, he could not help fidgeting. Once again he smelled his armpits to make sure a thorough scrub in the baths had made him the cleanest person in the dorms.

The knock at the door sent him from sitting to standing in a flash.

Lakarde entered the room. He nodded a greeting and held out a small package for Dimera. Dimera took it, interested. But it did not go unnoticed, Lakarde’s too-late-hidden smile after having cast a look over the room.

Dimera motioned for Lakarde to take a seat at the table. Thinking that Lakarde had brought some food, he looked inside the package. He took out a small bottle and a small packet out of the package Lakarde had brought. The bottle was obvious – it was a lubricant of some kind but the other item…

“I won’t even ask if you always keep your room this tidy,” the blond grinned. His eyes slid over two beds that had been pushed together. Dimera had not tried to be subtle either.

“What is this?” Dimera asked, after turning the small packet over in his hands a few times.

“Condoms.”

“Eh? Seriously?” Dimera shook the packet curiously. “Can I open it? What kind of wrapping is this? I have never seen anything like this.”

“It’s from Earth.”

Dimera whistled. He took out a few tiny square packets out to explore. “Don’t get me wrong, but why the hell do we need them?” he asked. “Neither of us can get pregnant.”

“It’s to prevent catching something from each other. Or just for esthetic’s sake.”

“Oh. You mean they can prevent diseases?”

Lakarde nodded. He painfully recalled the embarrassing conversation he and his father had about sexually transmitted diseases and condoms manufactured on Earth.

Dimera put the lubricant and condoms aside and reached out for the bottle of wine. He had not expected for Lakarde to be so forward and daring. In comparison to the past three years, now their relationship was developing at an incredible pace. Of course, he was not displeased with this, but, besides everything else, it made him feel foolish for having stalled on Lakarde’s courtship. He had never imagined it might be so easy.

Dimera pushed a filled glass over for the other boy then filled his own. Somewhat unsure, he raised it, looked at Lakarde then sipped. Any toast on this occasion, to his mind, would have sounded either ludicrous or vulgar or arrogant. Lakarde followed his lead without saying a word as well, and Dimera thought that the blond was of the same opinion.

Sipping his wine, Lakarde cast a glance behind Dimera where the arranged bed was looming ominously in half-light. “So who will be bottoming and who will be on top?” the blond asked turning his eyes back to Dimera.

Dimera nearly choked on his wine. Staring at Lakarde, he swallowed what was in his mouth. “Aren’t you being too technical about this?” he mumbled, swirling the liquor in his glass. Was Lakarde testing him?

Lakarde shrugged. “You think so? But we’ll have to decide anyway.”

“Well… I don’t know, but maybe this should be more feeling-based? Or like… I think I just went with the flow.”

“You really are a romantic type, aren’t you?”

Dimera raised his hand to ruffle through his somewhat longish blue hair. He preferred it short but recently there hadn’t been enough time to visit the barber’s. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I mean…nobody else but you seem to think so.”

Sipping his wine, Lakarde watched him over the rim of his glass. “I think we’ll just have to draw lots.”

Lakarde’s tone offered no room for objection and, thinking that if he wanted to get any tonight, he had better agree, Dimera was compelled to nod. In his first encounters he had left the technique and details to his more experienced partner. It had not been a very pleasant experience, but one way or another it had been a start. Well, it did not matter much – if he lost, he would just have to guide Lakarde.

Lakarde found a coin in the pocket of his jacket. “Which will it be, head or tails?” he asked.

“Tails.”

“Alright.” Lakarde tossed the coin into the air then swiftly caught it.

It was tails. If Lakarde was disappointed, he did not show it. He just announced the result and put the coin back into his pocket then took his glass back into his hand. Dimera felt relieved, though. He was not that sure why. Lakarde was not a woman and very likely would not become more attached to him after being taken, but Dimera felt that it gave him the control over the situation. And since that time in the baths, he had felt that all control had slipped out of his grasp.

“I really had no idea you were so analytical,” Dimera said.

“You don’t like it?”

It had sounded more as a statement than a question and Dimera shook his head quickly. “It’s just…somewhat different from what I had expected.”

