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Ken was spending a week at the shrine. Shinou said he needed some "bonding time," which Yuuri took to mean "shamelessly flirting." But Yuuri couldn't really tell him no, especially after he helped him out for a change. Besides, Yuuri decided to trust Ken, and if he was going to cheat on them, he knew for a fact it wouldn't be with Shinou.
Still, they both missed him. Wolfram said it was nice to monopolize the bed and Yuuri again, and both were probably true, but Yuuri knew he still missed him. He could tell each time he looked up from his book ready to rant or ramble on about the plot. His face would be alive with sparked emotion, but as soon as he remembered he only had Yuuri to tell about it, he would shrink somewhat.
As hard as Yuuri tried (which actually wasn't that hard), he couldn't follow half of the things Wolfram would ramble on about from his books. Yuuri should try harder, but it wasn't like Wolfram tried hard to understand baseball either.
Which was why Yuuri first decided to write him letters. His and Conrad's baseball team was making amazing strides this week and he just had to get the excitement off his chest. He had shouted gleefully at Wolfram about it the first day, but there was only so much baseball talk Wolfram could stand.
"So, the ball went fast," Wolfram said in a monotone. He was outstretched on the bed, looking entirely disinterested.
Yuuri, who was standing beside the bed, flailed his arms animatedly. "Well, yeah, but it was really fast! It went 75 miles per hour!"
"Soo," Wolfram dragged the word out, "it went really fast."
"You don't understand how amazing this is! That's a new Shinma record!"
"Congrats."
Yuuri frowned at his lackluster tone. "Can't you pretend to be excited?"
"If you don't like my reaction, then tell someone who actually understands and cares."
"Fine, I will! I'll write Ken about it!"
Wolfram shrugged. "You do that."
He wrote him one letter, then two. He started writing in Mazoku out of habit, but when he started writing about baseball, Japanese slipped out without him realizing it. Before he knew it, the smile on his face had nothing to do with baseball or talking to Ken but everything to do with the enjoyment of writing in his native tongue after a long time of disuse. Over half of the letter ended up in Japanese, and all of the following letters were written entirely in Japanese.
Five days had passed since Ken's departure, and Wolfram was noticeably restless. "You're writing him again?" he asked from the bed in an irritable tone.
"Yep!" Yuuri chirped entirely unfazed by his husband's sour mood. "You should write him too. It'll be fun."
He glanced up from the desk to see him scowling at the suggestion.
"No way," Wolfram scoffed. "It's only a week. I don't need him thinking I can't live without him."
Yuuri pushed his chair back from the writing desk and smirked at him. "Sure you can't. You married him after all."
Wolfram clutched his pillow, a clear sign he might throw it at any moment. "That's not the same thing. That was because I chose to live with him, not because I couldn't live without him."
Yuuri stood up and walked to the bed. He leaned down into the blonde's personal space. "Are you saying you can live without me, too?"
Wolfram groaned but met his eyes in challenge. "Maybe I am."
Still smirking, Yuuri leaned in to steal a kiss. His husband relaxed at the contact, and Yuuri used that opportunity to snatch the pillow from his grasp. He tossed it down on the bed and plopped down on top of it.
"Yuuri!" Wolfram yelled in protest at his weapon being taken.
"Sorry to break it to you," Yuuri said, "but I can't live without you."
A soft smile formed on Wolfram's face. "I already knew that," he said before leaning in for his own kiss.
Afterward, he stood up and walked to the desk. "Fine, maybe I will write him. But I won't tell him I miss him. At least, not until he's back."
Yuuri's smile grew when he noticed the pink hue on his husband's cheeks. Being that pretty should deserve a medal.
Wolfram started shuffling the papers around to find a blank one. Soon into his search, he stopped and spun back toward Yuuri. He had a scowl back in place and a single paper in hand. "What the hell is this?" He demanded.
Yuuri's face fell in confusion. "My letter."
"I got that. What is this writing? It's Japanese, isn't it?"
"Yes," Yuuri admitted. Why did it suddenly feel like he did something wrong?
Wolfram huffed, then fell silent. He put the letter down before crossing his arms. He stood there in apparent thought for a long time. Then, without explanation, he said, "I need to see your mother."
