Down a Garden Path

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First of what should be 3 chapters. #2 needs but a bit of polish and should be up soon. #3, alas...

Reviews and thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Many, Many thanks to my beta reader, Idwyt_none. Her wise words are pure gold.
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After a long day of hard travel, the small group from Blood Pledge Castle had stopped after the sun went down and set up their camp. Fires were quickly started, then a brief and unsatisfying dinner was handed out to all before the tents were erected and the travelers retired to get some rest.

Inside their tent, Yuri and Wolfram had quickly undressed, washed as best they could from basins of cold water and slipped between the sheets of a rude pallet that was a very far cry from the large and comfortable bed that they shared back at the Castle.

Wolfram, who had been yawning even as he finished his food, simply turned on his side and seemed to drop straight off to sleep. Yuri wasn’t so lucky. As he lay on his back , his arms crossed on the small pillow and his head resting on his crossed arms, Yuri went over the details of the mission..

A three day trip to visit what Gwendal could only describe as an ‘eccentric’ noble of the Demon Tribe was only the start. Once they had arrived at the home of Lord Helmir Von Weitz, a conference awaited Yuri where he would attempt to convince the elderly Lord to willingly give over a former treasure of the Demon Kingdom.

“Another weird whatever,” Yuri thought idly watching the tent walls move in the soft night breezes and listening to the quiet breathing of the blond at his side. “With all the treasures, such as they are, that we already have back at the Castle, I wonder why Gunter was all gung-ho to come all this way just to get another statue of a cat.”

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Yuri knew that if he lived to be 10,000 years old, he would never understand the fascination that his teacher and Royal Aide, Gunter Von Christ had for the assorted knick-knacks and oddities that gathered dust in the Royal Vaults. Just as well, Yuri supposed. “If I showed any interest in them, I’ll just bet that he’d make me sit down in that dust pit and inventory the whole lot of them.” Squeezing his eyes shut, Yuri shuddered at the thought.

Still, it couldn’t be that hard to get this ancient whatever it was. He’d just show up, smile nicely and politely remind the nutty old Lord that he WAS the Demon King after all. So everybody would just make nice and give up Gunter’s new obsession and then away they’d go. Sure, it would be easy.

But what didn’t seem to be easy was getting to sleep. The trip had been long, hot and dusty and Yuri had been stuck riding in a carriage the whole way while Gunter, face hidden behind another one of his huge books, lectured him on the history of the Von Weitz family, Demon treasures and cat statues in particular. Wolfram and Conrad had ridden outside in the fresh and non-boring air. Josak rode on top of the carriage with the driver and the remaining guards had followed along on horseback as well.

Yuri made sure that Wolfram had seen his “I will so get you for this” glare more than once and even Conrad had earned a glare when Conrad had smilingly refused to trade places with Yuri and let Yuri ride for a while. Wolfram had only laughed and said “Carriages are the appropriate way for Wimp Kings to travel. We wouldn’t want you to fall off your horse now, would we?” when he had been asked to trade.

Yuri wasn’t sure if he had actually slept during the ride or just had been bored into a stupefied state, but he certainly wasn’t sleepy now. But he knew that he did need to get some sleep, else he would probably end up yawning right into Lord Von Weitz’ face, and that wouldn’t be good.

But he just wasn’t tired. And the pallet was lumpy in places. And dinner had been a miserable mess that hadn’t even sounded remotely appetizing when it oozed out of the spoon and onto his plate, never mind how it looked or tasted. Repressing another shudder, Yuri uncrossed his arms and slid deeper into the covers, turning on his side away from Wolfram.

“Sleep, just go to sleep” he told himself and closed his eyes.

But his-self didn’t listen. After what seemed like hours, but probably was really only a few minutes, Yuri flung himself onto his back, as wide awake as ever. Yuri tried counting sheep, but they all changed into T-Zou sheep that were pulling speeding sleds over cliffs or flying T-Zou sheep that darted and swooped around the walls of Blood Pledge Castle and none of that was going to encourage sleep.

Slamming his arms down in irritation, Yuri glared at the roof of the tent. “I WILL go to sleep,” he commanded himself and ended up turning hastily on his other side, rustling the sheets and smacking the pillow with his head a couple of times. “Sleep, damn you!”

It wasn’t ten minutes before Yuri’s dark eyes were open again and his stare bored into the back of Wolfram’s head. “This is SO not fair!” Yuri told himself. “Normally he tosses and turns and sleeps like he’s trying to cover the whole bed at the same time, plus kicking me out more than once. But now....none of that. He just drops down and bam... he’s asleep and hasn’t so much as twitched.”

Pushing up on one elbow, Yuri leaned forward till he could see Wolfram’s face. The blond’s emerald green eyes were closed, their lashes a dusky crescent against the fair skin. Blond hair that Yuri knew would feel like silk spilled onto the pillow and made a softly glowing accent to a face that might have graced an angel.