Lakarde gave him a somewhat amused look then sipped his wine again. He lowered the empty glass to the table. He did not think he was being analytical. He thought he was being practical. He wanted to leave the Academy with immunity against everything an adult life had to offer. Dimera was a good choice. Not much older, currently of more or less similar standing in society, sensible and eager.

“More wine?” Dimera offered.

Lakarde nodded. “Are we going to do anything else before…‘it’?”

The blue-haired boy took the bottle to refill Lakarde’s glass. “We could do our homework, read poetry, sing or pray but I don’t think my mind would be on it,” he chuckled.

Lakarde’s emerald eyes set on him. It seemed that Dimera had regained his confidence. He was not sure he was glad about it.

Lakarde did not even crack a smile, and his gaze held some particular heaviness. Dimera suddenly realized that it was the matter of trust. Lakarde did not trust him. That was why the blond had wanted to take the matters in his own hands. He was neither too analytical nor confident, he was just wary of him. The realization in itself was disturbing and Dimera wondered why Lakarde had come at all. He was insecure but he still had accepted the invitation. Did Lakarde really like him? Or…was Lakarde only trying to make sure he left the Academy with experience? Was the boy only using him?

The thought made Dimera angry. “Lakarde?” he addressed the blond, already thinking that he might going to regret opening his mouth.

“Mhm?”

“What did you come here for?”

Lakarde gave him an awkward look. “For sex, of course.”

“Well, you know, if this is just about sex…” Dimera trailed off, frantically thinking how to handle the situation so that Lakarde would not think he was an insensitive idiot or, even worse, declare him his eternal enemy.

Lakarde hardly managed himself to stop from groaning and rolling his eyes. “You’re really a romantic idiot. But let me tell you this: right now I am in your room. Not in Kalara’s, Atreus’ or anyone else’s but yours. And if we’ve finally cleared this up, let’s move it to the bed.”

Dimera stared at him for a few seconds then nodded. Could it be that Lakarde was just awfully bad at expressing his emotions? Even now under those offhanded sentences… Well, Lakarde’s “like” was not what he had been aiming for, but for now it would have to do.

Dimera watched Lakarde drain the last drops from his glass and push it over the table, farther from him. Dimera gathered the bottle and condoms from the table and stood up. The room was small and in two strides he was by the makeshift bed. He saw Lakarde somewhat falter then follow him.

Remembering that Lakarde had felt intimidated by his clothing, Dimera tossed the bottle and the packet onto the bed and started unbuttoning his shirt. He would have preferred Lakarde taking it off but it was obviously too early to expect anything like that. The boy was just watching him silently.

Dimera tossed his shirt onto a nearby chair then started unbuckling his belt. He heard the rustling of clothing by his side and turned to see the blond taking his shirt off. He wanted to undress Lakarde but very likely it was too early for that as well.

Nude, Dimera climbed into the bed. Usually he felt quite confident about his body but now he was grateful for the bleary light emanated by the candles on the table. Even if excited, he was somewhat nervous and the light felt somehow soothing.

Lakarde followed him into the bed a minute later. He could see that the blond was unsure as to what to do. Maybe it would have been a better idea to just lie down on his back and let Lakarde do with him what he wanted. Provided Lakarde knew what he wanted…

Dimera moved forward to Lakarde, who was half-kneeling half-sitting on the bed. With admiration, he watched how the glimmering light played on Lakarde’s body. His skin seemed soft and pale and nearly translucent. Still developing muscles and growing bones. His eyes trailed to Lakarde’s crotch. The slight erection there was tempting but he did not dare to start with it. Nonetheless, it encouraged him to reach out and cup the blond’s face between his hands.

They kissed, lightly at first, then with more and more passion, until Dimera felt he wanted to swallow the younger boy in one gulp. He lifted his head to catch his breath and look at Lakarde’s flushed face. The blond’s half-lidded eyes stared back at him. Lakarde had his arms wrapped around him, one hand fisted in his hair, another on the small of his back. Like most teens, Lakarde wasn’t wearing any cologne – there was just a faint presence of soap, which let him easily scent the lust pouring in waves off the blond. Dimera looked down between them and was assured that, indeed, Lakarde’s toleration of kissing had grown into something that could not be called toleration anymore.

