Chapter Text
Wolfram was looking at the menu with knotted eyebrows. During his visits to Earth, he became acquainted with some of the symbols of the Japanese alphabet but reading them was still too hard. The sheets of paper he was holding might be as well a result of the creative outburst of a five-year-old, and his understanding of what he saw in front of him would be the same. At last, he could read the prices.
The restaurant wasn't costly, probably the one where middle-class citizens went to. But Wolfram liked it more than the exclusive one Yuuri took him once to, placed on the roof of some hotel. Only the view was great there but going to some of the viewpoints in the city, Wolfram might be able to see the same. And the view of the street he had now outside of the window wasn't anything bad. It was fascinating how much people in Japan were different than in Shin Makoku. He could watch their clothes and behavior and listen to their conversations all day long.
And there was plenty of them. Now was what Shouri called rush hours. A group of men next to him, clothed like what Yuuri's father was wearing for work, was planning a welcome party for a new co-worker. She was supposedly a hot ten, whatever that means. A little earlier, some women were discussing if the new woman in their job was the boss's cousin or his lover, but they did not come to a consensus. Wolfram was wondering if they were talking about the same woman.
„Can I get your order?" A young girl in a waitress uniform asked just when the group decided that the pub called Beniton or something like that didn't have any class and was too cheap for such an important event.
„I'm waiting for someone, so I will hold on for now," Wolfram answered with a smile. The girl was much younger than the rest women in the local, maybe even still attending school. But Wolfram noticed that people in this country look younger than their actual age. Perhaps the Japanese have an admixture of mazoku blood.
The waitress had on her shirt the same logo that was above the entrance to the restaurant. A caricature of a chicken holding chopsticks. Wolfram decided to choose this place because he found this funny.
„Maybe something to drink then?"
„Tea then, please."
The girl nodded and walked away without asking what tea exactly he wanted. Wolfram guessed that the restaurant was serving chicken – he would be disappointed if not – but the rest of the menu items were a mystery to him. Until now, he spotted only people drinking coffee and eating some battered balls – were those chicken?
Wolfram put down the menu, concluding that he was looking at it far too long, and leaned against the back of the couch, looking outside the window. He liked this part of the city. It was one of the busiest, full of tall, glass buildings. People here were always in a hurry, not paying attention to anything around them, him included. Wolfram knew he was sticking out of the astounding crowd of double-blacks. A lot of people were asking him if he was an actor or a model, wanting him to sign them things or take pictures of him. Especially young girls wearing school uniforms. They approached him, asking for a photo with him, always excited and giggling. Many also talked to him in English and were surprised when he answered in fluent Japanese. All thanks to Anissina's device, but at this point, he could hold a basic conversation without it.
It was incredible how much there was a difference in behavior towards someone famous. Wolfram figured Earth's celebrities were similar to nobles, but people here were excited and happy to see them. In Shin Makoku, they always were tense and sometimes even scared. Well, in some cases, it was understandable. But now Wolfram understood why Yuuri didn't like when someone was bowing before him. On Earth, no one bows down to the king. Instead, they were taking pictures with him.
He explained this to Gunter once, but the advisor told him it was too dangerous to let people go this close to their monarch.
„Can I sit next to you?"
Wolfram turned his head and saw Yuuri smiling at him.
„You're late. People were looking strangely at me."
„Oh, I'm sure nobody has anything against you sitting here." Yuuri sat on the couch next to him and looked at the menu.
„I want chicken," Wolfram said, looking over his shoulder.
„Of course."
The same waitress as before placed a glass of black iced tea in front of Wolfram and looked at Yuuri with anticipation.
„Can I have your order?"
„We will get skewers and chicken tempura. Can it be this?" He asked Wolfram, who nodded. „And black coffee, please."
The waitress noted something in her small notepad and walked away. Yuuri placed his elbow on the table and rested his head on a palm.
„Unexpected choice of a restaurant."
„You are saying this all the time. Is there a place you would be expecting?"
Yuuri laughed but didn't answer. He looked tired and weary, more suited to the surrounding people in his black suit.
„How was the meeting?"
„Boring business talk. You probably don't want to hear about it."
Wolfram sighed and rolled his eyes. He still couldn't understand why Yuuri insisted on working on Earth as if being a king wasn't laborious enough. At last, he worked for Bob, so he could adjust his working hours how he wanted because his boss knew it was only a part-time job. Wolfram was sure that if Yuuri asked for money, he would get as much as he wished to, but his husband didn't want to agree to something like that. At last, he was always trying to recompensate for the fact he had less time for Wolfram.
„Have you been somewhere today?" Yuuri put down his arms from the table and took a sip of the coffee immediately after the waitress brought it. Wolfram also drank his tea and winced slightly – there was no sugar.
„Only in a park nearby. There's a pound and a big fountain. And many people were taking photos with stones scattered along the path."
„So, maybe we will go there after eating? Now I would prefer a less crowded place to spend time."
„I don't think you could call it less crowded. But maybe some closer to the pond…." Wolfram tried to remember how many people were on the paths he was walking. There were some narrower ones on the other side of the pond. And there was also a lovely meadow by the water. So they might sit there and observe the park.
While thinking, his eyes wandered around the restaurant aimlessly, and finally, he looked out the window and shuddered, surprised. Right behind the glass stood a man, probably middle-aged, with unkempt facial hair, wearing a grey t-shirt, looking at him with a strange expression. Wolfram was used to people staring at him, but this gaze made him feel unpleasant. Similar to Anissina's one, wandering through the ballroom, looking for the next subject for her invention, he wanted to hide from it.