Yuri couldn’t help but smile to himself. In the last year since he had returned to the Kingdom to stay, he and Wolfram had worked out their relationship and the engagement that had begun as a mistake made in anger had become a pledge taken to heart by both sides. Soon the actual ceremony would take place and Wolfram would go from being Lord Bielefeld, to ‘His Highness, Prince Wolfram von Bielefeld, Royal Consort’.

In the faint light inside the tent, Yuri’s smile became a grin. He recalled asking Wolfram if he would prefer to be called the “Royal Consort”....or “Queen”. Only to be asked in return if Yuri preferred to be called “Wimp” or “Dead Wimp”. That was his Wolfram, looks of an angel and the temper of the very devil himself.

Grin widening, Yuri thought of a way to get to sleep. It just required a little assistance from his sleeping fiancé.

“Wolfram?” Yuri asked quietly. You could never really tell what would wake Wolfram up. Sometimes he could sleep through whole groups of people having loud arguments at the very foot of his bed, and sometimes a movement in the air around him would bring him to wide eyed wakefulness.

Tonight didn’t seem to be the latter though, as Wolfram didn’t stir at Yuri’s call. Grabbing Wolfram was a sure way to end up pitched through the walls of the tent, ending up on his head, or pinned to the ground with a knife at his throat, so Yuri discarded that idea. Instead he softly called Wolfram again, this time a little louder. And still got no response.

Giving a soft snort of annoyance, Yuri decided to up the ante. He snuggled a bit closer to the sleeping body of the swordsman, and traced a finger very, very lightly over the curve of Wolfram’s shoulder.

“Wolf.... hey Wolf... Wake up a minute, Wolfram.” Yuri got a little louder and was rewarded by a muttered, “Hhhmmmmmm.....?” from the blond.

“Wooooollff-raaammm” Yuri coaxed his lover closer to consciousness by calling softly in the male’s ear and scooting closer still.

A sleep drenched voice hazed out, “Yuri? Whaaz ‘rong?”

At least now it would be safe to really touch Wolfram without getting tossed on his head. Probably..... Taking his chances, Yuri scooted over the last little bit and pressed his body up against the relaxed warmth of his bedmate. The evidence that not only had Yuri’s brain thought a little midnight delight a good idea, but other parts of his body did too was obvious as Yuri’s hot and hard erection ended up pressed up against the curve of Wolfram’s naked buttocks.

“Emmmmmhhh... “ Wolfram part moaned and part groaned. “You can’t be serious?” One green eye cracked open a slit and regarded the grinning face of His King. “It’s fairly close to dawn, Yuri. And I’m tired.” Wolfram interrupted himself long enough to yawn hugely, “Plus... we’re in a tent with a dozen men all around us.” The eye slowly closed and Wolfram gathered up a handful of sheet, tucking it up under his chin and curling up a bit more. Another small yawn slid down to the quiet remark, “and you’re so noisy...”

Slightly offended at the evidence of his enthusiasm and delight in making love with Wolfram passed off as being “noisy”, Yuri opened his mouth to reply and then realized that he wasn’t after an argument, but rather an agreement, so he contented himself with simply pointing out, “Maybe..but you’re even noisier.”

A shrug was all the response he got as Wolfram looked to be drifting off to sleep again.

“Ah, com’on Wolfram...” Yuri entreated as he traced the edge of the blond’s ear with his fingers. “You know that I don’t sleep well in new places and it would really help me take the edge off.”

Yuri’s fingers left off tracing Wolfram’s ear and slid down his neck, his warm hand cupping the sheet covered shoulder of the young man and gave it a gentle squeeze. He accompanied that squeeze by rubbing his erection against the sleek skin of his lover.

“I’ll be quick, “ he promised with a warm kiss on Wolfram’s neck. And thinking a moment, he added, “And quiet.”

Wolfram filled his lungs and gave out a long, soft sigh. Yuri’s grin widened, now he was getting somewhere.

“Yuri?” Wolfram asked without opening his eyes.

“Yes, love?” Yuri rested his chin on Wolfram’s shoulder and waited for Wolfram to turn over into his arms.

“You know that I love you, right?”

“Mmm-hmmm” Yuri agreed, smiling and still waiting for Wolfram to turn over and open himself up for some loving.

“That where-ever you go, I will follow. And that I would happily lay down my life for you.”

“Yes.” Why wasn’t he turning over or even opening his eyes? Yuri began to get a bad feeling about things.

“Now, remembering all that, I just want to say that if you don’t take your hands off me and let me get back to sleep, I’m going to reach around and snap off something that we both are very fond of.”

Yuri wasn’t aware of how he got to the other side of the pallet. He just suddenly was there. Out of Wolfram’s immediate reach. And facing the other way to boot.

A moment passed in silence except for the soft crackling of the fires in the camp and the sighing of the breezes through the trees.

“Goodnight Yuri, my love.”

“Night.”