Dimera issued another kiss, which Lakarde eagerly accepted. While sharing kisses and caresses, unnoticeably, he started pushing the blond down. Lakarde seemed to notice his position only when he was already lying flat on his back in the linen. Dimera removed his hand from under the blond’s head letting it rest against the pillow. Lakarde’s eyes slightly widened, the lust in them somewhat dissipating, the green in them becoming rather apprehensive. His hands gripped at Dimera’s shoulders when the blue-haired boy laid his body over his.

It felt good to feel the other’s weight over him. Dimera was supporting himself with his left hand, and Lakarde did not feel crushed as he had expected to feel. Instead, he felt overwhelmed by so much bodily contact. Another thing driving him crazy was Dimera’s scent. It was indicating a young aroused male. And the realization that it specifically was the lust directed towards him, made Lakarde hardly able to breathe. In addition, he suddenly became painfully aware of Dimera’s cock digging in his thigh. It was hotter in comparison with his skin.

“Are you comfortable?” Dimera asked softly leaning over the blond.

Lakarde nodded and at the same time swallowed loudly, giving away his nervousness.

Dimera stroked the younger boy’s side soothingly. He might have said something to try to calm Lakarde down but he knew Lakarde well enough to realize that it might only result in a flare of sudden anger from the blond. Trying to tease him in a situation like this would also result in a bout of annoyance.

Dimera’s palm slid down over Lakarde’s chest to caress the skin there. Lakarde jerked against his palm as he brushed over his erect nipple. So the blond was also sensitive here. Dimera leaned in to press their mouths together. He shifted upwards and felt Lakarde gasp into his mouth as their erections brushed against each other. Not ending the kiss, he moved his body so that now he was in-between Lakarde’s thighs. By the way the Lakarde’s interest in the kiss had diminished, he could tell that the blond was aware of the smallest bits of his movements. So much for his attempts to distract the blond. Dimera figured that the only thing that could successfully distract Lakarde would probably be his cock sprouting a flower. Or turning into a frog, or a cucumber for that matter. The thought made Dimera nearly laugh out aloud. He knew where all Lakarde’s fears were coming from, but even if he was trying his best to take them seriously, he rather wanted the younger boy to stop fretting and enjoy himself.

Dimera started to grind his hips against Lakarde’s, and the blond, not being able to concentrate, broke the kiss altogether. Dimera’s mouth moved away from his lips to his collarbone then to his chest and nipples. He stopped grinding their erections and circled the right nipple with his tongue. The blond’s hand fisted into his hair to keep his head there. Dimera chuckled lightly against the nipple, and the blond’s stomach muscles rippled at the way the breathy laughter caressed his skin.

Dimera’s lips enclosed the nub. He gently teased it with his teeth and tongue, relishing the feeling of Lakarde’s body arching into his mouth. A moment later, he raised his eyes to look at the blond’s face as a few soft moans spilled past his lips. He sucked on it and licked to entice Lakarde more, then raised his head. Lakarde’s hand tried to get him return to what he had been doing before. But as soon as Dimera rolled the wet nipple between his fingers, the grip faltered, the blond’s hips shifting underneath him, trying to get some friction. Ignoring Lakarde’s unconscious insistence, Dimera transferred his attention to the blond’s left nipple. He had to resist the sudden urge to mark Lakarde. He was not sure the blond would appreciate that kind of possessiveness.

Lakarde’s body felt hot, his slick cock pulsing between them and Dimera realized that the younger boy, not used to physical contact, might orgasm even before they got to the next stage. He raised his head to glance at the blond. Lakarde was watching him through hooded eyes.

Dimera pushed himself off Lakarde and kneeled between his legs. He was somewhat taken aback as the blond suddenly sat up as well. Not saying anything, Dimera looked around for the bottle of lubricant and the condoms. He found them by the blond’s right foot. He unscrewed the cap of the bottle then poured some of the lubricant onto his fingers. The smell was fresh although he could not identify it. Dimera rubbed his fingers together to warm the slick substance.

“Can you get me that pillow?” He was surprised at how thick his voice came out.