„Wolf." Yuuri stood up and grabbed his arm, pushing him away from the window and taking his seat. He turned around to the man, who grimaced and walked away. „Some people just don't know how to behave." He smiled at Wolfram reassuringly. „At last, he won't be able to follow us in this crowd." He added quietly.
„Follow us?"
„Nevermind. Forget about it. Look, your chicken is coming."
This time another waitress walked to their table and placed dishes on it, walking away without a word.
„Guess they're really busy now," Yuuri commented and brought his plate to him, taking the skewer by hand.
„Are you intending to eat with your hands?"
„Leave me alone. I have enough stiffness for today."
„So eating with cutlery is a stiffness now?"
Yuuri listed up the skewer to his mouth and took off the piece of meat with his teeth, eating it slowly. At last, he didn't spook with his mouth full. Wolfram took his plate and tried a crunchy gold thing that was supposed to be a chicken.
„I like it." He said after swallowing. It was nicely seasoned, and biting the batter was surprisingly satisfying.
„We could come here again. They have good food." Yuuri agreed, taking already the second skewer.
After they finished eating and left the restaurant, Wolfram led them to the park he was in earlier. They needed only to walk across two streets and soon arrived by the white gate with golden letters written on it. A broad alley led through the trees to the fountain and then to the flower beds making colorful, symmetrical shapes. Turning into one of the narrower paths, they had come to the pond. They walked around it and sat down on the grass. On the other side of the water, a bunch of boys were playing, skipping stones, and Yuuri observed them with a soft smile.
„Maybe we will go make a visit to Greta after getting back?"
„And you think they would just let you?"
„I'm the king, so I should have the last word."
„Of course. It would be just another brick to building future rebellion."
„Stop this. I don't like when you start speaking like that." Yuuri gloomed a little and looked at the sky.
„But it's working."
His husband just shrugged, but Wolfram smiled, knowing he was just acting. Unfortunately, he wasn't present at this particular meeting, but he heard that one of the nobles threatened Yuuri with starting a civil war. After this, even Gunter was surprised at how seriously Yuuri took his role as a king, so Wolfram thought it would be a nice motivator for him. Yuuri was always trying to guilt trip him for using it, but he's not going to back out. It was just too powerful of a tool.
„But speaking about kids…." Yuuri started but fell silent suddenly, his eyes looking somewhere over the pond.
Wolfram looked the same way and spotted a man in a grey t-shirt.
„He followed us?" He asked with disbelief.
„A will call Shouri to get us." Yuuri took his phone and made a call immediately.
Wolfram was surprised by this reaction. It was only one man. Even if he would follow them, what's he going to do? He could handle him without a problem, especially since the man looked like someone who didn't get out of his house often. It's more dangerous for him than for them.
„He had this park on the way, so he would be here in a moment." Yuuri ended the call incredibly fast and stood up. „Let's go back. This time, we will take the more crowded path." He took Wolfram by hand and took him away from the pond.
„Yuuri?" Wolfram asked carefully, seeing that his hand was trembling slightly. „Did something happen?"
„No, it's nothing. I'm just tired; let's go back home."
They didn't continue with the subject until they didn't leave the park and entered the dark-grey car in which Shouri was waiting for them. Wolfram knew he wouldn't get any answers from Yuuri, so instead, he asked his older brother.
„He's just working himself up," answered Shouri, leaving the parking lot. „He watched some program about stalkers, and now he sees them everywhere."
„He followed us to the park!" Protested Yuuri, turning away from the window through which he was observing the surrounding. „What if it's the same guy as from the photos?"
„Which photos?"
„Do you realize how many people are taking photos of him? He's practically a celebrity now. It's probably just teenage girls following him around."
„I don't think teenage girls would take sneaky photos of him."
„They do," Wolfram said, taking his phone to try to find the photos they were talking about. „Believe me, it's not hard to notice when someone is taking a picture of you. You need to take a phone for this, and many people forget to turn off the flash." He opened one of the social media apps in which Shouri made him an account. He was using his own name for it, but people still were asking him if it was his real name, believing him only when he told them he was from Swiss. He was told not to publish photos from places he went to until some time after leaving them, so now he still had some pictures from the restaurant and the park. Wolfram selected a photo with the logo with a chicken on it and shared it, observing as comments and reactions appeared near immediately. It was fascinating how many people were interested in what he ate today.
He looked through the rest of the pictures from today. All he had to do was click on the hashtag with his own name, and all the photos of him shared in interned were visible. There was a photo in front of the fountain two girls had asked him for. There was also him standing near the pond and the two newest ones shared by the same person. One was of him and Yuuri sitting on the grass. Another was a close-up on Yuuri. The description of this photo was saying, „I hate him." Wolfram looked through other pictures of this person, and his stomach clenched. Now he understood what Yuuri meant. Maybe it would not stop this person from following him and taking pictures of him, but at last, he wouldn't be able to see what Wolfram was doing on his profile, so he blocked him.
„There are some other restaurants with chicken people are recommending." He changed the subject, taking away the phone.
„I don't feel like talking about food now." Yuuri rested his head on the window, looking like he was in a bad mood, so Wolfram didn't continue the conversation.
He spotted Shouri looking at him through the rearview mirror, who looked away when noticing he was caught stating. The rest of the ride they spend in silence.