"Uh…" Yuuri ran a mental check in his head. There was no way he could catch up on all of his paperwork for a trip. He'd already taken a lighter load this week due to baseball training. "I can't leave right now."
"Good. I want to go by myself."
Yuuri didn't like the sound of that. "Why do you want to go all of a sudden?"
"That…doesn't matter. I need to visit your mother."
Yuuri sighed. "At least wait until Ken's back to go with you."
"I don't need him to protect me."
"I know. He wouldn't do much in a fight anyway, but I'd still feel better knowing he was with you." To make sure Wolfram didn't do something naively stupid like using his maryoku in public and getting taken by the government for experimentation.
Wolfram looked ready to protest but surrendered with a sigh. "Fine. He'll be useful as well."
"What are you talking about?"
Wolfram sat down at the desk and picked up the quill. "Don't worry about it."
Yuuri made Wolfram wait a day before leaving. He needed to catch up with Ken before he left again! Which was good because they ended up being gone an entire week. By the time they finally returned, he was close to being worried sick. Not to mention lonely. He'd spent a whole week without Ken, and then a whole other week without either of them.
When he heard the news that they had returned, he literally dropped everything and raced to meet them at the front entrance. He nearly knocked Wolfram over, he was so eager to hug him.
Ken chuckled, patiently waiting for his own hug.
"Calm down, wimp," Wolfram said, returning the hug. "It was only a week."
Yuuri smiled, recognizing that as a coded way of saying he had missed him too. "I can't live without you, remember?"
When he moved on to hug Ken, he realized he was wearing a heavy backpack.
"What'd you bring back with you?" Yuuri asked.
Ken gave him a secretive grin. "Don't worry about it."
Most days, Ken would help Yuuri with his paperwork, at least for a portion of the day, but for weeks afterward, Ken would either ask to stay with Wolfram for the day or take his leave after lunch. Yuuri found it curious but not enough to actually spy into the matter. Maybe they had just missed each other more than he'd realized. Or they were doing something together they didn't want him to know about. If that was the case, he was sure he'd find out sooner or later. He hoped sooner because if they were having fun without him, he'd rather enjoy the fun as well.
Finally, his birthday arrived. He still had no idea what the two of them were up to, but they both wished him a happy birthday and offered to spend the entire day with him. They had a picnic with Greta, then went horseback riding and took a swim in the nearby river. The swim turned into a splash war. Many laughs and kisses later, they returned to the castle still dripping wet.
Gunter cried at their sorry state while Conrad just smiled fondly and handed them each a towel.
They decided to take a long bath together which turned into more than just a bath.
By the time they were getting ready for bed, Yuuri was sure it was the best birthday he could have asked for. It wasn't elaborate, but he never cared for elaborate in the first place. Honestly, he was just happy Wolfram cared enough to celebrate with him considering birthdays weren't typically celebrated in Shin Makoku.
Yuuri was all ready for bed, but he lingered near the closest looking at husbands. Ken was setting out some new candles on the counter while Wolfram brushed his hair at the vanity. He was so lucky to have them.
"Thanks, you guys," he said.
Wolfram rushed past him to the desk. "The day's not over yet."
"But it's been wonderful-"
"Here." Wolfram thrust a stack of papers toward him. There was a huge grin on his beautiful face. "Happy birthday, Yuuri."
Yuuri smiled and took the offered gift. "Thanks, Wolf. What is it?"
"A letter," Wolfram answered proudly.
Yuuri looked down at the writing.
「拝啓 へなちょこ,」
"This is…"
"Japanese," Wolfram finished for him.
Yuuri looked back up at him. "Did Ken translate for you?"
Wolfram shook his head. "Nope! It's all me."
"Wolf…" He paused, feeling an overwhelming warmth in his chest. "You learned all this for me? Is this why you wanted to visit my mom?"
"Well, I couldn't learn by myself and it had to be a surprise."
Yuuri made sure to put the letter down safely. Then he threw his arms around him. "I love you so much! This is the best gift ever!"
Wolfram's arms held him securely back. "But you haven't even read it yet."
"I don't care what you wrote. I'll treasure every word."
"You are really something else."
Yuuri pulled back enough to meet his eyes. "You love me for it."
"Damn right, I do."