Lakarde turned to look at the second pillow on the bed. He reached out for it. “I hope it’s not Yemi’s?”

Dimera chuckled. “No, Yemi’s is the one under your head. But I don’t think he would have minded.” He took the pillow in his left hand then looked at Lakarde. “You will have to lie down. Raise your hips,” he instructed. Once Lakarde did, he pushed the pillow under them. “Is it comfortable?”

“I suppose,” Lakarde nodded slowly, not sure how exactly comfortable he was meant to feel.

“Bend your knees.”

Lakarde blushed brightly, and Dimera thought that maybe he should have asked somehow more subtly. Nonetheless, the blond did as told and turned his head away to stare at the opposite side of the room. His face was burning red, but Dimera was aware that the blond’s embarrassment had no impact on his arousal – Lakarde was still painfully hard, his breath coming in irregular patterns.

Lakarde’s eyes widened and he tensed as fingers pressed against his opening. But instead of pushing forward, they circled it then slid up his perineum. They massaged there then returned. The digits circled then brushed lightly over the opening. Lakarde exhaled loudly and squeezed his eyes shut. The fingers continued rubbing there now with more pressure.

“Dimera…”

The blue-haired male ignored him and Lakarde realized that now he rather preferred to be ignored because he did not really want him to stop, he just felt too overwhelmed. It seemed Dimera knew much better what he wanted and how to handle his body. And then one finger slid inside him. Lakarde had no time to figure out how he was supposed to react to this as then it was moving backwards and forwards. It neither hurt nor was very exciting, it was just different.

Dimera could tell that Lakarde was quite comfortable with what he was doing. The blond did not seem flustered or upset, he rather seemed curious, his attention concentrated on what was happening inside him. Dimera added another finger, and Lakarde did not react much to this change either. He flexed his fingers and this made Lakarde tense and grunt. Once the muscles relaxed, he rubbed over the same place again.

“Feels good?”

Lakarde nodded. Every stroke over his prostate, made him want to buck his hips. It felt truly good, the pleasure starting to cloud his mind again. It lasted a few more seconds then he felt himself being stretched. Dimera must have added another digit and it hardly felt comfortable. Lakarde frowned.

Watching Lakarde’s reactions, Dimera made a discovery that so far as Lakarde felt good, he could probably do anything to the blond. But as soon as he experienced a tiny bit of discomfort, Lakarde immediately thought that something had gone wrong. The younger boy was probably convinced that sex and pain were on two absolutely different dimensions. Or maybe he wanted to ensure that it would be so. One way or another, he still had to prepare Lakarde or he would end up in quite a lot of pain.

As his frowning face was ignored, Lakarde figured that it was supposed to feel somewhat uncomfortable. Actually, a minute later, he felt his body accept the pressure and it began to feel good again. In fact, he had also realized he quite liked the way he felt stretched.

A few moments later Dimera pulled his fingers out. Lakarde’s eyes opened to find out what had resulted in the loss of such a delightful activity. He saw Dimera squeezing out some more lubricant and rubbing it over his cock. It stood upright, thick, red and glistening and Lakarde suddenly felt incredibly excited and at the same time sensed something primeval and aggressive in that picture. He did not even notice but at the same time his hands fisted themselves into the bedding.

The older boy could feel both anticipation and reluctance from Lakarde. The anticipation was plainly winning, and he paid no attention to reluctance. It was only normal. The blond was also probably somewhat disturbed that he had not used a condom. But now it was not the time to explain that the latest relationship he had was about half a year ago. Besides, as Yemi was reserved in his choice of partners, Dimera he was sure he carried no diseases.

Dimera leaned over Lakarde and spread his legs apart a little bit more. He took himself into his hand and positioned himself at the blond’s opening. Lakarde watched him silently, his head somewhat raised, fingers still clenched into the sheets.

“Remember to keep breathing.”

Lakarde gave him a somewhat confused look. Dimera pushed forward and felt Lakarde’s arms come around his shoulders with a smack. The grip suddenly tightened and the blond’s fingernails clawed at his back. His cock suddenly felt trapped, Lakarde not letting him move forwards or backwards. At that point Dimera realized that there was not enough lubrication but now he could do nothing about it. The blond’s body twisted then Lakarde pushed at his chest forcefully.

“This hurts,” he protested with a painful frown.

“Even if you push me…” Dimera panted out.

Lakarde shoved at him again, this time with more force. Dimera grunted.

“Lakarde, if I move, I’ll hurt you even more. You aren’t letting me go.”

It finally dawned on Lakarde that his struggles were hurting both of them and he stilled. His fingers, though, were still trying to tear through Dimera’s chest to find a purchase that would help to lessen the pain.

“It’s alright, just breathe. Try to relax as much as you can and the pain will go away. ”

Dimera heard Lakarde’s sharp intake of air. He waited for Lakarde to throw something back at him about what he thought about relaxing in his state, but nothing came. The blond was surprisingly cooperative.

“Yeah, like that.” Dimera lowered his head to nuzzle Lakarde’s neck. He wanted to distract Lakarde from the pain but was not sure Lakarde would not refuse his attention. The boy let him do what he wanted, though, and he increased his area of exploration. Lakarde was breathing deeply but his body was still straining against his. He had also softened. This was why he did not like virgins. Lakarde was in pain and all he wanted was for him to be out of his body. He did not want to force Lakarde but if he let that happen, the blond would probably never try again. He would not mind bottoming for Lakarde for the rest of his life, but it was obvious that it would be a waste for Lakarde himself.

Dimera stroked the blond’s side then his hip while kissing his collarbone and chest. Gradually, he felt Lakarde relaxing. The blond’s fingers also stopped their assault on his chest, now they were simply resting there. Not trying to move, he found Lakarde’s softened length and started stroking it. The blond tensed around him again but this time it was in pleasure not pain.

He stroked Lakarde until he felt the blond trying to push into his fist. It caused him to move inside Lakarde and the blond moaned quietly. With one more push Dimera was at last fully sheathed. Lakarde tensed and grunted softly but otherwise showed no objections. His hands moved from Dimera’s chest to grasp his arms.

Dimera continued to stroke him and brought Lakarde to full hardness again. He saw the blond head fall back onto the pillow, Lakarde’s shoulders finally relaxing, the deadly grip on his biceps lessening, now becoming encouraging. The boy had also moved beneath him to try and get into a position he was comfortable with.

“Want me to stop?” Dimera asked as he was sure that now there was no danger of hearing a positive answer.

“N-no,” Lakarde gasped out. “Feels good.”

The blond’s hips were already following the lead of his hand, so he started to thrust slowly. Only a fraction of his length, but Lakarde tensed around him again. But the constriction was nowhere near as tight as it was at the very beginning and little by little he adjusted his thrusts to the stroking of his hand and soon Lakarde was taking all of him in and out.

In fact, he had never really been sure if Lakarde was into men but now he could see that Lakarde was inclined. It felt incredible to have Lakarde’s body writhing under his, hearing him grunt and pant. Lakarde’s low moans were becoming louder, soon turning into gasps and shaky exclamations. The blond hair was matted with sweat and sticking to Lakarde’s forehead. The blond was almost there, his hips meeting his in desperate pace.

Lakarde’s head reclined into the pillow, while his body tensed and arched. His mouth fell open to let out a low guttural sound Dimera had never thought Lakarde could make. The blond came, colorless thick stream shooting out and spilling onto Lakarde’s stomach, some of it landing onto his chest. Dimera wanted to draw his own pleasure out but Lakarde spasming and clenching around him made it impossible. He pulled out gave himself a few jerks with his fist and came.

When Dimera came round, the younger boy was still being shaken by his orgasm. A few seconds later it quieted, Lakarde’s body slowly relaxing into the bedding. The blissfully unaware and content look on Lakarde’s face made him realize that now he could probably do anything with Lakarde. The thought made him want to do every lewd thing in the world to him but at the same time made him feel protective.

“Whoohoo!”

Dimera started violently at the howl. He stared at the wall right over the headboard. Someone was shouting and pounding on it from the other side. Still not quite right gathering his wits, Dimera vaguely remembered a few familiar faces of the boys who he thought lived in the next room.

“Encore! Encore! That was freakin’ hot!”

The loud whistles and catcalls behind the wall followed then the pounding resumed. Dimera cursed softly and rubbed his forehead. Answering or telling them to shut up would probably only result in more shouting and tries to converse.

Lakarde, though, did not react to any of this. Dimera became a little worried at the lack of response from him. Thinking that Lakarde might have gotten angry, Dimera looked around for a cloth he had prepared earlier. He moved away from between the blond’s thighs and started cleaning the blond. Lakarde shivered and mumbled something. He watched the other boy nervously but it did not seem that he was aware of anything around them. Dimera brushed the sweaty locks off the younger boy’s eyes and forehead.

“Are you alright?”

Bleary green eyes opened to look at him. “Mhhmhm?”

Lakarde was still shivering lightly and didn’t seem to be very sensible, and Dimera lightly shook him by his shoulders. “Hey, are you alright, Lakarde?”

Lazily, the younger boy shifted to get more comfortably in the bed. “Mmh…slpy…” he muttered, turning around and facing away from Dimera.

Dimera felt more at ease. He covered Lakarde to keep him warm then slid under the covers himself. He chuckled lightly to himself. “Hey, I am not bad, aren’t I?”

XXXXX

It was an early morning when Dimera woke up. Only a few seconds later he became aware of Lakarde sleeping beside him. The previous night came back crashing down. A minute later he turned to look at the clock on the wall. It was still about twenty minutes till the sirens would go off. He’d better wake the blond up.

Nonetheless, waking Lakarde up had somehow turned into caressing, licking and biting him and rolling with him all over the makeshift bed. Somewhere among those actions Dimera thought that he would be very happy to be able to wake up to this every morning.

“It’s in.”

Both of them looked at each other with aroused surprise. It had slid in easily, Lakarde not feeling much else except for being incredibly stretched. He shifted underneath Dimera, trying to get into a more comfortable position to lessen the pressure he was feeling.

“Were you really a virgin just a night before?" Dimera whispered into Lakarde’s ear, nibbling on his earlobe.

“Maybe you’re not as big as you thought?” Lakarde offered kindly.

“You just can’t take jokes, can you?” Dimera muttered between slow steady thrusts.

Lakarde said nothing, just wrapped his arms around Dimera’s shoulders for support.

oOoOoOo_About three weeks later_ oOoOoOo

It was a break for lunch, but instead eating, Lakarde was brooding. He had already been brooding for a few days. Nothing good had come out of it and he had tried to stop it, but his mind would constantly come back and occupy itself with what he had seen in the library and what he wanted to forget. He lacked sleep and was tired.

“Are you alright, Lakarde? You don’t seem well.”

Lakarde raised his head to look at Egorna who was standing at his desk. Egorna was his classmate. He was, like all the boys in the class, older than Lakarde by a few years. He was of average height and wore his light green hair short. He was a calm and quite reserved boy. He was also good at socializing and had created himself a self-confident image.

“I’m fine.” Lakarde said. “Thanks for asking,” he added.

“You should see the doctor.”

Lakarde gave the green-haired boy a look telling him he was not even thinking about following his advice.

“Let me at least buy you some hot tea, then.”

Surprised, Lakarde looked closer at Egorna. Egorna was a son of a wealthy nobleman from von Christ territories, but his social standing was nowhere near Lakarde’s. “Alright,” Lakarde agreed after a pause and could see that he had surprised Egorna as well. Very likely Egorna had made that suggestion while already resigned to be rejected.

In silence they walked to the cafeteria where they found a free table in a corner. Lakarde sat down to wait for Egorna to come back with the tea.

“Are you and von Rikota together?” Egorna asked when he had returned. He took his mug into his hands.

Lakarde looked at the bottom of his muddy tea. The green-haired youth was not trying to be discreet at all.

“No, we aren’t,” Lakarde denied. “We just…” he trailed off. He had no will to continue. Why the hell should he talk about this to Egorna anyway?

Egorna nodded. “I see. Would you consider going out with me, then?”

From the bottom of his glass, Lakarde’s eyes rose to Egorna. He stared at him for a few seconds. “That’s quite unexpected,” he said finally.

“Not really.”

Lakarde sighed. True. “Well,” he ruffled through his hair. What the hell did he have to lose after all? “Alright, we can try.”

Egorna gave him a disbelieving look. “Ehh… Well, you sure let me off cheaply,” he laughed then, excitement seeping into his voice. “Had I known it only took lukewarm tea to bribe you, I wouldn’t have been that worried and trying to save up that much money.”

“You saved money to court me?” Lakarde rested his chin on his palm. “Hmm…” he drawled, smiling. “You did come prepared.”

“Well, you are popular after all – I expected much higher standards.”

“I’d like to think I do have some taste as well,” Lakarde retorted.

Egorna grinned at him. “You are unbelievably generous today.”

Lakarde shrugged. He did like Egorna. The youth was serious and had good common sense while interacting with people, which, regrettably, Lakarde himself lacked.

When the break was over, they returned to their classroom. After the lessons Egorna invited Lakarde to his room.

XXXXX

A week later, Wolfram von Bielefeld received a short notice requiring his presence at the Military Academy. The letter informed him that his son had provoked a fight with Dimera von Rikota. There were no details as to how it had happened. As there was nothing said about their injuries either, Wolfram presumed that they were minor, if there were any at all.

Not staling any further, the Prince Consort ordered his carriage and food supplies prepared and went to bid his husband farewell.

XXXXX

As soon as Wolfram arrived at the Academy, he was showed into a study where he was told Lakarde was waiting for him. As soon as Wolfram entered the room and his son stood up to greet him, he noticed that there was something different about him. He couldn’t grasp what it was but something was definitely unusual.

Again, Lakarde had grown a few centimeters since the last time they saw each other. His son was probably already taller than him. Usually, von Bielefelds weren’t tall, so Lakarde had most likely inherited Heseren’s impressive growth.

“Father,” Lakarde bowed.

“Hello, Lakarde,” Wolfram nodded. “Sit down,” he motioned back at the sofa where Lakarde had been sitting previously. He approached his son and sat down on the sofa next to him.

“So what happened this time, Lakarde?”

The boy actually flinched. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“I know you are,” Wolfram nodded. “I want to know why I was called out.”

A sound catching their attention, Wolfram and Lakarde raised their heads to look at the opening door. Takaya von Rikota and his son walked in. The younger von Rikota’s left eye was swollen with a huge black and blue bruise underneath it. His lip was split and also swollen. Wolfram was rather taken aback by Lakarde’s handiwork. He had not expected it to be so serious. He was also confused as to why Lakarde bore no similar marks of the fight. Both youths should be more or less equal in physical strength.

Wolfram and Lakarde stood up. “Von Rikota.”

“Your Highness.”

Wolfram had not been sure what Takaya thought of this entire affair, but after seeing Takaya give him a fleeting smile and rolling his eyes, was assured that the man’s thoughts on all of this were similar to his – just a lovers’ spat. Lakarde and Dimera were not recognized as a couple officially, but were more or less presumed to be one.

The two von Rikotas settled on the opposite couch to theirs. “Well,” Takaya started, “let’s not waste our time and deal quickly with this. Which of you will explain what happened?” From Dimera, his gaze went to Lakarde who he believed had some grudge to voice out against his son.

Neither of the boys spoke and silence settled in the room. Confused, Takaya cast his eyes over to his son.

“Lakarde, why did you hit Dimera?” Wolfram asked. As soon as he said that, he saw Dimera’s questioning eyes lock on Lakarde. It was obvious that Dimera also wanted to know that.

“Lakarde, I won’t repeat myself again. Either you talk or...” Wolfram stumbled on his words, not sure with what he could threaten his son. But even what he had said was enough – Lakarde was staring at him like a wounded animal – hurt, anger and betrayal radiating off his face. At that moment Wolfram became unsure towards whom this mix of feelings were directed.

Wolfram stood up. “Alright. Pack your…”

“Lakarde!”

Wolfram turned to Dimera, who had jumped to his feet and now was rapidly approaching Lakarde. Takaya had also stood up and seemed to be nervous about what his son was up to.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Dimera shouted at the blond, grabbing him by the lapels of his uniform. “How could you? With him?!”

Lakarde’s stormy eyes snapped to Dimera’s face. He grasped at Dimera’s hands to pry them off his uniform. “Shut the fuck up!” he yelled. “Let go of me!”

Dimera only shook him and Wolfram could see he wanted to slam Lakarde against a wall and shower him with questions and accusations but with the two of them in the room, he did not dare. Lakarde seemed hurt and angry and also ready to charge Dimera with something that was not meant for their ears to hear. It was obvious that the two of them had been broken apart before they had managed to solve their problems.

Wolfram turned to look at Takaya who seemed to have also understood the situation. “Why don’t we leave them alone to clear this up?” Wolfram suggested softly. “They might just work this out on their own.”

Takaya seemed dubious, and Wolfram thought that if it were Lakarde’s face covered in those bruises, he would also have doubts. His attention came back to the two youths. Dimera let go of Lakarde’s uniform and pushed him backwards where Lakarde lost his balance and flopped into the sofa.

“And what the hell did you expect? Am I your property or something?” Lakarde hissed softly at Dimera’s enraged face. “Barging into my room like that! Attacking Egorna!” He tried to sit up but in a second Dimera was over him, flattening him back to the sofa, and Wolfram was immediately aware at how familiarly their bodies were touching. It was obvious that the two had done more than hold hands. Another thing that was obvious was that Lakarde had bashed Dimera’s head in while defending this Egorna.

“Let go of me this instant, or that shiner will be the least of your problems!” the blond demanded.

Dimera actually growled. “What did I expect? I sure did not expect nearly four years going to waste! Who do you think you are to toy with me like this?!”

“Who toyed with you?!” Lakarde screamed back at him. “It’s you who slept with that damn Yemi! And then you have the guts walk around and act offended! So why the fuck can’t I sleep with Egorna?”

“Oh shit,” Wolfram muttered. The atmosphere in the study was nearly tangible. Takaya seemed to be lost in that stunned silence. Dimera was just staring down at Lakarde, who was defiantly staring back at him. The total stillness lasted a few more seconds then Dimera’s hand flew up.

The slap knocked Lakarde’s head to the side. The echoes had still not faded as Takaya groaned and rubbed his face with his palms.

“You damn idiot!” Dimera hissed. “There’s nothing between us!”

Lakarde’s head snapped back to face the blue-haired boy and Wolfram winced. But as Dimera was holding his wrists down, Lakarde did not manage to raise his clenched fists. Watching the tableau before him, Wolfram could only wonder if he had looked as stunned and then as angry when Yuuri had slapped him as his son did now.

“So you say. And what was that in the library, I dare ask?” Lakarde spat. “What was in his mouth that you tried to reach with your tongue so desperately?”

Wolfram did not want to be here. In his life he had experienced and witnessed quite a few lovers’ spats and this one was just as stupid as all of them.

“If your damn highness had bothered to ask me, I would have told you that it was Yemi’s idea to confess his feelings to me! He jumped me! I rejected him fair and square!”

“Why the heck did he confess to you in the library?” Lakarde did not subside. “And after all this time?”

“It’s not like I know! Probably just for you to see!”

Lakarde’s mouth closed, his jaw setting firm. “So he had planned that, huh?”

“Let’s go get something to drink,” Takaya muttered softly. “I think this has started winding down.”

Wolfram nodded. He let Takaya pass then closed the door behind them. He did not know who that Yemi was, but he was in for some serious trouble. When Lakarde got his hands on him… Wolfram groaned mentally as he could already see himself getting another abrupt notice requiring him to come to the academy.

“So…regarding the slap…” Wolfram drawled when they were walking down a corridor. Neither he nor Takaya actually knew where it led, but it led away from the room with Lakarde and Dimera and that was good enough.

“I think it was a punch.”

“It was a slap.”

“I think it was closer to a punch. It nearly broke Lakarde’s jaw.”

“It was clearly a slap.”

“Alright, so will the engagement celebration take place in your castle or mine?”

“Well, seeing as it was Dimera who slapped Lakarde…”

“Damn.”

THE END